《Abyssal Road Trip》 0 - Damnation The opening chords of AC/DC¡¯s ¡®Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap¡¯ rolled across the sea of faded burgundy cubicles. The pulse of the drums and sharp rifts echoed in the stillness of the office. Julia snatched the last page of the report from the printer¡¯s grip and dashed for her mobile; the ringtone indicated a personal call. Her hand trembled, and her even heartbeat suddenly thumped hard at the displayed caller ID. Its backlight suddenly felt too bright against the aged fluorescent tubes overhead. The long habit of focusing on odds and actions forward stilled her hand, and Julia¡¯s voice sounded calm. ¡°Hi, Doctor Danh, this is unexpected.¡± ¡°All the important labs came back clear, Julia,¡± the doctor reported brightly. ¡°Thanks, Doc. You didn¡¯t have to call. I had promised I¡¯d drop in on Saturday,¡± protested Julia. ¡°It would have been three more days of worry for you,¡± Dahn replied, his tone undimmed. ¡°I don¡¯t let stuff worry, Doc. It is what it is. You can only do what you can,¡± replied Julia, the words rolled freely off her tongue. ¡°Now, what about the unimportant ones? Am I low on iron, or did something else cause my fatigue? Or should I come in for those so you can scold me in person?¡± The question led to him repeating the list of supplements he wanted her to take, but he didn¡¯t mention the psychologist referral provided during her last visit. When the call ended, Julia slipped her mobile away and refocused on her computer to check the last problem tickets with updates due. Once her list was clear, she quickly shut off the laptop with a relieved sigh. Snatching up her backpack from the floor while the computer shut down, she planted it on her seat and waited. As soon as it completely shut down, she hustled it into her bag and listened to the familiar thump of its weight against the thinning seat cushion. Once she¡¯d finished packing for the trip home, Julia habitually scanned the cubicles to confirm no one else had lingered on. Turning back to her bag, she tried to look past the faded outline on her cubicle wall, only for its faint presence at the edge of the family photos to hook her gaze. ¡°Fuck you very much. I need to get a new photo of something.¡± It was advice she knew she¡¯d given herself for too many years, but Julia turned away and headed for the lifts. Surveying her appearance in the polished steel of the lift doors made it clear that she needed to go to the hairdresser, but she pushed that thought aside; the awful bushfire season made her split ends a problem for another day. With the matter decided, Julia brushed her long brunette locks over her shoulder. Taking in the chimes that echoed from distant floors, she retrieved a scrunchie from her bag and tied her hair up. The cool breeze of the air conditioning across her nape was pleasant, but also a reminder of the heat outside. Her heart jumped again at another buzz from her phone. As nausea spiked, she clamped down on her reactions and retrieved it with deliberate slowness. Julia looked at the SMS and snorted in disbelief. She murmured to herself as she replied. ¡°One date doesn¡¯t warrant taking a break. If you¡¯re not interested in going out again, it¡¯s not the end of my world.¡± The phone¡¯s buzz announced a one-word reply of ¡®Fine¡¯. The familiarity of the situation brought forth an easy laugh and washed the tension from Danh¡¯s call away. ¡°Mate, that¡¯s my line.¡± You suck, but I¡¯ve no hospital visits on the horizon, so I¡¯ll take that as a win. Deleting the thread and his contact information from the phone, she tucked it away and considered herself again in the polished steel. Aside from the split ends she didn¡¯t see what was wrong with her, and those were something a straight guy wouldn¡¯t notice. Her bust fit her tall and lean runner¡¯s build, but she was a fairly stereotypical white Aussie with no obvious physical issues. Her complexion was fine, her chin was tight, and her face was strong without being hard. Maybe her bow-lipped mouth was fractionally too wide, but if her face appeared too strong, that was their problem. Swivelling on the spot, she caught how the change in position showcased the muscles in her thighs, and she patted her toned butt. A red blink from the security camera in the corner had her hurriedly return to squarely facing the lift. ¡°It¡¯s because your two major interests are gaming and the dojo. Face it, J: you¡¯ll be an eternal bachelorette.¡± The doors sighed open to reveal a polished empty interior, and Julia quickly hopped in to double-tap the lobby button before leaning on close. The mechanical whir of the neighbouring lifts and chiming floor signals filled the ride from the fourth to the ground floor. Ignoring the sterile vacancy of the lobby, Julia headed straight for the side exit. Her heels clicked on the clinical white tiles, and the sound echoed off the high ceiling. Swiping through the security gate, she grunted in pain when it closed too quickly and trapped her back leg. It was caught between the security gate¡¯s teeth. Again. Ignoring the pain throbbing in her thigh, Julia freed herself and cursed under her breath, only to have to stop again to untangle her bag¡¯s straps. No one else gets caught in this damn thing; it¡¯s been one thing after another lately. Weariness weighed her shoulders, and she glanced at the slowly revolving doors that featured prominently in the foyer¡¯s front wall. In the quiet, the brush seals at their base rasped annoyingly on the carpet within their circles. Like the gate, the rotating doors had trapped her previously, and with no security guard in sight, she had no plans to become a summer barbeque. Approaching the side door, Julia winced at the heat that radiated from it like a heated oven door. With a quick push to work the latch, she shouldered it forward to avoid burning her hand. The harbours salty air, the sad cries of the gulls, the charcoal smell, and the oppressive heat hit her like a sandbag. As she stepped outside, Julia breathed through her nose, futilely endeavouring to lessen the bitter taste of the ash-filled air. The ongoing state of Sydney left her once enjoyable walk across Pyrmont Bridge to the parking station an unpleasant prospect. Out from under the building awning, it was the first time she¡¯d seen the vicious-looking sky all day. The clouds of ash looming overhead had started months ago, and they blotted out what should have been a blue summer sky. Instead, it was as if some bizarre hellscape had descended on Sydney, enveloping it in black and grey clouds. The sunlight that filtered through them carried an angry, otherworldly tint that lent the familiar buildings a surreal, alien feeling. The urge to hurry home hit hard, and as a strange shiver ran up her spine, Julia dragged her eyes from the sky. A lingering dread quickened her pace, but the absence of sound beneath her heels and a clinging pull called her attention to the softened bitumen. The first tug at a heel prompted Julia to slow her pace and wish she hadn¡¯t left her sneakers in the car. The lateness of the day had her exiting the parking lot with barely a pause for the gate. The traffic flow through the city was fine, leading Julia to the faint hope that departing the office after six would give her a smooth run home. As Parramatta Road slowed to a crawl, however, the news of a major breakdown on the M4 wasn¡¯t a surprise. Soon, with nowhere to go, the heat that radiated through the window wilted her energy and strained her car¡¯s AC. A few kilometres into the slowed highway-turned-parking lot, a thoughtless motion had her cursing as she yanked her forearm from the side window. She kept her foot firmly on the brake as she grimaced at the fresh burn on her forearm; another addition to her collection of scrapes and bangs. ¡°Fucking stupid thing to do in this heat, J.¡± The intro of AC/DC¡¯s ¡®Highway to hell¡¯ started up, bringing a smile to her lips. ¡°Now we¡¯re talking. Someone in programming has my kind of humour.¡± The pumping music felt as though it had boosted the traffic, and a group made it through the intersection ahead. As the last notes closed off, Julia had the privilege of being first at the red light. The lights flipped and some cars sped across the intersection while others crept forward to block the road in front of her. Though she knew it wasn¡¯t personal, it lessened the odds of her getting through the next green. With a glance upwards, she considered a prayer of patience, only for the looming ash clouds to mock her unvoiced plea. One boring song turned into another, she was still stuck at the lights, and the drivers from the side street took every gap in the traffic, so when the announcers began to babble without first providing the vaguest clue about what route to take home, she almost turned it off. Eventually, the news started; it wasn¡¯t about what she wanted, but word on the firefronts prompted Julia to turn the volume back up. Sweltering in her car was better than in the oven the firefighters dealt with day after day. The fires were beyond anyone¡¯s control now, and it had been clear since before Christmas that they¡¯d end when the weather finally turned and not a day before. It was the affected families and firefighters she reserved her worry for, among them her insane brother and crazy cousin. Julia admired their courage, but what they did was madness. They were volunteers, yet the effort had been a constant unforgiving slog. Despite that, after weeks of raging fires and mounting bills, the politicians waffled and refused them any financial aid. Julia hoped Sally hadn¡¯t told Mal she¡¯d covered some of their family¡¯s bills. They would have a heated discussion if or when he discovered what she¡¯d done, but his wife had enough to worry about with him at the fire fronts, and she¡¯d looked sick from stress when Julia had found her with a stack of red-stamped bills. Julia had taken them from Sally and paid them with money she¡¯d earmarked for the Euro trip she kept putting off. Europe wasn¡¯t going anywhere. Yet Sally had grumbled and retorted, ¡®Neither are you if you keep giving money away!¡¯ When the news moved on, Julia went to change the station. As she stretched to hit the seek button, her world tilted. Swaying, Julia felt the car lurch and forced herself to yank on the handbrake, making it just before her foot slipped off the brake. A whirlpool of vertigo threatened her with losing lunch, and she scrambled to move between handbrake and gears. Amidst the worsening pressures, the rush to put the car into park didn¡¯t help her to regain any control over the spinning horizon. A sudden rush of strange sensations shifted inside her, and the world twisted. Gravity seemed to weigh her down and spin about her, a brutal graviton amusement ride. The heat in the car grew distant and divorced, stolen away. Pain churned in her brain and even the smoke-muted daylight became a searing agony. The vertigo intensified and bile rose in the back of her throat, the taste and sensation making her gag before a wall of gloom smashed into her mind. A wave of heat rose from deep in her guts and tore through her flesh before it boiled her brain. Julia was dead when she slumped against the wheel, and her body ignited. A blaze of flame that the rearview mirror reflected to the terror-stricken driver behind her. Her still-idling car shifted slightly against its leash but remained safely behind the line. As the essence of darkness crept into her pores and smothered her eyes, the agony abruptly vanished, and nothing remained but a nightmare of fatigue. The absence of pain was as sudden as the onset, and she gasped in relief, only for the torpid gloom to ooze down her throat like a living thing. Julia gagged reflexively and then deliberately coughed in a desperate bid to force it out, but the alien shadow had enveloped her and invaded every cell. She couldn¡¯t breathe, couldn¡¯t even feel the need to breathe, let alone cough or scream. There was no heat or pressure, no itches or tingles, just¡­ Nothing. After an eternity that might have been a moment, the formless void was ¡­ bypassed by a bright blazing message in her disembodied mind: Unlocks: [Damned Details: Just that, damned. A cursed state inflicted by someone with access to an object of significant power. Reward: Race changed; see ¡®Profile¡¯ upon planar arrival for the outcome. Note: Knowing who was responsible won¡¯t help you now.] She didn¡¯t have time to read that first notification properly before being hit with more. It was like the worst advertising pop-up spam, with never-ending windows appearing in her mind¡¯s eye. Though they brightened inside her mind, they did nothing to ease the darkness. Each seemed to tag memories as they catalogued her life, and the invisible force peeled her life open like an onion, drawing scalpel-thin slices through one layer at a time. The torrent of messages was too fast for her to snatch at more than a few. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. [Purity Details: Died a virgin with a large [600+] positive karma rating. Reward: +1 attribute bonus.] [Jaded purity Details: Cheated on by significant other after engagement announced. Requirement: The individual has previously obtained Purity achievement. Reward: +1 attribute bonus. ] [Defiled purity. Details: The individual died a virgin through another¡¯s evil action. Reward: +1 attribute bonus] [Forever the bridesmaid Details: This is the gold edition of ¡®Always the Bridesmaid¡¯, awarded for having been a bridesmaid over five times. Reward: Some advice from me, get a life, wait... yeah, it¡¯s gone.] [Selfless. Details: Took action to prevent injury to others while you were in great danger Reward: +1 attribute bonus.] [Please, sir, may I have some more? Details: Throughout a career, an individual managed to gain a reasonable wage raise from a miser. Reward: +1 attribute bonus.] [Gainfully employed Details: Having had full-time employment for more than five years. Reward: +1 wealth option unlock - option negated by your curse.] [Greater tertiary education achieved Details: Completed and passed with distinction. Three (3) or greater years of tertiary education. Reward:
  1. +1 attribute bonus.
  2. +10 knowledge skill points.
  3. Class options unlocked.]
[Sock your body. Details: The individual gained a degree of proficiency in a combat form. Met through martial arts training in full contact style to the rank of black belt. Reward:
  1. Additional class options are unlocked.
  2. +2 attribute bonus.]
[Solo feline care Details: Declined the offer of a one-night stand with a 10. Well, he was at least an 8. Not just ice cream was involved in the self-consoling that occurred that night. Reward: +1 attribute bonus. Note: At least you got an attribute bonus.] [Unlucky in love Details: Having had 30 or more bad dates. Note: No reward, just learn to make better choices.] [Coitus interruptus Details: You found your significant other engaged in coitus. Reward +2 attribute bonus Additional bonus conditions met: 1) Did not injure any involved party. 2) Destruction of property impulse resisted (Action withheld: Keying car). Additional Reward: +3 attribute bonus (Willpower) Note: I could have kept it at +1, but I gave additional points because a childhood, now ex-friend, was the one in bed with your fianc¨¦.] WHAT THE HELL?! The list continued to scroll through Julia¡¯s awareness, even picking up speed after digging into the bitterness of her engagement finale. The fast pace from the initial dissection of her life turned into a sprint. Messages hammered against her mind, and while their contents varied, all were a persistent mocking commentary on her life¡¯s events regardless of what was in her control. The last one clicked into place and stopped. [Lack of engagement Details: You caused your mother to endure an eighteen-hour labour by failing to engage properly in her birth canal. Note: You should learn to connect better socially.] Well, fuck you very much! So much for getting my life flashing before my eyes when I died, instead, I get a load of spam. [Realm transfer update: waystation arrival] Cold rough stone underfoot was the first sensation that gouged at her awareness, and then the whispers began around her. The suppressive darkness faded away into something more natural, and Julia could make out a shadowy figure at the edge of her vision. They vanished, and suddenly, smooth hands groped possessively at Julia¡¯s back. She spun with a quick elbow, and snapped a probing jab towards the feminine shape of a moving shadow, but she struck only air. The figure shrunk and reappeared a distance away, only to lunge with inhuman speed, hands outstretched. Julia spun from their path, and as cold air caressed the memory of her naked flesh from head to toe, the awareness of her vulnerability felt like it drove the surrounding cold right through her stomach. A flicker of motion in her peripheral vision provoked a block, but the contact only disrupted a disembodied limb formed of a cold oily mist. The shadow flickered sideways, and clawed hands struck from the darkness before she could react. They grasped her breasts, and sharpened nails drove inwards. Though Julia felt like they¡¯d torn open flesh, no blood ran, and she leapt away from their touch amid rapidly fading pain. In the smothering dark, she stumbled and hit the floor before she could catch herself, and the hands tried to force her flat. As she rolled, Julia lashed out with a foot, elbow and knee through her turn, yet though she felt no physical contact, the hands released her. A kip-up snapped her to her feet, and Julia vaguely sensed something solid nearby. An outflung hand found rough stone beneath her abraded fingertips. Its flat sturdiness pressed into flesh and contrasted with her foe¡¯s untouchable form. Julia used its position to guide her, putting her back flat against what felt like a seamless stone wall. As she oriented herself, a bestial panting resonated out from the surrounding darkness. The harsh sound shivered up Julia¡¯s spine, painting it with a feral lust-filled heat. I need to act rather than react. As her eyes gradually adjusted to the shifting darkness, the sound jumped about, but she held her position. Her clearing vision showed a shadowed gap to her right that stretched away as the sound drew closer, but as she glanced in the direction of the noise, Julia couldn¡¯t spot the figure. Bitter fear mingled with the scent of chilled stone and sweat. With another jump, the whispers stabilised and crept forward around where Julia had initially stood. She retreated from the presence with quick sliding steps to keep her balance, ready to block its strikes. A glimpse of dull light registered in the corner of her eye and highlighted the gap to reveal a shadow-filled tunnel. As her attention fixed on it, the panting stopped, and Julia caught a flutter of movement closing in. ¡°Fuck off!¡± The snarl solved nothing directly but pumped enough anger to convert her fear. Julia pushed off hard with a smooth balance shift and dashed for the opening. Riding the fury provoked a reaction akin to adrenaline, and the feeling further spiked through her awareness to push back the fear that tried to slow her responses. Her feet slapped against the harsh stone floor, but Julia was still a fraction too slow. Clawed fingers tangled in her hair and yanked her off balance. Julia tucked her chin in against its force, and the handful of phantasmal hair tore painfully free. ¡°Mine.¡± The possessive growl tickled her from behind. It licked Julia¡¯s skin with a sultry heat and nipped at the fears in the shadows of her mind. Lunging hands grasped at the back of her thighs, and fingers of hard bone and sinew dug at her churning legs, only to slip off and leave channels of pain in their wake. Behind her, the maddened pants carried an alien hunger that stabbed along Julia¡¯s spine from tailbone to skull. Julia¡¯s hand slapped against a stone corner, and she surged ahead along the curve of the shadowy passage. Barely able to see where her next step would land, each footfall teetered on the edge of disaster, but Julia pushed harder. Through her first turn in the passage, a whip-crack split the air, but a fleshy impact against stone gave her hope that buoyed her feet, and then the tunnel around her lightened. Unsure if there really was more light or if her eyes had simply become accustomed to the deep twilight, Julia sprinted forward and shut the dangers behind her from her focus. The dull illumination was barely enough to make out the wide and tall passage ahead. The undulating corridor was interspersed with long perfectly straight stretches which let her reach a pace that brutally slapped bare feet against the stone, and her stride left her unrestrained hair streaming almost straight back. As a curve slowed her, a shiver up her spine prompted a sidestep. Her rapid shift in weight left strands of hair floating in her wake and a sharp snick aligned with where her neck had been. A tuft of hair fell away from the thing¡¯s claw and dissolved before it reached the ground. A massive steely clang echoed around her, and the stone underfoot hummed with the intensity of an industrial jackhammer. The shifting force staggered her against the wall, and though the rough stone tore at her, Julia didn¡¯t slow her pace. Again, the foe¡¯s hands delved into remembered flesh, chilling and grasping at her soul. Struck by the foe¡¯s fleshless pressure, Julia tucked her shoulder and tumbled forward. The rough stone scraped skin, whole and wounded alike, but she shunted aside her form¡¯s pain messages and focused on the priority¡ªsurvival. As she rose from the tumble, she kicked off as if leaving a starting block. Breathe through it, and more steps will get you out of here, J. Run faster! Julia forced her breath into a hard, steady pattern and leaned into the motion as her legs and arms pumped in time. The air that hadn¡¯t come when suspended in the darkness rushed into her throat. Though stale and soured with sweat and fear, every inhalation was a welcome experience. Her soul¡¯s memory of flesh provided the sensation of a heart that pumped with anger and fear along with activated flight reactions. When the whisper came again, its scraping sound seemed further behind her. There wasn¡¯t a hint of sound, but a shift in air pressure was enough warning. This time, as metal rang against metal, she kept her balance despite the floor dancing. The creature¡¯s scream was unmistakable through the impact, and Julia jinked across the passage. A shift fortuitously well-timed, as a small, ghostly, winged form snapped past her with claws outstretched, and fire streamed along her skin as a wingtip parted flesh. Julia glimpsed what appeared to be a straight tail trailing behind it, so she seized the tail and the opportunity; it pulled her for a moment, but without missing a beat, she raised her hands, shortened the slack in her grip, and dug her feet in to pivot and hammer the winged form into the hard wall. Run! Desperation lightened her limbs and set her heartbeat racing as she powered through the waiting darkness. As if obscured by something overhead, the dim mocking light flickered. Julia ran on. Years of training and memories of pains endured helped her persist through her phantom desire to rest. Not knowing if it was hope or folly, Julia focused on shadows that seemed to show the passage continued ahead. A reverberating clangour sang like a hammer the size of worlds striking the sun, and darkness briefly clung like a second skin. Within the dimness of the passage, forms flickered in and out of focus, slowed and drew out the instant. Outlines of doorways appeared only to vanish even before she stepped forward. Mocking echoes of hope, they seemed determined to draw attention and cost momentum each time she moved towards one. With the long passage ahead of her becoming clearer, Julia pushed herself to ignore the doors and continue her headlong sprint. The leathery whispers that nipped at her heels grew harsher, gaining undertones of confusion and rage each time the metal rang out. She ignored the pain as each racing step scoured the soles of her feet, her focus on the rhythm of her breathing. Unknown to Julia, an ethereal cord trailed behind her; hooked onto her soul, it dragged the entity back and forth across the floor with every jink in her stride, and her blistering pace hauled it off balance as it struggled to follow. The darkness swelled and gained a near-physical presence every time the hammering resonated across the surface of her soul. She didn¡¯t know why, but it reminded her of a smithy she shouldn¡¯t go near. An icy dread shivered along her skin and knocked away the thought, yet the dread spurred her fear harder and poured molten fire into Julia¡¯s veins. I will get out of here! ? ? ? ? ? ? The Titan¡¯s Forge Miniature conceptual models of entire solar systems or individual worlds hovered freely in the air. Various angelic beings and strange entities crafting ideas attended countless rows of crafting stations, millions of artisans working toward a singular purpose in a hall that stretched beyond the reach of any mortal eye. Among them, a faceted crystal sphere popped into existence and raced through the working groups. As they blurred along, their facets fluctuated, the number ever increasing, and they pinged out instructions and bursts of concepts. In the distant corridor, a temporal stasis wrapped around a running figure and the parasitic shell that pursued her. An angelic being nodded, her ethereal black wings shifting as the gaze of eternity shone from her eyes. The entity beside her, a haze of probability that blurred in and out of existence, turned and chimed out a playful query. ¡°Gideon, has this reincarnation mellowed, or does she still favour tough love?¡± It was a query that Gideon ignored. They already knew what option the personification of luck would pick from her tone, and Gideon had no desire to make things even worse. Having already disrupted a few teams working on solar systems, Gideon updated projections and vanished. When they reappeared, it was at a point defined only by the will of the being they¡¯d appeared beside and the rules he¡¯d set forth with one who¡¯d long been absent from the realm. The Titan was a giant bull-horned figure, somewhat like the legend of the Grecian Minotaur in appearance. Grey fur covered him from head to toe, and his horns curled upwards from each side of his head. He differed from the traditional depictions in that he had broad but handsome human features and feet. His attire was a simple brown hide kilt and sandals laced up to mid-calf. At his command, streams of energy lifted from the white primordial flames that formed the heart of his forge. As they reached the anvil, he compressed the energy towards his envisaged reality, and his hammer descended. Despite Gideon¡¯s appearance beside him, the Titan continued to work, the rough grey stone around his forge absorbing vibrant sparks of starfire and antimatter. ¡°Nicholaus, someone¡¯s used the token again. You should know-¡± Gideon cut off as Nicholaus glanced from his work. ¡°What should I know?¡± ¡°She¡¯s back.¡± 1 - Emerging With darkness grasping and clawing, Julia continued forward, the pursuing whisper continuing to dim. Flesh burning with fatigue, yet determination drove her ever onwards. The air swirled as if forced inwards by the darkness. Stumbling, Julia fought to keep momentum and kicked off with more force in her back foot. The darkness suddenly broke open as desperation surged, and its absence caused her to stagger forward. Eyes seeking an exit, any exit, suddenly caught the open sky, zooming in on the lip of the cliff ahead. That emptiness seemed to claw her forward into its deadly embrace, as another step had bare toes curling over the outer edge. Desperate to arrest her motion, Julia tried to collapse backwards away from that fatal fall, arching her back as she did so. Unnoticed weights moved with an arching motion and beat outwards from her back. Their action snapped her course into reverse, ending as flesh smacked the rock suddenly behind her. Yet despite the pain, it had saved her from the fall and brought her time to find her feet. The view before her dragged at her mind¡¯s focus, leaving her oblivious to all else. The floor beneath the cliff looked to be hundreds of feet away. Wooden spines started as close to the cliff face beneath her as she could see and marched outwards across the dark ground. Something had driven spikes into the flesh of the earth, set to hold foul fruit aloft. A searing hot gust of wind pushed her harder against the cliff face, carrying with it the scents and sounds of the plane. ¡°Where am I?¡± The wind felt scorching hot as it hit like a desert wind in the middle of summer. As each gust moved away, water clung to her skin, moisture seemingly from nowhere beading on her form. Humidity somehow still filled the dry air around her, yet the water rapidly evaporated. The whole place twisted, warped, and shuddered against her mind and senses. Her heart had been racing, yet now it was calm; laboured breathing had ceased when the Darkness broke. Julia took a breath that no longer felt needed, and wished she hadn¡¯t. Sickened both by the odours the wind had carried and the alien Heat it stirred in her chest. It seemed to herald a change within her very being, one that allowed no control. Trying to pull her awareness away from its consuming march, she concentrated on the closest impaled figures, while trying to ignore the others stretching out as far as she could see across the plains. ¡°How are they still screaming?¡± The forest of ¡®trees¡¯ covered that blood-soaked oozing surface far beneath her, each holding a single victim aloft. Each of the figures should be dead and silent, yet they screamed. Their screams and continual writhing shook long dried blood from the tips of each broad spear. The black flakes their writhing shifted loose fell like a dying echo of snow, and yet the stream of them didn¡¯t lessen. Then Heat surged, burning through her, leaving her ashen in its wake and the horrific echoed within suddenly numb boredom. As before her, the dreadful forest flickered in and out of focus. The tortured beings continued to scream as fresh blood oozed its way down each shaft. Blood glistened with flecks of twisted energy that drifted within. That motion of the life clearly out of sync with the fluid holding them. A fragment of Soul energy harvested from the damned. This continual morbid play was purely to gather it. It was grotesque, yet it felt hypnotic, calling to her, the promise of a delicious chilled water glass on a hot day, dripping with condensation. A disturbing sensation filled her with something inside craving for a taste, just a touch of them. As a fragment she had been watching touched the soil, its energy pulsed in her sight, flaring like a spotlight. Its raw glowing power pulsed, and light cascaded away from its point of contact, shimmering through the surface. The ground was not land; it wasn¡¯t a dark earthen surface but a shallow lake of blood stretching further than she could see. The energy rippled like a lightning strike against the background of a storm blacked sky. However, in this case, the spilled blood and sewage from the damned was its conduit. Energy crackled within the fluid, drawing glowing material in the wake of its path to collect like pus in a wound. The material clotted together while the lake bubbled and churned in on itself around the core of the lightning strike. It soon seemed a perverse placenta, the yellow pus material, providing a stark contrast to the form of solid blackness now growing within. A glowing thread of power formed an umbilical cord, tethering it to the spear. As the outline of the form completed, it sank beneath the surface of the lake. Even worse, it wasn¡¯t the only warped womb littering the forest. Some were already larger than a heavyweight boxer. Even while watching, she could see clawed hands and massive limbs pushing within the confines of the stretching prison. However, some far larger masses were showing signs of vigorous movement within them. ¡°There are some this place prepared earlier. Don''t think this cooking show would go to air.¡± Words spilled without thought, and suddenly Julia wanted to be anywhere but here. Emotions struck hard, washing aside the numbness as she witnessed the perversion of birth occurring within the blood below. One thing ripped its way free of its ¡®spawn¡¯ point and rose awkwardly to its feet. The distortions as it moved providing her with no sense of proportion to determine its height. The fluid appeared to be nearly up to its knees as it staggered for a moment before finding its balance and walking. Its staggering, unstable steps quickly shifted into a thudding, thoughtless, methodical gait. Its gait was as brutally direct as its form, solid round head attached to a straight column of a neck, broad shoulders, bulky torso and each limb like a carved log. The spikes that jutted out of its skin flexed with each motion of the rippling muscle under it. The cowl of its ¡®placenta¡¯ slipped off the top of its head like some bizarre cloak, and the remaining material slid away. The mass disappeared into the wake of its churning course through the blood. Nudity didn¡¯t bother this thing and its pronounced but flaccid maleness flopped away between its legs with each squelching step. The member wasn¡¯t just well hung; it was well-armed. Its genitals sported cruel-looking ridges and spikes along its length, seeming more a torture device than intended for reproduction. [Access ¡®Profile¡¯ for attribute point allocation and class selection] The message blurted its way into her conscious mind, its sudden presence nonsensical against the eons of torture promised below. ¡°Profile?¡± The moment in front of her froze like a horrible wallpaper on her laptop. A mental display was suddenly at the forefront of her mind, an awareness of her physical and mental capabilities. The presentation contained only unknown symbols sitting in her mind. Yet overlaying it was either English or perhaps just an understanding of what each meant. [Profile - First Use detected - FAQ activated. 1) You can think the word, no need to speak. 2) This is happening in a gap between moments, so no backstabbing should occur while browsing. 3) No, this is not VR, a dream or a nightmare as the host says ¡® This is your life. .¡¯ 4) No, there is no going back. If you persist in asking yourself that question, see the previous point. 5) Press any key to return to your previous life. You so didn¡¯t read point 3 or 4, did you? Plus, no keyboard detected, and likely not even clothes. 6) Stats gains from origins, current species, and variant adjustments applied before ¡®Profile¡¯ initialisation. 7) Yes, 10 is the mortal average.
Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 1
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed)
Class Level 0
Defence 16 Health 15
Attributes (Unallocated: 22)
Strength 12 Faith 5
Endurance 20 Magic 20
Quickness 15
Intelligence 17
Willpower 16
Charisma 16
Resistances Acid - Minor (5), Cold - Minor (5), Mana Resistance - Lesser (8), Mundane Materials - Lesser (10),
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Powers Abyssal Adaptability (1), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (1), Mana Sense (1), Shapeshift (1), Soul Sight (1),
Skills
Available Skill Points 40
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English (No one speaks it here, but you can talk to yourself in it at least)
Inventory: Nothing, nada, zip, not even pocket lint, because you have no pockets or even clothes. Current Class Options: Succubus: Be all you can be, living the dream, well, maybe the focus of someone¡¯s wet dream. Gain the skills and abilities to wrap a sentient being/individual/collective around your little finger. Intelligence will alter the level of effect, as smart as someone is when letting hormones do their thinking. The little brain does weird things when supplied lots of blood in a hurry. Warrior: Because of combat training in your prior existence, you can be one of these armoured brawlers. A warrior excels at armed Combat, but we¡¯re sure you can find a rock. Gain skills and abilities to endure the most challenging battles or end them quickly while not going down like a Succubus. Monk: This path is one of discipline and continual focus on self-improvement towards ascending mortal limits. Gain skills and abilities that allow you to endure what others can¡¯t and hone your body into a weapon. [Status: Locked because of incompatibility with demonic nature. Guess you got kicked around those dojos for no reason.] Librarian: No, really, you bookworm you, a Librarian. You owned over 500 books, and still borrowed more, so you got this class option. The bright side is you didn¡¯t die from an avalanche of books dropped on you. Gain skills and abilities around properly gathering, cataloguing information in all forms and other Librarian type stuff. Thief: Apparently, you stole someone¡¯s heart, but you didn¡¯t notice, so they cursed you. But you get a class option out of it, so you go, girl. Plus, you know you¡¯ve now got checked out books you can¡¯t return. Gain skills and abilities to enable you to take stuff that isn¡¯t yours. Then to pretend it was to sell it as quickly as possible. Plus essential combat skills, like how to sink a knife into someone¡¯s back while smiling. Yes, a previous manager would likely qualify for this class. Hunter: The Ranger class option shifted by your demonic aura. Hunters are like Rangers but aren¡¯t nature-loving types. This class provides skills and abilities to track and hunt your preferred target, regardless of whether it grazes contently or is a ravaging monster. Gain skills and abilities to get close enough to kill something with a weapon or lure targeted prey to its doom. Scout: No, not the boy scout type. Instead, it¡¯s the military type scout who learns to move about the countryside unseen by folks that would like to see them. Gain skills and abilities that allow you to get about without being spotted, keep track of, and concisely record what was found. Also importantly, to report back just without needing to steal everything not nailed down. On the upside, you''ll also get better combat skills than the average politician, sorry, we mean Thief. Since Scouts are often there to find a safe path or information for those armoured brawler types, being involved during the actual hitting part that comes afterwards is part of the job. Sorcerer: Caster types come in various forms: wizards, magicians and more; their craft learnt through catalogued and tested mechanisms. Then there is the Sorcerer. The former learns through catalogued and, hopefully, well-studied approaches to the schools¡¯ arcane mastery. In contrast, a Sorcerer takes energy from a different plane of existence and tries to channel it via sheer Willpower into producing the desired outcome. The longer you follow this path, the more you become one with the energy channelled. If you push your luck, you''ll become one with the power when it blows you into little pieces. Alternatively, you could be a barmaid, a crafter, a cobblestone, or anything you see as your essential path in life. Julia went to dismiss the screen but stopped herself in mid-thought at the absence of any motion in the horror show before her. A bolt of black lightning struck through the clouds stayed in place, its branching lines on full display. Mouths of the tortured stayed gaping open in mid-scream vomited blood that stayed suspended in mid-air. Is it better to believe and take whatever advantage I can get or disbelief and hope this is all just a dreadful nightmare? The symbols behind and around the screen shimmered in her mind''s eye, possessing an alien beauty. The grace of their lines, the complete opposite of the nightmare below, taunting her with a weight of reality. An echo of pain dug at her from the recent past, the lines the phantom claws had dug into her, mocking her denial. Focusing her attention on one symbol that looked vaguely like a mosaic Mobius strip Julia felt its presence digging into the back of her mind. The harder she tried to trace the symbol''s network of lines and tiny tiles, the greater the pressure until she had to break away from the pounding pain behind her eyes. Letting her mind relax focused on a roiling black cloud formation, she spotted a body halted in its fall, flesh burnt to the bone along one arm. Fighting against the urge to scream in sympathy, she snapped her attention back to the familiar words the screen displayed. Can I take the chance that if this is real that I''m throwing away advantages by denying it? Deal with the now and worry about talking to the guys in white coats later. Get to the later first J, then worry about passing a psych eval. Treat it as real, survive now, figure out the next step when it presents itself. So what do I have to work with? It looks like it''s offering me all the standard stats and the class options. Along with an unhelpful, ''become all you wish to be, but not the cool martial artist'' option. Not the choice I think is the best for me. Cobblestone, seriously, what the hell? [Cobblestone: Gains skills and ability in street solicitation and general knowledge of conducting sex work in Victorian England. Just maybe avoid that Jack fellow; he was a ripping, demanding customer to please.] Geez, I knew you were an arsehole before, now that confirms it. I want Monk out of these. Martial arts are cool. I¡¯d prefer time in the dojo any day rather than talking with a therapist. Damn you. I love martial arts. And it shows me the typical cool martial art class, and I get ¡®Computer says No¡¯. Arse of a thing. If it¡¯s not an option, why display it? Is there a purpose to you rubbing it in my face? Okay, let¡¯s walk through them. The first option off the list, Succubus, that just gets a hard pass of no. Warrior - Smash in demonic faces. There is a certain direct appeal to that if I¡¯m stuck here. I could try to knock over or break a spike, use it as a quarterstaff. Yet picking a class that needs equipment doesn¡¯t sound smart when I have nothing. If constructing a makeshift weapon doesn¡¯t work, it would be zero weapons and no armour. Also, I¡¯d be down near those fellows for likely too long. I have claws, Eagle strike for the win right now, but it does not allow Monk? Why can¡¯t I be a Monk? If the messages are real then I got cursed. I didn¡¯t come here because I¡¯d lived that sort of life and earned it. Monks in games are cool; they push to overcome their limits. I need to overcome this place and the slut with wings stereotype, which most tales say Succubi are, just slutty corrupters and manipulators. So not wanting to become someone''s speed bump or speed hump. Sorcerer - Okay, magic is also cool - but it sounds like I¡¯d be channelling more of the Abyss through myself - hard pass. Thief - just no, only demons to steal from, yeah, but just no. I want to be better, not sink to their level. Hunter - yuck, so yeah, based on the Ranger class, but distorted and twisted. Not like this place isn¡¯t bad enough. I''m not making my life path start with a twisted class. Shouldn¡¯t it have also offered me Ranger? Wait, why doesn¡¯t it list Ranger as well and tell me it¡¯s locked? Yeah, the Rangers in games gain power from nature or a good God. Nature here is twisted, and yeah, a good God. Not sure any would hear me in the Abyss even if I knew their names. But it¡¯s making a fuss about Monk being locked. Librarian - System, you are an arse, and I¡¯m going to miss that series¡¯ release. Why does it show me a class from a light novel about someone who focused on doing what she dreams of despite obstacles? Hhmm. Scout - well, I enjoyed being sneaky when on those cadet camps. Lantern stalks were so much fun, seeing how close I could get without being caught. Okay, Scout is an option, but I love martial arts. Maybe it¡¯s hinting, without hinting. Okay, J, let¡¯s do this. Setup the attribute increases to be useful for a Scout and see if this works. Then I¡¯ve not screwed up a fallback position of Scout, but I want Monk. My choice is Monk. Julia could feel a sort of mental resistance, like a wall blocking her. Yet, the resistance to following the path she wanted to take didn¡¯t feel as absolute as had been indicated. [Invalid option for demonic species, please select from your unlocked classes] Allocate four points to Willpower. [Willpower raised (16 -> 20)] Monk. The mental resistance she felt as she attempted to select the class again was still present but different. So that felt like there was some give there. I should spread out points into other things as well, for scout just in case it¡¯s just flexing but won¡¯t give in. Mentally allocating points, Julia crossed her finger and confirmed them. With no real guidance, all she had was hope that it would work. The notifications established it applied each as expected. [Willpower raised (20 -> 24) Quickness raised (15 -> 20) Strength raised (12 -> 16) Intelligence raised (17 -> 21)] As she made the last change, she held off allocating a point and confirmed her selections. Even in the gap between time, she felt like changes to her mind and body were being made. Her focus sharpened, she could feel her balance change, and survival options came to mind. The changes came into effect, most without her noticing; the details of how her weight shifted, posture improved, muscles thickened in places, and ligaments allowing for more stretch. One thing seemed to become clear to her though; a loophole, or at least a chance for one, now stood out. She focused on the variant aspect that was showing in the ¡®Profile¡¯. Hidden Soul: Variant due to Mortal Soul cursed and placed in a demonic shell. Mortal Soul present with no corruption occurring in advance. The Soul is the essence of existence, and it carries on between lives and layers of reality. The hidden Soul¡¯s state is undetectable except by magics wielded by a Greater Power. Monk. [Invalid option for the Succubus species, please select from your unlocked classes] My Hidden self and Soul feels it is essential to follow the path of Monk in this existence. I choose Monk. [Invalid selection. Classification conflict error detected. Class option available to Soul, class option not available to species. Error option availability conflict detected, priority integrity check beginning. Integrity check completed. Monk spiritual path option available to species with Souls. Species restriction on class restriction lifted. The class Monk has been unlocked and selected. Variant hidden conditions activated and advanced hidden state applied. Class selection presentation changed (Monk -> Blood Monk) Class primary stat: Willpower. Effects: Defence, Ki Pool, Melee Attack Power, and conditional bonuses to some resistances. Racial primary stat: Charisma Additional skills unlocked and bonus points assigned to Disguise and Perception. Defence Rating and Melee Attack Power adjusted and base combat skill allocated. Bonus point provided for Intelligence and Willpower. Melee Attack Power unlocked (0 -> 16) Melee Attack Power adjusted for class (16 -> 37) Willpower raised (24 -> 25) Intelligence raised (21 -> 22) Defence raised (16 -> 22) Unarmed Combat (0 -> 1) Unarmed Combat gains 6 points from Monk. Unarmed Combat (1 -> 7) Disguise (0 -> 1) Disguise gains 8 points from Succubus. Disguise (1 -> 9) Perception (0 -> 1) Perception gains 8 points from Succubus. Perception (1 -> 9) Perception gains 4 points from Monk. Perception (9 -> 13) Taunt (0 -> 1) Unlock activation: All relevant bonus points now allocated to newly gained skills.] Julia mentally smiled as the system confirmed her Soul still had power in this place, and it wasn¡¯t corrupt. Now for her starting skills. After examining the ¡®Profile¡¯, she focused on the heading of the skills section. She hoped it would provide an idea of her options, and she didn¡¯t go away empty-handed in that regard. As a long list of skills inserted itself into her awareness, she mentally started scrolling through it. The skills list also showing which had synergy to her class, species or both. Both Monks and Succubi could learn Acrobatics fast. It was the same skill but used for significantly different reasons: Monks used it for battlefield advantage, whereas Succubus used it for flight maneuvering and flexibility in intimate activities. However, the note she spotted at the bottom of the list left her wondering how she should proceed. [The unlock and improvement of skills occurs via skill points or targeted use. Challenges provide the best insights into ability growth. Powers are species or class restricted and have conditional requirements to unlock. Additional capability for growth at various stages of class or species growth will occur.] So I either keep hold of them for dire need or spend them to make life easier. If I need them, I can use them instantly. The flip side is without the right skills, I could die in an instant. But I can¡¯t be sure I know what the right skills even are presently, or even if this is all of them. Catch 22 is such a bitch right now. Julia thought for a bit and then scrolled back through the list. Looking for and selecting what she¡¯d hoped would help her survive. Making a mental note of the adjustments her Race and Class settings were going to apply, she rechecked her Profile. [One Skill Point Spent. Fly Unlocked. Fly (1). Fly gains 4 points from Succubus. Fly (1->5). One Skill Point Spent. Analysis Unlocked. Analysis (1). One Skill Point Spent. Acrobatics unlocked. Acrobatics (1). Acrobatics gains 4 points from Monk. Acrobatics gains 6 points from Race: Least Succubus. Acrobatics (1->11). One Skill Point Spent. Stealth Unlocked. Stealth (1). One Skill Point Spent. Arcane Unlocked. Arcane (1). One Skill Point Spent. Planar Lore Unlocked. Planar Lore (1). Planar Lore gains 5 points from Succubus. Planar Lore (1->6). One Skill Point Spent. Planar Portal Unlocked. Planar Portal (1). Planar Portals gains 5 points from Succubus. Planar Portals (1->6). All applicable species and class bonus skill points now applied. ]
Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 1
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed)
Class Blood Monk Level 1
Melee Attack Power 37
Defence 22 Health 30
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 20 Magic 20
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22
Willpower 25
Charisma 16
Resistances Acid - Minor (5), Cold - Minor (5), Mana Resistance - Lesser (8), Mundane Materials - Lesser (10),
Powers Abyssal Adaptability (1), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (1), Mana Sense (1), Shapeshift (1), Soul Sight (1)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics (11), Analysis (1), Disguise (9), Fly (5), Perception (13), Stealth (1), Taunt (1), Unarmed Combat (7)
Knowledge - Arcane (1), Planar Lore (6), Planar Portals (6)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory: Having confirmed the allocations, Julia felt a wave of information shake through her. While that initial rush of knowledge sunk into her mind, she struggled to shift through and make sense of it. I¡¯ve still got my soul, but its vessel is now demonic flesh. This situation could get so bad. No matter what, I need to survive. Get out of here. Get back to a mortal realm. Those dots I could see are fragments of a damned soul. No way am I feeding this place. How do I get out of here? Can I even get home? 2 - Time to make a change Closing the ¡®Profile¡¯ was as easy as wanting it. Another look towards the thing slogging its way through the blood sent a shiver running up Julia¡¯s spine. Yet, with information being essential to her survival, she forced herself to not look away. Not sure how it would work; Julia simply willed the Analysis skill to activate. Annoyingly, the information that came back an instant later wasn¡¯t really useful. Demon: Immature Dretch [Level: 1 Class: Health: Mana: Defence: Combat Power: ] ¡°So effectively all it gives is a name and a level.¡± What Julia wasn¡¯t prepared for was the information that vomited into her awareness. Dretch were thuggish, vicious creatures, but also among the weakest of Demon kind. Their answer to everything was brute force and vicious carnage. Their intelligence limited them to follow basic instructions, yet they would look out for themselves like all Demons. Being at their mercy was asking for horrors since they had none. They were the Abyssal equivalent of cannon fodder and practice test dummies for demonic summoners. Summoners consider them easy to control and practise with while gaining experience. ¡°Wonder if I could use them as a crash test dummy and beat them up? Though note to self - do not become a party favour.¡± Julia whispered, wanting to cross her legs. She wasn¡¯t sure if her imagination could completely cover everything a Demon would wish with a Succubus. Yet their idea of a date night was high on the list to avoid. The insights the knowledge ¡®unlock¡¯ had provided were unpleasant. Looking herself over, Julia groaned at what she found; it precisely matched the label of Succubus. Running her hands up along her torso from her wide hips, she felt along the ridges of stomach muscles, up to the large D-cup breasts now adorning her chest. Before she had been lithe, now her form looked stacked enough to win lots of wet t-shirt contests. Though her skin tone would suit a Victorian lady, so white, she made copy paper look dull. Her form was a weird mix of lush and danger, long limbs and inviting body ending in talons at both her fingers and toes. Yep, instead of her 5¡¯ 4" B-cup runner build, she had grown. Now she was living inside the sex demoness model that even came with claws that made honed butcher¡¯s knives look dull. Indeed, all of them looked far sharper than a well-tended straight razor. Each nail¡¯s surface reflected the weird luminance while adding to her sight an eerie internal gleam. Leathery black wings unfolded from behind her, dark red veins visible all along their surface. The bone ridge that supported the wing''s leathery material came with its own cutlery set. However they¡¯d come into existence, they seemed inclined towards going big or go home bitches with an upended bag of spikes and hooks. I thought Succubi had bat-like wings. These are more like ribbed dinosaur mix and match, blended with a full set of hooks and serrated edges. Turning carefully to reach out towards the cliff face that avoiding the fall had smacked her into earlier, Julia froze, fingers twitching toward the impression in the rock. The black rock was a weird mix of basalt and obsidian, its rough hued surface battered and pockmarked. The latest pockmark was a shattered alcove set directly behind the ledge where Julia stood. The nook was an empty shadow in the rock, but it seemed to mirror the shape of her previous existence. Something about its presence was staggering with the finality of loss brought about by its barren presence. The alcove¡¯s rear wall appeared as if a rock tunnel had collapsed and then the rock melted. A memorial stone taunting her mortal hopes and dreams, once Julia left it would become just a spot in this nightmare landscape. Forcing the train wreck of those thoughts off to one side, she completed the motion, the tips of her fingers touching the rock. Flexing them, she slowly increased the pressure against the surface, feeling when the nails caught a grip. She tightened her fingers and saw as flecks of stones came free from the rock. Her ¡®profile¡¯ showed she didn¡¯t have massive strength, more like a strong mortal; yet her claws had shaved gullies into the stone. Either her claws were sharper than any blade Julia had ever owned, or the rock incredibly soft. With the way they looked though, she was betting on sharper until she learnt otherwise. Gingerly touching the pads of her fingers to her scalp, she traced them through inky black hair. It was far longer than Julia usually wore. Shifting position on the ledge, Julia could feel the ends of it brushing low on her back. When her fingers found small spiked horns on either side above her ears, she pulled back from exploring further. Things are going to need to change. Time to try out that Shapeshift power, it would seem. Wonder if I¡¯ll lose hours on this like I used to do with MMO character setups. Shapeshift, what can you offer me. A glance left then right revealed no visible path up the cliff. Though pockmarks covered the cliff face, there wasn¡¯t a discernable pattern. Which made the similarity between the appearance of each pockmark so odd. Each was a bubble-shaped hollow with a small ledge set out in front. It gave the appearance of the rock having melted to let something escape, yet hardened before the stone fell away. Seeing no larger place to shelter close at hand, she tucked her wings in tight. Only then did Julia ease into a crouch, trying to shelter in the nook. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Note to self: don¡¯t talk aloud - who knows what might hear you. Wait, you have that ¡®Detect Thoughts¡¯ power, so others likely do too. It will be so easy to give the game away. I must be cautious. Can only focus on now, not then. Sounds like an old joke, yep, let¡¯s be all zen. Stop the jokes J, focus on now, only do what you can do now. Visualising a shaved scalp, she tried a few things to activate her Shapeshift power. There was no response as, apparently, this reality was only issuing annoyed school teacher looks currently. Julia forced herself to go back to the most basic, when frustration had risen, simply willing Shapeshift to work with her mental image. A click resounded inside her and the sensations of hair vanished from her scalp and back. Just add one familiar haircut and much more Monk vibe now. That was safer than skin going first. [Shapeshift (1 -> 2)] Yes, thanks for your confirmation, please come again soon. A quick brush of hands over scalp encountered fuzz, matching to the image she¡¯d tried. Even the horns encountered earlier were no longer present. She just hoped it matched the ivory white skin tone. She sure didn¡¯t want it to look like one of those weird b-grade skin caps. I know that the form changes; it doesn¡¯t leave discarded parts behind. Worried about it looking weird? Really, Julia, you''re in the Abyss! Stop! Cause yeah, your head looking weird is your primary concern. Plus, the next step, it will not stay lily white. Now it¡¯s time for many safety precautions. Thanks go to the makers of childhood icons, and the design team of the Xenomorph scariness. However, chitin isn¡¯t flexible like I need for martial arts, so similar to, but not exactly like, the Alien shell. Focusing mentally on one body section at a time, she ignored the various level up messages as she worked. Some flesh segments merged, some got removed, and black scaled chitin replaced her skin. Working upwards from one foot and then the other, she changed each section to match what she imagined. Until she, at last, carefully traced the tip of her tongue over her new dental additions. Standing, she checked her balance and shifted in place, twisting her arms and legs, pretending to be a Bollywood dancer, as she tested her limits. She checked the surface of her limbs to make sure she hadn¡¯t left vulnerable gaps in their new covering. Then, twisting at the hips, she stretched to test her torso movements and stopped to make a few tweaks in places that restricted her motion range. It was clear her intent as much as the mental image had shaped the outcome. The chitin scale covering had at first gleamed with the same weird internal light her claws possessed. It had formed a slick shell; gleaming like the body of the Alien when it was first fully seen, allowing the audience to take it in. She had adjusted as the changes progressed. The final chitin was more like a brown snake¡¯s scales than a solid piece protecting her flesh. In colouration, matte-black had replaced the shiny-black chitin from her initial attempts, with flecks and irregularities of lighter tones. The chitin had gained a resemblance to military BDU camouflage fatigues, though she kept the general colouration dark. She had flattened out her curves into Barbie-like contours, so both they and her v-jay, or rather lack-there-of, now matched that childhood icon. Along with the other adjustments she had made, that reverted her body structure from a blow-up sex toy towards a lithe marathon runner. Yep, all the standard locations now clearly marked ¡®no entry¡¯. Mentally she tried to scroll back through the notifications she had gotten and smirked to herself when it reacted like a mental smartphone. Is this how they perceive these messages? Or how my mind is translating things? Julia had ¡®seen¡¯ various notification pop-ups as work had progressed. The final notification seemed to provide evidence of how many adjustments it had taken Julia. However, the notification rate had slowed down as work had progressed towards just finishing up with tweaking contours and ridges. Even the hours spent setting up characters in her favourite MMOs didn¡¯t compare to the care she spent crafting her shape. [Shapeshift (18 -> 19)] However, one of the earlier notifications caught her attention and gave her something else to figure out. [Shapeshift (9 -> 10) Quick form slot one unlocked, base form auto reversion available] Twisting and turning, she tried to test her flexibility in the limits of the space allowed by the ledge, while working on improving that flexibility. Clad head to toe, in gothic space horror faux-Alien military chic, she hoped the result was nightmarish enough to make things in this place pause. [Intimidate (0 -> 1) Demonic species bonus points added on skill unlock. Intimidate (1 -> 5)] I¡¯m such a gamer girl. I¡¯m in the Abyss, and skill ups still make me happy. But why didn¡¯t I get the notification till I considered how I¡¯d look to folks I knew? Shapeshift Quick Slot set to the current form. Nada! It took more experimentation with different variations before the troll in charge of wherever-here-was finally announced success. [Shapeshift Quick Slot One Set: Queen Bitch] I''m seriously cursed by someone; that was such useless information. Tell me the way out. Lots of ¡®no¡¯ help you are ¡®System¡¯. Could you at least tell me who sent the curse my way!? Then I could mock up their likeness and used it as a voodoo doll for stress relief. Taking in the vista below her again, she mentally nope¡¯d out on that whole blood-soaked plain. Though she would not kid herself, she didn¡¯t know enough about getting here - besides the completely useless messages. Most Isekai novels - you know they don¡¯t get home J.. What if I¡¯m really just stuck here? Then I make somewhere safe for myself, somehow. That¡¯s later. The first step, get off this ledge. The second step, I need to learn more. Don¡¯t feel like wading through shit and blood, and failing to fly or control Flight would be an awful face plant. The chitin locked her face more rigid than an aged-out movie starlet too deep into the Botox. She paused for a moment as she considered the primary vulnerable spots: eyes, nose, mouth, throat, solar plexus, and groin. Closing her eyes, she took a physically unneeded breath to centre herself before shifting them gone. The vista of the surrounding horrors shifted and pulsated for a moment before the visual darkness became complete. [Shapeshift (19 -> 20) Initial training phase completed. Shapeshift power ¡®Beginner¡¯ Rank Achieved. Quick form slot two unlocked, form shift speed increased. Shapeshift (20) -> Shapeshift (B) (1)] For just an instant the urge to scream choked her, but Julia fought it back by grinding her teeth. While it might go unnoticed with the sounds below, it was a risk. Julia was certain no one in this place would be truly safe to meet. It would toss up between them trying to kill her or use her or maybe use her while killing her. By comparison, the neighbours from hell would be a joy to live beside, loud music and drunken parties, yeah, no worries. Not worrying about becoming the sex toy of a sadist would make everything better. Hell O Neighbour, could I borrow a cup of Souls, please? She¡¯d felt smart figuring a way to conserve skill points, but that seemed to make an almost meaningless difference once she''d learned about ranks. So, what? Are they only good for learning initial skills? What is the point of getting them at all when I learn so fast? Stop J. Enough. Higher ranks will probably be harder to level, save them for breaking rank thresholds. Don¡¯t know how much difference the various ranks make. That might be a lifesaver later. Jump multiple levels when getting your arse kicked, surprise mother fucker. Plus J, you¡¯re still blind here, remember. Time try getting Mana Sense or Soul Sight abilities to work. If eyes are the window to the soul, why risk peeping Toms. Julia did not know what visual cues or direction of her gaze might show enemies, but why take the chance? If hiding her eyes hid her Soul, that was a step forward. The chitin would stop facial expressions, but the gaze revealed things that shouldn¡¯t be on display. 3 - In the land of the blind Opting to turn on the power Soul Sight first, she learnt one very significant thing almost immediately. I can no longer throw up; maybe it''s a demonic thing. Seen physically, the Tepes themed landscape in front of her had been horrific enough. The vista perceived in Soul Sight was so far beyond that. Julia not only clearly perceived them, but the Power''s use made known more than just the present. Things that Julia really had absolutely no desire to learn. The sight saturated her mind with an awareness of every Soul laid out within her focus. The Power''s range stretching outwards as far as she could see. A sense of their past and their current state the instant the Power brushed over them. The limit only seemed to be her mind''s ability to handle the information, unfortunately, her capacity had exploded with the attribute points she¡¯d spent. The bodies were shells without life, prisons of remembered flesh. Each formed from the Abyss by an echo of the Soul¡¯s past life. The impaled souls didn''t just scream their torment, rather each thrashed and writhed with movement far more frantic than the shell would allow. Each flailed and twisted about, battering itself both against the shell that held it captive and the spike, laced with torments from their memories. Each spike wasn¡¯t smooth, as she had believed, but rather formed from hooks and barbs of the Soul''s own making. To Soul Sight, each shone through the shell¡¯s fabric and Soul alike, to let her see far too many details within. Every twitching motion twisted their own handiwork deeper into the Soul. Every cruel deed or vile act from their prior existence, slowly shredding them inside. Thus the torment slowly shattered the Souls, using their past acts as the tools of their destruction. Their own pain fueled helpless fury, to the point it burned inside them like lava. Despair blackened the fragments that were ripped free into the oozing memory of blood. All those negative emotions, and more besides, saturated the fragments that trickled down from their prisons. The slow drip of their torment fed to the blighted landscape as the Souls were slowly and steadily shredded to pieces. The puss-filled sacks darkened to her new perspective, like wounds rotting black with gangrene. The power of the plane enclosed these fragments of the Soul, empowering it to grow like cancerous fruit. The clouds overhead shone with ironic halos of newly dammed souls falling to their last resting place. [Soul Sight (1 -> 2) Abyssal Lore Unlocked (1) Succubus species bonus points added on skill unlock. Abyssal Lore raised (1 -> 5) Demonic Lore Unlocked (1) Demonic Lore raised (1 -> 5) Succubus species bonus points added on skill unlock. Demonic Lore raised (5 -> 9)] She slammed the Power off with a desperate thought as the notifications finally nudged her awareness of self to the surface of this offal pit. Taking a reflexive deep breath didn''t help a thing, and vomit''s acidic aftertaste would have left a better taste in her mouth. The air sliding into her lungs felt violating after what she had experienced from each Soul''s state. Worst of all, she knew that each deserved what they were receiving and more. Yet here she was, her Soul within sight of theirs. Would she have ended up among them if whoever cursed her had differed in their intent or wording? Focus J, if you break now you will lose it. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Deep breaths. Wait! Don''t do that! All her meditation practices had started by paying attention to her breathing, the same habits she had developed now twisted against her. Focus on the now. Leave your eyes alone and keep that power off. She could sense her own indecision, even if she was oblivious to her other emotions. Well, the way her fingers dug hard into her thighs was a clear sign of nerves. With a snort, she moved her arms, shoving her elbows back as if preparing to punch. Her hands clenched into fists until her knuckles ached and the pressure of her claws threatened to cut through flesh. She slowly relaxed them at a five-second count, letting her fingers unfurl out till she couldn''t push them further. [Meditation unlocked. Meditation (1). Mental Resilience Unlocked. Mental Resilience (1).] Repeating the motions over and over, she focused on every physical sensation she could. Anchoring in the mundane and ignoring the further notifications that came through. Julia focused her mind on the repetition of the motions; the way her muscles and tendons felt as they flexed, the sensation of bone and knuckles. Whenever other thoughts came up, she didn''t fight them off, but simply returned her attention to the pattern and allowed them to drift away. She mentally checked the last of the unread notifications waiting for her, acknowledging the unlock and increasing the skills. [Mental Resilience raised (6 -> 7) Meditation raised (8 -> 9)] The notifications helped me with Soul Sight, but they made focusing on meditation that much harder. At least I know I can unlock skills purely by applying what I remember doing. Bracing herself for a moment, she turned on Mana Sense, ready to turn it off in an instant. The power didn''t give her anything close to the same problem. Instead, she could sense pulses of energy about her. But their occurrence didn¡¯t seem to provide any insight into why each occurred. Trying to focus on various pulses of energy caused a ping of information about a level up. Yet trying it out made clear it wasn¡¯t a perception that was useful for navigating. [Mana Sense (1 -> 2)] Julia turned her focus back to the Shapeshift power and considered the situation and the skills list for a moment longer before restoring sight. However, instead of their previous appearance, she formed them to appear as obsidian orbs set into the chitin. Julia visualised even the white of her eyes as jet black along with the iris and pupil. She hoped the consistent black colouration would prevent anything from telling the direction of her gaze, let alone the pupil''s reaction. Julia rose to her feet, utilised Shapeshift with a new image to remove her wings, and looked up the cliff. It was impossible to tell the cliff''s height from the current ledge, even if her current target was the actual top. Like the plains below, the distance seemed to undulate between a few dozen feet and kilometres. There were dozens of ledges between her and the top of the cliff, the sheer number promising at least several hundred feet, if not more, of climbing to be required. While the distance tempted Julia to take a chance and try using the Flight power to speed her way upwards, however, that felt like diving from the nest and hoping everything worked out. Focusing back on Shapeshift for a moment, Julia tried to lock the second quick slot with her new wingless form. This time the acknowledgement from the ''system'' recognised the desired name, instead of a ''system'' allocated one. [Shapeshift Quick Slot 2 Set: Wingless] Julia had learnt the basics of climbing at an indoor wall that Mal had dragged her to a few times when she was younger. However, free climbing was something she had never done, so Julia settled on trying the power out in case of an emergency. A quick test for safety¡¯s sake, turn it on, go up slightly, then turn it off. That will drop me to the ledge, so be careful. If I can do that, at least I have an emergency stop button. Maybe. Putting her hands against the wall to balance, a momentary focus activated Flight and imagined lifting upwards. Even with the wings removed, the Power provided lift, and she wobbled upwards before quickly deactivating the power. No increase notification resulted, but then flicking the switch on and off didn¡¯t feel like a proper use to Julia. Hopefully, a hurried activation of it would be enough to arrest any fall. The only other transport option Julia had gained didn¡¯t seem sensible to risk in a small space. Blink had provided no knowledge whether it would let her teleport specified distances or just randomly move her about. A short-distance targeted hop would be a significant advantage, but a random location shift would be a downer. Mentally preparing herself, Julia picked an initial ledge as a target to head towards. Knowing it wouldn''t get any easier, and determined to start, Julia reached out for the first handhold, then stretched a foot out, pressing toes as deep as possible into a foothold, and started climbing. Keeping her ankles at 90 degrees she advanced, holding herself as tight against the rock as possible. The surface of the rock felt hot, sticky and alive, even against the chitin. Her every motion gave herself something to keep her mind off the feel, as she worked to keep her centre of balance low, the journey away from her ''spawn'' site began. Once entirely away from the hollow, her focus shifted upwards, and the true climb began; the pockmarked rock providing plenty of options. As Julia climbed, her focus moved between her current position and the next, shifting one hold at a time. Not knowing what lay at the top of the cliff, Julia worked to keep her focus on the next step, the next hold, moving. Arms kept as straight as possible Julia moved upwards, pushing with legs, reminding herself of distantly remembered basics she could only hope she had right. The ledges might not provide any accurate reckoning of distance, but at least each showed possible resting places for the journey. 4 - The only way is up. Julia sat on yet another ledge with her head tilted back to look up at the clouds above. Even with the undulating sense of distance, it seemed the clouds were getting nearer. However, she still hadn''t reached the clifftop, and the cloud bank blocked its view at some point. The demonic flesh that housed her didn''t grow tired, but mental fatigue from focusing on the climb had worn at her. The number of slip-ups she''d made had reduced at first as she gained in Skill but recently had increased again. So when the route upwards approached another ledge, taking a break had seemed sensible. It was a chance to re-centre herself and try to identify the best path for the next stage of her climb. Screams from the horrific plain below rang out, suddenly sounding as if they were just below her feet, and Julia fought to keep her attention firmly on the cliff face above. The trip so far had allowed several Skills to advance, and she had even gained some resistances. Unsurprisingly, the primary Skill improvement was Climbing, but it hadn''t been alone. Catching herself several times with Flight, the Power and its associated Skill had both levelled. Yet the Skill increased faster than the actual Power. The only theory she had was that the Power kept her airborne, while the Skill determined how efficiently she could fly. Preventing gusts of wind from slamming her into the cliff had led to some quick levelling. At one point, she had frozen motionless against the cliff face when the sound of wings had become audible on the wind. The ''ping'' of notification showing Stealth advancing seemed to confirm something close enough to see her. Even after the last increase of the Skill, she had attempted to remain motionless against the rocks, not knowing if the unseen visitor would swoop back around. The sound of wings wasn''t the only challenge she encountered during the climb. Airborne dust and rocks that struck at speed had crossed her path several times. Being scoured by those gusts had been less fun than waxing a bikini line. As she climbed higher, the gusts of wind hadn''t just been searing hot but sometimes carried actual flames. The flames had hurt, but with nothing on her to ignite, they were short-lived. One gust would strike her with flames, and the next swept them away. The worst of them had only been in contact with her a short time, but had been more than hot enough to crack chitin. A quick check on her profile had shown her health rising upwards at a steady pace, the momentary burst of flame having removed at least 8 points from her health. Before she resumed the ascent, she saw the cracks on her armour seal themselves over, and the health in her profile ticked upwards. Yet as she had risen, the force of the wind had also been increasing, hammering her with physical blows. Like the documentaries she had seen on TV, where buildings amplified air currents, the cliff seemed to increase the strength of the winds. However, the down draught effect seemed reversed, though as she had thought given the name, the winds would have eased as she got higher. Instead, the force was continuing to grow more vicious. She didn''t know if physical science had any implications here or if something else was at play. Profile.
Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 1
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed)
Class Blood Monk Level 1
(Monk)
Defence 22 Health 30
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 20 Magic 20
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22
Willpower 25
Charisma 16
Resistances Acid - Minor (5), Cold - Minor (5), Mana Resistance - Lesser (8), Mundane Materials - Lesser (10)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability (2), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (4), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B] (1), Soul Sight (2)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics (11), Analysis (2), Climbing [B] (11), Disguise (9), Fly (14), Intimidate (5), Mental Resilience (12), Meditation (7), Perception (13), Perseverance (4), Stealth (8), Taunt (1), Unarmed Combat (7)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (5), Arcane (1), Demonic Lore (9), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory: Since I gained health when I chose my class, hopefully, it''s like an MMO or RPG, and I''ll keep gaining health with each level. I''ve gained Perseverance as a Skill. Does it back up my stubbornness or something more? I wonder - Analysis: Perseverance. [Perseverance: Those that refuse to take the straightforward path find this Skill beneficial. As it boosts willpower effects to continue along with a chosen course of action when others would grow disheartened. Analysis raised (2 -> 3)] I increased my Intelligence, yet I didn''t even think to try that trick before now. Guess it mainly increases my potential, but potential unused will not help me. So this place provides context-sensitive help, how user friendly of them. Wonder if they have the paper clip involved in torturing the damned Souls. Hi, I''m Clippy. Would you like to know all the vile actions that created those toys tickling your insides? Or the total length of the suppository on which you now perch? These fun facts and more are readily available. Analysis: Mundane Materials - Lesser. Nothing. Analysis: Mundane Materials. Nada! So I can''t just think of the phrase I have to provide a focus. Or am I missing something? Why did that work on Perseverance just before? Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Analysis: Arcane. [Analysis raised (3 -> 4) Arcane: This Skill provides knowledge of the forces of the universe behind the veil of the mundane. Higher Skill level shows a greater understanding of the hidden forces: divine, magical, or planar.] Analysis: Shapeshift. Nada! Analysis: Shapeshift Power. Analysis: Power Shapeshift. [Analysis raised (4 -> 6) Shapeshift: This Power provides the possessor with the ability to change aspects of their form. It limits details of alterations to the user''s attributes, imagination, and overall level of power. Increases or decreases of size and or mass are possible, and this capability increases with higher Skill levels.] A double jump in Analysis skill level, well, that is nice. Figure out the trick and get a reward? Wonder why I had to include that it was a Power I was trying to understand. Analysis: Resistance Mundane Materials. [Analysis raised (6-> 7) Mundane Materials (Resistance): The possessor takes less damage when struck by objects crafted from ordinary materials: rock, bronze, copper, iron, etc. It does not protect against elemental effects even if the source is mundane; fire hurts. Don''t play with torches. As with all Resistances, it can be overwhelmed if damage taken would exceed its rank''s damage protection threshold.] Oh, I wonder. Analysis: Spell Shapeshift [ is not in range of Analysis.] Okay, when I tried to analyse it before, there was something else called Shapeshift, so it just went System says No! So when I was looking at the Dretch earlier and focused Analysis, it was explicit what I was trying. But when using Analysis on something I can''t immediately see, or a concept, unless it''s unique I need to be specific. I also didn''t get a rank up when it failed, but now I know more. Guess it doesn''t give freebies or hints. [No.] Trolling bitch. I wonder if I had a higher rank in Analysis, would it give me more information on things tougher than me? Turning her attention to the plains below, Julia swallowed her disgust and waited. After a time, the undulating distance effect finally let her see a moving figure more clearly. Analysis [Demon: Immature Dretch Level: 1 / 1 Class: Thug Health: 30 Mana: 0 Defence: 13 Combat Power: Smash (1), Grapple (1) Analysis raised (7-> 12)] Okay, now that''s good. I learnt a bunch more, and it jumped Analysis ranks. I also know that I''ve got a higher defence than those fellows, well, really, at least that one. A shrill shrieking sound started up, and the noise seemed to be rapidly approaching her location. The shrieks had caused Julia to jump and climb to her feet in surprise. However, as she looked up, the source of the noise was rapidly apparent. A falling soul had burst through the clouds and was heading directly for the cliff face, only slightly along from her current perch. Unlike Souls falling to the plains below, this one was aware of its fate even before it had impacted. As it closed, the Soul was or at least viewed itself as female when the figure hit the rock and sunk into its surface. The solid material rippled and splashed like a diver hitting the water before partially reforming behind it. The cliff face had become watery where the Soul had struck, though it was dark and silted water that didn''t cascade away from the cliff. Though it was well under the surface, Julia could still make out the figure''s outline within. It didn''t seem as if any torture was going on; instead, energy moved to encapsulate the Soul within the cliff''s rock. The power shrouding the Soul was visible even to her regular sight. Well, as standard as a Demon''s sight could get; nothing yet had shown to her what spectrums of light were perceivable at present. Julia could see the energies were forcibly reshaping the Soul. A shell formed and pressed it almost as if it was melting into a mould. It forced power from the Soul into every crevice of the mould by the rock''s pressure, and stubs of wings grew from its back. Yep, this place does not follow physical limitations. And why should it? It was a Soul. Not a body smacking into the cliff, so why should it splatter? Guess they wanted to store and process it whole and not just drop it in the meat grinder. [Abyssal Lore (5 -> 6)] So stronger souls stay intact and transform rather than break down. [Demonic Lore (9 -> 10)] So. Skills can either give you the knowledge or are a record that you''ve learnt something. Analysis. [Demon: Gestating Succubus Level: 1 Class: Health: 10 Mana: 0 Defence: Combat Power: Analysis raised (12 -> 13)] Bracing herself mentally, she focused her attention purely on the gestating form and activated Soul Sight again. This time she got far more detailed personal history, yet the overall impact was far less. Still, the details she saw sickened her, the effect of the abuse that had twisted the Soul, and the choices made from that distortion. In the end, there had been no bitterness, no regret, and certainly no fucking guilt. Instead, they had revelled in what they had become. They had enjoyed the adrenal rush of avoiding detection as much as their perverted hunts. [Soul Sight (2 -> 3)] Yeah, that is a case of nurture pushing someone to doom themselves. Okay, rest time is over. I don''t know how long that baby Succubus will cook for, but let''s see if I can get to a safe distance. Focus on a single individual, and the whole place doesn''t light up like a torture porn Christmas tree. Taking a risk, she activated Flight and used it more like guided levitation and worked her way upwards. Using her increased Fly Skill, Julia kept herself close to the cliff face, and instead of handholds or foot placements, she braced her hands against the rock. Julia tried to ensure the cliff remained within arm''s reach and prevent face planting from sudden wind gusts from behind her. After all, if her arms even partially braced, she might gain the time to adjust and avoid becoming a headbanger. Julia had gotten quite a distance before a sound like breaking concrete resonated from below. Opting to perch and hide on the nearest ledge, she tried to keep flat while watching the process of it breaking from its womb in the cliff face. Motionless and watching, she resisted peering around as the wind carried the sound of wingbeats to her ears. It wasn''t clear what had brought the flyer here at such a convenient time. Julia was just glad it hadn''t been the case for her arrival. Laying still against the ledge, she focused on watching the activity occurring below. The cliff''s surface had stretched oddly like hands were pushing outwards through bubblegum. It was just as strangely alien as seeing one baby stretching within Sally''s belly. Belly stretching was weird to watch; odd-shaped lumps and bulges would appear almost at random. Even though Julia knew the new family member would be a nephew and not a Xenomorph, she couldn''t help teasing speculation. Sally hadn''t appreciated Julia''s enquiries about the originating star system of the alien parasite living within her. Mal and Sally''s eldest, Mitch, and he had been in an active state that day. Usually nocturnal as a possum during that last trimester, but maybe all their laughter had ruined his sleep. He had been wiggling around and pushing against Sally''s interior with varying parts of his body. The memory of soaking peacefully in the pool with her brother- and sister-in-law hit her like a physical blow. Trying to focus on pure Meditation, she avoided flexing her hands, not wanting to make any motion that might be visible. Just as when she focused on the climb, Julia kept herself set within the moment. With the urge to cry from the loss pressed down and buried deep inside her. Later, when there was safety, then there would be time to mourn. Not now; it would have to be later. [Meditation (13 -> 15) Mental Resilance (11 -> 12)] The rock continued to stretch as the gestating Succubus wanted out, and it would not take no for an answer. Julia figured it had only been 5 minutes at most, and it already wanted to break free. [Time Sense unlocked. Time sense (1)] The noise source showed itself when a blow-up sex toy with wings, a hardcore dominatrix outfit, and a nasty attitude came into sight. Its wings were beating fast against the air as it hovered off to one side. It certainly wasn''t clear why it continued to pump its wings when Flight had worked to move Julia without wings on her back. Maybe, for the Succubus, it was just instinct, or it thought it looked badarse with its vicious-looking wings thrashing about to hold itself aloft. Analysis. [Demon: Succubus Level: / Class: Health: Mana: Defence: Combat Power: Analysis (13 -> 15)] It took a little longer before the cliff face cracked open like a shell hit by a hammer, and bits of it went tumbling away. The force from within bowed the lower surface outwards. The lower section of the ''shell'' formed yet another one of the cliff''s ledges as the material first drooped then hardened now the gestation was complete. Analysis. [Demon: Least Succubus Level: 1 / 1 Class: Succubus Health: 30 Mana: 10 Defence: 14 Combat Power: Claws (1)] [Analysis (13 -> 20) Initial training levels completed rank advanced to Beginner. Analysis [B] (1)] Try again, maybe. Analysis. [Demon: Least Succubus Level: 1 / 1 Class: Succubus Health: 30 Mana: 20 Defence: 14 Combat Power: Claws (1), Bite (1), Tail Strike (1) Melee Attack Power: 20 Magic: 20 Details: Least succubus - the lowest manifested entities of lust within the Abyss. ] [Analysis [B] (1 -> 3)] Okay, that is something to remember; it doesn''t just give information on more formidable foes; it provides more info the higher it ranks. So, just cause it tells me something has a way to attack doesn''t mean it doesn''t have any other options. Analysis. [Demon: Succubus Level: / Class: Health: Mana: Defence: Combat Power: ] Okay, too tough to learn anything; let''s wait things out. She could make out the Succubus snarling something at its Least kin still perched on the ledge. The sneer on its face was derisive and menacing in equal measure. After the third time it spoke, it seemed to run out of whatever patience it possessed. Pulling a cat-o''-nine-tails from a loop on its belt, it lashed out, the attack too fast for Julia to even track. The newly ''hatched'' Succubus had no chance to avoid it. Most of the weighted strands smacked across its face and shoulder, but a few seemed to lock themselves about her neck. The stronger Succubus pulled back hard towards it with the whip, and its wings angled to send it away from the cliff. The combined force yanked the Least Succubus off the ledge to tumble in the open air. Even as it fell away from the shelf, they both vanished from sight. Wonder if it face-planted wherever they ended up? I would guess it teleported away. [Stealth (8 -> 12) Arcane (1 -> 2) Demonic Lore (9 -> 10) Meditation (15 -> 16) Sense Motive Unlocked. Sense Motive (1) Danger Sense Unlocked. Danger Sense (1)] Feeling paranoid that it might return, she waited and listened for some time before finally rising to her feet and resuming her climb. Her Flight Power and Fly Skill had increased, but she wanted to improve her Climbing Skill further while she had this chance. Plus, this was far less hurried than Flight, and the slower movement might help her avoid attracting attention from afar. [Stealth (12 -> 13)] I''ll take that as a ''Yes'', but I thought the troll didn''t give hints. Though technically, that might have been a reward, not a suggestion. Looking up again, Julia still couldn''t determine how far the cliff''s top was from her current spot. However, it looked like the cloud bank was now below the clifftop, even though when she had first started the climb, the reverse had seemed the case. Julia had to wonder, with the distances shifting so erratically, would anything in here prove reliable. Is it not just the perception of distance that shifted? Maybe the actual space fluctuated as well? Perhaps I misjudged it with all the undulating that had been going on. Or heck girl, perhaps the clouds just got lower, not like you''ve been keeping an eagle eye on them. Okay, stop it, J. Set that aside, be in the moment. Cliff to climb, scholar stuff and half-arsed guessing later. Kick in the pants completed; attention reverted fully onto the cliff face. Once again, she moved through what had become a habit: picking out the useful handholds, then footholds, setting hands into place, move feet, rise via legs. After each motion, check on balance, foot placement and that handholds were secure before shifting to the next spot, and her ascent continued. 5 - Come on baby light my fire The clouds hadn''t seemed so thick from the lower regions, but here they had significantly changed. Their thick black and deep grey vapours washed about in the sky. Carried in their waves shone beads of brilliant colour that hadn''t shown earlier. Bright colours seemed to catch the eye when they wandered into view. They hooked her attention as their light pushed through the dark vapours. Light icy blue, beautiful in their crystalline appearance, seemed sweet and promising as fresh, clear water. Lush ambers, glowing with welcoming tones, beckoned for attention and called her to come closer. The struggling luminance of a purple which sought to squirm its way free of the cloud''s grasp. One handhold after another. Each time her eyes ventured upward, the colours would cry for attention. Was it the distance distortion playing games? They looked like mist from where I started, but not here. So close to my first checkpoint. I hope this cliff doesn''t just keep going up. These clouds have to end, don¡¯t they? Something has to be above them. Doesn''t there? The climb to had led her this far and brought her nowhere except to retreat felt unacceptable. The climb this far without even coming close to being spotted again, for apparently nothing made her so angry. Spotting a handhold that hopefully would prove reliable, angled motions drew Julia close to the rock. With footholds and the remaining handhold secure, she reached out for the next spot. It felt good under her fingers; the rock curved rather than sharp. A stable depth, it seemed usable for a foothold as well. Fingers grasping the new point and legs braced to lift, as amber flickered and drifted inwards towards her. The welcoming tones brushed the outstretched arm even as her subsequent motion started. A sudden rush of pain, as the colour burst into flames, this time there wasn¡¯t a saving gust removing the fire. [Fire - Minor (4 -> 5)] Health: 2 Lost] Surprise caused a flinching reaction, and unbalanced, she fell. A panicked activation of Flight stopped the uncontrolled descent by nerves still racing, and she let the motion continue. Keeping close to the rock, she scuttled hand over hand, slapping rock as momentum carried her away. As focus returned, the retreat path ended on a ledge about five meters down and at least seven meters to one side. Recent efforts and potentially even the whole climb wasted had her teeth grinding. Examining her arm and flexing fingers, Julia couldn''t see bone, but it had charred the chitin through to skin from wrist to elbow. I climbed all this way. Well, I can certainly get down fast. Yet that plain isn¡¯t a place to risk. Every time I''ve taken damage from an Element, I''ve gained Resistance. How does that work? Analysis: Resistance [Resistance: Provides mitigating protection from incoming damage inflicted by the indicated aspect (Energy Type / Material). Entities from other Planes develop Resistance from repeated exposure to energy if it is not oppositional to their form (i.e. Fire vs Water Elemental). The more elemental pressure in their region, the more Resistance they build. A combination of ranks and levels determines the threshold an attacker must exceed before damage bypasses the Resistance. The entity will feel only the excess damage that makes it past their threshold.] Okay, next questions. How much damage to endure for the next rank? How many ranks would I need before I could handle the cloud bank? The journey upwards felt like it had come to a dead end. Frustration made Julia grind her teeth. Every moment she considered the cloud above, the Heat inside bubbled and churned. That the climb had led her this far and brought her nowhere except to retreat felt unacceptable. Having spent so much effort, endured the strain of getting this high without being spotted, for it to be for nothing, made her so angry. The emotion spiralled with the Heat feeding on it, spiraling together they amplified each other. The energy pulsed through her bones and against the throb, Julia forced her focus from the cloud to find still and calm. Ledges up here were fewer, and most flying Demons seemed to prefer the cliff''s lower sections. Those patrols mainly appeared to be Succubi, whose behaviour revealed their focus was on the cliff face. The few times other falling Souls had been close enough to trace, the nearest Succubus had always headed towards it. Sometimes groups behaved as if it was a competition, and they didn''t play by any rules except to win. Suppose they go after new arrivals so consistently. Why didn¡¯t any greet me? Maybe I arrived differently? Or was it just none were close enough? The back of my ledge had been more like a tunnel. This one appears similar to an egg''s interior curve, just like the others. Kneeling before sitting back on her feet in Seiza, the dojo''s familiar posture helped centre and restore calm. As the beat through her bones eased, Julia put aside distractions and focused purely on the slow flexing of her rapidly healed fingers in meditation. Only when she reached a point of deep stillness did she stop and return her mind to the situation and the options available. Dretch down below. Succubus patrols. As for this cliff, even with distance distortions, I¡¯ve not seen an end to it. I feel like I''ve climbed endless kilometres. See what I can find, maybe. Why not? The distance distorted back and forth almost sickeningly as she gazed across the plains. Julia had seen no apparent reason for the first Dretch to have been slogging towards her spot on the cliff. Maybe it had just been instinct or random choice that sent it in her direction. However, if those patrolling Succubi are looking for newbies to catch, what are the Dretch doing? Had it been heading towards someone or something in particular? Landmarks among the spears were easy to pick out, though gruesome in the extreme, and unfortunately necessary to maintain a search pattern for clues or another option. The systematic search was far harder mentally than the climb. Trying to keep a mental distance from the torment didn''t work. When Julia''s awareness was battered beyond endurance, she stopped to rest; each time promising herself just one more time. Shortly after resuming the search following the fourth or fifth break, a frenzy of activity snatched her gaze. Julia wished it hadn''t or that she''d never considered looking for clues. Especially not given she¡¯d restored going back down, however reluctantly to being an option. Four Dretch had initially appeared to be wrestling, but it was soon clear otherwise. The primary target was a smaller Dretch, yet the three ''tending'' to it didn''t seem to care it was one of them. They were stronger predators, so it had become their prey. The Abyss must have been mocking her, or somehow her horror drew its ire. Even as she went to wrench her gaze away from them, the apparent distance to the Dretch spooled inwards, face planting Julia into the midst of the ongoing violation. One of the Dretch had impatiently finished preparing its entry point and pushed its shaft into the bloodied flesh. Julia snapped her eyes shut and scuttled backwards till the rock denied any further retreat. Go down? No way! No fucking way!! Why? Damn it, why? How is this fair? Whoever you are that cursed me. I hope I get my hands on your Soul and can make you pay. Julia thoughts stopped as she felt the weird Heat running through her. It wasn''t a hot flush. Instead, it felt like something alive wiggled and settled further under her skin. Her fear and anger, causing it to react as if she had dumped turpentine on an open flame. Stop! Focus on now. Not anything but now. What can I control right now? I can travel along the cliff face or force my way through the clouds. Too risky to climb, hoping I can make it past the colours, they shift so fast. If I fly up, there is next to no visibility; I could fly directly into one. Without a means to resist Fire and whatever else there might be, neither option is acceptable. If I use Flight to move along the cliff face, I''ll be easier to spot. I''m sure to attract attention from a Succubus. What if one uses Analysis on me? Why hello, baby, come here often? Steeling herself, Julia ground her teeth for a time before opening her eyes again. I go up, and if it kills me, then it kills me. Down is not an option. The capture route will be bad news with either group. Whoever you are that cursed me, you knew nothing about me. You don''t get to win. I control myself. My decisions are my own. And while I hope you fucking pay, my focus isn''t getting at you. It''s getting out of here. I get to the top. Then I find a Portal or Planer Pool from this torture pit. Slowly moving with a flight path as close to the rock as possible, her eyes roamed the rock ahead, looking for options. The earlier focus on levelling Climbing was no longer her chief concern. She needed a spot to work from; this might be her new reality. If the ''System'' wanted to stack the deck, it made Julia determined to fight. Whenever a potential ledge showed ahead, then the flight path would adjust to drift towards it. Motion held slow and steady, even though her sense of horror tried to scream inside and wanted results right away.
At first, it had been agony, then usually merely pain, then at times, it might reduce to discomfort or spike to arm chewing again. Julia remained flat with the ledge hard against her back, having discovered this delightful retreat when conducting a fifth vacation spot review. It had a brilliant view of the torture fields and an uncomfortable closeness to the clouds. Their surface washed and swirled about, usually staying just at the limit of arms reach when she lay flat. Other times it came down far enough to wrap an arm well past the elbow if Julia propped herself up in even the slightest fashion. If it threatened to drop lower, the simple act of rolling off Julia hoped would provide an escape. Julia¡¯s reason for the risky location was brutally straightforward, to push the progress in her resistances. A stable perch seemed more efficient than controlling reactions to pain and holding onto the cliff at the same time. Push and Grind. More and More. As her Resistances had risen, the various damages suffered seemed to be trending downwards, matching Analysis'' information. However, there had been chaotic surges of intensity that provided numerous close calls. Experimentation with Profile Control had provided some options to monitor critical information. With a health bar and other details, it removed the need to flick open ''Profile'' to get the information. The transparent symbols were currently overlaying places in her vision like an FPS heads up display. Fire Resistance had levelled up out of Minor, with Acid close on its heels, and it now approached the last leg. Experience had also provided insight into the shades'' movement near the cliff. The coloured beads that had shown earlier were consistent in the damage inflicted. Yet perched so near the clouds, Julia had seen hints of more colours further from the Cliff. Yet those others had remained distant from the ledge. It was as if those shadings, for whatever reason, seemed to be avoiding the rock itself. Flying the only option to get close to them meant a random gust could toss her upwards. However morbidly curious she was about what they offered, that took checking any off the agenda. The Fire''s amber shading was the most common effect; Acid''s lovely blue, floated by frequently enough, the delightful purple of raw Mana, had so far been the least common. That bubbly purple would carve chunks from chitin, flesh and bone alike as if someone had taken an ice cream scoop to her body. The process so far had also helped her to level other skills along with her resistances in the hope they would keep her alive. Pain Tolerance had unlocked and gone up fast with the few times her judgement had slipped. Then, unfortunately, it started causing problems all on its own. It was always on, deadening her reflex to pull back, which was undoubtedly a drawback. While it had eased the burden on her mind and certainly helped her not scream, it also provided a false safety; Dangerous confidence had caused her health to hit four. I need to find some way to turn Pain Tolerance off. It doesn''t behave like Soul Sight, but there has to be a mechanism. Doesn''t there? This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Phew, health regeneration is starting at last. Profile
Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 1
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed)
Class Blood Monk Level 1
Defence 22 Health 5 (30)
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 20 Magic 20
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22
Willpower 25
Charisma 16
Resistances Air - Minor (12), Acid - Minor (17), Cold - Minor (5), Fire (5), Mana - Minor (12), Mundane Materials - Minor (12)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability (6), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (11), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B](1), Soul Sight (3)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics (11), Analysis [B](19), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (3), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (1), Intimidate (5), Meditation [B] (2), Mental Resilience [B] (3), Pain Tolerance [B] (4), Perception (13), Perseverance (11), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (13), Taunt (1), Time Sense (4), Unarmed Combat (7)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (7), Arcane (2), Demonic Lore (12), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory: Julia flexed the fingers on her right hand and continued to meditate, even while assessing the damage taken all along her left arm. The burn had gone deep enough to show the bone at the wrist joint. It had even cooked deep into muscle in spots along the forearm. Fluid wept from the edge of the damage and streamed along the burnt flesh and chitin, leaving gleaming patterns behind. While she had demonic flesh, the liquid appeared similar to what comes from a typical burn. The chitin was slowly filling itself back over again, repairing sections where the heat had cracked it and caused entire parts to fall away. No J. You are in a demonic form; your soul is not a Demon. This shell can''t define you. You need it for getting out of here, nothing more. Need to be careful how close to the limit I push myself; suppose the darn thing had surged downwards. What would have happened? So no meditation while you have your arm within the cloud bank. Keep your eyes on health and ready to drop clear. Don''t get too confident. Who knows what might happen if health hits zero. Experiments with the Analysis Skill while working on the Resistance grind had thankfully provided more information about her Powers and Skills. Insights into how each worked had been helpful, particularly in learning that Blink did what she had hoped it would. It provided the ability to shift location up to thirty feet in any direction instantly. It would allow her to land anywhere within range, even if it wasn''t in the line of sight. While it was still untested, it had taken a prime spot on the levelling plan. If raising resistances higher didn''t allow passage through this cloud bank, then the next option was to bunny hop from ledge to ledge along the cliff. She hoped minimising would be the safest way to travel and reduce the chance for attention. [Pain Tolerance [B] (4 -> 5) Meditation [B] (2 -> 3)] The meditation notification ticked along a few times, and trying different variations finally revealed a way to disable Pain Tolerance. Agony surged as it turned off snapping her teeth together, but the scream that had started its way out didn''t get loose. Letting Regeneration do its work, her left arm remained raised as she concentrated on her right fingers'' physical sensations. The Regeneration effect reversed the injury, even regrowing the chitin over her flesh, and finally, the last of the pain died away. [Meditation [B] (10 -> 11)] Abyssal Adaptability (6 -> 7)] The last meditation notification was yards ahead. Clearly remaining in control of herself without Pain Tolerance¡¯s assistance was more challenging. Heal, damn you, heal. Fuck, that hurt. I need to keep going. After being numb, that was a shock. Not sure if the prolonged buffer made it feel worse or just from cooking my arm so bad. Fuck! Next thing, you''re going to be tossing out Bene Gesserit quotes. Yeah, talking to myself, I''ll just have a two-way conversation to pass the time. No, it should be three-way, me, myself and I. [Power: Improved Regeneration unlocked.] Oh! Cool, a new Power. I must be turning into a masochist. Next thing you know, I¡¯ll be talking to Sarah for tips or proper guidance. Slapping her fist against the rock brought Julia''s focus back to the moment. Grief for herself, missing family and outrageous friends tried to swamp her focus. Before she could second guess herself¡ªor should that be the twentieth guess? she turned her body and shifted her balance to lift toward the cloud bank. Bracing herself up with her right forearm, she waited. When she finished healing, she thrust back into the cloud bank without a flinch; despite a bubble of acidic fog, having drifted close enough to touch while she had healed. Mentally embracing the Pain Tolerance skill, she watched as her health ticked downwards, only after a moment for it to bubble upwards. [Pain Tolerance [B] (5 -> 6) Health: 1 Lost. Improved Regeneration (1 -> 2) Health: 1 Gained. Health: 1 Lost. Health: 1 Lost. Health: 1 Gained. Mental Resilience [B] (3 -> 4) Willpower (25 -> 26) Endurance (20 -> 21) Max Health (30 -> 32)] Ok, so just like Mr Steak Knife Hands. Now you too can heal while you have your fingers in the garbage disposal. But wait, there''s more if you call now. [Health: 1 Lost Health: 1 Lost Health: 1 Gained] Plus, his bones would break the disposal unit, not get mauled by it. The cloud bank lapped its way down her arm and quickly was reaching towards her elbow. Bracing and acting against her self-preservation instincts, she pushed higher still. Her body shivered with pain in what was already a far too familiar sensation. [Health: 1 Lost Health: 1 Lost Health: 1 Lost Health: 1 Lost Health: 1 Gained] Tick, tick, tick, tick. Fuck! Fuck! Fuckity fuck! Well, look at the mental Mount Druitt mouth on you, bitch. Don''t call me bitch, Bitch! Eventually, she shifted herself off her braced right forearm and let her weight collapse, carefully not to brain herself. Her eyes took in the health reading of four. As she disengaged Pain Tolerance, she writhed in agony and started focusing on her Meditation. The acid ravaged forearm rested across her torso as she kept on, opening and closing the finger of her right hand in the same regular rhythm. It wasn''t any less risky to do that intentionally, J. Okay, so I use this to get that Improved Regeneration into the Beginner ranks and then plan again, just like time on the treadmill. Yep, get to the 30-minute mark today, J. Oh, nearly at that next km mark. You can jog longer, can''t you? One more kata, just another get those kicks higher. How much time have you spent on Karate? Reading? Heck, terrible dates? You''ve certainly had days spending 14 hours grinding mobs in SK MMOs when those didn''t work out. You can keep levelling Resistances that might save your life. The health indicator bubbled up to max quicker than previously. Even the initial levels of Improved Regeneration, were making a significant difference when it wasn''t counteracting ongoing damage. The purple tinge in the cloud bank overhead let her know what to expect as she raised herself on her right forearm and stuck her left arm upwards again. The arm rocked under energy impacts that popped chitin and flesh alike, leaving her arm broken and scooped. Even as the wild mana continued to smash into her, she embraced her Pain Tolerance. [Time Sense (4 -> 5)] As the Skill clicked up, she got a much better sense of exactly how long she had to endure the pain. Bitch. [Mental Resilience [B] (4 -> 5)] Rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat, get knocked down, get back up again. You''re never going to keep me down (ooh). Come on, health bar, you can do it, up you get, hurray to a job well done. Now let''s do this again. You can do it, J. It''s just a bit longer, that''s it keep going. Take a break, try something with Shapeshift - 10 minutes and go again. Oh, another skill click, and another Resistance clicked up. Let''s see if we can balance out these Resistance Powers a bit, shall we? You know you can see another mana clot working itself this way. Just wait. It''s getting closer. That''s it; please come this way, Mr Mana Clot, here, boy. Now. FUCK!!!!! Job well done, more gains, rest up and go again, I can do it. I can do this. The stronger I get, the stronger I can become, the longer I''ll live. Not even levelled a Class or Species yet, but how much tougher am I now? Not enough! Just like LDoA, here I come. It''s hours and days, but I can do it. Back to step one, we go, rinse, repeat, rinse, repeat. As the Resistance kicked up higher, progressing them slowed and then started to trickle to a halt. Maybe I overdid it. I was sure I would be seeing the sun peeking in through the window about now. [Time Sense (5-> 6)] The system is a troll! Profile
Name Julia Amanda Diane Earnst True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 1
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed)
Class Monk Level 1
Defence 22 Health 34
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 22 Magic 20
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22
Willpower 28
Charisma 16
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (1), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Improved (1), Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials - Minor (12)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [B] (1), Blink (1), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (11), Improved Regeneration (12), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B](3), Soul Sight (3)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics (11), Analysis [B](19), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (3), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (1), Intimidate (5), Meditation [Ap] (5), Mental Resilience [Ap] (10), Pain Tolerance [Ap] (5), Perception (13), Perseverance [Ap] (1), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (13), Taunt (1), Time Sense (6), Unarmed Combat (7)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (7), Arcane (2), Demonic Lore (12), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory: Time to set those ablative goggles in place. With multiple layers of transparent chitin Julia had worked out to protect her eyes and mouth, she climbed into the cloudbank. The dimness in the cloud meant finding hand-holds, and foot positions were trickier still. The surface of the rock was slippery with the weird contents of the cloud. Continual pinpricks of pain fought to pull her attention away, but still, she needed to climb. Her Resistance and Regeneration were both now high enough that health would blip downwards, only to bounce up before dipping again. I just hope there is a top to these clouds. 6 - One small step [Perseverance [Ap] (4 -> 5) Abyssal Adaptability [B] (4 ->5) Acid - Improved (2 ->3) ] The notifications pinged across Julia''s consciousness even as she reached over the lip of the cliff. She soon completed twisting and turning the last awkward motions of getting up onto the clifftop and Julia lay sprawled out to look up and wished she hadn''t. Hey J, the ground is comfy under your butt. Any reason you didn''t just use Flight to clear that last bit? Don''t have time for any self snark. Go away brain. Contemplating the sky overhead, compared to the cliff, it was hard to decide which had been worse. The ominous clouds that had blocked the climb, or this mass of roiling flames that reached from horizon to horizon. The flames weren''t even the transparent yellow and red flames of a campfire that one could stare into and relax. No. Instead, the sky was a mass of burning fury, flames formed from mottled combinations; dark, angry reds and bitter orange raged across above the barren rock. The fire looked corrupted and sickened; blackened edges finished their macabre look as if burning away reality itself. The landscape and things crawling on it had stretched upwards and contaminated the flames above. There was no purification by fire here, nor warmth from them, all it promised was destruction and further anguish. Clearly mocking all that lay beneath as the sky echoed the corruption in the Souls of the damned. It shouldn''t have surprised her when everything else in this plane was so rotten and vile. Why should the empty sky be any different? The last of her regenerating wounds sealed themselves over, but it was a while longer before she felt up to getting to her feet. Taking slow, steady steps, she eased away from the cliff, letting leg muscles adjust to walking instead of climbing. It felt like she had been climbing for eons by now. Yet when her steps steadied enough to allow for a proper examination of her surrounding; it seemed the mockery in this place wasn''t just limited to the sky. The land on the cliff''s top was as blighted as its face had been. Black and grey rock stretched out as far as she could see, even with the undulating distance effect. The monotony of it only interrupted by the irregularity of the crevices that scarred its surface. Some seemed so slim and straight as if a razor blade had sliced through the rock. Others zig-zagged and went from hand spans across to semitrailer lengths and back again with no apparent cause. The only things consistent on this barren Plain was its lack of any growth and the surface''s apparent flatness. Julia turned left to right and back again, her eyes sweeping the Plain from close to the horizon. The double-check still made it clear that she couldn''t spot any outcropping, or even a stray boulder rising upwards. Crouching, she examined the surface of the rock and ran her hand across it, Shapeshift clearing chitin from her touch. The rock felt as if someone had attacked it with the roughest sandpaper possible, a concept that was worrying standing out in the open. It would likely take hurricane-like windstorms laden with fine particles to have scoured this stone so flat. The air at present though was still and quiet enough to becalm the smallest of boats. Despite the wind having challenged her continuously on the climb, there now wasn''t even a whisper. [Perception (13 -> 14)] Thanks!!! So what, I just put up a doom flag? [Perception (15 -> 16) Abyssal Lore (14 - 15)] You are such a troll. [Perception (16 -> 17)] So what next? Woot, I climbed a cliff. Well, I''ve got a flat place to stand. So J time to pick a spot and work through some techniques. See what you can do. Work through a standard class routine and see how things go. Stretching to check her body''s flexibility, there was no surprise when its capabilities in that regard far exceeded her old. After all, with ten being the mortal average and the profile indicating twenty in quickness. Well, maybe her previous capability might, and only might have rated fifteen, as regular training had provided good flexibility and speed. Julia had never considered herself on the scale of someone with gymnastics training. The ease with which she now executed a full split wasn''t something that had been possible in her old life. She didn''t need to make many tweaks to stop the chitin digging into joints and seams while working through the basics. Testing leg and arm motions, step by step, all the standard stretches were checked off from memory. Focused on executing the sequences one after another, Julia was still mindful about keeping alert for any signs of something approaching. After working through all the extremes of motion she tried a quick mental instruction to update the Shapeshift record with the adjustments. Having to tweak it again if she reverted between forms didn''t seem like a lot of fun. Switching into a back stance when the stretching was done, her practice started with alternating between blocks, punches and kicks. First just backwards, then adding direction switching. Paying attention to form as there was no way to tell if this new body had all the muscle memory accumulated over the years. Julia had only recently made it to Shodan Ho (Black belt) having let too many distractions get in the way. Re-grading after a gap of years left one re-doing what they had achieved previously. Each time the process for getting back up to her previous standard had been particularly frustrating. Those disruptions to her prior training now made her wary about assuming what she was capable of now. Now though things were far beyond, do or die. Don''t aim for speed; aim for proper technique. Speed will come as the body learns. Does demonic flesh even learn? No distractions set that aside. Focus on the now. Whether demonic flesh could develop instincts wasn''t the issue though, as she''d judge things on system recognition for now. Her intelligence points seemed to help with the recall of past instructions with ease. Different Sensei might have different teaching styles, but all the ones she had been lucky enough to learn from had their focus in common. The ''pings'' from the system as Unarmed combat raised through the initial levels seemed to say she remembered and applied her lessons correctly. Working through each of the techniques, she remembered the practice continued longer than a typical class. Keeping her movements to the same frequency of beats as the practice session moved its way through various punches, blocks, strikes and kicks. Alternating techniques to ensure the body and the ''nominal'' armour would allow for shifting between various position combinations. While avoiding the showy techniques loved by movies, just focusing on the fundamentals first. Spinning kicks might look great in movies. However, unless she could get enough speed, well, exposing her back to another demon seemed like a bad idea. It was obvious how fast that Succubus had moved and hadn''t even been able to see its class. Deliberately putting a demon at her back, seemed like asking for its claws, never mind if it could Blink around the battlefield like her own power. Oh, need to practise that as well. Just need to insert a training montage here. Not that this spot is safe. Though heck, what is safe now? Any instant in time where something isn''t immediately trying to kill me? Well, there is a simple way to practice Blink. Feeling it was time to move on, she returned to the ready stance and then stopped. Hesitatingly and without knowing why, but just missing their guidance, she bowed to the memories of her Sensei. Monks followed their way, she had never trained in any style of Kung fu, but maybe following the Budo, the martial way would ground her properly. She checked on the last of the notifications received and hoped it would be possible to continue to make that sort of progress. [Unarmed Combat [Ap] (4 -> 5)] Though it might just have been so quick because of the practice focusing on what she already knew. Last time in the dojo had been just two days before she got here, and the lower belts had been preparing for grading, so everyone had been very focused. Looking around again, she picked a large crevice visible in the distance directly away from the cliff face and headed towards it. The first time she reached an aperture more than a hand span, it served as an excuse. One moment she was here, and now she was over there, surprised by the ease of it. Though it took her a moment to re-orient herself, it was good to complete a planned step forward as she shifted location. Blink hadn''t played the same games as getting Pain Tolerance to turn off. Instead, it just reacted to her wanting it to move to the next spot, almost as if it needed to be used. [Blink (1 -> 2)] Oh wow, inner ear magic. Look, mum, I made the world spin around me. Don''t be narcissistic, dear. Okay, can''t puke, but I can still get dizzy, yeah go figure. Should I play ping pong with myself? Now now the Nuns said bad girls who play with themselves go to H. E. L. L. Oops, guess they were sort of right in my case. Hmm, so yeah what was it ''Solo Feline care'' for the win. J. Stop. It. Great! Now I''m not only talking to myself, but I''m also scolding myself. Yes, cause I''m a naughty, naughty girl. Insanity isn''t talking to yourself; it''s arguing with yourself and then losing the argument. Move. Well someone sure got out of the wrong side of the bed this morning. Putting one foot in front of the other, she started onwards again; using each crevice in her path wider than a palm as a prompt to practise Blink. Drawing close to one of the larger breaks in the plain, Julia crouched and attempted to be as quiet as possible while approaching the lip carefully. Leaning forward, to peer over the edge, and slowly taking in more and more of the interior of the crevice as she did so. The rock along its sides as scoured as the Plain, only gaps in the rock here and there broke up the smoothness. The nominal ''start'' and ''exit'' of the crevice weren''t just the only ones she could see. Starting a few body lengths under the surface, she could spot other holes; most looked to be of a size she could climb into if she didn''t care about closed spaces. But a few just at the edge of her vision''s limits looked to have gone for the ''super-size me'' option. In particular, one was large enough to park a semi in and, concerningly, roughly the same size as the crevice, she''d examined. Thanks, Intelligence score. I didn''t know paranoia was part of your rating. Oh, dear. Remember, if you''re not paranoid by now, then you haven''t been paying attention. Okay, so I''m fortunately or maybe, unfortunately, now better at spatial recognition and comparison. Wonder if I''ll no longer need to turn a map to face the direction I''m travelling. Walking carefully along the lip of the crevice in the direction she had travelled, the latest ping froze her in place. Its contents disconcerting given her observations. [Stealth (13 -> 15)] It jumped two points in one go, not good. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. [Blink (10 -> 11)] The world spun as the Power moved her across to the other side of the crevice. The disorientation had fortunately already reduced from the sense of vertigo that came with her original use. That Power was certainly cool in Julia''s book, what wasn''t so cool to her though was the sound of scraping rock behind her. More tapping than a woodpecker quickly followed, and Julia Blinked again to get further from the pit. [Blink (11 -> 12)] The sound continued as Julia turned to wait, but the source didn''t keep her in suspense long. It moved faster. Its two front pincers appeared over the lip in a rush, its upper body bending over as it shifted onto the flat. The pincers were like a yabby in their relative bulkiness, especially compared to its body, and the thinner legs that supported it. The outer shell flexed as its legs raised more of its body over the rim of the pit. Its claws and front four legs visible, it already looked slightly larger than a corgi, though far less friendly. Julia waited for it to gain its footing, as she attempted to learn more. Analysis [Demon: Immature Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 1 Class: None Health: 30 Mana: 10 Defence: 18 Combat Power: Claws [B] 10 Details: This entity hides in places out of the way of the abrasive winds that randomly sweep its native highland regions. It appears to spawn only on one of the Abyssal Planes ruled by Duke Berith, and there has been no recorded sighting in any other domain. They hunt by sensing both vibrations through various types of rock and an apparent ability to feel mana emanations.] [Analysis [B](19 -> 20)] Unfortunately, one wasn''t enough as a bigger Lurker raised itself over the lip near to the first. If the ratio of its front end to the first were any guide, it would be more like a cattle dog in size. Though she doubted it would just heel if she whistled at it, maybe it would want to eat her feet, but surely not come to heel. The first scuttled up onto the Plain and its antennae flickering around as if trying to determine where she had gone. Successfully so, since it quickly headed straight towards her. It quickly shifted into top gear with all its legs churning on the flat ground even as she activated Flight and lifted slightly. Her plan wasn''t to fly away, though, and she Blinked with her attention directed towards its reinforcement. Reappearing in midair over the pit, she had changed direction to set herself at its back. [Blink (12 -> 15)] As it tried to wiggle around, its pincers already snapping at the air, she was already shaking off the dizziness and driving home a strike. The Flight power''s motion added momentum into her turning knee strike, as it smashed into one junction along its back. While its impact jarred her leg, it hadn''t cost her any health, and the cracking noise from it hinted likely damage. Reaching forward, she grabbed for its limbs behind the pincers and lifted. However, the plan almost disrupted when a pain registered from her other foot which had dangled lower. The pain muted by the Pain Tolerance she realised hadn''t disabled it after making it out of the cloud bank. [Health: 2 points lost Notice: Section of right foot severed.] Needing to move, she finished closing her hands behind the Lurker''s pincers and willed herself straight upwards, triggering Blink. She arrived where she had expected, but minus the passenger she had hoped would be happy to fall for her. [Health: No blood loss. Wound sealed by Improved Regeneration ] Damn you Notifications, stop in combat; I have a heads up. Blink either moves only me, or foes can resist the effect. From her new vantage, it was easy to spot that the three of them weren''t the limit of her troubles as she hovered over the pit. As besides the third foe that had cut short her plan, she could see another two climbing fast. Four of the large, maybe cattle dog-sized ones and a corgi seemed to be all that had come to the party. At least so far, but if she wanted to hurt any of them, she''d have to go down to play. Analysis [Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 2 Class: None Health: 44 (50) Mana: 15 Defence: 28 Combat Power: Claws [B] (16) ] [Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 2 Class: None Health: 48 Mana: 10 Defence: 24 Combat Power: Claws [B] 18] Quickly checking the upper two still in the pit, she waited for her health to tick upwards. Pleased with the damage she had managed to inflict, even if she was kicking herself at how badly it went wrong. Oddly enough, even though the secondary was ''better'' with its claws, it''s maximum health showed lower. The health bar overlaying part of her sight regained its full colour, as the corgi and the one she had kneed both spat something at her. Their aim was pretty good, and while the smaller missed, it came close. She got a close glimpse of a glob of greenish coloured fluid sailing past her shoulder. The larger was a better aim through its ''glob'', ''dart'', ''projectile'', ''bile'', something or other, impacting her upper shin. Whatever it had expected to occur though, nothing happened, and the fluid slid down her leg with no apparent reaction. Her health bar even finished twitching upwards as the last of it slide away, and a mute sense of pain died away. Disable pain tolerance, need to know when I take damage. Now attack the isolated one first, should have just dealt with it instead of playing tag. This little piggy went to market. With that thought, she sent herself downwards again, hoping she could make it to the smaller one before the others joined in on the fun. The limited Flight practise she had while on the climb proved to be enough, even though it felt like she was still pushing her luck. Her speed was enough that she got to ground level before the reinforcements finished making it onto the Plain. Landing to one side of the Immature Lurker, she angled herself so she could see the others. Number two moved with one leg dragging as if she had damaged a joint when she had knee smashed it into the lip. Number Three took its own sweet time, showing itself at the lip as it sampled its snack. It''s second pincer passing flesh from the lost section of her foot to its mouth. The two late party guests hadn''t even made an appearance as she stomped a foot down on junior''s middle two legs. The blow landed at the junction of its main body and her weight flattened it to the ground. Leaning down, she went to grab the base of the closest pincer, only to need to pull out of range as it''s other snapped at her wrist. Not wanting to play games, she dropped her weight on it and struck a clawed spear hand strike into the seam at what would be the base of its skull segment. The blow broke through its protection with a pop, her hand sinking up to the last finger joints. Curling them inwards towards the front of its head, she figured she either hit brain or spinal cord as all motion ceased. No notification ''pinged'', but she felt a rush of energy into her arm and hoped it meant it was dead. So did I get the notifications to stop, or you just don''t get told when something dies? Number two''s movements had eased, and as she watched, its leg popped back into position. Its speed picked up, so she mentally pushed her Power to fly her off to one side just in case junior was playing dead. Don''t know how much a Demon can heal, J. You already made one mistake, so be paranoid. Her shift in direction seemed to present a problem to number two as it continued towards the fallen Lurker. Its antenna twitched in her direction, and then back towards the body, a few times before picking an option. As soon as it reached the fallen Lurker, its reasoning was apparent, and it harvested. It cracked the bulky shell on the fallen open, and it started pushing torn scraps of flesh into its mouth. Its partner was smitten with her though and, snack over; it wandered over to ask her for a full buffet. The pincer tips of their two ''pit buddies'', cleared the lip of the pit, as it made its affections known. A glob of the same green fluid came hurtling at her, signalling its love and admiration, or maybe just that it had an eternal foot fetish. Either way, it didn''t float her boat, so she flitted further away from the fallen and rose higher in the air. Analysis [Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 2 Class: None Health: 48 Mana: 6 (10) Defence: 24 Combat Power: Claws [B] 18, Acid Shot [B] 6 Additional Details: The gland that produces these entities'' acid is considered a delicacy in some Abyssal towns and cities; the more potent the ''spice'', the better. Their Mana feeds the organ''s reaction, enabling it to refill whenever it empties in combat] Well, okay then. With her airborne, Mr Snippy began firing off repeated Acid Shots at an impressive pace, moving nearer with each shot. The final two reinforcements reached the surface of the Plain as she lured it further from its backup. Both of them seemed to figure a bird in the hand made sense. They headed for the dinner table as she came back closer to a halt, not wanting to get nearer to any of the other pits marking the place. Waiting as Mr Three finally came to a halt as if taking careful aim, Blink carried her to its side. The instant she appeared it tried to turn at her, she was quicker as she drove a foot down on its near side''s rearmost legs. This thing''s pure instinct, maybe? Or is it aware and wants to teach me some manners? Dropping both knees into the middle of its body, she mentally ''flew'' downwards with her Power, adding to the pressure pinning it. The Lurker didn''t give up without a fight though; thrashing about, it tried to reach back over the top of its head to get her. It wiggled about, trying to get purchase to stand, with its remaining legs she had forced out of position. Its body flattened against the ground, the legs closest to her stretched out, while the other side had folded under it. Whatever process had formed the Lurkers, their legs'' joints didn''t allow it to rise from this position. Shapeshifting to grow long claws, she drove both hands into the highest junction she could access while avoiding the pincers. Wrenching and twisting against its trashing the section finally gave after some effort. A curved section of shell snapped free in her grasp, and the broken edge looked pretty sharp. Testing it out with a forceful blow, she smiled as its edge severed one of its antennae. With a negligent flip, she tossed the shell off to one side, turning her attention to the pale membrane that showed in the gap. "How do you like them apples Bugboy, you should have toed the line." Julia quipped. She hadn''t heard the claws of the others approaching, but she didn''t want them to catch her off guard while she finished this one. Planting hands lower down on its body, she shot a quick look over her shoulder. "Dinner bell still has your mates'' attention over there, no one cares." She said something further when the sounds of the words she''d said registered with her. She hadn''t been speaking English at all, and the sounds of the words had been about as pleasant as guys said about pissing out a kidney stone. The enunciations had caressed her mind like fine razor blades, making cuts so sharp she hadn''t immediately registered how wrong they were. Worse still, she now knew not only what she had said, but the language in which she had unintentionally spoken. I''m speaking Abyssal now, not talking to myself in English. Fuck. No, focus on the now. One mistake and Mr Lobster will clip your tail for you. Can figure it out later. Her eyes looked back down to the membrane and looked over thick black vein-like paths she could see under it. Each thicker than a finger, they were as clear as a cooked prawn''s intestinal tract. Aiming, she waited for it to thrash about into the right position. The spear hand strike tipped by the razor nails drove into it till her arm sunk up to her forearm. She felt the same energy rush up along her arm that had come from Junior and figured it would be safe to pull her arm free. Though she still closed her fist and yanked out a handful of seafood takeaway. Paranoia is your friend. With a Blink, she popped as high into the air as she could, and arrested her forward motion before changing direction. Looking over the trio sharing their ''evening'' meal, she tried to figure out how to separate them while minimising the risk. They can react fast, so I need to take advantage of how they need to turn their entire body. Eyes flittered over them as she mentally measured angles and options. Taking a deep useless breath as she considered her options, she was glad the air up here smelt only of rock, and the recently split blood. She wasn''t sure when on the climb she had stopped bothering to breathe, she just had. With Blink flicking her about the fight, she tried to be selective in the openings she seized; playing attrition and not going for risky hits. Landing kicks to break joints and punches to shatter shell. The tag game was brutal and dirty. She looked for every opening to twist their instincts against them. The Lurkers would turn towards the Blink''s Mana pulse even when they got in each other''s way. Nor did they care when their attacks struck each other if they thought they could injure her. They might work in packs, but they weren''t a team¡ªrather vicious predators using each other to gain themselves a kill. Not that it all went her way, mistakes, oh yes indeed they were made. She found that even the best tool has its flaws. An overuse of Blink left her especially vulnerable; too dizzy to escape away, and till it faded, too unsteady to dodge. Still, the plan overall had worked, and her mistakes hadn''t cost her too much blood. The pincer''s business end wasn''t the Lurkers'' only weapon; as the spikes along their outer ridge stabbed deep. The end of their tail as well possessed a wicked sharp curve, and they''d opened her flesh more than a few times. As the fighting finally died down, she crouched, keeping the body of the last Lurkers between herself and their crevice as she healed. So why did you need to learn that lesson in real life? Don''t move somewhere if you can''t see what might be waiting for you. Check your corners; don''t be reckless. [Combat completed - Combat Summary: Acrobatics (11 -> 16) Blink (15) -> [B] (8) Demonic Lore (8 -> 12) Danger Sense (3 -> 6) Flight (11 -> 19) Fly [B] (1 -> 4) Improved Regeneration [B] (4 -> 7) Tactics Unlocked Tactics raised ( 1 -> 3) Unarmed Combat [Ap] (5 -> 8) Experience gained: 900 First combat survived, pending achievements rewarded. Achievement: Climbed a really tall Cliff Achievement: Climbed a really tall Cliff in the Abyss Achievement: Climbed a really tall Cliff in the Abyss and escaped the recruiters of Knight Forcas. Achievement: Didn''t lose your mind. Note: The last two are the only ones that give experience, the rest meh, but you go, gamer girl. Experience gained: 500 exp per recruiter avoided while in proximity (2) 500 exp for gazing into the Abyss and staying sane (well, relatively) Demonic Shards gained: 9 Monk *cough* Blood Monk Class levelled up. Willpower increased. Defence increased Melee Attack Power increased. Health increased. Ki pool gained Ki Strike unlocked] I got a level. Profile
Name J True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 1
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (9 / 20)
Class Blood Monk Level 2
Defence 24 Exp (2,400 / 4,000)
Melee Attack Power 38 Health 52
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 22 Magic 20
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22 Ki 20
Willpower 29
Charisma 16
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (3), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Improved (1), Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials - Minor (12)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [B] (5), Blink [B] (8), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (1), Flight (19), Ki Strike (1), Improved Regeneration [B] (4), Mana Sense (2), Shapeshift [B] (3), Soul Sight (3)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics (16), Analysis [B](20), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (6), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (4), Meditation [Ap] (5), Mental Resilience [Ap] (10), Pain Tolerance [Ap] (5), Perception (17), Perseverance [Ap] (5), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (13), Tactics (3), Taunt (1), Time Sense (6), Unarmed Combat [Ap] (8)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (15), Arcane (2), Demonic Lore (12), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory: None Why does my profile say my name is just J now? [I don''t know, J? Why does it, J?] Troll! Analysis of the names in her Profile gave a curious response [Name- Value: J Details: Meaningful name an entity assigns to themselves, can be used for summonings of outsiders by those with Mortals Souls.] [True Name: Value: {Unknown} Details: For outsiders, this name provides other entities Mortal or otherwise control over them and is carefully guarded. For Mortal souls, it only provides a guiding path for their advancement, and provides no explicit control.] 7 - Ashes to Ashes, Dust to dust 5:20 PM Parramatta Road - Earth-Prime Number whatever. The brakes lights of the car in front of him went off, and his attention shifted back to the road ahead. The lights stayed off, but the car jerked to a halt again. It wasn''t safe to count on the handbrake to hold you at the lights, but some folks still did it. The cutie in front of him didn''t look okay in her rearview mirror. His sedan sat higher than her little buzz box so that he could see down between the seats of her car. He could see as she started to slump, her hand still clutching the handbrake. Knuckles white, the trembling in her forearm, the skin was turning a strange Red, and then. He saw it. Why did he have to see it? Why? Couldn''t he have been even one car further back so he''d have not seen it? It was weird. After years, you don''t even need to think about the mirrors when driving, just use them automatically. Rearview mirrors are there so a driver can see behind them. But stopped at the lights when one looks ahead, they let you see the eyes of that one driver. Eyes are the window to the Soul. One of those cliched sayings in the English language isn''t it, so often said. In those times of waiting, that rearview mirror just felt to him to be a mail slip window into someone else life. Their eyes often showed their current mood, and he wondered if it was just that moment; or if he saw their whole day or even life. They might be happy, bored, singing, angry, frustrated, sad, mourning, any of a range of emotions. A little snippet of their lives while waiting for their travels to progress. Her hand was trembling, and he looked up at her rearview mirror. He had seen her eyes bright with energy just a short time earlier. She''d looked to have set the day behind her, or it had been a good day. Or it was just that she was enjoying something musical. Head was nodding to the beat, eyes bright with enjoyment. Now when he saw her eyes, that joy had been washed away, stamped out by confusion that was clear as day. Her eyelids drooped shut, and then there were the flames. Through that little window into someone''s life, he had never expected to see it all end. Never, ever, nor for it to end in flames, her eyes had shut, they had. Her eyelids had closed, they had, and then the flames burned so brightly, so hot he could see them melting through the seat. Her body had already dropped downwards, falling out of the perspective of that window. The rest was a blur, strange blur that would often fill his nights for so long. Phone grabbed, ignition off, handbrake, popping the boot, out of the car, holding his extinguisher. Each time he blinked, he seemed to have jumped forward in time¡ªhis brain rejecting the moment in between as unneeded. Then he was looking through the window of her car, at the emptiness it held. The flames were already out. The seat a hollowed core, a cradle, a pit, the bones already settled and shifted. White ashes, dusted bones, some cracked, others just seared of all flesh. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Her skull was tilted upwards in the ashes as if she''d thrown back her head as she died. The eyes full of life were gone, only emptiness remained, empty sockets of her skull filled now with a dusting of ash. He remembered words, stilted and far away. Emergency services, fire, and police. Death. Fire. Where. Snippets of information cataloguing this unreal situation. Standing on the median strip, still holding the extinguisher, Blink. In someone''s car speaking to one police officer. Blink, then another officer. Blink, the room, the window, dusted with ashes falling from the clouds of soot. Dusted with ashes just like that woman''s skull. 5:40 PM Parramatta Road - Earth-Prime Number whatever. "Witness is in a rough state; paramedics are treating him. He gave the same details to both myself and then the Senior Constable. It will be a bit before someone from FETSC is on scene." The Constable recounted to his nearly arrived Sergeant, who looked at the remains in disbelief like they had earlier. "No one''s opened the car?" "There has been no need, and neither of us wanted to disturb anything. We just secured the scene for forensics. The flames were out by the time we got on scene. All damage to the vehicle seems isolated to the driver''s seat. Whatever incinerated the victim only damaged the driver''s seat, no other obvious damage to rest of the interior. Car is registered to one Julia Earnst, we''ve called through to the nearest station to get someone out to her home address." "Very well. Only the one witness?" "Only one that stayed on the scene. Traffic cam in the intersection likely caught the cars'' license plates that would have been facing this direction. The intersection was packed when the lights changed." The Sergeant leaned forward to look in the window before crouching to check the still white ceiling, unmarked by flame or even soot. "Right keep the car sealed till Forensics are here to process it. The remains look fragile, so no towing it anywhere till they''ve at least run through it once." 8:30 PM Earnst Household - Western Sydney - Tregear Sam watched his wife holding the picture frame to her chest as she rocked back and forth. The police officers that had come by had been kind with asking their questions, and he''d used his phone to find his daughter''s phone. She''d gotten him to find it a few times in the past, so he didn''t have any issue with that. It had shown it in the vicinity of Parramatta road, near the intersection with Balmain Road. When they had asked him to ring it, the officer called someone else. They''d confirmed it could be heard ringing in the car, the ringtone matching the one his daughter had put against his number. A car that was stopped at the lights, his daughter''s car, their daughter''s car, a car with human remains within. Sitting on the couch next to his wife, he put his arms around her, and they both let their grief flow.
She''d shucked the shells of the Lurkers, made a rough and smelly satchel from one section of the membrane and harvested all the acid glands. She was carrying it right now, and she wasn''t in a happy place. Why is my rotten profile still showing an inventory of none? Hmmm. Taking the satchel off her shoulder, she set it down on the ground, tempted as she was to kick the whole smelly lot away. The implication she could perhaps sell the glands, even if she didn''t know for what now, restrained her foot. Reaching into the roughly made container, she pulled out one of her gross and squishing prizes. Inventory: Gland Nada! Store: Gland Nada! Stock: Gland She hadn''t expected the result, but it had disappeared out of her hand, without any indication of what had happened. Calling up her profile again, she snorted, as she noted it was now indicating 1 gooey Lurker acid gland in the inventory section under her profile. Working through the collected items, she stored the rest of the glands, sections of shell, membrane, and tendons. Anything from the bodies that might be of use, her Demonic Lore, insisted that Demon body parts didn''t rot (or at least not any further if their form was always rotten). Analysis: Satchel [Satchel: Is that what you want to call it? Something vaguely resembling a carry bag, made from the inner flesh sack of a Scoured Plains Lurker. Why don''t you go for a step up next time and dig out its equivalent of a scrotum, and use the membrane from around that? Quality: Rough or should I put it bluntly crap. Crafter: J Value: You might have to pay someone to throw it in the rubbish.] [Haggling unlocked. Crafting: Leatherworking unlocked Inventory unlocked Inventory (0 -> 1)] Analysis: Inventory [Inventory: This is your inventory unless you wanted to peek into someone''s stock of unmentionables. A personal space that surprisingly lets you store things, this skill''s level impacts how much you can store. It also influences where the item has to be when storing it, and how near or far you can make items reappear from inventory. Current Limit: 10 kilograms Current Range: Self Hand job Your space''s current contents: Assorted Lurker bits and bobs] Trolling Bitch! Fine, I need to level more. If I kill more lurkers, I''ll get more glands to trade later and practice apparently bad leatherworking. Though needles made of shell bits, and stitching membrane with tendon likely isn''t going to get me the best result in any case. "If the Lurkers did come out of those side holes, then I need to be very careful about the size of playmates I might attract," Julia muttered to herself. The sounds of her words chilling her yet again as she found herself speaking Abyssal. She didn''t know why she had spoken English before; her profile said she could still speak it. However, even when she meant to say things in English since the fight started everything came out in the closest word in Abyssal. They actually had words for trucks, no idea if they meant the same things with the word. She just knew that when she went to say trucks, a hissing snarl resulted, which meant trucks to her. While she also knew Common Celestial, she felt that speaking that tongue in the Abyss might be Bad, with a huge B, and some accompanying fireworks. Let''s see if we can bait something up to the surface and practice with my Ki Strike. 8 - Pitstop This place is the Pits. Oh, Dear. The gallows humour is showing. You think. Why yes I do, don''t you? The spot in the crevice she moved towards was only a double body length across. She figured it a safer pick than some others that one could still lose a car in. Hoping to find some playmates or at least a couple of punching bags; she''d moved forward carefully, hoping not to be heard by the tenants till she knew more. No one likes people who drop by unexpectedly, especially not if they eat all the seafood. However, their relatives were eager to make it a dinner party. Maybe I should have prepared some Dip. [Stealth (15 -> 17)] Okay, so folks are home and eager for entertainment. Peering over the edge, she could see the same style of holes in the side of this pit. Examining the holes one at a time, she eventually struck pay dirt when one some three metres below the surface provided what she was seeking. Within she could barely make a pair of Antennae tips, their colouration concealing them against the rock. Now she knew what to look for, she checked one after another; progressing her Perception and confirming she had at least four playmates again to deal with close to the surface. [Perception (17 -> 20) ] The ping of the notification had come through as soon as she had finished her inspection of the pit. It either agreed with her assessment or was trolling her, which again might well be possible. The hole itself ended maybe ten meters down from what she could estimate, without any massive entries cut into the side. So Julia hoped to avoid getting any unexpected big boys barging in on the festivities. There were further holes in the crevice''s side, but the angle prevented her from gaining confirmation on numbers. The antennae of the ones she had spotted were laying back a bit from the start of their lairs. The largest of them though at the base looked like something an Irish wolfhound could use to hole up, but at that point, the angle was too sharp to see far enough inside it. J felt for the Ki pool she had unlocked, and she could sense the energy, lapping at its boundaries. The feel of the power took her by surprise; it was a mosaic of sensations protective, disciplined, focused, yet at the same time caring and patient. It felt almost relaxing even to consider it, the power in such opposition to this place, and the Abyssal heat that fueled her other abilities. She held a Yin and Yang of energy types, her form''s heat, fueled the Succubus Powers, drawn from or charged by the Abyss. The Ki energy was pure and tranquil, but it felt even stronger inside her Soul. She didn''t force the Ki that she knew was wrong, though it made her stop and consider how she just ''knew''. What the heck. Yeah, I trained in Karate, but that doesn''t give me any knowledge on Ki pools. But yeah, so something unlocks, and the ''system'' in this place messes with my head. It installs what I need to know right into me to start my learning something, a Skill, or Power if I didn''t already know it myself. [Perception (20) ] But I already had that! Oh very funny, I swear you are such a Troll! Why didn''t you troll whoever cursed me, instead of sending me here? Next time someone calls you folks up with whatever Mojo. Just tell them they''ve got the wrong curse hotline. Then ask them to go to fuck themselves, that would work out. Cursing involved after all. Focus J. Mentally telling her notifications to turn off again, she set her mind to the task at hand. Following the guidance, she had received with the unlock she felt the Ki move through her body from its centre till it began to pool within her hands. When the energy had started to drift through her, it was in that pure tranquil state. However, as it had flowed, it started feeling like a power that promised destruction. To her, that sense of destruction felt like a false tiny veneer laying on top of a calm ocean. Almost as if something was disguising the power from the senses of others. As the power finishing filling her hands, she could hear movements as the familiar click of Lurker claws on stone rose from the pit. Taking a quick peek over the edge, she saw the four playmates all seemed to want to join the party. Their antennae no longer laying concealed against the stone but twitching in the air as they led their way. A Blink moved her away from the pit back; she certainly didn''t want to crowd anyone as they came out onto the dance floor. The arrivals though weren''t precisely what she had hoped for as while they weren''t much more significant than other she had fought. The colouration of their shells was darker, and bigger pincers made them seem more dangerous. There was also one more than she had anticipated, and five on one didn''t seem like it would be fun odds. Analysis [Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 4 Class: None Health: 100 Mana: 40 Defence: 32 Attack Power: 20 Combat Power: Claws [Ap] (6), Acid Shot [Ap] (1), Hunting Group Mind [B](1) Details: As a Lurker gains levels, they can develop a hunting group mind, enabling them to operate as a team when others of their kind are in proximity. ] Well gosh. Next time throw something into one of the holes. Don''t go luring them out with any energy. The five spread out and moved towards her in an arc spread out from each other. Forming a nice little enclosing net, one could even say they were trying for a natural pincer movement. The shortcoming was with five of them the line wasn''t very long, and she''d have no problems even now getting one end to the other. Still, she waited drawing back more with care as they continued to approach. Once the line had drawn in enough, and shortened further, she decided it was time to start the music. I don''t think this is what they mean by line dancing, but I''m a city girl. With a Blink to the left end of the line, a stomp pinned a leg, and before it could even try to get free, she dropped to one knee and punched downwards in the same motion. The pooled power snapped out of her hands as the punch made solid contact, and the shell segment she aimed at didn''t so much crack as shatter, the pieces spraying the nearest Lurker. A rapid double punch followed striking at the same location, against the now unprotected soft flesh. Her hands had sunk deep into its body, but it continued to thrash about, and she felt the legs under her foot, torn free by the strength of it. She didn''t get up but just Blinked again, and shifted another thirty feet away to assess how they''d respond. Unlike the last group, they didn''t gang up on the injured Lurker. They didn''t even mill about, but rather quickly changed formation. The injured Lurker moved into the middle of star formation. A leading and trailing Lurker, and one out to either side and their tail end charlie looked to be the biggest of them. Most concerning was the injured one in the middle facing backwards. Girl, they''re demons not purely mindless bugs. If I attack the rear, the one in the middle can back it up - I go for the middle one, then its buddy at the back has an opening. The one on the side you go for to turn towards you and the front fellow has two supporting it. Doesn''t work on me boys, you aren''t scary enough. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Sprinting forward she came at them from an angle, causing them to turn to fire at her. The middle man even brought into her frontal attack and committed itself to turn to attack. Her Blink took her past the globs, and to the far side of the formation, leaving them all out of position. She landed with one foot planted on the broad exoskeleton back of her target. Turning on her toes, she let loose with a stomp kick whose impact struck at the junction between a leg and torso; severing a limb and leaving a gaping wound. A mental image of an Anglerfish let a lure whip downwards from her torso. The line responding to her intention spiked itself into the gaping wound before the Lurker''s regeneration could seal it over. Another mental shift turned its end from an initial spike into a four-pronged grappling hook that tore deeper into exposed soft flesh and she headed skywards. Imagination is the key to Shapeshift. So many useful ideas in Comics that can be applied with Shapeshift and a bit of imagination. The massive pincers of the Lurker kept its head downwards, but when it tried to curl its body inwards to get at her. She spun them in circles, and let her playmate experience the joy of an amusement park ride. The tendril playing out playing it out like a fishing line, her imagination changing the hook lodged inside it into coral. While shapeshift is not the skill I hoped to level at present, I''ll take it. Compared to the mass taken up by the wings she had been ''spawned'' with a roll of her fishing line, and enough coral to fill the Lurker''s inside was little mass indeed. The major challenge was keeping both the Flight and the continual adjustments in Shapeshift going at once. Just as well she was a woman and could actually handle multitasking. As the surge of energy from the Lurker signalled its death, at last, she shifted her focus. A quick Blink downwards to lose altitude faster, rewarded her with an annoying discovery. Literal deadweight apparently was fine to Blink with, and the momentum of the spinning Lurker yanked her off her mental flight path. Fortunately, it didn''t pull her into the globs of Acid Shot the others had been firing skywards if anything it caused them to miss by an even wider margin. Quickly timing the spin, shapeshift removed the hook and tendril and its momentum sent it bouncing along the Plain away from the risk of any Pit. Guess I''d do better at Pool now 1 down, 4 to go Apparently, these guys don''t do well with flyers that aren''t straightforward in their attack paths. Mentally ''stalling'' her flight, she let just let herself tumble groundwards, giving a sideways ''push'' partway down as they adjusted their targeting and started firing again. Inviting the Ki to move to her feet as she resumed falling, monitoring the Lurkers'' firing patterns as she did so. You guys are worse shots than a stormtrooper. A last-second Blink as she neared ground level sent her crashing feet first into the vulnerable back of the injured Lurker. The Ki energy exploding from her feet as she impacted sent up a gross spray of guts. The energy rush that announced its death didn''t completely cheer her up, as she was covered in the Lurker''s guts, and wondering how long a broken leg would take to heal. She had to Blink away in a hurry from the shots, and even with her heightened quickness, she''d still managed to land on her arse. This is gross now I feel like I just landed at the end of a garbage chute. 2 down, 3 to go. Aware of the pain in her leg, she spared a glance for her the health bar on the hud and mentally shook her head. The twenty points she took from that stunt even with her resistance to mundane materials, explained why the bug went splat. I must have still been falling faster than I had expected. Note to self: Maybe, practice Flight more before using it for stunts like that. Three uninjured, each likely over double my max health, time to play tag for a bit. Flitting about airborne while her health bar crept upwards, she was glad for the improved regeneration she''d acquired. Shortly after she was back up to full health, the Lurkers had slowed down on the rapid shooting they had been doing. Blinking to the furthest away she broke off its leg and skewered it with a tendril, as she smashed a Ki laden fist into its back. She wrapped a second tendril around the legs on its other side and hammered blows down across the junctions of its chitin as it struggled to get loose. A few Acid Shots impacted harder than she had expected, and their stronger acid actually caused her chitin to bubble and crackle as the fluid slid off her. It was hurt but still moving, she Blinked away to land on her feet beside one of its Allies and not aiming for a leg just smashed a low kick into its back. Before Blinking away again to gain distance and let the spike of dizziness fade. She could see the black blood still leaking out from the Lurker she had skewered, although the leg hadn''t started to regrow the flow of blood had slowed. Okay, so three is fine now, four is doable, but five makes it linger longer. Her regeneration topped her back up again as she kept playing tag with the Lurkers. It was becoming more obvious that their own healing wasn''t keeping up with the inflicted damage. Sections of broken chitin littered the ground and while they had repaired some injuries she had inflicted on them, their armoured backs hadn''t been sealing up. A Blink put her into position atop the broken exoskeleton. Riding its shift into position, she dropped to one knee and felt its shell shatter further but her focus was the spear hand strike that plunged deep into its torso. With fingers sunk into its soft lobster flesh, Julia willed a Power she hadn''t tried to activate. Energy Drain Heat rushed into her arm, as a black web of energy dove deeper into the cleaved flesh. Around her arm a spider-web of phantasmal energy licked across the broken shell and the Lurker staggered and its flesh withering wherever the blackness touched A Blink took her away again, feeling as if she needed a bath to wash herself of the sensation, that hadn''t been like the rush of energy she had felt on killing Lurkers before. I want to take that one off the combat list, given I''d throw up now if I could, but it''s too fucking effective. Focusing back on the fight, she tried to settle herself even as she acknowledged the impact it had seemed to have had on the Lurker. Its movement seemed obviously slower and clearly pained; the other two seemed to be almost counting it out already. Either their shared ''Hunting Group Mind'' Power had deemed it expendable, or they were trying to bait her with its weakness. Though Julia expected it was most likely the former, cause well hello they are demons. It wasn''t as if the other two weren''t also sporting injuries and if she could finish one of them off, the last two would quickly be done. Changing her chitin with another Shapeshift, she gave a pleased smile. It would have made her look cute if she''d still been in her human body. Instead clad in alien urban camo chitin, with the dental additions only a mother could love. It came off more like a creature, well a beast of the Abyss showing fangs as Blink moved her. When she reappeared, it might have seemed an odd spot, directly in front of the lead Lurker''s head. If she had misjudged it, then it would have gone very wrong. Instead, as her feet landed on its pincers, she ''flew'' herself downwards, driving them to the ground. The extra weight too much for its limbs, they remained grounded, despite its attempts to thrash and turn. Most of the pincers'' muscle was for crushing power standing on them as it also removed the spikes'' danger. The modification she had made came into use as she dropped a knee strike towards its skull. The knee strike drove an armoured spike she had added into the side of its head. While the Lurker didn''t have eyes, their antenna base was still a weakness in their skulls. Stiletto heels, well, you never want even a tiny lady to step on your foot with one by accident. She''d formed the spike added to her chitin into the thinness of an actual stiletto and Julia smashed it into the Lurker''s ''temple'' with a lot of pressure. Its shell gave a sharp crack, and the Lurker thrashed and convulse under her, and the blackness of Energy Drain sucked health away. Critical strike head. The pilot died. This mech is now disabled. Twisting her body weight, she felt the resistance of the blade moving around in its skull. Before it died she removed the spike and blinked again. The rush of energy came to her just after she reappeared. As it settled into her, the last two flickered Antenna at each other and started towards their Pit. Though trying to flee, didn''t keep them alive long enough to reach their goal. [Combat Summary: Acrobatics ( 16 -> 19 ) Analysis [B](20) -> [Ap](2) Blink [B](8 -> 16) Flight ( 19 -> [B] 2 ) Fly [B] ( 4 -> 6) Energy Drain ( 1 -> 3) Hidden Lore unlocked Hidden Lore (1) Ki Strike (1 -> 8) Mana Sense (2 -> 3) Mental Resilience [Ap] (10 -> 12) Mundane Materials - Minor (12 -> 17) Perception [B] ( 2) Shapeshift [B](3 -> 12) Tactics ( 3 -> 7 ) Unarmed Combat [Ap] (8 -> 13) Experience gained: 6,000 Demon shards gained: 20 Least Succubus species levelled up. Charisma increased. Defence increased Magic increased. Blood Monk Class levelled up. Willpower increased. Defence increased Melee Attack Power increased. Blood Monk Class levelled up. Willpower increased. Defence increased Melee Attack Power increased. Attribute Point Gained ]
Name J True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 2
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (29 / 40)
Class Blood Monk Level 4
Defence 25 Exp (8,400 / 10,000)
Melee Attack Power 38 Health 104
Attributes Unallocated: 1
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 22 Magic 21
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22 Ki 14 (21)
Willpower 31
Charisma 17
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (3), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Improved (1), Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials - Minor (17)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [B] (5), Blink [B] (16), Detect Thoughts (1), Energy Drain (3), Flight [B] (2), Ki Strike (8), Improved Regeneration [B] (4), Mana Sense (3), Shapeshift [B] (12), Soul Sight (3)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics (19), Analysis [Ap](2), Climbing [B] (18), Danger Sense (6), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (6), Haggling (1), Intimidate (1), Leatherworking (1), Meditation [Ap] (5), Mental Resilience [Ap] (12), Pain Tolerance [Ap] (5), Perception [B] (2), Perseverance [Ap] (5), Profile Control (9), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (17), Tactics (7), Time Sense (6), Unarmed Combat [Ap] (13)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (7), Arcane (2), Demonic Lore (12), Hidden Lore (1), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (6)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory: Lurker Acid Glands, Lurker Membrane, Lurker Antennae, Lurker Shell Sections 9 - Blood can be a Poison A distortion in the air snapped her attention upwards, and Julia caught the moment the ''sky'' split, and it dropped. [Planar Portals (6 -> 7)] The Soul was crying out, but it wasn''t the same shrieking she had heard when overlooking the blood plains of the dretch. Instead, it was a sullen sound, whining, an adult toddler having a noisy tantrum. She judged the direction it was falling and pushed her Flight power to get her there quickly. The Soul hit the rock while she was closing the distance, but she''d been close enough to see it smack into the Plain. The same ironic, silly plop. Soul meets rock. Rock goes plop, like a stone into a pond. I mean, what the fuck is it with this rock. It''s hard on my arse and legs but goes watery for these bastards. Whatever happened to ''it''s the way it splatters that matters''. Has this place never heard that saying, I mean come on. Neither the sound it had been making while overhead nor the oddly quiet energy of its impact had drawn any attention from nearby Pits. Instead of clicking claws on stone, there was but the same still air she''d known on reaching this Plain. The only thing that changed wasn''t physical, but looming anticipation, like being in a packed room of people holding their breath ready to yell Surprise. Or the moment between seeing a lightning bolt outside your window, and the bang of the thunderclap. Yeah, surprise mother-fucker, auntie J, likely has something for you. Though first let''s peek under the hood shall we. Landing near where the Soul had struck the rock, she took in the change of texture. The patch it had landed on looked like molten wax had been split. Her eyes scanned over it as she came close enough to examine the Soul. Its impact hadn''t been completely ineffectual as far as the rock appeared. Since projecting from the patch of wax was a razor thing cut in the rock. A cut extended away from the ''wax'', heading in the same direction it had seemed to fall. [Flight [B](2 -> 3) Fly [B] (6 -> 7) Perception [B] (2) -> [B] (3)] She couldn''t see a depression in the rock, yet the ''wax'' looked as flat as the plain. Through its membrane, she could see the Soul twisted and turning, caught between wax and rock. The power of the compression squeezing it tighter, not letting it explode outwards no matter the opposing force. When she had examined it, the figure was certainly masculine, human but bestial in feature; oddly, she''d felt almost recognition. Okay, not complaining about the watery nature they get any more. Analysis [Demon: Gestating Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 1 Class: None Health: 30 Mana: 10 Defence: 5 Attack Power: If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Combat Power: Details: Newly arrived soul undergoing its planar transformation into a Scouring Plain Lurker ] [Analysis [Ap](2 -> 3)] Soul Sight The knowledge she had gained from the changing Succubus hadn''t hit her as hard. The glimpses showed the Soul belonged to her girlfriend''s father. Yet it showed a side of him she''d never known. From his perspective, she witnessed Andre''s suffering at his hands. Their shared history dragged her into his warped Soul''s depths; a mute witness to the growth of his sickness and the suffering Andre had endured in secret. His early life with a loving family, the hidden sadism, the razored-edged contempt, the joy in maiming helpless things of growing complexity: butterfly, kitten, puppy and person. He learned the delight of cutting deep with simple words, watching the spark of hurt and pain flare so brightly. Learning to inflict pain and leave lingering scars in places so many were too stupid to even notice. Venting his lust for control, power, and pain in all the ways he could against the most vulnerable of targets. Words weighted like chains, actions planned, verbal traps set, self-doubt on doubt piled high. Till he was sure he had them convinced that they were trash, and not worthy of anyone''s trust, not even their own. The knowledge had flooded into her without control, the wave of it looming ever higher from within him. Knew the wounds inflicted both physical and mental, repeatedly experienced tears drawn from her friend''s eyes. Experienced him squashing Andre''s hope and self-respect so completely with his planned cruelty, intending all along to mould her into his ultimate victim. How could you do that to my friend? To anyone. Andre was your daughter. How dare you? But not just Andre¡ªyour entire family¡ªyou sick fuck. Oh, Andre. Honey, why didn''t you tell me? I don¡¯t know how he¡¯s here now. But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got him now. The last sharp memory he had, delighting in sliding a blade of pain into his eldest whore. Sharp barbed words digging into the wounds from her latest loss. As he stepping away to leave that Bitch''s funeral, maybe he''d spit on her grave. The funeral procession on the shiny steps of that pathic place, making his day seemed so much brighter. Stepping off, railing so nearly in reach, as a shoulder, then a body struck him hard and directed him away. An empty grasp gained only air. As tipped off balance, the stones came up to greet him. Surprise and age costing time, a time he didn''t have. The steep shiny steps turned into the blackness of the Abyss on impact. She shuddered back as her venture into Soul Sight completed; recognition, flaring pain, and heated anger turned to Rage. Rage growing its own life as it grasped at the heat which had crafted her form. So the universe shat you out into the Abyss, and now I get plumber duty. Bouncing doesn''t count as flying you maggot. Andre, I didn¡¯t know it was customary to give someone this sort of funeral gift. Julia stopped herself as she felt her own anger in her quick movement towards the ''wax''. The memories she had seen in her Soul Sight sickened her, and her heart ached for the damage it had caused through its existence. Not aching from him, rather aching for the rest of her friends and family, the people at his work tormented by him. No wonder her parents had never wanted her at his home, they weren''t sure of anything but always said he felt ''Off''. No, I can''t let anger control me. Then it''s just like the demons here. But if I move on, then this turd will have time to gain strength. He''ll have time to grow stronger, even if its Soul now appears as bestial as he was in life. Stopping herself was hard, so much harder than she''d expect. The memory of tears, tears she seemed unable to shed burned bright in her mind. Oddly, that light guided her back to herself. It let her recognise the fury seizing her, a fury that shone with the same rage of destruction that formed the false veneer on her Ki. Compassion and mercy give their own power. But there is another thing here, Justice; you squashed my friend, your wife, all your children. You hurt them over and over, even used my death to hurt her again. However, Justice and vengeance are not the same things, and vengeance is only that rage given another form. Pulling herself to a complete halt, it was a long moment before Julia moved again. Now in quiet gentle motions, letting the Ki flow, she moved only in time with it. The movements a kata that grew more graceful as she relaxed into the peaceful guidance of the Ki. The scene as strange as a funhouse mirror, as she so contrasted the twisted, crushing distortions earned by the thing beneath. The monster under the wax became what it had always been, and Julia guided by the Ki in her Soul let her pain grow quiet. The ebbs and flows of Ki moved through her Mind and Soul, as it guided her meditation. It lapped through her being like gentle waves, till the unshed tears of pain turned to crystal prisms, beautiful in her mind''s eye. She was done, just as it was reborn. As the wax broke to release it, her fist broke its skull. The strike had drifted downwards with a motion of tranquil grace, but the power had still shattered the Lurker before it could even raise its pincers in mindless Rage. [Soul Sight (3 -> 6) Ki Strike (8 -> 12) Perseverance [Ap] (5 -> 6) Demonic Lore (12 -> 14) Meditation [Ap] (5 -> 8), Meditation evolved into Ki Meditation [Ap] (1), Applying Ki Meditation rank effects. Ki Meditation [B] - Ki Pool gained x2 multiplier. Ki Meditation [Ap]- Ki Pool multiplier increased to x3. Mental Resilience [Ap] (12 ->15) Demonic Shards gained: 1 Experience gained: 200] Rising with that same grace, she stepped forward over the remains, not stopping to spare it another thought. She knew now what poison formed the things hiding under this Plain; apparently, it was time for spring cleaning. 10 - Jail House Rock Julia rested her back against the shell of the largest Lurker she¡¯d encountered so far. Keeping her chin upright, and her posture as straight as possible. From mid-thigh down, her legs were a mass of pain, weird phantom pain. Rather than allow Pain Tolerance to sweep the sensations away; she opted to use it as a challenge to force the progression of Ki Meditation. Floating her awareness in the movements of the Ki as it slowly recovered, was like floating in an ocean; relaxing, calming, and yet one had to be careful not to drown. Especially when the pain and odd sensation involved in regrowth kept trying to drag all focus under the waves. Julia let her mind move within the Ki¡¯s ebb and flow. When she had started her spring cleaning, the Lurkers'' extermination experiments had started at the smallest gathering of Lurkers Julia could find. It wasn''t a game, so it needed a better approach than punching them while playing tag. She¡¯d made a bunch of discoveries early in her efforts. 1) Whatever energy enabled her Flight didn¡¯t attract lurkers. 2) Use of Flight itself they didn¡¯t notice. However, flying fast attracted attention. In contrast, flying at a slow walking pace or less seemed to be stealth mode on a Lurker. 3) Ki settling into her hands or feet, that it got them excited and attracted attention. 4) Ki flowing through her in pure meditation, did nothing to attract them. No matter how close she was to one. 4) Using Blink, Energy drain, Detect thought, or it seemed any ability that could have an external effect drew them like flies to a corpse. 5) Shapeshift was odd. The way it sometimes reacted to some changes, yet not others. 6) Blink was her new BFF, long may it reign. Seriously Shapeshift down to the size of a teddy bear, well a large teddy bear, and still apply enough strength to punch into a Lurker¡¯s shell. Yeah, it was Odd. After some experimenting, Julia had figured out a tactic to handle Lurkers safer and easier than playing tag. The way their giant front pincers took up more space than their narrow bodies was a poor design. It allowed her enough space in various places to Blink in between its body and a lair wall, where they had no offensive option. It was like standing in the gap under someone¡¯s armpit and having plenty of time to push in a knife, and they couldn¡¯t close their arm. Blink putting her into that spot initially had only been a test, but she¡¯s struck pay-dirt with it. The various Lurker holes first went straight inwards from a crevice, and then after several body lengths of the one carving them, shifted direction to form a big loop. The formation of the tunnel''s cul-de-sac allows the occupant to enter the tunnel either in reverse or head first and still position themselves to face outwards. However, given the breadth of pincers and shoulders, they couldn¡¯t get close to either side of the passage. During her initial practice attempts in cleaning them out, she pushed Blink¡¯s range of 30 feet. The skill''s range was enough to reposition inside the lairs or get outside again. Confining the fights to the passages let her deal with one Lurker at a time, in an environmental situation that they had set up but gave her control. That change in tactics for coping with the Lurkers had progressed perhaps too smoothly. She should have seen the incoming event from Murphy¡¯s law in that success. However, while it had worked, it was on for young and old, till she made a ¡®slight¡¯ miscalculation. Julia had successfully cleared out a few pits when the plain''s still air had stirred, darkening sky proclaiming a storm incoming. So a large dose of too much confidence found her pushing her luck. Rather than doing something sensible like withdrawing to an already cleared, she¡¯d pressed onwards. The result was she¡¯d become caged in by a hurricane loaded with chitin wrecking sand. It had settled itself overhead, even while she was still dealing with the largest Lurker in that Pit. The storm had been raising a racket and fighting inside a tunnel was noisy with the trapped Lurker scrapping shell on stone. Whatever the reason, she had missed the danger approaching until a new player announced its arrival. Which they''d done so using something she had missed entirely until it had done so 7) Acid Shot wasn¡¯t just used by Lurkers when fighting; they use it to carve or melt out the tunnels that form their lairs. She had been beating the latest Lurker like a drum when its bigger brother came over to join the band. The first she had known about it, was when it smashed a pincer bigger than her most recent playmate through the ¡®solid¡¯ stone that had been so useful in protecting her flank. It''s very first attack taking all support out from under her, literally. The saving grace was that attack had cut so hard and fast it hadn¡¯t kept a grip on her. Like scissors through paper, it had snipped off both her legs off in a single motion just beneath the crotch. The health indicator dropped from full to about twenty percent at the same moment. An instant later, Pain Tolerance activated to give her surge of clarity, despite the flaring pain trying to break her. The absence of pain cleared her mind long enough for Blink to carry her across the original playmate. She had switched the skill off, but either Pain Tolerance had decided her plan no longer applied, or her subconscious had thrown up its hands and said screw that for a joke. Improved Regeneration sealed the wounds, turning each of her stumps into rough plate-like shapes. The result had been uneven but had prevented her from bleeding out. Which she hadn¡¯t known was demonically possible, though her dropping health indeed showed otherwise. A later check with a hand having its chitin removed, let her feel the roughness like scar tissue formed on the wounds. The entire event had given her a new icon in the hud, while she had set a few via profile control, but it wasn¡¯t one included by her. The outline of a body had appeared, initially showing legs that had been flashing black while her health dropped. Then, when it stopped falling, the missing body parts had outlined as dotted lines. She could only figure that she¡¯s played too many Mech warrior games, and it had translated the information into something it knew she¡¯d understand. As for her original playmate, their second attack had cut it in two as it struck towards her. While she had escaped the damage from that second attack, it had come close to taking her apart as well. Losing her legs taught her another odd thing about Shapeshift. While she could Shapeshift new limbs, extremities and heck tendrils she¡¯d certainly never had before. Having lost her legs, she couldn¡¯t shift to a form of any kind that had legs, nor could she grow anything from her stumps. Blinking to its side and holding herself aloft with Flight, the follow-up punches just kept bouncing off its armour. She had been desperate for a solution, only to be saved by pop culture. Its body was too well armoured on its outside, but Lurker¡¯s like crabs couldn¡¯t chew nor close their mouth all the way. Their mouth merely provided them with a location to ingest food, though they didn¡¯t need it; it construction didn¡¯t let them chew. Blink again, she landed on its shoulder, and growing tendrils from her sides tied herself around its thick, inflexible neck. This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. She had then grown more tendrils into its mouth, sliding into the gap that never closed. Sprouting an eye inside its mouth from the tendril inside it had been disorientating. After adjusting to the changed perspective, piercing up into its brain had been easy. A giant mass of coral-like spikes grown into its brain later and a Lurker whose level she still couldn¡¯t analyse was dead. Stopping Ki Meditation as her concentration was threatening to lose its grip on things. Julia finally just sat and listened to the surrounding sounds, the wind and blood dripping out of the dead Lurkers near her. Though she was sitting in a layer of black demonic blood, and she was just too mentally tired to give a rat¡¯s arse. How in the name of little green apples can I feel my feet hurt? I don¡¯t even have anything below the knee really regrown yet. Remember J assuming, makes an arse of you and me. There is only one of us here. Are you sure about that? Great, now I¡¯m trolling myself. [Perception [B](16)] Who asked you!!! ¡°Well, at least I¡¯ve been increasing skills and levels, and yet more speaking Abyssal.¡± At least I don¡¯t think in Abyssal. I hope. Why can¡¯t I sleep? Profile
Name J True Name
Species Least Succubus Level 5 (MAX)
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (300 / 100)
Class Blood Monk Level 14
Defence 35 Exp (109,999 / 110,000)
Melee Attack Power 48 Health 304
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 22 Magic 21
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22 Ki (2) 63
Willpower 33
Charisma 18
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Improved (1), Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials (4)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [B] (6), Blink [Ap] (18), Detect Thoughts (3), Energy Drain (9), Flight [B] (10), Ki Strike [B] (15), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (12), Mana Sense (3), Shapeshift [Ap] (10), Soul Sight (6)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics [B] (4), Analysis [Ap](2), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (6), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (9), Haggling (1), Intimidate (1), Leatherworking(1), Ki Meditation [Ap] (7), Mental Resilience [J] (1), Pain Tolerance [J] (1), Perception [B] (16), Perseverance [Ap] (7), Profile Control (11), Sense Motive (1), Stealth (20), Tactics [B](4), Time Sense (9), Unarmed Combat [J] (9)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore (14), Arcane (3), Demonic Lore (16), Hidden Lore (1), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (7)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory (2): Number Lurker Acid Glands, Lurker Membrane, Lurker Antennae, Lurker Shell Sections Maximum Weight 20 Kilo (Inventory Full) Lots of things have gone up. Wonder how much of it was from that last fellow. Guess I shouldn¡¯t have ignored the combat summaries, but this place has been the Pits. J. That Pun. Was. So. Lame. Analysis Blink [Blink - Apprentice Level: Range increased to 55 feet (okay, roughly 16.75 meters, cause your brain insists). Duration and impact of disorientation of Blink will reduce further for each level, and stacking de-buff reduced. Limit of 7 repeated Blinks before the onset of dizziness.] That explains a few things, also hurrah for rank increases. Analysis: Hidden Lore [Hidden Lore: Learn more things about people like you, and effects that prevent accidental exposure.] Is that stopping me from speaking English at present? [Perception [B](16)] That¡¯s a hint! [Perception [B](16)] I thought you couldn¡¯t give hints? Fine, have it your way. I don¡¯t want to talk to you, anyway. Looking down, ends of bones were poking out from under battered knee caps. I must be brain dead; what does it mean I¡¯ve maxed my species level? [Improved Regeneration [Ap] (12 -> 13)] Analysis: Least Succubus [Least Succubus: As the name applies, these are the first and least demonic tier of progression for the Demonic Species referred to as Succubus. Possessing limited powers compared to more powerful Succubus (even Lesser) but are enough to allow them to serve their demon faction in many useful ways.] Analysis: Demonic Tier [Demonic Tier: Intelligent, demonic species have tiers that represent their maximum potential power, during a stage of their progression. The process can only start when they have sufficient accumulated demon energy to the maximum level for their current Tier. Non-intelligent, or bestial demons, do not have Tiers and can continue to accumulate species levels as long as they continue to exist. Encounters with bestial types with levels over 9000, , aren''t unknown.] Great, now it¡¯s giving me Dragon Ball Z jokes. What¡¯s next? Analysis: Ascend [This isn¡¯t a dictionary] Grade A Arsehole [Stop talking about yourself.] Julia clenched her fists, before relaxing them and face-palming with both hands while sighing softly. Analysis: Demonic Tier progression [Demonic Tier progression: The process by which intelligent demons triggered their transformation to the next tier of their species. Excess demonic essence over the maximum speeds up the transformation and improves the resulting form. Transformed individuals keep their original health, combat, defence, powers, mana pool etc. Species-level is reset to 1. Activating this process occurs when the entity focuses on its accumulated shards and endeavours to compress their power. A powerful demon can also force the process to trigger for entities unable or unwilling to activate it. This allows a bestial demon to progress into different demonic type. ] Okay. Well, I¡¯m not going anywhere at present. Looking at the shard count, she could only imagine it being was the Heat within her form. She¡¯d felt it first soon after arriving in the Abyss, and the power rush from killing demons seemed to filter into it. Mentally plucking bits of heat drifting around in her, she drew it around and around in circles. Slowing looping more of the ¡®thread¡¯, she formed in on itself; the process continued on and on. Minutes or maybe hours passed, it took so long, that she could feel the soles of her feet reforming, yet still, she was looping the thread tighter and tighter within her self. It struggled and strained to get free, but she mentally imagined winding the next line over escaping wisps and compressing it still further. The heat radiated physically through her skin, pulsating like a living heartbeat. A beat that kept racing faster as she kept pushing it in on itself, and then finally when it clicked into place the ¡®heat¡¯ burned. She sensed rather saw reality splitting around her, as darkness dragged her into oblivion. 11 - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Perceptions seared amid swirling flames that ripped at her essence. The vortex of power that engulfed her ground her down with pure Pain. It wracked her body as it crashed its way along in an endless loop. The memories of all her old pains, burned and ripped flesh alike, seemed to mock her with the shallowness of that prior suffering. Has it even been a second? Each moment promised to stretch on into eternity, though she recognised them as the mere instant they were. The knowledge didn''t ease her suffering, as she felt a rising dread for the turn of time. Agony compressed itself into her flesh repeatedly. Waves of fiery torment smashed against her, each trying to leave only shattered pieces behind. The Ocean kills, yet also feeds; one does not command the Ocean. Part of her wanted to blackout; beg for oblivion to swallow her whole again. Yet the pain allowed no release; instead, it strove to sharpen her perceptions. Slicing every instant across that sharpening awareness before lovingly etching torment into her mind. I didn''t command the Ki, but I didn''t want it to swallow me. Pain became an all-consuming blaze trying to devour her whole. With each cycle, it somehow found more to burn within her. The vortex of power continually tossed Julia around within the malicious inferno, driving the flames higher as if they sought to burn her sense of self away. A leaf in the wind. Senseless and helpless laughter lit up her Soul against the pain. Lit a path in a way the flames never could; and in that light with a beckoning Soul, she surrendered to the Ki. Feeling the power and peace of it sweep through her; its cool essence blotted out the pain and stilled the inferno within.
In the dream, she had been floating in the calmest of waters, so sweet. Drifting weightless one with the world, in a place where no concerns intruded. Yet as her senses returned to her, the smell of the rancid water slithered across her perception. Pressure crashed down, an uneven pain that was a mere silken caress compared to what she had known. The pressure turned and pushed her under, and mortal ''habit'' seemed no more, as no desire to breathe stirred. The pressure against bare flesh soon started her upwards in a rolling motion. Lifted into the air, the foul water grudgingly cascaded off her skin. Her weight was supported by a meshwork of cruelly cobbled wires that seemed intended to dig into vulnerable flesh. The recognition of sensation added to her distant confusion as the wires promised injury yet seemed unable to harm. "Watch the scoop; there is more than a husk within." She understood the words sounded by the deep voice, yet the acidic tones of Abyssal elicited no revulsion within her mind. "No thoughts within that shell. Keep on." [Demonic Tier Progression Completed Least Succubus successfully ascended to Lesser Succubus. Excess demonic shard energy converted. Resistance: Fire has progressed to Fire - Immune. Resistance: Poison - Minor unlocked. Resistance: Electricity - Minor unlocked. Power: Detect Thoughts evolved to Telepathy Power: Translate Languages Unlocked Acting Unlocked. Acting gained 8 points from ascending to Lesser Succubus. Acting (1 -> 9) Bluff Unlocked. Bluff gained 8 points from ascending to Lesser Succubus. Bluff (1 -> 9) Seduction Unlocked. Seduction gained 10 points from ascending to Lesser Succubus. Seduction (1 -> 11) Abyssal Lore gained 12 points from ascending to Lesser Succubus. Stealth gained 12 points from ascending to Lesser Succubus. Haggling gained 12 points from ascending to Lesser Succubus. 200 Additional Demonic essence shards converted 20 Attribute points added to Unallocated count, 23 are currently awaiting allocation. Demonic Faction: Unbound Progression transfer to the Unbound home plane of Hrz''Styrn completed. Single home plane option detected - home plane Culerzic. Alert: Destruction of your demonic form will cause banishment and a century''s imprisonment on Culerzic, as no other planar option available. Ascending adjustments completed.] An awareness that had eluded her finally snapped into focus as the ''ping'' of the notification completed. Once again, she looked at a strange sky, unlike any she''d seen prior. Instead of roiling flames, smog or crystal blue, the sky looked as if someone had spilled a tide of blood across it an age ago. The gore of it long since dried to a clotted red with blackness laced through. A single red orb burned sullenly; as if reluctant to illuminate whatever might occur in this place. The surface under her angled and snapped forward, throwing her and its other cargo into the open air. Reflex from the climb set her to Flight, even before her perceptions took in any surrounding details. As momentum spun her in the air, her activated Flight worked to arrest it with no guidance, yet not before her gaze passed over the platform that had borne her aloft. Twisted together from rough metal pieces, as if a gothic torturer had designed a dredge. Barbed wire formed the net''s body, hung from the scoops, with arms rotating on a lopsided structure. As her spin ceased, Flight held her still and motionless, high over a river in which countless bodies floated like logs. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. The machinery that had lifted her just one among an erratic host lined along the bank to scoop them out. The cool air on her skin beckoned attention to her now naked state, yet there was no cringe or even awareness rising in concern. Instead, her attention became focused on the reaction from below that her sudden stop of expected motion had drawn. The gaze of demons ¡ª by the dozen ¡ª raised to watch her; as the unexpected baited their eyes like a falcon''s drawn to a darting rabbit. She shrugged aside the voice within that prompted her to change. Vague concerns of safety, not modesty, stirred within and caused eyes to change into obsidian orbs; and facial muscles froze as if poisoned with Botox. She felt a vague distraction of shame, yet her alabaster skin refused to darken as the eyes roamed about flesh. The work crew observing her were a mixed bag ranging from merely thuggish to cthulhu''ish monstrous. Gross distortions of humanity worked beside things that looked as if they were scarring even the Abyss with their existence. Either the trip through the inferno had burnt them to ash or something else pinned her emotions to a mental glacier. Her attention focused beyond the horrors; she willed herself to drift on and land nearby as if there was nothing to hide. No straight jacket. Have I changed so much? Why? How am I so numbed? A large Dretch followed in the wake of a humanoid demon, obvious in their intended interception. Deep inside her, she still felt glad for the clothes this Dretch wore. Its mass clad in crude thick leathers, stitch as they were with coarse thread and blocky boots. Its clothing was as rough in appearance as the rest of it. The bulky body thumped along with scarred and twisted features, hosted emptied eyes that rang with hate. The other demon contrasted it, lean rather than heavy, it seemed the cliche leader. Clothes obviously better made, but weirdly patterned. {{A tracksuit is better than stitched rags. Is he even a mob knucklehead, not even made yet? Just a petty thief? Too low to get work in the city. Instead, out on this stinking river hauling corpses.}} The words unheard by her awareness probed her imagination to throw up images from the Soprano''s - the nephew scrambling to get made but shown repeatedly how low he really rates. The sheer pettiness made her consider the Demon properly to gain a proper understanding of what she faced. What skin she could see looked covered in thick ridged scales, though spikes spotted the scales. The balanced way it carried itself made it seem poised to leap at any moment. Turning her now obsidian gaze in their direction, she activated Analysis on each. [Demon: Dretch Level: 4 / 4 / 2 Class: Thug / Warrior Health: 120 Mana: 0 Defence: 40 Melee Attack Power: 50 Combat Skills: Smash [B] (15), Grapple [B] (18), Mace [Ap] (16)] [Demon: Cambion ( Spine Demon) Level: 8 Class: Hunter Health: 80 Mana: 5 Defence: 40 Melee Attack Power: 42 Combat Skills: Bow [Ap] (2), Knife [Ap] (1), Hand Axe [J](5), Claws [J] 8 Details: Cambion are crossbred between mortal and demonic species; when the mother is mortal, it invariably dies. ] {{They look like schoolyard bullies, coming to steal my lunch money.}} Random thoughts crossed her mind at the whisper deep within, even though it went unheard by conscious awareness. A scene from a cartoon where a bully held a kid by their ankles to shake out coins flickered in her imagination. Setting down, she waited for them to close the distance; the other demons returned to their work of shifting the waterlogged bodies into wagons. Splatters sounded out as the scoops continued to toss more to shore and disinterested hands threw them into wagons. The cambion stopped about four metres from her. As it halted, its eyes flickered hungrily over her from head to toe repeatedly before it finally met her gaze. "How is it you are Unbound Succubus?" {{Oh yeah, it''s looking to score. Implying authority to question when it has no right. No word of who he serves. Not only factionless, but not protected. Yeah, he''s nothing and knows it. This is a shakedown for spare change. It is so ugly. The Dretch looks better than it.}} She wasn''t sure if the snarling tone was how it always spoke, or if it was merely baiting her. "Does it matter? I''m here now and serving no one. Isn''t this the home of the Unbound? Or do you make a claim to control those here?" "Don''t stir trouble here, bitch. Answer my questions; we know you sluts are spies." {{It''s a labourer; this sure isn''t a border crossing. Still, perhaps something watches crews. Distract. Oh delicacy, goodness.}} "Here seeking to trade, not to spy," Julia stated, the detached tone of her voice bringing a sneer in return. "Whores can always ply their trade on the west side, inner ring." {{Looks like he''d hire the cheapest ones, or does he rent himself out as a prick?}} "I''m sure you''d know a lot about that trade," said Julia, with a smile that made the cold obsidian of her eyes seem warm. He didn''t get her tone and merely grunted as lust replaced the anger in his eyes. {{He so wants us. He can''t take his eyes off my breasts. They are just flesh get over it halfbreed.}} Need to reduce the snark, fugly thinks it''s flirty. {{Or flirt more and keep it off balance.}} "The Ka''larg didn''t sense your mind, Succubus. How do I know that''s the truth?" You''re going to get whiplash with your mood swings, mate. The name prodded at the back of Julia''s mind and she felt Abyssal lore spewing information on the serpentine telepaths. {{Why the fuck do we care? It''s just here to look for prey; we''re not prey. A question? Make him think and let it hurt his little brain. Likely more sense in his cock than his brain.}} "Does us both possessing Telepathy let us block each other?" asked Julia, opting to answer a question with a question. "Not like I''d want to let someone in on my secrets. Or do you tell others everything?" The cambion stopped and flicked a questioning glance towards a raised platform. Unfortunately, the appearance of the thing matched what the Abyssal lore had provided. It was grotesque, and even though it wasn''t the worst of their crew, part of Julia was glad enough it had stayed back. Blackish ichor flowed down its flayed flesh in slow continual streams. Ever shifting pathways that caused oily lines to shine among its exposed muscles and tendons. The worst of it to Julia was how the petal-like glands along the surface of its breasts appeared; they gathered and let the Ichor fall like poisoned milk from its teats. It was a mockery of motherhood, as it seemed to lactate, and express poison into every moment it existed. {{He does not know. Where''s your milk money, girlie? Hand it over. And that thing. How ugly. Never mind a paper bag, she''d need to bend in front of a hole in a wall, and still pay for sex. Let''s bait this fucker. If he doesn''t mention any official, then it''s only a street shakedown.}} Health full, Ki Full, remember demon''s only respect strength. The Weak are prey. {{We could kill them both. Kill or bribe}} See if he mentions trade tariff or some demon version. Julia started cycling Ki through her and felt the usual veneer forming over its power. "That aside, I am here to trade. See?" inquired Julia, as she stretched out a hand. A Lurker gland appeared on her palm, and she saw the Cambion''s nostrils twitch at the scent. "Lurker flesh is a worthy trade. Give it to me," growled the Cambion, his hands curling into fists. {{Greed in his eyes. It must be worth much more than he gets here. Look at the tongue twitch on teeth. Much more. It''s mine, not his. Mine.}} "No," Julia declared, the word edged in frost that echoed within. "Now." {{Bully boy thug. Let''s kill it?}} "That is not a trade." "I''ll.." {{THREATEN ME. KILL IT!!! GUT IT!!!}} The whispering thoughts trickling in her subconscious triggered a physical reaction. The shift in Julia''s balance and sudden growth of claws was enough to freeze it in place. "So do I need to gut you {{halfbreed}}," The malice dripped off the last word, as her instincts used a low variant of the term. The implication that he was the spawned from a mortal beast, rather than a sentient race. Wow, I think I just said his mum fucked a dog, or maybe a large rat, and he came out. This language is seriously messed up; one word implies so much contempt. Why did I pick that phrasing? Need to understand the languages jammed in my head. Ensure more than just added reflex picking the translation used. [Bluff (9 -> 10) Intimidate (1 -> 2)] {{It should bow to me.}} "You need to leave now." {{What a whelp. It has a tail between its legs to hide its lack of even a twig. It means nothing, need to move on.}} "Whatever." She lifted upwards with Flight alone, keeping her wings folded on her back. Keeping her attention focused on the Cambion and its thug. Angling to keep them both in sight till she was clear, heading in the road''s direction she''d seen. Picking the same direction as a loaded wagon, rose lifted higher and pushed her speed upwards. At least I can fly better than the American superhero. The cool air prompted her to imagine a new chitin form, and she let it grow to guard her. Quickly finishing the limited transformation that removed her wings and added an armoured bodysuit. The military camouflage discarded as she opted for an appearance like dried blood. Sharp angles of chitin, set to deflect as best she could image, appeared over it angled and cruel. The effect would unsettle a normal person, but somehow she missed it. [Flight [B](10 -> 11)] At last, she came in sight of the city, and its visage pierced the numbness that had formed within. Walls and banners fashioned of stretched skin stood behind massive barriers of bones encased in ashen mana. Even without trying, the power infused in them spoke of the Souls bound and tortured within. 12 - Uncomfortablly numb Landing on a ridge still a kilometre out, Julia looked over the impossible buildings ahead. As Julia studied their madness, she had to admit that it was scary thinking about going in. Not just because, well, ''Demons'', but since waking, things were off. Something inside her felt broken, and yet the edge of the break seemed indistinct. Things, sensations, thoughts that should terrify; instead, had slid right off. The most significant impact they had made was how little she''d felt. Proper, preparation, prevents piss poor, performance. You rushed that last Pit, and that Ascend. Let''s not rush things now. I did not know what that Ascend process would do. Yet triggered it anyway. Just had to go for another level up. {{Power is good, though.}} As she tried to remember more of the details from the Ascend, they skittered away. Scattering like roaches when a light came on. Why do you want to think about being burnt alive? Even metaphysically. At this rate girl, you''ll need to decide a safe word. {{Screams and giggles.}} Did I damage myself from Ascending or the Tranquility of the Ki? Is second-guessing going to help? Focus on now. Be aware, and at least try not to make the same mistake again. We need to be still sane to get out of here. So. Why go into the city at all? What''s my goal? What do I have to work with here? Why am I not scared out of my wits even considering doing this? If I go into that place without a plan, will it just swallow me whole? [Danger Sense (6 -> 7)] Really. I swear. [Yes. You do.] Okay, focus on planning J. The ''system'', is a troll but isn''t entirely against you. That hidden Lore, the way it ''forced'' me to speak in Abyssal. The Lurkers in the Pits might have been close enough to hear me. Yes, they are bestial demons. Could use Detect Thoughts against them, though; so they weren''t completely mindless. Hidden Lore could be why the Ka''larg thing couldn''t sense my thoughts. [Hidden Lore (1 -> 2)] I''m going to take that as a yes. You know that, right? So with my hidden state, I can''t give myself away unintentionally, but I can intentionally do so. [Hidden Lore (2 -> 3)] Crud. So a primary goal should always be don''t spill the beans. That''s such a fine example of positive goal setting. Right. Go Me!!! Yes, ensure I don''t spill my secrets faster than a smashed pi?ata. Demons would be on me like ants at a picnic. Need to set goals on things to achieve, not what to avoid. The current goal is to determine a plan, enter the city, blend in, perform planned activities, and get out. {{I should get stronger and make something kneel. Thugs should answer to me, not ask questions of me.}} Julia sighed and shook her head as the unheard voice continued whispering into the ear of her subconscious. She couldn''t shake the feeling that something was more than a little wrong. I broke something. How do I fix myself? Is it safer to leave that broken? How do I get stronger? How do I get out of this place? Focus on the now. The system description said Monks progression is self-discipline, focus. The Ascend progression was ripping me apart. I surrendered to the Ki, and that engulfed me. Suppose the effect from Ki did this. Well, then it brought me the chance to focus on now. Maybe I held off too long, and it was the Inferno that damaged me. Why am I distrusting the Ki? When did I doubt things of peace and calm? Snapping like that seriously, ''So I gut you now, halfbreed''. Yeah, that sounded pretty much on the nose for a Demon girl. Let''s chalk that one up to Demonic essence shards, at least. Still, it was funny to see its face when I basically said he was the spawn of a rat fucker. So my current self-assessment emotional reactions have changed. Be aware of the condition. Manage it, don''t ignore it, don''t let things get worse. Wait, what if it was Hidden nature stopping me from sticking out like a sore thumb? Stop it, J. No. Take ownership; focus on now. Focus on the choices you have, real control of, at each moment. Not blushing like a virgin in front of ''things'' eye-fucking you. Well, congrats for surviving. Cause I''m sure, there''d be nothing more abnormal to a Demon than a blushing Succubus. Plan. Do I need anything from that maggot-infested, gangrenous cesspit of a city? No bigger hive of scum and villainy was it. Sorry got you beat here. Information? What information and how? Excuse me, kind Demon, how do I get out of the Abyss? Portals. I can''t go back home. They think I''m dead; they even had the funeral. Back up, J, don''t go there. You''re not in a safe place, don''t get into stuff like that. Need to focus on the now. So learn about Portals. I need options other than being trapped in the Abyss. Is there a Library? Mages? Casters? Do mortals come to the Abyss for trade? Sure cause they''d be more than happy to take you out of the Abyss. Yeah, right, maybe if I was prepared to bunny bounce them. That is not happening. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. In RPGs with planes, good high-level adventurers travel to evil ones to stop a great evil. Evil ones would come for Power. However, they also had restrictions on the demons being able to get out. Is that the case here? Again, learn more about portals, and any restrictions on a demon''s rental permit on space outside the Abyss. Is it only they can hop out for a spa day, or more long term possible? Please let it be possible. Please. Another option: push my Planar Portal knowledge skill by dumping points into it? Wasteful. It''s taking more effort to get levels in my higher skills. Need to save the points for when I get things close to tipping into a high rank. {{Make them crave us, give us gifts.}} What do I have to work with, Lurker acid glands, meat and bits for trade? Sex. No. Why did my brain go there again? Does a demonic species influence instinct that much? [Demonic Lore (19 -> 20)] Lah la lah. Now I really don''t want to Ascend again. The Cambion seemed to want that small gland quick enough. That could have just been greed, though. You have, I want. Step one: find a marketplace, food place, whatever. Second, learn what they sell for, learn who would buy, sell them off. However, haggling is low, so good luck. Make sure you don''t get given a price that is a ton of worthless currency. The analysis said the glands are a delicacy, so don''t accept the first offer. Profile
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Culerzic
Class Blood Monk Level 14
Defence 35 Exp (109,999 / 110,000)
Melee Attack Power 48 Health 320
Attributes
Strength 16 Faith 5
Endurance 22 Magic 20
Quickness 20
Intelligence 22 Ki 63
Willpower 33
Charisma 18
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (5), Electricity - Minor (5)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [B] (6), Blink [Ap] (18), Energy Drain (9), Flight [B] (11), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (12), Ki Strike [B] (15), Mana Sense (3), Shapeshift [Ap] (10), Soul Sight (6), Telepathy (3), Translate Languages (1)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics [B] (4), Acting (9), Analysis [Ap](2), Bluff (10), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (7), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (9), Haggling (13), Leatherworknig (1), Intimidation (2), Ki Meditation [Ap] (7), Mental Resilience [J] (4), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [B] (16), Perseverance [Ap] (11), Profile Control (11), Seduction(11), Sense Motive (1), Stealth [B](12), Tactics [B](4), Time Sense (12), Unarmed Combat [J] (9)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [B](6), Arcane (3), Demonic Lore (19), Hidden Lore (3), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (7)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory (2): Assorted Lurker glands, meat and flesh materials (Max Weight: 20 kilograms) I don''t remember seeing some of those increases. Did they happen during the Ascend process? Why didn''t it call them out? Trying to access the notifications history provided a surprise. The earliest one listed was just the blurb that had snapped awareness back in place. So what a System reboot, it has lost all previous activity. Well, time to spend those attribute points. After considering her options, Julia mentally allocated the points and confirmed them. The notifications that followed weren''t exactly what she had expected. [Strength (16 -> 20) Charisma (18 -> 20) Willpower (33 -> 40) Quickness (20 -> 25) Intelligence (22 -> 25) Endurance (22 -> 24) Knowledge skill maximum rank has increased from Adept to Master Additional Knowledge Bonus points available Unallocated Knowledge Bonus points (10 -> 14)] I have only gotten one of my Knowledge skills out of the ''introduction'' ranks yet. So need to do better. Analysis: Skill rank Adept [Rank: Adept - indicator [A] - is the 5th rank of progression within skills, there are 50 levels within this rank.] Analysis: Skill rank Master [Rank: Master- indicator [M] is the 6th rank of progression within skills; there are one hundred levels within this rank.] Oh. So long way to go. [Skill Lore Unlocked. Skill Lore (1) Analysis [Ap](3)] Thanks. She had a plan, or at least the start of one. Yet still, she was loath to rush. So rather than dashing off, Julia dropped back down and moved away till the city was out of sight. The terrain she''d flown over previously was rough and uneven, but on foot, it provided plenty of sheltered spots. Julia beckoned and let the Ki drift through her like a mist, cycling it through her body. She stretched and took the time to loosen herself instead of charging in. The improvement in her forms and techniques from then to now clear to her. It was like someone had taken months of training, practice, and lessons, strung them together and hit fast forward. Sometime later she finally found herself decided on her plans and approaching the city. Her jumble of uncertainty having calmed during the meditation and practice. Though there wasn''t a full tank of gas or a half packet of cigarettes, anywhere in sight, there was a mission. With swaying, graceful movements, she covered the final distance towards Demons who clumped in groups littering the road through the gatehouse. She looked over all she could analysis letting her catalogue species, sometimes class, sometimes more. Gaining a little or a lot wasn''t the purpose; it was learning all she could. For during her practice, considering what she''d need to do to improve learning had moved to take precedence above all other goals beyond survival and secrets. The guards ignored those entering, their interest purely on their games of chance. Mounds of erratically shaped coins and clear jars of wiggling grubs alike sat in the circles between the gamblers. The ''guards'' presence was as if the place''s chaos had set them as a parody of form without real purpose. The most vigour she saw from any of them, other than arguing over dice, was when stepping passed the final guard. Moving around his bulk, she noticed the direction of his focus was on another Succubus, and they weren''t talking. At what once would have been an eye-opener, Julia felt only the disconnected numbness. Without a pause, steps carried her onwards, and into a city of the Abyss, the place alive with as much frenzied activity as a broken ant nest. The whole milestone happened with less fuss than a stone lowered gently into deep water. The masses were so varied and different they warranted no attention, letting her slip among them unnoticed. Past that gatehouse, streets appeared to run in many seemingly impossible directions. To her perceptions, more than one pedestrian could be seen walk through another as if a ghost. At first, perceptions couldn''t separate the many walkways, alleys, and even roads that somehow seemed to co-exist with each other. Others looked to head straight into a wall, and those walking along them faded from sight before they hit it. The city itself seemed to press down, forcing itself brutally into her awareness as various skills ticked over. Perception, Analysis, Abyssal Lore, Demonic Lore, even more than a few times Danger Sense among other notifications pinged on her awareness. Yet after a time, the progress slowed, and the pressure eased as if it had crossed a threshold for existing in this place below which no baby Demon need apply. The place was pure confusing chaos, and at first, she had merely sought to learn more and look about. Perhaps that initial intent had caused such problems and forced her progress. For when she caught onto the pattern required by movement within the city, it was a key that became clear in hindsight. Having been walking straight on for hours when the strange sky darkened, heralding the oncoming of whatever night existed here. With her only consideration that of getting back out of the city, things had fallen into place. The stonework under her feet disappeared between one step and the next, as it had at other times. This time though her front foot came down on familiar-looking blocks, and suddenly the gates which should have been long behind shuddered into sight. She now wasn''t sure anyone could know what pathways connected physically and wondered if they''d ever had. Instead, all that seemed to matter was the intent of the traveller. [Abyssal City Navigation Unlocked Abyssal City Navigation (1)] 13 - Contact The activity around the gate still looked like it had when Julia first passed through it. Well, except for the absence of the very distracted guard. Now her ability to return with ease was known Julia''s pace slowed, as her mind started turning over a new set of options. Demons, or so it seemed from the limited sample of just herself, didn''t need sleep. So there was no way to guess if the night would cause any behaviour change in the City at all. ''Danger Sense'' screamed, as reality ahead shimmered, and cracking noises echoed from behind her. Thoughts fleeing from screaming instincts, she willed ''Blink'' to shift her location. In her new perspective, the gatehouse''s position to her left confirmed City''s wall was to her back. [Danger Sense (10 -> 14)] From the potentially improved position, she gained little comfort, with the space near the gate, rapidly emptying. The fleeing Demons were obvious in their efforts to keep their eyes off her and the four newly arrived Succubi. Three of them positioned in a tight formation at the back of the Square. The fourth, who would have appeared in front of her, was even now turning smoothly to face her. They were the most consistent Demons she had encountered so far. They wore identical clothing, coloured in the same, deep red, green and dulled silver. The guards wore these exact colours, but all in different clothing styles, even when their species were identical. The standard colour scheme had been the only indicator of their role, aside from her ''Analysis''. The ''ladies'' needed no such help to speak of their duties; they were killers. The Succubus from earlier gave the appearance of being nothing more than an empty sex toy, being used by another. The new arrivals though, well it was clear from their spiked horns to the serrated edged boots. They weren''t there for anyone''s pleasure, but their own. Their very body language laid claim to space about them, their posture poised like the jaws of a trap. The guards'' clothes were rough, ill-fitting fabrics, erratically combined with poorly cured hides and ill-tended weapons. The apparel worn by the quartet were strange finely smoothed leathers, silken fabrics without any apparent error in their cut. The guards only blunt lazy muscle, more a speed bump even to her than a threat. These Succubi projected a promise that destruction might be the kindest of releases from their attentions. Analysis [Demon: Greater Succubus Level: Class: Health: Mana: Defence: Melee Attack Power: Combat Skill(s): ] Intending to flee, she focused on returning to the city depths, hoping to shake them. Stepping off fast, only to hiss and retreat from the spear of pain that seemed to split her leg from toe to groin, yet the hud showed not even a blip in health. [Danger Sense ( 14 -> 18)] Are you just going to keep increasing? I know I''m in danger. "Now. Now. Trying to go somewhere, my false Sister?" The words etching the air were quietly spoken, and wouldn''t have carried over the din that had been on every street. Indeed, moments earlier, they wouldn''t have been audible here. With the last ''civilian inhabitant'' having already vanished, they carried menacingly instead. Shimmering barriers seethed into existence around the outskirts of the Gate''s Square. Demonic Self-preservation instincts. Check. Wait, false Sister? "False?" How does she know about my hidden status? "So ignorant. Who taught you our Path? Who sent you here?" "I''m training myself. I seek to be stronger." Oh no. Analysis: Blood Monk [Class: Blood Monk - the primary advancement path followed by those Succubi making up the ''Sisterhood of Blood''. These Assassins have been continually employed in the Shadow Wars between factions for eons since their founding. ] [Demonic Lore (19) -> [B] (3)] Oh, motherfucker. System. You. SonOfaBitch. "Crush!" There was no point in ''Danger Sense'' even giving a warning. Still, it screamed, as visible Power leapt the gap between them. The impact smashing Julia to the ground; freezing mana broke through chitin, and burnt into flesh. The Mana constricted around her, and chain-like bonds squeezed her flesh tight to the bone. An agony that challenged the inferno of Ascending loomed like a tidal wave, but before it could peak, she beckoned her Ki to her in surrender.
So is passing out like still being able to be Dizzy. I still don''t think Demons sleep. You can smack their off button though. The idle thought was the first thing that came to her when awareness swam to the surface reality. The second thing was she was again naked; she wasn''t Barbarella, so why did she keep losing ''clothing''. Then her perceptions did a better job; she blinked at the weight of darkness that smothered her. She felt as if hung in midair, pressure clamping in spots along the bone ridges of her now outstretched Wings. Her skin exposed to air and the only other pressure sensations were as disturbing as they were apparent. Tentatively, she flexed her neck and confirmed the obvious presence of a cold band encircling it. Letting her Ki drift and cycle through her, allowed the rising panic to wash away. The veneer of Heat overlaying the Ki was as clear to ''her'' in its falseness when fighting the Lurkers. Though strangely, it also felt more substantial than before, in power yes, but also in that falseness. [Power: Harmony unlocked. Harmony (1) Monk class bonus skill points added on Power unlock. Harmony (1 -> 9)] Talk to the hand. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Letting her fingers flex with drifting slowness, she felt nothing obstructing their motions. Her perception of the ''hud'' confirmed her Health had recovered. Though she was sure it had plunged before she fell into the Ki. So I assume that was spell casting¡ªboth the barriers and the Power of the attack. [Arcane (3 -> 5)] Mentally selecting her ''Wingless'' form, she willed the change, only to find herself just waiting as nothing happened. [Time Sense (12 -> 13)] Assume I didn''t die, as then I''d appear on the other plane again. Prison. I could end up wishing she''d kill me. Sensory deprivation torture? Is this their version of a waiting room? Hello, I prefer reading aged periodicals. Heck, breast cancer screening is more fun. You get things squeezed all cold there as well. Stop J. You got a new power, check it out. Analysis: Harmony Nada! Oh fine. Analysis: Power - Harmony [Harmony: The development of this Power enables Ki to grow beyond the boundary of flesh. It allows practitioners to obtain a connection to the physical and spiritual aspects of existence. As they improve this Power, they can unlock a range of additional Powers. They also gain synergy between various physical skills and their Ki depending on their Focus. ] Interesting, but doesn''t seem like it''s going to get me out of here immediately. Trying to move upwards with Flight, she felt nothing, but it was hardly surprising. Stretching her arms to either side, then forward and back, as best she could. Julia felt no contact with anything but determined she wasn''t constrained further by any bounds. Bringing her knees up to her chest, she slowly stretched and extended her feet, legs, and finally arched her body out into the darkness. The pressure on the wings turned painful as she started to push her legs out further. Though it didn''t disturb her meditations, she merely acknowledged it as she continued her endeavours. She was almost at full stretch when she felt her toes touch against an unseen wall. Alternating each foot till she was planked, poised between toes and wings. [Acrobatics [B] (4 -> 5)] Hard to soar like an eagle, when pinned like a butterfly. In for a penny, in for a pound. Letting her feet fall downwards, she pushed into their swing and back again. As they came forward like a pendulum, she arched with the momentum and drew them upwards to flip herself between the clamping pressure points. Then flip again, and again; eventually, the screaming pressure ripped her Wings from her back. As an activity, she voted it as one, not to repeat. [Acrobatics [B] (5 -> 8)] The fall wasn''t long, but with no way to know how far she would fall, the landing wouldn''t have scored any points. Her face and shoulder were first in finding the floor, as it interrupted her descent; the rest of her body slapped hard against it. Mundane materials resistance, I love you so much. Her fingers traced over a rough surface that felt as abrasive as sandstone. Rising to her feet, she felt blood dripping from the deep wounds on her back. Her improved regeneration also doing nothing and her Health continued downwards. Can''t do anything about that. Wings didn''t drop on me, and nothing to use for binding the wounds. Either I''ll stop bleeding, or I''ll find out how the ''respawn'' works. Left-arm held across her torso to serve as a bumper, she felt across the ground with pointed toes. Right arm stretched out in front; her brain recalled the night goggle scene at the end of Silence of the Lambs. Yeah, I don''t need the ''System'' thing to troll me. I''ve got that covered; All by myself. It seemed to take longer than expected before the outstretched hand touched against the wall. Julia wasn''t sure though if it was just the small, careful steps prolonging things. However, by the time she had found stone under her hand, her Health had stopped going down. So I have normal Demon regeneration, but not my improved Power. Something in here disabling things. Or the collar doing it? Doesn''t seem to stop Ki flow though. That will teach me to joke about safe words. Now I need an incompetently stupid guard to come in and be too slow to notice me free. Lovely door, where are you? Here boy, Schmackos. The stone of the walls was smooth under her fingers. Stepping carefully sideways, with slow movements tracing her fingers over the rock. Eventually she ''thought'' she eventually completed a proper circuit of it. [Time Sense (13 -> 14)] The regularity of each corner making her sure the base of her cell, at least, was the square end of a pillar. The smoothness of the stone seemed unbroken, however low or high she had reached. Mana Sense. Nothing. Soul Sight. Nothing. Flight. Again, nothing Cycling her Ki faster, she invited it along her arms and felt the Power of it burn in her hands. The release of her invitation, had it flow away again unused. Ki. Check. After tracing another four circuits tracing stone, she stood with her back to the wall and stepped towards the centre. Kneeling to sit seiza, she rested the palm of her hands against her thighs as she meditated. Letting herself drift along with the Ki, regular flexing of her fingers the only things that counted any time. [Time Sense ( 14 -> 15)] There was no heartbeat even within herself; no breathing; no sounds; no light. The prison cell''s trio was all there was, lingering together in silence. Her. The Ki. The Darkness. Sinking deep into the Ki ocean, her sense of self flowed away, melding, blurring with them both. [Harmony (9 -> 10)]
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Culerzic
Class Blood Monk Level 14
Defence 49 Exp (109,999 / 110,000)
Melee Attack Power 50 Health 340
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 20
Quickness 25
Intelligence 25 Ki 81
Willpower 40 (Current Base:
Charisma 20
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (5), Electricity - Minor (5)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [B] (6), Blink [Ap] (18), Energy Drain (9), Flight [B] (11), Ki Strike [B] (15), Harmony (9), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (12), Mana Sense (3), Shapeshift [Ap] (10), Soul Sight (6), Telepathy (3), Translate Languages (1)
Skills
Active - Acrobatics [B] (8), Acting (9), Analysis [Ap](7), Bluff (10), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (7), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (9), Haggling (13), Intimidation (2), Ki Meditation [Ap] (7), Mental Resilience [J] (4), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [B] (16), Perseverance [Ap] (11), Profile Control (11), Seduction(11), Sense Motive (1), Stealth [B](12), Tactics [B](4), Time Sense (15), Unarmed Combat [J] (9)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [B](6), Arcane (3), Demonic Lore (19), Hidden Lore (3), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (7)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 14
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory (2): Numerous Lurker Acid Glands, Lurker Membranes, Lurker Antennas, Lurker Shell Sections Maximum Weight 20 Kilo (Inventory Full 14 - The tolling of the Iron bell After days in Darkness, drifting in the tides of Ki, the bitter red light stabbing from above surprised Julia. While floating in those waters, she hadn¡¯t paid conscious attention to the passing of time, nor the Darkness. Yet as she nestled deep within the Ki both had paid attention to her. The Ki was and would always be. The Darkness was and would always be. When the Suns all died, the Darkness would remain. Darkness wasn¡¯t evil; it was merely Light¡¯s other side. It didn¡¯t destroy it concealed, hid, and protected. Time wasn¡¯t even evil even though Time consumes all things, choices, restrictions, dreams, nightmares, peace and conflict alike. [Darkness affinity unlocked. Dark Mana is now accessible via Mana Manipulation. Dark Sight unlocked. Dark Sight (1). Time Mana affinity unlocked. Time Mana is now accessible via Mana Manipulation. Time Sense (15 -> [B] 1) Harmony (9 -> [B] 1) Ki Meditation [Ap] (7 -> 9)] I was meditating for days. They just drifted away. Yet Time Sense just kept cataloguing the movements of my flexing fingers and tracked the time, yikes. Wonder how accurate it is. Is it a count that is out by hours, days, or only minutes. That sense of time itself doesn''t matter. Is that from the Ki Mediation? Yet its only apprentice. Another option is some Demonic eternal weirdness. Or is it because I got lost in the meditation? Then again, without the prompts of hunger or fatigue. Well, there''s nothing to push me to stop? Mana Manipulation, guess that¡¯s part of spell casting. Wonder if I¡¯ll need anything further. [Skill point allocated presently thirty-two points still available to distribute. Mana Manipulation Unlocked. Mana Manipulation (1). Mana Pool Unlocked. Base Mana Pool set to 21. Mana Pool adjusted by high Intelligence attribute (21 -> 28) Mana Pool adjusted by high Willpower attribute (28 -> 43) Ki Meditation Synergy with Mana Manipulation detected Bonus ranks from class allocated because of skill synergy. Mana Manipulation (1 -> 9) Mana Pool increased (43 -> 51) Wizard class unlocked and selected. Magic increased (21 -> 22) Advancement in class paths currently at: Monk - Level 14 Wizard - Level 1] Guess I should have looked into Magic and Mana earlier. It has said something about Wizard''s magic using researched methods. Though research requires experiments and experiments sometimes mean things go boom. No rushing allowed, be careful. It¡¯s what you don¡¯t know that can come back and bite you in the arse. Not a big fan of magic-user types, I''ll look at it later though. Julia heard the skin of her severed wings slap wetly against whatever opening that was there. Cursing carried down from above and almost made her smile. With a simple flowing movement, Julia stepped up and into the light that speared into the chamber. Her gaze roamed up the arching height of the cathedral-like pillar that held her captive, and she looked to the light. ¡°I grew tired of hanging around, so I sat out the wait.¡± ¡°Stand back. Will drop rope. You climb up. Try nothing. You summoned.¡± It was her first time hearing a Dretch speak. Its halting words did nothing to raise her opinion of them, especially what she''d witnessed. Julia just hoped it would actually secure the rope, and not just drop it in. At last, when its rope dropped like an uncoiling arm, she skipped back from its weight. The sound of leather slapping against stone rose from it, as its end licked against the floor. "Climb. Now," The tricks Mal had taught her to climb a rope unaided came back readily. Every motion upwards added memories of their fun times together, their joyous times adding to the Ki''s tranquil pool. Swinging from ropes into rivers, climbing into tree houses, one families'' property or another. The little shadow skipping and running along in the wake of her older brother. So much life that had flittered by enjoyed but not cherished now vanished into flames. The Dretch was standing well back when she finished the climb out, yet its sheer mass seemed to loom close. Her eyes took in its massive form standing over 2.5 meters; its shoulders breadth longer than the length of her arm. Its clothes looked formed from patches of weirdly textured leather. There was no apparent sense or reason to the colour or shape of each beyond filling gaps. Then her mind clicked the pieces together, and the chaos made sense, like a magic eye picture Julia couldn¡¯t unsee. {{It has a hobby. Does it collect them itself? Skin them from the living or those shells with the souls screaming inside the drowned flesh.}} Her intelligence and perception combined to take away any confusion about the pattern¡¯s source. Coldly they sliced apart the details, to make sense of the clues present, some bits of hair still, and then some other shapes. A corner softly turned like a lip. That was the last clue it needed, and it all fell together: the lumps became noses, a bit of hair, an eyebrow, or eyelash. Its patches were all human faces, and it had enough to cover the whole of its massive frame. It''s texture making her wonder about the rope. The chamber which she climbed into was more passageway than a room. Storage racks irregularly spotted the wall along one side. Their content was a cluttered mixture of ordinary tools, with spikes, presses, among other fun only an inquisitor would love. A stone plug, almost as thick as her torso was broad, tilted away from the opening. A block and tackle still attached showed how it unsealed. She could see stones about the same size set with hooks, along the passage, they could hold the twenty prisoners at least just in this stretch. Archways towards the middle seemed to lead to further passageways, so lots of room for everyone at the block party. Not that she figured it was the time, place or individual to enquiry about the cost of a tour. {{Fuck it and drain the energy from it. Make its strength ours.}} "Move," It pushed her towards an intersection and followed with heavy steps. She didn¡¯t want any Demon, especially not one of this ilk at her back. Yet that option had long since vanished over the horizon. As they got to a blank wall, the Dretch pushed past her with a groping hand. Julia¡¯s gritted teeth were the only thing that saved it from a crotch punch. Its slab-like hand slapped against a stone, and a section before them melted like wax. The stone flowed downwards but didn¡¯t spill out of the wall. Its motion provided Julia with no clue to determine if it was illusion or stone shaping that formed it. Another uniformed Succubus leaned against a wall beyond; it appeared to have come from the same mould as the other four. Before the wall had finished shifting away, it stepped forward to look past the Dretch and regarded her with malevolent disinterest. {{Oh, careful}} ¡°What happened to its Wings?¡± ¡°On when she goes in. Opened hatch they weren¡¯t. Wings set on holders, they still on them; she wasn¡¯t on Wings. She climbed rope out. Should I put it back?¡± ¡°No, it comes with me for now.¡± The Succubus reached out, and with a seemingly negligent push sent the massive Dretch staggering away. The now cleared ¡®doorway¡¯ gave Julia plenty of space to step forward, as the Succubus moved back. Questions formed on lips as Julia''s brain raced in thought, even as she moved forward into the gap. Yet a glint of concealed anticipation caused her to still her tongue. [Perception [B](16 -> 17) Sense Motive (1 -> 3)] I¡¯m fine. I¡¯ve had a lovely rest. How has your day been? This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. When she had stepped in the chamber beyond a blow struck towards her face. Only her instinctive flinch spared her contact and gave her sight of the glistening strand connected to the hand. Pain clamped around Julia''s neck at its touch. The collar suddenly seemed to squeeze as if within a giant''s grasp. The other didn¡¯t seem inclined to explain or wait for her to understand. With effortless striding motions, it''s ''walking'' speed was so fast Julia needed to run to match its pace. The strand still formed a bridge between them, stretching between collar to hand. Feeling the pain climbing as the ¡®leash¡¯ thinned further, Julia darted forward to stop it from snapping tight. Embracing Pain Tolerance even while endeavouring to keep up, as their path carried her towards the unknown. Glad it hasn¡¯t blocked that skill as well. Still, she moved to keep pace, and the painful pressure ebbed: levelling Pain Tolerance on the Cliff had been one thing. Julia didn¡¯t want to risk being insensible in this place if they overwhelmed it. Ignoring the hiss of ¡®Danger Sense¡¯, as it was clear the proverbial shit creek would be happy to drown her in its floodwaters given even one mistake. As the pace picked up, she beckoned to the Ki, and it drifted along with flesh a tranquil contrast to her hurried motions. Moving alongside the Succubus who seemed intent on towing her, would clearly be a bad thing. Yet following in its wake was a dangerous game as it randomly flexed or even speared its wings towards her. Apparently seeking to prevent her from staying close enough to eliminate the pressure completely. It acted as a sadist playing with a pet, amused to give it cause to jump, run and bounce. They went up some stairs, down others, in a twisting, confusing pattern, running through groups in training halls, only to sprint back through the spaces, and jogged by ashen gardens. Then spent her strength racing to keep up along galleries, the windows of which overlooked the same places. Isn¡¯t that how brainwashing starts they make you pick an option? Cause out of options that suck. Well, you still selected it, so whatever is happening is what you chose. Right, and no introductions, so my exercise instructor for the day is Ms Bitchy McBitchyPants. Yeah, and you ripped your own wings off. Honey, you ride that train. They¡¯ve not grown back yet, but Health is full. Suppression of ¡®Shapeshift¡¯ maybe? Something else, no idea? More questions and no answers. [Mental Resilience [J] (4 -> 5)] Yet even in that scurry, Julia''s sharpened mind still found time to catalogue what she saw. Combat training, in all its forms; as gatherings of Succubi smashed against each other in churning cycles of violence. Their lavish chambers and bare stone rooms seemed to have no apparent rhyme or reason to their use. A massive room filled with once opulent furnishings appeared as if a grand melee was being held within. Some appeared to come from the first uniformed mould she''d seen, face, hair, wings, apparel alike. It grew beyond four she''d seen to ten, twenty, perhaps thirty or more unless they were flittering back and forth. Maybe Shapeshift used to look identical so no one can tell them apart? Phantom Ghost who walks, a man who cannot die. [Perception [B](17 -> 18)] Yeah. Okay. I¡¯m enjoying this run. Days stuck in a black pit; it¡¯s nice to stretch the old or new legs. I¡¯m weird. I know, but the leash and stabbing wings are the only downsides to this workout. Well, that and being stark naked, plus the girls'' weight, the way they bounce, being in the Abyss, oh the joy goes on. The pain from the leash occasionally gets through Pain Tolerance, but no change in Health. At least I can stop most of it. {{Makes me feel so much more alive.}} It¡¯s suppressing my Succubus Powers, not all my Powers, not my skills, nor my Attributes. {{Locked in a collar, and a leash, I''ll be good to you, Mistress.}} [Ki Movement Unlocked Ki Movement (1) Base ground movement increased.] Getting into the mental zone of the run, she only just avoided ploughing straight into the back of the leash holder when it suddenly stopped. Glancing beyond her wings, it was clear they¡¯d stopped in front of a fancy set of double doors. Their material looked similar to rosewood, inlaid like the crafter had taken a liking to filigree. Then decided their artistic calling was porn with a side order of snuff films. Yet along the doorframe, it seemed they¡¯d given up on porn and moved onto slasher flicks, really gory slasher flicks. Bells rang somewhere far above them, like a weird screaming church bell; their ''ringing'' sounds pulverised her. Feeling as if spikes of power had struck through every major bone; even the protections Pain Tolerance and the Ki Meditation provided were not enough. Julia fought to stay upright. She certainly wouldn''t trust McBitchyPants not to take off while rendered unable to follow, or at all. [Mental Resilience [J] (5 -> 6) Mana - Improved (1 -> 2)] Oh, Joy. They¡¯ve got a magic car alarm or was that just their joy buzzer. {{I would love a buzzer now.}} As the Bells ceased, a raised voice came clearly from beyond the doors. While it sounded kin to the Abyssal she knew, she failed to grasp a single word. So what I speak common Abyssal or something, but not whatever that language is. So the effect suppresses Translate Languages along with the rest of the Succubus kit? J, how about magic on the doors? You can hear bitch, but you can''t understand. I want to have a chat to the Quartermaster these pants don¡¯t fit. Oh wait, they took those as well. Yeah, I could try the Telepathy out, to see if that they also locked it down. However, don¡¯t think I want to go looking into these Demon¡¯s thoughts if I can help it. {{Would rather stick my tongue deep in. Lick her silken white skin. Need to feel more than this calm fog suffocating me.}} The apparent monologue from within the chamber came to a halt, and the doors cracked open. Ms Bitch stepped forward far slower than before, and Julia followed her in, wondering what sort of dog and pony show she was in for now. After getting led through an antechamber, Julia didn¡¯t get to look at the primary room immediately. She blamed her guide, who seemed to turn game show hostess, putting on a fancy extended flourish of her wings for those already within. Look at these amazing prizes you could win today. The chamber looked like it could fit a lot more Succubi in it than were in attendance. Rows of backless flat seats, in various styles, stood scattered along either side of the room. The ones close to the door were each just straightforward construction with no ornamentation at all. As they got closer to the raised platform at the end of the room, they gained carvings and then scattered gemstones. The final ones nearest the raised platform looked to be of precious metals. Though costly enough on its own, the crafter had thrown themselves deep beyond the border of tasteless. Gemstones stacked up like nodules from every surface and seemed to compete with the occupants for space. There seemed but fifteen Succubi waiting for them, randomly distributed among the seats. Only a few of those present sat anywhere near the one that felt, from its position and isolation, to be their CEO. All present wore the same fitted uniforms, no matter how fancy their seat, yet the rest of their appearance varied as much as a gathering of the UN. The room was bleakly white, stark in its sameness it felt as if reality roiled along its boundaries. While no colours shifted, the roiling energies seemed to lend everything a strange distorted texture as the material wavered in and out of phase. It seemed at first only the chairs, and the seated Succubi were the only thing not made of that whiteness. That was until Julia came close to the centre of the chamber, and her attention scuttled off a dark red block squatting there. When she saw it, it was as if it had always been there, waiting, lingering, merely filtered completely from her mind before now. Yet even now knowing its presence, her eyes continued to want to slide off it even as the force of it grasped for her. As the distance closed to a few body lengths, the details of it snapped clear. It squatted possessively on the floor, maybe her forearm squared in size, the lower of its height dipped to her ankles. However, that was hard to be sure of as its surface seemed crisscrossed with gullies, ridges, and spikes. Getting this close to it made her skin want to crawl, yet her guide took them closer still. You can keep this one. Can I get one made from memory foam instead? That would be lovely. When they finally reached the proximity of the twisted looking Church kneeler, her guide stopped, and the leash vanished. ¡°Kneel!¡± Another sharply flicked gesture showed precisely where, and Julia¡¯s focus threatened to balk at the demand. Not even a please or thank you. Ms Bitchy McBitchyPants. Having stopped, her knees didn¡¯t want to flex again, but with one shuffled step forward and then another, things changed. With that step, Julia broke a bubble of resistance, and motion became easier. A final step forward carried her across the last of the separation. Sure that any delay might be far worse than what was to come, Julia knelt on it gingerly. The only comfort is that while the spikes¡¯ pressure was clear, none of them pierced into flesh. The hissing of anger that came from several Succubi, however, cast that comfort away. Guess they hoped it was just going to eat me whole or something? Julia¡¯s position cast her gaze upwards towards the ¡®CEO¡¯ seated maybe five meters directly ahead. The CEO was a study in contrasts. Her face looked classical, somehow almost angelic, serene, at peace, but violence spoke from her even in sheer stillness. The serenity wasn¡¯t from kindness. Rather it was the serenity of the emptiness between stars¡ªa serenity of an eternally consuming void of destruction where not even emotion lived. {{She''s so strong; I want that sort of Power.}} The guide twitched nearby as if wanting to strike Julia, who, deep in the tranquillity of Ki, couldn¡¯t manage even fake meekness. Under her knees, the block¡¯s material felt as if composed of the Abyssal Heat itself. Yet like the Heat hiding her Ki, to her, it seemed a veneer hiding something stronger lurking beneath it. ¡°Her mind is but a blank to all measure of questioning Lady Baln¨¦rith; Caster and Power alike.¡± Did they question me? ¡°I see what you mean Castellan; her mental protection is formidable for a whelp. Fetch it.¡± Oh, hidden so CEO Lady Baln¨¦rith can¡¯t read my mind either. {{I rule me. Fuck you all.}} And shut up ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ do you think I can¡¯t tell, the depth of this water. Not even giving me any level-ups. None of the Succubi that Julia could see had so much as shifted on their seat. Making her wonder who was doing the fetching and what was coming. The Succubus that quickly came into Julia''s view, without even a whisper of noise, was among those who had been closest to the entryway. Guess you get to play fetch if you¡¯re a pleb in this place. In her hands was a solid block set atop four long barbed spikes. The object drank in the room¡¯s light and appeared made from a single black seamless piece of metal. As they set it down carefully in front of Julia, the spikes sank into the floor with its weight alone. Despite its apparent weight, the Succubus had been carrying it with a delicate grip upon the metal. Yet that grip still required obvious effort to remove once the block was in place. As its hands came free, a spray of Demonic blood splattered across the floor. The black droplets blurred even as they hit and colour faded into the white, till only whiteness remained. Oh yeah, I''d treat something with kid gloves if it was trying to eat my hands as well. No, really. It''s okay. You can take the toy back. The Succubus held out an impatient and unhealing hand, clearly expecting her own. The flesh of her fingers and palm appeared as if it had left chunks of flesh behind, though if so the block had cleared them from its smooth surface. Oh shit. The guide didn¡¯t wait for Julia to gather herself and instead stepped forward. Grabbing her forearm, she hauled Julia¡¯s hand upwards towards the waiting Succubus. Though the force and angle should have yanked her up, something held her shins to the block. Julia found herself secured between them, holding her fingers and forearm in a crushing vice. One moment Lady Baln¨¦rith was still sitting; then she was there next to the block, leaving behind but a flickering after image. Her hands danced over the material, manipulating it with no sign of injury or uncertainty. When done, her fingers lifted easily away, and the block shifted its surface to fall open, revealing a thick spike within. Julia¡¯s fingers and arm held still between the two Succubi; they moved with blinding speed. She didn¡¯t even have time to blink as they smashed her palm onto the spike. As the tip of it shoved up through the middle of her palm, blood splattering over them because of the force. Bones displaced outwards in a rush of agony, pain washing past her tolerance, as hollowing energy emanated from the wound as if to consume her. The spike''s sides folded outwards in quarters, the segments unfurling as if a blooming Orchid. Metal like they still flexed as if wings before spearing down to pin her hand to the base. Searing cold scoured into flesh and bone, as the spike''s inner core flattened and drooped downwards. That core moved about with motions as if it was tasting the air before it bent to lick at her pooling blood. ¡°We shall have the Truth of you.¡± Lady Baln¨¦rith looked down serenely as Julia screamed, her sense of Ki, and even reality itself shattering. The pain she felt made the memory of Ascending''s Inferno but a Paradise. As even her sense of time ruptured, oblivion remained teasingly out of reach. Agony lovingly, with sharpened caresses pressed hard, thrust her against reality''s mirrored shards, seeming to drive her perception into the beyond. Sores bloomed slowly outwards, spiralling upwards along her arm. Flesh betraying her, as it rotted from within, the skin then muscle slid from bones in the bloom''s wake. Julia¡¯s body convulsed as her mind tried to break past the riptide of the spike''s siren call. The Succubi had long since released her, yet the spike and block held her fast. As the creeping sores cascaded past her elbow, the strange licking tongue coalesced into a solid seed. A blade gleamed into existence, and within the room''s whiteness, its silver shone like ice. Ice that rose and fell with force to sever Julia¡¯s arm from her shoulder with absent care. Where blade cleaved flesh and bone, frost followed, and cold beyond cold cauterised the wound. Flesh parted like ripping silk as the limb dropped away, still decaying to the floor. 15 - Oath of Blood As Julia returned to herself, her mind twitched and shook as tremors of continuing shock raced around inside her. Voices in the distance were speaking, and only vaguely was it understood that it was about herself. At first, the fragmented snippets fading in and out made no sense. She slowly noticed fingers in her hair and knew that they were all that had kept her upright. Yet their hold seemed deliberately positioned to force her body into an awkward arch. They compressed her like a drawn bow between the grip in her hair, and an unrelenting force holding her shins. "Well. It seems you didn''t break. Yet even in that state, your mind remained protected." The voice of Lady Baln¨¦rith yanked her awareness back into reality and anchored it in place. Despite her now coherent attention, Julia felt pieces inside still shuddering and screaming for mercy. Her voice held Julia''s attention in its grasp, despite the turmoil inside, or the pressure on her body. {{Such Pain. Need to flee.}} I need to get out of this place. What the fuck was that thing. This place is vile enough by itself. Trying, no it wasn''t trying, it was munching me down a piece at a time. Fuck. I was getting eaten alive. Did it get at my Soul? That wasn''t just painful. It was living Agony. Baln¨¦rith picked the core from where it now sat nestled in wilted petals, rolling it over in her fingers, and seemed to see into its depths. Then, as if having seen enough, brought it to her mouth and bit smoothly through its surface. Each measured bite sounding like cracking stone, she consumed it all. The words spoken next made no sense to Julia. Intoned they lingered in the air, a mix of decadent decay, and bile laced through with gagging sweetness. As Baln¨¦rith finished, a vice''s jaws locked on inside Julia, landing on brittle wounds laced with broken glass. The pressure felt as if it was ripping into her flesh and scrabbling to claw into Soul and chain her in place. What the heck. How much more? No. Keep it together. Focus and reach for the Ki. Nothing else matters at the moment. Ki that felt like it had been so long out of reach willingly flowed in to help block out the pain. Yet its very touch felt like her family''s hugs, so that even as the tranquillity trickled in; grief hit hard. I miss you all so much. I''ll never see you again. The spike of emotional pain threatened to burst that tranquillity; even as it ebbed away. It was only by the barest margins that she floated within it. All the while, the falseness of the Heat''s veneer seemed to mock her with its presence. [Complete Intonation of Form''s True Name Detected] "In the common Abyssal dialect of this era, it would mean Blighting of the Innocent. Acceptable," said Lady Baln¨¦rith. [''True Name'' confirmed: Blighting of the Innocent Error: A false True Name has been gained through a ''nominally'' successful ritual. Details: This name is accessible through imprints to protect the hidden. It has minimal resistible effects to indicate when it is being used. Note: You''re hidden. The only being that can find your True Name is you or one of the realms'' five founding primordials.] Julia gasped in shock at the notice, and Baln¨¦rith smiled in smug satisfaction. Her tongue flickered across the last fragments that dusted her lips, her eyes devoid of anything sane, as they shone with cold Power. When she spoke long moments later, the Chamber was still quiet as none had dared to disturb her thoughts. "You have some useful skills, but not enough of what we require. And none of the classes that normally set one on our Path. Yet without guidance, you found your way. This is how she tripped the wards at the Gates. No Traitors, just an unsworn having found her way. Interesting." She gestured for the Sister who had fetched the object to remove what little remained of it. This time when they carried it, there was no sign of any care being required. The grasp on Julia''s hair relaxed, and no longer forced to lean back, Julia knelt shakily upright. Baln¨¦rith continued to wait till no distraction remained before speaking again. "By the Power of your True Name, I command you. Repeat now this Oath and let it Bind you to the service." What the hell! No. How do I get out of here? Let me go. "By the Levithan''s blood upon which I kneel." Feeling her lips move to repeat the words, she heard her voice echoing Baln¨¦rith''s in the still chamber. It suddenly felt right to do, yet so wrong her flesh moving without direction. The sensation of wrongness burnt away at the calm of the Ki, but something touched its mist and lent its strength to remain. "I swear my flesh, blood, and hunger to the service of the Sisterhood. I swear always to uphold it. What my Superiors instruct me to kill will die. What my Superiors instruct me to protect, I will secure. What my Superiors instruct me to betray will know my treachery. In all things, I will obey the orders of my Superiors to my utmost. None but the Sisterhood will have my loyalty, not faction, nor kin. All this I swear to uphold till my essence is dust onto the Abyss." The Lady paused after each line, and like a puppet, Julia repeated each without fail. With each word spoken, a Heat like her Ki''s veneer rose from beneath her shins, enfolding her. She knew it wasn''t Ki under this falseness but did not know what it actually was. Something powerful reached inside her Form and brushed the Ki. The Ki merely shifted in response, as if tumbling in a stream. The energy from it a cascading spray like water cooling the fire-ravaged remains of self. She felt gossamer threads reach between the fragments within. Silken girders grew to link them, and the shattered glass washed away. As the Oath continued, Julia could feel flesh regrowing from her back and shoulder despite the collar''s power. I will make you pay! I can still think it, so there are loopholes. The Lady simply nodding as they finished regrowing in a rush. As the Oath continued onwards, she felt energy returning to her, and the skin of her stump and back itched and writhed. This time it was her wings flexing out, causing her separation from the guide. "The Blood has embraced her. Now and for all eternity, you are a servant to the Order. Yet for now, you are but a Novice among us. Subject to the commands of all till given authority over any." Without pause, she looked past Julia; her attention directed at her guide. "Naz''rilca, you will instruct her. She has some interesting skills, yet few of those expected. Resolve it." The Lady gestured for Julia to stand, and unsurprisingly the binding force and Heat from the block vanished. [Home Plane Culerzic is overridden to Hrz¡¯Styrn, by Servant''s Oath to the organisation ¡®Sisterhood of Blood¡¯, Faction: ¡®Unbound¡¯. Achievement: Feet First Only Trigger: Swore a binding Oath of service to a stronger planar entity. (No Faction Allegiance) Reward: Organisation membership Bonus trigger condition(s) met: Bonus Reward[1]: Inventory Size increase (2 -> 4) Bonus Reward[2]: Achievement: Here, little bird. Trigger: Having lived through a brief meeting with a (fallen) Angel. Reward: Celestial Lore unlocked. Celestial Lore(1) Achievement: ''Tis but a flesh wound (in reality) Trigger: Survived your first Abyssal Corruption crisis. Reward: Abyssal Adaptability raised by one full rank. Achievement: And the Abyss looked back Trigger: Make even fleeting contact with an ancient force in the Abyss Reward: ] Before she could take in the notifications, the guide''s hand used the leverage of a wing and forced her to turn. Then without a pause pushed her on still unsteady feet towards the door, and out into the corridor beyond. Naz''rilca only waited for the door to click shut behind them before Julia''s face smashed against the far wall in a blur. With no chance to turn, or even shift position she kept Julia pressed bodily against the stonework. The cold and oh-so-ordinary stones under Julia''s skin felt almost reassuring in their sense of reality. "Let''s make one thing clear. You do not rate whelp. For any bits of trouble, you cause, I''ll remove bits from you." Quick fingers removed the collar, and the Abyss''s Heat rose in a flurry, skipping across her skin. She felt the Succubus'' claws brush, almost as if a caress, down between her wings, before Naz''rilca squashed Julia harder still. Then the pressure vanished, and Julia had to catch herself to keep from falling. {{Oh, that touch. Should I kneel again to eat her? Better than being eaten alive.}} Julia tried to shake a sudden eerie shiver from her mind. "Follow me." Releasing Julia from her grasp, Naz''rilca turned and strode away. Savage anger expressed in every rustle of her wings, as she clenched the collar so fiercely that even good steel should bend. "I should have just killed you at the Gate. I will find a use for you." This is that {{bitch}}!! Oh great. Even with whatever helped me in there. I feel like I should be curled up in a corner somewhere. While someone force-feeds me meds. Yet I have you to ride me. And seriously help in the Abyss, was it just locking chains in place? Fuck. Wait, does Naz''rilca want to fuck me or kill me? Both? Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ((She is a creature of chaotic instincts. They need care in dealing with. Yet they are their own worst enemies.)) The Ki''s calmness was unruffled, as yet more new thoughts filtered within the depth of her subconscious. [Sense Motive (3 -> 4) Mental Resilience [J] (6 -> 9) Demonic Lore (19 -> 20)] Well crap. Still can''t believe I''m still alive. That ''true name'', am I the innocent being blighted. Why? Just why? No, your choices are yours. ((That which is ill can be healed.)) No one can decide your Soul is screwed but you. Need to not give in to them. They fight other Demons in the Abyss. Just protect yourself and don''t get pulled into corrupting mortals. Can killing Demons be wrong? True Names are a scary amount of control over a Demon - and now everyone in that Chamber has heard mine. Fuck. I couldn''t even think about not following her Order. First forced into the Abyss and now I find there is another way others can control me. I need to learn more. {{I need to get stronger, forge myself a new name. Why Blighting I''m not someone to wilt plants. Let''s burn a forest down, and fuck in its ashes.}} I still have my Soul, it''s mine. They might force my actions, but I know what they''ve done after, and I can choose right over wrong. {{Why does a Soul matter except to corrupt or consume? Power matters.}} A tough road can either strengthen you or break you. Fallen is when you refuse to stand again. Feeling she was missing out on something at present, Julia looked back at the notifications there hadn''t been time to review in the Chamber. As her mind presented the various around achievements again, her footsteps turned mechanical as she tried to make sense of them. Trying to recover her already fragile mental balance, she let herself drift with the Ki and movements of the flesh. Lady Baln¨¦rith is a fallen Angel? {{So much delicious Power. I can grow strong in her service.}} Unnoticed, even to herself, Julia shivered as if something had walked over her grave.
Julia noted Naz''rilca''s wings had ceased twitching by the time they had gotten through her being issued actual clothes. The steward of the process was a Demon, that while humanoid appeared formed of ash floating in congealed blood. Fortunately, it hadn''t needed to touch her, just set things for her to take that fit perfectly. It was good to have some clothes finally and not just clad in her chitin, even better after the parade of her birthday suit. Another way for brainwashing to start, isn''t it? Treat you like crap and then give you ''rewards'' and pat you on the head. So you crave the rewards and fear the fury. Well, these training clothes are supportive at least. The wobbles were getting annoying. Jealous of bigger boobs, no more. So far, none of the Succubi she''d seen belonged among the support roles of the Order. Yet she had seen mostly collars among the non-Succubi. On their trip down they''d veered off to take more new corridors yet, and many doing menial work. It had seemed so far that other demons, yeah they were fit to clean floors, mend things, haul away broken things and bodies, but not join. Clothes for training, clothes for relaxing, though it was pretty clear she''d be not getting time for that soon. Novice uniform for duty, though she would need to learn to wear it properly, apparently. They even issued, well as close to Demons get to bras since the even standard ''form'' needed some support while fighting, not top-heavy but not flat. Succubi were weird, apparently too vain to be in a form that didn''t scream to the stereotype of male wet dreams. She had informed there would spend weeks, months, but best not years spent practising to get the appearance precisely right. Advancement from Novice required everything about it: right - posture, body language, style of the hair. Not being able to advance from Novice would mean her demise. Since this was now her home Plane. If Naz''rilca felt she was a failure; she''d kill Julia and feed her essence to the Abyss. She''d smugly told her the full member''s home Plane wasn''t here, and she doubted a whelp would ever learn more. Anal-retentive Demons, they conscripted me into an Order of anal-retentive demons. Having worked with a few people with OCD issues; she mentally sent them sorry notes for thinking their habits were annoying. Compared to them regarding using this Order''s ''form'', her former workmates'' issues were nothing. When they dropped off the issued equipment to her ''assigned personal space'', she found it was a storage closet. Various shelves and racks were there to handle clothes, boots, accessories, and weapons if she survived to earn them. Sullen red light from a crystal set overhead was the brightest part of the space; with just enough room to get inside with the door closed. Yet they made it clear it was always to be closed when changing into uniform. As being seen doing so would be grounds for extreme punishment. Since Demons didn''t have natural body processes, it made sense why those training had no real personal space. Maybe that explained why they were so erratic in their use of rooms. The apparent randomness of trashing a room full of furnishings. Had that been a training drill? A way to gain combat experience in a room filled with fancy stuff? Maybe that was it; unless it was from boredom and breaking stuff was their version of fun.
After another maze of a weaving path from her personal space, if she could find it again. Their travels had finally led them to a room filled with impressively shiny rocks. Well, crystals or maybe gemstones, but she did not know their names and the odd colours looked nothing she remembered. The otherwise uninhabited room drawing frustrated ire. "Tras''laq¨¬ I hope someone is using your cock for a knife rack. Miserable little Gil?glp. I just told him I was on my way, and yet he''s gone." "How did you tell him?" "Telepathy. Were you too weak when you Ascended?" "I have it." "Then what did you think I meant. Ask another question. If it''s also obvious, you''ll lose something." "What is Gil?glp?" She paused before answering as considering if she should still punish Julia for the question. "Gil?glp are minor knowledge demons. Know that the Order likes to have them in our Debt. Knowledge Demons, the more powerful especially, are a prize." Then clearly running out of tolerance, either for answering questions or for waiting. She turned and started pushing through various clusters of scattered stones. It took nearly ten minutes of searching before the frenzy of activity came to a halt. With a displeased grunt, she thrust out her arm towards Julia. "This should be the one, take it. Push Heat into it." The ''this'' turned out to be crystal about the size of a duck''s egg, the colour of dank green moss. Julia took it quickly from her, not daring to ask how or why from her at least, but caution warranted no trust. Look at the stone she triggered ''Analysis'' on it, hoping to learn enough. [Empowered Dusk Emerald (Trait): A Dusk emerald is a potent catalyst for divination magics that looks into a single individual''s secrets and capabilities. The enchanter empowered this emerald to record the Traits (Class / Levels / Attributes / Skills / Powers) of individuals passing any energy into the gem. Once the information is recorded, it is readable by retrieving the energy used for storage] I sure hope this doesn''t give me away. I don''t want to tell her; I''m hidden. Does that count as unwilling to spill secrets in this gem? Julia tried to push the Heat within her skin into the emerald, via various mental images, sheer willpower, yet nothing seemed to do the trick. By the time Julia had made various attempts, Naz''rilca looked like she would pull parts off her. No, I need to pull; I pulled it like spinning wool when I Ascended. How the heck can you push a flame, anyway. How can I draw a thread through it? Shaking her head as she stepped back from her ''so helpful'' mentor who looked ready to snap. Instead of pushing it out visualised, a Yo-Yo string formed from the veneer that covered her Ki. Focusing on the end of that Heat sticking into the emerald, she turned it over and over in her palm. First, it showed redness of muffled embers but encouraged by the success; she kept turning it till it was as if a candle lit inside. [Profile Control (11 -> 16)] "Took you long enough. Forget what push meant?" Snatching the gem from her even as Julia held it out, with a glance and the flame snuffed out. "Only fifteen steps along any paths and two of those don''t count. I knew you were pathetic, but not that low. You have a single level in Wizard, yet no spells, and the most common of Affinities. Absolutely no weapon skills, and stealth not worth mentioning. Minimal knowledge of anything. The only thing of any interest is the attributes you somehow have gotten." Wait, she didn''t know what level I was? How can she not see it? "I must have offended the Lady, so she''s set me to deal with you. Find the way to the stronghold''s main gate. Be quick about it." Smacking the emerald hard into Julia''s hand, she vanished.
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Class Monk Level 14
Exp (109,999 / 110,000)
Wizard Level 1
Exp ( 0 / 2000 )
Defence 35
Melee Attack Power 48 Health 353
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 22
Quickness 25
Intelligence 25 Ki 63
Willpower 40 Mana 51
Charisma 20
Affinities Darkness, Time
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold - Minor (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (5), Electricity - Minor (5)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ap] (6), Blink [Ap] (18), Dark Sight (1), Energy Drain (9), Flight [B] (11), Ki Strike [B] (15), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (12), Mana Sense (3), Shapeshift [Ap] (10), Soul Sight (6), Telepathy (3), Translate Languages (1)
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (1), Acrobatics [B] (4), Acting (9), Analysis [Ap](3), Arcane (2), Bluff (10), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (6), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (9), Haggling (13), Leatherworking(1), Intimidation (2), Ki Meditation [Ap] (9), Mana Manipulation (9), Mental Resilience [J] (9), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [B] (16), Perseverance [Ap] (11), Profile Control (16), Seduction(11), Sense Motive (1), Stealth [B](12), Tactics [B](4), Time Sense [B] (1), Unarmed Combat [J] (9)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [B](6), Arcane (3), Celestial Lore (1), Demonic Lore (20), Hidden Lore (3), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (7), Skill Lore (1)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Inventory(4): Assorted Lurker glands, meat and flesh materials (Max Weight: 40 kilograms) 16 - Terms and Conditions apply How am I supposed to do that? I don¡¯t know what it looks like, let alone where I am. ¡°Seriously, fuck you, Naz¡¯rilca.¡± ¡°She, like most of your kin, would fuck a tree stump. If that was all there was at hand.¡± A soft slithering voice coming from under a table, cause Julia to spin and crouch in reflex. Her eyes searching underneath tables to find the speaker. What the search revealed was the smallest, and least gross, non-humanoid Demon seen so far. It wasn¡¯t imposing, rather it appeared as if someone had blended a ferret, and an armadillo then crafted its scales from obsidian. Its body was long and slender, yet there was nothing delicate about its hide, or the sharpness of its gaze. ¡°I could sell you information on proper Succubus care; that one sounded out of sorts, but then so did you.¡± A minor knowledge Demon? If that is a minor knowledge Demon, no wonder they like them in their Debt. ¡°I¡¯d be more interested in trading for other information.¡± ¡°Such as where to find the stronghold Gate? There are other deals I could offer. Information in return for handling things I need an enticing aide to achieve. Nothing that would upset the Order. I might even consider including more Debt for your help. Along with telling things a little Demoness should know.¡± ¡°Why would you be happy to extend your Debt to the Order?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no wish to leave. I seek secrets and have learnt many interesting things while in their service. What are a few centuries of sorting things, compared to gaining knowledge? Yet you need to go, and my time is precious. I have an offer for your aid. Listen, then put your Heat in the gem again. I¡¯ll give you directions and somewhat more.¡± ¡°Why do you want my imprint?¡± ¡°I hunger to learn, to know, all knowledge is Power. Heard Naz¡¯rilca rant. Most amused. Potential is better than securing an ill wrought force.¡± ¡°She was yelling for you for a while before that rant.¡° ¡°If she called earlier, I was away; got back to hear her ranting at you. Most curious about your situation.¡± The last thing I want is for more Demons to be curious about me. Analysis [Demon Species: Gil?glp Name: Tras¡¯laq¨¬ Details: Yes. I know. Do you?] What the heck? No unknown, no class indicators at all, and that description. How is its profile like that? ¡°What do you need aid with?¡± Knowledge demon. Does it know I used Analysis or is that something Profile Control allows? I stopped using it once I had the ¡®hud¡¯? I need to be careful and see if I can push all skills I learn to do more. ¡°To bring me a book with names from one who owes. Not right now, but in time, the summons will come.¡± ¡°Who has the Book? And when?¡± ¡°Mortal Summoner wanted demon use names. Name is Wajet of Memphis, in the Ten kingdoms. Book must come to me.¡± The little Demon held out a paw-like hand, and two glowing images appeared, like cuneiform symbols. ¡°First is their sigil, even you will feel it in their magic little one. The second will be on the Book¡¯s spine, and the cover is skin cut from a Malpliki back. Solid single colour green hide, with hooks all along the lip of its cover.¡± I can get out. Well if they don¡¯t bind me with my name. ¡°What plane are they on? How would they do this summoning?¡± ¡°The Mortal Plane. The Material plane. The Prime plane. Axis plane. Depends on one who asks. When he calls you to talk, then make sure you get a book. Stow Book. Bring back. Yes. I should use smaller words. Is that good? Your ''Use'' name is the only thing needed to summon. J is your name. Such an easy ''Use'' name, even for a dumb, careless summoner to use. Reckless ones with flawed protections in place, if has sight enough to see where flaws. Suggest you select a better ''Use'' name stop from being called by truly stupid.¡± Yes, J. Every Demon is a prick; there is a hint in their species¡¯ name. Seems to want me to give up and say ¡®yes¡¯. ¡°So if I get the Book and bring it back to you. I get a reward, and you owe more Debt to the Order. Who determines the fairness of the reward?¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Like fuck, I¡¯m coming back. ¡°Book has at least forty pages unless he¡¯s damaged it. For each page, I¡¯ll answer a single question if the subject is one I know or can out find information on. So your own questions will determine the value. Will also give two additional years of service per page as well for Order in your name.¡± ¡°That might be fair. But Naz¡¯rilca gets to determine the number of years after examining the Book and before I provide it to you. You take on the Debt once she confirms its value, and the conditions related to that time being added to your service.¡± Are they trying to avoid something, maybe? Sounds about as shady as you¡¯d expect given hello, Demon. ¡°If you are fine to share credit with her, but she¡¯ll take the full due I assure you. What conditions?¡± Oh, you little rat licker. Did you not want me to tell her? Or actually, want me to get in trouble? How many loops of I know; that you know; that I know; do you have to play with these Demons? Likely more than I¡¯d take time to do. Where¡¯s the hook or spike it¡¯s going to shove in me? ¡°Condition like this doesn¡¯t invalidate your existing Debt and its terms, same conditions apply or something. I don¡¯t want to get ordered to flay myself. And don¡¯t tell me they wouldn¡¯t do that or worse if I got them annoyed.¡± I¡¯m sure I¡¯m missing something. What if there is some conflict if the same Terms and Conditions apply to a new deal? What¡¯s in the fine print. ¡°Fine. However, none of the conditions can make my current Debt worse than the years¡¯ addition. And if I don¡¯t get the Book you and the Order get nothing more from me.¡± Damm, I should say no, I feel like I¡¯m putting my foot in something. Deal with the Devil; Demons are just as evil. Pretty sure this thing is way smarter than I am. Not a thug like the Cambion at the river. I can come up with all the conditions I want, and it likely has even more loopholes. But it¡¯s a chance to get out, what happens if I don¡¯t come back. ¡°Well, young Succubus. Shall this be the start of a profitable relationship? Much knowledge to gain for us each?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Good now, stone. Then I tell you how to get to Gate.¡± Julia repeated the process she conducted with the gem and passed it to the waiting Demon. ¡°To get to the Gate, you walk, run or fly. Yes. There you go. Something more you now know all pieces matter.¡± The little Demon vanished with a small snap before Julia could even try to grab for it. {{Burn its Book and flay its hide.}} ((Trust no Demon, give them only a swift end.)) Fighting an urge to flip every damn table, Julia turned and yanked open the same door she¡¯d come in. The sound of ringing hammers and metallic smells flooded in the door as it cracked open was not a comforting sign. Instead of a corridor, the door now looked out down onto the floor of a massive workshop. Of course, she doesn¡¯t tell me how the doors work around here. Remember, don''t pay the ferryman. It was a bustling place filled with forges, tended by what looked to suits of armour. They focused the face of the open helms intently on their work as if the air inside the helm could see. Some even looked to be making repairs and replacements for themselves or other suits, while others took themselves apart. Yet nowhere in there could she spot any doors. Really. I¡¯m not sure I want to risk looking to see if any Souls are in them. More than a little punch drunk, the numbness was almost better than how broken I felt in that chamber. Not sure what pushed me back together, but can¡¯t just keep pushing this way. I can I don¡¯t have a choice. Need to keep going. So I can, and I will. Not seeing any obvious route from the room, Julia closed and reopened the door. This time it opened into a ghastly cellar instead. Husks hung like sides of meat, and the smell of blood was heavy in the air, dripping into casks from the hooks that rent flesh. The door closed even faster and repeated attempt after attempt just showed her one unfamiliar room after another. It doesn¡¯t seem to matter what I¡¯m thinking about or my intent, it¡¯s just random {{bloody rooms}}. ((Calm, relax.)) Yeah, lead me around in circles. So why tell me how to find my way. Make me figure it out and give me an unknown deadline to add fun. {{I¡¯m late. I¡¯m late for a very important date.}} Just reopen it and go. Look for any room with any window or break to the outside. If I can get outside, I should be able to use Flight to get to the front Gate. Blink carried her across one room after another, down corridors, places that seemed familiar yet weren¡¯t. She followed her decision never to go into a room if another door wasn¡¯t apparent. Room after room, yet there was not a single Demon that could provide her with even scathing directions. There was no choice but to continue the hunt. Finally, she opened a door onto an enclosed balcony with the ground so far below it seemed distant. From that vantage point, there wasn''t even a hint of the City. Am I even in the same building still? Oh yeah, cause that would be good. The wind howled through the balcony that overlooked a series of unfinished or perhaps broken towers nearby. From this height, any structure below was but a distant blur. Too much time wasted haggling with bloody Tras¡¯laq¨¬, and more lost in chasing my tail. How long to get down safely? Which direction do I go to find a Gate? No worries, J. Down will be closer. Right? Oh, no Pet, I meant the magical Gate on the highest roof. Why did you go down? Now I have to kill you. Too bad, so sad. {{There, go, go now. Leave. Run.}} Blink took her into the open air amidst the spires. Pushing with Flight angled downwards instead of free falling. It was only that shift in the direction that saved her from the blast. Lightning scorched by overhead just after the descent path had altered. With that crackling energy cutting the air, Julia pushed for more speed from Flight. The sharp cleanness of ozone was still in the air, as the next near-miss made her skin tingle. Contouring wings and body alike force the angle to adjust again, and another blast missed. Where is the bloody caster? Have I pissed off security? So far, the shooting is as accurate as an imperial stormtrooper. You keep that up, please. After a third near-miss, Julia spotted the caster standing atop the balcony that had been her exit from the stronghold. The figure in full uniform stretching out a hand with rippling energy. Her wings worked against her as catching the air, they flared them open and almost brought her to a halt. A desperate Blink straight down provided an escape from the spell energies flaring from that Succubus¡¯ hand. Zigzagging with Blink took her further away from one attack and then another. She kept skipping through reality till dizziness threatened immobilisation. Winging around a curve in the tower to get away from one attacker, only to find another. The ice that struck carried force enough to spin her like a top, yet at that moment she had spotted other Succubi also playing this game. Wings folded and Flight pushing downwards set a fresh course. A hurried straight dive to gain speed and time for her mind to clear. Airborne figures all clad in training clothes swooped and flickered to avoid one energy attack or another. As the descent continued, the numbers grew, trainee and caster alike, and the air about thickened with energies. Is this is a live-fire drill? Or just their idea of fun? Though the casters look like they¡¯re enjoying themselves. The flying targets not so much. I need to get out of this mess and find a way to the mortal plane. If I lose the wings, I¡¯ll move faster, but I need to practice with them. Need to meet their ¡®uniform¡¯ standards as quick as I can, or it might be the excuse used to end me. Dodging twists, Blinks and switching to free fall almost randomly did only so much to avoid damage. Especially when it often seemed those flying were as intent on blocking each other as escaping injury. It seemed only an unwritten rule, or maybe it was an order from more senior members that kept it from turning lethal. Yet it was still clear many of them were playing for keeps, the novices more than the casters. With frequent mid-air collisions deliberately forced, blocking each other into blasts, or send them dodging into another¡¯s wings. The impact onto spiked wings seemed to inflict more damage than the spells. Blood thickly coating her skin finally, the ground began to close, and while not all of it was Julia''s, the passage had involved soaking and healing a lot of damage. Full contact sparring, while being shot at and a side order of bloodshed. Getting close enough to the ground made finding the Gate relatively easy. She had indeed meant a physical entry; they were a set of mammoth metal doors easily ten or more metres in height. The doors were spiked inside and out, with serrated ridges scattered in between them. It was obvious the Gate was as much to intimidate as to secure. A single figure stood near them, separated some distance from the casters who were tossing spells into the air. ¡°Land here Pet, you¡¯ve taken too long. What shall I do with you?" Julia couldn''t even make out the moving of lips, yet the sounds seemed to whisper purring into her ear. Dropping through the air, and a series of Blinks took her closer. Julia was sure that if they attempted an escape, it would only get worse. I need to get out. {{It¡¯s easier not to worry. Just live in the now, live it with delight in all. Pleasure, pain, sex or blood, it¡¯s all just there to feed us sensations. Lovely sensations, their sensations or ours.}} ((Hope, keep hope.)) 16.5 - Reference Details Demons Most of the demon type/species share some essential characteristics. Regeneration Improved Senses Ability to understand, if unable not also speak, the standard Abyssal tongue of the era when they arrive in the Abyss. Immortal (unless destroyed on their home plane) Resistance to materials or energies Resistance Resistance ranks grow through the following order: Lesser Minor Improved Greater Ultimate Immune Most resistance ranks have a threshold of damage it allows the possessor to ignore before damage applies. Immunity rank doesn¡¯t have levels and provides complete protection from a material or elemental effect. Mundane Materials Provides protection from damage caused by ordinary materials: rock, bronze, copper, iron, etc. It does not protect against elemental effects even if the source is mundane; fire hurts don¡¯t play with torches. Getting hit by a thrown rock or a steel sword though will require more force or greater precision of a strike to result in an injury. Elemental or Energy Resistance These all protect from damage from the energy that matches to the resistance. These elemental effects can be the four base elements, quasi elements, or raw mana energy. This protection applies regardless of if the source is natural to the environment or magically formed. Resistance protects against instant or ongoing damage that is less than the rank''s threshold. For example, getting hit with a torch. Firebolt. Going swimming in the elemental plane of fire, damage from these is offset by fire resistance. Examples of these are: Fire, Cold, Acid, Mana, Earth, Air, Lightning, Water, Darkness, Light and others. Power and Skill Ranks????????Requirements for Skills Introduction ?? (20 Ranks) Beginner ?? (B) (20 Ranks) Apprentice ?? (Ap) (30 Ranks) Journeyman ?? (J) (40 Ranks) Adept ????? (Ad) (50 Ranks) ?? Int - 15 Master ?????(M) (100 Ranks) ?? Int - 25 Senior Master?? (S) (200 Ranks) ???? Int - 35 Grand Master?? (G) (500 Ranks) ???? Int - 50 Powers: Abyssal Adaptability Allows a Demon to adapt much faster to the varied effects found within the Abyss. The adaptions range from adjusting to simple physical effects (increased gravity), elemental effects (poison gases, extremes of heat or cold) or the nature of a particular plane¡¯s reality itself (Primordial). Entities other than Demonic Species or the Fallen cannot get this Power. Blink Allows the possessor and unsecured non-living matter to shift from place to place at will. The limit on the additional material is a combination of the physical ability to lift the object and a matching magic rating. The Power range at the initial rank is ( 30 feet / 9.144 meters), each rank increases the maximum range by 50%. Levels influence the precision of a Blink and the required recovery time from the displacement. One can¡¯t Blink into another object(s) instead will manifest in the Blink range¡¯s closest available free space. If insufficient space is available, the user becomes stunned and shunted into an Ethereal state until retrieved by another. Dark Sight Grants the ability to see from patches of darkness within mana range of the possessor. High ranks of the Power allow the possessor to see out of more locations at once. It also can enable them to use patches as stepping stones to see from places that would otherwise be out of their perception. Energy Drain With physical contact, can draw life and or soul energy from the target of its use. Some entities can only provide life energy, while with others, the Power¡¯s user can determine what they drain. Flight Determines the user¡¯s ability to become and remain airborne and the speed at which they can move while off the ground. Higher ranks the speed of movement reaches into hundreds of kilometres an hour but doesn¡¯t protect the flyer from striking materials or energies at that speed. Harmony The Power enables Ki to grow beyond the boundary flesh. It allows practitioners to link their essence to the physical and spiritual aspects of existence. As they improve this Power, they unlock a range of additional Powers. They also gain synergy between various physical skills and their Ki depending on their Focus. As the Monk improves this power to the highest ranks, they establish a growing connection to reality''s secrets. Improved Regeneration Increases the capabilities of the owner to recover from physical injuries. Recovery limits provided by this Power is determine by rank, while its level influences the healings speed. Low rank loses a limb, that¡¯s okay is but a flesh wound. While wholly burnt to ash, yeah not so much, but upper Ranks even that won¡¯t matter. Tales of Vampires being able to rise even from ashes are because of this power. Ki Movement The user empowers their physical movements instinctively with Ki energy, as long as the user still has at least some available Ki their base ground speed benefits. This movement doesn¡¯t consume Ki energy, and if the user has even a little Ki energy within their body will harness the flow of its movements. Ki Strike The user empowers unarmed attacks with Ki energy, allowing them to overcome armoured foes¡¯ protections or resistance to mundane attacks. The strike or kicks effectively become magical attacks with penetrative ability. Each successful attack consumes the Ki energy used in the attack to transmit the damage. Mana Sense Lets the possessor see the mana flows around them, both naturally occurring and the results of spell forms. High ranks provide the ability to learn more details of spell forms or the nature of enchanted objects. Shapeshift Provides the possessor to change aspects of their form. Some creatures possessing this Power only alter themselves in ways driven by their species, or Curse (Lycanthrope). In comparison, others are limited only by the individual¡¯s attributes, imagination and overall level. Increases or decreases of physical mass are possible, and this capability for alterations increases with higher skill levels. Soul Sight Provides the ability to both sense and understand Soul energy. Allowing insights into the individual in question regarding their current or most recent past life. Also enables the possessor to read echos from the remains of a departed individual. Telepathy The user can speak into and read the surface thoughts of others. The initial range of this Power is only 30 meters, at lofty ranks, the effective distance could be hundreds of kilometres or across planes. Translate Languages It allows the possessor to comprehended words or script from any mortal tongue regardless of the physical ability to speak it. The user of this Power cannot speak or write the language; they can only understand what others say. The rank and level determine how quickly any translations occur and the accuracy of the translation. Skills: Abyssal City Navigator This Skill determines the user¡¯s ability to understand and navigate the strange realities that make up the Abyss¡¯ cities. Acrobatics A combination of balance and training allows this Skill user to travel across locations where others would stumble or fall (Ropes, Narrow ledges or rough terrain). It also includes the ability to move in an extreme physical manner, either for travelling or entertainment. (Free running, parkour or professional acrobats displays all make use of this Skill) Acting Determines one¡¯s ability to present yourself in a manner not matching your personality or normal conduct, for some time. This time can be as short as pretending to like someone you loathe at a party, or deep cover operatives taking on a role for weeks, months or years. Analysis The possessor of this Skill opens themselves up to the world¡¯s nature and can learn information about people or objects within it, and the underlying aspects of reality, aka the system. The rank and level determine the amount of information and the type they can learn, but information on items or individuals higher in power is miscellaneous at best. Bluff The ability to get another individual to take action, the outcome of which could be detrimental to their interests if they are wrong. The tipping point could be as quick as getting someone to give up in a hand of cards of gambling, or believe you are escorting you into a place you shouldn¡¯t be. Climbing This Skill determines the ability to climb surfaces that otherwise would be too steep for the individual in question to travel over. The presence of natural or crafted hand and foot position, appropriate tools and environmental factors influence the difficulty of applying this Skill. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Danger Sense This Skill enables individuals to recognise when one¡¯s instincts are telling them to move right now. It can set off by nearing waiting ambushes, dangerous individuals, or the potential for things to go FUBAR. It doesn¡¯t provide one knowledge of a specific way to avoid danger, only that there is an immediate risk of injury or loss. Disguise This Skill enables the user to resemble another and provide the correct physical cues. The task¡¯s difficulty is influenced by if the goal is to look exactly like another or merely fitting into a particular region or social group¡¯s appearance. This Skill covers physical appearances only and doesn¡¯t extend to social interaction or conversation. Fly This Skill doesn¡¯t give the user the ability to travel through the air. Instead, it determines the trained ability in performing aerial maneuvers while airborne. Be it swooping in to make a fast landing, flying between walls or dodging other flyers, regardless of the means of obtaining flight. Haggling The Skill enables the user to better a deal or exchange, whether dealing in physical goods, more abstract favours or terms of an agreement. Use of this Skill is an opposed check by one opposition and their Skill ranks and levels. Leatherworking Like all craft skills, this determines the possessor¡¯s ability to fashion objects in its sphere of focus. High rank and levels determine the quality of the item made, and the time required for crafting. Intimidation The Skill enables the user to present themselves threateningly that encourages confronted individuals to rethink their life choices. The Skill¡¯s application is an opposed check, the opponent¡¯s willpower, varied skills, and knowledge of each other influence its success. Ki Meditation Requires the possessor to have unlocked their Ki pool and then evolving this skill from meditation. Ki Meditation allows the user to immerse themselves in the calmness and tranquillity of the Ki. The rank and level determine their ability to overcome mental and physical fatigue. They also can avoid the distractions of physical or psychological pain. Mana Manipulation The Skill enables the possessor to draw on mana energies either in themselves, their immediate vicinity or via conduits of one type or another. It is the basis for the construction of Wizard Spell forms and isn''t used by other casters due to the nature of their castings. Meditation Though it is a potential foundation Skill for Wizards, not all practitioners utilised it. It allows one to achieve and hold a centred state that is useful for large arcane working and ritual magics. The Skill provides an experience synergy with Mana Manipulation and a number of other Wizard skills, allowing them to be progressed easier. Mental Resilience This Skill enables an individual to increase their ability to handle mental distraction, pain, and stress. Also, to recover from mental injuries and trauma, higher ranks and levels allow the possessor to continue despite trauma suffered or progressing. Pain Tolerance This Skill enables an individual to block out the distraction of physical pain and continue without reacting to it. At higher levels, this skill''s effects can be dangerous in combat situations as the possessor might bleed out, or be unaware of the severity of an injury sustained till it is too late. Perception This Skill allows the user to notice things that their senses might not otherwise pay attention to and take notice. This Skill extends to the full range of a possessor¡¯s senses but doesn¡¯t provide them with any perceptions they otherwise do not. Nor can they tell anything, not in range of that sense. Perseverance Those that refuse to take the simple path find this Skill beneficial. It boosts willpower effects to continue along with a chosen course of action when others grow disheartened or broken. It doesn¡¯t provide any benefit in recovering either physically or mentally from life¡¯s trials. Profile Control This Skill allows the user to control how the system presents information to them and control the imprint''s information. Seduction This Skill is a combination of an ability to project sexuality and lure another into expressing overt or subtle forms of desires in return. Higher ranks and levels allow the user to overcome even a targets¡¯ natural inclination or preferences towards particular activities, such as giving gifts or forms of intimate contact. Sense Motive This Skill allows the ability to perceive motivation involving an emotional context. The subtle queues of body language, choice in words, and other indicators enable the possessor to gain insight into another¡¯s motivation and emotional state. Be that motive looking for a reason to punch you in the face, or notice someone flirting. Encountering unfamiliar species can mute, or mislead this skill''s insights if they don¡¯t possess similar indicators. Stealth This Skill is a mixture of various forms of remaining unnoticed, rather than just unseen and unheard. It covers the combination of line of sight, sounds, or just taking action to blend into a crowded street. Tactics This skill provides those trained insights into the immediate or impending situations in a battle. Allowing them to either position to take advantage of their strength or mitigate their own vulnerabilities. This Skill allows the possessor to see the flow of combat, patterns in opposition behaviour, and either make use of or cause weakness in positioning to occur. It can also allow the possessor to see the tactical situation and probable reason. (Ambush, restriction of movement or combat options) Taunt This Skill allows the user to distract or provoke one or more targets into a course of action they might not have otherwise taken. This ability can be as subtle as a scornful look at the right time, or as blunt as loud, insulting language. They can also apply their effects over an extended period to lead to a breaking point in the target¡¯s behaviour. The mix of rank and level will allow the target to both resist and determine what happened. Time Sense This Skill provides the ability to notice and track the passage of time either by or without external indicators. Unarmed Combat This Skill comes in many forms: formal style(s), instincts or informal street brawling. Knowledge These skills are both a measure of one¡¯s ability to understand matters in a field of expertise and unassisted knowledge in the subject. Abyssal Lore The Abyss existed before the current species of Demons came to inhabit it; this represents knowledge of the Planes, their unnatural processes, and environments. Gaining this lore requires extensive travels and exposure to multiple planes, or more safely through lots of studying of tomes written by once curious individuals. Individuals who may or may not still be sane while recording their collected knowledge. Arcane This Skill provides knowledge of the forces of the universe behind the veil of the mundane. Higher Skill level shows a greater understanding of the hidden forces: divine, magical, or planar. And understanding, spell forms their structures and use in enchantments. Celestial Lore This lore provides the possessor with knowledge of the forces and entities on the higher planes. It covers knowledge of the gods¡¯ ranks, their various servants, and their ability to ascend or fall from grace. Demonic Lore This lore covers knowledge of various Demonic entities found in the Abyss in the current era. Still, it doesn¡¯t provide insights or understanding of primordial entities before the Mortal species¡¯ rise. Hidden Lore This lore covers an understanding of the ¡®Hidden¡¯. How their secrets are both perceived by others and how they perceive the reality of the ¡®System¡¯. Generally, this Skill is only possessed by a Hidden, but some rare scholars also learn it via tomes or even more rarely via personal interactions. Planar Lore This knowledge is a measure of one¡¯s general understanding of the planes of reality. The topography, interaction points and entity types encountered on planes are within this lore¡¯s scope. However, it is a general knowledge only, so an entity types specific powers, abilities, weakness and strengths are not. Planar Portals This knowledge represents one understanding of planar portals. It covers their possible locations, appearances and means of prying them open if they are inactive. Skill Lore This knowledge covers the skills frameworks'' general details and how skills can evolve naturally into other skills, or forced to do so by particular repeated behaviours or focused uses. Special Abilities Inventory Allows the possessor to up to a limit of mass in an Extra-dimensional space that appears to be outside of Time but connected on a personal level. As objects stored by this ability, do not age or decay, and nor do they appear to be detectable by any means while stored. Only non-living or at least once-living no longer animated objects can be stored. Undead or constructs under the mass available cannot be stored, nor strangely can intelligent magical objects. Items can be retrieved from the space no matter what plane the individual in question was on when it was stored or is on when it¡¯s retrieved. This ability can¡¯t be gained only granted by the ¡®System¡¯. Main Caster Types Wizard These casters construct their spell form via mana, both their personal as well as available in a location, rather than channelling or manipulation of elemental forces of nature. However, their spell forms can carry elemental energies. Their Mana Affinities determine what element affinities their spell forms can influence or be imbued with. Mage These casters use mana to cause a reaction with a catalyst, or a raw element present suitable to their casting, Their most flexible spells require gemstones specific to the school of the magic used. However, with the right element affinities, they can use raw element objects with their line of sight to create offensive and defensive spell forms. Sorcerer These casters use their mana to channel energies directly from other planes. They start their career with a single affinity, usually innately gained through a bloodline. They can only extend their affinity to elements or planes directly in contact with their own. For example, a Fire Sorcerer can gain an affinity for the quasi planes connected to the Fire element, but not an Affinity for Water, Air or Earth. Summoner These casters operate by summoning entities from other planes, and the entity¡¯s presence then lets them form spell forms relative to their home plane. The range of ¡®Use¡¯ and ¡®True¡¯ names they have gained, and their preparations, is the only limit to a summoner¡¯s versatility. They can form a contract with an entity through these names and then call on them when they choose. When a summoner draws forth an entity from another plane, failing to contain and bind, the entity will often be fatal. A summoner can only have one entity called forth at a time. Priest The caster themselves do not possess personal mana; instead, they channel mana from Worship¡¯s focus (God, Demigod, Demon or Devil). Usually, the key factor in what spells they can channel is their personal Faith. However, religious situations, relics and artifacts can alter these limits, as does the Power portfolio, and intended use. The servant of a water Demi-god will never channel a fireball. While the servant of a major Goddess of Healing, good luck, when trying to call on offensive magic. Unless it¡¯s protecting the innocent or faithful from immediate harm. Demonic Tiers of Ascension (Tiers of Evolution available to non-bestial Demons) Tier I ? Least -> Lesser. Tier II ? Lesser -> Tier III ?? -> Greater Tier IV Greater -> Named Tier V????Named??-> Lord / Lady Standard Tier Demons have no suffix shown in species when Analysis or Imprint become available. A Named Demon does not refer to a ¡®True¡¯ or ¡®Use¡¯ name, but by accumulating enough power to be a major influence in multiple Abyssal planes. They also have also gained a connection to one or more home planes in the Abyss. Named Demons and higher are among the Powers within the Abyss and have multiple home planes, making them difficult to destroy. As they need to be defeated on each of their home planes within a century of the first form being destroyed. Each additional home plane effectively providing a line of retreat that they can use to upon their form''s destruction in another location. Attributes (Fairly Standard) Strength Measures an individual¡¯s physical strength, ability to lift or push against a raw mass, or efficiently apply force. It is a combination of the sheer mass of muscle possessed by an individual, muscle density, and supernatural or trained ability. Endurance Measures an individual¡¯s health and stamina and marks their ability to continue physical endeavours. It influences an individual¡¯s ability to endure fatigue, damage, illness, and recovery time. Quickness Measures an individual¡¯s general co-ordination and their natural ability to interact with their physical environment. Motor reflexes, balance, flexibility and coordination, are all aspects of this attribute. Intelligence Measures an individual¡¯s combination of analytical ability, their ability to memorise information and influence how well they learn, adapt, or work through mental challenges Willpower Measures an individual ability to focus and keep going while controlling their habits and emotions. It also determines an individual¡¯s susceptibility to the influence of their environment or other individuals. Charisma Measures the combination of an individual¡¯s physical attractiveness, personality, and the ability to interact with others convincingly. Faith Measures the capacity of an individual to channel Power from a higher or lower being. It both indicates how difficult a spell they could handle and the effectiveness of their divine castings. More powerful blessings require high Faith, and the Faith also determines the difficulty in overcoming unwilling targets¡¯ resistances. Magic Measures the capacity and effectiveness of a caster¡¯s mana manipulation; for some entities, it also determines their innate Powers¡¯ effectiveness. The higher an individual rating, the more powerful spell forms/summoning they can control, and if they can overcome an unwilling target¡¯s resistances. Mana Affinities and their Tiers
Tier
1 Earth Fire Air Water
2 Dark Light Nature / Wood Decay Ice Ooze Smoke Magma
3 Spatial Gravity Life Death Lightning Metal Radiance Steam Void Dust Ash Salt
4 Abyssal Infernal Celestial Arborea Positive Negative Time Mental
5 Primordial Chaos Order Destruction
17 - You are wind beneath my wings The wind raced through the gaps in the broken spire''s stonework, pushing maliciously as it buffeted against the rawness of her back. It no longer carried the din of the ''sky training'' whose gauntlet she had crossed. Yet it still brought strange and frequently repugnant sounds with it. Noises similar to those that she''d sent rebounding from the walls of this place during the harvest. This broken tower, now stained with memories that she never wanted to dwell on, it''s broken walls jutted upwards around her like teeth biting at the sullen sky. Yet it felt as if they had already consumed part of her in its maw. Julia thought her wings had finished healing before she¡¯d progressed on the first rope. With now finishing the third, they still felt wrong, constricted, painful, and inflexible, even if her health showed as full. It was clear Naz¡¯rilca had done something to them that refused to heal completely. Under the excuse of harvesting the materials she now used to make the ropes. The skill level-ups Julia received during this training had not been a joyous thing. It wasn¡¯t even because only Leatherworking was the focus of improvement instead the required harvest that had sullied everything. Her fingers worked to check the knots on one band before she pulled the rope across her lap to examine another. Section by section, she studied the bands and the braiding in between as her eyes slid over the next length of the rope, checking for issues. Its core braided from sickly yellow tendons, wrapped with bands made from black strips of hacked hide. The memory of pain twisted her stomach in a way that was becoming a faded reflex. The memories of the sensations, from tendons severed, hide slashed and muscles plucked had already dulled as she had worked. The pain that she recalled was already dimming, and yet even the faded recollections made her skin crawl. Indeed, it was the extent of lessening memory that raised the most concerns. The sheer softness of the shivers they elicited seemed to signal a growing decline, and those shivers felt indeed so wrong. Your brain is getting more cracks than a site full of plumbers J. I am trapped here, in this shell. What will I become? {{We¡¯ll grow strong.}} ((Calm, patience, seek answers, watch, learn.)) When I stop caring about my pain completely, what comes next? Do I stop caring about the pain of any I meet? Demons, yeah, so what, but when I meet a Mortal. What then? So you lost an arm; can¡¯t you regrow that sucker? Too bad, so sad. Am I merely making things worse faster? Survive one day at a time, till you see a chance. But what price survival? I thought the Inferno had made me numb or broken something. The spike¡¯s Agony was far worse. It broke me, and I don¡¯t know how I came back. Now pain even searing but normal pain, yeah you just a little monkey butt mate. Annoying, but when over, on your bike pal. I need to get out. Need to get out and stay {{out}}. Her eyes flicked over her now mussed pile of clothes and confirmed the rocks still held them down, as the urge to run screamed again. Want to run. Yet what ways do they have for finding me? I don¡¯t know yet. Can a Demon summon another with its True Name? The Lady used it to order me like a puppet. Expect the worst till proven wrong. She was told to strip, yet not to dress, she suspected dignity''s call a trap. As Julia she sat back on her heels, pulling first crafted first rope towards her again, she was uncertain of how to proceed. Likely won¡¯t have time to redo this, but geez it¡¯s rough. Carefully examining it, she busied herself with what aspects would be possible to correct. Taking care in securing the braiding along its length, then resetting and tightening bands while waiting. Even when freshly completed, this rope had been a collection of stray bits and pieces, and gaps in its braiding had spoken of its lack of quality. Now, having finished the third rope, more flaws were obvious to her. Yet it was unclear how it could be salvaged without pulling it apart completely, with no idea when the bitch would return. [Leatherworking ([B] 2 -> 3)] I thought she was going to resolve my lack of required skills. Seriously, why am I increasing Leatherworking? Does the Sisterhood need members to make their own bondage gear? Gimp suits? Think I¡¯ll get to tell her to ¡®zip it¡¯ bitch? Is she just testing me? Or she just wanted an excuse to cut me up. All those options, or most at least? I need to get out of here. J, no shit. Stop. ((Calm)) Fingers tightened another knot she tried to steady herself, even as her revulsion tried to shake her loose from the Ki currents. Though she hadn¡¯t said the rope¡¯s purpose, Julia was sure the bitch would use their defects to justify what she already intended I need to get out. Instead, she worked, waited and waited. When the crack exploded behind, she just reacted like a jumpy cat. As hands opened to let the rope fall, Blink carried her up past the tower¡¯s broken top, Wings useless Flight alone kept her aloft. The figure now visible beneath didn¡¯t even glance about as their voice murmured in Julia''s ear. ¡°Lucky you completed all three ropes, Pet. Come back here while I check them.¡± Here, not back to my spot. Go to one side. Reality flickered as she stood again on bare stone, keeping quiet and clear of the loops as Naz¡¯rilca inspected them. ¡°The training ranges don''t have targets simple enough to teach you anything but failure. So you will provide the materials for their construction, plus since all you are presently is cannon fodder. So we¡¯ll ensure you can stay up, if only for a short time.¡± Gaslight someone else, bitch. ¡°What did you do to my wings that they won¡¯t currently unfurl?¡± Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s mouth twitched for a moment, though nothing in her eyes hinted at mockery or spite. Then again, they showed nothing in their depths at present, but a serial killer¡¯s void. ¡°A specific query is safest; you have some sense, Pet. I spliced tendons from one wing into the other during the harvest. You need a better healing power; your Improved Regeneration just grew the pieces together where they kissed.¡± She spun a finger in an unmistakable gesture, and Julia turned around, feeling far too exposed. A sensation of pressure and a snip came together, yet with it, the tension in her wings relaxed, and suddenly they could flex again. ¡°You may have a single query at most between each session. Now stretch your arms and hands out to each side, level with your shoulders.¡± Oh yes, you¡¯re a good little bitch aren¡¯t you Pet. Here have your reward, sweetie. Aren¡¯t I nice? I gave release from the pain I caused you. Prance for me again. Yeah, yeah. Demon manipulative bitch, check off that stereotype, please. She selected the best of the ropes Julia had made and bound a loop around an outstretched wrist. ¡°You were so sedate during the harvest. I thought you had passed out as a mortal might Pet. Well, except for still staying on your feet. No more distancing yourself with your Powers or Skills. You must embrace the pain, cling to it, devour it whole.¡° She hasn''t mentioned or asked about either Ki Meditation or Harmony. I wish I knew what the imprint had shown her. As soon as they secured the rope, she stepped around and tied Julia''s other wrist with a second rope. ¡°Your Mental Resilience is closest to acceptable for a recruit, so we¡¯ll concentrate on that first. That Skill is useful in preventing mind and will, from becoming broken; Whether via mundane means or arcane. So while I work, you will count aloud every cut, every stab, every sweep of the blade, to confirm your focus hasn''t wandered.¡° No matter how factually Naz¡¯rilca put things, what followed next was anything but reasonable. With the ropes secured to her wrists, they looped the other ends through struts, and she found herself hoisted in the air. With her body forming a Y, and pointed toes just above the floor, it settled her within Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s reach. So the session began as repeatedly the pain faded and spiked, as the blade wiggled or sliced deliberately deeper. Its point invading with measured slowness against the pulse of healing flesh. She would sense her healing flesh squeeze it tight, and the force of it would resume. Onwards it would press, slice, sweep or even just forcefully carve deeper still; the frigid metal excitedly quivering in its wielder¡¯s grip. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Each time it moved Julia tried to call out the right count even as pain spiked, Naz¡¯rilca would greet failure with a powerful strike, her blade¡¯s point or edge pushing inwards, seeking joints. The pop of a joint would sound, then cut after cut followed raining till the wing was severed, and so before Julia, a pile had grown. Each time after Heat and Power renewed the flesh, the count would reset again. Each layer set out a detailed account of the damage, one wing extracted, then another. Each time she threw a wing, it slapped again stone like a fresh-caught fish, and she¡¯d wait again. With fingers dipping into sealing flesh and trailing blood about, she¡¯d wait out Julia¡¯s renewal before the blade and count would resume. {{We need to kill her}} ((They should all die)) ¡°We¡¯ll stop for now. Sixty wings, will be sufficient materials to make your targets for now, and you ceased the fading. Though your highest count was short of two hundred. It needs to reach at least three thousand before we''ll call it enough. Each session must improve on the last.¡± Blades of ice shot out their course, taking them through Julia¡¯s forearms like a razor through silk. As blood flowed from the wounds, her hands dropped away. The fall took Julia by surprise, but she caught her balance and avoided falling to the floor completely, as she gathered her handless arms inwards. Flesh and bone sounded a wet thump as the rope finished drawing a bloody line. ¡°Next time ensure the ropes are a better quality than the first I used. Now grow everything back and fly your wings down to the tanner. Face the gate from inside and go towards your left. It¡¯s near a quarter away around the wall. Tell them to turn the hide to leather and treat the tendons. Ensure you carry them one at a time as you need lots of Flight practice from what I saw. Also, no flying straight for too long I want lots of erratic patterns, I¡¯ll have someone watch for a slip-up. Someone that needs target practice.¡± Julia felt wounds seal even as hands fell and focused on catching herself from the near stumble. Turning back towards Naz¡¯rilca with barely held restraint and waited for the instructions to end. Yet even before she could voice the question, Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s mirthless smile vanished and Julia found herself alone with the dreadful wind. I really hate her Teleporting arse. Bitch. So no question answered this time. Oh yeah, yet another part of brainwashing, reward erratically. ((Find your own truths, do not let them set them for you.)) {{Burn them all}} Checking on the recent level-up notifications, she just nodded at the updates. [Mental Resilience ([J]( 10 -> 11) Improved Regeneration ([Ap] (18 -> 19) Perseverance [Ap] ( 11 -> 19)] Well, coupled with the Ki Meditation levels I got from my initial wing clipping for tendons and scraps - Woot level-ups, go me! Crap on a cracker. Looking around to reorient herself, she saw the stump that was dripping black blood onto her pile of folded clothes. ¡°Bitch did that on purpose.¡± And I¡¯m speaking Abyssal wonder if she¡¯s or someone else is watching remotely. Moving to the growing mess, she used an elbow to pin the rope still tied to the remains to one side. Touching her foot to cloth, she focused on putting the clothing into her inventory without the blood laying over them. Stock: Clothing The clothes vanished and the black blood appearing on the floor seemed to show she figured right. [Inventory (4 -> 5)] Ok, so I figured out a new trick, and I get thrown a bone - woof. Seriously, what is it with the inventory command? Someone had their brain on stocking a store when they set that up? Wonder if they are scrying with a mirror, or just someone flying close enough to hear Detecting magic in games lets you see energy from scrying Let¡¯s give it a whirl. I need to practice more things. She might decide to cut my eyes out for not using them correctly. Mana Sense Looking around the broken chamber, spots and lines of energy flickering under the surface of the outer walls. However, nothing looked like a crystal ball-sized spot or a flat panel hanging in the air. An extensive collection sat like a seal over an intact door within the chamber. The top of the tower appeared broken and then cored out leaving broken fragements in its wake. The door was a misplaced reminder of the past, an unneeded connection point left within destruction. Just like the hole in the stone? ¡°Why does mana still coat it? Leftovers, maybe¡± Walking over she bit her lip and touched the back of her forearm to the door carefully, as if expecting a shock. Cause yeah, make sure you play safely with electricity J. Not sure that applies to mana or spell dear. She watched as the mana¡¯s colour shifted its way along the spectrum and then when it stopped, pushed down on the handle with a regrown hand. As the door swung away, the sound of singing blades was immediately clear. Stopping the door¡¯s swing with gingerly placed fingertips, she peeked through the expanding gap. The first figure Julia spotted in training clothes, flashing blades, and with a hungry, excited sparkle in her eyes told her all she needed to know. [Mana Sense (3 -> 4)] {{oh she looks tasty, she needs to scream for me}} Pulling the door shut, she leant her head against the aged surface and breathed slowly. Weird, I swear she looked good. Crap. Beth told me I needed to bat for her team after him. Never felt that before. What the heck! This succubus¡¯ body better not be trying to throw me at folks. Beth, how did she take it. That fuck¡¯s Soul could have at least paid attention to who was at my funeral. Wait, a funeral doesn¡¯t happen fast. Did I leave behind a body?. How did I miss that? How much time has already passed? I hope Andre is okay if she went down the stairs with him. Please don¡¯t let them charge her. Fuck, why didn¡¯t she tell me? I would have helped her do something. Fuck Fuck Fuck. Can¡¯t even fucking cry now. STOP. Whoa girl backup, you can¡¯t lose your shit right now. Focus, Focus J. What did we learn. More of the weirdness here, but the mana colours shifted. Then I opened it. When the colour changed again, Julia pulled it open to find the courtyard far below. Oh, the gate is close; I think. Let¡¯s block the door open, insert evil laughter is redundant about this place. So maybe I need to think angelic giggles instead. What about something to brighten my mood? I wonder if Demons are like cockroaches and would survive a nuclear blast? Likely. Oh yeah ((Warming laughter) I¡¯m waking up to ash and dust. Oh yeah, that¡¯s amusing. Mentally humming the tune in her mind, she pushed the door fully open. One piece of Lurker shell plus some wiggling later and it seemed like it would stay put. Time I should put clothes on now? What do you think, J? Do you think you should get dressed? Hmm. Sure wasn¡¯t a naturist previously, my inhibitions get removed? Mentally retrieving her clothes, she grinned as she looked over the rumpled unmarked cloth. Pulling them on in a hurry, she blew a mental raspberry in Naz¡¯rilca''s direction. These wings are going to be awkward. Roll them up. Nah, bone ridge across the top will stop that from working. Grab each one by the stalk and fly it while towing it like a fallen leaf it is. Grabbing the base of one wing, she dragged it out into the sullen light of the courtyard. She stopped and turned it in the light a pattern catching at her mind. Weird magic eye photos. The veins on it appear as if feathers where the hide meets the joint. Weird. Get busy. I need to locate that tanner before Annie Oakley turns up to shoot me up. Lifting the first aloft, she pushed into her Flight and despite the awkwardness of the burden raced around the line of the outer wall. Maybe I should try Harmony instead of the Ki Meditation, see if that lets me handle pain, without Fading.
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Class Blood Monk Level 14
Exp (109,999 / 110,000)
Wizard Level 1
Exp ( 0 / 2000 )
Defence 35
Melee Attack Power 48 Health 353
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 21
Quickness 25
Intelligence 25 Ki 63
Willpower 40 Mana 51
Charisma 20
Affinities Darkness, Time
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold - Minor (11), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (2), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (5), Electricity - Minor (11)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ap] (6), Blink [Ap] (20), Dark Sight (1), Energy Drain (9), Flight [Ap] (1), Harmony [B] (1), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (19), Ki Movement (1), Ki Strike [B] (15), Mana Sense (4), Shapeshift [Ap] (10), Soul Sight (6), Telepathy (3), Translate Languages (1)
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (1), Acrobatics [B] (4), Acting (9), Analysis [Ap](3), Bluff (10), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (7), Disguise (9), Fly [B] (9), Haggling (13), Intimidation (2) , Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [Ap] (11), Mana Manipulation (9), Mental Resilience [J] (11), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [B] (18), Perseverance [Ap] (19), Profile Control (16), Seduction(11), Sense Motive (3), Stealth [B](12), Taunt (1), Tactics [B](4), Time Sense [B] (1), Unarmed Combat [J] (9)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [B](6), Arcane (3), Celestial Lore (1), Demonic Lore (20), Hidden Lore (3), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (7), Skill Lore (1)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 5
Max Capacity 50 Kilograms (20 / 50)
Stored Materials Assorted Lurker glands, meat and materials
18 - You can ring my bell Spotting two figures flying directly towards where she was practising Flight, Julia rose higher and slowed. She¡¯d been doing figure eights in the gap between the outer wall and the stronghold. Each time her path headed towards a wall, she aimed to get as close as she could without hitting it. She¡¯d called it a courtyard in her head earlier, but it was doubtful that was actually the term. They called it a stronghold, but it didn¡¯t fit her mental image, so maybe it was a courtyard. Nothing in this place fit any mortal terms that she''d ever learnt except for abomination. The dominant building was a tower inside a big circular wall, like a stake straight through a target. Thinking of it that way made her imagine it as a stake into a Vampire¡¯s heart. The spires broken slivers spilling off the end of the weapon. ¡°Pet.¡± Woof woof, bow fucking wow. She likely knows it gets on my nerves. Next time I even think it might be her coming up to me. I should use mana sense and see if I can spot the spell form. ¡°Naz¡¯rilca?¡± [Summoning Notification You have received a summons from Wajet of Memphis, via your ''Use'' name. Your willpower, intelligence, and total levels all exceed that of the summoner. They meet no conditions to compel you to respond. You can ignore this summoner. Do you wish to accept the summons? ] The summoning notification sat tingling in her mind, bearing a dull glyph that matched the pattern Tras¡¯laq¨¬ had shown. Oh, she¡¯s going to be so Pissed. Ok, so that is a reason right there. Yes! As soon as Julia acknowledged the summons, it felt like she¡¯d plunged through a layer of ice. The feel of frost vanished, and she emerged, racing through a wormhole, one that was better than any CGI she¡¯d ever seen. It was so beautiful. The walls sparkled and shone with every colour of the rainbow, and more besides. Yet despite all the colour, she could see herself reflected in its surface. In that brilliant surface, the bleak Sisterhood sigil on her top seemed to smoulder. The wormhole¡¯s end seemed to move toward her with a glorious luminance, or she to it, it grew hard to tell as reality wavered around her. Oh crud, what if he recognises it? A moment of focus dragged at her clothing, and while the apparel vanished in time; there was none left to form anything in its place. Suppose you don¡¯t escape this time. Next time, put on a change of clothes prior to accepting J. You¡¯ll just have to deal. Don¡¯t want to risk freaking out the native before I can escape. So no Xenomorph inspired catwalk. Senses snapped into focus with a once incomprehensible speed, that now seemed unchallenging. With the new plane stabilised, she stood in a dank room lit by fading blue light. Wings fluttered only half unfurled yet an instant before they had been fully extended, and Flight no longer held her aloft. Just arriving in this room apparently was already seeking to set limits on what choices she had. Tras''laq¨¬ had asked her to go to this summoner, yet she couldn''t believe any individual using this room could be worthwhile. Squalid furnishings cluttered the place, making a miserable chamber seem even more unimpressive. A few arms-length beyond the edge of a chalked circle, a long table butted up against a wall. It was hard to tell which would fall down first, the table or the wall itself. Books, scrolls, and various objects she couldn''t identify were stacked haphazardly across its surface. Between the instability, of the table''s failing construction and the piled materials; it seemed only a matter of what would trigger an avalanche rather than if it would occur. The intact sections of the wall against which the table lent with piebald and uneven in colouration. Though most appeared as if sealed by a mix of white washed and clay that had been unevenly applied, even those areas appeared to the already cracking away. Uneven bricks of varying sizes provided unstable support for the roof above, with courses set with no care, it looked like river stones would have been more even. A few stools and a small chest lurked sullenly under the table, as if they begrudged their association. Indeed, the place was so ill wrought and unkempt the smoothness of the stone underfoot captured her attention. Shifting balance to skim a foot across its surface, it felt as if it had been ground flat to a modern standard. Julia had no idea the type of stone. It certainly didn''t appear to be anything particularly fancy. Yet the care that had gone into smoothing the hard lavender stone so much was impressive. On that carefully smoothed surface, someone had chalked a precise double circle. The void between them filled with an array of complex symbols that tried unsuccessfully to catch at her eyes. This guy is careless. If that table collapsed while I was here, some of that stuff falling wrong would disrupt this circle. Yeah, fancy pattern, but I can see smudging, isn¡¯t that a bad thing? Well, for runes at least. What did ferret boy say? Something about ¡®eyes to see¡¯? Are the runes actually meant to help subdue me or just hold me? I can still think clearly. Mana Sense That first smudged rune she''d spotted appeared unlit to Julia, as were others now clear. Even among the runes that appeared intact, not all looked healthy. While most of the runes still glowed, many were already fading or seemed never empowered at all. Yet the circle carried enough energy that a cylinder of mana reached upwards from the inner circle. In it a merry glowing net of light energised the barrier that entrapped her. It seemed formed from their overlapping glow yet more than a few bulbs were gone. The mana energy forming the barrier looked brittle and fractured, like a window hit by a spray of rocks; while not yet broken, it was certainly spider-webbed with cracks and chips. [Mana Sense (4 -> 5)] How does the summoner not sense the damage? Do they not have Mana sense? Call of Cthulhu memes right here. Why not summon something before you learn how to banish or control it safely? Did they summon Tras¡¯laq¨¬ in this thing? As her assessment took her eyes around the chamber, she finally spotted her silent summoner. A scrawny fellow who must have been watching her arse while she had turned. At least the angle of his eyes appeared as if that had been the case, yet now he seemed content to be staring at her groin. The robes he was wearing looked in as rough a state, mana wise as his circle. Fancy looking purple cloth, with lots of golden stitching, but the only Mana left in them looked like a sun-faded paint job. I¡¯m going to die of embarrassment any minute. The Demons at the river didn¡¯t leer like this guy. Yeah, Mate, my eyes are up here. Counting breaths instead of stars. How long is he going to keep me waiting, minutes, hours? Breath 30, Breath 40 Waiting still, mate. Did you lose yourself in a fantasy fap there? Breath 70 Too embarrassed to speak. Cause if so, that makes both of us right now. Breath 80. Okay yeah, he''s breathing fast but still. Should I clear my throat? He looks human. No head hair though, but shiny scalp. Waxed it rather than shaved, hmm no stubble, eyebrows, or facial hair. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Still mute, try the Telepathy, maybe? Goodness, this is going to be bad. Yeah, compared to what now, your training session? When she flicked on the Power and tried to hear his mind, it didn¡¯t initially match her concerns. It was like tuning into a wave of static and trying to build concepts from white noise. Looking at a larger fracture in the barrier; she imagined listening to him through the break and focused again. ##This is a young Succubus? I thought Tras¡¯laq¨¬ meant a child. By Set, she¡¯s no youngster. Maybe I should¡­ the arse on her was fine, but the lips of her valley. I could spend a lot of time with it. I want to make...##. Julia turned it off in a hurry, but it had only taken her an instant to get a lot of meaning from racing thoughts. Especially with the images that had flowed with the words. [ Telepathy (1 -> 2)] Only provided a single point for this perv¡¯s thoughts getting into my brain. [Telepathy (2)] Screw you! Ok, so he¡¯s a perv or at least male with blood having left his upper brain. Geez, hello, eyes up here. Tras¡¯laq¨¬ is so playing some game here. No way he couldn¡¯t have messed this guy up if they had called him into this circle. It might be small, but I bet he could get out with magic or something. So how could this circle have held it when even I can see it has problems? At this rate, he won¡¯t have sufficient blood in his brain to talk about anything soon. If he passes out, will the summons disconnect? {{Oh. Play with the little puppy.}} Folding her wings out, she wrapped them like a leathery fan as she turned to one side. ¡°Do you like what you¡¯ve seen of me, Master?¡± Really, J. That line was lame and self-degrading, especially in Abyssal. What sort of idiot are you taking him for? It was still a pregnant moment later before he replied, though Julia could see by the bulge in his robes his mind was still elsewhere. Mate, that¡¯s just not cool. ¡°You were not what I was expecting. Especially not with the simpleness of your name, J.¡± Oh, that kind. {{Yes, a fool.}} ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Is there something you need me to do to you? Oh, I mean for you?¡± What happens in the summoning chamber, stays in the summoning chamber. She threw him a slow blink as she smiled and tried to test out the classic anime head tilt on him. [Acting (9 -> 10) Seduction (9 -> 10)] On your bike, bitch! I thought the blood had gone somewhere else before. Now he looks like he¡¯s about to explode in a happy ending. It seems he must have the soul of an Otaku, even in whatever culture this is. J concentrated on an image. With an exercise of will, a white material grew from her back, rolling around to sheath her body even as wings vanished in the change. By the time it was done, a white dress had fully formed, gleaming from its strapless bodice to now hidden feet. Turning back to face him fully, Julia hoped it would provide dignity and yet distract him enough to hide things as she worked. A pair of unblinking eyes grew on her back, guiding the motions of a tendril that slowly extended from her spine. Heard of folks wearing a hair shirt, but this is extreme J. [Mana Sense (5 -> 6)] ¡°Yes, your purpose. I need you to deal with Manetho. He is the favoured son of Lord Khafre, who rules in Memphis for the Pharaoh. Manetho. What? I thought I was here for a courier job to retrieve Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s book? He wants me to deal with someone? So how does my brain cope with the weirdness of my perspective now? Someone had better issue me a guidebook of what the fuck questions to ask first. Babble brightly and distract him. {{Shiny stuff about. All Mine.}} ¡°Deal with Manetho? You want him killed?¡± The tendril had mushroomed to the barrier¡¯s edge, yet when tried to wriggle through its fracture, the very air seemed to hold her back. Fuck. So much for that idea. What¡¯s next? I¡¯ve got to get out of here before he makes me accept a bond or contract, whatever the control form. Mana Manipulation? Haven¡¯t tried it yet, so that¡¯s out. Since no idea how obvious it will be. Could completely tip your hand with it. Think! ¡°No, you must not kill him. He needs to live and suffer rejection by the Eye of Osiris at the harvest celebrations.¡± For two hundred points, name the Egyptian god with the fake dick? How the heck can I be in Egypt? The circle needs to get broken, or he needs to cross it. Yet it doesn¡¯t look like it could stand up too much abuse. My telepathy got through, can I get through with Blink? Dare I risk it? What if it doesn¡¯t work? Will it bounce me around in the circle and give things away? Try something else first, maybe? Lure him to cross it? What if he passes me something through it? Would it pop if I grab any object coming through? Piss poor preparation, J. ¡°Why do you need that?¡± If he tells me he¡¯s going to take over the world, I¡¯m going to call him Brain, or maybe Pinkie. Since his brain sure wasn¡¯t working earlier. I need to get {{out}} of this circle. ¡°His father and family will lose much if disgrace touches him before Osiris. My Lord¡¯s influence will rise in their place.¡± ¡°Okay, but what¡¯s in it for me?¡± ¡°Wealth, or sacrifices either could be yours.¡± ¡°Shiny things?¡± Julia almost rolled her eyes, as his smirk seemed so like a bar sleaze plotting his next move. Oh, baby yeah. Fuck you, jerkwad. [Sense Motive ( 3 ->4 )] Another one point. Well, I guess his earlier distracted state took little effort to notice. Still a skinflint! [Perception [B] (18)] ¡°When is this harvest thing, Master?¡± Julia tried to put a vapid purr into her voice, suddenly glad she could no longer puke. ¡°Just over a moon away. I want him thoroughly corrupted by then.¡± So wonder what he means by corrupted? Ok, get rid of that tendril and ditch the extra eyes for now. Leave Mana Sense on and discover the biggest fracture? Then Blink through it? Hmm? Still don¡¯t like the risk. Stop. You¡¯re overthinking things. Try a simple approach first. You have a damaged energy barrier. Ki can react with magical entities. ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you tell me all about him, Master? I wish to make certain I can help you.¡± Julia turned and moved to the rear of the circle, making certain he had plenty of time to watch her sway. Ki pooling in her hands, she kept her motions graceful and slow, even as his intent gaze made her skin want to crawl. So Less is More. Put on a dress, and this guy loses his shit. ¡°He¡¯s an arrogant young man, much taken to flirting with women..¡± Wajet said, his voice distracted and absent, as he struggled to recount his disorganised thoughts. Already tuning out the rest of the details, Julia focused on the fractures moving about as if preparing to sit within the circle. Where the tendril had met blunt resistance, slight contact via Claws and Ki seemed to gouge it. Mentally pushing to close her hand, the air against her flesh suddenly seemed like thickening mud. Mana swirling in her sense, the barrier shook and shed flakes that were melting from sight. Ki surging in her hand, the energy of this Plane began swirling inwards to fill the fracture. A whirlwind of energy came to life before the barrier blew apart in a flash of light and Power. [Mana Sense (6 ->7)] Changing her stance, Julia snapped a look over her shoulder, crouching as Blink shifted her location. The distance closed, and her elbow struck backwards with brutal force. His shrill scream still ringing in the air, Julia''s sure hands pulled him over her shoulder and he crashed to the stone. A blow to his solar plexus had him gasping for air before her claws turned his robes into strips enough to hogtie him. Pushing him around to secure him in haste and pressing a wadded cloth into his mouth to muffle the whimpering. ¡°Oops, I broke it, and then you.¡± Crouching near his head, she looked down with her face cradled in her palms. The first smile of genuine delight felt in some time already gracing her lips. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m such a clumsy girl, Master.¡± Yeah, need to get adjusted to my new strength. He¡¯s going to be pissing blood. Playing out a tendril from her side, her imagination guided it to loop around his throat as she rose to her feet. ¡°Don¡¯t move, little one. I¡¯d have to choke you out.¡± If you were going to do that, why not just grow tendrils instead of bothering with the ripping robes thing. Yes J, why did you do that? Haven¡¯t you learnt anything yet, just be freaky Me and myself, you need to get back in your box, no backseat fighting. Leave this to ¡®I¡¯. [Rope Use unlocked. Rope Use (1) Torture unlocked. Torture (1) ] What? I incapacitated him. Ok, so could have used less force. Yet better him in pain, then me back in the Abyss. Or forced to corrupt someone, cause hard pass on that. Ugh, that air brained act left me feeling slimy. Oh wait, he''s a spell caster. Tendrils snaked out to form a mesh around his fingers, holding them in place. Meanwhile, the one around his neck grew a cover for his mouth to ensure the gag didn¡¯t get loose. Yuck J. Clicking some of those chat links really scarred your brain. Hentai much, miss tentacle girl. How strong can I make these things? Play with your toys later, me. ¡°Time to find the prize.¡± {{Hurt him.}} ((Calm.)) Giving Wajet a sharp push, she resisted the temptation to hit him again before moving to start on the long table. Planning to loop her way over every surface and cupboard in the place until the prize was found. Though it turned out spotting Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s book was easy enough. That would have likely been the case even if it hadn¡¯t turned out to be sitting on a table by itself. The size of the book had been far larger than expected. A bulky thing it was fifty centimetres at least from base to top and the same across its front. Its construction was disturbing, the deep green of the cover looking like hardened mucus; with yellow translucent hooks rimming its edges. Whenever her flesh neared the book¡¯s cover, the hooks had flexed and clicked. Their waving edges were sharp enough to sever a chitin ridge she''d extended experimentally. It had taken care to open it while losing nothing more to them; once open, the hooks at least dropped into torpor. Inside the front flap, it looked like a large metal bowl had been set into the cover. Though the material obviously wasn¡¯t thick enough to allow for its depth. Though sight and Mana sense both said there was a curvature to it, nothing could reach below the bowl''s rim. Julia''s knowledge did not allow her any idea what the spell woven into it did, yet it seemed anchored to the tiny Abyssal script around its rim. Fortunately, even with the weird dimensional effect involved, her inventory ability worked without issue in both storing and retrieving the Book. Only four wands along with a few mana stones had joined her collection before an unsettling discovery halted her search. A lingering spell¡¯s mana that was barely present on a Pot, dissipated from its surface even as examination started. It didn¡¯t appear an object that would warrant much interest in either of her lives. A simple glazed clay pot appearing crafted by a hobbyist, with a closely fitted lid. Nothing particularly attention-worthy outside, yet inside it a lump of meat dripping fresh blood grabbed her attention. 19 - Reach out and touch me It could be a pig. They¡¯ve got human appearing hearts. Don¡¯t they? Nostrils flaring at the coppery scent that now clung to her awareness. Julia moved to place the pot with care beside Wajet and knelt with it between them. Yet that gentle care didn¡¯t extend to him as she caused the tendril around his head and neck to yank him brutally upright. As his pain-filled eyes speared towards her, empty hands curled into fists. Being so close to him was enough to make her skin crawl, yet the truth was the only thing that mattered presently. Growing tentacles to support him, she turned him to face towards the pot as even as Telepathy went on. {{Kill him}} ¡°Looks like I hit you a little hard. Where did this come from?¡± Even as he squirmed against the tentacles, she reached into his mind; thoughts and images filtering through his bile. ##Gah this hurts so much, need to make her argh. Will spit in this smug whore¡¯s face. I¡¯ll make her pay. Stupid bitch, when she leaves, I¡¯ll find out her ¡®True Name¡¯ and teach her a lesson. Tras¡¯laq¨¬ will pay! Grandfather¡¯s bowl holds his ¡®True Name¡¯. I ordered him to help me summon a Succubus. He¡¯ll pay for his betrayal. Why did the circle not hold? He said it would summon a young Succubus with ease. Argh hurts so much. Bitch, I¡¯ll teach her for disrespecting me, she wouldn¡¯t dare to kill me. I¡¯ll make her pay. This Pain. Like blades. I¡¯m going to cut out her heart, like the sacrifice. Will make her regret this, make her do the most filthy things.## Shaking her head, Julia pulled her focus from him; knuckles already aching from the tension in her fists. Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s ¡®True name¡¯ binds him to the call of the bowl. No wonder he wants this book. He answered with the truth, but not all the truth. This guy was too dumb to see his games. Wonder what I missed in our discussion? The idiot thought questions answered gave him the whole truth. No doubt he was told just enough to summon; not control. ¡°You¡¯re already filthy enough. Coming here to answer your call, was the most filthy thing I¡¯d done yet. Maggot.¡± {{yet}} As his rant and images continued, she shut off Telepathy, rage burning through all attempts at calm. Yet his most horrific visualisation didn¡¯t come close to what she¡¯d already seen or feared for herself. Julia had seen enough; she¡¯d seen more than enough. That girl should be alive! I want {{out}} of this nightmare. ¡°So you thought the bowl made you his ruler. He likely told you facts worded to suit your stupidity. Dung brains, you got played! Even I was already sure I got played.¡± Need {{out}} She died for him to summon me? Fuck, fuck, fuck he killed her. Didn¡¯t look big enough even to be a high schooler. Yet now she¡¯s dead. Cause this arse wanted to get one over some noble. Dead because he summoned me. Why! ¡°Why did she die?¡± The confusion in his eyes made Julia''s fists tighten. The ligaments in knuckles creaking under the pressure, as if she was trying to drive her own nails into her palms. ((His choice, not your own. Death does not equal damnation. Have hope for all of us.)) We both died. They held a funeral for me. Do you even have a family to miss you little one? The room swayed and rocked, its dimensions shifting, flexing in her awareness. Back and forth. Back. Again. I didn¡¯t want someone to die. Only wanted to be {{free}}. How could he kill her? She was a child. Can I only leave if someone innocent dies? I want to stay free, no more innocents dying. As pain cracked its way through Julia''s controls, she felt all her contained sorrow and pain shaking through her body. A chance to mourn, for the girl, herself. A chance to scream and rave. The Abyss was never a place to show pain, yet that wasn''t where she was now. Pain and Sorrow didn¡¯t spear her or torment her, they just gathered, swelling, pulling everything in like a black tidal wave bearing down on the shore. I¡¯m {{out}}. I¡¯m {{out}}, and that girl died to get me out. I feel so filthy? I didn¡¯t know! I want {{OUT}}. Let me {{Free, of this Curse.}} {{Let me out!!}} Muscles tightening, she closed her eyes at the torrent of emotions rolling through her. The Ki felt distant unheeding even as the tide of emotion hit her. She heard muffled noises coming from somewhere close at hand. As she splashed water on her face, it ended, but the water was so refreshing. So Rich in flavour, warm, so sweet. Blackness. {{Free}} Warm broth. Drinking it in. Savouring it. Guzzling it down. Rich treats popping on her tongue. Cool wind on her skin, soaring, diving, chasing, screaming. {{Out.}} ((Kill)) {{those}} Damp earth underfoot. Fast movements, the sounds of silk tearing, steel bells chiming near. Playing games, flickering fun, tag. Cool wind on her skin, moisture tickling her nose, clean sweet water slid on her tongue. Sensations flickering across her mind. {{Out}} Warmth filling, seated lips bared at the darkness glittering above. Darkness. The water¡¯s scent cried out like soft crystals chiming to her sense. Such a hard choice, lie by the pool or get in for a soak. Feel so full. Hmm, did I put on sunscreen after lunch? Yet a soak that sounded good. The sun''s in my eyes. When did I put sunscreen on last? How long have I been asleep? Wait, what, asleep? Yuck, the wind¡¯s blowing wrong. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "{{Out}}." Out? The word echoed in her ears from somewhere so close, too close for comfort. It startled her, made her skin jump. Sitting bolt upright, the scene around snapped into focus as eyes took in the details in flickering stabs. Every detail presented seized by her mind while trying to reconcile the gap in memories. The last thing remembered had been in that drab chamber, and now she was, well, not even in a building. The view from the rise made it seem as if well above a riverbank. Yet nothing like the Nile she remembered seeing. So if this was in Egypt, it wasn¡¯t even an ancient form of the one Julia knew. Wooded green lands ran in both directions away from the river bank. Dew speckling the ground spoke of early morning, so if the dawn was eastwards, the river¡¯s slow meandering flow was heading southwards, not north. Shadows flickered across her from the murder gathered in the trees and circling overhead; while others were feasting on meat, laying beyond an invisible line. Not a single crow seemed to want to get close to her, not even in a tree. Bodies. Torn and dismembered flesh and scattered organs alike sat leaking fluids into the grass. I¡¯m noticing stuff about the landscape, and it takes crows to make me see the bodies. Deeper into the woods towards the dawn, she could hear the tap-tapping of beaks endeavouring to strip flesh from bone. The cawing crows filled the air with sound, as they sought the feast she¡¯d laid out for them. Blood welling out of sundered flesh, slowly falling to feed the earth, possessions and meat alike scattered about as if in a frenzy. Staggering upright, her feet pushed against a metal helm, the contact causing her to look down. The bloody hollows in the mauled face looked back before it tipped and thumped away. Her emotions didn¡¯t even twinge except satisfaction. As her eyes lingered on the fleeing head, memories swam to greet her conscious mind. Pre-dawn darkness still grasping sky, tentacles seizing the last and pulling them close. The hunt had been so much fun, so many dead, yet it was time to consume the last. Screams of terror, her teeth rendering flesh, the warm, rich broth, the struggling prey. The sweet pop as her claws pierced its eyes. Fingers clinging in the sockets to better hold while feeding on it, flesh and energies spiralling inwards. What did I do? Faces of the dead rose, floating up from memory¡¯s darkened waters, yet no remorse followed their ascent. The sorrow and pain she¡¯s suppressed within the Abyss seemed drowned in those same waters. However, Julia had no way to tell if it had scoured them from her, or if they were just chained in the depths. ¡°The demon isn¡¯t just a shell. I can¡¯t use that excuse. It¡¯s me. When I lost control, people died. I remember the killings.¡± How many people did I kill? Not demons, people. While I was drowning in my rage, I ate people. Explain that, Miss! Memories rocked her, tents, wagons, campfires, groups of armed men, the joyful surge of combat: sweat and heated flesh filling the air, screams, leggings soiled in fear and death alike. Rage and fear-filled faces as she clawed at them in deadly play while their attacks did nothing in return. Some fighting, others fleeing. The ones who stood died in droves. The chase of those that fled. Did I leave anyone alive? Where is Wajet''s chamber? Memphis, maybe, but where is Memphis. This isn¡¯t anything like Egypt. I need to get clean. Will I ever be clean? Her reflection shimmering on the river''s surface gave a view of her Queen Bitch form. The weird black wings, assorted spikes, ridges, and mat chitin encased her flesh. Blood spotted and slicked her from wingtips to serrated feet. Trying to find it within her to shudder, she sighed at the emptiness she felt inside. Shifting back to her base form left her lily-white, naked, and grimacing at the blood now caking her skin. Okay, so seems I''m more concerned about my blood-soaked skin than the dead back there. It¡¯s the amazing scrubbing machine you too can have twelve tendrils with scrubbing brushes at your disposal. Just call our Abyss hotline and ask for your amazing curse kit today Smart arse, you need to clean up your act. How many dead and you''re trying to crack bad jokes, J? When at last, physically at least, she seemed as clean as possible, Julia forced herself into motion. Lifted by Flight, the water dropped away till feet were well clear. Once clear, a mental image of what might pass as local formed in her imagination. Knee-high boots, along with a cuirass, armoured pants, greaves and kit, and willed herself to Shapeshift. A tendril¡¯s eye allowed Julia to check all the details, even while gliding towards the feasting. Looking over the churned mix of corpses, armour and weapons littering the ground again; Julia wondered what she should be feeling. They were dead, and she couldn¡¯t muster the energy to care about any of them. Yet studying the remains, her anger surged towards the slain, feeling more regard for the feasting birds than the people that died. These dead needed to suffer more. Should have suffered more! They had let her down, as they''d died too fast. The murders circling deeper over the woods to the east showed these fallen weren¡¯t the only dead. They may have run far fleeing; they just hadn¡¯t run far enough. ¡°Why did I do this?¡± {{Too easy to kill}} Mana Sense Running her eyes over the remains, only two sources of Mana beckoned. A severed hand still held a dagger in its grasp and a mass within a pouch. The number of weapons versus the number of empty scabbards spoke of weapons lost or scattered. ¡°No wonder they were running if they only had a magic dagger between them.¡± Moving to check the pouch, she didn¡¯t even register the sounds from the ground underfoot as earth and blood oozed around each step. A finger flick split the pouch and revealed a steel vial within. The mana inside the vial coiled quietly, as if trying to hide from sight. Analysis [Potion: Heavy Slumber Details: This potion activates when poured into a water source. Anyone drinking from that source will not awaken for twelve hours when they sleep next. Potion remains in effect for eighteen hours after being applied or till next dawn. ] ¡°What sort of weird arse potion is this?¡± The dagger seemed nothing exceptional, a rough steel blade, dark leather grip, and a murky looking crystal serving as a pommel stone. Analysis [Pained Caresses Weapon Type: Dagger Details: This Blade possesses no additional enchantment to increase its accuracy or edge. Any injury inflicted with it will cause a surge of crippling pain. Keeping the blade in contact with the victim even against yet undamaged skin will cause them to experience ongoing surges of pain.] ¡°Hell¡¯s bells. What sort of sick arse would keep this? ¡± ((The worst of mortals can be more villainous than demons.)) [Mana Sense (11-> 12) Analysis ([Ap] (5 -> 6) That¡¯s higher than I remember. How much time did I lose? Tracing swirling Mana patterns within the blade, she weighed her options. Should I even have this on me? Don¡¯t want to think about how much fun Naz¡¯rilca would have with it clipping my wings. But for now, I¡¯ll hold on to it. Maybe something to use for testing Mana Manipulation. ((The camp.)) Quickly finding the dagger¡¯s sheath, she secured it. Then blade and Potion tucked into inventory Julia was more than ready to move on. For some unknown reason, driven to find the dead¡¯s source. Part of her mind seemed to think, to insist even their death was good. But why? Was there even a semblance of a reason for this slaughter? Who¡¯d have these sorts of things on hand? Then again, she was hardly one to talk. They were in Julia''s possession now, and she was a Demoness. The ground squelched underfoot as she took a step forward towards the wood. You were standing in a puddle of blood, J. What the fuck? When did I stop noticing that? Rising into the air, with a shake of her head, a scan of the treetops showed her the further gathering of crows. A murder No, this was a slaughter. The crows were just attending the banquet laid out in their honour. Using the murder to plot a course sent her skimming over treetops, towards the start of the butchery in these woods. Crows scattered from the chosen path, but food drew them quickly back to their feasting. As she drew close to that furthest murder, Julia could hear the ringing of metal underlying the sounds of the cawing. Landing before the source of the noise came into view; she waited and listened. With no movements coming closer, she moved carefully ahead, flittering from cover to cover, peering around trees as the sounds grew louder. As the sounds'' origin came into view, Julia stopped to remove clues of her new nature, taking care before she pressed ahead. Claws and teeth changed to something more like what she had once been, human. Broken tents, horse lines, and bodies covered patches of ground where the woods thinned, and crows circled. The dead weren''t a concern though, but rage sparked and hastened her speed. Yet the alarm of the living brought sense and all her motion ceased. Stopping fully, she slowly moved to hold arms out wide, and nodded respectfully, before moving forward with slow steps. Julia¡¯s eyes roamed over young and old, men, women, and child alike, that toiled amid the fallen. To break their chains and gather what they could. Exposed flesh displayed their map of scars, welts, cuts, beatings, new and raw, or old and mute. Their maps of pain made Rage, Heat and Focus all echo within her in harmony. {{They suffer their torments in life.}} ((Free them, child)) An older man stepped forward, a broken leg chain dragging at his heels. He moved clear of the others, yet stopped a careful distance apart before he spoke. Turning on Telepathy, she sought to feel his mind, trying to gain a featherlight touch, with a hope to remain unsensed. While he spoke, she could feel Translate provide but scattered words and meaning, though Telepathy conveyed it in full. Holding back from his mind except for a projected intent, trying to give her gestures depth. Pointing to a broken chain, herself, the man and a finally an open hand tilted to the others. After a quick imaged Shift, she opened her mouth to show a tongueless state within. I come in peace. I mean, no harm to you. Let get folks free and safe. [Acting (10 -> 11) Telepathy (3 -> 4)] See, I clearly can¡¯t speak, don¡¯t expect any answer. Pity flashed in the man''s eyes, seeing only the stub left in her mouth, and he nodded in acceptance. She moved forward, slowly splitting the distance to the old man before kneeling, to point at his manacle. Suspicion warred in his eyes and face as he moved forward and stopped when at last within reach. Touching her fingers to the seam of the manacle, she directed the Ki to push beyond fingertips and watched the iron break cleanly. Even as surprise shone on his weary face; Julia gestured towards his severed chain, and then the others. He nodded thanks, holding out a now trembling arm as if to offer her a hand up. [Ki Strike [B] (15 - > 16)] Julia looked up at him, patting his arm with a smile, and standing without support. Let¡¯s get them all free. {{Free}} ((Free)) 20 - I want to break free Looking over at the old man, she considered the others working to break free of their chains nearby. Those that were in sight seemed almost European in appearance, especially compared to Wajet. Wajet had been a scrawny rodent of a fellow, with his malicious eyes and self-assured smirk. These captives possessed lighter tones of hair, skin that looked bronzed by the sun, rather than any ethnicity. Many adults possessed the solidness of muscles gained from work rather than any gym, though there were exceptions. They apparently co-operated as a genuine community in a time of need, helping each other up rather than scrambling to be first. {{Free him}} ((Free them)) The old man patted her arm, pulling her from her consideration of the survivors. Gesturing to draw her attention towards a small manacled girl deeper in the ruined camp, though there were others closer at hand. Telepathy scooping up the hurried thoughts that rose to the surface of his mind. ##How did she do that? She seems more a warrior or scout than any caster. Need Huld free. Better if she can run, find safety##. Flicking her eyes between them, Julia triggered Analysis on each. Analysis [Name: Sigurer Winther Level: 14 / 2 Class: Trader / Mayor Race: Human Norse Descent Age: 45 Health: 154 (174) Mana: 0 (50) Defence: 14 Combat Powers: None Combat Skills: Short Blades [Ad] (22), Short Bow [J] 9 Current Condition: Hungry, Beaten, Suppressed Mana (fading), Morale Bonus: Freed Slave] Analysis [Name: Huld Winther Level: 0 Class: [Not Trained] Race: Human Norse Descent Age: 10 Health: 4 (7) Defence: 17 Current Condition: Hungry, Beaten, Morale Bonus: Freed Slave Child State Details: Orphaned, guardian Sigurer Winther] Norse Descent? Norse and the ancient Gods of Egypt didn¡¯t coexist. Did they? Chill J, more important things to think about. They are both freed slaves. Now I hope I killed all the Slavers. If they¡¯re all dead, might get folks safe. Even getting them free will take time. The reason for his priority of Huld was understandable, yet it wouldn''t be wise. If freeing the slaves occurred apparently at random, the entire camp could turn into a riot of pushing. Patting Sigurer¡¯s arm, she gestured to a closer man who had been following their interaction with interest. As she''d originally approached Sigurer, the other man had gathered up a bow, intent on her motions. As Julia had moved, so had he, closing the separation focused on Julia and the trees beyond. As Sigurer frowned, she gestured again to the man, a woman past him and onto the others. Trying to project her intent to free them all, she walked towards the bowman. I don¡¯t even know how long it takes my Ki to recover, that manacle only took a point. Profile review can wait till I need a break. I¡¯m almost afraid to know what got added in while I was out of my head. Ki isn¡¯t higher, but I have more mana. Couldn¡¯t have levelled Wizard, since I''m still to learn any spell forms. Look at the profile J. No, shoo. I don¡¯t want to know. Giving the bowman a concerned smile, she pointed to his manacle and when he let her approach; she again broke the iron easily. The man looked different when he smiled at her in thanks, suspicion lessening. The analysis provided only a name, Ari, and class, making it clear he was a ranger higher than her, but still they¡¯d enslaved him. A lot of these folks look to know each other, or like family. Did they raid a village? Or buy them from a broke Jarl? As she had moved, she caught the motion as Ari pointed at her exposed white skin. ¡°M¨¢ni ¨¢lfr kyn?¡± Moon, what kin now? [Translate (2 -> 3)] Translate, you need to grow up to be big and strong. I didn¡¯t have my fingers in his brain. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Focusing on him, she had to blink in surprise at the images in his mind. Peter Jackson apparently needs to get better a bigger CGI budget for elvish appearances. An Elf he wants to know if I have moon elf blood in my lineage? Now, why didn¡¯t I get to be something cool like an Elf? If the way he remembers them is accurate, holy heck. Wipe up the drool J. But just wow, lust at first sighting. Sorry Orlando, but you rate no more. Memory? Okay, fingers out of his brain, getting me worked up. Move along J, next in line, before you slip on drool. Telepathy (4 -> 5) Waving towards the next in her mental ¡®queue¡¯ to get their attention, she headed to them. The crack of their manacle breaking seeming to ring a bell across the camp. She smiled one of the woman nearby began humming something to an upset boy, tones bright in the morning. Get these folks free and safe somewhere. Then see if I can learn more details. The conversation among them and others nearby gaining her a series of annoying notifications. Distracting her focus from the snippets she worked to assemble. Every new word she understood seemed to cause it to ping again. The chatter among them tipping fuel on its fire, making for an itch she couldn¡¯t scratch. She headed towards the first woman in her ¡®queue¡¯, yet the group presented the young boy first. He couldn¡¯t have been older than five, his face dirty, streaked with tears. Instead of playing with friends, they had manacled him, treated him like cattle, the only blessing he was with his mother still. A smile lit up as his face as she freed him. Where the dead had evoked nothing, Julia felt a bright delight bloom from her darkness. A smile dancing on her lips mirrored from the others as she freed them. The first group complete, Julia felt a kiss brush her cheek, the now shy boy returning to his mum, not noticing the smile he received in return. Trailing her fingers across his retreating check, she left him with his mother, and she stood to find Ari in her way. Energetically gesturing toward a group of wagons, Ari seemed unwilling to take no for an answer. A rush of words carried an insistent tone, drawing attention from those around. ¡°hv¨ªtr einn. gefa goei frelsi, hn¨ªga door¡± White one. Give something freedom, blah door Sigh. Does he need me to break a door? He¡¯s got muscles enough, does he ever. Down, girl. [Translate (19 -> [B] 2)] ¡°Huld¡¯s freedom should come before tveir andlit bleyea priest.¡± Sigurer said, having not gone far while he waited for Julia to free his ward. [Translate ([B] 2 -> 5)] Please stop telling me. [Translate Notifications suppressed.] I don¡¯t want to put my fingers back in their brains. ¡°Don¡¯t let anger blind you, Sigurer. He could help.¡± Ari said, turning almost as if he was getting ready to square off against the older man. ¡°Uncle, please don¡¯t argue. Master Ari is right.¡± Calling out from where she waited, Huld¡¯s interruption halted Sigurer response. Care seemed to weight his words as he spoke. ¡°Huld, I don¡¯t trust that bleyea one. Better for her to free those she can.¡± ¡°Are the stories you told of my parents lies Uncle?¡± Huld asked, not put off at all by her Uncle''s response The grimace that drew from Sigurer called the winner faster than a KO. Niece¡¯s disapproval, your kryptonite old man? Dry amusement warred with seriousness in Ari¡¯s eyes as he turned his attention to her. ¡°They have a Priest of Janus secured in a wagon. His blessings would be sure to help.¡± Priest oh boy, this could go south. Yet if he¡¯s free, then they¡¯ll be safer. Janus, isn¡¯t that something from Buffy? This is weird. {{Free him}} ((He waits.) ¡°He let them imprison him. He¡¯s a coward.¡± ¡°Sigurer, enough. He chooses the life of others over the battle." Ari said, his tone implying that things might be about to get out of hand if Sigurer persisted. Going to take them out and measure them. Men! Stepping past the men, Julia headed picked a path that took her past Huld. A simple tap from a Ki charged foot split her manacle; another split the chain linking her group. So much for sticking to the queue, Julia. Leaving both Sigurer and Huld in her wake, she slipped between groups as she continued. Yet Ari easily caught up then lead the way moving with fluid grace. Julia found her eyes tracing the shifting muscles in his back and forced her attention away. At this rate, I''m going to need a drip tray. Enabling Mana Sense, she looked ahead, and it seemed clear which wagon Ari had meant. From its form alone even without the other Mana signpost. Where the others were a mix of open bed or almost gypsy¡¯s like in fanciness. Their goal was a bleak box, signalling its nature even without the familiar Mana that seethed around it. Every piece of metal seemed to be forged from Abyssal steel, so much that to her senses, reality fought to eject it. Yet something held it in place even as the power bound in its construction worked to contain something within. ¡°We can¡¯t get it open or even get near. Hopefully, you can.¡± Ari said, gesturing in the direction of the Wagon and its door. The dark wooden door he gestured towards metal bound and latched, but there didn¡¯t appear to be a lock. A slot set within it looked intended for passing things inside. The only security on the door, two simple bolt and clasp arrangements on slot and door alike. She heard him continue speaking as she continued her examination of the wagon. ¡°A Priestess of Set saw to the Priest. No one¡¯s seen her since before the slaughter.¡± She had sensed the Mana of the wagon stirring as they had approached, yet she approached without Ari they didn¡¯t stir. Holding still, she waved Ari to back up, as she kept her focus on the wagon. The wagon''s energies receded towards a waiting state, and yet her next step forward did nothing. The swirling of the energy seemed to lessen in focus the further he drew back, despite her closing in. [Mana Sense (4 - > 6)] The steel looks like the materials of the Stronghold¡¯s gates. Some keyed wards? With measured steps, she moved and watched as the Mana continued to ignore her. Till at last, she could reach the clasp, her fingers tips met a rise of Heat that licked within her before vanishing. Protection from Good spell, a ward or something close. Evil though is free to stab you in the back. [Arcane ( 2 -> 3) Mana Sense (6 - > 7)] Oh, fuck you. That was a hint, but okay, thanks. Even if you are a sick son of a bitch. There are people injured in RPGs Priests can heal. Just hope that is the case here. Decided by that thought, she moved and unsecured it with haste, ignoring the calls from those nearby. The clasp and bolt moved with ease, and as she peered within, silver seized her sight. Eyes of gleaming mercury locked on her own, blurring all else to her sight. In her Mana Sense, ribbons of energy swirled in a constant spiral in yet their motion couldn¡¯t distract from the gaze. ¡°What price will charge for my novice¡¯s freedom, fallen one of Eros?¡± The words didn¡¯t need any translation; rather she knew this language just as she had Abyssal. Instead of the razors and poisons that had first lashed her mind, this one was musical, calm, peaceful. She paused only for a moment before she mentally shrugged and reformed her tongue. So this is celestial? ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± Julia said. Her focus on the sense of it seemed to form her intent, and without knowing how similar liquid sounds spilt from her lips quietly from her lips ¡°Play not your games. I wish you to release my novice''s Soul. Tell me what is your Price for her?¡± The language didn¡¯t change; it was still musical fluid peaceful, yet his tone washed drawn steel underneath its flow. ¡°No games. If you¡¯ll tell me how to free her. I will. No conditions, nothing owed. I don¡¯t understand what you mean, though.¡± ¡°What?!?¡± The surprised look on the Priest''s face would have been drawn a laugh from Julia, except for the topic''s seriousness. 21 - Take whats mine ¡°You tell me what''s going on and I¡¯ll free her. It¡¯s that simple.¡± ¡°Leaving her untainted by your stain?¡± The Priest said, contempt and disbelief colouring his tone. ¡°Again, I¡¯m in the dark here. We¡¯re speaking the same language, but I don¡¯t understand.¡± Julia replied, trying hard not to reach for him. ¡°She¡¯s right beside you, Demoness. Bound to you. How can you not see her?¡± He gestured towards her right, yet even with Mana Sense still going, there was nothing there. ¡°Oh?¡± Soul Sight As it activated, the Power exposed within the Priest sent her reeling backwards, mentally and physically. The energy coming from within his flesh dimming the daylight in comparison. Only her supernatural quickness and battered resilience stopped her from going sprawling. Catching herself against the door of the Wagon, gaze snapping downwards, instinctively seeking safety from the light of that searing force. In her enhanced sight, the essence of her form showed through its current false visage. Shadows of light burned within alien flesh, illuminating through its physical appearance. Spectral faces shaped as if glowing wisps rippling within, their hollow forms taut against a prison of skin woven from Heat. That Heat prevented her from learning the full details of their lives. Julia felt nothing for their captivity nor desperation, given their profession. The Souls were all somehow aware of their situation as if the Abyssal Heat making up her form captivating them made their fate known. Instead, her mind reserved all sense of horror for the child¡¯s Soul standing in the air beside her. Julia shuddered as the sight revealed the perversion of a mother¡¯s feeding in progress. A blotted vein knotted cord of spiritual flesh trailed from within her right breast to its mouth. Even as horror burst to life in sullen embers, the veins pulsed and throb. The emotions sight perceived pulsated inside herself, surging yet fading even before she felt them. The cord pulsed and vibrated, spewing the negative emotions like poison into the child¡¯s form. She saw it echo with pain and horror Livia felt in the moment her death rang out, and memories rush into Julia. The sense of a dark prison grasping her Soul instead of the beckoning of Janus¡¯ doorway. Seeing Julia¡¯s face appearing above her in the dark space, and the rush of energy soon after cascading into her. Anger replacing sorrow, which became a torrent of pain, fury whirling through her as she drank more yet hungered still. Hungered for Power, for revenge, feeling the Heat whispering to her as the locked gifts of life activated again. It held a bloodied hand out to her, offered form and power, so she took the hand and drank from its flesh. Drank all that it offered and more besides. Torrents of burning emotion-filled every fibre, and she screamed for a way out. Her/Their Power took flight, and she knew they could get her/their revenge. With that first kill still echoing in them, she left that blood-stained room and hunted those who¡¯d already left. Instincts surging as the demon¡¯s insights and her will moved as one, slipping in to feed first on the greatest threat. The Priestess, the commander, the caster all fell. After the last of them, the fun and screaming truly began. [Soul Sight ( 6 -> 12) Demonic Lore ( 20 ->[B] (2) ) ] There is still hope. ¡°How did this happen? Tell me how to help her! Please!¡° ¡°What tier of fallen are you? How do you not know this?¡± ¡°Lesser¡± ¡°Impossible for you not to know then. What trick do you think to achieve?¡± You know so much about Demons. Do you bargain with them often? Note to self: be careful of this fucker. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened. I want to help free these people, so I freed you. I didn¡¯t know about the child¡¯s Soul. A summoner called me. He killed her to do it. I knew she''d died but not about being bound to me,¡± ¡°I know that it needs no such sacrifice for a Lesser Demon. Perhaps if you were a Greater Succubus, I¡¯d believe that lie.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it needs it or not. He thought it did. I read it from his mind. He was sloppy with the circle. I found her heart after I got free. I was asking him what he¡¯d done, and then. We linked and came after the unworthy hunting. After that ended up here and freed some people. Want to free the rest?¡± ¡°Step aside and let me out then. ¡± Turning off her Soul Sight, Julia nodded and backed up without looking at him; keeping her hands in the open as she moved. The Priest followed smoothly, unfolding himself out of the Wagon¡¯s door, taking care in every action to avoid brushing metal. ¡°Perhaps you can provide some instruction while we free people? Who knows what will happen next.¡± ¡°You are a strange one, Succubus. I don¡¯t know what game you are playing yet. You will stay where I can see you at all times.¡± ¡°I thought you had no tongue, white one. What language is that you speak?¡± Ari asked. ¡°The language is celestial, Ari. I¡¯d suggest you pay more attention to your lessons in Mielikki¡¯s groves. If you thought she had no tongue, it¡¯s because she tricked you. Her kind does that well. Be extremely wary, Ari. I don¡¯t know what game she¡¯s playing or who for as yet.¡± ¡°What kind is she?¡± ¡°Succubus.¡± The Priest answered his eyes still intently fixed on Julia despite her backing up carefully and not making any gestures towards him. Guess since I can Blink, the possibility of a sudden move occurring is a given. But geez this guy is an arse. Maybe he enjoyed being locked in a box? Is it a fetish? She heard Ari¡¯s bow tense behind her in a thrum of motion. The sudden clicking of chains receding made it seem as if others were wise enough to get clear. ¡°She freed some people, but what power she was using, I don¡¯t know. She didn¡¯t touch any except for Olaf¡¯s face after he kissed her check.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see to cleansing them later. Watch her. No one gets within arm¡¯s reach. What happened to the Priestess?¡± You''re a dick, Ari. I just unchained you. You''re both arses. Well, this is one an enormous pile of shit you just jumped feet first into it J. ¡°I killed her in her tent. She would have caused issues if I hadn¡¯t dealt with her first.¡± Julia said. This is a pain in the arse. I can understand both of them but speak only to the Priest. ¡°Ari if you can lead the way to her tent but be careful she claims to have killed her. Succubus, you follow a distance behind him.¡± ¡°Call me Amanda, not this one, or Succubus.¡± ¡°You give out ¡®Use¡¯ names so freely. Wanting your or another Demon¡¯s ¡®Use¡¯ names known on this plane for another sloppy summoner to use. Is that your ploy?¡± The Priest, tone harsh inflections gave the musical nature of the celestial language a metallic undertone. It''s not a ''Use'' name Arse. It might be one of my old names, but Profile says I renamed myself J. So wish I had ignored Ari, and just freed people myself. ¡°Oh, for crying out loud, no. Have it your way though, pick a name to use as long as it¡¯s not hey you or late for dinner.¡± ¡°Move Succubus. Ari lead please.¡± Aquila stated his demand to her in the same tongue Ari had been speaking. Apparently familiar enough with Demon''s to know she''d understand, and his tone clear to Julia he didn''t have trust for her. ¡°Fine, just tell me what¡¯s she saying. I don¡¯t understand Celestial. Sylvan and Elvish yes, Celestial no.¡± ¡®¡°Nothing important.¡± Fuck you, Aquila. I want to learn Elvish. Then I can tell them to live long and prosper. Turning to follow, her eyes sought Ari, who had already moved. He led the way, looping clear of the wagons and toward the tent which awoke to claw in her memory. Her eyes fixed on the woman¡¯s sleeping face as she lay on her side asleep. Waiting and watching her breath softly, a poniard formed from chitin and bone, a flickered step, the crunch as it drove home. Body twitching, the vibrations of the skull¡¯s bone scrapping up her arm as it shook in its death throes. Head pinned to the camp bed¡¯s mattress on the spike driven through her temple, like a butterfly on display. Conversation ceased she played with her Telepathy as she followed Ari. Preferring the distraction of other thoughts, and concerns to the effect watching Ari¡¯s muscles seemed to have on her. From most, she read a mix of concern and relief the freed felt. Relief at seeing the Priest they thought of as Aquila, mingled with the unfamiliar face under guard. Others she steered clear of as the rawness of pain in their thoughts were clear. If Livia was feeding off emotions, she didn¡¯t want to provide her more fuel. The notifications pinging for Telepathy every time she was able to make sense of a new mind. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Will you answer a question?¡± ¡°No.¡± Aquila snapped back at her, his tone not having improved. ¡°Arse.¡± ¡°The only thing staying my hand from you at present Succubus is my concern for my Novice¡¯s Soul. You¡¯d be wise to mind your tongue, lest I see if I can free her another way.¡± ¡°I can understand your concern for her. I want to help her. How do I undo this bond?¡± ¡°Do nothing yet. I¡¯ll explain what I know once I regain my possessions.¡± Yes, cause I''m just a woman, I recognise that dismissive crap tone. You care about your crap but won''t even talk while we walk. Have trouble chewing and walking at the same time? ¡°You know you are awful bossy for a young bloke.¡± ¡°How is it you are so ignorant, Succubus?¡± Aquila asked, his tone seemed to imply stupid and his words and Julia felt her teeth clenched. Roman''s bet they were another culture where women were just possessions. He didn''t even call her by name only my Novice. Are possessions more important to him than a child? ¡°I said you could call me Amanda.¡± ¡°Succubus.¡± ¡°I¡¯m tempted to call you more names, but I want Livia safe. A child¡¯s safety is more important than winning an argument.¡± Even if the argument is with a complete bossy type A Arse with control issues, and a stick up said orifice. His nose looks a bit Roman bust styled. That¡¯s right. Janus was a Roman God, crossroads or something, not just content for a Buffy episode. So Egyptian, Norse, Roman, plus who knows what else I¡¯ll find in this place. Letting out a sigh, she offered an olive branch to the roman fellow. ¡°I¡¯m very new. Lots to learn. I¡¯ve visited precisely one city, One stronghold and two planes of the Abyss. I climbed a cliff, charred, broken and scoured flesh in a cloud bank. Fought a bunch of Lurkers, triggered an Ascend without knowing enough. Bullied past a Cambion. Entered said city. Ran afoul of some older, what did you call me, Fallen of Eros? Got summoned cause a knowledge demon tricked the sloppy summoner and gave them my ¡®Use¡¯ name. Does that answer your question?¡± ¡°Enough. I¡¯m trying to think.¡± Don¡¯t strain yourself too hard. Arse. Powerful Arse but still an Arse. Eros, a Greek god, associated with love or something. So servants of a God of love fallen to become lust demons. Okay, go figure. How did the original fall? Look at Zeus wrong when Hera was in the line of sight? They were just fiction at home. Here, well, oh, boy. Right, back to Greek being on the list as well. She¡¯d tucked the slavers who had been outside the tent inside a wagon bed nearby, and it seemed no one had moved them yet. Inside, the large command style tent the Priestess had been using. Julia was glad the heat of the day hadn¡¯t hit cause dead don¡¯t smell pleasant, especially when there is no breeze to clear the odour. Worse odours in the Abyss. ¡°So you weren¡¯t lying about her being dead?¡± ¡°She was a problem. So I apparently I thought I¡¯d put a pin in her and come back to it later.¡± Julia said, her eyes flickering to Ari. But he seemed not to be worried about being left out of the loop while they conversed in Celestial. Ari had just calmly observed her as she''d entered the tent, his focus not shifting from her. Mana Sense Sweeping her Mana Sense over the inside of the tent, only two chests and a scattering of objects felt as if they had energy. ¡°I sense Mana from those, so unless she has something stored in her Inventory, that should be your enchanted gear. No idea how you¡¯d get her inventory content back if she had that.¡± [Mana Sense (7 -> 9) ] ¡°What is this inventory you are talking about, Succubus?¡± How are you so ignorant, Priest? ¡°I¡¯m ignorant, must be nothing but ramblings,¡± Julia said, and couldn¡¯t help but smile sweetly at him as he glared in return before she continued. ¡°Livia, we both want to help her so don¡¯t go all I shall smite thee, hip and thigh. I feel I should point out you were dismissive when I asked a question. Yet you expect answers when I refer to something you don¡¯t know about. Doesn¡¯t that strike you as a touch well ironic?¡± ¡°You seek that which you do not possess Succubus.¡± And you have no sense of humour. ¡°First, not asking for payment for freeing Livia. Second, not even going to insist you answer anything. I merely prefer for you to cut the rudeness when I ask something. Now considering I opened your prison. How about some politeness at least? You answering nothing will not stop me from wanting to help Livia. She is not you. I am not punishing her for your choices. IF you don¡¯t want to answer, then tell me you will not answer. Does that sound fair?¡± ¡°You speak a lot for a Lesser Demon.¡± ¡°Really! You don¡¯t say! How about an answer?¡± ¡°I do not wish to answer,¡± Aquila said, the muscles in his jaw flexing as he chewed out the words. ¡°How about this as a peace offering? Inventory is a Power that some individuals can get. They gain access to an extra-dimensional pocket tied only to them. It¡¯s limited in size, but can grow.¡± ¡°Interesting. Yet its something I¡¯ve never heard of previously. So how do I know you aren¡¯t lying?¡± ¡°Well, just think Analysis Inventory.¡± ¡°What is Analysis?¡± Julia looked at Aquila like he¡¯d grown a second head. ¡°What?!?¡± ¡°Enough, there are people to free.¡± Sounds continued to run off Aquila¡¯s lips as soon as he finished his retort. The chant he started was musical like celestial, yet she couldn¡¯t catch the words. They seemed to melt from understanding even as she heard them. The sound carried a light in her Mana Sense, shining with Power and a hint of something beyond her understanding. As his chant finished, a stream of objects erupted from the chests, and a series of them floating spun in the air by Aquila. The rest spun in the air for a moment before rushing to return to the chests. ¡°Neat spell,¡± Julia said, her eyes looking at the objects that seemed to do cartwheels within arm¡¯s reach of Aquila. ¡°Janus blessings to the traveller come in many forms.¡± Looking through the objects, Aquila selected a small looking bell from among the things and directed his attention at Ari. ¡°Bell of the Traveller¡¯s ease. Stand where you have a clear view of as many people as possible. Ring the bell only once. It has a limit on the number of travellers it will bless each time. Unless there are many children among them, expect only twenty people freed each time.¡± ¡°So just go around and ring the bell three times, while looking at folks?¡± Ari asked, looking at Aquila for confirmed after he carefully took the bell from him. ¡°Yes. If the bell stops sounding, it has run out of Mana, and I¡¯ll need Janus¡¯ blessing to renew it.¡± ¡°Sure you don¡¯t want me sticking around to help keep an eye on her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. You can go, Ari. I asked for your escort for protecting others, not my own. Besides, I didn¡¯t know where this tent was, now did I.¡± ¡°I knew it! But wait, you think I lie.¡± Julia said, her crooked smile and a roll of her eyes providing volumes of snark, even though celestial tried to mitigate the message. ¡°You are a Demoness.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you folks to your sing-song chatter. I¡¯ll go get the villagers free since you feel able to protect yourself.¡± Ari said, taking the bell by the ringer to ensure it didn¡¯t sound out. As Ari left the tent, Julia indulged her curiosity somewhat or at least tried to do so. Yet felt a touch frustrated when the Analysis attempt only provided her with the name Aquila, and a Class of High Priest. There wasn¡¯t even any sign that his Health, Mana or anything was unknown, it just wasn¡¯t present, nor was there any indication of his actual Race. While he looked mostly human, liquid silver wasn¡¯t exactly something that screamed normal Human. ¡°So are your eyes silver cause you¡¯re a High Priest, or because of your species?¡± ¡°No.¡± Taking a bundle of cloth from amongst the floating items, he folded it out into a messenger satchel. A very plain messenger satchel which stayed flat; even when he was stuffing in items that should have caused it to bulge. ¡°I¡¯d ask you about the bag Aquila, but you¡¯d likely just say No. So if that¡¯s all your stuff, rest is hers.¡± {{My things.}} Julia walked over and tapped a pouch sitting by the camp bed that been among the glowing items and willed it into her inventory. The pouch vanished, and she saw confirmation of its storage. As Aquila finished up, she pulled some rings and wrist bracers from the corpse. ¡°You would loot the dead? ¡°No,¡± Julia said, just to give him a taste of his own medicine. ¡°You are taking things from her remains. You are looting the dead!¡± ¡°No. Oh, that wasn¡¯t a question. The villagers can have everything else, including the stuff in the other command tents. I have taken absolutely zero things from any of them so far.¡± Oh wait, except a dagger, and a potion that I don''t want to admit having. But I looted nothing last night. ¡°You are looting her body.¡± He said, the tone in his voice making the language ring like steel. ¡°Aquila, I¡¯m pragmatic. She doesn¡¯t need any of it as she is, and if she comes back from the dead, I still don¡¯t want to let her have them. Technically, you¡¯re also looting the dead. She took your stuff, yes, but she did so when you were alive. She stole yes, but doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re not looting. The little one¡¯s waiting. Oh, and the inventory power exists. See?¡± Tilting her hand towards him so he could see the items she held before they vanished. Seeing the muscles in his jaw clench, she wondered if she had pushed his buttons a little too hard. It took him a little while to regain his composure, and it tempted Julia to ask if he needed a time out when he finally spoke. Pretty sure he''s going to kick me back into the Abyss as soon as Livia is free. Was likely going to be his play from the get-go. Game on. ¡°Let¡¯s find a spot in the Sun outside, and I¡¯ll take you through the process, Demoness, ¡± ¡°Guess I¡¯ll pick us a spot then, Priest.¡± After finding a spot in the sun she sat down straddling a fallen tree, using branches as a backrest. As Aquila fussily picked a spot on its rough wood, Julia couldn¡¯t help but give him a flat look. Ari had already set the closest folks free and disappeared by the time he finally sat further down the log facing her. ¡°How do you know what to do?¡± She asked, tiring of his delays after what she¡¯d seen. ¡°Records of the order, I just had to recall the details I¡¯d read. It¡¯s possible to get an entity to recover their energy from a Soul they¡¯ve enslaved, and free them. The main issue is it can only occur prior to the Soul being taken from their plane.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t enslave her!¡± ¡°Succubus, I can see she has a Slave bond with you. Why do you persist in lying?¡± ¡°The summoner bound her to me. The bond was there already when I found her heart. I saw from her that it activated then, and energy from me flowed into her. I wasn¡¯t aware of it prior to you telling me. Soul sight isn¡¯t something I have active regularly.¡± ¡°Regardless, you will need to focus on the energy she has taken from you and draw it back from her,¡± Aquila said, his tone firm yet edged it with doubt. ¡°Ok, so how do I do that?¡± Aquila, you are such an arse. I need a t-shirt that says Can¡¯t judge a book by its cover applies here. In the Abyss they don¡¯t know I¡¯m hidden, and neither does he. The way he carries on; even if he¡¯s heard of it, I¡¯d likely just get the old, I¡¯m lying attitude. ¡°You still have your memories of what caused the pain. Focus on bringing those memories fully to mind. Use the memories to pull related emotions back into you. Also, you need to focus on not letting her feed further, or they will cycle. You will relive the moment and reclaim the emotions.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to relive the moments for all the emotions she¡¯s consumed? Did she feel everything I¡¯ve felt from those emotions?¡± Aquila shook his head, ¡°Not to my understanding. A Soul perceives things differently. For disembodied or Bound Soul emotions are like Mana: they provide them Power, provide them access to Powers and Abilities they possessed in life. You will relive the moments as the emotions return to you, something I¡¯m told Demons enjoy is extremes of emotion.¡± ¡°Well. This will not be fun!¡± ¡°Again, with the lies, Demoness. What are emotions to your kind but sauce for the dish?¡± ¡°You know nothing, Jon Snow.¡± How your favourite TV shows turn out, should be a low priority J. ¡°My name is Aquila.¡± ¡°Whatever just proves my point. Do you have the means to prevent noise from going anywhere?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to know about my capabilities,¡± Aquila said, the tone even more edged with suspicion. ¡°Fine. But if, or when I scream, and not in a fun way. Have something ready to block the noise. Unless you want to attract attention to the villagers.¡± 22 - (Together) We will go our way ¡°Intent is the key, sounds like navigating the city in Hrz¡¯Styrn. Though last time someone gave me advice about visualisation. I ended up having to do the reverse, ¡± Julia said. Pain Tolerance. So the first thing. Livia, you no longer have permission to feed on my power. Mentally focusing, she imagined a valve blocking the cord between them and felt an internal impact as her emotional energy ceased being drained. ¡°Maybe that was because of your own incompetence.¡± {{Kill this fool.}} From blank to burning, Heat pushed her off balance, and she saw red as she retorted. ¡°I¡¯m trying to save a child from my fate, and you want to have a pissing contest. Do you give even care about this girl? Or is it your pride that¡¯s injured cause you surrendered and your novice died?¡± [Taunt (5 - > 6)] I was taunting people last night? Words she couldn''t understand started to spill forth the power echoing in them didn''t need Mana Sense to let her know trouble. Reality flickered as Julia shifted forward from straddling the tree to straddling Aquila. She felt his protections react searing into flesh, but she didn¡¯t hit him; instead, she enfolded. Her thighs already beside his hips, she clamped her legs around him and fell forward onto him. Tendrils and tentacles alike growing not to pierce, or maim merely to cover; others struck into ground and log to brace. Working fast, blocking him from seeing, speaking, moving his arms or fingers to cast. The spell on his lips choked off before he could complete it properly started. Face hugger for the win, guess he''d be right to complain about tongue action. Slavers were heading East with prisoners, so let¡¯s go West. [Blink [Ap] (20 -> 21) Shapeshift [Ap] (11 -> 12)] She felt his legs thrash about as he tried to stand and applied pressure to his pulsing artery pressure around his neck. Even as she was blocking off his blood flow, she could feel her flesh burning against his skin. She called on her time sense as she counted down the seconds. The villagers still in sight yelling and screaming for aid, and she could hear Ari call out in response. [Time Sense [B](1 -> 2)] Always take out the caster first. My internal perception of a humanoid body is screwy. I blame Jim¡¯s chat links. A TinyURL in the chat from him was always a gamble. Not knowing if it would be a great joke or a WTF each time. He always said that some hentai scars the mind more than LSD. Ten seconds for him to pass out, but he¡¯ll get back up quickly after release if I don¡¯t hold it long enough. Over thirty, I think the damage is permanent for normal folk. So I¡¯ll go twenty and then use Blink to head across the treetops out of the line of sight. Ari¡¯s bow didn¡¯t have mana on it. They may have other options available to them already. Telepathy. ##Need to get free, curse her. Its flesh is burning against me, How can this demoness stand it? Can¡¯t get loose. How is this thing a lesser Succubus? I should have just banished her. Curse that girl''s father.##. ##No Arse, not killing you. Once you pass out, I will leave here and find someone else to help me free her. I suggest you get these friendly folks back somewhere safe. You''re worried about Livia''s father and not about her. Go suck yourself dry, you''re such a massive dick.##. ##This isn¡¯t the last you¡¯ve heard of me, Demoness. Gave me your ¡®Use¡¯ name. For what you¡¯ve done today, you¡¯ll pay##. ##Poor Aquila, did I embarrass you? Getting hard to think for you, isn¡¯t it? Blood flow to the brain getting blocked sucks. Besides, that wasn¡¯t my ¡®Use¡¯ name. I just told you to call me that.##. The thoughts between them flickered faster than any words, but she''d already had more than enough of him. [Pain Tolerance [J] (4 -> 5) Taunt (6 -> 8) Telepathy ( 14 -> 15) Perseverance [Ap] (19 -> 20)] A wicked smirk graced her lips as she sent him an adjusted mental image. Her watching over as Aquila, as pinned down on a table, the wiggling and movements in his abdomen, the pain. Then him seeing an alien head rupturing the flesh, muscles parting as it crawled out, the vision ending as it leaned in to eat his face. Have a dose of my old nightmares. Mal laughed at me for weeks. Though hope for your sanity''s sake, that you can check for a xenomorph. Tough brain, at least I¡¯m not getting stray crap from his head. Pity his other brain seems to enjoy this, though. Redirecting her telepathy away from Aquila, she reached for Ari. Brushing against the other minds she felt, tasting them, knowing they weren¡¯t who she sought. [Telepathy ( 15 -> 18)] ##He was going to banish me, regardless of the Child. I¡¯m not killing him, just rendering him unconscious.## She pushed a mental image of Aquila in the recovery position. ##Lay him out like this after I disappear. Tilt his head back a bit to let him breathe easier. He won¡¯t choke on his tongue that way. Though it shouldn¡¯t take him long to wake up.## She could feel him mentally preparing to take a shot at her. ##Idiot armoured hide might deflect into his leg if it bounces wrong. Plus, they sent quivers full of those at me last night, did nothing.##. The images in his mind showed where he was aiming, and another tentacle shot out, only its bulky size letting her block the shot. The arrow mundane as the others last night didn''t even break her skin. As the large one waved back and forth, others formed and curved sharpened tips pointing toward''s Aquila''s legs. ##Told you. Do it again, and I will maim him myself## [First Aid Unlocked. First Aid(1) Telepathy ( 18 -> 19) Torture ( 1 -> 2 )] First Aid and Torture! Really? [Foe Subdual Success: Foe: Aquila - High Priest of Janus - Level 35 4,000 experience gained. Experience being distributed between classes: Blood Monk : +2,000 Wizard: +0 Succubus: + 2,000 Monk Level Increased. Defence Increase: Melee Attack Power Increased Willpower Increased Unarmed Combat [J](9 -> 10) Shapeshift [Ap] (13 -> 14) Time remaining till permanent injury: 30 seconds] As her count hit twenty seconds with no further arrows, Julia Blinked forward over the tree line. Flight activated, she pushed herself forward with the Power. Racing over the trees, she looked over the crows still working the carnage line and set off directly for the river. The numbness that had sat with her since the Dawn now gone. Cooked flesh healed, she alternated between Blink and Fight, racing her way towards the river and beyond in short order. Angling upwards, she rose in an increasingly steeper climb as she kept heading west. Should have kept your anger in check, J. Yum yum the smell of BBQ in the morning. Darm now I''m thinking of spicy Ribs. Weird, really, weird. {{Kill the enemy.}} ((Mercy is a noble thing.)) Mentally adjusting her Julia form, her body shifted to her once human state. Forming a set of ¡®leather¡¯ looking armour over flesh, she set a spare Shapeshift quick slot with a simple name, ¡®Me¡¯. The change complete, she focused on her Flight speed for a time and tried to how well she could race the sun. [Disguise (9 -> 11)] The air was icy when she got high enough for the land to spread out below her like a map. It helped her to level her cold resistance, at least and far safer than the cloud-bank. With no way to tell the height accurately, she could only compare it to peering out a plane¡¯s window. The clouds not far off, and the land rolling outwards like a blanket, splashes of dark green interspace lighter greens of what seemed like grassland. Occasionally regular shapes speaking of settlements appeared below her, though none were large enough to draw her down. It had seemed most were nothing more than a gathering of a few dozen buildings ringed by a thin wooden wall. Shapeshift to gain eagle eyes capable of monitoring the ground closely had taken little more than intent. With night approaching and the third road, she¡¯d seen recently curving towards her nominated ¡®North. There were wafts of smoke in that direction, promising more buildings than any location she had seen so far. Yet even with her eagle eyes, it was too far North to tell the source. ((Need to help the child.)) The need to do something for Livia decided things, so at last, she changed tack and headed downwards. She let herself free fall, only slowing when the ground grew close. A knoll rising above the countryside provided a suitable target to land and took time to think. She sat with her back to the lip of it and breathing in enjoyed the freshness filling her as she watched the setting sun. It was a beautiful sunset, and she could feel Livia sitting in her lap as she stretched out with her back to a rise to watch it. Activating Soul Sight sent a spike of pain through Julia, while Livia gave the sunset her full attention. The cord looking glasslike and empty compared to the pulsing redness she¡¯d seen earlier that day. Letting her Ki drift from its pool again; she felt it cycle through her, rough at first as it worked against the pain. But as let herself surrender to its calm and leaned back, to take in the sunset¡¯s beauty. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Focusing on the end of the cord, she allowed the energy from those emotions to Livia¡¯s Soul. Blue and golden motes drifted along the cord, and as they splashed and merged with the red mist inside Livia. Like clownfish in poisoned tendrils, they darted around untouched, ethereal fireflies lighting up the darkness. Together they sat and watched the sky as the day ended, and stars glistened in the night, the beauty of it slowly drifting into Livia. Intent controls the bond. Julia visualised the cord changing, twisting, using its veins for her purpose; they belonged to her, and they would do what she needed. She visualised valves inside the veins, allowing only what she wanted to pass through them. Some set towards her through which only the Demonic energies would pass. While others heading to Livia set for Ki and positive human emotions to pass. As she forced her intent towards the cord, she saw it ripple, and the red energy started towards her. Removing her original valve, she felt the demonic energies; it''s burning poison etching as it returned. Sending more Ki towards Livia, it drifted, a luminous blue shining through the walls as it flowed. We¡¯re just doing a weird dialysis treatment I¡¯ll give her good stuff and take the awful stuff from her. ¡°Let those nice energies drift, Livia. Don¡¯t grab for it, just imagine them drifting like a mist rolling around in you.¡± The little girl just glanced at her and tilted her neck to look up with a soundless sigh. Her gesture and reaction, making Julia wonder how much she understood, and what she could see right now. Turning off Pain Tolerance, she hissed as the etchings blazed. Pain is the body¡¯s warning perceptions, a trigger for its flight or fight. I know it¡¯s there I don¡¯t need a distraction, just to know. Centring herself, she sent a mental gesture towards the Harmony power. As it activated everything filled her perceptions, beauty, sweet-smelling air, pain, anger, acknowledging it all, observing it, trying to set reaction aside and just existed. She didn¡¯t want the distancing of pain tolerance; instead, she felt as if she might, somehow, someday, get close to the truth. It was like a word on the tip of her tongue, just out of reach. With all else, she observed the temptation to force the conception, push for it. Something made her feel it would need to move at its own pace, and so even that temptation, she just sat aside and observed. The first ping notification knocked her grip on its fragile state loose. Mentally commanding them all off, she let herself relax, take a moment and started again. Not fighting, rather acknowledging them, observing them both as the Ki trickled towards Livia and her pain returned. Ki and Demonic energies swirled around their dance floor within her. The Demonic forces pushing and aggressive, the Ki mist like placid drifting away from every strike. The Ki using the force¡¯s every movement to flow around and like dance partners; they spun within. The dance faltered from time to time, but she picked herself up and began again. Each attempt time the dance lasted long and the word, the awareness, grew a little closer, a little clearer within. The pair of them forming an oddly shaped yin yang as more Ki drifted to Livia, and more Demonic forces screamed inside at Julia. She didn¡¯t fight against it or block it away, rather worked on floating among the currents as a boat on a tide, all the while observing what rose under her. Storms of pain spun her about, and eddies of Ki protected her. She would remain, as would they. Animals came and went throughout the night as the dancing cycles continued. Yet all of them opted to stay well clear of an unsettling presence that had come inexplicitly close to their homes. As dawn approached, Julia had yet to move from the spot she had picked. Yet much had changed by her efforts, alternating Harmony with Ki Meditation, then now keeping both active. Replenishing her Ki pool, even as its energy danced with pain or drifted into Livia. Instead of the ugly redness that had filled Livia before, a new shimmering blue radiated from within, supporting the purity of Soul energies with its presence. Even the link between them had changed, shifting from the perverse feeding tube to link that joined their hearts. A whirlwind of energies cycled within her flesh, dragging the Souls that had been trying to press their way out of her in its wake. Harmony letting the power within her slowly gain momentum as each continually sought to shift the balance between them. An Alert that intruded into her awareness while she was still mentally collecting herself, from the purification session.
Abyssal energies in physical structure nearing depletion No summoner contract present. Options: Return to the Abyss. Draw energy from Damned Souls. Corrupt Soul. Current Souls available for processing: 113 Current Tainted Souls available for exchange: 0 Current Souls bonds: 1 Abyssal Return, Draw Energy, Corrupt - select option now
Fuck, it must mean the Souls I could see inside me. This is so screwed up, but I can¡¯t drag Livia back. Draw Energy. As Heat rushed into her flesh, from one of the trapped Souls struggling within; a new notification flashed in her awareness.
Current Form: Succubus Form - Lesser (Tier II, Level 1) - Form''s energy refilled Current Souls available for processing: 112 Current Tainted Souls available for exchange: 0 Current Innocent Souls bound: 1 Next recharge will be required in 1 Day, based on recent expenditures.
Profile
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 15 111,999 / 180,000
Wizard 1 0 / 2000
Succubus 6 27,640 / 30,000
Defence 39
Melee Attack Power 57 Health 443
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 27
Quickness 26
Intelligence 25 Ki 63
Willpower 41 Mana 81
Charisma 23
Affinities Darkness, Time, Mental, Abyssal, Jade Court
Spell Forms Charm Mortal (5), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion (9)
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (5), Electricity - Minor (5)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ap] (6), Blink [Ap] (21), Corruption (5), Dark Sight (1), Demonic Pact (5), Energy Drain (14), Flight [Ap] (12), Harmony [Ap] (29), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (22), Ki Movement (1), Ki Strike [Ap] (2), Mana Sense (7), Shapeshift [Ap] (13), Soul Sight (12), Telepathy (19), Teleport (Self): 5, Translate Languages [B] (5),
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (1), Acrobatics [B] (4), Acting (10), Analysis [Ap](3), Bite [Ap] (5), Bluff (10), Claws [Ap] (14), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (9), Disguise (11), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (1), Haggling (13), Intimidation (19) , Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [Ap] (19), Mana Manipulation (9), Mental Resilience [J] (31), Pain Tolerance [J] (5), Perception [Ap] (4), Perseverance [Ap] (23), Profile Control (16), Rope Use (1), Seduction(11), Sense Motive (3), Stealth [Ap](16), Taunt (5), Tactics [B](9), Time Sense [B] (2), Torture (2), Unarmed Combat [J] (12)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [B](6), Arcane (3), Celestial Lore (1), Demonic Lore [B] (2), Hidden Lore (3), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (9), Skill Lore (1)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 5
Max Capacity 25/50 Kilograms
Stored Materials Assorted Lurker glands, meat and materials. Tras''laq¨¬''s book of names. Magical Pouch (Unidentified), (3) Magical Rings (Unidentified), Magical Bracers (Unidentified),
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 114 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 112 Innocent Souls Bound 1
Soul Shards Consumed 2 Corruptions Failed 1
Closing the profile, Julia buried her face in her hands groaning in dismay. Oh fuck, I unlocked Succubus as a class as well! So not writing my memoirs. 23 - A Hard Days Knight ¡°I need to communicate, not just mime.¡± Analysis: Languages [Language: The formal or informal language for a social group, species, etc. Those using a language might be a small group or extend over multiple planes. Unlocked languages currently possessed by the enquiring entity are: Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English. Languages that experience has exposed the enquiring entity to: Norse Egyptian Latin Elvish - Moon Elf dialect] Hearing stuff from Ari¡¯s memory counted as exposure? Analysis: Unlocking Languages nope Analysis: Language Unlock. [Language Unlock: Achieved by standard learning of a language, magical or divine implanting of the language(s) knowledge, or finally a Skill/Knowledge Point. ] Well, I¡¯m on a time limit, and I need to talk to people to save Livia. Spend Knowledge Point on Language, Norse [Norse Language Unlocked] Goodness, it worked the first time, first time for everything. So tempted to unlock Elvish as well, but no point until I actually spot an Elf that can¡¯t speak to me. Maybe. ¡°What do you think Livia. We might need resources for getting help. Bag, bag what¡¯s in the Bag?¡± Pulling the pouch back out from her inventory, she triggered analysis on it. Analysis: Magic Pouch [Pouch of Shielded Treasure: Crafted from the stomach lining of a Sphinx, the enchantment weaved into its manufacture provides resistance to location spell forms. This effect extends to the contents and its owner. It provides storage capacity for a total space of 4 metres cubed, regardless of weight. To store an item, place at least part of it inside the pouch¡¯s opening, and will the Pouch to absorb it. Retrieve items by focusing on the desired item appearing. Retrieved items will appear fully outside the mouth of the pouch.] ¡°Ok, well that¡¯s cool. This could be a mistake, but I¡¯m claiming you, just hope Analysis isn¡¯t lying to me. It sounds like I¡¯m not getting any use from you unless I own you.¡± So what if you don¡¯t know what¡¯s inside? As soon as she considered what could be in the pouch, Julia felt a listing of its contents impress themselves into her awareness. The list spun along for a bit, as it listed each item, till she didn¡¯t want to know anything further. ¡°Fuck. Now I¡¯ve got another mess to clean up. Why would she have something like that?¡± She quickly dropped out a pack, and a few other items to keep up appearance and give her funds for travelling. Securing everything in place and the pouch back in her inventory, she set out on foot to join the road North. Feeling a gossamer touch on her fingers, she glanced to see Livia holding her hand as she walked with her. ¡°So now I have more stuff to find out the value of, and figure out what the magic in this place can do. Maybe sending you off in peace isn¡¯t the only option. Let¡¯s see if I can talk with someone, without them just writing my words off as lies to my face.¡± A dirt road to the west of where she landed seemed heavily compressed by whatever traffic used it. Yet the knoll she had rested on promised to set this stretch awash if there was any heavy rain. For whatever reason, no one had seen fit to establish something more substantial, like the Romans had been fond of doing. The sensation from her heel pressing against the back of her thigh set off mental giggles when she realised she was stretching on autopilot. Don¡¯t think I need to worry about warming up properly before a run now. Maybe I¡¯ll be able to level up Ki Movement a bit. Really would like to get in some practise time. Yet Julia felt Livia¡¯s bond was her highest imperative at present, so didn''t consider it for more than a fleeting instant. Ki already in motion on the internal dance floor, she beckoned more forth and headed north. The rhyme of her stride beating time on the soft ground beside the road. Julia opened herself up to the details around her as she settled into the run. She¡¯d been running a few hours when more signs of civilisation showed. River stones stacked to form rough walls running along its course. Trees showing sign of having planted their placement far too orderly for nature, even if the apples hanging from their branches hadn¡¯t made their purpose clear. First, small walled farms set close to the road appeared alongside the road. The first sign of traffic was the tail end of a hay wagon heading northwards. Other roads and paths merged, and the increasing traffic slipped away beside her pace. The occasional armed warrior looked in her direction, but keeping clear of their charges turned out to be a safe play. Towards midday morning walls had shown ahead and grown clearer as she powered on. It was after midday before the gate grew close enough to make out, and a square copper coin had gained her a pair of apples from a roadside stall. Traffic on the road was a mixture of various wagons, horse, travellers on foot with packs or handcarts. Everyone seemed armed, in one fashion or another, from simple weapons to let¡¯s cleave a horse in two. Clothing ranged from rough homespun to almost silky smooth on the wealthier riders. The quality of clothing materials making a clear distinction in the gap of wealth, even if their transport hadn¡¯t been enough. The folks she encountered on the road looked to be widespread. Analysis confirming that they were humans descending from various African tribes, Egyptian, Greek, Persian, Norse, Gaul, and even Pict. There were also a few exotic individuals who were a challenge to her composure. Dwarves decked out in chain hauberks, sheaths or ties holding assorted weapons and carrying packs bigger than themselves, trudged along the road with heavy steps. While bipedal Rats, fur hidden by cloaks, long twitchy tails glided between other travels. Their tails in frequent danger from the feet of other travellers, yet they had no apparent concern as they walked squeaking and chirping at each other. Atop the wall, she could see cat-faced individuals amid Norse warriors, their whiskers twitching to her sharpened sight. All the guards focused on the travellers, their body language looking like someone eager for a fight. Cats and rats. How about dogs? If they have Dogs and Cats living together, would they have mass Hysteria? Do the cats have tails as well? Mate, I want a refund on this tour. So wanted to drool over an Elf. No Elf for you. The Norse had greater representation but still weren¡¯t the clear majority. The locals, if that was the Norse, didn¡¯t react surprised or displeased by the other¡¯s presence. A few of the farmers even selling goods straight from their wagons to a few passing groups. As they drew closer to the walled gates, the slowing traffic was almost like a rolling market. Translate having a field day, as various words started turning from sounds into meaning as she progressed. Mana Sense showed a scattering of sources, some stronger than others. Heavily armoured riders possessed armour, weapons, and other items woven with mana and a fancy wagon gleamed with it. Those were just the more obvious sources among the travellers, but even the wall glowed. Golden flowing scripts overlay areas she could see while sharp-edged runes of silvery-blue lightning appeared engraved into the stones. The light from either source wasn¡¯t overwhelming, but they were obvious, and wards had already placed her at the Sisterhood mercy. Enough. Observe, be aware and watch. ¡°Business in Eyrarh¨¢ls.¡± The guard handling the foot travellers, at last, asked her. ¡°Seeking a Priest, for blessing, and instruction,¡± Julia said, giving a slight smile, that the guard seemed surprised to return. ¡°Temple Square straight north, follow the road when it curves towards the lakeside. Proof of coin for your stay, no vagrants allowed within the walls.¡± Julia showed a cluster of various silvers she had palmed earlier from her pouch, not wanting to make a show of the coin pouch in her pack. She held it braced against her chest with one hand while the other showed. ¡°Alright. No entry fee for being on foot. You''ll be issued with a chit that will give you 3 days access. Name for the Chit?¡± ¡°Livia.¡± Julia mentally apologised to the girl for using her name, but she didn¡¯t know enough local names to pick another she¡¯d remember. The guards made a few notations on a scroll and handed her a chit. ¡°Your name and chit number are on today¡¯s record. When you leave hand in the chit, if you are within the walls and don¡¯t have the chit to present, you¡¯ll be in trouble. So keep it safe, move on.¡± No level ups at all? Doh, I turned them all off last night. I¡¯ll leave them off for now in case it wants to hammer me with them. One small step for Julia, one hopefully not oh fuck I¡¯m doomed. Trying to pretend she was just a nervous girl new to a big place, she stepped forward through the gate. Her active Mana Sense let her feel something tingle over her skin, but nothing seemed to scream or grab at her. She dipped her hand into the pack against her chest, and the chit disappeared into her inventory. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. So far, so good. On the other side of the gate, the press of travellers mingled with the locals. Within the streets narrowed compared to the exterior approach, forcing them all closer still. The buildings loomed up either side of a paved stone street, she¡¯d been expecting to trip on rough cobblestones, but there was barely any irregularity. The major hazard to watch out for was the fresh organic side product steaming straight from its tail end vendors. Each road seemed to have a side path clear of debris, and the other hazard when crossing side streets. Steamed food smells made her nose twitch, and as she passed one door, the air filled with the scent of roasting meat and gravy. The small windows on street level let her see the folks clustered within eating off dark bread trenchers. They served up meals on a trencher of dark bread, the looked and smell tempting, yet for her food was but a luxury. The apples from early had been unneeded, but she had given into the temptation of the familiar. It was getting late in the day before she finally made it to the inner gate. Another guard checked the chit, as she came in under the shadow of the gate, and had to repeat her reason. Scars from more than a few fights decorated his face, adding character, even if he¡¯d almost strangely kept his nose unbroken. The pale wolf¡¯s blue eyes weren¡¯t friendly, as Julia didn''t hesitate to repeat the same information she¡¯d given the other guard. This time her attempt at drawing a smile gained nothing but further questions. ¡°Which Temple?¡± ¡°Tyr, if I can, or a Priestess of Freya,¡± Julia said. If she was right and it wasn''t just game lore, Tyr was a Norse justice deity and a few other things. While Freya she mainly remembered was the goddess wife of Odin, hopefully, someone you represented a mother would have compassion for Livia¡¯s fate. Though even that could blow up in her face as who said that was their role here. ¡°You aren¡¯t local, so you¡¯ve travelled here. Expect me to believe you¡¯ve come here for honest reasons. Yet you don¡¯t know if the Priest you seek a blessing from is even here?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to speak to a Priest of Tyr. However, I¡¯m not able to speak for their time, nor if they wish to speak to me in return.¡± Julia replied, mentally cursing herself for not having found more about the temples in the press of getting through the town. ¡°Go through. Come back through this gate so I can be sure you¡¯ve left. If you stay after gate closure, the Temple will need to vouch for your stay, or you¡¯ll regret it when we find you.¡± Gesturing for her to move through, he recorded the symbol from her chit. A mental touch on the guard¡¯s mind at least let her learn where Tyr¡¯s temple was, though the guard from his thought followed Heimdall. Hard arse. So scared. I got the feeling he¡¯d rather strangle me than talk. Would like to know what he said on the job interview. Well, I was hoping for a class option of blood splatter analyst, but it only gave this guard class. Once again, the wards on the wall let her inside without even a ripple as it brushed her awareness. Just hope it¡¯s not a ¡®you can check-in, but you can never leave¡¯ situation here. The Temple square wasn¡¯t too far from the gate, the road beyond opened into a large space more than a precise square. Enough tree planted within seemed to show it wasn¡¯t intended for gathering outside the Temple grounds. She didn¡¯t recognise most of the symbols in the keystones of individual gates, and the architecture of each seemed somewhat varied. Yet at their core, they were all solidly built, decorated only to add to them, rather than detract from their sturdiness of each. As she walked towards the Temple of Tyr, her eyes flickered over the golden flowing scripts. It layered all the buildings, which appeared to be one Deity¡¯s temple, or another, around the Square. Unlike the town¡¯s walls, only two of them also carried the silvery-blue lightning runes. Every temple seemed to have guards at their entryway, and more than a few eyes turned to look at her while venturing deeper into the square. A few even adjusting their grip on a spear, or weapon hilt close by their sides. Lion¡¯s den Standing in her form¡¯s original litheness made her feel tiny compared to men standing guard around the place. Yet another man standing within the Temple of Tyr¡¯s grounds made them look small. The man was massive, and as she looked him over, his features flickered in her Mana Sense. Behind humanity¡¯s visage, a shortened wolf-like muzzle and ice blue wolf¡¯s eyes locked on her. Yet curiosity weighed with caution mingled in his body language, hand signs flickered, and two guards near him headed in her direction. She slowed her pace but kept moving, wondering how many leagues under this sea she¡¯d fallen already. Her attention remained fixed on the wolf-like man not breaking free from his gaze as they approached, and the briefest moment of Soul Sight showed the purity of the energies within him. The human visage concealed a Celestial beneath whose sense of compassionate Justice left her wide-eyed and still blinking as the guards spoke to her and broke her from her daze. ¡°Why do you approach the Temple of Tyr?¡± The first guard asked, apparently surprised by something in his instructions. His stance seemed ready and balanced to move, but he wasn¡¯t as wary as the second guard, who seemed almost on edge. ¡°A matter of justice for a murdered young girl.¡± ¡°A serious matter. Why not take the matter to a local Jarl¡¯s court? Or a local temple? Neither your appearance nor your armour appears local.¡± ¡°I need to speak to a Priest, please,¡± Julia stated. ¡°The watch commander has instructed me to enquiry your reason and then bid you wait if required. We¡¯ll return shortly. Please stay here, Miss.¡± Julia just nodded head politely to both guards and watched as they walked away. Her Telepathy hadn¡¯t been able to get a purchase on either of them; also didn¡¯t seem to even taste the minds inside that boundary. The stillness in which he watched their interaction was almost eerie, making the grace of his following motion disconcerting. The stillness of his body giving way into quick action, yet his grace didn¡¯t carry menace, only decisiveness. The commander disappeared inside the temple, and time sense helpful ticked off the seconds and minutes before returning. All the while feeling like she was in the middle of a free-fire zone, waiting for someone to give the signal to fire. The wolf faced figure had seemed massive behind the fence, but as he passed it, she got a better perspective on his height. He was over two metres in height and gave a sense of being even sturdier than stone. While it was hard to tell with the hauberk and shoulder guards, exactly how broad he was, it felt like he could provide sunshade to Conan. His hands big enough that his fingers would overlap without strain if he wanted to wrap one around her neck. As the commander approached, he looked over at Julia yet seemed to at least momentarily focus on a spot beside her. Can he see Livia? ¡°The High Priest of Tyr will meet with you, but not here, nor in the Temple. She asked me to escort you to the Silver Chalice. We¡¯re to wait for her in a dining room. This is so we can discuss the matter of the girl and her Justice. Is this acceptable?¡± His voice was as massive as the man, and its deep vibrations almost made her bones resonant. ¡°That¡¯s acceptable, and I thank you both for taking this time to listen. I wish justice for Livia. There is also another matter that I firmly believe will be important to you. But my priority at present is her.¡± Julia said, giving him a martial arts bow since it was the only formal manners that she knew. ¡°Back towards the gate and across the square, the Silver Chalice is further east across from the Jarl¡¯s home.¡± The commander gestured. ¡°I was given instruction by the gate guard to inform them if my stay would take me beyond gate closure,¡± Julia said, not making any motion to move immediately. ¡°You would ensure there is no misunderstanding. Interesting. We¡¯ll go there before the Chalice. Depending on your conversation. You might well not leave the gates before they close.¡± ¡°Yeah, that doesn¡¯t sound at all ominous,¡± Julia said, but turned and walked back towards the inner gate, his only reply a chuffing laugh which set her ears twitching. The aura from him behind her as different from the Abyss as it could get, solid, dependable order. ¡°Not by my intent. Matters of Souls are no simple thing; taking the proper time for deliberations is better than rushing. I¡¯ve never heard of one like you bring a bound in themselves.¡° ¡°Okay. That¡¯s true; my priority is doing the right thing for Livia.¡± The commander just left the conversation hanging at that point, so Julia kept moving, feeling like she was marching in a military formation. Despite his overwhelming height on her, he moved at a pace in perfect time with each of her steps. ¡°She¡¯ll be staying at the Silver Chalice. I don¡¯t expect her to be leaving before gate closure given how late in the afternoon it is now.¡± The commander stated, not bothered by the heat in the guard¡¯s eyes, a smugness he directed at her as she approached. ¡°I had thought you were escorting her out. Very well, I¡¯ll put her on the list to check in on before they close for the evening then.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary.¡± The commander said and simply turned away to head back the way they had come, leaving Julia jumping to catch up. ¡°Not one for goodbyes, I take it?¡± ¡°Not in the conduct of duty.¡± The commander tone oddly just matter-of-fact. Her nerves had been on edge with since the guards had stared at her. She was sure this fellow was more dangerous than most of them, yet he didn¡¯t bristle with hostility, he just was intent on the moment. Not sure what he is, but he sure knows what I am. ¡°I thought Tyr was about justice, not duty. Things I¡¯ve read concern about Duty were another fellow¡¯s portfolio,¡± Julia said, not knowing why she felt like tugging this fellow''s chain. ¡°My Liege Tyr ensures the upholding of Law and Justice, and in times of need, helps lead the war host, with ¨®einn and his son. My duty is to his requirements.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s good to know,¡± Julia said, wondering the cause. ¡°Interesting.¡± ¡°Interesting?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a word; it means something holds your attention. You speak our tongue well but don¡¯t know the word?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it mean arousing of someone¡¯s attention?¡± Julia asked, aware of how many eyes had returned to watching her. Even in the commander¡¯s company, as they crossed the square, the guards were focused on her. ¡°Now you¡¯re playing word games.¡± ¡°True.¡± ¡°Some times, a game can be a dangerous thing. If neither parties understand the stakes nor rules, I would advise to remain clear of any games during the hearing. You requested Justice, for a murdered young girl. The truth of the matter and Justice is what they will seek.¡± It was a few paces before the implications of his wording tripped the alarm bells. ¡°Hearing? I just needed to talk to someone to help Livia,¡± Julia stated, feeling the strain in her neck from looking up at him from so close. Not like I can just float along at eye level and make this chat easier. Well, I could, but likely that wouldn¡¯t be wise. ¡°You requested Justice for a murdered young girl; such requires a Hearing.¡± {{Run, run now.}} ((Trust yourself and be true.)) ¡°Okay,¡± Julia whispered as her brain raced off with more possibilities than she really wanted to consider. ¡°Previously, I¡¯ve encountered others of the Sisterhood. Even given the difference in appearance, you do not seem like them.¡± Fuck! {{RUN!!!}} Fear squeeze tight through her, and the whirlwind of Demonic and Ki energy slipped free of Harmony''s control. Their whirlwind came apart with a bent up power that broke flesh and staggered her in her stride. Julia squeezed the pack that still rested against her chest with both hands as her health dropped to just under half. The wash of freed energies rippling under her skin, like sparks of electricity from a slithering power line. What the hell was that? Fuck, that didn''t happen last night. What the hell? Don''t play with power sockets, girl. Contents may be hot. {{RUN!!!}} ¡°You can tell?¡± Her stance shifted even as she asked, pain and fear setting her nerves on edge, as instincts readied her to flee. Escape options flicked through her mind¡¯s eye, as various scenarios bounced for attention. ((Calm. Do not let its fear rule you. Rule yourself. Decide your own path.)) I¡¯ve come this far, see it through. Bracing herself, she looked up at him, squaring her shoulders. ¡°How can you tell?¡± ¡°I can see the Order¡¯s sigil burnt into your essence.¡± Simply stated fact. He watched her with unruffled eyes, looking like he was studying all the damned held within her, or perhaps more. Apparently unconcerned about her readiness to flee. ¡°Yet you are happy to have a chat?¡± Julia asked, mentally ¡®breathing¡¯ through the pain. She really wasn¡¯t sure what Naz¡¯rilca would do to her if she levelled Pain Tolerance more. Instead, she just tried to mentally tough it out and kept her awareness focused. Score one use from watching all of Sally¡¯s birthing videos with her ¡°Yes, I crossed blades with one from the Order. My blade went through a demon¡¯s front, while hers went in its back. It died, and without a word, the Succubus left. She had already butchered the other Demons, in the place; yet those I was looking to save were still alive. Made the rescue mission a lot easier.¡± Torm looked at her with amusement in his eyes for the first time, and it coloured the tone of his reply. ((Calm.)) ¡°Oh. Well, that¡¯s alright then. Would like to hear more but right now, Livia is my Priority.¡± ¡°Interesting. Then shall we go to the Silver Chalice and wait. Neither of us requires refreshment, but they have some nice mead. Though I would suggest ¡®playing games¡¯ with primordial forces might not be a suitable form of entertainment. At least till you wish to send yourself back to your home plane quickly.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your advice under due consideration. My insides likely would thank you as well.¡± Julia said, trying to keep a straight face. Then it was all too much, and she found herself bent over howling with laughter. The stabbing pain as her flesh rebuilt weirdly just set her off in further gales of laughter. I was trying to clean her Soul, and I almost screwed us both. Whatever that energy was that exploded, I''d best tread carefully with mixing Ki and the Abyssal Heat. ¡°Interesting.¡± 24 - Hard Truths Eventually, the commander decided waiting things out wouldn¡¯t help, and guided Julia; still reeling from her hysterical laughter through the streets. Her health improved in little hiccups and starts that bubbled in time with her laughter. Despite the disapproving looks, Julia drew from others, that kind of attention did nothing to calm her. It wasn''t till the twitching ears of a Catfolk drew her eyes that she steadied herself. Their poise and smoothness of motion were beguiling, and their grace made her wonder at their training. Well, curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Analysis [Name: Jai¡¯lee Race: Basteti (Blessed children of Bastet) Class: Ranger / Assassin Level: 12 / 2 Age: 19 Health: 248 Mana: 72 Defence: 43 Melee Attack Power: 39 Ranged Attack Power: 48 Mana: Darkness, Life, Plant, Death Details: Legends say Bastet created this species to serve in her Temples as guardians and greeters. They¡¯ve long since expanded beyond their initial purpose. Though they are most often in their communities, they mingle well with humans of most good faiths. Individualistic by nature, they still work towards what is best for their communities.] Unlike the shops in the outer district, the Silver Chalice sign was artistically crafted, rather than an afterthought. Blue crystals embedded in its top gleamed and drew one''s gaze up to the large silver chalice nestled in its centre. The establishment set a strong, almost dependable presence on the street. The gap between each course of stonework barely discernable, with carving along every corner of the building. Their decorative beauty seemed to frame the care that had gone into its construction. The commander held the door to the Inn open for Julia, then followed her into its common room. Within, the staff bustled about delivering orders, or setting up tables for future use. A tall, striking lady took in their entry at a glance and without a word passed off her tray as she came to meet them. She wove her way through the room, without a pause in picking her path. Her blondish hair was pulled back in a practical braid, yet her swaying fringe drew attention to her silvered gaze. While Julia knew logically, it was just genetics; it didn''t lessen her gaze''s impact. ¡°Good Afternoon Captain Torm. Would you like a table upstairs or down here?¡± ¡°A private room please, Ylva. High Justice Verdandi will join us shortly. Also, please ask Talisha to hold a guest room this evening.¡± ¡°Very well. Will a small or large private room be required?¡± Ylva asked, giving a smile to Torm that warmed her eyes. Despite a business-like tone, her eyes flickered over his chest and arms, rather than meeting his gaze. ¡°Large, please.¡± Julia said, ¡°I don''t wish to feel crowded.¡± Ylva looked at Torm for confirmation before nodding and led them towards the base of the stairs that led up. Following her, Julia could see a swaying braid that nearly reached her lower back. Her clothes flattered her but didn''t seem shaped to force her contours. It surprised Julia when Torm moved to walk ahead of her, even more so since his stature made getting up the stairs awkward. The staircase looked to have been built to handle large individuals; Torm''s height exceeded its allowances. A gesture of trust, perhaps? He can''t move smoothly in these confines, yet he''s allowing me at his back. Or is he positioning to protect Ylva, in case I''m faking? ((In either case, he''s putting someone else first.)) ¡°Tight passageways don¡¯t worry you?¡± Julia asked as she watched Torm finally reach the top of the stairs and step out into an upper dining area. You¡¯ll start giggling again. Torm seems as oblivious to your terrible lines, as he is of Ylva ogling him. ¡°Not particularly.¡± ¡°We only have the one larger room remaining, all the others are reserved this evening,¡± Ylva explained after Julia had joined them on the upper level. Guiding them into a corridor, she passed several doors before halting at one beautifully engraved with a wilderness scene. The artwork carved to make the door appear as a gap between two trees, leading the guests into wild woodland. ¡°Wow, it goes deep.¡± Stop it. Dad would be giving you the stink eye young lady. ¡°Size does matter for some things. Can I get you anything while you wait for the High Justice?¡± Ylva asked as she moved away from the door. Yet as Torm started moving, Ylva slowed and almost caused Torm to brush against her; Julia had to bite her lip at the feminine battle tactics. Looking at Ylva, she glanced at her before rolling her eyes at Torm¡¯s back. ¡°Two meads, if you would. Any ?ldur brew would be welcome.¡± Torm stated, speaking before Julia had a chance. ¡°Never had one before. Okay. I¡¯m sure Ylva will pick out a nice something for you.¡± Julia said, nodding to Ylva, as she mouth ¡®men¡¯ silently to her. Glad when the server¡¯s lips twitched in response, and the set of her shoulders relaxed as the smile ghosted on her lips. Well, she could have gotten pissy at me, but in this case, ladies united, point for me. Plus, I might avoid extra treats in the mead. There was plenty of space within, even with all the furnishings present. An ornately carved dark wood table, with ten matching chairs, stood in the middle, its exquisite craftsmanship dominating the room. Its maker''s care showed in its tiny details that she could see so clearly; the deer''s antlers, the hunters, and their hounds. They looked so lifelike as they endlessly chased after their quarry, confined to their hunt for all their existence. Soft white light glowing from crystals in the ceiling and late afternoon sunlight mingled to illuminate the room. The owner had set small cupboards along the room''s edges; each displaying engravings of beautiful wilderness scenes. On top of each sat objects for dining; utensils, chalices, decanters, ornate plates, all appearing decorative yet practical. The polished silver of each item gleamed with an unmarred mirror finish. ¡°I¡¯ll be back shortly with your drinks.¡± Ylva closed the door with a soft click, and the sound of any footsteps away didn''t make it past the room¡¯s door. ¡°Since this will initially be a ¡®hearing¡¯, please sit at that end of the table. The High Justice will sit at the other. After she concludes the formalities, we might talk in a more relaxed fashion.¡± Freeing his still sheathed sword from his belt, Torm moved around the table. He set it down to divide the table almost exactly in two, before taking the chair closest to the hilt. His posture still properly alert, he appeared ready for a wait and gestured again at ''her'' seat. ¡°So Captain Torm, why do I rank an officer escort?¡± Julia asked her amusement at his name, giving zest to her tone. ¡°The ranks are a new thing. They help maintain clarity between the remaining legionaries and our troops, Jarl or Temple alike. As for why, I¡¯m sure that is obvious given your situation. If not myself, then you would have warranted a Justice to assist.¡± In for a penny, in for a pound. Walking to her ¡®assigned¡¯ spot, Julia ran her fingers over its mirrored polish before sitting down. Hands in her lap, she amused herself by folding them demurely and enjoyed the luxury of breaths untainted by any miasma. Letting her fingers flex in time with her breathing as she savoured the mundane scents in the air. The mild odour of beeswax, fur, the mix of various woods, all seemed so normal. While they might not have been her version of the routine, the scents still grounded her. Ylva returned with their meads and glided quietly about the room. Setting Torm¡¯s cup in place first, she gave him a smile that glowed unnoticed, before setting Julia''s to her right. Julia nodded her thanks but continued to meditate as her body finished its healing. Needing the internal peace to steady her nerves, she waited in silence with the Captain. The afternoon sun had started to fade before the door opened again. Ylva held the door open to allow an armoured lady to enter the room. Clad in a chain hauberk similar to Torm¡¯s, over it she wore an official-looking pseudo-tabard, emblazoned with the symbol from the Temple''s door. When Torm rose from his seat at her entrance, Julia followed his lead and respectfully bowed her head. When she raised her eyes, Julia saw Verdandi hadn¡¯t moved from the doorway but instead seemed to be patiently assessing her. Slate grey hair, and dark green eyes that felt as if they were shifting through every aspect of her existence. The lines on her face etched out a map of experience, yet didn''t come close to the wisdom in her eyes. Despite this, Verdandi''s posture wasn¡¯t bent, nor was there any sign of old age''s frailness. To Julia''s Mana Sense, golden scripts filled the air about her, layered far thicker than Aquila¡¯s protections had been. ¡°Ylva, I¡¯ll have one of those as well please,¡± Verdandi stated, before closing the door with a click and walking with steady strides to the head of the table. She placed a thin leather journal and her gauntlets on the table with careful precision before she sat. Telepathy received nothing from her, but a sense of energy shielding her awareness slid the Power from Verdandi''s mind. ¡°Torm, the child looks clear of corruption, as you had stated. I also see strange energy present in the Soul and the bond. While I¡¯ve not seen it before, I sense only calm, so I¡¯ll not weigh it against this ¡®hearing¡¯ situation. Once Ylva returns since you are new to this region. I¡¯ll cover the process for these proceedings.¡± The three of them waited for Ylva¡¯s return in silence, Verdandi giving Torm a look when he went to speak, returning to the room a deepening quiet. Ylva paused upon entering, a slight widening of eyes her only reaction. Without a word, she placed the cup by Verdandi¡¯s side before exiting quickly. Verdandi opened her journal and momentarily held a metal dowel a forearm¡¯s length above it. Julia smiled as it spun in the air when she let it go. Not quite a quill pen. ¡°During this ¡®hearing¡¯, for the murder of a child, I¡¯ll first ask some general questions, then for an account of your actions relative to this situation. After which I¡¯ll ask you additional questions, to which I¡¯ll expect only clear, concise answers. Is this understood?¡± Verdandi asked. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Yes, High Justice,¡± Julia said, having caught the requirement for concise before she opened her mouth. Her eyes shifted from the neat ¡®gadget¡¯ towards the High Justice as she replied. ¡°The enchantment it carries is both used to record this session and ensure no one can scry on us without great effort. Even if someone physically entered this room uninvited, they could not hear our words. First, for the record your ¡®Use¡¯ name or name you agree to be called during this ¡®hearing¡¯.¡± ¡°J or Julia,¡± Julia said her name and heard the words come out in Abyssal. ((Trust her. They are worthy.)) {{Do not.}} ((Have hope.)) Emotions coiled around inside her unexpectedly pushing aside nerves. Suspicion and hope dug into her as she flicked a glance at Torm. Julia activated Soul Sight again and took comfort in the blazing energy from the Celestial. A fine cord of golden light trail trailed between him and Verdandi. The Power made it clear it wasn''t a bond of servitude but a mark of their alliance. After all the horrors the Power had shown her in the Abyss, the cleanness in Verdandi''s Soul was surprising. A weight of life and judgement had left its mark upon her, but a core of will inside her remained focused on service of Justice, not simply the Law. ¡°Please provide the name of the child whose Soul I see bound to you. Also, any specific information you know of her.¡± ¡°Livia, former Novice to Aquila, High Priest of Janus,¡± Julia answered, keeping to the facts she knew. ¡°Is Aquila still alive?¡± ¡°Yes, to my knowledge, he is some distance towards the dawn from here.¡± ¡°Provide the circumstance known to you of the child¡¯s murder.¡± ¡°Wajet of the Ten Kingdoms sacrificed her. He was the Summoner who called me from the Abyss. I was unaware.¡± Verdandi interrupted Julia with a curt motion of her hand. ¡°Only answer with information directly related to the questions I ask. You will have opportunities to expand on answers if still required after you recount the circumstances. Now, how long have you been out of the Abyss?¡± ¡°I believe close to two days. I don¡¯t know the time of the summoning, but today was the second dawn I¡¯ve seen.¡± ¡°As best you can recount in chronicle order, what occurred, from the time of your arrival till my entry to this room.¡± Taking it from the point of being aware of Wajet¡¯s summoning notification; she carefully took her time recounting events in order. Verdandi didn¡¯t interrupt, merely listened and occasionally sipped as she watched the marks appear on the pages of the Journal. Whenever it reached the end of a page, the journal shifted to a blank page, and the scribing device would continue onwards, until she finally arrived at the meeting with Verdandi. ¡°Both Aquila and yourself put the child¡¯s Soul at risk. However, Aquila¡¯s failure to protect her led to her death. Her bond to you did not occur with any advance knowledge or desire on your part. However, you put your pride and own dislike of him ahead of the child''s safety. Also, despite your ¡®peace offering¡¯, you baited him a few times, which was clear from your own words.¡± Verdandi stated after Julia had completed her account. ¡°YET your words match what the scribe object¡¯s recorded, so you have spoken the truth, not just facts. You owned up to being in part in the wrong. Curious, given you appear to be a Lesser Succubus and sworn to the Sisterhood of Blood. Demonic Assassins aren¡¯t normally so forthcoming, nor show a willingness to surrender their prizes. No Demon I know of would bother to admit wrongdoing, especially not one of Pride. Explain how you are in the Order so young.¡± ¡°I triggered an alarm ward for Blood Monks not in their order when I entered a city. The Lady of the Order used this creature of metal that let her discover my ¡®True Name¡¯. She then forced me into swearing their Oaths.¡± ¡°The pouch from the Priestess. You said there was something in there besides valuables?¡± Verdandi asked, taking back control of the interview even as Torm looked ready to pursue his own questions. When she interrupted, he just nodded in apology to her and went back to listening. ¡°There is an Altar of Set, with a body chained to it. The remains aren¡¯t mortal; they¡¯re Celestial. I think their essence might still be in the remains.¡± ¡°Do you seek to use them as a bargaining piece?¡± Verdandi asked, her focus still intent on Julia. She raised a hand to intercept another interruption from Torm. ¡°No, they need to go home. No one''s body should be an object for trade. I need to help Livia. Is it possible to restore someone to life?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Torm stated, his eyes looking as if they were following a movement to Julia¡¯s left. ¡°Torm, if you speak again before I conclude, I must ask another to attend instead. I should not have to remind you. You are the Witness in this ¡®hearing¡¯, not the Justice. I allowed the earlier question as it was information the ¡®hearing¡¯ needed.¡± Verdandi said, lacing her fingers in front of her on the table, for once not looking immediately ready to leap into battle. ¡°J, I will remind you that during this ¡®hearing¡¯. I ask the questions! Your role is to answer. Not the other way around! I¡¯m here for a determination of justice not to aid your curiosity. ¡° ¡°You asked for Justice for the murdered girl when you approached the Temple. The murderer is already dead. Is there someone else not in your account in the mortal realms involved?¡± ¡°No,¡± Julia stated, knowing Tras''laq¨¬ didn''t count, but she''d look to ''reward'' him properly for his games. ¡°Then please explain what you meant.¡± Verdandi insisted. ¡°She shouldn¡¯t have died, I''ve felt her life. She was a happy and kind child. Her Master who she was supposed to be able to trust let her down and didn''t even try to keep her safe. I was hoping someone might have magic to restore her life. Wouldn¡¯t, I mean, I thought there would be Justice in that occurring.¡± Verdandi looked at her as if puzzled for a moment, then shook her head. ¡°You sound like an idealist young Succubus. Which is something I never thought to say to one of your kind. Yet again, the scribe¡¯s record matches your words, so you speak the truth you feel. It IS possible to restore the dead to life. It is far easier if their remains are present and relatively whole for the blessing. Easier in either circumstance if their Soul is still present. However, such blessings are normally reserved for members of one¡¯s faith or those who have aided the faithful.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Julia said, feeling crushed that she hadn¡¯t just endured Aquila¡¯s shit. Maybe he could have. Damn, Damn, fuck, I screwed up. Sorry, Livia. Her emotions felt twisted in knots, yet none of the physical reactions she felt matched. It made her feel so strangely out of place inside her skin. Wanting to cry, yet eyes dry of tears, her throat clear instead of tightening with her emotions. ¡°As I said, Normally. What would you give if I undertook the effort to restore Livia''s life?¡± Verdandi asked. ¡°Whatever I could. I can¡¯t say anything because of the Oath as that would be a lie. I have things that I can¡¯t do or they could prevent me from doing. But whatever I could. I think I''ve got most of the Priestess valuables. Gems, various unidentified items, jewelled and fancy stuff, other valuables in the Pouch. I''d help. I agreed to let my name be provided to the summoner, and they killed her to enact it. Whatever I can do. Please, she¡¯s just a child.¡± ¡°Again, you tell the truth. Every blessing I prepared confirms you match a Lesser Succubus. Your aura. Your energies. The Sigil of the Sisterhood, in the aura of one who is too weak for them even to consider administrating their trials. Let alone to take their Oaths. Yet you have a pillar of will, one that should be impossible for a lesser being of Lust to possess. So I ask this, what are you? To be one that cares for the fate of this child. That you have not even met in the flesh? What are you?¡± Verdandi¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t asking as she finished; instead, it demanded. ((Hope. Trust. Have hope.)) {{Out. Run}} ((Have hope, Julia and believe.)) Julia took a deep breath as she felt her nerves jumbling all over the place inside her¡ªbreathing out she set her fear aside. Leap of faith. She needed someone to know before she completely lost herself. She needed to trust someone and to help Livia. Torm had walked beside her instead of just stood guard. He¡¯d treated her with caution, but also seemed ready to listen. Verdandi carried the same vibe, even now, with all her intensity. ¡°Julia Amanda Duncan Earnst,¡± Julia said, having to focus on using her English name, each word wanting to slip into an uncontrolled mess. ¡°That was not a demonic tongue. The runes recorded by the scribe appear as if almost Latin,¡± Verdandi said. Her words each echoed with a weight of contemplation. ¡°I could hear the effort it took you to speak that name. Is that your ¡®True Name¡¯?¡± Verdandi asked. ¡°No.¡± ¡°What is its relevance then?¡± ¡°That is the name my Human parents gave me before a curse sent me to the Abyss as a Hidden Soul,¡± Julia said. Verdandi looked at Julia, and after flickering a glance between Torm and the words recorded, looked almost as if she was uncertain how to proceed. ¡°Would you tell us your ¡®true name¡¯ for the child¡¯s life?¡± asked Verdandi, her expression flatly neutral as she spoke. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even hesitate,¡± Verdandi said, leaning forward as the intensity of her gaze locked on Julia¡¯s own. ¡°She¡¯s a child,¡± Julia said, her tone firm as if it explained everything that mattered."My choices got her killed getting to the material plane." ¡°Again, one you don¡¯t know,¡± insisted Verdandi. "I don''t know you but you''re a servant of a God of Justice. He''s a Celestial¡ªall shining light¡ªyet didn''t act against me without cause. You know what I appear to be, but you''re at least listening to me with an open mind," Julia said and took an unneeded breath to steady herself before she continued. "Livia deserved protection, yet she died afraid. Knowing they hadn¡¯t protected her, she was betrayed like my friend Andre¡ªwho her own father abused. Livia''s father traded her off to an apprenticeship for consideration by her new Master''s Church, and he didn''t even fight for her. They told them they ¡®were¡¯ damned. They were the ones damned. Not Livia, and certainly not Andre, the arseholes lied to them. I¡¯ve seen things in Livia¡¯s Soul, she¡¯s good. She deserves the chance that I don¡¯t have anymore. Please! Just help her. I¡¯ll go right back to the Abyss. I¡¯ll give you my ¡®True name¡¯. Whatever I can.¡± ¡°The Book of that Knowledge Demon?¡± asked Verdandi. ¡°Yes,¡± asserted Julia. ¡°You¡¯d be in trouble. Would you not?¡± interrogated Verdandi, her stern gaze unwavering on Julia. ¡°She should have a chance,¡± rebutted Julia. ¡°What will they do to you if you break that deal?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll make me regret even being a twinkle in my father¡¯s eye,¡± quipped Julia, holding back a shudder at the torment to come. ¡°That isn¡¯t a saying I¡¯ve heard before, yet I believe I understand.¡± A gossamer touch brushed Julia¡¯s cheek as if for attention, and she turned to look. When the pair weren¡¯t in the line of sight, she activated Soul Sight. Livia¡¯s face pressed against her own and a cascade of little kisses brushed her cheek like a butterfly¡¯s wings. Snorting in amusement, Julia raised her fingers and traced down the outline of Livia¡¯s face. Fingertips tingled as they brushed against the child''s Soul. ¡°Okay, little one I¡¯ll calm down. I¡¯m glad I allowed only positive emotions through our bond. You don¡¯t need my mess raining on your parade.¡± Taking a deep breath, she had to allow her Ki Meditation to settle her down before she turned off Soul Sight and looked back at the High Justice. ¡°Just tell me how I can help you in return for Livia¡¯s life,¡± insisted Julia. ¡°The child seems to care for you. You certainly seem to care in your response to her affection. Wajet pursued a course of evil. You prevented him from doing so. He died by your hand while you were bound to his victim. There was no prior knowledge on your part that any death would occur, no matter the guilt you feel now. Her death served no purpose but to show his vileness. Julia, you have nothing to answer for there, there is no weregild owed by you to her. Her killer is dead; Justice is satisfied. I conclude this ¡®hearing¡¯ in the name of Tyr.¡± Verdandi reached out and touched the metal dowel, yet left it hanging in the air as she closed the journal underneath it. ¡°The enchantment that prevents anyone from overhearing is still active. There are things one should not scribe in trial journals. Like any information on a certain Sisterhood, Torm,¡± Verdandi said, her tone scolding before she calmed and continued. ¡°You have Telepathy and believe you could send images into the mind of the Ranger Ari. I''ll ask Yngvarr to assist and see if we can recover Livia¡¯s remains from the Summoner¡¯s location. With your memory of the summoning chamber, I know he¡¯ll be able to travel there without a problem.¡± From somewhere she retrieved another journal and set it on the table, an inkpot and quill quickly followed. She was opening the inkpot when she stopped and looked up, smiling at Torm. ¡°Torm, you can play scribe since you wanted to be the sitting Justice.¡± She stated, before securing the inkpot and sliding the items across the table towards him. ¡°We have some planning to do, to make the best use of limited time. Restoring Livia, investigating those remains, discussing your curse, and the damned Souls you currently hold inside you. Though since they are Slavers, I¡¯m inclined to let them stay with you. Though I¡¯m not fully sure what to make of this Profile, you spoke of earlier.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t other people see their skills and powers listing?¡± asked Julia. ¡°What in the All-Father¡¯s name gave you that idea? Importantly, you mentioned the remains of a Celestial,¡± Verdandi enquired, changing the subject. "It''s bound to an Altar in the Priestess''s Pouch," replied Julia, unsure what to make of her Profile now. Torm cleared his throat and looked at the darkness that had gathered outside. ¡°High Justice, perhaps we should order a meal for you. We could be here a while. It seems the mysteries of today go far deeper than the strangeness of a Succubus wandering into the Temple square.¡± "In a moment, I''ve another question. Your speech was very passionate about the child, and why you''d share your True Name, but I believe there was something more behind your willingness. I would know the rest of your reasoning." The memory of waking on the blood-soaked grass struck at her. A shudder of fear shook her but Julia nodded and admitted the rest that had weighed at her. "If I ever truly lost myself, I''d want someone to have the ability to lock me up and throw away the key, rather than leave me free to harm innocents." ¡°We do not chain those who''ve not committed crimes, nor do we plan for it in advance. Torm, use the service bell behind you please; we¡¯ll all order. We don¡¯t want to let prying minds wonder. They¡¯ll be gossiping enough,¡± instructed Verdandi. 25 - It takes a village Julia leant against the balcony railing, studying the street below, just taking in the moment. The scene below wasn¡¯t a modern nightlife, but neither was it a true medieval setting. Magical crystals embedded into building fronts emitted clean glows, illuminating the streets in comforting brightness. A few families heading home at this late hour walked down the road in front of the Silver Chalice. Youngsters held in their parents¡¯ arms, while older siblings plodded tiredly alongside. Curiosity had her turning on ¡®Soul Sight¡¯ to look over the closest family, to examine their Souls. They weren¡¯t perfect, but they indeed were not the horrific Souls seen within the Abyss. They were what they seemed: individuals, strengths and flaws alike, their various personality traits wrapped together in a complex shifting state. Just flawed Souls the same as herself. Watching over them allowed a tightness to ease inside her. Perhaps because the Power could perceive more than foulness, or energy that made the mind reel. It let her see the essence of people. Know them, not as they presented themselves, but who they were behind their masks. It felt almost too intimate watching these quiet moments filter down into their Souls, yet Julia didn¡¯t want to look away. I¡¯m never going to have kids now! {{Pawns.}} Knowledge and a memory reared up at that thought, making her shudder in disgust. The emotion pushed aside a growing sadness that had blanketed her since the hearing. So do NOT want to have a Cambion. Stupid Demonic lore, thanks ever so much. Is that why I¡¯m so desperate to give Livia back her own life? She¡¯s not family, but it¡¯s still a chance to bring a life into the world. Are human reproductive instincts rearing their head? Or something else after having looked desolation straight in the eye? Suppose I descend into that instinctive Demonic state again. Would it even be me that came out the other side? Enough, Julia. Wallowing isn¡¯t going to put you one step closer to your goals. <> If you¡¯re ever to get free from the Abyss, you need more information. Neither Verdandi nor Torm knew what her hidden state meant or about things she had thought normal. Though she had at least learnt the secret of Torm¡¯s hidden wolf-like visage was because of his celestial nature. It was just as well she¡¯d never used Soul sight on him. The closest thing she could picture was something similar to a hound archon from D&D; yet with features more wolf than a hound. Though he had used a completely different Norse term, that was something like a wolf servant. Their divine tales were different here, as Tyr hadn¡¯t lost his hand to Fenrir. Instead, while the other Norse Gods had grown concerned about Fenrir¡¯s growing strength; Tyr continually tried to dissuade them from their attempts to chain him. Yet the others persisted and repeatedly failed, before finally purchasing a chain from the Dwarven Gods. While Fenrir had considered the chain¡¯s thinness suspect, Loki had still manipulated him into trying his strength against it. The others had kept Tyr in the dark about the plan, so he hadn¡¯t been in ¨¢sgarer when Loki arrived with the chain. Upon his return, when Tyr crossed the rainbow bridge into ¨¢sgarer, he had heard Fenrir¡¯s enraged howls. Rushing towards the sound he came upon Fenrir lunging and thrashing, streams of blood darkening his coat. The thin chain anchored to Yggdrasil had cut into his neck and shoulders, yet he continually threw his strength into trying to get free. Confronted with the injustice of Fenrir chained before he had yet to harm another, Tyr felt compelled to act. While the chain could hold against Fenrir¡¯s strength, it couldn¡¯t hold against Tyr¡¯s blade wielded in the cause of Justice. Hearing the call of Heimdallr¡¯s horn, and Fenrir¡¯s delighted howl, the other Norse Gods, rushed to the world tree. The melee that ensued saw family against family as the others endeavoured to chain Fenrir again. The battle between them raged, with Tyr and Fenrir protecting each other against their combined forces. The pair should have been quickly subdued, but a God as powerful as Tyr acting within their portfolio wasn¡¯t one easily denied. The fight ended when Fenrir pushed Tyr out of the road of a strike that could have been deadly. The blade still cut deep though, and as Tyr¡¯s shield fell to the ground, the damage was evident. Confronted by what they had wrought, the other¡¯s stopped fighting, and pulled back, remorse cooling their blood. Neither Fenrir nor Tyr had escaped the blow unscathed, and Tyr¡¯s arm laying on the ground sent shock waves among them. The blade had struck Tyr just above the elbow and severed his arm cleanly; the limb when cast to the ground had rolled near to Yggdrasil. Before Eir, who had not joined the battle, could seek to restore Tyr¡¯s limb; the world tree had already absorbed it. Fenrir injured, but still capable of fighting, had wanted to continue the battle. Yet his fury drained when Tyr offered the lost arm as weregild for the offence of his family. Saddened Fenrir¡¯s howl had echoed over the bloodstained ground, and where it had fallen a thick mist rose. The fog soon parted, and the first of the ¡®Vargr Drangijaz¡¯ (Wolf Servant) came to be in ¨¢sgarer. Fenrir commanded those born from his blood and Yggdrasil''s power to serve Tyr. Forever to remind them of the obligation he felt owed to his battle brother. Torm likely can smell Ylva¡¯s desire but can keep it in his pants. Either that or he just isn¡¯t interested in chasing mortal tail. Turning off ¡®Soul Sight¡¯ Julia headed back inside, knowing she needed to learn about the new entries in her Profile. Procrastination had dug in its claws since some of their names set her teeth on edge. The room they had provided was luxurious. Or maybe Julia¡¯s perception of things had already become warped. While the room wasn¡¯t much compared to a modern hotel, but it was darn comfortable and far from plastic in its feel. A four-poster bed featuring a wool stuffed mattress took up a chunk of floor space. Yet there was still enough room for four padded armchairs clustered around a table to receive guests, along with cupboards for storage. Though they had engraved a different theme in this room to her eye, it possessed a similar masterful quality to the dining room they¡¯d used. Pushing a chair away from the table, after positioning it, so both doors were visible, she sat down. Julia mentally turned back on the notifications. Unexpectedly silence was the only result instead of the spray of ¡®pings¡¯ she¡¯d thought would hit her awareness. Focusing on the record the ¡®System¡¯ provided, Julia willed it to scroll back. Ignoring recent skill and power level-ups, she readily found the cause of the injury near the gate. [Alert: Mana backlash sustained after losing control of internally manipulated energies. Health Lost: 257 Achievement: Boom, Boom, Baby I Requirement: Sustain ten per cent of your maximum health from mana backlash and survive. Reward: +1 Willpower, +1 Endurance, +2 levels to Mana Resistance Achievement: Boom, Boom, Baby II Requirement: Sustain over a quarter of your maximum health from mana backlash and survive. Reward: +1 Willpower, +1 Endurance, +3 levels to Mana Resistance Achievement: Boom, Boom, Baby III Requirement: Sustain over half your maximum health from mana backlash and survive. Reward: +1 Willpower, +2 Endurance, +5 levels to Mana Resistance Achievement: Touched by the Abyss Requirement: Sustain over a quarter of maximum health from a single injury involving Abyssal energies Reward: Abyssal Adaptability increased by one rank. Achievement: Deeply touched by the Abyss Requirement: Sustain over half your maximum health from a single injury involving Abyssal energies Reward: Abyssal Adaptability increased by one rank. Reward: Perseverance and Mental Resilience have combined and evolved into Mental Hardening. ] [Skill Lore (1 -> 2)] Scrolling back further revealed other notifications which listed the accumulation of energy charge and projected damage. Need to pay more attention to the notifications. Note to self, don¡¯t switch them off again until I have more knowledge. Just in case, Julia concentrated on her profile control and added little symbols for charge build-up. [Profile Control (16 -> 17)] Hopefully, that will work as I intend, That was ouch, but those Abyssal Adaptability jumps might help me survive. At least they''ll help me level other resistances faster. ¡°Okay, well time to bite the bullet.¡± Moving on before another reason to delay things presented itself. Julia took the time to review the Profile and examine each of the recent additions with Analysis. Analysis: Power Corruption [Corruption: The power allows an entity from a lower plane to corrupt a Soul they have successfully tempted. It is the primary power used by Succubi to allow them to gain sway over innocent Souls. The ¡®Dream Sending¡¯ spell form is one way to establish a mental connection usable for corrupting a Soul. However, the Soul has to respond to the Demon''s temptations, refusing to do so blocks this power¡¯s effect. However, this doesn¡¯t stop the Demon from trying again on future occasions. The more intimate the interaction, the faster the Soul¡¯s corruption occurs if they give in to the temptation. ] Analysis: Power Demonic Pact [Demonic Pact: A Demon can use this power to form a bond with a living Mortal. This bond provides the Demon with a connection to the mortal¡¯s Soul. If they die while the bond is in effect, the Demon gains the Soul regardless of planar location. The mortal in returns gains increased capabilities above their usual limits, depending on the type of Demon they form a pact with. If the Demon possesses sufficient ranks in this power, they can step between planes to the mortal¡¯s location. The formation of the bond requires the mortal¡¯s agreement, but the Demon does not have to inform them of the consequences. The Demon can break the bond at will after they have formed it. Doing so will cause it to backlash onto the mortal, but the Demon suffers no ill effects. ] Analysis: Spell Forms [Spell Forms: Are pattern or frameworks that can be charged with Mana to produce particular effects. There are several ways to learn spell forms: class, species-level ups, or via study, are the most common but not the only mechanisms. As the spell form increases ranks and level, it is possible to alter the parameters to shift its effects within particular limits. The caster can add no effect that requires energy outside their affinities. Large changes to a form¡¯s parameters cause exponentially increases in Mana cost.] Analysis: Mana Affinity Mental [Mana Affinity Mental: Any spell that influences its targets thoughts, behaviours or dreams requires the caster to have access to this mana. These spells bypass physical protection, only power, skills, or spell forms that protect the mind, or boost willpower help to resist or negate these spells.] Analysis: Mana Affinity Abyssal [Mana Affinity Abyssal: The Abyss existed before any physical realm, but in the eons, since it has become corrupted. Any spells a caster can invoke normally requiring fire, disease, death, corruption or entropy mana, can make use of this energy instead. However, all spell forms cast with Abyssal energy have two significant issues. First, if a mortal caster uses this Affinity, they corrupt their own Soul with no need for Demonic interaction. Second, the target can block the empowered spell forms with celestial protections of any kind. Though they cannot block them using the normal relevant protection. A spell designed to protect from evil will block a fireball spell formed with Abyssal mana, but fire-resistance will still allow part of the damage to take effect.] Analysis: Mana Affinity Jade Court [Mana Affinity Jade Court: The eastern celestial courts allow mortal Souls to access this Mana normally only through the form of Ki. Some spiritual priesthoods gain this mana affinity to empower spells instead of channelling a blessing from a God. Outsiders are never taught the spell forms or the process in attuning to this mana by members in good standing. However, most protective spells can use this mana to invoke their effects, though there may be changes in the spell form¡¯s appearance. ] Analysis: Charm Mortal [Charm Mortal: Causes the subject to consider the caster their friend. This does not give the caster control, and the target will assess any ''requests'' as if a friend asked it. If requests go against the mortal¡¯s moral compass or self-interest, they gain additional opportunities to break free from the influence. Even if they don¡¯t break free, they won¡¯t act on the request and will try to influence, or force their ¡®friend¡¯ away from the course of action. If the influence is broken at any time, they will be aware of whatever activities they were influenced to conducting.] Analysis: Dream Sending [Dream Sending: Allows the caster to reach into the dreams of a target. If the casting is successful, the caster controls the dreamscape; otherwise, the dreamer is aware of them and has control. Whoever has control can manipulate the dreamscape and eject other parties from it, if so desired. A dreamer removed from their dreamscape cannot return to sleep that rest period and accumulates a fatigued state. The caster can voluntarily allow the dreamer to be fully aware of them, making this spell useful for long-distance communications. Proficiency in its casting influences the proximity required to the dreamer, allowing it to reach between planes with enough skill. ] Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Analysis: Implant Command [Implant Command: Allows the caster to implant an order within the target subconscious mind, and a trigger condition. The target won¡¯t be immediately aware of the action they are to undertake. Allowing the caster to cause them to do things they wouldn¡¯t normally do. The target can attempt to resist the spell when cast upon them, and when it triggers. Extended actions will allow them multiple chances to break free of the influence. If they break free, they will know who implanted the order.] Analysis: Spell Surge Emotion [Surge Emotion: Successfully effecting a target allows a caster to escalate desired emotions within them if present to any degree. The feeling has to be present in the target for this spell to work. A sociopath can¡¯t feel compassion or remorse from the use of this spell, though their self-assurance is an option to influence. The caster can push anger into a rage; rage can become a murderous frenzy.] Analysis: Bite [Bite: This skill doesn¡¯t increase the sharpness of one¡¯s teeth, merely let one inflict damage more efficiently. Instinct and experience knowing where to bite make up this skill; otherwise ruthlessness in biting places that sentient beings normally wouldn¡¯t. Possessed typically by animals or non-humanoid monsters, some individuals less fussy about what they put in their mouths have developed this skill as well.] Analysis: Claws [Claws: This skill allows for the most efficient use of claws present on any limb or body extension. It will enable the possessor to inflict damage on foes via their claws more efficiently. Skilled combatants have learnt to seek exposed places and position themselves where they can strike most effectively.] Analysis: Tail Strike [Tail Strike: This skill allows the possessor to strike efficiently at any target within the range of their tail. Allowing the user to attack foes behind them or within their tail¡¯s angle of flexibility. The extent of inflicted damage depends on the construction, and nature of the tail used.] Analysis: Mental Hardening [Mental Hardening: This skill provides the user with mental armouring and improved recovering ability. For enduring actions, or a course that saps at one¡¯s will to continue. This skill will provide a multiplier effect to the possessor¡¯s strength of will. The user can maintain clarity of thought and action under adverse conditions. When developed into higher ranks, they can endure even places that would break their species¡¯ senses without ill effects.] Okay, so yes a bunch powers that get marked as a hard pass. Corruption is going to do exactly what''s on the label. An intimate connection, yeah, okay. Does that mean it won''t matter if I want to corrupt them or not? I don''t want to be the Abyss. Why would I push an innocent into it? More questions. Are these questions that would be of concern to a Succubus? Somehow I doubt it. Pity the attack skills didn¡¯t just accumulate into unarmed combat. Yet considering the state I was in killing the slavers, it''s not surprising. Need to check those items from the Priestess body. The other bling stuff in the Pouch though can wait till I¡¯ve got a few days. Quickly setting the loot from the dead Priestess'' body on the table, Julia checked each of them with Analysis. [Scorpion¡¯s Kiss: Wearing this ring causes any melee strike made by the wearer to inflict a struck foe with giant scorpion venom] [The Agony of Horus: Wearing this ring allows blessings channelled from Set to have increased effectiveness depending on the phase of the Moon. When Horus¡¯ eye is blind in the night sky, up to eight blessings in a day will have their maximum effect on their subject. Anyone wearing this ring that cannot channel blessings of Set is blinded and continually wracked by pain. They cannot remove it until they receive a prayer of absolution from a follower of Set.] [Ring of Silent Motions: Wearing this ring suppresses all the noise made by the wearer through moving, It will not conceal the sound of any talking undertaken by its wearer.] [Bracers of Missile Negation: These bracers protect from missiles only. Any missile will fall harmlessly away with its momentum spent upon contact with the wearer.] [Analysis [Ap] (6 -> 7)] So one nasty gag gift, and a couple of decent items among them. After considering viable options for passing the evening, eventually, Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s book appeared on the table. Opening it with the required care, Julia got to work, hoping to abuse at least one loophole in his request. There was far more than she had expected within the book. Unsurprisingly, it wasn¡¯t just a book with names as he¡¯d implied. While the authors had crowded the pages with Abyssal script, reading fast wasn¡¯t an issue. The dawn light found the table clear again, and as the Alert made itself known, she smiled at a particular Soul. Julia looked over from the Soul to meet Livia''s intent and concerned focus ¡°Don¡¯t look, Livia,¡± Julia said, waiting till the little girl looked away before she continued. Mentally touching the Soul drew it partially out of her form. As its essence fought to escape, Julia deliberately focused on exactly how to consume a Soul shard from it. The rush of energy that followed was bitter and jagged. But some things she wouldn¡¯t risk. Investigating earlier Julia had found the Souls that had contributed shards. Caught up like flies in amber, they appeared as if moth-eaten in Soul sight, yet their vital parts were still intact. When Wajet¡¯s Soul rejoined the others, it was in a very different condition. Stroking fingertips across Livia¡¯s still concerned features, Julia gave her a smile of reassurance. Heading downstairs, she had to wonder how long it would take to get their plan started. I still need to find somewhere to practice.
¡°Julia, I would assume.¡± A light tenor interrupted, calling from behind her before things got rolling. Even as the kids started grumbling at the interruption, Julia glanced in the voice¡¯s direction. Since they¡¯d pronounced her English name in the same way Verdandi had; hopefully, there was some good news. Glimpsing the loose shirt and breeches, all stitched with unfamiliar symbols, Julia straightened and paid more attention. Why do so many of the guys around here have to be tall? I should have kept my Succubus form¡¯s height. Darn it. Like most men about the town, the speaker was taller than Julia, but they were at least a far more reasonable height. Though still far too close to 180 cm, it was enough to mean she¡¯d be looking up awkwardly when standing close to them. Their dark red hair though was not what she¡¯d expected, especially since it looked as if someone had woven streaks of the sunset through it. Then again, the fineness of features matching to the whipcord leanness of his build wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d expected either. ¡°Go,¡± she said, startling the distracted kids, and spun back to throw the leather stuffed ball. It looked like it would cover a suitable distance across the common, but it wouldn¡¯t completely clear it. As the kids raced off to see who¡¯d get initial control of the ball, she turned back and moved over to the speaker. ¡°Sorry, been starting their rest day games. Who knows, there may have been fines involved if I kept them waiting. Do you work with Yngvarr?¡± His looks are like the moon elf from Ari¡¯s memories. Not as cute, and his skin is darker, more like a Spanish complexion, rather than the ghostly pale white. ¡°No Yngvarr is what the town residents call me. It¡¯s easier on them.¡± Yngvarr replied, his voice shaded with puzzlement as he considered her. ¡°You are indeed a curiosity.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Julia said, trying to keep the automatic dryness from her voice, ¡°that at least is better than some reactions I¡¯ve gotten lately. Though you to me are also a curiosity, with no offence meant.¡± ¡°None was taken. You¡¯re politer than some about the Jarl¡¯s household. I believe some matters need addressing.¡± Yngvarr said, turning and moving away on the street towards the inner gate. ¡°Shall we leave the children to their rest day?¡± Shaking her head at his back, as despite the questioning tone, it was more a summons. Julia did what he seemed to expect and followed. Bad Elfie!! No!! Wait, it¡¯s okay. You¡¯re wearing breeches. I¡¯ll just be back here, wouldn¡¯t want to crowd you. Her hand flexed and wiggled against the gossamer touch beside her, as it seemed that Livia wanted to play as they walked. ¡°Yeah,¡± Julia breathed softly, moving to close the gap that had already opened.
Julia decided she had a slight issue, and not only that, but Yngvarr ultimately failed all the stereotype checks. He didn¡¯t live in the Jarl¡¯s residence; even though he was nominally the Jarl¡¯s magical adviser. Also, didn¡¯t live in a tower; even though Yngvarr was a Wizard. Nor did they make their home in a grove of magical trees, which was quite disappointing to Julia. Even if she hadn¡¯t been, well, a Demoness, romance was also never going to be an option since they batted for the same team. However, there was eye candy aplenty to choose from, even if that was all it was going to be. Since it was readily apparent that Yngvarr and Alfarr were together. The consolation was they both looked darn fine in a pair of breeches. Decent looking, ok well darn cute Elvish mage, and rugged Norse warrior; and neither male was on the market. Break hearts all over the place, why don¡¯t you. Well, they certainly make an interesting couple. Turning her attention back to the Crystal ball sitting in front of her, she tried again to get it to work. Forming an image of the summoning chamber in her mind, she tried to connect to the mana in the item. If only the summoning chamber would show up in this darn thing. Then Yngvarr could see it, and we¡¯d be able to get this show on the road. Hello operator, can you hear me? It certainly seems to work for Yngvarr differently as well. Why does everyone else¡¯s approach to this magic stuff not work for me? You say Tomato. I say Tomahto. Potato, Potahto. Just work will you. Instead of trying to push a connection to form, Julia instead let Harmony resonate within. To be open to the world, that was her key. So it wasn¡¯t a slight issue. Instead, it was just a difference in her foundation. Instead of trying to push towards it, she had to accept instead, opening to it, and allowing them to draw together. Harmony, in that power¡¯s fullness, Julia and the Orb simply stopped being apart. Energies shimmering from the orb, Yngvarr looked over to find an image hovering within its depths. Though the image warranted attention, it wasn¡¯t his immediate focus. Instead, it was an incredibly confusing entity¡¯s face showing the oddest thing possible. To be clear, a Demoness with her eyes closed, seemingly at peace; rated high on his list of strange.
Since Julia couldn¡¯t enter the Temple, Verdandi had taken the practical approach to establishing another space. It wasn¡¯t clear if Yngvarr had realised that area would be his casting chamber until he had already agreed. To be fair, he had been engaged in apparent academic discussion about the requirements to purify ¡®a¡¯ space for the blessing. Then, between one point and another, it dawned that he¡¯d already given consent to use his chamber. Though perhaps clued in when Verdandi¡¯s assistant had started on preparations in front of him. Then, rather than the pair arguing, Julia had seen an eye roll from the wizard. Given the laughter from Alfarr, it was not a first for this sort of antics between them. The assistants had even ushered them all out of the space to let them work. Finally allowed back in, Julia found Livia¡¯s body lain out in the middle of the chamber covered with a shroud. It did nothing to conceal the smell present. However, that wasn¡¯t what twisted Julia¡¯s stomach in metaphysical knots. It was more knowing what was under the shroud and hoping Livia would have no recollection. The bloated, broken shape that Yngvarr had retrieved from Wajet¡¯s residence had been a pitiful sight. It was fortunate that the blessing didn¡¯t require the body to be pristine or even intact. Instead, the more remains present, the less effort channelling the blessing required. As the chant started, the edge of the shroud rustled in a non-existent breeze; golden light spiralled into existence over the body. During the chanting, the junior Priests attending Verdandi turned as one and bowed respectfully at the manifestation of their Deity¡¯s power. As the energy faded, Julia could feel Livia being drawn away from her, the link between them stretch. Almost in time to Verdandi¡¯s musical casting, they moved to either side of the body. Kneeling together, their hands touched the fabric of the shroud, and they turned it back away from her face. Revealing Livia¡¯s feature now in a pristine, but a still lifeless state. Golden light and azure blue shone, then flashed as one, when Livia¡¯s body, no, when Livia inhaled, and Julia felt the bond between them snap. Light splitting apart as the golden energy winked out, and the azure spilt downwards into Livia as she continued to breathe. Livia looked almost as if she was just waking from sleep. Her eyes roamed under still closed lids, before open to signal her return to the world again. A pair of startled priests rocking back as she looked at them with orbs shimmering with the deepest crystal blue. Worried about what had happened to Livia, Julia used Analysis almost as a reflex. Verdandi¡¯s instruction not to use Soul Sight during the ceremony had made sense. Yet now Julia would have preferred some hint about what had happened. Analysis [Name: Livia P. Luci senatoris filia Race: Human (Enlightened Soul) Class: Monk (Former novice) Age: 10 Level: 1 Defence: 15 Melee Attack Power: 7 Combat Skills: Unarmed Combat (1) Child: Daughter of Senator Palinurus Lucienus] What?
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 15 111,999 / 180,000
Wizard 1 0 / 2000
Succubus 6 27,640 / 30,000
Defence 38
Melee Attack Power 57 Health 497
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 28 Magic 27
Quickness 26
Intelligence 25 Ki 63
Willpower 44 Mana 81
Charisma 23
Affinities Darkness, Time, Mental, Abyssal, Jade Court
Spell Forms Charm Mortal (5), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion (9)
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (11), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (5), Electricity - Minor (5)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (6), Blink [Ap] (21), Corruption (5), Dark Sight (1), Demonic Pact (5), Energy Drain (14), Flight [Ap] (12), Harmony [J] (31), Improved Regeneration [Ap] (23), Ki Movement [Ap] (11), Ki Strike [Ap] (2), Mana Sense [Ap] (8), Shapeshift [Ap] (13), Soul Sight [Ap](8), Telepathy [B] (2), Teleport (Self): 5, Translate Languages [J] (6),
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (1), Acrobatics [B] (4), Acting (19), Analysis [Ap](7), Bite [Ap] (5), Bluff (16), Claws [Ap] (14), Climbing [B] (20), Danger Sense (9), Disguise (19), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (1), Haggling (15), Intimidation (19) , Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [J] (16), Mana Manipulation [Ap](19), Mental Hardening [J] (15), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [Ap] (8), Profile Control (17), Rope Use(1), Seduction(16), Sense Motive (11), Stealth [Ap](17), Taunt (5), Tactics [B](9), Time Sense [Ap] (7), Torture (2), Unarmed Combat [J] (12)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [B](9), Arcane (14), Celestial Lore (10), Demonic Lore [J] (2), Hidden Lore (9), Planar Lore (7), Planar Portals (9), Skill Lore (2)
Available Skill Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 9
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English, Norse
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 5
Max Capacity 25 / 50 Kilograms
Stored Materials Assorted Lurker glands, meat and materials. Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s book of names. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. The Agony of Horus. Bracers of Missile Negation.
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 114 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 111 Innocent Souls Bound 0
Soul Shards Consumed 3 Corruptions Failed 1
26 - Dead to the world ¡°Livia, relax. You¡¯re safe now.¡± Verdandi said, her voice reassuringly calm as Livia struggled upright. The trembling in her body ceased as her scared eyes took in Tyr''s symbol on the priest closest to her. Reaching out with evident care, he wrapped her in a blanket and supported her in his arms. Verdandi¡¯s assistants hadn¡¯t bothered to introduce themselves earlier. Yet now each took the time to introduce themselves to Livia. {{They are disregarding us. Teach them better. She¡¯s ours, yet these claim her.}} She¡¯s small for her age. Cute girls get an introduction. Well, J, perhaps the lovely Temple folk don¡¯t want to share their names with you. Put on your big girl pants. Julia moved closer yet resisted a violent urge to invade their personal space. The motion attracted Livia¡¯s attention, yet when she looked up, there was only confusion. As if seeing a vaguely familiar face, whose name was beyond recollection. Ouch. She¡¯s alive, that¡¯s the important thing. Hopefully, she stays clear of Aquila. Why is Analysis showing her as a Monk? She was training as a Priestess. Let alone the rest of it. Enlightened Soul? Senator¡¯s daughter? What did I end up in the middle of? What did I do? And her eyes! No whites, only the bluest crystal. ¡°All but V¨ªearr, please take Livia to Eir¡¯s Temple. Ensure she¡¯s comfortable in their infirmary, then return to your duties.¡± Verdandi said, a tone of command edging her voice. The youngest of the attendant got some points from Julia when he carefully lifted Livia in a classic princess carry. Focused on following orders, he looked both calm and yet disapproving at Julia''s closeness staring directly beyond her to the door. His arms cradled Livia closer as the other two attendants stepped forward. The two priestesses didn¡¯t look any happier with her as they flanked him closely. Nordic folks. So unfair, taking advantage of their height to look down on little old me. {{Ours.}} ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯ll get the door for you.¡± Julia said, responding to their wary looks with a smile, trying to keep a pleasant appearance. [Sense Motive (11 -> 14) Acting (19 ->[B](2)] Opening the door to allow them to leave without issue, and not slamming it shut drew on her self-control. Yet she managed it without the metal of the handle creaking in her grasp. ¡°Since the chamber is already cleansed. Should we deal with the altar now, Yngvarr?¡± Verdandi asked, looking between him and his lover. ¡°Indeed. Let me put some additional protections in place and we can get started,¡± Yngvarr agreed, as he pulled a few items from midair. {{Ours. We should make sure she stays ours.}} ((Trust. She is her own self. Let them keep her safe.)) Emotions churning within as temptation dragged its hooks through desperation, the urge to go with them growing increasingly palpable. Yeah, because crowding a shocked child who doesn¡¯t recognise you. That would be such a non-selfish thing to do, J¡­ Right! {{She¡¯ll be out of reach in that place.}} After we retrieved the celestial, then I¡¯ll talk to Verdandi about Livia¡¯s situation. Will she ever remember anything more than vague recognition? I should count it as a good thing. Better for her than remembering too much. Do they even have Monks around to train her? It¡¯s a very eastern concept. ((How does any journey start?)) The negative emotions churning around inside her twisted her stomach. Bad dates getting possessive and then not taking no for an answer had always annoyed her. Yet what was she feeling now? Well, she didn''t know what exactly she was feeling, but it felt possessive. Stalkerish. Kneeling by the door, she rested her hands on her knees and tried to let Ki wash away the negative feelings. She''s alive. {{For now.}} ((Believe.))
¡°Julia, stand around here. Try to place the altar, as close to this rune as possible,¡± Yngvarr instructed, pointing to a distinct symbol. The shape was clear with rays that radiated towards the wall, ¡°it marks the exact centre of the chamber.¡± ¡°What do I do once I call it forth?¡± ¡°Well, that depends¡±, said Yngvarr, giving Julia a nonchalant shrug as he spoke. ¡°And what exactly does it depend on?¡± ¡°What sort of altar appears, principal thing stay alive. It could be as simple as a decorative slab of rock. But since all that you learnt is the altar is unidentified. Well, let''s assume its more than that.¡± Stepping close to the rune, Julia pulled the pouch from her inventory. Taking a moment to indulge in a steadying breath, she wrapped its ties around her wrist before focusing on it. Concentrating on the simple entry she willed it from the pouch, trying to imagine it appearing on top of Yngvarr¡¯s rune. Light wavered and rippled even before the altar of Set fully manifested in Yngvarr¡¯s casting chamber. Thudding sourceless vibrations lashed outward; a barrage of explosions that echoed through her bones. Across the room, their impact struck V¨ªearr hard and dropped him bonelessly to the floor. The sudden deadening pressure of the air consuming the noise of his body crashing to the stone. Jagged runes fought their way to life around the border of the chamber, yet they guttered like storm soaked embers. The edges of them crackling with spikes of electricity as they struggled to drive off the predations of primordial chaos. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Vomiting into reality, it slid like a diseased secretion from its hiding place to blight and stain the windows of their minds. Stone whistled and squealed underfoot as if air somehow was leaving it. The solid stone suddenly acting like flesh dying underfoot. Its surface, bloated with decay, looked as if putrefaction was rapidly breaking it down. The softness of its morbid rot pulling her downwards, feeling as if it held her in lips of engorged flesh. Once white stone became foul and spongy as liquefying flesh. Swelling upwards around her calves it sucked noisily at her legs. Foulness coated the senses as the air rotted and curdled into a putrid miasma with rank decaying blood thickly scenting the air. The bitter metallic taste of copper and iron oozed its way into her mouth. As its invasion plunged against the back of her throat, spiked spores bit and clawed at her face and eyes. In that torturous instant, she tried mentally to hold the altar within the pouch. Yet its power didn¡¯t even react; rather it brushed past her will and the enchantments with disdain. Whatever power that had allowed the altar¡¯s containment, clearly not hers to command. Putrefying stone arrived as if riding atop the rich wave of decay and entropy thrusting itself into reality. Defiled colours radiated from its shifting surface. The altar itself grappling with a star made flesh chained upon it. The black idol of Set stood upright at its end. Its position made it seem a swollen obsidian phallus rising from the body of a bloated grey maggot. Its strange features were seething and writhing as if the chaotic Deity¡¯s statue was uncertain of its form. Hair like tendrils extruded only to vanish in an instant from every warped contour. Each was lashing out with shrill screams as they flickered in and out of existence. Malevolent parasitic hookworms, thrashing about, as their shifting maws bit at the air. A black haze filled the air in the writhing motion of each passage. Shrill screams and cracks came from the parasites maws as they cut shimmering vacuums in the bleakness of each others¡¯ haze. Hope and radiant grace pressed through the flesh of a hollowed, ruined mirage of Elvish beauty. Its essence squeezed tight against the slab, violated and twisted by unseen forces. The altar held the shining captive chained and twisted in on itself by links of the void. They spiked and pulled through flesh and bone alike, forcing it into impossible knots. The lifeless features seemed to scorn her every choice as the altar¡¯s power tried to force her into submission. Random thoughts flickered through her mind as she struggled against the power. Trying to keep sanity and sense of self intact. Even as buttressed as her mind had become, it fought and clawed for every instant, every flicker of reason. Notifications ¡®pinged¡¯ unheeded, pressing against her struggling awareness and trying to shatter her attention. Primal entropy gouged into her legs, stripping free ragged pieces of flesh that crackled and froze. The Abyss'' corrupted chaos crystallised into obscene parodies of beauty, even as the idol¡¯s force consumed them. Air crackled with power as musical ringing words resonated their counter tones, order and structure pressing hard against the devouring entropy and chaos of the altar. A liquid chant whispered far away and yet close at hand, set forth a celestial radiance to push back dissolution. The opposing forces brushing past her to strike each other. Their glancing blows sent her spinning away, only the angle of the strikes saving her from obliteration. Harsh sibilant words roared and raged even as the forces'' pressure spat her away from the altar. The echoing compression of flesh and blood turned into a shrill, tinnitus whine as internal pressures ruptured her eardrums. Deafened even to the sound of her own body hitting stone. Bouncing off the wall, Demonic blood spilled across her sight and stained the floor about her. The trio pushed on, spells and blessing crashing against the chaotic power in their midst. The rugged Norse warrior, radiating defiant fury, screamed untranslatable words of power and burst into living flames. As spells and blessings lashed out again, he gathered himself and leapt forward like a white-hot comet, and burned through the breach that had been cleared for him. Pure flame rolled off Alfarr¡¯s skin as he swept past the idol and in midair, a spell struck, not at the idol but at the forces that tormented and bound the shining figure. The power of his strike and unspent momentum slid Mortal man and Celestial alike across the buckling floor close to Julia. Even as he cleared the area away from the idol, fracturing strikes cracked the weakened fabric of reality around it. Suddenly adrift on its raft of decay, the altar flailed in fury as it fell, spiralling into the echoing beyond. With the consuming entropy cast out, the wards flared alight with a renewed power and the edges of the rift whirled as reality reimposed itself. Blackness pulsed forth from the hud¡¯s empty health bar, swelling up to blot the room from sight. Crushing weights grew harder still to resist as they pressed her into the solid ground, the cold bleakness leeching Heat from her flesh. [Alert: Catastrophic damage occurred. Do you wish to use forty shards or return to your Home plane? Destroying entity: Relic of Set - High Altar Note: Summoner access restrictions will apply if the return option is taken.] Julia grabbed onto the first option with desperation and the decision halted the drowning whirlpool of forces flaying her. The rush of power from the Souls stabilising flesh and strengthening her connection to the Abyss. The faintest line of her health mingled overlaying the blood that blocked her sight. Looking through bleeding eyes to the parts of broken flesh that were dimly visible provided no comfort. Spurs of bones speared upwards through flesh showed where ribs had shattered and flesh squeezed into the remnants. Bone fragments foamed along the curves of flesh that remained across her torso. Armour and clothes formed from Shapeshift, had dissolved away during the struggle to stay on this plane. Naked, her succubus form spread in a state of broken beauty across the stone. Even now, her mind shivered away from even the simplest of transformations, the mending fractures of reality still burning at her senses. [Achievement: Crash test dummy Requirement: Take normal maximum health in a single encounter while inflicting zero-damage and yet survive. Secondary condition met: Damage sustained from a force of chaos. Reward: Improved Regeneration and Shapeshift combined into Protean.] As it announced the achievement, the health bar which had stayed dangerously flat slowly increased. Vision clearing as bone and flesh knitted back into place, the sounds of the chamber returned. With clarity came the realisation that Alfarr was nearby. A broad-bladed axe he now held in his hands gleamed in the renewed energy of the wards. His eyes focused on knitting flesh, he had stepped close, hefting the axe with practised ease. fuck. ¡°You¡¯re a mess, little Demoness. You were flickering like a drowned candle, thought you were tripping off home. Nearly went to end you. Fine day to still be alive.¡± Julia tried to speak again, yet the action had her coughing clots of blood from her lips, injured flesh shifting with the struggle. ¡°Ship those oars of yours and drift with the tide a bit. The floor might not be the most comfortable, but it will be easier when cleaning the mess up.¡± ¡°Alfarr hurry, help me get V¨ªearr out of here,¡± Verdandi said, her voice strained with effort but still snapping across the room. The axe disappeared from his hand as he looked over to where Verdandi crouched near V¨ªearr. Her assistant seemed motionless on the floor, the power of blessings glowing between them. ¡°She¡¯s always the boss of me,¡± Alfarr muttered before a blanket appeared and was carefully laid over the broken celestial, ¡°I¡¯ve only got the one. So pull yourself together, you hear.¡± Wanting to groan at Alfarr''s quip as they walked away, Julia just settled for rolling her eyes; the feeling of fluid still present in her throat and lungs. Yet while the pain of the injuries was present, the healing process itself seemed to have changed. Even the visible shards of ribs retreated into flesh, slowly merging back without pain. The health indicator ticked upwards regularly, yet it would still obviously take a while before she¡¯d fully recovered. So many things that can blow past me. Fuck. Why would he talk so casually about ending me? The covered celestial still looked contorted, the blanket actually made its appearance worse. When it had laid on the altar, the abuse it had suffered was clear and sent thought shuddering away from the injuries. Yet now, with its injuries out of sight, Julia¡¯s mind tried to make sense of what it might have suffered, and it twisted her in knots. With the mutilated mess it was in, she didn''t even know its gender, just the beauty in its untouched features was unearthly grace. Analysis [Name: Species: Celestial Lj¨®s¨¢lfar Court: Forest¡¯s Heart Class: Level: Condition: Chaos lock in place, Physical capabilities (Locked), Spiritual State (Locked)] It¡¯s still alive! 27 - The Good, The Bad, and the Worst Her flesh squelched as Julia rolled on her side to clear her throat. Blood and visceral fluids flowed during the struggle to draw enough air to speak. They wouldn¡¯t come forth, but the noise at least attracted Yngvarr¡¯s attention. He headed across the chamber towards her, as Alfarr stepped through the door carrying V¨ªearr as if a child. Verdandi nodded at Yngvarr, before following Alfarr like a mother cat chasing a stray kitten. ¡°Relax, Julia. If you reduce the strain, you might heal faster,¡± Yngvarr said, as he carefully picked a spot away from the growing pool to crouch. ¡°The celestial. It¡¯s a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar.¡± Julia said finally. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware. I¡¯ll see about getting its remains to its home plane,¡± Yngvarr said, the strain in his voice matching the pain highlighting his face. ¡°Not remains. Alive.¡± Julia spat the words out, around the fluids moving through her mouth. The injuries in her chest, making disturbing noises with each word. ¡°How is that possible?¡± Yngvarr asked and stepped around the spreading pool. He reverently peeled back the blanket from its features. Their face still appeared slack and lifeless, yet somehow less frail. The wounds, visible now about its shoulders, seemed as open mouths, the edges turned back like blooded lips to suck in air. Without the contrasting vileness of the altar, its beauty was more subdued yet still poignant. The grace of its features, set against the rent flesh on display, was sickening even as its beauty called to her. {{Taste its wounds. They look so sweet. Could eat it up.}} <> ¡°No idea. Forest¡¯s Heart is its home.¡± Julia said, before trying to clear bile from her mouth. Every breath felt as if drawn through a straw. Her lungs vibrated as the pressure of the drawn air fought against the constricting injuries of the flesh. It made getting enough air for even the shortest sentence a challenge. Looking at the growing pool and its proximity to the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar. He stood, and suddenly, with no words or gestures, a glowing bed appeared and lifted it. ¡°I thought so from its appearance alone. Messy girl.¡± ¡°Sorry papa,¡± Julia retorted, not bothering to resist the temptation to poke out her tongue. A raised eye accented the strain on his face, obviously considering what course of action to take. ¡°I¡¯ll open a portal and take him across. Hopefully, its proximity doesn¡¯t cause you an injury.¡± He said, directing the mana bed to move across the room with a gesture. ¡°But..¡± ¡°Peace, Julia. I can call between planes. You gave Verdandi a ¡®Use¡¯ name so I can call you back.¡± Walking over to the mana bed it was only once there his casting began. Julia¡¯s ¡®Mana Sense¡¯ showed the energy formations in the air. The complexity of the shapes folding and twisting into dimensions beyond this plane. Darn will have to learn that trick. [Mana Sense [Ap](9-> 11) Planar Lore (8->9) Planar Portals (10->12)] Power formed in intricate patterns that seemed to beckon in supplication. The rift at first a hinted concave impression in the air into which glowing water swirled. It should have spilled onto the floor. Yet instead he soon faced a liquid mirror of burnished gold. The lapping waters shone with reflected sunlight as if through a canopy of trees. The vibrant energy of that light from beyond carried echoing cries of bird calls and forest noises. Wild living sounds somehow crossed through that fluid and brought with them clear forest scented air. Peace and tranquillity called across the chamber to her, making Julia¡¯s healing flesh ache and hiss. Its Heat throbbed in bitter offence at the insult of the presence. The purity of power causing the blood pooled to steam from existence. Trying to settle down into Harmony in such an injured state, as energy reeled around, challenged her ability to seek it. As Julia felt it trying to open to her senses, the peace seemed to reach within. Even as something from within the Ki¡¯s depth seemed to call back, it provided a strange sensation, as the energies were not in opposition; instead rather feeling as if out of sync. It was a moment that stretched on, even as the rift finished forming. Yngvarr turned to regard her, some tightness that had been around his eyes relaxing when it was clear Julia was still present. Partly raising a hand, a single step moved him through the newly formed portal, and the mana bed followed. Its energy was melding seamlessly into the portal as it crossed the threshold. The sound of beating wings echoed across the room as the celestial¡¯s shape touched the rift. The energies within it came apart in a spray of force. At the sound of celestial¡¯s body slapping down the air echoed through the chamber, and Julia felt a wave of power flinging her into the air. Flight responded to her panic, preventing a substantial impact against the ceiling. Mentally turning herself in midair, the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar body had fallen where the rift had been. Its blanket was looking like a shredded butterfly as it fell, fluttering through the air. Well, Fuck! A prompt to Flight had it drifting her over on a course to land near the celestial. Alfarr and Verdandi entered the room in a rush. Weapons raised, concern and suspicion running rampant across Alfarr¡¯s tightened face. ¡°He was taking the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar home,¡± Julia said, having gotten out the words in a single limited breath. ¡°Where is he?¡± Alfarr asked, his voice anxious as his gaze prowled the chamber, clearly wishing to provide him with aid. ¡°Already there,¡± Julia said, carefully looking over the celestial for further injury. ¡°Give her a moment, she is still healing,¡± Verdandi said, as her sword returned to its sheath. ¡°Why would he rush to get the remains back to its home?¡± Alfarr asked impatiently, not giving time as Verdandi had requested. ¡°They¡¯re still alive,¡± Julia replied, gesturing to the fallen celestial. Some wounds on her chest closed, the disturbing sounds ceased as they did, and her breathing audibly eased. ¡°Look at it. How can it still be alive?¡± Alfarr asked his stress and worry, adding suspicious tones to his voice. ¡°When I use analysis. It shows information about an individual. Not remains,¡± Julia said. ¡°What exactly does it tell you? Is it still alive after that explosion?¡± Verdandi questioned, putting a hand on Alfarr''s shoulder, wanting to calm her nephew. Julia looked at the celestial and noted a fresh addition to the details that returned. Glad her lungs had sealed, given the explaining required. ¡°It''s alive. However, there is an extra condition now.¡± Julia said, a raised palm signalling for patience. ¡°The profile showed three conditions on it. There are four now. I don¡¯t know what they mean. I will see if I can learn more.¡± Julia said, snapping out the quick sentences to head off their impatience. Analysis: Chaos lock [Chaos lock: This curse allows the caster to block various aspects of the target. The caster can determine additional curse conditions and their specific triggers as proficiency progresses.] Analysis: Physical capabilities (Locked) [Physical capabilities: A curse condition preventing any physical action; it also suppresses involuntary reactions. Though the target will still experience all sensation, they cannot communicate or control any physical aspect. Analysis: Spiritual State (Locked) [Spiritual State: A curse condition preventing the target¡¯s use of innate powers, recovery of mana, or recovering from channelling strain.] Analysis: Dimensional Shift (Locked) [Dimensional Shift: A curse condition preventing any sort of planar shift. Also prevents effects from Blink, and other forms of Teleport from activating on the target.] [Arcane (3 -> 8) Analysis [Ap](9->11)] Explanation of the curse and its conditions caused both Alfarr and Verdandi to stop in contemplation. The last information provided Julia¡¯s attention turned to the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar. Three black ouroboros bands squeezed into its flesh. The first set around its neck, the others set more sadistically. Each bound a wrist to the opposite leg and made the limbs awkwardly cross each other. Likely the only reason they hadn¡¯t pulled it into a tighter ball was that the now missing void chains had needed some slack to contort it. Analysis provided her with no details on the bands, though they weren¡¯t simple metal. Julia had been using Mana Sense on them when a gasp from the door interrupted the silence in the room. The sound a precursor to V¨ªearr¡¯s charge, his swinging sword lit with a blessing¡¯s light, leading the way as he struck out at her. {{Kill him}} Her mind flickered fast, and even as a course of action occurred to her, it was over. Not that V¨ªearr was slow by normal standards, it just hadn¡¯t been clear to Julia how unnatural she had become. Shapeshift required a mental image and time to reform her body. Now it seemed not even intent, perhaps only idle thought and reflex now needed. V¨ªearr''s eyes went wide, flesh slammed against the stone. The sharp odour of urine, keeping company with burning Demonic flesh and blood. The Lj¨®s¨¢lfar¡¯s body had fallen practically beside the door, and Julia had been close by. There had been almost no warning, but it seemed for V¨ªearr that was still too much. He should have struck true, indeed would have, if Julia had been her mortal self. Now instead, the roles were reversed, and from him, there would be no response. ¡°By Tyr,¡± Verdandi breathed. A spin had shifted her facing, and while the turn had been fast enough to glimpse the glowing steel. That had already been too late. Her gaze now followed the twitching motions of heels thumping against the stone. And the thing in the room. ¡°Julia?¡± Alfarr questioned, uncertainty colouring his tone. His gaze swept over where she had been standing, as his axe appeared. ¡°Wait.¡± Her voice, still feminine but distorted, no longer gasping for air, came whispered from within the mass. The thing in front of them flexed and shifted in its bizarreness. Cables that looked shaped of ropey muscle had speared outwards and pinned V¨ªearr¡¯s body to the wall. The cables were supporting their mass and that of the burly priest¡¯s body. Even as it twitched and shook, the cables shifted it about with apparent ease, and their eyes traced over the distorted figure that no longer even looked humanoid. Much of the body of the Succubus seemed to make up those masses of flesh. A cat¡¯s cradle of armoured cables had netted protectively over the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar. The sword from V¨ªearr¡¯s hand had fallen and speared down into their mass. The blade presently stuck out of Demonic flesh, but it hadn¡¯t struck the celestial. Stolen story; please report. No celestial resistance. No mana resistance increase. Too much time playing mercer. Motion in the cables tossed it away from Lj¨®s¨¢lfar and Demonic flesh alike as ¡®Julia¡¯ set V¨ªearr on his feet. The others could see the cables hadn¡¯t pierced; instead, they''d shoved, then pinned. Large, frond-like shapes were evident at the end of those cables as they drew back to reform her body. Yet some remained to block any passage through the doorway. A charred wound showing on a reformed leg faded as they watched. Julia could see her health had yet to return to normal. However, in returning to mortal form, all her other wounds had sealed, and breathing eased. Fuck. So I didn¡¯t have to put up with snorkelling in blood? ¡°Demoness, what have you done to them?¡± V¨ªearr questioned, his eyes darting about as he looked for a way to flee. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, and I doubt you¡¯ll keep up.¡± Julia retorted, her annoyance clear in her tone even with the words spat in English. ¡°What tongue are you speaking now???¡± V¨ªearr asked, his eyes seeking hard across the three of them. {{Two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. Yet it¡¯s now at five.}} <> {{Kill him. The little judge doesn¡¯t trust us.}} ¡°A mortal tongue, you don¡¯t speak. I¡¯ve not done anything to them. Truth is powerful. I agreed to provide some help to Verdandi. The destruction of the altar of Set was part of that. Still have to get this Lj¨®s¨¢lfar¡¯s free since he''s alive.¡± Julia said. Feeling as if the closeness of further injury to the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar, it had stroked a wave of anger in her. ¡°Julia, enough. I¡¯ll explain the situation to V¨ªearr. Alfar, if you would see what you can determine of the bands. I think that would be a sensible place to start.¡± Verdandi said. ¡°I would have thought the business with Livia¡¯s Soul would have made my weirdness obvious to him,¡± Julia said, looking between them. ¡°Or were you just happy to ignore the fact that even though there was a bond between us, the girl¡¯s Soul stayed pure?¡° ¡°You had a bond to that child?! I need to warn others.¡± V¨ªearr exclaimed, looking at Verdandi, confusion and concern weighing on his face as he looked at the High Justice. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you see the bond?¡± Julia asked, surprised at the statement. ¡°Not every priest can see Souls. I received a Valkyrie¡¯s blessing years ago. V¨ªearr, I suggest we talk in another room. You can establish a field of truth for your reassurance, and I¡¯ll explain what I know. I recorded part of the information in my trial journal. Julia, please clear the doorway.¡± Verdandi said, gesturing towards the blockage. ¡°Yes, High Justice,¡± Julia replied softly, resisting the urge to tweak V¨ªearr¡¯s beard. Instead, merely withdrawing the cables back into herself. V¨ªearr just looked at her in disbelief. When his eyes glanced at his sword, she backed away and allowed him to collect it without issue. That he kept his eyes on her wasn¡¯t a concern, just completely understandable. Not getting attacked again was a bonus prize. Yep, who wouldn¡¯t monitor the Demoness in the room. ¡°No more of those ship ropes while we sort this out,¡± Alfarr said, moving to look over the bands on the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar. ¡°I thought you were a warrior, then you did that jumping with flames thing,¡± Julia said, still curious about what had gone on. ¡°That¡¯s cause I am. I¡¯m also a Sorcerer.¡± Alfar replied and pointing at the band reminded her of the work ahead. ¡°Let me guess. Elemental fire?¡± Julia asked, remembering the living flame that had rolled off him. ¡°No, and we have things to achieve. Hopefully, Yngvarr returns shortly. Also put some clothes on, cause I think that contributed to V¨ªearr¡¯s state.¡± Oh, Fuck! I¡¯m doing it again! Okay, so what do you do, pal. Analysis: Protean [Protean: This power provides the ability to shape forms that are beyond the constraints of flesh. Reformation from almost complete physical destruction requires only sufficient rank and quiet time. All transformation effects can occur instantly. Ranks determine the possessor¡¯s ability to decrease or increase the mass of their forms. Levels provide fine control based on the percentage of maximum capacity used in a form. Forms can be a mixture of organic and non-organic materials. Mystical materials are not available for any form. The primary limitation on a form is imagination. Though most of the near mindless entities that possess this power use truly bizarre forms. High ranks allow the mass to fold into the spaces beyond. Making those so proficient particularly difficult to end in battle. ] Can make anything material. Darn so need to level this power. Not caring what anyone else thought of strange clothes. Suddenly she wore a pair of cargo pants, a kitsune themed t-shirt, a pair of sneakers, and lovely modern style underwear. Sweet Alfarr just took in her new clothing and after a curious look turned his attention back to the bands. ¡°Alfarr, how do you know they¡¯re not trapped or related to another condition of the curse?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but we need to do something. We can¡¯t just leave him this way.¡± Alfarr replied. ¡°Not suggesting we do nothing, but we¡¯ve rushed into things twice. At present he can hear us, he can feel, he just can¡¯t respond. First, let''s get another blanket, maybe a cot or a pallet.¡± ¡°By the All-Father. Caught up in wanting to set him free. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± ¡°Just tell me where and I¡¯ll get them. I¡¯m sure he¡¯d prefer not to be alone in a room with me, and V¨ªearr I¡¯m sure would freak.¡± Julia said, holding up a palm to reinforce he should stay put. The directions from Alfarr were easy enough to follow. Sweeping up the things from the upstairs guest bedroom into inventory, it didn¡¯t take long before she was heading back to the chamber. A raised voice made her detour, knocking firmly on the door. She didn¡¯t wait for a response and pushed the door open. ¡°There is a celestial in a bad way. So how about we table everything else for a bit?¡± Julia inquired as she looked between them and caught the hostile look from V¨ªearr immediately. ¡°The High Justice has been going over your..¡± He started angrily but paused in confusion at what she was wearing. ¡°Whatever. Right now there is a celestial to save, so pull your head out of your arse. Tyr didn¡¯t object to providing the blessing to save Livia, despite our bond. Focus on saving them, and we can talk a bunch afterwards.¡± Julia said, jumping into his pause. Her words running right over him when he tried to start again. ¡°How can you say his name?¡± ¡°What, Tyr? Why wouldn¡¯t I be able to do so? He let you folks channel that blessing for Livia, never going to have a bad thing to say about him. Now come on. Alfarr wanted to pull the magical bands off him. Impatient fellow.¡± Julia shook her head. Turning on her heel, she walked away, ignoring the surprised look on V¨ªearr as she did. Clapping her hands together as she called back to them, ¡°Now people.¡± They¡¯d already gotten the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar laying on his side, and ¡®tucked¡¯ into the bed before the priests made their appearance. ¡°Should I leave you folks to it?¡± Julia asked. ¡°If you are going around the town, you might wish to change your clothing,¡± Alfarr said, giving her a nod. ¡°Can I borrow your courtyard instead?¡± Julia asked and continued before Alfarr could ask. ¡°I¡¯ll just practice my unarmed fighting style. That way if you need me to check anything with Analysis. Well, you¡¯ll know where to find me.¡± Alfarr showed her out to the back courtyard and let her out through the inner wards of the house. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t what you did to help purify Livia work here?¡± Alfarr asked. ¡°No idea, but neither of us needs to be the hero of this hour. I¡¯m strong enough to admit when I don¡¯t have a darn clue. Speaking of no clue, what the heck happened with the Altar?¡± Julia asked. ¡°That High Altar was basically pure chaos in a very thin shell. So we did the only thing possible with so little known of it. Set it adrift between the planes of reality.¡± [Planar Lore (9->10) ¡°It¡¯s not destroyed. Just swept it under the rug?¡± Julia asked, unhappy with the out of sight, out of mind approach with something that dangerous. ¡°Something like that.¡± ¡°You know when you do that; the dust is still there. It¡¯s not gone, just someone else¡¯s problem.¡± ¡°Like the celestial?¡± Alfarr asked, causing Julia¡¯s eyes to narrow at the dig she felt. {{He mocks!!}} ¡°Seriously, I¡¯m not so insecure that I have to be the one saving them. They need help. Am I the best person, the most experienced? No.¡± Julia said, shaking her head to give emphasis to the denial, as she fought the urge to punch him. ¡°I was told I could purify Livia via the bond. That''s the reason I tried it solo. Also, it¡¯s not just the three or four of you when Yngvarr gets back, is it? There are other Temples here. Even if they can¡¯t help, Yngvarr can teleport and find more.¡± ¡°Good point. Out in the wilderness dealing with monsters, one gets accustomed to being the only ones on hand,¡± Alfarr said, clearly considering the point she¡¯d made. ¡°Seriously, it¡¯s like trying to get a guy to ask for directions. Just really glad V¨ªearr got cleaned up somehow, that would mortify most. I don¡¯t need to give them more reasons to hate me.¡± ¡°True,¡± Alfarr said, walking back inside and letting the wards secure the doorway. Well, I guess I¡¯ve got some open space, and time to wait. So since I kept the injured shape, it kept the injuries and was healing. Will have to remember that. Harmony and Ki Mediation were enough to set aside the concern twisting inside, and Julia focused on what was possible. Wait, practice, and then practice some more.
The house had remained silent as she did katas and shadowboxed in the courtyard. Julia tested the new flexibility of her form through various techniques. While there had been the weight of eyes from time to time, no one had come out to talk in the hours that had passed. Indeed, the day¡¯s light had long since faded when it opened again. The massive figures that loomed within the house made it obvious Torm had rejoined things. Julia paused her practice at the sight of Torm and Alfarr coming out in the courtyard. ¡°How is he?¡± ¡°Freed. Come through. We¡¯ve things we need to tell you.¡± Torm said. His deep bass and choice of words seemed as if they should fill her with dread, but yet they didn¡¯t. Torm turned away, leaving her to follow or not, apparently at her own choosing. While the choice felt a mean illusion to Julia, it was only that, an illusion. For whatever bad news that waited, it was still information that she didn¡¯t currently possess. Still, there was something within her that seemed to take the weight of crushing despair and merely set it aside. Alfarr gestured for her to follow but she paused and her words contained an edge she hadn''t intended. "Why would you have finished me?" "Planar entities that can reform on their home plane become locked to them for a century when their form gets destroyed elsewhere, no exceptions," Alfarr stated, nodding continually as he finished. "Right?" "Yes," replied Julia hesitantly, wondering why he was stating the obvious. Alfarr stopped nodding and shook his head sharply. "Wrong. If the one who destroyed their form gives permission to come forth again, they not only can, but it breaks the planar lock for any other circumstances. Giving permission is normally via a summoning, but as long as they expressly get permission, it counts. There have been a few Demons that have tried to trick¡ªor had attempts made to force¡ªYngvarr into doing so after he''s put them down," explained Alfarr. "If you were on the way out and I finished you, then we might have been able to call you back. There are also some entities that it doesn''t even stick, but that''s not likely in your case." "I didn''t know that," admitted Julia, feeling sheepish at how his words had hurt. "I just thought you considered my usefulness over." Alfarr winced at her reply. "That wasn''t what I meant, sorry. Come on, let''s join the gathered horde. They''re in the spell casting chamber still. I''ll buy you a mead¡ªor twenty¡ªlater to apologise." Julia laughed but headed into the house; the explanation made her feel far lighter inside. Her first step through the spell chamber''s door hit like being doused in cold water. The mortal form slipped from her and the base Succubus form reestablished itself. Finding herself in that shape, in a room full of folks she didn¡¯t know, was not a way to make her happy, especially since the faux-clothing flowed away with the rest of it. To be back in that full-breasted, lascivious form that heralded the start of her existence in the Abyss was unbalancing; and made her grind her teeth when in full display of a group of Celestials. {{Run. Kill.}} <> ¡°Really. Warn a girl.¡± Julia said, folding her wings about her to regain some sense of decorum in front of the strangers. Except for Yngvarr and Torm, the only other person she recognised was the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar. Yet that hardly counted since his name was unknown. ¡°We allow only truth in our presence. Your other shape was a deception.¡± The lady who spoke was an armoured winged woman, her armour and sheath carrying the symbol of Tyr. Despite looking like a classic Valkyrie, she wore a hauberk, a sword at her waist the only visible weapon carried. The wings raised from her back weren¡¯t feathery like in pictures but were instead shimmering radiant energy held in a hint of a form. ¡°If you¡¯d warned me. I would have got a blanket and not flashed everyone.¡± Julia said, trying to restrain the bite from her words. ¡°Irrelevant. We are here to speak to you about more important matters than flesh.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m listening,¡± groaned Julia, trying to keep the embarrassment from her voice. ¡°The All-Father has spoken, there is no way any of us nor the Elven Gods can remove your curse.¡± Fuck ¡°Why this gathering then?¡± ¡°To provide you with information and choices. Just as servants of the good Deities can fall, Demons can rise. However, this is not something accomplished with anyone¡¯s help. Yet rather their own endeavours and decisions.¡± ¡°How?¡± Julia asked, her mind setting aside her nakedness as it flittered from her concerns. Her wings flicked back of their own violation, as her gaze stayed fixed on the woman. ¡°That is where things are uncertain given your nature and your Oath. The fallen can redeem their deeds, make amends for the actions that cast them down. Oaths formed by the bond of ¡®True name¡¯ are difficult to break, and would hold you to the Abyss unless broken or the holder also redeems.¡± {{Break her.}} <> Fuck redeeming her. ¡°Still doesn¡¯t explain the committee,¡± Julia said, forcing her eyes to take in the varied individuals gathered. It had been hard to make them out previously, and most in the gathering still challenged her perceptions. Forms whose shapes made no sense, despite what she¡¯d seen in the Abyss. Yet their strangeness didn¡¯t feel as it would break her. Rather, they were just more than the reality of this place, greater instead of a perversion of it. ¡°We¡¯re here to bear witness to what you decide. Also to provide what information we can. Some here have knowledge of the Abyss and the Order that binds you; others represent the Elven Courts.¡± The healed Lj¨®s¨¢lfar said. Though he still seemed to bear some strain from his torment. Yet the fragile state was no longer present, and he shone with a beauty that made him hard to look at directly. Evergreen hair whose length seemed uncertain, amber eyes shifted to grass green and back again, and wings that had been absent flickered between bird forms. Other snippets of colours, skin tone and weaponry were all her senses collected while still taking in his words. 28 - A Light in the Darkness ¡°I was unaware of that aspect of her aura,¡± said Yngvarr. Offering her a long cloak, the satiny fabric spilling off his hand, looked inviting. The apology that was on offer clear, even before he nodded his head. ¡°It¡¯s not much. Hopefully, though, it lets you feel more comfortable. Please sit, this might take a while.¡± The Elf seemed skilled at his simple gestures, being more. Indeed, in this room full of celestials whose form challenged the mind; he acted to allow her to regain balance. He pointed to a flat backless chair that someone had set near the door. Its form reminded her of the Sisterhood chamber, even as it contrasted the difference. The unadorned chair showed craftsmanship and care in all its lines, projecting a simple grace. Its beauty was simple, yet beyond the overdone adornments prized by them. Making use of it, Julia covered her seated form with the cloak, fussing slightly while draping it about herself to form a makeshift toga. ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s the worst news I¡¯ve heard. Who will tell me what breaking free from an Oath forged with a ¡®True Name¡¯ requires?¡± Julia asked. Even though she felt it futile, her gaze went over the figures gathered. They ranged from almost human beautiful as the Valkyrie, through beings that were beyond ordinary perception. Yet while other sights struck at her mind, the beings here were captivating in their inhuman beauty and grace. They weren¡¯t a blight on this place; indeed, reality itself seemed reaffirmed by their presence. The figure that ¡®stepped¡¯ forward, or perhaps willed a shift in reality, was one such. Its form seemed composed in ways she couldn¡¯t explain, even to herself. Shapes forming it were in constant motion folded on their edges into and around reality. The movement projecting such grace and beauty, it was hard to watch them and still focus on their words. ¡°You might refer to me as Midy?ci. That is the first seventh of seven segments of my title.¡± As it spoke, the celestial words it used to communicate felt like an orchestra playing inside the fibres of Soul. Sounds carrying more meaning than mere words, each felt intoned, indeed resonated with a blessing. Yet unlike the chanted blessings, its words in celestial didn¡¯t melt from her mind. Instead, they continued to refine their clarity and more profound meaning as each sung through her. ¡°The key to your situation lies in the process tool they used. Since they bound the Oath to you by the power of your ¡®True Name¡¯, reforging it will free you. While there are several ways to do so, considering the entity you deal with. I would advise you to reach the rank of Demon Lady before starting¡­.¡± Julia¡¯s mind threatened to capsize back for a moment before it righted itself, some of its words becoming lost in the gap. ¡°Wait, please. I¡¯m sorry. I lost you there. Why would I need that rank? What are the other options?¡± Julia asked, feeling as if her heart should be racing. Her mind shuddered away from the concept of being in the Abyss for eons. ¡°Very well, let us explore the proper scope of things. For Demons, they can reforge their ¡®True Name¡¯ in three ways. First, undertaking it themselves when they reach Named rank or higher. Second, through permitting a Demon of higher rank to reforge it for them. You relinquish choice of the reforged name to the other¡¯s will. However, I would not suggest this course. This brings us back to the suggestion of gaining the rank of Demon Lady first. How do you think she¡¯d react if a lesser being broke her grip?¡± asked Midy?ci. The tones of the question, though, already provided indications of the fate that awaited. ¡°Oh. I see. Dissolution wouldn¡¯t be enough. She would need to cause their suffering, make them scream for an age or more.¡± Julia said, remembering the consuming void that had been present in her gaze. ¡°Indeed. Pride has always filled her, along with the grandeur of Importance. Among the higher planes, not all celestial beings serve a Deity. Those that possess sufficient power or focus need not enter such service. Regardless, they put forth that they sought a place of service. None, however, were worthy of the perfection of their service. Even as she grew jealous, others had a home and received recognition from those they willingly served. ¡° What a twatopotamus! She sounds so vain, that song is about her. ¡°Her arrogant scheming provoked the eldest of Tiamat¡¯s brood into the world. Leviathan¡¯s wrath destroyed much of the Elven races, extinguishing the Sun Elf species completely. They all fell in battle, seeking to protect the retreat of those that revered them. The Titan released four of his stronger servants to end the conflict.¡± Midy?ci explained, his tones carrying a confirmation of Julia¡¯s observation. The inflection shivered through her and brought her overripe sweetness to her mind, in contemplation of the Lady¡¯s nature. ¡°Is that when she gained the Leviathan¡¯s shed blood for her rituals?¡± Julia asked. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You have seen the Leviathan¡¯s blood?¡± Valkyrie asked the scolding look she got from Torm not lost on Julia. Given his interruptions the other night, it was amusing. ¡°If it was its blood. They made me kneel on it when forcing my ¡®True Name¡¯ from me. The Oath referred to kneeling on the last blood shed from the Leviathan.¡± ¡°That conflict indeed led to the final shedding of its blood. The four servants drove the Leviathan back into the Abyss. Instead of just sealing it within the Abyss. On his orders, they hunted it and its hordes across each of its home planes. On many layers of the Abyss, they lay waste to cities while seeking to corner it. They were intent on destroying it each for its ill deed against the Elven races, but mostly for the lost Anar and L¨®m?. Till at last, they cornered it with no other plane to use as a retreat. Cornered animals fight the fiercest, so the final battle cost much. Only one servant returned to bear witness that Leviathan was no more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s two ways. So the third option is worse?¡± ¡°One, we hope you do not seek. Since it involves proceeding beyond the rank of Demon Lady, you would become one of the Dark Gods. In that process, your ¡®True Name¡¯ would reforge itself by your actions.¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah, not happening. I want freedom from the Abyss not to stay there.¡± Julia said, dread shuddering through her at the thought. The bell-like tones about the chamber carried with it their shared amusement at her reaction, and perhaps relief. ¡°What about the Sisterhood?¡± ¡°Oddly enough, they are what they claim. The order is neutral in their malice and open to hiring for tasks from any willing to pay their fee, which brings us to what we propose. We would have you be a light in the darkness. Find and exchange verified information on the demonic forces. Weaken groups who press the worst against those that would hold back the Abyss. Free captives you find held within it. Never would there be tasks, only opportunities¡ªinformation about possibilities for power. Locations to find suitable foes worth hunting. There are always places one can learn useful information. Where and when you act is yours to control.¡± ¡°How will that help your conflict?¡± ¡°The conflict is eternal. It is not a matter of momentary advantage we seek. With your situation, it is best to let risky opportunities pass by for a surer one, even if it makes a smaller difference. In that way, you also gain safety as others see actions undertaken as an idle fancy, not understanding their importance and thus not looking to see who gained. We do not fight a war that makes sense to you in mortal terms. A Champion absent from the battle, or at another, has swayed much. ¡° ¡°Or a Champion arriving when they believe them to be elsewhere.¡± The Valkyrie interjected, as she did, the Midy?ci¡¯s focus seemed to snap to her before returning to Julia. She¡¯s going to get herself smacked. {{Maybe she likes it. We should smack her. Grind against her. Make her beg.}} <> ¡°When you achieve things merely let the proper people know. They would arrange compensation for your efforts. There are means to arrange communications. Neutral places maintained by parties interested in the swap of information. Sometimes for prices that seem quite rich in exchange.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t this be dangerous to you if the Sisterhood learnt of it? They could make me betray you.¡± Julia said. ¡°Exactly why you are not acting for us. We would intend to provide information where you might advance the most. Then reward you for acting against those you would fight, regardless. As long as you are weakening forces somewhere in the Abyss, we would be glad to reward and assist you.¡± ¡°Plus, it fits for us to help you gain strength to break free from the chains which bind you.¡± The Valkyrie added, ¡°my Li¨¨ge would rejoice in any victory you had in freeing yourself from her slavery.¡± {{Make the birdie chirp for us.}} ¡°Honestly, it might take a while before I act on any information. Receiving ¡®instruction¡¯ at present.¡± Julia said, biting off the words when images suggesting Naz¡¯s next plans came to mind. ¡°I will discuss this with you. There are ways to manipulate their orders and egos. Just have to get them thinking they¡¯ll benefit.¡± said the Valkyrie. Interrupting Midy?ci again, her excitement at getting the best in a field of conflict, even by proxy obvious. Torm put a finger to the Valkyrie¡¯s lips to cut off any further suggestions. ¡°Let Midy?ci explain. Your hammering version of manipulation isn¡¯t subtle.¡± Torm said, giving Julia a look of concerned warning. ¡°Help in planning your endeavours might reveal itself.¡± {{Kill them, gain power.}} <> Oh yeah, killing demons, I¡¯m all for that. ¡°Yeah. Let¡¯s do this.¡± ¡°There are lore books in places where someone might find them. Sometimes holders of knowledge are careless. And we will not invite you to conversations, then again you might overhear. That is not our concern. We give you nothing after all. Though often mercenaries gain rewards in many conflicts.¡± OH Julia couldn¡¯t help it; she just had to laugh. Demons weren¡¯t the only ones that could play word games. They would do things in such a way, so she could always tell a fact as truth even if it wasn¡¯t the whole truth. There was a sense of amusement from the others. Suddenly the crowded room became nearly emptied. Only Yngvarr, Torm and the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar remained, yet merriment echoed still within the room¡¯s stonework. The Lj¨®s¨¢lfar moved forward and gave her bow with a grace that stole her breath away. ¡°I find myself in a strange situation. Never did I expect to be thankful for a Succubus¡¯ presence.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just sorry for what you went through,¡± Julia said, the memory of his wounds still far too fresh. ¡°It was my mistake. I missed seeing the trap. Overconfidence is not a trait well spoken of for a good reason. May you find your way to freedom, and peace in the Lady¡¯s groves.¡± Giving her another bow, he vanished, leaving the scent of rich soil and blooming flowers behind. 29 - Going under... There was only the softest click as the door shut, and Julia speechlessly stood regarding the yummy sight waiting for her. When she received the token and a wink from the cute server, this hadn¡¯t been among her expectations. If Torm failed to rush in to smite her, or the lightning blue wards didn''t explode, this could actually be a happy ending for her. Julia figured she might have a hope of that occurring, given the delights that lay out before her. Taking a step forward, Julia found that the desire to moan aloud was almost overwhelming. Inhaling the scents of the room, she let her eyes roam over the delightful surprise someone naughty had arranged. Now, this is what I call a full-body service. At last, I can¡¯t believe it. Oh, my gosh... I already feel wet. ¡°Well, I hope you¡¯ll be nice to me.¡± Mentally storing the local clothes in her inventory, she swayed forward, her eyelids heavy with desire. The warm air of the room caressed her skin, each step a silken pulse of expected pleasure. Julia inhaled deeply, pausing with concern when wondering if she should do this now. Got to some have fun, just don''t break them. With that thought firmly in mind, she closed the gap between them and allowed pleasure to enfold her. Skin shivering as the firmness behind contrasted delightfully to the warmth against flesh. Sighing, she leaned back against the marble bath''s sloping side and looked around at the truly decadent bathroom. Golden oak panelling merged almost seamlessly with the flooring, broad cuts of the same golden oak had formed the floor. It had been slightly strange underfoot as if it had been holding each footstep. Reaching out to run a damp finger over polished flooring, she expected the wetness to slide across its surface, so the resistance offered to the motion was surprising. Neat, a non-slip floor, made of this lovely summery wood. Wonder if its magic from the wards or treatment. Settling on the curved seat set in the bath¡¯s wall, she stretched out her legs and wiggled her toes, but still couldn''t touch the far side. Tracing a finger over the tub''s whitish-blue stone, the crystal bottles sitting within reach were tempting. Sniffing one after another before eventually finding a rose lavender mix that appealed, Julia settled in for a soak with the lovely scent. Eyes trailing over the fancy statuettes carved from the same stone, figures of nymphs and fauns. They cradled each other just hinting coyly at their evenings ¡®plans¡¯, and thinking about what fun ''they'' might have had in this magical tub amused her. Length of sheer fabrics hung in arcs from the ceiling, softening the light that shone from various crystals set into its high arches. A little piece of heaven at last. A while later, feeling lovely and relaxed, she marvelled at what warm water could achieve despite her immunity to Fire. The plans for the weeks ahead sat on her shoulders with mixed emotions. There was a clock ticking. It would likely be a rare chance of real relaxation available for some time.
Acknowledging yet another dawn¡¯s alert, Julia accepted the option to consume a Soul shard. At first, it had twisted like a blade, wondering what was done was deserved. Yet via the same process used on Wajat¡¯s Soul, Julia had discovered these Souls'' misdeeds. Now the only issue was they were inside her, and that twisted her stomach with discontent. Reading historical accounts of slavers in school had been one thing; it was another to peer into Souls. Experiencing the deeds they¡¯d considered just part of the job was bad enough. Even worse were the side benefits they¡¯d sought. After her examinations began, more than a few trapped in the amber state had chunks missing from critical spots. They had exchanged the chit given at entry into the town last week. It had been delightful watching the inner gate guard¡¯s face when he¡¯d been told of her extension of access rights. Julia had enjoyed giving him a smug smile as he noted the chit down in the ledger. It was quite clear that Torm didn¡¯t quite approve of that conduct, but given the guard been such a complete twat, enjoying a bloodless victory was fine with her. They had disposed the contents of the Priestess pouch, and Livia had a bit of a fund set up between a few merchant houses. While Julia knew Livia was out of the infirmary, she hadn¡¯t seen her. There also was a lot of news other than Torm¡¯s reassure that Livia would be a welcome guest in the Tyr¡¯s Temple. Returning to Janus¡¯ novice training was something that Livia had dismissed entirely without prompting. Livia had decisions ahead, but she¡¯d have time to think over her options. The dagger of torture and the slumber potion had contributed to lessons with Yngvarr in tearing apart enchantments. Afterwards, it had been delightful watching the blade go into an apprentice forge, mixed in with the rest of the scrap pile. The Journeyman in charge had only argued till he learnt the dagger¡¯s history. With that information, he told the assigned apprentice to turn it into a blob. Julia hadn¡¯t left till it was well and truly ruined. It was absolutely one hundred percent to ensure the dagger¡¯s end. Certainly not because of the broad shoulders or flexing muscles, she could see about the forge. Torm¡¯s grumbles about watching a meal being prepared were the amusing icing on the cake. Spending the nights reading books on Abyssal planes and demonic foes, and the days in practice engaged with Temple guards had left her craving more than a bit of fun. Especially after discovering among the books of lore the fate she¡¯d avoided on those cliffs. The constant patrols for new Succubi were to ensure the local Lord¡¯s harems, and their army¡¯s comfort quarters were stocked. The notifications of mental hardening announced its progress and told her of the nightmares she¡¯d avoided due to not sleeping.
As Julia opened the tavern¡¯s door, she let the draft in enough to clear the smokey air ahead. The sound drew the local¡¯s gaze calling them to assess her. Yet her own perception had picked out the most dangerous in return. She glided with balanced grace to the bar; the fluid movements captivating enough to silence a few conversations. They didn¡¯t seem to assess her now as a danger. Just perhaps wondering how much the company would cost them. Sultry eyes slid about the place, noting the individual she was interested in, but she was careful not to give them attention. The bartender seemed happy to stand where the cut of her ¡®local top¡¯ revealed a valley of honey tanned skin. Julia had set the dark blond hair curls to cascade off her shoulders to a suitable length to attract attention. Shifting her head slightly caused the locks to sway in deliberate movements, teasing across the lush cleavage he was admiring. ¡°Ale,¡± Julia said. Her husky contralto still needed more practice to get the best purr, but it certainly drew the bartender¡¯s attention to her mouth. The lush lips wider than some preferred, but they suited the broader cheekbones and the dark blue eyes. ¡°Two bronze. Not seen you about the dock district before.¡± You come here often, honey. Julia set down four coins instead of two but kept her finger on top of them. ¡°Boat came in earlier today. I¡¯m looking for lodgings and work. Would you know where I could lay my head down tonight?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there are a few places. But what brings you to Eyrarh¨¢ls woman? With your looks, you must have someone at home.¡± ¡°Looking for work, my hand fastened got himself killed by hobs a few years back. Tried to keep patience. But I got tired and lonely with others not wanting to be friends. I can cook, sew, dance and a few other things.¡± {{Don¡¯t cook. Just cut his face off.}} Don¡¯t seem too eager, J. Just got to barf, at least pretend to mentally when done. Turning on Telepathy, she brushed the mind of the fellow that had required attention. The thoughts were what she¡¯d expected, and he already had set himself her way. In such a rough place his belt pouch heavy weighted with coin should have made him a target, but no one moved. His enormous frame carried extra mass, more than it had when he was younger, but he still moved like someone used to causing lots of harm to others. {{Eat them all.}} <> So glad I don¡¯t have to breathe. Still smelt worse. [Acting (19->[B](1)) Seduction (16->18) Perception ([Ap] 12->13) Danger Sense (10->11)] Seriously, not sure they¡¯re a danger to me. But okay, maybe because I¡¯m picking up ill intent. Maybe it¡¯s just because I¡¯m looking for folks, looking for prey. Need to be paying attention? Be Paranoid J? ¡°Well, I can¡¯t let a new lady be buying her drinks.¡± A large hand reached past her to put two bronze coins next to hers. Mead laced the breath that wafted past, yet unexpectedly there wasn¡¯t any bad breath, though his shirt didn¡¯t smell the freshest. Julia looked at the big man that had approached as if she was considering his offer¡ªletting a half-smile flicker over her mouth before withdrawing two of her coins. Yeah, okay, I can see where you¡¯re looking. [Telepathy [B] (9 -> 10) Sense Motive (11->12)] Oh, nice. You folks have time to stretch your legs again. Need to branch out from combat practice and hitting the books. ¡°You haven¡¯t done this much before, have you?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°What but¡­¡± Julia said as she let her eyes go wide with shock and then chuckled, ¡°No, I haven¡¯t. Name¡¯s Runhild. I caught the boat south from Moorufell. I was told Eyrarh¨¢ls would provide opportunities for coin and let me get my feet under me.¡± She shifted her balance to let her hips tilt and cause the fabric of her dress to brush gently against his leg. [Acting ([B]2->3) Seduction(18->19)] ¡°Leidolf, it''s good to meet you. Moorufell¡¯s well north. I hope you have family in these parts.¡± Leidolf said, introducing himself. ¡°No, but there were no opportunities left in my village. A few former friends suggested a fresh start.¡± Julia said, amused that he seemed to be buying things. ¡°Former?¡± Leidolf asked. [Mana spent: 5 Charm Mortal (5-> 6)] ¡°They got married before I did. Then after he died before the solstice festival well years went quick. One¡¯s husband had a lazy eye that always seemed out of control. Well, at least out of her control. She didn¡¯t like him looking, never believed me. Nothing happened, didn¡¯t fancy him, yet they still set against me.¡± Julia said, letting the bitterness she remembered from his old betrayal edge her voice. [Acting ([B]3->4)] ¡°I think we can talk about opportunities for you about the place. I had been going to eat dinner soon. Care to join me?¡± Leidolf asked. [Mana spent: 5 Surge Emotions (9->10) [Lust]] Yeah, you like the girls, don¡¯t you? Succubus issue for the win. ¡°That sounds good, Leidolf. I¡¯m sure we can find lots to talk about, lots and lots¡± Julia said, as she smiled. His eyes were too busy elsewhere to notice it didn¡¯t reach her eyes. His gaze seemed riveted on her breathing, or perhaps the valley at hand. [Acting ([B]4->5) Seduction(19->20)] Later that evening, there were some muffled cries and screams from the cellar of a business. The silversmith wasn¡¯t one to go near; he was a very touchy fellow, quick and known to anger. Mostly especially when he had an intoxicated lady present. However, the cries seemed much deeper pitched than usual, well, at least at first. They never saw one stranger named Runhild leaving, but there were fewer valuables inside the building when she did.
The aroma of baked bread had enticed her from a distance, even before the shop came in sight. Stopping in line behind others, she took in the serving lady''s red eyes. Putting their fresh dough into trays and giving them the chit tag. She stepped forward when it was her turn and gave her a smile of concern that took no acting. ¡°Eivor, how¡¯s your girl?¡± ¡°She still won¡¯t tell us who attacked her. I¡¯m sure she knows, but I can¡¯t get her to open up.¡± said Eivor, red eyes threatening to renew with tears, as she lowered her voice ¡°Hermod is furious, but no one he knows has heard a thing.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s afraid for you. Have you taken her up to the temple of Eir? The cuts should be seen to soon. More than the tinctures and clean bandages.¡± Julia said, keeping her voice as soft as Eivor¡¯s. The ladies who had joined the line, moved further to block any passerby¡¯s view of the counter. ¡°No, we¡¯re not among her followers, and..¡± ¡°They¡¯ll expect a donation since you¡¯ve not been supporting the Temple before now. Here,¡± Julia said, grabbing up her hand from the cloth she was twisting and pressed a weight into her palm. ¡°Why don¡¯t you see if they can help her today. Go soon.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t,¡± Eivor said, trying to protest and push back the purse. ¡°You can, I insist. Folks need to protect each other from predators, especially two-legged ones. Make sure they clean it completely. Best be sure nothing foul¡¯s set its way in.¡± [Surge Emotions (10->11) [Hope] Mana spent: 5] Just a little nudge of hope. <> Buying a small loaf from the Baker¡¯s stock, she left an emotionally buoyed Eivor and continued towards the common. Will need to see what else I have to clean up around here. Priests of Tyr can only tend to things when they''re allowed. With a monster¡¯s threat scaring the victim, there isn''t any testimony for judgement. Speaking up doesn¡¯t always feel like an option. Yet silence can¡¯t help them determine crimes.
Practising in the dawn¡¯s light always made the day feel better, yet today that wouldn''t be an option. Torm was monitoring Livia since she liked the dancing from her dreams. The mental Kata practice, while she''d been in Harmony¡¯s hold, must have sent more than emotions over. Profile
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 15 122,499 / 180,000
Wizard 2 2500 / 4000
Succubus 7 32,140 / 40,000
Defence 36
Melee Attack Power 58 Health 527
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 29
Quickness 26
Intelligence 25 Ki 63
Willpower 41 Mana 102
Charisma 24
Affinities Darkness, Time, Mental, Abyssal, Jade Court, Lightning
Spell Forms Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion (11), Tracing Missile [B] 1, Trip (9), Cloak (12)
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (10), Electricity - Minor (10)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (6), Blink [J] (2), Corruption (5), Dark Sight (10), Demonic Pact (5), Energy Drain (14), Flight [J] (1), Harmony [J] (33), Ki Movement [J] (1), Ki Strike [J] (15), Mana Sense [J] (15), Protean [Ap] (22), Soul Sight [J](14), Telepathy [B] (8), Teleport (Self): [B] (1), Translate Languages [J] (6),
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (1), Acrobatics [Ap] (1). Acting[B](5), Analysis [J](5), Bite [Ap] (5), Bluff (16), Claws [J] (1), Climbing [Ap] (1), Danger Sense (11), Disguise [B][(9), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (1), Haggling [Ap](2), Intimidation (19) , Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [J] (25), Mana Manipulation [J](5), Mental Hardening [J] (19), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [Ap] (18), Profile Control (17), Rope Use(9), Seduction(20), Sense Motive (11), Spear [J](1), Stealth [J](3), Taunt (6), Tactics [Ap](2), Time Sense [Ap] (7), Torture (10), Unarmed Combat [J] (25)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [Ap](1), Arcane [B] (5), Celestial Lore (15), Demonic Lore [Ap] (22), Hidden Lore (11), Planar Lore [B](14), Planar Portals [Ap](3), Skill Lore (4)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English, Norse
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 6
Max Capacity 26/60 Kilograms
Stored Materials Assorted Lurker glands, meat and materials. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. The Agony of Horus. Bracers of Missile Negation. Pouch of Shielded Treasure (Empty), Norse styled cloths (4 Sets)
Carried:
Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s book of names.
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 115 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 0 Innocent Souls Bound 0
Soul Shards Consumed 115 Corruptions Failed 1
"If you can return that for me," Julia said, sliding the chit across the table to Yngvarr. "Take care, Julia. I''ll make sure Livia has a good chance to grow up safe. The celestials found a Monk tutor for her." Standing up as she felt the final Heat in her form fade, she mentally tucked her clothes into her Inventory. Taking Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s book of names into her arms, the now flaccid state of the hooks along its edges amused her. Especially since once Yngvarr had completed the adjustments, they''d also lost their edge. He''d also made some other changes that had kept her laughing for hours. Fuck you Tras¡¯laq¨¬ "Cool, at least one of us will know what we''re doing," Julia said, letting Harmony settle around her. Then, as the alert came up, she mentally choose returning to the Abyss. Instead of being pulled through the ice, she felt as if she was being dragged into a furnace. The light of the tunnel wasn''t the lovely colours of the last trip. Instead, they seemed to herald her destination, as the colours in the walls were the sick defiled shades she had seen from the altar of Set. The tunnel seemed to twist in on itself as the last moment, and as she came out of the blighted far end. She stood outside the massive metal gates of the Stronghold. "Novice J, reporting back. I need to speak to Naz¡¯rilca. I''ve retrieved an object for her assessment." Julia said, letting the guards see the mucus green covering. When presenting the book Julia got a surprise but not from it. As even without Soul Sight activated, the Souls of the damned were clearly visible and glowing through her skin. As each had contributed a shard to maintain her presence on the material plane, they had entered that frozen state. Over the months she had grown used to them seemingly in carbonite. Yet now they were no longer frozen, they also weren''t just flailing about. No, they were clearly screaming, and as she stood there waiting for a response, the wails of the damned from within her filled the surrounding air. I saw what you did to those people. The torture, the rapes, I don''t know the fate in store for you. With what was in your Souls, I''m not sure I care. "Welcome to the Abyss, Bitches!" Julia said, not bothered one bit by the harsh Abyssal tongue on her lips. 30 - Siren Song The scent of copper, iron, and ash that lay over the stronghold had barely registered when she was last here. Now they were seeping in through every pore of her skin, seeking an opportunity to invade her. While she had a plan, whether it would survive, contact with the enemy was still unknown. With the massive gates of the stronghold looming in front of her, uncertainty fought against will and focus, and its wards made her skin ache against bone. ¡°Novice, such a pleasurable chorus of damned there. Enter through the Sally-port now!¡± A tense voice called down, almost insistent with desire. Before she could ask what they meant, a spot past the gate¡¯s edge split open. As it parted, its interlocking sections looked like a fanged maw. The maw completed opening while Julia was still closing the distance. A Blink and she was stepping inside under the eyes of the murder holes lining the roof. Its confines barely gave space for wings, yet Julia kept them in case their absence would be an excuse for torture. Committed, she stepped forward into the maw''s bloodied throat smelling of rust, burnt flesh, and dank acidic odours. As the door closed behind her, Julia''s paranoia queried about the testing of the murder holes. A thought that made her aware of the coating on the stones oozing between her toes. The deep red stones they''d set the length of the passageway seemed to shimmer like fresh blood in the light of the writhing Souls. Heat from the Abyss rolled into her and sheathed them in flames. The fire reminding her of the branding irons from the slavers¡¯ memories. Their sick delight from marking men, women and children alike as property, that they valued less than the horses they rode. The dispelling of the original uncertainty of the harvested Soul¡¯s nature had provided a cold comfort. Yet that cold comfort evaporated as she strode through this passage of grim death, illuminated by the power of their despair. Memories were still not clear, yet the Demonic side had ignored helpless slaves and chased down Slavers once the camp came alive. The nature of their cruel Souls an alluring siren call beckoning her to prey. Her instinctive self had used Soul Sight that night, and the blackest Souls were its sweetest candy. It was hard to determine if it had killed the caravan leaders first due to them being a threat. Or simply because they promised such delicious darkness to tempt its taste buds. {{Such sweetness. We should eat them all up.}} <> {{WANT HIM MORE!!! They sing so sweetly.}} <> Taking a mental step away from her morbid thoughts, Harmony settled back in place, and the mists of Ki swirled about. While the lights were shimmering off the walls, the door within the stronghold opened. The Damned¡¯s concentrated screams cascaded from the tunnel as the structure acted as a megaphone to carry their cries. Finally, Julia was stepping out the far end as other sounds started up above the murder holes. ¡°Pet¡± The greeting from Naz¡¯rilca didn¡¯t whisper into Julia¡¯s ear. Instead, the skin of her neck pulsed as the word slid across it. A nuzzling of projected desire that slid breath down muscle line from jaw to the collarbone. The sound ended with a sensation like teeth nipping at the skin, seeking to drag her attention across the courtyard. Its desire was echoing the wet sound of flesh enclosing flesh that came from above with apparent rhythm. That¡¯s a duty station activity? Eyes sharpened with a thought, and the beckoning figure was clear to her gaze. Julia pictured her placement relative to where Naz¡¯rilca waited at a distance that Blink wouldn¡¯t cover quickly. Flight lifted her clear of stone as she activated Teleport. A double crack sounded out as vacuum rushed in, even as the air displaced from her new location, the violent noises like whips striking flesh. As targeted, Julia found herself some two metres in front of Naz¡¯rilca, and entirely above ground. Before addressing the Succubus, Julia let herself ease to stone, glad the line-of-sight teleport had succeeded. [Teleport (Self): [B] (1->2)] ¡°Senior Naz¡¯rilca,¡± Julia replied, endeavouring to keep her tone as professional as possible. Whatever was going on, she wanted to maintain control. [Acting [B](5->6)] Gladden with Heat and desire, Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s eyes swarmed over exposed skin, as the tip of tongue brushed and roamed against her upper lip. ¡°My, you have brought a surprise, little reaper. How do you hold so many??¡± Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s words breathed against the air, wafting the distance between them to rubbing and roaming against Julia. The desire tingling in the air slid across her breasts and spread silken heat over the skin. Each syllable was tracing an alternative path, licking over the fullness of her breasts, teasingly brushing breathless against the curve of the neck. As others sought to press with urgency tucked in under her earlobes, nipping while more licked flesh over the muscles of her abdomen. An unexpected sensation was twitching deep under their attentions, as lower and deeper flesh tightened and pulsed with unfilled need. That thought pulled her free of the siren¡¯s call that sought to lure and enfolded her. Hedonistic pleasure amplified spread themselves in offering against the armour of psyche. Hatred, and Ego, stood firm against the psyche¡¯s ID, as they locked armour in place, and raised the wall of defences. The coldness of intent holding firm as the fading sounds morphed into multiplying fingers and caressing tongues. Their motions were exploring, tasting so much of her flesh, as they sought places she¡¯d never shared. Julia stood straight as Harmony joined the defence on the ramparts of her mind. What the fuck. Keep control here, J. Oh, fuck, no! {{Fuck her! Kill her! RIP HER APART!}} <> [Sense Motive (20) -> [B](1)) Domination Unlocked. Domination (1)] ¡°I bring you a book requested by Tras¡¯laq¨¬, for your assessment,¡± Julia said, her voice sounding cold to her ears. Torm, sorry for teasing with the Smiths. ¡°Why should I care for some book? You didn¡¯t answer my question.¡± Naz¡¯rilca stated, sounding distracted as her words pressed themselves bodily against Julia, hands of sounds pushing into intimate places. Whatever the Succubus was doing, tried and failed to find enough purchase. Energy and Heat still clung to intimate places even as defences lessened the effect on her focus. They tangled themselves in the instinctive Heat of her flesh and sought to place their hooks. Even as Julia¡¯s mind and control held firm, wetness worked its way with teasing, tingly vibrations from within. Julia¡¯s eyes coldly regarded Naz¡¯rilca, as her combined control rejected her offers from her mind. Focused on her plan, she extended the book she held, the change in posture having an unexpected effect. Her arms¡¯ extension caused biceps to press against her sides and lifted her full breasts as if to present them for Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s attention. [Domination (1->3) Mental Hardening [J](19->20) Harmony [J] (33->34) Seduction (20 -> [B] (1))] ¡°He¡¯s offered service Debt in years for this book,¡± said Julia. Her tone a dry and scouring counter tone to Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s silken lushness. The professional conduct at odds in the extreme with the trickling sensation within her groin. The desperate sounds of the damned almost overlaying her words, Julia wished them still. Harmony and Ki misted unseen through flesh, setting them back within the carbonite effect that had previously suspended them. The luminance of their energy stilling under her skin and the lily-white of her nakedness resumed. [Harmony [J] (33->35) Ki Meditation [J] (25->26) Stimulation resisted. Stimulation unlocked. Stimulation (1) Stimulation synergy with Harmony detected. Harmony skill at Journeyman additional levels applied. Stimulation (1 -> [B] 10)] Naz¡¯rilca stared with disbelieving eyes as the bouncer slammed the door of the personalised strip club in her face. Her eyes tracing lines on flesh, disregarding the book offered to her, digging with hardened lust too intimately for Julia¡¯s taste. ¡°Two years or more per page depending on your assessment.¡± Julia recited calmly, her eyes returning Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s gaze with one that merely acknowledged and then gave her nothing in return. ¡°I had told him it was subject to your confirmation. He proposed that the new debt conditions were not to be worse, but the length of years was to subject to assessment.¡± ¡°How do you have so many Souls within your flesh? And how did you still them?¡± ¡°What can¡¯t you carry this many? I told them to be quiet. You said knowledge demon¡¯s in Debt is something the Order prize. Did you not? Would you prefer I just give him the book?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. [Domination (3->5)] <> Don¡¯t give her anything for free. Nothing offers, no answer. Remember the rule. Determine the value first, unless it suits the plan. ¡°What is his payment?¡± Dangle the carrot ¡°Questions answered one per page of the book,¡± Julia said, still looking to maintain control. ¡°You are curious, Pet. Most would have sought power. He has personal items and spells.¡± ¡°Knowledge is power. Understand someone completely, and victory is yours. The questions have to be something he could answer, either known by him or information he could learn.¡± ¡°The imprint you provided me didn¡¯t do you justice, Pet.¡± ¡°I might be open to trading questions with yourself.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°You prefer not to waste Order resources on me, is that not the case? And my lack of class levels will make the training time-consuming?¡± ¡°Correct. It seems you''re not a complete moron,¡± Seriously? Gaslight yourself, bitch! ¡°I would offer an alternative.¡± ¡°I could order you to use the question for the order. We could trade the answers to restore spent resources.¡± ¡°The Oath doesn¡¯t command me to surrender my possessions, nor use them for minimal value. I need to do my utmost. You wish me to grow stronger, to resolve my deficiencies. I offer an alternative that will free your time and resolve the requirement to grow stronger.¡± ¡°How many pages?¡± Naz¡¯rilca asked. ¡°Tras¡¯laq¨¬ said the book would have fifty pages if Wajet hadn¡¯t damaged it. So it gave his offer per page,¡± said Julia. ¡°How many questions will you trade for me considering your offer?¡± Naz¡¯rilca asked. Seriously, so you can say no? ¡°None,¡± Julia said, an unintentional scoff marking her tone. The quick response earned an arctic stare from Naz¡¯rilca, but Julia just let the Harmony soak it up. [Domination (5->7) Mental Hardening [J](20 -> 21)] ¡°None, now you are insulting me,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, her voice edging with violence. ¡°You asked how much I¡¯d give for you to consider the offer. I¡¯m giving nothing for you to say No. How many questions for you to say yes to my suggestion?¡± Julia asked. ¡°I¡¯d have to hear it first¡ªone to hear it out,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°No. I¡¯ll offer the questions to someone else, the Castellan perhaps or the Lady herself¡± ¡°They¡¯d kill you, for disturbing them,¡± Naz¡¯rilca remarked, pleasure lighting up her tone. ¡°Well then, he¡¯d be pretty happy about that Debt being gone. You¡¯d also lose the chance to profit. Though if they¡¯d take such offence. What would they do to you? Oh mentor. Yet if not them, I¡¯ll use a question about who I should trade with.¡± Julia responded, her tone digging at Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s pride. ¡°You¡¯d waste a question. He would name a Dretch just out of spite,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca, her mood the same whiplash as Julia remembered. ¡°Less for you to gain could be a good thing,¡± Julia said, smiling tightly. [Haggling [Ap](2->3)] ¡°I¡¯ll flay you alive,¡± Naz¡¯rilca stated, the growl seemingly her standard tone while haggling. ¡°You do that, anyway. Try again.¡± Julia said, raising her eyebrows at her. Yeah, we¡¯ve been there and done that. Hmm, wonder if she''d even be able to now. Could flow the flesh away from the blade, then restore it. Julia withdrew the Ki from the Souls, and they quickly blazed into life. The look in Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s eyes shone with Lust and craving for hedonistic pleasure. The Demoness slid forward a step as her eyes drove against flesh. Julia let the Ki waft across the Souls again and sent them back into their torpor. Wow, talk about getting eye fucked. ¡°Oh Pet, you play a dangerous game.¡° said Naz¡¯rilca, her purring delightfully lighting up her tone. [Domination (7->8) Seduction [B](1->2)] Oh crap! ¡°How about a suggestion?¡± Julia asked, ignoring the temptation to respond with snark. ¡°What is it?¡± asked Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°Hear my offer out, if you find it acceptable and say yes. I¡¯ll trade you forty questions. If you say no, you get none to..¡± Naz¡¯rilca interrupted with a snort and as she went to growl a demand. Julia cut her off with a raised palm, as she let the Souls scream again. Desire raged in Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s eyes and oozed from the expression of rapture on her face. As the noise sounded, other Succubi flew in their direction, attracted by the fuss. Julia let the Ki waft through the Souls again, mentally sighing in relief as they calmed. The Succubi moved closer, their hands caressingly over their bodies and reaching out to others as they advanced towards the pair. [Seduction [B](2->3)] ¡°Seems we¡¯re running out of time to haggle.¡± ¡°Then STOP doing whatever it is you are doing. You¡¯re a teasing pain in my cunt.¡± Naz¡¯rilca snarled, the Heat not having faded from her eyes after the Souls ceased screaming. So anywhere, any time, any day, anyone? [Domination (8 -> 10)] ¡°Naz¡¯ricla how does the novice have so many Souls contained?¡± One of the Succubus poured from the Order¡¯s standard mould landed nearby. The crowd of trainees, taking the landing as a sign to gather, tentatively moved closer, still careful of the Senior¡¯s ire. ¡°Leave this to me.¡± Naz¡¯ricla snapped out, waving a hand dismissively at the questioner. ¡°The watch commander ordered me to find out.¡± the Succubus replied, apparently not inclined just to leave. ¡°I¡¯ll report to them when I have the information.¡± Naz¡¯ricla turned her attention from the questioner to snarl at the landed trainee¡¯s. The Heat of the lust within her turning to rage in the blink of an eye. ¡°Go. If you are not all airborne¡­¡± Whatever threat she was about to offer ceased as the trainees fled en masse. Naz¡¯ricla stared at the questioner, and Julia used Analysis. [Name: F¨®rla?rea? Demon: Greater Succubus Level: Class: Health: Mana: Defence: Melee Attack Power: Combat Skill (s): ] ¡°Very well, Naz¡¯ricla. I¡¯ll let her know you will report personally,¡± said F¨®rla?rea?, before she flew off. They don¡¯t have Analysis. The celestials that I spoke to in training didn¡¯t know what it was. How the fuck do I have it? How can they tell each other apart? ¡°How do you tell each other apart?¡± Julia asked. Her voice acting on the stray thought before she considered the wisdom of it. Though I guess if people had it, the Order¡¯s standard mould wouldn¡¯t have been setup. After the others all had some distance from them, Naz¡¯ricla looked at her and spoke again, ¡°Just continue. Or you can put your tongue to better use than flapping.¡± fuck no! ¡°Very well. If you say no, you get no questions for listening. However, I won¡¯t waste the questions, and I will still trade you questions for other considerations. We negotiate those for each. Also, I¡¯ll want to know each question and why it¡¯s worth asking to my satisfaction.¡± Julia said. [Domination (10-> 11)] ¡°You¡¯d want the answer?¡± asked Naz¡¯ricla, her growling tone laced with suspicion. ¡°Not necessarily. Just the question. Interested to see how you¡¯d word them.¡± Julia stated, giving an explanation that was hopefully sufficient. {{Kill the lady, smash her girl club}} <> <> ¡°It seems you¡¯ve learnt some things. The imprint showed no skill at haggling or the force of personality you¡¯ve used.¡± Naz¡¯ricla said, her eyes roaming over Julia disconcertingly. ¡°I have my ways, and I seek to improve just differently to you.¡± ¡°How did you learn?¡± Naz¡¯rilca questioned. ¡°Hunted, listened, poured over lore in books, places, and conversation uninvited. I killed those that annoyed me and chewed on their Souls.¡± Julia had to wait for the edged laughter of Naz¡¯rilca to fade, but it seemed lessons about Demons had paid off. Yep, she so enjoyed that answer. [Demonic Lore [Ap] (22->23)] ¡°Speak your suggestion Novice,¡± ¡°All the Sisterhood have multiple classes before they get here. The Order also has agents in the field, besides full members of the order.¡± ¡°Yes. Go on.¡± ¡°Instead of training me, send me off to function as an agent. I¡¯ll learn to survive and in the process prove I¡¯m worthy of being more. Set my duties on another plane. If something breaks my form, then I¡¯m back here. Then you can decide if I¡¯ve still got worth and train while I¡¯m planar locked.¡± ¡°You would go where we send you.¡± ¡°I would. However, I would like flexibility in fulfilling specified goals. As long as it¡¯s not a go, get myself ripped apart. I¡¯ll do my utmost. I can¡¯t serve the order if destroyed.¡± ¡°Your suggestion is useful since it costs the order nothing, and will in time resolve your skills if you survive. Very well, we can begin this way.¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, surprising Julia by actually agreeing. ¡°Though I¡¯ll need a new imprint and one regularly to know you aren¡¯t idle. Either by meeting at an Order location or via agent connections. You will not wear any uniform or carry any token of the Order till you earn the right.¡± ¡°I agree, and will inform Tras¡¯laq¨¬ that forty of my questions belong to you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t seem bothered by giving up forty questions. How many pages are in that book?¡± ¡°Well, I counted eight hundred and twenty-seven. I checked it three times.¡± Julia said, a slight smile dusting her lips. ¡°Oh, well played Novice. You are a tricky little one,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca, the tone almost possessive. {{You get close. Then I¡¯ll take her throat.}} ¡°I¡¯m open to sharing the wealth for considerations.¡± Offered Julia feeling more than faintly disturbed by the way she spoke. ¡°Where did you gain it?¡± asked Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°Tras¡¯laq¨¬ passed my ¡®Use¡¯ name on to a summoner called Wajet. He had it. The book I retrieved from his summoning chamber.¡± Indeed, that is where I retrieved it from both times after Yngvarr finished the adjustments. Hope the hiding spot for the bowl is as secure as he claimed. ¡°Very well. Agreed in the Order¡¯s name.¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, her tone formal. ¡°Agreed in the Order¡¯s name,¡± Julia said, nodding in acknowledgement. ¡°Your first exchange, Novice. May there be many more profitable ones you bring to the Order. Give me the book. I¡®ll assess it and pry the debt from him¡ªover sixteen hundred years of service. Oh my, if I weren¡¯t already wet, that would do it. I¡¯ll take the Castellan with me, and we¡¯ll secure the debt of years and questions with his ¡®True Name¡¯.¡± Julia handed over the book and noticed that Naz¡¯rilca touched a token on her wrist as it vanished. Fake gesture to mislead, or is it tied to a storage item? ¡°Now, how many Souls are you carrying?¡± ¡°One hundred and fourteen.¡± ¡°WHAT!¡± Naz¡¯rilca exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Julia asked, wondering what difference she¡¯d fallen into now. ¡°You¡¯re a Lesser Succubus. How is that possible?¡± asked Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°I don¡¯t know I just killed them and grabbed their souls. What¡¯s the normal limit for a Succubus to hold?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get you to the treasury,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca, even though her expression seemed to imply she wasn¡¯t hurrying to move. ¡°Two Souls per tier, for Greater and under, I hadn¡¯t heard of more. The Named and Lady keep their own council. How did you have so many contracted? I needed to have them contracted. Oh Boy. Better ask a question instead of answering. ¡°Ever heard the saying let the buyer beware?¡± Julia asked. ¡°No, yet such a fine principle, Pet. Though I can tell, you¡¯re hiding something more.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s got secrets..¡± said Julia, hoping to move Naz¡¯rilca along. ¡°Indeed,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, moving closer to Julia and trailing a lingering gaze over her skin. ¡°Where is your training uniform? I saw you flying in it when you left?¡± ¡°It got trashed during a bloodbath.¡± Naz¡¯rilca closed the last of the distance and pressed her leather-clad form against naked skin. Hands were resting on her shoulders, fingers flexing possessively as she bent to lick an elongated tongue along Julia¡¯s throat. ¡°I can taste them within you even when you quiet their screams.¡± Yeah, so didn¡¯t want you moving along in my direction. Julia shivered and fought to hold on to her calm, yet Naz¡¯rilca seemed to mistake the reaction. ¡°Oh, fun for us both. It seems.¡± Naz¡¯rilca murmured and dipped close. Her mouth moved and pressed kisses like poisoned honey into Julia¡¯s throat. Heat stirred between their bodies, and sensation threatened to spill things within Julia. Fuck no! Stop you stupid horny succubus. {{Fuck her! Kill her! Fuck!}} <> ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we get them to the treasury?¡± Julia asked, surprised by her own reaction, sheltered with Harmony. It¡¯s not as distancing as Ki Meditation. It helps me understand and feel things, but if it gets past Mental Hardening. Well, not so good. ¡°Yes, but so enticing,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, turning away as lingering fingertips traced over the skin. Julia¡¯s quickness and clarity letting her see what Naz¡¯rilca intended, and the foreknowledge let her prevent herself from twitching away. 31 - Dont even fix same price. As Naz¡¯rilca swayed ahead of her, leading the way to the Treasury. The effect of the Damned¡¯s screaming didn¡¯t look like it was fading quickly. Either that or she was really enjoying her afterglow. The twitching in Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s hips reminded Julia of her flatmate¡¯s behaviour one weekend. Rach¡¯s boyfriend had convinced her to use a new toy that day. He¡¯d triggered it so often Julia hadn¡¯t been sure what would happen first, the battery going flat, or Rach passing out. In the end, it had spent a few hours playing blowfly in her bedroom before Rached sent him a text to confess. Memories of that not innocently shared amusement helped buffer her from the futile desire to barf that Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s oh baby routine had invoked. Plus, at present, she had her own issues, and something kept clenching. {{KILL HER!! FUCK!! Fuck her! Then kill her! We can kill her twice!!!}} I am turning into the naturist, darn it. I didn¡¯t even think about putting on clothes till I was watching her leather-clad arse. Wait, why was I watching her arse. I need a cold shower. Still tight leather, I like the look. The shiver that wanted to run up her spine went unheeded. Julia continued to follow along, not even aware of the different Heat set in her gaze as she looked ¡®past¡¯ Naz¡¯rilca. Things feeling sensitive, she morphed on a novice uniform between one step and another. The ¡®clothing¡¯ provided an illusion of decency, plus lessened sensation. Fucking Naz¡¯rilca. At least you aren¡¯t doing the stupid wing flipping. Yet still want to tear them off. Then shove them where the sun doesn¡¯t shine. {{Press her against a wall. With Knives!}} The main doors Julia noted posses the bleeding purple matching that on the tower door. Navigation between areas of stronghold Julia figured might get easier. Yet time spent at their stronghold was best avoided. Not matching between doors, but regions of the stronghold? Darn profile not having a notes option. Or do I need to increase the control? At least my memory is a lot better now. Analysis: Stimulation [Stimulation: This power allows the projection of physical sensation and receiving feedback to gauge reactions. Possessor can send any type of physical sensation desired. Control over sensation and understanding feedback increases with the skill of the user. A power that finds favour by both torturers and manipulators alike. The feedback is informational or sensation as required. Target¡¯s willpower determines the difficulty in influencing them, and mental shielding can completely block it.] Geez. That could be nasty. Though some fun pranks. Aware that Succubi and other Demons were still watching her, she kept pace with Naz¡¯rilca. As they slipped through corridors and rooms, it seemed the rumour mill was doing its normal light speed passage of information even here. In many rooms they moved through looks from Succubi, and even a few others weighed them up. Those eyes that followed them through the next few chambers certainly misunderstood the pleased smile she had. The trip finally brought them to a very different door compared to others in the stronghold. Rune marked and solidly reinforced it didn¡¯t look or even feel like any previously seen. Naz¡¯rilca opened it and stepped in without hesitation. Yet moving through it, things felt weird. Her body shivered with the sensation of motion suddenly halted, even as stepping again. The room itself gave off a smothering sense of weight, like a deep cave tour. The gated barrier in the middle of the chamber seemed to be their goal. A demoness type she¡¯d never seen before looked up at them when they started across the chamber. It seemed vaguely female, draped in loose strips of cloth. Its skin seemed as mottled as the mat chitin used to blend into the cliff face. Its face was a mishmash of irregular features, its nose splayed away, appearing long ago broken. Her mouth had few teeth left remaining if the gaps were a sign. Dark, empty hollows where a person¡¯s eyes were the most unsettling. Those Julia felt might take the cake for eerie, especially given the red specks held within seemed so far away. Even as she fixed her gaze on them, Jula felt the energy of wards digging painfully into her skin, distracting from her assessment. Static crawled over her skin before collecting like a burning weight in her sternum. When Julia was clear of the wards, she activated Analysis on her. The results didn¡¯t even include her name, just tags of unknowns with Abyssal Stone Hag species. Wow. Yes, high-security section, thanks. Wouldn¡¯t want to throw down. Also, let¡¯s avoid the cavity search. ¡°She has Souls for transfer, lots of them.¡± Rising from its stone desk, the hag moved towards the chamber¡¯s rear. Already apparently dismissing it, Naz¡¯rilca looked back at Julia. Her gaze not taking Julia¡¯s focus when the Hag stepped through stone like it was displacing honey with fingers. Illusion, stone shaping or species power? ¡°Where did you get the clothes?¡± Naz¡¯rilca asked. ¡°I imaged having them. They grew from my skin.¡± Well, sort of. No idea how the protean manages it. ¡°You seem to have more tricks than I¡¯d expect from a whelp. We¡¯ll get an imprint from you after we¡¯re done.¡° said Naz¡¯rilca, as her eyes slid over the details of Julia¡¯s uniform, their intensity weighing. ¡°So you said. Did you forget?¡± Julia asked dryly. [Taunt (6 -> 7)] ¡°I¡¯ve already warned you about your flapping tongue, whelp. Or did you forget?¡± Naz¡¯rilca asked, her voice drawing out parts in a husky heat. Oh, crud. ¡°It¡¯s engraved within my mind,¡± Julia replied, her tone kept dry, trying to avoid providing any clues. [Acting [B] (6 -> 7)] From repulsion. ¡°In that case, stop flirting, you have no skill at it. I¡¯d hear better from a lurker wasted Dretch.¡± ¡°Lurker wasted?¡± Julia asked. ¡°You are so ignorant.¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, shaking her head is dismay even as her lips twisted in delight ¡°Maybe you should ask Tras¡¯laq¨¬ with one of your questions. I¡¯m tired of hearing your mouth open with nothing useful going on.¡± ¡°Maybe I should offer someone a question to answer a range of common knowledge without complaint.¡± ¡°Maybe you should offer more.¡± Naz¡¯rilca purred, the motion of her tongue drawing on the words. ¡°It¡¯s common knowledge, but then so are some individuals,¡± Julia said, shifting her weight. ¡°When did you want to use your tongue?¡± Naz¡¯rilca asked, biting at the words. The rear of the chamber suddenly became utterly fascinating. The bars in front of her crawling with runes unlike what she¡¯d seen anywhere else in the stronghold. ¡°Pity. I¡¯m already bored. You should have been nice.¡± {{Kill her slow.}} Only if nice means I get to kill you nice and slow. Is this her version of banter? How do you get Lurker wasted? Didn¡¯t sound like being chopped up. Oh boy. The hag had only partly cleared the rock when the motion caught Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s attention. In its hands was a cube that seemed blown from impure discoloured glass. Through its translucence, Julia could see a bitter green bubble formed on one side. Mana Sense showed lines of runes illuminating the interior of the cube. ¡°I said lots, bring the largest processing canister out here, and blanks. Better make it a few canisters. This isn¡¯t something you¡¯ve seen before,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said, her tone snapping a harsh growl as she bit off every word. The hag looked Julia over before she replied. ¡°This will be enough. This one barely has her tits in place.¡± The hag¡¯s voice didn¡¯t match her face. Rather than aged and cracked, it was young, enticing, almost innocent in pitch, unlike its attitude. ¡°Wake them,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca looking at Julia, excitement gleaming in her eyes. Fuck, she¡¯s already on edge. Ticking Bomb. Julia withdrew the Ki from them just enough that the Souls started shining through her skin. As the Hag eye ridge¡¯s lifted, she allowed them to rest again. ¡°By the eldest.¡± With that murmured response, the hag backed up into the liquid rock. Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s eyes studied Julia again, lingering over all her lines. Fucking horny Succubus put your eyes back in place. The stone arc at the back of the chamber rumble sometime later. Julia had endeavoured to perfect a bored look. Even as Naz¡¯rilca continued her detailed study with her tongue flitting across her lips when she lingered. Abyssal HR Department, please hold, your call and concerns are important to us. We¡¯ll be with you right damned soon. Beyond the new archway seemed an empty room, though metal on stone echoed out. When the large glass container started rolling into view, it was apparent it was just the cross-section of a corridor. The container stood taller than Julia, and wider again than an outstretched wing. To her ¡®Mana Sense¡¯ the container had not one but multiple layers of runes, and the platform on which it sat glowed with power. Why would they have something that size? Though it was clearly a different hag was pushing it, she brought it forward until the platform clicked up against the gate. Instead of cloths draping it, it wore a long frumpy purple dress. Though it still wasn¡¯t the nicest of sights, especially since the broken nose and freakier eyes had in common. Smacking her lips together over a mouth that seemed empty of teeth, as she made sure the container was tight against the grill. ¡°Naz¡¯ricla, how¡¯s your tush today.¡± the hag asked. Dry amusement from a seemingly old joke settled in her innocent voice. The familiarity apparent in her tone when addressing the Succubus. How does she know who she is? She¡¯s in ¡®uniform¡¯ at present. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Usd¡¯ghi,¡± said Naz¡¯ricla, her voice brightly covered with venom. ¡°Seems you stirred up a bit of a fuss. Right, youngling hand through the bubble, then shove them out. Just through your fingers, don¡¯t squirt them onto the floor. We¡¯ll see how much you¡¯ve got stuck in your gut.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her attention already focused on Julia. Wow, history much. Push, push and push. Moving over to the desk, Usd¡¯ghi dragged out a large canvas bag. In appearance, it seemed a long-suffering glitter bomb victim. Julia had to blink in surprise at the outrageous contrast of bling to grim. The bubble didn¡¯t look appealing, a more chemical residue staining water than a fluid when she got close to it. Stretching through the bars, it was a simple matter to get her hand inside. Inside it felt colder than the air outside, but not even close to needing energy resistance. Withdrawing the Ki completely had Souls wailing loudly within as she called it back its source. By that time, Naz¡¯rilca was tight against her lost teddy bear. ¡°What happens if one gets out incorrectly?¡± Julia asked, her voice soft because of, well, distractions. [Seduction [B](3->4)] ¡°Wasted resources. Little or a lot you¡¯ll see.¡± Naz¡¯rilca breathed in her ear, arms wrapping tight as she clung. ¡°Could you move back a step? Or five?¡± Julia asked, working to keep a straight face despite the situation. ¡°I enjoy standing here, Pet,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said while trailing fingers along exposed skin in time with other undulations. Stop humping my leg, I can¡¯t touch the Ki to meditate. ¡°If you keep doing that, Souls will go astray,¡± Julia said, firming her tone. [Acting [B] (7 -> 8) Domination (11 -> 12)] What does that skill do? Check later. ¡°Stand back and put your fucking fingers inside your twat, you idiotic fuck toy. Or at least keep them to yourself.¡± Usd¡¯ghi growled, the innocent voice mixed with livid anger. Fuck, I miss that lovely bathroom! I¡¯d bless you, Usd¡¯ghi. However, you¡¯d likely take offence. Naz¡¯ricla drew away slowly, trying to seem as if daring Usd¡¯ghi. But her tension felt as if she was ready to leap away. Once Naz¡¯ricla was more than an arm¡¯s length away. Julia worked through options before trying what felt right. Focused on pulling the Heat from the flesh of her fingertips. When the power pulled away, Julia could feel the Souls stream out of flesh in the gap provided. As they did so, the inside of the container started glowing brighter. Still keeping the Heat from slipping back into the form of her fingers was hard-fought. As a process, it seemed like forming a dam from the sand as Heat lapped past her control. Her flesh forming a competition against her will. Whenever control slipped, the tap would close on the Souls. [Mana Manipulation [J](5->6)] This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. So the Heat is Abyssal Mana. Darn. Think about it later. Still, the glass was glowing brighter than a LED spotlight. The glow of swirlingly combined colours, somehow even luminous black, showed through the glass. An absence of light, still glowing amid the other colours, though it saturated the interior in places. Usd¡¯ghi pushed the second container into place further down the cage wall. ¡°That¡¯s enough, youngster. Hey Stupid. Stop eye-fucking her. You could have told her when to stop,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. Looking over at Naz¡¯rilca she¡¯d expected to see her ready to rage. Instead, she was brushing herself down as if she hadn¡¯t been doing exactly that just moments ago. At the words, Julia stopped fighting the heat, and it rushed back into her fingers again. ¡°How many Souls remaining little one?¡± A quick look at her profile confused Julia. Given the amount of space there had been available in the container, it wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d expected. ¡°Still another seventy-four.¡± ¡°By the Dark One¡¯s rear eye. I¡¯ve not seen that done before. Those sacks on your chest hollow? Or do they stack up in your arse?¡± ¡°I have hollow legs, like all young.¡± ¡°Right. We¡¯ll have to process them. I¡¯ve only got one more container this size, and processing takes awhile. Move onto the other.¡± ¡°Do you have Debt to the Order?¡± Julia asked. Usd¡¯ghi just laughed as she waved Julia toward the other container. ¡°This is the Treasury, not the Order. I don¡¯t work for them. I run this place. They¡¯re just one of those that pay my fees.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t at their Stronghold?¡± Julia asked, confusion showing on her face as she wondered how the link worked. ¡°Naz¡¯rilca is not one for answering questions is she, youngling?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, shaking her head. ¡°You stupid bit, I remember when your mum popped you. And when you came ripe from the brothel bringing in your first big tip to exchange it. Her arse was likely still gapping from the big ¡®one that took a fancy. Couldn¡¯t walk straight. Still, a stupid cock wobbler after twelve centuries but thinks she¡¯s a scary bitch now.¡± ¡°Usd¡¯ghi will you shut it. You¡¯ve fewer teeth in your head than you have brains in your skull.¡± ¡°And I still got more brains than you Naz¡¯rilca. Not like I need Souls playing bounce around in these bars. She brought them in clean, no distortion at all. I remember your first single Soul. It looked like a dretch had used his loincloth as a snot rag and wiped all over it.¡± ¡°Hag!¡± ¡°Blow bubbles in a cum shot. If your Ladyship doesn¡¯t like it, take her glitter elsewhere.¡± The retort seemed to shut the steam valve on Naz¡¯rilca. However, Julia grew concerned about where she¡¯d direct it to afterwards. What the heck. I¡¯m skating thin ice, and I¡¯m not even the only one cutting it. Way more going on then is clear. ¡°Though girl seriously, you had to go nibble on them all. Drops their value. You¡¯ll get droopy lips, and tits like me if you keep doing that. ¡± ¡°I had things I was working on,¡± said Julia dryly. ¡°You nibble on the lot, or did you keep some from between your lips?¡± ¡°The lot. I had a slight run-in, drew shards to keep from getting disrupted.¡± ¡°Succubi always sucking on something. But yeah, that will burn them up. Still, they are clean that raised their value. Some bring in one looking worse than a troglodyte¡¯s arse pit, then think to get nice obsidian coins. These are a clean lot. Any harvest you bring, come here. Don¡¯t go to those other fellows you hear me now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Usd¡¯ghi wandered to the desk, her shadow looking like she sat down. Though the glowing container meant she couldn¡¯t clearly see her. ¡°Name youngling?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, her voice coming from the shadowy form masked behind the shimmering lights. ¡°J.¡± ¡°Yep. What¡¯s the rest I can write faster than that.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Really. Want a better ¡®Use¡¯ name otherwise you¡¯ll get passed between all kinds of stupid.¡± ¡°There¡¯d be one less at least each time,¡± Julia said. Her voice was as grim as her thoughts of another life used to summon her unnecessarily. {{Kill them if they do.}} <> ¡°The last one in among this lot?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, her youthful voice lighting up with clear, bright tones. ¡°Indeed,¡± Julia said, her voice cold at the thought of another like Livia suffering. The hag¡¯s laughter bounced off the stone¡¯s wall, snuffling, echoing sounds that didn¡¯t fit either voice or face. ¡°What was his name? I hear tales about bone chanters sometimes. Good to know when they¡¯ve shucked it.¡± ¡°Wajet, Ten Kingdoms. Bone Chanter?¡± ¡°Yeah, boneheaded summoners. Low power counting on grimoires whose power they¡¯ve not earned. Not heard of that fellow. But they come and go so fast. One of young of the coven dealt with one a few circles back. Come back without the grumpy cunt one time, and I¡¯ll chew some gris with you.¡± They have kids. Is that other hag a member of her family? ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. How many children have you had?¡± Even as she considered the question, her Demonic lore pushed into her awareness. Demons she didn¡¯t even remember studying ticked off as those that could breed, and it included Succubus. Information from skills darn. Thanks so much for things I didn''t want to know. ¡°Indeed Hags, not one for getting on with mortals, no stamina. As for the count with my eons, they blur. Just bring some ?ru lava we can chat awhile. It¡¯s quiet around this time of a cycle.¡± ¡°Gris?¡± Julia asked, her mind still trying to determine the slang. ¡°Gristle, information. Hmm, child, how fresh are you?¡± ¡°Fresh.¡± ¡°Enough. Why do you have to act like a dretch brain?¡± asked Naz¡¯rilca, her growl showing some recovery. ¡°Enough? Enough, she says. Like we can do anything.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, voice girlish light with amusement, obviously delighted at annoying Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°Until they¡¯re good and settled down. Then we can process these two. Take your hand out J, that one¡¯s full as well now.¡± Coming past the container, Usd¡¯ghi leant against the bars, chatting as if Naz¡¯rilca hadn¡¯t said a thing. ¡°Look, I know a tough Br¨ªn. Great catch, so if you want a spawn, he¡¯ll rock the plane with you,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. Pictures of the Br¨ªn species came to mind, and she worked to keep composed. Strongmen with so much muscle. More than Torm, even. Mostly human features, form. The swirling ridges over their faces, arms and well, the third. ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I¡¯ve got to prove my worth yet. Aren¡¯t those the fellow with a triple?¡± ¡°Yep. Three arms. Plus, what their kind have packed, they don¡¯t even need those long fingers of theirs. This draw is more than some reaper types bring in a century even nibbled. Still, let me know if you change your mind, he¡¯s an old-timer so he¡¯ll not get ganked for stupid. I hear he knows how to tickle your insides right. Now if I were a few eons younger, yeah, I¡¯d milk his balls till they were black.¡± Julia was having a hard time keeping a straight face, given the weirdness that chatting with Usd¡¯ghi was giving her. The oddness of her, while acting like the roughest of neighbourhood matchmakers, was unbalancing. When Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s words came as a flood, it was hard to catch everything. ¡°What does Lurker wasted mean?¡± Julia asked, hoping she could get some information from the chatty Usd¡¯ghi. Geez, so need to find out more. Though what¡¯s her angle? ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t you go getting involved with that type you hear? Bad idea to go drinking the runoff of the Lurker brews. Idiots think they can handle the boost in rage. Morons fresh hatched that think it¡¯s going to give them the edge.¡± ¡°Sorry Usd¡¯ghi lost me at Lurker brews,¡± Julia said. Giving her an apologetic shrug. ¡°You¡¯ve not seen those. Naz¡¯ricla what is your Order stooping to now? How fresh are you J?¡± ¡°The Order isn¡¯t stooping to anything.¡± Naz¡¯ricla retorted, but Usd¡¯ghi just waved to shoo away her protest. ¡°Oh, you so are. I can see you¡¯ve got your sigil on her, and she doesn¡¯t know nit. Could you have at least let her settle her buns somewhere first? Though given this draw she harvested no wonder you want her.¡± ¡°Very fresh,¡± Julia said. Naz¡¯ricla butted in before she could continue. ¡°She''s being posted to learn.¡± She¡¯s must really know something to get under your skin, Nazie. ¡°Where are you sending her? I don¡¯t want a good reaper like her sent somewhere stupid.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, the lines deepening around her sockets perhaps signalling a glare. The empty hollow began pulling at Julia, even while not their focus. ¡°That is Order business,¡± Naz¡¯ricla said firmly, apparently trying to shut down the line of questioning. ¡°You talking out your arse. By Angel¡¯s pink perky tits, you¡¯ve become a right git.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, the words riddled with frustration. They averted the focus enough from Julia so that she felt free to move. ¡°You have no say in the Order¡¯s activities.¡° With Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s face signalled her ready for a verbal tag, Julia spoke again, not wanting to experience the crossfire again. ¡°Lurker brews?¡± ¡°Yes. Alchemical brews depending made from differing treatment of the acid glands. Morons drink the off flow - cause they¡¯re cheap, a lesser version of the brew¡¯s boost, but also a berserk rage. Then eventually they get to craving it too often. Make the dumb arse move to use the brew where they shouldn¡¯t, and their allies cut them down instead cause they don¡¯t want to die.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, shaking her head at the stupidity of the behaviour. ¡°Makes sense. The cutting down part,¡± Julia said, ¡°I take it they look to sneak a swig before a fight?¡± ¡°You got it. They look for any excuse.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said as she carried black clinking tubes over to the first container. ¡°So what are you doing now?¡± ¡°What the Titan allows with the damned we harvest. It''s been this way for these last eons. Free-range the Abyss gets, harvested we have to process. Use the result for coinage.¡± ¡°Titan?¡± Julia asked, wondering what Greek myth she¡¯d wandered into. ¡°Only one Titan, reality spire, the crafter. Those like these we¡¯re allowed to harvest the Soul¡¯s accumulated corruption. Bloody catch and release. Oh, for the days of savouring those damned you caught through your own skill.¡± As Usd¡¯ghi spoke, she clamped the tubes onto the metal platform under the container. Runes that Julia hadn¡¯t seen came alive within the tubes pulsing irregularly. ¡°There we¡¯ll suck out the juices. Afterwards, the rest of the Soul goes on the next caravan bound for the Grey fields.¡± So I¡¯m not just bringing them for the Abyss to grind up? "What and where are these Grey Field?" "The plains of judgement, they wait there till their Gods call them. Or whatever fate they deserve finds them. This is what we do with the juices." Pulling out oddly shaped disks, she showed them to Julia. Each shape was the same colour but varied in their tone. The largest ranged from washed-out black through to translucent dark obsidian. There were also others set in distinct variants of red, green and yellow. While the black had seemed stark, the ranging tone of others all looked ill. ¡°Let me guess. You ain¡¯t seen the coins of the damned either?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve not,¡± Julia said. Her eyes shifting from the metal to Usd¡¯ghi¡®s toothless mouth, worrying at the frown forming. Usd¡¯ghi just looked at Naz¡¯rilca. The grandmotherly vibe the hag had projected disappeared into flat disapproval that held a dangerous edge. ¡°Not going to end well for you.¡± {{Make her pay for all her insults!}} ¡°Don¡¯t pull your seer crap on me.¡± ¡°I warned you long ago what I saw. There is a difference between watching your back and inviting the knives.¡± ¡°I am watching my back.¡± {{Then we¡¯ll gut her from the front!}} ¡°You may say kin has no hold on yah anymore. Your mother¡¯s still my lineage. Stop being stupid and See.¡± Okay, no wonder she knows you so well. Family spat much. Can¡¯t see the resemblance. Wait, she¡¯s just ugly on the inside. So that¡¯s why she felt ready to run? Wonder how hard Gran hits? ¡°Enough, just process the damned will you.¡± ¡°Fine. But you will explain the coins to this little chick before I hand them over or I¡¯ll be keeping the Order¡¯s share.¡± Fuck, I still have to pay taxes? Bastards. ¡°Fine.¡± {{She needs to die!}} <> You go Gran, but sorry, not sorry. She still needs to die! So many questions. ¡°What does the Titan do if you break his rules?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Child, don¡¯t go looking to draw trouble. You¡¯ll find his mountain maze holds all fast.¡± ¡°Novice quiet. Let her work, still the screamers in you unless you want to entertain me while we wait,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said. Julia let the Ki drift out, directing it to still them as she bit off the retort on her lips. When Naz¡¯rilca, took out various coins and actually explained their exchange value, her conciseness was a surprise. They didn¡¯t leave till what Julia felt was an hour later, the last of the Souls processed. Their value wasn¡¯t anything like she¡¯d expected. They were far more. The minor storage item offered for most of her share seemed like it would be a useful cover. Especially as after Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s explanation, it was clear she¡¯d have plenty left for useful weapons and equipment. It¡¯s a useful cover for drawing from my inventory. Analysis: Amulet [Amulet of Portage: This amulet, when bound correctly, will allow the storage of up to 30 kilograms of objects.] Analysis: Domination [Domination: This skill allows the user to project an aura of control, that even when not overpowering can be useful in making others take note. Typical user: Strict school teachers, military leaders, and of course, dominatrix, well plus others.] Fuck Profile Profile
Name J True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (0 / 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 15 122,499 / 180,000
Wizard 2 2500 / 4000
Succubus 7 32,140 / 40,000
Defence 36
Melee Attack Power 58 Health 527
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 29
Quickness 26
Intelligence 25 Ki 63
Willpower 41 Mana 102
Charisma 24
Affinities Darkness, Time, Mental, Abyssal, Jade Court, Lightning
Spell Forms Mental: Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion (11) Lightning: *Tracing Missile [B] (1) Time: *Trip (9) Darkness: *Cloak (12) *Denotes forms available allowing casting with alternative Mana
Resistances Air (2), Acid - Improved (6), Cold (5), Fire - Immune, Mana - Improved (1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (10), Electricity - Minor (10)
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (6), Blink [J] (2), Corruption (5), Dark Sight (10), Demonic Pact (5), Energy Drain (14), Flight [J] (1), Harmony [J] (35), Ki Movement [J] (1), Ki Strike [J] (15), Mana Sense [J] (15), Protean [Ap] (22), Soul Sight [J](14), Stimulation [B](10), Telepathy [B] (8), Teleport (Self): [B] (2), Translate Languages [J] (6),
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (1), Acrobatics [Ap] (1). Acting[B](8), Analysis [J](5), Bite [Ap] (5), Bluff (16), Claws [J] (1), Climbing [Ap] (1), Danger Sense (11), Domination (11), Disguise [B][(9), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (1), Haggling [Ap](3), Intimidation (19), Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [J] (26), Mana Manipulation [J](6), Mental Hardening [J] (20), Pain Tolerance [J] (4), Perception [Ap] (19), Profile Control (17), Rope Use(9), Seduction [B](4), Sense Motive (12), Spear [J]1, Stealth [J](3), Taunt (7), Tactics [Ap](2), Time Sense [Ap] (7), Torture (10), Unarmed Combat [J] (25)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [Ap](1), Arcane [B] (5), Celestial Lore (15), Demonic Lore [Ap] (23), Hidden Lore (11), Planar Lore [B](14), Planar Portals [Ap](3), Skill Lore (4)
Available Skills Points 33
Available Knowledge Bonus 10
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English, Norse
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 7
Max Capacity 60 Kilograms - Used: 29
Stored Materials Assorted Lurker glands, meat and materials. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. The Agony of Horus. Bracers of Missile Negation. Assorted Abyssal coinage.
Carried / Worn Amulet of Portage.
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 0 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 0 Innocent Souls Bound 0
Soul Shards Consumed 114 Corruptions Failed 1
32 - Fire and Ice With their business concluded, Naz¡¯rilca had been quick in ushering her out. The shop¡¯s iron-bound door looked as if it had the same rune formation to Julia, but opened somewhere different. Noises and smells washed over them like a force. It set them out in what looked a city square, cluttered with stalls and ¡®entertainment¡¯. Sword swallowing with the receiver strapped in place and bleeding freely. A family-friendly dance troop of Succubi and Incubi. Well, at least they looked related, and they were sure ¡®friendly¡¯. Their routine made use of lots of enfolding motions, with the audience included. Or at least those who paid. {{Want to play too. They¡¯re in so deep! Why are we walking away? Not fair!}} ((They reveal what they long for in their excesses.)) That¡¯s not an ordinary quartet, but they¡¯re plucking her strings. I feel like I should walk funny after seeing that. What else is there in this place? The elevated stage made it challenging to avoid viewing the performers. The food offered among the stalls was interesting. Even if they didn¡¯t need to eat, Demons looked to buy lots. Plates of regular stone, bone or sections of creature''s backs alike abounded. Wraps whose ¡®flatbread¡¯ had required skinning instead of baking. Bowls made of sealed humanoid faces laden with wiggling food that steamed as it moved. Moving around the stalls following Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s path, she flickered analysis over the various items and tried to Ki calm her revulsion. [Ki Meditation [J] (26->27)] {{Oh, that one. Get the buns. Oh, fried meatballs. Not the pestilence bread. Bet it tastes worse than funky dretch crotch.}} ((They crave and consume)) [Analysis [J](5->6)] Well, at least my internal revulsion got rewarded. Odours assaulted her in a menagerie of conflict. Soft light cotton candy gave up its life, battling across the interior of her sinus. Rank meats, soured ichors ranged in war as reinforcements of citrus syrups, mints, and chicken coops arrived. Swarming, they threw themselves into the grand melee as the battle lines continually changed. Naz¡¯rilca lingered among the stalls, apparently well at home, sampling the fare. While the Order¡¯s uniform caused looks, she didn¡¯t elicit the same mass exodus while alone. If the food was kaleidoscopic in offerings, the residents were even more varied. From entities that seemed almost human with only their skin tones, teeth, or oddness of features calling out their inhumanity, to others appeared to challenge reality, their blurring lines making her eyes ache like the celestials. Swirling about without visible means of motion, they undulated and writhed against reality, forcing it to support them. Edges of their flesh licking the air, they completed their ¡®mundane¡¯ purchases. Creatures, looking as if formed of translucent ichor, held upright unstructured flesh and bone. As they pressed food against their midsection membrane, the material within lapped in waves to consume it. How they even saw was beyond her understanding as Demonic lore, or Analysis provided little beyond the species. With many individuals higher in level, it showed only that info. Yet enough were close that simple classes like an Alchemist, Scout, Warrior, Hunter, mingled with stranger ones; such as Blood Reaver, Storm Eater, Dark Magus, Blight Lord. A number seemed to return Julia¡¯s consideration with firming interest before she could move on. Mystery meat is in large supply here. Don¡¯t stare. He seems happy to see me, WAY too happy. Tuck the bat down in your pants, sir. {{Yum. We should have some of that! Or him. Batter up and up in me again!}} I thought Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s eye-fucking was terrible. At least her assaults don¡¯t involve thirty eyes writhing across her face. Are they reusing the river husks for this?? Does my form crave this? It¡¯s so sickening. Long piggie, here pig, pig. Is this all made of husks? Better be real meat making things tempting, not the husks. As they passed one building on the way out of the square, screaming drew Julia¡¯s attention. A tinkling chorus of piercing shrieks that stabbed coldly through the air at her. Yet they sounded teasing, coyly enticing even in their cacophony; not threatening to break her mind, but reel her in with promises of pleasure. Beside her, Naz¡¯rilca growled in delight, a low cascading pulse of sound that rumbled and purred against her pelvis. {{Yum Yum. Make her scream that way. Vibrate her against us with cries. Get up on stage with her.}} ((Borrowed emotions. Seek your centre.)) Do I need to get you neutered? Are you always in Heat? ((Neuter her in death when it¡¯s time.)) When Naz¡¯rilca strode inside, Julia could only follow along. Held hostage by Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s whim with no idea of the base¡¯s location. Cold air pressed hard and rubbed against her skin, and Julia found an issue with the absence of a modern bra. She so hated majoring in peanut smuggling. The mist swirled within the building, causing the screams to echo and distort. A massive demon raised its stunted reptilian maw and bit downwards into a bowl of smoking ice through a parting in the mist. Hunched over a table whose top sat nearly two metres from the ground, its scaled hide compressed and wrinkled each time it bent to consume. Vibrant red scales flowed outwards from the centre of its head, downwards along its shoulders. They were deepening into a black cradle of night over its torso and arms. Its wide lipless maw gleamed with splintered ice as it chewed on its last bite. Eyes narrowed as it noted Julia¡¯s gaze, and lids flickered across its purple orbs. The diagonal pupils shone with a bile green light and followed the broadening lines of its skull. Like a warning sign showing the gleaming horns pointed in her direction. Though the panda sized mini-me strapped to its chest, grabbed at Julia¡¯s attention. Suckling it was holding its dinner steady with the flat of taloned mitts as its ¡®mother¡¯ ate. Oh, it¡¯s so cute. Can I get a stuffed toy that looks like it? Demonic Lore care to tell me anything. No. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. Then the Demons turn up, and everything is awkward. Analysis [Name: Gra¡¯nuk¡¯sali Species: Least Sk?ll Drake Class: Farmer / Shaman Level: 5 / 12 / 3 Health: 782 Mana: 30 Defence: 48 Melee Attack Power: 60 Combat Skills: Gore [Ap] (23); Trample [J] (1); Bite [J] (5); Channelling [B] (4) Condition: Nursing. Pregnant.] Don¡¯t think it would respond well if I asked her the usual questions, though for all I know it counts as he. As its eyelids narrowed again at Julia, she nodded in acknowledgement and walked past to find Naz¡¯rilca. Oops, don¡¯t get between it and its pregnancy treat. Deeper through the thickening mists, she heard something that drove fear through her spine. Naz¡¯rilca was¡­ laughing? {{Kill her quick!}} ((This can¡¯t be good.)) [Perception [Ap] (19 ->20)] Staring down at the cup of ice held out from a laughing Naz¡¯rilca, it was clear why Perception and not Danger Sense had triggered. There was no danger, but laughter was hard to recognise from her. Well, unless the ice was poisonous. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! {{Kill her.}} Can I choke her with her tongue? ¡°Eat some, it¡¯s a treat,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca, waving at the ice. What the fuck, insert weird personality shift. ¡°What is it?¡± Julia asked. Hearing the screams all about with every crunch of teeth, it was clear now their origin. ¡°Eat!¡± Naz¡¯rilca insisted, before munching on some from a cup she¡¯d gotten for herself. Analysis [Blizzard Gasps: Sweet treats] ¡°Buying me ice doesn¡¯t make us friends,¡± said Julia, wondering when someone had spiked Naz¡¯rilca with drugs. Did someone order a personality shift? Options: torturous Bitch, randy nightmare, or amusement fair queen. {{Let¡¯s make option four, disembowelled.}} Can someone kill her! {{Oh me, me pick me. I want to do her. I mean it.}} ((Creatures of excess. All of them.)) ¡°That¡¯s okay. We can still fuck. Angry, violent sex is a great release. You don¡¯t know if you¡¯re screaming from orgasms or hate. Delicious.¡± purred Naz¡¯rilca. Oh brother, I so shouldn¡¯t encourage her. Still, what is this stuff? {{EAT IT!!!}} Giving in to curiosity, she bit into a chip, and the popping of air bounced in her mouth, tingling across her tongue. Sorrow, sweetness, regret swirled and washed around in her mouth. The ice immediately melting as it hit her tongue, dripped down the back of her throat. The fluid spurted like jet fuel within, making Heat surge with energy, as smoke and screams rippled from between her lips. Analysis [Blizzard Gasps: Essence milked from the last frozen breath of mortals dying together in the arms of their loved ones. Demonic Sweets. Harvested by wandering ice demons in mountain terrain.] {{Oh, fuck, yes. It¡¯s so good.}} ((That poor family.)) Fuck. Never eat demon food. Arsehole Analysis. That was the worst popping candy. ¡°Not for me,¡± Julia said, handing the cup back. Naz¡¯rilca looked torn between disappointment and greed. ¡°Well. No appreciation of good stuff then.¡± Naz¡¯rilca said as the greed won. Bliss from the chips fought with irritability, and the happiness won. ¡°More for you, though. Right?¡±Julia asked, offering the cup back to her. ¡°Yeah, so we can fuck. I¡¯ll let you get on top.¡± Naz¡¯rilca replied, giving her a push toward a smaller empty table. We are so not doing it here, or anywhere. ¡°No,¡± Julia stated firmly. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll get on top,¡± Naz¡¯rilca chirped, eyes brightening. ¡°No,¡± said Julia, letting her voice snap with her frustration. [Seduction [B](4->5) Domination (11->13)] Seriously?!? ¡°Okay, so you like playing that way. I see,¡± said Naz¡¯rilca. The look on her face a lecherous mockery of a wise sage. {{Let me play with the bitch! We can get knives. They can go in so many places.}} ((Demonic mania. So¡­.)) Fuck no you don¡¯t ¡°Don¡¯t you have to report to the watch commander?¡± Julia asked, keeping her tone dry. ¡°Yeah. Fine!¡± Naz¡¯rilca grumbled. Keeping well back from Naz¡¯rilca across a broad table proved safer while she buzzed eating the ¡®treat¡¯. When they stood to teleport back, their departure wasn¡¯t unobserved.
Their arrival back clearly didn¡¯t go as planned as Naz¡¯rilca instantly tightened. They¡¯d appeared in a formal office. As she went to take in the room, its occupant seized Julia¡¯s attention. An obsidian desk just in front of them and another member of the Order sat behind it reading a book. Looking up at their arrival, Julia could see the muscle in her jaws flex. The air in the room pressed on them through sheer malevolence of personality. Is that Domination?? [Skill Lore (4->5) Domination (13->17)] ¡°So the previous Watch Commander sent me a message that they were expecting you to deliver a report on a disturbance that impacted security. Yet instead of reporting, you left the Stronghold. Is this correct, Naz¡¯rilca?¡± The tone was as soothing as a straight razor laid against one''s crotch. ¡°Yes, Castellan.¡± Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s voice was unrecognisable in its submissiveness. Is that personality option four bottom? {{Disemboweled claimed spot four.}} ((She fears her.)) ¡°So you departed without informing the Watch Commander of the requested details?¡¯ the Castellan¡¯s voice didn¡¯t vary in its tone, but whispered lower, and pressed firmer still. [Domination (17->18)] ¡°Yes, Castellan.¡± ¡°The Security on the gate disrupted. They disrupted not one but three training formations, by repeated disturbances in the forecourt. Is this correct?¡± Julia went to reply, and the cold eyes locked on her. Where the Lady¡¯s eyes were serene, the Castellan¡¯s held fury. The Heat in them wasn¡¯t smouldering at the moment. The moment Julia had flexed lips to speak, they¡¯d shown an inferno. Danger Sense (11->14) {{Oh, play with me, please! I¡¯ll be okay, don¡¯t spank me. Oh, just spank me anyway.}} ((Careful child, she¡¯s on the razor¡¯s edge.)) Yeah, no shit! ¡°Yes, Castellan.¡± ¡°It presented you a book, for Tras¡¯laq¨¬. Is this correct?¡± ¡°Yes, Castellan,¡± ¡°When you return you are to come immediately to me, we¡¯ll discuss the arrangements with Tras¡¯laq¨¬,¡± said the Castellan, the inferno in her eyes unabated. ¡±Take J back to the city. Direct them to the merchant camps, then return here immediately. J, you are to join a caravan to Tern¨°x. Scout every passage you find there. Every place where the armies gather. Learn the lay of the land. You will not use a planar portal unless recalled.¡± the Castelan said, her voice turning cold. Don¡¯t call me, I¡¯ll call you. Oh dear, I don¡¯t get the job? Such a shame. Fuck sticking me to one plane? ¡°I don¡¯t like the smug sparkle in your eyes. I¡¯d much prefer you destroyed. However, the Lady kept you, and I have my instructions. If you¡¯ve not learnt enough when I recall you, I¡¯ll have grounds to put you down. Enjoy what could be your last cycles. Leave,¡± said the Castelan. Her tones bitter and scrapped like a drawn knife. The Castelan returned to her book, Julia taking it as a dismissal, turned and left. Naz¡¯rilca followed closely on her heels, shutting the door, and simply said, ¡°Wait.¡± When Naz¡¯rilca''s hand touched her, they were standing before Julia¡¯s storage spot. ¡°Take the clothes intended for spare time. Make sure you leave everything with the Order¡¯s mark behind. Ensure not to craft clothing marked with the Order¡¯s insignia. You¡¯ll waste the time of field agents that hear about it.¡± Taking out a slip of paper, she held it out to Julia, who glanced at it before turning her back on her. She retrieved the sets of clothes intended for ¡®free¡¯ time; all but one set disappeared in the amulet. Wanting her crafted uniform gone, she restored naked skin, quickly dressed, and aware of Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s eyes watching. As Julia turned back, Naz¡¯rilca gestured with the slip of paper again. ¡°Write your instructions on here for Tras¡¯laq¨¬. He¡¯ll know who it was that wrote it, just one of his tricks.¡± ¡°What instructions?¡± Julia inquired, wondering if she needed to flutter her eyelids to piss her off. [Seduction [B](4->5)] Oh, piss off! ¡°For the forty questions to be mine.¡± ¡°Oh well, I said I¡¯d inform Tras¡¯laq¨¬ of the trade. I¡¯m very certain I said nothing about writing. And did I say I¡¯d inform him immediately? Best hope I get back safe from Tern¨°x,¡± ¡°You won¡¯t get back. Everything there out levels you. It¡¯s a maze of tight tunnels, mists, and warrens. Everything is below underground. In larger caverns, it gets more dangerous. Her instructions don¡¯t even let you just hole up somewhere. Scout and explore everything. The plane is an end to end of pathways. Endless kilometres of tunnels. Eight factions fight for the resources. That doesn¡¯t even count the danger of the ruins. You¡¯ll die near them, and you have to explore there as well.¡± ¡°Wow, even more reason to do that. Such a shame. Guess you have your orders, and I have mine. Aren¡¯t you supposed to take me to the city?¡± ¡°I could just kill you at the merchant area. Getting you there completes my orders.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll pass on that offer. Do you want more questions or none?¡± ¡°What are you offering?¡± Naz¡¯rilca asked, curiosity showing in her eyes. ¡°Follow your orders, but just point me in the camp¡¯s direction. That will satisfy them if I want to get to Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s business. Focused Intent on it from the Gate will take me there?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Naz¡¯rilca said. ¡°I¡¯ll drop by Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s and a few places for gear. Before I leave the city, I¡¯ll leave a note for twenty questions with her to put in your stored ¡®glitter¡¯.¡± ¡°Once I get to Tern¨°x¡¯s portal, I¡¯d assume there is a way I can send a message back? Courier, or something?¡± ¡°Merchant caravans travel back frequently. They bring the metals and gems.¡± Do I offer her regular payments over ten years? ¡±I¡¯ll send a letter with another twenty questions signed over. A secondary letter via a different merchant letting you know what caravan had the first so they can¡¯t screw you. That¡¯s if Usd¡¯ghi doesn¡¯t have a better option. There¡¯s more on offer.¡± ((Ten years is but a blink.)) I need to think on a different scale. ¡°Why the convoluted method? And what is the rest? And for what?¡± Naz¡¯rilca enquired, her curiosity still clear. ¡°To encourage you to ensure I get to this posting. Every hundred years that I¡¯m away from here, I¡¯ll send another forty, same approach till I have around sixty questions left. When I get back, we¡¯ll talk about trading for those. Just ensure that Tras¡¯laq¨¬ gets as deep in debt as he should. You will end up earning so many questions if you do,¡± The smile of greed on Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s face spoke volumes. ¡°Not that you seem to have a hope of influencing her. If you do, you get a reward.¡± Julia said, ¡°Maybe you can bribe her with some questions. Go, oh yes, Castellan.¡± Her voice edged with a frozen mockery of passion as she embraced the Ki further. [Sense Motive (12->14) Domination (18->19)] {{Leashed her! Now let¡¯s get powerful enough to rip her to pieces. Slowly!}} ((She¡¯ll serve her interests well, and yours while they remain aligned.)) ((Know your enemy. Yet never forget they are an enemy.)) Be a stupid fuck toy, bribe her. You¡¯re planning to collect everything you can. Unnoticed Heat burned in Julia¡¯s eyes, drawing a smile from Naz¡¯rilca. It surprised Julia when she smiled and licked lips after there wasn¡¯t any damned screaming. Is she still buzzed from ice? ¡°We should..¡± said Naz¡¯rilca, stopping as Julia raised a reproving finger. ¡°No,¡± said Julia firmly, Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s sly smile wasn¡¯t a joyous thing. [Seduction [B](5->6) Domination (19->[B](1))] Why do I keep falling for that? ¡°Fine! Let¡¯s go,¡° said Naz¡¯rilca. She stepped forward, reaching for Julia¡¯s forearm before slipping in tight and grabbing her arse instead. They were outside the city, even as she went to slip free. {{KILL!! HER!!}} ((Patience, she has her uses yet. )) Remember, don¡¯t gut the new hires! HR might object. Or should that be IR here? 33 - Gonna make you an offer. Walking through the Gate, it was clear the security was just as pathetic. Intent on getting to the Treasury, Julia merely picked the first visible road. Each step let her sense what she¡¯d missed on the original trip through the city. Reality shifted and rippled underfoot, Harmony allowing her to feel the energy in motion, not that the city changed. Rather intent changed how the traveller touched the power, each step triggering a wave in reality. This energy was what the traveller rode forward. Connecting to that energy turned out to be easier than Julia expected. Perhaps since with Harmony, she was open to it even as it reached up to touch her with every wave. [Mana Affinity Spatial Unlocked Compatible spell forms are known: Cloak, Trip, Tracing Missile. Ki Movement [J] (1->2)] Oh, baby, come to mama. Will so need to try those out. It seemed she¡¯d only walked a block¡¯s length physically, before arriving close to the Treasury. Disbelief clashed with Ki Meditation as she headed towards the iron-bound door. The stage more than full, with a male Sk?ll Drake Demon, demonstrating their ploughing techniques to the cheering demons. I know they have brothels. Otherwise, I¡¯d be doubting it about now. Entering the storefront, several other customers were present this time. Making Julia glad they¡¯d come earlier and avoid showing her unusual harvest in front of more Demons. Stepping through the wards provided the same painful sensation. The energy in her sternum was back, having faded with the earlier departure. Standing in line was never her fun activity, but she waited her turn. It was a stereotype for all Demons to be into black or dreary stuff. It had been wrong with Usd¡¯ghi''s glittered bombed bag. Again it was wrong as a Demon stood in front of her wearing the shiniest of armours. The Ten Kingdoms'' areas had used chain hauberks and lighter armours, nothing like the full plate worn by this Demon had been present. Not only was it shiny, but it was also so polished it was practically a mirror. For the first time, she saw her Succubus form; and the occurrence made her sigh inside. Julia had been in full Succubus form since arrival, and in it, there was nothing of Julia¡¯s features, let alone build. Bluish black hair cascaded down her back, though loose locks lingered forward from her shoulders. Their presence was framing her heart-shaped features, an eeriness of beauty that turned Julia¡¯s stomach. Her face now an unfair airbrushed temptation, with dark bedroom eyes whose shading made them pop, a delicate, straight nose and lush lips. While the redness of her lips, alluring to modern preconceptions, made her lip curl in frustration. Seeing her appearance so unexpectedly caused both her Ki Meditation and Harmony to slip away. Where the fuck am I? Who am I becoming? {{I¡¯d fuck me. Gosh, we look hot! Better than the uniform. Should ¡®craft¡¯ some toys next time we get to relax! They say masturbation is lonely; however, at least you always go first.}} I didn¡¯t even consider using my old body when I got back here. Even a different version of it, I just left it behind with the humans. I¡¯m not the beautiful, perfect princess. I¡¯m a monster that Mortals fear. The perfection I used to hate in the fakeness of advertisements. Fuck. Calm. A journey always changes a traveller. Look for the strength gained, rather than allow the loss to wound. Awareness of the Ki that had been pooling into clenched fists let her feel the sharpness of anger. Letting the Ki flow away as the Demon ahead turned her way. Its closed helm hid most of its features; yet clear within were eyes shining with orange flames instead of pupils. [Intimidation (19->20)] ¡°Problem Succubus?¡± the demon asked, its voice hollow and echoed angrily in its helm. ¡°No, I¡¯m Trouble, not Problem, that¡¯s my sister,¡± said Julia, trying to lighten the mood with a quip. [Additional ¡®Use¡¯ Name Added to Profile: Trouble Profile Control (17->18)] Well, fuck! ¡°Trouble in bed can be fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be more trouble than you¡¯d think,¡± said Julia, the retort following off her lips before she considered the consequences. The Ki''s tranquilness made her voice soft and distant as she replied, almost ethereal in its coldness. This is feeling like post happy hour. [Domination [B](1->2) Seduction [B](6->7)] ¡°That is fun. Don¡¯t have time for a romp.¡± ¡°Well, have a profitable cycle then,¡± said Julia. Wondering what the heck made her say that. Guess it was better than ¡®have a nice day¡¯, cause that would be WTF from everyone around here. ¡°Curious, saying.¡± It replied. ¡°Something I heard once, not sure where.¡± ¡°I guess if you are interested in counting coins like this place. I¡¯d prefer to be counting kills.¡± the voice from the helm sounded almost wistful. ¡°Kill first and fuck the questions,¡± said Julia, surprised at its sudden change in tone. ¡°Questions another of your sisters?¡± ¡°Perhaps. I¡¯d have to ask around. So many of them about.¡± The armoured Demon laughed. The sound bounced around inside it as it turned. Wards in here keep trouble from occurring, so no one wants to start trouble. Wait, that¡¯s me now. Yeah, don¡¯t start me. My mouth gets me in enough trouble. Keeping calm, she waited out the rest of the queue without incident. Usd¡¯ghi was there with the other hag. She¡¯d already been dealing with another customer, yet they switched as Julia stepped forward. ¡°Back so soon?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, a glance going past her. ¡°Need help with some things before I head out,¡± Julia said, trying to get it simple. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°So where are you going?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°Tern¨°x,¡± said Julia, hoping that Naz¡¯rilca had been overstating things. ¡°By the Dark One¡¯s berries! Whose stupidity was that? Right, come on through. The rest of you can move the fuck back from the gate. Or you¡¯ll regret it!¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, the tone of her voice cracking against the air. The sound of Demons moving backwards was the only response. ¡°I only need some things,¡± said Julia, trying to register her protest. ¡°You¡¯ll need more than that. Come through. Don¡¯t argue, youngling.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her voice firm with the ultimate grandmother tone, of ''do you want me to fuck you up''. A section of the gate opened, and Usd¡¯ghi waved her inside. Feeling like sighing, Julia tried to keep up a smile even while going through the gate. The metal quickly clicked in place behind her. Putting a hand on Julia¡¯s shoulder, she moved them towards the stone arch. As soon as they got near the stone, Usd¡¯ghi pushed Julia through the surface. The mud pack sensation only lasted a moment, but it was eerie. Especially when partway through the energies of another ward roamed over the skin. It seemed to feel Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s presence and backed off rather than claiming a toll for passage. Usd¡¯ghi stepped past and led Julia in the direction she pushed the container from earlier that cycle. The sense of the corridor beyond almost echoing like a warehouse, devoid of life. ¡°Alright spill, who gave you that posting?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, her steady walk down the passageway reassuring as Julia moved to walk beside her. Don¡¯t think it¡¯s polite to walk at her back if she wants to chat. ¡°Castellan, I annoyed the fuck out her. I caused issues with the Damned when I got back.¡± Julia said. ¡°Darn it youngling, that¡¯s what you get from the Order. All they know how to do is kill, spy, break and fuck. No finesse. Did she even ask how a Lesser Succubus had enough screaming souls to cause a fuss?¡± ¡°Well, saying anything besides yes Castellan, Yeah that would not happen,¡± said Julia, ¡°Just lots of this happen, is that correct and oh yes Castellan.¡± Julia couldn¡¯t help adding the last in a breathy voice, and the odd laughter of Usd¡¯ghi echoed loudly in the corridor. ¡°Oh youngling, you¡¯re certainly a character,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, shaking her head in amusement. ¡°Oh yes Usd¡¯ghi, yes Usd¡¯ghi, oh,¡± Julia said, letting the last noise squeak. Acting[B](8->9) ¡°Stop it, I¡¯ll think you¡¯re flirting me as well,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her tone not hiding a mocking amusement, or least affecting one. ¡°Very well,¡± said Julia quietly. ¡°Darn, you could have at least flattered me with another round of that breathiness. Haven¡¯t had a Succubus squeak at me in eons.¡± {{Oh yeah, such Power it makes me squeak.}} ¡°Usd¡¯ghi,¡± said Julia, letting the word tremble off her lips. Acting[B](9->10) One way to get acting to progress, hope I don¡¯t have to deliver on it. ¡°Right enough, you¡¯ll make me laugh too much. Ruin my reputation.¡± ¡°As the evil bitch not to cross?¡± Julia asked and wondered where her discretion had gone. ¡°That¡¯s only because you¡¯ve been speaking to my sometimes allies. Those that have crossed me can¡¯t talk anymore,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her tone matter of fact. ¡°Yes, Usd¡¯ghi,¡± said Julia, keeping her tone respectful even while part of her still wanted to tease. ¡°Good youngling. Comes a time to end the jokes, if you¡¯ve not ended the fool. Plus, laughing at life''s fools is a waste. Just destroy them first.¡± ¡°Right, tell me what happened. Then let''s keep you safe. Can¡¯t let profit dry up before you¡¯ve shone.¡± Recounting events touched on the deal she¡¯d made with Tras¡¯laq¨¬ and Naz¡¯rilca, and ended with her arrival at the gate. Julia hadn¡¯t entirely intended to include the adjustments made to the book. At least she had kept it who had done the work to herself. ¡°So you¡¯ve got his bowl stashed in the material plane, I take it,¡± ¡°What bowl?¡± Julia asked, trying to keep her face straight, the Ki Meditation helping her still any shift in her voice, but apparently, that didn¡¯t help. Acting[B](10->11), ¡°Youngling please, I know about that little ferret fucker. He¡¯s had an arrangement with some Mortal summoners for years. Harvested a few too dumb to figure out the cost of it too often. Still good try, you¡¯ll need more practice lying to older Demons.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, before turning slightly towards her to give her an eerie warning look. ¡°Then don¡¯t get arrogant about it, and you might stay alive longer,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said as the look eased. Heading inside a room with a desk and several comfortable padded chairs, Usd¡¯ghi waved her to one before sitting down herself. ¡°Now, first thing. Planar Portals are just the most common way between planes. The stupid cow should have told you to remain there unless recalled. Still leaves five, maybe six other options straight off the top of my head.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, digging a piece of jerky from a pouch and sucking at it. ¡°What are the other ways?¡± Julia asked, not wanting to know about jerky. ¡°Planar pools, learning dimension shift or gate forms, finding or causing a planar rift. Getting summoned, those are conduits. All those options technically aren¡¯t portals. So you can thumb your nose at her stupid order and fuck off out of there. Though you don¡¯t have the information, she wants you to know when she catches up to you. Dead J it is,¡± ¡°Anyway Tern¨°x, going alone bad things," said Usd''ghi, tapping her long fingers against her chin. "Now that Br¨ªn I mentioned on your last visit, the one I was trying to set you up with him for spawnings. Should ask him to go along. He¡¯s been there more than a few times, knows a lot about mines. Works in them for darkness knows what reasons. When he isn¡¯t doing straight mercenary gigs, he''s a strange one but reliable, unlike most Demons.¡± ¡°If he''s experienced, I doubt I could afford to hire him for long,¡± refuted Julia, shaking her head reluctantly. ¡°There are things to be done there, so get him to deal with them. I¡¯ll also have him guide you and show you the ropes. In exchange, you¡¯ll sell any harvests you gain to me, between now and getting to Named?.¡± ¡°Me, get to Named?!" exclaimed Julia. "That¡¯s a long way off.¡± ¡°Little youngling, I''m not talking about reducing your rate. If you bring in enough, I might even up it. I want to make the coin, not let it go to the competition. ¡± ¡°Just tell me what¡¯s in it for you?¡± interrogated Julia suspiciously. ¡°Profit. Youngling profit. I don¡¯t want you in Tern¨°x alone. I¡¯d prefer to get you protection and protect future earnings. The wild bestial demons in Tern¨°x would eat you up. Then you¡¯re stuck here for a century with no profit, and in the Order¡¯s backyard. Or worse, some can anchor you, and use you as a brood mother. To find you, let alone retrieve, would be expensive. Have you hatching little spawn by the hundreds. Then worse are the armies or miners. Tern¨°x is dangerous, more than here.¡± Brood Mother, shit, the queen bitch was almost funny till she said that. ¡°Succubi I¡¯ve met fit in two camps. Those like Naz¡¯rilca with simple moods, kill or fuck, their lusts are straightforward. Then there are those that lust for control, power, and dominion; it¡¯s a different game for them. It¡¯s a long-term endeavour, which I also prefer. Could see you thinking about gutting Naz¡¯rilca, yet didn¡¯t even twitch. So it was clear you fitted in the second group. I help you. You help me. As senior partner, I¡¯ll make more, just like my cut processing Souls. But you¡¯ll make far more with me than you will if dead. Which you¡¯ll be without me.¡± {{Did she just threaten us?}} ((She¡¯s explaining things. Careful traps of logic are hard to spot.)) ((Or she is seeing if you are reasonable for a piece on her board.)) ¡°I¡¯m looking to get control of myself,¡± Julia stated, and regretted the wording just as fast. ¡°The only time you got it under control was when the Souls stopped flowing. Hard to shove them out the door and control your anger as well. Work on splitting your focus. So cold at the time, tiny little domination skill cranking up, pity it just turns Naz¡¯rilca on.¡± ((She sees, yet doesn¡¯t see, the filters of perception required are beyond her keen.)) I had been moving Heat. Was it that or something else? ¡°No need to ask how recently you Ascended. Your energy flows are so raw still. Still surprised you were ignorant of things, won¡¯t ask which brothel they had you in this last century before Ascend beckoned. Not my business less you want some payback on those organisers. They fleeced so much coin from you if you¡¯ve never seen a jot. I could help with that for a cut.¡± ¡°Can we just talk about Tern¨°x?¡± Julia asked. Even as her mind raced, she had to wonder what else showed on her features. It takes a century for a demon to ascend? WTF!!! ¡°Ahh youngling, I¡¯ve got you all shook up. I¡¯ll send a flit to L¨ºdhins, and when he gets here, we can talk.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said a spot of flame appeared in the air in front of her before it disappeared. ¡°Now care for some husk cake, it''s baked fresh. They brought in some young pickpockets from the river. Ground-up nice, and smooth after I shucked them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not much for sweets. I ate little between the cliffs and Ascending. Eating things is weird.¡± ¡°Suit yourself. Some take centuries to find something tasty. Try some Sk?ll Drake¡¯s milk, got a nice burn to it.¡± They sell their milk as well? She¡¯s going to do the grandma routine and fill me full of food. Please don¡¯t. ¡°Maybe just a little,¡± Julia said, trying to avoid the subject of cooking children. Sk?ll Drake¡¯s milk turned out to taste like liquified chilli, the Heat in her form heartily approved. It tastes of rage, but also their sheer delight in raw strength. {{Oh, this is yummy. Not as hot as that show, though.}} Thoughts of the stage show tried to jump around in Julia¡¯s head, almost making her spit out some ''milk''. Well, that certainly wasn¡¯t a ¡®Manpower¡¯ show. Hen¡¯s nights were far calmer. Fuck, I can¡¯t even ask her what makes her trust this fellow. Cause she doesn¡¯t. He¡¯s just a resource that is useful for the job. But I¡¯ll never be completely sure of what job he gets or if he¡¯ll betray me? 34 - His every broken enemy will know They¡¯d been chatting for a while, with Usd¡¯ghi asking details about the Order¡¯s stronghold. While Julia was pretty sure they were things that shouldn¡¯t be talked about, her Oath hadn¡¯t stopped her. A thump reverberated through the stone door before it opened. A pause followed before she heard a growling mutter. ¡°Get a bigger door sometime?¡± The bass from the voice outside ground up against her bones. ¡°Had that door before you spawned.¡± ¡°Well, if I break it one day, we¡¯ll know its lived a full life.¡± ¡°Get in here, L¨ºdhins,¡± Usd''ghi grumbled, her tone holding more respect than Julia had heard her direct to her own kin. ¡°Alright, alright. Old Hag. Couldn¡¯t have this chat out here?¡± asked L¨ºdhins, one hand grasping the doorframe. Even while talking, they hadn¡¯t expected a yes. Still speaking they¡¯d ducked to come in the door, Julia wondered how they¡¯d manage it. Mottled skin coloured like a purpling bruise stretched tight over muscles, setting out veins in bass relief. Despite his mass, catlike motions brought him flowing into the room, as if entering a familiar hiding place. The mass of muscles along his form bulged obscenely as if threatening to split the skin, yet their bulk didn¡¯t hamper his grace. His features were solid, with short black hair, square-jawed and black human-like lips, which seemed the softest thing about him. His species'' black facial ridges ran around his stark, pupilless white eyes, spearing down over his cheekbones and broad nose. Their edges swirled down along the column of his neck, and outwards along muscle thickened shoulders. Julia had thought his shirtless state might be to show off his muscles. Instead, as he finally loomed within the room, the reason became apparent. Initially, the third arm was against his side, but it moved as he came through the doorway. The knot of muscle that seemed it''s equivalent of the shoulder slid fluidly about his torso, with no apparent joint locking it in place. From his side, it slid across his abdomen. Then when he stood upright, it slithered around and perched out from his back. What Julia had read gave the limb a passing mention and nothing about this sort of behaviour. The arm finally ended up hung over his shoulder with its elbow joint near the blockish chin. The limb was around the size of an adult man¡¯s arm. Yet on his bulk, it seemed childlike and merely along for the ride. Even without its odd capability, it seemed intended for another being. So disproportionate to his mass, elongated fingers nearly twice the length of those on his other shovel-like hands and much thinner. At least he¡¯s wearing pants. Plus, they¡¯re loose enough that he doesn¡¯t need a codpiece. He¡¯s humanoid, and Usd¡¯ghi already went on about his full trunk enough. Don¡¯t need more eye-openers. Analysis expectedly gave her a host of unknowns, except for his full name, ¡®D?s L¨ºdhins Fy¡¯, and species. ¡°Your flit said this was important, but hadn¡¯t expected your lackey to let me through. What¡¯s Job?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, the deep grinding bass filling the room, more so with him looming in it. The third limb¡¯s fingers were fluttering with the vibrations his speech sent through his torso. ¡°I need you to handle some work for me in Tern¨°x.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°How long and what?¡± asked L¨ºdhins. ¡°There are some specific things I¡¯ll need covered. Priority part is to show her around, teach her the run of the place.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, gesturing broadly towards J. ¡°I don¡¯t know brothel work,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone flat with boredom. {{Someone should fuck you up!}} ((Be careful.)) At that statement, J spat out the milk she¡¯d made the mistake of drinking across her legs. Having planned to let Usd¡¯ghi do the talking. ¡°So she¡¯s a spitter. Most males don¡¯t care.¡± L¨ºdhins said, apparent dislike for the discussion growing in his tone. Even as J tried to wipe down the leather. ¡°L¨ºdhins. She¡¯s not working in a brothel,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her tone growing stern, yet the Br¨ªn didn¡¯t seem inclined to heed the warning. ¡°Camp whore. Yuck, even less interested,¡± said L¨ºdhins. His voice dry as his third arm moved away from its perch and reversed down his back, the elongated fingers waving in the air as it progressed. ¡°No,¡± said Julia, ground out from between clenched teeth. ¡°Yeah, No. Not interested in towing a whore between camps. Not worth the headache. Why even bother me with this? I owe you a favour, that means I¡¯ll listen to your job offers. It doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ll just take crap work.¡± ¡°L¨ºdhins, I have some contracts that have to be handled in Tern¨°x. You¡¯ll get a full fee for all of them, along with your usual escort fee for teaching J how to get around the plane. The jobs will need some travelling. J will go along to help you out, and you show her around and look to keep her intact.¡± ¡°What sort of name is J? Someone squeeze a fart. And you thought it was your name?¡± ¡°L¨ºdhins, you¡¯re not listening.¡± ¡°You want me to drag miss suck by around Tern¨°x. Do some genuine work along the way. Whatever. When she gets herself killed, which she will, you¡¯ll yell at me. Don¡¯t think there is an upside. The coin isn¡¯t worth the noise.¡± {{GET OUT OF HERE! COCK SUCKING ARSEHOLE!}} ((Calm. Listen. Observe!)) ¡°Isn¡¯t there someone less muscle brained?¡± asked Julia, feeling her anger roiling hard even under the Ki tranquillity. ¡°Youngling too many would attract attention. L¨ºdhins could travel nearly anywhere on that Plane by himself. His presence gives protection in the wilds and discourages interest in any size gatherings while you learn.¡± ¡°Usd¡¯ghi why are you explaining to the whore?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a whore!¡± Julia snarled. She was tired of the dismissiveness showing in L¨ºdhins, word, tone, and even posture towards her. Even arguing with Usd¡¯ghi, his body language seemed to convey more respect to her. ¡°Well, you spit, and you scream I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get hired yet. Keep working at it. Or don¡¯t. Most Demons want a hole to hide in, regardless of quality.¡± ¡°You run your mouth enough. Do they hide in it as well?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Your holes have seen far more action than my mouth,¡± L¨ºdhins replied. ¡°Not true. You seem to fuck up with it regularly.¡± Julia said, wondering how much trouble was coming her way if this was the best guide available for Tern¨°x. ¡°Enough!¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her tone a firm warning to both of them. ¡°Well, this hasn¡¯t been fun,¡± L¨ºdhins said, as a repeated motion of his third limb¡¯s hand now resting against his side caught her attention. A momentary similarity in finger movement to a deaf translator caught her eyes. [Perception [Ap] (19->20) Br¨ªn Hand sign added to exposed languages list] Oh, you fucker! Mentally spending a point, she caught the end part of what was being ¡®said¡¯. It made her realise his presence had absorbed far too much of her attention. It was a mistake. She¡¯d not paid attention to Usd¡¯ghi during the conversation. ¡°plus the weapon.¡± the unlocked language also providing meaning to the word''s ¡®tone¡¯. It wasn¡¯t a request or demand. They were haggling. {{Playing us}} ((Layers of activity. Leave them in ignorance.)) This is bad. What else did they discuss? ¡°Agreed, and you keep half the children.¡± The fingers tapped against his hip. ¡°Agreed.¡± Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s fingers splayed against the arm of her chair. ¡°L¨ºdhins double your normal fees plus your weapons enchantment cost cleared.¡± They fucking trade children?! Whose children? Julia¡¯s stomach wanted to clench inside her at the thought of even Demon children being sold. Especially given Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s matchmaking efforts. ¡°Should have just started there. But if she gets herself dead, don¡¯t go hexing me.¡± ¡°Then you would have gone for more. Don¡¯t risk her unnecessarily.¡± Unnecessarily? {{Kill him when we can!}} ((Careful child.)) Fuck, do I still go with him? Learn fast, and as always, watch my back. Always be ready to run, not fight. Fuck you Danger Sense, you need to earn your pay. Usd¡¯ghi moved to her desk and tossed him a metal cylinder. It disappeared from the air, and his hand just as quickly. ¡°That has enough for half the contracts I need you to handle. Details within it. Plus the first year¡¯s protection and training pay. You¡¯ll get the rest of the contract fees on completion from the Treasury in Qcppxtypcd. I will pay extensions from there.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. A massive black metal weapon appeared soundless with no warning on the floor next to her. The weapon¡¯s double-sided head had a scooping blade opposite a spike. They set its long haft with a blunt weight for the same metal. The analysis had told her it was a War Mattock and been unhelpful, providing her with no details as to the material itself. Though combining it with Mana Sense had at least given her a level up. The runes crawling all over the weapons had been fairly obvious, but the way they focused force towards the weapons impact points seemed interesting. [Analysis [J](7->8)] L¨ºdhins looked it over before touching it, and the weapon had vanished. Storage items? {{Cut his throat in battle.}} ((Their plans do not have to be your own.)) I¡¯ll get control of my fate. ¡°She¡¯ll need better clothing than casual whore wear.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sitting right here,¡± Julia said, annoyed this arse was just going to treat her like a wall ornament. ¡°And?¡± asked L¨ºdhins, his tone relaxed in his query. ¡°L¨ºdhins take her to the equipment suppliers. You¡¯ve agreed to train her and accepted the coin. Teach her where to get gear and what to buy.¡± Bow fucking wow! ¡°Right, come on Petal,¡± L¨ºdhins said, the Abyssal derogatory term for useless clearly aimed at her. [Do you wish to accept Petal as a ¡®Use¡¯ name?] No Remove ¡®Use¡¯ Name Trouble. Nothing. At least I tried. ¡°There are only three of us here. Losing your mind already?¡± ¡°I was talking to you, Petal!¡± L¨ºdhins said, his rumbling voice still deepening as he spoke. [Do you wish to accept Petal as a ¡®Use¡¯ name?] No, fuck off, I already said No. ¡°My name is not, and will never be Petal,¡± Julia stated, her tone firm as she stared at him, wanting to head off his bullshit. [Domination [B](1->2) Profile Control (18->19) Use name Petal added to the previous entry on the blocked list.] ¡°Whatever Petal, I¡¯ll call you ¡®Suck by¡¯ instead.¡± [Do you wish to accept ¡®Suck by¡¯ as a Use name?] ¡°I¡¯m not answering to that tosser. Do your fingers get that stretched, jerking? Or is it a whole-body experience?¡± [Use name ''Suck by'' added to the previous entry on the blocked list.] ¡°Oh, she¡¯s got teeth. Well, come along, Viper. Let¡¯s find you some gear.¡± L¨ºdhins said. Her language and Demonic lore both providing a reference to the same creature. A small primordial water serpent with a bite poisonous even to most Demons. [Do you wish to accept ¡®Viper¡¯ as a ¡®Use¡¯ name?] {{Mine}} Julia went to reject it, yet the system¡¯s acknowledgement showed up. [Use Name ¡®Viper¡¯ has been added to Profile] [Profile Control (19->20)] WTF! Trolling stupid system. And why did that go up? No ¡®Use¡¯ name to be accepted from other entities. [Confirmed ¡®Use¡¯ Name addition access now locked.] ¡°Fine!¡± Julia said. The word growled unnoticed, at least by her, in multiple octaves at once from her mouth. ((Careful little one!)) ¡°Now let me show you out. I¡¯ve things to do.¡± ¡°Fine. Clothier, Weapon shop.¡± L¨ºdhins ¡°You need more than your mouth. Then an Alchemist store.¡±
Well, he seems to know some of what he¡¯s doing. Julia couldn¡¯t help but admit some respect for his competence after seeing him dealing with the various store holders. Even though he was still a complete arse. Equipped now in ''death worm'' hide pants, top and arm sleeves. They fashioned the top to curve around where her wings anchored; magic adjusting the pre-made garment to fit like a glove. Together with her fighting spear so far, the shopping had cost her a good chunk of coin. Just observing his haggling sessions had caused it to level up twice. Though the edged smile was making her smugness abundantly clear to him at present. ¡°Where did you steal these?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, looking the glands over, nostrils twitching at their scent. ¡°Oh, they aren¡¯t stolen. Freshly gathered.¡± Julia said, gesturing at the cluster of the smallest lurker glands placed at the assessment station. Glad she¡¯d asked so ¡®cluelessly¡¯ how much the preserved glands in the supplies area were selling at. Learning fresh was even more potent was a boost now to her haggling. Since L¨ºdhins had been out of the loop, he hadn¡¯t even understood the purpose in her questions. [Acting[B](8->9)] ¡°Now, since these are so fresh. I¡¯m sure you can add four each of the air stops, earthen and lightning spike runes to the list.¡± ¡°They¡¯d better make it at least six.¡± ¡°When you said Alchemist, I didn¡¯t realise the range,¡± Julia said. ¡°We try to keep in stock most magical consumables. The makers hate dealing with customers directly, and we take a cut from the sale. Less risk of destruction occurring in a city region. We make all the potions ourselves, though. Do you have any more? These all look to be scouring plains?¡± The storekeeper asked, turning over another gland in gloved hands. ¡°Yes, they are. I have some more and larger ones. What¡¯s it worth to you?¡± Julia said, letting happiness purr into her voice. She¡¯d had this stuff in her inventory for so long. When they finally left the store, she was even happier. Her inventory space had more in it since Julia had added items, but had levelled up as well. The alchemist had sold her kits for rune inscribing, field alchemy, and materials processing. Though he seemed surprised when she turned down the manuals to teach the basics of their use. Unlocking, inscribe, and alchemy might have been a waste. Yet Julia figured the months of training saved that way was a value add. Plus her Wizard class gave her bonuses to using them, and the rune lore knowledge. Ditching everything one item at a time and putting the new items in her personal space had also proved useful since she¡¯d pulled hundreds of the smaller glands out. The final level-ups had been nice as well. [Haggling [Ap](7->9) Inventory (6->7)] ¡°Viper, how did you gain and store those? They were still dripping blood.¡± ¡°Oh, I ripped them out with my claws. Bare flesh is very vulnerable that way.¡± Julia said, letting her glance flick over his crotch. Smiling, she tapped the fingers of her left hand against her chin. ¡°Don¡¯t we need to find out when the next caravan leaves?¡± Julia asked, purposely avoiding his second question. You have your secrets I¡¯ll keep mine mate. ¡°Only since you insist we go with one.¡± ¡°Yes, I do. At least till we cross the portal. Let¡¯s go, mate.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your mate.¡± L¨ºdhins retorted, his tone a flat rejection. Oh fuck, I said that aloud. Too happy, let down my guard already. Lose the Aussie lingo J. Well, at least I said it in Abyssal. {{So fuckable!}} ((Dangerous.)) 35 - Sticks and stone. Reaching the merchant caravans would have taken longer than Julia had expected. Naz¡¯rilca had pointed out the direction to travel around the city. Yet hadn¡¯t bothered to warn Julia how long it would take. Or suggest using a different gate to the one Naz''rilca had brought her to. L¨ºdhins, laughing at her expense, had added a tick of interest to Naz¡¯rilca¡®s tab. Fortunately, he had asked about which city exit she¡¯d planned to use. Julia didn¡¯t know if it was laughing, or just his general pissing in her corn flakes attitude. But it had her teeth grinding, and her arms crossed at present. ¡°You about done?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Oh, yeah. But it was amusing. This city isn¡¯t a backwater trade stop. You¡¯re in a major city. Nearly four hundred kilometres between that gate and where you need to go. It would have taken a while walking or flying.¡± said L¨ºdhins. Shaking his head at her, it even looked like his third hand was snickering to itself. ¡°So flood plain gate is where I need to be intent on getting to?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Correct. Glad you at least have that figured out,¡± said L¨ºdhins, snorting in disbelief. Fucking Naz¡¯rilca. {{Yeah, we should. So.. should¡­ do¡­ that¡­ and.. oh¡­ knife there as well.}} {{Then we¡¯d have a grid for noughts and crosses.}} {{Or we can both be very cross!}} ((Put her down fast when the time comes. Don¡¯t play games.)) Shaking her head, Julia set aside the images in her mind and started walking intent on the different gate.
They quickly reached the gates, and Julia found the guard¡¯s behaviour here was entirely different. Instead of laying about, playing dice or cards, they were busy doing what she''d actually expected from guards. Inspecting goods, looming to stop trouble, directing travellers, waving them through, patting them down, and of course, since Demons, taking bribes. Maybe bribes, but the way the money purse sneakily changed hands, it was a good bet. It was unclear why the difference till they¡¯d gotten past the outer gates and moved into the hive of activity. The succubi and incubi she¡¯d seen in the square had just been objects of sexual entertainment. The overseer¡¯s raised platform had them standing well above the chaos. Her focus was on directing progress near the gate like a conductor. Its attitude seemed more inclined to fuck you up then fuck you. In an outfit that seemed formed of thin metallic chains, it was clear from her conduct that this area belongs to her. Where the Castellan had been scary because of her fury, the area¡¯s overseer radiated cold control. A flick of her fingers would have the Demons working in the place jumping to her command, guard or worker alike. L¨ºdhins seemed to ignore the overseer, and his third arm pushed Julia. When the Succubus¡¯ energy washed over her, Mental Hardening and Ki Meditation strained. Supported by their effects and L¨ºdhins eventually they got out of the area without Julia doing anything strange. The mewling purr would not merit any mention, well at least not by her. Though even when away from the immediate proximity of the overseer. It was clear the rest of the camp hopped to her instructions. What she wanted happened, Demons or goods moved, signs went up or swapped on her orders. While there wasn¡¯t a pattern outside of whim, they¡¯d help them find a Caravan bound to Tern¨°x. Well, at least if there was one, and L¨ºdhins spotted the expected arrival and departures. ¡°We¡¯re on the one leaving this cycle, or we¡¯re waiting for four cycles,¡± L¨ºdhins said. His eyes were leading hers down a walkway towards the Caravan. ¡°Well, who do we see to get on it?¡± Julia asked, not liking its appearance. The wind also wasn¡¯t doing it any favours. ¡°There will be a Caravan Master to ensure the crew does what it needs. Ensuring guards at present for departure etc.¡± L¨ºdhins said, reluctance to approach clear on his face. ¡°You sure we have to catch a caravan? You can fly, and I have options, the portal¡¯s that way.¡± L¨ºdhins said, pointing out over the floodplain with confident speed. ¡°We¡¯re catching a Caravan.¡± ¡°You sure you want this one,¡± said L¨ºdhins, obviously finding it as unappealing as Julia did. ¡°The one in four cycles, if it even shows, could be worse.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m optimistic that it could be a lot better,¡± said L¨ºdhins. ¡°I¡¯m getting on that Caravan, are you going to do your job? Or return the coin to Usd¡¯ghi. I¡¯m sure it would impress her.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do the job,¡± said L¨ºdhins, stalking down the boardwalk the weight of his feet made it rock. Heading down the boardwalk, Julia looked out for someone in charge. As they got closer, Julia couldn¡¯t quite believe what she was seeing and stilled her disgust. Getting her attention off the transports, she looked over the workers instead. Most of them appeared to be from the same Demonic species. While bipedal they weren''t humanoid, stout legs supported and let them move the mass of cargo they each carried. Their torsos were a flat-based v shape from their hips and supported six arms in total. Unlike L¨ºdhins, all of them seemed fixed in their location and spaced out evenly from just above the hips to the upper shoulders. They had a triangular-shaped head and a narrow maw sporting serrated teeth in the middle of its ''face''. Yet other than beetle-like black eyes located just above that maw, they were featureless. Their hide appeared bluish-black and almost shiny; though they hid most of it beneath clothing. Picking one of the smallest Demons, Julia activated Analysis on it. [Name: Species: Least ¨¹vgzc ?aaov Class: Hauler Level: 1/ 3 Health: 48 Mana: 0 Defence: 30 Melee Attack Power: 16 Combat Skills: Claws (17), Bite [B](1) Details: Commonly called Beetle Backs, these are born Demons, not transformed Souls. The non-combatants of this species usually find work among the Abyssal merchants and construction groups, because of their ability to handle heavy loads. Bipedal their internally armoured hide makes them challenging to hurt when fully grown. Only those with enough knowledge or a way to penetrate its protections can easily damage a matured specimen. ] Unnamed? So some demons don¡¯t have a ¡®Use¡¯ name. What do they call each other click and clack? If I ¡®Named¡¯ him, what would happen? The workers weren''t what repulsed them about the Transports; instead, they both had trouble with the smell. Though it was understandable, and it wasn¡¯t because the caravan transports were massive. Each individually was taller than an ore haulier she¡¯d seen on TV. Given these were also over five times the length, their size was far more imposing. They weren¡¯t trucks they just stood that high at the shoulder. From their blunted snouts, past their long bodies, onto the bony tips of their spiked tails. From looking at them, the amount of fertiliser one alone would produce - massive. Well, if they were still alive. Instead, they were masses of rotting meat, dripping ichor, and other bodily fluids held in a decomposing state by necromancy. Their exposed meat glistened with decay, and the odour from it seemed almost a living entity. A heavy load of leftover eggs and cabbages rotting continually in the summary sun would smell better than what they were approaching. Mothballs, rotting garbage, and sun heated shit, were just the icing on the cake of the odour, and taste of rotting meat that began coating her nostrils and tongue. She couldn''t throw up, and couldn''t even gag, but didn''t mean the assault from this was bearable, yet she had her orders to catch a Caravan. I miss that bathtub. A bath here? Good luck with that. Travel time by Caravan, city to Portal was a week. Just a week! I can do this, maybe. As they drew closer, a blister in the side of a ¡®Transport¡¯ burped and its gases roared towards them. If they¡¯d been closer, she¡¯d be as coated as some cargo handlers. Still, she was wearing leather at present, and the smell was thick in the air. How long was the smell of undead going to linger on it? Yet it explained why the harnesses looped over each had solid plates facing the flesh. The massive harness was a series of platforms jutting out from a reverse U harness. They had set it up in a way to leave a gap between interior walls and hide, apparently for gore to flow. What I want to know. Do these guys count as roadkill? {{Yummy meat. Ribs.}} Also, why am I thinking of BBQ? Oh, ribs. Lots of ribs to see. ¡°I see the Caravan master,¡± L¨ºdhins said, ¡°I¡¯ll see what they¡¯ll charge us for the trip. ¡° L¨ºdhins went off up a ramp to chat with a Beetle Back. A distance bell echoing the time drew a deadline within her mind even harder. ¡°So how do you feel about providing services for the Caravan Master during the trip?¡± L¨ºdhins said, after coming back shaking his head. ¡°What?¡± asked Julia, frowning at the question. ¡°He wants services from you as part of the fee. No discount and he wants daily services agreed to before he lets us onboard,¡± said L¨ºdhins, not seeming at all fussed by passing on the request. ¡°What no!¡± Julia said, disgust colouring her tone, ¡°that¡¯s not happening." ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll see what I can do. He sounds stubborn on that point though,¡± said L¨ºdhins, looking back at the excited looking Beetle back. ¡°No. No servicing from me. Not happening.¡± Julia said, given a firm reply before looking back towards the city. Wanting this discussion over and already feeling Heat and anger rising sort to head them off with Harmony and meditation. The analysis didn¡¯t want to play with the caravan master, unlike some of his crew. All she knew he was Beatle Back, so a full rank above her and who knows what levels. Julia sighed as L¨ºdhins continued to negotiate for passage. Yeah, why have a standard rate?
¡°He says he¡¯ll drop the request for service to two during the week,¡± said L¨ºdhins as he walked over again. Over forty different payment packages requested, but all of them have included me. The transports leave in a bell, and L¨ºdhins has already spent three bells haggle. The arse has agreed to other groups while we¡¯ve been here. We¡¯re still not allowed on, because we¡¯ve not agreed to a price. Who knows what the freaking Oath will do to me for not doing my utmost to get on the first transport. ¡°No. Don¡¯t ask again,¡± said Julia. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°You holding out for a particular discount?¡± asked L¨ºdhins, looking slightly bored, apparently was his default expression. It was resting bored face. I guess it¡¯s better than resting bitchy face. {{Oh weenie dog!}} ¡°No!!! If he puts his dick near me. I¡¯ll make him eat it.¡± Julia hissed the words, the tone, unfortunately, carried clearly with her ire. [Seduction [B](7->8) [Domination [B](2->3)]] Well, Fuck!!! ¡°Whole or in slices?¡± Julia looked over at the visible evidence that had caught L¨ºdhins¡¯ notice. Then gave him a flat look that left him unmoved. [Sense Motive (14->15) Domination [B](3->4)] ¡°Flirting with me isn¡¯t helping anything. Unless you want to get them hot with jealousy.¡± ¡°Just pay his fee, this should cover it,¡± Julia said. She pulled out the coins left in her inventory and shoved them into his hands. It was an amount that should more than cover transport; As it was nearly what the caravan master had charged a group of five miners and their gear during a break haggling with L¨ºdhins. Fucking price gouging. If I shift to look like another Demon thoroughly, could I avoid this? Or would they recognise a Succubus, regardless? Just think it¡¯s a kinky roleplay? {{We¡¯re not doing that. Kill it. Fuck it. But we''re not ugly.}} ((Find your peace, child.)) Julia tried to tune out the argument; she tried, Heat and Ki whirled around inside her. L¨ºdhins offered the coin, and the caravan master refused it over and over. They were whirling around. Just over this. Physical sensations grew distant even as she was ignoring the pair, focusing on the whirlwind. When she reached the Caravan master and step in close, Julia saw his confused smile. The impact of a Ki ladened knee strike directly in his groin lifted him off the ground, and the energies soared in harmony. Even then, she was still trying to tune their words out. Instead of their haggling, she was now ignoring the cries of pleasure from the caravan master at her feet. Fuck Julia tilted slightly to look up at L¨ºdhins and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have just done that two bells ago?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, giving her a confused shrug with all three shoulders. ¡°Again?¡± The delighted cry made her look down at the healing Demon. His black eyes were meeting her gaze with its swirling energy. [Domination [B](4->6) Harmony [J] (35->36)] ¡°Shut up,¡± Julia whispered. The words carrying the Ki coldness sealed his lips for a moment. [Domination [B](6->7)] ¡°You may go onboard now. We will talk again.¡± The caravan master¡¯s voice sounded far too happy. ¡°L¨ºdhins, is there a particular reason you arranged this outfit?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Well, you said you aren¡¯t a whore. So that makes you a dominator right?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°That¡¯s what he meant by services?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Well, yes. Certainly seemed to have delivered a real down payment,¡± said L¨ºdhins, a slight smirk followed the pun. ¡°You said I needed more suitable clothing,¡± Julia said, glaring at him. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s a sturdy set of dominator travel leathers. It seems like it was worth every coin.¡± L¨ºdhins took a stack of coins from the now smiling Caravan master and helped him to his feet. She walked in the direction of the loading ramp, leaving L¨ºdhins in her wake. Harmony swirling Ki and her Abyssal Heat in orbit around each other as she moved. I hate him already. {{The inside of this outfit is so lovely and yummy on the skin. Let¡¯s break his knees next time.}} As orbiting energies caused the charge icon to tick over, she turned and used it in a form. When it hit the caravan master, his moans of pleasure became quite ecstatic. [Tracing Missile [B] (1->2) Arcane [B] (5->7) Torture (10->11)] {{We should get more outfits like this, they¡¯re yummy. Better than human clothing. So soft on all our parts.}} ((Seek your centre. Don¡¯t let frustration draw you into the whirlwind instead be apart from it.)) Am I worried about clothes? Fuck! [Achievement: Primordial Arcane Insight Condition: Having empowered a standard spell form with a source of Primordial energies. (Special) Primordial Mana Affinity unlocked. (Special) Primordial Resistance - Lesser unlocked. Primordial Resistance - Lesser (1). Note: Primordial Mana existed before any form. It is neither order nor chaos, good nor evil, but embodies the potential for everything within the universe. It is the raw, unstructured building blocks of existence. Tread with care, when touching the material used in the Titan¡¯s foundry.] Great, something else to worry about. Julia let go of the swirling forces inside her. Without a charge buildup, it didn¡¯t damage. Instead, the Heat rushed through every fibre, carrying the Ki as a steaming sauna mist. As she walked on the misted Ki cooled the Heat in a rush of rain and cold winds. I want, need to control myself, not others. ((Bringing another pleasure, regardless of form, can be good.)) ((Yet delighting in the pain of others sets one on the route to self-destruction.)) ((Act with peace in oneself. Even when the moment calls for violence, be true.))
The wind roared across the floodplain, as the colossus transports continued their relentless thudding walk. It had started raining after they set out, yet already the waters were nearing the top of their massive feet. Time Sense [Ap] (7->8) Julia finished the kata she¡¯d been executing in a drifting state, working on awareness of form rather than power or speed. Something was tickling under the skin since she¡¯d started practising, and elusively rubbed up against the edges of Harmony. Rather than try dragging it to the surface, Julia had tried to find peace within the practice. The wind rustled against the edge of the pixie cut adopted since the caravan had started out. The Caravan Master having provided them with a private section of deck on ¡®His Transport¡¯. ¡°Interesting dance.¡± As she stopped, Julia let off both Harmony and Ki Meditation. Having them active caused her to feel too calm. At present, there was reason to be angry with L¨ºdhins. ¡°I think you¡¯ve done enough. I told you just to pay him. Instead, I¡¯ve now got two sessions to deliver on.¡± ¡°You interrupted the haggling. Since he¡¯d been holding at two sessions, it was a deal done.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a whore, nor a dominator. Don¡¯t put your fucking labels on me. You assumed you didn¡¯t ask.¡± Julia said, hissing in anger as Heat burned in her eyes. ¡°For ¡®nor a dominator¡¯, he¡¯s singing your praises. That is once he could stand. How did you cut through his resistances?¡± ¡°You almost sound like you know him,¡± Julia said, not wanting to give anything away. ¡°Met him when he was a starting crew member. Guarded on his first caravan. Though didn¡¯t know he was a Caravan Master now.¡± ¡°Well, I suggest you go catch up with your old friend. Go find fulfilment with each other.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Both of you can go fuck yourselves,¡± ¡°I¡¯m flexible, but not that flexible.¡± Julia¡¯s sharp look got merely an amused look as the first response. [Domination [B](7->8)] ¡°See. Now you¡¯re flirting again,¡± said L¨ºdhins, laughing as he moved past the cargo framing their section. Demons!!!
What the heck am I doing here? Julia stared distantly at the Caravan Master at her feet. He indeed appeared to be enjoying the pressures being applied via her Ki charged feet. Her focus on the Alert within her awareness. While it also seemed to exist within a gap in time as the profile, her mind raced in a way that felt the time was short.
Alert:
Do you wish to evolve Torture into Bondage? [Y/N] The Torture skill is for inflicting pain on a helpless individual, either for interrogation or pure sadism. Bondage uses pain, physical or mental, for sexual gratification without physical intercourse, though it can also occur. This skill allows a Dominator to gauge their pet¡¯s limits and desires. Notice: Skill subsets detected. Evolution of skill will subsume this and other skills into the Power: Dominion. Skills to include in subsuming are: Acting [B](9). Bluff (16). Bondage (11) [Formerly Torture]. Domination [B](8), Intimidation (20). Rope Use (9). Disguise [B](9). Seduction [B](8). Sense Motive (15). Taunt (7)
Closing her eyes didn¡¯t help with it. I hated gaining torture. At least this is what, not pure sadism. But if I take it, what the heck is this Power. [Dominion: This power causes the projection of an aura of authority around the user. The higher the rank, the greater the area of influence and submission caused even without a direct line of sight. While some may give way, others will regard it as a challenge to their power, or be able to ignore it. It provides the user insight into the wants, needs, desires and limits of their ¡®subjects¡¯. While this understanding includes physical gratifications, it goes further. It also provides additional details when the subject is more familiar or receives a singular focus. Application of this power is a direct clash between the Levels, Charisma and Willpower of the individuals. For those without this power disinclined to submit, it also conducts the challenge. Yet it only determines if they can behave normally, they cannot ¡®win¡¯ the contest. Failure results in the authority being compelled upon others by the victor. Various mental powers and skills provide bonuses to this contest. The winner has the option to selectively de-buff those that submitted to them willing or not. Reducing skill and power effectiveness till it fades.] Hope I can get some of those skills back again. But an aura effect. Heck! Yes [Skill evolution confirmed. Skills subsumed (Acting, Bluff, Bondage, Domination, Intimidation, Rope Use, Disguise, Seduction, Sense Motive, Taunt.) Power: Dominion [B](11) Acquired. Power synergy with two other Powers detected Harmony and Stimulation. Dominion [B](11) -> [Ap](1) Analysis As the shift completed, time resumed, and the Power made some things clear. You could have told me the flow-on impact, but at least you didn¡¯t subsume Harmony as well. Locations on the Caravan Master¡¯s body highlighted. Awareness of his submission and excitement to her was clear. Yet though excited, he didn¡¯t want sexual contact. Instead, she saw and even vaguely understood what he needed. Though of concern was how she already knew why he needed pain so badly. After a moment¡¯s consideration, she acted; slowly pressing a Ki charged knee into his torso, where one arm joined his body. ¡°You don¡¯t deserve my fingers on you. Do you?¡± Julia asked, with a cold purr, knowing he needed to surrender control. ¡°No¡± He gasped, agony and ecstasy mingling in the reply. Demons are a lot more complicated than I had thought. {{Yes.}} ((Yes. But have no mercy.)) Or my sanity has just wandered off long ago. Both? He wasn¡¯t a Soul tossed into the Abyss he was born from it. Who am I?
Julia stood at the lead edge of the harness towards the ramp that led to the Planar Portal for Tern¨°x¡ªturning as she heard footsteps approaching slowly from behind her. The Caravan Master one, ??th¡¯pl, was coming to see her likely attempting again to get her to change plans. He craved pressure and pain because of the earliest memories within his egg. He¡¯d somehow grown in an awkward position within. Towards his last stage of growth, his limbs had cinched painfully inwards, before instincts had finally led him to break free. The pain reminded him of being in a place he still thought he could be safe. She didn¡¯t know what to make of a Demon that desired safety. {{Let¡¯s hurt him some more!}} ((He might even miss you. Miss not taking the chance to seize you.)) ¡°We¡¯ll stop before the portal for yourself and L¨ºdhins to alight as he requested. Are you sure you won¡¯t come with us directly to Qcppxtypcd?¡± ??th¡¯pl asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even charge you any extra for the additional distance.¡± ¡°We set our plans ??th¡¯pl. Ensure you deliver that letter and see it into Usd¡¯ghi hands for me.¡± Julia said, simply amused that he still implied that he¡¯d charge L¨ºdhins and likely double. L¨ºdhins, the smug bastard, still hadn¡¯t given her back any of her money. Even though he¡¯d gotten coins instead, sneaky fuck had got the cost down to her servicing ??th¡¯pl twice during the week. Served her right for tuning out on the haggling conversation. So ??th¡¯pl had given him coins for her delivery of the down payment. He¡¯d been nice enough to tell her after their second session of pressure therapy. Cause that¡¯s such a better way to think of it. Right? ¡°Are you sure? The crew in this transport are more focused on their duty with you about,¡± ??th¡¯pl said, ¡°perhaps I could pay you instead both for that and another session.¡± ¡°??th¡¯pl don¡¯t make me cross with you. If you do, I¡¯ll never touch you again. No matter how you beg.¡± Julia said, feeling the ¡®pressure¡¯ Dominion placed on him expressing her potential crossness. Seriously, the lines out of my mouth. Aura is proving a bitch to level, it¡¯s been on for almost six cycles straight, and it hasn¡¯t gone up at all. Don¡¯t know if it¡¯s because of how few crew members usually are in my area of effect at once. Well, at least it started at apprentice one. ¡°You have everything, Viper?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, calling up from somewhere below the deck. ¡°Yes. I had nothing I wanted to leave out. Waiting till we¡¯re closer or going now?¡± Julia asked, not bothering to figure out where exactly he was. ¡°Yeah, let us go now. We can outpace the transport and get the clearance I want through the portal before they enter it.¡± Turning on her mana sight, she did, however, watch through the deck. ¡°If you can send a flit to Usd¡¯ghi. Let her know ??th¡¯pl will have a letter for Naz¡¯rilca. Then we¡¯ll get going.¡± The form she¡¯d seen Usd¡¯ghi cast lit up with the same pattern against the background of the necromantic energies that kept the Transport moving. Though instead of flame it lit up with lightning blue, before racing off. ¡°Right,¡± L¨ºdhins said, leaping out past the edge of the transport. Given his considerable size touchdown should have left an impact mark; instead, it looked like he didn¡¯t even scuff it. Turning back to ??th¡¯pl, she paused a moment to press hard, having learnt where armour didn¡¯t properly protect a joint. Without a further word, she flew off, trying to catch up to an already racing L¨ºdhins, and ignoring the sound of pleasure behind her. Don¡¯t know what to be more afraid of anymore. He can really move for a big guy. Julia sat down next to where he stood at the planar gate, having only been able to watch him extend the lead. ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll do this just as discussed. Go in, keep low, move forward slowly and head to the first passage on your left. We¡¯ll take time for our eyes to adjust once there. Unlike here, there is no sun." L¨ºdhins said. Taking out his weapon, he set it down while he took his time pulling on some gloves. "Most places have something or other that glows enough once your eyes get used to it. Don¡¯t throw out any big light spells unless you''re open to more company. Now the first step is the big one. Try not to go sprawling.¡± Nodding to Julia, he hefted the war mattock in a single hand and stepped forward. Looking at the black rippling ''mirror'' of the Portal reflecting her features, with a quick thought, Protean absorbed the wings. She already had equipped her rings and bracers, so there was no further preparation to make. With the warm air of the floodplain at her back, she crouched and stepped forward into the blackness. For whatever reason, she didn¡¯t feel any disorientation. With the portal glimmering softly at her back, a flicker of movement towards her face was all the warning she had to react. 36 - Underground Reflex was the only thing that stopped the webbing from hitting her face. Whatever the bracer¡¯s ability to deal with missiles apparently not responding to the attack''s nature. A snapped upper block intercepted the mass before it struck. The sticky material smacked her forearm and bulged around it. Having spread outwards, it sealed itself around the limb; from just below her wrist, it enveloped well past the elbow. The glow that came from the Portal messing with her vision so much; it was lucky she¡¯d managed that. Their plan indeed hadn¡¯t survived contact with this enemy. Their attack wasn¡¯t going completely the ambushers'' way either, as Julia heard noises of fighting in the darkness. As quickly as it struck, the line reeled inwards, the sudden pressure whipping her body through the air. With clarity from the Ki, her senses moved momentarily into a heightened state. That state cataloguing everything from the instant her feet left the ground, the shifting of shadows, dank air, bitter venom, the clash of metal against stone, the wind across her face. It was a clarity that let her try to Blink to the nearest visible safety. In its fragile newness, the clarity crumbled from the unexpected. That surprise almost ended things as Blink failed, the power of it draining away down the line that held onto her. It left her trying to comprehend the shadowy nightmare clinging high on the wall. Airborne without warning, the habits from that long climb activated Flight, but momentum still carried her from the illumination of the Portal. The shock of the situation almost had her yanking backwards, yet instinct and Danger Sense screamed otherwise. {{Kill them!}} ((Move with, do not fight the tide.)) [Danger Sense (14->15)] Flight¡¯s push turned her direct course into steep angle instead; enabling Julia to mostly avoid the long claws seeking to snatch her from the air. If she¡¯d stayed along the path, the attack might have struck deep. But the change wasn¡¯t enough and her trailing leg emitted sounds of breaking bone. The line reeling in her now hooked by that missed attack; it pulled her downward. Momentum twisted Julia towards the obsidian ridges along the half-seen limb. Protean left her leathers fluttering like a bizarre harness at the end of a bungee cord. The webbing had anchored on the sleeve instead of flesh. The sound of metal striking a hardened stone rang out, and lightning arced through the chamber. The afterimage would have shown Julia the forms of those ranged against her. Within her shape, the vibration against stone ¡®skin¡¯ was the only thing perceived. Arcs of lighting continued to lash outwards from where L¨ºdhins stood on the back of a jagged form, even his mass outweighed by its bulk. Grasping a line from the thing''s spinneret, lightning arced and seared deep into armoured flesh. As that power ripped out the other side forking towards others, the webbing burned to ash. Compressed from her form of a Succubus, she¡¯d become a thin stalactite where her right hand had been. Empowered by Flight, the spike plunged downwards towards where eyes had gleamed in the portal''s light. Its armoured head and Demonic flesh would still have deflected ordinary stone. It couldn¡¯t however, handle the Ki fashioned into the point, letting the attack drive deep in an eye that had shone like a faceted gem. The impact struck its head, but this foe wasn¡¯t falling so quickly. A ruptured orb was the only damage when the skull bone behind turned her strike. A pained twitch sent the stalactite flying from wounded flesh before she did more. She felt the impact of ¡®flesh¡¯ against this plane¡¯s stone. No injury resulted from being skipped across the tunnel, and her health bar even showed it was recovering from the breaks. Spread on stone as cold as her form, Julia took an action she hoped not to regret and opened Telepathy. Waves of hunger, rage, pain and fury raced into awareness. Their anger and wrath were nothing compared to what she¡¯d experienced, and Mental Hardening didn¡¯t even strain. The range of her telepathy gave her a feeling of too many foes for comfort. From them, she got a sense of their hunger, rage and frustration. A hunt unfulfilled, simple prey gone missing, other game now vanished, and pain burning the air. Their focus shifting towards the one causing that burning, Julia changed again. Her new form still had skin like stone, and Julia regarded the scene with blackened eyes. [Telepathy [B] (8->9)] With the illumination no longer directly behind her, she could spot the closest attacker, and as they scuttled to turn on the spot, she used Blink. Landing behind the curve of its spinneret, the mouth of the stone lamprey bit down between ridges in its thorax. While it gave little purchase together with Flight, she found enough. Flesh pierced by the teeth of her circular maw extended deeper still. Meanwhile Energy Drain pulsed, and her will claimed more life. The healing fractures in her form sealing with stolen life. The massively distorted arachnid had plenty to share. [Energy Drain (14-> 15)] The foe felt pain its bestial mind couldn¡¯t understand, and it tried to scrape the source of it free. Its flesh blocked every attempt to dislodge the pain; body¡¯s shape and inflexibility denied its need. Her foe ended up desperately writhing and thrashing in place. Its shrill clicks and scraping were going unheeded by its kin, who were more interested in hunting defiant prey. Carried about on the thrashing ride she grew spikes to hold herself fast, and life force filled past full. More energy than needed for healing came from her foe and radiated uncontained. Energised by the stolen health, she chewed through its flesh. As she continued, the next pulse conveyed a further understanding of this power, previously only used in her frenzy. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. [Energy Drain (15-> 16)] With its erratic movements, Julia only managed fragmented sight of the conflict. Power roared repeatedly as lightning danced and black metal flashed. She saw the board blade of the mattock drop downwards and a raging mind nearby stilled. Teeth forced further into its body, she transformed again, and nestled within, pulping its flesh. It took time to die, but the demonic energy gained didn¡¯t match a Lurker. With its poison and spinneret glands stored, she slithered from the remains to regard the dead and dying among L¨ºdhins¡¯s foes. The blood from the creature dripping off her skin and hair, painting flesh in shades of night. Her tongue flicked unnoticed along her bottom lip as she watched the battle draw to a close. [Protean [Ap] (22->23)] Fuck. Okay, so yeah, he sure can kill stuff. Lots of stuff. He either heals fast, or they didn¡¯t even hit him. {{Yummy!}} The taste of blood unheeded in her mouth, Blink took her to one twitching well away from the rest of the combat. Putting her hand to exposed flesh, she pulled on the energy within. [Energy Drain (16-> 17)] Kill stealing Bitch am I! [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Corrupted Nox Hunter x3 Killing Blow: 2 Majority Damage: 1 Minor Damage: 2 Exp Gained: 2100 Demonic Shards Gained: 0.2 Experience distributed between classes: Blood Monk : +100 Wizard: +0 Succubus: + 2,000] As the notification pinged her awareness, she heard metal clink against stone and L¨ºdhins¡® hiss carried to her ears. ¡°You can come out now I killed them all,¡± L¨ºdhins said, sounding like he had minimal care regardless of what had happened to Julia. ¡°No, sorry you missed one, I dealt with it. Well, technically two, this one was dying and one I killed myself.¡± Julia said, noting his slight surprise as he found her near the body. [Perception [Ap](19->20)] ¡°You sure don¡¯t seem worried about lack of clothing. For someone so fussy about those leathers.¡± ¡°I choose what I wear or not no one else. That stunt with the leathers and haggling the passage. You¡¯ve got a bit of a nerve.¡± ¡°You choose to rip them off to roll in blood?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, sounding quite hopeful. ¡°No, I was getting towed by a web on them, so I got free. They might still be around.¡± Julia said, mentally shrugging into shorts and a halter top with the appearance of leather. Given the way his eyes had trailed over her skin, she wanted to give him a Wajet special. I doubt I¡¯d even shift his bloody bulk. I sure didn¡¯t learn enough techniques to throw someone so much bigger. ¡°With no meat in them, the Nox wouldn¡¯t care. Though what are you wearing now. That won¡¯t keep you from getting ripped up. How many outfits do you have?¡± ¡°Something to block your view of my cunt. I thought it was obvious. And I have what I have.¡± ¡°Spoilsport. I¡¯d bet you¡¯re dripping wet,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone and frown consistent in their disappointment. I bet he has acting. Wonder if it''s standard for Demons? Yet I used my acting skill to get an aura. ¡°Except for dripping blood, you just lost the bet so you can return my coins now,¡± said Julia. ¡°Funny sort of Lust demon you are. Don¡¯t want to fuck. Didn¡¯t want to play dominator. Don¡¯t like a male leering at you. Plus, not wet from killing.¡± L¨ºdhins sighed, shaking his head at her as if disappointed. ¡°Some Succubus I¡¯ve known would cut someone up for ignoring them when they wanted to preen.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to know what I truly desire, let alone Lust after,¡± Julia said, her tone firm. Fuck you, arsehole. Well, at least I didn¡¯t get seduction unlocked again. ¡°Ahh, such a shame we might like the same positions.¡± ¡°My coins.¡± He can kill all those things. Wonder if I should go easy annoying him. Careful no witnesses now. Doubt it would have mattered earlier though ¡°Don¡¯t have them anymore. Lost those gambling.¡± ¡°Let me guess. You still have plenty of your own.¡± ¡°Of course. That¡¯s my money I¡¯m not careless with it.¡± {{My yummy clothing.}} Shaking her head, Julia stalked off in the direction where hopefully they landed. By the time they turned up scuffed but intact, the Caravan was looming near the Portal. The shimmering surface was letting them see its details. Yet outside, it had been impossible to see within. ¡°No wings?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°Why would I need them fighting?¡± Julia asked, trying not to glare at him again. ¡°In case you need to fly?¡± He expects me to need them. Or he¡¯s pranking the girl who he thinks is fresh? Or I¡¯m weird, and my Flight is weirder? ¡°The Caravan is nearly here, shall we get moving ?¡± ¡°There¡¯s an example of places to watch out for near here. We¡¯ll work our way there. No, go dying too fast. I want to get as much coin from Usd¡¯ghi as possible.¡± To earn you coin is never going to be my primary focus. Protean contributed the most, and it¡¯s developed from Succubus¡¯ Shapeshift. I should look to throw some spells, to ensure I level Wizard. Need materials for inscribing and potions. Level monk fastest just unarmed combat and Ki Strike. Wonder if I can unlock any other Ki Powers. ¡°How big is this place?¡± Julia asked. ¡°No idea, not sure anyone knows. There are certainly untapped areas. You hear stories of miners breaking into new tunnels. By the way, don¡¯t get dragged off by one of the Nox. With everything else you¡¯re not into, I¡¯d doubt you¡¯d enjoy playing host.¡± L¨ºdhins said, gesturing his war mattock to the closest one before making it disappear. So she¡¯s set me a permanent job. Wonder if she was ever planning to recall me? Julia looked over the thing, eyes taking in the almost Ute sized front body, and the bloated thorax with it arced spinneret. The saving grace was that it seemed fixed relatively forward. The crags and gulleys of its hide forming ridges over its flesh that she¡¯d used to her advantage. It would hurt worse than using a cheese grater as a facial scrub if it shoved against her. The memory of how easily it broke her leg was unsettling. While she¡¯d dealt with one, the twelve L¨ºdhins had killed by himself might well have been a different matter. I want to throw up!!! Does brood mother refer to that? Or something worse still? ¡°How?¡± Julia asked, trying to keep her voice calm. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s what you¡¯re into?¡± ¡°No!¡± Julia stated firmly, her revulsion clear in her tone. ¡°Yeah! Yeah! Next Nox we meet. I¡¯ll hold it still so you can have a ride. I¡¯m sure we can work out a means of payment.¡± I hate L¨ºdhins He just smirked at the flat look she gave him, and he headed off into the tunnel they¡¯d planned to use initially. With little other choices, she followed him. Staring at L¨ºdhins¡¯s back, Julia realised two things; Telepathy was still active, and there wasn¡¯t even a hint of emotion from him. Wonder how much he out levels me. How does he shield his mind? 37 - A little bit off Today However, the Portal had come into being; something had crafted the ramp leading to it. The traffic had then smoothed the stone thus even in the Abyss¡¯s chaos, the inhabitants ironically enforced order. Away from the Portal, there was no such order, and the Plane made its nature clear. Abnormal mushrooms, moulds, and mosses provided erratic lighting. Rough stone catching at their feet, the sharp irregularities of the turns, and shifting widths made passage unpredictable. While the stone they walked on didn¡¯t change, every bend seemed a different story as the surrounding walls breathed their energies. Mists would form and vanish, shifting as quickly as breath exhaled into cold pre-dawn air. The surrounding tunnel filled with breezes, sometimes even strong winds that came and went with no regularity. A gusting gale in the tunnel could die instantly, and fog set in about them; thicker even than the cloud bank she''d climbed through. Yet other times an intense heat would rise. As if lava might spurt from the walls, to block the way against all intrusion. The main issue stopping them from using many of the tunnels was simply L¨ºdhins¡¯ bulk. When their size meant Julia would have to shrink to use them, L¨ºdhins simply had no hope of entry. The passages left behind nagged at Julia¡¯s mind under the Castellan''s instructions. It wasn¡¯t until she accepted the necessity to come back to explore that the internal itching ceased. However, she didn''t know how or if keeping track of what areas they had explored would even be possible. Yet neither the Oath nor the Castellan¡¯s orders cared. Fortunately, as much as he annoyed her, L¨ºdhins seemed as skilled in navigation as he was at fighting. The way he walked through the passages with calm confidence spoke volumes. They''d been walking for hours with no uncertainty evident, and Julia tried to get information. ¡°This place is a maze. How do you remember the way?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°We¡¯re walking blind?¡± Julia questioned, her voice rising with disbelief. Have we just been randomly fucking walking? I thought he knew where he was going. ¡°Relax, I possess a skill to navigate. Learnt it years ago. Useful in mines if the shadow wars are too slow, for mercenary work.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I did, and they get slow sometimes for a month or two.¡± ¡°Care to share the skill name and how you learnt it?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Care to trade? It would be great to blow a load after that fight.¡± L¨ºdhins replied, his voice almost boyishly hopeful for such a deep rumble. ¡°Aren''t skills part of the whole training thing?¡± Julia asked, annoyance clear in her voice. ¡°Maybe you¡¯d consider it that, but I don¡¯t,¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Because it doesn¡¯t work that way. Telling you the name as it shows in an imprint will not help you. Not like you can just pick it from a list.¡± ¡°What does the imprint call it? I''d like to know if I gain the same one later,¡± Julia said. ¡°If you blow me. I¡¯ll tell you.¡± L¨ºdhins said; coming to a halt, he turned towards her and placed a hand against the top of his belt. Ready to whip it out at a moment''s notice. ¡°So if I give you a blow, you¡¯ll tell me,¡± ¡°Yes,¡± ¡°Then give me your hand, and I¡¯ll give you a blow,¡± Julia said, gesturing outwards with her own. ¡°Why my hand?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, his suspicion clear to her. ¡°Just give it to me. I like to progress things in a certain way.¡± Julia said, her voice purring with delight. L¨ºdhins looked her up and down before holding out one of his massive hands. Turning it, her fingers danced over the skin before leaning forward and exhaling softly across it. The Heat was shining in his eyes, making her smile. Julia leant close with pursed lips and blew a raspberry on his palm. Quickly letting it go and standing straight, the smile left her lips. ¡°Only type of blow you¡¯re getting from me. So now you¡¯ve gotten payment.¡± ¡°What!¡± L¨ºdhins said, his voice lifting slightly as he replied. The warmth and smoothness of her lips aggravated his state. ¡°You say you lost ¡®my¡¯ coins while gambling, even though you had some on you. To me, you lost your own. It''s all about perception, right? Now, pay up with the name. You got a blow.¡± Julia said, smiling at him as she gestured for him to keep his voice low. ¡°Complete blackballing hellion you are,¡± L¨ºdhins growled. ¡°No need for that language. I¡¯m certainly not a Hellspawn. Now pay up,¡± Julia said, giving him an edged smile. ¡°If I had to tell folks you don¡¯t stick even to the letter of deals, you might never get paid in advance again for anything.¡± Julia didn¡¯t have to act for something primordial to show in her eyes, as she cheated and sent Ki swirling together with Heat of form. ¡°Blood oaths, played by a Lesser Succubus. Fine, it shows up in imprints as Planar Sense.¡± ¡°Care to purchase my silence on that occurrence?¡± ¡°What would that cost me?¡± ¡°Coins of an equivalent value provided when I told you to pay the Caravan Master.¡± L¨ºdhins drew an assortment of coins from a storage item and held them out. ¡°So you¡¯ll keep it completely to yourself that you played me.¡± ¡°Agreed. Not even a joke at your expense,¡± Julia said, amused by his reaction. ¡°Done,¡± L¨ºdhins said, putting the coins in her hand. [Haggling [Ap](5-> 6)] Julia checked them over before putting them away. Though he hadn¡¯t paid her the same mix, their value matched. He even remembered how much I had given him. Though likely only got away with that stunt because of whatever deal he has with Usd¡¯ghi. I need to get free from him before he expects me to. Analysis: Planar Sense [Planar Sense: Provides the user with an indicator of direction and distance to a ¡®named¡¯ or ¡®known place¡¯. The skill¡¯s rank determines the range at which the skill will work and the direction¡¯s precision. The level determines how long the feeling lasts each time they activate the skill. It individualises the style of the indicator. False leads from this skill reduce as the total of effective rank/level increases: These false leads can occur in one of two ways, 1) The wrong direction. The user will continue to believe the path is correct until the last sense of ¡®direction¡¯ completely fades. Fading can require a period of cycles or bells, depending on the rank of the skill. Or they ask and receive correct directions. 2) The path is correct but isn¡¯t passable to the individual. The skill doesn¡¯t always consider needing to travel through areas impassable to the skill user. Due to say the lack of ability to swim, fly or exist in lava. Restriction: Skill only available to planar entities. Not functional on their opposing planes.] Sweet. [Skills Points spent: Planar Sense Unlocked Planar Sense (1) Synergy Skill Harmony Detected Planar Sense (1) -> [Ap](1)] Yes When Julia attempted to spend a point to regain Acting, she got an alert that interested her. [Previous occurrence of this skill subsumed into an Aura. While the aura is active, the skill will automatically behave in line with it. The effect of all subsumed skills will continue to develop with that Aura¡¯s effectiveness. This skill will only need relearning if you wish to have it available when Aura is not active.] Is that why it¡¯s a bitch to level it? Because it subsumed so many skills? Too much I don¡¯t know. If I turn it off, I lose them. Not like I¡¯d want in on around Demons like the Castellan. She¡¯d likely take it as an excuse to void my ticket to ride this train. Okay, let''s do this. [Skill Points Spent: Acting Unlocked. Acting (1) Aura will overwrite this skill¡¯s effective level if active until the level is greater than aura. Sense Motive Unlocked Sense Motive (1) Aura will overwrite this skill¡¯s effective level if active until the level is greater than aura. Skill Lore (5->6)] ¡°So where are we going?¡± ¡°The ¡®Burning grotto." ¡°How does it get its name?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see Viper. I shouldn¡¯t have forgotten you have those little teeth to bite with. Battle gets my blood up. I knew you were uptight. I just can¡¯t believe its this much. If only I had known, I would have haggled for more.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°We should get moving.¡± L¨ºdhins looked her over before focusing back on the tunnel they¡¯d been following, his eyes still showing the Heat from her teasing. Stop poking the bear, J. Just because he scares you. Doesn¡¯t mean you have to keep showing how brave you are. Her intent focused on Planar sense as she activated it, wanting to find the burning grotto. Julia smiled when a faint wordless song came from the direction they had been heading. It felt as if she was reaching inside the surrounding material, and though the plane itself was angry and vicious. The song that led her wasn¡¯t anything of the sort. Instead, it swelled with sweet crystalline music.
A slight noise from above was enough, ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ and ¡®Perception¡¯ screamed loud. A glance showed booted feet coming down. The attacker was holding a spiked mace high overhead as they plunged. Julia dropped before they fully landed, and their weight bore down on her. Fluids splattering over skin as the weapon crashed down. L¨ºdhins turned at the noise to see the figure held aloft. Its mace rattling on the stone next to Julia. An armoured figure forced down by its weight. Settling onto barbed spears that had sprouted alongside her spine. Each gleamed in the dull light with Heat. Drinking blackness from the foe¡¯s form. Still drinking as more foes dropped towards the blood pooling below. Their eyes widening as they took in the sight to which they¡¯d already committed. {{Crown us, Queen!}} Blink carried her clear from unwanted meat. The discarded body dropped to the ground; as the clarity she''d lost hold of at the Portal lived again. Details, positions, numbers, weapons were slipping into her awareness. Information settling without a ripple of distraction. Foes entered her arena, and she moved with them. She swayed aside from a broad blade. One tendril yanked at a landing foot as another pulled from behind it. Julia sent them sprawling to stone under its allies¡¯ landing bodies. Analysis added his details to the knowledge within before she truly struck. [Species Lesser H¨¹msi Class: Fighter Level: 5 / 21 Heath: 424 / 434 Defence: 34 Melee Attack Power: 41 Combat Skills: Long Blades [J] (1), Short Blades [J] (3), Shields [J] (1) Details: This Demon is one of a species controlled by Lord Qjiadl¨®v for his army. Rarely among his elite troops, their numbers form the backbone of his armies in the Abyss¡¯ shadow wars. Condition: Poisoned] Bad crash on runway three. Four on one, I''m not that kind of girl. {{Take their hearts.}} ((No mercy. No malice. Be True.)) The motion continued as the unbalanced foe slashed across her side. Leather parted by the cut, revealing rippling flesh. A hand smacked a neck and darkness pulsed. A scream froze in its throat from pain. Julia flowed inside their weapon¡¯s arc. Left hand driving forward not to hit them. The purpose was never just to hit. It¡¯s punching through. Julia twisted at the hips in perfect form. Arm snapping to full extension, flesh, bone, and armour compressed. Strength far more significant than she¡¯d known in life focused with intent. Ki, cloaked in its veneer of Abyssal Heat struck hard. Power seeking to buckle plate, as darkness drank. [Ki Strike, Armour breached Success: 58 Damage Energy drain - opposed willpower success - Health drained 41, Stat penalty applied, the passive effect applied] ((Let the Ki guide you. Flow with their motions.)) The notifications pinged against Zen-like awareness. With no urgency or focus needed; they simply pooled. Julia stood within the moment and acted. In motion, even as they fell among the others. Strikes and kicks rained among them. Always, she swirled around them. Using openings to provide a map of pain. Actions reinforced to shift them to mistakes that cost them. The energy that had merely prickled under the skin in practice. Now, in battle, it breathed the flows. Mortal limbs and demonic tendrils injuring and disrupting alike. Yet these foes weren¡¯t inexperienced, and finally rose bloodied, not beaten. They went rolling away from each other as far as the passage allowed. Only when clear they stood again. Their attention focused on her, poised for battle yet without support. They were sneering at a foot sweeping through empty air before Blink positioned her only at the last. Knee in the smashing blow¡¯s path. A suddenly falling foe found its weight against a spiked hand. Flesh opened even as reality swallowed her. A wound left bleeding in her wake. Instead of the lowly delicious Succubus; they¡¯d found a beautiful teasing predator. Their blows shifted a touch offline, found nothing. Limbs moved impossibly, screaming wanton possibility. Their motions guided instead of blocked. Her ripe body swaying before their gale. The air about them filled them with desire. Aroused and enraged, they sought it, needing to break its pride. To conquer its challenge, they considered no retreat. Yet their brutal force met collapsing guidance. Force met a mist that faded only to strike again. The balance shifted one way and then another. For they adapted and learnt, attempting to cope. As their blood wet the ground, they fought back. Tongues flickered to taste lips. Their desires drove them to seize. The lush, delightful treat they craved seemed mostly mist. Blood infrequently shed, teasingly, as if to raise their lusts: lush flesh, fair limbs, and biting blows. A poisonous butterfly that frequently seemed so close to being theirs. A victory so close, so ripe, they rush for victory. Landing within order¡¯s deadly traps. The last one quivered, aching in his desperation. Flesh seeking strength to sheath a blade within the whore¡¯s form. Their once-powerful hand twitched and merely fell open. Blade clattering to stone. A final sucking blackness pulsed. Thumbs rested and flexed within the brain, as a breath sighed across its ear. Afterwards, with desires dead, and its twitching stilled. Thumbs withdrew from sockets that suckled lustfully for her flesh. Julia rose and let the slab of meat beneath her slump to the floor. Eyes filled with Ki cloaked in Heat they seemed to shine hungrily, where she stood amid the fallen. Blood pooled and held within a crumpled mass of bodies. L¨ºdhins still stood where she¡¯d seen him last. Two more foes lay ignored, as if unworthy offerings at his feet. Her cut and torn outfit vanished only for another, just like it to appear¡ªher momentarily naked form showing streaks of blood, yet no wounds. ¡°No,¡° said Julia before he could even ask. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Species Lesser H¨¹msi x4 Killing blows: 4 Solo kills: 4 Exp Gained: 4,216 Demonic Shards Gained: 4 Experience distributed between classes: Blood Monk : +3216 Wizard: +0 Succubus: + 1,000 Unarmed Combat [J] (25->26) Ki Strike [J] (15->16) Protean [Ap] (23->24) Energy Drain (17)->[B](2) Harmony and Ki Meditation have evolved Tactics into Battle Trance. Battle Trance [Ap] (2->6). Power Ki Infusion Unlocked Ki Infusion (1)] Shards gain is by Tier? It¡¯s a theory. But why else would the bestial be just one-tenth each and these guys one? ¡°I was there when you brought only one? And how did you do those spears from your back?¡± ¡°These insignia are these fellows from a faction?¡± ¡°Yeah, Lord Qjiadl¨®v from their gear and insignia,¡± L¨ºdhins said, bending to look at a clasp. "Just one faction that gathers resources in Tern¨°x." ¡°Know where we can find more?.¡± Julia asked. ¡°The trick with the spears, how did you do that?¡± L¨ºdhins asked as he looked back at her, eyes speaking of his hunger. ¡°That No. Meant exactly that,¡± Julia said, shaking her head. ¡°That sure wasn¡¯t change self,¡± L¨ºdhins said, the look in his eyes showing he was reassessing her. Change Self? ¡°Well, I sure thought it changed me.¡± ¡°That might be, but was sure a lot more than it allows. More like Shapeshift. Which you shouldn¡¯t have at your Tier.¡± ¡°Perhaps I have a very vivid imagination, for desired changes in position?¡± ¡°Like to give a guy black balls. Don¡¯t you!¡± L¨ºdhins said, Despite the phrasing, it wasn''t a question. ¡°Your choices are your own, as are the consequences,¡± Julia said. Julia watched the health status in her hud ticking upwards. The life force provided by Energy Drain hadn¡¯t left many wounds. It had drunk deep, healing most of the injuries she¡¯d taken. The rest they had inflicted already fading. It might have been different if the fight had drawn on. Yet through it all, their strength had become hers. Till right now, they were but meat on the floor. That was intense ((Careful of overconfidence.)) Smiling at L¨ºdhins, she activated Mana Sense. Following a glance, quick movements swept up what might be of interest¡ªa scattering of rings, the dagger that had opened her face, and their belt pouches. L¨ºdhins finished gathering from the three close-by well before her gathering completed. With everything wanted now held in inventory, she flicked her eyes upwards. ¡°Should we check where they came from?¡± Julia asked. ¡°It¡¯s not unusual for a patrol to seek travellers to ambush,¡± L¨ºdhins said, looking up at the break in the passage. The gap near the ceiling seemed unlikely to offer him enough space to fit. ¡°Not worth determining if they have any backup?¡° Julia asked, glancing back at L¨ºdhins. ¡°If they¡¯d had more support. You¡¯d still be fighting.¡± ¡°What you wouldn''t be fighting as well?¡± Julia asked, her clarity in the conflict having noted the single blows that slew the two near him. ¡°It was a chance for you to practice. Though given all the surety of the Usd¡¯ghi, that you need protection and training. You were doing fine. Sure you won¡¯t set a price?¡± ¡°L¨ºdhins, I¡¯d rather destruction. In the Abyss, you nor anyone else will get between my legs.¡± L¨ºdhins went to say more. Only to face a serpentine form slithering with slow hideous movements towards him. Familiar burning eyes glaring at him from the flayed visage of a Ka¡¯larg. {{Yuck! Get out of this shape.}} ¡°You nor anyone else!¡± Julia said before the undulating form rippled seamlessly away. Her former lushness restored, standing where the flayed serpent had been an instant earlier. An outfit that should have ripped to shreds in the transformation clung to her contours. His gaze carefully noted the ichor that had dripped and remained. Protean [Ap] (24->26) ((Be careful, child. Show not your hand without need.)) ¡°Yeah, so not change self.¡± ¡°The ¡®Burning Grotto¡¯, isn¡¯t it that way? Julia asked, gesturing onwards, deliberately ignoring L¨ºdhins¡¯ eyes lingering with desire over her body. [Acting (1 -> 2) Sense Motive (1 -> 2)] The war mattock vanishing from no longer clenched hands. He nodded before turning to move onwards. Julia followed carefully after checking what she¡¯d learnt. Analysis [Battle Trance: This skill enhances awareness of the immediate battlefield. The skill¡¯s user gains insight into information, positioning and foe¡¯s intentions in the chaos of battle. It allows them to understand, predict, and mould the battle. To draw their foes into potentially costly mistakes of position or applied force.] [Ki Infusion: Ki can be one with all aspects of reality. Ki, flowing in flesh, now can draw Mana with it. Initially, it will draw only raw mana, which provides a flat damage increase by total effective level. Additional ranks beyond Apprentice, allows the user to learn the process for carrying specifically attuned Mana. Holding any mana except death or negative enables the possessor to inflict further damage and strike incorporeal foes. From the rank of Journeyman, it is possible to infuse aligned Mana. Upon advancement to each rank, they can select an additional type of aligned Mana; or can continue to refine the use of a previous type. If multiple types are available, only a single aligned Mana can be active at any type. Changing aligned mana requires discharging the mana currently infused. The unlocking of this power also gains them a Mana pool, and an initial affinity if none previously gained. If spell forms relating to a Ki¡¯s trained affinities are known, the wielder can hold a single pre-cast form. They maintain the spell form in their Ki, available for release against touched foes. The spell formation and its actual release consume the same amount of Mana, doubling its effective cost. Using Ki Infusion without Ki Strike will only spend Mana and not Ki. Warning: If the use of Ki Infusion ceases or Mana reaches zero, any held spell form will instantly trigger internally.] Holy shit!
As the crystalline music beckoned her onwards, it would grow slowly inaudible till she activated the skill again. The few times it seemed as if to lead her astray, there was a simple way to reset it. Activating it while taking ¡®directions¡¯ from L¨ºdhins¡¯ path was often enough to set things right. By the time they had reached their goal, she had received several notifications from it and Time Sense. However, it was unclear if the use of Harmony with it was speeding its progress. [Planar Sense [Ap](4 -> 5) Time Sense [Ap](9->10)] The last increase notification had pinged on her awareness, as she could hear another sound from ahead. A ringing sound like echoing crystal slowly became louder, rising in a sweet duet to her Planar Sense¡¯s music. It still took another bell, or hour for the grotto to come in sight. She was standing on the lip of an opening in the surrounding stone. Down past a sloping depression, crystal walls shone, emitting what felt like the peace of a starlit sky. The vibrancy of the air seemed to shake through her Form, even as the Ki revelled in its touch. {{Leave!}} ((Stay! Find peace, renew.)) Deeper within the grotto, she could make out what looked to be the swaying of branches from living trees. Somehow the leaves of them alive, a delightful vibrant green in this darkest of places. ¡°Don¡¯t go any closer than that point,¡± L¨ºdhins said, gesturing towards a mass of bones down the slope. ¡°Some bestial just think to attack. But none within the Abyss can get closer than those bones.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Julia asked. ¡°No idea, I¡¯ve only heard rumours, and I give little regard to those.¡± L¨ºdhins said, ¡°What I know. They¡¯re dangerous, never cross the lines of bones you¡¯ll find around them. I¡¯ve seen places where crystals like those lay shattered. Those are safe to venture near, but while they stay intact, keep your distance.¡± ¡°Do bestial¡¯s come here often enough for it to be worth ambushing them?¡±Julia asked. ¡°You have an odd way of thinking. I¡¯ve never thought to use a place like this as bait. Makes my skin ache.¡± ¡°My flesh shakes from it, but if it distracts a bestial, it could be useful.¡± Julia shrugged if unconcerned. ¡°True. Not sure how often they¡¯d show up. We can stay for a bit. I¡¯ll even let you fight them. Though if you get tossed down into that, it¡¯s your fault.¡± L¨ºdhins said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m going to be back there somewhere more comfortable, scream if you die. Then I''ll know to stop waiting.¡± 38 - The sound of Music As L¨ºdhins departed, Julia moved away from the tunnel they¡¯d used to enter the area. The lip of the depression almost seemed like a crater to her. A frozen wave that rose as it washed towards the cavern''s interior before collapsing into the foam of the bleached bones. The atmosphere was clearer here than anywhere else in the Abyss. Even while darkness shone down from the roof, the Crystal walls'' light continued to radiate the same starlit sky. The glow from them seemed to be continually in motion. Constellations she¡¯d never seen before painted across the roof and drifted slowly over the stone. {{Yuck! Rather be that snake bitch than stay here.}} ((Tranquillity.)) Without the duet of her Planar sense¡¯s trail, the music''s beauty was pure and more graceful. As if the other elegant tune had been but a distraction from genuine beauty. Walking meditation turned into a flowing dance as the tempo sang through her Soul. Julia spent some time held within that embrace until the reality of the Abyss disrupted pleasure. In the reflected light of the grotto, what she saw ahead seemed even more repulsive. A sullen light showed through the surface of the rock, where her shadow touched the outer walls. A face of beauty shone within, and Elven childlike features matured into distortion. Smoothly proportioned limbs grew blotted by cancerous lumps. The Abyss twisted its face like pulled taffy as its eyes melted away. The figure¡¯s wracked limbs looked like it should not stand upright, even though within its womb it turned, stretched and stood. Eyelids were blinking over empty sockets as if it could see her through the stone. Fingers elongated, and hands compressed to dagger-like points at the end of its long limbs. Cancerous lumps popped, leaking a putrid fluid that ran down to encase emaciated flesh. Analysis [Gestating Nox Echo Class: Fighter Level: 24 Health: 285 Defence: 22 Melee Attack Power: 30 Combat Skills: Short Blades [Ad] (1), Bite [Ad] (1) Details: Creatures born of manifesting nightmares, corruption and jealousy] Oh! {{Kill this mockery. }} ((It grows from their fears.)) {{Let¡¯s eat it. }} ¡°So do you want to play with me?" Julia asked, her voice almost a sultry breath. Why is fighting this thing getting me so keyed up? Julia moved closer to the curve of the wall, seeking to get clear of its line of sight. An unnoticed, predatory smile twisted her lips while waiting. Mentally, she shrugged and pulled at the sense of Lightning within her. With prior use of spells being minimal, she took time to set it precisely. When at last the energy shimmered into the form, she settled the cloak in place. A thread of Mana looped through the spell¡¯s formation was tied off, waiting for something to break it. [Mana Spent: 5 Cloak (12->13) Lightning cloak in place till discharged.] She set the inside of her palms with tiny steel scales, taking time to ensure motion range was unhampered. With that done, rigid arm guards formed along the length of each forearm. The wait was far longer than before, yet after consideration, she waited still. The movement would push, then cease, and then test the material again. Patiently, one straining gesture at a time, it finally caused it to rupture. Dark Sight resolved the question, as she peered from a shadow towards the alcove. The power allowed her to see when its change completed. Even when the side of the womb fractured open, it took the time to flex within the confines of its former womb. As if it were a dancer stretching before its show, it sent a glance to meet her eyes through the Dark Sight. Yet otherwise, it ignored the peeping Tom looking into its change room. Though its full form wasn¡¯t yet visible given only part of the womb''s side had broken away. [Dark Sight (10->11)] When she thought it nearly ready, Julia released the Power. Yet still, it waited, holding fast where it lurked. Julia noticed the music had changed. Previously it had been upbeat and joyous. While the tempo hadn¡¯t changed, the emotions it carried had deepened and grown sad to hear. At first, it was a tone of light sparking grief, but it grew into a mournfully eerie dirge. Drawing up another thread of Mana, Julia prepared and waited to see what would happen. ¡°You are not welcome here, intruder, they are our prey. I will burn your remains properly, like the refuse you are.¡± The voice echoed out into the grotto, the Abyssal sounding almost musical. Through it all, the Nox had kept itself hidden in the alcove, leaving Julia wondering when it would take action. The figure appeared, dancing out from the rock face. Each step seemed on tiptoes like a weird ballerina. The exterior of its limbs having twisted like melting plastic, yet it moved with fluid grace. But it wasn¡¯t on tiptoes; instead, with each step, the tip of a barbed spike dug into stone. Its flowing stride was causing chips to fly. Julia released the tracing missile as it appeared. Despite the spell¡¯s design, it struggled to hit. The Nox almost spun away from its attack at the last moment. [Mana Spent: 7 Tracing Missile [B] (2->3) Glancing strike: 14 Damage applied] Analysis [Species: Nox Echo Class: Fighter Level: 1/ 24 Health: 671 ??Maximum: 685 Defence: 46 Melee Attack Power: 64 Combat Skills: Short Blades [Ad] (1), Bite [Ad] (1) Details: Creatures born of manifesting nightmares, corruption and jealousy] Oh, it grew! The shape of its merged and elongated fingers had also changed, sending a chill through Julia at the almost bulbous spikes it now had in place of hands. Matching the starless night of its skin, and the long barbed points that formed its ''feet''. Was that box made from one of these things? {{Feed those spikes to it! }} ((Flow in creation''s song. )) It moved faster and smoother than any foe she¡¯d fought before, yet its speed didn¡¯t over-match her own. Metal hands brushed against cold flesh as they danced. Battle Trance allowed her to catch its pattern, but Julia couldn¡¯t get far enough ahead of its movement to lay traps. Stabs and slashes parted the air with mournful cries. A stabbing strike deflected with a palm hand block almost cost her an opened arm. Even she brushed the strike its strike to one side, the blade pivoted sharply. Its merged finger grew to stab towards the side of her arm. A flurry of stabbing strikes had her falling back, trying to stay clear of biting tips and slashing edges. This thing will not let me fight it straight up. A sway instead of a block moved her from another thrust. Spike twisted suddenly down at full extension. Its reaction clarified that it had expected her to draw near instead. The thing¡¯s face was twisting in a snarl. It lashed out a foot in a blur, and Julia rolled away, and then Blink carried her from another impossible lunge. Well, Fuck! Stop restricting myself. Just kill it quick. {{Kill it. }} ((Kill this abomination. )) Fuck! Julia flexed her shoulder and closed in. Analysis showing it had already recovered from the Lightning damage. The first thing to do is to survive! Call now you too can have a dozen steak knives with a new f bombing Succubus. Shifting her shoulders, she felt the new appendages on her back also flex and ready. Their metallic joints sang as metal brushed against metal and folded outwards around her. Even without their tips visible in her peripheral vision, their position seemed precise in her mind. The sensation of them flexed to curve around her back felt as one with her. Julia knew every shift in their placement, down to the way air stroked over them. When the Nox paused in its advance, its re-assessment of Julia was obvious. Hands raised, she moved again, and the clawed spikes moved in harmony. The lunging strike of the Nox was just as quick. Yet the articulated claws arced to catch its attack and sent it twisting. The spikes extending from her right joined a dancing procession, carrying the strike downwards. Committed motion carried her inwards past the Nox¡¯s guard. The claws were passing the guidance of its twisted ¡®hands¡¯ from one another. A stomp kick to knee ended its attempt to spike her with a bang. As momentum took her past, the free claws rattled against its armoured hide. Noise and vibration, yet no proper purchase gained¡ªthe only progress achieved by fists cracking armour along its side. Stolen novel; please report. [Ki Strike, Armour breached Success: 58 Damage Energy drain - opposed willpower check failed - Health drain resisted 10, Stat penalty resisted, the passive effect applied Ki Strike, Armour breached Success: 58 Damage Energy drain - critical opposed willpower check failed - Health drain nullified, Stat penalty resisted, passive effect resisted] Yet as she damaged, it sought to return the favour. While the punches landed true, the notification in awareness spoke of the failure of the Energy Drain. It rolled forward as if to fall away from her. Spiked ''hands'' hit the stone, its arms bowed, and then it sprang back along her path. Claws swept down to deflect its path, but they blocked only one leg as it spun against the intercepting spikes. The second dug deep into her thigh as it turned with impossible control in midair. The energy from the lightning cloak lit it up as Julia moved to respond. Pivoting, with the force of the blow, freed her from the spike. The pain from it raced across the bone and deflected through the meat of her thigh. As the pivot twisted more, its spike came free with muscles and flesh. Protean sealed flesh the wound yet her form still wore the damage. While the health loss wasn¡¯t as bad as it might have been. Losing over a tenth of maximum health from a single attack was a serious concern. The attack speared its way inwards, and the barbs ripped as the Nox moved away. The Nox rolled across the ground and flowed to its feet. As its alien expression twitched from the outcome of the exchange. Julia realised a stream of blood was running down her arm. The cut was so sharp it hadn¡¯t been noticeable untill the blood trickled. Fuck, it got me on the way through. When the wound healed over with no sight of the rot blooming, Julia felt her nerves steady further under the Ki. The energy drain isn¡¯t catching properly. The passive effect, whatever that is. But not the de-buff. Plus the Ki didn¡¯t load into the spikes. Beckoning to the Ki, she felt it try to waft up within the new limbs. Only to stop confused and drift away. One moment she was trying to change the Ki¡¯s flow, the next it was attacking again. Metal rang as the claws responded to deflect its flurry of stabs. This time she let its kick come up, instead of blocking it like earlier. As it stabbed with that barbed spike, she stepped inside the reach. The credo wasn''t from a martial art she¡¯d studied. Not sure she remembered it right, but if so, it was simple. Attack the limb. I could get the Ki into a tendril. No wait, I didn¡¯t. But lamprey teeth. Why not the claws? I usually have teeth, but I don¡¯t usually have claws. Oh yeah, I do now. Pivoting, the claws turned from spikes to metallic pincers. Julia clamped onto its arms to hold them at bay as she flowed alongside the kick. As it tried to withdraw, her arm was already underneath. With the weight of the leg across the hollow of her elbow, calf clutched close, she smashed repeated blows into its exposed thigh. Organic cancerous formed plates buckled as Ki and Mana filled every strike. Caught between its leg perch and claws, the Nox flexed and jumped. A restrained hop, but still dangerous. It''s back foot lashed forward towards her. Even as it left the ground, instinct urged the same. Legs no longer holding weight, Flight took them aloft. A shin block turned its thrusting kick wide. [Danger Sense (15->17)] ((You fear them. Trust yourself. )) Blocking another raking kick as they wrestled in midair, Julia tried to relax. She met the Nox''s lunging bite with a headbutt to its jaw. As it immediately bit again, reflex had her casting it away. Julia landed near where it crashed down. Claws clashed against spikes as it wove a pattern of defence, imagination in conflict with its greater skill. It parried, causing her additional limbs to impede each other. Her skills and Powers trying to co-ordinate as ringing filled the air. Advances met with retreat and crossed spikes as it looked for the next opening. Julia had to wonder if it was buying time. When she saw the cracks along its side healing, that seemed to be the case. Turning as if to flee, she glimpsed it leaping towards her. As it was airborne, Blink moved her. The Ki had seemed reluctant to go into the Claws. Yet she found, as before, the Ki had no concerns about empowering a spear formed from her flesh. As the Nox had leapt, Blink set her in its path. A broadhead boar spear manifested and rippling with both Ki and Mana. The Nox''s leap drove it onto the set point. The crossbar intended to keep the prey from running the user down while it died served the same purpose for this demon. The blood from the wound spat across the ground like thickened mucus, the stone drinking it up where it landed. The spikes of its hands rang against the metallic flesh Julia had imagined for the spear. Her hands pulled upwards, bracing the spear''s butt against the hollow of her foot, as it grew longer to keep the Nox out of reach. With the spear embedded within its flesh, the darkness, at last, caught hold and drank from its life force. The flurry of blows it sent against the haft slowed as its life drew away. Julia tilted the spear to stand upright, with blackness pulsing it grew slowly still. Well, it seems I got it up. When its final twitch came, the Song soared again. The mournful feel of it changed to rejoicing, as if one lost was being welcomed home. Activating Soul Sight, Julia saw two things. A net of black cords dredged rippling Heat away from a golden Elven Soul. Even though the net couldn''t contain all the mass that encapsulated it, somehow it left the Soul untouched. The Soul seemed to regard her sadly for a moment, before racing towards the Grotto¡¯s centre. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Nox Echo x1 Killing blows: 1 Solo kills: 1 Exp Gained: 2,170 The defeat of entity one Tier higher: 450 Total: 2,620 Demonic Shards Gained: 1 Experience distributed between classes: Blood Monk : +1,200 Wizard: +220 Succubus: +1,200 Unarmed Combat [J] (26->27) Ki Strike [J] (16->17) Protean [Ap] (24->25) Ki Infusion (1->5) Dominion [Ap](1->2) Acrobatics [Ap](1->2)] Energy Drain is what is harvesting the Shards. Is that what reeled in the Damned Souls with no contract? I so need to find out what powers are available to a normal Succubus. Other Demons might not know what I am, but L¨ºdhins at least is far too curious. Wonder if I can pay one to give me an imprint? Though first I need one of those gems. Turn towards the grotto her Soul Sight played briefly over other Souls in the grotto''s rock, though none at present seemed to be gestating. Julia didn¡¯t know how that worked. Since all the other Souls, when caught in the rocks seemed immediately to begin gestation. It wasn¡¯t necessary to her at present though; instead, curiosity called to learn more about where the Soul had fled. At the top of the rise, the grotto was alive with light under Soul Sight. The Soul looked to have joined other Souls standing near one of the crystal walls. Their voices were blending into that never-ending seamless music. The trees she had made out deeper within the grotto also shone with Soul Energy. As did a group of living Elves barely perceivable deeper within. Though she could not see their flesh, in Soul Sight, they still shone through the crystals. {{Larder. }} ((How did they come to be here? )) Aware of the bones at the bottom of the slope, Julia still felt tempted to step forward toward the beauty. The Soul she¡¯d freed had moved to take up a position among the others. It seemed to have joined the song from its posture, the resonance of the place now stronger than previously. That fight pushed me till I provoked it into jumping at me. With Dominion going up, I wonder if I was affecting it and the other Demons earlier. Did my running taunt it? Kiss my arse, see if I give a stuff, Nox old boy. Well, time to find some more Nox to kill. Will see if I can get the Souls down below help somehow. Even if this just buys them time. Analysis showed their species as Night Elf, but neither it nor Soul Sight could gather more from their beauty. Removing the items retrieved from the H¨¹msi that L¨ºdhins¡¯ pace hadn¡¯t let her check. She quickly used Analysis on them while they rested on the ground. [Messenger¡¯s Loop: This ring allows the wearer to use the Flit spell form once per Abyssal Cycle. Base range ten kilometres. If the user can access Mana, they can increase the range by five kilometres per point spent. Flit allows the user to send a brief message to one or more individuals within the spell range. It is possible to tailor the message content to each party. Yet the spell cannot carry over one hundred distinct words in total. The spell uses the mana energy to vibrate the air so the individual can hear the message, regardless of resistances.] The other rings turned out to carry the same enchantment, so Julia slipped them back into her inventory before checking the rest. Guess that makes sense for a patrol needing to keep in touch, still seems limited at once per day. I¡¯d need to learn that spell form. Well, if I had anyone I wanted to speak to at all. [Dagger of Tracking: This dagger bears two enchantments. The first improves the balance of the blade during combat, providing an increased chance to hit. The second allows the holder of the blade to track someone whose blood it has tasted. The ability extends for one cycle per point of total damage taken in the wound that inflicted the blood loss.] Looking at the count of Demonic shards in her profile, she tried the same trick she had with the skills seemingly so long ago. This time it didn¡¯t return her a list, but something made sense. Analysis: Shards [Shards (Demonic Essence Shards): Aside it flowing through them, Demons coalesce the Abyss'' energy within their form. These energy fragments manifest within their form directly. For most Demons, each fragment takes one or more years to coalesce within a Demon. Some unique Demons seem to possess an increased ability to accumulate this energy.] {{We should eat them all! }} Well, fuck! Did Naz¡¯rilca think I¡¯m over a century old when she was calling me pathetic? Well, you go, girl. Completely underestimate me. [Profile Control (20) -> [B](1) Profile override options are now unlocked. Providing default settings when imprint generation occurs.] Analysis: Profile override options [Profile override options: Allows the possessor to determine which entries and their rating show on any imprint they generate by default. This applies to skills, powers, affinities, spell forms. This does not stop individuals with profiles from manually deciding not to include specific information in an imprint. Note: Imprints never include Special Abilities.] Wait. What if it''s right in front of me? Analysis: Lesser Succubus [Lesser Succubus:??The second Tier of Lust demons have learnt to transform their bodies to match the desires of their summoner and/or victims. Commonly their power set includes Change Self, Detect Thoughts, Taste Emotion, Vampiric Caress, Blink, or Teleport. Seduction skills and others lending themselves to physical activities are common, Some rarer ones have rudimentary Mana Sense, and if they can gain other classes may have unlocked a caster class.] Oh, I so need to see an imprint now. Analysis: Night Elf [Night Elf: Given form by the Titan''s will, the Night Elves, and their brethren, the Sun Elves, helped sing shape into the Titan''s reality. They brought to life plants and animals, using the guidance of his forge''s tempo as their muse. For them, the Titan formed the conduit by which the courts of Elven Gods joined his creation. The Levithan''s rampage brought the beginning of the end for this species. When the Sun and Night elves guarded their lesser kins retreat, it wiped most of them from the Material plane. At the conflict''s end, with the Sun Elves already wiped out, temptation completed their destruction. Lured into darkness by the fallen celestial, now known as Lady Baln¨¦rith, it transformed them into Succubus and Incubi in her service. The eons since have seen the destruction or conversion of the Incubi, as a lover''s rejection has led Lady Baln¨¦rith to despise males.] Did they form the Sisterhood? [Elven Lore Unlocked Elven Lore (1)] Time to hunt more Pulling back from the temptation of that beautiful song, Julia moved outwards along the slope again. Curious to see if she could provoke other Souls in the rock into gestating. Though before she got too far, a slight detour added two freshly detached spikes to her inventory. They look like the spike from the box. Wonder if it¡¯s these or something else? Maybe an enchantment required? If so would love to shove one at least one into Naz¡¯rilca and the Lady. As her shadow touched the stone over another Soul, its presence stirred and twisted. {{We hunt! }} ((Please return them to their brethren. We failed them.)) Julia was recovering from her tenth kill by the time a bored L¨ºdhins came to see what was taking so long. "You are a pervert. This place is even more unpleasant. Yet here you are looking like someone''s spent hours pleasuring you," said L¨ºdhins, grumbling. He seemed to walk along as close to the outer wall as he could get, without risk of hitting it. "Let''s go." He continued, the deep voice grinding against stone as he grumbled. 39 - Toe the Line ¡°Interesting wings you¡¯ve got there now,¡± said L¨ºdhins. Closing the distance he had just been watching the claws going about their deconstruction of Nox Armour. Julia ignored him, trying to focus on what she was doing. ¡°So you¡¯re more into fucking things up. Surprised you didn¡¯t spawn as Br¨ªn with this much battle lust. Ten kills?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°What part was that Yes for?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°Fucking them up. It¡¯s the only reason to touch another Demon,¡± said Julia, not taking her eyes from the claws she¡¯d shaped into scissors. ¡°Why the parts collection?¡± asked L¨ºdhins. ¡°I¡¯ve got a theory. Hopefully, I have what I need to test it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the theory about?¡± ¡°A way to hurt some specific Demons,¡± said Julia. Hoping it would actually give her means at payback. ¡°Figures. Are you staying here longer or can we at least get somewhere that doesn¡¯t feel this celestial rotting awful.¡± The last snip completed, Julia stored the section. ¡°We can go. You said there are other places around like this?¡± asked Julia. ¡°A bunch of smaller ones, some with broken walls, a few large. One that barely looks to fit inside a massive cavern it¡¯s in. It''s a real pain if you need to get from one side to the other. Hundreds of kilometres detouring.¡± ¡°Chatty now,¡± said Julia, wondering what had gotten into him. ¡°Well, knowing this info is actually part of learning the ropes. Not skill names. Let¡¯s go. I hate this place,¡± said L¨ºdhins, ¡°Brought you here to warn you off them. Not so you could pleasure yourself with pain.¡± ¡°Tough foes come out here. Better practice than the Lesser H¨¹msi.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t ask me what species they were. Wouldn¡¯t have expected you to know them.¡± ¡°I perhaps know more than you think. But far less than I¡¯d prefer,¡± said Julia. ¡°That¡¯s always the case. Let¡¯s go,¡± said L¨ºdhins insistently. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to kill more of these Nox,¡± I need to buy time for Mana and Ki to recover. Feeling tapped out. ¡°One of Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s tasks isn¡¯t far from here. Planning to take care of it, since we¡¯re in the area. Your services got offered as a help for the teaching. We¡¯re going.¡± ¡°¡®Very well. I need to rebuild some Mana though,¡± said Julia. ¡°It¡¯s not right next door. Maybe a four or five full cycles, if not more from the feel of Planar Sense.¡± ¡°Cycles of walking?¡± Julia asked, ¡°Well, not like either of us can teleport based on a name alone,¡± said L¨ºdhins I¡¯ll be back, folks. Somehow. ((We need to free them. Evil enough that the cycle of the song ended. )) {{Eat them up. High in yummy goodness.}} I need to get my teleport higher so I can come back here fast. ¡°Get used to travelling long distances. You¡¯re not in a harem now.¡± ¡°Never,¡± said Julia, her tone snapping. ¡°Never what?¡± ¡°Never mind where I have or haven¡¯t been. I need to know about Tern¨°x.¡± ¡°Out of this Grotto first. Something weird is going on with it,¡± L¨ºdhins said, picking up the pace. Julia held her tongue till they were back in the passageway, blowing a mental kiss farewell to the singers. The big fellow seemed eager to leave the place behind them. The pace was far faster than the one he had used getting here. Ki Movement training time. Lucky I¡¯m not tanked out completely. Since the claws had worked well, Julia set a quick form slot, before focusing on keeping up with L¨ºdhins. The drifting energy of the Ki empowered Ki Movement, and that was more than enough to keep pace. Especially since in places the size of the tunnels forced him to slow. Eventually, when the pace slowed enough that he felt less panicked, Julia went digging for information. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°How big is this place?¡± ¡°Tern¨°x, it''s not one of the biggest planes, but still it''s sizeable. Flatten out the world the mortals live on. Well, one of them, if you¡¯ve been to any. Now rip a thread off the end of that flattened area, turn it into a string and run that string from one end of Tern¨°x to another. You¡¯ve still not got to the end of what we know to exist here. Yet Factions will still fight over resources in it. Especially resources someone else has already mined.¡± She really did never expect me to finish. How am I supposed to get an understanding of this place? Just like an elephant, one bite at a time. Plus, why the fuck am I caring if she expected me to finish. I¡¯ve got thousands of years, hopefully before I¡¯ve paid out all my questions. Learn the areas of this plane that let me get the most power. {{Power for us}} ((Well said. )) ¡°You¡¯ve been to a mortal world?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°How do you know how big one is then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen maps. This is not about Tern¨°x.¡± ¡°You used a mortal planet as a scale. Where can I see the maps?¡± ¡°Not in Tern¨°x. Will you hush?¡± Are we there yet? ¡°If it''s so big, how will we get to the major places?¡± ¡°Teleport circles, gates, other ways. How do you know a mortal planet is big?¡± ¡°Would you use it as a reference otherwise?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t add up, little Viper. You didn¡¯t even blink when I told you to flatten out a mortal planet. Most Demons think they are flat like the planes of the Abyss. Also, most demons know fuck all about maps, too orderly for their tastes. So you¡¯ve abilities you shouldn¡¯t have, together with the knowledge that doesn¡¯t match your age. Plus Logic. Change self, my arse. Let¡¯s get going.¡± ((Oh, be careful. He¡¯s smarter than he acts. Demon¡¯s prey on those weaker.)) {{Not his prey.}} I need to get him on the back foot. Fuck Usd¡¯ghi for hiring this prick. Oh... ¡°No,¡± Julia said, taking a step backwards. ¡°What now?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, a growl of annoyance in his voice. ¡°I said, No. I don¡¯t have to add up to you. Why should I tell you anything? You¡¯re such an open book yourself. Leave.¡± ¡°Leave? You¡¯re supposed to help me with these jobs? You and Usd¡¯ghi went to the trouble of hiring me. Now you want me to leave?¡± L¨ºdhins voice deepened into a growl as he spoke. ¡°I¡¯m also supposed to be learning from you. And helping you in the jobs for Usd¡¯ghi while I learnt. I never heard that part of the deal was that you got to pull shit on me. Or needed to go digging into what I have learnt. I must have missed those terms being mentioned in the finger waving.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°The Br¨ªn hand speech whatever its called. I didn¡¯t understand most of what the signs said. The key thing I caught, though, was one word. Agreed. Which speaks of a deal being struck where I didn¡¯t get the details. So you can fuck off. Leave. I¡¯m sure Usd¡¯ghi has ways to get her funds back from you and the weapon.¡± ¡°Now hold on Viper,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone suddenly far calmer. ¡°No. Leave,¡± said Julia. ¡°I could chop you up and take you with me in pieces. You¡¯re a pain in my arse.¡± L¨ºdhins stated, merely a statement of fact, rather than threatening. ¡°That would just cost you coin, and likely annoy Usd¡¯ghi. I''m certain she disapproves of adjusting conditions.¡± Julia said, before smiling at him. ¡°Cause it¡¯s really not me you have to worry about, is it? I have nothing over you. Yeah, you could kill me, or just tow me around in pieces. Then I¡¯ll let Usd¡¯ghi know after I get back to my home plane. I know how to get in touch with her from there. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll have words for you. Like, sit, stay, beg, and die. She wouldn¡¯t know where your home plane is, would she? Cause that would be really uncomfortable.¡± Julia finished. ¡°What do you want then?¡± asked L¨ºdhins. ¡°For you to leave,¡± said Julia, feeling annoyance and anger bubbling away under the Ki¡¯s calm. ¡°Not happening,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his eyes watching her posture, and weighing the distance separating them. {{Feel so fierce. Could we fuck him first?}} ¡°Fine, here are some initial conditions. For you to not steal from me again. Two. You don¡¯t get to ask me questions related to what I know or can do. You¡¯re training me, not the other fucking way around. Third, services that you¡¯d expect from any Succubi are off the table; for you or everyone else. You make sure it stays that way. If not, I¡¯ll consider you in breach of protection clause of the contract with Usd¡¯ghi. I¡¯ll make sure she knows it after I skip out on you. Fourth, you do your job and protect me, from yourself, if need be, and others.¡± ¡°What do I get out of it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t skip right now. I really don¡¯t care who else you fuck over. But you¡¯re getting paid by someone I¡¯ll owe a favour to. So I want my share from this deal, or the whole thing is off. No regard, no answers, no consideration and certainly no services.¡± ¡°You¡¯re showing more than just tiny fangs here. Think you¡¯re already prepared to throw down?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°Usd¡¯ghi. Am I wrong? You tell me? How dangerous is it to annoy her? To get on the wrong side of her ledger?¡± Julia asked. The questions came in a flurry, giving him no chance to respond. ¡°Logic again.¡± ¡°Instinct. You didn¡¯t give her shit. You behaved respectfully to her. She¡¯s far older, and you''re cautious with her. So am I wrong?¡± ¡°No,¡± said L¨ºdhins, the word coming out grudgingly. ¡°I knew I wasn¡¯t. So let''s not have any more of your shit. Notice I didn¡¯t demand to know the deal between you. I didn¡¯t pry, now neither do you,¡± said Julia, letting the stillness of the Ki chill her tone. She didn¡¯t notice or feel the flare in her eyes. ¡°Fine.¡± [Dominion [Ap](4->6) Haggling [Ap](6->8) Mental Hardening [J] (20->21)] Hope the leash holds. ((At least while you find your ground.)) {{Better to die roaring than squeaking.}} A rapid flurry of hand sign followed from L¨ºdhins. #Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone at home?# Julia¡¯s eyes widen before she could stop them. The memory of the music echoed in her mind. He just quoted Pink Floyd. #You know more than Accepted. And you know those lines. The Br¨ªn call this Battle Cant. The other calls it Brin hand speech. That, along with the sudden knowledge. I know you didn¡¯t recognise it to start with. I waved my fingers right at you while you watched them. You add up to one thing. Don¡¯t trust me. Don¡¯t trust any of them. Let¡¯s go.# ¡°What?¡± Julia asked, her voice numb with surprise. ¡°We¡¯re not having this conversation ever.¡± L¨ºdhins turned and walked away, and Julia just stared at his back with widen eyes. The third hand suddenly on L¨ºdhins¡¯ back signalled in her direction. #Move J# "L¨ºdhins?" Julia questioned, not yet moving. #Play with my full ''Use'' name if you can see it, not just L¨ºdhins. Now move.# Fuck Julia let Ki Movement empower her motions and moved to keep up. 40 - New Rules Play with his Full ¡®Use¡¯ Name. He said most Demons think the world is flat. If know they¡¯re planets, then they should be globes. Right? But the Kingdom¡¯s folk didn¡¯t have that knowledge either. His ¡®Use¡¯ name is all Analysis gives me on him. Other powerful Demons, it hasn¡¯t even given me that. L¨ºdhins was all that Usd¡¯ghi spoke to him using at the store. Why would he think I''d know the lot. It''s only because of Analysis, that I know it. No one else seems to know about that skill. Really? D?s L¨ºdhins Fy DOS? A Microsoft reference? A Technically correct but useless answer? Is he joking? Wait. Since he quoted Pink Floyd, what if I ignore the special letters or treat them as the closest English ones by shape? Nah, it still doesn¡¯t work. There aren''t enough whole words from that. There it is D?s L¨ºdhins Fy But why would you put a perfect anagram in your name? The keyword is there. And he knows about gaining instant knowledge, hinting at skill points? Hidden, but with extra letters: O. S. L. S. F. Y. Sly? Sols? Sol is the sun. What does Sols mean? FY, did he put fuck you in his name? Or is it Sol and FYS? Hidden Sol FYs is that for Fuck Yous? I''ve got a Hidden Sun? The light shines out his arse? He wishes. Seriously, is he hidden as well, and now tells me the conversation will never happen. MEN!!!! He quoted Floyd, but he¡¯s an old-timer in the Abyss. How did he get here? Was he screwing with me with the ¡®Use¡¯ name? Did he keep trying to push those ¡®Use¡¯ names on me? How? ¡°We need to talk,¡± said Julia, her tone firm. L¨ºdhins just stopped, and she could see the top of his head ducked under a jutted rock. ¡°No, we don¡¯t,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone almost tired but firm. ¡°Half the children?¡± Julia asked, finding herself unable not to know. His agreement with the Usd¡¯ghi has been rubbing her conscious raw since she''d seen their hand sign agreement. ¡°So you got more than agreed?¡± asked L¨ºdhins, clearly amused. ¡°Yes. I saw you agree to give her half the children in hand sign. So spill. If your name means what I think it does ¡®Floyd¡¯.¡± said Julia, the name in English only came out with an effort of focused will. ¡°There are a few word games I played. Had to piece it together from Br¨ªn names to avoid making it obvious. Took me a while to find Abyssal names that would get translated the right way in my Profile. Even if they sound different in this tongue. Right now, you¡¯re making things dangerous. You don¡¯t know if we¡¯re completely free of scrying, and neither do I. Not for sure. We¡¯ve got a retrieval job near here. Someone¡¯s hit a caravan taking Soul Gems back to the grey fields.¡± ¡°Soul Gems, but Souls are energy,¡± said Julia, remembering the containers of light wheeled away when the processing completed. ¡°After harvested Souls have emotions extracted, the Souls get crystallised, never seen how Usd¡¯ghi does it. She takes them to a room in the workshop, just a box of glowing stuff. Then comes out with a gem-like thing.¡± ¡°Why would Usd¡¯ghi care? And what does that have to do with the children?¡± Julia asked, her tone impatient even to her ears. Wow, just give away that kids are a soft spot. Scream your weakness. ¡°Fine, at least you¡¯re shifting to a safe topic, stupid Git,¡± said L¨ºdhins, the frustration in his voice easing slightly. He turned to look at her. ¡°Because she hasn¡¯t got the payment for delivery of them. Well, her cut of the coins of the Damned, from processing the emotions is one thing. Cunning hag makes extra that most don¡¯t know about. Upon delivery of the Souls to the grey field, the Titan¡¯s servants provide a payment. The Soul Gems of children. Well, the Titan¡¯s servants provide the most resources for their delivery. Plus, someone decided they could mess with her? Seriously?¡± ¡°What¡¯s special about the kids to the Titan?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Kids get harvested into the Abyss because of the greed of parents. Morons offering their child to a Demon for material crap or a chance at power. Other ways for particularly evil fucks, but most kids aren¡¯t dealing with Demons even if so. As for why Titan doesn¡¯t explain, he just sets the prices paid.¡± said L¨ºdhins. "If they¡¯re her shipment, why is she expecting only half for you retrieving them?¡± ¡°Well, she usually coughs up all the reward for the shipment. Just to ensure the raiders get the chop. I¡¯ll get their ¡®Use¡¯ name when I kill them. Most Demons can¡¯t quickly learn another¡¯s ¡®Use¡¯ name. It¡¯s a handy talent I have. Then she¡¯ll arrange for hunters to find them on their home plane. The ultimate destruction of a being is a significant discouragement. This time she wants half the children since the shipment had a lot. Some big deal not gone as planned, and the mortals had to pay full price for their failure.¡° ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t ask, don¡¯t care. Not like I can change anything in either case. With the number of kids likely some important ceremony to a Dark Power didn¡¯t go as planned. Speak none of their names in the Abyss, especially the chaotic ones. They can hear their name spoken on these planes.¡± ¡°How can you not care about Kids?¡± asked Julia, not able to understand how he could just treat it as an exchange. ¡°You need to shut up! How bloody new are you? You don¡¯t get it. There is no way out of here. You look after yourself here. Alliances are temporary, fleeting, and not trusted. Let other folks worry about themselves. Kids will get to the grey fields at some point, regardless. The thieves will not waste resources. I¡¯m getting them for the reward. Usd¡¯ghi wants them returned, as it delivers her precious message. You get nothing, as she offered you up for this job. All in exchange for the knowledge you don¡¯t have.¡± ¡°Knowledge I can¡¯t trust you to give properly,¡± said Julia, trying to make her point clear. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s a dilemma. What¡¯s trust got to do with it, anyway? Your ¡®friend¡¯ paid for goods I¡¯ll deliver or as you said, I¡¯ll never get paid in advance again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯s not my friend,¡± said Julia, wondering what hooks she¡¯d swallowed by going to the Hag. ¡°Too bloody right. You¡¯re an idiot getting mixed up with her,¡± L¨ºdhins said, making a familiar gesture with a circling finger. Yeah, okay, so maybe I am looney tunes crazy. ¡°You¡¯re mixed up with her too,¡± said Julia, unable to resist pointing it out. ¡°That¡¯s cause I am a moron. Otherwise, I might not have ended up here. Just had to walk away, but no. Now shut up! You¡¯ve got me talking about things I should have incinerated instead of burying.¡± said L¨ºdhins, apparently well and truly done talking. He turned, only just avoiding the low rock he¡¯d ducked under earlier. ¡°Is this still our reality?¡± ¡°No. We¡¯re in the Titan¡¯s universe now. Last child of Kronos. This place plays by his rules. He¡¯s the absolute authority. The Overgod. All the other Gods may play in the sandbox he made, by his rules alone. No idea why the lightning tosser and the other Grecian bitches could come play. No more questions like this. Find answers out of the Abyss. If you ever get a day pass.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Julia didn¡¯t even get the rest of it across her lips. She¡¯d seen L¨ºdhins race towards the Portal, but that was a Sunday stroll compared to this afterimage. He hadn¡¯t bothered to face back to her to answer, but with the last question, things just changed. By the time reflex kicked in, it was already too late. Danger Sense didn¡¯t have time to ping and somehow was still asleep even when she realised her state. His hand clamped over her mouth; fingers wrapped far around her skull, a restrained vice that didn¡¯t crush. Then stone dug with its useless force against her skin. It was just there, pressing against her even as Julia tried to Blink and then Teleport away. The power of both just drained into his hand, as with the webbing at the Portal. Lashing out with fist, knees and kicks burning the last of Ki, and Mana against the bare flesh of his chest. Her strikes were as meaningless as the stone against her flesh. {{Oh, baby. Be rough with us.}} Thumbs gouging at eyes, awkward knee strikes into his crotch got her nothing. He merely waited, holding her pinned in place¡ªthe system mocking her with notification of failure to damage or drain. {{He¡¯s so hard. Bunny bounces, please.}} <> Fuck. No. Tilting his face to look Julia in the eyes, what she saw there wasn¡¯t comforting. Rage and desire fueling the inferno of Heat burning within, and finally, after long minutes, words breathed across her face. ¡°Shut Up! I¡¯ve been here too long. Hope is a poison that kills slowly. One etched weakness at a time. You can drink that Kool-aid all you like, but you will not involve me. Now. Hear me, and I¡¯ll make it clear so you will shut up. This conversation is over. I¡¯m not trustworthy. Ever. Do not tell me any of your plans, little Viper, J. Even your questions are dangerous here. Whatever randomness you could think to add. They speak of patterns. Of plans. Some put the most chaotic patterns into place here, like you¡¯d solve a child¡¯s puzzle. Our uniqueness makes us both hard to scry, impossible to mind read. But hard to scry isn¡¯t the same as impossible. So if you wish to drink in Hope, don¡¯t drink it around me. If only you¡¯d been just another Succubus to fuck. Bloody Hag.¡± He handled me with less effort than a doll. Fuck. I¡¯ve been poking a fucking nuke, not a bear. With the last Julia found herself set back lightly on her feet. With L¨ºdhins hand resting gently against her shoulder, Julia was able to find her balance before he completely let go. ¡°Rules. You start a fight with anything in here. You are the one finishing it. I¡¯ll keep other things off your back as long as you¡¯ve not attacked them. But you will sink or swim fighting on your own. You get in over your head or throw something that gets foes you find you can¡¯t handle interested. Too bad. If you get sent back to your home plane. Too bad. Best keep your head low for a century. Not sure that¡¯s possible for you, given how you run your mouth. Rest to recover your Mana, and whatever other energy you were trying to hurt me with. I¡¯m sure it wasn¡¯t Abyssal whatever ¡®it¡¯ said. We¡¯ll move out when you¡¯re done.¡± The silence between them hung for a time, as Julia sat by the wall of the passageway. ¡°Anything else?¡± Julia asked, finally finding her voice. ¡°I¡¯ve still got to teach you, so ask questions about Tern¨°x.¡± ¡°Nothing else?¡± ¡°Seriously, the questions you¡¯ve already asked. By the unholy nine, no.¡± ¡°Unholy nine?¡± ¡°See that there alone. Just don¡¯t. Nine layers of Hell. Alright, I need to know how old? Why do you know so little?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. Time is weird here.¡± Julia replied, still not knowing what to think. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say not to trust you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you telling me secrets. Yet you¡¯re just too new. What¡¯s you Abyssal and Demonic Lore?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a secret?¡± ¡°No point hiding them on an imprint. It would raise too many questions. Just keep them showing below Master if they get towards there.¡± ¡°Abyssal Lore is apprentice-level one. Demonic Lore is apprentice-level twenty three,¡± said Julia, eyes watching him carefully to gauge a reaction. Not glad at the wince that he showed before she was done speaking. [Preception (20->21)] ¡°Both apprentice, geez even harem whores likely have higher than that within months.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been busy surviving. Not fucking and sharing pillow talk.¡± Julia said, her tone of voice turning edged. ¡°Point. So you coalesce energy fast. How fast?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that a secret?¡± Julia asked, her nerves prompt her to prod him. Yet she wanted to bite her tongue the moment the words were out of her mouth. ¡°Do I have to peek under your hood? I¡¯m clumsy at it, but I can check your power levels. You won¡¯t like how it feels. Not unless you like clumsy fingers in intimate places.¡± ¡°You tell me yours first,¡± Julia said, ¡°I''ll show you mine if you show me yours. Oh, Baby, yes. Fine. One a month; Sometimes less. Which is on the high side.¡± said L¨ºdhins, his voice shifting from lightly mocking onto serious as he went on. ¡°For me, it seems to depend on what I kill,¡± said Julia, wondering what his reaction would be. ¡°Fuck. Now I wish I hadn¡¯t asked,¡± said L¨ºdhins, shaking his head slightly. ¡°Great. What Tier are you?¡± Julia asked. So note to self: just tell him No for stuff if I think it''s bad news. ¡°Named. Which is as high as I¡¯ll go,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone a firm absolute. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want a cult of worshippers,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone edged with sharp self-disgust. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°They need cults to the start Ascension to power for Lords and Ladies. It not just needing shards, they need mortal belief before they can compress their Abyssal energy. They need acknowledgement from mortals, either for worship or just appeasement, kind of like fisherman offering sacrifices to sea deities. Please don¡¯t come and sink my boat. You¡¯re a dick, but the waves are yours. The evil, unpredictable bastard that you are.¡± I need people to fear me? No. What did they say I needed to become a Demon Lady? Why would they recommend that? ¡°You need to get your acting better. I can see things all over your face even with your Aura going. Aura sucked it up; I take it?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°Yes. How did you know?¡± ¡°Lost my cherry that way years ago. Just mine¡¯s a battlefield thing. Not a come and grovel at my feet.¡± ¡°Is that what it feels like to you, that you want to grovel at my feet?¡± ¡°Not hardly. I just saw how the transport crew looked at you whenever your arse went by.¡± L¨ºdhins said, shaking his head. Hand rising to mouth and gesturing like he intended to wolf whistle through his fingers. ¡°Fuck!¡± stated Julia, the word coming out with clear disgust. ¡°Yeah, that sums it up. We were travelling together, you yelled at me, and I didn¡¯t slap you into place. Most likely they figured I¡¯d object to other deals.¡± L¨ºdhins said, pausing for a moment before he continued. ¡°Let¡¯s change the subject. Oh, acting. You need to get it high enough you could take any stage by storm, not just one like the marketplace. This is a dangerous habit.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Talking freely even if it''s about subjects that are safe.¡± ¡°How long have you been...¡± ¡°No,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone of voice snapping sharp with edged command. ¡°What is your main class?¡± Julia asked, raising her eyebrow at him, hoping it was a safer question. ¡°That¡¯s safer. Stormblade. It¡¯s a focused version of Spellblade. I unlocked Lightning, levelled Wizard, just with it. Merged Wizard and Fighter into Stormblade and then got another Affinity. I can use the other affinity outside of Melee. But in Melee, I can throw off Lightning magic and fight at the same time.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Thief. Just because sometimes you need to take the kitchen with you. Black Knight, just because, well combat bonuses and powers. Things like that charge I caught you with just before. I can¡¯t Teleport or Blink, but I have a few options that let me move fast in line of sight when I need it.¡± ¡°Trusting?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m known about the place. Enough battlefield tales people know the range of what you can do. So they know the base stuff. I just try to keep tricks up my sleeves. Or just kill foes in ways that people don¡¯t know it''s you. Too many words, cycle your mana and recover now. I¡¯m tapped out for conversation, and you asked nothing about Tern¨°x. Unless you want simple words like grind it, baby.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Wise. Shush,¡± said L¨ºdhins, still standing in the middle of the corridor as if he could wait forever. Fuck! Julia waited for the Ki pool to show some signs of life. Without the Ki, the effectiveness of the Meditation seemed significantly less, but she returned to her basics. Letting her focus concentrate on the movement of flexing fingers. 41 - What are you going to do now? ¡°Why did you want to kill more Nox?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°I¡¯m jealous of their wonderful looks,¡± said Julia, providing him with a smile that lit up with the mischief in her eyes. Julia flipped to her feet and almost laughed at the look on L¨ºdhins face. You told me not to tell you secrets. ¡°Shall we move along?¡± Julia asked. ¡°As long as you calm down Viper,¡± L¨ºdhins said, coldness frosting his voice. {{Yum Yum. He¡¯s so cold, so vicious. I¡¯ve been naughty papa spank me.}} ((He¡¯s been here for so many years and survived. But has he lived? )) Don¡¯t think it¡¯s just the danger why he doesn¡¯t want to talk more like too many festering wounds. PTSD? So many people with their hells. How is he sane? Heck, am I? Maybe functionally. Julia raised a questioning hand and flexed her fingers towards him. When L¨ºdhins¡¯ gaze noted her action, Julia drew in a breath of the surrounding air to speak. Lungs filled with moist dankness that held a promise of continual decay. The tunnels so close to the grotto that was so alive yet promised less than death¡¯s peace. ¡°What I fight, I need to kill. Suppose I kill something and join in your fight. Would you stop fighting?¡± asked Julia, wanting to check on his rules. ¡°It would be a competition to see who gets the most kills,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his serious tone not echoed by bared teeth. ¡°You¡¯re already way ahead on the kill count. For now,¡± said Julia, giving him a smile lacking mirth. ¡°Hold off on the next Ascend, as long as you can,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone unrelenting. ¡°The effect from the extra shards?¡± asked Julia. L¨ºdhins¡¯ nod and frown spoke volumes in themselves. ¡°Indeed. The more shards you can compress during the process, the stronger you become at the other end,¡± said L¨ºdhins. I let slip a secret naughty me. I should have just asked, But why papa? ¡°What happens if you lose hold of them during the compression?¡± Julia asked, remembering how it felt like she was herding cats. ¡°That would be unfortunate,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone merely dry. ¡°Hurry, Let''s go.¡± ¡°You express ¡®calm¡¯ well when you focus on it. Work to get your body to keep that expression even when fighting.¡± Resting calm face, not resting bitchy face. ¡°I¡¯m a natural,¡± said Julia, pretending to flex her arm. ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to point out the new boobs,¡± said Julia, trying to draw a reaction other than dry discontent from him. ¡°Viper,¡± L¨ºdhins said, annoyance showing in his eyes again. Yes, Grumpy Bum. Well, at least that wasn¡¯t discontent. ¡°You want to see my war face?¡± asked Julia ¡°No, you don¡¯t know what war is,¡± L¨ºdhins said, shaking his head, the frown still not having left his face. ¡°True. So Tern¨°x, is it supposed to mean earthen night or something?¡± Julia asked the thought of war here sobering her. ¡°Demons don¡¯t have the most vivid names except for tortures. Many bestial Demons crawl out of the earth, and dark places on this plane. Various types of Nox among others,¡± How do the Nox keep spawning from the earth if they can make it back to safety? ((Everything is fleeting here. Including alliances. )) Their safety, is it fleeting? We are in the Abyss. A mental touch felt the stillness within the Ki pool and invited it to rise and drift. Its acknowledgement was immediate and with it misting through her form, they headed out.
The screaming of ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ was the only warning; there hadn¡¯t even been a sound. Falling backwards into a roll let the rock take the spike''s impact with no fleshy ornaments attached. [Danger Sense [B](1->2)] The roll completed, Julia came to her feet, ready to leap again. L¨ºdhins looked at her flatly and put his Mattock away. Rock fragments that had been on the spike dropping to the passageway floor as it vanished. ¡°Thoughts are showing on your face again. But at least you listened to your gut that time,¡± Standing close to the impact point, she patted her chest. ¡°If not, I would have needed some work done,¡± said Julia. ¡°¡­¡± Julia wasn¡¯t sure if they intended the low response as a sigh or a groan. ¡°Why during our chat didn¡¯t ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ go off. I mean at all?¡± Julia asked. ¡°The Black Knight class, from mixing Fighter and Assassin. An assassin has a power called ¡®Silent Kill¡¯ it prevents ¡®Danger Sense¡¯ from triggering. Also ¡®Perception¡¯ from picking up on sounds, from attacking, and the kill¡¯s dying noises.¡± ¡°But you have Stormblade, isn¡¯t that a prestige of Fighter and Wizard.¡± The ''kills'' guess he¡¯s only been in the Abyss. Wouldn¡¯t consider Demons victims. ¡°I levelled Fighter a second time,¡± L¨ºdhins said, watching as she gathered herself. ¡°What came first?¡± asked Julia. Stop eye-fucking me. {{Yeah. All these empty promises. Wiggle at him.}} [Sense Motive (2->3)] Is that why you¡¯re doing it? Bet it¡¯s not. You¡¯ve also got a one-track mind. Only got yourself to blame if you get black balls now. ¡°My first Prestige Class was Black Knight,¡± ¡°So I was in danger?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Yes," said L¨ºdhins, with no hesitation in his response. Great. Don¡¯t know if that¡¯s a lie. Let¡¯s assume it wasn¡¯t. So how many levels of Fighter does L¨ºdhins'' have? 100? More? Julia simply followed when he moved on.
The sound of a crack found Flight holding Julia suddenly near the ceiling. The section of wall near where her feet had been, now showing a pair of long mandibles extended from it. A spray of blood across the floor, showing that instinct still needed improvement. [Danger Sense [B](14->15)] Wow, okay. L¨ºdhins needs to give me the axe more often still. So many things want to de-feet me. Ouch! #That¡¯s yours. In case you¡¯re wondering# L¨ºdhins¡¯ hand signs looked amused. #Arse# Analysis Okay, one big arse Demonic beetle with lots of unknowns. Corrupted Shadow Nox. #It has a hole# L¨ºdhins flicked back, before pointing at the beetle, forcing its way into the passage. Julia shifted forms before Blink moved her, it was a little while later before she crawled out of the hole. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you Blink back up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just old-fashioned,¡± Julia said, a tight smile fixed to her lips. [Acting (4->5)] Julia looked back down and tried to keep the sight of the Night Elf Soul clawing at the rock from her visage. The experience notification tasted bitter in her awareness. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Corrupted Nox Shadow x1 Killing blows: 1 Solo kills: 1 Demonic Shards Gained: 0.1 Experience distributed between classes: Blood Monk: 0 Wizard: 0 Succubus: +1,480] ¡°What do you see there?¡± asked L¨ºdhins. ¡°Ask me no questions I¡¯ll tell you no lies,¡± ¡°Tell me a lie,¡± L¨ºdhins said, challenging her. ¡°You sweep me off my feet. You¡¯re so charming,¡± said Julia, fluttering her eyelids vapidly. ¡°Not even trying,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his voice a scolding growl. ¡°Well, it was only partly a lie. You lifted me off the ground, such a sweetie,¡± Julia said, keeping her tone bright and empty-headed. ¡°Grrr,¡± ¡°Bad doggie, sit, sit,¡± said Julia, affecting a posh tone. [Acting (5->6)] Seriously, you¡¯re a dick as well ¡®System¡¯. ¡°What was its level?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Forty. What was with the skull popping open that way?¡± ¡°Form changed to a pebble. Blink carried me into its nose. I then spiked in there to stay put. Waited till my power took and then grew. Pop.¡± ¡°Bit of a cheesy kill.¡± ¡°Critic, it¡¯s dead. You want some whine with it?¡± Julia asked, annoyance in her voice. ¡°Need to raise your combat skills, not just kill things,¡± said L¨ºdhins insistently. ¡°Yeah, I know. Let''s move along,¡± Julia said, looking away from the hole. ¡°Feet? Things?¡± asked L¨ºdhins, pointing behind her, before Julia could close the distance. Julia shrugged and pushed her clipped feet down into the hole with the remains. She was trying to ignore the now enfolded Soul compressing. ¡°There I have both feet in its grave,¡± Julia said, planning to give him another empty-headed smile. Ki handled the urge to scream. Its stillness enveloping her as the rock had done the Soul. [Acting (5->6) Shoulder suddenly brushed against the wall, the sound of metal hitting rock followed her sideways dodge. [Danger Sense [B](15->16) Blink [J] (3->4)] ¡°Better,¡± L¨ºdhins said, the axe reappearing on his belt. ¡°So we¡¯ve covered about a half cycle so far?¡± asked Julia, watching for further moves. Her ''Time Sense'' apparently appreciating her effort when L¨ºdhins nodded. [Time Sense [Ap](12->13) ¡°Thinking about the job. Think up something slutty to wear. Want you to act your way in the front door. They¡¯re in a small settlement, so you¡¯ll want your aura off. Then again, it¡¯s your decision.¡± ¡°Or I could find another way in.¡± ¡°You get the most insights when challenged. However, you want to approach it. It¡¯s your problem. You need to be inside before I hit the place.¡± L¨ºdhins said, the tone of voice making it clear he would not figure it out for her. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°In case any of them have a teleport option and try to leave with the goods.¡± ¡°Souls,¡± Julia said, giving him a look. ¡°Goods,¡± said L¨ºdhins, not relenting any ground. ¡°Souls,¡± Julia insisted. ¡°Whatever makes it more stressful for you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not fucking anyone.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d best act your way through the situation, so you don¡¯t have to. Or come up with another approach. But you get inside first.¡± ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s that option again,¡± said L¨ºdhins. ¡°No,¡± Julia said, her tone firm as her stomach still twisted in knots at the thought. Is he a dick on purpose? [Sense Motive (3->4)] ¡°Tell me about the city where we met,¡± L¨ºdhins ordered. He¡¯d told her a bunch of stuff. Now he just randomly would demand answers, and sometimes they weren¡¯t even details he''d covered, only implied. Seeing and thinking in patterns of Chaos was part of the joy. Julia had to think over and shift thru the spray of information he¡¯d provided. When she got any wrong, they went over them again, and again. So far, the Lore skills he had been straining were giving their approvals. "The city ¨´eqr?kas, named by a Demon Lord, after himself, of course, that used to control the plane. Before his destruction in the battles of the Four, the Unbound control the plane at present. The harvest of the river S?ep¨ºgmib, or the drowned in the old tongue, get gathered by work crews. They then use husks as a resource for construction and dining in the city.¡± ¡°What Souls are ''the drowned''?¡± ¡°The damned from the river are many, mostly those whose deeds are too wide-ranging to go to one for specific behaviours. Just living a life saturated in the evil for which they felt no remorse. In the Abyss, their Souls feel as if they are continually drowning. When husks get stripped of all but bone, the Souls remain bound, wailing from eternal placements. Why didn¡¯t they change the name?¡± Julia asked as she completed the summary. ¡°Of what?¡± ¡°The city. If the Unbound groups control the plane now, doesn¡¯t it chomp on them it¡¯s still called after a Demon Lord?¡± Julia inquired. ¡°How would you get any to agree on what to call it?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. Julia could sense the sudden amusement from him. [Sense Motive (4->5)] My goodness, the stick came out of his arse at last. ¡°Well, point,¡± Julia said, giving a helpless shrug. ¡°Are Souls used elsewhere, instead of just in the buildings?¡± ¡°Some particularly evil ones might have their bones cast into the Blood Sea. It will transform them into minor Demons. Because of their unfocused evil, they seal most into the building¡¯s walls.¡° ¡°Format of City government?¡± ¡°Five groups yank it about randomly between themselves. The Sisterhood is queen bitch at present.¡± Talking in the passageways; risk attracting a monster¡¯s attention. Not an issue as he was hoping for fights. Julia needed to practice after all. ¡°Name the weakest group in the city, and why,¡± said L¨ºdhins, snapping out the next random question. ¡°The Courtesans or whores, they are too busy selling information gathered instead of using it to get power for themselves. Though they have ears and other things everywhere, oddly enough. They¡¯re also not on the Council.¡± ¡°Strongest after the sisterhood?¡± ¡°The Coven of Hollow Stars, current ¡®head¡¯ is a granddaughter of Usd¡¯ghi. A hag by the name of Kril¡¯ghi will probably keep the position until she¡¯s stupid enough to cross her, then she¡¯ll die like her mother.¡± Yeah, cause I so wish I had known she was a power behind the throne earlier. Fucking Naz¡¯rilca. Any Hag I run into with the same suffix is one of Usd¡¯ghi''s descendants. The shorter the front prefix, the closer to the line¡¯s founder. So many Hags under her covens. I¡¯ve got hooked by the wrong individual. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Next?¡± ¡°The Free Traders, their caravans bring resources back from all around Hrz¡¯Styrn and other planes, including this one. Many of them carry key resources needed by the Alchemist, Enchanters, and other crafters. ¡°Enchanters are?¡± ¡°Useless as a group, too divided by their self-interest. More inclined to work against each other. The Alchemists group keeps them from self-destructing on each other.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because the Alchemists like wealth.¡± ¡°Right, walk.¡± ¡°Yes sir,¡± Julia said, waving a mock salute his way. ¡°The Sisterhood?¡± ¡°A bunch of homicidal bitches, who need to sit on spikes,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Well, at least you weren¡¯t sarcastic this time,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone dry. ¡°I know, right? They¡¯re such lovely Succubi.¡± Julia said, her voice almost bouncing with excitement. ¡°And there is the sarcasm again.¡± Can¡¯t ask why I ended up in the River when I Ascended. As I¡¯m pretty sure my Home plane should be secret. Even if Usd¡¯ghi likely knows it. He¡¯s not said anything of the Sisterhood sigil. Yet that doesn¡¯t mean he''s not seen it. *Sometime later* [Abyssal Lore [Ap](5->6)]
Fucking my fair lady. It¡¯s amusing when you¡¯re watching it happen in a Movie. Not when it¡¯s happening to you. Bloody training. Plus, this is so not deportment. ¡°Spread your legs wider.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a perv.¡± ¡°Having your knees together will not challenge your acrobatics. Try it again.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I catch myself with Flight? Why am I even practising falling off a ledge?¡± ¡°That will not help your acrobatics, and if you get it and ¡®Fly¡¯ high enough, you''ll merge them. Pretend you¡¯re being knocked off a ledge by an enemy. Catching yourself with Flight straight away leaves you where they can hit you. Complete the fall, adjust as you go.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Now do it again, you¡¯re wasting time. And keep your face calm, composed, oh white one,¡± Fuck my fair lady. ¡°You¡¯re just watching my arse when I fall back off the ledge, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Julia. ¡°And if I am? You still need to fall from an unbalanced position and recover,¡± said L¨ºdhins. Bastard.
Get your hand off me. ¡°I¡¯ll fuck you so hard your cock will drop off,¡± her sultry voice purred. The excited escort fondled what he¡¯d already paid for, moulding breasts with his attentions. Gah these lines. They¡¯re not Playdough. Easy on the girls. ¡°Get her inside first. Then you and the rest can fuck her, while not on watch. Boss wants things kept secure.¡± ¡°Fine, fine,¡± her escort grumbled, and a hand slapping arse elicited a giggle. Get the Succubus inside first, and then you can try to fuck her. Bloody L¨ºdhins. Slutty outfit indeed. The local equivalent looks like a y string that barely fits. These outfits are dental floss, that¡¯s all I have to say, dental floss! The building exterior had turned out to be just blank stone walls, with the only exception to their blandness being scuff marks from the winds. Erratic gales in the cavern, scouring dirt and dust over stone, frequently and hard enough to leave marks. ¡®Mana Sense¡¯ had been clear enough to show her the wards. L¨ºdhins¡¯ review of them and other buildings with her had helped her level Arcane. It had also revealed they¡¯d had set them to prevent anyone without a passkey from entering via Teleport or Blink. Since that had been the case, operation ¡®hooker ''R us¡¯ was a go. The building''s interior was a maze of stacked crates, most were intact, but a few broken ones showed a mix of general goods and valuables alike. When the door closed behind them, a long tongue ran along a white neck. Fingers roamed over nipples suddenly forced bare. The situation made Julia glad it would be soon. The level up approved the stealth of her approach, at least. [Dark Sight [B](6->7) Stealth [J] (4->5) Perception [Ap] (30) -> [J](1)] Great, his hand has shifted off me. It¡¯s time to go. Her ride was suddenly lighter by one tiny hair ornament. Julia meanwhile was in among a stack of looted ingots, nestled and quickly out of sight from the Succubus and her John. Line of sight is such a subjective term. There had been nothing between her and the shadow she¡¯d used to see. It wasn¡¯t Julia¡¯s fault the form had no eyes to see, and it still worked. Let alone how she thought since this form had neither head nor brain. The thieves'' wards while blocking incoming Blink or Teleport would not stop either from occurring within. While they had set them to stop the basic Change Self, L¨ºdhins had declared they hadn''t added the right forms to stop her version. But it changes me!!! Pretty sure he thinks it¡¯s Shapeshift. So now I bet I¡¯m wrong and he knows what it is. Boo!!! Queue one stealth theme. Can I just sleep here for a bit? The last six days have been murder. Four or five cycles my arse. Days, Cycles, Days. Demons and their terms, it¡¯s the same thing. No such luck. There will be no rest for the wicked, you know. And no sleep till bedtime. When¡¯s bedtime? Never!!! Training, travelling and fighting, sometimes all three at once. The trip had been a busy one. Dark Sight plus Blink took her from place to place through the warehouse, Analysis letting her pick up the security details, and the numbers alone weren''t reassuring. Dozens that were similar in level or slightly lower, eight of them were high enough that Julia couldn''t get many details. Depending on how the plan went, the most concerning were the three where no information at all came back. Finally, she located the target in a sub-basement. The crate marked with Usd¡¯ghi sigil still packed, analysis quickly confirming the contents to be Soul Gems. Though some looked more like natural pearls than gemstones, the analysis showed those to be the children. The crate had quickly emptied into her Inventory, storing so many individual items forced it to level up again. That the Analysis of the gems showing they were all followers of Set was unsettling for Julia. Some big deal went astray? Did it have anything to do with the High Altar I stole? All these children had no chance. Maybe they have a better next life. At least they¡¯re not marked like the adults as a follower of Set. Does it need them to commit as an adult? Is that why the children¡¯s Souls get a higher reward? Are they uncommitted? A Blank slate still? With one of the Messenger¡¯s Loop from her inventory, it¡¯s Flit spell for the day consumed, L¨ºdhins had his signal. A few moments later, the fighting began. Or at least she suspected that the massive bang had signalled his arrival. L¨ºdhins can undoubtedly make an entrance. Julia braced herself while enemies ran past the door. The screaming from upstairs echoed through the warehouse. The rows of goods they had stored in this place had made searching it interesting. Yet now their effect seemed intended to distort screams and cries. When a key started turning in the lock, Protean slipped her out of view, blending flesh flat against the stone floor. When the door finally opened, Dark Sight let her see the Heat in the eyes of the Br¨ªn that entered. The axe he was carrying smashed down through the now empty crate. Analysis. Lots of unknown, you can play with them L¨ºdhins, all I get is his species. Maybe because I already know it, bloody Analysis. Even without ears, his scream of rage was unmistakable. It vibrated across Julia''s skin like a living thing, clawing at the thin stone form she had assumed. The Br¨ªn ripped the steel door from its hinges and smashed it against the far wall. Rage and fury filled its screaming, as its thudding footstep sent it racing toward the stairs. Would you care to fill out our shop survey before you leave? No. Alright then, have a fine day. So not fighting with him, I¡¯ll give him to the count of ten or twenty. Then I¡¯ll find a playmate. At least I got the goods first. [Thief Class option available. Do you wish to select this class? You have one available class slot.] No! Have fun L¨ºdhins. Maybe I could have a nap here? Fine, I know what you¡¯d say already. You need to get your combat skills up, Arse. Flowing out from under the remains of the door that rested partly on her assumed form. Julia turned on Telepathy and felt for the nearest mind. From above, she felt panic, anger and lots of rage. But closer still, were beacons of fear that merely hoped to escape unnoticed. The Succubus who had given her the lift within seemed torn. Two options were appealing the most: running away or staying to fuck whoever won. She was getting off on the blood that was already spilling. Still don¡¯t understand how Protean folds my gear into my form. Maybe it¡¯s that thing about storing extra mass. Still, at least I don¡¯t have to muck about when shifting forms. Slipping out of the room and moving unnoticed along the row of crates was easy enough. If Julia made any noise, no one immediately reacted to it over the fighting above. The feel of a mind drew her to a room, where sudden scrambling noises were coming from within. Their emotions and instincts of danger were telling them to run. Instead, they shoved more loot into their storage pouch. When their instincts screamed, they ran. Julia crouched and waited by the door. Their steps were blurring with quiet speed. There was no sound to judge, but there was no need. As she watched through their own eyes and hers. At the instant they crossed the threshold, she checked them and then struck. Analysis [Name: Cypey T¨´g¨´c Demon Species: Cambion (Succubus Halfbreed) Class: Thief / Bandit Level: 10 / 15 Health: 250 Mana: 0 Defence: 24 Melee Attack Power: 42 Combat Skill (s): Short Blade [J] (3), Short Bow [J](15) Situational Modifiers: Armour penetration applied on back and flanking attacks] Crouched as she was, Julia lashed out with a fist, striking sideways across their leading knee. The Ki strike ruptured bone and tendon as their weight bore down on it. Blackness grabbing tight, Mana was burning Abyssal flesh. Their unbalanced mass drove them into stacked crates, as the joint of their knee gave out. [Successful surprise attack on victim of theft. Thief Class available. Ki Strike, Armour breached success: 59 Damage - Broken Leg Joint - Condition hobbled applied. Non-critical location, no extra damage applied. Energy drain - critical willpower success - Health drain 82, Stat penalty applied (Quickness), the passive effect applied. Mana Damage (armour bypassed): 10] No! Stop combat notifications! Their fall didn¡¯t take them far. Battle trance fell over her as they toppled¡ªknowledge of where they would land clear. Progress blocked by the crates. They struck hard; the cargo rocked as their body twisted in pain. Hands were grabbing towards the broken joint as they screamed. Julia flowed to close the distance. As they curled to bring their knee towards their hands, she stomped down hard. One hand was already by the side of the knee, bracing the broken joint. And together they shattered between her foot and stone. When a second stomp crashed down towards its scream, and Ki crushed through flesh, bone, brain, and rock. Their screaming mouth and fending hand; both stilled. Julia grabbed up the thief¡¯s pouch, stored it, and went. Blink breached the distance to the closest target. An elbow strike hit hard, even as their panicked thrust stabbed home. As their blade slid into Julia¡¯s flesh, her return drove them into the wall. Sent reeling with the effects, they lost their weapon. Only to come back with grabbing hands. Their dark red skin seemed to soak the light. Yellow eyes were shining with hate above a now lopsided jaw. They grasped at nothing as Julia Blinked again. Only for her blow to drive their lunge forward and sent them across the stone. A thrown knife flew into the Bracer¡¯s magic and fell. Her spear pulled from inventory, Julia struck in return. Yet not at the thrower, but the fallen foe. A lunging thrust was stabbing deep as it tried to turn. Its motion twisting it on the broad fighting tip and opened it wide. Blood spilling in a pool, its stench and the Demon¡¯s viscera rank odour filled the air. Its scream rang louder still, and while it writhed, she moved. Her spear withdrew with twisted force. The broad blade was turning the already ragged cut into an open pit. The injury it had given Julia had already sealed, now it¡¯s wound gushed in return. Julia braced only to stab again deep beneath ribs. Its screams stilled even as a whip-like tongue lashed out. The cabled organ cracking across her wrists and wrapped to bind hands to the shaft. Its acidic saliva hissing against air and wood, yet her flesh was untouched. Blink shifted her position again and left the spear behind. Now next to the toad headed demon, its tongue guided her arm¡¯s path into its maw. The sudden weight as arm shifted into a steel safe and drove it to the floor. Jaws forced wider than they should go, bones, and joints cracked and popped. The Ki laden steel driven with force crushed it into the floor. {{Play time, bunny hop, please. Or at least kill everything}} ((If this is their home, they''ll rejoin the wheel. )) Three down, another three to go down here. So killing time and then join the upstairs action. Using Analysis on the dead to learn their names, Julia moved onwards. Ki and shifting form quickly saw her venturing upstairs, only dead left below. Stacks above had toppled when not just destroyed; as the battle raged between the massive Br¨ªn, and others swirled to try for advantage. Yet the lack of magic made it seem as if L¨ºdhins was playing with his food, to prolong the fun. Claws and eyes grew on her back to guard the rear, a lightning cloak set into place as she came in sight. As Domain turned on, her ''authority'' pulled plenty of attention. A large group of the weakest looked her way, along with two of the unknown she''d seen before. When they moved, Julia slipped back down the stairs, intent on funnelling them. Demons beckoned by her aura, fought with weapons, claws, and their gaping maws. One alone could Blink past with their own power only to catch her weight, too surprised to Blink free. Empowered by Flight and Ki, the extended claws on her back, pierced through flesh and stone with ease. As others rushed to take advantage, she shifted into a springing lance and drove up the stairs to drive through the quickest. The battle in the tight confines didn''t go all her way, even as her form flexed and shifted. Claws would still find purchase when attacking with speed or from an unexpected direction. But those too slow in striking would find only air, as paths in the flesh opened and closed untouched. Though still Julia got pushed to the base of the stairs by their weight of numbers. The blood streamed down the stairs yet carried more of theirs than her own. Blackness had drunk to restore her losses, as the fighting pushed steadily downwards. When the funnel opened to allow them a chance to pass, she retreated into the stacks to play tag. Blink moved her between the rows of cargo, as one after another they spread out and fell. The last two, bearing many wounds, yet marked with too many unknowns, thought her pinned till she Blinked away again. Clear of the floor above, flight held her wingless next to a confused yet taunting Succubus above. The screams of battles between the Br¨ªn drew to a close. "How can you fly without Wings on your form?" Fuck! I am supposed to need wings. Darn it. As the Lieutenants returned above, L¨ºdhins ended his playing at last. Even while toying with him, the underlings had died, and he''d grown weakened and bloodied. Wresting their axe away, L¨ºdhins ended them with it. Grounding his war mattock, he shook blood and brain from the axe. "Didn''t touch either of those. So they''re all yours, Succubus." L¨ºdhins said, looking upwards towards the pair. Fuck! ¡°Which is yours?¡± Julia asked, head tilting as if she was addressing the other. As the Succubus'' mouth opened in denial, Blink moved Julia again. The taunting cries turned to rage as thrown weapons speared towards the other¡¯s wings. Julia appeared behind the rearmost of the two clawed hands ladened with the last of her Ki struck in deep. A twist and a pull dragged out the tendons and flesh from behind its knees. The substantial trees of its legs unbalanced, it dropped as if felled. Shoulder checking to ensure it fell forward, Julia lashed out to take a fresh sample from its groin. Blood pulsed as claws rendered, and a shift ensured it landed face-first into a bed of bristling spikes. Two on one, at last, ended with bloodied Succubi facing each other. One smiled coldly as the other raged. Yet even enraged, she hesitated to leap, on seeing the other''s wounds seal so quickly. ¡°A death or make coin?¡± Julia asked her wintry smile, not faltering. ¡°What like the last job you offered?¡± ¡°No, just straight-up coin for fucking.¡± Julia replied, her tone unconcerned. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°He will have black balls by now,¡± Julia said, tilting her head towards L¨ºdhins while keeping her eyes on the other. L¨ºdhins laughter filled the air, and the other relaxed as Julia continued. ¡°Fighting gets him in the mood to fuck. More than you¡¯d have earned here if you hump him till he¡¯s dry,¡± said Julia, gesturing to the fallen foes. ¡°Deal, though coin in advance. And a bonus for being your decoy.¡± ¡°Once we¡¯re done haggling. Though no hard feeling, I had expected you to dodge them, not attack.¡± "Sure, you did. I can tell you didn''t care either way, and my blood was up. We could both fuck him, three is more fun at once." "It''s alright. So double what I paid you before?" "Let''s discuss this further. He looks like he could go for cycles." She''s right. I didn''t. Demon or not, I still used an intelligent individual as bait without a second thought? {{Who cares, should kill her.}} ((Give it no thought it deserves none. It is intelligence, yet its malice gives it no reason for consideration. ))
Some considerable time later, Julia was still downstairs. Ears blocked, she could still feel the air vibrating with the screaming from above. Gosh, she has lungs on her. At least she was suitable for Haggling practice. The rest was just TMI. ¡°How long is this going to take?" Julia asked, with only the dead to hear. She looked at the prompt that she¡¯d left sitting in her awareness since the fighting ended. [Intelligence species killed for payment. Assassin class unlocked. Assassin Class available. Thief Class available. Do you wish to select one of these classes before experience distribution? You have one available class slot.] This is a journey of centuries, not years. It will take so long, and likely a range of skills. Every kill of Bestial and Least has only given me one-tenth of a Shard. The Lesser Tier kills, and above I¡¯ve gotten one shard. Will lesser get into the same state once I get to the next Tier? Will I get any from Bestial and Lesser at that point? Fuck, getting from Named to Lady will take so many kills, let alone before that. Thoughts on the graceful Basteti from Eyrarh¨¢ls and her combination of Ranger with this option, at last, decided her. Yes. Assassin. [Experience points distributed Monk: 6,976 Monk Levelled! Wizard: 1,918 Wizard Leveled! Succubus: 4,124 Reduced share awarded to the newly unlocked class. Assassin: 1,400 Bonus experience awarded because of the difficulty of foes in the initial contract: +2,000 Assassin Leveled! Assassin Level 2 Select preferred attribute for Class (Strength vs Quickness) Melee Attack Power adjusted for class (59 -> 60) Stealth gains 8 points from Assassin. Stealth [J](5->13)] Quickness Combined with the fights we had travelling here, I levelled Monk. Still a darn gamer girl. Profile
Name J. Trouble. Viper. True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 3 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (42.8/ 75)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 16 184,315 / 210,000
Wizard 3 5,698 / 7,500
Succubus 9 68,120 / 70,000
Assassin 2 3,400 / 4,000
Defence 40
Melee Attack Power 60 Health 649
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 32
Quickness 27
Intelligence 26 Ki 65
Willpower 42 Mana 124
Charisma 26
Affinities Abyssal, Darkness, Jade Court, Lightning, Mental, Primordial, Spatial, Time
Spell Forms Mental: Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion (11) Lightning: *Tracing Missile [B] (19) Time: *Trip [B](17) Darkness: *Cloak [B](8) *Denotes forms available allowing casting with alternative Mana affinity
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Air (2), Acid [I] (6), Cold (5), Electricity [M] (10), Fire [Im], Mana [I](1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (10), Primordial [L](1).
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept.
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (6), Blink [J] (4), Corruption (5), Dark Sight [B] (20), Demonic Pact (5), Dominion [Ap](7) Energy Drain [Ap] (17), Flight [J] (2), Harmony [J] (39), Ki Infusion [Ap](1), Ki Movement [J] (9), Ki Strike [J] (20), Mana Sense [J] (16), Protean [Ap] (30), Soul Sight [J](15), Stimulation [B](16), Telepathy [B] (12), Teleport (Self) [B] (19), Translate Languages [J] (16),
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (2), Acrobatics [Ap] (12). Acting [Ap](2), Alchemy (9), Analysis [J](12), Battle Trance [Ap](20), Bite [Ap] (12), Claws [J] (4), Climbing [Ap] (1), Danger Sense [B](15), Inscribe (9), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (5), Haggling [Ap](9), Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [J] (29), Mana Manipulation [J](8), Mental Hardening [J] (23), Pain Tolerance [J](4), Planar Sense [Ap] (12), Perception [Ap] (27), Profile Control [B](8), Sense Motive [B](4), Spear [J](3), Stealth [J](13), Time Sense [Ap](18), Unarmed Combat [J] (30)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [Ap](20), Arcane [Ap] (6), Celestial Lore (15), Demonic Lore [Ap] (26), Elven Lore (1), Hidden Lore (11), Planar Lore [Ap](10), Planar Portals [Ap](3), Rune Lore (9), Skill Lore (16),
Available Skills Points 28
Available Knowledge Bonus 8
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Common Celestial, English, Norse, Br¨ªn Hand sign, High Elven
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 8
Max Capacity 80 Kilograms - Used: 74
Stored Materials The Agony of Horus. (4) Messenger¡¯s Loop, (1) Dagger of Tracking Runes: Air Stop (50), Earthen Spike (50), Lightning Spike (50) Clean Flasks (30) Alchemy Field Kit, Rune Inscribing Kit, Materials Processing Kit, Assorted Abyssal Coins, Dominator Travel Leathers (Damaged), (20) Nox Hand Spikes, (20) Nox Back Plates Assorted Soul Gems, (1) Unidentified Pouch and contents
Worn: Amulet of Portage. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. Bracers of Missile Negation. Dominator Travel Leathers (assumed form via Protean)
Amulet of Portage Capacity: 20 kilograms - Used: 0
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 0 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 0 Innocent Souls Bound 0
Soul Shards Consumed 114 Corruptions Failed 1
42 - Under new management When Julia heard the boots clicking on the stone, her first thought was amusement that the Succubus could still walk. Second, was wondering why it hadn¡¯t just left. Turning on Telepathy, she got a sense of questions from her. Still, Julia kept on sorting through the goods the cambion had placed in his Pouch. Though her back was to the door, it didn''t concern her. The unblinking steel eyes nestled among the elongated claws removed that blind spot. As it entered, Analysis again confirmed the information previously seen. With all its details showing, its relative strength weaker than her own unless there was some trick at play like Tras''laq¨¬. Analysis [Name: Klipyl Species: Lesser Succubus Class: Succubus Level: 10 (MAX) / 16 Health: 443 Mana: 96 Defence: 22 Melee Attack Power: 43 Combat Skills (s): Bite [J] (14), Claws [J](20), Tail Strike [J](15), Thrown Blades [J](2)] ¡°So how do you fly without wings?¡± the succubus asked, her wings preening around behind her. I shouldn¡¯t just think of her as another Succubus. There are possibilities here. It has shown caution that I can leverage. ¡°How would you like to earn some more coin?¡± Julia asked. She was hoping to get away from explaining her Flight. How do I tell them I had expected Flight to work the same as a games flight magics? Another case of Intent? There are certainly enough examples of it being needed in the Abyss. ¡°Oh, so now you want to play? Well, your big friend upstairs certainly had his fun with me.¡± Her voice purred as it shifted from curious to desire in an instant. Fun! It sounded like he was screaming in rage. I¡¯d heard of angry sex. That was something entirely worse. It might have well been a thin wall between us. ¡°I want to talk about something different,¡± Julia said, trying to keep from rolling her eyes. ¡°So what do you want to do? Change into something bigger than him?¡± ¡°Who owns this building now?¡± asked Julia. Her mind was bouncing possibilities around as ideas bloomed¡ªso many options. ¡°One or both of you do. Between you two, there certainly isn¡¯t anyone left of the former owners.¡± To the victor go the spoils. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve heard of Usd¡¯ghi?¡± Julia asked, trying to emulate the chaotic style of L¨ºdhins questions. ¡°Not mixing with anything involving Covens,¡± she responded. Her eyes were widening as she backed away. ¡°Klipyl, are you sure you want to do that?¡± asked Julia, having gotten her ¡®Use¡¯ name from the analysis. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± Klipyl asked, freezing where she stood. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you Ascended?¡± asked Julia. The Analysis had shown Klipyl had maxed her racial level. Yet it wasn''t clear why she was still Lesser. If Demons craved power, then why hadn¡¯t she progressed? With the warehouse dealt with, it was time to learn more. ((Careful child. You might show your hand. )) {{Make her ours. }} {{We could tie her in knots. If not, L¨ºdhins could, for us.}} ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± What the fuck? ¡°You¡¯re stuck at Lesser Succubus?¡± Julia asked, her voice edged with genuine disbelief. She had wondered why a stronger Demon would need to trigger any except a Bestial. ¡°If you know my name, I¡¯m sure you know lots. I thought you were weaker than me, and now I''m sure it''s a trick. You feel a lot stronger than before. I do not know how you hide the rest. You don¡¯t use wings to fly, can change your form so completely, and I can¡¯t even touch your mind. I won¡¯t ask your game.¡± Klipyl said, shaking her head, ¡°But I don¡¯t care what you have planned. I¡¯m not crossing those Hags, for anyone, or any coin.¡± [Sense Motive [B](4->5)] {{Fear. So sweet, eat her up and spit her out. }} ((Fear, so predictable. Lust is a fierce emotion, but so is fear, and greed.)) Fear, desire. Two sides to the same coin. Is that what drives her assumptions? ¡°If you would not be crossing them? If you could get them to even favour you.¡± Julia asked, trying to put herself in the mood she wanted to project. Channelling the mood when thoughts of broad shoulders and powerful muscles made the last words purr from her mouth. ¡°How would I do that?¡± Klipyl asked her tone now almost overflowed with curiosity and desire of her own. ¡°We took care of thieves for them. Stupid thieves that stole from their grey field¡¯s caravan. I¡¯ll let them know you helped us get inside.¡± ¡°Is that really what this is? But the two of you did that; I was just a hired decoy. Why would you give me any credit?¡± ¡°They don''t need to know the arrangement. You could gain more than the coin,¡± said Julia, throwing the bait for her to chase. ¡°Such as?¡± asked Klipyl, suspicion and greed apparent in her voice. ¡°To Ascend.¡± ¡°Why would you do that? Why should I believe any of this?¡± Klipyl asked, the questions laced with doubt cut off when Julia moved. The action hadn¡¯t been violent, just an outstretched arm. A palm moved to rest above the desk. When the eyes on Julia''s back confirmed her attention, it was then lines of children¡¯s Soul Gems suddenly appeared under her fingers. Whether it was the number or their presence, it made the Succubus¡¯ eyes widen. Julia held herself ready to store them again in an instant if Klipyl made any move on them. ¡°You¡¯ll find the broken remains of the shipping crate in the next room,¡± said Julia, as the Soul Gems vanished again. ¡°How do I know you didn¡¯t just put it there?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°You don¡¯t, for now. But I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll hear the Coven claiming this group''s destruction soon enough. For messing with their shipment,¡± said Julia, keeping explanation brief as she waited for Klipyl to decide which way they were going to jump. {{Make her bend.}} ((Lure her with the temptations of power and profit. Use their tools against them. Hidden desires. )) Not that I can trust her to stay in that direction. The risk of involving the Coven¡¯s name, they could just swoop in. Fuck it, it¡¯s leverage, and they could swoop anytime, anyway. Not like I have a power base to keep them out. ¡°What¡¯s the deal on offer?¡± ¡°First, sell everything worth a coin or a scrap in this place. Then convert it to a place for your customers. The local whores can set up an establishment instead of working the streets. Having to give kickbacks to the bartender to even get in the door. The Miners from Hrz¡¯Styrn are expanding in this region. There will be more business to profit off if they know where to find you easily.¡± ¡°They do have more crews coming through. And mercenaries killing Bestial Demons. You¡¯ll want to get that front wall repaired first.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m leaving that stuff to you.¡± ¡°What do you mean? How do I explain all this to those I¡¯m selling to?¡± ¡°Hire someone to fix it. You tell them your dealing with the remains of those who crossed the Coven of Hollow Stars. It will correctly imply you work for stronger Demons because you do now. However, do not speak of myself or L¨ºdhins, other than to acknowledge our existence. No names, no descriptions. Is that clear?¡± Julia asked. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, don¡¯t want to haul any of it with me, and no idea who to sell it to here. She might think it¡¯s something to hold over us when I don''t care if someone finds out. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve still not given me your name. You wish to remain unknown in this matter?¡± ¡°Unknown, yes, unpaid no. There are only those two requirements. You do not speak about us. The second is you pay me my share, or I¡¯ll take it another way. Call me, Viper.¡± Julia said, and between one word and the next, the claws changed. Spikes suddenly shrouded around Klipyl¡¯s form, striking the floor, doorframe, and slipping past into the crates behind her. While Ki shredded everything else, Julia left Klipyl unscathed. ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± said Klipyl, her voice calm except for a minor breathless hitch. Darn it. Did I just get her rocks off? {{Kill her now? Or play with her later? Decisions, decisions.}} If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ((Do not wound them. Kill them.)) If it screws with me, it¡¯s dead. No second chances. {{I¡¯d screw with her, so bouncy. We can smell all her Heat! Can smell the hours of fucking.}} ¡°Good. Sell everything that remains about the goods here. I¡¯ll expect a sizeable amount given the number of ingots, and weaponry alone. I know you¡¯ll steal. So I¡¯ll make this simple. If I feel you''ve taken too big a cut, I¡¯ll cut something from you.¡± ¡°How much is too much?¡± ¡°If you push your luck, you¡¯ll find out,¡± Julia said, still running Analysis over the items on the table. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± Klipyl said as soon as the surrounding spikes retracted, she moved away. Her aura came alive to Julia¡¯s senses with that statement. ¡°Did I say you could go?¡± Julia said, her voice softly questioning. Julia didn¡¯t even try to emulate a snapping drill sergeant. It would feel so fake, and if it felt fake to her, others would feel it too. Instead, she focused on dealing with it like it was a mundane question. Just dealing with a vendor who caused a priority incident, making it clear management was not happy. She let the authority that Klipyl had submitted to press upon her and found it felt like digging into the Succubus'' skin. The feeling was intense, delightful and too dangerous to rely on. She needed to know how to get this right. I''ve got to make it always sound like an order, or a rebuke, not a suggestion. The succubus blinked back into place as if she¡¯d never left. ¡°Set your imprint into this,¡± Julia said. Amusingly the Succubus seemed almost nervous when Julia tossed her the empowered Dusk Emerald that had turned up amid the loot. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± Klipyl said. After a few minutes, the gem was glowing, and Klipyl stepped towards her. ¡°Did I say to move?¡± Julia asked, her voice calm and distant in the hold of the Ki. ¡°No Mistress,¡± said Klipyl and froze in place. After a few more minutes, Julia slowly extended a claw from her back out towards Klipyl. The spike¡¯s end transforming into an elongated hand with bladed fingers as it neared her. It positioned itself as if waiting for Klipyl to place the gem in it, but she didn¡¯t fall for the trap this time. So the question is, did she fall for the trap last time? Playing the game? Or is she taking cues from my expectations? ¡°Good. When we return, if your results are high quality, you''ll receive further rewards." Julia said, extending another claw, with a coin pouch suddenly hanging from it. "Now give me the gem and then start your work.¡± Klipyl nodded and set the gem into the palm in front of her. Snatching up the pouch, Blink shifted her gone. Julia''s sense of her didn¡¯t fade at once, though. It was clear she wanted power and control in her existence as well. A pleased groan came through her awareness of the retreating Succubus. Yeah, I did. Far, far too excited now. [Dominion [Ap](7->9) Acting[Ap](2->4) Sense Motive [B](5->9) Haggling [Ap](9->10)] So did it go up because she submitted, or because of something else? Nice that I can level the base even with the aura in play. Maybe it¡¯s giving them guidance? Julia carefully looked over the imprint Klipyl had provided her.
Name Klipyl
Species Lesser Succubus Level 10 /10 (MAX)
Shards 948 (700)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level
Succubus 16
Defence 22
Melee Attack Power 43 Health 443
Attributes
Strength 14
Endurance 20 Magic 26
Quickness 22
Intelligence 15
Willpower 14 Mana 366
Charisma 39
Affinities Mental
Spell Forms Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion [J](19)
Resistances Air (1), Acid (1), Cold (1), Electricity (1), Fire [Im], Mundane Materials [G] (1)
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept.
Powers Blink [Ad] (4), Change Self [Ad] (3), Corruption (5), Demonic Pact (5), Flight [J] (12), Mana Sense [Ap] (5), Telepathy [Ad] (2), Translate Languages [J] (29), Vampiric Caress [J] (24),
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator [J] (5), Acting [J](17), Agile [Ad](3), Bite [J] (14), Claws [J](20), Danger Sense [J](2), Haggling [J](4), Pain Tolerance [J](22), Perception [J] (2), Seduction [J](1), Sense Motive [J](20), Stealth [J](22), Tail Strike [J](15), Thrown Blades [J](2)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [J](29), Demonic Lore [J] (29), Planar Lore [J](5), Factions - Tern¨°x [J](9), Factions - Hrz¡¯Styrn [J](12)
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Planar Common
Was Klipyl just playing along because she thought I was giving her cues? Or just enjoying the game? But the aura wouldn''t have kicked in if she hadn''t submitted willingly or it forced her to do so. She¡¯s over thirty times my mortal age, and yet still submitted to me? Just existing idle with no drive to improve and move on? Bunch of high Journeymen and an Adept ranked skill though. Could I end up like that if I don¡¯t get out? I know being in charge of someone that age shouldn¡¯t be a factor, but this takes the cake. {{She bows to the deadlier monster. }} Julia shuddered as possibilities occurred to her that were things she didn''t want to dwell on. Analysis: Agile [Agile: Increased ranks in this skill enhance the possessor''s efficiency and movement capabilities, whether physically undertaken or via a Power. This also has high synergy with various melee combat and performance skills.] So is that what L¨ºdhins meant, or is this something else? Guess it makes more sense than something like nimble feet since it¡¯s for all environments. I vote for ''Slippery little sucker'', that would make sense for a Succubus.
When L¨ºdhins still hadn¡¯t come downstairs a while later, Julia went up to find out what was going on. Only to find him sitting around knocking back some sort of drink, still very naked. ¡°Put some fucking clothes on, will you!¡± Julia snapped, turning around as soon as she realised his state. {{Just cause you can get off on firm muscle alone.}} ¡°Where the Succubus go off to?¡± ¡°Klipyl went to get some others to come to pick through what¡¯s worth trading and sell it for us.¡± ¡°Why? I was taking a break who said anything about being done?¡± ¡°Well, you are now. Guess you shouldn¡¯t have let her put anything at all back on,¡± said Julia, amusement clear in her voice. ¡°Still trying to give me black balls. Who said I bothered taking it off her. Doesn¡¯t exactly stop access, does it?¡± ¡°L¨ºdhins, I don¡¯t need to know. She¡¯s stuck at Lesser Succubus.¡± Julia said, wanting to change the subject fast, as she moved back down the stairs. Out of sight enough not to see him, but still not have to yell. ¡°So?¡± asked L¨ºdhins before she heard him go back to drinking, and no sounds of dressing. ¡°We¡¯re doing an exchange. She sorts this place out as in sells what hasn¡¯t ended up broken. Gets the place converted to a business and running. Then she gets forced to Ascend.¡± ¡°You mean you¡¯re trading her, not we,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone unrelenting. ¡°You¡¯re the one that can force her to Ascend,¡± Julia said, trying to keep her tone of voice even. ¡°Guess you should have considered that before setting up the deal.¡± ¡°You could consider it part of protecting me if I¡¯ve got an establishment,¡± said Julia, trying to keep her tone reasonable. Not like I can run my idea past him when he tells me not to trust him. ¡°That¡¯s getting you dead when it''s too profitable.¡± ¡°Oh, I might have mentioned who we did this job for, that should cause some hesitation. Plus, you¡¯ll get a share. ¡°It will only cause hesitation if you are paying the Coven. Why do I need funds? If I want coins, I just take another job. Not like I¡¯m going to starve if out of work. Worse case I go hunting something for an Alchemist or Enchanter, then I¡¯ve got coin again. Being hungry for a coin or twenty can be a driver.¡± L¨ºdhins said, smugly. ¡°I plan to pay the Coven, will have to sort out how much. You might as well take a share because I told her your name. So Demons would think you¡¯re getting weak if others just walk over the place.¡± ¡°Then there¡¯ll be some more dead ones.¡± ¡°What happens if they¡¯re close rivals trying to piss you off?¡± ¡°Still dead Demons.¡± ¡°Stop being a pain in the arse, take your share,¡± ¡°Nah, that¡¯s your job, you¡¯re a pain in my arse. You need to level your classes more. You¡¯re showing more energy.¡± ¡°You should know I¡¯ve got Assassin now as well.¡± ¡°I told you not to tell me stuff.¡± ¡°And I need your advice in training, so hard to get accurate information in that regard if I don¡¯t tell you my deal.¡± ¡°Need to go fight stuff using the class you want to level most with no crossovers. Or spend lots of time training in class-specific activities like Alchemy and Inscribing skills for Wizard. ¡°Or killing stuff just with my spells. Or just with or without claws?¡± ¡°If they aren¡¯t intelligent foes, or you¡¯re not killing for profit. Then you don¡¯t get Assassin levels. It levels best for bounty or jobs where you¡¯re deliberately killing for rewards.¡± Guess I kill Nox around places like the Grotto and see what happens. Just no intention to harvest any more of the hand daggers or plating. So since he''s paying me with information and training, it''s for-profit? ¡°Where can I find the most stuff that I can cut through the fastest?¡± Julia asked. Instruct this Abyssal newbie boss. ¡°We¡¯ll find something after you get this mess underway, and we deliver the cargo,¡± L¨ºdhins said. ¡°Where do we go for that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got an item that shifts me and those nearby I want to between planes. It¡¯s a little random, can be a few hundred kilometres off-target. Fortunately, it always sets you down in an open space. Doesn¡¯t matter getting to the grey fields though it will matter getting back.¡± L¨ºdhins explained. ¡°Hence the planning after we return?¡± Julia asked, wondering where the heck they¡¯d end up. ¡°Indeed,¡± said L¨ºdhins. ¡°Is it a planar portal?¡± Julia asked, hoping what Usd¡¯ghi said about the technical loopholes would count. ¡°Can¡¯t just move those around. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Always need to learn more,¡± Julia said, trying to come across as a smart arse. ¡°I¡¯m sure. Pretty sure I¡¯ve told you about asking questions,¡± said L¨ºdhins, a frown appearing. Still avoided the Sisterhood topic. Darn thought it would take longer for him to get back into a gloomy mood after fucking for that long. Then again, it didn''t exactly sound like they were having a purely good time. ¡°Have you? I don¡¯t remember. I¡¯ll let you pick over the gear up here. Not sure what smells worse, the buckets of cum or all the dead you¡¯ve still got in here. You didn''t think to move them before screwing her brains out? Let me know when Klipyl gets back.¡± ¡°Why bother moving them? Where will you be?¡± L¨ºdhins asked as he looked through a nearby crate for another bottle. ¡°Downstairs practising Teleport instead of Blink between the stacks. Hopefully, I don¡¯t lose a limb.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Losing a limb would require healing,¡± Julia said, the unseen smile clear in her voice as she walked away. ¡°Smart arse,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his voice only a mock growl this time. 43 - Fury road L¨ºdhins 1st Person POV - Thief gang warehouse - Celebrations and memories She''s downstairs somewhere, having left before my fun even started. If there was ever a Soul that didn¡¯t suit a Demonic state, it¡¯s that one. A stubborn, unyielding woman, apparently intent on avoiding any opportunity for sexuality in a body built for marathon sex. Yet with a mouth that, without warning, can chew me out or tease me to a near frenzy. Till the truth came out, I thought she was a weird uptight dominator. Her ¡®dancing¡¯ on the transport had brushed against distant memories that refused to surface. Confusion had raged, and that emotion in me was never a pleasant thing. A confusion that had increased after the pain of the grotto, and her sneaking a look back when we left. The corners of her lush lips twitching downwards for a moment. A look speaking of emotions that I had thought forgotten. Sorrow, regret, and unselfish promises to another. Not a look of Lust, of desires unfulfilled or malice which is all I¡¯d ever seen succubus wear before. A look that was far too mortal for my taste. The confrontation had turned into further confusion and turned again to invoke rage. I had lashed out, yet restrained myself so close to crushing her. The rage wasn¡¯t at her, but at the danger all about; which she was so ignorant of right now. Danger, that if I shielded her from completely, would only break her later. I can only serve for now as a tidal wall to block the worst of the waves. In the deep lagoon, filled with sharks, she¡¯ll have to learn to swim on her own. Danger from all about, including from what I¡¯ve become. For now, I''m an untrustworthy tidal wall that could collapse in Rage or from the whims of those who could command me. Part of my mind tries to dwell on the emotions she''s caused within, as other sensations pull me into the moment. Abyssal Heat from the succubus against me cries for immediate attention. The heated skin of her butt and thighs pressing back against me. The walls of her cunt squeeze in a pulsing grip around my dick. Her inner muscles milking with their demands as she wiggles on me, undulating in time to the pulses. So I thrust and my hips shift into a steady rhythm, her claws dig into a still standing pillar, as I grind into her from behind. Use her as my Demon has been digging at me to use the other. Hands cup flesh, fingertips settle in the canals where the thigh meets the torso and curl with dangerous pressure. Drawing her against me with every thrust; I ignore her cries of pleasure as I seek my release. Screams of fury, lust, blending memories, the scents of her body clash with the death about us, it all fills my senses. Memories I¡¯d thought long buried surge, seeking to drown me as I try to fuck the anger away. The rage pulses like the walls holding me tight. Pulling outwards till the lips of her clit feel as if they''re going to release me, I pause. Then ram as deep as I''ll fit, ignoring the impact against her cervix; wanting, needing to hear her scream. I try to lose myself in the motions. Yet those memories rush in repeatedly drowning me. I know they are memories; it¡¯s the same moments lived repeatedly. An endless loop of torment drowns me, not even a moment taken to rewind as it begins again. Even now, memories shape reefs of jagged glass, ripping open the hold of my mind as I seek emptiness. {{Make the other one scream as well! I can wait for my turn.}}
When I see the group standing on the pavement ahead, all I can see is trouble; and the anger inside raises its eyes. Six human hyenas snapping at their prey make my gut ache. Not that a lot is separating them, it certainly wasn¡¯t a have versus have nots situation. The fancy shoes on one hyena alone looked worth more than most of the clothes I have put together. It''s just that the pair of them look as brightly feathered as male Finches. I think the clothes on each of the other six exceed them for cost. I guess gold necklaces; I mean, chains don''t count. Likely crawled out from one of those new fancy suburbs. ¡®Kings Park¡¯, seriously it¡¯s still Blacktown. They get to charge more for a house with a fancy suburb name is all. They''re just wearing the wrong type of clothes for this area. Or at least for running into these arseholes. The mardi gras is tonight, isn¡¯t it? Why didn¡¯t you pair go to town? Could have been safe with friends instead of here with hyenas nipping at you. I should get security to come down or the cops. ¡°Please, just leave us be. We don¡¯t know you,¡± said the nearest of the pair. His voice is shaking its way into a higher waving register. The way he speaks and moves just egg them on, especially the way he clutches at the other man¡¯s arm. ¡°Well, we know faggots when we see one. Time to teach you to breathe through his arse.¡± Need to get security, or I¡¯ll do something stupid. Turning to go, the sound of a fist hitting flesh stops me. Red flickers in my eyes for a moment as rage rises. Words and memories surge in my mind. I did my homework. Please don¡¯t, Dad. I was trying to watch my damn show. Is it too much to expect you lot to shut up? A flurry in my memory. Rock hard fists hitting my face and shoulders. Making my bones ache with every blow. Worthless kids. Pathetic failures. Fear spiking sharper still. Memories. Why are some memories so consuming they don¡¯t let you go? Can¡¯t remember the happy times, but fear, and his rage, those I remember. I¡¯m still trying to get the memory out of my head when my shoulder connects with the closest arsehole. Twitchy and drunk, he bounces off another and ends up sprawled across the ground. The red lava of rage fills my eyes when I stomp down. His body underfoot feels so good to me. I should stop, even now I could. But I don¡¯t want to. Right now, I want someone to know pain instead. I want to feel something other than blackness clawing in me. The memory of his fist striking me mingles with the rage as my jab smacks into the turning face of a second animal. Pain in my hand as knuckles hit. The impact of fist on bone, just make things sing inside. He goes down like someone flipped his switch, I''m not even sure where I hit him. Maybe too high? Tough shit. Fury sends blood pumping through me as the hyenas turn at the sudden presence of the bull in their midst. I¡¯m not even that big. Right now, the rage is filling everything, and while up for some sick fun, they¡¯re not keyed up for an actual fight. The biggest of them weighs in more than me by twenty or more kilos at least. This was stupid. Yet they look to be carrying extra weight and not just muscle. Drunk from the smell of it, I¡¯ve been drinking, but I¡¯m not drunk. The one at my feet tries to grab at me, and I stomp again. My foot strikes his shin where it extends over the gutter. With the way he¡¯s screaming as it breaks, I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going to be trying that again. Jagged edges of bone showing against his pants are the least he deserves. Though his distraction costs me, and I feel a punch high on my chest turn me. The follow up is incoming, and I just have time to brace my arms in front of it. The power of the blow staggers me back¡ªforearm aching from where the punch landed. I kick out. It wasn¡¯t anything fancy, never bothered learning. But I know what a work boot to the knee feels like. Now so does he. He catches me with a cross to the jaw, yet goes down as the second kick lands. Make them all pay. One hyena turns and runs, but the others remain. With the others stepping past them, it gives ¡®Twiddle Dee and Dum¡¯ some space. Get clear of the predators, from all of us¡ªtwo down, one of those very down. Are you a predator or just an idiot? Blacktown Hospital might need some beds free. I can feel the pain of loose teeth as I smile, and blood coats my tongue. I shouldn¡¯t do that as it makes me look insane. There is nothing happy living behind my eyes now. Mr Fancy Shoes steps forward to get at me, but I just bat his hands away and shove hard. Pushing with my legs and arms, I send him into writhing Mr Kneecap. The way he¡¯s holding it, something looks detached. Tripping over his friend, Mr Shoes face plants into the door of a parked car. Should I leave a note of apology? Think that¡¯s going to leave a dent. I¡¯m going to be in so much shit. Fear mingles with rage, and rage beats it into submission as their fourth hammer fists into my ribs. Pushing had been a bad, bad idea. Fully extended, I¡¯m off balance and pay for it. I go down. Instinct has me curling my body before I land. But I still wear the follow up hard to the gut. He goes to kick again, and I roll into him instead of away. My muscles and side scream as his kick lands low on my ribs. Then he bellows as I rise enough to punch him in the crotch. He sinks to greet me, and I let his lips kiss my forehead as I head butt for the goal. Sure the fuck didn¡¯t take him as the kind to bite. His front teeth open up my forehead, but he goes down. It sounds like a watermelon bouncing off concrete when his head hits the ground. Bet that¡¯s going to sting in the morning. My forehead anyway, I don¡¯t give a toss about him. As I get to my feet, I look at the five of them on the ground. Three of them are making noise; two of them seem out cold. ¡®Twiddle Dee and Dum¡¯ look at me like an axe murderer showed up to a dinner party. Blood trickles across my eye. Reaching up to feel the wound''s edges, the tooth I pull out isn¡¯t what I was expecting. Well shit. ¡°Seriously, you two dumb fucks. Couldn¡¯t you have not worn gay pride gear tonight?¡± I try to say. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Though really honest, it''s more of a wheeze. Talking pisses my ribs off. Heck, breathing. Arm pressed tight to my aching ribs. I try a few experimental breaths. Yeah, not happy. ¡°But you helped us,¡± says Mr High Voice. ¡°Well, Princess. That doesn¡¯t make them, me or you, any less dumb. Takes all kinds of stupid to make the world so off its collective head.¡± Annoyed and done in. I move away with heavy pained steps, steering clear of Mr Grabber. Though I think he might be ready to pass out, the acidic smell of his vomit hadn¡¯t made it past the adrenaline of the fight. Now, I wanted to hurl as well; the stench hit me as it always did. I hate the smell of vomit. It only reminds me of him. Passed out again and still barfing after a drinking challenge. ¡°Where did I park my car?¡± I ask, not expecting either of them to answer. I head towards the back of the parking bay. The beeping sound of one of those Nokia mobiles dialling behind me follows in my wake. ¡°I should get one; they¡¯re cheaper now,¡± I mutter to myself as I stagger on. Yeah, who the fuck are you going to call, you friendless twat. ¡°William, this guy is dead.¡± ¡°Holy shit he is!¡± Mr High-voice says. His pitch goes up another octave and feels like its carving out my ears. Ah, crap. I sit down on the gutter to wait. It¡¯s me the coppers are going to want now. Just as well she left me for him after all. At least I have signed all the paperwork. Will be the only good thing I¡¯ve done for someone.
The weeks went going by in a blur. Some days I lose track of where I am in the week. The red rage has been absent for ages. Finally, I¡¯m worse than him. He¡¯d destroyed our lives but never killed. Now I¡¯ve killed not one guy, but two¡ªmy first punch, a blow to the temple, with too much rage within it. The second, when he broke his neck hitting the car. I hadn¡¯t even noticed the snapping noise. Blood was pumping in my ears so hard. When my court date rolls around, it doesn¡¯t take them long to bring in the guilty conviction for two counts of manslaughter. When the sentence is handed down, the screaming voice of Mr Punched in Temple¡¯s mother declares it¡¯s not enough. Even raised in a fury, I still recognise her voice. Ironically, it''s such a small world that she runs the shop where I''d regularly get lunch. With her is the daughter-in-law and grandson. The three have sat through every moment. Not that there was a lot to endure, I have a far longer stretch in front of me. Still, what kind of idiot brings a six-year-old to a trial, not sure why they even let him in. The kid just sits there though, and I feel his eyes digging into me with hate. Can¡¯t say I blame him. Her screaming rises louder still, filled with fury. ¡°That¡¯s not enough. Curse you for my boy''s death, may he take you to his maze.¡± I have just a moment to wonder what had she been drinking. Then the world gets hot and swims around me. My brain was swimming from the pills, and now it''s adrift as my stomach rebels. I shouldn¡¯t have used those pills from the doc. My mind feels so far away. Darkness is around me, and I feel like I should sway, yet it clears my mind. As the messages hitting my awareness end, the medication''s fog is finally so far away right now.
[Planar transfer beginning] There¡¯s cold stone under my feet now, and the Rage is back. I can feel it glowing behind my eyes. Not like it¡¯s doing anything useful though, I still can¡¯t see shit. Shuffling one foot forward over the stone, I can feel the roughness of its texture. Step by step, I move forward through the darkness. He¡¯s not happy that he¡¯s been on the bench from us for so long, he wants me to run and lash out with anger. Red rage fills my eyes, its power is a thudding pressure in my head, yet it all feels so distant and empty all at once. As if my body is still far from where my mind is now. A ringing noise starts up in my ears, regular hammering blows beating in place of my pulse. Every beat feels like a hammer is smashing me flat. At last, an outstretched hand finds something¡ªthe stone under my fingers. At first, I think it¡¯s the same as what¡¯s under my feet, but it¡¯s not. The surface underfoot is rough, but flat, I can feel some pattern not on the rock itself, but from what I''m sure covers it. Though unless something lights this place up, I¡¯ll never know. Slowly running my hands over it, the feeling makes me more confident. The irregularity of the pieces reminds me of one of mum¡¯s mosaics. It was always amazing that broken things could provide such beautiful outcomes. Just like my sisters for all their jagged edges could show such beauty. I caught beltings in one form or another, yet they endured more. I felt such a failure that I didn¡¯t know. Yet now I¡¯ve failed them. Now I can never be there for them again. ¡°They were there, and I couldn¡¯t even look them in the eye.¡± My voice echoed strangely hollow in this place, the sounds folding back in on itself as the lava of rage burned for release. At first, I really see red, but it forms into a dull, angry light in the distance. Not enough to see the mosaic here, but enough to see the start of a path. While seeing the mosaic would ease my curiosity, it won¡¯t get me out of here. So with careful probing footsteps, I head towards that light. The rage inside, at myself, and the world is making my bones ache. My knuckles clench and pop as I grind my fists, and the pressure inside feels as if my heart should be racing. Yet it¡¯s still quiet. Am I dead? The path feels like its pressing tighter, and tighter the rage has nowhere to go but in. Isn''t pressure what causes temperatures to rise? If so, I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯m going to hold. Already a voice, my voice, is screaming in pain and rage, the sound getting louder as the walls seal. The walls move inwards, and rage flows through every fibre rising to smash against the pressure Muscles stretch and push back as my hands scramble for purchase¡ªthe walls of stone that had been crushing inwards, change. Stone no longer presses against bare skin instead earthen hands grasp at me. They work me over moulding me, pulling at me, yanking at the rage within me, stroking its fire. Rage soars, and the burning venom unleashes scars across everything. It pushes out like a living thing, and suddenly I feel not two but three hands pushing against the surrounding walls. The walls of flesh that even now give way and spill me like a torn package onto dirt and rock strewn floor. [Access ¡®Profile¡¯ for attribute point allocation and class selection] Blood, bile, rot and mildew fill my nostrils, as I face plant onto a blood-soaked floor. My body is off balance and awkward as I stagger to my feet and see. The weird message felt in my awareness ignored as I try to adjust. Circling stone walls and a screaming crowd. Monsters all about me lashing out at each other. Massive humans with purpling skin like an old bruise. But so not human, the rage on their faces clear as they smash into each other with three arms flailing. The air is echoing with the force of their impact. An impact I feel driven into the wall behind me by the collision of another''s body into mine. Hands grab for my throat, and I know it¡¯s a trap to seize for them. Then I¡¯d be fighting on its terms. It was going to be our terms, and I react; rage empowering me. Lifting my arms, I push my hands between its arms. I am trying to force my forearms between his, struggling to break its grasp on my throat. When fingers rise between its flesh, I see our skin tones match, and I know the monster I am now. Suddenly aware of a third arm perched somehow on my side. It¡¯s long fingers trying to drive into my foe¡¯s eyes. Eyes that I had been considering blinding were being attacked. Yet it¡¯s trying to do the same, only for my teeth to catch them. They snap down to restrain movement. The weirdly long fingers of its third hand trapped. Caught and crushed between my teeth, bone-cracking. Flesh and blood sweet on my tongue. As mine digs deep into its hollows, to scoop them empty, its pain gives me time to act, and I push off the wall. My headbutt smashes down to shatter its brow and orbital socket causing its the gouged eye to pop between my forehead and its cheek. It lets me go, but I have nowhere further to fall with the wall so close behind me still. My hands had been busy grample with it. Now they''re free to rise in a clear triumph of the moment. The force of them carries them high, as something smacks to the ground nearby. A gift for me. As I push to my feet, my third arm has already picked it up and brought it to my ¡®main¡¯ hands. The heft of it familiar from years of gardening. Where before I¡¯ve used it to prepare garden beds that fill with life, now I''ll need to use it to bring death. Blinded, the other rises to its feet, roaring in rage. My arms rise and fall, and the familiar tool now arcs with their motion. Metal on bone, a sound not so different from fist to the skull. Then things turn with the face dismantled and cast aside. The curved mattock blade cutting across its face from temple to chin. ¡°Kill your way to the stairs, whelp. I¡¯ve got a coin riding on you now.¡± A voice growls from above. In a language, I¡¯ve never heard before, that rumbles with a vile familiarity over my rage. Yet I¡¯ve no time to reply as another three-armed monster races my way. Kicking off the wall, I charge. Weapon faking high, its eyes go up, and then wide. As at the last moment, I drop and slide across the sodden earth. A course that ends with a spike buried in its gut. Tangled between its legs, I force up and smash my shoulder into its groin. Its dick bouncing off my shoulder as I crush its balls in tight to the bone. Its hand grasping at me in pain and rage. My own don¡¯t stay still as I duck my eyes away from its fingers. Muscles pull downwards hard on the mattock''s haft. Its guts and blood spilling out. The edge of the spike opening flesh as if a zipper. His blood soaks across my back and down my naked form as I rise. A torrent of blood flows off me. The warm flood rushes down across my groin. It makes me feel as if my dick is pissing its blood. I scream in victory as it screams of agony shows its defiance and pain. When the spike hooks into its pelvis and then comes free. It flops back towards the ground, unbalanced. The haft spins in my hand as I raise the weapon and step forward. Stance widening, I brace and tee off, targeting its head. The wide blade scoops out its throat and exposes spine to the air. The way out becomes clear as I step away. Wide broad stairs, ignored by so many of the monstrous enemies, offer the mirage of an uncluttered exit. From my location, they feel so distant, so far away across a swirling melee of foes. Armed and unarmed alike, smashing into each other. The blows and screams, an echoing pulse of the rage within. The form I wear had felt awkward; now it fits me like a glove. This time when I move, it¡¯s not as prey, but as predator. That¡¯s the way out. Blood soaked, the wooden haft should have become slick, yet a weird pattern under my fingers drains the wetness away. Weapon ready, I step forward to crush the next.
A noise from the stairs grabs me from the memories that seek to drown me. The present moment, at last, frees me from that drowning rip tide. Fortunately, I don¡¯t break the bottle yet I¡¯m still gripping it with dangerous pressure. When I swig, I find I¡¯m drinking something that tastes like paint thinner, yet I don¡¯t care. The succubus left at some point, not sure I remember when. Physically sated, yet even emptier than the hollow I¡¯ve been for so long. The place smells of cum, death, and other things worse. Why did I fuck her among this mess? Too horny to care. Caring not sure I remember what that is anymore. Familiar energies nearby speak louder than I remembered. Julia standing at the top of the stairs, her strange serene calm trying to mask her flustered reaction as she takes in my naked state. {{That could get her killed, you know. Best to fuck it out of her now.}} {{Why do you hesitate? Make her scream in real rage. Actual fear, not the fakeness, I can still taste it on my tongue.}} It''s my tongue; you don''t get a say. She¡¯d be safer without me. {{Then leave. Or kill her now, hunt her down, free her Soul.}} {{You wouldn¡¯t even take your own life to be free of me.}} You don¡¯t get a say. {{Oh yes, I do. I¡¯ll have a say in your every craving. You wear the form that should be mine.}} {{I¡¯ll have it yet. Do you even remember her leaving? I do. I had her last. I''ll have that one first.}} Liar. {{Really, cause you don¡¯t remember do you.}} We''ve had no one not willing, and we never will. {{Haven''t we? Are you truly sure?}} I just take another swig on the bottle that does nothing. Ignoring the liar''s whispering taunts in my mind. Yet the vileness of it still tastes better than the way I feel. 44 - Clockwork Asylum The clatter of Succubi directing smaller demons was in full swing when L¨ºdhins sought Julia out again. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be sinking a few more in the middle pocket still,¡± Julia said, tucking the cambion¡¯s pouch away. ¡°You¡¯ve got them all excited about a place to screw in comfort. So go for motivation. Got the cargo still?¡± L¨ºdhins asked as he looked the room over. ¡°Of course, plus a few other things I picked up,¡± said Julia. ¡°What you find, you keep,¡± L¨ºdhins replied. ¡°Take it you looted those upstairs,¡± Julia said, noting the smug look he had about him. ¡°What little I found of interest, they¡¯ll sell the rest. Don¡¯t count on this working. They¡¯re likely to steal everything.¡± ¡°I can always track them down and end them if they do. I¡¯ve got enough ¡®Use¡¯ names,¡± Julia said, Telepathy making her well aware of one Succubus listening in on their conversation. {{Yes kill them..}} ¡°That¡¯s the attitude,¡± L¨ºdhins said. As he held out a hand, a glass sphere appeared floating above his fingers. The sphere''s interior looked like it held a weird series of gears that moved in all directions at once. ((The Titan''s work. )) ¡°So that¡¯s your planar jump thing?¡± Julia asked, looking it over. Unable to decide if the outer sphere was also spinning or if the inner gears were shifting position so fast, it made it seem that way. ¡°Dimensional Sextant,¡± said L¨ºdhins, before speaking not in Abyssal as she had expected instead Celestial. ¡°Judgement.¡± With that word, the surrounding air weighted down, and then reality flinched. As it recoiled, they were first nowhere. Then when reality snapped back, Julia stood within the clouds. Even though it felt like there was solid ground underfoot, there was a sense of being high in the air. Something about being here held the feeling of high places far from the care of city life. ¡°When you said grey fields, I didn¡¯t expect so much white,¡± Julia said, {{Yuck.}} ((Beautiful I can see for miles here. )) Everywhere Julia looked, pure white mists shone as if standing in a fluffy cloud illuminated with the midday sun. ¡°What white? It looks like its getting close to rain, always does,¡± said L¨ºdhins, looking at her, confusion clear on his face. The sphere he had used disappeared into whatever storage held it. Figures moving towards them in the mist stopped Julia from arguing with L¨ºdhins. Their tall silhouette didn¡¯t match L¨ºdhins for height, but their size reminded her of Torm. As the slithering clink of metal armour came through the mists, L¨ºdhins just held out a hand for calm. ¡°The Gods of light have patrols through the fields. It¡¯s always a matter if they find you first or the Titan¡¯s servants,¡± L¨ºdhins said, ¡°though they¡¯ll be along soon enough. Where did you store the cargo?¡± ¡°In my inventory,¡± Julia said. ¡°In that case, it won¡¯t take long to extract them. Wait till the patrol arrives, since it''s so close. They will want to see the Soul Gems to confirm our reason for being here. Once verified, then we have to wait till their presence attracts the servants.¡± The patrol didn¡¯t take long to approach, though their caution was apparent, and hands stayed near weapon hilts. The wolf-like features were the same as those she¡¯d seen under Torm¡¯s illusion and radiated the same calm confidence about them. ¡°What brings you here, Demons?¡± The leader of the patrol questioned as they came close, the crest of Tyr on the uniforms. ¡°Soul Gems for delivery to the Titan¡¯s servants,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his arms just folded across his middle. ¡°If you would, then show them, so we may verify the reason for your presence.¡± L¨ºdhins just gestured to signal Julia to proceed. She crouched and extended a hand towards ¡®ground¡¯ level with no knowledge of the formalities and willed them forth. Souls of all shapes and sizes cascaded over unseen surface underfoot. The Soul Gems acted as if on a surface, yet it was possible to look in any direction with equal ease. ¡°We will wait for their arrival to ensure no others interfere with your delivery.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± L¨ºdhins said, nodding to the Patrol leader, who looked to be the only one inclined to speak to them. The patrol spread themselves out in a circle, most facing away from the pair, though a few still kept their gaze upon them. They waited patiently for whatever was to happen. Movement in the mists was the first sign, yet instead of the figure moving through them. It appeared as if the mists parted to allow the figure passage. A circle of air with a single figure at its centre. As the leading edge of it passed Julia, the whole interior of the dome became clear. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Instead of clouds underneath, they seemed to stand in midair, with the Soul Gems spread out on the same invisible platform. The figure that appeared, though, wasn¡¯t anything like any Celestial she¡¯d seen. She¡¯d been expecting some angelic being, yet the humanoid figure approaching looked formed of seamless glass. As within L¨ºdhins¡¯ sphere, as they approached an endless procession of changing gears, turned within that shell. ¡°We acknowledge you, Derek, and Julia. You have Souls to return to our Father.¡± the Figure stated. Somehow its words in English were clear, yet came from all around. ¡°Yes, we do,¡± L¨ºdhins said with no hesitation. ¡°How do you speak English?¡± Julia asked, surprise adding strength and volume to her voice. ¡°Hidden, you hear us how you yet wish to perceive things, just as others perceive your words and ours how we wish them. You perceive the clouds to be white, Derek, or D?s L¨ºdhins Fy as you know him, believes them to be heavy with the promise of rain. For a time none will hear us speak.¡± ¡°How?¡± asked Julia, the additional surprise far from welcome. ¡°It is as the Titan wills.¡± ¡°Is the Titan responsible for L¨ºdhins and me being here?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Only in that there was a debt owed, and the repayment requested involved each of you.¡± ¡°Then, doesn¡¯t he owe us?¡± snapped Julia. ¡°You have done him no service, and he has given you both opportunities and advantages. You have no debt owed. Do you wish to change that? There is no destiny for you here, except that which is formed from your own decisions.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be in his debt. How do I get free of the Abyss?¡± ¡°That is understanding you already possess. Your path is your own to walk, and any that choose may walk it with you.¡± ¡°I have to be a Demon Lady to get free of the bitch that bound me,¡± Julia said, ¡°That is correct. If you wish to do so most safely,¡± ¡°But I need to know how to get free of the Abyss without getting a cult.¡± ¡°You want, but you do not need. All you need, you already have. The rest is yours to determine with your own choices. Perhaps consider what others need when the light does not offer them hope. Yet there is always a need for light in the darkness.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Only those who seek can find some things, and some that are told learn nothing.¡± ¡°Riddles. I need to know if Andre is alright? How I got here? What is going on? Is there nothing you can tell me?¡± Julia asked, feeling tight with frustration. ¡°Mysteries. What you want is different to what you truly need.¡± ¡°If the Titan paid on a debt, then I helped him pay it. So he owes me. The Titan didn¡¯t have any right to me.¡± Julia said, the Ki not holding her frustration at bay. The figure just paused for a moment, and the gears continued to whirl and spin¡ªgolden light reflecting off the shifting metal. ¡°Your own lack of faith made you available. As you were undedicated, Father could fulfil the owed debt. He recently gave payment on the last of that debt. No more will arrive here in such a fashion. The family overstepped themselves with three within three.¡± ¡°No more. Three within three. What do you mean? How many were there in total?¡± ¡°We have given answers, where there was no debt.¡± ¡°The Titan doesn¡¯t seem to consider himself owing a debt to many people that he should. What about the Night Elves? What¡¯s owed to them? Weren¡¯t the Night Elves his singers? He¡¯s just leaving them in the Abyss. So he only cares about the debts he wants to repay. If Andre got hurt at my funeral, then he¡¯s responsible for that. So that¡¯s a debt he owes. He used me to pay a debt. If I hadn¡¯t been here, she wouldn¡¯t have taken an injury at my funeral. How did her blasted father get here?¡± ¡°Father has rules of his own that he follows. Your presence and that individual were within those rules. The decision of Souls brought the Night Elves to their current fate. Only those Souls that stand among them can decide their fate. They should know to trust yet have not chosen. We have completed the Soul Gems assessment, payment will arrive shortly. Hidden, know he will consider your friend¡¯s situation, but you may never know of the outcome either way.¡± ¡°Your mouth is moving a lot, but I can¡¯t hear you or them saying anything. What¡¯s going on?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, tapping Julia on the shoulder as he spoke. ¡°No secrets given to you, remember,¡± Julia said, the anger she felt clear in the gaze that locked on L¨ºdhins. ¡°No point in arguing with them. They¡¯ll tell you what will wound you.¡± L¨ºdhins said, shrugging dismissively. "Father considered the requested payment of bringing you here was unfair. So what tools were wise within the bounds of his promises he provided. Hence there is no debt. The choices then and in the future are yours to make. Just as others will choose their path, you live in the Abyss or not by your own choices. Yet even the wrong choice might turn to your advantage," the Figure said. Julia went to ask another question when it vanished, along with the Soul gems. Several crates appeared in the figures¡¯ place as the mists closed in. The temptation to scream and yell for them to come back ran through her. ¡°What did you mean? They¡¯ll tell me what will wound me?¡± asked Julia, wishing that punching him would help. ¡°Knowing your own mistakes, wouldn¡¯t you keep kicking yourself? Going if only I had?¡± L¨ºdhins said, shaking his head, ¡°Just a way to pain and regret.¡± As he checked each of the crates, they disappeared. ¡°You¡¯re wrong. It tells me what I missed. Learn from history or be doomed to repeat it,¡± said Julia, anger still riding her voice. ¡°Well, yelling questions at them never helps,¡± L¨ºdhins said, looking unperturbed. ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t hear me,¡± said Julia, wondering what other lies had been told. ¡°Didn¡¯t have to hear your voice, to see your neck muscles working overtime yelling,¡± L¨ºdhins said. ¡°Fine. If they ever talk to me again, I won¡¯t yell.¡± I hope Andre is okay. They could have at least told me what they meant by ¡®consider¡¯ it. Julia just took a moment to breathe and ease the tension within while L¨ºdhins checked the last of the crates. ¡°They can hear you now, so be careful what you say,¡± L¨ºdhins said, tilting his head towards the Patrol. ¡°I had expected a bunch of Souls to be standing around waiting for their Deities,¡± said Julia, trying to peer through the mists to see if there were others about. ¡°There are places where they wait, Succubus,¡± The patrol lead said, nodding to her. ¡°With our business finished, I supposed you¡¯d prefer we be on our way?¡± ¡°You are correct. Do you require a guide?¡± the patrol leader asked. ¡°We¡¯re using a gadget to get back to Tern¨°x. I¡¯ve got lots of time ahead of me exploring there to learn it properly.¡± ¡°Things take time to learn properly,¡± the Patrol said, just merely nodding, ¡°Succubi, so many of you have skin the colour of white jade. It is a pity you do not seek such purity.¡± Cool, and my message understood. At least I didn¡¯t have to find a messenger in the Abyss, well not yet. ¡°White jade is lovely,¡± Julia said, aware that L¨ºdhins¡¯ eyes were resting on her. {{Scream you know you want to.}} ((Find your centre child. They have confirmed you have choices ahead. )) Closing her eyes, she hoped to feel the warmth of the Sun on her skin. Yet though the light was present, there was no feeling of warmth across her skin. With the anger pressing at her, Julia made a choice and let the Ki drift up and wash its heat away. "No more. I''ll do what I need to do. Shall we go back, L¨ºdhins?" Julia asked. 45 - Despite all my rage My choices determine my destiny. At least I¡¯m not trapped in a mindless sex doll. And the arse that sent me here lost his credit card. Still, what does three within three mean? It sounds like there is at least one other like L¨ºdhins and me. Julia waited while L¨ºdhins drew out the Sextant again to return them to the Abyss. The light seemed to echo with the Ki, and for a moment it seemed to rustle like living feathers. ¡°Tern¨°x,¡± L¨ºdhins said, and the word in Abyssal pressed down on the mists, causing them to writhe. Fractures shone through them before reality flinched in the same way. When reality re-established itself, Julia fought to keep her balance and resorted to using Flight. In the calmness of the Ki, she looked down at the hollow section of her thigh that had just vanished. ¡°You could have told me your toy wasn¡¯t safe,¡± Julia said, and L¨ºdhins looked her way just in time to take in the healing damage. The missing flesh sealing in an arc, showing it went deep into the bone before it healed. Yet it was so instantaneous that Julia hadn¡¯t even felt pain. In her awareness, Health showed a far steeper drop than the injury would seem to warrant. ¡°I¡¯ve never had an issue with it,¡± L¨ºdhins said, checking the area where they had appeared. Whatever had happened, the device had set them down free of other obstacles. They appeared on the floor of a passageway. The contours they could see making it appear like a dry waterway. Though with a heavy fog obscuring visibility in both directions, it was hard to be sure. Somewhere far away, the sound of metal striking stone was audible. However, the mist''s strange acoustics made it hard to determine if it was ¡®upstream¡¯ or ¡®downstream¡¯. The alternating chimes apparently coming from different directions and even down through the rock to them. ¡°Guess I¡¯m just the lucky one then, aren¡¯t I. Does it have a complaints department to call, or at least a help desk?¡± ¡°Maybe the Titan didn¡¯t like you being rude,¡± said L¨ºdhins, his tone far too deliberate in its dryness. At least my health recovers fast, still ouch. ¡°Do you have a list or something of the key places in Tern¨°x?¡± Julia asked. With Planar Sense, a sense of Burning Grotto came from one direction, while their recent stop off, Z?hma, came from the other. ¡°I get ¡®Burning Grotto¡¯ the way your facing, and Z?hma the other.¡± ¡°Same, but no point going to either at present. Still fascinated with the ¡®Burning Grotto¡¯ are you?¡± L¨ºdhins asked. ¡°Other than the portal out of this place, it is half the named places I know around here,¡± said Julia. Not telling you. ¡°We¡¯ll sort something out when you have writing materials. So you picked up Planar Sense and levelled it some as well?¡± ((Do not trust him. You can¡¯t let your guard down. )) Office Politics is one thing. This is making double-speaking politicians look straight. ¡°Just tell me the names,¡± insisted Julia. ¡°You¡¯d forget them.¡± Julia focused and extended what looked to be a drape of cloth from her arm. On it was the ¡®Use¡¯ names of the various Demons she had killed in Z?hma in Abyssal script, With momentary pressure within, the section of cloth fluttered free, and Julia rolled it up. ¡°Here are the ¡®Use¡¯ names you need. I think I can handle writing stuff down,¡± said Julia, holding the rolled cloth out before he even turned. ¡°Where did you get this from? It feels like you¡¯ve written on cotton.¡± L¨ºdhins said after taking the cloth and rubbing his fingers along the edge. ¡°Ask me no secrets.¡± ¡°At least you can learn something,¡± said L¨ºdhins, tilting the cloth towards her, ¡°Even if this is a secret of itself.¡± ¡°The fact I can write, or I have a way to do it on Cloth?¡± Julia asked. So what security clearance do you have? None. I feel like a lot of redacted conversations are going to happen. ¡°So we just continue with the lectures?¡± ¡°Pretty much plus finding you a place to kill loads of things and get dangerous. I can think of one place that would actually be useful for once.¡± ¡°Dangerous enough to handle you,¡± ¡°You¡¯d best hope so. We may have something in common, but if you ever trust me. You¡¯ll come to regret it,¡± said L¨ºdhins. ¡°How clearly does your Demon instincts whisper L¨ºdhins?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you about asking questions, Viper. It doesn¡¯t whisper we talk. The ''Demonic Instincts'' Power will cause you to hear its whispers properly. That doesn¡¯t mean yours isn¡¯t whispering to you now.¡± L¨ºdhins said, heading along the passage that started them towards Z?hma. ¡°It wants you so very much.¡± The words echoed back to Julia were barely even a whisper, but they dug into her stomach. The Ki held the fear it tried to invoke at bay, and the emotion dissolved into the swirling mist. Fuck. Here, I thought, yeah, forget that. No wonder he says not to trust him. I need to ditch him soon. Is that what happened with the Slavers? Livia held my Demon¡¯s hand. And they went on picking bloody flowers together? What has L¨ºdhins done with his Demon? Sometimes I feel like there is someone else in the memories, but I can¡¯t make sense of it. ¡°With Succubus, desire and fear from them, they taste the same in the air to me. There have been times I could taste you so strongly,¡± said L¨ºdhins, ¡°You need to get stronger fast. And whatever you do in the future. Don¡¯t stay anywhere close when I¡¯m screwing another Succubus.¡± {{Just fuck him. Maybe it will shut his leash holder up.}} ((He stands on a knife''s edge, staring into Oblivion. )) ¡°One question?¡± Julia asked, knowing it was likely going to get a growl. But need to change the subject, regardless of Ki ability to contain emotions. ¡°That was a question.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°How do you force another Demon to Ascend?¡± asked Julia, giving L¨ºdhins an obvious roll of the eyes. ¡°Overpower their will and compress their shards. Or they have to trust you for whatever reason enough to let you in. However, your mana manipulation works; use it to reach inside them. Compress their shards the same way you did your own. Except if you mess up, it can get well messy. Now store the bracers. We have a place to be, and you¡¯ll need to practice avoiding an axe to the knee.¡± L¨ºdhins said. As soon as her bracers left her arms, Danger Sense screamed, driving Julia to Blink past L¨ºdhins. His axe hadn¡¯t yet left his belt. The throw that followed drove towards her new location. Protean dropped her flat, and a moment later, Blink took her further away. Julia reformed and rose to her feet to find L¨ºdhins beside her, axe at her throat. He put it away with a shake of his head. ¡°Better, but your Protean is using the same form each time when you drop flat, and you stay in it after you Blink. Mix it up, have a few options, always change it after you move. Move in the direction they¡¯re not looking. Use Blind spots if they have any, otherwise move behind something.¡± ¡°You knew what it was,¡± said Julia ¡°Yes, but it''s scarce. Most won¡¯t recognise it. Though those that will aren¡¯t the ones you want knowing you can use it,¡± ¡°So why the answers?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Right now? Because you have less time than I hoped. You¡¯re not what I expected when I took this deal. If you were, you¡¯d be safe, or you wouldn¡¯t care what we got up to,¡± L¨ºdhins said before moving on. It was a final muttered remark that sent a shimmer through the Ki¡¯s mist. ¡°It wants to hear you scream anyway it can.¡± At the implications of his words, Julia¡¯s eyes narrowed. Yeah, I¡¯m not playschool. No one gets to cum inside, mate. L¨ºdhins turned and led the way to whatever destination he had in mind. Occasionally he would trigger Julia¡¯s instinct when his hand dropped near his throwing axe. Though more than once, he threw it so fast by the time Danger Sense screamed; she was already hit.
Julia watched from her hiding place as the ¡®Corrupted Nox Hunter¡¯ shifted in place. Its ute sized thorax shuddered and dipped for a moment. A chittering of frustration as the dimensional trip shaved more of a rear leg away. Its sheer size preventing it from fleeing the chamber that it had birthed in. The alcove amid its webbing showed where Tern¨°x had vomited it into existence. With enough damage done to its legs, Blink took her beneath its body and with a thought Julia reformed. It sought to react as a punch lashed out towards Julia¡¯s target. The flex of a leg brushed razor bristles down her back. In return, the strike broke chitin, and a flexing leg joint gave way. The broken leg aborted its attempt to jump clear. Staggered, it sort to regain its balance and turned in place. Her position echoed by its own pain. It tried to get into a position to bite. Rapid movements sent spiked claws stabbing into the surrounding rock. Throwing her body into a twisting roll under its thorax, Julia evaded striking claws. Yet the erratic movement of a leg caught her. Its razor bristles coming close enough to slice open flesh. Even as flesh closed, the Nox caught the scent of blood and redoubled its efforts. When the movement of its body drove spikes towards her face, Julia had to Blink clear. Hand grabbing the ridge on the spinnerette¡¯s back as it thrashed to crush the intruder it had felt underneath. Freehand charged with Ki, Blink, and Flight combined to shift her to perch behind its head. Even as it acted to shoot it webbing toward the now sighted enemy, a fist struck down. An orb burst, and bone cracked as she let herself fall and roll across its body, ignoring the wounds that opened. Its own webbing laced across the shattered orb and blinded others. Pain acknowledged and then ignored amid her trance. Hands burning with Mana and Ki, she set about opening its side as she rode its thrashing form. When at last Julia exited the chamber, L¨ºdhins looked her over and shrugged. ¡°Another down millions more to go,¡± L¨ºdhins said before he walked away.
The barest of tapping noises rapidly closing was the only warning. A moment after the noise had started, large shapes burst out of the mist. Massive bulbous heads, led by waving antennae and each mouth set with a dagger-like mandible. Their wave came rushing towards her, only to freeze in place, antennae waving as if tasting the air. The initial rush turned into a rustling sound as their legs and carapace brushed against each other. Further shapes approached along the tunnel till the walls, floor and roof became carpeted with bristling shapes. Analysis [Species: Vornex Polyergus Class: Soldier Level: 27 Defence: 42 (Hardened Carapace) Health: 320 Melee Attack Power: 47 Mana: 0 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad](2) Condition: Pacified] What the hell? Not sure what to do, Julia turned on Telepathy and could only look at them, stunned. Living non-demonic minds touched her own. Their initial outrage at the scouts reporting a presence near their trails easing into curiosity and awe. The pheromones passing between the members of their colony, hastening the effect. Their hunting focus abated even further when Julia projected calm intent. They stilled when the feeling of Ki touched the connection to their minds. There are things other than Demons and the trapped living in the Abyss. ¡°Plenty of experience to gain if they don¡¯t overwhelm you,¡± L¨ºdhins said, ¡°We¡¯ve got cycles of travelling ahead. There have been enough things that actually want to kill me,¡± said Julia. Julia tried to project a sense of food, and their antennae waved before the first of them headed past. It seemed the remains of her last fight appealed to their foraging requirements. As they headed past, more and more of them submitted to her aura. Their presence and desire to serve their colony alive within Julia¡¯s awareness. With a Blink, Julia stood beside L¨ºdhins and waited for him to lead on. [Dominion [Ap] (9 -> 14)]
Julia stopped and looked over the archway ahead of them. It had taken them over twelve days of fighting and travelling to reach here, and she didn''t see the attraction. Aged beyond belief, it was only the regularity of some lines that let her recognise it as artificial. Beyond the archway, a sturdy-looking metal bridge spanned a chasm into darkness. ¡°What¡¯s in there?¡± ¡°Something actually useful for you, lots of Undead. Not Demons, though they¡¯ve soaked up energies of the Abyss. The mere touch of some will rend Demonic flesh.¡± ¡°But no demonic essence?¡± ¡°Not as far as I¡¯m aware. Your situation though is unique. To get through, you¡¯ll need to follow the main pathway till you reach a massive Pit. Looks hundreds of metres across, the stairs along its sides will take you to some lower regions. Once you get to the Pit, use Planar Sense and head for a settlement called Ro?ercev,¡± said L¨ºdhins. ¡°I take it this route isn''t the most direct," said Julia, looking at the Darkness across the bridge. ¡°Actually, it is. Ro?ercev is about nine or ten thousand kilometres from here. This place is a nexus of pathways that connects to various places in the Abyss. Draws dead things into it. But depending on when someone last tried passage. It could be time-consuming fighting your way out.¡± ¡°So what''s the deal? The undead come back?¡± asked Julia, as her brain tossed up memories of hours grinding through respawning foes. ¡°This place follows its own rules. Either they come back, or more replace them. There are things in there that enjoy killing Demons. Don¡¯t just follow the route to Ro?ercev. I¡¯d suggest you work around each of the floors. Maybe even go down further than you need.¡± ¡°So I¡¯ll meet you at Ro?ercev?¡± Julia asked, wondering what the catch was to this training plan. ¡°Indeed. Bonus if you meet me with the remains of something powerful.¡± And there it is? So how about I just don¡¯t show? Time to get lost. If its pathways go all over the place. Maybe I can find somewhere far away from the Sisterhood. As Julia''s nerves twisted painfully, she smiled, and a pointed thought calmed them. This is a passageway that connects to Tern¨°x. It¡¯s not a Planar Portal. I¡¯ll need to explore every one of them. Follow instructions to my utmost. ¡°What¡¯s the prize? Or is it prizes?¡± ¡°There can be only one. It will depend on what you bring out,¡± said L¨ºdhins, giving a very relaxed shrug. ¡°Really, you went there. Any hints as to the Undead I''ll find there?¡± Julia asked, shaking her head at the stupid line. ¡°Anything the earth might have swallowed from the sight of the living. It¡¯s just an old, decayed archway out here. In there, the only thing that stays constant is the paths to and from the pit¡¯s stairs. Though some think they are the same thing they¡¯re really not.¡± ¡°And it connects to planes all over?¡± ¡°Such obvious interest, see what I mean about questions. Be careful where you find yourself when you venture out from here. Some planes aren¡¯t remotely hospitable, just plenty of things dying. When you get to Ro?ercev, find the best brothel. After all, I¡¯ll have to fill my time somehow.¡± As Julia moved forward, Danger sense was already prickling over her skin. The surrounding air changing from the oppressive weight of Tern¨°x into the echoing stillness of an aged mausoleum. At the bridge''s end, darkness enfolded her completely and took her from L¨ºdhins¡¯ sight.
L¨ºdhins waited for a time after Julia disappeared from his line of sight. At last, the sextant appeared in his hand, and reality gave L¨ºdhins passage. Observing him from the Darkness, Julia waited longer still before retracing her steps. Only to find the very air blocking all attempts to cross the bridge. ¡°What!¡± Julia exclaimed before trying other options. But Blink and then Teleport both resulted in nothing, and Julia¡¯s position didn¡¯t shift. The paths to and from the pit¡¯s stairs. Though some think they are the same thing, they¡¯re really not. Did I put myself in a smaller cage? Is there a way out alive? When Julia activated Planar Sense and felt for Ro?ercev, there was only silence. 46 - Pain in full Prime Earth - Outside Rachel''s apartment building. (formerly also Julia''s) ¡°Grace, how are you and Peter holding up?¡° Sally asked, surprised to see the older woman waiting at the door. Despite the standard volume of her voice, Grace jumped as if Sally had yelled. Seeing the redness of her eyes, Sally drew close to hug her mother-in-law. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you must have been miles away,¡± Sally said, concerned by how frail Grace had become. It hadn¡¯t even been three weeks, yet she felt like skin stretched over bone. Her hand stroked Grace¡¯s back reassuringly, worried about the weight the unbelievable death had put on her. The nightmare at the funeral service had only added to the family''s grief. Grace clutched at Sally for a moment before she spoke, clinging with a desperate grip despite the heat. ¡°Rach didn¡¯t answer the buzzer. I was giving her a few minutes before I tried again,¡± Grace said, her words faint, clearly strained with pain. ¡°If I¡¯d known you had planned to come over, I¡¯d have picked you up,¡± Sally said, trying to keep the worry from her voice. ¡°I needed to walk and clear my mind. We¡¯re not that far away. The Detectives were by this morning. I couldn¡¯t stay in the house after they left. Where¡¯s Mal?¡± ¡°He''s just parking the car. Any news?¡± Sally asked. ¡°Nothing. Though there are lab tests still pending. I hadn¡¯t expected them to come by at all. Let alone on a Sunday,¡± Grace replied absently, the tone trembling. The buzzing of the intercom and the door¡¯s lock came as one. ¡°Hey guys, sorry I was,¡± Rach said. Her voice sounded weighed down instead of bursting with her normal energy. Yet even that absent energy faded out before she could finish whatever she''d planned to say, ¡°ugh, I don¡¯t feel good. Oh.¡± The sound of a woman¡¯s scream of pain pierced the air. Echoing out from the intercom and above, before it cut off, blending seamlessly with the wailing of a smoke alarm.
It had broken him when his aunt told him Julia was a prostitute. She¡¯d tried to be kind, telling him he needed to move on. She wanted him to go out with a nice girl. His Aunt had wanted to introduce them before, but he knew they weren¡¯t the one. Didn¡¯t his Aunt know there wasn¡¯t anyone else for him but Julia? If she was a prostitute, it must have been true for them all. Yes, it was all their fault. Vile teasing bitches, ignoring him and acting like they were too good for him. He¡¯d seen all of them so often at the shop, but he was just the cook. Even when he said Hi, they wouldn¡¯t let Julia give him the time of day. They were brushing him off and taking her from him. Yet the way she always was smiling at him, it was clear that he mattered to her. They shouldn¡¯t have interfered. His yiayia had told him to take time between using it on those needing judgement. It was their ancestors¡¯ token, and the Kronos¡¯ forgotten son would answer the call. The Minotaur would answer his family¡¯s plea as he had done for eons. Nicholas fumed at his foolish ancestors, who almost lost the token so often, with their lack of belief or care. They¡¯d have lost it except for his yiayia, who brought it with her from Crete. She¡¯d told him all the old stories whenever he¡¯d been over. He¡¯d seen it clutched tight in her hand that day at the trial, seen the punishment descend. The way they had betrayed him, they all needed to pay. Yiayia wasn¡¯t around to care anymore, and his mother¡¯s only concern was the business. So he¡¯d deal with these traitors by himself. If they hadn¡¯t gotten in the way, he wouldn¡¯t have taken the steps he did. They forced him to punish her. He¡¯d just been wrong to punish her first. She was so sweet; the others must have lured her astray. He¡¯d heard them talking about the plans for Rach hen''s party plans and the requests Rach had for Julia. Asking her to get the special party favours arranged for everyone. He knew what that meant; they had her supplying their wicked ways. He couldn''t stand it anymore, asking her to let loose, when they hadn''t let her near him. Now the last of them would pay, Sarah would join Rach and his special, traitorous, defiled Julia. Despite the token still hot from the last judgement, Nicholas wanted it done. He was staring at the third woman in the photo. Token held within his aching hand, yet he ignored the heat and the edge digging into his palm. He focused on the image, ready to invoke the same sentence again. The one his yiayia had used against father¡¯s murderer. That bastard had deserved to scream in pain, just as these whores now would for keeping her away. They ignored him, kept her from him. How dare they! He¡¯d found their full names from the photos of the memorial, HER tribute page. It was clearly fate that her memorial had led him to them so that they could suffer as well. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Sarah Noth, may the Titan take you to his maze. May it chain you in hell.¡± The last mark on the token flashed, all four gone now, but it had been worth it. They were going to get what they deserved for betraying him and destroying Julia. Why couldn¡¯t any of them see? Fate had meant them for each other? They¡¯d ruined it all. Light glimmered inside the token. A stabbing light beneath the faded mark from yiayia¡¯s use showing first. A mark that had been slowly returning. The other points which had winked out suddenly glowed as well, and the four spun around the token¡¯s edge. Then he knew for sure the Titan favoured him. With all four of them shining so brightly, he knew. They meant him for such a glorious fate. To hold life and death over another was his family¡¯s right. His right! ¡°You show how far my blood has fallen in this world. No more. One, even two, is a misjudgement. Three such as these is not justice. Three within three weeks is pure pettiness. You have used my token to set their judgements. So now I judge you, the maze shall not determine your fate.¡± The power of that growling voice made the bones of his skull pulse with agony. The token burst, the power in the metal was searing into his eyes. Blinding brightness as he felt himself falling. The wind whistled in his ears, echoing with his screams. No matter how he tried to twist and turn, he fell and felt as if fire flayed at his skin. Then sight returned and sounds chorused around him as he plunged. Somehow, the fire had flayed clothes from him, yet his flesh was now unburnt. Feet led the way in the long fall, ignoring all attempts to turn. The clouds burst open, and he could see an ocean beneath him coming ever closer. Lit as if by the setting sun showing waves of glorious red satin. People were standing on the waves to greet him, calling upwards for his arrival. Was this heaven? Why had there been flames? Was it just removing the last of his sins to ensure his purity? Still, they were calling. No! They were screaming, their cries of pain were to tell him it was already too late. The last moment as his point of arrival became clear¡ªthe Spike. Pain tore through him as it ran up through his guts and burst out of his neck. Yet he still lived as agony that seemed already without end twisted within, and so he screamed with them to warn the next. ¡°She was never yours.¡± The absolute truth of the words he knew, leaving no space for doubt. Power of it cleared the Agony for a moment, the truth of every interaction driven deep. Even the truth of his aunt¡¯s baseless gossip, rumour and judgement shared without truth. It all burnt with a searing agony greater than the spike, and the blades clawing at his insides, he screamed louder still. He hoped his sanity would crack apart completely and let him fall into the ocean. Willpower of steel closed like a vice around him, its presence promising him the release of insanity would never be his. I will get out of here. He recognised her voice in his mind. Nicholas knew the will holding her together also now held him to the spike. And the Titan let him know, even if her willpower faulted, that there would be no release. Unlike those around him, what the punishment tore from him would continually renew. His screams drown out all those about as he felt the first of what would be so many shards leave him for the filth below. While any of their Souls existed, within the punishment he¡¯d set. Then so would he remain sane within his own, even if it was till time¡¯s end. While her will remained around him, he would also know every ounce of pain any of them experienced three fold.
¡°Detective Collins, there is another SHC victim. Male this time,¡± The constable said, his voice quiet on the phone. ¡°Where was he found?¡± Collins asked, his tone professional, as he fought the urge to rub his face. One weird case had turned into three, now four. He still had to get to the one called in by Sally Earnst, the first victim¡¯s sister-in-law. He didn¡¯t know what yet, but something weird was going on, and this family was in it deep. Only one other confirmed SHC had shown up in Australia with no wick effect involved. That had been in a Parramatta court nearly seventeen years ago. Now he might have four more within eighteen days, not even three bloody weeks. How many more were going to die? ¡°In his home, sir, you¡¯re going to want to see this soon,¡± the constable said, his voice insistent. ¡°I¡¯m at another scene at present. Why the urgency?¡± ¡°It¡¯s very different from the other reports. Also, he¡¯s got a tribute wall here; it looks like a stalker¡¯s one, not a memorial. And something else, sir,¡± the Constable¡¯s voice sounding disturbed. The lack of proper process made Collins wonder exactly what the hell was going on. He was already going to need to speak to the station sergeant about this whole situation. ¡°Constable, tell me why you¡¯re not following proper procedure,¡± Collins said, his tone professional but clearly disliking whatever the hell was going on. ¡°There is a mosaic near the ashes, burnt into the carpet. A man¡¯s likeness is clear in it, matching against family photos in the house. The tiles look as if they burnt through the carpet and melted to the concrete underneath.¡± ¡°How is his home decorating tastes relevant?¡± ¡°It shows him impaled in a hellscape Detective,¡± the constable said, his voice cracking with fear as he spoke. ¡°What!¡± ¡°And there are words around it. So ends one who abused the Minotaur¡¯s gift.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the victim¡¯s name?¡± asked Collins, patting his pocket as he checked for his notebook. ¡°Nicholas Labrinth,¡± said the Constable. ¡°Send me the address. I¡¯ll be right over,¡± said Collins, hanging up the call. He remembered the other case file. One victim involved in the hearing was Nicholas Labrinth. Maybe it¡¯s not Julia¡¯s family involved in the weird shit. What the hell is going on? He turned to head for the front door, ignoring the witness still in his outfit, going over his statement to the uniform. At least the witness had put some pants on before calling, but the sub collar and shirt were still present. If he had come into this cold, he would have been trying to figure out how a professional Dominatrix related to Julia¡¯s case. Fortunately for his sanity, Sarah Noth''s friendship with the first victim was a matter of record. Though with the degrees and a business card reading life coach, he wouldn¡¯t have expected what had turned up today. Considering the weirdness that was already ongoing, he¡¯d need all the sanity he could get. 47 - Ashes to Ashes, Blood to Dust Thanks for the massive amount of warning. Though being fair, you said I¡¯d regret ever trusting you. At least I should get some experience in here. Whether I can find a way out alive, that¡¯s another thing. ((Echoing remnants of forgotten ages. )) What was that? Julia waited, wondering where the barely heard whisper had come from. Great, am I unlocking Demonic Instincts? I thought I heard something, and it wasn¡¯t in my ears. Though it didn¡¯t sound Demonic, it sounded sad, lonely. ((Even Gods die, child. Death draws when it doesn¡¯t claw. )) I need to get moving. Julia leant against the barrier formed by the edge of the Darkness towards the dim light of Tern¨°x one final time. With that last gesture, she put her back to it and glided forward with measured steps. Fortunately, the wall of darkness that this place had seemed from outside wasn¡¯t the case within. The depth of it though challenged the pressure of Tern¨°x¡¯s mass that had loomed about her for weeks. The intensity of darkness teasing release as flickering lights appeared and vanished, and reappeared deeper still. It was some time before Julia saw a more consistent yet still erratic glow ahead. A turn bought with it a transformation from a raw cave tunnel into far more. The passageway widened past another threshold, and between steps, the thing changed. Becoming sprawling body lengths across, yet seemed to offer nothing but vulnerability. With nearly about twenty metres of open space between walls, there was plenty of room for enemies to surround her. Likewise, the rough stone ceiling disappeared beyond sight, hidden by an obscuring fog. The looming texture of it, soft yet harshly uncaring. It was blocking the glow provided by guttering candles that lingered on long-forgotten candelabras. Insubstantial, they provided illumination from the flames¡¯ last moments. As one guttered completely and vanished, another appeared, fighting to maintain its last moments of existence. The light from the flames painting moments against the wall of mist over ahead. Casting shadows from other places, with hollow furnishings and people projected against the surroundings, stone and mist alike. Their erratic glow, pushed back by those mists, flickered over funeral niches from floor to beyond only as far as they allowed her to see. Though whatever cremated remains, they might have held appeared long absent. The cracked memorial plaques bulged outwards into the passageway to reveal hollowness within. Smells tickled at the edges of awareness, rich loom after a long rain mingled with the dryness of parchment. Against exposed flesh, papery sensations of old fragile skin mingled with an abrasive harshness of sand and dust scouring, enfolding her with promises of the end. Buttery sweetness of bone marrow danced on her tongue, fighting rancid decay as faded floral arrangements misted the air with their dying perfumes. Memories of days long past tried to echo in her mind. Regrets and things forgotten teased at Julia¡¯s awareness, loss, so much loss. Echoing with the decay of life, the entropy of mortal existence. Time, Death, and Entropy consuming all things into oblivion, yet held here in their last moments. Julia turned on both Mana Sense and Soul Sight, and the surrounding walls lit up with energies. Twisted strands of power draped everything in sight. Energy sought to brush against her, but the Abyssal Heat seemed to hold it at bay. Awareness of the strands aided against the forces that tried to overwhelm her physical senses. It also gave her uncomfortable knowledge. Within the empty niches, Soul energy had left an imprint behind. The place''s power had forced compliance upon those brought here and dragged them from their resting places to serve. Danger Sense didn¡¯t scream. It sang and grumbled, whatever was beyond the threshold reeking of danger. [Danger Sense [Ap](22->23)] I don¡¯t fulfil the horror movie trope, where the girl who has sex gets killed first. Though I fulfil the one about going off alone. Well, fuck. Allowing Ki to layer under her skin, Julia looked over the floor carefully before stepping out at an angle. There didn¡¯t appear to be any funny plates on the stonework, but wasn¡¯t it supposed to be common to trap tombs? While the mists obscured visible light, what it didn¡¯t do, however, was to block the Souls'' light. After clearing the initial few distances across the passage to make it to the memorial wall, Souls came into sight above. Scuttling forms lit up by Soul and Mana energy alike quickly came down the memorial walls. The forms seemed shaped more of coherent energy than anything else. However, swirling slivers of bone and ash moved endlessly within their outline. Material that solidified into clawed hands, guiding them in a head-first descent towards her. Hollow eyes sockets made from ash alone held within a baneful white light that glared down. Guess no one has come this way recently. Analysis [Undead: Cremated Revenant Class: Fighter Level 10 / 10 Defence: 30 Health: 480 Mana: 0 Melee Attack Power: N/A - Successful attacks apply Vampiric Touch Attacks: Claws [J](25) Details: Forced back into service after death, this entity no longer has a full physical form to possess. Instead, its cremated remains are used to anchor the Soul. Unlike other Revenants, its agony drives it to attack all living beings. It will savagely attack anything not Undead, rather than seeking those who wronged it in life. Condition: Incorporeal entity defence applies to physical attacks.] Seeking to retreat into the narrower passageway, Julia found the same barrier that blocked her at the bridge seemed to be present here as well. A second test across the passageway at least brought her relief that her Blink still worked within. It seemed whatever force had set this place up allowed for no retreat, tactical or otherwise. As she shifted places, more of the Revenants started down from the mists above. I have Ki Infusion to make sure I can hit them, but let¡¯s see what this does. The spell form came quickly into being with surprising ease. Though she had practised with other energies, this one seemed to respond quickly to her call. White shimmering power filled the tracing missile as it shot upwards. Striking against the first of the Revenants, the missile impacted hard. The empowerment of Jade Court Mana, not agreeing with whatever bound them here. Unlike the Nox, it didn¡¯t seem able to slip away from any of the effect, as a combat notification came to her awareness. [Mana Spent: 7 Base Damage: 36 Damage Energy vulnerability applied: 72 Damage] The injured Revenant didn¡¯t wait for a second attack and leapt downwards. The others still higher on the wall stopped only for a moment. When they resumed, they were dropping faster in their gravity-defying head first descent. Whatever drove them more interested in attacking her than self-preservation. Though as the first eight followed it streaming downwards, the glimmer of more Souls showed above. I guess all they have to look forward to is being held here longer. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. It seemed only a faint semblance of mortal memories might be the only thing slowing them. When the injured Revenant finished the plunge to the floor, the ash and bone rose like a bag of dust hitting the ground. But as it reformed, the Revenant moved towards her smoothly, with no hesitation. Damage and healing summaries only. [Profile Control [Ap](1->2)] The Revenant''s first attack, though, confirmed while it wasn¡¯t as fast as the Nox. Julia still found herself struck as the entire arm changed impossibly. The attacking limb turned sharply, and bones shards suddenly formed jagged claws. Shining with a glistening red power, they racked across her side. [Damage Sustained (Resisted): 25 (718)] Taking a page from its book, Julia replied in return. As it leapt to follow her retreat, Blink set Julia down behind it, well out of arm¡¯s reach. Protean extended an arm, and while Ki mauled past its protections, the black pulse of energy drain fed. [Ki Strike: 64 Damage Energy Drain: 36 Damage - debuff - quickness and passive applied Energy Drain: 36 Healing (743)] Analysis continued to confirm the mass of damage that she¡¯d applied was still present. But Julia was aware the numbers weren¡¯t all on her side. Now, if only there weren¡¯t a bunch more of them coming down. Down 7 mana and 1 Ki, but back at full health for now. As the Revenant moved to attack, Julia didn¡¯t even try to dodge away. Instead, she sought to get inside its attacks. The Battle trance warned her of the swirl forming claws and slashing power. Protean slipped her past the attacks, swaying under one strike even as it turned. A slash of jagged claws struck at eyes, too later, as Danger Sense and Battle Trance mingled warnings. Yet as the Revenant struck her arm, she feinted a dodge, dropped flat extended with Protean and rose again on its other side. [Damage Sustained (Resisted): 25 (718)] An observation in the Trance caught its swinging counter before it began. Without even the need for conscious thought, Protean took her beneath the sweeping claws. Not even rising again, but instantly reformed to allow a flurry of Ki infusion blows to hammer into its side. Ki held in the flesh, instead of pushing outwards, met the strange energy of its form. The magic binding it shuddered under hammering blows as black pulses drank its power through sudden cracks. [Infused Damage (4 strikes): 136 Energy Drain: 144 - (debuff - quickness and passive applied x4) Energy Drain: 144 Healing (743)] The Revenant staggered from its injuries as Julia felt the rush of stolen energy fill her again. {{Yum Yum. So tasty. Feel their pain.}} ((Perversion of the dead''s rest. )) I feel like a Yo-Yo. Energy drain had hurt its quickness, slowing it well below Julia¡¯s pace. It failed to dodge as Ki and energy drain administered the final blow. [Ki Strike: 64 Damage Energy Drain: 36 Damage - debuff and passive applied] The energy that held it together came apart in a muted, imploding sigh as its magic released without the Soul. Even as the form came apart, Julia had pulled the Soul into her flesh. Its anchor of ash and bone crumpled to dust with it gone at last. The Soul didn¡¯t even scream as the Ki infusing her set it into stillness. The first wave of the other Revenants, their ash features set in lines of hatred and jealousy, dropped to the ground, ready to attack en masse. Blink switched her location, and the Revenants swirled about to change direction. The lines of energy that bound the Souls and remains together easily traced with Mana Sense. Though they could change direction fast, they couldn¡¯t move through each other; the spell forms bindings seemed to force a separation between them. Blink shifted her again and put her back towards the barrier that was preventing her retreat. Tank and spank? Wonder what most Succubus would make of that term. Also, why J? Bad to give up space that will allow you to dodge. Let them get in each other¡¯s way, not block you. The eight of them rushed at her as more joined the fun on the floor. As Julia finished a spell form, a white patch appeared on the floor in front of the lead pair. The Jade Court mana powering the Trip ripped into them, clashing with their existence as they crossed it. [Mana Spent: 7 Casting success: 18 Damage Energy vulnerability applied: 42 Damage] Even if they don¡¯t regenerate, I won¡¯t be able to inflict enough damage before I run out of Mana. This might hurt but burn baby burn. All notifications off. I¡¯ve got no time for distractions. With a spell form readied, she appeared in their midst. As the first lashed out with jagged glowing claws, she let the spell fall into place. Instead of tying a thread off for it to activate, Julia kept its mana supply flowing. Jade Court mana exploded from the cloak as the strikes rained against her. The celestial energy blocking their attempts to feed. The Demon they could feel just out of reach beckoned to their hatred, despite the damage they had sustained. When they surrounded her at last, Julia exploded. The cloak formed of Jade Court mana stretched around every extension. Spikes stabbed out into those closest and went deep inside their forms. Mana rushing through, burning her flesh and foe in its wake. The calmness of the Ki held her as the rushing power buffeted flesh. As Julia let it dissipate, blackness drank to restore the damage, and their forms collapsed. Even as mana surge ceased, Blink carried her clear as the Revenants surged forward. That hurt. Mana surge cost me 168 health, glad the energy drains got through. A normal wizard would have more mana than health. BBQ wizard, anyone? Though it was a lot of mana to kill 8 of them, down to 68 mana and 141 Ki, and there are still twelve or more. While facing the closest chasing her, the eyes still set along nested claws confirmed the truth. Lights shone through the mists further in as the ¡®more¡¯ descended. Blink moved her again, set at the pursuers¡¯ heels. As they whirled to chase again, infused fists and blackness struck out. Red claws raised and slashed the first found purchase along the flesh. While her claws stabbed in return, the Ki infusing them easily now. Though not because she expected it to, her acceptance had led to the Ki¡¯s own. In her travels since the grotto, they¡¯d ceased to be just a tool to use and become a part of her instead. Stillness in the whirlwind of motion, Ki held her mind calm while flesh wheeled and turned. A misplaced strike slid off a foe, and blackness drank uselessly against the framework of mana. Its form held power tight within, blocking all theft while the barrier remained. Yet claws that landed on her striking arm drank health with mocking ease. In return, clawed toes grew on a striking foot and raked a revenant from hip to knee. Power flowed as Ashes drifted in the wounded¡¯s wake. Their hunger drove the Revenants to swarm, and Julia flowed and moved from place to place. While the magic that formed them shielded against attacks, it also caused strain between them. Their energies'' containment didn¡¯t allow them to pass between or even draw close to each other. However, strikes that pierced too far through one would wear the claws from another. Revenants drank down health as blood splattered the floor, and more went without a mark. They attacked in a flood of hatred and sought to drown with the ferocity of their assault. Karate had been her mortal release, but no normal martial art can deal with such numbers. Nor was it intended for foes without true flesh. It was a foundation she needed to grow beyond. Skills and Powers linked. One option ended, another took its place, where alone they weren¡¯t enough, joined they grew greater. The peaceful mind from Ki Meditation supported the Battle Trance''s understanding of Perception¡¯s information. Noting what Foes were doing and what actions she needed in return. As furious foes left openings, Acrobatics, Protean, or Blink would position her to feast. Front kicks would turn into raking claws, ripping mana away from all it held. A dodging roll from one would disappear and turn into a strike against another far behind it. Only to fall to land near a third and slither away in a stream of flesh between foes. Aura taunting in her wake, and they¡¯d turn into each blocking pursuit. In that moment of stillness, a nest of claws might stab backwards before she vanished away. Time lost meaning as Demonic flesh set aside mortal limits and fatigue. Till at last alone, Julia knelt on the dust-covered stone. Centred amid a silent storm, waiting for the victory¡¯s final prices to heal. Ki and Mana dancing patterns within the flesh, guided by the subtle strength of Meditation. As before, power imprisoned the Souls, but now instead of inflicting agony, they drifted in a mist of peaceful silence. [Combat Summary Cremated Revenant x 47 Total Experience Gained: 39,480 Monk: 18,200 Wizard: 3,080 Succubus: 18,200 Monk Levelled Up! Succubus Levelled Up! Trip [Ap] (3 -> 4) Cloak [Ap] (3 -> 10) Blink [J] (13->15) Dominion [Ap] (14->15) Energy Drain [J] (5 ->9) Ki Infusion [Ap] (7-> 15) Mana Sense [J] (16 -> 17) Protean [J] (5->7) Acrobatics [Ap] (19) -> [J](3) Battle Trance [Ap] (25) -> [J](3) Bite [Ap] (12 ->16) Claws [J] (4->6) Danger Sense [Ap] (23->30) Mana Manipulation [J] (9->11) Perception [J] (3->7) Unarmed Combat [Ad] (3->6)] I¡¯m collecting Souls here. Let''s go with the hunch that this was a setup. Figure she didn¡¯t buy my evasion or at least wanted to test it. I never saw the list of jobs she gave him. Did she even give L¨ºdhins any jobs or just instructions to keep her updated and find trouble? What was really in the storage device besides payment? Has he reported back to her? Does it matter? I need to stay the heck away. But I agreed to bring Souls only to her. If I don¡¯t, then I¡¯m breaking the deal, and who knows what that would cost. How many am I going to end up harvesting by the time I¡¯m out of here? Then again, if he¡¯s not protecting me, then what have I brought. But in fleeing his protection. Is that voiding the deal or breaking it since I¡¯m preventing her from fulfilling it? Double guessing can¡¯t even cover this mess. How many layers do I need to go? Is time on my side? The wind echoed whispered screams and taunting moans called from the paths ahead. It''s prompting however decided no choices; for set within Ki''s stronghold, Julia made her own decisions. When the healing completed, and energies restored, a true hunt of the accursed began. {{No fair! Make them scream. }} ((Peace can be found; even amid the most violent of storms. )) ((Decide child. Both for yourself and those your choices place in your care. )) 48 - Im going to show you crazy Meditation, and the time taken to ground herself, revealed unexpected results. Curses and not their actions damned the examined Souls of the Revenants to this fate. Within the mists of Ki was a haven from their plight, bringing them to a comfortable silence. A respite from agony and anger that had torn at them since their arrival, no longer away because of another¡¯s foul deeds or dark spells. With no knowledge of what releasing them would do, Julia could only keep them safe and at peace. In every section, the Revenants swarmed, intrusion into their domain, earning wrath and pain. As health leeched from flesh into their endless hunger, the pain became a constant companion. Her feeding blackness drew back energy as practice continued to refine its use. Their powers of consumption opposed in a cycle of ravenous hunger. Though the swarms in each varied ¡®Cremated Revenants¡¯ were the only foes encountered. Most sorrowful of those for Julia were the tiny child-like shells lashing at her in near mindless frenzy. All held here were accursed and forgotten, with no chance of release till now. As the passageway sprawled into a square, the mist ahead drew aside. It merged with three others, forming a perfect square. The cleared passage Julia hoped was still behind, but other exits required resolution. Memorial walls stretched along every path, without even a hint to show age or origin. Planar Sense seeking the Pit provided a dirge ahead in response, though the fate of those on the other pathways pulled at her compassion. Sharpened eyes checked both sides, but the end of them remained out of range of Julia''s vision. The builder had placed crossroads with just metres separating each stacked so close together in both directions; while ahead a long passage lay. There was light visible far away with the same changed eyes, a faint promise instead of flickering candles. Before that light lay five crossroads, with long memorial walls set between each. ¡°Over two hundred Souls since I came here, with longer passageways all around. What is my limit to harvest? Do they all hold prisoners?¡± Julia asked the air for only an echo to reply. Quickly checking the square to the left, its exit the way she¡¯d come showed a fog-filled passage to the right, another long memorial path broken by crossroads, yet ending in a blank wall instead of light. The solid separating walls between each passage looked easily three, maybe four metres wide. Memorial plaques lined the inner wall along every route she¡¯d even partly seen. All appeared as broken like the ones already passed, the energy of Souls torn forth apparent. {{Make the toys scream. }} ((You¡¯ve done well, child. Keep them safe. )) How many of them are here? Could this have been my fate? Would it have just taken different wording to end up here suffering? {{No one¡¯s leaping to rescue you. Why not just feed a bit? Just a nibble? So tasty. }} But you don¡¯t need to rescue them all at once, J. ((Even if you can¡¯t, nothing is stopping you from returning. )) So the Titan cares what he wants to care about, which doesn¡¯t include Souls trapped here. Just the ones corrupted or harvested by Demons. Go figure. What makes these different? They didn¡¯t earn their tenancy. Though my profile isn¡¯t complaining about the incoming experience, getting even these to safety would be a welcome start. I need to find a way out. What a constant theme this is becoming. Out of the Abyss Order, Stronghold, now this bloody Necropolis. I¡¯d say out of my head next, but that happened some time ago. The changing light ahead grew closer with every teleport, the last taking her into the midst of a large gate. The Mausoleum interior walls stretched out away to either side, but the sight of what lay ahead stopped progress. While the landscape forward looked shattered and broken to even normal vision, it was lit up in a combination of her Powers. Strands of Mana bound Souls under and over what lay ahead. Mounds of earth and bones alike sprinkled amid embers still glowing around blackened figures chained to pillars. The tortured shadow of the victims stretching out, clawing at mounds and bones alike. Decay and bitter ash scented the air as unsettled ground churned noxious vapours upwards. The Analysis picked out the names of what lurked ahead, but even gaining those strained at her ability. The knowledge of their names was no comfort; Genocide Graves, Skull mounds, and Brocken bows. As Julia checked each one, it seemed to welcome her drawing near and licked at the air with the hunger. Nothing looked safe about travelling the path in front of her, and overhead a storm of vengeance surged and roiled. Shock waves boomed and shivered off the stonework from frequent lightning strikes, cast downwards almost spitefully at the cursed below. Bone, flesh and hauntings alike were quaking under their blows. Planar Sense seeking the Pit provided a funeral dirge of sound stretching out across the nightmare ahead. ¡°How do I get past all those?¡± Julias asked aloud. The reply: another boom, close enough for flash and sound to arrive as one. ¡°Or does she want me to die? What debt would I owe if I sought shelter from the Order? If they can¡¯t find me, then I¡¯ll never receive new orders¡ªa win-win situation for her. Either I bring in lots of Souls, or I owe through the nose. If I survive and don¡¯t bring in a mass of Souls, then I¡¯m stronger for whatever she has planned.¡± ((Grow strong enough to break them. )) {{POWER!!} A step through the gate and back confirmed it allowed retreat. Careful steps past the gate again saw a Genocide Grave loom up to greet Julia, a giant made of melded Souls. Its physical form chains of bones and rotting flesh, putrid with sustained decay. As it lashed out an arm made from whole dead bodies, Blink¡¯s quick retreat took her back within the Mausoleum. When looking beyond the gates again, the thing had already started settling back into the earth, pained moans echoing from its depths. The thing¡¯s quick-strike had left an impression on earth and crushed stone near the gate. The distance between the gate and its edge had been seven, maybe ten metres. Though without Battle Trance¡¯s reactions to aid it, Blink almost wasn¡¯t fast enough. Even as it settled down, churned earth rippled along the blasted ground as others drew closer to the gate. ¡°Think I¡¯ll take that¡¯s no entry, for now. Oh, Bugger Off, they say,¡± Julia said. Looking back along the skipped sections, Julia could only shake her head. ¡°Souls, they¡¯re only wafer thin. Though if I see John Cleese running away, I know I¡¯m in trouble.¡± Experience grinding in games was just part of the process, moving onto the next fight, killing the mobs, getting the loot rinse, and repeating. Here, though, every battle became a game of cat and mouse with destruction. There was no gamer loot gained, just pain, other¡¯s sorrow, spiced with the hope of redemption, the only consolation. Pain, the despair of Souls, and the strain of holding them at rest within; conflicting with the joy of victories gained, yet at every section, another test followed. In conflict, foes fell, skills advanced, and powers levelled, the storm of souls within swelled with strength. The Soul''s sensations constrained by the force of will and the mist of Ki. It eased the pain and enfolded with peace, promises of contentment, in a struggle against echos of pain, sorrow and loss. As Julia cleared foes from sections, more room to work allowed experimentation, so spells filled the air. Trips and Tracing missiles struck targets before Teleport leapt her clear. Though once it had cost her when Teleport itself had brought her in low. Protean turned an arm into a scythe to cut legs free before rushing foes arrived. Feet left behind, an eerie marker of the error merged with stone. Level ups flowed as more Souls joined her, and in the mists of Ki, they groaned. The numbers increased past what battle diminished Ki level could completely calm. The more rows Julia cleared, the darker the roiling mists overhead grew till the blackness filled every path, and lightning scurried with flickering strikes. Stone rained from memorials plaques hidden unseen in the mist, shattered by the strikes. Cleaned stone floors became littered with rocks and sharpened fragments of heated metal. ((Down!! )) Not knowing why Protean changed striking flesh even as Danger Sense stayed silent. Flesh formed to flat stone an instant before lightning struck. Memorial plaques shattered under its force. The lightning still whirled over them as the pieces scattered. The broken stone smashed, chasing Revenants, destroying any they struck. Rock rumbled as bolts ruptured walls. Julia got clear under cover of the initial destruction. Static sticking to form danced and burnt reformed skin, the lightning-filled passageway shining clearer than ever before. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. Seriously, do I look like a web-slinger? Why is my Danger Sense offline now? A giant form of blood wine lightning filled the passageway. Metallic blades of ozone¡¯s scent cut the air, cascading out in waves. Blink flipped her away again. Even before Analysis could tell her what she faced, another cascade of bolts obliterated stone in her place. When its hands raised, Teleport took her beyond it. Yet the flash still blinded eyes with searing light. Eyes nestled amid claws locked on the figure, just long enough to trigger Analysis. [Type: Level: Health: Mana: Melee Attack Power: Details: Really, you expect to learn anything about this?] Fuck! Not even the Truck¡¯s licence plate? {{Truly shocking. Surprised you didn¡¯t eat one to level something. Boring!!!}} {{It might have levelled you. }} ((Run Child. )) A roll changed the momentum and Blink kicked her clear out of sight into another square. Eyes reformed in sockets to clear their blindness as those facing the crossroads went blind. An image of the gates fixed in mind and teleport shifted. Feet dropped to hit the stone as thunder rolled through the cleared passageways. Eyes crossed the churning earth as the deep red flashes, and the echoes grew closer as the wraith flashed into sight in the passage behind. With options disappearing, flesh changed as Flight threw her forward. The three Genocide Graves grasped her nearly as one. Blackness pulsed before Julia¡¯s form crumpled, twisting in their grasp, and a stream of lightning smashed them all. The lightning as dark as blood drove over, and together they fell. The lightning form paused within the gate and looked over the four remains. Goal fulfilled, it drew back and faded into the clouds above. [Combat Summary: Cremated Revanents x14 Genocide Graves (50% share) x3 Behemoth Lightning Golem Evaded. Total Experience gained: 28,160 Monk: 3,000 Wizard: 10,580 Succubus: 14,580 Wizard Level Up! Succubus Level Up! Electricity (M) (10 -> 14) Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (6 -> 7) Blink [J] (22->23) Teleport (Self) [Ap] (30) -> [J](1) Blink merged with Teleport (Self). Greater Teleport (Self) Unlocked. Greater Teleport (Self) [J] (5). Ki Armour Unlocked (1) Acrobatics [J] (5->6) Battle Trance [J] (6->7) Bite [Ap] (30) -> [J](1) Claws [J] (9->10) Danger Sense [J] (5->6) Mental Hardening [J] (25-27) Pain Tolerance [J] (4->10) Stealth [J](14->15) Unarmed Combat [Ad] (8->9) Arcane [Ap] (16 -> 17) Undead (3->5) Current Soul capacity exceeded. Excess Souls released to Judgement.] No. Not my Blink! You better be worth it, Greater Teleport! Still another level in Wizard and Succubus after that massive experience feast. Julia floated above, looking down at the three foes beneath her, grasping the crumpled steel husk. She''d formed, then reformed as they grabbed at the initial steel bar. Growths of spikes had driven into their hands and conducted the power thrown their way. She¡¯d drained at them for the Souls just before Blink had taken the nearly free-floating core away. Eyes regrown, Julia looked down over her self flayed form. It seemed while they massively out-levelled her, their mindless hunger had almost no willpower to resist her feeding. As bones reformed, black blood mingled with the smoking ichor below. That fucking hurt. Glad these fellows seem not to have global roaming. Thank goodness for Arcane knowledge. The key to that was knowing magical lightning grounds just as well. It seems the system agrees with the experience assignment. Do the excess Souls go to Judgement? Or to their Judgement? That so better mean the cloudy plane. Still glad I didn¡¯t get hit with those bolts. Hate to think what one solid connection would have done. Those brushing past had hurt enough. Dark Sight had provided images of thunderstorms easing into mist again. Will alone caused Greater Teleport to shift her to float still limbless above stonework before the gate. With still no sign of lightning and the cloud continuing to ease towards mist, she drifted within as the regrowth moved below ribs. Though this time, she¡¯d be taking care to heal completely before feet eased to stone, let alone settling to her knees. Analysis [Greater Teleport (Self): This allows the possessor to teleport without risk of merging into an object at the target location. Previous travel to the target location is no longer required, but they must have received a reliable description. Interplanar travel is not possible.] Analysis [Ki Armour: This power allows the possessor to spend Ki to shield the surface of their skin from contact. It increases normal physical defence. It also provides the effect of slipping aside touch attacks before they contact flesh. Such touch attacks instead will need to overcome the opposing defence rating. The higher the effective power level, the Ki¡¯s protection continues without additional expenditure.] Focused on putting together a mental image from L¨ºdhins¡¯s description. The image as if looking down over a massive mist-filled Pit, with its outer stairs spiralling down. When Julia activated Greater Teleport, the shift moment almost went unnoticed instead of the jar of reality jumping. Around the Pit sprawled a procession of broken buildings, and rubble-filled streets below the mists blocked sight. The only way to learn what lay beneath apparently required descending into the mists. However, packs of non-humanoid figures roaming rubble-filled streets certainly gave her enough pause. Their feathers slick with oozing gunk cresting down the back and side. Certainly not how she¡¯d pictured them, yet the form seemed to match. Analysis [Tar Pit Velociraptor Level: 40 Defence: 50 Health: 720 Mana: 0 Melee Attack Power: 70 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (12), Bite [Ad] (15) Details: Yes, it¡¯s a Dinosaur. It died. It¡¯s now undead after getting sucked here. Agile, it likes to eat faces and disembowel foes. Also, hunt children in kitchens according to your mind. Beware, the door handles turning.] Planar Sense provided her direction now to Ro?ercev, deep resonating tones. On impulse, she tried for ¨´eqr?kas, and the tones returned hit her mind hard as reverbing death metal rang out. Compared to the dimmer tones, or crystalline tones of other places, it was a rude surprise. Danger sense had her drop just in time; as a shape swooped in towards her, the clack of a boned beak snapped at empty air. Analysis [Pteranodon Level: 45 Defence: 52 Health: 540 Mana: 0 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad](16), Claws [Ad](1) Special Attack: Fly-by swoop] How the heck does a skeleton fly? Rather than chase it, the predator became target practice as Tracing Missiles loaded with Jade Court Mana rammed it, even before it could pivot and turn to come around. The second missile hit it as it swooped to strike, Flight took her past it faster than it could match. Before it got a third chance, it was all over. [Mana Spent: 27 Tracing Missile x3 Energy Damage: 168 Energy vulnerability applied: 504] ¡°Go back to the park bird brain,¡± Julia said, her tone growling as the remains plummeted. [Combat Summary Pteranodon x1 Total Experience earned: 1,440 Wizard: 1,240 Succubus: 200 Fly [Ap] (5->6) ] Better get out of here before ¡®Big Bird¡¯ turns up. Focused on the growling death metal, Julia pushed with Flight and Teleport. Eyes looking far ahead to jump repeatedly and race towards however distant was the goal. The destroyed city stretched along the path to ¨´eqr?kas, the architecture that remained standing odd to her eyes, with weird corners and twisted lines.
Climbing out of a crevice in a rock face, Julia shot a look back at the undead pressing against the Necropolis barrier. That¡¯s one mob train. Who''s the bad player, Julia. Admin, can I get a permaban from this MMO? No? Really?? Dick! Changing her form back to a normal Succubus in dominator leathers. The key changes were wearing a distinctly fresh face and the wings on her back hidden eyes faced in various directions. A focus of will later and reality changed. Julia found her standing on the Docks outside of ¨´eqr?kas, heading back towards the docks gates. As she passed Demons, some look her way with far too much interest. The ping of Dominion¡¯s level up message prompted her to turn it off. [Dominion [Ap](15->17) Hit a few too many at once, it seems. A long insectoid demon clicked towards her; it¡¯s shelled body curving upwards away from the dock. A growling sound coming from within its thorax even as Julia''s aura turned off. However, it seemed more incensed by her ¡®backing¡¯ down from its challenge. Large curved sickle arms extended from the top of its body to supplement more normal arms and hands extending from its abdomen''s upper curve. The hands pulling curved blades across the front of its body as it stomped towards her. Analysis [Name: R¡¯nlai Species: Thalaix Mantis Class: Fighter Level: 3 / 40 Defence: 50 Health: 1,080 Mana: 0 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad](6), Falchion [Ad] 12 Details: These insectoid Demons are fast ground combatants and have a limited flying capacity from wings that fold along their back. Generally, they pursue some type of fighting class, either an informally skilled warrior through to class specific to their preferred role on a battlefield. Most follow the trained Fighter class at least, as they¡¯re taught by their brood or by whatever army employs them. ] ¡°You dare little Succubus bitch,¡± its voice a whistling accented. {{Let¡¯s Agent Smith its arse.}} Resisting the urge to attack, Julia turned the aura back on with a smile that didn¡¯t match the flat look in her obsidian eyes. Willpower focused on the fresh memory of flayed flesh. She enabled Stimulation and shared every detail with it repeatedly. [Stimulation (Critical Success) boosted by Dominion Willpower 52 vs 19 Level Totals: 70 vs 58 Do you wish to amplify the sensory experience?] Yes [Stimulation[B](16 -> 18)] The Demon staggered back, hands suddenly empty as its blades dropped. It grabbed at its chitin as it squealed and clicked in pain. Its large body thrashing had other Demons at first making space. When a Br¨ªn came up and threw it off the edge of the Docks, Julia stopped Power and Aura''s effect. As she walked past where it had fallen, each blade it had dropped disappeared into inventory. ¡°He might want those back,¡± said the Br¨ªn, apparently amused. ¡°What they want is not important,¡± Julia replied, heading through the docks as the Br¨ªn roared with growling laughter. After that, getting through the docks didn¡¯t take long, especially given she was carrying no apparent item. Julia had tucked even her pendant away into inventory before getting to the ¡®custom¡¯ inspector. When she arrived at the Treasury, waiting Demons filled the area before the gated section. Their various large shapes preventing her from seeing what Hags were dealing with customers. Finally getting to the front of the queue, she saw Usd¡¯ghi wasn¡¯t present, but all the Hag appeared to be the same lineage. The Analysis skill gave Julia the name of the hag that she approached, but it provided nothing more. ¡°Hurry up. What do you want?¡± Uelian¡¯ghi asked. ¡°I was told to ask for your Matron Usd¡¯ghi,¡± said Julia ¡°She''s busy. Now, what do you want,¡± ¡°Usd¡¯ghi is the one that told me to ask for her,¡± ¡°Right, that¡¯s what they all say. Now, what do you want or get out,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just be leaving Uelian¡¯ghi, and I¡¯ll pass your name along when I see her,¡± Julia said, just nodding as she turned to go. ¡°Who are you then?¡± ¡°I know your name. You don¡¯t need to know mine,¡± Julia said, slipping away between two waiting Demons. 49 - Gone away Not waiting for the Treasury¡¯s door to close, Julia headed across the market square. Without putting up with Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s distracted state, it was a lot easier to get past the stalls. However, some things were more appealing than they had any right to smell. The calmness of the Ki and the memory of the blizzard gasp killed any desire to have Demonic food. Guess it makes sense even if Demons don¡¯t sleep. Why be there every bell of a cycle? {{Should have turned Mantis boy into fried goodies. Hmm, sweet ice.}} Julia set off to head towards the alchemist''s shop with a headshake to rid herself of returning nostalgia for sweets. Fortunately, the queue at the store was short. When the alchemist beckoned Julia forward, placing the pouch onto the counter got her a raised reptilian eye ridge. ¡°Mage catalyst gems,¡± Julia said, taking a few out of the storage pouch and setting them on the counter. ¡°Any empowered?¡± ¡°Three that I¡¯m willing to sell,¡± Julia said, ¡°one to amplify fire forms, and two for utility.¡± ¡°What are you after?¡± ¡°Just coin unless you have some wizard grimoires about.¡± ¡°It depends on what you need. I might know someone.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s sort out a price for these first,¡± said Julia, needing to know what cost she could handle. ((Careful with your deals. )) Everything around this place can have more than one cost.
A half-cycle later and all the catalyst stones spent found Julia back at the Treasury. However, it was time well used from her perspective with acquiring a grimoire of attack and protection spells. Analysis had let her check through the ones on offer and skip those with corrupt or dangerous spell forms. Some grimoires felt a test, or trap rather than anything else, with strands around one having both Mana and Danger Sense yelling don¡¯t touch. The wizard¡¯s offer to take her as an apprentice after she¡¯d kept hands away was a concern, not flattering. That whole emphasis on the take wasn¡¯t so much innuendo as fuck you right now o. At least I¡¯ll be able to learn more spell forms, and they handle various affinities. The way they¡¯d both played word games had levelled sense motive and haggling. As the door shut behind, Julia was sure the Hag was the same as twelve bells ago. A quick check on Analysis confirmed the name. ¡°Come right through. She¡¯ll see you right away,¡± Uelian¡¯ghi said. The hag moved towards the gate, ignoring a book that spilled to the floor. ¡°How do you know it''s me she¡¯s expecting?¡± Julia asked, not being able to resist yanking the hag¡¯s leg. ¡°I thought so many people asked to see her.¡± ¡°You were travelling with L¨ºdhins,¡± said Uelian¡¯ghi. ¡°Who?¡± Julia asked, eyes wide with mock confusion. ¡°Get inside the gate so that I can secure it again. The wards recognised your arrival,¡± ¡°Were you supposed to let me know that?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Now!¡± Come into my parlour said the spider to the fly. Julia tried to keep a straight face while venturing through the gate. Though at least Uelian¡¯ghi didn¡¯t push her through the stone in the archway and opened it instead. When they tried continually to walk behind Julia, it made the skin between her wings itch. {{Someone¡¯s annoyed grandma. Oh, yes, they have! }} ((Careful. Being in a pincer with two Hag would be bad. )) How do you tell if you¡¯re in trouble with a Hag? Why ever would you think you¡¯re not? No point in giving the eyes away since they just look like lumps Julia stopped, stepping to one side of the corridor as she did. ¡°I¡¯ll walk beside you, but you¡¯re not walking at my back,¡± Julia said, facing the hag. ¡°She¡¯s waiting for you. Keep moving.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one holding things up. Walk beside me, and we¡¯ll move on, or let me out the gate.¡± Julia said, turning as if ready to leave. ¡°Fine,¡± said Uelian¡¯ghi, biting off the words even as they shuffled forward. She¡¯s in the doghouse. I¡¯d better watch myself with her. ¡°I told you to send her through, not slow arse walk her here. Now get back to the store,¡± Usd¡¯ghi called. The words came booming up the corridor unnaturally loud before they¡¯d gotten much further. {{So there! }} Julia¡¯s escort snarled something under her breath before turning to go. Not wanting to annoy either, Julia hastened forward, ignoring the urge to take a verbal poke. ¡°Come in, J, come in,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, from inside the same office as before when Julia got close. Already in its web, I doubt I can get out through the wards they have here. Mentally shrugging, Julia walked through the office doors to find Usd¡¯ghi seated in the same chair as last time. ¡°Sit down, youngling. A fresh face you¡¯ve got there. Surprised to see you back so soon, did things not go well?¡± It feels like my early arrival wasn¡¯t part of the plan. Or at least not this soon? Julia moved to an ordinary chair and let her wings vanish before sitting. ¡°I just returned via a passageway, not a planar portal. Subtle differences and all that,¡± Usd¡¯ghi just smiled before asking, ¡°So where did you get separated from L¨ºdhins?¡± ¡°He told me to meet with him in Ro?ercev. A path through the Necropolis was a shortcut there,¡± Julia said. Though watching Usd¡¯ghi for reactions, Julia doubted she¡¯d read much from her. ¡°Yet you¡¯re here instead of heading to Ro?ercev. Now, why is that?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi. Was that an amused twitch? ¡°I picked up a few things, and we have an agreement about damned Souls I harvest,¡± said Julia, not mentioning yet someone cursed them. Usd¡¯ghi''s toothless smile was broad and far from pretty, the red stars in hollowed eyes gleaming brighter as she did. ¡°Oh, a hundred-odd or so to process I take it,¡± ¡°I¡¯ve far more than a hundred,¡± Julia said, keeping the calmness of the Ki washing through her voice. So yes, my attempts at evasion didn¡¯t work at all. ¡°What did you have to put down to gather that many? He best not have pointed you through the Fields of Persecution,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°What are those?¡± Julia asked, trying to keep her immediate suspicions to herself. ¡°You¡¯d know it if you saw it. It¡¯s filled with undead from mortals snuffing out their kind. Mass graves, skull mounds, delicious spirits of suffering,¡± Usd¡¯ghi explained. Oh yeah, he so did. Fucking hell. {{Can he go on the kill list? Though fuck him first, so large would be filling. }} ((How far gone is he now? )) ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve been there. Did you find them tough to deal with?¡± asked Julia. ¡°All those Souls bound by the hatred of others are quite the handful,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. ¡°Well, I don''t know the name of the path I went through. I¡¯d like to discuss some equipment, once these Souls get processed,¡± ¡°So J, what sort of gear are you after?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°Perhaps use Viper, since the Order knows me as J,¡± said Julia. ¡°You¡¯re going to use that name L¨ºdhins poked you with?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi, an eye ridge raised above the hollow ¡°For now, its safer,¡± Julia said, shrugging. ¡°Right, show me what you¡¯ve got,¡± When Julia drew the Ki from the Souls, they didn¡¯t scream; they sang. The sound filled with a lament of loss and agony suffered, so different from the Slavers'' screams. Usd¡¯ghi''s lips twitched into a frown as the sound cut off her amusement. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard the like before. Wait here, I¡¯ll be right back,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. The hag moved with far more energy than the shuffling gait of her younger kin. Indeed, it didn¡¯t take her long to come back with the transparent container similar to the first Julia had seen. The glass cube with the bubble on its side even looked like the same one. ¡°Just release one or two into this,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, holding the green bubble close to Julia, ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if the processing will even work.¡± With the Ki already withdrawn, Julia drew back Heat from her fingers after placing a hand inside. However, unlike the other Souls, who had fled, these didn¡¯t want to leave. Mentally Julia had to tease one out. The Soul hovered within, not showing the colours apparent with the slavers. A blank coin leeched the colour out of Soul, the metal quickly showing a shade she¡¯d not seen before now. A dark purple coin, which, when lifted, showed a skull embossed across the front of it. ¡°This is new,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, touching the coin to her tongue, ¡°Tastes of sorrow and agony, not a currency I¡¯ve seen in circulation. The processing normally extracts corrupted mortal emotions, nothing so sweet.¡± ¡°So how much would they be worth?¡± ¡°Personally, each is worth far more than the pure nights you gained last time; more collector items than currency or for large exchanges. Those were the cleanest obsidian coins I¡¯d seen in scores of mortal years,¡± ¡°Only temporarily gained, considering the cost of the amulet,¡± said Julia. ¡°You got a bargain,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, setting the container down on her desk. ¡°Now, how many Souls do you have within your lush body?¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. {{Oh, she thinks this form lush. }} Waiting till Usd¡¯ghi was looking in her direction before speaking. ¡°I¡¯ve got fifteen hundred and ninety-nine,¡± Julia said. The flicker of surprise and greed on her features was clear even to Julia¡¯s perception. [Perception [J] (9->10) Sense Motive [Ap] (5->6)] ¡°Well,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi before returning to her seat. ¡°Still them while we talk.¡± Julia let the Ki enfold the Souls, and they seemed to welcome its return. ¡°I agreed to sell you the Souls, but we still need to discuss prices,¡± ¡°Do we?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi, lips twitching upwards in apparent amusement. ¡°Yes, considering what these will fetch when taken to the grey fields,¡± said Julia, the words gaining a raised eyebrow. ¡°L¨ºdhins, it seems, has been sharing things with you he shouldn¡¯t,¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to discuss that with him. I helped get the shipment back. Then he took me along for the ride since his item doesn¡¯t bring him back precisely,¡± ¡°That was an additional job I sent him a message about; your help wasn¡¯t part of the fee for it,¡± ¡°I did a lot more than just assist. I snuck in and stole the shipment before we started purging them,¡± Julia said. ¡°You¡¯ll have to discuss that with him. Tell me what you are after,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. Oh, burn, Fine, use my words against me. ((As they always will. )) ¡°What and give away my end goals?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Youngling with what you desire done to that Order, it would surprise me if we don¡¯t have common ground.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Julia What does she know and how? ¡°You offered information so freely. With your choice of words, I know you¡¯d like to see the place razed to the ground. Naz¡¯rilca can¡¯t even say I didn¡¯t warn her. My Seer rubbish gave her a warning long before she joined. The serene bitch has had her nose in other¡¯s plans for far too long.¡± ¡°You might have sharp ears,¡± ¡°Sharp ears and sharper eyes,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her amusement clear. ¡°What does the world look like to you, Usd¡¯ghi? To me, your eyes look strange,¡± ¡°We see through the mists; some of us see better than others,¡± ¡°Why the interest in a youngling?¡± ¡°Youngling, you¡¯re not even a yearling. You¡¯re a mere chick who climbed from her nest instead of flew. Until you have a way to hide how your power grows, steer well clear of the Order¡¯s lairs. I see the mists of power and time. For many, the veils of mist blur around meaningless choices, but with some, they burn. Those I can see what choice they might take, by the vapours their intentions push ahead of them. Few, so very few their arrival is a signal flare then the mists enclose them tight, and hide them from sight.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. As Julia went to speak again, Usd¡¯ghi waved for silence. How much does she know? ¡°You had a steel will when you left here with L¨ºdhins, and already it has become more. So I¡¯ll speak clearly, well as clearly as is safe for us both. Since there is nearly a half-century of energy that wasn¡¯t in your form even forty cycles ago, but I feel it burning. When I look at you, I see the signal flare of your arrival from rock instead of sky, burning the mists around. I see you born of the Abyss, not a damned Soul becoming greater. I want you to burn the feathers from a bird who has flown to places it doesn¡¯t belong, raze its nests, and grind its bones into the dust of time. And if you fail, I¡¯m sure there will be another in time, but I¡¯ve waited for enough eons not to at least try with you.¡± Born of the Abyss, so she doesn''t know the most dangerous thing. ¡°That¡¯s clear?¡± Julia asked, noting all the unanswered questions that left. ¡°As clear as you¡¯ll ever get,¡± ¡°I need a few things,¡± said Julia, not sure where to start on the list that had been assembling in her mind. ¡°I¡¯m sure more than a few things Viper.¡± ¡°A few for now,¡± Julia said. ¡°Let¡¯s write up your wish list, then shall we. See how much you can afford this once done,¡± ¡°After you pay my share of the grey fields reward,¡± ¡°Is that right?¡± ¡°You said you wanted to try at least,¡± ¡°That¡¯s personal. This is business,¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure for you business and personal aren¡¯t far apart, Matron Usd¡¯ghi. For who else can provide you with these sorts of Souls?¡± ¡°Caravans cost me regardless. I need to cover their overhead,¡± countered Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°I want a device to shift between planes. I could take them there for you, save you caravan costs, risks, and the rest,¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be hanging around to be at my beck and call, even if you had one. Five percent if you bring me at least four harvests like this every three hundred cycles,¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t wait for all your caravans, just these shipments. Since I¡¯m bringing them back, I¡¯ll know when to hang around for their processing. Though how much time and mana is used, turning them into gems for transport?¡± ¡°A bit. Why?¡± Let¡¯s see if this works since I had to get them to leave instead of willingly fleeing from me. Julia got up and put her hand back inside the container. The moment she withdrew the Heat from her fingers, the Soul returned into her form. Then she mentally asked another to leave for a time, and the container filled again. ¡°I can carry them as they are. I could save you that time,¡± said Julia. Picking some coin blanks from the desk, she set them into the processing space on the container. ¡°By all the unholy, you are unique little reaper. Yet the servants assess them as Souls gems,¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be able to assess them as Souls as easily; they see much. The only issue might be the patrols, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯d hear their lament. I guess I could just find my way there. Since if I¡¯m not ¡®selling¡¯ them to anyone for processing, I wouldn¡¯t be breaking our agreement,¡± This is going to be a long, haggling session. ¡°Strong arse will you have. You¡¯re going to be a pain in my cunt for a youngling.¡± ¡°Some folks enjoy that. I¡¯m bringing in a new product. Why should the old arrangement be a constraint? Yet I¡¯m bringing it to you. This isn¡¯t a harvest of damned Souls; they¡¯re cursed. Plus, a business side to your personal matter. I¡¯m sure the covens could use the resources spent dealing with one ¡®competitor¡¯ for many other things.¡± When Usd¡¯ghi started laughing, Julia wasn¡¯t sure if it was a better idea to run or laugh along. ¡°But you¡¯re right, forty percent I was too generous; five percent is fine for your share,¡± Julia said, and Usd¡¯ghi just laughed harder still. It was bells before they completed the haggling. Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s delight in the process was obvious to Julia. So clearly, it had been dragging it out for fun yet still slowly gave ground. The final split was more than Julia hoped, but she was sure far less than Usd¡¯ghi would have considered acceptable. With Julia getting a twenty percent share of the payment for any shipments she transferred to Judgement and fifteen percent if they went via a regular caravan. A gambit with the brothel in Z?hma hadn¡¯t even drawn a ripple, though Julia had found out the Covens were already dealing with it. That had been a whole separate haggling session of its own. While she would get a percentage of earnings, it added future to-do activities on Julia¡¯s plan, with Usd¡¯ghi wanting her to set up more of them within Tern¨°x. The consideration of having more sources for information appealing to her greed. ¡°L¨ºdhins said my questions would be too apparent till I learn to hide my goals. Yet we share common goals.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can work out prices for information,¡± ¡°There you go, that even proves his point. Now about the equipment wish list, along with a device to shift between planes; I¡¯ll need something to stop enemies teleporting, changing shape or shifting planes. Some items for personal protection and something to record where I¡¯ve been. The stupid order frequently crawls over my skin when I walk past tunnels,¡± ¡°Anchoring magics can be tricky, but I know an enchanter that can make them, though cost depends on what needs holding. Recording passageways, I have something for that. I took it from a fiend that should have made sure not to get lost. We made sure it got home fast. Personal protection is a popular request; we¡¯ll just have to see how many coins you have to splurge. As two of your four requests are costly items,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t need them all at once. The device for shifting planes and recording pathways are my initial priorities,¡± said Julia. ¡°Let¡¯s sort out processing these Souls then. That way, we can see what you have to work with,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, putting a flask she had been sipping from away. ¡°This is going to take a while, given you only have three large containers,¡± said Julia ¡°The sooner we start, the quicker its done, and we can get the payment,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said and was quickly in motion. Julia followed her to where the large containers waited. It had taken cycles by the time they processed all of them, and Usd¡¯ghi was practically rubbing her hands in glee. The time taken had given Julia a chance to study the grimoire, though with no completed progress so far. It also left her richer by one disturbing planar conduit, the fiend¡¯s recording device, along with stacks of pure night coins since the new were so valuable. Though unfortunately, both items had their drawbacks and oddities. In appearance, the conduit was an organic rod that shone in even the dullest of light. A tacky fluid coated its lumpy exterior. It was so reflective that whenever it wiggled, and it did, even a faint light flickered about the place. Its fluid carried a sharp, salty odour as if it was fresh and alive from a dark sea. While it would open a passageway between planes, anything could follow her through till it closed. The further differing the planes, the longer the passageway would become, a literal hole burrowed through reality. If there were anything within the passageway, the magic wouldn¡¯t allow for it to be closed. The recording device was a featureless metallic cube; that would randomly crackle against the closest flesh and emitted the metallic scent of ozone as it did. It couldn¡¯t work from any dimensional storage, so it would always be a risk while recording to alert anything nearby of its presence. Touching it allowed Julia to bring up and examine mental images of places she¡¯d been while carrying it. A magical VR walkthrough included the entities and smells that had been present at the time of passage, as unfortunate as some of those could be.
When the device opened the passage, it seemed as organic as the object used to bring it forth. The conduit rod appeared to burrow into empty air, and after a few moments, a sphincter bulged open, revealing a passage beyond. Though the interior of it, fortunately, didn¡¯t leak fluids. It had the same tacky look and irregular folds as the rod itself, just inverted. Julia was glad it was big enough to fly through, even with walls undulating and pulsing disturbingly close, as they weren¡¯t something she wanted to touch. Seriously, if this is someone''s idea of a prank, I¡¯m going to bitch slap them. Climbing up through its fucking arse. This is gross, even if I¡¯ve seen worse. A relieved Julia exited out onto the grey fields with the same white clouds. Gingerly touching the passageway''s rim, using the command word again, returned it to the strange rod. With it placed back in the inventory, Julia looked around, peering through the mist. With no sign of any patrols nearby to ask questions, the Ki withdrew from the Souls. Their song differed from within the Abyss instead of a lament; it sounded light and joyous, as they sense their safety was close. Their singing had barely started when the Titan¡¯s servant was suddenly there in front of her. The mist pushed away by its presence cleared space appeared all around them. ¡°Welcome, Viper, you have returned sooner than expected,¡± the Servant said simply, without even a pause after its arrival. ¡°Julia,¡± said Julia in English, not wanting to use an Abyssal name in this place. ¡°As you wish, we hear the Souls. The reward is being prepared,¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t take long to assess them,¡± ¡°You brought many. When they sing out in such a way, they make the forge echo. It becomes a simple matter to assess them.¡± ¡°The Titan is a music fan?¡° Julia asked, disbelief lacing her voice. ¡°He is a fan of many creative things,¡± ¡°And people that like to destroy others?¡± asked Julia, her voice level and calm under the Ki, as it kept the edges of the words sheathed. ¡°No, he isn¡¯t a fan of pettiness or those that overstep. Such earns its own reward,¡± ¡°So did the one who cursed me did count as having overstepped?¡± asked Julia ¡°Greatly. He received judgement and reward for the ill deeds against Father¡¯s blessing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re chatty, given the way you shut me down last time,¡± ¡°There were many reasons,¡± the Servant simply replied, its tone as unchanging as any other statement. ¡°Why did the Titan owe him a debt in the first place?¡± ¡°They were a descendant of the Titan¡¯s child. They had used their abilities to wander about in far places. When there instead of using a token of the Titan to return home or ask for aid. The child stayed with the one they loved. Their children inherited the means to request the Titan¡¯s aid. It came to that one after many of your years. They misused it, and it will not suffer misuse again,¡± ¡°What did you mean by three within three?¡± ¡°Do you acknowledge debt with the Titan?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± I don¡¯t see how I owe it for making me into this thing. ¡°Then, I can not answer. Your own choices will need to gain you that information. Your reward will be here shortly,¡± ¡°You answered about him,¡± said Julia, hoping to determine why. ¡°They''ve made all their choices. Judgement was complete and final. Others still have choices to make, as you do. That¡¯s an ability he left you, the ability to still choose your path; you would find being here unpleasant without it.¡± Yeah, okay, so Harem slut wishing I was dead, or just not caring at all. ¡°So there are more from his misdeeds,¡± Julia stated. ¡°I have said all I can say. There were three within three,¡± So there was at least another. ¡°How can I earn credit with the Titan?¡± Julia asked, the Ki drifting through her, easily keeping frustration at bay. It¡¯s answering. Maybe I can learn more information each time, vague as some of it is. ¡°The Titan likes to make; he doesn''t enjoy the work involved in rebuilding. No matter how the lost sadden him,¡± No recycling merit badge for him then. ¡°Where is the one who sent me here?¡± ¡°His path has ended. They look up at where your path started, as they will till time¡¯s end,¡± the Servant¡¯s voice echoed out as it faded, and the crates appeared. Julia felt the Heat of her form brushed gently aside by a massive hand. As the first Soul streamed forth, Julia focused to draw more Heat aside to let them free sooner. With her attention focused on holding the Heat open, the foreign touch withdrew. What was that? Yeah, let¡¯s not go there. Are they on those blood plains? Holy Fuck! Take the crates back first, and then a side trip before the Necropolis or Tern¨°x? Maybe. Working through the stacks of crates, she placed them in the storage bag that Usd¡¯ghi had provided. Since the total payment for the Souls would require tallying before they credited her share. Still, Julia prepared a running total while storing them away, tracking the information so much easier than when mortal. Since they marked each crate with its contents on the side, she didn¡¯t even need to crack them open. Ingots, pouches of materials, spindles of special threads, and much more besides.
It wasn¡¯t till they¡¯d packed away the last of the crates that Usd¡¯ghi said anything other than direction and counting. ¡°Plan to meet up with L¨ºdhins?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked. ¡°No plans to do so at all. You can let him know that.¡± Julia replied. ¡°I paid him for protecting and training you,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°Not sure that would work well. Our view on things clash,¡± said Julia. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°He feels Succubus are for fucking, and I lust for power. Not for letting him or anyone power away between my legs,¡± said Julia. An accurate enough statement, I want power enough to choose my path, have control and break free from this state. It¡¯s the only thing I want from any of this. {{Power, that we can agree on. }} ((Be careful you don¡¯t get what you wish for, child. )) ¡°Very well, there are things he can do to make up for the payment he¡¯s received. You only need to deliver two shipments per three hundred cycles though, to maintain your share.¡± ¡°Would you object to more than the minimum?¡± Julia asked, ¡°We can always count it as me delivering on my obligations early, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep proper accounting. So I¡¯ll have your share of this stored for you,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, nodding in emphasis, not bothering to keep the smile from her face. ¡°I¡¯ve got some serious personal expenses for which I¡¯ll need to build up coins, now don¡¯t I,¡± Julia said. ¡°Some enchantments cost more than coins,¡± Someone takes them down, and all they hold secure for others would disappear. Wonder how much leverage that gives them. Baln¨¦rith never transformed into a Succubus. She¡¯s a fallen archangel who looks like whatever she wants. Nice of the Celestials not making that clear. I¡¯m going to need heavy duty gear to pin her in place. 50 - Shes so mean Greater Teleport placed Julia near the crevice that held the Necropolis¡¯ exit. Yet it wasn¡¯t the end goal; instead, she hoped to stay clear of prying eyes. Telepathy¡¯s net found no one nearby, and Julia activated the conduit rod. Its command phrasing targeting Culerzic was the only control she had. While it wouldn¡¯t open within a solid object or a shielded location, it otherwise connected two planes with no guidance possible. The conduit trip was off-putting, but at least uneventful, and Julia found herself on the edge of a strange orchard. Fat, bloated trees were somehow flourishing in barren soil, ladened with fruit. Yet the ground so dry even the slightest breeze lifted dust in its wake. Large gaping cracks crisscrossed the arid landscape around the trees. Their very existence brought into being by the absence of anything else alive. Touch and the command word returned the conduit rod to her grasp. She was quick in storing the thing away, even as it tried to twist towards her hand. Julia let the dry air leech the fluid that remained in its wake from her fingers. Meanwhile, Analysis provided information on the fruit that hung from the bloated trees nearby. [Famine Fruit: These ripe fruit taste of blighted earth, dust ladened and crammed with the taste of desiccated flesh] I bet Demons likely think it¡¯s another treat. Time to see who paid the piper. With the memory of the stone ledge underfoot, foul-smelling air, and the screaming Souls about her, Julia willed Greater Teleport to shift her. Then it was suddenly a reality, and that sickening breeze was rubbing against her skin again. Julia felt as repulsed as when she¡¯d first arrived, yet oddly shielded from the shock of its appearance. For its scale, it was still one of the most horrific things she¡¯d seen. Yet, it could no longer make her mind reel or draw her into its grasp. Though it wasn¡¯t comfortable and remained repulsive, Julia felt her mind and will take it in stride. Not cut off in shock, just able to deal with the landscape laid out in all its horror. The spikes were stretching out from the blood fields, and their screaming sounded the same. Yet now felt as if mere background noise hissing against her awareness. When she looked over the closest spikes, it was obvious which one the servant had meant. Flight carried Julia from the ledge, and with wings idly trailing behind, she drifted downwards. A dretch close to her goal fell to its knees under the pressure of Dominion¡¯s aura. It didn¡¯t warrant attention from her, though, even as it grunted out its desire to serve. The simple words it managed in Abyssal, making no impression as her eyes took in the form ahead. Where other husks appeared as mortal flesh, there was now among them a moulted male who varied in colour like foundry slag. Its screaming movements and pain-filled eyes the only sign that it was once human. A maze symbol stood out embossed on its chest. Yet this puzzle was a trap as Julia¡¯s eyes found no exit, unlike any puzzle book. The circle¡¯s edge completely sealed and raised far higher than the rest. Its details were as fine as capillaries, and through sharpened corners, the energy within flowed. A spot of light started down the spike''s shaft while Julia tried to recognise the husk''s face. Its presence reminded her that within the distorted flesh was a Soul. ¡°I don¡¯t even recognise you!¡± {{Hurt him, he hurt us!!}} The pain in its eyes bulged greater at her words as if it had gained a horrified understanding. The truth of them and her confusion amplifying every pain it felt. With her attention focused on it alone, she activated Soul Sight and looked. Even buffered by the Ki, scream and motion came as one, and clawed thumbs buried in its eyes. Aware, it could feel every moment as she dug within its skull. Yet its torment only amplified by what Julia could see within its Soul. ¡°You sent them as well! You sick maggot, I didn¡¯t know your fucking name. Even with looking into your Soul, it doesn¡¯t ring a bell. I know it from your Soul, yet never heard it from you. What was the most you said? Here¡¯s your order. Would I like salt? How did that make me yours?¡± asked Julia. Her words hissed low and cold in Abyssal, reluctant to use English with so many ears about. Yet as she vented, it was clear they knew everything Julia said. ¡°So he let you know how little you meant, and this language. I can¡¯t even remember you saying Hi. Yet you thought I was yours. If I was a prostitute, it wasn¡¯t your right to judge. It would have been my choice, not yours. So you¡¯ve had your fun; I hope it was worth the rest of time.¡± {{What more can we do to them? At least the words make him hurt.}} With a twist, she pulled claws from the ruined sockets of the husk¡¯s eyes and watched them regrow. After a glance at her blood and gore-soaked fingers, a hand lashed out and twisted low. The scream changed in pitch as she acted, and a pincer snapped shut. Then it gagged as Julia shoved the husk¡¯s dick into its screaming maw. A hunk of flesh wedged deep into its throat as the husk regrew its loss. {{We can do that! Rip it off again!}} ¡°You hurt them as well. So choke on this for now. I¡¯ll come back to make sure you¡¯ve not lost it. Now you can¡¯t even scream properly. You are a muffled piece of snot. Blades of your vileness twisting through your guts and lungs. Have fun wiggling on those. You called me a Succubus with your desires, but what did you do to them?¡± They¡¯ll only tell you what will hurt you. L¨ºdhins warned me. So Sarah¡¯s chained in hell and no idea what fate his words would have gotten Rach. Feel the arrows of the Erinyes¡¯ wrath doesn¡¯t sound good at all. I know the greek powers are here. What can I do if those sick fucks have their hands on my friend? How is this right? It would have been her wedding soon. ¡°So you get to feel every bit of pain we do. Guess I¡¯m going to have to find plenty of fights. You know who¡¯s talking to you, don¡¯t you.¡± said Julia, nodding at the acknowledgement from eyes and Soul. ¡°You¡¯re paying his price. I¡¯ll claim my pound of flesh from you yet, and I¡¯ll claim payment for the others. I will need some research into how. But I don¡¯t even have to worry about you going insane. Very ironic that it¡¯s my Will that keeps you sane now, considering all that¡¯s happened. That¡¯s only a hint of what you deserve. I¡¯m never going to give in. You will know every agony I can ensure you feel.¡± ((Don¡¯t damage yourself to achieve vengeance on one already suffering their fate. )) With the beat of wings audible over the closest screams, Julia didn¡¯t even look around. Focused will and power took her away to nominal safety. The scoured familiar rock suddenly underfoot, with her gaze directed out over the cloud bank below. Pity he missed out on all the fun climbing up here. There are colours I didn¡¯t play with last time. Will that bring him more pain than his current impalement? Though pushing my safety to rush payback isn¡¯t smart. Need to be doing something other than worrying about safe words J. There are Souls I can help at least. So the Necropolis or the Night elves. Which first? As a random thought came to mind, Julia shrugged and withdrew a purple skull coin from her inventory. {{Tails, we find someone to fuck!!!}} I¡¯ll be spending time in both. So Skull for Necropolis, crest Tern¨°x. When the coin flip provided her with the crest, it disappeared away. A short time later, Julia stood within a stone passage with the weight of Tern¨°x all about. The passage turned, became a dead-end in one direction and a sealed cave in the other. The sheer randomness of the conduit not having delivered Julia somewhere useful for travelling. Ironically, it had provided her something unique, a place offering a slight measure of security. While someone else could still find this cave, maybe I can use it for a retreat and storing replaceable gear here. I¡¯m hard to scry, so if I learn enough to set wards, I can make it even safer. Not exactly home among the gum trees, but it¡¯s something. ¡°I met a strange lady, she made me nervous. Sounds like my life now; even the band name matches,¡± Julia said. The words echoed back to her from the uncaring stone. Eyes taking in the empty cave illuminated by the glowing fungi clinging to the one wall, ¡°Just add more grimoires to the list of stuff I need.¡± In an empty spot near the cave wall, Julia started carving a pattern into the stone. When the interlocking S, R, J were clear on the rock, Julia knelt and let the sense of surrounding stone seep into her through Harmony. Eventually, it linked thoroughly with the cave''s essence, and a notification pinged against her awareness. [Earth Mana Affinity Unlocked!] Guess I¡¯ve ended up with a Succubus cave. Still, it¡¯s cleaner than Dad¡¯s man cave. I should take advantage of this find since I needed to take some time out to study. With the fungi providing light, Julia set to investigating the grimoire. Flight settled her in the air with far more comfort than any lounge. Cycles passed quickly, piecing together the grimoire¡¯s instructions, mingling with martial arts sessions as Julia considered battle¡¯s lessons. The grimoire itself was only sufficient because of Yngvarr¡¯s previous instructions in mana flows. Even then, Julia resorted to spending what knowledge points she had into the arcane to avoid misunderstanding. However, that rush of knowledge also required time spent in understanding what she''d gained. When battered terrain about the grotto attested to sufficient proficiency, Julia figured she¡¯d delayed long enough. While it was tempting to learn more, she needed to get actual practice in the learnt spells. [Shock Bolt: Causes a bolt of electrical energy to erupt from the caster¡¯s hand. This unguided attack travels in a direct line and will cause damage to a single target. ] [Shield: Creates a round shield capable of deflecting physical attacks under the guidance of the caster¡¯s mind. Opponents take no damage from merely coming into contact with the shield.] [Spike: This spell causes an energy spike to stab out up to four metres from the surface targeted during the casting. They can cause it to activate immediately, after elapsed time, or by an event. (presence of fire, movement of an object). Total wait time allowed for a spike spell depends on the caster¡¯s proficiency.] [Lightning Bolt: Causes a surge of energy to erupt from the caster¡¯s hand. The bolt will travel onwards in a straight line unless earthed out and will damage all entities along or near its course. The caster¡¯s proficiency determines the bolt''s length and damage sustained. The maximum range is thirty metres.] [Shock Blast: Causes an electrical blast to radiate out five metres from a targeted location. Placement range and damage depend on the caster¡¯s proficiency.] [Spirit Barrier: Erects a barrier against incorporeal foes. The barrier works most efficiently when the affinity of the Mana opposes the entity. It causes no damage this form only holds foes at bay. The shield¡¯s duration depends on the caster¡¯s proficiency.] [Slow: Applies a temporal delay into the target¡¯s physical perceptions. This leaves the subject vulnerable, subject to disorientation, and with slowed reactions.] Tones of pure sweetness were echoing through the cavern when Julia appeared within it. The song¡¯s every note now reverberated energy through the cavern. Even with the song stronger, Julia could see the Elven Souls'' shadows within the rock hadn¡¯t faded. When her shadow touched against the first, the gestation process triggered. The pace of distortion unaffected by the song''s strength as the forces twisted and moulded the Soul present. With sharp steps, Julia backed away from the rock face and started casting. With each casting improving the last, she set Jade and Primordial Mana''s spikes between her and it. As the womb broke open, it leapt forward towards her; and the spikes triggered, stabbing deep into its form. Before it landed, a mass of earthen energy smashed it against the back wall of its womb. Earth Mana merged into Lightning Bolt became a torrent of energised stone that it couldn¡¯t avoid in mid-air. Its shoulder looked broken when it rose again, and power had cut channels in its torso and legs. Yet still, it dashed towards Julia, despite the injuries. Slow greeted it when the distance closed, the effect of the spell apparent in its broken grace. Julia stepped inside its flailing strikes. Its twisting blades glanced off Ki Armour¡¯s aura. In reply a flurry of Ki Strikes backed by Energy Drain¡¯s blackness caved in its warped chest. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Nox Echo x1 Killing blows: 1 You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Solo kills: 1 Exp Gained: 2,250 The defeat of entity one Tier higher: 450 Total: 2,700 Demonic Shards Gained: 1 Experience distributed between classes: Blood Monk : +840 Wizard: +1,620 Succubus: +240 Spike (1->11) Lightning Bolt (1->2) Slow (1->2) Ki Armour (1->2)] Their song rose in triumph and greeting as the golden Soul raced deeper into the grotto. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening with my friends yet. So I¡¯ll help as many of you back to your Kin as I can; while I figure out what I can do. So assassin doesn¡¯t level cause I just want to set them free? Soul Sight guided her to the next form, and Julia observed its form distort and flesh filled out. The distraction of adjusting the profile¡¯s feedback far too little to avoid understanding. Aware of its empty hollowed sockets still filled with hate, as its womb ruptured and it launched to attack. Ki Armour rippled Ki¡¯s heated veneer across her form, and spectral flames licked at the surrounding air. Blades twisted and stabbed towards flesh, but Julia found it slower compared to the first fight. As Julia¡¯s replies cracked its organic armour before Danger Sense rang out. Teleport carrying her away as another leapt across the distance towards the pair. As they fought, the sound of other wombs rupturing rumbled through the air. Dominion is still active, silly. As they untangled themselves, J stepped in and buried rabbit punches in the second¡¯s ribs. The Ki and blackness broke through protection and bone. With the Nox already pressed against each other, Julia kept the pressure on with further blows. They struggled awkwardly, trying to get clear of each other. Still, barbed legs raked and thrashed, breaching Ki Armour with forceful kicks. While Julia kept in motion, and attacks tried to keep them tangled together. They twisted and turned against her in return. When they separated and lashed kicks from different angles; Julia dropped and spun, pivoting on a braced arm as a spinning leg sweep impacted each. The Nox¡¯s spiked feet anchored deep enough that there was no give to let legs flex; instead, they broke. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Nox Echo x2 Demonic Shards Gained: 2 Total-experience distributed between classes: 5,540 Blood Monk : +5,130 Succubus: +410 Ki Armour (2->12) Dominion [Ap](17->18)] The crippled foes had proved easy enough to finish. Though more Nox seemed cooked sufficiently to join in, they¡¯d held back concealed from sight. What is the deal with these things? They just take their own sweet time unless they can directly see me. With a trip spell loaded with Jade Court Mana, Julia threw it toward a distant opening. The foe within dashing forward even as the spell landed. Its momentum sent it sprawling, yet when it regained its footing, it charged. The motion turning into a broken field run as it dodged one shock bolt and then another. Its course took it past other unresponsive openings before Julia cut loose. The Jade Court charged Shock Blast was a siren¡¯s call to all it touched. Their flesh and the stone about them awash with smoke from the energy¡¯s touch, four others joined the assault. Hi boys and girls. Is it playtime? With attention to the leading Nox, Julia pushed stimulation to share the same flaying experience with it. [Stimulation Success boosted by Dominion Willpower 52 vs 42 Level Totals: 70 vs 40 Stimulation[B](18 -> 19)] In reply, its wordless groan was equal parts of pleasure to pain, and it ran faster still. Kinky bastard! Julia reinforced the fading Ki Armour and set its flames flickering to life again as it leapt forwards. It was close to landing when her front kick hammered into its chest. Transformed hands stabbed for flesh even as Julia¡¯s kick stopped it cold. The impact from the momentum and the kick echoed through them both. A palm block against its forearm deflected a rushed stab. Julia turned with the motion and shifted position with it. The Nox turned to stab again, and Julia slipped low. With its twisting blade sliding along her face, Julia¡¯s punch drove its turning knee to lock and break. Support for its turn gone, it fell forward into her rising elbow strike: Force and its momentum combined to snap its neck. The Soul fled for the depths with a look of grief towards the others. Don¡¯t worry, mate. They''ll be with you soon. Skills level best when challenged. Five on one, well, are four on one enough? Or do I need more? When the closest leapt, Julia crouched and sprang. Its face thudded against her foot. The full force of the rising front kick and its jump clashed to crush bone. Blackness drinking as it fell. Yet lifeless blades still sought flesh. Teleport cleared her from the tangle, and Julia landed back past the dead. Settling in a back stance, she waited, watching their anger change to caution. Critical hit cockpit, mech disabled. Okay, three on one, but they¡¯re taking things seriously now. What is it with the leaping shit they do? They can¡¯t wait, so it goes kill kitty kill? With glances exchanged, the three spread out. Two flanked her as the middle strode forward with their liquid grace. Julia settled into Battle Trance and waited for the dance to start. When they came, it was in a flurry. Blades and their anger-filled motions cut the air. Julia¡¯s movement flowed with their own, surrendering unneeded ground to the momentum of their rage. Palm blocks deflecting their blows aside, and every contact let blackness drink. Their blades, twisting for her flesh, slid along Ki¡¯s veneer of flames. Dominion¡¯s aura taunting them; they gave no heed to danger. With Battle Trance aware of Energy Drain¡¯s successes. Their every attack turned against them. Blades slid across her Ki Armour while blocks let the blackness drink repeatedly. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- Nox Echo x5. Demonic Shards Gained: 5. Total-experience distributed between classes: 13,850. Blood Monk : +7,790. Wizard: +2,050. Succubus: +4,010. Shock Blast (1->2). Ki Armour (12) -> [B](5). Ki Infusion [Ap](28 -> 30). Dominion [Ap](18->19). Energy Drain [J](9->10).] In the end, Julia bowed respectfully to the three golden Souls. Their motions hesitant, yet they spread arms and hands to her in return¡ªthe simple gesture filled with a peaceful, ethereal grace. Sadness and thanks shone in their glowing eyes before they fled. I wonder if they¡¯d move as gracefully in the flesh as they do as Souls? It makes the Nox¡¯s grace look like nothing. Now I want to spar with a living Night Elf deeper in this place. I¡¯m sure I¡¯d learn so much. Well, three of them didn¡¯t challenge Battle Trance enough for an insight. Let¡¯s see what I need. Julia''s smile widened with a look at the curving wall and the shadows ahead, and Ki Movement sped her steps. Eyes taking in every prisoner''s twisting as the aura woke it, she ran. With so many taunted and prepared, Julia¡¯s Teleport returned her to the start. Ruptured holes in the rock waited for her in so many places. Shock blast called the beginning, and as the Nox came forth, another shot out, beckoning more to join. You are a cray-cray girl. The song swelled greater still, with each Nox destroyed. Wafting scents of crisp night air and blooming flowers pushed back against the stagnant oppression of the earth. At first, with minor changes, and then greater strides, it crested the crater¡¯s outer ridgeline. Through it, all Julia¡¯s Battle Trance kept her in motion. As every time the battle slowed, a spell went forth; and more Nox came from their wombs to join the fray. Sent to destruction by a spell, fist or form, the one constant was the thirst of blackness. Barbed kicks and misjudged stabs sipped or drank. Demonic blood from their wounds and hers painted the floor with their battle¡¯s flow. Sudden shields and Slow tainted reactions added to the mix. Yet, in the chaos and death¡¯s wake, the dance continued. Each form falling, adding to their dance halls¡¯ song. Tones, so pure and sweet, trumpeted through the air. Their purity making the Heat within their forms groan and creak. Battle Trance¡¯s focus drew on Mental Hardening¡¯s strength, and the music lent Julia grace with its pain. Julia slid and tumbled through their midst and when intentionally surrounded added focused will to Dominion¡¯s taunt. When they lunged as one, she changed and drank. A nest of spears and lances having bloomed where they landed. The rush of Souls made the music surge, and within untapped wombs, stone bubbled and Demonic shells melted. As their Demonic shells rejoin the stone, Harmony joined Ki to embrace the music. On the cusp of powers, hers and theirs, smothering the Heat of form between them. Julia¡¯s will grasped for Teleport, and it took her away. Steam rose in waves from flesh as Julia knelt in front of the interlocked letters to wait and heal. ((Sorry child, it is so beautiful. We can have it again. Your dancer¡¯s grace showed promise. )) {{Oh, that pain, so bad it was so delicious. Did it make you wet?}} Night elves certainly know how to show this girl a hot time. Julia, you are cray-cray. The addition of so many shards will certainly have Usd¡¯ghi even surer I was born of the Abyss instead of a Soul. I¡¯ve seen so many Demons, some with centuries yet barely any levels, while others I couldn¡¯t read. I need to push myself, or days will disappear with nothing achieved. Profile
Name J. Trouble. Viper. True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 5 /10
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (126.1/ 200)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 27 723,555/ 800,000
Wizard 13 134,230 / 150,000
Succubus 25 540,470 / 550,000
Assassin 2 3,400 / 4,000
Defence 55 (Ki Armour Active: 76)
Melee Attack Power 80 Health 1,209
Attributes Unallocated Point: 4
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 58
Quickness 27 Pool
Intelligence 36 Ki 200 Base: 40 Bonus: x5
Willpower 53 Mana 423
Charisma 42
Affinities Abyssal, Darkness, Earth, Jade Court, Lightning, Mental, Primordial, Spatial, Time
Spell Forms Mental: Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion [Ap](5) Lightning: *Lightning Bolt (18), *Shield (9), *Spike (11), *Shock Blast [B](3), Shock Bolt (9), *Tracing Missile [J] (3), Time: *Trip [J](1), Slow (18) Darkness: *Cloak [Ap](14) Mana: Spirit Barrier (1) *Denotes forms available allowing casting with alternative Mana affinity
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Air (2), Acid [I] (6), Cold (5), Electricity [M] (14), Fire [Im], Mana [I](1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (10), Primordial [L](1).
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept.
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (7), Corruption (5), Dark Sight [Ap] (12), Demonic Pact (5), Dominion [Ap](28), Energy Drain [J] (22), Flight [J] (2), Greater Teleport (Self) [J] (8), Harmony [Ad] (7), Ki Armour [J](2), Ki Infusion [J](9), Ki Movement [J] (17), Ki Strike [Ad] (9), Mana Sense [J] (17), Protean [J] (9), Soul Sight [J](17), Stimulation [B](19), Telepathy [Ad] (4),Translate Languages [J] (16)
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (2), Acrobatics [J] (10). Acting [Ap](18), Alchemy (9), Analysis [J](14), Battle Trance [J](11), Bite [J] (1), Claws [J] (10), Climbing [Ap] (1), Danger Sense [J](6), Inscribe (9), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (6), Haggling [Ap](15), Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [Ad] (7), Mana Manipulation [J](34), Mental Hardening [J] (27), Pain Tolerance [J](10), Planar Sense [Ap] (28), Perception [J] (11), Profile Control [Ap](2), Sense Motive [Ap](6), Spear [J](3), Stealth [J](15), Time Sense [J](3), Unarmed Combat [Ad] (13)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [J](3), Arcane [J] (8), Celestial Lore (15), Demonic Lore [J] (2), Elven Lore (1), Hidden Lore (11), Planar Lore [J](2), Planar Portals [Ap](3), Rune Lore (9), Skill Lore [B](8), Undead (5)
Skills Points 28
Knowledge Bonus 1
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial (Common), English, Norse, Br¨ªn Hand sign, High Elven
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level 8
Max Capacity 80 Kilograms - Used: 44
Stored The Agony of Horus. (4) Messenger¡¯s Loop, (1) Dagger of Tracking Bracers of Missile Negation, Planar Conduit Runes: Air Stop (50), Earthen Spike (50), Lightning Spike (50) Clean Flasks (30) Alchemy Field Kit, Rune Inscribing Kit, Materials Processing Kit, Assorted Abyssal Coins, Dominator Travel Leathers (Damaged), (20) Nox Hand Spikes, (20) Nox Back Plates (1) Storage Pouch capacity 40 kilograms (empty) Empowered Dusk Emerald
Worn / Carried Amulet of Portage. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. Cube of Memories Dominator Travel Leathers (assumed form via Protean)
Amulet of Portage Capacity: 20 kilograms - Used: 0
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 0 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 0 Innocent Souls Bound 0
Soul Shards Consumed 114 Corruptions Failed 1
I gained points to allocate, but heck, one hundred thousand experience each level of Monk now. It won¡¯t take long to recover, but I think I¡¯ll need to find another place to play. So explore the tunnel near the portal for the cube to record while I hunt? Then where? One thing at a time. Increase my tier level and then go back to the Necropolis. 51 - The Hollow The axe slicing down, chopped deep into stone as it struck where she¡¯d been an instant earlier. Danger Sense no longer calling Julia struck from behind her foe. Ki Strike causing an echoing thump against the thick leg towering before her. As it whirled in place, she kept time with its motion, and metal chimed from her kick. Yet the high kick barely rang its metal cup before she had to move from between its legs. Julia rolled away from a knee that it dropped towards her back. Battle Trance kept her unruffled as her back kick smashed against shin bone, and then Teleport put her on its shoulder. Snapping the extended leg forward in a knee strike, the blow cracked bone beside its boar shaped ear. Screams of pain and rage roared out as it tried to swat her away. Only for its allies¡¯ attempt to gouge her from the shoulder left its hand impaled by a tusk. Well, clear of both Mana into form and thetw spell settled in Ki¡¯s hold. Flesh and bone ripped apart as the tusk wrenched clear. The wounded foe turned in rage, ignoring its ruined hand. Julia flickered again, and Flight held her aloft even as the strike landed true. Ki Strike breached its defence, and the Spatial bolt expanded reality through it. The B?rftiz, still twisting with its momentum, continued towards the ground. The splatter of blood and brains had the second¡¯s attention even before the body hit. Will pushed Jade Court Mana into Ki Infusion, and as power blazed, Julia smiled. The strobing energy boiled under the Heat¡¯s veneer, swirling flesh between dark living flame and a blazing red sun. When the survivor looked over the remains of its platoon, it finally fled. A dark flame exploding in its path before the passage¡¯s first turn consumed its battered flesh. [Combat Summary: Contribution:- B?rftiz x2 Succubus (driven off) x 1 (20% exp) Lesser H¨¹msi x 10 H¨¹msi x 8 Demonic Shards Gained: 20 Total-experience distributed between classes: 35,640 Blood Monk : +20,560 Wizard: +9,060 Succubus: +6,020 Shock Bolt [J](36->37) Dominion [Ad](3->4) Ki Armour [Ad](41->42) Ki Strike [Ad] (42->43) Danger Sense [Ad](50) -> [M](1) Unarmed Combat [Ad](48->49)] Julia was still looting the convoy when words tickled at the edge of her hearing. ¡°Viper, you¡¯ve been out playing a while now. I¡¯ve got buyers lined up. I thought you¡¯d bring in shipments more evenly than this youngling. It¡¯s been over a hundred cycles already since you left. The Z?hma brothel is running strong. Your little minion is wondering when she gets her due. Did you want her in our debt instead?¡± Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t edged as when Julia had heard it directed towards Uelian¡¯ghi. Yet she wasn¡¯t jovial like she¡¯d been when last they¡¯d spoken. Raised fists relaxed as Julia stepped away from the wall that instinct had set her against. Palms scrubbed over her face for a moment while she considered the options. She doesn¡¯t sound happy with me. Fuck, I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s already been a hundred cycles. How did time disappear like that? This place traps the mind¡ªthe never-ending gloom. I need to level Time Sense more. But really, how did months go by? Teleport to Z?hma, and then I¡¯ll go see if I can use Analysis on the Mass Graves now. First things first, spend points to push Unarmed combat up to mastery and take time to loot. [Unarmed Combat [Ad](49) -> [M](1)] Eventually, when she¡¯d discovered hopefully everything of value, Julia reviewed her Profile for a moment before she Teleported away.
Name J. Trouble. Viper. True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 10 /10 (MAX)
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed) Shards (739.4/ 700)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level Exp
Blood Monk 40 3,452,195 / 3,600,000
Wizard 34 1,802,870 / 1,900,000
Succubus 37 2,489,110 / 2,700,000
Assassin 2 3,400 / 4,000
Defence 80 (Ki Armour Active: 116)
Melee Attack Power 106 Health 2026
Attributes
Strength 20 Faith 5
Endurance 24 Magic 91
Quickness 39 Pool
Intelligence 69 Ki 280 Base: 56 Bonus: x5
Willpower 82 Mana 2,300
Charisma 54
Affinities Abyssal, Darkness, Earth, Jade Court, Lightning, Mental, Primordial, Spatial, Time
Spell Forms Mental: Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (5), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion [Ap](5) Lightning: *Lightning Bolt [Ad](22), *Shield [Ad](1), *Spike [Ad](24), *Shock Blast [J](23), Shock Bolt [J](37), *Tracing Missile [Ad] (7), Time: *Trip [J](29), Slow [J](32) Darkness: *Cloak [J](1) Mana: Spirit Barrier (1) *Denotes forms available allowing casting with alternative Mana affinity
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Air (2), Acid [I] (6), Cold (5), Electricity [M] (14), Fire [Im], Mana [I](1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison - Minor (10), Primordial [L](1).
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept. [M] = Master
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [Ad] (7), Corruption (5), Dark Sight [Ap] (12), Demonic Pact (5), Dominion [Ad](4), Energy Drain [Ad] (41), Flight [Ad] (17), Greater Teleport (Self) [Ad] (1), Harmony [Ad] (42), Ki Armour [Ad](42), Ki Infusion [Ad](42), Ki Movement [J] (17), Ki Strike [Ad] (43), Mana Sense [Ad] (1), Protean [Ad] (23), Soul Sight [J](19), Stimulation [J](32), Telepathy [Ad] (8), Translate Languages [J] (16)
Ki Infusion Affinities: Jade Court Mana, Spatial
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (2), Acrobatics [J] (29), Acting [Ap](20), Alchemy (9), Analysis [J](36), Battle Trance [Ad](31), Bite [Ad] (1), Claws [Ad] (16), Climbing [Ap] (1), Danger Sense [M](1), Inscribe (9), First Aid (1), Fly [Ap] (28), Haggling [Ap](15), Leatherworking [B](3), Ki Meditation [Ad] (37), Mana Manipulation [Ad](46), Mental Hardening [Ad] (1), Pain Tolerance [J](10), Planar Sense [J] (17), Perception [J] (32), Profile Control [J](2), Sense Motive [Ap](6), Spear [J](3), Stealth [J](27), Time Sense [J](3), Unarmed Combat [M] (1)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [J](3), Arcane [Ad] (5), Celestial Lore (15), Demonic Lore [J] (8), Elven Lore (1), Hidden Lore (11), Planar Lore [J](2), Planar Portals [Ap](3), Rune Lore (9), Skill Lore [B](8), Undead (5)
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Skills Points 21
Available Knowledge Bonus 1
Languages Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial (Common), English, Norse, Br¨ªn Hand sign, High Elven
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level [B] 6
Max Capacity 600 Kilograms - Used: 520
Stored The Agony of Horus. (4) Messenger¡¯s Loop, (1) Dagger of Tracking Bracers of Missile Negation, Planar Conduit, (2) Large Dimensional Bags capacity 4,000 kg (filled with ingots, and recovered arms and armour) Runes: Air Stop (50), Earthen Spike (50), Lightning Spike (50) Clean Flasks (30) Alchemy Field Kit, Rune Inscribing Kit, Materials Processing Kit, Assorted Abyssal Coins, Dominator Travel Leathers (Damaged), Assorted Nox Hunter poison and spinnerette glands (3) Large rolls of Nox Hunter webbing (20) Nox Hand Spikes, (20) Nox Back Plates (1) Storage Pouch capacity 40 kg (empty) Empowered Dusk Emerald
Worn / Carried Amulet of Portage. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. Cube of Memories Dominator Travel Leathers (assumed form via Protean)
Amulet of Portage Capacity: 20 kilograms - Used: 0
Souls
Harvested Damned Souls 0 Innocent Souls Corrupted 0
Soul Shards Available 0 Innocent Souls Bound 0
Soul Shards Consumed 114 Corruptions Failed 1
Fog clung to the surrounding air and barely stirred aside as Julia pushed through its embrace. Noise, more sound than a song called from somewhere ahead. Its volume a shock after so long spent hunting through the tunnels. Still, Greater Teleport had delivered her without issue. At last, shooed out of the tunnels of Tern¨°x, it made Julia consider her situation. Demonic flesh didn¡¯t prompt for rest, and time had lost meaning. It had been one fight after another with a retreat to her refuge, an unused option for peace. The places she¡¯d travelled hadn¡¯t allowed for respite, as things hunted her presence even while she prowled their tunnels. The crackling discharges from the cube of memories gave them a warning and called those near to hunt. In the tunnels, Danger Sense and Perception were on constant alert, the difference between injury and avoidance often measured in the slightest motion. Though looking over the illusion painting the wall ahead, Julia had to wonder whose goal it was to piss her off. ¡°The Viper¡¯s Hollow,¡± Julia said softly in Abyssal, surprised by the sound of her own voice. So much of herself lost, now even her voice sounded changed from last she¡¯d heard it. It purred even in annoyance, the tones of it licking the air about her with a come hither to play. They¡¯d set a sign written in the Abyssal script along the wall. Above was an illusion of spread legs, with a serpent looped in a coil between them, and left the Succubus¡¯s vagina clearly visible. Whether the name referenced the serpent¡¯s coil or the Succubus¡¯ entry was anyone¡¯s guess. Considering the poisonous serpent matched the name L¨ºdhins had given her, Julia wasn¡¯t happy in either case. If L¨ºdhins put her up to that, I swear I¡¯m going to hurt him. I didn¡¯t even tell her my name. {{We could let them play in our hollow. Suppose you¡¯d just spread them for a bit. There is more to existence than fighting.}} The memory of relaxing in a bath and allowing herself the release of masturbation came to mind. Remembered orgasms had hips twitching as Julia strode forward with quiet gliding motions. The deadly erotic grace made the door guard jump as she breached the fog. A movement to its weapon halted, and it nodded with a hesitant awkwardness. A frown crossing her face made it jump to open the door, its hand well away from the weapon¡¯s haft. Though it was hardly helpless, the solid yellow of its eyes set back deep above a fanged gargoyle maw. It had the build and more muscles than a super heavyweight, covered by thick rough hide, its long arms and legs ended in clawed talons. Despite its appearance, her Sense Motive conveyed the concern it felt clearly. Though slightly smaller, a second guard appeared to be the same species, and curious Julia used Analysis on the one holding the door. Analysis [Name: Ibl?t Demonic Species: Fraz-g¨°n Class: Miner / Fighter Level: 16 / 15/ 25 Health: 1,835 Mana: 0 Melee Attack Power: 81 Defence: 89 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (2), War Hammer [Ad] (14) Condition: Pacified] Its level is a lot below mine now, but it¡¯s a tier higher. ¡°The boss¡¯ isn¡¯t here, but Klipyl is within,¡± said Ibl?t, its growling tone breaking as it strained for politeness. ¡°What¡¯s your boss¡¯ name?¡± Julia asked, wondering how the club was being managed between Klipyl and the Coven. ¡°I¡¯ve never met her. Klipyl or the Hags give her orders. Anyone behind the bar can take word to Klipyl,¡± Ibl?t said. ¡°Why would I be here for your boss?¡± asked Julia, looking straight at it. ¡°What else would bring someone like you here,¡± said Ibl?t, shrugging in obvious confusion. {{We¡¯re the boss, little yappy bitch. The boss is the Succubus who never fucks, the ghost who never cums.}} Julia stepped forward, Ki¡¯s calm wrapped through her flesh, as it tried to calm her vagina still twitching from the unbidden sensations. The guard licked its lips in desire as Ki Armour¡¯s flames flickered over her skin. ¡°I¡¯m never getting enough coin to spawn with one like her,¡± said Ibl?t to the other guard. The mutter barely audible as the door clunked closed made Julia¡¯s eyebrow raise unseen. The entryway empty of any witnesses, but the ¡®music¡¯ within even more jarring to her ears. The gliding steps took Julia among drinking patrons, and those nearby turned in her direction. Their attention only just beating the ping of a notification. As it did, she saw their auras and desires light up in her awareness, the effect of her aura rippling as rock into a pond. Her eyes took in the large number of Succubi scattered about among the patrons. [Dominion [Ad](4->6)] Screw it; they¡¯ve already felt it might as well level it more. Fuck, I¡¯m what a little fish in the tiny pond of Z?hma? Did she hire every Succubus in the town to lock down the competition? Or did I start a co-op of Demonic pussy? When her strides headed her in the bar''s direction, the yowling humanoid that had been brutalising music closed its mouth with a snap. Its posture shrank, futilely trying to escape notice since it was out in the open on stage. When Julia fixed its shifting movements with a look, it flattened itself, playing dead for all she knew. ¡°I will see Klipyl,¡± Julia said. Words directed to the closest Succubus behind the bar. It''s clothing little more than panels there to accent what wasn¡¯t yet accessible. ¡°If you¡¯ll wait by that door. I¡¯ll let her know,¡± she replied, gesturing towards the end of the bar, near where the yowling singer still cowed. With a nod, Julia moved towards the door, aware of it disappearing in the same instant. As she drew close to the stage, the humanoid whimpered, prompting Julia to take another look. The lithe male Demon was at least fully clothed, and what flesh was exposed yellowish black scales covered. Atop its head, a circle of red-crested horns called attention to its angular skull. While she thought it was a Cambion, she wasn¡¯t completely sure. Analysis [Name: Moke aka Mokilian Species: Cambion (in appearance actually a cursed Human - Egyptian) Class: Bard / Fighter Level: 35 / 5 Health: 480 Mana: 315 Melee Attack Power: 37 Defence : 32 Combat Skills: Short Blade [M](1), Short Bow [J] (14), Assorted illusionary spell forms Condition: Abyssal blight (minor), Cowed (severe), Cursed Details: A famed performer in Thebes, he ended up in the Abyss after offending a High Priest of Set. The current appearance is because of a curse inflicted by said Priest but provides no racial benefits to help survive planar conditions. ] What the fuck! I really hate priests of Set. Julia stopped and put a hand to its cheek. Though his eyes widened at the heatless flames that trickled along her flesh, they managed not to scream. ¡°You¡¯ll come with me Pet; your song amused me,¡± Julia said, her voice purring in the air set the ¡®Cambion¡¯ quivering. ¡°That pathetic halfbreed is not worthy of your time. I should escort you,¡± a snarling Demon interjected, stone scraping on stone as a chair pushed back and it rose to its feet. {{So rude. Kill them, then torture the human.}} ((Another seeks destruction. )) Anger, pity and contempt bubbled under the Ki as Julia glanced towards the speaker. Demonic Lore was quick to identify its species as Hymadan. The species was clear with its distinctive hyena shaped head the humanoid body, all covered in rotting fur. Force of her will backing Stimulation had it thrashing on the floor a moment later, and jaws clenched tight in soundless pain. [Stimulation (Critical Success) boosted by Dominion Willpower 82 vs 18 Level Totals: 128 vs 52 Do you wish to amplify the sensory experience?] Yes [Stimulation[J](32 -> 33)] The agony she¡¯d felt in the grotto when the Heat had felt near to snuffed out wracked its body and multiplied by the moment. {{Make it scream.}} ((Just kill them. )) ¡°Kill them,¡± Julia said, not sure why she even bothered to respond. The words had hit the silent air of the bar, and a wet sound quickly punctuated them as its soundless thrashing ceased. A sword wielded by another Hymadan having taken its head from its writhing shoulders. ¡°May I serve mistress?¡± the Hymadan asked, bowing low to her Demonic blood still dripping from the blade. [A demon has offered you service. Do you wish to be their patron?] Analysis [Name: Khalrzo Demonic Species: Lesser Hymadan Class: Miner / Gladiator Level: 3 / 15 / 25 Health: 720 Mana: 0 Melee Attack Power: 75 Defence : 45 Combat Skills: Long blade [Ad] (4), Short Blade [Ad] (12), Pole arms [Ad] (1)] Fucked if I know what I¡¯m doing, but its power. I¡¯ll need everything I can find to get my friends out of hell. ¡°Yes, but relax for now,¡± Julia said. Taking a blood-red fury coin from inventory, she flicked it to Khalrzo. Like giving them platinum in a place where drinks cost copper. It should get them a lot of drinks, and other fun. [Your actions have unlocked the Assassin class for the Hymadan: Khalrzo] The words brought a pleased grunting noise from Khalrzo as two Succubi nearby moved over to him. ¡°When you call, I will kill,¡± said Khalrzo, bowing again to her before turning its attention to the Succubi. It killed a helpless demon for me, and it got a class unlocked? ¡°What about the blood?¡± asked Succubus, her voice quivering as she spoke. ¡°What about it?¡± asked Julia shrugging. ¡°I know it¡¯s not the first spilt in this building. Would you like to add to it?¡± Julia¡¯s voice didn¡¯t grow angry, but its cold convinced the Succubus elsewhere was a good place to be right then. Another whistled, and a Dretch approached from clearing a nearby table. Its motions and bowed head showed its focus was purely on the body. The door near Julia opened, and the first bartender appeared to usher her in. Julia grabbed the back of Mokilian¡¯s shirt and dragged him upright. ¡°Walk.¡± I know you¡¯re afraid; just move it. If I take it easy on you, they¡¯ll know something is up. Telepathy is getting nothing from him. Some sort of shielding item or illusion? That might be the only reason he''s alive. As he got to shaking feet, Julia considered what Soul sight revealed. Although very erratic and wounded by a mesh-work of serrated Abyssal filaments, the colours within were brilliant. Guess that makes sense. Good bard annoys the crap out of a dark power¡¯s priest. I need to get him somewhere safe to talk. Safe please, we¡¯re in the Abyss. I can¡¯t take them straight to the material plane. My species prevents me from opening the conduit there directly. Could I convince them to do it? Maybe they¡¯ll be desperate enough that I won¡¯t have to explain. If they don¡¯t take them to the grey fields? Yeah, then what? A Cambion and a Succubus walk into grey fields with no Souls to deliver. Even with a punchline, I don¡¯t think the patrols would just laugh it off. [Acting [Ap](20->22)] Cool acting, you level your little safety net arse.
The rooms they¡¯d passed were loud with activity, but when the door to Klipyl¡¯s office shut, the sounds had also cut out. Julia looked over the furnishing, noting the Succubus¡¯s taste in finer things. Her gaze took in the polished stone desk, the ornate chairs, and erotically carved cupboards lining the office walls. The rug underfoot seemed thick fur, and Julia figured blue light could be a bad thing. Klipyl¡¯s eyes had widened as Dominion¡¯s effect rolled over her and rose as Julia entered. Julia could feel Klipyl¡¯s eyes drinking in the sight of her. Their focus lingering on the flickering flames of Ki Armour¡¯s aura. ¡°I knew you were hiding more,¡± Klipyl said before bowing deeply, ¡°Mistress.¡± ¡°This is the boss?¡± asked the escort, her voice rising in surprise. ¡°You can leave now,¡± Julia said, wanting to cut off the discussion. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± said the Succubus and promptly disappeared. So what¡¯s the difference between Khalrzo and these? One offering service while these are standard employees? ¡°Would you like something to eat, drink or just space for fun?¡± ¡°You look prosperous,¡± Julia said. ¡°My share of profits lets me get a few decent things,¡± said Klipyl, gesturing almost neglectfully towards the furnishings. ¡°You¡¯re dealing with the Coven directly?¡± Julia asked, gesturing for Mokilian to sit on a plain-looking chair near the door. You might feel you¡¯re in the naughty corner, but it¡¯s safer for you. ¡°Given what you said, I contacted them,¡± ¡°Good. What terms did you settle?¡± ¡°After costs one coin in ten for me, three for you, and the rest for their services. Your share is held by the Treasury branch here,¡± ¡°Who will run things with you absent?¡± ¡°The Coven hag Palia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi is my contact point and drops in regularly. They¡¯ll gain my share while I¡¯m away. She¡¯s the assistant at the local branch,¡± Klipyl said, interest and excitement lighting up her eyes. Not going to tell you I¡¯ve almost zero experience with this. I don¡¯t know if I even can. Things that make you go, Boom! ¡°Your home plane is Hrz¡¯Styrn?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Yes, but how did you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how much time your Ascending will require,¡± Julia said, ignoring the question. Did I get more from her imprint than others see? Does profile control do more than it says? ¡°Of course,¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you something, and you will heed it. If I¡¯m not impressed when next we meet, things will need to change,¡± ¡°Yes, Mistress.¡± ¡°You will surrender your will to me so I can force you to Ascend. When you go through the inferno, focus your increased energy on your mind and will. Beauty makes you but a toy, if that is all you have. I need useful assistants to run things here and in other places. If it is not you, it will be someone else,¡± ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± said Klipyl, greed lighting up her eyes. [Sense Motive [Ap](7->8)] ¡°Stand there,¡± Julia said, gesturing with the same neglect before watching Klipyl follow the instruction. The succubus was so similar, yet different to Julia¡¯s own form. Her features sharper than Julia¡¯s heart-shaped face; they¡¯d provided the foundation for Julia¡¯s disguise when visiting Usd¡¯ghi. The clothing she wore still as minimal as the last time Julia had seen her, even though her status had changed. Does she wear it by choice or expectation? Harmony allowed Julia to feel the Succubus¡¯ power and became aware of the Abyssal Heat with flesh. The Demonic shards shimmered away beneath the barrier of form that no longer stopped Julia from touching them. The fingers of her will trickle against them, drawing through the mists of power as Klipyl moaned with unheeded pleasure. Lust given flesh, desires normal and depraved alike rolled over Julia¡¯s awareness. When her will snagged the end of a misty thread, Julia started it spinning in circles. Slowly, at first but with increasing ease, the power churned and compressed. Each loop pressed in with the image of vapour squeezing into a gem, and more power followed in its wake. The gravity well of power drew more and more shards into the circling energy. The power manipulating far easier than Julia remembered from working on her own. At last, the whole compressed like rock flared and burned to her senses. A maelstrom of Abyssal power ripped open reality and swallowed Klipyl whole, the edge of it brushing Julia¡¯s hold and breaking it free. [Demonic Shards gained: 5] Either it worked, or I blew her out of existence. Did I steal some from her by accident? Or was that the Abyssal power brushing against me? Still, after all the hunting, I¡¯m already over the max for tier now. How far do I dare push it before I Ascend? ¡°Come here, Mokilian,¡± Julia said, hearing the bard flinch. Their steps were light and slow, and Julia¡¯s ears picked up the hitch in his breathing. ¡°I wonder if the soundproofing in here goes both ways.¡± ¡°Why, Mistress?¡± asked Mokilian. ¡°Because we need to talk,¡± ¡°Talk?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, and the Coven likely put the spells in place. Speak no further unless I ask you direct questions, little Cambion,¡± Julia said, noticing the tension in his limbs easy slightly. ¡°That yowling was appalling. Why were you singing that?¡± asked Julia after considering the patched state of his clothing. ¡°Its popular here; the patrons give coin for it. You said it amused you.¡± ¡°I lied. You will wait here. If you aren¡¯t here when I get back, I¡¯ll hunt you down. If anyone tells you to leave this office, you will tell them you are under my orders to remain. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± Mokilian said, a forked tongue licking his lips with obvious nerves. Julia gestured them to a more comfortable chair than before and vanished. Since the wards were still in place, she¡¯d only shifted to the entryway. As she exited, Ibl?t and his companion turned at the sound, the effect of Dominion obvious in their posture change. ¡°Guide me to the Treasury branch Ibl?t,¡± Julia said, eyes spearing him before she looked at his companion. ¡°Do you need an assistant, or will you be enough to guard till he returns?¡± ¡°We have two for security; someone is always playing some stunt,¡± said the other Fraz-g¨°n, their eyes flicking between Julia and Ibl?t. Julia used Telepathy and reached for the minds she could feel behind the bar. #Send another guard to the front door. I¡¯m borrowing Ibl?t as a guide# Telepathy let Julia feel the Succubi behind the bar jump in surprise at her words in their minds. ¡°I¡¯ve asked them to send someone to assist. Now lead the way, Ibl?t,¡± Julia said, her tone cold even as it purred against the air.
Julia nodded dismissively at Ibl?t before stepping inside the reinforced door. The layout inside was different in a few ways than the one in ¨´eqr?ka. Instead of a gated wall, a grilled counter split the room, with a black metal doorway at one end. To Julia, it appeared like an old-style movie¡¯s wild west bank, compared to the prison block vibe of Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s store. Also, the back of the store had a visible pair of solid doors instead of the stone archway. When the door clanged shut, the hag behind the counter glanced up; and the ledger in front of her closed with a snap as she focused on Julia. This hag was quite different to the ones she¡¯d seen before. Julia looked it over even as its hollow sockets regarded her in return. Where the ones in the city all appeared old, this one appeared young. While its eye sockets were in the same hollow state set with motes of light. Its skin was smooth, and it had thick oily hair instead of scraggly wisps. The way its lips didn¡¯t bow inwards showed it actually had its teeth as well. ¡°What do you need?¡± asked the Hag. Julia flicked Analysis over her and discovering it wasn¡¯t the Hag that Klipyl had named, continued as planned. ¡°Is Palia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi around to speak with Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi?¡± asked Julia, enjoying the way using the Hag¡¯s name made its brows twitch in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t know you,¡± Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi stated, tapping nails sharply on stone. ¡°We¡¯ve not met before. Klipyl said I¡¯d need to contact Palia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi, is she about or not?¡± ¡°Who¡¯s asking?¡± asked Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi. ¡°Viper,¡± said Julia, frost laying hard across her voice. Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi looked her over sceptically and for an instance, her gaze seemed distracted. ¡°You don¡¯t match the description they gave me. You¡¯re too old to be her,¡± ¡°I am Viper,¡± Julia said, letting battle focus edge into her voice. ¡°If you waste my sister¡¯s time, she¡¯ll boil you down Succubus. Best go elsewhere with your lies,¡± ¡°Can you send a flit across planes?¡± Julia asked, the continued coldness of her voice drawing a scowl from the Hag. ¡°Yes, can¡¯t you?¡± Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi sneered. ¡°Flit Usd¡¯ghi tell her I got her message. She¡¯ll be able to give you a way to verify, I¡¯m sure,¡± Julia said, lips thinning as her voice cut into the air. ¡°If I disturb Usd¡¯ghi, and you aren¡¯t who you claim. You won¡¯t need to worry about my sister,¡± Julia said nothing further, just taking the purple coin from inventory and holding it up so the skull was visible. The hag¡¯s hollows just regarded it before looking at Julia again. ¡°Sorrows, that is interesting, but not quite enough. I¡¯ll ask her for a way to verify who you are then,¡± Julia watched the spell form that the Hag¡¯s will shaped. Woven together the spatial and fire mana energies rippled into existence behind the barrier¡¯s wards then vanished as quickly. They waited for long minutes in silence before Julia saw another return, and its energy pulsed in the Hag¡¯s direction. ¡°Who introduced you to her?¡± interrogated Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi. {{The bitch!!!}} ¡°A bitch named Naz¡¯ricla,¡± Julia said, watching the expression of the Hag change. The ice of Ki strangled the surge of rage that tried to burn through its grasp. With the way the hag swallowed at the words, Julia wondered what threat Usd¡¯ghi had issued, not feeling the ice shining in her own gaze. ¡°I also told Usd¡¯ghi you appeared too strong. She said your delay is now understandable and excused. I¡¯ll get my sister,¡± said Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi, begrudgingly. ¡°There are also some enchanted items I need to sell and wizard spells I want,¡± declared Julia. ¡°Come through,¡± said Salia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi. A gesture and wisp of mana caused the door to click open. 52 - Cant you feel my hearts desire The weight of Palia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi¡¯s gaze was intense to Julia. A sheer force of personality reminding her of Usd¡¯ghi, even though her name seemed to show she was far away in the lineage. In appearance, though, she was as youthful as Salia. Analysis [Name: Palia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi Species: Abyssal Stone Hag Class: Priestess / Coven Hag Level: 10 / 50 / 30 Health: 1,155 Mana: 1,960 Melee Attack Power: 62 Combat Skills: Claws [M] (2), Dread Gaze [M] (1), Foresight [Ad] (44), Assorted Blessings and Curses Details: A Scion of Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s lineage, the primary thing they currently lack is age and experience. Despite this, she has still gained postings in Coven businesses generally held by members four times her age.] ((She travels a deep road. Hags stem from a time when even Elves were primitives. )) Salia had shown her through to a warehouse similar in layout to the large chamber in the ¨´eqr?kas branch, though it didn¡¯t seem as large. The status of Palia as an assistant was clear; instead of an office, she had a larger desk on the edge of an open area. Julia wondered what Power the Hag worshipped and if the rest of the Coven followed it. ¡°The honoured ancestor has made an exception for you in our normal business dealing,¡± said Palia, gesturing to a chair near her desk. The words themselves sounded like a compliment, but Julia¡¯s ears picked up the edge of doubts. ¡°We do not bring most back within one storehouse, let alone a second.¡± {{Grumpy bitch quit your mewling. }} ((She¡¯s annoyed at both of you. Is Usd¡¯ghi developing clay feet to her? )) ¡°Information can be a risky thing,¡± Julia said, nodding acknowledgement. ¡°You are perceptive Viper, or should I say J of the Sisterhood,¡± said Palia. ¡°I hope you¡¯re perceptive enough to know the lines you toe near at present.¡± [Sense Motive [Ap] (8->9)] Touch¨¦. But you¡¯re still a bitch, looking to put me in my place. ¡°I have no intention of disappointing your ancestor. It best to complete preparations before commencing some jobs,¡± Julia said. ¡°Excuses are easy to make and painful to regret,¡± ¡°Regret can come from many things. Sometimes even success if you don¡¯t plan for it well enough. Victory can be deadly,¡± The hollows of her eyes narrowed till the stars seemed to press together in the darkness within them. ¡°L¨ºdhins was here enquiring about you some time ago,¡± ¡°I need to sell some things, not to talk about admirers,¡± Julia replied, ¡°What do you have?¡± Julia set one bag and then another on the floor beside the chair, their appearance raising Palia¡¯s eyebrows. ¡°Those bear Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s crest,¡± ¡°The armour, weapons, and ingots inside them do as well,¡± Julia said, ¡°The free miners have bounties on their patrols and convoys,¡± ¡°Anything, in particular, I need to claim them?¡± ¡°Proof of their destruction, which if you have their armour and weapons is sufficient,¡± {{We were glorious in their destruction. They were like all those thousands of bugs we crushed.}} ((There is no need to be boastful. The need for violence is a sad path; however, required it may be. )) ¡°Eighteens sets of H¨¹msi gear along with arms and armour belonging to a pair of B?rftiz. The workers fled into the tunnels while I was playing with the guards. Plus a load of ingots from whereever they¡¯d been returning from,¡± Julia said. Her goal to keep the details to a minimum; She ignored the memories of using the guards¡¯ weapons against them in the massacre. They hadn¡¯t handled the ambush that started with primordial spikes and the deaths that occurred in the whirlwind of fighting that followed. Palia didn¡¯t comment on the wintry smile turning the corner of Julia¡¯s lips in that moment of silence. ¡°Did anyone else get away?¡± Palia eventually asked. ¡°A succubus named Gla¡¯lixa,¡± ¡°How do you know her name?¡± Crud, giving the game away. Should have just said a Succubus J. ¡°It¡¯s a knack,¡± ¡°One you share with L¨ºdhins from what I¡¯ve heard,¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Put the items for sale over there. I¡¯ll have to see them to determine the price. Though I¡¯ll need to get the branch manager to release the applicable bounty to your account.¡± Palia said, gesturing at an empty place against a nearby wall. Julia watched through eyes set on wings and noted the interest paid to the equipment and goods she laid out. {{Look at my shiny goodies. Now I just need someone to polish the pearl. }} ((Not just greed. She watches the ease of your movements, assessing the damage to the armour or lack of it. )) [Acting [Ap](22) -> [Ap](23)] Julia tried to sit within the calm of the Ki even as frustration and concern about the intensity of Palia¡¯s gaze wiggled in her awareness. After unpacking everything, the dimensional bags returned to her inventory. ¡°Not wanting to sell those as well?¡± Palia asked, ¡°The seal at the collar could bring you trouble if the wrong individual sees them on this plane.¡± ¡°I will keep that in mind. Shall we get to the haggling?¡± Julia asked. ¡°What did you want to sell first?¡± ¡°With this ingot examine its quality casting, the care taken in the pour,¡± said Julia, picking up a single ingot from the nearest stack. ¡°No.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t see it?¡± Julia asked, extending the ingot towards Palia. ¡°We will not haggle on individual bars,¡± ¡°I¡¯d hate to get taken for a ride,¡± ¡°It¡¯s quite obvious you¡¯re just looking for an excuse not to deliver on your obligations in a timely fashion,¡± ¡°No, actually, I want some practice haggling so that I can do a better job dealing with your ancestor next time,¡± Julia said. ¡°What?¡± Palia sputtered, ¡°You dared to haggle with her?¡± ¡°She enjoyed it. Maybe you should try it next time you deal with her,¡± ¡°Succubi always about pleasure,¡± said Palia, frustrating and contempt colouring her voice. {{Hardly. Frigid bitch is chapping my arse. Have so much dust already it will need a backhoe to clear}} ((Killing Demons is indeed a pleasure, as is frustrating their plans. She holds you in low esteem. )) Julia smiled even as the memory of meetings churned in her mind; Senior colleagues, male and female alike, working harder on stealing credit than they had at resolving issues. The Ki giving her shelter as her fingers flexed, and Palia watched the cold flames lick along the skin. Flame shining with deep blackness reflected against the claws, shining with an eerie light. ¡°I only have an agreement to sell Souls I harvest to the Treasury. Nothing else. Should I let your competition profit from these and claim the bounties for me?¡± Julia asked; coldness letting Dominion creep out in force. ¡°You can also explain to Usd¡¯ghi when I deliver the bare minimum of my agreement with her.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Making it clear I will not tolerate your shit. Eighty percent of market value,¡± Julia said, her voice low and quiet. ¡°That outrageous no one will give you that price.¡± ¡°You can also explain when I sell harvests of the Souls she particularly likes to others.¡± ¡°WHAT!¡± ¡°Scream at me again, and I¡¯ll make it ninety,¡± Julia said, rolling the purple coin across her fingers, its motions drawing Palia¡¯s gaze. ¡°I can¡¯t agree with that. The highest I¡¯m allowed is thirty percent and fifty percent of the bounties if we¡¯re claiming them on your behalf.¡± {{Crush her. }} ((If you appear weak to them, it is to risk a dagger in the back. In the space of seven breaths, decide and act. Is that not what it says? )) I¡¯m so done with this shit. ¡°How does seventy percent of nothing work out as profit?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I get seventy percent of both, or I¡¯ll take the lot to the miner¡¯s representative. I understand they have their operation, like the Treasury. Also, my agreement with Usd¡¯ghi means I have to provide her with a certain number of Souls to keep my share of things. Our agreement has no penalty for providing her nothing, other than I also get nothing. Not that I¡¯d be that rude to her. Yet you were rude to your ancestor.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± ¡°Your words were all proper, but your tone and the set of your face. Well that told a whole other story. I could replay her the memory, let her judge for herself the way you came across,¡± ¡°You are playing a dangerous game, Succubus,¡± ¡°You¡¯re wrong there. I¡¯m not playing,¡± Julia said. The coin disappeared as she brought the first-dimensional bag back out. ¡°Stop. I¡¯ll speak to the branch manager,¡± ¡°You go do that while I pack. If I like the answer, I won¡¯t have to leave. Also, buying anything through your branch. That¡¯s off the table now,¡± purred Julia. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you think you are, little whore. But I¡¯ll crush you for this.¡± ¡°Palia!¡± said an older looking hag from the office doorway, causing Palia to spin about. With a grimoire held carefully in its hands, she regarded them both before hissing echoing words at Palia. The intonations tugged on memories of muffled words behind the chamber door, but ¡®Translate Languages¡¯ made no sense of them. As the older hag stared at Palia with focused ire, Julia risked the use of Analysis. As tones of anger growled against the air, it provided only the name of Nlia¡¯nitr¡¯ghi. With everything else a stream of unknowns, it left Julia to wonder at their exact relationship. I guess everything in the Covens is Nepotism. Does it balance it out? Analysis: Languages [Unlocked languages currently possessed by the enquiring entity are: Abyssal, Infernal, Celestial (Common), English, Norse, Br¨ªn Hand sign, High Elven Languages that experience has exposed the enquiring entity to: Egyptian Latin Elvish - Moon Elf dialect Primordial Abyssal (Rare, Magical)] Sneaky, sneaky, why doesn¡¯t translate work on it. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Spend Knowledge Point on Language, Primordial Abyssal. Julia almost groaned at the weight of knowledge hit, words and concepts so alien to anything she¡¯d experienced. The names alone, carrying so much power, that knowing them in a rush made her mind ache with the strain. Mental Hardening and sheer Willpower mind shouldered her through the pain. She suddenly felt as if standing in the shadows of things looming far above her, their words, their names echoing through the foundation of reality. A riptide drawing the sand from underfoot, as an understanding of realities foundations tried to crush her mind. [Mental Hardening [Ad] (1->5) {{Oh Gosh indeed. }} ((Child, stay in the shallows. Think only of words. Do not utter their True Names. )) ((They are beyond compelling, only dangerous attention drawn before you are ready. )) ((Think only of the simple words, facts, the mundane subjects. )) ((Hold fast to the shore. Do not let the deep consume you. )) Endless eons of words, concepts, creatures and names tried to sweep her away in its floodwaters. Julia felt something push her awareness upwards, and memories of being lifted by a lifeguard stirred. Simple words for water, sand, foam, limbs and hands, ground her back to the reality she knew. The connections between languages providing a life raft as the black waters surged all around. The memory of a chiming ring echoed through her Soul and sounds became a buffer¡ªthe sound of the hammer, the rustle of beating wings, flesh slapping on rough stone. Running, fleeing, flying between one blink and another, Julia let Harmony and Ki lift the raft above the blackness all around. Yet it was as something pushed her aboard it and pressed her flat to avoid being swept away. [Abyssal Lore [J](3->37)] [Achievement: Some things man or demoness wasn¡¯t meant to know. Condition: Unlock a Primordial knowledge before you are ready, but having the strength of will to stay sane Reward: Knowledge is its own reward, especially if it¡¯s a dangerous thing. Bonus Condition: Guided path. Bonus Reward: ] Holy Fuck! So much for unlocking things being easier. What the hell was a guided path? The sound of a smithy hammer? Was something there with me? What¡¯s in my mind with me? {{Play with them. }} ((Leave the profound words alone. There may be a need in time. Yet that is not now. Cling to these. )) The words exchanged between the hags trickled across the surface of the floodwaters, allowing her to skim safe sips through her awareness. Memories and concepts warmth of a blanket weighing her in bed, sipping warmed sweet milk, and then laughter echoing with friends cooled the pain. Will locked her knees, keeping her upright, as Julia blinked and found balance again. The words still hissing between the Hags in the ancient tongue now clear to her. ¡°By the deep ones, can¡¯t you feel the Dominion Aura going. Stop taking this as a contest to win. She has the ancestor¡¯s approval, so put your business hat on. She provoked you easily. You lost face; calm down and deal with it.¡± ¡°She¡¯s a pathetic, lesser Succubus. It doesn¡¯t even cause a ripple in the mists. How could it have something like that? Aunt, she¡¯s an arrogant whore who needs to get smacked into place. That cunt Naz¡¯rilca is pulling something with the first,¡± ¡°I agree Naz¡¯rilca is a cunt,¡± Julia said, interjecting in the same tongue, and watched them both freeze in place. ¡°By the way, Palia.¡± Julia turned Dominion off and watched the Hag¡¯s hollows widen even further in shock. ¡°I¡¯m not pathetic, and I¡¯m not a whore,¡± said Julia, with a smile, before Dominion turned on again, joined by Stimulation. Will and powers focused purely on Palia, using the peak of the memory that had surfaced outside the club. [Stimulation (Success) boosted by Dominion Willpower: 82 vs 72. Level: 128 vs 105] After Palia had finished screaming in pleasure and settled into whimpering with the aftershocks, Julia stopped the effect. ¡°Naz¡¯rilca is a cunt, no question, but I¡¯m not her. I can be a handy ally if you remember not to cross me.¡± {{Someone else gets to orgasm, again! I want to cum too!}} Perhaps she¡¯ll turn a new leaf, or at least a fresh pair of underwear. So she now needs a drip tray? (( You have strange phrases. But safe ones. )) Both Hags looked at her in confusion as a feeling of irony and frustration made her snort with laughter, and Julia switched Dominion off. It was an effort to keep her breathing steady as the memory she used rippled within and twitching deepened again. ¡°Very amusing,¡± said the older Hag as Palia sat upright. ¡°Act as her agent for selling all the items she wishes to dispose of and claiming the bounties. Ten percent flat fee on all.¡± With a look at Julia, she added. ¡°You can¡¯t have the coin straight away, but we¡¯ll just take a commission on sale instead. If you provide us with a list of spell forms you are after, we can source suitable grimoires. With a ten percent finder¡¯s fee as well, provided you purchase them through this branch.¡± ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡± ¡°The ten percent. That and hopefully, my niece learnt a valuable lesson this cycle that might save her existence at some point,¡± ¡°Assumptions can get you dead?¡± ¡°Precisely. She was helpless to that effect, and you could move. If she were outside, it would have been simple to cut her throat,¡± ¡°Little niece while I can make use of your corpse. You are more useful, not locked to one plane or destroyed. Now, what was that?¡± asked Nlia, wiggling her hand in an echo of Pila''s writhing motions. ¡°It¡¯s called an orgasm. It¡¯s something mortals get,¡± Julia said, with a shrug, not sure what to make of the Aunt yet. ¡°Fuck mortals,¡± said Palia, her voice sounding like she wanted to be angry but almost mewled instead. ¡°That¡¯s the idea. One lot of mortals calls it the little death,¡± Julia said. ¡°What a delightful way to view such,¡± said Nlia, gleeful laughter almost making her words dance. ¡°Do they have many death cults? They¡¯re always so amusing to pander to. One time, my sister and I got over three hundred adults to set themselves on fire with all their lovely children. We waited on the shore of the lava pits for the parents to arrive. Such glorious flaming stars they made on their way down.¡± said Nila, with a happy nostalgic sigh. ¡°Aunt Nlia, please, we have deals to discuss.¡± ¡°You have a deal now that you almost lost. I¡¯ll be in my office; you girls keep the shouting down. Maybe you should find a mortal to corrupt together. It¡¯s a bonding experience. I should go revisit the lava shores; I¡¯m sure they¡¯d still be there.¡± Nila said before walking back into her office, humming happily. ¡°Elders,¡± said Palia, the mutter barely audible. ¡°Is the commission terms acceptable to you?¡± she asked. ¡°That sounds acceptable,¡± huffed Julia. ¡°I¡¯m so pleased,¡± sneered Palia. ¡°No, you¡¯re not, but if you play straight, I¡¯ll let you feel that again,¡± offered Julia. ¡°Really?¡± asked Palia, her expression lighting up from sullenness. ¡°Never had an orgasm?¡± asked Julia. ¡°No, never,¡± said Palia, her tone firm, before she bit her lip and continued softly, ¡°That was interesting I¡¯ll have to study it.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like to; many get very focused on it,¡± laughed Julia. {{Just my luck. I¡¯m with one that just lets her fingers do the walking.}} ((Just like a girl''s night discussion. Though why you take amusement in such things is not for me to know.)) ¡°Let¡¯s get everything identified and written up, shall we,¡± Palia said, her attitude trying to come across as firmly business once again. Memories of conversations about guys, with her girlfriends spilling details of the fun she was missing out on, came to mind. Julia forced herself the memories away and focused on the moment. ¡°Well, two sets of breastplates, greaves, arm guards, and axes for B?rftiz, or other giant types with two arms and legs,¡± ¡°One is heavily bloodstained, and the other looks a bit charred,¡± said Palia, pointing at the marks. ¡°They¡¯ll clean up,¡± ¡°Will you handle that before you go or require our services?¡± [Sense Motive [Ap] (9->10) Haggling [Ap](18->22)] ¡°How many would an orgasm be worth cleaning wise?¡± Julia asked. I can¡¯t believe I said that. My mind still feels leaking out my ears from those words. No, stop, don¡¯t think about them. Listen to her words. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of cleaning everything. Let¡¯s say three?¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re not expecting long orgasms,¡± haggled Julia. ¡°How long can they go on for?¡± Palin asked in surprise. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on this for now,¡± said Julia, not understanding how she¡¯d come to peddling even sexual sensation as favours. {{Fuck, can I have three in a to-go bag. The power of cum. Don¡¯t I wish? }} ((Laughter ))
Mokilian started upright as Julia opened the door to Klipyl¡¯s office. It had taken a while to get clear of Pila¡¯s attentions and hiring Khalrzo to help guard the Brothel for now. The bard, however, didn¡¯t look worse for wear, instead looking rested. Julia, considering what she was going to do again, stepped inside and closed the door. ¡°Time to talk,¡± said Julia. ¡°What did you wish to talk about?¡± Moke asked. ¡°Nothing here,¡± Julia said, drawing a dimensional bag from her inventory, ¡°Put your hand in this bag.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t teleport with you unless I have you stored in something to reduce weight. So put your hand in here. I¡¯ll get it to store you and take you somewhere to talk,¡± ¡°How will I breathe? I¡¯m a Cambion. We need to breathe,¡± ¡°Some of Cambion do. Fine, I¡¯ll store you and then draw you back out. Take a breath when you¡¯re within, see if there is air. If not, we¡¯ll go outside before I tuck you in the bag,¡± said Julia, her tone firm. I hope CPR works if the air is bad. ¡°Why can¡¯t we just talk here?¡± ¡°Idiot Cambion. Put your hand in before I shove you in it headfirst,¡± demanded Julia. Moke flinched and hesitantly stuck his hand out. ¡°Alright,¡± When Moke put his hand into the bag, Julia willed its magic to draw him in, and the human disappeared. Julia mentally counted to five before drawing him back out again. The bard blinked and lowered a hand glowing with light. ¡°Dark in there, was it?¡± ¡°Very. The air smelt metallic and musty, but I could breathe it,¡± admitted Moke. ¡°Well, you won¡¯t need to breathe it for long. Now get back in,¡± Julia said. When they vanished again, Julia teleported downstairs and quickly left Z?hma behind. Teleport placed Julia as close to the ''Buring Grotto'' as possible, a passageway that instead of smooth rock, was now a ruptured mess of broken stone. The edges of rock wombs overlapping when they weren¡¯t layers deep. It had been a killing field for spawning Nox, as Julia lured them closer to the Song. The trip to Z?hma had shown Julia the Elven Souls far from the cavern being captured by the Abyss after their shell¡¯s destruction. So she¡¯d set about luring them as close as safely possible through each cycle. A process that had left potholes in every passage Julia had found close to the cavern¡¯s edge. The song¡¯s perimeter, no longer extended just within the cavern¡¯s crater but reached far down surrounding passageways. The cavern¡¯s influence initially surged with each Soul freed, but the progress eventually slowed, only extending due to sheer numbers after a time. With Soul Sight showing no demons, bestial or intelligent about, Julia drew Mokilian out from the bag again. Mokilian blinked and drew breath enough to scream as soon as he appeared. Reptilian talons emerged from their fingertips as he clawed at his own flesh. The brilliance of his Soul moulted with pain as the curse and the Abyssal blight dug deeper still. Wrestling him enough to capture a thrashing foot in the bag, she willed him into storage again. What the fuck! Well, there goes hoping I could send him to get help from the Elves. Teleport took her further away, frog hopping passageway length till the song no longer resonated within the tunnel. When she released him wide-eyed into the stone passage again, he shuddered and looked about in fright. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Your curse and Abyssal blight reacted to the song,¡± ¡°What are you saying? I¡¯m not cursed. I¡¯m Cambion. What region of the Abyss did you take me to?¡± ¡°Moke!¡± Julia said, her voice stern but without Dominion crushing against him, left him blinking in surprise. ¡°That¡¯s not my name, it''s Mokilian,¡± said Moke, as he tried to draw himself to his feet. The damage he had inflicted was bleeding with every motion. Julia held up a hand and formed lengths of cloth bandages and willed them free of her forearm, as he looked at her dumbfounded ¡°Use these to bandage your wounds. I don¡¯t have healing magic. Are you using an item or a spell to protect your mind?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to do that,¡± argued Moke. Okay so he¡¯s ignoring the other question. Fine. ¡°Take off your shirt and sit down. You¡¯ve gouged right through the cloth. I hope you didn¡¯t get crap in the wounds,¡± Julia said, ¡°Take me back to Z?hma. I don¡¯t know what you are talking about.¡± ¡°Moke, Bard from Thebes, cursed by a High Priest of a Dark Power, which you had better not name here. Take your shirt off and sit down. I need to bandage your arms and chest from the looks of things.¡± Her words uttered with Ki¡¯s coolness were like throwing a spotlight on a kangaroo. Frozen for a moment, he looked ready to jump away. ¡°Where would you run to? Do you know where Z?hma is? Plenty of things to kill you in these tunnels? Take your shirt off and sit down so I can tend your wounds.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± asked Moke. ¡°I know. If I wanted you dead, you¡¯d already be Abyss bait. Now, remove your shirt and sit down, before you fall,¡± Julia worked to produce more cloth sections, even creating the padding she remembered from first aid kits. While she didn¡¯t know if they¡¯d be sterile, no matter how she imagined them, she tried regardless. His shirt removed revealed the gouges through scale with fragments of cloth embedded in the wounds. By the time she¡¯d pulled them free with shifted tweezers and finished with the bandaging, he¡¯d grown quiet. Julia, crouching next to him, contemplated what to do next. [First Aid (1 -> 5)] ¡°Do you speak this tongue?¡± Julia asked in Norse. ¡°Yes, but why are we using it?¡± ¡°Not everything in the Abyss speaks or can understand mortal languages, and I don¡¯t speak Egyptian. Do you have any spell that can guard against scrying?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s intended for matters requiring discretion,¡± replied Moke ¡°Fine, cast it then.¡± ¡°First, we need to be intimately embracing. I designed the spell form to protect the privacy of lovers. There are restrictions on it that make it easier to cast and maintain,¡± {{Oh, yummy. We could grind our peanuts against his scale, make some nipple spread.}} ((Brillant aura yet hardily innocent. Wonder if he was cuckolding the High Priest¡¯s wife? )) Julia closed her eyes for a moment, feeling Moke move away, her hands tightened on uninjured flesh. ¡°Stop moving¡ªgreat, typical bard. Of course, your spell forms make it safer to get a leg over,¡± Julia said, sitting down next to him and scissored him from the side, a single leg across his lap. ¡°Hold my leg and cast your darn spell already.¡± Mana shimmered in the air, and Julia caught after images and sounds of them sitting side by side; discussing the beauty of the mushroom glow and rock textures. ¡°It¡¯s prattling about the local crap,¡± observed Julia. ¡°It¡¯s so you don¡¯t have to concentrate on anything besides your lover,¡± sighed Moke, momentarily distracted by Julia''s pressure against him. {{We could check his sturdy rocks and help him shift some weight. }} ¡°Right, let¡¯s talk fast. This spell is just saying we have something to hide,¡± Julia said, ¡°you need out of the Abyss. You¡¯ve already got Abyssal blight digging into your Soul.¡± ¡°What sort of trick is this? You¡¯ve discovered me. I know I¡¯m doomed.¡± ¡°It isn¡¯t a trick, but I don¡¯t have a safe way to get you to the material plane. Not and ensure you¡¯ll come out somewhere safe,¡± ¡°You want to send me home looking like this? So you can scry across the planes and delight in my family killing me themselves?¡± ¡°You are wasting fucking time you might not have,¡± growled Julia. ¡°We could do that. I know I¡¯m doomed. I might as well have a nice send-off,¡± chirped Moke. {{ Say yes, I¡¯ll behave just scratch the itch please. }} (( He is eager for pleasure, without considering the cost. )) ¡°If you fondle me, your face is going to break,¡± said Julia, holding up a fist. ¡°But you¡¯re a Succubus? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be dooming mortals via temptations of carnal lusts?¡± asked Moke. ¡°Don¡¯t get me started. Now options, I can let you use a conduit and best of luck. If it goes to the right place, or at least remotely, you¡¯re out. Then you can try to find someone to remove the curse. The second option, we could go to the grey fields and find a Patrol of a Light God to help you. ¡°I want revenge.¡± I didn¡¯t even get to option three, let alone four. ¡°What?¡± ¡°On the priest that sent me here. I want revenge. His church caused the disappearance of my friends and other groups from the Charter guild. Even before that, a whole township died due to them. I¡¯m alive, but my friends are likely dead. Can you help me get revenge?¡± {{Kill Bill!!!}} ((The path of vengeance is a slippery slope. )) Memories of action movies and sword fights with gore splashing ending in everyone dead came to mind as Julia tried to re-orientate herself. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Why do you say that you already threatened to slap me?¡± ¡°Darn, I said that in Norse,¡± huffed Julia. ¡°What does it matter the language if you wish to fornicate?¡± enquired Moke his brows furrowed in confusion. ¡°I¡¯ve been to Eyrarh¨¢ls, and I can get you there. However, I can¡¯t open the conduit to the material plane; and can¡¯t get there without a summoner or someone with a pact calling me.¡± ¡°Form a pact with me then. I¡¯ll agree as long as revenge is on the table.¡± ((He doesn¡¯t know the real price he could pay. )) Julia¡¯s imagination offered up images of Moke¡¯s Soul darkened like those on the fields of Blood, and she shuddered in disgust. ¡°It corrupts your Soul with Abyssal energy. Why would you want that?¡± ¡°Why would you not that state? If I can get revenge, and if you¡¯d allow it, leave behind a few poems about my victory. I would consider it well spent.¡± Wait, I thought I¡¯d need to talk him into it. Why is the shoe on the other foot? This guy is nuts. ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± declared Julia. ¡°I¡¯m in the Abyss, talking to a Succubus who has her wondrous legs around me and doesn¡¯t want sex. Of course, I¡¯m the crazy one,¡± laughed Moke. ¡°Fine, whatever. Stop the spell.¡± Julia used Teleport to get to her feet, wanting to avoid any more awkwardness. ¡°So how do I use this conduit? Or form a Pact?¡± Julia looked at him and wondered which of them was crazier, and focused on projecting the Pact¡¯s power towards him. [Demonic Pact Formed: Moke, child of Feme, High Priestess of Bast has accepted your Pact] Fuck me! [Demonic Pact (5->6)] 53 - Dirty Deeds, done dirt cheap After listening to her instructions, Moke opened the conduit and climbed up through the unsettling passage. Julia could hear him muttering to himself about wet passages usually being more fun. When he reached the end and looked back with an ashen complexion, Julia wondered if he had changed his mind. ¡°Eakc? come quickly,¡± Moke called. The name Viper pronounced phonetically in his mortal tongue instead of Abyssal was odd, but it still worked. When Moke opened the conduit, and while climbing, a barrier had prevented Julia from putting even a finger within it. Now she could race through the passageway, shrinking in size to let her fly through it quickly, not wanting to delay. When Julia arrived at the other end, it was clear what had upset Moke. His attention still on the scene in front of him; she closed the conduit and stowed it away. Sand rustled underfoot as she stepped to his side and looked down at the destruction revealed in the dawn¡¯s light. The sight in front of her was ironically more like she had expected, having encountered an Egyptian previously, yet it was also far less. Sand stretched away behind them, while in front courses of tumbled stones and shattered rock provided enough detail to determine their location. The great pyramid of Giza and the Sphinx were but broken rubble, hardly a stone¡¯s throw from where they stood. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°We¡¯re in the lands of the Nile,¡± said Moke, his voice heavy with sadness. ¡°I dreamt of seeing the Nile, but not like this. Why did they destroy the Pyramid of Khufu? They drove us from our lands. But why did they destroy our people¡¯s legacy?¡± ¡°Who drove you out of Egypt?¡± ¡°The Great Wyrms, with their armies, they drove out all the peoples of the ten kingdoms. The Norse, Gaul, Romans, Greek, Hittites, Nubian, Persians, and the Slavic.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only nine with the Egyptians.¡± ¡°The Romans split between brothers, and each founded their own kingdom.¡± ¡°What about other cultures?¡± ¡°There were others?¡± Moke asked, looking at her with obvious confusion. ¡°I know the history, but this was centuries ago. Our gods commanded us to flee to the west. The magi enchanted riverboats to sail the ocean, but limited time forced them to leave many behind. Warriors, townsmen, farmers alike buying time for those chosen to escape. The survivors found themselves joined by others on the ocean beyond the lands of the dead. Great water elementals guided them to the currents that carried them west. It was a fleet stretching between horizons, such a fragile existence, yet in such hard times, there was still greed. Odin slew the Greek god of the ocean, and Mars slew their war god to prevent treachery. Their forgotten lords of the oceans and war had sought to blackmail the other Gods, seeking their pantheon to have supreme rights in the unknown lands.¡± ((Even God¡¯s can die, but the price can be high. )) Images of devastation trickled up out of Julia''s memories at the thought of Gods clashing near mortals. ¡°Ouch, how do the rest take that?¡± ¡°They had no choice, the Greek''s Gods were far from their place of power. And since they no longer had one to command the waves, nor guide them in battle, Odin, Mars and Ra marshalled the others and imposed peace. In the end, they negotiated that Tyr¡¯s Justice bound all the Gods on the rest of the journey.¡± Moke said. The pain he felt clear as his gaze moved over the ancient destruction to which he was now a witness. ¡°Can we leave? I used to dream I would see the Nile, the magnificent temples, and their beauty in the shimmering heat. This is not what I dreamt.¡± Julia took in the pain showing within his Soul even as she felt the trickle of them through the Pact they had forged. ((You purified Livia. )) Memories of cleansing Livia¡¯s Soul of Demonic energies came to mind, and Julia sadly smiled. The reminder had her focus on the Pact and intent sealed off the flow of Abyssal energies between them. [Demonic Pact (6 -> 8)] Does that mean it worked? Maybe I can avoid corrupting his Soul. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea. I just need to see if I can get it to work,¡± Julia said. As she offered the dimensional bag to Moke, a thought made her pause. ¡°Were there people already in those lands?¡± ¡°The Elves and Dwarves were there to greet the fleets; their Gods had told them of our arrival. They provided maps showing where we could settle. Now the kingdoms help them hold the various monstrous threats away from the civilised races. Though the last invasion of gnarls from the south-western deserts cost the Slavic calvary and west legions much to repel.¡± ¡°Okay. Unless you want to wait longer, we can go,¡± ¡°Let''s go,¡± Moke said. As he put his hand in the bag, she willed it to hold him. Then Teleport took them to the remembered knoll, with a jarring change of light. When Julia release Moke, he blinked in the moon''s light and peered about. ¡°How did it get dark? Where are we?¡± ¡°We shifted far west, so the Sun hasn¡¯t come up yet. We¡¯re south of Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± said Julia. When Julia''s form shifted to her mortal shape clad in leathers, Moke simply raised an eyebrow. ¡°You go from immortal beauty to mortal magnificence so easily,¡± Moke said. Give it a rest. Happy that you''re actually taller than me now? Julia ignored his comment and formed a cowled cloak, only to rip it from herself. The drop in health already healed even before he took it from her hands. ¡°You¡¯ll need to cover up, don¡¯t want to alarm anyone if travellers spot us after dawn,¡± ¡°Indeed, they might take me for one of the eastern peninsula''s swamp folk. Some are far less civilised than others,¡± Moke said. ¡°By the way, what about the Basteti?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t seem to care about having a kingdom of their own. Though their communities are welcome nearly anywhere they want to settle since they are skilled rangers and scouts. They even have several communities living within the Elven forests. What are we going to eat?¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Julia frowned when Moke started laughing. It wasn¡¯t that funny, but Moke just laughed harder when she frowned and tapped her foot. Though it was clear, he wasn¡¯t mocking her, and the laughter seemed an almost desperate release. When she played into it by crossing her arms and glaring, the laughter grew hysterical. ¡°Goof,¡± said Julia after he finally calmed. ¡°You got me out of there, yet you completely forgot about food,¡± Moke said, his amusement still clear in his voice. ¡°You focus on the big issues first. The smaller stuff normally is easy to solve,¡± said Julia, rolling her eyes at him. ¡°So what do you suggest for solving it? Oh mighty one, because normal food would be good.¡± ¡°Rabbit? Berries?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the season for berries that I know as safe to eat. I used to travel with a ranger, but I never paid attention. Just ate what they told me to and stayed away from anything else.¡± ¡°Useful are you. I don¡¯t have any local coin on me, even if anyone was awake to sell food. Do you have any of that coinage on you from your yowling?¡± ¡°Yowling! Why?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll want to keep them. Why don¡¯t you use them to pay me for dealing with a certain priest?¡± ¡°Why do you want coin for killing him?¡° asked Moke, as he untied a pouch from his belt and extended it, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re an assassin and a beauty. Well, if so, please consider this payment for his assassination.¡± And there he goes again. Maybe I should take on a hideous shape to shut him up. {{No. }} ((Vanity comes in many forms )) ¡°I¡¯m an assassin and other things. Thank you for the coin, yet we¡¯re still no closer to food.¡± Julia said, letting the purse disappear. ¡°Well, I know some people at Eyrarh¨¢ls. When dawn comes, I¡¯ll get you some food and come back? Do I want to know what you ate in recent weeks? ¡± ¡°Beauty is important,¡± said Moke. Julia could tell from the look he gave; that the earlier change in subject was evident to him. ¡°Moke, why should it matter how a person looks, especially a Succubus? I can change my appearance at will to be beautiful or a horrific monster. Some people get trapped in bodies they despise and judged because they¡¯ve either stopped caring or because they want to change their outer flesh.¡± ¡°True, a person¡¯s happiness matters most. Bast is my people¡¯s Goddess of Protection, but she also teaches us to protect our Souls with pleasure, beauty, music and song so we might find joy.¡± Well, how do I break this topic? Just jump in feet first? ¡°Your mother is a High Priestess. How is she going to react to my having formed a Pact with her son?¡± ¡°How did you know that? Did Setau set this up with you?¡± asked Moke, anger and suspicion edging his voice. Maybe try tact next time J. ¡°Moke, I see things, plus why would your enemy ask anyone to get you out of the Abyss?¡± ¡°Alright, you have a point. Still, it is disconcerting. May I know what else you see?¡± ¡°Well, I know you¡¯re a Bard with some training as a fighter. You have training in short blades, bows, and some illusion spell forms.¡± ¡°How can you tell the path someone is walking?¡± ¡°I can. It¡¯s how I immediately knew, when I paid attention at least, that you weren¡¯t a Cambion. When we formed the Pact, then I learnt you''re the son of Feme, one of Bast''s High Priestesses,¡± ¡°How did you say her name?¡± ¡°Your mother¡¯s name, did I get it wrong?¡± ¡°No, the Goddess¡¯s name. They taught me that none but strongest among the Demons could pronounce a God of Light¡¯s name.¡± ¡°I just can. Sit down and tell me about Setau. What happened with him, and where can I find him?¡± Julia didn¡¯t wait for Moke and just sat down where she had meditated months previously while cleansing Livia¡¯s Soul. When she went still, Moke just looked at her, the weight of his gaze heavy. ¡°I¡¯ll listen, while I work,¡± ¡°Work on what?¡± ¡°Clearing the Abyssal blight from your Soul and getting the curse off you. I¡¯m sorry for the way it reacted to the Music,¡± ¡°Music, what music?¡± ¡°You were in pain, and then you started clawing yourself. It¡¯s a pity you didn¡¯t get to listen to it.¡± ¡°There was no music when I appeared. Trust me; if there was music, even someone cutting off a foot wouldn''t stop me from paying attention.¡± ¡°Apparently not, since I could hear the music from the Grotto there. It comes from the crystals and Souls singing in the Burning Grotto,¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t any music that I could hear,¡± ¡°I¡¯d try to project it to you, but I can¡¯t read your mind. So I doubt you¡¯d be able to hear anything I sent to you,¡± ¡°I know why, but I¡¯m sure I shouldn¡¯t be telling you my secrets. Since you can see so much already, plus you are a Demoness,¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair, and please don¡¯t tell them to me. I have ties that could put any secrets you share at risk,¡± ¡°A Demoness and you tell me that. You are nothing like the Succubi at the brothel,¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°Speak, tell me what happened, and where I can find this Setau. I take it he is the High Priest that dropped the curse on you? What did you get up to?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to give you some context. The Church of Set had a new temple being constructed five days west of Thebes. Its final dedication went wrong, but no one knows for sure exactly what happened. All the information available is what the Charter house told groups sent to investigate.¡± ¡°Charter house?¡± ¡°Interrupting the performance of a Bard is vulgar. Please keep that in mind; this is twice now. They monitor and, to some extent, organise the mercenary teams in Egypt. Under the charter of the King, they may issue charters to groups or force them to disband. Now be still,¡± said Moke, his tone light-hearted in contrast to his words. Is that what I¡¯d call adventurers or purely mercenary units? Both? ¡°The Hollow doesn¡¯t count; you interrupted yourself,¡± Julia said. ¡°Now three, do you have any idea what your aura feels like?¡± asked Moke. The moon¡¯s light allowed Julia to see the disbelief clear in his eyes. ¡°Keep going with the information on the temple and High Priest,¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you practice being frustrating, Eakc?,¡± ¡°Indeed, I do. I¡¯m told all younger sisters do now spill the details.¡± Moke frowned at her in confusion before he continued. ¡°The previous King, Khufu the second, had permitted the Church of Set to construct a new complex near the village of Damietta. After decades of work, it was nearing completion, and they had a final ceremony planned for Set¡¯s feast day. Instead, it was a massacre, the only survivors were those not dedicated to that temple. So the Charter house only had limited information,¡± Moke said. Before setting back against the edge of the knoll, near Julia. Julia visualised the Pact, changing the cable into a cord of arteries between them. As Moke spoke, she focused on drawing the Abyssal taint from him first, watching as pieces of it lifted clear, leaving wounds across her perception of his Soul. ¡°When the day of dedication drew new, the High Priestess in charge hadn''t returned from a pilgrimage. She was to bring back offerings of condemned Slaves and a special altar for the heart of the complex.¡± Condemned Slaves? {{We could have killed them as well. }} ((No, that would not have happened. )) Memories of slaughter flickered in Julia¡¯s mind as nights overlaid each other. A sense of molten rage and hatred roiled across her. People were screaming and straining against their chains or running with weapons. Blood from a hole torn in a slaver¡¯s throat, the warmth spraying delightfully over her skin. The blackness drinking their Soul into her form. Livia was beside her, pointing at another Slaver, and Demonic essence pumped through the twisted bond that had existed from breast to mouth. The sense of something looming behind her, its presence steadying even as she ran for the next slaver. The moment stretched with screams, and echoes of deaths flickered in her awareness. Then it left suddenly in the space of Moke inhaling. That felt like I was killing them and enjoying it too much. But what else was that with me? Was that the demon, and I was the one slaughtering them? ¡°The other priests ordered the celebrations to start before the feast day, likely hoping to appease Set with other offerings. When people had gathered on his feast day, a barrier surrounded the complex. As it did, Demons appeared within, and they started slaughtering the priests and faithful. The survivors escaped by jumping from the outer wall but the barrier prevented others from jumping with them. They fled the screams from within, not sure if the Demons could pursue. When they got to Thebes, they reported the events to the authorities, rather than Church of Set discretely, as I¡¯m sure they would have preferred.¡± ¡°Did the authorities force the Church to fix things? What¡¯s the situation with condemned slaves? Are they murderers, or folks seized in a slave raid?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Slave raiding is illegal unless you are talking about hitting a humanoid encampment. They make poor slaves, though some use them in mines. Any breach of the treaties would condemn the parties responsible in return. Condemned are murderers, rapist, anyone guilty of major crimes where the King doesn¡¯t waiver the punishment to a lower court¡¯s authority. The King asked the Charter house to direct the investigation. Their lead team found the barrier in place and forced Set guardsmen in first. It allowed them in, but they never returned. The Charter house groups tried to breach the complex next; I was in Memphis. Otherwise, I would have entered with my friends.¡± So the follower¡¯s of Set break rules all over the place. Slave raids, rape, murder, rules what rules those are things for other people. I so hate them. Yet talk about ripples; what else have I kicked off? Though somethings, I¡¯d like to kick. ((Hate can poison you. )) ¡°And died with them?¡± asked Julia. ¡°No one knows if they¡¯re dead. It could have just trapped the Charter house teams in there. The barrier has the whole place wrapped up in spatial and death mana. Your interruption count keeps going up,¡± Moke said. Though the look he gave Julia seemed still mockingly stern rather than angry. Death mana? Oh boy. ¡°Then I¡¯ll add another. Tell me about the barrier¡¯s appearance?¡± ¡°A dome of darkness that appears as if the light of the sun is dying on its way inside. The King stationed detachments to keep an eye for anything coming out. Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll look into it after we remove your curse." An entry to the Necropolis on the material plane? If it is, those that went inside are likely dead. ¡°When I returned from performing at a noble''s celebrations, I found my companions had joined the efforts. After learning what happened, I acted in anger and wrote a song to mock the Church of Set and Setau''s failure. A completely awful song, yet it received recognition and sticks in one¡¯s mind. The arse Setau told me he was quite furious after noticing the musicians at the palace had been strumming parts of it in court. He was even less happy when I told him they''d been playing it for weeks," Moke said, a mocking smile lighting his feature for a moment before he shook his head. "Of course, after which, he smacked the curse on me and dumped me through a portal. Not to my slow death, as I¡¯m sure he hoped; instead, I wasn¡¯t far from Z?hma; I followed the trail of some miners returning to the settlement. Various magics allowed me to survive the food, rancid air, and I found work at the Hollow. Weeks later, you came into the bar like a whirlwind, smashing it with your aura and flames.¡± said Moke. Bad guy gloating? When he finished, Julia waited, and when Moke didn¡¯t speak again, took it as permission. ¡°You¡¯re clear of the Abyssal blight, but the mana of the curse isn¡¯t coming off. Though I should say it does, but it seems to renew itself faster than I can draw it away.¡± Julia said. ¡°I thought that would be the case. Unless Setau dies first, we¡¯ll have to find a stronger High Priest; even then, he¡¯ll know its broken. Setau isn¡¯t the strongest High Priest, but still letting him plan wouldn¡¯t be good.¡± ¡°Safer to kill him first then,¡± ¡°Much. But Setau has the temple guards protecting him, along with other High Priests and lesser Priests about,¡± ¡°So where can I find him?¡± ¡°That part is simple. The main Temple in Thebes, Setau, is one of the High Priests in charge of the Temple of Thebes. He¡¯s also their representative at the King¡¯s court so he rarely strays far,¡± ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you describe the place, and him,¡± ¡°What you¡¯re just going to slip in unnoticed?¡± ¡°That will depend on their wards. Is it a public temple lots of non-dedicated worshipers coming to offer appeasements and things?¡± ¡°Yes, some worship Set, but most just offer appeasement, especially during the season of storms.¡± ¡°Is it public knowledge where all their temples are?¡± ¡°Most of them. Yet every Church has hidden temples, though their reasons vary. Why?¡± ¡°Later, for now, I need a reliable description of that Temple and him if possible,¡± ¡°Please, I¡¯m a Bard I¡¯ll paint you a picture of words,¡± said Moke, affecting an offended tone. ¡°Well, get on with it,¡± Julia said, poking out her tongue at his tone, ¡°though while I¡¯m gone, if the mental shielding is something you can remove, at least consider doing so. Or what conditions you¡¯d want me to meet first. I would like to share my memories of the song with you. I never learnt to sing, even if I had I know I couldn¡¯t do it justice.¡± ¡°A Demon caring what I¡¯d feel comfortable doing, the beauty of a song, or doing something justice. You are a strange one. Perhaps I should teach you to sing,¡± ¡°There won¡¯t be time. I can¡¯t stay in the material plane long this time. Now paint your picture of the temple,¡± Need to get back and ensure Usd¡¯ghi doesn¡¯t stay annoyed; whatever Salia said.
Julia lay on the floor beside the maid¡¯s bed, as she mentally followed her dreaming mind through the temple complex. The maid¡¯s dreaming mind reacted with delight at being promoted to the High Priest Setau¡¯s maid. In the dream, the passages of the Temple had grown more ornate, with hieroglyphs and murals more frequent on the wall the closer she had gotten. It should make it easy enough to trace her way there. The dreaming maid even inserted a glimpse of the High Priest sitting at his desk. Julia left the maid when her own fleeting fancy added being selected as a concubine on the spot. [Dream Sending (5->6)] Getting into the temple itself had been easier than Julia had expected. It wasn¡¯t like any religious building to her, with workshops, gardens, and even a small lake, within the perimeter of the walls. While nominally within Thebes, it was a small community unto itself; with even fields and orchards inside the boundaries. The wards around the temple proper didn¡¯t even ripple as she touched them and parted to allow her entry. Almost as if they recognised and even welcomed a Demon within. This is not the Succubus you are looking for, I¡¯m just Hit Man without the bar code, and more arse. Taking a form similar to the dreaming maid, Julia swayed through the temple carrying a covered wine jar as an excuse. They¡¯d fixed dimmed magical crystals in the passages, but for her, there was more than enough light. The main Temple building was quiet, and Telepathy frequently brushed against sleeping minds as she moved through it. Not night owls. The wards on the High Priest¡¯s chamber looked to prevent unauthorised teleportation in or out. Julia stored the jar and slid a thin tendril under the door itself; ready to flee at the first sign of alarm. When she brushed the energy of another ward just inside, Julia tensed; yet, like their outer ward, it didn¡¯t respond with alarm. Extending her perceptions to the filament, the High Priest¡¯s current entertainment explained its reaction. Two succubi were currently providing him stress relief by putting on a show. Their elongated tongues clearly visible in what seemed a carefully posed sixty-nine, as they probed deep between each other¡¯s folds. Julia brushed aside a force that drew her gaze to the Succubus on top. Fuck toy and sex shows R¡¯ us? The balcony looks to have different wards. From their minds, it¡¯s clear they¡¯re mostly bored. Why not just have mortal concubines? The type that won¡¯t try to lay claim to your Soul. Or that not a thrill any more? Analysis [High Priest Setau Race: Human Egyptian Descent Class: Priest Level: 55 Age: 47 Health: 550 (605) Mana: 1155 Defence: 14 Melee Attack Power: 42 Combat Skills: Short Blades [Ad] (5), Heavy Blades [Ad] (10), Mana Finesse [M] (5). Access to various blessing and curses. Details: A later son of Khufu the second, Setau is a political appointee in his cousin¡¯s court. His title in the Church is due only to his own political manipulations, and his mother¡¯s influence. As he hasn¡¯t evolved the Prestige Class to gain it on merit alone. Demonic Pact with Tlipha? Condition: Fatigued, Drug altered perceptions] Analysis [Name: Salitha Demonic Species: Succubus Class: Succubus Level: 6/ 30 Health: 654 Mana: 810 Defence: 35 Melee Attack Power: 51 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad](31), Bite [Ad] (29), Tail Strike [Ad] (20), Wings [Ad] (15), Blink [J] (18), Teleport [J] (5), Various spell forms - Affinity Mental, and Lightning. Details: Spawned from the delta waters in the plane of ¨¤luga, this Succubus belongs to the faction commanded by Set, a Lesser Power in the Egyptian Pantheon ] Analysis [Name: Tlipha? Demonic Species: Succubus Class: Temptress Level: 9 / 44 Health: 1,672 Mana: 4,736 Defence: 45 Melee Attack Power: 91 Combat Skills: Claws [M](13), Bite [Ad] (42), Tail Strike [M] (3), Wings [Ad] (41), Greater Teleport [Ad] (13), Aura: Allure [M] (2), Various spell forms - Affinities Mental, Abyssal and Fire. Details: Spawned from the delta waters in the plane of ¨¤luga, this Succubus belongs to the faction commanded by Set, a Lesser Power in the Egyptian Pantheon. They have evolved the Scout and Succubus classes into the Prestige Class of Temptress, available with each at level 30.] With them all currently distracted, Julia slithered under the door and blended with the stonework. What Soul Sight showed confirmed her plans, with the visions of rape and torture it provided. As he sat up to get a clearer view Julia saw her moment, changing and teleporting while he breathed in to speak. The fleck of dust she¡¯d become riding in with his breath. At the junction of his lungs, the mote became a spiked shape drinking blackness, and the thrashing started. ¡°He¡¯s in trouble, maybe even dying.¡± The unconcerned voice in Abyssal was close by, though his flesh muffled the words. Telepathy picked up its perceptions and the gloating that shone from its mind. As the pressure of desperate breaths dug her form deeper still, Soul Sight ignited a cold ire the more she looked within him, yet there was too much she needed to know. The succubi leant close, and Telepathy filled Julia with an awareness of their delight. A hand slapped down as he scrambled for Set¡¯s symbol. Only for the grip to force him upright so the Succubi could lick pain-wracked flesh as desperation grew. Together the pair writhed against him, mocking him for his oncoming death till finally, life departed. ¡°He¡¯s dead, but I can¡¯t feel his Soul through my pact. Did you steal it?¡± ¡°No. Perhaps we should kill more while we¡¯re here,¡± ¡°I wanted his Soul. He didn¡¯t tell me another had first rights to it,¡± as they stood she delivered kicks in time with their words. Oh shit, I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll stick to the guilty. Spikes that had shredded flesh withdrew and Julia teleported to appear in her mortal form naked before the door. While the weaker one hesitated, the stronger succubus smiled and charged at her lithe, exposed form. Julia ignited Ki Armour¡¯s flames as the Succubus drew close to strike. While stepping forward as if to meet the charge, Julia faded left to kick. Yet a lashing tail swept out to block her leg in time. The tail¡¯s strike tempered her kick¡¯s momentum and slithered off Ki Armour¡¯s flames. Tlipha?¡¯s aura crackled against her will, and Julia pressed closer still. A snarl from the Succubus sounded just before tracing missiles hits had lightning burning over skin. Tlipha? grabbed with hands suddenly awash with black Abyssal flames. Assumptions J? No wonder the bitch charged! No time to cast. Julia let Jade Mana ripple within Ki Infusion as she whirled to avoid the grab. Still, one hand¡¯s claws dug into Ki Armour and cut in to rip flesh away. Pain drifted across awareness as blade-shaped spines lanced from her back. Mana wreath blades cutting into demonic flesh with the pressure of her turn. As a burning hand tried to grab again, Julia reappeared behind Tlipha?. Only for her to flicker and reappear with burning claws striking against her side. Lightning erupted even as Julia teleported again, its force ripping the air where she¡¯d been. I need to lock one down fast! They can¡¯t move through the walls. I hope. Tlipha? having caught the blast pushed up from the broken door. Julia reinforced Ki Armour over lightning blistered flesh before Tlipha? struggled free. Even as Salitha formed another spell, Blink placed her near the bed. With both in view, Julia started a casting of her own. As the Temptress teleported again, lightning flared from Salitha''s hands and Julia leapt with its strike. Her spell already completed and held in Ki as the power rent against the Ki''s flames. Thrown away with Armour flames breaking and shifting flesh, Julia''s will forced Teleport¡¯s move. The force of motion carrying her now spiked form crushing Salitha to the wall. Red Lightning rippled as they both bounced back. Power surged and smashed Salitha''s blood-soaked flesh into the wall again. Spears ladened with Ki struck down and blackness drank. Julia''s eyes caught the oncoming wall of flames. Smoke from bedding and bodies filled the chamber¡¯s air. As Abyssal flames scoured remains, and stone alike, a still burning form appeared behind. Tlipha? screamed as lines of hooks from throat to crotch stitched their flesh together. Demonic blood slicking the surrounding floor as barbs erupted clear through. Blackness fed while the surprise of Julia¡¯s slumping weight and Flight shoved them to the ground. {{Well, at least you got a happy ending. Slip in something more? Oh, it makes me quiver.}} ((Your imagination is a strange thing, child. )) Julia shuddered against pain and revolting thoughts; while Tlipha? screamed and her flesh tore. Black flames and drinking blackness spread agony that quashed an attempted spell, as the Mana within Ki Infusion swam from Yang to Yin. When dust swirled in the air, at last, Julia lay healing on the bloody ground and watched the ashes float. There I velcroed your arse bitch. As she forced herself to shrug aside the combat summary, the echoes of raised voices and booted feet rang through the temple halls. [Combat Summary: High Priest Setau x1 Succubus of Set x1 Temptress of Set x1 Demonic Shards Gained: 2 Total-experience to distribute: 7966 Blood Monk : +1,266 Wizard: +1,300 Succubus: +2,700 Assassin: +2,700 Assassin Level Up! Additional experience awarded for contract completion: Assassin: +1,000 Abyssal Resistance Unlocked. Abyssal [L] (1->5) Electricity [M] (14 -> 16)] Tendrils extending on the way to the door gave Julia a chance to grab a few valuables. Unfortunately, she was still inside the wards when the sound of boots and snapped commands were already at the door. Interlude - Choices The mounds of charred dead stretched out across the shattered hills as Usd¡¯ghi picked her way through them. So many corpses weren¡¯t worth bothering with, as their valuable pieces would glut the markets soon enough. The few items scattered here and there carrying sufficient enchantment soon filled many storage items carried by Usd¡¯ghi. Power took her to the broken giant¡¯s remains and let her see what had shone in the mists. Next to the pulped remains of the former Lord Qjiadl¨®v upon whose body she stood lay the glowing shards of true Power she had sensed from far. The mists were a maelstrom about them, as the Abyss ached from the ¡®feathers¡¯ touching against its reality. With great care, Usd¡¯ghi willed each feather into a unique bag. Each far longer than she was tall, their broken shafts barely fitting into the bag¡¯s mouth held in her outstretched arms. Their energy was shimmering so close to her skin it savaged against protections, each attempt needing retreat and renewal. Qjiadl¨®v would oppose the four no longer in this war he should have avoided. Still, his stupidity prompted by her forceful opposition to his plans had born her rich fruit. Now she¡¯d found Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s corpse retrieving his possessions could wait; no one could lay claim to what she¡¯d crafted. With the last feather stored away, reality tore open and through to home. Her form changing as reality¡¯s wound closed, and the last vestige of its confining rules faded from Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s flesh.
Usd¡¯ghi sat, watching the mist of fate swirl around her hand as the grimoire on her worktable closed. Trails of her fate usually obscured rippled out in the mist, more solid than she had seen since before the war of four. ¨´eqr?kas ignoring her advice had ruptured many of the fate lines she had expected, but not as many as hoped. That feathered bitch would answer for the eons of work her meddling had ruined, the chances of power she had stifled. The only satisfaction Usd¡¯ghi had gained was seeing Baln¨¦rith¡¯s fall in person, though other¡¯s choices had blocked her hope to end her existence. The surrounding mists had shuddered when Naz¡¯ricla''s mother had handed her the whelp during the ceremony of blood. Many branches led to the child¡¯s power and the others strangely stretching towards the unknown. Other Hags might fear such, yet Usd¡¯ghi was no stranger to it. The Abyss had plenty of what others deemed the unknown, or unknowable, and for Usd¡¯ghi seizing power from either was enticing. Plans were one thing that never survived in the swirling landscape of the Abyss. Usd¡¯ghi had seen many beings ended because they had no flex in their whims; it was much better to use broad frameworks and have a wide range of pieces to gain the desired outcome. Discarding useless pieces and using those worthwhile till Usd¡¯ghi wrung them dry of value was the surest path. The mists revealed to her enough to know where this useless pawn''s fate lay. Images of ultimate destructions had shown within the mists around the child, yet the ones farthest away were the strangest. Those paths held so many strange gaps in foretelling, though the images left promised plenty of profit and carnage. Mist unfurling showing Naz¡¯ricla pressing against the empty air of one unseeable, through wards bearing her mark, but not yet made. Naz¡¯ricla''s head presented intact with restitution shone on another distant branch given by that same unseen. Death after death of that child in fate''s branches with nothing in common but ignoring a warning; so many choices beyond her control that brought that unseeable one to Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s door. The worst of those first meetings rippled with the unseeable¡¯s power and Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s ultimate destruction. There the Order¡¯s sigil shone with victory at Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s undoing, having burnt and crushed deep into one and unseeable. The first meeting would determine options among barely hinted fates, yet fate showed no keys to twist its locks. Then courses that stretched out with their bubbles of chance showing in the unknown. Some mounded with riches, influence, and favours owed to set long-delayed goals within reach. So much unknown filled Usd¡¯ghi with delight and left her feeling millions of years younger. A dire and delicious choice somewhere had its ripples approaching the edges of the Titan¡¯s creation. Bubbles of possibility, with so many unseen linkages, frothed in its coming. The weapon now in front of her just one of those bubbles. The sigil glowing in the mists along the path decided her course; she¡¯d warn the stupid whelp when the time came to provoke her properly. The essence of direct kin was a useful thing; Naz¡¯ricla¡¯s corpse would provide that in time, on any path where she failed to heed the warning. One of her lineage wearing the Sigil of that abomination¡¯s Order made Usd¡¯ghi seethe with rage. Though rage she knew was impotent, mere energy to apply to the right fulcrum, it was even less than mortal piss and wind with no leverage. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Now, to find the leverage. What are you, my little unseen? What delightful chance at power will you bring me? Will you be useful or bring me to another worthy of time spent?¡± Even while Usd¡¯ghi muttered, she chose, and the mists swirled towards the unknown. A case floated and unfolded before her while the grimoire returned to its place. Usd¡¯ghi turned to focus on a rough War Mattock with an inscribing tool selected, its quality far beneath what was ordinarily worthy of her skill. Its acquisition had been an impulse, driven by sheer curiosity at the mists having swirled around a mere object. Now Usd¡¯ghi wanted to see what delightful carnage it might bring. The mist''s path showed it dropped soon from her hand amid a baying crowd of Br¨ªn. There was sufficient time before the Br¨ªn¡¯s next brood day to complete it. If nothing else, it would be fun to see who among the guests they planned to kill. Likely some fool that couldn¡¯t believe it was them whose blood would feed the arena¡¯s floor. They¡¯d not dared to invite Usd¡¯ghi for eons for a good reason, so she¡¯d arrive uninvited and see if they dared object. Still, she had such delightful memories of the last Br¨ªn elder thinking he¡¯d forced her hand. He hadn¡¯t foreseen what the brood raised from her blood would do. A century spent lying low researching spells for her Coven¡¯s grimoires and guiding new pawns on the board had been no hardship for her. When Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s turn came, it had been amusing to watch his face when the trap''s ultimate stage had closed. Convinced no one knew all his bound planes, he¡¯d grown careless. Elders so often needed to educate the younger, even if they weren¡¯t of the blood. It always delighted her to seize the chance to teach one such a lesson they deserved. Their new elder was much more respectful to the Coven¡¯s power, for now. A choice made Usd¡¯ghi set the first rune of binding and felt fate click. Such poor material would need a delicate touch. The freshness of mystery filled her with delightful anticipation, even as she could feel the baying crowd about her. Usd¡¯ghi looked forward to the bloodshed ahead and a business''s challenge in dealing with the Titan¡¯s coinage. Such a delightful treasure it might bring to her grasp and profits for the Coven¡¯s coffers.
Metal clinked in tempo to the charging crowd as shells cracked and Br¨ªn fell free to the blood-soaked floor. More and more bubbled up through the surface, spreading blood, yet none promised what she sought. ¡°Which will you bet on, witch?¡± A growling voice near her question, its tone as polite as its kind could manage. With a glance towards it, she nearly cast its destruction until motion caught her eye. Stone burnt and flared with force, as a Br¨ªn came forth not from blood, nor shell, but the stone itself close against the Arena¡¯s wall. The mists ignited and space cleared about it, yet no path of fate showed its way. ¡°A coin on that one,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, as she held up a coin of Pure Night. ¡°Only even money if you intend to gift it that Mattock.¡± ¡°Done.¡± Even as they fix the bet, it''s driven into the wall by another; as heads clash, Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s will breaches the distance. When the attacker staggers back, she lets the War Mattock drop. ¡°Kill your way to the stairs whelp I¡¯ve got a coin riding on you now.¡± The strange one didn¡¯t even look about at her words, seizing up the weapon and goes for the kill. It has potential. How was it born from the Abyss¡¯s stone?
A sliver of a feather glowing with Abyssal energy rippled as energy and will touched against it. The Castellan''s distant will failed unknowingly under her own. Contempt and arrogance flared under her will as the power set words of anger and conviction at the reports within its fate¡¯s threads. As the feather ignited, Usd¡¯ghi smiled, and the mists swirled before she turned towards the guest again. With an outstretched hand, she offered the agreed payment. ¡°As agreed,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. ¡°As agreed,¡± said Tras¡¯laq¨¬, the offered book disappearing at its touch. Tern¨°x is dangerous perhaps she''ll need a guide if she asks. If not, then she''ll be even sooner within the forge. As Tras¡¯laq¨¬ scurried off to his job within the Order''s stronghold, Usd¡¯ghi settled down to wait. 54 - Everyone hurts When the guards smashed the broken door open, debris went everywhere, including some swirling out into the corridor. As guards rushed through the debris into the chamber, some clung to boots or cloth, and one fleck vanished completely. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m home,¡± Julia said, enjoying the way a dozing Moke jumped from his skin. The blankets she formed for him falling all about, ¡°I told you to stay awake. If I returned to find a bear needed to shit you out, it would have annoyed me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure a bear would have better sense than trying to eat something smelling as I do. I¡¯d find somewhere to wash if I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d kill the fish,¡± ¡°Glad you realise the effect of your personality,¡± said Julia, as she held out a fancy looking pouch and bounced it with a clink. ¡°If they¡¯ll take what Egyptian¡¯s use as coins, food is no longer an issue.¡± ¡°I know of Eyrarh¨¢ls. It¡¯s a place busy with river trade. So if they won¡¯t directly, I¡¯m sure we can find a merchant to exchange them. So what now?¡± Moke asked. ¡°Well, I could try to pull the curse apart. But I think it¡¯s best we get someone else to look at it,¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t want that risk?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had time to think. We¡¯ll go up to Eyrarh¨¢ls in the morning, speak to High Justice Verdandi,¡± ¡°What! But you¡¯re a Succubus why would you go near a High Priest of Tyr,¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got a history,¡± said Julia, ¡°I¡¯d trust her to pull the curse apart, not leave you stuck in that state.¡± ¡°We could have gone earlier then?¡± ¡°No, we couldn¡¯t. The Gates shut at dusk Moke, and Setau would have known. Plus, I wasn¡¯t sure what she¡¯d make of me planning to kill Setau,¡± ¡°Why the change of heart?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know how big a piece of shit he was before I saw him. Now I know all the major laws they¡¯ve broken, don¡¯t think she¡¯ll mind one bit; though she might complain I have his Soul,¡± ¡°A lawbreaker, I¡¯m not surprised. The fellows that delivered me seemed proficient kidnappers. Why do you have his Soul?¡± ¡°Since I could take it, why wouldn¡¯t I? I¡¯m interested to see if they can bring him back from the dead while I¡¯m holding it,¡± ¡°And if they can¡¯t?¡± ¡°I just might keep it till my plans advance,¡± ¡°What plans are those?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want his deity to find out that I¡¯m wiping out his priests, now do I,¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°Because Setau¡¯s deity is a power-hungry rapist, much like Setau. From his memories, the others also take after that twatopotamus of a deity. So I think its time to make it stop. The High Priestess that went missing, I know her, and I killed her. She wasn¡¯t bringing back condemned prisoners. They were Norse villagers, and he knew all about it. Setau¡¯s mortal boss got a vision of a special Altar and what offerings they wanted. They planned it for years, also had a High Priest of Janus on the menu for the dedication. I met him, the guy¡¯s an arsehole, but not even he deserves what they had planned,¡± ¡°Twatopotamus what? How do you know all this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an insult; leave it at that. Some I got from his mind, the rest from his Soul as I waited for him to die,¡± ¡°His Church is planning things, and I want to kick over their apple cart. I¡¯ve been told Deities can¡¯t hear folks other than their faithful speak their name. But let us stop using it until we make them pay. It seems your friends ended up in a place I know, so I¡¯ll see if I can help them.¡° ¡°Can you help them? What purpose would your plans serve besides to enrage him?¡± ¡°No promises regarding your friends, but I¡¯ll try. They¡¯ve been in there for months, so they may be dead. Not all the Priests at the dedication died, just the lay priests. The real ones summoned the Demons, things didn¡¯t go wrong, they moved to an alternate plan. Setau¡¯s boss gave them instructions after the High Priestess didn¡¯t return. Though even Setau didn¡¯t have the full details,¡± Julia said, pressing a comforting hand to Moke¡¯s shoulder before she continued. ¡°If you killed the High Priestess, why didn¡¯t they come after you earlier?¡± Moke asked. ¡°Now you¡¯re the one interrupting, so vulgar,¡± said Julia ¡°But you¡¯re not a Bard!¡± Moke retorted, his voice regaining at least a show of life. ¡°They weren¡¯t aware of what happened to her till it was too late to recover the Altar,¡± ¡°What happens if a Deity has no priests left among the living? That at least would lose their influence, make people give their worship to other powers who still have mortals to channel blessings. There are other Gods of Storms among the Kingdoms. If we weaken him enough, his worshipers might find other religions to join. If all stopped worshipping him or caring, what would happen? Also, he controls a faction in the Abyss, and if he¡¯s weakened, it makes him prey for others. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t enjoy the experience. We don¡¯t have to kill him ourselves, just hurt him enough so someone else can drag him down.¡± {{Their blood shake brings all the Demons to their throat. }} ((Weakness indeed will bring out the knives. If only you could hold them to account yourself. )) ¡°You play for high stakes. Wouldn¡¯t other Priests just bring them back to life?¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. If I don¡¯t leave intact bodies and can keep the Souls, then recovery should be impossible. Gods can die right. That¡¯s what your legends say. If they can die, then it should be possible to hurt their plans, if nothing else. The way I look at it, he has to answer for his deeds. I¡¯m going make sure they pay for some of their crap at least,¡± Julia said. The words spoken carried a cold razor¡¯s edge that kissed the air with frost. Moke¡¯s eyes had widened as she spoke, and Julia wasn¡¯t sure if he wanted to run or puke till he smiled. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not a spawn of Sekhmet? You sound like one of her battle priests. Should I have brought you a beer to woo you? Though that¡¯s a lot of ifs. Surely a power will object to you holding Souls,¡± ¡°Tell me if woo and wound rhyme, Moke. It¡¯s why I¡¯m just testing it with one Soul to start. Validate options, then plan multiple courses of action with fall-back positions. As for Souls, apparently, objections arise with those I harvest if I plan to keep them. As long as I don¡¯t torture them and eventually plan to take them to the grey fields, it¡¯s fine. Payment on delivery from the Titan¡¯s crew, so most hand them over quickly. And I will eventually, in one thousand years or maybe ten. When the power to resurrect them would cripple the priest trying it.¡± ¡°The Titan, who is that? What¡¯s in all this for you?¡± So guess he isn¡¯t common knowledge. ¡°The Titan, I¡¯m not sure of the term. I¡¯m told he doesn¡¯t have worshippers, just servants. He sets the rules of reality, of the planes, and even the Gods play by his rules. Why because I choose to hurt a piece of filth and those he enables. Someone like them hurt a friend. I got revenge for her, and these arseholes will pay too. When I¡¯m done with them, we¡¯ll see what¡¯s next,¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Demoness. Why do you care so much?¡± ¡°Talk to Verdandi about it. See what she says; you¡¯ve no reason to believe me directly,¡± Julia said, giving a half-seen shrug. ¡°How can you continually use the name of a High Justice so casually?¡° asked Moke, the confusion on his face only growing greater the longer they spoke. ¡°I like her, she¡¯s a forceful lady, with a steel spine. I¡¯m not one of Tyr¡¯s lot, though I think some are cute, muscle wise especially,¡± ¡°You are so strange you do my mind in Eakc?,¡± ¡°There¡¯s not actually a lot to hurt. Now paint me a picture Bard tell me of this complex. Have you seen it yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so wounded at your words. The thorns of your rose cut so deep.¡± Moke said. ¡°You wanted revenge Moke, how complete a revenge do you want? Just for yourself, or for all the innocents they hurt? Are you as self-centred as they are? Only an issue when they¡¯ve hurt your own? They¡¯ve been breaking the treaties for generations. Do you want to do Bast proud and protect innocents? Or just going to sing about black deeds and stupid greed?¡± {{Oh yeah, press his buttons. Maybe I¡¯ll figure out your frigid ways.}} {{If we won¡¯t get to fuck something, at least we¡¯ll fuck up some nice strong prey.}} ((Someone should hold them to account for their misdeeds. Take care your motivations stay pure. )) Moke looked at her in silence for a time before he spoke. ¡°What do you need from me?¡± ¡°Keep the Pact, I¡¯ll be in the Abyss, and if I blacken your Soul at all, you can break it. Find where their hidden temples are, and information on the their full priests. If your friends are alive, I¡¯ll see if I can get them out.¡± ¡°Why keep the Pact?¡± ¡°So when you¡¯ve gathered information on the temples, it should let you get in touch. If not, fall back is my ¡®Use¡¯ name. Either way, I come out of the Abyss and we¡¯ll start the next phase,¡± ¡°I thought I shouldn¡¯t trust you with my secrets. Now you want me to trust you to not endanger myself with this Pact?¡± {{Don¡¯t trust me, you¡¯ll only regret it. Isn¡¯t that what he said?}} ((You are not L¨ºdhins. Even the Oath doesn¡¯t cover everything. )) ((It tells you not to hold factions or kin above the Sisterhood. )) ((It omits friends or allies, as Demons have neither. )) The echoes of memories of L¨ºdhins¡¯ conviction not to trust him stirred in her and the words of the Oath burnt. Yet the conviction that there were loopholes to exploit surged within her. ¡°Talk to Verdandi and Torm from the temple of Tyr about me. Hear what they have to say. If you¡¯re at risk from any Demon regarding the Pact, then I¡¯ll break it at once. If I break it, then you can never trust me again. As they might be among those that can give me orders to betray you. Ask your mother if they can help heal and purify your Soul. Is she a real High Priest or a fake one?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a real High Priest, who is fake?¡±, Moke asked, and rushed on at her smile, ¡°What Setau? How do you know?¡± ¡°I see what you call paths, remember. He was only a level fifty Priest,¡± said Julia. ¡°Level?¡± They don¡¯t even know about levels? Is my brain just translating things? It says Analysis taps into the system, but no one else but L¨ºdhins seems to think of it this way. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°He was only a Priest, hadn¡¯t moved onto the prestige path of High Priest, he¡¯d gain the title through church politics. For reference, I see you as a level thirty-five bard and level five fighter. He didn¡¯t even have any other paths he was progressing in.¡± ¡°Oh, this gets better and better. Dead, hopefully, trapped beyond rescue and an even greater liar than I knew. I don¡¯t know if you¡¯re telling the truth or not, but yes, someone needs to stop their evil. I¡¯ll get as much information on their Temples and Priests as I can learn. If you do nothing with it, I¡¯ll give it to someone who will,¡± [Your actions have unlocked the Spy class for Moke. Your actions have automatically set you as Moke¡¯s initial patron Bonus experience awarded for all information reports requested by yourself.] Analysis: Spy [Spy: A normally non-combatant class that focuses on information gathering. While capable of moving about the countryside, the primary focus of their skillset applies to urban regions. The class gains experience via submission of any update report on requested information to a patron. ] Did that apply? [Name: Moke aka Mokilian Species: Cambion (in appearance actually a cursed Human - Egyptian) Class: Bard / Fighter / Spy Level: 35 / 5 / 1 Health: 500 Mana: 315 Melee Attack Power: 37 Combat Skills: Short Blade [M](1), Short Bow [J] (14), Assorted illusionary spell forms Demonic Pact with Eakc? Mission Patron: Eakc? Condition: Cursed Details: A famed performer in Thebes, they ended up in the Abyss after offending a High Priest of Set. The current appearance is because of a curse inflicted by said Priest but provides no racial benefits to help survive planar conditions. ] Well darn. Wonder if it rewards spy experience for reporting on stuff already known. Think I have some questions to ask Moke. ¡°Have you been to the complex and seen that darkness yourself?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Yes. I went there after I got the word. The Charter house wasn¡¯t allowing anymore near the barrier, but I got close enough to see. It¡¯s what inspired me to write that song.¡± Moke said. ¡°Well, paint me another wordy picture Moke, while we wait for the dawn,¡± ¡°Wordy indeed, every word I choose with love and care. I need to sleep.¡± ¡°Sleep on your own time. I have limited left unless I blacken your Soul,¡± said Julia. ¡°Very well, your words inspire me,¡± said Moke. Then he settled back against the knoll and described the complex along with its surroundings.
¡°Wake up, Moke,¡± Moke sat up slowly in the pre-dawn air, ¡°Did you have to interrupt? The beer maiden was just getting to the interesting parts.¡± ¡°I know I heard you moaning about it, while you were humping the grass tuft,¡± ¡°Even nature loves me, and yet I only get a continued rejection from you,¡± Moke said, his tone gleefully offended. ¡°You have a warped definition of love. We should get near the Gates before dawn unless you want to explain why I can pull a Bard from a bag.¡± {{Could pull on his fun bag. Then he wouldn¡¯t be so glib. Morning has broken with the first woody.}} As Moke stretched Julia turned to give herself some peace of mind. Distorted versions of church hymns started filtered through her awareness. Spectacles testicles, wallet and watch. Now, why is Mal¡¯s saying for crossing himself coming to mind? {{We should check his swelling it could be dangerous. For someone lithe, he carries a decent-sized staff. }} ¡°So you¡¯ll appear right at the gates and whip me out!¡± ¡°No. Any whipping things out is purely a solo act for you. I¡¯ll Teleport to a spot nearby and we¡¯ll walk to the gates. But getting there before full light would be safest,¡± said Julia. ¡°I¡¯ve had many a partner in that act, I assure you. Very well, but I need to piss first. The cold is making my bladder ache.¡± ¡°Yep, just don¡¯t kill any fish¡­ or bears,¡± Julia said to his departing back, as she stored the still warm blankets.
Julia let Telepathy¡¯s net check for any disturbed by her arrival. When she¡¯d confirmed they weren¡¯t noticed, she willed Moke from the bag and into the shelter of some trees. Her memory having provided a suitable spot with uncanny accuracy even months later. The gathering clouds would make the cloak Moke was settling about himself natural enough to wear. I¡¯m likely going to be the odd one out. Though making another cloak is easy enough. ¡°So lizard boy, don¡¯t get all hissy with the guards,¡± ¡°I know how more civilised lizard folk act,¡± Moke said. As the cloak Julia had shaped started flapping about in the morning wind. Frigging cloaks. Julia growled in frustration as she tried to get the cloak under control, before finally copying how Moke held its edges. ¡°Seems like you got into a bit of a flap,¡± ¡°You want me to give a handy reply?¡± asked Julia, keeping her voice soft in the morning air. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t go for rhyming badly again,¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking for that slap,¡± Julia said, her soft tones filmed with frost. ¡°Not normally my thing. Though if its foreplay, for you I¡¯ll make an exception,¡± said Moke, his gaze roaming over Julia Stupid Charisma stat. What am I, a walking pheromone? Julia gritted her teeth as she headed for the gate. Don¡¯t punch the Bard. Don¡¯t punch the Bard. When Moke moved up to walk beside her, Julia lightly slapped the back of his head. ¡°So your room or mine tonight? I hope this town has comfortable beds, large with room to roll,¡± {{Now that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about! Come to mama! Or Cum with!}} ((Moke is both fascinated and confused by you, it seems. )) ¡°Shut up,¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I can find something to keep my mouth busy with you,¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have a set of knuckles in your mouth if you keep it up.¡± Moke¡¯s laughter followed Julia as she increased her pace. Dawn broke before they reached the small line already before the gate, and an alert pinged onto Julia¡¯s awareness.
Demonic Pact Detected: Life force exchange pending Demonic Pact transfer blocked. Energy exchange required to remain in the material plane.
Energy, not Abyssal Heat. It¡¯s not asking me to use a shard when I have a Pact in place? Crap! ((As you did with Livia. Let him drink of the Ki¡¯s energy child. )) {{Boring! Give him the good stuff, not the frosty city. }} Mentally crossing her fingers, Julia remembered the effect the Ki had on Livia. Still, she allowed it to flow through the Pact and kept the Abyssal Heat constrained. As the energy transferred, Julia felt the link between them change. The organic feel of it crystallised and shone in her mind, the edges of it glowing into her awareness as the energy rippled along the channels. As the energy flowed out the far end, Moke¡¯s grunt caused her to turn in concern, even as the energy from him washed into the Ki. Even as she looked at him with Soul Sight to make sure she hadn¡¯t hurt him, the wounded marks on his Soul shone and healed. The light spread through the rest of his Soul even as notification made themselves known. [Presence on Material plane stabilised Celestial energies present in Demonic Pact. Pact conversion in progress. Celestial bloodline purified and activated. Demonic Pact has evolved into Allegiance Bond. Allegiance Bond (8->10) Faith (5->6)] The scales on Moke¡¯s hand shimmered out of existence as he reached towards his face. Even as his hand moved, the skin across his face also changed, and black tangled hair showed suddenly from under the hood. Scales disappeared and honey golden skin showed in their place. The motion of Moke¡¯s hand blocked her view for a moment as he pushed back the hood to run fingers trough his hair. When he drew his arms back, she could see the shape of his face had changed. Tangled but clean black hair shone in the morning light and fell down to his shoulders. Instead of the blocky shaped jaw, and blunt features his Cambion form had possessed, Moke¡¯s features were very angular and lean a match for his lithe build. Cat green eyes returned her gaze as she looked over the sharp line of his face. The clean unmarked skin, a straight nose and raised cheekbones that lead down to a wide generous mouth, above a firm chin. Now I know why he acts like the lady¡¯s man. I¡¯m sure his face brings all the girls to the yard. {{We could use his face as a seat for a bit. Slap his mouth with our pearl bed.}} ¡°You look different now. Guess a horse kicked your face when you were young.¡± Julia said. Moke¡¯s eyes widened, and his hands clasped his face for a moment. ¡°Oh, yes, very droll,¡± said Moke. Analysis [Name: Moke Species: Hybrid - Celestial / Human Egyptian Descent. Class: Bard / Fighter / Spy Level: 35 / 5 / 2 Health: 594 Mana: 385 Melee Attack Power: 41 Combat Skills: Short Blade [M](1), Short Bow [J] (14), Assorted illusionary spell forms, Aura: Shield of Light (1), Bless (1) Allegiance Bond with Eakc? Mission Patron: Eakc? Details: A famed performer in Thebes. Eastern celestial energies purified and activated their family bloodline, bringing forth and strengthening recessive celestial traits. ] ((Much better. )) I¡¯m a Demoness, and yet I turned him into a half celestial, or whatever the other D&D term is. How is this fair? Oh, which one of your ancestors did a celestial? That would be a conversation piece when I want him to jump. {{Life isn¡¯t fair, make someone pay. }} ((Life isn¡¯t about fairness it¡¯s about choices and being true to one¡¯s Soul. )) At least I¡¯m not corrupting him. Would that mean I could break the bond cleanly with no backlash? ¡°Your clothes still stink. Don¡¯t get tossed into the sewers with the flushed night soil,¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± said Moke, his dry tone clashing with his delight as his fingers ran over his face again. ¡°Seems we don¡¯t need to see the High Justice after all,¡± Julia said. ¡°I¡¯d still like to see her. You suggested I talk to her and the one called Torm about you after all,¡± She¡¯s likely doing fine. {{You were there for how long. Did she ask after you?}} ((You might or might not see Livia. But if you don¡¯t go in, then you won¡¯t. )) ((What about the Eivor¡¯s daughter or the others you should check on them. )) Don¡¯t be a chicken J. ¡°We¡¯ll get some food first since it¡¯s so important. I know a bakery that has honey cakes, hopefully, they¡¯ll have some. Though stay back from the store so you won¡¯t ruin their business.¡± ¡°Perhaps the public baths for us both might be in order,¡± ¡°I know where I¡¯ll bathe, and it will be well away from you,¡± As she spoke wind pushed back the cloak¡¯s hood and Moke¡¯s eyes widened, and his voice lowered as he spoke. ¡°Eakc?, you need to let me talk to the guards,¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t do normal very well, Eakc?. I thought you were beautiful in the moonlight, but seeing you in the dawn¡¯s light your beauty seeks to steal my gaze.¡± ¡°Moke cut it with the joking,¡± ¡°This is not a jest. If I put you on a square¡¯s stage, crowds would pay to admire your beauty, even dressed as you are,¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been through the gates here before,¡± Julia said, stalking off towards line at the opening gates, as she settled her cloak. The queue of those on foot quickly streamed through beside the waiting wagons. Julia¡¯s guess was the wards let them know the locals from visitors with such ease. When the guardsman turned to regard her, their eyes went wide and the routine words died unsaid. The heat in their gaze once would have disturbed Julia, yet now she met it unflustered. His silence plus the halt in movement, drawing the notice of the others, even as the wind pushed at Julia¡¯s hood. I know Dominion is off, and he¡¯s still acting star-struck with desire. I was fortunate with my looks in life, but this is crazy. Is this the effect of Charisma? He¡¯s acting like I¡¯m his drug of choice. Moke must actually have self-control. That I hadn¡¯t expected, though, might explain his survival in the Abyss. ¡°Maybe you should let me answer the guard, dear. Put your hood back up it seems the fascination curse on you hasn¡¯t faded,¡± Moke said. As he stepped close, the guard almost recoiled at his odour, but it certainly broke his attention from Julia. Just as well I didn¡¯t see anyone in the Temple corridors. ¡°Curse? By the Gods your stench is stomach-churning, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re safe to let in the town.¡± Julia grabbed the cloak¡¯s hood to secure it back in place the wind through the gate fighting her for it. Here I thought I was blowing the smell out of proportion, is the Abyss is killing my sense of smell. ¡°But we need to see High Justice Verdandi, with the utmost haste. A vile wizard cursed my dear wife and I. I to smell like I¡¯ve been wading through the underworld. As for my wife, well, you can see for yourself, its quite fearful the effect it has on poor married fellows like yourself.¡± said Moke. {{Oh are we married? Can we fuck now! No need to wait, give them a show. }} ((Your memories have some strange marriage customs. )) ((Best to find out more. You spent a night together alone under the stars, after all. )) Wife! Wife! What sort of lame arse story was that? Even if he smells like that. I¡¯m going to strangle him! Moke had brought Julia time to draw the cloak¡¯s hood back up, an action that kept her hands busy enough to avoid the temptation of killing. ¡°Please issue the chits under the names of Livia and Moke,¡± Julia said, looking to cut off Moke¡¯s story. Moke took the chits from the guardsman¡¯s reluctant hand as he ushered them on their way. Julia gave the guard a smile and a nod of thanks, as she passed, only to see desire surged in his gaze. Before he could speak again followed quickly after Moke. ¡°What was that about?¡± Julia asked. The Ki¡¯s calmness keeping her voice soft, even when they were well clear. The few people on the main street having given Moke, and his fragrance plenty of space to move. ¡°Norse aren¡¯t big on infidelity for woman, and men get fined for it. He seemed ready to beg you to fuck him hard and hang him up wet. Was trying to cool his lust for you by reminding him of his married state. I could see the ring¡¯s outline through his glove. So while his attitude was quite understandable, his self-control needs a bit of work.¡± ¡°What ring?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all in noticing the details, my lovely wife,¡± ¡°Don¡¯t even start Bard.¡± ¡°Cast aside so easily. Here I thought there was a genuine bond between us,¡± ¡°Moke,¡± Julia said. An eerie calmness in her voice freezing against the air with the single utterance, ¡°Let me make this quite clear to you. This is not funny to me.¡± Moke glanced at Julia and whatever he saw caused him to frown in puzzlement and concern. ¡°Since it is not a jest you find tolerable, very well. You really are a mystery Livia.¡± Moke said, his tone softening in apology. {{See you need to fuck someone and get over that arsehole properly. }} {{You remember the way she was screaming his name? Don¡¯t you? }} {{They were so distracted with each other when you got to his place. Don¡¯t you want to hurt something? }} ((You still have a Soul that can hurt, no matter how the vessel changes. )) Julia moved ahead, leading the way down the street with fists clenched on the cloak¡¯s edges. As Moke silently followed behind, his gaze fastened on the tightness in her knuckles. Within Julia, the Ki coolness felt as if was doing little as it lapped against the painful memories Moke¡¯s jest had kindled in her mind. I hope some of those Priests are still inside that darkness. {{There are many fun memories here. Remember the ¡®friends¡¯ you lost in the fallout.}} Right now, I want to hurt someone that deserves it and can properly feel it. 55 - Lets Dance Julia held out a rough cloth bag to the bathhouse¡¯s owner. ¡°If you could have someone put those inside Moke¡¯s room, please?¡± Julia asked, giving the bath owner a friendly smile. ¡°Should I have someone fill a bath for yourself?" asked Selby. "I¡¯m sure your husband won¡¯t be out for a while." She took the bag from Julia as she spoke with a smile lighting up her features. The older lady had over a head in height on Moke, let alone Julia¡¯s current form. Grey was already salting her blond hair, even though she only looked to be in her late thirties. Lines creasing her features fought with the vitality in steel-grey eyes, the energy of them lending strength to her broad face. ¡°Moke claimed I was his wife, did he?¡± ¡°He seems a good sort, if fond of his voice. Just being how you¡¯re alone on the road together and all.¡° {{Sticking their nose in our business. }} ((A friendly lady, it seems. It would be good for you to speak to someone less frustrating. )) ¡°We¡¯re not married. I kill monsters, and he writes songs about their slaying.¡± ¡°You ain¡¯t got no weapon though. How would a lass like yourself be killing monsters?¡± ¡°It''s a kind of Magic,¡± replied Julia dryly, knowing the expression would be meaningless ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll just be taking these through to him then.¡± ¡°Wise,¡± Julia said, her voice not having raised above a soft purr throughout the conversation. Fuck, why did I say that? It sounded like a threat. Julia touched Selby¡¯s mind lightly as she moved away quickly. Fortunately, the woman¡¯s thoughts were safe enough. #Must be a battle sorceress, tight strung, certainly don¡¯t seem like the scholarly type. Hopefully, no trouble from this pair, though they¡¯ve paid well and paid good coin. I¡¯ll have to get those clothes buried. They smell too foul to risk burning inside; I don¡¯t want them stinking up the furnace. Not sure I want to burn them even nearby.# Julia withdrew her touch with no hint of trouble from the lady¡¯s mind or sense of Moke stirring trouble.
When Moke came out wearing the clothing she put together, Julia¡¯s lips twitched despite her efforts to keep a straight face. The red cotton shirt and pants might appear as if the dye had run. Julia, however, enjoyed the magic eye effect of the bonking skeletons he currently wore. Lighter sections of pink and orange cloth throughout the red let her eyes trace the kama sutra. ¡°At least you¡¯re clean.¡± ¡°I look as cheerful as a summer dawn. The dye has run interestingly. Think dyers could do this intentionally?¡± Moke asked. Striking what Julia imagine he intended as a dramatic pose. Does he like them? Fuck! ¡°Let go,¡± huffed Julia, caught between amusement and wanting to strangle the bard. ¡°Thank you, Selby. My apologies again for the foulness of my clothing. I hope you find someone to slay them properly.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll make sure they¡¯re properly dead, Master Moke. May fortune favour your music,¡± Selby said as Julia slipped out the door. As the door closed behind Moke, he gave Julia a grin. ¡°I¡¯m more famous than I knew, hadn''t told them I¡¯m a Bard.¡± ¡°Truly shocking,¡± Julia said, turning to go. It¡¯s the era, and tailors don¡¯t have ready-made clothes on hand. I should have gotten him the ones way too big instead of making those.
Moke led the way through the inner gate, stating their intention to visit High Justice Verdandi, being sufficient for the questioning guard. Yet as they entered the Temple square, Julia felt the same intense gazes fasten on her. ¡°My dear, you have got admirers here,¡± Moke said, stepping to one side to let her walk beside him. ¡°I¡¯m not your dear Moke. But yes, it seems my looks bring all the boys to the yard.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t see your face, and female guards are staring as well,¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± said Julia, pointing toward Tyr¡¯s temple, ¡°that way.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Moke said, walking faster than Julia would prefer, given the attention on her. Movement among the square¡¯s trees brought a halt as Julia''s gaze followed motions among the uneven ground. Early morning practice? The man moved with a flowing grace that was beautiful even as Julia¡¯s knowledge translated the motions. As their step took them across the roughness of rocks and roots if they¡¯d been in combat, high blocks, eye gouges, broken noses, assorted strikes, and kicks would have flowed with them. Julia could see the man¡¯s lips move as he instructed the figure following him in what to do next. As Julia took another step forward, the man stopped and looked up, and Livia readied herself. Though as her eyes fell on Julia, she moved forward in a sprint, each step carrying her across the broken ground with a speed that spoke of Ki Movement. Julia crouched as Livia threw herself forward and hugged her tight. The little girl already having grown in the months since she¡¯d seen her, the glow of her crystalline blue eyes even brighter still. The man followed with restrained energy, every step but a flicker of motion. His delay in looking over Julia and Moke was all that allowed Livia to reach her first. ¡°You weren¡¯t a dream. You weren¡¯t.¡± Livia said, gripping her tightly as the man continued his wary approach. His attire and appearance more classic middle eastern than anything Julia had seen here. A loose laced shirt and trousers almost covered him from neck to toe except for his hands. His hawk-like features were ageless, and dark eyes shone with a sharpened will from a youthful face. ((Rewards for courage come in many forms. )) ¡°Peace, child. Are you sure you know her?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Farhad. This is Julia. I¡¯d know her anywhere,¡± Livia said, not relenting in her hug as Julia held her in return. ¡°I should pay your Master my respects," said Julia. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you came. V¨ªearr said you were just a bad dream.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you wanted to see me,¡± admitted Julia ¡°We killed the evil men together and freed my old teacher. And then you watched the stars with me and made the pain stop. Why wouldn¡¯t I want to see you? Did someone tell you that?¡± She remembers, oh boy, why is she not freaked out? ¡°I think I¡¯ll need to speak with V¨ªearr. Is he about?¡± Julia said an arctic cold swirled within her voice. {{Oh, he lied to our playmate and us. Let''s kill him. }} ((Good intent doesn¡¯t justify wrong actions. His or yours, child. )) [Ki Meditation [Ad] (37->38)] ¡°No. I think V¨ªearr is helping some village deal with Gnarls. They¡¯ve been raiding winter stores,¡± Livia said. ¡°I would like to know the one who saved such a special child,¡± said Farhad ¡°I¡¯m nothing important, and I was happy to save Livia,¡± countered Julia. ¡°Modesty is not the truth, and I would know you properly,¡± said Farhad, gesturing off to one side. He wants to spar, some sort of Martial Zen thing. Learn about someone through the techniques they use, or how they use them? {{ PLAY TIME!!! }} (( He wishes an honourable exchange. )) ¡°Of course. Livia, this is Moke. If he says something improper, let me know, and I¡¯ll scold him,¡± Julia said, giving Moke a warning look. ¡°I would not speak of a child in that manner,¡± said Moke, affecting an offended tone. ¡°The improper things don¡¯t have to regard her Moke,¡± Julia said. ¡°Why does your clothing show people in coitus?¡± Livia asked as her eyes looked over Moke''s garb. Oh, so busted. ¡°Coitus?!¡± exclaimed Moke, looking down at his clothes, a new appreciation showing on his face. ¡°It''s Latin. It means engaging in sex. Yes, Livia, I see the patterns of bones positioned based on the writing by V¨¡tsy¨¡yana. I¡¯ve not seen a scroll of those writings for many years.¡± Farhad said. ¡°I know, but I never. Julia, you, oh, you didn¡¯t. I have something from you wrapped all around me, oh my.¡± Moke said, his voice extremely excited. ¡°Did you mean things like that, Julia?¡± asked Livia, nodding at her acknowledgement. ¡°Exactly like that,¡± Julia said, exchanging a smile with Livia. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll keep a tally. There is one for him.¡± Livia paused, looking over the skeletons, ¡°Though lots and lots for you.¡± Cheeky little miss! Julia removed her cloak and handed it to Livia as she straightened. ¡°That¡¯s fair, I guess. Though I thought you¡¯d be on my side. You can use this. It''s cool today, and you¡¯ve been training,¡± ¡°Justice has no sides but Truth. I¡¯ll be fine, but thank you,¡± Livia said, sniffing at the cloak. ¡°It even smells like you.¡± Livia beamed at her and cuddled it in her arms for a moment. Well, I¡¯ve been schooled. However, she looks delighted with that cloak. As Livia wrapped the cloak around herself like a blanket, Julia moved smoothly over to where Farhad waited and bowed politely. The guards about the square had grown tense as they watched their motions. ¡°No Ki powers?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Use all your skills and powers. I can feel Ki drifting through you, though it feels different, angry instead of its normal calm. ¡± I hope that¡¯s just the Abyssal Veneer. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I¡¯m self-taught,¡± offered Julia, not sure how to explain. ¡°Indeed, anger in form, yet with a calm voice. Very intriguing. Torm said you were an interesting individual, for your kind.¡± ¡°He told you about my secrets?¡± ¡°No, though he said not to judge. If he disapproved of you, I doubt we¡¯d be here talking now. Though given the effect you had on Livia¡¯s life, I¡¯ll grant you are exceptionally different. One moment,¡± said Farhad and raised his voice as he looked about the square. ¡°This is customary among our Path. We may look to be seeking to injure, but it is not your place to interfere.¡± ¡°Setting the ground rules,¡± said Julia. ¡°Always best among the Norse. So many hotheads,¡± Farhad said, before punching towards her face, with no sign to warn of the intent. Reflexes and danger sense swayed her back just away from the blow, and Farhad smiled, his posture still neutral. ¡°I want to cheer for them both!¡± Livia said, her excited whisper to Moke carrying. The whisper drifted through Julia''s awareness as Harmony and Battle Trance wrapped together. Ki Armour sheathed her in cold red flames, even as Farhad¡¯s skin shone, a blue mist illuminating beneath his skin. ¡°Before form, there was but Chaos,¡± said Farhad, as he flowed forward into a short stance, though different in style to anything she¡¯d seen. ¡°You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star,¡± Julia replied, mirroring him in a short stance of her own. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard that before,¡± ¡°A philosopher, by the name Friedrich. He was a favourite of someone important to me,¡± said Julia. When she''d hit difficulty in saying father, Julia followed the path of least resistance. Farhad''s first attack started slower than the initial punch, but the attacks quickly gathered pace. Battle trance clarified that Farhad was holding back, but that wasn¡¯t important. The dance between them was the exchange, the knowing. As Farhad punched yet again, Julia swayed aside, guiding his arm across his body while closing in. Only to find his punch change and flex-back as an elbow strike that required her to retreat. To duck would have invited his fist to hammer down towards her face. A low sweep from Julia snapped high, only to end as their shins clashed. Julia dropped to sweep low again and cut the air under Farhad¡¯s feet. His flip continued away, twisting in motion as if he¡¯d found solid footing in midair. A crouching front kick surged towards his chest. Where its force had broken a Nox¡¯s neck, Farhad¡¯s palm slid it away as motion changed again. Knee bending against an unseen perch, Farhad¡¯s kick cut the air. Motion dipped her barely under its force in time, even as Julia slipped away he came down to earth. As a spear hand drove towards her chest, a reflex block shifted it away. With fading motions, Julia gave ground quickly, then tumbled forward to meet him. Feet were lashing towards his face. Then Flight''s power lifted her above his block and striking reply. With its power shifting her momentum, Julia released Flight and tumbled away towards the trees. Farhad dropped the kick aimed to cleave her previous path and moved in time with her. Strikes, kicks, and blocks blended with flowing movements as Farhad pushed her techniques harder still. When he broke through her defences, Ki Armour and bones alike broke, and the pace would ease a time. An audience gathered as they fought, filling the air with shouts of encouragement and groans of sympathy. Still, none moved to interfere, though the town and temple guardsmen needed to make some keep clear. As they fought, Farhad mirrored her techniques back with varying improvements. So differing from his style, it was apparent whenever he added teaching to their fight. From ground to air, and even among the trees'' branches, Farhad¡¯s ¡®knowing¡¯ of Julia turned further into unspoken instruction. Unrelenting pressure forcing her to change, adapt to stretch beyond. ¡°Master Farhad, I wish to speak to my guest.¡± Verdandi''s voice interrupted as a fist descended and knocked her from a perch amid the branches. Julia rolled with the blow and let Flight¡¯s power catch her descent. Body twisting, she released it and landed lightly, poised even as Farhad joined her. [Combat Summary: Harmony [Ad] (42->44) Ki Infusion [Ad] (42->44) Ki Strike [Ad] (43->44) Acrobatics [J] (29->39) Battle Trance [Ad] (31->35) Fly [Ap] (28) -> [J] (5) Acrobatics, Fly and Climbing combined and evolved into Agile [Ad] (2) Perception [J] (32->35) Unarmed Combat [M] (1->2) Grandmaster Teaching Session: 4,000 Blood Monk : + 4,000 ] He¡¯s a grandmaster. No wonder I thought he was holding so much back. Analysis [Agile: Increased ranks in this skill enhance the possessor''s efficiency and movement capabilities, whether physically undertaken or via a Power. This also has high synergy with various melee combat and performance skills.] It does so much more than it says on the box. I could feel the difference within that session. It must have melded partway through. ¡°Thank you for your instruction. I¡¯ve learnt much from you, Grandmaster Farhad,¡± Julia said, bowing deeply with respect. Farhad returned the bow before he spoke, while weapons beat against shields in approval from guards about the square. ¡°You would make an interesting student. I learnt much, as well. Perhaps another time you might incorporate things beyond the Monk¡¯s path,¡± ¡°If you wish, but I have limited time today,¡± said Julia. ¡°I will be here years yet.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she wonderful, Master Farhad?¡± Livia asked, holding the cloak almost reluctantly to Julia. ((It smells of you. It is part of you. )) [Sense Motive [Ap] (10->12)] ¡°You can keep that one, I¡¯ve another,¡± said Julia, as another cloak appeared, and Julia settled the hood in place. ¡°She is indeed remarkable,¡± said Farhad, ¡°Livia, we should resume while Julia speaks with Verdandi.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just put this away, Master Farhad,¡± Livia said, giving a bow to them both before she hurried off. Farhad waited till Livia was out of earshot before he spoke again, and Julia saw Torm standing cross-armed talking to Moke. Tension through his arms and frame as he regarded the Bard with calm intent. Verdandi''s stern calmness settling the square¡¯s energy, their audience moved to depart. Wonder what Moke said; Torm looks ready to strangle him. ¡°You put her on a special Path that takes lifetimes to walk,¡± ¡°She did indeed,¡± said Verdandi, ¡°Julia, welcome back, I¡¯d word you were underground.¡± ¡°I found a lost sheep, far from home, and thought I¡¯d return him to the surface,¡± Julia said, gesturing to Moke. ¡°Indeed, I spoke briefly to him, an interesting fellow. Much like other Bard¡¯s in the service of Bast,¡± Verdandi noted. He serves Bast, and I have a bond with him, oh fuck. ¡°I knew his mother is a High Priestess. I didn¡¯t know he served her as well,¡± muttered Julia, unsure how to deal with him. ¡°Torm says you have another guest about. I think we need to talk, don¡¯t you,¡± Verdandi said, the tone stern. Oh boy. She wants answers; that¡¯s fine. ¡°We do indeed, and they are part of why we¡¯re here. We came to get a curse removed from Moke, but it shattered with the dawn today.¡± ¡°Let us go to the Silver Chalice, then we shall and talk in comfort,¡± suggested Verdandi. ¡°Comfort indeed, their baths are lovely,¡± agreed Julia, just the thought of relaxing in one bringing forth a smile. ¡°I might need to write notes,¡± Verdandi countered with a laugh. ¡°Yep, of course, I just meant afterwards. Sorry been wanting to bathe there again since I left,¡± Julia admitted, her smile turning rueful. ¡°It¡¯s alright, best to move on before I need a ''Hearing'' for Torm¡¯s weregild,¡± suggested Verdandi. ¡°Torm¡¯s weregild, who did he hurt?¡± Julia asked. ¡°No one, yet.¡± Verdandi said, turning; she called out, ¡°Torm, we¡¯re going to the Silver Chalice for refreshment. Why don¡¯t you get everything settled down after this morning''s entertainment? Moke join us,¡± Not waiting for acknowledgement, Verdandi strode away. Julia bowed to Farhad again before she moved quickly to match Verdandi''s pace. ¡°Did you do something to Moke Julia?¡± ¡°I broke the curse, and it did something that invoked his bloodline,¡± explained Julia. "Does he know?" "Not yet," Julia replied, unsure how to even bring up the subject. ¡°Oh child, what will I do with you?¡± murmured Verdandi. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± huffed Julia. ¡°Well, that makes two of us,¡± quipped Verdandi. Julia ruefully glanced about, noting the changing shadows as she did. Bells had passed, matching to Julia¡¯s awareness. [Time Sense [J](3->4)] Reminding me I need to level you more? Or did you level because you synced yourself and did your job?
It was long bells and a hurried meal later before Julia got her bath. Water lapped around her, stretching out; she matched Verdandi¡¯s sigh, the large tub¡¯s water enfolding them both. ¡°I can understand why you wanted to bathe here. I¡¯ve only used the Temple¡¯s baths in Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± admitted Verdandi. ¡°It''s lovely, a party-sized tub of pure yumminess,¡± confirmed Julia. ¡°Julia, I could tell you are keeping your own counsel on your plans. I¡¯ll respect that and just wish you well; I¡¯ll trust whatever you are planning is suitable. Though remember, vengeance and justice come from very different places,¡± cautioned Verdandi. Julia scrubbed her hands across her forearms, just the memory of the High Priest''s Soul making her feel unclean. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m not after that. I want peace for their victims and for them to stop.¡± ¡°Focus on it, and you¡¯ll do well. You¡¯ve given me a lot to speak to the Jarl about, and it will probably go to the royal council,¡± declared Verdandi. Julia spotted the muscles in Verdandi''s shoulders and arms bunching like she was bracing herself for a fight. ¡°It¡¯s a bath. You¡¯re supposed to relax in it, not get tense talking about the work ahead.¡± Okay, so she will not let it go. ¡°How long will you need?¡± ¡°Fine, be that way. I need information; just let them know plans are progressing. Moke can report the information to you as well, that might settle any concerns,¡± suggested Julia. ¡°Or increase them depending on what he learns. It¡¯s a problem that has been going on for centuries, it seems,¡± countered Verdandi. ¡°There is that, but the alternative is a direct conflict between Churches. Or trying to get the ear of the Egyptian king and hope spies don¡¯t overhear,¡± argued Julia. ¡°At the very least, I believe the Jarls will further increase border patrols. We had already increased them after your last visit. But the scale of it was unknown. It explains some villages we thought lost to Gnarls or Hobs. I¡¯ll know more after the Jarl has time to speak with me tomorrow.¡± ¡°Are the Gnarls why V¨ªearr is off and about?¡± asked Julia, keeping her tone light. [Acting [Ap] (23->25)] ¡°My, you did that well, so lightly phrased. What¡¯s he done?¡± questioned Verdandi. Unsure about the connection between them besides a younger Priest to his superior, Julia almost hesitated to reply, but decided to bit the bullet. ¡°Told Livia to consider me a bad dream while I was still in town." ¡°Men,¡± said Verdandi, in that universal tone. ¡°Indeed,¡± agreed Julia. ¡°Ruffled feathers from being told to pull his head out of his arse, I¡¯d say. Interesting way to put it; I¡¯ve used it since,¡± said Verdandi, amusement in her voice. ¡°There was someone in need right in front of him, and he was ignoring them to argue about me. He needs to stop that sort of shit,¡± Julia said. ¡°Given the Celestial¡¯s state, he likely felt helpless. You were there, and the altar knocked him down too easily for his comfort or pride,¡± offered Verdandi. ¡°So he needs more experience and confidence?¡± asked Julia, glancing at Verdandi¡¯s face, and found her gaze met. ¡°Don¡¯t we all find things that are beyond us, whether battle or arguments? Some folks handle that better than others. Better to support them growing stronger than cast them aside,¡± Verdandi said, her tone reassuringly firm rather than critical. ¡°Alright, you have a point. I was a stranger to him, and an entity he¡¯s normally right to go oh smite now,¡± said Julia. Verdandi nodded and reached out to pat Julia encouragingly on the arm. ¡°There you go, you''ll learn to see both sides of a situation yet.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll keep it in mind,¡± retorted Julia glibly. ¡°Good now. I believe we were relaxing after all the bad news you had for me.¡± "What are Gnarls?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Relaxing or talking about those abominations?¡± asked Verdandi, her mouth wrinkling as if she''d bitten into something foul. ¡°You started the work talk. I need info on this world,¡± countered Julia. ¡°The longer you leave Gnarls in an area, the worse the situation becomes. They can breed with any race and often have prisoners for larger broods, but the offspring is always pure Gnarl. Vicious and bloodthirsty, as they age and feed, they evolve into more dangerous forms. While they start in height between kobolds and goblins, young, their skin is loose as if ready to slip from a corpse. As they feed, muscle and fats fill the loose skin until they develop and grow. They can get enormous band leaders the size of Ogres or war chiefs taller than Hill Giants. Though fortunately, they take years with lots of food to gain that size, so they sometimes end up fighting amongst themselves.¡± ¡°Crud. What¡¯s the largest encountered?¡± asked Julia. ¡°The elves say there was one before we arrived that declared itself an Emperor. It controlled bands of Orc, Hobs, all down the western coast, and Manes in the north. Its skull wouldn¡¯t fit inside the main gate of the town. The Wood Elves still have it, as a reminder, not to let Gnarls fester,¡± explained Verdandi. ¡°How would large ones get enough food?¡± gasped Julia. Verdandi shook her head at Julia''s disbelief. ¡°After a time, it doesn¡¯t matter. The ¡®Lord¡¯ ranked move from feeding on flesh to mana, and just keep growing over time, from what we can tell.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°Indeed, Fuck! It¡¯s also why this situation with that Church concerns me so," offered Verdandi. The Gnarls have been too active of late, bands appearing in times and places where they should have crossed patrols." ¡°Getting organised help?¡± ¡°Gnarls can be organised enough to cause significant damage. But destruction is one aspect of its religion, so it''s something to look into.¡± ¡°Could he branch out to lure Gnarls to him?¡± ¡°They have their own dark gods, though they may have an alliance. It would seem risky, though; the Egyptian kingdom could also become overrun.¡± ¡°Just some more fun to keep in mind,¡± said Julia. Picking up the wine bottle, she offered to refill Verdandi¡¯s glass, tucking it back in the iced bucket once done. ¡°To smiting evil scumbags!¡± Julia declared, ¡°And to Justice, Julia. Don¡¯t focus on the smiting. Focus on what¡¯s right,¡± Verdandi corrected before clinking her glass against Julia¡¯s own. ¡°Bathing with a Succubus, High Justice. What would people say?¡± ¡°I¡¯m relaxing with someone I trust and have fought beside before the next storm arrives. Your presence is far stronger than it was last we met, no doubt related to your situation.¡± Let''s skip that part. ¡°Relaxing, yes,¡± said Julia, sipping at the wine and enjoying its taste even as it failed to warm her within. Don¡¯t even get a tingle. I just hope I¡¯m not forced to betray her. ¡°I¡¯ll see about ensuring Torm doesn¡¯t strangle Moke,¡± Verdandi said after a moment. ¡°Thanks, but he¡¯s on his own. Has Livia been well?¡± asked Julia, wanting Verdandi¡¯s view. ¡°Very well, she¡¯s a remarkable child, very calm and considerate of others. Settles a few of the more energetic novices though they are older. She''s got friends amongst them.¡± ¡°Good,¡± sighed Julia happily, glad Livia was settling in well. "What else is on your mind? You look troubled when you should be relaxing?" It was Julia''s turn to pull a face as if she''d bitten into something foul, but she didn''t hesitate in answering. "Moke''s friends are likely dead; I''m not sure I want to end up being the one to confirm it." "I wondered why you opted for a bath, given what they said. Don''t you think he and their families deserve to know for sure?" "That''s the problem. If Setau''s memories are right, I think they''re in the Necropolis." Verdandi flinched at the Abyssal word and then nodded. "Not a good place to end up unexpectedly. Though I will ask, how will you feel if you are just slightly too late?" Verdandi patted her arm in acknowledgement of the unsaid as Julia moved to get out of the bath. Julia stopped while drying off as a thought crossed her mind. "Want to hire a really cheap assassin for killing undead in there?" "They say there is more undead in there than stars. What''s your fee?" "One bell chime of bathing time for every one hundred undead destroyed." "Done," said Verdandi, shaking her head in amusement, "Must be the cheapest bounty I''ve ever agreed to sponsor. I''ll talk to some summoners about your friends." "Thanks." "Don''t thank me yet. We''ve no way to know if calling them forth is possible, or if they''re still sane. You spoke of being reluctant to tell Moke his friends are dead. You can understand my reluctance to find out your friends are worse off than that." "I need to know." "Indeed, and so does Moke and his friends'' families." 56 - Through the Valley With the used Messenger loop back in inventory, Julia waited in the Temple square. The weight of the guards¡¯ gaze on her felt less suspicious than before; though they''d singled her out the moment she''d entered the square. Did I break their detect the Demon charm by fighting clean? I''m sure Farhad could have wiped the floor with me. His air step tricks are pretty wire-fu cool. Livia came skipping into sight, running at Julia the moment she saw her. ¡°Why are you leaving so soon?¡± Livia asked as she wrapped her arms around Julia''s midsection. ¡°There are things I have to handle. I wish I could stay longer,¡± said Julia, crouching to hug her properly. ¡°But you just got here. Can¡¯t someone else handle it?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it¡¯s not a place that¡¯s safe for most people to travel. There are folks within who need rescuing,¡± ¡°It¡¯s not fair,¡± Livia said, squeezing her arms about Julia as if she didn¡¯t want to let her go. ¡°Life isn¡¯t fair, and remember its important to help when you can for exactly that reason.¡± ¡°Are there more evil men there?¡± ¡°Yes, honey, there are,¡± said Julia, her hands rubbing the young girl''s back as she clung to Julia. ¡°My name isn¡¯t honey,¡± Livia said, shaking her head. ¡°Sorry, Livia, it''s a term of affection I¡¯m used to, means you¡¯re sweet,¡± ¡°Okay then, that¡¯s fine, HONEY. But why can¡¯t you stay longer?¡± asked Livia, pretending to pout. ¡°All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that the good do nothing.¡± ¡°So the longer you stay here doing nothing, then the closer evil gets to winning?¡± asked Livia, her face growing serious as she spoke. ¡°While staying here wouldn¡¯t be doing nothing, and certainly I¡¯d love to do so. It¡¯s a saying about doing whatever you can to help. Even little things can matter, handle what you can, don¡¯t hope someone else will deal with everything. Regrets can poison things in people,¡± ¡°Will you come back?¡± ¡°I will try my best, but even if I can¡¯t. I want you to remember that I¡¯ll be thinking about you okay,¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve more people like me, and Moke need rescuing?¡± ¡°I hope I can rescue them,¡± ¡°You will! Moke¡¯s pretty funny, though Torm looked cross with him.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the tally?¡± ¡°Twelve for Moke and I¡¯m not sure how many for you. Some images are under his cloak. He kept touching the cloth in a funny way. Torm asked where he¡¯d got the clothes, and Moke said he was in your pants, which made Torm cross. Do those count?¡± ¡°Yes, they do,¡± said Julia {{We¡¯d have to wiggle tight together for both of us to fit. Best return his staff to the upright position. }} ((It seems he takes his Goddess¡¯ teaching about joy to the heart, at least for himself. )) ¡°You''re likely even then. I¡¯ll get back to you,¡± Livia said, nodding seriously. The solemn gesture reminding Julia of Verdandi. It seems she¡¯s got at least two mentors. Julia just smiled and leant down to give Livia a kiss on the forehead. ¡°You pay attention to Master Farhad,¡± Julia said, giving her a hug. ¡°I will pay attention to them. If I don¡¯t, then lessons stop, we¡¯ve agreed,¡± said Livia. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go. I won¡¯t look back when I do, because otherwise, I won¡¯t want to leave,¡± Julia planted a kiss on her cheek and rising, moved away, fighting off the temptation to stay longer even though she didn¡¯t look back. With her eyes straight ahead, she didn¡¯t see when Torm came up and placed his hand on Livia¡¯s shoulder as both watched her leave. Once beyond the Town¡¯s outer gates, Julia teleported away, not worrying about who might see.
Visualisation from Moke¡¯s description had Greater Teleport place her just beyond the barrier. Even as sentries raised the alarm, she recognised the energy beyond the threshold. Darkness wasn¡¯t consuming the light, rather as Moke said, the light itself looked dying. The same darkness that L¨ºdhins had led her to lay across the compound''s interior. As troops called for her to stop, Julia walked towards the energy pane into the complex¡¯s gateway. The energy struck skin harmlessly, pushing with a waterfall¡¯s force. Army says No! In an instant, the force of the waterfall¡¯s energy vanished, and reality transitioned differently than between Tern¨°x and Necropolis. Instead of a smooth change, a scorching hot wind sent sand against her unblinking eyes and the walls to either side vanished. The main Temple building looked to be the only structure still ahead, the ground between looked pitted with open graves, and scattered bodies lay everywhere. The bodies Julia could see looked clothed in simple garb, and among the hacked corpses, none appeared to be combatants. Where the complex¡¯s wall had been was now a massive stone slope. When Julia turned to follow its surface, she found it slid away for kilometres before ending in a dry river bed gouged out of the landscape. Despite the wind¡¯s heat, even further in the distance beyond the base stood a massive wall of ice. The glacier stretched well above the plain¡¯s height, the upper lip of it curving towards her as if a frozen inland wave. Teleport carried her to one corner of where the complex walls had been. There, two angled slopes of flat stone met at the corner. The slopes looked perfectly smooth, running down to ground level some three hundred metres from the river bank. Everywhere Julia looked, the massive river bed seemed coated in rocky debris and mimicking an eagle¡¯s eyes; she scanned over it. As the distance closed and shapes became apparent, Julia turned away from the fly-infested mass grave. Fuck! Barf Bag aisle one! Oh right, I don¡¯t even get that relief! Damnation without relief. Julia had teleport shift her along each edge of the former complex¡¯s square to see the bigger picture. Open graves and scattered mutilated bodies littered the upper surface of a pyramid with its top cut off. Away from the glacier, Julia could perceive Souls slowly floating into a massive gem-encrusted glyph. On the glacier¡¯s side, was an embossed gold icon of Set, with eyes radiating darkness. The only entry point unless bodies or a grave hid it had to be within the Temple itself. Of the complex, she had seen outside the barrier, within only a single building remained standing. A long rectangular Temple at the strange plateau¡¯s midpoint. {{Have you found a Temple of Doom? First dibs on the glowing rocks. }} ((There are more than decades invested here. )) With a theme song playing within her mind, Julia teleported towards the entryway of the Temple. When she appeared, the sound of cries carried to her from within the complex. They weren¡¯t the wailing of the damned; instead, they sounded like the screams of the living. Double Fuck! At this rate, I¡¯m going to hit a double cluster of fucked up. In the Temple''s entryway, swirling Zephyrs made it impossible to determine if anyone entered recently. When she checked with Mana Sense, it showed every stone of the structure looked alive with power. However, no wards were blocking the entryway, and Julia could see a courtyard full of fancy pillars lay ahead. Mentally directing more Ki to wrap around Setau¡¯s Soul, Julia eased within the structure. Telepathy¡¯s net providing no sense of Demonic or living minds within its range. Where are the screams coming from? Pillars blocked her view in all directions except straight ahead or following the room''s edges. Flight lifted her off the ground, and she moved to follow the wall to her left, tracing the outside of the courtyard. There seemed little purpose for the pillars that stretched up towards the courtyard''s open ceiling except for pure decoration. The smooth stone columns banded with hieroglyphs and icons of Set, mosaics of his attacks on Osiris and Horus alike, decorated the courtyard''s inner wall. As she followed the wall around the corner, the stone pillars shone briefly with increased power. Around the corner, the wall now stretched ahead for twenty metres or more. An archway some four metres or more across in its middle, while in the corner farther ahead, a much smaller archway led deeper still. The screaming seemed clearer, an irregular wave of noise that ebbed and strengthened as different voices joined or faded amongst the chorus. A coppery scent coated her tongue as she drew closer to the archway. As the sound of flies grew under the chorus, it strongly hinted at what she¡¯d find. When Julia drew level with the archway, a stream of decaying bodies stepped forth, their eyes glowing with a sickly yellow flame. As the first of them stepped forward, a pungent miasma of decay assaulted her senses, a foul an acidic odour that seemed to burn at her eyes and nose. Motion triggered reaction and a backfist strike crushed an undead''s face as its hands rose. The impact snapping its neck even as it continued to shamble forward. Its head leaned down on its shoulder as others tried to push past it. Quickly teleporting back to gain space, Julia looked over those now clearly in pursuit. Analysis [Dedicated of Set Species: Undead Human Class: Warrior Level 40 / 10 Health: 624 (700) Defence: 40 Melee Attack Power: 80 Combat skills: Claws [Ad] (23). Condition: Blessed by Set - Undead with Imprisoned Soul; Regenerating. Details: This servant of Set has committed to serving them in life and death, denying Osiris¡¯ judgement of their Soul. They feel every moment of their body''s decay. When at last only its skeleton remains, its flesh is renewed, and the cycle resumes. Their fingernails continue to grow and thicken, providing them with effective claws. Special Powers: Rotting Touch [Ad] (1), Pestilence [Ad] (1), Fearful Gaze [Ad] (1)] I sure hope Demonic flesh makes me immune to those powers. [Analysis [J] (37->38)] {{Well, you guys were stupid. You should have asked for regular manicures. }} ((These are those blessed by him? )) ((What other abominations are here? Cleanse it of filth. )) Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. As the first of the Dedicated moved forward, its broken neck slowly straightened, and the facial bones reformed. Great, so regenerating Undead, or is this place healing you? Everything that serves them seems to include its name in Analysis. As if I had any doubt that Set was a narcissistic arsehole. Ki Armour activated, and as Ki Infusion drew in Mana, Julia felt lines of energy rippling under the surface of her form. The drifting Ki, instead of pressing mist, seemed to course through channels. The Jade Court Mana joined with Ki, and both ran awash with flames. As the one she¡¯d injured pressed forward, others pushed past into the open area of the courtyard. With a reaction resembling champaign¡¯s eruption, more hurtled forth, and foes surged in her direction. Inspired by the exchange with Farhad, Julia met them in her mortal form. Clawed hands lashed out as they pressed on her defences. Yet even Julia giving ground still left rotting flesh burning on the stones. Ki Armour¡¯s infused flames no longer cold, burnt with swirling force. As its Mana burnt flesh, blackness drank the Souls within. Claws slid from Ki¡¯s flames, and a striking palm would smash another face. A wall of flesh crashed her into stone, only to break against burning power. Demonic strength drove fists through rotting flesh, only for her to slip away as yet another struck. As more bodies fell to ash, Julia drew them out onto the barren land. Superior numbers crushed against striking hands and flashing feet. The slaughter picked up pace as the enemy¡¯s habits became known. As Mana strained low, the burning ceased and Julia at last needed to retreat. Teleport set her high above, while Flight held her aloft Julia watched the horde below. As wounds healed, she took in the rotting flesh carpeting the top of the truncated pyramid. The surging numbers still trampling the ashes of their fallen brethren into the dusty landscape. Foes below provoked by the screams from within her flesh. Unlike the others Julia had harvested in the past, they weren¡¯t singing or screaming in fear. Those souls she had gathered here screamed in rage and hissed with contempt instead. Is this just the cannon fodder? How many was that? [Combat Summary: Dedicated of Set x 215 Total-Experience for distribution: 387,000 Blood Monk : +193,000 Succubus: +64,500 Assassin: +193,000 Assassin Level Up! x12 Silent Kill Unlocked. Silent Kill (1). Death Strike Unlocked. Death Strike (1) Additional experience awarded for contract completion: x2 Assassin: +2,000 Harmony [Ad] (45->46) Ki Infusion [Ad] (44->45) Ki Armour [Ad] (34->36) Ki Movement [J] (17 -> 20) Ki Strike [Ad] (44->45) Protean [Ad] (23->24) Agile [Ad] (2->3) Battle Trance [Ad] (35->36) Undead (5->7)] Okay, fine, now you tell me. Guess I should have asked for a bell chime per kill. Silent Kill is what L¨ºdhins mentioned. What does the other one do? Analysis [Silent Kill: Initially, this power deadens physical sounds caused by a user¡¯s presence, enhancing stealth in approaching a target unheard. As the power¡¯s effective level increases into Journeyman ranks, it muffles the sounds of the kill itself. At Adept rank and above, it suppresses with increasing effectiveness of the Danger Sense skill before any attack, whether or not they are aware of the user.] Analysis [Death Strike: This power improves the chance for any attack to deal critical damage, and when successful in inflicting it also increases the severity. While some entities are unaffected by such, this damage can result in an organ or vital location being destroyed, a crippling if not fatal event for living foes. This power is useless against targets who possess powers allowing advanced body control or malleable physical structure] Now let''s see if we are actually part of the Necropolis plane. Remembering the gateway of the mausoleum, Julia willed Teleport to carry her there. In response, she suddenly looked out through the arches across the lightning blasted field. Soul Sight picking out the foes she remembered, the closest not reacting to her presence. A glance behind confirmed the closest misty clouds in the mausoleum¡¯s corridor were still empty of Souls. Their greyness also showing no sign of the Lightning Golem¡¯s presence. So they linked to the Necropolis¡¯s plane. What effect will that be having? Analysis [Mass Grave: Species: Giant Undead Abomination. Level: 100 Health: 2,400 Defence: 90 Melee Attack Power: 320 Combat skills: Slam [Ad] (45), Grab [M] (5)] Powers: Engulf [M] (1) Details: The very earth of the mass grave is teeming with the cursed Souls of those buried within. Flesh and earth, empowered by the melding of Souls, is malleable to their combined desire to seek retribution against any but Undead nearby.] [Analysis [J] (37->38)] Analysis [Genocide Grave Species: Giant Undead Abomination Level: 150 Health: 4,500 Defence: 130 Melee Attack Power: 500 Combat skills: Slam [M] (15), Grab [M] (18) Powers: Engulf [M] (12), Acidic Corrosion [M] (20) Details: An evolved form of the Mass Grave, these come about when a mortal race ceases to exist on a planet. The melded Souls of an existing Mass Graves feeling the demise of their last blood kin can gain additional power in their thirst for vengeance.] [Analysis [J] (38) -> [Ad] (1) Undead (7->10) Soul Sight [J] (19->21)] I assumed those who moved closer were also Genocide Graves, but the soil was lighter, and the Soul energy was not as dense. The way it words those details. Does it mean there are multiple planets with mortal races in the Titan¡¯s playpen? Wonder if the lightning would have killed a Genocide Grave. It seems Analysis likes to learn about powerful things, too much using it on gems and stuff, not levelling it. My little musical earworm is still going, glad it didn¡¯t cause Battle Trance any issues. Seriously, of all the songs, why the Indiana Jones¡¯ theme. Any FFDP or AC/DC much preferred. {{We already are on the wrong side of Heaven. }} ((Your choices will determine where you stay. Be careful you do not seal the exits yourself. )) Julia mentally shivered for a moment and tried to gain information on the other foes ahead. Though it seemed as much as she¡¯d grown, the Skull Mounds and Brocken bows were still beyond her current capabilities. When Julia tested Greater Teleport again, it returned her to mid-air above the still swarming Pyramid, and then she jumped back to the mausoleum¡¯s gateway again. Well, at least I can move about easily here. The Temple didn¡¯t look wide enough to store that horde? So Spatial magic or from a chamber below? Both? It¡¯s not much wider than that central courtyard, maybe an extra ten metres on either side. It''s a hundred metres long, if not more, and except for its courtyard, the rest is all enclosed. No window, no other doors, no way to see what¡¯s inside. Will they know if I¡¯m in another form? Dark Sight to scout? Lots of lights and shadows. Taxed by the combat with the horde, Julia knelt to meditate. In Ki''s calmness, Julia cycled the remains of Mana and Ki until they recovered in full. As the Ki restored within her, the enraged screaming from the Souls ceased. They don¡¯t act like the Souls that Usd¡¯ghi wanted. Nor like the Slaver¡¯s Souls, they¡¯re not afraid they seem pissed. At me, or their boss? I could see about getting the ones she wants before I head back. Cursed and ¡®Blessed¡¯ at the same time? Let us keep the transport runs separated. Maybe I should take these back, offer her some appeasement, given the concerns Verdandi expressed. There were people still alive in there. Are they being tortured or just scared out of their minds? Isn¡¯t that torture as well? Chill J, rushing in and getting yourself destroyed will help no one. Maybe trade these Souls for something useful. [Ki Meditation [Ad] (38->39) Mana Manipulation [Ad] (46->47) Mental Hardening [Ad] (3->4)] Oh meant to check those objects from the Setau''s Succubus. Analysis [Bracelet of the True Faith: The enchantment on this serpentine bracelet provides protection for one faithful to Set. While any can wear it for protection, and gain defences equivalent to a Legionnaire armour with no physical weight. If a faithful of Set attacks them, the bracelet will cause the attack to deal critical damage, the longer they have worn it the more inflicted. After owning this bracelet for a year, dreams will begin tempting the owner to convert faiths. Subtle at first as its influence grows, this temptation is harder to resist. Faithful of Set wearing this bracelet are harder to convert to other faiths, no matter the method of conversion attempted.] [Necklace of Desire: Enhances any power used to alter, influence or outright subvert the desires of another. The more subtle the change, the greater amplification and extension of effect. This item allows those with a subtle touch, significant ability to alter the target''s natural desires over a length of time. ] I need that Bracelet destroyed. Teleport responded to her will and carried her to the passageway that led to the Crevice, and glad the undead had dispersed, climbed through. After ensuring Dominion was off, Julia changed to her sharp-featured form, and Teleport moved her again. This time setting her down outside her initial entry to the city instead of the busy docks. As she came into view of the guards, though, their normal slackness altered, and they regarded her intently. While none confronted her, as Julia¡¯s gliding movements took her past, the eyes set in her wings noted them relaxing only when she was well past.
Though the Treasury had Demons present, both Hags at the gate stared at Julia as she came inside. As they focused on Julia, those behind the gate ignored the Demons in front of them. After glancing at each other, the one closest to the door waved her forward. ¡°Come through Viper; she wishes to see you at once,¡± Cause that didn¡¯t feel creepy one bit. While the hags efficiently ushered her through, none of the waiting Demons seemed to want to risk their ire. ¡°The stone will let you go through; she already knows you¡¯re here.¡± Red carpet treatment, I only hope she doesn¡¯t plan to wrap me in it afterwards to dump the body. ¡°Appreciated,¡± ¡°Hurry along now,¡± the Hag said, waving at the stone archway before re-securing the gate. Don¡¯t get the boss pissed at us for making you wait? Julia found the archway did indeed raise the moment she approached and walked with quick strides towards Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s office. If her own family was jumpy, Julia didn¡¯t want to risk any delays, especially considering she didn¡¯t have exactly what she wanted. {{ Wonder what happened to Uelian¡¯ghi. Did she get smacked? }} (( Hags have no mercy for those that annoy them. Careful Child. )) ¡°Well, youngling. That didn¡¯t take you long to bring some back, after your initial delay,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, as she set aside a book on her table. ¡°My apologies for that. I lost track of cycles in the tunnels. I found something different from the others. Thought I should ensure gathering them wasn¡¯t a waste of your time,¡± Julia said as she came fully into the office. ¡°So you don¡¯t have the cargo agreed.¡± ¡°Not yet, I wasn¡¯t expecting what I acquired and wasn¡¯t sure how they¡¯d mix.¡± ¡°Very well, child, I¡¯ll see what they have to show me.¡± Julia drew back the Ki, and when the voices screamed their rage and contempt again. Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s eyes widening in concern had her force them back to stillness. ¡°God touched. You bring the most interesting surprises,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, clicking her fingernails together. ¡°Here, I thought you wouldn¡¯t be topping those new coins of yours soon.¡± ¡°There is a Soul among them I¡¯d like to keep as I was hired to kill them. Need to ensure they don¡¯t get raised.¡± ¡°As long as it¡¯s but a few, the Titan¡¯s servants won¡¯t care.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I only want the one,¡± ¡°Let us get started then, shall we? Though we¡¯ll need to take greater care,¡± ¡°What¡¯s the issue?¡± ¡°They¡¯re screaming for their God youngling. It wrapped the power of its blessing about their Souls. Their God was careless to let such Power loose in the wilds where you could gather them. I''d ask how you even could, if I wasn''t sure, you wouldn''t truly know. Such a useful delight you are, youngling. Where did you find them?¡± ¡°In the Necropolis,¡± ¡°Really. That doesn¡¯t seem right at all,¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°God touched normally keep to the Power¡¯s home planes, but no Power I know of claims the Necropolis. If they are off their planes, something important is happening.¡±
Usd¡¯ghi directed Julia to push the containers towards the middle of a large multilayered circle engraved on the floor. ¡°What¡¯s the circle do?¡± ¡°So sensibly suspicious youngling, it''s for concealing the scream of your passengers and making sure nothing leaks away,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, the amusement clear on her craggy features. ¡°If I become a Succubus in a bottle, I can¡¯t get you more goodies,¡± Julia said, stepping into the circle. Even as she withdrew the Ki from the Souls, Usd¡¯ghi stepped inside with her, carrying the now familiar processing container of coin blanks. ¡°Indeed, you couldn¡¯t, so don¡¯t get stuck in the bottle of this plane either. I have added some larger processing containers into the warehouse. I''ll need to get a circle engraved around them. Since they aren¡¯t portable like these,¡± ¡°Oh. I¡¯ll bring in a bunch of shipments to make it worthwhile.¡± ¡°How many more of these are present?¡± ¡°At least five or six hundred, they flood out of a Temple atop the Pyramid. There could be many more. I injured more than I harvested, but the swirling melee meant I couldn¡¯t finish them before I needed to withdraw,¡± ¡°You are a patient hunter, It is good to see; we¡¯ll go far together,¡± Again J, remember less is more. I¡¯ll go far while she has a use for me. ¡°Not to fret; it is good to see you possess the qualities I seek. Many within the Abyss want but momentary release for boredom, even with their long existences. Few look to establish what will ease their boredom for eons.¡± Reads me like an open book. [Perception [J] (35->36] Thanks!
The first coin came out a bone white colour, an Ankh crossed by an odd-looking staff with a forked end embossed on its surface. Usd¡¯ghi raised an eyebrow before tasting the coin, her toothless mouth became set in a tight smile. ¡°Death, old death, and bone, with a hint of his Power.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, smacking her lips, ¡°I recognise the taste of this one. I¡¯ll keep these for myself, but you''ll receive proper compensation.¡± God touched what¡¯s left behind on their Souls that Usd¡¯ghi senses. ¡°As you wish, Lady Epoch¨¥,¡± said Julia, nodding politely to Usd¡¯ghi, causing the Hag to look up from her consideration of the coin. ¡°Where did you hear that name?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what some mortals name you in the ten kingdoms? The Demon Lady of dark changes, demise, and destruction of belief. This business is even a nice play on your name since you make the Abyss'' change,¡± Julia said. A smaller denomination coin summoned from inventory spun on fingertips before vanishing again. [Abyssal Lore [J](37->38)] Usd¡¯ghi clapped her hands together slowly, and her smile broadening from her tight smile. ¡°Every time we speak, you¡¯ve learnt. Let¡¯s finish up processing these as quickly as we can.¡± ¡°Of course, Usd¡¯ghi. I take it these are an acceptable acquisition?¡± asked Julia Verdandi was right, and Set has destruction as one of his aspects. I wonder what else the coins taste of since these Souls have his touch upon them. ¡°The other buyers can wait for their trinkets. Gain as many of these as you can,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, her tone firm. Valuable collector items are now trinkets. Wonder if I¡¯ll weaken Set with what she¡¯s doing? But will things get worse for people? ¡°I shall even give you some advice, youngling, for setting a trap. For challenging prey, set choices that seem impossible to get, the prideful will go for them. Ensure that by the time they stick their head into place, their pride and lost resources will help ensure they stay for the feast.¡± ¡°Are you laying a trap for me?¡± asked Julia. ¡°You are my trap for Lady Baln¨¦rith, youngling,¡± The Titan¡¯s class choices placed what I wanted in sight but not in reach. If Monk hadn¡¯t been on offer, I would have picked Scout. If so, where would I be? Certainly not bound by the Sisterhood. Am I his trap as well? Or was it to ensure that I¡¯m trapped? Am I actually Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s trap or just the bait? Is there ever truly free choice or merely what the more powerful allow? 57 - The Pit The bells it had taken in processing had strained Julia¡¯s patience, but it was clear rushing would be dangerous. However, conversation with Usd¡¯ghi while waiting had at least borne useful fruit. With wands, an onyx ring, and a pair of grimoires added to her collection. Usd¡¯ghi had taken the Bracelet of True Faith off her hands, almost cooing about the chance to take its enchantments apart. The grimoires required study, practice, and most important of all, time that she didn''t have at present. Elemental strikes from the wands would hopefully weaken the Dedicated. At least enough that her mana should let her make more significant inroads. Best of all, the onyx ring was a spell multiplier that doubled Julia¡¯s mana limits, even if Usd¡¯ghi seemed dismissive of its ¡®basic¡¯ capabilities. Once outside the city, the return trip to the Pyramid took hardly any time; Julia hoped this excursion would provide better results, even if the brawl of her previous visit had been fun. With the plateau clear of any sign of the Dedicated, Julia flew down to land near the courtyard¡¯s upper rim. As she moved forward to peer down into it, Julia froze. Though she¡¯d been planning to use Dark Sight to look out shadows toward the left archway, she¡¯d spotted Dedicated on the right side. Dark Sight let her look out through various shadows and it became clear why. The courtyard and its wall had mirrored arches on each side, with Dedicated waiting in the adjoining chambers. Though each chamber wasn¡¯t a waiting place, it contained the top of a curving staircase. Its path descended towards the front of the temple before curving outwards underground. On nearly every broad step twisting down into the depths, the Dedicated waited. Moments dragged on with no reaction from them before Julia explored further with Dark Sight. Gaps in their formations going down seemed to show their losses, as before Dark Sight reached its limits, they packed every stair. Among their forms and faces, some jogged memories of broken limbs and burnt flesh that now showed no battle damage. When she looked out of the shadows combining Dark Sight and Soul Sight, she could see black threads woven into their Soul. Lines that were stretching slowly away from their hosts, tightening as they pointed upwards. An attempt to try again with Mana Sight showed her nothing of them, even though she could see the Mana in the stones and binding their forms. Do I still have a grip on their Souls? Or is that something else? It doesn¡¯t show up to Mana Sight. Is there a Soul or Spirit affinity? If I had them, would Mana Sight show them then? None of the arcane lore I¡¯ve learnt so far shows it exists. Then again, I need more time studying theory and not just learning spell forms. I need to get some theory books instead of only grimoires with spells. Too many questions J. Need answers on more than just Energy Drain. Repeatedly, power would pulse through the very rocks and then subside. To Julia¡¯s count, the pace of its occurrence was as regular as a clock¡¯s minute hand. The screams heard previously still rang out, distant echoes in the otherwise still air. Dark Sight allowed her to look deep into the surface level of the Temple. With it letting her skip between shadows, she found the Temple building met with expectations. Depictions of Set¡¯s Power on the wall continued to lessen Julia¡¯s already low view of him. The remaining eighty metres of the Temple building were hallways of worship and various ceremonial preparation rooms that contained only furnishings. [Time Sense [J](4->5) Dark Sight [Ap](12->13)] Need information, Usd¡¯ghi wants the Souls, but there is someone still alive in there. So the only way is down? I just need Sarah to comment about men¡¯s underwear. I hope they¡¯re doing better than just surviving. Protean shaped her into a pebble, and holding steady with Flight, Julia used Teleport to reposition herself against the staircase¡¯s ceiling. The undead lines below didn¡¯t even stir in reaction, and she started further and further down its curving path; the horde turning into thousands the deeper the stairs ran. {{Don¡¯t look fellow, my nub¡¯s hard. }} <> Julia internally shuddered as feelings of concern and strange thoughts twisted beneath the surface of her mind. Visualisation of a waitress attracting male colleagues¡¯ attentions with her peanut smuggling came to mind. In stark contrast to concern regarding the amount of divine power the legions she¡¯d passed represented.
The path down the broad stairs finally changed, and instead of turning yet again, it opened up into a vast gallery overlooking a massive drop. With a location picked out by Dark Sight, she teleported again and used her available senses to examine the place. The gallery curved away to either side, forming a massive cylinder beyond which another set of stairs led upward. Above Julia, the cylinder¡¯s top arced upwards towards the cylinder¡¯s middle point to form a domed cap. Just under the dome¡¯s apex, a black crystal Ankh some four to five metres in height floated in midair. As Julia watched, a Soul swam towards it out of a channel cut in the dome¡¯s side. When it neared the Ankh, it sent them lancing downwards far faster than they had approached it. Shortly after it hurtled down, a mana pulse came upwards through the stones. Analysis of the Ankh returned simply unknown, yet the spike of pain showed the relative strength of its magic. If that channel leads towards the glyph, I¡¯ve come down a long way. Not now, dear, I¡¯ve got a headache. {{Were you born with one then? }} <> Beyond the rim of the gallery, the construction plunged downwards far into the darkness. Irregular light sources showed its descent, fading pools of light showing additional galleries spaced along its course. With no sign of any wards, the shadows cast by the pools of light provided target points. Julia, still using Dark Sight to target, each Teleport planned to take her from the shadows above one gallery to the next. Yet the numbers of Dedicated on the galleries continued to climb. Undead bearing weapons started in the mix of their numbers, Archers, Spear and Swordsmen thickened their ranks. When she used Analysis on them, while their undead level remained consistent, their class levels climbed the further she went. The sound of the screaming also grew louder, but still with no visible source. {{Way down we go! Crank it up, baby. But can we get out again?}} <> Well, at least the song stuck in my head changed from the mission impossible theme. I just hope I¡¯m not sticking my head into one of Usd¡¯ghi''s sort of traps. They¡¯ve got an army hidden down here. Why? A thought made her paranoid, and about to pass the tenth gallery, Julia teleported back above the courtyard instead. So I can get out¡ªmore than a kilometre below the dome, with no bottom in sight. Greater Teleport took Julia back again and setting paranoia aside, she continued the descent. Yet a few galleries down the sight ahead made her pause. While the further she had descended, the weapons and armour had grown more ornate. Now ahead, things changed again as the usual check for wards revealed enchantments rippling against her Mana Sense. Though the troops arrayed on the gallery below were fewer, energy set into enchantments lay over the weapons and armour that hung from every figure. Each section had only ten or twelve standing guards in the same amount of space that had held hundreds. Studying a Khopesh carrying warrior among them made her mind ache. The sickle end of its sword seemed shrouded in a mix of mental mana and two others she couldn¡¯t determine woven together. [Species: Dedicated of Set Class: Hope¡¯s Reaper Level: Health: Mana: Defence: Melee Attack Power: Combat Skills: Condition: Details: ] Analysis [Ad](1->2) Further attempts fared little better with class after class returned clearly being prestige, Oblivion Knights, Plague Lords, Light Eaters, Void Stars, and Gloom Lances, mixed among other less ominous names. Though even what powers the likes of Fortress Breakers and Siege Banes possessed, she gained no clues. By the time Julia finished, carefully checking those she could see, Analysis was painfully happy, though its progress had already slowed. Analysis [Ad](15->16) Julia spotted the next location and skipped again to find the stonework about her changed. Instead of laying stonework, they carved the galleries from the bedrock itself. Still, it was a dozen galleries or more before shadows hinted at a floor below. Pillars circled a rough-edged pit, illuminated when another Soul hit, and the prisoners chained upright against them screamed. Though whatever power it released that caused them such pain remained unfelt by Julia, and as soon as the pulse died, she repositioned herself atop a pillar. Dark Sight peeking through a nearby shadow showed the pit¡¯s rough-hewed edge, but only prisoners about and no guards in sight. {{Anyone for ribs? Well, one at least. }} < > <> A strange sense of familiar longing and dread stirred across Julia¡¯s awareness as she took in the awful scene. Not knowing what caused the homesickness, Julia focused on the task at hand. With the manacled hands of an unconscious woman nearby, she focused on them and used Analysis. [Name: Khenut Species: Human, Egyptian Descent Class: Wizard Level: 42 Health: 32 (294) Mana: 0 (1,470) Defence: 0 Melee Attack Power: 0 Combat Skills: Dagger [J] (4), Various spells form - Fire, Lightning, and Spatial Affinity Condition: Exhausted. Unconscious. Abyssal Blight (Severe). Mana suppressed. Diseased. Details: A native of Memphis, Khenut has been a member of the Charter house association since completing her apprenticeship. The slave manacles of Set are currently suppressing their mana, defence and attack capabilities. ] [Name: Ipy Species: Human, Egyptian Descent Class: Ranger (Bast) Level: 48 Health: 90 (456) Mana: 0 (288) This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Defence: 0 Melee Attack Power: 0 Combat Skills: Heavy Blades [Ad] (47), Short Blades [Ad] (39), Short Bow [M] (2), Various minor blessings Condition: Exhausted. Unconscious. Abyssal Blight (Moderate). Mana suppressed. Diseased. Details: Normally employed as an expedition member of the Charter house¡¯s questing teams. Ipy also escorts faithful of Bast between their postings. The slave manacles of Set are currently suppressing their mana, defence and attack capabilities.] As Julia looked over each prisoner, she found various empty pillars among them, and those prisoners occupying pillars were all in a battered state. However, those with the worst Abyssal blight seemed consistently closer to death. While she tried to determine who needed help first, a pair of humans moved into the chamber. Like most of the Prisoners, the newcomers were Egyptian in appearance. They wore leather kilts and a chest piece engraved with the emblem of Set. As they passed each prisoner, they rechecked their manacles and, ignoring the filth on the floor about them, forced something into their mouths. Telepathy shared their thoughts quickly enough, though many she simply filed away under debts to be paid. #These fools won¡¯t last much longer. Their suffering won¡¯t hasten the work as much as he hoped. We should have hundreds of villagers here, not sellswords and fools.# #Stupid Demons, they should have kept the villagers alive, not butchered them. He told them to take them, not kill them. Blight will kill these faster than the food and tonics we have on hand to keep them alive to suffer. # Yeah, loopholes they were obeying orders. Guess they want to make your boss out to be a fool. Analysis [Name: Sabni Species: Human, Egyptian Descent Class: Priest Level: 32 Health: 384 Mana: 768 Defence: 32 Melee Attack Power: 34 Combat Skills: Staff [Ad] (1), Dagger [Ad] (2) Details: Attracted to the service of Set by jealousy of his older siblings, Sabni revels in the power his worship of Set brings him. He offered his eldest sister as a sacrifice for the completion of his novice vows. ] [Name: Djar Species: Human, Egyptian Descent Class: Alchemist Level: 23 Health: 184 Mana: 598 Melee Attack Power: 21 Combat Skills: Dagger [J] (1) Details: Employed by the Church of Set for various projects, Djar is a non-combatant specialised in the creation and processing of magical materials. ] Their feeding isn¡¯t gentle, but I¡¯ll see about getting the prisoners out when they leave. Julia looked over the rough edges of the pit and held herself back from exploring further. The pair had barely started feeding the prisoners when Khenut¡¯s skin started weeping black liquid. Two bags, eight thousand kilograms total capacity, for forty-six prisoners should be enough. Not sure Khenut can afford the wait. Time to go. Between one blink and the next, Djar¡¯s head exploded, and as blood sprayed over him, Sabni turned at the sound. A gore-soaked foot met their gaze as a snap kick drove forward. The impact crushed them into a pillar, and the force of the Ki Strike broke through their skull and cracked the stone. Focused on the prisoners, Julia ignored the remains slipping from her to the surrounding ground. Her transformation from pebble to full height inside Djar¡¯s mouth even gorier than she¡¯d expected. Still floating in midair, Julia locked her gaze on the blood-soaked prisoner near her. [Combat Summary: Humans x 2 Total-Experience to be distributed: +1,868 Blood Monk : + 800 Succubus ?? : + 1,068 Silent Kill (1->2) Death Strike (1->3) Stealth [J](27->32)] ¡°I sure hope some of you speak Norse because this is a rescue,¡± Julia said, trying to keep her voice firm, but it carried low against their cries of pains. ¡°Gross, I¡¯m so sorry, we need to move fast,¡± said Julia as she pulled the bags from inventory. I sure hope this doesn¡¯t make things worse. Teleport returned her to the Khenut¡¯s side and bracing her upright. Julia¡¯s hand slapped the chains, and she willed inventory to store the manacles. As another pain-wracked prisoner watched in disbelief, Julia slipped Khenut¡¯s hand into a storage bag and willed it to hold her. Julia moved among the unconscious first, some of whom¡¯s skin wept even darker fluid than Khenut¡¯s skin had shed. ¡°Does anyone speak Norse?¡± Julia asked, as her ability to translate brought questioning words and venomous hate. I should have at least appeared like me, and not my sex bot Succubus form. I wanted to grow to myself. When did it become that? I hope Telepathy works. #You all have a choice. I can free you and leave. Otherwise, you can come with me and live. The unconscious can¡¯t take any more of being here; they¡¯re in dimensional storage.# ¡°We don¡¯t have gear. How can we fight you or them?¡± asked an older man, shaking the manacles at her. ¡°I¡¯ve no plans to fight you. I¡¯m here to help.¡± ¡°Why should we trust you, Succubus?¡± he asked, grunting out pained words in Norse. Julia shrugged and appeared beside him, and the manacles soon vanished from him. ¡°I¡¯m the only option that doesn¡¯t end with you dying in this pit. If I wanted you dead. Well,¡± Julia said and gestured towards the two dead men. ¡°You¡¯re wasting time. While the dimensional bag has air, I don¡¯t know how much.¡± Julia held the second bag to the man, and when he stuck his hand into it, she willed him away. Prisoner after prisoner joined the others in storage before she returned to the blood-soaked man. Freed, she extended the bag to him and watched him put a shaking hand inside it. Teleport took her to the Pyramid¡¯s top as soon as he vanished, where she willed the older man free again on the black soil. He looked at her in confusion, flinching back as she drew forth the conduit. ¡°It¡¯s ugly, I know, but it¡¯s a planar conduit. My ¡®Use¡¯ name is Eakc?, and it¡¯s your choice, accept my bond.¡± said Julia, offering an Allegiance bond to him. ¡°Do we get them out of here? If so, you walk through and call me out when you get to the end. Or do I argue with a bunch of them till I find one that speaks Norse and says yes? Or you can all walk back to the Temple. It¡¯s just there.¡± Julia said, pointing across the open graves to the building of Set. ¡°Where are you taking us?¡± ¡°Norse town of Eyrarh¨¢ls, you all need healing, but this conduit doesn¡¯t open in a controlled fashion. You could end up anywhere on the planet. Though I¡¯d love to chat, your friends are running out of time,¡± ¡°If you betray them, Succubus. Somehow I¡¯ll find a summoner and have them seal you in a circle for all time,¡± It was a moment longer before Julia felt them accept the Bond. [Allegiance Bond Formed: Neferu, Chapter house leader, has accepted your Bond] [Haggling [Ap] (22->24) Allegiance Bond (10->11)] {{Haggling aka pushing someone up against a wall and fuck them over till they say yes, baby. }} <> When the bond snapped into place, Julia put the wiggling conduit into his hand {{It¡¯s the right length, but it¡¯s got teeth and sometimes spines. Oh well. }} ¡°Now repeat after me,¡± Julia said. {{With this dildo, I do plunge. }} <> Focus kept Julia from shivering against an awful thought as she spoke the command words for Neferu to repeat.
A raging blizzard had almost ended Neferu before Julia had gotten through the conduit. She was sealing it away as he fell, shivering to the snow-covered ground. Julia put him back into the dimensional bag and teleported fast, the cold making even her ache from it. Soon prisoners were being released into the night air south beyond the farms outlying Eyrarh¨¢ls. ¡°Tell them not to go anywhere. They¡¯re diseased. I¡¯ll ask a High Justice of Tyr to come help,¡± said Julia. ¡°You¡¯re a Succubus. You expect me to believe you¡¯ll seek a High Justice?¡± Neferu asked. ¡°Yeah, of course not, and I wouldn¡¯t help any of you back to the material plane either,¡± Julia said, rolling her eyes at him as she released another prisoner. Julia sent Ki down the bond between them and enjoyed the look of Neferu¡¯s eyes widening in astonishment. The shivering wracking his body ceased, and wounds knitted together. Lightly touching the bond, she started drawing the Abyssal energies back from him. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you know absolutely nothing about me. So shut up and tell them. I don¡¯t want to hurt them, but I will if I have to. They¡¯re safer now, but whatever diseases they have need curing first. Plus, they¡¯re all naked, covered in shit and piss, with no actual idea where they are. Make sense now?¡± asked Julia. ¡°The night is warmer yet too cold. Some will sicken further before any recover mana,¡± said Neferu. ¡°Yeah, I have a plan for that. We need to get everyone out and breathing clean air first. I grabbed the unbroken tonic flasks. Get them into the worse of those we¡¯ve freed.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve? I did nothing.¡± ¡°Without your agreement, I had limited options. Some of which would not have gone well.¡± State some of these are in, I wonder if going to the grey fields would have caused their death. Julia listened to him repeating her instructions. as Translate got to work improving with Egyptian, she was already freeing the last of the Prisoner from storage. Some others came forward to take custody of the tonics and unconscious; meanwhile, Julia ripped blankets from her flesh. Wax on, wax off. [Translate Languages [J] (16->17)]
[Mental Hardening [Ad] (3->4)] Rip yourself apart for fun and skill levelling Julia was still considering the last skill increase while she stood waiting for Verdandi to arrive. Her hand cloaked in lightning; the energy illuminated the surrounding night like a halogen light bulb. The distant beating of wings attracted her attention away from a shivering prisoner. They were gripping their blankets tightly as Julia considered if she should use health and make another round. While she had expected flight to be involved, the four Pegasi was a surprise. As Julia caught sight of Verdandi, Farhad was suddenly right nearby, appearing in a flicker of motion. ¡°Master Farhad,¡± Julia said. A force of will alone had kept her from vanishing away. The shift of air letting her recognise the sign of his arrival at the last moment. [Perception [J] (36->37)] ¡°Eakc?. You have returned with some of Moke¡¯s missing, I take it,¡± Farhad said. ¡°Moke? He organised this?¡± asked an elf who¡¯d been staying clear of Julia. The moon elf was a beauty to Julia¡¯s eyes, even if she looked as much of a mess as the others. With the elf''s words showing she knew him, it made her wonder how they¡¯d gotten on with Moke¡¯s flirting. The moonlight made the elf¡¯s skin almost translucent, though in the clear light, it was greyish white. Short cut hair looked as if someone had painted it with liquid silver. Despite her being close to Julia¡¯s height standing, her features and build were deceptively delicate. ¡°He never told me their names, but it seems so,¡± said Julia, addressing Farhad¡¯s question. ¡°Moke organised nothing, merely told Eakc? of your situation. Eakc? offered to venture into the darkness to seek you,¡± Farhad said, moving to kneel beside the elf. ¡°May I have your name, child?¡± ¡°Child! You know little of Elven lore, human,¡± said the elf, an indigent tone entering her voice. I¡¯ll put it down to stress. ¡°You look close to one hundred. Your elders that greeted the fleet centuries ago looked ageless to me. You look like a child in their place,¡± Farhad said. His words in High Elven, were the first Julia had heard spoken besides the Grotto¡¯s song. ¡°Best not to assume,¡± said Julia. Her use of fluent High Elven, adding to Farhad¡¯s, made her look ready to stroke. ¡°You look good for your years, Master Farhad,¡± ¡°The Ki practices can lead mortal flesh to an Immortal path if followed by an enlightened Soul,¡± Farhad said. ¡°So a few of your path about?¡± asked Julia. ¡°I was the last on the material plane. Though despite my intent not to teach again, it seems the heavens have other plans.¡± The look of distrust directed at them both miffed Julia enough to be rude. Analysis [Name: Lastriel Sylvgove Species: Moon Elf Class: Ranger / Priestess Level: 60 / 30 Health: 150 (1,320) Mana: 90 (1,500) Defence: 54 Melee Attack Power: 110 Combat Skills: Short blades [M] (16), Long bow [M] (15), Short Bow [M] (16), Spear [M] (5), Long blades [M] (4) Condition: Abyssal Blight (Severe). Diseased. Details: Lastriel Sylvgove, youngest daughter of the current King of the Moon Elf people. Chosen to be his heir by her people¡¯s magic, she left to seek adventure rather than abide by her father and the Elven council¡¯s direction. ] [Elven Lore (1->3)] ¡°Her name¡¯s Lastriel. Her father and people might be glad their heir is alive,¡± Julia said, watching the elf¡¯s eyes flinch wide for a moment. ¡°At least I have people. You whorish little water serpent,¡± said Lastriel, her voice cold with contempt. [Perception [J] (37->38) Sense Motive [Ap] (10->11)] I know I have to be paying proper attention to level them. [Perception [J] (38)] Arse! ¡°Meow. Do you need some milk, kitten? I¡¯m not the one that ran out on my family, now am I?¡± ¡°Eakc?,¡± said Farhad, his voice reproving as he held out hands glowing with a welcome blue mist to Lastriel. ¡°Just hold your hand above mine, Princess, the healing energy of the Ki will aid you. Eakc? rescued you, Princess. Doesn''t that act alone warrant some manners?¡± ¡°Can you heal Abyssal blight that way?¡± asked Julia ¡°Not to my knowledge, Eakc?. Why?¡± ¡°She¡¯s got a severe case of it. I think it¡¯s causing the murky fluid her skin¡¯s leaking,¡± Julia said, gesturing towards the sores showing on Lastriel¡¯s hands. ¡°Verdandi and Torm will be here shortly. I¡¯m sure one of them can help with that part," reassured Farhad, as he focused on healing. ¡°Okay. I can draw it out through an Allegiance bond, but I wondered if the Ki was part of the reason,¡± Julia said, thoughtfully. ¡°When you don¡¯t drown a Soul in Ki itself?¡± asked Farhad. ¡°I wasn¡¯t drowning Livia. I had to provide something when I removed Abyssal energy from her,¡± said Julia. As a memory emerged, ¡°Do you tell Moke what is safe to eat while travelling, princess?¡± ¡°The only thing he knows to eat is what others prepare. He¡¯d chew on twigs if his music distracted him,¡± Lastriel said, her tone now polite even as her gaze avoided Julia. Yeah, so you don¡¯t want to admit I even exist. [Sense Motive [Ap] (11->12)] ¡°How do you do that, Farhad?¡± asked Julia, trying not to snort at a mental image of Moke chewing a wooden spoon. ¡°You call the Ki to drift in your hands. Imaging it warming the surface of your skin and the energy shining through. Not as Ki Armour guarding, but a fireplace on a snowy night.¡± Farhad said, Julia knelt and watched the Ki radiate along the surface of his hands, let Harmony set her mind adrift with the night. The Ki radiated with a light of a clear sky, brilliant blue catching her eyes and senses. The Abyssal heat in her own hands blocked the Ki¡¯s flow till she peeled it back as when freeing Souls. As it came away, a golden-hued light glowing brighter than a spotlight came rising through her skin. <> On seeing it, the song remembered from the Grotto echoed in Julia¡¯s mind. [Mana Affinity Unlocked: Life Universal Life Unlocked. Universal Life (1). ] Oh, good Universal Life. Reiki, why didn¡¯t you say so, Farhad. ¡°By the merciful Goddess,¡± Farhad breathed, his eyes fixated on Julia¡¯s hands. ¡°By the Song,¡± said Lastriel, her words a mere whisper in the beautiful High Elven. The sound of trotting horses interrupted the moment, and Julia let the Ki withdraw. ¡°Julia?¡± asked Torm from the approaching group. While Verdandi had been easy to pick out amid the four Pegasi riders, but Torm¡¯s size had blended with the other guards he¡¯d brought to escort the High Justice. ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re here. Lots of sick stinky folk, so we''d better take it easy,¡± said Julia, ¡°cousins of yours?¡± she asked after a moment¡¯s pause and gestured towards the two guards. ¡°Indeed. Very distant cousins,¡± Torm said. Julia glanced over to see him and Verdandi ground hitching their Pegasi and starting towards the group. ¡°But of course,¡± said Julia. Smiling at the pair of them in welcome. ¡°How many undead did you remove to get them free?¡± Verdandi asked as she moved among the group. ¡°Only two hundred. After they swarmed, I figured sneaking in was a better idea,¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Soul Eater,¡± said Lastriel, her voice startled. ¡°Who said anything about that?¡± Julia asked, looking at the elf who seemed ready to take an interest in things. ¡°Before I last passed out, a Priest was yelling about a Soul Eater messing with the Garrison,¡± said Lastriel, ¡°he was talking about setting wards to block rogue undead from entering the temple. I was almost hoping one would come to destroy us before we furthered their plans.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see any wards in place, and not undead, unfortunately for them.¡± ¡°Thank you, Julia, Farhad. I have a blessing from Tyr that should handle purification of their flesh and healing. Julia, if you would please keep watch on the far side. I¡¯m not sure how the blessing might affect yourself.¡± ¡°How much clearance?¡± ¡°At least a hundred rods to be safe,¡± ¡°Alright, High Justice,¡± Teleport carried her further away than the thirty metres the knowledge in her brain translated the rods¡¯ distance. Though the rod measurement seemed shorter than feet, some things weren¡¯t worth taking a risk. As she listened to Verdandi¡¯s rolling chant carry through the quiet air to her, a thought struck Julia, and her lips curled in a predatory smile. Time to take the gloves off. First, I¡¯ll see if there is a mage that can shape metal and then I¡¯ll head back. 58 - In another time There are worse ways to spend time. The workroom was snug, almost cozy, and spoke of Yngvarr¡¯s personality. Though he¡¯d filled it with bizarre wizardly objects, everything seemed to have its own spot. Both she and Livia had found it interesting watching him work the metal, with the way it flowed following his will. ¡°So no chance of anyone using these to trace their maker?¡± Julia asked, glancing from the objects on the bench to Yngvarr. ¡°None what so ever. I¡¯ve also removed all mana traces from them while they hardened. It will be clear the metal is from the material plane, but that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Thanks for the help Yngvarr.¡± ¡°It was a simple enough request. Let me know how well it works,¡± ¡°As soon as I can,¡± Julia said, before turning to their mutual audience. ¡°You¡¯re going again, I know,¡± said Livia, her voice serious. ¡°At least we had bells to talk this time. Your rescue tally has taken quite a jump,¡± ¡°Indeed, though the tally isn¡¯t why I did it,¡± ¡°Because it was right,¡± Livia said, giving her a nod. ¡°Yes. I chose to help them.¡± ((Choosing to act instead of reacting is the key to freedom. )) ¡°An issue with your choices?¡± asked Yngvarr, gesturing to the pieces that had already finished hardening on the bench. ¡°I had been wondering about my ownership of them lately.¡± Livia got another hug before Julia moved forward to store the pieces that Yngvarr had finished. ¡°You¡¯re in a dangerous place. With being focused on surviving, it may seem others are limiting your choices since you''re not taking the time to establish your own plans. Though given all you¡¯ve told me, I¡¯d suggest remembering you¡¯ve made many that no one in the Abyss would desire. I¡¯ll see about getting some magical theory texts ready for you, but maybe some philosophy books might be in order. Perhaps reading them might help with any crisis of self if it doesn''t stir more up,¡± Yngvarr said. With precise movements, he set about returning the tools to their proper places. ¡°Thank you, Yngvarr,¡± said Julia, sitting back down next to Livia again. ¡°Moke was playing at the Silver Chalice last night. He really is quite good for someone so young,¡± said Yngvarr, putting away the casting mould. ¡°He¡¯s nearly thirty,¡± Julia said. ¡°Indeed, someone so young,¡± ¡°That¡¯s so rude. Technically, he¡¯s older than me, and I¡¯ll be telling Alfarr,¡± said Julia. However, Livia ruined her attempt to be pouty by giggling at her. With a stern look at the giggling girl, Julia pretended to tickle her. Yngvarr just gave them both a bemused look. ¡°My husband is well aware of how the world of Humans looks to me, and I know how the Elven culture appears to him. Neither of us expects the others¡¯ perception to be the same,¡± ¡°I noticed you used the term culture for Elves and not Humans,¡± Julia said, amused at the phrasing. ¡°Humans hardly have a culture,¡± Yngvarr said, giving a smile that clashed with his serious tone. With all the tools away, he offered a thin volume from a nearby shelf to Julia. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°A few spells to learn. One of them sounds similar to what the hag used to speak between planes. I''ve been pulling these together in the months since you left. Communication was always going to be a challenge since you couldn¡¯t rely on passing a message. Though we received word from the plane of Judgement, it hardly allows for timely interactions,¡± ¡°So I can speak to anyone whose name I know?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way. The spells require you to have met the person and heard their name from their own lips. It uses the resonance of your knowledge of them to create the link, even if you cannot scry the person. There are risks involved in sending messages to anyone on the lower planes,¡± ¡°So I can send one of you a message, but I shouldn¡¯t expect one very often in return?¡± ¡°Exactly. Though once you learn those, there''ll be options,¡± Yngvarr said, amusement colouring his words. ¡°You¡¯re being vague. Is that a wizardly thing? Do I need some lessons in that?¡± Julia asked. ¡°It¡¯s okay Julia, you can send me messages any time you want,¡± said Livia, tilting her head up to give her a grin. ¡°You''ll need your sleep. It''s hard to keep track of your daytime. Some places don¡¯t have a sun, or match with yours.¡± ¡°Maybe not any time then, but whenever you miss me a lot,¡± She¡¯d get so sick of hearing from me. ((Moments of peace can ease a Soul. )) Julia returned the smile, remembering the feel of the child¡¯s Soul sitting on her lap as they watched the stars together. ¡°You should work on learning the more advanced spell forms, though some require a much finer touch manipulating the mana. There are ones that leave the message hovering near the intended recipient or cause it to manifest in other ways. When the target is ready, they can focus on it and hear the message or just read it. Though anyone using the ability to sense mana will know it''s there waiting.¡± ¡°Can anyone that spots the message hear or read the content?¡± ¡°Not as far as I¡¯m aware, though there is the risk that anyone with enough skill can dispel it. Because of your Pact with Moke, you could message him to ¡®bid¡¯ you come forth. When he gives his permission, you should feel permitted to access the material plane,¡± ¡°Have you spoken with Moke?¡± ¡°Last night, I heard him sing at the Silver Chalice. Verdandi suggested he speak to me afterwards. That¡¯s when he mentioned you¡¯d asked him to keep a Pact with you. Given your situation and for his own peace of mind, Verdandi had suggested he confer with me,¡± said Yngvarr. ¡°It¡¯s not a Pact anymore. It changed to an Allegiance Bond when I sent Ki through it,¡± ¡°I was only aware of celestials using them. The forging of such bonds is between mortals and celestials that serve their deity¡¯s faith, though normally only used in times of great need.¡± ¡°Oh, should I tell you I have one with Neferu as well?¡± ¡°Did you do the same to him?¡± ¡°After the Pact with Moke changed, the power also changed. I can only form Bonds, not Pacts now,¡± ¡°As Torm would say, Interesting.¡± ¡°You said I needed to learn one of the advanced spell forms. What¡¯s the difference between them?¡± ¡°Mainly the mana you use with them. You didn¡¯t possess the mana affinities needed for any planar message last we met. I had collected a few together just in case you opened yourself to other energies first,¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just use the same spell forms with different mana?¡± Julia asked, puzzled by his statement. ¡°How would you do that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all energy; you just pass them through the same spell form. Some mana types manifest in different ways, but spells should respond when powered,¡± Yngvarr returned to his seat and looked at Julia for a moment before speaking. ¡°Fire and water are opposing elements. Why would you expect energy so different to behave in the same fashion?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you? The energy isn''t physically present until the spell form causes it to manifest. Until it does so it''s raw potential energy. For a Wizard, since it all comes from your mana pool, why should it matter?¡± So mana isn¡¯t plug and play? ¡°Goodness. I¡¯m wondering if getting you any theory books is a good idea.¡± ¡°I need to know what¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°Julia, you just rewrote what I¡¯d considered a rule for centuries. I¡¯ll have to experiment with this, but there are spell forms I¡¯ve never tried simply because I don¡¯t possess the right affinities. I never considered telling you about this. Since I learnt what mana affinities you had and taught you some basic spells that matched them. How did you find out spell forms could support other affinities?¡± ¡°On my profile. When I learned those spell forms it showed which supported other mana types. Not all of though, just some.¡± ¡°Your odd profile and analysis abilities you possess. I¡¯d expect some spell forms it won¡¯t help, no point casting water breathing with Fire mana.¡± ¡°What do you normally cast it with?¡± ¡°Water, of course, since you¡¯re transforming it to provide you the ability to breathe in it,¡± ¡°Most combat and protections ones so far don¡¯t seem to care. Also, I¡¯ve seen flit cast with both lightning and fire mana, and spatial.¡± ¡°Will you be talking theory now?¡± Livia asked, sitting upright and looking them both over. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, honey. We¡¯ll cover the theory side when you have to tend to things for Master Farhad,¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I was just checking, because if you are, then I¡¯ll go practice now,¡± said Livia, her tone reassuring. Ouch, I keep getting schooled. Goes from giggle monster to mature so readily. Little miss pragmatic, not a sulky ¡®hey, I want attention''. More hey mates, if you¡¯re talking I¡¯ve got stuff I could be doing. ¡°Why don¡¯t I go practice with you,¡± ¡°Excellent choice, Master Farhad will be in the Temple garden. This time of day, we practice on the Temple grounds,¡± said Livia, frowning. ¡°Maybe you should go ahead then,¡± ¡°Alright, that might be wise. You won¡¯t be leaving soon?¡± ¡°Not till late tonight. We¡¯ll have more time. You can tell me about the silly boys in the Temple,¡± ¡°Okay then, and the boys are silly. Master Yngvarr, thank you for allowing me to visit and talk to Julia,¡± Livia said, giving him a little bow after hopping off the chair. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± said Yngvarr, nodding in acknowledgement. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Julia watched Livia¡¯s flowing movements as she left the room. When Julia turned back to Yngvarr, his look of compassion was obvious. {{That spawn is fun, let¡¯s get one of our own. Find someone to bounce. Forget it. Just find someone to kill soon. }} ((Cherish the children. )) Julia took out the Dagger of Tracking and set it on the table before changing into the Sisterhood standard uniform. ¡°Can you use the steel to shape one of these emblems? I want it to appear one got ripped off fighting.¡± ¡°Pointing foes at each other is dangerous, especially for those caught in the middle.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t innocents in the Abyss to get caught in the middle,¡± ¡°That''s enchanted. I¡¯d suggest you keep it unless it¡¯s cursed. I have some Abyssal steel,¡± ¡°Why do you have that?¡± ¡°Demon hunting has long been a pastime for Alfarr and me. There are certain detection and containment enchantments that require their steel to work, a similarity of resonance.¡± ¡°You two are crazy, fun but crazy,¡± ¡°Tell me of this Grotto and song you hoped Moke would hear,¡± Yngvarr said, looking over the crests on the Sisterhood uniform.
As Julia completed the fourth repeat of all she knew about the Night Elves, Nox, and places like the Grotto; the room fell silent. After the first recounting, Yngvarr had sent off messages and shown Julia into a larger chamber. The size of it had certainly shown there were spatial tricks used inside Yngvarr¡¯s house. The well-furnished room had comfortable chairs, set in a circle big enough that the front row alone could have held fifty individuals. Well, it would have held fifty before their escorts had removed the tables between chairs, so the guards had places to stand. Now it was closer to eighty. The spacious room vibrated with the energy of its occupants. With all the powerful Elves listening on, it seemed nowhere was safe to settle her gaze. None of them had introduced themselves, but that was hardly surprising, Julia found she was almost getting used to it. Names being power and all, why would anyone trust theirs to a Succubus. I might spam them from the Abyss, not that any need their beauty sleep. The room had filled with four Elven groups, quite distinct in their difference of main skin tones and clothing styles. The Spanish complexion of Sunset Elves, the deeper greenish-brown of the Wood Elves, whitish-grey of the Moon Elves, and the luminance of the Mountain Elves. Hair colours ranged wildly from dark loam brown, leaf green, shimmering bluish crystal, to liquid metallics, and so many colours in between. The Elves ranged in height, though all looked around the one hundred and eighty centimetres. Though varying in overall appearance, all had sharp features, piercing eyes, and builds that seemed lithe but hinted at taunt cables'' constrained force. She¡¯d learnt some names and a few classes from Analysis, but the room held lots of unknown details. The ache had levelled Analysis further before Julia had stopped. Lastriel was also in the little gathering sitting between what Julia assumed were her mother and father. Certainly, their family names matched Lastriel¡¯s, the male showed to her as Mithrilon, and the lady Caimatame, but otherwise unknown was all Analysis provided. The pair shared white-grey skin tone, and liquid silver hair, though both had far longer styles than Lastriel. Mithrilon¡¯s was held back in a ponytail, and Caimatame¡¯s restrained in intricately bejewelled braids. Caimatame had shown the most emotion of the three, holding Lastriel close and pressing their forehead against hers. The guardsmen with them clearly reading their mood had set three chairs together, and the couple had sat down on either side of Lastriel. ¡°You believe we can trust this creature¡¯s word, your Highness?¡± asked Mithrilon. Yngvarr¡¯s been holding out. What are you doing playing at Jarl¡¯s Wizard? ¡°Uncle, I¡¯ve felt a Soul from her, and it shone gold,¡± said Lastriel. The words came out seemingly a grudging admission. Okay, I struck out on one of them at least. Is Caimatame her aunt? Not sure about my Soul being golden, the light from the power was that''s all. ¡°Julia has spoken true. So far, she¡¯s helped save a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar of the Lady¡¯s court, and Lastriel,¡± said Yngvarr, his tone reproving. Yngvarr you sweetie you, smack his nose. ¡°I have something that should save us some arguments.¡± The words sang out from an Elven lady in the front row, cutting off any reply. Soft murmurs that had started about the room died instantly. Though among the crowd of Elves, her beauty hadn¡¯t set her apart. The moment she spoke, the room silenced. Movements of liquid grace carried her towards Julia, though when a ¡®guards woman¡¯ moved, the lady stopped to glance at them. It gave Julia time enough to use Analysis and regret it. Pain stabbed straight between Julia¡¯s eyes, making her vision dot with floating colours and the room swim. ¡°If you are coming with me, you can introduce us,¡± the lady said, their quiet syllables echoing through the room with pure crystal tones. ¡°Yes, High Singer.¡± said the Guard. In the immediate reply, and Julia couldn¡¯t detect even a hint of reluctance. Purely an acknowledgment of what she wanted would happen. When she stepped forward with the High Singer though, Julia¡¯s Danger Sense whispered, and it was clear the guard was ready to react instantly to the slightest threat. ¡°Julia, I present you to Lady Glingaerneth, High Singer of the And¨²n? court,¡± The moment she¡¯d finished speaking, a single step set her off to one side, and the neutral stance changed. Perception revealing to Julia that the guard drawing their blade could cut through where Julia stood, with no risk to the High Singer. Glingaerneth''s features were exquisitely fine, hair the unsettlingly colour of fresh blood cascaded down across her green silken dress. In contrast to other clothes in the room, the High Singer¡¯s clothing seemed almost plain, unadorned by gems, or metallic threads, only its cut and sheen speaking of its value. ¡°My pardon, High Singer. I would suggest Julia show the effect of Master Farhad¡¯s healing technique. It should provide some clear evidence.¡± Lastriel said. Words flowed hastily, as if Lastriel expected someone to stop her at any moment. Despite their speed, each word carried steel of determination, and no one actually stopped her. Goodness Lastriel, you have got guts. Everyone is still as church mice, and yet you''re speaking up. When Glingaerneth said nothing, Julia wondered if Lastriel was in her bad books for speaking up. When she finally spoke there was no sign of it, more a sense of having considered the words before replying. ¡°As Isil Heir Lastriel has seen, please show for the rest of us,¡± said Glingaerneth, nodding slightly in Lastriel¡¯s direction. Yeah, hair-trigger Anne right by me, let¡¯s not startle her. Hand randomly glowing in power, perhaps not the best thing. With a polite bow of acknowledgment to Glingaerneth, Julia moved slowly and cupped her hands together. ¡°I¡¯ve only done this once,¡± Julia said. {{At least you¡¯ve done something once. }} ((You¡¯ll be fine Child. )) ¡°Take your time Julia, it is best not to rush,¡± said Glingaerneth. Yeah, words of wisdom from the who knows how old Elf. Julia peeled back the Heat from her form and activated what she consider Reiki. The golden light from last time soon shone through her flesh, causing a soft murmur among the Elves that stilled at a twitch from Glingaerneth. With a graceful gesture, she presented Julia with a gemstone that shimmered with an array of colours that matched a dawn sky. When the guard¡¯s hand tightened on their sword hilt, Julia reached out slowly with her still glowing hand, letting radiant fingertips cup under the stone. The moment her flesh touched the gemstone it rang with the Song of the Grotto, though wordless it was still the same music. As it rippled forth, it caused a stir among the Elves. When Glingaerneth raised the gemstone away, it continued to sing in crystalline tones, and all the Elves settled to listen till minutes later the gemstone finally ceased its singing. ¡°I believe that resolves all those questions,¡± said Glingaerneth, before returning to her chair. ¡°Julia has yet to accept any reward for her vital part in freeing the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar. Let us not freely award suspicion now, even if others could force her to betray. We should reward Julia for what she has learnt and shared,¡± said Aldaron. He spoke the words with a firm and approving conviction. Julia had learnt his name from Analysis, but he was the first of the Wood Elves she¡¯d actually heard speak. The inflection of his speech was different to the other Elves, the tones softer as if he wasn''t as used to speaking aloud. Not like I can trust to keep anything they give me. I¡¯m not taking anything special into the Abyss. ¡°If you could help the adventurers,¡± said Julia, shrugging. ¡°Adventurers, this isn¡¯t a term I know. Is that your mortal tongue?¡± Aldaron asked. ¡°Sorry the Charter house members, those I rescued with Lastriel. They¡¯ve lost all their equipment, I¡¯m not sure what reserves any of them have,¡± ¡°Very little, and nothing close at hand. The Chapter House leaders are in talks with the Jarl, and the local companion''s hall, about earning some equipment,¡± Lastriel said. ¡°At present, we only have clothes the Temple of Tyr has organised.¡± ¡°Then together we will see to assisting these Adventurers you rescued. Are you sure you wish nothing for yourself?¡± asked Mithrilon, giving Aldaron a nod of acknowledgment even as he interjected. ¡°I¡¯m reluctant to take anything special into that place,¡± Julia said. ¡°You mentioned you had found an isolated location. Could you not use things to make it fit for use?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°I¡¯m gaining resources. I¡¯d prefer disposable furnishings native to the plane, so the chamber will draw no attention if stumbled upon. Once I have time to stop, I¡¯ll furnish it for use,¡± ¡°Very well, we¡¯ll organise with the Isil court equipment for these Adventurers. To assist those you rescued and ensure their safety, would be our pleasure.¡± Aldaron said. ¡°I¡¯ll organise with Julia to travel to this Grotto, if there are Night Elves alive there I shall send word,¡± Yngvarr said. You are a crazy boy Yngvarr. ¡°Perhaps we should pause here to consider what we have learnt. I¡¯m sure there will be a need for further discussion,¡± Glingaerneth said, nodding to Yngvarr. As soon as Glingaerneth rose, she vanished with her guard. With her departure, others left and quicker than the Elves had gathered, the room was nearly empty. Only Yngvarr, Lastriel, Caimatame, Mithrilon, and their escort remained behind. ¡°Are you sure there is nothing we can provide you Julia?¡± Mithrilon asked when quiet had settled on the chamber. ¡°Do you have transportable liquids that burn really well? Preferably something that will cling and burn hot.¡± Julia asked. ¡°How much are you after?¡± ¡°As much as I can get. I can easily transport about eight thousand kilograms,¡± said Julia, translating the weight to Elvish terms. ¡°Dwarves have something that will melt even stone while it burns.¡± Caimatame said, raising a finely lined eyebrow, ¡°Hosting a party?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to be a warm hostess,¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll see what we can arrange from Stoneheart,¡± Mithrilon said, before looking at Lastriel, ¡°Will you be coming home or continue being an Adventurer?¡± ¡°Please daughter, your Father and I understand the pressure you felt over the choosing,¡± Caimatame said, placing a hand on her shoulder. ¡°The artifact¡¯s magic responded to yourself, it barely glimmered for your siblings. Some say the very fact you don¡¯t want it means you¡¯re the right person to wield it. Your Father needs to train you, so you¡¯re not left uncertain of its abilities in a time of need.¡± ¡°Very well Mother, someone said I¡¯d run out on my people. Perhaps she was right,¡± said Lastriel, not even glancing at Julia as she spoke. ¡°She might have been cruel in putting it that way,¡± Julia said, her words attracting Lastriel¡¯s gaze. ¡°Perhaps she was merely responding to rudeness previously offered,¡± said Lastriel, extending an arm towards Julia. With a smile, Julia just clasped her forearm as she¡¯d seen the others from the Charter house exchange. ¡°I¡¯ll get in touch with the Dwarves for you. Though I do not know how much they¡¯ll have for sale,¡± Caimatame said. ¡°I had planned to head back tonight, but it would help my plans, so I¡¯ll wait longer,¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see if we can prompt the Dwarves to act with unusual haste,¡± Nodding farewell, the family and their escorts vanished. Yngvarr looked at Julia for a moment before he spoke. ¡°Any more surprises?¡± ¡°Remember how I told you about the spike the Order used. They look like the blades the Nox fingers twist into. So I collected a few of them,¡± ¡°A few?¡± ¡°Twenty, along with sections of the armour that forms over them. It seems an unpolished version of the box''s plating.¡± ¡°Julia!¡± ¡°I figured I¡¯d need materials for research,¡± ¡°What were you planning if you got one enchanted in the same fashion?¡± ¡°I planned to stick at least one straight up Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s cunt,¡± Julia said, giving him a sweet smile that made the words shiver up his spine. ¡°At least one?¡± {{Remember to save some for the Lady }} (( Their essence is already rotten. )) ¡°Figured it would depend on how many I ended up getting. So at least one, but I¡¯m open to higher bids,¡± Yngvarr considered her for a moment, as Julia''s memories provided a few more reasons to stab others in the Stronghold. ¡°I''ll have a look at them. What else have you acquired?¡± ¡°Some odds and ends,¡± ¡°Let us see what we can discover about your odds and ends,¡± Yngvarr said, gesturing towards the door.
¡°Yngvarr while Julia doesn¡¯t need food or sleep, I would suggest you need a break,¡± Alfarr said, leaning against the doorframe as he looked over the pair. ¡°What time is it?¡± Yngvarr asked, looking up from his examination of the cleaned Nox armour material. ¡°Well after sunset, nearly seventh bell,¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, we should eat,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay and study the message grimoire Yngvarr, I seem to attract a lot of attention now,¡± ¡°You have a sexed-up, anytime, anywhere air about you now Julia,¡± Alfarr said. ¡°Especially when you¡¯re not doing the hooded mysterious lady, and let them gaze upon your sweet lips, lush clean skin, and the swell of your hips in tight leather.¡± He added the description with an obviously faked breathiness. ¡°I thought you were with Yngvarr?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m blind to the drooling of others," dismissed Alfarr, before he quickly continued. "I heard it was quite a display you and Master Farhad put on.¡± ¡°Great!¡± ¡°It was the talk of the Jarl''s Hall yesterday, and the Silver Chalice last night. Moke even composed some poems in honour of the display,¡± offered Yngvarr, with a teasing smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t want to know,¡± Julia retorted, rolling her eyes in disbelief. ¡°You might be quite right there. He seems quite taken with your¡­ beauty,¡± ¡°Hit him for me next time you see him okay,¡± requested Julia, shaking her head in frustration. ¡°Likely he¡¯s singing again tonight, promised a tale of daring danger to be shared. Perhaps you''re the heroine of the story.¡± ¡°Hit him hard.¡± Julia insisted with a low growl. When Alfarr laughed and let the door close, Julia just swore under her breath. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t wish to come along? Torm will probably be there with Livia since she wanted to see you again.¡± Yngvarr said, immediately tucking tools back into drawers as he stood. ¡°If you could let Livia know, that I¡¯ll join her for practice in the Temple square tomorrow morning," Julia asked, ignoring the repeated offer. "We¡¯ll have more time than I had expected.¡± ¡°Very well. There are wood and steel disks in that drawer if you want to practice inscribing runes. Though use the spell chamber across the hall,¡± Yngvarr instructed, motioning to another workbench. ¡°Yes, of course, your Highness. I believe I¡¯ll start trying to get the message spells working, perhaps I can look to heckle Moke at all hours.¡± ¡°Brat. I¡¯ll let Moke know you plan to whisper in his dreams. I¡¯m sure it will inspire him,¡± grumbled Yngvarr, giving her a mock frown. ¡°Yngvarr, don¡¯t you dare!¡± protested Julia, as she waved her hands in protest. ¡°I won¡¯t even mention you activated his bloodline.¡± ¡°Go, your husband is likely waiting for you,¡± Julia growled, motioning towards the door repeatedly. ¡°He¡¯ll have gone ahead to order, and find seats,¡± said Yngvarr, though he was already moving towards the door. ¡°So I won¡¯t tell you about your other admirers either.¡± With that parting remark, Yngvarr closed the door behind him. Fuck! {{Tease. }} 59 - Losing my religion ¡°Do you know how long you¡¯ll be in Eyrarh¨¢ls?¡± asked Farhad. ¡°A few days at least, I¡¯m waiting on news about supplies,¡± Julia said. ¡°You are welcome to join us any morning. I¡¯m sure Livia will give practice her full attention,¡± ¡°I always do, Master,¡± said Livia. ¡°You do at that, but I can tease as well. We have things to tend to, and you appear to have someone waiting for you,¡± said Farhad, tilting his head towards a cloaked woman. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not a sign of trouble,¡± Julia said. With the weight of watching eyes on her, Julia hugged Livia, before collecting her cloak and heading over to the waiting lady. Even cloaked and hooded against the morning chill, something felt familiar. Though as Julia warily approached, there was no sense of danger. When she drew back their hood, Julia instantly recognised Eivor, though she looked far calmer than their last meeting. ¡°It is you, isn¡¯t it, Julia?¡± asked Eivor, peering curiously at her. ¡°Good morning, Eivor. How is your girl doing now?¡± ¡°Much recovered, especially after we had certain news. Can we go somewhere to speak?¡± ¡°Of course. Who¡¯s looking after the bakery?¡± ¡°Sagga is looking after it with Hermod; as I said, she¡¯s much recovered. There were gemstones in that pouch you gave me, not just coins. It meant we could ask for more help from Eir¡¯s priestess than just the physical wounds. Their blessings settled the nightmares and trembling as well, the priestess brought her back to herself. We had enough to help others involved in the list left behind.¡± I like this woman. She didn''t just look after her daughter. ¡°That¡¯s excellent news. Where do you suggest we go?¡± ¡°Would you like to come back to our apartment above the bakery? We can talk away from others.¡± [Sense Motive [Ap] (12->14)] She''s nervous, but it''s an excited nervous, glad to see me. What''s going on? ¡°The bakery¡¯s smell will tempt me, but sounds good,¡± said Julia. Even covered by the cloak, Julia felt the gazes that followed her. As they approached the bakery, Eivor led her through an alleyway and up a narrow set of stairs to the family¡¯s apartment. After Eivor had set out mugs of herbal tea and some fresh honey cakes, Julia just raised an eyebrow at her shaking hands. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start your ladyship?¡± ¡°Then start at the beginning, and we¡¯ll untangle things from there.¡± ¡°You were the one who dealt with Leidolf, weren¡¯t you? When last seen, he had a lady with him. She was very different looking to yourself, and no one had seen her before or since,¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± ¡°The purse you gave me had his rune mark in it. I burned it so no one would see it. You didn¡¯t need to ask about the list or the others,¡± ¡°Is this a problem for you?¡± ¡°No, your ladyship, I wanted to ensure I had the right of it is all,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a lady Eivor. Please, just call me Julia.¡± "I shouldn''t be calling you Eakc??" Eivor asked. "Where did you hear that name?" asked Julia, her voice soft as she wondered at the trouble this might bring. ¡°I have family members about town. It wasn''t hard for me to piece together. You came in with that Skald, the Egyptian fellow, the one called Moke? His friends got rescued from the Abyss by a beautiful entity working for the High Justice,¡± ¡°Go on,¡± Julia said, sipping her tea. ¡°I heard most of it delivering extra loaves to the Companion¡¯s hall. There was a group of folks all blanket wrapped, looking spell cleaned, and with skin so new in places clearly fresh from healing. There was talk of their rescue by a nameless, beautiful entity, who could change form in a Blink, crushed the skulls of villains and freed prisoners from enchanted chains with a touch. Some were still looking battered in spirit, I put loaves near one and he was just whispering thanks to Eakc?, over and over. He had a fine blanket tight around him as if it was holding his world together," said Eivor. "Oh," I hope he''ll be alright. Damn. I''ll ask Verdandi if they can get more help. "Eakc? was the name Moke drank a toast to the night he first sang at the Silver Chalice. He was talking about her striking beauty, delicate touch, and how she¡¯d rescued him from the darkness. He shared a few toasts with my brother. He works as a barman there, and likes to share fresh news with me,¡± I am going to hit him. {{Fuck his brains out. It will be more fun, and then you can finger paint with them. }} ¡°Did he say anything else?¡± ¡°My brother tends the bar there, he had little else to say. He dropped by yesterday and spoke to me about the outrageous new Skald the innkeeper had there.¡± ¡°Moke loves the sound of his voice,¡± ¡°He has a fine voice though, at least according to my brother, and performed for bells. Folks requested chants, sagas and songs, and he did them all without a flaw. I just wanted to let you know, your Ladyship. You helped my daughter, and your deeds brought peace to my family and others. Whatever you need from me, I¡¯ll be happy to help,¡± I told her I''m not a Lady and there it is again. ¡°There is no need for that Eivor. I was happy to help. Your daughter just needed someone to give her light in a dark place.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the All-Father teachings say, your ladyship. The need for light in dark places is greatest. If you need any help lighting candles, just let me know. You go into dark places, don¡¯t you?¡± <> {{We¡¯ll need a cult one day. If we¡¯re to deal with them. }} ¡°I know how being cursed can hurt. To choose to give a hand to those likewise afflicted is important,¡± ¡°Of course, Lady Eakc?. I¡¯ll keep that in mind, my Lady. I swear to serve your goals,¡± [Your word and actions have unlocked the Priest class for Eivor Eakc?, Lady of the Accursed, you have gained your first Priestess. Demonic Pact applied. Demonic Pact is unavailable because of evolution override. Allegiance Bond accepted by Eivor. Demonic Tier is insufficient to provide channelled blessing. Your faithful¡¯s faith rating and mana will need to fuel any manifestation of prayers until sufficient Tier gained to provide power. Your Faith rating boosted by half of your first Priestess'' Faith level. Faith (6->15) Allegiance Bond (11->13) Do you wish to restrict your Faith to Priestess only?] Fuck! No! [Servant restriction voided. Faith not eligible for restriction bonuses.] That wasn¡¯t what I meant! [Primary combat skill unlocked for Priestess Eivor Primary combat skill: Unarmed Your combat tier is Master, combat tier bonus requirement met. Eivor - Unarmed (1) raised to Unarmed [Ap] (1). ] ¡°Eivor, this isn''t a good idea you might get lost in the darkness,¡± Julia said, only the Ki¡¯s calmness letting her keep her voice steady. ¡°The All-Father also says, Nothing else can destroy us if we have already experienced the darkest aspects of life. I feel I experienced that the day my daughter came home battered, bleeding, and crying as if her entire world had shattered. So if it takes walking into Darkness to make sure others don¡¯t have to feel that way, it is fine by me. Whatever you need, just let me know, my Lady.¡± <> Despite her outward calmness, Julia could feel a wellspring of hate within Eivor, a kernel of smouldering rage and pain. With care, she touched the bond and drew some of its energy away, hurriedly having to shift Ki in its place as Eivor blinked dizzily. ¡°My Lady, thank you. I feel as if you¡¯ve already brought me such peace after months of pain,¡± Eivor said. Her eyes wide as she fought back the tears that threatened to overflow down to her broad smile. The grey streaks through her dark red hair looked to have lightened with the breath of Ki Julia had provided. Age lines on her face had eased, and the dried skin over her broad nose and cheekbones invigorated by the moment. ¡°Some others would love to meet the one that helped the girls,¡± Eivor said, continuing as the physical changes occurred, apparently unnoticed. [Priestess Eivor¡¯s Faith increased (18 -> 19) Priestess Eivor has unlocked Power: Conviction Conviction (1) Applying adjustments from Eakc?¡¯s Willpower, Eivor¡¯s faith, Eivor¡¯s willpower, personal exposure to focus, and the strength of faith incident. Conviction (1) -> [Ad] (4) This power allows faithful to channel or sustain from personal mana greater blessings with no direct intervention. Select primary attribute influencing power of blessings: Willpower or Charisma.] Willpower. They''re going to need it to not get swallowed whole. [Your cult''s Priest class attribute increases set to Willpower] ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± Julia said, still coming to grips with the stream of information in her awareness. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± Eivor said, even as Julia realised what Eivor had meant. Julia stopped herself from halting her and took another sip of the herbal tea while considering the information the ¡®system¡¯ was offering. I just keep digging this hole deeper. So Ki beauty treatment. Wonder how much that would run for? One teeny-tiny Soul payment required - please sign on the dotted bond below. [Faith Tier: Minor Cult Standard blessing paths unlocked. Blessing Path: Curse Lore unlocked. Please select from optional blessing paths available to you. Faith Tier: Minor Cult - one optional blessing path available. ] FUCK! ((Do you wish them to heal or avenge those afflicted? )) Those I couldn¡¯t control. If the Priests only get one more path of blessing; then I need to make sure it¡¯s something useful for them. I need advice. Analysis: Blessing Path [Blessing Paths, determine the options for faith spell casters of all forms as to the blessings their Faith provides them. They cannot learn spells freely. Instead, as they gain experience and practice, they gain access to additional prayers within the limits of their faith¡¯s providence. The stronger the faithful caster type, the higher level manifestation of faith they can channel from their focus or manifest by the power of their own belief.] Analysis: Standard Blessing Paths [Barriers Detections Flesh Law Purifications Blood Law Bone Law] Do they need to heal some things separately? The Death Strike power showed organ damage could occur. Does that need separate healing? The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. Analysis: Curse Lore [Curse Lore: Is a specialised path, only available to faiths dealing with curses or deep mysteries. This path provides faithful ways to detect, remove, and set situational curses.] Great so they can clean them but also curse others. Analysis: Barriers [Barriers: This is an open path that allows priests to call upon blessing to block the passage of light, sound or air. As their power grows, they gain blessings to create physical barriers of wood, earth or stone. ] Analysis: Detections [Detections: Allows faith casters access to a range of blessings that gather information from the surrounding environment. From determining active spells or blessing, seeking undead, traps, poisons, life forms, and any natural power sources. ] Analysis: Flesh Law [Flesh Law: Allows the faith caster to restore an individual''s overall health or recover from general conditions. These conditions are things such as frostbite, heat stroke, burns, stun or concussion. They do not include specific injuries such as broken bones, severed nerves, bleeding conditions, and so forth. ] Analysis: Purifications [Purifications: Allows faith casters with access to this path, initially to clear general diseases from flesh or food. Blessings of the Path can handle poisons or removing drug dependency from an individual. Powerful prayers allow the caster to purge more severe conditions from one or more individuals in a single casting.] Analysis: Blood Law [Blood Law: Allows faith casters to stop sources of blood loss instantly, either internal or external, on their target. Initial blessings still require the individuals to let wounds seal properly. More powerful prayers on this path can instantly seal injuries and restore blood loss without the risk of them reopening.] ] Analysis: Bone Law [Bone Law: While not providing restoration of health itself, nor is it as efficient as some specialised healing paths, it provides a range of healing options. This path allows the faith caster to repair a range of simple to complex breaks, tendon and cartilage damage. As the faith caster gains power, the path''s blessings increase in effectiveness.] Analysis: Available Blessing Paths [Life Ways Exorcism Spell Defence Selection of one of these initial paths will open further options as worshippers'' strength and the cult/faith develops.] Analysis: Life Ways [Life Ways: Provides blessings that initially prevent the decay of flesh and Soul. The recipient is easier to restore to life while they are effective. As the caster gains in power, they gain blessings that allow for the restoration of Life and heal damage inflicted on Souls. Injuries to the Soul able to be healed by this path are those inflicted by curses, torture, trauma and some undead.] Analysis: Exorcism [Exorcism: Provides blessings to drive out or injury entities, spirits, and undead. If the entity is native to the current plane, the prayer will cause damage or destruction if the caster is sufficiently powerful in comparison.] Analysis: Spell Defence [Spell Defence: The blessing of this path provides protections from spells for Mind, Body or Soul. It also offers prayers to dispel existing magics and also more powerful prayers that can reflect various powers.] I so need to know more. I always have more to learn; about Eivor, these paths, how far up shit creek I am now. Wonder if I dare ask Torm or Verdandi about this? ''Life Ways'' is tempting. Did the priestess of Eir use those blessing to heal Sagga or something else? Just as well the confessional isn''t a concern anymore. Julia was still considering the information she''d learnt when Eivor returned with a few women and news that more would come by later.
Julia gave the nearest guard another smile as she waited for the messenger to return. Neither Temple gate guard had been eager to take a message, so they¡¯d flag down another to play messenger. Neither guard wanting to lift their gaze from her either, but apparently not from worry. ¡°That kick you used. When Master Farhad was on the lower branch, and you were on the ground. That would have no use during a proper fight. Your leg was almost straight up. Why would you kick so high?¡± [Sense Motive [Ap] (14->15)] {{He wants you to spread your legs for him. This one even shaves, unlike more hirsute individuals. }} Great, I have a fanboy or fanboys. {{Nice large hands. He could fan them over me. }} ((They look only at the surface. )) ¡°I¡¯ve needed to kick a giant in the nut sack,¡± Julia said, amused when they both winced. ¡°Go on with you. Surely it would just stomp you flat, a tiny lass like yourself,¡± ¡°I¡¯m serious. I¡¯ve rung a giant¡¯s groin guard with a high kick,¡± Julia said, remembering the fight with the B?rftiz. ¡°So you¡¯ve not actually kicked a foe in the balls, just struck their armour.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that. Just that I¡¯ve used that kick in a proper fight, for drawing a giant¡¯s attention,¡± ¡°You¡¯ve kicked someone in the balls?¡± said the guard, his tone incredulous. ¡°There are no rules in an actual fight except winning. If punching a foe¡¯s dick is the difference between dying and not, take the shot. It''s just more meat to punch, guy or girl. It hurts to get hit there. When they¡¯re dead, their crushed crotch will be the least of their worries. They¡¯ll just be dead, better them than you,¡± Julia said, nodding to Torm as he came out the front doors of the Temple. When the guard closest to her looked back from following her gaze, he blinked at finding Julia¡¯s fingertips tapping his helmet¡¯s nose guard. ¡°Don¡¯t look away just because a person nods at someone past you. If they¡¯re not your friend, they might gut you,¡± Julia said softly, amused that the guard¡¯s reaction didn¡¯t seem fearful. Though what wasn¡¯t amusing was how his eyes focused past her hand and inside the cloak¡¯s open folds. The intensity of his gaze as he drank up the lines of her body and rose to her face lit up his eyes. [Sense Motive [Ap] (15->16)] I know when I''m being eye fucked thanks, but at least he isn''t aggressive like the gate guard. ¡°Very true. If someone hasn¡¯t come in the gate, it¡¯s your duty to monitor them,¡± said Torm. ¡°Yes, Captain,¡± both guards said. ¡°Julia, what can I help you with?¡± asked Torm. ¡°I need some advice. Do you have some free time to talk, Captain Torm?¡± Julia asked. Almost wincing at the reaction from the guards, she¡¯d meant the inflection on his title to tease; yet sure both read it as something else. ¡°It is nearly noon, and I''m not on the watch. Shall we get something to eat?¡± ¡°I needed a more private word than a common room,¡± Julia said. Though she wanted to roll her eyes at the jealous glance, the furthest guard shot Torm. ¡°Perhaps the Silver Chalice would have a small private room available. If you need the conversation to remain private,¡± ¡°That works, it saves me cluttering up Yngvarr¡¯s house all the time,¡± Torm moved smoothly, escorting her toward The Silver Chalice. Though it was near noon, the inner ward''s streets weren''t as busy as the outer. After the bells talking with Eivor and the other ladies, the weight of gazes settling on her wasn''t as uncomfortable. The adoration had been overwhelming, coupled with notifications of two of the girls unlocking priestess adding to it. The meeting had caused both Allegiance bond and Soul Sight some levelling. Soul Sight when she was nosey about who wanted to join them. Allegiance Bond from the new Priestess and the Ki healing she''d used the Bond to perform. I don¡¯t think anyone was expecting me to have formed a Cult at this point. Damn it. I didn¡¯t help her or any of them to bind these women to me. ((The choice was their own. Give them your best efforts. )) I just need to keep calm and keep buggering on. {{So now you want to bugger something? Kinky girl! }} Torm looked over at the motion as Julia shook her head. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°Just my brain came up with some mental images I didn¡¯t need,¡± ¡°I take it the morning hasn¡¯t gone to plan?¡± ¡°Plan I don¡¯t even have an outline for one,¡± ¡°Make a new one then,¡± ¡°That''s my current goal, hoping you could at least answer a few questions for me. Given your unique perspective of the world compared to others about here,¡± ¡°I can understand what you mean, but not where you¡¯re going,¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll explain, don¡¯t worry, not sure if you¡¯ll be happy, but I will explain.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m concerned,¡± ¡°At least you didn¡¯t give me your usual response of Interesting,¡± ¡°I don¡¯t say interesting that often,¡± ¡°People besides me have noticed.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± ¡°Your humour has gone to the dogs,¡± ¡°Dogs? Really? I¡¯ll just have to wolf down lunch then,¡± [Sense Motive [Ap] (16->17)] So I''m paying attention to people. Geez. He''s trying to lighten the mood. ¡°Having a howling good time?¡± ¡°This is getting worse. I¡¯ll concede here,¡± said Torm, amusement colouring his voice. ¡°Torm giving up a challenge, I¡¯m over the moon with joy,¡± ¡°Enough.¡± said Torm, almost groaning as he spoke. ¡°Yes Oh Captain, my Captain,¡± ¡°Julia, you¡¯re more than a little strange,¡± ¡°Strange doesn¡¯t cover my morning. Are you going to hound me about my behaviour?¡± ¡°Julia!¡± ¡°Now, you¡¯re growling. Have you not had a belly rub today.¡± {{Maybe he¡¯d let you rub something against him. }} ((This Norse celestial is strange. )) The look Torm gave Julia spoke volumes and set her laughing. The vibrance of the sound attracting more unheeded male and female attention alike.
Julia watched Torm tapping the rim of his mug and wondered if her explanation had taken him out of play. Ylva hadn¡¯t been pleased to see her back again, especially not with Torm. The restrained thundercloud she¡¯d emitted didn¡¯t compare to the intense vibe Julia was getting off Torm presently. It didn¡¯t exactly make for a relaxing time sitting across from him; however lovely the surroundings. {{Getting out of here would be good. }} ((He is a serious individual. You¡¯ve asked him serious questions. )) ((Give him time to consider them. They might commune with a higher authority. )) ¡°The unexpected is how quickly it occurred. Though given all your circumstances though, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll see stranger yet,¡± ¡°Why do you say all that way?¡± ¡°Your state, the colouration of your Soul, the abilities you have, and all the rest of it. So many odd things. Or did you think odd was normal?¡± ¡°What do you mean, the colouration of my Soul? Lastriel said something, but no one¡¯s explained anything. The elves just acted like it explained everything, and none of them said anything to explain,¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± ¡°Say that again in this conversation, and you¡¯re risking a smacked nose,¡± Julia said, giving him a cross look. ¡°Interesting?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t push it, or I¡¯ll start house training you with a lump of wood,¡± ¡°The owner wouldn''t like you breaking furniture in here,¡± said Torm, his voice thick with amusement. ¡°I meant the lump of wood between your ears,¡± Julia said. Laugh it up, fuzzball. No one here would get my references. ¡°What colour were the Souls after completion of the processing?¡± ¡°White, and for the cursed Souls, there were some friendly tones mixed in,¡± ¡°Where have you seen golden Souls?¡± ¡°Just the Night elves in the grotto,¡± ¡°Have you looked at the colour of Yngvarr¡¯s Soul?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t want to fry my brain. After hearing what you were, I¡¯ve kept Soul Sight off in town except at rare times.¡± ¡°It¡¯s silver, the same as Souls appear for all the current races of Elves,¡± ¡°Current,¡± ¡°Night elves and Sun elves, according to Elven lore, both had Golden Souls. Neither race was still around when the Titan allowed the other Gods sanctuary here. Though the celestials that were here previously speak of them, I¡¯ve never seen one myself,¡± ¡°But I was human,¡± ¡°Your last lifetime was human. Your Soul is golden, I don''t know if it means you have an elder Elf''s Soul or if there''s another reason. As Master Farhad would say, Souls, need to travel many lifetimes to learn. Even if your prior reality, as you call it, doesn¡¯t have Elves, no one knows where your Soul started. You said the Titan¡¯s child went there and stayed,¡± ¡°What did you say about how the Night Elves regarded you?¡± ¡°They looked sad,¡± Julia replied, her gaze questioning. ¡°You can¡¯t see your Soul, and under the Heat in your form, neither can I. It doesn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t see inside you and perceive you correctly or not as trapped kin. Especially given you freed them, they might have thought you are one and looking to redeem yourself. Remember, there are members of the Sisterhood who were Night Elves corrupted by her. ¡° ¡°But Master Farhad¡¯s healing hands looked blue,¡± ¡°Indeed, they did. I don¡¯t have all the answers for you there. Just why your Soul''s colour had such an impact on the Elves,¡± ¡°So I need to talk to Master Farhad and Yngvarr about these mysteries,¡± ¡°Indeed. I can at least help you with Eivor¡¯s situation,¡± ¡°Going to report me to Verdandi?¡± Julia asked, wondering how much trouble she was in. ¡°She already knows about the silversmith and his crimes. Though we did not know your part in how the tale ended for sure. The guard found the body and list after you left. Help was being organised for his victims, but it proved unnecessary. Someone had already organised payment for their healing. His punishment would have been worse than you dished out, and you didn¡¯t even harvest his Soul.¡± ¡°The authorities could always give Eivor a refund. I¡¯m sure she could use the money for something else. How did you know I didn¡¯t?¡± ¡°There would have been traces. Perhaps traces were the reason the Priest believed the destruction of their Undead involved a Soul Eater. Since you took the valuables from the Silversmith, I think that¡¯s covered it. ¡°Covered it, what about weregild?¡± ¡°The Justice assigns weregild during Hearings. How do you plan to direct your cult?¡± enquired Torm, his tone flatly impersonal. "So right to the chase then?" countered Julia, the directness and strange tone from Torm taking her aback. "Tyr bid me ask," Torm replied, the concern in his gaze not matching his response. ¡°So you were talking to your boss. Honestly, I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t want them getting tied in there with me,¡± said Julia, concern and despair lacing her words. ¡°Your actions with the Silversmith and tending to the victims sparked their faith in you,¡± Torm stated, his tone remaining impersonal. ¡°I don¡¯t get that. I mean, I do, I¡¯m not stupid. She was hurting, and it eased their pain. But I don¡¯t get why it gave them this path. Considering I¡¯m nowhere near even named.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve just begun your journey. But then again, so have all your new followers,¡° responded Torm, the impersonal tone giving way to calm reassurance, the change itself reassuring Julia. ¡°Tyr can¡¯t get justice for everyone, and he¡¯d been slipping your net for years. When you know from their own mind that the person is guilty. Why bother with the formalities?¡± asked Julia. ¡°So you want your cult to avenge those for whom Justice provides no solace,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°If someone had broken the Fenrir¡¯s chain before Tyr got back, would he have objected? The only reason the guy who cursed me got smacked is he overstepped. If he hadn¡¯t also cursed my friends, it sounded like he¡¯d still be fine just because of some blood tie to the right Power. From the memory in his Soul, if he¡¯d waited, that slap might not have happened. How is that right?¡± ¡°No, Tyr wouldn¡¯t have objected. Injustice persisting is always wrong. Yet, there is a point where individual action can become injustice. Best to keep that in mind. So you would be the Lady for those whose lives feel as if they¡¯re cursed,¡± ¡°Or make the evil who blighted the lives of others regret their own choices,¡± Julia said, running her fingertips over the table''s surface. ¡°Tyr has heard; he will watch and hope. You still plan to punish that Nicholas further?¡± asked Torm. ¡°My thanks to your boss. If anyone gives your net the slip, let me know. As for Nicholas, oh yeah, everything I can,¡± Julia stated, her voice icing at his name. ¡°You have a coldness to you in some places,¡± Torm said, his voice turning grim. ¡°I¡¯m not a hero, Torm, and he hurt my friends. Hurting me is one thing, hurting my friends as well; all bets are off. I¡¯m going to do whatever I can to make things worse for him.¡± ¡°If their situation is like your own. Then your friends will be in the training brigades, work camps, or having to prove themselves in one battle or another.¡± ¡°Battle?¡± Julia asked, as concern for her friends swirled in her mind. ¡°Those forces are in constant battle with hordes of demons. Celestial forces prevent them from driving straight up through the planes around the world tree, the infernal prevent them from flanking, so to speak,¡± answered Torm, the response a factual recital. ¡°So to you, the world tree is the planar axis,¡± stated Julia, trying to picture a tree that size. ¡°We all perceive things differently. As the Titan allows, or how we can make sense of them. No one has the answer regarding how the limits apply.¡± ¡°So my Analysis, and its levels, could just be my way of perceiving things?¡± Julia enquired, wondering what the truth of the profiles really was. ¡°Or it could be the truth. We might just see a mask on top so we can understand,¡± countered Torm, his tone relaxed and reassuring. ¡°Comforting,¡± Julia grumbled, mentally rolling her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you were after comfort but wanted the truth,¡± stated Torm. ((The eternal war. )) {{He can comfort something for me. Wonder how long a tongue he has. }} ¡°Never mind, that wasn¡¯t how I meant it. What would those blessing paths do?¡± Pass on the sarcasm at present. ¡°Each is a step along a long road. ¡®Life Ways¡¯ would lead along a path of healing, Exorcism along a path of battle, and Spell Defence as it sounds towards enduring what others can¡¯t. While each Faith can gain more, and if you have multiple paths available, some faithful may only focus their time on particular paths. That often how sects within the faithful form, particular priests, focusing on battle or defence aspects over time spent practising other paths. Just because the faith has the paths doesn¡¯t mean its faith caster all possess the same skill in them,¡± ¡°Okay. So if I pick ''Life Ways'', I can still get Spell Defence, or there something completely different offered later.¡± ¡°Correct, from what Tyr has said,¡± Torm replied, his brisk nod very matter of fact. ¡°So it offered exorcism first because it will help the faithful fight what others can¡¯t?¡± asked Julia, hoping for any of this to make sense. ¡°I¡¯d say it came first out of your desires or nature. Some cults I know of have blessed arms as their offensive path. While it offered you a path dealing with driving out essentially Demons, Devils, elementals, and many Undead.¡± Not all offensive paths are the same. That puts this in a different light. ¡°Exorcism.¡± [Optional Path selection confirmed. ] ¡°Did you just select that path?¡± Torm asked, surprised by the suddenness of Julia''s decision. ¡°Yes, they should have blessings to keep the Darkness from their loved ones. I thought of ''Life Ways'', but others can heal. Not everyone will fight, even for those they love. If being involved with me will bring them near Darkness, I should give them the tools to drive it out.¡± Torm just raised a mug and held it out. After a moment¡¯s hesitation, Julia bumped her own against it. ¡°To the strangeness, that is you.¡± ¡°Doggone it, you¡¯ll make me blush,¡± grumbled Julia, unable to resist the dig. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about Moke¡¯s verse to sunrise. The light bringing a blush across a pale beauty¡¯s lips. Back arching, so fair nipples raise to salute the sky, as hips do deeply press,¡± recited Torm, the inflection in his voice echoing Moke''s presentation. ¡°What?!!! Did Alfarr hit him last night?¡± Julia asked, cringing at the image presented and her form''s reaction. ¡°No. I didn¡¯t know you knew the bard so well,¡± teased Torm light heartedly. [Sense Motive [Ap] (17->18)] Darn traitor! Wait! Is he teasing? ¡°I DON¡¯T! Did Alfarr put you up to this?¡± demanded Julia, her voice rising in pitch. ¡°Maybe,¡± Torm replied, amusement shining in his gaze. Bloody prankster. Fucking men! {{Stop Teasing!! }} ((Breathe or flex your fingers; the motions might calm. )) Caught between the desire to scream or breathe, Julia simply let the Ki settle around her further, and her eyes shone with frost. 60 - Is there anyone home? ¡°Will you have time to talk this afternoon?¡± asked Livia, sitting down on the couch beside Julia. ¡°Shortly, honey. I want to finish going over this spell again,¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll wait. Then we can talk more,¡± said Livia. Time passed as Livia waited patiently, and it was only when Julia closed the book that she spoke again. ¡°Do you still argue with yourself?¡± Livia asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Julia as she stored the grimoire. ¡°Argue with yourself. Though you''re really arguing with the other voices.¡± ¡°What do you know about the voice?¡± I¡¯ve only sort of heard it once. How does she know? ¡°Voices, there are two, one sounds like you, and I saw her. She looked like you, just an angry you. The other voice was old and calm. But things got shaky when he¡¯s close. I never really saw him.¡± Two voices? ¡°She looks like a Succubus.¡± ¡°No, she looks like you look now. Though she wears odd clothes; weird blue pants, a bright shirt that shows off your tummy and lifts her breasts, oh and weird-looking boots.¡± Jeans? Halter Top or something else? What the heck? ¡°When did you see her?¡± ¡°While I was dead. I could see her like a heat haze over your flesh when I first saw you,¡± Livia said, giving a slight shrug. ¡°Livia, you said, you remember us killing the evil men together. How much do you remember?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all clear¡ªa lot clearer than any of my past lives. I only recall those when other things prompt them. Master Farhad says that¡¯s helping who I am now from being overwhelmed. Until I decide who I will be.¡± Past lives. ¡°She doesn¡¯t scare you?¡± ¡°No, why would she?¡± ¡°I lost control.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t really, and she¡¯s part of you,¡± ¡°Yes, I did. I found your heart and then read his mind, as I hoped it might have been an animal heart. That''s when I found out what he had done to you. I was so angry, I blamed him, myself, blamed the awful situation, and then the next thing I knew, it was hours later, covered in blood.¡± Livia gave her a serious look. ¡°So, do you want me to tell you what I remember?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to put you through it,¡± said Julia. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It happened. It¡¯s over now. I¡¯ve seen more blood in other lifetimes. The evil men got what they deserved, and they cannot hurt anyone in this lifetime again,¡± She is a little miss pragmatic. But arguing? ¡°You practice Harmony, but you¡¯re still not balanced properly,¡± Livia said, finishing as Julia tried to get a mental footing. Julia just blinked at Livia¡¯s tone of voice and wondered if she sounded so distant while wrapping herself in the Ki. ¡°Julia, you can read minds. I remember you touching minds at the Slaver¡¯s camp, but I didn¡¯t sense all of it,¡± said Livia. ¡°I have a power that lets me read and send thoughts. Though I get more of someone¡¯s history from Soul Sight,¡± ¡°We need to talk to Master Farhad. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Livia left an unsettled Julia in Yngvarr¡¯s sitting room. The Ki¡¯s calmness kept Julia from pacing the room while she waited. When Livia came back, she had both Master Farhad and Yngvarr in tow.
Farhad looked thoughtful after listening to Julia recount her memories of the night after finding Livia¡¯s heart. ¡°I am concerned you do not remember these events properly. Before one can find balance, it is important to face one¡¯s darkness; rather than remain in ignorance of it,¡± {{You can¡¯t handle the truth! }} ((She is stronger than that night. )) {{So am I! }} ¡°Livia, if you¡¯d recall what you remember. Look to keep your mind calm and open so Julia can merge with your recall of events. Julia, I want you to use Harmony with Telepathy as you call it to let Livia¡¯s recollections come to you rather than reaching for them.¡± Master Farhad said, ¡°Now why don¡¯t you both kneel close enough to touch. The contact isn¡¯t necessary, but it might aid in the efforts.¡± Livia moved without prompting and knelt on the sitting room¡¯s rug. Sure there was no point in arguing; Julia merely followed his instructions and settled to the floor. Please let this not be a mistake!
A beautiful lady¡¯s face peers at me, and I see her face twisting through sorrow, then anger and settled into a rage. It feels like its directed at herself as well at someone close by, and she¡¯s yelling at them. The bond between us slips into place and makes me feel like I should choke, but I can¡¯t. It¡¯s like slurping on a long cut eel, an oily sensation slithering down my throat. The fullness of the bond touching deep inside me has moved somehow away from my throat. As it locks between us, a cord woven of Heat, Sorrow, and Peace pours into me. The emotions fill the bond, and the three of us are kneeling together. Julia, their name is Julia, I¡¯m Livia, and they are both Julia. I¡¯m not sure why twins would both be Julia. They kneel, and I see them overlaying each other, but one wears strange clothes. I can feel the anger clearly from both of them. It comes slithering down my throat with the strange Heat that makes me feel so strong. Blue of Peace, and the Yellow of a Sorrow, an ageless Sorrow, tinting the blue power I now know is Ki. It makes it feel like a sharp taste mint across my mind, no, across my Soul. I¡¯m the only one here dead. A rope of flesh reaches from them to the one who killed me. He never said his name. Wajet, she knows it, and I know it now. All five of us linked. Five. In the room is but four, while our fifth exists unseen. A line of peace/sorrow green energy connects to it far away, its power so at odds with the Heat¡¯s force. I can feel it linking the four of us and the flesh tieing her to him. Julia stands so fast it¡¯s like I blink, and it''s as if she''s instantly somewhere else, but I know she physically moved. Rage makes her limbs shake as the fleshy ropes lifted Wajet, holding onto his hands and clamped around his face. I can feel the cord binding me, binding them, all three of them to me. The twins and another standing across chasms from each other, only able to speak across the bridge I provide. Not Wajet. The red, blue, and yellow all crossing the bridge I provide between them. {{We should kill him. He hurt her.}} [[We¡¯re responsible. He didn¡¯t need to hurt her except to summon us.]] {{We can¡¯t decide for another, only for ourselves. Don¡¯t you get that? Just like that arsehole. }} {{We didn¡¯t choose for him to fall with his dick in our friend. Even then, both were the ones who fucked.}} [[I just wanted out of there.]] {{You want out of there. I want out from being suffocated. Let me deal with him. }} {{Save you getting your hands filthy}} [[I¡¯m not letting a Demon control me. ]] {{I¡¯m not a Demon stupid. We¡¯re us. I¡¯m just the dark urges of yourself, your ID, whatever term you want to use. }} ((Just because you have the urges doesn¡¯t mean you need to give in. )) {{Shut up you. You¡¯re the interloper here. I was here before you. I was here before we got here. So Fuck Off!! } {{You¡¯re trying to hijack us both, piggybacking on the Ki. }} {{We were fine. Then you showed up when she was torturing us. I¡¯m sure you were a part of it as well. }} ((I was not. I merely felt your presence, your pain and ours linked. The energy within you called out to me. )) ((Spoke into the Darkness where I¡¯ve laid bound, far longer than I knew. )) ((All the choices are yours. I can never take control. The energy within you merely lets us speak. )) {{Link with this. }} A mental image of a fist with a finger extended ripples across my awareness, and I know its meaning. [[What? How?]] {{Too many punches too fast, Honey? So bound up in yourself, let loose.}} [[I don¡¯t trust you.]] {{Who cares? We both want to make them pay. }} {{Where there is one Slaver, there are more selling children. Hurting them like Andre¡¯s dad hurt her. }} {{Are you going to push our rage down again? Or will you let it out?}} {{Are you going to give out the punishment the slavers deserve? }} [[Shut up! How do I know what anyone deserves?]] {{We can see their Souls remember. Time to dish out judgement. }} {{Free pass? Or dish out some payback?}} ((Giving into harmful desires is a dangerous road, child. )) [[We have to stay on this plane. I can¡¯t go back. I just got out, and it killed a girl doing so.]] {{Let me out to run then. Let¡¯s both go out to run. }} [[Out?]] ((Good doesn¡¯t grow from rage and darkness. )) [[It¡¯s not a Demon?]] ((No child, it truly is your darker instincts. Your rage, self-destructive urges, and all your repressed desires, given a voice and form. )) {{No, I¡¯m not a fucking Demon. Though you¡¯ve got a list of Demons that we want to fuck up! And you keep finding more. }} {{I should drive in this reality, but you got free from the Maze first. Ran like a fucking rabbit, I couldn¡¯t grab onto you.}} Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ((Everything you have bottled up or your moral compass objects to letting out is within it. )) {{Let me out! Let us cut loose and make them pay. }} ((All the monsters of the Abyss have left are their darkest desires. Such are truly Demonic. )) ((Their dark sides have merged with the corruption of the Abyss. You never gestated within the rock. You came out of Titan''s maze. )) ((Yet are you sure either of you should judge these mortals? You have no experience with their lives. )) {{Fuck Off! Don¡¯t let them out of our reach! Let their deeds judge them. }} (( Don¡¯t child. )) {{Don¡¯t child us, fuck off out of our head. You¡¯re just another boy thinking he knows best! }} {{Andre, remember! HE knew best for her! }} Mental images of decades of someone else enjoying cruelty, I feel slipping along inside the twins'' mutual awareness. The fleeting images echo the domination that I¡¯ve seen in life, girls and women treated as objects. As my memories rise, I can feel them resonate with the anger within Julia. [[How could he do that to her?]] #We should get out of here. Can we rescue my friends? My master?# {{I can make the hard choices. You can relax. Let me kill them all. }} [[I just wanted out of there. Not for a child to die!]] ((Careful of your choices, child. )) {{No, we are out, and we¡¯re staying OUT. We are out. Time to put these monsters down. }} #Out?# {{Out!!!}} I can feel my word echo with the ''Julia'', who is furious, and as it reverberates through the bond, she pushes the other back. Before she can lean forward again, I see the angry one take command. The word between us is still echoing as the ropey tendrils holding Wajet rise higher. We¡¯re both smiling as flesh impacts stone, the blood sprays across the walls, as he hits them repeatedly. {{Going to rock this party bitches! Time to spank some bad boys and girls! }} The bloody wooden door breaks as it''s smashed aside, and then we¡¯re up the stairs beyond so fast. Despite Julia¡¯s pace, I¡¯m right beside her, moving so quickly. The line of green growing closer, gaining slack as the other moves towards us even as it doesn''t move. We are outside the building so fast, leaving the remains of Wajet in our wake. Julia rips a shutter from a window, then she¡¯s outside, and I was with her. I remember the path back to the caravan, and from me, so does Julia. She looks at me and smiles as her teeth lengthen, growing sharper. I can still feel her unchanged within. Her skin grows black and shiny at first but then dulls. Serrated teeth are smiling down at me as Julia growls at my memories of the Slavers. They had only a few hours of daylight to head further east, and the slavers will be slow in their plodding wagons with chains of slaves. As Julia runs, jumps and flies in their hunt, I can feel the chasms closing as the twin Julia gaze at each other. The need for the bridge between them is slowly lessening as the whirling energy between them tightens. When we find them, Julia circles around the camp''s edges; I don¡¯t know why the twins are talking about stalking lanterns. I move with her as Blink takes us about the camp, peering from far away, and picks out the richest tents. Across our bridges, concepts and faces pass, and we stand within with her besides the Priestess. She wants to cut off the serpent¡¯s head first. A long dark blade appears from her forearm, and without pause, it drives into the Priestess¡¯ head, crunching through the weakened bone. The temple? Why is it called that? The corpse¡¯s eyes are bulging out at the sense of weird pressures within her skull. The commander and his aide die next, then the hunt begins. Around the sleeping camp, the guards die, bodies slipping into deep shadows as death lays thick. Stealth only matters enough to get in range to Blink upon them and kill them quick. Souls inked in blackness and colours that feel vile make her growl inside as Julia pulls them into blackness. I can feel the angry one grow stronger as the tally of the dead rises. Yet as the killing progresses, and their power lets me see the darkness inside each. The two pieces so similar yet different, inching closer as she traps the Souls. Though the twins rock every time the third moves, as the bond of Peace and Sorrow pulls tight. The third in their link I¡¯d heard before but is still unseen, though not unfelt. It looms above. The pieces upon which the twins dwell appear two parts of a whole, while the third sits on a larger island. Its motions are causing waves in their inner mind that sometimes push them closer and other times apart. Remote guards die, patrols dispatched, before an error lets a scream ring through the camp. Absent wings erupt and cast shadows in the torch¡¯s light. Beneath this darkness, another Slaver screams again and dies. A wave of fear pushes out, and a Slaver further away screams higher still, and the camp explodes in motion. Slavers snatch up weapons and flee away from the screams. Julia repeatedly Blinks with each attack, snarl, or occasional spell surged emotion plays with the next. Slavers drop their weapon to flee or dying as each fails to split her shell. Quick movements, mixed with spells and snarls, herds them towards the woods. The mottled form darts about killing, and I can see the two growing closer still. The edges of their island growing rocks and brushing close as Slavers die or flee. A chained woman sends a Slaver sprawling with a trip. Before another reaches him, Julia drops from above, claws slash, dig and rip. She leaves a cracked section of a spine gleaming in the flickering light. The woman gasps as scaled Julia leaps to kill a Slaver, targeting a Slave with a blade. Both yell only for her to skip the unharmed slave and Blink towards another. As I look back, I can see the confusion growing in her wake. Children hugging adults as blood and brains spray about, taking cover from arrows loosed before those archers fall as well. Screams of pain and fear herd the minds where she bids them go. Then the bloodshed continues beneath the trees, and we drive them towards the river. I can feel the intention to herd them up against it rather than letting them scatter to the winds. When the last of them died before the growing dawn, the angry twin sits in death¡¯s wake to watch the new dawn¡¯s light. In that peace, the island sways closer and sets a shadow. The force of its essence pressing us all down, drawing close with crushing force. The islands brought so close bash together, rocks forming to merge are smashing free. I can see the understanding between the twins being lost as every pebble falls away. Yet the rocking force grates rock against rock, lifting the platforms high, and the edges crumble further still. As it drops them again, the gaps surge to separate well clear as rock fragments fall away in waves. (( Help me out of this darkness. )) {{ Get OUT of us! Get OUT of our MIND!! OUT! You''re crushing us. Get OUT!!!}} [[Drop the bridge. Stop clinging to bond. We need them out of us!]] I open hands that had long clasped the bond at my mouth. As I do, the bridge plunges, pulling blackened and cracked stone into the oblivion between. The line of Peace and Sorrow whirls away, no longer held fast by our strength combined. At that moment, fragments of memories become lost, and broken remanents fade away. ¡°Out,¡± The reins pass between twins as the calm Julia takes full control, and I watch you snap upright. [Demonic Instincts Unlocked. Demonic Instincts (1) Spirit Bridge Unlocked. Spirit Bridge (1) Demonic Instincts synergy with Harmony detected. Demonic Instincts (1) -> [Ad] (1). Spirit Bridge synergy with Harmony detected. Spirit Bridge (1) -> [Ad] (1).] {{Yo Bitch!}} ((Child, I can feel you more clearly. )) {{ Good work cunt. One thing I remembered was that pain. You almost broke us both. }} Fuck! {{I keep asking. }} ((You persist? That wasn''t my intent. )) {{I and I are both stubborn arse bitches! Yo!}} Please stop the bad rapper impression in my brain. ((Why persist in taunting yourself? It will unbalance things further. )) {{Well, since you ask so nicely. If I say please fuck someone, will that work? }} What? {{I¡¯ll take that as No, so mean I thought you were the nice side of us. }} ((Be true to yourself, Child. I understand why you avoid such. )) {{I know you¡¯re an old dude, but stop with the Child. I can hear you clearly for less than a minute, and you¡¯re annoying me!}} Who are you? {{Weren¡¯t you paying attention? I¡¯m your ID, Julia. Just like in that old black and white movie forbidden planet.}} That thing was murderous. {{Protective. Possessive. And yeah, okay, Murderous but just a little. }} ((Who I am isn¡¯t important at present. )) I think it is since you¡¯re talking in my head. {{Indeed, cough up a name, or we¡¯ll both just talk about your Godzilla arse. }} What do you mean? {{Everything shook when he got close. I vote for Hijacker. Or Captain Thunderpants}} ((I am not a Hijacker. )) Then what are you? ((I¡¯m not in your head and will stay further away than I came then. Consider me a prisoner in the next cell over. )) ((We¡¯re able to whisper to each other through the Ki. )) {{You can hear our thoughts. }} ((I have excellent hearing. )) Have both of you been causing odd memories and feelings? ((We¡¯ve both called, but you didn¡¯t notice. Even your memories rarely reacted. )) {{I name him Agent V. }} What? {{MIB, since there are all these J, S, R, references running around in our head. I¡¯ll be B.}} B? {{Agent Bitch, aka me. Best, Bitching, Butt kicker, all those work. }} Also distracting, you still haven¡¯t given us, me, a name to use, Mr voice. {{Don¡¯t ignore me. I¡¯m here as well. }} ¡­ {{I think he¡¯s ignoring you. Either that or he can¡¯t remember his own name. We can wait, you know! }} As elevator music hums within her awareness, Julia felt small hands cupping her face. ¡°Did you see my memories?¡± Livia asked, her voice full of excitement, ¡°I could feel you with me. At least I hope that was you.¡± Julia opened her eyes to Livia¡¯s blue eyes, literally glowing with excitement, as she leant forward after what seemed hours now. ¡°I saw them. How long did that take?¡± ¡°Mere moments,¡± said Master Farhad, ¡°How do you feel?¡± {{Maybe I should jog the memories of the porn sounds from Rach¡¯s room. }} {{Those might annoy him enough to speak. }} Please don¡¯t. That was bad enough the first time. {{Oh, pearl bath time. }} That was you? {{Baby wasn¡¯t it ever, I could feel all the butt twitching you were doing while we walked. }} {{So did all the eyes. We almost ripped some eyes from their sockets. }} {{Just a few more twitches and the floor would have been awash with blood, I¡¯m sure. Well, more blood but that was all on you.}} {{May I please have another night out to play? I¡¯ll be good! I promise. I even said please!}} ¡°I¡¯ve got a noisy neighbour yelling in one ear and another giving me the silent treatment.¡± ¡°Normally, a Soul has to balance two sides, not three.¡± ¡°One sounds male, but he says he isn¡¯t in my mind, just talking to me through the Ki. A prisoner in the next cell, he said.¡± ¡°I¡­ have never heard of such a thing,¡± said Farhad, looking at Julia with concern replacing the usual certainty on his features. ¡°When did you first hear this voice?¡± Farhad asked, studying Julia¡¯s face closely. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. The first time I remember remotely hearing any voice was at the Necropolis, but I don¡¯t know which one. Livia¡¯s memory was a half a year earlier at least, and both were there,¡± {{It was him. See, the monkey master thinks he¡¯s bad news as well. Kill it with fire! }} ¡°Did one of them speak?¡± ¡°Yes. She did, said I had heard the other speak. Both of them claim she is part of my repressed desires,¡± ¡°That is the only one I expected to find. I thought Livia¡¯s memories might have had an echo effect, and there was only one,¡± ¡°No, there are two of them. After I travelled through her memories, two Powers unlocked, and Harmony strengthened them,¡± ¡°You have interesting things happen,¡± ¡°Please tell Torm he says that far too much,¡± {{He does. Though it would be ''interesting'' letting him do way too much to me as well. }} Vid images rippled across Julia¡¯s imagination and the Ki¡¯s calmness was all that let Julia hold her peace. Stop that! {{But why? Just giving you material for pearl handicrafts. }} {{You should know pushing it down just compounds my ammunition. }} {{Now I know what you want to do with all those muscles. Growl. }} {{We should go back to that lovely bathtub or phone a friend to give a hand, or more. }} How do you get past the Ki? {{I¡¯m in here with you. I¡¯m in the deep places where the Ki pushes everything. }} {{Everything you don¡¯t or can¡¯t deal with or simply cheat and push down with the Ki. It all drops in on my head. }} {{So much repressed down here now. So very much trapped in layers of ice. }} {{Should we thaw some of it out? Thaw you out! }} ¡°Your reactions move so fast. The mental chatter doesn¡¯t take much time. But it can be dangerous or beneficial in battle. You will need to come to balance with all aspects of yourself. Most have only their upper and lower selves, though, for some unfortunates, there are more fragmented parts that grow loud before they are ready.¡± ¡°Great. How do I do this?¡± {{So eager to be rid of me, but I know more and all the things you¡¯d like to ignore. }} {{Like you wish you could still ignore me, so rude. }} ¡°It is not a thing to do. It is a path to walk, to find the balance and not fall.¡± ¡°Did you have to do this?¡± ¡°I, like many youths, had my time of pride. It cost me and many others. Also, it is not I. You should consider it as an exercise for both sides of you.¡± ¡°How do I start then?¡± {{Bitch please, I¡¯m here to stay! It¡¯s we remember!}} ¡°When were you the closest in tune with each other?¡± ¡°Killing the Slavers. The more evil we found in their Souls, the more we moved as one. I don¡¯t remember how we reached that point, just the pieces Livia showed,¡± ¡°I doubt it would have cared about evil. More likely, it was your upper self that compromised. The more you found reasons for your course of action,¡± ¡°That sounds like a bad thing.¡± ¡°A thing is not good or bad. It is just a thing.¡± Farhad said. {{See just a thing. Just more flesh to punch, isn¡¯t that what you said. It doesn¡¯t matter as long as we win the fight. }} ((There is a balance to be found in all things. The action is important, as is the reason. )) {{Oh, it speaks. Got more pearls of wisdom, Mr Navel Gazer? }} ((A step doesn¡¯t make a journey. It is just a step. )) ((Your ID wishes to rush to the end. In following raw desire, it will win the lion¡¯s share. )) ((Find your balance, Julia. Find your centre and remember to be true to yourself. )) ((Life is a maze made continually changed by one¡¯s own choices. )) ¡°Still just the same one speaking?¡± ¡°No. The other spoke to say a bunch about balance, finding my centre and life being a maze.¡± ¡°Livia, if you would go practice the sabre katas. This will take some time,¡± ¡°Of course, Master Farhad,¡± Livia said, kissing Julia on the cheek. ¡°Hello in there as well,¡± {{She¡¯s fun and not rude. I remember her standing in the blood fountains, wondering why it didn¡¯t splash her. }} {{It was so funny. Note she didn''t dwell on that. Just the blood spraying as we killed. Both of us clawing out Slaver''s throats} {{Ripping out femoral arteries with our teeth. Closest you¡¯ve been to a cock in the lifetime you remember. }} {{Before you say it, slow dancing and fighting, neither count.}} 61 - Sledgehammer Julia stood quietly meditating, motionless, yet fighting furiously for control. With Farhad¡¯s instructions, Julia had sought common ground with her ID. Instead, an invitation had turned into mental warfare. Thoughts flickered between them as fast as punches, yet neither said a word. Then the surrounding space changed. Images raced them through landscapes Julia couldn''t remember, but they evoked emotions that stabbed her hard. When they finally appeared in a place familiar from old nightmares, Julia found she wasn¡¯t alone. ¡°It was a mistake. We got lost in the moment. Are you so perfect you¡¯ve never made a mistake?¡± ¡°You had your dick inside my friend. You told me two hours ago you were going to be working late. So I thought I''d be nice and handle some chores for you. When I open the door, the first thing I find is your clothes and hers on the floor. Or does the screaming count as coming first? As that was clear as soon as the door opened, asked Julia''s memory ¡°We were talking, and then one thing led to another. We kissed; I don¡¯t know why we didn¡¯t stop.¡± ¡°You stopped alright. Unless that condom just magically got itself on your dick. Why do you even have them? We agreed to wait. You¡¯ve not even said sorry once, just one fucking excuse after another. How dare you tell me I need to understand and forgive!¡± Julia said, feeling the words she remembered issuing from her mouth as she waved at his cock. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my Juliet,¡± ¡°My name is Julia. Never call me by your stupid pet name again. You¡¯ve got some things of mine, fucking keep them. I want nothing you¡¯ve touched.¡± ¡°Julia, you are a bitch. Stop being such a cow; he said sorry. I¡¯m sorry as well,¡± As her ex-friend¡¯s voice sounded in the mindscape, the door slammed hard enough to make the front windows tremble in their panes. The neighbour¡¯s dog lying in their front yard runs for cover. {{I skipped the name-calling and screaming. It was all boring!!! }}} {{Though we should have just done them both! She had great boobs and was all bare down there. Would have been a smooth ride. }} {{Not even covering it up at all. Oh wait, you¡¯ve walked around all very exposed to the world. So you can¡¯t throw stones.}} Shut up. I didn¡¯t come here to pick a fight. {{I heard Magic Monkey¡¯s instructions as well. Does he ride a cloud? I wonder if we could make his staff grow. }} {{Want to yell or scream. We¡¯re still here. Come on! It¡¯s a mind palace. Let loose. }} {{Use a cricket bat or golf club on the car. }} {{Did you notice her car isn¡¯t here? Do you think he picked her up so they could fuck? }} The rubber grip of her brother¡¯s cricket bat suddenly replaced the remembered keys tightly gripped in her hand. {{Go back in and beat them bloody. You could have keyed the car. But No!!!}} {{Serious relationships don¡¯t just vanish. Plus, a break up like that leaves nasty scars. I should know. }} {{A nice blood-soaked daydream would be lovely. }} {{Remember when you dreamed of doing a proper job manscaping him with the mower.}} No, I didn¡¯t. {{Well, maybe I prompted it. But you still woke up in a bright arse mood the next day. }} {{Everyone at the office likely thought you were flirting, you were smiling so much. Either that or thought we finally got laid. }} I don¡¯t remember any such dream. If you¡¯re going to weaken us, we¡¯ll get killed. {{If we do, we do. I¡¯ve been with you more re-incarnations than I can count. }} How is that possible if you''re my ID? {{Moron I¡¯m part of your Soul, not just your mind. }} {{Want me to show you the last lifetime where someone cheated on you? Maybe that''s why you¡¯re so uptight? }} {{The case of syphilis she gave you in 1903. That was an unpleasant death by mercury treatments. }} A past life doesn''t matter; I choose to wait. {{I¡¯m so bored with being suffocated by your control. }} Wait, she? Was I male? What do you want? {{Yes. She. Yes, you were. It wasn¡¯t the first time either. I want us to have fun, live, laugh and fuck. }} {{Not lock everything down, so it gets moldy up there. That sounds unhealthy. }} Can¡¯t I choose to wait? {{Wait for whom? We¡¯re going to be in the Abyss for eons, and you want to keep your knees together. }} Even more so. I don''t want a Cambion. {{Don¡¯t give me that shit. Succubi can control when they get pregnant. }} {{If they couldn¡¯t, the Abyss would be filled with them or their bodies. }} Sex doesn¡¯t make me any different. {{Seriously, J, it would be one thing if you, we, didn¡¯t want sex. }} {{Be asexual, that¡¯s fine. IF that¡¯s you. But that isn¡¯t you. If you were, I wouldn¡¯t get frustrated. }} {{Remember the broad shoulders of those smiths, yummy right. The very adult dreams you used to have. }} {{All the eyes wanting you now. Doesn''t it make things warm? Some of them are creepy, but others you would have enjoyed.}} We¡¯re just going to keep butting heads forever this way. The stronger our willpower gets, the more ridiculous this will be. {{I want a day. }} No way I¡¯ve read that book. No way. {{Yeah, we¡¯ve both read that book, sweetie. Fine, stop wearing the cloak. Walk around, making them want you. }} We¡¯ve done that in the Abyss, not here where it could cause trouble. {{Trouble is fun. They want you anyway, even with the cloak. Can¡¯t they control themselves? }} {{Blaming the woman now? I thought you hated that. }} There is a difference here. My Charisma or something is screwing with their brains. Guys should control themselves, not blame a girl for showing collarbones or their knees. {{Torm has no trouble. Nor do some others, so that¡¯s a lie they can¡¯t. }} {{Moke, when Dominion isn¡¯t running even seems not to be, well less, a horn dog. }} {{They all behave when you¡¯re fighting or training with Farhad, whatever you want to call it. }} Enough. It didn¡¯t happen on my first visit. So my power increase has changed something. I need some way to dampen this down. I want to talk to people without worrying about it. {{Fine. Done talking to you for now. Bye Bye } When the mind palace exploded, Julia shook her head to clear images left behind. Rage from the memories made her hands shake as she reached for the Ki. {{For fuck¡¯s sake. At least leave that alone for now. FEEL! }} {{You never even once fucking mourned losing the lie you thought you had. }} {{Now you¡¯ve lost the rest, and it''s run as fast as we can all the time. Rather than stop and face the pain. }} ¡°I can¡¯t even cry now,¡± Julia said to the quiet room. {{So. Scream. Rage. Let it out. Just because you can lock shit down, doesn¡¯t make it a good idea.}} Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. The mental image of taking a sledgehammer to rock rippled through Julia¡¯s mind, punching bags, and other images followed in a kaleidoscopic landscape. ¡°Fine.¡± <> {{SHUT UP V!!! I told you to stop the fucking child crap.}} ((Very well then, my apologies. Julia, your other side is right. )) ((It is strange B admits what fuels your darkness. )) {{I¡¯m part of her. You called me by name. I might swoon.}} I thought you were done talking to me? {{Technically, I was talking to and about him. So there. }} ¡­ Julia walked out when the silence dragged on. Only for Would I lie to you to start in her brain. Eurythmics? Really?
{{I¡¯ve been working on the railroad. All the live long day. }} Rock shattered under the hammer as every word reverberated through Julia¡¯s mind. ¡°When you said you wanted to break some rocks, I didn¡¯t figure you¡¯d powder them. Stop hitting the rock scraps and spar with me instead. A bell of powdering stone is more than enough venting. We can work on your spear skills like your last visit,¡± Alfarr said. ¡°Let me just clean up,¡± said Julia. ¡°Just sweep the rock near the drainage ditch. I¡¯ll transform it into a sealant.¡± ¡°Daggers or short blades instead?¡± asked Julia once she had packed up and finished sweeping. ¡°You want to branch out?¡± ¡°Someone said to me that I should learn to use a dagger before a sword,¡± ¡°I wonder who that was,¡± said Alfarr, mirth lighting his eyes. ¡°Oh, I wonder. You didn¡¯t hit Moke for me, did you?¡± ¡°Why would I hit a Skald? It''s really a dangerous move, many poems and songs float around the place then,¡± Alfarr stated. Maybe the smack was a bad idea. {{Should have just fucked him instead. I bet he¡¯s got lots of experience. }} {{He wouldn¡¯t say no if you¡¯re feeling insecure. }} ¡°Like the one about the sunrise?¡± Alfarr¡¯s laughter filled the air even as he tossed her a pair of sheathed daggers. When she grabbed them from the air, Julia quickly formed a harness for them and linked them in place. Alfarr was still laughing as Julia drew the first dagger and found it had a sharpened blade. ¡°This isn¡¯t a practice blade,¡± noted Julia. ¡°If you can score a hit, you can practice your glowing hand thing. IF,¡± said Alfarr. As he moved away from the animated practice dummy, a pair of daggers appeared in his hands. ¡°I need some fine powder that¡¯s flammable. Lots of it,¡± Julia said, prompted by a memory sweeping rock powder had stirred up. ¡°That came out of nowhere; we¡¯ll talk after training. Now change your grip. Look at how I¡¯m holding them. I know you can do all that body shifting stuff, but I¡¯m going to teach you what I know. Then you can make up all you want after you learn the basics,¡± said Alfarr, turning his hands so Julia could clearly see his grip as he spoke.
¡°Master Alfarr, Lady Julia, I will serve dinner shortly.¡± A deep but still feminine voice called from a window. With that interruption, Julia stood back, checking the daggers before returning them to their sheaths. ¡°New housekeeper? Though I didn¡¯t get an introduction to your last one,¡± Julia asked as she checked the last progress notifications. [Dagger [B] (15->16) Agile [Ad] (3->4) Perception [J] (37->38)] ¡°No, you didn¡¯t get introduced. Greta was nervous about meeting you. She left last month, said her daughter needed a hand with her children. They live on a farm just south of town. Rika¡¯s had a rough time lately, so Yngvarr offered her the work. It was her rest day yesterday, so she wasn¡¯t about, not that she does much with it. Now let''s clean up. Rika doesn¡¯t like dirt or sweat at the dinner table,¡± ¡°Surprised you ever get fed now,¡± ¡°Oh, my heart bleeds from your cruel words. Though not as much as your arms were. You need to move faster. Still, you adapt well, and I see a lot of your unarmed style in your fighting,¡± Julia went from dusty to clean as she took a step, and Alfarr grumbled behind her. ¡°Did you have to spray debris in my direction? How did you do that, I felt no casting?¡± ¡°My apologies, I thought there was the dirt pile there. Guess I assumed, like when I thought you''d use unenchanted blades,¡± ¡°I help you out, and yet you mistreat me. How did you do that?¡± asked Alfarr. ¡°Had Inventory collect all the dust on me and then ejected towards you. I need to level it up more to go with my plans.¡± ¡°The pocket dimension thing you have. It¡¯s driving Yngvarr nuts trying to figure out how you do it via a Power. He likely wants you to practice for him so he can try to detect its usage. You could handle this ¡®level up¡¯ thing while he works on that.¡± ¡°Sounds like an idea. I freed up a bunch of space with all the items I¡¯ve left in his vault. But I need more capacity than I have at present,¡± ¡°How many parts are there to whatever plan you have cooked up?¡± ¡°Not part of the same plan. I want multiple options as I don¡¯t think it will be wise to repeat myself. Also, if one doesn¡¯t work, I want fallback positions,¡± Julia watched the zephyr strip the dust from Alfar. Then, after gathering the earlier rock dust, it moved and spread it along the drainage ditch beside the dormant looking herb garden. ¡°Couldn¡¯t have just done that before and saved me sweeping?¡± ¡°Why? It was fun watching you be all domestic. Let us go inside. I¡¯ll transform it after dinner and make sure I properly seal the rockwork this time.¡± ¡°Mind if I watch.¡± ¡°Not an issue, not that my power usage will teach you anything of help, little wizard girl,¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you a fire Sorcerer? How does that relate to a zephyr?¡± ¡°I draw power from the fire elemental plane. Once I have that energy, it''s according to my will, what I use it to do,¡± ¡°So Sorcerer¡¯s have a better idea about making use of elemental energy for things outside their affinity.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you mean. Sorcerer¡¯s don¡¯t have an affinity. Nor do we really have spell forms. We shape the power drawn from another plane through sheer will.¡± ¡°I''ll meet you at the dining room,¡± Alfarr said before he vanished from the yard. He¡¯s going to get fat if he teleports rather than walks. {{Right, Alfarr needs to worry about being slow and fat. I¡¯m sure that''s why he had you moving fast trying not to get stabbed. }} Thanks for the reminder. {{No worries, sweetie. I had the mental popcorn going. The show was GOOD!!! }} {{You¡¯re not the only one that likes them muscles. Yummie Yummie Yummie}} ABBA seriously? Please stop. If you remember past lives, were we Elven? {{Oh, it¡¯s WE now. Sweetie, I¡¯m not your enemy, but you¡¯ve earned zip from me. Why the heck would I tell you? }} Goodwill gesture. {{They work both ways. Do you know the inferno you blanked out on? The torture? I wasn¡¯t so lucky. Thanks for asking.}} {{Tell you what, set me loose for an hour. You can even watch on and have three vetoes, then I¡¯ll tell you.}} I don¡¯t think that¡¯s happening. {{Talk to the hand then bitch cause this face ain¡¯t listening. }} You had most of a night. Now you¡¯re holding out on a simple question? {{That night started as me, but it was us before it was over from what Livia remembered.}} {{You think you¡¯re the only one that has issues remembering that night?}} {{Mr Fat arse ground the plates of our Soul together, San Andreas fault has nothing on Captain Thunderpants. }} {{I want a refund. }}
V, would you answer a question about things that have occurred while we¡¯ve been together? ((That would depend on the question. Some things are too dangerous to discuss. )) Primordial Abyssal, when I unlocked it, the words in the language sent my mind reeling. Did you guide me back to my senses? ((No, and yes. I merely invoked a memory. Your own willpower used that flare of reality to return. )) ((The Primordial, even now, sits outside what you can comprehend. )) ((I can make no choices for you. The Titan¡¯s Laws bind me, while you are entirely a free agent. )) What are you?? ((That I likely should not tell you. )) Can you tell me anything about the hidden rewards? ((I do not know of them either. I¡¯m sure the Titan has his intentions. )) B said, you were there when she tortured us. I remember feeling something touch the Ki. Was that you? ((Yes. )) Were we Elven? ((I hear your mind, thoughts, see glimpses of your surroundings. I do not know everything about you. )) ((What you were is not important, only your choices now. )) The Elves are reacting based on it. I don¡¯t want to feel like I¡¯m conning them. ((You¡¯ve done more than enough to warrant a reward from them. Do not let it worry you. )) ((They have their own pride. You rescued one of their celestials and a Princess. Let them acknowledge it. )) I understand what you mean. {{Thank fuck. No more guilty thoughts dripping down here about it then. }} {{Elves, they¡¯re cute, ask one of them to fuck you. }} B! {{Fine! Have it your way! But I found this memory.}} Memories of energy and pain made her clench her teeth. Though, like Livia¡¯s recollection, it passed in a moment. The sensation of energy coming up from the Leviathan¡¯s blood gripping her shins and rippling through the Ki¡¯s pool replayed, isolated from everything else. V? Are you going to tell us why you are bound in darkness? How does the leviathan blood relate to you? {{SHE LOVES ME. MY PRECIOUS SAID US!!!} That felt like it came from the block gripping me. How do I know you¡¯re not Leviathan? ((She would never have considered speaking to one, not of Tiamat¡¯s kin. No matter their Soul.)) I don¡¯t care if it''s too dangerous for me to know. So you have first-hand knowledge of Leviathan? I will admit I may not need to know. Yet I¡¯m tired of people constantly at my back that I can¡¯t trust. Cause the flip side is, do you want help to get out? {{I vote no. }} ((Let me consider what I might tell you, Julia. )) ((Your mind puts together pieces of information in dangerous ways. )) I want to know sooner, not later. I don¡¯t want things sprung on me. How about you tell me? Then I¡¯ll let you judge when we have got the right power. Deal? ((Give me time to consider things first. )) ¡°Lady Julia? Would you like anything, in particular, to drink with dinner?¡± asked Rika. Her first sight of Rika surprised Julia, seeming more a girl than a woman no matter her size. The breadth of her shoulders meant she filled the doorframe even more than Alfarr did. A brutal-looking ridged brow, nose, and solid face that didn¡¯t match the confused, almost lost look in her yellow slitted eyes. The pronounced eyeteeth peeking up from the lower jaw finished painting a picture for Julia. As she made eye contact, Rika jumped slightly and grabbed the doorframe as if ready to flee. Half-Orc? Or something else? Her eyes look so young and sad. Yngvarr¡¯s giving her a safe place. I need to get him a present. ¡°Nothing in particular, Rika. Whatever they normally drink and please call me Julia. I¡¯m not a Lady,¡± ¡°You¡¯re a guest of the house, Lady Julia. It wouldn¡¯t be right,¡± ¡°I won¡¯t cause trouble, Rika, but I¡¯d prefer to be called Julia. How are you adjusting to your new job?¡± ¡°It¡¯s much better than mucking out stables for coppers, Lady Julia. Master Alfarr prefers mead where Lord Yngvarr has herbal tea or wine,¡± Booze does nothing. {{Spoil sport, still tastes good. }} ¡°Tea would be fine if Yngvarr is having some, otherwise a cup of mead,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll boil some water for tea then,¡± said Rika, carefully letting go of the doorframe. ¡°Sorry if I startled you, I had no intention of it,¡± ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to apologise for your Ladyship,¡± {{Does it feel you¡¯re in a period drama now? We should drink a toast to no more period cramps! }} {{Actually, that deserves lots of drinks! I am distracting you; I am, aren¡¯t I. That¡¯s so cool. }} ¡°I seem to have that effect on people. My apologies if I made you uncomfortable,¡± said Julia, trying to push past B¡¯s noise. ¡°Yngvarr said you have a very forceful presence. I hadn¡¯t completely understood till you looked up. I best not let dinner spoil." Rika nodded politely and headed away, her quick pace clattering on the stone. Wow, that was a reaction. {{Maybe you should wear an executioner''s hood or a blindfold. Butterscotch would be a great safe word }} {{Just slides across the tongue, promising intoxication with no delivery. Just like you and carnal anything. }} {{Maybe she likes women. She¡¯s got lots of muscles. I know you like those. }} Shut up. She looks like a lost kid. I wonder what happened. {{Are you going to rescue someone else from life? What about rescuing us from the cruelties of virginity? }} {{We¡¯re all blocked up. Take two guys and call no one in the morning. }} Do you have verbal diarrhea? {{Ignored for lifetimes, finally having a voice you can properly hear. This takes getting used to, and I love it at present. }} When the next song started playing in her memories, Julia just groaned. I¡¯ll start with the Ki. {{Fine!! No more Robert Palmer. }} Interlude - Clothes make the man - Part 1 The crowd lapped it up as I butchered yet another song. Or at least they weren¡¯t adding marks to the wall behind me anymore, with knives. However, I must admit my wonderful patrons seemed to be a fair hand at throwing coins to harm. Is it worth the waiting for? If we live for eons and four All we ever get is blood! Every day we spit our curses ¡ª Will they change to rough delights? Still, we get the same old blood! There¡¯s not a fuck, not a brawl that we won¡¯t fight. Can we con, can we steal, or cadge? But there¡¯s nothing to stop us from grinding for thrills When we all close our eyes and imagine Booze, glorious booze! Hot sex and muggings! While we¡¯re in a feud ¡ª Stab bellies and crush them! Flay bendings and bindings What next is the question? Lush companions have it, boys ¡ª in their endings! Gore Glorious gore We¡¯re eager to try it. The song was approaching a grand finale or the time to duck; when a force smothered it into an early grave, the patrons and I groaned under the pressure of it. The presence of these patrons, I could stand against, but as the Demons fell silent, my heart strained. And yet I press onwards with the song, a true professional as always. A Succubus who I had held inspired bouncing for a generous tipper grasped tight to what she¡¯d claimed. Her legs clamped around their torso as their eyes and hers went wide in that rare sight on them, fear. Click. Click. Click. Boot heels striking stone rang out, demanding the attention of all within. The flickering light of flames lit up the archway as death strode within. Hips swaying in a provocative grace, she glided and with every glance owned all within. Her presence struck like a physical force, and I¡¯m not ashamed to say, I may have sighed. Furlong hopes that should never be, yet part of me craved it. To linger between those long fair limbs, to press against those wondrous breasts. Her heart-shaped face and flowing locks cascading down onto pillows of silken white delights. Those redden lips so dark, so lush, curled with delightful promises. Carnal pleasures all about seemed but hollow memories in the shimmering of her presence. Flames shimmered from red to black and their contrast, black flames to ivory flesh, made the temptation of her lush form all the greater still. I was sure I had continued to sing till her gaze pinned me in place. As she graced me with a bold stare, I could but bow my unworthy head. The world staggered as the sweet huskiness of her voice reverberated through me. The words not even directed to me, but the Succubi behind the bar. Yet the delight of each sensual sound rubbed against my skin and purred within me, feeling unworthy even to register their meaning. Her heels struck the stonework, echoing in the quiet of the not so grand hall. With each echoing strike, she drew closer still to me, seduced no doubt by my charms no matter the form I now wore. Delicate fingers traced the side of my face, showing her apparent desire for me to shower them with pleasure. ¡°We¡¯ll come together, Pet; your song aroused me,¡± Wait, not aroused, amused me. Though her voice is indeed working me over. What was the first part? Come together or come with me? Isn¡¯t it the same? Lady Bast, if this is how you call me home, I do approve. A voice growled in anger as I strove to keep myself composed, and she spat a harsh reply in sensual tones. The harsh familiar odour of Demonic blood splashed against my nose. The poignant scent a sharp, not unfamiliar, slap to my sense as its bitterness tried to make me gag. An affront worse than a cheap local brew after a night of singing bawdy ballads, for tips made lighter by an innkeeper¡¯s sticky fingers. ¡°May I serve mistress?¡± asked a grunting voice in Abyssal. The words echo across my awareness as I watch the heading rolling away, and voices grew strangely distant. The mane faced fellow that had dared growl at her, now short a vital piece. At least it wasn¡¯t the worst head to lose, and such over quick. Though apparently, he was a one pump chump. Tiny bitty beetles come skittering out of the wall, quickly chewing while others sort to drink from the expanding dark pool. Words swim off, singing into the distance like a bird trill before something brings me back. A hand. Her hand pulling at my clothing, is she wanting me undressed already? ¡°Walk,¡± Not the case, alas, but at least we¡¯ll get privacy for my demise. An effortless hand raising with grace almost lifts me to my feet, and I find myself forced into stumbling off-balance steps. So unsteady with the barely contained excitement, I¡¯m trembling with it, wondering where she¡¯d like to go first. Or how? Maybe both? My thoughts are whirling. The flames do not burn, yet the lustful heat of her flesh sears through the linen of my shirt. Her every touch burning, sending a searing ache deep with my Soul, piercing my heart with desire and dark, wonderful thoughts. Every passage from my tiny little cubby through the den of desires¡¯ corridors had daily thrilled and terrified. Now I could merely wonder which room this pale, dark, wondrous lady would use to consume me. When the Succubus guiding the way paused by Klipyl¡¯s door, I began to speculate who would kill me first. To be smothered between the sensual steel and the iridescent ivory. Or would the Succubi put on a show? No. They¡¯re talking business?! Profit shares? In a room of sensual delight. Can¡¯t I at least try out the rug with someone? Was this how it was to be? Death by ardent desire delayed? It is a ferocious, torturous end as I watch the fine Klipyl¡¯s figure battle with valiant vigour against the most meagre of constraints. Liken unto the thin line of life, a most slender cloth did conceal her delights. So ecstatic, I had thought, so teasingly delightful, so close yet so far removed. Not till this new arrival clad in the tightest of flame wrapped leather had I the true meaning of teasing desire. Her very presence pulsating over me as she made Klipyl¡¯s eyes inflame with lust, yet with so much skin hidden from sight. A negligent gesture as one might shoo a flea-bitten hound sent me to a chair by the door. A hurtful dismissal for a performer like I, shooed away as a typical mutt. I ought to sit down before I get myself beheaded. Strangely, some part of me had already moved my feet, not noticing till I had already taken a seat. Could it be? The strength of her wanton will could force my mortal flesh? What delight might that involve? Or was it merely that part of my brain that wished to live had forgotten to marvel in the pale dark beauty evident before us? Her voice snaps with authority as she commands Klipyl; the sensual rapture disappears from within my mind. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell you something, and you will heed it. If I¡¯m not impressed when next we meet, things will need to change,¡± ¡°Yes, Mistress.¡± ¡°You will surrender your will to me so I can force you to Ascend. When you go through the inferno, focus your increased energy on your mind and will. Beauty makes you but a toy, if that is all you have. I need useful assistants to run things here and in other places. If it is not you, it will be someone else,¡± Ascend? I so need to learn more about Demon sex? Was that a position? Though Inferno didn¡¯t sound promising, She could be a toy for me any day of the year. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± said Klipyl, lust shining in her eyes. ¡°Stand there,¡± the dark succubus snapped, her fingers flickering in a dismissive gesture for Klipyl to stand before her. Yet here I was with the centre stage as she ordered Klipyl before her seat. What lascivious acts was I to see? Would she kneel in homage as seemed so fitting? In which case, how does she remove all that leather? Can I help? Klipyl submitted to her command without pause and stood, her full breasts thrusting forward. Her sensual poise further straining the fabric and my self-control. A red light gathered within her linen white flesh as the other seemed to focus on her. Little flickering motions in her face, giving away the intensity of her concentration. As the white skin shone with inner flames, the Abyss swallowed her from existence. Shock stole my breath, and as she spoke, I jumped from surprise. ¡°Come here, Mokilian.¡± The words left no room for questions, and I got to my feet with haste; hoping whatever she''d done to Klipyl wasn¡¯t her intent for me. It was an effort to move out into the stage of her attention, but I stepped forward with measured pace, feeling the rug give softly under each step. ¡°I wonder if the soundproofing in here goes both ways.¡± Could it be that we''ll get to try the rug? ¡°Why, Mistress?¡± I asked. Calmness was hard to come by, wanting to stay away from whatever had occurred, yet aching for her. ¡°Because we need to talk.¡± ¡°Talk?¡± Why in Bast''s name would she need to talk to me? Is that a position code? What had I missed while swept away in dreaming desires? ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter, and the Coven likely put the spells in place. Speak no further unless I ask you direct questions, little Cambion.¡± With that order, I felt my nerves lessen slightly, glad she¡¯d made no move to focus on me as she had Klipyl. ¡°That yowling was appalling. Why were you singing that?¡± The question was oddly curious, her tone softening from the inflections of steel desire every word till now had possessed. ¡°It''s popular here; the patrons give coin for it. You said it amused you.¡± I said, not wanting now to dwell on my original translation of her words. ¡°I lied. You will wait here. If you aren¡¯t here when I get back, I¡¯ll hunt you down. If anyone tells you to leave this office, you will tell them you are under my orders to remain. Is that clear?¡± The steel blossomed in her voice so intense it stole my breath, every bladed syllable nicking along my spine. Bloody images came seeping up within my mind. ¡°Yes, Mistress,¡± The reply was all I could manage as my tongue flicked against dry lips, and I wondered how my mouth had gotten so suddenly parched. When she vanished an instant later, I looked for anything to drink before settling empty-handed on the couch, trying to still my nerves.
Those nerves sat me upright from a nap, as death whispered in my ear, the click of the door sounding like a blade against my neck. ¡°Time to talk.¡± The words were like a pronouncement of doom. Though steel laced her voice, her presence didn¡¯t overwhelm me as before and left me able to think. ¡°What did you wish to talk about?¡± Code for oral? ¡°Nothing here,¡± She said, and a hide bag appeared in her hand without so much as a flourish. ¡°Put your hand in this bag.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°What?¡± Is she going to cut it off? ¡°I can¡¯t teleport with you unless I have you stored in something to reduce weight. So put your hand in here. I¡¯ll get it to store you and take you somewhere to talk,¡± Magic storage bag, but is there breathable air in there? What about where we¡¯re going? ¡°How will I breathe? I¡¯m a Cambion. We need to breathe,¡± ¡°Some of you do. Fine, I¡¯ll store you and then draw you back out. Take a breath when you¡¯re within, see if there is air. If not, we¡¯ll go outside before I tuck you in the bag." So regardless, I¡¯m going in? ¡°Why can¡¯t we just talk here?¡± ¡°Idiot Cambion. Put your hand in before I shove you in it headfirst,¡± The words pressed against me like an armoured fist; her steel will was sheathed, impatient but oddly given the words, feeling not unreasonable. What is more dangerous for a Demoness? ¡°Alright,¡± When I placed my hand within the bag, I could but hope I¡¯d still be able to use it to play when done. Even at that moment, though, Klipyl¡¯s office vanished around me, and metallic soaked air seeped into my nostrils as I took a hopeful sniff. The utter darkness weighed on me and bringing a spell to mind. I shaped its form and let mana flow through it. With light now shining on my hand, I peered about the darkness of the cavernous space. Suddenly, I was again within the office with a light still glowing, oddly as she had promised. ¡°Dark in there, was it?¡± she asked, amusement in her voice. Yet it felt as the words meant something far different to her than a simple query. ¡°Very. The air smelt metallic and musty, but I could breathe it.¡± She accepted the explanation I provided with the barest of nods as she presented the bag to me again, strangely relief edging across her features. Would it have inconvenienced her? I¡¯d say something is odd, but how do you understand a Demon¡¯s behaviour. ¡°Well, you won¡¯t need to breathe it for long. Now get back in,¡± Her voice sounded like a whip, and I felt the force of her decision crack against me. I stuck my hand within the bag, and the office vanished again. After a long wait, I found myself released within a dimmer light that matched tunnels I had previously travelled. Even as I took in the broken rock of the tunnel, pain like knives twisted deep within, and stone crashed against my side. Even knowing I had fallen against that broken floor couldn''t stop me from thrashing at the pain, the sound of my cries gasping loud in my ears. Peaceful, blessed musty darkness returned, and the pain vanished as suddenly as it had come. Limbs still trembling with the memory, I slowly sat upright and wondered what torment she had in mind for me next. The pain so swift, now so absent, my mind reeling in its release. The darkness swam around me, yet the absence of pain left me unable to care. When dim tunnel light returned, I could make out the Succubus gazing at me with the strangest of emotions for them - concern. The beauty of her features etched with emotion so strong I would but hope I could kiss the feeling gone. ¡°What was that?¡± I asked. ¡°Your curse and Abyssal blight reacted to the song,¡± Oh, by Bast, she knows. How does she know? ¡°What are you saying? I¡¯m not cursed. I¡¯m Cambion. What region of the Abyss did you take me to?¡± ¡°Moke!¡± When she snaps my name, the word hits like a punch to the ribs. All breath was trying to escape me in despair. Still, I force myself to speak and try to regain my feet. ¡°That¡¯s not my name. It¡¯s Mokilian.¡± Strips of linen so white they gleam even in the dim, cold lighting about suddenly hang silken from an extended arm. Before I can see what holds them there, they¡¯re suddenly in her out-thrust hand. ¡°Use these to bandage your wounds. I don¡¯t have healing magic. Are you using an item or a spell to protect your mind?¡± She knows. How do I get away? Where are we? What wounds? ¡°I don¡¯t know-how,¡± I manage the words as my gaze takes in the rips across the only shirt I currently own. Already patched and beaten by its stay within this place, it now gasps open and blood swirls. ¡°Take off your shirt and sit down. You¡¯ve gouged right through the cloth. I hope you didn¡¯t get crap in the wounds,¡± Her velvet words pour forth, concern rather than anger clear in her voice, easing the words'' cold appraisal. ¡°Take me back to Z?hma. I don¡¯t know what you are talking about,¡± Desperation pulses within my chest, and fear gives my swift blood wings as it thunders in my ears. ¡°Moke, Bard from Thebes, cursed by a High Priest of a Dark Power, which you had better not name here. Take your shirt off and sit down. I need to bandage your arms and chest from the looks of things.¡± Words have always been my friends. Now with frozen tones, she seals my fate, yet the firmness of her speech stills my fears. Would I still be alive if she wanted me dead? ¡°Where would you run to? Do you know where Z?hma is? Plenty of things to kill you in these tunnels. Take your shirt off and sit down so I can tend your wounds,¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± The words sound stupid to my ears. Yet the sudden rush of stark truth in this place of desperate lies comforts. ¡°I know. If I wanted you dead, you¡¯d already be Abyss bait. Now, remove your shirt and sit down, before you fall,¡± Her words brush against me, and in their soft touch, they breathe across something I had thought lost. Hope. I lower myself to the floor again, and looking up; I find her crouching close. Her silken white pillows were so close before my eyes. Actions as liken to a lover, she removed my shirt and tended my wounds. More and more of the pure white cloth appears to bind my injuries, and I wonder wordless and surprised from where it comes. Every strand seems to start against the lovely tight leathers enfolding her form, and I do not recognise the magic that creates them. ¡°Do you speak this tongue?¡± she asks her words in Norse unaccented by this place''s brutal tongue. ¡°Yes, but why are we using it?¡± ¡°Not everything in the Abyss speaks or can understand human languages, and I don¡¯t speak Egyptian. Do you have any spell that can guard against scrying?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s intended for matters requiring discretion.¡± ¡°Fine, cast it then.¡± ¡°First, we need to be intimately embracing. I designed the spell form to protect the privacy of lovers. There are restrictions on it that make it easier to cast and maintain,¡± The words come forth with practised ease, so quick even I don¡¯t remember the lie of them till too late. Sure, I was inviting trouble. I wonder where my mind went. Why would I want a Succubus, knowing of me, to be so close? Her eyes lower with such demure grace, I feel I should be blushing at my boldness, yet as I move and go to explain, her fingers grasp on uninjured shoulders. ¡°Stop moving¡ªgreat, typical bard. Of course, your spell forms make it safer to get a leg over.¡± That may be fair. What a puzzle that I would find a Demon''s judgements fair. Her words are a grumble of apparent embarrassment as she keeps me sitting and moves about me. She sits, the warmth of her easing so wonderfully against my skin and her legs wrap themselves about me. As my mind recalls other legs recently seen gripping, desires stir against the pain of flesh and within. ¡°Hold my leg and cast your darn spell already.¡± Surprised at the grumbles, and the coquettish shifting from the one beside me, I set desire aside and let my hands sit upon the leathers. The softness of the hide wrapped around her form, calling up questions I¡¯d prefer to avoid. Please let this not be flayed from a human. It feels as soft as the curve of her breasts should be. With the heat of her sex pressed against my hip, I set my focus to place the mirage about us. ¡°It¡¯s prattling about the local crap,¡± Her words sound judgmental, but that sweet embarrassment still lays within. Her voice sounds calm and might fool one not so practised at seeing what an audience desires. Yet cold judgemental hands don¡¯t sit so hesitantly upon another''s flesh, nor do their eyes shift about as if unsure where to land. Even without the speeding of embarrassed breath, the cues are so strange given what she is and behaviour within the Hollow¡¯s walls. Her poise has vanished as she fidgets against me, clearly uncertain by our closeness. ¡°It¡¯s so you don¡¯t have to concentrate on anything besides your lover,¡± Or learning of a noble¡¯s scheming plan. ¡°Right, let¡¯s talk fast. This spell is just saying we have something to hide. You need out of the Abyss. You¡¯ve already got Abyssal blight digging into your Soul.¡± ¡°What sort of trick is this? You¡¯ve discovered me. I know I¡¯m doomed.¡± As I say the words, fear ripples against desire, and I find it easier to focus. Her latest so innocent gestures alluring far within my heart. ¡°It isn¡¯t a trick, but I don¡¯t have a safe way to get you to the material plane, and ensure you¡¯ll come out somewhere safe,¡± ¡°You want to send me home looking like this? So you can scry across the planes and delight in my family killing me themselves?¡± I lean close to feel the delicious heat from her breasts upon my upper arm even as I speak. The line of her leather-clad form beckoning desire from deep within again, the force of it pummeling fear away. ¡°You are wasting fucking time you might not have,¡± ¡°We could do that. I know I¡¯m doomed. I might as well have a nice send-off,¡± My words I had set to tease as fingers trail up her calf, the Succubus reacts as if I¡¯d pinched a blushing maiden¡¯s bum. A fist clenched tight rises fast and is ready to match the words I was sure she¡¯d speak. ¡°If you fondle me, your face is going to break,¡± ¡°But you¡¯re a Succubus? Aren¡¯t you supposed to be dooming mortals via temptations of carnal lusts?¡± Why does she act like a shield maiden intent on her chastity? What game is this? ¡°Don¡¯t get me started. Now options, I can let you use a conduit and best of luck. If it goes to the right place, or at least remotely, you¡¯re out. Then you can try to find someone to remove the curse. The second option, we could go to the grey fields and find a Patrol of a Light God to help you. ¡°I want revenge,¡± I say before she can start the next option clear on her lips. My surprise at my own accurate words matches the shocked look on her face. ¡°What?¡± Her question comes out a startled breath, matching the surprise about her, and her fists unclench. I admit the truth I now know. ¡°On the priest that sent me here. I want revenge. His church caused the disappearance of my friends and other groups from the Charter house. Even before that, a whole township died due to them. I¡¯m alive, but my friends are likely dead. Can you help me get revenge?¡± Sorrow weighed my gaze, and pain drew my lids to shut. Yet to avert my gaze from the beauty shining close would even deeper cut. The energy and life about her, the sorrow, and compassion all aimed at me. The blackest of orbs regard me, but the lines of her face schooled to convey such depth in acting, music and song it rings so true. Her eyes controlled, yet the lush grace of her mouth curves in sadness and shared pain. Her fingers were flexing against my shoulders as if fighting not to draw me into a comforting embrace. How does a Succubus know of sorrow? ¡°Fuck.¡± I can tell from her tone it''s spoken from anger or frustration, yet I can not help tease this beauty. To dispel the mood I¡¯ve set now between us with my words. ¡°Why do you say that you already threatened to slap me?¡± ¡°Darn, I said that in Norse.¡± ¡°What does it matter the language if you wish to fornicate?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been to Eyrarh¨¢ls, and I can get you there. However, I can¡¯t open the conduit to the material plane; and can¡¯t get there without a summoner or someone with a Pact calling me.¡± ¡°Form a Pact with me then. I¡¯ll agree as long as revenge is on the table.¡± I speak the words knowing already what restriction lies upon her yet craving her aid to pay back those who¡¯d doomed my friends. ¡°It corrupts your Soul with Abyssal energy. Why would you want that?¡± Her words said with such sweet confusion, near make me smile, but well-practiced stagecraft lets me calm my face. ¡°Why would you not want that state? If I can get revenge, and if you¡¯d allow it, leave behind a few poems about my victory. I would consider it well spent.¡± ¡°You¡¯re crazy,¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the Abyss, talking to a Succubus who has her wondrous legs around me and doesn¡¯t want sex. Of course, I¡¯m the crazy one,¡± As I speak, I let the hand resting on her thigh squeeze slightly tighter and watch the lids of her eyes twitch wider still. ¡°Fine, whatever. Stop the spell.¡± With those words spoken, she vanishes from my lap faster than a daughter nearly caught kissing by an angry father. One moment sitting, the next standing well out of arm''s reach, a cat having leapt to safety to avoid a child''s hand reaching for its tail. Her act makes no sense. Why is she playing me this way? I know what she is, but she persists? Is she practicing a part? If I hadn¡¯t seen her before, I¡¯d swear she was a virgin. Not wholly innocent of men, but no comfort with closeness. ¡°So how do I use this conduit? Or form a Pact?¡± As I asked, her gaze looks down on me, and the posture changed from discomfort to sorrow brushed with confusion. Yet as her posture changes, I feel pressure there in the darkness with myself and know it comes from her. A hand wrapped in the filth that has laced every breath here, offering hope, though I had believed I would surely die. With a prayer on my heart to Bast, I reach inside and touch it with knowledge of what I intend. With that focus, a link between us forms, and know even with my eyes shut, if I spun in reckless abandon, I would know wherever she stood. The conduit is amusing, a squirming phallus-like eel, the uncomfortable way she handles it is clear as she explains its use. The strangest of climbs with the soft warm walls rippling against fingers, not unlike a lady¡¯s place of pleasure. When I step between its outer lips, I look up and feel my heartbreak. Is this why she brought me here? Does it not open as she said? Did she give me instructions to make it bring me here? Is her Pact letting her feel my pain right now? I look towards the conduit path, ready to curse her out. Yet I could see no pleasure on her lips, nor gloating in her posture¡ªonly concern in every line of her graceful form. ¡°Eakc? come quickly,¡± With the words said, I look back upon what my gaze had found and step towards the sight that makes my heartache¡ªthe tales of my ancestors. The Temple¡¯s murals had shown them clearly, but yet now their grace was but broken stones. Pain enfolds my heart as I compose the sight in sorrowing words, a vain hope to convey the pain and ease the loss that my people should know. ¡°What happened?¡± I do not know how long I stood there watching the dawn¡¯s light wash over that awful sight. Yet her words so softly spoken at my shoulder drew me back again. The history lesson so patiently heeded, as she gave me time to mourn what I¡¯d never known. An uncertain hand fluttered repeatedly close but never came to rest while we spoke. The warmth of its presence comforting. When I asked to leave, she did but softly nod. Her hand holding forth the now-familiar bag. A simple question answered before I reached within. Darkness led to Darkness, set to match unto my pain, till she did with laughter bid lightness, and set the pain adrift. Her form blurring and changing so swiftly in the moonlight, to a subtle form. A petite shape that the moonlight gave a surer grace and beauty than the unworldly lushness she had previously possessed. The fineness of her features and the air about her spoke of kindness, no longer looming over me; it was tempting to tilt her chin up and gaze upon her beauty. Yet as I praised her, the eye roll and shoulder set was clear. Whatever her form might be, she was still the same within. The form she wore seemed no act, and it was flesh wrapping more than empty malice within. With her words, she tried to slip strangely from the subject of herself, Eakc?, a name so strange, and stranger still the one who carried it. Questions led to places I had not expected and revealed the truth I had thought I''d known to be a lie¡ªa Demoness could speak the name of Bast. I sat in the moonlight and smelt familiar breezes and wondered if she really went for the purpose she said. Wrapped in a cloak and blankets made, I¡¯d learnt from her own flesh. The essence of their warmth comforting me. Still, I found my gaze tending toward the link¡¯s line, towards what I thought would be the east. Gone as she said to deal with one who had earned her wrath. I must admit I dozed, sung to slumber by the poems nature composes with my flesh and poisoned wounds within eased. Sonnets of Owl songs, wind rustling with applause, eased my flesh and Soul to sleep. Interlude - Clothes make the man - Part 2 Fury, vengeful, beautiful fiery rage filled her upon return. Yet she woke me with jesting words of concern, scolding me rightfully from my slumber. But her words so teasing to me spoke strangely of concern. Her air that of a sister or lover scolding the most foolish of males within their company. Eyes lit by moonlight shone, so bright, so coldly furious, and confusion soared within me greater still. A Demoness having words of admiration, and such personal like for a High Justice. What a mystery I have before me. The only caution in her words regarded Verdandi, learning of acts Eakc? had set herself to take before Setau was dead. The venom laced hatred seeded every moment of sound from her lips as Eakc? spoke of Setau. Contempt seethed at what she¡¯d found within his mind and Soul. The thought Eakc? could see such made me wonder what she had seen within me, besides my curse and parentage. Did she know before I admitted my anger at Setau? Indeed, this was more than a game. When together we plotted our vengeance against a God, and the Church which about him lay. I felt something seal within, far more profound than the pact we made. We needed information on our foes, and when she spoke of her intentions, I felt a new path stretched out before me. A course not of her choices but of mine to walk, I knew with certainty now lay within. Night still lay upon us, and until sleep won again, I spoke of what I knew already. With every revelation, I saw her steel will set its shoulder to the wheel. The look near set me shuddering at what this night had wrought.
The dream slowly choked the life from me as I thrashed against its hold. Deep within, I knew it false but couldn¡¯t get free. A cord wrapped about my throat killed my songs and dragged me back into vile darkness. Where the light would never shine and surely consume me whole. Breasts pressed me into the dirt as Succubi clawed my flesh and Soul so deep. Their black lips branding me with sickness through to the bone. ¡°Wake up, Moke,¡± said Eakc?, her sensual tones breathing peace within. A warm hand on my shoulder chased them away as I felt concern touch through the Pact, and her steel presence drove them to begone. ¡°Did you have to interrupt? The beer maiden was just getting to the interesting parts.¡± My voice strangely steady as I felt the dark air about me, though it¡¯s a darkness that is speaking of dawn to come. ¡°I know I heard you moaning about it while you were humping the grass tuft,¡± ¡°Even nature loves me, and yet I only get a continued rejection from you,¡± I matched her glib words with gleeful tones only through practice and a showman¡¯s will. The glibness of her words following me down the hill. Warm blankets had spilled. So I clung with the cloak tight against the chill. It was a dream, a dream, just a dream. Was that truth, and this but a dream? Why would Eakc?, a Succubus, rescue me? Why does her path lead this way? Is she just after something? Is this merely but a game?
Tree shadowed me as I came forth again but beyond them stonework, mortal human stonework. I had travelled Norse lands before, and the closest building looked right. ¡°So lizard boy, don¡¯t get all hissy with the guards,¡± said Eakc?. Her gaze was peering at me, concern clear in her so human eyes. ¡°I know how more civilised lizardfolk act,¡± I said, trying for affronted as my heart sang. As the cloak Eakc? shaped started flapping about in the morning''s wind, I could see the frown form so clearly. A growl of frustration singing from her lips as the wind played so fiercely with it. As her eyes caught how I¡¯d held mine from reflex, Eakc? moved to compose herself. ¡°Seems like you got into a bit of a flap,¡± ¡°You want me to give a handy reply?¡± asked Eakc?, her voice delightfully soft in the morning air. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t go for rhyming badly again,¡± ¡°You¡¯re asking for that slap,¡± Eakc? said, soft brown eyes growing hard with a chill. ¡°Not normally my thing. Though if it¡¯s foreplay, for you, I¡¯ll make an exception,¡± I said, letting my eyes drink Eakc?''s form in the growing light. Knowing that the leathers she wore were merely skin formed was teasing in the extreme. A memory of her groin against my hip and my hand unknowing on her truly bare leg coming clear to mind. When she walked away, I quickly moved to gain ground and found a familiar moment as a hand tapped behind my hood. She smacked me. Well. Whatever she¡¯s said, Eakc? is nervous. Does she hide things under the cold? Does that mean the colder she gets, the more care there is? Was Eakc? scared at The Hollow? Is that why she was so cold? Who is she? ¡°So your room or mine tonight? I hope this town has comfortable beds, large with room to roll,¡± I said. Too busy with my thoughts to block the words that had come. ¡°Shut up,¡± said Eakc?, her growling tone rich with embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can find something to keep my mouth busy with you,¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have a set of knuckles in your mouth if you keep it up,¡± Eakc? said, embarrassment soaring clear. My goodness, this can¡¯t be. Surely not? How is Eakc? a Demoness of Lust? She strode away, and the fixed offence in her shoulders matched the surety of her voice. The tone and act so like the bantering from female companions I had ventured with before adding lightness to my heart¡¯s tone. Even as I laughed, dawn¡¯s light bloomed within and without. An ungracious grunt stole from my lips as a summer¡¯s sun shone within. A whisper of breeze brushed my fingertips, and the sensation felt as if across bare skin. Reflex lifted my hands to see as I heard Eakc? turn towards me. Scales vanished from my palms under the sunlight. I closed my eyes, sure this must be a dream, and ran my fingers through the hair I felt renew beneath my touch. The aches and pains inside me have washed away, making me wonder if someone had purged the Pact. There was no sense of the weight of it pressing against me anymore. Even as I think of it, I know it is still there, yet so changed. Ice crystals glimmering in dawn¡¯s pure light shine within my mind as I think upon my link with her. This isn¡¯t how things usually work, I¡¯m sure. Shouldn¡¯t I be feeling worse with a Pact? Not so much recovered. Did mother have something waiting for my return to the material plane? ¡°You look different now. Guess a horse kicked your face when you were young.¡± Eakc? said, voice light with feigned surprise and something more. Why is she suddenly angry? Does she think she¡¯ll have less of a hold since she didn¡¯t break the curse? I¡¯d still be in the Abyss. My hands raised to clap against my face, feeling joyous as I played along. ¡°Oh, yes, very droll.¡± Banter slipped so lightly as I strove to regain my sense of balance. Wonder spun concerns of dreams and back again till the wind intervened. Light blessed me with her beauty as the sky lightened further still. I was sure I¡¯d know no human form fairer than the one I saw before me now. Yet it wasn¡¯t just the flesh, but the energy that gleamed within, unheralded by the dawn¡¯s light alone. Her skin and eyes so draw the eyes, desire seeps from within. ¡°Eakc?, you need to let me talk to the guards,¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t do normal very well, Eakc?. I thought you were beautiful by moonlight, but now in the dawn¡¯s light, your beauty seeks to steal my gaze.¡± ¡°Moke cut it with the joking,¡± ¡°This is not a jest. If I put you on a square¡¯s stage, crowds would pay to admire your beauty, even dressed as you are,¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been through the gates here before,¡± Eakc? said. The last word was fading from her lips when she pressed on. What? How is that possible? Did you start a fight and slip by? I¡¯m free! I have no wish to see a cell before lunch! Anger set her shoulders under the cloak as Eakc? pulled the hood back in place. With her still having the purse, I could but play along. When we reached the gate guard, the wind of fate spoke. Their eyes widened even as Eakc?¡¯s focus was on the board and chits. The wind having conspired to flip her hood away. Words fairly flew unbid from my lips as I sought to quell the trouble screaming to overrun. When through the gates at last. True danger raised its gaze and blasted. Eyes chilled with winter¡¯s fury, and pain upon lips set. I was sure my fate was met. Yet when all was done, it seemed fate I would outlast. ¡°Moke,¡± Eakc? said. An eerie calmness in her voice freezing against the air with the single utterance, ¡°Let me make this quite clear to you. This is not funny to me.¡± Pain. Such bone-deep sorrow. What is going on? ¡°Since it is not a jest you find tolerable, very well. You really are a mystery, Livia.¡± I said. Puzzled concern etching my words, wondering how I¡¯d hurt this strange rescuer of mine. However, I ensured to use the name provided for the chit. We¡¯re through the gates. Shouldn¡¯t a demon disregard the means employed to reach the goal? Why is there so much hurt showing in the frost within her gaze? That isn¡¯t a desire to inflict pain. It¡¯s the agony of dreams lost. She couldn''t be one fallen. There is no way I¡¯d be able to bring her out with but words. However, my teachers were wrong about a Demon being unable to speak the name of a God of Light. When Eakc? has moved past, head dipped in a bid for the wind to hold her hood. I looked down and saw her knuckles clear. Lines of stress as cloth showed squeezed far tighter than needed within her fists. Is that an act? Why would she bother? Her words were low spoken and with such space about us. Won¡¯t anyone tell me what is going on!
Soaking in the third tub of clean water, I could but puzzle on my rescuer. Hung clean clothes drew my gaze as their dyed fabric did truly amaze. My lips and throat now watered. Songs issued forth unslaughtered. Light shone, and I was keen to sing for days. She told me to speak to Verdandi or Torm, so that¡¯s what I¡¯ll do. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. I hope she didn¡¯t have to spend too much. Even if the dye has run oddly, it still looks like a wondrous weave. Dried and dressed, I emerged, at last, to find Eakc? with the magnificence of her beauty hooded. Yet, in her posture, I saw the question as I held my arms from my side to display the clothes she¡¯d bought. Quickly pressed by the bath attendant for the price of their favourite song, the clothes looked colourful enough to make me weep. ¡°At least you¡¯re clean,¡± Eakc? said, her tone dry, and I was glad to hear the amusement light under the simple words. So I raised my arm to flex, and the hood''s shadows played as her lips twitched. I saw that amusement. Clean, honest amusement at harmless antics. How could a Demoness be any stranger? ¡°I look as cheerful as a summer dawn. The dye has run quite interestingly. Think dyers could do this intentionally?¡± I asked, hoping she¡¯d tell me where she gained them. Lady Bast my praise for how my life is blessed. ¡°Let us go,¡± said Eakc?, her tone suddenly flat. She didn¡¯t want me to like them? Why? ¡°Thank you, Selby. My apologies again for the foulness of my clothing. I hope you find someone to slay them properly. I¡¯m sure those rags were gaining a life of their own with that foulness.¡± I said. Though I wished I could give an extra coin or three considering what she had to deal with, Eakc? still held tight to the purse. ¡°We¡¯ll make sure they¡¯re properly dead, Master Moke. Fortune favour your music,¡± Selby said as Eakc? slipped away. I pursued Eakc? out the door and gave her a coy smile as the door closed. ¡°I¡¯m more famous than I knew, had told none of them I¡¯m a Bard.¡± ¡°Truly shocking,¡± Eakc? said, her words almost cutting as she led the way. Did I offend?
¡°Silver coins used to get window food worth coppers. I¡¯d suggest you learn what things are worth.¡± ¡°Care factor equals zero,¡± Eakc? said. Yet the roll, stuffed with hot filling, was handed across with care. A moment later, she gave the purse as well. Such strange sayings from her lips. ¡°Like sellswords coins, those go out as fast as they come in,¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a large family, figured he could use a hand,¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t speak to them except to order. How do you know?¡± ¡°Told you I¡¯d been here before. So I know he¡¯s got a large family. I saw his wife escorting a bunch of children on the common months ago.¡± ¡°Are you sure the children were all hers?¡± ¡°The range of ages, the similarity of appearance. Oh, and yeah, they all called her mother. That really gave it away.¡± Eakc? said, her tone drier than a desert summer before falling silent. How has Eakc? been in this town and not attracted attention? ¡°Very well. Though please let me get us through the inner gates,¡± I said, relaxing as she simply nodded. She still led the way as I carefully ate the roll, not wanting to spill anything on my fine new clothes. Though I had thought to hold off breaking fast, my stomach¡¯s rumbling had been earning side-eye from Eakc?. With her wisely leaving dealing with the guards to me, we were quickly through the inner wards. The guard seeing the fine cloth I wear, my proper bearing, and perhaps the heavy purse speaking of wealth does not object. My heart lept into my mouth as we came into the Temple square, and without fail, every single guard fixed their gaze on Eakc?. Without even doing a thing except taking a step within the square, they were all staring at her! Please don¡¯t let a bolt of lightning turn us both to ash. I¡¯ve so many reasons for which to live. Lady Bast, please protect me with your grace. The last I kept from my lips simply because of standing next to a Demoness, carrying her strange Pact. ¡°My dear, you have got admirers here,¡± I said, slowing slightly to let her catch up to my side, which Eakc? did without the slightest hesitation. ¡°I¡¯m not your dear Moke. But yes, it seems my looks bring all the boys to the yard.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t see your face, and female guards are staring as well,¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± said Eakc?, pointing toward a building bearing Tyr¡¯s symbol by the gates, ¡°that way.¡± ¡°I see,¡± I said, letting nervous energy from the dire gazes lighten my step. Yet as Eakc? soon halted, I came to a sudden stop. And found her gaze fixated on a man doing some flowing dance, with a little girl following in his wake. When the girl¡¯s gaze landed on Eakc?, she was running towards us faster than a scared goat, looking to leave pursuit in its wake. My heart threatened to burst as Eakc? crouched to meet the rush, and all the guards seemed to take a step forward. The words of delight from the girl made no sense. Yet the guards eased down at the girl¡¯s delighted babble even as the dance instructor drew near. The child¡¯s words continued to sprout and made my mind spin till Eakc?''s introduction snapped me from my daze. Wait, the girl called her Julia. Is that an alias she used last time? Should I use that not to confuse? Maybe the other is a demon name, and she doesn¡¯t want it known? How am I to know? Surely a High Justice didn¡¯t use a Demoness to kill evil men? She made the pain stop? The same way she eased the blight¡¯s ache? ¡°Of course. Livia, this is Moke. If he says something improper, let me know, and I¡¯ll scold him,¡± Eakc? said, her words interrupting my whirling thoughts, the words being exchanged having slipped past my mind¡¯s grasp. ¡°I would not speak of a child in that manner,¡± I said, trying to defend myself. ¡°The improper things don¡¯t have to regard her Moke,¡± Eakc? said. ¡°Why does your clothing show the forms of people in coitus?¡± Livia asked as her eyes looked over my garb. WHAT? Looking down, I understood, at last, the shapes within the dye. A man¡¯s body arched back as he drove himself deep within a woman from behind¡ªanother a lady straddling a man¡¯s groin. The forms are skeletons, yet all delightfully posed. How? Oh, my goodness. Eakc? made them, even small clothes. Her form is all around me, wrapped around my flesh. I¡¯m inside her! ¡°Coitus?!¡± I said, the word escaping as my mind raced to make sense of another set of spots, and then more leapt forth. I¡¯ll have to try that one¡ªthe Lady¡¯s leg up over the man¡¯s shoulder. I would need someone flexible, or someones. The teacher explained the word to my disbelief. I surely knew all the words for sex anyone needed to know. I can even ask in native Basteti, thank you very much. ¡°I know, but I never. Julia, you, oh, you didn¡¯t. I have something from you wrapped all around me, oh my.¡± No wonder the outfit''s weave feels so pleasingly delightful. I¡¯ll find nothing better than these clothes. What am I going to do? So little hope now of getting a second set. Maybe she¡¯ll make another. Please, lady Bast, guide me to convince her to make a few. The words between Julia and Livia quickly end. While the man and Julia talked, I must admit my mind wandered. My gaze is roaming over the shirt and pants, checking for the positions nearest crucial places. Would those be her favourites? When the dance instructor lashed out a fist at Julia, it startled my focus from my clothes, and I heard Livia whisper to me. ¡°I want to cheer for them both!¡± The whisper made her excitement clear, and I wondered what fate my path had crossed. She doesn¡¯t look or sound Norse. Why is she cheering about a fight? ¡°How do you know Julia?¡± I said, keeping my words soft, not wanting to annoy either fighter. ¡°Hush, I''m trying to watch their techniques. She saved me. Silly, weren¡¯t you listening when I told Master Farhad.¡± ¡°Why did you believe she was a dream?¡± ¡°I was dead. I followed Julia around while she killed the Slavers and rescued the villagers from the town where my old master got caught. Then she brought me here to get raised,¡± How does a child follow when dead? Is this little one mad? ¡°Julia brought you here,¡± said I, managing at the last moment to change the words. ¡°Yeah, she got all upset trying to talk High Justice Verdandi into raising me,¡± ¡°She raised you from the dead at Julia''s request?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. I¡¯ve lived here since then, and the others asked Master Farhad to teach me,¡± THE High Justice Verdandi raised a child from the dead at the request of a Succubus? ¡°The others,¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t need to know. Thank you very much,¡± The complete door slammed in the face treatment. By what, a nine-year-old? Ten? ¡°Who is this asking you all the questions?¡± asked a hulking warrior. As he loomed close, a glance showed the symbol of Tyr upon his garb in several places. ¡°Torm, this is Moke. I¡¯m not sure who he is besides someone Julia likely rescued from trouble,¡± said Livia. ¡°How do you know I didn¡¯t rescue her?¡± ¡°I know Julia. She¡¯d bone you like a chicken if you were bad. For you to be here with her, you were likely in a lot of trouble. Especially considering why she couldn¡¯t stay last time, she likely brought you from her home. You look all shiny and healed, with a..,¡± ¡°Livia,¡± said Torm, the word kind but firm, and the child shut her mouth mid-word, ¡°we don¡¯t know Moke do we.¡± ¡°Sorry Torm.¡± ¡°You¡¯re all excited about her return, I know. I wish you had told me about V¨ªearr''s words while she was still here. How do you know Julia?¡± Torm asked as the fighter¡¯s gaze locked on me, like an eagle on its prey. ¡°My dear wife and I,¡± ¡°Wife?¡± asked Torm, the word carrying more heat than warmth, as his gaze seemed to burn in the morning light. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re just on the honeymoon thing you Norse do. Julia gave me this wonderful present of all the positions she¡¯s dying to try out,¡± Julia isn¡¯t the only one that doesn¡¯t like jokes about marriage, and she changes names more often than I do. ¡°He didn¡¯t even know what the skeletons were,¡± Livia said, interrupting me with highly accurate and unhelpful information. ¡°Yes, but now I know I¡¯m sure she wants to try this one,¡± I say, ignoring the look of fire from Torm. With the emblem of Tyr on him, I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯m safe. So I point to a lady skeleton with her legs spread out in a wide V shape near my waist. ¡°It really would take full advantage of that flexibility she just showed. Her leg went straight up. Doesn¡¯t that hurt a woman as well?¡± I asked. ¡°Master Farhad can do that as well. You should tell the truth,¡± ¡°How do you know I¡¯m not? We¡¯ve travelled so far all alone together. She¡¯s even stripped me down to the skin. The warmth of her is such a delight. The heat of her around a man would inspire songs,¡± ¡°Moke, if you¡¯ve compelled her to do anything. I will see you impaled,¡± said Torm. The anger is lacing through his voice, making my eyes widen. She''s subverted a guard of Tyr. ¡°Don¡¯t the Norse normally go for the chop style executions,¡± asked my mouth before I can gag it. ¡°I¡¯ll ask for an exception. Do you warrant an execution?¡± The question from this guard is fair a growl, the words resonate ominous and low. ¡°I don¡¯t believe so.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t kill him yet Uncle Torm. Julia brought him all this way. If he¡¯s done something wrong, she¡¯ll at least want to watch,¡± said Livia. YET! ¡°I¡¯ve not compelled her at all. I offered her employment, a chance to travel,¡± ¡°I know much about Julia if you brought her here and compelled her. I¡¯ll see you dead,¡± ¡°No, I''m not into compulsion. I''m a famous Bard. Actually, the truth be told Julia is the one who hired me. Most recently, to collect information on the foulest of black hearts. I¡¯m a key resource to her plan. Not that I needed much convincing. She rescued me from a dire plight indeed.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s here now?¡± Torm asked. ¡°Anyway, didn¡¯t you say before you were telling the truth? Why should we believe you now?¡± Livia asked, not taking her gaze from the fighting. The sound of bone breaking alone making my arm ache. Yet Julia doesn¡¯t even flinch but gives ground through the trees, defending till she can use it again. He can break the bones of a Demon with his bare hands. Who is this fellow? Does he want a song or five composed? ¡°She suggested coming here. I needed out of where I was, and Julia offered, well insisted she could help. No, I didn¡¯t say I was telling the truth. I clearly remember asking, ¡®How do you know I¡¯m not?¡¯ That was a question, not a statement. I¡¯ve not heard of Master Farhad,¡± ¡°So you were lying before. Why should we trust you now?¡± asked Torm, his tone a raging fire. Crud, who is this fellow? ¡°Captain Torm. He came in with her. If he¡¯s causing trouble, should we take them both into custody?¡± a town guardsman asked, taking his eyes from the fighting to glare my way. I really should be careful about what questions I ask. Lady Bast, if that was by your prompting to let me know how much trouble I was in here. I can only offer my most humble thanks. Though was I distracting him? By Bast. How does she kick so high? I know that¡¯s her skin. Couldn¡¯t she wear something less concealing? Still, it¡¯s so tight on her cause, well, it¡¯s her skin. She was up against me, darn it. I should have gone for the hug she seemed unsure of giving. ¡°No, it''s alright, I¡¯ll monitor him. Though a Bard with a fast mouth should sing true.¡± ¡°I sing excellent songs. Would you like to hear some? Or a poem? But I¡¯ve not heard of this Master Farhad,¡± ¡°That¡¯s ''cause you¡¯re likely an idiot,¡± Livia said, her statement so matter of fact, I feel on the receiving end of the punch Julia just blocked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°He¡¯s famous. You¡¯re just too blind or stupid to see who he is,¡± said Livia. ¡°You insulted her Master and lied about your involvement with Julia. I think you¡¯re in deep trouble with Livia,¡± said Torm, his tone grimly amused. At least it didn¡¯t sound like he was going to call for a stake now. ¡°Is there a song about him?¡± I asked, desperate to distract. ¡°He is in dozens of them,¡± said Livia, her tone as crisp as a knife whisking across a whetstone. ¡°Oh, I just don¡¯t recognise the name.¡± ¡°Older songs and poems,¡± said Torm ¡°He¡¯s trying to change the subject. We shouldn¡¯t let him off easy for false witness and I¡¯ve been keeping count.¡± Livia said. ¡°What have you been keeping count of?¡± Torm asked, looking at me with suspicion. ¡°Indecent things he¡¯s said,¡± Land me in trouble, with every word true, you cunning little girl. ¡°How many have you said, Bard?¡± ¡°She¡¯s only counting because Julia was, I¡¯m sure, joking with me, and asked her to,¡± ¡°How many?¡± asked Torm, continuing the pursuit. ¡°Since when? Can I just close my mouth and watch the fight, dance or whatever this is?¡± ¡°They¡¯re getting to know each other. How dumb are you? Weren¡¯t you listening?¡± Livia asked, her sharp words feeling like slaps. I obviously didn¡¯t rate the happiness Julia had received. This child is harsh; I feel wounded by her tone alone. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Can you?¡± asked Torm, his lips twitching as if uncertain if he should agree with Livia, but opted to slap me verbally. With a smile, I just shrug and watch the frantic activity among the trees. However, I feel if I asked Julia to raise her leg high for me. My head might match the stone she just broke. These folks are harsh. I think I was in less danger at The Hollow. How can a Succubus inspire such loyalty? They¡¯re not all charmed, are they? ¡°She¡¯s naked,¡± I said, the words coming in a dreamy whisper. Though considering the tight contours of leather she wore, it wasn¡¯t a stretch for my imagination. The fight has already drawn on far longer than I had expected; the shadows moved by a bell or more. Yet my pleasant thoughts faced interruption via a massive hand suddenly resting firmly on my shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t think you could keep it closed,¡± said Torm. ¡°Oops.¡± After a time spent enduring its weight, it relieved me when a familiar stern-faced woman slipped up beside him. Even as she spoke, he withdrew his hand. "Surely you can support the weight of your own arm, Torm. Or has this stranger become such a close friend you wish to hug?" "Moke this is High Justice Verdandi. While Moke arrived with Julia, he is very free with his words," declared Torm, with such a hurtful judgemental tone. "So you sought to provide him with a weight to hold his mouth shut? Moke. I believe I heard you recount the poem of Grendel for the Jarl when he visited Thebes four summers past," stated Verdandi, her gaze assessing us both. "I had thought your face familiar High Justice, but they did not introduce me to the steel flower in amongst the men. From memory that was Jarl ¨®blauer." "Fine memory you have for names Moke. Why are you here with Julia?" Verdandi asked, having just raised an eyebrow at my words. "We''ve things to speak to you about High Justice. Though while fortunately not as many as I feared, the ones left are dire." "I have time now," Verdandi said, before turning towards the pair still fighting with fresh vigour despite the bells spent, "but it doesn''t look like their play is slowing." With quick strides through the crowd that had grown around us, Verdandi moved and her voice rang out. ¡°Master Farhad, I wish to speak to my guest.¡± She claims a Demoness as a guest. How could Julia have corrupted this centuries-old Priestess? 62 - Chained to the rhythm They had kept the conversation at dinner casual, but when they moved to the sitting room, it immediately turned serious. ¡°While we''re venturing to see the Grotto. Will you be returning to the Pyramid?¡± Yngvarr asked. ¡°That is my intention, but I¡¯ve still some preparation to complete,¡± said Julia. ¡°What do you still need?¡± ¡°The Dwarven liquid, also lots of fine flour or pollen. I also need to gain Affinity with Air, if you can help, and finish learning at least one of the message spells.¡± "I have an affinity with Air, but do you expect to gain it easily?¡± Yngvarr asked. "So far, I¡¯ve gained eleven affinities. The first took the longest, Spatial I learnt in moments." ¡°I believe I understand the use for the liquid, given the numbers you¡¯re facing. Are you planning a fire barrier to control their advance?¡± Yngvarr asked. ¡°No, I¡¯ve got other intentions in mind for it. Any ideas about getting a sizeable amount of flammable powder like finely ground flour?¡± ¡°It''s winter, so I doubt many will part with it. Why do you need it?" ¡°In my previous existence, when you had clouds of flour or some other materials, it could explode. Though it needs testing first before we spend lots of effort on it,¡± said Julia. ¡°Is that why the powdered rock stirred your memory?¡± Alfarr asked. ¡°Yes. It wasn¡¯t a concern in my job, but I¡¯d learnt about it. Some powdered metals will also explode when ignited in the right way.¡± ¡°Why do you need Air Affinity?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°If I just drop bags of material, it won''t disperse enough to explode. I need to create clouds, so I thought I would use a spell with Air Affinity to spread it around. Though I don¡¯t know the Abyss¡¯ air will even support that idea. I can¡¯t tell if the air is good since I don¡¯t need to breathe anymore. Moke could survive parts of Tern¨°x, so I hope it will work.¡± ¡°Air is air,¡± said Alfarr, shrugging as he leaned forward in his seat, the mention of things exploding hooking his attention. ¡°No, it''s more complex. The air you breathe comprises materials invisible to your sight. That¡¯s supposing the air you have here actually matches what I¡¯m used to. I need to check that as well." ¡°How can you tell?¡± Yngvarr asked. ¡°We¡¯ll need to run a small test here and determine a detection spell. Otherwise, it will just waste resources. Or a spell to transform foul air into good. Also, I¡¯ll need to make deliveries to the Treasury before she gets curious.¡± said Julia, pausing as Yngvarr gestured to still her. ¡°You don¡¯t just think on simple paths,¡± said Yngvarr. ¡°Too much going on in my brain,¡± Julia said with a shrug. High school chemistry. How do I explain elements and compounds? I hope this idea will work; I care more about fucking up Set''s plans than getting experience. Bad Adventurer J. Ohh ¡°Yngvarr, would you let me use Telepathy on you?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°While I know various things we could use, teaching them would require time, equipment and even shared words we don¡¯t have. I can show you memories, share my understanding. Then you can work on figuring out meshing them with magic. Though promise me not to tell anyone about some of what I show you,¡± ¡°Dare I ask?¡± ¡°Spells are bad enough you''ve no need for weapons of mass destruction,¡± ¡°What are those? Though the term alone sounds ominous,¡± ¡°Ways that were developed to destroy places far larger than Eyrarh¨¢ls in seconds,¡± ¡°Since others can¡¯t read your mind, perhaps you should keep this information to yourself.¡± ¡°I could just give you the basic science to explain the parts of air. Then we can figure out a spell to determine foul air from good. If it is a thing here, it will help miners if no one else,¡± After a moment, Yngvarr removed an amulet and quickly tucked it away. ¡°Very well, I must admit I am curious,¡± {{I could help. If you give me one thing. }} What? {{Learn to pole dance and dance at The Hollow once. Agile plus dancing, we could make eyes pop out for real. }} Agile might do that on its own. {{So you¡¯ll find a pole somewhere and try it out? I can retrieve the science memories for you. }} I¡¯m so going to regret this aren¡¯t I.? Very well agreed. In an outfit. {{I cannot stand the way you tease }} Tainted Love? Really? ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s see how you like science, Yngvarr,¡± said Julia. As soon as their minds touched, Julia got a sense of lightning-fast thoughts and perceptions. As with his lab, even on the surface of his thoughts, everything had a place. It felt like listening to crystal chimes singing in a breeze with the warmth of reflected sunlight. The moment Telepathy touched against his awareness, it reacted to its presence. I¡¯ll start with the basics. Sorry for the high school girl perception of things. {{Two dances and I¡¯ll help with recalling other education as well }} #I heard that voice. She sounds like you in my mind. If I have trouble following, we can determine what other pieces of your knowledge it requires. Dances?# Please don¡¯t ask. Okay, Yngvarr, you¡¯re about to be schooled, old boy, English and our maths first. {{Hey cutie, do you swing both ways? Virgin girl here needs to get laid. She enjoyed following behind you, let me tell you. }} {{Yummie looking bum you have in breaches. I wasn¡¯t complaining either. A prime rump there Elfie. }} B! Stop over-sharing. Time to move along. It didn¡¯t help Julia¡¯s discomfort that she could sense the amusement from Yngvarr.
Alfarr retired that evening long before Yngvarr was ready to call it a night. The only breaks either took in bells of shared learning were to refresh. While Yngvarr¡¯s mind continued to drink in information, it was Julia who required refreshing. The knowledge shared between them with the speed of swift dreams had strained her capabilities. ¡°I¡¯m the Demon here, and you¡¯re wearing me out Yngvarr,¡± Julia said, watching Yngvarr consider a lit candle. {{Not in a good way. }} ¡°You were only Human before, so it¡¯s understandable,¡± Thanks! I think. The candle''s flame gutters and a moment later snuffed out while Julia watched the tiny spell barrier around it. ¡°So after it consumes the oxygen, the flame¡¯s chemical reaction can¡¯t continue,¡± Yngvarr said, his English clear but musically accented. ¡°There were minuscule amounts of material that surrounded the burning flames, but it''s gone now. But matching material is still present within the room¡¯s air. That I believe is the oxygen to the detection magics,¡± ¡°Are you making spells up on the fly?¡± ¡°Not at all. I have detection spells for various metals. It requires an understanding of them to determine if any are nearby. I found when I use them with air affinity, it lets me perceive the air¡¯s makeup. Though I had needed your suggestion and the understanding your science gave me to sense them,¡± explained Yngvarr. ¡°So it works.¡± ¡°Yes, on both fronts. I see why you believe this knowledge is so dangerous,¡± Yngvarr admitted, a slight grimace making Julia''s nerves twitch. Julia gave a slight frown at the sudden sense of nerves from him, wondering what she was missing. ¡°I¡¯ve not got to that level of science.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to. I can see how this understanding of elements combined with magic is truly dangerous. Once I design the spell forms for detecting breathable air. I might have to remove the knowledge from my mind.¡± "My Telepathy got strained by that; It kept levelling up." "So you challenged yourself for hours and progressed?" ¡°It seems to be the way it works for me, if I''m just doing the same stuff repeatedly, the increase slows or stops," {{Push it real good. Did that do it for you? }} ¡°I was wrong about your other you. At first, she sounded very similar to you, just raw," stated Yngvarr, pausing momentarily. "After a while, her interjections quickly became quite distinctive.¡± ¡°That she is. Now my brain''s playing songs I prefer to forget,¡± quipped Julia. ¡°Moke asked why you reacted badly to him, pretending he was your husband. I take it the boy sharing the workbench during your science classes was the cause?¡± "You, Alfarr and Torm all seem to be pals with Moke," probed Julia, not sure about the sudden subject change. "Not pals, but we''ve spoken to him at the Silver Chalice. It seems Torm is no longer ready to strangle him, or at least not presently," Yngvarr conceded. What the fuck did he say to Livia? If he said something to upset her, I''m going to hurt him. Deal or not. ¡°However he hassled Livia I''ll smack him for it if no one else will,¡± {{Pin him down, I''m sure he''ll enjoy it. }} ¡°Not exactly Torm''s issue. So the boy?" Julia pointed a finger at her temple in a gesture Yngvarr easily interrupted. "Sorry, you got dragged through my baggage." Nope, not talking about him. This isn''t a drunken girl''s night to bitch about an ex. "You filtered most of it out, but I caught enough to put pieces together,¡± conceded Yngvarr. ¡°Did you need sleep yet?¡± asked Julia, voice tight and not caring about the blatant subject change. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ll get some rest, then start on the spell forms,¡± Yngvarr said, nodding politely in thanks and perhaps an apology. [Sense Motive [Ap] (18->19)] Yeah, you finally got it. Thanks, move along. ¡°I¡¯ll spend some time getting a message spell working tomorrow. I understand parts of it, but I can¡¯t get all the pieces in place before it collapses,¡± stated Julia. Yngvarr gave an approving nod. ¡°If you are still having issues, we¡¯ll work on it together.¡± ¡°Thanks. Rest well.¡± ¡°Also, I have an option for your powder. We can try that as well,¡± offered Yngvarr. Julia just nodded and left the spell chamber used for the experimentation. You emphasised him being there intentionally. {{But J, you got what you asked for. Didn¡¯t you?}} When Julia got out into the courtyard, she knelt near the animated practice dummy that Alfarr had been using yesterday. The enchantment''s mana was deep within its metal sections. B''s grumbled before Harmony activated and Julia flipped it a mental finger. With peace bathing the wound¡¯s edge, its rawness and depth became clear; drawing consideration of how much its presence had affected past decisions. I¡¯ve other things to do now. {{Sure you¡¯re not still running?}} With Harmony washing throughout, Julia ignored B, and let herself open to the metal pieces and the energy running through them. Even when the Metal affinity notification brushed across her awareness, yet meditation continued to drink in the stillness of the cool night air. It was only when the dawn threatened did Julia rise and turning towards the courtyard''s gate released Harmony. Only to be startled by an Elven figure standing silently in the gate¡¯s shadows. ¡°My apologies for not announcing myself. I didn¡¯t want to disturb your contemplations,¡± The figure¡¯s voice was as musical as his Elven appearance led her to expect, but she didn¡¯t recognise them from any previous meeting. Clenched fists raised in reflex lowered only slightly at its explanation, Julia stayed ready to attack. ¡°I¡¯m Julia. Are you looking for Yngvarr?¡± Julia asked, even while wondering how he''d gotten in through Yngvarr¡¯s wards. ¡°I know who you are, I¡¯ve met with Yngvarr a few times recently, but I came to see you,¡± the male elf said, moving forward with a flowing grace that set Yngvarr to shame. ¡°Nice to meet you then,¡± said Julia, her words as polite as her tone was cautious. ¡°My apologies, it seems I¡¯m not handling this well. I thanked you for my rescue but never introduced myself in the spell chamber. Please call me Rana,¡± At his words, Julia relaxed fully and gave him a smile that lit her eyes. The Lj¨®s¨¢lfar? He moves more normally in mortal form, but still with so much grace. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to put a name to one of your faces. How are you feeling now?¡± Julia asked as he moved into the arc of the yard''s crystal lights. In appearance, he seemed to be a wood Elf, a hand span taller than Yngvarr¡¯s height. His caramel skin looked accented with dustings of mint green. Eyes, a rich amber, gleamed from the fine lines of flawless Elven features. His dark red hair the colour of autumn leaves was pulled back in a way that provided Julia with no reference for its length. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. {{More eye candy! }} ¡°Time in the Lady¡¯s court has seen to my full recovery. I should give apologies for the stealth of my approach. I find since those events, I take far greater care to assess things. ¡± ¡°I''m glad to hear it, and the caution is understandable. What can I help you with?¡± ¡°You looked ready to go somewhere, We can talk afterwards if you¡¯d prefer. Though I will accompany you if that is acceptable. First, I would present you with a gift from my Lady,¡± said Rana. With a bow, he stopped and presented a compact bundle wrapped within a large leaf. Julia risked Soul Sight as she stepped forward and found her mind managing with ease the impact of the Celestial¡¯s raw beauty. It had been worth the risk to see his now unmarred beauty overlaying the mortal one he currently wore. Guess I don''t need to worry about Torm so much. But one doesn''t prove all true. ¡°That¡¯s very kind of her, but really unnecessary,¡± ¡°It is something to assist those who follow you,¡± said Rana. The simple words making Julia pause, and Rana raised an eyebrow, ¡°it seems I have a third apology to make for startling you. A sigil appeared on the Titan¡¯s wall, and finding it referred to yourself, the Lady decided this might be a suitable gift,¡± The Titan''s wall? With careful movements, Julia untied the tendril-like vines that bound the leaf closed. Within was a dark wooden pendant, sized, so it easily nestled within the hollow of her palm. Some of the inner grains gleamed like rich amber to outline a symbol she¡¯d only imagined during a break earlier that night. Its rim looked like a branch¡¯s outer edge, with enough excess left to shape a loop for securing a cord. The outline of the candle and chain links formed by the amber drew her fingers to trace the pattern. ¡°The forest holds places of darkness and light. Life grows as it will. My Lady says while it doesn''t threaten the forest, your faith will always be welcome within. Her ladyship enchanted this disc so it will grow symbols for your followers since providing them with proper symbols might be a challenge,¡± ¡°I had planned on talking to a Priestess today. Since the only silversmith I¡¯ve met isn¡¯t available, I thought to locate another finesmith.¡± Because I killed the rabid animal. {{Should have taken his Soul too. }} ¡°If you¡¯re open to my Lady¡¯s offer, you need but focus on the disc. If you are acceptable to the relic, it will link to you. Then I will teach you and your Priestess the use of its enchantments. Also, how to gain strength so your followers may assist you better if you''d permit,¡± ¡°You¡¯d teach them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be staying in Eyrarh¨¢ls a time, to teach and protect them, while they find their feet however much you allow,¡± ¡°I thought such a stay required a Priest to summon you and had restrictions on it. Like Torm¡¯s service here to Verdandi,¡± ¡°A Priest summoned me at the Lady¡¯s behest, and sent me forth to assist one who has aided the Lady¡¯s Court,¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not helping your own Lady¡¯s faithful,¡± ¡°Your tenets are your own to determine, and I can¡¯t assist there. However, there are general skills I can teach them that will aid their work. The Lady approves of your actions, even those that involved those that died within the trees,¡± ¡°Oh,¡± {{We did outstanding work. Lots of fertiliser for the trees. Now to find baby Groot.}} Okay. Acceptable? Why do I think it¡¯s a test? It only took a moment¡¯s concentration for Julia to feel the connection. [Bond gained with Relic: The Blackened Woods Relic added to your faith. Your faithful¡¯s standing with the Elven Pantheon has changed to Favoured. Your new standing has increased your direct favour with Tyr. (Currently Favoured) Your faithful¡¯s standing with Tyr is currently Hopeful. Your faithful¡¯s standing with the Norse Pantheon overall is cautious. (Lowest standing Suspicious held by Loki) Priests equipped with symbols grown from the Relic will receive bonuses while casting in the wilderness. Additional bonuses will apply depending on their proximity to Elven Lands as long as the favoured state persists.] Julia could only sigh and let a natural breath move through her lungs as the sense of a previously unnoticed pressure within her eased. {{Puny God! }} B! {{What?}} ¡°I¡¯m honoured. Would you like to come along?¡± Julia asked, setting B¡¯s prodding aside. ¡°Indeed, I will,¡± said Rana, moving to open the side gate for Julia. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you to Eivor and the others afterwards,¡± {{Get him to walk in front. He has tight breeches on! }} ¡°Can you tell me more about the Elven people and their history?¡± Julia asked, wondering what Eivor would make of their advisor. ¡°It would be my pleasure,¡± said Rana, holding the gate for her before moving to walk alongside. The Dawn''s Alert notification came as Julia entered the Temple square. With her focus on Eivor¡¯s bond, Julia let the Ki wash more of her priestess pain and anger towards Julia. {{Stop rubbing someone else¡¯s shit. Hug Livia. Must have a hug. Now! }} {{Or fondle Rana. High Elven the word Rana means wanderer could let your hands wander on them.}} V, you¡¯ve been quiet. ((You know when B is speaking to you now. So she can no longer interfere without your notice.)) ((It seems I have choices of my own I will need to make.))
Eivor looked at the disc with wide eyes as it doubled in thickness, and the upper section of wood separated by itself. The new disc appeared to be the same dark wood, with the wood whirls forming the chain¡¯s links seemed amber. Unlike the relic itself, the candle''s lines appeared coloured as pure gold, its flame was a bright azure shape standing out dramatically from the grain. The links of the chain having formed a loop around the candle¡¯s base. ¡°May I ask why the chain and its broken links in your symbol?¡± Eivor asked. ¡°Life can bind people. Whether it''s a curse or a situation, like the slaves or prisoners I rescued. Sometimes people need to be shown the way out, other times they need a hand up,¡± ¡°So we should also provide hope to those forced into Slavery. Should we still respect the law for those whose decisions put them in debt?¡± ¡°I think all the human kingdoms have some type of such servitude,¡± said Rana. ¡°So what? If the kingdoms have options for it now, we¡¯ll just work till they''re changed. People should have a way to get free, even if it''s a legitimate way to pay back a debt. That feeling like your life has become cursed isn¡¯t just magical, as you know, Eivor. Someone threatening honest people is to be opposed. Peaceful solutions are fine, but if the other side won¡¯t play nice, neither will we. We won¡¯t restrict ourselves to rules the bad guys are free to ignore at will. I¡¯d rather fight dirty than risk harm to an innocent,¡± ¡°So we give people hope of freedom, from oppression and curses?¡± Eivor asked. ¡°Yes, just like he oppressed Sagga with fear,¡± Eivor''s gaze grew steely, but there wasn¡¯t the same hurt and rage Julia had seen previously in her eyes. ¡°Indeed! Thank you, Rana, for agreeing to assist us,¡± Eivor said, nodding to her surprise morning guest. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Eivor. I¡¯ll be glad to work with all the Priestesses to help them grow stronger. Though to me, Eakc?, your symbol has more meaning, especially given what you just said,¡± ¡°What do you mean, Master Rana?¡± asked Eivor, her question only just beating Julia¡¯s own. Rana¡¯s fingers traced over the symbol now resting on the table as he spoke. ¡°For me, the dark wood represents the world of the younger races. It can be a dark and isolating place where one struggles for freedom¡¯s peace. Unbroken links of chains show all the traps and forces seeking to compel and bind. While the chain''s breaks show your Lady''s desire to set free those trapped, giving them a chance to find true wealth in the spirit of hope. That spirit of hope is the genuine gold of the candle, and its jewel-like flame,¡± ¡°Is that a gift of yours, Master Rana, seeing meaning in symbols?¡± Eivor asked, looking at the disc with eyes that shone with unshed tears. I hadn¡¯t thought of putting it that way. ¡°In the forest, one learns to look beyond the first leaf. The value of anyone shows in what they¡¯ll do for others, not purely for themselves. Dark powers attract those interested in their own gains, so their faithful just get bitter leavings. True Gods of Light look for all within them to gain strength, their allies and faithful. The Elven and I believe Dwarven pantheons would wish all those that deemed themselves, Gods of Light, to be True,¡± True Gods of Light. Some judgement between the pantheons? Wonder if the surviving Greek Gods are as bad as the stories in my world. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll be around to guide us. I had worried about serving my Lady Eakc? properly,¡± Eivor said. The reverberation effect of Eivor addressing her with that title bounced inside Julia. ¡°I¡¯m glad to help Lady Eakc? and yourself. Now that you¡¯ve seen her use the relic, would you like to do so?¡± asked Rana before politely taking another unneeded sip. Not you as well, Rana. ¡°Is that alright?¡± asked Eivor, looking between relic and Julia. ¡°There are other Priestesses that require symbols of faith; though others might wish them as well. So you''ll need to get used to using the relic to grow them,¡± Julia said, holding the disk to Eivor, ¡°I trust you and Rana will keep it safe.¡± ¡°Of course, my Lady. Though perhaps Rana should hold on to it once done,¡± Eivor replied. Now to find someone that will give me helping your faithful 101-course work. {{Get them to approach life mathematically. Lots of good square roots. }} ¡°I¡¯ll help you guard it, and the freedom your Lady and mine both treasure,¡± Rana said, giving a nod of acknowledgement to Eivor¡¯s words. ¡°Don¡¯t forget payback against those that hurt others who don¡¯t deserve it. I¡¯m working on some payback Rana that applies to yourself as well. I found who organised that altar and likely the trap,¡± Julia said and shared a hard smile. ¡°Please, let me know when there is a hunt called,¡± said Rana, touching fingertips lightly against her wrist. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can organise some fun for you to join on,¡± Julia said, trying to ignore the energy in the contact she¡¯d felt. {{Oh Baby Yeah!}} B! {{J!!!!!! }} ¡°Eivor, because of the attention such goals will attract in the short term. We will need to ensure all faithful are discrete in their use of Eakc?¡¯s name,¡± Rana said. Eivor looked up at his words and, giving a nod of conviction, returned her attention to the relic. As she did so, the dark wood drank in the room''s light and the symbol in its middle shone.
¡°We both walked through the township, and yet I was the one who drew more looks. Though I believe everyone should have been looking at you,¡± Julia said, gesturing at Rana as Yngvarr¡¯s front door closed. ¡°Humans expect Elves to be beautiful, though it is not always the case. The inhabitants have seen Yridhrendaer about for decades, so another Elf isn¡¯t surprising,¡± Rana said. ¡°Who now?¡± asked Julia, interrupting. ¡°Yridhrendaer, this is his house. Did you not know his name?¡± ¡°Yngvarr¡¯s name is actually Yridhrendaer. No wonder he said Yngvarr is what the Norse call him. His name is a mouthful,¡± Julia said, bemused by the discovery. {{He might be more than that. }} Gosh, you went there? {{Gosh! What no fuck?}} None for you either. ¡°Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have told you?¡± ¡°Everyone else calls him Yngvarr as well. Is Rana an easier form of your name or just something to use?¡± Julia asked, storing her cloak away. ¡°It¡¯s a much easier form, yet it is indeed a piece of my name. But Yngvarr has no relation to his actual name,¡± ¡°Sometimes what we call ourselves can become real. Just look at Lady Eakc?,¡± ¡°Yes, very true. That is how Eivor knows you, and it doesn¡¯t connect to your previous existence. It will be safer if that is the name that spreads, I would still advise your followers to be subtle about using it," ¡°Great. Why?¡± ¡°You are in a dangerous position. A Lady of power normally is resistant to summons by their ''Use'' name. However, you are not yet within that tier of power,¡± Great. More things to stress me out. "I keep finding myself in dangerous positions," ¡°At present, your power isn¡¯t tied directly to your followers. Also, their power isn''t linked to purely channelling your provided blessings. While they won''t have as much power as some Priests, it offsets the risks somewhat,¡± So Gods are tied to their followers? Sounds like I can weaken Set. ((Those that do not serve the Titan directly have their limits set by such.)) ((That I can confirm now that the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar has informed you.)) So you can confirm what I learn elsewhere? V? Julia pressed her palms against her eyes for a moment, before she gave up waiting for an answer. ¡°Why did the Elves all react as if my Soul¡¯s colour is important?¡± Julia asked as she felt B mentally flipping the bird at her other guest. ¡°I wondered if you would ask. Who have you spoken to about it?¡± asked Rana, his tone politely curious. ¡°Just Torm. The Elves here for the meeting acted as if it answered everything and didn¡¯t explain,¡± said Julia, grimacing at her continued frustration. ¡°Perhaps we should find somewhere to talk, aside from the front hall. This will take some explaining and further history beyond what the others shared the night we met,¡± Rana said, gesturing towards the sitting room. Julia just opted to sit on the first small couch within the room, surprised when Rana sat down beside her. Their legs almost bumping when she¡¯d turned towards the other seats arrayed within the room. Okay? {{Sit in his lap. This couch is cozy for two. Though I''m fine if you want to squeeze around him. }} ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Should I have sat further away?¡± asked Rana, their gaze taking in her surprise. ¡°Lots of seats, but it''s your choice where you sit,¡± Julia said, moving her legs to avoid tangling him up. Rana smiled and sat down next to her. {{Just like a bus seat. The wheels on the bus go up and down. Up and down. }} ¡°The Anar, or Sun and L¨®m? the Night Elves, are truly unique. Their Souls do not progress across lifetimes the same as others. Normally Souls condense the lessons learnt into a seed, the Anar and L¨®m? keep the memories whole. Their Adulthood''s rite awoke the memories in each new life. Much as the enlightened Souls among Humans, but unlike them, their Souls never lose the memories.¡± Like what B was saying. {{See. I know stuff. }} You say you do. ¡°How can I turn someone¡¯s Soul enlightened?¡± ¡°You did not turn Livia¡¯s Soul enlightened. The Ki did that, and it drew knowledge of her past lives back to her,¡± ¡°So go easy on sending Ki to others,¡± Julia said, wondering what impact she¡¯d had on Eivor already. ¡°Yes. I can tell you have used Ki on Eivor¡¯s Soul but to a far lesser extent. She will live longer now, but her Soul hasn¡¯t become enlightened. I noticed that when I saw her, have you done so with others?¡± ¡°One, besides Moke. To heal them and since I need to exchange energy to stay on this plane,¡± ¡°I will check on them later. You¡¯ve been exchanging Ki instead of darkening any Souls?¡± ¡°I wouldn''t stay beyond the bare essentials if that was needed. I was so worried about doing that,¡± ¡°When the last of the Anar race fell, there was none left to allow their Souls to go through rebirth and awaken their pasts. So the Titan freed them to wander and find their peace in other existences. We believed it the same with the L¨®m? that died. Now we know otherwise. While the Elven pantheon knew of Baln¨¦rith, having corrupted some of them into her service, they were unaware of the others. Neither Anar nor L¨®m? followed the Elven pantheon; instead, they served the Titan directly. The children similar to themselves who they Sang into existence possess only silver Souls. The Titan allowed the Elven pantheon sanctuary in this existence to tend to these younger Souls.¡± ¡°For whatever reason he had?¡± ¡°The Titan doesn¡¯t provide reasons. He just provides his rules; to my knowledge, he rarely changes them. Though he leaves each Pantheon to govern themselves and their members. His rules have had some unexpected consequences for some of them,¡± ¡°Like two Greek gods?¡± ¡°Their demise followed quick on the heels of the last, and only actual change made while I¡¯ve been serving the Lady. Odin, Mars, and Ra quickly used the change to end them,¡± ¡°I was only told about the involvement of Odin and Mars in their destruction,¡± ¡°The tip of the spear is not the whole weapon. From the tales in my Lady¡¯s court, Ra helped orchestrate the forces behind their deaths,¡± Everyone has just parts of any story. The Titan changes a rule, and two Greek Gods die? Is this a sanctuary or a trap? ¡°How many years have you existed?¡± Julia asked, wanting to change the subject. ¡°I¡¯ve served the Lady for only six hundred eons,¡± admitted Rana. That¡¯s a bloody big ¡®only¡¯. Six hundred thousand years in the local lingo, well at least it isn''t six billion. {{Older man, well Celestial Elfie, but still you go girl. }} ¡°How were you caught then?¡± ¡°Carelessness can trip any being. Celestials and other planar beings do not grow in power as fast as mortals. We start with Power depending on how we come about. Then over time and in our role, we gain more, either relatively quickly or extremely slowly. Within the Lady¡¯s realm, my role was mostly peaceful.¡± ¡°So no challenges to overcome?¡± ¡°Indeed, so though I have grown, my growth wasn¡¯t as extensive as others I have known with different roles. Till recently, I¡¯ve spent most of my existence tending and guiding the Souls in her groves. You have grown quickly indeed in comparison. It made me wish to challenge myself more, especially after what had occurred. I would say it''s the Mortal perspective you still possess. Do you desire more knowledge of the Anar and L¨®m??¡± ¡°I do. I¡¯m just sorry you got caught by them,¡± ¡°You had no involvement in my capture and aided my rescue. Since it brought your situation to the attention of those that can help you. I consider it a small price,¡± Yikes. Considers being tortured like that a small price. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a small price,¡± said Julia, shaking the thoughts and memory away. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a comfortable price, but not a burdensome one. Growth and change can be uncomfortable things. It is perhaps what I needed to spur me into greater change. Too long in gentle repose aids the growth of few mortal or immortal alike. I possess more focus now than for eons,¡± declared Rana. ¡°Focus. What does this mean then?¡± Julia asked. After a moment of manipulating her energies, a golden light shone from her hand. ¡°The crystals in the grotto allow the Song to be heard by mortal ears. The High Singer¡¯s gem allowed yours to be heard by the Elves,¡± explained Rana, ¡°I can¡¯t hear any Song though,¡± Julia observed, her nose scrunching up as she considered how discordant it must sound. ¡°How would you hear what your Soul is already resonating in time to?¡± asked Rana. ¡°Mortal ears have not heard the Anar song from its true source in five hundred eons. Little wonder it stilled all questions.¡± Anar, so what Rana''s saying my Soul was originally a Sun Elf? If not for everything else, not sure I could believe this. Still, really? ¡°How would the Elves recognise it then?¡± Julia asked, disbelief colouring her words. {{It''s okay sweetie you were never a noble, so not a case of being told you''re Cleopatra. }} ¡°They¡¯ve never heard it directly from an Anar. However, there are objects and places that still resonate with that Song. Some relics in the Singer¡¯s towers echo with their record, so they¡¯re very familiar with the Song¡¯s core. Though each Anar¡¯s or L¨®m?¡¯s song is a harmony built around what mortal Elves mean by the Song. Have you heard the beginning of a piece of music, and mere notes in, know the song?¡± ¡°Lots of times,¡± admitted Julia. ¡°The Song brought the mortal Elves into existence. When Lastriel felt the light upon her, she felt its beauty, even if she didn''t recognise it for what it was immediately,¡± explained ¡°She still wasn¡¯t happy with me till after the High Singer¡¯s demonstration,¡± observed Julia. Rana paused thoughtfully and tilted his head in consideration. ¡°If someone was making a mockery of the exchanges between Master Farhad and yourself. How would you feel?¡± ¡°Annoyed. His technique is like nothing I¡¯ve ever seen,¡± Julia admitted, and wondered where he was going. ¡°So annoyed on his behalf, interesting. So you would understand Lastriel being annoyed on behalf of her people¡¯s Song given the circumstances?¡± enquired Rana. Chewing on her bottom lip Julia gave a nod. ¡°Yeah, okay, I can understand her feelings. With heavy boot heavy tapping at the edge of Julia''s hearing, she glanced towards the door, and a short while later Rika looked into the room. "Lady Julia, Master Rana, I didn''t hear the door open. Can I get either of you something to drink?" Rika asked, "It''s alright, sorry for disrupting your other work, Rika," said Julia, aware from Soul Sight, the girl''s correct age. The heritage of her non-human blood had made her seem an adult to others, but despite being over 190 centimetres, Jula knew she was still under fourteen. The death of her mother was clear within her Soul, as was the pain of rejection and frustration. "I was just getting some noon food ready for Lord Yngvarr. Have you already eaten or should I layout some extra?" "We''ll join him thank you Rika," said Rana, before Julia could say anything. Food at least tastes good, but hate to think I''m wasting it. "Very well. I''ll lay out food in the small dining room shortly. There will be cold meat, dried fruit, cheese and fresh bread," Rika said, before heading towards the back of the house. "Should I tell you more of the Isil lands while we wait?" Rana asked, his eyes not having left Julia. "I''d appreciate that." This sort of gratitude isn''t good. {{Maybe he wants a walk on the wild side. Pity for him you''re not Sarah. }} 63 - Feel Good Inc ¡°Really?¡± Yngvarr asked, exasperation clear in his tone when Julia signalled done. ¡°I told you it doesn¡¯t take long,¡± said Julia, giving him a shrug. ¡°That wasn¡¯t even a bell. It can take years to gain a single affinity,¡± ¡°With learning Air, I¡¯m now at twelve,¡± revealed Julia. ¡°I know some Wizards that would kill for that talent,¡± Yngvarr warned with a frown. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t suggest they¡¯d want it as part of my package deal,¡± declared Julia, gesturing dismissively. ¡°You have a valid point,¡± conceded Yngvarr, the nod he gave her apologetic. ¡°How is that detection spell form¡¯s going?¡± Julia asked, to change the subject, as she pushing to keep her own frustration at bay. Yngvarr just smiled and handed over some inscribed rune paper. ¡°You¡¯ve researched and inscribed them already?¡± asked Julia, storing them in inventory. ¡°It was just a change to an existing spell form and then inscribed with specific intent. When you activate the rune, it will tell you the air quality in a one hundred metre radius,¡± ¡°Cool, a new spell and your dimensions make sense to me. So what¡¯s next?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Show me how you are trying to cast the messenger spell you picked out. I¡¯ll see if I can determine what¡¯s going wrong.¡± ¡°I can do that," replied Julia, pleased to get help. "What idea did you have for powder?¡± ¡°A transmutation spell to change iron to magnesium or white phosphorus, though magnesium might be safer.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°Now I know what that means and how some view it, young lady,¡± scolded Yngvarr. ¡°You¡¯re far too old to be my dad,¡± Julia said, shooing him away with both hands. {{He still hasn¡¯t said if he swings both ways? He could be my sugar daddy! Just close your eyes and think of that virginity begone.}} ¡°I saw that facial twitch. What did B say?¡± ¡°Never mind. I¡¯ve let my guard down far too much,¡± said Julia. {{Spoil sport. }} ¡°Now I can guess the context. Has she set you chasing Rana?¡± {{He¡¯s paying attention to me. He loves me! See, he says we should chase Rana. Permission from your elders. }} ¡°No comment,¡± avoided Julia, quickly shaking her head. ¡°Very well, show me your casting," Yngvarr prompted. "I¡¯ll work out the transmutation later.¡± ¡°Okay, Yridhrendaer, shall I begin,¡± Julia asked Yngvarr just looked at her a moment before he shook his head. ¡°Did Alfarr or Rana tell you?¡± sighed Yngvarr. ¡°Rana spilled your secret,¡± admitted Julia, with a smile. ¡°I told you the Norse find Yngvarr easier,¡± Yngvarr reminded her. Julia just smiled at him and started shaping the spell form. ¡°Stop,¡± declared Yngvarr. Julia released the mana and locked gazes with Yngvarr. ¡°You¡¯re pulling the mana into the spell form?¡± Yngvarr asked. ¡°That¡¯s how I''ve been manipulating mana,¡± admitted Julia. ¡°It¡¯s one of the least efficient ways to handle it. Your spells will be more costly even as you get better at casting them,¡± cautioned Yngvarr. ¡°Isn¡¯t that cost because the spells hit harder?¡± asked Julia. ¡°The spells should draw the same amount of mana. Your skill should increase the damage alone. It¡¯s an issue many Wizards don¡¯t get past, and it limits them,¡± Yngvarr revealed. ¡°Wait, but you said image the spell form, and then set the mana through it,¡± Julia argued, giving him a frown. ¡°Yes, you visualise the spell form shape in your mind. Then you set the mana loose through it with the required affinity. I can see by Mana¡¯s movements you¡¯re drawing the mana through the spell forms still. The spell form is the mental walls of the construct, a vein or pipe through which the energy should flow,¡± explained Yngvarr. ¡°Yeah, I assumed with your explanation from my first stay it meant to picture the shape and draw the mana through it. So I was drawing mana within the form, I hadn''t set up pipes. I got all the other spell forms you taught me to work.¡± ¡°Those were simple ones, so your high starting skill made the difference. Very well start again,¡± Yngvarr said, rubbing his chin with his palm. ¡°You¡¯re trying not to say Fuck, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Julia, with a cheeky smile. ¡°Fuck!¡± said Yngvarr. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit." Julia proclaimed. "So my abbreviated lessons from last time set me up with bad habits?¡± {{He wants you. }} No, he doesn¡¯t. Stop it. ¡°Indeed. Try again,¡± prompted Yngvarr. ¡°When did you last have an apprentice?¡± Julia asked, curiously. ¡°Decades. Why do you ask?¡± asked Yngvarr, giving her a suspicious look. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re out of practice teaching," Julia teased, light-heartedly. "You should find one or more.¡± ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right, but I prefer teaching those with a range of Affinities,¡± Oh my. Most elitist of you Yngvarr. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that exclude most seeking an apprenticeship?¡± probed Julia, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. ¡°Fortunately, it does,¡± admitted Yngvarr. ¡°That¡¯s mean," declared Julia. "So you¡¯d make an exception if I find someone with multiple affinities.¡± ¡°You know someone?¡± Yngvarr probed, giving Julia an inquiring look. ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯ll keep an eye out. But what happens if I find multiple candidates?¡± asked Julia, an idea blooming in her mind. ¡°If you find folk you''d recommend with over two affinities, I¡¯ll find teachers for them somehow.¡± Challenge accepted. Will have to see if my idea works. When Julia put together spell form in her mind, the hours spent trying to draw the mana through the shape allowed her to visualise it quickly. Focus set on its form the moment the mana moved, it flooded through the crystal pipes she¡¯d pictured, and the energy jumped to Yngvarr. [Spatial spell form: Mercury¡¯s Whisper Learnt] ¡°Well done getting it working. But what did you mean by it?¡± Yngvarr enquired, frowning as he considered her message again. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my message?¡± huffed Julia playfully. ¡°One small step for Succubus kind. What do you mean?¡± asked a baffled Yngvarr. Could I teleport to the Moon? That would be so cool. Cold I¡¯m not immune to, so maybe not. {{Just moon people. It¡¯s easier. }} No! {{Moon a little, just a quick date. You¡¯ve regretted most of the ones you¡¯ve gone on since the dick! Wait, he counts as well. }} ¡°The message is clearly from me at least,¡± declared Julia. ¡°Practice. Cast it again,¡± prompted Yngvarr, nodding at her to get on with it. As the next spell completed, its energy simply vanished, and when Yngvarr frowned, Julia could only smile. ¡°Seems you need more practice,¡± cautioned Yngvarr. ¡°True, but you¡¯re assuming you were the spell¡¯s target,¡± Julia responded, lips twitching in amusement. ¡°Who did you send a message to?¡± Yngvarr asked suspiciously. ¡°It¡¯s a secret,¡± whispered Julia, putting a finger to her lips. This spell was designed to transfer sounds, not just carry words. I hope Moke enjoys the sound of a knife being drawn next to his ear. {{Maybe the MGM lion roaring in Dolby stereo next time.}} ¡°Lining up time with Livia?¡± probed Yngvarr, eying Julia when she shook her head. ¡°Not as yet,¡± declared Julia, when he continued to stare at her questioningly. ¡°Focus on practice and not whatever you¡¯re up to,¡± admonished Yngvarr. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Yngvarr. It was just something I needed to take care of before I forgot,¡± apologised Julia. {{Yeah, don¡¯t let a grudge die of old age. Beat it to death instead. }} Julia focused, and the energy lept to Yngvarr again. ¡°Better, keep practicing. You¡¯ll need to be proficient at it to send messages across the planes,¡± stated Yngvarr, motioning her to go again.
¡°It¡¯s your choice. You might feel nothing at all. How much do you want it?¡± asked Julia. {{Oh, Baby. }} B, please don¡¯t. ¡°I¡¯m still not comfortable with the idea, Lady Julia,¡± ¡°Everyone has gone out to the Silver Chalice. Please call me Julia,¡± ¡°Why did you turn down the invitation to join them?¡± asked Rika. ¡°There¡¯s someone there I¡¯m avoiding because I''m tempted to break a few of their dearest possessions. Now I interrupted you, drink your water,¡± ¡°What do you want to break, Lady Julia?¡± Julia just looked at the cup and then at Rika and didn¡¯t reply until she began drinking.¡° His dick, balls and an assortment of bones.¡± The spray of water that resulted across the kitchen table was quite impressive. ¡°Why?¡± asked Rika, eyes wide at Julia¡¯s flat tone. ¡°To teach him to keep his mouth closed. No more Lady Julia from you,¡± scolded Julia lightly. ¡°Are the Skald¡¯s sagas about you?¡± Julia''s sigh was pure exasperation. ¡°Not you too. Aren¡¯t you a little young to be listening to Moke?¡± ¡°I heard a part that I hope I remember right. It was good,¡± Rika said. The excitement in her voice made Julia fidget and groan. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you like it?¡± Rika asked, tilting her head at Julia. {{That''s my question! }} ¡°From what I¡¯ve been told, I want to hurt him,¡± said Julia. ¡°If it¡¯s about you, it seemed grand. I''d hear it before you judge. I had to stop to listen to part of it this afternoon. It''s something like," "In that dark hall, where foul demons spilled. I merely could hope only to be killed," "Yet within she did sway, Where I might but pray. Her will set the fiends to be stilled.¡± ¡°What?¡± Damn it, what is he telling people? ¡°Do you think I remember it right? I hope so. I liked it,¡± said Rika before continuing. ¡°From among them rose a true beast. Having set aside a truly grim feast. A plotting, vile demon, knotting flesh of a freeman. Enraged as it stood, it quivered not in the least. With their growls, my fresh hope did shred, Yet set forth her grace did with surety spread. As its fury did flow; She barely did slow. Against her, the foul beast¡¯s life soon fled. For Lady Eakc? proved a mighty wizard, and against this demonic lizard. Her power did flare, and with but a stare. The foul beast was bereft of its gizzard.¡± What the fuck! It wasn¡¯t a lizard. But at least he''s telling people I''m a wizard and not anything else. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. {{He¡¯s got just the quill tip ready for you. It¡¯s just the tip. Honest!}} ¡°It wasn¡¯t a lizard. Let¡¯s put Moke aside for now. How did you remember all that?¡± {{Put him down or go down? Decisions, decisions}} Neither. ¡°When mother started weakening, I learnt fast to remember all my Uncle¡¯s instructions. He never hit me; I was bigger by the time I was eleven winters, but he¡¯d yell, and mother would get upset. I didn¡¯t want her spending strength defending me,¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t a priest heal her?¡± asked Julia softly. ¡°When she got the chance to escape home with me, the wounds were old. The blessing could only ease her discomfort,¡± said Rika. The raw pain in her voice echoed in her gaze. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Do you want to try this?¡± asked Julia, lightly resting a compassionate hand on Rika''s arm. ¡°Yes, please,¡± Rika replied, nodding hastily blinking away restrained tears. ¡°Now turn on the tool for freshwater, and I¡¯ll see what we both can learn,¡± said Julia, fighting back the urge to find her uncle. Harmony¡¯s presence having kept a sullen B at bay. The trickling water had run for sometime before the notifications flared across Julia¡¯s awareness. [Mana Affinity Unlocked: Water. Harmony [Ad] (47->48) Your actions have unlocked Water Affinity for Rika. Your actions have unlocked the Wizard class for Rika. Rika has gained her first class. Bonus attributes assigned to the initial class'' primary attribute. Your actions have unlocked Mana Manipulation for Rika. Rika now has Mana Manipulation (1) Your actions have unlocked Harmony for Rika. Rika now has Harmony (1)] It worked cool. That is interesting, wasn''t expecting Harmony to unlock as well. ¡°I sensed it, the way it moved, the energy in its motion, its energy within me,¡± Rika said, wonder lighting up her face as she looked at Julia. ¡°Shall we see if you can learn more?¡± ¡°If you would, this is wonderful. Are you sure about this?¡± asked Rika. Julia laughed and gestured towards the magic hot plate as she turned the water off. ¡°Yngvarr said he¡¯d find apprenticeships for anyone I find with over two affinities. Time to find out if I can help you learn. We might as well learn some of them together,¡± Fortunately, it was late when Yngvarr, and Alfarr returned. Perhaps it was unfortunate for Yngvarr, who looked confused when the sound of shared laughter beckoned him to the kitchen''s door. ¡°What are you ladies up to now?¡± asked Yngvarr, his tone bemused as he spoke to them from the doorway. ¡°I was just sharing a laugh with your new apprentice,¡± Julia said. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you simply tell me Rika had affinities. I hadn¡¯t thought to check,¡± ¡°When you hired me, I had none,¡± said Rika. Though she shot a tight gaze at Julia, seeing her light mood, Rika relaxed. ¡°It was a productive evening, but now Rika has Air, Earth, Fire, Spatial, Life, and Water affinities and the Wizard class requiring instruction,¡± said Julia, ticking off the ones they''d worked through. ¡°But how?¡± ¡°An extension of our experiments with Telepathy; I touched Rika''s mind while using Harmony to feel the energy. The combination shaped a bridge and allowed us both to gain an understanding of it.¡± ¡°You extended it and in doing so taught Rika two of the rarest Affinities plus others in an evening,¡± ¡°What ones are rare?¡± ¡°Spatial and Life,¡± said Yngvarr, giving Julia a stern look, ¡°Life allows for healing magics, normally the realm of Priests,¡± ¡°That¡¯s cool. So guess you need a new housekeeper,¡± ¡°It seems I do, very well, Apprentice Rika. We¡¯ll see what basic teachings you need in the morning,¡± Yngvarr said, giving the girl a kind smile. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of reading and writing tomorrow. Rika is looking a bit worn,¡± said Julia. ¡°I¡¯m fine honestly, Lady Julia,¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you work here as a servant now, do you, Rika.¡± ¡°Very well, Julia. Did you do this so I¡¯d just stop using a title on you?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± said Julia, and her light-hearted tone sparked a rumbling laugh from Rika. ¡°But what will an apprenticeship cost me, Lord Yngvarr?¡± Rika asked, looking at him with concern. ¡°You¡¯ve six affinities, two of them extremely rare, and you¡¯ve only fourteen winters. I will let no one else have you as their apprentice,¡± Yngvarr said, his tone filled with disbelief. ¡°Alright, Rika. Go get some sleep, your gaze shows your exhaustion. Off to bed, young lady,¡± said Julia, making a shooing gesture. ¡°We¡¯ll move your things in the morning,¡± Yngvarr said, smiling at her. ¡°Move?¡± asked Rika, confused and concerned by the change in subject. ¡°You¡¯re an apprentice now, so you need a suitable room with space to study,¡± Yngvarr said, bemusement clear in his eyes. ¡°Oh,¡± Rika said, her tone stunned. ¡°See, your brain needs rest, off you go,¡± said Julia, and smiled as Rika walked away, the fatigue clear in her posture deepening with every step. When she had left the kitchen, Yngvarr gave Julia an arched look. ¡°How many apprentices will I need to handle?¡± ¡°Maybe a few,¡± replied Julia, with a casual shrug. ¡°Who else did you have in mind?¡± asked Yngvarr, his tone firm. ¡°Sagga appears to Soul Sight to be just as bright as Rika, though she thinks differently. There are a few other smart children I¡¯ve seen, but I¡¯ll ask if any are interested first,¡± ¡°Among your faithful¡¯s families?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Julia said, with a cheeky smile that lit up her gaze. ¡°Only three to start with. I¡¯d not enjoy trying to explain why I have a handful of individuals with multiple affinities needing apprenticeships. Could this not have waited?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be busy, and who knows when I¡¯ll get back. Could you find an apprenticeship for children with single affinities?¡± Julia asked, ¡°I can help them gain more later.¡± ¡°Very well, keep it under ten,¡± Yngvarr answered in resignation. ¡°Jolly good,¡± replied Julia, mischief clear in her tone. ¡°Good night, Julia. The fundamentals of Norse script only, she needs practice in learning for herself,¡± Yngvarr said, starting to leave the kitchen without waiting for a reply. ¡°Yngvarr,¡± said Julia, his name almost a question. ¡°Yes, Julia?¡± ¡°How much do you think some Wizards would pay to learn an Affinity quickly?¡± Julia asked curiously. ¡°Some of them would be quite generous,¡± responded Yngvarr, the hopefulness obvious to Julia. ¡°Excellent,¡± cheered Julia, her mood clearly buoyed by his assessment. {{Excellent. }} ((The pair of you, should I worry. )) ¡°Why are you interested in funds now, considering all you gave away to Livia?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°Communities need places to come together,¡± Julia answered, a warm smile lighting her face, as she remembered the larger family gathering. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure your faithful are taken care of then. So about the Life Affinity,¡± ¡°Oh, really? Straight for the rare one,¡± Julia said, laughter bubbling in her voice. {{No, the shiny things should be for us! Not fair. }} A momentary overlap doesn¡¯t mean the journey is heading in the same direction. ((I stand corrected. )) {{Spoil sport. I¡¯m still owed dancing. }} Julia set aside the sharp tone in B¡¯s mental voice and gestured Yngvarr to sit down with a smile. ¡°Shall we begin?¡±
The night¡¯s practice after Yngvarr had gained the Life affinity, had Julia¡¯s inventory skill jumped with time spent focused on pushing its capabilities. Guided by the experience of freeing the prisoners from manacles, Julia had found new uses for it. Precisely carved cubes of rock had eventually resulted from her attempts to store parts rather than a whole. Once that was working, progressing from small cubes to the explicit garden ornaments now decorating the garden''s edges had been fun. The dreamy-eyed elf leaning over a mushroom she hoped would get a laugh from Alfarr. That''s if the pair of naked fellows lounging on a tiny bed, drinking from glass and mug respectively, didn¡¯t do the job. In the pre-dawn, Julia slipped out of the yard¡¯s gate and headed towards the Temple square. As she rounded the last corner, two cloaked figures pushed off from the stonework where they¡¯d been waiting. Though both had a sword and daggers in abundance, the way they stood made it clear they intended no violence. Their hands, well out from their sides, were deliberately clear of the hilts. Really! No option to decline these meeting invites. When Julia drew close, they both bowed politely. Their faces caught the streetlights as they straightened, letting her easily recognise them. ¡°Lady Eakc?, we were hoping for a moment,¡± said Neferu. The older man clearly in much better shape now; vigour had returned to his angular features. The healing had removed the grey, leaving his Black hair untinted, and their deep brown eyes shone with health and gratitude as he regarded her. Ipy, who Julia recognised, also looked in better shape. Though the fuzz of hair he had was gone, the bald look somehow suited his round face well, and his dark eyes and skin looked flush with returned health. His lean frame held a relaxed air as he waited next to Neferu. ¡°Good Morning to you both, Neferu and Ipy,¡± Julia said, nodding to the men. Ipy blinked, and his eyes widened but without fear, prompting Julia to remember there had been no introduction between them. He''s surprised but not scared, grateful. Is Ipy pleased I know their name? [Sense Motive [Ap](19->20)] It saves me from being rude and eavesdropping on their minds. ¡°You¡¯re both looking much recovered. What can I help you with?¡± Julia asked, continuing onwards, hoping to avoid whatever question he might have. ¡°Sorry to distract. You''re hard to track down except for your morning training. We wanted to thank you for the equipment that arrived. The Moon Elves who delivered and fitted the equipment told us you had made the arrangements,¡± said Neferu. ¡°I¡¯m glad the Elves acted so promptly to assist you,¡± ¡°We also all wanted to know what we owed, your Ladyship,¡± Ipy said, jumping in ahead of whatever Neferu had planned to say. ¡°Directly, you owe me nothing. Though if you wish you could assist Moke with a task I asked of him, but anyone''s involvement should be voluntary,¡± ¡°What might that be?¡± ¡°Speak to him discreetly. Perhaps other members might assist if you three believe them suitable. But purely of their own free will, nor would it be a primary focus for anyone. I expect it will take some time to complete,¡± ¡°You entrusted this to Moke?¡± Neferu asked, his voice laced lightly with disbelief. ¡°Before your rescue, and though Moke will run his mouth. I doubt he¡¯d risk it for this task,¡± ¡°My path is an explorer¡¯s one, so it will depend on what information you need,¡± ¡°There are places to be found. Since Ipy is a ranger in Bast service, I¡¯m sure he¡¯d prefer to talk to someone in the church before he commits. ¡°How did you know that?¡± Ipy asked, his shock clear in his voice. ¡°While I know many things, what I need to know is more about our mutual enemies. I would suggest you speak to Moke and decide if it''s something you wish to assist in. Perhaps with proper discretion spells in place and not the one he uses,¡± ¡°Is the form I saw you in your true one?¡± ¡°Not everything is as it appears regardless of forms seen.¡± ¡°I thought as much. I¡¯d read about deals offered before. Yours did not feel as described, which surprised me after what I''d seen,¡± Doublespeak and he thinks I''m not a Succubus. [Acting [Ap](23->25)] ¡°Is everyone recovering from your ordeal?¡± ¡°Some are still recovering; the Priestess of Eir and Tyr have been tending them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad. Please take care wherever life takes you,¡± ¡°The Elves called us adventurers, a term I¡¯d not heard previously. How can you take care if you are going on adventures?¡± Ipy asked. Does it seem I coined a phrase? ¡°Maybe you should start a common Adventurer¡¯s guild across the kingdoms,¡± Julia said, keeping amusement contained when Neferu looked thoughtful. When they both bowed politely, Julia just returned the gesture. As the pair walked towards the Silver Chalice, curiosity got the better of her, and Julia used Analysis on Neferu. Analysis [Name: Neferu Species: Human Egyptian Descent Class: Explorer Level: 5 Health: 2730 Mana: 55 Defence: 54 Melee Attack Power: 86 Magic: 16 Details: A veteran member of the Charter House, Neferu only recently has just started the Explorer path but possesses a high rank within the organisation. This prestige path is available through the combination of Skirmisher and Scout at level forty.] Level five, so the Prestige Class resets the level. Wonder if the experience requirement resets as well? Out in the Temple Square, Julia still drew attention from the guard¡¯s, but with less intensity. Livia was already there with Master Farhad and waved as Julia came closer. ¡°Good Morning Livia. Did Moke say anything to upset you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only seen him that once. He was being silly and told some lies, but Torm and I called him on them,¡± Livia said, shrugging. ¡°That¡¯s good. Glad his antics didn¡¯t upset anyone,¡± ¡°I wasn''t upset, though Uncle Torm kept him pinned down till High Justice Verdandi said he could support his arm.¡± ¡°Support his arm?¡± asked Julia, wondering what interactions she''d missed. ¡°Moke said something about you being naked, and Torm put a firm hand on his shoulder. That was after we got him to stop lying about you being his wife or him thinking you wanted to try out the positions on his clothes.¡± ¡°Well, okay then. Moke was kidding himself if he thinks he has a chance. Shall we start practice?¡± That was after I had already warned him. Now I want to punch him repeatedly. {{He just wants to practice his fingering. }} Livia smiled at her, and they joined Master Farhad for the morning¡¯s training.
When Julia returned with the additional apprentices, Yngvarr and Rika were talking in the sitting room. Sagga was very similar to her mother, with solid features and dark red hair, though she possessed her father¡¯s deep green eyes. Sagga and Alfdis, both loomed over her at one hundred and seventy centimetres plus. Alfdis was light to Sagga¡¯s dark, though both had sun tanned skin. Alfdis had the palest of blond hair and eyes, the blue of deep water. Her more angular feature than the square-jawed Norse around town showed a mix in her heritage, but Julia had avoided the temptation to dig. After Julia completed introductions between the four, Rika took the girls to select their bedrooms. "Alfarr and I appreciate the carvings; We''ve moved them though to decorate our room," ¡°Glad you like them. Any news?¡± "I had a message from one of Caimatame¡¯s advisers this morning. They''ve arranged delivery of Nisnohe from the Dwarves; it roughly translates to no stone. The dwarves don¡¯t have quite the weight you wanted available but will prepare what is for sale for transport. We can expect the delivery in three or four days,¡± Yngvarr said. ¡°Thanks, gives me a time limit to work around. So the morning after it shows, we head off?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Agreed. I¡¯ve got a few hundred kilos of powdered magnesium ready for you as well,¡± ¡°How did you get so much?¡± ¡°I had weapons I¡¯d seized from dealing with Gnarls recently. I''d kept meaning to sell them to a smith for their scrap pile. After I completed transmuting them, I removed the science knowledge you taught me, I''d kept dreaming of devastated landscapes.¡± Yngvarr said, shaking his head as if to display the memories. ¡°Be careful with Nisnohe, it will melt straight through the stone it''s sitting on when you ignite it. A quart pint will burn for more than a bell. Whatever you plan to set fire to, don¡¯t expect it to stop burning for some time. The Dwarves use it to sink guide holes for lift and air shafts. When used for defence firepits, those first have to be treated with Alchemical solutions to keep the flame at the surface,¡± explained Yngvarr. ¡°That¡¯s not a problem,¡± refuted Julia, the grim smile accompanying her words earning a frown. ¡°Well, if you don¡¯t use it all. I¡¯m sure the Dwarves will buy it back but don¡¯t take it into Elven lands. It''s forbidden in all their territories. Earth charred with it remains infertile without magic to revitalise it. It reacts like a living entity near any plants, even so far as flowing over the charred ground to get to unburnt trees. The Elves transporting it are planning to bring it directly here from Stoneheart, I¡¯m sure,¡± Yngvarr detailed, his expression growing worried the longer they discussed it. ¡°So it¡¯s a magical liquid, good to know. How are we travelling to Tern¨°x?¡± asked Julia, looking to change the subject. ¡°I know a planar gate spell; we¡¯ll make use of it since it¡¯s far more accurate than the conduit you possess. It should place us within forty or fifty kilometres of the Grotto. We¡¯ll be able to see what¡¯s on the other side before we pass through, so if it manifests within the Grotto¡¯s effect, the rest of us will just go through. Then you can use your conduit and go straight to the Necropolis; otherwise, we¡¯ll go together and make our way to the Grotto''s edge,¡± detailed Yngvarr, his expression making it clear she didn''t fool him. ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± stated Julia. ¡°Who''s going with you beside Alfarr?¡± ¡°Envoys from the four Elven courts will come along, and I¡¯ll assist the Envoy from my people,¡± said Yngvarr. ¡°Well, of course, your Highness,¡± responded Julia, giving him a cheeky little bow. ¡°I barely qualify for that I¡¯m well off the succession line. One more degree of separation and I wouldn¡¯t have any rank unless I earned it through service,¡± grumbled Yngvarr. ¡°Why does it work that way?¡± Julia asked, her genuine curiosity clear. ¡°How could it not? Elves live long lives unless through violence. With the family interconnections in some places, everyone would have a title," pointed out Yngvarr, with a shrug. "So most Elves only have what rank they''ve earned. Lastriel¡¯s family bow determines which bloodline will continue to rule. If one of the blood doesn¡¯t cause the bow to shine during the presentation ceremony, then they can¡¯t stand to inherit it.¡± "Is that the artifact that Caimatame mentioned?¡± enquired Julia, with careful casualness. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know why she was so vague about it. It features in several Elven histories that others, outside their own people, have access to read,¡± Yngvarr recounted. ¡°Because Elves like to be mysterious?¡± retorted Julia, rolling her eyes with a smile. ¡°We don''t,¡± refuted Yngvarr, giving a dignified shake of his head. ¡°I''ll just point out that no one till Rana told me what the golden Soul thing meant,¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Yngvarr said ruefully. ¡°Yes, Oh!!!¡± said Julia. ¡°Fuck?¡± {{Yes!!!!}} ¡°Sorry I just encouraged her then,¡± said Yngvarr, continuing on as he noted the slightest familiar twitch from their sharing. {{Bloody Elven tease. }} ¡°Yes, she¡¯s annoyed with you now. Also, I keep meaning to ask, do you have information on Prestige Paths?¡± ¡°I have some writings on them, you''ll want to speak with Farhad about Monk. It¡¯s not only getting enough skill within your path. There appear to be hidden criteria to some. As individuals have been collecting information on them, but even following such Sage advice doesn¡¯t always help,¡± recounted Yngvarr. ¡°I knew some of that. Wizard and Fighter, you need multiple Affinities to get spell blade; otherwise, you get a specific variation,¡± said Julia, remembering the conversation with L¨ºdhins. ¡°Correct," Yngvarr declared quickly. "Same with Sorcerer and Fighter, Alfarr walks a prestige path that is referred to as Inferno among the Norse.¡± ¡°What about yourself?¡± asked Julia. ¡°For Arcanist, I had been progressing both Wizard and Sage. It was the third path I felt offered to progress onwards from them. My Uncle wanted me to hold off and see if it would offer another path, but given the slowing of my progress, I didn¡¯t wish to wait further. I was looking forward to feeling a revitalisation of progress from the fresh path,¡± revealed Yngvarr. Does that mean the experience required resets? Pity L¨ºdhins is too erratic to trust. ¡°So you¡¯ve just got one prestige path?¡± ¡°Yes. Most mortals do. Though my Uncle is both a spell blade and a shadow dancer, the way he combines their skill sets on the battlefield beggars belief," ¡°I¡¯m walking four paths at the moment. I know someone who has three prestige paths,¡± ¡°Are you aiming for a similar goal?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it would be safe for me not to do so. I was told sisters have at least started three prestige path¡¯s before being eligible to become full members. If she wasn¡¯t lying, but who knows.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll likely need to qualify as a full sister to get close to the Lady again,¡± Yngvarr cautioned. ¡°Likely; Should I should try Analysis on you again since I¡¯ve got all these levels? I might get a reading,¡± asked Julia, hoping he wouldn''t take offence. ¡°You can try,¡± responded Yngvarr with a shrug. Analysis [Name: Yngvarr Species: Sunset Elf (And¨²n?). Class: Arcanist / And¨²n? Scion Level: 72 / Health: Mana: Defence: Melee Attack Power: Magic: Combat Skills: Details: ] [Analysis [Ad](16->17)] ¡°Well?" "Grandma, what big teeth you have," "I''m not sure I want to know what you mean. I take it you learnt a few things?" Analysis [And¨²n? Scion: A restricted class available only to the And¨²n? Royal family and High Nobles, this represents their continual training in And¨²n? Mysteries, Lore, and Power.] "Not really lots of unknown, though I found you have a second path. Called And¨²n? Scion, apparently, a class restricted to the Royal Family and High Nobles. You folks keeping secrets from the rest of your people?" Julia asked, the tone of her voice teasing. "I can think of particular training we receive, though it''s interesting you see it as a path of its own," "See? Elves love being mysterious," said Julia, ensuring her tone was clearly teasing. "Child, I don''t know what you mean," Yngvarr said, his tone crisp and dry. {{Oh Daddy Yes!!! }} At B''s excitement, Julia simply buried her face in her palms. 64 - Shockwave The time left before the delivery seemed to disappear fast between training and spending time with Livia, Eivor, and others around town. Envoys and their guards from the Elven lands arrived just before dawn the morning of their departure, and after introductions, it was time to leave. Yngvarr''s gate opened to Tern¨°x outside the Grotto¡¯s range, so once the rest of the party was through, Julia followed. With another goodbye wave to Livia and Farhad, Yngvarr closed the gate behind them. Julia used Yngvarr''s scrying globe to show them the pit lined tunnel near the Grotto. A single spell from Yngvarr shifted the entire party into new positions along its course. As the Song rang around them, most of the Elves in the party showed a complete lack of sense with their echoing excitement. Though it relieved Julia to see Alfarr and Yngvarr were on guard, clearly ready for trouble. When one of the wood Elf envoys suddenly sprang towards Julia, only a glimpse of their joyful gaze prevented a punch. ¡°That''s the Song,¡± said Siphanien, gesturing wildly with excitement. Julia gazed flatly at the dusky-skinned Wood Elf and fought to restrain her tongue. Their sun gold eyes shone with excitement as their laughter began and showed off their pearly teeth. Teeth Julia could imagine scattered over the stone from the punch she''d almost received. ¡°We¡¯re in the Abyss. Don¡¯t jump at someone,¡± Julia said, words snapping in clear frustration. ¡°How dare¡­ no, you¡¯re right, my apologies Succubus,¡± Yeah, don¡¯t say my name. As soon as Siphanien finished speaking, she turned away to another excited Elf, clearly dismissing Julia. The Song from the Grotto was shivering painfully over Julia¡¯s skin, obviously igniting excitement within them. When Siphanien spun away, the mass of their dark green hair slapped against her, forcing Julia to stop a reflex grab and instead flipped her the bird. Though she¡¯d met the wood Elf less than a bell before, even the pitch of her beautiful voice now seemed to dig under Julia¡¯s skin. {{Pin the butterfly down and spread her out. }} This lot doesn¡¯t have an ounce of caution between them. ¡°You all need to close your mouths. This isn¡¯t the time or place to celebrate. Get into the Grotto and see if they¡¯ll talk to you,¡± Julia said, her tone low and cold with ice. ¡°Succubus. Don¡¯t speak to us in such a fashion,¡± Siphanien said, their joyful tone turning to annoyance and anger. ¡°Demons can come this close, and there may be some in earshot. In this tunnel, every hole you see was a Nox womb, and they aren¡¯t sunshine and rainbows. So everyone needs to be quiet, stay alert, move your feet and not your mouths,¡± said Julia, keeping a low tone. Celair, who during the earlier introductions had seemed to be Siphanien¡¯s superior, stepped towards them as Julia spoke. The motion interrupted her and others that looked ready with heated words. Their gaze roamed over the entire group before finally landing on Julia. It weighed on her for a moment in cautious warning before it softened in sympathy. With her deep brown hair and skin, she almost seemed to blend into the sullen light within the tunnel. Her long locks were a far more normal shade than so many Julia had seen among the elves. Yet green, brightly tinted lips turned down mournfully as she considered Julia before speaking. The green tint looks natural on her. I wonder if they''re part Dryad or just within whatever range, Wood Elves consider normal. {{She looks lush, like a sweet apple. Want a nibble? She might spill juice for us. }} ¡°Julia is right; we should get within the Grotto. We should give them thanks, not anger.¡± Celair said. Their silver eyes turned and landed hard on Siphanien. The lady¡¯s fine features stayed resolute as she looked over the other distracted Elves again. ¡°I would remind everyone we¡¯ll be free to leave in time and not have to endure here. Julia, take care of yourself." "You too Celair, I hope things go well," ¡°I¡¯ll send you a message to let you know what we find within the Grotto,¡± Yngvarr said. As he spoke, his words attracted the attention of the others to himself and Alfarr. The way they''d kept their weapons ready and looked poised to act, adding weight to Celair¡¯s words. Scolded, Siphanien moved off, leading the way within with quick paces and only added to Julia''s desire to smack her. While the Night Elf Song was present, Julia didn¡¯t know how far along the tunnel it would be before the Grotto¡¯s effect would burn any Demon present. For all Siphanien knew, she might walk straight into an ambush, yet she¡¯d forged ahead at speed. Fortunately, no screams of alarm or sounds of dying echoed along the tunnel by the time Yngvarr was standing beside her. Alfarr kept moving, not even pausing as he patted the top of Julia''s head and carried onwards with a grin. When Yngvarr turned towards Julia to speak, she changed into her Succubus form but kept the wings removed. The Dominator''s leather clothing far tighter than the fake armour appearance affected in her mortal form. When the long hair brushed across the gap allowed for wings, Julia mentally shortened it back into a pixie cut. ¡°Is this the form you normally use in the Abyss?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°When about others, I leave the wings out to blend in,¡± ¡°A heart-shaped face, I guess that matches the one you wear on your sleeve with Livia,¡± ¡°Shoo Yngvarr, take care of your hubby and have fun teaching your apprentices,¡± ¡°Take care of yourself, Eakc?. Don''t keep yourself away too long,¡± Yngvarr said before following the others. If I was always going back, I''d never want to return and would never be truly free. It must have been close to a bell before Yngvarr¡¯s message reached her. "There are living Night Elves here. They''re arranging talks with their elders,¡± Yngvarr said, his voice whispering in Julia¡¯s ear. After acknowledging his message, Julia rose and reappeared just outside the Necropolis entry that L¨ºdhins had shown her months earlier. When she crossed its threshold, Teleport shifted her again, this time to the rooftop of Set¡¯s Temple. Crouched there, Julia used Dark Sight to check the vicinity and found no extra forces within the courtyard or around the Temple. With one of the inscribed runes, a quick check on the air quality returned what she''d hoped and expected, Yngvarr''s rune revealing breathable but tainted air. With Dark Sight and Soul Sight combined, she studied the start of the path downwards used on the last trip. As she did so, Julia could still detect the black lines touching the previously injured forces. Lines tightening with the same behaviour as before pointed towards her position on the rooftop. Besides the continuation of their eternal rotting cycle, the Dedicated seemed recovered from their past injuries. Whoever was in charge had replaced none of those previously destroyed since her departure. It¡¯s been days, well cycles now. I wonder how long the links remain. The links seem as clear as the last time I saw them. Julia had possessed no interest in what was above on her last trip. This time a glance upwards showed an overcast sullen sky with no ceiling in sight nor explanation for the plane¡¯s light. It was enough to set Julia to wondering where in the Necropolis'' layers this Pyramid was located. Teleport repeatedly carried her upwards, and after the third jump with no obstruction in sight, Julia looked down. Her gaze took in the bleak scenery below, looking for a staging point. As Julia spotted a suitable area far away from the Pyramid, something became apparent. Below Julia wasn''t a vast plain but the top of a wide ridge. To her left, it ended within sight but first rose to a higher mountain peak via a sharp cliff. While to the right, it continued onwards far further than Julia could see with eagle sharp vision. The dry river bed that she''d assume was cutting its way across a plain had instead climbed from both sides of the mountain range and added a sculptured texture to its form. Its path from the ridge''s centre where the Pyramid sat cut a mirrored course across the rocky yellow ridge. The river''s path and other patterns in the rock surface made Julia see the ridge as a giant''s breastplate. In her mind''s eye, the terrain now far beneath her became a stone sarcophagus. The course of the river bed and glacier alike curving down around the chest of the massive form. From what would have been the lower sternum, the rivers traced down along under its pecs and ended far below near the figure¡¯s armpits. The contours towards the closest end appeared like a sarcophagus''s neck, shoulders and head. As she studied the mountain peak that formed that end, contours of cheekbones, the hollows of eye sockets, the sharp ridgeline of its nose, and the cliff that shaped its jawline became clear. What the fuck! Is this a colossus'' corpse? After altering her form to a pebble-like shape, visualising the shaft''s last section changed her location into the depths. After appearing within it, she found the pillars where the Setites had secured the prisoners no longer present. Fortunately, it wasn''t enough to stop Greater Teleport from providing a safe arrival to the shadowed spot Julia had imagined. While looking over the bare stone floor beneath, another Soul hurtled downwards, its impact causing a dull light when it struck within the chewed stone hole. A glance over the pit floor with Mana Sight showed it covered with runes that hadn¡¯t been there previously. The warding traps'' varied nature made it clear someone had at least partly prepared for anyone¡¯s return. No wards blocking Teleport In. Can I get out using it? But why are they digging here? ((It is my brother, please stop what they are doing to his remains. )) What? {{What?? }} ((It is hard to sense him through your mind. But he is close beneath you. )) ((He must have perished, his energy is so faint. It appears they''re cutting into his sternum. )) Well, that explains why they''re digging. But what do they hope to gain? Will my plan hurt his remains? ((His form, even in this state, should be immune to all mundane forces and the alchemical fire. )) ((Why did I not know he had perished?)) The usual calm voice that echoed to Julia through the Ki resonated with sorrow held barely under control. There was someone monitoring things last time. Let¡¯s see if I can discover how much time I have available. Don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ll tell me who he was? .. Thanks for nothing. ((I cannot. Please stop this desecration. )) A quick shift of position brought the deeper section of the pit within range of Dark Sight, and Julia looked out from the shadows within it. The lack of progress was comforting; considering the massive form, it appeared as if their efforts had barely breached its skin. A metre down, the pit''s chewed edge changed from dull yellow stone to an ivory material, leaking the faintest of golden fluids. Yet the outer edge of that lower section of the pit barely descended another metre before it ended. When the next Soul arrived and struck the liquid in the pit''s bottom, Julia ignored the wash of pain it sent forth and examined the result. As the rippling fluid settled, the hole looked different by only the smallest divot where the Soul had struck. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. If the Ivory is their flesh, that pit is barely a metre deep. ((Thank the Titan. From what I could sense before, the Ankh is an artifact, and the blessing holding it in position seems over a decade old. )) It''s going to take time even to hit bone. ((Indeed, my apologies for my alarm. Continue with your plan.)) Thanks for your vote of confidence V. {{I want a vote too? }} No sex. {{There goes my vote. Never mind me, I¡¯ll just be here playing with myself. }} Don''t you mean by yourself? {{I meant what I said. Memories are the bathtub of your mind.}} A carefully planned Teleport at a time, Julia returned towards the top of the shaft in case she''d come through wards that would interfere with her departure. With each movement towards the top, her impatience beckoned, especially when no warding energy came into sight. When at last position that was in sight of the dome, Julia examined it again. Measuring the blocks forming the dome, Julia calculated the shaft''s radius a few times before moving on. Flight wafted her towards the dome''s peak and the passage the Souls used to approach the Ankh. After ensuring there were no wards, Julia landed inside it. Reverted to the wingless form of her initial climb even as another Soul floated past towards the Ankh. Though its presence tempted Julia to interfere, resisting the urge to tweak their collective noses, she continued. With measured steps, she paced out the distance, then double and triple-checked her measurements. Once she was sure it was correct, Julia put her hand on either side of the passage''s wall and absorbed a rectangle of stone from matching locations on the walls. Hands inside the depression, she imaged out a circuit of stone looping around the dome between them. Shifting to a metallic mouse, Julia scurried through the length of the narrow course and smiled to herself after the tight trek exited without issue on the other side of the passage. Cut after cut resulted in a still narrow but expanded circuit above the dome''s cap, concealed by a thickness of stone beneath and well within the radius of the pit. Teleport carried her between the selected staging point to drop off stone sections broken into jagged chunks to disguise their origin. Once it cut out to the size desired, Julia reset the stone rectangles to serve as plugs, where the circuit joined the passage towards the Ankh. Just add some great escape theme music, and we¡¯re set. With step length restricted by the tunnel¡¯s height, Julia followed the circuit she¡¯d cut again, the narrow passage barely enough to let her walk straight ahead. Even the tiny form she was currently using was having difficulty walking quickly within the angled corridor. She had cut the circuit only barely high enough to let an impossible newborn walk upright through it. To both maximise the distance, she¡¯d covered with each use of inventory¡¯s storage capacity. Also, to reduce the potential risk of it being spotted if something investigated the passage to which it connected. The pitch-black tunnel was lit only by the Lightning Mana radiating from the cloak wrapped around her form. The notification of the spell¡¯s effective level increasing again prompted Julia with at least one item missing from her planning. As she moved past the seam between stones, Julia cut the next number into its surface in Abyssal script. Though using familiar numbers would have been far easier, leaving something unique felt like bad news. Next time I need to learn some actual Light orb spells or something. Fuck next time. {{I should be so lucky in love. I should be so lucky }} B, I¡¯m sure we both dislike earworm music. {{By Kylie¡¯s great bum, you¡¯re one to me.}} Play in that bathtub memory. {{Fine! Be That Way! }} Julia completed the circuit in one direction as B grumbled in the back of her mind, and hitting the end, etched its number into the last block. If I don''t get this right, it will be a big mess. Decision made, Julia retraced the circuit steps and confirmed she had correctly numbered the stones before starting the next stage. With the passage to the Ankh as a subjective north. Julia cut a shaft the circuit''s width upwards at each major and minor point of the compass, with ''north'' the only exception. Carefully measuring how far she¡¯d climbed had her extending it twice more before cutting inwards to join the shafts at the middle of the circle. A half kilometre of stone was sitting between the dome''s top and the chamber in the circle''s centre when completed. Julia formed the room in honeycombed sections, with each only large enough to store a still sealed metre tall jar of the Dwarven Nisnohe. Though for now, she left them inside the dimensional bags within Inventory. Phase one complete. {{Thank fuck now it¡¯s time for my favourite fun. Chaos! }} The Dedicated of Set were intelligent for Undead, but that intelligence didn¡¯t help them make sense of what happened next. Placed to protect against foes of their Deity seeking to get inside, they weren¡¯t able to adapt to the strange occurrence above their heads. A hundred tiny ball bearings rained down and scattered across the remaining Dedicated in ranks below the top of the stairs. The ping of metal on the stone had them snapping their gazes about as the ball bearings started bouncing their way downwards, annoying more than anything else. Though Dedicated lashed out to slap towards a ball bearing that struck with blackening force against their skin, even that painful annoyance vanished quickly. Each time it bounced away, a cloud of powder and more ball bearings scattered in its wake. Every hundred meters, a spinning zephyr appeared nearby, drawing their attention as it swirled the powder and air alike about. Undead left at the top of the stairs, standing within the glistening cloud of powder, resumed their positions. Though the guards could hear the chaos continuing far below, it had faded beyond their concern when a strange matt black figure appeared ahead. Though it certainly wasn¡¯t like anything they had seen before, they still set out to attack as per their orders. However, a wall of wind interrupted forward movements, knocking them and those following, mostly uninjured, into the ranks even further down the stairs. While they were trying to regain their footing amid their fallen numbers, a ball of fire exploded overhead. The glistening powder and the air about them went up in flames, and the world around them burnt white-hot. Yet it was when a column blast of water hit that everything ripped apart. As the trail of devastation raced down the stairs below, Julia teleported away from the Pyramid. Even as Julia reappeared, the explosion rang the Pyramid¡¯s solid stonework, and the backblast ripped the structure above ground apart. [Combat Summary: Dedicated of Set: x3,121 Total-experience to distribute: 5,617,800 Wizard: +1,872,600 Succubus: +1,872,600 Asssassin: +1,872,600 Additional experience awarded for contract(s) completion x31 & x3000 Assassin: +31,000 Assassin: +3,000,000 Wizard Level Up! x7 Succubus Level Up! x5 Assassin Level Up! x29 Inventory [Ap] (3->4) Current Soul capacity exceeded. Excess Souls released to Judgement. Traces of Divine essence retained from 121 Souls. (Dark Power) Energy Drain [Ad] (45)-> [M] (1) Flight [Ad] (17->19) Greater Teleport (Self) [Ad] (1->7) Zephyr [B](10) -> Zephyr[Ap](5) Agile [Ad] (4->6) Criteria met for one or more Prestige Classes within the following combinations: Monk / Assassin Monk / Wizard Wizard / Succubus Wizard / Assassin Succubus / Assassin] Fuck! A quick check of her profile showed instead of the sixteen hundred Souls that she¡¯d kept last time, it was showing a flat three thousand. Guess I should have kept count. I wasn¡¯t expecting to keep even that many. Though either way, I¡¯ve got a bloody mess. {{We have got ourselves a hot mud pool. Well done! }} Flight and Teleport had let Julia work rapidly between the Dedicated and inflicted Energy Drain with every impact achieved. The chaos magnified with each contact as more ejected ball bearings and magnesium added to the mix before moving onwards. An occasional low powered zephyr she¡¯d learnt from Yngvarr, in the days waiting for the Nisnohe intended to keep the magnesium from settling, seemed to have done the trick. Within the wide stairwell, she¡¯d only travelled maybe four hundred metres along the kilometres-long staircase. After taking in the devastation on the Pyramid cap, with no sign of the Pit¡¯s covering collapsing, Julia changed to a shrunk Xenomorph and Teleported back down. Smoke and rock dust were thick within the shaft, and in the dim lighting, Julia could make out bits of Dedicated littering the floor and pulverised into the ledge¡¯s stonework. She hadn¡¯t gotten this far down the stairs, seeding it with magnesium, but from the destruction, none of the Undead would be intact along its path. Destruction of their forms having unravelled the magics holding them together, the Souls no longer appeared constrained to the flesh. I wish I knew engineering. Would the stairs'' shape have focused the explosion? The legions that had occupied the stair¡¯s passage on her first trip numbered far more than the combat summary showed. As Julia looked over the pulverised, mostly unburnt remains sprayed against the stonework, it was clear the blast reaching downwards had left little intact. At the sound of hurried movement from below, Julia Teleported into her carved passage. Though dust was thick in the air, the hidden passageway was secure, and the honeycomb chamber had stood up to the shaking. With her Soul limit reached Julia didn''t see any point in remaining at present, and Teleport carried her away. Once clear of the crevice that connected the Necropolis to Hrz¡¯Styrm, Julia sat down on a rock ledge nearby, and embracing Harmony, turned attention inwards to see what B had been commenting about. When she reached inside, while the Ki''s Pool was untouched, she felt a black pool of light eating power within her. The Abyssal Heat of her form seemed eager to drink it up, but the Ki drifting through her to keep the Souls calm kept the two apart. After long minutes studying the stalemate and feeling no give between them, Julia let Harmony go. Though she didn¡¯t teleport to the City, instead, she looked to tend to the notification about Prestige Classes. V, are there more path tiers like Yngvarr¡¯s uncle believes? ((There are five tiers of Prestige Classes or Paths as they see them.)) So when Yngvarr thought things were slowing before getting the third prestige path? ((He had yet to reach the foothills. )) Various attempts at using Analysis for information on the Prestige Classes she''d unlocked gained her nothing new. Finally, when focusing on her profile, using Analysis on the class section''s header caused a long burst of options to spill into her awareness. When she spotted Blood Monk among the ones offered, Julia reviewed it and started laughing; a harsh sound that went bouncing off the surrounding rocks. Analysis: Blood Monk [Blood Monk Primary Criteria: Assassin Level 40 Succubus Level 40 Completed Martial Training of the Sisterhood. Completed a Task for their Sisterhood trainer. Cleanly assassinated a target nominated by the Sisterhood trainer. Progressions: +2 Melee Attack Power / Level +1 Defence / Two Levels +1 Quickness and +1 Endurance / Level +1 Magic / Level +6 Bonus Attributes every four levels Power Unlocked Unerring Tracking: After having injured any opponent, a Blood Monk can attempt to tie a mental link to their opponent. The target must have a mind that Telepathy can read. Golems, Undead, and other entities whose mind they cannot read are immune to this ability. If they succeed, the Blood Monk will know how where to find the foe and its relative distance. If the target shifts planes, the Blood Monk will know the new plane, but not their precise location. Once present on the same plane, contact will reestablish providing direction and distance, this tracking ability lasts 1 cycle per level. Enhanced Strike: Death strike has an increased chance of delivering critical damage The class provides increased improvement speed for combat, stealth, and infiltration skills. ] So that sounds like Unerring Tracking would have no chance of working on me. It''s only a 2nd tier offering. What''s a first tier look like? Analysis [Tainted Temptress Primary Criteria: Assassin Level 30 Succubus Level 30 Progressions: +1 Melee Attack Power / Level +1 Defence / Two Levels +1 Quickness and +1 Charisma / Level +1 Magic / Level +4 Bonus Attributes every four levels The class provided increased improvement speed for seduction and infiltration skills. ] Oh yeah, so bad arse a 2nd tier Prestige Class. V, I don¡¯t suppose you can tell me what level I¡¯ll need to reach the tier 5 ones? ((I do not see my profile as you do. The Titan always has fairly rewarded those that complete the most demanding tasks.)) Thanks for that dose of vagueness; I was getting worried. Though I appreciate you confirming that you see a profile, and that tells me something else. ((I guess I confirmed that.)) Did the boss leave you high and dry? I know of only a few entities that big, and only four could speak about the Titan with such certainty. {{What¡¯s half a million years to an immortal? Just a nap. Are you feeling rested yet, Mr One-of-Four? Over your war?}} ((Well rested. My choices put me where I am. Just as yours will take you where ever you go.)) Once Julia allocated the extra levels'' points, Teleport placed her in the air intentionally some distance from ¨´eqr?kas''s gates. Her gaze took in the wagons delivering the never-ending cargo of the drowned damned as she drifted towards the entrance. The Guards'' previous disarray was nowhere apparent. Instead, garbed in fresh livery, they checked travellers and wagons entering the city, a Succubus overseer''s aura keeping them on full alert. Livery and pennants arrayed about the gate had changed in colours, those of the Sisterhood noticeably absent. Instead, their garb was the purple, orange and black that matched the colours from around the Treasury''s sign. Power plays afoot. {{Grandma, what no teeth you have. All the better to suck the life from you, my dear. }} 65 - Warning Usd¡¯ghi smiled as Julia sat down, though as strange as ever, her gaze was becoming a familiar sight. The intensity of the red stars within the mist conveyed her anticipation clearly to Julia. ¡°What do you have for me, youngling?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve three thousand Souls to process,¡± Julia said, her tone deliberately casual. {{Such a hardship. }} ¡°Three thousand! You bring me the sweetest of work to manage. Are these?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked. Her excited voice softening, the Hag¡¯s lips twitched, as the red in her gaze brightened even further. ¡°All Souls for the white coins,¡± said Julia. ¡°Viper! You¡¯re already far beyond any Reaper I¡¯ve known,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, the words filled with energy and excitement. Wonder how much she''s been getting from the coins these make? ¡°The bad news is I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to bring you more,¡± said Julia, aware of all the Souls she hadn''t captured. Usd¡¯ghi snorted in amusement at Julia¡¯s words and cackled in pleasure before she spoke. ¡°I¡¯m not one to turn down the new, but I don¡¯t demand it. What you¡¯ve brought already has advanced plans by decades,¡± ¡°The change in the colours of the city guard?¡± ¡°A minor token for my family, but a symbolic kick in her cunt. Since her little bitches controlling the city wards let them find you, I took offence,¡± ¡°Well, I have a new challenge for you, but it''s not Souls for coinage; however rare, it''s energy instead.¡± ¡°Energy? What have you found in your travels?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, voice still bright with glee though her smile broadened further. I need rid of it. ¡°I overdid the harvesting, Souls got loose, but I gained his essence from them,¡± ¡°Why tell me?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, her amusement stripping away as quickly as it appeared. Does she find anything amusing, or is it all just an act? ¡°With my limited power, I feel it would make me a target,¡± ¡°Yet you offer it so openly to me. What do you want for it?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked. Her posture straightening, as it always did when she was ready to haggle. ¡°Consider it a gift for future considerations,¡± Usd¡¯ghi blinked in surprise, and a puzzled frown twitched her lips downwards. ¡°You should have spawned as a Hag, not a Succubus. What a waste,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, giving a shake of her head. ¡°My thanks, I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± {{Fine, she could use a mud pack, but why give away the complete bath. }} Do you want to have him hunting us? {{No one knew till you yapped. }} As far as we know. But neither of us knows how to handle this energy safely. Do you want to risk it consuming us? Or be a pawn of Set? {{Oh!!! Get rid of it now. Okay, just because you¡¯re paranoid doesn¡¯t mean someone isn¡¯t looking to fuck us up. }} ¡°As you should, youngling, as you should. You have the energy inside you, so we''ll need to get it out and yet contain it. The easiest option will be to shed some blood.¡± Concern sparked in Julia¡¯s mind till the arcane lore she¡¯d learnt caught up. ¡°So I tie the power to the blood flow. Will that pull it from me and yet contain it?¡± Julia asked, hoping she understood. ¡°Exactly, youngling. Now let us find a bowl for blood offerings,¡° Of course, the hags have bowls for blood. ¡°Only a bowl?¡± Julia asked, working with Harmony to keep her voice calm. ¡°Well, getting you to stand in one of the blood pools would be silly,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. One of? {{Oh, can we have a bath? We both like baths. }} ¡°After all, it¡¯s too difficult to drink from those. Now, come with me. Might be best to have multiple bowls on hand, to save stabbing you repeatedly.¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, heading for the office door. The last comment made Julia twitch, but as the door opened, she followed along.
As the black energy pool within dried up, Julia watched the blood flow out from the blade''s hollow core. Its haft seemed a metal tap extending from Julia''s stomach. The blade¡¯s enchantment kept the wound open against Protean¡¯s regeneration, the blood flowed without issue as her health continually recovered. It hadn¡¯t taken one bowl before the air was pungent with a blend of decay, stagnate water and even fouler odours. As the fifth bowl filled, the air had long thickened into a miasma. From the progress in Julia¡¯s profile, it was clear she¡¯d need to fill another. Usd¡¯ghi sounded quite content, that''s if her sighs and the occasional smacking of lips were any sign, as she slowly sipped on the first bowl. ¡°You¡¯ve outdone yourself. What I extracted from the coins was diluted compared to this power. I shall remember this gift of yours,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, setting aside the first bowl and without pause picked up another. {{Finger licking good. I wonder if we¡¯re still inspiring Moke¡¯s fingering }} Eventually, the blood that flowed felt empty of energy, and Julia pulled the dagger free. At first, the blade resisted being shifted, when it finally moved it withdrew with a wet sucking sound. Centred on where it had been, a spider''s web glistened through the ivory skin of her abdomen. The mark had appeared when the power had nearly finished leeching; a blackness rising to create hollows through her skin and leaving flesh untinted to form the web''s threads. The circle of its edge brushed her navel, dipped towards her waistline, then rising to cut along her side, before curving upwards along her lower ribs. A quick reforming of flesh removed the appearance, but as Julia watched, it emerged again. The blackness welled up from the residue and traced a path to where the blade had been. A pool of ink whirling outwards till it completed the symbol. Though the energy pool felt empty, a thick residue still coated its exposed sides. A residue that now extended from the empty pool to the mark upon her skin. Its presence sent an itch across Julia¡¯s skin, as if a gaze was lingering upon her from far away. Julia set the dagger and bowl aside before examining the mark, tracing it lightly, and the faintest of energy pulsed to her touch. ¡°The aspect of its power has marked you, not him, just the power.¡± ¡°I feel like something is watching me,¡± Julia said. ¡°Did you believe them still connected to this energy? I wouldn¡¯t be drinking it if that was the case. No, you stripped it free from the Souls and him. The energy is on a divine scale; so not surprising if you felt its weight upon you. Pure power, a delightful treat untainted by Abyssal corruption. Even tied to your blood, it stayed distinctly separate.¡± ¡°Another strangeness?¡± ¡°Yes, but I find you delightful for them. You have a Wizard class, try to gain an understanding of the power that now marks you. The affinity of Destruction is powerful, though incredibly difficult to gain, and this divine power is destruction at its most fundamental. Don¡¯t worry if you take decades or more to gain it,¡± Destruction? It makes sense since it¡¯s one of Set¡¯s major aspects. I have a spiderweb tattoo on me, and it''s not coming off. {{We could have kept it no fair! At least the Hag loves you! Could have been worse, at least it''s not a tramp stamp. }} ¡°I encircled the new processing containers while you were absent, so we¡¯ll be able to process quickly. Go ahead, you''ll find them just through there. I¡¯ll be there shortly after I finish this lovely gift,¡± Usd''ghi said, gesturing to another exit from the room. ¡°Very well,¡± Julia said, as she rose Usd¡¯ghi spoke again. ¡°Your Klipyl passed through a few cycles back. A pretty little morsel that now I¡¯m told has steel within. Whatever you did to her best ensure it doesn¡¯t cut you. She calls you her Lady now, but who knows what she might do in the future.¡± ¡°What¡¯s life without risk,¡± {{That''s my line. Get your own. }} V you sensed your brother do you feel something watching. ((Yes, yet I can¡¯t say what. )) Can¡¯t say or can¡¯t tell? ((I can¡¯t tell the source. Our bridge limits much. )) Usd¡¯ghi snorted with suppressed laughter and shooed her from the room. Julia headed off, struggling to maintain her composure as the feeling of being watched grew stronger. Within the rest of the warehouse, the air¡¯s smell quickly cleared, shifting to that of cold stone. A young hag looked up from a grimoire as Julia went past and spotting her returned to the book. An examination of the circle around the processing tank showed it appeared to be the same pattern etched by Usd¡¯ghi on her last visit. The tank''s size and shape made it seem a small grain silo, stretching ten metres above her head. As Julia stepped within the circle, the feeling of being watched abruptly cut off. Relieved, Julia set about releasing the Souls into the container, and the screams began. By the time its wards showed it was near capacity, Julia had placed a thousand Souls within. The Souls screamed in the same hatred and rage as the others stolen from the Dedicated. Julia was still looking over the tank when the young hag carried over a large crate of processing discs, looking between Julia and the tank as she approached. ¡°How do you bring in so many?¡± {{She just sucks cause nothing sucks seeds like success. Nope, you don''t do that either. No seed crossing your lips. }} ¡°Where does the crate hook up?¡± Julia asked, intent on avoiding the question. ¡°I¡¯ll do it. I don¡¯t want it broken,¡± said the hag, keeping a tight hold on the crate. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. {{How about we break her arrogant arse? }} At B''s remark, an amused smile lit Julia¡¯s lips, and she stepped away from the container, leaving the Hag to do the work. Yeah, just because Usd¡¯ghi acts friendly when we deliver treats doesn¡¯t mean everyone is happy to see us. {{She''s got a bad temper, maybe reforge it.}} A mental image of the hag¡¯s head laying on an anvil, with Julia¡¯s fist hammering into it, formed within her mind. The sudden rigid set of Julia¡¯s features prompted the Hag to pick a path well clear of her position. The enchantments on the new tank made the whole processing far faster. It was only a few bells later while the second batch crystallised that a hag entered from where Usd¡¯ghi had been alone. The hag who entered wore the same dress as Usd¡¯ghi but appeared nothing like her. Instead, they had youthful features with smooth tight skin and solid black flames in place of eyes. Flames that drew attention, making it hard to take in her face''s sharp, feral features. Though Julia saw the last strands of white hair darkening as if a matt ink was soaking down their lengths. ((She is no longer a Demon Lady. A new Dark power has risen. )) ¡°Oh, Youngling, an excellent gift indeed. So long I¡¯ve been sitting on the cusp, now it is mine,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. The intonation and volume were the same, but the crackling of age was no longer present. Power resonated within her words like an oncoming storm, and the hag who had been helping went wide-eyed. The new crate for the tank set aside with a thump as she bowed low in homage. Oh! {{So she got a happy ending. I should be so lucky. }} ¡°Epoch¨¥,¡± Julia said, giving a tight bow. ¡°Indeed, though no need for formality from yourself, Usd''ghi will be fine. No longer just Lady, finally a Demigoddess, a wondrous change in so short a time. Your actions moved my planned ascension by centuries. I am well pleased. I saw an interesting symbol in my vision of the Titan¡¯s wall and knew it was you. Already faithful of your own Eakc?, and yet a Lesser Succubus, it seems you don¡¯t do things by halves youngling,¡± ¡°I helped someone get payback. A relative got excited by it,¡± ¡°A candle of black jade, with a flame of blood, circled by broken chains and bones, most interesting,¡± said Usd''ghi, a knowing smile curling her lips. Oh, thank fuck, she doesn¡¯t see it the same way! "You¡¯re surprised I knew it was you? How could I not? The name in its presence is quite distinctive, even if mauled by the mortal tongue. I¡¯m saddened you didn¡¯t tell me yourself. We will need to talk later about so many things,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, walking to the bench holding the cage of ivory coins. As she ran her hands over the rows of coins, the white drained from them, returning them to their original metallic appearance. ¡°Delicious.¡± Usd¡¯ghi walked over to the young hag and touched her on the shoulder. ¡°Go send messages to the elders, tell them to set things ready, then gather at home. I¡¯ll be along shortly,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, the steel in her words leaving no room for questions. The hag just nodded and scrabbled from the processing chamber. Usd¡¯ghi waited until the door closed before she spoke again. ¡°I sensed an air of vengeance around your symbol, little wonder with what she did to you. I think your faithful and mine might work well together, though most of mine live within the Abyss. Now clear and refill the tank; I wish to see if I can draw the energies directly,¡± Fuck, this could go bad. {{You think?! Wait, you do? Well Gosh.}} With the Soul gems removed, Julia refilled the tank, and while stepping away, found Usd¡¯ghi suddenly blocking her. A hand was resting on a folded wing, locking her in place with the lightest touch. When Usd¡¯ghi slid her other hand into the tank, the screaming cut off as the Souls'' colours immediately dimmed. The colours swirled then started bleeding out of the Souls, drawn into Usd¡¯ghi''s flesh. Flesh that darkened as the energy flooded into it before it returned to its greyish hue, Julia¡¯s position affording an unrestricted view of the process. ¡°Delicious. Though strange, you still provided a more pure power than what their Souls alone kept,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, standing so close Julia could feel Usd¡¯ghi''s flesh burning against her own. {{Oh, do we get a playmate? }} {{She¡¯s actually pretty now in an edged way. So much lovely power, no longer in need of a paper bag, and no dick. We''d both win.}} ¡°Maybe the rest of the emotions interfere with the absorption of it,¡± said Julia. ¡°Did you truly believe I would never understand the reason for the purity, little one?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, having smoothly switched to high Elven even as the Souls started to crystalise. The musical words echoed oddly from the hag''s lips, steel raking against a whetstone with every syllable. Flames within the eye sockets burned brighter when her gaze locked on Julia¡¯s, and the sense of being watched via the mark crashed down again. ¡°What?¡± Julia asked, the question startled from her lips. Fuck. Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly. She''d didn''t even have to ask me to come for lunch I walked myself in. How much does she know now that''s got that hook and line in me? {{Boned and not in a good way. }} ¡°Hush, youngling, no lies or protests. Did you think I needed another to send messages for me? I remember opening my eyes to the last note of your people¡¯s Song ringing through the emptiness of the Abyss. The way it echoed, dying off with the resonance of the Titan¡¯s hammer, never left me. The fading echoes of all the wondrous things your kin sang about for him poised so high above us. Races fair and foul that you brought alive to seed his worlds, and leak their corruption here upon their deaths. Then you all went away and left us in the remains. We will have such delightful fun together, you and I, while you learn what that singing has wrought and get to experience the rest of eternity here. Along the way, I¡¯ll be there to reap a harvest when you rip the feathers from the holder of your leash.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. Breath softly brushing over Julia¡¯s skin when she leant closer still, and the flames in her eyes ate the light. The words boiled with an acidic venom even as her strange gaze looked to be focused far away. ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± Julia asked, her voice but a whisper as she felt for the Bonds in terror, and found them muffled to her inner sense, no matter how she reached. The hand against her skin was fixing her in place, no matter the attempts to shift form or position. ¡°Not so hasty, I plan nothing against you since you can''t even remember that time. Show me that steel of yours. You¡¯re in a circle carved by my hand, so know I could have already crushed you. Fortunately for you, little Anar Souled, that''s not my plan. It will be fun to watch the fates of those who would cross you. Perhaps you should have used a different dagger, my little Herald, but at least I didn''t have to peel you open for the truth. Still no mists around you, yet I have seen an important choice you freely made. I care not for ANY of your dealings or Pacts made with others outside the Abyss when they do not threaten me. I would however harvest, from any Dark Power you bring down, in the Abyss or without. Are we agreed?¡± How does she know I was a Sun Elf? Is this going to make things worse? ((The choices are always yours. Hags keep the terms of their deals, even if rarely the spirit. )) ¡°I¡­ Agree,¡± said Julia, focusing her determination to be free of this place even as she spoke, and the last word etched the air. ¡°Good, much better. Now, as a token of our deal. I will do two things for you,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, returning to Abyssal, the tone of it more pleasant than what the hag speaking High Elven did to Julia¡¯s senses. ¡°What is that?¡± Julia asked, not bothering to keep suspicion from her voice. ¡°A means to change your home plane and tell you what hunts you from the planar gap.¡± The tone of Usd¡¯ghi''s words turned enticing as she spoke of hunting. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Julia asked, at a loss to guess at whatever Usd¡¯ghi had learnt. ¡°The layers of the planes form rings around the Titan''s spire. Between the layers and the inner and outer rings, there is a gap where the planes don¡¯t quite touch. Rather than the mingling of the elemental planes, that causes the quasi elemental zones, it''s a place of pure Chaos. A relic fed from you and left a mark, and it has tasted you again since. Yet its essence was different, steeped in greater Chaos. L¨ºdhins¡¯ device travels through that gap directly. Did you take injury while using it?¡± [Planar Lore [J] (2->4)] ¡°Yes,¡± Julia said, remembering the injury on their first return from the Grey fields to Tern¨°x. ¡°That makes sense given the mark and wound, however, healed though it is, there are traces within you. Perhaps you¡¯ll even tell me how it ended up in that place¡ªthat thing of Chaos amid such Chaos. Since you seek to bring him down, you¡¯ll need to destroy it at some point. It¡¯s alive enough to worship and would anchor him. My advice never to pick fights with a foe that you can only hurt.¡± Words I''ll remember for others. What you toss in the ocean comes back on the tide. ¡°How do I destroy it?¡± asked Julia, her voice gaining further strength. ¡°What¡¯s in it for me?¡± Usd¡¯ghi asked, a smile sharpening across her now thin lips. ¡°Isn¡¯t he one of those whose end you¡¯d want to harvest?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Well done. Let us talk in my office. I find the idea of an unblemished Succubus so deliciously ironic. It makes me wonder what choices the Titan will offer you,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, stepping away from Julia at last. As she moved, Julia felt the muffling of the Bonds and Powers lift away. ¡°Or you can leave here, and I¡¯ll consider all our dealings void. As a final sweetener, I¡¯ll even tell you what that spike did. If you decide quickly.¡± Sounds like it wouldn''t be only the dealings voided. {{I want to know what she means.}} With those words, Usd¡¯ghi kept moving, and after a moment of furious consideration, Julia followed. Usd¡¯ghi smiled as Julia took a seat and set a glass of Sk?ll milk upon the table before her. ¡°Since you¡¯ve refused all else, I¡¯ve offered you refreshment wise,¡± Julia looked at the glass and flicked her gaze back to Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°Suspicious? Only now? If you wish to be suspicious, then you should have considered with more care when I offered you the dagger.¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. A gesture at the door caused it to meld seamlessly with the wall. ¡°You¡¯ll cause such tidal waves of chaos, and I¡¯ll get to reap the end of those caught within while you last. What shall we talk about first?¡± ¡°The spike¡±, said Julia, making no move towards the glass. ¡°L¨ºdhins told me you had been harvesting the Nox you killed,¡± Figures. ¡°I picked up a few hand daggers,¡± ¡°Yes, you got a few if that means twenty. Are you seeking to learn how to enchant those to corrupt a true name?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I believe they did. I was more interested in the pain caused by them, I want to stick spikes into all present,¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll be a joy to work with,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her voice purring with excitement. Nice way to have life choices called into question. Get praised by a Demoness, wait, Dark Goddess, even worse. ¡°Corrupting a true name? I thought she learnt it by eating the seed it makes,¡± Julia said, puzzled by what Usd''ghi meant. ¡°She learnt the resulting true name, after the corruption in the spike mauled you. Just the same as the corruption wraps the L¨®m? Souls in those sweet little Nox shells. The pain that it causes when it''s stuck into you, is not it learning about you. Rather it''s mauling your essence, seeding its corruption as deep as it can into your nature. Given what you are, it was merely a flesh wound on your hidden Soul instead of full corruption of the Abyssal essence. The flower''s centre forms a seed with the name it has set within,¡± ¡°She only learns the new name?¡± Julia asked. ¡°What else does she need to control? That''s all she desires and all the enchantment delivers, I¡¯ve tested it a few times. It''s limited and wasteful. She despises the word no; it¡¯s a shame any said yes. I could have ended her if more L¨®m? had spines and not wilting stems to hold up their brains,¡± ¡°If she¡¯s a control freak. How did she come to be in the Abyss?¡± ¡°Control freak, what an interesting phrase. From what I learnt back then, the Dukes of the Hells were waiting for her, with their very detailed plans. So she swallowed her pride and fled here instead,¡± The casual display of knowledge rocked Julia back, and her gaze narrowed as she spoke. ¡°How did you learn about their plans?¡± ¡°Dear, do you know so little? Succubi exist in both the Hells and the Abyss. Such useful gossips, even those that descend from Lilith. Hard to tell between them, unless Sigils mark them,¡± The words quickly dashed a thought Julia had to find her friends. ¡°So this mark is still telling you stuff?¡± asked Julia, gesturing at her side. ¡°Emotions are such interesting keys to motivation. One cuts through self-deceptions so quickly that way. Do you have a grimoire with blank pages?¡± That''s not a yes or a no. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯d give you a rune or a tool to anchor yourself to another plane. But considering the look you gave that poor milk; perhaps you¡¯d like to learn the spell instead since you have Abyssal affinity.¡± ¡°How much do you know about me?¡± Julia asked in a whisper. ¡°I¡¯ve your true imprint, with so many interesting revelations. Since it was willingly given, or at least willingly drained from you, I learnt so much. And now I know another key to L¨ºdhins. I wonder what I¡¯ll find within him. You should know when someone is telling you the truth, it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s the whole truth. Just as you told me your truth and left so much aside. The dagger did what I said it would, and more besides,¡± {{I take it back, not a playmate. }} ((I never felt the touch. )) Fuck! And I don''t know what else it did. ¡°Now, now, don¡¯t fuss. You¡¯re certainly safe from me till you¡¯ve destroyed the feathered bitch. I¡¯m sure a bright thing like yourself will have proven useful before then. If you believe you¡¯ve already proven that, you¡¯ll just need to remain so. Correct?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°I would hope so,¡± Julia said, sure that things weren''t as simple as Usd''ghi put them. ¡°How do you have eight affinities, including Abyssal?¡± probed Usd''ghi. Julia had already begun embracing the Harmony, and at Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s question, held the shock within its ice, only to feel B tow it into the depths. The link between them beckoned for more emotions that her focus was wrapping within the ice. {{Wabbit Season! I¡¯ll eat our feelings. You put that logic to use and listen. }} ¡°I couldn¡¯t say with certainty, but some events can be insightful,¡± Julia replied cautiously. Julia let the link do as it asked, and Harmony buffered the calmest of logic as rage and shock drowned in the depths. ¡°Interesting. Don¡¯t let that icy rage of yours let you do anything rash.¡± ¡°I prefer to act with clarity," acknowledged Julia. "Perhaps I should take time to consider things after I gain that spell¡¯s details from you.¡± ¡°That might be best. I¡¯d hate for a youngling to break herself while she''s still useful,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, the tone matching the predatory smile dancing on her lips. Can Usd''ghi see only the eight that I set to show? Or more of them? Yet she called the link with Moke a Pact, not a Bond. I¡¯ll need to make sure any spell she gives me actually does what''s on the label. So what did she learn? My Profile never showed me I had anything but a Mortal Soul. ((She sees things through her own perception of reality. )) {{Big sister is watching, pity she¡¯s still watching the reruns. Or is she? Trust no one! }} You were fine with me dying. Remember! {{A girl can change her mind. }} Julia pulled the grimoire she''d gained from Usd¡¯ghi and set it on the table, and felt B continue to drink the anger and shock away. 66 - Knocking on Heavens door From a distant perch, Julia observed the efforts already underway to clear the collapsed Temple. Figures circled the rubble, and sections floated free, or sometimes the stone liquified before it flowed away. The work detail, from what Analysis told her, comprised Demons and mortal Priests alike. Besides the common Dretch providing raw muscle power, there were Demons she¡¯d never seen before adding to the list Julia had encountered within the Abyss. Like the Succubi entertaining Setau, all the Demons she observed were from regions of the Abyssal plane ¨¤luga. Red squid entities with ridged hides set with metallic spines floated above the debris. A swarm of long tentacles extended from each one''s lower body, casting spells or plucking body fragments for a snack from among the rubble. Analysis showed them as Xhali¨¢ma, and all the ones Julia spotted had possessed a wizard class with a combination of Air, Earth and Water affinities. Though occasionally there were Xhali¨¢ma with extras, all possessed the same initial three. [Name: Quil''qon Demonic Species: Xhali¨¢ma Class: Wizard Level: 6 / 40 Health: 799 Mana: 5,856 Melee Attack Power: 61 Magic: 78 Defence: 34 Combat Skills: Grapple [Ad] (2), Bite [Ad] 1, Various spell forms - Air, Earth, Water Details: Xhali¨¢ma are native to the oceans of ¨¤luga and a few other Planes with large bodies of highly salted water. Though innate Flight allows members of this species to operate in the open air or overland, they prefer to settle and live in aquatic environments. Their class progression tends towards various forms of casters, of which the Wizard class is racially preferred.] While they worked, a group of semi-humanoid demons called Kralc¨ª served as guards setting a perimeter that extended outwards from the rubble. The troops made for a strange sight, and Julia watched their headless forms set up in a wide circle around the top of the Pyramid¡¯s plateau. The setup making it clear they planned to stay sometime. With large clusters patrolling about as if to offer quick support to the perimeter line. Sheathed in armour fashioned of golden scales, not a centimetre of flesh was visible. They presented very distorted figures beyond the missing head. Whenever they moved, their odd gait showed knees bending in reverse. Instead of a single forearm extending from where a human elbow would be, they possessed dual forearms; supported by a softball-sized elbow joint and bloated shoulders. They had a stocky build, broader than any human, yet barely more than Julia¡¯s petite mortal form in height. Thick legs ended in long sickle-shaped claws that anchored them at toe and heel alike. The armour provided no sign of how it unsealed or anywhere that looked like eyes or mouths on their bodies. The majority armed with polearms, and they constantly shifted the weapons between their four hands as they moved about. However, smaller groups armed with massive crossbows kept a station closer to the Temple. Except for the business end of weapons, the makers had sheathed those in the same golden scales. Yet regardless of weaponry, all were uniformly fighter with no variation in their level or combat skills, and nameless, they moved with eerily synchronised motions. [Demonic Species: Kralc¨ª Class: Fighter Level: 8 / 42 Health: 1,239 Mana: 0 Melee Attack Power: 97 Ranged Attack Power: 112 Defence: 68 Combat Skills: Polearm [M] (3), Ballista Bow [M](1), Daggers [Ad] (5) Details: The Kralc¨ª are a predatory species that spawn on several planes and operate in units that meld to form a Hive Mind. It is rare to find units operating independently of service to a greater power. Till their destruction, they will always remain in service of whatever entity dominated them at the time of their pod''s spawning. Units will only take on new members at this Master¡¯s command, and all members blend their skills and experience. This Hive Mind is native to ¨¤luga and is part of Set''s armies garrisoned on that plane.] Groups of Xhali¨¢ma that moved near or among the Kralc¨ª drew open hostility. The nearest Kralc¨ª would turn on mass whenever Xhali¨¢ma drew near, and weapons that were always in hand raised ready for instant use. When their course seemed intent to bring them within tentacle reach, the entire group of Kralc¨ª would focus on them as if about to spring. Whenever it occurred, the squids would abort whatever they were doing to move away in clear haste. The change in the patrol''s pattern afterwards made it clear the Kralc¨ª hadn¡¯t accidentally crossed paths with them. [Sense Motive [Ap] (20->21)] Even working on the same side, they do nothing truly together. ((Indeed, trust only yourself. )) Are you also going to tell me I can¡¯t trust you? Julia couldn''t keep the frustration from her mental voice, annoyed beyond words that she''d let her guard down with Usd''ghi, only to feel B''s link eating the emotion. {{Of course we can¡¯t. He takes orders from the fellow that okayed our death. }} ((I can act on no order as I am, but regardless I can give you no help beyond words. )) Groups of the Xhali¨¢ma across the plateau looked to be busy setting runes across its top. When it became clear, the process was them setting wards, Julia changed form and Teleported, placing herself in the honeycombed chamber. Momentarily secured within the room, Julia sent an update to Yngvarr. ¡°Epoch¨¥ has become a Demigoddess. Currently in the Necropolis, waiting for things to settle, the first phase done. Staircase results were excellent for destruction, but reinforcements are clearing debris and setting wards in place. I hope all is well.¡± [Mercury¡¯s whisper [Ap] (4->5)] With Mercury¡¯s whisper cast towards Yngvarr, the progress notification Julia could only hope was a sign that he¡¯d received it. When Julia drifted down the shaft towards the circuit, the noise of Demonic thoughts brushed against her Telepathy¡¯s net. More Xhali¨¢ma were on the ledges and stairs, clearing up debris and setting wards. Not reaching into the nearby minds, rather Julia let Telepathy and Harmony sip the broadcast noise of thoughts. Details seeping through as the Xhali¨¢ma focused on setting wards within the Temple. It quickly became clear they had misunderstood the attack as they set wards to block against human, elves, celestial, and elemental forces. The ball bearings had ended up melted and smeared across the debris, and the result misdirected the Demonic attention with the material¡¯s nature. Where Julia had intended the balls to both distract and become projectiles within the Shockwave. The Demons'' minds made it clear they believed its presence showed the incident was a revenge attack by forces from the material plane. These reinforcements weren¡¯t planning to stay, rather they were just to secure the structure. They were intent on returning home once done and other Dedicated had arrived through a Portal. With the details she picked from their minds, Julia extended her plan further and set about to wait. {{Look, it¡¯s a magic mushroom, sitting in the dark and feeding herself bullshit. }} Julia rolled her eyes at the acidic edge in B''s mental voice. Gee, thanks. {{Meditating and practice in mini-me form. This is you avoiding thinking about how fucked up things are. }} {{Dancing! You could practice that. Erotic dancing is the closest skill I found.}} You can see skills as well. So what dance of the seven veils? I¡¯d prefer to meditate, but I agree to learn dance. We¡¯ll split the practice time while eavesdropping on their activities and plans. You better not make me regret this B. Julia felt for the skill name B had provided, mentally spending a point to start things off. [Erotic Dance (1)] {{Yes!!! Not seven veils, more like some of those got talent clips Rach showed you. I bet you will make eyes pop out.}} Fuck. The stuff that looked like gymnastic floor routines mixed with pole dance style teasing? At B''s bubbling excitement, Julia sighed and started practicing, all the while keeping a mental ear out for any intent from the Xhali¨¢ma to depart.
The Xhali¨¢ma named Quilsa was glad to be out of the Necropolis'' dry air and return to its home within the fortress Setimet. As they drifted through the wards of their chambers, the echo of their entry was strange; almost as if the barrier had sensed a guest entering with them. Its lazy, self-indulgent leanings towards learning magic to bully pod mates and lesser species not helping it in the slightest. They had no time for their lazy thoughts to puzzle the meaning. A piece of dust that had hitched a ride suddenly grew to encapsulate them. In form a skin-tight iron maiden that didn¡¯t even allow the explosions of blood caused by spikes laden with Ki and blackness to leak away. Quilsa¡¯s concentration fractured by its unseen enemy¡¯s willpower. It proved unable to get its focus past the sensation of having its shell repeatedly ripped away. [Combat Summary Xhali¨¢ma x1 Demonic Shards gained: 1 Total experience to distribute: 2,352 Monk: +1,171 Succubus: +1,171 Protean [Ad](24->25) Silent Kill (2->3) ] Julia reformed to appear in a Sisterhood official body and drifted in mid-air within the entry hall, experimentation having revealed ways to set shapes without the tattoo showing across her stomach. Her vivid memories of Naz¡¯rilca had allowed her to form the lush body contained within the leathers of the Order¡¯s official uniform. With the remains of the Xhali¨¢ma absorbed into inventory, she studied the wards, wondering why they weren¡¯t reacting to her presence. I need to learn more, I didn¡¯t spot the wards till it drifted through its door''s energy. Why did they treat me as a guest? Were they lazy in how they set the wards up or something else? Setau¡¯s wards as well let me in easily. Let¡¯s see if they let me back out. Teleport carried Julia back out to the corridor, testing the wards of home and fortress alike. When she reappeared without issue, Julia started retracing the route to the Portal room Quilsa had used on their return. Telepathy drifting in a net to learn about the interior of the fortress. With two spare jars of Nisnohe, Julia was intent to make the best use of them. The air in the corridor was ripe with the odour of brine, every surface encrusted with a salty residue. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. While exploring Julia moved past an exterior balcony which explained much with the rolling black sea filling the horizon. Ships of a strange quad hull design floated nearby, anchored with their red sails furled. The crews that Julia could see about the decks from her vantage appeared to be species nearly physically identical to the Kralc¨ª. Though none of them wore the golden scale and lacked the long sickle claws on their feet. Analysis showed they were a species called Kralqui and showed them with the classes of Sailor and Warrior spread in level from the mid-20s to high 40s. Their minimal clothing had most of each crew member''s light green flesh exposed to air. If the Kralci were a similar species, it answered why their armour lacked openings for eyes or mouth. Since the Kralqui form seemed to have neither, they wore broad loins clothes and not much else there wasn¡¯t space to hide them. Large deep scars formed an X crossing the chest of all the crew that she could see. Whatever injury had caused them had left almost identically shaped marks. Her form changed again, and a new Xhali¨¢ma drifted back along the corridors to the Portal. Once in the general area, Julia set about exploring the passages above it, hoping to find a suitable spot. Once she got things set up, Julia was looking forward to having some fun.
A faint scuffing sound on the stone behind it caused the Kralc¨ª to turn in place. The Succubus¡¯ features were welcome enough to its senses before it noticed the wings'' jagged spikes, instead of the singular dagger point on the main joint. Julia learnt they could indeed speak as a wave of sound bellowed out from its chest. A step put her in close and an open hand deflected a blow from its closest limb and drove an elbow strike wreathed in power into its chest. The Kralc¨ª tried to step back with the motion and lower its horns towards her in return. #Sisterhood Agent# The thought came across loud from the Kralc¨ª¡¯s monitored thoughts and Julia felt distant minds respond. Julia spun under its horns and pressing her back against its body, grabbed the horns and used their leverage to flip it over her shoulder. Muscles groaning under the weight of it made her glad for having put free points into strength. The impact of metallic scales against stone rang the air even as its hands released its weapon and struck towards her face. Its forceful blows reverberated against the black flames that guarded her flesh, even as return blows broke through its armour and wrecked flesh rained down. As its mental death cries rippled through to the rest of its unit, Julia rose to her feet. Quickly snatching up the broad crested dagger from its belt and storing it, she spun away. Julia fled the scene with haste, the sound of every booted impact deliberately ringing loud on the stone, the notification of its death ignored. [Combat Summary Kralc¨ª¡¯s x1 Demonic Shards gained: 1 Total-experience to distribute: 2,892 Monk: +2,169 Succubus: +723 Ki Strike [Ad] (44->45)]
The room door burst open, and Julia froze in apparent shock. The floor slick with syrup-like fluid shimmered in the lights the guards held aloof, and a wave of fumes rolled out the door. Julia flowed upright with a teasing smile, and daggers appeared in her hands, their lights reflecting off the emblems of the Order. [Acting [Ap] (25->26)] Only one? Did I mess up the smile? ¡°Your Order will pay,¡± Even as the air rumbled with the Kralc¨ª¡¯s words, Julia reappeared past the patrol along the corridor¡¯s junction. The trailing guard spun with no cue needed; attacks from its polearm stabbed and slashed. Yet the guard had no advantage other than its weapon¡¯s length, and the corridor didn¡¯t allow full use of it. The narrow corridors in this section only letting it fight one on one robbed it of numbers to overwhelm. Julia focused on Harmony and Battle trance in defence as she kept to her plan and watch for a glimpse of fumes spreading across stone for what came next. A stab slid along Julia¡¯s turning hip and sparked off an emblem. As it landed in the fumes unheaded by her attacker, flame wicked through the saturated air to ignite both the passageway and room she¡¯d exited. Guards screamed as burning fumes ate through armour, continued into flesh and bone. With Julia¡¯s immunity, the flames didn¡¯t even warm her skin. While the patrols¡¯ Demonic fortitude aided their attempts to get clear, the floor shuddered, and its collapse spilled most of the patrol into the room below. Burning fumes and syrup having eaten through the stone, yet they were still burning when they hit the floor of the portal room beneath. Inlaid runes set with precious metals and gems didn¡¯t fare any better against the Nisnohe''s consuming heat. Julia had fled the flames and as a sole guard surged after she spun again, deflecting the pike¡¯s blade aside, a planned casting unneeded. The first attack she used in the confrontation was a spinning heel kick. It caught the guard off balance with its sudden force and smashed him into the wall outside the burning flames. A deep snarl rumbled from it as it surged upright and found the Succubus somehow gone. Wards in the area that the guard was sure would stop the Succubus Teleporting away, having proved useless in preventing its escape. Its focus fell on a piece of metal gleaming on the ground as it got to its feet. Thick fingers picked up an emblem that showed its weapon¡¯s mark and clenched tight about it. With its weapons secured in its other hands, it left the fire below to others'' care and raced off to bring it to the commander. Completely unaware of the dust that dropped from its leg and vanished once it was clear of the inner wards.
Her return to the Necropolis and entry into the Pyramid went as smoothly as previous journeys. Exploring the stairs showed the new Dedicated reinforcements were present, but Julia avoided messing around with them any further. Instead, returning to the honeycombed chamber, she set about making some adjustments. The circuit she had cut above the dome was raised to above the chamber¡¯s top nearly all about the circuit, only thin regular sections securing the cylinder in the middle to the circuit¡¯s exterior. In each honeycomb niche, she burrowed finger wide shafts downwards till they breached the dome¡¯s top. As the expansion continued, the extra stone joined the material from the earlier excavations. Then new steel canisters filled with the dwarven fluid were positioned, latched tightly onto the edges, and into extra spots carved around the airshafts. Each adding time as Julia had to wait far longer to heal than from any cloth, testing the valves positioned in the base and top of each to ensure it would be worth the wait. The planned payload at the end was lighter by a jar, its contents used in coating lines down each shaft and along the bottom of the circuit. With the work complete at last, Julia stood in the passage watching the Ankh as another Soul approached it. At the sight of fumes leaking out of the edges of stone caps, she cast a flame shield positioned to ignite both sides at once. Stone about her shuddered and groaned, and as Julia retreated further from the artifact, the passageway in front of her dropped. A long moment after the dome''s peak forced the Ankh downwards, the top of the cylinder, its edges lit with burning rock, raced past. Burning fumes and droplets filled the air as the air through the shaft raced upwards through the canister''s valves. Air pressure forcing the fluid out through the nozzles on their top. The extra fluid adding to the inferno that sprayed towards the walls, and she could only hope across the forces on the many ledges. The stones above no longer supported soon began plunging afterwards, and Julia soaked in a spray of burning fluid teleported away. So high up that only eagle eyes provided the details, Julia could make out the sinkhole that consumed the Temple. The building hadn¡¯t yet disappeared when the essence of the plane around Julia shuddered, and notifications burst across her awareness. The ground far underneath her, shaking in time to each pulse. [Achievement: If you break it, you''ll pay for it. Condition: Destruction of a Deity¡¯s prized Artifact Reward: It worked. What more do you want? Additional condition: Deity, who is a declared enemy, created the now destroyed Artifact. Reward: Tier 4 class option(s) now unlocked for selection at level 60.] [Achievement: No plan survives contact with you. Condition: Intentionally undo a declared enemy¡¯s long-term goal Reward: + 1,000 experience for primary class (Monk) Additional condition: Enemy a full tier higher Reward: + 4,000 experience for primary class (Monk) Additional condition: Enemy two full tiers higher Reward: +16,000 experience for primary class (Monk) Additional condition: Enemy three full tiers higher Reward: +58,000 experience for primary class (Monk) Reward: Tier 5 class option(s) now unlocked for selection at level 70. (For interfering with a Dark God¡¯s plans) Additional condition: (Reward range exceeded) Reward: You won (for now). Count yourself lucky. Reward: Tier 6 class option(s) now unlocked for selection at level 80. (For interfering with a Dark God¡¯s plans) Reward: Tier 7 class option(s) now unlocked for selection at level 90. (For interfering with a Dark God¡¯s plans) ] A Portal split the air above the collapsing Temple as another notification pinged across her awareness. As the front of a vessel like a broad river barge peeked through the opening, Julia read the next notification. I thought you said there are five tiers? ((As far as I knew, there were only five. )) The tone of V words within her awareness baffled and yet oddly amused. So he likes secrets, even from his highest servants. ((The four of us are not his highest servants, just the ones he set to hunt. )) Even as V replied almost coyly, a new notification pinged within her awareness. [Achievement: Awaken the Giant within Condition: Titan''s Servant - Eleftherios - awakened from their Torpor. Reward: The Titan will grant a requested consideration. One request pending status update: Granted] ((He wasn¡¯t dead. But his energy felt so faint. How? )) {{Silly, didn¡¯t you say the link restricts you? Haha!}} The barge continued coming through as the ground under the Pyramid started buckling upwards. The cliff shape of the chin tilted downwards and the rock covered ridges of its features cracked and fell away. As the rock surface shuddered, the glacier that had been climbing its side shattered and fell away, spilling bodies through the air as the mountain range sat upright. Its motion driving the Pyramid¡¯s top into the bottom of the flying river barge and forcing it upwards against the Portal¡¯s top edge. The pressures on it shattered the spatial forces ripping the barge''s front apart as the Portal collapsed. As the landscape continued to fracture, a visible aura of light rose from beneath her, and struggling against the wavefront of its pressure, Julia teleported away. The ground around the Necropolis¡¯ Pit was bouncing as she appeared in midair. Still wrapped in flames from the burning fluid, Julia watched the undead swirling about in life-like panic. Even though the sky here was completely different to that above the Pyramid, massive tremors also shook this region of the plane and moments lengthened into minutes. Buildings by the hundreds collapsed in a destructive chain reaction. Then finally, as if existence had caught its breath, the shaking ceased. Within the ruins, the already badly damaged buildings finished crumpling to the ground. Julia moved away from the air directly over the Pit, and unlike last time, nothing moved to attack her burning form. {{Hot time in the old town tonight! }} ((My thanks for waking him before Set reached his heart. My brother is alive!)) Through the link, the sense of his presence clearly one of rejoicing, their usual detached tone having vanished. I can¡¯t claim credit, I just wanted to collapse the Pyramid. Why did all the shaking cease? ((He likely headed back to the Titan¡¯s realm to receive new orders. )) Why did the Ankh get destroyed? I just figured it would get buried. ((My brother is Titan¡¯s order made manifest. When Set¡¯s Ankh touched the fluid leaking from his wound, it would have shattered. )) You mean I could have poured some of that fluid over it? ((Who says you would have survived touching it. Plus, these events roused him, which I hadn¡¯t believed possible. )) After waiting for the surrounding flames to die away, Julia was glad to open up the conduit and climbed to Tern¨°x. The air about the Necropolis plane had grown unsettling in the stillness that followed the planar quake. The storm shrouded sky high above darkened in the moments before the conduit closed. Pending request, is that about Andre or something else?
The conduit portal let Julia out on a ledge high above a cavern floor; a touch and a word closed it up. Once it was away, Julia settled to let her vision adjust to the dim light. Sounds echoed upwards from the cavern depths, metal striking stone, and steel squealed against steel. Whatever was far below her sounded as if it was a mining operation, but Julia held fast, waiting till she could see more. Dim lights dotting the cavern floor slowly drew out shapes to her gaze. The only mining being conducted was workers cutting channels in the rock floor of the cavern. Among the nearest groups of labours working on the extracted stone, it seemed clear why. Rough blocks were being shaped and runes set into each side before pulleys loaded them onto a transport wagon. Though she might have guessed wrong, it seemed clear they were working on a construction project wherever the transport was heading. Quads of horned Sk?ll stood shackled to massive wagons, the scars deep into the scales of all four showing their mistreated state. H¨¹msi guards appeared here and there, apparently patrolling for trouble, but not from among the workers as these they mainly ignored. Unlike the others Julia had encountered previously, these wore metallic armour. Their helmed humanoid form making it appear as if medieval armoured knights were patrolling the cavern''s periphery. Their concealed state making her wonder if they still possess the deep red skin of the others she''d killed. The guard¡¯s had their attention fixed on the cavern¡¯s edges, and whoever was in command had stationed guards at every passage that Julia could make out. The workers hauling the stone seemed primarily Dretch and Hymadan, though the outline of some others carving stone in the deep shadows fitted neither. As she crouched, watching the activity below, the rock stacks collapsed as the ground under the worker¡¯s feet flexed. By the time the quake, similar to what she¡¯d experienced in the Necropolis finished, the cavern was a literal snarl of angry demons. Despite the quakes¡¯ strength, the cavern looked intact, and Julia breathed a mental sigh of relief, hoping the Grotto and places like it also survived. {{Rock that body, baby! }} ¡°Hope things are okay with the L¨®m?. If they experienced shaking, I believe it was because of a Titan''s servant waking up in the Necropolis. It was the strangest thing.¡± The spell carrying her thoughts to Yngvarr was harder to keep together than the one she¡¯d sent from the Necropolis cycles earlier. [Mercury¡¯s whisper [Ap] (5->7)] ¡°Take it you¡¯re actually on the material plane and not in Tern¨°x. Or at least I hope since sending the last message proved hard to hold together. So casting this one for practice because I¡¯m sure the last one actually woke you up knowing my luck.¡± [Mercury¡¯s whisper [Ap] (7->10)] {{Send him another, and he¡¯s going to block your spamming arse. }} Fine. I was hoping for an update. Elves had thought them dead for eons. It seems weird if Yngvarr is already back on the Material Plane. What¡¯s going on? When the Demons ushered the next transport out of the cavern, a loose pebble joined the top of its load. ¡°You are to return to the Stronghold as quickly as possible.¡± The Castellan¡¯s voice whispered with a dispassionate edge across her awareness. {{Well fuck!! But you still need to practice dancing. }} I agreed. Just we might have to delay the show and see if I can make this next stage at least. Even as Julia planned the delay, the order ground through skin, muscle and bone and the pressure of it clawed within her mind. Against the force of its challenge, Julia set her will in place. Even as she set herself to resist, there was a sense of the Mental Hardening adding to her efforts. Internally groaning, Julia settled into Harmony and Ki Meditation as she reached within herself. 67 - The Catalyst Julia opened her senses within herself and locked her gaze with B sprawled on the Id''s island. The islands Livia had shown in the shared memories floating a few metres apart in the mindscape, though the distance seemed dangerous with oblivion awaiting in the gap. Where Julia¡¯s appearance from the page haircut to the freckles on her arms matched her previous mortal form, B had sprawled out on her stomach as a Succubus. As Julia looked at her, B rustled her folded wings. ¡°You decide on a safe word yet?¡± asked B, the teasing tone of her voice in this place far clearer than Julia had ever sensed it. ¡°Now you¡¯re the one stealing lines,¡± Julia said, remembering the poke she¡¯d received for the quip at Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°That was Sarah¡¯s line. Even before you could admit that she¡¯d turned it into an income stream,¡± The smugness in B¡¯s tone was evident as she went from sprawled to standing, the mindscape responding instantly to its intent. ¡°Not doing this to talk about Sarah,¡± said Julia, firmness edging her voice. With the words, she felt the island sway as the pressure of the Castellan¡¯s Order increased against the place¡¯s serenity. The IDs words poked at the concern Julia had been keeping suppressed, only able to hope Verdandi could help her friends. ¡°We¡¯re not? So that''s another topic you¡¯re going to avoid thinking about. It would be something to focus on while you¡¯re using the pressure to level Mental Hardening. Such a gamer chick,¡± B said, its tone a mocking grumble, yet instead of bitter as Julia had sensed from it before, it seemed playful. With the words, B shifted again, sitting at a familiar desk layout, monitors flicking between memories of games. The old chair replaced by a backless kneeling seat to allow B to stretch the wings out wide. The view let Julia see that the Id, unlike Julia, hadn¡¯t bothered to opt for clothing. Sensations of fine cotton swam across the inner awareness as Julia glanced down at the baggy T-shirt covering her body. It had been her favourite for sleeping, displaying a ninja panda waving a war fan about as its yawn showed some impressive teeth. Homesickness swam from between the islands; as it reared up, B dragged it to her instead. The Id ate the manifestation in quick bites, a distorted impression of the cookie monster showering the floor. The debris turning into bloody pieces of flesh, cookie crumbs, fragments of computer parts, and intact thumb drives showered the ground with every bite it took. ¡°That¡¯s gross,¡± B just smiled bloodied fangs at her, and after the form¡¯s elongated tongue licked the blood from its cheeks, it belched impressively. The sound of it reverberating within the Mindspace and filled the air with the sensations of home. Air freshener tickling her nose, crisp pages of a new book, a lazy Sunday relaxing, freshly baked cakes, cookies, a dry heat, and sunshine across her skin. Julia blinked as the pleasant memories washed over her. Though instead of making things harder, it seemed as if her mental defences grew stronger still. ¡°Tell me that didn¡¯t at least score an eight as far as burp grading goes,¡± said B. Her serious tone not matching the mischief in her gaze. A pair of old school librarian reading glasses, with their tortoiseshell coloured rims, suddenly perched on its nose. ¡°I¡¯d give it a 21, nine for volume and twelve for the additional content,¡± Julia said, the dry tone matching B¡¯s own. ¡°Sweet, I broke double figures, and at least the content didn¡¯t include projectile vomiting,¡± said B. Even as B continued speaking, memories of worshipping the toilet bowl the morning after her eighteenth birthday surged within the space. However unpleasant Julia let them wash past her, remembering Mal laughing in the doorway and Dad calling out the bacon was almost ready. Dad''s words made her aware of odours wafting from the kitchen, and it felt as if the inside of her feet were trying to exit her mouth. Mal had closed the door with a click, and the continued sound of his laughter and the metal latch attempted to drive a spike through her brain. Her mum had stayed to tie back Julia¡¯s long hair before she had left. The pain and sense of loss in the homesickness Julia burned as fuel. Its molten energy fired back against the intrusive command digging around inside her, sealing it away again. ¡°We were wild on the dance floor that night,¡± ¡°At least we thought we were wild, not what the photo evidence afterwards showed,¡± said Julia. Lips were twitching in amusement at the memory of the photo with Rach and Sarah keeping her upright between them. ¡°That was the last photo. The booze had flowed into our legs by that time in the evening,¡± B said. The Id surged to her feet with a jerkiness of motion that made it seem as if she was overflowing with energy. Moves that would start in one direction erratically changed to go in a different one instead. ¡°Thanks,¡± said Julia, and the word froze B in surprise. ¡°Usd¡¯ghi seems to have a grudge against the Anar. She says she doesn¡¯t want to destroy us, but she wants to keep us here forever.¡± B said, her form blurring, and suddenly she was sitting dressed in a nice business suit behind a wide manager¡¯s desk. Julia felt like someone had called her into a Manager¡¯s office after something had gone completely pear-shaped. ¡°What do you suggest we do about it?¡± Julia couldn¡¯t help wonder what her Id had in mind, the sudden shift so unlike anything experienced from it since Livia¡¯s revelations. ¡°Wait, Watch, Wash,¡± ¡°Wash really, how is that a plan?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Stress relief cuts the tension. It keeps you ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice instead of coiling up in a stress ball. Wash things away and polish the pearl until it gleams. Fine, you tell me what you¡¯re going to do,¡± The manager¡¯s desk and suit disappeared, and B suddenly was soaking in a bath that set the one at the Silver Chalice to shame. Julia thought before she spoke and remembered how the Ki kept the destruction force separated from her form''s Abyssal Heat. Drawing on the Ki from the pool, she wrapped a wall of mist around their islands before speaking again. ¡°I will get out of here. If Usd''ghi¡¯s got a hook and line in me, then I have a line to her. She gets to harvest from whatever we bring down, but that doesn¡¯t mean she has to get the bulk of it,¡± When Harmony and Ki Meditation''s sensation enclosed further, Julia felt them carrying her deeper into herself. The descent left B¡¯s laughter behind until she was only vaguely aware of the wagon''s movement or the instruction¡¯s pressure. It wasn¡¯t till a set of wards brushed against her outer shell that Julia allowed herself to rouse. When she found the notification awaiting in her awareness, Julia smiled at the progress, aware of how much easier keeping the instruction''s imperative at bay had become. [Mental Hardening [Ad] (3->14) Ki Meditation [Ad] (39 -> 44) Demonic Instincts [Ad] (1-> 8) Time Sense [J] (4->5)] For a few bells of telling it, ''this face ain¡¯t listening''. That¡¯s a lot of progress. Pushy fucker, maybe I should spend a cycle meditating somewhere before I return. {{Our form already has a tight butt, you just want to be a complete hard arse. }} The snark from B¡¯s mental voice was back, but rather than anger, it was teasing. Just figure you¡¯d prefer to be the only one able to take digs at me. {{Some probing I won¡¯t object to, but OK they can all piss off }} I need to figure out why these wards aren¡¯t screaming either. {{Maybe because you are so loveable. }} The clearer tone of snark in B¡¯s projection to her had Julia wondering momentarily what her Id was really up to with its help. Though now inside the wards, she had business to focus on first. All the practice with Telepathy allowed Julia to explore the surrounding minds with ease, skimming over the ones closest to get a view from further away. The mind of a H¨¹msi guard standing on a high ledge gave her nearly a full view of what appeared to be a growing compound. The structures were within an enormous cavern compared to the one where they were mining the stone. They had set defensive works and kill zones up in many places, and Julia could see the transport she was riding moving through one. The guard¡¯s field of vision showed her several buildings as they turned; Julia teleported onto a roof at the edge of its perception. {{If you don¡¯t actively push your skills, you¡¯re going to be stuck forever. }} I push my skills. {{No, you try some. Though often it¡¯s the same shit different cycle rather than use them in fresh ways. }} There¡¯s the angry, snarky B again, to think I missed it. Though you have a point. Julia crouched in her Xenomorph wingless form and crept across the rooftop. Her gaze resting on the shackled Sk?ll still pulling the transport wagon into the compound and following them spotted more of them further within. Analysis told her what she wanted to know, and teeth bared; Julia grew additional eyes to scan about while moving carefully between cover. [Name: Lag¡¯nik¡¯dali Demonic Species: Lesser Sk?ll Drake Class: Warrior Level: 10 / 25 Health: 1,630 Mana: 0 Defence: 68 Melee Attack Power: 81 Combat Skills: Gore [J] (22); Trample [J] (10); Bite [J] (8); Glaive [J] (33) Details: Earning a living as a general guard and labourer, he was taken prisoner during a faction conflict. They now hold him with enchanted shackles. The enchantments bind him to follow the instructions of those in the service of Lord Qjiadl¨®v.] Security within the partially constructed complex was ironically tighter than it had been within the fortress of Setimet. The first patrol of H¨¹msi landed on the rooftop near to where Julia sheltered from a sentry¡¯s line of sight. It was only the scuffing of boots close at hand that provided a warning. The mix of leather and chain armour they wore similar to the lesser H¨¹msi she¡¯d fought when travelling with L¨ºdhins. They looked like strange humans with their deep red skin, and the full off white of their eyes gave her no clue how they saw anything. The patrol itself gave their surroundings only a cursory once over before crossing to drop to street level again. Julia was still watching the nearby sentry when a guard travelling alone landed on the rooftop. The soles of his boots made only the slightest noises as he landed, instead of crunching loudly as the earlier guards had done. Already prone on the stone, Julia held still, careful not to look directly at them in case they might feel the weight of her gaze. It was a species that Julia hadn¡¯t seen before; its broad frog-like head looked odd on the squat humanoid body. Its wide splayed feet supported a solid-looking frame, and unlike the other guards she¡¯d seen so far, its armour was a strange slick leather. However, the black armour was similar in texture to its hide, mottled in various shades of deep earthen tones. The battered and poorly patched armour in appearance at odds with the care the H¨¹msi took in their maintenance. Though when she spotted the wide collar that enclosed his neck similar to those that held the Sk?ll, Julia checked to confirm its state. [Name: Quif Demonic Species: Lesser Zrlser Class: Scout Level: 10 / 48 Health: 945 Mana: 0 Defence: 91 Melee Attack Power: 80 Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Combat Skills: Short Blades [J] (40), Short Bow [J] (40), Throwing Knives [J] (40), Spear [J] (40) Details: A native to the plane of Kap¨´cterv, a mercenary Scout taken prisoner by Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s troops upon seizing the merchant caravan they worked with. He is now held in Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s service with an enchanted collar that allows for remote instruction. It binds him to follow the instructions of those in the service of Lord Qjiadl¨®v ] All its skills combat skills are blocked at the top of Journeyman. Not smart enough to progress? As soon as it started tasting the air with a forked tongue, it was apparent just staying still would not be enough. A reflex smile didn¡¯t budge the chitin encasing her features as she remembered Klipyl. Telepathy touched its mind with a message as its gaze fixed on her location. Bulging slitted eyes blinked at her slowly as it held a gleaming short sword in its hand. ¡°Do you want to be free of your shackles?¡± Julia said, letting her voice whisper through its mind. #I see you strange one. I¡¯m not allowed to get free.# ¡°Are you allowed to stand still and let another touch your shackles?¡± #There is no order against one who is not a Slave doing so.# ¡°You should stand near me. If you swear to me afterwards, I¡¯ll help you Ascend if you¡¯re blocked.¡± His weapon already in his hand appeared to waver for a moment, and he stepped lightly towards where Julia waited, the mottled chitin of her form blending with the shadows. When Julia stayed still, it crouched within reach, but it was clear from its mind, it was ready to stab. Julia raised a hand to its neck with slow motions, and the collar vanished into her inventory. #You kept your word. I don¡¯t have to kill# ¡°Do you wish to Ascend or not?¡± Julia asked. The sharp tone of the words pressing on its mind reminding him of her offer. Her interruption in its mind cut short its considerations, which jumped between getting away or stabbing this strange Demon. #What this cost?# The suspicious tone of its mind was clear as it tried to decide if it was worth chancing it, even given that the strange one before it had already delivered once. ¡°As I told you, swear to my service, and I¡¯ll help you ascend,¡± I don¡¯t care if it serves. I want to see if I get more Shards from helping it Ascend. #Who are you then?# ¡°Viper,¡° #I swear to you service then Viper if you deliver on your half. Where do I go after I Ascend?# ¡°What¡¯s your home Plane?¡± Julia asked, feeling against the slowness of his thoughts. #I hatched in the swamps of Kap¨´cterv. Once back at death waters, I not leave.# ¡°I¡¯ll get in touch if I need anything done there,¡± [A demon has offered you service. Do you wish to be their patron?] Yes As Julia grabbed on to the Abyssal Heat within his form, her willpower crushed through its resistance. A surprised noise came from it, a muffled groan blending with a froglike croak. From its mind, it clearly enjoyed the pressure and the pain Julia was inflicting on it. The practice she¡¯d had with Klipyl¡¯s energy clear as the flow of Heat inside it picked up hurriedly, even though it felt more than Klipyl had possessed. Like Klipyl, it vanished into a black maelstrom of Abyssal power. The power blending with the shadows where Julia had hidden, not even attracting any apparent attention. [Demonic Shards gained: 5] Wonder how many of their slaves need to Ascend. Even if it''s not lots freeing, some will piss these folks off. So stage things to blame the Sisterhood or Set? With care, Julia moved to where a group of slaves were working. The Sk?ll Drake she¡¯d analysed before was there helping unload the cargo it had hauled from the cavern. Demon by Demon Julia examined the workers, and while blocked Demons weren¡¯t a large percentage of the workforce. From the count she kept of those passing where she initially focused, Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s forces owned many Demonic slaves. Hiding in cover near the busy area kept her on high alert, monitoring for anyone spotting her. Julia had to ignore the ping of stealth and perception levelling as she waited. Not needing sleep had been great for survival in the tunnels now brought issues with breaking the slaves free. With no need for rest, the guards did not hold them in barracks or dormitories to sleep or even give a break. When the transports were finally empty, they ordered the quads of Sk?ll back into the transports'' harnesses. Julia shifted form, teleported onto the last wagon in the line and waited for them to leave the cavern. When it was well out of hearing range, Julia made her move, shifting to her wingless form and hitting the driver with Ki strike. The flesh and bone shattered under her first strike, and Julia felt the blackness seize at it. As the H¨¹msi driver swung towards her, Teleport carried Julia past, and tentacles snaked out to strike against the manacles and harness. A well-thrown knife dug through the Ki Armour as the manacles vanished, and Julia teleported away again. Her perch shifting to the next driver seat and that H¨¹msi failed to notice her arrival, distracted by the screams behind him. When Ki Strike and Death Strike drove her fist straight through its head, she got free by teleporting again. When the final H¨¹msi went down, and the bloodied Sk?ll finished ripping the wounded apart, they turned their gaze towards Julia. [Combat Summary Lesser H¨¹msi x5 Lesser H¨¹msi x5 (20% share) Demonic Shards gained: 10 Total Experience distributed between classes: 6,324 Monk: +3,162 Succubus: +3,162 Death Strike (4->9) Silent Kill (4->5) Ki Infusion [Ad] (45->46) Ki Strike [Ad] (45->46) Stealth [Ad] (4->5)] ¡°Lag¡¯nik¡¯dali,¡± Julia said, nodding politely to the Sk?ll she¡¯d used Analyse on first. With a simple gesture, she held out her hand and the manacles and harnesses she¡¯d removed dropped to the ground. ¡°Any of you able to Ascend?¡± Before he finally spoke to Julia, the Sk?ll looked at each other, not having taken issue with her using his name. ¡°What are you? Why would any help us?¡± asked Lag¡¯nik¡¯dali, its words heavy with anger and suspicion. ¡°I¡¯m a Xenona in the service of Lady Eakc?. My Lady had to break free of those that shackled her. So she isn¡¯t in favour of anyone shackling other demons; she prefers strong willing servants. I help you Ascend, and it helps me. Plus, I¡¯d like you to spread some rumours when you get home,¡± {{Liar, Liar pants on Fire! }} ¡°How does helping us Ascend help you? What rumours?¡± ¡°Forcing you to Ascend lets me tap into the Abyssal energy of the rift that absorbs you, that helps my growth. Rumours about the force that attacked Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s convoy and how you all escaped while they were torturing the guards." ¡°Speeding your growth makes sense. Why would you want us to talk about you? You looking for Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s guards to come put a collar on you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll show you what you¡¯ll talk about to any that will listen. Don¡¯t speak the name of their master unless you¡¯re in a city,¡± Julia put images like a movie set within their minds, and they saw the convoy of wagons attacked by a squad of Kralc¨ª. When the mental movie finished playing, and they¡¯d looked between each other wordlessly. [Telepathy [Ad] (34->36)] ¡°Never heard of a Xenona,¡± said Lag¡¯nik¡¯dal. Julia just shrugged at its suspicious tone, took out the Dusk Emerald, and prepared an altered imprint. When Lag¡¯nik¡¯dal eyes widened after it read the imprint offered in the stone, Julia was glad for the Chitin keeping the amusement from her features. Especially when it had resulted in the Profile control skill levelling, she had bolstered and completely changed readings instead of downplaying skills. As they held the emerald, Julia could see their thoughts as they felt the content of it. [Profile Control [J] (2->6)] ¡°You¡¯re a named Vortex Storm! Not heard your name before Monty. All but Kari¡¯plo¡¯nik could Ascend, but none of us has managed it and the shackles stop us from trying. Sk?ll rarely makes it beyond lesser tier,¡± Lag¡¯nik¡¯dali said, gesturing towards one of the gathered group, before handing back the Emerald. This whole thing feels like a Monty Python skit about now. {{She¡¯s not the messiah she¡¯s just a very frigid girl. }} Bitch! ¡°Why a big shot wizard fighter help us?¡° Kari¡¯plo¡¯nik asked and quickly received a punch in the ear from another. "Who wants to Ascend first?¡± asked Julia, looking to avoid repeated rounds of explanation. Thirty-nine Ascended Sk?ll and one ninety-five Demonic shards later, Kari¡¯plo¡¯nik was the only one still present. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Can you push the wagons together, then I¡¯ll get you to a portal out to Hrz¡¯Styrn if that¡¯s useful,¡± ¡°Unloaded wagons easy to move. Not native to that plane, but it better than tunnels,¡± said Kari¡¯plo¡¯nik, in its jarring speech pattern. A few shock blasts cast with Spatial Mana scattered the metal and stone of the wagons about the passage. Given the Sk?ll¡¯s size it was just as well she¡¯d had the large storage bags. Shortly after Kari¡¯plo¡¯nik stuck his paw in the bag Julia set him down outside the Portal to Hrz¡¯Styrn. Julia smiled, watching them plod off through towards ¨´eqr?kas while challenging the forces of the Castellan¡¯s instruction on her mind. Knowing the Portal lead closer to the Stronghold, it dug hard into her awareness, and with deliberate taunting of its pressure, Julia turned and walked away. Once the pressure lessened, she teleported back close to the compound and slipped inside again.
They¡¯re Demons J, just do what you need to do. Perched above the compound, Julia finally gave up on finding the perfect solution and Teleport placed her behind another isolated and enslaved Zrlser. Before it could turn on her, its collar vanished, and Julia¡¯s will compressed the essence within it together. It barely groaned before the Abyss drew it in, and Julia moved onto another. When she finished with isolated scouts and workers who could Ascend, she paid a visit to the rooms of the guard¡¯s primary commander. A commander who was dead in his chambers before large groups of slaves found themselves freed as their collars vanished completely or fell away in pieces. Battle lines formed against the guards as the spare contents of the armoury appeared among those freed. The presence of weapons fueling their desire for revenge against the guards, and sometimes old rivals. Chaos whirled through the construction site as explosions of Spatial and Primordial mana ripped apart guards trying to regain control. The continual disappearance of slaves from among those fighting went unnoticed, given the chaos of the battle. Julia avoided joining in the melee and took action from the shadows, freeing slaves and Ascending those suitable. As a Wizard at the back of one group of guards shaped a spell, Julia watched it form with Mana sense. As he pulled water mana into a spell form''s shape, Julia recognised the same habit Yngvarr had smacked her for using and the vulnerability of it. Not sure what would happen, she injected a surge of Abyssal mana into the spell form as it neared completion and mentally blinked as a ball of plasma exploded in his face. The force of the explosion ripped apart guards and slaves alike and blasted chunks of a nearby wall into dust. [Skill Mana Finesse Unlocked Mana Finesse (1) Mana Manipulation ranks absorbed by Mana Finesse. Mana Finesse (1) -> [Ad](49) Base Mana Multiplier progressed to x4 Base Mana Multiplier upgraded by item(s) to x6 Skill Unlocked: Spell Disruption Spell Disruption (1) ] By the time the battle ended, both sides bloodied by the fighting fled the cavern. The conflict leaving the hundreds of buildings within the compound badly damaged if not toppled. Guard towers sprawled over the previously re-enforced defensive emplacements they had provided over-watch on. Broken bodies of guards and slaves alike were being picked over by the combatants that hadn¡¯t fled the scene. [Combat Summary: Least H¨¹msi x5 Lesser Dretch x12 Lesser H¨¹msi x52 H¨¹msi x1 Demonic Shards gained 25.5 Total-Experience distributed between classes: 72,230 Monk: 4,024 Wizard: +34,103 Succubus: +34,103] So I only get Demonic Shards if I hit them with Energy Drain. Though the experience wasn''t a lot, added to the five hundred and twenty-five additional shards Julia had gotten from slaves she¡¯d forced to Ascend, the progress wasn¡¯t anything to sneeze at. Even if her gamer self wanted to even out the number of shards on the profile. Julia was pondering the number of Demonic forces she¡¯d strengthened when V interrupted his tone comforting. ((They are unlikely to Ascend again, and you¡¯ll have centuries to destroy others on their home planes to balance things. )) {{Never mind balancing things. I need a ciggie after that fun. }} The purring voice in her mind made Julia want to shake her head, and she sensed B¡¯s amusement at the reaction. I never smoked. {{Not in the last life, sweetie. But we¡¯re smoking now. Please don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re going to meditate again.}} I¡¯ve got at least one Affinity I can try to get, plus I¡¯m wondering if the Grotto¡¯s Song would lead to Order. {{There is still others at the stonework¡¯s cavern. Kill some more first! }} ((The Song is part of the Titan¡¯s order, it''s why it conflicts with the Abyssal Heat. )) Fine! After I gain Destruction and Order, I¡¯ll see about setting miners free and killing guards.
The chaos among the stoneworkers quickly reached the point where her sense of self felt battered from the essence within. Sure that she was pushing her luck, Julia freed the rest of the Demons from their shackles and teleported away. Meditation on the mark sheltered within her side, and the Grotto¡¯s song added Destruction and Order in as short a time as any other Affinity. Decades? It would seem not. How do I gain them so fast? ((The Anar helped the Titan sing many things into existence. Even if you do not remember them, the essence of you is in tune with them. )) I¡¯m going to have to risk learning Usd¡¯ghi''s spell form. If I go back to the Sisterhood anchored to that plane, it could go sideways fast. ((Learn it and project it across the spirit bridge, I can tell you if it¡¯s a trap. Might I suggest a plane to use? )) Where? ((Pandemonium. It¡¯s rare, but some Demons call it home. )) Isn¡¯t that a chaotic plane? ((Yes, but why do you sound so pleased? )) "Chaos makes three?" Though it was tempting to go directly, there Julia opted for sitting in the Grotto¡¯s song and set the Grimoire on her lap.
The worker¡¯s near the dredging mechanism lifting bodies from the river dove away as a rift manifested over the river. As reality cracked, the rift exploded in a jet of flames; the heat incinerating the corpses floating directly underneath. When the flames died enough for them to look up, they saw the unblemished ivory skin of a Succubus with wings unfurled, hovering motionless in midair. The very air about them shimmered with the pressure of their presence, and the group groaned with desire and adoration as her will pressed down upon them. [Mental Hardening [M](5->6) Demonic Tier Progression Completed Lesser Succubus successfully ascended to Succubus. Excess demonic shard energy converted. +5 Charisma Attributes applied Resistance: Poison progressed from Minor to base. Resistance: Electricity progressed from Minor to base. Power: Translate Languages evolved to Tongues Tongues gained 15 points from ascending to Succubus. Tongues [J] (17->32) Dark Sight, Mana Sense and Soul Sight detected Power: True Sight Unlocked True Sight (1) Dark Sight and Mana Sense absorbed into True Sight. True Sight (1) -> [Ad] (2) True Sight not able to absorb greater power: Soul Sight. Greater Teleport (Self) already present. Greater Teleport (Self) [Ad] (7) evolved into Greater Teleport [Ad] (7). Acting gained 15 points from ascending to Succubus. Acting [Ap](25) -> [J](10) Abyssal Lore gained 15 points from ascending to Succubus. Abyssal Lore [J](38) -> Abyssal Lore [Ad](13) Bluff not detected. 15 points added to skill points (20->35 Skill Points) Haggling gained 15 points from ascending to Succubus. Haggling [Ap] (24)->[J] (9) Stealth gained 15 points from ascending to Succubus. Stealth [Ad](5 -> 20) Seduction not detected. 15 points added to skill points (35->50 Skill Points) Stimulation detected. Stimulation gained 15 points from ascending to Succubus. Stimulation [J] (33) -> [Ad] (8) 800 Additional Demonic essence shards converted. 80 Attribute points added to the unallocated count, 80 are currently awaiting allocation. Demonic Faction: Unbound (Group: Sisterhood of Blood). Progression transfer to the Unbound home plane of Hrz¡¯Styrn completed. Alert: Destruction of your demonic form will cause banishment and a century¡¯s imprisonment on Pandemonium, as no other planar option available. Ascending adjustments completed.] As Julia opened her eyes and the flames finished turning bodies to ash, she mentally flickered open profile. Without hesitation, she applied all the points to her Willpower. From the shoreline deepening Demonic groans attracted her attention. When eyes filled with swirling white-hot flames turned towards them, the group were already on their bellies. The power in each of them clear to Julia as her gaze passed over them. [Dominion [Ad](6->8)] 68 - Right back where we started from With the inferno gone, Julia was aware of more than merely holding out against it. The residue that had coated the pool inside her was no longer present. Instead, it had hardened into an obsidian bowl resting coldly against her Soul. Mentally dismissing the grovelling of the Demons near the ramshackle machinery, Julia looked down and found herself naked. Though the spiderweb that had marked her abdomen was nowhere to be seen, Julia was making no effort to obscure it. Julia sheathed ivory flesh in the dominator¡¯s leathers with the briefest of thoughts. The flames burning in her eyes reflected off the dark mirror of the river¡¯s waters and drew awareness to other changes. The compulsion to return to the Stronghold was unabated but now felt a mere whisper, and ignoring its insistence, Julia teleported closer to ¨´eqr?kas. The power placing her where she¡¯d sheltered before entering it the first time, so recently though it now felt a lifetime ago. The ridgeline that overlooked the city of ¨´eqr?kas just a stone¡¯s throw away, Julia paused before creating a steel mirror to examine the changes Ascending had caused. The white flames the water had reflected were brighter in the steel, but there were changes in her face and form beside the flames. Some changes went beyond the Succubus form, as Julia wasn¡¯t able to recognise her own expression within the beauty of the reflected features. It made her wonder if she was just on guard within the Abyss or if staying awake within the inferno had scoured something from her. Unlike the first Ascension, when Ki had enfolded her, there was no numbness inside her. Instead, it was as if a wind had scoured her down to bedrock, allowing the exposed material to be smelted free of impurities. Other changes were quite distinctive; the short spiked horns that had risen from above her ears were no longer alone. Spaced out between them in an arc, five other curved horns had joined them, cutting forward along her hairline. A bizarre tiara formation that looked capable of disembowelling someone now nestled in her bluish-black hair. The horns that had been originally black gleamed like ivory, matching the whiteness heating her gaze. Ears that had been almost human now looked Elvish, all her eyeteeth had turned to true fangs; and now an unsettling, elongated tongue contributed to the sensation of being pulled apart by existence within the Abyss. One foothill down, another climb to go. ((More that your feet are no longer in danger of the tide. )) {{Look at your tongue now. Gene Simmons ain¡¯t got nothing on that thing. }} The corruption of the Abyssal flames had met the Ki turning white-hot where they touched, a smelter for all the anger, pain and longing inside her. B had seemed to take great delight in vomiting up painful memories or dark emotions, and the occurrences had caused the flames to burn even hotter across them both. It made the time spent resisting the siren call of the Castellan¡¯s instruction seem but a footnote. The eternity of the inferno had made it hard to register anything besides pain. When the rift had thrust her physically into the Abyss, the progress of Mental Hardening had immediately attracted her attention. Now she wondered if that influenced the steel in her expression. {{We came through it together. Did it rock your world? Wonder if Nicholas now wishes his mum had swallowed instead? }} The amusement in B''s voice burst Julia¡¯s introspective state, and laughter filled the air. The purity of the amusement a strange sound indeed to hear within the Abyss. Thanks for the laugh. You had an impressive amount to throw up. {{Sweetie, that was only a fraction of the interest. Don¡¯t go thinking it''s all fixed. }} The Id¡¯s tone sounded delighted to break the bad news to Julia, and the sound of water being splashed echoed in her awareness. Fine, enjoy your bath time. {{Oh, I will. Use your points. A hard look is fine, but a proper poker face is safer. }} I had something else planned for them, not acting. {{We¡¯ll need it to survive. }} [Fifteen (15) Skill Points spent: Battle Trance [Ad] (36) -> [M] (1) Seven (7) Skill Points spent: Ki Meditation [Ad] (44) -> [M] (1) Battle Trance and Ki Meditation combined and evolved into Zen State [M] (6) Base Ki Multiplier progressed to x7] Okay, that I didn¡¯t expect. {{Going for an emotionless robot all the time? }} Julia shook her head at the stark anger that filled B¡¯s tone, its mood as mercurial as ever. That¡¯s not the meaning of Zen, but I¡¯ll check on it and the others. Analysis: Zen State [Zen State: This skill allows the practitioner to keep themselves in a state of calm attentiveness where actions are guided by intuition rather than conscious effort. Other skills that provide forms of mental reinforcement will function in synergy with this skill.] {{Okay, maybe that¡¯s better than your ice age approach. Balancing berserker instincts and logic girl. }} {{What were you going to do if you didn''t get something like that? }} Julia wondered about the happiness in B''s mental tone but tried to keep things semi-civil from her side. I hadn''t expected either to evolve. I''m planning to play games with Protean. Don''t you already know? {{I''ve been talking to myself for eons beyond count. A girl could go crazy. }} I''m sure that ship has long since sailed. As laughter resounded inside, Julia continued checking the new items within the Profile. Analysis: Spell Disruption [Spell Disruption: The skill allows the user to take advantage of openings in the construction of spells in line of sight. It can disrupt spells under observation in their formation stage or after the energy is already in motion. With the option of either explosive or harmless results, depending on the skill level and the spell. ] Analysis: Mana Finesse [Mana Finesse: While Mana Manipulation allows the user to tap into and move mana about, this power allows the possessor to do so with far greater refinement. While the user¡¯s mana pool doesn¡¯t actually increase, it effectively does, due to the greater efficiency they can achieve using mana. Where users of mana manipulation require a rope of power; users of this skill make use of refined silken cords, and subtle touches.] That¡¯s sweet will need to push it to the next tier. Now, does the ''tongues'' power do what I think it does? {{Tongue me deep! }] The memory of the Succubi with their busy tongues in Setau''s chamber came to the forefront of her mind. The shape of their tongues within the memories illustrating a similarity to that additional aspect of her form. Julia could clearly feel B expecting her response and instead continued with what she was doing. Analysis: Tongues [Tongues: The possessor can converse with an individual in their native spoken language. This power only works on fully sapient individuals and doesn''t aid the possessor to read or write as well. It doesn¡¯t provide a communication method with monsters or creatures not in possession of a native tongue, no matter how well trained or intelligent. Nor does it allow the possessor to keep knowledge of the language when not in their presence. It also allows the possessor to understand all words spoken in their hearing, if not from an arcane language, even if the speaker isn''t the focus of their attention.] Fine, no need to hold on to Knowledge points for quickly learning languages, though I''ll get more of them with Wizard levels. [Two (2) Skill Points spent: Mana Finesse[Ad](49) -> [M](1) Base Mana Multiplier progressed to x5 Base Mana Multiplier upgraded by item(s) to x7 Seven (7) Knowledge Points spent: Arcane [Ad] (5->12)] {{Being lazy there, hardly your normal studious self. }} If I had books or time to study, it would be different. Would you prefer to avoid traps or not? After minutes of continued silence, Julia waited for a response, before using Analysis on the other powers gained with the Ascending. Analysis: True Sight [True Sight: This power allows the user to see reality¡¯s truths. Illusions, shape-shifting, magically altered objects, the nature of mana uses, and enchantments are all obvious to the world perceived while this power is in use. Greater experience with it will provide a refined meaning of the details.] Analysis: Greater Teleport [Greater Teleport: Like the Greater Teleport (Self) Power, this allows the possessor to teleport safely to a location where they have at least an accurate description. However, it is no longer restricted to moving themselves; the possessor can move up to 25 kilograms weight per level for their combined species and class levels, besides their own body weight. The power positions objects or individuals teleporting with them reappear as per the possessor''s visualisation. Current restriction: 4,625 kilograms.] [Twenty-four (24) Skills Points spent: Unarmed Combat [M] (2->26)] ((Decades if not centuries of insights for some in mere moments. I wonder at the Titan¡¯s intentions.)) Sorry V, I know he likely has your dedication still, but I couldn''t care fucking less for what he intends. As for the unarmed combat, I plan to know Naz¡¯rilca properly. {{You crazy girl. Though that does sound like fun. Don¡¯t suppose it¡¯s in bed and a beating?}} Like Farhad did, with breaking bones repeatedly. Naz¡¯rilca really? What is it with you and sex? I wouldn¡¯t touch her in bed with a ten-foot pole. The suggestion of doing anything with the Succubus turned Julia¡¯s stomach, especially with B¡¯s mental tone unclear if she was serious or not. {{Classic Dungeon equipment! The ten-foot pole, you know it''s intended for laundry. Can we get dirty? }} {{Or one with a really sharp spike on top? So Phallic. The silent treatment coming from you now.}} {{You want to stick a spike in her cunt, and I¡¯m not allowed my fun. So mean. }} Julia didn''t argue with B¡¯s snide remarks but set about getting a feel for the difference the ranks in Unarmed Combat made. Techniques Master Farhad had worked with Julia to add to her style seemed now to click into place, extending from attack and defensive techniques already ingrained. It felt as if further insights were within reach, but at present still needed further practice. It took a few bells of work before Julia managed a shape like her previous appearance. The challenge wasn¡¯t the appearance itself but the flames that burned in her gaze. It brought one advantage to the fore though, the expressionless unblinking features that the fake front afforded. Though it started with her eyes, Julia built herself a false face, mobile enough only to allow speech without issue. The outside world seeing only what expressions she allowed Protean to form on the mask of flesh, the windows to her Soul literally closed for business. True Sight providing her with the ability to see, regardless of if her form possessed eyes or not. While losing the ability to look out a distant shadow was a loss, the evolved power seemed potentially valuable. V, can you determine if something has cut that link to Usd''ghi? ((The remains of what you siphoned from Set''s faithful baked in the inferno''s kiln, forming that bowl that touches on your Soul now. )) ((The bowl''s formation seems to have broken the link. The power is no longer hers, your Soul took possession of it, and broke the line.)) Fuck! {{YES!!! No???}} Feeling the sensation of B pouting at her, Julia just waited until a plain peace offering rose. The memories of another favourite rock song started playing in her mind, and Julia accepted the peace offering by continuing the agreed dance practice. If dancing got clear memories of home, then she''d continue working on her side of the agreement.
Greater Teleport delivered Julia close to where she had intended to arrive, and yet the sight in front of her didn¡¯t come close to matching expectations. A redirection, similar to what had landed her in the Castellan¡¯s office a while ago, must have been responsible for Julia¡¯s arrival point. Julia stood on the edge of a massive pit, the Stronghold¡¯s gate and a large section of the wall appeared as if something had scooped them away. Beyond the pit, silhouettes of Succubi in-flight marked the stonework of the inner courtyard to form a negative bleached into the fabric of reality. Julia¡¯s True Sight showing her those whose destruction had been complete, while others appeared to have suffered lesser injuries. However, those only ¡®injured¡¯ wouldn¡¯t be coming back to this place soon, as the destruction of their forms would lock them to their home Plane. The symbol of Set etched into the rock before the spire¡¯s main door tickled Julia¡¯s amusement. Even from this distance, the black rock making up the pit and symbol¡¯s edges seemed to resonate with the material that had compressed itself into the empty bowl inside her. Reconstruction work was already underway, with hordes of Dretch workers placing rocks and dirt into the pit. Succubi casters around the Pit transformed the deposited materials into solid granite. However deep the hole had been, the workers had hundreds of metres of reconstruction efforts to bring it level. The rock feels like the residue and the pool itself. The recall order was only a few cycles after Usd¡¯ghi and I last spoke. {{I love Usd¡¯ghi. She gives the nicest of gifts. When you see her, tell Usd¡¯ghi to bounce on the enormous dildo next. }} {{Baln¨¦rith or the Castellan, not the tower. }} Is this why she had the Elders gather? {{What if the Castellan wants to blame you? Are you going to assume the position on her desk? Growl!!}} Who me? I¡¯ve been in Tern¨°x, I know nothing! ((The Castellan¡¯s name is ?obaq, a lesser angel she was a long-time ally and servant of Baln¨¦rith. )) ((She likes order. Her preference likely would have been to risk the Dukes of Hell instead of fleeing to the Abyss. )) So this place is her worst nightmare. ((Indeed!)) V''s tone had gone from his normal calm to a delighted amusement that would best the keenest of Bs excitement. That explains why she was so pissed at me for throwing more disorder into the Stronghold¡¯s routine. Sisterhood guards stood near Julia¡¯s arrival point, and as a circle on the ground shone with blood-red light, they relaxed. True Sight provided an odd double exposure effect, as the variation in their forms showed within the official Sisterhood appearance. The Zen State skill made it seem as if the information was just flooding into her awareness, as it took in the knowledge gathered by her senses. [Perception [Ad] (1->3)] Julia let the notification wash away when the nearest of the Succubi spoke. ¡°Name?¡± As the Sister in charge spoke, Analysis provided their name as one of the few Julia knew. F¨®rla?rea?, who had questioned Naz¡¯rilca after the disruption in the courtyard. True sight showing her very different to the other Succubi. The form masked by the uniform seemed breathtakingly beautiful, Elven in appearance, with the dusky skin of ebony blackness. Eyes of silver shone through the black gaze that locked on Julia, and as her hair shifted with every motion, threads of starlight gleamed in their wake. F¨®rla?rea?¡¯s wings were different to both the ¨¤luga and Culerzic norms, large arcing feathered wings of shining darkness showed in the superimposed state. As Julia studied her, the intensity of Abyssal Heat burning within her became clear, moving about under her flesh like clotted rancid cream. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. [True Sight [Ad] (2->4)] As Analysis focused on F¨®rla?rea?, it again just returned a series of unknown markers. Though it provided an extensive list of combat skills, it didn''t show their skill level. What it provided to Julia were details about F¨®rla?rea? herself that made sense of what Julia could see of her form. [Details: A Succubus native to the plane of Ijmti, the Sisterhood of Blood has its primary holding on this plane. F¨®rla?rea? has been in the service of Lady Baln¨¦rith since she agreed to serve her for eternity if Baln¨¦rith would help save the Night Elves from destruction on the material plane. Only to find Baln¨¦rith leaving them scattered and trapped out of reach of mortal threats in the depths of Tern¨°x. Like all the Night Elf Souls in Lady Baln¨¦rith¡¯s service, she is forbidden from Ascending to Named. Analysis [Ad](18->21)] Well, fuck! Screwed over and then screwed again! {{Oh girl, get me excited. }} Analysis: Ijmti [Ijmti: This plane of the Abyss is one of the deepest corrupted layers. The edges of it touch the untainted Primordial Abyss, causing the reality of this plane to destroy the minds of mortals and weaker demons alike. Several powerful ¡®neutral¡¯ groups within the Abyss have settlements and fortifications on this plane. Among these groups are the Sisterhood of Blood, Legion of Desolation, Servants of the Elders, and Cloister of the Fallen.] The Abyssal name of the Servants brushed against the primordial language within Julia. The mental shudder making it easy to resist the temptation to see if Analysis would provide her more details on the groups. It sounds like what Naz¡¯rilca was boasting about. There is a group that serves the first of the Primordials; I think I¡¯ll keep clear of the neighbours. ¡°Novice J, returning to the Stronghold at the Castellan¡¯s instruction,¡± If F¨®rla?rea? recognised the name, she didn¡¯t react to it, simply gesturing to a Hag nearby to make a note before speaking to Julia again. The red points in the Hag''s gaze lit up in apparent amusement at Julia¡¯s name, even as she recorded the details. Fuck! Is she a member of the Coven? ¡°Approach the Stronghold via the gap¡¯s lefthand side, look for the runework passage. Your sigil will permit you entry,¡± Analysis [Name: Dret¡®balca¡¯ghi Demonic Species: Abyssal Stone Hag. Class: Hag / Dissolution Hexer / Spy Level: 16 / unknown / unknown Health: unknown Mana: unknown Defence: unknown Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (5), Dagger [M] (1), Throwing Knives [Ad] (5) - Various spell forms - Affinity: Chaos, Spatial, Destruction, Negative, Void, Details: An ¡®exiled¡¯ member of the Coven of Hollow Stars, currently in the Sisterhood''s employment. Analysis [Ad](21->22)] Note to self: use Analysis on powerful individuals. {{You already made that note! I''d suggest next time push your intelligence up, or make use of what you have. }} ¡°Novice J¡¯s assigned mentor is Naz¡¯rilca. She was on duty in the gatehouse, Commander F¨®rla?rea?,¡± said Dret¡®balca¡¯ghi, her tone abrupt and factual. ¡°I remember you now, little J. If you are reporting on the Castellan¡¯s instruction, then go to her office for assignment. Since Naz¡¯rilca won¡¯t be able to teach you unless you¡¯re assigned to the Order¡¯s Castle,¡± F¨®rla?rea? said, giving Julia a barbed smile. Dret¡®balca¡¯ghi, thanks ever so much, right into the dragon¡¯s den instead of the Lion¡¯s. Naz¡¯rilca was in the gatehouse. Did Usd¡¯ghi aim whatever that was at her? Blood relative and all that. ¡°The redirection spell form is interesting. Who made it? I¡¯m glad my teleport didn¡¯t blend me into a worker,¡± said Julia, gesturing towards the circle she¡¯d appeared in. ¡°A spell and precise runework, Novice. Perhaps I might teach you for a fee,¡± Dret¡®balca¡¯ghi said, smirking at Julia. ¡°How would you like some questions from a knowledge Demon?¡± Julia asked, idly wondering how loud Naz¡¯rilca would scream when she learnt the deal was dust. ¡°Enough. Be on your way Novice,¡± said F¨®rla?rea?, and Julia started walking as soon as F¨®rla?rea? gestured for her to move on. ¡°I¡¯m sure the Castellan will be pleased to see you again.¡± The words called after her didn¡¯t even make Julia flinch, just adding to the information being sorted within the Zen State that she held onto with ease. {{Mumsie is cross with you, little darling. }} Julia headed towards where F¨®rla?rea? had gestured, glad the mask was merely showing a resting bitch face to those observing. The runework passageway seemed to glow in Julia¡¯s perception, though once inside the wards teleport placed her effortlessly in the corridor that approached the Castellan¡¯s office. As Julia approached, another Succubus left and walked past her without a hint of acknowledgement in the official form. Before the door could close, Julia moved past her to stop it. As Julia touched the door, the Castellan¡¯s voice snarled from within the room. ¡°Did you need me to refuse another stupidity?¡± asked Castellan, her voice edged with furious impatience. {{She opened her mouth, and dumb came out. }} ¡°I¡¯m here on your instruction, Castellan. Should I return another time?¡± asked Julia. The tone of voice sounding disinterested and calm even to her own ears. The sense of being separated from the moment lay on Julia¡¯s awareness, leaving her free to direct rather than react. She¡¯s got a cluster fuck on her nice neat front lawn. Likely looking to want interruptions done with fast or a reason to lash out at someone. [Acting [J](10->12)] ¡°Come in,¡± Castellan said, her tone dropping the furious inflection, but the impatience remained. Unruffled motions carried Julia into the office, and the place looked quite different. Instead of its former neat state, it looked like someone had thrown the contents of bookcases about the room. Books, scrolls, and parchment piled on nearly every flat space until the desk and side tables had overrun onto the floor. It was clear from their state someone had scattered them about a while ago now, from parchment creased and dog-eared. The Castellan, unlike the others exactly matched her outer form, but in a way that felt forced and scarred. As if a greater force had pushed the essence of her into an uncomfortable shape and continued to press till it was unclear where the truth of her separated from the mould anymore. Analysis provided no revelations about the Castellan¡¯s level, just echoing back the list of unknown Julia had seen last time, the only exception being the addition of the name V had shared with her. If she¡¯s doing research herself, then the Castellan either can¡¯t delegate for shit, or it''s too important for her to trust anyone. ¡°J. Have you gained any knowledge touring the tunnels of Tern¨°x?¡± Castellan asked. Her tone lightened as if glad to have a break from whatever she was working on. ¡°Some knowledge Castellan, though the tunnels are vast. I¡¯ve been spending my time in them trying to learn them accurately,¡± replied Julia. ¡°How are you handling mapping in that maze of tunnels?¡± asked Castellan, the anticipation clear in her voice. Julia just held up the cube of memories for a moment before making it disappear back into inventory. ¡°What is that?¡± The lack of obvious answer not phasing the Castellan, though her gaze narrowed thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s an item I purchased to enable me to do so with precision,¡± said Julia, hoping a sense of accuracy would appeal to the Castellan amid the chaos. The Castellan gaze narrowed as her attention remained fixed on Julia. ¡°It smelt infernal." ¡°From what little I learnt of its origins, it came from a Devil''s corpse. It lets the owner replay memories of places they¡¯ve been while the cube was present with them. Even details they might not have been aware they noticed,¡± ¡°Are you certain it only does that?¡± interrogated the Castellan suspiciously. ¡°I had it examined by someone besides the seller. Though the Treasury sold it to me, they¡¯re supposedly famous for neutral dealings,¡± explained Julia. ¡°You set about to do your assigned task properly prepared,¡± allowed the Castellan begrudgingly. ¡°I tried using a Br¨ªn guide, but they had their own agenda. I split from them as soon as I could do so,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Where did you find a Treasury shop front within Tern¨°x?¡± Julia nodded at the expected question and gave another truthful answer. ¡°They have a branch in a mining outpost of Z?hma. I went there after I discovered some of my guide¡¯s agenda.¡± ¡°Some?¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain they had multiple plans in mind besides getting me into a trap. Lord Qjiadl¨®v certainly doesn¡¯t need my services as a slave for his mining operations. I purchased the cube with loot and then went back to my assignment,¡± explained Julia. All truthful statements, just misrepresented by being run together. ¡°Do you have proof that you tangled with Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s troops?¡± Julia just withdrew one of the storage bags from inventory and held it, ensuring the crest on its rim was clearly visible. ¡°How do I know you didn¡¯t purchase it?¡± asked the Castellan, her suspicion slowly easing as the questions continued. ¡°It can hold up to four thousand kilograms of weight, I do not know how much I''d have to accumulate to buy one. When I took it from the corpse of a B?rftiz guard in the employ of Lord Qjiadl¨®v, it contained processed resources from a mine near where we fought. I¡¯ve still to learn why they didn¡¯t just have someone Teleport back with it. I sold the resources to the miner''s group operating out of Z?hma, as well as collected the bounties,¡± ¡°Have you fought other factions in there?¡± ¡°Only his, a variety of Nox. Some could talk, most were bestial. Also, some individuals involved in the guide¡¯s schemes,¡± Julia said, returning the storage bag to her inventory, glad she knew her amulet could also store them. ¡°The Br¨ªn¡¯s name?¡± asked the Castellan. ¡°Does it matter? Pretty sure he didn¡¯t give me the right one; giant ill-tempered, three arms and erratic as anyone,¡± said Julia, wanting to avoid any chance of the Castellan tracking down L¨ºdhins for a chat. ¡°True. How did you cause four Souls to scream loud enough to cause that disturbance in the courtyard?¡° Four? What? ¡°Who told you it was four? I wasn¡¯t sure what I needed to do, to shut them up. They didn¡¯t scream that way on the material plane. It was the first time I had any Souls within me in the Abyss. Unfortunately, some Succubi don''t have the discipline to resist temptations of immediate desire,¡± Julia said, not sure where Castellan had got her information. ¡°You count yourself disciplined?¡± asked Castellan, her tone doubtful, as fingers tapped against the parchment in the grimoire in front of her. ¡°May I ask, compared to what? I know I wasn¡¯t the one fucking my duty partner while on security detail. Even when they were screaming, I didn¡¯t lose control. Some can¡¯t control themselves or don¡¯t put in the effort they should. Then they always seem able to leave others to pick up the pieces,¡± Julia said, making a brief gesture towards the disorderly piles about the room. ¡°You had never brought Souls back?¡± Castellan asked, the surprise clear in her voice. ¡°Never. They were the first Souls I had ever harvested. I didn¡¯t even know they¡¯d react that way. Initial attempts to learn anything take time to perfect, and even bringing knowledge in line with practice isn¡¯t immediate. Is there something I can assist with?¡± {{Teacher''s Pet! }] ¡°I doubt you have the training for it. Nor is it the reason for you being recalled. Though if you eliminated a caravan with a B?rftiz, maybe you¡¯ve gained enough combat experience to be useful,¡± admitted the Castellan. ¡°Two,¡± Julia said, interrupting before the Castellan could continue. ¡°What do you mean?¡± The Castellan''s voice did not show their earlier ill-temper, merely inviting further explanation. ¡°There were two B?rftiz; I killed them both. Plus the H¨¹msi that were escorting them and the transport wagons. Though the most valuable materials were in the storage bags carried by the B?rftiz,¡± ¡°You killed a full caravan by yourself?¡± ¡°I was exploring the tunnel, and they were in my way. Your instruction was continually insistent that I do my duty, Castellan,¡± said Julia. A single shoulder shrug, trying to emphasise a lack of choice in the matter. ¡°Arrange an Imprint,¡± Castellan said, the simple words snapped with a tone of command. ¡°Did Naz¡¯rilca not share it with you?¡± asked Julia. She made no move to leave and instead drew forth the Dusk Emerald. On seeing it, the Castellan raised an eyebrow but simply waited while Julia wrapped it with Abyssal Heat. ¡°No, she did not. I would see what it would show me now. Where did you gain that?¡± ¡°Looted it from someone that stole from a caravan. There was a bounty on them. The group putting it up wasn¡¯t interested in whatever they¡¯d previously gained,¡± answered Julia without hesitation. ¡°What did you do with them?¡± asked the Castellan. ¡°I killed them,¡± Julia declared flatly. ¡°You are very concise,¡± Castellan said, in a tone so flatly neutral, it provided no hint if it was a problem or not. ¡°Am I wrong in assuming you have a lot going on presently?¡± asked Julia, making the mask''s eyes flicker toward one of the larger stacks. The coldness in the Castellan''s expression eased further. ¡°I would suggest you get a better ''Use'' name for yourself, J.¡± ¡°Trouble,¡± said Julia, wanting to keep any rumours of Viper''s activities and dealings with the Treasury well clear of herself. ¡°Why is it trouble to do so?¡± asked Castellan. The look on her face making it clear she was wondering at Julia''s ignorance. ¡°No, that¡¯s my ''Use'' name,¡± Julia said. ¡°Trouble. Interesting.¡± Julia was glad for the flesh mask''s inability to react, considering the mix of amusement and disgust that fought to twist her features. {{Torm''s favourite word. Now that would be some furry action. }} {{Kinky girl, all those muscles. Better hope he isn¡¯t like in Dogma.}} Ignoring the teasing in B¡¯s voice, Julia just gave a basic shrug as she continued forging the imprint. ¡°I got myself in Trouble here, even found it in the tunnels. It seems fitting,¡± ¡°Do you believe you can make trouble for those that the Sisterhood sends you against?¡± asked Castellan, a curious tone lighting the inflections of the question. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to cause trouble for those worthy of doing so,¡± Julia said, as she held out the imprinted Dusk Emerald, mana enfolded it. Julia saw it teleported to Castellan¡¯s hand. So she has Spatial and uses it so casually. I didn''t catch a glimmer of that spell form until the gem had already moved. ¡°Trouble already shows up as a ''Use'' name in your imprint. Rid yourself of J as soon as the Titan allows it. A lesser succubus, yet you have a master rank in Mana Manipulation and fighting with bare hands. Why bare hands?¡±
Name J. Trouble True Name
Species Lesser Succubus Level 1 /10
Shards (0/ 20)
Home Plane Hrz¡¯Styrn
Progression Class Level
Blood Monk 35
Wizard 34
Succubus 34
Assassin 36
Defence 100
Melee Attack Power 113 Health 2,210
Attributes
Strength 30 Magic 88
Endurance 30
Quickness 82 Pool
Intelligence 50 Mana 3,393
Willpower 85
Charisma 64
Affinities Air, Darkness, Earth, Fire, Lightning, Mental, Time, Water
Spell Forms Mental: Charm Mortal (6), Dream Sending (6), Implant Command (5), Surge Emotion [Ap](5) Lightning: Lightning Bolt [Ad](22), Shield [Ad](1), Spike [Ad](24), Shock Blast [J](29), Shock Bolt [J](37), Tracing Missile [Ad] (7), Time: Trip [J](29), Slow [J](32) Darkness: Cloak [J](14) Air: Zephyr [Ap] (5)
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Acid [I] (6), Air (2), Cold (5), Electricity (14), Fire [Im], Mana [I](1), Mundane Materials [G] (1), Poison (10)
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept. [M] = Master
Powers Abyssal Adaptability [J] (2), Demonic Pact (5), Corruption (5), Death Strike (9), Detect Thoughts [Ad] (36), Dominion [Ad](1), Flight [Ad] (19), Shape Change [Ad] (1), Silent Kill (5), Stimulation [J](1), Teleport (Self) [Ad] (1), Translate Languages [J] (12), Mana Sense [Ad] (2), Vampiric Caress [Ad] (2)
Skills
Active - Abyssal City Navigator (2), Acting [J](12), Bite [Ad] (1), Claws [Ad] (16), Dagger [B] (4), Danger Sense [Ad](1), Fly [Ad] (1), Haggling [J](9), Leatherworking [B](3), Mana Manipulation [M](1), Mental Resistance [Ad] (4), Pain Tolerance [J](9), Perception [Ad] (3), Sense Motive [Ap](23), Spear [J](3), Stealth [Ad](20), Time Sense [J](5), Unarmed Combat [M] (1)
Knowledge - Abyssal Lore [Ad](13), Arcane [Ad] (12), Demonic Lore [J] (8), Planar Lore [J](2), Planar Portals [Ap](3)
Languages Abyssal
¡°Weapons can be broken or stolen. I¡¯d prefer to use claws, teeth, fists or kicks.¡± Julia said, her tone relaxed as she watched the Castellan close the grimoire and turned her attention towards Julia completely. ¡°Not your wings or tail?¡± ¡°Close confines of some places make that an issue. I''ve learned spear and dagger fighting, but again, losing weapons is a concern. I want to learn combat skills I don¡¯t need tools to use,¡± ¡°How did you gain Shapeshift instead of Change self?¡± The Castellan''s focus shifting between the gemstone and Julia as she asked the question. ¡°I¡¯ve spent long hours changing my form. Persistence lets you gain many things, Castellan, and when it doesn¡¯t, sometimes luck helps. Might I ask who told you I had brought back four Souls?¡± ¡°The watch commander, and Naz¡¯rilca who had the payment confirmation from the Treasury. You did well there, at least. I know some lesser Succubus that can¡¯t carry that many.¡± She never learnt before she sent me off. ¡°I returned with one hundred and fourteen, Castellan,¡± Julia said, not sure how Naz¡¯rilca had fudged things with the watch commander. Does she not trust F¨®rla?rea? or the other corrupted Night Elves? The words barely uttered when the Castellan''s gaze locked on her, the gemstone apparently forgotten cupped in a lowering hand. "That''s the exact number I found in F¨®rla?rea?''s report once you had left. I''m surprised you provided the same number, considering all the conflicting nonsense I''d heard, by the time I saw her report. The watch commander insisted you had deliberately provoked a security issue, and it had affected others'' understanding of the numbers," said Castellan, pausing for only a moment before she continued. Oh, assumptions and half-answers. I wonder if Naz¡¯rilca took the share that Usd¡¯ghi said was for the order. So you didn''t recall me because gossip was doing the rounds. No idea how F¨®rla?rea? counted all the Souls. Wonder if it''s something she kept from her mortal self. ¡°I was going to assign you to a guard roster at an outpost. Yet you¡¯ve survived, grown more than expected, and gained five affinities. Having all the common elemental ones isn¡¯t actually common; most gain one aspect or half of them, but rarely opposites. Those plus Dark and Time, which you had before. Yes, Naz''rilca told me, though she didn''t share the full imprint. Lightning is interesting. Mental, doesn''t really count to your credit as it''s gained via the Succubus class. Still, Lightning isn¡¯t something that most learn, though you¡¯ve limited spells. How did you get your mana manipulation so high with so few spells in your repertoire?¡± ¡°It just seemed to come as naturally as breathing to a mortal Castellan,¡± {{Because you could be one with your bum. Or fists, but still.}} Fine, so using it with Ki Infusion did more than spell work. ¡°Breathing to a mortal indeed. Most are a waste of space, let alone the air they need. Find the library; there are grimoires there for a range of elemental spells. Get whoever is on duty to give you access to them. I¡¯ll reconsider how the Sisterhood can make use of you. Someone will deliver instructions to you there, don¡¯t leave that location until then. Is that clear?¡± Castellan asked, tossing the Dusk Emerald back to Julia with a snap of motion. Julia¡¯s hand snapped without thought at the last moment as the Zen State judged its speed and acted. ¡°Yes, Castellan,¡± ¡°One other thing. Why did you bribe Naz¡¯rilca to influence others to leave you in Tern¨°x?¡± {{Oh did Naz''rilca fuck it up or what?}} Julia could only agree with B''s assessment of the situation but gave part of the truth. ¡°I wanted time to learn more, Castellan. I was sure I wouldn¡¯t survive duty in the Sisterhood without more time to learn than I¡¯ve had,¡± ¡°You played an interesting game with Tras¡¯laq¨¬. Where is the little ferret''s bowl?¡± ¡°Whatever bowl Tras¡¯laq¨¬ is missing, I don¡¯t know where it ended up. They asked me to return a grimoire with a particular rune on it from Wajet''s possession. There was no mention of a bowl, so I didn''t know to look for one. When I found the summoner''s tome, it was in the state I handed it to Naz''rilca in. The ferret, as you said, wasn''t sure about the number of pages there would be, so I counted them. I just saw the potential immediately,¡± ¡°All spoken truthfully. When did you gain our class?¡± asked Castellan, the intensity in her voice cutting but failing to faze Julia. [Sense Motive [Ap](21->23)] Julia didn¡¯t need Sense Motive to tell the disjointedness of the questions were intentional rather than Demonic influence. High school principals seemed to play the same game in Julia''s experience. So she told the truth, or at least provide a fact bound to frustrate. ¡°Blood Monk was the first class I gained in my imprint, Castellan. I¡¯m told it should be a prestige, but I had it well before I ever earned assassin,¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s fucking games. He plays us for fools repeatedly, and each time we scurry after his trinkets. Over eighty willpower and quickness, your attributes at least are impressive for now. With that Willpower, I can see why you came back wearing dominator leathers. Did he put a normal class in with that name just to mock the Lady¡¯s decision?¡± The Castellan¡¯s voice had become a whisper though the question obviously rhetorical; Julia poked and cut off the words too late. ¡°I don¡¯t...¡± ¡°Of course you don¡¯t. That question will need to be considered by others. What attribute goes up in your imprint when that class increases?¡± ¡°Willpower. My apologies, but Naz¡¯rilca showed me nothing of navigating the Stronghold.¡± Julia asked a follow-up question to no one as a spell had already snapped, and she was suddenly in the middle of a chamber with an arched ceiling. Shelves and cabinets lined every wall, and more were free-standing in places about the open chamber. The furniture in the room was a mix of styles and materials, but at least it was all intact. Unlike all the fancy rooms trashed by Sisterhood combat training, their destructive urges didn''t extend to the library. ¡°Who should I get directions from?¡± The words faded off as Julia looked around, wondering who the heck was on duty since no one was in sight. Interlude - Chained in Hell Rachel - Point of View - Some years earlier ¡°She persists in saying she shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± The growling voice outside my cell is familiar, and I can¡¯t help but giggle at its frustration. The music inside my mind skips about with every hysterical note. Echoes bounce off stone, steel, yet more stone, and then me, which sets my flesh wiggling. As something within the walls takes over the giggle, my wiggling bones continue to shake. The invisible chains hold me tight, and the absurdity of this dream tickles deep within me. As the giggle dances within the stone, laughter erupts from me and rolls hysterically through the air within the cell. ¡°Stop it in there at once!¡± Mr Growler¡¯s tone is even angrier now, but his frustration just makes the giggles misbehave. ¡°Did the fall break her mind?¡± The question comes from a crisp voice, female, oddly nice and a voice I¡¯ve never heard before, at least not that I recall. Despite the light through the barred window, time seems to have lost all meaning. Sometimes I¡¯d blink only to find dawn has become dusk again. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but her feathers are as black as any Erinys. We¡¯ve had to bind her fingers open. If she can make a fist, the bow appears, and then the bindings break.¡± The giggling finds delight within the chains when their words remind me of the restraints. When the links break, the stone above cracks and rocks crash to the floor. Growls come from outside as metal scrapes against metal, and the door slams inward, banging hard against the wall. As a spiked faced thing comes barrelling into the room, giggling notes find focus and the scream spills forth. Breathless and unbreathing, I still scream a pure note, and the thing¡¯s head explodes. The stone shapes they locked my fingers in shatter to the giggling song, and my fist closes as another spiked man appears in the doorway. Laughter rocks it back on its heels the instant before a fiery flower blooms in the middle of its face. The fletching at its end explodes in a gout of flames and drives it across the corridor into the wall beyond. Even before the now headless body falls, twitching to the floor, a metal plate appears to block the doorway. Already the fletching of another flaming arrow caresses against my cheek as I find my arms and stance at full draw with the white-hot bow I hold. ¡°You will let me out of here.¡± Arrows impacting against the steel provide punctuation for every word. Their flames smash against the metal plate, and as they clear, I see the fist-sized dents accumulating. I think I¡¯m through the twelve, or maybe the twentieth repeat of the phrase, when the flames on my bow die. Or maybe it¡¯s me. No, I¡¯m already dead. Wait, no, I¡¯m dreaming this weird dream, so not dead. The dented steel wall disappears, and a woman wearing giant black wings appears, swaying within the doorway. No, the door isn¡¯t swaying; it¡¯s my knees that want to dance now that make everything sway. The giggles have eloped with the wall and run off somewhere. We should have eloped. Then I wouldn¡¯t have left him at the altar. Did he go to the church? I didn¡¯t make it even to the wedding week, T-Minus twelve days, and then dead. A mental image of a coffin squeezed into my beautiful gown comes to mind, and all the strange amusement dies. As the scream rises to open my mouth, the woman is suddenly before me. Lips soft on my own as her kiss drinks the scream away, and my consciousness runs off to join a circus. Blackness floats down from the window as Julia¡¯s voice whispers at me from memory. You¡¯re such a cheap drunk, Rach. ¡°Not cheap, not drunk. Why am I in Hell?¡± The words murmur off my lips against hers as the woman pulls back, looming suddenly high above as the blackness swallows me whole.
¡°I know you¡¯re aware again. Get out of bed.¡± A different female voice calls to me, but the bedding¡¯s weight is too lovely to shift. I¡¯m not normally one for sleeping on my stomach since it squeezes the girls, but this bed seems fine for it. There is a dull roaring sound from somewhere close by as if someone¡¯s AC needs maintenance, but it¡¯s still no reason to get up. ¡°How do you know that for sure?¡± Without opening my eyes, I murmur whatever comes to mind. The stranger in my room can leave with the rest of my weird arse dream. ¡°Devils don¡¯t sleep. Now the Captain is expecting you shortly. Your leathers are on the chair. Get up and get dressed.¡± The voice is growling suddenly like another I remember, and I hunt with futile grasps for a pillow to throw. ¡°Yeah, yeah, and all good girls go to Hell. How did you know I¡¯d be awake now?¡± I grumble the question even as my questing hands still find only sheets. ¡°Enough with the stupid questions. The Captain bespelled you, and she knew when you would be free. Now move before I drag you off that bed with hooks through your wings.¡± Wait, hooks? Wings? Bespelled?! The door slams shut as I force myself up and find I¡¯ve ended up hovering in mid-air. Black wings silhouette the reflection that isn¡¯t me, yet I know is indeed mine, on the glass of a wide window at the end of the bed. Yet the river of fire with its flames gleaming off the metallic city walls beyond it snares my gaze. Glimmering off the glass between is the face of a stranger, but I know somehow it¡¯s mine. The mane of blood-red hair cascading down my now sun-kissed skin, dangling past confused eyes that hold my expression yet show as dark green instead of brown. Features fine and hard rather than the lively, friendly face I remember so well. The fire scorched and battered angelic wings appear as if blackened by soot; sitting motionless, yet rejected by gravity, I stay aloft. Time skips about as my mind bounces between reflection, flames and city, till finally the click of a latch anchors me in the present. ¡°The view is breathtaking. Welcome to Dis, young Erinys. Land and get dressed; we have your orientation to discuss, along with your barracks assignment. It might seem your fall was recent, but your adjustment phase is almost over according to regulations. Time to find your wings again.¡± Without thinking, I turn in mid-air, wings motionless and held outstretched. I find my gaze locks with the woman from the cell. Fire burns in her eyes as the black lips curl upwards, her gaze lingering over my sun-tanned skin. We look pressed from the same mould that I saw reflected in the windowpane. Blood-red hair spills, dancing around her as if a breeze is playing with it in the heavy, breathless air. The strands of hair dancing between the arched black wings rising high in the massive doorway, the hair¡¯s movements guiding my attention down again. The dark seaweed green eyes stare at me from beneath finely arched brows as I look across similarly angular features to my own. Yet my gaze drifts downwards along the sharp blade of her nose and prominent cheekbones that detour my gaze to the Elven sharpness of her ears. When her own gaze drifts downwards, she finds the lush lips and a pointed chin from the reflection. We seem so alike from what the glass showed me. She doesn¡¯t seem to worry about how naked I am. The gaze tracking down past firm breasts, a washboard stomach that I¡¯ve never had. Before landing on my wide hips and sliding along my legs, longer than they ever were in life. Oh! Naked! I start with the realisation of standing in mid-air au naturel, strangely more surprised by the nakedness than the mid-air part. It¡¯s then the eloped giggle finds me again, bubbling up my throat, having slipped back unnoticed while I slept. The giggle turns to laughter as the winged woman continues her examination and watches, unphased as my body flexes with the strength of the sound. Somehow I know the grim music of the fire outside my window serves as the conductor to my laughter¡¯s music, its ominous growling notes having found an outlet in my laughter. ¡°Your name will be Isaac.¡± The words cut through my laughter, scaring it away in an instant. Even the sinister music of the fire behind me disappears from my grasp. ¡°No, my name is Rachel.¡± Before I can demand answers, as if there are any in this dream, her words push my thoughts aside. ¡°It was, but you¡¯re in Hell now, so you need a new name. Since you seem to enjoy laughing so much, have a name that suits you. It¡¯s from an old tongue not spoken here - or anywhere within the Titan¡¯s planes. There is folly from Mortal and Immortal alike for you to laugh at here. Now dress!¡± The politeness of the tone vanishes with a crack, and I start in surprise. Wanting to be beside my clothes, I find my feet on the floor with no moment in between. [Greater Teleport (Self) [Ap] (1->2)] That¡¯s weird. What was that? Despite being sure it¡¯s a dream, a stronger surety strikes me that even in a dream, I¡¯d just be prey to the Captain. I dress with haste and find the clothes fit perfectly. The long leather pants, snug but still easy to pull on, tuck into boots that lace along the sides and reach just below my knees. An equally black bustier, made of the same strange leather, is cut to slip under my wings and lace up the front. As I put the braces on, it sends a pulse of musical energy tingling along my arms, meandering through my clothing and brushing flesh as it goes. The interior texture of the hardened leather should be rough against my skin, yet it¡¯s as soft as wearing silk and doesn¡¯t rub a bit. ¡°My name is Captain Orag¨­. You will follow my instructions till I find you a place in a training group,¡± stated Orag¨­, her tone as unfriendly as it is uncompromising. ¡°Why? What?¡± The confusion in my voice is as clear to me as to how different I sound, though I guess that¡¯s only clear to me. ¡°How did I get here?¡± The words rush out before she can speak. ¡°You are in Hell now whatever role you had in a Celestial court; you¡¯ve lost those privileges. Time to get started earning yourself a new place, Isaac.¡± There is such anger and dissatisfaction in Orag¨­¡¯s tone, clashing with the beautiful music underlying her words. Her sharp notes are fast and violent, smashing against the metal and stone before reverberating through the air. The clash of whips striking flesh somewhere close rings in sympathetic vibration to the rage inside her before echoing as I focus on it. [Resonance (10->11)] ¡°But I wasn¡¯t in a court.¡± Only part of my thoughts escapes my mouth as the new message distracts me. ¡°Whatever you were doing, it doesn¡¯t matter. Follow me!¡± Orag¨­¡¯s words overflow with impatience and contempt, yet I know none of her feelings are directed at me. Still, the words are barely out of her mouth before she¡¯s already moving. Rather than risk her wrath, I follow as her movement through the wide greyish-red metal corridor turns to flight. My pursuit is clumsy, every thought causes a mid-air wobble, and another message thing brushes across my mind. It¡¯s just as well the vaulted corridor possesses cathedral-like width with the erratic mess that my attempt at flight becomes. [Flight [B] (1->2) Fly [B] (1->2)] Aren¡¯t those the same things? How am I getting weird messages in my brain? Why am I in Hell? Why am I no longer freaking out? The thought of that makes the giggles return as I focus on Orag¨­. As the giggles erupt, I see her glance back. I¡¯d like to keep pace. But after a few seconds in the air, she¡¯s already far ahead. Distracted by a hideous thing speeding past, I spin in mid-air and nearly collide with the wall. The high arch ceiling spins overhead as my laughter echoes back to me. I recognise Orag¨­¡¯s wingbeat music, so wild and free, angry, but not at me. Her Song is ringing out, spitting her rage in reality¡¯s face, yet somehow I know that none of it is personal to me. ¡°Why are you so hopeless at flying?¡± The tone of Orag¨­¡¯s voice holds only bafflement as she grasps a wing and halts my spin. ¡°I¡¯ve never flown before!¡± The truth of my protest just earns me a look of impatience from Orag¨­ and even that she makes beautiful. Her reply is snarling and angry, lashing against my senses. ¡°What are you talking about, Isaac?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember ever flying before, I certainly never had wings. Why am I here?¡± As my fingers twitch to close into frustrated fists, Orag¨­¡¯s icy gaze on them stills me in an instant. ¡°Because they decided you weren¡¯t worthy of being one of them and sent you here. We¡¯re fighting a war they don¡¯t have the courage to fight themselves.¡± Orag¨­¡¯s expression is as resolute as her words, and her tone holds a conviction and belief that is scary, and confuses me even more. [Sense Motive [B](1->2)] ¡°A war? With who?¡± My confusion just makes Orag¨­¡¯s gaze narrow in frustration, and her wings twitched as if to strike me as she growls her reply at me. ¡°The Abyss, the Demonic hordes, who else would Devils be fighting a war with? The blood war between Hell and the Abyss, the legions of Hell keeping the Demons at bay. A war the Celestials are too pure-hearted to win, too afraid of getting their armour dirty.¡± ¡°Abyss?¡± I pat my shoulder just to make sure I¡¯ve not actually grown a second head, because Orag¨­¡¯s glaring at me like I¡¯m the only freak in this place. As another flier zips by, I catch a better glimpse of it; it looks like they stapled a flying fox¡¯s wings to a lamprey¡¯s body, with nail thin clawed hands and feet tacked to it for good measure. The music coming from it was zippy and ugly like death metal sung by a chipmunk on crack, but with attitude. ¡°That was ugly.¡± The words barely cross my lips when I realise I haven¡¯t been speaking any tongue I should know. ¡°Pay attention.¡± This time she directed the full force of her rage at me, and I bite my lip to hold words or screams at bay. Reality vanishes around us, and suddenly we¡¯re back again. Well, actually somewhere different. An archery range populated by planet weird, but every being I see is shooting either a bow or crossbow. There are more black-winged women like Orag¨­, and I guess myself, but each is somewhat unique and firing arrows from blazing bows. Wait, or is the terming loosing? Julia would know. I¡¯ll ask her when I wake up. A thing easily four metres tall has a metal crossbow with arms longer than my wings, yet it¡¯s cranking them back with steady ease. Crablike eyestalks rise from a bulbous skull, its split curved face hangs open with a double-hinged jaw showing row after row of curved teeth that extend within. Its form is massive and bulging, but I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s caused by flesh underneath all the metal-plated armour strapped to it. The music from it isn¡¯t a roar of rage or a howl, it¡¯s an echoing dirge, grim and dark, that promises torment and despair for whatever crosses it. A hand gripping my face pulls my gaze back to Orag¨­¡¯s own. The walls of the range echo with the hum of a thousand sour drums and their cruel, striking beats; yet snarling at me close enough to kiss, her order is clear. ¡°Stay clear of the Lethe Trolls, they¡¯ll eat you whole! I said place your hand on the orb.¡± Orag¨­¡¯s words strike hard, and I¡¯m really out of luck. I was hoping to be dropped into oblivion again. Her free hand waving at the black orb on the wall makes it obvious what she wants, but she yanks me towards it. ¡°What is this place?¡± While still uttering my question, avoiding face planting into the wall is a matter of luck rather than anything else. ¡°One of our training yards. Now put your hand on it.¡± Orag¨­¡¯s repeated order has even less patience than the second time saying it. When I grab for the orb, I figure I¡¯m already screwed. Only instead of agony, it gives me a buzz that tingles down to my toes. Its music starts the giggles again as its notes tickle from my fingers up the back of my throat. When I glance at Orag¨­ in confusion, she pulls my hand away and touches it instead. ¡°Why are we taking turns fondling a ball?¡± My voice holds the confusion I feel so clearly and speaking at least shoos the giggles away. ¡°They left you with nearly nothing!¡± Orag¨­¡¯s scream is pure affronted rage as she stares at something in the air. I try to see, and suddenly the world¡¯s illumination is like nothing I¡¯ve ever known. The sullen grey sky lights up with black lightning streaking through the clouds, and like the orb, items here and there glow. Weapons, pieces of equipment, even my bracers, shine with what I know is Mana. Some don¡¯t glow, rather they roar their power, nearly making me scream as the Truth of them settles in my mind. [True Sight (1 -> 2) Mental Resilience Unlocked! Mental Resilience (1->2) ] The Truth of them shines so sullen and angry in my sight. The Truth of this Place. I am in Hell. This is not a dream. Will I ever get out? ¡°We need to see the Training Co-ordinator,¡± Orag¨­ growls. ¡°She¡¯ll not like this one bit.¡± Orag¨­¡¯s grumble only finishes a moment before we¡¯re in another hallway. More reddish-black metal, high arched corridors, and doorways that look as if something¡¯s maw is ready to consume its next victim. Devils of all shapes and sizes fill the corridor. I don¡¯t even start taking them in as Orag¨­ motions me to queue. Standing behind a Devil I try to distract myself by focusing on the notes echoing from it. Their sound reminds me of a bass played by an angry guitarist using a dirty distortion peddle. Note after note, their low growling tones chew at the air as they hiss against the cacophony within the corridor. [Resonance (11->12)] I don¡¯t know what those messages are, but they¡¯re certainly annoying me. They might even be worse than a marketing SMS at 2 am. Does Satan¡¯s messaging service have my number? The random thought makes me giggle, provoking the thing in front to turn towards me, showing a maw filled with serrated, mismatched teeth. I don¡¯t know why, but it makes me giggle even harder and the music changes as if I¡¯ve goosed him. The Devil glances between me and Orag¨­, who¡¯s appeared beside me blatantly unconcerned as I take in its appearance. Glowing yellow eyes in deep set socket fix on my face even as I look it over. Its lipless maw shows the rows of teeth stretching from ear to ear across the angled slope of its face, beneath a jutting nose. Crusty blue scales, bristling with jagged barbed spines, its muscles bulged under hide that looks so cracked it¡¯s ready to flake. In the gaps, instead of raw flesh, I get glimpses of fires that burn within. I¡¯m still laughing when it turns to flee, its movements lumbering as its claws scramble for purchase on the steel flooring. ¡°Why?¡± The word I uttered in shock sounds like a sulky whine instead. ¡°Fallen, you giggle as another sister,¡± Orag¨­ states thoughtfully and pauses as more Devils turn. Their music softens and hunkers down like animals in a storm, and the thunder of her crescendo hits them harder still. ¡°Though she laughs when the knives are already in something¡¯s guts, not in anticipation.¡± The pitch of Orag¨­¡¯s words ensures all hear her even over the din, and at the word Fallen other queued Devils decide they¡¯ve other places to be. As the first flees, quick notes seed through more and more, and the exodus grows. [Bluff Unlocked! Bluff (1) Intimidate Unlocked! Intimidate (1) Resonance (12->13)] What now? With the queue rapidly emptying, Orag¨­ doesn¡¯t hesitate to march ahead. The lilting chords of her song don¡¯t leave doubt that¡¯s exactly what she¡¯d intended. The only one ahead of us not to run is a Devil at the door itself, but then from its stern cutting tones it seems it takes itself seriously. Barely forty centimetres tall, its skin is the colour of banked coals grumbling sullenly at the night, their red refusing to die into black cold charcoal. Its bat-like wings are tight against its back, the thumb spikes on their middle joint jutting up above the horns on its old man¡¯s face. The icy blue gaze that regards us from deep-set hollows is distinctly unamused. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Captain Orag¨­, what gives this office the displeasure of your painful presence,¡± the old-looking thing grumbled as it stared down at Orag¨­ from its perch. ¡°I need to speak to the Co-ordinator Makaro,¡± Orag¨­ replied, radiating a confident demeanour as she shows the thing a smile with far too many teeth. Fingers twitching with nervous tension, I find my bow in my hand again and I wonder where it¡¯s been. The music from its so vibrant, a soft rolling drum beat within the orchestra pit. Its limbs are translucent with power that glows white and pure, the song like a gurgling dam¡¯s overflow constrained within its course. Yet a waving heat mirage of sounds sets screams across my skin. Tapping its glowing energy string, I hear a cello thrum, but the Devil¡¯s notes squeak octaves higher as the air near the string growls in hunger. ¡°They stripped so much but left you a Devastation Bow. Celestials - there is no logic to them,¡± Orag¨­ grumbled, her bared teeth look ready to sink into something. When the door beside the thing opens without a further words Orag¨­ just strides ahead and I hurry along behind. The orange light in the passage lit by the bow¡¯s angry white glare. The doors shut behind me so quick they smack against my wings, but at least they don¡¯t take a bite. ¡°Put your toy away Isaac,¡± orders Orag¨­, and even as I wonder how I¡¯d do that, it vanishes again. The light in the passageway eases back to more neutral but ominous hues. ¡°You might destroy something I don¡¯t want dead.¡± There isn¡¯t a door at the corridor¡¯s end, just a divider to prevent us from spilling straight into the room. When Orago steps right, I automatically step left and appear in the room far down the counter. When she glares at me, I will myself to move as I did before, and happily I cross hundreds of metres in an instant. The counter we¡¯re at is kilometres long with plenty of space to be served, and there is precisely one attendant in the place. [Greater Teleport (Self) [Ap] (2->3)] Is that what I¡¯m doing? What are those messages? ¡°Do that in the wrong place, you¡¯ll end up working the mailroom.¡± Orag¨­¡¯s statement holds a grim warning tone, and before the giggle can escape, I bite my lip. Did she mean the teleporting thingies or taking a different archway? ¡°Next.¡± The hissing utterance from a medusa behind the counter is all that stops Orag¨­ from continuing. Instead, she motions for me to stay put, and steps forward to talk. When they talk only metres away, I can¡¯t hear a thing, and the surrounding air is glowing like Christmas Lights. [True Sight (2 -> 3)] Alright, enough is enough! How do I unsubscribe? When Orag¨­ steps away, a burning doorway appears in mid-air beside her and she ushers me in ahead. Remembering the doors slamming on my wings, I rush in where an angel would fear to tread. I almost stumble on the thick carpet on the floor beyond. The reception room possessed less charm than a rundown medical clinic, the inner office is currently oozing lots of things. Unfortunately, whoever furnished the room hadn¡¯t let good taste seep into the place. Tacky looking statues of nymphs and frantic orgies, with things far from pleasant, make up most of the decorations. They don¡¯t just hit some wrong tones as much as crash tackle good taste to the ground and shove a tongue way down its throat. The only occupant in the room looks like a purple-skinned toad with black bat-like wings, she¡¯s sitting in a chair that screams a desire for a throne and her pressure sickens me. Though the feeling of the throne could be just her size since I looked up, then up some more. She¡¯s a bit to take in since even sitting, she¡¯s easily six or more metres tall, with mass adding an unneeded presence to her frame in all directions. At first, I wasn¡¯t sure because of the shading so close to her skin tone, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯s wearing awful makeup when I look again. The colour adding redness to the thin lips around a dagger filled maw and the long claws that adorned her hands. The leather shirt she was wearing looked like it had tried to restrain her gut at one point but had long since rolled over to play dead. Her music is bloated with rotting desire and a yearning for things better left alone. ¡°Co-ordinator Makaro.¡± Orag¨­¡¯s words bear cautious respect, and I wonder at their respective positions since one uses a military title and the other seems ¡®civilian¡¯. ¡°Captain Orag¨­, you¡¯ll explain why you and the recruit are here and not training.¡± Makaro¡¯s demanding words are spiteful and laced with annoyance as her music takes on a jarring, discordant melody. ¡°Co-ordinator Makaro, I have a record of the recruit¡¯s imprint. Normally it¡¯s not an issue, but she¡¯s Fallen, not a damned Soul.¡± Orag¨­ raises a hand, and a glimmering crystal shows between her fingers. It¡¯s pretty the way it shines, yet Makaro looks as if someone emptied a shearing pen on her rug. The glare directed at Orag¨­ is petulant and makes me wonder if reactions like this would be why working in the mailroom would be BAD. After a moment, I hear a quick buzzing tone, and the crystal zips across the room to Makaro¡¯s grasp. ¡°By the Dispatcher¡¯s right nut. Captain, what is the meaning of this crap?¡± ¡°She was having trouble even flying,¡± Orag¨­ replied cautiously, and a glance shows her gaze not meeting Makaro¡¯s own. ¡°I took her to a training yard, her imprint is from a primary orb there.¡± The rumbling that starts sounds deeper than the river I¡¯d seen through the window, and when Makaro surges to her feet, I realise she¡¯s growling. With the giantess¡¯ mass moving across the floor, the resonant tones make me wonder if an earthquake will start up. ¡°This is intolerable. There must be a way to avoid this coming back on me. Why didn¡¯t you just¡­.¡± Makaro stops whatever she was about to say and paces some more, and the room¡¯s music suddenly changes to satisfaction. ¡°Oh, I know.¡± A book appears in mid-air, and Makaro starts leafing through it carefully, the flipping pages emitting sullen annoyed notes and rasping hisses. As more and more pages go past, her speed picks up till the book¡¯s sounds have blurred into a static-filled with rage and discontent. When at last they stop swirling, the snap of near stillness is a shock that makes me blink. I almost ask a question till I catch what feels to be fear in Orag¨­¡¯s song. Makaro doesn¡¯t speak immediately but peers at one page and then another, her music beaming like a Cheshire cat. [Resonance (12->13)] Seriously, I want to unsubscribe! ¡°Congratulation, Third Lieutenant Isaac, by my right as Co-ordinator and because there is not an Erinys training class currently in progress - I can graduate a Fallen early with full honours. Orag¨­, you will escort Isaac to Avernus, and once there, issue a recall of Second Lieutenant Ilya. Inform her that because of her achievements - and being that I¡¯m indeed generous - I have assigned newly graduated Isaac to be her assistant,¡± Makaro said as she returned to her throne. ¡°Clarify that her duty assignment is otherwise unchanged and ensure it¡¯s clear that I expect even better results with the two of them working together.¡± ¡°Of course, Co-ordinator Makaro.¡± ¡°Very good, Lieutenant Orag¨­,¡± purred Makaro, as a tray of roasted meat appeared in mid-air beside her hand. ¡°Next time, check the imprint before you bid on adding a new member to our training roster. I¡¯ll be docking your pay for the budgetary gap. When she gets back, see what you can press the mailroom to part with from their budget for her services. Schedule the disciplinary hearing for Second Lieutenant Ilya, say a month. No, make it a year after she gets Isaac¡¯s form destroyed. She should have relaxed by then.¡± The Captain got demoted? Wow, so yes, Makaro¡¯s the boss. Wait, get my form destroyed? I go to risk a question, but the world blinks, and I find myself at a back of a long queue. Far ahead, a black pool stands upright, and rows of Devils march through, showing something to the guards before they¡¯re allowed to step into it. ¡°And the day had such a promising start,¡± Orag¨­ growls. The venom in her chords prompts me to close my mouth instead of risking questions.
Sarah - Point of View - Near Current Cycle An enormous boulder nearly the size of a hill giant smashes apart only a few metres away, and a spray of shrapnel blasts across the siege engine¡¯s crew. Two members close to the strike die in an explosion of blood and brains, though the rest of us fare the storm of debris relatively injury-free. Whether the Demons¡¯ aim is improving or it was luck, I don¡¯t know. Though given the sound of Devils screaming nearby, it made me suspect the former. Luck had no place being anywhere near Hell. The tension in the chains screams, but the metallic sound is nothing compared to their pressure making my nerves sing. My focus stretching through them; every twitch and flex of the links is apparent as we force the chains to shift the trebuchet¡¯s arm further back. As I lick away moisture beading on my lips, the acidic copper taste and heat of the Devil¡¯s blood fills my senses. It''s a taste that is growing all too familiar. Awareness focusing within the chains the stop surprises me when the ratchets cease their clicking and the arm¡¯s mechanism locks in place. A kick of annoyance sends the Devil¡¯s remains spilling clear of the platform. Her name hadn¡¯t been something I had bothered to learn. Now, with her brains dripping from me, even the features were beyond my recall. Here near the ramparts overlooking the grey plains of Hades, fodder like her came and went with regularity. ¡°Sidero! You took a bath in her brain juice; you¡¯ll be lucky if your chains don¡¯t rust.¡± Nerezza husky voice growls low under the grunt of the loading team. ¡°They don¡¯t have brains, just a blood sack. I¡¯ll make Thana lick them clean later.¡± My reply making me wonder when the banter from the other Kytons on the crew had become so second nature. ¡°Only if you finish engraving the crest across my back,¡± says Thana, voice light with amusement. ¡°Finish her raven off. You need to start with the face on my thigh,¡± Nerezza demands, with her ever insistent tone. ¡°Pushy bitch!¡± Even while replying to Nerezza, I could only wish telling her to fuck off wouldn¡¯t risk complications. While the material of my chains rates above her own, Nerezza is still my elder and holds sway. None of the Kyton had considered scarification tattoos until I had etched my flesh to push up resistances. Now wearing them had become a fashion trend among us on the front, and my skills are in demand. An idle pastime having provided value with stopping me from joining the ape faced Devil in cursing banishment on the Ninth Plane of Hell. ¡°Loose!¡± Cojet screams, the noise drowning our banter. Indeed, the crew leader¡¯s bellow sounds well above the noise of the battlefield. The sheer volume of noise from the lungs in his barrel sized chest is likely audible to Devils and Demons alike a kilometre away. His bellow isn''t just for our crew but also eleven others down the line. The crew chief is a Devil called an Uhlobo, in shape a cross between a silverback and black granite; he can wrap long fingers around my skull with length to spare. Like the earthen primate, he stands well above my height, and though he shares their long reach, he has no trouble walking upright. The Legions of Uhlobo Devils secure this section of the front for Lord Asmodeus; Kyton and other Devils, while useful to them, were on this stretch vastly in the minority. Though as foul-tempered as he is, Cojet holds the trebuchets¡¯ teams to a steel-edged efficiency. The trebuchet¡¯s tension shifts as the counterweight falls, and the arm flings its cargo arcing forward. A spray of makeshift spikes blazing in hellfire tear through the air between the banners on the rampart our crew uses as target guidance. Hide slaps against metal as the counterweight rocks the trebuchet¡¯s arm, the sling hitting it with every motion. The sounds above us ringing out even over the constant wind of this place. Black pennants embossed with Asmodeus¡¯ symbol flutter in the never-ending wind emerging from Hades. The Greek God, who was the Plane¡¯s namesake, not bothering to obstruct the Demon¡¯s passage. Though at least he doesn''t object to the fortifications that Asmodeus had set up on the border countless eons past. As soon as the sling finished flopping about, the command comes to make ready. The crew leader hadn¡¯t finished yelling when Thana¡¯s and Nerezza¡¯s presence joins me within the chains and we work together bringing the arm back a tooth click at a time. Silken pleasure brushing against my mind comes and goes as their awareness rubs mine, our minds sliding constantly within the material as link by link it shifts through the pulleys. Familiar focus shows in their features beneath the chain veils, the tightness around the sulphur-yellow gaze extending down through all the whip tight muscles of their bodies. Once they would have looked a fearful sight, the pair of them perched across a blackened steel beam from me. The dull steel chains that shroud them, writhing in motions that make clear their excitement. I can feel the same energy in the chains as we move together, the layers of our pressing on each other. They mirror the movements of their chain shrouds in the tensing of the trebuchet¡¯s own before each ripple of noise from the ratchet. Three of us working as one to reset the trebuchet¡¯s arm faster than modern machinery could even manage. ¡°Two points to the left,¡± Thana¡¯s gaze shifts to the pulley on their side an instant before my own fixes on the one near me. I brace with a pair of infernal steel chains around the crossbeam as the platform under my feet moves. The red links were glowing against the blackened steel as if still hot from the forge, even though they are colder than the space between stars against my skin. Demons not immune to temperatures worse than the arctic have fallen to their links. We continually reset the trebuchets as the assault drags on for cycles, till at last, the horns echo out to stand down across our battle lines. Even then, the crew doesn''t relax finally Cojet gives the order to reset the station. The three of us together work to ease the chain¡¯s tension while others begin collecting and racking gear. Gently relaxing the gears their presence in the chains excites me like lovers caressing intimate places, a sense peaking high and high till Cojet bellows. ¡°Sidero, join the dispatch and forage teams. Get something good for me,¡± My teeth cut into my bottom lip as I snap my gaze the crew leader¡¯s way for the rare stupidity of that instruction. Among the slaughtered beyond the wall will be Abyssal toys, and they don''t run into the spectrum of good. It''s hard to tell with his helm and grunting voice, but Cojet¡¯s vibe is edge towards violence. Maybe at my lack of concern for the blood and brains of his kind that still decorated my chains; though equally, perhaps not enough crew members died, bets within Hell tend to the extremes. Unlike his weaker kin, the crew leader wore full armour, the taste of the enchantments crawls across my tongue and dances within my senses. ¡°Oh blight, you¡¯re up,¡± Thana says as she waves for me to go. I don¡¯t reply as quick steps take me past Cojet to collect a carrier from the gear rack. As he glares at Thana, I shake my chains and smile behind the metallic veil as his curses burn the air. The unblemished steel it had worn through the cycles of fighting, now wears spots of frozen gore, and part of a cheek slithers from his vambrace. His response makes his mood clear though, and it wasn¡¯t a noise he makes when angry. After cycles of fighting, he¡¯ll be screaming with someone in their time during this break. ¡°You got something on you, boss.¡± The carrier was a neat spatial gadget capable of carrying tonnes, yet it''s smaller than a toddler¡¯s fist. Bouncing it on my palm, I turn to go even as Cojet speaks again. ¡°Get going, Sidero, or I¡¯ll flay you,¡± says Cojet, his tone still a growl but heavy with lust, not anger. ¡°Promises, promises,¡± the words purr from my lips as the extent of the blissful agony of working the trebuchet¡¯s arm buzzs within me. His chest inflates within the armour as air rushes in to fuel his bellow, only for Thana¡¯s and Nerezza¡¯s calls to distract his mock ire. Their husky voices growling playfully for attention even as they climb the trebuchet¡¯s chains to check for wear. ¡°Oh pick me, flay me oh mighty one.¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ll scream better, boss,¡± Nerezza says, the low tones prominent in their teasing even without mimicking my term for Cojet. Not sure if the scariest thing is they¡¯d like nothing less, or my physical changes that meant I¡¯d be holding back orgasms if he did it. Pleasure and pain I¡¯d once considered finely separated sides of the same coin. Now they weren''t a coin, but an orb where all was one. While hearing of people not experiencing pain was one thing, experiencing only pleasure regardless was disconcerting. Of all the shocks of this place I''m sure that impact on my ongoing mental processes bites the deepest. Kyton, like I was cursed to become, aren''t true Devils, but still hold a place within the Hierarchy of Hell. They were here before Asmodeus¡¯ arrival with the first infernal Legions. The great mother who hatched me has plans to remain here no matter his fate. I intend to gain redemption, for if any Devil finds out I have a Soul, there will literally be Hell to pay. As one of them, there are many roles to fill, whether it be foundries, siege engineer crews, interrogator, torturer or just playmate for those that leaned that way. Soul in Hell, those had positions within the Hierarchy¡¯s rule books, but certainly not freely roaming. I, Sarah Noth, now being of Hell, with a reforged body, and free will, yet unsure of my mental state, do bequeath nothing of mine to end in this place. Idle thought causes a chain to shift and pluck the carrier from my hand. A mere moment of idle will alters the sharp tip into a net and encloses it, like filigree holding a gem. Heading for the wall where the foraging team banners are precisely according to regulations, I pick up the pace to join the ranks in front of them. My path taking me past other Kyton, so similar in build to me, each shrouded in near-matching chains. Despite this, each to me was unique as a face even from a distance, subtle patterns making obvious differences to my instincts. Though being one of a handful in existence wearing red infernal steel chains, most Devils here would know my name. Yet even for me, the chain shrouds covering us were all most Devils paid heed to when they see us. The weight should have been impossible for our lean bodies to move in so easily, yet the chains that enfold us move as we will. Few wear them as but a scattering of chains overlaying flesh, a token modesty even as it reminds others not to cross us. For most, it is a heavy veil of a dress, a shroud of danger moving to our will. From the crisscross skull cap formed by the links to the spikes dancing around our ankles. My reward from my mother once weighed me down with a mass I could barely move. Now it dances about me, a burqa of ever-shifting flame-red steel, that signals my presence among the others. They know me as Sidero, the most recent hatchling of the Kyton¡¯s great mother. The first in eons found by Her Eminence¡¯s Unholy attendants nestled within the accursed chains enfolding her vile greatness. My siblings have either found destruction or long graduated to materials beyond chains made of mother¡¯s unique infernal steel. So the sight of them was a banner call to gawk at the princess. Well, Gosh! Aren¡¯t I the lucky one? Though luck still has no place being anywhere near Hell. The usual grumbling occurs as higher-ranking Devils jump places among the teams; arriving last they form another line ahead of plebs like me. When the all-clear signal comes at last, the front rank heads towards the opening gate, and while they funnel through it, others take faster routes. Erinys and other flyers grab the sky rather than waiting for the mudfoots. Breaking from formation, other Kytons join me in racing for the walls. Chains reaching out, weights and spikes become hooks that rise and lift us to the heights of the wall. Curses spit at us from those just exiting the gate when we land among the dead and dying demons. As my chains lowering me from the walls, I spot a fallen siege tower at the furthest point: steel plates, broken and buckled, were still useful for the forges. An attack appears to have scored a lucky strike, and the Demonic forces disorganised as always hadn¡¯t bothered towing it back. Leaving to others the foes closest to the walls, I lengthen my stride and race away. With every step, smaller dropped items obviously out of reach vanish into my inventory. The tower¡¯s steel would be lovely alone, but there was sure to be Demonic fodder within, weighed down with armour to provide ballast for the tower¡¯s motions. As I leap again spikes end a broken existence beneath my path, I ignore the experience notifications, only one thing screams for a detour. A delicious Succubus, nearly dead and twitching, her ivory skin searing lightly in a net of burning steel. The hard soles of my feet stepping on a body lying across her legs demands her attention. The Demonic flesh bearing my extra weight makes the flames burn hotter. Lines of ivory flesh as clean as a northern beauty lead my gaze up to her oval face. The small eye-teeth and human-like ears making it clear this one is a lesser amongst them, even if I wasn''t able to taste it in the air. Her dark eyes smoulder at the pain I''m causing by making the flames against it burn hotter than her dark red hair. ¡°Free me, I¡¯m of Lilith¡¯s line.¡± Her voice carefully inflects the proper infernal tones, yet she wears the wrong outfit for one returning. ¡°You¡¯ve got the wrong year¡¯s colours in your crest,¡± I point out, checking a serious expression. ¡°These are the right ones,¡± her protest rubs against the air with silken promises, too little, and oh so fake. The crest is always wrong and what we call out in case of scrying. The Succubus just made things easy by choosing the wrong counter-response. Words cut off as she and the net vanish. Cejot isn''t getting anything good, but he¡¯ll have slutty and cute instead. If she wants to defect or whatever, then she¡¯ll need to be convincing of her ill intentions. Maybe she¡¯ll wise up and really switch teams. Spikes flicker as the path to the tower takes me past other nearly dead Demons. Mostly battle fodder, my minor contribution in their demise likely only nets me five or twenty experience here and there. Though making my way past hundreds, the trickle from notifications long disabled adds up. Another reason to spot a rich target far away, it gives a line of fast experience but will still justify the choice if I need to do so with my chains¡¯ commander. The carrier taps across the plating, stripping armour quickly from the frame, exposing the crushed bodies within. It¡¯s unsurprising, given how far out the tower was, that only the common foot soldiers are within, crushed bodies of Dretch weighed down with awful armour. Since they¡¯d served their purpose as a bookend to keep the tower stable, the forces didn''t bother to drag any out when it had collapsed. Still living, Abyssal energy hums in the air, vibrating against my senses, hammer strikes in the forge of reality falling off true. Blades formed on the ends of the chains and guided by the vibrations, I point their way home. By the time I¡¯ve stripped the eight-floor tower to its frame, and I¡¯ve picked the bodies clean, and the carrier is giving off a sense of fullness. The pulses from it cascade along the chain still holding it and make me wonder how the Succubus is enjoying the hotel stay. The shock wave catches me in midair as I leap down from the tower¡¯s framework. Unexpected, and unheard of, the ground rises towards me, flexing like a wave heading towards a beach. Overhead, the peeling laughter of an obviously deranged Erinys fills the air, as the ground dropping away as I relax for impact. With barely enough time my will sends chains spearing downwards into the earth, and can buck upwards again, they slow my motion. The metal frame squeals like a tormented Soul as the force of the earth twists it in place. The steel beams left behind from my scavaging bounce in time with every bone-jarring motion. In my prior existence in Sydney, I¡¯d never felt an earthquake, but this one seemed extreme. The ground lurched upwards again and slaps hard against the bottom of my feet. A fragment of Abyssal steel carries with its motion stabs straight through flesh and bone alike. The pleasure of it spiking through my foot rides up my leg and gallops in a throbbing wave deep into my core, leaving my vagina twitching in its wake. The tower¡¯s frame toppling close even while I¡¯m pushing the chains to dance me out of reach. Every jarring motion setting the metal through my foot twitching with exquisitely delightful sensations. As the ground continues to dance away, the chains form a spider-like suspension around me, holding me aloft as I rode the waves. The power I have somehow allowing the material of the chains, and their attachments, to shift in form, from weight to spikes, to blades, or anything I imagine. It also allows them to lengthen or contract with no apparent shift in width, no need to add mass or take it away, it just occurs. Even with my eyes closed, I can tell how they are moving around me. Like having my eyes closed and moving my hand around, position and pressure from the chains I control ripples within my mind¡¯s eye. So empowering, yet also alien and distancing. When a spike stabs through Demons alive or dead, all I feel is a shift in pressure. One moment resistance, becomes a squelch or a scream as the pressure shifts away. Is this what a drone pilot experiences or even less? I feel sorry for them, at least I¡¯m close enough that I still know fully what I¡¯ve done. Close enough to be aware of what my actions and choices have done. Is it enough to keep me grounded? If so, for how long? The earthquake rolls on for long minutes, and the eternal fortifications, the siege walls of Hell crack and shatter in its wake. Overhead, the laughter of the Erinys continues as she rains fiery arrows of destruction down on mounds of bodies. Every buck or slippage of bodies gain a reward of an arrow that tosses bodies around with the force of its impact, let alone the following explosions. A body slides from a pile close to me, and an arrow catches it before it stops moving, showering me with flesh and bones. ¡°Stop blowing everything up bird brain.¡± My voice sounds weird as I call out. Its growling, husky tones are sharp with the pleasure the metal in my foot is sending through me. Her laughing response comes with a flurry of arrows that pulverise more bodies around me. The desire to bring her down itches across me as things ooze from my chains. Though I can extend them some ten metres, the Erinys stays well beyond my reach, at least for now, but I¡¯ll remember her. The sound of my voice prompts me to raise the injured foot to tend to the spike. Every wiggle as it scrapes against bone would have caused my breath to catch from pain when still mortal. Now gritting my teeth to hold in the moans and resisting the temptation to play with it, I tear it out in a single motion. Vision narrows as lightning orgasms explode in my mind, and my body twitches in the aftershocks. The jagged spike having caught on bone going through has pulled them out when forcibly withdrawn. Fragments of bone and flesh fall away when shaking the spike flicks them free, and lets me consider the uncluttered steel. Shattered steel had left a spike, with edges of serrated fish hooks down one side. Knowledge that I hadn¡¯t possessed in life is instinct now. As my gaze slides across it, those instincts aid my understanding of how the construction was mishandled along with how the blow must have struck. The Abyssal steel provides a delightful burning sensation against my fingertips as my foot finishes healing. The cessation of pleasure, which should itself been agony, is spiteful and wicked, leaving me hanging on the edge of a frustrated orgasm. While the pleasure from my burning hands is enough to keep me twitching, alone it doesn''t push me over the edge. The spike disappears into my inventory, an ability that no other Devil seems to possess before temptation calls me to do something extreme with it. Perhaps I¡¯ll make use of it for carving the face Nerezza wants. If nothing else it will be an interesting study to see how long she can avoid twitching from the steel¡¯s caresses. Immediate pleasure versus long-term gratification of having the tattoo scar she desires. By the time the ground ceases its convulsion, my own twitching is only just subsiding, and I race towards the wall. The Erinys I leave behind, but a glance finds that her destructive arrows are finding moving targets rising from the mounds. Maybe she isn''t completely insane, but I did not know how she knew they were going to heal. I have my Analysis skill, but it''s limited by line of sight. How the heck is she able to tell which mounds still have Demonic life within? No way was it luck as every mound I¡¯d seen her drop arrows is spewing forth survivors. Rising to their feet to flee only brings them death. She looks just as dangerous as the rest of her kind, lean black leather-clad valkyrie types, with blood-red hair and wings blacker than soot. Finely pointed ears I would have considered Elven, before seeing them adorning so many types of Devils in this place. Her strangeness doesn¡¯t end with laughter but includes the unmoving wings that still somehow keep her aloft. Where other Erinys have bows wrapped in flames of sullen, angry red, her bow is searing white flames, and she''s not drawing arrows from a quiver. As with the others, she¡¯s a beautiful deadly cheerleader of the condemned and I wish I could pluck her like a chicken. With teeth grinding from the frustrated pleasure I head striding towards the wall, flipping her the bird and I ignore the sudden silence from behind. It''s not until I''m nearly a hundred metres closer to the wall that her laughter starts again, and explosions follow on its heels. The devastation of the wall is concerning, with large sections broken or even collapsed. Even the main gates have been buckled off their mountings. Both doors are now laying on the ground with rubble sitting atop them. If the earthquake had struck even an hour earlier, they would be at Hell¡¯s gates. Unless they¡¯ve already returned to their home Plane they might well attack again. Wizards and Mages who are already worn down by the Siege, plus support work teams are clearing the rubble to restore what has fallen. ¡°Daughter, return to me now. Your commander has been already told.¡± The whisper of the great mother¡¯s voice hiss low but clearly in my hearing, even with the workers¡¯ loudness close at hand. Not pausing to consider the reason why. I race through the workers heading for the trebuchet. While my chains¡¯ commander will have been informed, the rest of my chains and Cejot will have questions. Plus, I still have the carrier with Cejot¡¯s toy to return, the carrier at least is essential, regulations have strict fines on equipment. If I didn¡¯t move fast, the Portal to Nessus will be jammed with supplies and troops coming through, and my passage will have to wait. One thing I''ve learnt, the only thing mother possessed patience for was causing the downfall of enemies. 69 - Dangerous Woman Compared to other areas of the Stronghold, the library appeared always deserted. The Sister on duty had shown up eventually, but immediately after providing some grimoires disappeared again. With nothing to do but study and wait, Julia broke the cardinal rule of getting in on a poker game: deliberately sitting with her back exposed to as many doors as possible. Though Julia sat near the edge of the open space, it was only so she could face out the large balcony doors. Their opening offering a line of fire to practice throwing spells outside without endangering the books. If a Sister flew through her practice range, so much the better. After cycles without occupants in the library, the new arrival was immediately apparent, attracting Julia¡¯s attention. Her arrival, and differences, prompted Julia to use Analysis. An attempt to get it to provide only known information returned the barest of details from the exotic-looking Succubus. [Name: Ebusuku Demonic Species: Named Succubus Details: This Succubus is from the lineage of Naamah, daughter of Lilith. The home plane for these Succubi is Ukuwohloka. Those rising from Naamah¡¯s lineage are born rather than formed from corrupted Souls entering the Abyss.] [Analysis [Ad] (22->23)] That¡¯s better than the swath of unknowns being returned. Unlike many Sisterhood Succubi, Ebusuku wasn¡¯t in uniform and was very different in appearance. At a fraction under one hundred and sixty centimetres in height, Ebusuku was the shortest Succubus that Julia had encountered. Skin of ebony, a black shade so intense it drank in the surrounding light, gleaming white of teeth and eyes made her features pop in contrast to the dark flesh of her form. Her brown irises were mortally normal and deceptively vulnerable compared to the hard skin tone. Sheer black hair in the tightest of curls formed a cap over her scalp. A thin mohawk of small horns parted it, forming a firebreak down the middle of her skull. The darkness made her features appear as if carved from fine ebony by a master artisan. From the clean lines of her forehead, and the broad curve of her nose, to the wide strong cheekbones. The tight lines of her face led down past generous lips to a rounded chin. Though lean, her body still possessed feminine curves alluring to the eye and carried an inviting lushness of flesh even while she held herself - in every instant - as if poised to strike. What she wore was as unusual as herself as far as the Sisterhood''s standards went. It seemed more a collection of weapon harnesses than intended as clothes. It was obvious she wasn''t wearing them to accent or conceal, given what little they covered and their positioning. It was a look as far different from the all-encompassing tight leathers that the Sisterhood wore as possible and still be wearing anything at all. Yet for all the half dozen weapon harnesses she wore, there wasn''t a single hilt apparent; though the aura of Spatial mana seemed to cling to every one of them. Almost fully exposed, Ebusuku''s state wasn''t naked or vulnerable, nor was there an air of paraded sexuality in her posture; rather, she was simply nude and didn''t care who looked at her or how. The minimal amount of clothing she wore seemed in keeping with the theme of her wings, as instead of weapons they were as close to simple bat wings as Julia had seen, without so much as a claw from the elbow joint. True Sight showed no overlap in perception, Ebusuku was exactly how she appeared. Abyssal heat didn¡¯t clot within her, instead it wove through every fibre of her being. She wasn¡¯t a corrupted Soul, a trapped Fallen, or tricked Night Elf. Ebusuku was a pure creation of the Abyss itself, its Heat, Chaos and Corruption provided a form to move about. Her settling on Julia was obvious, though instead of immediately approaching, Ebusuku stopped and observed Julia from near the door. While continuing to form the mental pattern for the next spell in the grimoire, Julia amused herself tallying Ebusuku¡¯s physical tics, from the twitching of wings to tapping of hilts. After minutes spent waiting, Ebusuku moved closer to Julia, but then settled back into utter stillness. The behaviour reminding Julia of a wildlife documentary showing a cheetah stalking its prey. Almost boneless, flowing motions followed by stillness then stalking closer still. Each time the distance closed, Ebusuku¡¯s footsteps struck louder and she fidgeted more. Except she always took care to remain in what should have been Julia¡¯s blind spot between her wings. ¡°Trouble?¡± The word purred in puzzlement as it nuzzled the air when Ebusuku was finally only a few arm lengths behind Julia. Julia just straightened calmly before turning on the backless seat to face directly toward Ebusuku. ¡°Did I do something wrong?¡± Julia asked calmly, unable to resist a teasing poke after cycles of study with no words exchanged. ¡°I was told to speak to a Succubus wearing dominator leathers with that ¡®Use¡¯ name. Is that not you?¡± Ebusuku asked. Her soft words carried an edge that made Julia¡¯s skin crawl. [Danger Sense [M] (1->2)] ¡°That is indeed me, on all counts,¡± said Julia, letting Zen State settle around her awareness as danger clawed into existence. ¡°Next time I say your name, answer to it.¡± commanded Ebusuku, the words still soft somehow hissed like dry ice skipping across water. ¡°It seemed you were asking a question, Senior.¡± Julia replied, the sudden menace in their voice not ruffling the calm in her own. ¡°I am not a Senior. For blight¡¯s sake, find a ¡®Use¡¯ name you can relate to that will not cause confusion in battle. If the Castellan hadn¡¯t told me herself, I¡¯d find it hard to believe now that it wasn¡¯t a dumb joke. She assigned you to my command. If you wanted to start off on the wrong wing beat, you¡¯re going about it right.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been apparently staring at pages for too long. I¡¯ll keep an ear out for a better ¡®Use¡¯ name,¡± said Julia, the flat unconcerned reaction drawing a frown from Ebusuku. {{She¡¯s got a pole up her butt like you. You could pull yours out and beat her with it. }} ¡°Do so, or I¡¯ll give you one. We¡¯ve operations planning to attend since the Lady has decided it is time to start with our revenge. We¡¯re among those selected for operations to pull teeth and leave destroyed demons in our wake.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just return these,¡± Julia said. As she stood, gesturing to the two grimoires in front of her. ¡°Leave them. Let whatever fuck up pulled Library duty sort them out. I¡¯m Ebusuku, normally I work with my sisters; instead, this time, I have you. With how oblivious you just were, you¡¯ll likely end up dead.¡± Ebusuku said, the edged tone scathing. ¡°You tapped your sword hilt forty-two times while you were staring at my back.¡± Julia said, the words causing Ebusuku to twitch and touch her sword again. ¡°What?¡± [Sense Motive [Ap] (23->25)] The simple word carried a raft of hidden questions, and none of them seemed confused. Zen State and Sense Motive made it clear Ebusuku required immediate clarification, the more detailed, the better it might be for Julia. ¡°Your sword hilt, you tapped it forty-two times in total. You stopped three steps in from the door when you spotted me and took additional steps forward on seven different occasions before speaking. The more I ignored you, the more your left-wing fluttered before moving forward again. Each series of steps was slightly louder, yet shorter than the previous series. Did you give up trying to attract my attention?¡± Julia had let her state keep her voice calm, its tone a crisp report carrying a clean intent of stating only facts. [Acting [J](12->15)] ¡°Perhaps Trouble is a proper ¡®Use¡¯ name for you after all, little corrupted,¡± Ebusuku said, the edge of danger having left her voice. ¡°Corrupted?¡± Julia asked, not having heard the reference directed towards a Demon previously. ¡°The Castellan said you were ignorant. You are a Soul converted by the cliffs in Culerzic. Are you not?¡± ¡°That was my original home Plane.¡± ¡°I prefer to work with those of my kin. Give me a reason, and you¡¯ll wish to be back in whatever brothel let you ooze away, just like the discharges you¡¯ve had to clean out.¡± said Ebusuku, her tone conveying that she felt set upon. Assumptions much. Is that how she feels or merely acting? Is she trying to seem as mercurial as the other Succubus I¡¯ve met before? {{I miss Naz¡¯rilca already. Can we see if we can find the dust patch impressed with her charred arse? }} Unlikely B, if she was inside the gatehouse, I doubt we¡¯d find anything. Why don¡¯t we hunt for her instead? We¡¯ll see if we can cope with existing on the Plane of Ijmti. Maybe we¡¯ll get lucky and take her out forever. {{I¡¯ll hold you to that! }} ¡°May I ask why you¡¯re not a Senior?¡± Julia let surprise colour her voice as even without Analysis, or True Sight Ebusuku felt dangerous, beautiful but oh so dangerous. Rather like having the restrained power of a giant tiger with its sheathed claws centimetres from your eyes, knowing it would only take a flex to destroy you. Where Naz¡¯rilca had been dangerous, she was wildly and completely unpredictable; Ebusuku was far worse, for she possessed patience, instead of immediately pouncing on perceived vulnerability she stalked her prey. ¡°The Castellan considers those among the Lineage of Naamah to be not quite official members of the Sisterhood. We¡¯re their irregulars, you could say. For whatever reason, she¡¯s decided you¡¯ll fit with us best. It won¡¯t make you popular with anyone. I suggest not wearing the Sisterhood uniform or insignia while with us. One warning is all I¡¯ll give you.¡± Not an actual instruction. Oops, I¡¯ll misuse that later. Though not official members, that¡¯s fine. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you official members?¡± Julia asked, curious about the apparent division within the Order¡¯s ranks. ¡°None of us may take classes the Progenitor does not allow. Though she is an ally with Lady Baln¨¦rith, she has never permitted one of her line to take the Order¡¯s Prestige Class, so we¡¯re only considered partial members.¡± Okay, I think I know why the Castellan tossed me in with them. Since I told her I had Blood Monk immediately, she¡¯s handled it as a distinct class. I wish she¡¯d just thrown me out instead. ¡°So you just join the Sisterhood because of the alliance?¡± asked Julia You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Why become part of it at all? Friends close and enemies closer? ¡°The others understand why we¡¯re irregulars, and they don¡¯t even like us for it. In your case, I¡¯m sure their hostility will rise to new heights. Have fun.¡± Ebusuku said, her voice rich with amusement, as she ignored Julia¡¯s question. Julia felt a spatial force shift reality about them, and suddenly they were standing in a gallery overlooking a massive stone platform a few hundred square metres of space. Uniformed Sisters below were examining regions of an embossed map that seemed formed from the stone surface. The elevation of the regions literally having grown from the table, fortresses in various bays stood well above the surrounding landscape. Little quad hulled vessels were showing on the stone waters around them, and it reminded her of the fleet near Setimet. The landmass was massive. If the largest fortress was Setimet, and it was to scale, it covered an area bigger than four or five Australias put together. Yet the fortresses ranged in size from larger than paired fists, down to barely a thumb sticking from the stone. If Setimet was one of the smaller ones, that made the land mass perhaps thirty to forty thousand kilometres across at least. ¡°The model looks very detailed.¡± said Julia, looking it over and spotted some other coastal zones showing fortresses in their bays. Some looked differently sized to the first she had spotted but were similar shapes. ¡°The Castellan put together the shaping spell. One thing she does well is accuracy.¡± ¡°Those fortresses in the bays look identically shaped.¡± Julia said. ¡°Lack of imagination, only the size of them varies. They¡¯re all named after our target, twelve in total from the smallest Setijen, up to the largest Setisankh,¡± Ebusuku said. Though when she named them, Ebusuku only pointed to the former on the table¡¯s edge closest to them. ¡°What are the other fortresses called?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not for us to worry about. I¡¯ve spent some time within ¨¤luga where our assigned targets are situated.¡± Julia gazed over the map, hoping to determine which was Setimet. With no marking to show which Fortress was Setimet, Julia opened up Telepathy and listened to the other Succubi. While most were plotting one conquest or another, none unfortunately, were outside the sheets. Except for Ebusuku and herself, all the rest appeared to be regular members of the Order. ¡°Is this all of their home Plane?¡± ¡°No, they don¡¯t control all of ¨¤luga. More area on the plane is underwater than there is land to use.¡± ¡°Where do you plan to start operations? What are the instructions? Besides killing anything and everything.¡± ¡°Outer ridge from Setijen, we¡¯ll skip around hitting smaller locations first. Kill, destroy, maim, or steal. That pretty much sums it up.¡± ¡°Preference?¡± asked Julia, noting the options that Ebusuku had left off the list, though potentially maiming was torture. ¡°I prefer never leaving an enemy behind.¡± The tone of Ebusuku¡¯s voice sharpened with the pronouncement even as she gazed down onto the table below them. ¡°So destroy it is.¡± Julia said, nodding in complete agreement with Ebusuku¡¯s attitude. ¡°Perhaps you have promise after all, despite your origins and ignorance.¡± ¡°I am presently ignorant but willing to learn. Any specific targets around Setijen?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll hit production works and caravans, destroying everything we can. Normally the Gods stay out of politics and factions in the Abyss. We¡¯re going to teach this moron why it¡¯s best they keep it that way. When they spread out patrols to keep their Domain safe, we¡¯ll pick them off. Whenever there are too many grouped up, we¡¯ll move to areas left exposed, focusing on quick destruction before moving again. Other teams will be in ¨¤luga. Our focus is that section,¡± Ebusuku said, a relaxed gesture directed Julia¡¯s gaze towards a section of the table immediately beneath them. ¡°What about the fortress?¡± asked Julia, pointing at the small outline of it in the bay. ¡°It anchors defences in the region. I doubt we¡¯ll be able to get inside, but if we can, we¡¯ll see what damage we can inflict.¡± Ebusuku said, a wistful longing in her voice while considering the destruction. ¡°So, do the fortresses serve that purpose in each region?¡± ¡°They do but are likely safeguarded as best they can for that reason. He named every one of them after his own sizeable arse.¡± ¡°Not a fan of Divine powers?¡± Julia asked, glancing at the Succubus now leaning on the railing beside her. The rude noise from Ebusuku made her view clear even without the roll of her eyes. ¡°My family has been here longer than all of them, but they think they¡¯re important. Grandmother thinks some worlds are merely traps laid by the Titan for them, yet they see them as playgrounds,¡± ¡°An old grudge perhaps.¡± mused Julia, wondering if the Titan had it in for the Greek Gods given they were the only pantheon having lost members. ¡°No idea. Initially, I plan for us to start with the mines on the far ridge inland from the Delta. Then we¡¯ll sweep towards the coast as far from the fortress as we can get while inside our assigned zone. After we hit the coast, we¡¯ll Teleport back towards the mine and reassess the next line of attack.¡± ¡°Did the Castellan assign these?¡± Julia asked, nodding to the rope lines being set out to divide the map. The one around the small region assigned to them already in place. Succubi drifted across the stone, setting markers in place as they went, a few showing the Sisterhood symbol, more displaying the symbol of Set. Guerrilla warfare? ¡°Yes. How can you tell?¡± asked Ebusuku, her gaze leaving the map below them and fixing on Julia. ¡°She¡¯s about the only organised Demon I¡¯ve interacted with besides a Hag.¡± Julia said, giving a shrug as what seemed obvious. ¡°Fallen! They are all that way. The Progenitor teaches it was more relaxed before they, or ones such as you, arrived.¡± Progenitor, from her details I take it that¡¯s Naamah. ¡°Sorry for messing up the show then.¡± ¡°If I wanted you sorry about something you¡¯d be aware of it. You¡¯ve Dominion, I¡¯m told.¡± Ebusuku said, an edged smile curving one side of her mouth. ¡°Yes, why?¡± asked Julia, her tone clearly curious as she wondered what the Succubus was planning. ¡°Then you¡¯ll either get a lot of practice running while you play bait, or something will catch you to kill you.¡± Oh, she thinks it will put them into challenge mode like that bug at the docks. It might not turn out that way. ¡°Or Demons will drop to the ground in awe of me,¡± Julia said. B giggled, as memories of the Hollow before her Willpower increase came to mind. ¡°Lying to yourself is a dangerous habit; expect things to go wrong. Because they will,¡± Maybe I should have left that power off the imprint I provided. ¡°So, you want me to piss them off and have them chase me into whatever trap you have planned? What happens if they all fall at my feet?¡± ¡°Then destroy them; they certainly won¡¯t be worth my time,¡± Ebusuku said, a dismissive shrug made her feelings clear. ¡°Wait! Why would you try to get them to urinate? I don¡¯t know of any demon breeds that can.¡± ¡°A phrase I¡¯d heard among mortals for making someone angry,¡± Julia said. ¡°Yes. Do exactly that.¡± More experience for me then. ¡°When do we leave?¡± ¡°As soon the last arguments are over. We have the region with the fewest settlements to destroy; no one is interested in it. They¡¯re arguing about chances to get prime pillage regions.¡± {{No fair! I want more toys. }} ¡°What happens if we finish everything in our area?¡± asked Julia, noting the lack of settlements in what seemed the region around Setijen. ¡°You think this will be a competition speed slaughter?¡± ¡°I guess it depends on what the locals are like fighting wise. Won¡¯t the stronger Demons be off where they can have the most fun?¡± ¡°After a while, any fun gets boring. Some just hole up wherever and watch the local Souls torture themselves. Less competition to ruin their day. After a while, if you¡¯ve seen one self-evisceration you¡¯ve seen them all. Even sex becomes going through the motions. I¡¯ve heard tales of a Named battle lord who undertakes mercenary work just to give himself something to do.¡± Ebusuku said, her tone bemused. If that¡¯s L¨ºdhins, it seems what he does is weird. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. So, we¡¯ll have to deal with a bunch of smaller settlements, resource gathering, and production specialists, I take it. While the teams up near Setisankh will have to deal with that massive city if that¡¯s the main fortress,¡± Julia commented, deliberating gesturing to one that actually seemed slightly smaller. ¡°No, that one is Setithi. The one called Setisankh is further along the coast, past the mountains he has his palace on. The fortress there is for his personal guards and favoured, so of course it is the biggest,¡± Cycles exploring a fraction of Setimet, and it¡¯s not even in the top two. ¡°What¡¯s the area we¡¯re assigned like? The map shows the contours but aside from the settlements not a lot of other details,¡± ¡°Hope you like swampland,¡± Ebusuku said, gesturing down to their region of the map again. The graceful flex of her fingers carrying Br¨ªn hand sign within, and Julia didn¡¯t know if it was a trap or a test. #Watch how they group about the table. Those that seek to disadvantage others stand the closest to their foes. Their organisation at times provides them focus of whom to mess with next.# ¡°Really?¡± asked Julia, directly her apparent attention to the table and seeing the bowl fashioned by the ridgeline. ¡°All our region is a swamp?¡± Oh, joy! {{Told you it¡¯s more fun being wet! }} ¡°Lots of stinking swampland, the river heading towards the bay, that¡¯s just the main watercourse, but our assigned area is all swamp once you get below the ridgeline. Every settlement between the inner ridgeline and the bay is within the swamp and built up off the ground. The settlements aren¡¯t the only places we¡¯ll find Demons to kill though, spiders, hounds, and many other things inhabit the swamp. Most of those species won¡¯t care about the overlord of the region; they predate his arrival. The Demons within the settlements are the only ones we care about. Though Souls of Petitioners and Damned alike fill the Plane, Damned remain where they fall,¡± [Abyssal Lore [Ad] (13->14) Planar Lore [J] (2->4)] Petitioners are the faithful of the Gods, so Set¡¯s faithful are roaming about this Plane. I thought he¡¯d gather them up from what Usd¡¯ghi said. More of the Dedicated, perhaps? Faithful, but still Set making it clear how little he actually cares about any of you. ¡°Are these the only operations planned?¡± ¡°This is just some of them. He holds positions on several Planes. This is just the Order members assigned to ¨¤luga.¡± said Ebusuku. Julia looked over the hundred-odd Succubi visible to her in the Galley and the lower floor. Some of them had appeared as Julia gazed over the map, while others had been present when they arrived, already intent on their own planning. ¡°So lucky us, we get the swamp.¡± ¡°Could be worse.¡± ¡°Do I want to know?¡± asked Julia. Deliberately allowing curiosity and concern to lace her voice. ¡°If you mess up the jobs I need you to do. I¡¯ll see you get reassigned in short order. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d enjoy swimming through endless underwater planes or through poisonous acidic clouds.¡± said Ebusuku, her tone clearly not concerned which eventually resulted. ¡°I can¡¯t swim and still need better resistances.¡± Wonder if it would let me use Flight underwater? Haven¡¯t improved resistances for a while. Need to fix that. ¡°Then again, maybe you wouldn¡¯t. Try to keep up with my orders then.¡± Ebusuku''s voice had grown smug while drinking in the attitude of those assigned to various segments. Julia noticed her gaze sharpened the most when resting on places where teams looked set to disagree. She¡¯s like a hunting cat looking for a weakness in her prey. ¡°Opportunities Ebusuku?¡± asked Julia, her soft voice not carrying above the bustle of noise that had risen within the room. ¡°Perhaps, sharp eyes, perhaps,¡± More Br¨ªn hand sign filled Ebusuku¡¯s gestures while they watch the proceedings, but she answered no more questions aloud. Julia kept careful track of the information Ebusuku only provided in hand sign, not wanting to confirm she knew it as it hadn¡¯t been on her imprint. Too much of it was concise insights into foes found within the swamp, and Julia stilled the questions she wanted to ask. Venomous Spine hounds, Swamp raptors, and Fetid Lurkers were the most common dangers, and while only bestial types, they seemed to have dangerous abilities. The hounds could fire the spines that gave them their name for twenty metres or more, and they burst on impact to cover the target with acidic venom. Swamp raptors sounded like giant monkeys given wings, many additional arms, a rounded head set about with eyes, and a maw that could open wider than her torso. The Lurkers she described were a close match to those in the scoured heights of Culerzic. They had smaller pincers, but instead of acid they spit pure Abyssal corruption that carried diseases able to destroy even Demonic flesh. They at least wouldn¡¯t continue to pursue past the edge of whatever they called their home territory. That was if she didn¡¯t run afoul of the possessed groves, corrupted water weirds or earth elementals, not to mention the wingless drakes, and giant snakes among other dangers hiding within the place. Julia didn¡¯t know if Ebusuku was aware she knew Br¨ªn hand sign, was continually testing her for reaction, or had already learnt something from her body language. Of concern were the details provided about the threats that continued to increase Julia¡¯s Demonic Lore. The moment the hand signs had started, Ebusuku¡¯s mind had become opaque to Julia¡¯s awareness. Demonic Lore [J] (14->15) {{She keeps levelling it. Tell her to put her fingers inside you instead; then she¡¯ll freeze them off. }} Fuck off! {{Go ahead, make my day! }} ¡°Why do you keep wiggling your fingers that way?¡± Julia asked, letting her tone seep genuine curiosity. [Acting [J](15->16)] ¡°Culerzic has many Br¨ªn living there. Are you telling me you¡¯ve never learnt their hand sign?¡± Ebusuku asked, stopping in mid-gesture. ¡°No one ever taught it to me. The first Br¨ªn I met was on this Plane. Why do you use these hand signs?¡± ¡°Not me, we¡¯ll use them. I hope you learn fast,¡± said Ebusuku, her tone carrying more than a touch of frustration. [Sense Motive [Ap] (25 -> 27)] Oddly, she¡¯s frustrated with herself, not blaming me. How weird for a Demon. So, apparently she assumed that in the one hundred years she expected me to be on Culerzic, I had learnt it. Go truth! No one taught me, a knowledge point for the win. Sense motive is jumping ahead. Does it have a synergy with Zen State¡¯s intuition? [Skill Lore [B](8->10)] Synergies for Hidden, or just hidden synergies between skills. Most people read body language intuitively unless they were on the spectrum. Opening her Profile, and reviewed it with a new perspective, and saw potential links between skills and powers she hadn¡¯t considered before: Stimulation and Dominion; Agile, Zen Movement, and Erotic Dance. Julia still didn¡¯t understand why Claw and Bite remained separate from Unarmed Combat. Maybe because I¡¯ve never actually tried combining their attacks into the style Farhad and I were working on, yet Protean¡¯s attacks benefit from Unarmed Combat. Something to consider doing if it will make me more dangerous. 70 - Popular Monster The preparation of the map had continued for some time after they assembled everyone. Ebusuku, unlike the other Succubi, didn¡¯t seem impatient. From her continued focus on those present, she seemed intent on learning everything possible. Julia had expected a planning session to be a military operation, not the auction they conducted with strange stakes at play. The organisers were the ones that decided the winning bids, with no apparent logic in their decisions. The bidding exchanges between teams ranged from polite to barely controlled rage, and the ones that set Julia¡¯s nerves on edge were always the former. Attitudes varied so greatly it was hard to get an idea if any plans actually existed. Refineries, regardless of material, weren¡¯t popular; settlements with enchanters or alchemists might attract lots of activity or almost complete silence. Pleased murmurs and pained hisses from the winning teams seemed to show assignment being avoided were the best or worst at what they did. No one wanted to raid a skilled enchanter, while bad ones, no one wanted loot from them. The teams gaining some were clearly regretting their victories, as bidding wasn¡¯t optional for teams assigned to a region. The organisers had marked one tiny settlement on the map with a placeholder clearly showing it was to be avoided, unless an icon of a broken-winged Succubus meant something else. Though Julia felt it was possible to get beyond the surface thoughts of various Succubi, it held less appeal than bobbing for apples in a sewer tunnel. It was nearly a full cycle from being gathered in the planning room before the organisers declared everything settled. When it finally came time to move, they handled everything efficiently, opening Portals to set teams in their assigned regions. When it was their turn to depart, Julia caught the first glimpse of the attitude Ebusuku had warned her about. Once the other Sisters were on their way, the Senior opening their portal wore a displeased sneer as though on garbage duty. Through the Portal, Julia could see a rocky region of hills; Ebusuku waved her through and followed close. Their arrival in ¨¤luga made Julia want to scream in rage and sheer disgust, even under Zen State''s calming stability. The sky was a crisp, beautiful blue and from a golden sun came a lovely warmth. Yet it was a warmth that gave growth to the most twisted of existence. Everywhere she looked among the rocky terrain, and far down into the swamp kilometres away, life seemed diseased and bloated with decay. As if every sort of pestilence had found a place to call home, and was thriving in its energy. A bush nearby oozed fluid from puss-filled sores that pushed their way up through bark that otherwise looked healthy with life. A feral feline nearby sported enormous growths that were clearly painful, as it hobbled away, leaving bloodstain prints behind. All Julia could do was to have Zen State catalogue the sights and let each fuel her determination to make Set pay for all the pain he lorded over. The breeze carried with it an odour of foul rot, and the dankness of soil overladen with rotting fruit. ¡°Have a good cycle,¡± Julia said before the portal closed, wanting to leave the place behind. ¡°Perhaps Trouble does suit you after all. Why not wish her eternal boredom instead?¡± Ebusuku asked, clearly amused. ¡°I¡¯ll use that next time. So sending me first, did I play bait, or was I avoiding a portal closing on me?¡± ¡°Both. You don¡¯t get to die till I say so,¡± Ebusuku said. After pausing for a moment, she gestured toward the highest peak in sight. ¡°Stay on the ground; we need to get to know it while staying unseen.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we change to look like ¨¤luga Succubi?¡± asked Julia. ¡°You don¡¯t even know Br¨ªn hand sign and you think you can impersonate a different species of Succubi. Do you have one of their outfits with you?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t any wear dominator leathers like these? I thought it was just the wings and shape of horns that varied,¡± Julia said, gesturing towards her outfit. ¡°Assuming isn¡¯t thinking, learn things properly. I¡¯d say we need to scout multiple positions towards that peak. I doubt we¡¯ll find a single spot where the two of us can kill hundreds if they focus on us alone. If they have any serious support, or can get some quickly, we¡¯ll need fallback positions. Both for teleporting and physical retreat if they¡¯ve got any surprises on hand. Though something else takes priority now.¡± Ebusuku paused for a moment before she locked a hard gaze on Julia and danger started prickling away at the back of her neck. In an instant, Julia realised the danger¡¯s source was staring right at her. Instead of fleeing, she just waited and held herself ready to move. Long minutes passed before a smile danced on Ebusuku¡¯s lips and the danger eased away. ¡°You need to stop using Protean to wear your skin as clothing. If you know the Power, it¡¯s a giveaway.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Julia, silently cursing her own inexperience and whatever slip she¡¯d made. ¡°Your outfit is skintight, and doesn¡¯t dimple when you move. It flexes like it¡¯s your skin, yet it bears no enchantments.¡± Fuck, given away by perfection! ¡°I used Shape Change to form clothing,¡± Julia said, dropping back on previous experience while ensuring she kept to the truth. ¡°Nice word choice. Used. No doubt you once used it for clothing, but you don¡¯t now. Shape change shows up in various ways. Protean takes on the reality of the material formed. I¡¯d say one of a few things happened: either you are so far beneath the Castellan that she didn¡¯t care, more important matters had her distracted, or she was just too arrogant to pay enough attention. From now on, form the outfit and then separate it from yourself. The downside is it won¡¯t adjust with you, but it will act like the leather you made it appear. Your eyes don¡¯t blink and mostly don¡¯t shift direction. What Power are you using to see?¡± ¡°I thought I had that covered,¡± Julia said, either her unfussed tone or evasive response eliciting a quick frown from Ebusuku before she replied. ¡°You have lots of the details right, but I spent a cycle standing next to you with no interesting distractions. I discovered some things once I started looking properly besides the physical cues. I can¡¯t scry you directly; even scrying the location, you were hard to make out. Yet you don¡¯t have enchantments on you beyond a few trinkets. You feel as if a born Succubus, but Culerzic Succubi are all corrupted Souls converted by the stone.¡± ¡°I came out of the stone cliff face overlooking the impaled Souls that form the Dretch,¡± Julia retorted, wondering where it was leading, apparent threats being mixed in with tips to improve. ¡°Darn, you are interesting, every word true. What brothel or harem did you live in?¡± asked Ebusuku, a persistent tone entering her voice. ¡°You can tell the truth?¡± asked Julia, as she sought time to pick a path amid the trap laden path that had appeared before her. ¡°I can taste lies, and I tasted none from you.¡± Damn, word games will make a noose for me. I¡¯m not bending my knee again. ¡°My oath says I need to do my utmost to obey a Senior member. Not tell my history to every Sister of the Order. But then, even the first doesn¡¯t count for you, since you told me yourself you¡¯re not a full member of the Order, merely an associate.¡± ¡°I could kill you and hunt you down on your home Plane.¡± Julia just nodded calmly as Ebusuku spoke, not bothering to argue otherwise. ¡°You could kill me. Doing the job without me to play bait won¡¯t be a challenge for you. Though how would you hunt me down, when you can¡¯t scry me? Where oh where would you even start?¡± ¡°How do you know I¡¯ve not read your mind?¡± asked Ebusuku, her tone smugly confident. ¡°The Lady couldn¡¯t read my mind, so I doubt you can. It¡¯s why they made me swear the Oath on Leviathan¡¯s blood.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been in the chamber!¡± Ebusuku¡¯s words hissed and clawed at the air in sheer outrage as her fists clenched hard enough to drive long nails into palms. ¡°Feel sensitive about that chamber¡¯s contents?¡± Julia asked, her tone digging. What¡¯s the deal with the chamber? V? (( I don¡¯t know why they are interested. It¡¯s made from the bones of the Leviathan.)) ¡°That is not your concern. Why should I not just expose your secrets?¡± Julia let the flesh mask fall away and locked gazes with Ebusuku. The fires suddenly burning within her gaze, though calmer than before returning to the Stronghold. Her face having been held so long in mask-like stillness came alive, and though every millimetre of flesh looked exactly the same, energy and force of will shone where before she''d been a beautiful statue. Muscles shifting under ivory skin set a stamp of determination to go with the words that flowed. ¡°I¡¯m not playing your game. You¡¯ll get no bribes or whatever you have going on with other Sisters. You were watching them like a hawk for weaknesses. I have secrets, so does every Demon with half a brain. No more questions answered. I¡¯ll ask you a question instead; what chain does the Lady have around your Progenitor¡¯s neck? I could help you free her. Otherwise, if you¡¯re going to kill me, go right ahead!¡± Julia¡¯s proper face was eerily calm as she held her hands out to either side, palms towards Ebusuku. ¡°A tiara of horns and steel eyes still showing the inferno¡¯s heat. How many cycles since you Ascended to full Succubus? Why does the Castellan still think you¡¯re only Lesser?¡± ¡°You avoided my questions, I¡¯m not answering yours. Decide what you¡¯re going to do.¡± ¡°How high should that imprint have shown your Willpower?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s hand suddenly held a serrated edged sabre pointed towards Julia. In response, Julia just smiled sweetly and said absolutely nothing. After minutes, the unflinching white fire and steel in her gaze were enough of an answer for Ebusuku¡¯s blade to disappear. ¡°Fall at your feet indeed. More like beg you to walk on them, so you don¡¯t muddy your bone white feet.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Cycles of preparations later, they¡¯d learnt the terrain around the peak well, the gullies and cave mouths where they¡¯d set up preparations marked with trail signs. Julia had given up one secret and admitted to knowing Br¨ªn hand sign, and they¡¯d worked in soundless cooperation. Now she stood looking down towards the outpost set before the mine shaft. They¡¯d laid the outpost out in a curve around the main square, but shaped it away from the mine not towards it. They¡¯d set the square overlooking a lower region of the peak, overgrown with trees that hung ripe with the bodies of the Damned. Their own intestines were used to shape the stem binding each to the branches of their tree. An outpost? There are hundreds of demons in that main square. ¡°That outfit is going to attract attention,¡± Ebusuku said, her own attention having been on Julia¡¯s form. ¡°That¡¯s the purpose of it,¡± Julia said, glancing down at the layers of gossamer silk wrapping her figure. The outfit seemed a tiny slip away from exposing all her flesh to an observer¡¯s gaze. As Julia had worked on the mental image for it, B had constantly been humming softly in the back of her awareness. The sense from her Id carried with it less restraint and more excitement than a kid informed no limits applied to their candy binge. Though Julia had set some firm rules, B was still abuzz. Rock rifts had been playing in Julia¡¯s mind since the moment the material had formed, and she¡¯d mentally separated it from herself. A sheer mesh teddy formed the inner layer, built outwards with different gossamer silk pieces that could tear away, black and red layers contrasting with ivory skin. Overall, it was one very risqu¨¦ burlesque outfit. ¡°Where do you plan to start?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going straight for the courtyard¡¯s centre stage. I¡¯ll keep them distracted while you work the edges of the crowd.¡± {{I¡¯m so excited! }} I¡¯m so glad. ¡°Your dancing has gotten better with practice. I hope your Dominion can add enough force to turn them as you believe.¡± Julia just nodded and teleported down to the edge of the mining town and started walking towards the target location. Dominion turning on before she even took the first step, the sense of it filtered outwards through Zen State perceptions. The power did not hit them like a flood instead spreading out like a mist around her, a whispered siren¡¯s song calling and attracting notice. Julia could feel its effect working through the crowd with each swaying step, as their gazes fastened on her. Notifications provided feedback on its effectiveness as she sent subtle variations of the Power pulsing through the air and felt their hunger grow. When she reached the central stage her course continued upwards as if stepping into the air. Her motions became one exaggerated sway at a time, letting the outfit¡¯s scarf skirt hitch teasingly upwards for those watching from behind. Demons, it seemed, had so long focused on drowning their senses they¡¯d forgotten what it was like to have them teased. The performers looked at Julia wide-eyed before a shooing gesture sent them from the stage. Succubi scattered in the air like poisonous butterflies while land-bound Demons dropped to the ground around the stage. As Julia¡¯s gaze looked over the crowd, Analysis fed her information on a range of Demons. Fortunately, even the giants among the crowd were of least or lesser tiers, though she didn¡¯t have time to check everyone. There were horned and red-scaled reptilian lesser Sk?ll, but the solid thuggish Dretch were a majority within the crowd. From what she could spot, only a bare handful of other species were present. A few of the squid Xhali¨¢ma but fortunately no golden armoured Kralc¨ª whose hive mind likely gave them resistance to her plan. The humanoid frog-headed Zrlser, the fluttering presence of several Succubi and others. Giants loomed among the crowd with crocodile rough skin, walking about completely exposed to all, Analysis naming them Wenga. Though roughly humanoid, their arms were longer than they were tall, and tortoise-like necks held reptilian crested heads aloft. As much as Julia wanted information, she needed to get things started. A hand raised and stayed motionless, the crowd falling silent as Dominion¡¯s pressure started pulsing. The stillness of the air writhed hard against them before Dominion hit again. This time the energy echoing the pulsing beat of a masterful drum solo at a rock concert. The energy didn¡¯t just drown them, it screamed, pulsed down deep into their bones and made them beg for more. Then the dancing started, Julia¡¯s will and grace holding them in her palm. A burlesque style teasing dance stirring strange feelings as Stimulation rode through Dominion¡¯s reach and didn¡¯t strike with lust, hate or rage but an intense physical longing. She teased the emptiness of their existence with the potential of an answer to slake their thirst and held them tight in its fist. The longing pulsed out through them in time to the music that B provided within Julia¡¯s mind. ¡®Tainted love¡¯ started, Julia let her movements grind to the beat of the song, while Marilyn Manson¡¯s voice growled within her mind. She held them spellbound with a strange desire that seemed just on the edge of their understanding. Every motion as she danced, gyrated, kicked, swayed, and ran fingers along her own body drew their gaze, inflaming their hunger. The sheer cloth almost translucent in the light, shifted with every motion. Energy continually pushed deeper into them as a growling Ebusuku worked along the back of the crowd that had risen to watch. She gave the crowd more, and their intensity surged as she stepped from the stage into the air, her feet supported as if by an invisible dance floor. The elevation offering them an unobstructed view of the impossible teasing delight on display, driving their desire higher. Motion held them captivated in growing desire until the first of them moved; the Demon was airborne and grasping when black flames writhed over Julia¡¯s body. As she came within his reach Julia moved first, spending a spray of Demonic blood and flesh cascaded across the crowd. Ki Strike not caving in his skull, but severing the head completely, black claws coated in blood having grown into a single blade. The arterial spray from the plummeting form didn¡¯t break the trance as Julia changed the tone, and the crowd went berserk with blood lust. The moment of battle decision that rose through the Zen State rode hard into Dominion¡¯s cry and the settlement ran awash with violence. The wave of sensation that they felt holding them changing to something they¡¯d never known, the pain of mortal heartbreak, fear, and longing; pain that was amplified by her will and Powers set their minds on fire. Demonic rage was a powder keg held an instant from the flame, Julia had compressed it tight, loaded it with emotions to serve as shrapnel and then set the whole lot on fire. Julia plunged into the crowd, blood showering nearby as she began working her way through those at hand. Blows ladened with as much power as she could muster soon turned the ground beneath her feet into a quagmire as Demonic flesh tore open. Attacks came from unexpected directions: protean shaped fists, claws, daggers, and even spears ripping into anything coming close. Barbed tips driving deep into flesh, only to vanish the next instant, or punch through one to reach another foe behind. Punches came crashing into ribs, driving pieces deep into chests, sundering Demonic flesh on fragments of bone. Hands fluttered as flowers opening in a breeze only for their dancing grace to grasp and throw the dance partner into another¡¯s path. Graceful fingers which had been pressing the flesh they still craved, came to them in liquid motions, and gouts of blood flowed from the caresses. Hands grasping and striking, filled with lust and rage, found rending maws consuming their limbs even as the object of their desire was so tauntingly close at hand. Succubi attacking from the sky were borne upwards, forming living banners decorating barbed and jagged flag poles that appeared in their path. When the poles fell among the crowd, they found themselves ripped apart for separating combatants competing for the prize. Demons had seen where the prize descended and fought to claim it for their own. Wings shifted into a nest of claws and maws sprouting from her back as the butchery was only gathering steam. Jealousy, heartache, and longing continually rippling through the square incited the Demons to world burning rage. Emotions they¡¯d never known turned them on each other, even as Julia and Ebusuku began killing everything in their path. Even those not in the central square felt the force of its power, and violence¡¯s siren call swelled within them. [Least Dretch x89 Lesser Dretch x4 Lesser Succubi x2 (10% share) Lesser Wenga x2 Wenga x1 Lesser Xhali¨¢ma x1 Xhali¨¢ma x2 Least Zrlser x4 Lesser Zrlser x8 Demonic Shards gained: 4.993 Total Demons returned to the Abyss: 121 Total experience gained for distribution: 142,612 Monk: +71,306 Monk Levelled Up! Succubus: +71,306 Death Strike (9 ->15) Dominion [Ad] (8 ->11) Flight [Ad] (19 ->20) Stimulation [Ad] (8 ->12) Protean [Ad] (25 ->28) Ki Armour [Ad] (34 ->35) Ki Movement [J] (20 ->23) Ki Infusion [Ad] (45 ->46) Ki Strike [Ad] (46 ->47) Agile [Ad] (6 -> 9) Advanced insights gained for successful synergy of Dominion, Ki Movement, Agile and Zen State with Erotic Dance. Erotic Dance [Ap] (8) -> [J](8) Zen State [M] (6->7) Unarmed Combat, Bite, Claw, Spear and Dagger combined and evolved into new skill Silent Storm. Weapons used in any form of martial arts will now utilise the skill rank of Silent Storm. Silent Storm [M] (26 -> 28) Manipulator Class unlocked for future selection.] {{See, I told you it would be fun. }} I was more comfortable with the killing. {{That¡¯s fine, I enjoyed that as well. }} Talk about diminishing returns. One-thousandth of a shard for the least Demons now. Will they even count when I go up another Tier? Fuck! As the combat summary brushed Julia¡¯s awareness and the last Zrlser slid from her elongated claws, Ebusuku was suddenly beside her. The Succubus gaze was blazing with blood lust even though Julia had switched Dominion off. At a gesture from her, they vanished from the square and reappeared kilometres away. As they vanished an unseen spectator appeared from out of the shadows nearer the mine, slowly unclenching his fists. His massive size should have made hiding where he had concealed himself impossible. The long fingers of his third hand made reaching motions and suddenly held a globe of lightning. Ebusuku¡¯s name from his lips set a guiding arrow forming from its energy before he allowed it to dissipate. ¡°The little fucker¡¯s information was right. Damn, I hate this job. Still giving me black balls.¡± L¨ºdhins sighed regretfully before a step put him back into shadows that bulged and darkened before they returned to normal.
¡°You fight like a bloodthirsty predator, Trouble.¡± ¡°Voice of experience?¡± Julia asked, bemused even amid the calm by the glib tone in Ebusuku¡¯s voice. Ebusuku just laughed and gestured at the tattered remnants of sheer silk soaked with blood clinging to Julia¡¯s healing form. ¡°No need for experience when you look as if you rolled in their corpses. There are pieces of something¡¯s guts hung in your hair.¡± ¡°Things got a little messy.¡± Julia quipped as she looked down at the mess. ¡°They all wanted a piece of what you teased them with before the real fun started.¡± ¡°What next?¡± asked Julia, even as she ignored Bs wordless shouts of glee in her mind. ¡°Just as well you turned your Dominion off before I came close to you. I¡¯ve never felt such sensations in my existence. What do you call that?¡± ¡°Mortal love and heartache. Not been in a Mortal¡¯s mind during moments of love and loss?¡± Julia asked, raising an eyebrow at Ebusuku, unsure why a Succubus wouldn¡¯t have experienced it for fun. ¡°Why would I do that? Now to the important question, feel like doing that again?¡± Ebusuku questioned, her tone carrying an edge of excitement. While she¡¯d accused Julia of fighting like a bloodthirsty predator, Julia could see exactly that shining out of Ebusuku¡¯s eyes. {{OH BABY YES! }} ¡°Dancing or fighting?¡± Julia asked, as the mess of blood, flesh, and torn scraps of cloth disappeared from her and dropped to the ground. A set of Dominator¡¯s leathers appeared, and the material shifted position ever so slightly after it manifested. ¡°Definitely both.¡± {{Please say Yes! }} ¡°So, repeating that in the bigger population centres?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll still need to set up first, but fewer fall-back positions. We¡¯ll either kill them in a massacre like this or break off.¡± ¡°So where next?¡± Julia asked. Ebusuku¡¯s clothing vanished and her form blurred into a Succubus from the square, complete with scant clothing. The fabric initially tight against her skin relaxed slightly and settled a moment later. The tiny outfit, purely to present her breasts and crotch tighter than a picture frame, covered nothing essential at all. ¡°Protean.¡± Julia groaned. ¡°It¡¯s a very rare power. How else did you believe I knew it so well?¡± asked Ebusuku, the excitement had remained in her voice, but now a sense of strange playfulness also laced it. Far more dangerous than Naz¡¯rilca. As Julia changed into a copy of a Succubus she had shooed from the stage, Ebusuku was already flying away. Quickly adding similar clothing, Julia leapt upwards and pushed on Flight to eliminate Ebusuku¡¯s brief head start. With a sharp eye out, Julia ran hands across her new Egyptian appearance and checked the dual hooked horns that had replaced her own. It provided however only a short distraction from what the wind of their passage was doing with the new apparel. Analysis: Silent Storm [Silent Storm: This skill is a full-body weaponry approach to combat. Its techniques focus on the erratic destruction of foes, either immediately seeking to kill them or at least removing their ability to deal damage. Weapons used within this style don¡¯t follow standard techniques instead treated as an extension of the wielder¡¯s body. Its practitioners fight in silent focus, letting the world and combat flow around them, as their attacks flow through their foes in return. ] A skill being created doesn¡¯t make things right between us. 71 - Getting to know you. Bells of flight later, they landed on a hilltop whose slope ran straight into the edge of the swampland. Grey dead trees wrapped in vines made of rattling bones and tendons grew from the stagnant water and foul earth. Dotted among them, Julia could see the waterlogged faces of the Damned pressing up against the underside of the water. Bubbles of air infrequently erupted from the mouths of those held within its decaying embrace. The bursts of air allowed an influx of vile water to stream into their mouths. Their eyes, long frosted over in death, widen further in horror as water flowed into their screaming maws, only to relax in resignation when it finished. The water should have filled them, yet Julia saw the cycle repeat. Watching their chests inflate again, True Sight made it clear it hadn¡¯t been oxygen in their lungs but a miasma of decay that the water had somehow formed within them. Julia didn¡¯t need Soul Sight to know the Damned here were likely reliving everything rotten they had ever done in life. The Abyssal punishments always seemed to focus upon the worst of a Damned¡¯s living activities. The dank odour had grown more vigorous as they approached the swamp, Julia could see the stems of giant mushrooms hiding within the shadows of the trees. Fungi radiated from each mushroom in lines through dark water and wrapped around the feet of the Damned. It was shifting position in time to the eruption of air, as though a fisherman playing with the fish caught upon its hook. Something had cut a channel perhaps 20 metres wide through the swamp near where they had landed. It had also cut a matching notch through the hillside and seemed set up to allow barges clear passage. The water itself didn¡¯t look deep enough to allow a boat of any substantial draft to travel safely, though. ¡°Where did your sisters, or is it family, get assigned?¡± ¡°Family is most accurate. Most involved in this spat are securing the known Portals where they enter ¨¤luga or involved in operations on more dangerous Planes. You said I get no questions, and yet you¡¯re asking them of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking questions about you personally,¡± Julia responded. ¡°Still, I get to ask one. When did you join the Order?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a personal question. Try something else,¡± Julia replied. While not worried about information she could learn from others, Julia also didn¡¯t want to encourage crossing that line. ¡°So, I¡¯ll take it that was you that caused the fuss. The one with the Blood Monk class that shouldn¡¯t have had it, and Souls screaming in the courtyard. But that aside, let¡¯s set to disrupting passage through this channel. What spells of yours might help?¡± asked Ebusuku, the smile twisting her lips showing she was well aware of the abrupt subject change. What fuss did she hear about? ¡°I¡¯ve not yet learned many earth spells that have a permanent effect. Loosen Earth, perhaps Aggravated Flaws,¡± Julia proposed, looking along the channel for options. ¡°Use Aggravated Flaws on any cracks down near the waterline. Once you extend them enough, it should cause sections to collapse and trigger an avalanche. I¡¯ll keep watch.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start further into the hills so we cause the most material to collapse at once.¡± Julia¡¯s attention was already on the channel as she considered Ebusuku¡¯s instructions and reviewed the spell¡¯s effect. [Aggravate Flaws: The spell extends any cracks or flaws in material softer than diamond out to the maximum cubic effect of the spell. A single casting can affect material up to two and a half metres cubed.] Now to find a suitable area and then expand its flaws. I can¡¯t just use inventory if she goes scrying again; I didn¡¯t feel it happening during the planning session. {{If you didn¡¯t feel a thing, then I guess it wasn¡¯t good for you. }} B! {{Oh, I thought we were getting on so well. Fine, spread those cracks. You¡¯ve weaponised your body already.}} {{This isn¡¯t quite ¡®moon over bourbon street¡¯, but you¡¯ve got nothing covering your crack, you know. }} Exploring the channel revealed perfectly smoothed sides extending straight through the hills as far as Julia could see. When she approached the dark waters, a maggot-like form - nearly a hundred and fifty centimetres long - moved beneath her towards the water¡¯s surface. A twisted, feminine face leering at her from one end prompted the use of Analysis and confirmed that, other than its ugliness, it wasn¡¯t a threat. [Demonic Species: Larvae Level: 5 Class: None Health: 40 Mana: 0 Details: Larvae or Lemures are evil Souls that have progressed beyond the stage of the Damned. Either through the evil acts they conducted in life or by a determination to gain power during their punishment in the Abyss. Larvae are nascent Demons not yet strong enough to gain a proper Demonic form. Other Demons often use them in trade or as snacks. If they survive for long enough in the Abyss, they¡¯ll strengthen into actual Demons. Otherwise, their energy releases into the Abyss, to continue the cycle.] Soul Sight matched what Analysis showed her of the Larvae¡¯s twisted life in the service of Set¡¯s church. A female priestess indoctrinated into the church as part of her family¡¯s faith. Able to channel the power of the Divine, she arranged novitiate service with the Church of Set without hesitation on her mother¡¯s orders. ¡°Help me. Get me free.¡± She almost gurgled the noise of the words out of the stagnate waters, as Julia regarded it with horrified fascination. ¡°You chose who to serve in life already. Do you even remember the choice you made?¡± ¡°My family chose for me. I will serve you if you help me now.¡± Yeah, like I could trust her to live up to that. ((It will steal power from him if he loses petitioners as well. )) ((Even if she doesn¡¯t remain in your service. He would still lose the reservoir each petitioner represents. )) {{Plus, we could always hunt her down and destroy her for tiny shards. We¡¯ll need loads of stronger demons to Ascend. }} Fuck! This is a bad idea with little miss bossy here. Julia reached out her will and compressed the shard slivers clear to her within the Larvae, and felt the Abyss seize them from her grasp. [Least Succubus Formed Home Plane: Pandemonium True Name: Desperation of the Ill-Rewarded Oath of Service to Lady Eakc?] What a True Name! Fuck! I don¡¯t want to know their True Names. That stinks of the Lady¡¯s BS. {{ What a Larvaely bunch of coconuts! }} B? {{ I¡¯d hope so. Let¡¯s find her and check later! }} Before she could second guess herself, Julia headed along the channel. As she flew onwards, more Larvae disappeared from the dark water into the Abyss¡¯ grasp. True Sight picking out even those laying at the bottom of the foulness. After each Ascension, Julia could feel their True Names being engraved into her awareness as the minuscule droplets of Power bled from the Plane. When the channel through the hills rose to a high point above the water, Julia scratched claws into its impossibly smooth stone. It gave way as easily as that of Culerzic¡¯s cliff; Julia watched the tip of a nail slide through it like butter, leaving an extended cut behind. The first casting didn¡¯t achieve what Julia had hoped. The cut she¡¯d made in the stone elongated barely more than a hand¡¯s length. [Mana Spent: 4 Aggravated Flaws (1->2)] If at first you don¡¯t succeed, fry, fry a hen. Protean extended claw-tipped tentacles from Julia¡¯s body; some stabbed deep into the rock face; others raked erratic scratches into it, both above and below the waterline. This time when she cast the spell, dust puffed out from the holes, and the scratches lengthened from every spur she¡¯d set in stone. The stone changed from merely scratched and marked to appearing like a car window hit by a brick: scratches and holes spider-webbed everywhere. [Mana Spent: 4 Aggravated Flaws (2->3)] {{Cast, Cast, Cast again, casting¡¯s so much fun! }} {{Yawn now. I¡¯d rather be watching playschool; at least they tell you to cum inside. }} Were you listening to that conversation with L¨ºdhins? {{I¡¯ve always been here! }} Her expertise with the spell and Mana Finesse increased during the massive undertaking. [Aggravated Flaws [Ad] (34->35) Mana Finesse [M](1->2 )]
[ Vacuum [B](16->17)] ¡°That¡¯s sure one way to kick him where it hurts,¡° Ebusuku declared, having appeared beside Julia once the last rocks had finished sliding into the channel. The amount of casting had drained her Mana lower than it had been in ages, as cracks had extended till finally sections of rock had fallen away. The exposed rock beyond had let Julia place the centre of the spell¡¯s effect further and further into the rock-face as it had progressed. Though even with the rock fallen away, the groove hadn¡¯t caused a collapse. The overhanging rock instead sat there with all the stubbornness of a weathered cliff face¡¯s overhang. After getting fifteen or more metres into the rock with no give apparent, Julia had changed tactics. She weakened areas along the groove¡¯s ceiling in irregular intervals before casting Vacuum within the groove. The spell¡¯s explosive air pressure changes buffeted the already damaged segments, with increasing force as her casting improved, till she finally caused an avalanche of debris from one section after another. Analysis: Vacuum [Vacuum: Creates a one-metre sphere of near-vacuum. It damages anything caught inside the sphere because of the air being rapidly forced out and then returning to the created void. As the caster¡¯s skill with this spell increases, the extent of the vacuum caused and the velocity of the air¡¯s motion increases.] ¡°A few Wizards with Earth Affinity and shaping spells will resolve it easily enough. What¡¯s this channel¡¯s purpose in the first place?¡± asked Julia, her gaze seeking places that might still collapse. ¡°Will they? It¡¯s far easier to destroy than build or clear. They¡¯re for moving goods and petitioners around; why waste mana on them? Though I was talking about all the Larvae that Ascended. Guess all that Willpower comes in handy.¡± ¡°For many things.¡± {{Like not immediately running the fuck from her?}} ¡°Guess there will be an influx of Succubi in Hrz¡¯Styrn. Though I¡¯m curious how you made some Ascend that weren¡¯t close to ready.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°Shall we continue to the next target?¡± Julia asked, the conversation having taken one turn after another she wanted to avoid. ¡°If that¡¯s the way you want to play it,¡± Ebusuku replied, a slight smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. ¡°Haven¡¯t even begun playing.¡± ¡°Ascending Larvae is an achievement for a newly risen Succubus and doing so at a distance is almost unheard of. Most can¡¯t manage it even when touching another Demon before they¡¯re Named at least. It must be nice to have the Abyssal Affinity so young.¡± Oh, crud! Bastard L¨ºdhins could have mentioned the Affinity requirement, so much for it just needing mana manipulation. Ebusuku¡¯s smile broadened as her gaze tightened on Julia before it flicked down across the rocks blocking the channel. ¡°There is family you should meet. It seems I won¡¯t have to ask questions when you show cards so easily.¡± ¡°Why point it out then?¡± ¡°We¡¯re back to asking questions. Just as well it¡¯s one I don¡¯t mind answering. If you¡¯re on guard it makes the game more challenging, and I prefer a challenge. I¡¯ve been bored so very long, and you don¡¯t match what they believe,¡± Ebusuku replied, almost quivering with constrained excitement. ¡°Most see only what their prejudices allow them to see.¡± ¡°That includes yourself, young Succubus, even if it is challenging to learn anything from you with detection spells.¡± ¡°The wards of ¨´eqr?kas tripped easily enough,¡± countered Julia, wondering about the differences between the various wards that she¡¯d encountered. ¡°Wards looked for specific things, and if you cross a threshold unexpectedly, it¡¯s easier for them to bypass your Willpower to learn things.¡± Was it my increased Willpower making the wards in the Xhali¨¢ma¡¯s rooms ignore me? Or that plus my Hidden state? So many questions. ¡°Safer to be on guard always.¡± ¡°See, you¡¯re learning. Don¡¯t question, just make statements, let the others converse; if you are fortunate, you¡¯ll learn from whatever the careless spill. I¡¯ll answer what you left unasked. The wards of ¨´eqr?kas operate as an imprint does. Passing through the gate, it likely picked up your class without the Sigil of the Sisterhood present. That would have alerted those monitoring the wards to your presence. As for being unguarded in your dealings, why ever be unguarded?¡± It matches what others, including Usd¡¯ghi, had implied or said outright. Ebusuku¡¯s gaze narrowed at her own words, and before Julia could reply to distract her, she raised a hand to still her. ¡°You¡¯re far younger than I had any expectation to believe. You are a puzzle, young Succubus, an interesting puzzle indeed. It seems this assignment won¡¯t be as boring as I expected. At least it will be fun while I unravel all your mysteries.¡± I¡¯d prefer to keep all my pieces to myself. ¡°After being bored for a very long time, I¡¯d imagine any novelty becomes intriguing,¡± said Julia, in the hope of steering the conversation away. ¡°Oh, it does, it does indeed.¡± Ebusuku drifted closer to Julia till she was barely an arm¡¯s reach away, and her words softened liken unto sultry caresses, purring over Julia¡¯s skin. ¡°I¡¯d so want you to meet our Progenitor¡¯s mother. I think she¡¯d be interested in you as well. Pity the Order¡¯s Sigil, makes that a challenge, perhaps when she¡¯s next in the Abyss for a visit.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very careful with their names,¡± Julia observed, wondering how much attention saying either would cause. ¡°Powers know when you speak of them, but sometimes Powers know when you speak of others in their places. Best to avoid naming those who should be regarded with care. You¡¯re getting the hang of asking questions with statements. This will be fun; it¡¯s like playing games with my newest siblings.¡± Ebusuku froze in mid-motion action of moving away as she finished speaking and turned back to Julia. ¡°Oh my, how delightful. Did any speak to you? Or just give you orders?¡± asked Ebusuku, her smile wide in excitement. ¡°It seems someone else is asking questions now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about answering questions from you now, fledgling. None so blind they cannot see. The Castellan is too wrapped up in her issues to see what¡¯s happening right beneath her nose. It¡¯s clear now you were never in a brothel or a harem. You¡¯re too na?ve, too raw, and yet so calm. Do you manage that through sheer willpower or something more? How did you get past the cliff patrols?¡± ¡°None so blind they cannot see.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer.¡± Ebusuku said, giving a pout. ¡°I know.¡± The smile Ebusuku gave Julia at that response showed the predator back in full force. It was a smile that curled her lips just enough to show a hint of fang before she started heading further along the line of the hills. Julia quickly joined her, and as they continued flying, she felt her Mana pool slowly refill as she cycled Mana and Ki inside her. ¡°Are we having fun yet?¡± Julia asked, continuing on before Ebusuku could speak. ¡°Why yes, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember seeing this channel marked on the target list,¡± Julia commented, seeking to draw their interest away from her. ¡°It¡¯s not, but the team in the next region has an outpost that this channel heads towards.¡± ¡°I take it your intent is for travellers getting blocked to pass news there is trouble about before they attack,¡± Julia said. She wants an alert to get out early, and when the Team hits their target near here they¡¯ll get smacked¡ªall without her having done anything directly. (( Those that seek to take advantage of your targeting Set will distract from your own actions. )) ¡°What a question to ask.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a question.¡± Julia¡¯s tone holding the conviction of her assessment, even though she wondered how much trouble Ebusuku was looking to cause other teams. ¡°If you answer one question for me, I¡¯ll consider introducing you to someone important. How old are you, Succubus?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll consider?! No way, I know how that goes. I answer. You consider the question and then say No. Plus, important to you might be someone I want to stay clear of, little bloodthirsty predator.¡± ¡°Bloodthirsty predator, you say the sweetest things. Just as sweet as the fire within your eyes,¡± {{Oh, flirting with the old Succubus. You naughty girl you. }} ¡°There other things living in the swamp. Any dragons?¡± asked Julia, really wanting to change this conversation¡¯s track. ¡°There are black dragons, but I¡¯ve only a vague idea where some lair. Why?¡± ¡°Why do all the work ourselves?¡± Julia just gave her a shrug, having let her tone lighten as she considered the options for mayhem. [Acting [J](16->17)] ¡°What did you have in mind?" Ebusuku asked, the question causing her to slow and focus her gaze on Julia. ¡°Dragons are possessive, are they not? What if some naughty Demons from a nearby town stole some of their treasure?¡± ¡°Getting through their wards undetected would be an interesting challenge, but if we can, they¡¯d trace anything stolen. They treasure every coin like they¡¯re all cherished possessions.¡± ¡°Know of any settlements that provide offerings to keep the dragons away?¡± ¡°Even Demons tread warily around the older Abyssal Dragons, regardless of breed. It¡¯s why I have a vague idea about some locations. The Sigil will alert them if you pass through their wards with it.¡± ¡°Something to handle carefully then.¡± ¡°Handle carefully. What a curious choice of words for a Demoness. Just like your provocation in the square was planned and finessed. Another curious observation I would share the Abyssal phrase Blood Monk means essentially one who has dedicated themselves to the blood of an elder, one of the primordial beings. But that¡¯s what it meant back before the Titan¡¯s precious Elves died out. Then She grabbed it for her Order¡¯s Prestige Class. Its changed much over the years.¡± Ebusuku paused, but instinct and habit both made Julia hold her peace to see where the recounting led. Yet even that restraint seemed to attract amusement into Ebusuku¡¯s gaze as she continued. ¡°Though part of that phrase was also used as the Abyssal word for orders, now dead, of mortal fighters. They had a depth of spirituality, a connection to what Mortals term the Eastern Celestial Courts, the Jade Courts or something similar. Mortals called these fighters ¡®Monks¡¯, and due to their dedicated state, the Demons that fought them fell back on that old Abyssal term to refer to them. I saw your fighting, the fires that wrapped around you, and the way your punches broke through Demonic flesh. Very effective, and as you displayed, deadly.¡± Tongues is just doing its thing, and I hear the same words. Julia felt Zen State absorb the twitch of concern before it even caused a ripple within the state. Just another facet of information shared from Ebusuku. It was clear she had recognised the effects of the Ki, even disguised by Abyssal energy filming it over. She¡¯s seen a Monk¡¯s Ki. I don¡¯t like where this story is heading. ¡°I had a playmate from among them for a score of years, a selfish individual, uptight, arrogant, delightfully vigorous, but very dedicated to his physical self-perfection. He could do something very similar, except his flames didn¡¯t shift between black and red as yours do, nor taste of the Abyss. Those orders of Monks died in dragon fire a thousand years ago. Believed they were escorting people to a haven only to find they¡¯d stuck their head into a trap. Then again, you also fight like a Primordial. You bite, claw and smash apart anything that gets in your way. You dodge away when I expect you to attack, yet attack when I expect you to dodge, and often attack the very limb that¡¯s striking at you. Even more curious given you have Protean which few not exposed to Primordial forces can master.¡± Did she get on with a Wuxia-style arse that only cared about themselves? Those guys are nearly always pricks. I was going for the erratic moves of Jackie Chan, never studied Drunken Kung Fu, but I loved his movies. Where¡¯s she going with this? Her tone is almost mellow, not an accusation? If Protean needs being exposed to Primordial forces, how did she get it? Though she makes herself sound old, so lots of time to have done so. ¡°I¡¯m told your Blood Monk class strengthens Willpower, and his Willpower certainly grew stronger the more he advanced. Isn¡¯t it good that neither the Castellan nor the Lady has had any involvement with Mortals since they lured the Night Elves to such a foolish end?¡± ¡°I thought the Lady needed a mortal cult to be a Demon Lady,¡± Julia questioned. Though it was tempting to remain silent, she needed to learn more. ¡°Ignorant. There are two types of Demonic Lords and Ladies. Those that have the Power immediately, and others who grow into it. She would need Mortal faithful to climb higher in the ranks of the true Powers. Can you ever see her wanting to be vulnerable to the vagrancy of another¡¯s choice? Nice attempt to side-track the conversation, little Blood Monk,¡± Ebusuku responded, giving a smile edged with delight. ¡°I had no weapons. I felt the class offering gave me the chance to use the claws I had,¡± Julia said, remembering back to considering eagle strike. The monstrous things she could form were more like massive gryphon claws than anything so mundane. ¡°Monk is for very focused and disciplined individuals. Why choose that and not Succubus?¡± ¡°I saw a group of Dretch raping another. Saw one tear a hole open in its side, when there wasn¡¯t an orifice free for his dick. I had no desire to be torn apart by a gang of them. A patrolling Succubus ripped another Succubus from her ledge near where I was hiding. The distance distortion could have allowed them to see me without me knowing they were even close. Wouldn¡¯t you want the ability to rip out the throats or break the bones of anyone that dared to try either with you?¡± {{All the truth, just not actually an answer.}} ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d tell me which Primordial offered you power for service? Not even a hint? Though you¡¯d do better in Hell. Focus finds better rewards there; here it¡¯s just seen as a threat.¡± Even with the correct answer, they take it in the wrong direction. ¡°Hell isn¡¯t an option, the Sigil, remember. Do you feel threatened by me, Ebusuku?¡± ¡°How did you end up in the Abyss, rather than the Hells? The Abyss attracts Souls ripe with Chaos, not those that plan as you do.¡± Ebusuku stated, giving a confused shake of her head. ¡°Not like I had any choice in where I arrived. Maybe I¡¯m naturally destructive. Isn¡¯t that a chaotic thing?¡± ¡°You offered to help break her hold? Why?¡± Ebusuku asked, a stern, interrogative tone sliding into her voice. This isn¡¯t an alliance of convenience between her Progenitor and the Lady, that figures. ¡°I got chained without even an invitation to join. Heck, it wasn¡¯t even a blatant threat to join. It was a fact already accomplished without explanation, nor regard for my preference. Why wouldn¡¯t I want my freedom as much as your Progenitor does? If she gains her freedom, wouldn¡¯t there be rewards for those that helped?¡± Not that I care about the reward. ¡°You answered questions, and so honestly. Even if part of your answer was other questions. Very well, we¡¯ll see what she thinks of you when we¡¯re done here. But if you lie to her, she will hunt you down. No matter what it takes, Monk,¡± Ebusuku said. Well, fuck! Why can¡¯t I just soak in the wading pool for a change? {{It¡¯s filled with faecal matter. Better to swim where we¡¯ll be challenged to get stronger. }} ((B actually has a point. )) {{So do you boy-o. Big of you to say though, V. Wait? Are you? Big, I mean, where it counts? }} .. ¡°Have a lot of experience in Hell?¡± asked Julia. ¡°I¡¯ve been there frequently. I find it relaxing.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Devils plan, meticulously. If you stay alert, it¡¯s easier to get hints of danger coming from their plans than random whims.¡± Ebusuku said, her gaze scanning the ground underneath them. ¡°How do I know this offer isn¡¯t a random whim?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t, and neither do I. In the meantime, let¡¯s go to war, shall we.¡± That could be taken so many ways. {{I know.}} ((Indeed. )) ¡°Total war it is,¡± Julia stated firmly. ¡°Total war?¡± Ebusuku queried, the tone of her voice clearly conveying her puzzlement. ¡°A war unrestricted, where the goal is hurting the foe however and wherever you can. No limits considered; not trying to capture places, just destroying them and their ability to wage war.¡± ¡°Oh, to get you to the Hells, it makes me excited just thinking about the fun we could have there.¡± ¡°What do you lust for Ebusuku?¡± ¡°Like most of my family I seek Death. We lust after experiencing that last fleeting moment of awareness within a foe. The way their body tenses trying to fight it off then relaxes when their awareness shatters. Mortals twitch afterwards; it¡¯s so disconcerting, planar entities at least lay decently still. I¡¯d rather be killing Demons or Devils, but Demons are more plentiful, and need to be put in their place. More fun to play with anyway, they do unexpected and, erratic things. Devils, you can lead by the nose once you have enough experience. Their various breeds are so consistent in reaction to mental games.¡± Ebusuku explained, delight at the demise of others clear in her voice. What, they¡¯re murderous semi-lust bunnies? Demons need to be put in their place? ¡°Why the lust for Death?¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s belief is the first woman lay with an angel of death, or perhaps Death itself, when they conceived our Progenitor. It leaves us all looking to see that daddy of our Progenitor¡¯s again, I suppose. So sad.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not into fucking everything in sight?¡± ¡°Please, no. We¡¯re descendants of She who left the first man alone in the garden fucking his animals rather than agreeing to fulfil his lust. Left paradise apparently, rather than submit to being his fuck toy - once he tired of sticking it in whatever animal cunt was on offer. We decide, not anyone else.¡± {{You could decide too, but for crying out loud, pick someone soon. }} We¡¯ve got eternity. Does half a million years count? {{ NO!!!!!!! }} Stop with the pathetic Darth Vader scream! So you can wait a long time? {{Wait up! I gave the wrong answer; I was screaming about eternity. Yes, it matters. }} {{See if you can make me stop the screaming, I¡¯ll stamp my feet as well. }} B¡¯s sulky tone reminded her so much of Mitch having a little boy tantrum with a cute pout that giggles started bubbling. Zen State didn¡¯t crush them in ice. Instead, it accepted the amusement as part of the moment and kept her unruffled in appearance as they flew. ¡°Why did you have a playmate?¡± Julia asked, risking another question since Ebusuku was so forthcoming. ¡°We hunted and killed so much together over so many Planes of existence. It was delightful till he went back to challenge the grandmaster of his order and lost. He¡¯s likely in the Hells or reincarnated somewhere now, another cog in the endless cycle,¡± Ebusuku recounted. The recollection started with a dreamy breathiness that frosted into annoyance. Does that mean she misses him? {{Who the fuck knows! }} ¡°Where next?¡± ¡°Outposts called Kerma, Saqqara, Buto, and then Giza are the next four.¡± I recognise two of those as Egyptian place names. At least everything isn¡¯t named after his ego. ¡°So I¡¯ll assume your father was a Primordial.¡± ¡°Oh well done fledgling, well done. Yes, I get my Protean from my father¡¯s side.¡± 72 - You really got me Kerma, Saqqara, and Buto had been blood baths, even bigger than the mess they¡¯d left in the initial mining outpost. Each of them had a similar layout to it, but the stone buildings grew progressively larger and more numerous as they headed for the coast. As each location had increased in size, the number of Demons had jumped. Demons that had been quite happy to rip each other into pieces if it would gain them the tasty morsel that was offering herself to them. Their mission was progressing well, and its death toll promised to soar with the crowd in Giza staring in rapture at Julia. Analysis showed Demons in Tiers matching Julia¡¯s own, and for the first time, some were a step higher, yet Dominion held them equally fast. As she began dancing and pulsing Dominion¡¯s siren song through the crowd, Danger Sense began screaming in protest. ¡°Enough!¡± {{Spoil sport alert! }} The command came from a balcony overlooking the square, and those closest trembled. As Julia tried helplessly to keep them within her Dominion, they struggled in confusion. A Succubus wearing a golden outfit stepped out on the balcony. Her horns swept back along the slope of her skull before hooking forward. A formation matching the ¨¤luga Succubus that Julia was impersonating, but the horns were clearly thicker and set just above her forehead. Long black hair hung loose to shadow her sharp-edged features before running down her body as if to draw attention to her outfit. Instead of plain leather straps framing her attributes, she wore a long mesh tunic formed from golden links over sweet, caramel-brown skin. The outfit moved with the heaviness of gold and reached from her shoulder to brush high across her thighs. As she continued moving into sight, the insignia of Set glimmered within the light of the Plane. Her beauty was a palpable thing, resonating through the square¡¯s occupants and the air itself. Her presence made Julia understand the reaction, so many others had around her, yet it didn¡¯t gain a hold on Julia¡¯s mind. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to play?¡± Julia asked as Dominion lent the words a sensation of silk and satin brushing across skin. Those Demons close to her shivered in pleasure at every syllable that spilled from her lips. Analysis [Name: Henite Demonic Species: Succubus Class: Poisoned Desires / Thief Level: 6 / 20 / 50 Health: 3,480 Mana: 64,000 Melee Attack Power: 110 Defence: 74 Magic: 161 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad] (10), Claws [Ad] (14), Dagger [Ad] (5), Various Spell Forms - Affinity: Fire, Mental, Metal Details: Spawned from the delta waters in the plane of ¨¤luga, this Succubus belongs to the faction commanded by Set, a Lesser Power in the Egyptian Pantheon. She combined the Succubus and Manipulator classes at level fifty into the Prestige class of Poisoned Desires.] Julia felt the sheer force of Henite¡¯s personality and strength of Will push back against her own. Their Dominions swayed against each other as their auras fought among the crowd. Henite¡¯s aura felt like a tower of pressure was digging sharp edges against Julia¡¯s own. [Dominion Challenge - Contested Result - Challenge ongoing Willpower: 168 vs 102. Charisma: 70 vs 116. Total Levels: 185 vs 191. Total Rating: 423 vs 409 ] Even as she locked gazes with Henite and tried to push back, a wave of pressure within Dominion caused another notification to ping within her awareness. The field of Julia¡¯s Dominion trembled with the effort to hold it in place, with the initial progress being quickly carved away. [Dominion Challenge - Contested Result - Challenge ongoing Willpower: 168 vs 102. Charisma: 70 vs 116. Manipulator Class Bonus: 0 vs 7 (Extended conflict stage 1) Total Levels: 185 vs 198. Total Rating: 423 vs 416] Analysis: Manipulator Class Bonus - Dominion Challenge [Dominion Challenge: Manipulators involved in an extended conflict with Dominion get a class bonus of one rank for every ten levels they possess in their manipulator class. ] [Dominion Challenge - Contested Result - Challenge ongoing - Advantage Henite Willpower: 168 vs 102. Charisma: 70 vs 116. Manipulator Class Bonus: 0 vs 14 (Extended conflict stage 2) Total Levels: 185 vs 198. Total Rating: 423 vs 423] Fuck! I¡¯m losing ground fast with this bitch. A burst of energy manifested beside her, and caught in the battle of wills, Julia didn¡¯t have time to dodge. A torrent of swords and smaller blades flooded out of it and swatted her from the stage. The sheer volume of metal striking with more pressure than a fire hose, rendering and smashing her into an unmoving wall of flesh. Massive hands clutched against her sides as she felt a Demon¡¯s excitement caught between them, its length hard against her front. With the Dominion conflict pressing on her focus, Zen State merely catalogued the effects of blades piercing her flesh. It adds extra information in each moment: the leering features of a Dretch¡¯s face above, another¡¯s spade-like hand grasping at a broken wing, the musky foulness of their excitement. While blades were piercing her, others bounce from the Dretch¡¯s solidness, its hands rising her form upwards, silk catching on barbs already piercing through its leathers. The second Dretch rips its pants away, barbs and serrated edges bristling outwards from its engorging dick. {{Oh yeah, they want to drill us. }} ((You can¡¯t change the past, you can only change the now.)) Drill! {{Really? You¡¯re sick¡­ Oh. Drill! }} Julia stays caught in the moment¡¯s calmness, not letting her intention out before she submits her Dominion to the other¡¯s will. The aura that she had been straining to hold collapses in an instant, letting the intent that Henite had commanded flood through the square. Even as it locks others to stillness, it flows around Julia¡¯s will like wild water around a rock, and Julia¡¯s form changes. Hands that had been grasping her become enfolded with metal. Even as the shift occurs, they Teleport with her and as they fall Julia¡¯s transformation completes. Henite¡¯s bones crunch like shattering peanut shells as over a ton of weight crashes through her. The Dretches drove a spiked pillar charged with Ki and blackness through her lengthwise and pierced the balcony beneath. The enfolding metal disappeared freeing the Dretches¡¯ hands even as the pillar splits into blades. A dandelion of destruction, bladed petals arcing in all directions to greet the sun above, as metal, Ki, blood and darkness mingle together. Gleaming wire-thin petals having sprung outwards, cutting through flesh, bone, and stone with equal ease as Ki Infusion carried crackling Jade Court Mana into her foes. The flesh of the Dretch, having shrugged the other blades aside, parts with the ease of a surgeon¡¯s blade, yet somehow alive, they scream in rage and pain. As Julia prepared a spell, a Wenga¡¯s giant hand seized the base of her spiked form from below. Seriously, everyone getting hands-on today. Just as well Ebusuku already knows I have Abyssal Affinity. Her form was pulled through Henite as the petals became a giant nail head flat against the stone. The change enough to hold against the Wenga¡¯s force, which pulled her downwards. A moment later, a Lightning Bolt formed of roiling reddish Mana burst upwards through the hole left behind. The fury of Abyssal Mana launched skywards, chewed through flesh and crushed bone in its wake. Before the eruption¡¯s force faded, melted gold links, along with flesh shredded from Succubus and the Dretches alike, sprayed far away. Released from Henite¡¯s Dominion, the stillness dissolved, and Demons flee from the square. The surge of dangerous power, and the sound of Ebusuku¡¯s slaughter, promptly turned their departure into a stampede. I would prefer to use other types of Mana. That stuff feels yuck, even going through abstract formations in my mind. {{Still, it does a ripping job. }} The Wenga¡¯s eyes went wide, and its crest flared outwards as the spike within its grip started burning with blackness and blurred. Water Mana danced across the peaks of its crest as a metallic feline form leapt over energy that gushed from mid-air before its open maw. Though the jet appeared a hand span in front of its serrated teeth, the Demon still acted for whatever reason as if it was vomiting the watery fluid. A sizzling noise rose from the stone wall as the steaming fluid, splashed from the stonewall to spray across Demons nearby. This square¡¯s corner no longer needed Julia¡¯s encouragement, and as they turned on each other, she moved away. When the first injured Demon struck out at the Wenga, it turned its acidic firehose towards its foe¡¯s upturned face. Got to love it when a plan narrowly avoids becoming complete FUBAR. {{ Too bad it still is, so many party-goers are leaving. }} Teleport placed her on the entry to the square where Ebusuku¡¯s slaughter continued to accelerate. Julia quickly got her bearings, and as her gaze swept over Demons and buildings alike she took in a shadowy alcove. Though too small even for her normal size, the alcove held a familiar Demon within. Only True Sight revealed its presence, with its form layered in Dark and Spatial Mana. Julia double-checked them with Analysis even while she reformed into the ¨¤luga Succubus shape she¡¯d been using. A panicked Demon cut across her line of sight, and when she moved to see the alcove again, it was already empty. What is L¨ºdhins doing here? More information fell into Zen State as Julia¡¯s movements slid her past another Demon, and Ki Strike let her fist sink deep into its back. Mana that Ki Infusion had only just pulled within it burst outwards, Spatial energy rippled through its form, and sprayed its flesh and bone across those who had fled ahead of it. ¡°Spells,¡± Ebusuku commanded, the one word enough, and Julia kept to her side to provide ranged support. Fuck it. She knows I have more Affinities than I¡¯ve shown and I prefer not to use Abyssal. With extra eyes seeking signs of his reappearance, Julia lashed out with another Lightning Bolt this time filled with Spatial force. The stream of power that burst out ripped flesh and stone apart as previously joined matter shrank, grew, or reappeared in random directions. As Ebusuku spent her ire on slaughter all in front of her, Julia¡¯s health continued to climb, recovering from the thousand health stripped away. Set to guard Ebusuku¡¯s flank, she lashed out with spells to cut down those that fled their combined wrath. True Sight let her see a Xhali¨¢ma Wizard drawing a spell form, and Julia injected it with Destruction Mana. As the ball of fire moved towards them, the uncontrolled energy tore the spell¡¯s structure apart. Flames a deeper black than a night sky ripped apart the caster and others caught in their way. Ebusuku¡¯s blade opened up the throat of a Demon, and she didn¡¯t even bother to look Julia¡¯s way. ¡°Cards.¡± The single word and the broad smile was enough to let Julia know Ebusuku credited the explosion to her. Fuck. Zen state leaps through options too quickly. I thought she¡¯d seen me use that fighting in Saqqara. Ebusuku gestured towards the left as her blades vanish and blackness burst from her fingers. A blade of power sliced out, sheered through stone and the front of a building toppled to the ground. The nearest demons already fled. She barked orders. ¡°Blast everything till I say. This way, I¡¯ve got left.¡± Time to mix it up a little, it seems. I need to get proper defensive spells; those blades hurt. Analysis [Water Wall: Creates a wall of water up to two-and-a-half metres in height and length and half a metre thick. This wall hinders the motion of all objects through it and will also slow attacks attempting to cross the space it occupies.] Analysis [Fire Ball: Send a ball of condensed fire from the caster to the targeted location. Once it reaches the target, it will explode outwards from the central point to no further than ten metres. Walls will block its expansion but not channel it in other directions; the flames will ignite flammable objects.] The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. {{Decisions, decisions. }} Julia sent a Fire Ball set with Spatial Mana to explode near the Wenga¡¯s brawl. The massive brute engaged in battle with a Xhali¨¢ma, a group of Dretches and the first Fraz-g¨°n Demon she¡¯d seen on this plane. Its species gargoylish features and long clawed arms more obvious in this Plane¡¯s sunlight. Unlike the guard at ¡®The Hollow¡¯, short fuzz turned their rough hide a deep purple in the light, while their brutal snout and yellow eyes remained the same. The energy exploded over them left flesh, fur and scales pitted and rent, but the injured combatants turned in her direction. The stone wall and balcony beyond them were further damaged, but not yet broken enough to collapse. As the injured combatants turned towards Julia, the Water Mana flared again on the Wenga¡¯s crest. True Sight making it clear it was Power, not a spell. Julia cast Aggravated Flaws on the support within the wall behind. The damaged wall erupted with rock dust, dropping a section of the building and the large balcony above them to the ground. A rock deluge would buy barely any time, though it was distraction enough. As they recovered, Julia hit the Wenga with a very different spell. Kill everything close to you. Now! Julia felt the spell connect her to the Demon¡¯s consciousness, and unlike the dreaming mind of the maid, she crashed down on its Will. Even as the other Demons rose to turn in her direction, the Wenga attacked them again, its jet of acid eating tentacles from the already injured Xhali¨¢ma. The others split between the Wenga that wouldn¡¯t stop its assault and the newest threat, but among them, the massive Fraz-g¨°n raced in her direction. {{Should have told it to kill kitty kill. }} Claws dug into the stone ground of the square as it raced towards her in a ground eating sprint. It had already cleared half the distance; the Dretches trailing in its wake before she could cast again. A Lightning Bolt tore through it and burnt those that followed to a crisp, yet it still came onwards. Its anger reached a furious peak, and Julia moved to meet it. Claws lashed across an extended arm, struck with blurring speed and hit Ki Armour hard enough to shred through it. The pain rippled under Zen State, which catalogued the injury with the rest of the healing still in-progress. Clawed tips had torn from elbow to wrist and gouged furrows in bones. Damage pushed aside as a twitch caught Julia¡¯s focus. As its other hand swept in. Instead of a dodge, she stepped within its swing. A hand lifted and struck past claws to seize its thumb. Her grip held it fast she spun her like a dancer and set her back towards it. Her wings already vanished she stood as if within the arc of a lover¡¯s embrace. Its arm pulled her tight in reflex as it dipped its maw to bite. Half metre long spikes bristled erratic lines from Julia¡¯s hip to shoulder. Its own momentum and strength impaled it on blackened spines. Her Flight added power and thrust her hard against it. As Ki and Energy Drain ripped its life away, its maw broke through Ki Armour. Even as its maw ripped apart flesh and bone, it fell crashing towards the ground. Though Julia vanished before it struck, and a simple rock bounced away. Laughter and power lashed out, and even as the sound echoed in the emptying square, a rain of lightning followed as Ebusuku¡¯s spell struck those that still stood. ¡°I had right,¡± Julia stated, having reformed before the power finished raining down. Even before the spell ran its course, the only thing left was smoke rising from Demonic corpses. ¡°I¡¯d finished with left; while that was amusing you need to get faster,¡± Ebusuku replied, amusement still ringing within her voice. ¡°True,¡± admitted Julia, with a rueful shrug. ¡°No prideful objections, again with all the unusual behaviour.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like it at present; maybe next time you heckle,¡± Julia retorted, with a shrug of practiced nonchalance, listening to noises coming closer. ¡°Sounds like troops.¡± ¡°Go,¡± Ebusuku said. Without even stopping an acknowledgement of the order, Julia just willed herself to reappear where they had planned and saw reality release Ebusuku in the same instant. [Combat Summary: Lesser Fraz-g¨°n x2 Greater Fraz-g¨°n x1 Least Dretch x 5 Lesser Dretch x 10 (10%) Lesser Dretch x 15 Dretch x 2 Succubus x1 Lesser Wenga x 1 (25%) Wenga x 1 (20%) Xhali¨¢ma x 1 (5%) Xhali¨¢ma x 3 Demonic Shards gained: 4.1 Total Demons returned to the Abyss: 42 Total-experience to distribute: 67,710 Monk: 3,200 Succubus: 20,300 Wizard: 44,210 Fireball [B] (12->13) Implant Command (5->6) Dominion [Ad] (24->26) Greater Teleport [Ad] (7->9) Ki Armour [Ad] (35->37) Ki Infusion [Ad] (46->47) Silent Kill (6->7) Spell Disruption (2->3) True Sight [Ad] (4->5) Protean [Ad] (28->29) Zen State [M] (7->8)] ¡°Is the plan to let them settle, then try again? Lure them out? Or head on?¡± ¡°None of those options, I¡¯ve decided we are going in,¡± replied Ebusuku, a sense of playful amusement coming from her. ¡°In? But we just left.¡± Julia said, puzzlement clear in her voice. ¡°Into the mines. We¡¯ll kill the mining crews and see if we can get the main shafts to collapse. Or would you prefer to tell me how you gain energy that takes years through physically killing other demons? It¡¯s even more obvious after five outposts, so what is...¡± ¡°Right, the mines it is.¡± Julia¡¯s response interrupted Ebusuku as she tried to cut off the line of questioning. ¡°Scamp. What Power is it? I know it¡¯s not a spell. You don¡¯t cast any of yours fast enough yet, so I can feel when you cast them,¡± ¡°No questions.¡± Julia clipped off the words forcefully in steel tones. ¡°I think I¡¯m owed more than a few with all I answered after you collapsed the channel,¡± Ebusuku stated, the hurt tone in her voice causing B to bubble with laughter within Julia. Seriously, she thinks I¡¯m going to pay because she felt like talking previously. {{Ebusuku¡¯s so funny. }} ¡°If you expected questions for your answers, then you should have asked them straight away.¡± Julia retorted. ¡°Dretched cunt,¡± Ebusuku pouted ¡°Speaking from personal experience?¡± Julia enquired to deflect the verbal jab. Ebusuku laughed and shook her head before continuing to speak. ¡°Those two almost had you pinned between them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they wanted it that way.¡± Julia ignored B¡¯s replaying the memories of the sensations as their hands clutched at her. ¡°You¡¯ve got the Greater Teleport Power, not just the Teleport Self version,¡± Ebusuku stated with conviction. ¡°Perhaps it was an item, or spell, and not a Power,¡± countered Julia. It wasn¡¯t even an attempt to lie, just stating the options for teleporting she¡¯d learnt so far. ¡°You¡¯ve only one trinket with Spatial, and that¡¯s a Storage Amulet. Too fast for your casting. Your Dominion dropped, and then you three fell on her. Let me see, in possession of a Monk type class, Protean, Greater Teleport, Spell Disruption, a way to absorb Demonic Essence, Abyssal Affinity and also Spatial Affinity. I¡¯d only suspected Abyssal before, but it¡¯s now confirmed. The Game will be over quickly at this rate,¡± Ebusuku said, releasing a heavy, almost regretful sigh. ¡°It¡¯s only over when you are sure you¡¯ve learnt everything. If you say you have and you¡¯re wrong, won¡¯t that be sad?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Only if you can prove you¡¯ve no more to hide.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s banter had become almost strangely friendly. ¡°You know if someone is lying, so if I say you¡¯re still missing things, you¡¯ll know. Care to place a wager?¡± ((It¡¯s not just Devils that are dangerous to make deals or wagers with. )) Yes, If I lose this bet I¡¯m screwed. But if she guesses my secrets, I¡¯m screwed regardless. ((This will attract her interest, but it seems you were already fascinating to her. )) ¡°What sort of wager?¡± Ebusuku asked, her voice suddenly vibrant with interest as her gaze gleamed. ¡°A fine if you guess wrong, either when you bring up a secret you think I have, or that I have nothing more hidden.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bite. What do you want if I¡¯m wrong?¡± ¡°You find something out for me, or if you already know it, you tell me the information truthfully,¡± declared Julia. ¡°You want information. I¡¯m not a knowledge Demon.¡± dismissed Ebusuku, with an almost offended tone in her voice. ¡°I only know one knowledge Demon, and I¡¯d like to know about Devils.¡± ¡°Devils?! Most Demons don¡¯t learn about them, just look to kill them. What if I¡¯m right?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s voice kept its puzzlement even as she continued, jumping from feigning insult back to the wager again. ¡°About the secret or about having nothing more hidden?¡± Julia asked, ready for the haggling to start. If I¡¯ve ever got nothing more hidden, I¡¯m so screwed. ¡°About a secret?¡± asked Ebusuku, her light tone clearly only probing. ¡°The game goes on and the challenge continues to keep your boredom at bay.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like I get much,¡± Ebusuku observed, the bored response not matching the intensity in her gaze. ¡°Depends on how bored you are. Isn¡¯t keeping boredom at bay worth it? Plus, if you want to avoid the fine, you just have to stop playing. Stop playing and live with the doubt wondering if you were right or not.¡± ¡°I¡¯d answer a question if it wasn¡¯t something secret or dangerous to gain. What if I guess right there is nothing more hidden?¡± probed Ebusuku. ¡°The game ends,¡± Julia stated, keeping her tone neutral and calm. ¡°I want a prize if I find out everything you have hidden,¡± Ebusuku said, her tone clearly seeking an opening. ¡°No deal,¡± said Julia, her tone and body language clearly intent on shutting down the haggling. ¡°Oh, this won¡¯t hurt. My prize if I guess everything you¡¯re hiding is you, willingly, mine,¡± Ebusuku said, and a heat burnt like an inferno in her eyes. Julia snorted out of reflex, not able to believe the statement. I want to get out of here, but everyone wants a piece of me. Do I have a tinder account I¡¯m not aware of in this reality? {{Maybe they can just smell how sweet you are! Go on, let her have a lick or five. }} ¡°I¡¯m not joking, fledgling. You remind me of him. The strength of will inside you, the way you move in combat. I miss that in battle and bed,¡± Ebusuku said, her words filled with an grinding intensity as if she¡¯d taken offence at the rejection. {{No Dick, no chance of pregnancy, not a complete bitch, and potential for orgasms. Come on! }} ¡°You miss the mortal Monk?¡± Julia asked, confused by the request and unexpected intensity in Ebusuku¡¯s words. I don¡¯t swing that way, and I¡¯m no one¡¯s substitute. {{You don¡¯t want to swing in any direction. }} ¡°No. Not exactly. Maybe. I miss teasing him while he focused on his practice, and him focusing on me afterwards. I miss his stamina, the fucking, looking in his eyes and his intensity burning hotter than the inferno. All the ways he had of challenging me to do better, be more dangerous, we¡¯d rip through foes together and leave death in our wake. Then after fucking for days, we¡¯d be killing all over again. You are both so alike, the strength of will in you, your intensity, I couldn¡¯t scry him either.¡± {{Getting to know you. Getting to know all about you. }} What she couldn¡¯t scry him? Willpower or something else? ¡°If you can¡¯t scry him, how do you know he lost?¡± ¡°I never heard from Farhad again. He would have been boasting to me if he¡¯d won,¡± Ebusuku said, a tone of strange longing clear in her voice. Zen State kept Julia¡¯s face calm even as her mind spun from Master Farhad¡¯s name. It could be someone else, though he said something about mistakes in his youth. I think we¡¯re going to have to chat. ¡°I¡¯m sure there are other Demons with strong Wills,¡± said Julia, seeking to change the subject. ¡°Ones that want to bend others, yes, but that wasn¡¯t what I saw when you glared at me. It was clear you didn¡¯t want to bend another, you just refused to bend. I¡¯ve seen skilled Manipulator Demons with weaker wills. I don¡¯t want to own you or control you as the Lady does. But if I get to know your secrets, I want you by my side.¡± ((Eternity can mean more boredom after they¡¯ve had something greater. )) ((Sometimes fallen can find a reason to Rise and not just Ascend in Tier.)) She was born a Succubus. ((All beings calling this home have fallen. Some just began in that state. )) Are you including me in that statement? Or yourself? ((Were you not cast from grace and a chance at peace? This is not my home merely a prison.)) Zen State didn¡¯t keep Julia from wishing she could slap the stuffing out of V rather than fight Julia acknowledged it and moved on. He challenged her, and she misses him. No wonder she had spoken of the end with such cold disappointment and longing. ((Why risk this? )) She has family in Hell and I need information if I¡¯m going to help Rach and Sarah. ¡°Then you need someone that makes you feel that way, instead of making a bet with me. It sounds like you¡¯re lonely Ebusuku, as well as bored.¡± said Julia, shaking her head to reject the deal. ¡°Lonely,¡± Ebusuku stated, rolling the word as if tasting it, ¡°No, I¡¯d say bored is more the point. This game had best become a challenge, so far it¡¯s been easy.¡± She¡¯s not the only one learning things, but I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s misleading me. I¡¯ll just have to mislead with the truth. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ve just got the easy pickings so far. Things I mostly didn¡¯t care if you learnt.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s eyes narrowed, and Julia could see the tip of her tongue trace along her upper lip for a moment before she spoke again. ¡°That¡¯s not a complete lie. Very well, it¡¯s a wager.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your prize when the game ends,¡± Julia stated, her tone set with conviction. ¡°You don¡¯t want that, yet,¡± Ebusuku purred with certainty and anticipation. Yeah, that¡¯s not happening. {{Spoil sport. }} ¡°Shall we get access to the mine now, or wait till they¡¯ve calmed down?¡± asked Julia, wanting to move along from the uncomfortable spot the conversation had taken her. Ebusuku just smiled before replying softly, her gaze lingering over Julia. ¡°I believe that¡¯s a question.¡± ¡°One that was operational only.¡± Julia corrected, rolling her eyes at the odd eagerness in the response. ¡°We¡¯ll give them a few bells,¡± Ebusuku said, with an almost petulant tone. ¡°There was a powerful Br¨ªn in the outpost, they left when the fighting started.¡± ¡°How do you know they¡¯re powerful?¡± asked Ebusuku, arching an eyebrow at Julia. Wonder if she thinks I¡¯m giving away another ability? ¡°I recognised them. I was told they had a Black Knight Prestige class, plus at least one other,¡± Julia said, letting a smirk flit across her lips at the truth of the words. ¡°Interesting, Fighter-Assassin Prestige, third or fourth Tier from memory. I¡¯ve only met a few Br¨ªn with it. Name?¡± ¡°D?s L¨ºdhins Fy.¡± ¡°Darn, that¡¯s a pain. He¡¯s got three Prestige classes, not one. Wonder what job he¡¯s on, or if he¡¯s just wandering,¡± Ebusuku pondered, clicking her long nails against each other. ¡°He vanished through Shadows.¡± ¡°There are a few spells that could be.¡± said Ebusuku, caught up in consideration. If it was Fourth Tier, so level sixty when he took it, and L¨ºdhins said it was his first Prestige class. Fuck! He still thinks Demonic Instincts is his Demon talking to him. What if it¡¯s his Id as well? {{What if it is? Going to bump uglies if it¡¯s just the Id inside wanting to fuck your brains outs?}} No. ¡°If you have an Assassin Class, I¡¯d offer you a bounty.¡± Julia stated, considering the surge of experience she¡¯d gained, and wondering if it might gain her some goodwill. Ebusuku isn¡¯t a complete freak like Naz¡¯rilca but I¡¯ll need to take great care. ¡°We can¡¯t offer each other bounties it doesn¡¯t work that way,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll offer you one then,¡± said Julia, getting back to her original intent. ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡± Ebusuku asked, gaze narrowing in suspicion at the offer. ¡°If it helps you get a level, you handle a request for me,¡± ¡°Deal,¡± Ebusuku said, the word snapping out as if she didn¡¯t want Julia taking the offer back. That was fast. Wonder if she¡¯s in the mountain climbing stage of her Prestige Classes. ¡°A Bile for every Demon you kill while we are working on this mission.¡± ¡°A yellow coin? That doesn¡¯t even get a drink.¡± Ebusuku huffed. ¡°It¡¯s enough to set a contract, and completion will get you progress.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s smile regained some of its spark even before Julia finished speaking. ¡°Better than the Sisterhood, we¡¯re just hired to do the work and they don¡¯t offer individual bounties. Fine. I¡¯ll earn thousands by the time we¡¯re done.¡± said Ebusuku, her consideration of the Sisterhood had heat in her voice, that had calmed rapidly. Yeah, bad blood right there. Does the Lady love to paint signs across her own throat saying cut-here? Or she¡¯s playing it up since I offered to help her Progenitor. I¡¯ve still had no confirmation of her Progenitor¡¯s situation. {{Since you always thought Lilith got a bum rap, not like you wouldn¡¯t have helped her daughter. }} {{You find it easy to be hard on people you know have committed horrors. All the rest are just innocent lambs. }} If nothing else it would weaken the Lady just like this, hopefully hurts Set. {{Hopefully.}} ((It will. )) ¡°I¡¯m good for it. I¡¯ve got funds with the Treasury earned after the Castellan sent me to Tern¨°x. I¡¯ve got more than enough funds to buy you a lot of drinks.¡± I¡¯ll need all the information I can get about Hell. ¡°Okay, you¡¯re not lying. Since I have a Prestige Class that involves Assassin. Agreed.¡± Not sure I want to consider what level her Prestige classes are at present. ¡°Fine. Agreed. I¡¯ll heal first before we go into the mines.¡± Julia said, when she knelt to meditate, Ebusuku¡¯s gaze showed something strangely foreign. Sadness? What will I be like in centuries to come with only memories to sustain me? Once I reach Named, I won¡¯t be able to get onto the Material plane easily. [Perception [Ad] (3->4)] 73 - C Minor ¡°What do they mine here?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Marshstone, it''s used for turning the local iron into Abyssal steel,¡± said Ebusuku, giving her an impatient look. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard of it before,¡± Julia stated. Her understanding of the Abyssal tongue only gave her an impression of a greyish-green material that burnt hotter than coal. ¡°It¡¯s formed from the decaying remains of Primordials. This plane held a civilisation of theirs before Larvae started turning into Demons,¡± Ebusuku answered. {{Yum Yum, Primordials, just another form of a decaying dinosaur arse. }} Guess that¡¯s why it¡¯s green, except it¡¯s not called soylent. {{Soylent Green is made of people. They should have been honest and called it a long pig. }} {{The advertising would have been easy. I¡¯ve got a long one for you. Get some long meat in your mouth.}} Julia ignored B as she started throwing out even worse advertising slogans. ¡°How easy is it to burn?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Takes a lot of heat to get going, but once it''s burning, it doesn¡¯t stop even underwater or dirt, and it burns white-hot. You need a Wizard with Fire and Abyssal Affinity and the right spells to put it out.¡± So no coal dust explosions. I wonder if there are seams we could set on fire. ¡°You refer to both Primordials and Demons as they,¡± said Julia. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re playing the learning game as well, such a cute little thing you are,¡± Ebusuku squealed, turning back into the original ebony form Julia had seen from her. ¡°You¡¯re done with disguises,¡± Julia stated, shaking her head at the smirk on Ebusuku¡¯s lips. ¡°Word will have got out. Let them know they¡¯re going to be dying.¡± I can live with that. {{You hope. }} Julia released the ¨¤luga Succubus form and slid into her ivory-skinned beauty. Even as her shape solidified, the tiara of horns blurred from existence. A quick check with a formed mirror showed the flames, now only pinpricks of light burnt in her gaze. They vanished as Julia turned her eyes into featureless black orbs, relying again on True Sight to perceive. The long locks of hair shortening to fuzz after she considered them for a moment. ¡°Kill them all and let the Abyss sort them out,¡± stated Julia. Long curved blades formed along her forearms, and jagged brutal ridges rose from her shoulders and down her legs. Deep blood-red scales sheathed the rest of her form from below the chin, covering down to her toes, leaving her almost sexless in appearance, only the contours of her body implying gender. ¡°Now you¡¯re learning,¡± Ebusuku said, with no sign if it was for the appearance Julia had taken or her words. All notifications off. Jagged teeth showed as Julia almost smiled. Flames of shifting blackness appeared along with the scales when Ki Armour activated and Ki Infusion drew in Spatial Mana. A moment later, they appeared at the nearest mine, where its shaft dug into the hillside. At Ebusuku¡¯s signal, Julia charged in among the work crews hauling loads of the marshstone from within. A dash and a slide took Julia under a Dretch. She left flesh and blood falling to the ground in her wake. Ki Movement, coupled with her Quickness, pushed her faster than the Demons close by could follow. Even as Julia lept a minecart to open another¡¯s throat, Ebusuku lashed out with a spell that made the air itself scream in pain. Unconfined chaos turned matter in its path into paradox. Demons burst apart in blood, bile, butterflies, and other erratic things on the edge of the blast. A stray frog lasted a hop before it exploded into flames. Within the killing field, everything else simply ceased to exist. She wants lots of contract completions. As a kick deflected a dying Dretch, Julia aimed at the mine¡¯s entry before letting Spatial Mana fill a Lightning Bolt¡¯s form. The Spatial Bolt tore a jagged gap in reality as things exploded from its path. Demonic screams among those fleeing rang out, those caught in the blast already dead. Scattered pieces of bodies coated the interior of the tunnel¡ªthe acidic odour of blood thickening the stillness of air within the mine. Even as the first of the debris splattered from the stones, the mine guards responded. Gold armoured Kralc¨ª came rushing down from the defences around the mine. The same strange headless entities she¡¯d first seen atop the Pyramid. Squads of four peeling off from their platoons while others stayed in place, their focus on the exterior. The multiple arms of each Kralc¨ª were grasping guisarmes, readying them as they rushed, the curved blade of the polearm sporting spikes along its back. Its makers designed the hook, forming its tip to catch and pull foes off-balance and leave them vulnerable on the ground. The mine defenders had been keeping watching atop broad stone walls that protected the shaft¡¯s work area. Even as they streamed towards Ebusuku and Julia, the main gates of the Mine closed in laboured movements. ¡°Left,¡± Ebusuku snapped. Julia had just registered the word when energy exploded across the stairs on the closing gate¡¯s left. The troops and stone alike melting under the force released. ¡°Right,¡± acknowledged Julia, already casting an altered Shock Blast. The force erupting from the focal point, spraying golden scales and flesh from their bodies as Spatial energy struck. Injured Kralc¨ª continued onwards over the dead, falling at their feet. Untouched squads jumped from the stairs and split between them both. {{Out? But what about the middle?}} Bolts loosed from the wall at Ebusuku, she cut away in a blur of blades. While those at Julia, True Sight showed her bracer¡¯s stealing momentum from them, and they dropped from the air. A rush took Julia towards the nearest Kralc¨ª, the guisarme¡¯s blade whistling as it cut towards her. With a swaying motion, Julia slipped under the arc of its attack. Already committed to the strike, it staggered forward as she struck. A foot lashed out to drive a spike from its base deep into its thigh. As it went through armour, it bloomed within the flesh. Bone and metal twisted and broke. The spike having become a bladed anvil and crashing through it to the ground. As it fell towards her, Julia grabbed the horns extending from its shoulders and wrenched its body onto another foe¡¯s hooked strike. Blackness draining the life from it to repair a wound, a third opened in her side. Its hook caught and yanked on her as it dug into her side. When it pulled and twisted, the Kralc¨ª staggered off-balance as all resistance fled. The haft suddenly was thickening as Julia¡¯s form vanished to envelop it. The substance of her flowing up the haft to flood across its arms and body. Needle spikes extruding within her, digging beneath scales to drive through flesh and bone. When she reached its other side, her form flexed and opened it front to back. Flayed skin and shredded meat left dropping from the bones. {{I feel like some pulled pork right now. }} The memory of food probed at Julia¡¯s awareness as she dropped flat beneath a strike aiming to pin her to the ground. Protean didn¡¯t change her shape but simply reformed her. Between one blink and a next, Julia went from leaning back to standing before her foe. A knee strike broke through its closest forearms and the haft as more enemies came in fast. A blazing hand struck against already broken bones. Ki Strike carried it hard through flesh and amputated the limb in its wake. A flurry of whirling motion took her among its reinforcements. As the spikes and snapping jaws bristling from her back tore armour away. Punches, strikes and kicks scattered broken foes. Though others stood their ground with weapons, claws and horns, to pull or pierce her flesh, her injuries were sealing even as they began with stolen life refilling her. Wave after wave flowed from the walls, and even Kralc¨ª set aside massive crossbows and joined the melee below. Foes weakened, then dropped, but were replaced within a breath. Explosions of light and sound ripped along the battlements. The destruction Ebusuku left encouraging foes to attack Julia instead, just to stay away from certain death. As damage mounted beyond her ability to heal or steal, Julia heard a voice snap. ¡°Down,¡± As Energy Drain stole from yet another enemy, Julia dropped flat atop blood-soaked bodies. True Sight showing her the darkness arcing above her. A blade of pitch night, searing through foes and stone alike. As she rose to her feet, she dropped the severed arm she held. ¡°In,¡± Ebusuku ordered, as another spell form sent explosions racing along the battlements. Julia didn¡¯t stop to question, just let Teleport shift her location, and suddenly stood deep in the mine tunnel. She watched as Ebusuku appeared close to the entrance, and a wall of black stone sealed the light away. [Combat Summary: Lesser Dretch x 42 Kralc¨ª x 95 Kralc¨ª (40%) Demonic Shards gained: 82.2 Racial Level Up! x4 Total Demons returned to the Abyss: 96 Total-Experience Gained: 353,324 Monk: +142,382 Succubus: +142,382 Succubus Level Up! Wizard: +68,600 Ki Movement [J](23->24) Lightning Bolt [Ad](23) Silent Storm [M] (28->29)] {{What¡¯s yours is mine, and what¡¯s mine is my own. }} Greedy Guts! {{Must have pulled pork! }} Gross! {{Gut Salad, Yummy, yummy. }} Really? {{ Dirty dicks, done real deep. }} The tempo of the words letting Julia know what song B planned to mock. Don¡¯t do that to AC/DC. {{Okay mum. }} ¡°Wasn¡¯t that fun? You have a lively imagination,¡± Ebusuku said, affectionately as Teleport brought her to Julia¡¯s side, ¡°Let their Wizards screw with that. We¡¯ll see how many miners we can butcher in the meantime. Don¡¯t go to the stronghold again till you learn to mask the energy of your form. You were empty of energy when I met you. The difference will make you a target even the blind Castellan would notice.¡± ¡°Why the advice?¡± Julia question, allowing a touch of curiosity to show. ¡°I don¡¯t want the challenge to end with her ripping you apart. The Lady despises challenges, especially in her nest. I get to ask a question. Are the scales part of your skin or on top?¡± ¡°Part of the skin, just like a serpent¡¯s scales.¡± ¡°Lovely.¡± Ebusuku blurred, and Julia looked on as her form took on the scaled, spiked shape Julia had opted for the attack. Though, unlike Julia¡¯s smooth scales, the ones Ebusuku used looked themselves jagged enough to open flesh just by brushing past someone. With the tunnel blocked, the weight of darkness within had settled upon them but didn¡¯t hamper her True Sight. The main tunnel was some six metres across and eight metres high, providing plenty of room for even the massive form of Wenga or Sk?ll Demons. Ahead, shouts and snarling voices seemed to show the place was being pulled back from complete Chaos. Having sensed or heard the attackers, the Demons wanted to flee, yet a power held them tight. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Almost a hundred years of maturation drawn into you so quickly. I¡¯d be jealous if I hadn¡¯t long ago reached my peak.¡± ¡°Why did you never raise a cult?¡± ¡°Why would I? Do you plan to?¡± ¡°Mortals are unpredictable. Is there a plan they wouldn¡¯t change or put their stamp on?¡± Julia asked, a brief smile twitching her lips. The dedication and belief that Eivor had shown still left Julia at a loss. Ebusuku smiled wide in apparent delight and paused as if considering her words. A few moments later, her fingers flickered in hand sign. ¡°Don¡¯t Ascend to the Lady rank. Not without enough Power to destroy her. She will have them hunting you for eternity if you do. I doubt anyone can remember the names of those in the Sisterhood making that mistake in the past.¡± ¡°If something like that happened, would your Progenitor benefit?¡± ¡°That depends on what happens to the contents of a Chamber,¡± Ebusuku¡¯s gestures took particular care, stressing the last word, but their past conversations made it clear what she meant. I¡¯ll need confirmation that it¡¯s what I think she means or something else hidden there? The block had protections in place that Naz¡¯rilca forced me through. ¡°Blood in particular.¡± ¡°Sometimes Blood can be hard to handle. It holds onto much that touches it, seals to it, in more ways than one. The final bloodstain needs scouring from existence, and its Mistress likewise removed. Have you finished recovering?¡± ¡°Soon.¡± Julia signed, waiting for the injuries she still felt inside to seal and worked to recover some Mana and Ki. A few minutes later, Julia nodded and followed Ebusuku deeper into the mine as she immediately started moving. The pace rapidly increased, and soon they were flying through the main tunnel. A wave of noise greeted their entry into a massive hollowed space. A large shaft some twenty metres or more sank deep into the ground. They found Miners arrayed with a thin layer of guards around it, their focus on the entrance. Bellowed orders from behind the lines made it clear who was in charge. A massive centipede-like Centaur thing, its upper back three metres from the ground, easily eight metres long. Its lower half covered in a hardened shell that oozed thick fluid, while its upper body was a heavyweight human with oily, bronzed skin. Long flabby arms, with fat fingers ended in amber claws and its head, was a nightmarish thing. Discoloured and sickly bronze reptilian scales covered its flesh above the shoulders. Protruding faceted eyes, shining a violent yellow, were set all-around a circular maw filled with jagged fangs that sat within the centre of its face. [Name: Is¨¨lul¨¨ko Demonic Species: Greater Babh?kish? Class: Slave Master / Torturer / Priest Level: 14 / 30 / 40 / 40 Health: 6,088 Defence: 127 Faith: 58 Magic: 154 Mana: 3015 Combat Skill: Bite [Ad] (45), Claws [Ad] (41), Rotting Discharge [M] (4), Trample [Ad] (48), Whip [M](2) - Various Blessings Details: The Babh?kish? Demon spawn from deep marshes in the central continent of ¨¤luga, primarily held by Set. A former disciple in life, it has devoted its new existence to the service of Set. It combined the Slaver and Dominator classes at level thirty into the Prestige class of Slave Master. ] The bellowing mine supervisor opened its mouth again, not noticing when Julia appeared behind its head. Teleport having put her far behind the defences the guards had been setting up. Eyes exploded as a fist drove through its skull. Though she¡¯d seen plenty of death, it didn¡¯t prepare Julia for what came next. As the front of its upper body flopped to the ground, it was already a rotting mess of goo. Left behind was a clean stump and a new body erupted in its place. Even as it started upright, the lower body scampered away, causing dozens of clawed legs to spark against the stone. As it blurred away with incredible speed, Julia only just managed a single kick along its side. A glimpse as it raced away showed beaded eyes set upon its haunches. Its long end raised and maw set across its rear spat a stream of yellowish fluid to coat her legs. Pain erupting uselessly from wherever it landed as it ate quickly through her scales. {{Cool, you caught its money snot. Or acidic demon poo! Someone got a hazmat suit?}} As the scales and skin across her legs went slithering from the muscles, Julia acted fast. A thought drew fluid and rotting flesh within Inventory before tossing it towards the faces of nearby Dretch. Mere droplets sent them writhing to the ground, screaming and clawing while ripping their faces apart. Julia felt a token force of Will strike against her own, only to slide helplessly away, leaving a pitiful echo of pain in play. As chanting started, Julia took a chance, willing Dominion on as she crushed down on the fleeing Babh?kish?, pushing via Stimulation the agony of the inferno within her aura. While the inhabitants of the chamber began screaming, a humanoid figure rose out of the Pit in the chamber¡¯s centre. Wings of shifting, sullen flame beating from its back held him aloft. Though shaped like a man, it looked as if flayed alive. Metallic red spikes the brightness of arterial blood jutting from every muscle covered him from neck to foot. His wings flared as blades that seemed made of blood appeared within his hands. His lurid green eyes were flashing with power untouched by her Dominion, yet unable to battle it in turn. Still, the strength of a Dread Gaze tried to crush her mind, yet its impact staggered her for only an instant. A tentacle loop fell in place when he moved at her, a noose yanking him towards Ebusuku. Even as he braced in midair, she was already upon him, holding herself wingless before him as blood bloomed where her swords struck across his body. [Name: Setka Demonics Species: Named ?th¨¨mba Details: These entities originated as petitioners of Set whose deeds earned them direct transformation into fanatical Demonic servants. Memories of their mortal lives are but faint echoes, but they remain dedicated to establishing Set¡¯s goals. The faithful treat their commands as extensions of his will.] Dominion had hitched but then firmed the uninjured Dretch around her dropped in pain. As Ebusuku screamed in delight, Julia ran towards the thrashing Is¨¨lul¨¨ko. Its clawed legs were ripping flesh from Demons falling around it as it fought against her will. Leaping towards its back as she drew near cost a sharp lesson. Six legs supporting its long end lifted from the ground, raking across her body as it coiled in desperation at her approach. A snorting sound was enough to prompt a transformation, and yellow fluid went spraying through where she had already passed. Julia landed with dancing steps, its shell cracking with every strike of metal spikes. The barbed tips based upon the Nox, ripping and breaking the surface as Ki and mana burst through its body. Tendrils lept forth in a spray and struck as spears from her flesh. Each landing amid those tasting the agony from her memories. Held in painful rapture and suffering, they were unaware as Ki and blackness brought their destruction before its hunger moved on. The stolen health quickly sealing still open wounds as Julia kept moving in time with its twisting motions. Her Demonic ballerina shoes tearing Is¨¨lul¨¨ko¡¯s stone-like shell and putrid flesh apart. Rancid blood spraying with every rapid striking step and screeches piercing the air as thrashing it threw itself into a roll. In desperation, it fell towards the pit, yet Julia gave it no mercy. When its side hit the ground, she shaped a brace to hold it. Rows of steel I-Beams struck down, bursting impossibly from the tendrils. Ki wrought force, enabling them to pierce deep into the stone before her will bent them into staples clamping into its back. Feeling the limits of her Protean strain against the tons of creation, Julia rode it''s now helpless yet still thrashing form. With mounting effort from her extended form, tendrils retracted from the injured or now dead. Whether it was a reduction of mass or complexity, it quickly eased the strain of keeping the beams in place. A glance at the fighting pair found blood spraying from Ebusuku¡¯s blade and told a one-sided story. Even though Julia had made no exception to her aura, Ebusuku fought unaffected. Julia pressed her will hard against Setka. The impact causing a flailing Setka to glare her way, but with Julia already intent upon him, her Will brushed his strike away. Its blade of dripping blood fell away with its hand cutaway in its moment of distraction. With a flicker, it suddenly vanished, and Julia recognised the teleportation. Danger Sense¡¯s shrill, and Zen State¡¯s intuition slid her to one side, his strike with the remaining sword still severing an arm. Its edge blurring towards her so fast Zen State could only determine where its next hit had already struck. As his blade parted flesh and cut bone, reality folded with Spatial Mana and spat him onto Ebusuku¡¯s strike. The severed head was dropping one way even as Ebusuku¡¯s kick sent the body another. A relieved breath she didn¡¯t need to take let her taste burning flesh, sizzling Julia rose to her feet in a flowing motion. The ooze along her captive Demon was as quick to eat through scales and flesh as its spray had been. Snarling oaths, she cast more of herself and its fluids across those crushed by agony to the ground. Julia felt blood flowing across her face even as the wounds healed, her severed arm melting in the ooze nearby. In a focused moment, her spikes dug a latticework through flesh. Her Willpower still crushing Is¨¨lul¨¨ko, blackness drank its life away and flooding her with health. Only when it was dead did Julia pull back the steel that formed its cage. Pulling the two tons of steel back within her, let a relaxation ring throughout her form. Julia kept the aura crushing on the Demons and, pushing through the sense of their struggles, joined Ebusuku in their slaughter. Ebusuku was giving her a pout once they completed the butchery. [Combat Summary: Greater Babh?kish? Cambion x5 Lesser Dretch x 60 Named ?th¨¨mba (5%) Lesser Wenga x4 Demonic Shards gained:14.4 Total Demons returned to the Abyss: 34 Total-Experience Gained: 150,288 Monk: +75,144 Monk Level Up! Succubus: +75,144 Death Strike (15->16) Silent Kill (7->8) Dominion [Ad] (26->27) Ki Armour [Ad] (37->38) Ki Infusion [Ad] (47->48) Protean [Ad](29->30) Stimulation [Ad] (18->19) Inventory [Ap] (7->8) Torturer base class unlocked for future selection. Executioner base class unlocked for future selection. ] Yeah, fuck off. {{That was fun. Can we do it again? }} If we do, will you stop bugging me to fuck something? {{Maybe! If you pay the butcher¡¯s bill for some of the shit that you keep sealing into boxes. It¡¯s crowding my living space.}} Julia felt something press hard against the calm of Zen State for a moment. {{This one¡¯s ripe to burst. Want me to tell you its label? I¡¯m disappointed that it¡¯s not repressed sexual hunger. }} {{It¡¯s just dull guilt!!!!!}} I didn¡¯t ask, and I know I¡¯m worried about them both. That won¡¯t go away till I find out what¡¯s going on. {{Not the only thing you¡¯re feeling guilty about. }} Why do you keep carrying on about sex? {{All those sensations in one fun package. What¡¯s not to love! }} {{We¡¯ve only got memories from past lives. None had this flexible body. }} ¡°Shall we go down?¡± Ebusuku asked, clearly already having dismissed the dead. {{Oh yes, please, her first.}} With Zen State reminding her of Setka''s blurring speed, she placed the points from passing another threshold with Monk into Quickness before she nodded. The central pit led far beneath the earth and broke into the top of a vast cavern stretching out in all directions. Long pillars wrapped in runes supported a high arc ceiling, giving an eerie cathedral feel. As Julia took the outlines of broken skulls and bones among the greyish-green forming the floor, it became a mockery of the dead. Everywhere she looked, Demons were still hacking away, breaking up desiccated corpses. Her mind picked out a body whose skull seemed almost human, except for the metre long mosquito-like proboscis where the mouth should have been. The hollow of its gaze seemed to draw her own even as a Dretch¡¯s pickaxe came down on it, crushing the bones into powder. ¡°Kill them all.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s hand sign was clear, and looking over the labouring Dretch, Julia extended the Dominion again and used Stimulation to extend something unknown to Demons. When sleep-like oblivion pressed, those caught within it dropped as if boneless to the ground, while others spooked and scattered like blowflies shooed from a corpse. ¡°You get the paralysed ones. I¡¯ll have fun chasing down the rest.¡± Ebusuku pointed, and spears of lightning longer than Julia¡¯s body leapt from her side. They left but an afterglow lingering behind as they drove with flesh burning force through rows of demons. {{This little piggy went to market. This little piggy went splat. The one¡¯s head looks nice and round. See if it will roll home.}} Zen¡¯s calmness just let Julia take in B¡¯s remarks, even as she set about the gruesome work. Flight drifted her over the fallen as Protean shaped spears, Ki and darkness sent the essence of Lesser Dretch on. Julia was quick in dismissing the combat summary that catalogued her latest executions as Ebusuku returned. The sheer force of her Will pressing away yet another slaughter that felt as if it was trying to stain her mind. Her gaze slid off the mounds of corpses that formed the floor of the cavern before she glanced at Ebusuku. {{Just put it with the others that need payment. You need to accept you¡¯re a murderhobo now. }} ((They deserve neither your pity nor mercy. )) If I don¡¯t feel anything, how does it make me better than they are? ((You take no delight in it. Not even the sense of power and rush of survival many feel. )) ¡°Does it extend off under the ground?¡± Julia asked, wanting to move on before the thoughts threatened Zen State¡¯s calm. ¡°As far as the hills extend. After the Demons slaughtered the Primordials, they just piled the endless bodies of the dead into giant mounds. The earth of the Abyss settled on them later and hid their remains till some Alchemist discovered a use for the long decaying corpses.¡± ¡°So, how far does this stretch?¡± Julia asked, trying to determine the millions that must have died. ¡°Hundreds of kilometres.¡± Trillions perhaps for this plane alone? [Abyssal Lore [Ad](14->15) Demonic Lore [J](15->16)] Julia just smiled and focused on a mound of marshstone before she created the Water Wall spell form and filled it with Fire Mana. As it came into existence, the line of it cut through the strange dead, and the corpses quickly grew hotter. Mana poured into it till the flames finally caught and the ancient dead burned. Sharp, acidic foulness rose into the air, tainted even the darkness about them. When the flames spread, Julia set another wall in play, and Ebusuku copied with a spell of her own. A blanket of flames lay over the greenish floor till white flames burst through it. With a nod of satisfaction from Ebusuku, they teleported away. Their spot had changed little since they last had been here. Though a bunch of vultures pecked and squabbled as they focused their attention on the ground, just a stone¡¯s throw away. ¡°Destructive little thing, aren¡¯t you? If his forces don¡¯t get through my barrier soon, it might become impossible to stop. Now there will be less to trade with other planes and factions to get material he needs.¡± ¡°Such a shame. I thought they would have teleported past.¡± Julia let forth a very fake forlorn sigh and let her shoulders slump. ¡°Dimensional barriers. They prevent those unwelcome from teleporting into locations if the entrance they seal is the only one. You did well,¡± ¡°Why did you save me from his blade?¡± Julia asked, allowing curiosity she¡¯d set aside out to play. Still hiding the surprise, she felt to hear a compliment coming from a Demon. ¡°Why should I let him have any fun?¡± Ebusuku asked, an insulted tone making her husky voice gruff. ¡°Makes sense,¡± Julia said flatly. Ebusuku¡¯s laughter rang out, prompting the nearby vultures to scatter from the ground. Their lice covered feathers falling over a crushed feline corpse they¡¯d left behind. ¡°Little one, you have too far to climb before I expect you to stand on your own.¡± ¡°Not very Demon like,¡± quipped Julia. ¡°I¡¯m only a Demon when I¡¯m in the Abyss, little one,¡± Ebusuku corrected primly. What the fuck? How does that work? Is she looking for me to let down my guard? ¡°Such a sceptical look. Devils see my imprint as one of them and pay me well for information.¡± Julia looked at the cat¡¯s head crushed into the earth, the circular imprint matching wounds within her memory. A fallen Demon in a warehouse, its head squashed against the stone floor. It was enough to prompt her to examine every shadow about with True Sight. Was L¨ºdhins here at this camp? It looks like something matching his war mattock¡¯s butt smashed into its skull. ¡°How?¡± Julia breathed, focusing on the vulture pecked corpse. ¡°It is a facet of my Proginetor¡¯s line. You owe me a question now. What..¡± ¡°No. I meant, how did he find this spot.¡± Julia said, interrupting as she pointed to the feline¡¯s body. ¡°Who do you think found it?¡± asked Ebusuku moving closer to the body and examining the ground about it. ¡°L¨ºdhins. The crushed skull looks like a strike from the butt of his war mattock.¡± Julia replied, knowing it was going to be inviting questions. A mental smile was twitching under Zen State as she considered what questions she could ask in return. ¡°How do you know what his weapon¡¯s wounds look like?¡± ¡°That¡¯s two questions you owe me,¡± said Julia, wanting to make sure Ebusuku knew she was counting them. ¡°Fine, just answer my questions regarding L¨ºdhins.¡± Interlude - Ive been working like a Dog Moke PoV - The Morning of Julia¡¯s return to the Abyss While patting the empty spot on the bed, my brain tries to remember her name and comes up strangely empty. It¡¯s just after dawn, though I played till exceptionally late. Since arriving here I¡¯ve needed far less sleep. The lyre the Innkeeper lent me has reaped a bountiful reward for us both. Dawn, she¡¯ll likely be there practicing as Neferu and Ipy said; hopefully, she¡¯ll drop by to hear some songs soon. Even as the thought of Julia crosses my mind, the bond between us changes. The crystalline chiming bridge that had been strong within suddenly feels distant; Unbroken, but very faint. Why? Has she gone back to the Abyss already? Neferu seems to think she is a Celestial in disguise, but his initial experience with the Pact didn¡¯t match my own. He had only experienced its crystalline singing beauty from the start, not the trudge through the Troglodyte infested warren I had experienced. The vileness of their tunnels, fouler than my mouth after a noble''s party, had nothing on the initial sensation of the Pact. It had been like the tunnel we had sat within flooded with the excrement of a thousand Demons channelled straight inside me. Wait, do Demons even crap? Surely such wouldn¡¯t make for good song material? Then again, I wonder if it would make an interesting amusement to produce a memorable song based on such an idea. I¡¯ll have to consider it further. Though mayhap for some hosts, I could play such a song in their honour. Sidetracked, my mind jumps off to lyrics before the sense of my link to Julia fades even further away. Startled reflexes sat me upright as my guest from last night emerges from the room¡¯s necessary. The sight of her beauty renews my memory as I drink her in. Sleep mused, flame-red hair only partly hides her sky-blue eyes, as her raw beauty draws my gaze to her. Her wheat coloured skin, bronzed and ripened, draws me with its mortal honesty. She is so fierce, so beautiful, from her robust, broad face and full passionate lips alluring with wanton desire. The flex of powerful muscles and lively steps quickens my heart¡¯s beat as I savour the energy of her movements. Though carrying more marks than many Charter House members I¡¯ve met, she shows the smooth shine of blessing-healed skin. Then again, the Jarl¡¯s daughter likely had guardians to ensure someone properly cares for her wounds. Not a delicate flower of the Pharaoh¡¯s court but beautiful all the same, Angrboda moves with a steady, powerful grace. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you awake so soon fire of my heart. Are you going somewhere at this hour?¡± The words drift from my lips as I drink in the vision of her nakedness with admiration, and consider what fun the morning might yet bring. ¡°Enough, Moke. I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. Father plans to ride out and check some holdings today, and I¡¯ll be accompanying him.¡± As soon as she mentions her commitments, I remember promises I''ve made, and it¡¯s a moment of idle wonder to consider if Neferu is likely to skin me. ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to tend to your ardent desires again so soon. I¡¯ve matters of the companions and Charter House to attend today, and I do not know when I¡¯ll complete those duties.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you needed to talk to Torm yesterday about that? Did you forget?¡± ¡°He has so many other commitments.¡± ¡°What? Are you saying that I didn¡¯t distract you before and after your commitments of the evening?¡± The light-hearted teasing in her words brings forth a smile of delight. ¡°You were quite able at distracting me during my performances for the taproom. Yet you are more than a distraction; you are a beautiful, wondrous facet of my life, oh she of burning passion.¡± ¡°You lie so soothingly well with the truth. Best be dressed and see Captain Torm before Neferu pulls that tongue from your mouth. I have other plans for it; next, we meet. We¡¯ve still several positions in this section to try,¡± Angrboda says as she taps my shirt where it hangs from the chair on which we had flung it. Her movements beckon my gaze as her clothes slide upon flesh in a fashion that quickens my loins even from afar. ¡°I look forward to continuing our endeavours that so fill my dreams with delight,¡± ¡°Now that was a lie, Moke, but an unknowing one. You called out more than once, and it wasn¡¯t from delight,¡± Angrboda said, a frown of concern not dimming the beauty of her sweet lips. ¡°Mere echos of nightmares now passed. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll inspire properly heroic songs.¡± ¡°Heroic songs or poems about greeting a dawn?¡± ¡°The poems came after the nightmare fled. Would you be my muse for more cultural inspirations?¡± The smile that slips easily upon her lips I find echoing upon my own, smothering the nightmares whispering within my mind. They must have darkened my gaze for Angrboda¡¯s frown deepens, and she traces my face with well-calloused fingers. ¡°A nightmare might flee, but scars remain. Perhaps you need to talk to a Priest to find aid to cleanse them,¡± she says soothingly as her hand strokes down my arm. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll speak to my lady mother when next I see her if they persist.¡± As I speak Angrboda leans close and slowly kisses up my neck, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve said too much. Though as her lips murmur against my skin between lingering kisses, I have no complaints about the tempo of her actions and words. ¡°Father remembers your sister with respect and says your mother is even more powerful. If you¡¯ll wait till you see her, at least I know she¡¯ll set you right. Well, as right as her roguish son can get.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m wounded by your words. I¡¯ve never practiced the way of a rogue.¡± ¡°Are you sure? I thought you had quite a light-fingered touch on my fine silken purse. Perhaps I was mistaken, and it was someone else I should have woken up with this morning. Oh my, what shall I do?¡± Angrboda murmured before her tongue began moving distractingly along my neck. ¡°That¡¯s both unfair and harsh, sweet one. It¡¯s not purses I deal rather desire, plucking the strings of passion till their song quakes the very soul.¡± The delighted laughter that elicits is far better than the darkness our conversation had wandered near. Though attempting to steal a kiss has her dancing clear. ¡°No, I¡¯ll be late,¡± Angrboda said, her quick swaying steps beckoning my gaze to follow her motions, "just as well I had my equipment ready yesterday." Her last words come even as the door clicked shut. The warmth of the bedding beckoned, but with dreams now refreshed it might enable their return. The thickness of the rug holds the coldness of the stone at bay. Setting the lovely outfit aright to hang properly, I pull a tunic from the cupboard. Julia might have resorted to making my now prized garments, but the Jarl¡¯s tailor had old clothing of his son¡¯s available. Their finery was more than suitable to let me save the wear on my prized garments for the right gatherings. The Jarl''s youngest had grown so quickly they had barely any wear at all, and he¡¯d possessed good taste. The odes for the Jarl¡¯s court had brought such joy that he had instructed his castellan to provide largesse in return and been happy to help clothe me anew. My fingers trace the silver axe-shaped clasps a time or two before I leave, the lyre case a fine weight upon my back. The stairs don¡¯t creak beneath my tread as I listen out for voices that would raise concern. Fortunately, none of my previous overnight guests is about as I slide onto a seat near the kitchen door. Ylva even glides past without glaring, and I can but guess she¡¯s forgiven me for the mistake regarding her younger sister. They look so alike, and they even sway the same. How was I to know it wasn¡¯t her sister¡¯s arse I was patting before she yelled at me? The saucy look Helga had worn earlier had me hoping it was her when I moved behind those swaying hips that first night. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Torm rescuing me from the tongue lashing had been ironic given the way he¡¯d behaved earlier in the day. I guess my poetry honouring Julia must have won his respect. Though I don¡¯t know why so serious a fellow as he took delight in hearing the ode to dawn¡¯s rapture. Alfarr¡¯s whisper must have been on my behalf as Torm stopped glaring at me after I was done with that verse. Still, I was inspired, it is an ode to remember. Though why he¡¯d repeated part of it with such amusement when next we met really seemed strange. Perhaps he has taken too many blows in battle.
Though the drum of my knocking resonates within the house, I hear no footsteps. Surely if Julia has returned to whatever Plane she calls home, she would have been in touch first. Though Neferu and Ipy had spoken to me, there were arrangements to complete. ¡°Hello, the house! Can anyone hear me?¡± Tapping out a beat upon the sturdiness of the door as I call elicits not the response I expected, and when the deep rumble sounds nearby, my heart stutters. ¡°You¡¯re making noise all down the street, of course, we heard you.¡± Turning towards the rumble, I find my eyes having to look up further than expected. A sturdy lass looks down at me, though her appearance certainly surprises, even though Alfarr had mentioned their serving girl Rika¡¯s nature. Her chest carries some impressive personality traits for one so young, and she comes with more muscles than the powerful Angrboda. I find I¡¯m looking between three fine young ladies, each so different, is quite a welcome surprise, even if all are far too young for me. A sturdy redhead, looking at me with deep forest eyes, yet as I smile, storm clouds grow within them. Caution clearly shows on her sturdy features, and I can¡¯t help but compare her grimness to the open beauty beside her. The hair is pale like fine parchment, with cheeks of clean sweeping grace. An ode dances within my mind at eyes the colour of deep sapphires, and a smile so shy and sweet. Even as I study them both, Rika steps between us. Especially with such difference between them, they are captivating wonders to gaze upon. ¡°My pardon for the noise. I wish to speak with Yngvarr or Alfarr most urgently. Are they about?¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve come for either, they¡¯ve left to tend to Elven matters,¡± Rikka says with a headshake. ¡°Elven matters?¡± The question struts from my lips as I wonder what Julia is seeking after now. ¡°You¡¯re not an Elf, Skald Moke. Nor someone I¡¯ve been told to share anything with for Master Yngvarr.¡± ¡°Rika told us of your lyrics about Lady Eakc?¡¯s rescue from grim darkness.¡± The blond beauty voice is as sweet as her shy smile, and as we exchange a wordless warming gaze, the redhead¡¯s storm clouds grow deeper. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I told it well, I told you that,¡± complains Rikka. The owner of the rumbling voice growing bashful to my eyes, as if the pale-haired beauty had shared information given in confidence. ¡°If my humble words inspire you to share them with others, I wouldn¡¯t take offence. Is Julia about perhaps?¡± While the link feels as if she¡¯s far away, I can hope; surely she¡¯s not left so soon. ¡°She¡¯s gone with them this morning, just at dawn,¡± Rika admits reluctantly. ¡°Oh.¡± Is but all I manage, words suddenly lost to me. ¡°Is that all?¡± The question from the redhead comes even as she steps between the pale lovely and myself, her air protective as she tries to pose threateningly with such youthful energy. I can but keep my smile in place when I wish to laugh beyond good taste. Details catch my gaze and set my mind ablaze. The set of her shoulders, the curl of her hands, suspicion in her voice, with an expectation of hurt, yet the steel within her gaze reminds me of another. What has been done to her? Is there a villain whose name I need to blacken? I won''t ask her unless I have to, but this I must settle: the heart''s wound might have healed but such pain remains. Perhaps her parents might share with one with good intentions. ¡°My apologies for disturbing your morning, then. I¡¯ll be leaving you to your work.¡± With the politest of nods and my thoughts in a whirl, I bid them good morning and head on my way. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to be so hostile, Sagga. He knows Lady Eakc?.¡± ¡°Men want what men want, Alfdis. Not all his works have been flattering of the Lady. I wouldn¡¯t count boasting how ripe and lovely her personality greets the dawn to be flattering.¡± My step slow as I take in their words and note the names of the two young ladies, their voices making the air delight. Oh, he didn¡¯t. I shared that ode in private discussion, and there were only ten within the Jarl¡¯s room. The delightfully coquettish dove will surely want to kill me now. Is that why there was no goodbye? Wait, she¡¯s not spoken to me again since the first day. It¡¯s been almost a full week now, my how time races. How can I make amends for an ode inspired by a dream? Though perhaps an ode or three would bring balance. Especially ones regarding yowling wolves in heat. There was a fair maid. No, I shouldn¡¯t bring Eakc? into it. Though confusingly, I thought she used the name Julia here. If so, why was Alfdis referring to her as Lady Eakc?? Though Neferu and Ipy also knew her by the name Eakc?. There was a nosey wolf, Who seemed to consider himself Beowulf. No, I¡¯ll need a structure that can prolong the torment. In the depth of night, There moved a great beast. Upon his wrath, promising smites, Yet they seem more fleeced. Proclaiming they must do right, Though craving after her touch. It would seem they are just uptight, Dancing to her slightest flush. And rather purely moonstruck. Where to take it next? What can I use to carry it after moonstruck and then rhyme with that? Cassock, hardtack, hmm, good luck no, I don¡¯t want to seem as if I wish him well. Something to make him truly sheepish. I¡¯ll need stanzas to support it and insert the depth of denied feelings. My steps lighten as I work upon the stanzas, ode to the smitten mutt, perhaps. I¡¯ve brought Eakc? into it again. Very well, her touch it is.
Torm¡¯s PoV - After dawn on that same morning. When had I become complacent in my skills? The next attack sets me back even harder on my heels. Only a hurried dodge lets the follow up graze along my hauberk by the slimmest of margins. Even in deflection its pressure still puts me off balance, and I roll with the stumble. A kick snaps through the air where my shoulder would have been. I¡¯d suggested sparring with Master Farhad out of frustration, and it seemed he and I had very different expectations of that activity. As I rise, an open hand slap barely keeps his fist from busting my snout, only for the sky to change position on me. Somehow he flowed past me, and with his other hand gripping my wrist, swept all balance away. A groan escapes me as a merry rascals cheers come from where she¡¯s perched to observe my folly. Embarrassing as it is to recognise how lax I¡¯ve grown, at least she¡¯s no longer glum from Julia¡¯s return to the Abyss. ¡°You should take the hauberk off, Uncle Torm; it¡¯s just slowing you down,¡± Livia said, the delight in her voice lighting up the morning. It¡¯s normally a simple thing to rise to one¡¯s feet, something I would repeatedly do in a day. Still, I move with wariness as if expecting my footing to betray me at any moment. Not because of my instability, rather Master Farhad is still standing far too close. Being bested by one who was once mortal might be the motivation I need to further my skills, but it makes it no less embarrassing. I''ve been knocked around far less than the beating Julia took the other morning, yet she kept coming back for more. Can I do any less? ¡°He walks his own path, that choice is not yours to make for him. Other distractions can slow far more than the armour. One should only fight a single battle at a time.¡± Farhad¡¯s reply cut in ahead of my own, and Livia just gives me a sad look, the compassion clear in her eyes. I do not know how to handle this pair; it seems all the Monks I know can keep me off balance. Even in verbal sparring, they twist me in knots with a look. Farhad moves, which fortunately cuts off my chain of thoughts, and I dart to one side. My entire focus becomes staying on my feet, and he¡¯s not making even that simple. I repeatedly pick myself up from the stones, aware of those nearby, most carefully not watching my humbling. Their attention raising questions of what they¡¯ll make of Julia sparring for bells with Farhad now. ¡°A matter of focus?¡± I finally have time to ask as the bell calls the second hour after dawn from the Temple¡¯s tower. ¡°No, a matter of choice. I know that challenge well. I made many wrong choices in my younger years, and one I still deeply regret, even though they all were part of my path to here.¡± The moments weigh heavily while my mind replays the conversations I¡¯ve had with my liege of late. Finally, I admit to what I knew would be my choice. ¡°Would you object to another student?¡± ¡°Once, I would have objected to even one student. Now things feel different, I¡¯ve no objections if students will focus properly,¡± Farhad answered, his tone unruffled. ¡°I have permission to do so. Lord Tyr wishes others from this Plane to learn as well.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll each need to show their own merit, regardless of who teaches them.¡± Master Farhad¡¯s calm words are firm with conviction, and I grow sure those inspired by Lord Tyr will need to live up to his challenge. Farhad doesn¡¯t explain further, he just gazes at Livia still sitting nearby. She claps in glee and flows to her feet, racing about me with such speed that she¡¯s dizzying. ¡°You have trained for centuries as a Fighter, far longer than any I¡¯ve ever taught. You¡¯ll need to let go of your dependency on weapons and armour Guardian to reach a place beyond physical or Celestial strength.¡± There is no point asking how he can tell the Prestige class I¡¯ve followed till now what Mortals consider a path. I bow before speaking, copying Julia¡¯s own. ¡°I¡¯ll do my utmost, Master Farhad.¡± ¡°Very well, let us begin. Take off your armour and line up with Livia. We¡¯ll review the fundamentals of balance this morning.¡± My armour disappears into my Oath stone without hesitation as I move to stand next to Livia. The little miss having already halted and calmed the moment Master Farhad issued his instructions. Her ability to go from full speed to calm instantly is one of the least astonishing things about her. My existence has changed since she walked into the square, a glowing, beautiful blue Soul walking next to a hesitant looking Succubus. A strange Succubus who could laugh with honest glowing amusement and would care for the fate of a child above her own. Inhaling as Master Farhad instructs, even though I¡¯ve no need to breathe, I recognise my concern. As I exhale, I place it in Tyr¡¯s hand and pray for true Justice to reign supreme. There was nothing else I could do but hope Julia would continue to survive with the kindness she¡¯d shown to Livia intact. 74 - We didnt start the fire The bells of Ebusuku¡¯s probing questions hadn¡¯t required Julia to lie about L¨ºdhins nature, although she¡¯d gone over all the fighting Julia had seen him contribute to before their flight had turned silent. It was perhaps only good fortune that the questions had gone nowhere close to his Hidden nature. Here and there, mounds of Larvae collected among the hills¡¯ gullies. Oddly Ebusuku paused their flight near larger groups and had Julia Ascend them. Though many previously female petitioners turned into Succubi, the notification reported an assortment of other Demon types within her awareness. While some she¡¯d seen in her travels, others she¡¯d never encountered. It had taken cycles of flying before the road carved through the hills brought them to the coastline. The outposts they¡¯d seen along the way were all smaller than Giza, and Ebusuku had skipped past them. Other roads joined the one they followed till it became busy with trundling wagons hauled by various undead beasts taking cargo to the port ahead. The coastline itself looked like a series of Exxon tankers had dumped their loads on a Bali beach. Only the upper reaches of sand showed pure whiteness, while black filth covered kilometres of shoreline. Groups of wiggling Larvae populated the beach, squirming about with less grace than fully grown walrus bull seals. Waves rolling in continually kept setting more filth and Larvae upon the sands. Masses of bones from things long dead also came on shore only to be ground into paste within the gunk by the Larvae. Walls surrounded the port, arcing from surf to surf, its course stretching into the hills twenty or more kilometres from the shore. While there were wards present, they seemed focused on deterring the local wildlife rather than protecting against a serious attack. Other cargoes from the nearby swamp joined wagons of marshstone, among other goods, streaming in through the gates. Inside the walls, an erratic mix of buildings packed the limits of the space. The ones closest to the docks appeared to be giant warehouses, while those further away varied from building to building. Julia could see tall, elaborate spires free-standing within a cluster of unstable looking buildings. Eight-or ten-story buildings might clutter tight together with no pathways providing access, while some slum-like locations possessed wide roads and easy access. As they observed from a sheltered spot high on a nearby hill, a new tower erupted from within a densely packed area. The spire scattering with explosive force demons and buildings that had been in the path of its sudden growth. ¡°Are they even going to notice explosions?¡± asked Julia. Her gaze fixed on the tower¡¯s growth, she watched as one building came crashing down on a passing wagon. ¡°After enough of the place burns, they¡¯ll catch on.¡± Ebusuku replied, anticipation shining in her gaze, ¡°Keep watch for your former guide. I¡¯d like to find out if he¡¯s working for the Treasury or someone else. Let¡¯s join those entering the port. Keep your eyes peeled for protective wards and useful targets. Return here just after sundown, and we¡¯ll decide what we¡¯re blowing up first.¡± When Ebusuku resumed the form of an ¨¤luga Succubus, Julia copied her and quickly settled new straps in place. Teleport placed her high in the clear sky, and she flew towards the port, joining other arriving flyers as she did so. Zen State kept a calm, unflustered look upon her face; the unnatural stillness of Protean no longer required. The Demonic forms about her varied so greatly; though Succubi were present, they were a minority. Analysis showed her the names of each as she examined them, and Demonic Lore increased. The greatest in mass, if not in number, were Demons called Vrock. These were vulture headed humanoids growing in height as their Tier increased. They matched her size at the tier of ¡®Least¡¯ and grew fast from there. The largest would be twice the height of L¨ºdhins if the one ¡®Greater Vrock¡¯ she saw was an accurate guide. They carried the unsettling menace of carrion eaters about them, from the wicked curved beaks to the solid black serial killer eyes and the long blood-stained talons capping their hands and feet. Dead or not, something about them promised to tear flesh from bone. Their wingspan barely stretched out beyond their arms and clearly wasn¡¯t enough to support them; still, they flapped their wings as they stayed aloft, and the scent of death filled the air with every beat. Demonic winged beetles buzzed around, keeping their distance from all except each other. Analysis named them Mabh¨²ng?ne. Coated in solid chitin from pincers to claws, they varied in colour from the yellow of curdled milk to the green of rotting flesh and many foul colours. Their sharp pincers were longer than Julia¡¯s forearm while the rest of their body matched her torso in size. The curved shell along their back lifted to let a multitude of brilliant green membrane wings keep each aloft. Many gargoyle-like creatures shared the skies as well, showing variations of the Abyss. Classic stone gargoyles flew beside those with flesh of deep purple or violent red, while others bled blackness into the sky about them. The lovely sun beating down on them in this foul place, dying as it came near their skin. After keeping my calm in front of a lust filled crowd, stray looks are nothing. {{You can leave your hat on? }} Fine, you can sing that one. When the energy of a rock concert started pulsing under Zen State¡¯s calm, the sheer jubilation of it was surprising. Why are you in a good mood? {{We¡¯re going to blow shit sky high. Weeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! }} As the gleeful noise echoed within her mind, Julia just had to shake her head and allowed a bemused smile to flit across her lips. Glad you¡¯re looking forward to it. {{Home Improvement Abyssal Style, airing soon in a Plane near you! }}
Despite the attacks that had already hit the other outposts, Julia entered the port¡¯s walls without an issue. Her eyesight easily picking out Demons on balconies, rooftops and even streets from her flight path above the tallest building. Dretch carried massive loads down narrow pathways, while Succubi flittered from place to place, teleporting past obstacles or vanishing entirely. Squads of Kralc¨ª walked the roads but not for keeping the peace. Julia saw a unit walking past a massive brawl spilling out from a bar and break around them like a wave. The combatants continuing the battle with the nearest squad just walking past them. The only interruption in their course was stabbing those fighting that came too close. The port¡¯s capacity strained with the number of quad hulled vessels docked, the same type of vessels that Julia had seen riding the waves near the fortress of Setimet. More of the same green-skinned Kralqui had the same obvious scars seen before crewed them; the jagged diagonal cross was set deep into their chest. This time she learnt their nature with a Dretch paying the price of admission. An amphora too heavily dropped to the deck served as an object lesson for the rest of the loading crew. Even as the fluid from the pot soaked the deck, two crew members grabbed the Dretch¡¯s arms and bent it down, despite their smaller size. Another Kralquis¡¯ chest split along the ¡®scars¡¯ and the open maw revealed quickly consumed the Dretch¡¯s head. Once beheaded, they shared the rest of the remains with bone sheering bites among the closest crew. A ¡®crew leader¡¯ set to lashing another Dretch till it had the deck clean again, including from its own blood. {{What a mouth, what a mouth, north and south. We should get one of those guys to give L¨ºdhins head. }} That¡¯s a cruelly cutting remark. {{Click goes his shears; click, click, click. }} Seeing the sign for a Treasury shop front several blocks from a pier, Julia weighed options and landed near the door. If it¡¯s Usd¡¯ghi that hired him, they¡¯re unlikely to tell me, but if it¡¯s not, they might provide some information. Let¡¯s see what information and toys they have on hand. The noise of echoing screams and pulsing agony filled the place, pressing Julia back even as she entered the Treasury. Once inside, the place was empty and security looked non-existent. An exquisitely decorated waist-height divider of white marble served as a slim counter and split the chamber with a sense of absolute precision. It sat precisely in the midpoint, yet didn¡¯t extend the full width, just an isle adrift in the middle. The surrounding path exactly equal, they seemed open passages to access the shop¡¯s back until the light shifted slightly when the door closed. Lines glimmered for a moment in the changing light. True Sight showed them to be Order and Chaos lines, forming endless knots of power tied to balance against themselves. The screaming came from each line in equal measure wherever they came in contact. Only the continuous flow of energy seemed to keep them from disruption. True Sight showed the air around the Order trying to form into crystals even as the Chaos ripped each apart. ¡°The Herald here! How might I assist?¡± A female voice exclaimed without source, sounding young and soft-spoken yet audible past the ongoing screams. What¡¯s she been telling her coven? ¡°I¡¯d like to purchase information and potentially some items,¡± Julia stated, resisting the urge to groan. ¡°Of course.¡± The divider gleamed, and Julia found herself behind it as a transparent figure rose from the stone floor. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°How?¡± Julia breathed, having sense no flicker of reality accompanying a Teleport. ¡°The precise balance of order and chaos allows me to control spontaneous changes within this space.¡± The transparent figure solidified into a green-skinned woman clad in fine dark-blue cloth. Despite the finery of her robe and its golden embroidery, her bluish-green hair hung long and greasy across her shoulders. Her features were a strange mix of sunken hollowed eye sockets held brownish-red orbs, a hooked nose possessing large warts along its course. While cheekbones showed an Elven grace, and red plush lips glistened wetly. Analysis [Name: Aegrotatio Species: Swamp Hag Class: Wizard / Enchanter / Alchemist Level: 40 / 42 / 49 Health: 4,239 Mana: 61,896 Defence: 247 Melee Attack Power: 78 Combat Skills: Claws [M] (1); Various Spell Forms - Affinities: Death; Darkness, Ooze, Water, Earth, Order, Chaos Details: This species exists on many Planes and breeds true regardless of the parentage of their child. Prone to wearing the skin of their victims, the colouration of the Hag gradually shows through till its flesh finally consumes it. At that point, they find and flay a new victim and repeat the process. ] ¡°You must be very talented,¡± said Julia, unsure what to make of the Affinities in the Analysis. ¡°It¡¯s a gift of my heritage. Mother didn¡¯t let father say no to passing it along.¡± Aegrotatio replied in a cheerful tone. Fuck! {{Did he use a bag? Turkey basting for the win? Just pass the cup. }} ¡°Do you have a list of dimensional items you have for sale? I¡¯m not sure exactly what I¡¯m looking for, more hoping inspiration will strike. Also, if you happen to have a map of the city.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not normal policy, but for the Herald, I¡¯m sure that¡¯s fine. I have a zone outline and details on the Port factions. Should I assume you¡¯re continuing work to elevate the old one?¡± ¡°I¡¯m certainly planning opportunities. I¡¯m not sure which she¡¯ll be in place to seize or want.¡± Julia responded, keeping her answer vague. ¡°As the old one wills, let me get that list,¡± Aegrotatio gave a happy sigh. The exhalation carrying the stench of week-old carrion baking in the summer sun. {{Fuck, and I thought V¡¯s arse was earth-shattering. }} By the time she was done, Julia had added items for herself and Ebusuku to Inventory. A map with the authority points within the city was amongst them.
A white light from burning vessels filled the harbour as the sun broke above the distant horizon. The first of the quad hulls already sinking beneath the water that boiled around their burning cargo. The influx of water only adding more fury to the inferno, the water¡¯s surface lit up as the fire sank under the lapping waves. Demons were scrambling to get off burning vessels as yet another erupted into flames. The bellows of captains and harbour master alike ordering cargo waiting to be loaded away from the closest flames. As powerful Demons pressed their will onto those about them to risk life and limb, explosions started ripping through the seaside town behind them. A blast of screaming Chaos dropped the front of the harbour master¡¯s building onto those Demons rushing to the docks. Though the tougher likely survived the impact, it caused an impressive spray of blood across those along the edges. Demons caught outside the impact licked blood from their lips before running away from the scene. More interested in fulfilling the harbour master¡¯s bellowed threats than investigating or rescuing those caught in the rubble. A line of Dretch hauled, by raw muscle, a ladened wagon away. As it moved, a disk glinted on the front of it, and a spike of lightning burst through the closest worker¡¯s chest. A Succubus flickered in and out of existence, leaving a spray of steel hitting the ground. The glimmering disks sent further spikes stabbing into assorted Demons as they struck the ground. Though they barely amounted to a scratch on stronger Demons like the massive Wenga or Sk?ll, the eruptions still added to the mayhem of the pre-dawn. One of the Wenga, spinning about to look for his attacker, felt something clamp about his neck. Caught by surprise and off-balance, he threw his hands up, only to be pulled onto a group of Dretch. The collar dropped away even as he touched it, the damage already done. Before he could grab the band with its inward-facing spikes, it had vanished. A growl of annoyance rumbling from his chest, he rolled across those still pinned beneath his bulk and bought himself to his feet. Unconcerned with the corpses of crushed Dretches and the other badly injured, he ambled away from the docks, remains dripping from his roughly scaled hide with every step. Julia reappeared on a rooftop looking over the squashed Demons, and watched for Ebusuku¡¯s signal. As another vessel sunk beneath the waves with its cargo of marshstone aflame, Julia concentrated on wagons near the end of the stone dock. When Ebusuku¡¯s signalling blast collapsed in the front of another building, Julia resorted to an even less subtle approach. A Fireball charged with Abyssal Mana streaked down and exploded over the crowd. Raw marshstone exposed to Abyssal ignited in a fury, the wagons¡¯ cargo turning into a solid mass of flame. The wagons came apart, spilling the burning material across the stone and the press of Demons. The stench of burning flesh and bone rose as Demons and stone alike burned within the crackling heat. Literally dropping flat, with her new form mimicking a section of the rooftop¡¯s lip, she waited. If any came to investigate the source of the Fireball, it might be a chance at an ambush. The dock¡¯s stone gave way against the heat while she waited and collapsed into the water, causing eruptions of steam. As screams and curses, filled the air something appeared to investigate her location. The figure on the rooftop appeared without even a flicker of a teleport and was truly bizarre, even by the Abyss¡¯ non-existent standards. Its body seemed composed of a writhing mass of snakelike tentacles, with no apparent interconnection between each. In those first moments of observing it, tentacles shifted out of existence while others seamlessly appeared - even to True Sight. The erratically sized mass seemed to exist to support a basketball-sized eyeball resting atop it. The eyeball appeared scooped from a human socket, a baby blue complete with blood vessels and nerves stretching off into oblivion. As she watched, the tentacle mass shrank from the size of a man, to barely larger than a crawling toddler. Analysis [Name: e¡Â? Primordial Species: Ithr¨ºkhi Details: A native of the Primordial plane of Imp¨ºlasikhathi, these Outsiders can perceive fluxes and shifts of time. They hire out to Demons in the Abyss for reasons of their own. Sometimes Demons can benefit from their services with no memory of having hired them. The terms of the contract able to be recalled only after the employment period has ended. While in the service of other Demons, they are persistent trackers. This species can see any desired point in history at their current location. The duration of their services is unpredictable and serves an unknown agenda. Even the most erratic Demons are loath to have dealings with them, even when they find they¡¯ve already ¡®hired¡¯ one.] Analysis provided a name that made Julia¡¯s mind lurch away from the concepts. The mere existence of its name ran off in dimensions she couldn¡¯t track, leaving only an impression of the symbols that underlay her Profile the first time. #Hello# There hadn¡¯t been a sound, rather the concept of a friendly greeting projected towards her. #The Treasury wished me to deliver a message, child of the Abyss. We recommend you leave this port, with or without Ebusuku before the dawn reaches completion and the reinforcements arrive. The mercenary L¨ºdhins has been hunting/following/tracking you through your companion¡¯s presence, so perhaps without. Since I have also been hired to track down the unknown Succubi attacking the port, and you are not unknown, I shall continue that endeavour. Have a pleasant morning.# It delivered the message in another burst of concepts and that somehow carried a cheerfulness enfolded in the promise that the morning would soon turn sour. The Ithr¨ºkhi didn¡¯t wait for Julia to respond and simply began flowing away. As its path took it off the edge of the rooftop, it continued onwards through the air; the eye peering about as if seeking something in particular. Though the plan had called for taking out Demons sent to investigate, Julia let it leave unhindered. ¡°Ebusuku, a Primordial Ithr¨ºkhi just informed me that L¨ºdhins is hunting me, he¡¯s been using your presence to find us. It recommended I leave the port with or without you, though perhaps without since L¨ºdhins is tracking you.¡± The Mercury¡¯s Whisper barely blinks as Spatial Mana leaps away with it. An instant later, Ebusuku¡¯s voice is whispering in return. ¡°I¡¯d say it was a trick, but I¡¯ve seen a Br¨ªn with a war mattock several times and lost him. Take the rising sun route. I¡¯ll make a mess and be along when I can, otherwise the second plan. Send me the Primordial exact words. Nice Human spell form, very clean.¡± Yeah, yeah. Julia cast the spell again, sending the wording to Ebusuku even as she considered her options. An explosion of Chaos ripped apart the air above the port, a cloud of churning energy rippled into existence, stretching a hundred metres or more. With droplets of Chaos raining upon the buildings nearby, Julia teleported in hops towards the Port¡¯s armoury. Spell forms causing Shock Blast to erupt with Fire, Air, Lightning or Earth around every stop. Need a few more things before I leave.
Moving along the path, Ebusuku was nowhere in sight when trouble found her. Against the blur of motion, Zen State tried to slide her away. But the long fingers of his third arm didn¡¯t miss, wrapping around her throat. As the fingers set themselves in place, her flesh went rippling through a transformation. The short hair grew out to long locks as the tiara of horns made themselves known. Arching on the fulcrum of his arm, Julia threw Flight into providing force and sent a knee strike forward. Its impact smashed hard into his ribs, yet he appeared unbothered. ¡°Come here often?¡± L¨ºdhins asked, his tone dry even as Julia¡¯s second knee strike came smashing into his ribs. An almost bored looked was his only reaction, as a spear hand didn¡¯t even cause nails to break skin. ¡°That¡¯s tickling. You need to eat your cornflakes, high in iron, helps muscle growth. You don¡¯t call, you don¡¯t write. Are you going to tell me it was you, not me?¡± L¨ºdhins looked the same as before, except for the leering expression and feral heat burning in his gaze. The clothes Julia had separated from her form remained in place, and strangely the eyes Julia had set so often within her wings, letting her see all around her. Even though L¨ºdhins was here, Ebusuku was nowhere in sight. The energy of Teleport draining down the arm the moment she tried to jump. ¡°No, it was all you. Even if your employer put you up to it,¡± Julia growled as the arm raised her from the ground. ¡°Nah, that mission of hers was for a safe entrance. Pure vanilla penetration, to let you play with the tip. Wiggle around to see how things went. See if it was your cup of tea, or whatever. I¡¯ve got a different employer now,¡± L¨ºdhins said, his tone amused. {{He¡¯s annoying me. Let¡¯s be sure to kill him. }} ¡°Who are you working for L¨ºdhins?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care if you know. Be careful of injuring little fellows, especially knowledgeable ones, they get pissed off. Pretty little horns you have there. Wonder if they¡¯ll tickle like your knees and nails?¡± Fucking little ferret. Wonder if he¡¯s more pissed about the pages, or the bowl? ¡°How did you find me? Thought you said we were impossible to scry.¡± ¡°Hard is not impossible, and there are loopholes; I didn¡¯t scry for you directly. But your pretty little Sigil, so unique about this marsh, is another matter. Think we¡¯ll be going now, before Ebusuku shows up. Her reputation precedes her, and I want you all to myself. L¨ºdhins can¡¯t come out and play right now, I¡¯m calling the shots. Sick and tired of his moaning about black balls. Whine, whine, whine every time you got up on stage and shook it for everyone.¡± L¨ºdhins¡¯ Id, or whoever was speaking, grunted as Julia hit him with all the agony of the inferno she could push through Stimulation. But the blissful sigh that escaped his lips wasn¡¯t the reaction she was hoping to get. Telepathy didn¡¯t even provide her with a taste of his mind let alone his thoughts, feeling as if nothing was there. Is that what others get from me? ¡°Fight back, L¨ºdhins. Get it to let me go,¡± Julia demanded, a Spatial Bolt erupted from her, only to spray away, leaving him untouched. When she shaped another spell form, Mana refused to fill it. ¡°Told you I¡¯m not L¨ºdhins, I¡¯ve got you all to myself. Maybe I¡¯ll let him taste the memories later, let him hate himself even more.¡± The growling lust-filled tones sent ripples under Zen State. Before she could try anything further the shadow of a nearby tree reached out to engulf them. Even as the energy finished brushing past her wings, they were no longer on the path. Interlude - Missionary Position Moke¡¯s PoV Livia¡¯s motions flow like music amid the trees; to express it for an audience would require so many complex parts. I can hear the trio; at least it would need a pulsing drum, a light dancing flute, and a lyre calling out the liquid grace. The song¡¯s parts are still swirling through my mind, leaving me wondering at its composition when she halts before me. Her sudden shift from grace to stillness making me blink in wonder. The firm gaze resting on me from such a youthful face freezes my thoughts in place. ¡°What did I do this time?¡± My fingers brush against my hair as I resist - only at the last - an urge to scratch my hair, her sternness a reminder of my mother when I''m in trouble. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you tell me,¡± Livia demanded, her tone as sceptical as the look that set her delicate features. Yet for me, her eyes arrest, the beauty of sapphire sparkling with life, the knowing certainty shining from within them. ¡°No, of course, I¡¯ve done nothing wrong. I¡¯m truly puzzled.¡± ¡°You being you Moke, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve done something wrong, even if I don¡¯t know it. I¡¯ve heard the poems; some are good, others naughty. I think every time one gets retold, that¡¯s a count against you.¡± said Livia, her gaze flickering across me again. ¡±No coitus clothing today?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all good, thank you; actually, some are magnificent! That clothing was all I had to wear, and Julia provided them. I wasn¡¯t even aware of its auspices till you pointed it out.¡± Her look had set me on the back foot, and with every word, I can feel my retreat. ¡°Would that have stopped you wearing it?¡± asked Livia, dry amusement flicking on her lips. ¡°No, not really. I like the garments. The colours fair cried of Dawn¡¯s brightness in this dreary winter. After such darkness, I couldn¡¯t believe she inspired such happiness within my heart.¡± Virtues extolled make no impression on the youth, and all I earn is a single eyebrow arched slightly higher than before. The effort curiously deliberate, as if she¡¯s practiced it. Who arcs a single eyebrow? So strange, still perhaps I should try it for emphasis on a dramatic moment. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought. Why are you here, Moke?¡± Livia asked, her tone a strong demand brooking no quarrel. I can tell she¡¯s been listening to Torm closely; it¡¯s the exact tone I heard him use the other night, to a patron too many sheets to the wind. ¡°Julia brought me here.¡± ¡°No. Why are you here? As in this square, this morning?¡± Exasperation carrying along on the hard stone of her tone, though I did not know why she was so harsh. ¡°Did Julia go back? Like back to there?¡± ¡°They needed Julia to guide Yngvarr on a mission. We saw them off this morning. Why do you ask?¡± Livia probed, her tone expressing discontent. ¡°But she never said goodbye!¡± It¡¯s disconcerting. I can hear the pout within my voice and try to arc one eyebrow to make it seem in jest. The look of scorn returned speaks ill of my success, and I try a smile instead. ¡°Moke, she rescued you; you don¡¯t own Julia. You make her uncomfortable with how you carry on,¡± said Livia, shaking her head in frustration. Ahh Julia, so coy, so bashful, she plays her coquettish part so well. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m just too great a temptation for her.¡± A hand upon my chest and a dramatic sigh earns me a look of disbelief before her tone becomes cutting. ¡°Her only temptation is about breaking your nose. So she¡¯s keeping clear to avoid hurting you.¡± What? Break my nose? But the clothing? How have I offended? ¡°I came to talk to Captain Torm.¡± I find myself betrayed when my free hand bashfully starts scratching an ear. ¡°If that¡¯s the case, you¡¯ll likely have to wait. He and Master Farhad are training; I¡¯m practicing here to let Torm focus,¡± Livia replied, ¡°There¡¯s no need to be coy for me.¡± When I pull my hand away I see her amusement flash, a Soul easing purity of light gleaming in her gaze¡¯s crystal depths, and the lips turn so delicately. ¡°Why is Master Farhad training Captain Torm?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s for you to know. You¡¯ll have to ask him. Is there a reason you¡¯re loitering in the square watching me practice?¡± asked Livia, redirecting the conversation with smooth intent. ¡°Since you call him your uncle and I don¡¯t know the guards, I thought you might let Torm know I was hoping to speak to him. I could entertain you, perhaps some Odes, a song or two for your service?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s hear a song then,¡± Livia¡¯s tone brooking no argument. Is this the enchantment Julia bespells the ladies with? Spines of steel grown to resist anothers charms, Julia has left me besotted. Now, this little one haggles like a horse trader. I have never learnt why she lives here, save that Julia saved her. A Succubus saving someone, how bizarre. ¡°A song is an excellent choice. If you let Torm know, I¡¯ll play you a song.¡± ¡°Nope, the song first, or you can talk to the guards. You know the ones right over there,¡± Livia dismissed, a flicking gesture towards Tyr¡¯s Temple. ¡°Your very graceful movements had one within my mind. I¡¯ll require some moments composition to ensure it¡¯s fine enough.¡± I tilt my head and look towards the Temple¡¯s guards, hoping to prod her to proceed. ¡°You can save your hint; I¡¯ll wait till I hear the song.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very abrupt for one so young.¡± ¡°Moke, why do you need to talk to Torm?¡± Livia asked, her gaze fixed on me even when she began stretching in a manner that seemed beyond belief. ¡°Julia asked two Charter House members and me to gather information for her. She suggested an endeavour that I feel would have potential for ill consequences, so I wanted to get an unofficial view from a member of officialdom. Since Torm might have insights, I wanted to speak to him.¡± ¡°The Adventurer¡¯s Guild she suggested?¡± Livia asked, her tone dry, and matter-of-fact. ¡°How do you know about that?¡± This girl keeps catching me in one surprise after another, I wonder if she enjoys throwing others off-balance. ¡°She told Farhad, Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Torm about it and what her ideas were. I was there gaining hugs. You should talk to the Companions hall; Alfarr spoke to them last night.¡± Even with eyes of pure crystal, I¡¯m sure I sense her rolling them at me, the facets within shifting in the morning¡¯s light. ¡°How do you know so much?¡± The knowledge this girl is so casually displaying turns my head around. ¡°I listen. It¡¯s a matter of opening the ears and not the mouth. I plan to be among the people in charge of it when I¡¯m older. Either that or I¡¯ll be running schools throughout the ten kingdoms teaching Monks.¡± ¡°Has Alfarr already started things off with the Companions?¡± The question comes out in my surprise, more an exclamation than a question. ¡°That¡¯s what I just said.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re so knowledgeable, can you tell me about Sagga?¡± I usually pick older sources for information, but Livia¡¯s right; sometimes, children in the right places learn much. Oh, the Temple children venturing into the various squares; they¡¯ll be able to tell me what they hear from Set¡¯s priests. ¡°Julia helped her already. You don¡¯t need to stick your nose into it.¡± The response from Livia comes so crisp and sharp, a series of stinging blows. ¡°Julia helped her? I¡¯d like to know more, to help; she¡¯s hurting still.¡± Her mouth twists for a moment, a delightful childlike pondering, and I wonder if I¡¯m seeing who she was before being raised from death¡¯s embrace. ¡°Her parents, Eivor and Hermod, run a bakery towards the common from the inner gate. Eivor is a Priestess for Lady Eakc?.¡± While the words are clear, they make no sense. ¡°But Eakc?¡¯s a...¡± ¡°You know far less than you think. If you want to know about Lady Eakc?¡¯s tenets, speak to Eivor and Rana. You telling your tales inspired Eivor enough to believe.¡± I did what? ¡°The bakery you said.¡± My voice sounds somehow faint and strained. Maybe I¡¯m getting a cold? ¡°You won¡¯t find either of them there. They¡¯ll be down at the docks, most likely the southern piers.¡± Livia responded. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Tending to the thralls. Eivor¡¯s been healing them to give them hope.¡± Livia said, a smile lighting her face. ¡°Healing?¡± ¡°See, that¡¯s what I mean about listening. Open your eyes, ears and mind; two ears, two eyes, one mouth, and your brain should be bigger than those combined. I¡¯d suggest using them in that ratio.¡± ¡°Harsh,¡± I try to parry. ¡°Truth,¡± Livia retorts, her hands firmly upon her hips, I¡¯m truly being told. ¡°Very well, oh venerable teacher of truthful words.¡± As I give her a fancy bow, the look in her eyes stops me in mid-motion. Her eyes are strange enough with their lack of white, and the glowing crystal light of them seems to shine a light into my depths. ¡°Julia purged the taint and quickened your bloodline. You still should find someone to speak to about what you lived through Moke. The aid she gave me was far greater than what you received; you should seek someone before the lingering hurts grow poisonous.¡± The tone of her voice catches me by surprise, and I blink at the concern and compassion. ¡°What do you mean, quickened my bloodline?¡± I grab on the statement in confused desperation to deflect from the issue raising its head. ¡°We¡¯re in public. Even though you¡¯re still not played me a song, let¡¯s talk in the garden. It¡¯s hard to resist giggling at the look on Torm¡¯s face when he¡¯s tossed around. He¡¯s very persistent, which is just as well,¡± Livia remarked. Without waiting for my response, she¡¯s already moving away, not as fast as I¡¯ve seen her motions blur, yet, I still need to hurry to catch up. ¡°Why is it just as well?¡± ¡°Are you blind about how he cares for Julia?¡± Livia asks, blinking in disbelief, and adds to my mental notes for the Ode. ¡°No. I just don¡¯t understand why? Isn¡¯t he one of Tyr¡¯s vargr drangijaz?¡± ¡°He is indeed, and maybe you will understand after we talk if you¡¯re not completely thick.¡± ¡°Why am I talking to you about this, you¡¯re what, ten, eleven?¡± ¡°Ten, and because I know Julia far better than you. My father is a senator of the Occidentalis Kingdom. I have Oaths I took to keep Senate secrets I might come to know since I grew up in his household. Do you have similar ones as a child of a High Priestess?¡± Livia asked as she led the way past the gates. Neither of the guards making a fuss, though one raises brows my way. ¡°I¡¯m Oath bound to keep the secrets of the Church of Bast that I overhear or learn.¡± ¡°Can you keep anything I tell you within the bounds of that Oath?¡± Livia asked, her tone seeking security for her concerns. ¡°My mother or another High Priestess would need to confirm. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Is it acceptable to keep them as secrets under the Oath till your mother renders judgements? Given what places you agreed to find for Julia?¡± The tension and contempt in Julia¡¯s words while she spoke of Setau and Set rings within my mind. The ferocity of her protectiveness and anger pulses within my Soul as I consider them. Something pushes against me, bringing a calming yet playful sense, so different to the pact with her. My heart aches for the playful Mau who so often sought to use me as a perch. The bubbling purr of Clea or her curious chirps when she tried to echo my lyre¡¯s notes. Her death saving me from a snake had hit hard in my youth. I swear by Lady Bast, I can feel her head rubbing against my leg. Lady Bast? When I feel the shove against my calf, I can but only nod, not daring to wonder when I had warranted such attention. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll consider them so until mother renders a judgement.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Livia declared, the questioning ceasing as we walked around the side of the Temple¡¯s principal building. Despite my attempts at questions, she ignores me as we walk, her composure somehow comparing well to some Senior Priestesses I know. When we round another building, I see the garden she must have meant ahead. While bare, it was clear they¡¯d prepared it for a spring planting. Beyond, I could see a glorious sight as Farhad sweeps Torm from his feet. Livia just flows to a bench and takes a perch, sitting on folded feet, so strangely prim. The training yards seem quiet; perhaps the rest are at breakfast now. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°The bond you had with Julia. She changed it by feeding Ki through it instead of other options.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s a¡­.¡± A raised finger cuts me off, and I swear the blue crystal in her eyes grows hard; she¡¯s ten, I mourn already for the one who marries her. My tutors didn¡¯t do this good a job of scolding, and I generously provided them plenty of opportunity to practice. ¡°You know less than you think. So let me tell you this: Ki is a form of Celestial energy, the eastern celestial court, the Jade Court, granted it to humanity. They normally allow Humans to channel this to manifest certain physical and spiritual capabilities. Rarely some orders use a purer form of it, gained via an Affinity called Jade Court Mana. Julia can make use of both. If she¡¯s what you believe, could she do so? Would she have brought my Soul here? I was already securely hers, not just hers for the taking.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°That is not for me to say. You should know - since it relates to you - that Julia passed Ki into you instead of energy from the place you had escaped. She could have opted for the latter, perhaps even without harm to herself. Instead, her choice was for a different path. The celestial energy, even as Ki, activated your bloodline. Was it your grandfather or someone more distant that was a Celestial?¡± Livia asked but continued without giving me a chance to speak, ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer. Your blood is no longer pure Human, with a hint of Celestial; it reinvigorated your bloodline as if a direct child of a Celestial. If Julia is simply one of them, could she cause that effect?¡± ¡°Never, this makes no sense.¡± I¡¯m what now? A being of legend? Well, the ladies seem happy to appreciate it. Is that why I need so little sleep? ¡°You were looking for revenge. Instead, you have become part of something more than you know.¡± ¡°How do you know all this?¡± ¡°Besides staying quiet and listening to people talking when I¡¯m in the room. I¡¯m a brat and listen at doors. Plus, I have memories of past lives that provide me guidance, isn¡¯t that cool.¡± Livia exclaimed, the crystal of her eyes brightening. It¡¯s not just that, is it? What does her gaze truly perceive? ¡°Cool?¡± I mutter the word in confusion, wondering why the temperature was invoked. ¡°Julia says it when she thinks something is good.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s winter?¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter, apparently.¡± I try to keep a straight face as Torm hits the ground again. Even though I¡¯m sure I managed it, I get a tap upon the nose. ¡°My baby brother had a better attention span than you,¡± Livia reprimands. ¡°You¡¯re ten. I¡¯m far older than you, young lady.¡± The words cross my lips, and the look I get seals the rest away. ¡°Do you want to know about Sagga? How about the rest?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Muttered or not, the word is sufficient, though her hard look remains Livia explains. ¡°I was a novice serving a High Priest of Janus, Lord of crossroads, gateways and other things. As a servant of the God of Travels, each year my teacher travelled. He did a circuit of roads to teach outsiders about the way of Janus, aid smaller temples and travellers, that sort of thing. A group of slavers captured us in a Norse village, with a High Priestess of the ¡®S¡¯ fellow you and Julia are plotting against. She was pleased to get my master into her cage. The rest she put into chains. They chained me along with the other Slaves, but my journey was by far the shortest.¡± It¡¯s not pain I see, but an eerie calmness, and I recognise it well. A stillness that I never thought I¡¯d see on anyone but Julia. Did I miss that her utter stillness was controlling pain? A Succubus holding in pain? She wasn''t being coy or flirting Julia was in pain. How did i miss that detail? What is Julia really? Expecting a slap, I still risk putting a hand on her own, giving this strange child a gesture of comfort. The look I get from Livia is one of surprise, and as stillness eases, puzzlement and pain show clear. ¡°I thought you were too self-absorbed; perhaps you¡¯re not completely hopeless. A stupid Summoner tricked by a knowledge Demon sacrificed me, and Julia ended up bonded to me. After she dealt with the Summoner, she killed the slavers, and she started setting some slaves free. My former master and she didn¡¯t get on, and rather than risk him sending us to her home, she disabled him. Then she fled and found a spot to cleanse what my Soul had already absorbed using Ki. It had some other wonderful effects on me. Those came out when she convinced High Justice Verdandi to restore me to life.¡± ¡°That sounds like there are lots of missed details like saying snow is cold, or water is wet.¡± I wonder from who I might learn further details, yet it¡¯s a tale for whom the audience is small. ¡°How observant of you! I skipped the details that you don¡¯t need to know. A man had attacked Sagga while I was still recovering. Sagga was too afraid to tell anyone, yet Julia learnt he had attacked her. He¡¯d convinced her that he or his friends would take retribution on her family if it came to court. He¡¯d been very convincing in the matter. She had extra wounds from that part of the conversation. Since it surely would not be brought to a Justice when she couldn¡¯t even bear to tell her parents, Julia dealt with him. Eivor heard the stories of your rescue, having already determined Julia had dealt with him. Plus, she knew Julia had something to do with my state. Added two and three, turning these events into Faith.¡± Livia said, making a gesture at her beautiful crystal eyes. ¡°They are exquisite.¡± I can¡¯t help but admire the wonder of her eyes, even though I suffer admonishment in return. ¡°Moke.¡± A simple word softly spoken, yet it crosses the air between us with the force of a slap. ¡°Sorry.¡± The smile that lights my lips at least earns a wry one in return, and I count it a victory. ¡°Besides Eivor hearing your tales from her brother at the Silver Chalice, the folks rescued spoke of Eakc? the next day. It convinced her that Julia was worthy of following if she could give hope to so many people. Neither expected Eivor to gain a Priest path from it, or start a cult. Julia does what she sees as right, I¡¯d suggest you avoid being in a position where she sees you in the wrong. She doesn¡¯t accept she can¡¯t do better, and she doesn¡¯t accept her own failures. If she sees something evil or foul, she¡¯ll stop it. Does that match with what you believe she is?¡± As the tale end, Livia¡¯s expression is so regal, and fierce I wonder at the artists she¡¯ll make weep in her prime. ¡°It doesn¡¯t; it makes no sense.¡± How is this possible? My thoughts are in a whirl as Livia shakes her head and reprimands again. ¡°Moke, it makes plenty of sense if she isn¡¯t exactly what you think she is,¡± Livia said, face set in resignation. ¡°But what I saw¡­¡± I whisper in explanation, but she cut me off with a stern frown. ¡°You aren¡¯t acting during your performances, Moke? When you¡¯re in danger, real danger, wouldn¡¯t you act to blend in? Would she have stopped to rescue you if she only worried about herself? Did she demand payment?¡± ¡°Well, she asked me to gather information.¡± I can¡¯t believe what I hear, Acting, what part was an Act? When she spoke the words to have a screaming demon killed? Having dragged me to my feet or ordered me like a dog? This all makes so little sense, she¡¯s a Demon! ¡°Asked if you would help, I know she didn¡¯t demand it. Plus, consider who she wants you to gain information upon. Your friends were fortunate for the rescue, other people died, and they¡¯ve done worse besides. Justice is sometimes about providing guidelines for protection and behaviour, but sometimes it¡¯s about calling due what is owed. Julia says that Church has been building up an enormous debt to pay back, and she plans to see that someone collects on it. Even if she can¡¯t get the preferred result, they¡¯ll be paying.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the preferred result?¡± I wonder what she has in mind besides the toppling of the Church. Does she truly seek to kill a God? ¡°Something else not picking up power from its remains. But that¡¯s impossible for her to stop, so she¡¯ll make this lot pay first and then collect debts from others later. You should speak to Eivor still, but Sagga isn¡¯t afraid like she was anymore. She¡¯ll get stronger from the memories remaining; they¡¯re no longer enough to leave her crippled by fear.¡± Does she think we¡¯ll be scattering power into something else¡¯s hands? Is she going to collect some herself? Is that her goal? ¡°Why should I speak to Eivor?¡± ¡°If you see Eivor¡¯s activity on behalf of Julia, it might make an impression - even on you. Hopefully, at least.¡± Livia states, her voice trailing off on a sceptical note. I feel almost wounded, wondering that she judges me so harshly. ¡°Surprised to see you visiting the inside of the Temple¡¯s ground,¡± Torm said, his attention on me as he cames close, the dirt marking his clothing clear from a distance. ¡°Have you been rolling in the mud?¡± I can¡¯t help but dig, given the hole that he¡¯s sunk me in. ¡°Apparently I¡¯m an old rug that needs dust shaken out of it. What can we do for you?¡± An old rug indeed, sheep or wolf skin is still to be seen. My musing though I set aside as I focus on his presence. ¡°Neferu asked me to speak to you about changes between the Charter House and the Companions. Or if its best to start from scratch.¡± ¡°The Adventurer¡¯s guild Julia mentioned to Alfarr?¡± Torm asked, sounding unfussed. ¡°Exactly.¡± ¡°You should know she thinks it should operate regardless of a kingdom¡¯s boundaries. For trustworthy people to find support and help improve themselves, structured to avoid control by a tyrant or fool. Your king giving direction to the Charter House and not just hiring them, concerned her. Tyr sees her approach as useful to extend a common sense of Law and Justice. Alfarr started the discussion, but he left this morning. Don¡¯t make a mess while he¡¯s away.¡± Torm at least has courtesy enough to inform before the orders begin again. ¡°Politics rears its head more often than a snake. Trustworthy people?¡± Why does a Succubus care we can find trustworthy people? She has me nothing but confused! ¡°People you¡¯d trust enough not to betray you in the middle of battle. Leave it with Neferu and me; I believe you have information to gather,¡± Torm said, the orders set to continue. ¡°Travelling in winter can be so miserable, can¡¯t it wait till Spring?¡± The excuse is automatic, with the promise of Angrboda¡¯s warmth again tomorrow. ¡°Think of those suffering, perhaps Eivor or Rana might help you find inspiration,¡± said Torm, gaze resting upon me with uncomfortable weight. Even with what I¡¯ve learnt, I still think an Ode might be in need, yet I feel as if he¡¯s judging me for the other still. ¡°You¡¯re suggesting I go talk to¡­.¡± ¡°The faithful of Lady Eakc?, yes,¡± Torm answers, not even waiting for the question. The yard doesn¡¯t grow still, while overcast, no lightning flashes, and the buildings don¡¯t fall. ¡°Since your tales provided a tipping point, perhaps you should work with them.¡± ¡°My what!¡± I can¡¯t believe what I¡¯ve heard. My tales have done what? ¡°Your tales of Lady Eakc?¡¯s rescue of you, and other information overheard in the Companion Hall from your fellows, was the catalyst for Eivor¡¯s belief.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t listen really well, and he¡¯s supposed to be gathering information!¡± Livia¡¯s exclamation makes her disappointment clear. ¡°Perhaps Ipy should go with him at least,¡± Torm agrees, with an uncompromising nod. ¡°You think?¡± asked Livia The sharp disbelief is so crystal clear it hurts, even me. ¡°Livia, please don¡¯t use Julia¡¯s sayings,¡± Torm sighed, before mussing the girl¡¯s hair. ¡°But Uncle Torm, I get strange looks, and they¡¯re so funny,¡± Livia¡¯s childlike delight apparent in her voice. ¡°You know Julia is Eakc?. Right?¡± As soon as I express my disbelief, the echoing yes is harshly scolding, and I hurry away. Suddenly I¡¯m the sheepish one, needing a tail to tuck between my legs. I still can¡¯t believe he took my words as being about Julia. The Ode never mentioned whose breasts were arching towards the sun. Only three Odes before had featured her name! I¡¯d paused and had a drink. It was clearly a subject change. * I passed what I think might be Sagga¡¯s family bakery on the way towards the docks. A young-looking lady tends customers, with two men handling the baking. While I see the resemblance in the men, the lady looks quite different; perhaps her brother¡¯s wife, or just there to make some coin. The common is what I expected and made me realise I¡¯d stayed in the inner quarter. The winter soil was mostly stark and bare, the minimal grass sitting brown and dead. Hard cold ground makes me feel the day¡¯s chill even more and I pull my cloak around tight. The sound of boats calls me from well past the buildings beyond the common, so I stay on the drier mud to skirt the frosted quagmire of the common. Even in winter the docks I find at last are busy, workers loading and unloading vessels big and small alike. The lake stretches out via two rivers to the north, and the southern one meanders to the coast. When I find the southern piers, two that I assume are Eivor and Rana stand out clearly in their cleanliness. Though I¡¯m not sure how Eivor could be Sagga¡¯s mother given the youthfulness of her looks, she seems more an older sister. Hair of deep red with no grey in sight, the arch of her jaw, the squareness of her chin, and the same firm build. I can¡¯t tell the colour of her eyes from here, and I wonder if they¡¯ll be the same forest green with storms calling from within. Despite the lilt with which Livia and Torm had used for their name, I hadn¡¯t honestly expected the wood Elf I saw ahead. Easily taller than Yngvarr, his skin looked like tilled soil, drinking the summer sun, life peeping from it delicately. While I couldn¡¯t make out his eyes at this distance, they shone in even the day¡¯s dim light as he watched Eivor clean a wound with a firm pride. The fineness of Elven features so out-of-place amid these docks, his layered apparel alone looking more costly than everything about. His long hair, the colour of leaves turning before the winters cold, ran down to his waist beside a bow stave of golden wood held in place across his back. Its craftsmanship with finely grown runes, enough to beggar all within the walls and require more coin on top. The sword at his waist and daggers in his boots likely weighting the scales further from sanity. A glow and words in Celestial draw my attention away. My heartbeat quickens as I watch Eivor¡¯s hands shine and even from this distance I see the young man¡¯s open wound seal. When she withdraws, I see her brilliant smile, and blessing-healed skin remains¡ªthe smooth shininess standing out amid the dirt and filth. From the grease matted hair, down to the mud-covered feet, bare even in this chill, the details dig at the memory of a night spent atop a knoll. I feel my fingers rub against my fine pants and remember the rags I had burnt. An echoing chirp of kittenish laughter sings within my Soul, and my stride sways as I feel a clear bump from the memory of Clea that has been winding between my legs. What did I do? As the young man arises, I see him tuck a medallion away; details too distant to see clear, black, gold, and something blue. Though even at a hundred rods, it shines so well its newness is apparent. Another healing as I grow close, a young girl with mud-coated hair and rags barely making a dress. ¡°Who are these people?¡± The question flows free from distress as I grow near, watching splinters lift free from the flesh, Eivor¡¯s blessing pushing out wood, injury and pus alike. The Elf in fine apparel monitoring her as she chants again, and her hands glow anew. ¡°They don¡¯t get to count as people when they¡¯re in debt, the Jarl¡¯s law considers them merely thralls. I¡¯m just glad Eakc? didn¡¯t venture this way during the winter. She sees in absolutes when there are injured in need.¡± Rana replies, or at least I assume it¡¯s him. ¡°Wasn¡¯t she here for months?¡± I try not to wince as I edged my tone in disbelief. ¡°Mostly within the inner wall or at the commons. The winter brings the thralls to town; farms don¡¯t need idle hands. Or farm families who cannot harvest enough to pay debts or set aside enough to last through winter.¡± The Elf¡¯s voice intones with musically wondrous grace leavings me pondering how the most delicate instrument could compete. ¡°Like the girl and her family?¡± The question feels as if I¡¯m prompting him just to speak as my mind puts together chords to support his earlier words. ¡°Yes, the five of them owe debts of twelve golds. Even if they got money they¡¯d have nowhere to work out the winter. So unless they gain enough to clear the debt and some more besides, thralls they shall remain.¡± The weight of the purse within my shirt weighs against my heart. I¡¯ve ways to earn more which doesn¡¯t seem true for these. ¡°Are you Rana?¡± ¡°Indeed I am, Moke.¡± ¡°You know of me?¡± ¡°Torm described you well, and it helps there is no one else that would seek me here carrying a Lyre case.¡± replied Rana, his amusement clear. ¡°You are part of Lady Eakc? faithful?¡± ¡°I agreed to help guide her faithful in their initial steps to bring hope.¡± Rana corrected, though the smile didn¡¯t leave his lips. ¡°Hope? Surely you jest?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a servant of the Lady of the Forest,¡± stated Rana, his declaration conveying clear pride. As his gaze fixes on me, the amber in his eyes ignites from within, and I feel far younger than a seed beside a truly old oak tree. I¡¯ve known Elves, and talked with them before, but this one¡¯s age humbles all I¡¯ve met before. I know his kind, having seen one like him though a servant to Lady Bast, come to my mother¡¯s side in a time of great need. The world presses tight about me, and looking into his gaze, I feel as if I can now barely breathe. A moment ago he seemed a normal Elf, if exquisite; now I wish to sing homage but his gaze holds me locked in place. Yet his presence seems as if peeking from behind a curtain he has set. ¡°With all due reverence to the Lady of the Forest, why would she or you be helping Lady Eakc?¡¯s faithful?¡± The smile lifts his lips as the pressure fades. Instead of the glory that had pressed against my heart and Soul, I see merely an exquisite male Elf again. ¡°Like you Moke, Lady Eakc? rescued me, Eivor, and Sagga when we had given up all hope. Do you think others unworthy of Hope as well?¡± Rana asked the simple words in Norse, spoken with tones of liquid musical grace. Coins press through the leather resting within my hand as I hold a weighty purse out to Eivor. ¡°See who you can free and establish through the remains of winter.¡± The words come with ease, as the coldness of the knoll echoes again, but with it sleepy memories of tender hands tucking more blankets about me their very touch easing pains within my Soul. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll lift up those most in need of hope, at least those we can ensure won¡¯t fall back.¡± Eivor said, the smile giving as much light as her daughter¡¯s eyes had held storms. Her voice carried more true joy than I¡¯ve heard in many places of pleasure. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a request for aid. It speaks well of your heart¡¯s potential it was freely offered,¡± said Rana, nodding with appreciation, and a new smile flitting across his lips. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just free them all?¡± The hilts sticking from his boots, as practical as they seem, are likely attached to blades more enchanted than most mortals might own. ¡°I¡¯m not here to solve human mortal ills of the moment. I¡¯m here guiding the early footsteps of a faith seeking to render such aid for centuries to come. Humans need to find hope, but also to learn to stand on their own feet, and lift their fallen themselves.¡± ¡°A light shines brightest in the darkest places. We shouldn¡¯t expect others to provide a light; we should look to be the light for others.¡± Eivor said, gracing me with another smile. ¡°You should come to our assemblies; perhaps one who follows the Lady Bast, given her protectiveness, would find value in it.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t lessen one¡¯s Faith in their own Deity to see places where it doesn¡¯t reach, or find where allies might overlap,¡± said Rana, as my eyebrows raise. ¡°They''re not in the same pantheon, do you think Lady Eakc? would work with Lady Bast?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she already retrieving the child of her High Priestess from the darkest of places? I was captive to a dire thing, too, expecting no rescue till the flicker of a candle appeared. It doesn¡¯t lessen my Faith in my Lady to wish to help Humans who worship her. My Lady sees her and her people as friends.¡± The sincerity within this Celestial¡¯s words puzzle me but take my thoughts beyond disbelief. ¡°Perhaps I might sing some songs.¡± ¡°That would be nice, though perhaps not ones that speak of arching backs,¡± Eivor replies, as her gaze becomes a frown. ¡°With all honesty that was not speaking of her, I called it Ode to a morning¡¯s dream.¡± My truthful protests ease the frown into amusement. ¡°That¡¯s not the message those hearing it received. I¡¯d suggest you not speak of such dreams, right after Odes mentioning the Lady¡¯s name.¡± Eivor instructs, ¡°You gave some important people a perception that isn¡¯t correct.¡± ¡°What can I do to make amends?¡± ¡°Perhaps songs, as you promised, here and in other places. Let us speak of the Lady¡¯s tenets and see what you might compose. We¡¯d not ask you to convert, but I¡¯m sure you also sing songs and tell tales of Ra and other Gods, not just your Lady Bast.¡± ¡°I do indeed.¡± Rana just nods and smiles at my acknowledgement, the quick demeanour change, with the unruffled nature of others brings a memory to the fore. I hold my next remark till Eivor heads towards the hard-faced man supervising rag clothed thralls, among others, working along the docks. ¡°You do normal well.¡± ¡°It takes practice and self-acceptance to not overwhelm,¡± Rana replies, nodding as if in answer to a question I¡¯ve not voiced. Why would a Succubus not accept herself? ¡°If you want me to sing these songs, doesn¡¯t that make me a missionary for her faith?¡± ¡°Some might consider singing songs of any faith doing work to spread it,¡± Rana replied, nodding in consideration. ¡°Wonder what mother will think of me fulfilling a missionary position for a Cult.¡± 75 - Darkness Settles in The darkness vomits them out in a rough stone room. Cracks in one wall of the large space are the only source of pale light. Although, with True Sight, Julia can easily make out the room¡¯s contents. Abyssal flies buzz around the stench of dead Succubi thick in the air. In the quick moment, she has to orientate herself all she can see is carnage decorating the room: blood splatters, shards of bones, broken flesh, the membranes of their wings peeled and tattered. He has mutilated their bodies in every way. Odours of bodily fluids, cooked flesh, and viscera are so thick in the air they coat her throat without taking a breath. True Sight revealing uneasily the black wards shining beneath the surface of the rock. L¨ºdhins¡¯ arm shifts position along his torso, scraping her feet against the floor for a moment before he smacks her into the wall. The dark lust that was present within L¨ºdhin¡¯s gaze appearing as a leer upon his lips. As he grates her wings up the rough wall, his smile broadens even as her knee smashes against his teeth. A thread of blackness appearing in her vision, as Energy Drain seems to catch, but when she tries again nothing. As he rants away, wards burn against her flesh and its protections stop her attempt to cut through the stone with Inventory. Fuck! I should have stayed with Ebusuku. L¨ºdhins, why did you have to lose control? ¡°Why do you think I¡¯d care! I don¡¯t care if you say no! I don¡¯t care if you say yes! The little ferret wants to know about his bowl, but I don¡¯t care! L¨ºdhins has his line in the sand, but I don¡¯t care! By the time I¡¯m done with you, all you¡¯ll care about is making the pain stop!¡± L¨ºdhins¡¯ shouting rose louder with every snarling word. The echoing bellows rattling dust from the ceiling down into the pools of drying blood. A blade gleams in a free hand, its tip moving in time with her struggles and slides across ivory skin. Its icy kiss traces her collarbone, and it parts a strap with a quick snick. The strap flopping so ominously brought a flinch from beneath the calm. As it presses against struggling flesh, Protean stayed out of reach. Leather slaps against the floor as the first pieces come entirely free. The blade dips low, and soon only air sits against her waist and thighs, despite her continuous attacks. Ice runs up Julia¡¯s spine at the blades dancing motions along her twisting body, yet he keeps her held against the wall in his grip. Hollow fury comes clawing at the calm as she holds Bs words away. The blade shifts direction again, the pressure slowly increasing as he traces along her curves. As droplets of blood trickle along the slope of a lush breast, his eyes widen, and the smile grows even sicker. As Julia feels her regeneration alone sealing flesh behind the blades tip, he goes still, ignoring the black flame wrapped fists, as she lands another punch with all the force she can muster. The fury in his eyes turns cold, and he takes a breath in order to speak, and longing shakes within every word. ¡°You heal so quick, and eternity is all we have.¡± ¡°You forgot rule number 1,¡± Julia chokes out, hoping to buy a touch more time. Every kick, every strike, bounces from his flesh, no matter where it struck. As blood trickles again, it worms towards her groin, she bounces another kick off his balls only for it to the ignored as well. The erection straining the material of his pants, twists a knife within her Soul, as she continues to ignore Bs screams in her mind. ¡°What do I care about your rules?¡± L¨ºdhins¡¯ voice was a growl, with his gaze devouring her flesh. ¡°I didn¡¯t even have to rip any clothes off you. It was less fun with you just wearing those straps. I¡¯d been dreaming about slowly cutting your leathers away while I fucked you in every hole. Would you put the leathers on? I¡¯ll even let you pick which hole goes first.¡± The words come forth as if he¡¯s offering a fabulous prize, but they provide no mercy, and Julia knew the trap the words set. Pick or not the result is still my choice, I¡¯m not buying in. "Or I can make you new leathers from your..." Blood sprays across Julia¡¯s face as it erupts from the stump of L¨ºdhins¡¯ arm, silences his threats. The long fingers relax their noose, and Julia teleports across the chamber as L¨ºdhins screams in rage, metal rings sourly against metal as he blocks Ebusuku¡¯s second blade. The edge of it sparks across a wide bracer enclosing another wrist. Even as the war mattock appears in his hand, the blood stops spraying. Rule one in a fight, there are no rules. {{And don¡¯t play with your food. And we¡¯re not food. Brush your teeth before bed. Don¡¯t floss with pubic hair.}} Ebusuku doesn''t say a word. The initial sabre comes up to flick blood across his eyes. The blade he¡¯d blocked, she doesn''t even withdraw. A slide moves her along his side, keeping the weapon''s pressure in play. As she turns their motions combine to rake the blade along his forearm. The war mattock haft turns in his grip, and his palms slap in place along the dark wood. Bones crunch and flesh squelches underfoot as his stance crushes a corpse¡¯s chest, but his balance doesn¡¯t falter. L¨ºdhins response comes with brutal force, the ends of the mattock spinning and whirling. Blade, spike, or weighted haft, deflect from their path by Ebusuku blades or miss completely no matter how he tries. Metal screams against metal before the mattocks blade gouges stone from a wall and send a spray of rocks kicking up from the floor. Julia moves clear as their movements take them close against, trying to beyond the fighting pair and well clear of L¨ºdhins¡¯ reach. No time to check these damn wards properly. ¡°Ebusuku wants a challenge. Pity you¡¯re not it,¡± Julia said, Dominion¡¯s aura and the mocking tone spits in his face. The bellow hits as a crash of sound, L¨ºdhins¡¯ form blurs across the chamber. Zen State lets Julia see the course of the Mattock¡¯s blade in slow motion as the air screams. As its sharp curve digs into flesh, a brilliant tidal wave of force rips her form apart. Blackness smashes her mind, but she stays aware as a vortex of energy brings with it the sensation of being drawn slowly through a grinder. The wind howls across her intact naked skin as she impacts stone. The essence of the surrounding Plane clings tighter than gravity yet allowing her to move about freely. {{Rule two - don¡¯t taunt what you can¡¯t kill. }} Alright, my bad, but aren¡¯t you up to six now? {{I lost count. I have more of them. Rule twenty-seven: don¡¯t argue with your Id.}} That one I do not agree to. The wind continues to moan and howls as Julia pays attention to a notification sitting in her awareness. [Excessive Chaos Damage Taken. You have died. Killer¡¯s name: Ebusuku Go directly to your home plane, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Resistance: Chaos - Unlocked! Resistance: Chaos [L] (6).] {{You¡¯ve earned time out for a century. Naughty girl!}} There was something in B''s voice; Julia hadn¡¯t heard before, sheer relief. [Achievement: Banished Condition: Forcibly returned to your home plane because of physical destruction of your form. Reward: Really, you expect something for that?] Whatever, I just wanted L¨ºdhins dead. Poor fuck, I have to wonder if he¡¯s lost for good. {{Who cares about him? Why the fuck do you waste a thought? }} A monster ate him, even if it was partly him. He was honest that I shouldn¡¯t trust him. {{I¡¯m not a mass-murdering nut job; I just have needs. Ones that you continually ignore.}} I danced. {{Okay, that was lots of fun, I agree. I¡¯ll downgrade the continually to mostly ignore. }} Rising slowly to her feet, Julia takes in the absence of the shielded anklet she¡¯d picked up from the Treasury. At least Ebusuku won¡¯t know my home plane without my end of the dimensional beacon. {{This is why we can¡¯t have nice things. }} {{You had to poke the scary bear. Just because you were calm about it didn¡¯t make it safe. }} I was trying to give Ebusuku an opening. {{Don¡¯t think she needed it. Why did you stay in the room? }} I hadn¡¯t checked the wards properly. The beacon let Ebusuku in. If there were wards to block it outside the building, teleport at best wouldn¡¯t have moved us, and at worst, it would have hurt or killed. {{Got news for you. Staying DID! }} As a gust of wind pulls at the tendons of Julia¡¯s wings, she folds them in tight and watches as her health climbs. Slowly getting to her feet, she squints against sheer darkness and the dust the wind hurls across her face. The dark pressed so firmly that not even True Vision let her perceive the area¡¯s roof. Some thirty metres or more in any direction was the most she could see. With the wind getting stronger the wingless form shows in her place, and she removes her eyes as well, counting on True Vision for sight. With a thought, Julia mentally rebinds her wingless form, far closer to a Xenomorph than it had been. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. This will be embarrassing to report. I bet even Livia will scold me. {{I want munchkin hugs again. }} Rock pillars jutting up from the barren landscape around her offer little cover. Dust whirls in zephyrs that exist somehow within the force of the howling winds. Their screaming noise was penetrating to the bone, the erratic volume challenging Zen State¡¯s calmness with the insanity they hold. A sensation starting in her hands catches Julia by surprise; as the trembling continues up her limbs, B made her opinion known. {{I¡¯m not letting you hold that shit in here now. He nearly raped us, and even I was saying no, yet got ignored by you. }} {{You¡¯re such a controlling bitch! You didn''t even LISTEN!!!}} B¡¯s voice shone with a dreadful fury inside her, and Julia felt something break loose. Fear, guilt, rage and sorrow long denied crush through Zen State and Mental Hardening alike. The first scream erupting without control as the waves kept hitting, with the sensation of mental boxes shattering within. Her voice echoed with emotions, long-contained, painful, and forgotten feelings compounded by survival in her existence¡¯s horror show. The screams continue long, and finally, even over the wind, they beckon. As the first human-sized beetle scuttles into view, with mandibles longer than a man¡¯s arm, its are antenna twitching towards her. As its focus fixes on her, Julia lets rage slip from its leash and rushes in, drowning her sorrow and fear with fury. Telepathy making it clear it and others seek to feast on the wounded, they¡¯ll get no mercy from her. Ki Movement pushes her forward with blinding speed against a foe promising primitive cathartic release. Mandibles clack too slow as movement takes her past and the turning kick blasts against its side. Momentum and unleashed wrath, shoving it into a second. Her turning form takes her beyond a third¡¯s strike, with the beetle unable to turn in time. Quick steps take her to its side, slipping along its mandible beside its head. A knee strike ladened with Spatial Mana drives up with staggering force to crack the mandible¡¯s hinge. As she twists with its motion, an elbow strike comes down to shatter through its front leg. Blackness drinks vitality, causing her heath to jump. A deflecting hand brushes a mandible stabbing from behind as Julia spun against the shell. The open hand guides its strike home, blood and other fluids spray. The beetle¡¯s momentum and shaking head bouncing the point within the minimal resistance of the ruptured eye. Moving below its motions, Julia lashes out with spinning legs to break through chitin and swings free. With the pair tangled together, she jumps towards the original foe and smashes a heel down as she goes past. Ki, having driven the ruptured carapace through its brain, she races free from its dying body onto the next foe. The hunters can¡¯t even acknowledge they¡¯ve become the prey, as their simple instincts drive them on. The rush of death¡¯s fragrance fills the air, beckoning other things from downwind to new food. Fists lashing out at the oncoming foes, blood and death attract even more. Emotions laid raw keep her dancing across the battlefield as their number grows in leaps. Beatles, spiders, and other bugs come in waves before a rock-like monster blending with the pillars appears to lash and bite. Those coming against her provided bloody channels for cathartic release. Till the last nearby have died or fled, and Julia stands amidst the dead, shoulders heaving with emptying sorrow. The screams long ago stopped, yet regardless of her form, the tears can¡¯t come. {{That made a mess, don¡¯t expect me to pick up after you, young lady.}} As B¡¯s word came forth with a mocking edge, Julia presses a foot down, squeezing the brains of a spider through the cracks in its broken carapace. As she looks over the thick stalagmite that had come alive to attack from amid the other rock pillars lining the floor. Julia considers its maw filled with shard-like teeth and the long tentacles that had unfurled from it. Analysis had named it a Roper. Its stone hide hadn¡¯t protected it from Ki Strike¡¯s ability to bypass protections, a comfort after the way her strikes had bounced from L¨ºdhins. With no other motion about, Julia relaxes in her stance, and that seems to trigger the combat summary to proceed. [Giant Shadow Spiders x 18 Obsidian Centipedes x 40 Planar Stag beetle x14 Rock Slicer x2 Roper x1 Total experience gained: 27,100 Monk: +16,260 Succubus: +10,840] I didn¡¯t appreciate that B. {{You would have preferred during L¨ºdhins¡¯ playroom? }} No, just somewhere safe, and not everything at once. {{Safe? We¡¯re in a plane sandwiched somewhere between the pure Chaos of limbo and your recent playground. }} {{You think a safe place is going to happen soon? I told you before to pay attention to what you push down.}} B¡¯s voice was snarky and sharp but far less aggressive than before the emotions she¡¯d unleashed on Julia. ((You can walk these tunnels for centuries and never encounter Sapient gatherings of any size.)) ((The winds are frequently harsh but consider it a challenge for your Zen State. The battles will help you hone your skills.)) No fucking winds when I came out the first time. {{Oh, boy, cause she needs to be levelling that navel-gazing more. Though at least it¡¯s not the bloody ice. }} {{Anything else we should know, V? You suck as a traveller¡¯s guide. }} ((Even here is better than the Abyss. The evil isn¡¯t as thick. )) While B continued to clash with V, Julia focused on Mercury Whisper and sent a message to Yngvarr. Well, I can¡¯t break the news to him about the tiers nicely so no point holding that information back now. {{You just want to put him on the back foot so he doesn¡¯t scold you for getting ganked. }} ¡°Yngvarr, hope I¡¯m not disturbing your rest. First, I¡¯ve learned classes exist in the seventh prestige tier; even the Titan¡¯s servants rarely have above the fifth. I¡¯m currently in Pandemonium. My form got destroyed, so I¡¯m stuck here for a bit. Fortunately, or not, I had re-anchored my home plane to Pandemonium before that occurred. Hopefully, it¡¯s safer to send me messages here. What happened with the L¨®m??¡± The spatial mana shifted through the plane¡¯s existence, and she didn¡¯t have long to wait for a response. ¡°That isn¡¯t good news. If you¡¯re in Pandemonium, meeting up will be near impossible unless you find a township, and if you do, beware. The winds have driven too many mortal beings that call it home mad. Let us know if your situation changes at all. The L¨®m? won¡¯t leave the Abyss till they find the Souls of their Royal line. While the family didn¡¯t get tricked by the Lady, they know they¡¯re about even if none have seen or heard their Songs since coming to Tern¨°x. Their elders told us that much and then requested we leave.¡± The heavy sorrow within Yngvarr¡¯s voice carried by the spell found Julia punching the nearest pillar, shattered stone spraying far and wide. The calm tone of V¡¯s voice interjected to cut off another strike against the stone. (( You¡¯ve let Zen State stay lapsed. What you call gravity will always drag you towards the nearest outer tunnel surface. )) (( The side of all tunnels curve so if you walk towards a wall, you could walk forever without needing to climb.)) {{ You still suck as a tour guide. }} (( Sometimes too much knowledge can cripple you. I''m not speaking to guide you for entertainment but to achieve your goal.)) Well, it¡¯s time to carve a hideout. As Julia considered where to set her base, she paused before she made the first cut. Inventory¡¯s ability to carve would certainly let her cut grooves and slabs. While using its ability would make setting a sunken stone hut or even an expanded shelter easy, the surrounding landscape made one thing clear. Among the chaotically placed, wind-etched pillars of this dark and bitter landscape, it certainly would stand out. Yet¡­ I keep going back to mortal limits. After a moment of consideration, Julia set her focus to the stone. A thought pulls a fist wide pillar some ten metres long from the floor, with its far end a wide stone plate. Adjustments were quick enough to make, and nestled in the created hollow, Julia returned the pillar now minus the plate from where she¡¯d removed it. On the pillar¡¯s end at the centre point of the hollow, she carved some runes to use as a focus. Teleport easily let her bounce back and forth with that unique reference, and she soon had a large room carved out. The hollow formed by the pillar¡¯s original base now a tiny niche near the room¡¯s ceiling. The extracted stone blocks she shattered into dust and scattered into the winds before Julia retreated again. It didn¡¯t take long to craft furnishings, using the inventory skill to remove more stone. While it certainly wasn¡¯t luxurious, she had a wide stone table with a basic bench running beside it to sit on while she worked. The table was far bigger than she needed to set out the equipment she¡¯d purchased from the Treasury, though she hadn¡¯t wanted to make use of it anytime so soon. A set of balance balls she¡¯d crafted from ball bearings were soon clicking away, helping her perception of time while she practiced Inscribe. Julia had set aside the fourth stack of ten Lightning Spikes she¡¯d etched carefully with the tools; when a mana ball materialised with a pulsing noise beside her head. The moment she focused on it, words buzzed within her hearing. ¡°L¨ºdhins¡¯ place was in Giza. Hopefully, my Chaos Bolt got you and not his war mattock. If I got you, I bid you come forth Trouble. But really, wherever you ended up, lie low. The Bolt destroyed your form, the wall and wards behind you, but tore him up less than I¡¯d expected. Our fight spilled us out into regiments of Kralc¨ª reinforcements in town. The lucky bastard slipped away amid the battle when further reinforcements arrived. I¡¯ve not been able to find him since then. He¡¯s as tough to scry as you. Though you now owe me for a lot of recent kills. Just as well, you paid up after visiting the Treasury. Eight hundred and seventy-nine more before I broke away. My class feels like it¡¯s strengthening so fast. You¡¯ll still need to pay your little bounty, but I owe you, little sister.¡± As soon as Ebusuku¡¯s words bid her come forth, the sense of pressure present since her arrival in Pandemonium lifted from her being. Just in case it was traceable, Julia opened the conduit and scurried through to Hrz¡¯Styrn. The conduit opened out on a rock encrusted mountainside, the snow line within sight. The bitter sulfuric yellow snow causing B to snicker away in the back of her mind. Setting her Id¡¯s antics aside, Julia replied to Ebusuku¡¯s casting, monitoring the conduit for anything looking to follow her path through it. Julia let Zen State¡¯s calmness settle over her before she sent her message on. ¡°Appreciate the information. I felt the edge of the blade bite, just as your spell ripped me apart. Will lie low.¡± Julia almost mentioned how he¡¯d tracked her but kept it secret. While it might give Ebusuku a way to find L¨ºdhins via his weapon, it would also let her scry on Julia. {{You know you confirmed you know the planar version of flit effectively. }} She¡¯s already seen the spell form. She certainly knew enough to recognise it as human, not just what it did. ¡°IF I get asked I''ll tell the Sisterhood, that you got your form destroyed but proved useful before that. Till next we meet.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s voice came back to Julia, the Mana orb not even pausing this time before it spoke. Quickly retracing her steps, Julia closed the conduit, counting herself fortunate that it had appeared away from immediate notice. Sure movements placed the scribed disks within her inventory, and after a moment¡¯s consideration she left the inscribing equipment in place. However, she took care to place each item in its case again. After everything was in its place, Julia¡¯s gaze flickered over the pile of ruined discs she¡¯d cast to the floor. As she crouched to pick up the first, rogue emotion shock her hand even through Zen State¡¯s calm. I only fail when I don¡¯t get back up. Can¡¯t let the close calls get to me. {{You could always just let it out in screaming passion. }} ((You cannot always control what happens, merely how you react to it, negative or positive. )) {{Shush you. Baby let¡¯s find more bugs to fuck up. }} 76 - Burning down the House Pain sang along every nerve of exposed skin as the freezing wind scoured at flesh. Even as cold resistance ticked higher again, and her health sank, Julia didn¡¯t move. Instead, her gaze stayed fixed on the sky above, watching the beauty of what appeared to be the aurora borealis, if it wasn¡¯t the aurora australis. Ridges of ice spoke of the Arctic Circle, though it could be the Antarctic. But in either case her resistance wasn¡¯t close to providing her with enough protection from its brutal cold. Stupid fucking conduit, I need something better. {{It¡¯s like a rainbow, you know, just not from a unicorn¡¯s arse. Does your poor little wormy not hit the G spot?}} Just a little longer. {{I¡¯d love if that was true. You¡¯re not drowning emotions in ice, but why the fuck are we just standing here! }} With the anger in B¡¯s voice came a wave of assorted music, mingling together, clashing and overlapping till they are just a solid wall of awful noise. {{Do this bullshit when you know folks are asleep. You¡¯ve not seen any of them. Eivor responded to the request quickly so people are awake!}} Stop it. {{Leave this ice-block, and I will. }} Even as Bs snark strengthens, Julia can feel boxes deep within being tapped with steel-tipped claws. When Teleport puts Julia beside the familiar knoll south of Eyrarh¨¢ls, the racket instantly stops. The sky above is bright and clear, even though the air still holds winter¡¯s chill. Changing into a sliver, Julia pushes into the soil before using Harmony and Zen State to open her attention to the mindscape within. B¡¯s island floated closer than before, with her laying on a deck chair looking extremely comfortable. Her form was echoing Julia¡¯s mortal form, wearing her favourite psychedelic bikini, with sunglasses perched on her nose. Dozens of crates and cases suddenly sat like steppingstones to where Livia¡¯s bridge had connected their islands, the island that had only been big enough to hold B¡¯s chair flexing to let them all fit in. ¡°You moved at last, I feel positively awash with heat now,¡± B purred, stretching out, and a remembered summer sun beat down on them both. ¡°I was going to leave shortly,¡± Julia replied, trying to keep her calm. ¡°That¡¯s what you said after your last lot of fingers turned black. Baby, just pick a safe word and find Sarah. Get her to flog you till you don¡¯t know which way is up. There¡¯s one who knew how to follow her path and not bother with your prudish rules.¡± Guilt burnt with white-hot pain even under Zen State, and the mind palace vibrated as Julia¡¯s arms shook again, but not from any cold. ¡°What did you do to the boxes?¡± Julia asked as her gaze slid over the closest one with its lid flipped open, sitting upside down. A gesture from B spun the box around, exposing the shattered lock and broken front. ¡°What on, well not earth, do you mean? I broke them, of course no locks, no way to compartmentalise. You abused your knack for far too long. I told you it was making things crowded. After all, you¡¯ve got Zen State; you¡¯ll want to challenge it, right?¡± B asked, her voice oozing with a passive-aggressive tone. ¡°How does it help you if I left it all locked away and not bothering you? But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve still got more. I released all the pain you¡¯d pent up since arriving in the Abyss and the last two, well, maybe three or five lifetimes. You were a tough nut to crack.¡± As B spoke, a finger flick sent the crates and cases into the oblivion between them. B¡¯s island grew more significant until it became a warehouse filled with an endless variety of boxes. The one thing they had in common, regardless of material, the sides were bulging and sealed shut with locks and bolts. One stack floated down from a top shelf and sat in a swaying tower near B. ¡°Why?¡± Julia asked, disbelief mixing with anger and rage at her own Id, making everything harder than it had to be. ¡°Oh, such emotions I¡¯ll get excited, Babe,¡± B said, slipping a hand down to cup hard between her legs, ¡°yeah, that¡¯s what I was talking about. Once more with feeling! If you are nicer, I won¡¯t have to break any more boxes. Isn¡¯t that how you¡¯ve been dealing with the naughty Demons wanting to challenge you? Threaten them till they quake?¡± Julia saw B¡¯s fingers tighten and rub as remembered pleasure rocked the mind palace and threatened to snatch her mental balance away. ¡°Julia to me, you¡¯re the tormenting Demon. Ignoring me again will not end well for either of us.¡± ¡°What you suggest too often I want no part of,¡± Julia stated firmly, memories of enough encouragement that turned her stomach, running through her awareness. ¡°So you say, till you find it useful for a plan of yours. I helped you with how to move and what to send. Then it was ¡®back in your box¡¯. If I¡¯m getting stuck in a box, I¡¯ll make you hunger for something in yours.¡± As B spoke suddenly, her island became a stage, the Id going through the motions of exotic dance. The feelings that they¡¯d used taunting the Demons snuffed out ineffectively, but still teasing past Julia¡¯s will. Rows and rows of Br¨ªn pressed tight around the stage, every one of them wearing L¨ºdhins¡¯ dark grin. ¡°It¡¯s my choice. That fuck took everything else from me. I still have a choice. I don¡¯t want it to be just some random, meaningless nothing. Who¡¯s going to love a Succubus, honestly? Even if they did, what sort of life could I offer them? Venture from the Abyss now and again till I¡¯m no longer allowed that freedom. Or stay with them till the Lady finds out and uses my name to turn me on them? Watch them grow old and die or look at me in disgust when they hear of the places I¡¯ve been and things I¡¯ve done. I will do whatever I need to escape the Abyss.¡± Julia found herself on her feet instead of cross-legged, and the island grew to let her pace. The words¡¯ heat earned a throbbing laugh from B, but before Julia can continue, the Id suddenly seated behind a desk. Her island morphed into a mishmash of TV psychologist offices, most of its contents shifting from one moment to the next. Some elements remained constant: the fake certificates gleaming on the walls, the desk, a fresh look for B along with a throne. The closest certificates Julia could see proclaimed her many things: a junior sex club graduate, blowjob qualified, mob moll and proud, and they got even stranger from there. A straightforward desk of fake gleaming wood sat perfectly aligned, yet it was just a prop to accent what lay behind. An obsidian throne rose on a pillar of Demonic dead, and B herself was back in Julia¡¯s Succubus form; nearly naked, a sheer outfit of red silk draped to revel in her lushness instead of concealing. The tiara had changed into a crown, a full circle of horns, with black flames atop their tips. Wings larger than in real life stretched behind and tore at air that screamed in pain. To Julia the worst yet were the chains stretched from her arms. Links dripping blood joined manacles clamped around the throats of the Lady, the Castellan, and other Succubi of the Sisterhood; links that extended onwards and dug deep into the bedrock of the Abyss. The Lady and Naz¡¯rilca were in pride of place beside her throne, rotting in eternal pain with spikes pinning their shoulders to its side. As Julia watched, B gouged nails through the flesh rotting off their faces. ¡°At least you¡¯re admitting to having emotions instead of just locking them up with me. Progress! But you¡¯re still lying to yourself. You did not need to pick this fight with Set! Are you craving Power?¡± B asked, her expression sneering in disgust. ¡°Wrong! You don¡¯t get it, I might need control, but you¡¯re so self-centred. How the fuck could I live with myself knowing I could help stop someone like that and didn¡¯t. There are people as powerless in his priests¡¯ grasp as I was within L¨ºdhins¡¯. I¡¯m not going to just turn my back. I felt like I was a toddler, wielding a nerf bat, trying to hurt a man in sci-fi power armour. He locked down Protean, my ability to draw Mana, almost ignored Energy Drain. Ki Strikes did nothing to him. What the fuck do I do?¡± ¡°I was there too! Avoid him, grow stronger, then when you¡¯re tough enough to fight the Lady, crush his balls first! In the meantime he¡¯s killing Demons. Such a shame.¡± B snarled in response, her tone as if she was expressing the obvious. V¡¯s voice came booming in, rocking against her awareness in this place. ¡°You know their pain and can have compassion for them. You avoided what he threatened, and others haven¡¯t been so lucky. Where you have strength, you have hope. Is that not so? Perhaps find someone who adds to your hope; such can come in many forms.¡± V said. His voice¡¯s volume was as loud as she remembered from Livia¡¯s memories, and it shook their islands. ¡°Is he always that loud for you?¡± Julia asked, raising a hand to one ear in mental sympathy. B just nodded grimly and poked her tongue out in the direction from which V¡¯s voice had seemed to originate. Then returned without a shimmer to a simple island with a deckchair. Instead of relaxing in Julia¡¯s mortal form, she lay on the deckchair in a bikini as an ivory skin Succubus, minus the wings. ¡°Not now dear, I¡¯ve got a headache.¡± B quipped, her fingers flicking as if to shoo V away. ¡°Neither of us uses our old mortal form anymore. You said he took everything else from you? In that case, isn¡¯t that form just a denial?¡± ¡°Like I¡¯m going to walk into town as a Succubus!¡± Julia declared, clenching her hands in frustration. ¡°Let¡¯s say your Succubus form, just normalised? No wings, or horns, I think the boob upgrade is fine myself.¡± B said, cupping her breasts before laying back, and a drink appearing in one hand. ¡°What are the stages of grief - denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and anal? Oh, sorry, I meant acceptance! That¡¯s right. Could you accept anal? It¡¯s God¡¯s loophole, you know, straight to fifth base that isn¡¯t sex unless you¡¯re a guy, then it requires throwing rocks at them. Love your neighbour, but not in that way, you know. You keep your virginity, and I get some action. Win-win.¡± B gave Julia an edged, mocking smile as she snapped her fingers. ¡°Denial, you kind-of skipped that one, even though at times you relapse very practical of you. Guess if you were busy going - no this can¡¯t be happening; Something would have fucked us already. Darn! Do you want to head to the ledge in Culerzic, scream, rant, moan about fate? Would be nice putting my feet up in a harem. Oh Demon Lord, oh you¡¯re so big, oh yeah.¡± B spread her legs high in the air and filed her nails. When she made the bikini disappear, Julia just groaned in frustration. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Oh yes, that was the best, my Lord.¡± B breathed; the tone was far too convincing in afterglow mode. ¡°Seriously, who are you putting on the show for?¡± asked Julia. The bitter, waspish tone she heard in her voice causing her to glance about at the stability of the mind palace. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m helping with that. We need to talk. When I¡¯m just a voice in your mind, you ignore me. Here we talk, well sort-of: you rant, and I rant, but we¡¯re expressing ourselves. You keep yourself busy dealing with one objection after another. I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve moved past the anger stage of grief yet. You were inscribing, your hands kept shaking, and you dealt with it by inscribing. Two hundred discs wasted for forty successful, seriously get a fucking clue.¡± The last word of B¡¯s flow came out with so much venom, Julia winced at her Id¡¯s fury. ¡°So are we going to talk or rant?¡± asked Julia, trying to get on the front foot. ¡°After all the ignoring you¡¯ve been doing, I¡¯m ranting a touch. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll get over it, just like with you and your ex, because you know you¡¯re so over that when you don¡¯t even think his name.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t go back to dwell on wounds, never could understand doing that, but you keep dragging them out,¡± declared Julia, slowly and deliberately making her hands unclench. ¡°There is a difference between dwelling and acknowledging and letting go. So just think of it this way, you¡¯re the reporter schmuck, and I¡¯m the cool venom. Let¡¯s agree to work together. You let me occasionally bite the arms and legs off of Demons, and I don¡¯t push you towards something from beyond while in a town.¡± ¡°Giving you an inch sounds like bad news. I¡¯ve seen that with L¨ºdhins.¡± Julia stated. ¡°I¡¯m asking for more than an inch, and I don¡¯t want control, just input. You skipped denial. You¡¯ve done anger, and I¡¯m upgrading this to bargaining right now. No more mortal Julia, or would you want boxes opening at THE worst moments?¡± ¡°How about a Norse appearance?¡± asked Julia, trying to distract B. ¡°Nope, not happening, it¡¯s just denial. You can even pretend it¡¯s not you. Succubus, minus bling and with a normal skin tone as well. Then it¡¯s at least some of our base flesh. When you go back out there relax control, see what you look like, then try to deny your own form.¡± B said, pointing a finger at Julia as if she was digging a hole in the air. With a groan Julia settled back for a haggling session with B.
Julia checked the last notification as she remembered the shimmering beauty of those eerie ¡®northern¡¯ lights. The randomness of the conduit provided no surety about where she¡¯d ended up. Yet the chill there wasn¡¯t as cutting as the one within after haggling with B. V¡¯s words had at least helped her set her thoughts on who she could help next. [Resistance: Cold [I] (15->16)] Demonic Instincts [Ad] (8->10) Harmony [M](4->5) Spirit Bridge [Ad] (2->3)] Making sure no one was about with Telepathy, Julia turned from the sliver into her complete Succubus form. With a tendril extending from her leg along the ground, she grew it into a full-length mirror and set about making changes. Her tiara of horns and wings quickly went. The tongue became a standard length, including the loss of its pointed tip, and eye-teeth reverted from fangs to an average human. Ears changed from a mockery of Elven to normal human, while the ivory skin tone turned to an old school Aussie bronze. Blood-red lips changed into a normal flesh tone, while her eyes gained warm hazel tones. Gravity-defying breasts changed to a modest c-cup, which was the smallest B would budge. Waist length hair reduced to a page cut, the short black locks brushing the sides of her face. Quickly setting a form slot with the still uncomfortable looking supermodel in front of her, Julia grew a set of the layered Bedouin-style clothing Farhad wore. ¡°Livia, I¡¯m out, though I look different to the last time you saw me. Please tell Torm or Verdandi that I¡¯ll be at the location where I met them last time. I need to make sure my appearance is okay before I enter the town. Moke said I don¡¯t do normal well. I think it¡¯s worse now.¡± Spatial Mana blurred away toward Eyrarh¨¢ls as soon as she released the spell, and Julia headed off towards the meeting point. By the time she arrived Torm was already there waiting, as soon as he saw Julia walking towards him on the road he came to meet her. The armour she had last seen him wearing no longer present. Now he just wore loose clothing marked with the emblem of Tyr. A sturdy-looking tunic and solid cloth pants that laced up the sides of the hips, his wolfish face visible under the illusion that overlay it within True Sight. ¡°You look different,¡± Torm said when he came closer, not even hesitating in addressing her. ¡°I guess you can see through the form?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Always could. Celestials gain True Sight fairly easily, only messengers that stay on the higher planes and lesser Celestials tend not to have it.¡± ¡°Can you see the outside? How does it look?¡± asked Julia, spinning a quick circle for his review. ¡°Beautiful. You¡¯ll turn heads, but it¡¯s certainly less dramatic than the tiara of horns I see you¡¯ve gained,¡± Torm said. As he moved to touch her arm Julia felt herself flinch away; Teleport set her back three metres or so down the road. Fuck! Julia walked forward gingerly, unsure why Zen State had her react as if she was about to be attacked. {{Yeah, because you are perfectly fine. This is a guy nearly as big as L¨ºdhins and you exposed your back to him. }} ¡°Sorry, things got a little rough. My Id isn¡¯t presently making things easy.¡± ¡°Your Id?¡± asked Torm, clearly puzzled. ¡°Sorry. Instead of demonic urges, I¡¯m dealing with the repressed emotional side humans have; except mine gained its own voice, and it¡¯s nasty,¡± Julia said, wondering how else to explain it. ¡°That¡¯s twice you¡¯ve said sorry, yet still you¡¯ve done nothing wrong. I have a chit that we give to Temple visitors for you. You¡¯ll be able to get through the wards with it. I¡¯ll put your name as Julia on the list for the guards.¡± Torm said, holding it out. Julia kept a tight rein on her reactions, letting Zen State slip away so intuition and instinct wouldn¡¯t push her off balance. ¡°Why the casual clothing today?¡± Julia asked, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you not wearing armour.¡± ¡°Master Farhad has been training me, still early stages, but I¡¯m making progress in overcoming my bad training, so he says,¡± Torm replied, giving her a shrug. ¡°High praise indeed. You¡¯re becoming a Monk; isn¡¯t that an issue for a Paladin?¡± ¡°Paladin? That¡¯s not a term I¡¯ve heard before: I was following the Guardian Prestige Class, even training as a Monk, it still helps. Although Master Farhad makes me feel as if I¡¯m being tossed around, he has an advantage of age on me.¡± ¡°He does? I thought you old, with an extra dose of old.¡± ¡°He does indeed. Tyr promoted me from Petitioner. I wasn¡¯t among the original Vargr Drangijaz,¡± Torm corrected, clearly amused by Julia¡¯s assumption. ¡°Oh. Well, there you go. What did you do to earn Celestialness?¡± ¡°Celestialness isn¡¯t a word.¡± ¡°It is! I just used it, and so did you, so now it¡¯s a word,¡± Julia argued, trying to keep her voice light, without Zen State¡¯s calm. ¡°Please never use it again. I died killing a High Priest threatening the fleet of refugees before he could sacrifice boats to the depth as part of his God¡¯s plan.¡± Language snob, live a little. {{Bet he''d be lively with you. }} Why would he get involved with a Succubus? He''s a Celestial! "So just a thousand or so. I guess that would do the trick,¡± Julia replied, rolling her eyes at the matter-of-fact tone in his explanation. ¡°It got Tyr¡¯s attention, as I was concerned for others above myself.¡± ¡°Your boss is an alright fellow that way, I like the tale of how he helped Fenrir. Is that wolf really that big?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Bigger than the gatehouse, but you¡¯re taking the subject away from your concerns. You won¡¯t blend in exactly, but you don¡¯t scream Demon. There will be questions regarding the difference in your appearance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just tell them I got shape changed, and now I¡¯m looking closer to my normal form,¡± said Julia, wincing at the edge of bitterness in her tone. ¡°You say that so casually. Shall we take a fast way, or should we walk?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Walk, you could catch me up on events,¡± Julia suggested, trying to keep calm without resorting to Zen State. ¡°Well, Moke, Eivor, Ipy and some others are travelling to Thebes.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Julia exclaimed. Why are they traveling together? What is Eivor doing? ¡°He¡¯s composed a few songs they¡¯ve been using to spread the word about you, no backs arching to the dawn. Apparently, that was a misunderstanding. He intended it as a general erotic poem, so his new songs are to make amends. They focus on hope, freedom, and helping others regain their feet. Very Norse themed, battle-ready, sword brother, and shield maiden feel. Reminding people living is a battle, and to help neighbours, not let them fall because all weapons are sheathed.¡± ¡°Why is Eivor travelling with him?¡± ¡°Eivor¡¯s youthful looks have given her a bit of a spirit of adventure, it seems. Things are tense between herself and Hermod, at least from what wasn¡¯t said.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Julia groaned, stomach twisting at the news. ¡°Not your fault. They choose their own ways. Just because things changed didn¡¯t mean they couldn¡¯t find a path together. Hermod follows ¨®einn¡¯s ways, and doesn¡¯t see why his wife has taken to leading your cult. Still, their eldest son is working the bakery with him now, and the lad¡¯s wife manages the counter. With time away, when they meet again, maybe they¡¯ll work things out; ¨®einn frequently travels, and Frigg is still with him.¡± ¡°Did you hit Moke for me?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t want trouble with a Skald. Though it seems I got some anyway,¡± Torm said, shaking his head. ¡°What happened?¡± Julia asked, the rueful look on Torm¡¯s face catching her interest. ¡°Just an expanding Ode I¡¯ve caught wind of, hopefully it will pass if I pay it no mind.¡± ¡°Yeah, good luck with that. I¡¯ll keep an ear out, since you don¡¯t want to tell me. I feel I owe you for the back arched nipples towards the dawn line, since it wasn¡¯t about me.¡± Julia said, before poking her tongue out at him. ¡°Please, I¡¯d rather you not,¡± Torm said. ¡°Oh, now I am curious,¡± retorted Julia, her voice light with amusement that still seemed thin. ¡°I should never have mentioned it.¡± ¡°Doomed!¡± crowed Julia, playing up to lighten her own mood. They walked for a time in silence before Torm spoke, and Julia could sense his hesitation. ¡°How rough did things get for you?¡± Torm asked softly. Julia halted on the road as she considered how to answer. ¡°Not as bad as what Sagga lived through, but it wasn¡¯t looking good. The other Hidden I told you about. His Id is pretty dark, and he is so strong he can just lock my abilities down. He lost to his darkness. He warned me not to trust him, but I didn¡¯t expect him to lose it like that. It was vile.¡± ¡°Locks your abilities down?¡± ¡°Stopped me from Teleporting, and using Protean, I got one spell off and that was it. Then he dragged me to a place littered with the dismembered corpses of Succubi. He was taunting me, just letting me hit him while he had his hand clamped on my throat and cut the outfit I was wearing off me. One of the Sisterhood irregulars got me loose from him, then things went sideways,¡± Julia explained, shrugging as she felt the knife from the memories twist around inside. ¡°Yngvarr relayed your message about the destruction of your form. Livia was glum until your message this morning; it delighted her to hear from you. She was crying with joy when she told me your message. ¡° ¡°I¡¯m sorry I worried her, I¡¯ll have to make it up to her.¡± said Julia, trying to set the coldness away, nodding at the obvious change of subject. ¡°That Hidden sounds like he¡¯s an Assassin, they have abilities to lock down their targets. The better they¡¯ve studied them, the easier it is for them to render the target helpless,¡± Torm said after a moment¡¯s silence. ¡°Fuck! I need to know more about that. He said he¡¯s got the Black Knight Prestige Class, plus at least one other Storm Blade he said,¡± said Julia, not heeding the fingers she was rubbing along her throat. Torm¡¯s wince and the expression he managed said a lot before he even opened his mouth. ¡°He¡¯s in sworn service to a Demon Lord then, and yes, certainly an Assassin-Fighter. Skilled enough to assassinate an enemy commander in the middle of a battle despite guards. There are likely more requirements, but I don¡¯t know them. Guardians have ways to help counter that Assassin power, but high-level assassins can also counter each other¡¯s ability. He won¡¯t be someone to take lightly even if his Id wasn¡¯t as dark as you say. Was your form destroyed before or after he injured you?¡± Julia blinked at Torm¡¯s sudden question, following on the heels of a flood of information. Does he serve Usd¡¯ghi or someone else? He said her task was a job? ¡°Afterwards, the member of the Sisterhood threw a Chaos Bolt, that¡¯s what destroyed me. After the fighting was over, she sent me a message and told me she bid me come forth if her bolt had done the job. That was enough to lift the restriction. Why?¡± ¡°Just some abilities they have over individuals they¡¯ve injured in past fights. They go away after a form¡¯s destruction. I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re here then and not with her again,¡± stated Torm, the concern obvious even in his strange features. ¡°He injured me in training. Of course he didn¡¯t warn me about enduring advantages. The Chaos Bolt that destroyed me also broke through a wall and the wards on the area. The fight spilled into a town we¡¯d hit earlier, so more troops were there, and some fighting erupted in the area. She sent me the message, updated me, told me to lie low, as he¡¯d got away. Sounded annoyed, but also like she had fun. She¡¯s weird for a Succubus,¡± Julia said, the words coming out in rapid-fire as her thoughts raced. ¡°Town you hit? I noticed you¡¯re not using her name,¡± said Torm, confusion and concern lacing his voice. ¡°I¡¯ll fill you in later. The Sisterhood is throwing down with the S at present. As for her she¡¯s a Named Succubus, so no saying her name aloud. I¡¯m becoming paranoid about that. I¡¯ll write it down when I talk to Farhad about the situation. Get his advice on dealing with her.¡± ¡°Why his advice?¡± asked Torm, his brow furrowing. ¡°I need to see if he knows her. She knows a Monk called Farhad from before the dragons¡¯ rampage. Her knowledge of him let her figure out I was actually a Monk and not a Blood Monk.¡± ¡°This sounds like it could be a big problem,¡± Torm stated, the concern that was lacing his voice deepening as he frowned again. ¡°Yeah, especially since she seems really taken with me. Wants to know all my secrets,¡± Julia sighed and shook her head as she saw another wince from Torm in reaction. Julia rubbed her face before she started walking northwards again. Torm moved with her but took care to walk alongside her at an arm¡¯s length. 77 - Its Alright The guardsman looked Julia over and, even with Torm partly between them, raised an eyebrow at her hooded face. Even with the emblems apparent, her ¡®secretive¡¯ state, and Torm¡¯s lack of armour set the rumour mill spinning in his mind. {{You going to let him spread rumours as well? }} B¡¯s words were digging with taunting discontent at Julia letting Torm take the lead. He¡¯ll just spread different ones. ¡°My name is Julia.¡± Julia said as she stepped around Torm, and those nearby went still as her hood fell back. The quick motion parted the cloak enough that the finely detailed leathers she¡¯d designed with B were visible. Her Id had tired of boring practical and insisted on prettier clothing. Tight leather pants laced along the sides from knee to waist, while what looked like woven leather enfolded her torso and arms. The interlocking weave of the leather strands, accented by beads of metal and gemstones, added eye-catching splashes of light over the deep brown of the material that hugged her form. More practical bracers enfolded her forearms, with sheathed daggers buckled on the inside of each. B had insisted on bling, so Julia chased their scabbards in silver and rubies. Blades, based on her memory of Shun knives, had provided ones that cut cleanly with the tests she¡¯d run and a balance that felt like part of her arm. ¡°A guest of the Temple of Tyr and the Wizard Yngvarr. Please record my name against the chit.¡± Zen State stilled her voice, but even to herself, she sounded more tired than calm. Julia took the chit from Torm¡¯s fingers and presented it to the guard. ¡°Of course, Julia,¡± he replied, taking the chit from her hand. ¡°I mean Lady Julia.¡± His gaze flickered across the gemstones and silver as he did so. I can¡¯t even honestly say I don¡¯t have a title. With the hood still back from her face, Julia took the chit when they offered it and started towards the inner gate. The press of people soon bringing Torm closer to her side as they walked. {{Why don¡¯t you hold his hand? You might get lost. }} B! {{J! }} Even though she¡¯d snapped right back, Julia could feel the wash of amusement, the familiarity of it helping to calm the surging emotions.
Torm knocked on the door, and it was quickly pulled open, and Julia saw Rika beyond with a puzzled expression on her face as she looked between them. ¡°Captain Torm, Livia dropped by saying you were going to bring Julia with you. Did she not arrive?¡± ¡°I look different, but it¡¯s still me, Rika,¡± Julia said and watched her eyes widen in surprise and delight. The hug Julia received from the large girl didn¡¯t make her jump, but even with the greater height of Julia¡¯s current form, Rika still had to bend to hug her properly. The openness and warmth of it making Julia laugh in amusement and disbelief. She just accepted that at face value. I wonder what Yngvarr told them. {{I know you will not peek into her brain without an invitation. }} {{But just a question: who was it again that helped her become a Wizard? }} {{You could likely turn up in complete Succubus form, and you¡¯d only get a blink if Torm were with you. }} Yeah, yeah, not testing that. {{Spoil sport! }} ¡°I¡¯ll bring tea to the sitting room and let Yngvarr know,¡± Rika said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you an apprentice now?¡± Julia asked, frowning as she wondered what trick Yngvarr was pulling. ¡°It¡¯s what apprentices normally do, to earn their keep. Plus, we take turns doing the housework with basic spell forms; so it doesn¡¯t just fall on one of us,¡± Rika replied, delight clear in her gaze.
She¡¯d spent some time catching Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Torm up on what had happened in the Abyss. From the expression on Yngvarr¡¯s face when she mentioned leaving them in Tern¨°x, she hadn¡¯t been game to breach the subject of the L¨®m?. Though it wasn¡¯t the only subject they avoided; Julia¡¯s time with the Sisterhood, had been covered only in minimal detail. The damage to the Stronghold, the tally of the dead from fighting in ¨¤luga, and the info on L¨ºdhins only matched what she¡¯d already told Torm. The discussion of potential Prestige Classes lit a fire in Yngvarr¡¯s gaze that only partly chased the sorrow from his gaze. It was late in the afternoon before Torm headed back to the Temple, and Julia sat across from Farhad. He almost finished pouring himself tea when Julia set down parchment with Ebusuku¡¯s name written in Abyssal runes. ¡°When did you meet her?¡± Farhad asked calmly, with an odd, thoughtful look on his face. ¡°The Sisterhood assigned me to be her assistant after the Castellan ordered my return to the Stronghold. They decided I belong amid the irregulars because of the strangeness of my gaining the Blood Monk class,¡± explained Julia. When Farhad gestured for her to continue, she re-counted what had occurred, being careful not to say names aloud. Her high intelligence was happy enough to cough up details upon request, even those she¡¯d prefer to forget. ¡°I did not win the challenge. My father defeated me easily,¡± Farhad stated when her account concluded. ¡°Was your father the Grandmaster?¡± Julia asked, her tone coloured by surprise. She¡¯d been half expecting it to be a coincidence of names. ¡°No, he was the Grandmaster¡¯s junior-most assistant of five. I wasn¡¯t as ready as I believed in the arrogance of my youth.¡± Farhad corrected then offered information that she found staggering. ¡°After incapacitating me, he petitioned the Grandmaster to set me a task of service to redeem myself. Two hundred years later, I was still protecting the Persian King¡¯s line when the dragons destroyed the Orders and the refugees they were guiding. I had sent messages warning them of the danger I believe their trip would involve. They ignored my warnings because of my history with the Order.¡± So how old is Farhad? Ebusuku made it sound like they were going at it like bunnies. And he didn¡¯t even blink when I told him what she¡¯d said. ¡°So about,¡± Julia said, gesturing at the parchment with Ebusuku¡¯s name. {{Bunny! Hop! Oh, hop!}} The breathiness in B¡¯s tone was only partly able to conceal her bubbling amusement. Yeah, yeah. ¡°You look like a rich child, having just found her parents engaged in coitus. A Persian Princess I once guarded couldn¡¯t look at her mother without giggling for a week. I should have never left Ebusuku; I gained nothing. Even my service to the Kings was pointless, they were never in danger that other guards couldn¡¯t have handled. Instead, all I achieved was turning my back on her. Little wonder she returned to the Abyss.¡± ¡°It sounded like she moves between there and Hell. How long did you travel together?¡± Julia asked. {{Oh, smooth subject change, just tell him you¡¯re a virgin, maybe he can give you position tips. }} {{Kata, Kama - so similar they even have the same number of letters. I know, perhaps he can tutor you. }} {{How to fall. How to slide with a blow.}} B, please! ¡°So diplomatic. Yes, we spent more waking time together than I can recall. When she wasn¡¯t trying to distract from my training, we fought or expanded on the Kama Sutra. When we met, she had been taking work fighting in the Elemental Plane of Fire. Trading goods from Elementals she¡¯d destroyed to Humans and other mortal species living about the Planes. She hadn¡¯t been in any lower plane in ten or twelve thousand years before that. No matter what your Analysis shows you, I believe she is more Nephilim than Succubus.¡± Farhad stated. ¡°A Nephilim?¡± Julia asked, trying to understand how it could come about. Does that explain why Devils see her as one of theirs? Lilith had children with Angels and Demons, according to legends. {{ That¡¯s right, run away, la la not listening to the Sensei talk about fucking like bunnies. Ask if he eats like one too! }} ¡°Wait, her Progenitor, she said something about Death.¡± Julia interrupted before Farhad could start explaining. Grumbling internally at B just earned her more laughter. ¡°Their line descends from one of the Titan¡¯s prime servants. I believe she likely takes after him in her nature even if her passions run freely as well.¡± ¡°She mentioned you two were pretty passionate about each other,¡± Julia offered, hesitating to even broach the subject. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that in your recounting she mentioned me with anything but distaste,¡± Farhad mused before taking a sip of his tea. ¡°Sounded like she missed your time together. It had her fixated on me since my Willpower reminded her a bit of yours,¡± remarked Julia, hoping to get some sort of reaction from the older Monk. ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? Perhaps?¡± Julia asked. ¡°If you would let her know that I¡¯m alive but failed in my challenge of the Grandmaster, I¡¯ll meet her at our past gathering spot when she has time from her current endeavours,¡± instructed Farhad. ¡°That will give away I know you and raise a lot of questions,¡± replied Julia, blinking in disbelief. ¡°Correct, but it will also probably remove her attention from you.¡± ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t?¡± Julia asked. Though even if someone else contacted Ebusuku for Farhad, it would raise so many questions. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be in a lot of trouble as well,¡± Farhad said, smiling slightly as he held the cup nestled in his palms. ¡°Likelihood?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a fight on my hands; it¡¯s been a while. I wonder how much she¡¯s improved? Worse case, I¡¯ll need to talk to the Judge and wait out my release.¡± ¡°Judge?¡± Julia asked, baffled by his lack of concern. ¡°The eastern Hells differ from what you know. I¡¯m an Immortal as long as I¡¯m true in following my way.¡± So he just has to say Hi, gets a slap on the wrist and comes back? ¡°Then why didn¡¯t the Grandmaster and the Order Seniors return?¡± ¡°Mine was a personal arrogance and failure, but I¡¯ve always been true to my way of self-perfection. They claimed the Order¡¯s Way was intended for protection, yet their arrogance caused entire peoples, down to the youngest child to be extinguished. Given that knowledge, do you believe their sentence would have been completed yet? Or after failing so, do you believe their very enlightenment might suffer?¡± Farhad asked. His tone was calm and considered as if they were discussing the weather. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Julia, you believe things according to your perceptions. I¡¯m a Monk, helping your Livia, so I must be good. That is not the case. I follow a Way that doesn¡¯t regard good nor evil; it sees only Law. I have no conflict with the Church of Tyr; they seek to uphold the Law and undertake Justice through its enforcement. But that is not my way. I follow the Law, and my focus is self-perfection, not the actions of others. While I have broken no Law in the places it applied, I have travelled in places where you would disagree with the Law followed. I¡¯ve also never cared who was being hurt by the Law of others. You see causes to rally around; I see distractions from my practice and pursuit of self-perfection. Strangely, I find I still care for Ebusuku. After meeting you and learning about your situation, I have considered our parting more and more. It is an area that I neglected in myself, and you have reminded me of it, so I will see where this aspect of my path leads.¡± Julia just looked at him, not sure how to respond, as Farhad calmly resumed drinking his tea. ¡°Why did you take up with her?¡± Julia asked, still struggling to make sense of it all. ¡°We both wished to kill the same Lord among the Efreeti; I assassinated him first and drew her interest.¡± ¡°You assassinated someone!¡± Julia exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. ¡°Yes, one of his underlings hired me.¡± Farhad explained, his tone enduring in its patience. ¡°I thought you said you had broken no Law?¡± Julia asked plaintively. (( You did not know him truly from speaking of the Martial Arts, techniques and improvements. Now you¡¯ve learnt more.)) ¡°Murder among them is illegal. Assassination among the Efreeti is a promotion method if you¡¯ve hired a registered Assassin. You will see it as a loophole, but it is not, it¡¯s simply Law for them. It¡¯s why I focus on self-perfection and leave arguments of Law, and the benefit of one civilisation¡¯s code compared to another, to others.¡± ¡°You¡¯re an Assassin!¡± Julia exclaimed, blinking in disbelief. Was he really the only option for teaching Livia? ¡°One of my Prestige Classes involves Assassin. I knew of tier five before you told Yngvarr. I¡¯m not as ignorant as others, but it is not my place to educate them, they need to seek their own enlightenment.¡± Farhad stated, a slight shrug emphasising his lack of concern. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Okay, I guess he hasn¡¯t completely lost that arrogance he spoke of from his youth. ¡°Why did you agree to teach Livia then?¡± asked Julia. ¡°I¡¯m teaching her about self-perfection of the flesh, her enlightenment of Soul needs no work. The path she walks following it is her own to choose. In that she is like you, she has a generosity of spirit. I hope it provides her enough challenges, and she has the Willpower to remain intact and enlightened while walking her Way. It is strange you could aid her to enlightenment but remain in darkness yourself. Perhaps it is because you left it to the purity of Ki to heal her Soul.¡± Farhad mused. ¡°Then why are you teaching Torm? Or agreed to teach others?¡± Julia asked, trying to understand the reason for the exception in his disinterest. ¡°After reaching certain heights, it is necessary to return to the fundamentals. When teaching others they ask questions you have already moved past. When questioned, instead of simply repeating the answers told to you, you should re-examine those fundamentals. Only after re-examination explain them to the less enlightened, it aids you through forced self-reflection. I found teaching Livia beneficial for self-reflection and will continue to do so.¡± explained Farhad, his words flowing as if he shared it many times in the past. ¡°You¡¯re going to become involved with her again?¡± Julia asked, pointing to the parchment with Ebusuku¡¯s name, still feeling too paranoid to say it aloud. ¡°and you¡¯re going to teach Torm, and others following Tyr?¡° ¡°You see Celestials and Devils, I see extremes of Law, and they balance each other. While I respect the potential power of both, they are not entities I revere or revile. To do either gives them power over me, and that is not my way.¡± ¡°This conversation wasn¡¯t what I expected,¡± Julia admitted. ¡°That is a flaw. You held an expectation. Find facts, then proceed. If you decide then look for facts you will never find the truth. You believe a Celestial found me to teach Livia, therefore I must be good? The beings you met with after freeing Rana were not all Celestials. Midy?ci is one such. It is a servant of absolute Law, and it found individuals that knew me. They oppose the destructive entity whose altar you encountered. If I hadn¡¯t agreed they would have fetched a Monk from another world.¡± ¡°How does he lockdown my powers?¡± asked Julia. ¡°You took the Assassin class, but you are not really a killer,¡± Farhad stated, his gaze resting on Julia as the conversation detoured from the question. What does that have to do with it? And I¡¯ve got more than a few kills. {{We made the plants greener. }} ¡°I¡¯ve killed,¡± Julia said. ¡°You have killed those who opposed you but only rarely focus on the killing itself. You do not approach combat with true killing intent. Even when your Id had the upper hand, her purpose wasn¡¯t to kill, even though she enjoyed it, she was playing. How effective is your Death Strike or Silent Kill? Do you rely on them? Or are you just dipping your toes into their waters?¡± ¡°They¡¯re in what I see as introductory ranks still,¡± Julia replied, wondering at his reason for asking. ¡°How many foes have you fought since you gained them? Ten, dozens, a hundred or more?¡± asked Farhad, just giving a slight shake of his head. ¡°Never mind, just from looking at you, I know. You don¡¯t even consider you¡¯re killing Demons. They¡¯re only obstacles for you to overcome, especially ones you don¡¯t fight on their home Plane. Then you see it as returning their energy to the Abyss.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°No, you do not. When we fought, you were outclassed, but the only Succubus power you used was Flight. Even then, only where needed to balance my advantage using aerial steppingstones. You sought balance, to fight me fairly, not even seeking to best me. I would say you had fun, even though I broke your bones repeatedly.¡± Farhad said, shaking his head in concern. ¡°I knew they¡¯d heal,¡± Julia said, smiling slightly at the memory of that fight. ¡°Because you know so much about me?¡± asked Farhad, arching an eyebrow before lowering it to raise the other. ¡°Does it matter which eyebrow you use? Livia won¡¯t tell me.¡± ¡°No, not really, unless you¡¯re a purist.¡± Farhad set his cup down and moved towards Julia. ¡°Your hand, please?¡± asked Farhad as he held out his own. Julia sat forward, and the moment Farhad¡¯s fingers touched hers, she found herself frozen, but he just stood unmoving. ¡°There is no cause for alarm; it is merely a lesson you needed. Your mastery of some Skills is very thin, you assume too much. You relax, and you let your guard down. You will bring your own destruction.¡± ¡°Why are you telling me?¡± asked Julia, her voice somehow functional even though the rest of her body wouldn¡¯t respond. Emotion roiled in her like a surging ocean, and even calling on Zen State felt like a thin layer on its surface. ¡°You did me a service telling me of Ebusuku¡¯s continued interest. I wished to do you one in return, one to remember well. I told you I wasn¡¯t what you consider good, just as L¨ºdhins told you he wasn¡¯t to be trusted. Yet after that, you baited out a rabid animal, and continued to sit unconcernedly with me drinking tea. You are talented, but you need to learn deeper lessons. Stay out of the Abyss while you heal your spirit properly; it feels fragile. I would recommend you travel the Elemental Planes and fight foes as Ebusuku used to do. If Ebusuku tells the Sisterhood you were useful before your form¡¯s destruction, they might not even look to see where you ended up.¡± Farhad lifted his fingers from her hand, and Julia felt sensation return to her form, and B giggled away inside her. {{Oh Babe, that was all tingly. }} ¡°What was that?¡± asked Julia, the churning inside making her voice tremble, but Farhad didn¡¯t even blink. ¡°It is an ability that extends from Death Strike, but until you genuinely wish to kill your foes, you will not gain it. You see foes as obstacles. You strive to punch, kick, or strike to the best of your ability. While you have great focus and Willpower for one so young, you waste it in battle. You need to seek every strike in a battle to be a progression towards your foe¡¯s death, not just victory. While you inflict damage on foes, it is not the reason you pursue the Martials Arts, nor even the reason you fight. You pursue the Martial Arts for control; it is a way of self-defence where you come from, and that is why you learnt it. For me, it is a way to perfect myself and crush my enemies.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Julia asked, not understanding the evident composure in his voice. ¡°Because it is a challenge, and only by challenging oneself true perfection be found. In some ways, the strongest make the Law - whether it is the strength of a society or the strength of an individual - so I prove I follow the Law by destroying my enemies. You are a good child, too good, and too kind. It will be sad to many who cherish you when you die the ultimate death. Would you be so kind as to send Ebusuku a message?¡± Farhad asked before retaking his seat, recovering his cup along the way. ((He sees from the perspective of his Way; you need to find your own truth.)) ¡°Aren¡¯t you taking a simple way out by being focused on killing?¡± Julia asked, trying to regain self-control. Farhad just gave her an oddly sympathetic look before taking another sip of tea. ¡°What if I won¡¯t send the message?¡± asked Julia, still feeling unsettled by the conversation. ¡°Then you won¡¯t. Your choices are not mine to make,¡± Farhad replied, unruffled by the question. ¡°Why could I not even feel what you did?¡± asked Julia, the tide of emotions within her but slowly getting them under control. ¡°You could feel the results of it, could you not? If someone woke up and suddenly could not use their legs. Would you expect them to understand without studying why it occurred? You have the Class; by learning to seek another¡¯s death you¡¯ll find the Power.¡± Julia composed herself before sending Ebusuku a message, only to blink at the enthusiastic response that came back. She found the rapid exchange that followed strange indeed. After some back-and-forth questions Ebusuku had sent nothing further. After nearly half a bell, Julia received another message with a location name that made no sense to her, but Farhad had nodded on hearing it.
The true Planar name of their destination in Draconic meant roughly ''meeting place for a fair exchange'' and it took two minutes to say. No wonder that most people just referred to it in their native tongue as ''The Exchange'' even if that didn''t get them to the Plane. The strange city in front of her soared towards the brilliant silver sunless sky far above, the volume of the noise, proclaiming the crush of activity ahead. Before Julia was a set of unadorned entry gates, with queues streaming arrivals inside at a varying pace. Even though visitors differed in shape and size, each segment of the gate easily adjusted to accommodate them. However, each visitor stepping beyond them seemed more consistently sized, though their shape still matched their previous form. It was odd watching a Treant taller than an old pine tree amble through with thundering steps and suddenly become some two metres tall. The conduit should have connected them randomly to the Plane. Instead, Julia faced the local version of an airport customs checkpoint before it sat perfectly smooth white paving stones, all aligned with absolute precision. All around, arrivals stepped from other conduits, Planar gates, or thin air. Everywhere Julia looked, arrivals of all shapes, sizes, and energies moved with clear intent to enter. Julia blinked as she saw a group of entities formed of living lava move in a queue ahead of a plant-like Fey that seemed tinier than her hand. True Sight peered through the glamour to show jagged teeth sitting under the Fey¡¯s beautiful features. A cluster of lights glowing with Celestial energy hovered in another queue. While just ahead, two Devils covered in green spines, solid white eyes, serrated red teeth; over their shoulders each carried a folded net made of umbilical cords dipped in silver. ¡°The conduit is supposed to be random where it connects,¡± Julia stated, glancing about again. ¡°There is no randomness here besides what individuals bring. This Demi-Plane operates precisely according to its creator¡¯s will.¡± Farhad stated, even as he moved towards the end of one line heading towards the gates. ¡°These are only the entry gates, don¡¯t leave via this gate and don¡¯t open your conduit within. It won¡¯t work, but something will speak to you about the offence. Remember, don¡¯t even pick up anything if you¡¯ve not agreed on a price, or gained the owner¡¯s permission to touch. If attacked, you can fight back, but if you attack first outside an agreed duel, the wisps will kill or worse imprison you.¡± ¡°You said it¡¯s neutral ground, but you¡¯ve not told me who built it,¡± Julia remarked. ¡°There is no reason to know; just don¡¯t look to draw attention to yourself; it¡¯s unhealthy,¡± advised Farhad, heading towards the queue that appeared the longest. Julia followed him, to avoid getting separated by two pillars that looked to be composed of swirling silver. Under their exterior, Julia could see glimmers of light floating inside it, only visible to True Sight. ¡°Why this queue?¡± asked Julia, as the line ahead of them moved towards the gate. ¡°It¡¯s the longest.¡± ¡°It also gets let through the fastest. No trade goods, minimal currency, the intention of only a short-term stay, entry into the queue is your declaration. If the gate detects you¡¯re lying, you get ejected from the Plane and aren¡¯t able to re-enter for about thirty-six bells. Repeated ejections will get you imprisoned.¡± ¡°Oh. What if I wanted to stay longer than allowed? Do I need to leave and re-enter?¡± ¡°Exactly, there is no limit on your coming and going unless you¡¯ve broken the Law. When you enter, the Law states they must know the intention behind your entry. This queue is for short-term visits; for longer stays or trade missions you need to pick a queue to the left. The further along the greater the value of the trade intended or your length of stay. The last, empty queue is for those that have purchased permanent residence. Better let your form revert, or the gate will do it for you. You can change within, but your declaration going in must be the truth. It doesn¡¯t matter the truth as long as it¡¯s the truth.¡± ¡°Could have told me that in advance,¡± Julia sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not an issue for me,¡± Farhad said as the queue started forward with a surge. As Julia stored her clothing and resumed her naked form, the traveller behind her muttered with clicks and chirps of annoyance as her wings grew. Her Power translating them into complaints about stupid newcomers. The eyes in her wings had become part of her base form and showed the noises came from a mantis creature nearly three metres tall. It didn¡¯t make a fuss when Protean shaped leathers on top, and Julia released them to settle around her before she arrived at the gate. This place is crazier than the Star Wars cantina. {{No need for a CGI budget either. }} As Julia moved through the gate, her perception showed her the wards, but the runes within them were far beyond anything she¡¯d seen. A little silver glow appeared, hovering in her line of sight, but Julia couldn¡¯t see it in front of anyone else. ¡°The silver dot? It¡¯s not Mana.¡± ¡°If it dulls, you have two bells to exit the Plane. It will blink if you are facing toward the nearest exit; they¡¯re scattered throughout the city. One way in, many ways out.¡± ¡°What if I don¡¯t get out in time?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯ll have a problem,¡± Farhad replied, ignoring Julia¡¯s implicit question about how it functioned. ¡°Oh, joy.¡± Julia offered a verbal poke at Farhad for his continual minimal and last-minute explanations since the message exchange with Ebusuku. Farhad sighed before continuing through the crowded streets ahead and Julia worked to keep up. When he started upwards, striding through the air, she followed, using Flight to weave through the other entities in pursuit: Bird creatures of all shapes, colours and even number of wings, swirls of living air, free-floating metallic or crystal orbs. There were also western and eastern dragons, of all different shades of colour and materials, sharing the space about the city streets. Most looked annoyed, but potentially it was just natural Draconic resting face. There were even a few flying carpets and broomsticks, some so fluorescent they were eye searingly bright. Buildings within the city varied within the limits of their blocks. Some possessed the architecture of giant bees, regular honeycombs sealed with a material having the texture of dried mud. The only constant was the extreme variety and massive heights, not even one under fifty metres; giant castles, soaring fantasy wizard towers bristling with mysterious lights. In contrast, others were to Julia¡¯s eye were modern corporate office blocks and metallic sci-fi type constructs of various hued liquid metals, their size reached higher than an earthen skyscraper. Farhad stepped from the air to a tower made of polished marble, its rooftop awash with overgrown garden beds whose inhabitants were wrestling with each other. Vines from one garden bed had upended a flowerpot recently and were busily smashing it into the ground. As Julia set her feet on the building¡¯s edge, some vines began tossing pieces off the roof while others settled into a huff. Once the destruction satisfied them, the vines writhed upwards, folding like a multitude of arms below a giant sunflower in the middle of the garden bed. A few tiny scattered sunflower petals potentially hinting at the cause of the aggression. Everywhere she looked for acres across the rooftop of this building, bizarre plants sat in neat and orderly rows, clashing with their neighbours. Swollen cacti were energetic in discussing water rights with the water lily in the next bed, whose pond they had nearly dried up. Rose bushes were deploying barricades of thorns to prevent red-leaved brambles that had chocked their own area from overrunning theirs as well. In the middle of the acreage a grove of trees were playing full-contact chess. A maple knight scuttled along on its roots into a square occupied by one of the banksia-ish bushes on the field, apparently fulfilling pawns¡¯ role. Rather than automatically controlling the square, their entry had branched into a battle and the other pieces were waving leaves wildly as they cheered their combatants on. Farhad walked along the nearest row of garden beds without hesitation before he stepped onto a concealed metallic staircase that rang musically underfoot as he descended. Wards shimmered around them, curious but not hostile as Julia followed Farhad¡¯s course. The penthouse below the roof was open plan and stretched out to occupy the full floor space. Close by weapons racks, a bed far larger than Julia had ever seen, and assorted furnishing making a disorganised lived-in space. A massive dining table carved from finely grained wood offered those seated near it a magnificent view of the flight paths and the long street. Within the available floor space, target ranges, free-standing weapon racks, walls of locks, floating maps of regions and building¡¯s schematics, all laid out with no coherent plan or pattern. Though they came soon after Ebusuku¡¯s reply, she was already present and watching closely as they descended. Bet she got here before she sent the message about the location to meet. {{Ensure you¡¯re the first to arrive and the only one left alive. }} As they reached the floor Farhad spoke, only for Ebusuku to cut him off with a sharp look and directed her attention to Julia. ¡°Come here, little sister.¡± Julia moved forward without hesitation, after seeing her fight L¨ºdhins, she knew she would be dead in a moment if Ebusuku wished it. What she wasn¡¯t expecting were the hands upon her cheeks and the gaze that locked on hers. ¡°When I find him, I will remove his balls and hand him to the Devils to torment. I would have been sooner, but his wards gave me trouble even with the anklet you wore. I¡¯ve passed his name to the Progenitor and she¡¯s placing a reward for information.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Julia blurted, Ebusuku¡¯s attitude confusing her. ¡°I saw the bodies and the look on your face. Lilith didn¡¯t stand for being forced, nor do we of her Lineages. We choose who to honour with our company, we will not stand to be forced. You were my battle companion, so it¡¯s a slight to me as well the Br¨ªn will regret this outrage.¡± Ebusuku said, her gaze borrowing into Julia with vivid intensity, ¡°Now is it clear?¡± {{L¨ºdhins¡¯ in trouble! L¨ºdhins¡¯ in trouble! }} I have an evil guardian part-angel? {{And don¡¯t forget the wicked witch of the Abyss. }} ¡°Choices,¡± Julia said, ¡°Choices.¡± Ebusuku echoed before tapping her nose. Ebusuku stepped past Julia, and a sound like stones smacking together rang out. When Julia spun around, she found Farhad¡¯s hand still raised from blocking an open-hand slap from Ebusuku. ¡°Twelve hundred years, you misbegotten kill thief.¡± Ebusuku snarled, rage and longing evident in her voice. ¡°I did not achieve the purpose of my departure,¡± replied Farhad, his voice unruffled. ¡°So what!¡± Ebusuku growled, and as she lashed out with a knife in her other hand, Farhad guided it clear of flesh. The edge of it deflecting off Ki Armour as it cut past his shoulder. Hands and feet snaked out between them as they exchanged blows and tried to knock each other off balance. {{So, do we get popcorn or leave them to it? }} She didn¡¯t draw her swords. Maybe we should get out of here? Any bets on where first? {{I think Farhad might have to worship her altar first. Give it a proper clean and polish, then kiss it better. }} {{The heat in her gaze isn¡¯t from anger. Maybe she needs a hose? Can we get a pet plant? I¡¯d like a grumpy sunflower! }} Her feet were ringing along the metallic staircase when she heard the first sound of leather and cloth ripping along with growling from Ebusuku. When the sound of cracking stone came echoing up from below, Julia shot a glance back, wondering if they had broken the floor. The scraps from Farhad¡¯s outer robe was still fluttering in mid-air amid the ongoing activity. Weapons were spilling from a monolithic bench whose surface wasn¡¯t enduring the increasing frenzy of impacts, and Julia fled. {{He may be old, but he¡¯s not dead. Geez you two, wait till the kid leaves the room.}} {{So I was wrong about the altar, well, unless you count that stone slab. It seems Ebusuku isn¡¯t one for foreplay.}} Julia took to the air, pursued by primal screaming from below. {{But I wanna pet the sunflower!!!! }} Bs¡¯ tone almost made her seem like a petulant child, except for the excessive amount of amusement. I know you like touching petals. {{It¡¯s so true. }} You¡¯re like an already hyper Rach getting drunk on sugar and more sugar. {{GIVE ME MORE SUGAR BABE!! Or Blood! Don¡¯t forget the blood.}} When B started giggling insanely, Julia picked a direction and flew off, intent on taking in the sheer variety of entities and buildings about the place. 78 - The Light When Ebusuku¡¯s message interrupted her sightseeing and called her back to the penthouse, Julia found the place in extensive disarray. They had broken sections of the monolith bench into little more than gravel. The massive bed was on its side, and daggers littered the room, among one broken decoration or another. Ebusuku, without wings, was soaking in a large tub Julia knew hadn¡¯t been present. It was on the remains of the shattered dining table, spreading out to use more space than the table and its chairs combined. B started making appreciative noises in her mind, delighting in the black marble veined with silver and the steaming water ladened with fragrant bubbles. Fortunately for Julia¡¯s sanity, Farhad had dressed and was checking through a pile of shredded clothing and broken items. ¡°You could have just thrown them away afterwards,¡± Farhad noted as Julia walked down the ringing stairs. ¡°I might have wanted to use them for target practice again; I couldn¡¯t do that if I threw them away,¡± replied Ebusuku, giving a dismissive shrug from where she was relaxing. ¡°Hadn¡¯t expected you to be finished already. It¡¯s only been three bells.¡± Julia said, trying to keep her tone light. {{Get ready for Round 2. When the bell rings, come out with your libido up. }} ¡°You heard my little sister. Get back in the bath.¡± Farhad glanced between them, and items started disappearing from where he¡¯d been checking them. ¡°Some at least are repairable.¡± ¡°So how did you meet my Farhad, Trouble?¡± Ebusuku purred as she stretched in the water. ¡°I met him teaching a student. We sparred, and he broke my arm a few times out of curiosity.¡± Julia replied, as her gaze traced over more broken furnishings that had come into view only as she reached the floor. ¡°Incorrect. I broke your arm because you weren¡¯t blocking properly, so I showed you the consequences of your technique. Your ribs and shoulder I broke out of curiosity,¡± Farhad corrected before throwing the still piled possessions into a chest nearby, that looked too small for what was at hand. ¡°Oh, this will be fun. No lies, yet so vague,¡± cooed Ebusuku, smiling at Julia. ¡°What¡¯s the plan? And how long do we have?¡± Julia asked, gesturing towards where the silver dot sat discretely in her vision. ¡°We¡¯ve over a cycle left. You¡¯ll need information on the Elemental Planes,¡± stated Farhad. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few things you could collect for me, to repay me for sharing some Lore,¡± Ebusuku offered, ¡°then I¡¯ll head back to ¨¤luga. Well, eventually.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t the Sisterhood going to wonder where we are?¡± Julia asked. ¡°I told them you got your arse destroyed and that I¡¯d take time to evaluate targets before continuing with the objectives. Truly, I expressed dismay at your loss, so much so I think they believe I arranged it. You might hear from them in a cycle or a thousand; they¡¯re distracted, and you¡¯re not even as minimally useful now.¡± Ebusuku replied, a highly dramatic sorrow filling her voice before it settled into cynical amusement. ¡°How intense was the fighting, given all the kills you got?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Giza was a wonderful mess. They initially had four regiments there to protect the Wizards trying to extinguish the fire in the mine. The smoke was so thick it was an ash wall running downhill from the mine. We must have burnt decades of marshstone production. Marshstone smoke wouldn¡¯t have spread that far up otherwise. Its smoke likes to sit low to the ground, not rise and waft about.¡± Ebusuku said, a satisfied smile apparent. ¡°Why are you calling me little sister?¡± ¡°Sister, we¡¯ve been in battle together, and you distracted an enemy away from me, not once, but twice. However unneeded it was, you still took a risk to my advantage. It¡¯s a greater tie than merely one of blood and especially compared to a regular of the Sisterhood. You truly are a strange little Succubus; unwrapping your secrets will be fun.¡± said Ebusuku, the words brimming with intrigued excitement. So much for that plan. A twitch in Julia¡¯s cheek happened before she could stop it, and Ebusuku sat forward in a flowing motion, her gaze intent. {{Maybe stop asking questions. }} There are some things I need to ask. ¡°A poor choice of words, it seems, after L¨ºdhins. I¡¯ll have to geld him repeatedly.¡± ¡°Tie his guts to the top of a cliff and kick him off the edge,¡± Julia suggested. ¡°That could be dramatic; likely they¡¯d rip away from his throat and arse when he hit full extension, then he¡¯d run off and heal. Still, it could be fun chasing him down.¡± ¡°Once you¡¯ve hunted prey too many times, they become predictable,¡± Farhad said as he closed the chest. When he pushed it towards the wall, it vanished in mid-motion. True sight picked up a moment of Spatial Mana having enfolded the chest, but the energies dispersed before she could examine the enchantment. ¡°So how does a non-Demonic Succubus end up spawning in the Abyss?¡± Ebusuku asked, the playful tone evident in her voice. {{See! }} ¡°I came from the cliffs of Culerzic. Can you explain it?¡± Julia asked, Zen State balancing out a spike of concern by the barest of margins. ¡°Farhad and you sparred. There is no way you are truly a Chaotic Demon; he¡¯s too orderly. He¡¯d have squished you, not educated you, even by breaking bones. I¡¯ve seen what he can do to most Demons, just with his Ki Aura brushing them. That¡¯s not even considering that his Ki Infusion holds Order, Order, and more Order.¡± I¡¯ll have to look into Ki Aura and attuning Ki Infusion with the same affinity. I wish I¡¯d known about it before now. {{You¡¯re worried about power upgrades, and she¡¯s digging through your unmentionables.}} {{This is what you get from hanging around folks with high Intelligence. She¡¯s not a silly cookie. }} ¡°I thought you wanted a challenge. Do you want me to kill all the fun?¡± asked Julia, countering Ebusuku¡¯s curiosity. ¡°So many strange things are happening of late, including you. It will interest me to get to what¡¯s causing all the fuss. Farhad left me all alone. Come share the water and watch him try to find all the things I¡¯ve hidden from him,¡± Ebusuku said, the initial excitement turning into a command. {{Oh, Babe, bath time. }} B? {{Just enjoy the bath. I won¡¯t tease about threesomes since I don¡¯t think we could stand up to their playtime. }} ¡°What strange things are invoking your interest?¡± Farhad asked. ¡°Some of it is likely only interesting till I know the truth. Others I¡¯m sure will be unique, wouldn¡¯t you say little sister?¡± ¡°Interesting to one person can bore another,¡± Julia said honestly, remembering her dad¡¯s interest in endurance car racing. Farhad¡¯s movements took him to a cupboard, its door only appearing as he opened them, and he began emptying clutter from one side of it. True Sight showing how the Spatial Mana didn¡¯t seem to contain the cupboard but bridged the distance between there and wherever it stood. ¡°If you¡¯ve not used it recently, you don¡¯t need it,¡± Julia said to Farhad, remembering her mum¡¯s rule for spring cleaning. ¡°That not always true. Difficult to gain items and skills that you don¡¯t need unless you venture to particular Planes; just because you¡¯ve not gone there recently doesn¡¯t mean you should throw them away.¡± Farhad replied, his tone firmly rebuffing her statement. Ebusuku lightly slapped on the water to attract Julia¡¯s attention to her. ¡°Come relax with me, or I¡¯ll get out and smack you into strange shapes,¡± Ebusuku insisted. {{Bath. Don¡¯t need destruction twice in a week!}} Julia shook her head at B¡¯s insistence and quickly joined Ebusuku in the bath while Farhad¡¯s attention was elsewhere and slid down under the thick layer of bubbles. Her seat in the tub providing a magnificent view of the cityscape through the expansive windows. ¡°We really should talk to Lilith, She would find you fascinating. She knows about being constrained in places you do not want to be. Though getting you into Hell would be troublesome.¡± Ebusuku said, reaching out a hand and poking Julia¡¯s sternum. ¡°Stupid fucking Sisterhood Sigil, I want to pluck that bitch.¡± Yeah, why do I have mixed feelings about yet another entity finding me fascinating. ¡°So the irregulars don¡¯t have the Sigil?¡± Julia asked, wanting the subject changed pronto. {{I mentioned questions! You keep treating Demons like people. }} {{It sounded like Lilith has been here longer than some Gods. How much Power does she have by now?}} B¡¯s mental voice tone went from miffed to sharing Julia¡¯s curiosity from one moment to the next. ¡°No, well, except the Progenitor. It¡¯s a visible brand on her shoulder, and it makes me furious every time I see her.¡± Ebusuku growled as her fists clenched. ¡°No one should be enslaved by another,¡± Julia said, without thinking and froze as Ebusuku¡¯s gaze fixed on her. ¡°He caught you, but he didn¡¯t keep you. Grow strong from it, don¡¯t let it leave you mauled,¡± replied Ebusuku. A splash from her gave Julia a face full of water. ¡°You need acting lessons, Trouble. So much written on your face without your Dominion active. You¡¯ve gotten worse since I last saw you. That all-encompassing calmness you began using isn¡¯t locking anything away. That alone tells me how much he hurt you. So, thoughts on an approach for vivisection?¡± It wasn¡¯t just what he did. {{Yeah, but I gave fair warning. Would you prefer emotional septic shock? }} What happens if I¡¯m recalled to the Sisterhood still like this? {{OH!! My Bad! }} Fuck! ¡°You could always start by skinning him alive; he seemed a fan of that. Are there ways to stop that shadow transport he does?¡± Julia asked as B threw up mental images of filleting L¨ºdhins from his dick upwards. Ebusuku just smiled at the fire shining in Julia¡¯s eyes as she asked the question. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°There are some spells and enchantments that would work, but they use Light Affinity. I¡¯ve seen the effect on Shadow Door, they exit the shadow, and the effect of obliterates the shadow while they¡¯re still partly inside. Then they¡¯re not half the problem they used to be. It¡¯s rare for Demons to possess, so you can¡¯t pick them up in the Abyss. You¡¯ll find them in the right marketplaces or shops around here. You¡¯ll need a fair bit in the way of trade goods or currency. Vendors inclined to deal in them jack the price up for a Demon or Devil that approaches them - still it can be worth an expensive trade. ¡± Light, another one for my list. Perhaps a tour of the quasi-Elemental Planes is in order. {{Look at you becoming a Pokemon trainer! Catch them all!}} No idea if I can get Celestial. {{You could always pat Torm, that would give you a feeling for Celestial. Or another feeling might arise.}} Mentally counting to one hundred by prime numbers, Julia popped some soap bubbles as B giggled. The heavy scent thickening the air suddenly flooded her mind like floral decorations laying on a coffin. The smell of them hung overlaid with grief and sorrow, borrowing deep into the mourners. Great, so I¡¯ll just smell like a gravesite instead of death. ¡°I¡¯d start with Fire. It¡¯s the easiest place to hunt if you¡¯ve gained the usual resistances Succubi have,¡± Ebusuku said casually, though Julia could see her gaze lingering on Farhad digging through the contents of the invisible cupboard. ¡°Warmer ice boy. Now aside from the Efreeti courts, there are courts of various Elemental Lords worshipped by groups of mortals. There are also lots of stray communities and lone individuals dumber than a stump you can hunt. Most individual fire Elementals are basic in their tactics, see something not burning, burn it, hit it, repeat till dead.¡± ¡°Are the Elemental Planes like the Abyssal ones, with an infinite amount of space?¡± ¡°No, too far from the Titan¡¯s spire, and they break down into chaos. Though they are massive, it would require centuries of continual flying to reach that point. They have boundaries where they contact the other Planes and let you into the Quasi or Para-Elemental Planes. There is no straight gateway, it¡¯s more a region where the energies between the Planar forces mingle. Since you have Planar Lore, this will be easier,¡± Ebusuku said, settling down to continue the lecture. When did she learn I had that? Sisterhood imprint? I need to keep that in mind. As she watched, Farhad pushed aside a rack inside the cupboard, and another slid forward into his hands. ¡°How big is that cupboard?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Bigger than it was when he last stayed here,¡± Ebusuku said, smirking with pure mischief. ¡°Colder.¡± ¡°Is he really getting colder?¡± Julia asked, taking in her expression. ¡°Maybe, maybe not, he¡¯ll likely search it in his own pattern regardless of what I say. Dealer¡¯s choice: Am I amusing myself by messing with him or being helpful and seeing if he ignores the hints. He¡¯s got good hearing, so you¡¯ll get no clues which it is. Now, Efreeti courts are very hierarchical.¡± Julia settled in to listen as Ebusuku¡¯s lecture continued; she felt the water cooling and reheating around her. Meanwhile, Farhad kept searching and items slowly accumulated on a still standing bench. One ornate box he¡¯d put down disappeared, and Ebusuku gave Julia a wink. When he turned back, the only response he gave Ebusuku was an unamused look. Then immediately retrieved it from where he¡¯d found it originally. ¡°His memory is fantastic, for many things.¡± Ebusuku murmured, smiling as Farhad stilled for a moment.
Stone under her knees felt comforting as Julia waited out the last hours before the dawn. As the sky started getting lighter, soft booted footsteps sounded by the gate, and a light tap echoed in Yngvarr¡¯s courtyard. Despite the height of the fence, a glance showed Torm beyond it, as he was tall enough to still look over its top. ¡°Come in Torm, I know you¡¯re welcome in Yngvarr¡¯s house,¡± Julia said, and the latch quickly turned. ¡°But it¡¯s your meditation that I¡¯m disturbing, so knocking was polite,¡± Torm replied, closing the gate behind him and slowly approaching. ¡°Farhad is taking Livia for a run to practise her Ki Movement. He suggested you could review your fundamentals by teaching me mine.¡± ¡°That sounds sensible, but also strange. I¡¯ve not taught a student in some time, and Farhad¡¯s style is different to my own,¡± Julia said, flowing to her feet. ¡°Why don¡¯t you start by going through the stances he¡¯s shown you first.¡± ¡°As you wish, teacher,¡± Torm replied, before taking the first stance, with Julia just watching on. Torm said nothing at all about the eyebrow she¡¯d arched at him for his remark. The sun was far above the horizon before they¡¯d completed practicing. ¡°When you fight someone, what are you focused on doing?¡± Julia asked as they were finishing up. ¡°If you meant in an actual battle, I¡¯m trying to kill them as quickly as I can. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just something Farhad said, though no idea if I¡¯ll be able to change as he¡¯s insisted,¡± said Julia, before sighing. ¡°Or if I¡¯d still recognise myself, I¡¯ve lost so much as it is.¡± ¡°Farhad mentioned you were planning to gather materials on some of the Elemental Planes.¡± Torm said. The rapid topic change causing Julia to blink in surprise before she answered. ¡°That¡¯s a plan that was suggested. I¡¯ll have to decide soon. Though spreading energy between several Bonds hopefully lessens the Ki effect to each individual, I can¡¯t stay forever. I¡¯m worried after what you said about Eivor, whether the impact of sharing my Ki will be long term. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to travel with you. Would you be comfortable showing me where you set up your hideout in Pandemonium? If you get Planar locked again, it will allow us to meet up. I¡¯m able to use Greater Teleport Self to bring things or people to you, the same way you moved Moke. Or Teleport to your location then Yngvarr can scry for me and join us. Once we¡¯ve been there, you¡¯d have support beyond just messages.¡± Torm responded, his features strangely neutral, giving no sign of how he felt on the subject. ¡°I thought you were here serving the High Justice?¡± Julia asked, not hiding her puzzlement at the change. He¡¯s been with her for decades, and now he¡¯s moving on. What¡¯s going on? ¡°Things change. Because of my choice, another Vargr Drangijaz will take over my duties, regardless. I¡¯ll travel with either you or others to gain experience as a Monk. If I travel with you, then you could help me train instead of having to come back to bother Farhad when I need pointers.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still making things up as I go along half the time,¡± Julia cautioned. ¡°You always seem to have outlines of a plan and just need the details,¡± said Torm, his disbelief at her response evident in his features. ¡°One plan! I always have at least three,¡± Julia answered. The moment of amusement fleeting as it softened into pain, ¡°unless they all turn to shit.¡± ¡°Life can be like that. What¡¯s your plan for today?¡± asked Torm, moving the subject firmly along. ¡°since you didn¡¯t jump off to another Plane with the dawn,¡± ¡°I should talk to the other Priestesses. Though Rana told me after I returned that I¡¯ve also gained a Priest among the thralls, I just wish I had the funds to free them all. Or at least enough influence so the Jarl would return the ones taken due to border conflicts back to their families.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t help everyone, and your faithful are improving their lives. With their help, the thralls are far more likely to regain their freedom, in a condition to enjoy it. I noticed you¡¯re not just resorting to making valuables to sell with Protean.¡± ¡°It feels like fraud. But what you said about their work, Eivor said the same, of the cult¡¯s benefit; I spoke to her via a Dream last night. I¡¯m glad I spoke to her; I understand better why she needed time from Hermod, even if I feel sad about it still. There are many traps in life. Sometimes, when youthful expectations don¡¯t meet reality, then it¡¯s your decisions more than prison bars locking you in a place. Nothing wrong with what you have, but there¡¯s a difference between living and surviving. They¡¯ve been making good time towards Thebes, though Moke got them into trouble in one town with the wife of a beer hall¡¯s owner. Eivor calmed the situation, and Ipy is keeping a closer eye on him.¡± Julia replied, giving a shake of her head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Torm asked. ¡°Just something Eivor said, and it doesn¡¯t translate well for me,¡± Julia replied. ¡°From your expression, I¡¯d bet it is Moke.¡± Torm¡¯s amused tone earned him a stern look from Julia and a silence before she answered in a rush. Moke and his bloody enjoyment of his ¡®missionary position¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s just a phrase he used to Eivor means something very different to me. Now let¡¯s leave it at that.¡± Julia answered ruefully. ¡°Words can imply very different things even between individuals born into the same culture,¡± said Torm. ¡°Indeed, subtle things can cause the greatest misunderstandings, especially when using the same language. We might not make good long-term travel companions, but I¡¯ll show you my hideout in Pandemonium. It would be a relief to know I¡¯m not physically cut off. It¡¯s such a foreboding place with its howling wind.¡± Julia said, her voice turning soft as she considered the oppressive darkness that limited even True Sight and the howling noise of the wind. Julia noticed the frown on Torm¡¯s face, but he started speaking before she could ask. ¡°You should leave Rana to tend your faithful, a lot of them are busy down near the docks.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll go see them there,¡± Julia replied, frowning at the thought of not at least checking in. ¡°You¡¯ll draw a lot of attention at the docks,¡± Torm countered without hesitation. ¡°Oh yeah, it was bad enough walking here from the gate. Aside from Ylva¡¯s longing eyes, how come ladies aren¡¯t chasing after you?¡± Julia asked and just got a cough of embarrassment in response. ¡°You said you had those arrangements with the Hag. Are there any deals you¡¯re concerned about?¡± Torm hastilty changed the subject causing Julia to wince at the question. ¡°If she contacts me, I can honestly say I got destroyed in a fight with the shithead. That might set her at his throat. I don¡¯t have to tell her he didn¡¯t get the death blow,¡± Julia said, the smile it brought to her lips darkening her gaze. ¡°It would keep him busy worrying about her instead of looking for you,¡± Torm agreed thoughtfully. ¡°Dangerous game to play, so I¡¯d prefer to wait and let her initiate the contact. Then I can tell her I¡¯ve just been lying low after getting my form destroyed. Otherwise, she might want to wrap me up in her protective care, on whatever Plane I claim I¡¯m using as home.¡± Julia didn¡¯t restrain the shudder, and Torm just nodded his acknowledgement. ¡°Her deeds have brought the end to Demons, Devils, and Celestials alike, she¡¯s not one to take lightly.¡± ¡°So I just have to worry about: the Sisterhood, the Treasury, and a lost boy. Not to mention my new sister Ebu wanting to take me to meet her family.¡± Julia counted them off on her fingers for emphasis, before giving Torm a smile that spoke of fragile teasing. ¡°A quick trip to Pandemonium, then the Fire Elemental Plane. I hope your fur won¡¯t get burnt off.¡± ¡°Ebu?!¡± Torm snorted, his amusement evident, but he got himself composed and continued. ¡°I can handle a lot of heat, so it¡¯s fine to start there. Are you planning to work your way around injuring yourself? For some energy forms that¡¯s unlikely to work well on.¡± {{Oh yeah, he can handle heat. Growl!}} ¡°We¡¯ll see how things go, but if I earn wealth, I can pass it along to help people here.¡± ¡°That could unbalance things, though enchanters will pay for Planar ingredients.¡± ¡°Exactly why I have things to pick up for Ebu. She insisted on giving me an overview of the Elemental Planes and charging me for it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying your best to avoid their names, aren¡¯t you?¡± Torm asked. ¡°You tell me then where I need to draw the line. Names have power but I don¡¯t know how to apply it safely.¡± Julia huffed. ¡°Named entities won¡¯t hear you saying their name just talking about them. A Lord or Lady in the Abyss will hear their name spoken if they have a sizeable amount of influence on the Plane you¡¯re on, but even then they might not pay attention. Only Greater Gods hear their names being spoken by anyone not among their faithful regardless of where they are in the Planes,¡± Torm stated, giving her questioning look. ¡°Would have been nice if someone had told me that earlier, I got told not to use Names,¡± Julia grumbled. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t give her a silly nickname I might say it to her face, but I was paranoid about using her full one,¡± Julia stated, giving Torm a hard look. ¡±Farhad thinks I¡¯m too kind, so I guess I¡¯m stuffed. I¡¯m also not used to being secretive while I worked with people I don¡¯t like, but I don¡¯t come from a secret squirrel business background.¡± ¡°Another saying Livia will love, but I¡¯m not sure what you mean. Being a terrible liar isn¡¯t a rotten thing.¡± ¡°My job involved organising people to find and fix issues and ensuring the most serious got fixed first. Even the people I didn¡¯t like, I wasn¡¯t keeping secrets from them. We had to be across the problems to help coordinate things for the teams getting them resolved.¡± ¡°Then describe how you see your current problem with B? Is it the most serious you have?¡± ¡°In the top five at present, I¡¯d kept personal issues locked up inside, I¡¯d help people with theirs and just try to deal with my own. Then, when I found my fianc¨¦ cheating on me, I kicked him out of my life. But I just started locking more pain away and stopped even trying to sort it out.¡± ¡°You never told us you were engaged.¡° Torm stated, blinking at the sadness in her words. ¡°Ancient and still poisonous history. When I got cursed, I just focused on surviving and kept up the same habit of locking it all away. I didn¡¯t realise, no, that¡¯s a lie I did, but I didn¡¯t want to go back to any of it. B even warned me after I could hear her properly that I needed to deal with it. The more she poked me about it, the less I wanted to deal with any of it since she kept poking painful memories from before my death. Now I have no choice: she¡¯s broken the locks and tossed away the boxes. I¡¯ve got it all churning away inside me, now uncontained. I can¡¯t find the mental balance that I need to keep calm and hold back telltale reactions. Bad at lying might not matter for a Celestial, but it¡¯s dangerous for my situation. I only think that Ebu has misunderstood what she¡¯s been seeing there, but even if she has misunderstood and isn¡¯t just pretending, my luck won¡¯t hold.¡± {{You were developing a gangrenous limb. I saved your life. Get over it. }} ¡°Then maybe I should suggest something different to just wandering the Elemental Planes.¡± Torm offered. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°How about an undertaking that brings meaning instead of fighting for survival and experience?¡± ¡°Am I going to need to drag your suggestion out of you?¡± Julia asked, giving him a frown for his build-up. ¡°Two suggestions so you can pick. I know a community of Dwarves living on the edge of the Elemental Plane of Earth. They¡¯re in a region close to a conflux of forces, between Earth, Magma, and Dust. Plenty to fight there, and it would make the area safer for their community. Their artisans are a ready market for materials you can gather while destroying the Elemental creatures. The alternative is a border region between Ysgard and Limbo. The guards there wouldn¡¯t turn down aid from one willing to kill raiding Slaadi, looking for incubators for their eggs. Though the second option is a higher risk with your form¡¯s energies.¡± replied Torm, his tone carefully neutral. Julia didn¡¯t respond immediately, and Torm respected her silence as she turned her gaze towards the winter¡¯s sky. ¡°We should go help the Dwarves then, after we visit Pandemonium. No idea how well I¡¯d handle being that close to the Higher Planes.¡± Julia said, after a few minutes of thinking. The relief in Torm¡¯s posture when Julia¡¯s reply started with ¡®we¡¯ went unnoticed by Julia. ¡°When do you wish to leave?¡± ¡°How about tomorrow before dawn? I promised Livia we''d spend time together before I head away again, even if I''m sure she''ll scold me.¡± 79 - All I know so far The scores present before dawn surprised Julia, and she had to wonder at the turn of events. So many gathering this time was surely because of Torm travelling with her; as many had connections to Tyr¡¯s Temple in various capacities, and the reason for Ylva¡¯s sad presence was altogether apparent to her. Yngvarr was the only one present for the first time, but now Julia considered ten here her ¡®guests¡¯. Farhad provided a treatise to study among other tokens from well-wishers, while Yngvarr added another grimoire to her collection. As the agreed time drew close, Livia beckoned Julia to bend down and stole another hug. ¡°Remember what I said about balance. Find yours; you¡¯re even further away from it than before. Next time you come back, stay awhile,¡± Livia whispered insistently. ¡°Honey, I¡¯m not sure how well that would work out,¡± said Julia, her words cutting off when Livia¡¯s arms tightened desperately. ¡°We¡¯ll all help figure it out. Stop thinking you have to find all the answers yourself,¡± said Livia, before at last releasing the vice-like hug she¡¯d applied. ¡°Don¡¯t give Uncle Torm a hard time, even if he is the patient type.¡± Rather than use Julia¡¯s conduit, Torm brought forth a plain metal disc. When Julia moved up beside him, Torm spoke in Celestial and turned it over. The surrounding reality shifted sideways, and they suddenly stood in utter darkness, with the wind howling around them. Pandemonium had greeted their arrival with a gale-force wind that threatened their balance. The Plane¡¯s thick, foreboding darkness weighed on them far more than the Material Plane¡¯s pre-dawn night sky. When Torm nodded at Julia, she teleported them. Their arrival in her hideout shielded them from most of the noise. A thin layer of dust had settled over everything in her shelter, and Julia floated up to check the niche. Despite returning the pillar extracted via Inventory, Julia found a thicker layer in the cavity itself. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°I think the wind is bringing dust through the seam. I¡¯m going to see if I can seal this end,¡± Julia replied, noticing dust swirls manifesting around the pillar¡¯s end. After some thought, she focused on the memory of building a canoe with her dad; the material she remembered expanded from her arm, its substance reacting with the chamber¡¯s air. Soon the niche had filled with the yellowish-brown foam they¡¯d used to add buoyancy to the canoe. Still connected to it, Julia felt like her ¡®skin¡¯ was sticking to the niche¡¯s stonework. She separated herself and regrew her arm in an instant as she drifted back from where the slot had been. The foam swelled further, expanding out along the stone for a few moments before it began hardening, leaving a solid chemical odour in the air. ¡°Interesting, but that doesn¡¯t smell friendly. What is it?¡± Torm asked. ¡°Something from my past life, it will seal to pretty much anything. Hopefully, it stops the dust from accumulating further.¡± ¡°You did just set up the basics,¡± noted Torm, as he glanced over the minimal furnishings in the chamber. ¡°I was only going to worry about additional rooms if I needed them. However, I should do that now to avoid causing issues with teleporting. It won¡¯t take long,¡± Julia said. With her original plan in mind, Julia touched the wall across from the niche. In consideration of Torm¡¯s size, she stored enough stone to start a corridor some three metres tall and about two metres wide. ¡°This won¡¯t take long,¡± Julia repeated, ¡°though dumping the material will.¡± Setting the block free from her Inventory, she kept cutting till hitting the limit of what she could shift between Teleport and Inventory. A memory of her brother¡¯s jokes about old school dungeon maps prompted her to change her original plans. She extended the three-metre-high passageway forward ten metres and set a matching chamber at the far end. Once done, she turned it into a crossroad, stopping when she had five identical rooms laid out in a cross. The thought of Mal objecting to the layout she¡¯d used for her hideout bringing forth a smile. She removed all the stone to their arrival point; Julia could only hope it was well away from them. The process had stretched her Inventory and Teleport capacity and provided all the encouragement she needed to complete the project. In each of the doorways, she created and hung stone doors with Protean to ensure they¡¯d move with the slightest touch. Torm had simply looked on as she rapidly completed the excavation work. Her inscribing workshop and its table got moved to the furthest room on the cross. Tidying up, Julia then smoothed out the expanded resin that had hardened in the niche to leave it flat with the surrounding wall. ¡°That¡¯s looking better.¡± ¡°Why did you make all the rooms so equally sized?¡± Torm asked, running fingertips across the perfectly smoothed stone. ¡°An old joke. I¡¯ll add something to the first room to make it distinctive for Teleport,¡± Julia said as she considered options. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± {{Why not a banner! Home is where the heart is. }} {{Oh, and an engraving of L¨ºdhins¡¯ face below it and his heart stuck in his mouth. That would be tasteful. }} I don¡¯t need a reminder existing here of him Carving the last chamber had allowed her health to recover from its door. So Julia put her hand out and grew a single piece of stone panel to cover the wall¡ªits motif based on a picture she remembered¡ªinventory removing jigsaw shaped holes to let her anchor it securely on the wall. When she completed the construction, a busy nature scene had completely covered the wall from ceiling to floor. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of animals, hiding among trees and bushes but I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve seen any of them before. What is that squat, strangely jawed dog?¡± Torm asked, pointing next to a pine tree she¡¯d set in the middle of the wall. ¡°That¡¯s a Tasmanian Devil, not a dog. The Dingo near the bush on the left, they¡¯re closely related to the dogs that you know.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a Devil shaped like that before. Why include it?¡± Torm asked with a frown. ¡°It¡¯s not a Devil. They make horrendous noises; people that didn¡¯t know better hearing them growling and carrying on at night called them Devils. Those and Wombats are my favourites, though Mal used to tease me about that,¡± Julia said, pointing out the animals. ¡°Why did he tease you about liking them?¡± ¡°Mal¡¯s a fan of wordplay, and one about Wombat is they ¡®Eats roots and leaves''. It only makes sense in our local slang and accent; otherwise, it sounds like you¡¯re talking about their eating habits. So he¡¯d needle me about liking an animal with which I had nothing in common. Older brothers, you can¡¯t live with them, and unfortunately, you¡¯re not allowed to strangle them,¡± Julia said, the sadness darkening her features as fingertips brushed the wombat¡¯s embossed form. ¡°So, what does it mean?¡± ¡°Root is an Australian term for a fuck. So when we call someone a Wombat, it meant they¡¯d eat, fuck, then leave. A one-night stand, love them and leave them, whatever you want to call it.¡± At the glowering expression on her face, Torm moved forward and pointed to marks Julia had added. ¡°What are the runes in the middle of that tree trunk?¡± ¡°First initials for Sarah, Rach and myself, S, R, J. The same runes I¡¯ve carved into a cave wall in Tern¨°x,¡± Julia replied, gesturing to each before tapping the stone thoughtfully and heading to the central area. Torm waited a moment before he followed and found Julia kneeling with a steel bowl forming on the floor. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Just something Rach used to recommend, except with the addition of magic. I don¡¯t know if it will help, but I¡¯ll give it a whirl,¡± Julia replied, and separating from the bowl, set it upon the floor. Torm observed as strips of what appeared to be fine white parchment appeared from Julia¡¯s arm. As she ripped one after another free, he shook his head, fully aware of what she was doing to make each one. Laying the paper strips across a thigh, Julia raised a hand, and a spike of flame formed above the bowl. Holding a slip out above the fire, she hesitated only for a moment before reading the words aloud and letting it drop. ¡°Andrew, your betrayal was your choice. It doesn¡¯t lessen me, and your actions were your own.¡± {{Gosh! You finally said his name. You even included a strip for the skanky bitch. }} B, you wanted me to deal with this, so I¡¯m trying. Now back off. Otherwise, I¡¯ll take it as your wanting to sabotage me like L¨ºdhins¡¯ Id did him. The slip with Kathryn¡¯s name came next, followed by others accounting for memories, hurtful words, or actions whose pain she¡¯d locked away. Others were quite different, and Julia read them, voicing the reference where she¡¯d know she¡¯d been in the wrong. She tried to release the guilt from deeds where she could no longer make amends to those she¡¯d hurt. Notes of past life turning into mentions of the terrors, horrors and fears she encountered in the Abyss, all joining the growing ash pile. The details on each minimal, the gesture meaningful as Julia tried to let go of the emotions. ¡°Just as well, we don¡¯t need to breathe and spell flames don¡¯t require oxygen,¡± Julia said, even as she ceased sustaining the flame. ¡°Was that more of your native tongue? And a ritual from home?¡± asked Torm. ¡°I used to tease Rach about being a firebug, but she used to do that each week. It made it easier to let go of painful experiences and things she felt weighing on her. I don¡¯t know if it will work, but I¡¯m willing to try. She¡¯d mix the ashes into her mum¡¯s compost heap, so something good would come of it.¡± ¡°Sorry if I was an intruder. I wasn¡¯t sure if leaving would distract more than staying,¡± Torm said, watching as she rose to her feet. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ((Even taking the first step is progress. )) The calm approval was in V''s voice was reassuring and comforting, so different to the echoing loudness Julia had heard in the mind palace. {{You said nothing about your guilt over either of them getting caught up with your stalker. }} B¡¯s tone seemed actually interested, and so Julia gave her an honest answer. That¡¯s because somehow, I¡¯m going to find them and tell them in person. Lifting her gaze to Torm¡¯s, Julia answered with honest calmness. ¡°I hadn¡¯t asked you to wait. If I¡¯d felt uncomfortable, I promise I would have been honest and told you. I tried subtle digs with Moke, and that so didn¡¯t work out. Now for the next part, and then we¡¯ll go to the Plane of Earthiness. I¡¯ll have to figure out how to refresh the air later.¡± ¡°Just because that¡¯s a word doesn¡¯t mean you had to misuse it,¡± Torm stated. ¡°Earthiness, right next to Celestialness,¡± quipped Julia, a teasing smile making a brief appearance. ¡°I said please when I asked you not to use that word again,¡± Torm growled in mock exasperation. ¡°I know you did, but I just had to use it to tease you,¡± Julia said. Noting the amused lightness in her tone, Torm just playfully muttered and shook his head. ¡°Ready to go?¡± Julia asked, giving him another smile. ¡°Very well.¡± Julia teleported them to the area above and held up the bowl. The howling wind present within the tunnel dragged the ashes from the bowl in a stream. When she¡¯d scattered most, Julia gave the bowl a final shake before it disappeared into her Inventory. With a sigh, she retrieved the conduit and opened up the passageway to the Elemental Plane of Earth, and Torm followed her. While she had noted the cavern when she exited the tube, Julia didn¡¯t take a proper look around till the conduit closed. Unlike the oppressive weight of the darkness in Pandemonium, the darkness here was natural. True Sight allowed her to see for miles in the massive cavern that extended all around them. Scattered through it were pillars, stalactites, stalagmites, and irregular formations. While the cavern was nearly completely dark, there were a few pockets of light: mostly glowing fungi and sections of rock shining in various shades, untainted like the malice of Tern¨°x. A faint hint of wind ran across her face, freshening the air and adding a mix of earthen scents to the cavern. ¡°Are you just levelling Monk or something else as well?¡± Julia asked, ¡°since you know about Prestige Classes.¡± ¡°Fighter and Ranger, they make up the Guardian Class I¡¯m following at present. I thought it best to grow stronger at what I already know. I¡¯ll focus on combining the additional aspects of Monk with them, rather than trying a bunch of new things all at once,¡± Torm replied. ¡°Why do most mortals call them paths, not classes, and know nothing about higher tier Prestige Classes?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not allowed to discuss them with those not already aware of them. It¡¯s part of the Titan¡¯s agreement. We literally can¡¯t speak of them, even if we¡¯re not aware of the ignorant being in earshot.¡± ¡°Then why can I?¡± Julia asked, unsure which factor in her weird existence made the difference. ¡°Perhaps because of what you are. After all, technically, you¡¯re trapped within a Demon, not a Demon or a Celestial. Now since neither of us knows the answer, if you¡¯d change to something with less weight, I¡¯ll Teleport us close.¡± As Julia considered options for a moment, she felt mischievous and decided she''d abuse the additional mass Greater Teleport Self allowed to be carried. With a chirping kitten in mind, Julia turned into its tiny sandy brown form, absorbing the leather clothing as it collapsed around her. When Teleport put her onto Torm¡¯s shoulder, she quickly took the opportunity and stuck the tip of a twitching tail in his ear. ¡°Really? Did you turn into a cat? What sort of breed is that?¡± Torm asked as he eased the wiggling tail away. #Where I come from, this cat breed is an Abyssinian.# Julia replied, projecting Telepathy at him since she didn¡¯t know how to even try to speak as a kitten. Torm snorted and looked at her out of the corner of his eye as her needle claws found purchase in cloth. #Nothing to do with Demons, though I know it sounds very close to Abyss. Let¡¯s move along, shall we?# {{Torm got a pussy; you should have sat atop his head. Oh, does this mean he¡¯s staff now?}} Mentally sighing at B¡¯s jokes, Julia didn¡¯t have long to wait as Torm teleported them into a carved tunnel. With Telepathy providing her with the all-clear, Julia hopped down behind him. Smoothly transforming back to the negotiated form, she visualised her clothes, and they appeared properly placed from Inventory. Torm remained politely looking towards a compound far down the tunnel ahead of them while she sorted her clothing out. When Julia finished dressing and moved up beside him, Torm spoke again, gesturing to the compound¡¯s gates. ¡°Most non-Dwarven visitors aren¡¯t allowed beyond the second set of gates and expect the Dwarves to be wary of you. The guards will detect you¡¯re a Demon, so they¡¯ll be cautious even with me vouching for you. They¡¯ll likely want your movement restricted to the outer fortifications nearest the gate,¡± Torm explained. ¡°What name do you plan to use?¡± ¡°Eakc?.¡± The reply earned a surprised look from Torm as the overlay of his human face vanished, and the wolf¡¯s features she¡¯d seen in True Sight became clear. A full muzzle, pelt and furred ears appeared no longer overlain by his mana changed form. His enormous hands thickened slightly, and the loose clothing he wore seemed somewhat tighter, but he moved in them easily as he stretched. Where his motions previously had been smooth but human, now they conveyed the grace of a predator. {{My grandma, what big teeth you have! }} ¡°It makes sense Moke was teasing you about being moonstruck. I hope you at least plan to visit your lady and not travel with me all the time.¡± ¡°I thought you had stayed at Yngvarr¡¯s house,¡± Torm replied with a groan. ¡°Rika loves Odes and Chants. She recited Moke¡¯s Ode to the smitten puppy for me. She thinks it¡¯s romantic, but no idea it¡¯s referring to you. Did Ylva finally get your attention?¡± Julia asked, smiling as Torm just shook his head and muttered. ¡°That is not what is going on.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Torm. I won¡¯t keep you away from your love interest too long. The Ode was obviously about you, but only because you were grumbling about Moke. Is it unrequited love? I mean, I¡¯ve not been to the Silver Chalice again, but I¡¯m sure Ylva wouldn¡¯t have given up on you that easily,¡± said Julia. ¡°No, she¡¯s still trying to gain my interest, regardless of how I try to show that I don¡¯t return it,¡± Torm replied, shaking his head. ¡°Maybe you should tell her how you feel. Guys just need to learn to share properly,¡± Julia said, her teasing digging lightly at Torm. ¡°Ylva isn¡¯t for me, and the one who I hope is, well, she certainly needs time.¡± {{Ahh, why don¡¯t you kiss the poor puppy to make him feel better. At least he didn¡¯t say pot meet kettle.}} I refuse to be the other woman. He¡¯s a good person, but even if he didn¡¯t have someone else as I''ve told you, first, I¡¯m not a furry, and second, he¡¯s a Celestial. I already tell him too much with that trustworthy vibe he has going on. {{No, not furry. You could be a mini-me of Cthulhu, but a bit of fur. Eeep! No wonder you shaved regularly!}} ¡°Let me know if I should drop some hints to them for you,¡± Julia offered, mentally sighing at B¡¯s baiting and the mock squeal of fear. ¡°Let us see if they¡¯ll allow us inside. Shall we?¡± asked Torm, clearly wanting to change the subject. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll mind my business, don¡¯t worry about me,¡± Julia said, raising her hands in surrender. ¡°I felt guilty eating with you and Verdandi in the Chalice so often during my first stay in Eyrarh¨¢ls. Every time we had lunch or dinner at the Chalice Ylva was not happy.¡± When Torm just sighed and strode ahead, Julia followed along, keeping her attention directed towards the gate. ¡°I can¡¯t control another¡¯s choices or feelings, nor am I one for words. I can only hope the ones that matter to me can see my intention through my actions,¡± Torm replied, as he continued onwards. ¡°Guess we¡¯re both emotional vaults that keep things locked up.¡± As the tunnel drew close to the gate, it opened up into a cavern. Above the gated wall, which was thick with wards and blocked all view beyond, slots for defenders to attack were visible. Julia couldn¡¯t sense any minds beyond, but she could see movement through the slots.
¡°We know what you are, but it gives you no extra rights here. There is no way we¡¯re letting a rock grub Demon inside our wards, even on your word.¡± The gruff voice behind the grill snarled again at Torm, the speaker¡¯s agitation clear as their spittle coated their side of the bars. ¡°Torm, it¡¯s not worth dealing with this headache, it¡¯s not like we need sleep,¡± Julia said, interrupting him before the argument continued. With her gaze directed on the Dwarf, who hadn¡¯t given their name in return for their introduction, she spoke as calmly as she could. ¡°Is there any area where your community would benefit from having Elemental creatures thinned?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll not tell either of you where we need more patrols.¡± The words were spat with even greater distaste as the Dwarf kept their focus directed at Torm. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just roll a die and decide if we handle earth, magma, or dust, then shall I?¡± ¡°Just ensure you¡¯re away from here. I¡¯ll warn the patrols about the pair of you, don¡¯t be expecting mercy from them. Now get, before I give the turret crews and archers live targets for training.¡± {{No Scottish accent. I¡¯m disappointed. Call them a beardless boy. Go on. I dare you!}} It might be a female Dwarf. {{Ask them if they¡¯re a milk drinker then. }} Julia frowned at them and giving in, turned on Soul sight; the impression it returned was a rigid, stubborn nature. It also confirmed they were male, but unfortunately, that didn¡¯t let Julia figure out if their females had beards or not. ¡°I¡¯ll go back to where you teleported us, Torm, and we can decide there,¡± Julia said, before regarding the guard again, and spoke louder over his attempts at interrupting so the other guards could hear her reply. ¡°It¡¯s nice to have met the King of your group. Farewell, your Majesty, I¡¯m sure all your subjects are happy to take your sandstone headed commands. I¡¯m sure your superiors will be happy with you usurping their right to decide.¡± Julia teleported away even as he spat in her direction. It was some time before Torm appeared nearby, and he shook his head. ¡°You might as well have set his beard on fire. They¡¯ll let me in for trade when we¡¯ve materials to sell, but only to see their quartermaster, none of the merchants. Any reason for poking at him?" ¡°He likes his authority and thinks a lot of himself. I thought I¡¯d have people asking questions about what other liberties he might be taking. So he offered to let the quartermaster get a nice profit out of the items when he sells them to the merchants. Fuck that. I think I¡¯ll sell them elsewhere. I¡¯ll just take them to The Exchange,¡± Julia replied with a snort. ¡°Sorry this didn¡¯t work out,¡± Torm said, clearly unhappy. ¡°It was an idea, and you¡¯re not responsible for other people¡¯s choices. Plus, it hasn¡¯t failed. I¡¯m just not allowed inside. Though he¡¯s an arse, it doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t help ensure safer conditions for the other Dwarves living here. So travel on foot or Teleport again?¡± ¡°We might as well Teleport. We¡¯re within their patrol routes this close to the gate. Where do you want to go?¡± Julia just smiled and held up a die she¡¯d created. Crouching she sent it rolling along the floor. As soon as it stopped, she gathered it back up and showed Torm the burning rock symbol displayed on the lucky side. ¡°Just as well you can handle heat. I got magma. Or do you want best of five?¡± Julia asked, offering him the die. ¡°Magma is fine with me,¡± Torm replied as he closed her fingers around it. Quickly shifting back into a kitten earned an eye roll, and when she landed on his shoulder, he teleported again. This time the place had no sign of civilisation. Instead of a carved passage, irregular rock walls glistening in the heat haze stood about them. Here and there along their course, veins of metal were glowing in the hot air, and Julia quickly counted at least nine exits. An exact number was impossible to tell because of a shimmering curtain of magma that cut across the cave near them. The mass of molten rock continually flowed away into a deep crevice; its motion caused the air to thrum. With the air nearly igniting, it was clear the leathers she had wouldn¡¯t survive. So instead, when she hopped down, Julia created simple leathers: pants, shirt, boots and left them connected to her. Her immunity to fire kept the faux material from trying to ignite. ¡°How come your clothing isn¡¯t going up in flames?¡± Julia asked as she corrected the hasty formation of her own. ¡°They were crafted with Planar travel in mind; these aren¡¯t the worst conditions they¡¯ve faced,¡± replied Torm, as he looked around as if to confirm their location. ¡°Anywhere in particular you know that will have trouble?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find something. It¡¯s like walking through the wilderness, except the local wildlife will not run for the hills,¡± Torm said. ¡°They are the hills?¡± asked Julia, giving Torm an enquiring look. ¡°Elementals can grow that big in these regions.¡± The matter-of-fact tone made Julia¡¯s eyes widen, and she tried to set the mental image aside. ¡°Just as well you have the safety of Greater Teleport; I bet this place changes a bit. This time it¡¯s your lead; otherwise, I¡¯m going to pick that tunnel,¡± Julia said, pointing to one at random. ¡°If my memories are right, that¡¯s a dead end. Most were, but Planar activity might have changed that. We need to continue through the grotto, then take whatever downwards passage is open. We¡¯ll find magma pools close to this area, no enormous lakes in this region, just small pools.¡± 80 - Some like it Hot It had taken almost a bell to reach the location Torm remembered, and Julia blinked in shock upon seeing it. ¡°Small,¡± Julia breathed, looking around the cavern ahead of them. The irregular arching ceiling of dark stone stretched for kilometres ahead. Within the walls gemstones and metals shimmered as they reflected the light from magma. Some of the ¡®small pools¡¯ were larger than Olympic ones, and an assortment of different sized pools lay scattered frequently throughout the cavern. Each emitting bubbles of gases and even small eruptions of magma. The regions between the banks flexed with waves, and some look more like barely cooled lava than anything substantial. ¡°I¡¯d suggest we work our way along the edge. If anything tries to stay at range, you handle it; otherwise, we¡¯ll fight it once it comes up on the rock. Once we¡¯re fighting, keep your eyes peeled, it will attract whatever is in the vicinity to join in.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s small pools, what size are the big ones?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Larger caverns with magma from wall to wall, deeper still you¡¯ll find the magma ocean. Various Elemental Lords and Tyrants rule in its depths, or on its waves,¡± replied Torm as he moved forward. Their intent to skirt along the edge was optimistic, as they hadn¡¯t even got to the edge when a pool of magma nearby swelled. Black pits looked at them from within the magma as an enormous hand somehow kept its shape intact scooped up the molten fluid. With excess dripping over the edges of its palm, its arm swivelled and tossed it towards them. Julia¡¯s Teleport set her near the head that emerged from the magma, and she lashed out with Ki Strike, even as Analysis provided their foe¡¯s details. Torm ran towards the shoreline, long knives wreathed with frost appearing in his hands. [Species: Large Para-Elemental, Magma Level: 120 Health: 4,560 Mana: 600 Defence: 110 Melee Attack Power: 380 Ranged Attack Power: 220 Magic: 30 Combat Skills: Grab [M] (12), Engulf [M] (18), Smash [M] (15), Throw [Ad](2); Innate Spell Forms - Various Magma Effects Details: A Elemental can require sixty or more years of accumulated energy to reach this size.] Ki and Mana erupted from her strike as the response came. A blow from the Elemental threw her back, and another limb smashed her down against the pool¡¯s edge. The magma clinging to her skin didn¡¯t burn through Demonic flesh. However, the impact caused pain to spike through her leg. Torm¡¯s knives slashed across the limb, hardening a crust along it. And Julia¡¯s knee strike ladened with Spatial Mana ruptured its shell before it could backhand him. Julia used her momentum to tumble away from it as more limbs speared out from the Elemental. Scorching heat brushed past Julia¡¯s face as her motion took her beneath a strike. Another missed Torm as Teleport shifted his position. As the damaged arm reformed, it drove downwards against Julia¡¯s trailing leg. Its impact broke her ankle with a wet snap as the limb twisted and bone breached flesh. With its grip bearing down on her, Julia''s form shrank, and she teleported away in the instant when a gap developed between its form and hers. As she reformed in mid-air, Julia smashed a heel kick down on its arm. The momentary contact was enough to leech some health back into her form. Ice blades driving deep into its molten surface sent shards of its structure bursting outwards. The Elemental¡¯s inferno having destroyed a section of its own frozen ¡®flesh¡¯ with the rapid temperature changes. Inner pain lingered within reformed flesh as Julia moved to attack. As an arm grabbed for him, Torm teleported just beside its path. Its momentum turned against it as he reappeared with blades outstretched. The attack gouged out trenches in the molten material. As the spray separated from its form, it recoiled back. Yet Julia¡¯s attack smashed the flinching limb back into the blades. The pain-enraged Elemental reared up to crush the annoying bugs between its body and the ground, only for neither of them to be present. Hardened, igneous rock drank its heat as the blades and fists struck from new directions. Its churning motions were already beckoning others of its ilk that intruders were at hand. As Torm stabbed the Elemental again, three smaller ones rose from magma. Though they were coming towards them quickly, Julia compared them to the one they still fought. Separated by the bulk of their initial foe, they both smiled and struck again. The large Elemental losing more energy from inflicted wounds as it lashed out in response. Magma Elementals joined the battle at irregular intervals, even moving up on the rock in an attempt at surrounding them. [Species: Para-Elemental, Magma Level: 80 Health: 2,400 Mana: 300 Defence: 90 Melee Attack Power: 250 Magic: 20 Combat Skills: Grab [Ad] (32), Engulf [Ad] (22), Smash [Ad] (35), Innate Spell Forms - Various Magma Effects Details: An Elemental can require ten or more years of energy accumulation to reach this size.]
The death of the Elementals had caused them to solidify with strange speed, despite the searing heat. After they were all destroyed, Torm had grumbled about materials being wasted and set to crush rocks. ¡°I should have brought tools with us,¡± said Torm, as he dropped yet another rock section to the ground. ¡°What had you planned to do?¡± ¡°Purchase them from the Dwarves depending on what area they wanted help in.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ve brought me to an area you¡¯d normally come to get experience?¡± Julia asked, trying to scrape slowly hardening lava from her arm. ¡°I need something worthy to battle, and you want to get stronger. Why didn¡¯t you use your Protean more?¡± ¡°Need to push my skills. Taking the simple way through fights didn¡¯t help me with L¨ºdhins,¡± Julia replied, biting off the words but forcing herself to move past her reluctance to speak his name aloud. ¡°Did you have fun?¡± Torm asked, the subject change as subtle as a mallet. Still, it directed Julia¡¯s attention towards the combat summary, the experience showing brought forth a wry smile. ¡°It was okay, but I¡¯ve had better.¡± Julia quipped, gazing over the hardening forms around them. ¡°Were you holding back?¡± [Combat Summary: Medium Para-Elemental, Magma x12 (50%) Large Para-Elemental, Magma x 5 (50%) Total-Experience Earned: 41,400 Monk: +31,050 Succubus: +10,350 Agile [Ad] (14->17) ] Torm¡¯s response came even as B started snickering in her mind, and Julia wasn¡¯t game to ask what she found amusing. ¡°Being focused on using the knives with the forms Master Farhad has taught me, I will admit, slowed me more than a bit. Why do you ask?¡± enquired Torm, looking up from a rock finger he was breaking apart. ¡°Just the way I see our fight experience, it gave me exactly half, and I was sure you¡¯d done more damage. It didn¡¯t work that way when I¡¯ve fought with others.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here working together, not competing for kills; that¡¯s the way it works for genuine partners. How does a contract of a copper per Elemental you kill in here sound?" ¡°How cheap do you think I am?¡± Julia asked, waving her hand dismissively, her laughter barely restrained under the words. ¡°You need to set the contract at a silver each buster.¡± ¡°Deal! A small silver each,¡± Torm responded with a nod as he started extracting a fleck of Mithril from the stone. ¡°Fine,¡± Julia replied, her tone a mock grumble. She looked again at the rock shell a spell form had wrapped around a forearm and tried a fresh approach. When it disappeared into Inventory, Julia tried to eject only the hardened rock and leave everything else behind. The flecks of crystal her profile listed afterwards brought a smile, and she set about repeating the process on the Elemental¡¯s remains, ejecting the rock into the nearest pool. Julia smirked before handing Torm the grams of Mithril, Adamantine, and tiny gemstones it had left behind. [Inventory [Ap](12->13)] ¡°You couldn¡¯t have done that earlier?¡± Torm asked, looking over the large hand it had taken him time to break up, obviously comparing it to the mass that Julia had handled in mere moments. ¡°Boys like breaking things; thought I should let you have some fun at least. Though actually, I wasn¡¯t sure I could separate materials; it¡¯s a new trick.¡± Julia replied, her tone bright at the success. ¡°I¡¯ll let you handle the rest of the cleanup,¡± Torm said with a nod, his satisfaction turning into puzzlement when Julia gave him a frown. ¡°Figures.¡± Torm sighed, relieved at her teasing tone, and took a shuffling step away from the remains. ¡°While you¡¯re still regenerating mind if I try something?¡± Julia asked with a glance at his injured leg. ¡°I need to practice healing with my Ki.¡± ¡°Makes sense. I¡¯d heal, but it could mean a difference to someone not so fortunate later,¡± Torm said. Mana Finesse made it easy to pull the Abyssal energies back from her hands. As Julia focused on the Universal Life skill, the golden light again shone along the skin of her hands. Not sure if she needed to focus it on the point of injury, she just tried placing her hand above an offered forearm. As she concentrated, she felt a slow trickle of energy between them. It was long minutes before the first notification appeared in her awareness, only the trickling power encouraging her to persist. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. [Ki Spent: 1 Healing applied: 19 Universal Life (1->2)] ¡°Interesting. It felt like a coolness was washing through me. A very distinct sensation compared to healings provided by blessing, those are like warm hearth and being home,¡± Torm commented. He seems to like that word. {{I think we¡¯d find it interesting to figure out who he¡¯s got his eye on. Who oh who could it be.}} [Ki Spent: 1 Healing applied: 19 Universal Life (2->3)] B that¡¯s his business. I was rude to tease him; he seemed tense when I brought it up. Julia focused on feeding Ki through the Power. With all the health gained via Energy Drain, Julia¡¯s health recovered well before Torm¡¯s own, even with her help. [Ki Spent: 1 Healing applied: 20 Universal Life (3->4)] The time between each healing notification had only slightly reduced, as her skill had continually increased during the healing process, but Julia smiled at the numbers the last report showed. [Ki Spent: 1 Healing applied: 39 Universal Life [B](3->4)] ¡°Doubled the amount of healing, though it still takes time to take effect. You need practice dodging, but I¡¯d say you¡¯ve got the endurance to handle getting beat up,¡± Julia said, lifting her hands from where they¡¯d hovered above his pelt. ¡°I¡¯ll learn. That Power will be useful; I¡¯ll have to try learning it as well. I can channel some Healing blessings from Tyr as one of his Rangers and as a Celestial. After a battle, another healing option could mean someone''s life or limb saved.¡± ¡°Master Farhad''s treatise has a section on it,¡± Julia said, having looked at the preface when Farhad had given her the treatise. ¡°Let¡¯s recover Mana and Ki, then move on,¡± Torm said, voice bright with anticipation. ¡°If fighting that many only gets us a few grams, one weapon will require hundreds of fights,¡± commented Julia. ¡°And you can store tons of material.¡± Torm reminded her with a smile. ¡°You do want to see what tier seven classes that achievement unlocked.¡± ¡°I know this isn¡¯t the way all Celestials spend their time.¡± ¡°No, but you needed time in the company of someone you could trust.¡± ¡°Thanks, but are you sure?¡± Julia asked, feeling a pang of guilt for dragging him away from Eyrarh¨¢ls. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s my choice, remember. I need to increase my level, and I can think of few people whose company so improves wandering. Anytime you need someone, let me know,¡± Torm stated, frowning at the emotions in her eyes. ¡°Thanks, yes, I forgot you said you planned to travel. I¡¯ll stop bringing it up. Which direction did you want to venture through the cavern?¡± asked Julia, looking apologetic. ¡°This pool is closest to the cavern¡¯s left side. Shall we continue along that wall?¡± Torm asked, gesturing in their original direction. Julia just nodded before moving lightly out along the rock path towards the next pool. Miles of inferno lay ahead of them, and she was sure plenty of playmates would object to their dropping in. The rock she¡¯d ejected melting within the pool¡¯s magma and finding a focus, fresh energy swirled around the pieces. Torm moved to walk alongside, determinedly keeping his True Sight off.
Torm led the way, carefully plotting a course that ensured he had places to fight. After the next few battles, it became clear the further they ventured into the cavern, the greater the Elementals grew, both in numbers and strength. Though that had a benefit besides the experience, as remaining on edge stretched Danger Sense and Perception. The spray of lava burst from a pool nearby reached towards the ceiling, and Julia spotted the moment the erratic spray gained form. As Julia took in the massive hand rising above the bank beside her, it was clear the fingers alone were the length of her torso. The fluid surface of the pool rippled in displaced waves as its body rose as well. A reflex Analysis gave numbers that were larger than any previously seen. The Elemental¡¯s body was causing the pool''s surface to undulate for fifteen or more metres around as it rose. Its emerging sent ripples out to banks further away, and more Elementals than she¡¯d seen in one fight were already emerging. [Species: Huge Para-Elemental, Magma Level: 150 Health: 6,960 Mana: 1050 Defence: 210 Melee Attack Power: 500 Ranged Attack Power: 290 Combat Skills: Grab [M] (18), Engulf [M] (24), Smash [M] (22), Throw [Ad](34); Innate Spell Forms - Various Magma Effects Details: A Elemental can require a hundred or more years of accumulated energy to reach this size.] Teleport only just got Julia clear as the blow shattered the rock where she¡¯d been standing. The impression left behind rapidly filling with molten fluid from the pool. Another arm swung at Torm, only for him to jump up and run along its length. A legitimately wolfish grin lit up his features as he teleported to one side and lashed out in a single motion. As more Elementals rose, Julia lashed out with a Spell Form, and Order pulsed through a Shock Blast. The purity of the Mana crystallising flowing magma and parts of Elemental alike into rigid gleaming stone that ruptured in the heat. Torm dropped flat to avoid a glowing fist. Even as he went to rise, another arm struck towards him from one side. Julia teleported them both back along the cavern¡¯s wall, and Torm nodded as he rose. He called out another mocking sound that rang the air and the Elementals as one focused their attention on him. With a gesture towards a different path, Torm headed to lure them away, and the Elementals raced to intercept. As they streamed towards him in growing clumps, Julia struck with another spell, its energy cracking forms and heated terrain alike. When those injured moved towards her, the sound came again and Torm regained their focus. A Taunt? As each mocking outburst rang the air, more Elementals came forth, till dozens had streamed out of pools, and the recent arrivals kept their attention on Julia. {{Guess they want to give you a tug since the wolf boy''s tail is too long. }} Seeing the mob in pursuit of Torm, Julia teleported further along his path. Preparing the Lightning Bolt''s spell pattern, Julia let it fill with Order, holding it till his retreat took him past. Molten vapours crystallised, their prisms radiating light through the chamber, the air chiming with the energy that went cascading through the Elementals. The closest was barely out of arm¡¯s reach from Julia as Teleport took her away. The Elementals stubbornly kept chasing after Torm¡¯s scornful sounds, and bombarded by more Order became hardening remains. [Combat Summary: Small Para-Elemental, Magma x40 (x50%) Medium Para-Elemental, Magma x34 (x50%) Large Para-Elemental, Magma x20 (x50%) Huge Para-Elemental, Magma x2 (x50%) Total-Experience Gained: +177,560 Succubus: +27,104 Wizard: +150,456 Wizard Level Up! Additional experience awarded for contract completion: x96 Assassin: +96,000 Assassin Level Up! Lightning Bolt [Ad](23->28) Shock Blast [J](35->40) Greater Teleport [Ad](24->25) Mana Finesse [M](2->3)] So much easier to get experience purely for Wizard. I¡¯ll need to fight some foes with only Ki techniques, unarmed combat, no Teleport or shifting form. The unallocated attributes gained from level forty-two in Wizard Julia quickly spent in her Intelligence.. ¡°If you¡¯re going to shoo me to safety, I¡¯ll have you know that isn¡¯t a good idea,¡± stated Julia. ¡°You had rotten aggro control; never provoke more than what you can handle; I''ve had sharp reminders of that recently.¡± ¡°You¡¯re assuming I expected you to run off to safety. I¡¯m certain that sort of individual would never have taken a risk for an already dead child. I asked Farhad about the advice he gave you. Would you like to know what I believe?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Everyone seems to have a view about how I should change, including my Id.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t advice about changing; in fact, it¡¯s the opposite. When you fight for yourself, then opponents are obstacles; when you fight for those in need, you¡¯ve attacked to kill. Think of when you rescued those from the Charter House. Don¡¯t look towards changing who you are inside, instead be a better you. Focus on fighting for those you see as being worthy. Evil in one form or another will always threaten innocents somewhere. So I¡¯d suggest you keep working to save people, and you¡¯ll find plenty of individuals you¡¯ll need to kill quickly. Don¡¯t rush to improve a power that in time will grow without betraying yourself,¡± Torm stated. That¡¯s both grim and disturbingly comforting. ¡°Thanks, that helps. Any other words of wisdom?¡± Julia asked after a few moments of careful consideration. ¡°You¡¯ve got a mess to clean up,¡± stated Torm. ¡°Thanks.¡± At Julia¡¯s dry tone and flat look, Torm couldn¡¯t help but snort in amusement. That¡¯s what I get for tipping my hand. Dishes. The trick with inventory quickly extracted more metal fragments and gemstones from the solidified forms. ¡°That sound you made, what was it?¡± ¡°When I use Provoke, anything said distorts into that noise and releases energy that attracts foes to me even through solid walls. There are limits to its range and the numbers I can affect with it. ¡°Even through solid objects. Interesting." Julia said, lightly tapping her fingers together in thought. "I¡¯d think we go back to where we entered the cavern and be methodical.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°I think we set ourselves the goal of killing everything in the cavern¡¯s pools before we move on. You should use Provoke near the edges of each pool, and then we deal with whatever comes up. Then repeat that on every pool.¡± ¡°The pool¡¯s depths extend further than the range of Provoke.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they do, but it will allow us to gather up a bunch Elementals and leave less in the region, if nothing else,¡± Julia countered. ¡°Are these the primary threats from the magma region for the Dwarves?¡± ¡°These are more natural hazards. It¡¯s the Salamanders and other organised inhabitants of the magma oceans that are the principal threats. I¡¯ve rescued prisoners that have been staked out to die on the edges of the Plane where the heat will only slowly kill them,¡° replied Torm, looking deeper into the Planes depth before returning his attention to Julia. ¡°How long do you want to spend clearing out Elementals?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the question to ask, Torm. The question to ask is, what¡¯s our goal. The time taken doesn¡¯t matter as long as we¡¯re efficiently progressing towards it,¡± replied Julia before teleporting back to where she¡¯d first looked over the cavern. ¡°What did you need to achieve?¡± asked Torm, interest apparent beyond mere curiosity. ¡°Ultimately, enough power to crush the Lady and the Sisterhood. Find my friends in Hell, and help them free themselves from whatever is holding them there.¡± Julia said, fingers tapping against her sternum where Ebusuku had poked when snarling about it. ¡°Understandable. I guess it''s good to have a long-term goal, but what¡¯s your next goal presently?¡± Torm persisted. ¡°Getting all my current classes to level ninety, I want to see what options tier seven will bring me.¡± Torm smiled and moved towards the closest pool they hadn¡¯t yet gone near. The mocking sound he let loose cause the magma to ripple before they got close. With a quick exchange of nods, they set to dealing with the first emerging Elemental. Julia expected they¡¯d have cycles ahead of them in clearing the cavern of Elementals, given the numbers they¡¯d already faced.
Julia looked at the molten river they¡¯d found at the cavern¡¯s far end. The only rock near its surface, a narrow lip along its edge that disappeared in places with only a steep wall. ¡°It looks intimidating, but we¡¯re both immune to fire and can Teleport, so it''s not an issue. The biggest problem is ensuring I have a place to fight. How much experience was the cavern worth?¡± Torm asked as he gestured back along the kilometres they¡¯d travelled within the cavern. ¡°For the week of fighting it required, it was millions and I have the knack for levelling Monk separately to Succubus down now. Even if it means I need to restrict how I fight,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°We know about classes, but we can¡¯t see the numerical experience progression as you do even with imprints. Though the various pantheons have objects similar to the imprint stone, you let Yngvarr research. If you could get into Hell undetected, would you go searching for your friends?¡± Torm asked. ¡°That was a quick change of subject. Are there ways to hide the Sigil? Whose help would we need? What would they charge?¡± Julia''s gaze shone with intensity, and more questions leapt forth, and Torm just raised his hands pleadingly a moment. ¡°No, I don¡¯t know how to hide the Sigil, but others potentially do. Folks who are far safer to ask than Ebusuku. I¡¯ll make enquiries when you want to take a break. However, what I know is if you go there not knowing their processes, they¡¯ll spot you quickly. Even if your Acting skill could carry you through, if you go there with Ebusuku, then you¡¯re playing by her plan.¡± ¡°Again, back to improving Acting, Dominion has been useful, but I wish it hadn¡¯t absorbed Acting. I had hoped Verdandi could find someone to get in touch with them.¡± Julia responded, a glum tone filling her words. ¡°Yngvarr and Verdandi discussed it after he returned from Tern¨°x. Neither of them responded to any combination of the names you provided when Yngvarr tried. Though there are probable reasons to explain that which aren¡¯t dire; at least two you can figure out yourself, and they aren¡¯t the only reasons,¡± Torm said, resting a hand fleetingly on her shoulder. ¡°If your friends are as strong as you, they¡¯ve likely prospered in one fashion or another. Devils teach their newcomers; they¡¯re troops in the infernal armies in the Devil¡¯s ¡®Blood War¡¯ against the Abyss, not just more spawn to let sink or swim.¡± Yeah, they might have changed their names or been summoned by someone. Troops! I can¡¯t see Rach responding to military discipline, and Sarah is more inclined towards inflicting discipline. ¡°Well, let us take that last passage that had stone underfoot. If we can find more caverns like this one, we¡¯ll both be rolling in levels without fighting in lava soup.¡± Torm nodded and gestured for her to go ahead, and Julia teleported them both. ¡°You had some interesting approaches to fighting. Your people had games where you pretended to fight monsters for enjoyment?¡± Torm asked as he led the way into the passage. ¡°To us, they¡¯re just legends that didn¡¯t exist in the world. People created games, where they could take the part of heroes.¡± ¡°Why did you enjoy playing them?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Not worried about something hearing us?¡± countered Julia. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to keep alert for an ambush. Now you were saying about these games you enjoyed.¡± 81 - What lies ahead They¡¯d been exploring the passage from the cavern for cycles, backtracking from dead ends before venturing onwards again. Their exploration was characterised by long stretches of nothing broken up by sudden bursts of violence. When another lava pool disrupted the passage, Julia¡¯s True Sight showed a form on its far edge. Yet Torm surprised her as he teleported to a ledge near it, apparently oblivious to its presence. Molten rock slid off shining bronze-hued scales as it and two others rose to cast nets towards him. While he dodged past two nets, the hooks within a third dug into flesh; the net that had been floating adrift in the air drove downwards with force enough to crack rock as it smashed Torm beneath it. A motion of their long tails quickly setting them upright on broad webbed feet that splayed across the surface of the lava. The closest pulled a trident from its back, even as it found its balance. [Name: Sscalrcnika Species: Greater Salamander Class: Fighter / Hunter Level: 52 / 55 Health: 2,354 Mana: 605 Defence: 80 Melee Attack Power: 161 Magic: 24 Combat Skills: Net [M] (14), Trident [M] (6), Dagger [Ad] (47) Details: Sscalrcnika was born in the Kingdom of W?sih?go, living there were her siblings under the rule of the Elemental Lady of Fire - Ymeri.] Julia used Analysis on the foe closest to Torm before teleporting beside him. The semi-humanoid trio continued to rise out of the lava as she appeared. The net shredded flesh as Torm tried to force himself to his feet. Julia sent Protean formed spears ladened with Ki stabbing out to drive them back as Inventory absorbed the nets. The wall of spears punched through the scales of the closest Salamander and drove onwards anchoring her to the wall behind. Her companions were more fortunate and escaped the sudden attack with only gaping wounds before vanishing back into the lava. Only Torm¡¯s wounds, and the still struggling captive pinned against the wall, showed they¡¯d been there at all. Infusing her flesh with Destruction Mana, Julia warped the spears and ripped the pinned Salamander apart, the sudden spray of flesh and blood not even meriting a blink from Torm. As the experience from the kill appeared, Julia teleported them back down the passageway to allow Torm a chance to heal. [Combat Summary: Greater Salamander - Sscalrcnika Total-Experience Gained: 4,494 Monk: 1,200 Succubus: 3,494 Death Strike (16->17) Silent Kill (8->9)] It bleeds weird Salamander. Analysis [Analysis: Greater Salamander These elemental dragon kin inhabit regions of the Elemental Plane of Magma, Sea of Ash, Fire, and hot to volcanic regions of the Material Plane. ] Half breeds or something else? {{At least something¡¯s getting some action! }} ¡°It was obvious to my True Sight. How did you not see that Salamander blending with the Lava?¡± asked Julia, concern sharpening the tone of her voice. ¡°I honestly missed it. I need to challenge my Perception without True Sight; it would seem.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you have True Sight on?¡± Julia asked, confusion clear on her face. ¡°It can see through your Protean; I thought that would be rude,¡± replied Torm. While his tone was very matter of fact, Julia could detect something more in his features. [Sense Motive [Ap] (30) -> [J](1)] He¡¯s feeling bad about it? There¡¯s something more though, he¡¯s sorry. Oh! ¡°Oh fuck, I wasn¡¯t thinking about that. You even told me you could see the tiara of horns. I didn¡¯t think I would be flash...¡± Julia cut off what she almost said and changed tact, ¡°I mean, we should clearly find somewhere else to fight.¡± ¡°No, using True Sight so much has obviously made me careless. The Salamanders shouldn¡¯t have gotten the drop on me. My apologies for any embarrassment. I should have made it clear earlier I was keeping True Sight off.¡± ¡°So all those times,¡± Julia said before embarrassment squeezed off the words. ¡°No,¡± Torm blurted out hastily, speaking up at the flustered look on her face. ¡°No, what?¡± asked Julia, giving him a frown, embarrassment turning to annoyance. ¡°No, after hearing your story, I normally had True Sight off in your presence. When we met up on the road I was glad your new clothing meant I didn¡¯t have to turn it off watching you. I should have considered the heat effect on your clothing before teleporting to the grotto,¡± Torm said ruefully. ¡°Of course, you¡¯d want True Sight on watching a Demoness. Considering who knows what the Sisterhood could have ordered me to do,¡± remarked Julia. ¡°Julia, no, it¡¯s not about watching a Demoness. It lets me understand better when I see your thoughts and emotions racing away. While I can¡¯t tell what you think, it let me pick up when you¡¯re caught up in painful emotions. You were hard for me to read with the calmness you had. I¡¯m more used to the high-spirited Norse, whereas you, except when you were pleading Livia¡¯s case, were always so locked down.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s you read me like an open book. Yeah, I need to work on my Acting,¡± said Julia, before shaking her head. It¡¯s fine. I wasn¡¯t naked to everyone, and they got to keep the Demoness under observation. ¡°It wasn¡¯t to gain an advantage; it was¡­.¡± Torm paused, and Julia took a moment to lift fragments of cloth from his wounds. She¡¯d seen his clothing clean itself before but hadn¡¯t seen it repair to the extent it was doing now. ¡°Please hear me out. I¡¯m not one for words, so this will probably come out wrong. I worry you won¡¯t tell us when you need help, only when someone else does. Every time you speak of issues, it¡¯s about what you need to do. What you need to deal with? What you need to get better at? Even the advice you ask for is about what you can do. You conduct yourself as if no one else should involve themselves beyond advice, even while you take risks to help others. Even the arrangements you made for those that choose to follow the path you showed them. It wasn¡¯t about it benefiting you it was about helping them have a community. I wanted to make sure I knew when you needed help. You¡¯ve helped so many others it¡¯s only right you receive help as well, to have someone guarding your back you can trust,¡± Torm explained, the words picking up the pace until they came out in a rush. ¡°If I involve others in my issues and the Sisterhood learns of them, I could get ordered to betray them,¡± Julia explained, with a frown. ¡°So you¡¯re allowed to take risks for others but we¡¯re not allowed to take a chance for you?¡± asked Torm dryly. ¡°You already are taking a chance. You¡¯re taking this time to travel with me. You could be with a party that the Dwarves wouldn¡¯t spit at when they come to the gate,¡± Julia growled out in frustration. ¡°I¡¯d rather be travelling with you,¡± Torm stated simply. After pausing he asked quietly, ¡°What was the effect with the Protean spears?¡± ¡°Ki Infusion, I¡¯ve added Destruction Mana to my Affinities for it.¡± ¡°Oh. Interesting.¡± ¡°What is it with you and that word!¡± an exasperated Julia exclaimed. ¡°At least it isn¡¯t Celestialness!¡± Torm retorted, smiling as Julia started giggling. He waited till she calmed before he went to speak again. ¡°You said Celestialness!¡± Julia crowed, cutting him off with her gloating cry. ¡°Let¡¯s just keep that between us, okay,¡± Torm sighed. ¡°Maybe, but I say it¡¯s a word now.¡± ¡°No,¡± insisted Torm, a smile from Julia challenging his attempt at sternness. ¡°I could introduce you to one of ¨®einn¡¯s Skalds; they¡¯d be able to give you Acting lessons.¡± Julia had nodded agreement when Torm spoke again, the smile on his muzzle broadening. ¡°Unless you¡¯d rather ask Moke?¡± ¡°Should I ask him about you being moonstruck?¡± asked Julia, giving Torm a hard look, the last traces of giggles gone in an instant. ¡°Perhaps an introduction to an Asgard Skald is in order then,¡± Torm hurriedly offered, waving a white flag in the face of Julia¡¯s question. ¡°I should have told you earlier; my apologies, I assumed you¡¯d be aware of it. There are other regions we can find concentrations of foes for fighting. Dust we should avoid as non-magical clothing and gear decays quickly, perhaps Earth regions,¡± Torm offered. ¡°No, I trust you not to go peeking at me. You said you need to challenge your Perception without True Sight, maybe you should have left your True Sight off in Eyrarh¨¢ls as well,¡± Julia replied as the last of the cloth lifted free of the broken flesh. ¡°I¡­ yes, I should have done that as well. I will admit normally I have it on continually to keep watch for trouble towards the Temple. Now I realise how much I depended on what it made clear.¡± ¡°Yeah, okay I¡¯ll give you that: responsibility before personal preference,¡± Julia agreed. Looking over the wounds along his arm, she put out a hand and began focusing Ki to speed his healing. The relieved look on Torm¡¯s face as the Power washed over his injury didn¡¯t match his normal stoicism. Even the remains of the Salamander were gone by the time they returned to the ambush location in the passageway. With only the barest glance over the dried bloodstains, Torm gestured forward. Their teleports putting them beyond the magma and they continued along the passage as it ascended.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. The metallic sound had reverberated through the erratic passage for kilometres before they found its cause. A massive block sealing the passageway did an incomplete job of the task, with gaps showing all around its rough edges. After glancing at the block, Torm muttered a single word. ¡°Giants.¡± The crudely cut stone was a single piece, large enough to block the tunnel at its widest point of five metres. Both the texture of the stonework and where it met the tunnel¡¯s edges conveyed a carelessness in its construction. Though some gaps near the floor were being used to the maker¡¯s advantage: A crevice had split the floor, just before the block, and thick slag running underneath oozed into it as more material pressed from behind. Ash grey bubbles floated above the flow, and as Julia approached them, the group fled en masse; Julia only just managing Analysis on one as they hastened away. Analysis [Species: Slag Spirit Level: 5 Health: 42 Mana: 60 Defence: 24 Melee Attack Power: 0 Magic: 22 Combat Skills: Various innate spell form - Earth / Magma / Metal Affinity Details: Formed from the blending Earth / Magma / Metal Elemental energies. They are often found drinking energies from melting veins of metal, or foundries on one of these planes. ] ¡°Do Giants represent a danger to the Dwarves, or will they just be minding their own business?¡± asked Julia softly, wondering if they should have ventured in a different direction. ¡°Fire Giants look to kill lesser races, which is to them anything not capable of killing them first. It¡¯s doubtful any other species of Giant exists in this Plane. Watch out for their spell casters, Priests in particular: even if their fire spells won¡¯t hurt, they will certainly improve the combat threat of their kin.¡± ¡°Right, gank casters first,¡± Julia stated with a sharp nod. ¡°Gank, if it that means kill or get rid of then yes,¡± Torm sighed, the mutter he gave making Julia¡¯s lips twitch in amusement. ¡°That is actually a word where I come from so too bad,¡± Julia said and moved over to peer through the largest gap. Beyond the gap was an obvious foundry, illuminated by a fiery furnace just on the edge of her vision. Her view through the gaps showed the interior of a massive structure, with a wide archway leading into a cavern. The closest building was a hundred or more metres away, constructed of the same rough-hewn rocks, and stood some three or four giant-sized levels tall. Close by a pair of figures were shovelling ore carelessly into a metal bucket that Julia could have stood within, its surface gleaming the strange blackish-green of adamantine. Near where they currently stood, a long stone trench was the source of the slag flowing towards Julia¡¯s hiding spot. Off to her right, flames burning with a white pulsing heat sent bright light rippling through the area. Each of the figures loomed at least fourteen or fifteen metres tall, the massive size of the equipment in the foundry making it hard to get a true perspective. Yet from the angle Julia looked up to see their faces, it was doubtful they were any smaller. Black bushy beards covered most of their faces, and matching hair fell well past through shoulders, across their lava red skin. Thick muscles wider than her fingers could fan covered their bare upper torsos. Their pants and boots were the same bronze scales that had covered the Greater Salamanders. They were focused on their work, and the white flames in the foundry reflected off deep-set orbs of darkness; after watching them for a time Julia wondered if her own obsidian orbs looked so heartless. When she turned on Soul Sight, their cruel malevolence was clear. Julia witnessed what previous ¡®food¡¯ had suffered at their hands. A glimpse was more than enough, and Julia turned it off again wishing she hadn¡¯t indulged her curiosity after hearing Torm¡¯s views. So not just a cultural bias, maybe the Norse legends about Giants aren¡¯t so off base here. Analysis [Name: Kobumny¨¤m¨ª Species: Fire Giant Class: Fighter / Smith Level: 40 / 20 Health: 4,320 Mana: 200 Defence: 70 Melee Attack Power: 127 Combat Skills: Hammer [M] (2), Thrown [Ad] (12) - Innate Spell Forms - Fire Ball [J] (19), Flame Lance [J](22) Details: The third son of the current chieftainess of the Fire Giant Tribe - S¨ªsakubon¨¤ - and apprentice to the Tribe¡¯s smith.] [Name: ?on?kalo Species: Fire Giant Class: Artificer / Smith Level: 60 / 60 Health: 7,200 Mana: 4,560 Defence: 86 Melee Attack Power: 106 Combat Skills: Hammer [M] (39), Thrown [Ad] (12) - Innate Spell Forms - Fire Ball [M] (23), Flame Lance [M](22), Fire Wall [M] (3), Various Class spell forms Details: The eldest son of the current chieftainess of the Fire Giant Tribe - S¨ªsakubon¨¤ - and journeyman in service to the Tribe¡¯s smith.] Moving back to Torm, she repeated the information Analysis had provided her of the inhabitants, keeping her voice low just in case. ¡°Should I scout and find the other casters first or do we attack and keep an eye out for their arrival?¡± Julia finished reporting. ¡°Artificer is a caster type their spells focus on augmenting materials, and equipment. Try to keep him away from tools if you can. Let¡¯s kill these two and then get through the foundry to see what¡¯s in their compound. If others respond quickly we¡¯ll leave, and return another time, your Inventory tricks can always cut us a new passage if they ward this one.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take ?on?kalo, he¡¯s the one bracing the bucket.¡± When Julia appeared behind ?on?kalo she wasn¡¯t playing. Her arms shifted and twin shears blazing white tore inwards, severing his Achilles¡¯s tendons. Their rupturing rang like a steel cable snapping, the sound clear even through flesh. When the giant tried to catch his balance instead, he crashed down hard. As she restored her arms Julia ran up his body, spiked feet wreathed in the same Mana. The spike¡¯s whiteness making the air scream as she tore muscle and bone with every striking step. Kobumny¨¤m¨ª swung a shovel to cut across her path, but Teleport set Julia above a pulsing artery. When her feet punched through flesh, they left blood jets in her wake. Multiple sprays were filling the hot air with a metallic tang before she pivoted hard below his ear, tendrils lancing out for a bouncing object close at hand. Torm attacked the younger giant with a leaping strike, landed hard against its knee. Cartilage broke and bones ground together as the giant¡¯s bellow rang out. The crack of released tension within the Giant¡¯s twisting body made his knee¡¯s break so much worse. As he fell, Julia stored the bucket that ?on?kalo had dropped and ejected it to reappear where Kobumny¨¤m¨ª¡¯s neck would be. The impact of his spine sounding like dropping steel beams as his neck struck its edge. Julia¡¯s distraction from ?on?kalo cost her as the still-living giant crushed a hand around her body. Bones cracked and popped within Ki Armour as he brought enraged force to bear. Health dropped away even as Julia pulled with Energy Drain and transformed. The giant¡¯s fist squeezing inwards against the minimal resistance from her now rubbery flesh. A long stress ball with steel spikes crisscrossing down her length. Ki Infusion lacing Destruction Mana through each, and his bones exploded under the force he brought to bear as blackness drank in more Health. Torm moved along his own still living foe as Kobumny¨¤m¨ª struggled to rise, the impact not having finished the job. As ?on?kalo shook his hand to fling her away, a spiked grub blazing with screaming white Mana clamped around his wrist. The maw of a metallic grub eating her way down his arm, spines from her tail catching onto the flesh of his face. The first shake ripped the spines across the bone. When he flinched back, he drove her writhing spines into his own eye. His hand was suddenly clear of teeth as she drove into his skull. Rings of muscles around the grub grew more serrated hooks, and she burrowed through his eye seeking the brain. The screams of agony and terror from the pair calling out for their tribe were short-lived. Julia emerged out of an ear cavity, reforming moments before reinforcements arrived. An incoming wave of chaos prompted Torm and Julia to move. Torm appearing atop the shoulder of a still gesturing male giant even as Julia was alongside an armoured female. Faced with a foe armoured in Mithril plate, from head to toe, Julia raced past her. As she tried to turn to match Julia¡¯s pace, a fist drove against the pin of a buckle. The snap rang out as Ki Movement pulsed energy through Julia¡¯s form. Legs blurred for a moment before Julia dropped and slid between another¡¯s armoured feet. Her sudden action leaving the two tangled in her wake. More Giants came streaming into the open space in their outer compound, setting them against eight. Past the mass of approaching Giants, a large wall constructed with slightly more care rose high towards the massive cavern¡¯s ceiling. The male wizard was having his own problem with Torm and the searing pain of brain freeze from the knives deep in his ear. Falling off the Wizard¡¯s shoulder, the knives came free, and Torm teleported again. His destination set him atop an upper balcony, tauntingly in view but away from the immediate fray. As he raced along the railing, a blast of chaos followed him too late. The spell ripped stone apart but Torm was back on the shoulder he¡¯d started from, and knives drove into the flesh of the Wizard¡¯s neck this time. A glimpse of an incoming sword nearly as large as a Giant prompted Julia to move. Stone screeched against metal as the strike dug into the rock. She¡¯d pushed with Flight and a kick with Ki Strike lashed out; the male Giant¡¯s scream going into high notes. A quick attempt to store his broken cod piece met with resistance, and Julia grounded to run on. The thrashing efforts of the Wizard tossed Torm away, only for him to appear behind a chanting Priestess. Blades cut low and magical cold burst its way through the Giant¡¯s heated flesh. Pain from a severed tendon disrupted the chant as it completed. Though the energy released, her diverted focus wreathed a building¡¯s side in a protective field instead of a Giant. The Priestess didn¡¯t get up, but with a glance, spat a word of power, a blazing force smacked Torm away. As he rolled to his feet, the number of Giants had grown from an initial eight to fifteen, with thumping sounds heralding more to come. Most among them were heavily armoured, but a few lighter armoured foes carried massive metallic composite bows. Tracing Missiles, gleaming like bright obsidian, burst across Julia as she moved between foes. The impacts broke ribs and sent her stumbling off balance. As she caught herself, a Giant stomped downwards, but a quick thought meant his foot found a human-sized caltrop. The force on Julia¡¯s form still bent and cracked steel, but Energy Drain nearly healed the damage. A frantic shaking boot wasn¡¯t the cause of the caltrop vanishing as Julia turned into a burr hidden between leather and giant flesh. As he shook his foot again, spikes of destruction drank in health. As he saw Julia knocked off balance, Torm appeared atop the Wizard¡¯s head. Ki Strike breaking bone, even as Torm saw a foot come down and Julia twist into steel. The Celestial released a blessing of his own as the Wizard struck for him. Seeing the oncoming blow, he braced his feet on the broken bone and leant into the strike. The swatting hand struck his glowing form hard. Torm groaned in pain from the strike¡¯s impact, but the noise was lost in the Giant¡¯s screams; his own strike having driven Torm through his skull. Brain matter squelched around Torm¡¯s boots, and as a Celestial aura burst outwards the giant began to fall. Torm reared back and then flung himself forward. In mid-air his form changed and an enormous wolf scrambled claws across rock as it slid away from a now convulsing giant. Light rippled along his wolf form as the blazing aura adjusted to his new shape. The crisp smell of brain seared by Celestial energy left in his wake. The Priestess¡¯ chanting rose above the din, only for her to gag and grab desperately at her throat. Blood burst from her mouth as she tried to cough something free, but as she coughed again only more blood came. As Torm raced forward to gain the attention of new foes, arrows the size of ballista bolts landed around his racing form. Julia appeared behind her original armoured foe and broke another pin. The greave flapping open as he came close, teeth sharpened by Blessing and Ki struck. The attack twisted the greave out of place and strained more straps as Julia vanished. Julia prepared a spell as she glanced down from a rooftop perch. Spotting Torm biting deep into exposed flesh, she let it fly. Golden bolts struck Torm, and he felt the energy of her Tracing Missiles impact against his side. The Life Mana within them lessened his pain, as an arrow struck against Julia¡¯s Ki Armour and spun her about. Sent tumbling with angle of the strike Julia went with the motion and slid from her rooftop perch. She changed into two tons of steel and her plunge gathered momentum, the sender of the arrow screamed when a white spike descended upon them.
Julia slid slowly down the passageway wall, leaving a bloodstain in her wake as flesh sealed. Torm limped over and sat down beside her, sniffing at the stench of Demonic blood before shrugging and setting the concern aside. With a glance in his direction, she sighed unhappily. ¡°Your clothes magically repair, clean themselves, stand up against the elements, and change shape with you. No fair,¡± Julia stated, her pouting tone not matching the worn expression. ¡°Hush and worry about healing; that¡¯s more important than clothing.¡± ¡°No, clothing is important. I¡¯m pretending to be dressed, and you have indestructible clothing.¡± {{You just need to get into his pants. }} Please don¡¯t start with me. {{What? Doesn¡¯t he have spares? }} ¡°The blood loss you have going on is more important to worry about,¡± Torm said, concern clear as Julia groaned at B¡¯s reply. ¡°I¡¯ve stopped bleeding, just have to heal. I¡¯m out of Ki; too many giants wearing head to toe metal plates,¡± Julia grumbled. ¡°What were those spells you hit me with?¡± asked Torm. ¡°I wonder,¡± Julia said and focused for a moment on a spell. [Water wall [B](1->2)] Suddenly a wall of greenish-yellow light appeared across their seated forms, their flesh healing and knitting with increasing speed. ¡°Bonus, that¡¯s working. Let there be Life,¡± said Julia, gesturing at the Life Mana wall. ¡°You have the Life affinity as well; you¡¯re impossible. I thought you were doing some necromantic life transfer,¡± Torm stated. ¡°I make Wizards all jelly; I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t be happy knowing my first reaction is hitting things.¡± ¡°How many more do you think there are?¡± asked Torm after the spell faded away. ¡°At least another thirty, maybe more. We¡¯ll get to them; we¡¯ve put a decent dent in their numbers,¡± Julia said. Looking at the combat summary she smiled. ¡°We got their leader. She shows in my combat summary as a Priestess. Guess she was the one that I barred from attending; I don¡¯t remember another.¡± [Combat Summary: Fire Giants, Various Levels x47 (50%) Priestess - S¨ªsakubon¨¤ x1 (50%) Total-Experience Gained: 533,280 Monk: +186,648 Succubus: +186,648 Succubus Level Up! Wizard: + 159,984 Aggravate Flaws [Ad] (35->37) Cloak [J] (14->15) Tracing Missile [Ad] (8->11) Shock Bolt [J] (37->39) Greater Teleport [Ad] (32->33) Death Strike (17) -> [B](17) Energy Drain [M] (6->7) Silent Kill (9) -> (12) Ki Armour [Ad] (39->41) Ki Strike [M] (5->6) Ki Movement [J] (29->31) Ki Infusion [M] (2->3) Protean [Ad] (34->36) Silent Storm [M] (30->31)] ¡°Barred?¡± ¡°A spiked steel bar strangely got jammed in her throat. I meant to tangle her vocal cords, but I think I got a major blood vessel,¡± Julia muttered. ¡°Shocking.¡± ¡°There was no lightning involved, but she thought it was a steal,¡± Julia quipped before looking at the combat summary again and gifted Torm with a pout. ¡°You didn¡¯t give me a contract on Giants before we started, naughty.¡± Torm¡¯s sigh said more than enough, and Julia laughed softly with genuine amusement. 82 - Cutthroat After dealing with the last giant they¡¯d spent a few days combing through the contents of their hold. Julia was chewing on a bit of spiced rock worm jerky when the notification came. Julia teleported to Torm¡¯s side with a glance out of the window, where he was taking inventory on the Giant¡¯s stockpile. [Summoning Notification You have received a summons from V¨ªearr of Eyrarh¨¢ls, Priest of Tyr via a ¡®Use¡¯ name. Your willpower, intelligence, and total levels all exceed that of the summoner. They meet no conditions to compel you to respond. Do you wish to accept the summons? ] What is he doing summoning me? I¡¯ve not seen him since I told him off for having his head up his arse and delaying Rana getting help. ¡°V¨ªearr is summoning me,¡± Julia stated, the words almost coming out as a question in her surprise. ¡°He hadn¡¯t returned from seeking to wipe out some Gnarls.¡± Pulling a storage bag from Inventory, she held it out to him. Torm didn¡¯t even question her, but simply stuck his hand inside, and Julia willed it to store him before returning the bag to inventory. As soon as it vanished, Julia acknowledged the summons and experienced the sensation of breaking ice she¡¯d first felt back at the Stronghold. The feel of frost vanished, and she emerged, racing through the wormhole, its beauty just as breath-taking as the first time. Rainbow hues shone along the tunnel¡¯s walls; that beauty reflected her proper form, despite her current shape. The wormhole¡¯s end raced toward her with the same glorious luminance. As she hit the far end of the shimmering tunnel, the light went from brilliant to near darkness within the chamber. True Sight let her see the entire room in all its horrid state. Her arrival point was near one wall of the chamber, standing gave a nearly unimpeded view. Around her wasn¡¯t a circle as when summoned by Wajet, rather just a bare stone floor covered in mud, straw, and shit. Some walls appeared to be natural limestone while the construction of others was of precisely joined blocks of granite. The chill in the chamber wasn¡¯t good for those crowded within. The room¡¯s occupants pressed together, sharing warmth as they sat or lay amid matted fibres, despite the stench in the room. Their clothing was little better than knotted rags. Two things they all shared: features set in misery and despair, along with a tight collar of blackened steel etched with the sharp-edged vicious Abyssal script. A heavily pregnant woman nearby held a burning reed aloft, one of the few sources within the chamber. Its glow illuminated the mud and filth smeared woman and the man who lay chained against the wall near her feet. Stumps of amputated legs drummed against the stone floor as his teeth ground audibly in agony. From his fingers, a scorched parchment dropped away, though Julia wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d held it. His fingers bent wrong, obviously shattered and healed with the bones out of position; exhausted, twitching, undoubtedly adding to the misery of the figure in front of her. The gaunt figure looked to have closed his eyes in exhaustion until Julia saw the blood running under his eyelids. It added to the already caked mess of hair, that his neatly trimmed beard had become since Julia had last seen him. Sturdy manacles bolted him to the wall and provided so little range of motion they kept him in his mess. Analysis [Name: V¨ªearr of Eyrarh¨¢ls Race: Human (Norse Ancestry) Class: Priest / Fighter / Judge Level: 32 / 14 / 10 Health: 80 Mana: 0 Defence: 0 Combat Skill: Unavailable because of crippled state Conditions: Crippled, Blinded (Abyssal Runic Backlash), Cursed (Abyssal Runic Backlash), Suppressed Mana Details: V¨ªearr, priest of Tyr, is currently mana suppressed and blocked from channelling blessings because of slave manacles of Set.] ¡°Give him a moment please, don¡¯t kill us till V¨ªearr explains.¡± The desperation was apparent in the woman¡¯s voice, and Julia kept her voice soft as she replied. ¡°I won¡¯t kill you.¡± Julia wasn¡¯t sure what else to say as disbelief and regret battled hope on the woman¡¯s features. Drawing out the storage bag, and released Torm. With a grim look he moved to V¨ªearr¡¯s side while chanting low in Celestial. Julia turned on Soul Sight and wished she hadn¡¯t as the women¡¯s Soul conveyed the details of what they¡¯d endured. Even without that knowledge, the blighted cancerous things inside of them made the situation they¡¯d endured clear. Gnarl offspring sat within all the women. The growing mortal shells contained Souls already black and twisted with hate and bloodlust. ¡°Verdandi mentioned Gnarl breeding pens; I should have asked questions,¡± Julia whispered. Horror twisting her features as what these women had suffered rushed in through Soul Sight. The woman turned towards V¨ªearr but didn¡¯t risk disturbing Torm. The motion pushed her rags aside, allowing Julia to see the stomach crisscrossed with scars that Julia already knew would be there. Soul sight having shown her firsthand the Shaman ripping the babies free. Painful ¡®blessings¡¯ from their dark power had sealed the wound so they could impregnate them again. Breeding stock needed to be maintained, ready for use. ¡°The collars stop us from killing ourselves, each other, or harming the things inside us. We can¡¯t disobey their orders. V¨ªearr just needs to give you information to pass to the Jarls and Churches; then you can kill us.¡± The blessing Torm channelled began washing through V¨ªearr, easing his agony as the woman spoke. Before she¡¯d finished explaining, Julia had already acted. As she touched the woman¡¯s collar, Julia absorbed it, and the woman went wide-eyed in surprise. ¡°I¡¯m not killing any of you. We¡¯re getting you out of here. What can I call you?¡± Julia asked, not wanting to unsettle her by displaying she already knew it. ¡°Ragnhild.¡± Notifications off. I don¡¯t want to get snark about what I¡¯m about to do. Julia spent a moment pulling Abyssal heat from her hand, ready to heal Ragnhild before she continued. ¡°Alright, Ragnhild, now for the thing,¡± Julia said, softly touching a hand to her Ragnhild¡¯s stomach. The monster and its placenta shifted into Inventory, causing the woman to gasp in surprise as its weight vanished from her stomach. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t want to give birth to another horror.¡± Neither Soul Sight, nor True Sight showed any impact to her health other than a moment of discomfort; not knowing how Inventory managed it, Julia could only mentally breathe a sigh of relief. Checking again with Analysis showed Ragnhild in the same battered state, but her health remained intact. At least this is going to be easier than I expected. ¡°No, by Freyr no. They throw any woman too broken to breed anymore to those recently born. They devour them!¡± Ragnhild sobbed softly, shuddering with suppressed tears as Julia wrapped arms around her. Julia extended Dominion to convey comfort and reassurance to those in the chamber as hair-thin filaments spread across the floor. Julia took the collars and unborn monsters from each woman they touched as they spread out, Soul Sight allowing her to leave all the women uninjured. ¡°How many chambers with prisoners?¡± asked Julia ¡°Dozens, maybe I don¡¯t know for sure, they make those newly pregnant help move food. It¡¯s the middle of the night. V¨ªearr didn¡¯t want to risk a guard overhearing your arrival.¡± ¡°Torm, I¡¯ll start moving as many as I can to near Eyrarh¨¢ls. Will you come with me to speak with the guards or stay here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come as well. V¨ªearr, would you allow me to form a bond with you? I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be able to stay here without one. ¡° ¡°Torm, the cult of Tiamat and the church of Set, they¡¯re both allied with the Gnarls. Tell Verdandi, please, leave me and form a bond with another worthy of your help.¡± V¨ªearr groaned out his response. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid V¨ªearr, we¡¯re getting everyone out of here,¡± Julia responded, cutting off whatever else he might say. Gently moving past Ragnhild and Torm, she quickly removed all his manacles, ejecting them onto the floor from Inventory. ¡°I called for you. How is Torm here with you? Am I already dead?¡± asked V¨ªearr, his voice rasping with the effort of every word. ¡°Just accept Torm¡¯s bond. You¡¯re taking up time we might not have,¡± Julia insisted, and relaxed as Torm nodded to her. ¡°Gnarls operate at night, so if they¡¯re sleeping it''s daytime, deep night for them is close to midday. Transport them to appear on the side of the road just south of the first farmhouse. It would be too great a risk, despite Greater Teleport, to get closer to the gate. I¡¯ll go first to the Temple and then to meet you there.¡± Torm instructed and then nodded his understanding as Julia held a storage bag out to him. ¡°Take a group of women directly there, as well as V¨ªearr,¡± Julia said, before extending her sense of Greater Teleport around her. ¡°Ladies, it¡¯s going to be bright shortly, so close your eyes, hopefully, no rain. I think it¡¯s early spring. We can¡¯t take everyone at once, but we will rescue all of you. But please stay quiet for now.¡± Held within the calm of Julia¡¯s aura, the first women found themselves under an overcast sky. A momentary jostling as they settled in the spring grass alongside the road. Guards walking by a nearby merchant¡¯s wagon cursed and grabbed for their weapons, shifting from startlement to horror when they saw the state of the sudden arrivals. A driver suddenly hauled on their reins, startling the wagon¡¯s horses into neighing protest. ¡°Merchant, if you have foodstuffs or blankets available, I¡¯ll buy the lot. There are more Gnarl prisoners we¡¯re rescuing. Their captors kept them fed, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯d prefer something else.¡± Julia called out. Hoping the lure of a fast sale might tempt the greying merchant with his guards to stay close and help avoid trouble. Soul Sight showed her the guards¡¯ reliable nature and the merchant¡¯s sharp bargaining but reasonable nature. {{And if they misbehave; we can hunt them down and kill them!}} ¡°What did you plan to pay?¡± Julia cut off the haggling by tossing him a ruby the size of his thumb. ¡°Hold this as collateral. We can bargain once I¡¯ve rescued the others. I¡¯ll include a bonus for you and your guards for keeping the women safe. I¡¯m sure I can trust all of you to protect them now; they¡¯ve lived horrors enough.¡± The sparkle of profit was unmistakable in the merchant¡¯s gaze. At the same time, the closest guards nodded earnestly and smiled appreciatively at Julia. The nearest drew off his cloak and moved to wrap it around a woman before the merchant had even started calling orders. Tossing off a Mercury¡¯s Whisper to Yngvarr asking him to bring help south from Eyrarh¨¢ls, Julia teleported to the pen again. Torm was still getting women into the storage bag as Julia teleported with another set of ladies. They quickly emptied the first pen between them when Torm departed. Julia slipped under the pen¡¯s door and started exploring. Snores from the end of the corridor drew her towards a slumped creature. With every snore, serrated teeth showed past its thin lips, the mouth wider than a human and resembling a bear trap. The round hairless head sitting on an elongated neck, wobbled with every breath. Bluish-green skin sat loose over flesh and bone reminding Julia of how they grew to fill it out. Long, gangly limbs ended at claws on both fingers and toes, and Julia didn¡¯t give it any time to wake. Her claws found a sheath in its throat and the body vanished without a trace. Julia found the corridor joined a ledge set high on an underground chamber¡¯s wall. While the shelf itself only continued in one direction, it looked to run the chamber¡¯s length and curve around the border. Julia could see more dozing guards along its length stationed at every corridor. Within the space Julia could see structures of finely crafted stone and along the cavern wall stood carved statues with faces hacked away. The proportions spoke of the Dwarves she¡¯d seen the first time visiting Eyrarh¨¢ls. Buildings sat marked with crude renditions of Abyssal script, at odds with the fineness of the stonework. Natural archways led off in a few directions from the cavern; indicating other caverns joined it. Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Telepathy touched the sleeping mind of humans and Gnarls alike. Shying away from the sick dreams of the latter, Julia moved towards the next sleeping guard. With the last of them disposed of like trash in the original breeding pen, Julia carefully opened the door to another, letting a calming Dominion extend ahead of her. Soul Sight showed her the brutalised state of the women as the closest startled awake at the door¡¯s opening. In the gloom, another newly awakened woman drew breath to cry out. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Julia said, simply pressing down with Dominion the calm reassurance of the aura stifling the need for alarm. Suppressing the will from these women twisted a knife inside Julia, but she could sense more minds above and below this ledge. ¡°My name is Eakc?. I¡¯m here to rescue you all,¡± explained Julia, doing her best to keep her tone soft and reassuring. ¡°What about the guards?¡± the question came quickly in response; the woman thankfully having kept a hushed tone. ¡°We¡¯re not going out past them; we¡¯re escaping via magic. Now first things first,¡± Julia said, crouched to touch the woman¡¯s collar and watched her delight as trembling fingers rose to touch her bare neck. Outside the woman¡¯s notice, filaments were reaching out along the floor, removing collars and unborn as Julia rested a hand against her stomach. The blackness within it vanished from Julia¡¯s Soul Sight, and the woman¡¯s eyes went wide as her stomach deflated. As much as she wanted to close it against the horrors they¡¯d experienced, Julia kept Soul Sight active to aid in removing the things inside them. ¡°No more monster,¡± Julia said as she added more collars and unborn to her inventory. ¡°Please, just kill me! I can¡¯t go back.¡± another woman begged. Grief twisted scarred features and Julia could tell enough by their remains to see her ruined beauty. The scars appearance looked as if bites and claws had inflicted them. ¡°Have hope,¡± Julia said, ¡°and if you can¡¯t have hope, remember there are Gnarls and their allies to make pay. Together we can find a way to make that happen.¡± Julia touched the woman¡¯s collar and removed it from her neck, taking the unborn a moment later. ¡°Everyone, remain quiet. I¡¯ll be back shortly, and I¡¯ll be moving you a group at a time,¡± Julia said, adding conviction to the sense in her aura. Waiting till she saw those woken outside the first group she¡¯d Teleport nod, Julia took more to freedom. * * * The pens of that first level emptied in short order, the cramped conditions having held four hundred or more women. By the time she returned with the last group, Julia could see town guards, and Priests and Priestesses from various Temples moving among the women. Blankets the only thing covering some of them, but they clutched whatever they had with trembling hands as emotions overwhelmed the survivors. A priestess wearing Eir¡¯s symbol was passing out blankets near Julia¡¯s arrival point and stared in surprise at her sudden appearance. ¡°You¡¯re Eakc??¡± ¡°Yes. There are prisoners on other levels; I¡¯ll need to clear out more guards to get to them,¡± replied Julia. ¡°By the Eir¡¯s mercy. How many women are still there?¡± ¡°At least a thousand, more if they have prisoners in other places. I think they¡¯ve taken over an old Dwarven complex, I don¡¯t know how many Gnarls are there,¡± Julia replied, nodding respectfully before she vanished. Sickened, she dumped the unborn and shredded remnants of collars in the last chamber and made her way to the next level. The despair and horrors she¡¯d seen in every woman¡¯s Soul feeding her Willpower with a burning inferno to push on. {{Do we get to kill some Gnarls that will fight at least? }} Prisoners first. {{See, you¡¯re not clamping down, you¡¯re feeling it and burning it all up. }} ((Do not become a monster by letting hate drive you. Even to monsters you¡¯ve shown compassion with a swift death.)) I¡¯m not dumping the situation on Verdandi and the other Priests. You call it compassion; I call it not passing the buck.
Julia had a final Gnarl guard pinned against the wall when she felt Torm¡¯s mind nearby in Telepathy¡¯s net. Arms had grown from her body, letting clawed hands lockdown every joint, while a vice-like muzzle held its maw shut. With the Gnarl restrained, Julia pressed more questions into its vile mind and gathered knowledge prompted in response. ¡°Julia, what are you doing?¡± Torm asked, soft concern in his voice. ¡°Gaining information, he doesn¡¯t know much, but he knows where there are more breeding pens, the mushroom groves and dire swine. And their pleasure dens holding women that aren¡¯t pregnant.¡± ¡°Prisoners are the priority. Why the rest?¡± asked Torm. ¡°It¡¯s what they need to feed everyone. Once I¡¯m done with the rescue, I¡¯ll be moving onto burning and killing.¡± Julia replied, her tone grimly matter-of-fact. ¡°We¡¯ve only another few hours left before they become more active.¡± The claws around the Gnarl¡¯s neck snipped and blood sprayed up to lick the wall as the body vanished. ¡°That¡¯s fine I know where there are other pens. After that, I¡¯ll wipe out their food and their pups.¡± ¡°Your priestesses have joined the ones tending the woman on the road.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to thank them,¡± Julia said curtly before heading towards a corridor. ¡°If you destroy all their food, you¡¯ll force them to attack somewhere. V¨ªearr doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s nearby on the surface,¡± Torm said, his words careful with concern. ¡°Then I¡¯ll start killing their pups, then work my way up the ranks. Kill as many as I can,¡± Julia said, biting off every word. ¡°Be careful, there are at least three groups of Priests involved in this evil. Whatever the Gnarls think, they¡¯re likely pawns for others. Julia, is a copper a Gnarl and a silver per human in league acceptable for a contract?¡± ¡°Deal. Not that I want it, but I need the levels,¡± replied Julia, moving to open the first pen on the ledge, retracting the extra limbs before she did. Torm watched on as Julia set her rage at the Gnarls aside and washed the room with calm hope. The edges of it brushing against his awareness, as he saw her touch reassuring fingers to yet another collar. A spiderweb of hair filaments weaving among the women, left freedom and shrinking stomachs in their wake. ¡°This evil was here long before you first appeared among us. You aren¡¯t responsible for ending it all,¡± Torm stated, putting a hand on her shoulder for a moment. ¡°Everyone, after I remove your collars, please come over one at a time. We are getting you to safety, put your hand in the bag offered to you. When you do you¡¯ll find yourself in a safe dimension inside the bag. It will be dark but it¡¯ll let us rescue more at once. Once everyone has their collar removed, I¡¯ll start moving groups as well.¡± Julia said, and she gestured towards Torm as she spoke, showing the women the bag before handing it to him as well. The women closest to Julia who had already noticed the absence of their collars stood, and Julia instantly retracted the filaments and started to slide between rising women. ¡°Proceed calmly. We¡¯re going to free you all.¡± Julia repeated, before glancing at Torm. ¡°If you can¡¯t carry the weight of both of them with your Teleport, I¡¯ll take the second with me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to,¡± Torm replied, as the first of the women disappeared in a bag. The women were still approaching Torm when Julia freed the last. Already at the back of the chamber, she started to teleport groups away. When Torm and Julia teleported together at last and set to release women, they¡¯d crowded the long road with survivors. Julia could pick out women and children delivering clothing to the survivors while more men and women stood guard. ¡°You were right. I¡¯ve got plenty of things I want to kill now,¡± Julia said. The cold grimness not matching the calm aura she kept extended for those around her.
What Julia could see revolted her but focusing on immediate needs she peered through their eyes before teleport took her into the room. Mana wreathed spears lashed out in every direction as Julia arrived. As she pulled their bodies into Inventory Julia stepped forward and caught the screaming women before she could collapse. Teleport lifted them to safety, and she set the woman into the arms of a Priestess of Eir. The screams continuing, and the woman struggled blindly as the Priestess¡¯ hand glowed and a soft, calming chant began. Julia put the bodies in the original pen, then reappeared on the roof. She¡¯d moved bodies to avoid the stench of death attracting notice, but she worried too many quiet rooms would do that all on its own. She eventually found herself in a lavish chamber, quite different from the simple ones throughout the pleasure den. Then again, the occupant of it was also quite another matter as well. A Norse human with pale skin lay naked on a comfortable looking bed. Chestnut hair grew down past his shoulders, while his straight nose and square jaw was stereotypical heroic. Well-developed muscles lay over his frame, his skin showed frequent marks of shining healed skin, along his upper chest, red scales sat beneath the skin. The blackness in his Soul and what she saw there made Julia want to rip his oh-so-heroic jaw from his face and beat him to death with it. His bare chest showed a brand depicting a multi-headed dragon. Unlike the battered state of the women, he looked well-groomed, and Julia¡¯s True Sight took in the protective wards that crawled over the bed. Mana gleamed from enchantments embedded in the bracers and rings that he wore even now. Analysis: [Name: Birkir Class: High Priest / Fighter / Priest Level: 45 / 42 / 42 Health: 11,271 Defence: 478 Mana: 40,338 Melee Attack Power: 348 Combat Skills: Dagger [M] (12), Heavy Blades [M] (47), Spear [M] (42), Various Blessings from Tiamat Details: Birkir comes from a family that has served Tiamat since prior to the people of the kingdoms having fled for these lands. The cult of Tiamat looks to gain power enough to finish the work they started. Analysis [Ad] (25->26)] Fuck! I think I found a boss. She had teleported within through the perspective of a female half-elf currently staring at him with hate-filled eyes. She was only one of three women chained to a wall nearby. Each wore the same collar as the rest around their neck and sported the marks of a fresh beating. As Julia took in the room, the half-elf¡¯s eyes widened and Julia brought a finger to her lips to gesture for silence. Among the women there was one she wouldn¡¯t trust after looking at her Soul, but she still had no intention of leaving her there. As she drifted across the room she considered each of them in turn. The lady looking at her was a lithe red-haired half-elf, with pale skin, and fine features, emerald eyes gleaming with intelligence and growing anticipation. The first sleeping lady was a tanned Norse lady with solidly developed muscles, broad features, numerous battle scars, and a cruel Soul. While the kind featured Mediterranean skinned woman had black hair hacked off at her shoulders, and a nose that looked recently broken and untreated. It seemed the arsehole didn¡¯t have a type, and Julia wanted to flag his type deceased. Though given what Analysis showed, she didn¡¯t know it would be possible, even if she cheated. Rather than risking the half-elf instantly attacking the man if Julia removed the collar, she teleported them all to safety. The two sleeping women started awake the moment they slumped without the wall and chains to support them. Late afternoon sunlight was still enough to make them squint and cry out as Julia removed the collars. ¡°Who are you?¡± Analysis [Name: Gellamel Species: Sunset Elf / Human (Norse Ancestry) Class: Fighter / Thief / Wizard Level: 30 / 30 / 34 Health: 820 Mana: 0 Defence: 61 Melee Attack Power: 98 Combat Skills: Long Blades [M] (2), Short Blades [M] (1), Various Spell Forms - Affinities: Air, Water, and Nature Condition: Beaten, Pregnant, Freed Slave: Morale bonus, Mana Suppressed (recovering) Details: Recently captured by slavers working for the cult of Tiamat; Her group caught in a planned ambush after a cultist hired them to clear creatures from an area. ] The Analysis made her wince as the woman didn¡¯t have a black Soul inside her, but a grey mote that seemed newly developing. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°My name is Eakc?. You¡¯re Gellamel aren¡¯t you?¡± Julia asked, trying to sound as if she¡¯d be looking for her. ¡°Yes, who sent you? What aren¡¯t you telling me?¡± ¡°V¨ªearr got out a call for help. I don¡¯t know how to break it so I¡¯ll tell you straight. You¡¯re pregnant but not from a Gnarl.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know a V¨ªearr. It would have to be that bastard priest of Tiamat whose room who found us in, we were his prizes¡± replied Gellamel, before sighing. ¡°Birkir, I believe his name is,¡± Julia said simply. ¡°It¡¯s a child I can hold no fault with it. If the Goddess Mielikki sees fit for me to give birth, then I¡¯ll look after them.¡± Gellamel stated, surprising Julia with her conviction. ¡°Do you think you can kill Birkir though?¡± ¡°By myself, I do not know. He¡¯s got wards around his bed and enchanted items on his person.¡± ¡°Stupid half-breed get rid of his spawn.¡± The Norse woman looked at Gellamel with disbelief and spat. ¡°The child¡¯s Soul is grey at present - it has the potential to choose. How they¡¯re raised will guide them,¡± Julia said, the calm potential of the grey Soul comforting her. ¡°Then I¡¯ll teach them Mielikki¡¯s ways and hope they find joy. Is it a boy or girl?¡± Gellamel asked, marvelling Julia with her decisiveness. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± said Julia, shaking her head slightly at the question. ¡°I¡¯ll learn in time.¡± ¡°No,¡± The Norse woman snarled, as powerful muscles drove her to her feet, ¡°I¡¯ll have my revenge on his spawn since he¡¯s not here.¡± Julia was already between them and deflecting her grasping hands away from Gellamel. ¡°Calm down or I¡¯ll put you on your arse. It¡¯s her body, it¡¯s her choice. The child isn¡¯t a monster. I will not choose for her, and neither will you.¡± The broad feature of the Norse woman darkened with murderous rage at Julia. As she yanked her hand back and clenched her fist, Julia let Ki Infusion fill with Destruction Mana, and the air between them screamed as her skin burnt white. ¡°Cross me, and I will kill you,¡± Julia said flatly, the horrors of the night leaving no hint of mercy in her words. ¡°By Loki,¡± gasped the woman, taking a step back as Julia willed her eyes into black orbs, and they drank the light within the whiteness. ¡°I can give you a new start, or I can find you a grave. Make your choice. The moment you harm Gellamel¡¯s child I¡¯ll see you dead.¡± Analysis [Name: Ketilrier Race: Human (Norse Ancestry) Class: Fighter / Scout Level: 36 / 24 Health: 723 Defence: 62 Melee Attack Power: Combat Skills: Dagger [Ad] (12), Heavy Axes [Ad] (42), Hand Axe [Ad] [48], Spear [Ad] (41) Condition: Beaten, Freed Slave: Morale bonus Details: The third daughter of Jarl Waldemar Bloodaxe of Jorvik. She¡¯s been working with groups from the Companions Hall for five years against her parent¡¯s wishes. ] {{Oh! Get involved in a blood feud, that could entertain! An excuse to kill people for generations. }} ((See how rage can twist a Soul. )) Hush both of you, or I¡¯ll be the one with the headache. Analysis [Name: Aggie Race: Human (Greek Ancestry) Class: Priestess of Artemis (Despoiled) Level: 42 Health: 346 Defence: 35 Mana: 0 Melee Attack Power: Ranged Attack Power: Combat Skills: Hunting Bow [M] (22), Spear [Ad] (4), Dagger [Ad] (3) - Various Blessings (no longer granted) Condition: Unfavoured, Beaten, Mana Suppressed (fading), Freed Slave: Morale bonus Details: Kidnapped from the village of Aiga?on by a Tiamat Cultist. She¡¯d been there serving at the Temple of Artemis after gaining experience aiding Argonauts with their quests in the eastern peninsular. ] With her stony gaze still fixed on the woman, she released the Destruction Mana and quickly created three blankets. With a casual flick, she tossed the first to Ketilrier before she passed the others over to Gellamel and Aggie. ¡°Gellamel and Aggie, would you like to come with me? Hopefully a friend has space available for you to room,¡± Julia said, as she created more blankets. She gestured towards Eyrarh¨¢ls, wanting to keep both ladies away from Ketilrier¡¯s rage. Aggie looked at her in surprise and gave a quick nod before setting off, carefully wrapping herself in the blanket as she walked. Gellamel moved further away from Ketilrier - before heading off, giving Julia plenty of distance to intercept anything else Ketilrier attempted. Julia continued to monitor Ketilrier via a discretely added eye that blended with the leathers, passing out more blankets to survivors as she walked along. Julia looked over notifications that were sitting in her log as she walked and felt like sighing. Shouldn¡¯t have gone looking. [Achievement: Murderer Condition: Kill a helpless sentient creature Reward: Yeah, it¡¯s dead, congrats. ] [Achievement: Mass Murderer Condition: Kill over two hundred helpless sentient creatures in a day. Reward: You too can be told - They¡¯re dead Jim! ] [Achievement: Epic Mass Murderer Condition: In a single day slaughter over two thousand helpless sentient creatures that had no chance to fight back. Reward: Death Mana Affinity Unlocked! Cause you reek of it! ] [Achievement: Gnarly Dudette. Condition: In a single day slaughter over three thousand Gnarls below level ten. Reward: Did you want a title for slaughtering the weak? ] 83 - Behind your walls Julia started towards Eyrarh¨¢ls and noticed the weight of eyes upon her. The survivors whose sight was still trying to adjust to the light went wide-eyed at the sight of her. Once it became apparent Julia wasn¡¯t leaving to retrieve more prisoners, the closest women began forcing themselves to their feet. Blankets, food and clothes being offered by townsfolk became set aside in favour of moving towards her. ¡°Relax, please. Stay seated,¡± Julia said, holding up her hands to draw the attention of the women, and projecting patience and reassurance through Dominion¡¯s aura as she did so. Telepathy conveying the words to those she could see struggling to hear her. Julia waited till they had settled before she spoke again. ¡°You¡¯ve been through horrors that few can comprehend, except the women who survived with you. Your sisters around you know what you¡¯ve been through; you might feel weak or broken, but together you are stronger by far. Even a thin reed is hard to break when you bind scores of them together. They tried to break you, to use you up till they saw fit to discard you. They failed! Those that wish, I¡¯ll teach you how to break them.¡± Fuck your system achievements. I¡¯d slaughter a hundred times that number of monsters to free even a fraction of these women. Teleporting along the road, she collected Gellamel and Aggie, taking the time to repeat the message along the line of the survivors. The disbelief and despair among the survivors faced with an uncertain freedom burned with something new: Hope. Finding the merchant still parked by the side of the road, Julia nodded politely to him, and he hurried to meet her. Julia hadn¡¯t paid him a lot of attention in her hurry to return and now looked him over properly as he approached. Broad-shouldered, he was an aging human in his early forties, streaks of grey dusted through his blond hair cut off below his ears. As his sharp pale-blue gaze fixed on her, Julia considered the mix of the round chin, solid cheekbones, and the sharp nose that made up his features. He had a broad, friendly smile that showed a complete set of teeth and appeared genuinely concerned for her wellbeing. It made Julia wonder how successful he¡¯d be selling cars or buying Souls. Analysis [Name: Krivibog Race: Human (Slavic Ancestry) Class: Fighter / Merchant Level: 15 / 52 Health: 663 Defence: 43 Melee Attack Power: 47 Combat Skills: Club [M) (1), Staff [M] (1) Details: Originally from Sclaveni, the capital of the Slavic Kingdom, Krivibog has been travelling the roads of the ten Kingdoms since he was an apprentice. Now considered a master merchant, his children help run the family trading house he established.. ] Yeah, I don¡¯t want to know how high this guy¡¯s haggling is. The way he isn¡¯t bug-eyed at me, I wonder if Merchant gives Willpower. {{ Oh, not irresistible? see, maybe you can snuggle this guy. Make Torm all jelly. }} Torm has someone he cares about. {{ Oh, brother! }} As B started giggling away, Julia kept her focus on Krivibog. Gellamel and Aggie waited with her but drew back slightly when he went to speak. ¡°I thought it best to stay and ensure the women you rescued received proper treatment,¡± stated Krivibog, his tone and demeanour projecting helpfulness. No concern that perhaps I might hunt you down for a ruby. ¡°Thank you. I hope you and your caravan will still be able to find dwellings tonight its getting late in the day.¡± ¡°If nothing else, we¡¯ll camp by the road. Now about the goods and provisions,¡± Krivibog enquired ¡°How much will you require?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, I will need three golden knots to cover things, good lady. Some things were from orders I¡¯ll now have to dishonour unless I can find replacements,¡± Krivibog said, his smile was so disarming, that Julia cheated, touching his mind with Telepathy. His calculation of profit margin making her smile a broad showing of teeth as well. ¡°Krivibog, really, how could you break your word so? I¡¯m regretting dealing with you so trustingly if you¡¯re the type to dishonour orders,¡± Julia said. As the response started flowing from his lips, Julia just raised a hand and cut him off. ¡°I was going to suggest you keep the ruby till you showed yourself to be such a blackheart. Now, since I know you¡¯ll break your word to others, how do I know you¡¯re offering me prices in good faith?¡± ¡°But you already gave me the ruby,¡± said Krivibog, even as he protested Julia could see him catching his mental balance. ¡°As collateral against the eventual costs. Surely you¡¯re not trying to claim I paid you with that and also expecting three golden knots?¡± Julia asked, trying for a disappointed look. [Acting [J](18->20) Haggling [J](9->10)] Checking my log turned notifications back on. Blah! The Merchant started waxing on about the urgency of her need, only for a guardsman to clear his throat beside them, cutting him off after only a few words. ¡°Lady, if you are Eakc?, the Jarl would like to speak with you.¡± Julia glanced at the guard with her smile still in place and sighed when he looked ready to grovel at her feet. Fuck! ¡°As much as I¡¯d like to enjoy a long haggling session with you, unfortunately, the Jarl calls,¡± Julia said, adding a thoughtful pause before she continued. ¡°How about you pick a gem from among these as payment? I collected them myself from Elementals.¡± Julia held out a hand, and assorted sized gems appeared on her palm. They ranged from tiny diamonds of various hues, garnets, and rubies up to gems half the size she¡¯d given him earlier. Krivibog quickly picked out a gem; Julia catching from his mind it was worth well over ten times what he¡¯d asked. Still, he moderated his first greedy impulse after she¡¯d looked at him flatly. Though still excessive, Julia felt the knowledge she lifted from him was worth the exchange. She had funds to help her cult now, as the gems had ranged from ten to thousands of golden knots. From what Julia gathered, Planar aligned gems would fetch far more from Wizards, Mages, and assorted Temples. As she put the gems and the returned ruby away, Julia smiled at the guard struggling with his composure before gesturing for him to lead on. ¡°Please show me to the Jarl, if you¡¯d be so kind,¡± said Julia. ¡°Lady Eakc?.¡± The familiar voice pulled at Julia¡¯s attention, and she turned to see Sagga, leading the way with two ladies Eivor had introduced to Julia following with blankets. ¡°Sagga,¡± greeted Julia. But she only managed a single name before Livia blurred from among the crowd and climbed her like a tree. ¡°You¡¯re back,¡± Livia chirped, settling on Julia¡¯s shoulders. Her shins tucking under Julia¡¯s armpits as she leant over Julia from behind. Julia tilted her head back to regard the crystal gaze and returned the beaming smile that Livia gave her. ¡°If you¡¯ve so much energy, have you learnt the Ki Healing technique as yet?¡± ¡°No,¡± Livia replied, downcast as she glanced at the nearest survivor. ¡°Master Farhad hasn¡¯t taught it to me yet. I wish he had. I¡¯ve been helping by moving blankets and spare clothes.¡± ¡°Can you do me a favour and show Gellamel and Aggie to Master Yngvarr¡¯s house?¡± asked Julia, gesturing to each lady. ¡°Please ask him if he¡¯d shelter them for the time being.¡± ¡°Of course, I know he¡¯s holding a room for your visits, so worse case they can share it since you have little need.¡± The little monkey slid from her as quick as she¡¯d climbed, only stopping for a quick hug before she led the women away. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you there unless Master Yngvarr shoos me off,¡± Livia called over her shoulder, and Julia smiled before looking back to the guard. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, just a moment longer.¡± Turning to Sagga and the Priestesses, she gave them each a hug in return, aware of how surprised the ladies were by the gesture. ¡°Thank you for helping with this effort and everything else you¡¯ve been doing,¡± Julia said, the intensity of the adoration from them disturbing. I wish I could blend as Rana does. ¡°If you¡¯d follow me please, Lady Eakc?,¡± the guard requested and waited for her nod before he headed towards the gate. Julia followed along, aware of those watching on, not wanting to know what rumours they¡¯d hear now. Yet with Telepathy withdrawn, she was unaware that all most saw was her calm, iridescent beauty, moving with liquid grace and poise. With the Jarl¡¯s guard escorting her, the gate guards didn¡¯t request a name or a chit. Julia refreshed her clothing and let it settle separately from her form since Torm might not be alone in having True Sight. While she couldn¡¯t hide her nature from that Power, she¡¯d settle for not being buck arse naked.
Decorative wood panelling covered the walls from the entryway of the Jarl¡¯s Hall and grew more elaborate the further inside Julia went. It reminded her of the forest scene in the Silver Chalice, but the scenes here looked far older. The dark wood panels showed details of age in True Sight, generations of fingers having touched and left their mark on the intricate details. Between each group of decorative panels, weapons sat in brackets like a medieval castle, and clearly weren¡¯t decroative. The builders had precisely set the sturdy stone floor, with an unpolished surface that provided sure footing. Seeing inside the Jarl¡¯s Hall for the first time, Julia wondered if Skyrim''s dragon born theme would start up. When B started its pulsing beat within her mind, an amused smile twitched on her lips before she schooled her features into calmness. The entryway led straight into what looked to be a banquet hall, long tables stretched its length towards the raised area. On either side of the hall archways lead further into the Jarl¡¯s dwelling, and at the far end of the hall, there were a number of single doors. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. At that end on a slightly raised dais sat two simple high-backed chairs, their only ornamentation a crest engraved on the chair¡¯s back peak. A cracked deer antler catching a savage hand axe in its prongs, a few droplets from the axe¡¯s jagged blade, symbolised blood, Julia guessed. Seated on the chairs, an older couple held court with ten others. As the guard led her towards the gathering, a young woman standing nearby looked up, causing others to turn towards Julia. The chatter between those addressing the seated couple didn¡¯t subside, however. Julia could recognise the Jarl from descriptions, but the woman beside him was equally imposing. He had the solid tan of someone used to working outdoors, and scars spotted his face, though none extended further than a few centimetres. The longest scar ran from the right corner of his mouth to the centre of his solid chin, its tension twisting the corner of his mouth downwards. Though his face bore only minor scars, his nose had bumps speaking of frequent breaks. He shared the sky-blue eyes of his wife, though while hers sparkled with life, his gaze gave him a coldly assessing air currently focused on a man speaking nearby. The Jarl was greying with only hints of blond left, though he easily withstood the weight of the silverish chain hauberk he wore. The lady was also likewise armoured, she¡¯d added bracers that bore some sort of metallic chasing from wrist to elbow. Though if the hauberks were made of light Mithril that, or the enchantments, might explain the ease they showed wearing them. Neither lounged but rather sat as if ready to respond instantly if needed. Where he was bulky and solid muscle, she was whip-lean. Her dark red hair showed less grey and contrasted favourably with the little blond left to his credit. The man¡¯s solid hands were bare, except for two plain rings on his left middle finger, both showing enchantments to True Sight. While on her more delicate fingers were many rings, ornate or simple, all bore enchantments. His wife had leaner features that still showed the beauty of her youth, now aged to show the steel rose underneath. A heart-shaped face with an upturned nose and a round chin. While her features lacked in his sheer frequency of scars, she made up for that with the extent of the burn she carried; running as it did from her partly melted left ear down along her neck disappearing into her hauberk. Rather than cover it, she¡¯d styled her hair into a braid that rested on her right shoulder. The dramatic scar didn¡¯t detract from her beauty but accented it speaking of the steel that the fire couldn¡¯t touch. Laugh lines etched around her eyes looked ill-used at present by the intensity of her focus. When the escort drew their attention neither the Jarl nor Lady seemed besotted by Julia¡¯s presence, though that wasn¡¯t the case for several others. Analysis [Name: Ti¨²emundr Axebane Race: Human (Norse Ancestry) Class: Farstrider / Fighter / Scout / Noble Level: 62 / 48 / 49 / 34 Details: The third surviving child of the previous Jarl; A gathering of Chieftains, and Karls, elected Ti¨²emundr as Jarl after his father fell in battle without confirming his choice of heir. He combined the Ranger and Scout classes at level fifty into the Prestige class of Farstrider. As a Ranger, his patron is ¨®einn, and he is respectful to all the Norse pantheon as well as Ra, Bast and Sekhmet. ] Analysis [Name: ?lhildr Axebane Race: Human (Norse / Roman Ancestry) Class: Midnight Storm / Assassin / Scout / Wizard Level: 63 / 58 / 42 / 42 Details: The fifth daughter of a merchant family ?lhildr left home when she was fifteen, joining the Companions Hall to avoid marriage. She combined the Fighter and Wizard with Air, Celestial, Dark, and Lightning Affinities classes at level sixty into the Prestige class of Midnight Storm. ?lhildr pays respect to all the Norse pantheon, along with Bast. ] [Analysis [Ad] (26->27)] Julia could see a family resemblance with a few nearby as the guard hurried her forward. ¡°Jarl Ti¨²emundr and Lady ?lhildr, I present to you Lady Eakc?. Lady Eakc?, Jarl Ti¨²emundr and Lady ?lhildr,¡± the guard said formally and then quickly stepped back. The attention of the Jarl, and Lady as well as those close at hand focused on her alone. Julia has glad neither the Jarl nor Lady seemed inclined towards distraction by her presence. ¡°Lady Eakc?, you have our thanks and the thanks of many others for the rescue of those women. While we have much to deal with, I would like to acknowledge your deeds and grant you citizenship in our domain. It entitles you to own lands and command the service of thralls.¡± {{He didn¡¯t name you Thane. Boo!!! }} They don¡¯t have Thanes B, so shoo! Command the service of thralls aka buy people; no thanks. I could buy up all their debts and free them but that doesn¡¯t help the people in trouble tomorrow. Need to get the law changed. A younger woman beside the Lady stepped forward the moment he finished speaking and drew a silver chain with a pendant from a pouch. Her flame-red hair was lighter than Lady ?lhildr¡¯s but her eyes spoke of the relationship between them. Unlike her mother, she had the more powerful build of the Jarl and Analysis provided Julia with her name: Angrboda. [Name: Angrboda Axebane Race: Human (Norse / Roman Ancestry) Class: Ranger / Priest / Scout Level: 34 / 32 / 32 Health: 1,968 Mana: 5,712 Defence: 134 Magic: 71 Melee Attack Power: 98 Ranged Attack Power: 116 Combat Skills: Heavy Blades [M) (2), Long Blades [M] (2), Daggers [M] (4), Longbow [M] (15) - Various Blessing Details: She is the fourth of five surviving children to the Lady ?lhildr Axebane and her husband, Jarl Ti¨²emundr of Eyrarh¨¢ls. A Priestess and Ranger in the service of Frigga. ] Weird, I thought the Norse had different family name customs. ¡°Lady Eakc?, please accept this pendant from our family. It represents your citizenship and a mark of our family¡¯s favour given the help you¡¯ve provided to our domain and the Kingdom. My thanks as well; I¡¯m hoping people I know are among those you¡¯ve rescued, and that they will recover from their ordeal.¡± ¡°Thank you, Priestess Angrboda, for your kind words and the token from your family. I would like to assist further beyond just their rescue.¡± Julia noticed Angrboda twitch in surprise, but said nothing about her reaction. ¡°You¡¯ve done much in rescuing so many though we¡¯ll have our work cut out for us. There will be challenges ahead for the domain in handling the short-term issues such a sudden influx will cause,¡± said Ti¨²emundr, his voice a commanding baritone. ¡°More than short-term issues, as I was trying to tell you, Jarl. The first planting is all completed, and we¡¯ve not the seed stock nor fields available to extend it. Land will have to be cleared, and prepared, or field rotation disrupted which will affect future harvests.¡± While the points raised made sense to Julia, the whining tone in the speaker¡¯s voice was like nails along a chalkboard. Julia kept a calm expression on her face as the speaker looked at her contemptuously and Analysis gave her a name, and his classes. The Merchant and Steward attached to ¡®Eysteinn¡¯ didn¡¯t surprise her given the issues he raised. He was taller by at least twenty centimetres, allowing him to loom over her, yet his sneering expression made for a ferret of a man. Julia amused herself by thinking about photo filters suitable for him instead of the features that seemed so at odds with his behaviour. His solid Norse jawline, cheeks, straight nose, and dark blue eyes with thick white hair should have given him an elder statesman vibe, instead Julia wanted to scrape him off her boot. ¡°I can help by bringing in supplies,¡± Julia offered, but was interrupted before she could explain. ¡°You clearly don¡¯t know the expense involved with feeding that many people. Even at normal food prices. And the food prices won¡¯t be normal with so many extra mouths to feed. The planting is complete; they¡¯ll be able to contribute nothing to the first harvest,¡° sneered Eysteinn. Well, he¡¯s not doing all the bug-eyed looking at me others are, so Merchant must provide Willpower - pity it doesn¡¯t also provide moral character. ¡°I wasn¡¯t asking the town to pay anything. I¡¯ll cover the cost of bringing in food supplies, as well as organising clothing for the women.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very generous of you to offer such help, but given many of the survivors are from ours or neighbouring domains we should tend them ourselves,¡± refused Jarl Ti¨²emundr, his tone firm as he looked at Eysteinn. ¡°Yes, but now we have thousands of pregnant women to deal with. They¡¯ll be useless for anything, and who¡¯d want them?¡± complained Eysteinn. Julia glanced from the Jarl to Eysteinn and wished Dominion hadn¡¯t absorbed Intimidate for the first time. ¡°You¡¯re wrong in all regards,¡± Julia stated calmly, even as B provided visualisations of smashing his face into the stone floor repeatedly. ¡°What did you say?¡± demanded Eysteinn, glaring at Julia. ¡°So wrong and deaf? Of the two thousand, six hundred, and fifteen women, exactly one of them is pregnant, and her baby is human,¡± Julia stated firmly. ¡°I¡¯ll be seeing they can get established in one fashion or another.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need that verified by one of Eir¡¯s Priests. Even if you aren¡¯t lying, that still doesn¡¯t deal with the matter of how we¡¯re supposed to feed them. We¡¯ll have to explore what options we have available,¡± Eysteinn stated. ¡°So, you speak for the Jarl?¡± Julia asked. Feeling her hands close, she stopped and focused on opening them again slowly before she gave in and punched him. {{Go on, just a little one. You might let him see daylight inside his thick head. }} ¡°He doesn¡¯t. He only seems to care for the domain¡¯s financial limits and apparently hasn¡¯t heard of your followers¡¯ works,¡± murmured Lady ?lhildr, her dry tone announcing her own annoyance. This could get interesting, but at least she doesn¡¯t seem to care for his attitude either. Julia nodded politely to Lady ?lhildr before she spoke again. ¡°I already said, I¡¯d be happy to provide wealth enough to get them established,¡± Julia stated, and as Eysteinn began interjecting, gesturing for a moment gained her enough time to finish. ¡°Even if the Jarl doesn¡¯t wish to accept that aid. I¡¯m aware, we¡¯ll need to seek supplies from further afield, but as I brought the women here I can assist with that. There are things I¡¯d like to discuss, but the survivors are my priority. I can move over eight tons of supply per trip if you¡¯ve suggestions for suitable sources to purchase food.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe someone like you is going to afford that much food?¡± asked Eysteinn, his eyes roaming over the plain leathers she currently wore. ¡°You¡¯ve just brought a bunch of useless burdens to our doorstep, others now have to sort out the problems you¡¯ve caused child.¡± Bloody pain in the arse, your Jarl has already turned me down on that offer. Not that it will stop me buying more on my own. ¡°You should have someone pull out the rat that lives in your skin and grow a heart,¡± Julia retorted, as B started considering which bone needed to break first. {{ One little punch? }} ¡°How dare you! I am the Jarl¡¯s Steward,¡± Eysteinn exclaimed, his fair complexion reddening as his eyes bulged. ¡°But you¡¯re not the Jarl, so close your mouth. I didn¡¯t rescue those women for a whining maggot like you to go bad-mouthing them or me,¡± Julia said. Her calm flat tone causing the words to hit him like slaps, his face growing redder still. {{Can we give him a heart attack? Or a quick punch in the crotch? A little fisting won¡¯t hurt us. }} With a mental sigh at the amusement in B¡¯s words, Julia was glad when the Jarl cut off the heated response Eysteinn gathered himself to provide. ¡°Eysteinn, I think it best if you go arrange for a new tally of the granary and storehouses. Make sure we have an accurate account of usable grains and foodstuffs in store. Some supplies might have perished since the last tally.¡± Is that him getting sent to the naughty corner or safety? Eysteinn glared at her before picking up a ledger from a nearby table and stalking away, able to move well despite his apparent age. The nine others nearby made sounds of amusement that continued for long moments; as Julia glanced at them a lady among them gave her a pleased smile. Like many of the occupants of the town she¡¯d seen, most displayed clear Norse heritage with a mixture of red, brown, and blond hair. Their eye colours ranged from blue to deep brown, though lighter tones were the most common. Seems they¡¯re enjoying his chastisement. The Jarl didn¡¯t speak again till the door closed behind Eysteinn¡¯s departure, though Angrboda looked highly amused. ¡°He cares little beyond the weight of someone¡¯s coin or the balance on the ledger. He takes pride in how long his family has helped manage the lands for the Jarls of Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± said Angrboda. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t value people, I¡¯ve no time for him. You can train people to understand numbers; you can¡¯t train people to care for others,¡± replied Julia, letting go of the annoyance before she continued speaking. ¡°Well, regardless, I¡¯m sure there will be expenses for Eyrarh¨¢ls. It will require coin for additional guards among many other things. Please accept this for your family as a gesture of commitment from me to helping their recovery.¡± Julia held out a valuable gem to Angrboda as she finished speaking. ¡°You should have shown this to Eysteinn; he¡¯d have treated you better than his firstborn,¡± Angrboda said, her voice desert dry with amusement as she received the gem from Julia. ¡°Jarl, might I ask, how would you feel about having a cadre of Wizards in Eyrarh¨¢ls?¡± Julia asked. ¡°How is this relevant to the survivors?¡± Ti¨²emundr questioned, clearly puzzled despite his calm tone. ¡°Eysteinn said they¡¯d be useless. I plan to teach those that want to become Wizards.¡± Lady ?lhildr coughed in surprise, the sound an attempt to swallow a bark of laughter. ¡°For what purpose?¡± Ti¨²emundr asked, after a glance at his wife. ¡°Eradicating Gnarls to make your domain and the Kingdom safer. Who knows how many can return to their old lives. I want to show them there¡¯s hope for something more than the nightmare they¡¯ve survived,¡± stated Julia, conviction setting her tone with steel. ¡°Even if an individual has an Affinity, becoming a Wizard can take years. Do you believe more than a handful will be capable of learning?¡± ?lhildr asked, curiosity clear in her voice. ¡°I¡¯ve plans for that. Might I suggest a trial period of a few months to prove what I can achieve for Eyrarh¨¢ls? I¡¯ll see to covering their costs and bringing in extra materials, so prices aren¡¯t driven up. If it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯ll still cover the costs of resettling them in new homes and professions. Wherever they wish to settle,¡± Julia stated, hoping she could implement her plan without official interference. Well, at worst, I¡¯ll be saturating local crafters with work to do. ¡°Housing is going to get very crowded in Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± remarked ?lhildr. ¡°There are wild grasslands, a score of kilometres south of here. I camped on a knoll on the edge of a wood near them and didn¡¯t see a single light anywhere to the west of it.¡± ¡°Who¡¯d be in charge of whatever we build? You?¡± asked one of the group suspiciously as he finally got over his bug-eyed state. ¡°Don¡¯t even think about giving me such a position. I¡¯ll fund construction regardless of where you want to build them homes. The location isn¡¯t in my hands, it was just a suggestion.¡± ¡°There are reasons those lands are empty. Their long-term housing will need consideration and doesn¡¯t need an immediate decision. Lady Eakc?, if you would join my wife and I for further discussion. Everyone else, get started with your tasks; It¡¯s late afternoon already and there is still much to accomplish.¡± As the Jarl rose to his feet, the others nodded and headed off about whatever tasks they¡¯d been set. Some immediately heading towards the front doors of the keep, while others adjourning towards various inner doors. 84 - Something from nothing. Though Julia wanted to get back to helping the women or killing Gnarls, she followed Ti¨²emundr and ?lhildr. They led her through a door a few metres behind their chairs on the hall¡¯s rostrum. Both moved with a grace she found impressive, even with the minimal details that Analysis provided. Unlike the Jarl¡¯s hall, the corridor they led her through had unadorned walls, the stone almost seamlessly melding into the next without a hint of mortar. Their course passed several sturdy-looking doors, the delicious smells and lively noises coming from behind one clearly announcing its purpose. As they walked, a lively drumbeat called them forward, emanating from a partly opened door at the end. When the Jarl pushed it fully open, he stepped through without a pause and held it for his wife and Julia to enter. The space beyond bordered a large garden sitting in the building¡¯s shadow cast by the last afternoon sun. Its centrepiece was a statue of a single-eyed Norse warrior holding a Kraken¡¯s head aloft on the end of a spear, with his feet resting on the waves. The Kraken¡¯s tentacles splayed outwards, seeking to wrap around small boats amid the garden beds where the figures of tiny warriors endeavoured to keep them at bay. Around the garden¡¯s border, Julia recognised statues of more Norse Gods. The beds were a riot of blooming flowers springing up between the battles, while the tentacles formed pathways through the garden. A young man with ?lhildr¡¯s deep red hair sat cross-legged on a bench near the garden¡¯s edge, his dancing fingers drawing forth the music, the intensity of his focus crystal clear. Even with his eyes closed, the relationship to them was just as clear, the shape of his face echoing his mother¡¯s features, though he had his father¡¯s build. Before the Jarl closed the door, the young man tilted his head, and the drumbeat slowed. He drew each note out in a suddenly ominous, forbodding tone, finally bringing a palm down to still the sound. As he straightened, Julia noted the clasps down the front of his shirt shaped like minature silver hand-axes, an ostentatious display she¡¯d hadn¡¯t seen from others. ¡°Hrafn.¡± The tone alone made Julia¡¯s lips twitch in amusement, the parental frustration in Ti¨²emundr¡¯s voice, making it clear there had already been a discussion. ¡°Father, you asked for time to speak with Lady Eakc? first; I¡¯m not here to speak only to listen, pretend I¡¯m not even here. I was playing loudly enough that you¡¯d known I was here. If you didn¡¯t want me listening, nothing was stopping you from picking a different place to sit.¡± ¡°Lady Eakc?, this is our youngest Hrafn. Hrafn, this is Lady Eakc?. You can try to pester her with questions later. Since you are here now, just listen.¡± Ti¨²emundr stated in an exasperated tone. Hrafn opened his eyes and gave Julia a content smile, though the liveliness of his mother was missing from his uneven gaze. His left iris was a deep topaz blue, while the right was gleaming metallic silver, shimmering as if the iris were in motion. He shared his mother¡¯s heart-shaped face, but his chin and nose followed his father¡¯s genes; the same solid chin and straight-bladed nose, though his was unbroken, features unscarred. Analysis [Name: Hrafn Axebane Race: Human (Norse / Roman Ancestry) Class: Skald / Sage / Spymaster / Priest Level: 40 / 34 / 38 / 34 Health: 2,126 Mana: 4,564 Defence: 98 Magic: 74 Melee Attack Power: 58 Ranged Attack Power: 67 Combat Skills: Short Blade [Ad] (2), Throwing Knives [Ad] (23) - Various Blessings Details: Hrafn is the youngest child to the Lady ?lhildr Axebane and her husband, Jarl Ti¨²emundr of Eyrarh¨¢ls. A Skald and Priest in the service of ¨®einn. ] No wonder he¡¯s all fancied up a Norse Bard, wonder if he get on with Moke. Spymaster does he manage the family¡¯s eyes and ears, or is he up to other things? ¡°Please sit,¡± ?lhildr said, gesturing towards a comfortable chair, even as she sat down on another. ¡°Tell us how you came to rescue the women. How did you find them?¡± I will have to tell the truth delicately in case they¡¯re not already informed. So glad Torm explained the limits on names getting beings¡¯ attention. ¡°Torm and I had been adventuring through the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma, when I had a cryptic contact from V¨ªearr, a Priest I¡¯d met from the Temple here in Eyrarh¨¢ls. It gave me nothing to go on regarding the situation, but rather than ignore it, I set about tracking it back. When we followed its path to the Material Plane, we were in a Gnarl breeding pen. V¨ªearr was there though badly injured, and he asked us to take a message to Verdandi. I tried to help one prisoner and found I could free her from the collar of Set and her unborn. After I confirmed I could help, we set about freeing them all. We didn¡¯t risk fighting any more Gnarls in the complex than we needed to get the survivors clear. Aside from the manacles of Set, I found a Priest of Tiamat present. Torm said there were three groups of Priests. I don¡¯t know if that included the Gnarls'' Shamans.¡± Julia stated, trying to use straight facts. When Julia mentioned V¨ªearr¡¯s name, her momentary focus on him made her aware of his condition through the link between them. His body was struggling against injuries and curse alike, while spells of healing were fighting against the scourge he¡¯d anchored in his flesh and Soul by using Abyssal Runes. As she continued speaking, Julia drew that black energy along the link, and the curse came apart in a burst that left a strangely sour taste. ¡°Adventuring that¡¯s a word I¡¯ve only heard recently,¡± said Ti¨²emundr after Julia paused and didn¡¯t continue ¡°He appealed to you for aid instead of praying to Tyr?¡± asked ?lhildr, her voice low with suspicion. ¡°When we found him, they also had a collar of Set around him; I believe he¡¯d used a rune scroll to contact me. He didn¡¯t have his medallion for channelling, and the collar of Set would have blocked him from doing so. I have a lot of unanswered questions about the situation. I hope he¡¯ll provide more information when he¡¯s recovered.¡± That¡¯s if he¡¯ll tell me anything and doesn¡¯t stay in the Temple to stop me from speaking to him. ¡°I¡¯d like to put up a spell to stop eavesdroppers,¡± ?lhildr said, giving Hrafn a meaningful look. ¡°Surely you will not cut me out as well?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk with Yngvarr, Verdandi and some others present as well? It will save me repeating answers.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to hear some answers without Yngvarr or Verdandi present first.¡± ¡°That sounds worrying,¡± Julia said, not exactly comfortable with the need for their absence. ¡°It only takes a moment, and I asked you out of hospitality. From my perspective, your origins and followers should be more worrying to us. A Lady who isn¡¯t a lady of any kind, and you''re travelling with the former Temple Guard Captain Torm. I can guess how V¨ªearr contacted you and how you arrived precisely at his prison from across Planes, which should also worry me. However, my son and Verdandi assure me things are unusual,¡± ?lhildr stated, her gaze even more severe now than her husband¡¯s had been. Oh Boy! Wait! What does she mean former Captain? He said he needed to level his abilities, not that he¡¯d resigned. ¡°Can I send a message to Yngvarr? I sent two survivors to his place, and depending on your questions, this could take a while,¡± Julia said, examining the garden wards via True Sight while she spoke. They look like Yngvarr¡¯s wards around his courtyard; those wards block teleporting in, but not out. ¡°Why did you send two to his house?¡± ¡°A few reasons: they were slaves to a High Priest of Tiamat and may have overheard useful information. One of them became pregnant from his assaults, and when I told her, another woman threatened her. Since the one that threatened her is the daughter of a Jarl, I wanted to ensure she was safe,¡± replied Julia, keeping the rest of her reasons to herself. ¡°A Jarl¡¯s daughter? Who?¡± asked ?lhildr. ¡°Her name is Ketilrier, third daughter of Jarl Waldemar Bloodaxe. She¡¯s cruel, but no one was getting left behind.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get a Captain to arrange her a room.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust her,¡± Julia said flatly, her fingers clenching. ¡°You told one woman she was pregnant by her rapist, and another threatens her. Why in Frigga¡¯s name do you think I¡¯d trust that woman?¡± ?lhildr asked. ¡°If she is in our residence, I can assign her an escort and ask them to monitor her.¡± Friends close and enemies closer. It makes me wonder which bucket they¡¯re putting me in at present. Ti¨²emundr and ?lhildr exchanged a glance, and ?lhildr just tilted her head towards Julia before Ti¨²emundr spoke. ¡°We wished to discuss other things without Yngvarr or Verdandi present, but best to deal with this serpent. Please send your message to Yngvarr, ask if he and Alfarr could join us. Also, send one to Verdandi asking her the same with whoever they wish to bring against this servant of Tiamat. It¡¯s likely Master Farhad won¡¯t consider him a foe worth bothering with, but I want him dead.¡± stated Ti¨²emundr. Julia sent a message off to Yngvarr and received an acknowledgment a moment later. With Verdandi and Torm she could only wait and see; but it didn¡¯t take long either for them or others bearing symbols of Norse faiths to arrive. In the meantime, ?lhildr arranged for Ketilrier to be fetched and for more seats brought. There was over a score present when ?lhildr released a spell that set a dome formed of interlocking Dark and Air Mana around the chairs and benches. I need to learn more utility spells. ¡°If you¡¯d tell us about this Priest of Tiamat and what you¡¯ve seen of the complex.¡± It seems they won¡¯t get the payback I had hoped, at least not against that place. Maybe it¡¯s for the best. * * * The Gnarl¡¯s pleasure den had been quiet when they arrived, but didn¡¯t remain so. Their quick planning had selected a room above the High Priest¡¯s quarters as one staging point, but Julia didn¡¯t get to take part in that fun. Her role in that fight was over after delivering the primary strike team. After teleporting others into position, Julia got to her post and held herself ready. When she heard the first explosion, Julia released a Lightning Bolt through the dormitory where she¡¯d been waiting. Some had argued about her proposal, but the Jarl had cut them off, stating simply that, ¡®it needs to be done¡¯. After that, they seemed willing to let the matter drop, since Julia was the one getting her hands dirty. When Teleport moved her to the next spot, she left behind hundreds of small, charred bodies, along with the gnawed remains of their earlier victims. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. {{ And they don¡¯t even have training lightsabers. }} Fuck Off! Julia kept Soul Sight on the vicious rage and cruelty already in the Souls of her targets, making the work uncomfortably easy. When she found the fifth dormitory already scattering outdoors, she went after them, switching to Fireballs and Shock Blasts charged with one type of Mana or another. About the cavern she heard chants in Celestial dropping pillars of lightning or fire on groups of Gnarls as the fighting escalated. A wall had collapsed, leaving the interior of the High Priest¡¯s chamber exposed, but that battle had already spilled out of the building. The High Priest was fighting the primary team with scores of draconic looking humanoid Demons she¡¯d never seen before, providing him cannon fodder support. The battle already having cost him the fingers on one hand, and his heroic features now looked swollen and blooded. Julia caught sight of a Demon¡¯s destruction, even as more appeared, and it seemed like it would be a battle of attrition. As much as Julia wanted to sneak some attacks she had little desire for a friendly fire incident. Before she could get any information on the Demons, the approach of booted feet refocused her on her role. With one spell after another, she set to blunting the arriving forces. The soundtrack B starting up from her memory didn¡¯t distract Julia as she continued throwing spells at the incoming arrivals. A burning portal blocked her line of sight for a moment, and a Br¨ªn stepping from it caught her attention. His path took him towards a distracted Priestess of Frigga, whose focus was on a group of Gnarls approaching between free-standing buildings within the cavern. Julia¡¯s emotions spiked for a moment before noticing the jagged broadsword grasped in its left hand, even as a shield appeared grasped in its right. Analysis [Name: Nsanga Demonic Species: Br¨ªn Class: Fighter Level: 18 / 50 Health: 1744 Defence: 97 Melee Attack Power: 108 Combat Skills: Heavy Blades [Ad] (42) Details: Spawned on the Br¨ªn battlegrounds in the Plane of ?v?ge, he belongs to the faction commanded by Set, a Lesser Power in the Egyptian Pantheon. He is currently on the Material Plane via a Gate opened by the Priestess Meritites of Set. ] As another stepped through the portal, Julia teleported beside him. His attack already started on the Priestess he didn¡¯t have time to evade. The punch smashed through his lower ribs under the raised sword, and with Ki and Destruction Mana combined within the blow, Julia crushed its heart. [Ki Strike, Armour Breach Success: 184 Damage - Critical attack. Energy drain - Willpower Critical Success - Health drain 244, Stat penalty applied Strength, passive effect applied. Ki Infusion, Armour already breached: 195 Damage. Ki Infusion, Mana - Destruction: 585 Damage. Death Strike Multiplier for Physical Damage x4. Total Damage: 1,760 (184 x 4) + (244 + 195 + 585) Death Strike [Ap](11->13) Silent Kill [Ap] (23->24) Demonic Shard Gained: 1] Even as it collapsed, Julia turned the rest of the combat notifications off. White flames began screaming from her Ki Armour as she flowed towards the Portal. There is a Priestess of Set about - watch out for her. Julia projected the thought towards the Priestess and the others close at hand. Leaving them to find that foe, Julia slipped under a strike from the next Brin, her flurry of punches pulverising its body and dropping it to the ground. Through the Portal, Julia could see more Br¨ªn approaching, the landscape a desert of heat blasted sand. The sun high in the Plane¡¯s sky burnt with a strange black light and washed everything with its perversion of sunlight. As the next tried to shield-charge her away from the Portal, she stepped into the motion. Her kick broke his shield and drove him back, dying on the Abyssal side of the Portal. Though their attempts to get through the narrow opening pushed the ones ahead off balance, making them easier to kill, she struggled to keep up with their numbers. As yet another tried to get through the Portal, Julia¡¯s kick broke its leading knee and her elbow shattered its skull. The rush of drained health healing a wound another¡¯s spear opened in her side. As their numbers grew, Torm appeared nearby in time to intercept a rush of Gnarls from reaching to her. His sudden presence easing the pressure on the Priestess guarding Julia¡¯s position. The first sense of his arrival brought a smile to Julia¡¯s lips even as she sent white Lightning into the gathered Br¨ªn beyond the Portal; the energy ate through Demonic flesh even as it destroyed the shadows laying across the sands. Julia saw a woman wearing robes of Set knocked down on a ledge along the cavern¡¯s wall among the swirling battle. The Gnarl archers nearby began dragging her away, claws already tearing into cloth. Soul Sight showed she was still alive and sickened by their intent; Julia cast a Fireball formed with Destruction Mana. Its blast obliterating a wall of Gnarls closing on their own ¡®ally¡¯. A Br¨ªn that tried to take advantage of Julia¡¯s distraction found his life stolen, though Julia didn¡¯t get the kill. The Priestess¡¯ death disrupted the Portal, causing its edge to cut the charging Br¨ªn in half. More Gnarls came rushing out from between the cavern¡¯s buildings to be met by spells, blessings and blades as they fought to hold them back from re-inforcing the High Priest. Divine barricades of spears and spell formed blades killed them by the score, leaving Julia and the fighters to finish whatever made it through. When Julia spotted the High Priest drop under Alfarr¡¯s axe, she teleported to his side, and Energy Drain drank his fading life and Soul away. The blighted thing joined the press of Gnarl Souls within her flesh, and as the others regrouped, she drew his body into Inventory. With the numbers of Gnarls pressing into the cavern, Julia and Yngvarr transported away those who couldn¡¯t withdraw on their own. They all reappeared at their original staging point: the training yard at the Jarl¡¯s residence. Julia checked the others over, and while some looked very worse for wear, everyone returned relatively intact. Torm patted her shoulder as the Priestess of Frigga turned towards her. Julia could see a broad smile of thanks on her tired face, half-hidden by the helm she wore, her storm-grey eyes fixed on Julia. The armour she wore was showing marks from the battle, but the injuries seemed minor. ¡°I appreciate your dealing with that Demon; I only heard it hit the ground after you¡¯d already finished it. We didn¡¯t get introduced; my name¡¯s Waiola,¡± she offered, extending her hand. ¡°Eakc? or Julia, whichever you prefer,¡± replied Julia, returning her smile as the Priestess clasped her forearm. ¡°Good to meet you, Lady Eakc?. I''ve heard your name about town and seen you spar with Master Farhad in the Temple Square a few times after morning prayers, though you look very different now. The Jarl¡¯s providing drinks tonight, but I¡¯d like to buy you a mug to thank you for the rescue.¡± replied Waiola, the curiosity clear in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m just glad I was there to help,¡± Julia said. The open honesty of her responding drawing a smile from Waiola. ¡°If you have Mana left, would you set up a Life Mana Wall?¡± Torm asked, gesturing towards the battered members of the combatants. ¡°Maybe I should set up a number,¡± replied Julia, looking at the injuries the group was carrying. When the first greenish golden wall appeared, Torm stepped within it, the injuries he was still carrying from the fighting visibly closing. The change prompting another Norse Fighter to step into the wall at the other end, and Julia started setting up more within the courtyard. Various attendants who had been bringing forth bandages and jars seemed suddenly unsure what to do. When the Jarl stepped into one Life Wall, others who¡¯d been hesitating but looking worse for wear did likewise. Julia continued casting and renewing fading walls as required, caused her skill with it to quickly improve. Verdandi was still ash-covered when she approached, and Torm let someone else take his place in the first wall. Though she showed marks of battle on her armour, she looked fully recovered. ¡°A beneficial talent, one Yngvarr¡¯s still working to duplicate,¡± Verdandi said quietly, patting her shoulder as Torm had earlier. ¡°Interesting,¡± Julia said and smiled as Verdandi snorted, the next ¡®wall¡¯ being used by a pair of rangers with a nod of thanks. Verdandi said nothing further, just watching as Julia kept the spells flowing. She still had Mana remaining by the time everyone had recovered. Ti¨²emundr, breaking off from talking to his wife, stepped forward and raised his hands for attention. ¡°Let us give thanks to the Gods that aided us this day, with their blessing, and the brave folk that fought with us. While we didn¡¯t end the menace in the complex, we dealt it some dire wounds that won¡¯t be quick in healing. If they don¡¯t go scurrying to find another place, perhaps we¡¯ll inflict more wounds for those who¡¯ve suffered.¡± Ti¨²emundr stated, his voice reverberating in the yard as the group became quiet. ¡°Refresh yourselves and then return for an evening of celebration. While the repast will be modest, we¡¯ll have music, so I hope you all attend.¡± Verdandi rested a hand on Julia¡¯s shoulder as the others departed the yard. ¡°Do you plan to hang onto the Soul?¡± asked Verdandi quietly as the last group except Torm left the yard. ¡°That was my intention for now. I¡¯ll need to destroy the body,¡± Julia said. ¡°He had many protective items on him, some dedicated to Tiamat. Pass them along, and I¡¯ll see about their purification. Hopefully, you¡¯ll be able to make use of some of them to keep yourself safe.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass them along but share them out,¡± insisted Julia, frowning as she considered the glimpses of the fighting she¡¯d seen. ¡°He was harder to take down than I had expected; I¡¯ve no idea how he arranged that stream of Demons coming to his aid. Without your seeking more survivors we might never have known he was there. I¡¯m sure the others would consider his things a suitable reward; we¡¯ve our own equipment.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel right doing that. I didn¡¯t fight with you, and purifications will draw attention in places I need to go.¡± ¡°Some of his equipment might be ordinary enchantments and not be dangerous. If nothing else, we can arrange a reward for the purified items if they are useful beyond becoming an offering.¡± ¡°Will V¨ªearr be alright?¡± Julia asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear what happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m told he¡¯s resting. The curse on him suddenly dissipated while a Priest was seeing to him. Know anything about that?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Julia replied. Verdandi just nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll let him know he owes you in more ways than one. Once his condition improves, we¡¯ll see to regrowing his legs and eyes. Time will tell how that goes.¡± ¡°How did he end up in the breeding pens?¡± ¡°A Priestess of Set was trying to break him, by showing him how much weaker Tyr was than her master.¡± ¡°Then how did he get his hands on the rune scroll he used?¡± ¡°It was in his Oath stone. He¡¯d been planning to burn it as an offering to Tyr when he came back to Eyrarh¨¢ls. He¡¯d sealed the stone in a wound when they seemed sure to capture him. Though he knew they had to be around, he hadn¡¯t seen the other prisoners till they locked him in with them. He waited till night and reopened the wound. You know the rest,¡± Verdandi answered with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯d like some more details, but I¡¯ll wait to see if he¡¯ll talk to me.¡± ¡°He told me he wanted to talk to you, but I¡¯ll leave that to him.¡± * * * She felt like she¡¯d peeled herself creating more blankets than she wanted to count. Afterwards, Yngvarr¡¯s guest bath was a welcome luxury even if she felt guilty for using it. Yngvarr and Alfarr had already returned to the Jarl¡¯s Hall for the evening¡¯s celebrations, and she¡¯d found Gellamel and Aggie already asleep. Rika¡¯s eyes had looked haunted, and Julia could only imagine what sorts of memories the situation might have stirred up about her mother. The combat summary already dismissed, she looked through the other details in the log. Some achievements it listed turned her stomach, Fry Master, Butcher of Children, and even worse, but Julia just flipped the system a mental finger. There were four that she had no problem with at all. [Achievement: Guardian at the Gate I Condition: Hold back forces attempting to attack allies at a choke point. 3:1 ratio Reward: Prestige Class option unlocked for Tier 1, requires Fighter and Scout at level 30 or higher] [Achievement: Guardian at the Gate II Condition: Hold back forces from overrunning allies at a choke point. 10:1 ratio Reward: Prestige Class option(s) unlocked for Tier 2, requires Fighter and Scout at level 40 or higher] [Achievement: Guardian at the Gate III Condition: Hold back forces significantly outnumbering allies at a choke point. 20:1 ratio Reward: Prestige Class option(s) unlocked for Tier 3, requires Fighter and Scout at level 50 or higher] [Achievement: Merciful Death Condition: While under attack and defending others granted an enemy a merciful demise they¡¯d denied to others. Reward: Prestige Class options unlocked for Tier 3+, requires Death Affinity, and a Class related to an Outer Plane. ] {{Should have let the Gnarls teach her what she¡¯d allowed to happened to those women. Traitorous Bitch! }} I¡¯ll do what is needed, not indulge in cruelty. {{For now. }} You¡¯re putting yourself into the same corner as L¨ºdhins¡¯s Id by taking that approach B. {{It was a friendly warning. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions, oh that¡¯s right can¡¯t go there. }} With the Soul gem of Setau turning over in her fingers, she concentrated on it and saw a glimpse of his life. Images of the interior chambers of a Temple where he¡¯d conducted his initial training and sacrificed his sister rose from his Soul. Mentally shifting through the Souls within her, she pushed the foulness of the Gnarls aside and brought Birkir¡¯s Soul to the surface. Hidden within but a thin layer of the Abyssal Heat, she focused Soul Sight on him, the foulness making the refreshment of the bath insignificant. After some time spent focusing, she drew an image from his Soul that made her smile, as the exterior of a Shrine of Tiamat became apparent in her perceptions. Julia shifted her focus and dug into the Soul¡¯s history, looking for more places the cultists called their own. [Soul Sight [Ad] (20->21)] ¡°How many places of Tiamat¡¯s worship have you seen in your lifetime?¡± Julia asked aloud, the words but a gentle questioning murmur as she pushed her will against the Soul to dig up more secrets. A light tap on the door beckoned, and she let the Soul sink under the Abyssal Heat again. ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Me silly, I¡¯m back from helping with dinner at the Temple,¡± replied Livia. ¡°Come out, stop moping.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be out shortly.¡± 85 - Shot through the heart ¡°Why aren¡¯t you at the celebration?¡± Livia asked as Julia entered the sitting room. One of the young ladies had set a plate of biscuits on the table. Livia looked very relaxed, lounging back on the couch, the crumbs of a biscuit clear on her clothing. ¡°What¡¯s it to you, bossy boots?¡± Julia asked in return, before grumbling out her main reason. ¡°Don¡¯t need food.¡± ¡°Torm went,¡± Livia scolded. ¡°He doesn¡¯t need food either, but he¡¯s there talking with people that risked their lives fighting alongside him.¡± ¡°I made things for the ladies and didn¡¯t feel like partying after that,¡± answered Julia. She sat down beside Livia, only to find herself promoted to pillow as Livia stretched out and put her feet on Julia¡¯s lap. ¡°Brat.¡± ¡°And? Verdandi says it¡¯s important to celebrate when things go your way. There are frequently more reasons to kick yourself than for celebration,¡± stated Livia, changing the subject right back. ¡°I¡¯ll celebrate when they all have better places to sleep. The guards have had to set up tents due to the lack of sleeping space in houses and barns.¡± ¡°If you keep setting conditions before you celebrate, you¡¯ll always be waiting on something.¡± ¡°Verdandi¡¯s words of wisdom as well?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Are you going to tell me why you changed your appearance yet? You avoided telling me last time, and then you left.¡± ¡°It was a compromise. B was right about lying to myself with my appearance, but I¡¯m not comfortable following her suggestions. Though even using my mortal form, it didn¡¯t feel right; nothing felt the same,¡± Julia stated. Sighing, she settled further into the couch, glancing at Livia as she did so. Julia watches the contemplation clear on her features, just waiting till Livia responded. ¡°Just because she¡¯s right about that doesn¡¯t mean its the right answer. You need your answers as a whole, not just hers.¡± Livia said, gesturing at Julia. ¡°I know I need to find my own truth, but it was a compromise, so she¡¯ll behave while I figure my answers out,¡± agreed Julia. {{I always behave! }} Badly! Not arguing about her point? {{If you think she¡¯s right, who am I to argue. Clinging to the scraps of your old life won¡¯t help establish a new one. }} ¡°As long as you¡¯re still looking for your truths,¡± Livia stated, her gaze resting heavily on Julia as she spoke. {{Why not poke in her mind and see how you appear in her eyes. }} Julia almost shuddered a B¡¯s suggestion, and her mental reply was acidic. Never! Everyone has a right to their private thoughts. I don¡¯t use it on those I trust. ¡°I am. I have a lot to wade through,¡± said Julia. {{You need scuba gear, not waders. }} ¡°Good,¡± Livia said and leant precariously towards the table to snatch up two biscuits. ¡°You want one? Rika got a new recipe.¡± Livia extended her hand to Julia, both biscuits she¡¯d snatched from the plate on offer. ¡°It¡¯s okay you eat them.¡± ¡°Fine, I will. Now, why don¡¯t you offer me the Bond you have with Moke and Eivor?¡± asked Livia, her expression casually neutral. ¡°What? No way!¡± Julia exclaimed, not wanting any part of the offer. ¡°Don¡¯t be hard-headed. Listen to what I have to say.¡± ¡°Your crystal eyes are beautiful, but they also show me what I¡¯ve already done to you,¡± replied Julia, holding little hope Livia was just going to let the matter drop. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried about Ki energy passing through the bond, but I¡¯ve swum in Ki. Unlike the people you¡¯ve been sharing it with till now, I have training in handling Ki and using it. I¡¯m more attuned to my physical state than anyone else you¡¯ll find except Master Farhad.¡± Livia said, her tone softly cajoling. ¡°You¡¯re also ten!¡± Julia insisted, disbelief filling her voice. ¡°I¡¯m nearly eleven. I¡¯ve also died and ended up with an Enlightened Soul. Look, think it through. The rules need an energy exchange to let you stay. I send you Ki, and you send me Ki, exchange done. I¡¯ll even use up some Ki before dawn to make sure if you send me more than I send you I don¡¯t overflow like a cup.¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Have any Demons you¡¯ve been around mentioned seeing your Allegiance Bonds at all?¡± asked Livia, ¡°No,¡± Julia insisted, her tone determined. The frown Julia gave Livia just earned a smile from her, clearly convinced she was going to win. ¡°There you go. Can you see them with True Sight?¡± asked Livia. ¡°No, that¡¯s all I going to say if you ask again,¡± Julia repeated, giving Livia a firm head shake. Livia¡¯s facial expressions made the eye-rolling attitude clear, even if her lack of irises hid that it was happening. ¡°Torm can¡¯t see the Allegiance Bonds either, despite knowing you have them and who they¡¯re with. If they ask about them break the Bonds, but till then you can keep them. Since you¡¯ve already started a war with Set, you might as well help fight it on this Plane. If it doesn¡¯t work out, you can munch Gnarl Souls, even if they don¡¯t look pleasant, or feed energy into V¨ªearr. He looks like he could certainly use some energy.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll be munching Gnarl Soul Shards even if they taste like vomit. Of course, you can see the Souls. How badly off is V¨ªearr?¡± ¡°Yeah, I can see the Souls, but I can¡¯t see your Bonds. Those Souls look weird inside you, but welcome to another day in my life; I¡¯m still getting used to how the world looks to me at times now.¡± ¡°Sorry, but the answer is still no. You¡¯re avoiding talking about V¨ªearr,¡± said Julia, holding her ground. Livia leant forward and tapped Julia lightly on the arm. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to mope; I was dead, I¡¯m not now so its all good,¡± scolded Livia, frowning sternly at Julia. ¡°Brat! Then don¡¯t use it to try to guilt-trip me into getting your way.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see, it only makes sense,¡± Livia stated firmly before munching on a biscuit. Julia waited till Livia had finished eating before she spoke again. ¡°V¨ªearr.¡± ¡°I delivered the meals to the infirmary. Just as well, you drew that Abyssal energy out of him,¡± replied Livia before rewarding Julia with a smile. ¡°That was another good thing you did. Did you go, ¡®Oh I should be grumpy at you¡¯ or simply help?¡± ¡°When I felt his pain I had to help,¡± Julia said, not bothering to deny her involvement to Livia. ¡°Of course you did. Do I seem in pain to you?¡± ¡°No,¡± Julia answered honestly, looking at the scamp. ¡°That¡¯s also the answer to your request.¡± ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. That¡¯s just you clinging to a silly position, not the answer. They regrew V¨ªearr¡¯s legs after dinner, and he was moving around slowly when I collected the dinner bowls. I wonder if it looked weird with bones and exposed flesh, or if it was just a bunch of glowing.¡± Livia pondered, the mental wheels spinning clearly apparent to Julia. ¡°Regrew his legs. What about his hands and eyes?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve healed his fingers and eyes, though he still can¡¯t see. His eyes look weirder than mine, all ghostly white. They¡¯ll try various Blessings and see if they can cure the blindness, but it could be a lingering effect of using dark runes; some things require balance. You confused many healers with removing the Gnarl offspring, but they¡¯re glad they don¡¯t have to deal with it themselves. However, the women still have issues they¡¯ve had to clear up, that and having enough meat to keep the women healthy till their bleeding stops. Having babies sounds messy. I remember my baby brother being born, but I didn¡¯t realise mother had six weeks of her moon bleeding afterwards. It¡¯s all so gross!¡± said Livia, making a face. ¡°Nevermind having to pee all the time, my sister-in-law grumbled about that,¡± Julia said before changing the subject. ¡°You were a bunch of glowing motes of light when they brought you back to life. Like fireflies under the blanket covering you.¡± ¡°Really?! I was sparkling!¡± Livia exclaimed, eyes glowing with excitement. Julia started laughing and found she couldn¡¯t stop, especially after Livia moved to hug the laughter out of her.
Julia¡¯s dive got her away from the path of spells raining on the monster trying to get her. Teleport took her beyond the spell crafted barrier as the Dire Boar stomped down where she¡¯d been. Despite the force of its impact, the wall of the pen didn¡¯t even shudder. The monster shook its head as a Lightning Missile smashed into its eye, and it bellowed in pain. Atop the safety of the wall, the second rank let loose with their spells, and its squeals became enraged. Julia¡¯s next teleport carried her back to the Gnarl farms, where she landed beside another Dire Boar, munching on a log sized mushroom stalk. It caught her scent even as she touched it and wrapped it up in Greater Teleport¡¯s field. She moved with its attempt and teleported them both, sliding through a gap in the pen¡¯s side as the monster went wild. Pain from spells and sunlight it had never seen in its life enraging it. The rugged hide of the Dire Boars not shielding it against the elemental forces whittling its health away. The things looked roughly the size of a bull jungle elephant Julia remembered seeing at a zoo. Tusks wider than broadswords curved up in brutal arcs from the sides of its snout, and misshaped ridges studded its flesh. ¡°Do you want me to make a third pen?¡± Yngvarr asked, as he approached where Julia was monitoring the ranks and their alternating castings. ¡°I don¡¯t think it will be required, although I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be able to finish these two off by themselves. These things are tough.¡± Julia said, gesturing towards the two stone pens. ¡°Either way, the amount of meat from two will keep the butchers busy for a bit, those fellows easily weigh six thousand kilograms each.¡± The pens weren¡¯t solid walls but stone pillars with a walkway across the top. Yngvarr had staggered them to form the pens, alternating two metres of stone with a metre gap. Multiple layers spread out from its inner space, providing a solid foundation for its upper walkway in case any Dire Boar broke one of the interior pillars. However, its eight-metre length didn¡¯t offer it much room for the monster to gain momentum for a charge. To Julia, they looked like two rectangular walkways to nowhere. An elevated path some four metres wide, with a low wall along the edge to prevent anyone from accidentally slipping off. ¡°You do like to surprise. A hundred wizards with three affinities and a small selection of spells. What¡¯s the next item on your list?¡± {{ World peace. }} Hardly B, I¡¯m not silly enough to consider putting that on my list. {{What? A piece of someone here, a piece of them over there. }} Julia mentally sighed before she answered Yngvarr¡¯s question ¡°The next items aren¡¯t mine to handle. Verdandi plans to have Priests use purification spells to get rid of any parasites, and then it¡¯s a lot of butchering work; I¡¯m leaving that up to the professionals. I¡¯m going to have a break, practice, and then train more survivors.¡± . ¡°Work crews have gone out to start clearing the land for extra fields,¡± remarked Yngvarr. ¡°Lady Eakc?,¡± Sagga called, as she slipped towards them through the guards and butchers standing by, a few betting on how long that each boar would last. ¡°The servants of Eir have cleared the second group of women health-wise, but it will take a while to complete checking them all.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll head over there shortly,¡± replied Julia, giving her a smile of appreciation, before turning to monitor the spell forms being shaped by the women. ¡°I¡¯d like to join in spell practice when there is a second set of boars, if I may,¡± proposed Sagga, pleased when Yngvarr nodded, Julia having held her peace. ¡°Have you been thinking about the information I sent you on the Prestige Tiers?¡± Julia asked, without taking her attention from the pens. ¡°I felt I¡¯ve cheated myself of potential, yes. I¡¯ll need to spend some time levelling as Torm has done travelling with you.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Excellent. So Yngvarr I take it you need foes to smack. Want some information on where more Tiamat cultists are?¡± Julia asked quietly. The moment the question was uttered, Yngvarr went wide-eyed. ¡°What?¡± Yngvarr asked, obviously startled by her question. ¡°I know where her cultists have set up Shrines and Temples. Though they aren¡¯t in human lands, some of the various goblin-kin and kobold tribes worship her.¡± ¡°Where did you get this information? When?¡± Yngvarr seemed ready to throw more questions her way, and Julia hurried to cut him off. ¡°Out of Birkir¡¯s Soul, I found I could get images from him while I was relaxing. After Livia went to bed, I spent time finding more.¡± The simple explanation just elicited a sigh and a headshake from Yngvarr. ¡°Last night. You should have attended the Jarl¡¯s celebration; people were asking about you. It would have been cleaner than dabbling with necromancy.¡± Yngvarr said, his tone a soft rebuke. ¡°Wasn¡¯t using that, thank you. I used Soul Sight to look into his and Setau¡¯s past. It made me even happier they¡¯re both dead. I¡¯ve sent some information to Eivor to pass along to Moke for their research.¡± replied Julia. ¡°But didn¡¯t you¡­¡± Yngvarr began, only to cut himself off. Setau¡¯s Soul Gem appeared and disappeared from an outstretched hand before Julia smiled at him. ¡°I still have it, and I can study it even in this state. While he¡¯s far weaker than Birkir, but he¡¯s also been to concealed Temples. It¡¯s time-consuming to learn even a single location, and it¡¯s harder to gain anything from Birkir.¡± ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± asked Yngvarr suspiciously. ¡°Nothing, I just thought I¡¯d pass along all the information I extract, and if certain parties want to gain experience, that¡¯s up to them.¡± Julia sighed. While there was more she wanted to get done, she was feeling stretched today. ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°Yngvarr, really look around. My to-do list is overflowing at present, I could use help, but if you want to smack different bad guys around, that¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that information from you. We would never want her gaining power in this region,¡± Yngvarr said grimly. ¡°The cult is seeking to gain sufficient power to finish the work they started before the humans fled here,¡± Julia added and watched anger flare in Yngvarr¡¯s gaze. ¡°That¡¯s information lots of individuals will want to know,¡± Yngvarr said, his grim tone softening as he continued. ¡°Ti¨²emundr and ?lhildr still wish to speak with you, though they seemed reassured somewhat after yesterday.¡± When Julia sighed, he was obviously amused by her reaction. ¡°Why because I found them bad guys to smack?¡± asked Julia. ¡°?lhildr. She saw you take down that Br¨ªn before it had a chance at Waiola.¡± ¡°We were fighting together,¡± Julia said, startled by the statement. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I have her back?¡± ¡°The surprised tone in your voice alone says so much, especially since we know you¡¯re not a skilled actress.¡± ¡°Stupid Acting, Torm offered me an introduction to a Skald,¡± Julia muttered before shaking her head to clear clamouring thoughts. ¡°Might be worth taking it. Why do you have them practicing casting in ranks like this?¡± asked Yngvarr, gesturing towards the women. ¡°I had thought you wanted plenty of space with line of sight.¡± ¡°It¡¯s for developing the habit of ranks, for staggering fire. I can easily teleport thirty or forty into a place. First rank fires then crouches, second rank fires, repeat till the enemy is heading at us, teleport away. Continue till they¡¯re out of Mana, then continue with another group.¡± ¡°More tactics from your games?¡± Yngvarr asked, his tone sceptical. ¡°I take it Torm¡¯s been talking. No, they¡¯re real-life tactics just added the teleporting aspect; I know things besides my scary science,¡± replied Julia. A cheer erupted as the first Dire Boar died, and Julia saw the women starting down the ramp beside that pen. Winnings started changing hands as a guard slipped between the pillars and ensured the first boar was dead. As a work crew set up a portable pulley crane to help drain the corpse, the second boar met its end. ¡°I removed that knowledge, but I didn¡¯t remove knowledge of your scientific process, just all the things your people learnt using it. I¡¯ve been applying it to some magical challenges; it¡¯s proved beneficial.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± asked Julia. ¡°I need your help with your ability to control what an imprint sees from you,¡± answered Yngvarr, though Julia was at a loss with the subject change. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like your help in the calibration of some runes I¡¯ve put together to gauge someone¡¯s level and attributes,¡± stated Yngvarr. ¡°Did you get an imprint working?¡± Julia asked excitedly. ¡°No idea how accurate it is or the scale but yes, I¡¯ve got a rune plate working.¡± Julia¡¯s delighted laughter drew the attention of those around, but the smile on Sagga¡¯s face at her mirth was reassurance that it wasn¡¯t being taken wrong.
As the second group dispersed for the evening meal, Julia felt a strange surge of energy, and a notification appeared. [Achievement: Poacher Condition: Your faithful have converted a Priestess from another Faith. Reward: A new Priestess. (Aggie) Reward: Faith +1] At least someone else got to speak to her. I missed her after dawn practice.
The wind whistled through the forest as the Huntress let her arrow fly at the buck. It had been a time of indulgence, stalking prey in the eternal sunshine of this Plane seeking to dispel her irritation. The arrow was only a dozen metres from its target when an errant breeze swayed a branch across its course, the impact brushing the fletching and sent it tumbling. That first whisper of noise enough to send her prey racing off deeper into the forest as the arrow bounced from a tree some distance from its original target. Behind the Huntress, those preparing to move forward to dress her kill stilled in astonishment. Her gaze darkened before she turned, vanishing even as she took a step. Her followers hurried after leaving the arrow where it had fallen, only for it to dissolve unseen in the golden sunlight reaching through the canopy. When the last speck finally vanished, the shadows had long since devoured the pieces of broken fletching. * * * ¡°I¡¯m told most people feel some honour, or I¡¯d admit trepidation to get an invitation from a Jarl. I must admit I¡¯ve never been told of anyone whose reaction was a heartfelt sigh,¡± Ti¨²emundr said, as he flowed into Yngvarr¡¯s sitting room. Julia suppressed the urge to sigh again as she had at Sagga¡¯s announcement. ¡°Feels like having to hunt down one of our children when they¡¯re in trouble,¡± remarked ?lhildr. Her graceful movements taking her to the couch across the sitting-room table from Julia. ¡°Two dinners are a bit much to skip when people know you¡¯re invited.¡± Ti¨²emundr sat down across from ?lhildr, positioned so they should have prevented Julia from having them both in direct line of sight at once. ¡°Supplies need to be stretched, and I don¡¯t need the food,¡± Julia answered, carefully closing the grimoire. ¡°Yes, but it gives the appearance of you not being in favour with us. Which isn¡¯t good for either of us, depending on who¡¯s gossiping,¡± ?lhildr said. ¡°So, tomorrow night, please be there. Yngvarr was kind enough to ensure he mentioned you helping around the survivors¡¯ living sites at dinner tonight. He mentioned your endeavour of compassion before anything could be said by others. Something well-received since many heard you were busy during our celebration creating blankets to ensure everyone was warm last night.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t helping them for others to receive it well,¡± responded Julia, giving ?lhildr a shrug. ¡°That¡¯s obvious. If you were the type to care, you¡¯d have been basking in the accolades. Since we¡¯ve not yet sorted out matters, we¡¯d like to continue our discussion. The last thing I want is people presuming they know better just because we¡¯ve delayed,¡± Ti¨²emundr said. ¡°So, am I in favour or are you just keeping up appearances?¡± Julia asked, unsure of the situation but not caring to play games. ¡°Cautiously respected. We don¡¯t know you, but your actions speak well of you especially given your origins. We¡¯re trying to keep an open mind given those who¡¯ve spoken for you,¡± Ti¨²emundr replied. ¡°Torm told me how you make the items you¡¯ve been so free in giving out and the physical sacrifice it entails.¡± ¡°What would you like to know?¡± asked Julia. ¡°What are your followers¡¯ intentions towards the Thralls?¡± Ti¨²emundr asked, ¡°I¡¯m told they spend a lot of time on them.¡± ¡°With them, not on them; that sounds like they¡¯re not people. Then again, that¡¯s part of the problem, since your laws don¡¯t consider Thralls people. They¡¯re spending time with them and helping to give them hope.¡± Julia replied, glancing between them both, aware they¡¯d sat so she shouldn¡¯t be able to see them both at once. Interview technique or battle readiness? ¡°Why?¡± asked ?lhildr, her tone curious, as her gaze remained fixed on Julia. ¡°Aren¡¯t they in a dark place? The All-Father teaching¡¯s say light is most needed in dark places. Hope is light; it provides light for the Soul instead of eyes.¡± Julia responded, continuing to glance between them even though she could actually see both. ¡°But you¡¯re not Norse, you¡¯re not even mortal,¡± Ti¨²emundr said. ¡°I don¡¯t have to be to respect wisdom when I find it,¡± replied Julia. ¡°I respect ¨®einn and Tyr, though I don¡¯t know enough about the teachings of the others in the Norse Pantheon.¡± ¡°What would you like done?¡± asked Ti¨²emundr, beckoning Julia to continue. ¡°I want the Thralls freed, along with the law changed so people can¡¯t be forced to become Thralls,¡± replied Julia. ¡°You¡¯d just set them all free? What about their debts? Are they just to be forgiven? What about those that would ruin?¡± Ti¨²emundr asked, the questions coming one after another till Julia interrupted. ¡°I didn¡¯t say just set them free and forget the debt. But why can¡¯t your laws treat them as people? Their work should repay what¡¯s owed. If Thralls aren¡¯t treated as people, then the Law isn¡¯t providing Justice, it¡¯s conveniently forgetting those in need of protection. Why not allow for the debt to be repaid without reducing them to possessions? Once they become Thralls with your laws, they need someone else to pay off what they owe; their own efforts will never gain their freedom. How is that Justice?¡± ¡°The disruption that would cause would be a financial headache,¡± declared Ti¨²emundr. ¡°The fact you put it that way concerns me. Have you been listening to your Steward too much? Though I¡¯ll allow it could be an actual issue, so I¡¯d provide funds to compensate anyone financially disadvantaged when you change the laws. If you don¡¯t need it, then use it for repairs or extending areas where there are paved roads, something helpful to your people.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind? You don¡¯t look like a font of wealth, no matter the gemstone you gave our daughter to pass along,¡± said ?lhildr. ¡°Depends on how valuable you¡¯d find kilograms of Mithril?¡± ¡°Kilograms!¡± Ti¨²emundr exclaimed, the offer breaking through his calm. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Did I get your attention? Mithril or Adamantine, which is preferable?¡± Julia asked. As Ti¨²emundr went to speak, a cascade of gems appeared on the table. ¡°Or these?¡± ¡°Your hunting with Torm was profitable,¡± ?lhildr observed, leaning forward to push some scattered stones back towards the others. ¡°I won¡¯t play games with either of you. I respect your people, but I don¡¯t like slavery in any form. It¡¯s disgusting, and I plan to encourage people to get rid of it. It¡¯s this disease humanity keeps coming down with in so many cultures. Some people I¡¯m going to help move on from its vile practice. Some groups I¡¯ll happily crush because of other sick things they¡¯ve been up to. I really hope the Norse will stay in the former group.¡± Julia¡¯s flat tone caused ?lhildr¡¯s face to harden, but Ti¨²emundr seemed undisturbed. ¡°Would you give an example of the latter group?¡± Ti¨²emundr asked, his calm tone reassuring in its curiosity. ¡°The Church of Set is my primary target,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Is that because of Livia?¡± asked ?lhildr. ¡°One reason, but it¡¯s not the only one.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re a Demoness,¡± Ti¨²emundr stated, his confusion showing through his calm. ¡°An unusual one, as your son has told you. Verdandi and some Celestials know my full story, and they¡¯re advising on what I need to achieve,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Far too many people know my story.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Ti¨²emundr, curiosity emerging through his calm. ¡°Those that need to know already do. I¡¯m not sharing it further. You can either take their word that I have honourable intentions or not.¡± ¡°How do we know you won¡¯t be a threat to us?¡± ?lhildr waved a hand toward the front door as she asked, the gesture making it clear the concern wasn¡¯t in regard to themselves alone. ¡°Honestly, if I ever had intended to threaten you, we would have never spoken. I respect Yngvarr, and he speaks well of you, or I would not have come at your invitation. I have no plans to hurt anyone in your domain, but I do plan to kill a lot of evil people. If one of them comes to live in your domain, the only one I¡¯m hurting will be the filth once I find them.¡± replied Julia, pleased that ?lhildr had included others in her concerns. ¡°Like with Leidolf?¡± Ti¨²emundr asked, drawing Julia¡¯s gaze away from ?lhildr. ¡°Leidolf, I¡¯m not currently familiar with any person called Leidolf, though I once met a rabid dog by that name. Isn¡¯t it interesting what classification of others for your own convenience can do? Animals frothing at the mouth, biting innocents need to be put down, don¡¯t they? You like your laws having classifications, so I¡¯ll group individuals that behave as monsters in with them.¡± ¡°You judged someone in our domain, without the legal right to do so,¡± Ti¨²emundr said, his gaze steady on Julia as he spoke. I might as well ask for the information I¡¯m after, this has taken a different tone suddenly. ¡°I knew he was guilty from both his mind and what I saw in his Soul. There was no chance of mistaken identity, even then I gave him a chance. As soon as he had me alone, he attacked,¡± Julia responded, before glancing back at ?lhildr. ¡°But then I didn¡¯t kill him to fulfill a contract; I just did it to stop him from hurting anyone ever again. How did you get your Assassin class so high?¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ?lhildr enquired, eyes widening in surprise. ¡°I can see what path or class someone is following unless they¡¯re completely out of my league,¡± explained Julia, sighing in frustration. ¡°Never mind that. Leidolf attacked you first?¡± Ti¨²emundr asked. ¡°Yes! I gave him a tempting victim and he took the bait. The back door of his shop had barely closed when he went for me. I wasn¡¯t surprised as he¡¯d been planning it on the walk back to his shop. He wasn¡¯t even planning to let me leave since no one would miss me.¡± Julia re-countered, aware they were both watching her. ¡°You don¡¯t seem that good an actress,¡± ?lhildr said. ¡°Either that or you¡¯re far more skilled than I believe.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, I¡¯m not a good actress; Torm wants to introduce me to a Skald for lessons to make sure I¡¯m safer among Demons. But I was good enough to play the part of someone sufficiently uncertain to draw his attention. Since, I had no issues listening to his thoughts other than disgust. It let me tailor my reactions and responses to his questions.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain why he was found dead in the basement with all those injuries,¡± stated Ti¨²emundr. ¡°He didn¡¯t want to give me the names of all his victims. I needed to prompt him a few times once he caught on that I was getting them from his thoughts,¡± Julia said flatly. ¡°Given the number of girls and women he¡¯d raped, he should have suffered worse,¡± ?lhildr stated, before exchanging a nod with her husband. ¡°We had the truth from those on your list once they learnt he was dead. However, we wanted to hear it from your lips. As for my Class, it¡¯s simple, really, I used to hunt stray goblins, trading ears for coppers. My goal wasn¡¯t about keeping anyone safe, I needed money not controlled by my parents. When I left home and joined the Companions Hall, I continued taking jobs hunting for various monsters. Killing intelligent monsters, like the various goblin-kin I found, continued progressing that path. I¡¯ve not been interested in any path I¡¯ve dreamt about combining it with; they¡¯ve all felt too specific or dark.¡± ¡°Dreamt about?¡± asked Julia, not having heard how Prestige Classes were offered to Mortals. ¡°Gaining the Prestige paths, haven¡¯t you felt the lucid dream from earning them? Given the way you fought I was sure you¡¯d have earned some even if you¡¯re not following one. The forks in the dream¡¯s trail? The sense of what walking one will bring or deny? Is none of that familiar to you?¡± questioned ?lhildr. ¡°I don¡¯t see them that way though I¡¯ve had options which I¡¯ve also ignored.¡± ¡°Well, if you have clarity of information about paths, I¡¯m sure Yngvarr will enjoy the details,¡± Ti¨²emundr said, not asking further. ¡°Thank you, I appreciate the information,¡± Julia said. Okay, that makes sense, and certainly different to Farhad¡¯s kill kitty kill. ¡°Would you mind if I ask you something personal?¡± ?lhildr leaned forward, focusing on Julia intently as she voiced her question. ¡°That would depend on the question,¡± replied Julia, eyes narrowing at the sudden intensity from ?lhildr. ¡°I know what you are, but with how unusual Verdandi says you are, I¡¯ll put this to you as if you¡¯re human. Are you simply leading Torm on in his affections for you?¡± asked ?lhildr. ¡°What are you talking about?! He¡¯s a Celestial, I¡¯m this thing!¡° Julia exclaimed. ¡°We¡¯re travelling together to progress our abilities.¡± ¡°Oh, dear.¡± ?lhildr sighed in disbelief. {{You can say that again, sister! Go on, tell her I said that. }} Fuck no! Why can¡¯t anything be simple! He¡¯s a Celestial. He should care for someone he can trust completely. {{So he can¡¯t trust you. Now, where have I heard that before? Where, oh where! }} Fuck you! {{Babe, don¡¯t be that way. My bath time will get jealous. Still afraid of being rejected again by someone you value?}} {{That¡¯s the real reason for picking all those bad dates, the ones you could reject instead. }} How can I have picked them all when some were blind dates? Fuck off, B! ((Isn¡¯t it for others to decide who they value having in their existence? Why do you wish him not to value you? )) V, long time no hear, but really not now! ¡°I promise to drop by tomorrow, and we can address any of your non-personal concerns and logistics. Sorry, I need to make sure everyone is okay. Excuse me,¡± Julia said, her flustered state growing as remarks Torm had made jumping from her memory, gaining new meaning as they rose. Storing the grimoire, Julia fled the room, not paying attention to the glances exchanged behind her. {{Run away! }} 86 - Clear the air ¡°You weren¡¯t at dawn practice. Master Farhad was muttering about being distracted by your causes again,¡± Torm said, drawing Julia¡¯s attention from a six-year-old boy who was pulling a shrub effortlessly from the ground. The remaining clots of dirt dropping from the roots as the giggling boy waved the shrub around. ¡°I¡¯ve got lots of women to train so they can start their own practice,¡± Julia replied, gesturing to the women moving along casting loosen earth. Groups of children supervised by teenagers and a few adults followed along, easily pulling out large shrubs and even saplings from the earth. Near the road, an oxen team hauled a plough that slipped quickly through the loosened soil. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just keep teaching until all unlock Wizard?¡± Torm asked. ¡°I only start teaching a group after the Priests give them the all-clear. With each group, I¡¯m monitoring their initial castings to make sure they don¡¯t develop the bad habit I did,¡± Julia explained, even as she continued to monitor the women. ¡°It¡¯s certainly a bad habit when people unnecessarily speak on behalf of others,¡± Torm remarked blandly, and Julia didn¡¯t need to guess what he meant. ¡°So, who fessed up about their nosey ways?¡± questioned Julia, giving him a piercing glance. ¡°?lhildr admitted her guilt and threw herself on her elder¡¯s mercy.¡± Torm¡¯s tone was dry, but Julia could feel the underlying amusement. ¡°Did you scold her? Set her laps of the training yard to run in punishment?¡± Julia asked, trying to keep her tone light even while she couldn¡¯t bring herself to meet Torm¡¯s gaze. ¡°Neither. I told ?lhildr it wasn¡¯t her business and that I knew more about you than she did,¡± replied Torm. ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair. It was completely mortifying, but ?lhildr doesn¡¯t even get a tap on the nose.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave the nose tapping to you and Livia.¡± Torm¡¯s amused tone seemed deliberately light as if seeking to strip the awkwardness from the moment. {{Could always tap him. }} ¡°Sorry,¡± Julia said, emotions churning, even though her flesh seemed physically divorced from the sensation. ¡°For what?¡± asked Torm, giving her a light-hearted look. ¡°You need to stop saying sorry for things that aren¡¯t your fault.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for ignoring your hints and hoping she was actually worth an honourable guy like you,¡± Julia apologised, earning an exasperated look from Torm. ¡°They weren¡¯t hints, I was telling the truth, and indeed deliberately didn¡¯t tell you directly. If I were travelling with you having expectations beyond our purpose, then I¡¯d be in the wrong. You need someone trustworthy, not someone putting even more pressure on you,¡± Torm replied, his voice calmly reassuring. ¡°If I¡¯d said I care for you and hoped to get to know more about you, what would you have done?¡± ¡°Likely run like I did last night. Just as well, you threw in that if, completely removed the pressure. Is my blindness why you looked like you wanted to strangle Moke when you first met him?¡± ¡°I thought he might have compelled you. Then found he was merely telling lies about you, and I wanted to teach him a lesson for it. Livia cares for you like a second mother and speaks highly of you, even if I¡¯ve heard her scold you as well. As for your blindness, that matches the person I got to know. You don¡¯t always do what people would like, but you certainly do what¡¯s needed. I want to learn more about you, even if we¡¯re only ever friends. The person who only occasionally lets herself enjoy life, the same one who ogled the blacksmiths even while she ignored me.¡± ¡°The Smiths weren¡¯t an issue! A woman can admire a guy¡¯s muscles when they¡¯re showing them off. The way they were throwing me smiles while I watched, they were having fun flirting. You never took your shirt off while the smiths were showing lots of sweat-gleaming muscles,¡± Julia said, putting her hands to her cheeks and pretending to swoon. ¡°I don¡¯t sweat,¡± Torm stated, ignoring her antics. ¡°Could partly solve the gleaming issue with a bucket of water,¡± Julia murmured. Torm¡¯s grumbling that day was making far more sense to her now. ¡°Now I think you¡¯re looking for an excuse to dump water on me,¡± retorted Torm. ¡°It seems you have some common sense after all, even if your taste in female company is completely lacking,¡± said Julia, giving him a rueful headshake. ¡°A Judge may never handle the Hearing if a case involves themselves.¡± Torm intoned words sounding like he was quoting Law, even while Julia could see his lips twitch. ¡°That goes both ways. You know you can¡¯t tell me you¡¯re an excellent judge of character when it comes to people you like. Someone else should decide if you are a good judge of character or not. I think you should find some better company,¡± Julia said, tossing cold water on the moment, her discontent clear. When Torm replied, he spoke in Celestial, lessening the chance of anyone nearby besides Julia understanding. Even then, he pitched the words softly to avoid them carrying to other¡¯s ears. The words he chose in that tongue did not allow for misunderstanding. On the contrary, they held a weight of importance to them that made the air sing to Julia¡¯s senses. ¡°You said his choice doesn¡¯t lessen you, so why do you refuse to see your worth? If you imprison an innocent person, it doesn¡¯t lessen the innocence or worth of the person. So why do you judge yourself by your prison? It¡¯s my choice who I spend my time getting to know. While you can certainly choose not to allow me such an opportunity, the choice as whose company I¡¯d prefer is still mine.¡± ¡°Why?¡° asked Julia, frustration evident in her voice. ¡°Julia, I already told you why. Please allow that my respect and feelings for you are for me to determine and not try to talk me out of it,¡± Torm said, extending a hand. ¡°Still friends, I hope.¡± ¡°We never stopped being friends. Though having my blinkers ripped off surprised me,¡± Julia replied as she grasped his forearm. ¡°If you¡¯re not running for the hills, apparently we¡¯re both insane, and maybe we should stick together. Make it easier for people wanting to keep watch on the crazy folk.¡± ¡°True, but some individuals attract more eyes than others,¡± Torm replied, glancing at some farmers working on larger rocks that kept gawking Julia¡¯s way. ¡°Pushing your luck.¡± Julia good-naturedly grumbled in response as she gave him a mock glare. ¡°Apparently,¡± said Torm, reverting to the Norse language. ¡°I still have to introduce you to a Skald.¡± ¡°Oh well, I¡¯ll just pretend I don¡¯t know what you mean by that either,¡± Julia said, affecting an airheaded tone as she tried to keep her frustration away. ¡°Loosen Earth is hardly a combat spell,¡± Torm said, changing the subject as he gestured towards the women. ¡°Yes, and no. It lets them practice Mana Manipulation usefully, and the Skill helps in combat. As for the spell itself imagine a cavalry charge across hard-packed earth, suddenly hitting soil that¡¯s nearly as soft as sand. Or picture monsters trying to scramble up a steep hillside while the earth cascades down onto them. Even if it doesn¡¯t cause injuries, it should slow them and buy time for archers and other casters to thin the ranks. It immediately buys goodwill from the farmers looking to expand fields in a hurry and proves their usefulness. Faster ploughing means more fields under seed every season, even beyond these emergency plantings.¡± ¡°You think long term.¡± ¡°I told you, I try to have at least three plans,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Indeed. No Dire Boars today?¡± Torm asked, ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll get more, maybe, depending on if they¡¯ve processed the meat from yesterday¡¯s two. The butchers chopped it into slabs after they drained it and have it hung in the ice rooms. Between blessings for the purification of meat and cutting it up, it will take time. The Dire Boar¡¯s meat is tough, so it needs to be slow cooked to ensure it¡¯s edible. Though it tastes yummy when it¡¯s cooked properly: a cook got me to taste some this morning, practically melted on the tongue.¡± ¡°Yummy,¡± Torm repeated with a snort. ¡°It¡¯s a word, wretch. Stop mocking my vocabulary,¡± Julia scolded, her gaze sparking with amusement. ¡°From your home language maybe, not here, and even you¡¯ll admit you¡¯ve made-up words.¡± When Julia poked her tongue out at him, Torm just ignored her antics and started pulling shrubs close at hand out of the ground. Julia shrugged and started her castings, loosening more earth in the area the farmers had marked out. ¡°Torm,¡± Julia started, then paused before she pushed herself to continue. ¡°You¡¯re a Celestial, and I¡¯m certainly not.¡± ¡°Do you believe they¡¯ll keep you bound there? As you tell others, have hope. You know the way to get free. In the meantime,¡± Torm said, leaving the sentence hanging hopefully for her response. ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t be friends,¡± finished Julia, glancing at Torm. Julia just smiled at the nod he gave and got back to work.
The noise of stomping boots and banging mugs as she came into the Hall wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d been expecting. Her name had gone up in a shout from one guard she recognised from the attack on the Gnarl¡¯s complex. Though Julia spotted some whose silence revealed their ire, including Eysteinn, far more people seemed intent on giving her a hero¡¯s welcome. Their attention was emotionally stomach-twisting, as Ti¨²emundr and ?lhildr both gestured for her to come to the head table. There were few from the strike teams; instead, most of those making a racket seemed part of the Jarl¡¯s immediate household. A rueful smile twisted her lips as she saw a space between Verdandi and Torm sitting empty across the table from the Jarl. As Julia walked towards them, the noise in the hall settled somewhat but it was still lively. She could see servers bringing out trays of food, and some immediately took places at various tables. ?lhildr waited till Julia sat down and placed a few things on the brown bread trencher that had been placed at her spot for appearance¡¯s sake before she spoke. ¡°We appreciate your coming along this evening, Lady Eakc?,¡± ?lhildr said, her voice clear over the clatter of the hall. Am I Lady Eakc? to them now, or still just using it for appearance¡¯s sake? ¡°I appreciate the invitation, Lady ?lhildr, as well as the insight provided, once I recovered from the surprise.¡± ¡°At least one person appreciates the insight of my stumble on this occasion. I won¡¯t tell you who scolded me. But I¡¯ll admit you didn¡¯t react as I was expecting,¡± ?lhildr said, even as she shot a look at Torm. ¡°I heard there wasn¡¯t a scolding,¡± Julia replied, giving Torm a stern look, even as her lips twitched in amusement. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s not what someone says, rather the way it¡¯s said,¡± Ti¨²emundr interjected, clearly amused. ¡°Interesting,¡± Julia said. Verdandi, who had been in mid-swig, almost sprayed Julia as she choked on her mead. ¡°Livia is right; you are a brat,¡± Verdandi muttered after coughing to clear her throat. ¡°Livia¡¯s the brat,¡± Julia insisted in a tone rich with barely suppressed laughter. ¡°If she is, it¡¯s because she takes after you,¡± Verdandi grumbled, clearing her throat again. ¡°I was just trying to use a word he wouldn¡¯t accuse me of making up,¡± retorted Julia before giving Torm a smirk. Torm just glanced among those nearby and sighed. ¡°Glad my insights at least assisted in that gaining an understanding of each other. Since I was wrong about the chance for potential Wizards or how long it would take to train them,¡± said ?lhildr, amusement and interest clear in her gaze as she took food from a platter. ¡°Would you care to share the process?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not able to give them proper training, Lady ?lhildr. I just open them to some Affinities, quickly teach a few simple spells. They need proper training, another thing for my to-do list,¡± said Julia, hoping to avoid the question. ¡°Not on yours - it¡¯s on ours. Why don¡¯t we stick to first names? It could get tedious if we title each other to death,¡± ?lhildr replied. ¡°How does this opening process start?¡± ¡°Yngvarr¡¯s aware of the process I use, though he didn¡¯t expect it possible in such numbers.¡± ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll take it up with him then, away from prying ears,¡± ?lhildr replied. Take a number and join the queue. ¡°I hear that land clearing is going well,¡± Ti¨²emundr offered. Julia was thankful for the conversation moving to more ordinary topics around plans for the late season¡¯s planting. ¡°What word did Torm accuse you of making up?¡± asked ?lhildr later in the evening when the conversation lulled temporarily. ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± said Torm before Julia could speak. When she just pretended to lock her mouth and toss away the key, Torm¡¯s sigh of relief was rewarding enough.
¡°Lady Eakc?.¡± Aggie called from Yngvarr¡¯s sitting room as Julia headed past, and she looked inside to find Aggie rising from an armchair. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Just Julia or Eakc? is fine. How can I help you? I felt the energy from your Faith earlier today. I had planned to talk to you, but everything has been non-stop,¡± Julia said, giving her an embarrassed smile. ¡°Just using your name is hardly proper. Sagga told me about how you helped her and others, and I¡¯ve seen all the efforts you¡¯ve put into helping those you rescued,¡± Aggie said. ¡°You ask how you can help, but you¡¯ve already done so much. You rescued all of us, and arranged shelter for Gellamel and me when Ketilrier was angry with her. I can see you feel guilty about that when many are sleeping in tents or barns, even though you brought us all to safety. You¡¯re not what I expected, Lady Eakc?. I didn¡¯t even suspect you were a Power with the way you help and interact with people so directly.¡° The effort she was putting into keeping her composure was clear to Julia. Sagga was the one who converted her, just like her mother it seems. ¡°What did you expect?¡± Julia asked curiously. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t know, you¡¯re the first Power I¡¯ve met. You¡¯re so different and normal all at once,¡± Aggie said, clearly struggling to find words she felt comfortable using. I¡¯ve no idea what I¡¯m doing which likely explains the difference. ¡°I hadn¡¯t ever planned to become a Power. But Sagga¡¯s mother Eivor started that process,¡° Julia replied, trying to give Aggie a reassuring smile to still her nerves. ¡°Would I be able to learn magic as well, Lady Eakc??¡± asked Aggie, the words coming in a rush that made Julia blink. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you be able to?¡± Julia asked, puzzled as she took in the request. ¡°Powers don¡¯t normally allow those serving them to learn to use Mana that way. I¡¯ve only heard tales of Deities allowing some serving them to learn Wizard magic.¡± ¡°Do you want to learn now?¡± asked Julia, smiling as Aggie looked shocked. ¡°I¡¯d like that very much, thank you,¡± Aggie replied softly, obviously taken aback at how readily Julia accepted her request. ¡°Come through to the kitchen. Rika found the energy from the magic tools made it easy. Do you have any preference for your first Affinity?¡± ¡°Perhaps water. I saw Rika watering the plants using a spell,¡± Aggie replied, following quickly after Julia as if she was expecting her to change her mind. ¡°We can start there,¡± Julia replied as she headed for the sink and activated the magical tool. Sitting down Julia touched Aggie¡¯s mind and reached for the energy through Harmony. When they were done, the notifications held a surprise for Julia. [One of your Priestess has gained an Affinity and unlocked the Class: Wizard. Would you like to:
  • Remove the Affinity.
  • Expel them from your faith.
  • Lock their levelling progress.
  • Other?]
Other [Option Level 2:
  • Kill them.
  • Curse them.
  • Drain Priest Class experience.
  • Other?]
Other [Option Level: 3
  • Invoke Health penalties per Affinity gain.
  • Invoke Mana potential drain per Affinity gain.
  • Other?]
Other [Option Level: 4
  • Receive notification prior to caster gaining any Affinity.
  • Allow Class unlock to continue for this individual.
  • Allow Class unlock for all Faith Casters.
  • Return to initial options?]
Allow for all. [Are you sure?] Yes. [Do you want to change your mind?] No! [Clarification required:
  • No, you don¡¯t want to change your mind?
  • Or no you actually want to abort this process?]
Allow all of my Priests the Wizard class! [You cannot alter this option once set. Are you sure you wish to continue?] Yes! [Additional Caster class unlocked - Wizard now allowed for all Priests of Lady Eakc?. Select base Affinity to allow all Priests upon gaining Wizard Class:
  • Fire
  • Air
  • Earth
  • Water
  • Other?]
This is worse than the old IVR system my bank had for the phone. Spatial. [Are you sure you wish to skip the selection process and allow them: Affinity - Spatial?] I¡¯m positive! [Are you sure you wish to skip the selection process and allow them: Affinity - Positive?] Arcane and Planar Lore started pushing details around in her mind about the Positive Affinity, and Julia smiled. Yes! [All faithful of Lady Eakc?, now automatically learn the Affinity Positive when unlocking Wizard Class.] Well, that¡¯s going to make them even more dangerous against the Undead that ordinary people can¡¯t fight. Wait. All faithful! Will need to check Sagga. Yngvarr was standing in the kitchen doorway, merely watching them as Julia opened her eyes. The internal focus on Harmony and the Mana flow having kept her from noticing his arrival. ¡°Yngvarr, thanks again for letting Gellamel and Aggie stay with you.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it. ?lhildr told me why you didn¡¯t just leave them with the other women. I¡¯ve offered Gellamel a position helping assist with teaching Rika, Sagga, and Alfdis. Of course, we¡¯ll also need to look to educating hundreds of others. Just as well, I have vague memories still of the way your schools ran classes, though I¡¯ll need to see about getting some books magically copied.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to discuss your plans,¡± Aggie said, giving Julia another smile of thanks. ¡°The sensation of those energies was wonderful. I thought you were only teaching me Water, but I felt filled with light and joy before you stopped. Thank you, Lady Eakc?.¡± Energies, yeah, she can feel both already. Analysis [Name: Aggie Race: Human (Greek Ancestry) Class: Priestess / Wizard Level: 42 / 1 Health: 559 Defence: 36 Mana: 4,134 Melee Attack Power: 58 Combat Skills: Unarmed Combat [M] (22), Spear [Ad] (4), Dagger [Ad] (3) - Various Blessings. No known spell forms - Affinity: Water, Positive. Condition: Inspired, Freed Slave: Morale bonus Details: Kidnapped from the village of Aiga?on by a Tiamat Cultist. She¡¯d been there serving at the Temple of Artemis after gaining experience aiding Argonauts with their quests in the eastern peninsular. Converted to the faith of Lady Eakc? by Sagga, daughter of Priestess Eivor. ] Her Hunting Bow skill got switched to Unarmed Combat? ¡°You have the Water and Positive Affinities now, Aggie. Accompany me tomorrow morning, I¡¯ll teach you more Affinities and spells when I teach the first group.¡± ¡°Very well, Lady Eakc?,¡± Aggie said reverently before hurrying from the room. ¡°Why do you persist in using that name considering who gave it to you?¡± asked Yngvarr once Aggie was out of earshot. ¡°Actually, L¨ºdhins gave me an Abyssal name for a type of water serpent, a Viper, Moke mis-pronounced it as Eakc?; now L¨ºdhins has lost himself. It¡¯ll remind me that things can either change or vanish quickly,¡± Julia replied. The thought of L¨ºdhins made her grimace, wondering if the Id had stuck him in darkness or if it threw him into oblivion. {{Why keep rubbish cluttering up the house? }} That¡¯s not comforting. {{Wasn¡¯t meant to be; you still have spring cleaning left. }} ¡°Focus on yourself for a time.¡± Yngvarr consoled her, his concern clear as he took in Julia¡¯s look of discomfort. ¡°When did you gain the Positive Affinity?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t have it. She has it because apparently since she¡¯s my Priestess I get a say in if she can even be a Wizard. Some options it gave me as to actions to take about it made me furious. One choice I got to make was regarding what Affinity any faithful of mine should gain from having the Wizard Class, now they get Positive Affinity.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a mystery why our Priests and Priestess can also be Wizards but it¡¯s something so rare among humans,¡± Yngvarr said. ¡°Jealous Powers or something else? Though you started out as an Anar Soul, and our Gods never restrained their followers in that fashion.¡± ¡°How would you go about finding those L¨®m? crystal walls from a distance?¡± Julia asked, blurting out the thought as it hit, wanting to get away from the topic. ¡°What?¡± asked Yngvarr, the sudden subject change catching him off guard. ¡°You said that the L¨®m? wouldn¡¯t leave Tern¨°x until they found those Souls, yet they¡¯re hunkered down in those Grottos. Do they venture out at all?¡± questioned Julia. Yngvarr moved over to sit down at the kitchen table, having decided it might not be a quick conversation. ¡°They didn¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Sounds like adults telling the kids to stay at home and out of trouble,¡° Julia said thoughtfully. ¡°What are you planning?¡± enquired Yngvarr. ¡°I figure I¡¯ll add finding all their grottos to my to-do list. Maybe there are ones where there aren¡¯t any living, just Souls keeping up the barrier¡¯s protection against the Abyss¡¯ corruption. If they¡¯re stuck somewhere like that, then there would be no one to pass word about the royal Souls. I can only hope; otherwise, I¡¯ll need to search every inch of that Plane.¡± Julia just drummed her fingers on the table as she considered how she could try to speed the process. Then, after a long silence, Yngvarr finally spoke. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say your to-do list was overflowing?¡± ¡°Your point being?¡± asked Julia, a roguish smile making Yngvarr want to groan. ¡°You¡¯re taking on too much. How are you giving yourself any time to get your balance?¡± ¡°What I want to be doing, I can¡¯t, until I solve two issues,¡± Julia answered honestly, giving Yngvarr a wry smile. ¡°Having a long to-do list might leave me feeling stretched, but ticking off some smaller stuff, I feel like I¡¯m making some progress at least. Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll completely off-load things items like the Tiamat cult, even though I¡¯d like to smash their faces in as well.¡± ¡°Your friends?¡± asked Yngvarr, guessing her primary item. ¡°If I try to get into Hell at present, they¡¯ll spot me easily. I need to discover how to mask the Sigil and learn about Hell¡¯s processes. I need something better than my conduit; it has limitations that could cause no end of trouble. You opened a portal for our trip. Any chance I could learn that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to master various spell forms first. Your Mana control has come ahead in leaps and bounds, but until you improve your Arcane knowledge and practice easier Spatial magic, it¡¯s not something you¡¯ll be able to cast. That¡¯s one of your biggest hurdles: you don¡¯t have enough mastery of simple spell forms. I spoke with an Arch-Wizard while you were away and hiding your Sigil will require vast improvement with concealment spells.¡± ¡°So it is possible to hide?¡± asked Julia, excitement lighting up her face. ¡°I¡¯m told it is, but the spells are extraordinarily advanced and rare, I¡¯m still seeking them. Even the one I spoke to knew of them but didn¡¯t have them. If you can get a grimoire with them, you won¡¯t be able to cast them without a better foundation. Then you¡¯ll still be pitting your skill against those watching for you. Detection spells capable of spotting the Sigil are unfortunately far more common. You¡¯ll need to push yourself, and not just your levels.¡± ¡°Where do you suggest I start?¡± ¡°For Planar Gates? Ironically enough, with spells that imitate Powers you once had. First, you¡¯ll need to learn Blink, Long Door, Teleport, and then Portal, which only lets you open a door between locations on the same Plane. After that you¡¯ll need to master another five different spells, including both versions of Greater Teleport, before you even get to Planar Transfer.¡± ¡°So lots of redundant stuff. Does Planar Transfer let you just shift yourself?¡± Julia asked. ¡°That would do for what I need.¡± ¡°No, it only lets you shift a non-living object to a Plane adjoining the one you¡¯re currently on, to someone who is also casting the spell. Think of it as passing goods between two workers, one standing on the loading dock and one in the wagon. You can¡¯t be both the worker and transferred object even if you change yourself with Protean,¡± replied Yngvarr, giving her a stern look and he crushed her hope of a shortcut. ¡°Great, my to-do list gets longer and longer every time I ask a question,¡± sighed Julia. ¡°You said you like a long to-do list. Think of all the items you can tick off learning spells. A Wizard never stops studying if they aim to become a true master of the arcane. You know a spattering of magics, but you have massive gaps in your spell repertoire.¡± ¡°Yeah, I have almost no utility spells or defensive spells.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll work to correct that together. Just as we¡¯ll need to educate your battle Wizards.¡± ¡°Thanks Yngvarr, as always, you¡¯ve been a big help,¡± replied Julia, relief clear in her voice. ¡°They¡¯re not mine though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen more than a few talking to your Priestesses, and Sagga. I¡¯m still working to help repay my people¡¯s debt to you,¡± Yngvarr replied with a wry smile and a shrug. ¡°Every time I think I might balance things; you give even more. Like helping the L¨®m? when your to-do list is already overflowing.¡± ¡°Would funding help with getting texts copied?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Dare I ask? Did I understand the Jarl right? You offered kilograms of Mithril?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°Mithril and Adamantine, want a bucket of it?¡± Julia asked mischievously. ¡°Well, a few kilograms of it would fund a lot.¡± ¡°No, I meant a bucket made of Adamantine; we got it from some Fire Giants,¡± Julia corrected, seeing the lack of understanding. ¡°We should finish looting their lair if something hasn¡¯t already stolen the rest of their things while we¡¯ve been away.¡± Yngvarr just muttered before rising to his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s store what you have, then see what¡¯s still there,¡± Yngvarr suggested, his tone resigned. ¡°We might as well use my metal workspace.¡± When Julia set the massive Adamantine bucket down in the middle of Yngvarr¡¯s workshop, Julia had to smile at his open-mouthed reaction. {{ Oh babe, whip it out. }} ¡°You can certainly afford some things for those you rescued. I could inscribe runic rings to let them see in darkness. Not enchanted, just inscribed, so they can pass Mana into the rune when they need it. The inscription effect eventually wears out the material but in the meantime it¡¯s an effective use of Mana without having to know the spell.¡± ¡°Those would be useful. How long do they take to make?¡± asked Julia. ¡°The main issue is getting the right blend of silver and a perfect cast. I can¡¯t form them using Mana, or the inscription will decay faster. It differs from crafting a normal rune as it uses Mana to reinforce the edges of the rune and allow for energy flow instead of the spell form sitting ready to activate.¡± ¡°How pure do you need the silver? How long does the inscribing take?¡± Yngvarr gave her a look as Julia asked and didn¡¯t seem particularly happy with the smile he got in response. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to¡­ oh right, the Jarl doesn¡¯t have a silversmith,¡± Yngvarr said. Then, moving to one workbench, he pulled a silver ring from a drawer and set it atop the bench. ¡°He still doesn¡¯t have a silversmith!¡± Julia exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s been nearly a year; I was just going to make the silver you needed.¡± ¡°Smiths with established businesses are unlikely to move; he¡¯s seeking a Journeyman still. So make however many of those you want,¡± Yngvarr stated, pointing at the ring. ¡°It will take a week to prepare a hundred, I¡¯ve only limited spare time in the evenings. You¡¯re not alone with having a long to-do list.¡± ¡°Spares would be great, but forty allows us to get started.¡± ¡°We should decide a rate for services; otherwise, I¡¯ll never have time for my studies,¡± Yngvarr said, his tone a mock grumble. ¡°You¡¯re joking, but you¡¯re right,¡± interjected Julia. ¡°Charge me what you¡¯d ask from anyone else, no friends¡¯ rates, please. You being available to provide help isn¡¯t something I take for granted. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve been imposing, but you should benefit as well.¡± ¡°Very well. Let¡¯s go plunder the rest of this Fire Giant¡¯s lair,¡± said Yngvarr. ¡°Half of it is Torm¡¯s, and you¡¯ll have to charge us for helping transport it as well.¡± Julia insisted. ¡°Tyr¡¯s Temple will have funds for things as well, it seems. Best give me a Bond so I can bring you back after we collect things; and don¡¯t argue, Livia was grumbling about that.¡± Haven¡¯t heard of an Arch-Wizard before, I wonder¡­ Analysis [Analysis: Arch-Wizard Details: Variations of this Prestige Class become available at Tier 3 and higher; if the individual has previously gained a Prestige Class that included the Wizard Class. The individuals Affinities influence variation offered, as does the previously gained Prestige Class. All variations provide the following gains or higher:
  • +3 Intelligence / Level.
  • Additional Attribute Gain (Varies)
  • +3 Magic / Level.
  • +1 Defence / 2 Levels.
  • Unlocks acquisition of Power: Arcane Soul.
  • Unlocks acquisition of Power: Affinity Mastery
  • Increases chances of gaining insights for progress of all Arcane skills and related magical Knowledges
  • Decreases chances of gaining insights for progress of all Channelling skills and related religious Knowledges
  • Automatically upgrades Mana Manipulation to Mana Finesse, or Mana Finesse to Mana Mastery.
  • Increases Mana multiplier effect of Mana Finesse or Mana Mastery by one stage in addition to previous increases.
  • Increases Mana Mastery¡¯s ability to hold spells in a ready state for immediate casting.]
I wonder if Yngvarr knows. ¡°Oh Yngvarr,¡± Julia cooed, causing him to regard her mischievous gaze with suspicion. [Analysis [Ad] (27->28)]
The acidic sourness of the shard washed across her senses as the sun rose over the practice field. She could see several cooks moving between the fires as breakfast preparations started. As the sun rose above the horizon, Julia heard women stirring in the barn behind her. With them waking, she withdrew the Dominion¡¯s calming effect; the aura having provided some women with their first restful night''s sleep in years. Her removal of the unborn hadn¡¯t been completely smooth though the cost hadn¡¯t shown in Analysis. The Priests had issues from the rapid shifting of organs and fresh scarring in the uterus to deal with. A conversation with a Priestess of Eir had been revealing, and while they didn¡¯t pose immediate issues, they weren¡¯t things that could remain untended. Regardless of if they wanted future children, there were problems that required healing. Though the same Priestess of Eir had been thankful in reassuring Julia, as only minor healing was needed compared to the ¡®birthing process¡¯ inflicted by the Shamans. Her words and body language made it clear they were all grateful for not having to help the women with removing unborn. It tempted her to attend dawn practice with Master Farhad and see his reaction to his two new students; instead, Julia teleported away as self-imposed responsibility outweighed preference. Flight held her against the roof of the cavern as she changed form to blend with the stone. The Gnarls below snarled at each other as they hauled blocks clear of the partly destroyed pleasure den. Among those supervising, she watched one walk over to a pile of charred bodies, only to rip a clawed arm from a corpse and start biting through it. Skin that was loose on so many Gnarls appeared drawn tight across its increased height and broaden mass. As it inhaled the arm, its digestion seemed supernaturally hastened as more flesh further tighten its skin with each snap. Fuck, Hannibal¡¯s growing. Did we just stock their larder? Waste not, want not, or fewer mouths to feed? I might need to steal more Dire Boars to put them on short rations. A train of Dire Boars equipped with harnesses came into the cavern, lugging cargo from an exit she hadn¡¯t explored as yet. After waiting a while with no further sign of activity, she reappeared within its confines. Hoof marks had worn away the rough stone of floor and spoke of regular traffic coming through it. Teleport hops, meant travelling a bell covered a distance a Gnarl would take three to four days to walk; still, it was a while longer before more of their twisted minds beckoned from ahead. Telepathy let her see through a distant Gnarl¡¯s eyes, and teleport set her within their security. A pebble came into existence on a ledge, bouncing away as a shuffling foot kicked it down the stairs. After coming to rest against a wall, Julia waited till the Gnarl moved away before changing form. Then, ensuring there were no human minds nearby, she began exploring the Gnarl¡¯s staging post. How many of these outposts are there? Only have a few hours to handle explorations today. Alfarr wanted to do some planning tonight, ladies to teach, spells to practice, and no rest for the wicked. {{Don¡¯t forget to play paddywhack and give the dog a boner. }} Geez! 87 - Between the lines The new door set in the sitting room¡¯s front wall was plain, sturdy, and iron-bound, an ill-match for any of Yngvarr¡¯s furniture. Indeed, even its location was odd, given it should open towards the street near the front door. Beyond it, Julia found an impossible room that earned a smile of appreciation. Its plain appearance was also at odds with the other rooms in Yngvarr¡¯s house. The large chamber was easily twenty metres long and double that wide, filled with a multitude of stone tables. Most had their surfaces embossed with incredibly detailed maps beyond anything she¡¯d seen since arriving here. Crystals set in the ceiling cast a clean white light across the undecorated grey stone of the chamber¡¯s interior. A stone table some two metres square near the doorway was devoid of markings, with chairs around it. A few rectangular boxes perched on one chair caught Julia¡¯s attention. The contents of the first box drew a surprised snort from Julia upon seeing the various coloured grease pens and tokens. With a shrug, she selected a black pen and rolled it in her hand, the slick texture of it immediately staining flesh. As she considered the mess children could make with them, she marked out the Gnarls¡¯ complex on the table¡¯s surface. When the others started arriving with Rika and Sagga bringing trays, Julia was just finishing up. Her crude drawing a far cry from those adorning other tables, but she¡¯d only wanted it as a basic reference. As soon as Alfarr¡¯s contagious laughter started, that plan seemed doomed. ¡°What¡¯s that one meant to be?¡± Alfarr asked, pointing at the drawing. ¡°That¡¯s the cavern with Dire Boars and a mushroom grove,¡± replied Julia, after sparing a glance at where he was gesturing. ¡°Then why does it have a cloud with six legs and antlers?¡± probed Alfarr, his amusement undiminished. ¡°There isn¡¯t only one Dire Boar in the holding pen, and those aren¡¯t antlers; they¡¯re tusks,¡± Julia replied, her grumbling tone exasperated. ¡°How did you carve those little statues, if that¡¯s what you consider a map?¡± asked Alfarr, the baffled look he gave Julia matching the tone in his voice. ¡°Julia¡¯s full of interesting and quite conflicting talents,¡° Yngvarr dryly stated, passing a cup to Alfarr before taking a seat to look over what Julia had drawn. ¡°I never claimed it would be a work of art, and it¡¯s only a rough layout.¡± ¡°Rough,¡± Alfarr blurted out. ¡°That¡¯s certainly a word for whatever that is.¡± Gesturing at where Julia had drawn the pleasure den and its shattered side. ¡°That¡¯s the building where the lot of you played smack with dragon boy,¡± grumbled Julia, tempted to wipe the plan away. ¡°Dragon boy, oh dear,¡± murmured Verdandi. ¡°It looks like swirling lines that make no sense.¡± ¡°Fine!¡± Julia growled. Setting a hand on the table, she grew a map of the caverns from within her memory. She kept adding details until its quality stood out like a photo-realistic terrain map for a custom game of 40K. ¡°Is that better?¡± [Protean [Ad] (36->37)] Rika, who had been pouring a cup of herbal tea, set it down for Julia and ran her fingers over the raised edge of a cavern¡¯s wall. Alfar looked over the details she¡¯d constructed and poked a finger against a bloated figurine depicting a Gnarl. ¡°Disturbingly so.¡± He offered in judgement a moment later. ¡°It¡¯s so detailed. What spell is this?¡± asked Rika. Peering over the displayed stonework as she traced a fingertip along the edge of a building. ¡°It¡¯s not a spell; it¡¯s grown from her flesh,¡± Alfarr drawled, and Rika snatched her hand back in surprise. ¡°How... What¡­ Oh¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­ I didn¡¯t know,¡± Rika stammered, her skin darkening before she noticed Julia¡¯s relaxed smile, and Rika sighed in relief. ¡°Interesting,¡± Torm stated, and Verdandi caught herself in mid-sip. ¡°The pair of you,¡± muttered Verdandi softly. ¡°Torm needs to work on his timing,¡± Julia said, delighted when Verdandi gave her a mock glare. ¡°What for?¡± asked Torm, his confusion fading as he glanced up and saw Verdandi¡¯s raised cup. ¡°So, wherever you first teleport in with a group will be the riskiest part of any attack. Unless you want them climbing in and out of your storage bag.¡± Rika and Sagga, seeing everyone served, left the room, but not before Rika glanced again in wonder at Julia¡¯s construct. ¡°No storage bag, nothing that would have people scrambling to form up. Teleporting in blind could be an issue,¡± Julia replied, before she could continue Yngvarr shook his head, and seeing Julia pause, he continued. ¡°We can scry ahead. The activated inscriptions though will make them very sensitive to light, that we¡¯ll need to manage.¡± ¡°What we¡¯ll need is a darkened staging post where they can activate the inscriptions,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°Carve out somewhere to teleport them to first,¡± offered Alfarr, as he continued playing with the cup, not looking inclined to drink at all. ¡°Not a good idea,¡± Torm said. ¡°Returning to these complexes is asking a lot given what they¡¯ve been through. I¡¯d suggest stone shaping a building, without windows, just a doorway with an imperfect seal, so there is dim light before activating the rings. That gives them time to adjust in a place they¡¯ve seen clearly before the doors shut.¡± ¡°When they arrive back, that light could be blinding,¡± Verdandi said. She shot a glance at Alfarr¡¯s untouched tea before making a show of deliberately drinking her own. ¡°It¡¯s still too hot.¡± ¡°Says the Inferno. I thought you were sad it wasn¡¯t something stronger,¡± teased Verdandi. ¡°Get them to shield their gaze before you teleport them back. If they remove the ring, does it disorient?¡± asked Alfarr, ignoring Verdandi¡¯s dig. Do we need security inside the building, just in case? ¡°Removing it is like putting out a lantern if you¡¯re in complete darkness,¡± answered Yngvarr, his relaxed assessment not sharing Alfarr¡¯s amusement. ¡°The inscription rune doesn¡¯t work the same for non-Elven sight; I¡¯m told everything is in shades of green or grey depending on their heritage.¡± ¡°How about this? We set up a secure building with very dim lighting, the group enters, activates inscriptions. Then Julia teleports them to a scried location, and they cut loose on the closest Gnarls. If they encounter any surprises, Julia could add her own spells or bring them out.¡± Alfarr glanced between them as he spoke, looking for any argument to his statements. ¡°Or just shift location since her Telepathy would let her feel where there are fewer Gnarls,¡± Torm offered. ¡°Her teleporting them about would disorient those not used to it,¡± Verdandi countered, then clearly reconsidered. ¡°They¡¯re not seasoned troops, so better to waste the Mana than risk losses.¡± ¡°And we can practice teleportation drills, so they get accustomed.¡± Julia pointed out before Torm calmly offered his own view. ¡°Better to start with one of the Gnarl staging posts you¡¯ve found,¡± stated Verdandi. Setting her cup aside, she considered the cavern¡¯s ledges. ¡°Fewer options for skipping about,¡± Yngvarr replied, frowning at the suggestion. ¡°No matter the precautions we take, there will be casualties. A Gnarl caster getting in range is all it takes, even if you have protection from arrows.¡± cautioned Torm. ¡°Julia started working on learning spell shields after we finished pillaging the Fire Giants holding,¡± Yngvarr said before nodding. ¡°Though yes, we need to ensure casualties aren¡¯t the result of carelessness.¡± ¡°There go the local prices,¡± Verdandi muttered, but Yngvarr just smiled at her before responding to the implied question. ¡°No, we¡¯re selling a lot to Dwarven and Elven communities. Stoneheart jumped at the chance for as much metal as we could provide. In return we¡¯re getting some crafting work done as well as supplies until the second harvest,¡± Yngvarr said before commenting in an aside to Julia. ¡°Stoneheart wants some Dire Boar young as they¡¯ve not heard of ones that could see in pitch darkness or grow to that size. They want to breed them into their cavalry bloodlines and see if they¡¯ll be useful defenders against Orc and Mane incursions in their mines.¡± ¡°How fast will they be able to craft inscriptions for us?¡± asked Julia. ¡°I¡¯ve agreements with some Dwarven Wizards and Artificers; they¡¯re setting their senior students to creating the inscriptions. They were happy to have a paid reason for the practice,¡± Yngvarr replied. ¡°Though they grumbled about the strange taste of your silver rings; perhaps we should have hired them to make those as well.¡± {{ They tasted your rings, oh gosh. Can they kiss them as well? }} Julia rewarded B with a mental blah as she considered the table. Torm jotted down a quick note before Yngvarr finished speaking. As Julia arched an eyebrow at his grease pen notes, it earned a snort from Alfarr. ¡°My handwriting isn¡¯t that bad,¡± Torm said defensively, giving Alfarr a frown. ¡°Not commenting on your writing, just the eyebrow thing she does,¡± Alfarr replied, gesturing at Julia. ¡°I¡¯d seen people raise an eyebrow before Madam Chaos showed up, but it¡¯s the deliberate way she does it, then holds it.¡± ¡°I know what you mean. That habit is taking on a life of its own with the Temple novices copying Livia,¡± Verdandi added with a chuckle. ¡°Madam Chaos?¡± asked Torm, even as Julia protested. ¡°Hardly that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not chaotic yourself, but you throw people¡¯s expectations on their ear every time I turn around,¡± Alfarr explained. As he pretended to toss something away, the tea in his cup swirled wildly, and Julia half expected him to wear it. ¡°Alfarr has a point,¡± Verdandi murmured, ¡°but sometimes people need to get shaken up.¡± ¡°Shaken not stirred,¡± said Julia, before shrugging when she got confused looks from everyone and earned another bout of laughter from Alfarr. ¡°I¡¯ll set up a barn sized building,¡± Yngvarr offered, bringing the conversation back on track. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want them to feel closely enclosed just walking into it.¡± ¡°Can anyone provide the Mana to activate the ring¡¯s inscription?¡± Torm enquired curiously. ¡°Yes,¡± Yngvarr replied simply before qualifying his response. ¡°But whoever needs the inscription effect has to be wearing it at the time it¡¯s activated.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never used inscriptions, so good to know,¡± replied Torm as he jotted down further notes. ¡°Once they make enough for Julia¡¯s forces, can your contacts make more for the Temple of Tyr?¡± Verdandi asked, pleased when Yngvarr simply nodded. ¡°Since there isn¡¯t a restriction, I¡¯ll provide the Mana for the inscriptions before teleporting them into place.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start on construction tomorrow morning, and it shouldn¡¯t take more than a bell; I know a few potential spots,¡± Yngvarr declared. ¡°Can you change this to show the outline of a smaller outpost you found?¡± Torm asked, ¡°The one with only a few hundred Gnarls.¡± ¡°Three have less than five hundred. I¡¯ll start with the smallest,¡± replied Julia. A moment¡¯s concentration changed the layout from multiple caverns to a single cavern that had a network of tunnels surrounding it cut in relief. Once through the outer doors blocking the cavern¡¯s main entry, minimal defences were showing on her map, and Julia nodded for them to start. ¡°Torm¡¯s right, though I still can¡¯t believe they¡¯re volunteering for this,¡± Alfarr stated, looking grim with concern. ¡°She brings them hope. It¡¯s a powerful force,¡± said Yngvarr, examining the outpost details closest to him. ¡°Careful you don¡¯t get their hopes too high then,¡± cautioned Alfarr, as he gave Julia a steady look. ¡°If this turns to shit, it could destroy them.¡± ¡°That was part of the reason for getting them killing the Dire Boars. They¡¯ve heard stories of Wizards wiping out masses of enemies, so it served as a reality check,¡± Julia replied, giving Alfarr an acknowledging nod. ¡°They¡¯ve seen one of them take all those hits, and they know some Gnarls can kill them alone.¡± ¡°Plans within plans?¡± Torm asked, giving her a look that brought a smile. ¡°Yes, they¡¯ll need to understand that things can and will go wrong. Yet we also have to build up enough confidence that they can react properly when it does,¡± said Julia, before her smile turned mischievous. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me. How was training this morning?¡± ¡°The humiliation was good for his ego,¡± Yngvarr said, even as Alfarr started grumbling. ¡°He¡¯s too stubborn to set it aside till he¡¯s achieved Mastery.¡± ¡°Perfection is a journey, not a destination,¡± Julia replied gleefully, quoting Master Farhad. ¡°What class are you going to level to combine with Monk?¡± ¡°Sorcerer, since it also strengthens Willpower,¡± Alfarr replied before taking a sip of tea. ¡°Wizard, given what you told me about the Arch-Wizard classes.¡± Yngvarr¡¯s intention wasn¡¯t a surprise to Julia, though she wondered if there were options for his Elven Scion class. ¡°Children,¡± interrupted Verdandi. ¡°Can we get back to the planning?¡± The blunt frustration in Verdandi¡¯s voice made delight gleam in Alfarr¡¯s gaze. He¡¯s such a teasing git. ¡°Neither the Norse nor Elven tactics favour the style of formations that Julia has started them using,¡± Yngvarr said. ¡°The Legionnaires have similar formations, as do the Greeks.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust either of those to teach anything to women properly; they¡¯d set them up to fail,¡± Alfarr growled. ¡°Remember the fuss that arse Aquila made when Verdandi refused him access to Livia; ¡®What right does a woman have to tell me what to do¡¯. What a piece of shit!¡± ¡°He¡¯s been here?¡± started Julia, her voice raised in surprise, concerned that he was still about. ¡°Only for a short time before spring, he¡¯d heard tales of her. Thought he could order Master Farhad and me around,¡± Verdandi said with a shrug. ¡°By the way, I¡¯ve got papers saying the Church of Tyr considers Livia your daughter now. You¡¯ll need to sign them.¡± ¡°He¡¯s lucky Farhad didn¡¯t consider him a challenge. I pointed out a nice duelling law to him, but he didn¡¯t go for it,¡± Torm quickly added, watching Julia¡¯s baffled expression. ¡°What, how could you do that! I¡¯m rarely here!¡± exclaimed Julia, sitting forward in shock. ¡°Livia appealed on the grounds of an unfit Master; the Hearing also removed her parents¡¯ rights of guardianship. She wouldn¡¯t accept anyone else as Moeir in the document. The Jarl and Torm signed for you in absentia, but it really should have your signature,¡± replied Verdandi, unfussed by Julia¡¯s surprise. ¡°Now who¡¯s distracting planning,¡± Alfarr remarked, his drawling tone clearly teasing. Still, he raised the cup in a silent toast to Julia, and the others echoed it. ¡°May she send you crazy,¡± said Yngvarr before he returned to drinking and considering the terrain map. ¡°Any bets on who¡¯ll do the mothering?¡± Verdandi asked before glancing towards Torm. ¡°Didn¡¯t Julia already say you¡¯re both crazy?¡± ¡°My coins are on Livia,¡± Alfarr muttered, his low words still carrying clearly to the others. When Torm gave him a signal Alfarr just grinned as if he¡¯d already won. ¡°She didn¡¯t tell me!¡± objected Julia before Torm said anything further. Her gaze dancing between table and door, showing how torn she was between what needed doing and tracking down Livia. ¡°Maybe she figured you might run away,¡± said Alfarr, his tone strained with laughter. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll keep,¡± Julia grumbled, her irate glare settling on Alfarr. ¡°Like I¡¯m afraid of you, blind girl.¡± Alfarr snorted as Torm intently focused on drawing the outpost on a large sheet of parchment. ¡°We''d best go adventuring again now that you¡¯ve baited her,¡± Yngvarr remarked and smiled as Alfarr nodded. ¡°I might suggest the Jarl replace Eystinn as Steward before your absence baits him into leaving yet again,¡± Verdandi said, thoughtfully. ¡°Your insult to Eysteinn, while well-earned and amusing to a number present, is going to cause problems. His family is large and not without influence in several domains: his favoured grandson is the principal assistant to the King¡¯s Steward. One of his children serves Jarl Wurmbani as a Court Wizard, and while they don¡¯t normally see eye to eye, family bonds can be unpredictable.¡± Verdandi¡¯s serious tone made Julia groan and want to head butt the stone table.
¡°You missed practice again,¡± Livia said, giving her a stern glare. ¡°Master Farhad is going to scold.¡± She whispered the last, but with him only metres away, Julia doubted it mattered. ¡°So you want to beat him to it, I see how it is,¡± Julia replied, giving her an eye-roll. ¡°I was scouting. You and I need to talk.¡± At Julia¡¯s firm tone, Livia just gave her a bedazzling smile, and Julia swore the crystal of her eyes shone brighter. ¡°You could scout at night, then practice with us,¡± Livia retorted, deliberately ignoring Julia¡¯s tone. ¡°So many people struggling with nightmares, who I¡¯ve been trying to help. I¡¯ve got a gap between dawn and training the survivors to do scouting.¡± ¡°Okay, that makes sense,¡± Livia said, her low tone pretending reluctant admission, even as sadness flickered across her features. I hope that¡¯s regarding the women, and she¡¯s not feeling left alone even though I¡¯m here. ¡°What¡¯s this about you insisting I get listed as your Moeir?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Oh!¡± exclaimed Livia, her delicate voice raised in surprise. ¡°Oh? You didn¡¯t expect me to learn about it? I can¡¯t replace your mother, young lady,¡± Julia scolded, loss washing through her as the words brought her own mother to mind. Caught amid the emotions, Julia didn¡¯t push them away but acknowledged them, recognising the wounds and wondering if they¡¯d ever fade. ¡°It lists you as my Moeir, but she¡¯s my Mater. It¡¯s a different word,¡± Livia replied defensively. The innocent smile she gave causing Julia to narrow her eyes suspiciously. ¡°Livia!¡± Julia grumbled ominously. They both mean Mother you scamp. ¡°Yes, Moeir,¡± Livia said sweetly, making a well of emotions twist inside Julia. {{Nevermind the Skald, just get Livia to teach you. Must reward with HUGS! }} ¡°Why the manoeuvring?¡± ¡°I had to get out of my Novice commitment formally; Verdandi arranged it the same day she heard Aquila was in town. You don¡¯t want me going back to Aquila, do you?¡± Livia asked. Her wide-eyed gaze made it clear she was pretending to be shocked. ¡°No, but this doesn¡¯t make¡­.¡± Julia objected, only for Livia to interrupt. ¡°Good, that¡¯s settled then, Moeir,¡± Livia said, accenting the word softly, deliberately drawing it out. Julia¡¯s gaze narrowed suspiciously, and Livia¡¯s smile continued to grow brighter. ¡°Livia, what about the rest of it?¡± ¡°The child can also include in the appeal to replace parental rights for future apprenticeships and their general care. I didn¡¯t want to be a Novice, but my Pater arranged it. Do you not want Master Farhad teaching me?¡± Livia asked softly, clearly pretending distress. ¡°I feel there is more you¡¯re not telling me,¡± replied Julia, grumbling in resignation. ¡°A few minor details, matters of process mainly. Given I died, the High Justice ruled there was sufficient ground for a neglect appeal since he allowed them to capture me. The laws make no allowances for circumstances leading to the lodgement of the appeal: only if harm is taken and if said harm was in the Master¡¯s capability to avoid,¡± Livia said, her recount of legal babble making light of the situation, but it was clear there were things she¡¯d rather Julia didn¡¯t ask. I need to ask more questions about how they had so many, including Aquila captive, I assumed they used those potions. [Sense Motive [J] (1->2)] I should pay attention to her. Is that what you¡¯re trying to tell me? ¡°I¡¯m not the only one that likes plans,¡± murmured Julia. Her gaze weighed on Livia, as Julia wondered if it was because of the bond or her family upbringing. ¡°Of course not, any sensible person does,¡± chirped Livia, the little miss awarding Julia a beaming smile. ¡°What happens if¡­¡± began Julia, only to be interrupted again. ¡°If anyone tries to take my Apprentice away it is kidnapping, and if I catch them in the act, I can kill them, easier on everyone. Maybe you can provoke them into trying,¡± Master Farhad interjected, giving them both a steady look. ¡°It is best to follow the Law. You know where you stand. Are you planning to attend practice tomorrow? Or will you be scouting locations?¡± I¡¯m not allowed to argue about this, it seems. Livia knows where I stand, and Master Verdandi, it seems, approves the arrangement. ¡°Likely scouting Master Farhad,¡± Julia replied, and Farhad simply nodded without argument. ¡°Now I know where I stand for tomorrow¡¯s lesson; ensure you inform me of your plans in the future,¡± remarked Farhad firmly, his stern expression possessing the air of a teacher calling an errant child to task. ¡°Like you informed someone of your plans?¡± asked Julia, unable to still the mischievous inflections in her voice. ¡°Do you need to repeat my errors to learn?¡± Farhad asked dryly; despite the sharpness of his words, Julia sensed he was unfussed. ¡°Perhaps I should see how you handle the knives I had thrown at me.¡± ¡°Did they have coitus afterwards?¡± Livia asked, blurting out the question. What sort of question is that? How many cultural differences am I completely ignorant of? ¡°Before, during, and after; lots of it,¡± Julia responded, her tone light as she played along. ¡°Literally ground-breaking.¡± ¡°That is not correct. While we broke furniture, we were not at ground level,¡± argued Farhad, his tone reverting to his usual calmness. ¡°There were cracks in the apartment¡¯s floor,¡± retorted Julia. Her eyebrow rose in reflex, drawing a smirk from Farhad and Livia. When Livia made a little hand gesture, Farhad shrugged before passing her a copper knot. ¡°That was still not the ground,¡± Farhad corrected, his tone uncompromising even as he handed over the coin. ¡°Excellent, I won my bet with Marcus as well,¡± Livia exclaimed, racing off excitedly towards the Temple. Is it a cultural thing? Do they bet on where flies would land? Wait! Was she betting on the coitus or something else?
Julia watched as fingers of stone broke through the earth, the ground rippling like water around them. More columns followed and spiralled around each other till they formed an arch. The ¡®barn¡¯ size structure that Yngvarr made didn¡¯t end up looking close to what Julia had expected. It was far from a modern barn or the Norse structures she¡¯d seen, though it was bigger than either. The stone columns formed sides that appeared to be massive vines that had sprouted from the earth. The organic look didn¡¯t stop them from forming a net that completely blocked out light from the outside. The door¡¯s edges interlocked like ridged leaves clasping against each other. The earthen floor was bare and perfectly smooth, the grass having reversed its growth even as the columns grew up. Alfarr had quickly entered to check the light levels, and as the door swung soundlessly open again, he nodded and gave them a broad smile. ¡°No light getting in except around the doors, so it should be watertight. It¡¯s bright but not uncomfortably so with the inscription activated,¡± Alfarr stated, looking as smug as if he¡¯d crafted it himself. Julia just nodded before turning back to the assembled women. ¡°Ladies, shall we try some drills?¡± Julia asked, looking at the first group she¡¯d taught. ¡°We¡¯re not ladies though, Lady Eakc?.¡± The reply from a survivor made Julia internally grumble about titles, but she kept her smile in place. ¡°Well then, form up in your ranks,¡± Julia stated, gesturing at the women and stopped to watch them awkwardly assemble. We were all trying to get them walking before they were ready to crawl. I¡¯ll need to get them practicing formation drills as well, not just spells. Certainly didn¡¯t expect to use marching drills from the cadets ever again. ¡°Alright, everyone stop, let¡¯s start over,¡± Julia said, raising her voice slightly over the chatter. ¡°Who has seen Roman Legionnaires marching in ranks?¡± Julia asked, surprised by how few hands hesitantly rose. ¡°Very well, you¡¯re all at a similar point, so you¡¯ll all be learning together. Don¡¯t be afraid to ask if you¡¯re uncertain about anything; the only silly question is the one you don¡¯t ask. Your question might seem stupid to some, but I can assure you others will be grateful you asked.¡± Julia didn¡¯t worry about the mutters from the ladies nearby, since the noises seemed more curious than concerned. {{What point is that? Past Love-thirty, and not in your favour? }} Julia mentally groaned at B referencing her age as well; She mentally flipped her off. Her focus stayed on the women as they deserved every shred of help she could provide. ¡°This building will be our staging point for attacks against Gnarls. You all need to earn your position in those attacks. You¡¯ve said you want to take the fight to the Gnarls, so I¡¯ve given you the ability to cast spells. But just because you can cast those spells doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll get to fight. You need to prove you actually mean what you said and that you¡¯re ready. Those who don¡¯t meet the required standard will not fight. Remember though, you can decide this isn¡¯t for you with no consequences. It¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, simply let us know and we¡¯ll help you establish a different life. There will even be other ways you can assist against the Gnarls besides combat.¡± The determination some gazes contained finding they¡¯d need to earn the right was pleasing to see; though Julia noted some were more hesitant. She didn¡¯t want anyone feeling they needed to fight, regardless of what they actually wanted. ¡°Just as when I taught you the first Affinity you¡¯ll need to pay attention to what I show you within your mind¡¯s eye.¡± Through Telepathy Julia sent an image of a platoon of centurions in ranks; except the formation she¡¯d learnt in cadets. Julia didn¡¯t know if the Roman Legionnaires formed in similar groups, but it was what she knew. The Australian Army fatigues she could have included would have only confused. This is so not going to be fun. I only made Corporal in cadets, teaching any drill was years ago. Julia paused as she considered the group, hoping that she wouldn¡¯t be the death of them. {{ Turn left, no, your other left. Left, right out. }} The snide bitchiness in B¡¯s tone didn¡¯t ruffle Julia¡¯s calm. ¡°You three come forward,¡± Julia said, her tone calm as she signalled to three among them, carefully avoiding those Soul Sight showed might be inclined to bully. ¡°You¡¯ll each be a rank leader till I say otherwise.¡± Need trustworthy people for every role. Organising them in a line, she turned back to the remaining women. ¡°Now to practice forming up, as I showed you. I want three even lines to the left of your rank leaders,¡± Julia said. Her voice raised for all to hear as she gestured at the three women she¡¯d selected. ¡°Then we¡¯ll learn to move around together without tripping over each other. Now you¡¯ll see why I issued those loose pants and shirts. Dresses can be pretty but they¡¯re easy to trip in when someone steps on your hem.¡± This will be a long morning.
Basic drill for the first three platoons had filled the morning, and Julia felt mentally exhausted even if they showed signs of progress. As they headed off to lunch, she detected an amused smirk from Yngvarr and deliberately arched her eyebrow at him, amused when it just broadened his smile. The original group of one hundred had formed into two normal-sized platoons of thirty and an extended forty. While one platoon had learnt to march, a second group practiced spell casting at shadow targets, while a third watched or meditated to recover Mana. The name ¡®Platoon One¡¯ would have inspired no one, so Julia had left the choice to them. After discussion so far the platoon names stood at Gungir, Beowulf, and Leidgild. If I understand the last one right, a weapon, a hero, and a Path to compensation or re-payment. ¡°Guess I didn¡¯t need to create that building yet,¡± said Yngvarr. ¡°It¡¯s built a bit early, but that¡¯s their prize. You spent the time, so I hope they take it as a sign we intend to follow through.¡± ¡°Your drills are as different as I should have expected,¡± Torm offered. ¡°Legionaries march to drumbeats, not to someone calling the step.¡± ¡°I taught them how I learnt to start. There are marching songs to liven things up, but not when you¡¯re learning.¡± ¡°You spent time in a fighting unit?¡° Yngvarr asked, clearly confused.. ¡°No, it¡¯s complicated; there were lots of aspects to high school besides the science classes I showed you,¡± started Julia. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Verdandi if we can have some others learn the drill as well. Once they¡¯re skilled enough, they can take over teaching those drills for you,¡± Torm said. ¡°Livia will scold me, but one step at a time. I¡¯m just glad it was so apparent we needed to take time for basic drills first. I was jumping ahead of myself, I¡¯m so out of my depth,¡± Julia replied with a groan. ¡°Was thinking I¡¯ll need a core of them trained, and then get them training others.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll grow some targets that the afternoon¡¯s group can use for spell drill. I¡¯ve got things to tend to,¡± Yngvarr offered, and nodded at Julia¡¯s smile of thanks. ¡°Speaking of things to tend to,¡± Julia said hopefully, excited to remove an entry from her list. ¡°I¡¯ll teleport you around to a few Shrines tomorrow morning. I scouted some out after dawn and they¡¯re still in use. You can show them to the Elven forces whenever the time suits them.¡± ¡°Tonight might be better for those in human lands, less chance of being noticed while foes are sleeping,¡± suggested Yngvarr, before disappearing. Julia frowned for a moment before she noticed pillars of stone had already grown where the shadow targets had stood. ¡°Anyone particular in mind?¡± Julia asked, turning back to Torm. ¡°I know some Vargr Drangijaz who are interested in assisting,¡± Torm replied, his voice lowered, even though no one seemed close enough to hear. ¡°They can¡¯t act against evil Temples or Priests directly because of the rules, but it doesn¡¯t stop them helping in such matters.¡± ¡°But I can act against both,¡± stated Julia, her puzzlement clear. ¡°Yes, but Demons and Dark Powers may stab each other in the back, likely it''s a requirement,¡± replied Torm, with a serious look. ¡°Thanks, I guess technically I count as both,¡± Julia drawled in response, noting the amused twitch in Torm¡¯s expression. ¡°I¡¯m remembering right that there are rules regarding summoning the Vargr Drangijaz?¡± ¡°It requires offerings and effort, but the Temple of Tyr has gained enough wealth to help these women.¡± ¡°So you bypassed that with V¨ªearr. Did that get you in trouble?¡± asked Julia, in concern, before Torm stilled her concerns with a shake of his head. ¡°The required offering is in part negotiated or decided by the Summoned Entity, He was in pain, freely given to help others escape their fate. Not what I¡¯d usually be seeking, but it warranted offering a Bond; then again, all I did was teleport back and forth with your storage bag.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s all you did, and technically you were along for the ride,¡± Julia grumbled, offering him a mock offended glare. ¡°Harsh,¡± Torm replied with a chuckle. ¡°Demons and Dark Powers indeed,¡± said Julia, poking out her tongue. ¡°Only technically does either apply, so keep that in mind. I¡¯ll go speak to Verdandi now,¡± Torm said before disappearing. {{That¡¯s right, everyone runs off and leaves you alone. }} Bugger off, there is too much to do. Inventory instantly dug a series of postholes near the new building, carefully set away from its door. With Protean, Julia formed a stone notice board anchored by multiple posts, set up some five metres long with multiple panels. With a shrug she separated from it, not even flinching at the chuck of health, its solid weight stripped away. She¡¯d created a grid into the stone and inlaid the first three platoon names in the first column of one panel. After a moment¡¯s consideration, Julia set about etching requirements onto the last panel, though none of them had yet been achieved by the existing platoon names. Julia hoped it would provide motivation and remind them of how far they¡¯d progressed later on. Eighty days for military basic training, that is, if you know what you¡¯re doing and have trained staff. Six hundred new Wizards trained in an Affinity and some spells in two days. Who knows how many will be interested in risking their lives? In some ways, I¡¯m surprised this many asked. Their lives are at stake, so I need to ensure they¡¯re trained as best I can arrange. Even if I don¡¯t teach them to fight against the Gnarls it doesn¡¯t mean their lives will be safe. This way at least I can give them a better chance. Stretching out for a few moments, Julia started practicing Silent Storm while her thoughts kept racing. She let herself get swept up in the motions, pleased they were becoming more instinctive. As practice continued, she didn¡¯t pay attention to those watching her inhuman grace and focus from the Town¡¯s walls and fields. Why did I open my mouth? Just because I needed to hit back doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s the right path for everyone. I just wanted to offer them a choice that others couldn¡¯t. When emotions spiralled, Julia forced herself to consider the difference in the women¡¯s Souls even days had made. Despair and misery were giving way to hope and while for some it was slow, others changed shockingly fast. The sharp energy that had filled her movements burnt away with her anxiety and brought a calmness to her practice. I had no one, they¡¯ve at least got each other - and it¡¯s still their choice. Though I hope my Charisma isn¡¯t upstaging their self-preservation. Unlock Affinities and teach spells to another group in the morning, then the first platoon drills. Then¡­ then¡­ then¡­ I need more people to monitor students¡¯ practice for issues, Heck, I need more of everything. ¡°Stop being a control freak.¡¯ Julia groaned to herself. I should ask the Jarl¡¯s Captain if he¡¯ll allow off duty guards to earn extra coins teaching dagger work, at least. Other people¡¯s choices aren¡¯t mine to make, I¡¯ll do the best for them I can. Learn from my mistakes and do better. 88 - Demons are a girls best friend ¡°You want me to do what?¡± Julia exclaimed, looking at Torm as if he¡¯d gone insane. ¡°Use your Telepathy to share what you wish taught. We can¡¯t share Celestial tactics or knowledge with them but your Mortal ones? There is no law against it,¡± Torm explained, making it all sounds so reasonable and straightfreorward. ¡°This way, you avoid Mortals learning things about your world you don¡¯t wish shared. Teach it to the Vargr Drangijaz quickly and they¡¯ll teach it to the platoons. They¡¯ll also be able to get a sense for potential recruits to provide rank to in the future.¡± Indeed, he made it sound so reasonable that Julia was getting concerned about what the catch was going to be. ¡°Have you spoken to them about this?¡± ¡°No, the idea occurred when I was coming here this evening,¡± Torm stated. ¡°You taught Yngvarr all those subjects in an evening. Is this harder or easier to learn?¡± ¡°Easier,¡± admitted Julia, though she couldn¡¯t stop the concerned frown. ¡°But how risky is it using Telepathy like that on a Celestial? What happens if my brain explodes? Would that count as getting killed or killing myself?¡± The more she said, the more her concern grew. As her voice rose in volume, Torm beckoned for her to calm before he replied. ¡°I¡¯ve had a Demon speak in my mind in the past. She didn¡¯t explode, unfortunately, and she was only a lesser Ka¡¯larg,¡± said Torm, his rumbling voice sour with distaste. ¡°Those snake things are gross, though technically they¡¯re snake women. Honestly, though I¡¯m loathe to credit them as actually being female, they creep me out more than a Dretch,¡± Julia said. The memory of the Demon¡¯s flayed form and the dripping ichor made her feel like gagging. The ones she¡¯d seen since that first among the dredging crew of Hrz¡¯Styrn she¡¯d found equally repulsive. ¡°Can I stick to just referring to them as it?¡± ¡°You can call those things whatever you wish,¡± Torm replied, clearly amused. What are you laughing at buster, my choice of words? ¡°Laugh it up, fuzzball,¡± grumbled Julia, her accompanying glare only making him smile more. ¡°Verdandi liked the plan but only had time, material and energy for three Summonings. We¡¯ll meet you here after the evening meal to discuss the schedule. They¡¯re assisting with some other Temple matters first.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t just speaking into their minds; it¡¯s sharing my past. Do you want to learn as well?¡± asked Julia hesitantly, knowing Yngvarr had picked up more than she had intended. ¡°Not if it makes you uncomfortable; I¡¯d prefer only to learn what you wish to share,¡± reassured Torm. ¡°Am I that transparent?¡± Julia groaned, wanting to bury her face in the grimoire she¡¯d been studying before his interruption. ¡°Lots of practice, and it¡¯s not an issue having True Sight on presently, since you are actually wearing real clothes,¡± said Torm. ¡°Shoo, fine, come back later, stop being mean,¡± Julia insisted, waving towards the door. {{Yeah, we get to be mean, not the guys. }} ¡°I might tease but I¡¯d never deliberately be mean to you.¡± ¡°Go!¡± Julia exclaimed, glad she couldn¡¯t blush at least. Damn you B. Now he¡¯s going to think that was about what he said. {{ Well, your mind went to the gutter, didn¡¯t it? Rach always said being nice was more her style with a blowjob. }} {{ How fast do you think his tongue could cause you to orgasm? }} Julia kept muttering to herself as B continued her usual outrageous observations. When Julia¡¯s imagination started on potential issues with the teaching session, she paced.
Julia had spent a few bells trying to keep calm by the time there was a solid knock on Yngvarr¡¯s front door. Her freezing for a moment gave Torm the time needed to answer it first. When she saw him tense in the doorway, her nerves jumped, and even Yngvarr frowned in concern at his reaction. ¡°Good evening, Torm. I know you weren¡¯t expecting me as well. I¡¯m here at ¨®einn¡¯s orders. Am I allowed to come inside, or should the four of us leave?¡± The woman¡¯s softly spoken words were in a lovely soprano spoken in Celestial, that carried clearly. Nodding, Torm stepped back, and as he moved away, Julia got an unrestricted view of the speaker. As she stepped within, Julia¡¯s True Sight shuddered against the conflict between her physical appearance and the truth held within. Externally the woman¡¯s appearance seemed that of a Nordic warrior, clad in steel with a spear held lightly in one hand. Instead of the chain hauberk Julia had commonly seen, she wore a fancy breastplate, bracers, greaves, armoured boots, a jerkin and leggings of deep red leather. The steel pieces looked decoratively chased in gleaming bronze, and their buckles shone with silver that brightened as the very presence of the Celestial dropped Julia back into her seat. True Sight presented Julia a strangely distorted perception as she came in the door. The Shapeshift effect was obvious, as Julia could still see the reality beneath. However, unlike other facades Julia had seen through, the appearance fought against Julia¡¯s Power. Layered wings of pure white shimmered in and out of existence, but even when visible to Julia¡¯s perception it was clear they were hidden within the form. The image of coal black hair cascaded across her shoulders, fighting to conceal the reality of pale gold. Just as the armour shuddered between its mundane appearance and gleaming gold, that carried the comforting warmth of summer days. [True Sight [Ad] (18->19)] When she gazed at Julia in return, her eyes were the blazing silver-white of a lightning strike one moment and plain grey the next. The effect of them making it nearly impossible for Julia to take in her facial features. Though even they didn¡¯t hold constant in her vision; instead rippled between solid Norse cheeks and jaw to a refined, almost ethereal Elven beauty. Though there was an air about her that spoke of a blade¡¯s keen edge rather than mere beauty. Her very presence made it hard for Julia to register the others that followed at her heels, but it was almost a relief as she did. Similarly armoured, though without the fancy fittings, the Vargr Drangijaz were far different to Torm in many respects. Unlike Torm¡¯s calm, protective vibe, these warriors had a fierce energy about them, wolf-like eyes and coiled intensity. Each more compressed in their current form than Torm had ever been, their motions shifted them swiftly from one position to the next. The fur that True Sight showed was the colour of dried blood, and their steely amber gaze locked on her as if fixed on prey. To Julia, their human mask was only thinly present compared to their Truth, as a heat mirage in the desert. The differences between them only evidenced by their scars standing out within the fur of their wolfish features and the different weapons they carried. {{Run! You have before, run right now! }} Despite the panic in B¡¯s voice, Julia didn¡¯t take her gaze from the new arrivals. The first of them within the house held an axe clasped in each hand. They weren¡¯t the unwieldy things of movies, even a glance at them spoke of swiftness; the twinned hafts only as long as a forearm capped with a single sweeping blade. A dark stain set in contrast across the wooden hafts swirled in elaborately knotted pattern formed into the shape of a wolf; its open maw positioned to bite down where the axe¡¯s head collared the haft. Looking at the axes made an itch form along Julia¡¯s spine as if the blade¡¯s metal had already sunk in deep. Another at least had his weapon sheathed, though the broad blade wasn¡¯t on a harness. Instead, he held it as if it were a babe laying cradled along his arm. The blade¡¯s length enough that the sheath¡¯s tip sat well past his shoulder, nearly brushing the doorframe top even while held at an angle; the only comfort for Julia was in that his hand wasn¡¯t already on the grip. Though his posture told Julia the blade could be instantly free: likely he¡¯d flick aside the sheath or even send it at her. Its battered and stained surface making it apparent that action had frequently happened in the past. The third¡¯s weapon was a bow, though what they held didn¡¯t have a string. Though given its length and sturdy look, only the notched and shaped ends clarified it was a bow and not a strange quarterstaff. Thicker than her forearm and crafted of dark redwood, its colour reminded Julia of old violins whose stain came from blood in the lacquer. Her mind skipped to tales of red caps as B whispered slyly about her blood adding a lovely coat to it next. The bow showed exquisite crafting, with the appearance of a tree¡¯s roots digging their way through rocky soil; the energy of the bow making Julia wonder if it was dedicated to the world tree¡¯s roots. Analysis [Name: Oydis Species: Valkyrie] [Analysis [Ad] (28->29) Mental Hardening [M] (17->18) Pain Tolerance [J] (10->11)] Julia mentally groaned under the pressure of even the minimal details Analysis returned, as pain like a mortal migraine speared through her awareness past Pain Tolerance and Mental Hardening¡¯s buffers. {{Wow, back to needing a fucking safe word! Run bitch! }} The anger in B¡¯s voice Julia held at bay, even as it buffered against her like an internal hurricane. They¡¯re Celestials here to help the women. {{That doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re your fucking friends! }} It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m not risking sharing my memories with a Mortal again, but rules bind the Celestials. After dealing with her own emotions and the pain from past lives that B had forced on her, Julia recognised what was driving B¡¯s rage - fear. Don¡¯t you dare lash out at me! I¡¯m not suppressing my fear, I¡¯m accepting and dealing with it, so don¡¯t you dare spew more crap on top. ¡°I¡¯m sure this isn¡¯t sensible,¡± Julia said, glancing between them. ¡°Who¡¯s first?¡± ¡°You can teach multiple people at once. Is that not correct?¡± questioned Oydis, even as her tone made it clear she knew the answer. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct with humans. I¡¯ve started leading a score of the survivors to open Affinities at once. I don¡¯t know if this will even work with Celestials,¡± Julia responded, glancing between the four newcomers and a clearly surprised Torm. ¡°Either teach us together or do not, and we will return to ¨¢sgarer,¡± stated Oydis. ¡°How about one at a time? If it¡¯s a matter of not trusting me to touch your mind alone, can¡¯t you learn alongside the others then assist with instruction once you¡¯re familiar with the drills?¡± questioned Julia, trying to keep her rising anxiety in check. ¡°Torm told me you can teach us fastest using this method. ¨®einn¡¯s vision said we should either act with lightning swiftness or else return; together would be the fastest path so we should take it. Otherwise, we should leave you to use purely Mortal resources.¡± ¡°¨®einn said that?¡± Julia questioned, suppressing a groan of frustration at the news. Norse lore claims ¨®einn has visions but just because something is in a vision, do I risk this? {{No! Send them on their way. }} ¡°Yes, he spoke to me before he sent a vision to his High Priest to arrange my Summoning. He did so even before Verdandi¡¯s call went out for Vargr Drangijaz to aid her,¡± replied Oydis, none of the new Vargr Drangijaz looking inclined to speak. {{Get out! Tell them all to fuck off! I don¡¯t want us doing this! }} ¡°Fine. Let¡¯s do this,¡± Julia stated. B screamed in rage as Julia drew on Harmony and touched Telepathy¡¯s net to the four Celestial minds.
Memories enfolded her, though now five suns sat high in the summer sky where there should have only been one. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. The cadence of boots clapped as a near single sound as she watches the assembled cadets from the parade ground sideline. Next to her, Sarah gave Rach and Julia a grin. Julia still couldn¡¯t remember how Sarah had talked them into joining, but the camping and orienteering sounded like fun. Mal¡¯s view that as long as the cadet officers weren¡¯t arsehats, she¡¯d have fun had sealed the deal, especially since Sarah had already talked Rach into joining. Even with no knowledge, subtle differences between uniforms made it clear who took things seriously. The hot summer suns kept reflecting off the concrete even when memories from winter came; the sounds of cadets marching jumped memories forward week by week. As she marched along in step with the others, the suns¡¯ heat grew so much worse. As the path of the march took them past the school¡¯s cricket nets, the chains dividing them rattled and shook. Screams of rage echoed from far away as the suns grew hotter still, the concrete underfoot reflecting the searing golden light burning through her issued dress greens. Hard boots struck down together, echoing as time lurched and shook within her. ¡°Make them stop!¡± The voice screamed louder, fires raged, and need alone pushed Julia further through her memories. The sharp ozone from a cloudless, golden sky as a bitter copper dripped across her tongue. Regular boot steps echoing in time, as blood pulsed in her ears to the tempo of the beat. Right dress, left turns, right turns, about face, forward march, one after another the repetition blended through her memory. Years spent in the cadets shifted past, as memory jumped past her life¡¯s other events to visit that training from week to week, camp to camp. When the memories turned to drill squad, the moment she shouldered the old L1A1 SLR a confusion echoed back to her from somewhere skyward. Setting it aside, she kept herself within the moment and positioned the rifle to carry it carefully. The rifle¡¯s weight held in a steady grip, and the back of the barrel tucked firmly back against her shoulder. There were drills to learn, things to do, the desire to push beyond her pain and share the memories all-consuming. Presenting arms, ready arms, and the fun of razzle-dazzle. The rifle¡¯s solid weight spinning in her hands as they performed for yet another charity fundraiser. Putting on a show and helping with the community stalls afterwards before performing again. She¡¯d lost the reason for travelling these memories in the searing pain. With nothing to say when to stop, she focused on sharing it all. The same voice kept screaming and ranting, as chains rattled and shook, even as Julia walked the old memories again in repeat, unsure if those watching on had learned all they needed. The beckoning of blazing suns showing there were still students present, and that was what mattered. Chains scream and rattle as the melted metal reformed and flung itself towards the gold light. Julia raised her hands at its motion, and at her conductor¡¯s gesture, white flames sang their screaming reply and metal liquefies. Whether for the second time, or the tenth, the metal again sat bubbling upon the ground. Disciplined focus pulsed in tempo to the remembered echoing steps, and the heat of day pushed aside she dug in again. Pages of Sun Tzu flickered in her hand as states changed, and she fought again to know herself at least. Too many enemies were currently unknown, but she had to know herself. As boots struck in marching tempo, the world lurched in heatstroke and the reformed chains rattled with the rage. The words on a page burned within her mind ¡®Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt¡¯. Chains leapt again, but this time Julia grabbed the black bowl resting against her Soul and she became the eclipse as the world within her memories collapsed. The golden light above eclipsed as she held the makeshift black shield aloft in her burning white grasp; the chains striking towards the suns fell into the shield without even a ripple. Light from around the shield¡¯s rim blinded her even as the darkness of the eclipse deepened. Burning fiercely both inside and without as her internal sun seared through her mind, and she stood glowing above a black ocean. Illuminated by the radiance of her burning aura, a strange yet familiar broken box sat floating. Flames licked the surface the moment she held it and remembered seeing its broken lock for the first time. As she smiled and visualised herself standing on an isle, sudden fury roared at her from across the gap. As she blinked in the mind palace Julia knew herself again and her gaze lifted from the broken box to the severed chains in B¡¯s grasp. ¡°The boxes aren¡¯t yours to destroy, are they? You told me they¡¯re in your custody, not that you¡¯re the owner. You implied you had control of what happened to them all. But you lied, even if by omission.¡± ¡°I can open them all, throw it all away.¡± B snarled, her eyes burning with blazing black flames as the shouted words struck far louder than V¡¯s battering voice. ¡°Can you?¡± Julia calmly questioned. And at those simple words, the rage stopped. Julia knelt and set the box on the ground of her island, pieces of the catch reformed at her touch, but Julia didn¡¯t bother locking it. Memories, painful and treasured alike, folded under her attention and formed within the box. She acknowledged and accepted them as she set the box carefully on a shelf that had never been. As she glanced at B, the next broken box shimmered in the burning whiteness of her grasp. ¡°You can certainly empty them, but you can¡¯t destroy the boxes or what is in them,¡± Julia rebuked, the firmly spoken words chiming with steel will. ¡°There is no point lying about it. If you could destroy them, I¡¯d never have found this one. I can even tell it contained my regrets while I was in cadets, mistakes I¡¯d compartmentalised.¡± ¡°Like you can tell them apart,¡± B snarled, her disbelief stalking along the closest edge of her isle, leaking darkness like a bridal train. ¡°Harmony lets me feel the resonance of the memories that were in it,¡± Julia interrupted before B¡¯s rant could continue. ¡°So yes, I can tell.¡± As Julia took delight in the rage that was burning in B¡¯s gaze, Julia shook her head at B, and as she went to speak, Julia¡¯s next words interrupted again. ¡°You made it seem as if you cast it into oblivion, but it¡¯s not oblivion, is it? A Soul is infinite, that void is not a place of destruction, it¡¯s just the space we¡¯re not using yet. It¡¯s why V¡¯s had to yell to be heard. He wasn¡¯t really getting close to us, just close enough that he was intruding on the space of our Soul. He¡¯s just so powerful that when he gets in our personal space it¡¯s worse than the Valkyrie coming into the room.¡± ¡°Your axis and mine cross, where we touch, we¡¯re whole. You can¡¯t destroy what is ours together, or are they actually mine, and not yours? Since they¡¯re memories I formed, they¡¯re mine or at least ours. There are rules within my mind and Soul, you¡¯re a part of me and perhaps that means I¡¯m a part of you,¡± Julia said. ¡°I don¡¯t know for sure, but I¡¯ll not stand by complacently with what you tried to do.¡± The memories of the chains striking towards the Celestials, repeatedly trying to bind them to B¡¯s will, ignited a seething fury within her. Even a single attempt was too much, yet B had tried repeatedly to enslave others, as she¡¯d once shown the Sisterhood enslaved and it made Julia sick. ¡°You don¡¯t know crap Julia, but you¡¯re so ready to judge.¡± ¡°I might not know everything I need. But I know what I won¡¯t stand for, and I know you¡¯re not my boss. You don¡¯t get to set all the rules. The moment you empty the boxes, their contents come to me, so they belong to me. I compromised before, but after that shit, you can just fuck off.¡± Julia¡¯s voice growled low and dangerous as her will bore down, determined to have her say. ¡°You can¡¯t control them all at once if I destroy the boxes.¡± B snarled, and the stacks of boxes appeared and shook. ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t?¡± Julia taunted, eyeing the stacks with pure hunger. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to do whatever it takes, one step at a time, and I¡¯ll keep standing the fuck back up. So yeah, you toss them out and we¡¯ll see what happens. Throw them all open if you dare! I¡¯m not planning to lock them all up again. They¡¯re part of what made me who I am, however faint that connection might be. I might even learn from those memories better options for freedom.¡± The second broken box Julia had held reformed and filled before being she set it on a growing shelf where it sat unlocked. ¡°Stupid bitch, you need me!¡± B¡¯s voice erupted in a furious roar, and Julia directed a disgusted gaze back at her Id. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re my fucking friend!¡± Julia retorted, throwing B¡¯s words back in her face as white flames roiled across her thoughts. As a third box appeared, the chains B held ignited in roaring blackness and sprang towards Julia. A lance of white flame screamed toward B¡¯s dodging form even as Julia ducked below the chains¡¯ path. Devouring night, fought burning day, the impact of the forces set the isles into motion, causing them to dance about. When they came together, they hit hard and as they twisted, their outcrops jammed and stuck fast, even as sparks from the impact plunged into the waiting darkness. As the battle raged on, ancient shelving went toppling into that darkness and a Sun came to life below.
Julia¡¯s clothing had burnt away as a tempest of energies had forced them to retreat. The chair had turned to ash, dropping her sprawling to the ground enfolded in ever-shifting flames. Impossible music rang from the room, her voice an impossible multi-part chorus with too many voices to count. Some sang high enough to threaten glass if the room¡¯s contents hadn¡¯t already melted. Crystal-like sopranos, altos, tenors, and more somehow sang unique pieces that fought, screamed and raged, yet still were pieces of a whole. ¡°Julia, can you hear me!?¡± Torm yelled from the door. As he watched entwining energies, black and white, rose clawing higher still, and Yngvarr poured more Mana into his wards. ¡°What is going on?¡± Alfarr demanded as he forced his way into the house. ¡°Chains kept trying to entangle us as her knowledge came, she was melting them,¡± Odyis stated firmly, a hand turning her flame blackened spear. ¡°When the attacks started I was expecting action to be required, yet each time chains rose she felled them, white flames melted them apart.¡± ¡°What knowledge?¡± asked Alfarr. His concentration sharpening as he glanced between the evening¡¯s guests, alerted to their nature by the pressure of their power touching his own. ¡°Teaching our guests her memories of military drills,¡± snapped Yngvarr, as his attention stayed fixed on the wards. ¡°She fights her own Ragnarok,¡± Odyis said, her tone firm. ¡°You knew this was going to happen?¡± snarled Rana, his tone dragging the Celestial¡¯s attention past Alfarr. He had slipped into the house almost unnoticed in Alfarr¡¯s wake, and stood with sword and dagger already out. Unlike the Norse Celestials, his focus didn¡¯t hold mistrust towards Julia, but towards the Norse presence. ¡°It was not surety, merely possibility. A vision is not something carved in stone, especially for one without destiny. Whether her change will be for the better we¡¯ll see shortly. Yet regardless, better it occurs now than when the Hag calls her home.¡± replied Odyis, her flat tone unconcerned. ¡°Why now?¡± asked Torm, his focus drawn away from Julia at Odyis¡¯ words. ¡°It allows us to destroy Epoch¨¥¡¯s Herald if all goes wrong,¡± Odyis stated, unbothered by Torm¡¯s clenching fists. ¡°A change that turned our sitting room into a pit of Hell,¡± Alfarr groaned, trying to see more beyond the Celestial obstructions. ¡°More a neighbourhood of the Abyss.¡± The response came as a grumble from the Vargr Drangijaz who held his now strung bow at full draw, an arrow of shifting colours upon its string aimed through the doorway at Julia¡¯s writhing form. ¡°It would seem B is grumpy,¡± Alfarr quipped, as he stared into the energies now licking the ceiling in disbelief. ¡°We could do without your humour right now,¡± Torm muttered as the wards heated further. ¡°Why is this so hard to contain?¡± asked Alfarr, granting Torm¡¯s back an eye-roll. ¡°She¡¯s got Destruction and Chaos Mana ripping my wards apart, even as I reform them, never mind the Song,¡± Yngvarr declared, spitting out the words in frustration. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how she¡¯s sustaining the power or projecting a wild Song untrained.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not consciously projecting the Song, it¡¯s flaring from within her Soul,¡± stated Rana. Yngvarr¡¯s tension eased as he felt Mana wash past him into the wards and the room beyond. The flickering energies surged and lit up the room in monochrome for an instant before the flames extinguished, and Julia fell silent. Even as the flames died, Torm moved without hesitation across the warded threshold; yet once inside, what lay ahead stopped him in his tracks. Unsurprisingly, the room¡¯s furniture was all destroyed as most of it had barely lasted longer than it had taken them to vacate the room. What was shocking was the flames had transformed the stone walls into a gleaming night-sky. Obsidian darkness held stars within, veins of glowing silver and gold threaded throughout the stone, shimmering light radiating from their course as massive nebulas. The chamber walls now resonating with a low, comforting hum, widening Yngvarr gaze as he entered the room and felt it in full force. Instead of the ivory skinned Succubus, or beautiful human Mortal, with the energy gone he could see an Elven lady laying partly supported by raven wings. Every feather along their course sheathed in flames of white or black, if not mixing both. Skin gleaming a pure golden-bronze hue unlike any Elven race seen in an age. Tattoos of vines swirled up her form as if drawn with night-black ink from toe tip to below her finely pointed chin. Inked thorns hooked in through flesh or drove in deep, while serrated leaves appeared as if bursting through the skin. Hooks from the vines drinking sips of blood gave the appearance the lifelike creation was sustaining itself from her. Lean, well-defined muscles provided the eye-catching vines a climbing path that accented her body, from her feet up along calves and thighs, across her high-waisted hips, lean stomach, and around pert modest breasts. Narrowing tendrils of growth arched down her arms as if carrying life to her limbs, the fronds at the end of those growths dug into her palms. While blossoming roses sat along her collarbones, dripping blood was the only colour besides black that sat within the tattoo. Droplets of blood from the bleeding roses showed a brilliant red against her skin. The tight corded muscles along the fine arch of her neck were as defined as the rest along her body. Her delicately pointed chin moved slightly as she stirred, and even insensible her mouth turned into a mischievously playful smile. Shifting muscles flexing her jaw caused a ripple of motion beneath skin towards blade sharp cheekbones. Elven ears peeked through the cascade of electric-blue hair that washed like wild rapids across the ash-stained floor. The wings fluttering, shifting on her back, scratched along the stonework that the incinerated rugs no longer covered. With a glance over the inferno induced destruction, Torm crouched next to her as they continued to flare and stretch out. A blanket appeared in his hands, and he draped it over her, and sighed when the energy of the wings, for whatever reason, didn¡¯t cause it to ignite. As he spoke again, his voice grew soft with concern, as she didn¡¯t respond to his presence so close. ¡°Julia.¡± ¡°Fuck me,¡± Julia responded, the words purring out in a vibrant soprano. The sharp blade of whispered desire slicing through the air drew a startled reaction from all those present before Julia grumbled further. ¡°That hurt.¡± Odyis stepped back from the pair, having entered the room with her spear poised to strike; her course had changed in the instant that Julia had grumbled. Though he¡¯d entered too slow to intercept Odyis in time, Rana¡¯s attention stayed fixed on the Valkyrie, as if he was ready to go to war, his furious gaze filled with contempt. Julia tried to sit up as she opened her eyes, a hand raised to hold the blanket in place. Her irises were pitch black and enlarged to eclipse the gold that had replaced the whites of her eyes. As Julia let her eyelids flutter shut, she muttered words low in near a whisper that caused others only confusion. ¡°Someone get me the number of that truck.¡± ¡°My Lady knows of this night¡¯s events, Valkyrie,¡± Rana stated, his words carrying clearly. ¡°She is far from pleased with ¨®einn¡¯s meddling; one does not force a tree¡¯s growth without consequences. He risked far more than he knows tonight.¡± ¡°No fighting,¡± Julia uttered, ¡°just give me a chance to recover.¡± Julia¡¯s grumbling words stilled whatever reply Odyis had been about to make, and Rana hesitated for a moment before stepping back. Weapons returned to sheaths in an instant even as a dozen Lj¨®s¨¢lfar wearing the symbols of other Elven Gods suddenly crowded the room. From among the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar, a warrior moved close, positioning to protect Julia, her spoken orders carrying contempt. ¡°You will leave her care to us immediately. When she feels inclined, I¡¯m sure you will have time to speak again.¡± The Lj¨®s¨¢lfar were as wildly different as the Elves who¡¯d gathered to hear Julia¡¯s account of the L¨®m?. Their new spokeswoman carried none of Rana¡¯s relaxed grace and beauty. Her skin was the colour of deep maple, and black eyes showed banked fires ready to flare to life. Leaves of various hued metals overlapped her flesh in flexible protective scales and left only her face bare. Scarred features showed beauty ruined by dragon fire, blades, claws, and arrows alike, but the resolve in her eyes made it clear she remained unbowed. Energy pushed out from a shield upon her left arm, leaving Julia and Torm untouched, but forced Odyis and the Vargr Drangijaz elders back. As it forced them back before it, she raised a Longsword enfolded in arctic frost, pointed it at the archer, and spoke in biting winter tones. ¡°Be warned, mutt: aim an arrow at her again, while she is in favour with us, and I¡¯ll feed it to you.¡± ¡°Training of platoons will start in the morning. We¡¯ll provide funds for the restitution for your furnishings,¡± offered Odyis nodding to Yngvarr. When he acknowledged the gesture, she turned to leave as if it was her plan all along, only her gritted teeth giving lie to her poise. The Vargr Drangijaz with her spared a glance between Torm and Julia before they followed in her wake. 89 - Pride is the Devil The mind palace had previously manifested as two small islets suspended in darkness. Now the single large island present was the simplest change, in a place now illuminated with radiant golden light. As she glanced towards the edge, a flare of energy rose in an arc from somewhere far below. Tendrils of its power branched out from the arc¡¯s main path even before its course had completed. It looked as if it was kilometres away, but its light brightened the top of the island and banished the lingering darkness except within the stone. Every motion of that energy carried a thrumming note to her awareness, and far below, a chorus of power sang. The island was a regular disc of polished, unmarked obsidian. A short column rose from the centre of the disc to barely the height of her knee. On its top, a mosaic of erratically shaped spaces seemed to form a game board across its surface. The pieces themselves made no sense; instead of two potential starting sides, it ranged in moments from eight to sixteen, and every number in between. Sections of the board vanished and reappeared with no pattern that Julia could see. The only thing constant was the pieces¡¯ colours while they showed upon the board: obsidian and a clear crystal. None of the pieces matched each other, nor any game Julia could remember, but its appearance was vaguely familiar all the same. Though as bizarre as its appearance was, it was more comforting than studying what B had become. Black obsidian eyes appeared eerily serpentine with each iris a slit of white power from top to bottom, with no pupil apparent. Long metallic claws tapped against the edges of the game board as she sat perched upon a backless chair that clearly was a throne. Her wings had lost all substance and were a multitude of ribbons dancing about in an unfelt wind¡ªsegments of them cycling between silken blackness and burning chains. The tiara of horns was still present, with flames somehow blacker than before, drinking all light that dared come close. Feral hunger showed on her sharpened features, and B¡¯s predatory smile showed an extra fang sitting at the outer side of her eyeteeth. While the form of her body itself was mostly unchanged, B projected an air of ardent, carnal desire far stronger than before with every languished gesture. Every time her smile broadened it was as if she was preparing to leap; but it was a type of smile that left one uncertain between predator and carnal beast. Despite her wanton look, B still appeared to be healing from the wounds their conflict had left. The iridescent white cream of her flesh marred by punctures, burns and scars. The upper edge of one ear was severed, the flesh along the cut bubbling. Through a hole burnt in her cheek missing teeth were noticeable, and as Julia considered punching her again an incisor popped into place. ¡°Frisky kitten, frisky,¡± B purred, coiling her elongated tongue at Julia before she settled on her chair. ¡°At least I got a space upgrade to use when you¡¯re not slumming it with me.¡± ¡°Hidden all the shelves away I see,¡± taunted Julia, enjoying when B¡¯s lip curled in anger. ¡°Didn¡¯t want to lose more of your no longer useful bargaining chips?¡± ¡°Oh, they¡¯re still useful,¡± B replied, her voice tight with leashed rage. ¡°The game however has very much changed; I like your new threads.¡± As the sensation of air brushing across bare skin accompanied B¡¯s remark, Julia glared at her, ignoring her dig. ¡°You tried and failed to enslave Celestials, we¡¯re matched for now, but I¡¯ll find a way to push you out. I¡¯m no longer giving you any benefit of the doubt,¡± snapped Julia, words burning with furious disgust. ¡°I¡¯m not playing any games with you no matter...¡± A crystal piece, shaped like a frozen flame, moved across the board even as Julia spoke. More pushed into existence hung in mid-air, as two of the starting position across from B disappeared. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s not a game where you can avoid playing. Choosing not to play is still a move,¡± sneered B, her tone biting. Securing an oozing eye between claws, she moved it to a spot ahead. As she drew her hand back, the piece pulsed for a moment and rose into the air to occupy a newly formed mosaic spot. ¡°Oh, this is fun, but Chaos is more my thing than yours, Babe.¡± In the air close to B, a figurine of a Norse warrior appeared. His head bowed before a candle atop a broken skull, and tiny figurines wreathed in shadow staggered into the open. Yet none of the pieces had joined the board, as B peered at the nearly invisible lines that bound them together. After a moment of clearly strained focus, a strange assortment of Demonic pieces appeared in opened boxes on the floor nearby. Plucking a Succubus piece from a box, B placed it on the board, only to find it changed from obsidian to crystal as she set it in place. It rose into the air propelled by its wings and ripped the eye apart, only for a flickering lightning bolt from nowhere to burn it from the board. ¡°Oh, well,¡± B pouted, ¡°You win some, you lose some.¡± A rumbling of words holding rage brushed against Julia¡¯s awareness, with no idea what the figurines represented she let the voices draw her attention away. As she released the mind palace, two pieces from Julia¡¯s side of the board slid forward, and five new starting blocks packed with pieces appeared. The crystalline female figurines appeared in loose pants, shirts and carried glowing power in their hands. A stack of boxes, their lids only partly ajar, appeared floating close to the column¡¯s edge; when B reached out, her fingers passed right through. ¡°No fair,¡± grumbled B. ¡°Bored now.¡±
Pain like a migraine pulsed in her head as Julia opened her eyes again. Someone was uncomfortably imbuing the light in the room with glowing Celestial force. ¡°Too much Celestial energy, tone it down to at least half please,¡± Julia said, her voice sounding odd as she brought up a hand to shield her eyes. The golden-bronze hue and 3D tattooed vines across her skin stopped Julia in surprise, and she squeezed her eyes shut. My brain is doing weird stuff. ¡°I¡¯ll remain with the wolf pup, guard the house unseen.¡± Julia didn¡¯t recognise the voice giving orders, but the energy instantly diminished, and she could only sigh in relief. ¡°I¡¯d suggest next time we experiment with such things, we move to my spell chamber,¡± suggested Yngvarr, though even Julia could tell it his voice held relief. ¡°Let¡¯s just not,¡± replied Julia. At the tone in Yngvarr¡¯s voice, she risked opening her eyes and wondered at the obsidian walls she¡¯d never seen in Yngvarr¡¯s house before. Though she still felt a pressure of Celestial energies, there was no longer an aggressive edge to their presence. {{I told you to tell them to fuck off. }} That wouldn¡¯t have been so hard if I wasn¡¯t keeping you from enslaving them. {{What¡¯s a little bondage between friends. }} The snarling anger that had been in B¡¯s first remark changed to mischief just as quick as Julia was used to hearing. ¡°From the look of your aura, you¡¯ve suffered psychic damage. It¡¯s not something I¡¯ve seen a Demon suffer before; though new with you, should hardly be a surprise.¡± The words directed Julia¡¯s attention to a heavily armoured Elven woman she¡¯d never seen before. Age weighed in her gaze and was all the warning Julia needed to leave True Sight off; she didn¡¯t even want to risk Analysis with the way she felt presently. ¡°Hi, you are?¡± asked Julia faintly, the words taking more effort than she¡¯d expected. ¡°Your reinforcements! Though they¡¯re here too late,¡± Alfarr said, interrupting the Elven Lady¡¯s attempt to reply. As his voice drew her gaze she looked towards him, only to find a concerned Torm crouched close in-between. ¡°Did they at least learn everything?¡± Julia asked, not recognising her own voice as she looked between them. ¡°They didn¡¯t say,¡± Alfarr replied, and Torm spoke up straight after. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be staying to train the platoons if they hadn¡¯t.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something at least,¡± Julia said, groaning in relief as she turned her head and glimpsed her tattooed shoulder. ¡°What is this?¡± Trying to shift position to get a better look, she stopped when she realised her situation; though even an attempt to focus on creating clothes made her brain churn. ¡°They¡¯re the Markings of Royal Shame, though there isn¡¯t enough colour in them,¡± The Elven woman said in answer, though Julia still hadn¡¯t got her name. ¡°Sorry, what is your name?¡± ¡°My use name is too long for simple conversation, you may call me Amr¨²ngwen,¡± she replied. If that¡¯s a shortened version, do I want to know the full name? ¡°Are you too worn out to change?¡± enquired Torm, his voice still weighed with concern. ¡°I¡¯ll recover soon enough, but my mind feels like it wants to come apart. The form I negotiated with B, is off the table, she¡¯s getting nothing from me after the crap she tried,¡± Julia grumbled. As she tried again to move, Torm helped her stand, keeping the blanket wrapped around her body. ¡°If you¡¯d accept it, this will help,¡± Amr¨²ngwen said, holding forth a short cord that looked woven of plant tendrils. At the sight of it Rana froze in surprise. ¡°It¡¯s a bracelet of shadow vine, it will enfold you in tendrils and fronds that can withstand much. It won¡¯t betray where you got it from or object to your Abyssal energies.¡± [Sense Motive [J] (2->3)] ¡°Thank you for the offer, but I don¡¯t even know you,¡± Julia replied, even though she sensed sincerity. ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯ve knowledge of you,¡± replied Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°Please allow me to assist.¡± That¡¯s certainly different to throwing out demands. ¡°I swear on the Lady¡¯s name she means you no harm,¡± said Rana. ¡°She and the others present on the Material Plane came when I requested aid.¡± Julia accepted the offered bracelet with a nod of thanks, at first contact with her fingertips the material felt exactly like living vines. Against B¡¯s snarled advice, Julia looped the cord around her wrist, and Torm helped her tie it in place. When secured, the woven cord split apart and tendrils grew in a mesh along her arm. Its growth took only moments and when it stopped Julia found herself clothed foot to neck. The material had formed the appearance of loose pants, and layered tunic all in a single piece. The outfit appeared woven of a deep green cloth as fine as some Elves¡¯ silks at the gathering had worn. Though her feet were still bare, it was the least of her concerns now that she seemed fully dressed. ¡°You can¡¯t see through this outfit I hope,¡± Julia asked, hoping it was more than just an illusion. Julia¡¯s dry tone broke the concerned look on Torm¡¯s face, and he granted her a smile before he replied. ¡°Perhaps I should keep you guessing for the worry you caused,¡± replied Torm, and Julia was glad to see his face relax from its concern. ¡°Thought you said you wouldn¡¯t be mean,¡± Julia bemoaned, playing it up, she gave him a pout. ¡°I said I¡¯d tease, which is exactly what you¡¯re doing now,¡± Torm replied, before directing his attention to her arm not hidden by the blanket. ¡°To my True Sight it looks like a fine mesh of living plants has wrapped around you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief,¡± Julia sighed, peering at the beautiful energy shimmering within the obsidian surfaces. ¡°Yngvarr, have you been hiding more rooms from me? I¡¯ve not seen this one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in what¡¯s left of the sitting room,¡° Yngvarr stated blandly. Think I¡¯m going to be saying sorry for a long time. ¡°Oh! I thought you must have shifted us somewhere,¡± exclaimed Julia, tilting her head at the noise just on the edge of hearing. ¡°What¡¯s that hum?¡± ¡°You left an impression of the Song in the stone. I believe my parents might actually care to visit just to hear it,¡± Yngvarr remarked smugly. At Julia¡¯s shocked look, Torm gently pushed her jaw shut. Was I catching flies? ¡°Oh joy,¡± Alfarr said, his tone overflowing with an acidic sarcasm that made Julia¡¯s eyes widen, at her shock he continued on. ¡°They¡¯re not happy I lured their son away from his Royal duties. Pretty sure they¡¯re glad my human life span will mean I¡¯ll be dead soon enough. ¡°Remember that Master Farhad said those following the Monk path can become Immortal.¡± Alfarr smiled wolfishly before he responded. ¡°Another reason to go adventuring again it seems.¡± As the migraine started easing, Julia got her thoughts back on track. ¡°Marks of Royal Shame?¡± asked Julia, looking back to Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°Markings of Royal Shame, These markings were worn by Scions appointed to do whatever necessary but dishonourable deeds were required by the Anar Royalty,¡± replied Amr¨²ngwen, her serious tone matching her gaze. ¡°Scions displayed parts of the tattoos in public to remind the Royal family that things could go wrong. While providing notice that they would hold everyone including themselves to account.¡± ¡°The - go stab my cousin in the back, he¡¯s been bad - kind of dark?¡± Julia asked as she rubbed across her forehead at the continued pain. ¡°Darker things than that. If a member of their family needed killing, they¡¯d see it done themselves. Scions often wore clothing cut in such a way to show particular areas of the tattoo, especially when they¡¯d recently completed requests. With the vines: length is centuries of service, a palm length of tendrils each, thorns and burrs for unpleasant tasks, blood from thorns and burrs lesser assassinations, and serrated leaves are painful or deadly secrets. The petals around the roses at the throat represent massacres, while the blood droplets are assassinations of culturally important individuals.¡± That¡¯s so not what I was expecting from ¡®Sun Elves¡¯. ¡°Massacres?¡± asked Torm. ¡°The Anar respected life since they Sang many early races and beings into existence. Finding they needed to butcher hundreds of sapient creatures wasn¡¯t a thing they took pride in. Battles for personal safety, even while venturing deliberating into danger to push one¡¯s skills was acceptable. Executing a plan to enter a place and leave it empty save for the singing of departed Souls was something else. The only things they had no remorse towards killing were abominations, since they considered them perversions.¡± ¡°Guess I earned another petal or three,¡± muttered Julia, interrupting the look that earned with yet another question. ¡°Rana couldn¡¯t tell me much about them. How do you know so much?¡± ¡°My history is long; I have served Lord Oberon, since long before Rana first existed. I had extensive interactions with both Anar and L¨®m? before the Scourge occurred,¡± replied Amr¨²ngwen, inclining her head. ¡°While I would share more, I have a duty this called me away from; the others will stay and ensure your safety while you recover.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°But the bracelet!¡± Julia exclaimed, surprised at her intent to leave so quickly. ¡°Keep it. I said it would help, it¡¯s not a loan,¡± Amr¨²ngwen said before disappearing. I wonder if I¡¯ve annoyed anyone by teleporting away? It¡¯s certainly happening a lot to me recently. ¡°There was a mention of the events of tonight being triggered before the Hag could call her Herald home,¡± Alfarr said, and Julia groaned in response. ¡°Fuck,¡± Julia blurted out as concerns about Usd¡¯ghi made the pain spike. ¡°If it¡¯s an offer, make it to Torm. I¡¯m married,¡± Alfarr quipped, causing Julia to hide her face in her hands. ¡°I said that aloud?¡± groaned Julia, the words muffled with her hands still in place. ¡°Yep, and earlier you said ¡®Fuck me!¡¯ in a very breathy way; made the skin tingle,¡± Alfarr said, clearly eager to inform. ¡°Thanks,¡± Julia snapped, the pain in her mind beckoning frustration higher at Alfarr¡¯s glee. ¡°What goes around comes around,¡± Alfarr replied. Julia ran her fingers through her hair in frustration and stopped as she felt her ears. ¡°I think I need a mirror.¡± ¡°Really!¡± exclaimed Alfarr, gazing at her in mock surprise. It pleased Julia when it earned him an exasperated look from Yngvarr and Rana alike. ¡°You look much better instead of merely Human,¡± Rana stated, ¡°No matter how eye-catching your presence is to mortals.¡± ¡°Perhaps that might be a case of slight bias, she¡¯s always looked beautiful, not just eye-catching,¡± corrected Torm with a frown. Okay, did I miss those sorts of hints before? {{ You¡¯re not talking to me, remember! BUT FUCK YES!!! }} Julia just hoped her wince could be mistaken only for continued pain as she rubbed her face again. ¡°Oh yeah, cause you¡¯re so not biased yourself,¡± Alfarr teased before waving Torm off as he went to argue. ¡°The Lady needs a mirror. Are you going to keep her waiting?¡± ¡°You need meditation and recovery time more than a mirror,¡± Rana stated as he moved aside.
Protean¡¯s normal healing didn¡¯t help her recovery, so it surprised Julia at how long the mental wounds lingered. Though once she could concentrate enough to cast Life Mana Walls and use Universal Life, her recovery had sped along. Still, it was well past midnight before she felt close to recovered and spent some time tweaking her form. Once she¡¯d removed the wings, the tattoos had been the next to go. At Rana¡¯s advice, Julia had also changed her skin and hair tone; apparently a single look at her would have attracted questions from any Elf. Julia now possessed light caramel skin dusted with spring green. Bound in a ponytail, her hair was dark amber with highlights of autumn hues and honey gold. The full-lipped mouth remained unchanged, and the bright emerald green of her gaze accented the playfulness that her lips held even when she was resting. That eclipse-eyed look is freakier than the obsidian orbs. At least I don¡¯t have a resting bitch face, still I look cheekier than Livia at her best. Sensing others stirring in the house, Julia rose to her feet and closed her latest grimoire. As she headed away from the chamber, Julia checked among the notifications again, still unsettled from the night¡¯s events. [Affinity: Celestial Unlocked! Resistance: Mental [M] (15->16) Harmony [M] (8->9) Pain Tolerance [J] (19->20) Zen State [M] (12->13) Blink Learnt. Conceal Life Learnt. Mask Learnt.] We really fucked each other up with the mental images we were using in our fight. Pain Tolerance leveling makes me wonder how crippling that migraine would have been without it. That spike of mental pain reminded me of the migraines that made me want to puke in life, even with its protection. {{ Any time you want a rematch, babe, you certainly know where to find me. Just come ready to worship. }} (( You pushed yourself close to dissolution. The next time you battle in such a way could mean mutual destruction. )) {{ But Baby and I had fun, it¡¯s the only type of fucking she allows. }} Embracing Harmony, she visualised walls around her thoughts, trying to stop B¡¯s access to every idle one she had. {{Oh, pieces just jumped onto the board. What are you up to? Though at least I can move some of my own now. }} Turning a corner, Julia found Sagga coming out of her room and caused the girl to start in surprise. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t know Master Yngvarr had another guest. May I assist you?¡± asked Sagga, her surprised gaze darting over Julia from head to toe. ¡°It¡¯s me, Eakc?, I just look different again,¡± Julia said; the moment she finished explaining, Sagga¡¯s surprise turned to acceptance. Yeah, everyone just knows I¡¯m weird. {{They don¡¯t require guide dogs. }} ¡°Lady Eakc?, forgive me, you look more than different. You have the same air about you that some visiting Elven nobility possesses,¡± Sagga said, before giving her a respectful bow. ¡°Sagga,¡± Julia gently reproved and stepped in to hug her as she straightened. ¡°Please, Eakc? is fine don¡¯t use Lady. How have you been?¡± Sagga just gave her a rueful headshake before she answered. ¡°Busy Lady Eakc?, there are so many women to help. For now, Master Yngvarr has suspended lessons, other than our assigned reading, I¡¯ve been helping some women you¡¯ve taught,¡± Sagga replied after returning the hug. ¡°Are you going for your dawn practice?¡± Yep, continue to ignore the drop the title request figures. ¡°Only to say hello to Livia and Master Farhad, then I¡¯ll play it by ear.¡± ¡°Last night was scary. Might I ask what happened?¡± Sagga asked quietly, concern lining her features. ¡°Master Yngvarr sent an order to stay in the main spell practice chamber till he told us otherwise. The chamber kept shaking, there was so much noise and then a lot of yelling from the front of the house. When he said we could come out, I didn¡¯t recognise the sitting room; well, I guess it¡¯s not really one now unless you count sitting on the floor.¡± ¡°An unexpected outcome of a Power use,¡± Julia answered, her tone mild. ¡°Shows the importance in not treating unknown things lightly.¡± ¡°The furniture certainly learnt that lesson. I just hope Master Yngvarr isn¡¯t angry with me I¡¯d left a book he¡¯d given me to read in there and it¡¯s gone as well,¡± Sagga said nervously. ¡°Just let him know what happened, and that I¡¯ll sort out its replacement for him,¡± reassured Julia. ¡°He¡¯ll grumble about not being able to repay you for other things if I do that,¡± Sagga said, a quick laugh dispelling her display of nerves. ¡°He¡¯s allowed to grumble but I¡¯ll just ignore them while I help. If you¡¯re going out to the camps, can you pass word about my changed appearance, so it doesn¡¯t catch them by surprise?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have a quick bite to eat then going out to help cook breakfast,¡± Sagga said nodding happily at Julia¡¯s request. ¡°I¡¯ll let them know that the beautiful Elven Lady helping is likely you.¡± ¡°You do well passing information along Sagga. I found that out with Aggie; It surprised me when I learnt you¡¯d inspired her conversion,¡± Julia noted, her lips twitching in amusement. ¡°I just told her how much you helped us, Lady Eakc?,¡± Sagga responded, her gaze going soft with remembered compassion. ¡°I found her praying and weeping about her abandonment. It''s twisted: she was a victim as well, yet she¡¯s thrown away. What sort of Goddess does that?¡± ¡°Not one that I would ever care for,¡± Julia answered honestly. ¡°The way Aggie speaks of her former Goddess¡¯ kin, they all seem like that: There to be appeased and their help seems two-edged. I¡¯m glad I wasn¡¯t born amongst them having to endure such.¡± Fuck! That sounds like they are the same sort of douchebags I read about in history class. Need information, no bookshops, so what is it - a scrivener? Get copies of everything decent I can lay my hands on. Wait, delegation girl. ¡°Can one of you ladies do me a favour?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Lady Eakc?, none of us may use that rank,¡± protested Sagga. ¡°It¡¯s a general term where I came from, for a group of women. If you keep calling me Lady Eakc?, I¡¯ll start calling you Lady Sagga,¡± Julia said, her tone firm but not unkind, as she tapped Sagga lightly on the nose. ¡°That goes for all five of you, you¡¯re to call me Eakc? or Julia, absolutely no Lady or any other title. Is that clear?¡± Sagga frowned before reluctantly replying. ¡°As you wish Eakc?.¡± After confirming Eyrarh¨¢ls had a Scrivener, Julia left a wide-eyed Sagga with a scroll listing topics, her Amulet of Portage, and a budget to purchase accurate books. Need more knowledge so I can plan properly. She found Yngvarr and Alfarr still en route to the Temple Square passing the Silver Chalice. As she caught up, Yngvarr glanced at her and looked at the slowly brightening sky enquiringly. ¡°Nope, I¡¯ve shards I can use. The bond was for jumping back and forth, that¡¯s it,¡± Julia said. Trying to get ahead of the subject, she knew Yngvarr was going to raise. ¡°Will you assist me in learning Affinities?¡± Yngvarr asked. ¡°I can do that,¡± replied Julia, nodding. ¡°What did you want to learn next?¡± ¡°Magma, and any other Quasi-element or Para-Element you have,¡± replied Yngvarr hopefully. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t actually try learning Magma,¡± Julia confessed sheepishly. ¡°You didn¡¯t learn it in the moons you were there!¡± exclaimed an astonished Yngvarr. ¡°No we were busy smacking things, or exploring,¡± replied Julia with a shrug. ¡°Rana and Torm told me what I missed, not sure I can trust spear girl. Torm thinks the other Vargr Drangijaz might have just been following orders. I¡¯m going to call them all to account. They were going to destroy me for whatever possibility was foreseen even though she even said they¡¯re not carved in stone.¡± ¡°How do you want us to back you up?¡± Alfarr asked, his serious tone quite different from his normal playfulness. ¡°Don¡¯t back me up,¡± Julia replied, ¡°if they get aggressive, move to a safe distance.¡± ¡°Yeah, hopefully it won¡¯t come to that.¡± replied Alfarr, but he didn¡¯t sound optimistic. Julia wasn¡¯t sure what language Yngvarr started cursing in, but it sounded vulgar and harsh. The fact she didn¡¯t notice him repeat a word by the time they reached the Temple square was impressive. Julia was unsure if it said more about Yngvarr or whatever language he was speaking in. ¡°Master Farhad, Skeppare Alfarr good morning. Is Lady Eakc? out scouting again this morning?¡± called Waiola, exiting the gates of the Temple of Frigga as the guard in the square focused on Julia. The leeway she gained from them in previous forms not given with her new appearance. At the guard¡¯s reaction, Waiola glanced between them before looking at Julia, curiosity clear in her gaze. ¡°Lady Eakc??¡± Unarmoured this morning, dressed in simple robes, the only nod to vanity the Priestess seemed to possess was her auburn hair up in a complex braided wreath. The silver hair combs used to hold it in place were decorated with what Julia considered Celtic knots set with garnets. As Waiola spoke, she waved for the others leaving the Temple with her to go ahead. ¡°Waiola, no need for formality after fighting beside someone,¡± Julia responded, giving her a rueful smile. ¡°Nevermind the fact it makes her grumble regardless,¡± Alfarr teased, and earned a flat glance from Julia for his mirth. ¡°You change appearances more often than my grandfather,¡± Waiola remarked, apparently used to Alfarr¡¯s teasing ways when his remark didn¡¯t even make her blink. ¡°Your grandfather¡¯s appearance shifts?¡± Julia asked, surprise mixing with the relief of Waiola¡¯s ready acceptance. ¡°He¡¯s a Priest of Loki,¡± replied Waiola with a shrug as she came closer to the trio. ¡°He claims it¡¯s part of his responsibility to keep others on their toes. I think he just enjoys playing games and taking others by surprise. We were heading to heal more of the women this morning. What are your plans for the day?¡± Who knows how many people will be this accepting? Priest of Loki have shapeshifting or change self? ¡°Besides confusing everyone with her new appearance?¡± asked Alfarr, slipping away from Julia¡¯s reach as if he expected a smack. ¡°I had planned to scout, but the situation changed a bit after yesterday evening,¡± said Julia. ¡°We heard there was a bit of drama at Yngvarr¡¯s house. The Temple guards were on alert in case the Jarl¡¯s Guard needed help.¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t an issue really, Eakc? was providing some drama and refurbishment advice,¡± Alfarr said, his usual teasing muted. ¡°Alfarr, that¡¯s mean. I was the guest of honour in someone else¡¯s game,¡± Julia grumbled. ¡°We can spar later, you¡¯re going to be busy with your little daughter in a moment, and she¡¯s bringing company. Joy,¡± Alfarr quipped before he looked towards where Master Farhad was already within the square. At his words, Julia spotted Odyis heading towards her with Torm and the other three Vargr Drangijaz, though Torm¡¯s body language clearly expressed his discontent with Odyis. Livia had graced the four with a frown and waited beside Master Farhad. Clearly sensing the tension, Waiola glanced between the group and Julia before she spoke. ¡°I heard the Temple of ¨®einn hosted a special guest last night,¡± Waiola stated, clearly seeking confirmation. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s all kinds of special,¡± Julia drawled, the amiable smile gone from her lips. Her attention focused on Odyis she could feel her True Sight straining to see through the appearance that enfolded the Valkyrie. Pushing on the power she fought to trace over all the details trying to remain concealed and was rewarded for the effort. [True Sight [Ad] (19->20) Perception [Ad] (37->38)] ¡°A special amount of trouble,¡± Alfarr grumbled as they waited for the others to approach. ¡°Eakc?, I see you¡¯ve recovered well. No hard feelings I hope,¡± Odyis said, stopping just beyond a spear length away. Julia glanced between her and the three Vargr Drangijaz. Then, as Torm ignored where the others stopped and walked over to Julia instead, she caught Waiola¡¯s reaction to his behaviour. Okay, it seems I¡¯m not completely blind. Was Waiola hoping I was available? Oh well, I don¡¯t float that way in any case. ¡°I¡¯m quite familiar with things needing to get done,¡± Julia replied, and even Torm looked surprised at her harsh acidic tone. ¡°And one day I hope to return the favour with just as much concern. For now, though I don¡¯t trust you; so since you invited yourself to our planning session, consider yourself uninvited.¡± Odyis¡¯ laughter wasn¡¯t the reaction she¡¯d expected, especially when the spear and the Vargr Drangijaz¡¯s weapons disappeared. ¡°You have a steel spine child, perhaps your plan will work after all.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what you think, just go away,¡± Julia stated flatly, her voice clear through Odyis¡¯ laughter. ¡°I¡¯m too disappointed with you to put things politely.¡± ¡°How dare you,¡± Odyis sneered, her expression as if Julia had spat in her face. When she went to say more the swordman gripped her shoulder clearly calling for restraint. ¡°I gave you a chance to save face. You were ready to kill me in a cowardly attack while I was helpless. Helpless from a situation you manipulated to occur. I won¡¯t work with someone on this I can¡¯t trust. Those women deserve the best and having proven untrustworthy you¡¯re not that,¡± replied Julia, her voice cold as she gestured at the Vargr Drangijaz she continued on. ¡°And you three, don¡¯t even get me started. How is it Justice what you three took part in? Would Fenrir be proud of you or ashamed? Go ask him about suspicion because of what he might have done. You shouldn¡¯t have to ask Tyr about the price he paid for someone else judging another on what might occur.¡± Their distress at her words was clear even in the wolf-like feature she could see under their human appearance. ¡°On behalf of my brothers our apologies, after last night your distrust is understandable. We didn¡¯t know her full intentions till you were already on the ground, and there seemed potential for harm to others. We put our trust in her, who we¡¯d known for centuries. You proved yourself true, and didn¡¯t attack unfairly. If you¡¯ll allow it, we would still assist; we can help provide training in matters other than your drill. Also, we would help with the women¡¯s healing.¡± For being the first words Julia had heard from these Vargr Drangijaz, they were fair especially after her scolding, and she hadn¡¯t learnt their names. As the Vargr Drangijaz spoke Odyis¡¯ gaze turned from insulted to angered pride and roiling rage. ¡°I won¡¯t stand for your insult,¡± Odyis growled, the spear reappearing in her hand. The three Vargr Drangijaz moved between her and Julia in the instant her spear appeared, looking at Odyis in disbelief. ¡°Stand down! This is beyond the orders you claimed last night,¡± the swordsman among Vargr Drangijaz growled at Odyis. They fixed their attention on Odyis with the same intensity they¡¯d directed at Julia last night. Guards around the Temple Square called for all to halt, and those outside the closest Temple struck some gate bells in alarm. Weapons appeared in the Vargr Drangijaz hands: the swordsman blocking Odyis¡¯ path, while the axeman shifted to her flank, and the bowman reappeared at range, bow already strung, an arrow of light aimed at Odyis. Their locations forcing her to angle her stance to keep all three in sight, yet the four of them held their positions, waiting for the first to move. As tension in the square climbed, an old man¡¯s thin voice called out above the growing din. ¡°Odyis, I revoke my Summoning.¡± With the words, a burst of rainbow light appeared around Odyis and her form vanished before the light faded. From across the square, Master Farhad shook his head and mouthed something Julia couldn¡¯t hear. Yet his expression she¡¯d seen before Julia could imagine his words. Wonder if he¡¯s including me with rest of the hot-headed Norse. ¡°Seems others have things to say. I don¡¯t even know your names. So why don¡¯t we start again,¡± Julia said, pausing and glancing between the Vargr Drangijaz before she continued on. ¡°My name is Eakc?, and you are?¡± ¡°If only it was that simple, but we were part of a wrong done. I am called Vragi,¡± replied the swordsman, before gesturing to his fellows with the axe and bow. ¡°He is Eyvindur, while our distant companion is Hugleikr. I can understand your trust with us is fragile, if not already broken.¡± Eyvindur glanced at his fellows even as the grip on their weapons relaxed. Julia had to work to keep a straight face as True Vision showed her glances and ear twitches being exchanged. Sheathing his sword, Eyvindur bowed to Torm, his voice formal as he spoke. ¡°I swear on Tyr¡¯s name to serve him through Torm¡¯s orders and intentions alone, till Torm¡¯s will releases us,¡± Eyvindur said, and the others echoed his words. ¡°I¡¯d accept your oath, but as you said, you¡¯ve taken part in an ill deed and I wasn¡¯t the target,¡± Torm said before gazing at Julia, his face carefully neutral. ¡°As the wronged party, do you accept this offer of service as weregild?¡± ¡°Torm, I trust you. So if you accept it, then yes I will, with but one small condition,¡± Julia stated, options already running through her mind as she spoke. ¡°Since I was the attacked party, I should be the one who decides when you are released.¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± The three echoed at one, and Julia saw a faint flicker of light between all four of them in True Sight. [True Sight [Ad] (20->21)] What effect was that? [Name: Torm Species: Vargr Drangijaz Class: Guardian / Monk / Fighter / Ranger Level: 72 / 60 / 42 / 42 / 42 Condition: Vargr Drangijaz Alpha, Morale Bonus: Trusted ] [Analysis [Ad] (29->30)] Oh! Is that a Morale bonus cause I told him I trust him? {{When is your guide dog training scheduled for? }} Luckily I got you were snarky at me, and not implying I needed to collar him. As for you three, Odyis wanted my destruction and you were part of it. ¡°Cool, then follow his orders as long as any of you exist,¡± Julia declared with a smile, and enjoyed the complete shock she got from them all. Still, all three of the Vargr Drangijaz nodded their acceptance without argument. ¡°Waiola and others from Frigg¡¯s Temple were going to tend to women this morning,¡± Julia suggested, looking at Torm. Her casually spoken words breaking him free of his shock and he nodded in return. ¡°Brothers, please assist Priestess Waiola, for now,¡± Torm ordered, gesturing to Waiola. ¡°Join us at the staging building for the first practice.¡± The moment Torm issued his order, their weapons disappeared, and they looked at Waiola for guidance. ¡°You¡¯re Vargr Drangijaz!¡± exclaimed Waiola in disbelief, her eyes going wide in awe and surprise as she stared at Torm. Julia looked between Waiola and the faint blush showing on Torm¡¯s human facade. ¡°You¡¯re so busted, your secret is out now,¡± Julia teased, confused how anyone could have missed it even without Mana or True Sight. ¡°Brat,¡± grumbled Torm. A stooped aging Priest his whispy white hair fluttering in the spring breeze leaned against a guard¡¯s shoulder as he began navigating his way through others outside ¨®einn¡¯s Temple.
A rainbow bridge opened in mid-air under a burning sky, and an unarmoured figure appeared. Clad in simple unmarked clothes, Odyis fell screaming in rage as her wings failed to find purchase in the air of the Infernal Plane. The course of her plunge taking her unchecked into the molten river of Dis, above the first rapids of its course. 90 - Come together ¡°The Gothi hasn¡¯t aged well. I didn¡¯t know he was in town,¡± Alfarr murmured as the old man started towards them. His stooped posture and slow movement conveyed extreme age as he alternated between leaning on the escort and his cane. White hair possessed the frail wispiness so common to late age, and the man himself displayed its frail state. Yet even stooped, his height was barely shorter than Alfarr¡¯s own. Julia could make out the liver spots staining aged paper-thin skin across his hands. He wore clothes that seemed more suitable for winter to protect him from the slight chill in the spring dawn air. The escort was wearing a chain hauberk that the Norse warriors typically wore. Though it was far from plain with elaborately etched in every link were runes that glowed in True Sight. A powerful golden barrier enfolded the escort and wrapped itself around the Gothi as well. Arcane Lore giving her enough understanding to know the escort¡¯s health would absorb any injury that got through the protections to the Gothi. The grim warrior stood well above the old man¡¯s stooped figure, chain and helm enfolding his sturdy build and features, only the solid curve of his jaw visible under the helm¡¯s edge. ¡°What''s does the term Gothi mean?¡± Julia asked, though their status itself was clear with the protection going far beyond mere consideration for an elder. ¡°He is in charge of every Priest in service to ¨®einn,¡± replied Torm, as the stunned Waiola moved towards the inner gates with Vragi and the others. As soon as Julia saw the worsening of the limping steps he moved with, she started towards him. Behind her, Torm shook his head and exchanged a glance with Alfarr and Yngvarr. The escort, seeing her approach, whispered to the old man, and he stopped walking, supporting himself between the escort and a stout cane as he waited for Julia. ¡°Gothi, was it you that banished Odyis?¡± asked Julia, not hesitating to speak as she came within polite conversations range. ¡°You aren¡¯t one of the faithful, just call me Reidar. It¡¯s been many years since someone would use my name. One day soon, I¡¯ll arrive in ¨¢sgarer and won¡¯t recognise they¡¯re speaking to me,¡± he said, lifting his gaze from the ground towards Julia, and the whiteness of his eyes became clear. ¡°I needed no banishment to send her back since I was the one who called her to this Plane for the All-Father. You have his apologies, and I would include mine for her overstepping the orders given to her.¡± ¡°Perhaps this conversation is best had elsewhere, Gothi,¡± offered the escort before Julia could speak up. ¡°See what I mean, I¡¯m so wise they¡¯ll follow my orders, but not the requests I want them to follow,¡± Reidar grumbled, his voice thinning into quarrelsome tones. ¡°Mead, laughing children, pretty women, and fine food should fill a man¡¯s last days; instead, I get tea and folk telling me to eat the broth.¡± His gaze had dipped as he spoke at first, and when he forced himself to raise his head, Julia could tell somehow he could see her despite solid cataracts, and Reidar just smiled at her surprise. ¡°We should take this conversation into the Temple Gothi,¡± argued the escort. ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish! After what Odyis did, I will insist on no such thing,¡± Reidar stated, looking at the approach of Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Torm. ¡°Prince Yridhrendaer, perhaps you¡¯d be so good as to transport us all to that drinking hall the Jarl had built - Silver Cup or something. Getting my old bones moving is burdensome this morning; from the Temple foyer to the gate nearly took me too long.¡± ¡°It was the current Jarl¡¯s grandfather who built the Silver Chalice, Gothi Reidar,¡± Yngvarr replied. ¡°That many years have gone already?¡± Reidar sighed. ¡°Well, at least I got my name included by the Elven lad, even if he used my title as well.¡± At those words, he gave his escort a light thump on the shoulder. ¡°You used my title first,¡± Yngvarr teased, speaking with an easy familiarity that shocked the escort. ¡°It¡¯s still your title, and it¡¯s fifty years or more since we last met. However, my use of your title and name was to show this youngster the possibility of achieving multiple things at a time. It¡¯s something so many people forget,¡± Reidar said. Julia saw a quick flicker of mana energy surround Yngvarr before he nodded. ¡°An upstairs room is free Ylva will bring breakfast and refreshments for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve aged badly, Reidar,¡± Master Farhad said, his sudden presence startling Julia. ¡°Are you taking all my students away?¡± ¡°Farhad, you¡¯ve not aged at all. I wish only to speak to Lady Eakc? if she¡¯ll hear this old man out,¡± responded Reidar, unfussed by Master Farhad¡¯s sudden intrusion on the conversation. ¡°Which room is free, Yngvarr?¡± Julia asked, glancing at him. ¡°The forest room, you¡¯ve been there before,¡± replied Yngvarr. Let¡¯s see how far their trust extends and hope I¡¯m not sticking my neck into a trap. ¡°I can transport us there if you¡¯d trust me to do so,¡± offered Julia looking back at Reidar, expecting his escort to object. ¡°We can let Yngvarr and Alfarr attend to their practice.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Reidar said. ¡°May it be a gesture of hope that this situation is redeemable.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come as well,¡± stated Torm, earning him a raised eyebrow from Julia, but she saw only resolve. It seems he¡¯s not inclined to trust the old man immediately. ¡°Right, let¡¯s be off,¡± Julia said. Without further warning, she teleported smoothly into the same chamber where she¡¯d first spoken to Verdandi. She visualised placing Reidar on one side of the table with his escort while Torm and herself were at either end. I am tired of letting other folks power play me. As the escort protested, Julia sat at the head of the table. Even as the set of his escort¡¯s jaw showed his anger, Reidar just moved to sit down, making the escort jump to pull the chair out for him. ¡°Stop being a fifl,¡± Reidar scolded, the edge on his tone enough to lift sparks from a whetstone. ¡°Odyis wronged her, don¡¯t add to this mess.¡± Reidar¡¯s escort was still getting settled when the door opened, and Ylva brought in a tray with some steaming cups and a pot. While she looked surprised to see them already present, it didn¡¯t stop her dispensing the drinks, and after taking breakfast requests, she left just as efficiently. ¡°What were Odyis¡¯ orders?¡± Julia asked, keeping her tone polite. ¡°And why did she think I needed disposing of?¡± ¡°Right to the kill, unlike many that have been wasting my remaining days on idle talk,¡± Reidar replied, giving his escort a poke in the arm. ¡°Hush up now, don¡¯t interrupt us or go all haughty on me. ¨®einn¡¯s agreed to let me rest at last, I know my days are passing.¡± Clearing his throat, Reidar took a sip of the tea, and rolled his eyes the moment he tasted the mint. ¡°He gave Odyis the task to help you because of past failures, a chance for her to redeem herself. The All-Father shared details of visions with her in order that she¡¯d understand the importance of helping you; instead, she almost caused one of the worst to come to pass. Her instructions were to quickly find a way to assist or return. He gave her no authority to issue demands, or impose on the servants of Tyr. She certainly shouldn¡¯t have forced you to teach in such a fashion.¡± said Reidar, his voice worn and tired. ¡°Is she home getting a slap on the wrist after I came close to getting ripped apart?¡± Julia asked, wondering if the apology was just a token given the scolding Rana had taken delight in telling her about. ¡°She is facing more than a slap on the wrist,¡± Torm injected, his tone grim and unforgiving. ¡°The All-Father rendered judgment: He cast Odyis down, all Norse Celestials were just told her fate.¡± ¡°Cast down? Demoted? Made mortal? What do you mean?¡± asked Julia, surprised. ¡°He sent her to join the Erinys,¡± pronounced Torm. She was a bitch, but I want Sarah and Rach freed, not more added to that place. ¡°That¡¯s not what I wanted¡­¡± Reidar¡¯s raised hand stopped Julia, and when he spoke, his tone was firm. ¡°Her actions against you were but the final straw,¡± Reidar said. ¡°¨®einn has chastised her before for going beyond the instructions she¡¯s received. Her help has damaged several urgent endeavours of late. Celestials aren¡¯t puppets moving at the will of the Powers they serve. They are servants with wills of their own, granted Power and responsibility; while it has given them much, they need to ensure they stay worthy.¡± I knew it! If things go wrong, Torm¡¯s at risk from me. Is he warning Torm? Threatening him? Warning me? I can¡¯t¡­ Torm just nodded at Reidar¡¯s statement, and Julia tried to keep a straight face, letting her disappointment at Odyis burn her concern away. ¡°If you¡¯re here to let me know this mess got a Valkyrie sent to Hell. Okay, then message delivered,¡± Julia said, her tone flattened by her concern for Torm. ¡°You enquired about her punishment,¡± corrected Reidar. ¡°indeed, I didn¡¯t know what her punishment would be. The priority for me coming here was providing you his apologies. ¨®einn also sent me to tell you what he showed Odyis, it is important you have the knowledge. Your time on this Plane is limited unless you wish to draw danger to those who are helping. Lady Epoch¨¥ knows of your interest in these lands and will eventually send agents seeking you. She forged a link to you with a ritual blade, and named you Herald on her ascension to Divinity. The blade¡¯s link broke; however, the title is unchanged and has importance. She knows that your Home Plane doesn¡¯t hold you, and only the distractions of her other endeavours leaves you time to run free.¡± ¡°A Hag at the Treasury seemed pleased by the Herald¡¯s arrival, I honestly had hoped it was an honorary title,¡± stated Julia, resisting the urge to groan. ¡°Whether you wish to aid her or not, your actions in areas matching the precepts of her worship will feed Power to her till you¡¯re free of the Abyss,¡± Reidar replied, ¡°The destruction she caused at the Sister¡¯s stronghold fed her more power than she spent, destruction she wouldn¡¯t have been able to reap without the Chaos you provided. Then there are all the Demons now linked to her through you.¡± All the Demons I¡¯ve Ascended have ties to her! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! It was Usd¡¯ghi that smacked them, but let it feel like Set. Sneaky business, just another reminder to keep that in mind. ¡°Damn, should I have just kept the Power?¡± questioned Julia. ¡°I¡¯m told you did the right thing giving it to her. You keeping that Power would have made you far worse than Epoch¨¥; a Dark Sun whose reach would have extended across Planes and beyond a single world. Though you¡¯ve set her against more than one mutual enemy, she¡¯s cunning enough to find profit in it. They¡¯ll provide her footsoldiers to upset the balance of power in the Abyss in directions hard to foresee.¡± Excellent, as if my days can¡¯t get any worse. {{I say we take Sorcerer King¡¯s dragon form. Let there be blood!}} Julia let B¡¯s response slide off her as she kept her focus on Reidar¡¯s words. ¡°Was Odyis supposed to share more?¡± Julia asked, narrowing her gaze as the escort went to speak, yet he closed his mouth before Reidar could rebuke him. ¡°Some things that can no longer be. But she had information on your friends to share,¡± Reidar said, sipping his tea. ¡°One is not yet certain, but some strange events among the Infernal have stood out. Unfortunately, they¡¯ve had no interaction with servants of the Norse Pantheon, so the Titan¡¯s will entirely conceal her still.¡± ¡°The other?¡± Torm asked, as Julia hesitated, her mind running in circles. ¡°A Kyton named Sidero, a chain Devil, she¡¯s assisting an expedition to retrieve arcane materials in the far north,¡± Reidar replied. ¡°A Priest of Skaei is with them, ¨®einn said her Summoner is a powerful Artificer in service to Vulcan.¡± ¡°Where is she? How do I get there? What are the other possibilities?¡± Julia blurted out the stream of questions, unsure which she wanted to know first. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with the hardest, shall I? The other possibility is several Erinys and some other Devils that don¡¯t normally play nice with them,¡± answered Reidar. ¡°Since he cursed her to feel the wrath of the Erinys¡¯ arrows, it¡¯s likely one among the later. The ranks of the Erinys and their opposition have many forceful personalities, so finding someone that stands out is beyond merely challenging. Another issue is you entered the Abyss via the maze, and time runs oddly there. Though it was weeks in your old life for them, it¡¯s uncertain if they ended up in Hell before or after you. How long did you feel you were running?¡± ¡°Hours maybe, I¡¯m not sure. Are you saying I could have been running in there for days or weeks?¡± Julia asked and waved them off before they could answer. ¡°A chain Devil sounds like Sarah¡¯s curse, but I¡¯ll still have to go into Hell to locate Rach.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No, Eakc?, I meant your time in the Titan¡¯s maze could have been centuries, eons, or less than a heartbeat. As a token of apology I have a treatise for you on the Infernal realms, written by a scholar a few centuries ago. It¡¯s quite lengthy since it goes into their processes; some sections are hundreds of pages long,¡± said Reidar. Setting a small cloth-wrapped bundle on the table, he gestured for Julia to take it. ¡°I would discuss some aid for those you¡¯ve rescued after we eat.¡± Feeling the unfamiliar energy in the covered work, Julia tucked it in Inventory, more than glad for any help. Eons? ¡°How trustworthy is it?¡± whispered Julia. ¡°It¡¯s extraordinarily accurate within its limits, others have travelled the Hells safely using it as a guide. You¡¯ll have enough challenges of your own given your situation, even with this helping. Keep in mind the language of the Infernal is filled with subtle implications. You can pronounce their phrase for ¡®I agree¡¯ twenty different ways, if not more, and each carries its own importance in use.¡± ¡°I have enough trouble with Acting, now I¡¯ll have to worry about every word,¡± Julia grumbled, exasperated. ¡°Sidero is north beyond the great mountains in the land of eternal frost,¡± Reidar stated. ¡°The days there are full night, day, or a strange twilight, and the sky fills with flames, depending on the time of year.¡± The arctic circle? That¡¯s a lot of area to search. ¡°How long will they be there?¡± ¡°Years or decades yet, they are working on a great undertaking,¡± Reidar stated ¡°they cannot complete it in the southlands even with magic sustaining the cold. They are on the furthest point of true land extending into the ocean of ice. If you go near the servants of the Powers of Law involved in the endeavour, they will sense and react to your presence. Your friend at least will have time away from Hell.¡± ¡°They¡¯re happy for a Devil to be there?¡± Julia asked incredulously, even as she was pleased Sarah was out of Hell. ¡°A strict entity of Law in possession of implements they required,¡± Reidar said. As Julia went to ask more, Reidar raised his hand and Julia heard light footsteps in the corridor outside. The conversation paused as Ylva entered with a tray for the three who ordered. {{Oh, Sarah¡¯s strict, alright. Maybe they need to be flogged to stay put. }} ¡°Thank you, Ylva,¡± Julia said, and a very polite Ylva passed out the breakfasts. She set a small mug of mead near Julia before she left. As the door closed, Julia gently placed the mug of mead near Reidar. Yeah, I¡¯m not her favourite person. At the loud thoughts coming from Ylva¡¯s mind, Julia paused and suppressed the groan at the rumours of having banished a Valkyrie with a word. Or actually being an Elven princess with a bodyguard of Celestials. ¡°My grandfather used to let me have sips of beer when I was a kid. If you get a stomachache from that you¡¯ve only yourself to blame,¡± Julia said, the tone light-heartedly teasing as she echoed the memory of her grandma, and Reidar laughed. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t liked what I told you?¡± enquired Reidar slyly. ¡°I would have drunk it all myself,¡± Julia said, joining in his good-natured laughter, as the escort ground his teeth. Reidar took a sip of mead with far more enjoyment than he¡¯d approached the tea.
Julia watched Reidar channelling the Blessing he¡¯d offered during their quick meal, the golden light of it washing out over the women. Easing the pain their Souls and flesh still carried, it didn¡¯t remove the memory of what they suffered. Instead it diluted the horrors with a resolve, an acknowledgment from the Divine of their worth, boosting their self-confidence to push past the fears that weighed on them. Soul Sight showed decisions shifting within those close by, making Julia wonder if there were games being played. Though one thing she couldn¡¯t deny was the comfort it had given them as they turned to each other, clinging tight and weeping in relief. Old scars and new having cleared from their bodies before the Blessing faded away. ¡°We¡¯re going to have more to train,¡± Julia muttered, and Torm gave her a questioning look. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± Torm asked. ¡°Can¡¯t you see Souls?¡± Julia asked, giving him a sceptical look. ¡°You¡¯re the Celestial.¡± ¡°True Sight reveals a Petitioner¡¯s Soul to me, but not while they¡¯re still alive,¡± Torm responded, and the trio watching with them, uttered their agreement. ¡°There might still be some among them not interested, but scores of the undecided are now committed to joining,¡± replied Julia, gesturing towards the joyous women. ¡°They may well change their mind, but they seem determined. What was that he cast?¡± ¡°A Zone of True Restoration, I believe. I¡¯ve only seen it cast twice and not to that extent,¡± Torm replied. ¡°Do I want to know how much strain that put on him?¡± enquired Julia, her voice low with concern. ¡°From the short time we spent talking, I think he considers it an effort well spent,¡± Torm declared, before giving her a reproachful look. ¡°Remember, if you¡¯re allowed to spend yourself for those in need so can others.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep it in mind,¡± declared Julia, even as she beckoned to some women hesitantly approaching. ¡°It looks like it¡¯s time for things to get started.¡± ¡°If you wish, I can take the first three platoons and get them practicing their drills,¡± offered Vragi. Julia¡¯s offer of thanks was interrupted when Hugleikr spoke up with a glance between her and Torm. ¡°Eyvindur and I can take two other groups over and get them started as well. Leave you time to teach another group,¡± Hugleikr suggested. ¡°Could I make a suggestion?¡± Eyvindur enquired, continuing on when Torm nodded. ¡°Perhaps create raised seating as auditorium so others can see what¡¯s expected or watch while resting.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go annoy Yngvarr,¡± Torm offered and vanished before Julia could say a thing. ¡°Thanks, Eyvindur,¡± Julia said and received a nod in response. ¡°You¡¯ve all trained fighters let me know if you¡¯ve any other suggestions for improvements.¡± Julia waited as the Vargr Drangijaz called out directions to the ladies, the feral energy she¡¯d felt from them last night gone. The women reacted with the same calm reassurance she¡¯d felt around Torm, making Julia wonder if she should ask what Odyis had said to them. Only the trouble Odyis was already in let Julia set the curiosity aside, having no need for more ill feelings. The women approaching Julia seemed far more awe-struck than they had the previous day, and Julia brushed a calming Dominion aura lightly across them to ease their nerves. ¡°Now, please sit in a circle around me, and we¡¯ll get started,¡± Julia stated, gesturing with her hands to encourage them to move. Quicker than she¡¯d previously managed, Julia found she¡¯d opened the women to the three Affinities, and then taught them the spells as well. ¡°I¡¯m S¨ªrthel, if you¡¯ll come with me. We¡¯ll start practicing with Loosen Earth in the next field that is marked out,¡± a woman called, as Rana waved in greeting to Julia. An Elven Lady that Julia hadn¡¯t seen before spoke up from the group¡¯s edge and Julia smiled in understanding seeing Rana next to her. True Sight showed Julia the energy of a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar but with the Sunset Elf autumn hair and tanned skin. What are these folks up to? Analysis [Name: S¨ªrthel¨¢dralia Species: Lj¨®s¨¢lfar Class: Spellblade / Fighter / Wizard Level: 72 / 61 / 61 / 61 Details: S¨ªrthel¨¢dralia is a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar in the Court of Oberon. She is currently Summoned to the Material Plane by Priestess T¨²rendil Malantur, as a guardian of Oberon¡¯s main grove on this world.] Analysis [Analysis: Spellblade Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 5. It combines Fighter and Wizard at level 70 or higher, and requires one of the following Affinities,
  • Primordial, Chaos, Order or Destruction.
Other Requirements include:
  • 2 Affinities from each Tier - 1, 2, 3 & 4
  • Senior Master rank or higher in at least one edged weapon.
  • Senior Master rank or higher in Mana Manipulation; alternatively Master rank or higher in Mana Finesse
  • Senior Master rank or higher in Arcane Lore
Provides the following gains:
  • +3 Intelligence per Level
  • +3 Endurance or Quickness per Level
  • +6 Free Attributes per 2 Levels
  • +4 Magic per Level
  • +3 Defence per Level
  • +1 Skill Rank per 2 Levels
  • +3 Knowledge Points per Level
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Bladespell
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Attune Reservoir
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Arcane Combatant
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of all edged weapons skills once they reach Master.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Arcane Skills
  • Increases Mana Multiplier effect by one stage in addition to any previous increases.]
Analysis [Bladespell: This power increases the effective magic rating for any spell cast through a weapon containing an attuned Reservoir.] Analysis [Attune Reservoir: This Power allows Mana Reservoirs to be created in any enchanted object. Their capacity depends on the object¡¯s material and enchantment. The Reservoir will damage the object¡¯s enchantment if entirely drained, but is refillable with proper care taken.] Analysis [Arcane Combatant: This Power allows casting of Spell Forms even while physically moving or fighting. Defence rating from armour, other equipment, quickness, and other training, are fully retained. The Power only applies to Affinities possessed at the time of first gaining the Power.] Okay, Rana brought in Wizard teachers. I¡¯ll find another group then. Once the ladies had followed S¨ªrthel away, Rana approached with an amused smile as he regarded her surprised expression. ¡°Did you think we wouldn¡¯t come to assist?¡± asked Rana dryly, clearly pleased that he¡¯d surprised her. ¡°I wasn¡¯t game to ask,¡± Julia said emphatically, shaking her head in disbelief. ¡°S¨ªrthel is just one of a dozen or so waiting to help supervise their initial spell practice. Two young women have asked me about learning to be Rangers in your service,¡± Rana said, pausing as Julia¡¯s mouth dropped open in amazement. ¡°I¡¯ll assume it''s fine to teach them.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what they want in life,¡± Julia said, excitement lifting her voice. ¡°Any other surprises? Or are you just going to laugh when my jaw hits the ground?¡± ¡°Nothing else, though you should know Reidar has returned home. After he finished the Blessing, he was quite tired,¡° replied Rana, his tone respectful. ¡°Where did all the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar come from?¡± asked Julia. Beyond the group following S¨ªrthel, she could see more women being organised into similar circles. ¡°Sacred groves here and there offered to lend a guardian or two from their protections. If they¡¯re needed, its only a message spell and they can be there with a thought,¡± Rana declared, his tone uncompromising. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting anything like this,¡± Julia breathed in shock, and Rana put a hand on her arm. ¡°You have a hard road ahead of you. While we can help now,¡± Rana said, gazing at Julia compassionately. ¡°we both know that won¡¯t always be the case.¡± Julia just nodded and headed towards the next group of women, and Rana introduced her to more of the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar along the way.
Julia waited, crouched in the shadows at the edge of the wood as the trainee Elven Scouts moved ahead. Though she wanted to join the exercise, she focused on her role for the evening. Learning. The hand signs exchanged between them gave her another item for her to-do list. Another thing she¡¯d forgotten to consider that someone could regret. It was a long wait, but Julia kept watching through the Scout¡¯s eyes even within the ruins. When they all gathered together, she teleported them home and the review began. Julia learnt yet another lesson. Even watching through someone else¡¯s eyes wasn¡¯t a substitute for personal experience in understanding what they¡¯d seen.
¡°You seemed to find monitoring the training exercise useful. Though we got back from their discussion two bells ago, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ve turned a page in that grimoire. Since you¡¯re learning simple spells, it leads to an obvious question,¡± stated Yngvarr. ¡°What¡¯s got you distracted?¡± ¡°Torm,¡± Julia muttered, her discontent clear in her tone. Stretching insecurely, she looked around Yngvarr¡¯s study, seeking an excuse to avoid his gaze. ¡°His honest intentions haven¡¯t swept you off your feet?¡± questioned Yngvarr, marking the old text he had been reading. ¡°I¡¯m trouble for him,¡± Julia sighed, rubbing her face in discontent. ¡°Perhaps, or perhaps not, only time will tell,¡± Yngvarr answered. ¡°Do you respect him enough for his feeling to be his? Or are you going to tell him?¡± ¡°He already told me he¡¯d prefer to be spending time with me. Also said it¡¯s up to me if I allow him the chance or not,¡± Julia replied, huffing in frustration. ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like a woman swept off her feet,¡± observed Yngvarr. ¡°I can¡¯t understand how he says I¡¯m beautiful,¡± grumbled Julia. ¡°Even in this Elven form I still feel wrong in this flesh. I can¡¯t cry, it reacts to things that should make me sick without revulsion or nausea.¡± The moment the words were out of her mouth she regretted them because of Yngvarr¡¯s laughter, but after a moment of listening, she realised he wasn¡¯t mocking, just honestly amused. ¡°Torm, I¡¯m sure will tell you, isn¡¯t one for words, he looks at actions and intent. Consider that and consider this situation: you¡¯ve taken over supervision of the guards. The Square¡¯s wards scream there is something wrong. From them, you determine there is a Demon present. Yet the square¡¯s rules forbid starting violence, and it''s walking toward your post, your Li¨¨ge¡¯s Temple,¡± Yngvarr said, and when he paused Julia just nodded trying to keep an open mind. ¡°Then you see this Succubus, a creature of carnal lust and desire. An entity that unsurprisingly is physically beautiful in True Sight, but your knowledge is telling you is a moral cesspit. Yet she¡¯s walking into a place she should fear, with a child¡¯s Soul happily skipping by her side. A Soul that is innocent and glowing with a Celestial light you¡¯ve never seen before as they come towards you. Adding to this paradox is an exquisite crystalline cord linking the child¡¯s Soul to the Succubus. Instead of corruption coming through that link, you see compassion, concern and even more of that pure energy flowing from the Succubus.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Julia uttered, stunned to hear his words, tying Yngvarr¡¯s emphasised account together with Torm¡¯s own. ¡°That¡¯s all you have to say? You don¡¯t see yourself how others see you,¡± said Yngvarr, his tone so exasperated Julia could only shrug. ¡°Then you hear her beg a High Justice for the child¡¯s life because her death was unfair. Unconditionally offers truthful information up, which no Demon would do. Then the pure Soul comforts the Succubus because in her distress, it looks like she should cry. Only for the Succubus to react to the Soul with motherly love and amusement from being showered with a child¡¯s affectionate kisses. Don¡¯t get me started on the rest of that stay. Like you walking along laughing like a loon after injuring yourself when Torm surprised you. Instead of something demonically reasonable like lashing out or fleeing.¡± ¡°That wouldn¡¯t have helped Livia,¡± Julia objected further, only for Yngvarr¡¯s gaze to still her embarrassed protests. ¡°Okay, enough, I¡¯m ridiculous.¡± ¡°Not ridiculous, you¡¯re a good person, and Torm sees the beauty in you,¡± Yngvarr said, opening the book he¡¯d been reading. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin: morning sunlight illuminating the hidden child; is roughly how that translates from High Elven into the modern tongue.¡± ¡°What?¡± Julia asked, baffled by Yngvarr¡¯s sudden change in subject. ¡°I sent an image of how you appeared to the High Singer, the Sages found this text. The tattoos you showed us are distinctive; no other Scion earned the seven roses you wear. It states Orh¨ºthurin, the last daughter of a minor house, a servant in the Palace and first to bear the Markings of Royal Shame earned tattoo with a similar description. No pictures, just a journal that was written post the Scourge containing brief notes, descriptions of their tattoos, nothing about what deeds earned them. Just confirming that ones who answered the times of need received honours from the Royal family.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin,¡± Julia whispered, letting the name flow. ¡°It doesn¡¯t feel familiar. I recognise it from the High Elven I unlocked, but that¡¯s all.¡± Not sure I want to know how many details that image included. ¡°Perhaps it was a former life, or perhaps someone you respected, but the name might help later,¡± said Yngvarr, the book vanishing from his hands. ¡°Now I have a request for you since you keep wanting to feel guilty about my help.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Julia asked, ignoring Yngvarr¡¯s smirk at her suspicious tone. ¡°It¡¯s not midnight yet, so I have a few bells before I need to rest, and you¡¯ve gained Affinities with Rika while you helped her learn them. Shall we begin with Ice or Magma since you didn¡¯t learn it?¡± asked Yngvarr, as he set two metal plates out on the study¡¯s table. A shard of ice grew from the first, while the second had a bubbling molten rock enclosed in a shimmering barrier. ¡°How about we do both, and I teach you Celestial as well?¡± Julia asked, giving Yngvarr a well-deserved eye-roll as she sensed his double motive. [Sense Motive [J] (3->4)] ¡°When did you get Celestial!?¡± Yngvarr questioned, his voice raised in disbelief. ¡°Odyis¡¯ little stunt had one side benefit, not that it makes me feel better about it,¡± stated Julia dryly, moving her chair closer to the desk. ¡°Of course,¡± Yngvarr said, leaning forward as he put his hand upon her arm. ¡°The outcome wasn¡¯t of your making, but her own.¡± ¡°I know that. It¡¯s just sad,¡± Julia replied, giving Yngvarr a smile for reassurance. ¡°I¡¯m allowed to regret that occurring to a Celestial, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Of course you are, I doubt you¡¯d be yourself if you didn¡¯t,¡± Yngvarr replied, tapping the disc below the molten energy as he spoke. Julia reached towards the power with Harmony and linked them via Bond and Telepathy. By the time Julia was done a wide-eyed Yngvarr had also received all the tier 5 Affinities. 91 - Lift me up Julia grimaced as the Soul Shard¡¯s energy rippled through her and wished she could hurl. Her reaction to it, a far cry from B humming happily away at the anger and lust that rushed through her. {{ Ninety-nine thousand bottles of beer on the wall. }} Not rising to B¡¯s baiting tone, Julia gazed over the platoons¡¯ names etched into the board yesterday. Even those that hadn¡¯t started formation drills had each picked a name. The battalion and a half were well above the numbers Julia had expected; fifty-eight platoons, most with thirty members but a few larger ones, accommodating over sixteen hundred women. Others had opted for a different direction, but none of the survivors seemed inclined to leave their sisters. Some survivors planned to stay and handle day-to-day tasks, and general logistics involved. Scores wanted weapons training, and Torm had already organised experienced guards to help. I just hope offering them this choice wasn¡¯t a terrible mistake. Julia looked at the last platoon¡¯s name and knew why they¡¯d selected it. The platoon¡¯s name was short, with the Norse runes spelling out V¨¢n, which Julia knew meant Hope. The Priest count shown in her Profile this morning had been disturbing, and she¡¯d already learnt they were drilling in a platoon of their own. If they can have hope, so can I. ¡°Lady Eakc?.¡± When Vragi had appeared and spoken almost in the same instant, only Julia¡¯s already meditative state let her still the reaction. ¡°Vragi,¡± Julia said, giving him a stern look. ¡°You almost got punched appearing so close like that.¡± ¡°We can spar later if you wish. I didn¡¯t know you were here,¡± replied Vragi, shrugging off her look. ¡°I was going to ensure they¡¯d put down all the platoon names.¡± ¡°Some sound like place names more than anything I recognise,¡± Julia stated, gesturing at the board. ¡°Yes, hamlets and even a few villages,¡± said Vragi, as a scroll and grease pen appeared. ¡°The women wish to honour their fallen.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll read them off, and you check the list?¡± Julia asked. When he nodded, she began.
¡°Eakc?, the books the scrivener had available are in Master Yngvarr¡¯s study,¡± Sagga called, as Julia came in the kitchen door to find it already overflowing. Sagga had ten women sitting around the kitchen table working on their writing. The pieces of chalk and slate boards in front of them reminding Julia of an old schoolhouse scene, as they copied from the rune guides. As the first of them rose, Julia just motioned for them to stay seated. ¡°Please don¡¯t let me interrupt,¡± said Julia. ¡°Thanks, Sagga. When will he have more?¡± ¡°He said two weeks at least,¡± Sagga replied, looking over some copied runes. ¡°Great, I¡¯ll leave you to your practice,¡± said Julia with a wave as she quickly slipped back out the door. The sound of a voice she didn¡¯t recognise followed Julia as she moved away from the kitchen. ¡°You call her Ladyship by her first name alone.¡± ¡°Only because she insists,¡± admitted Sagga begrudgingly. The surprised murmurs that earned from the women left Julia with a smile, which broadened further when she found a stack of thick books waiting for her. Unfortunately, her smile didn¡¯t last through the first chapter on the Greek Gods and their precepts. How can they stand worshipping them? (( Many peoples endure what they have when they don¡¯t consider themselves worth better. )) Was that meant as a sly dig? (( No. Merely truth for many peoples, not just yourself. )) Thanks, V, glad it¡¯s an age-old issue. She¡¯d expected the reading to take weeks; however, the advantage of increased intelligence meant Julia finished the fifteen waiting volumes in the afternoon. Three knowledge skills had increased while reading, and Julia rechecked the last notifications she¡¯d received. [Religious Lore [Ap] (4->5) Ten Kingdoms History [Ap] (1->2) Norse Lore [Ap] (7->8)] A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. {{ But it¡¯s just the tip! }} As B continued with innuendos about the afternoon¡¯s subjects, Julia was already moving on. Analysis of the Knowledge section in her Profile presented her with a massive skill list. After scrolling through it for half a bell, Julia still wasn¡¯t finished with the A¡¯s. With a last glance at ¡®Artillery - Living Construct Lore¡¯, Julia swore she wouldn¡¯t indulge her curiosity simply stick with what she needed to learn and finally closed the list. Though it might be more valuable than the Knowledge Skill on Alpha Centauri Asteroids; pretty sure the Abyss has living constructs used in Siege warfare. {{ How about Sexual Position Lore? }} The tone of B¡¯s mental voice brushed the words across the surface of Julia¡¯s mind, drawing a grimace worse than her reaction to the shard. How about Muzzling Ids Lore? {{ Just have to put a cock in it. Miss ID-10-T}} With you, nothing would ever touch the sides. As B compared Julia¡¯s attitude to enduring kisses from syphilis infected goats, Julia had already turned her focus to the grimoire. The next spell on her list wasn¡¯t a simple one, but it looked useful: Mercury¡¯s Missive. The grimoire¡¯s description said it would record messages across Planes into a scroll or book left in a known location.
The study door opened several bells later to reveal Yngvarr carrying a box overflowing with metal plates similar to those he¡¯d set out last night. When he set the first on his desk, he gave her a smile that matched her own for mischief, though Julia¡¯s smile turned puzzled as Livia peeked into the study as well. ¡°What are you two up to?¡± Julia asked, giving them a suspicious look. ¡°I¡¯ve arranged for a few more elemental sources,¡± Yngvarr stated dryly. ¡°and Livia wanted to unlock an Affinity.¡± ¡°Of course I¡¯ll help,¡± replied Julia. ¡°B teased me about collecting them all.¡± ¡°While B teased about it, that¡¯s no reason not to. I visited a friend this afternoon, and she leant me these energy samples from her collection,¡± Yngvarr said, tapping the first plate. A swirling miasma of energy bloomed inside a barrier above the disk. Yet, even with it holding the energy in place, dry dirt scented the air, and a feeling of the grave radiated in the room. ¡°Dust an acceptable starting point?¡± asked Yngvarr, his tone bemused at the look Julia was giving him. {{ Dust is low in fat, but you¡¯re already on a fat-free diet. }} I wonder if I cut you in half if you¡¯d be twice as annoying or not? {{Meow, meow, hissy pussy. }} ¡°And you of course want them too?¡± Julia asked, smiling as she ignored B¡¯s taunting. ¡°Of course, and if you ever complain about me helping you again, I¡¯ll have good reason to roll my eyes at you as Livia does,¡± Yngvarr stated. ¡°Livia, did you have an Affinity in particular you wanted?¡± asked Julia. Then, as if Julia had signalled surrender, Livia skipped inside, no longer lingering at the doorway. ¡°Order, Jade Court or Celestial, please,¡± Livia replied, sitting beside Julia and giving her adorable doe eyes. ¡°When is your birthday?¡± Julia asked, remembering the mention that she¡¯d be eleven soon. ¡°End of this moon,¡± Livia answered, concern erasing the playfulness from her demeanour. ¡°Will you still be here?¡± ¡°I hope so,¡± Julia responded. ¡°some things aren¡¯t completely in my control.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°I¡¯d heard Verdandi and Torm talking. They weren¡¯t obvious about it, but I recognised the implications,¡± Livia said with a nod. ¡°With Usd¡¯ghi looking for you, it¡¯s not safe to stay long.¡± ¡°Well, how about I teach you both all of them?¡± Julia asked before frowning. ¡°Most of them anyway, not the ones for the lower Planes.¡± ¡°True, they¡¯re dangerous, but I¡¯d like to know them to ensure I don¡¯t miss a strong Prestige path,¡± Yngvarr said, his thoughtful tone reminding her of some University Professors. Julia momentarily frowned before nodding in understanding. ¡°But only you, not the little miss.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t want them, anyway; Wizard isn¡¯t my primary focus,¡± Livia retorted, giving a head toss that made Julia smile. Then, harmony touching the energy, Julia began, and let her awareness flow to them both. By the time they finished, Livia had fallen asleep, having bowed out less than halfway through, but had opted for the study¡¯s couch instead of heading to bed. Julia relaxed as Yngvarr placed the last plate back in the box, and a pause in the snuffling noises brought a smile to her lips. A moment later, Livia rolled towards the couch¡¯s back, and the noises resumed. ¡°Where did you get Infernal?¡± Yngvarr asked, not moderating his voice. They¡¯d already found their conversation during the night, not having made a dent in Livia¡¯s ability to sleep. ¡°Reidar gave me this,¡± Julia said, setting the clothing wrapped bundle down on the desk. She unwrapped it to reveal a reddish-black book that seemed composed of molten rock, with faces pressing against the material. ¡°An original Infernal Folio,¡± declared Yngvarr, discomfort clear. ¡°It¡¯s written in Infernal,¡± Julia replied, ¡°Touching it makes my skin crawl.¡± As her fingers brushed the cover¡¯s edge, it tried to fan open. The thin book expanding as thousands of pages tried to press themselves into reality. Only a quick hand on its cover stopped the sulfuric breeze that their motion sent into the room. ¡°A tongue of treachery,¡± Yngvarr muttered, wrinkling his nose in disgust. ¡°Yes and no, lots of conditions are possible in pronouncing any word or phrase. The way you can say their words or accent their runes can completely oppose their meaning. Sarcasm is a requirement.¡± Julia stopped as her mind raced off on possibility. Why did I have that language the moment I saw my Profile? Were they already in Hell? Did he hold on to the Soul of Andre¡¯s father, Nicholas¡¯s and mine, and just played us like cards in a game? ¡°Choose the words carefully,¡± advised Yngvarr. The statement broke Julia out of her thoughts, and with quick motions, she covered the book again. ¡°I opened it to the back. The last page is number is nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety, and it¡¯s an incomplete guide,¡± Julia grumbled, incredulously. Fifteen times the number of the beast. Does the page count mean anything or just a number? ¡°You¡¯ll have plenty of time to study it,¡± Yngvarr reassured her. ¡°Your concealment skill needs to be masterfully high even to consider risking it. If the Devils catch you, then you¡¯ll be wishing that Baln¨¦rith hadn¡¯t let Naz¡¯rilca cut your arm free from the spike.¡± ¡°Thanks for that mental image,¡± Julia said, sighing as the sulfuric scent faded from the room. ¡°Julia, honestly, getting free from her first before you even consider this is the safest thing you can do,¡± Yngvarr insisted, his tone empathic. ¡°I know you¡¯re worried about your friends, but don¡¯t you think they¡¯d worry about you as well. If you¡¯re free from the Sigil, you can venture into Hell with far less risk. It¡¯ll be dangerous navigating your way through it without having your Sigil¡¯s discovery hanging over your head.¡± ¡°But my friends,¡± Julia protested. ¡°They¡¯ll still be there if you get destroyed; you need to ensure your safety first. Do you think they won¡¯t be looking to get free themselves?¡± asked Yngvarr sternly. ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll hold off even considering it,¡± Julia said, raising her hands in defeat. ¡°Would you do one thing for me?¡± ¡°What can I help with?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°Any idea where I can hire someone to search for this expedition¡¯s location?¡± asked Julia. ¡°I¡¯d like to get her a message if I can, even if I can¡¯t risk going near their base. I think they¡¯d be in the middle line of the continent from memory, past a massive bay and across some islands.¡± Yngvarr paused before responding, his expression gaze tightening in contemplation. ¡°If the similarity of our worlds extends that far north. While I¡¯ve not got contacts in that area, I might know someone who speaks with mountain Dwarves and Elves in the far north. Having ventured that far north, they¡¯ll likely have contacted one of their communities for guides.¡± ¡°Thanks, Yngvarr!¡± Julia exclaimed softly, a heart-felt smile lighting up her face. Only Livia¡¯s endearing noises were prompting her to keep her excitement in check. ¡°Think nothing of it. There is also the option of getting someone to approach the Church of Vulcan directly to pass a message. What are your plans for tomorrow?¡± asked Yngvarr, as the boxed up plates vanished from the desk. Oh yeah, I guess I assumed they¡¯d go: secret mission in the north? What secret mission in the north? ¡°Since I have some wonderful folks helping me. I¡¯ll go to dawn practice with you and then find something to fight to push my Wizard class higher,¡± replied Julia, True Sight showing her the Spatial Mana of Yngvarr¡¯s spell dissipating. ¡°There are always places where danger threatens. If nothing else, humanoid tribes out in the hinterlands or raiding the kingdoms¡¯ borders, particularly around the edges of the Wood Elf Forest,¡± suggested Yngvarr. ¡°The land mass from my world east of those mountains was a desert, certainly in the southern section,¡± remarked Julia, trying to remember North American geography to determine how far north the deserts had extended. ¡°The Lady of the Forest changed the weather patterns after they came here. She caused the winds to carry moisture over the mountains to allow the forest to grow.¡± Talk about climate change. ¡°Didn¡¯t that leave the lands to the west of the mountains even drier?¡± ¡°It might, but Orcs and other humanoids thrive and swarm from it every few human generations. Orcs and goblin kin don¡¯t need fresh water. Not that the lands aren¡¯t harsh even when they don¡¯t have the population to attack en masse, their raids are frequent.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you to scry locations where I might find Gnarl packs,¡± said Julia before creating a blanket and pillow. ¡°First things first.¡± Julia tucked the pillow under Livia¡¯s head and wrapped her in the blanket. The smile on Julia¡¯s lips broadened as Livia sighed and nuzzled into the blanket¡¯s softness. ¡°If you¡¯re going hunting tomorrow, I¡¯d suggest working on some utility spells. Learning detection spells will help you understand their limits and what you need to protect against,¡± Yngvarr advised. This kid could sleep through a thunderstorm. Julia nodded, taking the time to stroke Livia¡¯s hair as Yngvarr located a grimoire among those on his shelves.
¡°So you turn Yngvarr and Livia down, but you¡¯re offering it to me?¡± Alfarr asked teasingly, his gaze gleaming with amusement. ¡°Either say yes quickly, or I¡¯ll change my mind.¡± ¡°I was just ensuring I understood correctly,¡± Alfarr retorted, his tone placating. ¡°Fine, agreed.¡± ¡°Good, because dawn is nearly here,¡± Julia said as she felt the Pact between them form. ¡°Even if your husband is taking his time getting ready for practice.¡± ¡°Wizards that can Teleport always waiting till the last breath,¡± Alfarr grumbled good-naturedly, reminding Julia of one of her dad¡¯s constant remarks with mum. If I go out before you, I¡¯m just going to need to come back and get you. ¡°How old are you anyway?¡± Julia asked curiously. ¡°You look in your mid-twenties.¡± ¡°Thirty-four winters,¡± Alfarr said, his light tone edged with concealed emotions. [Sense Motive [J] (4->5)] He¡¯s hoping it will work. I hope it does too; they¡¯re good together. ¡°It won¡¯t have an immediate effect since I¡¯m not pushing in extra Ki to wash trauma or a curse away,¡± Julia cautioned, giving Alfarr a warning look. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will affect you the same as Eivor.¡± ¡°It will be months before your platoons are ready for battle,¡± Alfarr replied, clearly unconcerned. ¡°if it buys me a few more years to push my Ki abilities and advance, it¡¯s more time with him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I figured,¡± Julia said with a smile. ¡°Romantic,¡± Alfarr accused the glee in his eyes at odd with his stern tone. ¡°Don¡¯t tell anyone; you¡¯ll ruin my image,¡± grumbled Julia. ¡°I¡¯m so telling Torm.¡± Alfarr laughed when Julia poked out her tongue. The sulky pout she added afterwards only earned more laughter.
Master Farhad had set her extra challenges during dawn practice to make up for lost sessions. The five training in the Temples¡¯ square no longer enough to warrant particular attention from any Guard. Though Julia felt gazes weighing on her, and she wondered what the wards were telling the guards. Telepathy¡¯s net had brushed against only cold emptiness from them when she¡¯d attempted to learn what the wards told them. Pausing under the tree after the practice completed, Julia tried to sense Eivor and Moke through their Bonds. Again, the feel of them came back reassuringly vibrant, some distance to the east, but much further north than previously. [Allegiance Bond (18->20)] Any use of them drives the Power. I should ask Sagga if she wants to catch up with her mum in a dream. Let Eivor know I¡¯m there first, before bringing Snagga in on the call. ¡°Moeir?¡± Livia¡¯s enquiring tone drew Julia¡¯s attention, and the concealed eyes she¡¯d added showed her immediately why. V¨ªearr moved with the slow care of the blind as he moved alongside a Temple Guard. The beard she¡¯d seen him wearing had been shaved off, leaving his solid jawline visible. His uncovered gaze didn¡¯t show the cataracts Reidar had possessed; instead, the orbs of his eyes were solid white flesh, with no hint of iris or pupil. Features were awash with the marks of Blessing healed flesh, showing the cuts the matted beard had hidden. Healing had reset his broken nose, and not even the faintest of bruises showed. He was dressed in simple robes, with Tyr¡¯s emblem on the clasp at his throat. It was the closest Julia had seen any Priest of Tyr having to the cloistered look of a Catholic monk, instead of being armoured and ready for battle. As he came through the gates in front of the Temple of Tyr, Livia tilted her head towards him, prompting Julia to approach. Julia heard the guard quietly say her name before she came close enough for them to speak. ¡°V¨ªearr, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re recovering,¡± said Julia, finding it wasn¡¯t even a social white lie. He¡¯d looked a mess when she¡¯d last seen him. Now he was almost himself, though he showed the price paid to help others. ¡°You sound quite different, Eakc?, or is it still Julia?¡± asked V¨ªearr. His tenor was far lighter without the agony in it, though uncertainly lent it a fragile air that hadn¡¯t been present at their prior meetings. ¡°Either is fine, V¨ªearr. My new form is a memory of a past life. Livia told me you wished to speak?¡± questioned Julia, keeping her tone uncertain to give V¨ªearr the chance to claim it was a mistake. The guard¡¯s eyes going wide made Julia wonder at what rumours she¡¯d hear next. ¡°No, I don¡¯t wish to impose on your time. I merely wished to apologise and give my thanks,¡± corrected V¨ªearr. ¡°You aren¡¯t imposing,¡± Julia reassured. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you paid such a terrible price.¡± ¡°Others endured far worse and for longer,¡± V¨ªearr said, remorse and sincerity weighing his voice. ¡°You will always have my thanks. I¡¯m glad you brought them to freedom. It¡¯s far more than the release I had hoped. I won¡¯t keep you Eakc?, I¡¯ve a ¡®Hearing¡¯ to prepare for today, though it¡¯s only a holding boundary dispute. Thank you again, and my apologies for letting my blindness keep you and Livia separated those months after we first met.¡± Are they putting him back to work already? Or does he have the same habit as me? ¡°We had a rough start, but I hope the effect of the runes wears off,¡± offered Julia, watching his blind gaze moving erratically, flailing for a source of light. ¡°It won¡¯t, no matter what others might say,¡± V¨ªearr replied, his tone unbothered. ¡°It¡¯s a small price. I only had hoped to stay alive long enough for you to warn the High Justice and give them mercy. To balance the scales against what they gained, I¡¯d have gladly given my life.¡± ¡°If you grow stronger in the service of Tyr would it help you fight off the aftereffects?¡± asked Julia, as she considered the whites of his eyes that Livia thought weird. ¡°I don¡¯t serve Tyr for myself,¡± V¨ªearr stated, a brief motion towards himself, becoming a broader gesture outward. ¡°I serve him because I believe in him and what he brings to the world.¡± ¡°Exactly what I¡¯m offering,¡± Julia remarked, pleased by the apparent difference in his attitude from when they¡¯d initially met. ¡°A chance to protect them from those who¡¯d hurt them.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± asked V¨ªearr, curiosity filling his voice. ¡°You can still channel Blessings, can¡¯t you?¡± questioned Julia. The barrier she¡¯d seen from the Priestess giving her an idea. ¡°Tyr, for reasons of his own, still hears me,¡± V¨ªearr replied. ¡°Even if I feel unworthy of his aid.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll speak again then,¡± Julia said. ¡°I could use your help to protect the women when we¡¯re ready to take the fight to the Gnarls.¡± ¡°Whatever I can do to assist them in Tyr¡¯s name,¡± V¨ªearr stated, his voice having lost its fragile tone. 92 - The hand that feeds you None of the locations they¡¯d scried had shown any signs of humanoid activity. From a panoramic spot on the west coast, Julia started teleporting herself northwards in erratic line-of-sight jumps, searching the dry coastline for trouble. Besides the minor things, such as spiders larger than horses, or snakes large enough to swallow buffalo. The largest monster Julia saw was a Roc with a wingspan nearly a full kilometre flying inland with a strange bull whale grasped in its talons. A white spiral horn growing from the whale¡¯s head shed tendrils of water and ice as it thrashed, suspended in mid-air. The whale¡¯s skin wasn¡¯t the grey-blue she¡¯d have expected, rather a very light, almost brilliant, green. Now well over land, the dying whale continued with increasing desperation to strike at the Roc. Yet all it achieved were showers of blood cascading from where the talons had pierced its sides. The first sign of organised inhabitants were plumes of smoke rising into the wind, the arid smell of wood fires, and charred flesh carrying kilometres downwind. Closer in, the signs of a Gnarl war host became increasingly clear, and Julia blended with the landscape well before it came into sight. Scouting out their encampment showed they were laying siege to a roughly constructed Orc settlement squatting against the coastline. Its walls were a mixture of rough-cut trees and piled rocks surrounding an inlet. The outer wall protecting a more heavily fortified interior compound, housing the vulnerable females and young children of their community. Just over three metres tall, the Orcs were muscular, dark-green skinned humanoids with broad features clad in roughly shaped leathers and iron plates. Uniformly yellow-eyed, with green cat-like irises and elongated pupils, their long limbs were masses of muscles and frequent scars. They were as brutish as Julia had expected from the stories, but they lacked the tusks often added in game artwork. In the air above the palisades, ghostly Orcs ranged around the perimeter, only visible in Julia¡¯s Soul sight. Waves of attackers squashed the fallen underfoot with no strategy but sheer numbers. Their claws hooked into wood and rough stone as they drew themselves up the palisades. When they hit the wall¡¯s top, they sought to swarm like rats over their foes. Those unfortunate enough to gain those heights by themselves died before they could scream, as the Orcs endeavouring to hold them at bay fought with increasing rage. The Orcs preference for long weapons prevented them from fighting in tight ranks, but each warrior claimed swaths of Gnarl lives taking advantage of their reach. As she watched, a flurry of Fireballs racing towards the wall came apart under the Spirits¡¯ claws. A settlement of a thousand Orcs, against over twenty thousand Gnarls, it was likely only a matter of time and blood before the Gnarls won. Curious about the Ghostly Orcs, Julia picked one out with Soul Sight and used Analysis. [Entity Species: Ancestral Spirit Level: 64 Health: 960 Mana: 512 Magic: 138 Defence: 78 (Incorporeal - Requires enchanted weapon to hit - maximum 50% of enchantment bonus damage) Melee Attack Power: 112 (Bypass unenchanted physical defence) Combat Skills: Mana Disruption [Ad] (13), Spirit Strike [Ad] (17), Dread Scream [M](2) - [Restriction: Night] Details: Shaman Y?t¨¢l of the Seafang Tribe formed this Ancestral Spirit, having dragged the Soul of a fallen tribe member back from their rest. ] While Soul Sight showed the blackness of the Gnarl Souls, with the same bloodlust and rage Julia had seen in the complex, to her perception, the Orcs weren¡¯t the depraved beasts she¡¯d expected. Glimpses of Souls showed their hard and often brutal natures, but even in their savagery, they took care of their own. Clairvoyance allowed Julia to peek over the walls. The toll for the settlement already showing in the scores of lifeless warriors that lay covered between buildings. In the brief time the spell lasted, she saw a wounded warrior gulping down freshly drawn seawater. A Shaman with bones braided into his hair tended to the Warrior¡¯s open wounds with others waiting nearby for healing. A tired Orc boy took the bucket from him and raced towards the inlet¡¯s shoreline, as others delivered more water to recovering warriors. It was a scene far different to the war host outside where badly wounded Gnarls were being eaten alive even as the battle raged. [Clairvoyance (1->2)] They¡¯re just throwing their numbers against the wall in waves. They¡¯d have a ramp of dead already if they didn¡¯t keep dragging them away to eat. A fresh group of Gnarls rushed towards the wall, their limbs flailing as they sprinted away from the larger armoured Gnarls that drove them forward with whip and blade. Julia lay watching it all with her form blending into the terrain, when another Fireball streaked over their heads from out of bow range. Throwing caution to the wind, Spell Disruption allowed her to pump Destruction Mana into the crudely shaped spell, and white flames ripped the group below it apart. Only the radius of the spell limiting the unexpected destruction in the massed troops. [Combat Summary: Gnarl Warrior x 27 Gnarl Leader x 1 Total Experience gained: 4,804 Wizard: +4,804 Assassin Contracts completed (least): 27 Assassin Contract completed (minor): 1 Assassin: +3,200 Spell Disruption (8->9)] Minor contract? {{Poor Gnarl caster we got all the experience. Suck it, bitch! }} Looking towards another of the smaller sized Gnarl now being driven towards the wall, Julia focused with Analysis. Analysis [Species: Gnarl Class: Warrior Level: 2 / 2 Health: 42 Defence: 21 Melee Attack Power: 14 Combat Skills: Swarm [J] (13), Claws [J] (2), Bite [J] (10) Details: Gnarl pup, seen one, seen them all.] Analysis [Swarm: For each member engaged in melee against a single foe, this skill increases the melee attack power of a single attack from the unit by 25%. Those using this skill instinctively apply this attack through whichever unit member is closest to a foe¡¯s vulnerable spots. (Note: The effect compounds, and occurs every four seconds)] Fucking hell, don¡¯t let people get swarmed. Not sure what Rika will say if I mention Orcs. While the Orc Souls are brutal, they¡¯re not as disgusting as Gnarls. Those kids looked like they were fighting to keep hauling water, I¡¯m not attacking an innocent¡¯s home for what they might do. Analysis [Gnarl: Species: An aberrant species created by a Dwarven Artificer trying to breed controllable shock troops. His goal was to counteract the press of various humanoid species on his clan¡¯s borders. Shortly after the first Gnarl group was born, the clan ceased to exist, consumed by his creations. The method of their creation died with the Artificer. A Gnarl offspring is always male, and gestation takes between three to four months depending on the size of the host organism. Maturation to the initial adult stage is six months. When a Gnarl exceeds level sixty, he can subsist by absorbing ambient Mana and will continue to grow larger. The largest Gnarl ranked as Emperor stood seventy metres tall, the Wood Elves slew it twenty-eight thousands years before human arrived in these lands. The urges of the Gnarl towards feeding and reproduction mean they are frequently their own worst enemies: unless controlled under strong leadership they will turn on each other in lean times.] What the fuck was that Dwarf thinking! As more Fireballs streaked out, Julia mentally turned off notifications. When the leading one crossed the line of larger Gnarls, she disrupted it and white flames roared out. Even as the second blast of white flames left broken corpses in its wake, Julia centred a Shock Blast deep behind the Gnarls¡¯ lines. The spell manifesting immediately at its focal point gave the casters no trail to follow, but still Julia moved. {{Once you pop you can¡¯t stop. }} A few moments after a fallen tree gained another piece of bark, a line of screaming whiteness ran through the gathered Gnarls. By the time survivors looked toward the tree, Julia was long gone; and they had to spin towards yet another explosion, deeper in the mob. Julia smiled as teleport took her into a clearing and she reformed into her Elven winged form. As those close at hand sprang toward her tempting body, Magma formed into Circle of Flame, its walled inferno meant they¡¯d leapt to their deaths. A Lightning Bolt ripped out blindly, formed to jump past the obstructing magma. Arrows and stones loosed towards her broke against the circle¡¯s inferno. Even as Julia teleported again, leaving them to focus on a now-empty position. Ancestral Spirits looked down unconcerned as her Destruction forged lightning ripped the closest fallen to ash. The Gnarls climbing over the dead to reach the lower wall, flayed apart by the energy she¡¯d thrown. Roars sounded from palisade as scores among the attackers died; the white lightning carrying on for a hundred metres or more. As Julia disappeared the Orcs roared, mocking the dead Gnarls. Daylight seemed pale compared to the energy that erupted repeatedly among the besieging war host. Those still faced with foes killed them with renewed vigour inspired by the unleashed destruction. As the last of skirmishers died, the Orcs watched the destruction feeding in their enemies¡¯ midst. Gnarls in their lust could not focus beyond the siren call of a female presence, Julia¡¯s very presence screaming at their driving instincts. Their desires rarely allowed them to flee for their lives, and even when they did, they found the siren in their path. All¡¯s fair in love and war. Julia grimaced as a Gnarl grabbed for her arm and cast Blink, shifting herself upwards and leaving it empty-handed beneath her. Its snarling maw glowed a moment later as she dropped a Fire Ball into its mouth. While stone walls would block the flames expanding, the Gnarl¡¯s flesh wasn¡¯t stone. To Julia¡¯s Demonic senses its crisped meat smelt disturbingly like pork crackling as its flesh and charred bone blasted out over its unit members. Damn, and I¡¯ve been missing barbeque ribs. {{You could always eat one with hot sauce, I won¡¯t tell. }} The proposal from B wasn¡¯t enough to distract her, instinct had her slide from a spear¡¯s path even as the effect of her bracers stole its momentum. A glimpse of a massive Gnarl taller than an Orc had her teleporting again as it readied another spear. The Lightning Bolt Julia threw in return was far more effective, but its scream of rage didn¡¯t turn into a death knell. Its swift charge would have once blurred, but Julia could easily follow its progress as she shifted location yet again. Fresh corpses crunched underfoot as she landed atop the fallen warriors, who hadn¡¯t withstood the energy¡¯s barrage. {{ Remember, sometimes the bull wins. }} B¡¯s snark just made Julia laugh in the moment¡¯s darkness. As more Gnarls surged towards her, Julia dropped a Fireball at her feet. The flames sliding off her Demonic flesh and the clothing formed by her bracelet alike. The first wave of charging Gnarls died, their collapsing bodies tripped those following as she teleported skyward at an angle. A Shock Blast of Negative Mana showed her the horror of that energy as the flesh of the Gnarl Leaders rotted off their bodies. Her perceptions revealed their Souls fighting off energy¡¯s infection, so she put them down with a Shock Blast of Celestial instead. The golden light of it echoed deep in her even as the black Souled Gnarls died screaming, but the soil and plants in the first blast¡¯s radius stayed barren and lifeless. Dropping groundward, she watched the Commander¡¯s charge and his troops followed him towards her; the smell of burnt metal filled the air as a Lightning Bolt met them. Blinded by the brilliant white light, and with smoking flesh filling his lungs, the Commander staggered on through the spot she¡¯d been standing. As his senses cleared again, a screaming whiteness burst into life, as a Fireball exploded going past him. Julia watched as those who¡¯d been rushing to his side died around him, joining those who¡¯d died to her Lightning Bolt. Another Adept¡¯s Fireball shaped and held ready in his hand, turned from orange to white; he¡¯d barely had time to draw breath to yell when it consumed him and others readying their own spells. Lightning came in even as Julia saw the Gnarl caster step past a tree. The surge of electricity rippled and crackled over her wings and flesh, feathers knocked free and arcing upwards as she moved. Before the loosened feathers fell, she replied in kind, and searing flame cooked flesh as it struck point-blank into the Gnarl¡¯s spine. The inferno held within the lightning¡¯s form cooked undergrowth, as it carried on and washed over Gnarls in its path. The brutal game of tag cost more their lives and the Commander injuries with every jump. Attempts to rally the troops or flee led to even more deaths. Bodies crushing underfoot announced another charge and plotting its motion Julia readied a spell and teleported at the last moment. The Commander¡¯s momentum smashed him into a tree instead of her and as he climbed his way drunkenly to his feet the world around it shone with a golden light. The thump of his weight hitting the ground announced the Commander¡¯s death. No longer forced to obey through fear of his wrath, some ran to feast instead of pursuing. With some close enough that their hunger and lust were in clear conflict, Julia moved before she sent out another Fireball. Fire erupted at their feet as their indecision and life burnt away. Chaos ran rampant among the Gnarls as enraged screams and cries rang out across the battlefield announcing the Commander¡¯s death. Those she attacked scurried in angered reaction, while others left increasingly leaderless fed and fought for spoils. Lightning Bolts targeting the leaders tore their units down with them as paths of death formed. The smell of carnage in the air driving those nearby into a feeding frenzy. There was plenty of meat on hand: charred by lightning or flame, drowned or ripped apart by Spatial Mana; only flesh reduced to ash had no appeal to those feasting. Julia, pushing on with her cull, provided more fresh corpses for their banquet. Her continual barrage of spells had broken the Gnarl war host and, low on Mana at last, she teleported away without hesitation. The battlefield wasn¡¯t empty, however as clouds of scavengers had arrived to compete with the remaining Gnarls. Shortly after Julia¡¯s culling ended, the feasting Gnarls found their former prey in their midst and the Orcs didn¡¯t give them time to recover from their mistake. [Combat Summary: Gnarl Warrior x 19,174 Gnarl Leader x 2,734 Gnarl Adepts x 40 Gnarl Band Leader x 27 Gnarl Chieftan x 6 Gnarl Commander x1 Total-experience Gained: 6,773,500 Wizard: +6,773,500 Wizard Level Up! x9 Tier 3 Prestige Classes now available for Assassin / Wizard, Monk / Wizard, Succubus / Wizard combinations. Assassin Contracts completed (least): 19,174 Assassin Contract completed (minor): 2,734 Assassin Contract completed (standard): 24 Assassin Contract completed (greater): 6 Assassin: + 2,773,600 Bonus experience awarded for the number of contracts completed in a day: +100,000 Total-experience gained for Assassin: +2,873,600 Mana Finesse [M] (6->7) Spell Disruption (9) -> [B](2) Blink (1) -> Blink (10) Circle of Flame [B] (3->5) Lightning Bolt [Ad](49) -> [M] (7) Shock Blast [Ad] (32) -> [M](1) Stun Cloud (5) -> [B] (1) Surge Emotion [Ap](5) -> [Ap](19) Trip [J](29) -> [J](36) Vacuum [B](17) -> [Ap](4) Water Bolt [B](1) -> [B](20)] [Achievement: Siege Breaker I Condition: Break a besieging force outnumbering defenders 3:1 (Minimum 300 Foes - Inflict 60%+ damage solo) Reward: Tactical Insight Unlocked! Additional Condition: Using only Arcane means and non-physical Powers Reward: Battle Wizard (Tier 1) Unlocked! ] [Achievement: Siege Breaker II Condition: Break a besieging force outnumbering defenders 10:1 ratio (Minimum 1,000 Foes - Inflict 70%+ damage solo) Reward: Tactical Insight increased 1 rank Current Status: Tactical Insight (1) -> Tactical Insight [B] (1) Additional Condition: Using only Arcane means and non-physical Powers Reward: Arcane Battalion Bane (Tier 2) Unlocked! ] [Achievement: Siege Breaker III Condition: Break a besieging force outnumbering defenders 20:1 ratio (Minimum 4,000 Foes - Inflict 80%+ damage solo) Reward: Tactical Insight increased 1 rank Current Status: Tactical Insight [B] (1) -> Tactical Insight [Ap] (1) Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Additional Condition: Using only Arcane means and non-physical Powers Reward: Arcane Horde Breaker (Tier 3) Unlocked! ] [Tactical Insight [Ap] (1) absorbed into Zen State [M] (13)] Julia reappeared near the safety of the staging post¡¯s doors, the bracelet¡¯s clothing wonderfully intact. Not far away Vragi glanced over from the practice field. As he continued their drill, she saw his muzzle wrinkle as if at something unpleasant. Julia cycled the Mana remaining through herself to speed recovery, as she took time to look over the Combat Summary and Achievements that accompanied it. She was still considering what she¡¯d read when the platoon¡¯s drill ended. ¡°Platoon, at ease,¡± Vragi ordered, and only when properly positioned did he dismiss them and move towards Julia. ¡°You reek of death. What were you doing?¡± ¡°I found a small War Host out west past the Slavic Kingdom. I got a little spell practice in.¡± ¡°Small?¡± Vragi enquired, and Julia had to keep a straight face as she saw his concealed ears twitch. ¡°Just over twenty-two thousand Gnarls,¡± stated Julia, working to keep her tone casual. [Acting [J] (18->19)] ¡°Medium-sized for Gnarls, unless they had a Lord with them then it would have been small,¡± Vragi corrected but looking concerned at the number. ¡°Highest rank was a Commander,¡± Julia said, and Vragi nodded thoughtfully. ¡°That¡¯s a large War Host for a Gnarl of that growth rank to be controlling. They normally have ten or twelve thousand at most.¡± ¡°So the complexes I rescued the ladies from?¡± asked Julia, leaving the question hanging. Vragi muzzle flexed in amusement and the human lips followed suit at Julia¡¯s wording, but he answered without hesitation. ¡°At least a Lord. Though it will depend on how many outposts report to him.¡± Vragi informed her before resuming his questioning. ¡°Did you destroy all the War Host?¡± ¡°No, but I broke them. They had foes nearby that hopefully will finish them,¡± Julia said. ¡°Slavic Calvary?¡± asked Vragi, clearly puzzled by Julia¡¯s vague response. ¡°No, an Orc outpost; they¡¯d besieged.¡± ¡°Orcs are just as bad,¡± grumbled Vragi, his expression made his distaste for them clear. ¡°Actually, they¡¯re not,¡° insisted Julia, aware it wasn¡¯t likely to win her friends. ¡°I can see their Souls, the Gnarls are aberrant and far, far worse. Yeah Orcs certainly have done nothing to win my concern, but they¡¯re not as pure evil, Soul-wise.¡± ¡°An enemy of your enemy need not be your friend,¡± Vragi argued. ¡°Leaving any enemy with a knife is inviting trouble.¡± ¡°That may be true, but their Souls weren¡¯t putrid. Yes, they were rough and brutal, but not swimming in bloodlust and rage. I¡¯m not just going to exterminate them like Gnarls,¡± Julia responded. ¡°Do what you must,¡± Vragi said. He almost stopped there but continued on. ¡°Who would have your favour if an Orc attacked a Human?¡± ¡°Nothing is absolute,¡± Julia argued, not giving an inch. ¡°What if they¡¯d been attacking an innocent child?¡± ¡°Is someone who¡¯d kill a child that way human or a rabid dog?¡± Julia¡¯s wintry smile was all the answer Vragi needed, and he didn¡¯t persist. After spending time among the ladies, Julia at last returned to Yngvarr¡¯s house. While listening to the clatter of dinner, she considered the Prestige Classes she¡¯d unlocked. [Battle Wizard Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 1. It combines Wizard and a Melee Class at Level 30. Any Base class with a Melee Attack Power of +1 or higher per level meets this requirement. Other Requirements include:
  • Achievement: Siege Breaker I.
  • Have two or more Tier 1 Affinities.
Provides the following gains:
  • +1 Intelligence per Level.
  • +1 Secondary Class Attribute per Level.
  • +4 Free Attributes per 4 Levels.
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per Level. (or progression provided by Secondary Base class, if higher.)
  • +1 Defence per Level. (or progression provided by Secondary Base class, if higher)
  • +1 Knowledge Point per Level.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Arcane Skills
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Secondary Class Primary Skills]
[Arcane Battalion Bane Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 2. It combines Wizard and a Melee Class at Level 40. Any Base class with a Melee Attack Power of +1 or higher per level meets this requirement. Other Requirements include:
  • Achievement: Siege Breaker II
  • Have two or more Affinities from Tier 1 and 2
Provides the following gains:
  • +5 Intelligence per 4 Levels.*
  • +5 Secondary Class Attribute per 4 Levels.*
  • +6 Free Attributes per 4 Levels.
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per Level. (or progression provided by Secondary base Class if higher.)
  • +1 Defence per Level. (or progression provided by Secondary Base Class if higher.)
  • +5 Knowledge Points per 4 Levels.*
  • Unlock Power: Delay Spell.
  • Increase Perception by one rank if lower than Master, otherwise 10 levels.
  • Increase Tactical Insight by one rank if lower than Master, otherwise 15 levels.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Arcane Skills
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Secondary Class Primary Skills]
[Arcane Horde Breaker Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 3. It combines Wizard and a Melee Class at Level 50. Any Base class with a Melee Attack Power of +1 or higher per level meets this requirement. Other Requirements include:
  • Achievement: Siege Breaker III.
  • Have two or more Affinities from Tier 1, 2 and 3.
Provides the following gains:
  • +6 Intelligence per 4 Levels.*
  • +6 Secondary Class Attribute per 4 Levels.*
  • +4 Free Attributes per 2 Levels.
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per Level. (or progression provided by Secondary base class, if higher.)
  • +1 Defence per Level. (or progression provided by Secondary base class, if higher.)
  • +5 Knowledge Points per 4 Levels.*
  • Unlock Power: Delay Spell.
  • Unlock Power: Deflect Arcane.
  • Increase Tactical Insight by one rank if lower than Master, otherwise 25 levels.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Arcane Skills.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Secondary Class Primary Skills]
[Delay Spell: Upon casting a spell, the possessor can delay the release of the arcane energies. When held in this fashion they take effect on a preset target. They can hold spells up to 1 minute per caster level, and a maximum of 2 spells per rank in this Power at once. At Master rank and above, they can release delayed spells in a different order to their casting. This rank also doubles the maximum time delay, which doubles again per rank from here on. The spell consumes mana immediately at the time of casting.] Analysis [Deflect Arcane: Possessing this power allows directed arcane energies to be deflected away, up to a maximum of 25% of their maximum magic rating per rank. Introduction: 25%, Beginner: 50%, through to Grand Master: 200%. This power doesn¡¯t provide protection against spell energies affecting an area. They can deflect energies from multiple casters at once.] The list of Prestige classes was longer than she expected. Every Affinity seemed represented alone and in combination, though only three drew her attention. Not that they tempted her to take either, but they already seemed higher than what she¡¯d seen from the Tier 5 Spellblade. [Elemental Spirit Master Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 3. It combines Monk and Wizard Level 50. Other Requirements include:
  • All Tier 1, 2 and 3 Affinities
  • Master¡¯s rank in an Unarmed Combat Style
  • Master¡¯s rank in Mana Finesse
  • Have evolved your own Martial Arts Style
  • Master¡¯s rank in 2+ Ki Powers
  • Possess True Sight or greater perception Power.
  • Have 3+ different Affinities attuned within Ki Infusion
Provides the following gains:
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Ki Aura
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Spirit Step
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Slow Fall
  • +2 Intelligence per Level.
  • +3 Willpower per Level.
  • +6 Free Attributes per 2 Levels.
  • +4 Magic Rating per Level.
  • +2 Ki per Level
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per Level.
  • +2 Defence per Level.
  • +2 Skill point per Level
  • Harmony doubles Ki recovery rate.
  • Hold two additional spells within Ki Infusion - all may be released at once.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in Unarmed Combat.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in any Meditation and Mental skills.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in any Arcane Skills.]
[Planar Mistress Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 3. It combines Wizard and Succubus Level 50. Other Requirements include:
  • All Affinities at Tier 1, 2 and 3.
  • Master¡¯s rank in Mana Finesse.
  • Having travelled to multiple Planes outside the Abyss.
  • Having spent time on two worlds.
  • Having 6+ Pacts with uncorrupted Mortal at one time.
  • Having successfully manipulated additional energy through a Pact.
  • Having harvested over 100 Souls.
Provides the following gains:
  • +2 Intelligence per Level.
  • +2 Charisma per Level.
  • +6 Free Attributes per 2 Levels.
  • +6 Magic Rating per Level.
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per 2 Levels.
  • +1 Defence per 2 Levels.
  • +1 Skill point per Level
  • +5 Knowledge Points per 4 Levels.
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Planar Shift (Self)
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Planar Beacon
  • Unlock acquisition of Skill: Planar Sense
  • Increases Planar Lore by one rank.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in any Lore Skill related to Outer and Element Planes.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for Infiltration, Haggling and Social Skills.]
[Vortex Killer Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 3. It combines Wizard and Assassin Level 50. Other Requirements include:
  • All Affinities at Tier 1, 2 and 3
  • Master¡¯s rank in Mana Finesse
  • Master¡¯s rank in preferred Combat Skill
  • Having completed multiple contracts via a mass death event triggered via Arcane means.
  • Having gained accumulated contract bonuses greater than 120,000 experience.
Provides the following gains:
  • +2 Intelligence per Level
  • +3 Quickness per Level
  • +5 Free Attributes per 2 Levels
  • +4 Magic Rating per Level
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per 2 Levels
  • +1 Defence per Level
  • +2 Skill point per Level
  • +7 Knowledge Points per 4 Levels
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Suppress Target
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Mana Critical
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Vortex Residue
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in any Lore Skill related to Outer and Element Planes.
  • Increased chance of gaining insights in Infiltration and Stealth skills]
How powerful do rare Prestige Classes get? Time to see what some of these do [Ki Aura: This power creates a reactive aura that causes attackers to receive Mana damage for any physical blow directed to the possessor. This requires no expenditure of Ki to occur, it reduces Mana Expenditure by 10% for each rank above beginner.] [Spirit Step: Allows the possessor to step through solid objects if they¡¯re not enchanted or warded. Higher ranks allow the user to transverse a greater distance of material. Using this Power only allows the possessor to travel in straight lines while within an object. ] [Slow Fall: Allows the possessor to slow their fall to land safely by drawing up the Ki energy within the flesh. Higher ranks allow for greater distance to be descended unharmed even when no surface is at hand to slow one¡¯s fall. After Master rank, the angle of descent and descent speed can be altered.] [Planar Shift (Self): Allows the possessor to shift themselves, and up to 20 kilograms of equipment per rank across to a target Plane. Rank limits the degree of Planar separation that can occur in a single step. The arrival location is random for the Plane or World unless a previously set Planar Beacon or Pact link is being used. ] [Planar Beacon: This allows the possessor to set a resonance point at their current Planar location. This allows them to return to the location with Planar Shift (Self) or Powers evolved from it. It also allows navigation with Planar Sense or other similar skills to an unnamed location previously visited.] [Suppress Target: Allows the possessor to suppress known Powers and Skills possessed by a single target. Initial strike allows the possessor to suppress one selection per rank in this skill below Adept levels, Adept level and it increases to 2 selections, Grand Master Ranks allows for 3 selections per rank. If contact maintained every four seconds additional selections can be added to the suppression effect. At Master rank and higher, the target''s normal movement capabilities are within the capacity of this power.] So that¡¯s how they locked me down! [Mana Critical: Allows the possessor to deliver critical strikes with spells in the same way as Death Strike allows for an increased chance of critical damage from Physical Attacks.] [Vortex Residue: The possessor can sustain damaging area effect spells with this power, but has the drawback of leaving the caster tied to the spell while it''s being sustained. Spell disruption, other similar powers and spells can make use of this link to attempt channelling energy into the caster if their Magic rating is higher.] [Analysis [Ad] (30->31)]
Julia glanced between the Elven script glowing on the plate and Yngvarr who was carefully looking over the display. They¡¯d been experimenting a while already, but Yngvarr¡¯s silver engraved plate had shown no issue so far. ¡°I take it that¡¯s And¨²n? Elven?¡± asked Julia, twitching her chin in the direction of the script, as she kept her hands in place. ¡°There was no point in presenting information in High Elven.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a bunch of Knowledge Points at present. Why not speak to me in the various Elven dialects and I¡¯ll unlock them all,¡± Julia suggested, and got a smirk in reply. ¡°That¡¯s such an imposition. Adjust your Profile control to show the attributes all as one and go again.¡± ¡°Spoil sport,¡± pouted Julia, even as she followed his instructions. After an attempt to decipher one word with their formation only subtlely different to High Elven, Julia checked her language options again. With a mischievous smile, she unlocked the And¨²n? dialect, while Yngvarr gave her a suspicious look at her smile, he didn¡¯t ask for confirmation. The glowing script was mostly the same, only the attributes adjusted. ¡°What are those words above the attributes?¡± Julia asked, playing innocent, already satisfied with seeing her classes listed. ¡°Your classes or paths.¡± ¡°Can I try something?¡± asked Julia, eyes going wide with glee. ¡°You¡¯ve been having all the fun.¡± ¡°Are you going to tell me first?¡± asked Yngvarr, giving her a suspicious look. ¡°Nope,¡± Julia said. Lifting her hands, Julia adjusted her intended Profile turning off displaying all her classes. When she put her hands back down, the plate displayed nothing. A smile of triumph accompanied Julia, resetting one class presentation to Fighter as her hands moved again. [Profile Control [J] (14->15)] At this rate that skill will get into advanced rank as well, it¡¯s gained eight, no nine levels already this evening. ¡°First nothing, and now it says you¡¯re a Fighter,¡± reported Yngvarr, looking at her curiously. ¡°Excellent! Exactly right,¡± said Julia, still playing ignorant. At her words, Yngvarr ticked off an item from his test list, before voicing his question. ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± ¡°Nothing yet I just love having options,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Now you can help me test it for every class I know,¡± Yngvarr stated, his satisfaction clear. ¡°You¡¯re saying class too!¡± Julia said, her excited tone causing Yngvarr to shake his head. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re a bad influence,¡± grumbled Yngvarr. ¡°I know.¡± Julia murmured with mock glumness, only to be answered with a flat look. ¡°Let¡¯s start with just Assassin alone at first level,¡± stated Yngvarr, ¡°While it was showing before I want to ensure it works in isolation.¡± ¡°Look at you, properly validating test results,¡± Julia said, mischief lighting her gaze as she found herself on the receiving end of an eye-roll. When she put her hands back, Yngvarr nodded and signalled for her to increase the level. ¡°After we¡¯re done with this, would you spend some time to write all the Prestige Classes details it has offered you? There is much conjecture about Prestige Classes and their requirements. Though there are likely few Wizards at your level with enough Mana to duplicate your feat.¡± ¡°Greater Teleport and Protean let me get into position to cut the snake¡¯s head¡¯s off; once the Commander was dead it was a slaughter. If I left dead nearby to eat they didn¡¯t even try to run away,¡± Julia said. The vileness of the Souls she faced made her feel as if she¡¯s spent a day squashing diseased cockroaches. While she didn¡¯t need another bath this evening, thinking of the Gnarls among even Orc women left her skin crawling. Yngvarr just shivered slightly but got back to making his own notes.
On the west coast after night had fallen, Shaman Y?t¨¢l poured blood into the ocean¡¯s waves. With the jug emptied, she moved back up the beach, their camping spot for the wait already set up. Fatigue ate at her focus after days spent tending to the wounded while the battle¡¯s toll had steadily worsened. Though she needed rest, her tribe needed to know if so strong a threat was still dagger close. An escort of Fighters and Hunters sat arrayed beyond the offerings; their attention directed out seeking threats that lurked in the night. Nearly a bell went by with no response and only harnessing the rage she felt at the Gnarl¡¯s attack against her tribe kept her awake. The moon had progressed a hand¡¯s width across the night sky when the sound of splashing drew her attention. A lean figure, nearly a metre shorter than the Shaman¡¯s bulky three, shrouded in tangled seaweed rose from the surf and came walking towards the shore. The waves meaningless to her progress, merely breaking around her and leaving her untouched. Seaweed green hair and deep blue skin reflected the moonlight with the water that was beading on her form. She had blood-red orbs for eyes and carried as much viciousness as the rest of the Hag¡¯s hideous jagged features. Each step caused the Hag¡¯s pot belly, loose folds of skin and sagging breasts to sway, but despite those decrepitude aspects she was far from weak. ¡°You have my price?¡± She asked in snarling Abyssal, and the Shaman gestured towards the bundle just above the tidal reach. It was always clear the Hag knew even before she spoke. Still, every time the exchanges with the Deepwater Bay coven followed this exact routine. Crouching near the bundle, she drew back the blood-soaked cloth to look over the thirteen freshly harvest hearts that lay within. She wiggled long fingers for a moment as she contemplated them, and then the Hag picked up the smallest first, devouring it with snapping bites. Blood clots dripped from her jagged teeth and across her pointed chin with every bite; she consumed the other hearts just as eagerly. Soon the blood soaking the bundle¡¯s interior was the only sign of their offering. As it traced a long finger through the clotted blood within, its red gaze stared ominously at the Shaman. ¡°Ask!¡± ¡°She appeared like an Elf but with golden skin, and large raven wings sprouting from her back. Black feathered wings shrouded in flames of glorious black and screaming white she routed a war host attacking us. I would trade for knowledge on her. She scattered the host and then simply left. My spirits sensed a glowing Sigil left in her wake, and I recognised it for Abyssal.¡± Y?t¨¢l drew the Sigil¡¯s sharp lines crudely in the sand and the Hag poked it with a long finger a moment later. ¡°Wait.¡± The shaman could feel the Mana gathering the moment the Hag snapped her order. Heat from unnatural fire licked the air, and the Shaman ignored her bound spirit¡¯s scream of fear. The Hag held herself still as an unmoving cold obsidian rock, her jagged features twisted in its reposed state. A double handful of waves, then a triple, and more ran onto the shore and the silence loomed around them. ¡°Lady Epoch¨¥ has spoken to me. The one who rescued you is Herald to her.¡± the Hag¡¯s crackling voice shattered the heavy silence that had grown. ¡°Does your Lady Epoch¨¥ think to trick us into worshipping her? It is easy to claim what another has done,¡± Y?t¨¢l growled suspiciously. ¡°Lady Epoch¨¥ wishes nothing from you. If you seek a Power to pray to beyond the spirits of your Slain or your scattered Gods, then pray to Lady Viper. The vengeful liberator, destroyer of chains, Reaper of Souls.¡± ¡°I will always follow the ways of my ancestors. But what is her symbol in case one of the tribe asks for more?¡± ¡°You have twelve corpses with you, I will take them all in trade.¡± The Hag paused, it considered the wrapped items salvaged from the Gnarls and pointed at a still closed bundle before she spoke again. ¡°Also the two wands with the bone shard ends in that bundle.¡± ¡°For the information and the symbol?¡± Y?t¨¢l pressed, ensuring the terms of trade before giving agreement. ¡°Agreed,¡± The Hag¡¯s reply was far too happy for Y?t¨¢l¡¯s satisfaction, but she pulled the wands from the bundle. ¡°Agreed,¡± said Y?t¨¢l, holding out the wands, the energy of them tingling across her skin as the Hag took them from her. ¡°Don¡¯t be sour, I even have a warning from Lady Epoch¨¥. Viper is a merciless Power, and she pursues needs with all her strength,¡± The Hag said in an admiring tone. ¡°Her strength in destruction was considerable, perhaps the young will follow in her ways.¡± stated Y?t¨¢l. ¡°Better than trying to follow those which the returning Elves slew or scattered. Know this: she is an Elf at heart and won¡¯t take kindly to followers acting against the frail flowers,¡± chortled the Hag. ¡±Even at the price of avoiding the Elves, there are many foes to prove our strength against,¡± Y?t¨¢l replied, her nose crinkling in distaste at the hag¡¯s taunting words. The Hag picked up a rock on the shoreline, its hands glowing with sullen flames. When the rock cracked and fell apart, she dropped a symbol to cool in the sand. The Shaman plucked it up with a hand wrapped in the protective energy of a fire mephit at her command. The symbol¡¯s core was too civilised for her taste, but overall it had an appeal. Its black candle seemed smoothly human-looking, but around it was remnants of shattered chains, apparently broken by brute force. With the way they lay scattered among bones and the skull that formed the candle¡¯s base, their wreckage conveyed meanings that others might find agreeable. ¡°Lady Viper,¡± Y?t¨¢l muttered, the Abyssal name slipping across her tongue with a pleasing, vicious edge. Mana surged again from the hag, and all the corpses rose, shambling to their feet. Y?t¨¢l kept careful watch as the intact Gnarls walked into the waves, following the hag away.
The notification caught Julia by surprise as she was practicing clairvoyance, the contents of it nearly causing her to rupture the still unfamiliar spell form. Each casting had been watching the ladies drill from various distances and directions. She barely let it disperse harmlessly as she read the notification again. [Lady Viper, Herald of Lady Epoch¨¥, a new cult has formed to you. Head Priest: V?rt¨¢l - Fifth son of Shaman Y?t¨¢l, of the Seafang Tribe Title: Lady of the Burning Tempest, Reaper of Souls. All options set for initial cult apply to new religion. Primary Attribute: Willpower Wizard Class available for faithful [Positive Affinity] Because of the growth of your Primary Cult and the addition of this secondary cult, two Blessing paths are currently available for selection.] Oh shit. {{Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s a fun fellow I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get on fine with him. }} {{That sounds fun. Select Smiting Ways. }} [Optional Path selection confirmed. Current Optional Path List: Curse Lore Exorcism Smiting Ways] What? B! Julia quickly considered the Optional paths she remembered and choose one she¡¯d previously considered. Select Spell Defence. [Optional Path selection confirmed. Current Optional Path List: Curse Lore Exorcism Smiting Ways Spell Defence] {{Damn you, I was still deciding what else I wanted. Unholy Arms looked cool too! }} How did you do that B? {{I picked the name Viper, so I get a say. }} {{Thank Usd¡¯ghi and give her something for me, will you? Unless you¡¯d prefer I do that myself. }} B¡¯s gloating tone made Julia want to scream, but she didn¡¯t want to give her the satisfaction. With a steadying mental image, she used Harmony to wrap her thoughts tighter and made some mental adjustments. Within the Mind Palace, B frowned as the chair disappeared from Julia¡¯s side and the crystal pieces vanished from the board. To Julia, instead of sitting in the disc¡¯s shade, she found herself in summer¡¯s warmth. Overhead the Sun that had ignited filled the sky, its fire pure gold. The black disc on this side had the same abbreviated column with its strange game board, and boxes of figurines she had never seen before floated around its top. Close to falling off the board¡¯s edge, a figure of a small Orc boy lay forlorn on his side, appearing isolated and alone. A water bucket clutched in one hand and his features set in determination. Julia didn¡¯t even consider letting the figurine fall but simply moved it among other waiting pieces. The Sun¡¯s light glimmered through the crystal as her hand drew away. ¡°You took all your pieces off the board. Running off to cry?¡± Her mocking words echoed strangely in Julia¡¯s mind and ears as she glanced over boxes of crystal pieces. She could still see crystal pieces arrayed on the board, an armoured warrior leapt from a box and landed on a spot towards the board¡¯s edge. Julia couldn¡¯t see B¡¯s board but the sound of obsidian breaking from the disc¡¯s other side was clear. ¡°BUT I JUST MOVED THAT ONE!¡± B screamed. ¡°Oh, playing stealth mode? Fine, game on!¡± Julia was glad her fury was the disc¡¯s thickness away. Whatever piece B moved next, Julia couldn¡¯t see it in play as she released the Mind Palace.
Scavenging among the corpses, Shag¨®rim set his bag down, the pieces of metal rattling within it unnoticed as an unburnt feather caught his attention. Longer than his hand, the gold vein within feather¡¯s core caught his eye, its pure blackness otherwise unmarked by dirt or ash. Crouching, he brushed his fingertips lightly along it, looking at the gold veins in the stem and felt the power resonating in it. Slipping out the necklace they had given him this morning from his shirt, he tied the feather to the cord near the amulet. The red flame on the amulet warping blue unnoticed as he slipped it away. Putting more scrap into the bag, he hurried onto the next corpse. He needed to collect as much as possible while there was daylight. 93 - Savages While B ranted about Julia¡¯s betrayal, she glanced between Torm and Rana. Torm¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d expected, but found herself unsurprised and glad. He wasn¡¯t suspicious, or cautious, rather in his gaze there was obvious concern for her. ¡°I¡¯m glad we¡¯re discussing this without Mortal ears listening in,¡± Rana said, gesturing to the beautiful wards he¡¯d set around them. They¡¯d turned a small area of Yngvarr¡¯s courtyard into shifting shadows, with the appearance of a tree¡¯s leaves reacting to the morning breeze. The two had waited patiently clustered in a circle with her while Julia had explained the latest strangeness. Fuck! This is trouble. ¡°So you can chew me out¡­¡± started Julia, but as Rana¡¯s eyes went wide, she knew she¡¯d gotten it wrong. ¡°No!¡± exclaimed Rana in shock. ¡°Nothing of the sort. It is merely a subject Mortal¡¯s react strongly to, often feeling what they believe right is the completeness of truth.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gained a Priest who looks at you differently to how Eivor and the others regard you,¡± stated Torm. ¡°It will be a challenge, but there are ways you can grow from this as well. I¡¯m more concerned about how you feel about the name L¨ºdhins offered being permanently tied to you this way. With their worshipping it you¡¯ll never be able to remove it.¡± ¡°It was a parting gift of someone before they died,¡± replied Julia. ¡°L¨ºdhins¡¯ Id, no, not L¨ºdhins - Derek¡¯s Id consumed him, or overpowered him. I don¡¯t hold its actions against him, its all the dark and vile things that he refused to act on given life. It¡¯s like holding someone''s thoughts against them, and I¡¯m not going into how many explicit daydreams I¡¯ve ignored lately.¡± Rana nodded in agreement to Julia¡¯s words before he spoke up, the seriousness of his expression tightening Julia¡¯s nerves. ¡°Orcs on this world have fought against the Elves since before humans were about, but that is not the case on all worlds. The Elven Pantheon doesn¡¯t exist in this world alone, though the number of worshipers here restricts its influence. You and your Id are like two trees growing so near each other that it has your branches are tangling. Whether ¨®einn¡¯s mistake in sending Odyis to you has forced your growth to entwine eternally is still to be seen.¡± ¡°When she turned up with them,¡± Torm started, then paused before continuing. When he did so, regret and remorse clear in his expression and heavy tone. ¡°I believe I owe you my apologies as well. I should have taken them aside and learnt what was going on before I let them in the house. You trusted me and I failed you.¡± ¡°You did no such thing!¡± gasped a shocked Julia, putting a hand on his arm in concern. ¡°They messed things up, not you. Heck, really, I should have told them to fuck off. If they¡¯d left, it sounds like Tyr would have given them an earful, and arranged for them or someone more sensible to be called back. You''re not responsible for other people¡¯s choices.¡± ¡°Why do you feel responsible for B¡¯s choices? Her preferences?¡± Torm asked, the concern in his words making Julia freeze at the question. The intensity of his expression making her stumble for words. ¡°She often suggests courses of action you refuse.¡± ¡°This is the issue then, isn¡¯t it,¡± Rana said, nodding at Julia¡¯s expression. ¡°It¡¯s not that its Bs choice. It¡¯s that you see her as part of you, rather than an entity with her own priorities, whispering in your mind.¡± ¡°Her basis for decision making is everything I repressed,¡± protested Julia. ¡°Yet she knows why you repressed them. So, a different question. Is a parent responsible for an adult child?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Not if they did their best to raise them,¡± admitted Julia. ¡°Eventually they have to be held accountable for themselves. But if the parents abused them aren¡¯t they partly to blame if the child turned into a monster.¡± {{ Yeah, so stop disempowering me, mum! }} You¡¯re more a nightmare house guest that I never wanted! {{Fuck you too! }} Anytime you want to pack up and leave is fine by me! Ignoring the delighted laughter, Julia focused on the conversation as Rana spoke. ¡°But as you¡¯ve seen, even Celestials, and Gods can make choices that aren¡¯t in the best interests of others. B can recall your past lives, in them there would be more than pain,¡± Rana said. ¡°The Anar reaching adulthood could recall all their lives and learned from their past mistakes. If she wishes to claim credit for the name Viper, let her take responsibility for actions done in that name.¡± ¡°You should know that Orcs have their code of honour even if it barbaric. That alone is more than many humans will give them credit for,¡± consoled Torm. ¡°What Rika¡¯s mother endured was horrible, but human women have endured much at the hands of their own kin. Most Mortal sapient species have the capacity for choice. Few of them are utterly evil, as most Humans and even some Elves believe. Although there are unredeemable things that the Titan placed to serve as a continual challenge to those that can choose.¡± ¡°And some things Mortals created that are fucked up all on their own, like the Gnarls,¡± Julia agreed with a nod, considered his words as options spun in her mind. ¡°What?!¡± Rana exclaimed. Oh crap! ¡°That wasn¡¯t common knowledge?¡± Julia asked nervously, her grimace drawing a concerned look from Rana. ¡°What have you discovered?¡± asked Torm, his question echoed by Rana. ¡°Perhaps something I should just keep to myself till I talk to a few people,¡± Julia muttered, wondering if the Dwarves even knew. ¡°The Gnarls have been a plague on these lands since before the Elven return,¡± Rana stated. ¡°The Dwarves and humanoids had been battling them for thousands of years before the courts returned.¡± ¡°Pretty sure I¡¯ve already said too much. Care to tell me more about the Orcs?¡± Julia asked, mentally sighing when Rana just nodded. ¡°The strongest individual rules each tribe, be it through magical power, strength of arms or cunning,¡± said Rana, though his thoughtful expression clearly showed he was still considering her revelation. B¡¯s insane giggles at the back of her mind made keeping a calm expression challenging. [Acting [J] (19->20)] Great, so keeping secrets from a friend counts? ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen of their combat skills, they focus on only a single class,¡± Torm added. ¡°They¡¯re usually very set in their ways, though wiping out a war host would get one¡¯s attention. They¡¯ll need a religion with a focus on fighting if you¡¯re going to keep their belief. Hope won¡¯t interest them, that¡¯s for the future and they live in the now.¡± ¡°What about destroying things like the Gnarls?¡± Julia asked, trying to make the best of the situation. ¡°Focusing on destruction is a dangerous path,¡± cautioned Rana. ¡°B is going to¡­ no, Viper will not want a path of peace.¡± ¡°You''re using the name for her?¡± Rana asked, looking at her in surprise. ¡°It was her choice, not mine. You told me part of my problem is I don¡¯t see her as separate from me. Well now, she¡¯s Viper. She might only exist inside me, but since she wanted it, then the name is all hers.¡± Julia stated firmly and blinked as the world swam for a moment. [Use Name Viper reallocated.] {{I don¡¯t know if I should kiss you or hurt you. It¡¯s mine, it¡¯s all mine. }} ¡°Julia, what happened?¡± Torm asked, looking at her with concern as she swayed in place. ¡°Viper got full possession of her name,¡± Julia said. Looking at the profile, she sighed in relief but stopped with a frown. ¡°I also don¡¯t see details on Lady Viper¡¯s worshippers now; I can see Lady Eakc? details but not hers.¡± {{ We can still come to a deal on that score. Don¡¯t want folks to have a reason to wipe them out as you were considering. }} B made the offer happily. What sort of deal? {{ I could still give you a headache with the boxes - so how about you sort out what I sensed you planning earlier. }} What¡¯s the carrot? {{ There are pleasant memories I could release instead, including your first name. }} I still want to tell you to fuck off. {{ Would you prefer them to run wild or at least moderate them? Oh, can I influence my Priest¡¯s attitude from a distance?}} Bitch. {{ Yes! }}
The ocean breeze brought the cries of birds and the taste of salt to Julia. A heroic stand against the miasma of decay and rot the slaughter behind her emanated. The wind¡¯s direction pushed the worst of it away from where she was on the hillside near the Orc¡¯s settlement, but the masses of dead nearby were overpowering. A sentry¡¯s cry went up, her Power translating it to ¡®the destroyer is back¡¯. She¡¯s seen others about picking through the bodies at the first sight of her, she¡¯d learnt from their minds that the ¡®Priest¡¯ of Lady Viper was still within the walls. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. {{ Typical come all this way to be a stiff. You screw with them and I¡¯ll screw with your followers. }} If I just tell them to stay well clear of the kingdoms? Ignoring B¡¯s biting tone, Julia just stood waiting, not risking her going to them being seen as an act of supplication. To her, it just didn¡¯t seem like a move to risk. They could come to her or not speak to her at all. After a quarter of a bell a group of Orcs came out through the gate, the mix not hopeful till she focused on their body language. Three bowmen kept their gazes focused on the edges of the cleared land away from her. The rest of the group were two swordsmen, and three Shamans like she¡¯d seen tending the wounded Orc. Except for a Fighter and Shaman focused on her, most seemed to watch the activity among the broken trees. The Fighter was wearing a symbol she recognised at once from Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s remarks about her vision of Titan¡¯s wall, even these months later. Analysis picked out the swordsmen¡¯s name and the eldest Shaman¡¯s name in moments. [Name: V?rt¨¢l Species: Northern Orc Class: Barbarian / Priest Level: 34 / 1 Health: 510 Defence: 107 Mana: 13 Magic: 26 Melee Attack Power: 118 Combat Skills: Rage [Ad] (34), Long Blades [M](2), Throwing Spear [Ad](42) - Minor Blessings - Lady Viper Details: V?rt¨¢l, though the fifth son of Y?t¨¢l, the tribe currently is leaning favourably his way if Y?t¨¢l dies. The success of his war band in battle and hunting have out stripped their smaller numbers. ] [Name: Y?t¨¢l Species: Northern Orc Class: Shaman Level: 71 Health: 1207 Defence: 146 Mana: 11,005 Magic: 114 Melee Attack Power: 51 Combat Skills: Short Blades [M](25), Hunting Bow [Ad](42), Sling [M] (15), Spirit Binding [S](5) - Assorted Blessings - Ancestor Worship Details: Y?t¨¢l has been a Shaman of the Seafang tribe since she was twelve. Y?t¨¢l, first as sole Shaman, and later as the Tribal leader, has overseen its regrowth in the last five decades.] [Name: ¨¹orgak Species: Northern Orc Class: Barbarian. Level: 52 Health: 1,716 Defence: 135 Melee Attack Power: 182 Combat Skills: Rage [Ad] (50), Great Blades [Ad] (50), Great Axes [Ad](50), Clubs [Ad](42), Unarmed Combat [Ad](21) Details: Eldest son of Y?t¨¢l. He serves as her principal bodyguard while she is outside the Tribe¡¯s encampment. Though he¡¯s aware he isn¡¯t as smart as his siblings, it doesn¡¯t stop him from speaking his mind. He is prone to lashing out in anger when he finds his desires frustrated.] They stopped about five metres away and the group fell into wary silence as Julia just waited. ¡°Lady Viper, do you come in response to our worship of you?¡± asked V?rt¨¢l, after a few minutes of Julia just watching them stand before her. ¡°You certainly got my attention,¡± Julia replied honestly. ¡°Whether your prayers are welcome, I¡¯d like to learn more before that¡¯s decided. Where did you learn of that name and symbol?¡± ¡°A Hag from the Deepwater Bay Coven told our Shaman of you, Lady Viper,¡± V?rt¨¢l responded without hesitation even though Julia could see he was holding things back. They don¡¯t have just one Shaman. Looking to avoid giving me her name? Or does the strongest get the title? ¡°Shaman Y?t¨¢l. How did the Hag know?¡± asked Julia, looking directly at the older Orc standing beside him. The way her eyes widen in surprise making Julia¡¯s day. ¡°Lady Epoch¨¥ spoke to her, and she traded the information to us,¡± Y?t¨¢l replied, and Julia was glad she wasn¡¯t playing who me. Fuck, someone¡¯s asking her about me? How did she know I look nothing like.. golden skinned elf¡­ I should have used another form! {{Well, yeah. }} ¡°What caused the Hag to speak to Lady Epoch¨¥?¡± enquired Julia, her tone slightly curious, as if unbothered by the knowledge. ¡°Shaman Y?t¨¢l traded for information on you in case you were a danger to the tribe,¡± V?rt¨¢l stated. ¡°Did our prayers displease you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure your Mother can speak for herself,¡± replied Julia, her dry tone drawing concerned mutters. ¡°What did the Hag say to you?¡± ¡°That you were Lady Viper, Herald of Lady Epoch¨¥, the vengeful liberator, destroyer of chains, Reaper of Souls,¡± stated Y?t¨¢l, keeping her attention on Julia. Sounds like Usd¡¯ghi knows far more than she let on, figures. Reaper of Souls? Is she trying to give me a promotion using Reaper as more than just a job title? Movement from the gate drew Julia¡¯s attention, but instead of Orcs it was a group of chained Kobolds. Soul Sight showed the Kobolds similar Souled to the Orcs, brutal, with little care of anyone else but their own. Even from the distance she was standing, Julia could see the scars on their wrists where manacles had worn away at scales. They keep slaves, damn it. {{Don¡¯t make a fuss, bitch! }} Screw you, Viper! Enjoy being tied to the Sisterhood? No! Slavery is wrong, end of discussion! ¡°Didn¡¯t you kill the Gnarls, and come expecting us to bow at your feet?¡± questioned ¨¹orgak, his brutish features twisted in suspicion. ¡°Your worship is your choice,¡± Julia replied to ¨¹orgak, even as Viper started raging about her disinterest. ¡°But I¡¯d ask you to stop enslaving others and give them their choices back.¡± She made a gesture back towards the encampment, but only some Orcs turned to look at the Kobolds. The reptilian creatures didn¡¯t even come up to the height of an Orc¡¯s hip. Lean, with clawed hands and feet, their tails assisted in their balance. Reddish-brown scales covered them, but tattered loincloths gave them a sense of destroyed dignity. ¡°It is our right by strength to control them,¡± ¨¹orgak roared, and Julia just stared at him with contempt as Soul Sight showed her more of his nature. The cruel enjoyment even a mere glance at them had sent through his Soul setting her teeth on edge. ¡°How strong are you if you need to chain weaker individuals?¡± asked Julia, disgust clear in her gaze. ¡°No matter how physically strong you are, it shows you¡¯re flawed, with no true strength. True strength, true Power comes from within oneself not from forcing others to labour for you.¡± ¡°The broken chains on your symbol. Are slave manacles?¡± asked V?rt¨¢l, giving ¨¹orgak a flat look and causing him to glance at Y?t¨¢l before grinding his teeth. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll certainly destroy enemies, but slavery disgusts me.¡± ¡°If we just set them free, they¡¯ll come to raid our food supplies again,¡± said V?rt¨¢l, his relaxed tone broadcasting familiar with being the voice of reason. ¡°They will steal anything they can lay claw to if you turn your back on them.¡± ¡°Kobolds prefer being underground, don¡¯t they?¡± Julia asked, an idea coming to mind. I just hope this doesn¡¯t come back and cause humanity grief later. ((The Titan had them Sung to act as a tool to temper other civilisations. )) Great, so you¡¯re saying it¡¯s fine because it¡¯s all part of his plan. ((If you ease their struggles, even they might become less brutal - it has happened on other worlds. )) {{Going to strengthen my worshippers. Okay, I¡¯m on board. }} So not what I wanted to hear. ¡°Of course, they are like rats,¡± V?rt¨¢l replied. ¡°Sneaking around underground digging where they should not come.¡± ¡°The Gnarls have caves east of here, their war host came from there,¡± Julia offered, watching the caution in V?rt¨¢l¡¯s gaze. ¡°I learnt the route from the Commander¡¯s mind. You could ally with the Kobolds to take them over. Afterwards have them handle the mushroom groves and keep a watch for more Gnarls coming back.¡± ¡°We are still recovering from the last battle,¡± ¨¹orgak grumbled, despite Y?t¨¢l''s continued glare. ¡°You expect us to clear out a Gnarl nest for those rats to benefit?¡± Y?t¨¢l could shut him up, but isn¡¯t. Julia studied the glare between them and caught a glint of expectation under the anger. [Sense Motive [J] (5->7)] She expects him to run his mouth - it saves her or V?rt¨¢l getting in my bad books, then lets them see my reactions. ¡°No, I¡¯ll kill the Gnarls,¡± sneered Julia, ¡°You can stay here and run your mouth like your mother expects of you.¡± As Shaman Y?t¨¢l went to speak, Julia''s flat look stopped her. ¡°But if you want anything from me, you¡¯ll do two things. Stop keeping slaves, and stay out of the lands of the Elven and Human Kingdoms. The Orcs have plenty to challenge their strength in these harsh lands along the coast they don¡¯t need the soft lands of east.¡± ¡°Well fed Kobolds will just grow in numbers till they can swarm us like the Gnarls,¡± V?rt¨¢l stated, as Y?t¨¢l signalled ¨¹orgak to be silent. ¡°Make an alliance with them. They provide food to you, and you keep them safe from bigger threats,¡± Julia suggested. ¡°You¡¯ll grow stronger by challenging yourselves, while they have a place of safety. Balance the food grown, leave them enough to prosper without turning into a horde, and also supply your community.¡± Shit, this might turn their entire tribe into a standing army. ¡°You would tell us what to do?¡± asked Y?t¨¢l, suspicion clear in her gaze as she spoke for herself. ¡°I¡¯m telling you what I¡¯m going to do,¡± Julia stated, her low tone growling with menace. ¡°What you do is your own choice.¡° She directed the last words at V?rt¨¢l, but the three involved in the conversation felt a steel will press against their minds. As it lifted, they sensed the route to the Gnarl¡¯s warren complex Julia had left with them. ¡°That¡¯s for your use later. I¡¯ve loads of killing to do first. I¡¯ll send a message when they¡¯re dead. Negotiation of terms with the Kobolds is up to you. But I will check on things, no blood offering by the way. You want something to make an altar smell attractive to me, burn some of those herbs your Mother smells of presently. Save the food for your tribe, no need to open up a goat across it again.¡± Or anything else, though I wonder if the herbs are the hemp variety or recreational. ¡°What is it you want of us, Lady Viper?¡± ¡°I fight things that need to be fought,¡± Julia stated. ¡°Just like you don¡¯t waste your war band¡¯s strength in unneeded fights, V?rt¨¢l. I see no need to kill things for sport, or just because I can.¡± With those words Julia vanished, the Commander¡¯s memories delivering her within sight of the cave mouth. The valley where the cave sat was an eyesore of devastation: uprooted trees and churned soil. Only the rare sprouts of recent growth gave any sign the land wasn¡¯t as blighted by Negative Mana.
Tracing the path to the cave mouth leading towards the Gnarl¡¯s complex had been as easy as she¡¯d hoped. His mind hadn¡¯t considered the complex itself though, and Julia¡¯s concerns grew as she felt more Gnarls ahead than she had expected. Where she had expected the Gnarls to be sending out a war host to conquer new Territory, she¡¯d expected their war effort to have left only a garrison force behind. Instead, under the local equivalent of the San Gabriel Mountains, she found a metropolis whose population was beyond her ability to determine quickly. Buildings, finely crafted and crudely formed alike, populated ledges along a giant gallery deep within its expanse. A pungent, offensive odour led her to square kilometres of underground pens with Dire Boar males separated from their sows, and if she¡¯s had a mouth laughter born from relief and disbelief would have threatened. A restrained sow giving birth to a litter of Gnarls was the last thing she¡¯d expected to find. When the last of fourteen staggered awkwardly to his feet, mobile within minutes, their numbers stilled her amusement. She¡¯d seen Dire Boar sows in the other outpost, but thought they were for food, not for generating litters of Gnarls. Telepathy nudged one of the ¡®nursemaids¡¯, and he reacted to the idle thought of women with twisted lusts. Fortunately, nothing in his thoughts provided any sign there were sapient females about, and Julia withdrew from his mind. [Telepathy [Ad] (36->37)] No wonder the details said the host organism, not mother. Talk about a parasitic lifeform. {{ No wonder they reminded you of pork crackling, they¡¯re all long pigs. }} As she watched from a cavern ceiling, a Gnarl far out massing the sow wandered towards the cavern. It¡¯s every step echoing with the weight of muscles supported by its frame. When it ducked through an archway that was easily twelve metres high, Julia used Analysis on it, concerned what she¡¯d find. The Gnarl wore armour made up of metallic bands shimmering with crude enchantments. Though Julia could see lots of gaps in its protection, the armour¡¯s dings and creases showed it had saved him from injury in the past. A haft sat over its shoulder and as it moved past where she was observing the curved axe strapped across its back became visible. Analysis [Name: ?d¨´li Species: Gnarl Class: Fighter / Barbarian / Smith Level: 70 / 70 / 70 / 43 Health: 11,949 Defence: 335 Melee Attack Power: 408 Combat Skills: Bite [M] (34), Claws [M] (38), Cower [M] (4), Command Swarm [M](23), Danger Sense [Ad] (23), Great Axe [M](59), Greater Rage [M] (15), Regeneration [M] (59) Details: A Prince ranked Gnarl, ?d¨´li, was born of an Elven captive, and survived the decimation of his original tribe by a Wood Elf expedition. He founded his current complex ninety years ago, and has bred numbers sufficient to have sent out multiple conquering war hosts against neighbouring regions. ] He¡¯s got three classes, but not taken a Prestige Class, yet he¡¯s smart enough to have Master rank skills. Saw nothing like this fellow in the other complex. {{Let¡¯s go play elder thing. Succubus class is falling way behind, you need to level it to get rid of it. }} That fellow is going to need tougher folk than me to take it down unless I cheat. I should let the others know they¡¯re here, they might want experience from fighting it before I give the game away by murdering thousands. Analysis [Cower: This power allows the individual possessing it to unleash a war cry that provokes a fear effect on all opponents hearing it and boosts the moral of allies.] [Greater Rage: This evolved version of rage increases the melee attack power of the individual without diminishing their Defence or their weapon Skills.] {{ Oh Mab says Hi. I got invited to join her faction. Isn¡¯t that sweet? }} 94 - Blood in the water Her thoughts racing, Julia sat tapping the pencil against the stack of paper she¡¯d created. ¡°Should I ask Hrafn to give you drum lessons?¡± offered Torm, glancing up from checking throwing knives as Julia¡¯s drumbeat continued. Julia blinked, and as she set the pencil down, smiled sheepishly. ¡°Sorry distracted and impatient for news.¡± ¡°Impatient indeed. You only found the metropolis this morning, with its size it will not be a simple smash and kill raid,¡± stated Torm, as he set a cleaned knife in its sheath. ¡°The Jarl doesn¡¯t have enough troops available to dispatch a suitable force. It had what, eight times the original war host?¡± ¡°Closer to ten. I wanted help killing the leaders, not all of them,¡± Julia grumbled, one hand playing with her ponytail. When he set more weapons on Yngvarr¡¯s workbench, Julia looked bemused, and Torm gestured towards her paper. ¡°What you want and what the Jarl intends are different. The weapons are enchanted, but they still need cleaning and checking. I might need these if I can¡¯t Ki Strike through that Gnarl¡¯s protections. What are all your notes about?¡± ¡°I was trying to organise my thoughts, and it set them racing instead,¡± Julia replied, motioning to her notes. ¡°It¡¯s not like the Sisterhood or my friends¡¯ situation will resolve themselves.¡± ¡°Racing would explain the drumbeats. Verdandi has sent a messenger to Vulcan¡¯s Temple in Novus Rome,¡± Torm said. ¡°If they¡¯ll provide details about where they¡¯ll be, I can take a letter for you at least. Though I suggest writing it on normal parchment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that today, just in case,¡± said Julia with a nod. ¡°On my list I¡¯ve got: housing, the Thralls, training courses, and the expansion around the staging post. When I spoke to the Jarl about it, well, ?lhildr wants another section of docks, then to expand the outer wall. They want it to run from the eastern lakeshore past the land we¡¯re using and wrapping it back towards town.¡± ¡°There will be a lot of work setting foundations,¡± Torm stated. As he spoke, he unsheathed the broadsword she¡¯d first seen him wearing. The practical hilt at odds with the beauty of the mythril blade inlaid with runes that shone with Celestial Mana even without True Sight. Glad we got off on the right foot. ¡°I¡¯ll teach the platoons the Aggravated Flaws spell that will get rock excavation done faster. Though I have more spells I want to share,¡± Julia said. ¡°What movement spells did you have in mind to teach them?¡± asked Torm, as he checked the blade for nicks and blemishes. ¡°Catapult for flinging non-living objects, it¡¯s low in Mana cost so useful for protracted fights. The Levitate object spell, enough of them together could lift large building stones into position. They know Spatial Mana, so at least Blink in case of emergencies, along with other practical spells I¡¯ve got in mind,¡± Julia said, watching as he checked the blade. ¡°I thought enchanted blades wouldn¡¯t need maintenance.¡± ¡°A lot less, not none,¡± replied Torm, flicking a glance towards her. ¡°They certainly can endure things that would break a normal blade. If fighting has compromised any runes, wear and tear will show up, and then you need a skilled Artificer to stabilise it before the blade is essentially mundane.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind if I ever tire of fighting barehanded,¡± Julia joked, not able to imagine waving a massive sword about. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll remind you again in a few centuries or more,¡± countered Torm, before chuckling he added. ¡°That¡¯s if you¡¯ve not already matched Master Farhad¡¯s lack of need for weaponry. What other thoughts are you busy with?¡± Julia looked at her list and rattled off some items. ¡°This isn¡¯t in any order: exploring Tern¨°x, find all the grottos, the Royal L¨®m?, those gathering information for me on Set,¡± Julia pause only a moment before she continued on. ¡°Logistics for the survivors, Usd¡¯ghi and the various deals. I know she profits, but still, it frees Souls from the Necropolis.¡± Torm¡¯s laughter interrupted Julia¡¯s list, and the hurt look that earned made him laugh harder. ¡°You right there?¡± Julia asked dryly as his laughter grew louder. After he calmed down, Torm gave a smile of apology before he explained his outburst. ¡°It¡¯s just part of the reason I care about you. Consider how many of the items you rattled off you¡¯re undertaking because they help others or correct injustice, while you get to put yourself in danger in return.¡± ¡°It all helps me progress towards my own goals,¡± countered Julia. ¡°Of course, my mistake, that¡¯s absolutely your priority,¡± Torm replied with a straight face. ¡°I¡¯d believe that if you didn''t spend the gains from your endeavours solely for the benefit of others. A couple of months hunting Elementals, and then you handed almost all your share to Yngvarr to help strangers. Except for the money you¡¯re spending on books to give a Scrivener business that you¡¯re then leaving with Yngvarr for anyone else to read.¡± ¡°Your point being?¡± Julia asked, giving him a mock glare that he brushed aside. ¡°Though you forgot to include learning enough concealment spells to risk yourself in Hell,¡± Torm offered. ¡°It¡¯s on the list. Someone started laughing,¡± Julia stated. ¡°To risk yourself for the chance to help someone else,¡± stated Torm, setting aside the sword as he turned to face her properly. ¡°No, that¡¯s helping me. I can¡¯t relax thinking about either of my friends in Hell.¡± Julia just shook her head and crossed her arms with mock indignity. ¡°What bridge were you planning to sell me with that? Isn¡¯t that the phrase you used with Livia the other day?¡± enquired Torm, his gaze lighting up as he smiled at Julia. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°There are innumerable Souls trapped in the Necropolis from legends,¡± Torm cautioned, watching her intently. ¡°I know,¡± Julia said with a nod, ¡°plus Soulless Undead entities and other things.¡± ¡°Come up for life occasionally,¡± Torm murmured, his continued gaze making Julia want to blush. ¡°Please.¡± ¡°I will try my best,¡± Julia offered, hoping it would be enough. ¡°Oh, I need to make sure Livia¡¯s parents won¡¯t cause issues for her.¡± ¡°No, leave that to Livia and me. We¡¯ll sort that out.¡± Torm¡¯s intent look clearly showed he would not budge, and Julia crossed it off her list with a grumble. ¡°I¡¯m told there was a bunch of Thralls whose freedom I didn¡¯t need to buy myself,¡± Julia stated as she glanced up from her list. ¡°I¡¯d suggest having Hrafn sort out the information coming from the Adventurers. I know he organises information for the Jarl, ¡° Torm suggested, blatantly ignoring her observation. ¡°Figured that might be the case, given his Classes.¡± said Julia, marking that for delegation. When Torm¡¯s attention returned to his blade, she got back to determining what else she could delegate.
Julia paused with her hand on the front door when Aggie called out. ¡°Lady Eakc?.¡± ¡°Good morning, Lady Priestess Aggie. I was heading to practice but what can I do for you?¡± Julia asked, amused when dropping the titles on Aggie brought a wince of resignation. ¡°I am serious about you calling me Julia or Eakc?.¡± ¡°Can I come with you for dawn practice?¡± asked Aggie hastily. ¡°Of course you can,¡± replied Julia, opening the door for Aggie before curiosity made her ask. ¡°Though what makes you ask?¡± ¡°I went to help teach someone to use a bow yesterday and found I was fumbling with it,¡± explained Aggie reluctantly, pausing when Julia looked embarrassed. ¡°Sorry. I really should have mentioned it to you,¡° Julia apologised, accepting the reminder that people didn¡¯t just see their skills. ¡°Eivor and the others learnt Unarmed Combat when they started following me. I think you¡¯ll find you¡¯re quite proficient.¡± ¡°Rana mentioned that, but I want to know what I¡¯m actually doing so I can improve,¡± said Aggie. Julia nodded in understanding and couldn¡¯t help but wonder how sore Aggie was going to find herself tomorrow. ¡°Aggie, do you know what path a Priest combines to earn the High Priest?¡± ¡°My understanding is it varies by the Power L-, um¡­ Eakc?,¡± Aggie replied, a glance from Julia having cut her off in mid-title. ¡°Okay, more for me to find out.¡±
Julia had never seen someone actually pick a class, and Torm had mentioned Mortals normally found it occurring in dreams at night. So when the dazed expression went across Aggie¡¯s face after practice, she¡¯d expected it was fatigue. Only Aggie¡¯s surprised reaction after it passed let Julia know differently. The image of that moment kept intruding into her mind as she considered the information she¡¯d finally found on High Priests. [Available High Priest Prestige Class options (Only 1 combination currently selectable):
  • Priest / Wizard
  • Priest / Monk
  • Priest / Succubus
  • Priest / Assassin ]
Oh, brother! Why offer that third combination? I¡¯d end with absolutely no High Priests. Analysis [Available High Priest Combination Limits determined by the tier of Cult or Religion.] My brain isn¡¯t letting me shake Aggie picking up Monk this morning. I could take that, but the Priest, Wizard combo is most common among them at present. Select High Priest combination of Priest / Wizard [High Priest Combination Set: Priest / Wizard Tier combination for 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 now established - Tier 6 and 7 options will require unlocking by Power.] After an hour of trying Analysis options to get details on unlocking Tier 6 and 7, Julia returned to studying. Stupid lack of contextual help.
Three days of waiting had given Julia plenty of time to accurately map out the Gnarl¡¯s metropolis. An activity she much preferred to be undertaking than enduring her current torment. As a giant man came striding into the Jarl¡¯s Hall, accompanied by alert guards adding to the Jarl¡¯s own force, Julia¡¯s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. When he turned to nod a greeting to one of the Jarl¡¯s senior guards, she recognised him and wondered what game was underway. His face was as broad featured as many Norse she''d seen, but for all his sturdy features they were more refined, and his blue gaze shone faintly from within. The blond hair tied back was closer to a stereotypical Dane yet it was a colour far from common among the Norse. [Perception [Ad] (38->39)] Thanks for the confirmation! Unlike last time, she could see more than just his chin and wondered if the helm he¡¯d worn escorting Gothi Reidar had been part of the usual guard¡¯s outfit. The armour he wore this time was certainly different, and it gleamed silver mythril instead of steel. The runes on it wrapped a barrier around the King, intent on deflecting or slowing blows. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Analysis [Name: S¨®ld¨ªs Heimisson Species: Human (Aasimar) Class: War Chief / Fighter Level: 56 / 18 Details: S¨®ld¨ªs Heimisson took the throne ten years ago, after Queen Arnleif Heimisson¡¯s death. He combined the Fighter and Noble classes at fifty and fifty-two into the Prestige class of War Chief. The Heimisson family has had frequent occurrences of their ancestor¡¯s celestial blood resurface throughout their history. ] I should have used Analysis on Reidar¡¯s grumpy bodyguard. He called the King an idiot, don¡¯t go haughty on me indeed. Julia waited next to Torm and glanced back at the map she¡¯d prepared on a banquet table ahead of the King¡¯s arrival. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be paying attention to the greeting; its poor form to look away in boredom,¡± Verdandi murmured as she spotted Julia¡¯s distraction. I¡¯d rather be sailing. ¡°I¡¯ve already met him; I just didn¡¯t get introduced,¡± Julia replied before smiling at her. ¡°Wonder how often he stands in for Reidar¡¯s bodyguard?¡± ¡°What?¡± Verdandi asked in shock. ¡°The chin, his height, and his build, my perception skill pinged an upgrade when I figured it was him; That¡¯s enough confirmation for me,¡± Julia replied, keeping her voice down, before turning her focus back to the group still entry the hall. When the Jarl introduced her to the King simply as Eakc?, Julia¡¯s Sense Motive gave her the feel of the politics at play as she responded to the introduction. ¡°Your Majesty, nice to meet officially,¡± Julia stated politely. ¡°I hope Reidar is well. Though it would have been nice if he¡¯d introduced us when we first met.¡± When the man alongside S¨®ld¨ªs gave him an unhappy look, she figured the discussion might prove entertaining, especially when S¨®ld¨ªs groaned. The storm clouds gathering on Jarl Ti¨²emundr¡¯s face were worth the price of admission. I likely need to get an etiquette skill. Oh well.
Yngvarr said nothing as he set down a stack of four grimoires before Julia before sitting. ¡°It¡¯s not my birthday you shouldn¡¯t have,¡± Julia joked, looking between the stack and Yngvarr without a response before she finally asked. ¡°What gives?¡± ¡°They¡¯re still arguing about attack plans,¡± Yngvarr sighed before gesturing to the grimoires. ¡°These are some spell lists from the High Singer. They use Metal Affinities to locate and interact with the minerals within the crystals. If you master the high-level spells in the series, you¡¯ll be able to interact with crystals, though you¡¯ll be able to detect them well before then.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± Julia said, freezing as she stored the grimoires. ¡°I assume they¡¯re for me to keep?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± replied Yngvarr, before motioning to a tea set on a side table, as it floated closer it was pouring a mug. ¡°So, spell lists?¡± enquired Julia, looking at him expectantly. ¡°Like the series I explained for learning Plane Shift, you need to master the easier spell forms first. The more complex spells build on the structure of the earlier ones. If you don¡¯t have the basics right, it is impossible to shape the complex ones, or if you can, they¡¯ll be dangerously unstable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s like the Prestige Classes build your foundations well for a higher pay-off later,¡± Julia nodded and mentally compared the pattern of Shock Bolt to Lightning Bolt. Now she was looking for it, the matching components within them were obvious. ¡°I¡¯ll need to find the spell list that matches the other ones I¡¯ve already learnt; I¡¯ve been cutting too many corners.¡± ¡°I warned you when I first taught you that three months wasn¡¯t nearly enough. I¡¯ve already arranged for the spell lists,¡± Yngvarr said, stopping her attempt to interrupt with a raised hand. ¡°No arguing about the effort. I¡¯ve passed your current list along to the Royal Academy; they¡¯ll have the full spell lists you know pieces of now, copied into grimoires. Also, I¡¯ve already written out a study list for your reference. Before you select a Prestige Class take the time, years preferably, to study magic properly.¡± ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t grumble, since I plan to spend a lot of time helping the L¨®m? in Tern¨°x. Worst case is the L¨®m? Souls are back with their kin instead of stuck in corrupted forms,¡± Julia said, though her expression earned a doubtful look. ¡°At the rate the discussion is going, it will probably be at least another six to eight days,¡± stated Yngvarr. The tone making it obvious he preferred not to be discussing the L¨®m?¡¯s entrapment. ¡°I¡¯m going to go kill Gnarls then,¡° Julia grumbled. ¡°The meeting with the King Heimisson was five days ago. Stupid Jarls wanting it left to clan leadership they said it would take two.¡± ¡°They are speaking to other Kingdoms as well, and some Jarls can¡¯t concentrate around you. If you give your presence away with an attack, they¡¯ll be alert when the troops are ready.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make it look like it wasn¡¯t human,¡± said Julia firmly. ¡°I¡¯m hoping I have time to help the ladies after they get trained, but it could be tomorrow when Usd¡¯ghi wonders where I am. While you¡¯ve been out near the entryway now, I don¡¯t want to leave the ten kingdoms holding the bag dealing with the trouble I found. I¡¯ve told the Orcs it¡¯ll take time to kill the hordes I found in the caverns. When I explained the number of them to V?rt¨¢l, he looked light green. Don¡¯t think his mother really believed me till I showed her the tunnels and galleries with Telepathy.¡± ¡°Perhaps that Trouble use name you gave yourself as a joke is actually suitable for you,¡± offered Yngvarr, suppressing his grimace at her mentioning the Orcs. ¡°Yeah, funny Elfie, really funny,¡± Julia grumbled and smiled. ¡°The Elven Patheon exists on other worlds, and some places the Orcs are allies.¡± The look of disbelief widening Yngvarr¡¯s gaze made Julia giggle in delight. ¡°Are you allowed to tell me that?¡± Yngvarr asked suspiciously. ¡°Likely not.¡± Julia¡¯s full-on laughter just made Yngvarr groan. Wonder if I can power level Eivor, and give Moke a break on his travels? Though actually, she¡¯s a smart cookie and put together I was different. I should offer Eivor something to build on that Intelligence.
Slumber Mist¡¯s latest advancement pinged in Julia¡¯s awareness as she slipped into another barracks, with Aggie and Eivor trailing behind her. The grumbling Viper was making about the approach she¡¯d taken to killing the Gnarls made it well worth the bother. Her desire to have the experience to themselves as well as enjoy a bloody slaughter convinced Julia she''d taken the right approach. The sleeping Gnarl Aggie knelt next to snuffled for a moment before she punched down, driving the spiked gauntlet she wore deep into its face. With a grim gaze, Eivor drove a knife through the eye of one in her area, while Julia crouched to kill the first of her own. I can see fear in Aggie¡¯s posture, but she¡¯s still resolute. The spell kept the Gnarls fast asleep as they completed the butcher¡¯s work. Reaching out with Telepathy¡¯s net, Julia checked there was no one present before they moved near the next Barracks. After Inventory had absorbed the bodies, Protean tendrils drank in blood and brains, leaving the barracks looking like an Ooze had swept the room clean. A ping of it advancing almost made Julia sigh with relief as the pressure from Protean eased. Aggie and Eivor nodded as she projected instructions into their minds, and Julia moved to keep watch. ¡°Eivor left, Aggie right. With the mists, we¡¯ll clear this next barracks, and then I¡¯ll need to discard the trash.¡± True Sight peering through extra eyes, showing her Aggie¡¯s Slumber Mist flow across the Gnarls closest to the door. When they¡¯d dealt with all the sleeping Gnarls, Julia teleported them away. A shaking Eivor took deep breathes as Julia let the bodies drop out of Inventory into the ravine she¡¯d found. Mentally wringing Protean like a sponge, she sprayed the mass of absorbed material in after them. This power is weird but not the weirdest thing that¡¯s happened to me. ¡°Are you sure Moke will stay out of trouble?¡± Julia asked, glad the bottom of the ravine was far below. ¡°He won¡¯t but I¡¯ll leave him to clean up his own messes,¡± Eivor replied, gruffly looking away from the edge. ¡°Has he been hard to travel with?¡± Aggie asked, curiosity gleaming in her gaze. ¡°Rika loves his odes, there is a funny one about a love-struck wolf.¡± Eivor¡¯s eyes widened as Julia started laughing knowingly. ¡°So you had noticed!¡± Eivor exclaimed. ¡°Moke figured out what he was, and how he felt but I hadn¡¯t even heard rumours before we left.¡± ¡°No, I was completely blind,¡± insisted Julia. ¡°I needed it pushed into my face: I got asked if I was leading him along.¡± ¡°Can we have a few moments more?¡± Aggie asked, breathing deeply. ¡°That was petrifying even if they¡¯re magically asleep.¡± ¡°Of course, if it gets too much, we¡¯ll stop,¡± Julia offered, but Aggie just shook her head. ¡°They¡¯re planning to go back, and I had it easy compared to them.¡± ¡°No one had it easy,¡± Julia said, even as Eivor hugged Aggie. ¡°Don¡¯t do a competition of horrors.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only endured travelling the roads and dealing with magical beasts in our journeys. Nothing like what you¡¯ve been through, Aggie. Don¡¯t make light of your own trials,¡± Eivor said reassuringly to the younger woman, the motherly tone odd since she looked younger. ¡°Right,¡± Aggie said, her voice firm with conviction. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± Bringing out Yngvarr¡¯s scrying orb, Julia checked to ensure the barracks were still safe before teleporting them. The sun not yet far above the eastern horizon where they returned to darkness, Julia¡¯s telepathy letting the women see the around them. Once their Mana brought the inscription rings back to life they moved on with the morning¡¯s bloody work. Before they left, Julia removed wood sections and stone before sprinkling the acid Yngvarr had provided for etching stone in each room. The exit she cut led into a tunnel towards the depths to make it seem the Ooze had moved on its way. When they reappeared in Yngvarr¡¯s courtyard, the sun was well to the west. An exhausted Aggie and Eivor slumped to the ground in their blood-stained clothes as Julia¡¯s shadow vines drank the last spots off her. ¡°I¡¯ll need to sharpen all these knives,¡± Eivor groaned, having let herself slump to the ground. ¡°No, I¡¯ll make more tonight. We can give them to someone to sharpen and issue,¡± Julia said, sitting near them in consideration for their exhaustion from Mana depletion and the deeds of the day. They¡¯re wrung out, and I feel fine. They were still sitting there exhausted, when Yngvarr cleared his throat at the door. ¡°Sagga is getting some baths ready,¡± Yngvarr said, looking over the three of them. ¡°How well did the day go?¡± ¡°Thousands of Gnarls dead, no alerts raised. While there were a few close calls, we kept it contained. Hopefully, we successfully left it looking like an Ooze had a massive feast.¡± Julia reported. ¡°If they buy it,¡± Yngvarr cautioned. ¡±I¡¯ve never heard of an Ooze eating that many living things, let alone not dividing to leave smaller ones in its wake after gorging.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re a Sage Yngvarr,¡± Julia said. ¡°It¡¯s the seeds of doubt. I used the runes you gave me, so there¡¯ll be no scent of us, just the Ooze¡¯s acid.¡± Eivor shrugged out of her bandolier of knives and slowly got to her feet. ¡°Good afternoon Master Yngvarr,¡± Eivor said, her voice heavy with fatigue but still giving him a polite nod, ¡°I hope Sagga¡¯s been paying attention to her lessons.¡± ¡°She has indeed, even if events have disrupted them of late,¡± reassured Yngvarr. ¡°Make sure you eat even if Mana depletion has left you nauseated. Someone should have brought you back sooner.¡± ¡°I told them to stop casting; they persisted though I said I could keep the last Gnarls suppressed,¡± Julia protested. ¡°We will, Master Yngvarr,¡± Aggie said, ignoring Julia¡¯s protest. When Yngvarr didn¡¯t grumble about being called Master, Aggie glanced at Julia before continuing. ¡°At least you allow us to pay you proper respect.¡± ¡°No, he doesn¡¯t,¡± Julia said, grinning mischievously. ¡°Master isn¡¯t his highest title.¡± When Aggie looked between the two of them suspiciously, Julia left them and headed for a bath.
Own worst enemies indeed. Julia watched the civil war in the Gnarl¡¯s metropolis from a perch near the ceiling as they decimated each other. Nights of escalating slaughter had set the Gnarls on edge. Teleporting away Dire Boar stock unsullied by Gnarl pups for Kobolds and Orcs to use later had been easy. While they feasted on the rotting Gnarls stacked in the ravine, Julia, Yngvarr, Alfarr, and other mages hit with brutal force slaughtering the rest and retreating as the city woke. Their spells were selected to cause deliberate carnage rather than char flesh, and other spells had cast the scent far and wide. The Gnarls woke to air thick with the coppery smell of blood, and the dying screams Dire Boars driving the Gnarls to feast. Enraged with blood lust they squabbled and fought each other over the choicest of meat. When the city¡¯s population was engaged in its gorging, Julia sent a message and watched the Portals along the length of upper galleries open. The delays that had frustrated Julia had born fruit as battalions moved into position, securing the paths up along kilometres. The Norse weren¡¯t alone: Dwarven, Elven, Persian, and Roman troops had joined them for the fray. Magical lights set to guide their formations, yet insufficient to draw the Gnarls¡¯ attention from their food. The first assault didn¡¯t come from regular troops, but stone itself. Shouted words that melted across her awareness thrummed within it, and Julia felt bucked from her perch. As she caught herself in mid-air, the buildings upon galleries slid into the depths while the troops stood undisturbed. Uncounted tons of stone crushed legions of Gnarls, the cascade of stone from every gallery leaving a hundred thousand or more dead below. As Gnarls struggled amid the rubble, Artificer runes delivered via slingers, or cast from the ledges, turned the stone floor and rubble into a sea of mud. The still-living used those too big to sink completely as living stepping stones, but that ensured those fleeing were among the first to die. One pathway after another was closed by raging walls of fire, causing jumping Gnarls to throw themselves to their deaths. The Gnarl Prince feasting with the rest got pulled waist-deep into still solid stone by Elementals, but they planned for it to die last. His presence ensuring the other Gnarls didn¡¯t flee en masse like rats, as the Dire Boar pens turned into a giant-killing jar. The attackers didn¡¯t get away unscathed as sharp-clawed Gnarls launched themselves up along rock faces from the floor. supported by others that had swirled up ramps out of sight from the army¡¯s positions a wave came seeking prey. Ranks of Dwarven crossbowmen positioned above the ramps met their charge with staggered volley fire. Scores died under mechanically regular quarrel bolts until eventually a broken wave of Gnarls reached the infantry. Walls of infantry met their charge, and when dead Gnarls weighed down spears, swords and axes came into play while others dragged wounded clear. Julia teleported between them, taking the wounded and - when needed - their stretcher-bearers, delivering them to healers. Smarter Gnarls among the host still forced their independence from the Prince and fled, but the mass of numbers and resources was left behind. Thousands of Gnarls raced towards the battalions seeking toys to torture, only to die to spells or blades in the long bells of battle that followed.
¡°I¡¯d have a word or five with you.¡± The words delivered in a penetrating, thunderous tone came from a Dwarf who¡¯d looked ready to walk right through her and the soldier she was healing right up till they¡¯d stopped to speak. Their barrel-shaped figure seemed mostly due to armour, and the only visible flesh was shown through gaps in the helm. Darkly tanned flesh was wrapped thinly over a form that appeared to Julia as if living granite. The presence constrained within the fabric of their form didn¡¯t weigh against her despite a blast furnace of energy burning within the stone. Their blunt words were delivered in Celestial but carried weight with them as if they had set a bank safe down with each one. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose the words are: thanks for finding this place?¡± Julia asked, giving the Dwarven Celestial a grin as she turned towards him. ¡°Ha, I was told you had a spirit to you girl.¡± The bark of laughter from the figure made Julia¡¯s ears ring. At least I didn¡¯t get Demoness. ¡°What can I help you with?¡± Julia asked, not ready to give an inch. ¡°My time here is very brief so I¡¯ll be blunt, show me what you revealed to the High Singer and be quick.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be blunt as well. Celestials have burnt me before wanting to be quick,¡± Julia said, appreciating his directness even as much as the show and tell annoyed her. ¡°Talk to Torm, Vargr Drangijaz of Tyr, High Justice Verdandi, or the High Singer, don¡¯t come demanding of me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a reason to trust your scheme with the Kobolds and Orcs. Neglected or not, these halls were made by Dwarven artisans. They¡¯ve been ill-used for years so before we let their ill-use continue, we¡¯ll cause the earth¡¯s blood to fill them.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry I trusted a Valkyrie of ¨®einn, she nearly destroyed me and I found afterwards she¡¯d abused her orders,¡± Julia stated firmly. ¡°There are soldiers I¡¯m healing, you¡¯ll have to try learning what you need from that. Would you at least tell me a name I can call you?¡± ¡°Show me then.¡± ¡°Name?¡± asked Julia, persistently, only for the Dwarf to wave her concern aside. ¡°I am short on time.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let me keep you then,¡± Julia retorted, even as she rose. The young Roman soldier she¡¯d been healing, slowly stretched his still bandaged arm, and gave her a shy smile of thanks at the absence of pain. Stepping across to another in the triage line, Julia crouched near a suddenly happy soldier. Instead of the spell, she¡¯d been using for the last, she drew back the Abyssal heat from her hand. When she pushed Ki into her hands, golden energy shone through the flesh, and the soldier sighed in relief as the energy sank into his wounds. The Celestial¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t waver from the golden light. Julia wondered what he saw, but he didn¡¯t keep her waiting long. As soon as she ceased the Ki flowing, he gave her a nod and spoke. ¡±You¡¯ve fresh scars on your Soulscape girl, all three are infected. In the oldest the infection is a poison shroud on your Soul¡¯s surface,¡± grumbled the Dwarf. ¡°You¡¯d best remember that like your mind, the Soulscape responds to desire and expectation. I remember you.¡± The grumbling eased in the last words and held only respect. Before Julia could ask any questions he had vanished, though the stone still vibrated with power where he¡¯d stood a moment earlier. ¡°So who was I?¡± Julia asked, the soft words letting only the soldier she¡¯d healed hear them. ¡°Does it matter your ladyship?¡± the soldier asked respectfully. ¡°None have anything but right now.¡± Julia smiled at his words for their intended reassurance, and lightly touching his healed shoulder moved to the next. I mentally fought with Viper using imagination in the mind palace and that did significant damage to us both. 95 - Downfall The sun was further distant from her perch on the disk than it¡¯d been before, as her heavily shaded eyes watched flares dance by on its surface. Concentrating, she pushed the orbital speed of the previously stationary platform higher as a group of pieces took the board. As the columns expand in width to allow places for those moving onto it, Julia crouched and set a hand near the platform¡¯s edge. Though she doubted the need, Julia was doing everything she could to ensure the mental symbolism for her plan was right. As she stood, a stone dowel slightly larger across than her hand rose from the stone. When she lifted it free and saw more stone beyond where it had been, Julia hardened her focus, and the dowel vanished. Her thoughts insulated from Viper¡¯s perception as Julia moved one step at a time, and when her concentration wavered, she released her focus on the mind palace. Light from the actual sun was welcome as she took in the early summer¡¯s morning. The constructed staging point Yngvarr had grown looked little different from three months ago, but the surrounding area had certainly changed. The ground east of town had rarely been put to use beyond as an unpopular camping spot. Rocky soil had made pitching tents hard, and was ill-suited terrain for the wagon teams¡¯ hooves. A solid wall now ran from the shoreline to well past the ¡®barn¡¯, nearly a kilometre out, before arcing around and joining the original wall. While only a few farms had ended up within the wall this time, the Jarl¡¯s council was already considering extending it. An agreement of sponsorship by the King for the women¡¯s training had included a wage, and the local merchants and artisans were prospering from it. With most of the women being Norse, they¡¯d been glad of the offer making their role in the kingdom¡¯s defence official. The women from other kingdoms had no intention of leaving their sisters and the King himself had awarded them citizenship. When the Dwarves had taken the lead with managing arrangements with the Seafang tribe and the local Kobolds, Viper hadn¡¯t been impressed. Though it seemed Viper had her own successes, as Rana had unhappily passed word that the Elven Patheon had heard her name on other worlds along with Epoch¨¥¡¯s. The platoons had gained confidence with an increasing array of spells and disciplined drill. Foundations had been dug, stones levitated into place, and Dire Boars slaughtered, all pushing their Skills along. Julia had brought in tons of finely worked Dwarven stone for construction, and gravel from Kobolds for roadbeds. The only shortage presently was skilled labour, but masons from other areas were coming to gain more experience. Julia had avoided questions about why the food and materials had all been ¡®donated¡¯. Though enduring the Jarl¡¯s dinners seemed a requirement for the absence of questions; endurance was needed more for hostile stares than the hosts. Those dinners had let Julia catch onto schemas that Yngvarr had plans to handle - individuals needed to be less loud with their mental celebrations. While the wall arc close to shore was still empty, the Jarl¡¯s Council had space marked for future construction. New docks and some simple housing had already taken up the positions closest to shore. The new tenants were all former Thralls freed from their debt by Julia¡¯s coin. The Jarl was still waiting for confirmation on his domain¡¯s new laws regarding Thralls. Once they passed becoming a Thrall via debt would become impossible, the arguments continued for battle prisoners and criminals. The later Julia didn¡¯t argue against for serious crimes, but crimes driven by desperation were something else. Boots striking down on the stone parade ground grabbed Julia¡¯s attention. As they marched into place, their echoing movements spoke of the hours of drill practice, and a glance showed they carried their expedition kit. The first platoons¡¯ leaders opened the ranks and conducted a last check on everyone. They wouldn¡¯t need their full kit this time, but the leaders decided it should be part of the exercise. Julia wasn¡¯t shadowing them in a fashion others could see, and only a single subtle nudge was quite an improvement compared to only a few weeks ago. Competition had been fierce for first place; Platoon Danm?rk, despite officially having started drills three days after the first platoons, had taken the lead then held it tight. When their Leader signalled readiness, Julia walked towards the staging doors, and opened them for Danm?rk to march into position. V¨ªearr and Sagga were waiting inside, as Julia had expected, with several Temple Guards and Priests to secure the staging post and to provide help if there was need. ¡°Eakc?,¡± called V¨ªearr in welcome, looking up the moment the stone doors opened. The near silent movement of the doors still had Julia envying Yngvarr his construction skill. She¡¯d made progress in spell lists under his and S¨ªrthel¡¯s strict guidance, but knew she¡¯d barely scratched the surface. ¡°Eakc?,¡± Sagga echoed distractedly, making no move to rise. The scrying orb on the table in front of her was already showing an image within it. ¡°Good morning all, thank you for assisting today,¡± Julia said, moving to greet each. After the busy months she now knew by sight those serving at many temples, she didn¡¯t need Analysis to know their names with them all in their familiar armour today. As she walked to her practiced location, V¨ªearr stood and moved into position, unaided. The cane in his hand provided him enough guidance to walk unaided in more places now. A light touch on his arm was all he needed to orientate himself as the platoon marched into position around them. ¡°Platoon, ignite,¡± Platoon Leader Solveiga, though a small lady, didn¡¯t have a quiet voice. It was a feature at odds with her appearance and enabled her platoon to win more than a few bets on the loudness of her voice. In the now-closed building the snap of her order rang loud in Julia¡¯s ears. She had called the order as the doors shut, and in a synchronised motion, the platoon touched their inscription rings to Mana stones at their belt. While Julia had been planning to power them herself it hadn¡¯t worked, as she couldn¡¯t empower the inscriptions en masse. Considering alternatives led them to purchase the Dwarven inventions, and while they didn¡¯t have enough for all members, they possessed enough to start. Especially since they could repeatedly recharge each stone before it needed an Artificer¡¯s attention. At a hundred golden knots, they¡¯d better last. ¡°Area six is clear Eakc?, but a guard patrol is at the south exit,¡± called Sagga, her attention still fixed on the orb. ¡°Ready. Targets will be at forty metres,¡± Julia said, even as she spoke the excitement and nerves of the platoon built. The deeper darkness didn¡¯t unnerve them after the last week spent practicing teleporting into stone chambers Julia had carved out. While uneven ground set a few swaying, they quickly caught their balance and held themselves at the ready. ¡°Rank 1, fire.¡± As soon as Solveiga¡¯s order snapped out, the first spells were unleashed, and the rank crouched. Julia could hear their disciplined breathing as they cycled Mana to start recovery, even though they¡¯d just cast. The second rank fired on command even as the spells smashed in uneven numbers into six patrolling Gnarls that had twisted towards them at the first sound. As the injured Gnarls ran towards them, V¨ªearr finished channelling a Blessing and faint steel-grey light wrapped around the ranks. Spells from the third raced past the front ranks and struck just after another patrol came racing into the chamber. ¡°Reset.¡± Solveiga¡¯s order snapped out even before the missiles hit, and the first patrol dropped. They stood and held castings till the order came, then crouched as before. Five of the sprinting Gnarls died to another cycle of spells. The lone survivor, barely having held out, died on a spike of stone shaped by Solveiga. Her loud voice was not the only reason she was a platoon Leader. When a larger group of eleven charged into the cavern, Solveiga snapped out more orders. ¡°Rank 1 crouch, Rank 1 and 2, prepare.¡± Even as the order finished, Julia noted pairs coordinating for what their training told them would come next. The gnarls had barely started closing the distance as the order came. ¡°Pelt.¡± They turned ten dead Gnarls to pulp as they tossed the bodies with enough force to throw nearly a ton of stone even further than their targets. The impact broke the dead bodies and living alike, and as soon as they¡¯d cast, Rank 2 crouched as well. A Gnarl still left standing was the lucky recipient of the ten missiles from Rank 3 all to himself. ¡°Return,¡± Solveiga called hastily. Another group from the south wasn¡¯t the reason for her order, but a Gnarl far larger than Julia entering the chamber mere metres away. Pleased at Solveiga judgement, Julia moved them without delay. When they reappeared safe in the staging post, the platoon¡¯s cheers were deafening. ¡°Platoon Danm?rk to order.¡± Solveiga¡¯s order brought them all back to disciplined lines. Though it wasn¡¯t an order she could give at once since she¡¯d been equally deafening in her celebration as the others. Julia was glad that whatever credited experience awarded none of it to her. ¡°Platoon quench.¡± The platoon focused, and Julia could see the energy in the inscriptions dissipating. Not able to draw it into themselves, rather they dispersed it into the world. Solveiga turned in the rank from her position close to Julia and smiled. The pixie-like features looked ready to break, the smile stretched so wide. ¡°Mission aim completed Lady Eakc?. Permission to go again?¡± ¡°Tomorrow, Solveiga, though I should make you run the obstacle course for using Lady Eakc? to me.¡± ¡°Sorry, Lady Eakc?, but you said yourself you¡¯re not the boss of us, perhaps if the King¡¯s Marshall commands it.¡± ¡°Lady Eakc?!¡± The bellow was even more deafening and grew louder when the entire platoon joined in. ¡°Aren¡¯t you glad you can cure deafness, V¨ªearr?¡± Julia asked when the noise finally died down, the opening of the doors at least easing the pressure of the cheering. ¡°Sorry Lady Eakc?, what did you say? My ears are ringing,¡± V¨ªearr replied, perfectly straight-faced. ¡°Solveiga, the next platoon will want their turn, shoo,¡± Julia snapped affectionately. Solveiga got them moving as fast as she had provoked them into disorder. The next platoon marched into position as soon as they were clear of the doors.
¡°A good start, Eakc??¡± Alfarr asked when Julia appeared at the Jarl¡¯s table that evening. ¡°Fairly well,¡± Julia replied, resting her hand on the chair¡¯s back. ¡°Only the fifth and eighth platoons sustained any injuries and they were minor. Our goal today wasn¡¯t kills but to get them through a live drill.¡± ¡°Was it anything they need particular practice on?¡± ¡°Nothing, a bit of bad luck for the fifth group. An archer was lurking outside the chamber. His first arrow was a direct hit, but only with enough force to bruise through V¨ªearr¡¯s barrier. The platoon leader grew spikes to end him while the rest of the platoon stayed focused on the patrol,¡± Julia explained after she¡¯d settled into her chair. ¡°And the other?¡± ¡°Something we¡¯d considered but accepted it as a risk. V¨ªearr¡¯s been calling on Tyr to protect them after we¡¯re in position. It lets us keep the advantage of surprise while they settle themselves. But the downside is they¡¯re unprotected during the first casting. After the order came a few Gnarls threw rocks instead of charging as others had done, some grazes and bruises resulted but they held their focus.¡± ¡°You¡¯re fortunate it wasn¡¯t the other way around.¡± ¡°Agreed. At our after-action review, we decided in future to ensure their protection before we teleport in. While we¡¯re scrying, it takes a while to check places, and the fixed position of the Scrying means it¡¯s easy enough to miss something.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not perfect, Lady Eakc??¡± After all the last weeks of glaring, it surprised Julia to hear Eysteinn voicing anything, she¡¯d almost grown used to not hearing his voice. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to be perfect, Eysteinn. Though I know someone who is,¡± purred Julia. ¡°How dare you imply I think myself-¡± Eysteinn¡¯s sputtered indigently. ¡°Master Farhad is who I was talking about,¡° Julia interrupted flatly. ¡°What you pass off as thinking I¡¯m not interested in. Have you caught that rat yet?¡± ¡°The problem with female rats is they have so many young,¡± said Eysteinn, his biting words malicious. Only catching his thought confirming he intended the words as a dig stopped her from acting on his threatening tone. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had a female rat hiding inside you Eysteinn,¡± said Julia, giving him a sorrowful look. ¡°Give her my condolences! Have you tried dresses to let her out a bit, finely scented soaps perhaps? ¡°You two really are like oil and water,¡± Ti¨²emundr stated, shaking his head. ¡°How many platoons moved forward with attacks today?¡± asked ?lhildr, giving her husband a quelling look. ¡°Thirty, some killed a few dozen Gnarls on their turn at the outposts,¡± Julia answered. A server setting a platter before Julia interrupted the reply, but she just gave them a smile of thanks before she continued. ¡°We need to recharge the Mana stones for the inscriptions. Unfortunately, they hold little for what they cost but it¡¯s a useful buffer.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Frivolously wasted coin.¡± Eysteinn¡¯s bitter words drew Julia¡¯s attention back to his position along the table. ¡°Do you begrudge buying the Guards'' weapons and armour as well, Eysteinn?¡± asked Julia, raising her voice so more would hear as she smiled too sweetly. ¡°Since I know you don¡¯t actually have a combat path. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re the wrong person to ask what can make a difference in battle.¡± ¡°Enough,¡± sighed Ti¨²emundr, shaking his head. Though the gaze he directed towards Julia held nothing of annoyance. ¡°Perhaps less meat tonight Eakc?, it seems you¡¯ve got yourself all heated,¡± Alfarr murmured, and received a glare that made ?lhildr laugh. ¡°I do like this sauce Haldis has worked out for the Dire Boar roast. You should try some of it Eakc?,¡± ?lhildr suggested, pointedly overriding Alfarr¡¯s remark. The knowing look ?lhildr gave Alfarr showed she¡¯d clearly heard his words. ¡°She should try putting her mouth on something,¡± Alfarr agreed affably, before grunting as Julia¡¯s foot landed on his.
¡°Your last message was over a hundred cycles ago Eakc?, I¡¯ve got things piling up for you to do. I know you¡¯re not Plane locked.¡± Usd¡¯ghi words snapped sharply from the energy sphere nearby, though her words were for Julia alone. As soon as the message finished Julia replied with her planned response, glad for the months she had helped the ladies. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in twenty-one cycles. Will stop by a Treasury, and bring back a few thousand Mortal Souls, rich with corruption. After that I¡¯ll go through the Necropolis a few times and collect Souls.¡± With the words of the message focused into the spell, she released it and the Spatial Mana barely flickered in her perception. It was only a few moments later when a reply returned. ¡°Oh, very nice youngling. I¡¯ll look forward to the Souls you¡¯ve collected, and the ones to come. The Sisterhood¡¯s fighting has expanded beyond my expectations, they¡¯ve conflicts ramping up on three planes. You should be safe coming through ¨´eqr?kas, we rarely see them within the city in recent cycles. I¡¯ve a gift waiting for you, don¡¯t be late or I might eat him myself.¡± The relaxed timbre of the Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s words drew a relieved sigh as Julia picked up the next Mana stone to recharge. She needed to read more on the use of mental constructs and imaginery in psychic fighting tonight. While she had three weeks, they¡¯d likely disappear fast.
The platoon¡¯s mood was disciplined but fierce as Solveiga cycled through the ranks as fast as they could cast. When the second cycle of ranks dropped more Aggravated Flaws across the building¡¯s ceiling and walls it gave up. The spider-webbed stone burst apart, and the main barracks collapsed in on itself, only a few within alive to scream. Guards were already running in their direction, and another casting dropped a wall onto those charging to attack. Dire Boars in distant pens gave them sizeable targets to send pots filled with sticky oil catapulting across the cavern. As the flames ignited and stuck on their toughened hides, the recipients charged away in fright, smashing out of their enclosures. Chaotic bellows and burning flesh brought a group of Gnarls out of another building. The surrounding air crackled as each rank set Stun Clouds in place and kept them convulsing, the overlaid spells turning the effect lethal. Spells continued being cast, until many in the platoon signalled low mana, and Solveiga called for the return. When they arrived back at the staging post, Solveiga didn¡¯t snap snapping commands in her booming voice as she had other days instead, turning quietly to face Julia. ¡°Platoon inward face,¡± Solveiga ordered, and the three ranks all turned to face towards Julia and as soon as their boots struck down, she called again. ¡°Platoon, present arms.¡± A Roman Legionnaire¡¯s salute was the only one this world knew, so the Platoons had adopted it, and gave it sharply now. ¡°Lady Eakc?, thank you for the chance you¡¯ve given us all and your time in the last three weeks. We were proud to earn the right to go as the first platoon against the Gnarls, prouder three weeks later to give our best showing. While you¡¯ve told us S¨ªrthel will take your place from now till we¡¯re done, she won¡¯t, not really. Teleporting us to battle isn¡¯t taking your place.¡± Solveiga¡¯s words had none of her usual volume, and silence¡¯s weight in the staging post was the only way all could hear her. ¡°If we¡¯d survived to be rescued at all, we would have been objects of pity, living off charity if we didn¡¯t simply kill ourselves when free of the manacles. Instead, you gave us the chance for so much more. We will always remember you, Lady Eakci, wherever your travels take you. You¡¯re not our boss, but you¡¯ll always be our Lady Eakci. Now we have Hope and can help others avoid what befell us.¡± Solveiga dropped the salute, and Julia could tell by the tightening in her gaze her control was hard-pressed. Julia didn¡¯t need to read her mind to keep her response to herself; any reply would make emotions spill before the Platoon wanted. ¡°Platoon, forward face.¡± The platoon moved with sharp precision and returned to their prior position, and following Solveiga¡¯s orders despite their fatigue, marched out the opening door. ¡°Well done,¡± V¨ªearr stated. ¡°What have you done to them? It was a question I asked you a year ago in ignorance. For these women, I don¡¯t need to ask; I know you have done well by them.¡± ¡°Thank you, V¨ªearr, but it wasn¡¯t only me, it was your sacrifice and that of others,¡± Julia said, turning toward him and taking his arm to guide him. ¡°Shall I take you back to the Temple?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d been what I believed, you would have ended us all. Let¡¯s go back, but not your fast way,¡± replied V¨ªearr. ¡°We¡¯ve time to walk the distance before the gates close. I¡¯m sorry there¡¯s been no word since Torm set out to search for Sarah.¡± ¡°Teleporting lets you cover a lot of distance, but the arctic circle is a big place. She¡¯ll at least get the note and know she¡¯s not alone,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Hopefully, Torm can help her till I get to see her again.¡± When she walked out the door with V¨ªearr, the farewell celebration waiting for her wasn¡¯t a surprise. Still, she tried to Act the part, and the system paid a dividend on the attempt.
¡°You¡¯ve got the spell, and you¡¯ve scried my room in the temple, so you know what it looks like. I¡¯ll always have a book for your messages on my desk,¡± Livia said. Her words sounded like she was trying to comfort Julia, but the tightness of the hug told a different story. ¡°I¡¯ll get her enough to keep her happy for years, then get out,¡± Julia replied, trying to reassure the little miss. ¡°That¡¯s the plan, but you said they don¡¯t always work, remember the contingencies and don¡¯t fuss,¡± scolded Livia, briskly giving Julia a frown. ¡°Now go before I want you to stay another day. If I ask, you¡¯ll break your word to her and it won¡¯t go well.¡± Julia kissed Livia on the cheek and opened the conduit. A rank coppery odour came out in waves as the other end appeared above churning waters of a blood-red sea. Stepping inside Julia gave Livia a last look, and nodded to Yngvarr, Verdandi, and Alfarr waiting in the courtyard with her before hurrying through the passage. As the end of it sealed the sight of them away, Julia transformed from Wood Elf into the Succubus form she arrived in the Abyss with long ago. The shadows vines stretched, allowing the wings to grow, and hugged her form like a second silken skin. Their dark green turned to blood-red cloth, growing as it did to cover her hands, feet and features, leaving only the eclipse orbs of her eyes exposed. Torm¡¯s true sight couldn¡¯t see through the Unseelie apparel and Julia hoped it would block any Demon possessing True Sight from seeing beneath.
The gate¡¯s Guards came to what passed for attention, clearly fearful of their fates, as the Succubus clad in blood silk appeared near the gates. Those swiftest among them pushed those queued for the gate out of her way, as the wards screamed her priority to their senses. Only the bravest of them watched her sway through the gates, and she ignored them like trash as she passed. When she vanished into the hold of ¨´eqr?kas¡¯ streets, they turned back to the queue of angry Demons and screamed threats till they settled down. Only when the Dominator on watch held the crowd fast did they allow any to proceed.
The stage in the square was empty as the Spatial Mana of the pathway¡¯s enchantment released Julia. Stalls within the market though were still as busy as she¡¯d seen them in the past. The ward across the Treasury door looked unchanged, but when Julia touched them the Plane shifted around her. Instead of stepping into the storefront, she found herself in a large, doorless, black marble chamber, the feel of chaos rich in the surrounding air. A stretch of black marble flooring separated her from a dais with two chairs set upon a grey rug, Usd¡¯ghi sitting comfortably in one. Her form was still the younger one Julia had seen her in, and instead of her hollow mist-filled eye sockets, they burned with black flames. ¡°Come sit down youngling; you¡¯re nearly half a cycle earlier than I had expected. Lucky you¡¯re prompt after so long away,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, her tone at least as casual as Julia remembered. ¡°I was considering eating my gift, regardless.¡± ¡°Lady Epoch¨¥,¡± Julia replied, as formally as she could manage, and moved towards the chair. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯d told you to call me Usd¡¯ghi, youngling,¡± Usd¡¯ghi replied as Julia stepped from the black marble to the grey rug. ¡°So Eakc?, and Viper, what am I to do with the pair of you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re working towards a common goal, aren¡¯t we?¡± Julia asked, keeping her composure. The clear implication was hardly a surprise given the Orcs. ¡°Are we little one, are we really?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°It¡¯s a nice trick you pulled, hiding all your moves from Viper¡¯s perception; however, it just makes me more concerned. You¡¯ve been dawdling instead of working on getting enough strength to be a worthy Herald. So I have some training planned, somewhere you¡¯re familiar with.¡± Usd¡¯ghi gestured, and a wall turned to crystal, allowing Julia to see the Necropolis¡¯ landscape. Their view looked over the edge of the Pit, but now the pea soup fog that had filled it was merely wisps, while the sky was obviously darker. ¡°All these Souls trapped in a Plane that is now ironically dying. Its collapse will waste all the valuable torment held within them, resources that my plans could well use. All of it lost because this decaying fruit is ready to turn to dust, while the only one who can harvest them was off playing with Mortal Souls.¡± Usd¡¯ghi growled, gesturing toward another cloud whose fire seemed to flicker within. ¡°I¡¯ve a chamber set up here for you to condense Souls; we¡¯ll handle the ones you have now. Then you¡¯d best get busy and stay that way till I say my war coffers are full. This isn¡¯t in the Necropolis; it¡¯s a little dimensional pocket that I¡¯ve attached to it like a leech.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t the deal we had,¡± Julia replied, wondering how much trouble was heading her way. ¡°I know the deal we had, and I had expected it to last millennium without end,¡± Usd¡¯ghi growled, ¡°Except your passenger has told me you¡¯re looking to get out of the Abyss, little one. Not only are you seeking a way out, but you¡¯ve also got Celestials advising you. This puts me in a bit of a bother, especially now since - how shall I say it - we¡¯ve got a deadline. One you caused by waking the Titan¡¯s servant. So before you escape the Abyss, if you even can, I¡¯ll be having my share of what¡¯s out there and whatever else you can bring in.¡± Usd¡¯ghi gestured sharply at the Necropolis. ¡°It¡¯s time to earn your keep. But just to make sure you¡¯re properly motivated,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, setting a grimoire in her lap, the cover bound in pure white leather - an odd sight in this place. ¡°This contains the rarest spells of concealment, an entire list of them that, when fully mastered, could allow even a Celestial to walk the paths of Hell. I¡¯ve heard of a God or three who uses them to venture into places they shouldn¡¯t.¡± She knows I want to get into Hell. Fuck you Viper, have you told her all my secrets? ¡°How long before the Plane collapses?¡± asked Julia, glancing at the sky again. ¡°Who knows, it could be a dozen cycles, it could be five thousand. If you retrieve enough Souls by the time it collapses, I¡¯ll give you this grimoire, as well as your share.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± Julia enquired, wanting to know what stick she held. ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about what nasty things might happen,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said, the friendly smile alien to her face, as the flame in her gaze killed light around her. ¡°As for your gift.¡± When Usd¡¯ghi gestured again, a bound demon that Julia recognised appeared on the rug between them. Ebony spider webs didn¡¯t stop Julia from recognising Tras¡¯laq¨¬. Even though Julia hadn¡¯t seen the strange ferret since she¡¯d traded with him on her first day in the Sisterhood, he was clearly the worse for wear. ¡°He¡¯s already bound to this Plane,¡± Usd¡¯ghi said. ¡°I received information from a contact in the Sisterhood that he was the one that set L¨ºdhins on you for his bowl. While I¡¯m still looking for L¨ºdhins, you can kill this one, well you can if you gather at least a million Souls.¡± ¡°I thought he was a gift!¡± objected Julia. ¡°Capturing him for you was a gift youngling; handing him over is another transaction.¡± Julia glanced between the grimoire and the Demon on the ground and flowed to her feet. The first time she¡¯d tried Analysis on him, the skill had shown her barely anything; this time, she actually learnt some details. [Demon Species: Greater Gil?glp Name: Tras¡¯laq¨¬ Class: Spymaster / Arcanist / Sage / Merchant Level: 12 / 45 / 52 / 48 / 65 Details: Formerly a spy in the Treasury faction, he has recently fallen out of favour with Lady Epoch¨¥. His home plane has been recently reset to a Primordial Demi-Plane constructed by Lady Epoch¨¥¡¯s magic. Condition: Disabled] Minor my arse. Even the Sisterhood didn¡¯t see through his act. He was working for her. ¡°If he¡¯s a million Souls, how much is the grimoire?¡± asked Julia. Usd¡¯ghi shrugged, wiggling her fingers on the arm of the chair as she thought. ¡°At least twelve million.¡± ¡°I have a lot to do in that case,¡± Julia said firmly. As Usd¡¯ghi smiled in reply, a door opened seamlessly in the marble wall to her right. ¡°The condenser is through there, and there¡¯s a doorway to the Necropolis beyond it; You¡¯ll be able to re-enter that way while the Necropolis lasts. Let the Soul gems collect for now; we¡¯ll take them to Judgement when you¡¯re gotten all you can.¡± ¡°There is one Soul I have I¡¯d like to keep,¡± said Julia. ¡°Another Priest of Set?¡± asked Usd¡¯ghi, her gaze weighing on Julia for her delay. ¡°A Priest of Tiamat,¡± Julia answered. ¡°That isn¡¯t a game you want to play, she¡¯s not like Set. I wouldn¡¯t play against her, even Greater Powers don¡¯t play games with her. There is a reason that the Titan had to release four of his Servants to deal with one of her spawn,¡± Usd¡¯ghi sighed in frustration. ¡°Whatever he did that got your attention, or risk you think his freedom poses to your plans, now he¡¯s dead that¡¯s not the case. She likely doesn¡¯t even care about him, she¡¯s so potent nothing but Dragon worshippers can get even a fraction of her attention. It¡¯s like an ant trying to get power from a hurricane. Exposing itself to the wind it will get to fly, but that doesn¡¯t mean the hurricane cares about it if it falls away.¡± ¡°So whatever the Cult of Tiamat is planning?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Pointless to her scale of things,¡± Usd¡¯ghi snapped, before motioning to the door. ¡°You have work to do. Though if you work hard enough, I might even allow you breaks to search Tern¨°x for the Royal Souls.¡± Fucking Viper! {{I¡¯m busy!!!! }} Grinding her teeth at the contemptuous anger in Viper¡¯s response, Julia turned and headed for the door, ignoring the possessive smile Usd¡¯ghi directed at her back. The chamber beyond was like a Treasury¡¯s warehouse rather than the fancy audience room she¡¯d appeared in. Two of the Coven members were present beyond the doorway, and as soon as she stepped within, the door closed behind her. A circle did not surround the condenser this time, but considering she was in a Demi-Plane made by Usd¡¯ghi, that ship had already sailed. Releasing the Souls into it as quickly as she could, Julia didn¡¯t wait for any of them to be processed, but immediately headed for the exit. When the exit closed behind her it didn¡¯t seamlessly disappear, but the moment she took a step away it began shimmering like a heat mirage. After another step away, it vanished, Julia stepped towards its position and it reappeared, the door opening easily at her touch. Letting the door swing shut on its own, Teleport placed Julia on the edge of the Pit, and she looked down into its depth. The shape of it a reminder of the shaft driving into the depths beneath the Pyramid. Similarly, galleries were encircling the pit here at regular intervals. These though were far larger than the galleries within the Pyramid. A similar distance distortion she¡¯d experienced in Culerzic brought its depths into perspective, and through the Pit she saw broken ground thousands of kilometres below. A hollow shattered from the rock showed where the Titan¡¯s servant had lain. Weird, I only saw an open sky above his body. ((Like attracts like.)) ((My brother had been close to death, and as he came close to true death, he drew death from the worlds to him.)) So since his true death would have been significant, its approach empowered this place into existence. ((That is what I believe given what you see before you, but your senses limit me.)) Is there anyway you can get a clearer picture? ((You really would risk that after what you endured with the minor Celestials?)) Minor! Yeah, maybe not. She¡¯s not even complaining about your voice. ((Another has her full attention; I can sense her pulled like a strand from you.)) Not comforting, especially since we were just in Usd¡¯ghi company. ((Indeed, you left, yet she is still speaking with her.)) Like attracts like. ¡°Time to put my grinding shoes on,¡± Julia muttered before teleporting to where the mass graves waited. Interlude - Sweet Dreams Usd¡¯ghi watched with amusement from the dais as a ghostly Viper paced before the crystalline wall. The ribbons and chains extending from Viper¡¯s back coiled and struck the air with each step. They were both waiting for their guest to arrive, but Viper¡¯s unease was obvious in every sharp motion. A near invisible thread of power extended from the other chair now set close to the wall, leaving Usd¡¯ghi alone on the dais. ¡°You need to improve your Acting, or at least your control youngling,¡± said Usd¡¯ghi, as Viper made her tenth lap of the wall in half as many minutes. ¡°She wears her heart on her sleeve, it¡¯s a problem she passes along to me,¡± Viper replied, and turned again. As she stared at the image of the Necropolis, she didn¡¯t see Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s gaze tighten. ¡°In that case, once she¡¯s gathered enough Souls I¡¯ll have to see to her education as well,¡± stated Usd¡¯ghi, fingertips plucking unseen strings in the air before her. ¡°If you, my Herald, are to be properly useful, you¡¯d best pay attention to the lessons.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t wait to be done with her. The uptight bitch hasn¡¯t even rubbed her petals since she broke free of the cliff,¡± Viper grumbled, and Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s lips twitched in amusement. ¡°You would be best not underestimating an enemy, no matter her current state.¡± A woman¡¯s sensual voice brushed the air and a chill winter mist filled the chamber. As she spoke, a layer of frost began extending from the far wall from the dais, and all light within the chamber dimmed. Even the light coming from the crystal¡¯s image appeared hesitant to intrude against the growing darkness. The figure appearing within the shadows was darkness and pale moonlight given life, and as she walked on the frost covered marble, snow began falling. Wisps of chilled air reflected a dim rainbow across features shrouded by the growing darkness. The moments of light hinted at sharp Elven cheekbones that were swallowed within the shadows, glimpses of her features few and fleeting. Strands of white rimed hair framed her face, a hint of pale blue mingled in her pearl white skin. ¡°Present her in your wall.¡± ¡°Queen Mab,¡± Usd¡¯ghi greeted, her tone tightly polite. With a respectful nod, she rose from her chair and a twitch of fingertips changed the wall¡¯s view. Julia flowed to one side of an arm made of merged bodies extending from churned ground. As the thing tried to crush her into the dirt, she leapt again and a flame sheathed kick burnt a section of flesh to ash. ¡°So my spies heard the whispers in the Summer Courts rightly, the Lady of Morning has returned. How the mighty have fallen,¡± Mab said, as a knife-edged smile graced her shadowed lips. ¡°Kicking undead things that once wouldn¡¯t have been able to exist in her presence, how amusingly pitiful. How long has she been back?¡± ¡°Just over a year,¡± replied Viper, the heated ire in her voice hissing against the frigid air. ¡°The body should have been mine.¡± ¡°If you wanted it, then you should have fought harder,¡± stated Mab, motioning dismissively at Viper¡¯s tantrum. ¡°I¡¯ll control the body before we finish the game,¡± declared Viper, her gaze meeting Mab¡¯s for a fleeting instant before Viper flinched away. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Mab¡¯s bland response had Viper clenching her fists, but Mab inspired enough restraint to keep her mouth closed. ¡°The sun is a strange thing, a human in a desert it can kill, yet that same rising might save the life of a mortal beset by unseen foes,¡± mused Mab, as she watched Julia¡¯s hands drive into her foe. ¡°It¡¯s always a matter of its intensity, and you¡¯re putting her in a collapsing Plane filled with Demonic looters, Undead, and Souls imprisoned in torment. Ensure you¡¯re the ones that profit from this situation, I expect your side of the Pact fulfilled.¡± When Mab vanished, the frost lingered unmelting, as Usd¡¯ghi considered Viper before speaking again. ¡°Best be getting back to her, child. I¡¯ll arrange some instructors for acting at least, pay attention when she¡¯s learning. I¡¯ll give her time to rest in the years we¡¯ll be plundering this place. You¡¯ll need time when her guard isn¡¯t up to dig into her old secrets.¡± ¡°None of the keys work. Breaking those locks was exhausting, I¡¯ve made no progress on more,¡± protested Viper. ¡°Then work harder, just like your little guiding star of Hope is right now,¡± Usd¡¯ghi replied flatly, returning her attention to sorting through unseen threads. ¡°Fucking vaults that look like wicker baskets, and most she¡¯s hidden from me now. Though the rage she tosses my way is invigorating, after the burning stops,¡± Viper commented before she vanished. ¡°If only they¡¯d merged properly,¡± Usd¡¯ghi grumbled, taking out a pair of scissors she snipped a thread located in the back of the Moirai¡¯s tapestry. ¡°Now to see what that unravels. Why is this stupid world developing so many snarls? Think I¡¯d prefer my ledgers to this, stupid bitches dropping their scut work on me.¡±
Yngvarr was looking through previous entries in his journal when a mote of energy flickered into existence. There wasn¡¯t any need, but he turned the pages so he could watch the message begin appearing. When the mote vanished, he flipped to the last page. The strongest of the Prestige classes Julia¡¯s message included made him mutter to himself. ¡°Really need to go adventuring again. She forgot to tell me what the Powers actually do.¡± Manablade Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 5. It combines Fighter and Wizard at level 70 or higher and requires knowledge of all Affinities. Other Requirements include:
  • Senior Master rank in at least one edged weapon.
  • Senior Master rank in Mana Finesse
  • Senior Master rank in Arcane Lore
  • Able to cast all spells in ten spell lists
Provides the following gains:
  • +6 Intelligence per Level
  • +6 Endurance or Quickness per Level
  • +6 Free Attributes per Level
  • +8 Magic per Level
  • +4 Defence per Level
  • +1 Skill Point per Level
  • +5 Knowledge Points per Level
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Bladespell
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Attune Reservoir
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Arcane Combatant
  • Unlock Power: Delay Spell
  • Unlock Power: Deflect Arcane
  • Unlock Power: Usurp Wards
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of all edged weapons skills once they reach Master.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for progress of Arcane Skills
  • Increases Mana Multiplier effect by two stages in addition to any previous increases.
  • Reduce Mana cost for all spells by 1% per level - minimum cost 1 Mana.]
Bodhisattva Details: This Prestige Class is available at Tier 5. It combines Monk and Wizard Level 70 and requires knowledge of all Affinities. Other Requirements include:
  • Senior Master rank in an Unarmed Combat Style.
  • Senior Master rank in Mana Finesse.
  • Have evolved your own Martial Arts Style.
  • Senior Master rank in three Ki Powers
  • Possess True Sight or greater perception Power.
  • Have Four different Affinities attuned within Ki Infusion
  • Able to cast all spells in twelve spell lists
Provides the following gains:
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Ki Aura
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Spirit Passage
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Ki Flight
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Immortal Spirit
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Planar Shift (Self)
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Greater Teleport (Self)
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Soul Sight
  • +6 Intelligence per Level.
  • +8 Willpower per Level.
  • +6 Free Attributes per Level.
  • +8 Magic Rating per Level.
  • +8 Ki per Level
  • +2 Melee Attack Power per Level.
  • +3 Defence per Level.
  • +3 Skill points per Level
  • Harmony triples Ki recovery rate.
  • Hold six additional spells within Ki Infusion - all can be released at once.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in Unarmed Combat
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in any Meditation and Mental skills
  • Increases chance of gaining insights in any Arcane Skills
  • Reduce Mana cost for all spells by 1% per level - minimum cost 1 Mana
Viper is up to something with Usd¡¯ghi. Take nothing to my hideout, send no message, nothing she might learn. My time might be limited. She keeps having conversations with Usd¡¯ghi where I¡¯m not invited. Have been letting Succubus lag the others level wise since it¡¯s her favourite. I¡¯ve been feeling her scratching around in the back of my mind whenever Usd¡¯ghi lets me have a break. Please let Torm and Livia know I¡¯ll do my best. Regards, Julia When he got to the message at the end he cursed, only to feel a musical note shiver through the Bond between them as it unravelled. ¡°Bloody Viper, don¡¯t underestimate her, Julia,¡± Yngvarr groaned, once his swearing ceased, concern twisting his insides at what had happened in six moons of absence.
The dragon¡¯s flame melted stone buttresses as it strafed past the fortress again, the reply from the surviving Wizards within its defences not even marking its scales. Ebusuku passed the bottle over to her nearest sister as they exchanged bets about the next area to be hit. As the dragon soared upwards, its wings put the damaged areas and the rest of the fortress into shadow. Waves butted the charred bodies of Xhali¨¢ma up against the fortress¡¯ seawalls, the surface slick with ash. ¡°How did you know she¡¯d attack?¡± Ebusuku glanced toward her questioning sister, with Amagw?baba¡¯s expression making it clear she wouldn¡¯t let the matter drop; Ebusuku gave her a kernel of truth. Though she first set a barrier to ensure the wind wouldn¡¯t carry her words to the Ancient Wyrm. While it was dozens of kilometres away over the ocean, lining up another strafing run, there was no point in risking it hearing the truth. ¡°A little troublesome bird had an idea. Years ago I told her it wouldn¡¯t work, she recently came back with a better one,¡± Ebusuku replied, and Amagw?baba tossed her a bottle in payment. ¡°How many centuries do you think the Sisterhood will have us raiding this pesthole?¡± Amagw?baba asked. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Ebusuku took a moment to break the wax seal on the bottle before she replied. ¡°Got another place you¡¯d prefer to be killing Demons?¡± ¡°Maybe not but after eight years in this rancid Hag cunt of a swamp I¡¯d prefer somewhere different,¡± Amagw?baba replied. When she finally took a swig her expression amused Ebusuku. ¡°Wood Elf blood tastes like monkey scat - I told them I wanted Sea Elf.¡± ¡°Glad your time spent eating primate shit makes you an expert,¡± remarked Ebusuku dryly, a well-timed sway causing the bottle to miss. Tossing Amagw?baba a smile as her sister relaxed, Ebusuku couldn¡¯t help but wonder how much treasure the plate of runes had damaged. The Ancient had been roasting the fortress for two bells already, and it didn¡¯t seem inclined to stop. Such a shame the antique plate with its fresh runic additions had been included in the fortress¡¯ offering to big and grumpy, such a shame indeed. The Dragon hadn¡¯t attack immediately after offerings had gone in, so it wasn¡¯t just taking offense at the attempt. Even she flinched as the escalating intensity of Dragon Fire caused a section of wall to shatter. With that much rage it seemed something important got busted by the Ordered Mana the masked runes contained. ¡°One of those new fancy coins that it takes the place down to the waterline before its done,¡± Amagw?baba bid, and looked among the others for takers. When none of other eight teams gathered seem included to take the bet, she looked at Ebusuku hopefully. ¡°Pretty sure it¡¯s not leaving till the place is destroyed.¡± The mutter from another Succubus earned Ebusuku¡®s agreement before a question came from Amagw?baba. ¡°A coin it¡¯s destroyed within a cycle?¡± ¡°Just enjoy the show,¡± Ebusuku sighed, and when she took a swig of the fermented Ogre¡¯s blood Amagw?baba had tossed her. The distilled rage within it held its lingering death throes nicely. ¡°Oh, I am. It¡¯s a shame the fleet had already left for repairs,¡± Amagw?baba replied. As she straddled a tree one of the first on site had felled, she tucked her wings in tight against her back. ¡°Anyone found out what¡¯s been sweeping up all the Larvae along the beaches?¡± Ebusuku didn¡¯t catch who¡¯d asked the question but she knew the answer. The feel of one empty beach she¡¯d run across was entirely familiar, and the empty kilometres of beach had made her smile. ¡°Those beaches smell like Trouble,¡± Ebusuku stated calmy, amused by the concerned expressions the others wore.
Energy shimmered into existence, shaped as a butterfly, its wings beating with a slow even pace, though it had no need of the motion to stay aloft. The light shone down on a book the maker had bound in dark leather, yet it seemed far from normal with fine scales showing over every centimetre of its surface. Runes inlaid it in High Elven, a language not spoken except among Elven Scholars and Priests, yet the book sat on a table in an obviously human bedroom. The furnishings showed clean lines of human craftsmanship, not the grown arches of Elven work. The book rested on a simple, neatly constructed table made of a wood whose lacquered surface shone the colour of golden honey. A backless stool had push beneath it, one of the few furnishings within the room. The chamber was only meagrely furnished, yet those pieces spoke of quality intended to last years. Fine matching construction showed in the simple lines of the desk, chair, single bed, long chest, and two bookcases. Yet those six items were all the furnishing within the undecorated chamber. Sparse and modest, with little to show the occupant¡¯s nature, except for the extent of their clean habits. Everything had its place. Against the opposite wall from the desk, they¡¯d set the bed exactly into the corner. A chest sat at the foot of the bed, precisely aligned to it yet sitting just enough apart to open easily. It appeared practical, metal reinforced corners with the only sign of decoration an inlay showing the letters ¡®L N E¡¯ just below the lock. On each shelf in the bookcase, there books neatly stacked by size, with the largest of each set providing a solid base. No dust lay on any surface, indeed even within the crevices the room was spotlessly clean. The energy¡¯s wings continued to flutter for a moment longer, till the only letters in human script upon the cover began glowing and it vanished. Private Journal. Livia Nata Eakc?. The letters continued to glimmer till later in the evening the owner¡¯s excited hands flipped the cover open. Pausing for a slow breath, Livia looked at the first entry. The excitement that had been burning in her gaze suppressed to mere curiosity, and she forced herself to slowly turn the pages. As she flipped through each page, her gaze brushed over a few entries as she went. Second Moon, Spring, Year 1029 ( AA - ante adventum - not PR ) I¡¯m seventeen now and instead of permission to go adventuring Yngvarr gave me this Journal. At least it has plenty of pages for Moeir¡¯s messages, since it¡¯s magical with thousands held within it. If only Moeir could write me often enough to warrant the number. It¡¯s been six years since she left, and I miss her only more, I can read between the lines to see the danger she isn¡¯t putting in her news. She¡¯s made no mention of searching for the L¨®m?, only fighting and training. I¡¯m not interested in all the spell lists she can completely cast. Though I know she¡¯s happy about the concealment grimoire she purchased from Usd¡¯ghi. She¡¯s been a busy Reaper, and still studying hard. Her news has always been so mundanely presented, as if I shouldn¡¯t worry she¡¯s in the Abyss. . . First Moon, Autumn, Year 1029 I can¡¯t believe it Moke and Eivor. Really, I was sure she¡¯d have better tastes than marrying him. Though I guess with her being pregnant and all that¡¯s understandable. Sagga and her adventuring team are heading to investigate the leads they had been following. Marcus has been trying to catch my attention at practice since Master Farhad left, his colours make it clear where his interests lie. The adventurer¡¯s guild finally expanded into the Kingdom of Darius, and Remus. I think the teams¡¯ successes weakening the Manes assault threatening the northern borders got the attention of both kingdoms¡¯ Queens. . First Moon, Winter, Year 1030 Eysteinn¡¯s son Hinrik really takes after him, and is far more subtle it seems. I hadn¡¯t heard an ill word originating from him about the faithful of Eakc? and now he pulls this trick. I understand what Moeir meant about fondling money bags running in the family now. The tax notice he sent to the Temple of Eakc? was double that sent to the richest merchant, and Temples are rarely taxed. With Yngvarr and Alfarr both away they paid it without arguing, the reserves they¡¯d had set aside covering it. Wonder what Verdandi will say when she gets back. Second Moon, Summer, Year 1032 News came of villages being raided on the coast west of here; Torm and Verdandi think the accord might have been breached. I¡¯m glad he¡¯s finally back though I¡¯m concerned Torm won¡¯t speak about the time he spent with Sarah and the expedition. I want to know about Moeir¡¯s friend but when I mention her Torm just ignores my questions. . . . First Moon, Winter, Year 1033 Master Farhad¡¯s lessons stood me in good stead adventuring this year. The team I joined is skilled, and I¡¯ve made fast progress in ¡®levelling¡¯. The number of terms that I know Julia originated salting conversations among adventurers has been a regular source of amusement. . . Second Moon, Winter, Year 1033 Pale Night, unholy blight All is harm, all is blight Round yon Virgin, scour and wild Unholy regent so fevered and riled Sleep in watery pieces Sleep in slovenly grease Have winter solstice fun, Viper. P.S: Kiss someone beneath some mistletoe or kill them. Either. Both. We¡¯re overflowing with Shard goodness, yum, yum, yum. Ignore her - she cast the spell while I was meditating. I should have held off collecting shards for Ascending longer, I¡¯m going to leave them be for a while. Sorry, Julia. . . Four Moon, Winter, Year 1034 Livia, The Necropolis finally collapsed. Viper¡¯s distracted at present so I can get this message away without her knowing the content. No matter what happens, when I do Ascend, know I¡¯ve missed you so much. She¡¯s been feeding my secrets to Usd¡¯ghi so staying away was all I could do to keep you all safe. Wherever your path in life takes you, stay true to your loving heart. I¡¯m not going down quietly. I¡¯ll do my best but I don¡¯t know what effect my plan will actually have. All I have is my expectation and the hope that it¡¯s enough. Treat any further contact from me with suspicion. Love you always, Eakc? ¡°She¡¯s stopped signing as Julia,¡± Livia murmured. ¡°Any further contact, it¡¯s going to be soon then.¡± Ignoring her own beautiful alto that caught the attention of the young men who heard it, Livia didn¡¯t need to see her aura¡¯s colours shifting to admit her concern. With nothing she could do to change the tide of events, elegant movements took her to the bed. Perching there cross-legged Livia centred herself, seeking balance. Mentally cycling both Mana and Ki she let her concerns go free and felt them drift from her awareness as power shone through her honeyed skin. Her petite yet callused fingers dancing through meditative gestures Master Farhad had taught her before he¡¯d departed. She kept her focus on the regularity of her breathing, and the sensation of each breath flexing her stomach muscles. With calm restored she ran fingers through the short length of brunette hair she currently maintained, before flowing to her feet. ¡°No rest for the wicked,¡± Livia said, before heading to the practice yard. She had little need of sleep now, and too much energy that needed burning tonight.
Andre''s Awakening The sound of metal chiming against metal rang close at hand, echoing through my awareness and deep within me. As I tried to blink, the world focused within my sight and yet seemed so odd. I had expected a weird cloudy grey sky filled with ash; Instead, there was a strange Grecian style mosaic far overhead, and from close by a comforting warmth washed over me. A recollection of falling tried to surface within my mind, but the details fled as I reached for them. Only the sensation of being off balance within the memory promised any context, but the details fled from me. ¡°Rest, little one. You¡¯re awake sooner than expected. Perhaps I¡¯ve not lost my touch after all.¡± The words came rumbling to my mind over the sound of metal ringing within the chamber. A panicked moment of trying to sit up went without response. Yet, it made me aware of lacking sensation from my body. The expectation of pain was sparking a faint sensation within my memories, but it was a shallow thing, remote and so very disconnected. I had died. What had become of me? ¡°You won¡¯t be able to move yet, not till you¡¯re within flesh again. I¡¯ll set you where you can see yourself and get accustomed to things. Once you¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll find an opportunity to allow your Soul to flourish.¡± Calmness filled me with every utterance as the voice came closer. Though I couldn¡¯t move, a feeling of soft fur brushed my skin and enfolded me, blocking everything from sight. Quickly set upright, sight returned and in a reflection coming from burnished metal, sanity sought to question itself. Somehow, I was seeing out of gleaming moulded gold, the reflection showing features more refined than I¡¯m sure I¡¯d known in life. The tips of pointed ears showing up out of wavey hair, cascading locks longer than I had previously. Features reminding me of an artist rendering an Elven portrait, though more beautiful and refined than any fantasy works I had seen. Nude, I would blush if I could, but my features remained motionless and composed. Desperate to set the helpless feeling aside, I concentrated on the reflection¡¯s details. A high clean forehead, graceful arcing features, the gold moulding even included detailed eyebrows finer than those that frustrated me in life. My face possessed sharp cheeks, a delicately pointed chin, a straight nose without the awkward bump that had sat upon my own. The tip of it turned slightly upward, promising to flex cutely with every motion my face might make. Lithe lines formed my body, though I had no perspective to judge my height, from neck to toes the form seemed supple, rippling with leanly portioned muscle. I tried without success to avoid my pert breasts and hairless mons. I seemed far fitter and more desirable than I had considered myself in life. A supermodel, clad in gold body paint glittering and shining in the strange light. Life. I remember sitting in church attending a funeral. Obviously not my own. Whose was it? I remember such sorrow. How was I now here? They had set me upon a surface that looked like finely grained wood. In front of me, a wall of polished metal stretched in both directions. When behind me the wall of a strange grey fur lifted, its movement drew my gaze away. The strange backdrop rose upwards, and I saw behind; Giants stood within a stadium sized room (for them), forges burning with pure white light showed not a coal in sight. Majestic angelic figures, male and female, clad in cloth that shimmered like an alien silk, yet in a range of practical styles. Each worked with tender care and set pieces in place upon a round orb floating in midair. Some had skin as golden as my form, massive yet moving with such ease and grace, liquid flowing motions that would have stolen my breath away. Wings tucked tight against their backs and sometimes even compressed from sight. A wide variety of features and skin tones, but all made my surprising beauty seem plain. Their energy continually filled the room while their project and I savoured every moment. It held me enraptured, wishing I could turn about, but I was happy the reflection showed the room so clearly. The orb they were building upon bubbled in the air as they gently set curved puzzle pieces in place. Each layer holding itself together as it grew, the Angels moved from their anvils, set about the forge to the orb then back to work on another piece. I¡¯m not sure how long the work continued, but eventually they set the last piece in place. One moment it was metal, the next it shone with life, blue oceans, white-tipped mountains, fertile green plains, balanced by deserts and brutal environments, promising dangers and little else. A figure came into sight, strangely smaller than the Angels I had watched work, his very presence a pulse of solid, overwhelming endurance. The grey fur wall that had been behind me matched what clad him. Bare-chested, with a torso of solid muscles, his strength was clear even though his fur obscured much. A fringe of leather and cloth strips hung from his waist and dipped below his knees, and except for that he wore only old-style sandals. His features were human, broad and solid, silver eyes shone from deep sunken sockets. Each footstep seemed to anchor him in place. His shape reminded me of a minotaur and though his hair was a wild mane, it gleamed like sunlight and he possessed an aura of calm rather than rage. There was an air about him that said he wasn¡¯t their boss or a tyrant, instead their protective Father. The Angels regarded him with trust as he spoke to them. ¡°Who would wish to ignite its star in place?¡± His voice not raised, yet reaching me from far away, the tones matching the ones that greeted my awakening. The Angels glanced among themselves, with many clearly eager for the role before an oddity among them stepped forward. Where the others seemed ripe with beauty and life, he appeared worn and ragged. While he wasn¡¯t the tallest among them, he stood far above many present, but it was a height that only helped him appear more battered. ¡°Father, may I watch over the life upon its start?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve just returned to us, Eleftherios.¡± He spoke the words with care and concern, a feeling of deep sorrow clear in his tone. ¡°I know, but I feel the need for peace and watching life flourish to restore myself. The essence of the Necropolis eroded my energy and strength away,¡± Eleftherios said, the angelic melodies of his words thick with fatigue. ¡°As you wish, ignite the star, and provide the anchor to set the planet in place. Then, take proper care and restore yourself, come back whenever you wish, even if for a visit.¡± ¡°Father, I would go as well. To let Eleftherios know about our endeavours in his absence,¡± another Angel spoke. Her eyes, a glowing sky-blue, came to rest on the ragged figured weighted with compassion. ¡°Thank you, Alberta. Please aid your brother.¡± The being gave acknowledgement with a slight dip of his head. ¡°That is kind of you, sister,¡± Eleftherios said, a tired smile turning his lips, before moving towards the forge. His hand dipped into the pure white heat and rose again, holding a seed of burning light. In that instant, Eleftherios vanished, and Alberta flickered from existence. As the Angels returned to their work, he turned towards me and strode across the open field. It closed so quickly, its height gave me a perspective of the distance. From foot to head, I didn¡¯t even partly match the height of his eye socket. If I was even close to what I vaguely remember from life, he was nearly two kilometres tall. He touched the platform on which I rested and instantly shrank, suddenly standing before me. ¡°Now, where best to place you, Andre. Though given your last father picked that name, perhaps you¡¯d prefer another?¡± How does he expect me to answer? ¡°You merely have to think. I¡¯ll feel what you intend to tell me. Call me Nic.¡± My attention went to the arcing horns that adorn his head, and an Old Nic flickered across my awareness. ¡°No, not your or any Devil. Nicholaus was the name a High Priestess of Hestia gave me. She found me left to die upon a hillside, a bare babe somehow standing upright and suckling from a cow¡¯s teat. Although, the horns and fur grew in later, I never wished to change them. Others saw more reason for rejection, but I kept them to honour the life that tended my first needs instead of rejecting me,¡± Nic replied. His voice was so deep and solid, each word calmly spoken as he seemed, and each syllable resonated within me. Who¡¯d be so cruel to leave a baby upon a hillside? ¡°My mother. To her my silver eyes were a deformity and confirmed it wasn¡¯t her husband that had begot me. You¡¯re not here to speak of me, though. One of my lost ones cherished you and wished me to make amends for your life ending at her funeral. Though I¡¯m keeping much of the memories from you at the moment. I purified your Human Soul to True Gold and would set you upon a world to find a new life to call your own.¡± Nicholaus¡¯ words held kind emotion when he spoke of my Soul, but when he spoke of his own rejection it was simply a stated fact. Why are you keeping my memories from me? ¡°Your Soul is still settling after the purification. If I let you remember more now, it would certainly be unpleasant and undo what work I achieved.¡± How am I supposed to choose without clear memories? ¡°Listen to the Song within your Soul; it will provide a surety of the correct path for yourself. Since you¡¯ve already moved beyond considering yourself, I¡¯ll turn you so you can see my forge space more easily.¡± As he spoke, a simple movement from him pivoted me about. The bright beauty of the workplace was so much clearer when not mirrored in metal. The model that had held my attention wasn¡¯t alone in the workspace. Do I have to choose right away? The workshop was busy with living beauty, and I could see more pieces merging into models. Before I had noticed mainly planetary plates, I was sure some things added weren¡¯t tectonic features but seeds of potential life itself. Particles of dust drifting over the metal and ending up carefully held within. ¡°No, child, not at all. You can wait and watch them work, let your Soul find ease in its new nature. If you find enough balance, your memories will return. But, with or without them, the choices ahead are yours alone to make.¡± Thank you Nicholaus. ¡°Child, there is nothing to thank me for, and perhaps in time I may have cause to thank you. I¡¯m repaying a debt requested by a friend of yours. Perhaps not in the form she¡¯d want, but in a way I hope will bring you joy. I will listen for your thoughts, if you decide you¡¯ve found the right time to depart you need only think my name. However, you are welcome to rest here as long as you wish. The children will come by to check on you and talk as you need,¡± Nic said. The lightest of touches rested on my shoulder; then, one moment he was beside me and the next, far across the field that formed the workshop. There was so much activity to see by the time I returned my attention closer to hand: the planet I¡¯d watched come alive had vanished. Two Angels who looked perhaps human height were setting a sphere even smaller in place. It leapt high into the air and stayed aloft, hovering near where the planet had been, and the others in that section set to work again. As the hammers rose and fell in rhythm, I could feel a distant echoing of a melody so vague yet within me I knew it. 96 - Dont bring me down. ¡°WHY AREN¡¯T YOU ASCENDING!!¡± Viper¡¯s tantrums echoing from the other side of the disc didn¡¯t faze Julia as she walked the line of devices she had imagined into place. As she passed each one, Julia focused on the intention relating to each again and hoped she wasn¡¯t making a mistake in her plan. The irregular orbit of the disc had become blinding swift over the recent decade in the Abyss. Every allowed break, she¡¯d taken time to push its speed higher and adjust its orbit with subtle nudges. As Viper¡¯s screaming tirade continued, Julia released the Mind Palace and opened her eyes again. True Sight picked out every detail of the new hideout where she¡¯d purposely isolated herself since the Necropolis¡¯ collapse. Glancing over at the table where she¡¯d placed the last grimoire she had been studying. The moment her focus fixed on it the book slipped into Inventory without even having to touch it. The room she¡¯d crafted here in Tern¨°x she¡¯d always kept stark, but now it again contained only bare stone furnishings. {{Are you afraid? Drink down too many shards to control? You¡¯ve become such a quiet, scared little girl! Too afraid to go near your friends. Scared to let me learn more about them!}} ¡°Like attracts like,¡± Julia whispered, turning her will towards the energy within her form. As the shard¡¯s compression began, Viper called out ecstatically. Her cries only growing louder in mock pleasure as Julia turned the Abyssal energy into thread and spun it into a ball tighter and tighter still. Memories of a ball of wool squeezing tight around her fingers as the line rose from the floor, and each loop pressing the ball tighter around fingertips. The remembered tight comfort of the material becoming a burning agony as the heat in the Abyssal furnace grew hotter with every loop compressing more of it together. As the last wisps of energy spun into place, the Abyss spilt and consumed her, the maelstrom of energy swirling around her. The burning flames reflecting the appearance of the tiara of horns and eyes engorged with blackness. Willpower let her push slowly past the agony of the inferno as Julia set herself within the Mind Palace. The blackness of space that had been absorbing the light of her Soul¡¯s sun was now reflecting the Abyss¡¯ inferno, and a bushfire raged around the oasis of her Soul. As the disc spun in its orbit again, Julia braced herself and separated the clamps she had made. Banks of monitors showed the disc from multiple camera angles as her control centre came to life. When the last clamp opened, she fired the thrusters she had spent over a decade visualising into place. ¡°What the FUCK!¡± Viper¡¯s scream brought a grim smile to Julia¡¯s lips as the surrounding monitors showed the hairline gap she¡¯d sliced down the centre of the disc burst in separation. The hundreds of rockets she¡¯d crafted through holes to rest against Viper¡¯s side of the disc turned the millimetre gap into kilometres in a mere instant. Her imagination having turned the single disc into two platforms with now vastly different trajectories that continued to change. Imagination building on the elliptical orbit that Julia had given the disc as it moved towards the further point from the inner sun. ¡°Like attracts like!¡± Julia chanted the mantra as she pushed all her will into the visualisation she kept under wraps for years of grinding. More rockets fired to stabilise her own orbit as the fires raging outside the boundary of her Soul reached out towards Viper¡¯s platform. The secondary stage kicked into place, and the acres of racks Viper had thought hidden flickered into view. Their framework bursting apart as micro demolition charges broke the hidden rows apart. The boxes undamaged sprayed outwards, glittering untouched as the fire consumed the framework that had held them. ¡°What¡¯s mine is mine. Like attracts like. What¡¯s mine is mine.¡± As the wall of raging fire swallowed Viper¡¯s platform, the boxes spread out in a canopy of shining stars. ¡°Viper,¡± Julia sighed as monitors showed the disc swallowed by the inferno. ¡°This tribe has spoken; you can just fuck off.¡± Pain overwhelmed her mental defences as she selected her planned Prestige Class, and the consequences rippled outwards.
Within the Sisterhood¡¯s home fortress, on the Plane Ijmti in an office of pure white, the walls reflected a light they¡¯d never seen before, and the Lady¡¯s gaze snapped up. Sunlight shone across the stark bones that formed the wall coming from between pages in the Order¡¯s book of ¡®Names¡¯. Across the room with a thought, the Lady pushed the book open on its stand; True Names written in Demonic blood of their owners stood out against the pages as they fanned to the offending spot. A Name she remembered for its strangeness on her tongue glowed from the page and shone with an internal sun. But as the book of ¡®Names¡¯ erupted into purifying flame, desperate spells from her couldn¡¯t prevent its own enchantments from burning it into ash. ¡°J!¡± Lady Baln¨¦rith roared. ¡°Find her! Bring her to me! And bring me Naz¡¯rilca now! Blighting of the Innocent, I will make you regret ever being spawned.¡± Even before her assistants started sending a stream of messages, F¨®rla?rea? and a scattering among the Sisterhood¡¯s original members sensed the chains on their Souls break. A moment passed between them as fragments of half-remembered notes swam through their awareness. Their compelled duties ignored; they each ripped the Sigil from their form before they teleported away.
[Error! Incompatible state detected! Error! Incompatible state detected! Error! Incompatible state detected! . . . Error! Incompatible state detected! ] The stream of error messages battered Julia¡¯s awareness for hours as she held herself together until, at last, a different message appeared. [Administration action override, recalculating¡­ Prestige Class combining Monk (Level: 102)/ Wizard (Level: 102) / Outer Plane Species Class (Succubus) (Level: 100) / Assassin (Level: 104) calculating error core. Root Error: Incompatible Abyssal Species and Abyssal Class Type, availability check overridden by presence of Soul, and all Affinities. Administrator action required to resolve. Succubus Species and Class blocking combination by Abyssal category. Administration action override: Strip Abyssal (Class) classification from local Succubus Class. Error! Incompatible state detected! Administration action override: Strip Abyssal (Species) classification from local Succubus Race. Reclassification calculations beginning. Administration action override: Reapply curse post calculations. Administration message: Andre is safe. My own rules prevent me from taking action to lift your curse permanently. Administration message: Baln¨¦rith knows. You¡¯d best run fast. May you always Sing true, Scion of House Morning. Species Evolution recalculated. Class Recalculation completed. Applying Curse. Adjusting Species Evolution within Curse parameters. Calculation completed. Evolution selected. Species Set: Fallen Remaining Abyssal Energies purified and isolated by new Species for emergence venting, residual Chaos energies converted by Species. Species-level reset, species experience tally initialised. Class Set: Pure Scion of the Sun. Prestige Class level and experience tally initialised. Recalibration of possessed Powers and Skills beginning. ] A rush of messages burst across Julia¡¯s awareness, even as she exploded back into the Abyss. The river below her reflected the flames only for a moment before it evaporated into steam - raw Abyssal energy rampaging outwards from the rift as it placed her back onto the Plane of Hrz¡¯Styrn. The shock wave ripping from the rift left Julia untouched as it obliterated the bodies in the river and the dredging crews on both sides for kilometres in all directions. When its wavefront hit the city of ¨´eqr?kas, the undiluted Abyssal Mana tore the wards to pieces. While their enchantments collapsed in an overload of power, rupturing spatial pathways within the city tore whole stretches of buildings from their foundations.
A rift opened in the burning sky above Culerzic, and a meteor larger than a house sedan hurtled through. As the black meteor punched the clouds apart, light illuminated kilometres of the impaled damned as Culerzic greeted a sight it had never seen before. The meteor¡¯s course sent it impacting the cliff-face, crushing a few unfortunate Succubi gestating within the rock. Untouched by the shower of debris that crushed the closest of the impaled, Viper stretched in sensual pleasure at her new freedom. Spiked bat-like wings and a barbed tail flexed to full extension as she shook debris from her tiara of horns. Her happiness was fleeting as she reached for a Spell, that she knew Julia had learnt and screamed in rage when its shape evaded her. As a patrolling Succubus ventured too close, Viper teleported behind her and almost clumsily tore her limb from limb. ¡°What happened to Monk!¡± The screams turned into wordless, animalistic noises after increasingly desperate checks of her Profile showed the Tier six or seven options unavailable, spells absent, among other changes. As she tried to reach into Julia¡¯s memories for spells, none responded. Even as she scrambled for them, only a fading emptiness of memories that had been fresh moments earlier remained. Reaching for them even the crystal-eyed child''s memory faded further out of reach, the unknown child''s name escaping her. ¡°Select Queen of Planes. I¡¯m only a Succubus; I didn¡¯t Ascend. Curse you Bitch! I will find you!¡± Even without spells showing in her new Profile, the Wizard and Succubus classes combined into the Tier 5 Prestige Class, which had offered improvements compared to Mistress of Planes. Ignoring the notifications she received, Viper growled and focused on Planar Shift (Self) ventured towards Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s home Plane. The Sigil burned into her Abyssal energies unnoticed now that she no longer possessed True Sight.
Julia¡¯s gaze looked over the devastated landscape and watched as the wind swirled across the ashes left by the destroyed Demons lifted them skywards. Not knowing who might be on the way, Planar Shift moved her to Pandemonium. Flame fought against the oppressive darkness and forced it back. Even though she was a beacon summoning creatures to investigate. She focused on the rock beneath her feet. The howling wind ignored as she absorbed tons of rock from ten metres and more below the surface. As soon as the gravel she turned it into had sprayed from her Inventory, Blink took her into the gap she¡¯d formed. Bright flames burned away darkness inside the area she had carved out, and Julia created a mirror to see what she¡¯d become. The shadow vines still in place, Julia willed them to retract even as she examined the wings of scarlet and carmine hues that had grown from her back. An individual flame that twisted against reality and tasted the air hungrily shaped each feather. Her eyes, when last she¡¯d seen them, had been eclipses, but now were pupilless crimson flames. Golden-bronze hued skin seemed lit from within - an inferno within her form - made her skin a promise of molten pain rather than any compassion of touch. Swirls in her tattoos had flames licking under their course, making the blood droplets shine as if freshly spilled from a corpse. Here and there amid the vines, green flared to life within the black ink, only to die again as the flames shifted beneath her skin. With a glance at the Prestige Class again, she compared it against the resulting changes in her Profile. [Prestige Class Pure Scion of the Sun (Evolution Version) This Evolution version of the Tier Seven Prestige Class - Scion of the Sun - is available when all four base classes are 100 or higher. Other Requirements
  • One Melee Class
  • One Caster Class
  • One Stealth Class
  • One Planar Class (Outer Planes)
  • Tier 7 achievement available
Melee Class:
  • Senior Master rank in at least one combat skill
  • Senior Master rank in a defensive skill
  • Having gained over 70% of melee class experience in solo combat.
  • Having gained over 50% of class experience from killing rather than subduing of foes.
Caster Class: Wizard
  • All Affinities Known
  • Additional Affinity Detected: Jade Court Celestial (Evolution)
  • Able to cast all spells in fifteen spell lists
Stealth Class:
  • Senior Master Rank in Perception Power or Skill
  • Senior Master Rank in one Power specific to class
  • Senior Master Rank in a stealth or deception type Power or Skill
  • Master Rank in Danger Sense
  • Master Rank in Stealth
Outer Plane Class:
  • Have evolved three Powers related to class
  • Senior Master Rank in two Powers
  • Senior Master Rank in two related skills
Additional Class requirements - Succubus:
  • Retained purity of spirit at the time of Class selection.
  • No innocents killed
  • No innocents corrupted
  • Demonic Pact Power evolved into Allegiance Bond, or Servant¡¯s Oath.
Provides the following gains:
  • Species Evolution at time of selection.
  • + 10 Willpower per Level
  • + 10 Intelligence per Level
  • + 10 Charisma per Level
  • + 10 Quickness per Level
  • + 4 Free Attributes per Level
  • +10 Magic Rating per Level
  • + 7 Melee Attack Power per Level
  • + 7 Defence per Level
  • + 2 Skill Points per Level
  • + 2 Knowledge Points per Level
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Daylight
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Gate (Lesser)
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Ki Aura
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Ki Flight
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Mana Critical
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Planar Shift (Self)
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Planar Beacon
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Spirit Passage
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Suppress Target
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: World Step
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in Unarmed Combat
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in any Meditation and Mental skills
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in any Arcane Skills
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights for Infiltration, Haggling, and Social Skills
] This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Profile
Name Eakc?
Species Fallen True Name
(Variant: Hidden Mortal Soul - Cursed)
Home Plane
Progression Class Level Experience
Species Progression Fallen 1 0 / 2000
Class 1: Pure Scion of the Sun 1 0 / 2000
Class 2: (Open)
Class 3: (Open)
Class 4: (Open)
Defence 225 Ki Armour Active: 375
Melee Attack Power 355 Health 23,643
Attributes Un-allocated: 8
Strength 106 Faith 190
Endurance 100 Magic 236
Quickness 214 Pool: -
Intelligence 218 Ki 1,608 Base: 201 Multiplier: x8
Willpower 310 Mana 155,992 Base: 19499 Multiplier: x8
Charisma 148
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [No Tag] = Standard. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Abyssal [L](7), Acid [I] (6), Air (2), Chaos [L](6), Cold [I](16), Decay [I](5), Earth (12), Electricity (20), Fire [Im], Mana [I](11), Mental (M) [16], Mundane Materials [G] (1), Negative [I] (5), Poison (10), Primordial [L](1).
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept. [M] = Master. [S] = Senior Master. [G] = Grand Master
Powers Allegiance Bond (20), Angelic Aura (10), Daylight (1), Death Strike [M](8), Dominion [S](2), Energy Drain [S](30), Flight [M](40), Gate (Lesser) (1), Greater Teleport [M](40), Harmony [S](1), Ki Armour [S](8), Ki Aura (1), Ki Infusion [S](8), Ki Movement [Ad](1), Ki Strike [S](10), Mana Critical (1), Planar Beacon (1), Planar Shift (Self) (1), Protean [M](2), Rebuke [Ad](1), Seed Doubts (5), Silent Kill [M](8), Soul Sight [M](1), Spirit Bridge [Ad](11), Spirit Passage (1), Stimulation [Ad](19), Suppress Target (1), Telepathy [Ad](40), Tongues [Ad](32), True Sight [M](40), Universal Life [M](30), World Step (1)
Ki Infusion Jade Court Mana, Spatial, Destruction, Primordial
Skills
Active: Abyssal City Navigator (12), Acting [M](1), Agile [S](20), Alchemy [Ap](10), Analysis [S](10), Danger Sense [S](3), Erotic Dance [J](40), First Aid (12), Haggling [Ad](44), Inscribe [Ad](44), Intimidate [M](1), Leatherworking [Ap](5), Mana Finesse [S](7), Mental Hardening [S](5), Pain Tolerance [J](35), Perception [M](40), Planar Sense [M](1), Profile Control [M](7), Sense Motive [M](7), Silent Storm [S](8), Spell Disruption [Ad](30), Stealth [M](29), Time Sense [M](11), Zen State [S](7)
Knowledge: Abyssal Lore [M](20), Arcane [M](18), Celestial Lore [M](7), Demonic Lore [Ad](28), Devil Lore [Ad](10), Elven Lore [Ad](45), Hidden Lore [M](29), Infernal Lore [M](1), Infernal Processes [M](1), Norse Lore [Ap] (11), Planar Lore [M](40), Planar Portals [J](18), Religious Lore [Ap](27), Rune Lore [Ap](26), Skill Lore [Ap](5), Ten Kingdoms History [Ap](2), Undead [M](90)
Bonus Points
Skill: 2
Knowledge: 56
Languages Abyssal, And¨²n? Elven, Br¨ªn Hand sign, Celestial (Common), English, High Elven, Infernal, Norse, Primordial Abyssal
Special Abilities
Inventory
Level [Ad](10)
Max Capacity 45000 Kilograms
Stored The Agony of Horus. (4) Messenger¡¯s Loop, (1) Dagger of Tracking Bracers of Missile Negation (2) Large Dimensional Bags capacity 4,000 kg (full). Grimoires. Treatises. Infernal Folio. (1) Storage Pouch capacity 40 kg (empty), Cube of Memories. Soul Gem - Setau
Worn / Carried Bracelet of Shadow Vines. Ring of Silent Motions. Scorpion¡¯s Kiss. Onyx Ring.
Spells Lists Air Law, Calming Ways, Concealing Ways, Crystal Law, Earth Law, Elemental Shields, Fire Law, Guises, Ice Law, Light Mould, Lightning Law, Lofty Bridge, Moving Ways, Order Bonds, Planar Law, Revealing Ways, Sensory Deception, Shield Mastery, Spell Reins, Water Law
Title: Lady of the Accursed Faith Tier: Large Cult
Faith Caster: Head Priestess Eivor (High Priest 34 / Merchant 13)
Sects 3 Worlds 2
Largest World
Priest: 93 Centre: Eyrarh¨¢ls
Other: 8 Members: 5,743
Missionary: 6 Locations: 12
Allies: Elven Pantheon: Summer Court and Forest Court. Members of Norse Pantheon. Mars.
Respectful: Dwarven Pantheon
((She is not just silent; you¡¯ve cleansed your Soul of her poison. I hope my hint assisted. )) It did, thank you V. Though might I know a name I can call you? ((Now your corrupted Id has gone, of course, please call me Laodice. )) How can I get you free Laodice? ((Child, please worry about yourself for a time. )) Won¡¯t you tell me? ((I will not put you in such danger, nor provide information that leads you to plan such a venture. )) Julia set herself back in her Mind Palace and found the black disc threaded with strands of gold. The energy they radiated illuminated the disc¡¯s material, and instead of solid blackness, it was a smoky opaque hinting at forms beneath the surface. Flowerpots filled the holes where the thrusters had stood, each brimming with blooming roses of varied hues. Trying something new, Julia focused on Spirit Bridge and imagined one of the control screens she¡¯d set up acting as a videoconference. The beautiful woman who appeared on the screen startling Julia; somehow, she always pictured V as male in her imagination. A vibrant steel gaze considered Julia from the screen, the hue glowing with internal life. The beauty of her features was beyond Julia¡¯s comprehension, with the sheer luminance of life shining overwhelmingly to her perceptions. [Spirit Bridge [Ad] (10->11)] ¡°Laodice?¡± Julia asked, ¡°But I¡¯m sure your voice sounded male.¡± ¡°You heard me how I wished you to hear. My brothers and I came into the Abyss, if someone learnt of your connection to me best for them to be misled,¡± Laodice replied, her tone apologetic. ¡°Thank you again for his rescue.¡° ¡°With you trapped, that just means only one of your brothers is unaccounted for?¡± asked Julia, wondering where she could find clues. ¡°You know as much as I do on the matter,¡± said Laodice, the seriousness of her gaze a tangible pressure. ¡°My brothers were all still fighting when I fell to the Leviathan¡¯s blood curse. Do not concern yourself with either of us, we knew the risks.¡± ¡°But he sent you-¡± Julia objected, but a sharp gesture from Laodice cut Julia off before she could continue. ¡°No,¡± Laodice interjected. ¡°We volunteered for what needed to be done.¡± Julia let the words sink in and tried to let the weight of her choice balance her perspective. ¡°Can I get some advice?¡± asked Julia, after long moments, her voice calm and no longer edged with resentment. ¡°It depends on the subject, Julia,¡± replied Laodice, her open expression prompting Julia to start with her biggest concern. ¡°I¡¯m worried about what happens when someone following my faith dies,¡± Julia admitted freely. Laodice just smiled at Julia¡¯s question, but it was a smile filled with respect. ¡°Worrying about others is your first concern; Torm is right. Before, you¡¯d have needed to become a Demon Lady, but as a Fallen, it¡¯s possible. If you find somewhere that resonates with your nature, you can establish a Domain. Your petitioners will either find their way there or wait for you on Judgement. Likewise if any die before you¡¯ve established a Domain, you¡¯ll find them there waiting for you.¡± ¡°I could just wait till I get free and then establish a Domain,¡± suggested Julia, reluctant to go power-grabbing. ¡°That is an option,¡± agreed Laodice cautiously. ¡°However, it means your Power will be slower to grow, and your faithful will be more limited in the Blessing they can channel from you. It¡¯s somewhat of a cycle; you¡¯ll gain fewer Faith reserves from them until you have a Domain. That means they¡¯ll not be as strong opposing evil as they should be for their faith.¡± ¡°What is a Domain?¡± Julia asked, the reply making her stop to consider it further. ¡°As I¡¯ve seen petitioners of Set as Larvae in ¨¤luga.¡± ¡°It is not a topic for a simple conversation. Indeed, the Larvae situation isn¡¯t something I can tell you for sure as it¡¯s Sets choice. As for the Domain, some you¡¯ll learn only from experience, as it varies much between Powers.¡± Laodice replied, and Julia could see her weighing her words. ¡°At its most fundamental, a Domain is a reservoir of energy, establishing it now won¡¯t stop you from moving it later. Once established, it will grow on its own as your faithful flourish, and those of your faith can draw from it. Initially, you¡¯ll have no conscious control of it, but if they try to channel a Blessing for a purpose, you¡¯d find repugnant, the Blessing will not flow. The Domain resonates with your nature, and they cannot deceive it.¡± ¡°Any suggestion about places to establish a Domain even if I can move it later?¡± Julia asked, still undecided. ¡°Not Pandemonium it was the right choice with your Id, not now; you might wish to change your home plane to the same Plane. If you become Planar locked for a time, you¡¯ll be able to get to your seat of Power. Two other consistent facets of a Domain are: its always a sanctuary for those of your Faith, and it makes it possible for you to contact your faithful in dreams and other ways,¡± said Laodice. ¡°The Plane that surrounds the Spire, would be the easiest for your faithful, but it has risks.¡± ¡°What Plane is it? What sort of risks?¡± Julia asked, wondering what sort of trouble it would bring. ¡°It is a place with many names, some cultures call it the Plane of Doors, the Spire¡¯s Shadow. Others don¡¯t really name it they consider it a nexus, or hub, as they can reach all major Planar regions from it. Some considered it the outfields of the Spire around which all Planes spiral. Others disregard it simply as a killing field, a Plane of violence that attracts the most conflict since anyone can reach it. Celestial Armies seek to control the areas closest to the upper Planes, to ensure Demons don¡¯t control the Planar Gates and prevent Petitioners from reaching the Powers they serve.¡± ¡°You¡¯re suggesting I set them up in the middle of a warzone?¡± Julia asked, incredulously wondering how long the Domain would even remain standing. ¡°The Plane itself is infinite and touches other Planes only via gateways, not physical boundaries. It would be possible to find a location away from the main paths of conflict. Once your Petitioners are inside, your Domain¡¯s nature would keep them safe, as long as you exist.¡± ¡°I¡¯d just have to worry about Petitioners making it there?¡± questioned Julia, a mental image of a remote isolated town coming to mind. Her lips twitching as her musing invoked the cheers¡¯ theme song from her memories. ¡°Correct. Most powers have Celestials serving them for just such a reason: to act as protectors for groups of Petitioners travelling to their Domain. Petitioners can face worse things than death since they are already dead, you yourself have stolen Petitioners from Set; be it those whose view of events had turned jaded towards their Patron,¡± answered Laodice. ¡°Then again, likely that is why they were on ¨¤luga, deemed unworthy to rest within his Domain because of their doubts.¡± ¡°Any other options?¡± ¡°If you find an unclaimed world in Carceri to take as your own, though that would take a century of work, and a vast accumulation of Faith. Otherwise, some Planes within the Abyss, the L¨®m?, are not the only good species caught within the Abyss, and some of them control entire regions of the Plane. They have transformed those into paradises, each an Oasis amid the corruption of the Abyss.¡± ¡°What do you mean a world in Carceri?¡± Julia said, remembering the diagram of the Plane that looked like a necklace of beads. ¡±I thought it was a loop of orbs.¡± ¡°The spiral of orbs in Carceri doesn¡¯t contain only asteroid sized objects as some believe that is just on one layer of it; most are the size of your Earth or larger. Some are close enough to see between them while others are so far apart, they are alone in the darkness. The river Styx, is the string that connects them, but its mystical connection isn¡¯t apparent looking between the worlds of that Plane.¡± As Laodice explained, she lifted her hands in sight of the screen and an image appeared above her fingers. It was crystal clear, a far cry from attempting to take in Laodice¡¯s beauty, that seemed to whirl within her perceptions. ¡°I should let the others know and see about meeting up.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be simple for you now,¡± Laodice cautioned immediately, quelling Julia¡¯s excitement. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Julia, her puzzlement obvious in her tone. ¡°I¡¯m not Named.¡± ¡°Dear child, no you aren¡¯t a Named Demon or even a Demon Lady - you¡¯re a Fallen. A newly born one, powerless compared to others, but still far above what many achieve. You spoke to Torm about your games where you explained Archons, Angels, Demons beyond the Pale, and those classes. Think of yourself as a brand new Planetar pushed from heaven¡¯s door. None of those exist in the Titan¡¯s reality, but the lowest of the Angels don¡¯t become Fallen. They become Erinys and other Devils, only ones from the middle tiers and higher become Fallen.¡± ¡°I jumped from being a Succubus to a Fallen!¡± Julia exclaimed, her mind trying to go blank in disbelief. ¡°How did I have that much power?¡± ¡°Whatever rules the Titan has in place decided it was suitable to assign you that species, I could not sense all the messages you received. It¡¯s not the power you had in your last Form; it released all the Abyssal power you had left accumulated in your form. Did you not sense the destruction wrought in ¨´eqr?kas by your emergence?¡± asked Laodice, the puzzlement clear in her tone. ¡°What did I do to ¨´eqr?kas?¡± asked Julia ¡°I thought it merely a bigger explosion then when I burnt the bodies to ash last Ascension.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what you did, it¡¯s rather damage the Abyssal energy that came through the rift caused. I¡¯ve seen what you showed Yngvarr. A microwave? How would it handle billions of volts and amps going through it?¡± ¡°They¡¯d blow up, or their safety measures would trip,¡± answer Julia, an exploding electrical sub-station springing to mind. ¡°Demons don¡¯t believe in multiple layers of safety measures. Your emergence appeared to be at the same location as your first ones. The question isn¡¯t if your emergence damaged ¨´eqr?kas but how much is still standing. Some of the better Enchanters, likely their wards will now ensure their homes are Fortresses for eons unnumbered. Most buildings however, they¡¯ll be picking up materials from them for kilometres in every direction.¡± Laodice stated, her amused tone making her view of the prospect clear. ¡°Oh,¡± Julia said simply, as she considered some of the unstable structures and magics, she¡¯d seen within it. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ll avoid it for a while.¡± ¡°That would be for the best,¡± Laodice agreed, pausing she spoke further. ¡°Just as well you didn¡¯t provide all the materials given for the Souls to Usd¡¯ghi, you¡¯ll need some resources for your Domain.¡± ¡°Nor have I returned her shares of that last trip, but it might balance things out. The accounts are in Viper¡¯s name - quite sure I¡¯m no longer considered a signatory on it. What did you mean it won¡¯t be simple for me to see them now?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Fallen,¡± stated Laodice. ¡°They aren¡¯t allowed on any world in the material plane where the Pantheons have influence, except via a Gate being opened specifically for them. Since the True Name, the Lady inflicted on you is no more, at least they have no absolute way to force your appearance to a summoning.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°Indeed, it¡¯s a mixed fortune, especially since you still wear the Sigil of the Sisterhood,¡± commiserated Laodice, the compassionate energy in her words wrapping Julia in warmth. ¡°There was a message when things calmed about Baln¨¦rith knowing,¡± Julia said, glad she¡¯d at least gotten some good news about Andre during that madness. ¡°She¡¯d certainly know your True Name has become cleansed. What else she would have been able to learn, I couldn¡¯t say for sure,¡± offered Laodice. The outline of Laodice¡¯s glowing wings drew Julia¡¯s attention as they flexed when she shrugged. ¡°Time to get moving then,¡± Julia stated firmly, before releasing the Mind Palace. Great, so I can step between worlds now but can¡¯t even get summoned. ((You can access worlds too primitive for a Pantheon to have formed. Though you¡¯d need to find a naturally formed Gate leading to one, which is difficult. You¡¯d have to explore much of the Wildlands, or find a spot on another Plane that resonates with the primitive world. Many planes are infinite things, even with the number of worlds he has likely made since my capture it¡¯s still a needle in a haystack.)) Julia smiled at the friendly change in Laodice¡¯s mental voice. He makes worlds. ((He is constantly trying different life. I like to observe them evolve from the seeds of possibility he plants on a world.)) Both intelligent design and evolution? ((Not exactly as you understand either of them. So not exactly, but yes.)) Analysis [Angelic Aura: The possessor¡¯s energy suffuses the space immediately around them, providing resistance against anything attempting to harm them. As this Power improves, it will reduce the energy requirement and provide protection against greater threats. At higher ranks they can extend the aura to protect allies.] Okay, well, that¡¯s nice. Pity I stand as much chance as a snowball against Lady Baln¨¦rith. ((For now.)) ¡°Livia, I broke free from Viper, but things have gotten even more complex. I can¡¯t come to the material plane without a Gate now. I got evolved into a Fallen. I still wear the Sigil, but Lady Baln¨¦rith¡¯s influence has been removed from my True Name. It¡¯s hidden again, so I can¡¯t pass it along securely. Love you and hope you are well, Eakc?.¡± Instantly sending a similar message off to Yngvarr¡¯s journal, Julia stopped and considered the messages she¡¯d sent for a moment. ¡°I am Eakc? now, and I¡¯m out of that diseased cocoon.¡± It might help if she could decide if she was making a declaration or merely attempting to convince herself. 97 - Home Teleport carried her to the hideout that she¡¯d shown Torm, and Julia set to work destroying it. Once it came crashing in, the burning wings vanished, and the bracelet¡¯s vines wrapped around bronzed skin. The energy within her rippled in time to her fiery gaze as she gathered herself. After a moment focused on Planar Shift, reality folded around Julia, and she found herself in woodland. A breeze carrying the delicious freshness of wilderness rustled through her shoulder-length hair as light filtered through the canopy and white silken clouds above. The Spire soared through them, so far away from where Julia stood that its kilometres¡¯ width looked like a needle. [Planar Shift (Self) (1->2)] A thought towards the bracelet pulled the vines away from her feet, and she wiggled her toes in the grass. Julia knelt to brush her hands through it, the soothing sensation bringing forth unnoticed tears. It was only when they turned to streams did she notice their presence. Things hidden within the woods listened fearfully as she cried in relief and pain, her very presence freezing them in place. Finally, with emotions spent, she tilted her face towards the breeze and let tears dry before standing and stretching. The bout of crying had left her emotionally spent, but it was a comforting ache. ¡°One step, many more to go,¡± Julia declared as she felt the Sigil¡¯s energy. To True Sight, it seemed far weaker than before, though with its curves and sharp edges tangled within her, Julia wasn¡¯t sure how to remove it without risk. She set aside the concern, not locked it away, simply acknowledged to act when it was time. Setting her direction away from the Spire, Julia ran towards distant sunlight beyond the trees. The creatures in the undergrowth fled or hid as the scenery blurred past. The Plane¡¯s ground against her feet, the scents in the air bringing back memories of games, laughing with friends and times of joy. As the woods turned into open wild spaces, she continued to run. After so long in bleakness, she found herself amid abundant life, that and memories of her past life recharged her. She wore a smile as she moved, running purely for enjoyment. Breaking out into the sunlight, air rushed past her as Ki Movement pushed her still faster. The Plane held the warmth of a pleasant spring day, promising so much potential, a sense that only grew stronger the further she ran. Her Time Sense, even without guidance, let her know she¡¯d journeyed for hours before she felt any urge to stop. Not guided by Danger Sense or apparent foes, but rather the vista laid out below a ridgeline. A river valley was a deep cool blue that spoke of swims, picnics, and time spent with family and friends. A memory of cool water sliding from her, as she gulped down fresh orange juice; while her mother chided her for rushing prompted a smile. The valley was a tapestry of shadowed glades and copses of high trees, broad canopies forming concealing woods with fields of wild grass scattered in between. Though the trees certainly weren¡¯t those she knew, and amid those that appeared natural, others were ethereal and strange, though regardless it was a beautiful vista. The thought of establishing her Domain here tempted her, though she had no reason for an immediate decision. Instead, she focused for a moment and her bones pulsed as she activated Planar Beacon. [Planar Beacon (1->2)] ¡°It¡¯s got potential, but I should look at more listings,¡± Julia murmured to herself, her smile broadening when Viper¡¯s snark remained absent. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, the Wicked Witch of the West can¡¯t come to the phone anymore.¡± Casting Planar Attunement, she sensed its energy anchor her to the Plane, and Profile showed Outlands as her home Plane. Practice and studying made her far more aware of what the spell actually did as its energies shifted through her form. The spell¡¯s tuning fork ran through her as the essence of the Plane mingled with her energies. [Planar Law - Planar Attunement [M] (2->3)] As her will focused on notifications Julia set those for spells permanently off. Planar Shift warped reality again and the glow of a fungus lit cavern of Tern¨°x manifested around her. The dank stone was normal compared to the weirdness of Pandemonium, but she¡¯d appeared amid chaos. Clashing weapons and screams of fury filled the air as the scent of Demonic blood hit her. Demons, their expressions contorting in rage, threw themselves carelessly in her direction. Yet the raking claws of a Dretch caught only air. For as fast as their startled reactions were, Julia was already in motion. With Zen State wrapping her perceptions, its claws seemed caught in molasses as she responded in kind. A step took her inside its reach as it struck towards where her face had been. A spear hand strike drove up from her hip and impacted through its throat. She was already twisting as the back of its neck burst open, and the Ki energy sheathing flesh finished its decapitation. It staggered in death, but she¡¯d already swirled under the reach of its failed strike. A stomping front kick broke the leg of a Hymadan, and as its hyena-like snout opened, she moved towards it. Its arms grasping desperately, Julia spun within their curve. The whirling motion added momentum to her elbow strike that smashed against its lower jaw. Arcing forward to allow an arm to pass over her, she drove a back kick through a H¨¹msi¡¯s visor and crushed its skull. As the Hymadan beside her died to a shattered spine, she dropped, and an arrow passed over the falling corpses. The swirling sounds of battle around her registered on her awareness, but knowing she¡¯d arrived in the middle of a fight didn¡¯t slow her. The emblems of five or more Demon Lords decorated troops in the middle of the brawl. Even as she took them in, she reacted to motion behind her. Sliding to one side, she slapped the Hymadan¡¯s stab into a Dretch¡¯s gut. Spinning along its outstretched arm when her back pressed against its forearm, long thorns bloomed from her flesh to run it through. Plates of armour shattered as Ki Infusion filled with yang energy¡¯s heat, and the undisguised Jade Court Mana incinerated it. The bright purity of the Celestial flame pulled more combatants¡¯ attention towards her through the fray. Oops. Teleport set her clear of their immediate focus, and Julia fashioned the next spell carefully. Lightning Mastery settled in place within her, setting Lightning Law ready to respond to her will. As soon as she set it in place, a mere shape of will rained lightning from the cavern¡¯s ceiling. The spell¡¯s force crackling around her, she set Lightning Armour over her form and dove into the battle again. The Demons, enraged, charged at the Elven Fallen, somehow using Holy energy in their midst. A Giant¡¯s halberd cut Julia¡¯s next target in half and pulped her arm to the elbow, though it suffered in return, as Lightning Armour ripped along its weapon¡¯s haft. Her maimed arm healing, she flowed beneath another sword. Seizing the wielder¡¯s hand, she used its blade and their combined momentum to kill an attacking Dretch. The body was dragging the blade away as Mana smashed down, and flames burst around her from an enemy¡¯s spell. Though the flames rolled harmlessly off Julia, they killed a swath around her. Their deaths clearing enough space to allow Julia time to spot the caster¡¯s elevated perch. When the giant¡¯s scorched halberd came in again, Julia teleported. Its swing cleaved others unchecked as Julia landed past the casting Succubus. The Succubus¡¯ next spell was still forming as she spun to find a black shelled thing behind her. As its claws grasped her shoulder, the Succubus felt Mana smashed from her control as Julia suppressed her Skill. While the Xenomorph ate her face, Lightning Mastery¡¯s continuing effect let Julia effortlessly set loose a Lightning Storm within the cavern. The mass of electricity within shattered the Giant¡¯s flesh as its weapon conducted a flurry of strikes. Before the Giant had fallen to the cascade of thundering blasts, Julia had already dropped the headless Succubus and teleported further into the cavern¡¯s battle. She¡¯d only killed a fraction of the combatants before leaving the fighting in the blood-soaked cavern behind. With how much time she had unknown, Julia reappeared in the chamber she¡¯d found by chance long ago. The natural stone walls of the cave and crossed initials were just as she remembered. Still, Julia took care to ensure no one was present before relaxing at all. The bracelet had clung to her shattered flesh despite being secured around the wrist the Giant¡¯s halberd had pulped. Brushing charred demonic remains from her clothes, she considered the combat summary. The notification of the Demons she¡¯d quickly slain giving her reason to smile. [ Least Dretch x38 Lesser Dretch x14 (50%) Lesser Dretch x23 Lesser Hymadan x15 Lesser H¨¹msi x8 Dretch x9 Hymadan x11 (25%) Hymadan x14 (50%) Hymadan x30 H¨¹msi x20 Cambion x1 Succubus x 3 Xhali¨¢ma x5 Abyssal Stone Giant x 1 Total-experience gained: 313,042 Fallen: +156,521 Scion: +156,521 Fallen Levelled up x 14! Scion Leveled up x 14! Attribute points currently pending allocation: 112 Angelic Aura (10->12) Suppress Target (1 -> 3)] I knew the first levels would come fast, but after months to gain one level, that¡¯s a crazy rush. Though since that last level of Monk was five hundred million, it¡¯s just as well. Need to plan what I take next and not just grab them. Monk is a given for one slot, but I need something to push my defence, and I¡¯ve seen classes useful for that I¡¯ve not unlocked. Fighter increases defence but it gives the largest benefits from equipment. Spell after spell, Julia worked along and through the chamber¡¯s walls. When all the spells she wanted to set were complete, the stone glowed in True Sight. With Destruction Mana lacing the stone in waiting spells, all keyed to Viper¡¯s presence, Julia vanished. Broken stones resting underfoot reminded her of a prize she¡¯d held onto for years. Enjoying the tones of the Grotto¡¯s Song humming over her skin, she hoped the lessening of discomfort from it was her changes and not an issue among the L¨®m?. In moments she was looking into Tras¡¯laq¨¬¡¯s resting place; the muzzle restraining his maw held the Demon in temporal stasis. Within the steel box, he looked as wounded as when Usd¡¯ghi had first offered him to her. True Sight showed her the Mana binding him in place, and unsure if tampering with his bonds might alert Usd¡¯ghi to her location, Julia decided on caution. First this though, it was your misinformation that got Livia killed. I had planned to ask you questions about the Sisterhood before I killed you. Really no point, I couldn¡¯t trust anything you said. Hopefully, Ebu has information she¡¯ll share. Touching a finger to his ear, she cast Planar Attunement and pressed its energy into him. When Analysis showed his Home Plane changed, she picked the box up and headed towards the Grotto. She¡¯d barely rounded the first bend, with the power of the Song still a light itch across her skin when the box of Abyssal steel and all its contents flared into ash without even a sour note. [Combat Summary: You have executed a helpless prisoner. Well done! There are currently three open Class slots available to you. Do you wish to select the previously unlocked Executioner Class? Do you wish to select the previously unlocked Grim Reaper Class? This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ] No! No! Such a fucking troll still. Though she rejected them, Julia smiled in satisfaction; glad that at least one enemy should be permanently behind her. ¡°I¡¯ve still got the full payment for the last shipment of Souls. You can take your share from my valuables stored in the Treasury¡¯s vaults. Good bye.¡± As the Spatial energy leapt away, taking her message to Usd¡¯ghi, Julia turned her attention to shifting Planes again. When she focused on the Outlands, she felt the beacon there, though already weaker than when she¡¯d set it. Acknowledging it as the Planar Shift activated, she suddenly stood within the valley. While the beacon had brought her close, it was still over a kilometre distant, the sense of it having faded further still. Right. Time to stop procrastinating. A glance found her what she needed and Inventory carved the initials into the boulder¡¯s face. One message after another, she sent Verdandi, Yngvarr, Torm and Rana the details, hoping at least one of them would take the chance to meet. I was paranoid and warned them, can only hope they¡¯ll want to talk to me.
Julia had settled down to wait, and despite the hours or bells that passed to her time sense, the sunlight hadn¡¯t shifted. The wind through the trees brought varying scents and sounds; the faintest sound of something chewing came to her on a breeze with sweet honey, and buzzing of angry bees. As the time passed and the breezes brought more noises to her, the heavy silence surrounding her weighed heavier. Telepathy¡¯s net could feel minds nearby; the simpleness of their thoughts made touching them elusive. The figure that appeared near the boulder wasn¡¯t among any of those she¡¯d expected. With Amr¨²ngwen arriving with her glowing shield and ice rimmed sword already out, it wasn¡¯t a promising start. Julia tensed, ready to flee, but as Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s gaze rested on Julia, the sword tip lowered slightly, though the glow from the shield remained a wall around her. ¡°There is so much rage coming from you Julia,¡± Amr¨²ngwen said, her tone cautious. ¡°What have you done to yourself since last we met?¡± ¡°Rage?¡± Julia said, her puzzled tone and expression setting Amr¨²ngwen back. ¡°It burns the surrounding air, even your eyes and skin blaze with it,¡± replied Amr¨²ngwen, her expression easing into curiosity. ¡°Yet your voice is calm.¡± ¡°My eyes have been flames ever since the Titan¡¯s curse changed me into a Fallen,¡± stated Julia, clearly confused. ¡°Oh!¡± Is it that? Mentally touching Angelic Aura, she willed it off; in that same moment, a rush of energy crawled across her skin, settling into flesh, a sleeping beast ready to awaken. The silence in the valley also lifted, and wildlife nearby came to life. ¡°What did you do just then?¡± Amr¨²ngwen asked. ¡°I¡¯d gained a new power, so I turned it off,¡± Julia explained. ¡°What changed?¡± ¡°Besides no longer looking ready to burst into flames,¡± answered Amr¨²ngwen, the blade and shield disappearing as she spoke. ¡°You¡¯re missing the feeling of rage, blood-lust and violence around you.¡± ¡°I, what now?!¡± Julia exclaimed. When her eyes widen, a smile crossed Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s scarred lips. ¡°I¡¯d like to place protections to prevent scrying,¡± Amr¨²ngwen stated, ¡°If that is alright with you?¡± ¡°Like the blessing Rana used, a space in the courtyard looked covered in shadowy trees?¡± Julia asked hesitantly. ¡°A stronger version, in case of need,¡± replied Amr¨²ngwen, nodding in recognition at Julia¡¯s description. Julia almost said no, but remembered the same glowing barrier that came from Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s shield once shining protectively above her. ¡°We¡¯ve only met once, and given you came at Rana¡¯s request to aid me, I¡¯ll trust you. But why?¡± ¡°While you¡¯re hard to scry, I don¡¯t know what paths our conversation might take. I¡¯d prefer to ask the Lady to hide us from observation than for either of us to have cause for later regret,¡± Amr¨²ngwen said. The sadness Julia saw in her gaze was clear and stilled the arguments she¡¯d mustered. ¡°I¡¯ll allow your experience to guide us. Since I¡¯ve been too reckless in who I¡¯ve trusted,¡± admitted Julia, considering the oath Rana had offered. ¡°Though while I have reason to trust you, I had thought that of others. Will you swear on your Lady¡¯s name that is all you intend?¡± ¡°Cautious indeed. Wisdom comes with time,¡± replied Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°I swear on my Servant¡¯s Oath to the Lady of the Forest, I only intend to set a Blessing of Concealment so we might talk securely. I swear it will neither hold nor harm you or any of those you care about; you¡¯ll be able to leave the Tree¡¯s Shade at will.¡± Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s words came in Celestial, and as she spoke, the word¡¯s inflections gained a certainty about them, as if a greater Power was bearing witness. ¡°I hadn''t expected anything so formal. Where would be best to speak?¡± Julia asked, hoping her request hadn¡¯t insulted Amr¨²ngwen or the Lady. ¡°I saw the consequences of others betraying your trust and took no offence. Certainly, I would give you nothing less,¡± Amr¨²ngwen said, reassuringly gesturing towards where the woods ran along the river. ¡°Among trees would be best; the Lady¡¯s touch is stronger there.¡± When they found a suitable spot, Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s chant was a stream of Celestial that melted as Julia tried to understand the words. As soon as she completed the Blessing, the mottled shadows between the trees deepened as if dusk had come. ¡°Would you share with me what occurred while you were in the Abyss?¡± enquired Amr¨²ngwen, her posture relaxed as she offered her first question. ¡°When I got to The Treasury, I found Usd¡¯ghi already had plans in place,¡± Julia stated. Taking her time, she tried to recount the years concisely while still missing nothing of importance. Amr¨²ngwen kept her questions to a minimum, and when she asked any, they were merely for clarification, rather than questioning Julia¡¯s choices. ¡°Millions of Souls freed from their curses. Well done indeed. Likewise, I hope the rest no longer suffer, but you did more than any other could,¡± Amr¨²ngwen said, after listening to Julia¡¯s tale in full. ¡°After hearing from Rana about Torm¡¯s first meeting with your friend Sarah, the fact you are a maiden still is quite surprising.¡± ¡°What happened between Torm and Sarah?¡± Julia asked, her tone rising in alarm. ¡°Peace,¡± offered Amr¨²ngwen, gently reassuring. ¡°there was no violence between them. At least nothing beyond heated words, though I¡¯m very sure Sarah was far different from what Torm was expecting. As for the rest, I¡¯ll let him enlighten you. Personally, I found the tale quite amusing.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± grumbled Julia, her twisting nerves easing at the mirth in Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s gaze. ¡°You look far more comfortable in your Elven form than you seemed when last we met,¡± Amr¨²ngwen stated, bluntly changing the topic. ¡°I have another question for you if I might.¡± ¡°Ask away. If I¡¯m not comfortable answering, I¡¯ll let you know.¡± ¡°You reached the Tier seven classes at level ninety. Why didn¡¯t you take the initial Scion of the Sun when first offered it?¡± asked Amr¨²ngwen curiously. ¡°A few reasons: adjusting the Soul scape was still in progress, the Necropolis hadn¡¯t collapsed, so there were Souls to rescue, plus I¡¯d been told years ago the Titan rewards hard work. Even with the experience for each level growing so fast, I¡¯d been considering pushing to level 110. Even without attributes increasing, it was pushing my Skills and Powers along. After the Necropolis¡¯ end, I ended things with Usd¡¯ghi and tried to get rid of Viper for good,¡± Julia declared. Amr¨²ngwen paused for a time, as if considering Julia¡¯s response before she spoke again. "Only your symbol was visible on the Titan¡¯s wall to the Lady previously; now both yours and Viper''s are visible." ¡°Ugh, I¡¯d set traps in case, but I hoped it had destroyed her,¡± Julia growled, scrubbing at her face. ¡°Now you know you¡¯ll need to take care,¡± Amr¨²ngwen replied. ¡°Hopefully, those traps in Tern¨°x get a bite out of her,¡± stated Julia, rapidly accepting not everything was as she¡¯d hoped. ¡°If you are fortunate,¡± said Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°The time the Hags spent pushing your capability as a Wizard has assisted you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they had reasons of their own to push me. After three hundred thousand Souls, every time I brought a new set of them back for processing, one of them would grill me on something. When I didn¡¯t know the answer or had a gap, they¡¯d make me study or practice during my next gathering. Though when I first got there, Usd¡¯ghi seemed purely determined to wring everything she could out of the situation.¡± ¡°Perhaps Usd¡¯ghi planned for Viper¡¯s benefit if she took you over. I wonder if she¡¯s kept a memory of those lessons,¡± Amr¨²ngwen pondered. ¡°I sure hope not,¡± Julia said vehemently. ¡°It was my time and effort that went into learning them, and she¡¯d contribute nothing but bitchy remarks. When I sent her on her way, I focused on keeping everything I had worked hard to learn and my memories. I didn¡¯t want her stealing all the knowledge of my lifetimes.¡± ¡°Including this one?¡± enquired Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°I¡¯m not sure about this lifetime. She waved her access to my memories in my face so many times. When I kicked her out, I didn¡¯t want her stealing them. I can¡¯t get at them, but the boxes glimmer like stars where it was just darkness previously.¡± Julia replied, pausing for a moment. ¡°While I¡¯d like to think I kept even my own memories from her, I can¡¯t assume that¡¯s the case. I destroyed one hideout and set traps in another, thinking she¡¯d know about them.¡± ¡°Hence why you isolated yourself,¡± stated Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°If she took over, I didn¡¯t want her having recent knowledge of people to bring them harm.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be still better off not meeting the people you care about,¡± Amr¨²ngwen stated, the simple words striking Julia. ¡°Why?!¡± Julia exclaimed, the years of absence crashing on her. ¡°Considering the force of your presence, it would jar them. How high is what you call Charisma?¡± asked Amr¨²ngwen. A moment¡¯s glance at her Profile and the jump Charisma had gained, knotted her inside. The thought of her friends reacting the same way some townsfolk had, made Julia wince, and Amr¨²ngwen nodded knowingly at her pained expression. ¡°The increase is huge, and it jumped higher than I had expected after killing those Demons,¡± Julia sighed. ¡°Celestials don¡¯t need a Class to grow in power,¡± Amr¨²ngwen explained. ¡°Some don¡¯t take a Class but rather focus on serving their Patron in whatever aspect they formed.¡± ¡°What am I going to do?¡± whispered Julia in shock. ¡°You need to learn to accept who you are now. When you do so, you¡¯ll be able to control what you push into the world,¡± reassured Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°There goes that daydream,¡± Julia grumbled, giving a head shake when Amr¨²ngwen looked at her enquiringly. ¡°By the way, Yngvarr tried to tell you I was coming and received no response,¡± Amr¨²ngwen explained. ¡°I stripped all names except Eakc? from my Profile over the years. It has got my True Name hidden again as well after I transformed, so hopefully, that screws the Lady up,¡± Julia stated. ¡°It certainly weakened the Sigil; could you remove it?¡± The smile started broadening, dying at Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s expression. ¡°Even weakened, it would be dangerous and require more than merely trust between us. Safer for you to gain enough skill to remove it yourself,¡± Amr¨²ngwen stated firmly. ¡°Yngvarr¡¯s heard you pronounce Eakc?; hopefully that¡¯s sufficient for his spell.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let him know and see if he can send me a message in return,¡± Julia stated. A quick casting drew a pleasing response from Yngvarr, and Julia smiled in relief. ¡°Not the outcome I had hoped, but better than I feared yesterday. Would you do something for me?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m able to,¡± Amr¨²ngwen responded at once, her gaze gleaming with delight. Julia made the two bags of storing appear from her inventory and offered them to Amr¨²ngwen, who wrinkled her nose at the smell of the Abyss clinging to them. ¡°Could you get these to Yngvarr?¡± Julia asked hopefully ¡°The materials in them fine but not those bags; they smell Abyssal made,¡± retorted Amr¨²ngwen. ¡°I have my storage items. I¡¯ll use them to pass your things along, and it lets you keep... those.¡± The distaste in Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s voice made Julia¡¯s lips twitch, but she bit the playful words down and just nodded her acknowledgement. ¡°Could you give me advice about classes?¡± asked Julia. ¡±Oh, and Domains.¡± Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s smile was understanding, and as it twisted her scars, Julia couldn¡¯t help wonder what caused such horrendous scars to remain with a Celestial. Guess I was transparent about wanting company. No offence Laodice. ((None taken Julia, I sensed what you meant.)) ¡°Of course. What would you like to know? You¡¯ve picked a delightful spot for a Domain if you intend to set it here. It¡¯s well away from any gate I know, and with Judgement above, you can reach it easily.¡± ¡°Judgement is above us?¡± Julia asked in astonishment, glancing up at the same white clouds above, remembering the first time she¡¯d stepped out in Judgement. ¡°Yes. Some believe it¡¯s so the patrols can see predators trying to intercept Petitioners heading towards the heights.¡± ¡°I need to learn so much more,¡± Julia stated sincerely. ¡°Tell what you need to know about classes, then we can discuss Domains afterwards; I¡¯ll need to commune with the Lady regarding useful information on that subject.¡±
The sense of the Plane under her fingers was close but remained distant regardless of what she had tried; the energy was but mere wisps of sensation to Harmony¡¯s guidance, no matter how she offered her hand to it. You need to focus the energy of Faith onto your perception of Domain. Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s words were clear in Julia¡¯s mind, but the explanation she¡¯d passed from the Lady made little sense about what it actually involved. Julia took an unneeded breath, and instead allowed the sense of the valley to sweep over her. Some animal sounds were so familiar, yet others were alien. Though bird calls echoing through the valley reminded Julia of the first glimpse from the ridgeline. A beautiful natural valley, so similar to when she first saw Kangaroo Valley; seeing it had evoked so many memories from there: family camping trips, the games, time together, laughing with Mal as he¡¯d pulled the rope swing higher up the riverbank. It had earned a scolding afterwards yet it had been so worth it. That time of connection, that sense of home. With the thought of those memories, the ground under her fingers Sang through Julia¡¯s bones. The reservoir of Faith inside her flooded into the grass, the earth, and yet cycled to her again through the air itself. Julia realised why the Lady¡¯s advice had been so vague; how can you tell someone what safety or home should mean for them? Feeling the empty shell within her new Domain¡¯s boundary, Julia flooded it with Ki and Mana, the wave of power leaving her splashed hollowly within its limits. The sorrow and loss the memories brought forth left with the departing energies. It hollowed out her insides with the departing energies and left her aching within as she wrung out everything she had for the Domain. It added to the anger, fear and sorrow she¡¯d endured since emerging, a massive bonfire within her mindscape, Harmony turning the emotions¡¯ energy into gifts of warmth instead. [Achievement: Home again, whole again? Conditions:
  • Domain Formed
  • Two hundred or more Faithful having died in service to your goals
  • 200,000+ Mana deliberately placed into Domain¡¯s reserve
Reward to be selected:
  • Promote one Petitioner to Outsider
  • Evolve the Species of one Outsider that has agreed to your Servant¡¯s Oath.
Hidden condition:
  • Celestial Energy, of any type, deliberately placed into Domain¡¯s reserves during establishment.
Reward:
  • Condition Goddess¡¯ Touch applied to all Faithful for next moon.
  • All Faithful will receive a vision of Domain during their next dream.
] The achievement¡¯s conditions seemed like a twisted joke until she suddenly became aware of Souls who were waiting in Judgement for her to bring them home. Each name and accompanying life pressing into her awareness was far too familiar to Julia. Oh, Solveiga! When her focus settled on the platoon Leader¡¯s name, she felt herself experience the last moments of her life. A Sahuagin trident ripped through her spell shield, and its barbed tips punched all the way through her. Still, her body slowed it enough, so the platoon¡¯s second escaped injury. A blast of flames turned it to ash, even as her next breath refused to come. Death coming in sunlight with the ocean¡¯s brine clashing with blood instead of the darkness she had feared for so long. A disjointed jumble of images led to an intact moment with sunlight around her and a calmness filling Solveiga as she waited. 98- Welcome to the Party Time spent recovering in the sunlight, listening to the surrounding wildlife, had been peaceful. Concerned as she was about the Souls, experience held her waiting for full recovery before moving into the unknown. Guided by the glimpse of Solveiga¡¯s memory, Julia cast Planar Teleport and found herself near a group of her Petitioners, but found they weren¡¯t alone. A glance showed Solveiga, plus Souls of men and women she recognised, behind massed ranks of Vargr Drangijaz. Grecian hoplites, their classic armour formed of golden metal, faced off against them. When Julia¡¯s presence hit them, faltering ranks disrupted the posturing hoplites. Fuck! What the hell is going on? ¡°Why are you pointing weapons at each other?¡± Julia asked, restraining her voice into calmness. ¡°Lady Eakc?, he was objecting to these Petitioners being protected here, wanted them driven out.¡± The gruff statement came from one of the larger of the Vargr Drangijaz. As Julia glanced towards him, he threw a rude gesture towards a hoplite with fancy scrollwork inlaid on their breastplate, making it clear who he meant. ¡°Did you consider what the Titan¡¯s servants might do if you¡¯d succeeded?¡± asked Julia. The hoplite¡¯s classic helm hid much of his face, but Julia made out the sneer as he turned away and took action to catch his name. Analysis [ Name: Lampus Species: Archon, Legion (Apollo) Class: Fighter Level: 60 / 60 Health: 2,760 Defence: 320 Melee Attack Power: 290 Combat Skills: Spear [M] (57), Gladius [M](23) Details: An Archon in the service of Apollo, rewarded with a promotion for valorous service during his last lifetime; one of Apollo¡¯s Generals enacted his promotion. He is currently among the commanding officers contributing to the security of Judgement¡¯s fields. ] You don¡¯t impress me much. Ignoring Lampus¡¯ attitude, Julia focused on Solveiga and willed her promotion. She ignored groups from lower planes as Julia pushed beyond agony to reach for her choice. [ Achievement reward used Invalid selection for Fallen. Administrator override detected. Classification type locked for all further promotions - Angel. Promoting Petitioner to Outsider classification selected. Calculating progress based on past lives¡¯ achievements Species Set: Angel, Erelim Evolution applied Additional Patron abilities applying to Outsider skill set. ] Light erupted from within, making her skin shine brilliantly for a moment before it settled down. Julia took in the changes to Solveiga¡¯s petite form as her expression went from half slumbering rest to surprised alertness. The petite woman she remembered had grown half a metre, though the delicates features and smile remained the same. Her brunette hair barely reached below her ears, white-feathered wings only slightly longer than her arms grew from her back, while the loose pants and shirt her Soul had possessed remained intact. A silvery spear formed from the light and remained expertly clasped in Solveiga¡¯s grasp. ¡°Lady Eakc?, I¡¯m not worthy,¡± Solveiga whispered rather than rewarding her with a bellow Julia had experienced in the past. ¡°Your own past actions determined the promotion,¡± Julia declared firmly, not giving the new Angel an inch of leeway when she added. ¡°I would have given you far more; the Titan¡¯s rules were the judge of your deeds.¡± At Julia¡¯s pronouncement, Solveiga blinked in surprise, as if she had just realised something she¡¯d always known. ¡°I know things I¡¯m sure I didn¡¯t before,¡± Solveiga said, her wide-eyed expression almost doe-like in surprise. ¡°That happens, young Angel. All Celestials know the essentials of what we need to serve in our role.¡± The rumbling of the Vargr Drangijaz¡¯s words didn¡¯t disguise their kindness, and it drew Julia¡¯s attention back to him. When Analysis didn¡¯t get her much beyond the name of Adalward and confirmation he served Tyr, she merely nodded politely in acknowledgement. ¡°With your permission, Lady Eakc? I¡¯ll see the others to your Domain; I can feel its location,¡± Solveiga said, but before Julia could reply, Adalward spoke as well. ¡°Would it be alright if we escort you and Solveiga, Lady Eakc??¡± Adalward asked. While others with him seemed to struggle with being distracted by Julia¡¯s presence, he seemed unflustered. The dark blood red fur similar to the old Vargr Drangijaz she¡¯d met in Eyrarh¨¢ls, a sign of his age. ¡°It¡¯s unnecessary,¡± Julia said reassuringly. Is there something more than just a small spat going on? ¡°It¡¯s best to ensure we do things properly,¡± Adalward responded, his firm tone hinting at more, and Julia nodded at the confirmation. ¡°Of course. Solveiga, would you guide the way,¡± Julia asked with a smile. ¡°I told you every promotion comes with more work.¡± Solveiga¡¯s radiant smile didn¡¯t flicker for a moment, but Julia saw the eye roll she gave. As they moved out, the Celestials positioned themselves protectively, and Solveiga led the way to a glowing Portal near the Spire Julia had never seen before: vines framed its edge, and it appeared to be formed of emerald green water. When Solveiga touched it, Julia saw a translucent outline of her appear in the pool¡¯s depths. The Vargr Drangijaz didn¡¯t hesitate in following her, guiding the Petitioners between them, so Julia stepped through. Touching the water caused her to suddenly appear at the Spire¡¯s base, and the tension relaxing from Adalward confirmed her suspicions of trouble. Gesturing them towards a clearing away from the Portal Julia walked ahead and focusing on her Domain, cast a Greater Portal. Instead of the flames that had occurred in the past, two apple trees rose at the ends of a shimmering energy veil, their limbs overflowing with ripe fruit. The sweet scent of the fruit, wafting with a sense of comfort, seemed to hurry the Petitioners forward. Julia swallowed as she saw a father absently lifting his young boy to pluck an apple before they passed through the veil. ¡°Apple trees?¡± asked Solveiga curiously. Clearing the lump in her throat, Julia shrugged and remembered the trees in her parent¡¯s backyard before she replied. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t like apples?¡± When they entered her Domain, the Petitioners gained new strength and awareness. Instead of placidly moving along, some showed obvious confusion. Still, others smiled as they walked about, excited by the energy of their new home, the distress that Julia had expected from being aware of their demise completely absent. ¡°What did you wish to talk about, Adalward?¡± Julia asked as Solveiga took charge of the others. ¡°And what was with the Hoplites?¡± ¡°The same thing I wished to talk to you about, Lady Eakc?,¡± Adalward replied. ¡°Drop the Lady - just call me Eakc? and tell me what¡¯s going on.¡± At Julia¡¯s blunt tone, Adalward¡¯s wolfish features twisted in amusement for a moment before the serious air he¡¯d carried about him returned. ¡°The servants of some, well, most of the Greek Gods are seeking advantage during Asgard¡¯s current conflict. They harry our patrols seeking to provoke them into violence, to take advantage of our reduced numbers in Judgement; and here in the Outlands,¡± explained Adalward. Though Julia wanted him to cut to the chase, she waited him out. ¡°During the last three years, we¡¯ve had a surge of activity from the Slaadi, and we¡¯ve traced it to changes at their Spawning Stone. They normally have to battle to stay near its energies till their eggs became fertilised. Instead, they¡¯re being fertilised with such speed they¡¯ve no need to compete for a position.¡± ¡°Which means you end up having to defend against greater numbers trying to breach Asgard?¡± Julia asked, seeking to confirm what Torm had told her years ago. ¡°Correct. Given they aren¡¯t Demonic, they can enter via the outer regions of Asgard where the Plane isn¡¯t as secure.¡± ¡°Has this happened before?¡± asked Julia ¡°Never has it happened before in our records,¡± Adalward replied. ¡°We do not know what¡¯s causing the change to the Spawning Stone. The pure Chaos in Limbo makes it impossible for ¨®einn to see clearly.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°I¡¯ll go poke my nose about in Limbo,¡± Julia offered, and Adalward firmly shook his head. ¡°That isn¡¯t the matter I needed to speak about. I needed to caution you that the Greeks might see you as something to prey upon. They will harass your Petitioners and seek to weaken you till you agree to submit to their lead to gain protection.¡± ¡°After what I¡¯ve read, that¡¯s not happening,¡± Jula said, giving a firm head shake. ¡°Do you patrol for your own Petitioners coming from the Material Plane to reach Judgement or Asgard?¡± ¡°That is part of our duties,¡± Adalward confirmed, and as his gaze narrowed, Julia just smiled in return. ¡°Could Solveiga accompany you and gain experience with your Patrol?¡± Julia asked. At her question, Adalward¡¯s eyes went distant for a moment. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d also help her look after them?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be glad to help your pup find her balance, though even with this, we still consider weregild owing for our kin¡¯s actions.¡± Seriously, but I made Torm their permanent commander. ¡°I already agreed that their reporting to Torm to be sufficient compensation,¡± Julia stated and scowled when Adalward shook his head. ¡°That agreement asked nothing of them but following the orders of a worthy leader. That was considered to be an offer to cease fracturing trust, not Justice for misdeeds,¡± declared Adalward. Yeah, and their own decision making aided someone who wanted me destroyed. ¡°Tyr offered the loss of his own arm to Fenrir as weregild for his family chaining him up,¡± countered Julia, enjoying the challenging look Adalward gave in return. ¡°It was his choice to offer it, to ensure peace,¡± argued Adalward, frowning. ¡°I choose to accept their offer to settle things peacefully,¡± Julia grumbled playfully. ¡°You¡¯ll be a fun one to argue with over a mead or twelve,¡± Adalward stated, his tone firm. ¡°Though I¡¯m not the one you need to argue with, as it was Tyr¡¯s judgement it was insufficient; he ruled on the matter years ago.¡± ¡°Fine, toss it up the line of command. I¡¯ll argue with him.¡± ¡°You would at that. Patrols monitoring the Outlands are already keeping watch for your Petitioners along with ours, so are the Summer court,¡± said Adalward. ¡°We¡¯ll take Solveiga to gain battle experience somewhere a mistake won¡¯t mean her permanent end.¡± Julia stuck out a hand and smiled as Adalward clasped her forearm in return. Yep, just add someone else¡¯s problems to my plate as well. I want to help the L¨®m?, though keeping clear of the Abyss might be safest presently. I can at least reduce the numbers threatening Asgard. ¡°I know the Outlands have a connection to Limbo; After I let Solveiga know the plan, could you take me to that portal?¡± enquired Julia, still gripping his arm. ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary,¡± Adalward growled. ¡°I don¡¯t need you to guide me to Portal. I was being nice and asking,¡± retorted Julia, her smile drawing a huff in response. ¡°We¡¯ll need to get her equipment first,¡± Adalward said. ¡°Could you wait on that?¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary,¡± Solveiga interjected, having heard her name. ¡°I¡¯ve got a spear, plus I¡¯ve taken Wizard and Monk as my Classes. When I selected Wizard, all my spells returned to me, and Harmony unlocked Ki Armour plus some other things.¡± ¡°How have you gained classes already?¡± Adalward blurted out. ¡°And what do you mean by unlocked.¡± ¡°My Profile appeared after we got here,¡± replied Solveiga, giving him a confused look. ¡°Don¡¯t all Celestials have them? It¡¯s better than Master Yngvarr¡¯s plate. I can ask it questions with a skill called Analysis. I picked classes from a list it gave me, then I saw messages telling me I¡¯d learnt some things. It says they were unlocked because I already had the requirements for them.¡± She got Analysis, this could be interesting. She seems to remember more than Torm said he did from life. ¡°Why don¡¯t you show me the Portal to Limbo?¡± Julia asked, offering Adalward a way out of the conversation. ¡°I¡¯ve already set the Domain¡¯s boundary to only allow allies within. I¡¯m told the Petitioners will know the safety it represents for them.¡± ¡°The only stable Portal to Limbo is within the town of Xaos closer to the Spire. The local merchants there will trade goods salvaged from Limbo for things that could be useful to your Petitioners here,¡± Adalward noted. ¡°If the town¡¯s Portal is under pressure from the Slaadi they might provide rewards for killing them. ¡± ¡°Would Tyr clear the weregild he feels owed by helping get my Petitioners settled? I got advice regarding establishing the Domain, but I didn¡¯t ask enough questions about what came after,¡± admitted Julia sheepishly. ¡°It varies between Domains Eakc?. Many Dwarven ones are like walking into crafter¡¯s halls. Mars and some others have their Domains laid out like military camps,¡± Adalward asked, ¡°Yours feels like readying for your family to come home.¡± Julia just gave him a puzzled look, but her reply made him smile. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I treat them as family for the trust they have in me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send some messengers off, and take you to Xaos,¡± replied Adalward, waving some others over. ¡°You want me to enter a town?¡± Julia asked incredulously. ¡°I have some suggestions there,¡± Adalward replied, glancing at members of his pack, distracted by Julia¡¯s presence. ¡°I can give you some directions to make your passage quick.¡± ¡°Sounds like I should just Plane Shift to Limbo,¡± countered Julia. ¡°It''d be better to pass through, so when you return they know you. You can trade with them for your Petitioners and Celestials,¡± countered Adalward. ¡°That will help regardless of who Tyr sends to assist. ¡°Alright tell me what I should do.¡±
Julia hadn¡¯t known what to expect of Xaos, but her arrival at its outer gates had been without incident. They¡¯d built it into the side of a hill with wide terraces leading up to a central keep. The buildings were a variety of materials, wood and stone were common but many appeared grown. Others were far more exotic, and Julia saw buildings whose walls seemed to be continually in motion. Those showed the most significant variations: one formed by living bees, others made of tinted water, and still more looked to be made of liquid metals, crystals, mists and stranger materials. The common theme between them all was there wasn¡¯t a straight line in sight. The builders had composed every building of circles, arcs, waves, and spirals, and even the roads and pathways weren¡¯t straight, but rather crescents and curves along the hillside. The town¡¯s inhabitants varied as wildly as the buildings and while many appeared Human or Elven, others were far stranger. The horse-sized praying mantis outside a feed store bargaining with a bipedal grey rat barely a hundred centimetres tall had made Julia look twice. Though when both looked uncomfortable with Julia¡¯s attention on them, so she hurried on to avoid upsetting them. A touch ensured the Noh mask was still sitting correctly under her hooded cloak. The tinted lenses she¡¯d set in its white cypress certainly weren¡¯t traditional but hid the vibrant energy of her gaze. At least I don¡¯t look completely ghoulish. Though maybe I should have gone for a patchwork look. When she arrived at the keep, the guards barely glanced at her, their focus reserved for threats from within. Its structure was a chokepoint instead of somewhere to make a last stand. Spiralling ledges outside of the walls ran past arrow slits, allowing guards to fire into its interior. ¡°Traveller,¡± called a guard as Julia approached. ¡°There won¡¯t be a trader though this shift, you¡¯ll find the last trader''s goods already in the markets.¡± Their appearance was human though their solid mass of plate armour could have hidden much; still, the hints of tanned skin she saw seemed normal. ¡°I seek to enter Limbo,¡± Julia replied, keeping to what Adalward had instructed. ¡°The Portal¡¯s last shift took it near to a Monastery, the Monks-¡± ¡°Monks?¡± Julia asked excitedly. ¡°If you don¡¯t know of the Githz¨¦rai, then best wait till the next shift and confirmation comes about its connection point.¡± At the guard¡¯s words, an image of a tall emaciated-looking humanoid came to mind, Planar Lore providing details Julia hadn¡¯t even been aware she¡¯d known. An impression of angular skulls with noses flattened back so much their nostrils were mere slits. The memory showed jaundice looking skin tight across an ascetics wiry muscle that belied the endurance they commonly possessed. ¡°I¡¯d still like to go through,¡± Julia stated firmly, and the guard who considered her request seemed openly sceptical. ¡°You¡¯ve not the height of a Githz¨¦rai, and this Monastery apparently has even less love of outsiders; boulders almost crushed our Scouts.¡± ¡°The risk is mine, is it not?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Your death you mean,¡± The guard muttered and called towards the gate. ¡°One to go through.¡± As he gestured towards what appeared to be a barred porthole in a secured portcullis, Julia heard the call repeated. ¡°You¡¯ve no gear slowing you, so slip through there. We¡¯ll not risk a larger breach in the defences. The captain will want to see you before you access the Portal.¡± Julia nodded politely and flowed past the guard, ensuring she kept her movements slow. Though it was a snail¡¯s pace to her perceptions, she still made some guards start for weapons and forced herself to halt till they relaxed. When she moved again, it was with even more restraint. Soon through the portcullis, guards directed her away from the main corridor into a side chamber. The door looked like a hobbit door, but Julia found it tilted upwards off centre, rather than a side hinge she¡¯d expected. When she entered the large chamber, she found its twelve-metre diameter occupied by a huge jellyfish floating in mid-air. Even floating in the middle, its long tentacles could still pull ledgers and journals from shelves along the walls and set them on stands. The pulsing main body reminding Julia of painful stings from a box jellyfish she stopped well clear of its closest tentacles. ¡°Reason for your enquiry?¡± The jellyfish¡¯s words vibrated through the air, though Julia couldn¡¯t tell the source. ¡°The guard said the Captain would want to see me before I go through the Portal.¡± ¡°The Portal¡¯s current connection is a pink rated location. Are you aware of the chance of your demise?¡± Pink rated, what? ¡°I¡¯ll take my chances, but pink rated?¡± Julia asked as the jellyfish went about its paperwork. ¡°Your blood will splatter so widely, mopping the Portal¡¯s step will only stain the water a pale pink. Please excuse the bipedal basis towards red blood. Ichor stains are easier to deal with, so it¡¯s a worst-case scenario.¡± Colours within the jellyfish pulsed, the barest hint of pink appeared within its flesh and change to a solid red. ¡°What about those that have black blood?¡± enquired Julia, restraining her amusement at their explanation. ¡°If the blood stains blend with the flooring, why bother to mop? I¡¯ll let the Captain know someone passed on and tell the cleaning crew to deal with it after the next shift.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not the captain?¡± asked Julia, observing its reactions. ¡°Why did you expect me to be?¡± The question came with a hint of startled surprise, and without waiting for Julia¡¯s response, it rushed on. ¡°I¡¯m its receptionist. It is quite busy with its latest joy toys - best not to bother it. Just sign the ledger to your left waiving all rights to compensation for lost goods if you need to reincarnate, reanimate or reconstitute.¡± While the words had been cautious regarding the Captain, they were as lively as a robot telemarketer when it touched on the legal matters. ¡°What about next of kin?¡± Julia asked, surprised by the apparent bureaucracy. ¡°What about them? Are you expecting them to pass through and die with you? If so, they¡¯ll need to sign as well.¡± The jellyfish¡¯s flesh turned dark grey, blending into the stone of the fortifications. A tentacle thrust a charcoal stick in Julia¡¯s direction and she took it gingerly, though True Sight showed no spell present. ¡°Make sure you mark a blank spot and not over someone else¡¯s runes.¡± As the grumble came from the jellyfish, Julia caught the waving motion of its fringe and wondered if used it to speak. ¡°I was told I could get a list of currently needed goods for the township,¡± Julia stated. As soon as she signed, they took the charcoal away. ¡°Who do I speak to about that?¡± Catching the wood bundle the length of an arm that was tossed her way, Julia found they made it of thin bound slats. The list along them alternated in Celestial, Abyssal, Infernal and three other tongues she didn¡¯t recognise from the glyphs. ¡°The last three slats with the red script are goods that are overstocked. Don¡¯t come back with those unless immediately departing with all stock, the town¡¯s storage fees apply and the markets will not stack shelves for their sale.¡± The statement was another cascade of flatly spoken words and carried such annoyance, Julia wondered how often its warnings were unheeded. When the jellyfish flicked tentacles at the doorway, Julia took its hint and left. The guard outside took one look at the stack of slats and directed her further into the keep¡ªthe spiralling ramp descending into the hill made Julia wonder if they had built it around the Portal. Eventually, the ramp led Julia into a black stone cavern that was so dark she wondered how red blood would show up. True Sight showed the wards that ringed the Portal and Julia could tell they would unleash a flurry of devastation at a single command. As she came closer, an arc of enchanted ballista¡¯s around the chambers pivoted between her and the Portal. While the one from the Judgement to the Spire¡¯s base had been almost beautiful, this one looked unpleasant and Julia regarded its free-standing energy with distaste. Storing the cloak and mask, she touched the Portal, and the oily sludge that made up its surface engulfed her. 99 -Land of confusion That receptionist wasn¡¯t kidding. Julia threw herself sideways as boulders the size of trucks smashed to pieces where she¡¯d stood. Images that Planar Lore had provided her of the Githz¨¦rai matched the figures that stood on black metal battlements; their focus fixed on her with deadly intensity. Even as Julia moved, she could feel the force of their minds throwing more rocks her way. With True Sight showing no Mana source, spikes grew from the ground as she dodged. Though she twisted in mid-air, the tips turned with her and shifted into sharped steel cutting through clothes but failed to pierce flesh. When a boulder dropped from above her, Julia teleported away an instant before impact. Her focus set her on a platform floating unsupported amid a strange void. The location allowed her to avoid invading their home and gave her space to plan. Their Souls shone to her with the fine light of discipline and focus, intent on independence and freedom that Julia had no desire to harm. The Portal¡¯s threshold had placed her almost at the monastery¡¯s wall, and Julia didn¡¯t find it surprising they were reacting with hair triggers. Julia gained only a moment to take in the black monastery walls rising from a stone island, a glance enough to confirm it appeared as unsupported as the platform she stood on. Beyond the black metal wall which stretched out for at least dozens of kilometres, rose buildings shaped in twisted forms resembling an Escher drawing. As her attackers shouted intruder to those beyond the wall, Julia dodged again. Behind her, another rain of boulders converged, but she¡¯d already teleported to another floating platform. Snatching a moment to gauge their numbers, two Githz¨¦rai appeared within arm¡¯s reach. As one swept towards her feet, the other jumped towards her head with a brutal knee strike. Attacks that should have been a blur of speed, Julia read with ease. Enfolded within Zen State, she observed the moves that tightly synchronised with the projectiles¡¯ focus. As Julia spun from the strike¡¯s path and hopped the sweep, a torso sized rock shot towards where she needed to go. Storing her bracers to avoid them slowing the missile, she lashed out with a strike of her own. Ki Infusion surging with Destruction Mana sent rocks spraying across foes and gained her a moment of distraction. Analysis [Name: Niarna Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Monk / Psion Level: 56 / 58 Health: 2,052 Defence: 275 Melee Attack Power: 312 Combat Skills: Zerthi [M](92), Telekinesis [M](87) Details: A guardian of the Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand, Niarna is a follower in the Monastery''s High Anarch faction. ] Analysis [Zerthi A style of unarmed combat that taps into the Githz¨¦rai¡¯s natural psionics to read moments ahead in a battle¡¯s future. ] The platform they stood on started growing and allowing space for maneuvering. As the pair moved to pincer Julia, she raised a hand and let Ki shine through her palm. As the yang flames lit up the surrounding area, thrown boulders halted or deflected from their course by the attacker¡¯s will. Like the others, Niarna wore loose clothing made of woven cloth in a mixture of deep ambers, browns and greys. There wasn¡¯t even a hint of stubble on his bald head, leaving jaundiced freckled skin exposed that matched his face and hands. His long-sleeved shirt and loose pants covered the rest of his lean body, while armoured greaves and bracers seemed his only protection. A hardness in his angular features and deep-set eyes conveyed a determination that was mirrored in his Soul. Both Niarna and his companion seemed to struggle in her presence without the battle¡¯s focus, and kept their eyes fixed on her stomach, intent on avoiding her gaze. ¡°I would know you properly,¡± Julia stated, quietly composed as she repeated Master Farhad¡¯s words. In Telepathy¡¯s net, Julia could feel an exchange of thoughts with others behind the wall, but with the Class she¡¯d seen didn¡¯t risk detection by trying to listen in. ¡°Know you something about our customs?¡± Niarna asked cautiously. ¡°I possess only a little knowledge of the Githz¨¦rai and none of this monastery,¡± corrected Julia politely, glad when the boulders stay poised in the air about them. ¡°I seek understanding, as a Master who helped me find my path took the time to learn of me.¡± ¡°Know that would need our Master¡¯s decision. Know that if they find you unworthy, you will not leave here,¡± Niarna stated. ¡°Why should he see you?¡± ¡°Slavery,¡± Julia stated, watching the tension rise in them as she continued. ¡°Just as your people won their freedom from the Illithids I seek the strength to win my own.¡± ¡°Know that we will ask.¡± Does every sentence start with ¡®know¡¯? Julia waited as she felt the flurry of thoughts begin again. As the exchange slowed, the boulders vanished, and Niarna gestured towards the wall. ¡°Know our Master will meet with you in the outer courtyard if you can make it past the wall. Know if you attempt it and cannot, you will never be welcome here.¡± I¡¯ll take that as ¡®yes¡¯. Niarna¡¯s statements were blandly factual, but something strengthened his will. As he finished speaking, he was no longer distracted by her presence; rather, he met Julia¡¯s gaze directly. ¡°Your Souls are honourable and disciplined. I would not force entry where your people wouldn¡¯t welcome me. Might I know how I might prove myself worthy of such a meeting instead?¡± Julia asked. The question caused Niarna to study her with consideration before he responded dryly, his body language giving nothing away. ¡°Know that we could take your words as wisdom or fear.¡± ¡°To me, forcing my way inside proves I¡¯m unworthy of trust,¡± Julia stated, hoping they¡¯d understand her reasoning. ¡°Know those who demand of others should never have. Know your request is now worthy of consideration; you can either await the decision or have it provided if you return,¡± Niarna said. The words were a flat statement of fact, but they now held a cautious respect towards Julia. Julia bowed politely and smiled when Niarna returned the motion, though he differed in execution. ¡°I¡¯ll explore towards the Spawning Stone while your Master considers the matter. I would not wish my lingering presence to imply any preference for haste. Does the Slaadi threaten your monastery as well?¡± ¡°Know that the Slaadi threaten all outside their immediate pod.¡± Another yes? When Planar Sense directed Julia away from the monastery, she headed off. Teleport skipped her across a stretch of the void, and she landed on a rocky outcropping floating at the far reach of her sight. The Bracelet of Shadow Vines grew into a set of hooded robes, and Julia put the mask back in place, unsure whose attention she¡¯d attract out here. Picking a path as close as she could to where Planar Sense directed her, Julia set off, ignoring the energy maelstrom high overhead. ((Wise not to force such stubborn Souls. )) I wouldn¡¯t like someone kicking in my front door or jumping my back fence.
Without Planar Sense, Julia was sure she¡¯d have become quickly lost. More than once ground disappearing underfoot had left her floating in mid-air with no land in sight. Islands floating within the void would manifest in a blink, and could disappear just as quickly. Their disappearances made Julia wonder if she¡¯d been moving at all or walking in place within a reality loop. True Sight itself gave her no warning of what would appear or disappear, only the state of things as they presently were. As Julia reached another island made up of the same barren, lifeless terrain; Planar Sense started providing two directions instead of one. The Spawning Stone¡¯s presence seemed far more substantial on the fresh path, but Julia hesitated as she considered the terrain ahead. Boulders and spires grew randomly out of Limbo¡¯s moonscape barrenness. The lack of air hadn¡¯t bothered Julia, but she felt a pressure present on this island. Something nearby had the intensity of an impending storm without a cloud in sight. Experience had taught her the hard way that Telepathy¡¯s reach provided no warning of Undead, Elementals, or Constructs of any kind. With all the hiding places offered by the terrain, Julia stayed alert for any motion around her. Despite her concerns, what Julia found wasn¡¯t a foe of any kind but a vortex of energy within the rock itself. Chaos swirled across the stone, its edges continually ripped apart only to be reformed a moment later. Crouched on the edge of that spiral of energy, Telepathy and Planar Sense both provided her information. The faintest sense of minds beyond, and Planar Sense showed the Spawning Stone path was faster through it. A divination spell came apart in a spray of Mana. After a few more failed attempts at various spells from Detecting Ways, Julia tried another approach. Analsyis [Chaos Whirlpool: The nature of Limbo prevents any constant path existing across the Plane. Chaos whirlpools provide shortcuts between regions of Limbo but are ever-changing; both regarding the location where they¡¯re found and where they lead after they form.] After having spent days walking - and finding nothing - Julia took the chance. Protean folded in her equipment as Julia¡¯s form became a pebble that fell into the whirlpool a moment later. The energy conduit spat her out instantly, and quick nudges of Flight all that prevented burial amid the spraying rocks. Minds that had been on the edge of her telepathy¡¯s reach became clear in their predatory natures. While Planar Lore had provided her general details of what to expect, the hunting pod she¡¯d stumbled on still took her aback. The Slaadi she¡¯d found were bipedal and close to four metres tall, with hulking muscular bodies covered in a rough blue hide. While they were without weapons, armour or even clothes, their forms nature eliminated the need. The eighteen of them focused on prey that was annoying them in its refusal to submit. Webbed hands and feet ended in sickle-shaped claws, with barbed hooks extended from their forearms. Their knife-edged teeth appeared like needles in the massive toad maws that split their faces below glowing red frog-like eyes. Sharp ridges ran down across the back of their skulls and connected to where their neckless heads sat joined to the thick muscle mass that covered their shoulders. There the spikes of the prehistoric ridges blended with their scaled hide that Planar Lore said could be tougher than steel. More than a few among them bore deep scars that still hadn¡¯t reached flesh beneath. The group surrounded a stone building grown from the landscape of the Plane. Its presence was entirely out of place but made sense as Julia felt more minds nearby. Julia could feel the Slaadi pod''s combined will rip away at the structure while someone inside fought to maintain the idea of it. Spotting the most battle-scarred among them, Julia looked to learn more about the strongest of the Pod. Analysis [Species: Blue Slaadi Level: 32 Health: 1,056 Defence: 320 Melee Attack Power: 352 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad] (50), Claws [Ad] (50) - Special: Infection [M](3) Details: Their hunting pod has recently returned from the Spawning Stone. They are wandering Limbo seeking more prey to host their pod¡¯s remaining fertilised eggs. ] These things are tough for their level, but it¡¯s still playtime. Preparing a spell within Ki Infusion, Julia left Angelic aura off as she reshaped into her Wood Elf form. As she did, Ki Infusion and Armour drew in more yin energies to flood her flesh and erode reality around her. The moment they sensed her, the closest of the Slaadi spun to attack the danger of her presence, not making it past their monstrous instincts. Instead of dodging, Julia lashed out at the first¡¯s sweeping hand. Her fist struck its palm before its claws contacted flesh. As bones snapped under the impact¡¯s force, Julia flowed in, and an eagle claw strike ripped open a muscle sheathed thigh. Its supernaturally armoured hide came apart, exposed to yin¡¯s consuming nature. Pain enraged it as it bent its body and tried to bite. Its fanged maw opening like a great white allowed the spear that struck upward to pierce its brain. As the weapon reformed into her arm, Julia continued to defy Slaadi expectations. The pod swarming towards her expected their prey to flee, not move in for the kill. Raking claws shattered beneath fists or elbows, as kicks sheathed in energy pulverised flesh and bone despite armoured hides. A snapping maw replaced a hand as arm sheathed itself through ribs, and spinning away, Julia left a hollowed and heartless foe behind. Another attacker¡¯s sweeping claws widened her dying victim¡¯s wound as she whirled beneath the attack. Her kick speared upwards in reply, smashing its elbow and driving shattered bone out through flesh the instant before she vanished. Power blazed as the last of the Pod swarmed too close, and a pillar of yin released from Ki Infusion¡¯s hold consumed them all. [Combat Summary: Blue Slaadi x18 Total-experience gained: 34,128 Fallen: +17,064 Scion: +17,064 ] With a glance at the combat summary, Julia let teleport return her from the fortifications roof, the moment her mask and hood covered her once more she called out in Celestial. ¡°Hello,¡± Julia called, hoping they spoke the language. ¡°Are you all okay?¡± Even as she spoke, the fortification dissolved away, melding into the rocky ground. The appearance of the Slaadi¡¯s desired prey screamed adventuring band, though the eight of them weren¡¯t a diverse group. The band looked battle weary and wounded, with blood staining armour and clothing alike. Their lean bodies were shorter than any Elves Julia had met so far, the tallest only a hundred and fifty-two centimetres. Six of them wore battered concealing armour woven of metal strands rather than forged. The rare glimpses of skin within their helms showed a dark moss green hue. Deep green and earthen brown clothes covered the other two from neck to toe their braided hair a rich brown. Their Dark skin matched what Julia could spot among their companions, and a glimpse at them with Soul Sight had already shown the silvery hue of Elves. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. One of those wearing cloth garments passed an amber and silver veined recurve bow to another before staggering towards Julia. As soon as he moved, Julia took in his appearance even as she used Analysis. His features were broader than Elves she¡¯d met, though he shared the high cheekbones and pointed ears. His eyes were dark earthen and amber tones, without a hint of white. His half robes ended cut just above the knees, with long sleeves that reached to his wrists. Its length allowed Julia to see the matching woven leggings and boots beneath. Their once fine cotton was now bloodstained and sullied. Stopping two deliberate paces from the rest of his band, he politely bowed even though Julia could smell fresh blood from the action as he fought to keep focused. [Name: ?as¨¨l¨¤ Species: Deep Forest Elf Class: Wizard / Archer Level: 30 / 29 Health: 87 (649) Defence: 110 Magic: 60 Mana: 24 (630) Melee Attack Power: 120 Ranged Attack Power: 390 Combat Skills: Dagger [Ad] (41), Recurve Bow [M] (15), Various Spell Forms - Air, Water and Lightning Affinities Details: From a lower sect, ?as¨¨l¨¤ never climbed higher than the Silver Tree¡¯s thirty-kilometre branch until enlisting in the militia to gain Wizard training. One of the few surviving members of a Silver Tree militia expedition, a Chaos rift caught him during a branch severing. Condition: Diseased - Slaadi egg infection (two weeks till hatching) ] ¡°You have our thanks, though you are a stranger to our tree. Would you sit and take food with us?¡± asked ?as¨¨l¨¤, forcing his expression to composure despite clear pain. ¡°Though we are bereft of shade, we have food to share.¡± His words weren¡¯t any language Julia had heard before and she was glad for Tongues¡¯ help. Every word sounded as if leaves rustling, or a branch creaking in an errant breeze even as the Power translated it. The pain twisting his features conveyed a seriousness of its own, and Julia politely bowed in return. ¡°I accept if that means peace between us, though I¡¯m sorry, I have no food to share,¡± replied Julia. At the intonation of her words mimicking his own, ?as¨¨l¨¤ blinked in surprise, and the group behind him noticeably relaxed. At her acceptance, ?as¨¨l¨¤ struggled forward, and Julia moved to meet him. His gaze lowered to a point halfway between them, his face paling as he forced himself to move. Spotting that his pace was pushing to match her own, Julia slowed and stepped only when he moved till at last he was barely out of arm¡¯s reach. The smell of blood was far more pungent from him, and as he lowered himself painfully to the ground, Julia saw his robes darkening and clinging to his torso. I hope sharing food doesn¡¯t mean talking for an hour. He needs healing. As ?as¨¨l¨¤ shook a cluster of dried berries onto a cloth he set on the ground when he paused, Julia reached out and plucked what look to be a raisin from a stem. Analysis [Silberry: These berries make long-lasting rations when properly dried. Grown from Silnat moss exposed to one of the Great Trees¡¯ sap, the berries even dried hold the Sap¡¯s condensed vitae. Though they taste sweet, the fruit¡¯s flesh contains a mixture of materials key for sustaining health. Consuming one provides a full sensation, while a handful gives sufficient sustenance for two or more days.] Hoping she would not regret this like the frozen gasps, Julia slipped it beneath her mask. When it touched her tongue, there was a syrupy rush of a wild berry flavour flooding her mouth. ¡°Might I offer you shade and comfort in thanks for your food?¡± asked Julia, after the initial flavour subsided. ¡°I offered food to give thanks and welcome,¡± ?as¨¨l¨¤ replied, perspiration beaded on his forehead as he carefully took a berry with painful motions. ¡°They are delicious I¡¯ve tasted nothing like them,¡± reassured Julia, not liking the strain on his features she took action. A quick focus set a Life Mana wall sitting across from them both, the greenish-gold energy tinted by the strange light of Limbo. When Julia checked him with Analysis again, his health was recovering, though it had already fallen further from the walk. ¡°We already owe you much,¡± protested ?as¨¨l¨¤. His dark skin holding grey tones that deepened Julia¡¯s concern and another use of Analysis showed his health recovering, but slower than she¡¯d hoped. Is it the egg hurting things? I hope I¡¯m not hastening its growth. But the condition still says two weeks. ¡°When you are able, I¡¯d ask you to help others in need till you feel your debt to be repaid,¡± Julia replied. ¡°That does not aid you, though,¡± ?as¨¨l¨¤ argued, puzzled by Julia¡¯s response. ¡°Help can come from unexpected sources. Perhaps you might tell me how your group formed the building you were in,¡± said Julia, the curious tone quite genuine. ¡°Lucky knowledge in honesty. When I served my initial apprentice year, I happened across an old leaf scroll about this Plane,¡± replied ?as¨¨l¨¤, his breathing easing as he spoke. ¡°It mentioned the inhabitants shaping the material of the Plane by a skill called simply Chaos Shaping, and the theory of it. It is a matter of applying one¡¯s will while holding an image in your mind. The inhabitants with stronger minds and wills can control the Plane¡¯s form for kilometres around them. At first, it required trial and error, but when I found the knack of it - a mere thousand beats let me get proficient. I hoped my companions would be safe before I perished, but the group you dealt with found us. Do you know where a Portal is?¡± ¡°I can create one for your group. You know of the Slaadi egg in you?¡± Julia asked, considering his words when he spoke of perishing. ¡°Yes, I took an injury not long after our arrival. I could detect the infection, but we have no Priestess to heal wounds. We¡¯ve survived as best we could while trying to find a way out,¡± ?as¨¨l¨¤ said, looking conflicted at Julia¡¯s statement. He doesn¡¯t want to owe me more. I wonder what their culture is like. Is everything a debt that needs repaying? Analysis [Chaos Shaping: The Chaos of Limbo responds to the will of practitioners of this skill. As its rank and effective level increases, it allows for enforcing and maintaining forms, including more complex materials within the structure of objects. ] Julia expended a skill point and smiled behind her mask at the notification she received in response. [Chaos Shaping Unlocked! Chaos Shaping (1) Chaos Shaping synergy with Protean detected. Protean Power at Master additional levels applied. Chaos Shaping (1) -> [J] (6)] No idea where the damn egg is growing inside him, so I can¡¯t just lift it out. ¡°That information was useful indeed. How about I get you somewhere safe?¡± Julia asked, wishing she didn¡¯t need the Noh mask. ¡°I¡¯ve never met someone with skin the colour of yours,¡± ?as¨¨l¨¤ said, gesturing to her hands conflict crossed his features. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m not from your world, but I can open a Greater Gate to allow you into the realms of the Elven Gods. There¡¯d have to be ways to reach your homeworld from there,¡± stated Julia, brushing aside his attempt to delay. Portals join all worlds, if you know where to find them. ¡°None of us can channel a Divine¡¯s blessing,¡± ?as¨¨l¨¤ stated firmly after considering her offer. ¡°Why would they aid us?¡± ¡°Ask for one of the Lady of the Forest¡¯s servants. Tell them Eakc? rescued you, and she hopes you¡¯ll be given aid. I¡¯m stopping this spell it should have resealed your wound, and I don¡¯t wish to speed the egg¡¯s growth,¡± Julia explained. As soon as the spell ceased, she carefully helped him to his feet. Yeah, I¡¯m railroading him. Too bad, he needs someone who knows proper healing to get that thing out of him. When the energies of Arvandor radiated across the surface of the Gate Julia stepped clear to allow ?as¨¨l¨¤ and his companions to approach. One warrior quickly stepped through the Gate¡¯s veil and returned with a smile so broad even his helm¡¯s shadows couldn¡¯t completely conceal it. With excited motions and clicks, he stepped back through, and the rest of the party followed. ¡°May your Soul find rest in a Great Tree¡¯s shade Eakc?,¡± ?as¨¨l¨¤ said, and as he went to bow, Julia stopped him with her hands gently on his shoulders. ¡°I just sealed those wounds, let¡¯s not risk them, please,¡± Julia grumbled kindly and got a relieved smile in response. ¡°Take care ?as¨¨l¨¤, may a Great Tree always give you shade.¡± I hope that¡¯s not offensive. As soon as ?as¨¨l¨¤ was through the Gate, Julia ended the spell, groaning mentally in relief as the pain from the Plane¡¯s proximity ceased. ¡°Rana, I just sent some lost Deep Forest Elves I found in Limbo through to Arvandor. Their leader¡¯s name is ?as¨¨l¨¤. I can only hope I opened it close to Lady of the Forest¡¯s region, but I couldn¡¯t see beyond the Gate¡¯s veil to know where it came out. At least one has a Slaadi egg within them. Please have someone find them and help.¡± Letting the spell carry her message away, Julia returned her focus to Planar Sense and the Spawning Stone. As its wild music reverberated through her awareness, she moved in its direction, pushing down the temptation to just rush ahead via Flight. I don¡¯t want to be targeted by everything that can see me speeding overhead. Still, she picked up the pace and practiced Chaos Shaping by changing the forms of boulders and spires as she went. The shaping of them responded to her Willpower and imagination as Protean moulding her flesh. Time Sense told Julia it was hours later when she got a message from Yngvarr that made her smile in delight. The energy of the spell hummed, and Yngvarr¡¯s amused tones lifted tension away. ¡°I¡¯m going to add casting this to your bill. Rana said, to tell you the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar found your lost Elves and the three that needed it were cleansed of Slaadi eggs. They are resting in the Lady¡¯s glades presently, and there are plans to see them home. You can¡¯t help yourself, can you? Do you know the fee Wizards able to cast a Greater Gate to an Upper Plane would charge? I bet you don¡¯t. Why am I not surprised you can even manage it? Torm asked me to send along a shocking message quote ¡®my thoughts have been with you¡¯ end quote, so explicit I¡¯m blushing. I mean the things he comes out with, you two need to get a room.¡± Yngvarr¡¯s voice was rich with suppressed amusement, and even though the spell didn¡¯t carry it, she could imagine his following laughter. ¡°Give my best to everyone and lots of hugs. Alfarr needs to stop infecting you with his humour.¡± She¡¯d only made a dozen steps when another message came. ¡°I can¡¯t help you there, and most of your trouble makers aren¡¯t at hand. Alfarr, Torm, Rana and I are working along the Asgard border dealing with Slaadi, and a recent influx of Chaos Elementals venturing out of Limbo. Be careful in there; something is wrong. The Slaadi Lords normally send extra troops to play scavenger on the Blood Wars'' battlefields, not against the Upper Planes.¡± The amused tone that had been present in the last message had faded fast during his second, and concern shivered its way along Julia¡¯s spine as she considered the conflict in Asgard. ¡°Torm, I don¡¯t know the difference being a Fallen makes instead of a Succubus. I can only hope it¡¯s progress towards getting my freedom, my Profile at least is showing attribute changes faster than I had expected. My thoughts have been with you too, don¡¯t let that pair give you grief.¡± As she released the spell, she set aside the daydream of spending time with him and moved to push her pace. Line of sight teleports took chunks from the journey, though it increased the chance of ambushing by anything near her arrival sites. Chaos Shaping stretched the ground out before her when she reached the edge of the landmass with only a void ahead. She mimicked the platform near the monastery, with a growing bridge and adding questions to the list she already had for the Githz¨¦rai. When a new landmass formed close by, Julia took stock and activated Angelic Aura. Amid Limbo¡¯s Chaos, Harmony allowed her to feel the rage and blood-lust that Amr¨²ngwen had mentioned. Taking inspiration from Chaos Shaping, she focused on its manifestation, and as she worked, the uncontrolled energies became flames instead. Stretching out her will to hold the ground in place beneath her while she set her imagination and focus to work controlling her aura. Whenever she lost control, they¡¯d grow wild and erratic, but without frustration, she¡¯d calmly begin again. After days of focus and effort, the flickering flames had become ordered by her focus, and each white flame lay still across her form. Each individually frozen flame bound by her Willpower, when folded down together, formed a scaly armour. The triad of Powers: Angelic Aura, Ki Aura, and Ki Armour sat layered in place together. She¡¯d hoped to get them to merge but despite her attempts they refused to do so. When Julia moved on, she held all three active. The flames¡¯ light would announce her presence, but she¡¯d deal with whatever attacks came.
She hadn¡¯t expected Planar Sense¡¯s reach to stretch as far as it did. Through the initial days of walking and then even more spent teleporting, the Spawning Stone only seemed closer because of the whirlpool¡¯s shortcut. Only the continual levelling of Planar Sense gave her any surety: it wasn¡¯t a false trail if Julia could trust it to say she was using it properly. A scrap of stone rumbled across Danger Sense, and Julia sent Telepathy¡¯s net out. The Slaadi¡¯s thought she understood easily enough and felt as he signalled the others waiting in ambush. Through his own gaze, she could see the white energy radiating off rocks, the same white flames they¡¯d spotted hours ago. When she moved around a boulder to provoke the ambush, the Fire Balls that greeted her burnt in the surrounding air. A Lightning Bolt erupted across her, and Julia felt her Magic rise in Angelic Aura to push the spell¡¯s energy aside. [Angelic Aura [B](13->14)] Monitor colour matrix, anyone? The scores of Slaadi that appeared were a mix of red, green and blue, making her wonder why they were working together. What little Planar Lore had told her of the Slaadi, they shouldn¡¯t be, and it left her knowledge feeling limited indeed. As more hopped rocks, spires grew to carry others aloft, and the battle at least promised some interest. [Species: Red Slaadi Level: 33 Health: 1,059 Defence: 190 Melee Attack Power: 217 Combat Skills: Bite [M] (9), Claws [M] (12) - Special: Infection [Ad](38) Details: Their hunting pod has recently returned from the Spawning Stone and now guards a Breeding camp by order of the Slaadi Lord, Ygorl, Lord of Entropy. ] [Species: Green Slaadi Class: Wizard Level: 41 / 18 Health: 767 Defence: 40 Magic: 38 Mana: 198 Melee Attack Power: 58 Combat Skills: Claw [Ad] (1), Bite [Ad] (1) - Special: Infection [Ad](5) - Spell Forms: Various - Fire, Earth, Mental, and Dark Details: Their hunting pod has recently returned from the Spawning Stone and now guards a Breeding camp by order of the Slaadi Lord, Ygorl, Lord of Entropy. ] Breeding camp, seriously here as well! As the first Blue Slaadi closed, she felt the Angelic Aura¡¯s effect provoking reckless choices within its mind, and its blood lust soared. The rage she¡¯d seen in the Demons'' gazes in Tern¨°x shone in its gaze. As it rushed forward, Julia saw it prepare to leap. Expecting to overwhelm it leapt forward, only for a sudden shift in her Elven form to match its height, and its instincts screamed for caution too late. A double block smashed its sweeping claws away. Ki Aura reacted to the blocked attack, and energy cooked through flesh, while the strength in Julia''s blocks shattered its wrists. Undeterred, its maw widened to roar or bite, even as a blocking arm came back, and a fist drove through its skull. The impact twisting its motion; it fell through where she had been. A Green Slaadi at the back of the charge felt a moment of rage before peace. Its eyes slid closed as its weight pulled its body free from a fist that had burst from its chest. Other Slaadi close by spun at the wet sound, and a kick struck one, driving its shattered pelvis up through its torso. Gliding past, she grasped its out-flung arm and threw it into more. As the red glow faded from its eyes, she dropped a third on top to pin those squirming underneath. Its fading light snuffed out when a Ki strike exploded through them all to pulverise flesh and stone alike. Teleport carried her past a confused pair even as she was pivoting to gain momentum. As Julia spun, her arms changed to blades, and blood sprayed from bisected foes. The twin blades wreathed in white flames, and she reappeared among more opponents. A dancer¡¯s pirouette carved edges through flesh, and Destruction Mana left ash behind. While the casters among their numbers lashed out with an arsenal of spells, their attacks lagged behind her ever changing course. From one mass of foes to another, Slaadi spells burst across those left dead in her wake. Fire Balls feeding on Limbo¡¯s Chaos continued to burn beyond their initial burst and set a gauntlet for attackers to run or flee. Illusions of the Sisterhood¡¯s assassins tried to grasp Julia¡¯s mind, but she brushed their phantasms aside. Their attempt to prey on her fears far too weak to make headway seemed nothing more than empty holograms. Waves of darkness, set to bind or blind, fared no better against her aura, senses, and will. While Julia left invisible attackers broken in her path, their anticipation of surprise turned fatal by True Sight. Casters and melee attackers alike fell in waves as scores came from beyond a ridge. As the last Slaadi fell, Julia brushed aside the combat summary and raced in the direction the attacker had originated. As her gaze swept over the massive field below, Protean changed form, and a stray rock bounced its way down the steep slope towards what lay beyond. Their vast acreages of pens didn¡¯t hold what she¡¯d feared; rather, each contained a chained and beaten Demon or Devil. All the Demons were the lowest Tiers from their size or appearance, but there was a vast array of types present. Br¨ªn, Dretches, Succubi, H¨¹msi, and dozens of others besides and more Devils than haste let her count. One after another, as the unimportant stone fell, Analysis showed their infected states, with a few mere hours from a Slaadi hatching. Soul Sight showed a developing seed of pure Chaos formed within their chests as the hosts writhed in pain. Planar Sense jumped and split again as she came to a halt among other rocks. Instead of pointing ahead, it had turned straight up towards the maelstrom¡¯s eye. In contrast, a fresh branch headed towards the prison¡¯s centre where the Portal had flared to life. It was a form shaped of seething Chaos similar in outline to a Blue Slaadi, though its hide drank in light even to True Sight and stood only two metres tall. The force of its presence kilometres away caused Julia¡¯s Danger Sense to scream, even without having its focus. When it moved, it was with a grace and speed that Julia¡¯s perception found hard to track, and it soon stood before a stone plinth and a figure that sat upon it. The crossed-legged form was a Githz¨¦rai, but the cut of his clothing was far different. Instead of stark and practical, Julia could see thick gold thread and gemstones worked through the bright silken robes he wore. While Soul Sight showed, he possessed greater discipline than the Githz¨¦rai she¡¯d met his focus was pure narcissistic self-interest. Analysis [Name: Krlakai Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: High Anarch / Prime Anarch / Overmind / Psion Details: Hired by Yaro Yiyan to maintain the region for his assault forces'' breeding pens. High Anarch Prestige Class is available from combining Wizard and Psion at level 70. Prime Anarch is available from combining Wizard and Psion at level 70 after having gained High Anarch. Overmind Prestige Class is available from combining Psion and Tyrant at level 70. ] Analysis [Name: Yaro Yiyan Species: Unique Class: Chaos Guardian / Death Lord / Dread King / Berserker Details: Eldest spawn of Ygorl, initial Guardian of the Spawning Stone. Chaos Guardian is a Prestige Class only available to a Blue Slaadi at Species-level 80 or higher. It combines Berserker and Hunter at Level 80 or higher; this Class forces evolution to Death Slaadi. Death Lord details are unavailable at your current Skill level. Dread King details are unavailable at your current Skill level. ] [Soul Sight [M](1->3) Analysis [S] (10->11)] Yet another thing I stand no chance against. Teleport set Julia back over the ridgeline, and as she held a position there, she focused on Planar Sense. The shortest path towards the Spawning Stone still led her towards the pens. The longer path had returned to its original course instead of towards the sky¡¯s maelstrom. Am I in orbit? The Spawning Stone is straight up. I¡¯ve been turning past it this whole time. Falling down the side of the mountain just pushed me so far off the orbit it reset the path. [Planar Sense [M] (12->13)] Fine, thanks for the hint! There have to be thousands of Demons down there. Does the hatching cause them to die, or can they survive it? ((Stronger Demons can survive if the Spawn doesn¡¯t destroy their physical form¡¯s heart or spine during the birthing. )) Thanks, Laodice, but that could be even more worrying. How much of an assault force is he raising? Why would he need to raid Asgard? Heck, what is he even building an assault for? The Slaadi are scavengers of the Blood Wars. They rarely engage either side, and neither side trusts them. Though that¡¯s assuming he¡¯s actually raiding Asgard, those might be another Slaadi Lord¡¯s plan or something else. Life - it¡¯s always full of the unknown. I wonder if my hidden state will also block Krlakai from reading my mind or sensing my presence. Even that won¡¯t stop him from seeing me if his psychic abilities improve regular sense. I practiced Stealth in the Necropolis, but with that many Prestige Classes I''ve no idea what his perception is like. 100 - Control As tempting as it was to raid the basin and snipe away its horde of guards, Julia knew it could quickly go wrong. In the erratic Limbo, only one other place so far held a sense of permanency. The breeding pens below, even with their massive space, felt shallow compared to the Monastery. And Julia could only hope they¡¯d trade some knowledge of the Plane. Picturing the Monastery wall a kilometre away, she teleported there without issue. Instead of merely floating in the void, awaiting their acknowledgement, Julia¡¯s will made a platform. Rather than bare rock, her imagination formed rich loam and, in an exercise of will flowers bloomed. Within a circle of garden beds, she knelt on a core of vibrant green grass. Aware that each blade and flower were identical to each other, Julia started pushing alterations into it, making maintaining it a challenge. Plain garden beds grew decorative borders and moved around till Julia was happy with their appearance. A simple maze with multiple options at every turn. To Julia, it echoed life. On every path, there are choices; in how you react, if nothing else. As the platform expanded, individual roses changed colours, growing or shrinking, blooming or wilting. Some plant life grew healthier, while others appeared eaten by insects. Though Julia turned off Angelic Aura, she left the Ki protections in place as hours became days. Julia was sure the Monastery¡¯s leaders would take however long they wanted before reacting to her presence. Though even at this distance, she could feel the observers focused on her. Time Sense ticked along, tracking beats, and made it clear the fifth day hadn¡¯t passed when a figure appeared floating in the void. Though his placement was along a path, he stayed floating while examining her creation. With her will holding its formation, Julia was aware when his mind brushed against its elements. Not to challenge her, but out of curiosity, it quickly became clear he was cataloguing its aspects. From the grains of wood in the garden bed¡¯s borders to the brown marks or insect bites she¡¯d set on blades of grass. He wore no armour, rather only simple robes and bare feet. The fabric was a sturdy deep brown without marks or ornamentation, belted at the waist with a woven cord. His long hair was in a topknot that emphasised his features¡¯ angularity and the solid grey of his hair. When he moved at last, he followed the garden paths with grace and surety and settled kneeling facing Julia. Analysis gave Julia his name as Duurth and a list of Prestige Classes: Psion Ascetic, High Anarch, and Psion Paramount. ¡°Know there is no need for your mask, Traveller,¡± Duurth stated as he knelt facing Julia. So it wasn¡¯t just Niarna¡¯s speech pattern. Storing the Noh mask and brushing back the hood she¡¯d formed in the shadow vines, Julia merely waited for him to speak. It was almost ten minutes before he said anything, but as the silence had stretched, Julia could feel his will roaming through the platform. The roots of the roses, even the earthworms, that she¡¯d visualised within the soil. They¡¯d taken on a life of their own days ago, and she wondered what had guided the formation of their instincts. ¡°Why did you place imperfections within?¡± ¡°Life isn¡¯t perfect, and neither am I,¡± replied Julia, and saw understanding in Duurth¡¯s gaze. ¡°Know thyself,¡± Duurth stated. ¡°I¡¯m still working on that,¡± Julia ruefully admitted. ¡°Know you are unusual for one of your kind if you seek to learn of yourself,¡± Duurth said as he considered her reaction. ¡°What do you wait for, Fallen?¡± Did someone send out a memo? Or do I smell of Sulphur? ¡°I didn¡¯t wish to be considered an intruder this time,¡± Julia replied. ¡°I have questions and information to exchange.¡± ¡°Know it is rare we would trade with a Fallen,¡± admitted Duurth. ¡°What information do you have to exchange?¡± ¡°Fallen not by my own choice but by another¡¯s; I seek to break their chains. As your people gained their freedom, I seek my own. If I was truly a Fallen, could I do this?¡± Julia asked, casting a simple light glowing with Celestial Mana. Though its light across her skin itched, it was a minor pain to endure. ¡°Knowledge on the Slaadi, and a Githz¨¦rai Prime Anarch named Krlakai, who¡¯s helping them.¡± His gaze danced between the light and Julia, his features remaining composed, till Krlakai¡¯s name drew a frown. ¡°Know there are only a few so powerful; he died four years ago,¡± argued Duurth, his tone grim. The attacks on Asgard started three years ago. Did they take a year for initial preparations, or is it a coincidence? Julia put out a hand and grew it into a perfect mask of Krlakai¡¯s features. ¡°Is this the Krlakai that died? Know I have a talent for knowing people¡¯s name - Duurth.¡± Great, now I¡¯m falling for their pattern. ¡°Know that I wish to learn more and where you saw him,¡± Duurth hissed. His mouth was twisting in bitterness as his narrowing gaze burrowed into the likeness that Julia had created. ¡°Know the Slaadi are in constant conflict with us; his aiding them is treachery to all Githz¨¦rai.¡± ¡°He was working for the Slaadi, maintaining a stable area for breeding pens,¡± replied Julia, watching his gaze hardening with every word. ¡°There were thousands of captive Demons and Devils taken from the Blood Wars. When I saw him, he was speaking with Yaro Yiyan.¡± ¡°Know you bring a concerning tale, but it is hard to trust when your mind is so well shielded,¡± Duurth admitted warily, his gaze meeting hers. ¡°If you have the means, I can scry the position, and you could verify,¡± Julia offered before continuing. ¡±Since I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t trust me to teleport you there.¡± ¡°Know you are correct, but there is a different way,¡± Duurth stated. ¡°Teleport there alone, and I¡¯ll determine if you lie.¡± ¡°My mind is impossible to read, and I¡¯m hard to scry as well. You might have trouble following me,¡± responded Julia apologetically. ¡°Know that we detected the energies of your arrival; thus I¡¯ll trace the energy left in your passage,¡± Duurth countered with a wry smile. ¡°A spell to trace a teleport, that¡¯s useful,¡± Julia breathed enviously. ¡°Very well, but I¡¯ll teleport over the ridgeline from the area he¡¯s formed. I¡¯ll not risk appearing in his line of sight.¡± I wonder if they can do that trick with Planar Shifts as well. It might help me trace the Lady once I¡¯m strong enough to risk hunting her. ¡°Regardless, if by tracing your Teleport I reveal your tale to be a lie, do not return,¡± responded Duurth. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you plenty of time to verify it before I return.¡± Julia became a pebble and teleported to the ridgeline, her gear enfolded within the form. The basin remained, though there was a change in prisoners. Krlakai was still sitting above the plinth, though fortunately Yaro Yiyan wasn¡¯t around. Julia returned after scouring the basin¡¯s interior with True Sight to confirm the pens held only Demons and Devils. The platform was still present, and Duurth was awaiting her return, eyes closed in quiet contemplation. It was some time after she knelt that he finally opened his eyes to regard her. ¡°Know I have spoken to others they will act on your findings,¡± Duurth admitted reluctantly. ¡°What is it you seek to learn?¡± ¡°About the Spawning Stone. The Slaadi¡¯s eggs are fertilising quickly recently, and they¡¯ve been attacking Asgard for hosts. Though I¡¯d also like someone to teach me the spell list to trace a teleport.¡± ¡°Know that we have volumes regarding the Slaadi, their Lords, and the Spawning stone; I will permit you entry to read them. Know the method for tracking Teleports isn¡¯t a spell but a Psion technique.¡± Oh. ¡°What¡¯s required to learn those?¡± asked Julia seriously, her expression mirroring her tone. Duurth just snorted, but his eyes widen at Julia¡¯s evident determination. ¡°How do you expect us to teach you if we can¡¯t show you the mental techniques to learn?¡± ¡°I can read minds,¡± Julia countered, giving a shrug at Duurth¡¯s incredulous look, and gestured at the Monastery. ¡°I haven¡¯t tried, I¡¯d thought it would be rude. When I was here, I could feel Niarna consulting with others but didn¡¯t determine more.¡± ¡°Know that learning our techniques takes discipline and focus, a weak-willed entity will have-¡± Julia¡¯s wry smile stopped Duurth¡¯s retort. ¡°I don¡¯t know the strength of my will compared to your own, but I¡¯m willing to try if you are,¡± Julia replied, her smile unfaded. ¡°Know that when you fail, we will not provide a different reward; as for the Slaadi texts, if you study with us and obey our rules you may read them while in the Monastery. Know once we determine you cannot learn, you will no longer have access to them,¡± said Duurth, his tone firm and as hardened as his features had become. ¡°If I¡¯m able to learn your techniques, may I come and go from the Monastery?¡± Julia enquired, considering her options. ¡°For what purpose would you wish to do so?¡± asked Duurth, eyeing her curiously. ¡°The Slaadi have been attacking Asgard; I¡¯ve friends defending it that I wish to help. I¡¯m also seeking means to gain my freedom from this state, and restore the freedom of others,¡± said Julia honestly. Duurth didn¡¯t reply, and Julia could barely sense his mind conversing with others. It was nearly half an hour before he spoke again, but Julia stayed kneeling. As she examined the platform, she could sense his focus on it, even while his mind was busy in conversation. Not only had he kept the imperfections, but he¡¯d also added insects. ¡°Know your presence in the Monastery will be disruptive; you¡¯ll not mingle with students until you learn control,¡± Duurth finally stated, and Julia brought her attention back to him. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you believed I could learn the ways of a Psion,¡± Julia argued, wondering what restriction he was planning to place. ¡°Know I meant control over the force of personality you project,¡± Duurth declared firmly, giving her a puzzled frown. ¡°You know how to do that?!¡± exclaimed Julia, her gaze shining with her surprise. ¡°Why do you think we would not know if I require it of you?¡° retorted Duurth, clearly puzzled by Julia¡¯s response. ¡°Know that mind, spirit and will contribute to a Psion¡¯s path; the mind is essential to determine growth, but some paths also require the strength of will or spirit. Know that the attraction and uncertainty you cause in others is your spirit at work, the force of your personality.¡± ¡°I would like to learn more about this Paramount Duurth,¡± Julia stated as she smiled with open anticipation. ¡°How do you know the path on which I walk?¡± Duurth asked, his general suspicion giving way slowly to open curiosity. ¡°I have a Skill that lets me see people¡¯s names and bits of information about them.¡± ¡°Know that you are interesting, Fallen, and not what I had expected,¡± Duurth admitted begrudgingly. Though Julia didn¡¯t quite know how to take the nod, he tacked onto his admission. ¡°I¡¯m always uniquely me. Please call me Eakc?, not Fallen,¡± offered Julia calmly. ¡°Know that I feel Eakc? is only part of the truth. Is there more?¡± Duurth asked, and Julia just shook her head before she replied. ¡°Nothing that will bring danger to yourself or your Monastery, rather names my friends use.¡± Laying all my cards out when you¡¯ve doubted me at every turn - yeah, that¡¯s not on the agenda. I made that mistake too many times. When Duurth nodded at her response, the platform started moving towards the Monastery, but so smoothly that there was no sensation. It was only by the shrinking separation she¡¯d noticed it at all. When Julia put her hood and mask back in place, Duurth gave only the slightest nod in acknowledgement of her precaution. They didn¡¯t go over the Monastery¡¯s black wall; instead an archway formed at their approach, and Duurth moved the platform inside. ¡°Do you wish to keep this construct, or might I make use of it?¡± Duurth asked as the passage enclosed the eight-metre width of her platform. ¡°I made it merely for practice while I waited. If you have a use for it, feel free,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Know that maintaining another¡¯s construct is a challenge for those learning. Know I would assign it to a student since it has objects they would not have seen within its limits,¡± explained Duurth, gesturing to the grass and roses. ¡°Does someone have to maintain the Monastery?¡± Julia asked as a glance behind found the archway seamlessly closing. ¡°Know that to maintain anything not worn by someone requires an Anarch¡¯s skill. Know that anything left unattended will revert to Limbo¡¯s chaos,¡± explained Duurth. When they stopped moving, Duurth gestured to another brown-robed Githz¨¦rai. As thin and wiry as the rest, they were the first female Githz¨¦rai she¡¯d encountered. [Name: Domleha Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Wizard / Psion Level: 52 / 52 Health: 936 Mana: 39,312 Magic: 72 Defence: 154 Melee Attack Power: 64 Combat Skills: Dagger [Ad] (2), Staff [Ad] (5), Various Spell Forms - Affinities: Air, Fire, Water, Steam, Smoke. Details: Domleha grew up in the Githz¨¦rai city of Zerthimon¡¯s Rest. She won a position in the Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand at age sixteen to become a High Anarch. ] ¡±Know that I expect this platform to be maintained by you alone. Know that you will inform me when ready for it to be released entirely to your will,¡± stated Duurth before rising. As he did so, Julia followed, noticing Domleha¡¯s attention already fixed on the platform and a will far weaker than Duurth¡¯s was moving through its substance. Domleha¡¯s only response had been simply to bow to Duurth before her attention shifted to the platform still floating half a metre from the ground. ¡°Know I will assign you a room for your quiet meditations; we¡¯ll see if you should hope for any progress,¡± Duurth stated, addressing Julia again, his tone as sceptical as before. The Monastery was the same Escher structure Julia had seen from the outside. She followed Duurth up a set of stairs that twisted upside down at a landing. A normal-looking doorway at the stair¡¯s top let them into a building where they walked along the corridor¡¯s wall. It was a literal spiral staircase, each step being a wall tile, and as they moved onto it, the door closed behind them. Their path took them slowly higher into the tower with every turn before finally exiting into a normally orientated corridor. The walls possessed minimal decoration: only a subtle inlay of waves broke up the starkness. Sturdy looking tiles, all perfectly square, covered nearly everything including the eight doors along its length. Duurth directed Julia towards the first door with a glance. ¡°Know this will be your meditation and sleeping chamber for the short time you stay with us,¡± Duurth stated, his tone firmly convinced. ¡°So, my room for however long it is,¡± Julia replied, comforted somewhat by the lack of wards she¡¯d seen. The room¡¯s interior was stark, with a single stone bed, a desk and a stool. There was a chest at the bed¡¯s end, but neither bookcases nor decorations. The only other exit was a hinged window across from them, allowing a view of Limbo¡¯s maelstrom. ¡°Would it be alright if I send my friends a message? They should know of the breeding pens,¡± said Julia. ¡°Who are these friends you wish to inform?¡± Duurth enquired, and Julia suppressed a smile at the drollness in his sceptical tone. ¡°One is Torm, a Vargr Drangijaz in the service of Tyr, the Norse God of Justice on a world I¡¯ve visited.¡± Duurth tilted his head in thought as if Julia¡¯s words made little sense to him. ¡°A servant of a God of Light,¡± Julia stated, hoping that might draw recollection. ¡°Know your first lesson will start after you do so; warn them to stay away from him, we will deal with him,¡± replied Duurth, moving to sit on the stool. ¡°What knowledge do you have of Psions?¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Julia paused, remembering sci-fi stories with mind powers, but a shortlist was all that came to mind. ¡°They use mental powers instead of magic to: read thoughts, move objects, influence beings, see and hear things at a distance, predict the future, astral projection and more.¡± ¡°Know you are more aware than many; your nature itself will possess a challenge both to your learning and your mastery of such a path,¡± stated Duurth. ¡°What skills will I need to learn?¡± Julia asked, wondering if she could push things along with her skill points. ¡°Know that will depend on the path you pursue,¡± Duurth replied, looking bemused at her question. ¡°Could you please elaborate?¡± ¡°Know I will bring-,¡± Duurth hesitated as he responded but continuing changed tact. ¡°Can you read tir¡¯su script? Know books in the Monastery are only written in that fashion.¡± Julia checked her language list and as she unlocked Gith, she felt the familiar rush of awareness and understood what he meant by tir¡¯su. The writing style laid out the letters of each word in a circle, the pattern becoming clear as an understanding of them unfolded in her awareness. ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Julia reassured with a firm nod. ¡°Know your first task then is to enter my mind as you claimed you could,¡± stated Duurth, frowning as Julia¡¯s speech shifted from magical translation to native Gith. At least he¡¯s telling me to try, and I¡¯m not just butting in. ¡°I¡¯ll first cast Mercury¡¯s Whisper to let my friends know the information and your warning,¡± countered Julia. ¡°Yngvarr, I¡¯ve found a Monastery of the Githz¨¦rai; they¡¯re Monks, Wizards, and Psions. They¡¯ve offered to train me, including controlling my projection of spirit that makes me so eye-catching. I found a massive Slaadi breeding pen controlled by Yaro Yiyan, but the Githz¨¦rai will deal with the one who is maintaining it. Please stay safe as you can fighting in Asgard.¡± As she released the spell, she was aware of Duurth¡¯s concentration upon it as the Spatial Mana vanished away with the message. A response came within minutes, and Duurth¡¯s gaze fixed on the mote of energy whispering to Julia. ¡°Training! After ten years of constant fighting and training, you should have given yourself time to rest. So sweet of you to worry about Torm¡¯s safety, I mean our, yes, of course, our safety. We¡¯re not fighting in his home realm within Asgard, so he has no chance of permanent destruction. He has news but it¡¯s good news, thus it can wait; I want to see your face when you hear it. We¡¯ll pass on details about Yaro Yiyan¡¯s activities. Enjoy your training, though I¡¯m not passing notes in class for you.¡± With a mental eye-roll at the laughing tone in Yngvarr¡¯s message, Julia nodded politely to Duurth. ¡°I¡¯m ready to begin.¡± ¡°How do you sense my mind with your Power?¡± Duurth questioned, his posture perfectly composed. Telepathy¡¯s net provided a mental image of a black metal sphere when Julia stretched it toward him. ¡°A metal sphere as black as the Monastery¡¯s walls,¡± Julia answered after she checked around its boundary. ¡°Could you see no way inside?¡± Duurth asked confidently. ¡°It feels a solid and seamless sphere,¡± replied Julia cautiously, sure his abilities justified his self-assurance but aware of how recently such confidence had trapped Viper. ¡°Good, focus and try again.¡± Julia meditated then reached out with Telepathy and tried to perceive the details of the defence. After long minutes of examining it a simple door shimmered into view in its side. As bland as the door to her room, the simple hinged clapper hung on its middle, presented an unmistakable message. As she mentally reached out, the clapper moved without a touch, and Julia found herself inside a room. Glancing about the chamber, it was covered with detailed tapestries, with statues or engraving of dragons and fantastical creatures filling the gaps between them. Two plain chairs sat in the room¡¯s centre, an image of Duurth appeared gesturing for her to sit. Aware that she¡¯s in the hold of another mind, Julia sat carefully and hoped her mental protections would keep her secure. ¡°Know first you must determine a class, and then its path.¡± Julia heard his thoughts as though he¡¯d spoken aloud as he took the other seat in his mind, and more images appeared within. They were all presented as Githz¨¦rai, but the difference between them was clear. Glancing between each, as her attention flickered over them, the meaning of them became clear. Each was a Psion class and its paths for some the differences were slight, others they were more striking. Simple robed Psions stood beside Psychic Warriors their forged will empowering weapons and armour alike. Others had living creatures arrayed around them: giant figures made of ectoplasm, instead of Limbo¡¯s Chaos, guarded one figure, while the same ectoplasm wrapped another in living armour. A figure wielding a blade of pure thought drew Julia¡¯s amused interest before passing over it and others that were wrong for her and back to the robed Psion. As her attention passed by them, the figures disappeared, and a range of others came forth. One she dismissed at once, not needing its skill to shape her flesh, and travelling so much alone meant gaining powers to heal another¡¯s flesh seemed a waste. Julia dismissed ways that offered the most skills to enhance the abilities of others for the same reason. ¡°Which gives me the most ways to affect or trace teleporting?¡± ¡°Know either the general Psion Class or its Nomad¡¯s path will allow such,¡± replied Duurth, considering her for a moment. ¡±Know each path allows the fastest improvement of its focus; they still allow you to learn other skills but prevent their perfection.¡± ¡°So like everything, it¡¯s a tradeoff,¡± Julia concluded as she considered the impression she had gotten from it. ¡°Was I right in sensing it could move others across planes without moving yourself? I¡¯ve already got several Powers and Spells for such, this seems different.¡± ¡°Know its focus is on any form of travelling; it Skills and Powers focus on being able to affect anyone¡¯s movements.¡± Duurth¡¯s thoughts projected a stream of details to her about the Class. The strength of will involved increased her interest. Julia considered his words as he waited patiently and reconsidered the impression of the other options before deciding. ¡°The strength of the practitioner will enforce imagined alterations onto reality, slowing, speeding, preventing, and changing movements.¡± ¡°Know you have understood correctly.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to train as a Nomad, please,¡± Julia requested, directing her attention towards Duurth. Her plans involving enchantments to secure the Lady and others growing with the chance to hold them in place by her own will. ¡°Know that first, your ability to become a Psion needs to be confirmed.¡± It was hours before Duurth left with a promise to bring books before the next training session. Though Julia still hadn¡¯t understood how to unlock Psionic energy within herself, Duurth¡¯s sceptical attitude had lessened. A remark about the adequate state of her mind, spirit, and will had displayed a slight thawing in his ice. Shrinking to a tiny form, she practiced her martial arts in the minimal space allowed by the room.
Usd¡¯ghi PoV ¡°Lady Epoch¨¥, I fetched her as you instructed. Is there anything else you need?¡± Pela¡¯narni¡¯ghi¡¯s voice attracts my attention and I take in the disappointment as well. The words weren¡¯t necessary but I can hope the message in the planned delays is clear. I absently take in the ivory skin and void black hair as she follows Pela in. It''s pleasing to see she''s followed some instructions, at least since she''s hidden her tiara of horns away. Yet the straps she''s chosen as clothes make her appear as one of Set''s little pets, and that is not acceptable. Given how busy she''s been playing with everything and anyone, she''d best have remembered the rest. ¡°Double check Krila¡¯s ledgers. Any more information after the battle in Tern¨°x?¡± Not that I expect there to be, and we''ve already spent enough. ¡°No, your Ladyship. Should I have your agents continue the seeking?¡± Pel asked sceptically, and I agree with her assessment. ¡°We¡¯re just grinding the same stones. Instruct them to stay alert for new sightings, but no further expenditure for now. The other matters?¡± ¡°The Sisterhood has completed their withdrawal from ¨¤luga. Just under half the original members have vanished. They¡¯re still restructuring. The primary focus appears to be the search for J. There is no further expansion of the L¨®m?¡¯s grottos. Its tower remains sealed. The seekers have gathered the last of the Ascended Larvae. The destruction in.. ¡± I partly listen to the summaries, hoping that making her wait through a bell of increasingly dull snippets will show Viper her low place. At least I had hoped she¡¯d get the message, but her increasingly impatient shifting makes that seem unlikely. ¡°Tell me Viper, have you considered our last discussion properly?¡± The soft enquiry makes her wince as my sheers snip the thread. Yet the snarl stays tangled as it somehow remains intact. The strand merely shimmers like a ray of sunlight, unaffected as I cut it again. ¡°I¡¯ve learnt Mana Manipulation.¡± The dusk emerald explodes when it shatters on the floor before her; while the fragments draw sweet blood, it is more the sound that stills my rage. ¡°I will include the cost of that among the rest of your debts.¡± I¡¯d snatched it up and thrown it without a second thought. My remark seeks to buy time for us both to calm, but the impulsive nature of J¡¯s remains shows itself again. ¡°The vaults I¡¯ve filled will easily cover it,¡± objected Viper. ¡°You filled nothing! None of that belongs to you! SHE filled them, so after your failure, none of it is yours. She left you with nearly nothing! Then you wasted so much of what she left!¡± It¡¯s an effort to keep from screaming at the insipid fool my Herald has become. I¡¯ll not give her credit now for such riches. ¡°But Usd¡¯ghi-¡± Her sulky whisper stills as my spell¡¯s power steals her tongue, though the moist flesh fails to satisfy my mood. The black blood spat onto marble doesn¡¯t bother me, and my mood calms slightly as I consume her flesh. The tongue¡¯s flesh parts sweetly spilling blood across my tastebuds. ¡°Never interrupt me. The next time I ask a question, the words that follow best be in answer to it.¡± ¡°Of course." Flesh and bone striking the wall brings a pleasing echo as I rise, the power unleashed with barely a thought here in my Domain. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a question. Until you¡¯ve earned the right, you speak and exist only at my sufferance. We have a debt to Queen Mab because of your failings, so that is now all on you. Considering your Orc worshipers have all parted ways after J''s show of power, you¡¯ve even less to repay that debt. A new beginning for them all, one that required little difference in their respect, you let her allies steer your worshipper¡¯s beliefs. Some would rather follow Dwarven warrior Gods than the mewling waste of space that you are now.¡± A glance stills Viper¡¯s tongue though I could have done with another treat. The reduction in Powers and Skills below even the original true imprint I¡¯d taken from J grates against my nerves. J had never intoned her remaining Name to me, so I¡¯ve nothing to trace her by, only an impulsive child to manage as my Herald. Raging flares of unbridled Power consumed the thinnest of strands that had been left between us. ¡°Have you gained the Dominator Class as yet?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Viper¡¯s reply is sulky but following instructions at least is a start. ¡°Good.¡± The word snapped out and I still my anger before I speak again. ¡°You need to raise your Willpower out of the pit it¡¯s in. Speak to Pela¡¯narni¡¯ghi, she¡¯ll arrange your training. Consider our last conversation further, you clearly missed the point.¡± I don¡¯t watch her leave, but return to the strand as the door closes. The glowing strand shimmers again, its light reflecting off my shears as I repeatedly fail to cut it. Each attempt only seems to make the snarl around it worse, and I lay them aside. At least ¨´eqr?kas¡¯ rebuilding promises to turn a profit, and so many meeting their end provided quite a power boost. ¡°I backed the wrong side, yet even when she hurts my interests I find her helping in other ways.¡± The spell forms in a moment and I send instructions out. ¡°L¨ºdhins I have a job for you, your insult to me is forgiven. You can pick up the details from Viper¡¯s Hollow, ask for the new manager. Klipyl has departed seeking another benefactor, if you see her, end her.¡± Considering the imprint she''d taken from Viper on her arrival made her want to flay her again.
Name Viper True Name
Species Succubus Level 1/16
Shards 0/20
Home Plane Outlands
Progression Class Level Experience
Class 1: Queen of Planes 1 0 / 2000
Class 2: Assassin 104 4,905,395,230 / 5,400,000000
Class 3: Hunter 1 0 / 2000
Class 4: (Open) 0 0 / 2000
Defence 109
Melee Attack Power 212 Health 14,614
Attributes Un-allocated: 0
Strength 72 Faith 14
Endurance 84 Magic 222
Quickness 204 Pool: -
Intelligence 200 Mana 1904 Base: 1904 Multiplier: x1
Willpower 162
Charisma 125
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [No Tag] = Standard. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Abyssal [L](7), Acid [I] (6), Air (2), Chaos [L](6), Cold [I](16), Decay [I](5), Earth (12), Electricity (20), Fire [Im], Mana [I](11), Mental (M) [16], Mundane Materials [G] (1), Negative [I] (5), Poison (10), Primordial [L](1).
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept. [M] = Master. [S] = Senior Master. [G] = Grand Master
Powers Abyssal Adapability [M](10), Corruption (5), Death Strike [M](10), Demonic Pact (20), Dominion [J](40), Energy Drain [J](40), Flight [J](40), Greater Teleport [J](20), Planar Beacon (1), Planar Shift(Self) (4), Protean [M](4), Silent Kill [M](8), Stimulation [J](20), Telepathy [Ad](1), Tongues [J](2)
Skills
Active: Abyssal City Navigator (12), Acting [J](10), Agile [J](10), Alchemy [B](20), Analysis [B](10), Bite [J](40), Claws [Ad](10), Danger Sense [J](40), Erotic Dance [J](40), First Aid (1), Haggling [Ap](10), Inscribe (10), Intimidate [J](20), Leatherworking (5), Mental Hardening (20), Pain Tolerance [Ap](14), Perception [J](20), Planar Sense [Ap](20), Profile Control (1), Sense Motive [J](20), Stealth [J](10), Time Sense [Ap](10)
Knowledge: Abyssal Lore [J](40), Arcane [J](40), Demonic Lore [Ad](28), Devil Lore [Ad](10), Planar Lore [J](30), Planar Portals [J](18), Religious Lore [Ap](27), Rune Lore [Ap](26), Skill Lore [Ap](5), Ten Kingdoms History [Ap](2), Undead (15)
Bonus Points
Skill: 0
Knowledge: 54
Languages Abyssal, Br¨ªn Hand sign, High Elven, Infernal, Norse
Spells Lists
Affinities All
Title: Lady of the Burning Tempest, Reaper of Souls. Faith Tier: Minor Cult
Faith Caster: Head Priest V?rt¨¢l (Barbarian 37 / Priest 22)
Sects 2 Worlds 2
Largest World
Priest: 8 Centre:
Other: 2 Members: 423
Missionary: 0 Locations: 1
Allies Lady Epoch¨¥
Hair the colour of autumn moves in the breeze, as a honeyed skinned lady of ethereal Elven beauty nods politely to one held within eternal shadow. As she pays her respects a crystal trinket passes between their assistants. ¡°Well played Mab. Another game?¡± Words with an echoing of summer¡¯s warmth grow cold as they cross the distance between them. ¡°What did you have in mind Titania?¡± The reply is devoid of emotion, but lips within the shadow twists into a mockery of a smile.
Livia¡¯s PoV Auras shift in the changing light of dawn as I shadow box among the trees. Their energies provoked by shifting light and early spring winds dance in ways that challenge my ability to react. Darkness spears towards me as a push of wind against a massive branch causes aura and wood to crack. I roll aside as a few stray leaves brush past while the branch crashes down where I had been. The noise of its breaking and impact causing guards to call out in alarm. Its weight smashes into flagstones, and a metal fence screams. The impact showers me with dust and stones that fail to even bruise through the Ki I hold in my skin. As I dance away, danger shiver down my spine, surging winds causing more branches to fall in a rapid cascade yet none connect. ¡°Livia, are you alright?¡± Turning towards the speaker, I take in the aura energies of her presence and let my focus on them soften. My perception of them never fades but I long ago learnt to control it, as some show their truths brighter than others. As the hues about her ease in my sight, the physical textures become clearer, and I see she looks ready for battle. I don¡¯t know how she stands having all that metal on her: the helm, hauberk, gauntlets and even armoured boots. Where she sees protection, I see a truly ungainly weight. At least at this distance, I¡¯m not risking a crick in my neck from meeting her gaze. She¡¯s years younger, but her Norse blood ensures she¡¯s already taller. ¡°I¡¯m fine ¨¢str¨ªer, I didn¡¯t know you were on duty this morning.¡± At my words, her broad smile shows honest relief, and the tension in her feather grey gaze eases. With a fidgeting motion, she pushes the end of her braid back under her helm. Though the vibrant hair is such a wonderful contrast to the deep red of her aura. In my first life I would have envied the richness of its wonderful autumn red, and the golden highlights; now I know myself far better. ¡°I¡¯m not, just too excited. I tried to help prepare breakfast, but got shooed from the kitchen,¡± ¨¢str¨ªer replies, an honest answer and what her aura already showed me. ¡°Are you sure you and Gunnarr will stand as our sponsors for registering with the Adventurer¡¯s guild?¡± ¡°I¡¯d said I¡¯d adventure with you this season I wouldn¡¯t have offered if I wasn¡¯t.¡± I recognised the surge of pink among her hues at my answer, and I admit to myself it matches my happiness. Still she¡¯s so excited I try to moderate things and calm her tones; but then I am twenty-two to her seventeen, although I¡¯m told I act far older still. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. You know Uni will not be awake.¡± Even before I finish speaking, ¨¢str¨ªer¡¯s gaze is gleaming brighter. ¡°Oh, he¡¯ll be there! If he¡¯s not awake, Gunnarr will drag him out of bed and carry him,¡± said ¨¢str¨ªer firmly. Her smile still not having faded instead, the pink brightens in time with its widening. The image of the Uni bouncing about on Gunnarr¡¯s shoulder, likely wrapped in bedding, would be an amusing one to see. Then again, he approaches many things with an energy I delight in, and it explains why he left watching my practice early. ¡°We¡¯ll go shortly then.¡± Turning to the closest branch, I cease to wonder if their fall was an omen or coincidence with the words leaving my lips. The trees had seemed so healthy when my practice had begun. Now, besides losing branches, their auras have faded beyond what softening my perceptions should bring. The thought tries to shiver through my mind as I focus Ki Infusion to draw Mana, and I bring my fist down. Instead of breaking off a manageable piece as expected it explodes into ash. The Order I¡¯d drawn into flesh shattering against hidden Chaos, and the clash of forces unleashes destruction within the wood. ¡°Correction. There will be a delay in registering, I¡¯ll need to speak to High Justice Verdandi.¡± My tone stays calm, held within Harmony¡¯s embrace, my emotional balance unwavering even as I recognise cause for concern. ¡°Your Uncle Torm is away, isn¡¯t he?¡± asked ¨¢str¨ªer. Her cheery tone turning serious and grim as her aura wavers. ¡°Yes, along with Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Rana; they¡¯re off levelling.¡± A simple explanation is often best especially since I¡¯ve only been told about parts of the issues they face. Turning to ¨¢str¨ªer, I see relief conflict with concern on her face; a dark yellow within her aura blooms as her features grow tight with stress. The ash from the branches swirl, and then stills as the sudden gusts cease. ¡°Why?¡± I ask, glancing towards a final zephyr depositing ash against a Temple¡¯s fence. ¡°If he saw that, he¡¯d be wanting to tuck you away somewhere safe. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t intentionally destroy the branch that way. It felt wrong, and I¡¯ve never seen so many branches falling from gusts of wind. But now you tell me he isn¡¯t here, I¡¯m even more worried.¡± ¡°Felt wrong?¡± No one else sees auras as I do, yet even I hadn¡¯t felt direct wrongness from it, only a strangeness in its colours. ¡°Evil,¡± ¨¢str¨ªer hesitantly said, pausing as if the word, even carrying the weight she¡¯d conveyed in it, wasn¡¯t right. ¡°Not just Evil, it was Malicious, something within it wanted to harm you. It was no random thing someone set it against you, and didn¡¯t care if someone else might get hurt.¡± A gesture towards the broken fencing close to some of Frigga¡¯s guards certainly gives merit to her words. ¡°¨¢str¨ªer, now I really want to see what Class your registration shows for you.¡± 101 - One way or another ¡°Again please,¡± Julia requested, keeping her mind focused on Duurth¡¯s. Telepathy and Harmony hadn¡¯t yet provided Julia with the needed understanding. While Telepathy had allowed her within his mind, it was only at his invitation. His innermost thoughts were locked away, leaving Julia to wonder if the key was beyond what he¡¯d permitted her to see. ¡°Know I will try the last time this session, meditate on what you¡¯ve sensed today,¡± stated Duurth. ¡°Have you started on the spirit exercises I showed you yesterday?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Julia replied. ¡°I¡¯m still uncertain about how they feel.¡± ¡°Know those were only examples you¡¯ll need to reduce them to their essentials,¡± Duurth said, while the energy within his thoughts rushed by her. As she observed both physically and mentally, the table rose before flipping and lowering again. While each stage had a unique feel about it, the details remained opaque to her. With the table in place, Duurth stood from his perch by the window. ¡°How long will you give me to make a breakthrough?¡± asked Julia, hoping she had plenty of time left. ¡°Know that after three days, being able to sense my thoughts¡¯ energy is fast progress for a non-Githz¨¦rai,¡± replied Duurth, nodding before he departed. Meditation replayed the sensation of the energy she¡¯d observed, the force of it so different to Mana. It wasn¡¯t a pattern or a thread; instead, it was a wild rushing stream that swept onwards and left her untouched on the shore. ¡°Why can¡¯t I understand how this works?¡± Julia grumbled before focusing on her Mind Palace. The opaque platform she appeared on seemed to have grown lighter since her last visit. The black stone had changed again from the deep smoky grey; now, washed-out colour hints appeared to highlight a shape within the stone. Though whatever it was remained obscured within the material. ¡°Good afternoon Laodice,¡± Julia greeted, Spirit Bridge having opened a channel between them as Julia formed the thought. ¡°It is certainly afternoon on various worlds, though the concept doesn¡¯t exist in Limbo or many other Planes,¡± Laodice replied, and Julia was glad shouting was no longer required. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have any hints on Psion that you could impart?¡± enquired Julia hopefully. ¡°It is not a course that I ever ventured into exploring, though I know of non-Mortal Outsiders that practice it,¡± denied Laodice. ¡°Some non-Mortals are pure thought; you can find such on the Astral Plane.¡± ¡°So it is possible for me to learn?¡± Julia asked, smiling at the good news. Laodice was silent for a while before she responded, but Julia waited patiently. ¡°Child, you must walk your Path. Just as Duurth stated, you have made progress. You are seeking to observe a process from outside to gain an understanding of what occurs within. While an external viewpoint gives one perspective, it is not the most essential. You cannot truly know something by remaining outside its flow.¡± ¡°Did you ever need to restrain your spirit?¡± enquired Julia, after time spent considering the advice. ¡°Not all Father¡¯s servants possess my strength. There are those I needed to be careful around. I can¡¯t give you advice on the spirit exercises, other than that your course needs to be one where you have acceptance of it.¡± ¡°Rana and Torm have said similar things,¡± responded Julia, frowning in frustration. ¡°Then without the shroud of your Id interfering, perhaps you¡¯ll be able to progress towards it,¡± consoled Laodice. ¡°How am I still sane having lost my Id?¡± Julia questioned, raising a topic she¡¯d been reluctant to investigate. ¡°Julia, an Id is an aspect of a Mortal, the human mind, as I believed you understood when you sent her on her way. You are neither. Why do you apply a Mortal¡¯s fleshy restraints on what you have become? Physically you move past them so easily, accepting as you have been in the changing of your form,¡± chided Laodice. ¡°Look to do the same within. The focus of your Soul makes the reality of who you are, not your physical psychology. Though your recent life allows only one facet of your Soul to be expressed through the precepts of its understanding.¡± ¡°Thank you Laodice, and I hope you get free as well.¡± ¡°It will be as it will be. I have time for meditation as I wait.¡± The peacefulness in her reply earned a smile from Julia before she released Spirit Bridge. Her gaze settled on the platform as she considered it for a time. Where Julia had applied scientific expectations to slingshot Viper away, now she did the reverse. Instead of adjusting its course, she simply willed it to stop. The platform halted instantly, and Julia regarded the unmoving perspective of the sun and those constellations her position allowed. Another thought set it edgeways to the sun, allowing her to view more of the starry sky. Glimmering stars, some faint, others bright, spread out in a vast array within the darkness, forming constellations uniquely hers. Hints of faces, objects, even places shown in the blackness, drawing her gaze to trace each one. Though some overlapped in their patterns, Julia knew what stars belonged to each formation. ¡°My past lives forming images,¡± Julia murmured thoughtfully. ¡°I wonder if they¡¯re trying to guide me or just echoing their time.¡± Sitting on the disc¡¯s edge with feet hanging down into the void, Julia considered the exercises. All his examples had felt alien; they focused on forcing or constraining the spirit energy into a course of behaviour. As her feet dangled, a pleasurable memory came to mind. The platform grew steps of clear blue tiles that continued downwards and swept around it. Ten years creating devices for her plan had honed her imagination, now it made a sky pool hanging above the void. Crystal water slides plunged erratically from its edges before spiralling back to rejoin the pool. Her skypool frothed with energy as she allowed her spirit energy out. Instead of forcing or confining, she imagined it rushing through its own water park to play. The layout contained shallows for wading, deep calm lagoons, and both gentle and wild slides, so it had places to be itself in any moment. The ¡®water¡¯ undulated, causing erratic changes in depth with the concept of physics completely unheeded, and Julia accepted the energy would know its mood best. Even after her eyes opened Julia could still feel the energy within her Mind Palace. Its power was no longer rampaging wild but simply adding a healthy vibrance to her skin. It was an effect she hoped would no longer pressure minds into distraction. Turning her attention back to her Martial Arts, Julia began practicing. She left the energy unmonitored to test if it would stay playing in the amusement park she¡¯d made for it within.
When Duurth arrived for their session the next day, he regarded Julia cautiously as his gaze took her in. ¡°Know your pressure on the mind has lessened considerably; we¡¯ll see if you can maintain such through other practice. Come,¡± Duurth stated, leaving the room. Julia hurried to follow, glad after four days to be leaving the room¡¯s confines, even if it had a view. He led the way to a practice yard where rows of Githz¨¦rai Monks were sparring. The familiarity of a practice session broadened Julia¡¯s smile, though it faded into seriousness as they all stopped to bow to Duurth. Telepathy caught only the edge of interactions between them as the students formed a circle. ¡°Know you will exchange pointers with each student, and I will monitor the strength of spirit you project,¡± Duurth stated firmly. From his tone, Julia didn¡¯t need to phone a friend to know her other option - leave. Quick strides took her to the centre, and as the first student moved, Julia bowed before taking a neutral stance. The caution in his approach made it clear he was taking it seriously, but his inexperienced movements said enough. When he darted in to attack, Julia stepped aside with ease, and outside its arc, she struck. Fist, knee, and elbow impacted chest, side, and tapped face quickly before he could recover his balance. The light touches were still enough for him to know she¡¯d hit him. The student didn¡¯t argue but stepped away and bowed before returning to his spot. As he did so, Julia sensed the other students taking a greater interest in proceedings. As the exchanges continued, it became obvious they were approaching in seniority. Students started trying to use what they¡¯d seen occur with others, so Julia altered tactics for every one. One student rushed to overwhelm, but found her wrists seized. Pulled forward, and feet planted in her chest as Julia fell backwards, and legs straightened to toss her away. Julia cast with barely a thought and a Cat¡¯s Grace let the student land on her feet unhurt. When they completed the exchanges, Julia had found the hardest part had been avoiding hurting them. When the last student finished, Duurth dismissed them and joined her at the yard¡¯s centre. ¡°Know I detected no flutter of spirit, even when you cast to spare one¡¯s pride,¡± observed Duurth. ¡°I didn¡¯t wish her to risk injury merely for a demonstration,¡± stated Julia with a wry smile. ¡°Know that one shouldn¡¯t fight if one cannot take a fall,¡± Duurth scolded lightly, and Julia shook her head. ¡°Knowing how to fall doesn¡¯t mean you need to do so,¡± countered Julia. ¡°Why should you have to fall if an ally present can save you?¡± ¡°You would count yourself an ally to us?¡± asked Duurth, clearly surprised by Julia¡¯s assertion. ¡°You¡¯re not my enemy, and I have respect for your people¡¯s discipline; I also appreciate you teaching me, Master Duurth,¡± Julia stated, bowing to reinforce her words. ¡°You have not yet achieved a Psion Class,¡± argued Duurth, his surprise turning to confusion. ¡°Even if I never do, you¡¯ve provided guidance to me about my spirit strength. My success with that is more than I could have hoped for,¡± Julia responded honestly, smiling at the confused Duurth. ¡°While the examples themselves weren¡¯t the method I used, they made me think, and that helped me find my way. I¡¯ll always be happy to consider at least lending a hand.¡± ¡°You make no promises?¡± ¡°How could I honestly promise unconditionally?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Life changes. I will always do what I can to help your Monastery while it remains worthy of aid.¡± ¡°Know I acknowledge the wisdom,¡± Duurth stated. An appreciative nod followed his words, catching Julia by surprise. ¡°Know I¡¯ll show you the library¡¯s location and the section on the Slaadi. Know it¡¯s now your choice if your study occurs in the library or room; when you don¡¯t have a practice session.¡±
¡°Would you allow an exchange of pointers?¡± Julia glanced up at the words and found a male Githz¨¦rai standing near her study table. It took her a moment to recognise Niarna, though she hadn¡¯t officially learned many names. The only noticeable difference between many Githz¨¦rai were hair, clothing style or the markings on their skin. The similar features, build, and narrow range of eye colours had taken a bit of getting used to in the week since they¡¯d freed her from confinement. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate the practice, Niarna,¡± Julia replied, enjoying the startled look as she said his name. ¡°Know I was unaware you knew my name. Is it correct you¡¯re named Eakc??¡± asked Niarna, his words holding a formality about them. ¡°That is correct. Should I return this book to the shelf?¡± enquired Julia, as she noted the page number. ¡°Know that would make the Anarch¡¯s duty easier,¡± Niarna stated, giving her a nod. ¡°Know I appreciate your acceptance; you have a unique style, and I look forward to the challenge sparring will provide.¡± ¡°While I¡¯m here, just let me know when you¡¯d like to practice,¡± Julia answered, sliding the book back into position. ¡°It¡¯s good to fight against different styles.¡± ¡°How long are you expected to remain?¡± enquired Niarna as he led the way, though Julia recognised the path to a practice yard. ¡°Until I wear out Duurth¡¯s patience, it seems. I¡¯ve not managed a Psionic breakthrough, even if holding my spirit in check has gone well,¡± responded Julia. ¡°Know it can take even Githz¨¦rai youth months to learn proper control over their natural skills,¡± Niarna said, his tone encouraging. ¡°Duurth hadn¡¯t been kind enough to mention that information,¡± Julia remarked, wondering what else they¡¯d hidden in subtle ways. ¡°Know the Masters often allow one to find their own truths, if one doesn¡¯t ask the expected question,¡± Niarna responded. The casual shrug he offered reminding Julia of university students. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. I guess I needed to ask more precisely about the time limit. ¡°Do you follow the Kineticist¡¯s path, Niarna?¡± Julia asked. ¡°Know that is correct. I displayed the skill even before crawling, yet my mind finds the other skills difficult,¡± replied Niarna, his tone unconcerned. ¡°Do you incorporate your Psion techniques into your fighting style?¡± ¡°Why would one not? Though the extra energy within a punch is useless if one can¡¯t hit,¡± Niarna responded, the absence of the leading ¡®know¡¯, amusing Julia. Is it because it was a clarification to his answer? Know their rules I do not. You¡¯d think unlocking the language would give me the grammar as well - I demand an upgrade. . . Nothing? Guess it¡¯s my choice how I speak. The private exchange of pointers turned into an event as other students stopped to observe. He¡¯d clearly spoken to the other students, as Niarna was ready for her erratic tactics. Barriers of thought slowed her attacks and repositioning. After the second time, Julia focused on his reactions, noting the little tells that spoke of defences or obstacles being placed. Though carrying the energy of his mind, his attacks didn¡¯t breach the combination of her Ki and swift reflexes. Restrained by the friendliness of their contest Julia drew out the match, but when he tired she shut him down. Pinned to the ground, it was only when Niarna tapped out that Julia relented and helped him to his feet. ¡°Would you allow me an exchange?¡± snapped another Githz¨¦rai, even as Julia finished helping Niarna to his feet. The tone wasn¡¯t close to a request, and Julia glanced towards its demanding source. The posture of the female Githz¨¦rai was confident but held a certain arrogance about it. Her angular features had a fine meshwork of scars along her left cheek. While she¡¯d styled her hair differently from others, having pulled it back into a braided, almost dreadlock look¡ªit didn¡¯t suit her. The deep-set frosty blue gaze locked challengingly on Julia, as if impatient for her to accept. [Name: ?daka Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Psion Ascetic / Monk / Nomad Level: 18 / 18 / 18 Health: 3,808 Defence: 303 Ki: 1,630 Melee Attack Power: 209 (418) Combat Skills: Zerthi [S](6), Metacreativity [S] (10), Psychoportation [S] (12), Psychometabolism [S] (10), Telekinesis [M](87), Telepathy [M] (78) Details: ?daka graduated as a Master of the Monastery of Will¡¯s hand at twenty. The Psion Ascetic Prestige Class is available from combining Monk and Psion at level 70. ] [Analysis [S] (11->12)] So this time around she¡¯s focusing her Psionics, or do all Psion paths count the same for a Prestige Class? ¡°No. I¡¯m returning to my studies,¡± Julia said, shaking her head in disagreement. ¡°When?¡± demanded ?daka, her gazing narrowing at Julia¡¯s refusal. ¡°Perhaps when you learn to actually ask. Don¡¯t expect that I¡¯ll be agreeing to your politely worded demand,¡± replied Julia. ¡°Know you are a guest here,¡± stated ?daka. ¡°I know how I¡¯d treat a guest,¡± retorted Julia, before returning to the library.
Julia was happy to be alone studying, glad the library was a haven from disturbance. Duurth¡¯s first comments at their next session quickly put paid to her hope that the fuss would die down. ¡°Know that ?daka complained to the council about your behaviour in the sparring area,¡± Duurth stated. ¡°She assumed I would follow her demand for an exchange. I refused. Then she demanded an answer; I clarified why I said no, then I left,¡± Julia replied, giving an unconcerned shrug. ¡°Know that you should be careful about rising to any provocations she will direct at you,¡± cautioned Duurth, after considering her words. ¡°I¡¯d already figured that out,¡± agreed Julia. ¡°Shall we begin?¡± When the Duurth¡¯s power rushed by her, leaving her clueless yet again, Julia considered options for a moment before she spoke. ¡°Do you have an effect that you have to maintain?¡± Julia asked, ¡°The flipping of the table happens fairly fast.¡± ¡°Know I shall reduce the light within the room,¡± Duurth stated. Julia felt the power reach outwards moments later and continued. As she tried to observe the energy, it swept by, as before too quick to understand. With nothing having changed, Julia held onto Harmony and let her thoughts fall into the power. Buffeted out of Duurth¡¯s mind, she felt her awareness carried around the room, as his thoughts projected in a net. The net stole energy from the room¡¯s light, dimming it and projecting the gathered energy away into nearby stonework. Her awareness looped the room, on every pass through the net she could feel the press of Duurth¡¯s consciousness interacting with reality to change the distribution of energy. Snippets plucked from the air¡¯s molecules unceasingly passed into the stone. It wasn¡¯t clear if that was how the power worked or simply how Julia¡¯s mind translated things. As she tried to reach out from the stream, awareness brushed a mote of light. When the power surged through her, a notification and stabbing pain jarred her thoughts back into her body. [Power: Psi Unlocked! Psi (1) Cryptic Unlocked! Psion Class Unlocked! Psychic Warrior Unlocked! Shaper Unlocked! Soul Knife Unlocked! Tactician Unlocked! Wilder Unlocked! ] Select Psion [Psion Class selected - please select Path: Seer Kineticists Shaper Egoist Nomad Telepath Generalist ] I might set my foundations too narrow if I followed my original plan. Plus, the risk I took with being unsure about healing ?as¨¨l¨¤ twists my stomach even now. If something had gone wrong, how would I have explained to the others from Silver Tree? Select Generalist [Psi Path set to Generalist Skill: Psi Focus Unlocked! Focus overridden by Harmony, Skill absorbed. Psi Pool Unlocked! Skills unlocked at level one (1):
  • Clairsentience
  • Metacreativity
  • Psychometabolism
  • Psychoportation
  • Telekinesis
  • Telepathy
Psi Path bonus applied to Skills: Clairsentience (1 -> 3) Metacreativity (1 -> 3) Psychometabolism (1 -> 3) Psychoportation (1 -> 3) Telekinesis (1 -> 3) All Psi Skills have the standard chance to gain insights. All Psi Skills now set to a maximum of [S] (30) Skill: Telepathy absorbed by Power: Telepathy Power: Telepathy evolved to Advanced Telepathy Advanced Telepathy Level reset to [Ad] (1) Advanced Telepathy now set to a maximum of [S] (30) Advanced Telepathy range is currently ten kilometres. Attribute Adjustments: +1 Intelligence per Level +1 Melee Attack Power per two Levels +1 Defence per two levels +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22 ] A spike of pain drove her back, eyes suddenly and strangely sensitive to the dimmed light that made her wince. ¡°Are congratulations in order, Nomad?¡± ¡°Yes, but I picked Generalist rather than restrict my abilities. I wanted to keep my options open,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Know you have my congratulations, Psion, very well done indeed. Know I had expected you to take months at least, not weeks,¡± stated Duurth. Now you tell me! ¡°Know that tomorrow we shall begin with the basics.¡± When Duurth rose, he gave the first friendly smile she¡¯d seen from him and left her to recover. Time to make some other decisions. When Julia focused on the Profile¡¯s Class section, the long list she¡¯d gained appeared again with fresh additions. Although some of them were unpleasant, it was pleasing to see many of them. [Base Classes available for selection: Arcane Paragon Ascetic Monk Assassin Brute Commander Crafter Cryptic Dancer Demon Slayer Demon Master Dominator Escort Elementalist Enchanter Executioner Fighter Gladiator Grave Digger Grim Reaper Hunter Ka Master Kaze Master Leather Worker Librarian Merchant Miza Master Monk Mortician Necromancer Nightblade Priest Psychic Warrior Reaver Sage Scout Sora Master Sorcerer Soul Knife Spymaster Tactician Tsuchi Master Thief Thug Torturer Undead Slayer Warrior Warrior Monk Wilder Wizard ] Escort, seriously? Just because I stepped on ??th¡¯pl during that caravan trip to Tern¨°x. Dancer, hm fine, that¡¯s on me, but still not sure how I got Gladiator. Grave Digger and Mortician? They were undead not dead, or does post-undead count? At least it didn¡¯t give me leg breaker. DON¡¯T YOU DARE! Stupid System! [Gladiator: Fighters skilled in battling for another¡¯s entertainment and profit. These individuals fight with minimal armour and use their combat style to improve their defence instead. Even when using lethal weapons they can elect to subdue foes so that they might live for the next show.] This one is tempting to up my defence. Can only figure they scried me personally instead of the Necropolis in the general using that window Usd¡¯ghi showed me? Or was it Viper getting off, watching through my eyes? Hard to scry doesn¡¯t mean impossible. Need to remember that, wonder if she scried for the Sigil as well? [Warrior Monk: These Monks focus on the martial arts. While Ki Strike and Ki Armour continues to progress, other Ki Arts gain fewer insights. They gain increased progress in their Melee Attack Power and Defence, because of their focus on physically engaging foes. This base class is only available after combining Monk into a Prestige Class and having gained multiple combat achievements.] [Ascetic Monk: These Monks focus on the mystical arts of Ki. Their insights into physical combat skills slow while insights into the Ki Arts increase. Additional Ki Arts are unlocked as this class increases in level. They delve into mysteries that brush the boundary of the arcane, where flesh and mana become one. This base class is only available after combining Monk into a Prestige Class and having gained multiple arcane achievements.] [Tsuchi Master: These Monks use the empowerment of Ki to emulate the principles of earth. Inspired by it, they strike with the power of an avalanche, stand firm against crashing waves, untouched by scouring wind, and forged by infernos. This base class is only available after combining Monk into a Prestige Class and having gained Affinity: Earth. ] Mizu is water, Ka is Fire, and Kaze is wind, but similar implications. I still think Master Farhad must have been a Kaze Master at some point, given his air step technique. Sora is still my favourite among them. [Sora Master: These Monks use the empowerment of Ki to emulate the Heavens. They connect to the essence of all around them, reacting instinctively to danger and opportunity alike. The earth may rumble, fire rage, wind scour, and water drown, but after all has passed the Heavens remain and are aware. This base class is only available after combining Monk into a Prestige Class of Tier four or higher and having gained: Air, Earth, Wind, Fire, and Jade Court Mana. ] Still, some of them are like a mini-Prestige Class having more requirements. I want a Monk class and Sora seems to have the most requirements amongst them. Select Sora Master [ Increases chance of gaining insights in:
  • Soul Sight
  • Harmony
  • Zen State
Increased chance of critical Insights applied to all Ki Skills. Attribute Adjustments: +1 Charisma per Level +1 Willpower per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22 +1 Melee Attack Power per Level +3 Defence per Level +1 Ki per Level Increased Ki Recovery Defence bonus gained relational to increases of Willpower ] Oh! So glad I didn¡¯t take Gladiator for defence. Like I need Charisma increasing, I guess it matches to spirit as Duurth told me. Though if Psion and Sora cover mind and spirit, let¡¯s do this: Select Warrior Monk [ Attribute Adjustments: +1 Endurance per Level +1 Willpower per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four level post level 22 +2 Melee Attack Power per Level +2 Defence per Level +1 Ki per two Levels Increased Insights into Primary Combat Style (Silent Storm) Decreased insights into Ki Skills excluded Ki Strike and Ki Armour (Aspect neutralised by Sora Master Class) Increased insights into following skills
  • Climb (Increased insights applied to Agile)
  • Fortitude (Increased insights applied to Protean)
  • Swim (Increased insights applied to Agile) ]
As she finished the selections, Julia felt the Ki currents within her shift as her pool deepened and the mists swirled. Sora neutralised the downside of Warrior Monk, glad that risk paid off. Mind, Body, and Spirit are all covered. Hopefully, these get me a strong Prestige Class. Looking at her Profile again, Julia used Analysis on Fallen in the Class list. [Fallen Attribute Increases: +6 Strength per Level +6 Charisma per Level +4 Free Attribute Points per Level +4 Magic Rating per Level +4 Melee Attack Power per Level +4 Defence Rating per Level Increased insight gain into following:
  • Combat Skill(s)
  • Knowledge Skills
  • Planar related Powers and Skills.
] That explains why my Profile has been jumping faster than explained by Scion.
¡°Know I will have that exchange now,¡± ?daka snapped, amusing Julia that she didn¡¯t offer a fake question again. ¡°Why are you not getting to your feet, student?¡± ¡°When I¡¯m good and ready, grumpy bum,¡± Julia said, affecting a yawn. The mental effort from her training had been slowly easing from her interrupted meditation. ¡°Know you make a mockery of our customs,¡± ?daka said. ¡°Know that as you are a student, you have no right to refuse such an order from me.¡± Pot meet kettle? ¡°You¡¯re not my master, and I¡¯m being taught as a thank you,¡± replied Julia, making no move to rise. ¡°I¡¯ll get up when I¡¯m ready, and it won¡¯t be for an exchange.¡± ¡°Know for whatever reason you shelter here; you still need to follow our rules. Know all students here need to obey the Monastery¡¯s Masters,¡± snarled ?daka, in outrage. ¡°The only condition stated was learning control of my spirit. When Master Duurth tells me otherwise, I¡¯ll listen. I¡¯m certain that whether you win or lose, you¡¯ll be sore about an exchange, so leave it be,¡± Julia said. As she closed her eyes, she continued to observe her with True Sight. Did I put that diplomatically enough? Maybe I should have added a ¡®know¡¯. ¡°How can you think you¡¯d win after the struggle you had with guard novice Niarna?¡± ?daka retorted contemptuously. Within Zen State, Julia swayed aside as a rock flew towards the back of her skull. Snatching the stone from the air, she crushed it to dust. [Zen State [S] (7->8)] ¡°Don¡¯t you know it¡¯s rude to throw rocks?¡± quipped Julia, letting the dust drizzle from her hand. ¡°Know I saw your practice; you are no longer a guest but a student who needs to learn her place in seniority,¡± ?daka said, her tone unrelenting. Really? I thought she was a graduated Master, not the head cheerleader. ¡°So what happens if I win?¡± ¡°How can you believe such foolishness, Elf?¡± sneered ?daka, as her hands clenched, stance shifted aggressively. ¡°Know Eakc? is my guest, not a student of the Monastery,¡± Duurth interjected, having appeared nearby reacting as if he¡¯d been listening all along. ¡°How can this be within the Monastery¡¯s rules?¡± ?daka demanded, knuckles whitening from the strain in her fists. ¡°Know it is; your father agreed, as did the rest of the council,¡± stated Duurth, his tone hardening. ¡°Do you wish a list of the precedences?¡± ¡°So I don¡¯t have to answer her requests?¡± enquired Julia, opening her eyes to regard Duurth. ¡°Were you planning to do so?¡± Duurth asked, directing his attention solely to Julia. ¡°No, I¡¯ve had no plan to encourage her stupidity, but she needs a lesson,¡± replied Julia, giving ?daka a sweet smile as she flowed upright. ¡°Are you ready ?daka?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll always be ready to deal with someone like you,¡± ?daka sneered, the contempt twisting her features unpleasantly. ¡°By the way ?daka, there is one thing you should know.¡± Julia stated. ¡°What is there that someone like you could teach me?¡± asked ?daka mockingly as she raised her hands. ¡°I am not left-handed.¡± The contemptuous expression on ?daka face became confused as Julia struck. A force tried to divert the strike, but the punch still impacted ?daka cleanly. The blow hitting exactly where Julia had intended, just beneath ?daka¡¯s sternum. Ki rippled through ?daka¡¯s body, following Julia¡¯s intent even as it breached her defence. Julia¡¯s Ki energy muffled what, by all rights, should have been a lethal blow, but it still rendered her insensible. It had been a burst of sudden violence that left observers startled, and Julia ignored the notification from Death Strike¡¯s critical. [ Foe Subdual Success: Foe: ?daka - Psion Ascetic / Monk / Nomad - Level: 18 / 18 / 18 7,688 experience gained: Total experience distributed between classes: 7,688 Fallen: 1,537 Scion: 1,537 Psion: 1,537 Sora Master: 1,537 Warrior Monk: 1,537 Death Strike [M](9->10) ] ¡°Know that you hit her with your left hand,¡± Duurth said, equal parts puzzled and concerned. ¡°She should keep that in mind,¡± Julia said. ¡°I don¡¯t think she¡¯s able to continue her grudge just yet.¡± With an assessing look at ?daka, who was still trying to breathe correctly, Julia bowed to Duurth before walking away. As she headed out of the training yard, Julia ignored the glances darting between those present. That¡¯s doesn¡¯t look quite right - hmm, it rounded down, bastard. If only she¡¯d been tough enough to a get level; It might have been worth the trouble this will bring. However, it was an upgrade to Death Strike. 102 - Stone Duurth sat down abruptly near Julia¡¯s position in the library. Still, it only earned him a glance. ¡°Let me guess, she protested about her breathing lesson earlier?¡± asked Julia, wanting to roll her eyes. Duurth gave her a puzzled look before he responded to her query with his own. ¡°You expected her to do so yet hit her regardless?¡± ¡°I was certain she¡¯d run off to her dad or a council official. She complained about me walking away; getting incapacitated would send her running to someone for sure.¡± ¡°If you noticed that detail, why did you still strike her?¡± Duurth asked, staring at Julia as if she¡¯d sprouted a second head. Yeah, whatever, don¡¯t stare at me that way. Julia held up her hands in a calming gesture at his unexpected display of emotion. ¡°Were you there for the whole thing? You just showed up and spoke like you knew everything. That aside, I know you heard me ask if she was ready. She¡¯d ordered me to exchange pointers, then said I was mocking your customs when I refused. My pointer to her was: don¡¯t go poking people that scare you. I can advise her from personal experience it doesn¡¯t end well. ¡± Julia suppressed a shiver as she pushed the thought aside. ¡°Know her father wishes to see you regarding the matter,¡± said Duurth, his normally calm face furrowed with obvious concern. ¡°What now?¡± Julia asked, grimacing at his expression. ¡°Master Duurth, did I cause you trouble?¡± ¡°Know that you are my guest, and others raised concerns following the scene,¡± replied Duurth, the apprehension in his face creeping into his tone. ¡°Know I would appreciate it if you talked with her father and settled this calmly; I, however, am not invited to the discussion.¡± Oh! ¡°I¡¯ll do the best I can to avert trouble for you, but I can¡¯t force their decision,¡± Julia declared, struggling to be reassuring. ¡°If she is present, will you avoid hitting her?¡± Duurth questioned, his fingertips skimming the table¡¯s surface. ¡°Do you expect she¡¯d call for an exchange in his rooms?¡± asked Julia. While she held the laughter from her response, it didn¡¯t stop her lips from twitching. ¡°Know I didn¡¯t expect her to pursue you as she did today,¡± grumbled Duurth, making it apparent to Julia she wasn¡¯t to blame for all his obvious distress. ¡°My apologies for upsetting you, that was not my intent. ?daka seems to assume she¡¯s allowed to shove me around. Others have ordered and enslaved me, and I wanted to establish I wouldn¡¯t accept it from her,¡± explained Julia, bowing in apology. ¡°Know that a path through rough terrain doesn¡¯t become any smoother by breaking rocks away from your course,¡± Duurth said, as the anxiety lessened from his voice and posture. ¡°What time is the interview?¡± asked Julia, wondering if she needed to rush off to a meeting. ¡°Know that someone will show you to his apartment when it is time.¡± Duurth rose and vanished, but Julia couldn¡¯t bring herself to return to her studies immediately. * * * When an acknowledgement came from within, the guide ushered Julia inside. Like other parts of the Monastery, it held only modest furniture and minimalistic decorations. Otherwise perfect squares might possess a hint of colour or the impression of a natural stone. Subtle hints to catch the eye and steer it along to another spot slightly out of place in the perfections of the Monastery¡¯s architecture. The room¡¯s only occupant was sitting peacefully, his gaze on Julia as she took in the chamber. An older Githz¨¦rai, Master Jarith? still appeared younger than Duurth. His hair was a mixture of deep brunette mixed with streaks of silver. While he had the same severe angularity present in his gaunt features, his skin tone was a deeper yellow, and he wore black though equally plain robes. ¡°Would you sit?¡± Jarith? asked, his tone inviting her acceptance and not ordering. A backless chair appeared in a press of will as he motioned towards where he¡¯d formed it. Analysis [Name: Jarith? Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: High Anarch / Grand Anarch / Enlightened Anarch/ Psion Paramount Details: Descended from one of the three founders of the Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand, Jarith?¡¯s family is the only linage that has kept unbroken involvement.] A friendlier welcome than I was expecting. The chair was plain stone to Julia¡¯s senses, and she didn¡¯t hesitate to accept his invitation. Jarith? didn¡¯t appear inclined to speak immediately but sat watching her, and Julia waited for the silence to be broken. ¡°Know that you are very noisy for a new arrival, and have created many eddies in our quiet pool,¡± Jarith? stated finally. ¡°If water isn¡¯t refreshed and stirred, it grows stagnant, which is bad for those dependent on it,¡± countered Julia, trying to gauge his intent. ¡°Would you teach my offspring?¡± enquired Jarith?, the question falling into the silence as Julia raised an eyebrow in disbelief. ¡°If you mean ?daka, no I won¡¯t,¡± Julia said, her amiable smile disappearing with the firmness of her statement. The silence returned for long minutes, and Julia let it deepen to avoid weakening her refusal, but Jarith? seemed undisturbed. ¡°Are you certain?¡± asked Jarith? softly, but Julia could gauge nothing of his mood. ¡°Very. My apologies if this is blunt, but ?daka was rude, contemptuous, and demanding,¡± Julia stated firmly but respectfully, bowing apologetically. ¡°Your daughter gave no sign she was seeking to learn. Rather she merely behaved as if she wanted to shove me around and prove her seniority.¡± When she finished talking, Jarith? bowed and lapsed into silence. ¡°Know that is good, I was worried you¡¯d pander to such a request.¡± Jarith? finally remarked. ¡°Glad I passed your little test then,¡± responded Julia dryly, still trying to get a sense of him. ¡°Know though the council are equals, some will seek favour, even with actions unrequested and made that request I¡¯ve passed along,¡± Jarith? stated, producing a slight shrug. ¡°Know I have only two questions: How did you come to wear a Demon¡¯s sigil? What knowledge do you possess of the Spawning Stone?¡° Guess he sees through the spell hiding it. ¡°Baln¨¦rith forced the Sigil on me, an old Fallen. As for the Spawning Stone, only what I¡¯ve learnt from your library and what I¡¯ve told Duurth. It started acting oddly at least three years ago, fertilising eggs faster than it should. Since then, Slaadi have been attacking a Plane called Asgard for hosts. Certainly, the breeding pens from my reading were unusual, but I don¡¯t know what they have planned or what entities are involved,¡± said Julia, noting his lack of surprise. ¡°Know I will cast a spell of scrying to show you the Spawning Stone; it moves endlessly in Limbo¡¯s flows of Chaos,¡± said Jarith?. A moment later, True Sight showed Julia a glimpse of the spell¡¯s Chaos Mana before an image came between them. The magic hadn¡¯t been a single spell form, rather two woven together, an illusion displaying the results of his scrying. The image presented a perfectly shaped orb larger than her torso, with motes moving around it and tendrils of energy emanating from it. Once Julia recognised the motes as fully grown Slaadi, the extent of its size was clear. When she increased her vision further, an object within a large energy conflux drew attention. ¡°Are you able to re-focus on that energy convergence above the Spawning Stone?¡± Julia asked, gesturing towards the spot that had caught her interest. The focus shifted, and Julia observed the bloated slug-like shape with distaste. Floating in Limbo¡¯s Chaos the Altar of Set looked as obscene as the first time Julia had seen it. Broken chains that Alfarr had severed still hung from the stone base, allowing little doubt it was the same one. Intense flows of Chaos rippled through it, and from the altar more flows looped back to the Spawning Stone. ¡°Know your expression shows you know what that is,¡± declared Jarith? Julia didn¡¯t hesitate but nodded before she fully explained. ¡°It¡¯s an altar of a dark power named Set that was fed the energy of a Celestial,¡± Julia replied, noting how the Slaadi appeared to be keeping their distance. ¡°The altar at some point gained intelligence and power. How do you scry through Chaos?¡± Usd¡¯ghi said it still existed in the Chaos between the outer and inner Planes. Does Limbo¡¯s reach extend between all of them? Now I¡¯m going to get to tell Yngvarr, Alfarr and Verdandi that for once it¡¯s their mess, not mine. ¡°Know that it requires spells specifically attuned to Chaos; enchanted objects will not hold together,¡± Jarith? explained as he let the spell end. ¡°Did it appear as if the altar was strengthening the Chaos flows to you?¡± ¡°It seemed so but Set has a strong association with Chaos and Destruction,¡± Julia explained, her concerned gaze meeting Jarith?¡¯s own. ¡°Know I thank you for your time,¡± said Jarith?, and nodded politely. As Julia stood, he spoke again, making her pause in mid-motion. ¡°Know that her animosity is grief augmented, but I see the fault to be hers for letting such emotions mar her behaviour. Know that since we¡¯ve spoken for so long, and I¡¯ve not dismissed you from the Monastery, others will assume what they will assume. Will you allow them the folly of assumptions?¡± Grief? Darn it! Why couldn¡¯t she just fit into the bitch stereotype? ¡°We have to learn our own truths. I¡¯ll keep both in mind if ?daka¡¯s tries to provoke me further,¡± Julia responded, nodding politely before leaving him to his thoughts. I shouldn¡¯t have to keep it in mind. I shouldn¡¯t be one to judge on appearance, but I don¡¯t enjoy looking at everyone with Soul Sight, it¡¯s always revealing too many personal things. He¡¯s not interested in politics and is content to use appearance to let others waste their energy chasing their own tails. Within her room, Julia sent a message to Yngvarr as she wondered what he¡¯d make of what she¡¯d learned. ¡°The Altar of Set that had imprisoned Rana is in a conflux of energies near the Slaadi¡¯s Spawning Stone. Loops of energy go between it and the altar.¡± It was only a few minutes of waiting before a message returned from Yngvarr. His tone was carried by the spell, echoing the concern Julia felt. ¡°We should meet and discuss. It will take us a few days to get support to cover our area. Meet us outside Xaos, where the Spire road hits the first foothills.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. The tone of Yngvarr¡¯s words still didn¡¯t stop Julia from having a request of her own, one that contained a grumble. ¡°You better bring Torm along. I¡¯ve been dying to hear his good news.¡± * * * Even focused on the strike plate, Julia noticed ?daka¡¯s approach. The will that maintained the training yard was continually reforming it and Julia was racing against the effect. When Julia made a hole, she stepped away to regard ?daka. ¡°Know they instructed me to give apologies for my misconduct,¡± ?daka begrudgingly offered. Her posture was as stiff as her words, and Julia noted her rigidity and the angrily clenched hands. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in an apology they ordered you to give,¡± returned Julia before softening her tone. ¡°Though I¡¯m sorry for your loss, with how you behaved to other students and myself, I¡¯m not sorry for punching you.¡± Julia observed as the muscles in ?daka¡¯s jaw flexed in suppressed rage. ¡°If you will not receive my apology, what is it I must do?¡± asked ?daka. ¡°Forced apologies are pointless,¡± said Julia. As ?daka¡¯s fists tightened in frustration, Julia continued. ¡°Perhaps try to see your behaviour towards others from our perspective. Then consider: would you accept someone acting that way towards you?¡± ?daka fidgeted as she fought to keep an outburst contained, and only after she calmed slightly did she speak again. ¡°What did your left-handed statement mean?¡± Julia turned away to strike with her right fist and obliterated her restored target. As the steel¡¯s ash showered down, she turned back to ?daka. ¡°Statements and actions can have many meanings. I¡¯d suggest you add that to the list to think about.¡± ¡°Why won¡¯t you just tell me?¡± ?daka growled. From her expression it was clear to Julia that the harshness was born of frustration, not anger. ¡°What is the point of giving you an answer you are unlikely to accept?¡± Julia retorted, fighting the urge to roll her eyes. ¡°Often people don¡¯t value free things. It''s only if they¡¯ve earned them that they possess significant meaning. Isn¡¯t that why the Masters here let students find their own truths?¡± Julia moved to another strike plate and resumed her practice, wrapping telekinetic force around attacks. ¡°Would you allow me to assist your practice?¡± ?daka offered, and a glance showed her posture relaxing. ¡°Genuine help is always welcome,¡± Julia remarked before continuing her attacks. ?daka initial mutter was too low for Julia to catch, but she spoke clearly as she moved towards a different strike plate. ¡°Know that I dislike Elves.¡± ¡°Then you should know I¡¯m not an Elf. Are you able to be nice?¡± replied Julia. ¡°Something else to consider.¡± * * * It had been a crush to understand ways to apply each of the Psi skills in the three days she¡¯d waited. It was a mentally exhausted Julia who relaxed, hidden by the grass, waiting for the others. Various sounds from the woods nearby made for a relaxing vibe to enjoy the Outlands¡¯ eternal spring sunlight. Enjoying the energy, she watched the clouds that bordered Judgment, and idle thoughts flipped her hair colour between its electric-blue and assumed autumn hues while her spell monitored the road. When they arrived Yngvarr, Alfarr, Torm, and Rana¡¯s appearance showed their battle-weary state, and as she strode down the hill towards them, they paused for her to approach. Of the four, only Rana had visible weapons: a sheathed sword and daggers worn over a shifting hued set of chainmail. Hair that Julia had only ever seen him wear long was short now and barely touched his shoulders. His tranquil calmness was now a battle-hardened certainty, with a hunter¡¯s focus. In the motions Julia had scried, his dancer¡¯s grace had become the poise of a predator and he¡¯d prowled along with unceasing energy. The others wore clothes in a similar cut to Master Farhad¡¯s in shades of earthen hues, though Torm¡¯s still showed symbols of Tyr upon them. Noting Alfarr startle at her approach, Julia deliberately slowed her pace, and he visibly relaxed. ¡°You move pretty fast. You weren¡¯t trying to scare us, were you?¡± Alfarr called out, pretending to clutch at his chest. The years looked like they¡¯d only lightly touched him for all his present weariness. So much for not playing a prank; either that or he¡¯s griefing me. ¡°Pretty sure she gave us all a scare after keeping us so long,¡± remarked Yngvarr, giving Alfarr an amused glance. He encourages him to act up; I¡¯m positive. Maybe it¡¯s Yngvarr who infected Alfarr with that sense of humour of his. Julia made little grumbling noises at Yngvarr¡¯s teasing tone, but the smile that lit her face let them know she¡¯d taken it in good fun. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Julia said, once she got to a normal conversation range. ¡°You have nothing to be sorry about. None of us were in your position,¡± Torm said, smiling as she got close. ¡°We all worried about you.¡± ¡°Though that scare when you broke all the Allegiance Bonds, Eivor almost had a kitten,¡± chided Alfarr. ¡°Must have scattered her wits because she ended up marrying Moke.¡± ¡°WHAT!¡± Julia screeched, even as her jaw dropped, birds hundreds of metres away scattered in fright. ¡°Eivor has a second child with Moke now, a daughter they named Julia,¡± Torm remarked casually, and Julia clasped her hands to her mouth as she went misty-eyed. ¡°A little girl,¡± Julia breathed before her eyes went firm. ¡°What exactly went on between those two?¡± ¡°Well, when a man puts his-,¡± offered Alfarr and stopped as Torm gave him a stern look. ¡°Perhaps we should take this conversation somewhere off the road,¡± suggested Torm, gesturing towards an approaching traveller. ¡°Would you like to see the Domain I set up in the Outlands?¡± asked Julia hesitantly and gave Alfarr a glare when he rolled his eyes at her. ¡°Indeed, Lady Eakc?,¡± Rana replied, cutting off Alfarr¡¯s retort. ¡°Amr¨²ngwen told me how it felt to her; it would be an honour.¡± ¡°Others have said interesting things about it, and the Portal you opened to take your Petitioners there,¡± Torm commented. Smiling at his amused tone, Julia moved close and teleported them to the valley¡¯s ridgeline with an unneeded gesture. The wilderness that she¡¯d admired was still present, though scattered buildings now occupied some of the previously wild fields. Homestead buildings that appeared already partly in use. Julia saw groups of Petitioners helping Vargr Drangijaz and Dwarven crafters working on establishing more. ¡°Hope they set the ceilings high enough,¡± murmured Alfarr as he peered to make it out. ¡°From this distance, it¡¯s like its turning into a ¨¢sgarer village,¡± Yngvarr observed, reminding Julia that not everyone had her eyesight. ¡°I wanted you to look at the entire valley first. Isn¡¯t it beautiful?¡± asked Julia offhandedly, not admitting to the mistake. ¡°She said that with a straight face, I can¡¯t tell if she was lying or not,¡± huffed Alfarr. ¡°What prompted you to select it?¡± enquired Torm, still watching Julia as she stared out across the valley. ¡°It reminded me of a place my family used to go. The plants are different, but the valley¡¯s shape, and general feel, with all the trees spotted with clearings, are similar. I arrived somewhere kilometres back there, and I started running; I felt like I could run forever, enjoying the sun. Then when I crested the valley ridgeline here, it just stopped me in my tracks,¡± explained Julia, waving back along the line her travels had brought her. ¡°Thank you for sharing the first view you had of it with us then,¡± said Torm, giving her a pleased smile. ¡°It¡¯s an honour, Lady Eakc?,¡± Rana stated, a moment later with his free hand against his chest, as he bowed his head. ¡°Stop that Rana, if you keep tacking on Lady I¡¯ll be cross. I¡¯m Eakc?, but I still feel so much like the Julia I started, even if I¡¯m so very different now,¡± stated Julia. Blinking tears away as memories of her family rose in her mind, and Torm¡¯s fingertip brushed her cheek to capture a rogue tear. His hand brushing her skin was a surprise, but Julia smiled at the intimate guesture. ¡°You have tears again?¡± Torm asked, his voice softening in surprise as Julia blushed. ¡°And can blush too?¡± ¡°Blushing, that I could do without. But the tears, I know!¡± exclaimed Julia, the smile banishing them. ¡°I cried and cried when I first realised I could again. I¡¯m sure I scared things around me, wondering what or who was bawling.¡± ¡°Well, at least you blush, not like Sarah apparently, right Torm?¡± Alfarr remarked, as Torm moved slightly and stood on his foot. ¡°Are you planning to take us to your Domain, or do we stay here and talk?¡± The question came out over the grunt he suppressed as Torm¡¯s weight bore down. ¡°Sarah, what happened with Sarah?!¡± Julia asked excitedly and spun to grab Torm¡¯s hand. ¡°Stop tormenting Alfarr - even if he deserves it - and tell me what happened.¡± Torm shifted uncomfortably for a moment, and Alfarr took advantage of his change in balance to get free and move out of arm¡¯s reach. Perching himself on a rock, he seemed to take delight in watching the uncomfortable expression on Torm¡¯s face. ¡°Go on, tell her about the screaming woman in distress you ran to rescue,¡± demands Alfarr. The excited amusement in his tone made Julia¡¯s eyes narrow in suspicion. ¡°What is going on?¡± questioned Julia, her tone and expression firmly demanding. ¡°Thanks, Alfarr,¡± Torm remarked drolly. ¡°Think nothing of it,¡° exclaimed Alfarr, ¡°Now I loved the story but tell it whole not the dribs and drabs we had to drag out of you.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we go down to your Domain?¡± Rana suggested diplomatically, gesturing onwards. ¡°I really would like to hear what happened sooner rather than later,¡± countered Julia, motioning for Torm to continue. ¡°Finding the camp was difficult because of the wards they had around it to distract unwanted guests. When I got there, a situation surprised me. Once resolved, things settled down; unfortunately, due in part to the ward¡¯s effects once I entered them, I had to stay, or ruin their endeavour,¡± Torm stated concisely. As Julia¡¯s gaze tightened in suspicion, Torm continued. ¡°You mentioned Sarah was quite unusual in her tastes. I didn¡¯t expect quite that... unique.¡± ¡°What did you walk in on? Did she have a fake tail up someone¡¯s butt?¡± asked Julia, her questioning tone so offhand that Rana and Yngvarr looked at her in shock. ¡°WHAT!¡± Alfarr exploded, his eyes going wide with interest. ¡°Exactly what did you expect to send poor Torm into? That sounds like an even better tale than Torm¡¯s story.¡± Julia wanted to groan at his choice of words but motioned him to be quiet instead. ¡°Anyway, the wards baffled all sight and sound with illusions, but once I determined they didn¡¯t have intent to trap or harm, I entered. I found the expedition had cut its living area into a hillside that had seemed intact outside the boundary. I also heard a woman screaming, I thought she sounded distressed. Instead, I found Sidero, naked except for a few chains straddling a man. When he went to sit up, she told him that if he lifted his hands from the stakes, their bargaining for the week was done.¡± Torm report was factual, and his expression was calm, leaving Julia clueless about his actual feelings. Yeah, okay, so he was already erect. ¡°Dominance play, and?¡± Julia questioned, motioning for him to get on with it. ¡°Wait, I thought you were all virginal and innocent,¡± interrupted Alfarr. Julia just looked at Alfarr flatly, her expression evincing her disbelief at his ignorance before she even spoke. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m ignorant about what options there are. Sarah made a living as a dominatrix, but that¡¯s not mine to judge. Some of her clients were actually rather nice. One insisted on getting me a gift for disrupting a lunch date we were out on. Sarah made him buy me some far too expensive perfume; which made him even giddier, but what did you mean by stakes?¡± ¡°She had stakes in the floor at the end of the bedding. The rules were if he lifted his hands before she was done, their deal for the week was over,¡± Torm stated blandly. Julia snorted before she exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Deal?¡± ¡°They¡¯d come prepared with enchanted objects and Blessings to protect against extreme cold, but where the rift opened, only Sarah and Inger could endure it. The others could only handle the creatures that came through the rift, and Sarah was a stronger combatant than Inger, so Gaius traded orgasms for her gathering and baiting efforts. She required additional fees each week when the kills were coming in too slow for work to progress,¡± explained Torm, as Julia listened wide-eyed. ¡°Extorting orgasms, that sounds harsh; still, a girl needs to go. How many orgasms was she wanting?¡± query Julia, her interest clearly not academic curiosity. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask the exchange rate,¡± Torm grumbled dryly before huffing in frustration. ¡°Did that led to the heated words?¡± persisted Julia, remembering Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s comment. ¡°No, she¡¯s far too perceptive, and after speaking to me about you and your letter. Sidero made some off-colour remarks and asked questions I didn¡¯t appreciate.¡± ¡°I told you she was a smart cookie. What was her situation?¡± ¡°None of the expedition knew her previous state. After she read your letter, she destroyed it,¡± Torm stated before he hastened on at Julia¡¯s glum expression. ¡°I have something for you, though.¡± ¡°Hold up, I sent you descriptions of the marker stone,¡± Julia said, turning to look at Yngvarr, seeking an explanation. ¡°Why did you need me to teleport you here? Why meet at Xaos?¡± ¡°That was Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s suggestion,¡± Rana replied, and Julia gaze turned his way. ¡°She said your presence had grown significantly stronger, and if we ever met up, we should do so - initially - away from your Domain.¡± ¡°Did she think I¡¯d put you in danger?¡± asked Julia in confusion, looking at them questioningly. ¡°No!¡± Torm exclaimed hastily at the query. ¡°Entering a Power¡¯s Domain heightens their presence, so if it wasn¡¯t under control as you believed, it could have been an issue. It was a precaution that we hoped was unneeded but seemed sensible to have.¡± ¡°That and if we had to run. It¡¯d be best if we weren¡¯t running in the boundary of your home,¡± Alfarr tossed out his two cents and earned another glare from Torm. Yeah, he¡¯s so not helping. ¡°I¡¯m pleased I passed the initial ¡®she doesn¡¯t fry our brains¡¯ test,¡± Julia dryly remarked before gesturing towards the Domain. ¡°Should we keep admiring the beauty from up here?¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Torm said, motioning towards the valley. ¡°It is a beautiful view; no wonder it stopped you.¡± Julia almost froze at the words but replied quietly. ¡°It was breathtaking after so long spent in the Abyss. So, what were they making?¡± What information did Sarah share with him? ¡°A sword called the Winter¡¯s Heart,¡± answer Torm quietly, his lips curving in a smile. Oh, she so did, she¡¯s going to get it. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about a sword?¡± muttered Julia, holding herself steady under Torm¡¯s gaze. ¡°It¡¯s an Artifact, Mithras ordained its construction. Six other Deities lent High Priests to assist the efforts, including Skaei,¡± Torm answered, a sheathed sword appearing in his hand. The blade¡¯s hilt was a wolf-head with frosted diamonds for eyes and glowed with more Mana than Julia had seen any object contain. Interwoven within she could sense Order, Metal, and Ice; compressed cables of power ran beyond her perceptions. ¡°If it¡¯s such a big deal, then how the heck do you have it?¡± Julia blurted out, going wide-eyed at the energy of the blade. ¡°That isn¡¯t something I wish to talk about at present, and in the end, Sidero¡¯s decision determined it,¡± Torm replied flatly as the blade disappeared. What the fuck happened? ¡°Also, not what we¡¯re here to discuss,¡± Yngvarr interrupted, drawing Julia¡¯s attention. ¡°Tell us about what you saw. We¡¯ve plans to make regarding our first steps if nothing else.¡± ¡°There are thousands of Slaadi near the stone; it will not be a simple matter dealing with them to get at the altar. Are there others helping?¡± Julia asked, looking between the four of them, not liking the unhopeful looks she received. ¡°No,¡± Torm stated, his tone firm and his expression unimpressed. ¡°I had to appeal to be allowed; it¡¯s only because my role was Verdandi¡¯s bodyguard at the time of the incident that I¡¯m permitted involvement.¡± Rana glanced at Torm before turning to Julia. ¡°The Lady¡¯s court is sending Celestials to assist in keeping the boundaries of Asgard secure against the Slaadi. I¡¯m only allowed to take part because it assaulted me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting the feeling that there is a vibe of Mortal¡¯s decisions made this mess; they should clean it up,¡± Julia stated, looking between the two uncomfortable Celestials. ¡°Care to explain what is going on?¡± ¡°The Slaadi are worshipping the developing Power the entity has become. This makes Celestial involvement in any direct attack complicated,¡± Torm growled in frustration. Well, fuck! ¡°How does something go from being a carved rock to a Power?¡± asked Julia, confused. ¡°Rituals of dedication, it fed on Rana, then you, went swimming in Chaos, and now Set seems to have invested it with power,¡± Yngvarr explained. His expression making it clear he wasn¡¯t happy with the explanation either. 103 - All Nightmare long Julia sat reading Sarah¡¯s letter for the umpteenth time while Yngvarr and Alfarr slept, not sure what to make of Sarah¡¯s news. The tone of it both was, and wasn¡¯t, the Sarah she remembered, but more disturbing was her apparent acceptance. ¡®J Torm filled me in on the details while we were in the Ice¡¯s grasp. Don¡¯t be stupid and think you can handle Hell. It¡¯s not a place that you can react your way through. Your outlines of plans and fall-back options will only get you stuck in a deeper mess than you¡¯ve found in the Abyss. If she¡¯s here with me, she¡¯s screwed or adapting, and she always seems to fall on her feet. I remember standing in a stone passage before I ¡®hatched¡¯. That sounds like where you ran through first. I thought I¡¯d heard Rachel screaming there. Her screams cut off before I was inside Mother¡¯s egg and forcing my way out. I¡¯ve been this way for nearly seven years before I met Torm, so it¡¯s at least that for her. I don¡¯t know why you spawned in the Abyss years after I emerged in Hell. If she¡¯s an Erinys, they can shift between Planes, so she might not even be there. They serve as messengers, bounty hunters, and other things. If she was setup to be an Erinys¡¯ target, she¡¯s likely already destroyed, and based on Torm¡¯s tale, I¡¯d say that¡¯s not the case. Once had a strange encounter with a weird Erinys, didn¡¯t learn her name. If it¡¯s her, then I have a place to start. There will be regimental records if nothing else - Hell has paperwork on everything. It¡¯s why you¡¯ll never fake your way in; that guide will be for Mortals dealing with Dis. Focus on getting yourself free. I¡¯ve gained some rank and I¡¯ll get more with time. Though if you feed me news of the Sisterhood, I could certainly turn a profit on intel regarding someone like Baln¨¦rith. As for Nicholas, yeah, I want a piece of him. You better fucking survive your Id J, but if you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll turn her into a whipping bitch. If you¡¯re crying when you read this: take a teaspoon of cement and harden the fuck up princess. I¡¯ll see how high I can push things before I do the same combo job, but I¡¯ve got leeches taking experience from me at present. S PS: he smells like a dog. You always had weird tastes girl, but at least he thinks the princess bride is good. I told you dickhead was bad news when he thought it was dumb. I had so much fun sharing a bunch of memories with Torm via a telepathy gadget I built. PPS: I hope the runes work, they should have recorded the essence of the sound. While my name sounds right to me, I¡¯m not a Wizard needing it for a spell. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll be able to send a message, but I hope you can at least tell me if you iced the troublemaker. Just send some Mana into the runes or drip some blood - either will activate it. ¡¯ She so told him that story. He knew what he was saying. Did he pick that approach so I could still choose my own time? Glancing to where Torm and Rana were talking to a few Celestials and Petitioners, Julia teleported back to the valley¡¯s ridgeline. With the rune engraved copper disc set where Alfarr had perched, Julia pushed a trickle of Mana into it. For a moment, nothing happened, but then light began rippling within the runes like glowing water. As each one lit in sequence, the disc rose as it grew steadily brighter. When it was a metre above the rock, it spun, and as the disc spilt into segmented bands Julia got ready to run, but they¡¯d no sooner started when they stopped. The motions emitted a metallic rasping hiss that whispered a name she recognised, and the disc descended. Those inflections in Infernal made Julia shiver at the malice within the name Sarah considered her own. Considering what she needed to tell her for a moment, she cast a stronger version of Mercury¡¯s Whisper and hoped it would reach her. ¡°Sarah, I¡¯m so sorry you got dragged into this, but I can¡¯t help worry about you both. Your mission if you choose to accept it is 104, 102, 102, and 100 class-wise. After 100 I got a Prestige class offered that combined 4 classes and provided an evolution. Viper got expelled but not destroyed; we¡¯re separated but no idea how much she remembers. The name on my Profile says Eakc?. Try to stay sane, and cut your BS, I know you¡¯re not any safer than me. Hope you¡¯ve found more on Rach. I can open a Gate anytime you¡¯re somewhere that allows it.¡± The moment she finished the spell, it disappeared with the usual pulse of power. When Julia went to pick the disc up, its copper broke into tiny shards and the pieces bloomed into the air. Only wanted it used once? What if someone else had used it? The sunlight glinted off copper as the powered fragments reformed into a tiny doll¡¯s face. Strands of braided chains quickly hung across its features, even as more formed while Julia looked on. ¡°J, this won¡¯t last.¡± The copper fragments brushed against each other, emitting the words in the same shrill and metallic rasp as Sarah¡¯s name. ¡°Found an Erinys named Isaac, renamed from Rachel on arrival. Date just over 180 cycles before me. Minimal skills, erratic behaviour, denial of any fall, giggling fits, assigned as gofer of an old Erinys named Ilya. Isaac¡¯s duty records show she¡¯s mostly in field operations in Hades, Gehenna, and Carceri. Current assignment: Slaadi extermination duty in Carceri. Still with Ilya be-¡± The head flashed like a lightbulb popping and showered the rock with copper dust. ¡°Sidero, your doll¡¯s head went boom - got the location after Slaadi extermination duty. I¡¯ll be able to call her with a Gate since you found her name.¡± To keep her Domain¡¯s location safe, Julia teleported to a glade near the Spire before pouring Mana into a Gate Spell using Isaac¡¯s name as its focus. As it snapped into existence, the Outland¡¯s sunlight washed over a dark, battered landscape with an inky black sky above. A blazing white arrow descended on a battlefield awash with fallen Devils and Demons being picked over by Slaadi scavengers. As it fell, it burst into a shower of white shards that pierced through everything beneath. True Sight showed Julia the rolling devastation as shards ended the Slaadi and prisoners alike. Ahead of her in the Gate¡¯s illumination stood a black dragon-hide clad Erinys. The armour¡¯s edges gleamed with Mithril and light-drinking Adamantine runes. Bright blood red hair seemed to glisten in the light, and before the devastation began to settle, the Erinys drew again, and another arrow began rising skywards. Black wings spread and braced against the air as the white bow in her hands started glowing with a plasma cutter¡¯s intensity. There was nothing in the archer¡¯s stance, but Julia acted on Precog¡¯s warning and spun away from the Gate. Two arrows raced through it a moment later, scorching a tree to the ground. The first¡¯s Infernal energy set it alight, and the second¡¯s Destruction reduced it, and a line of trees beyond, to ash. [Clairsentience [B](10->11)] ¡°Ilya, I have information to trade,¡± Julia shouted in Infernal. Moving further from the Gate, she kept hold of the spell, ready to close it in an instant. I should have thought of the Home Plane disadvantage. ¡°The Gate¡¯s focused on me Ilya.¡± The simple statement brushed the air with beautiful tones, though the suspicion in the vibrant soprano was clear. Seriously Rach, don¡¯t drop me in hot water. I was trying to keep my focus on you concealed. ¡°Yes Isaac, I focused the Gate on you, not Ilya. Who¡¯d be easier to focus on?¡± Julia asked, initially in Infernal, before switching to risk English for a moment. ¡°Rachel it¡¯s Julia.¡± The wave of sound that rolled through the Gate ripped apart both matter and spell alike. The dust and debris held no danger to Julia, but it clearly would take time to settle. In the direction she¡¯d set the Gate, a thick cloud blotted out any view of the woods ahead of her. ¡°Fuck!¡± Julia spat the word in anger as indecision and concern conflicted within her. As Julia felt the tears fall, she sent another message. ¡°I fucked up Sarah. I opened a Gate to Rach. She, and Ilya I think, tried to flash fry me. A wave of sound blew up the Gate and ripped a chunk of the Outlands apart. There is an Erinys previously named Odyis: please keep an eye out for her. If Torm didn¡¯t warn you, she tried to manipulate her orders to finish me, and then fell. I¡¯m worried she¡¯ll find out about Rach, since her name is in Hell¡¯s documents. I do not know what she knows about the three of us.¡± Another glance at where the Gate had stood showed a perfect line in the grass beyond which it had stripped the topsoil clean in a widening arc. For a hundred metres at least, the thinning dust cloud revealed the shredded remains of trees and thick undergrowth. The further the destruction ranged from the Gate, the less topsoil there was. A cone AoE, perfectly in line with the Gate, it would have to be Rachel; she sounded close to it. Teleport placed Julia back near the others resting spot where she flopped to the ground. Laying back, Julia stared at the branches overhead as she tried to decide what to do. When Yngvarr awoke before Alfarr, he was still looking worn but still sat upright as he regarded Julia¡¯s glum expression. ¡°I take it the rune plate didn¡¯t work?¡± enquired Yngvarr gently, his tone far lower than he needed for the soundly sleeping Alfarr. ¡°No, it worked,¡± Julia replied absently, watching the swaying of the leaves. ¡°You don¡¯t seem happy about it,¡± Yngvarr remarked, before rising to come sit beside her. ¡°The name let me send a message to her. Sarah sent a quick message in return, she¡¯d found an Erinys named Isaac, renamed from Rachel. Shouldn¡¯t you be resting still?¡± Julia asked, giving him a stern look. ¡°If it worked, why so glum? Or did the results of the expedition cause Sarah problems?¡± probed Yngvarr, not inclined to let her brood. ¡°Sarah didn¡¯t say, but her messenger didn¡¯t last long. I tried to contact Rachel via a Gate using her name, but talking didn¡¯t go so well,¡° Julia replied. ¡°The moment I called out her name and mine there was an explosion of sound. It completely trashed the woods nearby, even scrapped topsoil away and ripped the Gate apart.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Julia,¡± Yngvarr stated, regarding her with obvious concern. ¡°Are you sure it wasn¡¯t someone else¡¯s attack that did that damage?¡± ¡°Not from the shape of the cone of damage,¡± said Julia, shaking her head as she scrubbed her face across her hands. ¡°Plus, from what I could see of the area, they¡¯d been blowing away Slaadi, not dealing with resistance they found challenging.¡± The muffled words were still audible to Yngvarr, who considered them for a moment before he spoke again. ¡°That could just mean a stronger Slaadi was about and they attacked,¡± Yngvarr cautioned. ¡°Great, so my two options are she freaked and unleashed something when I mention her or my name,¡± countered Julia. ¡°Or something blasted the area they were in while I was distracting them. But an explosion like that from behind would have tossed her through the Gate.¡± Yngvarr didn¡¯t reply right away, but Julia could sense his concern. ¡°There are more than just those two options.¡± ¡°The ones running through my brain right now are far worse than those two,¡± whispered Julia, her pain clear on her face. ¡°Then you need to distract your mind and plan what you can do safely,¡± Yngvarr advised, his gaze was unyielding but Julia could see through his guise to the concern it masked. ¡°I¡¯m rested, and need information from you for your project. There were some Powers you didn¡¯t tell me anything about, though you sent the Class details that gain them.¡± ¡°Oops,¡± Julia muttered, not resisting the impulse to tease, as she tried to force her mood away. ¡°That¡¯s what you have to say for yourself?¡± grumbled Yngvarr, giving Julia a look of mock annoyance as he passed a list on parchment. ¡°I can¡¯t put together accurate records for your people with gaps in them this way.¡± Julia looked at the list he¡¯d given her and sighed. Rechecking Analysis, she recorded their details down and passed it back. [Spirit Passage: Allows the possessor to walk through, change direction and linger within solid objects if they¡¯re not enchanted or warded. Higher ranks allow the user to transverse a greater distance of material. It needs Ki energy upon entry, exit, or if there are changes in substance within the object.] [Ki Flight: Allows the possessor to fly by using Ki energy to hold themselves aloft balanced on the line of their Chakra points. Higher ranks and effective levels allow for faster flight speed. The possessor requires the Fly Skill, or better, to be developed to enhance in-flight manoeuvring.] Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. [Immortal Spirit: Upon gaining this power, the possessor becomes a true unaging Immortal. Their demise will see them taken to the Eastern Court¡¯s Judges for determination if they have adhered to their personal Tao. Possessing higher rank, and effective levels in this Power, doesn¡¯t help in swaying the Judge¡¯s decision, but makes one aware when they¡¯re moving from their true path. Time in punishment and the severity of such depends upon lapses from one¡¯s Tao. If one has been true to their Tao then the higher effective levels enable a faster return to the Material Plane.] [Seed Doubt: This power allows the weakening of a Faith Caster¡¯s Channelling skill. If the erosion nullifies the target¡¯s ability, they suffer a Crisis of Faith, and cannot channel Blessings until it¡¯s resolved. Can only be used during an extended peaceful conversation. ] [Rebuke: Use of this power causes a burst of Planar energy to render those of opposing philosophical viewpoints insensible. If targeted on a group, they resist it in order from the strongest down, till the power challenge fails or the energy is exhausted. ] ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how you do that to yourself so easily,¡± remarked Yngvarr, looking at the paper with a shudder. ¡°It¡¯s not like it''s actually alive. It¡¯s just energy shaped into a substance,¡± Julia said dismissively. As she handed him the last note, she couldn¡¯t resist teasing him. ¡°Okay, Elfie, anything else I can help you with?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d show me what you¡¯d look like now,¡± Yngvarr requested, ignoring Julia¡¯s teasing. He pulled out a book, and as he flipped to a blank page, Julia saw pages of colour sketches showing various species and places. ¡°I¡¯ve never had someone draw me before,¡± Julia stated, her embarrassment obvious as she tried to catch a better look at some drawings. ¡°Oh, is it alright?¡± asked Yngvarr, his expression showing his concern. ¡°I¡¯ve several drawings of the forms I¡¯ve seen you in.¡± ¡°I never saw you draw me,¡± complained Julia, giving Yngvarr a stern look. ¡°They¡¯re created with a spell to ensure the likeness is accurate,¡± Yngvarr said blandly, and Julia could see the faintest hint of teasing in his gaze. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not selling them off or something weird,¡± Julia stated, her frown unrelenting. ¡°I¡¯d never thought of that,¡± Yngvarr admitted, his tone making Julia wonder if he was considering it now or merely pushing for a reaction. ¡°Though I have given one showing your Elven face to a Priestess of yours.¡± Julia considered refusing for a moment, then flexed out of the form she¡¯d imagined, gaining over a metre in height as the shadow vines grew with her. With Yngvarr close by, her new height was immediately apparent. Fortunately, the branches directly overhead had sufficient space to accommodate her form¡¯s height at over three metres. While Julia had found fighting the Slaadi easy at a height matching their own, she hadn¡¯t expected it to be her form¡¯s natural stature. A quick glance showed her wings had feathers the colour of old dried blood, the macabre colour highlighted by the golden shaft set in each. Her skin tone still appeared the same golden bronze she¡¯d gained after the confrontation with Viper. Though when she looked at the tattooed tendrils across her palm, flecks of vibrant green showed where previously they¡¯d only been solid black ink. ¡°Your eyes are a dark amber gold with no pupils or iris showing,¡± Yngvarr offered, and Julia shrugged, noting no difference in her eyesight. ¡°You appear to have grown proportionally to your previous height.¡± ¡°More changes, lovely,¡± Julia remarked, holding back the snark lacing her words. ¡°Just what I wanted, another round of getting used to myself.¡± Reaching back, she brought a strand of hair around and confirmed it was still the same electric-blue. ¡°At least my hair didn¡¯t change, I like this colour.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a vivid hue,¡± Yngvarr confirmed. ¡°Is it only the changes in your appearance that have you worried?¡± The energy of his spell rippled over the blank parchment and Julia saw herself with the trees¡¯ branches framing her in the background. Dark wings blended in with the mottled shade of the branches, and their golden cores gleamed like miniature lightning bolts in a cloud of death. The Elven features she¡¯d seen previously were unchanged, only larger, except for the eclipsed eyes replaced as they were by amber¡¯s gold. Mentally drawing back the shadow vines from her arm, she saw the same flecks of vibrant green scattered throughout the tendrils. A rose bud on a creeper showed the faintest hint of pink across a single petal, while a scattering of bloody droplets stood out clearly from her skin, with their fresh arterial red. Julia frowned for a moment before she shrugged and resumed the Wood Elf form she¡¯d used in Eyrarh¨¢ls, and set concealments in place. ¡°I tell myself and tell myself I¡¯m Eakc? now, but still I rebel against it,¡± Julia said, her frustration clearly showing when she admitted the issue at last. ¡°You can¡¯t force change without consequence,¡± urged Yngvarr, gesturing her to calm. ¡°Find yourself. Might I point out again you didn¡¯t actually pick Eakc?. It¡¯s from a name that was picked for you, that you¡¯ve now rejected. If you continue to resist the name, perhaps there is a reason, and I can think of a few.¡± ¡°If my name changes again, what does that do to my Faithful?¡± enquired Julia, her expression twisting in concern. ¡°You accepted Eakc? because it was easier for others? Why are you buying trouble?¡± Yngvarr asked, frowning as he stood. ¡°How is Julia buying trouble now?¡± Torm asked as he and Rana approached. ¡°With the name Eakc?,¡± Yngvarr blandly stated, before Julia could say a thing. ¡°Who¡¯s sending out the crier to tell everyone to come here to party,¡± Alfarr grumbled as he sat up from his bedding. ¡°Sorry, I thought you were sleeping through a thunderstorm,¡± said Yngvarr as he glanced at Alfarr. For a moment Julia hoped he¡¯d let the matter drop. ¡°Or was that your snoring?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one making noise at present,¡± Alfarr retorted, stifling a yawn. Julia counted to ten while the pair talked, but bit the bullet and asked. ¡°Why are you upset about the name, Yngvarr?¡± ¡°Finish up so I can go back to sleep,¡± Alfarr demanded, glancing around the group. ¡°I¡¯ve already heard about your worries for Julia. Might as well hash it out since everyone is already here. Just, once you¡¯ve said your piece, let it drop; she needs to find her own path.¡± ¡°The origins of Eakc? has an ill-nature for something representing a faith of Hope. It was a name given to Julia by L¨ºdhins, mispronounced by Moke, then used by Eivor to represent her. Even that was because she¡¯d heard others using it when Julia had intended it only as a temporary guise,¡± Yngvarr said, glancing at Torm and Rana. ¡°Effectively, it comes from a name that originates in misunderstanding and confusion. But that name we all know originated from Abyssal for Viper. Julia, it¡¯s your choice but I have a feeling that you absolutely need to move away from it. Please do not accept it as representing who you are. Better some disruption among your Faithful now than a reversal of the schism you achieved.¡± ¡°Derek deserves to be remembered as well,¡± grumbled Julia, giving Yngvarr a frustrated glare. ¡°By his jab at you when he didn¡¯t even know you? Didn¡¯t he try to give you multiple names, simply because he objected to J? Do you believe he¡¯s also a Sun Elf?¡± Yngvarr asked. He fired questions in rapid succession, his expression etched with concern. ¡°If he was a Sun or Night Elf, then there is hope, but Mortal Souls don¡¯t resist transformation by the Abyss.¡± ¡°No, he couldn¡¯t stand to be near the Grotto and couldn¡¯t hear the Song,¡± admitted Julia, relenting in her glare. ¡°Then, as unfortunate as it is, when you¡¯re ready, find L¨ºdhins, kill the Demon, and put Derek to rest. Mourn his life if you feel it warranted, but by all the Courts, please don¡¯t use that name,¡± Yngvarr pleaded. ¡°There are some among the Norse pantheon that have changed their names. Even Tyr: once, the Norse and others called him T¨©wa?,¡± offered Torm. ¡°I can verify the transition didn¡¯t cause issues for his Faithful. I was already a Vargr Drangijaz when it occurred, so I remember when the change of his name spread. It was literally overnight, perhaps the same way that the vision of your Domain occurred. While his Celestials remember the name, it is exceedingly rare that a Mortal invokes it.¡± His expression had grown thoughtful during Yngvarr¡¯s recount and his words eased Julia¡¯s primary concern. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, but Yngvarr, I don¡¯t feel comfortable using the name you found,¡± declared Julia, fixing him with a serious look. ¡°Of course, even if it was your name, which we have no solid proof of, it¡¯s related to a past life,¡± Yngvarr agreed, relief lessening the strain from his features. ¡°What tricks did you pick up from the Githz¨¦rai?¡± asked Yngvarr, abruptly and eagerly changing the subject. ¡°Only a foundation exercise for each of the Skills. Though I¡¯m assured once I get used to applying them, I¡¯ll find my way to more. Though Master Duurth suggested I come back regularly for help in studying the Skills¡¯ applications, beyond what my reading has shown me.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± Yngvarr prompted, motioning for Julia to continue. ¡°Learnt an application from each branch: breaking an enemy¡¯s focus, slowing a target¡¯s motions, coating a surface with ectoplasm, danger precognition, telekinetic attacks, and disrupting a target¡¯s muscles,¡± Julia said. ¡°Why an interest in their abilities? How do they help in combat given how strong you are?¡± Yngvarr asked, clearly unsure of the benefits she was gaining. ¡°If I was looking at it that way, why learn anything beyond punching someone really hard?¡± challenged Julia. ¡°Foundation exercises need mastery before I can build the tower. The High Anarch¡¯s weave Mana and Psi energy together to cut through an enemy¡¯s defences, or expand an effect.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking for advantage over Baln¨¦rith and L¨ºdhins,¡± stated Yngvarr, no longer confused by her intentions. ¡°Two for two. Plus, Psi effects don¡¯t show in True Sight, which is a potential advantage over Devils and Demons as well,¡± Julia said, the smile making her view on that clear. ¡°And Celestials, not having your best interest at heart?¡± Torm proposed, his flat expression showing his pain from that memory hadn¡¯t faded. ¡°Those too,¡± grumbled Julia, still rocked by the last few hours. ¡°I have some important questions for you?¡± Torm asked tentatively, and Julia glanced his way, aware he was trying to ease her shifting mood. ¡°What?¡± asked Julia, her voice still emotionally flattened. ¡°How many days of bath time does Verdandi owe you now?¡± Torm¡¯s question made Julia snort as he sat beside her. ¡°Lots. Sometimes I just wish things wouldn¡¯t be so hard. Daydreams; they can really fuck with your brain,¡± Julia said, blowing out a breath as her expression came alive again, and scrubbed the tears away. ¡°If at first you don¡¯t succeed, fry, fry a hen.¡± ¡°What''s a hen got to do with it?¡± asked a puzzled Torm, but his lips twitched as Julia¡¯s resilience reappeared. ¡°I guess nothing, but a pity party won¡¯t help either. I¡¯ll need to figure out a plan that doesn¡¯t lead to a repeat of the mess I made contacting Rachel.¡± Julia stated firmly. Glancing between the two of them, she gave them both a smile of appreciation for their support. ¡°Where was she?¡± Torm enquired, as he watched calmness reassert itself where before he would have seen racing thoughts. True Sight wasn¡¯t helping either, as now he only saw a Wood Elf, whose appearance seemed a simple traveller. The Sisterhood Sigil fully concealed from his sight; even the shadow vines appeared to be mundane Elven clothes. ¡°Carceri raining shards of Destruction Mana down on Slaadi,¡± Jula replied, shuddering at the waves of indiscriminate destruction she¡¯d seen. ¡°They were killing Slaadi gathering injured from a battlefield. The PTB assigned Rachel and Ilya extermination duty according to contact I had from Sarah.¡± ¡°PTB?¡± asked Alfarr, looking almost incoherent in his confusion and fatigue. ¡°Powers That Be,¡± stated Torm. ¡°Something in common with her then: we have thousands of Slaadi we need to kill.¡± ¡°If the Celestials won¡¯t get involved, maybe I should tell Hell about the Spawning Stone¡¯s situation,¡± Julia murmured, drawing a frown from Torm. ¡°You don¡¯t know if they¡¯d manipulate the situation to disadvantage the upper Planes, or just restore the balance,¡± cautioned Torm. The face he pulled made his thoughts on that subject clear. ¡°Yeah, I know, but I also know they don¡¯t like the Slaadi having power,¡± stated Julia, giving Torm a shrug. ¡°Even when they work with Hell¡¯s agents, those same agents slaughter them when the plan¡¯s complete. There were many incidents and examples of it in the Githz¨¦rai records I¡¯ve read.¡± ¡°The enemy of your enemy,¡± Yngvarr started, his expression showing he was leaving the rest hanging. ¡°Could stab you in the back,¡± grumbled Julia, giving him an eye-roll that just earned a smile from the others. ¡°Do we give Alfarr and Yngvarr a chance to recover from the last few months, and then head to Limbo?¡± Torm asked, looking between them. ¡°Yeah, if we look for rivers of Chaos energy, they¡¯ll lead us toward the Spawning Stone. We can thin the numbers on the way, to gain levels and practice working together,¡± agreed Julia, before gesturing towards the work taking place in the Domain. ¡°I¡¯ll have to find Tyr a nice thank you gift; they said it was towards paying weregild, but still.¡± ¡°Could bring him the head of the Stone¡¯s Guardian,¡± Yngvarr offered with a shrug, and moved to pack up his bedroll. ¡°Not sure I want to know how strong it is,¡± declared Julia, not suppressing the shudder as she remembered the feeling of seeing its original guardian. ¡°I saw Yaro Yiyan from a distance; did not want to get close enough to say Hi. We get there then work on thinning out mobs along the edge and retreat as needed. Once we kill enough, we strike hard for the Altar of Set and if we destroy it get out immediately; reassess as needed.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll still have to find it,¡± Torm said. ¡°Even with the rivers you can see guiding our passage, Limbo is still vast.¡± ¡°True, though I¡¯ve seen the Spawning Stone via scrying; I could teleport us close,¡± offered Julia. ¡°But we¡¯d be teleporting in essentially blind,¡± Yngvarr interjected, looking up from his gear. ¡°Let¡¯s take the time. Plus, it¡¯s not like we won¡¯t be reducing their numbers as we go.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised I slept so soundly,¡± Alfarr mumbled, as he swallowed a yawn. ¡°It feels safe here, like being home. He doesn¡¯t normally sleep this soundly when travelling, even at an inn,¡± Yngvarr explained in response to Julia¡¯s clear curiosity. ¡°A few days of rest and then we go?¡± suggested Julia, enjoying the look Yngvarr directed at his husband. ¡°Indeed,¡± Yngvarr agreed. ¡°Sorry, we mere Mortals will slow the three of you down.¡± Julia gave him an indignant look and almost didn¡¯t bother to reply. ¡°No, no, it¡¯s the other way around. We¡¯re speeding things up for you,¡± Julia said, affecting a snobbish air. ¡°Since it¡¯s the mess you made.¡± Looking at Torm, when he offered a nod of acknowledgement, she gave him a high-five before they left Alfarr to get some rest.
Torm found Julia later as the end of the rope trailed across the water. The arc of its swing lifted her well clear before dipping again on its return towards the bank. Her pensive smile was clear from a distance as she flexed with its swing to steer the knotted rope higher over the river bank. The double loop around the top end of it slipping easily across the brace she¡¯d fixed on a sturdy branch. ¡°Why a rope swing?¡± asked Torm, once he stood closer but safely away from her course. ¡°Why not?¡± Julia retorted, but after a moment, answered properly. ¡°My brother was a lot older than I was, so there were only a couple of years before work and adult stuff meant he didn¡¯t come along on the family¡¯s camping trips. He could have ditched his annoying little sister easily when he did. Instead, he spent time with me, even if we both got in trouble for stuff I talked him into. One of my favourites was seeing how high I could get the rope swing to take me.¡± ¡°Why did he go along with your ideas?¡± Torm asked before giving her a smile. ¡°Sibling blackmail, I¡¯ve been told, is a thing.¡± ¡°The way he saw it, he¡¯d gotten himself into enough trouble when he was my age, he could at least be there to back me up,¡± Julia said, working with the momentum of the swing, Flight offering no temptation at all. ¡°Sarah shared some memories with you?¡± ¡°I mentioned you used terms no one understood,¡± Torm said. ¡°So she shared some cultural references, though not personal things.¡± ¡°What sort of culture references?¡± asked Julia, worrying exactly what Sarah had shared with Torm. ¡°Memories of movies and things,¡± Torm said with a shrug before smiling and uttering a cruel sound. ¡°Ni.¡± Huffing in amusement, Julia¡¯s laughter made the swing move erratically for a while before giving him a stern look. ¡°Oh, what sad times are these when passing ruffians can say Ni at will to old ladies,¡± Julia said, then raised an eyebrow as she considered him. ¡°I thought you had heated words with her?¡± ¡°We did, but as much as I dislike her insistence that she would not break her contract with Gaius,¡± Torm said haltingly as he considered his words. ¡°I could also see she was angry with him for signing it at all. She took offence that he¡¯d sold his Soul because of his family being outwitted of their material wealth. Things happened which she seized on for her own advantage, but she stepped back from making it far worse for the rest of the expedition. Though I still wonder how close she came to not sparing them.¡± ¡°Sarah can be ruthless in making people pay the price for their choices,¡± agreed Julia, wondering how to explain her friendship with Sarah. ¡°But if you needed someone to back your choices, she¡¯d be there. Even if she thought you could do better, it was always your choice. For her it didn¡¯t matter if friends were doing something right or wrong; they were friends so you stood by them.¡± ¡°She said I wasn¡¯t too bad for someone so lawful stupid,¡± Torm stated wryly, as he finished removing his boots and stretched his feet into the water. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cruel,¡± Julia exclaimed. ¡°I¡¯m going to scold her; She should not have told you so directly.¡± ¡°At least you defend me against such accusations,¡± said Torm, with a playful tone of relief. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it,¡± refuted Julia, shaking her head vigorously. ¡°She just shouldn¡¯t have told you directly.¡± The look of mock outrage Torm wore set Julia off in a fit of laughter. He just remained on the grassy riverbank waiting, and after she calmed down, his next question set her off again. ¡°Do you think you could make a lightsaber out of Celestial Mana?¡± Torm watched as the laughter eased some of the strain he¡¯d seen in her sad smile. 104 - Heavy Metal ¡°Anytime you¡¯re ready,¡± Alfarr said, gesturing for her to cast. The others had weapons ready as the Gate snapped into existence, the strange void of Limbo drinking at the reality of the Outlands. The Plane¡¯s effect ceased as Julia¡¯s will pushed against the chaos, and a stone platform and breathable air formed beyond. ¡°More tricks up your sleeve,¡± muttered Alfarr as Torm beat him through the Gate with Yngvarr following on their heels. I should spend those points. Vitality and determination washed through her as Endurance and Willpower received most of the points. Willpower fed into Sora Master and caused a jump in Defence, while Endurance compounded with all her levels to add fifteen thousand to Health. ¡°Lady, you look pleased to be setting off,¡± Rana said, hesitating as he approached the Gate. ¡°Do you wish to go first?¡± Shooing him ahead without explanation, Julia followed and closed it behind her. Enchantments glowed around Alfarr and Yngvarr, though protection from the void was presently unneeded. It took only a moment for Julia¡¯s Planar Sense to orientate and provided a surprise. The swirling music from Planar Sense pointed neither at the Maelstrom or followed the whirlpool¡¯s line. The strongest of the melodies directed her to a mountain range floating amid the chaos. ¡°There is a pathway leading from somewhere over there,¡± Julia stated, pointing at the course. ¡°More of Limbo¡¯s odd nature at work.¡± ¡°You have seen the Spawning Stone and are seeking it. It will cause Limbo¡¯s mutable nature to oblige your will with a faster path,¡± Yngvarr remarked, peering in the direction she¡¯d gestured. His tone was a recitation as if it was something he¡¯d read. ¡°At least three can see in this gloom,¡± Alfarr said. Not expecting a response, Julia saw an energy flare before his eyes glowed. ¡°There is a floating mountain range toward where I sense it, but it¡¯s kilometres away. Should I teleport us there?¡± Julia asked, glancing between them. Seeing the others nod, they reappeared on the lowest slope of the rocky mountain range, the sensation from Planar Sense growing stronger even as Julia took in the surroundings. Gullies, sharp drops, and steep slopes covered in loose shale formed the area, denying easy passage. A quick attempt to adjust some rocks failed, as another will imposed itself, and everything stayed the same. ¡°These aren¡¯t a random occurrence; something is maintaining the range. I can¡¯t even adjust the rocks,¡± cautioned Julia, hesitant to reach out with Telepathy. ¡°Whatever maintains it is has a firm view of how this mountain range needs to appear.¡± ¡°The Flight options it is then,¡± Yngvarr said, motioning to a fall of loose shale. ¡°Doesn¡¯t look like we¡¯d have sure footing landing most places.¡± When the spells were in place, Julia picked a spot to shift their location. The direction of their travel taking them deeper into the mountains and drawing a frown from Rana. After a dozen kilometres or more of travel, when cresting a high ridgeline, they set down without a word needed. Instead of yet more rough terrain, they landed on a perfectly smooth plateau, wards Julia hadn¡¯t seen on their approach now curving high overhead. A glance behind them showed the ward started at the plateau¡¯s edge. The ward¡¯s dome crested high above the fortress that now lay before them. Rising from the plateau, it loomed the exterior walls alone some thirty metres high. The wall shadowed many bone piles sitting at its base and on various approaches. The creator had set a silvery metal gate in the closest section with sharp ridges crisscrossing its face. Eight-metre-tall archways connected the interior to balconies along its exterior, showing four levels above the outer wall¡¯s height. ¡°Ward.¡± The single word from Julia as she motioned behind them drew Yngvarr¡¯s attention. ¡°It¡¯s an inverted barrier. I can¡¯t tell all it¡¯s doing, but it would be invisible from outside. Its primary focus is to keep things in,¡± Yngvarr said, forced himself to remain calm. ¡°Fuck!¡± Julia spat the word as she studied the power in place. ¡°Well gosh,¡± Torm quipped in return, earning an eye-roll. Did Sarah share memories of every show she liked? ¡°Hush, Muttley,¡± grumbled Julia, groaning as Torm snickered familiarly. ¡°Both of you hush,¡± Rana said, eyeing them ruefully. Alfarr glanced at Julia and motioned to the fortress questioningly, and Julia shrugged helplessly in return. ¡°Looks like a Storm Giant fortress, but not sure what they¡¯d be doing here,¡± offered Rana, attention divided between the fortress and the open expanse of the plateau. ¡°Having a feast apparently,¡± Torm muttered, his attention on the bones. ¡°They¡¯re not always looking for trouble unless you push into their homes uninvited,¡± retorted Rana blandly, even while holding an arrow notched. ¡°Could just be telling folks to keep off their lawn,¡± Julia said as she considered the bones. ¡°Some look Slaadi and others humanoid, but I¡¯m not an expert.¡± ¡°No movement around the place, any sense of minds inside?¡± asked Yngvarr hesitantly as he cast a spell. ¡°Haven¡¯t wanted to risk checking,¡± Julia replied before motioning forwards. ¡°The sense is below ground level now.¡± ¡°Are we sure it¡¯s under the fortress?¡± Rana asked nervously. ¡°I¡¯ve not had cause to fight Giants before.¡± ¡°I can always teleport to one side of the Fortress and see if it leads past, but we¡¯d still face getting out,¡± Julia commented. ¡°Might not want to split up,¡± Alfarr dryly observed. ¡°Though I¡¯d prefer not to tangle with a fortress of Giants if they¡¯re involved in keeping a mountain range intact.¡± Julia focused for a moment and shook her head when the effort was futile. ¡°It¡¯s obvious this place was willed into existence along with the fortress,¡± stated Julia firmly. ¡°I tried to cut a thin gulley in the rock with no luck.¡± Shaping claws, she ran her toes across the smooth terrain and saw the gouges reforming after a moment. ¡°It¡¯s a fortress for us, but for Giants, it might only hold twelve,¡± offered Torm. ¡°Though they could be significantly stronger than Fire Giants we fought.¡± ¡°Or it might not be Giants-¡± Rana stopped as the top of a colossal helm showed beyond the wall¡¯s lip. A few moments later, the armoured figure was visible above the wall line, standing nearly seven metres tall. His helm was open-faced, and his massive features were clean-shaven. The armour plates he wore looked almost knightly with their silver gleam. Looking in their direction, with a blade almost his height casually held in one hand, he motioned them forwards. In True Sight, the sword and armour alike glowed with a weave of Order and Primordial Mana. His Soul possessed none of the cruelty she¡¯d seen in the Fire Giants, though affections directed towards family and comrades wouldn¡¯t automatically translate to their cause. [Name: Suibhne Species: Fomorian Class: Guardian / Order Guard / Order Bulwark Details: The Fomorian tribes are among the oldest Giants within the Titan¡¯s realm. They sought refuge when their kinfolk started showing distortions of body and mind. The Guardian Prestige Class combines Fighter and Ranger at level 70. Order Guard details are unavailable at your current Skill level. Order Bulwark details are unavailable at your current Skill level.] ¡°Three Prestige Classes, Guardian, Order Guard, and Order Bulwark, but the last two aren¡¯t providing details,¡± Julia relayed to the others. ¡°That could be promising or trouble since Sidero has the Hunter Class following Order,¡± offered Torm, causing Julia to pause in concern. ¡°He¡¯s not waving the sword at us,¡± Alfarr offered, as he smiled and gave a friendly wave in response to another beckon. As Alfarr spoke, the fortress¡¯ gates cracked open wide enough to enter, prompting Julia to mutter at their motion. ¡°Welcome to my parlour said the spider to the fly.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t seem to be offering us a lot of choices,¡± Torm stated and started forward. ¡°Will the wards let us open a Gate or Teleport out?¡± enquired Rana, clearly hesitant to follow Torm. ¡°Not something I¡¯d want to risk; they¡¯re meticulously constructed. Honestly, I¡¯m not sure how they¡¯re even keeping the wards intact within Limbo,¡± cautioned Yngvarr, still focused on the wards. Julia joined Torm in walking towards the fortress and heard the others following along behind. ¡°Trusting my judgement?¡± asked Torm, not taking his gaze from the gates ahead. ¡°What¡¯s the worst that can happen?¡± Julia enquired, deliberately keeping her tone lighthearted. ¡°We all die horribly,¡± called Alfarr at the question, and Julia just flipped him a bird. ¡°Peanut Gallery, I¡¯ve already died,¡± retorted Julia, and at the snicker from Alfarr, added an aside. ¡°Twice.¡± As they grew close to the wall, Julia could see things crawling within the piles of bones. A rodent-like creature nearly the size of her arm peered from a Slaadi skull, and dove through a shadow as she examined it. ¡°Void scavengers,¡± Torm murmured, ¡°they¡¯ll always find something to eat.¡± When they drew close, another male Fomorian clad in similar armour pulled the gate open. The only difference Analysis displayed was his mouthful of a name - Mathghamhain. ¡°Our Li¨¨ge will see you now. If the Fallen tries anything, none of you will leave here,¡± Suibhne stated. ¡°You will follow me to the audience chamber, or you may remain outside the wall.¡± He spoke in clear Celestial, the words carrying a timbre and volume that reverberated through their bones. The finality in the last words squashed Julia¡¯s temptation to ask if they could just leave. ¡°May I ask who your Li¨¨ge is?¡± questioned Yngvarr, his tone cautiously polite. ¡°He will determine what you know, and what occurs next. He can hear all within his halls, be careful he doesn¡¯t take offence at your questions.¡± Suibhne hadn¡¯t even stopped to reply, but at least his long strides weren¡¯t faster than needing a jog to keep up. When they passed through the fortress¡¯ inner gates, they found the interior to be an enormous cathedral hall with a shaft plunging downwards, nearly filling its width. Curved stairs descended from the fortress¡¯ upper levels around its edges and continued into the depths, cut to a Giant¡¯s size and promising a climb to traverse. Each stair was a floating platform, clearly disconnected from everything around them. ¡°Might we Fly down?¡± Rana asked, peering over the edge as Suibhne moved towards the first downward step. Suibhne just stepped off and floated downwards with a shrug, but True Sight showed Julia enchantments in his armour activating as he did. Suibhne watched unconcerned as they set spells in place and followed his descent, the bottom some six hundred metres down. Around the shaft decorated walls showed carvings of complex wilderness scenes or niches containing statues of creatures large and small. Whoever is maintaining this must hold every line in their mind. Suibhne continued forward along a corridor that dwarfed him, and Julia felt a breeze when they reached the bottom. The passage ahead of them was drawing in air for long minutes before the draft stilled then shifted back against them. Walls along the passageway held more masterful carvings, with scenes showing caverns, mountains, forests, and even some Planar locations like the Spire¡¯s surrounds. The light ahead of them slowly brightened and gained a rippling silver hue that emanated from an immense chamber ahead. When they entered, they found themselves within an annex on the upper slope of a massive cavern that contained the light source. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The cavern could have swallowed aircraft carriers, but the primary occupant made it seem a barely spacious room. Claw tips larger than a Fomorian caught Julia¡¯s eye as it reached out to touch a point of light, shifting it from gold to silver. A robed and hooded female Fomorian clad in grey robes with golden runes inlaid the material watched its selection. The action drew attention to the outline of a massive ¡®Go¡¯ board, glowing points in mid-air, offering them a grid of fifty-one on each side. The game looked barely begun with the small number of points changed from gold to silver or obsidian. Lights all about the chamber reflected from a Dragon¡¯s silvery form, making it appear almost glowing. A wing far larger than the entire town of Eyrarh¨¢ls twitched momentarily as the weight of its gaze brushed by them. Only shifting patterns on its eye hinting where it was looking before the pressure of its attention hit. Its snout appeared broad and almost snub compared to the rest of its Godzilla-dwarfing form. Spikes rose from its muzzle, blending into its broad sweep that ran back past house size eyes to a crest larger than some stadium¡¯s seats. Its hide was smooth as a casting, rather than the scales Julia had expected a Dragon to possess. The silvery metallic coat sat tight across giant strands of muscle, stretching from wing bones to clawed forehands and the scooped shovel tipped tail that rested atop hillsides of treasure. The chamber¡¯s floor was a great lake of metals, gems, and precious objects large and small. While most of the contents appeared unenchanted, others glimmered or shone like blazing fires, both fair and foul alike. Power thrummed within the chamber¡¯s air and Julia didn¡¯t chance Analysis on the Dragon, though when she directed it towards the hooded Fomorian, the pressure nearly earned a scream. [Name: Morgana Species: Arcane Drake Class: Magus / Arch-Magus / Arcane Ruler / Hierophant Details: Since completing the Ritual of Arcane Ascension a hundred centuries ago, she has served as the Voice of Claughuthruuazex. Magus is a Prestige Class gained from combining Wizard, Priest, Artificer, and Alchemist at level 90. Arch-Magus details are unavailable at your current Skill level. Arcane Ruler details are unavailable at your current Skill level. Hierophant details are unavailable at your current Skill level.] As the Dragon¡¯s attention shifted towards them, it halted as Morgana turned a point to obsidian in reply. Suibhne had moved ahead of them as they¡¯d stopped in shock. By the time Torm prompted Julia to move again, Suibhne was already some forty metres ahead, following a gulley in the hoard. No one dared to speak even when thirty metres away, Suibhne finally gestured for them to halt on a raised grey stone dais clear of any treasure. ¡°Why do Celestials and Mortals travel with a Fallen?¡± Morgana asked. Her attention finally diverting from the ¡®Go¡¯ board after long minutes. ¡°You are neither corrupted nor bound.¡± She rose from her perch on a chest bigger larger than a truck while turning to address them. Though when Julia tried to reply, her mouth wouldn¡¯t open. ¡°My Li¨¨ge will not hear your words Fallen, and the others best speak the Truth.¡± ¡°Julia is Fallen not from her own choice or actions, but those of others,¡± declared Torm. ¡°She seeks to gain her freedom from this state.¡± ¡°Her Allegiance with Baln¨¦rith is obvious young Vargr Drangijaz despite her continued attempts to conceal it from us. Unfortunately, the concealment of her thoughts remains unbroken, or this conversation would be unnecessary. It is often with Fallen that they¡¯ll blame their fate on others. They are always innocent, are they not?¡± countered Morgana, expression twisting with distaste while her gaze bore down. ¡°My Li¨¨ge has encountered two in nearly a million years who redeemed themselves. They both started by accepting how far they had strayed from their paths. Such does not come when one blames others for your fate.¡± Julia groaned mentally and snapped the glamour of concealment among other protections she¡¯d set in place. Great, taking offence when I didn¡¯t even know we were going to meet. ¡°She hides the Sigil to conceal it from others, with no disrespect towards your Li¨¨ge. Julia has reason to keep it hidden, and they forced it upon her, like her current state. Her story isn¡¯t mine to share, and trying to force it from her would likely earn silence,¡± Torm stated. When he gave Julia a cautious glance, he nodded in relief when she motioned him to continue. ¡°Please, Julia is worthy of better treatment than this. I ask your Li¨¨ge¡¯s indulgence to hear us out; Julia has a unique history. Just as you have cause for suspicion, she has reason to distrust those trying to push for a particular action. She¡¯s removed the concealment you found offensive, but the protections on her mind aren¡¯t in her control to remove. While she can touch another¡¯s thoughts, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d take such action as an attack.¡± Hearing the cautioning hint in Torm¡¯s voice, Julia gave him a flat look and just shook her head in frustration. ¡°Which she will not try,¡± Torm stated, and at his words, received a firm nod in response. ¡°She was key to rescuing me from permanent destruction through becoming an offering to a Dark Power,¡± said Rana. As he moved to stand beside Julia, he placed a hand on her shoulder in a gesture of support. ¡°The Lady of the Forest and the Elven Celestial Courts favour her endeavours to gain freedom. She has no allegiance with Baln¨¦rith. She forced the Sigil on Julia, and I know she¡¯s asked a number about removing it. I don¡¯t have the right to serve as Julia¡¯s voice, but I can speak for what I know. I¡¯ve seen her followers seek to improve things for many good people and fight against evil. Isn¡¯t that something precious to Adamantine Dragons such as your Li¨¨ge?¡± Morgana stood clearly, waiting for a time as well before she relayed another question. ¡°Would you share your recollection of these events?¡± Morgana asked, gesturing to Rana. ¡°Willingly,¡± Rana responded, immediately stepping forward to the dais¡¯ edge. ¡°You speak with haste; with your mind untrained such will be painful,¡± scolded Morgana, her fingers twitching as if she wanted to clip his ear. ¡°I¡¯ve endured pain before. I would do so again in thanks for Julia¡¯s aid to myself and others,¡± argued Rana, his posture resolute. ¡°Many in the Norse Pantheon also view her with favour,¡± Torm stated as he glanced between Morgana and the Dragon. As the Dragon¡¯s dismissive snort caused a gale that sent coins and treasures tumbling, he and Alfarr blinked in shock. What? ¡°My Li¨¨ge cares little for the fleeting Deities of Humans. He remembers before your master, and his ilk received sanctuary from dissolution. The Titan offered a place to the Elven Courts. We know the human Deities had to beg for haven,¡± said Morgana. At her comment, she motioned as if brushing off Torm¡¯s support, and Julia found herself still unable to speak. Oh boy, grumpy old Dragon is dissing them all. ¡°They¡¯re not even an Elder Wyrm¡¯s age and possess limited providence over a single world. Look at the damage a few mundane Dragons having a spat caused their humanity when the Mortals weren¡¯t their true focus.¡± Morgana continued, her dismissive tone had turning scornful. ¡°What?¡± Alfarr blurted out. ¡°We were told they sought to destroy us.¡± ¡°They wanted humanity out of the road so they could squabble without interference,¡± Morgana scoffed. ¡°Their little spat only lasted a few centuries once they truly started.¡± As she directed her words at Alfarr, a surprised grunt of pain drew Julia¡¯s attention to Rana. His skin paling as lines of agony etched across his face, Julia stepped forward to return his gesture of support and saw worse still. Heedless of the danger as his eyes began purpling with burst veins, Julia pushed Ki into her hands and caught his as they rose towards his face. As her hands glowed with the golden light, the pain wracking his face ceased, and her healing helped speed his recovery. When she stood and tried to avoid frowning at the Dragon, he snorted in amusement. ¡°My Li¨¨ge recognises your Soul. Lady Morning, you have some explaining to do,¡± growled Morgana, shifting from a Giant to matching Julia¡¯s height as she strode towards them. ¡°You smell of concern for the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar rather than fear for yourself. Did you ally with Baln¨¦rith along with the L¨®m? fools?¡± ¡°That was more than just painful,¡± objected Julia, stepping between Morgana and Rana, surprised she could actually speak but managing her objections all the same. ¡°I would have endured far worse to aid you,¡± Rana stated, resting a cautioning hand on her shoulder. ¡°You should have kept your secret. I was showing him the care you had for others.¡± Okay, so it¡¯s a male Dragon. I will not ask how you can tell. ¡°Baln¨¦rith tricked the L¨®m?. My situation is very different, and until recently, my Soul wasn¡¯t in the Titan¡¯s realms,¡± Julia stated, and not liking the bruising still within his eyes spent Ki healing. ¡°Explain,¡± snapped Morgana, though it was unclear if the hostility in her tone was part of the message or her personal feelings. ¡°We intended no trespass on your Li¨¨ge¡¯s domain. We were seeking a route to fight Slaadi near the Spawning Stone; it¡¯s been fertilising their eggs faster. Can you please just let us go on our way?¡± asked Julia. ¡°You crossed terrain that was maintained,¡± argued Morgana, halting only a few metres away from the dais¡¯ edge. ¡°If the inverted wards hadn¡¯t kept us on the plateau, we would never have entered the fortress. Planar Sense was guiding us across the range as a route to the Spawning Stone,¡± Julia said. When she rechecked Planar Sense, its notes went directly beyond the Dragon. As Julia¡¯s gaze shot off to the side, Morgana turned to glance off in the same direction. Is it down here? Not sure I¡¯m game to ask. ¡°My Li¨¨ge has a fishing hole, but you should never have been able to sense it from outside the wards,¡± Morgana stated suspiciously before turning to regard the Dragon fully. Pressure within the chamber seemed to ebb and flow till finally she nodded in acknowledgement. Chairs suddenly grew around a table as the dais¡¯ form shifted, and the light in the chamber changed as the Dragon vanished. Coins and precious treasures cascaded across hillsides as its weight no longer pinned them in place. A silver-haired male Elf wearing a simple shirt and pants stood near the dents the Dragon¡¯s forehands had left in the mounds. His skin tone was pale white, without a hint of alternate shades the Elven races Julia had seen possessed. The exquisite features couldn¡¯t hold attention compared to the irresistible force of personality in his silver-hued gaze. ¡°Sit.¡± The word was scarcely a whispered command that should have been inaudible but sounded as he¡¯d murmured in her ear as refreshment appeared on the table, the Dragon¡¯s new form reappeared beside it. A chair moved itself to let him sit, and he gestured for them to do likewise. ¡°I dislike taking this awkward form, but another serving as my Voice is insufficient.¡± Each word was the same whisper and carried hesitation, clearly the Dragon was unused to normal speech. His attention remained on Julia, and he nodded to a chair close by her as she glanced at the others. ¡°Sit, I would hear more, as you do not seem to remember me, Lady Orh¨ºthurin. Call me Azex.¡± The same name Yngvarr found, and Azex could crush us like bugs. When Julia sat, she nodded respectfully to Azex, and the others followed suit. ¡°As you said Azex, I don¡¯t remember you and I don¡¯t even remember having that name. Please call me Julia; I¡¯m still figuring out what name I should use in this existence,¡± ¡°Julia, it has a human sound but very well. Should I share highlights of our history first while you decide what to share with me?¡± Azex offered as Julia struggled under his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re the host I feel that would be rude,¡± argued Julia, confused by the Dragon¡¯s behaviour as Morgana moved to stand behind his chair. ¡°Rude to ask perhaps, but I offered,¡± Azex said, pausing for a moment and his gaze¡¯s power eased from Julia. ¡°You were the only Anar to my knowledge that was never reborn. My many times over grandparents composed tales of awakening to the Song of yourself and others. Mother invited you to my hatching since you had rescued her from Illithid slavery when she had only recently left her parent¡¯s nest. You helped end my father¡¯s suffering at her request after Asmodeus struck him down with a curse that broke his mind and Soul. My Oath, that if something has truly forced you into this state, I will at least provide you guidance.¡± At the choking sound Morgana made at the Oath, Azex glanced her way and made a silencing gesture. ¡°My Li¨¨ge surely-¡± ¡°Morgana, you are my Voice. I respect your help and advice, but I see Titan¡¯s nudging at work here. He sets the maze of life and allows us choices. How else would she have found a turn that brought her to my doorstep?¡± Azex asked, his tone reassuring rather than reproachful, and after a moment, Morgana nodded. At her acceptance, Azex formed a chair and gestured for her to join them. ¡°Might I ask what you mean by that, Azex?¡± asked Julia, sitting forward as she spoke. ¡°My kin believe that since the Titan made this realm, he did so for a reason. As Deities gain power from believers, we suspect he gains power from every choice Souls make - for good or ill. The tale is told among us that before he gained the strength to make his realm, he lived within a maze in another¡¯s realm. There were innocent and guilty alike sent into it. Those innocents that entered he let live, if they could find their way to freedom.¡± Azex explained, his gaze resting far lighter on Julia. ¡°While if tossed in for crimes, they never regained the light. Sometimes in life we need to backtrack and offer apologies or make amends. While we live, we can make choices and move forward to find our goals.¡± Laodice, I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d care to enlighten me? (( That choice is yours, not mine. )) ¡°But just because choices are there doesn¡¯t mean we can find them,¡± Julia replied. ¡°Of course not. The Titan¡¯s maze was pitch black, possessing only light that others brought in with them, or could make. We need to find our own wisdom from whatever place we might find it,¡± offered Azex. ¡°I can see several choices for the Sigil, for example, but they all depend on your goals.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Julia asked cautiously, the Sigil already having caused issues between them. ¡°The obvious two are I can remove it, or you can keep it for now,¡± Azex replied. When Julia smiled in relief, he raised a cautioning hand. ¡°Hear me out. The Sigil is a brand, but it is also a key. It represents Baln¨¦rith; while it allows others to recognise you, it means any wards keyed for her Sisterhood will also admit you. The only way she could prevent them from recognising you would be by changing her True Name and resetting all the wards. Or trust someone to recreate every ward and give it a key only they fully controlled, and thus allow them mastery over her protections. Once I remove the Sigil, only she can restore it, so consider if you need such a key.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± Julia responded thoughtfully, doubting Baln¨¦rith would trust anyone to such a degree. ¡°I have things I might need it to accomplish. I¡¯m not the only one that needs rescuing from her.¡± ((It is a scar on your Soul, you should remove it.)) Isn¡¯t that my choice also? That block of Levithan¡¯s blood is in her stronghold. Since you wouldn¡¯t tell me more, I suspect it¡¯s part of the key to freeing you. ¡°Where would you like me to begin?¡± Julia asked, excited that she finally knew a sure way to be free of it when it was time. ¡°Perhaps at the beginning?¡± suggested Azex. ¡°I was born at a very young age,¡± Julia started, pausing with a smile at Azex¡¯s amused snort. ¡°Younger than you know; perhaps when you returned to the Titan¡¯s realm,¡± suggested Azex. ¡°One moment I was on the way home from work, the next I was in darkness.¡±
¡°You have quite a ¡®to-do¡¯ list, Julia,¡± Azex said, having considered her account for a time. Morgana had taken Alfarr and Yngvarr to rest, as her tale had gone on for hours. Torm and Rana had stayed to hear it out, adding snippets she hadn¡¯t been aware of but leaving the account mostly in her hands. ¡°Your list certainly has much of the one I remember within it, even if you don¡¯t remember her.¡± ¡°Do you know how the Anar remembered their past lives?¡± Julia asked, considering all the boxes of knowledge she had locked away. ¡°They learnt their True Name during their rite of adulthood, and it helped unlock memories. That is the extent of what lore I know on the subject. It was a rite for which only Anar or L¨®m? were present,¡± admitted Azex. ¡°My fishing hole, as Morgana calls it, follows some distance from the Spawning Stone. When I feel in the mood, I allow Slaadi to find it and cull some.¡± ¡°Morgana said you know two Fallen that redeemed themselves?¡± Julia asked, returning to a matter raised far earlier. ¡°Redeeming themselves required venturing deep into the Abyss, but I don¡¯t have details about what they underwent. I¡¯ve their names. I¡¯ll see if I can learn more for a fee,¡± Azex said, only the slight twitch of his mouth giving away his amusement. ¡°What sort of fee?¡± Julia asked, cautiously having noted some oddities Azex had found amusing within her account. ¡°The rest of your tale once you get free,¡± responded Azex quickly. ¡°Deal,¡± Julia agreed, her amusement clear. ¡°What would you charge for using your fishing hole?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there are other tales at this table that can be told,¡± Azex stated. The slight flexing of his mouth with his wooden expression for him was a broad smile indeed. ¡°How often do you hear fresh stories?¡± asked Torm, his reactions having told Julia far more than they had in the past. ¡°Not as frequently as I would like,¡± Azex replied, only hinting at a frown. ¡°Now, who will begin, Torm or Rana?¡± 105 - Let us burn Azex¡¯s fishing hole had sat initially on the cavern¡¯s edge, but now it was in a fortified chamber of its own. He didn¡¯t intend its doors to keep the Slaadi from escaping. They were only there to prevent their spells from provoking a reaction from his wards. The passageway between the door and chamber¡¯s open space he¡¯d established with their defence in mind, its shape letting them see the entire room and snipe over those ahead. The hole itself was more a pond in the chamber¡¯s floor, with a black void rippling across its surface. When the opening within changed from blackness to show scores of Slaadi floating in Limbo beyond. Rana got their attention with a shot intended to wound. The arrow struck a Blue Slaadi drawing a spray of blood and a croak of pain. As they turned to the source, a Fire Ball from Yngvarr ignited the Chaos energy. The burst and lingering flames cooked it, and a half dozen close at hand as more swarmed towards the opening. The pool¡¯s edge was too large for them to defend, so with their foes provoked her companions fell back into the passageway. Torm, Alfarr, and Yngvarr took the forward position while Rana sniped at targets from further back. Julia however, had a different role to play. At the pond¡¯s far side, Angelic Aura caused scales of fire to enfold her form. As the early foes breached the event horizon, they streamed towards her with their blood lust ignited. She gave Dominion an effect that she hoped would be a siren¡¯s song, a tempting lure of vulnerable prey. The Telepathic link she created with the others let them put the effect at bay. A Blue Slaadi¡¯s keg sized claw swept overhead as Julia slipped beneath its charge and broke its spine with her fist. Arrows from Rana joined Alfarr and Yngvarr¡¯s spells as the first stray groups charged them, Julia not having caught them all in her net. As more claws from attackers lash out, Julia flowed between their blows. Precognition and Zen State guided her swirling motions to brush their attacks, triggering Ki Aura against them. Charred webbed hands and chomping maws seared to ash by the Destruction held within. Precognition merged in Harmony with Zen State as she danced in the swirling melee. Telekinesis focused the force of her blows as Ki Strikes pulverised flesh and shattered bone. Claws slipping from Angelic Aura¡¯s flames left foes out of position for her responses. In comparison, those that seized hold reaped their own destruction from Ki Aura even before her reply came. Ash washed across the floor, sourced from multiple foes. Crystallised limbs and burned corpses joined others in piles by the defenders. The scent of death and Dominion¡¯s lure chumming Limbo near the portal called more foes to them. Gliding past the defender¡¯s front rank, Julia spun inside the arc of one Slaadi¡¯s reach. Before she had moved onto the next, Torm¡¯s assault had already crushed her attacker¡¯s skull. A spell from Yngvarr blasted its body and other remains into the void. The trailing members of mob she was kiting about were scythed through by his Lightning then Alfarr¡¯s following Fire. A chorus of thunderous croaks from the Slaadi failed to gain purchase on their senses. Instead of reeling, the five unleashed focused assaults on the latest additions to the fray. The group of Red Slaadi blasted and exploded, sprayed backwards as still more entered the Portal. Slaadi leapt from Limbo into the room like free runners flowing from one perch to the next. Their entry speed was so quick there was no chance for the defenders to gain an advantage. A Grey Slaadi reappeared in a misty vapour near Julia¡¯s course, but Ki Infusion let her strike its incorporeal form. As her grip dragged its body inside out, a golden-skinned Slaadi appeared and struck down. Its claws dug gouges along her back, the dying Slaadi¡¯s clinging form having prevented her from getting clear. Teleporting across the chamber, the Slaadi appeared nearby without a moment¡¯s pause. Slipping clear of its next attack, she saw a Red Slaadi appear from the void. Unlike others of its colour, it loomed over the massive Blues already within. Its monstrous frog-like long-limbed form seemed momentarily leaner till the thudding of its first hop announced its mass. More of its larger kin appeared beside it, and a thundering shock wave smashed the air as they croaked. Julia grabbed information and moved to continue baiting the growing colony of nightmarish frogs. The charred claws on her golden foe healed as more arms grew from its sides. The wounds it had opened across Julia¡¯s back spat out glistening eggs as flesh sealed again. [Species: Golden Slaadi Class: Chaos Feeder / Barbarian / Blood Wraith Level: 55 / 53 / 31 / 31 Health: 25,485 Defence: 521 Melee Attack Power: 1,002 Combat Skills: Claws [M] (92), Bite [M] (97), Enhanced Regeneration [S] (10), Greater Teleport(Self) [M] (5), Protean [S] (2) - Special: Infection [M](88) Details: Chaos Feeder, this Prestige Class combines Berserker and Barbarian at level 70. Blood Wraith, this base class is unlocked after gaining a Berserker Prestige Class and accessing Protean. ] [Species: Red Slaadi Juggernaut Class: Barbarian Level: 53 / 52 Health: 13,547 Defence: 425 Melee Attack Power: 460 Combat Skills: Claws [M] (50), Bite [M] (50), Stunning Croak [M] (50) - Special: Infection [M](38) Details: Morphed by exposure to the elemental energies of Earth, these Red Slaadi have grown substantially. This growth has brought with it an increase in muscle mass and overall density, making them more substantial combatants than their kin. ] Spinning ahead of the Golden Slaadi, she swept towards the Juggernauts¡¯ course. As she slipped past another¡¯s grasping claws, she alerted the others to her intent. The golden foe on her heels crashed into the small Red Slaadi ahead of it and leapt at her. Grabbing a Juggernaut¡¯s arm, she spun them in place but didn¡¯t leap away. Yngvarr and Alfarr, warned by her mental call, let loose a torrent of flame. A blast furnace washed over Julia and left dying Slaadi thrashing as the air kept burning. Though skin and flesh cooked from their bones, the Golden Slaadi rose from the tangle. Shedding its cracking flesh, it lunged. Her body became a slender column of spinning blades, and Ki Infusion carrying Spatial Mana that tore into it as it failed to rip the blades from her body. Saadi were dying all around as the Golden Slaadi enveloped Julia in a growing shroud, as they touched Julia¡¯s will suppressed its Protean and Teleport. One moment it had her covered in a maw trying to consume, and the next it split apart. Having lost the ability to change, it ripped to pieces on hooks that forced it to stretch. Fragments of it slid from hooks grown from her natural form. Angelic Aura wrapped her wings and eyes in flames as she surged towards the next. As they raced to greet her with aura-incited rage, she vanished and dropped a net of ordered power. Its crystal strands cut through chaos-formed flesh and bone, allowing their momentum to spill them in crystallised piles to the floor. As their existing momentum shattered the crystals, she reappeared and cut off more incoming enemies. They had a flash of chasing a helpless Elven female before hitting flaming walls and crushing blows. In contrast, those that survived to flee the assault gained more arrows to guide them to their grave. The whirling lure of tempting prey continued to draw more forth. She was tauntingly injuring them as she towed more and more through her companion¡¯s reach. Dominion¡¯s lure was preventing Slaadi hunters from knowing they had become prey. Though her nature bolstered her Psi energy¡¯s renewal, eventually it ebbed low, and when Julia signalled, the Portal closed with a snap. Pieces of Slaadi - caught by its closing - went skipping across the floor as it cut through them. When the last foe within was dead, she let the auras fall away, and Dominion¡¯s call ceased. A glance at the combat summary caused her to tilt her head in thought, trying to piece the flurry of deaths together. [ Red Slaadi x 328 (20%) Grey Slaadi x 18 (20%) Blue Slaadi x 217 (20%) Red Slaadi Juggernaut x 53 (20%) Golden Slaadi x1 (20%) Total experience gained: 270,266 Fallen: +54,053 Fallen Level Up! x2 Scion: +54,053 Scion Level Up! x2 Sora Master: +54,053 Sora Master Level Up! x8 Psion: +54,053 Psion Level Up! x8 Warrior Monk: +54,053 Warrior Monk Level Up! x8 Advanced Telepathy [Ad] (1->5) Angelic Aura [B] (14) -> [Ap](19) Dominion [S] (2->3) Harmony [S] (3->4) Ki Armour [S](8->9] Ki Aura [B][3] -> [Ap](13) Ki Movement [Ad](1->27) Ki Strike [S](11->12) Death Strike [M](10->12) Clairsentience [B](10) -> [Ap] (7) Erotic Dance [J](40) -> [Ad](1) Metacreativity [B](10->12) Telekinesis [B](10->20) ] Oh, you¡¯re always rounding down, nasty! Ew! How the hell did I get Erotic Dance levelling from that? Angelic Aura stopped the pressure from Ki Aura, or was I just not focusing on it enough? Oh, and I missed the little grey aliens. ¡°I missed getting details on the Grey Slaadi, other than that they can teleport and go incorporeal,¡± Julia grumbled, shaking her head in resignation. ¡°There will be plenty more, though I noticed you rip a few apart. The grey ones seemed to stay incorporeal after they teleported, but don¡¯t go that way other times,¡± said Torm, as he crouched beside a shattered Slaadi skull. ¡°If they could, less of them would have died to arrows. They can¡¯t teleport as smoothly as that Golden Slaadi,¡± Rana commented. ¡°That effect from the aura and Dominion is disturbing, Julia. Even with your link, a few times as you moved past, I had to focus on attacking something else,¡± admitted Alfarr. ¡°It¡¯s fine, no harm, no foul,¡± Julia said, as she patted him on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll try harder to hold it away from you.¡± ¡°There are so many of them near the spawning stone you¡¯ll get plenty of practice,¡± offered Rana helpfully as he unstrung his bow. ¡°How is your quiver not empty, Rana?¡± asked Julia, finally indulging her curiosity after the sheer volume of arrows she¡¯d seen him loose. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°It¡¯s enchanted to create new arrows as it empties,¡± Rana explained, moving the quiver out from its position across his lower back so Julia could see the enchantments. ¡°It has limits, it can only shape so many in a day.¡± ¡°What are you looking at, Torm?¡± Julia asked, wondering what had caught Torm¡¯s attention. ¡°There is something inside its head,¡± replied Torm, as he ripped the skull apart to reveal a fragmented crystal within. ¡°The Githz¨¦rai often find crystals in the brains of Slaadi near the Spawning Stone. Some of their writing has accounts of seeing the Spawning Stone forming Slaadi from raw Chaos. Those always have crystals inside their brains,¡± Julia said. The growing look of disgust on Alfarr¡¯s face earned a bemused look. ¡°What a face you pull. You¡¯ll squish them or fry them, but talk about the contents of their skull, and you go all ¡®oh that¡¯s yuck¡¯.¡± ¡°Hush, just because they need killing doesn¡¯t mean I want to imagine scooping things out of their skulls,¡± grumbled Alfarr, brushing her teasing away as he moved towards the door. ¡°How long do you wish to dedicate to this?¡± asked Yngvarr. His attention focused on Julia as Rana began cleansing a wound in his shoulder. ¡°Until we can get a clear run at the Altar of Set. Though given the thousands around the Spawning Stone, plus those that will seek it out, that could be problematic,¡± Julia answered and shrugged. ¡°I think the better approach is we plan based on two questions. How long will Azex endure having us as guests? How much experience do you want?¡± ¡°How did you kill the golden-skinned Slaadi so fast?¡± asked Rana, gesturing to a piece near the wall. Looking back through her log, the rush of damage she inflicted on it drew a nod of satisfaction. Though it was another message she spotted that earned an amused smile. ¡°Every hook counted as an attack for Death Strike because I wanted it dead,¡± Julia said, a grim smile lighting her face. ¡°Mind you, each also drew its share of Ki; it wouldn¡¯t have been nearly as effective without Ki Strike breaching defence. The notification credited me for fifty hooks, base damage of five hundred and sixty-eight health each, plus various critical levels and Destruction Mana.¡± As they headed to follow Alfarr, Julia slowed her pace, pleased when Torm did the same. ¡°I¡¯m glad you liked the dancing,¡± said Julia, giving Torm a cheeky smile. ¡°What?¡± Torm asked, startled from his silence by her remark. ¡°I was checking on the Golden Slaadi and saw the cause of levelling Erotic Dance, and it wasn¡¯t from any Slaadi,¡± Julia teased, her smile broadening at Torm¡¯s startled reaction. ¡°You move gracefully,¡± Torm said, regaining his composure. ¡°In battle, your focus magnifies the beauty of your movements. You move through a battle like a hawk dancing on a breeze.¡± ¡°Thank you for the compliment,¡± stated Julia, the teasing glint easing from her gaze, though the smile remained in place. ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t take it as flattery, as it¡¯s very true,¡± Torm stated in relief. ¡°I hope that fight still gave you substantial progress.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve reached level eighteen in both Fallen and Scion, level nine in the rest,¡± replied Julia. ¡°This way might be slower, but I¡¯m glad to be working with friends.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t always have you to play bait; you could allow more strays,¡± advised Torm, as he pulled open the door. ¡°No, I¡¯m the tank. Gotta be the proper aggro monkey,¡± refuted Julia, raising a hand in refusal. ¡°We¡¯re a proper little party: a tank, three damage dealers, and a ranger priest.¡± ¡°Years as a Guardian, and you¡¯re stealing my thunder as protector,¡± Torm mock grumbled, gently capturing her raised hand. ¡°I thought that was Thor¡¯s job,¡± teased Julia, aware of his lingering touch. ¡°Drool jokes featuring the name of a God are never advisable,¡± Torm cautioned, though he didn¡¯t shy away. ¡°With all respect to our host, they are still far above either of us.¡± ¡°Are you going to give me my hand back?¡± asked Julia, her glance taking in the care with which he held her. ¡°I would take nothing from you,¡± replied Torm. ¡°Might I escort you to your assigned room?¡± ¡°Plenty of time to walk there,¡± Julia answered, not withdrawing her hand as she motioned to the empty corridor. ¡°The others look to have gone ahead. Perhaps we could practice; been a while since I had anyone to train with.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Torm said as they headed for the staircase. ¡°Are you quoting the Princess Bride?¡± enquired Julia hesitantly. ¡°It was amusing, though he shouldn¡¯t have struck her,¡± stated Torm, gently squeezing her hand. Yeah, okay, we have time, and we¡¯ve had that discussion. I¡¯ll just see how things go. ¡°Sarah¡¯s such a cheat,¡± Julia grumbled, noting the embarrassment lacing her tone. ¡°She is at that, yet cares about you and Rachel fiercely,¡± observed Torm, his expression becoming serious for a moment. ¡°We all met the first day of school,¡± Julia said, nodding firmly at the question in Torm¡¯s gaze. ¡°Even though we all lived within walking distance of each other.¡± Yeah, I don¡¯t care if she¡¯s a Devil - or if she¡¯s even accepting of it - she¡¯ll always be Sarah. ¡°She mentioned that if I hurt you, she¡¯d hunt me down and collect my hide,¡± Torm said unconcerned. His stride matched her own, but Julia still took care to keep her speed in check. ¡°Sarah,¡± groaned Julia, rubbing her face with her free hand. ¡°She¡¯s worse than Mal.¡± ¡°Would you tell me more about your family?¡± Torm enquired, his thumb caressing the back of her hand. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± Julia responded with a ready smile. ¡°I miss them, but it¡¯s good to talk about them, painful but good, if that makes any sort of sense.¡±
Julia raised an eyebrow at Yngvarr¡¯s broad smile and waited to hear what news had him seek her room. ¡°I had an interesting dream last night,¡± Yngvarr remarked, his voice carrying even greater delight than his smile. ¡°Think you should be whispering the details in Alfarr¡¯s ear not telling me,¡± Julia said dryly, earning a flat look in return. ¡°Very droll, I wouldn¡¯t need to speak to you in that case,¡± retorted Yngvarr, brushing off her remark. ¡°No, it was concerning my Class, And¨²n? Scion: I felt as if Monk and Wizard were somehow approaching it providing different routes. It was a similar dream to what I had before taking the Prestige Class of Arcanist. I didn¡¯t want to proceed along either path offered as And¨²n? Scion is still so far ahead of either.¡± ¡°Get all three to ninety; they might combine,¡± Julia suggested as she sat down. ¡°Who knows if I¡¯ll meet the requirements for anything like that to occur,¡± argued Yngvarr. Taking a seat opposite her and looking over the room they¡¯d assigned her. It was clear it wasn¡¯t something that the fortress occupants would have had before their arrival. The Elven styling of the furnishing had made Julia wonder if Azex had based it on something he¡¯d seen in the past. ¡°What level are you now?¡± enquired Julia, giving him a cheeky smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to ask that, I¡¯m sure,¡± Yngvarr grumbled, fixing her with a suspicious glare. ¡°I¡¯ve not gone peeking, honest,¡± Julia protested, crossing her heart before beckoning him to spill. ¡°Not as high as I would like,¡± admitted Yngvarr with a sigh. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to fix that then,¡± Julia stated firmly, slapping a hand lightly on his knee. ¡°Julia, thank you for listening to my concerns,¡± Yngvarr said, his tone relieved. ¡°I¡¯ve had nightmares about what might come from you using that name. While I doubt any of the Court would send me a message, the And¨²n? Scions are supposed to receive warnings on matters of particular importance. Though if it was the case, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve had one.¡± ¡°Noticed you still didn¡¯t tell me your levels,¡± Julia teased. Yngvarr coughed and mumbled something, so Julia played it up and cupped a hand to her ear. ¡°I must be old didn¡¯t quite catch that.¡± ¡°If my rune plate is right, then And¨²n? Scion is seventy-three, Arcanist is still seventy, Monk and Wizard are fifty after today¡¯s fighting,¡± admitted Yngvarr, reluctantly. ¡°Right!¡± exclaimed Julia, clapping loud enough to make Yngvarr start. ¡°Next session, I¡¯ll really put the grinding shoes on. Experience farm for the win. The ironic thing is I skipped out on some Psi options because I rarely travel with anyone, and now I¡¯ve four to help.¡± ¡°Julia,¡± Yngvarr groaned, ¡°There are more important things than getting our levels higher, plus I¡¯m sure Torm is far further along.¡± ¡°The stronger you all are, the better the chances we have against the Altar of Set,¡± countered Julia, leaning forward to pat his leg. ¡°If that¡¯s your level, I know Alfarr isn¡¯t anywhere near as high as I want him to be. Also, let me tell you about Sora Master and some advanced base classes. I don¡¯t understand why you didn¡¯t unlock a better Wizard class. You got your book?¡± ¡±Of course I do, but Julia, you just-¡± ¡°But nothing-,¡± Julia interrupted, the burning will in her gaze stealing Yngvarr¡¯s breath away. ¡°Being stronger just means more I have to get done. The people we helped wouldn¡¯t have happened without the trust you gave me first. So I¡¯m helping you, end of discussion.¡± ¡°How did she underestimate you?¡± asked Yngvarr softly, his surprise making it clear he¡¯d underestimated Julia as well. ¡°Viper or Epoch¨¥?¡± questioned Julia, with an unfazed look at his surprise. ¡°Either,¡± breathed Yngvarr. ¡°I started using Zen State and Harmony to drift through all the moments. By not locking them down or objecting to things they said, Viper believed I was losing my will to resist. Where actually I was preparing for lift-off,¡± Julia said, before a pained expression twisted her features. ¡°It was skating the edge the time Viper sent the message to Livia was one instance, bitch! I just hope I held as much away from her as I planned.¡± ¡°What level are you planning?¡± asked Yngvarr, clearly curious. ¡°Going to get my new three to at least the hundred and ten,¡± Julia casually offered with a smile. ¡°You¡¯re doing what!¡± Yngvarr¡¯s book dropped to the floor, and in his shocked state, he didn¡¯t even register his notes spilling into disarray. At the flabbergasted look on Yngvarr¡¯s face, Julia couldn¡¯t help but roar with laughter. When she finally calmed down, a subdued Yngvarr asked an important question. ¡°Are you even sure you can gain that level?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°Everything is possible with hard work and persistence,¡± Julia replied, her smile stealing the surprise away. ¡±Including getting Analysis to give you an experience requirement for a level.¡± Yngvarr stopped himself from replying, instead stooped to gather his book and notes. He set the book away and took a breath as Julia remained silent. ¡°Dare I ask how much?¡± Yngvarr hesitantly asked. ¡°To get one class to level one hundred and ten, I¡¯ll need eight billion, seven hundred million experience,¡± offered Julia casually. ¡°Why do you wear yourself down this way?!¡± exclaimed Yngvarr. ¡°Because it¡¯s there, why not go for it?¡± remarked Julia, her casualness stealing Yngvarr¡¯s breath away again. ¡°Maybe with the next classes I¡¯ll go for one hundred and twenty, that¡¯s slightly over double again. When my new trio hit one ten, Fallen and Scion will. I can¡¯t get out of the Abyss while I wear this Sigil and removing it could lose me the Leviathan¡¯s blood. To get it, I need to be tough enough to finish Baln¨¦rith if she tries to stop me.¡± ¡°You really believe it¡¯s what holds the Titan¡¯s servant you spoke of?¡± enquired Yngvarr cautiously, clearly not wanting to encourage her interest. ¡°Absolutely. They won¡¯t answer questions about it,¡± Julia stated. ¡°I know I didn¡¯t give you their name, and I don¡¯t plan to, just in case. Absolutely no way I¡¯m leaving someone imprisoned by Baln¨¦rith when I just have to work to get them free.¡± ¡°Just?¡± ¡°Just a smidge of work,¡± Julia said, adding a cheeky smile. ¡°Since I can¡¯t get to the Material Plane without special arrangements, a girl needs something fun to pass the time. While I can¡¯t empty the Abyss of its endless hordes, there is no reason I can¡¯t depopulate whole reaches of it and set back their forces.¡± ¡°I had meant level before we attacked the altar,¡± said Yngvarr, his cautious tone wiping her smile away. ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know at least another twenty,¡± Julia answered with a shrug. ¡°Or more.¡± ¡°There are people at risk by dragging this out,¡± Yngvarr pointed out as he rubbed a hand against the side of his neck. ¡°I know that well,¡± Julia stated, her lips flat with tension. ¡°Do you?¡± snapped Yngvarr and flinched away from Julia¡¯s steel gaze, his words lowering to a mutter. ¡°You make it hard to tell at times rattling off ¡®experience points¡¯, levels, and your game terms. It feels as if it¡¯s just a game to you.¡± Julia just watched his reaction for a time, unsure if it had been guilt or shame driving him the most. ¡°It¡¯s how I stay sane; I shared memories with you, so you¡¯ve seen how I grew up - there wasn¡¯t this sort of conflict,¡± Julia replied calmly, Yngvarr¡¯s gaze still not meeting her own. ¡°Once I get free of the Abyss, I¡¯ll likely curl up somewhere for a year or twelve, but I don¡¯t have that luxury right now. I¡¯m not the enemy Yngvarr. Whether it¡¯s from guilt, shame, or stress, please don¡¯t lash out at me. I know you and Verdandi acted to avoid danger, and it wasn¡¯t your intent to allow it to harm others instead. Why don¡¯t you get some air? We can talk about the fancy base classes later.¡± Yngvarr nodded with a jerkiness she¡¯d never seen from him before. Rising, he left the room with a slump-shouldered gait, the stress in him bringing forth only compassion. Julia waited a time after he¡¯d left before she rose to her feet. The balcony outside her room was empty when she crossed it and hopped out into the open air. Her descent was swift, and Flight adjusted it to enter the passage only at the last moment. Rana¡¯s presence on the upper section of the fishing hole¡¯s entry stopped Julia in her tracks. ¡°You¡¯re here early, Lady Julia,¡± Rana said, his tone as welcoming as always. ¡°Seems I¡¯m not the only one,¡± retorted Julia playfully and mentally sighed from her plan¡¯s delay. ¡°I was trying to get an understanding of all the death we saw here earlier. The fighting on ¨¢sgarer¡¯s border never got so intense. At most we fought ten or twelve at a time, and often with other defenders close by,¡± Rana replied, pivoting his footing as if he was mentally firing his bow. ¡°It was disconcerting to watch them chase and swarm around you, yet barely risking ourselves to pick them off as you stayed in peril.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my role in things, though,¡± argued Julia. ¡°While I dish out damage, I have to keep their attention and ensure they stay off you four.¡± ¡°It certainly worked according to your plan,¡± Rana said thoughtfully. ¡°Though I believe the others will need some time to adjust to your approach. Did you fight so many at once within the Necropolis? You¡¯ve been very light on the details.¡± ¡°Far more,¡± admitted Julia, with a nod. ¡°It might be best not to go charging off into danger on your own,¡± Rana noted, raising an eyebrow with a smile. ¡°You¡¯ll be stealing experience from me, and I¡¯ve still much to catch up on in my classes.¡± Spock at least never looked smug, buddy. Analysis [Name: Miluichanar ¡°Rana¡± Species: Celestial Lj¨®s¨¢lfar Class: Ranger / Priest / Archer Level: 92 / 64 / 64 / 64 Health: 57,570 Defence: 877 Melee Attack Power: 588 Ranged Attack Power: 928 Magic: 313 Faith: 196 Mana: 41,840 Combat Skills: Longbow [G](3), Longsword [M] (4), Short Blade [Ad] (32) - Various Blessings. ] ¡°Did you serve the Lady as a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar with no additional Class?¡± Julia asked hesitantly, reluctant to give away she¡¯d peeked. ¡°Indeed so, Lady Julia,¡± replied Rana, with a firm nod, unbothered by her question. ¡°But in times of dire need, all things change or die.¡± ¡°So why are you waiting in here?¡± ¡°You and Yngvarr had me concerned that one might blame yourself and rush into danger,¡± Rana replied, giving her an appraising look. ¡°When I was the one who set this ¡®mess¡¯ in motion.¡± ¡°Yngvarr¡¯s skiing the stress bunny slope. I think fighting the mass Slaadi might have been a shock for him as well. Though I wanted to get more information on the Altar,¡± admitted Julia. ¡°Will you help me keep an eye out for him? He wasn¡¯t acting at all like himself.¡± ¡°Of course I will; A Blessing from my Lady might help him regain his balance. Azex said the Portal opens in random positions around the Spawning Stone,¡± reminded Rana, motioning towards the fishing hole. ¡°Why not continue with the plan? Just look through each time and see if you can use your Analysis on it at some point.¡± ¡°Alright, Rana, be the voice of reason,¡± Julia said, her voice a playful grumble as she put her hands on her hips, pretending to be affronted. ¡°It¡¯s all the practical Norse women I associated with for years,¡± offered Rana with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken with Azex while you and Torm were catching up. There is no time limit on using his fishing hole, though he might use it a time or six himself. I also spoke to him about Rachel, and he had some advice.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Julia asked, perking up at the mention of Rach. ¡°Don¡¯t get shot, and beware her Song,¡± Rana stated dryly. ¡°Okay then,¡± grumbled Julia. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can hear us, Azex. When the others are ready, we¡¯ll light up their lives.¡± ¡°Should I ask?¡± question Rana hesitantly at the fierce gleam in Julia¡¯s gaze. ¡°Likely not, just channelling one of my Dad¡¯s jokes, so always safer not to,¡± replied Julia, the smile that lit her face earned only a nod in reply. 106 - Vermilion Yngvarr¡¯s unsettled state was earning looks of concern from Alfarr as they arrived. Clapping a hand on his shoulder and giving Alfarr a nod, Rana took Yngvarr back beyond the doors. The beauty of the Lady¡¯s Blessing was barely audible, and after silence settled, the pair were still a while returning. When they did, lines of tension had vanished from Yngvarr¡¯s expression, his motions having regained their usual smooth grace. ¡°My apologies, everyone,¡± Yngvarr said. His gaze skittering away even though he looked to be trying to regard them directly. ¡°Yngvarr, there isn¡¯t anything to apologise for - Rana found yesterday overwhelming as well. I had expected that you¡¯d all fought swarms previously. I¡¯ll cut off the numbers at a lower point today,¡± offered Julia, nodding in relief at his apology. ¡°No!¡± Yngvarr exclaimed, raising a hand in protest. ¡°You¡¯ve dealt with worse, and none of us took lasting harm.¡± Julia gazed at him, but the objection died on her lips at a small calming gesture from Rana. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll bring them in till I¡¯m running low of Psi, but that will take longer than yesterday,¡± replied Julia reluctantly. ¡°I¡¯m planning to focus on Precog to maximise the time I could fight while levelling Psion. I¡¯ll leave it to Yngvarr to signal the Portal¡¯s closure if anyone needs a halt before then.¡± At the offer, a smile lit Yngvarr¡¯s face and Alfarr brushed a hand across his back. Torm gave Julia a reassuring smile before moving to where he¡¯d anchored the front rank in the passageway yesterday. Activating the Portal revealed Limbo beyond, and Julia grumbled to herself with the Altar nowhere in view. Masses of Slaadi nearby were the first to be lured. Even as Dominion brushed them, a beam of Order ripped through the darkness, driving through the Plane¡¯s opposition into the closest Slaadi. A Red Slaadi jumping towards Julia sagged on the end of her arm, its ribcage shattered as the impact crushed its heart. A strength that still surprised her cast it amid the oncoming wave. Flowing to one side, an axe kick ripped a Blue Slaadi¡¯s arm off at its elbow, the back of her leg momentarily a blade, increasing its effect. Leaning back under another¡¯s sweeping claws, Julia dropped low as the first blue took an arrow through its skull. Blocks kept the second¡¯s strikes at bay. Twisting with its limbs suddenly clamped in a vice grip, they provided Julia leverage to use it as a mallet. The arc of its body coming from overhead smashing small Reds into pulp. The force of her first step along its fallen body shattering its maw though its skull, and she left the twitching corpses behind. Curved mantis blades sprang into existence along her forearms, rippling with Ki. Every whirling motion of the tempting prey opening wounds or bringing death. As spurs joined them from shins, elbows, and shoulders, the Slaadi¡¯s blood didn¡¯t flow but spray. The evading dance from yesterday gained a perceptible menace at every turn. A maelstrom of motion carving its way through the mobs leaping into the room. Graceful movements highlighted the way she slipped away before attacks against her truly began. Attacks that failed to reach her weaponised form, she didn¡¯t block so much as remove. Still, more and more Slaadi swarmed in, following her alluring course. When they brushed near her companions, they received a lethal reception. Winter¡¯s Heart wielded in a martial artist¡¯s flowing arcs sent frozen pieces to the ground. Alfarr¡¯s Fire blasted those stray remains of foes into those following behind. As flights of blessed arrows plucked lives away, Yngvarr¡¯s strikes unleashed lines of flame. The intensity of heat cooking Slaadi flesh, yet only silhouetting Julia¡¯s spinning form. Spinning within flames and foes, Angelic Aura¡¯s strength shone with growing strength. Some Slaadi strikes weakened it, yet when broken, it came back stronger still. As the battle raged, the crude scales shaped from the candle flames showed finer crafting. The scouring of the battle smoothing rough edges as the aura¡¯s scales were repeatedly reforged. The fourth Golden Slaadi for the battle leapt into the fray. Its Teleport setting it beside Rana¡¯s position halted all motion in the chamber. Not from its attack, but from the rebuking word Rana unleashed. The energy of it smashed into the brains of those Slaadi within hearing. Even as the Golden Slaadi¡¯s mind cooked, Rana¡¯s next arrow pinned it to the wall. The Celestial energy buffeted Julia, but the Lady¡¯s Blessing recognised her and left only an itching behind as it ebbed away. Slaadi died in a surge of blood and bile. Julia¡¯s movements shed their defensive stance against now stunned foes. Head were cleaved, chests opened, limbs severed. A frenzy of death pushed the growing tide back towards the Portal¡¯s edge. Alfarr unleashed a Wave of Fire from Ki Infusion¡¯s grip and his spell, supported by a variety of Yngvarr¡¯s spells, emptied one side of the chamber of foes. Quick strikes from Torm smashed more down as Rana sniped down those further out of reach. The siren call of Dominion eased to allow the five to purge the chamber before the battle renewed. When Mortal flesh finally reached its limits, Yngvarr signalled the Portal¡¯s closure. As it clamped shut, he and Alfarr unleashed a Firestorm that left flames cooking air and stone. Within the flames Julia stood unharmed, playfully alert amid the swirling energy as her Elven form was restored from the battle shape she¡¯d taken on. Her motions, shining in True Sight, left beautiful ripples in the surrounding air as her fingertips brushed through the vermilion shades. [ Red Slaadi x 1492 (20%) Grey Slaadi x 56 (20%) Blue Slaadi x 2717 (20%) Red Slaadi Juggernaut x 89 (20%) Golden Slaadi x7 (20%) Total experience gained: 1,707,082 Fallen: +341,416 Fallen Level Up! x 8 Scion: +341,416 Scion Level Up! x 8 Psion: +341,416 Psion Level Up! x 12 Sora Master: +341,416 Sora Master Level Up! x 12 Warrior Monk: +341,416 Warrior Monk Level Up! x 12 Angelic Aura [Ap] (19 -> 24) Harmony [S] (4->5) Ki Armour [S] (9->10) Ki Aura [Ap] (13->21) Ki Infusion [S] (8->9) Ki Movement [Ad] (27->30) Agile [S] (20->21) Clairsentience [Ap] (7->24) Suppress Target (6->14) ] ¡°How is this possible?¡± Alfarr said, leaning against the chamber¡¯s wall as he slid to the floor. The liquid, beautiful sounds of a Blessing emerged from Rana as an aura of energy settled over the four, their wounds purified and healed. Clawed flesh spat out eggs, before sealing whole again. Those that fell to the ground beside Julia, from her own unaided healing, she squished underfoot their core of Chaos abhorrent to her perceptions. ¡°One kill at a time, it adds up,¡± Julia replied casually, earning a flat look from Alfarr¡¯s worn gaze. ¡°Just stay in the now and fight however you can.¡± ¡°How many was that?¡± Yngvarr asked, words hollow with fatigue as he moved to sit beside Alfarr. ¡°A lot,¡± Torm stated, cleaning his blade before he sheathed it. ¡°I was leaving it up to Yngvarr to close the Portal,¡± commented Julia. ¡°I still had miles to go, and Slaadi to make weep before I sleep.¡± Julia¡¯s flippant response did nothing to ease the look that Alfarr directed her way, but Torm simply snorted. ¡°What are miles?¡± Rana asked curiously. ¡°And you don¡¯t sleep.¡± ¡°I know, but it flowed lyrically, well sort of,¡± said Julia, stretching limbs now unburden by weapons. ¡°I¡¯ll check with Moke later to see what he thinks of your Bard skills,¡± Alfarr said, his breathing slowing as he reclined against the stone. ¡°The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep, and miles to go before I sleep,¡± quoted Julia. The English words drew a blank with Alfarr, but the rest followed magically or from shared memories. ¡°It¡¯s from a poem that has stood to greater tests than Moke¡¯s taste.¡± ¡°Do you remember the rest of it?¡± asked Rana curiously. ¡°No, I wish I did. The last part always stuck with me about work ethic. The entire poem some people see differently,¡± Julia said, with a casual shrug. ¡°But isn¡¯t that always the way? Show some people a painting of sunrise and they¡¯ll see sunset instead.¡± ¡°Too tired to think,¡± Alfarr grumbled, waving away her words as he closed his eyes. ¡°Someone make the godling stop tormenting me.¡± Julia gasped in open-mouthed shock, before covering her face with her palms. ¡°I don¡¯t think Lady Julia realised the full extent of her situation,¡± Rana offered, and Julia left them to their recovery.
The points in her profile would be a nice surge, and Julia quickly allocated them. Sixty-four points to use, so: Twenty into Intelligence makes it five hundred and ten. Four into Willpower, so it¡¯s no longer the number of the beast. Another thirty into Endurance and Health jumps to a smidge over sixty-five K. Ignoring the too-soft bed, she stretched out on the floor¡¯s stone, staring up at the flowering branches decorating the ceiling. As each minute passed, she felt her energies recover from the strain. Though Ki and Mana surged in renewal, only Psi slowly restored itself. ¡°Yes,¡± Julia said, hearing the light footsteps outside her door before whoever it was could knock. ¡°May I enter?¡± asked Torm, and Julia rolled her eyes at his formal tone. ¡°Only if you know the secret password.¡± Julia¡¯s words echoed in the chamber, but the door opened anyway and Torm leaned in. ¡°I¡¯d say I come bearing chocolate but that would be a lie.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the thought that counts, I guess,¡± said Julia. His reply caused homesickness to surge, and while it was tempting to shape some from Chaos, Julia left it alone. ¡°Your attempt bears you credit, you may enter.¡± Torm didn¡¯t comment on her snobbish tone but took in her prone state with a glance. Sitting on a chair close by, he regarded the put-out expression on her features. ¡°Alfarr really caught you off balance,¡± said Torm, the gentle tone of surprise drawing her attention. ¡°If I had lost to Viper, they would have been in the Abyss now. I don¡¯t want other people¡¯s fate in my hands,¡± Julia sighed, resting a forearm across her eyes. ¡°Pretty sure some people believe the Fates have that sown up with their threads. Why don¡¯t you just be yourself and let others decided what they wish to believe?¡± suggested Torm, and Julia heard him settling back in the chair. ¡°Pre-destiny, so glad the Titan¡¯s servant told me I don¡¯t have one,¡± Julia said, taking deep unneeded breaths. ¡°No one should have the power to preset what someone can achieve in life.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°How many dead was that?¡± questioned Torm, his casual tone not sounding like he had any genuine interest. Hint taken; we¡¯ll talk about something else. ¡°You said it yourself, lots!¡± Julia replied, not wanting to check for the summary again. ¡°Dealt with nearly three thousand blue bastards alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen smaller Slaadi assault hosts. They make dangerous foes for ¨¢sgarer¡¯s defenders,¡± said Torm, his voice soft and casually low. ¡°The larger red ones I hadn¡¯t seen before yesterday.¡± ¡°Torm,¡± Julia said, his name soft with worry. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Julia?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a game,¡± Julia said, the words heavy with strain, as her features twisted in pain. ¡°No matter what terms I use from my past life, it¡¯s just to help me make sense of things. I know it¡¯s not a game.¡± ¡°I heard you plead for Livia¡¯s life, that idea would never cross my mind,¡± Torm stated as he rose. After a moment, he sat beside her and trailed fingertips across her hand. ¡°Though I certainly believe you don¡¯t place a high enough priority on your own safety.¡± ¡°At least one person believes I¡¯m taking it seriously,¡± sigh Julia. ¡°Yngvarr accused me of treating this like a game; I¡¯m just trying to make sure they¡¯re as safe as possible in this madness.¡± Torm stopped moving, just holding her hand for a time, and Julia was enjoying the simple contact when he spoke again. ¡°I spoke to a Demonologist recently while you were still freeing Souls,¡± stated Torm. The subject change was strange, but the image that arose made her lips twitch. ¡°That must have been an interesting conversation. Did they have to say ¡®stop hitting me¡¯ often while you got answers?¡± quipped Julia, stilling her laughter. ¡°I didn¡¯t hit them at all, they were happy to help,¡± Torm responded, his tone light with relief at her amusement. ¡°They weren¡¯t a dark practitioner rather a Wizard whose focus is hunting Demons.¡± ¡°Oh, okay, not what came to mind,¡± grumbled Julia, beckoning him to go on. ¡°They said a Demon is formed by the Abyss, empowering the baser instincts of a corrupt Soul. Those empowered instincts consume the Soul, and the resulting Demon is rampant with the cravings of their prior existence. It made me remember your account of the membrane overlying the gestating Succubus. You said it seemed to force the Soul to fill its mould.¡± ¡°Oh, no!¡± exclaimed Julia, her protest weighed with guilt. ¡°Did I do that to the Larvae¡¯s Souls?¡± ¡°Julia, that wasn¡¯t the point I was making. I¡¯m sure since they were already Demons, no matter how weak, the Larvae¡¯s form had already consumed each Soul. Your actions just changed their outer mould. I meant, Viper was always trying to consume you. From the moment you broke free of the stone. You said she claimed to have almost had control, but you ran too fast. I think you would have existed like the Nox Souls. Destroy the outer shell, and they can rejoin their kin if they are close to a Grotto¡¯s protections.¡± ¡°So it will be a matter of how dangerous I made her through my efforts,¡± concluded Julia. The thought of having left Viper any power making her groan. ¡°You don¡¯t blame the others for the Altar of Set. Don¡¯t go blaming yourself for the outcome of Viper¡¯s choices,¡± Torm said sternly, though the pressure on her hand remained gentle. ¡°If you¡¯d given up, she would have been far more than merely dangerous.¡± ¡°Fine, but all the stuff I repressed now is giving Viper a dose of PMS with a pound of crack,¡± Julia muttered, smacking the ground with her free hand. ¡°Quoting Chastity Marks won¡¯t help,¡± grumbled Torm, shaking his head. ¡°Sarah shared comics with you as well?¡± Julia¡¯s following laugh stealing tension from her face. ¡°Some, I do not know whether she remembered the details or made them up. Sarah says it¡¯s an aspect of her bloodline to recall memories perfectly,¡± Torm said. As his fingertips traced the curve of her hand, the motions earned a smile from Julia. ¡°Are we going to be doing that daily?¡± ¡°Playing with my hand? Do you hear me objecting? But if you mean the Slaadi, I could kill far more. I have other options, but they won¡¯t help level my new classes,¡± offered Julia. ¡°Limbo¡¯s Chaos reduces the effects of some spells, I could use Fire Storms, but it gives me less practice for other skills. Also, I¡¯m sure it would mean a ton of experience for Fallen and Scion and zip for my new classes.¡± ¡°Which sounds like they would bring you the most power in the short term,¡± Torm commented, and Julia could feel his puzzlement when she shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not after short-term gain. I can kill these foes slower and start setting up a foundation for my next tower, or I can surge ahead in two areas,¡± contended Julia. ¡°The thing is, my next Prestige Class might be even stronger than Scion, and I¡¯ll be wanting to level it. However, it will have two Monk classes in it so Fallen, and Scion won¡¯t let me fast track it; they¡¯ll always take their share of the pie. So it makes no sense to push them ahead and delay starting the next one¡¯s growth.¡± ¡°Are you sure it will be stronger?¡± asked Torm warily. ¡°Psion, Sora Master, and Warrior Monk have five attribute gains each level, well technically three getting single gains and Willpower getting a double increase. The classes that combined into Scion had four attribute gains between them. I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m counting on gaining a similar effect with this one,¡± conceded Julia. ¡°It surprised me you didn¡¯t take a Wizard class-,¡± stated Torm, cutting off in confusion as Julia shook her head. ¡°I guess when it comes down to it, I¡¯m just a punch someone in the face kinda gal,¡± Julia offered with a smile. ¡°In MMOs, I¡¯d plan and tweak my builds to get the best numerical benefit, but this isn¡¯t a game. I want to live a life where I¡¯m comfortable in my skin, with what I¡¯m doing and with who I become. I don¡¯t know why I enjoy pushing back when something pushes me, but I do. The unlock of Wizard occurred by accident. I was just meditating and trying to keep a calm state when it unlocked because I gained Harmony and that gave me my first Affinities. While I took it because I felt I¡¯d need some magic, it¡¯s not essential to me. It¡¯s purely a tool, a useful one, but to me it¡¯s only a tool. I¡¯m not obsessed with it like Yngvarr.¡± ¡°You decided your path based on how well you could hit something?¡± questioned Torm, amused by the observation. ¡°Throwing spells around is fun, and a challenge, but I¡¯m not after mastery of the arcane. I want to be a better me. A Monk¡¯s focus is on discipline and self-perfection. An individual¡¯s spirit generates Ki, their mind generates Psi. Wizards rely on external things: grimoires to learn their spells, objects to enhance or store them. They even draw Mana in. The energy doesn¡¯t start within.¡± ¡°You and Yngvarr have both spoken about having a pool of Mana within yourself,¡± Torm pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s true, but the body doesn¡¯t generate the Mana, it merely gathers it. Stronger Wizards can store more ready for use and handle controlling it. Wizards refill their capacity by resting, or by cycling Mana. Cycling Mana isn¡¯t generating Mana, it¡¯s easing the strained pathways, so Mana accumulates faster. Oh, that might be why Powers have a say in their Priests having Affinities.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Torm asked. His baffled tone made it clear Julia had lost him. ¡°Sorry jumped thoughts. Eivor gained access to Mana when she gained the Priest Class. As she levelled, it increased her capabilities to handle Mana, provided by her Faith but still Mana. Wizard increases capacity for drawing and handling it directly from reality and then tinting it in various shades according to Affinities. So as a powerful Priest you have a massive tolerance for handling Mana, and if you then become a Wizard, and you start behaving in ways that aren¡¯t in keeping with the Power you serve. Even if you can¡¯t draw the Priest spells from the Domain, you¡¯re still able to toss off a ton more Wizard spells. Which is something the Power enabled you to achieve. What would that do to their reputation among the locals? It¡¯s a theory, no idea if it¡¯s actually why, but I enjoy theories for how stuff like that works.¡± ¡°Hence Sarah saying you¡¯re a gamer girl?¡± asked Torm, and Julia half-snorted in frustration after Yngvarr¡¯s earlier remarks. ¡°Not exactly, but I even call myself that sometimes as well. Couldn¡¯t get either Sarah or Rach into gaming. Surprised Sarah mentioned any of it,¡± Julia stated, letting the moment¡¯s tension ease from her. ¡°Apparently she listened to your prattle more than you think,¡± retorted Torm, the amused look that went with the words making Julia wonder what Sarah had said. ¡°Oh harsh, meow meow girl must have been in a hissy mood to say that,¡± Julia laughed, before the amusement drained away and the next words were barely a whisper. ¡°Did everyone in the expedition make it out alive?¡± Hesitation carried into the caressing movement of his hand, halting it mid-motion. When Julia winced in anticipation, her reaction pulled the words from him. ¡°Most of them did. A few, you might say, chose option two,¡± Torm admitted. ¡°So same plan again tomorrow?¡± ¡°Alfarr and Yngvarr seemed a bit spooked by the death toll today,¡± said Julia; her tone low as she opened her eyes to regard Torm, concern weighing her expression at his change of subject. When he gave her a little headshake, she sighed and let the matter drop. ¡°Did they recover okay after I left?¡± ¡°Rana helped restore them quickly enough. Would you consider that easy fighting?¡± asked Torm. His concerned gaze didn¡¯t leave Julia¡¯s face as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. ¡°Very easy. Days I was fighting had body counts greater than my first Gnarl horde. I¡¯m not sure if I can take on high numbers without unbalancing my levelling,¡± conceded Julia ruefully. ¡°Fighting in the Necropolis, balancing out Mana and Ki usage felt straight forward, my Psi energy is far behind.¡± ¡°Can I ask why you were so shocked about Alfarr calling you a godling?¡± Julia chewed the inside of her cheek as she considered the question before picking her words carefully. ¡°With Alfarr¡¯s comment, it made me think about Viper having those Petitioners in her claws. I can see the number of Faithful keeps climbing and I don¡¯t know their names. Despite that, they¡¯ll end up wherever I decide to set my Domain,¡± said Julia, huffing in disbelief. ¡°People are trusting their Souls to my care, and I in no way feel worthy of it. I¡¯ll do what I can for them, but it¡¯s a responsibility that I got blind-sided with by Eivor.¡± Sitting up, Julia drew her hand free and scrubbed fingers across her scalp, heedless of the mess it made. Torm stayed silent and let her gather herself, watching the shifts in expression as her thoughts swirled within. ¡°A focus for someone¡¯s belief, okay fine I guess, but a godling? Blah. Even thinking about that makes me wonder at my motivation for agreeing to it. It¡¯s ironic considering that I don¡¯t even need a cult to get free from the Abyss with my transition to Fallen. I need to learn about this redemption path though.¡± ¡°True,¡± acknowledged Torm. ¡°You don¡¯t need them to empower your plans, but they need the hope you represent to them. While you might not feel worthy, and don¡¯t want the responsibility, I believe they¡¯ll fare better in your care. Certainly you¡¯ll care more for them than others I could name.¡± ¡°Just because there are bad choices doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m their best choice,¡± grumbled Julia as she pulled a face. ¡°You do yourself a disservice,¡± chided Torm lightly, giving her a reassuring look. ¡°Your Petitioners have a place that feels like a welcoming home. Though I have an important question.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Julia asked, eying him cautiously. ¡°Why were you laying on the floor?¡± Torm asked, At Torm¡¯s question, Julia pulled a face and, grumbling in response, played along with the subject change. ¡°Azex made the bed too soft, I don¡¯t like the way I sink into it.¡± Eventually, Julia gave into Torm¡¯s echoing laughter. The laughing fit helped ease the tension away and eventually drifted into a comfortable silence. ¡°Yngvarr¡¯s at least right about prolonging things. I have a plan,¡± said Julia and patted Torm¡¯s arm in thanks. ¡°It will not be pretty, nor an honourable battle, but I¡¯ve zero interest in that.¡±
¡°Torm asked if I intended a repeat of yesterday,¡± Julia said. Glancing at the others, she waited until she had their attention before continuing. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯ll be glad to hear that today won¡¯t be like yesterday.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Alfarr murmured in relief. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t get too excited,¡± Julia scolded, holding off opening the Portal. ¡°Follow Torm¡¯s lead. I¡¯ll close the Portal if anything too dangerous tries to come inside. Just focus on doing the best you can one foe at a time, no area of effect spells.¡± When Dominion¡¯s call reached out, the Slaadi raced in towards their prey, but this time Julia didn¡¯t run them in circles. As they leapt into the room, Julia charged. Her clothing disappeared as she reformed. Where she had been was now a jagged, eyeless thing covered in thousands of waving spines that served as a backdrop for other limbs. Metallic thorns ripped through flesh as she impacted the first Slaadi, barbed tendrils, swirling hooks and slashing scythes spilled remains across the floor. When a limb ripped away, three more grew in its place. Injuries restored as Energy Drain soaked up her enemy¡¯s life, and the butchery grew fiercer still. Roiling black Yin trailed from every unnatural weapon consuming remains in its wake. The frog-like croaks uttered within the mass of foes held primal terror and hunger. Tentacles crushed the lives of foes and swatted others into stone. Swirling nano-thin wires ladened with Ki and Mana danced, leaving parts falling along their course. Torm started and cut down a Slaadi skittering along her maelstrom¡¯s edge with their focus obviously held there. While the one he engaged turned on him, it quickly died. One on one, his strength and skill made quick work of them¡ªtheir distracted state allowing him to focus on the proper technique for every initial attack. ¡°Leave Julia to close the Portal today,¡± Torm cautioned Yngvarr between engaging foes. ¡°Focus your attention on killing individuals on the pack¡¯s edge.¡± As another charred foe fell, Alfarr glanced over at Torm¡¯s words. Slaadi racing by within arm¡¯s reach, ignoring him as they sought to find what was at the colony¡¯s centre. Rana didn¡¯t spare a moment for words and continued to loose arrows and Blessings in rapid succession. When his quiver¡¯s energy ebbed, he joined the others in the melee. It was hours of muscle burning fury that had the Mortals staggering back, needing respite before the butchery ended. The slaughter might have continued, but when a front of ominous energy flooded the chamber¡¯s threshold, the Portal snapped shut. One moment their foes were a swirling mass of motion, the next the room stilled. A sea urchin formed of blazing Yang spears held Slaadi upright, a consuming star that flared brighter as bodies crumbled to ash. As Yngvarr stepped back from the blast furnace, it dispersed as Julia¡¯s form rippled. Her clothing taking shape as the monster reverted to her Elven form. ¡°Not exactly an honourable battle,¡± stated Alfarr warily. ¡°You should have better sense than that, Alfarr,¡± Julia retorted, giving him a frown. ¡°I¡¯ll save honourable conduct for entities that I give a damn about. The rest can feed the grinder.¡± ¡°She¡¯s killing them as quickly as she can,¡± chastised Torm. ¡°While both shielding us from the horde¡¯s focus and giving us a chance to fight at our own pace.¡± ¡°Be sure to pace yourself; we¡¯ve days of killing ahead,¡± Julia declared. ¡°That was a Death Slaadi outside; otherwise, I¡¯d be killing for another bell or two. Same time tomorrow, meditate, rest, and practice. Your levels will increase faster than you¡¯ll be used to. Work on your skills and keep in mind you¡¯ll need to adventure more to refine them later.¡± ¡°How is it you have so much Ki available?¡± Alfarr asked, his usual humour absent from his tone. ¡°Three Monk classes and my Ki Powers don¡¯t use as much energy anymore,¡± explained Julia before giving a farewell nod and headed for the door. ¡°I hope you enjoyed the experience ride. Please take all your possessions and limbs with you when you depart.¡± As she slipped through the door, Torm¡¯s gaze weighed on Alfarr and Yngvarr. ¡°Julia¡¯s not playing-¡± declared Torm. Whatever else he said became lost as the door sealed, and she didn¡¯t bother to listen in. I shouldn¡¯t have told him about Yngvarr snapping, but now Alfarr wants to join the beware Julia trip. What was Yngvarr¡¯s apology really about: his words to me, needing a Blessing to recover, or just delaying things? He¡¯s still hasn¡¯t wanted to talk about the fancy base classes. [Combat Summary: Red Slaadi x 5,342 (20%) Grey Slaadi x 297(20%) Blue Slaadi x 6,951(20%) Red Slaadi Juggernaut x 5 (20%) Golden Slaadi x9 (20%) Total experience gained: 4,660,519 Fallen: +932,103 Fallen Level Up! x 7 Scion: +932,103 Scion Level Up! x 7 Psion: +932,103 Psion Level Up! x 11 Sora Master: +932,103 Sora Master Level Up! x 11 Warrior Monk: +932,103 Warrior Monk Level Up! x 11 Advanced Telepathy [Ad] (5->6) Angelic Aura [Ap] (24->30) Ki Armour [S] (10->11) Ki Aura [Ap](21->30) Ki Infusion [S] (9->10) Ki Strike [S] (12->13) Protean [M] (4->6) Suppress Target (14) -> [B](15) Clairsentience [Ap] (24) -> [J](4) Psychoportation [B](10 -> 14) Silent Storm [S] (8->9) ] ¡°No sign of the Altar,¡± muttered Julia, heading towards the upper reach of the fortress to take her own advice. Great, turn into an Elder thing and Protean gets all excited. I¡¯ve not seen it jump two levels in a while. I ran dry on Psi energy well before the end, and Psion still got a full share of experience. Glad I don¡¯t have to save Psi energy just for fighting. Tomorrow I¡¯ll go wild. Need to spend my stockpiled points, then get some practice in. The first skill points go into Silent Storm. 107 - Stricken The influence of Master Farhad¡¯s style was apparent in Torm¡¯s sword technique. Winter¡¯s Heart was so swift and fluid in his hands it reminded her of watching a sword dance. ¡°Amdirlain.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Torm, with a quick puzzled glance as he continued his practice. ¡°I¡¯m calling myself Amdirlain. It means hope and free in two Elvish tongues. So I¡¯m casting off Eakc?, and just using Amdirlain. Free is what I need to become, so I hope this name sets me on the right path for a fresh start.¡± [ Name: Eakc? overridden by Amdirlain.
  • All Faithful will receive a dream conveying the new name and its implications during their next rest.
Amdirlain
  • Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings.
] Did you claim every point in my statement? ¡°I like the sound,¡± Torm said, smiling at her. ¡°It was one of a few I liked, but it stuck out,¡± Amdirlain replied, rising to join Torm¡¯s practice. Though as her gaze caught on the chamber¡¯s doors, her smile dimmed. ¡°Just remember, even Celestials have difficulty with maintaining Mortal friendships,¡± Torm said, his reassurance not bringing her comfort. ¡°I¡¯d mentioned about not wanting to encourage Ylva. You are more different than most, but I had expected more acceptance from them given your history together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve pushed their levels along, so hopefully they can help others,¡± Amdirlain replied with a shrug, even as Torm frowned at her mood. ¡°even if they don¡¯t want to associate with me further.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s part of the reason for their state. You¡¯ve already jumped both of them ten levels in just over a week being here,¡± consoled Torm, caressing her arm. ¡°Few Mortals see Outsiders truly fight, even if you¡¯ve been restraining yourself. Despite that, you¡¯ve been cutting through hordes every day.¡± I don¡¯t want this conversation. ¡°I¡¯m now Star Wars,¡± Amdirlain said. At her sudden statement, Torm grimaced and shook his head, ¡°You lost me.¡± ¡°My new title: Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings,¡± recited Amdirlain before giving him a cheeky smile that didn¡¯t ease his expression. ¡°Along with having a Sun Elf Soul, which are stars to other¡¯s planets, I¡¯ve got New Hope in my title, and its bonus prize is that it¡¯s one of the real Star Wars trilogy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a stretch; you¡¯re not impressed with it,¡± probed Torm, providing her with a strained smile. ¡°It¡¯s rubbing my face in things, I¡¯m sure,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. As her arms crossed, she scrubbed her hands along her arms. ¡°If the aspects of your title also help people find solace?¡± Torm questioned, his tone light and hopeful. ¡°Voice of reason, thanks,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Your Charisma has been peeking through lately. Perhaps take time out to let them recover and stabilise your control,¡± Torm suggested, as a wave of energy from behind her gaze caught his attention. ¡°I know, pushing to fifty-one hasn¡¯t helped. Need to build it a bigger amusement park,¡± conceded Amdirlain before her tone turned bone dry. ¡°I got a new achievement this morning.¡± ¡°You were forty-nine this morning. That doesn¡¯t sound like it impresses you either,¡± Torm murmured, regaining his concerned expression. ¡°Lucky me, I got Slaadi Masher, with gives an increased critical chance,¡± chirped Amdirlain, affecting a bubbly tone and a wide-eyed, excited expression. ¡°At least it didn¡¯t get called frog blender.¡± ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t provide suggestions,¡± offered Torm, before changing the subject. ¡°Yngvarr mentioned scrying through the Portal and seeing hordes emerging from the Spawning Stone¡¯s surface.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re fighting against the tide. The more we kill, the more there are around it,¡± Amdirlain stated, rolling her shoulders as she paced. ¡°Too much energy today?¡± enquired Torm, his gaze not shifting from her unsettled movements. ¡°Yeah, feel like I¡¯m going to turn into Tinker Bell any moment,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I do not want to know,¡± Torm stated, waving her off empathically. ¡°Oh, so she didn¡¯t share all the good ones!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, though despite her pleased tone, it didn¡¯t stop her pacing. ¡°Maybe take time to adjust and not only for getting Charisma under control,¡± suggested Torm, as her pacing quickened. ¡°Need the Altar destroyed first,¡± retorted Amdirlain, shaking her head. ¡°You advised us we needed to train up our skills and powers because of the rush of experience,¡± Torm said, taking in her focused look. ¡°Anything you¡¯re letting slide?¡± ¡°Lots, but I meant after we¡¯re done with this,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Haste makes waste,¡± Torm said, watching the blur of her motions. ¡°A stitch in time saves nine,¡± challenged Amdirlain, giving him a stern glare. ¡°What¡¯s your quickness at now?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°Seven hundred and twenty-four,¡± Amdirlain replied, ¡°Why couldn¡¯t Fallen have given me boosts to that instead of Charisma?¡± ¡°Pause, take five, or whatever way you want to put it,¡± Torm advised as he shifted to continue watching her move. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go see if Azex will teach you that game they were playing?¡± ¡°Playing a game against a Dragon - that¡¯s one way to get a dose of humility,¡± replied Amdirlain, giving him a broad smile. ¡°Yes, but it also might be what you need to find your balance,¡± advised Torm, his concerned look giving her pause. ¡°You¡¯ve been thrashing every Slaadi that comes through the fishing hole. Most barely get a swing at you now unless you¡¯re drawing things out. Having a reality check and knowing there are more powerful beings might be good.¡± ¡°Avoiding a reality checkmate is part of the plan,¡± stated Amdirlain, as the subject change halted her pacing, and she faced him properly. ¡°A key part? Because right now, it doesn¡¯t seem that way,¡± Torm responded, his voice softening with concern. ¡°They¡¯ve got you upset, so you¡¯re pushing yourself and them.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± muttered Amdirlain, lacing her fingers together behind her neck as she blew out a breath. ¡°I appreciate the advice and your concern.¡± ¡°Thanks for continuing with this, especially with them both growing distant. I can see it¡¯s not pleasant for you,¡± Torm said. As the sword vanished, he moved to caress her face, and Julia stepped close. ¡°They¡¯ve never seen my monster-style of fighting. Did she share the Cthulhu Mythos with you?¡± enquired Amdirlain, laying her cheek against his chest. ¡°Your world¡¯s stories are weird, but the Abyss¡¯ depths are worse. The Greater Celestials rarely speak to us about the original hosts of the Primordials but they¡¯ve said enough.¡± ¡°What are they like?¡± Amdirlain asked curiously. As she focused on Torm¡¯s closeness, she remembered the strange Celestials present after Rana¡¯s rescue and wondered how much stranger an Elder Celestial could be. ¡°The Greater Celestials are distant. Few of them serve Deities, they serve pure concepts. Most aren¡¯t humanoid or even anything close, though they can change their appearance if they wish. Often, they don¡¯t bother talking; you¡¯re just suddenly aware of whatever they wish you to know before they vanish,¡± recounted Torm. His posture held a wariness that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t expected to see from him, especially regarding other Celestials. ¡°What sort of things do they pass along?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°From my experience, normally ¡®child, you¡¯re in the wrong place. Go away¡¯.¡± Torm¡¯s aloof tone drew a full body laugh from her, and he smiled broadly before continuing his explanation. ¡°¨¢sgarer borders the realms of some older Powers, but the boundaries in places are just rolling plains or thick forest,¡± said Torm, giving a relaxed shrug. ¡°Though there are places and times they¡¯ll converse with others more freely. Even then, it¡¯s more what they allow you to overhear than things they¡¯ve told us young ones directly.¡± ¡°Explains why you took Azex¡¯s scolding with such good grace,¡± Amdirlain said, glancing up and rewarding Torm with a smile. ¡°The truth is the truth,¡± responded Torm, his unflustered calm as relaxing as ever to her. ¡°True,¡± Amdirlain said, pausing in consideration before she spoke. ¡°Three-day break, then reassess how they¡¯re feeling? Maybe the Lady will provide Rana Blessings to help their emotional stability.¡± Did I push them too hard? ¡°What level would you have by now?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°If you killed them at full speed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not important; it¡¯s not a game,¡± Amdirlain scolded light-heartedly. ¡°I¡¯ll let them know we¡¯re taking a break and pass along the word to Morgana via Suibhne or one of the other guards,¡± Torm said, giving her a relieved smile.
¡°Your group has no plan to use the fishing hole again today. Is that correct?¡± Morgana¡¯s sudden words caught Amdirlain by surprise and glancing about with True Sight revealed a coil of Mana directly overhead. ¡°Not until tomorrow, at least,¡± Amdirlain confirmed. ¡°Are we wearing out our welcome?¡± ¡°Some of your party are more welcome than others. My Li¨¨ge already made his views on that known,¡± Morgana replied, the Voice¡¯s stiff formality unwavering. ¡°Is there anything else I can help with, Morgana?¡± asked Amdirlain, keeping her response polite despite Morgan¡¯s tone. ¡°My Li¨¨ge wishes your presence tomorrow when you would normally open the Portal.¡± The energy vanished without waiting for a response, provoking a snort of amusement from Amdirlain at Morgana¡¯s abrupt nature. ¡°It seems we have an extension of our break. I¡¯ll just train without you in the morning,¡± Torm remarked. ¡°Wonder if Azex wants more stories from you? Perhaps he favoured yours over either Rana¡¯s or my own.¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell what he finds enjoyable. His body language to me is always just slightly off,¡± countered Amdirlain. Moving back into position, she motioned for him to start again. The moment he moved, she slipped along his line of attack and dropped to sweep away his supporting leg. As he hopped her sweep, Amdirlain snapped a palm across to deflect his kick and flowed back to her feet. Landing perfectly balanced, he closed the distance, launching a jab that failed to ward her off as she moved to engage. Her continuing attacks were landing enough touches that they forced Torm to work furiously to protect himself from others.
The passageway he had introduced to allow them access to the fishing hole started at the main shaft. With Morgana standing at its entry Amdirlain approached her only to be sent on her way. ¡°My Li¨¨ge awaits your arrival.¡± The approach to Azex¡¯s cavern was different, though it was impossible to tell if it had changed days ago or mere minutes before her arrival given Limbo¡¯s nature. Embossed panels still covered the walls along her path, but none were the same. Each wall segment was now an embossed portrait study of an Elf, their features scaled up to over six metres to show every detail. The air in the passageway was strangely still with that lack of movement, it wasn¡¯t surprising to see him seated on the stone dais in his Elven form. Though the table was larger than last time, only a pair of chairs accompanied it. The table¡¯s wood texture was a deep reddish-brown polished to a mirror shine and inlaid with miniature crystal spires that reminded her of the Grotto¡¯s structures. Though she did not need it, the top was awash with an array of both strange and familiar food, in decorative silver settings before the chairs. While he seemed inclined to host her, Azex did not acknowledge her until she sat down. His gaze had remained fixed on a plain glazed wooden cup just in front of his plate. ¡°I find your name choice suitable,¡± stated Azex, without preamble as Amdirlain was still settling, his inflections in High Elven perfect. ¡°It¡¯s a choice I¡¯m happy with,¡± Amdirlain replied, keeping to the same language, unsurprised that he knew. ¡°You shared a tale last time we spoke; it¡¯s my turn to share one with yourself. Though it¡¯s not a tale that I learned at first claw, it came to me through a series of others. The teller spoke the truth as they knew it, but I cannot be sure it is true,¡± Azex observed. ¡°One person¡¯s truth is always a subjective matter,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I dislike providing inaccurate information when I wish to give truth; As such I share this tale only with you. I would prefer it if you do not repeat it to others, lest any inaccuracy becomes entangled with my name.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want someone thinking you¡¯re a liar?¡± Amdirlain enquired cautiously. ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± denied Azex, yet he nodded then shook his head. ¡°I have no problems with lying when there is need. However, this tale relates to your past, and one day you might remember the whole truth of it. You shouldn¡¯t have to correct any misunderstanding from this account with others if it is wrong.¡± ¡°What is the tale about?¡± Amdirlain asked, curious about Azex¡¯s purpose. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°The brands that you¡¯ve partly recreated and their origins,¡± replied Azex, loading his plate with quick motions. ¡°The tattoos? I¡¯m told they¡¯re called the Markings of Royal Shame,¡± Amdirlain stated. ¡°They did not make them with ink, and that wasn''t their original meaning rather what they evolved into,¡± declared Azex. ¡°Have you gained any further knowledge of the Anar or L¨®m? since last we spoke?¡± asked Azex, before taking a sip from the goblet he had focused on. ¡°I have placed some of the points I spoke of into Anar Lore but held off spending too much as I wasn¡¯t sure the reaction it might cause.¡± The bemused expression on Azex¡¯s face at her statement was one of the clearest she¡¯d seen from him but was still wooden and forced. ¡°Your situation is rare and proceeding with caution is one option. You didn¡¯t follow a cautious path by your own account in your first life, at least not the first few billion years. Anar and L¨®m? do not mature as other species; rather, they can hold themselves to any point they wish and change it at will.¡± Azex¡¯s matter-of-fact tone at that length of time made her wonder if his age was far greater than he¡¯d implied. ¡°They can move their age about?¡± enquired Amdirlain, the concept bringing up disturbing thoughts. ¡°No, they progress forward as most species, but they could cease emotional or physical maturation,¡± Azex replied. ¡°The Lady of Morning was the eldest but also the most reckless. Physically an adult, she possessed an unfailing youthful exuberance that often led her into dangerous situations.¡± ¡°Like the rescuing of your mother?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°By that point, she had allowed the wisdom of years to take greater hold, but perhaps it is not an entirely baseless comparison,¡± conceded Azex. ¡°She often took joy from running into danger, especially if another was in need.¡± Great, so I was an immature danger junkie. ¡°The selection criteria for their rulers was their ability with the True Song. The Lady of Morning considered herself to be an adequate Singer, yet far more inclined to physical altercations. While the Elves on many worlds have their variations of Singers, their works are closer to Wizards than the True Song their creators possessed. Near the Spire there is now a Song-destroyed area that tastes thickly of terror.¡± The words took a moment to sink in, and he watched unfussed as her expression shifted from curiosity to dismay. ¡°Rach lashed out because I scared her,¡± groaned Amdirlain. She can use True Song? ¡°Whether you scared her or something else,¡± countered Azex, with a lopsided shrug. ¡°I won¡¯t hazard a guess, given all the possibilities. It is also not why I asked you here. When you earned the marks, they were quite different things. They placed the vine brands you reconstructed on their condemned, in particular those who had violated Royal Decrees but whose time of death was still to be decided.¡± ¡°But-¡± Amdirlain interjected at the conflict in his tale. ¡°Hush,¡± ordered Azex, a single fingertip tapping on the table as he regarded her. The weight of his gaze came crushing down as terror coiled around inside her. ¡°Let me finish, your questions distract from memory¡¯s flight.¡± Amdirlain nodded her acceptance, though pushing against her frozen state required a force of will that made her ache. It was only when he spoke again that the weight lifted and her strength of will alone halted instinctive flight. ¡°This all occurred eons upon eons before my hatching. Since it was the Titan¡¯s command for various races to be brought into existence, neither the Anar nor L¨®m? interfered in their development. That tendency became Royal Edict after a time, especially as societies of lesser species grew more complex, making it easier to cause waves.¡± Azex fussily picked a few morsels from his heaped plate and took his time chewing them before he spoke again. ¡°You objected to what you considered repugnant acts and destroyed an army that had been abusing peaceful folk. The matter was argued among the various choruses within the Amar. When at last you faced the Royal Court, your defence was that you acted for the Song. Since you had deliberately violated their law, they found you guilty and held you for sentencing. Though they could have asked your preference since the only outcome was death.¡± ¡°Elves like to talk, long past any timeframe where other races would have decided. Yet, it was only the excessive talking on this occasion that saved your life. A century had passed by the time they returned you there for execution. They held a final review, scarcely another year or five. They found that wars between that race¡¯s nations had purged three peaceful peoples from their world, thus ending their contribution to the Song. With more under threat, the Royal Couple enquired what you would do. Your response was you would do what the Song needed, then pay the price.¡± ¡°They conversed between themselves, and by a miracle it was a brief conversation barely more than an hour. After which they removed your surety of peace and asked if you would swear to Royal Service. Upon receiving your Oath, they instructed you to do what was needed. Afterwards, as the brand¡¯s nature prevented its removal, instead they added a rose for each of the seven nations you destroyed.¡± A metallic slithering of coins near the entrance stopped whatever Azex had been about to say next, and he ate quietly till Morgana appeared beside the table. ¡°The outcome?¡± enquired Azex, unbothered by Morgana¡¯s return. ¡°They all will tend to the matter, though the wolf wished me to give this to her first,¡± stated Morgana. A gesture towards Amdirlain drawing attention to a piece of parchment that looked a mere scrap between her fingers. When Azex motioned for her to proceed, Amdirlain nearly snatched it from her. ¡®Amdirlain Morgana requires Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Rana to undertake an assignment. She won¡¯t say what but will open the Portal to allow them to travel to the location needed. I¡¯ve volunteered to go help them since it¡¯s allowed, but Morgana agreed to take this message to you first. I didn¡¯t wish to depart behind your back. Though she claims you shouldn¡¯t assist, she hasn¡¯t made the reason why clear. Torm¡¯ ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± Amdirlain asked, trying to keep her tone calm. ¡°Do you trust your pet wolf or not?¡± countered Azex with obvious amusement. ¡°He¡¯s not mine, he¡¯s his own person-and yes, I trust him. I¡¯m not sure I trust you, even if you could have killed us all. You insisted on this meeting, and Morgana chats with my friends behind my back.¡± stated Amdirlain. Her tone gained a strained edge as she tried to stop from snapping. ¡°You¡¯re such a little mother hen. If you like, you can go with them, but you¡¯ll ruin the benefit for them. Would that help the decision?¡± enquired Azex, brushing the point of his knife across his food. ¡°Will you please explain?¡± Amdirlain asked, forcing herself to relax. ¡°They need to destroy the Altar on their own. Rana, who you caused to be rescued from it. Do you want him to stand forever in your shadow? Yngvarr caused it to end up amid Chaos. Do you want him to be in your debt for easing his guilt? Alfarr would have gone with his mate regardless, and you can see the effect your presence has on him. You¡¯re like a young Dragon, unintentionally causing fear in lesser beings when confronting their inferiority.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not lesser,¡± disputed Amdirlain, her expression tightening as she fought to keep her tone civil. ¡°Then why do you unsettle them so?¡± countered Azex, at the broad natural smile he offered, Amdirlain¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°You unsettle me,¡± declared Amdirlain, wondering what game he¡¯d been playing with his previous awkwardness. ¡°Exactly, yet once I looked at you with awe, fresh from my egg. The power and wondrous music that came from the strange being beside the ones I knew as my parents. We¡¯ll see if I¡¯m in awe of you again before I die. Will you give them a chance to fly far? To rise to a challenge and face what they dread, or will you insist on going forth?¡± asked Azex, his flat tone growing cold. ¡°I gave you time and means to strengthen them. Now decide if you¡¯ll let them fly free or cage them in your aviary and keep them safe.¡± Amdirlain ground her teeth as the parchment flared to ash in her suddenly burning grasp. Speaking deliberately aloud, she cast the messenger spell. ¡°Torm, I appreciate you letting me know. I trust you and will see you all when you get back.¡± Azex nodded to Morgana, who disappeared instead of walking away. As she brushed the ashes away, he motioned the knife at a salty broth with slices of meat floating in it. ¡°Be careful of the brine soaked Slaadi. No one else seems to appreciate the flavour.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll stick to plain dishes, thank you. Is that bacon?¡± asked Amdirlain, gesturing to a plate of thin cuts of smoked meat. ¡°Pig!¡± Azex exclaimed dismissively, ¡°Of course not, it¡¯s smoked Kraken.¡± Not the normal breakfast dishes I had thought they were. ¡°Oh,¡± Amdirlain uttered blandly before stabbing a piece and pulling it to her plate. ¡°You should relax,¡± insisted Azex. ¡°I knew what Morgana needed to reach her heights, and I know the push these four need.¡± ¡°Morgana only asked for the three to go,¡± Amdirlain pointed out. ¡°Would the wolf really have not offered to lend his strength?¡± chuckled Azex. ¡°Not with people we know in need, but again with the manipulations,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, wondering how deep the games were going. ¡°Blame it on my age,¡± Azex challenged, with a narrowed look. ¡°Apparently my Immortal Soul is even older, do I look that silly?¡± Azex went wide-eyed for a moment before he threw his head back and roared with laughter. You were so faking your awkwardness. What else have you faked?
Amdirlain set a wall of Life Mana in place over her companions as Rana knelt next to Alfarr¡¯s remains. Alfarr looked like a great white had taken a chunk from him. The wound ran from the fourth or fifth rib, arcing inwards and down to show exposed bone in his shattered hip. Liquid Celestial words vanish from her awareness as always, while Rana channelled the Lady¡¯s Blessing. Looking between Torm¡¯s battered but whole state, and Yngvarr¡¯s mauled form, she joined Torm tending Yngvarr¡¯s injuries. Hovering a hand over his side, she sent forth golden-hued Ki to speed his restoration. Even as the Mana and Ki combined, restoring the flayed skin and flesh along Yngvarr¡¯s torso, new flesh sealed over the frost cauterised stump where his left arm had been. The glow of Rana¡¯s spell turned into motes of light that wove themselves together and replaced missing organs, bones, and flesh. As Alfarr gasped with renewed life, his first breath had him cough and spray Rana with old blood. The sudden release of tension within Yngvarr sent him staggering, but as he faltered, they caught him between them. Gently lowering his trembling body, Amdirlain worked with Torm to heal him with Ki. Even with the combination of their attention and Rana¡¯s aid it was some time before his clammy skin returned to its usual olive tone. As his breathing slowly eased from its shallow and rapid pace, his eyes fluttered open, but he regarded her at first without a word. ¡°You¡¯re stranger than I can understand, but not a horror,¡± Yngvarr murmured, his voice hollow with fatigue, and glanced up to meet Amdirlain¡¯s worried gaze. ¡°What we fought was beyond horror. I had forgotten how sickeningly it was to be near. I¡¯m sorry, Julia.¡± ¡°Not using Julia anymore. I picked Amdirlain.¡± Pressing the Ki out through her hands, she watched as his sealing wounds continued to lessen. ¡°Free, how suitable,¡± whispered Yngvarr, whatever else he might have said lost when Alfarr hacked and spat. Blood splattered across the floor as he rolled onto the side that had been whole to regard them. ¡°What was it you said about muck in our sitting room?¡± Alfarr asked, his offhand tone forced. ¡°Not muck, but that¡¯s hardly important; you¡¯re all alive, that¡¯s what matters to me,¡± contended Amdirlain, giving him a smile that he struggled to return. ¡°Alive, and it¡¯s destroyed,¡± Torm stated. As his wounds knitted, Amdirlain heard the faint sound of broken bones rubbing together, causing her to give him a worried look. ¡°Even if Alfarr pinned its mouth in place at the end.¡± ¡°It just wanted a parting kiss,¡± Alfarr said dryly. ¡°Flirting with that thing wouldn¡¯t have made Yngvarr jealous,¡± countered Rana, giving the pair a relieved smile. ¡°No, but it might have him look for spells involving frogs,¡± grumbled Yngvarr, the amusement falling flat, outweighed by his hollow tone. ¡°Croak, croak,¡± Alfarr grumbled, tapping Yngvarr¡¯s leg reassuringly and leaving more blood on his pants. ¡°Hop it with those jokes,¡± muttered Torm, the display of graveyard humour earning a surprised look from Yngvarr. ¡°To tell the tooth I worried,¡± Amdirlain joked, glad to play along with Alfarr¡¯s warped humour. When he groaned, it wasn¡¯t clear if he was still in pain or if her joke had bitten too close to home. When they finally rose to leave, Torm touched her arm and waited for the door to close. ¡°Tyr wishes me to return to ¨¢sgarer,¡± Torm informed her without preamble as soon as it clicked shut. ¡°When did you learn that?¡± enquired Amdirlain, her quiet tone giving nothing away. ¡°Only as they rose to leave,¡± Torm responded, his gaze seeking her own. ¡°So the boss wants you home. Say hi and thank him for me. The Slaadi situation should calm down now. However, I¡¯ll stay and see how the Spawning Stone is acting for a week. Maybe kill some more, so the situation on the border eases sooner,¡± offered Amdirlain, her casual tone earning an intent look from Torm. ¡°I¡¯ll see what the situation near the stone looks like tomorrow. If the numbers are way down, I¡¯ve got other things to handle.¡± ¡°What will you do next?¡± asked Torm, taking her hand in his own. ¡°Azex said protecting those that can stand on their own hampers their growth,¡± Amdirlain admitted before continuing with a shrug. ¡°They¡¯re trapped. Time to see if I can give them more help.¡± ¡°You have helped them already. They refused the aid you brought earlier,¡± countered Torm. ¡°It¡¯s still time to do more,¡± Amdirlain replied adamantly, giving his hand a light squeeze. ¡°Be wary. Usd¡¯ghi at least knows of your interest in Tern¨°x,¡± cautioned Torm, his concerned gaze lingering. Growing to match his height, Amdirlain wrapped her arms around him, and for a time, they simply held each other. When Torm pulled away, she stopped him and brushed his lips with hers. The softness of their first kiss sending fire through her veins before she reluctantly let him go. ¡°Thank you for coming back safe and for trusting me,¡± whispered Amdirlain, her faint blush earning a pleased smile from Torm. ¡°Always, Amdirlain, always,¡± Torm declared, raising a hand to caress her face. ¡°Be safe.¡± ¡°That I can¡¯t promise,¡± chided Amdirlain, the request making her frown. ¡°I¡¯ll be as safe as I can.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯ll pray you¡¯ll return whole all the same,¡± Torm assured, lightly cupping her cheek. ¡°Go on, but tell the others,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, gesturing towards the door. ¡°I¡¯m not giving the goodbyes for you.¡± When he left, Amdirlain closed her eyes and scrubbed palms across her face. When she looked up, her gaze showed a bleak fierceness.
¡°Arise and well met Torm.¡± As the grasp on his forearm drew him upright, an awareness of Class options became suddenly and unexpectedly clear. First among them, he saw himself as the Commander of the Vargr Drangijaz, ensuring the safety of the borders of ¨¢sgarer. While it would grant him immediate strength, it would narrow his focus. Turned away from other Planes, its focus was protecting the Petitioners already within. Though it was an attractive choice to be perpetually close to those he served, he moved on. Choice after choice, he went past as none truly spoke to him, though all appealed for their service to Tyr¡¯s purpose. Each choice¡¯s focus was too narrow and specific in the duties they would involve after their selection or wasted too much of the potential he¡¯d gained. Finally, among the back of the maze of tempting figures stood a simple robed outline, its aspect unclear. It took determination to approach where it stood misted with uncertainty; something about it even warned of a potential for disaster. Entangled with it was the recent destruction of the Altar of Set, and all four of his classes. Still, he forced himself on as the sense of it was sheltering those in need more than anything he¡¯d perceived among the rest. As he mentally reached for the figure, he felt his Li¨¨ge¡¯s grip tighten on his arm and his body change. The energy within him condensed as everything he had been before came together as one, with the energy of ¨¢sgarer woven within. Instead of standing below Tyr¡¯s shoulder, he met him eye to eye. His hand clasping Tyr¡¯s forearm had lost its fur and looked similar to his mortal guise, only sturdier still. ¨¢sgarer¡¯s spring breeze through the window brushed across the bare suntanned hand, as he felt something across his back respond to the passage. The sensation was strange, startling him into glancing over his shoulder and found the wings his Li¨¨ge¡¯s gaze was already considering. Opalescent white wings rose from his back, flexing automatically as he studied them, their upper arcs another metre above his three-metre height. ¡°Not what ¨®einn had foreseen,¡± Tyr noted, gesturing with his stump towards a table where the orb of a glistening Soul Forge hovered. ¡°Good, now sit. We shall plan together you and I, after we see what your change has wrought. ¨®einn lost a Valkyrie, yet the Titan¡¯s message just now told me you¡¯re a Planetar. Not something I¡¯ve heard of outside her tales to you. Maybe he finds it amusing to use the name since I claimed her Paladin term for offering a few youths a way forward.¡± When he moved to sit, the furnishing in Tyr¡¯s study again surprised him. He¡¯d never seen the inside of his Li¨¨ge inner study before, though he¡¯d attended discussions in the planning room several times in the past. Where so much of the ¨¢sgarer was rich with decorations in one form or another, Tyr¡¯s study was almost bare of anything but essential furnishing. Sturdy bookcases encircled the room awash with scrolls and books that bore a resemblance to the records of laws in Verdandi¡¯s study. An alcove near the door contained a chain hauberk of Celestial infused Mithril, ready to be donned, and a well-tended broadsword hung from a hook next to it. The harness and sheath clearly altered to allow for Tyr to don it and draw the blade one-handed. On the other side of the alcove hung a heavily blood-stained shield, the edge still gashed apart where the blow had snuck past.
Deep in the Abyss The wind coming off the plains howled through the shattered arena. Fortune having left its once prosperous clan eighteen hundred cycles or more ago. Its leader had failed to deal with an upstart challenger who then scattered the clan. A raging cyclone touched down in its centre as a wall along its edge ripped apart, and a figure emerged into the storm¡¯s eye. Wine coloured lightning crawled over his skin, eating at the air while his deep-set gaze looked over once purple skin now stained a sangria red. As the War Mattock spun in his grip, other Br¨ªn in more standard shades emerged from the Gladiator pens. Between the Demons walked a Manes, a hyena headed Mortal who had proved useful so far. While her height almost equalled the Br¨ªn, she was fragile in comparison. They in turn seemed lessened by their Lord¡¯s presence, despite the closeness of their size to his own. ¡°Lord Raivo, we completed your instructions in testing the northern defences. The campaign came apart after Adventurers slew the cackle¡¯s Matriarch of Matriarchs. It cost much to hire a Storm Giant Wizard to open the Gate, but our Hobgoblin allies have embraced your cause and provided much tribute to your Priests.¡± The Manes¡¯ words were a growling sound that was well suited to Abyssal. ¡°Very well Kaftar. Let¡¯s see about breeding you some Cambion then. While they get old enough, we¡¯ll re-establish and expand your own cackle¡¯s reach before the next campaign,¡± Raivo said, after a few moments of thought. The wait having made the Manes¡¯ Matriarch squirm in discomfort ¡°You did well opening a Gate so soon after the Portal¡¯s destruction. Did you bring some younger bitches with you as instructed?¡± ¡°They await below, Lord of Fury, Slaughter, and Rage, Destroyer of Hope, many fertile females from our tribe, all in heat.¡± The Manes¡¯ words cut off as Raivo¡¯s gaze fixed on her before turning back to the taller of the Br¨ªn. ¡°Go below with her, F¨¢m¨¢val. I¡¯ll be there shortly. Fuck the Manes¡¯ bitches and ready the weapons to send back with them to the material plane.¡± Raivo¡¯s quick gestures in hand sign earned an instant response, the Br¨ªn unfussed by his instructions. ¡°Should we leave some for you, Lord?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no interest in them. Don¡¯t break them; they need to survive to give birth.¡± They led the baffled Kaftar away with a firm hand on her shoulder, and as Raivo¡¯s War Mattock whirled, he considered the message Ascension had provided before opening his profile. ¡°Now to decide my new classes; wasn¡¯t expecting Ascension to Demon Lord to open the playing field completely. Things they never tell you. Stupid Derek, I¡¯d be so much further along if you¡¯d given in sooner. Well, your pain was fun while you lasted.¡± The gale¡¯s fury drowned the murmured words as he considered his expanded base classes. ¡°Escort? What the fuck? Oh, it improves group defences when supervising others during battles or journeys. Pass. Battlerager, hmm maybe, but it sounds Dwarven. Lightning Lord, a new base Class because of Stormblade, that looks promising.¡± 108 - Broken Amdirlain held Yngvarr¡¯s mind in her grasp, rendering him insensible to the physical world as Rana and Alfarr worked. His healed stump needed to lose a few centimetres off the end before spells of regrowth could start their work. Instead of invoking sensation, Stimulation pressed numbness across his shoulder and down his arm. Telepathy allowed them to sit together in her Mind Palace and look at the constellations within her darkness. The platform had changed since last she¡¯d visited. The opaque material which had hinted of things concealed was now a transparent substance. Its internal crystalline structure turning the sun¡¯s light into prism-like auroras radiating from its surface. Yngvarr sat on the platform¡¯s edge, clearly torn between examining the energetic splashing water and the patterns of light. ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too disconcerting,¡± Amdirlain said hesitantly. ¡°This is all the excess energy you¡¯ve been hiding away?¡± Yngvarr enquired, looking curiously at a pair of waterspouts that were jousting. ¡°A lot more than when I first got control,¡± admitted Amdirlain, gesturing to the layered amusement park she¡¯d needed to grow. ¡°I now believe Amr¨²ngwen¡¯s warning about meeting with you, wasn¡¯t for our protection, it was for yours,¡± stated Yngvarr. He wasn¡¯t able to meet her gaze even in the beauty of this space, but eventually he forced himself to look at her. ¡°I should have realised from the way she spoke. She didn¡¯t want you to suffer heartache if we reacted badly, and I did that regardless.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all good,¡± Amdirlain responded gently, hoping to put it behind them. ¡°No,¡± insisted Yngvarr. ¡°It isn¡¯t all good. I can¡¯t give a strong enough apology for the way I treated you. You listened to my advice and yet I didn¡¯t take the time to consider your situation in return.¡± ¡°Stop berating yourself over it. Admit it, I was doing some pretty freaky transformations,¡± Amdirlain chided, nodding to emphasise the last words. ¡°We got through it, and we¡¯re clearing the air, not leaving it to fester. Did you and Alfarr sleep alright last night?¡± ¡°No nightmares,¡± admitted Yngvarr with a nod. ¡°I think the Lady¡¯s Blessing did more than restore Alfarr to life. He slept soundly for the first time since we¡¯ve been staying here. Though he indulged himself with jokes about having a craving for ribs.¡± ¡°His sense of humour is seriously worrying, but people handle things differently,¡± conceded a bemused Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be relaxing while Rana regrows your arm.¡± ¡°I half expected you to leave without saying goodbye,¡± Yngvarr said, ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s attempt to change the subject. ¡°Nah, if I¡¯d done that, Azex might have kicked you all out, and you needed the time to heal,¡± contended Amdirlain. ¡°Or eaten us,¡± Yngvarr replied, peering at the rippling water. ¡°I hope he wouldn¡¯t go that far, but he inhales a lot of food even in Elven form,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Hope you realise it¡¯s just how I see it. It¡¯s my Mind Palace, in someone else¡¯s mind it would be completely different. The Githz¨¦rai use visualisations of ice, steel, or stone, compressing it tight together.¡± ¡°Your mind presents the power to dominate others very playfully,¡± stated Yngvarr, gesturing towards the nearest water slide. ¡°I¡¯ve seen nothing like that.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t that power Yngvarr,¡± refuted Amdirlain. ¡°This is purely charismatic energy, a follow me effect, the alluring fascination that causes people to stare at me. Honestly, I never brushed either of you with my Willpower, that I¡¯d never push against friends.¡± As Yngvarr looked about to argue Amdirlain just shook her head reproachfully. ¡°No, not one bit. When I used Dominion to help the ladies, I focused my will on keeping myself in a moment of tranquillity,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°I hadn¡¯t applied my Willpower against you until Rana asked me to help you avoid the pain from your arm regrowing. Even now I¡¯m keeping your mind away from your flesh as gently as I can; it¡¯s more a continual diversion rather than stonewalling or controlling.¡± The mention of his body called Yngvarr¡¯s attention away, and her quick words pulled his attention back. ¡°I¡¯ve set up a book with the better base classes. You¡¯ll like some of the Wizard ones. I considered a few of them, but while spells are fun, Wizard isn¡¯t my focus.¡± Yngvarr blinked for a few moments, and the link between them strained before he finally responded, his curiosity getting the upper hand with the help of a few nudges. ¡°You¡¯d still entrust the information to me after the way I behaved?¡± ¡°Even if you had wanted nothing to do with me, I planned to pass the book along,¡± assured Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re too kind and trusting,¡± murmured Yngvarr. His sad smile made Amdirlain glad she¡¯d kept the link between them as light as possible. ¡°Not as trusting as I was,¡± admitted Amdirlain, her expression becoming rueful. ¡°Though I hope I¡¯m still kind to those that deserve it. You make nothing better by being mean spirited to those deserving kindness.¡± ¡°I think your assessment of such is broader than most peoples,¡± countered Yngvarr. ¡°Has Azex given you information about your old life?¡± ¡°He told me a few things. In my first life, apparently, I was an adequate Singer and dealt with things physically and recklessly,¡± offered Amdirlain before intentionally changing the subject. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me more about Livia¡¯s boyfriend? How¡¯s she been?¡± The ploy quickly distracted him as the mischievous thoughts stirred between them. ¡°I¡¯ll let Livia know her mother¡¯s worried about her sex life,¡± Yngvarr teased, the lightness of his emotions a relief. ¡°You can let her know,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯d better also tell her I¡¯m too young to be a grandmother. I¡¯ve already sent a message of my own. I¡¯m glad she¡¯s found someone that isn¡¯t intimidated by her insights.¡± ¡°She¡¯s too focused on gaining levels in her four classes to be a mother yet,¡± reassured Yngvarr, but the mischief didn¡¯t leave his gaze. ¡°Good.¡± The energy in Amdirlain¡¯s statement had Yngvarr practically glowing with amusement. ¡°What do you have planned next?¡± enquired Yngvarr, after some time had passed with them watching the antics in Amdirlain¡¯s water park. ¡°Heading back to Tern¨°x next and maybe Ijmti. I think Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s planar locked there it would be good to remove her from the board,¡± replied Amdirlain, casually dropping to sit beside Yngvarr. ¡°It¡¯s a never-ending board,¡± cautioned Yngvarr, his gaze growing concerned at the lack of seriousness in Amdirlain¡¯s tone. ¡°That it is, but I¡¯ll get practice taking pieces from it, and new ones remain weaker for some time,¡± Amdirlain contended with a smirk. ¡°But you¡¯re talking about sticking your nose into the primary Sisterhood Stronghold!¡± exclaimed Yngvarr. ¡°No, I¡¯m not going into it,¡± Amdirlain disagreed, gesturing for him to calm. ¡°You¡¯re jumping to a conclusion there. Yes, she¡¯s Planar locked, but if I use a Greater Gate spell on the same Plane, I might snatch her from the Stronghold.¡± ¡°If you can force her to respond to the spell,¡± insisted Yngvarr with a frown. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Willpower is her strong suit, since treats could distract her. Hopefully I now have an excellent shot. If not, I¡¯ll raise my Willpower then see how she does staying away,¡± responded Amdirlain, blatantly unconcerned. ¡°I¡¯ve still got nearly ninety years with her planar locked, and she was oh so proud of her Home Plane, so I¡¯m guessing it will be there.¡± ¡°How do you intend to achieve that?¡± asked Yngvarr, turning from the sight of the playful water. ¡°Killing Slaadi, and massive numbers of Demons,¡± Amdirlain said, affecting a casual tone. ¡°But the Spawning Stone is already returning to normal, according to Morgana,¡± rebutted Yngvarr. ¡°The Slaadi are always dangerous to others, just like Demons,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°You won¡¯t rest, will you?¡± ¡°No rest for the wicked Yngvarr.¡± ¡°Amdirlain,¡± chided Yngvarr, grumbling wordlessly when she just grinned. ¡°One day Yngvarr, one day. At least I can sit in the Sun here. Your arm¡¯s almost fixed, the skin is darkening at present, and your fingernails just finished growing back in.¡± Amdirlain informed him as she rose. ¡°How are you watching it?¡± queried Yngvarr, his confusion drawing a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°I wasn¡¯t watching. I have a link to Rana as well,¡± She replied, releasing Yngvarr to the real world. * * * The portal opened right through Eyrarh¨¢ls¡¯ wards, Morgana¡¯s grin at Yngvarr¡¯s shocked expression making her feelings clear. Familiar scents came through as windswept droplets of an early spring rain sprayed across the threshold. ¡°But I gave you no image of where our home was!¡± protested Yngvarr. ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°You need to improve your skills, Elf; don¡¯t waste the achievement My Li¨¨ge pushed you into gaining,¡± chided Morgana, as she gestured towards the open threshold. ¡°Achievement, what do you mean?¡± stammered Yngvarr, as Alfarr turned to regard Amdirlain. ¡°From what Azex said, it should stand you in good stead for at least level ninety,¡± Amdirlain chirped before giving Morgana a frown. ¡°Rana was going to break the news.¡± ¡°I wish you would come and relax,¡± Yngvarr said, looking between Morgana and the portal in concern. ¡°If you waste expensive materials opening a Gate that allows me through, I¡¯ll be cross,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, pushing Alfarr towards the portal. ¡°Spend it on the ladies instead.¡± After he crossed the threshold, Yngvarr turned and invited Rana to cross. The invitation causing a flare of light between them in True Sight, making the Bond between them obvious. When Morgana closed the portal, she regarded Amdirlain for a moment before she spoke with a hint of concern in her gaze. ¡°You¡¯re not the kind to rest, are you?¡± ¡°Rest! I only worked part days this last week,¡± Amdirlain retorted, before Planar Shift carried her away to the closest edge of the Abyss. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. [Planar Shift (Self) (4 -> 5)] * * * Planar Shift hadn¡¯t let her reach for Ijmti directly. With its depth in the Abyss, her nascent Power would require progress to transfer to it in one hop. Abyssal Lore had provided the names of Planes to use as waypoints along the way, and none of them had appealed. Venturing back into the Abyss had smashed against her senses with the repugnance of a suddenly opened septic tank. She¡¯d stored the shadow vines on the early hops and formed a set of disposable clothes, not sure how bad her destination would be as the Planes grew worse. Ijmti. The Plane¡¯s essence sucked her into its existence with a lingering sense of violation. Impossible nausea hit her in waves as its energies battered against her. Bereft of Abyssal Adaptability, instead Angelic Aura levelled - not once but five times in rapid succession. Protean churned as injuries accumulated, her skin quickly awash with a rash of blisters and oozing abrasions from the air itself that her Power raced to heal. What could have been pristine nature was drowning in undiluted corruption. A majestically beautiful forest shrouded in a soft night¡¯s embrace and drowning in toxic waste. Fluids and grasping mists lay across plants and a parody of natural beasts alike, staining the place and everything within. Its odour slid with gagging, implacable malevolence across her tongue . The air intruded into her pores and lungs with a sickness worse than L¨ºdhins¡¯ display with the corpses in his lair. The depraved defilement that he¡¯d inflicted on them was a lesser evil than what rubbed longingly against her now. Fluids slid from living things everywhere she looked, leaving behind bubbling, necrotic ulcers exposed to the polluted smog filling the air. Primordial vitality healed the injuries in an eruption of pus or rot, only for the next brush of fluids to inflict further damage. The scale of the cycle of injury and renewal obscenely pressed against her mind. A 12-point buck, maggot-like tendrils writhing in place of eyes raced away from her arrival. As it moved, its closest side was a mass of deep blisters that burst to show flesh and jutting ribs.. As it leapt, flesh slithered back into place, and brushing past a fluid covered shrub raised blisters anew. Fluid from an overhead branch slid free and Amdirlain spun clear of the worst, Flight holding her above the defiled earth. Still, droplets splattered a trailing hand and dripping from her aura, flesh from her fingers went as well. As flesh continued to slide free and the rot spread, Amdirlain cut the hand free, severing it nearly at her elbow lest it spread within. Her empty sleeve wafted in the dank breeze for a moment before Protean reset her form. Precognition and Danger Sense screamed, and she teleported above the highest branches. Where she¡¯d been, a rotting fallen trunk lurched upright in a burst of regrowth. The real danger hadn¡¯t been from its growth but the wave of fluid that sprayed over everything nearby. Above the canopy, the forest ran to the limits of her perceptions in all directions, save one. A glimmer of light there promised a hint of open water. The Plane¡¯s night sky hosted bleak toned nebula, unblinking alien eyes that glared down, hunting for a glimpse of prey. A wind shift above the trees swirled the smog around, shredding clothes and flesh alike. As pieces began dripping from her, Amdirlain quickly plane shifted away. The Planes she skipped past - blurred by as quick as her Power allowed - until she settled on a Plane she knew. Though her arrival point in a rocky region of Hrz¡¯Styrn was new, she took the risk and stopped. The consuming energies still clinging needed to be dealt with soon. Floating, she shed her outer flesh and let it splatter to the stone. The diseased mess didn¡¯t just sit there but chewed the ground. Sickness eating at the rock clearly breeding true, and as the ground grew necrotic Amdirlain moved quickly to one side. The Plane¡¯s air screamed in rage as she unleashed a pillar of Yang flames. The Celestial energies were a dangerous signal flare of power, but their flames were a sure way to destroy what she¡¯d cast away. True Sight showed scrying spells flickering into existence, prompting her quick departure. Though not before another spell set an expanding orb of Yin to consume whatever might remain. Fuck! Teleport had set her flayed Elven form floating near the crevice where she¡¯d first exited the Necropolis. Now the crevice¡¯s darkness was simply that and not a boundary into Death. A glimpse showed she¡¯d lost more health than she¡¯d possessed when first evolving to Fallen. Although not in any immediate danger with Health sitting just under eighty thousand, the damage¡¯s still prompted her to move into the shallow crevice and set spells to aid Protean recovering Health. With it climbing in leaps, she checked amid notifications to see what the journey and brief stay had earned her. [Angelic Aura [J](20->32) Protean [M](20->22) Planar Shift (Self) (4) -> [B](6)] Considering options while her Health restored, Amdirlain extracted a rock section from deep under the crevice¡¯s stone floor. Finding a place to deposit the resulting rock shards a distance away took longer than the rest of the work combined. Eventually, she stood in a domed chamber whose roof started far beneath the crevice¡¯s marker point. ¡°Welcome to the batty cave.¡± The words echoed oddly as stage two started, and holding an image of the circle¡¯s formation, she pulled the inner line from the stone. Checking and re-checking her work against grimoires, she slowly measured and added runes beyond the first circle, triple-checking each before she moved to the next. The etching took cycles yet even after a week its construction wasn¡¯t complete. Etched into the perfectly flat floor Inventory had provided was now a circle mould whose inner ring was precisely two metres across. Layers of runes for containment, concealment and binding were woven together to complete further circles. Its complexity was achievable only by dumping knowledge points into Rune Lore. Even then, the construction had forced her proficiency in it and Inscribe along, while Arcane Lore provided her guidance in knowing what to attempt next. Repeatedly she¡¯d stopped to go over all the etchings, checking her sources each time and venturing out to test individual runes away from her hiding place. The last layer of the circles had an outer diameter of nine metres. Though it looked accurately carved, only using it would show for sure. Before leaving, she set a canvas in place to prevent settling dust from clogging any of the fine marks she¡¯d need kept clear. Preparations changed her form into a black-eyed elven featured ivory-skinned Succubus. A form ripe with alluring curves, the spiked wings of Culerzic, and bluish-black hair in a page cut far shorter than she¡¯d see any of them wear. It was an existence she¡¯d longed to get out of, and she attempted it hesitantly. Now, instead of fighting raging urges, it was merely another form. With a thought, she overwrote the quick slot that had once held her normal Succubus form; sure it was far safer to never use it again. The absence of her body¡¯s previous demands halted her in consideration before Dominator leathers enfolded flesh. Was it from my Species, the Abyssal energies, or Viper always playing games? Prepared for her planned infiltrations, Teleport shifted her again. Her arrival point was out of sight from the glowing Portal leading to Tern¨°x. With no caravan nearby, Amdirlain layered more concealment spells in place, finally moving forward wrapped in veils of invisibility. After her preparations, the absence of waiting enemies was a letdown. The cavern with the ramp heading into Tern¨°x looked nearly identical to how it had appeared over a decade ago. An enduring landmark amid the Abyss¡¯ Chaos, countless caravans passing this way having stamped it in place. Debris across the passage lay thicker than last time she¡¯d been here. Her Power and Skills needing a push, she cast Telepathy¡¯s net wide, feeling for minds as she moved along. It was nearly two days before she felt a patrol on the edge of her awareness. As they slowly moved deeper into her mind¡¯s web, she halted near the tunnel¡¯s wall. Considering her options, there was one she¡¯d been looking forward to experimenting with. As her fingers touched the stone, activating it was a simple thought. Cold seeped through flesh and nerves as fingers sunk knuckle deep into the stone. It wasn¡¯t a natural cold, carrying a sharper presence than some incorporeal undead she¡¯d fought in the Necropolis. The thought of their pain sent a shiver down her spine, and a notification pinged as her arm came free again. [Spirit Passage (1->2)] The entry and exit of flesh through rock had consumed Ki as expected, but Amdirlain had more she needed to learn. Once the five points each way would have been worryingly significant, now she simply smiled and set to trying its limits. When her arm was fully inside the rock, she teleported to the passageway¡¯s middle and reappeared with her limb intact. The arm was misty at first, but as the Ki expenditure occurred, it became solid again. [Spirit Passage (2->3)] The promised range of Advanced Telepathy comforted her that the patrol she wanted to test against was hours away. Experimenting, she slowly worked with the Power, the continual cold from its use shivering through flesh. She didn¡¯t know the cause, but each use poured ice water along nerves as flesh brushed through the stone, and her imagination provided visualisations of twitching limbs freezing within the rock. The mental images disturbed her awareness despite knowing she¡¯d flayed herself more than once, most recently only a week ago. Spirit Passage had pushed up close to the Apprentice ranks before she risked moving fully within the rock. Flight drifted her backwards into the stone, and Willpower locked instinctive rebellion away as it sealed around her. The surrounding rock held and mingled with her essence as Flight kept her steady. The ice water along her nerves had sunk deep into her bones, and a blizzard¡¯s cold settled in to stay. The minds of the slowly approaching patrol still seemed on course towards her as she hovered in the darkness. Slowly at first and then with increasing steadiness, the surrounding rock changed. It gained vibrant energy against her skin that came in irregular wavefronts that washed through her. At first, they were soft, but their warmth started affecting Amdirlain¡¯s nerves as they slowly grew. With Ki¡¯s unfaltering reassurance, she held herself in place until feeling spikes within each wavefront made a vague sense. [Power: Tremor Sense Unlocked! Tremor Sense (1)] The next pulse carried the same vibrant energy and trying to pick a wavefront apart gave her a new awareness. Each hit was a warm individual droplet on her nerves, a heated spray that mingled with each until the wave blurred over her completely. Warmth battling the cold painted a picture across her skin. The fading waves echoed back a hollowness ahead of her, the void stretching off in both directions. Knowing the passage lay ahead, even the rough outline made complete sense. The wavefronts carried eddies in their midst that impressed across her skin. Hollow echoing points providing her with a sensation of the distance and weight that caused them. An expanding trail of circles spread through the stone from every impact, mingling with each other. Flight drifted her back further through the rock as Spirit Passage kept her incorporeal. [Tremor Sense (1->2) Perception [M] (41->42)] The rage and hatred in the minds she reached into were familiar sensations from the past. Tracking them was easy enough with the noise of projected thoughts and emotions. Beyond the outbursts of emotional thoughts, accessing their upper mind was wading in filth, so she focused on one alone. Smells translated by a Hymadan¡¯s nose were constantly being catalogued within its mind. Though what he smelt didn¡¯t just invoke recognition, rather, each brought emotions and spurts of memory association. A moment of raw desire gave her a memory of its last glimpse of the city gates of Qcppxtypcd. None of the emotions were positive: their thoughts were continually awash with greed, jealousy, fear, hatred, and rage. The churning in the hollow pit at every thudding step of the massive Sk?ll Drake drowned its greed in mind-numbing fear. The smell of raw flesh in another¡¯s pack twisted the endless hollow pit of its stomach in knots. Bitter lingering viscera coated the inside of its nostrils as it kept alert for scents. The mammoth Demon¡¯s torso-sized axe had bathed in the spiders that had attacked cycles past, but even clean the weapon still smelled of their ichor. The thought of the spider-like Nox invoked rage that the one patrol mate it owed coin continued to survive. The memory of the fight let her count the number still present, and the Hymadan¡¯s fear or contempt towards each let her assess their relative power. Though aside from the Greater Sk?ll, most of the others felt close to it in Power from his reactions. Memories showing the fear and struggle in the battle with Corrupted Nox Hunters gave her a gauge for their strength. As the thudding steps of the Sk?ll Drake drew closer, more details of the passage and the rock within became clearer. The echoes revealed hollows, flaws, and the changing density of the rock in places. When at last the Sk?ll was in the passage ahead, she moved. Flight pushed her back out into the passageway, and the patrol was as she¡¯d expected: a mix of Hymadan, Dretch, and even some H¨¹msi. The hyena-faced Hymadan wore enveloping chain armour, much like the red-skinned H¨¹msi in the patrol. She¡¯d only seen the latter in Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s service, but it seemed they hired out to others as well. The Hymadan were sniffing the air in slow motion as she emerged. Several already focused on the spot where she¡¯d repeatedly touched the wall. Their gaze had only time to start widening, as her misty form became flesh, and she attacked. Her focus wasn¡¯t on them but the Sk?ll; its red-scaled hide showed old scars from many fights. Despite it being five metres from the wall, her leaping axe kick struck first. Compared to the others, it turned swiftly - but still far too slow. Muscles bulged as its axe moved, but the Demon¡¯s balance had only begun shifting. Amdirlain, intent on pushing Psi energy to disrupt its muscles, didn¡¯t expect the result. The Ki empowered kick broke through protective enchantments with ease and as the energy carried, on the Sk?ll came apart. Corded muscles relaxed not just from Psi but death. After holding back against the Slaadi, the result of cutting loose surprised her. Along the kick¡¯s arc armour, hide, flesh and bone exploded. Before it could fall, the follow-up wheel kick she¡¯d expected to need smashed the remains away. The hulking body folded across her leg before the force flung it through the rear half of the patrol. Weapons slowly raised as she moved towards the rest. Psi energy wrapped around the fastest, slowing it unnecessarily and giving her a chance to practice. Slipping by a sword, an elbow strike shattered a skull. A spinning kick turned the corpse into another projectile. The sword spinning from its dying grasp, an open palm deflected it into another¡¯s leg. None of them truly had a chance to even ready their weapons. [Combat Summary: Dretch x3 H¨¹msi x2 Hymadan x 18 Greater Sk?ll x 1 Total experience gained: 53,808 Fallen: +10,761 Scion: +10,761 Psion: +10,761 Sora Master: +10,761 Warrior Monk: +10,761 Psychometabolism [Ap](10->12) Psychoportation [J](32->33) ] It looks like I relaxed the Sk?ll even as I killed it. This is what Torm warned about, becoming accustomed to easily killing foes. The memory of Baln¨¦rith moving from her seat sent a shudder down Amdirlain¡¯s spine. The Hymadan¡¯s mind had shown her shifting places like a speeding car, not a blur of light. Pillaging the dead, she tucked coin purses away and the few items that glowed to True Sight. Analysis having determined their minor enchantments. As she lifted the Sk?ll¡¯s massive axe, the difference between them became even clearer. Where the Sk?ll¡¯s muscles had bulged from hefting it, the weapon¡¯s mass felt merely awkward rather than a burden. Pushing its enchantment to activate, the blades¡¯ edges crackled with Lightning as she twirled it overhead like a baton. 109 - You cant always get what you want With the plundered goods secured, Amdirlain recalled the approach to Qcppxtypcd glimpsed in the Hymadan¡¯s memory. When a scrying spell confirmed its accuracy, Greater Teleport delivered her easily. Teleport placed her at a small archway near the cavern¡¯s ceiling with Tern¨°x¡¯s tunnels behind her and a massive open space ahead. The weeks she had expected to spend travelling bypassed with the right information. A glimpse of the city showed its origin as a cavern turned into an open pit mine. Each descending terrace showed a distinct style of construction, growing more elaborate as they descended towards the central pit.p In the pit¡¯s centre stood an irregular, windowless skyscraper. Its walls were carved in the semblance of humanoids packed tight together, hands grasping each other as they desperately fought to support those above. The nearest side of its irregular formation was over a dozen kilometres away. That side a few hundred metres long and rising nearly to the roof. The roof arched to it then back down kilometres beyond in a natural curve. Close examination with True Sight showed Amdirlain where Mana had changed the stone to ensure it stayed in place. Bindings that held them in place were empowered with links to the Plane¡¯s energy. The staircase linked with the main trade passage before it turned into the city¡¯s docks. Even from this distance, the platforms showed wear and tear from masses of cargo having crossed them. Only at docks far around the city¡¯s outer ring were any caravans present. The undead behemoths she¡¯d travelled on before weren¡¯t the only transports in sight, they mixed in with equally massive multi-wheeled metallic constructs that were a steampunk wet dream; pistons and drive shafts gleamed among giant spurs of enchanted bone. Their shielded cores were burning with arcane flames that she recognised as originating from Efreetis¡¯ hearts. As her first sweep over the city had confirmed, no spatial paths were present. Amdirlain carefully re-checked the city¡¯s tiers, memorising paths, wards, and buildings. Buildings barely more than stacks of rough stone blocks made up the city¡¯s outer ring, but the roughness of construction didn¡¯t last long beyond the edge of the first tier. The wards that sat around the city began blending in with those set into individual buildings as stone became decorated in precious metals and gemstones alike. In the deeper tiers a treasure trove of materials precious to Mortals were being used as commonly as some might use paint. True Demonic opulence showed its face in the inner depths, with imprisoned Souls screaming their distress as their forms pressed against barriers of transparent Enchantment. They didn¡¯t earn her sympathy though as True Sight showed their nature. Souls naturally drawn to the Abyss were caught like flies in amber by Enchantment before the Abyss could begin their transformation. A mockery of a playground among the richer districts held impaled, doomed Souls birthing fragments into a blood-soaked muddy pit that formed into Dretch. Around the edges, Demonic offspring looked on and threw rocks. The sight of a group of young hags hexing a birthing Dretch into destruction earned a raised eyebrow, and Amdirlain had seen enough. Two mutated Hyenadons on steroids near the closest trade gate seemed simple guard animals at first glance. However, the sharpness of their reactions, when she began her deliberately slow descent betrayed them. Analysis quickly provided her the full details on the strangely mutated beings making the intelligence in their gaze make a lot more sense. [Species: Least Shoosuvas Class: Fighter Level: 4 / 27 Health: 3,042 Defence: 131 Melee Attack Power: 86 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad] (50), Claw [Ad] (50), Sting [Ad](50) - Various Innate Powers Details: A member of a pack bonded to Lobuqili, they follow his orders without question. Shoosuva were first created by the Demon Lord Yeenoghu, prior to his destruction in the War of the Four. After his destruction, the Abyss¡¯ 422nd plane, previously called Yeenoghu¡¯s Realm was renamed Fool¡¯s Paradise. All attempts by other Demon Lords to change that name have met with failure. Even without their original creator¡¯s influence, Shoosuva continued to spawn from the Souls drawn to that Plane. ] The Shoosuvas were each nearly two metres high at the shoulder and five from their chests to haunches; their long tail straightened would more than double that. The barb at its end by itself was longer than her forearm and dripped a murky fluid as they shifted to face her direction. ¡°Succubus, you were a long time watching.¡± The Shoosuva¡¯s growling words bit off the Abyssal tongue, but before she could reply the other spoke up. ¡°Halt there. You have familiar scents and blood on you.¡± As the second growled out its instruction, the first focused intently on her and its nostrils twitched. A few snapped growls calling for the Commander caused hyena-faced Hymadan guards to appear at the parapets. It was only when a lightly armoured H¨¹msi called down for her to explain herself that she spoke again. Instead of the heavy armour that H¨¹msi always seemed to wear, he wore only dark brown leather armour. Despite its light look, True Sight showed the solid enchantments woven within the armour that made it far more protective than even chain mail and greaves. His red features were almost human but possessed an unhealthy cadaver hollowness about them. His human-like irises were a cold blue set in yellow orbs. While his mouth at first appeared his best feature, when he spoke, generous lips parted to show a nest of sharp points. ¡°I found a dead patrol with ichor on their weapons and gear. It matched what I¡¯d seen from spider things I¡¯ve fought before. I believe they¡¯re called Nox Hunters or something close,¡± stated Amdirlain, as Analysis provided her details on their Commander. [Name: Lobuqili Species: H¨¹msi Class: Spellblade / Scout Preceptor Level: 3 / 23 / 23 Health: 9,944 Magic: 154 Mana: 55,800 Defence: 934 Melee Attack Power: 597 Combat Skills: Crossbow [M] (12), Long Blade [M] (72), Short Blades [M] (23) - Various Spells Lists - Affinities: All Tier 1, 2, 3, Abyssal, & Destruction. Details: The ruling council of Qcppxtypcd pays Lobuqili a good retainer to ensure he doesn¡¯t cause trouble and is available for lucrative bounties. He left Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s service after being skipped for promotion due to defeating battalions of Set¡¯s forces. Knowing his superiors had become wary of his ambitions he brought his command with him into the city¡¯s service. Spellblade Prestige Class is gained from combining Fighter and Wizard at level 70. Scout Preceptor Prestige Class is gained from combining Scout and Commander at level 70. ] ¡°The whole patrol is dead?¡± asked Lobuqili. ¡°I thought your patrols would be larger. I only saw twenty-four bodies, including a big Sk?ll,¡± offered Amdirlain, her tone casually factual. The next question didn¡¯t follow quickly, and as Lobuqili¡¯s hand stroked across his chin, the other guards glanced between themselves. ¡°Where were the Patrol¡¯s remains?¡± Lobuqili asked, the guards relaxing as he spoke. ¡°Only a few cycles in from Hrz¡¯Styrn¡¯s Portal. A Teleport past dangerous roads is safer, but I wasn¡¯t sure how accurately I could Teleport here. After examining their bodies, I risked a Teleport based on an image I¡¯d seen,¡± Amdirlain said, and as the guards exchanged wary glances continued on. ¡°They looked like they¡¯d barely readied weapons before being ripped apart.¡± ¡°Its words smell true, Commander. Your decision?¡± At the growling words from the first Shoosuva, the guards relaxed further but still kept a sharp eye on her. ¡°Reason for coming to Qcppxtypcd?¡± enquired Lobuqili, not responding to the question. ¡°Trade, of course, Commander,¡± purred Amdirlain, as she began trailing fingertips from her throat to waist in a blatantly alluring gesture. ¡°You will provide an imprint,¡± declared Lobuqili, his gaze following her motion. ¡°Normally, I don¡¯t show all my tricks at once, but very well, since I understand your concerns,¡± Amdirlain said, nodding respectfully. ¡°Come to the door¡¯s grill; you¡¯ll provide an imprint before you get in the door,¡± Lobuqili ordered, gesturing to a Quasit hovering further back before disappearing from the gate¡¯s ramparts. As she made adjustments to her Profile¡¯s defaults, she followed their instruction and moved to the grill in the postern gate. The Quasit was there with a familiar-looking gem clutched in its paw. They held their Empowered Dusk Emerald so she could only touch it with a finger through the grill. With no glow of Mana present, Amdirlain had no hesitation in providing her adjusted imprint. It reacted as easily to Abyssal Mana in her control as the other had to the heat her previous form possessed. As soon as the gem was glowing sullenly, the grill¡¯s hatch snapped shut. The door opened after a few minutes, to reveal a fortified room requiring her to ease between spikes to cross it. A Dretch guard there looked over her lustfully before waving her through, barking orders in stumbling words. ¡±Commander¡¯s door, first on left, err right¡­ door with the city¡¯s symbol thing. Just find it. Any trouble, we get you.¡± At its first mistake, the sound of laughter echoed down from an area above. As the braying noises sounded clearly through the murder holes, its last words came out in an angry snarl. The burly Demon clenched its fist in barely suppressed rage as its glare flicked between the holed ceiling and her. As the sound of laughter grew louder Amdirlain moved past the Dretch before it could blow her attempt at a peaceful entry. The Commander¡¯s door hadn¡¯t even really needed directions. After passing a ladder leading up, she only found two doors, one of which had dangerous energies visible to any Demon coating it. The Commander¡¯s room took up most of the gatehouse¡¯s bottom floor and wasn¡¯t Lobuqili¡¯s room alone. Rows of desks sat empty before the upper dais, where he lounged behind a fancy desk with the Quasit perched on its surface. The Quasit sat on a parchment scroll, wielding a quill longer than its barbed tail, carved from a stone spine. ¡°Name: Jade. Lesser Succubus. Classes: Fighter, Dominator, Wizard, and Scout. A small collection of Powers, Skills, and Spells; level thirty-one in Dominator, level thirty in the others,¡± Lobuqili stated, with the Quasit quickly making notes. ¡°Interesting you risk travelling this Plane alone and yet decided to Teleport based on a description.¡± ¡°Not a description, an image, though I didn¡¯t know its accuracy or age. I¡¯d seen no caravan coming this way near the Portal, nor the initial stretch of passage I travelled. I could have caught a lift otherwise. This isn¡¯t my Home Plane, and when I examined the dead patrol, it was clear their deaths were recent,¡± responded Amdirlain, keeping a composed expression. ¡°Isn¡¯t it better to have some chance than none?¡± ¡°Did you pick up any gear from them?¡± asked Lobuqili, his curious tone at odds with an enquiry about pillaging a patrol. ¡°My Teleport only lets you carry so much. Though I¡¯ll admit I grabbed some coins - they certainly had no need for them,¡± Amdirlain said, bouncing the full pouch she¡¯d belted at her waist. ¡°Besides them, the only thing of obvious value was a Siege Axe. No Lesser Succubus I know could lift, let alone Teleport it, unaided.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°You said a patrol size of twenty-four. How many of those were H¨¹msi?¡± ¡°Three, most were Hymadan,¡± Amdirlain offered, keeping a professionally sharp smile firmly in place. ¡°The Siege Axe, anything unusual about it?¡± Lobuqili asked curiously, and the Quasit glanced between them before returning its focus to the scroll. The old man features on its tiny reptilian body, almost caricature-like with the size far out of portion to its bat-size form. Its tiny fingers seemed too small to control the spine that it was nimbly using as a quill. As she regarded it, the Quasit fluttered its wings and glared at her before returning to the scroll. ¡°Besides one blade alone being bigger than my torso,¡± said Amdirlain, and paused in apparent consideration. ¡°It had a smell of lightning beneath the ichor, and someone enchanted it from the runes. I didn¡¯t take the time to investigate its nature fully.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough to confirm which patrol it was,¡± stated Lobuqili. A nod to the Quasit had it scratch some final notations before placing the quill in a holder. ¡°Your imprint shows you¡¯ve only recently Ascended; I¡¯d suggest the establishments in the third-tier district, a quarter cycle left from this gate.¡± ¡°Are those the ones you prefer to visit, Commander?¡± purred Amdirlain, tilting her head as she leant ever so slightly towards the desk. ¡°Perhaps,¡± Lobuqili replied, as subtle tic appeared along his jaw. ¡°Well, if it¡¯s only perhaps, then perhaps I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± replied Amdirlain, pausing before adding a final purred word. ¡°Perhaps.¡± ¡°This shows your Home Plane as Culerzic,¡± stated Lobuqili, though she caught the same tic again. ¡°That¡¯s odd, Commander. While I came from the cliff in Culerzic, I thought it would show Hrz¡¯Styrn. I¡¯ve spent some time in ¨´eqr?kas, and when I Ascended, that was where I emerged,¡± Amdirlain countered, wondering what his game was now. ¡°How did you escape the city¡¯s destruction?¡± Lobuqili quickly asked before Amdirlain had time to investigate his thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s destroyed?¡± blinked Amdirlain, genuine surprise slipping her control before quickly restoring her professional persona. ¡°I¡¯ve not been in its walls in over four thousand cycles. I¡¯ve been on other Planes. When did this happen? How complete was the destruction?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be some time rebuilding; its crippled trade along that route. You may leave,¡± declared Lobuqili, motioning for her to leave the room. True Sight showing a reaction from the wards at his words. The shock wave demolished it? Well fuck! Did the System claim experience for any Demons that died? It certainly didn¡¯t give me any, bloody cheapskate thing. I¡¯ve caused two massive explosions and it gave me nothing for either of them. Pizda! [Achievement: Used a new swear! Reward: Expanding your vocabulary is a reward in itself! ] Next time I talk to Laodice, I¡¯m going to have a little chat with her about Titan¡¯s system! Bloody smart arse rounding down experience thief! As she paused, Lobuqili gestured again for her to leave. [Acting [M] (1 ->2)] The warded door let her out directly behind the secured trade gate. Amdirlain quickly set out towards the closest ramp into the city depths with an eye on the landmarks she noted from outside. Aware of the pouch at her waist, but with no way to explain its disappearance if the Commander had someone following, she continued on. The only precaution she could take was to remove the pouch from her belt and loop its ties around her neck. There might well be thieves that could take it from her without her even noticing. She could only hope it swaying between her breasts didn¡¯t provide some sign she was looking for customers. Labourers, mostly weaker Demons such as Dretch, moving along the road with her paid her little heed. When she reached the ramp¡¯s base she turned right instead of left. The ramp down to the next tier was further that way, but best to avoid getting near the entertainment district Lobuqili had recommended. As she moved along, she kept a sharp eye out for various shops of interest and noted the restrictive flight paths of Demons airborne over the city. The way every flyer kept themselves exceptionally close to the rooftops inclined her to learn more before risking flight here. Snippets of intent caught from their minds showed no reason for the pattern other than staying low. The bloated fly like Chasme made up the greatest number, but there were Quasit, light armoured Succubi, and some Alu-Demons among them as well. While the Alu-Demon were beautiful compared to their male counterparts: seeing Mortal Souls stuck in the bodies of half-Demons wasn¡¯t pleasant.
The purse around her neck vanished on the city¡¯s third tier; when quickly ducking through a marketplace, she drew it into Inventory while concealed among the crowds. Exploring the city provided her with a few locations she needed, including mercenary halls and bounty hunter notice boards. Given what her plans needed, the loot she had was unlikely to be enough. Telepathy nudging thoughts within minds got her surer answers than risking questions. Glimpses of memories invoked amid the emotion-inflamed minds guided her to a fifth-tier region where the buildings gradually gained elaborate trimmings. After a loop along some of the main roads, she found a shop of particular interest, Abyssal runes showing that Wizard, Alchemist, and Artificer services were available. However, its range of services wasn¡¯t what attracted Amdirlain the most, rather it was the structure of the wards so unlike any others she¡¯d seen in the city. Instead of brute force resistance, they set the wards to redirect energy into the street¡ªwith the security measures attuned to specific individuals rather than the weakness of any key. After watching the shop, it was clear the wards included anti-theft measures, with the way their energy ran through the belongings of those exiting. As the gazes of locals lingered on her more frequently while she continued to monitor the store, Amdirlain headed for the door. The U-shaped counter started at the front wall and looped around without a break. Their maker had anchored the wards inside it, using its physical shape to provide conceptual reinforcement to the redirection. Inside precisely set layers of spell formations entwined with the physical construction, the interaction between concept and reality set up a continual feedback loop that shone with accumulated power. Behind the counter, a scantily clad red-headed and amber-skinned Succubus wore dental floss shaped into a bikini-like outfit similar to what she¡¯d first seen Klipyl wearing. Overtop, she wore a shop apron made of thin leather straps set to emphasis rather than cover anything. The pockets that generally sat at mid-thigh were against her midsection and digging a hand into any would be an act of erotic contortion, especially with the apron¡¯s neckline folded down to act as a shelf showcasing her breasts to customers. Fortunately for her, a Demon¡¯s flesh didn¡¯t need back support for her generous E-cup. It seemed sex didn¡¯t just sell, instead it screamed buy! The outfit wasn¡¯t as surprising as what Analysis revealed. [Name: Lorrella Species: Noble Succubus Class: Wizard / Artificer / Arcane Smith / Alchemist Level: 75 / 68 / 68 / 72 / 69 Health: 9,700 Magic: 447 Mana: 354,228 Defence: 534 Melee Attack Power: 210 Combat Skills: Bite [M] (1), Claws [M] (2), Tail Strike [Ad] (3). Multiple Spell Lists - Affinities: Fire, Earth, Magma, Light, Metal, Spatial, Infernal & Order. Details: The offspring of a noble from the Feywild and a Succubus of Lillith¡¯s lineage. Lorrella is too wild for Hell and too unnatural for her father¡¯s people. She ventured to the Abyss as an act of rebellion against Hell¡¯s regulations, and though able to draw on Order, prefers the freedoms the Abyss offers. ] Seventy-Fifth level, so she remains a Devil rather than a Demon? Even as the information presented itself, Amdirlain took in the contours of her black wings, sporting only a single clawed thumb. Vivid red hair styled up taller than a beehive, but the end of it spilled down past her shoulders. As the door opened, she looked up in greeting, vibrant green eyes grabbed for attention in her fey features. Her eyes, an ocean of green irises dotted by multiple pupils, had only a sliver of white surrounding them. The eyes themselves were already four or five times larger than a Human¡¯s, making her small, delicate nose appear positively tiny in comparison. Her broad mouth stretched out in a smile that showed too many fine small teeth, gleaming white in the shop¡¯s light. At once exotically Human and alien, she was unlike any Succubus Amdirlain had seen. ¡°Like what you see? You¡¯re all dressed up, no fair, we should fix that later,¡± pouted Lorrella sulkily, though her pause didn¡¯t last long before a flood of excited words spilled forth. ¡°Come in and close the door. What can I help you with today? Potions? Spells? Golems? Something else? Foot massages? Ear rubs? Wild primal sex? Once you go fey, you don¡¯t¡­ well, can¡¯t go back.¡± The rush of words came with a pressure that Amdirlain let ebb past and stayed unaffected. ¡°You are very different,¡± Amdirlain stated cautiously. ¡°Indeed, but so are you. You¡¯ll be fun, I¡¯m sure,¡± squealed Lorrella, her eyes widened even as lips curled in a smile. ¡°You really should close the door. There are lots of ears, eyes, and claws around here, plus more than a few teeth and odd appendages.¡± At her last words, Lorrella gave a delighted shudder and squeaked. ¡°I have some things I¡¯d like to sell and potentially buy,¡± Amdirlain offered warily. ¡°Customer it is then,¡± Lorrella said, nodding happily and almost bounced in place. ¡°Good that you declared your purpose, so much better manners than many. Again close the door; we don¡¯t need our business heard on the street. Well, I don¡¯t! You might enjoy spreading things in public for all I know.¡± Though True Sight revealed nothing further concealed on the door Amdirlain still closed it gingerly. ¡°That will keep the gossips at bay, though I¡¯ve said enough to let them run their mouths,¡± Lorrella said, her words picking up pace as she continued. Moving along the counter, she waved at the front wall, and a table appeared in the middle of the U shape even as the door locked. ¡°I think that¡¯s why Demons have mouths so big - so they can talk your ear off when biting doesn¡¯t work. Place the goods for sale on the table please, and I¡¯ll assess them. I¡¯ll give a price for the lot. I do not haggle, attempt haggling, and I¡¯ll never speak to you again. That¡¯s your only warning.¡± Lorrella¡¯s words rattled across Amdirlain, as she pulled the first minor item from Inventory. ¡°Well, don¡¯t just stand there, spread ¡®em for me.¡± As Amdirlain set items on the table, the space expanded to provide more room to work. Having set all the minor items out on the table, she added the Siege Axe and Lorrella sighed ecstatically. ¡°Oh, goodie, so much yumminess in that alone,¡± Lorrella squealed and clapped excitedly before she reached beneath the counter and set stacks of coins on top. With a second glance at the axe, she added some more stacks of obsidian coins. ¡°I need thirty-five large ingots of alchemical silver,¡± Amdirlain stated, and Lorrella¡¯s gaze widened with interest. ¡°That would take at least twelve cycles. You won¡¯t have much leftover, and possibly be looking at a lot more. Certain materials, especially for construction, have gone way up.¡± cautioned Lorrella, waving her hands upwards dramatically. ¡°Do you have a list of materials most in demand?¡± enquired Amdirlain, keeping a careful watch on Lorrella¡¯s every motion as she stepped around the table. ¡°Only if you sell them through me,¡± retorted Lorrella, her open-mouthed smile revealing a glimpse of a second row of teeth. This close, it was clear the rows of small incisors lacked eye teeth, and though they looked sized for a toddler, were razor sharp. ¡°Depends on what sort of percentage you want. I¡¯m sure I can find others that need things gathered,¡± countered Amdirlain flatly. ¡°Oh yes, yes, but they¡¯re all ugly. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d rather come and ogle me as you are now,¡± Lorrella said with a bright laugh. ¡°I¡¯ll give you thirty per cent of the item¡¯s market value, and you cover processing costs.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not worth my time and you said no haggling,¡± declared Amdirlain, turning to go. ¡°That¡¯s haggling on a price for product, we¡¯re arranging terms for a Deal,¡± Lorrella corrected, and Amdirlain glanced back. ¡°The price I pay will depend on that day¡¯s market price. Never tell me what things are worth, you hear?¡± ¡°In that case I¡¯d need eighty per cent, and you cover the processing.¡± countered Amdirlain firmly, folding her arms and not budging as Lorrella leaned forward on the counter, gaze gleaming as her smile unsheathed its edge.
Much later in the cycle, Amdirlain finally left the shop with: an agreement, coins, a rough map, a list of items, and details regarding grottos to avoid. The names the locals used were enough to get Planar Sense pointing her in the right direction. When she moved along an empty alley between streets, hair grew out to past her shoulder blades, braided and changed to a rich auburn hue. Likewise, deep brown hide armour replaced Dominator leathers in the style the local Succubi mercenaries favoured. The precautions taken as the shortest paths out of the city were via the docks and through that sector¡¯s entertainment district. Her precautions proved unnecessary as she didn¡¯t glimpse the Commander or any troops from the trade gate. No one checked those exiting the docks¡¯ entrance, but every crate coming into the city was magically, and occasionally, even physically searched. The docks were busy but not as hectic as the ones that used to exist in ¨´eqr?kas. A Demon in the shape of a flame shrouded man nearly five metres tall directed the workforce. Every motion from it making something scurry away from the shadows cast by its flames. [Name: Thunela Species: Narauk Class: Juggernaut / Demonic Overseer Level: 12 / 43 / 48 Health: 12,644 Mana: 1,728 Magic: 327 Defence: 594 Melee Attack Power: 674 Combat Skills: Great Sword [M](3), Claws [M] (5) - Various Innate Powers, Innate Fire Law Spell List - Affinities: Fire & Abyssal Details: Spawned from the volcanic pits on Furnace, the 373rd layer of the Abyss, named by the imaginative locals. Thunela was recruited by the miner¡¯s faction of Hrz¡¯Styrn for extra combat support in Tern¨°x and other planes. He spends idle time bossing around weaker Demons for amusement. The Narauk are among the most powerful of the Fire Demon species. ] Demons aren¡¯t all spawned equally. Analysis [Juggernaut: This base class is the epitome of raw physical destructive might and endurance. Usually unlocked by powerful creatures of a ruthless and violent nature, the physically strongest species from the lower planes, Dragons, and young cataclysmic rated entities on various planets. Such individuals have it during their earliest growth cycles before learning the value of other powers beyond might.] The odour on the docks told of the rot she¡¯d encountered previously from the undead transports, but it intermingled with heated steel and steam. While the energy from the Efreeti Heart¡¯s inferno had been visible for kilometres, the pressure boilers tied to water Mana spells hadn¡¯t been apparent till now. Despite the constructs being stationary at the docks, their pressure engines stayed in motion. Giant flywheels spun, pistons moving inside their superstructure, and only disengaged gears kept the multi-axle constructs stationary. Patrols of Armanite circled the outer perimeter of the busy docks. The Demonic centaur-like species carried massive spears grasped in both hands, axes riding high on their backs. Instead of possessing Human torsos, theirs reminded her of grubs while their legs were reptilian with long claws, their natural armoured hide and shell protected further by Abyssal steel plates. The outermost patrols focused on the tunnels approaching the docks, while those that looped close watched the workers scurrying around the transports. When Amdirlain passed near a group, she kept a clear focus on a tunnel ahead, and they ignored her presence. It was only once past the ward¡¯s boundary that Teleport carried her inside the closest tunnel, and guided by Planar Sense¡¯s song, she picked out a course. Once Telepathy was clear of minds, she removed her wings and ran, the memory of the Grotto¡¯s Song lifting her mood after wading in Demonic minds. While going to the Grotto itself could be dangerous depending on the Coven¡¯s plans, valuable materials could apparently be found close to it amid its outer reaches. 110 - Have a nice day Amdirlain focused as the Nox Hunter¡¯s claws thrashed for purchase and its blood sprayed across her. As her claws dug deeper into its abdomen, its rocky shell cracked, but it pulled clear from the wall. In a quick motion, she swung the ute-sized Demon again. As it rebounded off the rock face the final pulped Chasme splattered to the ground. The Hunter, having served duty as a fly swatter, followed the last of the swarm into destruction. The corpse bounced off the cavern¡¯s floor and ricocheted off another Hunter¡¯s remains when she tossed it away. Even before it stopped, she had ignored the combat summary and grabbed for the L¨®m?¡¯s Soul. Energy Drain secured it and caused a moment of panic before its gaze fixed on her and clearly saw within. Instead of a battle the Soul worked with her to pull free of the rock and rush for sanctuary. Once it was safely inside her form, Amdirlain released her hold. Unlike other Souls, Energy Drain only secured them after destruction of their vessel. ¡°Hold tight, cousins,¡± Amdirlain whispered, as the latest Soul settled in with those she¡¯d gathered so far. For them she used the Ki¡¯s mist to project a warm sense of reassurance rather than form it into a prison. Her gaze fixed on the closest Soul lost to the Abyss¡¯s rock amid the fighting and activated Spirit Passage. Soul Sight guided her path through the rock as she played trainer and collected them all. Back in the cavern, Amdirlain¡¯s smile gained a delighted air as she became solid again. The rush of battle and improving was nothing compared to helping the Souls. [Spirit Passage [Ap](19->20) Energy Drain [S](30->31)] It had taken eight cycles of running and teleporting to reach here since she¡¯d left the city. From the strength of Planar Sense¡¯s song, the L¨®m?¡¯s sanctuary zone had grown close, but she¡¯d kept her distance. It had been only luck that a strike laden with Energy Drain had gone through a fleeing Soul. The wounds she had sustained while focused on drawing in a single Soul had been worth the price of confirmation. It had led to the rescue of thirty-four, since now she just had to lure more in while she gathered. With the latest fourteen spinnerets tucked into storage, she returned to her work. Her form grew into a large Hook Horror, pick-like claws swinging in rhythmic strikes as she made the cavern ring. Given the experience she had in bizarre forms, balancing on its three-toed feet - even with its massive shelled form - hadn¡¯t been a challenge to her. The utility it provided for mining had her setting a quick slot in Protean called Clacker. If nothing else, the geodes separated with clear mining marks might help avoid more questions from Lorrella¡¯s keen mind, so she was mining the geodes the hard way. Though she¡¯d only given the strange Succubus a mysterious smile when Lorrella questioned her lack of storage items. [Mining [B] (11 -> 12) Telepathy spun outwards in a spherical radar, spilt up into different zones within her mental image. Here and there, bright flares were signalling the locations of minds that the racket from battle and mining alike kept luring in. When the adamantine geode at last came free, she stored it with the rest. Her strikes continued as she moved onto the next. With each step, she tapped the wall to continue the temptation. As the claws cracked on the rock, she projected a whisper of the sound to the minds close by. She continued to lure them as she worked, amused by her skills¡¯ increases. As the next group of Nox Hunters fired their spinnerets, Teleport carried her past. A literal double axe strike crushed open the abdomen of the last in the pack before she blurred into a Xenomorph. As it toppled, she ran across its corpse. The force of each stride broke more armour as she went. The explosive leap to the next left a shattered corpse in her wake. Casting out the effect the blood had on the rest, she felt the pace of others nearby quicken. When she landed, the muscles of the Hunter beneath her collapsed as Psi force impacted Demonic flesh. Flight pushed her course as its spinneret fired from uncontrolled reflex, and she rolled to land by the side of its turret-shaped organ. Just ahead of the silken cord¡¯s arc, she leapt free and dropped to the ground behind it. As her clawed feet hit ground, a turn set her shoulder against the armoured curve of its form, and claws anchored on its butt, before her feet churned. The bull rush pushed it into and over those ahead, and the living battering ram came off the worst from her charge. The others she caught with it struggled to get free, but while they were busy, she went for one on the roof. Her change in course had its web anchored on those in the struggling pile below. The spinneret¡¯s spigots cut off the web production too late, and as it re-orientated itself, she¡¯d landed on its face. Claws wreathed in Ki burst through the closest eye and scooped out its brain. Its body stilled in death, and she leapt again, collecting the Soul from its falling prison. As she fell and twisted in mid-air, she quickly checked the largest enemy to avoid any surprises. [Corrupted Nox Hunter Level: 31 Health: 530 Defence: 41 Melee Attack Power: 51 Combat Skills: Claw [Ad](3), Bite [Ad](17), Spinneret [Ad](5)] Two down, eight to go. Teleport landed her on the belly of her abandoned ram as it struggled to turn upright. The others caused its awkward position having flipped it during their own struggles to untangle. Even as it wiggled to right itself, Amdirlain dropped to one knee and speared an arm deep into its sternum. The impact of the Ki Strike ripping flesh apart. As the confused Soul separated, she jumped through its path and went for the next kill. A loop of web that struck across her path triggered Ki Aura¡¯s effect and flared into ash when the Destruction Mana consumed it. [Combat Summary: Corrupted Nox Hunter x 10 Total Experience gained: 12,000 Fallen: +2,400 Scion: +2,400 Psion: +2,400 Sora Master: +2,400 Warrior Monk: +2,400 Psychometabolism [Ap](12->13) Psychoportation [J](33->34) ] Having endless hordes to gather up and kill has spoiled me. When she finished the collection from the corpse, she returned to the recent geode and took on the Hook Horror form. With each swing, she concentrated on feeling the echoes through the stone. The rebounding sounds showing her more geodes and their valuable cores amid the cavern¡¯s walls. When she pulled the next geode free, she shook her head at the system¡¯s message and moved to the next. [Mining [B] (20) -> [Ap] (1) Miner Class Unlocked! Treasure Hunter Class Unlocked!] With all the Necropolis¡¯ mausoleums, I should be glad I didn¡¯t get one called Tomb Raider. Though the only thing I was taking from them were the cursed Souls. As Tremor Sense revealed a dense vein deeper in the stone, Amdirlain¡¯s beak twisted as she smiled.
Judgement¡¯s white clouds were as beautiful as the first time she¡¯d seen them. The Souls inside her jolted in surprise and as she released them, they manifested around her. Their forms still golden as Soul Sight had shown her in the Abyss instead of mimicking whatever appearance they¡¯d possessed in life. As their feet touched the clouds, they looked about and lifted their eyes and started to Sing. The first note of their wordless Song shivered deep and almost dropped Amdirlain to her knees, not in pain but in disbelief. Every note carrying such overwhelming emotions that weren¡¯t anger or reproach, but thanks and relief. None of them reacted negatively to the Succubus form she wore, just nodding their thanks before they rose their voices to join the Song she somehow knew was to the Titan. ¡°You didn¡¯t take them to a Grotto this time?¡± The words came from one of the Titan¡¯s Servants, who appeared nearby, identical to the others with its shifting gears and cogs warping inside the outline of its form. With a smile Amdirlain opted to act as if it was the same one, since the others had continued previous conversations. ¡°The first time I was told ¡®Only those Souls that stand among them can decide their fate¡¯. I have a Soul and brought them somewhere safe,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed, you did. Father thanks you for this expression of your trust,¡± the Servant replied. ¡°How is Andre?¡± Amdirlain asked hesitantly, the soft whisper of words barely audible under the Souls¡¯ Song. ¡°He purified her Soul to Gold, but her memories are still settling. It will take a while to avoid unsettling her,¡± explained the Servant, but Amdirlain breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°I thought the Titan didn¡¯t enjoy remaking things?¡± asked Amdirlain, blinking in surprise. ¡°Father had never purified a Human Soul before. It was a very unusual endeavour,¡± corrected the Servant, amused tones somehow resonating from its gears. ¡°Can I speak to her?¡± Amdirlain asked hopefully, eyes growing bright with suppressed tears. ¡°In time perhaps, she has more than one lifetime of pain to settle. What was hers is being drawn back following the purification. When she is ready, Father has promised to place her where she might find a life of joy,¡± consoled the Servant, its metallic voice somehow chiming compassion. ¡°Thank you for letting me know,¡± Amdirlain sighed, shifting uncomfortably in place at the memory of her fury at the Servant in her first exchange. ¡°Was the comment about trust the other time directed at me?¡± ¡°You believed you and Father were in conflict, you had no reason to trust. They remember him, you do not, yet they didn¡¯t trust in him, then or now,¡± offered the Servant, its reassuring tone edged with annoyance. ¡°If only they¡¯d Sung to him long ago, rather than needing to be dragged from the depths. It is good they are safe now, though it makes this one wonder if they¡¯ve learnt at all.¡± ¡°They were going to be wiped out,¡± protested Amdirlain softly, glancing at the singing Souls. ¡°Yes, and stood alone, rather than ask for help, you among them as well. In pride, they were certain they could stand against the child of a primordial power. He had promised not to interfere where they dwelt if they didn¡¯t request aid. With them gone and the Sun Elves destroyed, he was within his rules to set punishment for the attack. ¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°The living don¡¯t know where the Souls of the Royal Line are and they won¡¯t leave without them,¡± Amdirlain stated, hoping to gain information to help. ¡°Yet they¡¯ve persisted in not asking for help. Where they dwell, he has promised not to interfere unless requested. They are presently dwelling in Tern¨°x, even if not by choice. This prevents him from helping there as well,¡± The Servant stated. When it raised a hand, the gears flicked back and forth, imitating a wagging finger. ¡°Will you help me find the Souls of the Royal line?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°Do you acknowledge debt with the Titan?¡± enquired the Servant. The familiar question rose her hackles before, but Amdirlain pushed the remembered anger aside. He keeps coming back to this and why did he stress this expression of trust earlier. He keeps to his rules, does something prevent him from acting without those rules being fulfilled? If it helps bring good, I¡¯ll do what is needed. ¡°I acknowledge the debt,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, with a polite nod to the Servant. ¡°Father thanks you for your display of trust. There is never a debt between a Father and his Children, however without trust, nothing else can stand. They are in the Royal Tower. It, like other once special places, now sits within Tern¨°x, though it remains sealed against Time itself. It requires a Singer of the Sun to break the Song of Night upon it,¡± the Servant stated, its tone as casual as if it had remarked on the weather. ¡°The other Sun Elves are long gone and I¡¯ve no memory of how to Sing,¡± uttered Amdirlain in frustration. ¡°Indeed, you do not, nor are you a Glinnel.¡± Amdirlain opened her mouth to ask what it meant as the Plane went silent around her. The Titan¡¯s Servant and the L¨®m? Souls were all gone. Where the Titan¡¯s servant had been standing, sat a large crate with alchemical symbols stamped on the sides. ¡°What, is he watching me?¡± grumbled Amdirlain, as she pulled up a corner of the crate¡¯s lid. As it opened, a fragrantly acidic stench assaulted her senses, the eye-watering aroma almost getting her to step back in reflex. Waving brown misty tendrils wafted through the air from cloth sachets sitting in a compartmentalised tray. The fumes emanated from the opening she¡¯d made but also from the other edges of the lid, so Amdirlain yanked it open completely. Curling her lip in disgust, she quickly stored all she could see before pulling the top tray out. Hastily repeating the process on each layer till the crate stood empty, the trays cast away, littering the surrounding clouds. ¡°Disgusting vermin!¡± Ignoring the male voice behind her even as her Power translated the language, she cleaned up her demolition work. The crate and other packing materials she pulled into Inventory now that the goods were separated. Risking Lorrella or anyone else in the Abyss associating her with goods obviously received in one of the Titan¡¯s crates seemed a majorly bad idea. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you vermin. What caravan did you steal that crate from?¡± Glinnel, it¡¯s High Elven for Singer, but they made it sound like it was a Class not just a Skill being applied. Analysis [Class: Glinnel True Song Adepts that use their innate sense of reality¡¯s resonance to shape effects using their vocal ability and True Song. Like all users of True Song, accessing it is restricted to individuals with a Golden Soul of either the Anar or L¨®m?. The most complex effects are beyond individuals and require multiple Glinnel Choruses, led by a skilled Conductor.] Like all users of True Song! Rach blew apart the landscape with True Song. She once said a psychic told her we¡¯d been friends across more lifetimes than their ability to see. Sarah had joked it was an easy claim for a con-artist to make. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you.¡± Concealed eyes she¡¯d included in her wings had no issues tracking the advance of the armoured Celestials. The closest armoured figures wore Grecian style armour and weapons, but Amdirlain could see two other groups with unique styles of armour following them. The closest of those groups comprised lion-headed female warriors wearing leather breastplates, battles kilts, greaves, and sandals, and bore Khopesh. Just trailing them, human-like figures wearing plumed helms, thick hide jerkins, cloth pants and strapped boots. Both groups had their shields ready, but while the Egyptian Celestials had their weapons still sheathed, the Slavic warriors moved purposefully with their spears ready for battle. She recognised the symbol of Sekhmet at once, but it took a moment to remember Lada¡¯s symbol. The servants of the Slavic Goddess of Beauty and Love being ready for a fight surprised her. Unfortunately, the Grecian hoplite demanding her attention obviously was Zeus¡¯ Servant. The blue-on-blue lightning bolt crossing the Z on his shield and chest plate declared that, and he had an arrogant posture that went well with it. ¡°With all the Mortal worlds out there, why do I keep running into shit-for-brains like you?¡± muttered Amdirlain. With a sigh she gazed at the Celestial and spoke clearly. ¡°It was payment for a delivery of Souls, I was separating out the contents here.¡± Analysis [Name: Tiu? Species: Archon, Legion (Zeus) Class: Fighter Level: 62 / 62 Health: 2,820 Defence: 350 Melee Attack Power: 295 Combat Skills: Spear [S] (7), Gladius [S](3) - Various Innate Powers Details: An Archon in the service of Zeus, he formed from energy accumulated by Petitioners. He is currently a patrol leader assigned to the security of Judgement¡¯s fields. ] ¡°Deliveries are now to be made only through the Portal where we can monitor those doing the deliveries,¡± declared Tiu?, his tone heated. ¡°Stand down,¡± growled the leader of the Sekhmet patrol. ¡°You have no authority over us, thing,¡± Tiu? sneered as he glanced at the patrol leader, and Amdirlain wondered what his skill level was in posturing and blow hardiness. ¡°Your master doesn¡¯t have the authority to change the rules of this place.¡± The lioness¡¯ words he waved dismissively away and Tiu? looked at her in disgust. ¡°We are doing most of the patrolling at present because others can¡¯t manage their internal issues. My Li¨¨ge is ensuring the safety of all the Souls. A Succubus should not be wandering here unsupervised,¡± retorted Tiu?. ¡°Blow it out your arse. I¡¯ve dealt with the Titan¡¯s Servant now I¡¯m leaving,¡± declared Amdirlain confidently. ¡°You will not,¡± Tiu? snarled, as he grabbed for his gladius¡¯ hilt, though his slowness only amused her more. ¡°Have a nice day,¡± Amdirlain said, wiggling her fingers with a grin that enraged the whole patrol. When the patrol leader finally lunged towards Amdirlain, an energy tried to flare across her as Planar Shift slipped her away. Whatever Power or item he invoked, the magic within her shunted it harmlessly away. * * * When Amdirlain entered the shop, Lorrella gave her a strained smile, before her shoulders slumped. ¡°Everyone¡¯s got work for cycles and cycles already paid for, or commitments based on pain of destruction,¡± grumbled Lorrella with a pout. ¡°No chance of getting the work bumped up?¡± asked Amdirlain with a sigh of frustration. ¡°Not unless you want to spike the cost,¡± cautioned Lorrella, setting some books on the bench behind the counter. Amdirlain moved to the counter and as soon as the first pouch appeared, Lorrella smiled at the acidic odour. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve got good stuff,¡± squealed Lorrella, before gesturing towards the pouch. ¡°May I check it?¡± The Succubus practically bounced on the spot and lightly clapped her hands in excitement at the smell. Her hyper mood strained the bikini¡¯s ability to hold her breasts in their tiny coverings as they impacted the top of her apron. ¡°Go right ahead,¡± Amdirlain said, unable to resist a smile at the strange contrast between the Succubus and her childlike glee. ¡°Oh, you lovely cutie,¡± Lorrella said, as she opened the pouch. Unbothered by the stench, she dipped a little glass spoon into the bag and held it up to the light. ¡°The Treasury and other Soul traders normally have this quality sewed up. High-quality reagents are one way to get someone¡¯s attention. Though from the sounds of things, you¡¯ll be hard pressed to not get bumped further down their work list.¡± ¡°Could you refine the silver?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°I thought you were a skilled Alchemist as well.¡± ¡°You do care, you¡¯ve been learning about me,¡± smirked Lorrella, and fluttered her eyelids at Amdirlain coyly before she explained. ¡°I certainly know how, but commitments here and in the repair yards would interrupt. Alchemical refining needs a nursemaid for more cycles than I can spend at one time. So I leave it to various slothful demons - those rock brains don¡¯t mind sitting around. I prefer working on my babies to anything else, but my assistant is planar locked for another sixty years, and I¡¯ve not found a replacement. I told her to watch the proportions, but the silly Hag didn¡¯t listen.¡± ¡°Your babies?¡± Amdirlain asked absently, distracted by a thought about rock headed individuals. ¡°Transports - I much prefer to be in the guts of one of my babies getting it working right,¡± Lorrella replied casually. ¡°I also work on Golems, but I prefer the various transports. Did you find the geodes?¡± The thought of Lorrella in grease-stained coveralls doing an oil change made Amdirlain lips twitch, and Lorrella gave her a flirty smile. ¡°Indeed,¡± Amdirlain responded, as she went to place a geode on the counter Lorrella waggled a finger. ¡°Table please,¡± reminded Lorrella, before she handed the pouch back to Amdirlain. When she made the gesture again, the door locked, and the table appeared. ¡°Chop chop.¡± Amdirlain gave her a smile and put the pouch on the table, along with only twenty of the geodes. As she stacked the Hunter spinnerets up, the table became a box. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not a lot of geodes, but I¡¯ll get a ton of dimensional silk from those suckers,¡± Lorrella said, as she considered the material Amdirlain provided. ¡°Not a literal ton, but it will get some construction boss¡¯ rocks off. You were really unlucky for geodes given the Plane practically grows them in some places.¡± As she spoke, stacks of obsidian coins appeared on the counter, and her words rang a bell for Amdirlain. ¡°How high an enchantment can the silk carry?¡± Amdirlain asked, biting her inner cheek in regret at the question. ¡°Depends if its refined properly, certainly decently processed it can hold some species of Greater Demons,¡± Lorrella replied, focused on setting out stacks of coins on the counter. ¡°I heard some Demon Lord used it to trap an old Celestial, could be truth or a tall tale. Yet there are some that say you can still hear its screams deep in the Abyss.¡° Lorrella wiggled her fingers, and her eerie tone wouldn¡¯t have been out of place at a campfire tale till Laodice spoke up. ((If the one I know of is still there, they¡¯ve been a prisoner longer than I.)) I¡¯ll keep an ear out then. ((Don¡¯t! Just going near them would do catastrophic damage to you from their aura.)) Darn! ¡°No chance of getting Alchemical Silver at all soon?¡± Amdirlain asked, in an attempt to get Lorrella to focus. ¡°Ages maybe, between the destruction of ¨´eqr?kas and the Sisterhood schism,¡± replied Lorrella, scrunching her nose but with it so tiny it was hard to spot the expression. ¡°They¡¯re a pain in the arse, but the threat of the ¨´eqr?kas council hiring them to back the miners kept some pressure off this city.¡± ¡°I¡¯m too out of touch in local affairs. What are they arguing about, a new hair style they should all wear?¡± ¡°No idea, but I¡¯ve heard tales of feather-winged Succubi in Sisterhood armour killing the Lady¡¯s drones in various places. Most of what I know is from the local lord and master busting my arse about making golems faster because he can¡¯t count on them. Never mind that you can¡¯t rush golem construction and it¡¯s important to let them settle so they don¡¯t come apart,¡± grumbled Lorrella. Oh goodness! ¡°No one respects your art form. They just see the end results as something to do a job,¡± stated Amdirlain, her expression become mournful to hide her shock. ¡°You¡¯re so right, little one,¡± agreed Lorrella from her tone, it was a pet peeve for the Succubus. ¡°Will there be more bounty work?¡± Amdirlain enquired, hiding her amusement at the Succubus¡¯ put out look. ¡°Of course, but I¡¯ll see fewer handling the gather or mining requests to pay for their preferred fun,¡± Lorrella huffed. As she folded her arms across her stomach, causing a seismic change in her chest, only her scowl made it obvious she wasn¡¯t flirting. Okay, need to get the circle working before the shit-storm calms. ¡°What makes you worry about what others are doing?¡± enquired Amdirlain, taking in the frown that hadn¡¯t left Lorrella¡¯s face. ¡°Not enough lazy fuckers taking care of those jobs and materials will get expensive. Gets too bad and no one will want to buy new constructs from here,¡± grumbled Lorrella. ¡°Basically, if they aren¡¯t bringing in materials, then I can¡¯t make my babies. No good at all!¡± ¡°Is that all you''re worried about?¡± ¡°Absolutely I wouldn¡¯t care if I saw no one, provided I had enough materials to make my babies forever,¡± declared Lorrella hotly, teeth bared in anger. ¡°Most beings are a pain in my arse, and not the fun kind.¡± ¡°No sex if there was no one about,¡± Amdirlain pointed out, unable to resist, given Lorrella''s antics. ¡°Ha, you are so wrong. I¡¯ve three different golems to take care of me if I need an itch scratched while I¡¯m busy,¡± retorted Lorrella. When Amdirlain burst out laughing, Lorrella stuck her nose in the air tossing her hair about. * * * When she left Qcppxtypcd this time Amdirlain just headed for the nearest exit, glad to be free of the place. As soon as she crossed the wards, she teleported away, the illumination of Hrz¡¯Styrn¡¯s Portal greeted her. The passage was as empty as last time with the debris accumulated further still. Feather-winged sound like F¨®rla?rea?, but she never said her name to me. That blocks the option of getting her a message about the other L¨®m?, if she¡¯d even care after being a Succubus so long. Master Farhad sounds like he¡¯s gone off to meet up with Ebusuku, and I don¡¯t want to open that bag of trouble. Changed into an innocuous pebble, Plane Shift carried her away to the Elemental Plane of Earth. With her arrival point empty, a Wood Elf with deep green clothes soon occupied the rough tunnel where she had appeared. Amdirlain allowed the remaining geodes and the ore she collected to spill onto the floor and moved away. At a safe distance, she cast and laid a wall formed with Order across the materials. As it faded, she cast it again, alternating between Celestial and Order until she could no longer sense the Abyssal energy clinging to any of it. ¡°Torm, I hope your meeting with Tyr went well. I¡¯ve gotten some of the L¨®m?¡¯s Souls free and took them to Judgement. The conversation with the Titan¡¯s Servant was surprising. So much is going on and I don¡¯t know where to start, so will focus on my plan while I consider things. Going to the Dwarven community you showed me, hope I can trade for the Alchemical Silver. Trading my reward for freeing the Souls to Dwarves is better than someone in the Abyss gaining it.¡± When the Mercury¡¯s Whisper released, she collected the materials as she considered a message to Livia. 111 - Hear me now The passage to the Dwarven community was unchanged and atop the wall was the siege weaponry, with crews in place. Wrapped up in concealing spells, Amdirlain hoped their wards wouldn¡¯t object. As she approached the stone gate, a hatch in a far smaller metal door to its right snapped open, and a black gaze fixed on her. Since they¡¯d positioned it below chest height on her Wood Elf form, Amdirlain stopped a few paces away and studied them in return. Coal-black eyes peered at her from a face mostly hidden behind a bright-red beard that split to show whitish teeth. A broad nose sat above the hedge, though their helm¡¯s nose guard mostly concealed it. ¡°State ya business,¡± asked the guard gruffly as they looked her over. She hadn¡¯t expected an introduction, and at least this time, the guard had actually spoken to her. Analysis [Name: Rinlac Axebeard Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Fighter / Smith Level: 24 / 29 Health: 1,532 Defence: 111 Melee Attack Power: 75 Combat Skills: Club [Ad](16), Hand Axe [Ad] (14), Long Axe [Ad] (14), Details: Rinlac, son of Kirlac, is the youngest member of the Duskstone Holding militia at only thirty-seven. He¡¯s also presently rated as a Smith apprentice in his Uncle Dirlan¡¯s forge. ] ¡°I¡¯ve crystals, metal ore, and Alchemical Reagents for trade,¡± Amdirlain replied politely as she considered the details. ¡°I was also hoping to hire an Alchemist to refine some materials or purchase from their stock.¡± ¡°Ya not carrying any pack,¡± noted Rinlac suspiciously, as his glance went from her feet to face again. ¡°Dimensional baggage lets me avoid items being damaged,¡± offered Amdirlain casually. ¡°No weapons on your person,¡± Rinlac observed hesitantly, as his gaze narrowed further. ¡°I fight with my hands mostly, occasionally Wizard spells, but I prefer melee combat,¡± Amdirlain responded calmly. The hatch closed with a snap and beyond, a muffled conversation was barely audible. When it opened as quickly, she wondered if the youngster had needed to double-check something or get instructions. ¡°Show us proof of your goods then,¡± declared Rinlac, his gruff voice steady again. Amdirlain nodded and slowly extended a hand, letting a geode that had split during the purification appear. The Dwarf tilted his head back and sniffed before he said anything further, and that was simply to repeat his observations. ¡°She¡¯s showing me an adamantine geode, Captain. Smells like clean metallic crystals, no negative energies, or other foulness,¡± stated Rinlac, without taking his gaze from Amdirlain. ¡°Open it up then.¡± The order came with a sharp rap of command, and Rinlac hurried to obey. The hatch snapped shut, and a short time later, the metal door swung open to allow Amdirlain through. Once inside, she was in a narrow stone corridor with no one in sight. The corridor led into the holding and had two metals doors along its length, one immediately to the left, the other at the end. Its low stone ceiling, perforated with murder holes, forced her to bend slightly before entering. Light spells shone from the holes, but True Sight provided her with a clear perspective of crossbows aimed at her with rune coated bolts. ¡°Take a step forward, then hold your position while you¡¯re checked.¡± Rinlac¡¯s voice came through the left-hand door, and Amdirlain followed his instructions. The door behind clanged shut the moment she stopped. Divine wards crawled along the corridor for an instant and left a faint itch in their wake. ¡°All clear.¡± Phew. When the words came from above and the door at the far end opened. ¡°Walk straight through. The duty sergeant will brief you on the rules of the holding for visitors,¡± stated Rinlac, not muffled this time as a hatch in the left door had opened when the all-clear came from above. With her head tilted, she could barely make out the larger passageway beyond him. ¡°Appreciated. I hope your shift is good,¡± said Amdirlain. When she moved forward, she endeavoured to keep an unhurried pace, despite the closeness of the passage. The door¡¯s hatch shut with yet another snap, and Amdirlain had to keep a straight face as she wondered if he had drill classes for it. The echoing chamber she entered could easily hold three Olympic-sized swimming pools stacked atop each other. Though with the large grilled gate to her left, the chamber certainly wasn¡¯t watertight. The space beyond the grill clearly ran back towards the main gate. Indentations on the stone floor were the only sign of wear in the chamber. The cause was obvious, with the giant mechanical crawler to her right, its sides overgrown with bladed ridges awash with runes. A cross between an armoured personal carrier and an army lorry, a ramp at its back showed the empty cargo space inside with benches along the sides. The floor between them was a series of metal rollers. The rest of the chamber was nearly seamless stonework, the tight-fitting blocks showing no sign of mortar or even tool marks. Directly across the chamber, a squat desk sat on a raised stone walkway about thirty centimetres above ground level, running the room''s length. Behind it sat two heavily armoured Dwarves wearing plate armour. As she took in the chamber and the crawler, they kept a steady eye on her. With her Telepathy restrained in case the wards might look for it, she gave a polite nod before she approached. Besides the two entryways, there wasn¡¯t another exit visible, despite the crawler clearly intended for cargo. ¡°Name, traveller?¡± Armoured as they were, it was hard to tell the Dwarves apart other than their beards. The first Dwarf had the longer beard between the two, also in a bright-red, while the other¡¯s beard was auburn and barely extended past the edge of their helm. ¡°Amdirlain.¡± I feel like I¡¯m in an airport customs area. With a glance at their surly expressions, she could only just make out behind their helms; she quickly used Analysis on both. [Name: Kirlac Axebeard Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Fighter / Smith / Scout / Commander Level: 57 / 56 / 34 / 34 Health: 5,180 Defence: 215 Melee Attack Power: 145 Combat Skills: Club [M](1), Crossbow [M] (5), Hand Axe [M] (3), Long Axe [M] (27) Details: Kirlac, son of Lacrin, is one of ninety sergeants among the Duskstone Holding militia. A Master Smith, Kirlac shares forge space with his wife as they alternate duty weeks on watch. ] Name: Natsal Stonevoice Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Fighter / Priest Level: 27 / 32 Health: 1,175 Defence: 96 Magic: 52 Mana: 2,784 Melee Attack Power: 56 Combat Skills: Long Axe [M] (2), Hand Axe [Ad] (3), Club [Ad](8). Various Blessings. Details: Natsal, daughter of Salolf, is a Junior Priestess of Moradin. Her mother, Salolf is a Senior Mine Supervisor in Stoneheart. ] Female Dwarves have beards, gosh. Stoneheart, is that the same place near the ten kingdoms? I might need to ask Torm how he knew about this place. We didn¡¯t talk about it. Then again, they¡¯re Dwarves. I wonder how many worlds have a location with a similar name. ¡°Reason for visit?¡± Kirlac asked, his gaze not leaving her as Amdirlain approached. ¡°Trade - metals and Alchemical reagents,¡± declared Amdirlain, as she wondered how many times she¡¯d have to repeat herself. Given this was the duty sergeant, she hoped it wouldn¡¯t go on ad nauseam. ¡°Present a sample of each if you would,¡± requested Kirlac, his businesslike tone unfussed. ¡°The reagents smell,¡± Amdirlain warned as she made the cracked geode appear. ¡°They always do,¡± Kirlac muttered resignedly, gesturing for her to hand over the geode. The other Dwarf set bronze merchant scales on the desk between them, and when Amdirlain passed the geode, he immediately put it on one side. Instead of dipping towards the geode¡¯s side, it remained stable, and energy rippled across the other plate Natsal observing the colours, checked them against a journal. ¡°This metal comes from the Abyss,¡± Natsal stated warily, flipping back and forth between pages. ¡°Pure adamantine crystals inside, outer crust originates from Tern¨°x. There aren¡¯t any remaining Abyssal energies in the geode, but the purification process isn¡¯t in the journal.¡± ¡°Are the rest of the materials also from the Abyss?¡± interjected Kirlac before Natsal could continue. ¡°The adamantine ore is, but the Alchemical Reagents aren¡¯t as far as I know,¡± admitted Amdirlain, glancing between them as Natsal made some notes on some parchment between them. ¡°To your knowledge?¡± asked Kirlac, his bushie eyebrows disappearing under the helm¡¯s edge. ¡°It was a reward for helping free some individuals from the Abyss. I picked up the geodes and ore while I was luring Demons to kill,¡± stated Amdirlain, ¡°How did you purify them?¡± enquired Natsal, pulling another quill and inkpot from a drawer. ¡°Alternated Order and Celestial Mana saturation once I got to this Plane,¡± Amdirlain replied. As soon as she finished explaining, Natsal wrote out rune marks Amdirlain hadn¡¯t seen before on a fresh page of the journal. Kirlac just watched her as Natsal worked, and at the frown he gave when she went to speak, Amdirlain held her tongue. ¡°I recommend that High Crafter Jantar see them before they¡¯re sold to anyone, Sergeant,¡± Natsal stated, and a further frown from Kirlac had her quickly continue her explanation. ¡°While the scales show they¡¯re purified, the combination of energy exposures will make them useful for specific crafting.¡± ¡°That might be the case for the geodes and metals. I¡¯d like to examine the reagents,¡± Kirlac replied, handing Amdirlain back the geode without apparent concern. Amdirlain handed over a pouch without comment, and Kirlac took it unbothered by the odour and set it on the plate. When the pouch touched the surface, the other side didn¡¯t ripple in colours; rather, the bronze shone white as if ready to melt. Natsal quickly snatched the pouch from the scales as the other plate continued to brighten. On her feet in a heartbeat, she extended her arm to return the pouch to Amdirlain even as she spoke. ¡°Sergeant, might I request permission to escort Amdirlain through to see the High Crafter?¡± Natsal asked quickly. ¡°You or the High Crafter will need to brief her on the rules for visitors if you go now,¡± advised Kirlac, his tone a low grumble. ¡°I¡¯ll see to that, Sergeant,¡± Natsal reassured him as she collected a shield from beside the desk. ¡°Very well,¡± agreed Kirlac. He gestured towards the walkway on his immediate left. A few moments after he did so, a seam split partway along the walkway, as the rest of the walkway slowly lifted nearly to the ceiling. Two massive hoists held the panel open, the shafts, pulleys, and chains and wreathed with Mana that Amdirlain could see in the runes etched over them. Natsal led the way through, apparently unbothered by the suspended weight, and Amdirlain followed her with a glance at the panel. ¡°Only the Faithful may venture inside Moradin¡¯s Main Forge, but I¡¯ll see if the High Crafter will receive you in a side area,¡± Natsal stated. Oh! That could get me in trouble. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to intrude on the Temple. I could wait at a tavern until they have time,¡± offered Amdirlain, hopefully. ¡°Do you have any of our currency on you?¡± Natsal asked sceptically. ¡°Until the High Crafter has determined who I should direct you to for selling your goods, I can¡¯t direct you to someone who will buy them.¡± ¡°No, while I respect Moradin, I don¡¯t know enough to determine if it¡¯s right for me to enter any of his Forges, or adjoining buildings. Could we meet the High Crafter somewhere else?¡± requested Amdirlain, unfazed by Natsal¡¯s grumpy look. ¡°Fine, though your attitude is a concern,¡± counselled Natsal. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to offend, but I¡¯d rather be cautious than trespass where I shouldn¡¯t,¡± Amdirlain apologised, giving the Natsal a polite bow. ¡°You¡¯ve goods, so I¡¯ll stand you a drink while you wait to see the High Crafter,¡± replied Natsal. ¡°The owner is likely to insist you buy something to occupy a table, but I don¡¯t enjoy inflicting a debt on someone.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Amdirlain just made the cracked geode appear along with a clump of ore and offered it to her. ¡°Collateral, and advance repayment for the drink. Just give me the difference when you sell it,¡± Amdirlain offered. ¡°The crystals alone are worth far more than a drink. You¡¯d trust me with this?¡± enquired Natsal. Her gaze narrowed and beard twitched as she spoke. ¡°I was recently told that without trust, nothing else can stand,¡± Amdirlain replied, smiling at Natsal. ¡°Where is this tavern then?¡± Natsal took the item hesitantly but nodded at Julia¡¯s question and motioned for her to follow.
The place reminded her of an old English country pub, low ceilinged, but noticeably minus the smoke-stained wood, as everything within was stone. Marble serving top, rough grey granite floor, polished amber granite tables, surrounded by veined marble benches and chairs, Dwarves took children of stone to the extreme. Amdirlain took another sip of mead as she listened to the Dwarven Chanter, who played an arrangement of miniature shields. Each beat sounded like a strange steel drum-xylophone hybrid, but rather than high-pitched, it was a deep rumbling bass. The crowd stomped their feet and kept time with his chant and beat. It was a tale that had started before she got seated, supposedly the short version of a conflict between Ogr¨¨moch, an Evil Elemental Prince, and Queen Mortha of Stoneheart. Hours later, the tale still wove on, undoubtedly a familiar one, yet the patrons still groaned and held their breath as the battle swung back and forth¡ªtheir responses a credit to the Chanter¡¯s skill and the Dwarven taste for rousing battle tales. A highlight had been the glares tossed her way; the Elves in the tale having refused to come to the Dwarven city¡¯s aid; completely her fault since the tale was supposedly over twelve thousand years old. When she booed and hissed with the other occupants of her table, they¡¯d stood her a round. It was a pleasant surprise when the tale ended without someone valiantly sacrificing their life to end the conflict. Mortha¡¯s eldest son and some allies found the grotto where the gate had opened. When they broke the natural rift¡¯s attunement, though badly injured, the strike force all survived. Shortly after it concluded, the workers finished their rounds and headed off, their departure a wave of sound that promised to leave a low tide of quiet in the establishment. It was a wave that parted around a figure in gleaming mithril plate armour that strode in through the crowd. When their course appeared fixed on her, she drained her mug and turned on the bench to meet them as they marched up. Runes in the armour radiated Mana, yet different from anything she¡¯d seen previously. The metal showed no inscribing, instead whatever had set them in place had sunk them within and the energy gleamed through the metal. Similar runes ran across their shield and the end of their weapon hafts, barely visible with the way they were slung across their back. Only the black edges of their beard were visible under the helm that enveloped their face, hiding even their eyes. Analysis [Name: Trinax Forgeshield Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Fighter / Templar Level: 56 / 54 Health: 4,510 Defence: 216 Magic: 47 Mana: 972 Melee Attack Power: 269 Combat Skills: Long Axe [Ad] (50), War Hammer [Ad] (50), Heavy Crossbow [Ad] (50), Light Crossbow [Ad] (50), Truncheon [Ad](50), Short Blades [Ad](50), Various Blessings. Details: Trinax, son of Naxlan, has served the Temple of Moradin since he qualified as a Templar during his apprenticeship trials. ] It makes my rating at that level look weak. Can I get Analysis to explain? Analysis [Defence: Value combines the entities¡¯ natural ability with the strongest gear carried by them.] Analysis [Bulwark Mithril Half-Plate Defence Rating: 120 Crafter: Master Artificer Norrax Details: When fighting defensively applies the wearer¡¯s melee attack power into their defence rating, this stacks with any class or skill effects. ] Analysis [Bulwark Helm of Truth Crafter: Master Artificer Norrax Details: Part of the Bulwark Mithril Half-Plate set, this helm has a constant effect of True Sight applied when worn. The helm¡¯s enchantment also provides the wearer all-round vision, which takes a new wearer some time to adjust to possessing.] Analysis [War Axe of Baneful Sundering Melee Attack Power: 130 Crafter: Warsmith Delrex Details: Deliberately striking an opponent¡¯s weapon has a greater chance to disarm foe, break weapon, or damage limb. The weapon¡¯s attack power also reduces the foes defence rating by an equivalent value when attacking them directly. ] [Analysis [S](12->13) Maybe I should get some equipment, but I¡¯d prefer to avoid counting on stuff that can get taken off me. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, Forge matters will keep the High Crafter another few bells, though he would like to meet. I¡¯m to escort you to Master Artificer Norrax¡¯s workshop and be your guide while you are in Duskstone. Priestess Stonevoice said she only briefed you on the basic rules as you planned to wait here.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my name, but I gave no rank,¡± Amdirlain replied, as she stayed seated to avoid looking down on them. ¡°That is the rank that the High Crafter told me to use,¡± declared Trinax, his tone unbothered. ¡°My name is Trinax, son of Naxlan.¡± ¡°Thank you, if you¡¯d show me the way,¡± Amdirlain replied. As she rose Trinax had already started for the exit. Trinax led through the holding¡¯s corridors that all stood taller than the Dwarves needed, with multi-level building fronts on each side of them. They¡¯d carved each fronting in clean lines that showed the focus of the building¡¯s use. The tavern¡¯s door had sat inside a barrel¡¯s plug hole - with the staves and bands showing in otherwise smooth rock. Others appeared as boot soles, cloth drapes, hide, cascading gemstones, various tools, or metal bars. Though it illustrated their shop type, each still had a sign above its door etched with the same sharp lettering as Natsal¡¯s journal. He passed them all at the same steady pace, returning many greetings from others as they worked their way through the holding. When their path led them to a blank stone wall, the stonework rose smoothly upwards after a few moments of silence. ¡°Don¡¯t go wandering by yourself in here. The High Crafter has given you dispensation, but it will confuse the guards if you¡¯re not accompanied, until word has spread,¡± Trinax instructed, before he ducked under the rising stone. Amdirlain followed his motion, the hoist pylons that had raised the stone plate in the first room were nowhere to be seen. It wasn¡¯t their absence, but the additions that promoted her to pause. Four giant humanoid constructs some four metres tall formed an arc around the entryway; their bodies crackled with constantly moving ordered crystal bands that overlaid their mithril bodies. The constructs were completely smooth, without a seam or a joint in sight. Featureless and weaponless, their arms ended at flat plates that resembled the business end of an industrial pile driver. Fine runes were constantly in motion beneath the metal¡¯s surface; invisible, if not for True Sight showing her their mana patterns. The motions and patterns of the runes pulled cords of mana through the forms. Analysis [Mithril Golem Species: Construct Level: 105 Health: 42,000 Defence: 500 Melee Attack Power: 715 Combat Skills: Slam [M](100), Stomp [M] (100), Punch [M](100) - Self Repair [M](1) Details: Weighing close to thirty tons, these constructs are the work of combined teams of Artificers, Priests, and Warsmiths. Dwarven Holding, through various Planes deploy them as Guardians. ] They¡¯d arrayed the Golems between the bottleneck of the gate and a wider defence barricade. Amdirlain followed Trinax warily, but the Golems didn¡¯t react to her presence as she passed between them. Their path took them up a steep ramp to another row of barricades, where living guards watched and nodded to Trinax as they passed. Beyond the second defensive line, the buildings were similar in styling to the outer wards, though additional wards threaded the stone inside these walls. The stone crawled with thicker wards than protected the walls of Eyrarh¨¢ls. Metal pillars reached to the ceiling, their store of elemental energy connected via threads of energy woven into the wards. The inner wards¡¯ corridors were just as busy, with Dwarven crafters, troops, and many combinations moving about. Trinax finally paused outside a building carved in the likeness of rune etched gears. The noise from inside didn¡¯t sound like a fine smithing workshop, but a foundry. Amdirlain took in the density of runes within the material of the forge, tools, and workbench. When they entered, she¡¯d found herself in an open plan workshop furnished with different forges and workbenches; the walls were covered in racked tools and every work spot was in use. The Priestess flicked a glance up at their entry, but as Trinax started in her direction, she returned to her observations. As she looked the place over, she spotted Natsal next to a seated Dwarf hunched over a workbench facing their direction. The other Dwarf didn¡¯t even bestir his attention from a familiar geode in front of him. They¡¯d tucked their thick black beard down inside the front of their leather apron as they worked away, scraping the tip of a tiny hook between the crystals inside. [Name: Master Artificer Norrax Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Artificer / Alchemist Level: 72 / 68 Health: 2,520 Defence: 158 Magic: 160 Mana: 49,280 Melee Attack Power: 85 Combat Skills: War Hammer [M](4)- Various Blessings & Runic Items Details: Norrax, the youngest son of Raxlen, is the black sheep of the family, having pursued the path of Artificer instead of serving in the Royal Army. ] Trinax brought them within arm¡¯s reach of the bench before Norrax even looked up. A thick bulbous nose protruded from the sea of whiskers that started at the edge of his scarred, lidless eye sockets, filled with liquid silver orbs. Runic patterns she¡¯d seen across Trinax¡¯s helm wiggled around inside the orbs¡¯ interiors. Instead of the bushy eyebrows that every other Dwarf seemed to possess, his face, from his scarred hollows to his hairline, was a mass of scar tissue. Yet despite the damage, his face had suffered, his beard and hair were perfectly fine. The biggest disruption to his beard was the crease caused by the thin, dental pick-like tool he held clamped lengthways between his teeth. ¡°Who do you have there, Trinax?¡± Norrax mumbled around the handle. ¡°It¡¯s Lady Amdirlain,¡± stated Natsal, beating Trinax in replying. ¡°I told you her name when I presented you the geode.¡± ¡°Hush you, I didn¡¯t need her name until she showed up,¡± grumped Norrax, having spat the tool to the workbench so he could speak freely. ¡°Why should I bother paying attention to it before now? Crystals in this cracked, you should have been more careful.¡± ¡°It was an experiment in purification. I have more,¡± ¡°Unpurified?¡± Norrax questioned suspiciously, pausing in his examination. ¡°No, I purified all of them together, and the ore,¡± stated Amdirlain, gesturing at a lump that appeared to be the one she¡¯d given Natsal. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you have more of these. The nature of materials contributes to the result, not just the raw materials. It¡¯s the metaphysical condition of it: a hundred flawed crystals versus a hundred perfect crystals might possess just as much material. However, being flawed before the processing begins brings the aspect of the flawed state in with them. That¡¯s fine for lesser works, not what I need to advance my craft.¡± ¡°Most of them didn¡¯t crack,¡± Amdirlain advised, and Norrax furrowed his brow at her. ¡°Even if the crust is intact doesn¡¯t mean the crystals stayed in one piece. I¡¯ll have to open each to evaluate them properly,¡± huffed Norrax as he pried at a crystal. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to bring them to the holding in a polluted state,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Lay them out,¡± Norrax grunted, with a tilt of his head towards his workbench. ¡°What would you use the flawed crystals for?¡± enquired Amdirlain curiously. ¡°You¡¯re not an apprentice of mine, Elf!¡± exclaimed Norrax as he brought his fist down on the workbench. ¡°Master Norrax!¡± objected Natsal, going wide-eyed at his tone. ¡°Won¡¯t they still be useful for anything?¡± Amdirlain had to bite her tongue to let Natsal play diplomat. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, we¡¯re Dwarves we can make use of any metal. I already said they¡¯d be fine for lesser works,¡± rebuffed Norrax, as he turned his glare on Natsal. ¡°I¡¯ll still buy them. My journeymen can make use of them, I just won¡¯t know the right value until I check them all.¡± ¡°Natsal, I¡¯d hate to inconvenience Master Norrax by providing him with my supplies,¡± Amdirlain said, as she turned to go. ¡°You can still sell him that sample since he¡¯s studied it.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t anyone that could make better use of them than me,¡± retorted Norrax, with another thump. ¡°That¡¯s not my concern,¡± Amdirlain replied, as she glanced back with a mischievous smile. ¡°Perhaps you can buy the materials off them after they¡¯ve assessed them. I¡¯m sure they wouldn¡¯t mark them up too much. Trinax, there are buildings with the same motif further down this passage I¡¯ll try those.¡± ¡°The High Crafter said to show them to Master Norrax,¡± Natsal said. ¡°He¡¯s had a look at them, and he¡¯s an arse. He doesn¡¯t need to look further,¡± Amdirlain replied and stepped back outside and waited for Trinax to catch up. When her escort caught up, he glanced between her and the passage. ¡°Master Norrax isn¡¯t one to forgive an insult to his pride,¡± warned Trinax, his tone low. ¡°My apologies if I caught you in the middle, Trinax. You can blame it on the darn Elf,¡± suggested Amdirlain with a shrug. ¡°So, if Master Norrax is the premium Artificer here, who is second best.¡± ¡°Oh Master Norrax isn¡¯t the best, he¡¯s just one of the better ones. Master Pimnal is the best Artificer, but very select about projects now her beard¡¯s turning white,¡± replied Trinax, keeping his voice low. ¡°Please forgive my ignorance, but what the importance of her beard turning white?¡± asked Amdirlain, moving down the corridor towards the next gear motif building front. ¡°Not dealt with Dwarves, have you?¡± Trinax asked, his tone lightening. ¡°No, I¡¯ve not had much direct experience,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°A Dwarf whose beard is turning white only has a decade of life left, perhaps a trace more,¡± Trinax explained. ¡°So, inner district, anyone here is among the more skilled?¡± Amdirlain asked, gesturing down the passageway. ¡°Or their clan has the money to afford a spot in here,¡± responded Trinax. ¡°We should work our way along till we find someone doesn¡¯t have their head up their own arse,¡± suggested Amdirlain, surprised when Trinax barked a loud laugh. When she was away from Norrax¡¯s shop, she paused and looked at him. ¡°Do you know any polite Artificer in the holding?¡± ¡°My younger sister is an Artificer; she only recently gained a workshop,¡± suggested Trinax hesitantly. ¡°Most Master Artificer will chew up anyone¡¯s beard.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we go see her in that case,¡± Amdirlain proposed with an amused smile. ¡°Her workshop is in the outer district,¡± Trinax cautioned as he halted in the middle of the corridor. ¡°Because of skill or funds?¡± asked Amdirlain, with a glance at a passerby who gawked at her as they stepped around. ¡°A bit of both. She¡¯s just recently moved out of her Master¡¯s workshop and is getting her feet under her,¡± Trinax admitted. When Amdirlain smiled, he added. ¡°She¡¯ll likely not have the coin for much of your goods.¡± ¡°Since I¡¯m not supposed to be in this area, let¡¯s make things easier on everyone?¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°The High Crafter-¡± protested Trinax, and Amdirlain motioned to cut off his protest. ¡°Isn¡¯t the boss of me,¡± Amdirlain interjected before she spun to head back. ¡°I might arrange something with your sister. Does the High Crafter know she¡¯s an Artificer?¡± ¡°Of course he does,¡± Trinax affirmed as he moved ahead of her.
Amdirlain glanced over the shopfront Trinax had led her to off the main corridors. The gear motif was in place, but it looked worn as if carved centuries ago. It had a considerably smaller frontage through its open front window; she could see a single forge and a short workbench across the front of the workshop. A black-bearded Dwarf dressed in sturdy leathers and an apron was unpacking a crate and tucking items away. As they slid a rack of glass vials under the workbench, Amdirlain considered their black braided hair and used Analysis. Analysis [Name: Jaixar Forgeshield Class: Artificer / Alchemist Level: 34 / 37 Health: 852 Magic: 91 Mana: 5,538 Defence: 58 Melee Attack Power: 50 Combat Skills: War Hammer [Ad] (1) Details: Jaixar, daughter of Xarpel, graduated as a Journeyman in both Artificer and Alchemist at the earliest age allowed by the respective guilds. ] ¡°Trinax, I thought you couldn¡¯t come by when on duty?¡± Jaixar asked, her gaze narrowing at the sight of him. ¡°I brought you a traveller with materials,¡± Trinax stated. Jaixar gave a sharp laugh and slapped the workbench for a moment before shaking her head. ¡°So how did you convince miss Elf there to play this game?¡± asked Jaixar sharply. ¡°There is no way either the militia or the High Crafter would be sending anything my way.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Amdirlain interrupted, as Trinax tried to explain. ¡°I¡¯m the newest Journeyman in the holding, everyone rates higher than me to have work directed to them,¡± replied Jaixar, amusement crinkling her gaze. ¡°I enjoy making my own choices and I didn¡¯t like the Master they sent me to,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Masters don¡¯t have manners, they just have orders,¡± Jaixar stated with another sharp laugh. ¡°You¡¯re an Alchemist and an Artificer?¡± Amdirlain asked bluntly, hoping to cut to the chase. ¡°Did Trinax go talking about me?¡± enquired Jaixar, glancing suspiciously at Trinax. ¡°I¡¯m good at determining those details without hints. I have reagents and materials I need to sell,¡± stated Amdirlain. Jaixar expression soured as she motioned to the disorganised workshop. ¡°I¡¯ve got most of my coin tied up in this workshop and gear. Until I get paid work, I won¡¯t be able to buy much but the most basic materials. If they directed you to a Master first, it¡¯s doubtful whatever you¡¯re looking to sell will be usable by me, let alone something I can afford,¡± declared Jaixar, her amusement having vanished. ¡°What sort of materials could you make use of?¡± Amdirlain asked, without hesitation having considered her options on the way here. ¡°Some gemstones, metals from copper through to high steel, are what I¡¯ve normally used. I know how to process mithril, and assess higher grade materials, but I¡¯ve not worked with them,¡± answered Jaixar. ¡°How about I hire you to assess some adamantine and sort out selling it for me?¡± Even as she asked, Amdirlain set a geode on the workbench, and Jaixar went quiet as she picked it up. ¡°It¡¯s purified of energies using Order, and Celestial Mana, but it comes from the Abyss originally. Master Norrax was rather rude about having flawed too many crystals by purifying them.¡± ¡°He¡¯s famous even in Stoneheart for taking the condition of deliveries personally,¡± dismissed Jaixar. ¡°So, what sort of arrangement were you thinking of?¡± ¡°You get a twenty per cent share of whatever you sell after you assess and separate them,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Just ensure you haggle with them hard, especially if Norrax tries to buy any.¡± ¡°This looks pretty roughly mined. Some crystals might have broken even before you purified it,¡± Jaixar suggested, as she turned the geode over, carefully examining it. ¡°It looks like something just hammered away at the rock until it came free.¡± ¡°Perhaps you can give me some mining advice as part of the arrangement,¡± suggested Amdirlain as she suppressed the urge to rub her face. ¡°How many of these do you have?¡± Jaixar asked, holding it carefully. ¡°One hundred and eight, plus some ore,¡± replied Amdirlain causally. A smile twitched across her lips when Jaixar went bugged eyed in shock. ¡°That¡¯s going to take me ages to separate out the crystals,¡± cautioned Jaixar. ¡°Handle them one geode at a time, and sell them as you go,¡± proposed Amdirlain, setting some ore on the bench near where she¡¯d placed the geode. ¡°Will you be staying around?¡± enquired Jaixar nervously, setting the geode back on the workbench. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d want to take that many at once. I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever earn enough to repay you.¡± Amdirlain considered her option as Jaixar picked up a chunk of ore and rolled it in her fingers. ¡°I could drop by each morning, provide how much you think you can handle that day,¡± suggested Amdirlain. She was about to ask Trinax about boarding rooms before a thought stopped her. ¡°Does your workshop have a spare room for an apprentice to sleep? If so, I¡¯ll hire it from you by gathering materials for your work. I¡¯d appreciate somewhere quiet and secure to meditate. If I get on your nerves, I can find a boarding house instead.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± agreed Jaixar, and stuck out her hand so fast her brother couldn¡¯t object before they sealed the deal. 112 - Money It was nearly an hour later that Trinax gave up his fruitless attempts to talk his sister out of the deal they¡¯d struck. Once she¡¯d given her handshake, Jaixar hadn¡¯t for even a moment appeared to reconsider. When at last her brother had stalked away, Jaixar had let out a delighted laugh and looked back over the crates she¡¯d yet to unpack. ¡°As soon as I get my tools unpacked, I¡¯ll start on that geode, but best put it away for now,¡± Jaixar stated. ¡°Can I help at all?¡± Amdirlain asked, looking over the stacks of boxes in the centre of the workshop. ¡°No, I need to know where I put everything, and I have spots for everything planned,¡± replied Jaixar. ¡°You can have the room at the top of the stairs; my kit is already in the main. Hope you don¡¯t mind, there isn¡¯t a window, and just a glowstone in there.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± said Amdirlain and slipped past the crates within the workshop towards the back stairs. ¡°I really only need a quiet place for meditation.¡± While she had to duck going up the stairs, the breadth a Dwarf needed meant there was plenty of space on the landing. At the top, the first door opened into a small room pointing towards the shop¡¯s rear, while only the other door further along opened towards the front. The room was slightly bigger than the cell that she used in the Githz¨¦rai monastery but bare of any furnishings. A subdued red light came from a transparent disk filled with a glowing fluid attached to the back wall. Though it screamed solitary confinement with the door closed, the solidness of the room actually reassured her. Amdirlain created a throw rug and set it down in the middle before she closed the door and knelt. With True Sight watching for any reaction from the wards, she reached out with her thoughts, not trying to read anyone¡¯s mind, but just listened. A few hours later, it was obvious they had absolutely no Psionic protections in place. The population¡¯s thoughts were just a mingling noise hissing like static against her awareness. As easy as it would be to dig through minds to learn whatever she needed, Amdirlain used it as an exercise in filtering her awareness instead. With her attention split, she set about practicing exercises she¡¯d learnt from Psionic Lore, trying to get them to become second nature. * * * Amdirlain opened the door just as Jaixar raised her hand to knock and smiled at the startled Dwarf. ¡°Good evening, Jaixar. Can I help you with something?¡± ¡°I was just going to get some dinner. Did you want to come along?¡± asked Jaixar, her hands clasped awkwardly behind her back. ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll be alright,¡± Amdirlain replied and noticed another twitch before Jaixar said anything. ¡°Ahh, okay then,¡± responded Jaixar, dragging her words out as she turned to head downstairs, and Amdirlain caught the edge of her grimace. ¡°Actually, I will come along,¡± Amdirlain said, and noted a low, relieved sigh from Jaixar. ¡°Though I¡¯ve limited funds until we sell some goods.¡± ¡°That makes two of us,¡± admitted Jaixar, her tone brightening. ¡°There is a tavern a few passages over. They have a simple meal and an ale for coppers.¡± I¡¯ve still got some coins from what Natsal advanced. I wonder how much she pried free from Norrax for the geode and ore. The passageways they passed through were far busier with foot traffic than they¡¯d been earlier. When they reached the tavern, it looked slightly different from the first one Amdirlain had entered, though there was less variation in the stonework. The marble countertop was missing, and the rest of the furnishings were all formed from a mishmash of coloured granite. Benches along the tables showed wear, chips, and nicks, all polished smooth over the years. A mixture of Dwarves occupied the tables; their varied work gear showed a heavy amount of wear. Though there were groups among them that showed better clothing, the standard to beat wasn¡¯t high. Those present had an air of labourers and workers about them. While they packed the place like the other tavern, there was no Chanter keeping those present entertained they were busy talking or simply inhaling food. When Jaixar headed for an empty table tucked away behind a pillar, Amdirlain followed and drew curious stares before they even reached it. ¡°Sure you really want to have Elven riff-raff keeping you company in a place like this?¡± asked Amdirlain, her tone light. ¡°None of them have wanted to introduce themselves in the week I¡¯ve been here. I think I¡¯ll live,¡± Jaixar said with a shrug as the chair scraped with her movements. ¡°Here a week, and you only just got to unpacking today?¡± ¡°I needed time to find a workshop in the area. My stuff arrived this morning. Didn¡¯t want to leave crates of equipment lying around, even in the Portal¡¯s cargo holding area,¡± answered Jaixar, giving a nearby server a wave. ¡°What are you both having?¡± The question came from a server even as they dropped mugs off at a nearby table with a quick rhythm of stone against stone. ¡°Standard tonight?¡± Jaixar asked. ¡°Mug of lager, small loaf, three cuts of cheese, and the soup - four coppers.¡± The server¡¯s response was a flow of words and when Amdirlain showed them a silver coin, they headed off with a nod. ¡°I might have wanted extra,¡± Jaixar said after they were out of earshot. ¡°Should have spoken up sooner than. You can have mine,¡± replied Amdirlain before she added a friendly smile. ¡°I¡¯m only here because you were nervous about leaving me behind.¡± ¡°How could you tell?¡± asked Jaixar, not meeting Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. ¡°Between the way you stood and the grimace, it wasn¡¯t hard to figure out,¡± Amdirlain responded and tapped the table to catch her attention. ¡°Perfectly understandable. We only met today, and you¡¯ve got everything invested in your workshop. If you feel having a guest is a headache, I can drop by each day instead.¡± ¡°No, no, I said you could stay, and I¡¯m not changing my mind,¡± insisted Jaixar, even as her gaze skittered away, leaving a sour taste in Amdirlain¡¯s mouth. I¡¯ll just head on my way later. Their food¡¯s arrival stopped Jaixar from saying anything further, and Amdirlain gave the server the whole silver, waving them off as they went to leave change. Soup bowls sat in the middle of stone plates, with the rest of the meal resting around it. Palm-sized slices of cheese that looked like they¡¯d hacked it from a round had an odd sheen to them. The bread at least looked fresh but the dark grain loaf was more what she¡¯d call a dinner roll. The soup had an oily scum across the top while discoloured vegetables and a few fragments of meat floated in the murky fluid. Despite the odd sheen of the cheese, Jaixar tucked into the food without hesitation. Amdirlain tried the brew with a hesitant sip and its sharp odour matched the bitterness. Amdirlain pushed her plate carefully across the table to avoid slopping the bowl of soup across the bread and cheese. When Jaixar glanced between the plate and Amdirlain with a puzzled look, she tried to chew faster to clear her mouth. ¡°I said you can have mine,¡± teased Amdirlain, even as she wondered if it was a disservice to give her extra. ¡°You said you had little coin left,¡± Jaixar retorted after swallowing rapidly. ¡°I don¡¯t until we sell materials, but I need little. Tomorrow I¡¯ll head back out. Let me know what you can best make use of to improve your skills,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°No point making things if people aren¡¯t buying them,¡± muttered Jaixar. ¡°Think about how much my share will buy from you,¡± Amdirlain prompted, enjoying the wide-eyed reaction ¡°What!¡± exclaimed Jaixar, a piece of cheese she¡¯d just broken off splashed down into her soup unnoticed. ¡°We¡¯ll talk away from others. Think about what you¡¯ll need to do to challenge your skills,¡± responded Amdirlain, before motioning to Jaixar¡¯s bowl. ¡°Are you looking to have cheese flavoured soup?¡± Jaixar glanced down and shrugged before answering, ¡°It might be the best thing in it.¡± ¡°You can certainly have mine then!¡± declared Amdirlain, giving her lager a suspicious sniff. * * * When they were back at the workshop, Jaixar¡¯s patience was obviously at an end, even as she secured the door. The workshop¡¯s glow disks shone a clear white that added an energy to her gaze. ¡°What are you talking about buying?¡± asked Jaixar, her gaze bright with excitement. ¡°First, let me ask a question: What is it you truly desire?¡± Amdirlain had to focus to avoid laughter, but she managed it. Jaixar stilled, and her gaze went distant for a time. ¡°I want to push the boundaries of what any Artificer has done before,¡± declared Jaixar, locking her gaze on Amdirlain. ¡°So many of them are endlessly making the same things they don¡¯t look beyond what they know is possible.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s build up your skills. Your home city, Stoneheart, is it north of a region populated by humans called the ten kingdoms?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°A world I know has refugees from a Dragon rampage a thousand odd years ago, to the south-west of a Dwarven city called Stoneheart.¡± ¡°Sounds familiar but I know little about Humans the Hill Dwarves deal with them,¡± Jaixar replied, after a moment. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I need a bunch of Alchemical Silver, but after that I¡¯ll buy gear from you to give groups tackling monsters an edge. If I¡¯m not around for a prolonged period, I¡¯d like them transported to some people I know. If your city is on the same world, it simplifies things,¡± answered Amdirlain, as she perched on the edge of the workbench. ¡°I can make some enquiries about both when you¡¯ve got the coin,¡± Jaixar offered. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between inscribing and what an Artificer does?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Wizards inscribe spells into runes but it¡¯s a set effect where an Artificer¡¯s runes are a language in themselves. The most inscribing allows is if someone touches a rune after you activate it, it will go off. Even if I¡¯m using a set effect, I can establish many behaviours around what it will do, and then I can link the effects together. Where a Wizard has to provide all the mana up front, an Artificer embeds mana into an object to establish the runic pattern and when something meets the conditions, it draws the mana for the connected effect,¡± Jaixar explained. Her fingers traced patterns over the workbench, as if drawing diagrams on the stone. ¡°So that¡¯s how you enchant swords?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a misleading term, the weapons just act as a container for the runic patterns. Though the embedded normal patterns focus on what the object naturally does, swords hurt more, and armour protects better. But I could put a runic pattern in armour just to cause it to glow continually when worn. Or shift colours in time to the wearer¡¯s heartbeat,¡± continued Jaixar. ¡±What did you want to start with once we sell some geodes?¡± ¡°A variety of weapons, armour, and things to help people in dangerous situations. Items to provide healing, or allow individuals to see in the dark to start with.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me? Humans can¡¯t see in the dark?!¡± Jaixar exclaimed in disbelief. ¡°Items to heal that would depend on what you mean. I know runes and patterns for speeding natural healing, but effects that provide instant healing I¡¯d need help from a Priest.¡± ¡°Let me explain about the Adventurer¡¯s Guild the Humans have started,¡± said Amdirlain. The more she explained the concept and what she envisioned, the more excited Jaixar became. Despite looking like she wanted to burst, Jaixar let her finish. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°So let me get this straight. You have groups that roam around and do the militia¡¯s work of killing monsters, and they are also getting treasure and materials. You want a bunch of magical items made, to assist them and soak their coin,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking to soak up their coin, but the rest, yes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Guild houses set up through these nations with access to gear to sell to these adventurers,¡± Jaixar said. Her gaze looking off into the distance as she considered Amdirlain¡¯s plans. ¡°Fine, you want items to help them, but you¡¯re still going to charge them for it. What are you going to do with your profit?¡± ¡°Besides buying supplies I need, I plan to help people,¡± answered Amdirlain quickly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go to these folks yourself?¡± Jaixar countered. ¡°I can¡¯t go to the Material Plane, not without someone making preparations,¡± Amdirlain said, reluctant to expand on the subject she still didn¡¯t want to lie. The truth always comes out, and I¡¯m sure the High Crafter knows. ¡°What?!¡± Jaixar exclaimed, ¡°I¡¯m not a Mortal, Jaixar,¡± Amdirlain said carefully. ¡°Hold up, I thought you were a fancy Wood Elf noble slumming it,¡± declared Jaixar, her gaze widening. ¡°No, that¡¯s how I appear at present, but I¡¯m not a Wood Elf,¡° Amdirlain said, as she shook her head. ¡°How did you get past the wards they look for shape-changers?¡± asked Jaixar, suspiciously shifting further along the bench from Amdirlain. ¡°My form isn¡¯t the result of shape change. While I have no ill-intent, I¡¯d rather not share all my secrets. I believe the local High Crafter knows who I am since he told your brother to use the title Lady when addressing me,¡± said Amdirlain, exasperation clear in her tone. ¡°Is Amdirlain actually your name?¡± interrogated Jaixar gruffly. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Amdirlain answered, though didn¡¯t see a change in Jaixar¡¯s gaze. ¡°The High Crafter wouldn¡¯t bother telling Trinax to use a title for an Elven noble. Why did Trinax get told to call you Lady Amdirlain then?¡± demanded Jaixar. ¡°I¡¯d rather not say,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°I¡¯d rather know who I¡¯m dealing with,¡± insisted Jaixar. ¡°Even though it¡¯s not something that will harm you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°How do I know that?¡± countered Jaixar, her gaze unwavering in its focus on Amdirlain. ¡°If we¡¯re going into business together, which is what it sounds like you want, then I should know who I¡¯m dealing with.¡± ¡°My name is Amdirlain, in a few places I¡¯m known as the Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings,¡± Amdirlain said. The words had tripped across her lips as she forced them out, but she hadn¡¯t expected to see Jaixar almost floored. The Dwarf clutched at the bench and remained upright only with a white knuckled grip on the stone. ¡°You¡¯re a Power.¡± Jaixar¡¯s words were a bare whisper, her wide-eyed gaze danced between Amdirlain and the workshop. ¡°I¡¯m sorry!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. She reached out to hold Jaixar upright, but reluctantly stayed the motion, uncertain how Jaixar would consider any attempt at help. ¡°I¡¯ve not used that Title near a Mortal before, I didn¡¯t know that would happen. Are you okay?¡± ¡°My brain feels like it got hit by a crawler. Give me a moment,¡± Jaixar said, as she staggered to the workshop¡¯s sole seat. Amdirlain moved as Jaixar swayed on the chair and knelt with a hand gently on her shoulder to prevent her slumping off it. ¡°I think you need more than a moment,¡± murmured Amdirlain. The sigh that escaped her drew Jaixar¡¯s dazed gaze. Jaixar grasped Amdirlain¡¯s forearm with a shaking hand to keep her balance. Her naturally darkened skin turned grey. ¡°You¡¯re a Power,¡± declared Jaixar when her colour returned. ¡°You¡¯ve said that,¡± Amdirlain noted, uncertain if she still needed help in sitting upright, but Jaixar¡¯s grip hadn¡¯t shifted. ¡°You¡¯ve been meditating in a bare apprentice room, in my workshop,¡± muttered Jaixar, her gaze still wide-eyed. Though she, at last, focused on Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± Amdirlain agreed with a smile. ¡°You purchased dinner,¡± continued Jaixar, in a stunned mutter. ¡°In a worker¡¯s tavern, they served you nearly turned cheese and old cheap soup.¡± ¡°Are you going somewhere with this?¡± asked Amdirlain gently, as amusement and concern fought in her expression. ¡°Trying to get my head around today,¡± Jaixar muttered, her gaze going distant as she fell silent. ¡°Are you alright?¡± enquired Amdirlain after the silence had drawn on. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know. I feel like a quake rang through my brain¡¯s foundations,¡± answered Jaixar, blinking at her slowly. ¡°Should I help you upstairs to rest?¡± asked Amdirlain, concerned by her remaining pallor. ¡°Don¡¯t think we¡¯ll make it up together; the stairs are a touch tight.¡± The words were a rambling mutter, stunned confusion still muddled her response. ¡°Let me worry about that. You still look pale. Perhaps close your eyes. I¡¯ll teleport us up into the corridor,¡± Amdirlain suggested as she helped Jaixar stand. When she followed Amdirlain¡¯s instructions, a quick teleport set them outside Jaixar¡¯s bedroom. Guiding her inside, Amdirlain helped her settle on her simple palate bed and left her to sleep. With their doors closed, she paced about her tiny bedroom and considered options before she sent a message. ¡°Yngvarr, I hope everything is okay with you and Alfarr. I¡¯ve contacted a Dwarven holding called Duskstone on the Elemental Plane of Earth. They¡¯re connected to a city called Stoneheart; though I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the same one, it could be a common name among worlds. I¡¯m trying to establish a deal with an Artificer Journeyman named Jaixar to get things for the Adventurer¡¯s Guild. While I can¡¯t easily get to the Material Plane, perhaps we can meet here from time to time. I think I¡¯ll be here a few days at least.¡± The spell disappeared in a rush, and Amdirlain hoped Yngvarr would eventually feel like making contact. After a moment¡¯s consideration, she also sent the details to Livia¡¯s journal, not wanting to disrupt the young lady¡¯s plans. Even as the second message vanished, relief rushed through her, and Amdirlain realised she was likely committed now. It let her find clarity of purpose that enabled her to kneel at peace, and she started work on more mental exercises. When at last a ray leapt from a fingertip and frost licked across the stone wall, she smiled. [Telekinesis [J](25->26)] A repeat of it didn¡¯t provoke another increase, but Amdirlain continued to reinforce the mental pattern until it came easily. * * * She was practicing a different Skill the next morning when Jaixar hesitantly exited her bedroom. Practice had extended Clairsentience to let Amdirlain see the corridor outside her room. The Dwarf¡¯s slumped posture and the way she chewed her lip while she stared at Amdirlain¡¯s door spoke volumes. When Jaixar moved towards the staircase, Amdirlain almost sighed in exasperation just as the young Artificer stopped and hurriedly knocked. When Amdirlain opened the door, Jaixar looked nearly composed, but the determination in her gaze made Amdirlain wonder at her decision. ¡°I¡¯m going to get a breakfast loaf. When I get back, I¡¯ll start on a geode. We can discuss materials I¡¯ll need and initial items after I get the first sold,¡± stated Jaixar. The Dwarf turned on her heel and walked off without waiting for a response, leaving Amdirlain looking on bemused at her retreat. ¡°I hope the baker has fresh bread for you,¡± said Amdirlain, chuckling at the over shoulder wave she received. It seems someone has chosen their course. I¡¯ll get the surprise ready. * * * Jaixar set the cloth bag on the workbench and sniffed the air curiously before her gaze fixed on six no longer empty crates arrayed on her workshop floor. ¡°Where did this all come from?¡± asked Jaixar after she recovered from her slack-jawed state. ¡°You showed me ore, not nuggets?¡± ¡°I have a way to separate things. This is all the metal from the ore,¡± Amdirlain said, gesturing to the crates. Even as she spoke, Jaixar raced around the workbench, and Amdirlain almost got run over. The dwarf picked up a bit of metal and licked it before she smacked her lips appreciatively. ¡°This is pure adamantine.¡± A delighted expression lit her face as she picked up another piece to give it the same treatment. ¡°The non-adamantine material I separated into that last crate,¡± said Amdirlain, motioning to the one closest to the forge. ¡°I¡¯ve got the separate rock, dirt, and other things still stored.¡± Jaixar grabbed a green baton and whistle from under her workbench and hurried back outside. After a few moments, Amdirlain heard a piercing whistling noise, and Jaixar came back in the door without the baton. Her gaze fixed on the crates for long moments before she turned towards Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t need to assess this, they¡¯ll be able to send it straight through their sorter,¡± admitted Jaixar. ¡°It¡¯s part of the package - you get a share of what they pay me,¡± Amdirlain said, patting a crate. ¡°You¡¯re my business partner. The deal was you get twenty per cent of goods I bring in for your help in selling them.¡± ¡°Master Norrax drove you away?¡± Jaixar asked, gaze shining with delight. ¡°I didn¡¯t like him being rude, so I left,¡± Amdirlain corrected. The suddenly glum Jaixar left Amdirlain whiplashed by her mood swing. ¡°I¡¯ve got a two-year lease on this place,¡± Jaixar grumbled. Amdirlain was still laughing minutes later when a young Dwarf tapped on the door. The youngster¡¯s beard barely covered their jawline, the green baton lightly held in their grasp. ¡°Lass, good to see you,¡± Jaixar said, over the laughter. ¡°Ask Gildenshield House to send an assessor and cart, please. Five standard crates of adamantine pellets, and one containing sundry minerals for them to include in the next auction.¡± The Dwarven lass set the baton on the bench and raced off, the noise of booted feet echoing back in the door she hadn¡¯t closed. ¡°Why the auction house?¡± ¡°Better to let the Master Crafters beat each other into submission bidding, than trying to haggle with them,¡± Jaixar stated, moving around the bench as she closed the door. ¡°Non-Dwarves get skinned alive trying to sell ores and gemstones to them.¡± ¡°The High Crafter sent me to one. How nice,¡± said Amdirlain dryly. ¡°It¡¯s a rite of passage for outsiders to endure them, just like we have to,¡± laughed Jaixar. ¡°You could get started on this while we wait,¡± offered Amdirlain, waving an intact geode, and its appearance cut off her laughter. Motioning to the bench, Jaixar retrieved a toolbox from underneath it and settled down to work. It was nearly an hour later that there was finally a rap on the door. When Jaixar opened it, two guards and a finely dressed Dwarf entered the workshop. The sceptical look vanishing as the well-dressed Dwarf took a deep breath and spoke in a low gravelly voice. ¡°Goodness, here I thought I was going to have to chew someone¡¯s hide off. Lass, come in here.¡± When the young Dwarf came in the door, they handed a silver coin larger than those Natsal had given her over, and the suddenly smiling messenger raced away again. ¡°Now then, I¡¯m Dunlan, son of Tardan, Master Assessor of Clan Gildenshield. Your names are?¡± asked Dunlan, not introducing the guards. One guard stepped around the workbench and moved to the base of the stairs, while the other remained by the door and Dunlan stepped past the bench. Dunlan glanced between the geode Jaixar had carefully cut open and the open crates. He stroked a ringed hand over his honey-blond beard as his sharp deep emerald gaze moved between the two of them. ¡°I¡¯m Jaixar, daughter of Xarpel, Journeyman Artificer and Alchemist of Clan Forgeshield. This is Lady Amdirlain, a traveller and my business partner,¡± Jaixar said, with a gesture to Amdirlain. ¡°Lady Amdirlain is it? Not sure why you partnered with a Journeyman, but her Clan is solid. Now, the messenger said crates, but you also have an interesting geode. What is it we¡¯re dealing with?¡± ¡°Just the crates presently, Master Gildenshield,¡± said Amdirlain, trying to be polite. ¡°Jaixar has to work through the geodes I brought in to check the crystal¡¯s quality.¡± ¡°You should look at hiring better miners, Lady Amdirlain; that one looks badly treated,¡± Dunlan observed, glancing at one half of the geode. ¡°I can provide you with the names of some skilled crews.¡± ¡°Unfortunately, it was a dangerous area, so I was retrieving them in between battles, and I¡¯m an inexperienced miner,¡± stated Amdirlain. The sudden silence and wide-eyed looks she got from all the Dwarves in the room prompted her to ask, ¡°What?¡± ¡°An Elf mining?¡± Dunlan murmured in astonishment. ¡°You don¡¯t look like no miner,¡± muttered the guard by the stair before falling back into silence. Dunlan pulled a set of scales, similar to what the guards had used, from a small belt pouch. When the first pellet of adamantine went on the scales, he looked up at her from the glowing plate. ¡°What were you doing in the Abyss?¡± asked Dunlan politely without looking at any notes, and both guards suddenly tensed. ¡°Killing Demons,¡± replied Amdirlain, carefully not acknowledging the guards¡¯ looks. ¡°The noise of mining was a useful lure.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to check it¡¯s all properly purified. What process did you use?¡± ¡°I alternated saturating the materials in Celestial and Order Mana,¡± answered Amdirlain. At the mention of Celestial Mana, the guards relaxed back to their previous watchfulness. ¡°That matches the energies the scales detect. You live a dangerous life Lady Amdirlain. I¡¯m not sure I know of any mining crew that would care to accompany you. Though perhaps I can get some to provide you mining lessons if you plan to do so again,¡± Dunlan stated. ¡°You declared these goods to the gate guards?¡± ¡°Yes, I provided them samples of ore, geode, and reagents,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Stepping clear of the crate, she leant on the workbench as she watched the pair of them work. Though it put her back to one guard, she kept him under observation. ¡°This isn¡¯t ore; its metal pellets,¡± Dunlan pointed out, gesturing to the crates. ¡°I can separate substances; it¡¯s an ability I have,¡± offered Amdirlain ensuring she kept a casual tone. ¡°You separated this metal after entering the holding?¡± asked Dunlan. The sharp tone in his question earned him a raised eyebrow from Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, is that a problem?¡± Amdirlain enquired, aware the guards were unbothered by the question. ¡°Did you do so through the operation of a smelter or spell?¡± enquired Dunlan, fixing his gaze on Amdirlain. ¡°It didn¡¯t require either,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°That¡¯s good then; otherwise, the current commander would need to levy a fine for violation of the foundry charter,¡± Dunlan replied, with a sigh of relief. ¡°I¡¯d have to report the matter, and such can spoil relationships with customers.¡± ¡°Is there a book of the regulations I should know?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°My guide from the guards was going to tell me about the rules, but there has been a bit of confusion.¡± ¡°You can find a current copy of the code at any guard station; they might let you read it on site. There is one near the Gildenshield¡¯s Headquarters on the main concourse. If you wish, I can point it out to you when we transport these goods,¡± responded Dunlan. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll let you get on with your assessment. Sorry for all the questions,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Not at all. We pride ourselves on assisting our customers. Now, given the size of the consignment, I¡¯d say the auction fee would be eight per cent of the total. Unfortunately, there will be an additional handling fee of three per cent to have the goods all confirmed as purified. Should I proceed with my assessment on those terms?¡± asked Dunlan. When Amdirlain directed an enquiring look at Jaixar, she nodded. ¡°Better terms than my Master used to get,¡± confirmed Jaixar. ¡°That¡¯s fine, please go ahead,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Pulling out a scroll case, inkpot, and quill from the same small pouch, he paused as he went to unseal the inkpot. ¡°You mentioned reagents. Do they also come from the Abyss?¡± Dunlan enquired curiously. ¡°No, they¡¯re from a completely different source,¡± replied Amdirlain blandly. ¡°Would you be willing to let us handle selling those for you?¡± asked Dunlan. When Amdirlain made a pouch appear, Jaixar set her tools aside at the odour and watched Dunlan check the materials with a similar glass spoon to Lorrella. When the scale¡¯s plate went white, Dunlan quickly retrieved the pouch from them. ¡°How much of these reagents do you have?¡± stammered Dunlan. ¡°Just under two hundred pouches,¡± Amdirlain said with a shrug. ¡°Would that improve the offered terms?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll waive the handling fee for the purification checks,¡± Dunlan stated as he set to filling out his paperwork. ¡°Would you care to open an account? We¡¯ll need to sell these through a few locations to maximise the return you¡¯ll receive.¡± ¡°Only waiving the fee? You should drop your commission to five per cent as well,¡± huffed Jaixar. ¡°Seven and a half,¡± countered Dunlan. Jaixar just sighed and retrieve the baton and whistle from under the workbench. ¡°Seven is the lowest we can go,¡± grumbled Dunlan. ¡°Then seven is what we¡¯ll take, with the waived fee for purifications,¡± Jaixar stated, and tucked the baton and whistle back away. ¡°Twenty per cent of all sales proceeds are to go into an account for Jaixar,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°We can certainly make that happen,¡± agreed Dunlan, happily giving Jaixar and her workshop a bewildered look. ¡°You can¡¯t,¡± protested Jaixar, causing Dunlan to glance between them. ¡°It¡¯s the deal we struck, Master Dunlan,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I hate backing down on my word.¡± 113 - Its been awhile A spell from Dunlan had caused the metal pellets to erupt from the crates. As they spiralled, Dunlan plucked random pieces from the air. It was a theatrical way to conduct a random contents check. True Sight had no issues showing her the spell¡¯s structure, but it wasn¡¯t part of any list she¡¯d learnt. The only hiccup came when he¡¯d asked for confirmation of her understanding of their terms before signing the agreement. Written in Khuzdul, the document was a scroll filled with the sharp-edged runes Natsal had used and was meaningless to her. Jaixar had read the document aloud, and though Amdirlain listened, she¡¯d also followed Jaixar¡¯s thoughts. Once done, Jaixar made quick to seal the crates, and Dunlan provided a receipt for the consignment and his assessment. ¡°So the guards¡¯ code would be in Khuzdul?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Dunlan confirmed ruefully. Guess I should keep knowledge points in reserve. ¡°I¡¯ll stick by Jaixar then if I need to venture out before I depart,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I intend to drop by the High Crafter and suggest Natsal or Trinax pay a fine for incomplete work,¡± Dunlan stated firmly, embers of anger heating his gaze. ¡°Do your facilities also include storage areas for account holders?¡± Amdirlain asked to distract his ire. ¡°Of course, Gildenshield has very secure vault facilities available to account holders for a nominal fee. Separate, of course, to our storage of coinage, which attracts no such fees,¡± replied Dunlan, with the confidence of an experienced salesman. ¡°We can provide plans for securing goods for years, decades, or centuries as required.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Amdirlain assured him with a smile. With that, they departed as business-like as they had arrived. The Master Assessor¡¯s spell hoisted the crates out the door in an effortless motion. The sounds from within made it clear the contents had lifted the crates rather than being lifted by them. ¡°Why did you ask about vaults?¡± enquired Jaixar; as she returned to work, Amdirlain put the breakfast loaf she left on the bench hours before next to her. When Jaixar¡¯s gaze looked between them uncertainly, Amdirlain moved to retrieve the geode. Jaixar pulled the loaf from the bag and pulled a chunk free to eat the moment she did. The reluctant expression earned an eye-roll as Amdirlain returned to her spot perched on the bench. ¡°I was thinking about hiring one we could both access. Then I could leave the geodes there and you¡¯d be able to retrieve more as you progress,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Once I get enough skill to make a dimensional vault, it won¡¯t be an issue,¡± Jaixar said confidently, Amdirlain just smiled at her.
With the workshop remaining closed up while Jaixar worked on the geodes, the knock hours later made Jaixar jump in surprise. When Amdirlain had far-viewed the exterior corridor, she reappeared by the door and flung it open the moment it was unlatched. Yngvarr, Alfarr, Verdandi and a young man standing behind her ignored in the moment as the young lady outside gave her a surprised smile. The delight glowed in her azure-blue gaze as Amdirlain stepped forward to hug her. Livia stood barely taller than Amdirlain remembered her human form had been; a hundred sixty-two centimetres - and extremely lithe in build. Her pixie-like features were still delicate, though showing a graceful maturity and determination. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t climb onto my shoulders this time,¡± Amdirlain murmured, as they released each other from the long hug. ¡°I¡¯m a little old for that now. I like the new name, and your aura is beautiful now the conflict in it is all gone,¡± replied Livia calmly, as she glanced between Amdirlain and the others. ¡°Gunnarr, this is Moeir. Amdirlain, this is Gunnarr.¡± The young man she introduced was a fraction under two metres tall and wore leather armour reinforced with steel discs. Mana woven through them showed Divine Blessings providing additional protection rather than an Artificer¡¯s runic pattern. The braid he wore pulled his auburn hair away from his face, giving Amdirlain an unrestricted view of his sturdy features, leaf-green eyes, and a broad smile. His blocky jawline and the general ruggedness of his features made his Norse heritage clear. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be adventuring,¡± Amdirlain said to Livia before she carefully clasped the young¡¯s man forearm. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have lots to talk about Gunnarr.¡± ¡°Moeir, don¡¯t do that,¡± Livia said, poking her in the shoulder to emphasise each word. ¡°We were adventuring, but Yngvarr showed up where we were staying and told Livia you were here. The team we¡¯re mentoring is resting and training after some initial missions for the guild,¡± responded Gunnarr, purposefully keeping a straight face. ¡°Come in; I¡¯ll introduce you all to Jaixar,¡± Amdirlain said as she moved out of the doorway and motioned for them to follow. ¡°We¡¯ve some catching up and planning to do. I¡¯m sure your original plans hadn¡¯t included resting long.¡±
They¡¯d ended up in a tavern that Verdandi had remembered from her questing days, with Yngvarr having insisted Jaixar join them. Despite Jaixar¡¯s protests, he¡¯d won that argument by the pure cheat of talking about the place¡¯s mead. With the private dining room hired, they didn¡¯t have to worry about prying ears, and they¡¯d spent hours catching up and planning. Dinner had come and gone and they were still in discussions over a good starting point for Jaixar¡¯s endeavours. ¡°Torm received a promotion,¡± Verdandi told Amdirlain and dragged her attention away from their discussion. ¡°I¡¯m sure Tyr rewarded him for his efforts suitably.¡± replied Amdirlain, a smile lighting her face at Verdandi¡¯s news. ¡°The promotion didn¡¯t come from Tyr, it came from the Titan through an evolution,¡± countered Verdandi. ¡°Oh,¡± uttered Amdirlain, wide-eyed in surprise. ¡°An Angel called a Planetar, the Norse Pantheon hasn¡¯t seen one previously, and apparently neither had any other Pantheon that were consulted,¡± Verdandi stated. ¡°Unfortunately, it means he has similar restrictions to yourself in visiting the Material Plane. At present he¡¯s helping clean the border of remaining Slaadi raiders.¡± ¡°Goodness,¡± proclaimed Amdirlain. Her mind spun as she wondered what they¡¯d done. Verdandi waited for her surprise to ease taking a drink of mead as she waited. ¡°You¡¯ve spoken about plans for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, the deal with Jaixar, but nothing about your intentions,¡± Verdandi enquired, the concern in her gaze fixing on Amdirlain. ¡°Tern¨°x and ¨¤luga are going to be my focus for a bit. Freeing L¨®m?, and continuing to destroy Set¡¯s resources in ¨¤luga,¡± replied Amdirlain, with a nod as Verdandi¡¯s concern grew. ¡°Yes, I¡¯ll take it carefully since I don¡¯t know if the Sisterhood are still present there.¡± ¡°Several teams including Sagga¡¯s have taken over Moke¡¯s work finding Temples and other sites,¡± advised Verdandi. ¡°he¡¯s co-ordinating them from Memphis and has been employing other eyes. But I believe the plan called for your ability to get into them?¡± ¡°I should still be able to,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It will require more preparation, but we need to confirm enough locations to hurt him.¡± ¡°Eivor is busy being a mother and teacher. Aggie is, I understand, seeking a much higher level before she takes on a High Priest Prestige Class. With those being your strongest Priests at present, how are you intending to get onto the Material Plane?¡± asked Verdandi. ¡°I¡¯ll build up enough wealth to construct a portal solid enough for me to get through. Worst case, if that doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll look to hire Mortal mercenary bands to smash them in one hit,¡± Amdirlain responded. Her matter-of-fact tone earned a wary look from Verdandi. ¡°You might not find mercenary bands that would go against his Church,¡± Verdandi advised. The smile that Amdirlain gave her in reply earned a stern look. ¡°I didn¡¯t say they¡¯d be from the ten kingdoms. You can find lots of things in the Exchange, which apparently includes mercenaries that wander between planets. Some of them specialise in tackling forces of Dark Powers and Demons. Even then, they only care about what they¡¯re being paid and the loot they can gain,¡± advised Amdirlain. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Be careful what you unleash, Amdirlain. If they¡¯re too strong, they might see the whole of the ten kingdoms as a place to pillage,¡± Verdandi cautioned, her expression calm despite the weight of her words. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the second payment large enough to persuade them to behave,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°You can have someone check them to make sure you¡¯re happy with them before I unleash the dogs of war. Then again, considering what I¡¯ve learnt, maybe I need to bring in someone to clean some houses.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Verdandi asked warily, as she frowned at Amdirlain. ¡°What do I mean? Aggie, just for starters, and I¡¯m sure I can find plenty of other examples. The fucking Greek pantheon is deliberately, causing trouble in Judgement at present. Things will get worse with them,¡± predicted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard of anything happening,¡± replied Verdandi softly. ¡°The Pantheons¡¯ are likely trying to keep a lid on it. But there was a Greek patrol leader baiting at both Sekhmet¡¯s and Lada¡¯s patrols, and I¡¯ve seen one hassling Tyr¡¯s as well,¡± explained Amdirlain. Even thinking on the patrol leader¡¯s attitude made her fists clench. ¡°Makes me wonder if it¡¯s not really internal issues but more events like the Slaadi pressure on other borders. What other trouble are they trying to take advantage of? Or have set up?¡± ¡°Yes, but among their worshippers are people like Aggie. Would you want them victims in such fighting?¡± asked Verdandi. ¡°I know, that¡¯s what makes me furious. They don¡¯t care about Mortals or Petitioners just about their own jollies,¡± growled Amdirlain, taking a deep breath to distract her focus. ¡°But you know something, it¡¯s not only about the Souls in service to them today. It¡¯s about the ones born in a year, or a century from now. Set is my target for now, but they¡¯d best change their ways.¡± ¡°And if they don¡¯t?¡± The concern on Verdandi¡¯s face made Amdirlain pause and lock gazes with her before she replied. ¡°While I¡¯ve learnt I can¡¯t protect everyone without crippling their growth, that doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t challenge them to see further. I don¡¯t have to kill a God¡¯s worshippers for them to end up with none. All the Pantheons seem to stick mostly to their original peoples, though some have reached outside the original bloodlines. Why is that? I don¡¯t have any such restrictions on me. No Soul should be at the mercy of a malicious whim when a supposed God of Light is involved. Have you considered the impact of actual Justice among the Greek communities?¡± Verdandi¡¯s thoughtful gaze prompted Amdirlain to stop and sip her mead as the High Justice sat in quiet contemplation. ¡°You folks are planning to go back to the inn afterwards, correct?¡± Amdirlain asked, pulling Livia¡¯s attention from their planning. ¡°Yes, why?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Let¡¯s see if it has a courtyard we can use,¡± Amdirlain said, and Livia¡¯s eyes lit up.
¡°I hope he¡¯s treating you right,¡± Amdirlain stated when they had the courtyard alone. ¡°Multiples of right, oh so much right,¡± Livia said, and gave Amdirlain a naughty smile, before she laughed hard as Amdirlain looked sheepish. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and Livia laughed harder. When Livia settled down at last, she gave Amdirlain a reassuring look and considered what to say. ¡°He accepts me for who I am, and I accept him. Things aren¡¯t perfect, sometimes we argue, but we try to listen to each other¡¯s concerns,¡± reassured Livia, resisting the urge to tease Amdirlain further. ¡°It helps that I can see his aura, it lets me tell if my explanations are making sense, and I can see when he is trying.¡± ¡°Men are frequently trying,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and earned a smile from Livia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was away for so long.¡± ¡°Like either of us could¡¯ve changed that,¡± Livia scolded, waving a finger at her in mock sternness. ¡°I still remember sitting on your lap looking up at the night sky. It felt so peaceful, even as you wished, with all your heart to give me back my life. I didn¡¯t get that life back, instead I got one that allowed me choices. We take downtime during the winters, maybe we¡¯ll come here so we can catch up with you.¡± ¡°What Classes did you end up taking?¡± asked Amdirlain, deliberately changing the subject but not tempted to peek. ¡°Yngvarr said you had four, but I didn¡¯t want to talk about it second hand.¡± ¡°Monk, Fighter, Wizard, and Priest. Tyr didn¡¯t object to me already being a Wizard, and Priest allows me to provide other help to people. Over level twenty in each class, it¡¯s been a busy few seasons,¡± admitted Livia. ¡°I could-¡± Amdirlain started. ¡°No, I¡¯ll handle levelling,¡± interjected Livia, and waved her off. ¡°You need to work on your plans. I¡¯ll use the chance you gave me to stand on my own two feet, and teach others to stand on theirs.¡± Livia gave her a smile, and another hug before they got down to the reason they¡¯d taken time alone - sparring.
Amdirlain looked around the Gildenshield¡¯s foyer the next day with more than a bit of scepticism. It was quite a sight to see with solid red polished granite flooring and marble railings. Gold marble pillars veined with ivory supported an arched ceiling that rose just over three stories. The reception desk counter was black marble with silver veins tastefully edged in mithril filigree, while the guards around the perimeter were all dressed in mithril plate armour. ¡°I can see where the seven per cent goes to, the cost of wear and tear in this place,¡± Amdirlain observed, taking in the enchantments within the guards¡¯ armour. ¡°Damn,¡± muttered Jaixar, and looked at her work gear yet again. ¡°Next time, put the thumbs screws in and go for five,¡± suggested Amdirlain, tempted to turn her clothes into something punk. ¡°Five, what sandstone; I¡¯ll go for two,¡± grumbled Jaixar, as she considered the guards. ¡°Though paying the guards is likely the costly bit.¡± ¡°True, security can fill a lot of overhead,¡± Amdirlain said, as she mentally compared it to the few fancy shops she¡¯d ever visited. ¡°A place setup to impress on bidders that the goods here are expensive?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± conceded Jaixar, as they waited for the receptionist messenger to return. ¡°Your friends gone again already?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be in touch with you,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Too many things going on at present. Livia¡¯s team is inexperienced, and she didn¡¯t want to leave four youngsters alone in a strange town longer than a day.¡± Amdirlain spotted the receptionist¡¯s messenger only a moment before Dunlan appeared and waved for them to come up to the upper balcony. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re on,¡± Amdirlain said, and headed for the stairs. ¡°We¡¯re just getting a storage area for you to access. We¡¯re not selling them directly until you evaluate all of them and separate the crystals.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather be making the new stuff,¡± grumbled Jaixar, as they climbed the stairs. ¡°That¡¯s fine if you can get him to cover the evaluation and go for 2 per cent commission,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and smiled when Jaixar snorted. ¡°You¡¯ll need a month to complete those?¡± ¡°At least that. They¡¯re sizeable geodes, is that a problem?¡± enquired Jaixar, her tone suddenly worried. ¡°No, not at all. Just means I¡¯ve got plenty of time to deal with other problems before I go prospecting,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Though I might bring back materials for your use next time, pretty sure we¡¯ll have operating capital covered for years.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Jaixar asked suspiciously and paused on the stairs. ¡°Purified iron or steel,¡± said Amdirlain, as she considered her options in ¨¤luga. ¡°Just as long as it¡¯s not scrap from weapons,¡± grumbled Jaixar. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that to you.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s chirpy reply caused Jaixar¡¯s gaze to narrow with suspicion.
Yngvarr - PoV As Verdandi moved onto another bookshelf, she left more and more gaps behind as she circled the chamber. ¡°How long are you intending to be gone?¡± Yngvarr asked. ¡°As long as the work takes,¡± Verdandi replied. When he rolled his eyes at her response, she gave him a smile. ¡°¡®You can¡¯t rush a tree¡¯s growth¡¯, I believe I¡¯ve heard it said.¡± ¡°Something distracted you after the dinner. What scheme has she got you involved in?¡± persisted Yngvarr. ¡°No scheme, she only asked me a question,¡± Verdandi said, and turned to consider him properly. ¡°When I prayed upon it, I felt Tyr¡¯s thoughts regard me in return. I¡¯ve served him as a High Justice in Eyrarh¨¢ls for over a century. Occasionally I¡¯d venture out when needed, but it didn¡¯t really challenge me. Nor challenge my understanding of the needs of Justice, the needs of my Liege.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll leave a gap here,¡± warned Yngvarr. ¡°Then that will challenge those I leave behind to stand up to fill it. If they do so, it will be good for them as well. It will either confirm I¡¯ve enabled strong and just leadership, or merely hand puppets mouthing the teachings of Tyr,¡± replied Verdandi, and gestured towards the Temple. ¡°If they succeed, I¡¯ll know I¡¯ve done well. If they fail, I can return and seek out the mistakes I made.¡± ¡°Where do you plan to go?¡± Yngvarr enquired, not having heard mention of a destination from her yet in the days since they¡¯d returned. ¡°Aggie told me about some border towns near the eastern peninsula. Things get rough, both from drunkard Argonauts and their companions who actually endeavour to hold back monsters. I thought I¡¯d take the concept of the Adventurers¡¯ Guild with me, give them standards to meet rather than just a fancy membership to wave. While I¡¯m there, regardless of affiliation, I¡¯ll help the decent ones who help the towns. If townsfolk wish to pray at the Shrine of Tyr I¡¯ll establish, that¡¯s fine,¡± stated Verdandi. ¡°Are you sure her Charisma hasn¡¯t just bedazzled you to this course?¡± queried Yngvarr, and his light-hearted tone earned him a glare. ¡°She scrubbed the moss from this old rock and got her to move again,¡± replied Verdandi with a smile. ¡°Her prompting or not, I¡¯ll serve Tyr and I have no issue with that.¡± Yngvarr nodded respectfully and left her to her preparations. As he exited the grounds, he heard more than a few conversations between Priests busy on the division of extra duties that needed to be handled. No one sounded as if they were trying to lay claim to any benefits or authority. ¡°How¡¯s she doing?¡± Alfarr asked, as Yngvarr arrived home. ¡°More energy than I¡¯ve seen her possess in a while,¡± Yngvarr replied, and sat down beside him and leaned against him. Angling an arm across his body, he let his fingers caress between them where the injury had torn his husband¡¯s life away. ¡°I think the Song is clearer now,¡± stated Alfarr, looping an arm around Yngvarr¡¯s shoulder. Yngvarr just sat and listened, letting the notes sing through him, and after a time nodded against Alfarr¡¯s shoulder. ¡°There is less distortion to it,¡± Yngvarr agreed with a sigh. ¡°Did you tell Verdandi we¡¯re leaving as well?¡± asked Alfarr, giving him a one-armed hug. ¡°Not yet. I challenged her reasons instead, and she¡¯s even more determined,¡± Yngvarr said, closing his eyes and enjoying being held. ¡°I¡¯ll tell her before she goes. Earlier, if my cousin gets here to act as Court Wizard for Ti¨²emundr and ?lhildr.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to live with Dwarves for a time?¡± Alfarr asked. ¡°Amdirlain told that tale about them being grumpy at Elves for lack of help, twelve thousand years ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in less danger of opening my skull on their ceilings than you. Protecting miners from Elementals while they work will give us purpose to push our abilities. I need a good reason to be risking life and limb. Just getting more power doesn¡¯t attract me,¡± stated Yngvarr, his fingers playing with Alfarr¡¯s shirt. ¡°I want to have more time together, not losing what time we could have had.¡± ¡°Why are they mining on the Elemental Plane?¡± enquired Alfarr, trying to distract Yngvarr from his concerns. ¡°Stoneheart¡¯s mines are, as I understand it, already deeper than they are comfortable extending them,¡± Yngvarr stated, and motioned upwards. ¡°They¡¯re establishing new settlements further north along the mountains, but they don¡¯t want to move their capital. The Elemental Planes continually renew themselves, so while it''s dangerous, it also provides opportunities they can¡¯t pass up. There are other outposts close to the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Minerals as well, from what Jaixar indicated.¡± 114 - Toxicity A few hops using Planar Shift let her reach ¨¤luga with ease, and beneath a beautiful blue sky, she teleported to a location found long ago and her work began. The air rippled as lightning rained across the beach. The smell of ozone and burnt flesh filled the air as bolts continued to strike. Bloated maggot-shaped Larvae tried to undulate towards the safety of the ocean, only to be blasted apart. Their pieces scattered far among their fellows and remnants of bones that layered the sludge-coated shore. Before the first storm finished, Amdirlain had already sent another on its way. As her initial spells ripped the proto-Demons apart, she repeatedly teleported along, setting a storm in place at every stop. While she¡¯d followed Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s instructions before, she¡¯d left the most populated beaches alone. Now things were going to get truly messy as transformed Petitioners and Damned Souls alike burst apart. The ongoing slaughter didn¡¯t make a difference to the already foul fragrance in the air. A breeze from the swamp¡¯s interior carried the rancid odour of stagnant water, decay, faeces, and the sounds of things feeding. The explosions and lure of death would likely soon draw attention to the beach. As a final Teleport placed her in familiar foothills, the combat summary appeared, an acknowledgement of the butchery she¡¯d left behind. [Combat Summary: Larvae x2927 Total experience gained: 702,480 Fallen: + 351,240 Scion: +351,240 Mana Critical (1->11) Mana Finesse [S](7->8) ] The sheer amount of experience made her pause, but she nodded when she realised it was quantity at two hundred and forty experience each. After the effort, she¡¯d taken to avoid those classes surging ahead of her new classes to gain so much experience from proto-Demons made her bark with edged laughter as she regarded her surroundings. Though where she stood was familiar, the area around was different from the last time she¡¯d seen it. A distance away along the foothills was a wall of thick black smoke. The fallback location outside the town of Giza she¡¯d scouted with Ebusuku was only a stone¡¯s throw away. Giza¡¯s surrounding trees, with their foul fruit now lay shattered and broken, while inside the perimeter bleached bones and half destroyed buildings were a bleak grave marker. Many of the bones showed the structure of the horned, headless shoulders of Kralc¨ª. Though something had divested them of their golden armour, the bodies had been left to rot. The marks on the bones showed where swamp carrion feeders or other Demons had gnawed them clean of flesh. Amdirlain had been about to teleport again when Telepathy revealed a group of Demons inside the ruins. Clairsentience let her tap a Demon¡¯s eyesight without having to burrow into its mind, and she spilt her focus to take in the distant scene. A group of Fraz-g¨°n were dragging rubble out of a set of stairs that reached below ground level. Their clawed hands allowed the gargoyle-faced Demons a secure grip on the stone chunks. A shattered balcony visible through a broken wall gave her an obvious hint of their location across the square from where the Succubus had stood. [Clairsentience [J](35->36)] After considering her options, Amdirlain stayed in the Succubus form she¡¯d used visiting Tern¨°x. With the simple mercenary leathers she wore, they should consider her a neutral faction. As she flew towards the square, her wings beat at a leisurely tempo, and the noise beckoned three Fraz-g¨°n from the building as she neared. Analysis [Name: ¨¬b?gani Species: Fraz-g¨°n Class: Fighter / Scout Level: 1 / 33 / 32 Health: 1232 Defence: 72 Melee Attack Power: 111 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad](34), Claws [Ad] (35) Details: A native of ¨¤luga, this scavenger crew chief and his crew have been working through old ruins in ¨¤luga. ] ¡°Go away mercenary, we were here first,¡± growled ¨¬b?gani. With the scars across his muzzle and throat, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to do anything else. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in whatever bones you¡¯re picking over, ¨¬b?gani,¡± Amdirlain dismissed and smiled as the Demon took a step back, his gaze wide in surprise. ¡°I¡¯m seeking information.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know you, but if you¡¯ve coin, I might have information,¡± ¨¬b?gani said, the growl easing to a confused rumble. The moment the irregular red Fury coin appeared between her fingers, his gaze locked onto it ¡°I¡¯ve coin,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°When did you last hear of any Sisterhood sightings?¡± ¡°The whores haven¡¯t been back here since the Wizards gave up trying to save the marshstone mine. Last one I heard of was across the mountains near Narjalin city, fifty or sixty cycles ago; news was they¡¯d retreated. You think any are still about?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the nearest intact iron refinery these cycles?¡± Amdirlain asked as she rolled the coin across her fingers. ¡°Nowhere near here. From here, follow the foothills¡¯ spine; when you get away from the swamp, angle towards your right and head towards the highest peak. You¡¯ll be able to see its smoke plumes before you reach it,¡± replied ¨¬b?gani. The image of the billowing smokestacks from outside the city¡¯s walls was clear in his mind for at least a moment. Along with it came a name that was a familiar one from the Sisterhood bidding before the disruption of ¨¤luga had commenced. When Amdirlain arched the coin in a high toss, his raised gaze missed death¡¯s approach. Her double palm strike drove through his lowest ribs and shattered upwards. The impact crushed his heart and, already dead, his mass pulverised the second crew member against stone. Before they splashed across the ground, the blade of her foot decapitated the third. As a skip took her between their falling bodies and through a gap in the wall. The closest Fraz-g¨°n within raised a clawed hand as Psi energy snared him an instant before she shattered his spine. When Destruction Mana washed out through Ki Infusion, his remains cascaded into ash. The thud of other broken bodies soon mingled with the echoes of dropped rubble. [Combat Summary: Fraz-g¨°n x 11 Total Experience Gained: 31,372 Fallen: +6,274 Scion: +6,274 Sora Master: +6,274 Psion: +6,274 Warrior Monk: +6,274 ] After looting the crew of their coinage, she stepped over the drying blood and toed her fallen coin and made it vanish into Inventory. Glad she hadn¡¯t needed to delve deep into a Demon¡¯s mind again, she teleported away and reappeared in a room of faded nightmares. Scavengers had left only bones and scraps of wings from the bodies that L¨ºdhins had heaped on its floor. The remnants caused her to pause for a moment, but she orientated herself by the hole Ebusuku had blasted through her and found where L¨ºdhins had pinned her. With the memory of that moment holding a crystal clarity in her mind, her gaze traced over long dried bloodstains. His name whispered from her lips as she released a detection spell. Among other stains, droplets glowed to her sight and when she touched the wall, those bloodstains vanished from the rock. When she left the room, power exploded behind her and even the building¡¯s stone fell to dust. Under the blue sky, a scrying spell focused on the dried blood and a heat mirage shone before her in the air. The image showed a bird¡¯s-eye view of a battlefield on a dark plane centred on a Br¨ªn with deep red skin, obliterating opponents and leaving slaughter in his wake. Weapon and form wreathed in red electrical energy, some lesser Demons exploded before he even closed on them. While those strong enough to withstand the aura, dropped to his weapon¡¯s blades or were crushed beneath its weighted haft. Br¨ªn followed his lead with fanatical devotion, ignoring injuries as they cut into an opposing army of assorted Demons. His was a united regiment of Br¨ªn, each wearing a symbol depicting a war mattock shedding streams of blood. Mana continued to flow as the spell worked across planes, but she¡¯d seen more than enough and released the spell before he felt its presence. ¡°Fuck!¡± The screamed word echoed in the ruins with heated venom and rage. Where Ebusuku had used Lightning to wipe out their opposition, Destruction now wiped the town¡¯s remains from the foothills. [Combat Summary: Abyssal Chicken x624 Abyssal Ghouls x7 Blight Rats: x8,452 Viper Tree x12 Wisp Swarms: x15 Total experience gained: 192,585 Fallen: +96,292 Scion: +96,292 ] [Achievement: Paint the town red! Condition: Wreck a town and kill at least five thousand creatures living in it during a single rampage. Reward: Rubble?] I don¡¯t know when he started following us, but at least now I can find him when I¡¯m ready. Whether it was the blood - or he¡¯s no longer hidden - it was easy enough to scry him across planes.
The Fraz-g¨°n¡¯s mind had provided her with a glimpse of the location but few details besides its name. The name she¡¯d recognised from the Sisterhood preparation, the number of teams willingly bidding on it had stuck with her. Deep in the interior, from Giza it was at least the distance from Newcastle to Melbourne. She stood on the edge of a shantytown on its outskirts, between its walls and the river¡¯s edge. Instead of a thick mist she¡¯d taken it to be from ¨¬b?gani¡¯s memory, she stood in a polluted haze outside Avaris. The industry of the city was filling the air with both smells and sounds, its acidic bitterness coating her mouth and nostrils; though it couldn¡¯t damage her flesh, faint marks started showing on her leathers. Analysis and her Lore picked out an array of Least Demons among the narrow laneways of the shantytown. Her first scan found a host of Succubi, Dretch, and Insectoids in many shapes and sizes. Forearm sized ladybugs with shells oozing poison, and bladed wings, human-sized dung beetles, and bile-yellow praying mantises with rainbow eyes that stood three metres tall were among the most numerous. The river¡¯s fluid was a thick sludge of industrial effluent that clawed at the riverbank¡¯s blighted soil, raising smoke. Within the liquid, ghostly hulks drifted along the riverbed manned by spectral crews, their path unbothered by any obstruction as they towed their cargos of Souls. Trailing from the stern, a host of hangman¡¯s nooses fluttered like streamers as collected Souls smashed against each other, their motions and the current churning them about. Their collective erratic motions were like a child carelessly towing a cluster of balloons around in the wind. As she watched, new Souls appeared in the river¡¯s murk, and Amdirlain saw how the hulks¡¯ crew claimed their prizes. A hangman¡¯s noose anchored them into the soil, head down, with hands bound behind them. Their struggles to free themselves only sent them further into the murk. As the nearest hulk adjusted its course slightly, crew along the railing snagged them with boat hooks before another cut the rope near the riverbed. Their prize claimed, they waited till the current took them past, walked down the ship¡¯s length, and tied them in place with the rest. An endless parade of suffering as the strangling Souls experienced the water¡¯s pollutants chewing at their being. When nothing nearby mustered itself to threaten, she regarded a causeway close by that served as the marker for an entry route. The basalt stonework looked wider than an eight-lane expressway, though none of the transports were close to normal cars or trucks. Incoming vessels the size of bulk freighters floated forty or more metres above ground level. Their presence completely shadowing the far greater quantity of smaller ground traffic, be they Demons lumbering on foot, wagons, or behemoths. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Near the causeway¡¯s city-end, scores of Dretch hitched to a truck-sized wagon served like ill-manner sled dogs. They had none of the coordination of a real team, squabbles frequently disrupted their lumbering gait. The various teamsters that walked alongside applied their whips to leave welts of blazing energy across thick hide when they looked come to a complete halt. A wide variety of insectoid type Demons made up the clear majority among those crewing the various transports she could see. As she joined the foot traffic, she set more concealments in place. Though no longer in the same ignorant state she¡¯d been in when first entering an Abyssal city, there were still risks. A quick focus on her Profile set her classes to present only a Fighter and a Scout at a modest thirty-two levels in each. Given ¨¬b?gani¡¯s level, it seemed befitting a simple mercenary while not setting her as a complete pushover if they demanded an imprint. The causeway path led through the shantytown to red walls that loomed some three hundred metres overhead. The walls crawled with wards and as she moved to the stairs that rose to the causeway¡¯s edge; she took the time to check them over carefully. While layered protections sat within the wards, none of the detections cared about individuals. Rather, the wards seemed focused on siege scale protections and an assortment of goods coming into the city.
The clicking tones of the mantis Demon were understandable Abyssal as the line passed before it. The bored repetition of its questioning was even more understandable, as even before it came into sight, she¡¯d heard it ask a few dozen times. As she stepped up to the edge of the barricade, it became clear why the Demons ahead of her had answered politely. ¡°Purpose of visit?¡± As they emitted the clicked words, she caught sight of rows of gleaming ballistae arrayed in arcs inside the gate all aimed at it. Each blazed with Mana as their crews kept them aimed, ready to hurl their bolts towards those entering. Loaded bolts radiated Destruction Mana, Artificer runes within them holding a Wizard¡¯s spell with the potential to unleash the same forces that she¡¯d used to level a town. The sight of the wards in part now made sense, as once the bolt was outside, the wards would keep the backlash from destroying the guards. Anyone outside would be tough out of luck, but the city and the guards would be fine. ¡°Trade, purchase of iron and steel,¡± Amdirlain stated flatly, even as her gaze took in four stacks of ballistae platforms that stood eight deep on either side of the gate. ¡°Entry fee is five poison.¡± Similar conversations were ongoing across the massive gateway as other land-bound and flying guards questioned travellers and received their stated fees. When she paid, they waved her past without further question, and True Sight watched the wards¡¯ activity as it searched her for materials but ignored her. Between one step and the next, the haze that had been thick outside the city became soup. [Health: -10 Resistance: Poison (10->11)] Oh, it¡¯s going to at least help something - maybe I¡¯ll stay awhile longer than I had planned. The rash of blisters across her exposed skin had already healed before the message came again, and Amdirlain was further inside the city¡¯s streets. True Sight found none of the spatial pathways that had existed in ¨´eqr?kas, so she scouted about rather than question Demons. She stayed on foot only for as long as it took to get out of the ballistae¡¯s arc of fire and took to the air. Wings beating to keep up appearances, the blisters came and went with fortunately decreasing frequency as she made her way further into the city.
Inside the city was a literal hive of uncontrolled industry, the insectoid Demons on foot or in the air rushed among and within the buildings. A honeycomb of smokestacks continually billowed acidic haze, and workers¡¯ noise echoed out into the air. The ground traffic had split out through the city blocks only to be replaced by new wagons carrying stacks of weapons and crates of goods. In contrast, the massive cargo freighters continued deeper inside at a steady pace. A sudden deluge sent wind against freshly bared skin as Amdirlain glistened in acid rain, leathers melted from her body. Spitting curses, she gained a bustier and leather pants, similar to what other Succubi wore, but she kept her connection this time. She¡¯d learnt her lesson from Ebusuku¡¯s observations ¡ª though maintained by Protean ¡ª the clothing linked by a few tiny filaments could move naturally. The driving rain made no headway in clearing the perpetual haze as she flew onwards. When at last she spotted what she was looking for, she had almost flown past it. Only the gleam of light shining off metal ingots from a suddenly opened door halted her flight in time. As another flyer tried to avoid barrelling into her, Amdirlain teleported to the ground. Wings still flared outwards, Amdirlain caused the Demon in the doorway to step backwards and reach for a bardiche near the door. As she took in the red slime that coated the almost skeletal figure, her gaze noted the barbed tail that swayed behind it that mirrored its agitated state. Analysis [Name: Caltexin Species: Lesser Babau Class: Fighter Level: 4 / 14 Health: 345 Defence: 34 Melee Attack Power: 39 Combat Skills: Claws [J] (1), Bardiche [J] (6) Details: Spawned from the conversion of a Soul in the toxic waters surrounding Avaris, Caltexin has worked in the foundries since that time. While they have promoted him several times, he is still essentially a barely trained labourer. A strong red acidic slime coats Babau and any normal weapon striking them may dissolve rather than inflict injury. ] ¡°Leave it there or I¡¯ll feed it to you,¡± Amdirlain growled. As its clawed hand continued to move, she hit it with Stimulation and crushed it to the ground in teeth cracking pain. The scream let loose caused other Demons inside to glance up only for a moment. Red slime splashed from its skin as it continued to thrash about but stayed inactive against the black stone floor. A swarm of human-sized Demonic roaches worked to stack stone cargo pallets with freshly cooled ingots, while further in the cavernous structure, more poured molten metal into moulds. ¡°You!¡± Amdirlain snarled, pointing at another Babau who glanced between his fellow and her, before he took a step back, looking to avoid involvement. ¡°Who do I talk to in order to make a purchase?¡± asked Amdirlain. The anger left her voice as she gestured towards the wagon by the door whose cargo had caught her attention. The Babau stopped moving at the plain nature of her question and answered cautiously. ¡°Main building. The wagon was leaving shortly.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s the driver?¡± asked Amdirlain, ¡°On the floor,¡± the Babau stated and gestured towards Caltexin. With a huff, Amdirlain set him loose from Stimulation¡¯s grip, wondering what they would have said if she¡¯d already killed him. ¡°Get up, and get moving, or you¡¯ll die and someone else can drive. Understood?¡± asked Amdirlain, motioning a thumb over her shoulder at the wagon. ¡°Yes!¡± Caltexin screamed as he pushed himself to his feet. In his following scramble for the wagon¡¯s seat, he left his weapon behind. As soon as he perched on the stone seat, he picked up a whip and set the Undead lizards into motion. As it got started, Amdirlain appeared atop the pallets and considered just stealing the lot. Only the need to gain sources of information kept her from taking that approach. The drive amid the chaos of the industrial region made it easier to look inside the workhouses that all appeared to be running at full capacity. ¡°This place always so busy?¡± Amdirlain asked, and Caltexin flinched before he responded. ¡°Reconstruction supplies and weaponry orders, everyone¡¯s busier,¡± Caltexin admitted, his silence broken as Stimulation made pain itch up his spine. ¡°Next time I ask a question, you¡¯d best answer quickly,¡± Amdirlain said calmly, her factual tone caused Caltexin to shiver. ¡°Where are the Alchemists found in the city?¡± ¡°Mostly near the city¡¯s core,¡± Caltexin replied, almost spitting the words out in haste as he shot a fearful glance over his shoulder. Amdirlain just smiled sweetly at his wide-eyed look and with a shudder, he returned his attention to the road. When the wagon stopped at last, Amdirlain stepped forward and wrapped a hand lightly around his throat. As he raised claws towards her arm she hissed in a warning and he went still. When the notification finally showed itself, she wondered if it had even been worth the wait. [Health: -1 Resistance: Acid [I] (6->7)] ¡°Your acid doesn¡¯t even tickle little Babau. Disappointing,¡± Amdirlain purred, and a teleport put her on the front steps of the dealer¡¯s shop. [Acting [M](2->3)] Long rows of stone pallets filled the building¡¯s interior, stacked with various metals. While none of the metals were precious, they promised a lot of potential in Jaixar¡¯s hands. Standing ahead of her was an Alu-Demon clad in clothes made from a scaled leather, and Amdirlain looked over the material. [Swamp Basilisk Corset Defence: 20 Details: Made from the softer underbelly hide, the leather is flexible and keeps its resistance to acid and petrification damage. While the garment itself doesn¡¯t provide substantial defence, its tailor used thicker sections to protect vital organs. ] I might need to go hunting. When the Alu-Demon moved away from the counter, she left coins behind, and took some tokens with her but no goods. ¡°Next.¡± The Demon behind the counter looked up from jotting notes on a red parchment sheet. As the beetle-like Demon looked her over, its eyestalks twitched nervously. Its shell was a mottle of dark red and vivid pink, though the twelve arms she could see ending in claws at least were Demonic enough. Its clicked words were flat, and Amdirlain was unsure how it even spoke, given its maw¡¯s formation. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Ingots, lots of ingots,¡± Amdirlain replied, tapping the counter in time to her words. ¡°The waiting lists are cycles longer than those queued for your tail, Succubus.¡± Its tone remained flat and unbothered by the vibration of the countertop. ¡°Your racks are full of stock,¡± Amdirlain said, motioning to the pallets behind him, the smile she showed him presenting too many teeth. [Name: ¨¦nar¨´ Species: Me?de Class: Fighter / Merchant Level: 7 / 32 /47 Health: 1,630 Defence: 70 Melee Attack Power: 101 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (29) Details: The Me?de gestate from eggs laid in manifested Souls bonded in the swamps of ¨¤luga. The Soul experiences the feeling of the maggot-like grubs wriggling through them. Eventually, when the grubs exit the Soul, they spend the first twelve days avoiding being eaten and laying hundreds of eggs into every Soul in reach. After their metamorphosis into their beetle state, the Me?de is genderless and cannot lay eggs. ] ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± refuted ¨¦nar¨´. ¡°I¡¯ve plenty of goods waiting for the next cargo barge to take them away, but nothing to sell you if you want them right now. Reconstruction of the fleets takes priority over everything, that¡¯s orders from the top.¡± ¡°The Sisterhood inflicted that much damage?¡± enquired Amdirlain, as she considered the hundreds of loaded pallets she could easily see. ¡°Dragons did more to the fleets, but the Sisterhood destroyed enough skilled workers to mean rebuilding will take time,¡± grumbled ¨¦nar¨´ Oh! It worked? Wait! System, you bitch, did they get roused because of the plates I made?! [Perception [M](42)] I swear, if you¡¯re some weird entity sending me messages, we¡¯re going to have words one day. ¡°Why would the fleet need copper?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want steel?¡± asked ¨¦nar¨´, after a long pause. ¡°But everyone¡¯s asking for iron and steel.¡± ¡°I wanted that as well, but I¡¯ve work that calls for copper and bronze,¡± replied Amdirlain, as she resisted the urge to eye-roll. ¡°Three per hundred bars for the copper, five for the bronze,¡± stated ¨¦nar¨´, a quill poised near the parchment. ¡°Do you know who deals in Alchemical Silver?¡± asked Amdirlain and made the coins appear in a cupped palm. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± ¨¦nar¨´ retorted, giving a multi-armed shrug. ¡°An Alchemist?¡± ¡°Good guess,¡± Amdirlain stated, the serrated edge in her voice making its eyestalks jump wildly. When she set the eight obsidian Nights on the counter, one eye glanced down at them. ¡°Did you want a thousand of each or something different?¡± ¨¦nar¨´ asked, his clicked words somehow friendlier than before. ¡°A thousand of each,¡± Amdirlain replied, her manner off hand as she managed not to blink. It seems he was after the red Furies instead.
Though it wouldn¡¯t sell her everything she wanted, ¨¦nar¨´ had at least given her directions to the city centre where fancy stores could be found. After hours of searching along streets lined with wards, she found several shop fronts bearing Alchemist signs. After striking out at the first four, she wasn¡¯t optimistic when she entered the fifth and ¡ª so far ¡ª smallest store. The Gil?glp on top of the counter reminded her unpleasantly of Tras¡¯laq¨¬ for only a moment, as this knowledge demon appeared carved of nearly white stone instead of obsidian. Though it still looked like a cross between a ferret and an armadillo. ¡°Yes?¡± [Name: Nali¡¯¨¬lla Species: Least Gil?glp Class: Sage / Alchemist Level: 5 / 24 / 19 Health: 384 Defence: 50 Magic: 63 Mana: 1,090 Melee Attack Power: 32 Combat Skills: Bite [J](1) - Various Innate Powers. Details: Nali¡¯¨¬lla is the junior Apprentice Alchemist to Master Saman. The Gil?glp are knowledge Demons that spawn on various Planes but vary in colouration depending on where they spawn. White Gil?glp are native to the salt flats of ¨¤luga and Kap¨´cterv.] Amdirlain barely paused inside the doorway and shot a glance at Nali¡¯¨¬lla even as she asked, ¡°Do you have any Alchemical Silver?¡± ¡°As I¡¯ve told all the rest of you lot, it¡¯s not for sale. Master Saman has said it¡¯s available only in trade,¡± Nali¡¯¨¬lla intoned, with a flat biting edge to their words, as it motioned her back out the door. ¡°Two questions: how much of it does Master Saman have? What do they want in trade?¡± enquired Amdirlain, halting with her hand on the door to push it back open. ¡°Master Saman has lots but only as an exchange for materials,¡± stated Nali¡¯¨¬lla, its eye ridges lifting in surprise as its beady, black gaze regarded her steadily. ¡°I need more assurance than that,¡± Amdirlain stated, and showed it one ingot from Inventory. ¡°I need at least thirty-five standard ingots.¡° ¡°Easy, I¡¯ve seen the racks in the vault,¡± ¡°What sort of materials?¡± As Amdirlain asked, she moved across to the counter, curious about what she¡¯d need to do. ¡°She¡¯s always in need of materials from many places in the Abyss,¡± Nali¡¯¨¬lla retorted blandly. ¡°How much experience have you had with Planar travel and gathering for an Alchemist?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had a bit of experience plane travelling, but not a lot in gathering materials,¡± Amdirlain replied, not wanting to break with the profile she¡¯d set up. ¡°Well, a bit can vary depending on perspective; for some, stepping through a Portal and back is a bit of experience. Almost no experience gathering materials is your biggest issue. Master Saman is fussy with what she¡¯ll actually trade for,¡± stated Nali¡¯¨¬lla, its tail fidgeting about with every word. ¡°I¡¯ve more experience than that, but I¡¯ve only spent time on a handful. Do you have a list of the materials she¡¯s after?¡± Amdirlain asked, then gave the Demon a thoughtful look. ¡°If you mark the stuff easiest to gather and part with some tips, I¡¯ll start with those.¡± ¡°The list I can do, of course,¡± declared Nali¡¯¨¬lla, scampering along the countertop length. ¡°Both types of advice will cost you.¡± With those words, Nali¡¯¨¬lla jumped down from the counter and disappeared, but quickly returned with a small bundle. It unwound a scroll and made a copy of the list with deft motions of its forepaw onto another piece of parchment. Neither it nor the wards noticed her psi connection reading the list through its eyes as Amdirlain made a mental note of the items. The list appearing on the inside of her clothing just in case she didn¡¯t remember it correctly. ¡°You doing repairs after the quake still, or did your property get caught up in fighting?¡± ¡°I just need Alchemical Silver, that¡¯s all that is of concern for our transaction,¡± Amdirlain replied, not letting its question distract her focus. ¡°Okay, it¡¯s just this much in one hit is unusual. It¡¯s enough to set permanent runes to anchor wards for a massive building,¡± Nali¡¯¨¬lla muttered, and moved its quill away from its completed copy of the list. ¡°Is it really? How remarkable?!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. The surly look she received just earned Nali¡¯¨¬lla a smile before she continued. ¡°How much for the information?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of so much silver?¡± asked Nali¡¯¨¬lla. ¡°I¡¯ll just take the list as is thanks,¡± replied Amdirlain, as she reached for it Nali¡¯¨¬lla put the parchment behind its back. ¡°Come on, work with me here will you,¡± begged Nali¡¯¨¬lla. ¡°Give a young knowledge Demon a break.¡± ¡°I can pay you in coin, or I take the list as is,¡± Amdirlain stated, reached for the parchment again. ¡°I prefer information,¡± argued Nali¡¯¨¬lla, standing on its back legs to hide the parchment and scampered further back. ¡°You can buy information you want with the coin I pay you,¡± countered Amdirlain, the smile not fading. ¡°You¡¯re a hard arse haggler,¡± grumbled Nali¡¯¨¬lla. Its pouty look almost made it as cute as a meerkat. ¡°I should have expected it from a mercenary. Work with me, will you?¡± ¡°I am working with you,¡± Amdirlain declared, bemused by Nali¡¯¨¬lla''s antics. ¡°I¡¯m still giving you a chance to earn coin.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re really not,¡± Nali¡¯¨¬lla replied. ¡°I¡¯m looking for information. You want information, so let¡¯s trade.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s a free tip for you then. When you¡¯re haggling for information, don¡¯t write it out where someone can read it upside down,¡± Amdirlain retorted. As she moved to the door it was already cursing up a storm behind her. Lying to the poor Demon, oh well, better for me than letting it know what actually happened. I really want to finish this circle soon, I¡¯d prefer to be killing Sisters. 115 - Hurt She was barely outside the city¡¯s wards when Planar Shift removed her from ¨¤luga. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](9->10)] Even as she pushed the notification aside, she took in the dark tunnel of Tern¨°x. There were minds within her range, but with nothing immediately threatening, she transformed her clothing. The list she copied within became displayed on a length of parchment for a moment before it was stored. Jaixar, Lorrella, and Saran ¡ª I¡¯ve got a potential merchant trade triangle ¡ª and I can also gather materials from other places to increase revenue. It should give me a chance to help the Dwarves and get preparations in place. Now where the frag am I? After attempts to reach out with Planar Sense returned nothing, Amdirlain switched to detection spells until a worrying fragmented response came back to her via Crystal Law¡¯s spells. Within the maze of Tern¨°x passages, she didn¡¯t bother to pick a route. Spirit Passage sank her into the closest wall, and Flight carried her in the source¡¯s direction. Using Tremor Sense to avoid crossing regions of changing stone was an exercise that pushed it to increase. Kilometres of travel allowed her to progress both skills before she finally stepped out close to the crystals she¡¯d detected. When clear of the stone, Amdirlain stood on a cavern¡¯s edge, confronted by an oppressive silence. Souls already fully shrouded in stone were mute prisoners around the shattered remains of crystal walls and spires. Between the crystals in the Burning Grotto, she¡¯d seen the branches of living trees and sunlight manifested into this blighted Plane. Here petrified trees, Undead Treants, and twisted monsters displayed the fate of failed Grotto protections. I could use it as bait since I need to practice. Do I remember it right? Analysis [Daylight This power evokes the purifying energy of sunlight into an area determined by the possessor¡¯s will and effective skill levels. Exposure to the energy will harm creatures and entities sensitive to sunlight and leave them dazzled if they use visual perceptions. Undead vulnerable to sunlight will not regenerate and are impossible to reanimate if slain. ] A moment of concentration produced a flare of warmth and light from her hand. The flare shattered against the thick darkness, and in True Sight, the Plane¡¯s power strangled the life from it. Unlike other Powers she¡¯d used, its invocation drank from her, and the unexpected impact startled her. [Daylight (1->2)] Nothing in her profile showed a change other than the Skill level, but it left her strained. Still, she shifted her focus back onto the Souls close by churning within the rock. The Plane¡¯s energy forced their transformation with their attention provoked by the light. The energy that had encapsulated them now moulded them into distorted forms like the Corrupted Nox Echo she¡¯d first encountered near the Burning Grotto. As the first of them stepped forth, the strained sense was fading, and she met them with pure force. Soul Sight allowed her to see the individual within fighting back against the Plane¡¯s effect; the struggle hampered each entity¡¯s power. [Soul Sight [M](4->5)] As they formed into her scaled armour, Angelic Aura¡¯s flames beckoned with rage and bloodlust, calling them to battle. The Nox¡¯s dagger-like hands stabbed out as it emerged from its ruptured womb. While its speed matched those she¡¯d fought before, it was now far too slow. Reflex more than need guided its hands out wide as its blades slipped from her aura. Ki Aura¡¯s retaliation sent Destruction through its limbs. Her foe was already crumbling as her punch pierced its remains and snagged the Soul. [Ki Aura [J](40) -> [Ad](1)] Despite the ease of the first¡¯s death, the others didn¡¯t balk in their rush. A shrill combined scream from the Echoes at the rear called for vengeance. At the first note, those further away boiled and churn as the next Nox rushed her. Her aura pulsed with Destruction as she turned within its swing. Ashes dropped as her kick snagged a Soul and blasted through a foe behind it. Its spine snapped, and the injury dropped it like a puppet with the strings cut. Sliding beneath another stab, she rose and kicked its corpse into an oncoming group. The separating Soul was snagged and rushed into her form as her elbow smashed into another¡¯s ribs. The incoming press of the Nox hindered the front ranks and pushed them into her attacks. As a barbed kick rose, a sidestep closed the distance. Pivoting to face it, her hair whipped upwards just before a head butt obliterated its skull. Blood sprayed over those close by as a knee strike drove its shattered corpse away. Black energy drew in another Soul as she dropped beneath kicks and stabs. The motion of the spinning leg sweep left a circle of shattered legs in its wake. Succubus wings dissolved as attackers stabbed for them, leaving them off balance¡ªtheir thrashing movements hindering those still pressing inwards as her attacks cut Souls free. Zen State worked with Precognition, and she turned to meet the next threat. Amid the brutal fighting, she let herself find a place of calm. Bodies fell in her wake as she focused on each moment and her effort to save more Souls. As the battle¡¯s dance took her deep into the cavern, blackened bark moved as Undead Treants attacked, and their bark shattered along with their mockery of life. Cooshee, distorted by the Plane from graceful Elven Dogs into monstrous Demonic hounds, found their attacks meaningless too late. She took no joy or delight in their demise, merely sought to end their misery as quickly as she could, as their blood fed the abyssal soil. Circling the cavern, she drew ever closer to its core, killing and saving as she went; the absence of foes added to Precognition¡¯s shiver as she entered an inner courtyard. It wasn¡¯t a dagger that pierced her shoulder through Angelic Aura and Ki Aura. It had only been Precognition¡¯s whisper that let her avoid the blade piercing her chest. Though Destruction Mana lashed out in retaliation, the figure flicked the energy from its sword with a tiny motion and stepped closer. Armoured scales formed of jet-black crystals covered it from head to toe. Moments before, there had been nothing to suggest its presence. Now True Sight lit up, showing blazing enchantments within the material¡¯s movements. [Death Strike Critical: Health: -9,312 Order crystallization critical boosted by Death Strike Success: Health: -41,104] Amdirlain teleported away and staggered against a wall near where she¡¯d arrived as the second thrust completed in a blink. [Health: -1,164 Order crystallisation Health: -2,569] The pain from the second wound seared through her flesh and battered Pain Tolerance. Planar Shift took her away as the figure appeared and spun towards her. Amid the stone corridor of the Plane of Earth, she shed flesh that was continuing to crystalize even as she received another notification. [Order crystallisation Health: -5,138] Resistance: Order Unlocked! Order (1)] Amdirlain stayed ready to move again as the arm and abdominal section she¡¯d shed finished turning into crystal. The Analysis she had gained even as she¡¯d Plane Shifted giving her pause. [Type: L¨®m? Crystal Golem - Greater Class: Fighter / Assassin Level: 110 / 110 / 110 Health: 33,660 Defence: 2,640 Melee Attack Power: 3,465 Combat Skills: Long Blade [S](120) - Various Embedded Powers Details: L¨®m? formed these Golems from adamantine crystals and can improve their abilities after creation within guidelines set by their maker. When immobile, they blend perfectly into their surroundings until needing to deal with any intruder. Song crafted from purified arcane metals, they are immune to any critical from physical or arcane sources. ] [Combat Summary: Corrupted Nox Echo x2,943 Undead Treant x57 Black Hounds x148 Total Experience Gained: 6,459,558 Fallen: +1,291,911 Scion: +1,291,911 Sora Master: +1,291,911 Psion: +1,291,911 Warrior Monk: +1,291,911 Fallen Level Up! x2 Scion Level Up! x2 Sora Master Level Up! x2 Psion Level Up! x2 Warrior Monk Level Up! x2 Silent Storm [S](70->71) Clairsentience [J](36) -> [Ad](1) Pain Tolerance [J](39->40) Zen State [S](8->9)] Though the pressure of the Souls she held was almost unbearable, it wasn¡¯t until her health had fully restored that she moved again. Around her Wood Elf form, the shadow vines turned into deep green martial art robes that accented her light caramel skin dusted with spring green. Planar Shift took her to Judgment, and she quickly released the Souls among the other Petitioners she¡¯d appeared near. Golden energy rippled among the clouds, and she could somehow tell they appeared in their recent family groups. Nearly three thousand voices lifted as one and their combined Song brought the nearby Petitioners to tears and a patrol of Zeus¡¯ hoplites to their knees, clutching at their heads. The L¨®m? Souls turned their gazes upon them and showed displeased looks to the pained Celestials as they continued to Sing. Oh, boy! How much trouble is this buying? The Titan¡¯s Servant manifested, and its words among the Song were evident as the hoplites¡¯ leader staggered to his feet. ¡°If they all perish, there will be none to give new life to these L¨®m?.¡± ¡°Are you hinting I need to convince the living to leave?¡± asked Amdirlain, raising an eyebrow. ¡°Because I can¡¯t get anywhere near them.¡± ¡°It was an observation, not a hint,¡± refuted the Servant, with a buzz of gears. ¡°Like the System makes observations?¡± Amdirlain observed. ¡°It does? How interesting, perhaps that is your perception of the information you receive rather than the intent it carries.¡± The dry tone of the Servant¡¯s reply had Amdirlain take a breath to slow her response. ¡°How can I get Laodice free of the Leviathan¡¯s blood?¡± asked Amdirlain, opting to change the subject. ¡°Father is glad you are in touch with her,¡± the Servant stated before it turned between the closing hoplite and her. ¡°It cannot hear anything we say or read your reactions.¡± The Servant¡¯s inflections, edged with mocking contempt, were far removed from its usual calm tone. Oh, fuck, what is going on! ¡°When she wants to talk,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°She hasn¡¯t wanted to provide information about freeing her or even where she¡¯s imprisoned. Sometimes now, she won¡¯t even answer when I try talking with her in my Mindscape.¡± ¡°You already have determined her place of imprisonment,¡± the Servant said after a lengthy pause. ¡°She is right though you lack the strength to break her free or even to fetch the object that would help you do so.¡± More than she¡¯s confirmed, at least. ¡°If you¡¯re paying out the reward again. Can I get Alchemical Silver instead of reagents?¡± Amdirlain enquired. Its cogs and gears whirled around for long minutes before it said anything further. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°You pick a dangerous path provoking her,¡± warned the Servant. ¡°I need to whittle away at their strength. The more I can spread the work out, the more chance of them disregarding it. Their recruitment pool isn¡¯t limitless, based on the Succubi I¡¯ve seen,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Will you tell me how my friends ended up in the Hell years before I showed up in the Abyss when they had been cursed weeks after me?¡± ¡°By your choice, Amdirlain, only by your choice,¡± the Servant answered, its gear suddenly blurring too fast to be seen. ¡°If you had stayed in one place, you would have been in the Abyss first, but you chose to attempt to outrun it. That caused a distortion of your placement, and your friends were ¡ª and indeed are ¡ª safer in Hell than you in the Abyss. Father expected they might learn enough to rescue you, but such did not occur. Chances and choices never make for certainty. Father doesn¡¯t pull strings as others do with Souls in their regions of influence. He dropped the Soul of Andre¡¯s father near you so you¡¯d pay attention to what the Abyss does to a Soul, not to let you know about her.¡± ¡°Then he didn¡¯t set me up with Blood Monk to bait the Sisterhood?¡± enquired Amdirlain, unsure what answer she hoped it would give. ¡°Is your trust so shallow? There are many rules around the Hidden as well. Father puts nothing in place without its rules determined in advance. If you had experimented with your ¡®Profile Control¡¯ as you did later, or just not gone near that city, you might never have drawn their attention. What you gain or lose all depends on your choices and determination. Though he influenced your gate to place you near the Dragon, all that followed was your choice. However, there are sharp limits to any aid he can provide. He hopes you do not hold such against him,¡± the Servant replied. Precognition warned her of the Servant''s departure, and Amdirlain called out, ¡°Wait!¡± ¡°One last question then,¡± the Servant stated, its tone conveying its reluctance. ¡°Is Derek gone for good?¡± Amdirlain asked swiftly, spitting out the question. ¡°The Demon formed around him consumed his Soul¡¯s energy when he Ascended, and he is no longer considered Hidden. Derek¡¯s choices led him into a situation that broke him, not yours. He ignored many chances to get free over the centuries. Just as some of your choices have nearly sealed your fate over the years, Father hopes you remain fortunate,¡± replied the Servant regretfully and vanished with the L¨®m?. The crates left behind showed the symbols for their contents, and the closest indicated Alchemical Silver. Poor Derek. She was still storing crates when the hoplite who¡¯d recovered first came stalking forward, his expression mottled in rage. ¡°Woman, what are you doing?¡± He snarled, and she didn¡¯t bother to face him but continued to store the goods. ¡°Technically, say Elven Female, but go fist yourself,¡± Amdirlain retorted as she continued her work while monitoring him. When he tried a grab, Amdirlain saw the attempt even before it started and moved only far enough that his gauntlet¡¯s fingertips brushed her clothing. He spun to grab at her and failed again as Amdirlain ducked beneath his grasp and collected the last crate. ¡°Naughty,¡± scolded Amdirlain as his sword appeared in his grasp, and before he could stab, she reappeared a distance away. ¡°First hands, and now a sword. If your attempt wasn¡¯t so pathetic, I¡¯d feel obliged to remind you of the Titan¡¯s rules.¡± Precognition and his thoughts gave her the warning she needed to react. As he appeared behind her and lunged, Protean had her already repositioned. A steel grip on his wrist pulled him off balance, and then she twisted and turned his sword. The motion ended with a crunch as it went crossways through his greave and shin bones. She wrenched again even as a knee strike launched towards his contorted arm. The sound of shattered bones echoed in the stillness as the rest of the patrol froze. The Titan¡¯s servant that appeared didn¡¯t say a thing, but the patrol leader vanished with it an instant later. ¡°Was it something I said?¡± Amdirlain asked with a smile at the rest of the patrol before Planar Shift moved her again. Seriously, I don¡¯t know why the others put up with their shit. A moment after she vanished, a raven flying high overhead regarded the disorganized patrol and also vanished.
The chamber in Hrz¡¯Styrn was still the same as Amdirlain remembered, and setting down the crate with Alchemical Silver, she removed the circle¡¯s covering. She spent another two cycles rechecking the ring before she set to work. Protean formed tentacles into the tools she needed as she removed the first ingot from the crate. Abusing her Fire immunity, she melted and poured the silver into the etchings she¡¯d made. Her flesh formed tools that ignored the flame''s heat and melted silver as she carefully filled in every rune. Inventory let her remove the excess silver and left her crafting perfectly smooth. Her first test wasn¡¯t one she cared about, but she approached it as if it was life or death. With an inscribed rune plate set in the circle¡¯s middle, she set fresh concealments about herself to blend with the rock. The Hymadan was just one of those she forced to ascend to free it from Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s slavers. True Sight showed her when the summoning set her at the circle mid-point, and the barrier suddenly shone with Mana. She couldn¡¯t feel the Planar Attunement rune activate, but she could see its effect resonating through the Demon. For her first circle, the barrier looked glass smooth, but the problem with glass is it has ripples. Her Perception picked out a few places where the energy flows formed dimples in the barrier¡¯s layers and revealed weaknesses in her preparations. [Name: Zidela Species: Hymadan Class: Fighter Level: 1 / 31 Health: 658 Defence: 70 Melee Attack Power: 81 Combat Skills: Long Blade [Ad] (23), Short Blade [Ad] (12) Details: Oath sworn to Viper, Zidela has recently had his home plane attunement forced to Hrz¡¯Styrn. ] As Zidela looked around in confusion, the circle about him died. The moment Amdirlain crossed her own circle, the barrier vanished, but she¡¯d moved too fast for him to escape. Her fist drove through his body, and flesh turned into ash with the Destruction Mana she unleashed. [Combat Summary: Hymadan x1 Total Experience gained: 1,598 Fallen: +319 Scion: +319 Sora Master: +319 Psion: +319 Warrior Monk: +319] ¡°Good, but likely not good enough to hold really strong ones,¡± Amdirlain muttered before she cleaned up the circle.
A Quasit doesn¡¯t draw special notice in the Abyss as they are often found serving as messengers, being regarded as little more than pests with minimal power. As a species, they perform a valuable role in the Abyss, as Wizards or Summoners lured by power often call them from the Abyss to serve the role as familiars. As such, the Quasit regularly contributes to the Abyss¡¯ economy, where the Souls of the careless arrive in the Imp¡¯s possession. Planar Sense had let her find the direction of the Stronghold, but she¡¯d spent cycles flying straight to ensure she didn¡¯t teleport into any protections she could have avoided. An endeavour that took longer due to having limited herself to the pace at which other Quasit could fly. A bored-looking Quasit sitting on a boulder, kilometres from anywhere, didn¡¯t draw any attention whatsoever. The idle thing was pausing in its flight across a plain in Hrz¡¯Styrn. It wasn¡¯t even in normal eyesight range of any location of interest. Those few spots near it were things far too dangerous for any Quasit to venture near willingly. Indeed, this one was far enough away that the defenders of one such locale didn¡¯t even notice it. Unfortunately for them, this Quasit could see the defenders and others within the stronghold just fine. Eagle eyesight let her pick out trainees going through their mid-air combat drills, and as she checked each one, she noted its name and details. Her health dipped and rose again with each, as small rocks etched with Abyssal runes formed under a foot and then strangely vanished, with none the wiser. Most of the trainees she¡¯d recorded the names of only had a single Prestige Class. They usually possessed Prestige Classes that combined Fighter and Assassin or Succubus and Assassin. While even that set them above many Demons she¡¯d met, their combinations weren¡¯t what she¡¯d hoped to find. Starting with tier four wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d hoped for with testing my circle. After a cycle or so, the napping Quasit flew away.
Amdirlain looked over the details she¡¯d recorded from Analysis and wondered again at her defence rating compared to others she¡¯d seen. [Name: Mchawi Species: Succubus Class: Dark Beguiler / Fighter / Assassin Level: 5 / 37 / 22 / 27 Health: 2,781 Defence: 340 Magic: 238 Mana: 37,830 Melee Attack Power: 103 Combat Skills: Claws [M](2), Bite [M](1), Long Blade [M] (15), Tail Strike [Ad](13). Various Spell Forms - Affinities: Abyssal, Air, Dark, Death, Fire, Smoke, and Mental. Details: Mchawi is a native of the Plane of Culerzic. Recruited to the Sisterhood after providing valuable information and successfully executing minor contracts. The Dark Beguiler Prestige Class is a combination of Wizard and Succubus at level 60, having Affinities: Abyssal, Air, Dark, Death, and Mental Affinities. ] The Gate spell pulled Mchawi into the circle¡¯s centre with a noticeable resistance but still manageable for Amdirlain to overcome. As soon as she manifested, the trainee halted as the Planar Attunement rune went off, and Amdirlain¡¯s Analysis showed Hrz¡¯Styrn now to be her home Plane. The sister picked up the spent disk she appeared on and kept holding it as she turned a full circle, gazing warily beyond the barrier¡¯s energy. ¡°Hard to bargain if you don¡¯t show yourself, Summoner,¡± Mchawi said, the words echoing back to her in the chamber. Amdirlain stayed silent, content to watch and listen to Mchawi¡¯s thoughts as she looked over the circle that contained her. The messenger spell she cast skittered along the edge of the containment before the mana burst apart, and Mchawi swore. ¡°Don¡¯t be shy, Summoner. How are we supposed to talk terms?¡± purred Mchawi¡ªthe attempt to entice¡ªa mask that hid the concern that roiled within her mind as she took in the complex runes and the circle''s width. Do I leave her here to see how long it will contain her, or just end her? The Succubus¡¯ thoughts went to work to decipher the runes about her, but the complex ones that fixed the concealment in the circle weren¡¯t anything she¡¯d encountered. There were many containment runes that she understood, and they only deepened her concern. ¡°Don¡¯t just leave me here. How are we supposed to work together?¡± A push with Telepathy set a mental image of F¨®rla?rea? into Mchawi¡¯s mind, and she froze at the thought that she considered her own. ¡°Are you with the rogues? Why did you pull me here? Do you need a spy?¡± Mchawi enquired, her voice growing confident as hope rose. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can come to some sort of terms.¡± With no response, she turned again, looking over every rune she could make out through the glowing, impossibly smooth barrier. Her scattered thoughts showed she knew little of the schism, only that a bunch of the older sisters had broken faith with the Lady and turned rogue. When her continued turn presented her back to Amdirlain, Mchawi died. [Combat Summary: Succubus x1 Total Experience gained: 9,101 Fallen: +1,820 Scion: +1,820 Sora Master: +1,820 Psion: +1,820 Warrior Monk: +1,820 ] Analysis [Bracers of Fortification: Defence Rating: 270 Crafter: Artificer ¨¨n¡¯o Chomli Details: Sets a layered deflection field and armoured barrier in place around the wearer. These provide substantial physical protection that must be overcome before they can be injured.] After a moment, she cleared the circle and started a different spell, standing out in the open, having taken her Wood Elf Form. The Greater Demonic Gate that appeared within the circle¡¯s centre didn¡¯t compel; it was only an invitation. It honestly surprised her it worked at all, but it was an interesting result when F¨®rla?rea? glared through the Gate. A Grotto¡¯s Song echoed through the opening, causing the circle¡¯s interior to resonate with its energy. The Succubus wasn¡¯t alone, and Amdirlain could see other Succubi with feathered wings knelt on the stone behind her. Each had their attention fixed on something out of sight, and their longing was apparent. ¡°May we talk, F¨®rla?rea??¡± ¡°I no longer answer to that name,¡± declared F¨®rla?rea?. ¡°Would you like help to remove it then?¡± asked Amdirlain, hoping she could live up to the offer. ¡°Who are you?¡± F¨®rla?rea? asked, gaze narrowed in suspicion. ¡°Does the once-L¨®m? ask me that question, or does the Succubus?¡± ¡°How can I claim to be L¨®m? after all these centuries? We... I failed them!¡± exclaimed F¨®rla?rea?. ¡°She made us out to be fools.¡± ¡°You made a mistake, that¡¯s all, and it wasn¡¯t yours alone,¡± Amdirlain said softly, her gaze weighing on F¨®rla?rea? from the way she fidgeted. ¡°I see you¡¯re taking shelter near your kin.¡± ¡°How do you reach past the Grotto¡¯s perimeter?¡± demanded F¨®rla?rea?, her emotions torn between anger and fear. ¡°I thought we¡¯d be safe from her here.¡± ¡°The circle was in place only in case you attacked when the Gate opened. May I come to you so we might speak in peace?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I know what peace is anymore,¡± confessed a perplexed F¨®rla?rea?. ¡°Then let us speak at least without violence so that we might find an answer to¡­ your people¡¯s plight,¡± Amdirlain said, mentally cursing her near slip. Amdirlain kept her hands by her side as she crossed the circle and entered the Gate with her fingers mentally crossed. The Grotto¡¯s Song itched over her skin as Soul Sight let her see the others¡¯ ongoing pain, but none of them seemed inclined to leave the Sanctuary of the Grotto¡¯s song. F¨®rla?rea?¡¯s eyes widened at Amdirlain¡¯s smile as she let the Gate close behind her. The eyes hidden in her form showed they weren¡¯t looking towards a simple grotto but a city formed of shining crystal walls. The cavern they were in extended outwards from the ledge she now stood on, far out of sight. At least fifty Succubi knelt along the shelf, and not one stirred themselves at her presence. ¡°You all have choices to make. I can see your Souls are intact within those Demonic Shells. So do you wish freedom from them, or do you wish to work towards resolving their plight?¡± asked Amdirlain, gesturing towards the city. ¡°The choice is yours, and I will not judge you for it.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± F¨®rla?rea? asked again, the question absent of hostility. ¡°We met before when I was using the name J,¡± Amdirlain explained, aware of the number she faced if they turned hostile. ¡°Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s novice? How is it you stand in the Grotto¡¯s protection?¡± demanded F¨®rla?rea?. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t even be able to get beyond its edge.¡± ¡°I like the Song. It eases the pain within me even if it makes my skin itch at present,¡± replied Amdirlain, sighing at its beauty. ¡°You hear the Song? Who were you?¡± questioned F¨®rla?rea?. Oops, I gave that away. ¡°I¡¯ve already made a gesture of goodwill by coming through the Gate to meet you here. If I share my name, what keeps you from betraying me, F¨®rla?rea??¡± ¡°I don¡¯t answer to that name any longer!¡± exclaimed F¨®rla?rea?, her expression twisting in pain and remorse. ¡°Yet I could still use it to open a Gate to reach you. If you don¡¯t answer to it, get rid of it!¡± ¡°How am I supposed to do that?!¡± demanded F¨®rla?rea?, as sorrow twisted her expression. ¡°She gave us all our names!¡± The distress in her features was at odds with the dryness of her eyes, but Amdirlain remembered well not being able to cry despite the sorrow within. ¡°Would you prefer if I call you S¨ªrdhem?¡± Amdirlain asked, half-jokingly. ¡°River of Sadness? How fitting!¡± F¨®rla?rea? barked with edged laughter. ¡°Our mistake left our people drowning in sorrow for eons. We should never have believed¡ªor even taken¡ªher proposal of rescue.¡± Amdirlain focused on F¨®rla?rea?, remembering how L¨ºdhins pushed names at her. ¡°Will you accept the name?¡± enquired Amdirlain, hoping she could get something to work. ¡°Yes, I would, not that it matters,¡± F¨®rla?rea? said bitterly. Amdirlain mentally reached out towards the Succubus and visualised the name pushed to her as she had overwritten her own. [Use name overwrite confirmed. You¡¯ve previously gained this Individual¡¯s acceptance for a name change. Use name F¨®rla?rea? removed, use name S¨ªrdhem applied. Profile Control evolved to Profile Mastery. ] S¨ªrdhem blinked and looked at Amdirlain in surprise as she touched a palm to her chest. ¡°What did you do?¡± S¨ªrdhem asked. ¡°Does anyone have an Empowered Dusk Emerald?¡± asked Amdirlain with a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you check your imprint.¡± Analysis [Profile Mastery: Allows greater control over your own and other profiles. It affects the presentation of information that others can gain and allows for applying use names, percentage allocation of non-restricted experience gains, extended base class selection, and purging classes. WARNING: Purging a class will cause all gained experience to be lost and requires the affected individual to accept the purge.] WHAT THE FUCK!? 116 - Call me by your name S¨ªrdhem quickly returned with an Empowered Dusk Emerald, and her gaze went distant for a moment before she considered Amdirlain seriously. ¡°Would you tell me how you did this?¡± S¨ªrdhem asked politely as Amdirlain sat down on the ledge to kneel facing her. ¡°We¡¯d already tried to acquire new use names. Other Demons can do so, but we couldn¡¯t change the ones she gave us.¡± ¡°It involves a Skill I have,¡± Amdirlain replied, not sure what S¨ªrdhem would make of the answer. ¡°It was Profile Control, but it evolved into Profile Mastery.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of it. What else does it allow you to do?¡± enquired S¨ªrdhem curiously. ¡°It¡¯s new to me as well,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°It lets me change use names, presentation of imprints, and purge classes.¡± ¡°Purge classes,¡± S¨ªrdhem repeated, her gaze turning thoughtful as she considered Amdirlain intently. ¡°Yeah, not sure how useful that is,¡± Amdirlain answered, her nose wrinkled at the thought of losing a billion odd experience. ¡°It removes all the experience progress for the Class as well.¡± ¡°Can you remove Blood Monk for me?¡± asked S¨ªrdhem excitedly. ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed a wide-eyed Amdirlain. ¡°No, not just Blood Monk, I want them all gone!¡± exclaimed S¨ªrdhem, her raised voice drawing the notice of the other Succubi. ¡°You¡¯d make yourself vulnerable if you did that,¡± Amdirlain said, her stomach twisting at the thought. ¡°We already are,¡± S¨ªrdhem retorted. ¡°She chose everything we took. It left us crippled compared to many members of the Sisterhood, while we only hurt them because of the advantage of surprise and the extent of our Skills. Now, we¡¯re just limited to hiding here where they can¡¯t see nor venture.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to gather the courage to go further towards the city. I¡¯m sure the Song would destroy me before I made the wall, but I¡¯d see oblivion at last,¡± said another Succubus. She possessed the same inky-black feathered wings as S¨ªrdhem, but her hair was stark white in contrast to S¨ªrdhem¡¯s bluish-black. Both of them possessed fine Elven features though ivory white as many Succubi she¡¯d seen. ¡°That¡¯s not something I¡¯d count on occurring,¡± Amdirlain stated. ¡°Your Soul is still inside your body.¡± ¡°To be reborn sounds good, but I¡¯d hate to inflict my memories on a new incarnation,¡± S¨ªrdhem said, chewing her lip thoughtfully. ¡°I could take them a message for you if they¡¯d listen before I got lost in the Song.¡± ¡°All the living L¨®m? are within the Abyss. There isn¡¯t anywhere else to be reborn,¡± warned Amdirlain. S¨ªrdhem snorted and shook her head, ¡°I doubt they¡¯re having children trapped here.¡± ¡°That would explain all the Souls helping Sing to the crystals I¡¯ve seen,¡± Amdirlain. ¡°You can see¡ªreally see¡ªSouls?¡± enquired S¨ªrdhem hopefully, leaning towards Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± Amdirlain confirmed, gesturing to the city. ¡°At least in the Burning Grotto and the spires in the city here.¡± ¡°Your words don¡¯t sour the Song here. I thought it was just the distance between us and my neglected sense,¡± S¨ªrdhem said, chewing the inside of her cheek. ¡°Tell me a lie.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a normal Succubus,¡± declared Amdirlain, and S¨ªrdhem burst out laughing, though whatever amused her, Amdirlain didn¡¯t hear. The pure notes of S¨ªrdhem¡¯s laughter rose through the Song and attracted more attention to them. ¡°Oh, goodness,¡± S¨ªrdhem said, clapping happily. ¡°Please, won¡¯t you tell me who you used to be?¡± ¡°I¡¯m told I used to be a Sun Elf, but I¡¯ve no memory of it,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°By the Titan¡¯s hammer,¡± S¨ªrdhem breathed. ¡°Please wipe away the classes she forced me to take.¡± ¡°Could you rename me to Fainil?¡± the other asked. ¡°I¡¯ll help her gain the classes she actually wants.¡± Amdirlain concentrated for a moment, and Fainil blinked in surprise while motioning S¨ªrdhem to hand her the emerald; after checking her imprint, Fainil gave them a broad smile. Her thoughts were so loud and happy, Amdirlain didn¡¯t even have to listen for them. ¡°Free at last,¡± Fainil breathed and kicked her feet happily. ¡°After I get S¨ªrdhem a Prestige Class she wants, would you wipe my classes as well? Getting enough experience for her to be level seventy-.¡± Amdirlain considered the pair of them sitting in the beautiful Song she could hear about them when she moved to hold up a hand; Fainil halted mid-sentence. ¡°A tier five Prestige isn¡¯t the highest, though gaining access to higher isn¡¯t an automatic thing,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Before I tell you what I know, what do you want to do now?¡± ¡°Destroy the Sisterhood, of course,¡± Fainil stated, and S¨ªrdhem nodded in agreement. ¡°It might make up for the orders she gave me, though I¡¯ll never be rid of the memories,¡± admitted S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Does everyone here feel this way?¡± asked Amdirlain, nodding to the others, though few were even listening to their conversation. ¡°Those that don¡¯t, didn¡¯t leave,¡± said S¨ªrdhem, motioning off into the distance. ¡°We¡¯re a minority of those that swore an oath to her.¡± ¡°Why do you appear as a Grove Tender?¡± Fainil asked in High Elven and glanced at S¨ªrdhem when Amdirlain looked surprised. ¡°Or is my recollection bad?¡± ¡°No, she does, but they took a different name after the fall,¡± S¨ªrdhem replied. ¡°It¡¯s not important. Will you share your information with us?¡± ¡°I want to check on everyone¡¯s intentions first, then I¡¯ll share the information, and we can plan,¡± Amdirlain declared, rising to her feet. ¡°As long as we complete the planning within a few years,¡± granted Fainil. ¡°I want to get started.¡± ¡°No, if you don¡¯t have a plan within a day, I¡¯m leaving you to it,¡± advised Amdirlain, enjoying Fainil¡¯s amused look. ¡°Purge my classes then if you would,¡± S¨ªrdhem said. ¡°I already know what I intend.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the effect of doing that here,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°The Song could destroy your form.¡± ¡°Do it,¡± urged S¨ªrdhem. ¡°If it destroys this form and my Soul is freed, what should I try to tell them?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze weighed on S¨ªrdhem as she considered her words. ¡°The living should leave. The Titan said he can¡¯t help if they don¡¯t trust him and ask for it. Tell them the Royal Tower is where the Royal family is in stasis, and they can¡¯t unseal it without a Sun Elf Glinnel. There are Souls waiting outside the Abyss to be reborn,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°I can carry Souls to Judgement, and the Titan¡¯s Servants will take them to safety from there. If this doesn¡¯t destroy you, hold off taking any Class until you have my information.¡± ¡°Fine, now just do it,¡± insisted S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Please get rid of all my classes.¡± Amdirlain focused on S¨ªrdhem and tried the simplest approach first. When she wanted S¨ªrdhem¡¯s classes purged, the Succubus gasped in pain and clamped her arms around her body, going wide-eyed in shock. As spell forms around her dissolved in True Sight, items that had looked merely decorative suddenly glowed with enchantments, and a set of bracers shimmered into sight. [Profile Mastery [M] (7->11)] Analysis [Name: S¨ªrdhem Species: Greater Succubus Class: Level: 23 (MAX) Health: 864 Defence: 928 Magic: 52 Mana: 460 Melee Attack Power: 61 Combat Skills: Bite [G] (6), Bow-Legend [S] (179), Claws [G] (10), Sword-Saint [G] (418), Tail Strike [S] (5), Throwing [S] (3). Spell Lists: . Affinities: Details: S¨ªrdhem is a native to the Plane Ijmti. A former follower of Lady Baln¨¦rith, she is considered a rogue to be destroyed on sight by the Sisterhood of Blood. ] At her gasp, others that had ignored their conversation flowed to their feet, their attention fixed on S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Ow, that hurt,¡± S¨ªrdhem said, waving the others away with gestures that appeared awkward compared to her previous grace. ¡°I feel so strange. Fainil, give me the emerald, will you?¡± S¨ªrdhem took only a moment to check her imprint, and she grinned with delight and knelt before Amdirlain. ¡°Lady, I swear to your service as long as your actions remain to the benefit of the Song,¡± declared S¨ªrdhem. ¡°No, S¨ªrdhem,¡± Amdirlain said, shaking her head at the confused Succubus. ¡°Your choices are always your own; you¡¯ve no need to serve anyone.¡± ¡°Then I choose to serve you,¡± countered S¨ªrdhem as she rose to her feet. Amdirlain sighed and gave her a look of exasperation before gesturing to the others. ¡°Shall we gather the others and give them information so they can make their own choices?¡± S¨ªrdhem nodded to Fainil, and they headed in opposite directions along the ledge to herd in the other Succubi. * * * Fifty-seven Succubi sitting on a ledge. Amdirlain forced her brain away from the green bottles song as she looked at the nineteen trios discussing their plans. The insight she¡¯d provided to them had formed their intentions, and after discussion, a majority of the Succubi had opted to clear their classes. Though their levels had been high, Baln¨¦rith had crippled them with tier two and three Prestige Classes. Analysis had shown her similar skill levels to S¨ªrdhem among those who¡¯d opted to clear their classes immediately. S¨ªrdhem¡¯s selections had been interesting and taught her a few things, including that none of them had access to Glinnel, either. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. [Hyanda: Fighters who have dedicated themselves to the mastery of swords. Acquisition of this base class is only possible for individuals who have evolved their Skill to either Sword-Saint or Sword-Legend. ] Guess that makes sense since the word is Blade in High Elven. [Primordial Scout: An elite scout base class it is only available to individuals with extensive planar experience and Grand-Master rank in various infiltration skills. ] [Harbinger: A planar Class available to entities who have sworn service to a stronger entity. Provides attribute increases and Skill insights matching to the entity¡¯s primary attribute and Skill set.] Wizard re-appeared in their profiles as she had helped those who¡¯d purged classes regain an Affinity. Their ability to gain them all wasn¡¯t surprising. Maybe she can destroy Lady Baln¨¦rith instead of me. Who knows what her Prestige Class will look like with her first two base classes, let alone Wizard and Harbinger? The random thought crossed her mind even as S¨ªrdhem approached. She and the others were no longer wearing the Sisterhood armour, rather mercenary kit shaped with the appearance of Swamp Basilisk hide. A black and grey crest on their chest showed what looked like bars with pieces of broken chains looped across them. Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure if the others realised it was a musical notation. ¡°Are you sure you wish to travel alone, Lady Amdirlain?¡± S¨ªrdhem asked. The other Succubus using her name had her locking down another shiver, but considering she knew¡ªand had bestowed¡ªall their new names, Amdirlain had felt wrong not sharing it. ¡°Are you sure you want to handle pruning trainees?¡± countered Amdirlain, giving her a frown. ¡°Between the three of us, we know most use names in the order,¡± said S¨ªrdhem grimly. ¡°Even without Class levels, our state and equipment give us an edge handling lots of things in Tern¨°x. If we run into too much trouble, our chaperones will step in when needed. So we¡¯ll take care of exploration here and message you when we find the Royal Tower. Once we get enough levels, we¡¯ll get started on the Sisterhood¡¯s little bitches. We trained many of them but hadn¡¯t considered taking that approach; a few Demons less just didn¡¯t seem important.¡± ¡°You¡¯re taking my list away from me,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Really? From the discordant notes your words raise here, aren¡¯t you lying to me?¡± S¨ªrdhem asked, giving her a smug look. ¡°Fine, you¡¯re taking some of my list from me,¡± Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°Delegation is important to learn,¡± insisted S¨ªrdhem and waved her protest away dismissively. ¡°You¡¯d best be careful if you go after Naz¡¯rilca. Just because her home plane isn¡¯t Ijmti, don¡¯t go thinking she¡¯s a pushover; she¡¯s an unpredictable bitch, with a citywide nasty streak.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t laugh too much at my circle,¡± requested Amdirlain, trying to distract S¨ªrdhem. ¡°You showed us an image. I will say; It¡¯s carefully structured for someone with so limited experience,¡± reassured S¨ªrdhem. ¡°We¡¯ll put additional protections around the walls when we look to continue. It must have been a busy cycle of work completing it.¡± Cycle? ¡°It took longer than that just in carving, and I spent far more time re-checking everything than carving,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s the way it should be, though marking out and checking gets faster with experience,¡± said S¨ªrdhem and gave her a wave before moving over to Fainil. When they disappeared, so did a few trios, and Amdirlain missed spotting their third. Their sharing of information hadn¡¯t been one-sided, and they¡¯d interrupted her bare-bones story with advice during the exchange. I don¡¯t need more Alchemical Silver now but need to stockpile resources; as long as I can purify the Abyssal materials, my plan will still work. Ijmti, I¡¯ll get to you yet. I need to avoid ending up as a puddle of gore. Setting a few crates on the ledge, she separated out a selection of materials to keep their source concealed. * * * Qcppxtypcd¡¯s streets were busy when Amdirlain got through the gate she¡¯d exited last time. The guards made no fuss, and she didn¡¯t even attract notice by following a group of miners escorting a mob of Dretch ladened with heavy packs. She¡¯d just stepped onto the ramp leading to the fourth tier when the blood rained down on her. A ballista bolt¡¯s wet thunk came just a moment before an unneeded glance cost her a face full of blood and viscera. Eyes concealed along her wings had caught the cause, yet it seemed extreme for a traffic violation. Whatever reason the Vrock had for flying higher than the mass of others, it seemed costly. ¡°Could I lick that off you?¡± The hopeful question from a Hymadon earned it a flat look before Amdirlain sprayed it with the mess that had covered her. For a moment, the hyena-faced Demon looked annoyed, before he shrugged and casually walked off. With each step, he ran a hand over exposed fur and licked the blood away. A projected thought she¡¯d caught from him made sense of the behaviour, her mercenary leathers with no obvious weapon equalled trouble to him. Lorrella had redecorated since Amdirlain had last seen the store, or she had argued with some customers. Entrails stretched along the display window¡¯s frame, and spikes poked through the top of severed heads stacked near the door. Skipping a dried puddle, Amdirlain slipped in the front door to claim a spot in the queue. Bottles, books, runes, pouches, and occasionally body parts crossed the counter in a steady stream with no one haggling against Lorrella¡¯s named price. ¡°Duckie!¡± Lorrella squealed in delight when she spotted Amdirlain among the customers. ¡°Be right with you.¡± Her Power¡¯s translation confused Amdirlain, but she recovered her composure by the time she reached the counter. Lorrella gave her an alien smile, and despite her strength, it was a worrying expression since she was in the part-Fey¡¯s lair. ¡°What ya need, sweet cheeks?¡± Lorrella purred with a welcoming smile. ¡°I¡¯ve gained materials,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I was wondering if you wanted to trade for Artificer quality gemstones.¡± ¡°OH! Show me, show me, show me!¡± Lorrella clapped in time to her demand and the Demons who had followed Amdirlain in found themselves pushed outside. As soon as the door closed and latched, the table appeared between the counters. Amdirlain set down ten bars of Alchemical Silver and a few pouches of reagents. ¡°More reagents. I¡¯m hurt,¡± Lorrella sulked. ¡°Have you been showing a hag or coin fondler an enjoyable time? Wait, didn¡¯t you need thirty-five bars?¡± ¡°I found an Alchemist in ¨¤luga with a stockpile. To get more of their bars, there is a list of materials they¡¯ll trade for, but I don¡¯t know how to gather them,¡± replied Amdirlain, waving her list. ¡°Really, you know what another Alchemist is playing with? Oh, give me,¡± Lorrella said excitedly, as she made childish grabbing gestures towards the parchment. ¡°This stuff first, though,¡± Amdirlain reminded her as she motioned to the table. ¡°Artificer quality gemstones. I don¡¯t have enough stock to cover the reagents, so I¡¯ll just take the bars from you,¡± Lorrella pouted, and five jewellery boxes came floating in from her back room. ¡°Assorted sizing but nothing bigger than a thumbnail.¡± Amdirlain tucked the pouches and gemstones away, and the bars vanished. ¡°Now, can I see the list of goodies they want?¡± begged Lorrella, with a sulky look. Amdirlain laid the parchment on the counter, and Lorrella bopped on the spot as she looked it over. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re playing with lingering fire, poison, and some fun acids. These quantities they¡¯ve marked down look like someone¡¯s either preparing siege weaponry or is in full-on experimentation mode,¡± Lorrella said thoughtfully and glanced at Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t have most of this stuff, it¡¯s not things I play with routinely.¡± ¡°Do you have any information I can purchase on finding and gathering these materials?¡± Amdirlain asked warily. ¡°The information is easy enough, but I¡¯m not a bookseller,¡± refuted Lorrella primly. ¡°Know who can I talk to about a treatise?¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°No, I¡¯ll teach you, but for each one of these materials I teach you about, I¡¯ll also teach you about one to gather for me,¡± Lorrella announced. ¡°You get me at least twenty units of both¡ªwhich I¡¯ll buy from you, per our standard rate¡ªbefore I teach you about the next one from their list.¡± ¡°Unit being a gland, leaf or spoonful depending on the material?¡± Amdirlain asked, wanting to be sure she would not be gathering tons. ¡°You knew your references,¡± said Lorrella, giving her a beatific smile. ¡°Which have you worked with before: Wizard or Alchemist?¡± ¡°Wizard,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°We worked using already gathered materials.¡± ¡°Wizards just need them good enough to hold the spell effect,¡± Lorrella said dismissively, her shoulders slumping. ¡°Alchemists are more precise about the material¡¯s purity. Right, first on this list¡ªFlame Gecko glands¡ªseems straightforward, but for best results, you need it alive when you cut it out. Furnace has the biggest population of them in the Abyss, otherwise, you¡¯ll need to head over to the Elemental Plane of Fire to find them frequently. Now you start the incision-¡± Vivisection¡ªhard pass. ¡°How about starting with something acidic instead?¡± prompted Amdirlain, and Lorrella glanced up at her interruption. ¡°Most Succubi prefer gathering flaming materials,¡± observed Lorrella. ¡°Likely because they¡¯re always hot and bothered about something,¡± Amdirlain retorted, and Lorrella smiled whimsically. ¡°Very well, they need Krillnix pollen so you could draw sap from it for me,¡± Lorrella said, waving a finger at her. ¡±But you¡¯ll need to buy your own tools for that; I¡¯m not providing them. It requires glass containers for storing the pollen, steel for the sap. Even then, you¡¯ll need to process the sap within ten cycles or it will have eaten through most steel jars. Now pay attention, I¡¯ll draw out the region of the flower neck the pollen has to be retrieved from.¡± Lorrella waved a hand above the counter, an illusion of a tree overgrown with tentacle ringed mouths appeared and changed with her explanation. ¡°Aren¡¯t they such pretty flowers? They¡¯re not shy about trying to eat you, which makes them so much fun!¡± exclaimed Lorrella. ¡°Prune whenever they regrow and try to entangle you, though ensure the flower¡¯s throat stays intact to avoid contaminants in drying pollen. Now, to get the most pollen produced, you¡¯ll need to feed whatever wildlife you can capture to a flower, the fresher the better. Once the flower¡¯s acid has stopped fizzing, you¡¯ll see puss-like fluid welling out of the upper curve of the throat.¡± ¡°Is that what I need to extract?¡± asked Amdirlain, having watched the illusion¡¯s transformation. ¡°Yes, but don¡¯t retrieve it until it¡¯s dried into a fluffy greenish-yellow powder. Any pollen balls that are still damp inside will be useless,¡± cautioned Lorrella, before she pointed to a bark ridge along the side of the tree¡¯s trunk. ¡°Best sap locations are the areas where you can see these ridges moving. Best ensure you puncture them cleanly when you set a tap¡ªunless you want to lose lots of skin and flesh. To get to ?buthan, best to go via the Plane of Portals; the entry point from there is above a lake¡ªsafer than ending up straight among the jungle¡¯s trees.¡± Yum Yum, dried flower snot, acidic fire hoses, and jungle travel. Some of it is what I¡¯m looking for since I need acid resistance. ¡°Are there poisonous things also or just the acid to watch out for?¡± asked Amdirlain; the curiosity she deliberately slipped into her question had Lorrella considering her intently. ¡°Lots of poisons. I¡¯ll teach you how to harvest them later,¡± confirmed Lorrella. ¡°For now, one thing at a time, since I want to make sure you come back to me, sweetie. You¡¯ve been a naughty girl dealing with another Alchemist, except for the profit, I¡¯d feel offended.¡± * * * Hours later, with her shopping done, Amdirlain stood on a ledge within a howling shaft. The hurricane-force wind smashed against her even as it swirled against the surrounding walls. With a push to ensure she kept clear of them, she flew upwards. Many close calls later, reality ripped around her, and she materialised in mid-air above a battered rocky plain. In every direction as far as she could see, stone resembled gore-crusted, arrow-shot cheese. Spires of blood and rot reached towards an empty black sky, wind blew hauntingly across the portal holes a horde of flutes playing a mishmash of foul music. Re-orientating herself using Lorrella¡¯s directions, she flew in search of the spire that stood by the pit that led to ?buthan. The Portals that Amdirlain passed were the source of the Plane¡¯s wind; each howled with an ever-present force. Occasionally Amdirlain spotted other Demons, including caravans weaving between the pits. She watched one caravan proceed out over a pit, and each member fell only when fully clear of stone. Shaking her head at the ¡®logic¡¯ applied by the Planar Portals here, she could only push the craziness aside and keep moving. A circle of arching spires around ?buthan¡¯s pointed inwards as if a maw closing around it. The moment Amdirlain flew out over the Portal¡¯s pit, intent on entering it, the surrounding wind reversed. ?buthan¡¯s sunlight was searingly bright, the heat from it causing the air to shimmer in heatwaves as Amdirlain adjusted to the rapid change. Below her wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d consider a lake but rather a foul sludge pit. Black fluid clotted with fallen branches, trees, and countless corpses didn¡¯t exactly make it a picturesque lakeside location. Yet the odour coming from it was overpoweringly sweet, thickening the air like a honey jar had exploded inside her nostrils rather than the gross decay she¡¯d expected. The lake was nearly nine kilometres across at its widest point; an irregular teardrop shape struck with veins of sludge spilling between trees to replenish it. Massive trees towered towards the white sunlight overhead with trunks larger than apartment blocks. At ground level, shrubs literally fought over patches of sunlight as animated as those in Ebusuku¡¯s rooftop garden. When in victory, a combatant smashed its opponent against the trunk of a three-metre tall tree, the winning shrub¡¯s victory was short-lived as a descending branch pulped it. None of the trees she could see bore the flowers she was after, and Lorrella¡¯s advice to fly through the canopy seemed a lot more unpredictable having seen the jungle. A sighting of a giant cat on the shoreline stopped her survey. Having finished urinating against a tree¡¯s roots, a branch lowered to scritch it. Once the administration of its reward stopped, it buried the puddle; vomiting a congealed mess of fur, bone, and rotting flesh atop the fresh dirt before it ran towards the undergrowth. Seriously, wouldn¡¯t want that cat puking on my kitchen floor. That¡¯s one gross hairball. Analysis [Species: Ursa Panthera (Infected) Level: 42 Health: 630 Defence: 84 Magic: 20 Mana: 210 Melee Attack Power: 92 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad] (30), Claw [M](5), Rake [M](2) - Innate Powers: Greater Chameleon [Ad](21), Confusion [Ad](21), Spore Infection [Ad] (30) Details: Implanted spores from ?buthan¡¯s foliage cause an increase in intelligence and size while inclining the infected to be protective of the foliage. These creatures split their time foraging for prey at ground level or among the branches. ] Nice kitty? With no direction standing out, Amdirlain flew towards the pointed end of the lake¡¯s teardrop form. Her passage gained attention from a cat as she approached; a field of Psi energy convinced the predator it needed to go elsewhere. Telepathy broadcast an unpleasant vibe as she flew onwards, and more predators fled the Psi energy. 117 - Jungle Fever Since she¡¯d stopped broadcasting the predator vibe, the jungle had come alive with sounds. The air¡¯s humidity had made her sticky with condensation before Amdirlain landed and crouched to examine a Panthera pride on a lower branch. Copper blended with flora scents as they consumed the kill they¡¯d brought down, a prey that looked like a grizzly with a nest of sharp horns across its skull. Their prey¡¯s long claws had opened wounds on some of the pride, but the blood had already clotted in their matted fur, and they ate unhampered by their injuries. Though it had bloodied its antlers in the fighting, she spotted no injuries that matched them on those feeding. Whether that was because it had killed some, or other injuries obscured them, was unclear. The minds of the giant cats were fixated on slaking their natural hunger, and no thought remained of the recent hunt. A cough drew her attention along the branch, and she saw several smaller Panthera accompanied by a fully grown female. The others only spared them a glance before they resumed eating. Only when the adults finished did the younger felines and their escort get their turn. They were living creatures, not Demonic spawn, and Amdirlain had no clue how the species she¡¯d seen survived in these Planes. She had to restrain laughter at the mental image of David Attenborough doing a documentary on the Abyss. As it threatened to get loose, teleport quickly moved her far away rather than disturb their meal. The sheer volume of animal minds pushed Telepathy to its limits as she travelled through the jungle, the mental presences as inundating to her mind as the constant humidity was to her flesh. Though she didn¡¯t sweat, it didn¡¯t stop the moisture clinging to her, and as the shadow vine¡¯s cloth became saturated again, she drew the moisture into Inventory and sprayed it over a tree branch. A knot in the trunk opened, and there was a spark of alien awareness directed at her before the knot closed and it vanished. Here in the twilight zone. . . A furry spider the size of her head covered in fern-like bristling fuzz slowly lowered itself on a silken thread towards the water. As cautious as it was, the slowness just made it a target, and it disappeared when a bird dived between branches and snapped its line. The large arachnid ended up smashed against another tree, and the bird hurried to open its flesh with swift pecks before it could recover. * * * Her explorations had gone on for two cycles in a jungle ripe with life, all while the blistering sun had stayed continually overhead. Amdirlain had found nothing that tempted her to fight, nor any sight of the flowers. She¡¯d expected the Plane to possess Demonic life-forms, not for it to be populated by living beings just going about their existence. Not everything was larger than she knew from life, but enormous forms of species weren¡¯t uncommon, including the Giants she was observing presently. Four Giants kept watch, each armed with an enormous bow and rune-etched, amber-barbed arrows the thickness of her forearm notched on bows two metres or more in length. Enchanted raw-hide clothing protected deep greenish-brown skin, and they spread along different branches to ensure they could watch over each other safely while others dressed their prey. They were nearly five metres tall, and the way their leader moved the grizzly kills¡ªlarger than the one that the Panthera pride had taken down¡ªthey had plenty of strength to spare. Their Souls weren¡¯t malevolent like the Fire Giants she had encountered. They hunted for food, not sport or tormenting others, and though she had no business with them, she indulged her curiosity. Analysis [Name: N¡¯Oye Species: Jungle Giant Class: Ranger / Fighter Level: 67 / 67 / 65 Health: 7,326 Magic: 52 Mana: 536 Defence: 134 Melee Attack Power: 192 Ranged Attack Power: 181 Combat Skills: Bow [M] (12), Dagger [M](7), Spear [M](23), Staff [M](18) - Various Nature Blessings. Details: N¡¯Oye and his clan have survived in the Abyss for over nine thousand years since Demons overran their home world. Though the Portals¡¯ opening didn¡¯t involve their Clans, they used them to flee before the Demonic horde finished pillaging their world. ] Another group who can level their species as well. The details prompted Amdirlain to keep flat against a branch hundreds of metres away, not risking being spotted. Telepathy let her listen to their surface thoughts and once they were ready to head home, a change of form and teleport put her in position to accompany them. A splinter suddenly tacked into a kill¡¯s bloodied fur went unnoticed as they moved off rapidly through the trees, and she listened to their minds to learn about the surrounding jungle. It was just as well she monitored their thoughts, as their use of words was almost non-existent. Everyone in the party followed their route without pause, and exchanges were short clicking noises. The entry into their holding was as surprising as their presence. When they slipped along a trunk, a section of bark opened at a light touch. Though there were no wards visible, Amdirlain played it safe and teleported back along their trail; an unnoticed splinter drifting to the ground. When they sealed the entry, she considered it through the rearguard¡¯s mind. Their crafters had formed the section from another tree a distance away after they¡¯d taken over the termite¡¯s nest in this Elder tree. Though the guard was unaware of anything magical about the door, it joined seamlessly with the tree¡¯s natural bark. Clairvoyance reached through the circular interior tunnels lit by patches of a fungus and breaks in the bark sealed with amber. As the rearguard followed the others, Amdirlain adjusted her form and settled into a niche in the bark, changing to blend in. Not yet knowing the situation with their wards, her focus stayed split between monitoring the exterior and shifting perspectives in the passages. Broad passages merged into chambers, repurposed from however they served the original inhabitants. The Giants had set the acid polished wood with moulded handholds and braces to allow easier movement along odd curves. Spiralling passages and arching chambers alike had additions to allow the new occupants to utilise them. Guard posts set up at choke points through the tree held additional weaponry and clan members alike. These Inner guard posts showed weapons that bore enchantments, and while nothing beyond what she¡¯d seen in Eyrarh¨¢ls, they were more numerous. Here and there were runes filled with a strange glowing fluid, not spilling despite the angle of some cuts. They served as anchor points for wards to enhance alertness and hinder hostiles with assorted distractions. The exploration pushed her Skill as she poked into every unoccupied nook within, ignoring treasures that in a game would have caught her attention as she pushed onwards. When she completed her tally, the ninety-odd seemed far too low, given all the furnished chambers. Not wanting to probe into minds, she cast a spell and teleported a wooden cup from an inner warded chamber and listened for alarmed minds within. Moments later, she returned it and tentatively reached to focus on the surface thoughts of a mind in a nearby chamber. She hadn¡¯t run into any magical means of detecting Psi abilities but was loath to assume it couldn¡¯t happen. Rather than seeking to reach within, she just listened for the echo of broadcast thoughts. Amdirlain hadn¡¯t liked the history Analysis had shown in N¡¯Oye¡¯s details, but instead of leaping in, she waited, watched, and learned. Learned about them and practiced Psi Skills, trying to extend her capabilities, aware she still hadn¡¯t taken enough time in study or practice. She tried to understand their culture without digging into their minds. Between observing the Giants and merely listening to their surface thoughts, she dug into the skills list for anything to help her plans and wanted to scream at what she turned up. Psi Focus [A meditative skill that, when properly applied, will cause the Psi reservoirs available within the mind to soar.] It got absorbed by Harmony, and I didn¡¯t even go looking into it. Psionic Lore talks about the proper application of Focus. Ki forms a cool mist rising from its pool, filling me and able to move at need. Psi is Mind though, not flesh; I need to find the key for Harmony¡¯s use. Just having Harmony absorb it hasn¡¯t caused Psi energy to soar for me. As the system showed another increase for Clairsentience, Amdirlain considered the unexpected evolution of Profile Control again. [Experience Allocation confirmed: Fallen: 50% weighted Pure Scion of the Sun: 50% weighted] A thought to set the others evenly gave a result that made her mentally grind her teeth. [Experience Allocation confirmed: Sora Master: 33% weighted. Psion: 33% weighted. Warrior Monk: 33% weighted.] You want to steal more experience? Attempting to set them explicitly to 33.3% gave her no change, but another attempt produced a response. [Experience Allocation confirmed: Sora Master: 33% weighted. Psion: 34% weighted. Warrior Monk: 33% weighted.] Okay, so it handles nothing under a whole percentage point. Darn! Titan needs to speak to his programmer about not using a base Int for coding. I could push them up one at a time, but what difference would that make? Do I focus on evolving skills and hope for a better base class related to them, like S¨ªrdhem and the others received? Something to think about, but for now. [Experience Allocation confirmed: Fallen: 20% weighted. Pure Scion of the Sun: 20% weighted. Sora Master: 20% weighted. Psion: 20% weighted. Warrior Monk: 20% weighted.] Amdirlain¡¯s focus turned inwards, and she considered her Mindscape¡¯s stars for a time before activating Spirit Bridge, hoping Laodice might want to speak. ¡°Amdirlain, I hope you are doing well.¡± ¡°Have your meditations been peaceful?¡± Amdirlain asked, steering clear of the subject of their recent arguments. ¡°Yes, Amdirlain, they have. I heard Father¡¯s Servant provide information and a warning,¡± Laodice replied, her tone carrying amusement at her evasion. ¡°It¡¯s about Class options, not your prison,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it be, for now. Ijmti taught me a lesson about proper steps.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have ones selected to level?¡± asked Laodice, her tone confused. ¡°I need to explain what happened when I found the L¨®m? who had broken free from Baln¨¦rith.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°No, I was listening through you; the feel of the Song attracted my attention. My suggestion is to not worry about slowing down what you have now. Verdandi said Father evolved Torm into a new type of Angel; is that not correct?¡± Laodice asked. ¡°Yes,¡± Amdirlain replied, not asking how often Laodice eavesdropped without warning. ¡°I¡¯ve been through a similar process. I found all my classes combined into my new nature. Given your situation as a Fallen now, if you gain another evolution, you¡¯ll gain a stronger form,¡± said Laodice. Her presence through the link still made it nearly impossible to make out her features. ¡°Can you give me advice, or are you going to say it¡¯s my choice?¡± Amdirlain asked after time spent considering Laodice''s words. ¡°If you play games with your classes, you¡¯ll likely get better ones, but likewise, you¡¯ll make it that much harder to earn another evolution. Father likes everything to have a proper balance, just like any artisan. Also, consider that your new classes provide increased insights into certain skills; if you improve those skills and then remove the key to how you gained the insights, what then? The L¨®m?¡¯s former classes provided only a relatively minor focus on skills; yours do far more. Even with my advice, the choice remains yours,¡± replied Laodice, the barest hint of a smile evident in her radiant beauty. ¡°Any advice about the Giants?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t have to tell you how to listen to your heart,¡± Laodice replied, amusement clear in her tone. ¡°Oh, I keep meaning to ask you. Do you know what or who sends out these notifications I get?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°Because some make me want to strangle them.¡± ¡°That I can¡¯t tell you for sure,¡± Laodice responded after a few moments, ¡°There are entities Father assigns to monitoring things. Since I¡¯ve never received those messages, I never looked into what Father had in place for the Hidden.¡± The reply just raised more questions in Amdirlain than she wanted to pester Laodice with anytime soon. ¡°How many Hidden have there been?¡± ¡°That I do not know. I know Father¡¯s grandchild sent the first. They used the token to send someone that tried to rape them here,¡± offered Laodice. ¡°I didn¡¯t interact with any Hidden; I simply knew of their existence. As for your message sender, you could always open a Gate in my Brother¡¯s name, and perhaps he can scold them for you. Just be careful to make it clear it is only an invitation; I wouldn¡¯t open it inside a defensive circle as you did the L¨®m?.¡± ¡°That is something I hadn¡¯t even considered,¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d dare after how long he spent trapped in the Necropolis.¡± ¡°The choice is yours,¡± Laodice stated. * * * She check her languages, expecting to have an obscure dialect for the Giants; instead, she found it appeared the system somehow enforced languages. The points spent in Giant (Jungle), and the Dwarf¡¯s Khuzdul, had been an easy selection. When the Giant¡¯s tongue raced into her awareness, the number of words they had for hunting was a surprise to her, but the lack of written language wasn¡¯t one. Not wanting to play peeping tom, she¡¯d kept her mind out of their home once she¡¯d determined how they lived. The sight of the care they took with each other had reassured her, even more than seeing Ranger appear in N¡¯Oye¡¯s Analysis. She¡¯d been waiting for a few cycles when a large hunting party headed out. Amdirlain narrowed her focus to them and followed their minds. Not wanting to imply any sort of threat to their community, she waited until they were kilometres away before she moved. When the Scout caught sight of her in Wood Elf form, it was in a location that allowed the Giants lots of options. The Scout gave a series of rapid hand signals to those following, even while they remained focused on her position. As the party leader came into view, Amdirlain recognised N¡¯Oye. Their mottled green-brown skin patterns made each Giant distinctive, but they all shared similar deep brown irises and primal features. ¡°Why are you in our hunt¡¯s path, stranger?¡± N¡¯Oye asked. His word choice showed the group was out hunting for medicine. ¡°I mean no harm, and I hope to trade,¡± Amdirlain replied. As she spoke, the rest of the patrol came into view and spread out, their gazes searching for threats in the canopy. The set of leather armour both genders wore were all similarly enchanted: protection, silence, and concealment. Curiosity had her disable True Sight, and the patrol blended into the wide branch and the canopy behind them. It was only when they made more than subtle movements that Amdirlain picked them out of the foliage. The patrol leader didn¡¯t respond as the group scanned the canopy. When each flicked the same hand sign back to him, he spoke again. [Perception [M] (42->43)] I see what Torm meant. ¡°What do you seek, and what do you offer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for a tree covered in large flowers that have tentacles around them,¡± Amdirlain stated, staying focused on his wary posture. ¡°What can I trade for knowledge of a path to them?¡± ¡°The nearest groves of the devouring ones aren¡¯t close, and you¡¯ll need to be lower in the canopy to see their tops,¡± N¡¯Oye replied. Amdirlain couldn¡¯t make out anything from his tone, but his gaze kept roaming about the trees as he spoke, though he never turned from her direction. ¡°The Elder trees don¡¯t like their ground, so they grow clustered in only a few places.¡± ¡°That is helpful. I appreciate you aiding my hunt. Can I assist you in return?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer you merely gone from our lands, stranger,¡± N¡¯Oye replied, gesturing back towards the lake. ¡°The information you seek is unimportant. Go back to the black lake, circle up to three arrow shots out; within five heights of ground, you will easily find some.¡± ¡°These are corrupt and dangerous lands,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Has your Clan considered moving to a safer Plane?¡± The moment she made the suggestion, N¡¯Oye''s posture tightened, and his gaze locked on her, burning with controlled anger. ¡°Our ancestors brought us here. They give us strength to hunt, and we will remain here with them,¡± N¡¯Oye declared, gesturing dismissively in the same direction as previously. ¡°Go now.¡± Fuck, now I¡¯m the rude one. ¡°My apologies for the insult I gave to your ancestors and your people,¡± Amdirlain said, bowing her head respectfully, hoping that wouldn¡¯t offend. ¡°Might I make amends?¡± ¡°Only if you are worthy does your apology mean anything but gut wind,¡± said N¡¯Oye, a double hard click at the end signally contempt. ¡°Might I prove my worth in a way that aids your people?¡± Amdirlain asked, keeping still as N¡¯Oye''s hard gaze stayed on her. ¡°You are small for one who would hunt. Keep pace with us,¡± instructed N¡¯Oye. ¡°When we arrive, I will give you one chance to prove your worth, then we can speak of making amends.¡± ¡°As you say,¡± replied Amdirlain, giving another bow, not feeling any offence having been taken by the gesture¡¯s use. ¡°K¡¯Rya and O¡¯Lpa, keep your focus on the small one,¡± N¡¯Oye ordered, only turning his head slightly as he spoke. ¡°If she falls by the way, point her in the lake''s direction and ensure she leaves.¡± The two Giantess clicked their understanding, and when they set off, Amdirlain moved between her chaperones. The patrol tried to hide their surprise when the small one easily kept pace, but though they were small facial tics, the size of their features made them clear. They were at least sixty or seventy kilometres from their home tree when their Scout¡¯s path trended downwards. Branches had overlapped constantly at the edges of the trees¡¯ growth, providing a confusing warren of pathways. Amdirlain held to her principles given their Souls¡¯ nature and restrained from seeking in their minds for a destination. The whole patrol stayed focused on their immediate surroundings, and their thoughts gave nothing away. * * * Mount Olympus Petitioners around the building shifted in their dream-like state as the image in the forecourt screamed again. Nothing any of the Pantheon¡¯s Gods had been able to do could stop its repetition. The image was a hoplite wearing Zeus¡¯ armour melting in primordial flames until the last thing remaining was Zeus¡¯ symbol. Everyone glimpsing the image knew both the reason and the sentence. The screams emitted didn¡¯t herald the Soul¡¯s destruction; rather, all memory and allegiance being purged from it¡ªand it was aware of all that was being lost. Once purged, it could begin its journey again with an entirely clean slate. The Petitioners didn¡¯t shift from concern, but rather temptation at awakening from their current state. At last, the symbol flared white, burned to ash in a sudden flash, turning gold. The shard of Zeus¡¯ power invested in the Celestial returned to the Titan¡¯s forge. ¡°This reminder will cease when you learn your lesson, Brother. I¡¯m sure all your Petitioners will enjoy your humility if you can figure out what that is.¡± The forge¡¯s light sent heat and shadows dancing through the forecourt, and an unsettled huntress shuddered as a breeze brushed her neck. It was as unexpected as the breeze that had sent her arrow off target, and its presence here sent ice down her spine. It raced through an adjoining building and tore through it, Fate¡¯s loom strings quivereing at its passage. A note rang through the loom as strings snapped and evaporated, but its owners knew no deaths followed. Threads released by the change in the tapestry¡¯s tension shifted and joined the snarl around a bluish-golden thread. At its beginning within the tapestry, it looked the same as others, yet at its short, natural end, someone¡ªor something¡ªhad seamlessly changed it into a new colourful thread. Three very different aged women all appeared to glare at the tangled mess with equal measures of frustration. The unheeded breeze ripples past long age-whitened hair, across wrinkled skin, before it dips among black tresses and across the busy spindle in the maid¡¯s hands. A measuring string tightens in the grip of the motherly of the trio, and she glances between it and the tangle on the loom, ignorant of the offending breeze. As the white-haired woman among them straightens to bring shears towards the thread, the maiden stops her with a gesture. ¡°Atropos, you know that won¡¯t work. How many times have you both tried?¡± asked the maid, the youthful beauty of her voice clear above the clatter of the loom¡¯s shuttle. Each movement of the apparently simple machinery bends within reality, and the tangle grows worse. ¡°What else can I do, Clotho?¡± asked Atropos, closing the sheers and tucking them back into a pocket in her dress. ¡°Epoch¨¥ is still failing to fulfill my instruction to sever the abomination¡¯s thread.¡± ¡°We should have never agreed to assist her promotion, despite the energy she delivered and insights into the Egyptian disruptions.¡± the motherly woman said. She paused before looking over a group of threads pulled out of position in the weave with grim concern. ¡°Atropos¡¯ portfolio and hers do overlap, Lachesis. If we¡¯d let Epoch¨¥ ascend alone with her worshipers in our world, who knows what might have come of it,¡± replied Clotho. ¡°The Pact with Mab is no more since Viper cannot deliver. The winter court discouraged her worship on the other world after the failure as they did with Epoch¨¥¡¯s.¡± ¡°Despite her insistence that the debt is Viper¡¯s?¡± asked Lachesis, her calm faltering as Clotho shook her head. ¡°Mab requires the exact agreement fulfilled, so they¡¯ve broken the Pact. Neither of them can even tell us who it was they were to deliver to Mab,¡± declared Atropos. ¡°What of the entity that brought up those strange golden Souls? Could that be the one?¡± asked Clotho as she drew the ends of new fibres from her distaff to start another thread. ¡°She and they appeared Elven.¡± ¡°None have learnt anything from other Pantheons, and she is beyond Apollo¡¯s power to see,¡± said Atropos with a sigh. ¡°Not beyond his ability to drool over, given the image the other troops provided.¡± snorted Clotho. ¡°We should talk to mother,¡± states Lachesis, curling up the measuring string with sharp motions. ¡°You believe it¡¯s wise to cross that bridge?¡± enquired Atropos, brows furrowed in concern. ¡°Not a bridge, a lifeboat. A storm may hit soon, and this ship¡¯s captain is drunk with rage by now,¡± replied Lachesis, with a gesture towards the forecourt. A moment later¡ªas the message repeats¡ªthe three of them nod. ¡°Have either of you seen Hestia recently?¡± Clotho asked, nervously licking her lips. The shocked look from both was all the answer she needed. ¡°That decides it,¡± Atropos declared as she collected a satchel from a worktable. ¡°We should talk to Nox together,¡± ¡°He lured us into his trap, and we didn¡¯t even see it coming. He thought we could deal with him as we did the first Titans. They forget they¡¯re not the only beings capable of holding a grudge, and he and those he cared about suffered much from their games in the old reality,¡± said Lachesis with a grimace. ¡°No, Lachesis, not their games; our games, sister. We played a part as well,¡± stated Clotho, with a motion to the loom. ¡°A lifeboat might not be enough,¡± Clotho said and set her distaff and spindle down. Shortly after they vanished, the barely started thread looked to unravel from neglect, and the breeze swirled around it. For a moment, an Angel showed in the workshop with wings outstretched behind him, his ageless gaze focused on it. When Eleftherios vanished, the barely started thread¡ªand the rest of the material from the distaff¡ªwere nowhere to be seen. * * * Eleftherios reappeared in the coldness of space and found Alberta present. ¡°You were not anywhere I could see, brother,¡± Alberta stated, her mind touch carrying a comforting weight. ¡°What have you been up to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m simply following the last orders that Father gave me,¡± said Eleftherios, his words carrying a truthful reassurance, despite a distance in his expression. ¡°He hasn¡¯t given you any order since your return,¡± said Alberta. ¡°That is true,¡± Eleftherios replied, the distant look on his face still present. ¡°What have you been doing?¡± asked Alberta, the slight furrows on her brow as expressive as a glare. ¡°I¡¯m still dealing with the dangers to the Eldest and those they care about,¡± replied Eleftherios. ¡°The Anar are no more, and-¡± insisted Alberta. ¡°That isn¡¯t quite correct now, is it Alberta?¡± interjected Eleftherios, a slight smile flexing a corner of his mouth. ¡°She waits for now, and may for hundreds of years,¡± declared Alberta. ¡°Even then, she¡¯ll be alone. I wonder what Father intends for her.¡± Her certainty turned to confusion when Eleftherios just smiled and went back to watching the life starting its development on the world below them. ¡°I wonder what type of life form will win the evolution process this time,¡± pondered Eleftherios, and he earned a look of exasperation from Alberta. The younger Angel almost crossed her arms but restrained herself from such an aggressive display out of respect towards her elder and folded her hands demurely instead. ¡°There is potential for an interesting blue-skinned species to develop: mono-gender, bipedal, long-lived, natural affinities of Gravity and Mental. I¡¯m not sure why Father wanted their species inclusion; they¡¯re not in anything he had planned until recent years. They seem unusual from what I could tell, almost Elf like in their aging, but far more reckless in their earlier centuries,¡± offered Alberta. * * * In an enclave west of the Slavic Kingdom, Shag¨®rim rose for the day. As he gathered his things, a golden-core feather he¡¯d woven into his necklace years ago brushed his skin. The familiar sensation still prompted him to pause and touch it reverently as he considered a choice he¡¯d been stewing on for months. Two packs against the wall had far different purposes, and they held his gaze between them. One held his patrol kit¡ªhis duty to the tribe¡ªthe other, travelling equipment. However, the second, others in the tribe had discouraged him from assembling. Still, piece by piece, he¡¯d added to its contents, trading for the equipment to be made. Seven nights ago, he finished trading for the last of his personal weapons; long ago, he¡¯d earned the medallion from her Priest. With quick motions, he pulled on his clothes and instead of his duty kit, he plucked the other from the ground. As the Armsmaster had taught him, he made sure it was slung ready to release quickly yet secure enough not to flop about while travelling. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, guide my steps, help me find my way.¡± His morning prayer said, he left his quarters with the door open and headed for the ramp that led to the mountain¡¯s surface. Squeals that echoed from the Direboars¡¯ pens signalled the kobolds were already going about their morning labours. The caravan was heading east this morning, and he needed to move fast if he planned to be with it. 118 - Rock and a hard place Ki Movement had levelled during their journey, and though Teleport was always an option, she didn¡¯t want to risk its use being taken as an insult. A toppled Elder tree supported at an angle by the canopy¡¯s branches provided the last leg of their route down to ground level. As they reached the base of the tree, its roots angled upwards and displayed blunted shards of their road-sized diameters. The foliage at ground level didn¡¯t hamper the Giants, but creeper vines sought to entangle Amdirlain at every step. When a few tried to wrap thick cables around one ankle, she moved first and stomped. The cracking of the greenery earned a glance from a few of the Giants as they drifted soundlessly through the same foliage that hampered her movements. When they came around out of the shadow of the last broken root, the chewed ends were clear. Holes, where the massive roots had once run through the earth, showed remnants of sawdust and solid black wood pulp. Pools of a mauve fluid slowly steamed and evaporated, leaving behind more of the wood pulp. Those areas where the acid hadn¡¯t smoothed the wood appeared as if a stump grinder had gone to work. The party¡¯s Scout didn¡¯t hesitate in moving ahead, but when Amdirlain crunched another vine snaking up her leg, he shot her a frown and motioned her back. N¡¯Oye signalled for her to follow him and guided her back along the path they¡¯d taken. After she pulled her foot from another vine, he moved to scoop her up, and only Precog¡¯s warning stopped him from getting hit. As he slipped between ferns, he set Amdirlain to sit on his forearm as if he was carrying a child. ¡°What is it you need from here?¡± Amdirlain asked softly when N¡¯Oye had stopped moving. While it was tempting to float in the air, she didn¡¯t know how they¡¯d take it, and the vines didn¡¯t seem restricted to horizontal movement. ¡°A rock worm egg,¡± N¡¯Oye stated. ¡°We¡¯ll bait it from its burrow and share its distraction between us while N¡¯lan retrieves it. He is trying to listen for the old root tunnel it is in. The Ancestors said the eggs likely will be within the chamber off that tunnel.¡± ¡°I thought you were seeking medicine,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°It is the key for a draught our Shaman¡¯s daughter needs,¡± N¡¯Oye said grimly. ¡°If we do not gain it, she will perish painfully.¡± ¡°What if the chamber isn¡¯t off that tunnel?¡± probed Amdirlain, wondering about the risk in their plan. ¡°Then N¡¯lan will die as we can only expect to distract it so long,¡± declared N¡¯Oye grimly. ¡°Why don¡¯t we just kill it?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°It would kill us all,¡± snorted N¡¯Oye, his fingers flicking dismissively. ¡°While we might injure it, we¡¯d still be dead.¡± ¡°Can I kill it for you as my amends?¡± asked Amdirlain ¡°Doubtful, and if you die in the attempt, we have no tie to keep your spirit free,¡± replied N¡¯Oye. ¡°You may certainly aid in distracting it; you cause enough noise. Hush now; we wait.¡± Amdirlain glanced back at the hunting party to remind herself that some of its members were clearly female, though it seemed it was more her height that was the issue. ¡°One question, is it alright with you if I use spells and powers that aren¡¯t those of a Ranger?¡± ¡°As long as no harm comes to my people, I would not hamper another¡¯s hunt,¡± declared N¡¯Oye calmly. ¡°Good, you can let me go then,¡± Amdirlain said; when she floated in mid-air, N¡¯Oye¡¯s eyes widened, but he simply nodded before returning his focus to N¡¯lan. Signals exchanged between Giants had them scatter in the undergrowth around the hole. When N¡¯Oye signalled, they all disappeared except for N¡¯Oye. He loosed an arrow in an arching shot that dropped into the pit, and a flash of energy exploded through the jungle. Birds and animals screeched and fled as a roar came out of the pit, followed by the sound of motion. The head that peered over the pit¡¯s rim a few minutes later wasn¡¯t like any worm she¡¯d seen before, but Wyrm was perhaps what they had meant. Black ram horns and spikes crested the rim before its eyes rose into sight. Black scales crusted a wide snake-like maw that looked able to swallow a ute whole, as cat-like eyes the size of car windows looked around. The malevolent fear emanating from the Dragon matched the foulness visible to Amdirlain within its Soul. Before the first hunter acted, Analysis confirmed what they were dealing with, not that its nature was in doubt, but the numbers were good to have. Analysis [Name: Sh¨ºrg?onth, the Wrathful Mist Species: Abyssal Black Dragon (Adult) Class: Behemoth / Sorcerer Level: 12 / 54 / 54 Health: 14,976 Defence: 840 (Fortified) Magic: 168 Mana: 1680 Melee Attack Power: 1,612 (Siege Class) Ranged Attack Power: 412 (Breath Weapon) Combat Skills: Bite [M] (16), Claws [M] (49), Tail Strike [M] (1) Wing Buffet [M] (1) - Breath Weapon [M](15), Spell Forms - various (Plane: Ooze), Innate Powers Details: Sh¨ºrg?onth is just over a century old, having both recently left her mother¡¯s nest and laid her first clutch. Her¡¯s, like all Black Dragon lairs not immediately built in a swamp, will end up submerged using the nearest water source. ] They need a Dragon¡¯s egg? How is that a fucking rock worm? Don¡¯t they have a word for Dragon? Another member of the hunting party loosed an arrow, and she watched them vanish among the undergrowth even as it was still in mid-air. Runes flared as it struck, sending lightning crackling across scales as the arrow¡¯s mass went ricocheting away. True Sight showed Sh¨ºrg?onth clearly outlined within the clearing, suddenly cloaked in mist. Instead of the Giants, Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s gaze fell where a large fern concealed her as a breeze served up her scent, and Amdirlain peered into her mind. The Dragon already looked forward to mauling everything that dared approach her. As Sh¨ºrg?onth exhaled, Amdirlain was already ready to teleport two Giants still close to her clear, when instead of a torrent, the mist grew into a killing smog. An Elven scum smells more troublesome than Giant. Bitch! I¡¯ll give her trouble. The sound of cooking grease brought with it the odour of seared plants as Sh¨ºrg?onth flapped her wings. Amdirlain teleported those in the mist¡¯s path away a moment before acidic vapours stripped the ground bare. Even as they reappeared, Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s head turned towards them, and Amdirlain teleported again, alone. Her appearance on the pit¡¯s rim brought its turn to a halt, and the Dragon¡¯s lip curled into a cruel smile as it swatted at her. The claws ripped apart all the foliage in its path, but as it passed, she reformed from a flattened rock. ¡°Missed me.¡± She didn¡¯t speak aloud, but the Psi effect slapped Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s mind, inciting her rage. As a sedan size paw backhanded towards Amdirlain, a barricade-shaped spike met it. Dragon scales impacted Ki ladened metal, and both fractured. The force ripped the barricade¡¯s ground spikes through hard-packed earth as Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s paw flinched up; the motion spun Amdirlain away while the rush of health sealed her form¡¯s fractures. [Siege Weaponry effect: Non-Fortified Defence bypass applied. Health: -1,612 Ki Strike, Armour Breach Failed: 44 (Fortified armour effect only single attack by non-siege rated flurry applied - physical damage reduction 90%) Energy drain - Willpower Critical Success - Health drain: 1,956, Stat penalty applied to Strength, passive effect applied. Ki Infusion, Defence Intact - Failed Ki Aura, Destruction - Willpower Critical Success: 489 ] Notifications off. Flight halted her motion before she was between the Dragon and any Giant. Amdirlain resumed her Wood Elf Form as she flew back towards it, seeking to keep its attention turned from the wounded N¡¯lan about to drop into the pit. Mana shone around it as a gush of energy soared her way. Warned by True Sight, the Wall of Steel her spell formed hissed and frothed but blunted the torrent of acidic ooze. As more Giants loosed lightning arrows across its back and flank, she grabbed for its attention. ¡°Was that butt spit?¡± The Psionic taunt hit harder the second time and turned the Dragon¡¯s mind red with rage. Despite the pain in its injured paw, it moved on her and Amdirlain shot forward, suddenly shaped into a steel ballista bolt. Snake-like reactions were all that helped the tail connect, and the impact slapped her away. The force cracked her steel form again but didn¡¯t distract her. Stabilising in mid-air, she changed again, and her fist met a grabbing paw. Scales and bones cracked as Energy Drain leeched away health from the already injured paw. A hissing noise was all the warning she got before the gush of acid hit. Not risking the shadow vines¡¯ destruction, she drew them into Inventory and bore the brunt on bare skin. As she blinked healing eyes, another tail strike smacked her into acid, dripping off a paw. Arms turning into tentacles tied her to its movements. Braced securely, she pulled on the leverage and her knee strike broke a hole in a cracked scale. Telepathy¡¯s hold on Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s mind felt her shift to a life-draining spell. An instant before the spell completed, the Psi taunt hit again, and her concentration broke amid the evoked fury. Sh¨ºrg?onth smashed her prey down onto stone and screamed as the flesh she held became a metal spike. Pain raced through both of them as Amdirlain¡¯s form broke off, and a scale gave way. Raw wounds were still healing as Amdirlain reformed while acid hissed and scoured flesh. The Giants¡¯ minds screamed as the Dragon¡¯s Fear Aura amplified with its rage, but it didn¡¯t cause her to flinch as she fired herself into the pit. Flight pushed, and hooks on her shifted form caught against a leg scale¡¯s edge just after her mass increased a dozen times or more. Arrested momentum transferred the force into the Dragon¡¯s scale as tons of steel weight held against the abrupt stop. The sound of tearing flesh filled the air as her weight tore the scale partly free. Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s maw snapped towards the tick clinging against her leg, and Amdirlain teleported into her open maw. Even without its hardened scales, the muscle of the Dragon¡¯s tongue proved hard to breach. Bounced off the roof of Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s mouth, when Amdirlain came down, her form extruded hooks carrying Ki Strikes. Motion rolled her across the saliva and acid-slicked muscle; the hooks twisted their alignment to drive into flesh and let Energy Drain harvest health. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Stimulation made Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s mouth a torment, even as the Psi taunt provoked her rage to greater heights. Her focus crumbled under Amdirlain¡¯s will when flesh blackening pain amplified with the godling¡¯s memories of Ascending¡¯s pain. Desperation caused her to spew the breath weapon dry as Telepathy¡¯s hold allowed no release. The acid etched steel, along with the tip of the Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s tongue, fell away as she tried to bite the tic free. At last, the Dragon¡¯s corpse crashed to the ground, with the nine Giants still loosing arrows, having raced to keep line of sight. Their lightning runed arrows cascaded energy across her flanks, hoping to hasten Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s demise. [Combat Summary: Abyssal Black Dragon (Adult) x1 (x9%) Total Experience gained: 15,638 Fallen: +3,127 Scion: +3,127 Sora Master: +3,127 Psion: +3,127 Warrior Monk: +3,127 Resistance: Acid [I] (7->9) Advanced Telepathy [Ad](6->7) Ki Armour [S](16->17) Ki Aura [Ad](1->3) Protean [M](22->23) Stimulation [Ad](19->20) ] Did it count N¡¯lan in as well? A hundred divided by eleven is what, nine point something repeating? Still, experience stealing again, maybe it just rounds down to whole points? Doubt I¡¯ll ever get an answer on that one. Teleport shifted her across the acidic and bile-laden ground. As her flesh hissed with the remaining acid, she sheathed herself in Water Walls until she¡¯d flushed it clear. Raw flesh sealed over as she re-donned the shadow vines again. A glance showed her the trail of devastated foliage that Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s rampage had left. To pain-ridden to fly, her panicked ground-bound rush had crushed the foliage between the Elder trees as she¡¯d fled. ¡°Maybe there is a sister or brother around to play with next.¡± N¡¯Oye blinked, confused both by her words and attitude ¡°You want to fight another?¡± N¡¯Oye asked after a moment, gazing at her in astonishment. ¡°Sorry for the change in your plan. Next time I¡¯ll fight one alone,¡± Amdirlain said light-heartedly, not wanting to do the maths on how much experience Sh¨ºrg?onth could have been. ¡°If that¡¯s proved my worth, what would you like me to do to make amends?¡± ¡°It might be fair considering that done as well,¡± N¡¯Oye said, and she caught his equally dry sense of humour. ¡°Only if that¡¯s suitable,¡± Amdirlain said, the odd clicks of their language easily conveying her amusement. ¡°Though might I keep some scales and meat?¡± ¡°Smells wrong; doubt rock worm tastes good,¡± stated N¡¯Oye, scrunching his nose at Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s corpse. ¡°Perhaps its rock hide would make interesting armour.¡± I get he finds it easier to consider a fallen foe an ¡®it¡¯ rather than an individual. Even though she was evil, lessening her doesn¡¯t make us better. ¡°Her scales likely would. Was thinking of feeding chunks to the devouring blooms,¡± Amdirlain replied, and N¡¯Oye¡¯s confusion was clear. ¡°I¡¯d say to be cautious, but they are what need the warning,¡± said N¡¯Oye, his gaze turning curious. ¡°Is N¡¯lan alright?¡± enquired Amdirlain, wanting to avoid an explanation. ¡°I saw him drop into the pit, and he looked injured.¡± ¡°When you shifted places that way, the worm¡¯s wing struck him when it turned to follow you,¡± K¡¯Rya replied, the Giantess sounding proud as she continued. ¡°He went for the egg despite being hit.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s ensure he¡¯s okay,¡± Amdirlain stated and headed back towards the hole. ¡°Dealing with the corpse can wait. What do you need an egg for?¡± ¡°The Ancestors told our Shaman how to make an elixir. She was seeking a way to purge a Demonic grub from her daughter; N¡¯lan¡¯s is the shaman¡¯s eldest,¡± K¡¯Rya answered, expanding on their normal truncated explanations as pride turned to genuine concern. ¡°Harvest what you need. Scavengers will arrive shortly,¡± N¡¯Oye said and cut off Amdirlain¡¯s protest. ¡°Even if you can deal with them easily, I wouldn¡¯t wish us to remain close. They carry much in the way of diseases and decay.¡± Amdirlain moved to Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s corpse, and a large section of chest scales and flesh vanished into her Inventory. It lets me carve them up once they¡¯re dead, but I couldn¡¯t even take armour off a Fire Giant. The unborn worked¡ªthough was it because I took them intact from their host? Still glad I didn¡¯t have to figure out another option. The healers wouldn¡¯t have been able to get through all of them before some would have torn their way out. ¡°Let¡¯s get N¡¯lan. I can move everyone back to where we met,¡± proposed Amdirlain, cutting off her train of thoughts. N¡¯Oye glanced meaningfully at the suddenly exposed interior of Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s body, and Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°It only works on something that big once they¡¯re dead.¡± A nod was N¡¯Oye¡¯s only response, and at his gesture, most of the hunting party headed back to the pit. Some Giants moved ahead of N¡¯Oye¡¯s pace, but Amdirlain matched her speed to his. A pair of giants moved to cut at the sections of hide she¡¯d exposed by removing scales. They found a blood-splattered N¡¯lan in a chamber where four Dragon¡¯s eggs sat in a hollow shaped from nuggets and ore, most of it either copper or silver. The simple nature and size of her hoard was a clear sign of Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s age¡ªif Amdirlain had needed any confirmation. Amdirlain winced at the malevolence of the Soul already present within the eggs and wondered if there were ever innocents found among Chromatic Dragons. O¡¯Lpa had already helped him remove a bracer, the flesh underneath swollen from the impact he¡¯d taken. A gash that started just below his helm¡¯s edge, and ran down his jawline, was the only obvious source of the blood. The appearance of the injury made him look fortunate that the blow hadn¡¯t shattered bone. ¡°If you don¡¯t have any magical healing, I could assist,¡± Amdirlain offered, gesturing to N¡¯Lan¡¯s wounds when O¡¯Lpa went to prepare a splint. ¡°We have some, but we save them for serious injuries,¡± N¡¯Oye replied, giving her a surprised look. ¡°You do not have the look of a Shaman.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, but I have the means to heal. Might I assist N¡¯lan?¡± asked Amdirlain hopefully. ¡°N¡¯lan?¡± N¡¯Oye questioned the bloodied Scout. ¡°She killed the rock worm. She could kill us easily,¡± N¡¯Lan replied, giving a careful shrug of his uninjured side. Though his statement wasn¡¯t a clear vote of confidence, she moved up beside O¡¯Lpa, who seemed hesitant to move away. As the golden light washed over N¡¯Lan¡¯s arm, the visible lump along the bone disappeared, and the swelling in his arm quickly reduced. Under the blood stains, abraded flesh sealed smoothly, but she continued till Analysis showed him at full health. [Universal Life [M](31->32)] ¡°I feel much better, my thanks, stranger,¡± N¡¯Lan declared, flexing his fingers freely and O¡¯Lpa gave her a nod. ¡°My name is Amdirlain.¡± After N¡¯Lan and the others all failed to pronounce it, she had to wave them off before their frustration grew. ¡°You have a hard name, stranger,¡± N¡¯Oye stated apologetically. ¡°Your style of speech is very different. You can shorten it,¡± Amdirlain replied and gestured to the eggs. ¡°If you need to get them home quickly, I could move you to where we met to speed your journey.¡± ¡°As you moved the others around the entrance?¡± N¡¯Lan asked and smiled when Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The quicker we get the egg to mother, the better. I¡¯m sure she will want to reward you with the hospitality of the Clan as thanks.¡± * * * [Greater Teleport [M](40->41)] It was good only two had been close when Sh¨ºrg?onth wafted the mist her way, as returning to their meeting point had taken a few trips. The Giants hadn¡¯t been interested in the Dragon¡¯s horde, but they secured all the eggs. Their size made Amdirlain shake her head just considering their plan had been to sneak back out with one. Their size would be large enough for her to crouch inside without even needing to curl tight. As four of the party were occupied carrying eggs, it had put the rest of the Giants on edge. None had unnocked their arrows as they moved along, ensuring each of the egg carriers was monitored at all times. When they reached the doorway, only N¡¯Lan and the others carrying eggs slipped inside as N¡¯Oye motioned for her to wait with the rest. ¡°Shaman K¡¯Lan will need to invite you in, otherwise, the Ancestors would react badly,¡± explained N¡¯Oye, as the others kept their focus outwards from the doorway. The Giantess who emerged from the doorway a short while later had a steel-grey gaze at odds with the consistent brown of the others. Amdirlain recognised seeing her inside the Giant¡¯s home but had only glimpsed her while apparently sleeping. The strength in her gaze left no doubt she was used to deciding how high others would jump. Analysis [Name: K¡¯Lan Species: Jungle Giant Class: Ranger / Shaman / Adept Level: 70 / 67 / 69 / 62 Health: 11,574 Defence: 198 Magic: 184 Mana: 17,820 Melee Attack Power: 244 Combat Skills: Bow [S](2), Dagger [M](42), Spear [M](74) - Various Blessings, Various Spell Forms - Affinities: Water, Air, Nature, Life, & Death. Details: K¡¯Lan is currently the sole surviving Shaman of Clan N¡¯Isa. All the others having died in spirit quests or fulfilling duties to their Clan. Her youngest daughter is the only remaining member of the Clan to have shown the Shaman talent in four generations. Other Clans consider her predecessor¡¯s death ill-omened and have been avoiding marrying into her Clan, leading to an increasing exodus from the Clan. ] [Adept: This base class is a primitive culture¡¯s version of a Wizard. They gain control over Mana through a mixture of self-experimentation and oral traditions, often leading to ineffective spell forms and practices. These individuals do at times have practices that more ¡®advanced¡¯ cultures disregard yet provide remarkable results.] As Amdirlain considered the information from Analysis, K¡¯Lan looked her over silently. K¡¯Lan¡¯s thoughts clearly noted the absence of the Demonic energies and malice her spells sought on the stranger. ¡°I bid you welcome, stranger. May our Ancestors find your actions favourable while you are within our chambers,¡± announced K¡¯Lan formally. ¡°My son says your name is difficult to say. Might I call you A¡¯ain? It is all he could manage of it.¡± The Giantess mangled even the simple compression of her name, but Amdirlain kept a straight face. Their clicks are so different from anything I¡¯ve heard before. ¡°You honour me with your welcome, Shaman,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°That name is fine with me, or even just A from your tongue. How should I address you?¡± ¡°A is much easier, very well. After the help you gave, call me K¡¯Lan,¡± answered K¡¯Lan, her tone friendly though her expression was a closed-lipped smile. ¡°Please enter so our Ancestors might see you by my side. You have not even a faint connection of blood for them to know.¡± K¡¯Lan stepped back into the passage and beckoned for Amdirlain to follow. Her surface thoughts were just focused on a proper introduction of the strange child to the Ancestors, so Amdirlain followed her inside. The Ancestors hadn¡¯t been visible to Clairvoyance, but as Amdirlain crossed the threshold, she saw them clearly. In Soul Sight, they filled the corridor and the link from them to K¡¯Lan was clear. Unlike the Orc Souls she¡¯d seen bound, these seemed glad to serve, and she considered the closest with Analysis. [Entity Species: Ancestral Spirit (Giant) Level: 97 Health: 4,390 Mana: 1,940 Magic: 438 Defence: 275 (Incorporeal - Requires enchanted weapon to hit - maximum 50% of enchantment bonus damage) Melee Attack Power: 312 (Bypass unenchanted physical defence) Ranged Attack Power: 291 (Bypass unenchanted physical defence) Combat Skills: Mana Disruption [M] (50), Spirit Strike [S] (102), Spirit Bow [S] (92) - Additional Innate Powers Details: They willingly serve their Clan as conduits of Nature¡¯s energy to allow the Clan¡¯s Rangers to gain Mana and maintain a connection to Nature on this Plane. In return, the bond to the Clan¡¯s Shaman keeps them from being absorbed by the Abyss. ] K¡¯Lan said nothing aloud but held her hands up, and an energy pulse passed along the link between them. The Ancestors nodded to her and turned their gaze on Amdirlain for a time; one of them looked puzzled and an energy pulse went back to K¡¯Lan. ¡°The Ancestors say they will recognise your deeds,¡± K¡¯Lan stated and paused before adding curiously. ¡°One asks how it is you see them?¡± ¡°I can see Souls, both living and deceased. My respects to your Ancestors, they endure much for your Clan,¡± Amdirlain stated politely. ¡°A curious ability; while a Shaman can see the deceased, the living we see as others do,¡± pondered K¡¯Lan. ¡°How goes the preparation for the draught?¡± Amdirlain asked, hoping to change the subject. ¡°It will be days yet before it will be ready for the fluid from the rock worm¡¯s egg. I hope it is ready before the Demon grows too strong in her.¡± ¡°Perhaps I might offer my help,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°There are things I can do to help her against a Demon.¡± K¡¯Lan considered her seriously, and Amdirlain could see the conflict she tried to conceal. ¡°We can speak of what help I can offer,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°the choice of which, if any might assist, will be yours. I would take no action without your permission and observation.¡± ¡°You are so child-like, yet the rock worm is dead,¡± K¡¯Lan stated. ¡°Our warriors wouldn¡¯t have managed such a deed alone. Let us talk. Please come with me.¡± 119 - Tears dont fall Another limitation of Clairvoyance showed itself as K¡¯Lan led her through the Giant¡¯s holding. While the Perception Skill worked, she couldn¡¯t improve her eyesight, and True Sight likewise didn¡¯t extend through it. Her knowledge had allowed her to determine what effects the runes were anchoring, but their effectiveness wasn¡¯t clear. Now inside, it became apparent how many details¡ªtiny and important alike¡ªher combined skills had missed. The wards anchored by the runes had been in place, continually maintained by the Clan, for centuries. When K¡¯Lan paused for a moment in an inner corridor, a door that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t seen during her mental explorations opened seamlessly at a touch. The corridor¡¯s acid-polished wood appeared unmarred by the construction, and Amdirlain hesitated on the threshold. A short passageway ended at a circular chamber, with a containment circle drawn within its circumference. A young Giantess covered in sweat occupied a bed in its centre, tossing about in the grip of a nightmare. Though she was taller than Amdirlain, the bed she lay on made her seem tiny in comparison. Someone had recently changed her clothes, but their fibres showed a creeping tide of sweat stains. She shared the colouration of the other Giants, but the greenish-brown hues of her skin gleamed with the light reflecting off the sweat. Her veins and muscles stood out in stark relief as if she were a bodybuilder, having shredded before a competition. Flaws within the containment wards were apparent in True Sight, and Amdirlain could see how she¡¯d be able to force her way out. The wards started at the edge of the inner chamber, so Amdirlain moved forward only to their outer limit. K¡¯Lan moved to stand next to her, tension showing in her frame. ¡°You¡¯re worried even with the egg?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The draught might not be ready in time. I¡¯ll need to slay what remains. At that point, it will have already consumed her Soul. She will not exist to add to the Clan, even in her afterlife,¡± K¡¯Lan stated, grief soaking her voice. Amdirlain looked at K¡¯Lan¡¯s daughter with Soul Sight, and the battle wounds she¡¯d already taken from the parasite showed clearly. Here and there, among the injuries, veins of black infection showed, but her Soul¡¯s glow still concealed whatever was inside her. ¡°What is the draught intended to do?¡± enquired Amdirlain as she looked up at K¡¯Lan. ¡°It will flood my daughter¡¯s body with Mana, but the Demon won¡¯t wish to share. It will consume it all, and the Ancestors will see it glowing inside her. That is when they¡¯ll attack,¡± explained K¡¯Lan, fighting to keep her composure. ¡°Does she ever wake up?¡± ¡°No, I gave her medicine to hold her asleep, though it does little to ease her dreams,¡± K¡¯Lan said, her words strained. ¡°I wash and tend her; no other should take the risk. ¡° ¡°The options I see outside your draught are: I can try to extract the Demon from her Soul myself; saturate the room with energy it can¡¯t stand, which should destroy it; or we temporarily move her to a higher Plane which will destroy it.¡± ¡°Higher Plane?¡± The mild question from K¡¯Lan didn¡¯t match the extent of confusion in her expression. ¡°You know what Planes are?¡± asked Amdirlain, baffled at the situation. ¡°Of course, this is the Plane of Suffering where the Ancestors led us for our failure to save the world that gave birth to us,¡± recited K¡¯Lan, frowning when Amdirlain interrupted. ¡°Not according to what I understand. Other people on your homeworld opened a Portal that let Demons onto it. Your Ancestors led you here to escape an invasion force they had no hope of standing against,¡± Amdirlain said softly. ¡°I don¡¯t know why they remained here, but perhaps they didn¡¯t know how to get anywhere else safely.¡± ¡°How do you know such a thing?¡± K¡¯Lan asked warily, her gaze narrowing as suspicion brushed grief aside. ¡°I thought you were a stranger to our people.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a talent, the same as seeing Souls,¡± Amdirlain countered. ¡°Another talent allowed me to learn your tongue without a teacher.¡± ¡°Everyone speaks this language,¡± asserted K¡¯Lan. ¡°Why would they not?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s why my name was so difficult for your people to say; it¡¯s not from your language,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Such is easy to say and hard to prove,¡± resisted K¡¯Lan, her tone edged in steel. ¡°I mean no offence. With what you¡¯ve said, I¡¯m worried a misunderstanding has kept you all on this Plane. I would see all, both Ancestor and living, to safety,¡± Amdirlain said softly. ¡°Are the oldest Ancestors still about? Could you ask them?¡± ¡°There are none among us; the original eight Clans care for them,¡± declared K¡¯Lan. ¡°Have you ever talked to one of them?¡± K¡¯Lan¡¯s laugh was all the answer she needed, but Amdirlain waited till she calmed. ¡°My grandfather¡¯s father was Head Shaman before me, and. . .¡± K¡¯Lan got out as her expression turned grim. ¡°Died in an ill-omened way,¡± Amdirlain said, hoping that was safe to say. ¡°My condolences for your Clan¡¯s loss.¡± K¡¯Lan¡¯s eyes widened in surprise, and Amdirlain continued softly. ¡°I can see things, and I mean no insult. I understand it is painful for an outsider to raise such subjects, but we need to clear this matter between us.¡± ¡°Yes, an ill-omened way; their guards would never allow one from our Clan to approach their homes. Let alone allow access to the Eldest Ancestors,¡± declared K¡¯Lan fiercely. ¡°From what I know, your Ancestors fled from an invasion as it was their only chance of survival,¡± Amdirlain stated. ¡°Your world gave birth to you; that¡¯s true. But wouldn¡¯t you prefer your children outlive you?¡± ¡°Who would not?¡± K¡¯Lan said, her confused gaze not having left Amdirlain. ¡°How good a chance does the draught represent for her? I can use your circle and re-enforce it with a spell to conceal the energies, then open a Gate to allow you to feel them,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°Your circle will keep a Demon in, but it¡¯ll give off energies that Demons close by might sense and certainly not like. Neither you nor your daughter would need to go through it. You¡¯d be able to feel its energies, and those energies might affect the Demon in your daughter without even crossing the threshold. Hopefully, enough to destroy it or cause it to flee. Do you wish me to show you?¡± K¡¯Lan looked torn but quickly decided and stepped into the passageway. When she called N¡¯lan¡¯s name, the call was repeated by others, and she simply waited until he arrived. ¡°Would you risk yourself for K¡¯cai again?¡± ¡°What do I need to do?¡± N¡¯lan asked without hesitation. ¡°A has a proposal to help, but I can¡¯t betray the Clan by taking the risk myself,¡± K¡¯Lan said. ¡°Would you stand in the circle with your sister so you might feel the energies she allows into our home?¡± The matter-of-fact nod N¡¯lan gave in response clarified the explanation was for Amdirlain¡¯s benefit, not his. Amdirlain looked over the circle around the chamber¡¯s edge and stepped over it carefully. The ward¡¯s energies brushed over her like stepping through a shop¡¯s air curtain and caused no harm. The circle¡¯s response felt somehow more alive once she was entirely inside, making her wonder if K¡¯Lan had felt anything. When N¡¯lan followed her inside with no objection from K¡¯Lan, Amdirlain quickly settled a concealment spell in place. When the Gate formed,, Arvandor¡¯s energies washed across K¡¯cai. Though they made Amdirlain¡¯s skin itch, the reaction from K¡¯cai was extreme. The young Giantess convulsed and thrashed around, writhing away from the open Gate the moment its energy touched her. N¡¯lan dropped to his knees and struggled to restrain her convulsive movements as she screamed. The moment he came near, the spectral grub peeked from her chest; its mandibles twitched as its essence boiled. Before it had the chance to withdraw into K¡¯cai or jump to N¡¯lan, Amdirlain lashed out. Ki Infusion sheathed the tentacle that speared through the grub¡¯s head. Ki interacted with the entity as if it was solid. Amdirlain twisted the tentacle into a hook and pulled it forth. Ki energy shimmered around both limb and Demon for a moment before it disintegrated when she ran Destruction Mana into her Ki. The flash of light illuminated the chamber clearly and let K¡¯Lan see K¡¯cai¡¯s pain being erased by Arvandor¡¯s energies now the Demon was removed. ¡°That is a Higher Plane?¡± K¡¯Lan asked, gesturing at the beautiful trees visible through the Gate. ¡°One of them; it¡¯s called Arvandor,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Are you able to open that easily?¡± K¡¯Lan asked. When Amdirlain nodded, she continued. ¡°Would you close it so I might check K¡¯cai, please?¡± Amdirlain let the Gate close; the instant it had, K¡¯Lan was across the circle. Her spell casting followed the same technique as Amdirlain had once used, and she could see its pattern formed in the air between them. The hopeful light in K¡¯Lan¡¯s gaze made Amdirlain¡¯s smile broaden, causing N¡¯lan to frown. Realizing her mistake, she closed her mouth and covered it with a hand. ¡°Sorry, different culture. Smiling with teeth showing isn¡¯t threatening where I come from,¡± Amdirlain mumbled. K¡¯Lan laughed as she cradled K¡¯cai¡¯s head and drew back an eyelid¡ªthe sound of her laughter distracted N¡¯lan from Amdirlain¡¯s faux pas. ¡°Her eyes are no longer bloodshot,¡± proclaimed K¡¯Lan, relief trembling in her voice. ¡°The energy from the Plane would have helped her partly recover,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and N¡¯lan nodded. ¡°It felt peaceful, like the glow from your hands today,¡± stated N¡¯lan. ¡°Would you like me to heal her further?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve already spent much effort on my daughter, A,¡± said K¡¯Lan, contemplating her. ¡°I enjoy helping others,¡± Amdirlain reassured her and when K¡¯Lan hesitated, added. ¡°It¡¯s a talent I have for healing. I recover its use easily, unlike any potion or medicines you might use. It¡¯s best to make sure there aren¡¯t any lingering effects from the Demon.¡± When K¡¯Lan nodded, Amdirlain knelt beside K¡¯cai and let the Ki energy wash across her, wondering how old the Giantess was, considering she was only slightly taller than herself. It didn¡¯t take long with the Ki energy before she was fully healed¡ªphysically, at least. As she focused Soul Sight on her again, Amdirlain winced at the chewed appearance of her Soul, though the wounds no longer looked sickened. ¡°Take her back to her bedroom, N¡¯lan. I need to discuss some things with A,¡± directed K¡¯Lan. When N¡¯lan crossed the circle cradling K¡¯cai, it got a pleased nod from K¡¯Lan. As soon as they¡¯d left, she broke the circle¡¯s line, then moved and closed the door. ¡°Now, you will no longer have trouble crossing it. Though I wish to speak in private and noises in here do not leave,¡± explained K¡¯Lan, gesturing to a stool just outside the circle¡¯s edge. ¡°So you felt my effect on the circle¡¯s barrier when I passed through it,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain before she sat floating in mid-air. ¡°Indeed, it was a trap for Demonic entities,¡± confirmed K¡¯Lan. ¡°Though its allies would not have been able to enter it. Why did you risk it?¡± ¡°Honestly, it wouldn¡¯t have held me; I¡¯m not a Demon. I could have switched Planes¡ªor broken out if I wanted to stay. The circle would have been effective against many lesser Demons, but it wouldn¡¯t have held entities from anywhere else,¡± offered Amdirlain honestly. Even when I was, it wouldn¡¯t have held me. ¡°Why tell me?¡± murmured K¡¯Lan, blinking in surprise. ¡°You deserve to know that any mistakes in trapping such entities are dangerous,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°It¡¯s easier to keep them out of somewhere than trap them unless it¡¯s made with them specifically in mind. Why did you let your son cross the circle?¡± ¡°If you wanted him dead, why would you have killed the rock worm?¡± replied K¡¯Lan. ¡°Will you listen to what I have to say?¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s question, K¡¯Lan sat on the stool she¡¯d indicated earlier, her hands clenched tight as she responded. ¡°First, you should know that my Clan will probably die out. I need to keep it alive, not only for my sake but for the Ancestors. While K¡¯cai has the talent, the Demon got inside her because she disobeyed instructions, and her will proved too frail to force it out afterwards,¡± explained K¡¯Lan. ¡°Now that she has hosted one for so long, she will be vulnerable to others.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t just move onto other Clans?¡± enquired Amdirlain, not mentioning the exodus from her Analysis. ¡°If another¡¯s Ancestors adopt them, then they will no longer belong to this Clan. When I die, unless another Shaman is a member of this Clan, all our Clan¡¯s Ancestors will be lost to this place,¡± said K¡¯Lan grimly. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of Souls depending on your choices,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Many more than you have seen,¡± K¡¯Lan stated. ¡°Alone, I cannot support bonds with all the Ancestors at once, so they rest within the safety of the Clan¡¯s Hall.¡± ¡°If they are willing, I can carry Souls with me to a safe place,¡± offered Amdirlain hesitantly, uncertain of what would happen to them at Judgement. ¡°Where would you take them?¡± ¡°One option is a Plane called Judgement,¡± Amdirlain stated, and K¡¯Lan tilted her head at the Celestial name. ¡°I do not understand what you said, but it sounds peaceful to me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a name in the language of the higher planes. It¡¯s where Souls wait for the Power they worshipped to collect them,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°That is only the first step. I don¡¯t know what their fate would be afterwards. They¡¯d likely end up wherever the concept of Nature exists among the Planes.¡± ¡°Are there other choices? And what about the living?¡± ¡°Normally on worlds after someone dies, their Soul will find its way to Judgement or the Power they worshipped. Some places¡ªlike the Abyss¡ªdon¡¯t let Souls go onto Judgement, but there are risks involved for Souls getting to Judgement from another Plane,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Finding a world you could call home or a more hospitable Plane would still keep your Ancestors from being consumed.¡± ¡°Do you call a place home among these higher planes?¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°No, I¡¯m still working my way up to that. At present, my home is in the Outlands; It¡¯s a crossroads between the Planes,¡± said Amdirlain, with a shrug. ¡°Even though crossroads can be dangerous, there are Mortal settlements. Judgement is within the clouds above it, so once a Soul has reached the Outlands, it just has to reach the portals near the Spire.¡± ¡°Would you tell me more about these Outlands?¡± requested K¡¯Lan. ¡°How do you carry Souls?¡± ¡°Can I ask a question first, since you don¡¯t need the eggs for K¡¯cai?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°What will you do with them?¡± ¡°We have other uses for their materials,¡± admitted K¡¯Lan. ¡°They are rich with Mana for the young¡¯s growth.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want the Abyss consuming the young¡¯s Souls. Might I remove them from the eggs, so I can take them onto Judgement?¡± * * * Incense filled the air with a scent of honey and wildflowers, far different to the nose-itching ones Amdirlain remembered from church services. The chamber wasn¡¯t big enough to assemble all the Clan, rather, it was a resting place for their Ancestors. Miniature portraits, stylised plants, and animals were carved from bone inlaid within the pillars set around the hall¡¯s edges. Each glowed with Soul energy bound to tokens representing their former lives. Even the chance of the Abyss consuming the Ancestors¡¯ Souls turned a knife around inside her. Pulses of energy jumped between K¡¯Lan and an Ancestor she¡¯d called forth from a pillar that looked the newest. It was only the age yellowing of bone that gave any indication of age, given all was kept free from dust and debris. After some time, the link she¡¯d had seen between K¡¯Lan and other Ancestors stabilised, and K¡¯Lan turned to regard Amdirlain. ¡°My father¡¯s father-brother will go with you and N¡¯Oye. He would prefer to see where you call home before risking Judgement; N¡¯Oye will pass along any messages.¡± ¡°I thought you were seeking his advice,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I did. He makes his own choices. He hopes your offer is honest, yet if there¡¯s a chance of harming others, he believes one should scout the way. Therefore, he insists on taking the risk, given that it is his advice I sought,¡± said K¡¯Lan, frustration edging her tone. ¡°Are the Souls calm again inside you?¡± ¡°Yes, all settled down inside the Ki,¡± replied Amdirlain ¡°Then he is ready to go with you now. I will advise N¡¯Oye,¡± K¡¯Lan insisted before motioning to the Soul beside her. ¡°This is Ancestor O¡¯Nai.¡± Even as K¡¯Lan finished speaking, O¡¯Nai moved near Amdirlain, stooping and gesturing as if to muss her hair. As he reached down, Amdirlain grumbled and intercepted his hand, drawing his Soul quickly inside her as she did. The moment the Ki mist settled around him, a series of bone medallions shattered off the pillar. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that,¡± confessed Amdirlain, looking at K¡¯Lan with concern. ¡°Once you jump from the branch, you need to land to leap again,¡± K¡¯Lan said, retrieving the pieces. ¡°I will be back shortly with N¡¯Oye. Don¡¯t worry about the eggs¡¯ remains; they won¡¯t go to waste.¡± * * * N¡¯Oye stepped through the gateway ahead of her, and when Amdirlain followed, she let the Gate close. He moved across the sunlit clearing they stood in and brushed fingertips across leaves. ¡°The trees are not as tiny as you,¡± N¡¯Oye said with a wry smirk. ¡°There are lots of places you¡¯d be able to hide among them,¡± replied Amdirlain with a flat look. ¡°Honestly, though I¡¯ve seen very little of this Plane, I know there are lots of forests, woodlands, and valleys. Nothing with a tree the size of an Elder tree, however.¡± ¡°Will you show us your place or go onto Judgement first?¡± asked N¡¯Oye, gesturing up to the clouds. ¡°O¡¯Nai wants to see my home first,¡± Amdirlain replied, and they stood on a hillside on the edge of her Domain. Carefully shifting the Ki mists, she released O¡¯Nai from their hold and allowed him to move out of her form. In an instant, the Ancestor became as lifelike as other Petitioners she¡¯d seen here and in Judgement. Analysis revealed details that differed from the Ancestral Spirit information he and the others had shown. [Name: O¡¯Nai Entity Type: Petitioner (Jungle Giant - Blood Tear Clan) Original Home World: Cemna (Exile)] ¡°Would you like to enter?¡± Amdirlain asked, unsure of what they¡¯d make of the offer. ¡°Your invitation honours me; even from here, it feels welcoming,¡± O¡¯Nai said. ¡°Your invitation honours me,¡± echoed N¡¯Oye. ¡°It is strange they have no tree holding their living places.¡± More of Tyr¡¯s Vargr Drangijaz were present, along with Valkyries wearing Thor¡¯s symbol¡ªmaking her wonder if her Domain had gained a mead hall. The nearby Celestials nodded to her respectfully when they crossed the boundary but looked at the Giants with open scepticism. A female Vargr Drangijaz came forward from speaking to a group of Petitioners to greet her with a polite nod of respect. Analysis [Name: Oili Species: Vargr Drangijaz Class: Fighter / Skirmisher Level: 22 / 22 Health: 792 Defence: 128 Magic: 42 Melee Attack Power: Combat Skills: -Various Innate Powers Details: Tyr recently promoted Oili from Petitioner as a reward for her deeds during the Slaadi incursions. ] ¡°How many patrols am I hosting at present, Oili?¡± Amdirlain asked before Oili could speak and enjoyed the surprised look it earned. ¡°Our apologies if we¡¯ve taken advantage of your offer of hospitality, Lady Amdirlain,¡± replied Oili. ¡°Patrols have been operating from here so they can respond faster to the Outlands¡¯ problems. Lord Tyr and others have sent materials to ensure we¡¯re not stressing your Domain and that your Petitioners arrive safely.¡± ¡°I had a run-in with the Greek lightning tosser¡¯s boys,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, ¡°We heard,¡± admitted Oili. ¡°That is part of the reason for their concern, if I understand rightly. A patrol I was with discouraged one of Apollo¡¯s patrols from following some of your Petitioners¡ªthat was just a few days ago.¡± ¡°Just be careful one of them doesn¡¯t try and stab someone else,¡± Amdirlain warned, even the memory stirred her annoyance. ¡°One tried to stab you?!¡± exclaimed Oili, teeth showing threateningly for a moment. ¡°We¡¯d heard from the Egyptian and Slavic pantheon about an incident with strange Souls singing in Judgement.¡± ¡°That was my second run-in,¡± Amdirlain clarified. ¡°Third time, a different fellow went to stab me. I showed him how to use a sword properly, and one of Titan¡¯s Servants dragged him away.¡± ¡°I hope you put it somewhere particularly painful!¡± growled Oili, anger shining in her gaze. ¡°You do not speak as we do, yet I still understand your words,¡± O¡¯Nai observed. ¡°All within a Domain can understand what another says. But you have a Petitioner not your own in your Domain, Lady Amdirlain,¡± Oili observed, studying the Giants again. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°Just trying to help some lost Souls.¡± Amdirlain offered, waving off Oili¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Of course, I should have remembered what we were told,¡± muttered Oili, blunting Amdirlain¡¯s suspicious glare with a smile. ¡°Do I want to know?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Only that the surest thing you¡¯d react to was someone else in need,¡± replied Oili. ¡°You treat your needs as having a second place, so it¡¯s only just we provide a balance to the scales.¡± N¡¯Oye¡¯s laughter acted as a signal for nearby groups to wander in their direction. ¡°I¡¯m not that bad,¡± protested Amdirlain and winced when Oili started laughing as well. ¡°Am I?¡± ¡°What are these terms Petitioner and Domain? Is that a word for a home?¡± O¡¯Nai asked. ¡°They feel more important.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t tell them who you are, Lady Amdirlain?¡± asked Oili, rubbing her forehead as her eyes went wide in disbelief. ¡°I know you have things that need your attention; we¡¯ll show them around and answer their questions.¡± ¡°What things?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°The Dwarven architect¡ªfor one¡ªhas questions she won¡¯t let anyone else decide on. She was making a fuss about not knowing what approach you¡¯d prefer a few days ago,¡± said Oili. ¡°Will you two be alright if I leave you in Oili¡¯s care for now?¡± Amdirlain asked, not wanting just to abandon them. ¡°It seems you are keeping secrets. We will hear what the walking Panthera has to tell us,¡± O¡¯Nai said, motioning her to go on. * * * ¡°So many tiny ones here. Are you sure it will be alright, my kin living around here?¡± O¡¯Nai asked. ¡°I don¡¯t object to them living near my home,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°If I can convince other clans to leave their Elder trees, there won¡¯t be enough space within for them all. Whether it¡¯s the best place for them in the long run, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°So Judgement is above us?¡± O¡¯Nai said, the name that tangled K¡¯Lan¡¯s tongue coming easily to the Petitioner. ¡°How do Souls get up there themselves?¡± enquired N¡¯Oye, a hand raised to shield his eyes as he peered in the Spire¡¯s direction. ¡°That pale tree is very tall and has no branches.¡± ¡°It¡¯s stone, not a tree. Near its base, you can find portals¡ªpermanent gates,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°A Petitioner arriving in the Outlands head to them instinctively if they¡¯re unaccompanied; they look like pools.¡± ¡°Might I see them?¡± asked N¡¯Oye, as visibly excited as he¡¯d been while looking about her Domain. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen one, but alright,¡± Amdirlain said and teleported the three of them. The Portal hadn¡¯t changed since the last time she¡¯d seen it, vines framing the edge; it appeared as if formed of emerald-green water. The tranquil pool sat within a woodland glade, but True Sight made what it was clear. As Amdirlain stepped through the watery Portal ahead of the Giants, the Portal¡¯s energy had her more aware of O¡¯Nai¡¯s Soul. The moment she touched the energy, the Portal inverted her stepping into it¡ªto stepping out¡ªyet she found herself in a place far different to what she¡¯d expected. Instead of a clear blue sky, it was a black sea awash with tides of shifting colour. Clouds that she¡¯d only ever seen as the purest of white were jet black beneath her feet. Overhead, nebula formed a pair of draconic eyes that contained multiple slitted pupils that regarded her with contempt. As the sky¡¯s patterns changed, they solidified into multi-hued feathers. Tiamat looked nothing like Amdirlain had seen depicted before, but an awareness of the projection¡¯s nature and the entity it represented pressed into her. Horns showed cresting from a moon-sized head. A radiant black pearl gleamed in the centre of the Tiamat¡¯s forehead, and her eyes narrowed in anger. ¡°RELEASE MY PROGENY¡¯S SOULS, ANAR!¡± Already trembling as the gaze¡¯s weight smashed against her, the thought¡¯s shock waves staggered her backwards against the Portal¡¯s barrier, which had frozen behind her. As reality inhaled around her, Amdirlain tore the Ki mist from the Dragon Souls and pushed them out into this warped form of Judgement. The Souls of Sh¨ºrg?onth and her children raced clear of Amdirlain before they fully formed. While the children¡¯s Souls glanced about curiously, Sh¨ºrg?onth looked towards the sky before she slammed a tail down. The motion crushed across her offspring¡¯s Souls, and energy from their destruction streamed upwards. The Primordial¡¯s manifestation inhaled the essence as Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s Soul vanished, her visage twisted by a shocked look. As the last of the Souls¡¯ power raced away, Amdirlain felt herself plunge backwards into melted ice, the Outlands reappeared, and her back smacked into N¡¯Oye¡¯s leg. ¡°Is that meant to happen?¡± N¡¯Oye asked. Amdirlain shivered from the aftershocks, staggered from Tiamat¡¯s projected mind and will. N¡¯Oye went to speak again but fell silent when O¡¯Nai made a simple gesture. [Mental Hardening [S] (6->9)] ¡°What did it look like?¡± asked Amdirlain, seeking a distraction. ¡°The water turned hard like green-amber, yet so cold it burnt to touch,¡± N¡¯Oye stated. ¡°What occurred?¡± ¡°I had the Dragons¡¯ Souls with me when I went through,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°I ended up somewhere I¡¯d never seen before. There was a projection of Tiamat present. She¡¯s a Primordial Power.¡± ¡°Should you carry me through in case there is more strangeness?¡± A glimpse of O¡¯Nai¡¯s concerned expression had Amdirlain offering out a hand. When O¡¯Nai touched her skin with a finger, she used Energy Drain and settled his Soul within the Ki again. ¡°You¡¯ve got a wise Ancestor, N¡¯Oye,¡± Amdirlain said, and amusement twinged from O¡¯Nai¡¯s Soul. I thought he¡¯d be held entirely still in there. A mental shrug was all the pause Amdirlain allowed herself as she stepped forward into the Portal again. Judgement looked similar to what she remembered, but the sense of it was different. White clouds were underfoot, but the sky appeared as if it was dusk. Of the Souls nearby, none were Human or even close to humanoid. The closest groups comprised individuals who appeared genderless to her understanding. Six legs set evenly around them, supporting a headless torso, with an arm and eye offset between each. As one turned around observing them, she didn¡¯t know why it shifted position until a gill-like orifice pointed in their direction and it sniffed. She only had a moment to consider them before the Titan¡¯s Servant arrived and immediately addressed her. ¡°Amdirlain, there are choices to make,¡± the Servant stated without preamble. ¡°You cannot leave here with a Petitioner not sworn to you. However, Cemna no longer contributes to the Song. Any Soul you leave here will fade peacefully as these are doing.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Their Wizards¡¯ choices allowed Demons onto it unchecked by any controls,¡± the Servant declared, gesturing to the entity that still watched them. ¡°The world¡¯s Powers perished in the war that followed.¡± At O¡¯Nai¡¯s prompting, Amdirlain allowed him free of her Soul, and he looked over the Servant before he spoke. ¡°What choice do I have then?¡± asked O¡¯Nai ¡°Swear to a Power, remain here to wait and fade, or contribute your Soul¡¯s energy to a Concept that matches to your Soul,¡± the Servant quickly answered. ¡°Here, I could advise my kin?¡± O¡¯Nai asked, ¡°It would be nowhere close to your past, O¡¯Nai,¡± warned the Servant. ¡°Memories are the first things that fade.¡± ¡°You are Power, even if you only have tiny trees,¡± O¡¯Nai stated, his words earning a snort from N¡¯Oye. ¡°Would you allow me to speak to my kin and advise them?¡± ¡°Of course. I think they¡¯d have to use magic unless they came to the Outlands, but we can sort out something.¡± ¡°Your wordm you only seek to help my people from the Plane of Suffering,¡± O¡¯Nai said, ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to help those of them I can, O¡¯Nai,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I have lots to do, and some might not agree.¡± ¡°Then I swear to you, Amdirlain.¡± [A Petitioner not having served you in life has sworn to your service: Do you wish to:
  • Accept
  • Decline
  • Punish for being false to their previous allegiance
  • Accept and Promote (Remaining promotion capacity: 5) ]
¡°Do you want a job, O¡¯Nai?¡± ¡°Females have always been giving me work to do. Nothing changes,¡± O¡¯Nai replied, his clicks rumbling with suppressed amusement. Accept and Promote [Promotion options:
  • Consume Memories
  • Condense Memories
  • Full Memories
] Full, of course! Energy shimmered between them, and Amdirlain felt a wisp of energy similar to what she¡¯d pressed into forming her Domain pass over into O¡¯Nai. The Giant¡¯s formed shifted and compressed in a shimmering light that made more Souls look their way. When the light faded away, it was clear the transformation had turned him into an Erelim. Though he kept his facial appearance, he was now only two and a half metres tall with luminous green wings extended from his back. The leathers that clad his Soul now showed Amdirlain¡¯s symbol. [Faith: -1] ¡°Why would you do this for me?¡± O¡¯Nai asked, knowledge of his nature evident in his gaze. ¡°Because you risked your Soul for your people,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°How could I not reward your commitment to helping others? Plus, it¡¯s a new start for you; I¡¯m supposed to help with those. You can¡¯t venture into the Abyss. You¡¯ll be able to guard them in the Outlands and access a world to help, if we find one for your kin.¡± ¡°Still spending yourself for others, Amdirlain,¡± the Servant stated. ¡°What did Lady Amdirlain do?¡± asked O¡¯Nai, as he glanced between them. ¡°Keeping all your memories isn¡¯t normal, O¡¯Nai,¡± stated the Servant. ¡°Instead of gaining from accepting and promoting you to Celestial, it cost her energy instead.¡± ¡°Do I have to accept them all to my service to keep them from fading?¡± Amdirlain asked, waving off O¡¯Nai¡¯s protest. ¡°If they do not come to Judgement, their choices are their own. However, outside Domains, they are at risk of predators,¡± the Servant replied and held up a warning hand. ¡°Inside a Domain, their host is at risk of what choices they might make. Those not sworn may act against their host or Petitioners once allowed within a boundary.¡± Amdirlain winced, not wanting to consider risking those who had entrusted their Souls to her care. ¡°Can I do anything for them?¡± ¡°Someone would have to: destroy the Demonic hordes, close the Portals, re-seed the world, found civilisations, and establish Powers so they¡¯d have places to go,¡± the Servant said. Its tone had grown sarcastic as the list went on. It paused before it continued with a restored calm tone. ¡°Father believes you already have a few things on your to-do list.¡± ¡°I can enter a world that doesn¡¯t have developed Mortal cultures,¡± Amdirlain said as she considered options. ¡°That¡¯s not a question,¡± observed the Servant, its silent gears emitting a hissing sound. ¡°The world the ten kingdoms are on, does its solar system match to the Earth I knew?¡± enquired Amdirlain, smiling at the Servant. ¡°Father says it is close, but there are minor positional and planetary differences,¡± replied the Servant. ¡°So if any planets or moons aren¡¯t inhabited above the civilisation threshold, I can access the material plane on them?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°What are the limits?¡± ¡°Yes. You cannot enter a world¡¯s atmosphere¡ªas you know it¡ªor take action against a settled world. If you did, one of Father¡¯s servants would remove or deal with you before setting things right,¡± explained the Servant. ¡°If summoned to a world by the correct process, then your restrictions depend on the Mortal¡¯s choices.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Amdirlain said, nodding politely. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d tell me the name for the planet Mercury in this reality?¡± Amdirlain noted the planet¡¯s name in Celestial, enjoying the lilting tones before the Servant vanished. 120 - Exodus N¡¯Oye glanced between O¡¯Nai and Amdirlain after the Servant¡¯s departure. ¡°He looks like a green bird now.¡± O¡¯Nai frowned, and his form changed, growing back to his original height, the wings extending further as he changed, then shimmered and vanished. ¡°You have your memories, but you¡¯ll need to decide what Class you want to pursue,¡± Amdirlain said, ushering them back through the Portal. The Outlands¡¯ energies were a relief after the twin strangeness she¡¯d found in Judgement. ¡°Might we return to your Domain for a time, Lady Amdirlain?¡± O¡¯Nai asked and gestured to N¡¯Oye. ¡°There are things I would share with my kin that will make the choice clearer if those within K¡¯Lan¡¯s care argue.¡± As soon as he asked, Amdirlain moved them with a moment¡¯s focus; the quick reaction earned a shrug exchanged between the Giants. ¡°Of course,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°But please call me Amdirlain or A, without all the lady stuff.¡± ¡°We were told,¡± confessed O¡¯Nai, gaze bright with amusement. ¡°But also told to use it.¡± ¡°The Petitioners told us, but the Panthera ones think it¡¯s disrespectful,¡± admitted N¡¯Oye. ¡°They told you, yet they use it anyway?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Bloody wolf pups. So they think going against someone¡¯s preference is more respectful. How does that work out?¡± ¡°Very well, Lady A,¡± O¡¯Nai said, giving her a cheeky wink. When Amdirlain burst out laughing at his mischievous look, O¡¯Nai nudged N¡¯Oye meaningfully and motioned to her. ¡°I know her intentions now. Our situation worries her. She is as honest as she seems, perhaps too much; be alert to those that would take advantage and spoil things,¡± O¡¯Nai explained. ¡°One thing she doesn¡¯t forgive is those that harm others intentionally. Like the Clan, she prunes the poisoned fruit, but she allows them to bite to prove their nature instead of ensuring they don¡¯t even get an attempt.¡± Great, I didn¡¯t realise they¡¯d get that much insight into me ¡°What do you mean?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°There are some born that are born broken and unable to be part of the Clan in any aspect. Many signs make such a nature clear: an inability to understand the pain of another or the need for everything to be for or about them. A Clan cannot survive such members, so we prune them from the tree,¡± O¡¯Nai stated. ¡°It is hard, but we¡¯ve learnt inaction means greater losses will come.¡± As he finished, O¡¯Nai shrugged and drew fingers across his throat, and Amdirlain nodded. It sounds like a theory I read about early human tribes killing their sociopaths, as they couldn¡¯t support parasites. ¡°I¡¯ll let you and N¡¯Oye decide what you tell K¡¯Lan,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ve got to ensure the architect isn¡¯t going ahead with their underground complex or a castle glorifying me. I¡¯ll be around the Domain when you are ready to go.¡± * * * The black scales lay across rocks outside her Domain, soaking up the sunlight and Mana alike. Though remembering tales of Dragon blood killing things, she¡¯d separated clean scales alone from Inventory. As she¡¯d saturated them with Celestial Mana, the rough scales had shifted from their ominous tone into a delightful night sky¡ªgolden stars shining from the void. Oili had been watching the process for a few hours when Amdirlain finally stopped. ¡°They¡¯re not changing in True Sight any longer,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°What did you have in mind for them?¡± Oili asked curiously and moved forward to brush a hand over a scale. ¡°I know someone who might have a use for them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. As she imagined Jaixar¡¯s reaction to the scales, a bright smile lit her face. ¡°How old was the Black Dragon?¡± enquired Oili. ¡°Over a century. Have you seen Dragon scales before?¡± asked Amdirlain, as her gaze drifted towards the Spire¡¯s peak. ¡°No, but N¡¯Oye described the rock worm you killed,¡± Oili stated, nodding to the scales." It wasn¡¯t hard to figure out what they were after his tale." ¡°Yeah, of course. I tagged along partly because I thought they were going for the egg of a giant worm. I¡¯d thought they meant the sort of worm that leaves house-sized tunnels in its wake, not a Dragon. Certainly wasn¡¯t what I had in mind,¡± Amdirlain replied, unsure of what she¡¯d hoped to achieve. ¡°I¡¯m just glad the Black Dragon turned out to be as malicious as tales I¡¯d heard.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t sound like that challenging a fight for you,¡± Oili observed. ¡°Did something happen that N¡¯Oye missed?¡± ¡°Not during the fight exactly. The Dragon¡¯s Soul, and its actions, unsettled me. I took her Soul and the children to Judgement, she destroyed them there, and Tiamat seemed to feed off it.¡± ¡°She is a Primordial and not safe to speak of,¡± Oili replied cautiously. ¡°However, perhaps what you believe and perceived, and what happened, are not the same. Even if they were, you saved them from being twisted by the Abyss.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s comforting, but I¡¯ll try to look at it that way, though I doubt I¡¯ll find it that easy. Gnarls were easy to kill. Their Souls are these bloated distorted things that sicken me. The Dragons¡¯ Souls were different, sharp, dark, cruel, but not fouled, though to me they certainly felt malicious and evil,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°The material is so hard you could have pieces stitched onto a hide jerkin or larger ones crafted into shields,¡± suggested Oili as she stepped away from the scale. Amdirlain looked back at her as she changed the subject, and seeing the Celestial¡¯s discomfort, let the matter drop. Moving to Oili¡¯s side, she laid a hand gently on her upper arm to get her attention. ¡°My apologies,¡± offered Amdirlain and at Oili¡¯s nod, moved to store the scales. ¡°I¡¯m not a crafter. I¡¯ll leave their use up to experts. Are O¡¯Nai and N¡¯Oye looking for me?¡± ¡°Not that I know of,¡± Oili answered. ¡°I believe O¡¯Nai is talking to some patrol leaders. They were deep in discussion about potential settlement areas and recent troubles we¡¯ve faced.¡± ¡°Maybe I should take him somewhere to gain experience so he¡¯ll be able to fight better,¡± Amdirlain considered. ¡°We¡¯ll sort that out for him, Lady Amdirlain, as we are with Solveiga,¡± Oili declared, eager to be of help. ¡°Best not to rush him away too quickly. I¡¯m sure K¡¯Lan is going to want to speak to him once she gets here, regardless of what N¡¯Oye tells her,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Of course, Lady Amdirlain,¡± said Oili. ¡°How many times do I have to insist that Amdirlain is fine?¡± Amdirlain protested, her look of frustration clear as she put her hands on her hips. ¡°We have our orders from Lord Tyr to ensure we¡¯re properly respectful to you for your hospitality,¡± explained Oili and good-naturedly laughed when Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°In that case, isn¡¯t the proper respect to obey the rules of the household?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°My house, my rules, next person who calls me Lady Amdirlain is going to be doing what dirty work I can find for them. I¡¯ll let you spread that news.¡± ¡°Since you insist, Lady Amdirlain,¡± conceded Oili grudgingly. ¡°What did I just say?¡± Amdirlain grumbled as she frowned at Oili. ¡°We¡¯re not standing in your Domain your ladyship,¡± countered Oili. ¡°We¡¯re simply near it.¡± ¡°Lawyers!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain as she shooed Oili away. * * * The trip back to the Clan had been simple with the Gate spell setting them in ?buthan. After that, a quick teleport positioned them outside the sealed door before anything could hassle them. When N¡¯Oye had opened the entrance to the holding, the Ancestors Amdirlain could see eagerly motioned her to enter. ¡°It seems they¡¯re happy for me to come in,¡± stated Amdirlain and she gave the Ancestors a nod of acknowledgement before she entered. ¡°That is good. It means that there isn¡¯t an argument within the Clan about the course,¡± N¡¯Oye commented. ¡°Let¡¯s find K¡¯Lan and the Clan¡¯s elders. See what approach the community will take after I pass on O¡¯Nai¡¯s messages.¡± ¡°Do they take sides in arguments?¡± asked Amdirlain, glad for another confirmation they weren¡¯t just bound to the Shaman¡¯s will. ¡°If the council isn¡¯t in agreement, sometimes they look to influence things,¡± revealed N¡¯Oye. ¡°Though often they¡¯ll leave it for the living to choose the path ahead. Only those who cause unneeded disagreements feel the coolness of the Ancestors.¡± ¡°While getting out of the Abyss seems a valuable aim, I had expected leaving all they¡¯ve known to be unsettling,¡± said Amdirlain as he sealed the doorway. ¡°Such feelings will come once the initial excitement wears off,¡± N¡¯Oye replied and motioned her towards the first guard post. As they ventured through the holding, even those busy packing greeted them excitedly. ¡°Seems K¡¯Lan was certain you¡¯d bring good news,¡± commented N¡¯Oye, as he nodded to another busy group. ¡°I would have figured out something to get you to safety,¡± stated Amdirlain and she mentally crossed fingers they¡¯d face minimal issues. ¡°How can you be so sure?!¡± shouted K¡¯cai as they entered the Ancestors¡¯ Chamber. The outburst caused Amdirlain to lower her hand from the greeting she¡¯d been about to give. K¡¯Lan was carefully packing a cupboard into a chest larger than Amdirlain, though she still noticed their entry with her gaze directed at the young Giantess standing between them. ¡°A,¡± said K¡¯Lan, glancing towards the pair only to be cut off. ¡°Don¡¯t just ignore me,¡± K¡¯cai interjected. ¡°I¡¯m a Shaman. You can¡¯t just say you won¡¯t train me.¡± ¡°K¡¯cai!¡± K¡¯Lan rebuked, fixing the young Giantess with a stern look. ¡°A is the one to thank for your life.¡± [Name: K¡¯cai Race: Jungle Giant Class: Shaman Level: 5 / 5 Health: 230 Magic: 25 Mana: 55 Melee Attack Power: 26 Combat Skills: Spear [Ap] (5), Dagger [Ap] (1) Details: K¡¯cai, the youngest Shaman of the Blood Tear Clan, is recovering from prolonged Demonic possession. Condition: Spirit Flawed - Moderate (Permanent), Palna¨®q - Addiction (Stage: Onset) ] Analysis [Spirit Flawed: Either innately or because of Soul injuries, those with this condition cannot provide a coherent resistance to possession. ] ¡°What sort of name is A?¡± spat K¡¯cai, her face twisting in anger as she turned. ¡°Doesn¡¯t she have a known lineage?¡± K¡¯Lan grabbed her shoulder and looked at Amdirlain apologetically. ¡°She¡¯s in pain, K¡¯Lan. Her -,¡± Amdirlain stated, only for K¡¯cai to spin away. ¡°She¡¯s younger than me; how could a child have helped?¡± asked K¡¯cai as Amdirlain shielded herself from the chaotic maelstrom of her thoughts. ¡°K¡¯cai you-¡° ¡°Aren¡¯t being listened to!¡± K¡¯cai shouted, her escalating rage causing the muscles in her neck to stand out. The injuries in her Soul looked as if she¡¯d made hardly any recovery. ¡°She can¡¯t even see me properly, K¡¯Lan,¡± Amdirlain warned as K¡¯cai spun back, wordlessly shouting to drown out Amdirlain¡¯s interruption. When K¡¯Lan swiped a cloth across her neck, K¡¯cai staggered and sagged into her mother¡¯s arms a moment later. ¡°My apologies,¡± K¡¯Lan said, gently cradling her daughter as she settled them to the ground. ¡°She seemed fine when she woke up, but her mood shifted recently. She¡¯ll sleep for now, but if I move her too much, she¡¯ll wake.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°What did you give her?¡± ¡°Just something to help her rest for now,¡± K¡¯Lan stated, sitting and resting her daughter¡¯s head on her lap. ¡°I¡¯m worried I¡¯ve had her drugged too long on Palna¨®q already. Those that hunger for it will have such mood swings. I hope your journey was successful?¡± ¡°Very, so many strange things,¡± N¡¯Oye said as he moved into the chamber. ¡°Trees the size of us and a sky that doesn¡¯t burn the skin.¡± N¡¯Oye sat near K¡¯cai, and Amdirlain stood back to avoid crowding them while she listened to him explain what he¡¯d seen and O¡¯Nai¡¯s messages. ¡°When will you open the Gate?¡± K¡¯Lan asked after she got over the news of O¡¯Nai¡¯s changed state. ¡°Whenever your Clan is ready, I¡¯ll be able to open it right outside my home,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°There are other valleys nearby if you prefer something not right next to me. Would you be able to have someone provide me directions to other Clans?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since the Clan have spoken to them. An older Scout would be the best person to give directions; I¡¯ll introduce you to a few,¡± K¡¯Lan said, visibly pausing before she continued. ¡°Will you require us all to swear to you?¡± ¡°No one has to swear to me,¡± Amdirlain assured her. ¡°I regret the situation at Judgement and hope O¡¯Nai doesn¡¯t regret doing so.¡± N¡¯Oye laughed and waved Amdirlain away. ¡°Sworn to you or not, he wouldn¡¯t have given such support without merit.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll pack as quickly as we can. Once everything is ready, we¡¯ll leave and see where we settle once we have a feel for the area,¡± stated K¡¯Lan. * * * When the pillar to which they¡¯d bound Ancestors crossed the Gate¡¯s threshold, it pulled them along. K¡¯Lan was the last Clan member to step through the Gate, and she carried the Clan¡¯s original pillar. In the Outlands, the Ancestors who hadn¡¯t been visible to all the Clan stood manifested, mingling with the living. Despite their physical appearance, Amdirlain could still see a phantasmal link between them and the pillars, but only K¡¯Lan seemed to notice the connection. As she let the Gate close, N¡¯Oye already had good news. ¡°Scouts have spread out with guides as planned; they will report back on locations the patrol leaders suggested,¡± N¡¯Oye stated, motioning towards the lip Amdirlain had first entered the valley. ¡°One of the walking Panthera is seeing to K¡¯cai.¡± ¡°Will you allow me to swear to you, A?¡± K¡¯Lan asked, and Amdirlain shook her head, the Shaman¡¯s reluctance clear. ¡°Settle your Clan and decide if that¡¯s what you want¡ªnot what you feel obliged to do,¡± Amdirlain said gently. ¡°N¡¯Oye knows the patrol leaders, and O¡¯Nai will see you get whatever help you need settling in. There are things I have to progress¡ªseeking the other Clans among them. Your Clan needs to make its own choices, and if I stay around, some might feel I pressured.¡± * * * Planar Shift had delivered her back to ?buthan in a single hop, but it needed a lot of work. She hadn¡¯t ended up somewhere she recognised¡ªjust among lots of trees¡ªbut easily teleported back to the lake. The instructions N¡¯Oye had provided guided her quickly to her target just over a week after she¡¯d first come to the Plane. While the image Lorrella shared did match the tree, it hadn¡¯t done it justice. Other plants¡¯ alien awarenesses were only fleeting things compared to the eternal hunger the tree projected. It snatched a bird from the air when the tentacles around a bloom forced another to lean forward. Though forcibly repositioned, the second bloom¡¯s tentacles were just within striking distance of the doomed avian. The Krillnix trees stood over twenty metres tall with a wide canopy, its thick central trunk split into multiple arcing branches broader than Amdirlain¡¯s wingspan, each ending in a nest of blooms. After a moment to consider her starting point, her body shifted into a spinning serrated disc and she sent herself hurling through the air with Flight. The blooms¡¯ extremities cascaded away with every pass; the tentacles varied in length from just over a metre to nearly five. Once she¡¯d determined their regeneration speed, Amdirlain burned a swath of them away from the tree and hovered before a bloom shorn of tentacles in the kill zone¡¯s centre. Eyes peeled for evidence of regrowth, she tossed a fist-sized hunk of dripping dragon meat into the flower¡¯s bell. Dragon flesh or not, the fluid within had no issue, hissing and frothing to send a spray upwards against the flower¡¯s throat. She waited till the pollen thoroughly dried before she gathered the material into containers and went again. Once the last glass jar was filled, she moved on to the next test, and when the tentacle she made hit the fluid, she removed her vocal cords. The acid invoked a pain worse than the acid damage inflicted by the Dragon¡¯s breath weapon as the first notification showed itself. While it had taken a Babu Demon minutes to inflict almost no harm, the Krillnix bloom¡¯s acid ignited flesh. Nerves exploded with agony that seared its way up the tentacle; even after she removed nerve endings, the pain chewed at her. It wasn¡¯t until the sixth notification that a resistance increase occurred despite the damage it inflicted. [Health: -1,449 Resistance: Acid [I] (9->10)] The other blooms regrew as it consumed health until regrown tentacles reached towards her. Amdirlain separated herself from her extended limb, even as the fluid frothed higher, and she teleported. Acid stronger than Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s breath weapon and without Energy Drain¡¯s counter¡ªthe pain had pressed against her mental defences. The resistance changes hadn¡¯t occurred with every notification, and each time only represented minor damage reductions. By the time she¡¯d healed, the blooms had regrown and now sat wreathed in longer tentacles. The bloom she¡¯d used was a bloated mass among the tree¡¯s regrowth. When the surrounding area was clear, she found dried pollen caked along its throat and stored it in freshly made jars. While her health had recharged, the flower was far slower to restore its acid level. Destroying it as well, Amdirlain picked another branch¡¯s bloom to use before beginning again. [Health: -1,391 Resistance: Acid [I] (12->13) Pain Tolerance [J](40)->[Ad](1)] * * * As her circuit around the tree continued, branches and blooms grew thicker with every pass despite the damage she inflicted. As her endured damage decreased, the notifications of improvements took longer and longer to appear. [Health: -130 Resistance: Acid [I] (59->60) ] [Achievement: (Not yet) Pushing up the Daisies. Condition: Lose over six million health in a single day without dying (must exceed twenty times maximum health) Reward: Endurance +5, Willpower +5 Reward: Safeword suggestion: Petal? ] [Health: -127 Resistance: Acid [I] (60->61) ] As the notification came, a tentacle grabbed her leg, and the show ended. As it yanked her towards the bloom amid the aching pain, Amdirlain activated Ki Aura, and the tentacle and the attached bloom burst into ash. All this fun and I¡¯ve still not gained greater resistance. The blooms were the only thing that grew as the tree she¡¯d picked had grown from twenty-five to over thirty meters during the process. Where its larger blooms came in reach of those from other trees, they wrestled and twisted each other apart. Walls of fire trimmed them all away before Amdirlain teleported to the trunk¡¯s base and harvested the sap. Amdirlain tossed the nearly melted tap aside when she secured the last steel jar as another notification appeared. [Inventory [Ad] (10->11)] I¡¯ve not seen you increase in a while. After a moment of contemplating the tree¡¯s growth, Amdirlain turned it to ash. After a quick stop to pick up the copper and silver nuggets still in Sh¨ºrg?onth¡¯s lair, Planar Shift carried her away. * * * Something had partly cleaned the exterior of Lorrella¡¯s shop since Amdirlain had last seen it. The spiked heads were now skulls, and only tattered entrail remnants remained. The shop¡¯s interior was quiet as she stepped inside and found it empty, though the wards didn¡¯t stop her feeling when Lorrella¡¯s mind noticed her presence. ¡°You were gone a while, duckie,¡± Lorrella said as she came from the backroom, an excited bounce in her step straining the apron she wore. ¡°I flew too high in the canopy and completely missed the Krillnix,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°Wasn¡¯t until I returned to the lake and searched low and in a different direction, that I found them.¡± ¡°Oh well, didn¡¯t think about that. Right, lay your harvest out,¡± requested Lorrella, as the shop door locked without a motion from her. Not commenting, Amdirlain stacked the glass and steel containers filled with pollen and sap, respectively, onto the table. When the last of the containers she¡¯d filled hit the table, Lorrella looked at her and whistled appreciatively. ¡°What did you feed the trees, a host of critters?¡± asked a delighted Lorrella. ¡°I have my ways,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Let me know how much you want. I¡¯ll trade the rest to Master Saman, but you get the first pick.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s very sweet of you. What¡¯s it going to cost me to keep getting the first pick of the harvest?¡± ¡°Could you provide information on the best opponents to develop resistances against?¡± asked Amdirlain, hoping to avoid dealing with a knowledge Demon. ¡°What were you looking to improve?¡± The aura sheathing L¨ºdhins came to mind at that question. ¡°Electricity,¡± ¡°Well, outside the Quasi-Elemental Plane, because you¡¯d want greater resistance before venturing there,¡± said Lorrella thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯d suggest a few mountain ranges in Gehenna; you could find nests of Behir, fun to play dodge against their lightning breath weapon. Or swamp lights¡ªbaby will o wisp, really¡ªin Kap¨´cterv. They use a lightning bolt to stun the unwary, but you can ride them out with decent health. Otherwise, go hunting Pale Riders in the fog clouds of Jinamizi. There are many very active and large war zones there presently, and Pale Riders often make an appearance to feed the aftermaths of battles.¡± ¡°Otherwise, get a Wizard to hit me with Lightning spells a lot?¡± asked Amdirlain ¡°Combat, or where there is actual danger, works best to increase resistance. The more danger, the better the increases,¡± attested Lorrella. It might be why the blooms took so long. ¡°How much will you pay me for the lot?¡± asked Amdirlain, motioning to the containers she¡¯d left untouched on the table. ¡°You don¡¯t want to keep any for Master Saman?¡± asked a puzzled Lorrella. ¡°Not this time around,¡± said Amdirlain, and Lorrella began stacking coins on the counter. Once she had finished setting out coins, the goods on the table disappeared. ¡°What did you want me harvesting for you next on that list?¡± ¡°Where did you plan to go next?¡± Lorrella asked. ¡°I might try my luck hunting in Jinamizi,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Hunting in war zones will probably have something throwing lightning around. ¡°How about Flame Wraith¡¯s essence from their list? You can hunt them there if you can handle incorporeal foes,¡± Lorrella said, raising her eyebrows at Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°Well then, you¡¯ll find them in the volcanic regions on that Plane. Now, you¡¯ll need to take oil with you¡ªthe powder they leave behind won¡¯t burn when fully submerged in oil. I¡¯ve plenty of types in stock that will do the trick. For my part of the deal, I want eyeballs and stingers from Manticores, plenty of those beauties on that Plane. Though they don¡¯t always live within the volcanic regions, variants often make their nests in the mountains. Two Demon Lords who have armies in the Plane have regiments of Manticore riders.¡± ¡°That certainly would make it easier to find your materials then,¡± declared Amdirlain, which earned a delighted laugh from Lorrella. ¡°The Portal to Jinamizi connects close to the mercenary hub. All the Demon Lords fighting in the region use it as a location to find hirelings and haggle backstabbing deals. I¡¯ll sell you that information for having the first pick again.¡± ¡°First pick of the material I get your advice about,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Fine,¡± pouted Lorrella. ¡°There is a depression in the Plane of Portals, four leagues in the opposite direction to ?buthan, once there, angle an eighth turn left, travel five leagues looking...¡± Amdirlain mentally noted her directions, even as she considered what a Demonic war zone would look like. * * * [Planar Shift (Self) [B](10->11)] When the Elemental Plane of Earth manifested around her, Amdirlain almost breathed a sigh of relief. Precognition¡¯s warning sent her across the cavern¡¯s ledge she¡¯d appeared on. A teleport shifted her just out of the eruption of earth and debris. The fist¡ªextended from the ledge¡ªpulled back from a pulverised wall section as the rock ledge morphed itself upwards into the upper torso of a humanoid form. The figure¡¯s lower half seemed to blur into the stone beneath it as if an extension of the granite it had erupted from. [Species: Greater Elemental, Earth Level: 170 Health: 9,860 Mana: 1,870 Defence: 589 Melee Attack Power: 683 Ranged Attack Power: 490 Combat Skills: Grab [M] (18), Engulf [M] (24), Smash [M] (22), Throw [Ad](34); Innate Spell Forms - Various Earth Effects Details: An Elemental can require five hundred or more years of accumulated energy to reach this size. An Elemental consuming other Elementals can get this size faster, but if they consume different types, their aspect can become twisted.] The spell was a Lightning Bolt, but the Decay Amdirlain infused it with made the cavern¡¯s air stagnant in the instant the blast lashed out. There was a glimmer of gemstones within the Elemental¡¯s granite depths before they also crumbled to dust. [Combat Summary: Greater Elemental, Earth x1 Total Experience gained: 15,260 Fallen: +3,052 Scion: +3,052 Sora Master: +3,052 Psion: +3,052 Warrior Monk: +3,052] Oops! I won¡¯t mention those gemstones to Jaixar. After long minutes of silence in the cavern as Amdirlain waited to see if anything else would attack, she laid out the copper and bronze bars, along with the assorted nuggets. The material spread across the ledge. She kept a watch on it with True Sight as she lay a wall of Celestial Mana across it. While she waited, she set the spare attributes points into Willpower before selecting her Wood Elf form and settling down to meditate. * * * Her entry into Duskstone had started as a repeat of last time until asking if Jaixar had registered their partnership stopped the Dwarf¡¯s interrogation. The large chamber was empty except for the pair at the desk. The desk sergeant was a new Dwarf, but a tired Natsal sitting beside them breathed a relieved sigh when Amdirlain stepped through the doorway. Analysis gave her the other Dwarf¡¯s name, Linsam Stonecleave, though her statistics weren¡¯t far off from the other sergeant Amdirlain had met. The entry inquiries didn¡¯t even get a reaction from either, as Amdirlain only mentioned delivering copper, silver, and bronze to Jaixar. ¡°The High Crafter would also like to speak with you,¡± Natsal stated. ¡°Why does her Holiness want to see a non-Dwarf?¡± asked Linsam, the female sergeant¡¯s tone a match to Kirlac Axebeard¡¯s. ¡°I¡¯m just following her instructions to the letter this time,¡± declared Natsal. ¡°That¡¯s fine, she can want whatever, but I want to stop off at a guard post first to read the Code,¡± Amdirlain stated, and Natsal blinked at her in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ll wait with you. I can send a messenger from there,¡± Natsal offered and rose from her desk. ¡°You¡¯re just hoping she¡¯ll let you off double shifts,¡± teased Linsam gruffly. ¡°Doubtful, she told me when those would end,¡± refuted Natsal. ¡°A crafter should value precision in all forms, and punishments are of fair weight.¡± When Natsal rose from her seat, the wall lifted, and she led the way. Another Dwarf switched to take her position, and when the wall re-sealed, they started forward past the hoist¡¯s pillars into Duskstone proper. ¡°Double shifts?¡± ¡°The High Crafter rightly decided I had my eyes blinded by precious materials and was distracted from duty. Double shifts will last another twenty-four days so I can remember to put my work first,¡± answered Natsal and gestured towards a heavy door not far ahead. ¡°The duty office has a copy of the Code. Can you read Khuzdul?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve picked it up along the way,¡± Amdirlain replied as she headed for the office with Natsal in tow. ¡°Why the relieved sigh, by the way?¡± ¡°The High Crafter said if I had offended you enough that you didn¡¯t return, the punishment would double,¡± explained Natsal. ¡°I¡¯ve got things that have been waiting for over a decade for me to finish. They shouldn¡¯t be in a rush to figure out what I won¡¯t do,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Why did she think you offended me?¡± ¡°My punishment was for staying to watch Master Norrax work instead of leaving with you. Since you opted not to sell to him, I should have done the same, given they were your goods. Plus, I didn¡¯t get your coins to you before you left,¡± said Natsal. ¡°If the coins bothered me, I would have found you,¡± Amdirlain said as she pushed open the door. The interior of the guard post was straightforward and practical. They¡¯d stationed another pair of Dwarves at a counter off to one side, and through a set of double doors, a large room had a contingent of guards busy checking equipment. ¡°Do you have a copy of the Code on hand that Lady Amdirlain might read?¡± Natsal asked. ¡°And I need to send a message to the High Crafter.¡± One Dwarf thumped a thick tome down on the counter, while the other gave a piercing whistle that prompted a Dwarf to come running from the other room. Hoisted on my own petard, the High Crafter told her to call me Lady Amdirlain, and I¡¯m in her hometown. 121 - Here I go again ¡°Lady Amdirlain.¡± The gruff voice disrupted her reading of the Code, which had turned out to be pragmatic rules that could have been titled ¡®Don¡¯t be an arse to your neighbour¡¯. She hadn¡¯t gotten into the craft appendices but wordlessly returned it to the Dwarf behind the counter. The Dwarf who¡¯d spoken wore grubby clothing and a soot-stained apron that had specks of metal sticking to it. Analysis [Name: Jantar Forgehand Race: Mountain Dwarf Class: High Crafter / Fighter / Blessed Artificer / Forge Master Level: 15 / 61 / 15 / 15 Health: 7,111 Defence: 580 Magic: 230 Mana: 49,224 Melee Attack Power: 280 Combat Skills: Club [M] (17), War Hammer [M] (25) - Various Blessings. Details: Jantar, daughter of Liajan, is the High Crafter of Moradin in Duskstone. She gained the High Crafter Prestige Class at level 60 by combining the Priest and Artificer classes. Her mother is the secondary High Crafter currently serving in the Iceshield Stronghold. ] [Blessed Artificer: This improved base class is unlocked by the achievement of crafting a Relic and consistently furthering the cause of Moradin. ] [Forge Master This base class is a specialty Priest Class only available to a Priest of Moradin who has combined the Artificer and Priest classes. ] Yet for all her work gear, True Sight showed the protective enchantments around her. She absently carried a smith¡¯s hammer that didn¡¯t look like a weapon, but the runic patterns were brilliant with power. Her hair and beard were restrained in braids, their deep red unmarked by any burn marks. Jantar considered Amdirlain steadily, but she was caught off balance when Amdirlain smiled widely. ¡°High Crafter, Jantar. I wasn¡¯t expecting you to come meet me here,¡± said Amdirlain, giving the High Crafter a bow. ¡°Since there was some confusion last time, I thought I¡¯d best come along myself,¡± Jantar replied, waving off Amdirlain¡¯s bow. ¡°How long will you be with us, Lady Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Not long, but I hope to find an Artificer who might resolve a problem I have,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Come talk with me in Moradin¡¯s Hall,¡± invited Jantar, already turning for the door. When her gaze settled on Natsal for a moment, she motioned her towards the entry. Natsal scampered away even before the gesture was complete. ¡°Your boss won¡¯t object to my visiting?¡± Amdirlain asked cautiously. ¡°Moradin specifically told me to offer you the hospitality of his Hall,¡± responded Jantar. When Amdirlain moved alongside her, she continued speaking. ¡°While they might feel odd to you, his Halls won¡¯t reject you.¡± ¡°Odd?¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°You have got a lot of Willpower¡ªso I¡¯m told¡ªbut Moradin also said you¡¯re not the most orderly,¡± Jantar replied with a bark of laughter. ¡°There is that,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I prefer helping people instead of enforcing the law on others.¡± ¡°We have lots to speak about,¡± Jantar said. Her sturdy gait would have set a fast pace for others, but Amdirlain still had to slow herself. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t break Duskstone¡¯s Code, no one will bother you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to behave myself properly,¡± Amdirlain offered and earned another bark of laughter from Jantar. Her entry into Moradin¡¯s Hall was uneventful¡ªvisually at least¡ªthe energy settled over her as she crossed the threshold, the sensation like being bundled comfortingly with numerous heavy woollen blankets. While the power enfolded and weighed her down, it didn¡¯t constrict or feel painful, and an unseen hand clasped her shoulder a moment in a firm welcome. The Hall sounded like an industrial workhouse rather than any place of worship she¡¯d encountered. Even from the doorway, she could see teams of strikers working with smiths to flatten metal plates and a half dozen forges busy crafting one weapon or another. She could see those within the central floor area, with other forges partly visible between pillars in adjoining regions that had more activity still. Jantar threaded the way between forges, and they passed what seemed to be the main altar. A statue, not larger than life-size, but simply another Dwarf stood beside a cold forge, hammer raised to strike a metal bar that tongs held at the ready. True Sight showed nothing, but to Soul Sight, silvery coals were shining inside the forge, burning with more heat than all the busy forges in the Hall put together. Jantar reached the back of the Hall and, without a word, perched on a bench at a worker¡¯s lunch table. As the High Crafter sat her hammer on the table¡¯s edge, Amdirlain slid onto the bench beside her. ¡°You didn¡¯t even flinch crossing the threshold,¡± stated Jantar. ¡°Why should I?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d made a decision, and I followed it through, no point second-guessing the moment I¡¯d take the step.¡± The energy of the Hall didn¡¯t mask the familiar power that approached them, and Amdirlain glanced over to see an armoured Celestial. As in the Gnarl stronghold, the barrel-shaped figure walked with an unstoppable surety that anything in their path would find itself pushed along ahead. The blast furnace of energy she¡¯d sensed then was untroubled living on this Plane. On their way past a side table, they plucked up a pitcher and a stack of mugs without breaking stride. When they were across the table, they casually slid a mug over to each of them and claimed one for themselves before they sat. Analysis [Name: L¨®fnar¨ªx Species: Angel (Solar) Details: L¨®fnar¨ªx has served Moradin since the Dwarvish Gods reached the Titan¡¯s Realm via a Gate opened by the Eldest Chorus of Anar. The Dwarven Pantheon¡¯s entry into the Titan¡¯s realm caused many Celestials to form from the raw energies in the planes they inhabited. Like many angels, L¨®fnar¨ªx can change form at will, but like others, he habitually uses a single form for his duties. Mortals that cannot see his inner energies believe him to be a male dwarf unless he intentionally reveals his true nature. ] ¡°Good to see you again Amdirlain. Your name is better suited to you than the last you carried,¡± said L¨®fnar¨ªx, as he poured a mug of mead for Amdirlain, Jantar, and then himself. ¡°It took me a while to decide what name to use, L¨®fnar¨ªx,¡± Amdirlain said simply. L¨®fnar¨ªx froze for a moment before a smile appeared within his helm¡¯s shadows. ¡°You remembered.¡± ¡°No,¡± refuted Amdirlain, not expecting the sad gaze she received. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t have the memories of when you knew me. I have a talent for names now.¡± ¡°What matter did you seek an Artificer for Lady Amdirlain?¡± Jantar asked smoothly, interjecting before L¨®fnar¨ªx could reply. ¡°There are Jungle Giants I need to locate. They fled when others let Demons overrun their world. The Gate they used ended up with them trapped in the Abyss. I¡¯ve rescued some, but I need a device that can ideally point me toward the closest from hundreds of kilometres away.¡± ¡°Close to someone you¡¯ve never met but know the race of,¡± Jantar murmured. ¡°You could at least be trying to find a relative of someone.¡± ¡°Some Giants I rescued have relatives in other groups,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The more Clans I find, the more intermarried groups I¡¯ll meet.¡± ¡°Simple enough in theory, but what sort of range are you talking about?¡± enquired Jantar. ¡°They¡¯re spread out over a Plane as far as I know,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°I know roughly where to seek some groups at least, but the directions aren¡¯t precise.¡± ¡°Blast, not so simple. Searching for someone in a mountain range is one thing,¡± grumbled Jantar. ¡°The greater the distance and endurance you want, the rarer the materials required.¡± Amdirlain glanced at L¨®fnar¨ªx, trying to gauge his reaction, but his attention stayed fixed on Jantar. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°For what you¡¯re talking about, you¡¯d need a relic grade item. That would require flawless gemstones from ancient Elementals and other expensive materials,¡± announced Jantar. ¡°Is anyone looking to work towards their High Crafter Prestige?¡± enquired Amdirlain absently. ¡°How did you know?¡± Jantar stammered after a moment, regarding her in surprise. ¡°By the way, tier five gives better results at level seventy, not to mention tier seven is possible,¡± said Amdirlain, lips twitching as she took in the pair. ¡°We¡¯ve never had it confirmed,¡± confessed Jantar, directing a firm look at L¨®fnar¨ªx. ¡°They might get High Crafter without doing so; however, your Blessed Artificer required you to have made one. I¡¯d like to help other Artificers of Moradin get a better base Class option after their Prestige,¡± Amdirlain declared. ¡°Mortals need to find their limits on their own,¡± L¨®fnar¨ªx grumbled. ¡°Oh dear, did I spill information I shouldn¡¯t have? Tsk naughty me,¡± Amdirlain said brightly, and when L¨®fnar¨ªx frowned, her smile broadened. ¡°One thing I don¡¯t do well is keeping secrets that might save someone¡¯s life. I prefer letting people know the best results they can achieve, and then they can decide if they want to put in the work or not.¡± ¡°The accord states that Mortals need to discover such for themselves,¡± declared L¨®fnar¨ªx, the frown not lessening. ¡°Technically, the agreement was neither the signatories nor their servants would reveal the secret to Mortals,¡± Amdirlain replied, her smile unfaded. ¡°I¡¯m neither.¡± L¨®fnar¨ªx¡¯s booming laughter was an about-face from his frown, and Jantar looked between them. ¡°What¡¯s so amusing?¡± Jantar asked, ¡°From his reaction, I¡¯m pretty sure certain parties are glad I¡¯m a loophole for spreading information,¡± Amdirlain responded cheerfully. ¡°There are other things you should know. Do you have time to talk?¡± I¡¯ve still not learnt what group wanted the restriction set in place. Jantar shrugged and motioned for her to continue, ¡°Arrangements were made to cover my duties until further notice.¡± ¡°Fine, then let me tell you a few details about classes, imprints, and a few other things,¡± declared Amdirlain before she paused and directed her attention to L¨®fnar¨ªx. ¡°Is Moradin the type to restrict his Priests from gaining affinities?¡± ¡°He does not, though most Dwarves don¡¯t go about acquiring many,¡± L¨®fnar¨ªx stated and continued with only the slightest hesitation. ¡°They tend towards construction magics Artificer or Alchemist classes rather than Wizard. ¡°That could extend this conversation.¡± Taking a sip of the mead, Amdirlain considered what to start with first. A few moments with Analysis gave her an idea. ¡°Now, High Crafter Jantar Forgehand of Duskstone, daughter of Liajan Forgehand, second High Crafter of Iceshield Stronghold. . .¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. As the lineage recital continued onwards for minutes without sign of slowing¡ªor Amdirlain¡¯s explanation beginning¡ª Jantar¡¯s gaze narrowed with suspicion. * * * ¡°Will you need to teach affinities?¡± enquired Jantar, when the last lesson finished. ¡°Or will they be able to teach others themselves?¡± ¡°I¡¯m told my priestesses and priests can teach, but others that have tried haven¡¯t managed it,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°There are several of them in Eyrarh¨¢ls, among other places. Those dropping by there and asking for help learning affinities aren¡¯t likely to be rejected unless they¡¯re rude.¡± ¡°I thank you for taking the time to meet today and assist those in our community looking to expand their capabilities,¡± Jantar said, motioning towards the gathered clergy of Moradin. ¡°We¡¯ll research options for your relic and let you know the materials that we don¡¯t have; you won¡¯t need to pay anything for its crafting.¡± ¡°I prefer to cover the costs as you can use those resources to help others,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°I have an idea that might appeal to Moradin¡¯s, faithful and this could help start it.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Jantar asked. Amdirlain paused thoughtfully and considered how to present her proposal. ¡°I¡¯m told apprentice fees can cost a lot. Is that correct?¡± ¡°The time of a skilled Master is valuable, and when they¡¯re teaching apprentices, they can¡¯t do their work,¡± explained Jantar, as if she was expecting an argument. ¡°Then I¡¯d like to set up a fund to sponsor youngsters with potential whose family can¡¯t afford to pay those fees,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°How does anyone assess that? Who would manage it?¡± Jantar¡¯s questions came quickly as if more from reflex than concern. ¡°Surely you can determine if someone would have a talent for certain crafts. The fund would pay their apprenticeship fee. Ideally, once they reach the master rank, they¡¯d contribute back to the fund, but that doesn¡¯t have to be an obligation for coin. It might involve them teaching another selected by the fund¡¯s organisers. I¡¯m sure we can work the details out later,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°You have interesting ideas, Amdirlain,¡± Jantar said after a moment of consideration. ¡°Glad you eventually stopped with the Lady,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°That title does my head in.¡± ¡°After you started beating me over the head with my whole lineage every time you spoke, a retreat seemed wise,¡± grumbled Jantar and gave Amdirlain a frown. ¡°How did you know thirty generations of my family¡¯s accomplishments?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my secret to know,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Would you like me to recite more?¡± Analysis, I love you so much. ¡°Would you be willing to talk to some High Priests and assist their clergy?¡± asked Jantar after a momentary pause. ¡°I¡¯m always happy to help anyone genuinely helping others,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Who did you have in mind?¡± ¡°There are some in Duskstone that you¡¯d like, Amdirlain,¡± Jantar said. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with them and sound them out.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you have that fun then,¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°I¡¯ve got to go catch up with Jaixar. Is it the day shift still?¡± ¡°For another two hours at least,¡± answered Jantar. * * * ¡°No, lass, just toss it onto the pile with the others and rest,¡± Jaixar instructed, her voice clear through the closed shutters of the shop. ¡°Give yourself plenty of space for each rune. If the rune¡¯s Mana interferes with another, there is no salvaging it. Might want to sharpen the etching tip while you wait for your Mana; you certainly shouldn¡¯t need to press so hard with copper.¡± Amdirlain thumped on the door, and a few moments later, a young Dwarf pulled it open. Their gaze was at eye level for another Dwarf and confronted by her stomach, it jumped up to regard her. Surprise turned to recognition in an instant. ¡°Lady Amdirlain.¡± Amdirlain hadn¡¯t previously learnt the messenger¡¯s name, but Analysis was almost a reflex. Analysis [Name: Salnox Greypeak Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Scout Level: 2 Health: 28 Defence: 14 Magic: 11 Mana: 9 Melee Attack Power: 15 Combat Skill: Short Blades [B] (4), Club [B] (2) Details: Salnox, daughter of Naisal, initially studied for a position as a Scout with the Stoneheart militia until her family moved to Duskstone. She earned extra coin for her family as a messenger in Dusktstone until recently offered an Artificer apprenticeship position.] ¡°Please call me Amdirlain. Salnox, is it?¡± Amdirlain asked, holding out a hand. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll learn a lot from Jaixar.¡± The young dwarf lass clasped her hand without hesitation and gave the same board grin Amdirlain remembered. ¡°Amdirlain, happy to meet you,¡± said Salnox. ¡°I didn¡¯t think Journeymen Jaixar could get in touch with you to pass news.¡± ¡°She has her ways of knowing things. Let her in, and let¡¯s see what our patron has got for us today,¡± Jaixar said, her tone almost bursting with restrained laughter. Salnox moved out of the doorway, and Amdirlain could see little had changed within except a new stone table against one wall. ¡°Business partner, not patron. Found someone to occupy the apprentice bedroom, did you?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Who knows what Elven riff-raff might have returned otherwise.¡± ¡°It was just sitting there empty in case someone bothered coming back,¡± Jaixar retorted in a mock huff. ¡°It¡¯s still yours if you want a spot to meditate. Salnox is living with her mother still to help with her baby brothers.¡± ¡°Prefer to be living here. They¡¯re a pair of menaces at present; absolutely everything needs to go in the mouth,¡± grumbled Salnox as she moved around the workbench. Jaixar chuckled and glanced at Amdirlain. ¡°So, what marvels do you have to add to my workload?¡± ¡°Nothing too special. Copper and bronze bars for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild work, plus some minor things,¡± Amdirlain replied deliberately casual. ¡°Minor things?¡± Jaixar asked suspiciously. Amdirlain¡¯s reply was to set a dinner plate section of Dragon scale on the bench next to the geode Jaixar had been examining. Jaixar gazed at it for a minute before her eyebrows tried to climb into her hairline. ¡°No¡­ you can¡¯t be serious. How old was it?¡± ¡°Only a fraction over a century,¡± explained Amdirlain, amused at Jaixar¡¯s reaction. ¡°The poor beast should have stayed in its lair,¡± moaned Jaixar dramatically and started laughing when Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Brat, it was at home,¡± squawked Amdirlain playfully. Jaixar sniffed the material, delight lit her gaze, and her tone grew in excitement. ¡°How many of those do you have?!¡± ¡°Not too much; some pieces are buckler sized, others are bigger than a militia guard¡¯s full shield,¡± Amdirlain stated. ¡°Along with an assortment of pieces that broke off about palm size or smaller.¡± ¡°Broke off? How long did you have to spend smashing them?¡± asked a baffled Jaixar before she began turning it over in her hands. ¡°When I was purifying it with Celestial Mana,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°That figures,¡± said Jaixar with a nod towards the geode. ¡°This Dragon from the same Plane?¡± ¡°Dragon?!¡± Salnox cried, her attention not having left the bantering. ¡°Yes,¡± stated Amdirlain with a laugh. ¡°Relax, it¡¯s dead, and the remains are on another Plane. It¡¯s from the same region, not the same Plane.¡± ¡°So an equally unimpressive amount of copper and bronze, I take it?¡± asked Jaixar with mock snobbiness. Amdirlain smiled and shrugged. ¡°Only a thousand ingots each, plus nuggets that need smelting,¡± ¡°Only!¡± ¡°Fine, I thought the price was for a hundred. I ended up with more than I expected,¡± huffed Amdirlain and earned the laughter she¡¯d hoped to gain from the pair. ¡°How long will you be staying?¡± Jaixar enquired, even as she extracted some crystal fragments from the geode. ¡°Not long,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though the High Crafter wants me to meet with a few others in Duskstone.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m hurt; we weren¡¯t your first stop,¡± proclaimed Jaixar clutching a hand to her chest. ¡°Bite me!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, and Jaixar¡¯s blurted response gained a laugh. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Where do you want the ingots?¡± Amdirlain asked, ignoring the response her saying had elicited. ¡°In the back storeroom,¡± Jaixar stated, giving Amdirlain a confused head shake. ¡°There is a strange tale going around about a large Human and an Elf staying in Duskstone; they hired on to protect mining crews. Going to see them?¡± ¡°They moved here?!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain considering the news while she settled the materials out the back. ¡°Well?¡± pursed Jaixar when she came back. ¡°Not this time around. I¡¯ll let them get settled,¡± decided Amdirlain before she changed the subject. ¡°Manticore body parts, anything useful to you?¡± ¡°Teeth, claws, or hide from adults are always good,¡± replied Jaixar. ¡°Though their stingers and eyes have restrictions on dealing without explicit need.¡± ¡°Really?¡± The surprise in Amdirlain¡¯s voice earned a glance from Jaixar before she returned to the geode. ¡°When you can read the Code, the Alchemist section details dealing in poisonous materials,¡± replied Jaixar. ¡°How are eyes poisonous?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°The fluid in them can cause bleeding in the brain even if ingested in small amounts,¡± replied Jaixar. ¡°Though it¡¯s good to mix into materials intended for objects to detect or protect from various poisons.¡± ¡°I noticed you¡¯ve got nowhere to practice as an alchemist,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°When I get done with the geodes, I¡¯ll use my share to set up a work area in the storeroom,¡± said Jaixar. ¡°There isn¡¯t much floor space left. You¡¯ll need to do something with the nuggets and bars,¡± said Amdirlain, waving absently toward the shop¡¯s rear. Jaixar started and looked up at her in disbelief. ¡°You filled up my storeroom?¡± ¡°More cluttered it; you¡¯ll need to step carefully to avoid tripping,¡± observed Amdirlain before she explained. ¡°Nuggets don¡¯t stack, and you might want Master Gildenshield to come to get any Dragon scales you don¡¯t want.¡± ¡°Your crates have all sold, as have the geodes I¡¯ve finished so far,¡± Jaixar offered, changing the subject with a badly faked forlorn sigh. ¡°Master Pimnal won the bidding for the lot. She was hoping we¡¯d be able to provide more.¡± ¡°It might be a while before I¡¯m back there. I¡¯ve got some appointments besides those in Duskstone,¡± responded Amdirlain. Jaixar set the geode section she¡¯d been examining down and paused with her hand on another. ¡°Who are you meeting with?¡± ¡°A lot of dead Demons,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Why would you want to meet with Demons, even dead ones?¡± muttered a confused Jaixar. ¡°They aren¡¯t dead yet,¡± retorted Amdirlain. Jaixar rolled her eyes and swivelled on her stool to glance back at the storeroom. ¡°Dragon scales; so not ready for those, and too valuable to hold here. Salnox, could you take a message over to Gildenshield Headquarters, please?¡± * * * Duskstone¡¯s gate closed behind her with a sharp click. Striding forward to get outside the limits of their wards, Amdirlain considered the notification she had received following meeting the High Priests again. The aid she¡¯d given the Wizards in their communities was well received. It had proved a sufficient sweetener that their faiths were establishing a fund to help the young pursue options in life they¡¯d otherwise missed out on. [Your faithful¡¯s standing with the Dwarven Pantheon overall has changed from respected to optimistic. ] The sense of their Halls had been as welcoming as Moradin¡¯s, but each very different. While the High Priestess of Sharindlar had given her some knowing looks, given her Goddess¡¯ portfolio included love, Amdirlain hadn¡¯t even asked. The maternal, homey sense of Berronar¡¯s Hall had hit her with homesickness and longing but had been sweet all the same. Its main altar had looked as if it was part of a living space, with the Dwarves¡¯ Mother welcoming her children home. Once outside Duskstone¡¯s wards, Planar Shift moved her. Standing amid erratic rock spires on the Plane of Portals, she morphed to the red-haired Succubus form. After a moment¡¯s consideration, she was wearing the same style leathers the others had donned, complete with the emblem of bars and chained chords. The region of the Plane wasn¡¯t one Amdirlain recognised, but she didn¡¯t orientate herself, instead, she teleported to Tern¨°x¡¯s exit to follow Lorrella¡¯s directions. She was thankful that her directions between portals were as precise as her directions for materials were vague. The descent into the Jinamizi¡¯s Portal was a seamless transition. One moment she was dropping, the next she was standing on a cracked and parched landscape. An immense red sun shone down coldly and painted the Plane in shades of crimson. The closest boundary marker of a ramshackle tent city was less than a kilometre away, signalled by eternally burning pillars covered in skulls facing outwards from the camp. Once inside their boundaries, the very nominal rules of neutrality would apply, but first, she had to get there. Arm-deep cracks crisscrossed the drying earth as wisps of blood evaporated from soil and left reddish-black salt-crusted earth behind. The odour of copper and iron coated her nostrils, adding to a sharp, dead ocean stench. The sound of a thunderous cavalry charge resounded, and Amdirlain turned to regard the source. Scores of Demonic scorpions nearly the size of quarter-horses raced across the broken landscape. Visible between their claws, their bodies ended in flattened, eyeless human visages and barbed tongues tasted the air as they raced around the camp looking for scraps. Their barely coherent thoughts turned her stomach. It wasn¡¯t a combined attack; they were outracing each other to have her first. They could taste no Abyssal Heat from her, a trait they associated with easy prey for their mating urges. Lightning raced out to meet them, and when none even flinched away, she used Analysis on the closest as she considered another spell. [Species: Kithangian Class: Warrior Level: 4 / 15 Health: 285 Defence: 40 Melee Attack Power: 39 Combat Skills: Bite [Ap] (9), Tongue [Ap](17), Trample [Ap] (1), Pincers [Ap](14) - Various Innate Powers Details: Kithangian are only just above Bestial Demons. Few have enough self-awareness to claim a Use Name. They are always male, and on the Material Plane will cause an outbreak of fiendish offspring. If a Kithangian secures a target with both pincers, it will dig its barbed tongue into them in an attack that warps and twists the target¡¯s self-identity.] The Kithangian disappeared as their minds focused on reaching her first. They all tried to teleport to her. Not sure how they warranted Greater Teleport, the power ensured they didn¡¯t appear inside each other as they appeared around her in a rush. A palm hand block shoved the first pincer snapping for her into the path of a stinger¡¯s strike. Telepathy mapped arriving minds and noted those further away. Mentally, she slapped at the ones who hadn¡¯t rushed her, provoking them to join the rest. Their prey still within the churning bodies, her female presence taunting their lust. The last of the pack arrived at the circle¡¯s edges, and Amdirlain transformed. A web bloomed instantly along the ground, and spikes erupted, piercing through bodies. The circles of death raced outwards, the spikes not even needing Ki to burst apart feeble armour. Protean consumed their bodies into itself, their mass added one by one into what it held folded away. The last body had vanished before the notification appeared. [Combat Summary: Kithangian x62 Total experience gained: 41,230 Fallen: +8,246 Scion: +8,246 Sora Master: +8,246 Psion: +8,246 Warrior Monk: +8,246 Protean [M](23->25) ] Seriously, screw Dragon hunting, especially in a group. Teleport placed her at the camp¡¯s boundary, and she stepped across the wards there. The boundary wards keeping mindless beasts away were unresponsive, despite their inability to gauge her mind. 122 - Born this way Amdirlain stopped inside the camp¡¯s boundary and, without turning, regarded the Portal in True Sight. The blood-splattered ground marked it, and she could perceive how to interact with it. She was considering a route deeper into the camp but the mercenaries within pushed her towards a contact she¡¯d been avoiding. Rather than tipping her hand, her Profile gained another Use Name, something excluded by default. ¡°Ebusuku, I hope you and Farhad are having fun. If you are in the Abyss, I¡¯ve just recently arrived in Jinamizi. I¡¯m on the edge of the mercenary camp near the entry from the Plane of Portals. You can contact me for a while with the Use Name Mayhem.¡± The reply wasn¡¯t slow in coming, and the spell¡¯s energy hissed the message out to her. ¡°So many spells fizzling out, be they using J, Trouble, and others that were tried. Lots in the Sisterhood have questions about a certain Succubus. Honestly, I could tell them I¡¯d not seen her about the Abyss since her form¡¯s destruction. They tried to summon a Viper for some reason¡ªafter the summoning chamber¡¯s destruction they¡¯re focused nearly exclusively on her. I want to know how you ashed Baln¨¦rith¡¯s Book of Names. I will be there soon, by myself; Farhad can build up his strength.¡± Just as well I didn¡¯t risk crossing Usd¡¯ghi. I don¡¯t know anything about a Book of Names. Merged in with the landscape, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t visible when Ebusuku arrived. Her sabres were at the ready, but after being attacked herself, it was an understandable precaution. The spells that once kept Amdirlain from her thoughts clear to Advanced Telepathy. An energy net lay across Ebusuku¡¯s mind to prevent incursion and alert her to the attempt, yet it was a net, and Amdirlain slipped delicately through the gaps. The wards weren¡¯t just keeping intruders out to protect any knowledge she possessed. Clear silver thoughts blazed as Ebusuku took in the landscape; there were none of the dark, twisted emotions held in other Demonic minds. The Plane caused revulsion to churn within her. Beneath her feet, the tacky demonic blood spiked concern for her little sister that let her push the usual aversion aside. Death¡¯s familiar energy caressed her skin, and ghostly images appeared in Ebusuku¡¯s awareness. The dead showed as if they were held aloft with wounds blooming open, yet the cause was unexpectedly unseen. There was no conscious Power use; Ebusuku merely gave the caress attention. Amdirlain¡¯s recent foes, shown in their moment of death, were recognised by type. Along with the name, a list of traits such as immunity to lightning, poison and others¡¯ energies rushed through her mind. Grim satisfaction warred with curiosity as focus brought no other details forth. The near-instantaneous nature of their deaths was clear, but the void in their open wounds itched across her mind. A memory flashed to show a scene Amdirlain knew but the perspective one she hadn¡¯t seen. A Demon grabbing for a dancing Succubus decapitated in mid-air, the limb that had become a weapon wreathed in blackness but invisible to Death Sight. In memory and present, her thoughts wondered at how the life it had claimed couldn¡¯t echo the source of its death. Serene youthful beauty had radiated a longing that triggered thoughts within her. Desires that Ebusuku had suffocated for so long and¡ªin that memory¡ªhis painful absence was again shoved aside. Fresh memories bloomed, but Ebusuku set them aside gently, not risking associating memories of his passionate caresses with the vileness that would never release her. Scuff marks had left hollows now filled by spilled blood, but with a foot tap, she measured their depths. Vibrations pulsed images through her mind as Ebusuku¡¯s Tremor Sense measured how light the swirling motions of their target had been. Trouble finding yet more trouble amused her. Perhaps that old name and her new one were suitable for her. Sixty-two dead within the pulse of a Mortal¡¯s racing heart were a match for Mayhem. Ground churned out from the centre showed the first Demon¡¯s arrival, and the last. Patterns in the soil told of the wounds¡¯ cause, and thin swirling lines in the soil joined them all. Unbothered by Mayhem¡¯s absence, Ebusuku stepped to the death spiral¡¯s centre, her size shifting in mid-motion. Her feet settled into the marks where the Demons¡¯ target had stood. The spiderweb fissures radiating outwards from both feet were noted. Boots vanished into her storage ring, and Ebusuku¡¯s will shaped lines from her skin. The alienness of the concept pushed back against her will and called to mind fleeting memories of reality-warping places she pushed aside and locked the door on. Focused in the moment, she pushed again, and the spiderweb slowly grew until it lay across the efficient massacre. Repeated attempts later, Protean still wouldn¡¯t extend from webbing to produce the spears, and Ebusuku shook her head. The smile that twitched across her lips echoed the genuine, proud amusement within. Amdirlain saw each attempt and the difference in their visualisation techniques were clear. Amdirlain had spun the shape to be instantly whole, whereas Ebusuku attempted to grow each part from the previous. Ebusuku stowed her weapons and settled down to wait for her little sister, with a 360-degree vision that was normal to Amdirlain. A strange affection battled jealousy as a memory of Farhad refusing to explain how they¡¯d met drifted upwards. Jealousy spiked, and she growled, pushing the memory away, choosing to trust him. Ebusuku waited patiently for Mayhem to decide the situation wasn¡¯t a trap planning to chew her out if she appeared too quickly. Though spying didn¡¯t sit easily with her, Amdirlain stayed in her thoughts. An experience that was equal parts educational and unsettling as Ebusuku catalogued the enemies that could hide in plain sight on the open salt flat. Ebusuku¡¯s listing struggled to keep her focus from another memory that continually rose. When the list ran out, she returned to the memories of fighting near the little Succubus before L¨ºdhins¡¯ threat caused her to break one she¡¯d decided was family. It wasn¡¯t until she slipped and the memory hit unexpectedly that Amdirlain almost gave herself away. The memory showed the usual seriousness from Farhad, but Ebusuku¡¯s reaction surprised Amdirlain. Rather than scorn, there was a surge of bright emotions that were completely unexpected. At the camp¡¯s edge, Amdirlain resumed her new Succubus form. Sabres re-appeared in Ebusuku¡¯s hand as threat assessment jumped and then settled. A smile showed as her Telepathy slid from the stranger¡¯s mind as it had from Trouble¡¯s, and Ebusuku grew strangely hopeful. It took her a few attempts and a stronger spell than expected, but a faint Sisterhood¡¯s Sigil showed beneath a glamour. Its weakened state, along with the Succubus¡¯ impenetrable thoughts, were all the confirmation that Ebusuku needed to chance that it was a legitimate contact. Her swords away, Ebusuku waited. It was only when Amdirlain spread her hands away from her sides to flick a Br¨ªn hand sign greeting that Ebusuku willed herself closer. ¡°Your personality seems very pointed now,¡± Ebusuku said, her gaze lingering on Amdirlain¡¯s new form as caution weighed on her. ¡°What name did you tell me to use?¡± The triple exposure was strange for Amdirlain to track, hearing Ebusuku¡¯s thoughts and the words from two perspectives when she spoke. [Advanced Telepathy [Ad](7->8)] Amdirlain gave a smile at Ebusuku¡¯s sense of caution, glad her own paranoia wasn¡¯t out of place. ¡°Mayhem. Should we go somewhere more secure to talk? Or just put concealments in place?¡± ¡°Did you want to put them up?¡± Ebusuku asked. ¡°You¡¯ve improved with your concealments¡ªby a lot¡ªyou¡¯ve obviously been working hard. How many concealment layers do you have?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s mind added the concept of such disciplined focus to the strangeness of the Demonic fledgling. Regret for failing her rose again and twisted claws inside her, yet her composure didn¡¯t twitch. Amdirlain already knew her spell had shown Ebusuku the details, so she answered honestly. ¡°Three at present. I wanted to ensure you¡¯d get confirmation without being vulnerable. If concealments do not draw attention here, add them. Couldn¡¯t you tell the number I have?¡± ¡°Just checking. Fine, I¡¯ll put them up; there will be lots of sharp ears.¡± Ebusuku quickly had spells stacked in place, concealing their presence in multiple ways, including a few from a spell list Amdirlain made a note to find. It was unclear from Ebusuku¡¯s thoughts they represented stronger protections, but everything had weaknesses. Ebusuku didn¡¯t give Amdirlain a moment to say anything. As soon as she¡¯d finished setting the spells, she asked, ¡°How did you ash the book? It was in Baln¨¦rith¡¯s quarters.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about a book being turned to ash,¡± objected Amdirlain sincerely. Ebusuku shook her head at Amdirlain¡¯s protest, the disbelief in her thoughts openly shared. ¡°We¡¯ve been gathering information, so don¡¯t give me that. Discoveries paint a curious picture; your True Name was glowing when the book turned to ash. She built the book to bind her precious L¨®m? and Demons to her. It contained enchantments that should have held for time unending, gone. This a little over eleven planar rotations after your name went in it. Over eighty of the longest-serving among the Sisterhood bailed within instants of each other. Her dignity got crotch punched, screaming for J to be found and Naz¡¯rilca to be brought. I would have paid to see her kill the messenger who broke the news Naz¡¯rilca is Planar locked. ¡®Excuse me, Lady Bitchiness, but you¡¯ll have to visit her yourself¡¯. Not to mention ¨´eqr?kas going boom, wasting all the effort and bribes spent trying to regain control. Multiple hits to her dignity in the same cycle; it has my grandmother in a splendid mood.¡± Eighty? Did not all gather, or did they destroy some of those believed to have fled? Or were the fifty-seven the survivors? ¡°Are we still playing the game where you want to learn all my secrets?¡± asked Amdirlain, wanting to change the topic. Ebusuku¡¯s mind showed energy signatures shimmering through tent walls and weird pulsing thermal images, yet Amdirlain was a complete void. ¡°You don¡¯t have any Abyssal Heat. I¡¯d ask if you Ascended, but you should still show energy.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t an answer,¡± declared Amdirlain firmly. ¡°Why did you send me a message if we¡¯re going to play guessing games?¡± Amdirlain just shook her head. ¡°That isn¡¯t an answer either.¡± Ebusuku glared intently at Amdirlain before she broke into a pleased smile. ¡°Fine, we¡¯re still playing.¡± ¡°L¨ºdhins Ascended, he¡¯s now a Demon Lord,¡± declared Amdirlain, and Ebusuku¡¯s eyes hardened at his name. ¡°I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s still using the same name, but his banner is a war mattock with streams of blood coming from it. Also, I¡¯ve learnt he is likely levelling new classes again since it would have combined the old ones into his new state.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I tried for years afterwards to scry him. How did you find this out?¡± Amdirlain shrugged and used a kernel of truth. ¡°It seems his protections aren¡¯t in place any longer. I used some old blood you sprayed across the wall in Giza. He was on a battlefield with a bunch of other Br¨ªn following him. He had a lightning aura dancing over his skin; aura and skin were both a shade of red.¡± Ebusuku chewed her bottom lip as her thoughts raced, weighing up risks and kept coming back to more information. ¡°Can you scry him again?¡± ¡°Would you prefer the blood from the wall?¡± Amdirlain asked. The moment the words left Amdirlain¡¯s lips, Ebusuku¡¯s hand snapped out, and she clicked her fingers impatiently. ¡°Even better, give it to me.¡± Amdirlain dropped some of the dried blood in Ebusuku¡¯s hand, and an image appeared between them. L¨ºdhins himself looked the same as last she¡¯d scried him. He was on another battlefield with no Br¨ªn about him. Torrents of lightning cascaded away as bright as plasma burning the air. Demons wearing various insignia fell in scores as others tried to flee, only to be slowed by the massed forces behind them. He¡¯s putting fucking grinding boots on. I need to find hordes to start killing. Ebusuku cut off the spell, her mind racing, and Amdirlain felt her regret as she hit upon an option. She¡¯s got enough favour in Hell to become an Arch-Devil? ¡°I thought you were a Demon, not a Devil,¡± Amdirlain blurted out Ebusuku shot her a dangerous look, and thoughts blazed with suspicion of how Amdirlain could know. Checking her mental wards, Ebusuku replied to the remark. ¡°Succubi can journey between Hell and the Abyss, remember.¡± ¡°Do you want to be in either?¡± The laughter that erupted from Ebusuku carried shards of bitterness and frustration, and when she calmed, she looked at Amdirlain with unexpected sympathy. ¡°Little fledgling, I was born here. Everything I¡¯ve done to stay out of Hell or the Abyss has resulted in me right back in either¡¯s webs.¡± ¡°You hate being here; just leave,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t bind yourself to Asmodeus to get enough power to level the playing field with L¨ºdhins.¡± ¡°I told you I¡¯d see him punished for what he did,¡± Ebusuku growled, biting off every word. ¡°Not at the cost of your hope to get free, no way. There is a redemption path here; would you ever get free from that sort of deal with Hell?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Fallen, Mayhem, or whatever your name is,¡± Ebusuku rebutted. ¡°I¡¯m a born Succubi. We don¡¯t get their chance at freedom from this place. Should I ask how you¡¯re in my mind when I can¡¯t feel you there? There is no other way to know I was considering a deal with Hell.¡± Amdirlain kept herself serene even as she wanted to grimace. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I wasn¡¯t sure if I could trust anyone here.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t, so that¡¯s sensible,¡± Ebusuku said. ¡°Tell me how you¡¯re in my mind. I won¡¯t take offence or attack you, but I¡¯d like to know the weakness in my defences. What sort of Demon are you, giving an apology?¡± Amdirlain considered refusing only for a moment despite the truth showing in her mind. ¡°I learnt to be a Psion from the Githz¨¦rai. Your mind shows you¡¯re trustworthy, at least for those you don¡¯t despise. You couldn¡¯t give such trust to Farhad unless there is something inside you that is worth trusting. So I¡¯ll ask you a question: do you want out of here?¡± ¡°What would that cost me?¡± asked Ebusuku suspiciously. ¡°Let¡¯s talk in the Elemental Plane of Earth or another. It¡¯s not a safe conversation for anywhere in the Abyss.¡± ¡°The Plane of Fire then, we¡¯re both immune, if you¡¯ve not lost that somehow,¡± said Ebusuku, her mind having raced through countless options in seconds. ¡°Should I open a Gate from here?¡± asked Amdirlain even as she hoped she wasn¡¯t making a mistake. Ebusuku considered her momentarily before she motioned her to go ahead. ¡°It¡¯s your turn, but a Gate will need to be outside the boundary marker.¡± ¡°I know,¡± replied Amdirlain, even as she moved to set it up. The Plane beyond was a boundless inferno; the very sight of it clawed ineffectively at her living memory, insisting she needed to flee. Ebusuku stepped through without hesitation, and Amdirlain followed, letting the Gate seal behind her. Waves of the inferno swirled around them, but they floated unaffected in its midst. The Plane¡¯s utter lack of gravity had them just hovering with no sense of direction. ¡°If it can get you free from being a Succubus, would you swear service to me?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s laughter wasn¡¯t unexpected, but it cut off when she grew into her Fallen form. The inferno shone off her feather¡¯s golden cores, even as the reds and black mingled with the fires. ¡°This shouldn¡¯t be possible. You were a young Succubus. I felt the Abyssal Heat in you. How are you now a Fallen?¡± Amdirlain ignored the question and motioned for her to stop. ¡°Would you swear service to me? It will give you a chance to get free of both. Though I warn you, I don¡¯t know how remote the chance will be.¡± ¡°Who are you? None of the names you¡¯ve given out in the past. I¡¯ll not swear to someone whose name I don¡¯t know, but you¡¯re an impossibility, so maybe there is some hope what you¡¯re promising isn¡¯t a lie.¡± Her choice of words made Amdirlain blink in surprise, and she nodded to Ebusuku respectfully. ¡°Hope, that wasn¡¯t something I thought you¡¯d believe in, Ebusuku.¡± ¡°I¡¯d thought I¡¯d lost him, and you reunited us. That gives you a lot of leeway. But know upfront, betray me, and I¡¯ll bring you down,¡± Ebusuku declared, words burning with her fierceness. ¡°My name is Amdirlain. Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings.¡± Amdirlain stated having switched from Abyssal to High Elven. The words were no less difficult to say¡ªany title was still alien to her mindset¡ªbut she wouldn¡¯t sully it with Abyssal. Ebusuku exhaled as she shivered as if the words twitched through her bones before she gave a smile. ¡°Why would you accept service from a Succubus?¡± ¡°You were born a Succubus. It wasn¡¯t your choices that set you in place. Your parentage determined that. So I ask you, would you like a chance? Would you like that hope?¡± asked Amdirlain, keeping her focus on Ebusuku¡¯s intensity in killing Demons and contempt for the Abyss. ¡°You don¡¯t have any silly rules about being celibate, do you?¡± Ebusuku enquired, her attempt at playfulness strained. ¡°That would be a non-starter.¡± Amdirlain groaned and covered her face for a moment as she regained her composure, though her voice still rang with suppressed amusement when she spoke. ¡°No, you and Farhad can keep breaking your place to your heart¡¯s desire. You won¡¯t need to come into the Abyss. I have lots that I need help with outside it. If nothing else, more advice I can trust will always be welcome. I don¡¯t give orders, but I¡¯ve got a long list you can choose things from to do.¡± ¡°Why does Farhad keep your secrets?¡± questioned Ebusuku. ¡°You¡¯d have to ask him, but maybe it¡¯s because of this.¡± Amdirlain let Ki glow through her skin, and Ebusuku looked at the golden light that shone cleanly even amid the churning flames. ¡°You¡¯re an Anar! The bitch put your name into a book enchanted to bind night Souls and entities of darkness! I Ebusuku, granddaughter of Naamah, the daughter of Lilith, swear my service to Amdirlain for as long as she keeps the promises given me this day.¡± With no prompt making an appearance, Amdirlain went with the flow. ¡°I, Amdirlain, accept your Oath for as long as you remain true to my trust.¡± [Oath Acceptance Option:
  • Accept sworn entity and keep in current species
  • Accept and Promote - condensed memories*
  • Accept and Promote - full memories**
Current promotion capacity: 4 Note: Sworn entity¡¯s age will require three capacity slots for promotion. Regardless of the outcome, a promotion attempt will consume this capacity. Challenge survival required for this promotion (Calculated difficulty adjusted by species): *High **Extreme Warning: Breach of Oath¡¯s conditions on your part will release the entity from service with no Faith restored. Such an event will also lower Faithful¡¯s morale on all worlds for one local solar cycle. ] Amdirlain considered the options before she locked eyes with Ebusuku. ¡°There are some choices, and I feel they should be yours, not mine.¡± ¡°Tell me then,¡± Ebusuku said, motioning for Amdirlain to share. Amdirlain mentally relayed the notification she saw and felt Ebusuku¡¯s awareness twitch in surprise. It didn¡¯t take a moment to start growling her reply, though her words unexpectedly softened partway through. ¡°My memories are mine, but that ¡®keep¡¯ feels permanent to me. If you think a promotion will change me from a Succubus, would you please take the chance for me? Tell Farhad it was my choice and that I realised I loved him. I took this chance for us; I hope when I get done, you¡¯ll let me accept his request for marriage.¡± Amdirlain moved forward impulsively and blurred into her Wood Elf form to be of a height to hug Ebusuku. ¡°Of course I will. I Promote you with full memories.¡± [Faith: -3] Ebusuku didn¡¯t change but vanished from her arms. Panic raced through Amdirlain and then froze at the notification that came. [Promotion challenge starting:- Status: Pending. Note: Only one entity may undertake a promotion challenge at a time. Warning: Administrator notified; exception scenario detected.] [Achievement: Dream an Impossible Dream. Condition: Promote an entity from one Planar polarity directly to an opposing one. Note: Really?! What did you just do?! Any other stray kittens you want to find a bloody home for? Reward: Tier 6 High Priest Prestige options unlocked for Faithful. ] Amdirlain mentally reviewed the notification repeatedly before she tossed her head back with laughter; when she calmed down, she eventually replied aloud. ¡°Guess it¡¯s one way to become a crazy cat lady.¡± * * * Another Gate settled her in the Outlands, hidden away on the riverbank in her Domain. Amdirlain settled into her mindscape and quickly contacted Laodice. ¡°Can you tell me anything about promotion challenges?¡± Laodice met her abrupt question with silence, and as Amdirlain went to beg, she responded. ¡°Your question is unexpected. I¡¯m not always watching what you do. What are promotion challenges? What have you been doing?¡± ¡°I accepted an Oath of service from Ebusuku and gave her the promotion option to keep her memories,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°What type of servants do you have, Amdirlain?¡± asked Laodice. Amdirlain felt the word stick but forced it out. ¡°Angels.¡± ¡°Oh, Father!¡± exclaimed Laodice. ¡°What you call a promotion challenge, I know of simply as ¡®The Trials¡¯. They take place in the Maze levels that sit beneath the Forge. There are always exits, but they require a sacrifice, a price, or a risk. Her choices will determine her fate, and there isn¡¯t anything you can do but wait. From what I know of your experiences, your Soul transitioned through a level of the Maze.¡± ¡°So it could be years before she gets free?¡± ¡°Father won¡¯t distort time the way he did for you, but it could be hours, weeks or never. You¡¯ll know when she gets out or if she¡¯s destroyed. Don¡¯t get your hopes up; failing the challenge will mean her destruction. Once entered, the Maze is her Home Plane for the challenge¡¯s duration.¡± ¡°No, what have I done?¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°Have faith in your choices, Amdirlain.¡± Laodice consoled. 123 - Closer Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze Blades dig and slither under my skin, crawling up my legs without a wound visible. Only when the pain reaches my knees do I remember it. The cold that I¡¯d long ago grown immune to is eating me. The rough stone beneath my feet digs into flesh and, without drawing blood, drinks heat away. Air that tastes foul resounds with another thud, but I recognise the metallic sound of a smith working at an anvil. The sound¡¯s effect is another sign of things being very wrong. As the darkness clings to me, the sound vibrating across stones reveals nothing. Tremor Sense had aided me since I¡¯d dug my way from a collapsed tunnel at less than a century¡¯s age, and someone had gouged out those extra eyes. Whatever had brought me here has blinded my other eyes. All I have is a narrow view ahead; the changes when I shift direction are weird. Every balance shift digs into my feet, even as my turns reveal more of the passageway in which I stand. I was at a crossroads with no apparent difference in the stonework indicating what may lay ahead. I brush fingers along my scalp and pause when my touch doesn¡¯t encounter horns, and flexing my back brings no motion of wings. At a flicker of motion, I spin and will a knife out. Options raced through my mind, but my limbs struggled to shift position as if held in mud. The flicker is but a trick of the changing light. My hand remains empty, and it¡¯s clear I¡¯m not in my Demonic flesh. A pulse thuds in my neck, and need has me draw another breath to deal with the racing in my chest. The foul taste grows stronger as I try to call my sabre from its sheath. One after another, each weapon fails to materialise: punch daggers, throwing knives, short swords, sabres, even the bows that I so rarely use. The hide of my belt flexes as I unstrap it; the heavy buckle releases easily, and I take care with its leading edge. I go to set it down; paranoia has me flinch back and keep hold instead. So much unknown makes me cautious about releasing anything here; looping it across my shoulders, I undo the first harness from each thigh. Threading the first strap along the belt, I lock it in place and extend it with the second. The air buzzes when I spin it, the large belt buckle leading the way. Makeshift weapon ready, I choose a direction. The hammer¡¯s beat pulses through my feet as I step. If there were any serious foes, it was already a challenge with no weapons and a body that¡¯s mortally slow. A thing within growls and rumbles up my chest. Freezing in disbelief, I hear¡ªand feel¡ªanother hunger pang. Food wasn¡¯t something I¡¯d ever considered, and right now, hunger calls its importance. I¡¯d only sensed it from reading the thoughts of the rare mortals I dealt with, now it was inside me. The exit won¡¯t find me, so I start forward. My mind¡¯s speed and learned motions turn a plodding gait into a silent glide. A spell to light the way shines in my mind, and instead of filling with Mana, it remains empty. At least I still have my brain¡¯s quickness and skills, even if my body is mind-numbingly slow. Hammering sounds, my sight a joke, dim light that I can¡¯t just see through, no spells, a makeshift weapon, and starvation a possibility. Flesh slapping against stone from somewhere ahead sounds in the brief silence between anvil strikes. Something large is in here, and my sight is adjusting with glacial speed. A challenge of extreme difficulty indeed. Dim light shows a mass of yellowish-green flesh coming to meet me. The stone club swings forward, slower than my movements. Crouching, I see the club angle to follow my motions, as I work to adjust to the speed of flesh¡ªthe fight¡¯s first steps a dance in slow motion. The Ogre¡¯s leer widens as I slip close, his swing is too high with me now inside its arc. In time to my belt going slack, the yellow-eyed gaze went wide, and the black buckle now glistens in the dim light. It falls away in time to the copper spray from beneath the beast¡¯s loincloth. My turn echoes Amdirlain¡¯s dance, my spin pulling the buckle along, adding momentum to the next strike. The sharp edge slides across the Ogre¡¯s throat, and copper deadens the foul stench. Stone rakes across flesh when I drop and roll beneath its backhand. Flat on my stomach, I lash out again. But the cut across the forearm misses the tendons. He lifts his foot, his gaze focused on my position, and I tumble across the stone, ignoring it pressing into me. Rising, my flesh grumbles that someone¡¯s had fun with me as their whipping bitch, but I stay intent on the lumbering Ogre. The cut on its neck is dripping blood rather than an arterial spray. A steady stream from its groin is far more promising, the ground becoming slick as it shines in the dim light. Moving in, I aim to loop the belt¡¯s end around his foot and throw myself sideways and forward in the same motion. The belt¡¯s hide digs into my fingers, yanking it free as I come up and hammer a foot into the side of his back knee. The pop slaps the air; its mass going to work. Rock rasps against my skin again as a roll takes me clear and, gaining my feet, I turn, ready to fight. My makeshift weapon lays at the edge of the pooling blood, fortunately still here. The Ogre was thrashing in pain, bones jutting from his thigh and knee, his simple mind focused only on his current agony. I risk snatching it from within his reach and shift my grip as I spin about. His arse on the ground puts the artery easily within reach. Knuckles braced on the inside of the buckle, I step into the mess and punch. The hot spray soaks me before I get clear of a fumbling hand and settle in to watch the Ogre die. Dark fluid pulsing between fingers, desperately grasping at his own neck. The death spasms cause the air to reek worse as the corpse vents, the familiar surge of energy from his death as diluted as always by my levels. Only after his efforts to stay alive have long ended do I move forward again. I already knew what I wanted; a short sword on one hip balances the sack tied to the other. The blade is the length of my forearm, and I quickly claim it and the bag and get clear of the growing mess. The sack from its hip¡ªnot the one under the loincloth¡ªcontains useful items: a nearly empty skin, a sling¡ªtoo small for him¡ªstones, and a freshly pulped fruit mess. Sweetness mingles with the thick coppery scent, but I bite into it anyway. The memory of Ogre¡¯s blood fermented with rage sliding across my tongue hits me as I gag down the awful taste. Between one bite and the next, a spike of pain rips through my guts and twists hard. One moment there is pain, and the next, I¡¯m spraying the ground with vomit¡ªa new and unpleasant experience, despite not tasting poison. Acidic bile almost blocks the copper scent, and gagging, I stagger back further from the body. The foul air just tasted worse and worse as I moved away and uncorked the skin to sniff. The scent is oddly clean water, and a sip doesn¡¯t invoke any sensation associated with poisons. Hoping that Skill is intact, I take a mouthful to see if it will settle the strange sensations in my stomach. The wetness gets rid of some of the foulness and, not threatening a return, I carry the skin with me. I set off, my path unchanged, though the Ogre had come from this direction. My skin is stinging strangely from rolling across rough stone, but I ignore it as I sort things out. Quickly taking apart my makeshift weapon, I restore the belt and harnesses in position before securing the sheath in place. The sack remains held in my off-hand so I can discard it quickly. * * * Aggie¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls (Material Plane) The guard held out a supportive arm as Aggie staggered in the gateway, swaying unsteadily as a reed in the wild wind. Her gaze was distant and strange as the guard stepped closer and others watched on in concern. To the large Norse warrior, the tiny Grecian priestess was a regular sight in Eyrarh¨¢ls. Her suddenly befuddled state drew a concerned look, and his voice lowered. ¡°Priestess Aggie.¡± The guard¡¯s concern was unheard as Aggie beheld a garden of statues, those she¡¯d rejected previously flowed away from her as new ones shimmered into existence. None of them resembled her, but then, none she¡¯d ever seen had. Like those now further away, they held a promise of transformation, a guide for her travels. Some she dismissed at once, having no desire to travel dark roads inflicting suffering onto those who hurt others or act as a hidden knife for freedom. Stepping towards an unarmoured figure, the ones wearing leathers and metal armour slide back from the centre. There were more options than she¡¯d expected, and when she stepped towards the first, it was clear why. The sense of the statue wasn¡¯t combining two classes, but all three she¡¯d worked on developing since the Goddess had rescued her. A High Priest Class formed by Priest, Wizard, and Monk. It spoke of an isolated life¡ªa hermit¡ªguiding only those determined enough to seek her out. The next combined the same classes, yet its focus matched the enjoyment she¡¯d found on travelling the road. Not leading a community but moving between them to help those in need, power to help and guide in Amdirlain¡¯s name. A discipline and drive to spread her Lady¡¯s word, always seeking to find the next Soul that she could bring Faith, knowledge and will to aid. The strength left behind her if it continued to flourish, would assist her in growing stronger in Amdirlain¡¯s service. Other figures still stood close, and she stepped between each. A Class that combined only Priest and Monk but gave stronger gains in both. Another offers the primary focus of Wizard, using its power while Priest and Monk played secondary roles¡ªyet it was tempting her with power for herself. After all that Amdirlain had done for her¡ªincluding this potential path¡ªconsidering an option that would benefit mainly herself unsettled her. Without her, the wonders of magic and the serenity of the Monk¡¯s path would be unknown. Aggie checked each of them with that in mind and found them lacking in proper focus on Lady Amdirlain, and she came back to that second statue. It was a timeless place, and she hesitated, knowing that there were higher tiers available from her Lady. It was a fleeting consideration given all those in need. Her time in Artemis¡¯ church had shown her the effect of an established church. The knowledge that someone had achieved something allowed those following to aspire to the same or greater service. Her hand clasped around one held out by the statue, and she felt the potential of it flow into her, all her classes merging into one in a rush. The vision didn¡¯t end, but all statues vanished before more formed from the ground. Three she knew immediately without approaching them, echoing the knowledge already within her. Priest, Wizard, or Monk, but there were other options besides them. Opportunities completely new waited for her to explore, fight, seek, or steal away others¡¯ possessions. Scout, Ranger, Fighter, Thief-Taker, or Thief. None of them appealed, though she¡¯d fulfilled the requirements for them, plus many others now. A dark figure cloaked in the shadow of a tree spoke of teaching violent lessons to those inflicting cruelty on others, and she moved past the Assassin figure. Some classes had her snarling in barely suppressed rage at being offered them¡ªas she turned on them, they vanished. In the end, she found options she wanted to go with her Prestige Class of High Traveller: Sora Master, Herald of the Divine, and Arcane Paragon. ¡°Are you alright, Priestess?¡± The concern in a stranger¡¯s voice startled her into blinking as Aggie noticed the world around her again. Broad hands cupped her arms as if he¡¯s been holding her in place without gripping tight; she was leaned to one side. ¡°I am, thank you, just a momentary vision,¡± Aggie replied. His hands fell away slowly but stayed poised close until she blinked her eyes clearer. ¡°You¡¯re still dusty from the road. When is the last time you ate, Priestess?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a vision from lack of eating,¡± Aggie insisted, the guard¡¯s hands hurriedly lowering at her tone had her motioning soothingly. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, but again, thank you.¡± * * * Amdirlain''s PoV Outlands The notifications pushed Amdirlain out of her mind palace, and she sat enjoying the feel of the river¡¯s flow washing across her feet as she considered it. [Achievement: Moving on up! Condition: Gain a second High Priest (Aggie has selected the Tier 6 Prestige Class: High Traveller)
  • High Priest variation focused on spreading their Power¡¯s Faith far and wide.
  • Base Class selections made: Sora Master, Herald of the Divine, and Arcane Paragon.
Reward: Faith +5 The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Additional Condition: High Priest has achieved a High Priest Class of a Tier higher than previous followers. Reward: Faith +10 Reward to be selected:
  • Promote one Petitioner to Outsider
  • Evolve the Species of one Outsider that has agreed to your Servant¡¯s Oath. ]
[Arcane Paragon: This Class is for those seeking to deepen their understanding of Mana and Spells. Pursuit of it enables one to gain increasing ability to combine or substitute energies through Spell Forms designed to carry other Mana types. For these individuals, affinities aren¡¯t the beginning and end; rather, Mana becomes a pure expression of energy. This Wizard base class is only available after combining Wizard into a Prestige Class and having all Affinities.] Oh, she opted for that Wizard Class. I do wonder how I could do it straight away. Benefits of an otherworldly education. [Herald of the Divine: This Priest base class is for those looking to spread their Power¡¯s teachings among new communities. The continued popularity of shrines, sanctuaries, and other sites they¡¯ve dedicated to their Power¡¯s faith, provide ongoing experience. Besides standard combat experience, they progress from those accomplishments. A Herald needs to ensure the sites they establish continue to flourish, as initially, they provide only a small degree of their potential. This Class is only available after combining Priest into a High Priest Prestige Class and establishing a new temple.] The prompt of Aggie¡¯s progress nudged Amdirlain to push herself to her feet. Concealed from sight by glamours, she changed to the Succubus form, and Planar Shift wrapped around her to deliver her right to Jinamizi. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](12->13)] It was an ignored notification as the cold red sun reflected off pools of black Demonic blood around her. The oily ponds soaked the ground around body parts as the combatant¡¯s movements splashed the blood about. Overhead, the vulturous Vrocks, Succubi and other fliers battled for the skies as spells burst around them. Amid the chaos of the battlefield, a flanged mace blindly raced towards her. The flames from the Narauk harmlessly brushed her even as he turned hard into its swing; his motion added to the blow¡¯s brutal force. Amdirlain dropped flat beneath the strike that shattered an uplifted shield behind her and carried through a line of Demons in one motion. Armour, weapons, and body parts blasted outwards by the impact struck down those in their path. Angelic Aura wrapped her in flames that mingled with the Ki Aura¡¯s whiteness. Around her, a battle raged in full fury, screams of triumph and dying alike. A wavefront of bloodlust rolled across the Narauk and Demons nearby, and the massive Demon glared down at her before it screamed in pain. Destruction Mana burst outwards, air ripped apart with a screaming noise, the eruption flayed the Narauk and slaughtered the Demons. Equipment and flesh alike became ash that settled to coat black pools. Maybe I should stick to using a Portal or Gate. A push with Ki Movement sent her hurtling towards the edge of the cleared space. Her mind felt the foulness in those around her, and her flesh transformed. Inspired by a road compactor, Protean drew on the absorbed mass of the Kithangian corpses. Flesh shifted into a ten-meter spiked cylinder that rolled over the foes ahead. Tons of metal crushed those that spikes didn¡¯t rip apart first; her momentum unchecked as Ki Movement continued to push faster. Tendrils lashed out from the rolling cylinder¡¯s end. Points drove outwards to lance through foes. Blasts of Spatial Mana and Psi energy alike tore enemies to pieces. Tremor Sense alerted her to a giant form¡¯s sudden arrival. [Name: Usongo Species: Balor Class: Juggernaut / Knight / Commander Level: 16 / 68 / 68 / 30 Health: 21,014 Defence: 779 Magic: 412 Mana: 8,192 Melee Attack Power: 944 Combat Skills: Bite [M] (2), Claws [M] (6), Great Sword [M] (45), Whip [M] (51) - Various Innate Powers and Spell Forms. Details: Usongo is the current commander of one of Lady ?lu?gcol¡¯s smaller armies as a trial to see if he is ready for greater responsibilities. A native of the city Zelatar, his Home Plane is still Azzagrat, but he¡¯s not been back to that region since swearing to Lady ?lu?gcol¡¯s service. Having left Graz¡¯zt¡¯s service after taking a better opportunity with Lady ?lu?gcol, he will need to travel that Lord¡¯s Planes with care. ] The Balor moved to intercept her, but suddenly found himself surrounded by enemies and attacked. His whip dragged soldiers into the blazing aura that covered him. A swing of his massive vorpal blade cleaved his assistant in two. Every call for attention from his troops sounded to him like enemy battle cries, and their armour gained new insignia¡ªAmdirlain¡¯s will and Telepathy created confusion within his mind. He smashed those around him using spells and his weapon to butcher any he could reach. His might turned unknowingly against his own troops and others besides. Amdirlain kept her mental link to Usongo and provoked him into continued violence. Tempted to kill him, she instead left him to sow confusion behind and focused ahead. Crushed bodies left in her wake, the soil overran with blood and viscera unheeded by Amdirlain in her race through the battlefield. Amdirlain¡¯s oncoming advance was chaos that went unnoticed by others on the battlefield until it confronted them. The packed battlefield meant those without Flight or Teleport had nowhere to escape, even if her Psi fields hadn¡¯t slowed them. The nine-way grand melee as factions fought over a prize already being destroyed. Her bloody path raced around a city¡¯s edge, crashed through the massed troops and took her through an archway. Ruined wards showed only fragments of Mana left in them, the supporting Wizard and Artificer runes cracked and overloaded from the competing forces¡¯ attack. Through the gate, Amdirlain found herself on a city street. Broken buildings slumped inward, blasted apart as looters ransacked them. Wagons and more foes alike were crushed under her momentum as Protean absorbed more mass into her form. Spells of all sorts chewed against the Angelic Aura, but those that broke through merely gave Energy Drain something to heal. A multistorey building crashed down to barricade the street. The twenty-storeys sent a spray of dust and debris across those it hadn¡¯t crushed in its fall. Flight threw her skywards, and metal changed into flesh¡ªher Succubus form restored. A Vrock opened its mouth and screamed at her ascending form. Angelic Aura shed the sonic barrage, and her arm became a blade that opened it from the crotch to neck. The rest joined its fall, its flock moving to flee too late. Javelins cast in her direction missed completely as an attraction point created by her Psychoportation pulled them off course. A rune-crusted spear showing Mortal enchantments drove forward, and flesh parted before its blazing power. The Vrock¡¯s eyes widened in disbelief at the smile it received. Its lunge had been unresisted as the perfect bloodless circle had appeared in her torso. Now her flesh clamped back around the haft still extended. Power blazed as she cut its hands away, and the spear vanished into Inventory. Its vulture head spun away before a tendril from her shoulder completed its bladed swing. Feathered wings folded and unsupported, the rest of its body plunged straight down. The plunging body bounced off a Succubus who recovered and glanced up in time to receive a spinning drill arm through her brain. Amdirlain fell with the Succubus¡¯ corpse and teleported¡ªher momentum retained¡ª as she plunged silently hundreds of meters above the still frenzied Balor. Her descent ended with her arm bursting through its jaw. The Destruction Mana she¡¯d pulled into Ki Infusion burst him apart even as the spell unleashed into flesh. Protean protested at the tons of mass she tried to consume, so Amdirlain took what she could. His weapons fell from lifeless hands and his upper body vanished. Wings fluttered to the ground, landing splayed around his slumped remains. A blood-soaked Succubus landed to the disbelief of the troops who¡¯d turned at the sudden silence. Tendrils reached to snatch up the wings and disappeared a moment before the Lightning Storm struck. The air shuddered as pure Order rained across the battling foes. Air ruptured through their bodies as the Mana turned molecules into crystalline blades. Perfect monofilament edges descended through their bodies, and the converted matter carried energy in opposition to their essence. Corruption became ordered into prisms of reality and shattered apart across the blood-soaked ground¡ªthe devastation spread out across the combatants. Precognition¡¯s warning shone through her, and Amdirlain instantly teleported away. A moment after she vanished, Demon Lady ?lu?gcol appeared in the circle of death. Bolts of the storm Amdirlain left behind stopped body lengths overhead, and a glance shattered the storm. Her glare took in the shredded remains of troops nearby. The haze of energy that roiled off her melted corpses and those lesser Demons ¡®fortunate¡¯ enough to still be alive, holding their minds aware right up to the point of destruction. Her batlike wings flared outwards as the Lady of Unclean Lusts, Dark Desires, and Pain took control. Minimal clothing accented pale ivory skin that highlighted veins within the flesh that shone with inner energy. Black tresses pulled back from her sharp features fluttered between wings; their tips brushed the backs of her thighs. Cold baby-blue eyes scanned across those still standing, and a dismissive flick of her spiked tail unleashed a spell that ripped apart scores not wearing her insignia. ¡°Where is my commander?¡± Her gaze locked on a Narauk looming among the survivors, and he could only point to the legs melting on the ground nearby. Amdirlain¡¯s teleport had set her at the hiring camp¡¯s edge, and she stepped into the Portal¡¯s field, willing it to carry her away. Once on the barren Plane, she moved out of the line of sight to consider the combat notification from the butchery she¡¯d unleashed. [Combat Summary: Lesser Babau x2482 Babau x128 Greater Babau x1 Balor x 1 Lesser Br¨ªn x 4,230 Br¨ªn x234 Least Dretch x3542 Lesser Dretch x346 Dretch x81 Lesser Hymadan x465 Hymadan x23 Narauk x2 Succubus x1 Lesser Vrock x8 Vrock x12 Greater Vrock x1 Total Experience gained: 24,888,588 Fallen: +4,977,717 Fallen Levelled Up! x5 Scion: +4,977,717 Scion Levelled Up! x5 Sora Master: +4,977,717 Sora Master Levelled Up! x5 Psion: 4,977,717 Psion Levelled Up! x5 Warrior Monk: +4,977,717 Warrior Monk Leveled Up! x5 Resistance: Abyssal [L](7->12) Resistance: Acid [I] (61->62) Resistance: Air (2->8) Resistance: Electricity (20->26) Angelic Aura [J](32->35) Death Strike [M](12->13) Ki Movement [Ad](41->44) Mana Critical (11) -> [B] (13) Protean [M](25->27) Clairsentience [Ad](4->5) Psychoportation [J](34->36) Telekinesis [J](26->28) ] ¡°Not exactly pushing up a lot of skills that way,¡± Amdirlain grumbled as she considered Protean¡¯s state. The Power¡¯s net stretched to the brink of bursting made her skin itch with discomfort. Converted mass sprayed to the ground, and the itch immediately faded. ¡°Ahh, much better.¡± She checked through her notifications and found the one for Usongo¡¯s death. [Ki Strike, Armour Breach Success: 1,372 Damage - Critical attack. Energy Drain 2,096 - Willpower Critical Success Ki Infusion, Armour already breached: 1,123 Ki Infusion, Mana - Destruction: 3,369 Fire Lance (Destruction): 2,096 Death Strike Multiplier for Physical Damage x8 Death Strike Multiplier for non-Physical Damage x6 Total Damage: 63,080 = (1,372 x8) + ((2,096 + 1,123 + 3,369 + 2,096) x 6) Death Strike [M](12->13)] * * * Eivor¡¯s PoV - Memphis (Material Plane) A sound in the bedroom ahead caught Eivor¡¯s attention as she returned from the infirmary. The strings softened for the children, Moke¡¯s lilting melody ended, and he received a protest. ¡°One more, please.¡± Ipy¡¯s soft request sounded so sleepy she doubted he¡¯d last it out, but Eivor stopped by the door to listen. Moke¡¯s soft chuckle was all the guidance she needed to know the plea had hit home. ¡°Another, but you¡¯ve already had three, youngster.¡± She moved to push the door open but froze at the request that came. ¡°One about my daddy.¡± ¡°Which one would you like? How about when he saved the princess from the manticore?¡± Moke¡¯s question was soft, but she caught the pain he¡¯d hid far longer than she¡¯d known. It wasn¡¯t until Ipy was born that she realised how much he hid behind his exterior. The days when grief and emotions wanted to break her, and he¡¯d helped her find the will to carry on. ¡°Mother¡¯s not a princess, and she told me daddy saved her with that arrow.¡± Ipy¡¯s sleepy argument draws a smile from Eivor. ¡°He saved her, and the ladies in your life should always be treated like your princess or queen.¡± ¡°Does that mean Julia¡¯s a princess?¡± mumbled Ipy, his sleepy words coming around a yawn. ¡°Most certainly,¡± Moke said, his tone far too pleased. ¡°How is Julia my half-sister? She looks whole and not missing any limbs. She just makes weird sounds, cries, and farts. Is she missing a brain? Does someone need a brain?¡± The sleepy ramble tumbled from Ipy, and Eivor had to hold back the laughter. ¡°What tale did you want?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, any tale, so I can learn about him,¡± huffed Ipy. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure you never forget,¡± reassured Moke. ¡°He gave his life to save us.¡± Ipy¡¯s broken form danced within memory, the Maedar¡¯s snarl blending with the hissing of the Medusa¡¯s snakes. Biting back the pain, she moved away, walking the corridor as if strewn with the autumn leaves he¡¯d used to teach her to step silently. Her hand clasped in his to keep her pace steady and low. Her drifting speed washed against the lead weight in her stomach as Moke started the tune. The absence of any noise from Julia is a relief as Ipy¡¯s entertainment continues. 124 - Nightwish Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze The dead Ogre is several long corridors away before my eyesight stops making progress adjusting to this place. The grey roughness of the floor is unsurprising, but the grey walls aren¡¯t bleak. Veins of metals swirl in the stone, showing me pictures at every turn. The amount of detail is unsurprising given who likely created this maze. Their choice of subject is something different. Repeatedly the walls show Titan¡¯s Sigil, an image of a complex maze descending into a flat surface. Next to the latest Sigil, the metal lines show Farhad rising in a spin from the ground in a chamber I recognise. The chaos-chewed furnishing of the Efreeti Lord, his body sprawled with a cratered wound having opened his head. The perspective shows his private rooms from my eyes just after a spell had struck. My little kill-thief had already sprung well clear of its impact point. The crossed spears on the walls evoke memories of our first fight. I¡¯d sought to draw out killing him, only for us to end up fighting together to get free of that Lord¡¯s palace in the City of Brass. A wave of guards surging into the room had died at my hand, and he realised I wasn¡¯t the deceased Lord¡¯s vengeful security. The deadly grace had already enticed me to learn more. We¡¯d escaped the palace together, having fought clear of the wards and guards. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d change a thing other than ensuring I savoured our time together more. The cool metal in the walls is perfectly smooth to the touch as I trace the lines of his face. A hammer beat pulses over me, and as it fades, I hear a high thin scream. Even without Tremor Sense, I can tell its direction amid the snake nest of passages around me. The noise sounds panicked and desperate. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s a trap, but it might be a chance at information if nothing else. The screams continue through twists and turns until the passage finally hints at the first chamber I¡¯ve seen. In its centre are six smashed fruit trees around a broken fountain. Despite the darkness, the trees would have been tall enough to brush the ceiling some 7 meters overhead. Past the debris, two Ogres stand to the left of a third elbow-deep in a hole near the wall¡¯s base. A few metres to the trio¡¯s right is another exit. The piping scream lets loose in a whistling timbre from tiny holes in the walls, only to be drowned out by a hammer¡¯s strike. Rumbling laughter from the Ogres becomes apparent as the sound dies out, their massive noises laced with cruelty. It would be a simple matter to reach the passageway. I slip closer to their position as the hammer¡¯s noise covers my approach. Blade drawn, I wait among the branches, watching them for any intent to leave, and when the hammer strikes again, I rush in. A quick stab sinks the blade deep into an Ogre¡¯s thigh, close to his groin. Stepping past his staggering form, I twist the blade free to open a gaping hole. The surge of familiar energy from Death Strike hums through me. The hammer¡¯s echo is not enough to hide his scream, which draws the others¡¯ gaze. If I still had my speed, they¡¯d already be dead by the time another stab lands¡ªsevering the tendon behind the second¡¯s ankle. I dive among the fallen trees as he tries to take a step. A thick branch shatters under his fall as the third starts to his feet. Rolling past the fountain, I snatch up a rock and¡ªat the echo¡¯s end¡ªI toss it across the chamber. The clattering noise draws his attention, and he charges for it, stomping his way across the fallen trees. Wood pieces spraying with every stomp dosn¡¯t deter me from pursuing. As he steps around the last tree, I plant the blade between the vertebrae below his lowest ribs. The body falls away, a puppet with its strings cut. I don¡¯t go for a killing blow with his last friend who is far from mobile, but moving again. I shift position from one fallen canopy to another as the last foe lumbers towards me from his dead kin. The hobbled Ogre staggering through the tree¡¯s debris isn¡¯t expecting the branch tip I drive into his ball sack as I lunge up from my crouch. Jagged wood crunches hard against bone as the pop of shattered wood reverberates through my hands. In the position he falls, it¡¯s simple to use a splinter from it to open his throat. The last Ogre tries to drag its body around to grab at me, but I slip by and perch on its back to pull the sword free. The metal of it vibrating, he thrashes about, rubbing bone against its edge. Turning on his side, he lashed out, and I throw myself away. Fingers hit my arm but don¡¯t grasp in time, and I dart back in again. Another strike is all I need. Flopped onto his back, the blade sheathed through bone behind his ear reaches whatever he uses for a brain. Once all three are finally dead, I retrieve the blade and move to the hole in the wall. Crouching puts me at eye level with it, letting me see a tiny grotto extending deeper into the wall than I¡¯d expected. Glowing fungi growing around streaks of moisture shows me a girl¡ªwho looks human¡ªpressed tight against its back. Her features are delicate, and her brown hair goes well past her shoulders, covered with dirt. She¡¯s wearing a filthy smock, stretched tight by her knees tucked up inside the grey material, its hem draped over her feet. ¡°How did you get here?¡± The girl frowns at my question, but her voice is shaky when she replies. ¡°I climbed in the hole. How else would I get in here?¡± I¡¯ve never been sure around children, but given that her screams sounded afraid, I hold my tone soft. ¡°This maze, not where you are now.¡± ¡°Why do you want to know?¡± Her question stumbles out with unsteady haste. ¡°Curiosity.¡± My reply just gets a grumpy sniff before her voice steadies its fragile state full of edged shards. ¡°Curiosity killed the cat. I¡¯ve no reason to trust you. Tell me how you got here first.¡± ¡°No reason to trust me? I just killed three Ogres trying to get you.¡± ¡°There were four. One must have wandered off after they killed Nathaniel.¡± Four dead doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t more, so I shift position and set my back against stone where I can see both entries. A strike echoes through the room and I wait for silence before I answer her. ¡°I¡¯ve killed four so far: these three plus one in the corridor.¡± ¡°How do I know you don¡¯t want to kill me yourself?¡± The sharpness has me wondering how many Demons or Devils she¡¯s dealt with to have that attitude. ¡°Child, I¡¯ve no need¡­¡± I cut off and answer her honestly. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot, but I could actually fit into your hiding spot or use a tree branch if I wanted to hurt you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mean!¡± The girl¡¯s protest steadies her voice, but it still sounds fragile. ¡°Towards you, it would be, but life can be mean. How about we start again? My name is Ebusuku; what¡¯s yours?¡± The girl¡¯s hesitation lasts longer than the silence between beats allows, and I have to wait until the second echoes have silenced before she replies. ¡°Nathaniel called me Pip, but I¡¯m sure that isn¡¯t my name. How did you get here?¡± I¡¯ve told so many lies over the years, but right now, I¡¯ve no intention to lie to a child¡ªeven if it could be a deception. ¡°I got offered freedom from a situation I¡¯ve wanted to leave for a long time. How did you get here? How have you survived?¡± ¡°That sounds like a poor offer if it brought you here. I died, I think. There was pain, blackness, and then I was by the trees. The trees¡¯ fruit grows fast, and the fountain¡¯s water stays fresh. So I¡¯ve had plenty to eat and drink.¡± Her brief tale uses up all the time we have, and I settle in, expecting the strange conversation to last many hammer beats. ¡°Will you come out and talk?¡± Pip just narrows her eyes and flips the middle two fingers of one hand at me. ¡°You¡¯ll just betray me like the other strangers. You can leave now.¡± ¡°Strangers?¡± ¡°Those like you and Nathaniel. Your type comes through, and when you leave, I¡¯m left behind.¡± ¡°How did they betray you?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you listen? They left me here! They either died from the monsters, or they went downstairs and didn¡¯t come back. I¡¯m tired of being here. I just want to leave.¡± ¡°Have there been many?¡± ¡°Dozens, hundreds, I don¡¯t know; I stopped bothering to keep count.¡± ¡°Did they all die like Nathaniel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know! Some took the stairs down. I don¡¯t know what happened down there.¡± Her yell isn¡¯t angry but sounds edged with frustration all the same. I hear her fidgeting feet rubbing the cave¡¯s dirt floor. ¡°Is that the way out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been down them, but the top of them is just a wall of white flames when the hammer is busy.¡± ¡°You seem to know a lot about the maze.¡± ¡°If there aren¡¯t strangers in the tunnels, the hammer¡¯s quiet. When it¡¯s still, then the monsters disappear and we all explore and trade tales.¡± ¡°All who?¡± ¡°Children like me, well, sort of like me. Sage is the oldest of us. He says he¡¯s counted thousands upon thousands of the strangers. There are marks on his grotto¡¯s walls for each time the hammer¡¯s sounded out with their presence.¡± ¡°Are there many children?¡± ¡°Dozens. We have our own hiding places in the maze. We get sent to them when the monster¡¯s come out. Normally, there is a longer break between strangers in the maze. This time was different; after Nathaniel died, the hammer barely paused a double beat and then started again. The Ogres hadn¡¯t even disappeared, and¡­ my trees are broken.¡± Her words come out in a thin wail, and she cries as the hammer starts again. Sneaking a glance within, I find her face buried in her hands, shoulders trembling as tears flow down her arms. ¡°Is it alright if I come in there with you?¡± The question gets her to look at me, and snuffling, she grimaces. ¡°No, you stink. You¡¯ve got blood all over you.¡± ¡°Alright, Pip, would you like me to pass you some fruit at least?¡± ¡°Yes, please, but wash your hands first. I don¡¯t want yucky blood on my food.¡± Water continues to flow over the fountain¡¯s broken edge, but when I try to scrub blood and gore off my torso, it only gets worse. A quick attempt to adjust my state makes my skin ache painfully, so I give it up. I scrub my hands within the icy water and rub them around the grass that somehow grows here between the tree stumps. Picking a half dozen of the apple-like fruit, I carry them back. I¡¯d expected to find her sheltering at the back; instead, as I come around the branches, she¡¯s visible kneeling just inside the hole. ¡°You look all blood-smeared. Why are all your bits and pieces showing?¡± ¡°Bits and pieces?¡± ¡°Your breasts and your¡­.¡± A frantic gesture towards my crotch and her face going red makes her look so cute. ¡°It¡¯s cold, so clothes would be good, but I don¡¯t have any and can¡¯t make them.¡± Her face is practically glowing red when she takes the fruit from me and then offers one back. ¡°Would you take me with you? If I tell you where to find the stairs?¡± ¡°I¡¯m expecting the challenge in here to be extreme. So I don¡¯t know what waits down there if it''s only Ogres up here.¡± She doesn¡¯t reply straight away as the sound hits again and takes a bite from an apple. The bite mark and her teeth look normal for a human, and she chews quietly as we wait. A sweet scent has me reluctantly take a bite despite the foulness of the dead nearby. This time the fruit sits easily in my stomach. The first swallow remains pain free, and hunger pangs that had been growing worse prompt me to make quick work of it. ¡°I don¡¯t care what¡¯s down there. I don¡¯t want to stay here anymore, I want out.¡± ¡°What about the others?¡± ¡°Why? Would you take them all?¡± ¡°The more that come with us, the more dangerous it might be.¡± ¡°Sage says that none have ever offered to take anyone out. Would you deny them the choice or chance?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s words echo in my mind at the child¡¯s question. The way her only condition had been not to break her trust. What would she want to do? ¡°Neither, but I have one question.¡± Pip looks at me suspiciously, so I continue on, ignoring the urge to tease. ¡°How much fruit should we take along?¡± She smiles nervously, and when she slides out of the hole, she looks torn between hugging me or keeping clear of the blood on me. Pip¡¯s first steps display a bad limp as her left foot drags along in an unbalanced gait, and I get a glimpse of a malformed foot. Her gaze locks on mine, her lips already twisting in a sneer that stops as I hold out the sack I¡¯d take from the first Ogre. ¡°I¡¯ll start gathering. Would you hold the bag?¡± Pip looks between me and the bloodstained sack. ¡°Only if you wash it first.¡± ¡°Point.¡± * * * Amdirlain grumbled as she considered the surge of Charisma in her Profile and assigned points to even out her Intelligence before she put the rest into Willpower. Though there had been no activity from Jinamizi¡¯s Portal, she¡¯d kept a concealed watch for nearly an hour. The random thought of needing a mental Disneyland caused her to snort quietly. Finally relaxing, she resumed her Succubus form and drew the Vrock¡¯s spear from Inventory to examine it. Analysis [Necel of Vulnerability Melee Attack Power: 250 Crafter: Master Artificer Nelion A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Details: When struck by this spear, the target must resist a Magic rating of 500, or it will reduce their defensive capabilities by 20% for five minutes. Multiple strikes can extend the duration of the effect but won¡¯t increase vulnerability.] Necel is the Elvish word for thorn. Amdirlain flowed through some attacks before returning it to Inventory, and a shiver caught her by surprise as she realised she was procrastinating returning. ¡°I need to stop. L¨ºdhins is grinding, fine, but it doesn¡¯t make it my immediate priority. I need to do the important things for me that I can handle now, then I¡¯ll put my grinding shoes back on.¡± Concentrating on Planar Shift, she pushed it to deliver her close to Duskstone instead of just randomly on the Elemental Plane of Earth. Though the cavern she appeared within wasn¡¯t familiar, pushing it to deliver her near a specific location had an obvious effect. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](13->15)] The song Planar Sense returned was strong enough that she was likely only days away on foot. Considering her list for a moment, she sent two important messages. ¡°Aggie, congratulations High Priestess. I know you¡¯ve been working hard. I hope the High Traveller Prestige Class and those base classes all let you find happiness. If you contact Clan Gildenshield in Stoneheart, they have an account in my name. In it, you¡¯ll find funds available to yourself and Eivor for establishing places for communities. Make sure you take care of yourself as well.¡± ¡°Eivor, I never expected the Ki I passed you to have the effect it did. I hope your children bring you happiness, and thank you for naming your newest addition after me. You brought tears of joy to my eyes when I learnt her name. If you contact Clan Gildenshield in Stoneheart, they have an account in my name. In it, you¡¯ll find funds available to yourself and Aggie for establishing places for communities. Keep yourself and the little ones safe.¡± She brushed a hand across her face before shifting her appearance to that of an auburn-haired Wood Elf. The shadow vines formed into traditional Elven clothing. ¡°Sidero, it¡¯s me J. Got rid of the last name I gave you because of the other connections it had. I chose the name Amdirlain. You¡¯ll think it¡¯s a mouthful, I know, but I love it. I will be following the route through Hades to Hell from the Astral Plane¡¯s Portal in a day. Find me along that path; otherwise, I might have to drop into Dis or beyond to find you. Look for a ranga Wood Elf, wearing dark green clothing and no apparent weapons. I¡¯ll send another message when I see the outer fortifications.¡± Picking a rock perch in the cavern she¡¯d landed in, Amdirlain drew out the Infernal Folio and spent the time she¡¯d allowed herself memorising the protocols she needed. Senses peeled for trouble approaching; it was almost disappointing when Time Sense let her know that she¡¯d quietly used up the wait. Amdirlain set one layer of concealment after another in place until¡ªhaving some level of confidence¡ªshe sent her message. ¡°Shifting to the path¡¯s Portal. Hope you are on the way.¡± A Gate spell set her beside the Portal. She¡¯d targeted a transition point from the Astral Plane. From this side, it was a pool of white energy, but on the other it would be as grey and as bleak as the surrounding Plane. The grey and blighted land was as dull a landscape as she had expected. She kept her pace modest, scanning the terrain around her for any sign of trouble. Only hours into the journey, she saw a mounted group of twenty Hell Knights on the road ahead¡ªtheir armoured steeds were jet-black nightmares. True Sight showed her the flames hidden within the horse-like steeds, and flames replaced the black manes and tails visible to normal sight. Soul Sight showed her the Souls of the Damned knights bound within their armour. The armour was only vaguely humanoid, but they now wore what Hell provided, regardless of their original Soul¡¯s species. What the folio hadn¡¯t told her was Hell had promised each of them a position of power. The knowledge points she¡¯d spent had revealed that information, and being a typical Infernal play on words, their place had their thoroughly Damned Soul in someone else¡¯s power. The riders stopped a good fifteen meters from her position, the lead rider only a horse¡¯s length ahead of the rest. Enchantments wrapped around him linked back to somewhere within Hell. Red flames burning inside the visor were all she could make out of its features. ¡°Why do you walk the supplicants¡¯ path?¡± ¡°I am seeking an audience with Sidero, direct daughter of the Kyton¡¯s Great Mother,¡± Amdirlain replied, keeping her tone as formal as she could. ¡°Continue.¡± The group moved on, and Amdirlain remained still as they passed. The lines of steeds split around her, a plume of black smog coming from one nightmare¡¯s nostrils when it snorted alongside her. Every snort from others brushed the dull air with flames that smelt of brimstone. The outer fortification of Hell¡¯s pass was just visible to her when a figure clad in red came over a ridge in the road ahead. Even in the bleakness of this place, Amdirlain had to force herself from smiling. When they came close enough for Amdirlain to make out the chain shroud, she mentally crossed fingers and hoped. Analysis [Name: Sidero] Halting on the road, she waited for her approach and watched the chain¡¯s irregular movements that didn¡¯t align to Sidero¡¯s own. To True Sight, they blazed with energy, and within the sullen furnace, Amdirlain could make out crystalline runes sunken into the metal. Solid sulphur-yellow eyes were visible through the chain shroud that covered her; other than the skin around her mouth, only her arms and feet were visible. There wasn¡¯t the pain she¡¯d felt when trying Analysis on those more powerful than her; it just didn¡¯t provide any further information. ¡°Crazy cunt, get us out of here now.¡± The smoky growl was harshly sibilant and didn¡¯t match the voice she remembered, but the words in English and exasperated tone she managed did. Amdirlain didn¡¯t hesitate in gating them back to the Elemental Plane of Earth, setting them in the cavern she¡¯d left only a day earlier. ¡°Such a Westie mouth you have bitch.¡± Amdirlain said as she stepped forward to hug her, but Sidero glided away, leaving her blinking unhappily in surprise. ¡°Are you immune to cold, Amdirlain?¡± Amdirlain winced and shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not.¡± Sarah¡¯s lips twitched in amusement and she said, ¡°Then don¡¯t touch the chains, you¡¯ll lose flash-frozen chunks of flesh. Nice concealments, by the way; I can¡¯t taste anything Abyssal about you.¡± ¡°Taste? You have an oral fixation now?¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°Oral, vaginal, anal, anyway I can orgasm is fine with me,¡± Sidero said, dramatically dipping her hands in under the chains at her waist. ¡°Bitch!¡± huffed Amdirlain good-naturedly, rolling her eyes at the show Sidero was putting on. Sidero stopped in mid-motion and gave her a sceptical look. ¡°You didn¡¯t get rid of your V card with your puppy yet?¡± ¡°Sarah!¡± Amdirlain exclaimed, motioning for her to talk to the hand. Sidero¡¯s serious expression¡ªeven under the chains¡ªwas clear, and Amdirlain saw her friend there. ¡°No, not Sarah, Sidero. Whatever happens, I¡¯m never going to be Sarah again. Change is a constant, Amdirlain.¡± The chains vanished utterly, and a nude Kyton covered with scarification confronted Amdirlain. A winter-bare tree in the middle of her torso raked bare branches under her collar bones and pointed cruel lines along the curve of her breast towards her nipples. The trunk ran down her midline¡ªuntil waist level¡ªand turned into a root system, the main tap root carved as if it continued into her vagina. Cut down each leg were flowering vine patterns; each flower had an eye in its centre¡ªsome of them appearing human, most clearly not. Lifting her gaze followed the scars on Sidero¡¯s arms, making out winged crystals and various jagged monsters, inter-spaced with runic patterns¡ªthose even cut into flesh, showing energy within. Her features were so close to the Sarah she remembered, so close the differences were unsettling. The sullen-yellow eyes tried to draw her gaze, but her sharp nose, and stark cheekbones, along with her scarred bald scalp, added a cruel vibe more menacing than her chains. ¡°Fuck, you sure took a step up from a tramp stamp.¡± ¡°The only thing I could draw on was me or flayed skin; I opted for myself,¡± Sidero replied, shrugging. ¡°Now, do I get that hug?¡± ¡°Kinky bitch,¡± Amdirlain grumbled, recognising her daring tone. She stepped forward and hugged her regardless, laughing as Sidero pretended to wiggle like an excited puppy. ¡°Woof, baby, woof,¡± teased Sidero, her smoky voice turning husky. Amdirlain gave her a light push back and stood frowning at her, the stern expression not matching the laughter in her gaze. ¡°You were pushing your boobs into me. Where did I get you from?¡± ¡°Memory going, is it? I tipped you onto the grass because you wouldn¡¯t get off the see-saw; you¡¯ve been following me like a lost puppy ever since,¡± replied Sidero. The chains appeared to shroud her again. Amdirlain gave her a frown, fighting to recall kindergarten before she sighed and moved on. ¡°Do you have Inventory?¡± ¡°Yeah, sitting at one-forty tons.¡± Amdirlain considered her Profile for a moment and looked at her wide-eyed ¡°What have you been doing?¡± ¡°Hauling around corpses and loot, obviously,¡± retorted Sidero with a worryingly sharp smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± Sidero frowned at her, rage shining in her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t you dare beat yourself up over him. You¡¯ve nothing to be sorry about, so never apologise again. That fucker that sent us all here; him I want to make scream, for a lovely long time.¡± ¡°The Titan already did that for us. I didn¡¯t give Torm all the details. He¡¯s sitting on a spike bleeding shards of Soul out his arse that form baby Dretches.¡± ¡°Oh, his butt babies make siege fodder for teams to butcher. That¡¯s just lovely,¡± Sidero said, rolling her eyes. Amdirlain gave her a concerned look and didn¡¯t let her sarcasm divert her. ¡°If I shouldn¡¯t say sorry, why do you seem so on edge?¡± ¡°I told you not to come near Hell; I used favours getting released from work I¡¯d been told to finish,¡± seethed Sidero. Amdirlain winced at the fierceness in her tone. ¡°Need anything to smooth the ripples?¡± ¡°Think I can buy them a box of chocolates?¡± Sidero asked, fixing her with a hard look. ¡°Meow. Just can the sarcasm? I¡¯ve got some Balor wings. Don¡¯t think they¡¯ll care about Abyssal Coins. A magical spear?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t can the sarcasm. I only use the fresh stuff.¡± Sidero said dismissively and chewed her lip thoughtfully. ¡°Show me the wings?¡± Amdirlain laid the wings out, and Sidero looked them over, keeping her chains well clear. ¡°Mature tier Balor from the size, useful. Neatly severed, very fresh, got to love Inventory. Sure I can have these?¡± asked Sidero, running a foot across the membrane. ¡°All yours. I can find some more if I find I have a need,¡± assured Amdirlain. Sidero nodded and relaxed as she made the wings vanish. ¡°Gifting them will mend some bridges.¡± ¡°Can I say sorry for not listening? I needed to see you, not just send another one-sided message.¡± ¡°Needy child,¡± huffed Sidero tolerantly. ¡°Please, you were the one that talked us both into Cadets. Tell me that wasn¡¯t you being insecure about being the only girl in our grade wearing green on Friday,¡± chided Amdirlain, the memories replay not having faded. Sidero smirked but made no move to deny it. ¡°The good old days, shared experiences build bonds.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were getting into bondage that early,¡± teased Amdirlain with a wide smile. ¡°Yes, well, now whips and chains really excite me,¡± Sidero breathed, running a chain through a loop formed between thumb and forefinger. ¡°Oh... yes¡­ they¡­ do¡­ oh¡­ oh¡­.¡± Her antics earned her a flat look from Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll ask about Gaius.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t; it¡¯s none of your business. You¡¯re not responsible for saving everyone. He made his choice¡ªand in the end¡ªI made some of my own. We all pay for our own decisions. You should put some concealments up. No one should come looking for me, but just in case,¡± suggested Sidero, as she gestured randomly about the cavern. Amdirlain set several spells in place to hear, to conceal from scrying as well as to deaden their conversation from travelling before she spoke again. ¡°So, exchange rate for the dominance play?¡± ¡°Oh, the puppy has been sharing stuff. Two hard orgasms per hunting session.¡± Amdirlain frowned the moment Sidero used puppy again. ¡°Once I¡¯ll let lie, but his name is Torm, not puppy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± Sidero replied, her suddenly smug smile making Amdirlain¡¯s eyes narrow. ¡°Your Torm is an experience-thief. They were less happy with me venturing into the Ice after he showed up. I¡¯ll forgive him¡ªsince it gave me time to work on learning aspects of Artificer.¡± ¡°What did you tell them to let you roam away from Hell?¡± ¡°I told them I needed to go deal with a fool seeking me and that I wanted time to gather materials for projects.¡± offered Sidero with a shrug and ignored Amdirlain¡¯d mock glare. ¡°Did you learn anything more about Rach?¡± Amdirlain enquired. ¡°Isaac, not Rach, best get in the habit of using it,¡± cautioned Sidero. ¡°It¡¯s a boy¡¯s name,¡± Amdirlain protested. ¡°They don¡¯t have our world¡¯s cultural history. It¡¯s from a language that isn¡¯t spoken here. Don¡¯t ask me how whoever renamed her even knew it. Though it could just be a case of enough monkeys hitting a type-writer thing, similar sound to us but completely different meaning.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the distraction she¡¯d caused. ¡°Fine, Isaac, now did you learn anything more?¡± Sidero¡¯s face was as if she¡¯d bit into something sour. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on her being sane. They leave her out in the field where she can cause problems for enemies of Hell. When she¡¯s around, weird shit happens. That, plus she just giggles her head off half the time, so she¡¯s rated a few sandwiches short of a panic basket. It¡¯s one reason she¡¯s still with Ilya; a few individuals are hoping she¡¯ll kill her for them.¡± ¡°She seemed lucid,¡± countered Amdirlain. Sidero just shrugged absently, but her lips tightened. ¡°Isaac was never that good an actress¡ªtoo heart on the sleeve.¡± ¡°I had a ruthless teacher of acting¡ªI improved. Insane doesn¡¯t gel with what I saw, and Isaac warned Ilya. The way she spoke and assessed the situation wasn¡¯t insane. Who says she wasn¡¯t and isn¡¯t acting it up for them?¡± questioned Amdirlain, the memory of Isaac¡¯s alert tone not sitting right with her. ¡°Who¡¯d be teaching her and why? Yeah, she¡¯d have to be incredibly lucky to fool every Devil she¡¯s dealt with, and she¡¯s been around Ilya for twenty-odd years at this point. Even the most insane people can have apparent lucid moments.¡± ¡°She used the True Song. I met someone who told me the devastated area caused by True Song was laced with terror, not insanity.¡± ¡°Really, who was it that gave you that information?¡± asked Sidero, her sibilant tones strengthening the look of disbelief. ¡°You think she¡¯s a Sun Elf as well?¡± Amdirlain nodded before she explained. ¡°An ancient and scary Dragon, so not sharing their name. The Anar or L¨®m? are the only ones that can use it. The Anar all left Titan¡¯s reality after their species¡¯ destruction, as the Souls had no way of being reborn and regaining their memories.¡± ¡°Valid process of elimination, I guess.¡± ¡°What¡¯s Ilya¡¯s background? Was she a born Devil, transformed Soul, fallen Celestial?¡± ¡°No idea. The records area had a note that all copies of her files are with Co-ordinator Makaro¡¯s offices.¡± ¡°I need to know more about Ilya. She¡¯s the unknown factor, and as you said, they¡¯ve been working together for over twenty years, mostly away from Hell. What if Ilya¡¯s taken her under her wing?¡± ¡°Under her wing, hilarious. Makaro is no small fry, and if I go near her office without a clear-cut reason, I¡¯ll get sucked into one of her plots. No reason I can come up with would justify me asking for Ilya¡¯s file. Kytons are born, and some Devils consider us borderline cases.¡± ¡°If she can use True Song, I need her help,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°What is going on?¡± asked Sidero; when Amdirlain frowned in confusion, she continued. ¡°Torm would only tell me highlights.¡± ¡°It all started when I found a grotto echoing this music in the Abyss.¡± * * * ¡°So am I a little Miss Sparkles as well?¡± ¡°No idea,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Andre¡¯s wasn¡¯t, though now the Titan¡¯s refined her Soul.¡± ¡°Thanks for smashing him,¡± Sidero said, the grim smile that went with the words turning bleak. ¡°Isaac was heartbroken.¡± ¡°Of course, because she was the only one,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°Wow, do you think your mum¡¯s heartless? She was nearby, obviously went ¡®oh someone¡¯s died at my daughter¡¯s funeral, oh well¡¯,¡± teased Sidero, her smile taking the sting from the words. ¡°Word games. I¡¯m going to strangle you,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Sidero just shooed her away. ¡°I¡¯m a top, not a bottom, and I was never keen on strangulation fetishes.¡± ¡°I thought you had a boyfriend who liked you sitting on his face?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not strangulation. That¡¯s just positioning. He used to drive his tongue in so deep, I thought I was going to drown him one time. He made me cum so hard,¡± Sidero breathed and stopped suddenly to snap a broad smile at Amdirlain. ¡°Bet Torm could touch your cervix.¡± ¡°What resources did you need to gather?¡± Amdirlain asked suddenly, her retreat drawing howls of laughter from Sidero. ¡°Lots, but I need to get more experience; fighting in the Army is fine for the low levels, not the higher ones. I only got a Tier 6 achievement for my contribution as a team member making Winter¡¯s Heart, plus I¡¯ve not hit a hundred yet in any class.¡± ¡°If you want to join my team, I could promote you, turn you into an Angel,¡± Amdirlain offered. ¡°No, Amdirlain, you¡¯re too nice. I love you like a sister, but I¡¯m already sworn to Order,¡± asserted Sidero. "Not Law, but Order. You do whatever it is you feel there is a need for. If I tried that, I¡¯d want to blow my brains out, so if I took your offer, I¡¯d just be betraying myself." ¡°Torm mentioned you took Hunter, but I can¡¯t see any of our details with Analysis,¡± Amdirlain said, leaving the question unasked. ¡°You said you got an evolution. What type of Demon are you now?¡± asked Sidero, ignoring her implications. ¡°None, I¡¯m a Fallen,¡± Amdirlain replied and struggled to keep a straight face at Sidero¡¯s reaction. Her stunned look was so complete, Amdirlain half expected her mouth to drop open. The rush of words took her off-guard. ¡°Promise me now. Stay the fuck out of Hell. I don¡¯t care what concealments you have in place¡ªsomeone like you goes in there¡ªassume the Arch-Devils will know. You get offered a contract of any type from there, decline it. They¡¯d learn things just from your signature being on any sort of contract in their archives.¡± ¡°But..¡± ¡°No fucking buts, stay out of it. I won¡¯t have you risking yourself. You going into Hell will help no one. They¡¯ll just see a far bigger prize. Anything or anyone they can use to get to you would have a target on their back,¡± declared Sidero, grimacing as she continued. ¡°I¡¯ll end up on a lot of radars I¡¯ve stayed beneath if I get a matching evolution.¡± Amdirlain bit down her protests before she tried for a lighter subject. ¡°Speaking of appearances. Why do you have a forked tongue? Are you doing body modification as well?¡± ¡°Mother is a Dragon,¡± declared Sidero flatly. ¡°She¡¯s a what now?!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°Why aren¡¯t you a Dragon?¡± ¡°Hell changed her eggs. There has only been one true Dragon hatched from any of them. The original children looked more like those humanoid lizards from your Skyrim game. Their children changed further. Most just have a similar appearance to myself in recent generations.¡± Sidero explained, unphased by Amdirlain¡¯s surprise. 125 - Fix you Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze A claw scraping is all the warning I get, and I twist away. The furry form is still airborne when another comes in low. Stepping into its lunge, my hand smears its drool along its jawline as I deflect its bite. Spinning onwards, I grab it by the scruff and propel the blight wolf towards its hunting partner. The grey fur of the pair is a perfect blend for the stonework. Why hadn¡¯t they eaten the children? Demonic beasts. They stink of the Abyss and I¡¯ve no spells or enchanted weapons. I could rip them apart if I still had claws. The pair are a snarling mass, and I use the chance to move between them and Pip, not bothering to draw the blade. The extra reach was useless when it wouldn¡¯t even get through their iron-grey fur. There is no loyalty among the Abyss beasts, and they vent frustration on each other. A line of blood drips from a muzzle as they bite at each other. Teeth sinking into a throat is the chance I need. My knee slams into its head, and blood sprays my arm as energy washes through me. We all go tumbling, but with blood staining the ground, only one of them rise. Two firsts for me; using another¡¯s fangs to kill an enemy and Death Strike surging without a weapon. Now how to kill the second? A blight wolf; I should be able to kill it with my bare hands. Already my knee is aching where I¡¯d struck. Momentum and its teeth killed its hunting partner, but its corpse would be unwieldy to use as a weapon. I¡¯m used to being all I need; now, I¡¯ve nothing to kill a simple wolf. A child who¡¯s been trapped in here will die because of my arrogance. Heat flares inside my chest, and every pulse makes acid race through my veins. It¡¯s a familiar Heat, an expression of the wolves¡¯ stench inside me. Power just waiting for me to grab it and claim it again. I throw myself back as the wolf leaps. Hands grasping, the top of its paws, the floor scrapes my back as I fall and roll. Feet planted in its chest when I straighten, the wolf twisting in mid-air as it goes sailing through the junction. Power familiar as the wolf¡¯s stench, part of me screams for it, wanting its rush even as I push it away. For a moment, I¡¯m too busy fighting to keep the Power away; only with the acid cooling in my veins do I realise the wolf hasn¡¯t gotten up. Brains and bone lay splattered across the stone, the wolf lifeless on the ground; the rear of its skull crushed in by impacting a corner. The thud of its flesh hitting the ground, lost in the hammer¡¯s echoes or my distracted state. The sound fades away, and the wolves disappear, leaving behind a key. Large and clunky, it looks simple enough. The key¡¯s handle is a solid circle with the Titan¡¯s symbol etched into it, while its blade is in the shape of a twisting flame made of white bronze. The moment I touch it, two images flash through my mind. In one, I see myself using it to reject the chance She¡¯s given me, burn it to ash, and escape to safety, restored to being a Succubus. The other, Pip is passing through white flames at the top of some stairs, then reborn; cleansed of her past life¡¯s flaws and the regrets that held her prisoner here. Power pulses in my veins again, a siren call to set this weak flesh aside and return to the strength I¡¯ve possessed for so long. I¡¯d killed the wolf purely through luck. The corridor¡¯s walls holding enough magic to damage its flesh hadn¡¯t been the outcome I¡¯d expected. I¡¯d been buying time to plan, not looking for an immediate kill. ¡°Y-your way out, Pip.¡± The words stammer in my own ears as desire and hunger claw at me. My hand trembles in the conflict¡¯s grip, I still hold the key out to her. Pip merely looks at me in confusion and an eternity of need digs into my guts. Power tempted me with every speeding heartbeat until at last, her hand moves. I force my fingers to open and drop the key into her palm. The moment its metal touches flesh, the key vanishes, and a white tattoo flame crawls up her forearm. ¡°Can we get more for the others?¡± Pip¡¯s question isn¡¯t the response I¡¯d expected. I¡¯d been sure she¡¯d head straight for the stairs and humiliation forces down the desire within me. ¡°How many other children are there?¡± Pip¡¯s reply comes quickly, accompanying a bright smile. ¡°Five hands and two fingers,¡± Telepathy, which had been absent, was suddenly there, letting me hear her concerns and doubts. Stammering had unnerved her, but my voice settling so quickly convinced her that her friends could be free as well. I wish I had her confidence in me. Twenty-seven more keys for this place to tempt me with, and part of me already wishes I¡¯d used that one. The aches in me cry for its healing Power and the Heat. The Heat that had weighed on me for so long, its absence now a relief. ¡°Let¡¯s see about getting keys for them.¡± Pip wraps her arms around me, her little body shaking with her sobs as her tears trickle down my stomach. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s get to one of your friends. It¡¯s not safe out here.¡± Her impulsive hug reminds me of Amdirlain and the words she used for accepting my service. Trust¡ªoh Goddess¡ªI¡¯m not sure you did the right thing trusting me. Pip nods against me before she steps back, smearing tears away with the back of her hand. My continued silence gains her attention once she¡¯s composed. ¡°Pip, can you do something for me?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asks Pip brightly. ¡°If we gain other keys before we get to your friend¡¯s hidey-hole, pick them up.¡± Pain grumbles its way through me, my knee, and patches of abraded skin, all objecting to the abuse I¡¯ve already taken. I¡¯m not used to not healing quickly after the battle stops. Will I get tired in this place as well? ¡°Okay.¡± Pip points the way, and I head off, glad now for her slower pace as the pain continues. How do mortals stand this? * * * Elemental Plane of Earth Amdirlain¡¯s return set her on the cavern¡¯s edge instead of where she¡¯d left Sidero, the Greater Teleport having shifted her arrival point. Ahead of her, the location she¡¯d targeted was a swirling energy and the materials it held aloft; teleporting into it would merge with her stones. The power blocking True Sight, Amdirlain relied on the sharpness of Infernal energy from the chains to guide her back to Sidero. Mundane material¡ªearth and rocks¡ªshouldn¡¯t cause injury, but carried the Plane¡¯s energy, they batted at her, trying to abrade flesh. A final step forward let her make out a red metal dome. A hand extends beyond the barrier shredded down to the bone¡ªthe cries of pleasure from within carried attention-grabbing force. ¡°Are you right there?¡± ¡°Fuck yes! I¡¯ve already got a pool forming under me. This has been going for hours,¡± Sidero groaned. Pulling her flayed hand inside the dome, the metal shifted before she extended the other. Amdirlain sat down on the rock nearby, and as the materials continued to bounce off her skin, nothing progressed. Taking in her Ki-soaked flesh, Amdirlain tried to draw the mist back to the pool. The slightest scratch as the mist condensed inwards teased it might eventually work. [Health: -1] The energised rock that grazed Amdirlain bounced off Sidero¡¯s arm, the deep cut it left undermining her words with a moan of pleasure. ¡°Did they have your list?¡± Amdirlain, shielding her mouth from the swirling dust, laughed at the situation. ¡°Yes, Sidero. You are one weird puppy now, girlfriend.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself. I might resemble that remark, but at least I¡¯m not afraid to float my boat,¡± retorted Sidero. ¡°Fine, have it your way,¡± Amdirlain replied, returning her attention to the Ki trying to escape the pool. ¡°I will!¡± groaned Sidero, the metal shell reverberating from frantic motions within just had Amdirlain shake her head. [Health: -1] ¡°It doesn¡¯t do enough damage to me to pressure my resistance to rise.¡± Sidero snickered and fought down her laughter. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve got plenty of pressure to get mine to the red gauge.¡± The energy faded hours later, and Amdirlain just blinked as Sidero¡¯s metal shell reverted into chains. Her disbelief was clear as her friend rose and sensually stretched with a languished expression. ¡°You don¡¯t feel pain now?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s all just pleasure. The worse it should hurt, the better it feels,¡± purred Sidero. ¡°That¡¯s seriously messed up,¡± Amdirlain said, not looking at the evidence of Sidero¡¯s enjoyment. ¡°Oh yeah, it¡¯s hard to keep mentally balanced or realise something is making me bleed, not just squirt. On the plus side, I can cum even while I¡¯m fighting for my life,¡± offered Sidero. Amdirlain rose and moved clear of the musky aroma now that the cavern was no longer overflowing with energy. ¡°I think I¡¯d find that a little distracting.¡± ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯ll die with a smile on my dial,¡± retorted Sidero, who had followed her movements without comment. ¡°Did that energy storm increase your earth resistance to a decent degree?¡± Amdirlain asked. Sidero¡¯s smile was evident through the gap in her shroud, but her posture made her mischievous mood clear. ¡°Indeed, it did. Want to check the puddle I made? So many orgasms.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not. I think horny boys on other planes are having wet dreams from it,¡± Amdirlain said, shaking her head in shock. ¡°Maybe I do owe Torm a better apology for asking him to take you a message.¡± ¡°He was fun to tease,¡± declared Sidero. ¡°Certainly didn¡¯t have a stick up his arse like most of the expedition.¡± ¡°We need to find something that will do more damage for me. The Krillnix acid damaged my flesh fine, but that energy didn¡¯t manage against the durability Ki has added to me even after it¡¯s withdrawn.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°The Ki got itself in deep, baby, got you all filled up. Though speaking of acid, I could do with a good acid scrub,¡± said Sidero, running her hands down her sides with a distracted look. ¡°I think you¡¯ve soaked in fluids for long enough for now,¡± retorted Amdirlain, growing amused at her antics. Sidero¡¯s expression turned smug and arrogant. ¡°Meow.¡± Amdirlain took in her behaviour and nodded. ¡°Are you happy you can still get a reaction?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still the same person I knew, just a more focused individual now,¡± assured Sidero, her posture losing its exhibitionism. ¡°And you still like skating along the edge of someone¡¯s comfort zone,¡± stated Amdirlain, motioning again towards where Sidero had sheltered. ¡°You can tell a lot by how someone reacts to extreme situations,¡± Sidero said with a smile. Amdirlain considered her carrying on for a moment before responding. ¡°Did I pass your test, Sidero?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still here,¡± countered Sidero. ¡°You would always focus too much on others, J. when you were in pain. You¡¯ve gotten more extreme in that regard. How much time have you given yourself for mourning? Someone has got to be the cynical one and make sure it doesn¡¯t bite you. So you stay the kind woman I knew, and I¡¯ll watch out for the arseholes.¡± ¡°No, I know how I am. But what about yourself? I told you how I got to where I am¡ªyou¡¯ve been in Hell longer¡ªnow spill,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Sidero crossed her arms as she stood ramrod straight, her gaze looking down at Amdirlain¡¯s own. ¡°My egg was a runt that Mother never expected to hatch. She felt it rock and brought it to the surface. I busted out, and congrats to her. It turns out I was a girl.¡¯ Nuff?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pull that shit. How did you stay sane? How did you stay you?¡± Sidero shook her head in disbelief. ¡°Sane, geez J, you think I¡¯m sane? As for being me, I¡¯m not the person you knew. Being a succubus, that I likely could have handled. Being a Kyton with no boundary between pain and pleasure, I lost myself without even knowing I¡¯d done it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± opposed Amdirlain. ¡°If that were the case, you wouldn¡¯t have cared about me walking into Hell.¡± ¡°Maybe I was just afraid you¡¯d want to take over and kick me out,¡± ¡°Why do you say you¡¯re not yourself anymore?¡± ¡°Being a dominatrix was about control¡ªnot going to lie, I did enjoy it¡ªbut it was also about helping my clients. People crave things that other people don¡¯t understand or revile them for desiring when it¡¯s just how they find pleasure. They needed things that weren¡¯t hurting anyone else, weren¡¯t illegal; heck, some clients¡¯ desires didn¡¯t even hurt them. The key to the whole thing is they are surrendering control to someone they can trust. That¡¯s why a dom needs to know the sub¡¯s limits and push them up to the edge they crave, but ensure they¡¯re being safe and trustworthy. Really¡ªin the end¡ªthe sub has control. They say the safe word or give the signal, and everything stops. If it doesn¡¯t, you¡¯re not a dom but an arsehole that¡¯s getting off on the control.¡± ¡°Are you going to tell me I can¡¯t trust you? Because if you do, I¡¯m going to hit you, repeatedly,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it; if I have an agreement with someone, I¡¯ll keep my fucking word. But I¡¯m no longer the person that keeps anyone safe just because they want it to stop. It doesn¡¯t matter if they say stop; it matters what they agreed to before anything started. I¡¯m not sure I recognise myself anymore,¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t feel my pain, and it makes it hard to see it in anyone else. Shouldn¡¯t any discomfort just be pleasing them? Physical or emotional pain, it¡¯s all just the same for me now; it results in more pleasure.¡± ¡°You told Gaius that if he moved his hands, everything was going to stop. Torm fought beside you in the Ice, killed things with you. If you don¡¯t keep anyone safe, then why did you have his back in those fights?¡± ¡°Gaius, I had him by the balls and not in the nice way of a bit of friendly fondling between playmates. He kept looking at me, maybe the exotic look did it for him, or he¡¯s got a thing for scars. I knew he wanted to fuck me; I could taste it in his scent. While I could taste his desire, I could taste his fear and disgust at the same time. He signed a contract he should never have considered, and I wanted to make him know he was going to regret it,¡± declared Sidero. ¡°You¡¯re the one with the shrink¡¯s degree. Why am I asking the questions?¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Because you want information, obviously. Maybe I should have put you in touch with a broker instead of coming running,¡± Sidero replied with a smile. ¡°See bitch; you keep other people safe, again, you kept me out of Hell,¡± Amdirlain growled. ¡°Eye for detail. Maybe I should be afraid if you took over, you¡¯d make me do paperwork,¡± teased Sidero. ¡°You¡¯d better. I would make you read every copy of every document to make sure each match down to the inkblots. Tell me about fighting beside Torm, then. Why did you defend him so well? He said you always had his back?¡± ¡°Torm¡¯s situation was different to Gaius''; I agreed I¡¯d work with him to bring in the materials, so I was just doing what I agreed to. Though I could taste the way he felt about you, so it inspired me to play nice. I was going to make sure he got back to see you again and not have to wait a century. Other people; Fuck ¡¯em, but you¡¯re my sister by choice, not by blood. What do we get first from your list?¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow at the rapid subject change but didn¡¯t let her move immediately. ¡°You said change is constant. If you¡¯ve become someone you¡¯re uncomfortable being, maybe it¡¯s time to focus on finding your way to a new place in life. Focus on that Order concept you''re sworn to instead of pleasure and pain. I won¡¯t push, but please think about it. Now, feel like a journey to the centre of the Earth?¡± Sidero looked ready to retort but closed her mouth and stared at Amdirlain, the initial anger in her gaze softening before she spoke again. ¡°Elemental gemstones? Maybe you¡¯ll find an Elemental that can redline you since you¡¯ve not let Torm get to that point.¡± ¡°Oh yes, haha.¡± Sidero ignored the sarcastic response to draw forth a steel disc along with a stylus and set compass marks at the edges. Between their lines, runes ran in a spiral; line by line, the Mana in them grew stronger until the disc spun freely and floated above her palm. The main point she¡¯d cut in the metal shifted directions a few times, but it settled and pointed towards a tunnel in the cavern¡¯s floor. ¡°That tunnel will take us towards stronger concentrations of Earth energies. You told me about your conversation with the Servant, but you didn¡¯t tell me why you wanted to know the name of Mercury in this reality,¡± stated Sidero. ¡°I can open a Gate to a planet if I know what it looks like and the name. However, I don¡¯t know what Cemna looks like, Mercury¡ªif it¡¯s enough like the NASA images¡ªI can get to. Once I¡¯m out on Mercury, then World Step will get me to Cemna.¡± ¡°So open a Gate on Mercury. If it¡¯s night, wait until day time to step through, and immunity to fire stops you roasting?¡± asked Sidero. ¡°If you had immunity to cold, you could step through regardless of the position of the Gate. Wouldn¡¯t you lose atmosphere because of the pressure difference though, and risk getting sucked out into the cold?¡± Amdirlain just smiled and waved a finger. ¡°That shows you¡¯re an Artificer, not a Wizard. Gates don¡¯t allow the atmosphere through, just individuals or objects, so if I pour in enough Mana, I can keep it open a while.¡± ¡°What then? Do you plan to go Demon hunting on Cemna?¡± enquired Sidero, her voice warming with amusement. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t be out in the Material Plane. Plus, they¡¯d only still be there if there are life forms they could hunt and torture, that I know for sure,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t hunt them down myself, once I¡¯ve been there, I can open a Gate directly. I¡¯ve got a bunch of folks that need to gain experience; cleansing a world of Demons at the same time seems a bonus. Though I could mine Mercury with Inventory to dig to the deposits, I¡¯ve got spells that would let me find them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a way to push it up,¡± conceded Sidero. ¡°At some point, I might tell you about Mother¡¯s test before Hell sent me to answer Gaius¡¯ summons. Tell me more about the construction work you¡¯ve organised for your Domain.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know enough, so I¡¯ve just given them guidelines after they explained options. But I will not be a control freak and oversee the folks that know what they¡¯re doing.¡± Amdirlain replied. * * * Northern New Egypt A caravan of misery trundled its way down the dusty road through the open grasslands. There was no one around for kilometres in any direction. Whispered message spells provided a warning. Slaves¡ªyoung and old alike¡ªdropped to the ground in a clutter of chains. Still standing, the slavers were targets for coordinated spells from multiple platoons positioned alongside the road. Invisibility shrouds failed as the onslaught began, letting the slavers see the women coming for the kill. Though surprised, the entourage around the main wagon closed ranks quickly. The reaction that their attackers had hoped for in their planning. Sagga¡¯s Lightning Bolt tore through the shield wall and sent some bodyguards crashing to the ground. A scream of pain replaced the sharp-edged Abyssal chant of a Priest¡¯s Blessing. Before the survivors could reposition themselves, Rikka surged from her place of concealment. Wrapped in swirling crystals, frantic strikes from those defenders still standing didn¡¯t slow her or her long axe¡¯s blow. Her barrier shrugged a spear aside a moment before her charge ended with an impact that caved in the Priest¡¯s face, and Death Strike surged its acknowledgement to her. For the broken guards that scattered across still open fields, their heraldry of Set merely provided targets for earthen spears from a still invisible support platoon. Her axe cleaned, Rikka moved towards the first group of slaves. Her spells made quick work of dissolving the manacles and collars. They left stripped corpses of slavers in the field for hungry scavengers¡ªby the time the Portal closed, without a prisoner among them¡ªthe remains had the ravens circling. Hundreds of kilometres away, the distribution of food and clothing in the compound of the Daughters of Hope outside Eyrarh¨¢ls began. Priests and Priestesses of Amdirlain and Tyr alike moved among them, their blessings healing the injured, taking the time to speak calmly to the distressed. The appearance of a Priest of Tyr, his eyes covered with a rune-covered band, drew curious looks from the grateful ex-slaves, but none objected to his help. ¡°V¨ªearr looks weird with that metal band across his eyes,¡± Sagga said, stopping where the heavily pregnant Gellamel was watching her eldest help pass out water skins. ¡°Does he wear it in bed?¡± Gellamel almost snorted, hurriedly covering her mouth rather than spraying the ground with her drink. ¡°No, he does not! Though seeing the children and me, at last, makes him ecstatic.¡± ¡°Rikka said the note from Yngvarr indicated Amdirlain arranged it?¡± questioned Sagga. ¡°Yes, though they¡¯re unsure how long it will last. They wanted to ensure a permanent version would work given the cause,¡± Gellamel said. ¡°That¡¯s a prototype of the visor they called it, but we¡¯ve sent back news already and been told the Master Artificer that Clan Gildenshield hired will work on it immediately. How did Platoon Solveiga work out?¡± ¡°They held position and reacted exactly as needed. They¡¯ve been all keyed up after the news about her promotion,¡± Sagga replied, nodding towards the platoon¡¯s leader. ¡°So glad they stayed calm.¡± ¡°A good start then?¡± Gellamel asked. ¡°Yes, we didn¡¯t even need the melee platoons,¡± Rikka answered and leaned in to kiss her cheek. ¡°His Majesty¡¯s advisers seem pleased with Amdirlain¡¯s followers providing Wizards in such numbers.¡± ¡°Aggie thinks some of their requests are to hamper the expansion of our Lady¡¯s faithful,¡± commented Gellamel. ¡°She¡¯ll scold you for that,¡± chided Sagga, looking away so Gellamel couldn¡¯t see her amusement. ¡°I know, but it gains us acceptance from more Norse,¡± sighed Gellamel, stroking her hand across her stomach as she took a calming breath. ¡°No, that¡¯s their choice to serve in the army. I meant the Lady title,¡± teased Sigga, shooting her a smile. ¡°Alfdis sent me a message to pass along when it wouldn¡¯t distract you. They¡¯ll release the platoons from port duty at the end of the season as expected. There¡¯s only been one small incursion by Sahuagin since mid-winter. The guardsman dealt with it alone, with no help from the platoons. There was no evidence of any casters during the raid,¡± Gellamel stated, ¡°Lucky I even told you, brat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good news!¡± exclaimed Sagga, a beaming smile lighting her face. ¡°I¡¯ll send the Captain a message to let her know; we¡¯ll have a welcome party ready.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll warn your neighbours to stay away from the windows,¡± Gellamel said, laughing when Sagga put her nose in the air. ¡°Loud love birds. I think the requests are going to burn them. The older platoons are past their term of service. A lot of those ladies have plans to head home with friends they¡¯ve made,¡± stated Rikka. ¡°Others are planning to help the Adventurers¡¯ Guild in various towns all over the ten kingdoms and promote her work through them.¡± Gellamel raised an eyebrow and smiled. ¡°Seeds blowing in the wind?¡± ¡°Very much so,¡± responded Rikka. ¡°Veteran wizards making a fresh start with the coin in their pouches are certain to make a splash in several communities.¡± ¡°I¡¯d best see about if we can at least send some lay Priests out. Could you find out what towns will be closest to those leaving his Majesty¡¯s service?¡± Gellamel asked. ¡°I know who to ask,¡± acknowledged Rikka. ¡°I just bet you do,¡± Sagga teased. ¡°Don¡¯t wear him out first. You want answers, not snores. I¡¯ll get some extra books copied; easier to educate more wizards if they have references on hand.¡± ¡°Will we go scouting again after you¡¯ve had time with Alfdis?¡± asked Rikka, ignoring the teasing. ¡°Alfdis is leaving service, so she¡¯ll be joining one of the other teams or us,¡± replied Sagga brightly. 126 - Famous last words South-East of Stoneheart Aggie stepped from the Portal and looked over the causeway¡¯s tightly fitted stones, taking in the Dwarven runes that showed the distance to Stoneheart. Yngvarr¡¯s relocation had surprised her, but at least his cousin was cute, helpful and happy to flirt. She looked back through the Portal and blew Himelchon a kiss that drew a slow smile. Pulling her hood up against the spring breeze crossing the foothills, she moved forward. The Dwarven road cut a straight line along the slope beyond the river; trees and undergrowth kept back ten metres or more beyond the drainage ditches. Woodland sounds echoed from behind and ahead, mingling in with the sound of hard marching boots striking stone. Patrols of troops allowed her the unfamiliar luxury of relaxing somewhat on the road. Thoughts of running fingers along Himelchon¡¯s crimson hair and muscular back entertained her as she covered the remaining kilometres. Each Dwarven patrol had regarded her presence with surprise, but the patrol leaders had just nodded politely. The rest had weighed her with their gazes but had said nothing. At the ridgeline, the road led straight onwards along a bridge that ended at a blue-stone cliff-face on the far side of a gorge with the mountain rising high above. Cut into the cliff was a twelve-metre square gate, currently only ajar enough for travellers afoot and merchant mule trains. Mana Sense set Aggie¡¯s skin crawling at the energies in the bridge and rows of statues that stood along the ridgeline. Putting a Tongues Spell in place, Aggie moved unhesitatingly towards the dozen gate guards. The few travellers ahead of her in the queue were admitted quickly and without fuss. Guards at the bridge¡¯s end looked her over unconcerned as the sergeant asked the same questions as everyone ahead of her. The guards¡¯ attention continued to move over the bridge, their hands never leaving their weapons¡¯ hafts, shields ready to shift into position in a single motion. ¡°Name?¡± ¡°Aggie, High Priestess of Lady Amdirlain, a citizen of Eyrarh¨¢ls.¡± ¡°Reason for visiting Stoneheart?¡± Aggie watched their assistant¡¯s quick notes, their sharp straight quill strokes recording her words. ¡°To meet with someone from Clan Gildenshield.¡± The guard¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave her as the questions continued. ¡°Expected duration of stay?¡± ¡°Three, perhaps four days, though I might venture through to Duskstone,¡± Aggie replied after a few moments¡¯ thought. ¡°Regulations require all non-Dwarven Priests meet with a Priest of Moradin¡¯s Hall before circulating within Stoneheart,¡± declared the guard. Aggie¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver as she considered their stern tone. ¡°Do you have someone who can guide me? I wouldn¡¯t want to take a route accidentally that some would consider circulating.¡± ¡°A sensible request, Priestess Aggie,¡± the guard stated before whistling loudly. ¡°Stoneheart goes many layers underground, and the way to Moradin¡¯s Hall can confuse even a Dwarf who isn¡¯t local. Do you have blessings currently in place?¡± ¡°No, but various protection spells and a translation spell¡ªI only know a few Dwarven words,¡± admitted Aggie openly. ¡°Those aren¡¯t an issue. There is no offensive casting in Stoneheart unless in a training location or in self-defence; otherwise, it can involve larger fines and damage fees than tavern brawling,¡± warned the guard. ¡°Placing importance on fines and fees. Isn¡¯t that a Gnomish thing?¡± Aggie enquired, surprised the Dwarf wasn¡¯t placing more importance on their code. The guard¡¯s eyebrows climbed high as they regarded Aggie quietly before answering. ¡°Interesting that you¡¯re aware of them, Priestess. None of the stonekin have visited even Stoneheart in over a century.¡± ¡°I like old tales from different lands,¡± said Aggie, smiling at the break in the guard¡¯s gruffness. ¡°You can go through,¡± the guard said, gesturing towards a younger-looking Dwarf standing beyond the gate¡¯s threshold. ¡°They¡¯ll be able to see you to Moradin¡¯s Hall.¡± ¡°Thank you, I appreciate the guidance.¡± Aggie moved towards the open gate and greeted the Dwarf they¡¯d indicated. ¡°I¡¯m Aggie. Might I know your name?¡± The younger Dwarf wasn¡¯t wearing armour, the neatly braided beard and hair not providing any sign of their gender. There was a naivete about them that was missing from the guards¡ªwhose attention remained fixed on those crossing the bridge behind her. ¡°Lernia, daughter of Niapal, of the line of Palazn,¡± Lernia answered quickly and looked at Aggie curiously. ¡°What happened to your beard?¡± ¡°Human females rarely grow beards,¡± Aggie answered quietly, noting how much attention was suddenly on the conversation. ¡°You poor lasses. I¡¯m sure a healer could help. Or a weaver to make a prosthetic beard¡ªyou¡¯ve got plenty of hair on your head they could use. How will you find a proper husband deformed like that?¡± asked Lernia. Aggie coughed into her hand as she fought to hold on to her composure. ¡°Would you be able to guide me to Moradin¡¯s Hall?¡± ¡°There¡¯s an idea; they might know the best crafter for it or at least help with that cough,¡± Lernia replied. Turning on her heel, she headed inside the complex, her stride letting Aggie keep pace easily. Once they had gotten past the initial guard post area, Lernia pointed out the key passages off the concourse and the directions to find various areas of import in outer Stoneheart. The differing motifs in each making it easier to distinguish between them despite the regularity of the Dwarven architecture. However, when they eventually turned off, the route they took was marked with Dwarven runes that meant nothing to Aggie. They¡¯d been walking for hours when the passage abruptly ended. Lernia only halted a few metres before the end and looked up, the stone echoing oddly beneath her boots. Aggie was about to ask what was happening when Lernia spoke first. ¡°Hey stupid, are you asleep up there? Get us moving down, got a visitor for the Temple level.¡± At Lernia¡¯s call, Aggie looked up and saw the ceiling wasn¡¯t solid any longer. Instead, a platform sat above them, attached to the wall by metal bars. Stepping to one side let her look through the gap between the platform and wall to see a shaft broader than the room that stretched upwards. At regular intervals along its course, she could see lights set against stonework casting odd shadows along the walls. Caught up in her examination, she jumped when a reply from above came to Lernia¡¯s words. ¡°There might be others coming behind you.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t; if you can hear any boots, it¡¯s the hollow ones rattling between your ears,¡± retorted Lernia. The corridor behind them sealed shut with a click, and Aggie started at the noise. Turning towards it, the floor beneath her shifted downwards, and her trained balance kept her from stumbling. ¡°We¡¯re falling slowly?¡± Lernia looked up at Aggie as if she¡¯d gone daft. ¡°No, we¡¯re not falling. The Golem is taking us down.¡± ¡°You were talking to a Golem? Why were you so rude?¡± asked Aggie. ¡°He¡¯s a Golem?!¡± exclaimed Lernia. ¡°That¡¯s a good one! I¡¯ll have to call him that. Nah, I wasn¡¯t talking to the Golem. I don¡¯t have a talent for Mana. My cousin¡¯s up there; he¡¯s an apprentice Wizard, taking his turn at room duty. Likely, his nose was in a grimoire and he didn¡¯t even hear us. Look beside the glowstones in the shaft. You¡¯ll see deep grooves like a stone ladder.¡± Aggie looked up as directed; the next light that appeared let her make out a regular depression that she¡¯d taken as shadows cast by the lights above. ¡°Why is there a ladder?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t just one, and it¡¯s not a ladder. There are eight tracks around the shaft,¡± Lernia corrected and moved around the room¡¯s edge and pointed upwards at regular intervals. Aggie moved with her and saw matching formations. ¡°This entire room is the Golem. It¡¯s got gears and hands attached to the sides to let it move along the tracks. The gears do most of the work; the hands are a safety precaution. It shouldn¡¯t take us too long to reach the level we need.¡± True to her word, the descent wasn¡¯t long¡ªonly twenty minutes uninterrupted¡ªand eventually, the end of the ¡®room¡¯ opened again. The motif along the wall that greeted them contained the symbols of the Dwarven Pantheon that Aggie recognised from her reading. The hammer and anvil of Moradin, God of Creators and Crafts. Triple interlocking rings of Berronar, the Revered Mother, Goddess of Hearth, Home and Protection. A mountain with stone carved to show a gemstone in its centre represented Dumathoin, God of Secrets under the Mountain: gems, exploration, mining, and the dead. Their three primary Powers had pride of place amid the motif, but other symbols were present. Sharindlar, with her burning needle, Goddess of Love, Fertility, and Healing. Often the crossed axes of Clangeddin, God of War, and Vergadain¡¯s coin showed beside each other. Though Aggie had read nothing that showed why their Lord of Battle and their God of Luck and Wealth often ended up depicted together. The open book of Dugmaren, God of Discovery and Invention, had Aggie consider the recently rebuilt library in the Daughters¡¯ compound. Twice the size of one of the trainee barracks, they¡¯d have to move it outside the compound if it needed to grow again, and they didn¡¯t add a fifth floor. There were more symbols, but she wasn¡¯t sure enough to risk incorrectly matching their name and position so close to their temples. They didn¡¯t immediately arrive at a place of worship. Instead, their path took them through twists and turns of what seemed an endless series of plain doors. It was only passing an open one and seeing the foyer wall inside that she realised they were passing the living quarters of temple attendants. ¡°Have we come an indirect route?¡± asked Aggie. ¡°This is the most direct route available from the southern river gate,¡± explained Lernia. ¡°The major route leads from the great forges and the deep seam line. Reaching a connection to that corridor alone would have tripled the distance.¡± Lernia pushed open a stone door with the lightest of touches, and the roof lifted well out of reach as it joined a larger chamber. The pillars supporting its ceiling looked finely carved and more decorative than practical, and they obstructed the view enough that she couldn¡¯t see the chamber¡¯s full extent. They¡¯d come out in an alcove along its edge, and the chamber looked easily thirty or more metres across. Two large archways near where they stood led into the Temples of Sharindlar and Dugmaren, respectively. Though even those she had no time to admire properly, with Lernia motioning her away. ¡°Moradin¡¯s Hall is that way. I¡¯ll see you to it, and you can decide if you need me to wait or if you¡¯ll arrange another guide from here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need a guide, but are you on work shift much longer?¡± Aggie asked, looking around in amazement at the beautifully detailed stonework along the chamber¡¯s walls and pillars. ¡°I¡¯ve most of a day left. If the Priests are friendly to you, they¡¯ll ensure you get anywhere you need to be. Then again, if they¡¯re not happy with you, they¡¯d likely see that happens double-quick,¡± laughed Lernia. Moradin¡¯s Hall was only a few entrances along the chamber.Though it was quiet outside, she could feel the Mana as they approached. Seeing busy forges within, it did not surprise her when a wall of sound hit as she crossed the Hall¡¯s threshold. ¡°Palazn¡¯s youngest grandchild. Lernia isn¡¯t it?¡± asked a Dwarf, stepping away from racking tools at the closest forge. ¡°You here just to escort this traveller?¡± ¡°Yes, Forge Master Naplon,¡± Lernia replied. ¡°This is Priestess Aggie; she¡¯s a visiting High Priestess of Lady Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Lass, what happened to your beard?¡± asked Naplon, fixing Aggie with a concerned look. ¡°Human females don¡¯t grow beards,¡± declared Lernia as if she¡¯d known all along. ¡°They don¡¯t!?,¡± exclaimed Naplon. ¡°My condolences, young human. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll manage through life somehow. You¡¯re in service to Lady Amdirlain. Interesting you¡¯ve arrived now. The High Crafters are in discussions with leaders from other Temples; you¡¯ll likely want to join them.¡± ¡°I just came to meet a Priest of Moradin as per regulations, Forge Master Naplon,¡± Aggie demurred. ¡°You¡¯re not here to meet with the High Priests? That is a surprise since they¡¯re in the middle of discussions about your Goddess,¡± Naplon replied. ¡°Something about a message from Duskstone.¡± Aggie blinked for a moment as she tried to adjust to the situation. Unfortunately, her mouth got in first. ¡°What did she do this time?! Nevermind, it seems I should meet with them. My thanks, Lernia. I¡¯ll likely be awhile; best not to wait.¡± Naplon¡¯s gaze widened for a moment, and they burst out laughing. ¡°Your Goddess the kind to keep you on your toes is she? There¡¯s no problem. She¡¯s just grabbed some attention. Follow me through. They¡¯re in the gathering room. Now, the important question, lass. Mead, ale, or lager?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve grown used to mead,¡± admitted Aggie. ¡°I was more a wine drinker previously.¡± ¡°Glad to hear your tastes have improved so much,¡± Naplon declared, a broad hand reaching up to pat her on the shoulder. * * * Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze Three wolf ambushes, and three keys later, the corridor¡¯s ceiling actually slopes downwards nearly to where I¡¯ll need to bend to avoid smacking my skull. The first glimpse of Sage¡¯s chamber was enough to convince me his name didn¡¯t come from wisdom or knowledge, but rather its contents. Pip¡¯s space had a stone floor around the edges, with the centre having soil for the trees and the fountain stonework. Sage¡¯s chamber was quite different with its much lower ceiling and wall-to-wall soil overgrown with herbs. Normal mundane sage I recognised as the most common among them. The cooling aroma of its earthy scent and the leaves¡¯ texture and shape made it very recognisable. Stone trellises that reached to the ceiling interrupted the ground growth. The tamed grape vines clinging to them were thick with fruit. The pattern of their growth made it clear they came from a single plant. ¡°Sage,¡± Pip cries out loudly as she motions me towards the pool. Detouring, she pulls leaves from the plants and keeps motioning me towards the pool. ¡°Sit down and rest your knee. I¡¯ll wash the scratches and make a compress. Sage, bring your pot and some firewood.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. The young boy that appeared looked barely older than Pip, though his ash-blood hair was far cleaner than hers. His face appeared washed, but his natural skin tone almost matched mine for darkness, a striking contrast to the pale silver of his eyes. ¡°Why are you tending to a stranger? They just come and either live-¡± Pip cut him off in mid-sentence with a sharp motion. ¡°She stopped dog things from mauling me, Sage. Help me tend her scratches. We¡¯ve got a surprise for you, but help Ebusuku first.¡± ¡°Pip, just give him a key. Don¡¯t bargain with his freedom when you have yours.¡± My words drew her attention and I got a sulky look in return. The herbs by the pool are at least soft to sit on while I wash my hands in its overflow. Healing in this flesh is so feeble, and the water washing across a scratch on my leg strangely starts it bleeding again. The red blood tinged the water pink, a colour that I¡¯d only seen from Farhad¡¯s wounds. Yet I¡¯ve never seen his injuries get so red and angry. Some others that aren¡¯t bleeding are a similar colour¡ªthe skin around them odd warm and tight under my fingers as I clean them. ¡°Sometimes, we need to give Sage a poke to get him moving,¡± Pip replies. Sitting beside me as she sets out a circle of rocks out beside us on bare ground, a small collection of herbs she¡¯d gathered while the hammer echoed gets set atop a curved rock. Sage came out carrying a battered-looking pot helm and a bundle of branches tied together with dried tendrils woven into a rope. His eyes flitter over me, not wanting to acknowledge my existence, though he quickly gets a little fire going. Only after he has some water warming in his makeshift pot does he speak again. ¡°Claiming a new name, Pip? You are a strange one, stranger,¡± Sage says as he finally glanced at me for more than an instant. I wasn¡¯t sure the statement warranted a reply, but Pip laid one of three extra keys I¡¯d gotten so far where he could reach it. ¡°She¡¯s been killing beasts that have left these behind when they vanished.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a piece of metal, so what! What I want to know is what she¡¯s done to you?¡± Sage¡¯s demand accompanies a gesture at Pip¡¯s tattooed arm. ¡°The tattoo is from the key.¡± Even as I go to say more, Pip¡¯s words run over mine. ¡°The Titan¡¯s segment did it to me. The flame on my arm is the same shape as the metal.¡± Pip held out another as if Sage couldn¡¯t see the first she¡¯d presented him. The boy¡¯s suspicious glare weighed on both but he didn¡¯t touch either. ¡°What does it mean?¡± ¡°It showed me I¡¯d get safely through the white flames and have a better life. I accepted the offer, and then the tattoo appeared,¡± declared Pip. Sage¡¯s suspicion doesn¡¯t waver in the slightest. He looks like he¡¯s battling the same urges I felt. Power ripples through my veins, and his thoughts surge in mine as temptations rush the moment I think of them. His memories jump randomly about, carrying loneliness with them, as he craves the feel of sunlight only vaguely remembered. ¡°It didn¡¯t happen immediately when you touched it?¡± ¡°Nope, but I wanted it so much as soon as I saw it. I was in sunshine, there was water, and so many trees.¡± I pulled my touch from his thought as he pushes the key back to Pip with the edge of a rock. ¡°You should give the first to Hook and Pit¡ªin case you can¡¯t get anymore. They seemed miserable at the last gathering.¡± Pip¡¯s brow immediately furrows, her every mood so easy to read even before her frustration makes her voice sharp. ¡°Sage, you¡¯ve been here the longest.¡± ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll ever get out. If you think it will work, see that those two leave with you,¡± Sage¡¯s reply was firm as his gaze fixed on me. ¡°You already have wound sickness, you¡¯ll likely lose strength fast and get them killed. If you believe this mark will work, get them out before you die.¡± ¡°What about you Sage? Leaving you isn¡¯t fair!¡± At Pip¡¯s cry, Sage¡¯s mouth tightens, and he looks away before he replies. ¡°Life isn¡¯t fair, but if three make it out, we might one cycle.¡± The churning of his thoughts is as bad as spear strikes I¡¯ve suffered. He wondered if other strangers have gained them and not shared, the thought twisting inside him. I speak up to distract him, though honestly, the pain of his thoughts inflames my craving to take a key. ¡°Wound sickness?¡± ¡°The skin around some scratches is red and swollen. They¡¯re warm, yes? Your wounds will get painful, then you¡¯ll get hot, start seeing things and then weaken. Before then, something will probably kill you and anyone with you. They¡¯ll show up in their holes. As for you, we won¡¯t even find your remains. We never find the remains of the strangers; they vanish when they die. We¡¯ve seen them die in front of us.¡± Pip¡¯s wince makes it clear it¡¯s not an unfamiliar experience to her. ¡°The Ogre¡¯s club crushed Nathaniel¡¯s chest and broke my fountain, then his body vanished. I¡¯ve seen others die before, including my friends. Eventually, the hammer stills and they return¡ªthe strangers never do.¡± ¡°If you want the best chance to survive the next level, you should just leave now, before your wound sickness spreads,¡± Sage says, with a seriousness that echoes Farhad¡¯s own. ¡°Let¡¯s try your herbs. Perhaps they¡¯ll help. Do you know anything about the next level? Pip said she knows nothing,¡± I say and catch guilt flaring in his eyes. Sage¡¯s glance flits to Pip ¡°I¡¯ve only been there once.¡± ¡°You never told us!¡± Though her upset squeak makes my lips twitch, I take a deep breath before she sees. Memories of watching Farhad sit cross-legged, simply breathing, dig painfully and the desire to leave twists a blade in my guts. Why is this room¡¯s aroma making my eyes burn suddenly? I¡¯m lying in bed, listening to his breathing, and I breathe in time to the memory. The hammer stilling the conversation between the children gives me space to dwell in my thoughts. ¡°I told you not to venture down to it. It was a long time ago, I was alone in the maze. I barely took two steps beyond the base of the stairs. I died and woke up in my cave.¡± Pip¡¯s sulky expression is amusing, but even I find his story too short. ¡°How do you know you died then? Mortals don¡¯t normally wake up from death.¡± ¡°I doubt we¡¯re Mortal. Many strangers have come here; sometimes the hammer rings only a little while, and other times it goes on until we are so tired that we fall asleep despite the noise. When strangers have been present, the monsters have killed some of us. Then when the hammer stopped, we were back.¡± I feel a tightness within my skull and breathe in time to the calmness of Farhad¡¯s memory. ¡°That still doesn¡¯t tell me how you know you died.¡± ¡°A metal blade sprang from nowhere when a stone shifted beneath my foot. It took my arm from my body, and I fell asleep watching blood pool around it. I¡¯ve seen such wounds kill strangers. I died, then I woke up again back here, where I¡¯ve woken for however long it¡¯s been.¡± Sage¡¯s reluctant explanation gives me far more to work on, though I¡¯ve no tools to deal with traps. ¡°I¡¯m not dead yet, no matter how certain you believe it. Do you have any other metal items besides this helm?¡± ¡°A few things, bits and pieces that strangers left behind, things they¡¯ve set aside don¡¯t vanish with their bodies.¡± ¡°Since you believe I have little time, can you show me while the water heats?¡± I ask. Sage looks wary, and I can hear his churning thoughts, but his voiced reply is far politer. ¡°If you have them on you when you die, they¡¯ll vanish.¡± ¡°Perhaps you can carry anything I believe useful then?¡± I ask. ¡°Until you are free as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll guide you to all the others for however long you live. We get Pip out first.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll certainly need a guide, but you carry the extra keys,¡± I counter and feel his mind churn in fear at the temptation they represent for him as well. ¡°I don¡¯t want to carry them; you can,¡± retorts Sage, the faintest shred of sulkiness in his words. ¡°Bring something along to put them in, so neither of us has to hold onto them.¡± The fear in his thoughts is clearer. He doesn¡¯t believe there will be enough. He wants one for himself, yet he fights the urge to take it, despite being here the longest. Their little leader, not wanting to be alone yet wanting to see them free. He is risking being trapped with none to keep him company again. ¡°Agreed. Will you tell me how you got here so that I can share it at the next gathering?¡± asks Sage, his cynical attitude hardly a surprise. ¡°Amdirlain offered me a chance to break free from my past.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡± asks Pip, eyes bright with interest. I¡¯ve never spoken in favour of any Power, and now I am sworn in service and promoting one. ¡°She¡¯s the Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope and New Beginnings.¡± New beginnings. May we all get free of this place, in a better state. ¡°Freedom!¡± The single word from Pip is bright with the glowing excitement she¡¯s been radiating since she accepted the key. ¡°Hope?¡± The word from Sage isn¡¯t so much a question but a doubt of its existence. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten what that felt like.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re going to the stairs, we should collect Whisper on the way. She¡¯s closest to them.¡± The hammer drowned conversation again, and Sage went back into his hiding spot. The angle allows me to see him search under bundles along the sidewall, hoping whatever gear he¡¯s kept will help with the traps. ¡°Why is she called Whisper?¡± I ask. ¡°She doesn¡¯t talk, she shouts. We¡¯re always telling her to whisper, and she¡¯s still loud.¡± * * * Elemental Plane of Earth Red chains blur past Amdirlain¡¯s face as she ducks their strikes. The spikes weighing them turn to hooks and grate across stone as their path follows Amdirlain¡¯s, her movement taking her clear of the cold metal gouging their stone foe. A stone limb stabs outwards from another Elemental, only for the blow to crumble against Angelic Aura without Amdirlain needing to attack. Stone rasping against stone, the only reaction to its destruction. Hooks find purchase in craggy stone, and Sidero rips the damaged Elemental apart. Amdirlain lets Ki Armour vanish as she turns off Angelic Aura. The Elementals, enraged by its provocation, don¡¯t turn away but attack without pause. Their blows continue to bounce or slide off Ki¡¯s strengthened flesh while Sidero¡¯s chains take them apart [Combat Summary: Greater Elemental Earth x6 (50%) Total Experience gained: 45,780 Fallen: +9,156 Scion: +9,156 Sora Master: +9,156 Psion: +9,156 Warrior Monk: +9,156 Angelic Aura [J](35->36) ] Sidero looked at Amdirlain¡¯s dust-covered form as she pulled the rock remains into her Inventory. ¡°Did their hitting you even tickle?¡± ¡°No, it was as if they were merely pushing,¡± replied Amdirlain, sighing at her hampered efforts to get resistance to Earth. ¡°So much for hitting that redline,¡± teased Sidero. ¡°Maybe, we need to find you an Elemental Lord or something. None of the groups we¡¯ve fought have helped.¡± [Achievement: This little light of mine! Condition: First Archon (Lantern) recruited. Reward: Celestial¡¯s services for as long as you¡¯re worthy. Role: Guide for Petitioners seeking Domain. Location: Domain, Outlands. Faith: +1 Note: An Archon (Lantern) has joined your service of their own accord. Current Use Name: Pip Memories condensed by agreement between Celestial and Titan. Faith Gained: +2] Please let that not be Ebusuku; I said to keep her memories! ¡°Hey, little miss misery. You look like someone put your cat down,¡± Sidero said. ¡°Which would be difficult because I¡¯m pretty sure you only have one pussy. Or have you been getting hentai freaky and not told me?¡± [Achievement: Hail to the chief! Condition: First Archon (Trumpet) recruited. Reward: Celestial¡¯s services for as long as you¡¯re worthy. Role: Messenger for Domain Location: Domain, Outlands. Faith: +1 Note: An Archon (Trumpet) has joined your service of their own accord. Current Use Name: Whisper Memories condensed by agreement between Celestial and Titan. Faith Gained: +7] ¡°What is going on?¡± Amdirlain gasped, a sense of the Archons and Angels in her service suddenly present within her mind. Focused on the newest members, she felt the System make it clear she could mentally send them a message at will no matter what Plane, she or they, were on. ¡°Pip and Whisper, thank you for joining those helping me. Please make yourself at home in the Domain. Relax and meet the Petitioners and the Norse visitors. I¡¯ll come to see you as soon as I can, then we can discuss what you¡¯d like to do.¡± Though she didn¡¯t receive any words in response, she felt their pleased surprise and an acknowledgement of her mental message. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You tell me what¡¯s going on,¡± said Sidero, looking at Amdirlain with bemusement. ¡°Talking to yourself, Amdirlain? Tsk, Tsk, lost your mind and your pocket change.¡± ¡°Two Celestials joined my service, and I¡¯ve no freaking idea how that happened. The notification said something about an agreement between them and the Titan.¡± Amdirlain huffed in disbelief. ¡°You should spend more time there, rather than just leaving folks a list of priorities,¡± suggested Sidero. ¡°I know, but you and R... Isaac, we¡¯re in this mess together. You¡¯re my sisters by choice. Sometimes I wish I¡¯d figured out a way to get free of it when Eivor declared her Faith in me. It wouldn¡¯t have stopped me from helping anyone, but this whole Power thing. . . I¡¯m lost, Sidero, and I don¡¯t know where to start. My to-do list for us is so mind-blowing already, and I keep finding others that also need help.¡± vented Amdirlain. ¡°I feel¡­ no, I know I don¡¯t know how to guide the Petitioners properly. I was in incident management, not a management track. Getting people to resolve an incident, making sure it¡¯s properly settled and followed up, that I can do. Leading people¡ªI don¡¯t know a thing about.¡± ¡°The best leaders do things by example and take ownership of their issues, Amdirlain. They¡¯re not the issue. You not knowing enough is the issue. But how will you learn if you¡¯re not there? Yes, you have plenty on your to-do list, but if you don¡¯t settle your Domain properly, it¡¯s going to bite you,¡± replied Sidero. ¡°If you want to keep saying you¡¯re not a leader and avoiding it, you can find someone else to lead for you. However, if things don¡¯t go where you want them when you¡¯re directing, you can try to change course. If someone else is in charge? Then you can only hope they don¡¯t yank the reins and tell you to suck it.¡± ¡°I just dragged you away from your other work. I don¡¯t want you running off back into Hell again. We don¡¯t have a way to communicate,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°With some preparation time, that won¡¯t be a problem,¡± Sidero said, wiggling a pair of large gemstones at Amdirlain, each the size of her thumb tip. ¡°I¡¯ll link these. You¡¯ll need to come to Hades, but they¡¯ll let us talk.¡± ¡°What about the materials for finding the Giants?¡± Amdirlain enquired, stress edging hard into her voice. ¡°What about them? You need downtime from all the fighting you¡¯ve been doing. Take a month, take six, a year; fine, L¨ºdhins will be stronger, big fucking deal. He¡¯s getting a head start, but so what? You¡¯re not responsible for ending him, even if you want to be, nor are you responsible for Derek¡¯s fate. You¡¯re also not responsible for immediately helping those Clans. Strengthening relationships takes many forms. Spend time with your people, help them, and help yourself settle by getting to know them. I¡¯m not saying be there every second, but the majority until you feel better about yourself.¡± ¡°How long will linking those take?¡± Amdirlain enquired, motioning to the gemstones. ¡°That¡¯s more the issue. Care to drop me off at The Exchange?¡± asked Sidero. ¡°Why there?¡± Sidero considered her intently, weighing up the words to use. ¡°Because you are not inviting me into your home the way I am now. No way, no how. As for The Exchange, I¡¯ve heard of it and even read its rules. Neutral yet orderly, I¡¯ll certainly find work there that will cover my expenses. Give me a month or two, then find me. I want to make sure they link properly, not rush the job and have it come apart later.¡± Amdirlain felt her teeth grinding and paused. ¡°Why the change in plans?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough to know where you¡¯re at¡ªroughly at least¡ªand the way you reacted says you need rest. Ebusuku¡¯s situation is bugging you way more than you¡¯re admitting to yourself, and it¡¯s just adding to everything. You thought something had happened to her, didn¡¯t you?¡± said Sidero and she started nodding crazily like a bobblehead dashboard ornament. ¡°If you don¡¯t say yes, you¡¯re going to need a safe word.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain with a laugh. ¡°You¡¯ve taken too many hits. Amdirlain. Give yourself time to heal inside, and bonus, you can learn about those who¡¯ve placed their Souls in your care. Otherwise, who knows? Maybe that architect will erect a big arse monument since you said no to both her bunker and castle ideas,¡± teased Sidero before growing serious. ¡°On the plus side, I might get some materials for you trading on my skills or at least learn their market value.¡± ¡°What, you¡¯re just going to shoo me on my way?¡± ¡°Not saying to split up straight away. I have to get some starting resources after all,¡± said Sidero, motioning onwards. ¡°Things with Ebusuku might resolve by then,¡± challenged Amdirlain. ¡°If it does, we can talk. Though I¡¯d still advise time off, it¡¯s likely contributing to the way you¡¯re flitting around at present. How unsettled are you feeling right now? You¡¯re going to hit a wall unless you breathe. If Ebusuku gets to be a big-wig Celestial, have her pick up a chunk from your list. You delegated to the ex-L¨®m?; now delegate other things to Ebusuku. You¡¯d warned her you had plenty of things that needed handling. It sounds like Farhad wouldn¡¯t be averse to challenging his skills with her.¡± ¡°Twelve more groups?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Four hours, then we¡¯ll call it, and you can Uber me over there, oh mighty one,¡± Sidero replied. A mass of rock appeared and tumbled down the passage¡¯s slope away from Sidero¡¯s position. ¡°Are you sure about The Exchange?¡± ¡°After Hell, The Exchange will be easy. I¡¯ve read its rules.¡± Sidero declared. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine.¡± 127 - Never too late They¡¯d stayed longer than intended, having run into a cavern containing hundreds of Elementals. Though even deliberately allowing foes to engulf her had provided Amdirlain only a single increase in Earth Resistance. With the last of them dealt with and gems collected, the Gate opened at The Exchange¡¯s entry. Where Amdirlain¡¯s first arrival hadn¡¯t made an impression, Sidero got a powerful reaction. Entities close by looked at her swaying red chains and backed well away, their attention focused entirely on her. Amdirlain had noticed another Kyton in the area being treated with the disinterest she¡¯d received. Sidero didn¡¯t even give them the time of day but headed towards a gate intended for longer-term stays without even a goodbye. The ramrod set of her posture made it clear she had no intention of looking back. The Kyton who¡¯d been waiting in a different queue left and followed Sidero, the moment the chains caught her eye, provoking a message from Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got a Kyton following that changed queues. You¡¯d better explain the reaction you just got when we meet again.¡± A temptation to follow churned at her, but she let the Gate close and Planar Shift carry her to the Outlands. Animal sounds, sunlight, and floral scents washed over her. For long minutes she just savoured it before she teleported to her spot on the riverbank. Little had changed and the rope swing was still present, hooked well away from the waterline. The memory of Torm¡¯s joking made her smile, though his absence made her regret the arrival point. Hearing the distant sounds of activity in the Domain, she walked towards where the buildings lay. The first step made the Domain echo under her feet and consider an item on her to-do list. Mentally thanking Sidero, she knelt in quiet meditation, centring herself in the world, instead of retreating to the mindscape. Hours later, with her energy gathered inside her, she reached down into Domain¡¯s wellspring and the reserves she¡¯d placed in it. Her focus settling on it, the wellspring¡¯s connection to the Plane became clear, along with the draw of prayers and blessings. The borders of the Domain had stretched since she¡¯d established it¡ªgrown naturally overtime¡ªand Amdirlain poured additional energy into it. The air came alive as Mana, Ki, and even Psi energy washed out of her into the Domain carrying extra Faith with it. Growth of her Faith stretched the Domain out further than she¡¯d expected, the combined energies aiding its expansion. An experience far different from Telepathy¡¯s net opened her mind to beautiful shifting energies. Through the Domain¡¯s aura, she felt the differing energies from Celestials to Petitioners and its interaction with each presence. Their energy formed a meshwork with the Domain¡¯s aura. Though the relationship between them and the aura edged across her awareness, its truths stayed on the edge of her perceptions; unclear what each drew from the pseudo-connection that had formed. Within the Domain¡¯s energy, she could sense threads that didn¡¯t originate from anything Amdirlain had added to the Domain, nor were they around the Wellspring. The threads orientated towards the Petitioners yet stayed clear of touching them. Floating in the slightest gap between the Domain¡¯s aura and the Souls existence, they waved like seagrass dancing on an ocean tide. Harmony that mingled with the aura didn¡¯t even register them. Contact with one through the aura¡¯s expanse was like trailing her fingers through a sauna¡¯s mist. Warmth brushed along her mind¡ªthe thread parted and reformed¡ªleaving no impression or understanding behind, Yet it hovered close enough that she felt only the slightest hint of effort would touch it, sending tingles through her. The exercise sent shivers up and down her spine like the schoolyard trick of breaking the egg. Memories of Rach¡¯s hands clapping just above her head, before hands trailed downwards, pretending to be a yolk; avoiding touching her hair by the slimmest of margins as her hands drifted. Memory blended into the present and elicited a squeal of laughter, the electrostatic tingling in the memory so sharp and real. That sharpness contained a newness that broke her out of her meditations. Laughter, and the hope of seeing Rachel again, rushed through her and made her blink against the light. A glowing orb within a gold filigree mesh floating nearby made the space under the trees brighter. The Domain itself let her know it was Pip, and the Archon was female but used Analysis anyway to get details on her capabilities. [Name: Pip Species: Archon (Lantern) Level: 2 Health: 30 Defence: 19 Ranged Attack Power: 19 (Range: 12 Metres) Combat Skills: Radiant Beam [Ap](1) - Various Innate Powers Details: Recently released from the Maze of Trials by Ebusuku¡¯s choices, she swore to Amdirlain¡¯s service because of Ebusuku¡¯s care, where others had simply left her behind. ] ¡°Hello, Pip.¡± Pip rushed forward the moment Amdirlain spoke, doing a complete loop around her, and stopped just within arm¡¯s reach. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t disturb you, Amdirlain. Oh, ahh¡­ Hello? Should I have started with just Hello or Hello, Lady Amdirlain! Oh sorry, I was told not to use Lady. Hello, Amdirlain. Oh, I¡¯m talking too much, aren¡¯t I? I really feel like I¡¯m talking too much. Am I talking too much?¡± There was no sign where her voice originated, but its vibrant tone held a sheer exuberance that had Amdirlain¡¯s smile twitch in delight. ¡°I think you¡¯re excited.¡± ¡°Am I? That could be, hmm, yes, very excited. I¡¯m not sure I remember being excited, but now I know what that is. This is good! There are so many trees here, not just fruit trees. Though I want to find all the fruit trees. In case any of your Petitioners want fruit, maybe? Actually, I¡¯m not sure why. I remember my trees being toppled and being afraid they wouldn¡¯t regrow, so maybe it¡¯s just about having some around. Do you have over six? I think I¡¯ve counted more than that, but I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re all yours. Or is that ours?¡± ¡°There are some fruit trees about outside my Domain, so those aren¡¯t ours,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Those inside the Domain I¡¯m sure we could consider ours.¡± Pip darted away, spun a circle and raced back, apparently having decided one side of the meshwork to be her facing. Though Amdirlain could see little difference in the meshwork¡¯s details. ¡°Okay. Sorry, I think I¡¯m going to have to count them again because I felt the Domain grow. Not sure how I know, or how I even know what a Domain even is, but I do, know¡­ both things.¡± ¡°Do you know where Whisper is?¡± Amdirlain asked, having waited patiently for Pip to wind down. The question made the light archon twist in place for a few moments before an answer came. ¡°Whisper, I know¡­ knew¡­ Whisper was with us¡­. we were trapped now we¡¯re not. Thank you Amdirlain, Ebusuku told us of you. I¡¯ll go find Whisper. All I¡¯ll have to do is listen out. Will you be here a while? Or should I ask her to meet you somewhere?¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t point out she could message her, just nodded gratefully. ¡°I¡¯ll be here for a bit, I¡¯ve some thinking to do.¡± Pip bounced in the air and simply vanished, True Sight showing Amdirlain a faint trace of spatial energy. Amdirlain rose to unhook the rope swing when the notification came. [Achievement: Then there were two! Condition: First temple dedicated within a settlement primarily containing a second species. Achieved by: High Traveller Aggie. Location: Stoneheart Reward: Faith +10 Additional Condition: Settlement contains over 100,000 individuals. Reward: (20,000 Experience awarded to High Traveller Aggie) Additional Condition: Settlement Capital City Reward: Those inclined towards your Faith¡¯s tenants will find it easier to achieve Priest Class for a half solar cycle. Current consecrated locations: - Shrine count by region¡¯s populace:
  • Human (Egyptian) x3
  • Human (Norse) x5
  • Human (Persian) x1
  • Human (Slav) x1
  • Orc x1
  • Kobold x1
Temple count by region¡¯s populace:
  • Mountain Dwarf x1
  • Human (Egyptian) x1
  • Human (Norse) x2
] ¡°What has she done?¡± [Achievement: How much is that doggy in the window? Condition: First Archon (Hound) recruited. Reward: Celestial¡¯s services for as long as you¡¯re worthy. Role: Protector of Faithful Location: Domain, Outlands. Faith: +1 Note: An Archon (Hound) has joined your service of their own accord. Current Use Name: Hook Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Memories condensed by agreement between Celestial and Titan. Faith Gained: +5] A rush followed as four more notifications pushed into her awareness. On the heels of the messages, the Domain¡¯s energy shimmered around her and five figures snapped into existence, one after another. The humanoid figures were nearly at the two-metre mark. A mix of male and female, all were broad-shouldered and muscular. They were wearing loose clothing similar in style to Amdirlain¡¯s, though their clawed feet made boots a non-issue. They had long Rhodesian ridgeback style muzzles with a light honey-gold fur. Hook and Pit were both male, and the female hounds were Iris, Mirage, and Berry, though Analysis showed Mirage was the strongest among them. Enchantments made all their clothing glow in True Sight. [Name: Mirage Species: Archon (Hound) Level: 9 Health: 117 Defence: 22 Melee Attack Power: 26 Combat Attack Skills: Unarmed [Ad] (1), Claw [Ad] (1), Bite [Ad] (1), Slam [Ad] (1) - Various Innate Powers. Details: Recently released from the Maze of Trials by Ebusuku¡¯s choices. She¡¯s sworn to Amdirlain¡¯s service but departed among the second group only in protest.] ¡°Amdirlain,¡± Mirage said, only a fraction before the others, their greeting blending awkwardly together. ¡°How may we serve?¡± ¡°Your priority is to protect the Petitioners,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What classes would you like?¡± Mirage looked at the others before she addressed Amdirlain. ¡°Monk is your preferred class?¡± ¡°It is, but that doesn¡¯t mean you need it or need to rush any decision,¡± Amdirlain responded. ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°That showed in my Profile message as well,¡± Pit stated, his rumbling bass the deepest she¡¯d ever heard. ¡°I already took Monk and Scout, but I wasn¡¯t sure what else I wanted.¡± Amdirlain looked between the pair and studied the others again. ¡°Class choice will always be yours. Did you all get a Profile message?¡± A yell interrupted their nods. ¡°AMDIRLAIN!¡± The loud bellow set birds squawking away, and the others turned as one to shush the new arrival with her name. ¡°Whisper.¡± Over the water was a winged figure dressed in equally practical clothes but with a long golden ornate trumpet held casually in one hand. Pure white glowing eyes were a match for her hair and wings. The sunlight through the opalescent feathers made a rainbow of colour. Her long-limbed form matched Amdirlain in its Elven appearance: fine-featured with a lithe build. Though at just over one-ninety centimetres, she stood taller than Amdirlain. Pip suddenly appeared and together they teleported near the others. Their arrival drew cheers and good-natured teasing that got a playful pout from Whisper. [Name: Whisper Species: Archon (Trumpet) Level: 14 Health: 210 Defence: 28 Melee Attack Power: 32 Combat Attack Skills: Two-Handed Blades [M] (1) - Various Innate Powers. Details: Recently released from the Maze of Trials by Ebusuku¡¯s choices. She went through the flames first to ensure Pip¡¯s safety.] Whisper shook her head ruefully at the laughing group, her amusement clear, but still spoke loudly as the laughter settled. ¡°They say I¡¯m the loud one.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet you, Whisper.¡± Whisper smiled brightly at Amdirlain¡¯s use of her name. The round of hugs that followed as Pip wove around them made Amdirlain smile, the family vibe among them clear. I don¡¯t have to know everything. I¡¯ll focus on giving them all a place they can be at home. ¡°What about Sage and Ebusuku?¡± asked Pip. ¡°Getting the others. You¡¯re looking pale, Pip. Are you okay?¡± Berry asked, barely contained laughter bubbling in her voice. ¡°Haha Berry funny,¡± replied Pip, spinning on her side as she held her position. ¡°How much do you remember of the Maze?¡± Mirage smiled thoughtfully and motioned to the group. ¡°Lots about these rascals. I remember the endless waiting and dying when the strangers didn¡¯t protect us. But the place¡¯s misery seems vague, like water flowing past me now. I remember living there, but not what it smelt like, the stone underfoot or even the smell of my waterfall.¡± ¡°I remember Ebusuku keeping the dog from biting me,¡± Berry said. ¡°Our gatherings, and when the others after me joined. Though not my deaths, but I remember marking the wall for each. So I can remember recent, and long ago. The scent of finding Pip¡¯s apple trees, and the change in the passage when Hook¡¯s dead-end appeared.¡± They died in there, repeatedly? ¡°How about Sage¡¯s grapes, and him trying to make wine?¡± asked Iris, earning nods from the others. ¡°That was so bad. I was so sick after drinking it, and my head ached,¡± grumbled Hook. ¡°It made me warm, but I felt terrible afterwards. Maybe I¡¯ll find some better wine.¡± ¡°For Mortals, wine can make them feel that way,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°It can?! Why would they drink it then?¡± Hook demanded before he added with a huff. ¡°He could have told me that.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s glance took them all in as she enjoyed the happiness radiating from them. ¡°Pip, would you show them where the main buildings are? I¡¯ll be along shortly.¡± ¡°Okay, follow me,¡± Pip said. She blurred off before racing back just as fast. ¡°Sorry, slow pokes.¡± They all started after her, even Whisper, though she had to be careful of her wings among the trees. Once the others were away, she indulged her curiosity and sent a message. * * * Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze The flames roll back as Mirage moves towards them; beyond, Berry¡¯s face is growing red from holding her breath. A noisy exhalation follows Mirage¡¯s passage through unharmed. Mirage¡¯s outline in the flame turns with a hand raised, and in that instant they all vanish. The conflict and tension in Sage¡¯s mind pulls at my attention, and I spot a key in his white-knuckled grip. ¡°Sit down. I should check your wounds again.¡± I¡¯m sure I hear his knuckles crack from the tightness of his grip around the latest key. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to leave as well?¡± Even without hearing his thoughts, the torn look on his face says it all, but he thrusts the key into the bag he¡¯s carrying. He brings out his jar of goop and a collection of ripped rags. ¡°Will you promise to try your hardest to get the rest out if I guide you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t go back on my word. I made my choice.¡± At my reply, the tension lifts from his shoulders and I sit down to let him fuss. The stones of the spiral staircase are cold and hard, but getting my weight off my knee still feels good. I don¡¯t fuss as he unwinds the makeshift bandage from my hand, the dried blood pulling painfully at the remains of my smallest two fingers. ¡°Why did you put your hand in its mouth?¡± My shrug just gets a frustrated glare, so I give an honest answer. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my intent; my reaction speed is off.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I cut them back far enough. The wounds are black, though there are lines under your skin. Do you feel warm?¡± ¡°No, actually my arse is getting cold sitting on stone. This going to take long?¡± Sage¡¯s only response is to slather more poultice across my wounds and bind them again. I can feel the turmoil in his thoughts and try a distraction. ¡°No path to let us collect them all together?¡± ¡°Not unless there is a new passage between the maze¡¯s areas,¡± Sage''s reply is doubtful. His gaze lingers on the red mark climbing beyond the scratches up my leg. Its digging pain had replaced the cold daggers under my skin before we even returned to the stairs. ¡°Then start with whichever path takes us to the most.¡± His hands at least steady as the crude jar of poultice returns to the bag before he stands. ¡°Will you be able to keep fighting?¡± Pain spikes from my thigh into my guts. I grit my teeth and take calming breaths before I manage a reply ¡°You¡¯re using up time, lead the way.¡± ¡°You should go now. You don¡¯t know how long the remaining challenges will take,¡± declares Sage, gesturing down the darkened staircase. ¡°I won¡¯t break my word, now let¡¯s go.¡± Sage sets off with only a single regretful glance up the stairs. The hammer¡¯s next strike silencing any chance for conversation. We¡¯ve barely gone a hundred metres before danger crawls along my skin and I take the lead. Though I can¡¯t hear anything, a breeze wafting an Abyssal stench our way confirms the trouble. A slap of a foot echoes in the air as the hammer stills. Their ambush blown, the Dretches round the corner in a rush. My blade diverts one¡¯s strike, but pain spikes up my leg as I pivot. I can¡¯t injure a Dretch without a magical blade, but their weapons show runes. I sway away from the second¡¯s stab and listen to the first¡¯s clumsy footwork. He stabs again trying to force my positioning. I don¡¯t play his game, but grab his wrist and pivot with him. Even much larger than me, his off-balance stance lets me add momentum, and I pull his stab into the other Dretch. The wound it opens in the first¡¯s arm isn¡¯t fatal, but his sword dropping is all I need. A roll across rough stone adds to pain clawing through me, but I rise holding the blade. It¡¯s a heavier style than I prefer, but I open the wounded one¡¯s throat and slip a chop. A quick step takes me past the survivor. Sparks rise from his blade, hitting the ground before I open his spine. A moment later, another key and sword sit among the blood. * * * Aggie¡¯s PoV - Stoneheart Aggie watched quietly as Stone Master Ilanan finished the last details of the mosaic around the altar. The energy rush that had hit her when the dedication completed still not fading. Only once her knees ceased shaking did she turn and bow politely to where High Crafter Qidnak and the other High Priests had observed quietly. Though she didn¡¯t know if it was proper to invite another High Priest¡ªlet alone multiple of assorted faiths¡ªto the Temple¡¯s dedication, it had seemed only right. High Priestess Olfsan of Berronar nodded her approval, returning the respect in Aggie¡¯s bow. ¡°The energy of your Goddess is different to Berronar¡¯s Temple, but very close. Amdirlain seems inclined to help you up afterwards, rather than to protect you from falling.¡± Aggie smiled and gave a shrug. ¡°You can¡¯t always be there to stop the fall.¡± ¡°We should leave the stone shapers to their work. Forming the additional Temple rooms should be complete within the shift. What should we do in the meantime?¡± asked Qidnak. Aggie considered all the information she¡¯d already learnt from the High Priests. ¡°Might I see the Portal you discussed? Then perhaps I could start assisting the Wizards.¡± ¡°Of course, hopefully it¡¯s enough for whatever you need for Lady Amdirlain,¡± replied Qidnak ¡°Amdirlain,¡± grumbled High Crafter Jantar. ¡°Unless you want her reciting your ancestry repeatedly, call her Amdirlain.¡± Aggie burst out laughing, able to see Amdirlain doing exactly that with her amusement shining the whole time. ¡°If you could lead the way, I¡¯m looking forward to seeing a Portal of such quality.¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to how you make use of it,¡± stated Qidnak. ¡°To already have a Solar sworn to her is impressive.¡± ¡°Oh, she doesn¡¯t,¡± replied Aggie, and let the silence stretch. ¡°There are a few youngsters I¡¯ll bring by tomorrow that don¡¯t quite fit with Vergadain¡¯s Temple. More interested in purely helping than getting others to trust their luck. That¡¯s if you¡¯d care to discuss Amdirlain¡¯s tenets with them and see if they might be suitable Priest candidates,¡± offered High Priest Yalpin, breaking the silence at last. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to speak with anyone about her, and I¡¯ll try not to poach,¡± Aggie teased. ¡°A challenge, is it? This might be fun.¡± Clangeddin¡¯s High Priest wasn¡¯t the type she¡¯d expected. Instead of booming and boisterous, the Exalted Champion Ylamin carried themselves with a quiet, focused intensity. Aggie held back a sigh, wishing she could pick out at least if they were male or female. Mana rippled across her senses and at the message she received, Aggie started laughing. Qidnak gave a puzzled frown. ¡°What¡¯s so funny Aggie?¡± ¡°Amdirlain sent a message asking me what I¡¯d done.¡± ¡°Tell her she set a Xorn among the gems, and now she¡¯s adopted,¡± declared Qidnak. Aggie paused as she took in Qidnak¡¯s response. ¡°What¡¯s a Xorn?¡± ¡°Elemental Earth beast; it consumes precious gems and metals,¡± replied Qidnak. Chuckling, Aggie sent a response, though talking to her Goddess in such a fashion had her laughter echoing in the Temple. Jantar looked over the altar¡¯s mosaic and directed her attention back to Aggie once she¡¯d calmed. ¡°I¡¯m glad I was here to meet you, Aggie, I¡¯d best be getting back to Duskstone. If you come through, perhaps you¡¯d spare some time to talk.¡± 128 - Aint no rest for the wicked Outlands Amdirlain¡¯s giggles lightened her steps, but an unexpected sight stopped her as she broke through the treeline. Two Dwarves in armour, one in gleaming Mithril chainmail, the other in leather, stood at the edge of her Domain. When she focused on them, their avatars¡¯ auras against the Domain¡¯s perimeter made it clear who they were. Not wanting to make them wait, Amdirlain teleported to them. ¡°Clangeddin and Vergadain; I hope you¡¯re not here to scold me.¡± Clangeddin wore an open-face helm with his chain to allow for his full white beard¡ªcombed out but unbraided, it came down to his belt. A pair of axe handles peeked up above one shoulder, making her wonder if he called them to hand or if there was an odd harness at work. Vergadain didn¡¯t wear a helm, but his auburn hair and beard were both braided tightly. His leather armour was covered in knife sheaths strapped at nearly every spot possible, and Amdirlain spotted more than a few not in plain sight. When she¡¯d addressed them, they fixed her with assessing gazes, though they seemed to look for far different things. Clangeddin¡¯s gaze weighed her up physically, while Vergadain focused on what she wore and carried about her person. Clangeddin¡¯s laughter echoed loudly, followed by a metallic ring as he slapped his gauntleted hand against his thigh in amusement. ¡°Why would we scold our potential little sister?¡± Amdirlain stopped and blinked for a moment before she blurted a response. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°We wanted to invite you before the Elven courts got their mitts on you. We¡¯ve been around more than a few planets and eons before they joined the festivities,¡± Vergadain stated, his wide smile splitting his beard. Clangeddin nodded seriously. ¡°Berronar heard of Mab¡¯s involvement and decided you needed proper allies. The Elven courts introduced your faith to another world, and you reached a third yourself. They should have invited you after you wiggled out of the Demon¡¯s grasp. Since they¡¯ve dragged their heels, we¡¯d like to help you tweak their noses.¡± ¡°Please come in,¡± Amdirlain said, stepping to one side as she motioned them forward. ¡°This is most unexpected.¡± At her invitation, the Domain¡¯s aura welcomed their own, and the two Deities¡¯ entry didn¡¯t even cause a ripple. ¡°More will be along,¡± declared Vergadain. ¡°Thautam wants to talk about your clergy helping Dwarven wizards connect to more affinities. I believe your Priestess already agreed to help in Stoneheart, but there are other worlds. So, we¡¯d like to invite you to join our family¡¯s Pantheon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Fallen though,¡± protested Amdirlain. Clangeddin stepped forward and clasped her hand in his own. ¡°So what! We tolerate Abbathor in our midst. If we can tolerate that greedy sod, we can adopt you. Even if you¡¯re lacking a beard, youngling. Now, I¡¯ve heard you can change your shape. Why don¡¯t you lose some height and put on a proper beard?¡± At his amused look, Amdirlain just reached out and tapped his nose. ¡°Nope, if your family adopts me, you¡¯ll have to get used to a beardless sister.¡± Another five Dwarves, only one in armour, appeared where Clangeddin and Vergadain had been waiting. Amdirlain felt their aura¡¯s interaction with her Domain and steadied herself. Clangeddin¡¯s hand gave a reassuring squeeze while she caught her mental balance, and he released her with a nod. The new arrivals were unique in both their clothing and aura. Even their clothing was rich with Celestial energies, but from there, their aspects varied. Moradin¡¯s avatar was a nearly bald dwarf with a long steel-grey beard. The bald edge reached to just above his ears, and the fringe of hair left grew down across his shoulders. Clad in heavy-duty clothing, he looked ready for a day¡¯s work at a forge. Flame-red hair with hints of oranges matched Berronar¡¯s beard, with both in a tight braid. Emerald flecks that matched her eyes appeared frequently along the silver wire woven through both to keep them under control. Amdirlain had seen Dwarves travelling through Eyrarh¨¢ls dressed in similarly practical clothing to Marthammor. Heavy leather clothes, and solid boots, their dark earthen tones a strange contrast to the sun-gold of his eyes. Though their tones blended in with the deep brown of his hair and beard, which looked wind tousled. Thautam¡¯s clothing was like the Dwarven townsfolk she¡¯d seen in Duskstone, though the pants and tunic had runes stitched with mithril thread. His choice of deep brown clothing did not match his sapphire-blue eyes, but they were by a few jewels amid the rings on his fingers. Gorn wore solid plate armour and was the only one carrying a shield. His armour and weapons seemed well maintained but showed signs of frequent use. Among them, he seemed the only one ready to move at a moment¡¯s notice. His focus looking out for dangers to defend against rather than looking for battle as she¡¯d found among the Norse. Deep blue eyes regarded her from within his helm, and a broad nose sat above his precisely trimmed auburn beard, which reached barely to the top of his breastplate. ¡°Moradin, Berronar, Marthammor, Thautam, and Gorn, I bid you welcome.¡± Marthammor strode in, heading straight for her. Without delay, he caught her hand in a double clasp. ¡°Lady Dawn, it¡¯s good to see you again,¡± Marthammor declared, giving her hand a solid shake, yet Amdirlain could feel his restraint. ¡°You¡¯ve somewhat of your old appearance about you.¡± ¡°Never thought I¡¯d have Orc worshipers, Amdirlain. Not only that, but they¡¯re fixated on protecting their tribe¡¯s territory rather than seeking conquests as many try,¡± Gorm said. He reached up and patted her upper arm in a friendly greeting. ¡°I guess having a tall one about would be handy for reaching a bar¡¯s top shelves.¡± ¡°I guess being around a group of shorter individuals means the good stuff hidden under the bar is accessible,¡± countered Amdirlain, and Gorm just grinned. ¡°Why don¡¯t we grab a table in the mead hall? I¡¯m sure one of us can keep eavesdroppers ignorant if anything needs discretion.¡± ¡°That sounds sensible,¡± Moradin said, tapping Gorm on the shoulder to prompt him to release her hand. Though he was quick to take it up in his own grip. ¡°I¡¯d like to learn why your Priestess requested use of the great Portal in my Temple.¡± ¡°One thing at a time, husband. Let¡¯s get settled and have no ears listening, as Amdirlain suggested.¡± Berronar chided Moradin from where she and Thautam followed the other three at a slower pace. ¡°With Amdirlain¡¯s permission, I can ensure none overhear anything we don¡¯t wish shared beyond us for now.¡± Thautam said, ¡°Our people are by nature inclined to particular affinities, yet you and your High Priestess have helped many overcome that issue. I had thought to seek your aid for more, but our parents had another suggestion since you shook up practices that had limited one world. It was not within our Portfolios to encourage such change in traditions, though we can see the potential it offers once you put it to them.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what you¡¯re thinking with this adoption offer. While I¡¯m grateful for the offer, I¡¯ll need to know if it will limit my activities,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Limits,¡± Moradin said thoughtfully and nodded sharply before exchanging a glance with Berronar. ¡°Perhaps we need to hear what else you have on your to-do list that you mentioned to young Jantar.¡± Amdirlain smiled ruefully at the weight in their glance. ¡°Lots. Is your whole Pantheon bound by the Accord?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Berronar sighed, and stroked her beard thoughtfully. Amdirlain winced but motioned towards the mead hall. ¡°Let¡¯s go sit and talk. I¡¯d like to learn more of the situation in M¨¦lamar.¡± They easily found a place on benches inside the mead hall to talk. Amdirlain was glad her Petitioners were far outnumbered by the Norse Celestials in her Domain. When they were settled, a brunette teenager brought them mugs of mead, and Amdirlain stopped cold when she felt the moment of the girl¡¯s death. Despite the violence that had stolen her life, she felt calm and at peace. The knowledge settled in Amdirlain¡¯s memory, but she kept herself composed, and Amdirlain rested her hand on the girl¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do for the rest of your family, Runa.¡± ¡°Thank you, Amdirlain. I hope they are safe, but the living world is not in anyone¡¯s control. Though I hope I improved it during my time among them,¡± Runa said, nodding politely to the guests before heading back behind the bar. A momentary focus of her attention made Amdirlain aware of the comfort Runa took in her work in the hall. Her sigh of relief drew Berronar¡¯s attention, and the Goddess nodded at her. ¡°New Powers often struggle to understand the transformation of Petitioners. I¡¯ve seen it among them on many worlds. You¡¯ve got a welcoming place here, a sense of a home. Good families pitch in together to get things done, without putting a burden solely on one, helping them find their place. You¡¯ve let them keep their individuality and they¡¯ll seek familiar things while they adjust.¡± ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯ve got other pearls of wisdom?¡± Amdirlain asked seriously. ¡°Don¡¯t say pearls,¡± warned Marthammor, giving Vergadain a cheeky look. Vergadain rolled his eyes at his brother and motioned to Clangeddin. ¡°You well and truly lost that bet, I hadn¡¯t even had a sip.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll ask my Champion on Karak to aid with rescuing your Chosen,¡± Clangeddin grumbled. ¡°Mind you, I¡¯m not setting it as a quest, but purely voluntary. If they help, you¡¯ll need to reward them properly for their efforts.¡± Vergadain gave a pleased smile. ¡°That¡¯s agreeable.¡± ¡°Do they often bet that way?¡± Amdirlain asked Berronar. ¡°Children,¡± huffed Berronar. ¡°That they do, though most often Clangeddin sends help regardless. The Faithful have their strong points, and our family has many gifted followers in some worlds.¡± Clangeddin gave his mother a wounded look. ¡°It¡¯s only often because his followers always get themselves in over their heads.¡± ¡±We should show you natural Portals to a few primitive worlds. Let you get yourself established in more places,¡± Vergadain offered, ignoring the exchange. A raised hand from Moradin cut him off, and he quickly closed his mouth. ¡°One thing at a time, son. Would you tell us about this to-do list of yours, Amdirlain? I¡¯d like to know if there is any way we can assist.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ensure no one hears the details within or without your Domain, if that¡¯s agreeable,¡± offered Thautam. ¡°Thanks,¡± Amdirlain said and waited until she felt a Spell settle in place before she continued. ¡°Top of the list is getting myself and my friends free of our curse. But during my first time in the Ten Kingdoms, I encountered followers of Set with a caravan of Norse slaves and a tortured Celestial.¡± Moradin grimaced at her words. ¡°That fellow is an unpleasant topic, but remaining ignorant helps no one.¡± * * * Berronar patted her arm as the others vanished. ¡°Thank you for showing us around your Domain, Amdirlain. I¡¯m sorry our offer would cause issues with your plans. When things are more settled for you, or if you need help, we¡¯ll be here for you. Like your Petitioners, seek the familiar to adjust, consider doing the same¡ªit¡¯ll help ground you. It¡¯s why each realm has elements of what drew Faithful to us, so they have that focus in their existence.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. With that last piece of advice, Berronar left Amdirlain to her thoughts, and she went in search of the Archons. Amdirlain found them sitting in a circle under a large apple tree, with Pip drifting through the branches. ¡°Apologies for the delay. I had some very unexpected guests.¡± ¡°Were they really Gods?¡± Pip asked, darting down to hover just above Mirage¡¯s head ¡°They looked rather short to be Gods.¡± Mirage stuck her hand up and lightly clasped the meshwork surrounding Pip. ¡°Don¡¯t be rude.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Pip mumbled, and Mirage lightly patted her side. Hook glanced at the pair before directing his attention to Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a particular reason you chose Monk as your main Class?¡± ¡°Not a single reason, but initially I was in a very dangerous place with nothing. A Monk focuses on overcoming physical limits. Strength of will is a determining factor rather than reliance upon equipment,¡± Amdirlain replied. Iris snorted in amusement at Amdirlain¡¯s response. ¡°Having nothing sounds familiar. I know we can select this Class, but will you teach us? Or do we just pick it and other classes we want and learn as we go?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be happy to teach you whenever you¡¯re ready to learn,¡± responded Amdirlain. The swiftness of her response brought smiles from the others, and they rose to their feet. Amdirlain laughed warmly at their eagerness. ¡°Well, now is fine. Everyone spread out and we¡¯ll begin with some simple activities.¡± As if in response to her words, the Domain¡¯s energy rippled, and seven more figures appeared among them as a stream of notifications hit. * * * Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze ¡°Your wounds stink, and black lines are growing under your skin. I¡¯m not leading you anywhere.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep my word.¡± Sage smashed the poultice jar against the closest wall before he upends the bag. The leather roll filled with makeshift tools drops to the ground amid keys chiming on stone. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten enough keys for those left. I¡¯ll give them out when we gather next, if I can¡¯t get to them earlier. I¡¯m not going to let you kill yourself from pride.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it my choice?¡± ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s a stupid choice,¡± Sage snarls. ¡°How am I supposed to stand myself if you don¡¯t¡­¡± Pain bends me in two, the berries I recently ate spraying across the stairs as I turn my face away. Sage passes me the waterskin after I stop gasping, and two of him suddenly appear swimming before me. His hand is so cold it feels like ice against my skin. ¡°Please Ebusuku, I¡¯ll tell them of Amdirlain, I promise, but you need to start on the next level now. You¡¯ll not survive two more trips through the maze, even if nothing more attacks us. Your skin isn¡¯t ebony anymore, it¡¯s grey, and you¡¯re burning up.¡± The stone is drinking my heat and I can¡¯t remember laying down, but Sage is crouched beside me. Droplets trickling across my neck make me aware of the dripping rag in his hand. ¡°What happened?¡± Sage frowns grimly. ¡°You passed out. Do you remember sitting down?¡± A vague memory claws its way to the surface, and I nod reluctantly as the memory seems so vague ¡°We¡¯re both going downstairs,¡± Sage states, and turns to gather the keys. I lean on a sheathed sword to get to my feet by the time he¡¯s done, but with the trembling in my knees I abandon the second sword. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll be able to manage traps.¡± The words themselves exhaust me and I move to lean against the wall. ¡°Then we¡¯ll die down there together,¡± Sage states firmly, without glancing at the flames above. ¡°If the keys are like other things, they¡¯ll be with me when I reappear in my hole. Now let me help you get down the stairs, it would be stupid if you slipped and broke your neck.¡± Step by step I manage, propped up between Sage and the wall. Each time my weight comes down on my right leg, it drives pain into my crotch that burns up through my guts. The rough stone underfoot turns into smooth tiles, and I have to watch my step. At the base of the stairs, an archway draws a line before the start of first mosaic. Their borders are as bright with colours as the scenes within are dark. Picture after picture stretches out before me, disappearing into the gloom, each some three metres square. ¡°The floor¡¯s pictures aren¡¯t the same,¡± Sage says, his gaze moving over the black stone room shown within. A young stupid succubus being addressed by a Gil?glp, the details so sharp and clear. ¡°Was there a border before?¡± ¡°I think so, I remember stepping on it and then I fell.¡± Sage helps me ease to the ground. After long minutes of work with hands that I fight to stop shaking, I pry up a tile to find gears beneath. Levers and chains run into the walls. Nearly an hour of work later and I find the oddness: the mosaic in the middle isn¡¯t trapped, only the border. When I rise and step out onto it, Abyssal Heat devours its way through me and I want the mortal pain back. The moment from my memories shown within the picture drives its barbed hooks in and drags me under. The wind pushes hard, bringing with it a scent thick with copper and rotting fruit. It makes me wish for Dis¡¯ sulphuric stench. This place is so dull and colourless, I miss the red glow shimmering off the metal buildings. There is only black stone, and more stone, a black land, mirroring the blackness overhead. My new home has no sun, no moon, not even a single star. I miss Dis¡¯s burning flame-filled sky. Here is only blackness reaching toward eternity, a void consuming even sanity; eternally empty, and eternally hungry. The Gil?glp¡¯s gaze weighs on me but I stay in battle calm. His sinuous body is only just longer than my sabres, and the black fur looks like stone spikes from his sharp, pointed nose, past keen eyes and sharper teeth, to the top of his long tail. My palms itch, and I want to drive my daggers into his obsidian gaze. I much preferred the tutors among Hell¡¯s Damned. His lessons are as erratic as his fur, full of jagged edges, and sharp twists for no other purpose than to twist. He started the lesson speaking of the metals needing the fury of Furnace¡¯s great volcanos to be refined. Now, less than an hour later, he¡¯s speaking of the mating rituals of Sk?ll Drakes. The lesson didn¡¯t take a break, just thirty-eight erratic twists and hops. I¡¯d much prefer he tell me how to kill one quickly. If he doesn¡¯t change the topic¡ªand soon¡ªI might use him to douche a Sk?ll female. Sharp clicks echo through the Hall behind me, and I listen to their approach. The slightest pause warns me to drop to one side, shifting my wings away before I hit the ground. I don¡¯t rise to my feet but Blink into a cupboard¡¯s shadow before I twist into a crouch. The acidic sharpness of blood makes me smile, and a glance reveals my tutor pulling a dagger from his side. Blood pulses from the wound, whatever enchantment the blade carries preventing it from sealing immediately. Dropping the dagger, the Gil?glp vanishes as well, leaving behind droplets of black blood staining the table it had perched on. ¡°You pass Daughter.¡± Mother¡¯s words are clear, but I stay put. Mana Sense had let me feel the outer wards, and I¡¯ve no way past them. The inner wards likewise carry the runes to prevent dimensional options, so I wait to see what game we¡¯re playing. On the balcony, I could climb between levels, but its archways are visible from the door. I listen hard and hear what could be the rustle of wings, but their sound isn¡¯t quite right. Since they sound as if they¡¯re approaching the equipment racks on the other wall, I have Blink carry me to that far corner. The spatial power is so useful even though I long for something better. A reflection off a metal plate shows Mother had been stalking towards my first hiding spot, her wings, and tail tight against her back. Her ebony skin is as black as the room¡¯s stonework, though watching her move is never dull. Her outfit is so tight Mother might as well paint the leather in place, the way its colour blends with her skin, makes her look nude. Muscles flex within her form, and yet the tension becomes wrong for moving forward. Blink moves me again and sets my back to the open hall¡ªjust within the ward¡ªa backwards tumble takes me through them and ends with me in a crouch again. I focus to Blink into the corridor below, and Mother speaks again. ¡°In Lilith¡¯s name.¡± The code phrase ends the exercise. Tempting as it is to repay her for that painful tutor, I step back into the room. ¡±What did Grandmother say?¡± The muscles flex and bunch under the enchanted hide at my question in a way I¡¯ve seen only a few times. She¡¯s not weighing her words, she¡¯s furious, perhaps more than I¡¯ve ever seen. ¡°I will stay in the Abyss until she reaches a resolution.¡± The words fall bitten off into the silence in the room ¡°If you¡¯re staying, can I go back to Hell?¡± ¡°You need to stay in the Abyss. Without its Heat, your body isn¡¯t growing properly. It seems your father¡¯s nature influenced that aspect of you,¡± Mother replies, and I don¡¯t hide the distaste in my expression. ¡°Did the Four really destroy him?¡± Mother¡¯s face remains calm despite the excitement in my question; not even a hint of the panic I¡¯ve seen from others regarding the Titan¡¯s Servants. ¡°His forces¡¯ assault allowed the Leviathan to flee. They shattered his body on the five planes he controlled. The last battle between them was in Kap¨´cterv, the new Lord there has even commissioned a tent from his skin.¡± The certainty of his death is clear. They''d never dare the insult if there was any risk of vengeance being taken for it. I can¡¯t help the delighted smile that twists my lips and Mother¡¯s assessing gaze weighs me up. ¡°Would he sell me enough for a pillow to kick? Why aren¡¯t we killing Demons instead of learning about them? I don¡¯t understand why you even let him touch you, let alone fuck you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only seven Ebusuku; you¡¯ll understand in time. Be grateful that I did, or you wouldn¡¯t exist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Demon, Mother! Why would I be grateful for that? I¡¯d rather spend eternity in Hell, being weak than a moment here. I hate you for bringing me back.¡± There is a spark of emotion in her gaze that my younger self doesn¡¯t notice, and wouldn¡¯t have understood. The memory releases me in that instant. I can feel Sage¡¯s breath across my skin, and I know he¡¯s far too close. Crouched beside me again, positioned awkwardly trying to support my head from landing on the border. ¡°You collapsed.¡± His hands support me gently as I sit properly, and the gloom in the corridor disappears. The mosaic is no longer present as a familiar key sits on blank stone, its promise of release from this loud and clear. My gaze follows the corridor that stretches further than I can see, and I consider the sadness I¡¯d seen in my Mother¡¯s gaze. What else had I missed among all the years? Was this corridor about things I¡¯d missed or teasing me with the life I¡¯ve lived? I ignore the key and rise, moving forward three metres to the far end of the blank square. The next picture, with the pieces of bodies strewn about draws my gaze and I recognise the moment that awaits. Among the blood-soaked bodies I¡¯d left behind that day, I wonder what I¡¯d missed. Urgency weighs on me but I sit, and when Sage passes me the tools, I force the trembling to still and remove the border tiles to check things are the same. The presence of the key tempts me with the Abyssal Heat¡¯s agony. I hadn¡¯t realised I¡¯d hurt my Mother with the blade in my words. With my checks finished at last, I rise, balancing carefully on my good leg, and hop forward, planning my fall safely away from the border. * * * Amdirlain''s PoV - Outlands [Summoning Notification You have received a summons from High Traveller Aggie, via your ¡®Use¡¯ name. Your willpower, intelligence, and total levels all exceed that of the summoner. They meet no conditions to compel you to respond. You can ignore this summons. Do you wish to accept the summons? ] Amdirlain kept her expression composed as she looked at the gathered Hound Archons. ¡°Keep practicing what we''ve covered for now. If I''ll be gone awhile, I''ll send a message. . Mirage, please talk to one of the Patrol leaders about some good locations for gaining combat experience.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll chat with them, Amdirlain,¡± confirmed Mirage, waving Hook away as he went to interject. Yes. At her agreement, the summoning energy wrapped around her and Amdirlain suddenly found herself on the threshold of a Portal within a room decorated with Moradin¡¯s symbol. They¡¯d set gemstones and runes into the adamantine archway, and they glowed now with the Spell¡¯s residual energy. The field retracting caused her to revert to her natural state, and the curve of her wings nearly touched the ceiling. Aggie stood next to a nearby brazier, the coals within still smoking. Her gaze climbed up over Amdirlain and blinked slowly. ¡°Amdirlain, you''re taller than I¡¯d expected.¡± Amdirlain stepped forward, shrunk to match Aggie¡¯s height, and caught her in a sudden hug that made the other woman start. ¡°Aggie, why did you risk yourself that way?¡± ¡°Moke¡¯s preparations are complete,¡± replied Aggie, her words drawn out and hollow with fatigue. ¡°I¡¯ve drawings of every temple and shrine, along with an item to help you track down any Priests away from them.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Like what L¨ºdhins did to you. It doesn¡¯t scry for the Priests, its enchantment focuses on Set¡¯s symbols.¡± Amdirlain paused and started again. ¡°How did you get it done so quickly?¡± ¡°You rescued some key members of the Charter House. They and their friends knew the adventuring teams we could trust,¡± explained Aggie. ¡°For over a decade, we had a standing bounty for information, and they scoured the kingdoms tracking down leads. There are locations outside the boundaries of Egypt. As you suspected, the Altar came from the west. We found a few hidden temples in Nova Roma, including an underground complex.¡± ¡°Time for my work to get started then,¡± Amdirlain agreed. Aggie straightened, an admonishing frown appearing as her gaze locked on Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°Started? You¡¯ve done so much already. Don¡¯t risk yourself doing this, please!¡± With a kiss on the cheek, Amdirlain stroked Aggie¡¯s shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s a promise I made over a decade ago. Knowing the suffering they cause has been weighing on me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been going on for centuries, it¡¯s not your doing. You are not responsible for their actions,¡± insisted Aggie. Amdirlain nodded and stepped back, her hands slipping from Aggie¡¯s shoulders. ¡°It¡¯s still early afternoon here,¡± informed Aggie. ¡°So given we¡¯re northeast from the Ten Kingdoms, you¡¯ve plenty of time before nightfall to study the drawings. High Crafter Qidnak would like to discuss your training fund idea; Jantar of Duskstone was talking to them about it when I arrived. He¡¯s already given me a ward stone to let you teleport out of Stoneheart without issues.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s have a chat then,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Also, I heard what you started doing to help their Wizards; thank you. Would you like me to help out for a bit this afternoon?¡± ¡°That would be good, but only if there is time.¡± 129 - This is gonna hurt Aggie smiled as Amdirlain shifted into her favoured Wood Elf form, and reset the concealments the summoning had removed. ¡°At least I don¡¯t have to escort you through Moradin¡¯s Hall with those wings out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you like the wings?¡± asked Amdirlain, her playful sulky tone earning a raised eyebrow from Aggie. ¡°They¡¯re very dramatic, but the black and gold feel ominous,¡± conceded Aggie. ¡°And they don¡¯t go with your hair. Though I was mostly worried about how much space they¡¯d need among some passages.¡± Amdirlain could only shrug. ¡°At least being summoned didn¡¯t force my aura to manifest; when it¡¯s active they¡¯re sheathed in red flames, and my eyes get freaky. You didn¡¯t set any restrictions on my summoning, any sense of how long the Spell, using the Portal, will give me?¡± ¡°The destroyed items should be enough to support your form for days, though perhaps give me a Bond in case you need an energy exchange,¡± replied Aggie after a thoughtful glance at the brazier. Amdirlain focused on Aggie and felt the crystalline chime as Allegiance Bond linked them. The moment it was established, Ki washed through it and Aggie rolled her eyes in exasperation. ¡°I trained in the Monk Class as well, remember.¡± ¡°You looked tired,¡± protested Amdirlain, the exhaustion visibly easing as Aggie¡¯s complexion gained colour. ¡±That helped, so don¡¯t grumble. I take it the opening gathering here was a success.¡± The ecstatic smile that lit Aggie¡¯s face told a tale all its own. ¡°It was indeed. I didn¡¯t expect that many to attend, let alone express interest afterwards.¡± ¡°Where did you set up the Temple?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°The High Priests from all the Temples agreed to make space available at the Great Forges end of the Chamber of Temples, though we¡¯re the only non-Dwarven Temple present. As soon as I gave them my drawings, the Stones Shapers got busy, but please let me know if I should make any adjustments. I was going to commission them to shape more artworks and Altars for Temples,¡± Aggie explained. ¡°I¡¯d like to see it. How about we go there after speaking to Qidnak?¡± asked Amdirlain, motioning to the chamber¡¯s door. Beyond was a broad passageway, but it was barely enough to let Amdirlain move freely in her current form. Pictures decorated the Temple¡¯s walls, but few focused on Moradin. Instead, many showed various crafters hard at work; the many pictures focused on the crafting process. Blacksmiths were making household items, jewellers setting gems in place, weavers working their looms, every craft Amdirlain expected to see among a medieval society and more besides. Workers in one picture set clockwork pieces in place, linking to a giant water wheel. The open door gave them a view of a stone desk set against one wall stacked with parchment sheets and more rolled parchments. Against another wall, an angled desktop had a large sheet of parchment stuck in place, and the plan in progress showed interlocking gears. Qidnak set the quill aside and stood to greet them as they entered the office. Only a metre and a half tall, they radiated a solid calmness and wiped their hands carefully on a cloth hanging from the table¡¯s edge. [Name: Qidnak Forgehand Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: High Crafter / Dedicated Crafter / Engineer / Forge Master Level: 62 / 62 / 62 / 62 Health: 18,400 Defence: 980 Magic: 264 Mana: 267,624 Melee Attack Power: 244 Combat Skills: Club [S] (12), Warhammer [S] (52), Brawling [M] (23) - Various Blessings Details: Qidnak, son of Nakpli, is the eighth successive inheritor of the main Foundry line to have achieved the Prestige Class: High Crafter, being the thirtieth in his lineage¡¯s history. Dedicated Crafter is a Priest base class available only to Moradin¡¯s Servants, having already combined the Priest Class into a Prestige Class. ] ¡°Lady Amdirlain, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you,¡± Amdirlain twitched an eyebrow and smiled at Qidnak as she dug into Analysis. ¡°The pleasure is mine Qidnak, son of Nakpli High Crafter of Western¡¯s Reaches, son of Pliqid, High Crafter-¡± Qidnak blinked and waved his hands in apology to stop Amdirlain¡¯s recital. ¡°Please, I should have said Amdirlain, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you. Shall we begin again?¡± The bemused look Amdirlain gave him earned a sigh from Aggie, but Amdirlain just grinned. ¡°That¡¯s fine, Qidnak. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you as well. My thanks to you and the other High Priests for the welcome you¡¯ve given Aggie and me. She mentioned you had some questions about the fund concept?¡± ¡°Nothing that should keep you long. After, I¡¯d love to show you parts of Stoneheart¡ªafter you¡¯ve seen your Temple, of course. The questions were in regards to how you saw the repayment working. There was a term Jantar recalled you using about paying things forward. What did you mean by that?¡± * * * Qidnak and a few guards escorted them to the Temple. Their little parade attracted attention and more members with each Temple entry they passed. Since the main corridor¡¯s cul-de-sac ended at Moradin¡¯s and Berronar¡¯s Halls, they passed every Temple along the way. The entrance¡¯s curved archway had her symbol in the centre of the keystone; the broken chains within it echoed down the sides. Crossing the threshold, she felt the energy of the dedication it held, a faint similarity to her Domain but nowhere near as vital. It felt like walking into a welcoming home. The granite was polished smooth underfoot while on the main chamber¡¯s walls, panels of engraved murals showed between the few doors. The Temple details were exquisite; among other scenes in the panels, Amdirlain could see herself talking with groups of Humans and having morning sessions with Livia. Captured instants from the training looked as if they were dancing in the sunrise. At the chamber¡¯s far end, a simple stone block served as an Altar. On it, Aggie had laid out a scroll that Amdirlain knew contained simple tenets, alongside wrapped items that were presented as if they were gifts waiting to be collected. Their presence reminded Amdirlain of Eivor¡¯s small gatherings that ended with them sharing items and food between their households. Within the dedicated stone, Amdirlain could feel the source of the energy so similar to her Domain. The moment she touched the stone and tried to ease Celestial Mana into the material¡ªlike the Wellspring¡ªit drank up what she offered. Mana pulsed within the stone and the scene from her Mind Palace appeared. Rising above the platform¡¯s edge, the Sun¡¯s curve was a dawn that covered the Altar¡¯s front. Before it, a third-dimensional picture of a garden bed overflowing with roses looked so realistic that when Amdirlain stepped away, reflex had her stepping between the roses. ¡°You¡¯re going to make a Stone Shaper cry,¡± warned Qidnak. ¡°They¡¯ll be working all manner of shifts trying to match the beauty presented within this stone.¡± Amdirlain smiled and kissed Aggie on the cheek. ¡°The Altar¡¯s change wasn¡¯t intended to imply any lack, I just tried to add extra energy to it. It¡¯s a beautiful place for a gathering, even if I¡¯d prefer fewer panels with my face on them.¡± ¡°You do look a lot more normal than I had expected, Amdirlain,¡± remarked Qidnak. ¡°I¡¯d heard tales from those you healed after the battle.¡± ¡°I learnt how to keep my presence under control. I prefer to let people think clearly,¡± Amdirlain responded and waved off another High Priest¡¯s enquiring look. ¡°I have an energy about me that¡¯s only gotten stronger, and I¡¯ve no desire to risk influencing anyone¡¯s mind.¡± ¡°You have the skinny, long-legged look of an Elf about you. Have you considered growing a beard? That would certainly improve your appearance,¡± suggested Qidnak and smirked while Amdirlain laughed. * * * Amdirlain looked at the galleries running along the seamline¡¯s edge extending far out of her eyesight¡¯s reach. ¡°Do you mind if I ask how many Dwarves call Stoneheart home?¡± ¡°Not at all. The greater region holds a tad over eight million, but that¡¯s just the Mountain Dwarves,¡± Qidnak quickly responded and continued his explanation. ¡°The Hill Dwarves prefer being closer to the surface than the residential areas allow. They¡¯ve got a few hundred thousand in the immediate area alone, but they have their own Clan rulers, so I¡¯d not upset them by claiming they¡¯re part of Stoneheart. Many Hill Dwarf clans hold the western slopes to keep Manes from gaining access to the mines.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard tales of them, and they sound the same as Gnolls. Is it just a different name?¡± Aggie asked curiously. ¡°They are hyena-headed bipeds, similar to a Gnoll but far more dangerous, plus Gnolls stop growing at about two metres. Manes are like the Gnarls where the stronger among them continued to grow despite it being impossible for their Cackle to have enough food to support them.¡± I wonder if the Gnarls¡¯ creators used Manes as part of their experimenting? I¡¯ve still not spoken to anyone about that. Amdirlain held her tongue and moved on with their plans for the day. ¡°Who is the best person to organise a large group of Wizards so I can help with gaining Affinities?¡± ¡°Best to go straight to Guildmaster Nalfar of the Wizard¡¯s Guild. She can be officious even with me,¡± cautioned Qidnak. Aggie spoke up quickly, interjecting before Amdirlain could reply. ¡°I¡¯ll go talk to her. We wouldn¡¯t want rats to sidetrack things.¡± Qidnak blinked in confusion. ¡°Rats?¡± The sigh Amdirlain gave earned a chuckle from Aggie, but she quickly explained it to Qidnak. ¡°Amdirlain doesn¡¯t do well with those only interested in rules, with no care for individuals. The Jarl¡¯s Steward got told he needed to drag the rat out that had crawled up his arse and eaten his heart.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t use those words,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Please don¡¯t upset Master Nalfar too much,¡± cautioned Qidnak. ¡°She keeps things running smoothly and ensures the Wizards don¡¯t lack the skills we need. When anything involves the Wizard¡¯s Guild, she likes things done her way. She has higher standards than the previous Guildmaster and ensures the members have the training to meet them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to your skill in diplomacy since I know mine tends towards a boot in the arse. I¡¯ll need time to review those sketches. If organising the gathering takes too long, I¡¯ll head off immediately afterwards,¡± cautioned Amdirlain before addressing Qidnak. ¡°Thanks again for such a kind reception High Crafter Qidnak. The last few days since the Temple¡¯s dedication have contained a number of pleasant surprises. Could I impose on you for someone to guide me to Clan Gildenshield?¡± * * * Amdirlain waited patiently while the Wizards gathered in the auditorium, using the time to seek a connection between Psi energy and Harmony. Fleeting hints of success evaporated as Master Nalfar spoke to Aggie. ¡°These are all the Masters suitable to assist.¡± Sitting seiza-style on the dais, Amdirlain had calmly ignored the Wizards¡¯ attention. Their minds were intensely curious, still, they assembled quietly as Nalfar had directed. Individually stronger, the minds of eighty Master Wizards were still far easier to deal with than ?buthan¡¯s seething wildlife. Their minds were orderly like Nalfar¡¯s, though some reminded her unfavourably of Eysteinn, and she stretched to brush over others within the Guild¡¯s Halls. Picking through those she liked regardless of rank: Apprentices, Journeymen, teaching Masters¡ªthat didn¡¯t meet Nalfar¡¯s criteria¡ªand even some general staff. Telepathy wove a net between them, and she gave a mental warning to those outside the room before Harmony connected everyone to a zephyr she created. None had possessed an Affinity for Air, but that soon changed. Their understanding bloomed and then clicked into place. Aggie from outside the linkage, watched the shocked looks developing, well aware of how Amdirlain could upset firm beliefs. Once they¡¯d all connected to the Mana, Amdirlain dismissed the whirlwind and condensed water from the air. Droplets streamed towards her, and Harmony let them experience the differing energy as understanding previously foreign to them clicked into place. Even though the Wizards knew Earth, and many knew Fire, she continued through them. Harmony deepening their understanding of the Affinities they¡¯d already established. She progressed rapidly after the first tier, alternating new affinities with casting spells from lists designed for one Mana with another Affinity. The lesson continued through the second and third Affinities, but the last two Tiers, she only selectively covered: Celestial, Positive, Time, Mental, and Order. ¡°You¡¯ve given us much to think about. We¡¯ll review this and see about teaching the others,¡± Guildmaster Nalfar stated as Amdirlain came down from the dais. ¡°I gave the same lesson to some others in your guildhall today,¡± advised Amdirlain. Nalfar¡¯s jaw dropped before she hurriedly sputtered. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what we agreed.¡± Amdirlain smiled sharply and laid her cards out. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask for my agreement, Nalfar. You told Aggie you¡¯d gather suitable Wizards; I hope the self-centred among your picks turn a new leaf. Some individuals I added because I found them more suitable than the self-centred among your choices. I picked additional minds I felt comfortable teaching. To be clear, that includes some staff that weren¡¯t previously Wizards. There are many with a genuine love for magic¡ªnot just power¡ªworking for you, Guildmaster, so I gave them a chance to follow their dreams.¡± ¡°How will they cover the apprenticeship fee if they couldn¡¯t afford help to gain an Affinity?¡± asked Nalfar, blinking rapidly at the stream of words. ¡°Speak with the High Priests of Thautam. There is a fund being established.¡± Amdirlain replied and stopped when she heard where Nalfar¡¯s mind had immediately gone. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for adding to your workload with training, but I¡¯d suggest you look beyond those who follow your rules without problems. They¡¯re not all the sure allies that you believe, and some that try your patience have great respect for your standards. May Thautam aid your endeavours, Guildmaster.¡± Though Nalfar was officious¡ªas Qidnak had warned¡ªconcern about training everyone without injuries did her credit in Amdirlain¡¯s book. * * * The small Shrine on the village¡¯s edge was less than a day¡¯s ride inside the Kingdom of Crete¡¯s western border. Merry singing coming from a wine house down the road sat sour with Amdirlain. The slave girls pouring the drinks were considered mere furnishings that could talk, endeavouring to hide their misery to avoid further beatings. The red roof tiles radiated heat from the faded spring day. Their dark hues more suitable at least than the pure white stone used in Set¡¯s Temple. Its Egyptian carvings and traditional hieroglyphs were a strange sight among the timber and clay of Grecian buildings. Within the Shrine¡¯s cellar, the fearful minds of slaves presented a stark contrast to the relaxed state of the Priests and a housekeeper enjoying an evening meal. Dipping into their memories, she sought knowledge on the slavers only to witness the activities they¡¯d taken part in and quickly set aside intentions to spare lay staff. Within the Priest¡¯s mind, she found his connection to the district¡¯s slave route both into and below Egypt. The caravan masters who¡¯d profited from their flesh trade were added to her debtors¡¯ list. There were no wards, and the Shrine¡¯s dedication proved no barrier; she simply entered via the front door. Ignoring the Temple¡¯s decorations, she headed directly towards the refectory. Teleport placed her beside the Priests, and a brush of tentacles let Energy Drain rip Health and Souls from the three. Taking what coinage they had about them, she headed down the narrow stairs into the basement. The smell and misery hit her even before she opened the door. A score of females¡ªsome as young as ten¡ªwere chained naked to the stone walls. Only filthy straw mats beneath them kept the stone from stealing all their warmth. The chains¡¯ length didn¡¯t allow their arms to rest, and manacles¡¯ edges dug into wrists held in a position that barely allowed their elbows to bend when they sat. None were in a fit state, but two Basteti among them had suffered vicious abuse. Beaten bloody, muzzled with a spiked bit digging inside their mouths, and tight rusty bindings contorted their fingers and capped their claws. The sickening abuse only worsened by some sadist having severed their tails and ears so that only stubs remained. Amdirlain set a wall of life energy across them and hurried to remove the chains. ¡°Hold on, I¡¯m taking you to safety.¡± Their disbelieving, apathetic expressions disappeared when they arrived in the compound of the Daughters of Hope and those nearby rushed to their aid. A young girl blinded in one eye was the first to cry. Ignoring their filthy condition, the ladies didn¡¯t hesitate to comfort them while tending their wounds. ¡°Amdirlain, should we get platoons ready?¡± asked a rank leader who¡¯d been the first to call for Healers. ¡°I¡¯m not planning to fight them,¡± Amdirlain replied, the simple words hard enough to etch steel. ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± ¡°Kill them all and raze their palaces. I need to be going; it¡¯s time to extract payment for past evils,¡± replied Amdirlain and she held out a list. ¡°These are caravan masters that have dealings with Set¡¯s Temples. From what I got from a Priest¡¯s mind, the ones underlined are still dealing with Gnarls. Please arrange word to be spread, have them found. We need them alive to learn about the delivery locations and trace from there.¡± Amdirlain handed over the looted coins and teleported back to the Shrine. Inventory absorbed the ceiling, then interior; taking the valuables, she at first left an outer shell, and stone chips dropped to fill the exposed basement. It took only minutes to turn the fancy stonework into a sunken gravel pit, outer walls and all. Before the first villager had noticed, Amdirlain had already dealt with multiple targets days on foot away. Dusk progressed westwards, and the death of a Priesthood followed in its wake. Panic, when it came, was too little, too late. The last real High Priest, woken by a nightmare, and hurrying through the summoning ritual as fast as he could, choked in the middle of his chant, and the summoning failed. Tentacles burst outwards from his still standing corpse, white flame wreathed their decapitating strikes. The assistants, focused on channelling Mana for his use, didn¡¯t even realise they were dead before Amdirlain claimed their Souls. Nearby, the brazier¡¯s flame burst through the ceiling, and the hours of sacrificed magical materials vomited unchannelled power skywards. Amdirlain looked over the Greater Portal set into the floor, shucking herself free of the High Priest¡¯s remains. Rather than free-standing as the one in Moradin¡¯s Hall, this Portal was set up to always bind whatever it called forth. A tentacle flicked across the circle¡¯s edge, and the kilograms of Adamantine vanished from the stone. The Temple¡¯s destruction began after the prisoners she¡¯d found were teleported far away. Among them, a pair of small boys rescued from the High Priest¡¯s quarters sat next to a one-eyed girl as she sang them to sleep with words they didn¡¯t know. Dreams, when they came, were of golden hands healing their wounds instead of the cold-eyed man inflicting pain. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Dawn revealed Set¡¯s Grand Temple in Thebes was a gravel pit with hundreds that had been within presumed to be dead. Magical messages of one type or another sped around the kingdoms, tallying the destruction. In the North, the employees of Clan Gildenshield began a second shift, examining the materials brought in overnight by a rather unusual client. Within the ruins of an underground complex, a notification bloomed in Amdirlain¡¯s awareness as she collected the last valuables from its vaults. [Achievement: Game, Set, Match! Condition: Plan and complete an extensive Shadow War strike successfully against a more powerful entity Reward:
  • Experience: 5,000,000
Additional Condition: Success caused the foe to be weakened by a full Divine rank. Reward:
  • Faith Boost +20
  • Experience: 20,000,000
Additional Condition: Success caused the foe to be weakened by two full Divine ranks. Reward:
  • Faith Boost +50
  • Experience: 60,000,000
Additional Condition: Success dramatically weakened the foe, allowing another the opportunity to administer a coup-de-gras. Reward:
  • Incompatible Portfolios prevent any consumption of Divine energies. Determine the entity to consume power from one of the destroyed entity¡¯s portfolios.
  • Note: Limited time available for decision.
  • Portfolio List: Ambition, betrayal, the desert, destruction, drought, evil magic, hate, murder, night, poison, rape, rot, snakes, storms.
  • Faith Boost +70
  • Experience: 100,000,000
] Dropping the valuables off to Clan Gildenshield¡¯s sorting room, Planar Shift took her to Judgment, again, it wasn¡¯t the white clouds and sunshine she¡¯d expected. Around her were many races: Elven, Human, Orc, Kobolds, Goblins, Lizard-folk, plus dozens more she didn¡¯t immediately recognise. They all stood with the same vacant expression she¡¯d seen among Cemna¡¯s Souls. Releasing the thousands of Souls she¡¯d collected from Set¡¯s Faithful, she watched them stream away and manifest. The complexions of the closest immediately tinged grey. Now that she knew what to look for, Soul Sight showed her their life experiences¡¯ energy, bleeding out into the Plane. ¡°You still have one more, Amdirlain.¡± Amdirlain looked at the Titan¡¯s Servant and held out Setau¡¯s Soul Gem, which immediately vanished from her palm. ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a region for those who chose not to change Faiths after their God died. The energy drains from them, and eventually, the raw Soul returns to the cycle,¡± the Servant replied casually. Amdirlain nodded and asked, ¡°What happens with those Petitioners already on his former Planes?¡± ¡°Control over them will go to whoever consumes his Portfolio¡¯s energy, according to the aspect that attracted their Faith.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be part of giving his Power to anyone,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If you make no decision, someone in time will seize it once the worship of a God, Demon Lord, or Devil with a suitable Portfolio spreads into the lands where he once had sway.¡± Amdirlain contemplated the situation a while; the Titan¡¯s Servant vanished and left a small box. ¡°Mab.¡± The name had barely left her lips when a woman cast from midnight appeared among the greyness. Black rime frost stretched across the clouds among the fading Souls. ¡°Amdirlain, such a lovely place to evoke my name. Are you looking to make a Pact with me? Or did you want to talk about old times?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll provide Set¡¯s Night Portfolio to you for a complete answer to one question,¡± offered Amdirlain without hesitation. Within the darkness that gripped the air around her, Amdirlain could barely make out her head tilt. ¡°Interesting, though I¡¯d need to hear the question first; some secrets are worth far more than his scraps. You know that it will make Mortals inclined to appease or revere Night to shift their worship to me, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°They¡¯d worship someone; I¡¯d rather them attracted to your cruel necessity than any Demon Lord I know.¡± Mab¡¯s laughter sent the frost worming its way between the Souls. ¡°Let me hear your question, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Why did you forge a Pact with Epoch¨¥ and Viper?¡± Amdirlain asked, more interested in Mab¡¯s reason than either of them. ¡°Titania wagered an extra month of winter on two worlds that I couldn¡¯t get Epoch¨¥¡¯s plan to come undone. Why she did so I wasn¡¯t told by her. I always did like you Amdirlain; you firmly believed in doing exactly what was needed,¡± Mab replied. ¡°The Sun shines in most places, even in winter¡¯s depths, it¡¯s just behind the clouds.¡± Amdirlain made her selection, and Mab¡¯s lips curved into an edged smile. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve had Humans worshipping me. Until we meet again.¡± The words had barely left Mab¡¯s lips when she vanished, and the rime melted. * * * Abyssal Plane ?v?ge Within the throne room, Br¨ªn formerly sworn to the Set¡¯s service bowed to their new master. The lightning-wrapped Br¨ªn passed before them; their former master¡¯s heart clutched firmly in his fist. Under the Black Sun of the Plane, the crimson of his lightning aura cast eerie shadows across their gazes. The Legion¡¯s commander locked gazes with his former commander a moment before his skull shattered, and the war mattock teleported back to its owner¡¯s grasp. ¡°Get rid of this offal,¡± ordered Raivo. ¡°I can¡¯t stand someone who¡¯d sell their sworn ruler out. Find whoever has the keys to the vaults. I don¡¯t want to spend eternity here.¡± * * * Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - The Maze Choices that I hadn¡¯t noticed became apparent with every bitter journey through memory. Each time a picture disappeared, the corridor¡¯s grey stone walls displayed paintings of doors¡ªsome large, others small. The largest would have given the greatest freedoms, but those had grown rare. Every step taunting me with options I¡¯d ignored or never noticed, dropped by the wayside, I had stayed a Demon. Their potential outcomes made known now and my regret twisted in my guts along with the other pains. The corridor¡¯s end had slowly come into sight as the pain climbed higher. Bruises from every collapse tight and sore, glowing red blotches across my entire front held in grey clammy flesh, scoured through by ink-black veins. Every twitch makes the corridor swim with pain as the final square within the bright mosaic border holds my gaze. Beyond that square stands a marble step before a solid wall with a hole at chest height. The opening ringed with erratically sized teeth, all shining in the corridor¡¯s light. The hole is large enough to reach deep inside, but the dark consumes the light, leaving it a dangerous mystery. I sit and watch Sage use the tools to pull the tiles aside, the trembling in my limbs spiking the pain higher still. The gears and levers are once again the same, yet the square isn¡¯t a picture. The last mouth full of water revolts in my stomach, and I lurch forward to vomit into the gap Sage had made. His quick hands were the only thing that kept me from face planting onto the exposed mechanism. Would I have even known I died? Sage sighs with relief as I finally swing myself clear and lay backwards across my feet. ¡°One last hop, time to get up. Do you want some water to rinse your mouth?¡± ¡°Give me a moment.¡± I¡¯m so tired I can barely hear myself speak, but Sage¡¯s gaze grows determined. ¡°No, sit up now or you won¡¯t get up. Your weight is squeezing your bad leg, and you¡¯re not screaming.¡± His hands pull at my harnesses and turn me on my side. It should bring relief, but an inferno of pain eats at my bones as my weight shifts. The blank stone beneath me had shown a memory that occurred well before meeting Farhad. I¡¯d hoped for memories of my time with him. Sage isn¡¯t gentle when forcing me to my feet, but the pain spiking clears my mind. A hop takes me to the black stone, and no memory grabs me. Danger screams about me, and I stagger, too late in trying to wave Sage back. I watch the black flames erupt behind him¡ªcircling us¡ªfilling the mosaic border and sealing us in. Options press into my mind. Abyssal Heat roars its way through Mortal flesh, and I regain my Succubus strength. The sickness eating its way through me gushes out my pores, and pools of greenish-yellow pus glisten on the ground. My skin thrums as Danger Sense continues its song. The raw Abyssal energy of the black flames promises destruction. I can use the child to snuff out the flames, and then claim power for myself to either return to the Abyss, or Hell. I don¡¯t even have to do it myself. His death by starvation means the fire will consume his Soul. Sage moves so slowly relative to me now, his gaze only widening as it settles on my bat-like wings. I know the flames won¡¯t die until someone snuffs them out at the cost of their existence. It¡¯s information that I see clearly in both our minds. There is nothing the child can do as vitality and speed fill me again. So I act and chose an option not given. It¡¯s something I noticed from my memories, and now I don¡¯t focus on gaining for myself. In the instant I touch the flames, my flesh¡¯s restored Heat reacts with them, and I ignite. The injuries and agonies I¡¯d endured during my half million years nothing, even the Abyss¡¯ inferno while ascending became a carefree memory. Time crawls as an eternity of pain sears through me, the concentrated Abyssal energies mocking my origins. Agony and fury burn through my flesh and flee with the Abyssal Heat through the dark tube in the wall ahead. Power floods into me as it departs, leaving me gasping in shock, my old existence forfeit and consumed. The air glows with a silvery light and paints the walls around us for an instant before the platform descends. The moment it shifts downwards, a smile flickers to life on Sage¡¯s face, and he vanishes. Despite my still ebony skin, the energy now within radiates the aura that washes the walls with silver. Bat-like wings went with the Abyssal Heat, but the six feathered wings growing from my back flex as winds brush past them. Power surges through me, and I felt a connection close by¡ªthe echo of my promise to serve Amdirlain. The strength of its power was shallow compared to what ran through my form. The knowledge that I could reject it and choose my path for eternity beckoned. The memory of the way she spoke drags at me, not orders, not demands, help I can choose to give. If nothing else, more advice she¡¯d trust being welcome. What a gentle expectation? After eons as a Succubus, she¡¯s promoted me to a Solar¡ªa being stronger than many Demon Lords¡ªyet bound by no followers. Choices tempt me, waving options before me. Instead of serving, I could easily go my own way or grasp a Divine Portfolio for myself. The open acceptance she had provided echoes through my consideration¡ªas long as I remain true to her trust. She had offered with no restrictions¡ªother than trust¡ªletting me choose freely when so many had forced my options or hidden them from me. I grab the connection, and the surrounding walls disappear. Standing on a valley¡¯s edge, I feel her Domain stretching out before me, a sensation of trust even more complete than Farhad¡¯s acceptance of me. A host of Archons were suddenly nearby standing on the ridgeline, then another Angel¡ªan Astral Deva¡ªwhose face I¡¯ve seen up close. His adult visage is far different from when I¡¯d seen him last, but Sage is still recognisable. [Access ¡®Profile¡¯ for attribute point allocation and Class selection. Calculating Initial equipment for Celestial Species. Species Powers and Skill upgrades assigned. Resistance: Acid upgraded to Immune, Cold upgraded to Immune, Earth upgraded to Immune Fire Immunity and all other resistances kept at current levels. Powers: Discern Lies upgraded to Zone of Truth. Celestial Powers: Angelic Aura, Soul Sense, True Seeing, Charm Monster, Commune, Dimensional Anchor, Greater Dispel, Heal, Holy Smite, Invisibility (Self), Imprisonment, Rebuke, Remove Curse, Remove Disease, Remove Fear, Restoration, Resurrection, Resist Energy, Speak with Dead, Waves of Fatigue Skills: Perception [G](212->242) Blessing Path access: [Tier 4]
  • Bone Law
  • Channels
  • Communal Ways
  • Holy Arms
  • Inspiring Ways
  • Life Mastery
  • Muscle Law
  • Nerve Law
  • Organ Law
  • Protections
  • Repulsions
  • Spell Defence
  • Summons
In service to Power: Amdirlain. Status: Willingly accepted. Power¡¯s primary focus:
  • Class: Monk
  • Attribute: Willpower
Additional Powers: Charm Monster converted to Dismissal, Harmony, Soul Sense evolved to Soul Sight, Vampiric Grasp evolved to Energy Drain (Ranged). Additional Skills: Analysis, Profile Control, Unarmed Combat evolved to Silent Storm Additional Blessing Path access:
  • Smiting Ways
  • Exorcism
Equipment: Recurve Bow of Slaying - Ranged Attack Power: +700. Radiant Sabres of Dawn- Melee Attack Power: +600. Celestial Plate Armour - Defence: +900. Celestial Clothing - Attributes: Self-repairing, automatic size change, and Resistance sharing. Additional Class unlocks: Monk Dominator ] I knew Solars were powerful, so the only actual surprise was the inclusion of Smiting Ways. I¡¯d not heard of a Celestial Power providing their followers dark Blessings that allowed for opening wounds, breaking limbs, ripping ligaments and rupturing specific organs all at a distance. Profile? Another page written in Celestial hovers within my mind. Similar to the imprints I¡¯ve seen in the past, but I¡¯m unsure what the experience section means.
Name Ebusuku
Species Angel (Solar)
Home Plane:
Progression Class Level Experience
Species Progression Angel (Solar) 1 0 / 2000
Class 1: (Open Class Slot)
Class 2: (Open Class Slot)
Class 3: (Open Class Slot)
Class 4: (Open Class Slot)
Defence 3386
Attack Power:
Melee- 2242 Health 323,084
Ranged- 1977
Attributes Un-allocated: 14
Strength 511 Faith 90
Endurance 679 Magic 1202
Quickness 1700 Pool:
Intelligence 1609 Mana 4722952 Base: 363304 Multiplier: x13
Willpower 936
Charisma 128
[L] = Lesser. [M] = Minor. [No Tag] = Standard. [I] = Improved. [G] = Greater. [U] = Ultimate, [Im] = Immune.
Resistances Acid [Im], Chaos [G](120), Cold [Im], Earth [Im], Fire [Im], Electricity [G] (139), Mana [I] (52), Mundane Materials [U] (5), Poison [Im], Primordial [I](75),
[B] = Beginner. [Ap] = Apprentice. [J] = Journeyman. [Ad] = Adept. [M] = Master. [S] = Senior Master. [G] = Grand Master
Powers Angelic Aura [Ap](1), Arcane Combatant [G](329), Attune Reservoir [G](227), Bladespell [G](197), Commune [Ap](1), Conviction (10), Death Sight [G](352), Death Strike [G](474), Dimensional Anchor [Ap](1), Dismissal [Ap](1), Energy Drain (Ranged) [G](99), Flight [G](212), Greater Dispel [Ap](1), Greater Teleport [G](443), Harmony [Ap](1), Heal [Ap](1), Holy Smite [Ap](1), Imprisonment [Ap](1), Invisibility (Self) [Ap](1), Mana Critical [G](323), Protean [S](9), Rebuke [Ap](1), Remove Curse [Ap](1), Remove Disease [Ap](1), Remove Fear [Ap](1), Resist Energy [Ap](1), Restoration [Ap](1), Silent Kill [G](88), Soul Sight [Ap](1), Speak with Dead [Ap](1), Suppress Target [G](197), Telepathy [G](15), Tongues [G](101), Tremor Sense [G](317), True Seeing [Ap](1), Waves of Fatigue [Ap](1), Zone of Truth [G](305)
Spell Lists Air Law, Calming Ways, Cloaking, Concealing Ways, Constructs Bane, Crystal Law, Destruction Ways, Elemental Shields, Evasions, Fire Law, Flesh Destruction, Fluid Destruction, Guises, Ice Law, Illusion Mastery, Light Mould, Lightning Law, Lofty Bridge, Mechanisms, Moving Ways, Order Bonds, Planar Law, Rapid Ways, Revealing Ways, Sensory Deception, Shield Mastery, Spell Wall, Tracing Ways, Trap Mastery
Affinities Tiers: 1:- Earth, Air, Fire, Water 2:- Dark, Light, Nature / Wood, Decay, Ice, Ooze, Smoke, Magma 3:- Spatial, Gravity, Life, Death, Lightning, Metal, Radiance, Steam, Void, Dust, Ash 4:- Abyssal, Infernal, Positive, Negative, Time, Mental 5: -Chaos
Blessing Paths Bone Law, Channels, Communal Ways, Exorcism, Holy Arms, Inspiring Ways, Life Mastery, Muscle Law, Nerve Law, Organ Law, Protections, Repulsions, Smiting Ways, Spell Defence, Summons
Skills
Active: Agile [S](189), Analysis (1), Appraise [S](181), Armourer [M](85), Bite [G](362), Blade Lord [G](329), Bribe [S](80), Chaos Shaping [Ad](1), Claws [G](351), Danger Sense [G](319), Diplomacy [G](92), Direction Sense [G](91), Disable Device [G](492), Disguise [G](407), Gem Cutting [S](185), Haggling [G](99), Inscribe [G](313), Intimidate [G](125), Long Bow [M](87), Mana Mastery [G](320), Mental Resilience [G](351), Method Acting [G](440), Pain Tolerance [G](65), Perception [G](442), Planar Sense [S](81), Planar Survival [G](90), Poison Lore [G] (197), Profile Control (1), Sense Motive [G](292), Short Blade [G](337), Short Bow [M](81), Silent Storm [G](74), Spell Disruption [G](330), Stealth [G](396), Tail Strike [G](341), Throwing [G](129), Time Sense [M](80), Tracking [G](108), Trap Making [G](13), Weapon smith [S](85)
Knowledge: Abyssal City Navigator [G](63), Abyssal Factions [G](250), Abyssal Lore [G](60), Arcane Lore [G](418), Arcane Materials [G](95), Celestial Lore [S](69), Demon Lore [G](372), Devil Lore [G](63), Efreeti Factions [M](71), Elven Lore [G](268), Infernal Contracts [S](194), Infernal Hierarchy [M](76), Infernal Processes [G](82), Mercenary Groups [G](87), Metallurgy [M](72), Planar Portals [G](161), Planar Scholar [G](187), Religious Lore [S](79), Rune Lore [G](261), Sisterhood Factions [S](80), The Exchange [S](192), Trading [G](296), Trap Lore [G](285), Undead [S](119)
Bonus Points
Skill: 4
Knowledge: 4
Languages Abyssal, Aquan, And¨²n? Elven, Br¨ªn Hand sign, Celestial (Common), Draconic, English, Ingnan, Infernal, Necril
Worn / Carried Celestial Plate Armour, Celestial Garments of Adaptation, Radiant Sabre of Dawn x2, Weapon Harness of Recall x19, Bracers of Defence [D.R: 350], Ring of Warding [D.R: 100], Ring of Resistance Boost
130 - Bad Habits [Achievement: Sunny Daze. Condition: First Angel (Solar) recruited. Reward: Celestial¡¯s services for as long as you¡¯re worthy. Role: Right¡ªor left¡ªhand of Power. Your choice, and theirs. Location: Domain, Outlands. Faith: +20 Note: An Angel (Solar) has joined your service of their own accord. Current Use Name: Ebusuku Agreement between Celestial and Power maintained memories. Additional Condition: Significantly more powerful entity has agreed to enter your service. Reward: Increase promotion capacity by 2 (Promotion capacity: 1 -> 3) Additional Condition: Choice of service confirmed during her trial despite the option to break away and keep promotion. Reward: Increase promotion capacity by 6 (Promotion capacity: 3 -> 9) Note: Going to give her a gold star? Note: You have a Solar with a name that means ¡®night fall¡¯¡ªgo figure¡ªonly you. ] [Achievement: Goodness gracious. Condition: First Angel (Astral Deva) recruited. Reward: Celestial¡¯s services for as long as you¡¯re worthy. Role: Watch over planar travellers, and act as messenger and sponsor to Mortals seeking to aid their Power¡¯s cause. Current Use Name: Sage Location: Domain, Outlands. Faith: +7] Amdirlain let the snark of the notifications slide away as she considered the tally. ¡°She¡¯s freed twenty-seven Celestials in total.¡± Focusing intently on her Domain, Amdirlain activated Planar Shift, and the central buildings appeared around her. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](15->17)] On the ridgeline, a five-metre-tall female Angel pivoted to look across the Domain. Her wings raised to arch above a collection of hound Archons and another lantern Archon, the silvery radiance around her clear in the sunlight. Her dark, ebony skin made her features pop from within the golden open-faced helm. Ebusuku¡¯s expression was one of relief and wonder mixed in equal measures. Golden plate armour wrapped around her made quite the contrast to her previous nearly nude style. A pair of sword hilts showed at her side, while her left hand held a recurve bow of gleaming Adamantine that was easily taller than any of the Hound Archons. Wings that at first sight appeared as a wall of glowing white feathers, she discerned were three pairs of wings. They seemed to start in orderly points along her back: the smallest hinged near the base, the middle in line with her solar plexus, while the largest pair started around shoulder blade level. Sage nearly hid in Ebusuku¡¯s shadow, giving a one-armed hug to giggling Hound Archon named Tickles. His other hand lightly held a massive golden war hammer. The valley¡¯s breeze rustled through shoulder-length purple hair, a single set of pure white wings, and a bundle of scrolls tied securely to the obi belt around his waist. Unlike Ebusuku, he was bare-chested, with powerful muscles on display, clad in loose pants, and his bare feet didn¡¯t quite touch the grass. The others appeared on the slope leading up towards them, and the group swarmed inwards, hugs and tears of joy shared in equal measure. Ebusuku considered the noisy reunion for a moment before appearing beside Amdirlain. ¡°Spiffy armour,¡± Amdirlain said, jubilant for Ebusuku. ¡°It feels like wearing clothes,¡± Ebusuku replied, her clear English leaving Amdirlain open-mouthed. ¡°How do you speak that language?¡± gasped Amdirlain, still wide-eyed in shock. Ebusuku replied after a moment of consideration. ¡°At the trial¡¯s end, it offered the option to break my Oath without consequence because of our strength difference. Doorways of options were open for me, but I felt the connection to you among the options. Clasping it confirmed my Oath, and I saw a scroll in my mind¡¯s eye, even as knowledge rushed through me¡ªthis language plus other things. Do you know what Profile Control and Analysis are? They are the lowest level of my new abilities, and the scroll said I gained them because of you.¡± ¡°We can talk about that whenever you¡¯d like. First, why don¡¯t you contact Farhad and give him the good news?¡± Ebusuku nodded and shrank to Amdirlain¡¯s height, the armour changing without pause, and gently hugged her. ¡°Shortly, but your eyes look too calm Amdirlain, I¡¯ve seen that with Farhad and know now he was hiding things. What¡¯s happened?¡± ¡°It was a busy night; Set is dead, though I don¡¯t know who dealt the final blow. I killed all his Priests and lay followers by the hundreds, but there was such foulness in their minds,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure I freed more people from slavery than I killed at least, so I have to focus on that outcome. How did you rescue so many Celestials? Will you tell me what happened?¡± Ebusuku nodded in understanding. ¡°I know the Portfolios he had control over and can guess the conditions you found some in.¡± "Yeah, far too much of that, but even one would be too many,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Come on, spill. I got messages that told me your choices freed them. What did you do?¡± ¡°I helped them. Perhaps my choices started things, but I wouldn¡¯t have made it through without Sage¡¯s help. I was in Mortal flesh, and my wounds became sick,¡± replied Ebusuku and motioned to the gathering. ¡°They looked like children in the maze, some whole in body, others maimed. They weren¡¯t Celestials in the Titan¡¯s Maze, though from what they¡¯d endured, neither were they Mortal.¡± Ebusuku''s attention stayed focused on the group, and Amdirlain waited, simply watching the genuine happiness in her gaze. ¡°I think they¡¯ll be awhile. Let me get in touch with Farhad, then you can cover what you need with us together.¡± ¡°Going to drag the soon-to-be betrothed into trouble?¡± teased Amdirlain. A broad smile lit up Ebusuku¡¯s face in response. ¡°Challenges to test himself against; I¡¯m not sure he¡¯d have it any other way. But I want him to hear firsthand, so he can choose for himself. Thank you, Amdirlain, for giving me a choice and your trust in me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have held choosing your path against you, Ebusuku, as long as you picked a road you were happy on rather than feeling trapped.¡± ¡°That I believe, and it is one reason I chose as I did. The trial forced me to look back on my existence and, fortunately, I saw things I¡¯d missed. For the trust and choices you gave me, I wish to help you gain freedom for others,¡± declared Ebusuku. ¡°Why don¡¯t you sort things out with Farhad? I¡¯ll be in the mead hall, delivering some good news. Though you can always send me a message if you¡¯re not back before I¡¯ve headed off. Or if you need a break from your own reunion,¡± teased Amdirlain, as she waved casually at the mead hall. Though the cheerful singing from within likely made it easy to identify. Ebusuku vanished before Amdirlain took a step. Inside the building, she spotted Runa engaged in an animated conversation with Oili and some other Vargr Drangijaz Amdirlain recognised. Runa looked up and smiled as Amdirlain approached. ¡°Will you join us, Amdirlain?¡± Oili asked. The moment Amdirlain nodded, Runa slid along the bench, making room for her to sit down. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not interrupting.¡± ¡°Of course not. Runa was just asking us about what our patrol work involves,¡± Oili replied. Oili went to flag down a server and one of her teammates stood and patted her on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll take a turn helping. Mead for you as well, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°A lager this time, thanks,¡± answered Amdirlain, ignoring the teasing tsk noises that came her way. Runa cleared her throat and spoke up above the noise. ¡°Is it possible for a Petitioner to help protect your Domain as well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s dangerous for a Petitioner to be outside a Domain. Its border protects you from predators and raiders. Why do you ask?¡± asked Amdirlain, ¡°It¡¯s just, the others were speaking of the dangers about and I missed my chance to help others in life. I wanted to know if I could help them, besides just serving drinks, I mean,¡± Runa replied without a pause. Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to dig for her reason and delivered her news instead. ¡°Your family is safe now, Runa.¡± Runa clasped her hands to her mouth as she blinked back tears, but it was clear they were tears of joy from the partially hidden smile. ¡°Set¡¯s raiders had sold them to an Egyptian noble. I found them working on a farm. Since he knew they weren¡¯t legally slaves, I left his heir to sort out the mess I left behind, and took them to the compound in Eyrarh¨¢ls. The Daughters will see they¡¯re re-established wherever they wish to live,¡± explained Amdirlain, and held still as Runa moved to wrap her in a hug. ¡°I let your parents know you were in my Domain. They¡¯d hoped you were still alive and had escaped.¡± ¡°Thank you for helping them and letting them know, but I still want to help others. Surely there are more important things I can do,¡± said Runa. ¡°Don¡¯t be in a rush. You need to take time to transition; I need to settle things as well, so you¡¯re not alone,¡± Amdirlain said reassuringly. Runa gestured around the mead hall. ¡°What¡¯s there to settle? They¡¯re celebrating your complete victory.¡± Amdirlain just shook her head sadly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t my victory¡ªnor it is complete¡ªbut people will see it that way. I just took care of the strikes. Many people spent years tracking down leads and risking themselves. Without them, this victory wouldn¡¯t have been possible, so it¡¯s not mine, it¡¯s theirs. Now we can focus on helping those who suffered.¡± ¡°Like my family,¡± Runa said thoughtfully before she sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a chance at my own life. I had so much I wanted to do. Isn¡¯t there a more meaningful way I can contribute? Oili helped fight the Slaadi attacking ¨¢sgarer.¡± ¡°Hold up, I told you if my plan hadn¡¯t worked, it could have meant the destruction of my Soul. They made me well aware of how lucky I¡¯d been,¡± interpreted Oili, waving a cautioning hand at Runa. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be my choice? I need to help, please, isn¡¯t there something?¡± Runa asked. ¡°I won¡¯t force your growth. You didn¡¯t have a real chance at life, so I¡¯m not putting your Soul in danger,¡± stated Amdirlain, and raised a hand as Runa went to argue. ¡°If you truly mean it¡ªthe Domain energies will in time help you find a transition that matches your heart. I wouldn¡¯t put you in danger unprepared, and I won¡¯t force your growth. I¡¯ve been told there is a risk you can lose your sense of self even if you keep your memories.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°But Amdirlain¡­¡± Oili¡¯s laughter cut off Runa¡¯s protest, and at her look of frustration, Oili explained. ¡°Amdirlain gave you a place that feels like home, so you argue with her like family.¡± ¡°They are my family, my family by choice,¡± replied Amdirlain, fixing Oili with a stern look. ¡°You¡¯ve told Runa about what you won from battle. When planning for change, you need to consider the risks as well. After the celebrations, I¡¯d appreciate that you tell her the names of those who didn¡¯t survive the fighting. Explain how the Souls of those individuals merged with ¨¢sgarer¡¯s energies and left nothing of themselves behind.¡± Amdirlain clasped Runa¡¯s face lightly in her hand and gave her a concerned look. ¡°You might find it frustrating, but you entrusted me with your Soul¡¯s safety. That is an honour I don¡¯t take lightly.¡± A Valkyrie hurrying over drew the table¡¯s attention with the speed of her approach. ¡°Amdirlain, there are guests who wish to speak with you.¡± ¡°Thank you, I¡¯ll be there shortly,¡± replied Amdirlain, her gaze not having left Runa. ¡°You and your choices are important to me. Contemplate who it is you wish to be. I¡¯ve got so much needing my attention, and I keep finding more situations I want to help in. So I¡¯d suggest you take the time now, while you have it. Will you do that for me?¡± Runa¡¯s impatience warred against Amdirlain¡¯s concern and finally, the Petitioner nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Thank you, that¡¯s all I ask,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re interested, I can teach you some things that might help in that regard.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± Runa replied. Amdirlain slid off the bench as the drinks arrived. The patrol member handed her a giant stein with an amused smile. ¡°You¡¯ll have to drink your dirty water, none of us are interested in it.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Amdirlain retorted lightly, before sculling it without a blink. The patrol cheered as she handed it back to their suddenly glum teammate. ¡°Now I have some guests to meet.¡± The Valkyrie lead her back to the Domain¡¯s edge, where a group of Celestials stood beyond the border, far enough away that their auras stayed clear of its energies. The Solar at the front of the group was nearly seven metres tall, clad in sun-gold plate armour adorned with Ra¡¯s symbol, and the same six wings looked filled with radiant sunlight. Analysis shared his name with Amdirlain, though the pain of gaining it wasn¡¯t as severe as she¡¯d expected. ¡°Greetings Khafra. What brings you here?¡± asked Amdirlain politely, hoping for the best. ¡°My Lord wishes to speak about your attack on his Pantheon,¡± replied Khafra. ¡°Diplomacy isn¡¯t my strong suit, so I¡¯m going to put this plainly. The strikes were against Set¡¯s interests, not the Egyptian Pantheon. So I¡¯ve got this message for you to deliver. All it takes for evil to win is for good to do nothing. Not dealing with that evil fucker earlier led to so many people being hurt that it makes me sick just thinking about it. He might have started out as your Pantheon¡¯s defender, but he¡¯d turned rabid long ago. You don¡¯t put up with a rabid guard dog, you put it down. You and the rest of the gang you brought with you can deliver that message to Ra. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I¡¯ve spent enough effort cleaning up Ra¡¯s mess,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Bright words for a thief and Fallen,¡± sneered Khafra. Amdirlain smiled sweetly and counted to ten, then when her temper still burnt hot, she did so a few more times before she gave up. ¡°Yeah, fuck you. I have victims to help that suffered because of an evil that you and others allowed to continue.¡± ¡°There is an accord¡ªand rules¡ªnot that one like you cares,¡± scolded Khafra. His response only poured gasoline on the Amdirlain¡¯s fury. ¡°Screw your rules. If it means people coming to harm, the rules should be burnt. Evil loves you following the rules because they fucking won¡¯t.¡± ¡°If we don¡¯t follow the rules, then we are no better than they,¡± Khafra stated undeterred. Amdirlain strode across her Domain¡¯s edge, aware it was reacting to her anger and wanting to avoid sharing it with her Petitioners. The Solar¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as the Tyr¡¯s Valkyrie moved with her. The force of Amdirlain¡¯s Charisma and Willpower merged as she focused, unaware the sunlight from her Soulscape was flaring in her gaze. ¡°If you are just following rules blindly, you are part of the problem, not the solution. You see defences, evil sees you caged up while they can steal through the gaps. Then, when innocents are in their clutches being tortured and raped, you wash your hands because you¡¯re following the rules. Just because the source of their inspiration was part of your Pantheon? What the fuck was your boss thinking? When is the last time you comforted a victim or carried them to safety? How about holding an aura of peace night after night so they actually rest and heal, instead of waking exhausted from nightmares?¡± ¡°We can only act with good intentions and help within the accords,¡± Khafra declared firmly. Amdirlain looked at the Solar with disgust burning in her gaze. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in your good intentions, I¡¯m interested in the people you failed to help by letting that evil continue. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.¡± ¡°You are indeed one to speak of Hell¡¯s road. Will you take your Domain there once you¡¯ve gathered enough foolish Souls? How many innocents died in your purge?¡± questioned Khafra. ¡°No innocent died!¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°I checked everyone before I killed them. I waded through their filth-ridden minds to make sure I didn¡¯t hurt an innocent. There were entire groups in the temple compounds I spared because they were just trying to earn a living. Your accords have hurt how many innocents by restraining your help? Will you continue to sit in your cage, willingly restrained, and claim superiority?¡± ¡°It is not your right to judge them, or us, nor take the actions you did,¡± Khafra replied, resting a hand on the sword at his waist. ¡°There you are wrong. Want to know why? Will you communicate those reasons to Ra as well?¡± enquired Amdirlain, her tone hard. ¡°My title is the Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings. Are you aware of that?¡± The declaration of her title caused some in his party to shift nervously, but Khafra just nodded unflustered by her pronouncement. A moment later, surprise flickered in his gaze, as her Domain¡¯s wellspring¡ªso close at hand¡ªconnected to her unexpectedly. The reserve of Power sat poised like a dam ready to burst as her Portfolio¡¯s aspects settled around her, in tune with her intentions. ¡°After what I did, the Egyptians and their neighbours have a New Beginning with one less evil in it. The slaves they held now have their Freedom. I¡¯m hoping good won¡¯t go back to sleep now that threat is dead. Set¡¯s arseholes¡ªthat were preying on Ra¡¯s people as well¡ªhave a new beginning as worm food. I¡¯m counting multiple wins that have aspects within my Portfolio. I¡¯m not ignorant of your accords, and have learnt where your cage¡¯s bars are as well. If you¡¯re going to let evil use the accords against you, that¡¯s your problem, but it won¡¯t be mine.¡± Khafra paused and took his hands from his hilt. ¡°Ra has heard your words and your passion. We will leave. My Lord¡¯s apology, but these are unsettled times. You have my apologies as well. I spoke in haste, and I see my error now. You do not match your appearance as a Fallen, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of how unsettled things are,¡± Amdirlain responded, easing her focus back. ¡°That¡¯s more reason not to let such remain unchecked. Thank you for the apologies. I accept them both.¡± Khafra nodded, and as one, the Celestials vanished. ¡°You left the safety of your Domain,¡± noted the Valkyrie. ¡°So did you. My anger was upsetting the energy in it, but I wanted there to be no accusation that I was hiding,¡± explained Amdirlain. The Valkyrie sighed and Amdirlain could hear the mental eye-roll that she broadcast unknowingly. ¡°It was a risk.¡± ¡°They said they were here to speak,¡± replied Amdirlain innocently. [Acting [M](4->8)] ¡°Who told you of the accords?¡± ¡°The Dwarven Pantheon, when they visited. I know less than I made out but I know the broad details,¡± Amdirlain answered. Nodding to the Valkyrie, she moved to greet K¡¯Lan who was watching on from further along the valley. * * * ¡°It seems you have another guest,¡± observed K¡¯Lan, motioning upwards. Amdirlain followed K¡¯Lan¡¯s gaze and saw yet another Angel in the sky above her Domain. ¡°Sunny with a chance of Angels.¡± The moment she sharpened her eyesight, Amdirlain recognise him and sent an image of her location on the valley¡¯s lip. Torm had been through changes¡ªno longer wolfish, his face looked a refined version of his outer appearance in Eyrarh¨¢ls. It was a relief to see him and she was glad the Titan hadn¡¯t matched exactly the Planetar type she¡¯d described to Torm. Considering some Celestials'' bizarre appearance, it seemed strange he¡¯d drawn the line at a bald guy with aqua-coloured skin. He still possessed the four wings¡ªand four-metre height¡ªthe D&D Planetars possessed, but at least he wasn¡¯t just made of wings and eyes as some Angels she¡¯d seen. His hair was now almost ash blond, and his solid jaw line looked somewhat squarer, but it was undoubtedly him. ¡°This guest I¡¯m happy to see,¡± responded Amdirlain, her gaze staying on Torm as he moved towards them. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your guest, Amdirlain. Thank you for speaking with us, and accepting K¡¯cai and I into your service,¡± said K¡¯Lan. The younger giantess was far calmer than the last time Amdirlain had seen her, and it pleased Amdirlain that Analysis no longer showed the addiction state. K¡¯cai smiled and bowed to Amdirlain with fingers pressed to her amulet before they slipped off toward their people¡¯s settlement. Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure who¡¯d recruited them as Priests. It made her wonder if she could learn all her Priests¡¯ names without having to find them individually. Torm landing nearby distracted her before she could pursue options with Analysis. ¡°What brings you around? You don¡¯t call, you don¡¯t write, I scold a Solar and hours later you show up.¡± Torm smiled at Amdirlain¡¯s teasing¡¯s and shrank to match her size, his gaze not leaving her own smile. ¡°The Wizard Class holds even less appeal to me than yourself.¡± ¡°How long you in town for, big boy?¡± asked Amdirlain teasingly, enjoying the exasperated look she received. Torm stepped close and caressed his hands across her shoulders. ¡°The situation on the Slaadi border has calmed down, so I¡¯m no longer needed there to help monitor it constantly. I appreciated all the messages you sent. It was good to hear your voice. We need to talk.¡± Amdirlain gritted her teeth as his tone turned serious. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s okay, we can skip that talk.¡± Did I sicken him by killing so many without warning? ¡°What? But¡­¡± Torm started and stopped to look at her suddenly controlled expression. ¡°I¡¯ll back up and take my foot out of my mouth. Why don¡¯t you use Analysis on me and then we¡¯ll go talk.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ it¡¯s not¡­ okay my bad,¡± mumbled Amdirlain, her skin suddenly dusky with heat. Torm leant in and kissed her lightly on the lips, causing Amdirlain¡¯s embarrassment to flee with the distraction. ¡°I¡¯d like to spend a long time talking with you, Amdirlain,¡± Torm said. His mouth was still so close to hers that each syllable was a butterfly¡¯s kiss brushing her lips. Cupping her cheeks gently, he drew her into a kiss that heated her far differently. After the kiss ended, Amdirlain smiled at him in happy confusion as warm butterflies swarmed through her. ¡°What was that for?¡± Amdirlain breathed. Torm caressed fingers along a cheek and back through her hair. ¡°To make my feelings and intentions clear.¡± The feather-light touch tingled on Amdirlain¡¯s skin; she leant into his touch with a happy sigh. ¡°I might have missed part of your presentation. We should review it again.¡± ¡°As you wish,¡± Torm responded his intent gaze not leaving her face. ¡°Why don¡¯t we sit on the riverbank by your swing? You can tell me what¡¯s has your heart aching so much, that you¡¯d doubt my feelings for you.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s suddenly sad look Torm wrapped his arms around her and waited quietly. ¡°Sitting by the water sounds nice, but not at the swing. I have nice memories of that spot and don¡¯t want them sullied,¡± Amdirlain replied after the stab of pain faded. "Talking to you is great, but I don''t want to talk about the misery I had to clean up last night there. I want that to be our pleasant spot, away from the world''s ugliness." Torm¡¯s concerned look eased at the fleeting smile she gave at the swing¡¯s mention. ¡°Take us somewhere you feel comfortable talking then.¡± ¡°Come on back to my place, and I¡¯ll show you my etchings,¡± Amdirlain said, and Torm smiled at her, attempting a cheeky tone. The next moment she had them standing by a sheltered spot on the riverbank, and Torm nodded as he looked it over. Crouching, he picked up a rock and held it out to Amdirlain. ¡°Sidero mentioned you enjoyed skipping stones when you¡¯re upset. What¡¯s the saying ¡®Boys are dumb, throw rocks at them?¡¯¡± Amdirlain took it from him and gave a bright smile. ¡°She told me lots about your conversations.¡± ¡°You met up? When? Wait, my apologies,¡± Torm said, and Amdirlain enjoyed how flustered he¡¯d become. ¡°Hold that thought for now. Since you could see my levels before, please use Analysis, though maybe put some concealments in place to prevent anyone from overhearing?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s naughty smile earned an awkwardly raised eyebrow from Torm but she put the concealment in place without a word. [Name: Torm Species: Planetar Class: Divine Champion / Sora Master / Ascended Ranger / Priest Level: 52 / 52 / 52 / 52/ 52 Details: Divine Champion is a Prestige Class gained from combining a melee class with at least one Faith class at level 90. Ascended Ranger base Class is available after combining two or more Ranger base classes into Prestige Classes. ] ¡°That¡¯s a lot of levels,¡± Amdirlain said, after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°How bad were things with the Slaadi?¡± ¡°Not as bad as I feared they would be,¡± Torm reassured. ¡°It¡¯s not the reason for needing to talk though. I¡¯d discounted it for other reasons, but I¡¯m now sure I¡¯m gaining levels faster than other Celestials. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s from adventuring with you or your help to gain Affinities for Ki Infusion. Something changed, though; even when I¡¯m not adventuring with you, I seem to advance at a Mortal¡¯s pace. Once I was sure, I reported this to Tyr. He instructed me in no uncertain terms not to share the information with anyone else but you.¡± Amdirlain looked puzzled but nodded. ¡°He doesn¡¯t want to upset the balance between Pantheons, but wouldn¡¯t be having an advantage over the Greek Pantheon help?¡± ¡°As Master Farhad has noted in the past, Norse and their hot tempers. Such doesn¡¯t apply to just the Mortals,¡± cautioned Torm. Amdirlain winced, and the memory of Odyis dug at her. ¡°He¡¯s worried they¡¯ll look to get an advantage and then pick a fight.¡± Torm nodded, his expression grim as he elaborated. ¡°Which could spill into the Material Plane and get people killed, as during the crossing. He¡¯s more inclined to take the approach you discussed with Verdandi and provide Mortals with a better way.¡± ¡°Ebusuku mentioned seeing the experience area in her Profile. Maybe I can isolate the cause,¡± Amdirlain mused thoughtfully, then pulled a face. ¡°Though since we¡¯re connected they might already advance at Mortal rates.¡± ¡°See her Profile? Wait, Ebusuku, isn¡¯t that the name of Farhad¡¯s lover?¡± asked Torm. Amdirlain looked at Torm grimly, her practice in acting doing her credit in hiding the amusement bubbling within. ¡°Torm, I¡¯m afraid we need to talk.¡± The concealments in place contained the laughter that became happy sighs when the kissing started and Amdirlain allowed herself to focus on something new in that moment¡ªthem. 131 - Cover me in sunshine Stretched out on the grass, Amdirlain snuggled in against Torm. Eyes half-lidded, her head rested on his shoulder as his fingers caressed along her lower back. His soft touch through her clothing caused sparks to twitch through her core and up her spine. She murmured a faint protest as he shifted position and his other hand came up to play with her hair. ¡°I¡¯m trying to focus here.¡± ¡°Just increasing the challenge. See if you can keep skipping rocks with more distractions,¡± Torm said. ¡°After what you found, it¡¯s no wonder your heart hurt so much. All I can suggest is to focus on the light you brought for so many. How many did you rescue? Did you speak to Jarl Ti¨²emundr about finding homes?¡± [Telekinesis [J](33->35) Pain Tolerance [Ad](25->26)] Amdirlain pushed the continued sensation of needles under her skin away and focused on the melty sensation his touch was bringing forth. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have to find any; the Daughters will handle it. Certain rich bastards lost supplies of preserved food, so there won¡¯t be short rations either while we re-settle people.¡± ¡°You sound like you¡¯re going to fall asleep, dear one¡ªwhich should be impossible. Your answer doesn¡¯t tell me how many,¡± noted Torm. ¡°Though you mentioned teleporting various groups to the compound or near it.¡± ¡°Yeah, the compound was overflowing, so I started landing them on the fallow fields and grasslands. They set a perimeter patrol with the platoons that were present and got the guards to wake the Priesthoods to help.¡± ¡°So how many?¡± persisted Torm. Amdirlain muttered a curt reply into his chest and squealed when Torm started tickling. ¡°I lost count! Over sixty thousand, there were Egyptian nobles with generations of slaves from various kingdoms. I made sure to teleport silos to help feed them and provide seed grain. I also took cloth, clothes, tools, and materials to help re-establish them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only surprised you didn¡¯t stay longer to help with those Gnarl complexes you found while tracking Set¡¯s Priests,¡± commented Torm. Amdirlain sat up and felt the itching caused by his Celestial energies ease when she broke contact. ¡°Their victims are free, and I got rid of the unborn. I learnt from what the Healers told me, so less work for them. I¡¯ll leave it to the Platoons to deal with the Gnarls. As much as I wanted to stay, I had to get rid of the Souls I¡¯d taken as knowing the details of what they¡¯d done was making me ill.¡± Torm tilted his head to keep his eyes on hers as she shifted position. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the pain I caused with my words. Your heart was so full of hurt; I can see why you believed I¡¯d reject you for what you saw as murder.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have doubted you,¡± replied Amdirlain, feeling sheepish in hindsight. Torm¡¯s warm smile made Amdirlain gooey inside, and she had to concentrate as he spoke. ¡°We¡¯re from very different backgrounds, so we see things differently. I don¡¯t object to what you did. You knew your enemies¡¯ locations. It was executions, not murder¡ªwith cleaner deaths than they deserved. You got innocents safe and moved on. You had to fight a war in a night to avoid your enemy having a chance to re-group and more innocents suffering.¡± ¡°The twin boys in particular make my heart ache. He¡¯d make them hurt each other when either didn¡¯t respond fast enough to his sick demands. I almost didn¡¯t kill him cleanly, Torm. I wanted to make him hurt so much,¡± confessed Amdirlain, and Torm sat up to wrap his arms around her. ¡°You could ask one of the Hound Archons to keep an eye on them,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°I should tell you about the years I spent in a wolf-dog form to babysit Verdandi. She was always getting in trouble; she gained the Priest Class even before she was a sworn novice,¡± recounted Torm. Amdirlain burst out laughing, having a sudden mental image of a Torm as a hound carrying a protesting Verdandi by the back of baby overalls. ¡°Oh, tell me, please.¡± ¡°Her Father was a High Justice; evils he¡¯d damaged kept trying to attack his family. He summoned me to protect her discreetly. She was four, but I stayed on as her bodyguard and travelled with her when she began adventuring.¡± ¡°Did she want pony rides?¡± Amdirlain teased. Torm¡¯s forlorn sigh started Amdirlain laughing. Rocks that she¡¯d been skipping with Telekinesis dropped unheeded, and her laughter continued even after the ripples settled. ¡°Thank you.¡± Torm smiled and lightly caressed her face. ¡°I would always bring you happiness. I wish my touch didn¡¯t cause you discomfort. Are you sure this is bearable?¡± Amdirlain gave him a stern look before it eased into a blissful smile. ¡°The way your touch makes me feel inside far outweighs the little itching it causes on my skin.¡± ¡°I¡¯m concerned that your Pain Tolerance is muting what should be agony,¡± explained Torm. Amdirlain gave him a naughty look that carried the heat he¡¯d roused within. ¡°I¡¯ll decide a safe word then.¡± Torm face-palming set her off again in gales of laughter. * * * Her Domain signalling an arrival had Amdirlain stacking skipping stones back on the shore. ¡°She¡¯s back.¡± ¡°She being Ebusuku?¡± asked Torm, looking up from his spot on the riverbank. ¡°Would I be able to meet her as well?¡± Amdirlain gave a bold look that had the corners of Torm¡¯s mouth already twitching in a smile. ¡°What, should I keep you two apart?¡± ¡°I feel as if I¡¯m in her debt for helping you,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°Oh, don¡¯t mention that to her,¡± cautioned Amdirlain earnestly. ¡°She¡¯ll scold you about it being her choice.¡± Rising to his feet, he offered a hand to Amdirlain. She laid her hand on it lightly and flowed upright. ¡°Very gentlemanly of you. Did Sidero inflict romances on you?¡± ¡°Not as far as I¡¯m aware. Or does Lethal Weapon 3 count?¡± Torm asked teasingly. Amdirlain gave him an incredulous look. ¡°No, it most certainly doesn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Just as well, since neither of us has scars where they show,¡± replied Torm quietly. ¡°I could make some if they¡¯re your thing,¡± Amdirlain teased to hide her concern at his tone. The quiet emotion on Torm¡¯s face vanished, and he smiled at her. ¡°Never change for someone else; I¡¯d prefer you just be yourself.¡± ¡°That I can manage,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Ready?¡± When Torm nodded, she teleported them near where she sensed Ebusuku. Pip had beat them there and was busying spinning circles around the pair. Farhad looked at the Lantern Archon with his usual calm expression, while Ebusuku regarded her antics with amusement. ¡°There are ten apples in a grove on the other side of the closest hill alone and acres of berry bushes. If only I could still taste things, but they look sweet. You can have some-¡° ¡°Yes, Pip, but Amdirlain is here, and there will be plenty of time. I once heard about someone making drinks from apples. Maybe you should see if there is someone that enjoys brewing about,¡± Ebusuku suggested. Pip bobbed twice in the air before she spun away and raced off. ¡°See ya, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Are Lantern Archons always like that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Is she always like that?¡± Torm asked. ¡°I think Pip will take time adjusting after so long trapped in the gloom,¡± Ebusuku said, glancing in the direction she¡¯d sped off. ¡°Also, perhaps adjusting to being able to ask where things are, instead of just racing off searching.¡± ¡°Sage is over that way,¡± offered Amdirlain, aware of where her Celestials were through the Domain¡¯s aura. ¡°Then she has likely gone to ask him. Personally, I prefer her lively. She was scared and upset when I met her.¡± Ebusuku remarked. ¡°Shall we find somewhere to talk about that list you had? I¡¯d also like some explanations on those skills and why I can see this Profile at will.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a strange story,¡± replied Amdirlain absently, her concerned gaze focused on where Pip had raced ¡°Likely about as strange as a Succubus becoming a Solar,¡± Ebusuku retorted, her wry smile earning a laugh from Amdirlain. Amdirlain glanced over the buildings nearby before gesturing towards an undeveloped area clear of gathered patrols and working Dwarves. Noting the architect shooting happy possessive glances her way, Amdirlain urged them towards a distant hill. ¡°As long as you tell me more details about the Trial. Let¡¯s find somewhere to sit over there before the architect wants to drag me into further discussion about the merits of various fortifications.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t we inside your Domain?¡± Farhad asked. Amdirlain nodded to him glumly. ¡°Apparently, a town set up for people to enter easily goes against Dwarven aesthetics, regardless of innate protections. The Clan turned down her offer of help to build rock trees as they described her designs.¡± ¡°She¡¯d recently finished some border forts before Tyr asked her to assist you,¡± explained Torm. ¡°Perhaps that is her preferred construction project.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to come up with a project she¡¯d enjoy before I get caught by her again. I¡¯ll need a distraction ready to get free,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Should we walk to the rise or Teleport?¡± Ebusuku took in the surrounding for a moment. ¡°Walking is fine with me; I¡¯ll tell you about the Trial on the way. It will give you a perspective on Sage and the Archons.¡± ¡°That I¡¯d appreciate,¡± admitted Amdirlain, setting off in the direction she¡¯d picked. An awareness of the apple trees Pip had mentioned beyond the rise came to her in a rush. Once that knowledge came to her, the Domain continued sharing details about its influence with her. ¡°I¡¯m going to need to get perspective on a few things.¡± * * * Ebusuku sat quietly on the hill¡¯s crest, her hand resting on Farhad¡¯s knee after Amdirlain finished her tale. The only interruptions having come when she skipped details, and one or another had drawn her back again. Sometimes asking for clarity on things she didn¡¯t mind, but Torm stroked her back supportively when it touched on more painful subjects. ¡°I¡¯ve many questions, but some I¡¯ll need to think on first,¡± Ebusuku stated. ¡°Can I see if I¡¯m able to guess your list right? I¡¯ve also got some insights on a few of them I¡¯d like to share.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s quick nod, Ebusuku smiled and continued. ¡°Your friends, I¡¯ll have one of my businesses contact Sidero. A few of them could use an Artificer. Kytons are strange entities in Hell¡¯s Hierarchy; they¡¯re among its original inhabitants, not Devils¡ª though some refer to them as Chain Devils¡ªthey¡¯re encouraged to sign up to Hell¡¯s Legions but they¡¯re not forced. Not that it stops millions of them from signing up for the fun. Their Great Mother has some agreement with the Titan that puts her outside Asmodeus¡¯ command. Her situation, chained beneath the glacier on the Ninth layer, inspired his punishment of Levistus, Lord of the Fifth, except he is frozen completely inside his prison.¡± ¡°That was because he attempted to take over Hell?¡± Amdirlain asked, thinking of what she¡¯d researched. ¡°Correct. With Isaac, I could send a message to some of my former kin in Hell, but it would attract attention I¡¯d prefer to put off for now. If she didn¡¯t have True Song, I suggest just summoning her into a binding circle and establishing her condition afterwards. The tales I heard from Mother, True Song can rip through magical protections and bindings. If she¡¯s powerful enough to destroy a Gate Spell with a scream, she¡¯d tear a binding apart just as quick.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it ¡°You said your Father died in the war of Four when you were only three, so you¡¯d seen no Anar. How did you know I was an Anar so quickly? Farhad just thought I had a beautiful Soul, but you knew at a glance,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Ebusuku nodded in understanding at her statement. ¡°Death Gaze lets me see recent deaths in an area, but with reincarnated Souls, I can see all of their deaths. When you used the Ki Energy, I could see your Soul under that Hidden state you have. The energy of your Anar lifetime paled the rest into insignificance, no offence meant.¡± ¡°None taken,¡± Amdirlain reassured her. ¡°Most of the options you have for contacting her through third parties expose any message you¡¯d give to their care to their magical translations. Since you already told her your name and that set her off, without knowing why she reacted that way, it makes any attempt at physical contact dangerous. So leave that with me until we get other things settled.¡± ¡°I should-¡° Ebusuku gazed at her firmly. ¡°Leave it to me please, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Fine, have it your way!¡± Amdirlain retorted, mock snideness laying over her genuine concern. ¡°You get to set the priorities, but please leave the details of anything you¡¯re not handling personally to me,¡± chided Ebusuku lightly. Torm touched her hand reassuringly when Amdirlain went to argue. ¡°You said you needed to learn to delegate. With the survivors, you entrusted aspects of their care to others, please delegate to Ebusuku. Trust her to share out to others what they can handle.¡± ¡°True, okay. Thank you, Ebusuku. Let me know if I can do anything,¡± insisted Amdirlain, relaxing at Ebusuku¡¯s reassuring nod. ¡°The resolution of Set also provided a resource for your Faithful, to help themselves and others. I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ll need the trade options you were exploring as much. That said, the Abyss has materials in abundance. It is genuinely limitless, a corrupt plug on the wellspring of reality. There are also some foes in it that can drive your resistances up, who¡¯d provide materials you could then trade to an Alchemist for substantial rewards,¡± continued Ebusuku thoughtfully. ¡°Though Lorrella sounds like an interesting contact I once would have cultivated, I¡¯ll attract attention venturing into the Abyss now.¡± ¡°The abundance of materials is why I was thinking about the trade routes. I was trying to get contacts that would eventually do the gathering for me since I find it easy enough to purify them for use outside the Abyss,¡± responded Amdirlain. Ebusuku flicked a hand over her shoulder, even though her wings were no longer present. ¡°Even without the wings out, I¡¯ve no way to disguise my new power from Demons. For pushing your resistances along, I can guide you on the Abyssal Planes and foes you can use. Though instead of foes, you could just find locations where the environment itself is damaging.¡± The thoughtful nod Amdirlain gave had Ebusuku gesturing for her to spill, and Amdirlain spoke up. ¡°I need experience, and I¡¯d prefer to be killing Demons than Elementals. So I was multi-tasking, foes I was happy to fight, learning more about Demons, plus finding places to gather and buy materials. I kept getting Abyssal coins I can¡¯t use anywhere else.¡± ¡°Valid points. On that note, I should get you my coin stockpile from my apartment,¡± said Ebusuku, before her tone turned teasing. ¡°I didn¡¯t trust the Treasury to hold anything for me.¡± ¡°Something to consider, taking L¨®m? Souls to Judgement can certainly get you resources. While having them lured close to grottos before their shell is destroyed works for freeing them in the short term, you don''t know the grottos'' limits. You¡¯ve already found a failed one,¡± cautioned Farhad. Torm nodded in agreement. ¡°We should get the Elves that went with Yngvarr to contact them. Since the Succubi didn¡¯t end up dying, no one took them a message about the trapped Royals; they might find the Tower.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± Ebusuku said and gave Amdirlain a wink. ¡°See, there are good reasons for talking with others, and not trying to carry everything yourself.¡± Farhad cleared his throat to attract their attention. ¡°S¨ªrdhem and the other Succubi know of the Tower and should have memories of it.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll likely be focused on exploring for the other grottos,¡± Ebusuku said. ¡°Also, admittedly, finding the Tower in the short term doesn¡¯t help us since you¡¯ve been told it¡¯s sealed and we can¡¯t break in. However, it gives them hope and might change their perspective. They¡¯ve been staying in the Abyss because of the Royal line, knowing they are secure might make them rethink moving to safety. The problem is, if they leave, we¡¯ve no safe location to drag the Nox to for their Souls to remain free of the Abyss¡¯ lure. Amdirlain would need to capture them personally. I have a ranged version of Energy Drain, but we don¡¯t know if I can capture their Souls and I¡¯d attract attention.¡± ¡°I think we should tell them rather than keep them ignorant,¡± Torm said. ¡°I¡¯ll send a message to Aggie,¡± said Amdirlain and she continued at Ebusuku¡¯s curious expression. ¡°The And¨²n? court is almost due east of Stoneheart. She can talk to the Elves that went with the expedition previously.¡± Torm looked at her with concern. ¡°Are you avoiding contacting Yngvarr?¡± ¡°Not for that reason. He and Alfarr are getting settled in Duskstone. While it doesn¡¯t stop him from sending a message, it gives Aggie an excuse to head to the And¨²n? capital, which she¡¯d enjoy seeing,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, she might set up another Temple,¡± Farhad interjected. Amdirlain laughed lightly and gave Farhad a smile. ¡°Am I that transparent?¡± ¡°You said the Dwarven Temple earned Aggie an amount of experience and she continues to gain from Temples she¡¯s established persisting. You¡¯re looking for options to help her progress in the role she¡¯s chosen,¡± Farhad stated. ¡°The capitals are safe locations with a sizeable population, so the greatest potential rewards. I¡¯d suggested she travel to locations among the Moon and Wood Elf lands, to add locations away from rising tensions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wise suggestion since she can move about quickly once she¡¯s been somewhere,¡± commented Torm. Ebusuku waved a scolding finger at them but her lips twitched with amusement. ¡°We¡¯re getting off track to new items, you¡¯re both adding to Amdirlain¡¯s list. Slavery in ten kingdoms.¡± ¡°I mentioned it, but it¡¯s something I was honestly leaving to the Faithful to work at,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t like it and I¡¯d prefer it gone, but it¡¯s a change that will take time as much as I¡¯d like it to happen immediately.¡° Torm frowned in concern and Ebusuku motioned for him to speak up. ¡°Having three sects already is a concern. I¡¯d suggest monitoring them and how they are conveying your message. While it¡¯s fine if they are just focused on particular aspects, it will be a concern if they twist your message. Not just in word but in deed.¡± ¡°Temple Dogs,¡± Farhad stated and fell silent, apparently ready to leave it at that. Amdirlain blinked at his casual non-sequitur. ¡°Care to explain?¡± ¡°Have your Faithful summon some of the Hound Archons. They can help guard the temples and listen for anyone twisting your message rather than focusing on an aspect of it. The eastern courts had Mortal breeds of Temple Dogs blessed with the power to protect.¡± "It would feel like spying,¡± protested Amdirlain. Torm shrugged and raised a hand to halt her protests. "You¡¯re vulnerable to it. Mortals have influence over how your portfolios are both pursued and perceived. Also, with how small your following is at present, it¡¯s more easily influenced by a few attitudes going sideways. While you know some people and trust them, you have Priests you don¡¯t even know. The other thing they¡¯ll help you keep an eye out for is problems that people are trying to handle by themselves that they should ask for help to deal with.¡± ¡°That last one sounds familiar,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Torm gave her a sad smile. ¡°At least you learn from your mistakes, some people don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I wanted them to be stronger before they get called to the Material Plane. Though after so long in the maze, being around normal people might be good for some of them. Being in Mortal flesh was eye-opening,¡± stated Ebusuku. ¡°What is the offering that the Temple of Tyr needed to summon the Vargr Drangijaz? ¡°asked Amdirlain. Ebusuku gave them both a frown but motioned for Torm to answer. ¡°It doesn¡¯t take energy for some Celestials to come to the Material Plane, other than the Mana to cast the Spell. To avoid them being called to deal with every problem, it¡¯s customary for an offering. Those are used to help the Faithful in places where it doesn¡¯t directly benefit the summoning Priest, not that we tell them that is the reason. Most see it as an offering to the Celestial for their time, away from other duties,¡± explained Torm. ¡°Adding to that belief is if the offering is better equipment, it¡¯s normally made use of directly by them, and their old equipment passed along. Though if they¡¯re summoned for temple protection or on orders, then it¡¯s not expected¡ªbut appreciated¡ªsince the orders are due to local situations.¡± ¡°Especially if it¡¯s the Priest¡¯s fault for not stepping in before it got to needing Celestial aid?¡± asked Amdirlain, and smiled at Torm¡¯s rueful nod. ¡°We need to decide if we take them somewhere to get initial strength before arranging that,¡± Ebusuku said. Amdirlain mentally reached out to Mirage and smiled at the others ¡°Two questions answered: they¡¯re immune to Electricity and Petrification, and they see the experience section in their Profile.¡° Ebusuku gave Amdirlain a bemused look. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you escort some to the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning then.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a ton of Resistance to Electricity, not me,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Time for you to work on that,¡± countered Ebusuku. ¡°Training first for them, and you can take some time to heal. Sidero suggested that, and no sooner than you came here, you raced off. Yes, Aggie had summoned you, but try to give yourself time now,¡° urged Torm. Ebusuku nodded in apology to Torm. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking that they¡¯d go straight away. We¡¯d already discussed Farhad training them.¡± Torm visibly relaxed at Ebusuku¡¯s words. ¡°Sorry, you said time to work on that, and Amdirlain applies enough pressures on herself.¡± ¡°Yes, she does; doesn¡¯t she?¡± Ebusuku considered Amdirlain seriously and then gave her a mischievous smile. ¡°I have your Silent Storm. I think we really need to spend a prolonged time training together.¡± Farhad¡¯s eyes lit up at her words. ¡°Are you going to be following a Monk Class now?!¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m more inclined towards blades and magic. But the unarmed style you taught me evolved into Amdirlain¡¯s style, perhaps because we both have Protean. I want to work on that visualisation approach Amdirlain mentioned.¡± ¡°If I don¡¯t use Ki, you¡¯re going to kick my arse aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Amdirlain. Farhad looked at Amdirlain and shook his head. ¡°Even if you use Ki, she¡¯s going to kick your arse¡ªyou¡¯ll have fun.¡± ¡°Now, finding the other Giant clans,¡± Ebusuku continued before Farhad could say anything further. ¡°We should have the materials needed for crafting the device,¡± Farhad said. ¡°If we¡¯re-¡° Ebusuku¡¯s sharp snort stopped him mid-sentence. ¡°No, we don¡¯t.¡± Farhad looked at Ebusuku, the slightest lines on his forehead hinting at a frown. ¡°Yes, we do. The Diamonds I took from the Ogr¨¨moch¡¯s avatar. Plus-¡° ¡°All those collections I sold when you vanished. I bought some businesses in The Exchange with the proceeds,¡± explained Ebusuku. Farhad¡¯s frown deepened into a noticeable line before he nodded and his face calmed. ¡°It is the Law. They were¡ªto your knowledge¡ªabandoned. Though I noticed you kept many things of no use to you.¡± ¡°I could sell the businesses to get funds back, but it¡¯s unlikely some of those materials will be for sale regardless of what Sidero hoped. When I sold them, there was a bidding war,¡± explained Ebusuku, ignoring his observation. ¡°In between our training, I¡¯ll get started on collecting them since I¡¯ve got classes to pick and level. You can spend spare time recovering. You¡¯ve still a very Mortal perspective¡ªyour Sidero was right in that respect.¡± ¡°Would it be acceptable if I stay in your Domain and train those interested?¡± asked Farhad, surprising Amdirlain at separating from Ebusuku. ¡°I appreciate they wish to learn for self-reliance, not to emulate yourself.¡± Ebusuku smiled indulgently and stage whispered to Amdirlain. ¡°I think he¡¯s grown addicted to seeing the improvement he can bring about in others. If the changes in training other Celestial¡¯s are as impressive as Torm¡¯s progress, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ll be able to pry him away.¡± ¡°I assure you that won¡¯t be the case,¡± protested Farhad. ¡°I have my own training to pursue.¡± Amdirlain nodded at Farhad. ¡°It¡¯s your choice if you wish to stay here and train any who ask it of you. I¡¯ve no objections to your presence as long as you harm no Petitioner.¡± ¡°That is your Law, so I¡¯ll adhere to it. I find myself glad you didn¡¯t die as I thought you would, Amdirlain. Ensure you continue to survive,¡± Farhad said simply, ignoring the wink Ebusuku gave Amdirlain. ¡°Can you back up a bit¡ªyou mentioned Ogr¨¨moch¡¯s avatar?¡± asked Amdirlain, the name having been niggling at her. ¡°The Prince of Evil Earth, represents all that Mortals fear about the Earth. Quakes, landslides, sinkholes, being trapped underground; it¡¯s all absorbed and manifested as a massive Loci force, not a normal Elemental. Even if something destroys the Avatar on the Elemental Plane of Earth, it just reforms within days.¡± explained Farhad and paused thoughtfully. ¡°Even Prince isn¡¯t correct, since in appearance it¡¯s a sexless giant made of rock and dirt. When I fought against it, the body it had formed was about thirty metres tall and leading other Elementals against a Mortal settlement on the Plane¡¯s edge.¡± ¡°You took that on by yourself?¡± asked Amdirlain. Farhad gave her a stern look. ¡°Of course not. I look for challenges, not to die pointlessly. We had a host, but many of them died.¡± ¡°Cemna,¡± stated Ebusuku, cutting off Amdirlain¡¯s reply, and she just mimed buttoning her lip. Farhad sighed happily, and Amdirlain raised an eyebrow at him. ¡°Cleansing a world of Demons, now there¡¯s a challenge. Might want to have an Artificer make objects to detect Portals, or Ebusuku could come along.¡± ¡°Or both,¡± Ebusuku countered. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the first world that Demons have turned into a playground. It might not even be a wasteland. Mortals don¡¯t do well in the Abyss, but breeding pens on worlds give them access to Souls to corrupt. They keep them uncivilised so there isn¡¯t the bar on accessing it.¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s Servant said the world would need re-seeding,¡± reminded Amdirlain, and Ebusuku nodded grimly. ¡°There is that. Demons¡ªso many good reasons to hate them,¡± stated Ebusuku sadly. ¡°Just as well Farhad has items to remove the need for air and sustenance.¡± ¡°Do you include your kin in that statement?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Every family has problem children. Fortunately for you, I was one in mine,¡± Ebusuku replied. ¡°Most of my grandmother¡¯s lines are more like Devils. I¡¯m not sure any of them have my mindset, though we certainly had our dislike of Demons in common.¡± Amdirlain nodded and forced herself back on track. ¡°I¡¯ll experiment on getting to Cemna, and once I¡¯ve made it, open a Gate so others can see it firsthand.¡± ¡°That will let me open a Gate for Farhad and I, when he wants a break from training others,¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°Lessening the Greek Gods¡¯ influence.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to hear what you have to say about the Adventurers¡¯ Guild first.¡± countered Amdirlain. Ebusuku shrugged and gave Amdirlain an amused look. ¡°I know you¡¯ve had enough talking about them. Agreeing they¡¯re on our list is enough for now. Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I¡¯ve heard of worlds with similar organisations. If they gain too much influence, they become a government¡ªfor good or ill. We¡¯ll need to get some locals thinking about limits that will work for their cultures to prevent that¡ªif it isn¡¯t what you want happening.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s nod, Ebusuku continued on. ¡°Crafters, you don¡¯t look like Moradin junior.¡± ¡°I really think Dwarves use the lack of beards as a joke,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Some might, but most are completely serious,¡± disagreed Torm. ¡°Not growing a beard,¡± Amdirlain declared. 132 - Good enough Ebusuku gathered the Celestials present in the Domain while Amdirlain called Solveiga and O¡¯Nai back from their patrol groups. The lack of interruptions among the gathering allowed Eubusuku to quickly run down the list, even with explaining details. Hands were swiftly raised to offer help on items that Amdirlain could delegate as Ebusuku ran through her copy. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving me anything to do!¡± protested Amdirlain, and the gathered group chuckled lightly. ¡°Not true. Ebusuku needs a sparring partner,¡± Pip retorted. ¡°I¡¯ll still be here with you. Sage says I¡¯m grounded. Even though I¡¯m flying, go figure.¡± The Lantern Archon darted over, and her meshwork touched down on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder opposite Torm. ¡°Yes, because it¡¯s only going to be you and Ebusuku minding Amdirlain, Pip,¡± yelled Whisper, only to be gently shushed by those nearest. ¡°Also, you need to help me with instructing the Archons,¡± replied Farhad. Sage gestured back in the settlements¡¯ direction. ¡°Plus, talk Malnar out of building a moat.¡± ¡°I swear she¡¯s going to drive me crazy. Why a moat?¡± asked Amdirlain, not knowing what drove the architect to fixate on having fortifications. Sage shrugged. ¡°Your guess is as good as mine. She doesn¡¯t want a wall, just a water-filled trench. Defensive without being overly intrusive? Bridges provide control points for ground approaches without actually being obstructive, not that it helps against flying foes. But from the brief talk we had, she seems very ground- focused.¡± ¡±She¡¯s also not thinking that the Domain is still expanding,¡± Torm sighed. ¡°But the moment it does, I¡¯ll wager she¡¯ll be asking to build a castle outside the valley.¡± ¡°I have more energy I can pour in the Domain now,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. Torm chuckled and pointed to a completed item towards the top of her list¡ªsend Aggie a message. ¡°And depending on Aggie, it might grow in leaps and bounds, let alone the ex-slaves once they¡¯ve settled in. You said you were showing more followers already.¡± ¡°The fact we¡¯re in a valley makes a moat completely impractical, even if the Domain didn¡¯t increase in size. Any ground enemy would attack from uphill where the moat wouldn¡¯t obstruct. You picked a bad defensive spot, Amdirlain,¡± noted Farhad flatly, the slightest twitch of his mouth the only clue to it being in jest. ¡°Have her build a colosseum, past the Domain¡¯s edge,¡± suggested Ebusuku. ¡°If she set it up with controllable openings and perches for archers, it could be a defensive fall-back position for incoming patrols. When we¡¯re not entertaining whatever invader she¡¯s expecting, you can use it as a training ground¡ªit might settle her down.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll guard a Temple or Shrine. I¡¯d prefer one that has lots of children around?¡± Hook offered, his deep rumble almost quiet as if he was expecting a refusal. Amdirlain glanced up from her list, trying to remember if he¡¯d asked about anything since the gathering had started. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can sort that out, Hook. Any particular reason?¡± Hook, all two metres tall, muscular, and dangerous looking, ducked his head bashfully. ¡°Giving children horsey rides sounds like fun.¡± ¡°Can I have a ride?¡± Pip squealed excitedly, and Hook laughed gruffly and shifted into a giant hound. One moment Pip was on her shoulder, the next resting on the middle of his back, and Hook started around the group. Sage watched them for only part of a circuit before he returned his attention to the discussion. ¡°Now, you just need to keep the to-do list under control.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be turning a blind eye to those needing help,¡± warned Amdirlain. Torm gave her a side-eye even as he snorted. ¡°I¡¯m certain I only finished telling you not to change who you are a little while ago. How about this as a suggestion: when you find people that need help, you let us know? That way, you¡¯re not feeling like you¡¯re dealing with it alone.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what we¡¯re supposed to do, help you help others; so they can find hope and freedom?¡± Mirage asked curiously. O¡¯Nai nodded and smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°I told you I gained an understanding of you. It seems I¡¯m not the only one.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll work it out together,¡± Amdirlain said, raising her hands in mock surrender. ¡°Can I ask one thing?¡± ¡°We¡¯re listening,¡± Sage replied, eyes twinkling with amusement. ¡°Why is Pip grounded?¡± ¡°She went chasing after a bear eating honey,¡± Sage said, ¡°Wanted it for herself of all the silliness.¡± ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t mine,¡± protested Pip. ¡°The brewer said he needed more honey for my apple project. I wasn¡¯t going to hurt him; I just needed to shoo him along.¡± Mirage¡¯s sigh was heavy with exasperation. ¡°Then why were you insisting it was your honey?¡± ¡°It was mine for the brewer, silly!¡± Pip exclaimed, ignoring Tickles giggling as Hook passed behind her. Solveiga rubbed her face and Amdirlain saw her straining to keep a straight face. ¡°So we focus on training for the tasks we¡¯re taking on and rotate with yourself to get combat experience? When they¡¯re better able to take care of themselves and others you¡¯ll send messages to Priests to arrange their summoning?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°In the meantime, focus on your training. Please tell us if the class you expressed interest in for initial focus isn¡¯t what you thought, we can look to switch things up. Remember though, secondary classes will give you a variety to learn and potentially shift things quite dramatically. Those who are focusing on the Monk Class, Master Farhad will be your primary trainer. Hook, and Iris; Torm and some Vargr Drangijaz will handle your training as Rangers. Mirage, sorry, but I¡¯m going to hand you over to Ebusuku for Wizard training. I give you my condolences; she¡¯s bossy and demanding.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one that will be continually finding work for us,¡± retorted Ebusuku. Amdirlain gave Mirage a wink. ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll find all the fun stuff.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a goof when you¡¯re happy, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Solveiga seriously. ¡°You need to ask?¡± Farhad enquired. Amdirlain gave him a mock, hurt look. ¡°That¡¯s harsh. I let you stick around to training them, and then you agree with me being a goof? I¡¯ll have you know, I¡¯m just very light-hearted at present.¡± ¡°No fair, I¡¯ve no arms so I can¡¯t hug you better,¡± announced Pip sadly, completely missing Amdirlain¡¯s tone. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I get arms like everyone else?¡± ¡°You were the youngest by far, Pip. The next youngest was Tickles, and she¡¯s the smallest of the Hound Archons,¡± Sage said, sweeping Pip up off Hook¡¯s back and cradling her lightly in his hands. ¡°Do any of you remember why you were there?¡± Amdirlain asked, curious as to why the Domain had shared a sense of their history but nothing prior to the Maze. ¡°There was pain,¡± murmured Pip, and she moved to hover above Sage¡¯s head. ¡°For me there was singing, but it stopped. Then the sky went dark, and I found myself behind my waterfall,¡± replied Mirage. Sage¡¯s expression was so sorrowful that Amdirlain regretted asking. ¡°I remember being near a herb garden, I think. I know there were lots of herbs, but not what they smelt like. Just the knowledge they were around me even before I was in the maze.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, we¡¯re all here now. We¡¯ll make memories together,¡± Solveiga stated, slipping past the Sage¡¯s wings and hugging him lightly. ¡°We need a waterfall for Mirage, and-¡± Pip said firmly, but paused in mid-thought. ¡°But then her fur would get wet.¡± * * * ¡°Owie,¡± Amdirlain muttered, even before Torm hit the ground. Torm rested his forehead against the grass for a moment before he climbed to his feet. ¡°I¡¯m stronger, yet you still toss me like a rag doll.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel guilty about it one bit; you wanted to spar,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°Willpower is a Monk¡¯s armour, buckler, and weapons. Strength means much less without skill and a properly guided will,¡± Farhad stated. ¡°You¡¯ve combined your sword techniques and the fighting style I taught you well. However, it just means you are more vulnerable without a sword in hand. Again?¡± ¡°Nope, my turn,¡± Ebusuku said, overriding Torm¡¯s nod. ¡°Take a seat junior, let the ladies have room to play.¡± Amdirlain waved Solveiga to take her place. ¡°You¡¯re obviously talking about Solveiga, I swear far too much to be considered a lady.¡± ¡°Stay right where you are,¡± ordered Ebusuku, ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s pout. Solveiga waved her hands in protest. ¡°I¡¯m not swapping.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s pout disappeared as quick as it appeared. ¡°Protean?¡± ¡°Just sparring in normal forms for now,¡± said Ebusuku. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°No auras-¡± Amdirlain cut off and tried to escape Ebusuku¡¯s blur of motion. Neither Precognition nor Danger Sense failed, rather her reactions to their warnings were too slow. Torm offered her a hand up after she landed sprawled out at his feet. ¡°Owie?¡± ¡°Bite me,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Ebusuku¡¯s laughter drew a smile from Amdirlain, and an answering smile lit up Torm¡¯s face. ¡°You got through my Defence like it was nothing,¡± protested Amdirlain. The shrug that Ebusuku gave in reply was smug in the extreme. ¡°You rely on it like a brute force wall. Learn finesse and save your energies. Your Ki gets you past a foe¡¯s defence so you don¡¯t look to get around them. Your Ki hardened flesh and auras block the attack, so you don¡¯t focus on angling them away enough. You couldn¡¯t block my attacks since I¡¯m faster than you, but your positioning made getting through your defence easy. Look to find and leverage weaknesses in your foes. Then your attack power can apply to a foe¡¯s vulnerable spots, and you don¡¯t spend Ki to blast through protections.¡± ¡°I go for vulnerable spots,¡± Amdirlain protested. She went to add more, only to be stopped short by Ebusuku¡¯s snort. ¡°No, you¡¯ve gone for vulnerable spots in particular situations. Jumping into something¡¯s mouth is a very extreme version of seeking vulnerabilities. You were punching a Dragon on its paw and flank. What about trying to stab it in the eye, before you roll around in its mouth where it could use its breath weapon on you? Seeking weak spots should be your default. There will always be someone tougher. Fight smarter, not harder; and that goes for all of you.¡± The smile that Ebusuku directed back at Amdirlain wasn¡¯t mocking, but reassuring. ¡°You¡¯re worried about S¨ªrdhem, and the others fighting with their reduced attack power. Don¡¯t be. Their skills will let them apply what power they have like knives against soft fruit, not hammering rocks.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s gaze captured the attention of the Archons, and Angels. ¡°You all have strength you didn¡¯t have before, but except for Solveiga and O¡¯Nai, you¡¯ve never fought. A stranger came, the monsters came, and you hid or you died. It¡¯s going to be tempting to go fight something to use your new strength and powers. Even a baby Archon is stronger than a Mortal; faster, tougher, it¡¯s all part of their nature. Don¡¯t go in with just your instincts. Fight smart, watch, and always be learning. Tactics that will work against Demons or near mindless elementals, will leave you vulnerable to Devils. You all have Greater Teleport, including you Amdirlain. Why weren¡¯t you using it sparring? Too busy having fun?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s rueful smile drew amused laughter from the gathering. ¡°I couldn¡¯t see the attacks either of you made, and the others are slow to me,¡± Pip said, and Ebusuku nodded. ¡°Thank you, Pip; I¡¯ll slow things down. You are all either stronger or faster than either Amdirlain or I were to begin with. Pip is far faster than three of you put together. Learn what I have to teach you and stay alive to help others. The best way to defend yourself: don¡¯t be where they are attacking, shift about the battlefield. You should never stand still to receive a blow unless moving is going to get someone else killed. Now, you¡¯ve all asked about involvement in different things. Does anyone believe the different training will take the same amount of effort and/or time?¡± Amdirlain was glad to see that none of them raised their hands. ¡°Mirage wants to learn to be a Wizard. That¡¯s going to be useful in so many ways, but to train properly will take years or even decades, depending on how she goes. We will not shortcut her training because we need something handled. Amdirlain can tell you about one bad habit she almost got in trouble with because of shortcuts. Hook, you want to learn to protect Temples, and bodyguarding. That¡¯s good, but it requires a very different skillset to Iris who wants to be out scouting for dangers.¡± ¡°But we¡¯ll all be learning to fight, right?¡± asked Berry, her tone concerned. ¡°Yes, there will be some crossover between your training sessions, and you¡¯ll practice against each other. Also, others of the Norse Celestials will help in the training. Oili, who some of you have already met, will help us when she¡¯s in the Domain, and she is a newly promoted Celestial as well. She¡¯s undertaken training to earn a patrol spot; it wasn¡¯t just given out. While she looks similar to a Hound Archon, she isn¡¯t. Your abilities are different, but you have things in common and can learn from each other¡¯s perspectives,¡± stated Amdirlain. Ebusuku motioned everyone to stand and gestured for Amdirlain to join her. ¡°We¡¯ll break into the groups for some initial planning around the primary Class and related role you are interested in. We will shift about for training relative to the additional classes you select. If you want to develop particular skills or focus on an area that interests you more, let us know. If you have a feeling there is something you want but have no Class option in your profile for it, let us know. In general any questions you have¡­¡± ¡°Let you know.¡± The words came as a chorus from among the Archons, and Ebusuku shooed them away as Amdirlain and Mirage joined her. * * * ¡°Have you thought of any classes you want besides Wizard?¡± asked Amdirlain, once the three of them were sitting under an apple tree. Mirage gave a shy smile. ¡°I enjoyed putting my fingers in the waterfall and feeling its flow. Wizard sounds like the Mana would be like the waterfall¡¯s energy. I¡¯d also like to make things, to help or protect people even if I wasn¡¯t there. What focus did you follow Ebusuku?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to follow in my footsteps Mirage. There was an initial set of classes my Mother forced me to take. After that, I took a variety of advanced base classes that built from Fighter and Wizard. The Prestige Classes I took from my own choices were Spellblade, and Ascended Spellblade. If you want to make things anyone can use, I¡¯d suggest considering Artificer or Alchemist. I¡¯d still like you to take at least one combat Class, but even advancing your species will give you more combat abilities.¡± [Ascended Spellblade: Ascended Spellblade Prestige Class is available to those who have already acquired Spellblade. This Class continues expanding on the combination of magic into the individual¡¯s fighting style. Progressing the core aspects of this Class requires rigorous training in both physical and intellectual areas. ] ¡°I don¡¯t have either Artificer or Alchemist among my options to pick,¡± replied Mirage. Amdirlain smiled reassuringly and patted her shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I know some folks that can help with that. The question isn¡¯t what it offers you at the moment; rather, the options you need us to help you unlock. This same discussion is happening with all the groups; I¡¯m just here to help you with some initial Affinities. You said the Profile offered you Wizard; what Affinities does it list?¡± ¡°Just Water,¡± admitted Mirage quietly. ¡°That¡¯s a good starting point,¡± Amdirlain said, and Mirage went wide-eyed. ¡°Water has lots of uses, both inside and outside combat. Look at fire: it¡¯s good for combat and¡­ well, starting campfires if you have control. It doesn¡¯t have a lot of options in its primary spells lists besides blowing stuff up. I learnt Fire Law, for using Fire, after the first few spells that taught me to boil water and heat solids, it¡¯s one combat Spell after another.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s wink relaxed Mirage, and she gave her a one-armed hug. ¡°Since it sounds like you want to do more than fight, it a useful first Affinity. Though, don¡¯t underestimate it in combat situations. It has some Spell lists beyond the basic Water Law for delivering some very potent combat options. We can get grimoires around whatever aspects you¡¯d like if you want to explore Water to its fullest. That said, Amdirlain will teach you all the first Tier Affinities and we¡¯ll start on basics of Mana Manipulation after that.¡± ¡°Now, it doesn¡¯t matter if your eyes are closed or not. Important thing is to relax and let yourself feel the energy flows,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The Titan spoke in my mind after we got through the flames,¡± stated Mirage. ¡°You asked what happened before we got to the Maze. When he was asking me what I wanted to do, he called me failed one. I didn¡¯t like that, but he didn¡¯t even explain my failure. I don¡¯t want to fail again..¡± ¡°Mirage, I know it sounds easy to say, but know that everyone fails. Some people believe we learn more from our failures than from successes. We¡¯ll always be here to help you,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Mirage nodded and Ebusuku squeezed her and, releasing her, pulled a bag from a storage amulet. ¡°If you want to start your trick with Affinities, then I¡¯ve got a few books Mirage can start on while we speak.¡± Fire proved the most difficult for Mirage to get a grasp of, but Amdirlain guided her through the flows of its energies until everything clicked. Ebusuku passed her two slim volumes, the first with a cover that looked like drifting clouds, while brown suede covered the second. ¡°I figured these texts in Celestial might be handy, just as well I grabbed them. These have more pages than they seem until you open them. The white covers fundamentals of Mana Manipulation, the other contains the first tier of the base Wizard Spell lists.¡± ¡°Pip told me there were twenty-seven others besides her. Do you know what happened to the last?¡± Amdirlain asked as Mirage started reading Ebusuku¡¯s book. Mirage stopped and smiled at Amdirlain before she gave a rueful shrug. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t ask Pip to give you an accurate count once it gets beyond ten¡ªshe gets distracted easily. Someone to cheer you up if she¡¯s not upset herself¡ªbut nothing that involves counting.¡± ¡°There were twenty-seven children that Sage knew about, including Pip, so they¡¯re all accounted for,¡± assured Ebusuku. ¡°Knew about?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s haunted gaze had Amdirlain hugging her without thinking, and her stomach twisted at the pain in Ebusuku¡¯s soft explanation. ¡°I saw scores of chambers like those home to the children. When we passed through one, I thought I saw something in the corner of my eye, but we couldn¡¯t find anyone. I had no access to spells, nor powers that could investigate. Telepathy I had in fits and starts, but it gave me nothing. I wasn¡¯t sure if it was my wounds or real, so we moved on, but it felt real. Sage said there were hundreds of places like those they¡¯d found.¡± ¡°You did what you could, Ebusuku, that¡¯s all we can do. I¡¯m so glad you made it out, and it¡¯s unbelievable you rescued so many others.¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Don¡¯t put me on a pedestal; I almost didn¡¯t, Amdirlain,¡± cautioned Ebusuku. ¡°There were moments that I thought my choice was going to destroy me, especially right towards the end. But I couldn¡¯t let Sage be destroyed for trying to help me and the others.¡± ¡°Not going to put you on a pedestal; it would be harder to give you hugs,¡± retorted Amdirlain before giving her another friendly squeeze. ¡°Does touching us hurt you like Torm mentioned?¡± Ebusuku asked, glancing at Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, I feel itching from contact with any of you,¡± Amdirlain admitted ruefully. Ebusuku tapped Amdirlain''s nose and considered her seriously. ¡°What are we going to do with you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll grow on you like any fungus. So, did you want the other affinities you¡¯re missing?¡± asked Amdirlain cheekily. ¡°Yes please,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Though I have a few I¡¯ll avoid using now.¡± ¡°Abyssal and Infernal that you still have. They¡¯re painful to me when I use either. I don¡¯t want to know what a Celestial would feel.¡± Ebusuku snapped her hands outwards in a sharp gesture. ¡°Boom!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t use them then,¡± Amdirlain said, giving Ebusuku a mock-stern glare. ¡°No going boom.¡± Ebusuku gave her a smug look. ¡°How about explosive orgasms?¡± ¡°It was a fun reunion, then? I¡¯m honestly surprised you were back so quickly,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I may have slightly broken the bath, so nothing to relax in post celebrations,¡± admitted Ebusuku. Amdirlain looked at her curiously. With the solid spa-sized bath fresh in her memory, she had to know. ¡°How did you break the bath?¡± ¡°Really, you¡¯re actually asking? How many details do you want? I noticed how fast you fled last time, which makes complete sense now.¡± stated Ebusuku dryly. ¡°Things were getting fun, when the bath jumped across the room and redecorated its way through a window. The building¡¯s wards stopped it from falling, but it was crushed and hanging through the window. End result, one small penthouse balcony. Unfortunately, Farhad draws the line at semi-outdoor celebrations with witnesses, so we freshened up and came here. Maintenance will fix the exterior and bill my account.¡± Mirage laughed at Ebusuku''s explanation. ¡°That counts as slightly?¡± ¡°I broke it slightly, the wards finished it. But since I didn¡¯t establish those, what they did isn¡¯t my fault,¡± explained Ebusuku. ¡°That¡¯s some interesting logic you have there,¡± remarked Amdirlain, picturing a cascade of water spraying over the fliers. The smile that Ebusuku gave had Amdirlain narrowing her eyes. ¡°I know, but I¡¯m serving a Power that¡¯s not focused on Order or Law; I think I¡¯m going to be fine.¡± ¡°Are Petitioners going to be joining our lessons as well?¡± asked Mirage, distracting Amdirlain from Ebusuku¡¯s teasing. Following the direction of Mirage¡¯s gaze, Amdirlain spotted Runa with the others arrayed before Master Farhad. Analysis showed Runa didn¡¯t have any Class, but she looked focused. ¡°If she can learn even the unarmed techniques, I¡¯ll not stop her,¡± replied Amdirlain. Mirage nodded and settled down to her reading. Amdirlain nodded before she settled into Harmony and started Ebusuku through the rest of the Affinities. 133 - I refuse ¡°That Spell you showed me feels like part of the Titan¡¯s maze,¡± Mirage said. A Valkyrie wearing Tyr¡¯s emblems appeared nearby, making Mirage start, but Ebusuku and Amdirlain were already in motion. A throwing knife, its tip having dug into the Valkyrie¡¯s throat, reappeared back in Ebusuku¡¯s hand. Amdirlain had instantly re-formed into a standing position, arms shaped into blades. Catching only the end of Ebusuku¡¯s blurred motion, Amdirlain stopped herself from launching at the arrival. Wide-eyed, the Valkyrie froze and glanced between the two of them. ¡°Teleporting right next to either of us isn¡¯t the best idea,¡± offered Ebusuku dryly. ¡°My apologies. I shall keep that in mind. I hadn''t expected such nerves within Amdirlain¡¯s Domain,¡± the Valkyrie stated, the wound on her throat already sealing. Ebusuku smiled, her gaze flitting across Amdirlain¡¯s still-ready posture. ¡°True security has been a rarity. While the Domain feels wonderful, safety isn¡¯t something we¡¯re used to enjoying.¡± The Valkyrie bowed to Amdirlain, whose arms were suddenly normal. ¡°Amdirlain, a group of Fomorians wish to speak with you. The one leading them says her name is Morgana. Though she looks Human, the rest defer to her.¡± ¡°No apology necessary. Sparring with Ebusuku had me all keyed up,¡± Amdirlain replied and moved to clasp the Valkyrie¡¯s hand in apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you got injured. Thank you for the message. Which boundary is she at?¡± ¡°Towards the valley¡¯s nearest end, close to where the Dwarven visitors arrived,¡± she replied, giving Amdirlain¡¯s hand a grateful squeeze before she vanished. ¡°Teleporting bird brains,¡± grumbled Ebusuku. Mirage gave her a playful smile. ¡°You¡¯ve feathered wings now. Does that make you a bird brain?¡± ¡°I think your magical theory lessons will need to be extremely detailed,¡± retorted Ebusuku, though her smile softened the words. ¡°Guess that means I¡¯ll get to peck away at all your knowledge,¡± Mirage countered, her smile echoing Ebusuku¡¯s own. Amdirlain left them to it, reappearing on the Domain¡¯s edge well clear of others but in plain view of where some groups had gathered. Beyond her Domain¡¯s border, she saw Morgana standing before dozens of armoured Fomorians and wondered why they were human height. She could see the Valkyrie, who¡¯d almost caught Ebusuku¡¯s knife with her vocal cords, walking towards the group. The moment Amdirlain stepped across her Domain¡¯s border, Morgana looked directly at her and nodded, the gesture one of the politest she¡¯d given. Approaching the gathering, Amdirlain spoke up, not waiting for anyone to address her. ¡°Morgana, what brings you here?¡± ¡°A few matters from my Liege, that I¡¯d prefer not to discuss near another¡¯s Celestials,¡± Morgana replied, giving the nearby Celestials a flat look. ¡°Especially not outside your Domain, Amdirlain.¡± Amdirlain smiled at her still prickly attitude and motioned those nearby to relax. ¡°You are welcome if you¡¯ll swear never to harm my Petitioners.¡± ¡°On my Oath to my Liege, I shall abide your Domain¡¯s rules and protect you and your Petitioners while within. If I fail in this, I will submit to your judgement and his wrath.¡± The group behind her didn¡¯t hesitate to echo her words, and Amdirlain nodded. ¡°My thanks. Please, come in then. How is your Li¨¨ge?¡± Morgana didn¡¯t answer until Amdirlain had led her across the Domain¡¯s border. ¡°He is attending a convocation of his kin for the next few decades¡ªif it finishes by then. He planned to secure everything in stasis, so we were already ready to be away.¡± Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ¡°Would a stasis field hold in Limbo without him maintaining it?¡± ¡°His hoard is no longer in Limbo,¡± replied Morgana flatly. ¡°He moved it beyond reach.¡± ¡°What sort of matters did he expect you to assist me with?¡± asked Amdirlain, skipping away from the topic as quickly as she could. ¡°Your new Celestials. He noticed them as he was preparing to leave and changed our instructions. He ordered us here to assist you with whatever training we could. The rest I would like to discuss with you and your new Solar.¡± ¡°Where had you been planning to go?¡± Morgana looked at her sternly. ¡°That is my Liege¡¯s business, which I¡¯m not at liberty to discuss.¡± ¡°Still as nice as ever, Morgana,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°You have a strange choice in companions¡ªand who you trust¡ªso I hold on to what I¡¯d otherwise share,¡± Morgana said, quashing a flicker of amusement in her gaze. ¡°Ebusuku is this way,¡± Amdirlain said, picking the shortest path towards where she¡¯d left the others. ¡°How did you know a Solar teamed up with me? I was told outsiders couldn¡¯t scry into a Domain.¡± Morgana shrugged lightly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t scrying within, rather your Domain¡¯s energy. My Liege has experienced such shifts previously. He reviewed the memory and significance with me.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been spying on me?¡± Amdirlain asked, surprised at Azex¡¯s continued interest. ¡°It would be more accurate to say he had others monitoring your Domain¡¯s state,¡± Morgana replied. Torm spotted the approaching group, leaving the Hound Archons to practice and seeing their path headed over to join Ebusuku. The few words exchanged had Mirage rising to her feet and joining the Ranger trainees. ¡°Morgana, interesting to be seeing you again so soon,¡± Torm stated politely. Morgana looked at him with careful consideration before she replied. ¡°Your promotion suits you, Torm. However, since you are Tyr¡¯s representative and not a member of Amdirlain¡¯s Domain, my Liege¡¯s words are not for your ears.¡± ¡°I trust Torm,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Torm, with all respect to you, Amdirlain, above all else is always Tyr¡¯s Servant. While he has treated you far better than certain Human and Elf gods, my Liege¡¯s concern is that whatever is heard, Tyr will know if he wishes it. He seems inclined to treat you fairly, but has trusted his kin incorrectly and might again to your lasting regret. My Liege instructed me to keep them both separate from this matter,¡± replied Morgana. ¡°Have other interests among the Norse not already caused you pain?¡± Regardless of how other Norse tempers might have fared, Torm remained calm and simply nodded. ¡°Azex is right on the matter, Amdirlain. Others have already shown themselves careless with your safety, and I¡¯d not risk giving them an opening through me again. I¡¯m glad you are conscientious in your duty to your Liege, Morgana¡ªespecially where it involves Amdirlain¡¯s safety.¡± Motioning back toward the buildings, Torm vanished, and Morgana directed her attention to Amdirlain and Ebusuku. ¡°Would either of you care to put concealments in place?¡± Ebusuku glanced at Amdirlain and with her nod quickly set multiple spells in place, their energies far cleaner in True Sight compared to her castings in the Abyss. When she finished setting them in place, Ebusuku looked at Morgana curiously. ¡°You¡¯re an interesting looking Dragon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m an Arcane Drake; I wasn¡¯t born a Dragon. It is also not a matter for the current discussion. Azex has contacted the two former Fallen as per his debt for your story. Neither is safe for you to be around because of your current nature. Their advice for you was simple though, the redemption path is unique for each Fallen. Finding your path begins in the Cloister¡¯s vaults, on the Plane of Decay, known as Ijmti.¡± ¡°The Cloister of the Fallen?¡± asked a surprised Amdirlain. When Morgana nodded, Ebusuku hissed in annoyance. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not good.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡±Aside from the fact that my flesh started coming apart almost instantly when I arrived there.¡± The set of Ebusuku¡¯s mouth highlighted her worried gaze. ¡°Approaching them could easily be fatal, and they won¡¯t be inclined to send a message to say it¡¯s fine to walk free. They¡¯ve no love for Demons, and I had some close calls with their members. Now you have the form of a Fallen, you¡¯d be fine¡ªexcept for that Sigil. Are you sure you won¡¯t remove it?¡± ((Remove it please, Amdirlain.)) ¡°No, I¡¯m going to get your progenitor free as well,¡± insisted Amdirlain, aware Laodice was listening. ¡°Plus, she isn¡¯t the only one that needs to be freed.¡± ¡°Her gratitude isn¡¯t something you want any more,¡± cautioned Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it for her gratitude,¡± Amdirlain said, with a tight smile. ¡°It¡¯s the right thing to do, plus it will weaken the bitch. All the innocents she tricked and imprisoned in the Abyss, payment for that is well overdue.¡± Ebusuku looked about to argue the point before she pulled a face. ¡°Well, that¡¯s honest.¡± ¡°If the path of redemption starts in the Cloister¡¯s vault, are they protecting something because they¡¯re all trying to follow the path?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Morgana, would you be able to get in touch with Azex? I¡¯d like to know if there is a safe means of introduction suitable for my situation?¡± Morgana looked at her curiously. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°The Redemption Path sounds like they seek a way to make up for however they fell. Not sure what I¡¯ll have to do given I¡¯m cursed. If there is the slimmest chance that bringing down Baln¨¦rith and freeing one of Titan¡¯s Servants might help some of them, wouldn¡¯t it be mean if I kept that to myself?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The first part alone might interest some.¡± ¡°Or they might dispose of the key once done,¡± warned Ebusuku. ¡°Titan¡¯s Servant? Where is the Titan¡¯s Servant?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s expression twisted with her outrage. ¡°Lady Baln¨¦rith has them trapped.¡± ¡°Amdirlain!¡± exclaimed Ebusuku. ¡°When were you planning to share that information?¡± Amdirlain paused and clicked her tongue thoughtfully. A memory of the care that Laodice had taken in hiding her gender had her gaze flick across Morgana¡¯s escort before she replied. ¡°Heck, they keep telling me to leave them there. You mentioned the Sigil and the first comment I hear from them in ages is¡ªremove it please.¡± ¡°You hear them? You didn¡¯t mention this information in your tale either,¡± accused Ebusuku. Amdirlain gave her a contrite look. ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°Share information. It could be the difference in ensuring your safety among them,¡± Ebusuku grumbled, glaring at Amdirlain in frustration, not buying into her look for a moment. ¡°True, but even if I learn how to contact them, I¡¯m not strong enough to survive on Ijmti.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll certainly need to work on your resistances then,¡± stated Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear the story of how you met this Arcane Drake and her Liege. Afterwards, I think I¡¯ll show you something that will probably provide a focus outside the Abyss, while you get stronger.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow at Ebusuku, who just shook her head in apparent refusal. At a snort nearby, Amdirlain glanced at Morgana and found her smiling at them both. ¡°Can Torm re-join us now?¡± asked Amdirlain tersely. ¡°Since he knows what happened. Where should the others set up?¡± asked Morgana, gesturing at her escort. ¡°There is a Dwarven architect named Malnar, she¡¯ll be down near the building giving builders orders and usually carrying sheaves of parchment scrolls. Please do me a favour, and ask her to arrange some houses for you. Just nothing fortified, please,¡± requested Amdirlain, adding a mutter. ¡°She keeps wanting castles.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with an enormous castle?¡± the guard asked. The look they received from Amdirlain was pure frustration. ¡°Don¡¯t you start!¡± * * * Elemental Plane of Earth Ebusuku spun with a dancer¡¯s grace, unhindered by the armour she wore. An Earth Elemental¡¯s blow missed by the width of her sabre. The evasion added momentum to her next attack; the blades twisting with her motion carved deep cuts along its side. Trying to engulf her, the Elemental¡¯s body collapsed to the ground, but teleport had already carried her behind its telegraphed attempt. It dove into stone, but both sabres struck faster and left rubble behind. Even with the foe destroyed, Ebusuku continued her flowing movements, and after a moment with no other Elementals having appeared, her blades vanished. The shrug that followed was all the prompting Amdirlain needed. ¡°That was another Greater Elemental. I take it they''re still around three thousand experience?¡± Ebusuku nodded thoughtfully. ¡°My Profile shows the totals changed by just over that. I¡¯ve still not seen the combat summary message you mentioned. Well, we know the Affinity process isn¡¯t the key, so fighting together is the next step we talked about. Likely, it¡¯s just as well if you had to teach someone Affinities that would hamper those not wanting to gain Wizard. Unless they had already determined their four Classes, your help would push them down a path not of their choosing.¡± ¡°Actually, just because it hasn¡¯t worked yet, doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t part of the requirement,¡± remarked Amdirlain, before her tone turned teasing. ¡°Hopefully, we can work together enough that it counts us as a party.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you soften them up then,¡± Ebusuku replied, gesturing for her to take the lead. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting Morgana to offer to train Mirage full-time, especially with the looks she gave the various Norse Celestials.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°For some, I feel the same. Tyr and Eir are actually the only Norse gods I feel I can genuinely trust. Even if my Profile says the Norse are Allies, I¡¯m sceptical about all the others after Odyis,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The feeling that some are being minimally helpful isn¡¯t filling me with confidence that they¡¯ll be around for trouble that doesn¡¯t benefit them. Him sending a Valkyrie my way that¡¯s caused problems elsewhere¡ªand then wanted to kill me¡ªdidn¡¯t endear me.¡± ¡°Fair-weather friends?¡± questioned Ebusuku. ¡°Good to take care in avoiding a Greater Power¡¯s name. You should know, the one whose name you said, is also aware of what you said afterwards. So now he knows you don¡¯t completely trust most of the Norse Pantheon. Eir doesn¡¯t have the power to do the same, but he certainly knows.¡± Amdirlain frowned as she considered the mix of behaviour from Temples. A few jumped to help get people re-established, while others had dragged their heels. ¡°Perhaps he feels the same after what he told Torm. The tale of what Tyr endured for Fenrir¡ªand the battle with the others¡ªI¡¯m told is nearly true; even Eir joined in that fight out of fear. He¡¯s got a bunch of fair-weather friends himself. I want arrangements made so that Tyr is safer than Set. I¡¯m not making the same arrangements for the others, and I¡¯m glad he can hear me say it.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯m known in two other worlds, and the Elven Courts don¡¯t have a God with a Portfolio containing Justice among them. See if there is way we can get him known on them as well. I got their names out of my Profile; let me know when they¡¯d be useful.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some texts that might provide guidance, but I didn¡¯t bring them with me. Have you talked to any Elven Celestials about this? Their help would make it simpler,¡± Ebusuku noted. ¡°Perhaps I should introduce you to Rana and you two can have a chat,¡± considered Amdirlain, tapping a finger to her lips. ¡°Though they made my names known on another world, aside from Rana, none of them have made any direct approach to me since I became a Fallen; even though they sent many Lj¨®s¨¢lfar to help with the survivors.¡± Ebusuku smiled at the thoughts revealed by her expression. ¡°I¡¯d like to meet the Celestial that inspired you to kill a God. Though I have a question; are you sure it¡¯s Torm you should share affections with? You have a cute Elven Celestial just waiting for you to give a come hither. Who knows, he could be pining for his saviour in silent awe.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t take Torm¡¯s feelings lightly, Ebusuku. I wanted him to stay, even if he understands Morgana¡¯s suspicion. He gave me trust and respect when I expected none to be given. He makes me feel that I can reach a better place, by the trust and undemanding love he gives me. I respect Rana for the seriously sick experiences he endured and survived with his sanity intact. What he survived left its mark, and he told me himself he¡¯s no longer the same individual he was before. I wouldn¡¯t risk him feeling obligated to a rescuer even if Torm wasn¡¯t around. I learnt the hard way relationships aren¡¯t renovation projects,¡± objected Amdirlain, Ebusuku¡¯s teasing breaking her chain of thought. Laughing, Ebusuku motioned Amdirlain¡¯s attention back to the surrounding chamber before heading for the largest passage. ¡°Look for veins of darker stone, rich with Mana; they¡¯ll thicken towards concentrations of energies. True Sight makes this far easier. Using Mana Sense, everything blends together with the power in the region. It was a challenge to focus past the noise to find the right ones, now it¡¯s clear just at a glance.¡± ¡°So your Planar Scholar Knowledge-¡± A guffaw of laughter from Ebusuku cut off Amdirlain¡¯s statement. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s an evolved version of Planar Lore. Farhad told you I spent lots of time outside the Abyss. I¡¯ve travelled on every Plane I could, anywhere to avoid going back. We¡¯re not playing the ''guess secrets questions'' game still, are we?¡± ¡°Only if you want to,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not the same challenge now I can sense you,¡± commented Ebusuku. Amdirlain snickered at a sudden mental image. ¡°All my Celestials get to peek into my underwear drawer.¡± ¡°You actually wear any?¡± retorted Ebusuku. ¡°No, but that means they¡¯d all be in my drawer.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s counter earned laughter from Ebusuku, so she waited until it eased before continuing. ¡°You fight like you¡¯re dancing.¡± ¡°Torm commented you moved like a dancer when you¡¯re trying to prolong a fight,¡± noted Ebusuku, pivoting between rocks on the group, and then flowing back the other way. ¡°Fighting is a dance, a deadly dance woven with other dancers. Feel the rhythm of their movements, flow around them, become one with them. There will come a moment in the dance when you feel it could end. That¡¯s your opening to use. Don¡¯t force one from impatience; you¡¯ll waste energy or fall into traps.¡± ¡°What Classes have you had?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously, wondering where that perspective came from. ¡°You only mentioned some.¡± ¡°The full list for my Base Classes was: Fighter, Assassin, Bladedancer, Wizard, Elementalist, Blademaster, and Arcane Blade. While the Prestige Classes were: Final Night, Spellblade, and Ascended Spellblade.¡± Ebusuku said. She¡¯d rattled off the list without pause until she noticed Amdirlain had stopped in thought. ¡°Problem? [Final Night: Most Assassins operate primarily from stealth kills. These are trained to handle the swirl of battle as well as operate via infiltration. These assassins see their targets meet their end with fierce resolve, regardless of the means required. The Prestige Class is for those focused on achieving a kill, whether by stealth or open combat. ] [Bladedancer: This evolved Base Class is available to those whose training has focused on a quick, fluid fighting style. It requires training in both acrobatics¡ªor better Skill¡ªalong with a non-heavy blade Skill, at Master rank to gain the Class. ] [Blademaster: This evolved Base Class is available to those with Senior-Master Rank in one or more blade Skills. It expands the individual¡¯s understanding of sword techniques towards allowing any blade to be used with the same finesse as their primary weapon.] [Arcane Blade: This evolved Base Class is only available to those who¡¯ve gained both the Spellblade and Ascended Spellblade Prestige Classes. Having learnt to wield magic and blade together, the line between the two has blurred into one. Combining magic and physical combat is second nature to those who¡¯ve gained this class. ] ¡°No, no problem. I was considering Analysis¡¯ information about classes I hadn¡¯t heard of previously,¡± answered Amdirlain. Ebusuku frowned in confusion for a moment and gave Amdirlain a wary look. ¡°That Skill is strange. I used it on some of the Norse visitors and found I simply knew their names along with details about them, not the messages you see. Though when I tried it again, I learnt more about them. A talent for knowing names, indeed.¡± ¡°The higher it levels, the more you¡¯ll learn. I gained a bunch of levels using it on Profile sections. There are some tricks I found out. You said your mother forced you to take your initial Classes, but everything beyond that initial Prestige Class extends either Fighter or Wizard,¡± said Amdirlain. The amused look from Ebusuku as she changed the subject back earned an eye-roll. ¡°I take it the selection she forced on you was Assassin?¡± ¡°Both Fighter and Assassin were her choice¡ªin a way. To mother, everything dies and we should be ready to kill it. She wanted all her daughters to not hesitate in ending another¡¯s existence,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°She wanted me to take the Succubus Class as well; to prove the weakness opened by another¡¯s desire. I at least won that argument and got training until Fighter became an option, though I only took it because she was growing impatient with me. If she¡¯d been patient, I would have held out for something rarer than Fighter.¡± ¡°So what draws you to Fighter and Wizard type Classes?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°I¡¯ve always enjoyed fighting; the physicality of it, being in motion, putting myself in danger,¡± admitted Ebusuku. ¡°There is always something stronger or nastier. Thus, I sought to be faster and smarter than my foes, not trying for wins by brute force. When I¡¯m neither, I hope I¡¯m at least smart enough to run and get clear with minimal risk. Assassin taught me to study my foes, and there are many foes with magic at their call. Once I got the Final Night Prestige Class, I studied magic with relatives before I choose Wizard and Bladedancer.¡± A large chamber ahead provided them a gathering of Earth Elementals to fight. Amdirlain glided in among them. There were no minds she could feel within the Elementals, but she focused on their physical movements. An open hand guided a surge of rock past her turning form. Spotting loose rock among a limb smashing down, she moved past, and her return strike dug into the gap. Ebusuku followed and took advantage of the shattered extrusion left in Amdirlain¡¯s wake, and its remains sprayed across the ground. Boulders and stone slabs moulded into the forms that rose before them, and Amdirlain flowed through the gaps that remained. Habits she developed kicked in repeatedly and Amdirlain punched straight through foes, or shoulder checked them into rubble. Not letting the mistakes shake her, she simply tried again with the next opponent. [Combat Summary: Small Elemental Earth x33 (50%) Medium Elemental Earth x20 (50%) Elemental Earth x 12 Large Elemental Earth x21 (50%) Greater Elemental Earth x14 (50%) Total experience gained: 271,200 Agile [S](30->31) Erotic Dance [Ad](1->3) ] I''m so not asking. Amdirlain ignored the amusement from Ebusuku when the fighting ended and simply provided the tally. ¡°It says two hundred seventy-one thousand, two hundred experience.¡± ¡°I jumped from three thousand, and change in each class, to over fifty thousand. So when focused on working together, we get the same amount of experience. We¡¯ll have to test if the effect persists if I fight separately soon, since you and Torm spent weeks fighting together.¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°Do you want to try that now?¡± asked Amdirlain, hoping she could catch S¨ªrdhem and the others to speed them along. ¡°I should-¡± Ebusuku¡¯s raised palm stopped her mid-sentence. ¡°I can guess where your brain went. No Abyss jaunts at the first sign of success. There¡¯s something I believe you should see.¡± ¡°Okay fine, I was thinking about S¨ªrdhem,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°But how did you know?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a particular frown that shows up when you¡¯re thinking about anything related to the L¨®m?. The only ones among them that need help are S¨ªrdhem and the others whose Classes you purged,¡± explained Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯ll teleport us closer to what I want you to see, if its still operating. It¡¯ll still be a bit of a trip.¡± Ebusuku set them down in a chamber whose floor angled at a steep gradient and pointed towards a corkscrew passageway near its top. Her mental commentary about the Plane continued as they went, prompting the system to mark off increases in Amdirlain¡¯s knowledge. The twisted passage widened occasionally into pseudo chambers, but the area remained empty of foes. It wasn¡¯t until it started widening properly that there was any hint why the region was so empty. True Sight showed the net of the wards across the chamber¡¯s entry point, and Ebusuku took her time making an opening in them. A Spell expanded a tiny gap in the wards and allowed them both to step through them without risk. Ahead, the sound of whips and cries in various languages started echoing to them. Amdirlain reached out with Telepathy and ground her teeth at what she found. Moving to the chamber¡¯s end, she found it connected them to a ledge near the roof of a giant cavern. Below them, vast numbers of slaves laboured at mining a massive vein of twisting metals. Tall reddish skinned overseers¡ªwho looked almost human in loose-fitting clothing¡ªstrolled about, their whips opening bloody wounds across the backs of those that slowed in the slightest. Guards clad in chain armour walked among them carrying huge mauls over their shoulders. They looked over the slaves with gazes unwavering in their boredom despite the misery about them. There weren¡¯t just a few hundred slaves in sight, rather endless thousands. The misery she felt in the minds below made the cavern stretch onwards like a diseased wound in the earth. Along the closest wall, she could see the operation clearly and watched brigades of slaves carry heavy loads back from the seams to chutes that plunged downwards. The miners were an odd collection of species whose names she didn¡¯t even know; while most were bipedal, many weren¡¯t even vaguely humanoid. Amdirlain looked at Ebusuku with disbelief in her eyes and touched minds to avoid the risk of being overheard. ¡°Who runs this mine? Weren¡¯t you teasing me about adding to my to-do list?¡± ¡°You said you preferred fighting Demons, so I wanted to show you that the Abyss doesn¡¯t have a monopoly on evil. I had to re-see experiences to understand them properly and see the choices I¡¯d ignored. Now you know there are other places you can fight evil. In the Abyss, Mortals will be rare; while with the Dao¡¯s slaves¡ªnever mind the Efreeti¡¯s¡ªthere are potentially millions to save.¡± ¡°How big is this mine?¡± Amdirlain asked, wide-eyed in horror. ¡°They don¡¯t have one mine, Amdirlain, but this one is likely hundreds of kilometres long by now. The Dao run mining operations like this all over the Elemental Plane of Earth. Unlike entities from the Outer Planes, they can travel to the Material Plane relatively easily. They raid them and capture planar travellers when they can¡ªeven binding Elementals. Those enslaved that they don¡¯t have a direct use for, they sell to the Efreeti. It¡¯s how they built their empire, and the reason outsiders name their civilisation the Great Dismal Delve.¡± Amdirlain gritted her teeth as she fairly shook with suppressed rage. ¡°I can¡¯t turn my back on this Ebusuku.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not expecting you to, Amdirlain. True, I doubt we can ever free them all, and I¡¯d disregarded it before. Caught up in my anger, I didn¡¯t consider others¡¯ suffering; even if I had understood it, I wouldn¡¯t have seen the point of trying if I couldn¡¯t finish the task. Now I know it makes a massive difference to those we do free,¡± declared Ebusuku, the cold, predatory look from the Sisterhood¡¯s planning room replaced by burning intensity. The horror died as Amdirlain¡¯s gaze shone with a matching determination, and she nodded to Ebusuku before turning her attention to the miners. ¡°Were there other aspects to that decision?¡± ¡°Lots of parts, but I didn¡¯t understand how Mortals felt, and I know I never tried. I was a Demon, and it disgusted me.¡± admitted Ebusuku, as memories of self-loathing tickled at the edge of their connection. ¡°Compared to hating your existence, what did they have to complain about?¡± ¡°I hated being a Succubus,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and winced at the unintended accusation, but Ebusuku¡¯s mind reassured her. ¡°Yet it didn¡¯t keep you from trying to help others,¡± Ebusuku said, resting a hand on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. Picking out one of the Dao that seemed to monitor the guards, she quickly compared him to one of the smaller guards for perspective. [Name: Artostes Species: Genie (Dao) Class: Fighter / Overseer / Wizard Level: 55 / 62 / 61 Health: 6,942 Defence: 446 Magic: 81 Mana: 8,845 Melee Attack Power: 427 Combat Skills: Dagger [Ad] (23), Maul [M] (12), Unarmed Combat [M] (2) - Various Spell Lists - Affinities: Earth, Mental, Various Innate Power. Details: Recently promoted to the senior overseer of an extended region of mining operations, the rise in pay is still insufficient to cover the debts his family is accumulating after having moved to the Sevenfold Mazeworks. Overseer Class is a Charisma-oriented base-support Class and provides assorted Skills to make others feel inferior so they can be ordered around more easily. Unlike other support classes, it produces nothing but more work for others and encourages credit taking activities unless the individual possessor overcomes this tendency. ] [Name: Cyrus Species: Genie (Dao) Class: Fighter / Slaver Level: 15 / 22 Health: 837 Defence: 45 Melee Attack Power: 61 Combat Skills: Maul [Ad] (3), Unarmed Combat [Ad] (14) - Various Innate Power Details: Not yet old enough to warrant marriage proposals, he is currently on the lookout for beddable slaves for his quarters. Enjoys candle lit walks over the backs of the suffering, the romantic screams of a good whipping, and suffocating inferiors with bad farts. Really, you want his shoe size?] Wake up on the wrong side of eternity this morning? [Perception [M](43)] Poor you, try it from this side. Did the Titan give you more work to do? [Perception [M](43)] Analysis [Genie (Dao) Details: Members of this species tend towards self-centred and avaricious personalities. Frequent allies of the Efreeti, they possess only contempt for Djinn, Marids, and Jann. Non-Genie species are inferior and so unworthy of their consideration. While they customarily will return acts of fairness and kindness dealt them by others, on a one-for-one basis, they always seek to discharge these debts as quickly as possible, even if by encouraging situations that allow them to be helpful. The species is immune to any Power using Earth Mana Affinity and possesses a wide range of illusionary and earth manipulation powers. If imprisoned, they gain a limited ability to alter reality for the benefit of others, excluding another Genie. Such ¡®wishes¡¯ are fulfilled in the most twisted way possible, and they can give Devils lessons in loopholes. Like all Genie species, they fear the loss of their freedom above all else, but the Dao find pleasure in inflicting such loss on others.] [Collar of entombed will: The magic in this collar activates when the lock is closed. A focused enchantment, it forces the wearer to obey orders given to them, and fight anyone preventing them from fulfilling their orders. The enchantment doesn¡¯t change the being¡¯s awareness, rather ensures they know every second that another is in control.] ¡°The collars have enchantments that force them to follow an order, and resist those stopping them from doing so.¡± ¡°Analysis! It lets you determine magical properties that easily?¡± asked Ebusuku and grimaced at Amdirlain¡¯s nod. ¡°Awkward, it means we can¡¯t open a Gate and usher scores out at a time. If we Teleport them somewhere, they could lash out at each other.¡± Amdirlain shrugged as she considered the problem. ¡°We need to shatter the collars in a wide area before we do.¡± ¡°There are spells that could handle that, but I never learnt them,¡± Ebusuku said. A guard backhanded a miner below them for no apparent reason, and Ebusuku¡¯s gaze burnt hot. ¡°In the meantime, are you up for using your Inventory?¡± ¡°The moment they see you, they¡¯ll order the slaves to fight you,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. A snorted response was a sufficient reminder of Ebusuku¡¯s experience. ¡°That¡¯s what Teleport is for, plus I¡¯m an excellent dancer. I don¡¯t let others step on my toes.¡± 134 - Its a kind of magic ¡°We can¡¯t just rush and grab slaves randomly,¡± Amdirlain cautioned, and Ebusuku motioned towards the passage. Bitter acid and burning pain twisted hooks inside Amdirlain as she forced back tears. Soul Sight had showed her so much of the slaves¡¯ suffering, and the Dao¡¯s uncaring disregard. Easing back along the path, they made their way through the ward. Once clear, Ebusuku teleported them away. They¡¯d appeared on what looked to be a natural rock bridge, easily hundreds of metres high, arching across the middle of a giant cavern. Spots of glowing fungus about the cavern weren¡¯t the only light source. Here and there, glowing energy spirals formed spikes from the ceiling and floor. One nearby faded away, leaving a stalagmite some eight metres tall in its place, the base far too big for her to put her arms around without cheating. ¡°I had expected this Plane to be more, well, solid Earth,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°When Torm first brought me here, the caverns and tunnels amazed me.¡± ¡°There are places where that¡¯s true, and digging into them, the rock reforms continually. If you¡¯re in a region where you feel pressure across your skin, it¡¯s a dangerous place to try digging. Sometimes the Plane will react by filling up any gaps nearby if you dig into those regions,¡± explained Ebusuku. Mention of the dangers of digging prompted a different question from Amdirlain. ¡°How does it not just collapse the way they¡¯re mining? They¡¯re just digging tiers into the cavern¡¯s wall. Do they keep going until it collapses on the miners?¡± ¡°From the shape of the ceiling, the cavern itself began its existence formed by the Plane. It¡¯s an aspect of the Plane; even when partially intact, its formations stay in place. Though if a quake hits that area, the ceiling won¡¯t stay up. It¡¯s why the Dao transport the ore away as quick as they can.¡± ¡°Do we-¡± ¡°We can¡¯t do anything other than what we can. If I hadn¡¯t shown you that location and there was a quake tomorrow, neither of us would have known anyone died,¡± Ebusuku said firmly. ¡°We¡¯ll see how many people we can rescue. Do we need a larger staging point than this?¡± ¡°Some of them feel broken,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It could be their mental processes are too different to understand, but others of a similar appearance I was fine with.¡± A flicker of compassion and pain showed in Ebusuku¡¯s eyes, but she nodded grimly. ¡°Then we get the ones that seem most together first.¡± ¡°Triage rules it is,¡± Amdirlain said sadly. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Amdirlain had to clear the tightness from her throat before she could speak. ¡°You said it yourself, we¡¯re not able to rescue all of them. So we use the time and resources we have to help the most possible. Better to save a few hundred instead of a handful. It sounds unfair to those we leave but rescuing some at a time is all we can do. Use Soul Sight. I don¡¯t want us rescuing assholes as my priority choice.¡± ¡°It will give me a chance to practice with it,¡± offered Ebusuku, the sudden tightness in her lips echoing Amdirlain¡¯s own mood. ¡°Hmm, upgrades,¡± quipped Amdirlain, trying to force herself away from the pain. The confusion that flickered across Ebusuku¡¯s face signalled her lack of comprehension. ¡°Never mind, let¡¯s focus on what we¡¯ll do.¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Since we want to get them safe fast. Let¡¯s see if we can spot a large group of one species to rescue. I¡¯ll let you practice Analysis and Soul Sight. If they¡¯re not assholes or basket cases, we¡¯ll go for them first.¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest only a hundred this time. We don¡¯t have help here to protect those already rescued while we grab more,¡± ¡°Fine, and I don¡¯t want to involve Duskstone in case they can track them back there. Speaking of which, do you want to disguise your armour? I give you my holy permission or whatever you want to switch your amour,¡± ¡°I like my armour though,¡± Ebusuku objected, giving Amdirlain a mock-hurt look as she hugged herself. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll see about making the Dao believe its black plate instead. They might think you¡¯re from Hell; I know what their knights look like,¡± teased Amdirlain, and enjoyed the smile she got from Ebusuku. ¡°Give me a bit to get into position. Then you kill the guards; I¡¯ll remove collars and handle transport. First lot I bring up to the chamber, I¡¯ll rip the ward apart and bring them here. But how do they get home?¡± ¡°Not subtle, I¡¯d suggest they just walk out. Then we might have a chance to remove the ward¡¯s breach cleanly. Getting them home is easy. I know how to focus a Gate Spell on an individual¡¯s home, so that isn¡¯t a concern,¡± explained Ebusuku. Striding across the stone arc, she moved to the natural bridge¡¯s edge and scanned across the cavern floor. ¡°Morgana did that to Yngvarr. It surprised him when she opened a Gate Spell in the courtyard of his house,¡± Amdirlain chuckled with fragile amusement. ¡°I¡¯ll check this side for anything lurking, then we head back? While we¡¯re doing this, I¡¯ll keep a mental link between us in case of emergencies.¡± At Ebusuku¡¯s brisk nod, Amdirlain got busy, but it was still an hour before they finished. The same miners were still labouring away when they returned to the ledge, and Ebusuku smirked when Amdirlain¡¯s fingers extended eyed-tendrils to peer over the edge. Amdirlain was about to ask what was amusing, but Ebusuku spoke across their mental link. ¡°Those few Demons that gain Protean use it to mimic forms faster or create temporary weapons. Your usage is more like a Primordial¡¯s than any Demon I¡¯ve seen with it.¡± ¡°I even abused Shape Shift. I had to play some weird mind games for it to allow some shapes I took,¡± replied Amdirlain, as she peered over the workforce. Ebusuku regarded her curiously. ¡°After we¡¯ve finished what we can here, I think I¡¯ll want to hear your story from before the Grotto.¡± Ebusuku started scrying the complex as Amdirlain worked across those close at hand. Soul Sight revealed the mass of life, and she cut Telepathy except for Ebusuku¡¯s link while her mind raced to take in the information it provided. Their minds had spoken of the miserable state they endured presently; initially it was hard to separate their present despair from their actions in their prior lives. Their enslavement had snatched their lives and families away, and their pain twisted like knives within her. Ebusuku pressed a hand gently against her shoulder, adding a physical touch to the reassurance projected through their link. ¡°We save some now, and others later. There are a few areas with minimal guards strolling through them.¡± An image of slaves on the lowest tier repairing equipment came through the link to Amdirlain. Others showed makeshift food areas staggered along the tiers cut into the cavern¡¯s walls with pots containing a gruel-like mush, boiling away on heated stones. ¡°The repair area has the most of a single species in it. I¡¯d hate to disrupt the food areas. It seems cruel to those left behind. I bet feeding them won¡¯t be a priority for the Dao.¡± ¡°That area contains more than we agreed,¡± Ebusuku pointed out, sending a wider image of the repair yard she¡¯d scried. ¡°Let¡¯s see who is among them. Assholes go last,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Your swearing focuses a lot on body elements, Amdirlain. Fuck, assholes, dickhead, you really need to expand your imagination,¡± teased Ebusuku. Despite the situation below, amusement washed in both directions through the mental link. Focused back on the task at hand, she found the area shown. The angle was awkward because of the ledge¡¯s position, but she could make out the benches of equipment, alongside barrels for broken parts, and racks for repaired items. A sweating Dao in a smith¡¯s hide apron stacked tool parts in racks central to the area. His looming height giving perspective to the smaller entities that surrounded him. If the Dao was the height of its kin, the workers were one and a half metres tall, with solid builds. Bipeds of an unvarying cobalt skin tone, their hair a short cap of jet-black, had the severity of a military cut about it. Their torso supported four arms, though each pair was very different. They used the lower set of smaller limbs jutting from just above their hip level to hold items steady; each of those limbs ended with six long fingers and two thumb-like protrusions. Their primary arms emerged from bloated shoulder joints, making Amdirlain wince at their resemblance to arthritic knuckle joints. The upper arms were engorged with muscle, with heavy knuckled hands sporting three stocky fingers and an opposable thumb each. Their genders were clear, but there was no allowance for it with the clothing the Dao allowed them. Males and females alike were clad only in loincloths and walked in a bobbing gait accented by a bird-like leg structure. They walked or stood on the balls of their feet, with a raised elongated ankle structure. Four sickle-shaped claws extended from toes surrounding the pads of their feet, their presence helping to maintain balance as the toes flexed. Their heads were broader than a Human¡¯s and they possessed four eyes, the upper two set at a Human¡¯s brow level. Instead of Human eye sockets was a smooth reverse-v slope that led to their nose and lower eyes. The lower eyes were on protruding pivots set on the outer slope of their cheeks. Aside from their positioning, each was Human-like but had a metallic-toned iris ranging from deep bronze to liquid silver hues. Their cheekbone supported the pivot but varied from round to angular; strangely, each of them had the same flattened boxer¡¯s nose. Further variation showed in their mouths, making individuals easier to distinguish: generous, hard, or just in relaxed resting shapes as differing as any Human¡¯s. Jawlines went from a pointed chin to the solid round appearance of the Norse, and everything in between. [Name: Tesfa Ker¨ºn Species: Erakk? Class: Fighter / Shaper / Soldier Level: 24 / 15 / 8 Health: 628 Defence: 48 Melee Attack Power: 49 Ranged Attack Power: 32 Combat Skills: Blade Staff [Ad] (24), Chatkcha [Ad] (37) - Various Innate Powers - Metal Manipulations. Details: An army corporal, he was recently captured along with his company by Dao raiders. The attack overwhelmed their posting near a secondary mountain pass on their country¡¯s border. His species possess innate gifts with the Metal Affinity, so the Dao has assigned him to speed up repairs in local mining operations. Losing his family¡¯s armour upon capture, to him, far outweighs his current lack of control. Lack of adaption to subterranean conditions has caused an adverse reaction to the Elemental Plane¡¯s natural pressure levels. Condition: Depression, Pressure Sickness (Minor)] Analysis¡¯ information was enlightening, but he was too far away to use Soul Sight on accurately. Amdirlain focused on the Dao smith to look at the area through his eyes. Over two hundred Erakk? were in the area visible to him. Their duties ranged from repairs¡ªas those Ebusuku spotted¡ªto sorting piled ore. Streams of ore leapt from a trio of Erakk? that stood with outstretched hands at each pile, into open wagon beds. The rocks the Erakk? left behind, various breeds of sharp toothed, green-skinned goblins worked with shovels and wheelbarrows to haul out of the way. The repair area contained few guards because it was at the edge of a central outpost. Scores of well-armed Dao had line of sight to the workers. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea, though it involves a bit of acting. Feel like setting a trap for the Dao?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s answering grin said it all. ¡°We¡¯ve got some preparations to make. We¡¯ll need to give them light sources and maybe leave some weapons up here,¡± stated Amdirlain and hurried on as Ebusuku eyed her. ¡°Just in case anything attacks them while we¡¯re freeing more.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s suspicious look didn¡¯t waver. ¡°I¡¯ve still got my old harnesses, but they¡¯re only a loan, Amdirlain. I know them well enough I¡¯d be able to find them even if they proved untrustworthy.¡± ¡°Yes, I know, I give too much away. It¡¯s your gear, your choice of what happens with it, not mine,¡± replied Amdirlain, raising her hands in surrender. ¡°There is a bit of light making it up here. I¡¯ll set the rack at the inner chamber¡¯s far end and create some rods I can place light spells on.¡± ¡°Make sure it¡¯s around the corner, we don¡¯t want attention from below yet,¡± insisted Ebusuku. ¡°We need to ensure we provid minimal clues to prevent being tracked or scried.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain my plan in a moment then.¡± * * * The smith dumped a new stack of gears on the table and frowned at four slaves standing idly nearby. Their lower limbs clasped pickaxes they should have been repairing, but they made no move to do so. An entire workbench doing nothing drew his ire. A shouted order to face him gained no reaction, and he grabbed up a whip sitting nearby. More and more attention focused on them as the whip rose and fell. Yet despite the brutal strikes, their backs remained intact, the lack of blood increasing the ferocity of his strikes. Unnoticed through the area under cover of illusions, tendrils removed collars, and the former slaves were teleported away before they screamed. Once gone, the tendrils that had freed them became motionless copies of the Erakk?, the illusion in that section dropped, and the affliction spread at an increasing pace. An entire row of benches¡ªsome twenty workers¡ªwent still as Ebusuku released another illusion that hid their removal. High above the mining operation, fifty former slaves clasped at their necks where the collars had chaffed for weeks. Strange knives sitting on the stone floor drew gazes. The whispered reassurances in their minds came with a strength that stilled their fears of even its unfamiliar source. A sudden rush of instructions had them looking around for familiar faces. ¡°Head down the tunnel. The rest follow close but don¡¯t go too far. Our rescuers will follow us soon to get us home. Every eighth takes up a knife. There are more coming. Don¡¯t crowd each other; there could be things about. Every alternate person without a weapon takes a stick from the rack. Now move out!¡± ordered Tesfa. The instructions¡ªreissued by a familiar voice¡ªgot them into motion. ¡°Yes, Corporal.¡± Tension escalated in the repair area as a commander arrived to investigate the disturbance. The commander was the same height as the other Dao, but he wore loose robes of fine crimson silk. His mouth tightened, and his dark gaze burned, muscles and veins grew taut under his skin when the last slave grew still. ¡°Make one scream, find out how they are resisting their orders,¡± bellowed the commander as he strode forward. The smith set aside the whip he¡¯d still been thrashing his chosen victim with and drew a wavey-bladed knife from his belt. Amdirlain¡¯s form had spread out along the floor under the cover of the illusion. Though there were already more Dao present than planned, she waited until the commander entered the repair area to watch his ordered fun. The floor grew sudden spikes and took on a massive Venus flytrap form. Caught on the repair area¡¯s edge, four spikes impaled the commander, burning with corrosive flames. The floor grew yet more spikes as within the circle, the equipment disappeared in a rush. Eyes widening, most didn¡¯t have time to react. The more deliberately grown spikes had already struck. Yet it snapped shut with a wet pulping squelch. Only one Dao guard outside the trap had time to scream an alert that made any sense¡ªtoo bad they were wrong. ¡°Mimic!!¡± As the cry went up, the incorporeal forms that some managed didn¡¯t save them from Ki Infusion¡¯s touch. Dozens of Ki charged poniards exploded through the incorporeal flesh of those Dao who had gained a gaseous form. Pulled back by the wounds, their blood joined the rest spraying out of the maw¡¯s squeezing edges. Those guards not close enough to die saw dozens of Dao join the Erakk? consumed by the enormous mimic. A scaled, winged Demon appeared in a blast of blood lust and rage before it dove towards the command area. Its inferno engulfed the mimic behind it yet it slithered around unaffected in a typical near-mindless state, tentacles lashing out at any that came close. In the initial confusion, no one noticed exactly when the rest of the Erakk? were consumed. The Demon let loose scream after scream, and each sent more Dao shuddering to the floor. With every utterance, Rebuke struck harder as Ebusuku refined her Power use. Those downed didn¡¯t live long enough to let allies know that the ¡®vileness¡¯ they¡¯d experienced was the pain they¡¯d savoured inflicting on others mirrored in their Souls. The mimic¡¯s giant sea cucumber form sprouted scores of tendrils and tentacles. The limbs thrashed about, aiding its undulating movement to propel it across the stone with surprising speed; every motion caused its rough bile-green hide to ripple in a hypnotic and nauseating fashion. The goblins that rushed to attack on initial orders died in droves. Amdirlain gave them no mercy other than ending their misery. Tentacles wrapped in light devouring Yin eroded flesh and snuffed out life in an instant. It was a far kinder fate than the torments Soul Sight showed they¡¯d dispensed on others. Fleeing, the Dao pulled the battlefront away and saw the thing slithering after its Master, consuming the crystalline powder of their fallen brethren. Equipment among the powdered corpses disappeared into its all-consuming mass. The casual way the Demon ignored the burning thing it had obviously unleashed unnerved them further. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Despite their valiant struggles to hold off death, their lives only added to the tally. Those turning to try ordering slaves to fight, quickly died. The thing¡¯s tendrils speared through those that turned to give instructions, taking advantage of their distraction. Untouched by the Demon or its monster, most slaves continued their work, unaffected by the bloodshed. Eventually, Elders and Wizards came in force to secure the mine. Their arrival caused the cowardly Demon to flee with its servant back into the Abyss along with their stolen wealth. Chaos ravaged the mining operation by the time the pair followed the Erakk?. [Combat Summary: Goblins: 158 (x50%) Dao: 134 (x50%) Total experience gained: 397,271 Fallen: +79,454 Scion: +79,454 Sora Master: + 79,454 Psion: +79,454 Warrior Monk: +79,454 Ki Infusion [S](15->16) Protean [M](27->30) ] ¡°Are they still okay?¡± asked Ebusuku. Hurrying along, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Nothing is threatening them; I¡¯m still keeping a mental ear out. Some aren¡¯t in good shape, so they¡¯re not moving anywhere near our pace. The last is past the wards, and I¡¯ve let them know we¡¯re coming to help get them home.¡± Prompted by Amdirlain''s Wood Elf Form, Ebusuku shifted forms again, her armour shrinking to wrap itself around an ebony-skinned Wood Elf as she dispelled the illusion. ¡°I¡¯ll take the first group to the cavern, and then you can start bringing more,¡± instructed Ebusuku. ¡°We can shift those that have my blades last.¡± ¡°Really?! I thought I¡¯d teleport them in the first group,¡± teased Amdirlain keeping a straight face, until a roguish smile broke loose. ¡°Though, should we just open the Gate ahead of them?¡± ¡°Stick with the plan. I don¡¯t want any Dao getting lucky and following straight to their home, plus, I want to talk to them first. One slight change though; a Portal Spell to the cavern might be best since we rescued so many. Residual energy from those is easier to cleanse afterwards than a Gate between Planes,¡± explained Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Amdirlain said, mimicking Pip¡¯s cute apology. ¡°You should be! Your form was disturbing. I thought I was being chased by a Primordial Elder, especially when you let your Charisma loose; I was glad Priest and Ranger boosted my Willpower,¡± remarked Ebusuku. Amdirlain gave her a confused look. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought to ask what you¡¯d taken now. But Priest and Ranger; I thought you liked Wizard and Fighter Classes?¡± A casual shrug was the only response Ebusuku gave at first, but she elaborated when Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°I also took Arcane Blade again, and with all the Affinities I gained, Arcane Paragon. Seeing that I was going to work with you though, I figured having a stronger Willpower would be useful to stand up for myself,¡± ¡°Stand up for yourself?!¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°You make me sound like a bully.¡± ¡°Bully no, well, perhaps to that Steward, but you¡¯re determined enough to get yourself in all sorts of trouble,¡± teased Ebusuku. Amdirlain sighed dramatically. ¡°Alright, to that I plead guilty.¡± ¡°Though I actually took them so I could properly represent you, not just use my power,¡± Ebusuku said, patting Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder before giving her arm a hard poke. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say we should rescue only a hundred?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of that, but Analysis says they¡¯re all from the same world, heck outpost even, and suffering,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°That reminds me, Analysis didn¡¯t tell the home world of those goblins. Did you get it? Because I¡¯d like to wipe them out from what I saw in Soul Sight,¡± growled Ebusuku. ¡°I expect such behaviour from Demons, not Mortals with Souls.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got its name. Their Souls were as sickening as Gnarls, though sadly some Humans can be just as bad,¡± responded Amdirlain. The foulness of their memories prompted her to change the subject. ¡°Is a dead Dao turning into crystal powder normal?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ebusuku replied. ¡°Oh, two things: the Dao will respond faster next time, and you¡¯re still using brute force.¡± ¡°Not completely brute force,¡± retorted Amdirlain as she passed across a rolled parchment. Ebusuku stored it away without checking it, but looked at her sharply. ¡°What is it?¡± Giving her a cheeky smile, Amdirlain answered smugly. ¡°I took the map of their operations when I destroyed the command building.¡± ¡°Yes, because consuming the lot was subtle,¡± chided Ebusuku, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t have a response. They paused momentarily, passing the wards, Ebusuku¡¯s modifications came undone in a rush. After Ebusuku cleaned the lingering energies, they teleported to get ahead of the column. Their wait wasn¡¯t long, as the minds weren¡¯t far from the pseudo chamber they¡¯d chosen. The lead scout was clutching a dagger in a grip that had her cobalt skin lightening towards cerulean. The joints in her side arms twisted painfully, but despite the lines of tension in the lower limbs, she kept her hands covering her buxom chest. Every breath she took carried a crackling within it, and bubbling noises erupted as she gasped hard, startled by their presence. Pain mingled with curiosity in her amber gaze. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak with Corporal Tesfa. Or is there someone senior?¡± enquired Amdirlain, glad for the Tongues Power twisting the words into their native language. ¡°We¡¯d like to assist in getting you all to safety.¡± Her companion moved to slip up beside her, his whispered words barely breathed but still clear to Amdirlain¡¯s hearing. ¡°Har¨ºfe, fall back.¡± The only sign she heard at all was Har¨ºfe stepping forward to block her companion¡¯s interference. ¡°I heard your warning in my mind, else I¡¯d be needing to ask questions. There have been whispers of seniors, but the news is uncertain,¡± replied the column¡¯s lead scout, the tension in her muscles relaxing slightly. The moment they responded, it tempted Amdirlain to spend a knowledge point to learn her language but she held off. A glimmer of memories she¡¯d seen in Soul sight prompted a question. ¡°Are Shapers your seniors?¡± ¡°Yes, we had a circle visiting from the King. Did you get them out?¡± The scout¡¯s breathing sounded worse and Amdirlain tossed up helping her now or waiting. ¡°I rescued the ones near the ore piles if you can remember seeing them. Was that all of them?¡± Amdirlain asked, ¡°I believe those were the only ones still alive,¡± Har¨ºfe got out. The scout strained to take breaths that whistled tightly in her throat. ¡°Thank you for getting us out. Please, if you can, get them home alive.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll look to get you all home alive. The Shapers will probably be towards the rear of the column. I believe Corporal Tesfa was the only Shaper in the repair area.¡± ¡°He isn¡¯t a true Shaper, he isn¡¯t a scholar of the gift,¡± objected Har¨ºfe¡¯s companion. The sound of clawed footsteps hurrying became clear to Har¨ºfe, and the tension in her form relaxed further though her claws still twitched against the stone. ¡°Corporal Tesfa is nearly here with some others. I¡¯m going to help your breathing,¡± said Amdirlain. The wall filled with Life Mana following her words had Har¨ºfe blinking rapidly at the golden-green energy about her. ¡°Where does this light come from? Is this glow what you meant?¡± asked Har¨ºfe. ¡°It¡¯s a Spell that should help you breathe a little easier,¡± Amdirlain said, noting the word didn¡¯t twist into their language but stayed in Celestial. Har¨ºfe took a few breaths, the muscles in her neck and shoulders relaxing further with each one. When Har¨ºfe¡¯s companion tried to draw her from the energy, she pulled away and, turning towards him, stabbed the fingers of her free hand at her own chest. Her thought made its meaning clear: she was under her own orders, not his. Tesfa appeared around the bend and didn¡¯t hesitate in moving to pass the other Erakk?. When he stepped into the energy next to Har¨ºfe the sensation of it had a flicker of appreciation crossing his face. He wasn¡¯t carrying a weapon, but there was no visible tension about him. ¡°You are our rescuers?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain quickly. ¡°We¡¯d like to help you get home. We¡¯ll open a path to safety, and then take you home via a Gate.¡± ¡°Is this like the hole in the rock the red ones dragged us through?¡± asked Tesfa, and Amdirlain felt Ebusuku reviewing the image in his mind. ¡°The brown and black colours within the opening show it¡¯s a natural Gate to this Plane. What we¡¯ll use is similar, but you won¡¯t appear in the caves they dragged you through,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°We are free, but without knowledge of the path home. You got many, perhaps all left alive, free; and lent us weapons. I believe we¡¯re in your hands,¡± Tesfa declared. ¡°Would you gift me with your name?¡± ¡°Amdirlain, and Ebusuku,¡± Amdirlain replied, as Ebusuku cast the Portal Spell. ¡°I thank you for your gift. It would honour me if you called me Tesfa. I¡¯m a Corporal in our King¡¯s army,¡± replied Tesfa, and Amdirlain could see Har¨ºfe biting her lip to avoid interrupting. ¡°Thank you for your gift also, Tesfa.¡± The Portal opened and a shimmering in the air showed a cavern beyond. Har¨ºfe stepped forward, only dragging her feet slightly as she left the energy field behind, but her companion¡¯s lower eyes flicked between the Portal and the Corporal. Corporal Tesfa simply clicked his fingers sharply and gestured toward it, but Ebusuku beat him through the Portal. Waiting with Amdirlain, Tesfa repeated the clicks at any sign of hesitation from new arrivals to step through. Are you waiting for an invitation? It was only when the first Shaper appeared around the bend that he motioned differently. The two sets of limbs interlocked fingers across his chest and abdomen. Even listening as she was, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure she caught the depth of the meaning, but it was clearly a sign of respect. The expressions of those on the tail-end of the column were lined with fatigue. As Tesfa moved, Ebusuku interrupted him by stepping back through the Portal. ¡°I¡¯ll close this off and meet you back after I cleanse the trail,¡± said Ebusuku. Her words spoken in the Erakk?¡¯s tongue had Tesfa nodding in understanding. Amdirlain stepped through ahead of him, and when Tesfa followed, the Portal closed. The escapees sat along the rock bridge, many having given into the fatigue caused by their captivity; some escapees looked half asleep. ¡°Corporal Tesfa, I grabbed things from the Dao and though I know they won¡¯t make up for the losses your people suffered, I¡¯d like you to have them. The rings and some items have useful enchantments on them,¡± said Amdirlain, aware that the word for enchantments, like spells before it, stayed in Celestial. ¡°What is the word you said?¡± asked Tesfa, his mouth tightening in a fashion Amdirlain took as a frown. ¡°Don¡¯t you have magic?¡± asked Amdirlain, confused by Metal Affinity shown in their profiles. ¡°Magic and Seers are both nothing but sleight of hand and trickery, better to trust in Shaper crafted steel,¡± Tesfa declared. ¡°We rescued you using magic. Both getting you away from the Dao, and also bringing you here,¡± reminded Amdirlain. Tesfa gave a strange four-armed gesture, flicking his hands open and shrugging. ¡°You might call this power magic here, but it is nothing our home possesses. This is a strange place. It feels like deep in a mine shaft where it is hard to breathe. Are we under the Mother¡¯s skin?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re in a realm of spirits, you could say. It¡¯s a place reached by magic, or at least magic as I know it. Perhaps in your world it¡¯s not understood properly; too many others doing trickery and giving it a bad name,¡± suggested Amdirlain, wondering what they considered Shapers based on Analysis¡¯ information. ¡°The Senior Shaper might be the best one to speak about this matter. I¡¯m not a scholar. Would you gift me with permission to share your name?¡± asked Tesfa, his tone becoming more formal. ¡°Please feel free.¡± Tesfa folded his hands in the same fashion as he¡¯d done to each Shaper. ¡°Thank you for the name-gift. I¡¯ll gift them with your name and ask if they¡¯ll speak to you on the matter.¡± With a nod, he moved to where the Shapers had sat down and returned after a few minutes of conversation. ¡°The Senior Shaper has asked me to gift you his name and invite you to speak. His name is V¨¡riy¨¡ka, though he has no house to share.¡± ¡°Thank you Tesfa, I¡¯d be honoured to speak with Senior Shaper V¨¡riy¨¡ka,¡± replied Amdirlain, catching some formalities from his mind. V¨¡riy¨¡ka nodded politely when Amdirlain came close enough to converse easily and didn¡¯t waste a moment. ¡°The Shaper council studied magic long ago. They determined it was lying and trickery. Though I¡¯ll admit I do not understand how you opened the doorway between the passage and here. Nor how the ¡®Dao¡¯ as you called them brought us to this place. Wherever we are, it is not something I understand. You said to Tesfa it was a place of spirits.¡± [Name: V¨¡riy¨¡ka Species: Erakk? Class: Shaper / Sage Level: 56 / 53 Health: 981 Defence: 22 Magic: 76 Mana: 8,960 Melee Attack Power: 39 Combat Skills: Staff [Ad](3) - Affinity: Metal - Spell Lists: Metal Lore, Metal Shaping, Metal Law, Metal Manipulation, Solid Destruction. Details: A Senior Shaper in the King¡¯s service, V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s talent was determined in the orphanage. His circle was present at the outpost to repair its gate and renew the fortifications in the pass when the Dao attacked. They captured most of his circle in the first night¡¯s assault, or during the next day, but several died trying to drive the Dao away. ] ¡°That¡¯s perhaps the easiest way to look at it. If you¡¯ve no magic, might I ask how you perform your Shaping?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It is not magic, of that I¡¯m sure. However, that is not a question one just asks, Amdirlain,¡± replied V¨¡riy¨¡ka. ¡°I have no authority to share such information with one not a student among the circles.¡± ¡°Perhaps I can show you how I¡¯d make a metal object, and you can say if it appears the same?¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Appearance-wise, no details or explanations are required about the differences, I assure you.¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka conferred quickly with five more of the Shapers sitting close at hand. ¡°That is acceptable, as we¡¯re not providing any secrets of the circle. None of our neighbours have Shapers. The armour, weapons, and fortifications we make give our nation an advantage in its defence.¡± Amdirlain nodded towards a spot on the cavern floor illuminated by glowing fungus. The Spell she released created a wall of steel stretching twelve metres long, and some two high. ¡°Is the wall permanent or temporary?¡± asked V¨¡riy¨¡ka. ¡°Temporary, it will fade in a half hour. I could make it permanent, but I didn¡¯t want to leave that sort of marker.¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka had brightened at Amdirlain¡¯s initial words, but stilled as she continued, and replied with a low voice. ¡°That feat is possible for a new Master Shaper. This is your magic?¡± ¡°Yes, it is,¡± Amdirlain said, and cast another spell to create a block of steel within V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s reach. V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s focus fixed on it, and in True Sight Amdirlain saw a detection spell flick between him and the block. ¡°This is steel, but it is cleaner than we refine.¡± ¡°The shaping you do is what I call magic. Perhaps the issue is that what others claimed to be magic, and your council studied, was indeed trickery. I¡¯m using magic to speak your language, but it only has access to words you possess,¡± Amdirlain said, and raised a hand as V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s mouth tightened in frustration. ¡°To me, magic is shaping energy, through forms or patterns, to enact an effect. Metal is one type of energy I can use in that casting.¡± ¡°Shaping does something similar,¡± admitted V¨¡riy¨¡ka. ¡°Though admitting that perhaps exceeds my authority to say.¡± Amdirlain gestured to the block. ¡°That steel is permanent, so if you¡¯re not exhausted, perhaps you could use it to equip others. I¡¯ll start working on clothes, but I¡¯d like to provide you with some equipment at least, before we send you home. It might not be an issue, but I¡¯d prefer to be prepared.¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka exchanged quick gestures with the other Shapers and finally nodded to Amdirlain. ¡°Between us, we can make chatkcha for many; though we¡¯ve not material to make harnesses to carry them safely.¡± ¡°Could you visualise what your normal apparel and the harness look like, please?¡± Catching the image of clothing from Tesfa, she put a hand on his shoulder and a set of clothing formed around him. Amdirlain carefully willed it to detach in sections so that he¡¯d be able to remove them later without need of a knife. A chatkcha was a disc with a trio of wavy blades jutting out from it at equal distance around its edge. Their design allowed an Erakk? to grip the ridges around the central disc to wield or throw them. After seeing the first made, it was obvious why they needed harnesses to carry them safely. Glancing over gathered groups, she spotted Har¨ºfe and some other females crouched with their backs to other escapees, and most males were busy looking in any other direction. Moving to Har¨ºfe, she called her name, and when the Erakk? looked at her, put a hand gently on her shoulder. Forming a tunic with inbuilt support, and pants around her, the way her eyes widened was worth the health cost of separating herself from it. Though the process was fast, she¡¯d only clothed fourteen before Ebusuku returned to the cavern. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, are you spending yourself for others again?¡± Ebusuku said, and Amdirlain blinked at her suddenly formal tone. ¡°They need help,¡± replied Amdirlain primly, wondering what the heck was going on. ¡°Indeed, and you can¡¯t resist giving them hope. Shall I open a Gate so they can get home?¡± Amdirlain eyes narrowed suspiciously at Ebusuku, having caught sudden thoughts about her among the Erakk?, and discovering exactly why Ebusuku had gone through the Portal in advance. ¡°If you would, but I wanted to restore some equipment to them first. They don¡¯t have any concept of mana other than metal shaping,¡± said Amdirlain. Releasing the normal equipment she had taken from the Dao, she set it down separate from a far smaller stack of magical items. ¡°Shaper V¨¡riy¨¡ka, this equipment won¡¯t fit your people, but re-purposing the materials might provide some restitution for your lost possessions. This smaller pile is items with energy in them as we discussed, so I¡¯ll explain what each does for you.¡± By the time she¡¯d finished speaking, Ebusuku formed an oval of light with a paved road visible beyond. Groups of Erakk?, visible on the other side, leapt away from its opening. ¡°Just as well a Gate won¡¯t open inside someone.¡± Amdirlain said mentally to Ebusuku. ¡°Exactly how many of my symbols did you give out? And where did you get them from?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s expression didn¡¯t give a hint to those around them as she mentally replied. ¡°I made them. For me, it takes only a little effort. I even told them of your tenets. Are you saying I shouldn¡¯t have?¡± Amdirlain kept her face composed at the smugness in Ebusuku¡¯s mental voice. ¡°Please don¡¯t call me Lady Amdirlain again, only Amdirlain.¡± ¡°They are a formal people; that I could tell from their minds even with my Telepathy,¡± Ebusuku pointed out. ¡°You need to meet at their level if they¡¯re to feel any connection or understanding with you. You insist others meet your rules in your home, and that¡¯s fine, but here is neutral ground, so compromise.¡± ¡°That looks to be the King¡¯s city,¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka started moving and stepped through. The onlookers stepped back as he motioned them away with quick words. The Shaper didn¡¯t stay, though, but re-joined them and urged those hesitating to move. Other Shapers gave orders, arranging items to be taken through, and shooing off any who urged them to go first. Tesfa and some others kept the line orderly, with only a few words, and the occasional shoulder pat, needed among the suddenly jubilant crowd. ¡°Ladies, if you come past me, I¡¯ll supply enough clothing for modesty before you pass through the Gate home,¡± Amdirlain said. Amdirlain put a hand on the first lady¡¯s shoulder and enfolded her in a knee-length split-sided smock, secured by a mid-riff sash to allow for their extra arms. A broad smile lit the lady¡¯s face, as she gave Amdirlain the same folded hands gesture that Tesfa had used. V¨¡riy¨¡ka approached Amdirlain but spoke to her over his shoulder, carefully keeping his back to the ladies she was clothing. Though she noted the eyes directed towards her back were both closed for discretion. Amdirlain''s lips twitched, but she kept her voice relaxed, the similarity to her fleeing Ebusuku and Farhad clear in her mind. ¡°You came back V¨¡riy¨¡ka?¡± ¡°I wanted to ensure it was safe and give orders for help to gather. All the city¡¯s herb women will be needed for the breathing issues I¡¯ve heard and even how I feel.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve none with healing abilities?¡± asked Amdirlain, wincing at the thought of the breathing issues she¡¯d heard among them. V¨¡riy¨¡ka jerked his head above in a fearful head shake. ¡°Such is an unclean topic. Shamans and some spirit speakers possess such, though few civilised people care to pay their blood prices,¡± ¡°Lady Amdirlain asks no such price,¡± Ebusuku said, and energy washed over those close at hand, True Sight showing a silvery-gold Blessing settle into flesh. ¡°Things have been rushed, but that will ease the burden on your healers. I¡¯ll see to using Remove Disease on those I can before they leave. I¡¯ve also some greater Blessings that I can give.¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s first breath was clear, and he snapped his head around to face Ebusuku. ¡°You both look strange to my eyes. But what power was that?¡± asked V¨¡riy¨¡ka, his words so soft they were barely a whisper. ¡°I¡¯m a servant of Lady Amdirlain, though she prefers not to use her title. Her stating it directly to Mortals affects them, but she is the Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings,¡± Ebusuku declared, and Amdirlain was glad Ebusuku saying the title didn¡¯t pack the same punch. ¡°Ebusuku, I wasn¡¯t planning to interfere with their world,¡± Amdirlain said, straining to keep her tone light. ¡°They should know who rescued them,¡± argued Ebusuku, and Amdirlain sensed the amusement from her mind. ¡°Come, V¨¡riy¨¡ka, I¡¯ll help the others and then tell you what the mana items we collected can do. We¡¯ll leave Amdirlain to her efforts to clothe the ladies. Before you leave, I¡¯m sure Amdirlain will be happy to assist you to expand beyond your control of metal.¡± And I thought Sidero was bossy! 135 - In my place Amdirlain released the link with V¨¡riy¨¡ka, and shortly afterwards, was regarding the Shaper with concern. Not held in a state of meditation, he mutely sat blinking, staring at Amdirlain for long minutes, as the Earth Affinity mingled with his natural inclination towards Metal. Their presence on the Elemental Plane of Earth had made establishing the connection easy; apparently, V¨¡riy¨¡ka adjusting to it wasn¡¯t so straightforward. ¡°That is your magic?¡± asked V¨¡riy¨¡ka. His lower arms¡¯ fingers wrung together, while his upper hands rubbed in jittering motions against the side of his head. Concern weighed her gaze as Amdirlain watched on and chewed her lip a moment before she replied. ¡°It¡¯s not my magic, though I have a knack for teaching others any Affinity. Your Shaper Class differs from Wizard, so I¡¯d need to know more about how you use the Metal Affinity.¡± ¡°V¨¡riy¨¡ka, you should know she does what I¡¯ve not known another to do and considers it a knack,¡± Ebusuku stated dryly. ¡°Perhaps consider it a Wizard talent if your people have such a disregard for the word magic.¡± Tilting her head at Ebusuku, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow, wondering why she¡¯d used the Elven word for the Class, yet it hadn¡¯t translated. V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s expression showed a familiarity with the word¡¯s inflections and it added more questions about his world. Before she could ask, Amdirlain caught a mental image from V¨¡riy¨¡ka of an Elven male nearly a half-meter taller than her. Fine featured, he had metallic blue skin with hints of silver matched by his liquid silver hair. [Name: V¨¡riy¨¡ka Species: Erakk? Class: Shaper / Sage / Wizard Level: 56 / 53 / 1 Health: 1,107 Defence: 22 Magic: 77 Mana: 9,120 Melee Attack Power: 39 Combat Skills: Staff [Ad](3) - Affinity: Metal - Spell Lists: Metal Lore, Metal Shaping, Metal Law, Metal Manipulation, Solid Destruction. Details: V¨¡riy¨¡ka has become the first individual from the world Letveri to gain the Wizard Class. ] I assumed it was just a different Class name given the Metal Affinity in Analysis. Since he gained it separately, it¡¯s clearly not. He¡¯s also feeling better than he was previously. I wonder what Shaper actually is. [Shaper: This Class is presently only accessible to the Erakk? Species and extends from their natural aptitude with the Metal Affinity. It uses visualisation techniques developed from their species ability to heat and mould metals to channel Mana into creating or removing physical matter. ] ¡°Would you be able to teach more Shapers, perhaps meet with the Shaper¡¯s Council?¡± asked V¨¡riy¨¡ka, after a few minutes of quiet contemplation. ¡°We can¡¯t come through to your world,¡± Ebusuku answered. ¡°While the Dao can easily travel it, the rules prevent us from doing so. I felt such applied to your world when I opened the Gate.¡± Glancing between them, V¨¡riy¨¡ka pressed his hands against his head for a moment before he pulled them away, the fingers of his lower hands tight with strain against each other. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to know what possesses the power to set rules for worlds. The way you said¡ªyour world¡ªmakes it seem as if there are others besides ours.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, but we can help and meet,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Could you tell me about the Elves on your world?¡± ¡°We see them only on trade vessels. Though they visit rarely, since the Thri-Kreen occupies much of the continent and have a fondness for their flesh,¡± replied V¨¡riy¨¡ka. ¡°You have a similarity to them except your skin tones don¡¯t match theirs.¡± Amdirlain winced at his words. ¡°They eat them?¡± ¡°Yes, their swarms drove the Elves off the continent during the grey sun years; any that tried to stay with their groves perished. The Elven-sung woods couldn¡¯t stand against the Thri-Kreen¡¯s weapons; it¡¯s only our shaping that lets us remain. We¡¯ve paid a heavy price in blood some years, but we¡¯ll not let them drive us from our homes,¡± declared V¨¡riy¨¡ka hotly, before his firm tone softened. ¡°I worry how much the Dao attacks have weakened the pass defences.¡± Amdirlain rested a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll see what we can do to help. What do these Thri-Kreen look like?¡± At her request for details, V¨¡riy¨¡ka waved both true hands above his head to emphasise their height even as Amdirlain picked the image from his mind. ¡°They are about twice my height, though some grow far taller. Normally, they walk about on two legs, but they are insectoid in appearance. Unlike us, their secondary arms are almost as strong as their true arms, and both sets have clawed hands. While they can certainly fight with them or bite with their mandibles, which can paralyse an adult, they normally wield polearms, and throw their chatkcha when at range.¡± The mental image he provided showed the Thri-Kreen running towards a wall in a black-stone pass. They had a distorted bipedal-mantis appearance about them and seemed to run as fast as racehorses, though it was hard to judge from his memory. V¨¡riy¨¡ka shuddered as he pushed free of memories of battles and deaths he¡¯d witnessed, and she didn¡¯t pursue them. ¡°Let me teach you the Spell, and see how you do,¡± Amdirlain said, considering the situation. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to arrange some teachers for your people. While I have some grimoires of spells, they¡¯d need to be translated.¡± Ebusuku shot her a puzzled look. ¡°They have Metal Affinity. They should be able to adapt Spells from that element.¡± ¡°Use Analysis on V¨¡riy¨¡ka again. It caught me by surprise as well,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I take it they mentioned Elves when you were talking to some earlier?¡± ¡°One I was speaking with asked if we were Elves. The translation of the word was a giveaway,¡± replied Ebusuku and gave Amdirlain an amused look. When Ebusuku turned to regard V¨¡riy¨¡ka, it was clear Analysis gave her the same surprise from the shocked look she shot at Amdirlain. ¡°There were other Wizards among Morgana¡¯s escort, perhaps they¡¯d lend you some help.¡± ¡°Did you want to go ask them?¡± ¡°Actually, I think it would be better if we move to the Outlands and reopen the Gate from outside your Domain. This is going to be a lot more complicated than I¡¯d expected,¡± admitted Ebusuku. Amdirlain gave her a wry smile, and motioned to the last score of Erakk? who were moving materials through the Gate. ¡°Welcome to how my list grows.¡± With the exchange directly between them, Tongues didn¡¯t translate for him, and it left V¨¡riy¨¡ka looking between them in confusion. ¡°We¡¯re going to get you some help in learning Wizard spells, V¨¡riy¨¡ka. It just might take a bit to arrange,¡± Amdirlain stated, motioning again to the others. ¡°When the others have the rest of the items through the Gate, I suggest we go somewhere safer. This was meant to be a temporary safe spot to get you all home. We should re-open a Gate from a secure location to allow a prolonged discussion. That would allow us to meet with other Shapers and teach them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send a message with another Shaper, to let them know what is planned,¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka said. Once on his feet, he paused and motioned to them with the same gesture of respect Tesfa had used. Ebusuku gave Amdirlain an assessing look as V¨¡riy¨¡ka walked away. ¡°I got my weapons back, but I noticed you¡¯re keeping nothing from the Dao.¡± ¡°There will be more to kill. Tesfa and others might need it to reduce the impact of losing their family armour,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°After we get this initial situation settled, should we hit the mine again, or that Gate they used?¡± ¡°With their Wizards present, going back would be risky,¡± Ebusuku said thoughtfully. ¡°We could certainly hurt them, but if there are enough, they could expose our charade. We need to hit them where they¡¯re not prepared if we¡¯re going to continue the misdirection. You don¡¯t want them to come seeking your Domain in the Outlands in force.¡± ¡°The Gate it is then, since we got a memory of it from Tesfa. I want to see if we can disrupt its natural connection. The Erakk? have little in the way of defence against the Dao since normal weapons have difficulty hurting them,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°After, we¡¯ll go back to your Domain and you could get some rest, as Sidero insisted,¡± Ebusuku stated firmly. Ebusuku¡¯s gaze narrowed at the impish smirk that Amdirlain responded with even before she spoke. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told you and Torm the meeting details. Or are you hoping Farhad will take time from practicing for more reunion rounds?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I can tempt him with another¡ªor four,¡± purred Ebusuku. ¡°Depending on how beneficial he is finding teaching new students to review his mastery. He believes that teaching Livia was useful, but her already enlightened state might have prevented greater gains. So he hopes he can progress further by more teaching. He also wishes to see how far he can guide those with a strong potential.¡± Nodding, Amdirlain gave her an understanding look. ¡°When you said I might have to pry him away, I figured he was getting something particular from it. He¡¯s happy to help others only because he¡¯s helping himself at the same time.¡± ¡°It is how he is. He never tried to change me, and my changed state doesn¡¯t upset him, so why should I push him to change. If I did, it wouldn¡¯t be his choice,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°He¡¯s following my path, but don¡¯t tell him that,¡± Amdirlain said cheekily. ¡°What do you mean?¡± challenged Ebusuku with a frown. ¡°He¡¯s nothing like your openness.¡± ¡°Openness no, but he¡¯s certainly hoping to improve himself,¡± retorted Amdirlain, eliciting a pained groan from Ebusuku. ¡°Though, if you break any houses in my Domain, you pay the workers.¡± ¡°You hope!¡± retorted Ebusuku, and her gaze roamed over Amdirlain with heated speculation. ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t join in a reunion romp? A threesome would be fun.¡± Amdirlain''s face grew dusky with the intensity of her blush, and she sputtered before finally managing a shocked reply. ¡°No, I won¡¯t!¡± The rich sensual laughter that erupted from Ebusuku had Amdirlain hiding her face in her hands. Nearby, the Erakk? looked at them in confusion before they hurried on with their work passing materials through the Gate. Once they¡¯d both calmed, Ebusuku regarded her seriously. ¡°We¡¯re not brute-forcing the next attack. Let¡¯s take it subtle. Find out what¡¯s in place, kill any guards quietly. If there are prisoners, we should get them free, then take apart the Gate. Sometimes, a natural Gate is easy to destroy, but otherwise, its attuned energy can take hours to unravel.¡± [Achievement: One in Four. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Condition: Expand your Faith to a fourth World. Reward: Greater survivability! Isn¡¯t it grand? Additional Condition: No other full Power exists in the world. Reward: Ability to allow your Celestial followers and those of allies to visit the world until it gains a controlling Pantheon over at least a continental region.] ¡°How long can you hold a Gate open from the Outlands?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Because apparently, there aren¡¯t any other Powers on Letveri.¡± ¡°Sunrise or sunset on their world will disrupt it. I¡¯ll be able to open it to the same spot, just won¡¯t be able to pass through,¡± replied Ebusuku, glancing at the Gate. ¡°I can give you permission, apparently,¡± Amdirlain said casually, enjoying the look of surprise on Ebusuku¡¯s face. After Amdirlain repeated the achievement¡¯s information, Ebusuku considered the Gate thoughtfully. ¡°I wonder how many worlds only have malign or beneficial spirits responding to Mortals.¡± Amdirlain mentally reached for a mind beyond the Gate and found there was no obstacle to it. Through their eyes, she could see the escapee¡¯s being checked and food being passed among them from various street vendors. One Shaper who¡¯d gone through the Gate was creating small metal glyphs from thin air and passing them over to vendors providing food. Onlookers watched on as Corporal Tesfa healed the cuts on a former slave¡¯s back, and focusing on it, Amdirlain could feel the Blessing he was channelling from her Domain. ¡°Corporal Tesfa apparently took a new Class when he got home,¡± Amdirlain remarked, and eyed a smug-looking Ebusuku suspiciously. ¡°I shared how your Domain felt to me when I first saw it, the feel resonated with some of them. He and others seemed quite taken with the feeling of it,¡± stated Ebusuku. ¡°Since you can let Celestials through, do you want me to lay waste to the Thri-Kreen?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ve already extensively disrupted everything. We don¡¯t know all the details, but we¡¯re giving them the tools to help themselves,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Enabling people to achieve for themselves has a greater impact than merely doing it for them.¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s give them a hand getting these things through. Then we can re-locate and focus on enabling them,¡± Ebusuku said, rising to her feet. * * * Amdirlain shifted them to the Outlands after the Gate was closed, and V¨¡riy¨¡ka blinked in the sudden light. When he shivered, Amdirlain put a hand on his shoulder and created a set of clothes around him that matched Tesfa¡¯s memories of a Shaper¡¯s tunic and pants. Their footwear was a strange sandal and Amdirlain left that alone, not sure if she¡¯d make a mess of creating them. ¡°Thank you for the clothing, I wasn¡¯t cold rather your clouds caught me by surprise,¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka remarked, gesturing up towards Judgement. ¡°We don¡¯t normally see that many clouds¡ªeven white¡ªunless a big ocean storm is going to hit.¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka fell silent as he looked out over the valley before him. His eyes roamed over the buildings, and Amdirlain watched roads literally growing between them. ¡°Is there somewhere else you¡¯d prefer me to open the Gate, V¨¡riy¨¡ka?¡± asked Ebusuku, after he finally glanced up at them. ¡°Perhaps close to the Shaper headquarters. I¡¯m not sure how the King¡¯s guards would react if you opened it near his palace,¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka replied after a moment¡¯s consideration. Amdirlain could feel Ebusuku lift an image from his mind as he mentioned it. When the Gate formed, it revealed the building from the same perspective as his memory. Positioned on the edge of a square courtyard directly in line with a wide set of stairs that led up to a polished stone porch. The simple plain lines of the courtyard were a strange contrast to the Shaper¡¯s five-story building that cast the square into afternoon shadow. They painted the stone building in multiple hues of garish colours, splotched in a fashion with no order or meaning to Amdirlain. They positioned lines of narrow windows set with panes of glass around the building in regular intervals, with brightly painted wooden frames, each in different hues. Polished metal fixtures were the plainest element of the building, and those gleamed with obvious care. Popping from amid the colours of the wall, the metals ornaments provided multiple lightning rods winding their way down the building. The only individuals visible were two guards in plate armour stationed beside the door. Both came alert with a snap, their true hands pulling chatkcha from harnesses as they moved. Their lower eyes locked on V¨¡riy¨¡ka the moment he stepped through the Gate, and recognition appeared in gazes that shifted between V¨¡riy¨¡ka and the Gate. Precision movements quickly returned the chatkcha to their harnesses, and they clasped gauntleted hand together across the burnished steel breastplates they wore. V¨¡riy¨¡ka allowed no time for formal greetings, but jogged into the building and Amdirlain heard him calling loudly for messengers to be sent to the Council. ¡°Ebusuku, why don¡¯t you pry Farhad away from his students, this could take a while,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°The Gate is easy enough to close, so that¡¯s an interesting suggestion,¡± Ebusuku laughed. ¡°Torm mentioned reporting to Tyr. I can report the details later if you¡¯d like?¡± Amdirlain shot her an amused look. ¡°You¡¯re like the embarrassing big sister I never had.¡± ¡°You need to have more fun in life,¡± teased Ebusuku. ¡°Then others having fun wouldn¡¯t embarrass you,¡± ¡°By fun, you mean have sex,¡± retorted Amdirlain, but spoke to the trees as Ebusuku vanished. ¡°I hope that didn¡¯t carry.¡± Amdirlain settled in the grass near the Gate listening to the continued commotion, and tried to set her worries aside in the sunshine. The wind and bird song were relaxing in their combined tranquillity and let her settle into a meditative state. ¡°You go sightseeing with Ebusuku and bring more guests,¡± commented Torm dryly, his words snapping her back to the present. The commotion beyond the gate having long since muted, a glance showed the guards still maintaining their original position and another pair had taken station by the Gate¡¯s threshold. ¡°Tyr can¡¯t seek expansion to other worlds, can he?¡± Amdirlain asked flowing to her feet. ¡°We can talk to Mortals from any world when we meet on the Planes, but there are limits on our conversations. Effectively, we¡¯re not allowed to spread his teachings outside Mortal worlds,¡± explained Torm. ¡°Are you able to visit other worlds besides M¨¦lamar? asked Amdirlain. ¡°No, agreements permit us on any of the Element or Outer Planes that we dare venture to, but we cannot ourselves seek to venture to other Mortal worlds,¡± Torm replied tilting his head curiously in her direction. So if you can get there you¡¯d be allowed to speak, but can¡¯t cross into it willingly, nice catch. Amdirlain nodded, glad that the confirmation matched her understanding of the Dwarven Pantheon explanation. ¡°Trust me?¡± ¡°Of course. What do you want me to do?¡± Torm immediately asked. ¡°I¡¯d like you to take my hands and close your eyes,¡± Amdirlain said moving towards him. Torm took her hands without hesitation, and together, she teleported them to just before the Gate. Her mental image positioned them already tilted with Torm but a hair¡¯s breadth from the Gate. The moment they appeared, she hooked her ankle around Torm¡¯s and pushed. Torm¡¯s eyes snapped open and stabilised himself almost instantly, but he was already across the Gate¡¯s threshold. ¡°You¡¯re on a Mortal world, and I permit you, as the only full Power present, to see if there are Mortals able to follow Tyr¡¯s teachings. Don¡¯t speak of the other Norse Pantheon though, only Tyr¡¯s precepts,¡± Amdirlain declared. The guards near the Gate had stepped back and regarded Torm¡¯s human appearance with wide-eyed surprise. ¡°Amdirlain..¡± Torm started but paused in surprise and simply nodded when instructions from his boss came. ¡°Is there anything you need me to investigate?¡± ¡°There is an outpost that was assaulted by Dao slavers. Be careful. I do not know their numbers or locations on the world. My chief concern is the outpost held reinforcements for a border pass. So please, check they¡¯ve not stripped it as well, and there isn¡¯t an invasion in progress. I¡¯d also appreciate your general perspective on the Erakk?,¡± Amdirlain said, even as she mentally shared images she¡¯d gained from Tesfa and others of the countryside around the outpost. A summary of information she¡¯d learnt so far surged across the connection to him, and his mind quickly took it in. ¡°As you wish,¡± Torm said. Amdirlain smiled brightly and verbally tweaked his nose. ¡°I know.¡± Torm returned her smile, and among his surge of emotions, she felt his focus on one image, so was unsurprised by him immediately teleporting away. The guards, still wide-eyed with concern, turned to regard her the moment he vanished; the conversation she¡¯d had with Torm in Celestial utterly incomprehensible to them. ¡°He¡¯s gone to ensure some people are okay,¡± Amdirlain said, and when she moved back to her spot on the grass, they resumed their station. A little while later, she started her own work, and spells from Earth Law let her construct a viewing platform on the valley¡¯s lip. Once it matched what she wanted, Amdirlain added a tasteful table and chairs suitable to the Erakk? along with more normal human-shaped ones around it. Picking a chair with a clear view of the valley, she sat down to wait in comfort. [Achievement: Breaking all the rules Condition: Deliberately assist an entity in circumventing a binding agreement Reward: Personal satisfaction? Additional condition: Divine level entity involved in activity matching Portfolio Reward: Faith +20 Free Movement Unlocked! Free Movement [J] (1) Note: Tyr is no longer bound by his restriction to the World of M¨¦lamar
  • The restriction remains in place for other entities within Norse Pantheon.
  • Tyr remains restricted from assisting others free from M¨¦lamar¡¯s restriction concord.
] [Free Movement: This Power allows the user to empower free movement through environmental conditions that otherwise hinder physical motion. Applies to natural hazards such as thick undergrowth, restraints, and Spell effects set to slow, bind, or otherwise restrict physical movement. It is always in effect on the possessor unless deliberately deactivated. The possessor¡¯s effective level influences its protective duration when applied to others, but reapplying the effect can be done at will.] Well, now I¡¯m a slippery little sucker. However, Sidero and Ebusuku would argue with me on that. * * * The Council that gathered showed the effects of the constant siege state of the Erakk? life. It had a small membership of five Shapers that carried themselves as if weighed by stress. Deep lines etched their faces, along with salt speckling their species¡¯ normally black hair. It was quickly obvious news of the attack hadn¡¯t even made it to the capital. They became increasingly grim-faced at what V¨¡riy¨¡ka shared with them. Amdirlain waited patiently while the council members talked among themselves and eventually looked at her. The others echoed the Chief Shaper Pul¨¦ka in making the same gesture of respect after they rose. ¡°Thank you for all you¡¯ve done, Lady Amdirlain. While we wish to investigate this matter of Wizards with you, we would wish to settle the situation that threatens before we explore such.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot on your mind,¡± Amdirlain replied calmly, feeling their concerns. ¡°Perhaps we could assist you by teaching suitable former soldiers no longer able to fight that still wish to contribute to your nation¡¯s defence.¡± A council member went to reply, but Pul¨¦ka motioned for them to be still while he tapped his chin thoughtfully. ¡°We will need to ask the magisters for permission to approach such citizens. We have no authority to speak for others without Shaper training. As it would not remove a Shaper from their duties, that would seem possible¡ªto me. Though I will admit that is purely a perspective of self-interest, I will speak with them and then confer again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve asked Torm, a friend of mine, to check on the situation at the pass. He¡¯ll likely be there already to assess things,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Pul¨¦ka froze at her words and studied her quietly. ¡°Is that why we have a report someone came through dramatically and then vanished?¡± ¡°Yes, there were restrictions on his ability to cross the threshold. I had to dance around some rules if they said there was some strangeness other than his appearance,¡± Amdirlain responded, noting his thoughts about Amdirlain having tripped Torm through the Gate. ¡°Sometimes stepping over rules is necessary, though it is best not to admit having done so. One would not wish to gain a reputation for such among strictly forged individuals,¡± remarked Pul¨¦ka. ¡°As long you hadn¡¯t forced him to render help.¡± ¡°I stepped over no rules that applied to me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Once he was in your world, he was happy to help protect you. Sometimes events occur that will lift restrictions on our actions through no doing of our own. If a non-Shaper became an apprentice, I assume you can at least request their attendance on matters, where previously without that connection you couldn¡¯t.¡± For the first time, amusement rather than the stress caused crinkles to show. ¡°We can order Shapers of any rank to fulfil particular duty stations within the limits set by their rank. While they can fulfil their duties, what Shapers do on their own time is not council business,¡± Pul¨¦ka offered. Though rolling her eyes at the diplomatic double talk was tempting, Amdirlain went with the flow. ¡°That¡¯s very interesting. I¡¯m sure we can arrange a Gate to open at regular intervals if needed for discussions and meetings. Some might wish to see this Plane when not on duty. We¡¯d seek to ensure they have an escort for their safety and education on relevant matters of interest.¡± With an ease speaking of long practice, Pul¨¦ka kept a straight face at her response. ¡°We will be sure to mention your hospitality and guidance if any magister should enquire.¡± [Diplomacy Unlocked! Diplomacy (1)] Fuck you, troll! [Diplomacy (1) Note: Critical Diplomacy failure detected! Note: She¡¯s not going to take it Captain!] I swear you¡¯re having fun at my expense. Well, at least they¡¯ve provided an agreement that we can teach Shapers as well. Now to see if I can get some teachers. ¡°Tyr, I would appreciate it if you had any Wizards among your Celestials that could help with teaching,¡± Amdirlain said and left it at that. I¡¯m going to have to send him a thank-you card one day, but maybe lifting his restriction counts as lots of birthday presents. 136 - Hows it supposed to feel ¡°Was it one of your servants that you sent through earlier, Amdirlain?¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka asked, not having moved to leave with the council. ¡°No, that was Torm; you¡¯ve not met him. He¡¯s a guardian of Tyr; I met him years ago, protecting a senior servant on another world,¡± explained Amdirlain, frowning as the translation twisted her explanation slightly. Tyr¡¯s response to her request for Wizards to help teach arrived not long after in an impressive style. A baker¡¯s dozen of Valkyrie snapped into existence above the valley and glided her way. Analysis confirmed that all had possessed at least one Wizard class during their Class progression. They possessed a range of hair colours under the Celestial energy radiating off them, from ash-blond to deep red. Their power made them the golden-haired, pale-skinned beauties of legends, particularly in breastplates and greaves made from golden Celestial-steel. At the front of their formation, the Valkyrie, Svenja, provided Analysis little beyond her name and Classes as she stepped forward to greet Amdirlain. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, I¡¯m glad we met outside your Domain so I might greet you properly.¡± ¡°You lot enjoy smacking me with that title, don¡¯t you?¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and good-natured laughter came from the gathered Valkyries. Svenja smiled at Amdirlain while the others settled. ¡°Many lay claim to titles only for their actions to degrade any respect one should feel. We find it fitting to pay respect to one who doesn¡¯t wish a title but who spends themselves for the benefit of the innocent and those redeemable.¡± ¡°How do you wish to go about teaching the Erakk??¡± asked Amdirlain, forcing past her surprise at the answer. When Amdirlain jumped right to the chase, Svenja gave a businesslike nod, and responded in the Erakk?¡¯s language. ¡°With your permission, it is best to go to them rather than having them come through the Gate. We¡¯ve all experienced passing among Mortals before, though normally only the Norse, so adjusting to the new customs and laws will be interesting. We all possess Metal Affinity, so we¡¯ll be able to start them with those Spell lists. Afterwards, we can organise times for you to expand their Affinities or just take them through the normal process of gaining them.¡± At her words, the Valkyrie all suddenly matched the Erakk? in appearance. Their golden armour shifted form and hue to appear as brightly polished steel. Without so much as a pause as her form changed, Svenja continued. ¡°There is also the matter of the Dao. I have word that Torm found the outpost along with the two closest villages stripped of inhabitants. The pass itself still has its garrison intact, and the closest villagers are alert but unharmed at this point. He¡¯s still exploring the region to determine the extent of their depredations.¡± ¡°V¨¡riy¨¡ka, would you object to them coming through to your world to teach?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I certainly don¡¯t believe there would be objections, but I¡¯m biased since I require a teacher myself, after all. I know many that would be happy to answer any questions they might have,¡± V¨¡riy¨¡ka replied before rising. Stepping quickly to the Gate, he spoke to the guards on the other side and waved them through. ¡°We can all Planar Shift or open Gates, so if there is need of a meeting, arrangements can be made,¡± offered Svenja, after gesturing to the others to move. ¡°It would be safer than leaving a Gate open so close to your Domain. It is but an offer. Simply close the Gate if you wish us to take that approach.¡± When the Valkyrie had all passed through, Amdirlain took the hint and closed Ebusuku¡¯s Gate. Teleport placed her back at the riverbank by the swing, and a surge of emotions from Farhad¡¯s dwelling made her blush. Her Domain made her aware of the wards in place holding the noise within, but they didn¡¯t stop her awareness of the area. Fortunately, it was only emotional, but that still made her face flame with their intensity. I can¡¯t even tell them to get a room. If I mention it to Ebusuku, I bet she¡¯ll laugh her arse off. Concentrating on the Domain¡¯s wellspring, Amdirlain let their celebrations fade into the background, and drew on the energy inside herself. The moment her concentration touched the wellspring, the energy within her flooded into it and expanded her Domain. Though she kept back some Mana, and Ki, the force of it still cascaded through the Domain¡¯s boundary, pushing it far along the valley¡¯s terrain. The massive surge left inhabitants blinking at the energy that passed around them. Amdirlain noted with amusement she¡¯d disrupted a particular celebration. Does that count as cock blocking? Nah, they¡¯ve been at it a while. Before Ebusuku could protest the disruption in their celebrations, Amdirlain shifted away. * * * Ebusuku¡¯s going to be annoyed. The Song echoed across the Grotto stronger than her previous visit. Each musical note wove through the crystal spires stretched out across the floor, amplified at each step. As the sound¡¯s wavefront reached the last of the spires, they projected it outwards, holding the tainted presence of Tern¨°x at bay. Amdirlain¡¯s hidden eyes saw the first three arrive and drift towards her, but she didn¡¯t move in response. It pleased her they¡¯d responded so quickly since she¡¯d only just finished sending the last of the messages. There was the barest sound of brushing against stone as S¨ªrdhem sat on the ledge¡¯s edge beside her. Beside S¨ªrdhem, Fainil shifted about with gliding motions, dancing in time with the music. Her white hair had been short before but now was a single braid; it reached mid-back and swayed as if a conductor¡¯s baton directing the music. Their third was Calithil, her chosen name simply meant moonlight. Hair the silvery blue hue of her namesake framed her wistful features as she looked down across the Grotto. A faint smile didn¡¯t break the melancholy mood conveyed by her expression. Eyes that mirrored her hair colour drifted closed as she focused on the beauty of the Song. [Name: S¨ªrdhem Species: Greater Succubus Class: Wizard / Hyanda / Primordial Scout / Harbinger Level: 23 (MAX) / 16 / 16 / 16 / 16 Health: 9,384 Defence: 1078 Magic: 106 Mana: 17,862 Melee Attack Power: 258 Combat Skills: Bite [G] (7), Bow-Legend [S] (179), Claws [G] (11), Sword-Saint [G] (418), Tail Strike [S] (8), Throwing [S] (3). Spell Lists: Multiple. Affinities: All Details: S¨ªrdhem is native to the Plane Ijmti. A former follower of Lady Baln¨¦rith, the Sisterhood of Blood considers her a rogue, to be destroyed on sight. Currently sworn to the service of Lady Amdirlain.] The last of them arrived only ten minutes after S¨ªrdhem¡¯s trio had appeared, their armour splashed with Demonic blood. Aside from the stains, their armour was almost as pristine as when she¡¯d made it. The one she¡¯d purged classes from had recovered a noticeable amount of grace but seemed to drift along. S¨ªrdhem glanced at the last of the arriving Succubi, and nodded respectfully. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, what did you need us to assist you with?¡± ¡°It will distract a bit from your work here in Tern¨°x, but it will hopefully speed up recovering your Class levels,¡± Amdirlain said, glancing between them. ¡°Have any of you had to deal with the Dao?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, she provided me to one of their Lords as a companion for favours,¡± growled Fainil, her cheerful smile disappearing in a rush of anger. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to rescue slaves; given the Dao¡¯s numbers, I wondered if I could get a hand,¡± replied Amdirlain, concerned at the continued heat in Fainil¡¯s gaze. ¡°We didn¡¯t Sing them into existence; we made many evil things, but their ancestors came from the old world,¡± Calithil said, her tone defensive. ¡°There are many of them, but there are more Demons we could be killing. How will this speed up regaining our levels?¡± ¡°It seems Celestials that fight with me in a party gain progress faster, even afterwards. I¡¯m hoping that it will apply to you as well. We¡¯ve already attacked one of their mines, pretending it was a Demon attack. So I wanted to hit another location together,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I know lots of their townships from when I used to travel with him,¡± Fainil replied. ¡°I¡¯ll go. Do you want them to think a Demon Lord is going for them? We could wear Succubus form and make them sweat. Or use the uniform form and let the Sisterhood take the blame.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s a chance to get us ready to hurt Baln¨¦rith faster, I¡¯m in.¡± Amdirlain missed who it was that had spoken up from among the gathering, but most nodded their agreement. Those who didn¡¯t immediately, still looked interested. ¡°Could we look to hunt Lord Lozenge¡¯s estates?¡± asked Fainil. ¡°He might not be alive, but some heirs might still hold them. I¡¯d like to dismember his holdings, especially if his family line still has them in their possession. Even if they don¡¯t, the locations provide a list of places to hit.¡± Amdirlain caught the undiminished heat still in Fainil and answered carefully. ¡°If you know them, we can hit some of them, at least.¡± ¡°I know their names and where they were, but I¡¯ll have to scry to check each,¡± responded Fainil. ¡°The Dao don¡¯t like the appearance of things changing, so they might just have expanded the caverns.¡± ¡°Aside from the slaves being freed, is there anything, in particular, you want to achieve?¡± S¨ªrdhem asked. The rueful wince the question received from Amdirlain got S¨ªrdhem¡¯s attention, and she motioned Amdirlain to spill. ¡°I¡¯m told I use too much brute force in my fighting style. I need to work on using finesse and being subtle.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure we can help you with that, cousin,¡± S¨ªrdhem replied merrily. ¡°Does anyone want to risk the Titan¡¯s trial to break free of being a Succubus now?¡± asked Amdirlain. At her question, the group froze. ¡°What?¡± Calithil stuttered as she tried to still the trembling in her limbs. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°Well, I could promote you in other ways, but to keep your memories, you¡¯d need to undertake the trial,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°No,¡± Calithil snapped. ¡°I made my bed, and I need to prove I deserve to leave this place. The nod from Fainil was just as firm, and when Amdirlain caught her gaze, she shrugged reluctantly. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave until they¡¯re all free, then I might deserve it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m never leaving.¡± S¨ªrdhem¡¯s simple words caught the attention of all the group, and Amdirlain looked at her in concern. ¡°I¡¯m not! There are so many trapped here, not just the L¨®m?. Fainil¡¯s angry at the Dao because they sold slaves to Baln¨¦rith, whose Souls she then sold on. I know Fainil¡¯s services were part of the payment, she had no other part in the arrangements, but she blames herself. We¡¯ll get the L¨®m? out, but if I stay, I can rescue others,¡± S¨ªrdhem said, waving Fainil¡¯s objections away ¡°Why would you want to do that forever?¡± asked Calithil. ¡°Maybe it won¡¯t be forever, but I want a reason to not hate myself,¡± S¨ªrdhem replied. ¡°Millions of our relatives are currently stuck because we bought into a lie. It might well take forever before I make amends for the part I played.¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s right, but it won¡¯t stop me from trying to do the same. ¡° The voice was the same as earlier, but this time Amdirlain spotted her. Her hair was the sullen red of dying embers and now cut far shorter than when Amdirlain had renamed her. Fine Elven features were an exquisite frame for dark blue eyes that didn¡¯t reflect the light, giving her a lascivious gaze. The deep pools make it possible to fall into her gaze forever, dreaming of her rich full lips. Among their varying forms, she possessed one of the more voluptuous shapes with generous curves. Despite her sensual form, N?r¡¯s name had a simple meaning that followed S¨ªrdhem¡¯s theme. Where S¨ªrdhem¡¯s name meant ¡®river of sadness¡¯, N?r¡¯s simply meant sad from an older era of names. Name selection in the group was a near-even split between those chosen from their L¨®m? heritage and those focused on the outcome of their misplaced trust. Names that implied¡ªor explicitly contained¡ªmeanings of sorrow, sadness, and amends were the most common among the second group, though there was an exception. As if Amdirlain¡¯s recollection of her name prompted her, she spoke up. ¡°You will all leave one day,¡± Erwarth declared firmly from the back of the group. Her name had struck Amdirlain almost as a split point between the groups. It was a traditional name, and it didn¡¯t focus on what they¡¯d brought down upon the L¨®m?, but on the act. The name she¡¯d taken was traditionally a title, one they gave to a special type of prisoner¡ªErwarth meant betrayer. Though she had similarly delicate Elven features to others, her skin wasn¡¯t ivory but the colour of dried blood, and coal-black eyes showed no whites. Her wings weren¡¯t the black-feathered wings the others possessed, but bare white-bone arches. When Amdirlain had purged Erwarth¡¯s classes she had simply nodded her acceptance, not bent in agony. [Name: Erwarth Species: Greater Succubus Class: Wizard / Harbinger / Priest / Paragon Level: 23 (MAX) / 17 / 16 / 16 / 16 Health: 6,508 Defence: 1,215 Ki: 266 Magic: 123 Mana: 21,983 Melee Attack Power: 194 Combat Skills: Bow-Lord [G] (212), Silent Vortex [G] (418), Sword-Lord [G] (489), Throwing [S] (289). Spell Lists: Multiple. Affinities: All Details: Erwarth is a native to the Plane Ijmti. A former follower of Lady Baln¨¦rith, the Sisterhood of Blood consider her a rogue to be destroyed on sight. She is a Priest sworn to the service of Lady Amdirlain.] [Paragon: Outsiders dedicated to a Power can choose to focus on an aspect of it. The Paragon Class for Lady Amdirlain evolves her servants¡¯ unarmed combat to match her Monk fighting technique. It also makes adjustments to their natural Powers to increase their hand to hand fighting abilities. ] Silent Vortex, is it an evolved form of Silent Storm? She¡¯s got Ki but I¡¯ll need to teach her how to concentrate it. ¡°As you say,¡± agreed Calithil. ¡°That aside, is everyone up for teaching the Dao a lesson for their slave trade?¡± asked Amdirlain. A frown flickered across Calithil¡¯s face for a moment, and though she pushed it aside, she spoke up. ¡°We¡¯re not just releasing them all, are we? I mean, yes, the Dao take enjoyment in inflicting misery and having power over others, but so do some species they use as slaves. Do we just free them?¡± ¡°Nothing like that gets to go free,¡± Amdirlain declared in a steel tone and Calithil nodded in relief. ¡°I¡¯ll check them with Soul Sight or Telepathy before we send them on their way. Those we encounter, we¡¯ll give a clean death rather than set them free to hurt others.¡± N?r fixed Amdirlain with a look of consideration. ¡°You want to dispense merciless mercy?¡± ¡°A new dawn, it seems,¡± Erwarth replied. ¡°The Titan¡¯s Executioner is once again amongst us. It shall be as you say, Lady of the Dawn.¡± ¡°NO!¡± squealed Fainil excitedly. ¡°How did I not see it?!¡± groaned S¨ªrdhem. The chatter among the group quickly escalated, and Amdirlain only picked out parts of the conversations. ¡°The Eldest¡­ Did any of us pick her?... Who gets the betting pool?.. Didn¡¯t you¡­ No, I said Maendes, not¡­¡± Erwarth¡¯s sharp whistle brought silence. ¡°Don¡¯t we have some Dao to kill rather than gossip?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only because you didn¡¯t bet, Erwarth,¡± retorted Calithil. ¡°There, now you know I¡¯m doubly wise compared to the rest of you. I suggest Amdirlain take the entire prize to dispense as she determines,¡± Erwarth replied, and motioned to N?r. ¡°Do you still have the goods?¡± ¡°Hold on to them, N?r,¡± Amdirlain said, waving her to stay sitting as she shifted position to stand. ¡°If they are things that won¡¯t attract attention outside the Abyss, we can use them to help those we free.¡± ¡°Did you have a place you wanted to start, Lady Amdirlain?¡± asked Calithil. Amdirlain groaned and fixed Calithil with an unhappy look. ¡°My name is Amdirlain, that¡¯s all you need to use.¡± ¡°Of course, Lady Amdirlain,¡± Calithil replied. ¡°I would give you far more honours than that. Please let us refer to you that way. When we saw you die fighting Leviathan, I thought all hope was lost then. I¡¯m glad to see you returned even if you don¡¯t possess your memories.¡± ¡°What was I like when fighting?¡± Amdirlain asked, curiosity lighting up her face. ¡°You were constantly in motion, with motes of a blue stars around your sword. Your handling of Song and blade together meant little could stand in your path,¡± S¨ªrdhem replied. ¡°Though you tended towards using Song before the fighting.¡± ¡°Sounds like I¡¯ve always had an issue with using brute force,¡± Amdirlain muttered, and S¨ªrdhem¡¯s suddenly calm face spoke volumes. ¡°Why did you call me the Titan¡¯s Executioner, Erwarth?¡± ¡°Many considered it your title after you killed the Gold Elves that were purging their world of non-Elves,¡± replied Erwarth with a shrug. ¡°That the Anar King¡¯s Chorus had Sung them into existence on their own lent it more weight. The fact your destruction of them also destroyed an Elven Pantheon that had grown from their homage was the sweetest of irony. King E?rtar had kept them in ignorance of the Courts, whom the Titan had invited when we¡¯d first Sung species in our image.¡± What? The chatter among the succubi faded out of Amdirlain''s hearing for a moment, as she breathed her question. ¡°I did what?¡± ¡°Do you not remember anything? Not even the Brands?¡± asked Erwarth, her tone incredulous. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d have some memories of those. They were bound into your Soul by Song. My last life started well after the events, but I studied the records; I even listened to the journal crystals you had left in the royal archives. They were insightful about why the Queen convinced the King to commute your execution.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you regain all your memories?¡± asked Amdirlain, trying to make sense of the feelings churning around in her. Sorrow, guilt, resolution; for moment, constellations from her mindscape intruded into being before settling away again. ¡°Recovered memories aren¡¯t absolute. If they were perfect, we¡¯d be the same person over again,¡± Erwarth replied. ¡°We can remember key events, but sometimes, we don¡¯t remember all the subtle things, and we can only ever remember what we knew; not what others didn¡¯t tell us.¡± ¡°It was a race of Elves I wiped out.¡± The edged whisper slipped from Amdirlain¡¯s lips even as the others went still as her shock won. A surprised expression slipped from Erwarth¡¯s face, replaced by a hardness that turned black eyes into ice. ¡°Why does it surprise you we can sing imperfect things into existence? The King¡¯s Chorus Sang them into existence, arrogant that they could improve a stable slow-growing world. They didn¡¯t even seek a single L¨®m? Glinnel to balance their Song.¡± ¡°Was that when I earn the brands that became the Markings of Royal Shame?¡± asked Amdirlain. Erwarth nodded firmly, her gaze locked on Amdirlain. ¡°So you know something of them.¡± ¡°Initially, only what a friend found written in a journal by an Elven survivor on M¨¦lamar, they called them the Markings of Royal Shame. Then a Dragon told me a story of their origins, and they believe they started as condemned prisoner marks,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s true, but you didn¡¯t have any sign of them before and still don¡¯t,¡± said Calithil, glancing at Amdirlain¡¯s hands. ¡°What prompted the seeking of their meanings?¡± ¡°I fought the Demonic aspect of my form and woke up in a new shape. It had feathered wings like most of you, but I looked like a golden-bronze-skinned Elf and the Markings were present but mostly black,¡± explained Amdirlain. At Calithil¡¯s continued frown, she let the tendrils show on her hands, but when she caused them to vanish again, Calithil¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be able to hide them,¡± Calithil said, motioning towards Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°Even concealment spells shouldn¡¯t be able to hide them away if your Soul remembered them enough to present them on flesh at all.¡± ¡°You had mentioned conflict with your form, but it¡¯s wise to keep things close to your chest. We¡¯ve all had our own battles with the Demons that enfolded us. We won, to a degree at least. I believe those that didn¡¯t flee Baln¨¦rith lost, whether it means they¡¯re trapped or entirely consumed, I¡¯ve no way to say,¡± Erwarth stated flatly. The thought of having lost to Viper spiked memories of their battle and the pain she¡¯d inflicted on Amdirlain. ¡°How much progress are you making here? Is there anything that needs to be finished soon?¡± asked Amdirlain, changing the subject. ¡°We¡¯ve all been working around Grottos we knew about, luring Nox close to them before we kill them,¡± replied Fainil. ¡°S¨ªrdhem alone has gotten over two thousand kills of the Nox Echoes so far; so together, we¡¯ve freed lots. The Grottos have gone through a large expansion. ¡° ¡°Two thousand kills,¡± murmured Amdirlain, working through the memory of combat summaries. ¡°Yeah, you progress slower than I do. For four classes at that many kills, it would have set me at level thirty, but S¨ªrdhem¡¯s level sixteen in each.¡± ¡°That¡¯s disturbing, that you can see my levels without an imprint,¡± remarked S¨ªrdhem, wrapping arms across her chest as if covering herself; only for a coy look to destroy the attempt at playing shy. * * * The reddish-black energy Tesfa¡¯s memories had shown, rippled like a heat mirage along a section of wall. Across the cavern¡¯s floor was a sprawling Dao palace grown seamlessly from the stone. The fortifications that existed between its compound and the Gate seemed more for channelling those incoming rather than for protection. Passages from the Gate lead to stone barred holding pens erected with brutal disregard for decency. Scores of naked Erakk? stood in unmoving lines within them, collars around their necks. Amdirlain kept her clairvoyance moving¡ªskipping it about the compound in order to make it hard to detect, even if they could watch for Psi energy. She''d formed a mental link with the succubi, allowing each to see what Clairvoyance showed her. Each building grew seamlessly from the Cavern¡¯s floor and was fashioned in a decorative style. Their two barracks weren¡¯t bunk rooms, but structures that held hundreds of variously sized individual rooms. The Dao¡¯s quarters from the highest to the lowest were comfortable, with at least one piece of lavish furnishing in the lowest-ranked Dao¡¯s room. ¡°If you truly wish to work on being subtle, handle it as a stealth suppression sweep. Work building to building, killing everyone inside as quietly as possible. We take wards apart to get through, but priority is not triggering any alerts,¡± ¡°We¡¯ve nineteen groups to work with. One building at a time and Lady Amdirlain accompanies a new group each time? Or do all groups hit a separate building at the same time?¡± asked Calithil. Amdirlain gritted her teeth but kept from broadcasting anything through the link. ¡°I¡¯d have each group monitor the building they¡¯ll accompany you with. If trouble stirs, they can hit hard all at once. But let¡¯s hold off as we don¡¯t know how much time we¡¯ll require for the change to occur,¡± Erwarth suggested, directing her input to Amdirlain. ¡°As long as someone is ready to move to protect the prisoners,¡± Amdirlain said, releasing her far-seeing effect. A hand among the others raised, even as Fainil''s thoughts beckoned for attention. ¡°I¡¯ll offer our group to watch the pens. If any Dao go near them, we¡¯ll take them out.¡± ¡°Maybe double groups with yourself then, Lady Amdirlain. Gives us seven actives in each building, with the extra groups watching that everything stays locked down. The groups outside will watch for any movement, and can alert you through the link since their wards don¡¯t handle Psi,¡± offered Erwarth at the thoughtful look on Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°Once everyone¡¯s been through a building, Fainil¡¯s group can take a turn, then we repeat until done.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go with that,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°Once we get the prisoners home, we can handle the next location loudly and make them think Demons are on the warpath.¡± ¡°Or we could just keep practicing subtle until you stop using brute force at every chance,¡± chided Erwarth. ¡°Now, about some rules to ensure you practice finesse.¡± 137 - Til I hear em say Amdirlain slipped ahead of Erwarth as they moved up on the compound¡¯s side gate. It felt strange being in the Sisterhood uniform with Erwarth providing corrections as they went. While it wasn¡¯t essential to this operation, it was another skill she¡¯d need to make sure she had right¡ªpassing as the enemy. The mental corrections she received weren¡¯t just on how she moved in the uniform but included tips towards applying Stealth. After the wards went, she¡¯d shifted a hand to bypass the lock, and Erwarth simply raised a finger to remind her of the rules they¡¯d set for her practice. Erwarth¡¯s one use rule. She could use any Skill or Power but only a single role, and she¡¯d opted Protean for combat. She didn¡¯t even have Advanced Telepathy to listen for minds, having to rely on the sharpness of perception to catch what clairvoyance missed. Her link between all their minds was the best option for keeping¡¯ comms channels¡¯ open between the teams. Erwarth had drawn out lock picks, and it was Amdirlain¡¯s turn to raise a finger. Mentally looking inside the lock, she used Telekinesis to push the pins and turn the rotor. At the frown she got, Amdirlain just smiled, and eventually, the lock softly clicked open. [Disable Device Unlocked! Disable Device (1) Disable Device gained 10 points from Assassin Class. Disable Device (1->11) Note: You unlocked the Skill to unlock by picking a lock with your brain. That¡¯s really using your noggin! Finally, learning to not blow things up. BONUS! But no extra points because I¡¯m the thief. Thief!] Indeed, you¡¯re still a thief and a snarky one at that! Her smugness didn¡¯t last past the next door. Erwarth made her open every lock in the barrack¡¯s lowest corridor, marking the time with a hand swaying to a perfect cadence. Their progress along the barrack¡¯s first floor left a growing stillness, with Amdirlain sweeping up the granules and gear. Teams switched smoothly as they gained the second floor, and N?r marked the beat to push her to improve. The prisoners¡¯ misery niggled at her, but Amdirlain stayed focused on the task ahead, with N?r unstinting in the beat on every door. It wasn¡¯t part of the attack, so Amdirlain continued to work and enfolded the prisoners in a separate link; one that projected reassurance and the peace of her mindscape¡¯s water park. Fourteen percent each kill. Hopefully, each team member is getting the same. You could at least give the odd two percent to someone, but I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t. I should have left Erwarth to pick the first lock. Someone else could do these faster. A moment of self-doubt got shoved away as another lock clicked open, and Disable Device slid up a rank. Another of the group silently swept through the door to end the resting occupant, but Amdirlain was already working on the next lock and pushed the notification away. When her turn came, Amdirlain slipped within and projected a triangular spike from her arm through their eye. The blade tip bloomed into a flower shredding their brain, and the Dao burst apart into crystalline granules. By the time she came back out, someone seemed to have caught her concern, or realised how much time they were losing. Two succubi had moved ahead to pick locks, and Amdirlain started on a third. Each person on the door, getting a backup while the spare team member, remained on the lookout. They handled the second floor in under a third of the time, and by the time they finished the first barracks, ten teams had rotated through seamlessly. Even before they swept through the guards¡¯ stations, the second barracks raised the tally to four hundred dead, moving onto the fancier main buildings. Baln¨¦rith¡¯s selection might have left them crippled Class-wise, but there was nothing wrong with their skills. Amdirlain expected Murphy¡¯s Law to show its face at any instant; for a cry to go up, a gong sounding, or the palace¡¯s walls to come alive with an Elemental¡¯s grasping hands. Instead, the only thing captured that night was the Dao, seized by death. Among the prisoners, Amdirlain saw succubi picking locks and went to remove a collar only for Erwarth to slap her hand. ¡°Stop using powers when there are mundane skills you need to practice. Yes, you can use that now, but what if there is a time you want to leave no trace of strangeness? What if something prevents you from using it and you need things you¡¯ve not practiced?¡± Erwarth asked, picking the collar¡¯s lock while nodding Amdirlain to tend to another. ¡°I can feel the reassurance you¡¯ve been providing them, and that is a good thing. Someone else might need you to provide particular help. How would you and they feel then if you had no way of helping them? Take the chance to practice when you are impatient to provide a result. Broaden your path. Learn new things.¡± Among the Dao¡¯s possessions, they found boxes of clothing taken from Erakk? for no other reason than perhaps to break their spirit. It was odd to see succubi passing out clothing and reassuring words, along with the Blessings of healing a half-dozen succubi with a Priest Class, besides Erwarth, could provide on her behalf. Blessings used so close, it allowed her to feel their interaction with herself, and her Domain. The energy she¡¯d placed within the Domain transformed and was so much more at peace than she felt herself to be. ((A Domain isn¡¯t just for Petitioner¡¯s protection, but also holds within it your Portfolio¡¯s ideals. There are lessons to be found deep within it as well as outside it.)) ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t talking to me,¡± Amdirlain said mentally. ((There are lessons you¡¯ll need to learn for yourself. The choice of which path and what to learn from your journey is always yours. Because a bridge goes two ways, I need to ensure I remain only myself and not make your choices, even by influence. What you do is always your choice, even if only how you react. What others do is theirs.)) The Ki¡¯s mist swirled within her for a moment as a void formed in them by something rushing away from her Ki Pool. [Achievement: On your bike! Condition: An entity sympathetic to you has withdrawn its connection. Reward: One less voice in your head? Note: I¡¯ve been told officially to not comment if this occurred. So I¡¯m saying ¡®No Comment¡¯! Note: Scolded for including sympathetic? Check! So ¡®please ensure you choose¡¯ to ignore ¡®that phrasing¡¯. Okay! Note: Got to love how the moment I send to an entity it¡¯s on record, but they can¡¯t remove it from their memory. That¡¯s just ¡®magic¡¯.] What? Sympathetic Magic? Like anyone would have any of the four¡¯s possession or blood. Not like I can just whip up body parts or personal items. You¡¯ve been a little shit so often. Why are you providing information now? Are you sending me on a wild goose chase? ¡°Lady Amdirlain?¡± questioned N?r, snapping Amdirlain from her distracted state. ¡°They¡¯ll be studying the Gate before dissembling it. You wanted to help, so Erwarth said to give you a nudge to come over and review it with her.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± replied Amdirlain. N?r gave her a smile and waved towards the main building. ¡°We¡¯re looking for whatever records the Dao might have regarding numbers sent from here. They¡¯ll have records to ensure they receive proper payment for their raiding.¡± With that news, N?r moved to help an older couple assisting children in getting dressed. Heading toward the Gate, Amdirlain found Erwarth plus succubi whose classes she knew she hadn¡¯t purged. Approaching, she heard their conversations littered with references she only partly understood from the knowledge she had. The experience was like listening to a maths PhD presentation with high school calculus just under her belt. Even the few terms she recognised seemed to have different meanings in how they used them. The Gate in True Sight looked like an event horizon of a sci-fi worm hole. Energy swirled about it, forming eddies that drained into nothing even as energy reappeared in other places and balanced it out. ¡°The process for this is like the Harmony Power you used with us. We have to understand the Gate¡¯s energy and its balance. If we make a mistake and push energy into the wrong place, we¡¯ll end up strengthening the Gate,¡± stated Erwarth for Amdirlain¡¯s benefit the moment she joined the others. ¡°The Gate is directing energy from two Planes, so we need to slide it off balance then let that energy do the work of finishing it. If we shoulder charge it, or even nudge in the wrong place, we could wedge it open.¡± ¡°How long do you think it will take to disassemble?¡± Amdirlain asked and winced at the smile she got from Erwarth. ¡°Far longer if we get it wrong, so let¡¯s understand the Gate first,¡± chided Erwarth. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be that much closer to pushing it off balance once everyone is through. Since you have True Sight, not Mana Sense, focus on the edges of the whirlpool. The way the energy joins and leaves the construct of the Gate. How much knowledge do you have in Planar Portals?¡± ¡°Only in the Journeyman ranks,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and Erwarth tilted her head at her. Erwarth sighed and motioned Amdirlain to come over. ¡°Then this will be a learning experience. Reform that mental link with me, and I¡¯ll take you through what I can sense from it. You can then show me from your perspective, and I¡¯ll explain each section. Ritual magic experience?¡± ¡°No experience performing it,¡± conceded Amdirlain. Erwarth took her arm and stepped back away from the others. ¡°That puts you firmly in the ''don¡¯t touch'' group for this Gate, my Lady. It has existed for centuries; that I can tell just from being this close to it.¡± ¡°Ones that are going to come apart easily don¡¯t last?¡± Amdirlain asked, hoping she understood that part of Portal Lore correctly ¡°Exactly. We¡¯ll get you some practice in ritual magic; we can¡¯t risk overloading the efforts here. Let¡¯s start with reviewing the Gate¡¯s structure,¡± said Erwarth, and Amdirlain connected their minds. They sent the Erakk? through the Gate along with the lavish furnishing and portable wealth of the Dao. If nothing else, the metals and gems would provide for the villagers'' recovery, though it couldn¡¯t replace those the Dao had culled. With the last through, Amdirlain watched the interior of a ritual circle light up with power, as eleven succubi slowly prepared their ritual. Unlike Spell Forms, the Mana accumulated slowly and deliberately within a construct protected by the circle. It glowed with more energy than Amdirlain thought she could gather by herself. It was a power that spun in the air between them, glowing in True Sight, making the maze-like patterns Mirage had mentioned showing in the power¡¯s form. Only the ritual¡¯s leader kept her eyes fixed on the Gate, as the rest continued to provide energy to the stabilised construct. The energy rose and fell in cycles as the leader released the energy in sharp targeted bursts that struck the event horizon of the Gate. Each impact of the energy caused the Gate¡¯s rotation to shift its speed. It was hours of work before the end, and it wasn¡¯t the dramatic result Amdirlain had expected. The energy of the Gate simply swirled into the stone, and True Sight showed it dispersing into the Plane¡¯s fabric. When the last of it vanished, Erwarth nodded to Amdirlain from where she¡¯d been watching. The succubi standing in the circle, began the work of carefully dismantling the construct. The amount of Mana they¡¯d spent far outweighed what Amdirlain currently possessed, yet still enough for multiple Lightning Storms hissed in the air between them. And they say they¡¯re crippled. Guess that makes sense. They¡¯re crippled and I¡¯m just a toddler. They at least know where and how to step delicately. ¡°Let¡¯s see what N?r and the others have found in the records,¡± suggested Amdirlain. * * * Erwarth had burst out laughing when they found N?r playing mother-hen with the stacks of books, journals, and paperwork she¡¯d found. ¡°This from one that hated library duty.¡± ¡°Cleaning up after someone else pulling books out at random is far different to sorting through for information,¡± N?r retorted, adding another journal to the largest stack. ¡°So far, the only information I have is counts from three locations they hit. Their first raid hit the outpost, and they captured more than you¡¯ve rescued. Also, they already sent out all the captives from the first village. I can¡¯t give you an exact number because the counts don¡¯t match for whatever reason, but between three-forty-nine and three-sixty-two.¡± ¡°What is your end goal, Lady Amdirlain?¡± S¨ªrdhem asked as she passed N?r some more journals. ¡°Are you looking to rescue all the Erakk?, or just whoever was here before we closed the Gate?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to rescue all the Erakk?, but the way you ask that makes me doubt the likelihood,¡± replied Amdirlain, and winced at N?r¡¯s bland expression. ¡°Is that your default face for ''I¡¯m about to deliver bad news''?¡± ¡°I would suggest you don¡¯t count on finding them,¡± N?r replied softly. ¡°Fainil¡¯s working on their staging area, but there have been a few Portals opened.¡± ¡°Which brings us back to deciding an end-goal,¡± stated S¨ªrdhem. ¡°We got lucky today. I had expected at least one of us to be hiding on Ijmti.¡± ¡°You all have a home Plane of Ijmit, we should change that, at least.¡± ¡°Furnace is ugly, but worst case, you can hide in lava flows to lose someone,¡± suggested N?r. ¡°Not my first choice. Most succubi there, outside the armies, are brothel workers. We¡¯d stand out or have to blend in, and they don¡¯t want the Planar Locked among their forces,¡± Erwarth countered. N?r¡¯s gaze flickered to another team member searching through documents, before she replied. ¡°Let¡¯s not suggest that one to Fainil then. I¡¯d forgotten that aspect of Furnace.¡± ¡°No rush, but something to be considered. It doesn¡¯t have to be the same for everyone,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°I just thought we should set up a fallback location if something goes wrong. Since we¡¯ve got lots of fighting ahead on Tern¨°x, having that as a Home Plane isn¡¯t safe.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t have to be out in the open. We could establish our own safehold similarly to your circle room; larger, of course,¡± suggested S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Stock it with gear for training and have a library. I¡¯m sure N?r would love a library.¡± ¡°Just shut your beak,¡± growled N?r in a mock huff. Reaching out, Amdirlain tapped her foot against the top of a discarded journal. ¡°Do these fellows have a city in common? They might have shipped them out to there.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Nothing that I¡¯ve spotted in the journals so far. I¡¯ll keep an eye out,¡± N?r replied after a moment¡¯s thought. S¨ªrdhem leaned over and picked a bundle of parchment from the top of a stack. ¡°The empire has hundreds of cities, and thousands of towns. Let alone smaller outposts like that mine you talked about. Have a think about your end goal. You won¡¯t change the Dao, so will you use them as a punching bag until the end of time?¡± ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know at present. I just need to curtail the misery they¡¯re causing. I can¡¯t save everyone, but I¡¯ll just focus on saving who I safely can,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Then we¡¯ll just have to increase your capabilities to help,¡± declared Erwarth. ¡°There are lots of Planes in the Abyss that don¡¯t have even semi-rulership. Though one is just as bad as another. If we build something underground, we can ward it, and stay out of others¡¯ plans; we¡¯ll want somewhere that doesn¡¯t have a lot of burrowing wildlife.¡± ¡°Put a bunch of acceptable names in a box and draw one out,¡± N?r suggested. ¡°Though only the first hundred that pass muster, no point needing a massive box.¡± ¡°There are a couple I can think of with lots of options for pushing someone¡¯s Resistance development,¡± Erwarth said, giving Amdirlain a Cheshire cat smile. Amdirlain sighed and waved her hands in surrender. ¡°I¡¯ll be good. I don¡¯t need to keep getting smacked over the head. Let¡¯s pack up all these, including what we¡¯ve already checked, and take them elsewhere; no idea how much time we have before someone shows up here. If we don¡¯t find any leads once you¡¯ve checked the lot, then we¡¯ll start with Fainil¡¯s list.¡± ¡°Go tend to your Domain for a while, before someone comes looking for you, Lady Amdirlain,¡± S¨ªrdhem said, ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s raised eyebrow as she deliberately started packing. Letting them get on with organising, Amdirlain tossed up who to send the message to and opted for Svenja. ¡°Please let V¨¡riy¨¡ka know the following. We¡¯ve rescued survivors from the second village they attacked and closed the Gate the Dao were using. It was a natural gate that had been there for centuries, just a matter of when they¡¯d found it. We¡¯re missing prisoners taken from the outpost, and the first village, but we¡¯ve not found anything yet to show where they were sent.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll send you a message as soon as we¡¯ve got a place to start,¡± said Erwarth. ¡°We¡¯ll also do some testing to see if our speed of advancement stays improved.¡± ¡°You mean it worked? Did any of you advance?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Some did, but what levels we gained aren¡¯t important. I know it worked. The rush of energy I normally feel post battle was far stronger than I had expected, even on the first floor we cleared,¡± Erwarth stated. ¡°Just working co-operatively¡ªit seems¡ªis the trigger. I spoke with those whose classes hadn¡¯t been purged and they also felt a noticeable difference to past energy.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t helped them with any affinities,¡± Amdirlain murmured. Erwarth gave her a sharp nod. ¡°Indeed. I¡¯d be very careful of any Celestial you work with; if you¡¯re still looking to keep this a secret.¡± ¡°Thank you for letting me know, Erwarth,¡± said Amdirlain, clasping her hand. ¡°That¡¯s some good news.¡± * * * Amdirlain¡¯s shift back to the Outlands placed her in a spot she knew she¡¯d never seen. A ridgeline of hills stretched along either side of her, and veins of crystals reflecting sunlight painted the air with various shades of purple. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](17->18)] Approaching the nearest outcrop, Amdirlain ran fingers across the wind-polished rocks and considered all the choices she had running around inside her head. Sidero had insisted she take time out to heal, and others ordering her to tend to her Domain had her on edge for all the people that would abandon. More people who she couldn¡¯t even find, left at the mercy of others, twisted and churned her emotions. ¡°Darn, I think I need a golden headband. Everything I start lately is leading onto another distraction,¡± Amdirlain muttered and tapped her fingers against the crystals. ¡°I need to focus on one thing for a bit, a goal I can hold, not run around.¡± Curious about the crystals, she gave in and checked them. [Purple spinel vein: Purple spinel is normally only found in gem gravel deposits or within other minerals. The odd conditions in the Outlands have caused this vein to be formed along a Mana layline in the Plane.] You¡¯re not on my list for the Artificer item, but Jaixar might have a use for you. I need that item for the Giants, but I could have made use of it to find the villagers. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d have relatives among other nearby villagers that could have provided a focus sample. ¡°Need, need, need¡ªI don¡¯t fucking need any of this. What I need is to get free from Baln¨¦rith, so I can get out of the Abyss,¡± growled Amdirlain, before groaning and closing her eyes to block out the light. ¡°But I also need to look myself in the face at the end.¡± Sighing, she shook herself and considered the veins before her. Gemstones that would have been a lottery win in life, now just pretty stones. Life always had a way of shifting one¡¯s perception of value. ¡°What do I need? What do I have?¡± muttered Amdirlain, tracking the visible stones to where they dipped below the rock face again. ¡°If I keep digging for more to do, I¡¯ll find it. That means my help is more scattered, and my problems feel bigger even for things simple to handle. So, I need to consolidate my strengths and increase capacity, before spreading myself thin rips me apart.¡± Perched on a boulder, Amdirlain created a clipboard and paper, before snorting at her earlier advanced form of writing notes on her palm. A normal pencil was simple enough to create, and she set about putting her list down where she could see it, to determine need versus noise. Oddly enough, away from the peacefulness of her Domain, it was easier to think about herself and not the needs of everyone around her. Allies/Friends:
  • Sidero.
  • Isaac.
  • Livia.
  • Torm & Tyr (don¡¯t want to drag them into my messes but happy to help them both).
  • Verdandi.
  • Yngvarr & Alfarr (I hope they are still friends).
  • Team Celestial¡ªCan help with Domain, and non-Abyssal Activities.
  • Team L¨®m? Succubi¡ªCan help with Abyss, and elemental planes (but keep clear of dwarves).
  • Petitioners¡ªOnly for internal domain activities.
  • Faithful.
  • Jungle Giant Clan.
  • The Lady of the Forest (I still don¡¯t know her actual name) & Rana.
  • Dwarven Pantheon (Don¡¯t want to drag them into my messes).
Co-operative individuals:
  • Azex??? (plus Morgana and co?) - What¡¯s in it for him?
  • Jaixar - not assuming more than a business arrangement.
  • Others in Norse Pantheon? (Lots of question marks around some)
  • Adventurers¡¯ Guild (need to determine if still interested in helping post Set¡¯s purge)
  • Elven Courts?
  • Farhad?
Need List(Only absolutely musts):
  • Get unhooked from the Abyss. (Well, yeah!)
  • Get free of Baln¨¦rith.
  • Free Laodice! Why is it a need? Because I couldn¡¯t stand myself if I left her.
  • Be able to move about on lower Planes of Abyss. (If Ijmit equals bad for my health, than most Primordial levels equal very to extremely bad)
  • Be able to talk to the Cloister of the Fallen (Requirements: Move about on Ijmit plus potentially be free from Baln¨¦rith). Why? Path of Redemption information/process they follow.
  • To know more about my Domain. (Berronar said it¡¯s unique to each Power, but she at least provided tips)
  • Get in touch with Isaac.
Want (Nice to haves but really want to get them done¡ªanything not on here is more icing on the cake):
  • Kill Baln¨¦rith. Why? Because she stuck a spike in my hand. Payback is a bitch! Plus, big bad must die!!
  • Free Ebusuku¡¯s ancestor. Why? Because it would piss off Baln¨¦rith, and that thought makes me smile.
  • Abolish forms of slavery in the Ten Kingdoms (Norse: Thralls. Others just call them Slaves). Laodice said: What others do is their (choice). Am I trying to provide a light of hope, or force a cure? Focus on one step at a time! Economic causes of slavery? Wasn¡¯t my area of study.
  • Safehold for Team L¨®m?
  • Find the L¨®m? Royal Tower
  • Cemna. Why? Demons having control over a world just gives me the creeps.
Possible list:
  • Kill L¨ºdhins. Why? Honestly, because having him lurking around scares the crap out of me.
  • Kill, or at least hurt, Naz¡¯rilca. Why? Do I bother other than hurting the Sisterhood? She cut me up, but I¡¯ve done worse to myself. Her groping me in front of Usd¡¯ghi is what turns my stomach the most when I think of her.
Contacts
  • Lorrella.
Items only I can handle:
  • Gaining more levels.
  • Improving my skills.
  • Increasing my resistance.
  • Learn more about my Domain.
  • Understanding my Harmony / Psi Focus relationship. (Do I need to spend time with the Githzerai studying?)
  • Getting L¨®m? Souls out of the Abyss prior to rescuing the living. (I want to do this¡ªdo I need to do it?)
  • Unlock Team Celestials¡¯ ability to get better experience progression.
  • Getting initial access to Cemna.
Delegate items:
  • Punching Dao. Why? It frees slaves (who¡¯ll add to my list) but I don¡¯t need to be the one punching them.
  • Resources for arrangement with Jaixar. (Team Celestial could do that while gaining experience)
  • Get in contact with Isaac. (Rach¡ªEbusuku asked me to let her investigate approaching her)
  • Cemna¡ªDemon hunting ground for Team Celestial so they can get stronger.
Essential Resistance list: (Ijmit needs them into ¡®Greater¡¯ ranks)
  • Abyssal.
  • Acid or Ooze.
  • Decay.
  • Poison.
  • Primordial.
Things that scare me the most (more than just losing my shit scared):
  • The constellations¡ªI didn¡¯t want Viper taking the memories, but losing myself to them truly scares me, despite what the others say (ffs).
  • Never be free of the Abyss. (Stare too long into the Abyss, and the Abyss looks back.)
  • Screwing up relationships. (He makes me the good kind of nervous. I need to get past my stupid baggage)
  • Letting people down.
¡°Do the one item I can do quickly,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and focused on a Gate Spell. The landscape before the Gate boiled under a midday sun, and Amdirlain stepped through, careful to not contact Mercury¡¯s dark grey rock. The heat that would have cooked her instantly in life didn¡¯t even make her break a sweat. In the deadly sunlight, the shadow vine¡¯s material writhed happily against her skin. The material¡¯s alive, not just enchanted. Well, gosh. * * * Viper¡¯s PoV - Usd¡¯ghi Fortress - Abyssal Plane: Caverns of the Skull ¡°Cast it again,¡± Viper purred, watching the Spell shape within his mind. The moment it rushed outwards, the Lightning Triad¡¯s triple lightning bolts left a thick scent of ozone in their wake, but the chamber¡¯s stone drank the power on impact. ¡°Again.¡± Inka¨²ko looked back at her and found her stretching on his silk-covered couch. The corset she wore now was in a dominator style, loops of thin chains offered the potential to reveal more of her lush breasts at any moment; the contrast between their black links and her ivory white skin very much alluring. Dark leather long boots seemed cut to draw attention towards her barely clad crotch. A tiny piece of leather was the only concealment her outfit provided there. The arc of the cord holding it in place rising high above bare hips, the muscles of her stomach rippling with her feline-like motions. Her Elven features and lush lips were inviting, but her jet-black eyes held an edge that was disconcerting of late. ¡°I have things I need to be tending to for your superior, Viper,¡± snarled Inka¨²ko, grabbing at anger to push back the lust she was always so clumsy at projecting. ¡°I¡¯ll be back later. In the meantime, you could try casting some spells instead of continually observing my efforts. You need to get your Mana Manipulation out of the Apprentice levels.¡± Viper smiled from the couch as the Incubus Wizard stalked from the chamber. The tight leathers he wore showed off his broad shoulders, along with the muscles in his back and arse. There was a vague sensation, a flicker of instability, absent memories that made her grind her teeth. A tidal wave of emotions battered against her, the negativity and self-doubt she¡¯d whispered in Julia¡¯s subconscious to cut at her control and confidence, dug into her again. Viper had expected to consume them when she¡¯d found Julia had cast them off with her; Instead, they were a poison in her veins. Caught up in the internal conflict, it was the door slamming that broke her free of drowning in rage and self-doubt. ¡°When I dug at her hard early, the bitch did that finger flexing. I remember that, but not why.¡± Viper slipped from the couch to follow a vague half memory and knelt on the floor with her hands palm up on her knees. It took some fidgeting about, but she finally ended up in a position that felt correct; one Amdirlain would have recognised as seiza. She let her form follow habit rather than trying to seize a phantom memory and watched her fingers slowly flexing. Trying to find the importance of their motions, she let the irritations that rose to distract her flit away, and when it all seemed unimportant, time drifted. [Meditation Unlocked! Meditation (1) Synergy with Mana Manipulation Detected. Mana Manipulation Rank Adept Detected. Meditation (1) -> [B](1)] ¡°It relates to a Skill? She spent so much time on it. Why? How is it connected to Mana Manipulation? Is this what she used to form the ice? Well, not like she¡¯s around to ask. I¡¯ll just need to get good at it; its strengths might make themselves obvious.¡± Feeling oddly calmer than she could ever remember, Viper moved to the wall that had served as Inka¨²ko¡¯s target. He hadn¡¯t reacted to it being a good twenty centimetres closer. She hoped it was because the spell-casting chamber¡¯s length had been enough to conceal it, not because he was playing her. The stone of the wall looked to seal around her arm when she reached through the illusion and drew out a mace-sized rod. Gesturing with the empowered weapon, she let the energy crackle around the spiked prongs that formed its end before she stored it away. ¡°Time to go make a killing.¡± A quickly shaped Spell ripped across the chamber. Her Lightning Triad left the floor blackened by Abyssal flames and turned Inka¨²ko¡¯s couch into ash. ¡°Oops. I¡¯m such a clumsy slut.¡± Viper left the door open behind her and stalked down the marble hallway. The thud of her thick-heeled boots and the tinkling chains fell silent from one moment to the next, though her movements never slowed. 138 - Time to start the healing Immunity to fire was certainly one thing she possessed. Reality happily informed her of a gap in her plans with the tenuous atmosphere of Mercury helping to point it out. [Health: -4,000 Resistance: Mundane Materials [G] (1->4)] Her lungs ruptured as the near-vacuum dragged air from them and pulled it out through her pores. Braced against further pain, she didn¡¯t shift form but pushed onward, and activated World Step for Cemna before the damage increased. [World Step (1->6)] In that instant, Amdirlain found out World Step was not anything like Teleport; there was no immediate shift in location. Instead, a tuning fork struck through her as Amdirlain suddenly hurtled towards the sun. The expected pain of the vacuum not striking again as her flesh became insubstantial. The sun already fading behind her, light from distant stars raced towards her, as a far-flung nebula swirled toward and then through her. The tuning fork¡¯s hum continued to resonate through her, guiding her course between the stars. Light that wouldn¡¯t reach her starting point for thousands of years washed over her in seconds and her awareness struggled to process it all. Her travel speed left her unable to comprehend everything she saw as a solid wall of light washed over her vision. Only when the last of the vibration settled from her bones was she able to make out anything around her again. Amdirlain took in the yellowish-white sun before the aftereffect of World Step dropped her. The moment the Power released her, reality smashed her into unconsciousness. Black clouds churned into existence in the clear sky, blotting out the hot sunlight in minutes. An extreme downpour of driving rain quickly covered the ground, and water lapped at her unconscious form. Already healed and modelled on a mortal form, her buoyancy kept her afloat as the rising water swept from the floodplain¡¯s edge and out to sea. Amdirlain¡¯s eyes snapped open as awareness returned in a rush, and she wished it hadn¡¯t. A rough stone overhang above her peeled its way¡ªa layer at a time¡ªout of her perception. The light she¡¯d seen from stars for thousands of light-years invaded her senses. Echoes of stars long dead washed across them and faded away. The constellations in her mindscape swirled with the universe¡¯s rotation as her course curved to intercept the new world racing along in its orbit; her senses somehow aware of everything moving. A flicker of her eyelids caused a hissing static wall of sound to smash into her mind, and she was out cold again. Awareness returned in a far gentler fashion the second time, but the damp black rock above her was unchanged, and thankfully remained solid. Close by came a rhythmic gentle hiss of waves against the stone. The odour of brine, drying seaweed, and dead shellfish was heavy in the air. Absently licking her lips, Amdirlain found them coated in dried salt and considered if she wanted to risk sitting up yet. [Achievement: It¡¯s a brave new world! Condition: Reach a new planet with at least some mortal population (Cemna) Reward: A new skyline? More work? Achievement whoring? Take your pick.] [Achievement: Bravely go where no Human (or Fallen) has gone before! Condition: Travel to a world far from the first planet you¡¯ve ever stood on. Reward: Boy Scout Exploration merit badge. Note: Try to collect. It¡¯s on my desk with all the paperwork you¡¯ve created. Note: If you feel like puking, it¡¯s because you just stepped over multiple galaxies on your first use of the Power, you ditz. Note: If unable to move; take two new realities and don¡¯t call me in the morning.] [Mental Hardening [S](9->12)] The last note¡¯s taunting prompted her to sit up and take in her surroundings. Though she remembered dirt initially being underfoot, she was now on a rock ledge. Scattered rock pools showed where the tide had receded and left her washed up against a cliff face. It stretched up a kilometre or more towards a clear azure-blue sky. Along the cliffs in one direction was only more stone and water, but the other direction contained a sight of bleak familiarity. She could only just make out broken structures on the harbour mouth¡¯s edge. The way terraced buildings ran along above the shattered jetty, showed the ruins extended inland out of her sight. An abyssal rune etched into the cliff face left no doubt about the destruction¡¯s cause. The deeply etched impression of the symbol was hundreds of metres tall, and still clear despite however many centuries of erosion. Something had stained the engraved sections bone-white, making the symbol of Orcus¡ªDemon Lord of the Undead¡ªpop out from the cliff face. ¡°Do you want the good news or the bad news?¡± Amdirlain asked, sending a message to Ebusuku. Ebusuku¡¯s response came immediately, clearly edged with relief. ¡°Which one covers why no one¡¯s heard from you for a week?¡± What? ¡°What? It¡¯s been maybe a day, and I sent Svenja a message about the Dao prisoners just recently,¡± countered Amdirlain, her voice raised in shock and disbelief. Even before she finished the message, she was already pacing about. ¡°She received that message slightly over a Planar week ago, so nearly two weeks in the Ten Kingdoms,¡± retorted Ebusuku. Oops, sorry, mum. Amdirlain went to scratch her head and encountered a crust of salt. Her form appeared to shiver as she rapidly shifted forms and the gunk dropped away. ¡°I used World Step to reach Cemna. Don¡¯t know if it¡¯s travelling that way that takes time, or the fact it knocked me out when I arrived. Not sure how long I was unconscious before I sent my message. I found Orcus¡¯ glyph carved into a cliff on Cemna near a ruin. I¡¯ll do some initial reconnaissance of it. All I can presently see is a harbour mouth.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to check for traps, you could ask someone else to take the risk,¡± Ebusuku¡¯s waspish reply just made Amdirlain smile. Teleport moved her to the berm¡¯s edge closest to the entry, and her gaze took in the rock pools there open to the ocean¡¯s waves. The clear blue water allowed her to make out regular lines formed in the accumulated sand, providing a framework for coral growth. Lines ran from one side of the harbour¡¯s mouth to another, giving a clear sign they were from a single structure. Its placement was only possible if originally constructed on the ocean floor or fallen from above. Quickly taking the form of a pebble, she teleported again and came to rest on the jetty¡¯s edge. Though there weren¡¯t any vessels remaining, its placement gave it the feel of a harbour master¡¯s dock, given what she could see from it. The harbour ran inland in a long irregular curve, widening as it went. Along its shoreline, terraces carved into the stone rose upwards on the way to the clifftop. Their formation on both sides of the curve reminded Amdirlain of an Italian seaside town, each level of buildings climbing further up the steep hillside by the ocean. Yet the architecture that was still standing was truly bizarre. There weren¡¯t any staircases like she was used to seeing, instead, there were open alcoves with closely spaced ridges lining the walls from one level to the next. The shape only makes sense to her mind from having seen tubular multi-armed Souls in Judgement. Those doorways still intact were squat ovals, giving plenty of space for projecting arms to get through them. At the waterline, she could see more docks, and buildings that remained intact had larger entries, and she wondered if they served as warehouses. Underwater, the broken remains of oddly shaped vessels, large and small, jutted up from the encroaching sand that was slowly choking the waterway. She¡¯d seen so many ruins in the Necropolis, broken bones of civilisations cast to the ground, only to be dragged into its folds. These ruins looked older than some she¡¯d encountered, but she¡¯d never discovered what had caused places of death to be drawn into the Necropolis. A baneful red light on a ledge below the waterline drew her attention, and the malevolent energy in the empty eye socket was clear. The creature had rotted down to only bones, assorted ligaments, and tendons. A fish that ventured too close elicited a response, and the attack struck too fast for it to flee. Clutched in a bony grasp, the fish was mercilessly pulped before being cast aside. Its split and broken flesh chummed the waters and attracted others to come feed. The undead propping itself up before rising onto its six legs sent those nearby fleeing. It remained standing for several minutes; only once all the fish stayed well clear of its ledge did it settle to the ground again. A school having followed the pulped body downwards died to other threats that waited further below. [Species: Drowned Dead Level: 10 Health: 70 Defence: 24 Melee Attack Power 20 Combat Skills: Claws [J] (12) - Various innate powers Details: The remains of a former sailor who drowned watching his ship scuttled at the dock. His death provided the energy to animate what remained and trap his Soul in torment. Typically found in shipwrecks and in drowned ruins, they will attempt to remain at rest close to their point of death. Mundane damage to their form will heal over time unless it¡¯s destroyed completely. Piercing weapons and slashing weapons do minimal damage to these types of undead. Negative energy binds the water¡¯s essence into the bones, making them especially resistant to flame attacks. ] A Spell to render her invisible to the undead wrapped around her before Amdirlain transformed into her Wood Elf shape. The ocean breeze came in across the dock she currently stood on but whistled strangely through the remains of nearby buildings. The eerie sound of winds and waves were the only noises echoing through the canyons. As Teleport jumped her between vantage points, she found the long curve of the harbour split into further waterways. The terraces formed a strange cliff-side version of Venice, with all the buildings along waterways. Teleporting up high above the clifftop, she found it was actually a plateau, stretching inland as far as she could see. At that height, other harbour mouths were visible and possessed their own canyons heading inland, each forming capillaries into the stone. The plateau showed signs of having been covered by farmland, but only a grid of stone roads and desiccated plantlife remained. Within the initial buildings that she investigated were only minor undead: various types of Zombies, Skeletons, as well as undead animals. Near the coast, the Drowned Dead she spotted first was among the strongest variety. However, the further she ventured inland, the stronger the Negative energies became. Instead of minor undead, she found alien versions of Haunts, Draug, Devouring Mists, and after a few kilometres, Cadaver Lords were common. Though nothing moved about, she increasingly found concentrations of them positioned near even stronger beings, as if waiting on their leader¡¯s command. If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. True Sight revealed strayed wisps of Negative Energy were becoming clouds of mist the further she went. While not enough to harm her, the effect on the surroundings was very different. Their presence stole the warmth of sunlight from the air, and the plant and sea life within the canyon¡¯s waters were long dead. The few fish that ventured inwards to feed off them floated to the surface once they crossed a region of darkening stone. Bloated arms clawing at the darker surface drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention. Analysis quickly confirmed a Genocide Grave in the canyon¡¯s sands. Teleport carried her fifty-odd kilometres to the clifftop near where she¡¯d started the exploration, and she paused in consideration. Remembered details of the Genocide Grave confirmed the city¡¯s race had been wiped from the world. Hopping between canyon mouths seen from overhead, she confirmed energy wisps and the lesser undead. ¡°Ebusuku, please ask who¡¯d like to get combat experience against undead. I¡¯ll take groups in one at a time. I¡¯ve figured out that experience issue, but only want to help our Celestials at present. Once you get here, I¡¯ll explain how I figured it out. The first regions have weak undead; various types of zombies and skeletons. They¡¯re stronger further inland, but there are lots of them to destroy near the coast. Let me know when you¡¯re somewhere away from the Domain and I¡¯ll open a Gate focused on you.¡± Returning to the clifftop above where her explorations had started, Amdirlain lifted a perfect circle from the stone. With a boundary marker established, she set concealments in place to hide the Gate¡¯s energy. With that chore complete, she sent another message. ¡°Erwarth, sorry for having gone quiet, I had a disruption to my plans. Hope you¡¯re all still whole. If you¡¯ve sent any messages, I¡¯ve not received them. Would it be acceptable to you if I tell some Celestials working with me about your existence?¡± Erwarth¡¯s reply followed Ebusuku¡¯s saying they were ready. Her message whispered to Amdirlain even as the gate opened. ¡°You have things needing attention. My only message was to tell you we found nothing useful in the records. We¡¯ve started hitting smaller locations that guards came from to learn more. As for sharing information about us: we¡¯re sworn to your service Lady Amdirlain, it shall be as you decide, but I have no objections.¡± The sight beyond the Gate almost completely distracted her from the message. It had opened onto the stone bridge they¡¯d used as a staging post for the Erakk?. Behind Ebusuku stood Sage, O¡¯Nai, and Solveiga, along with all the Archons. The moment the Gate stabilised, Pip zipped through and hovered in front of Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly where have you been, young lady?¡± asked Pip, before giggling and spinning in a circle. Amdirlain rolled her eyes at Pip¡¯s cheekiness, glad for anything to offset the bleakness of the city. ¡°Are you the boss of me, cheeky?¡± The Lantern Archon¡¯s movement stopped at her words, and when she turned back, Amdirlain saw the pattern of her symbol glimmer in Pip¡¯s meshwork. It was so obvious in the light here, she wasn¡¯t sure how she¡¯d missed it previously. ¡°I get scolded, so it¡¯s only fair,¡± grumbled Pip in a sulky tone, and drawing a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°This place is icky.¡± ¡°Yes, it is; that¡¯s why we¡¯re here,¡± Amdirlain replied, her amusement lightening her tone momentarily. On arriving through the Gate, Solveiga looked around at the dead plants and shivered slightly. ¡°This place feels like a storm front waiting to break over me. Before the Sahuagin would hit a port, they¡¯d drive the drowned sailors onto the shore; this place smells like the air when they came stumbling ashore.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen a few scattered undead called Drowned Dead close to the entrance. Though there are more of them further along the waterways,¡± Amdirlain said, motioning inland. Solveiga gave a grim nod and tapped her spear¡¯s haft thoughtfully. ¡°They would keep standing up unless we hit them with enough spells. They caused issues when the Jarls¡¯ troops didn¡¯t listen.¡± ¡°You said there were variations of zombies and skeletons. What ones did you see in the initial stretches?¡± enquired Ebusuku. ¡°The most common variants I saw were Charred Cadavers or Bloody Bones, and a few varieties of Beheaded created using animal skulls. The Charred Cadaver looks as if they¡¯ve been burnt alive, and flames heal their damage. Bloody Bones look like the skeleton is continually leaking blood. Those and others need magical damage to destroy properly, but that won¡¯t be an issue for us. There are stronger undead further inland. That said, this isn¡¯t the only harbour inlet I¡¯ve checked, so plenty of lesser undead to destroy,¡° detailed Amdirlain. ¡°Beheaded scream to draw attention, if they¡¯re not the ones that vomit energy at you,¡± Ebusuku said thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s okay, Whisper is here. They¡¯ll know on the city¡¯s far side; she¡¯s so horny,¡± said Pip cheerfully darting around above the group. Whisper gave an exasperated eye-roll, and Mirage huffed before she glanced upwards. ¡°Pip, I¡¯ve told you that word has nothing to do with noise.¡± ¡°But she has a horn, and she¡¯s really loud when she blows it,¡± retorted Pip, sounding frustrated. The sunlight off the meshwork sent brilliant patterns across the ground as she spun between Mirage and Whisper. Whisper pretended to whack Pip with her trumpet before it vanished into storage and a double-handed sword appeared. Mirage, meanwhile, waved a hand at Pip to draw her attention. ¡°Run unfamiliar words past me first before you get fixated on using them. Okay?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± grumbled Pip, zipping over to hide behind Ebusuku. ¡°That word is your fault, you know that!¡± ¡°I never told you to use it, and Mirage warned you,¡± retorted Ebusuku, motioning Pip to calm down. ¡°Well, no one will tell me what it means,¡± Pip complained softly. ¡°It¡¯s when an adult is in the mood for sex,¡± Amdirlain stated dryly, and Pip¡¯s light gained a pink hue. ¡°Then why did Ebusuku say-¡± Pip started, moving up to shoulder level with an amused Ebusuku. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± interjected Mirage, waving a finger sternly at Pip. ¡°We¡¯ll speak later, firefly.¡± ¡°Pip, please calm down. I¡¯ll want you to stick towards the centre of any group you¡¯re with. You¡¯ve a ranged attack that won¡¯t hurt the others even if you miss your foe,¡± Amdirlain instructed. The moment she paused, Pip jumped in. ¡°But my classes are Scout and Explorer. I should lead the way,¡± protested Pip. Ebusuku¡¯s hand gently touching Pip¡¯s meshwork distracted her, and Ebusuku took advantage of the pause. ¡°How did you want to start things? You said you¡¯d figured out what to do.¡± ¡°I¡¯d planned to explain but there might be something able to listen,¡± Amdirlain responded, motioning people to settle as several looked ready to speak up. ¡°Once we¡¯re back in the Domain, I¡¯ll explain more details for those interested. Ebusuku, I¡¯ll talk to you about those members you meant that went missing. I¡¯d found most of them and their situation won¡¯t be that surprising considering who they ran from.¡± Ebusuku looked at Amdirlain curiously but said nothing as she continued. ¡°Since there are twenty-nine of you that need this help; we¡¯ll take this in turns to start. So Archons and Sage, please spilt into groups of four and one group of three. O''Nai and Solveiga, since you''ve already got some levels, I''ll team with you individually.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a lot of progress if they are only lesser undead,¡± cautioned Ebusuku. ¡°Or there will be lots of waiting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just the first stage. Ebusuku, could you organise groups after they come through with me?¡± asked Amdirlain, mentally sharing with Ebusuku images of the few inlets she¡¯d checked. ¡°Those I¡¯ve confirmed have similar undead in them. I¡¯ll go with each group once. After you¡¯ve been through the initial fighting. If you want to continue fighting at present, you can work at a spot Ebusuku assigns you. This is purely optional; most of you haven¡¯t done a lot of training yet.¡± ¡°Will this be as with Torm at Azex¡¯s fishing hole?¡± asked N¡¯Oye, pulling his attention from the blueness of the sky. Amdirlain shook her head and gave a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯m not fighting anything unless it attacks me. I¡¯ll shift each team into position and bring them out. You all have Greater Teleport, so I¡¯m only doing this to ensure we¡¯re coordinated to start. I want to make sure no one is left behind or goes in alone in case I missed something. There are skills I need to practice myself, and you need to have confidence in your fighting abilities. I¡¯ll be providing support only.¡± At Amdirlain''s pronouncement, Ebusuku tilted her head and looked at her curiously. ¡°What sort of support did you have planned?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve some aspects of Psychoportation I need to work at developing. What I need to practice isn¡¯t able to destroy anything¡ªat most it¡¯ll hinder their attacks¡ªbut it¡¯s a foundation that I need to get right,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If something goes seriously wrong, I¡¯ll be on hand to help, but getting cuts and bruises doesn¡¯t count as serious.¡± ¡°Should each group pick someone to make that call?¡± asked Solveiga. ¡°As we did with the platoons, so we learn to judge when we¡¯re in over our heads.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an idea, but not this time since we¡¯ve not run any previous drills. I wasn¡¯t actually expecting everyone to come along. Hopefully, your natural combat instincts will serve you well,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°First group to get themselves sorted will go first.¡± The moment the words were uttered, Pip reappeared on Mirage¡¯s shoulder. * * * Mirage, Pip, Hook, and Whisper were the first team ready; but the others weren¡¯t far behind. ¡°No horn blasts,¡± Amdirlain teased only half-seriously. Pip¡¯s remark had made her curious to hear it, but they didn¡¯t need it echoing down the canyon. Whisper¡¯s pout followed Pip¡¯s. ¡°Aww! No fair!¡± ¡°I need to practice with my sword, but the horn can do a bit of damage,¡± Whisper said, the reassuring pat she gave Pip had Amdirlain fighting back a smile. ¡°Where did the extra equipment come from?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°High Traveller Aggie brought it to your Domain, along with some other items from what you recovered,¡± Mirage replied, and motioned with one arm. A bracelet adorning her wrist was new and Amdirlain nodded approving at the two hundred defence rating it provided her. Glancing between them, Amdirlain felt their eagerness. ¡°Ready?¡± At their confirmation, Amdirlain teleported them into position. She¡¯d picked a spot on the top terrace above what she considered the Harbour Master¡¯s dock. At first, nothing moved but the wind whistling through the cracked stonework. Then, at the edge of her hearing came a leathery sound brushing against stone, and from within a gap, a shadow moved. She waited for the others to react and Pip beat them all to it. A bolt of light jumped through the gap, and a clatter like dried sticks bouncing off stone came from within. The noise¡ªinstead of dying away¡ªturned into sounds that multiplied through the building. Whisper caught a figure dropping from a balcony above them with an upward slash. A blade doing minimal damage to a skeleton was misleading¡ªthe force of the strike ripped upwards through the circular ribs and tore apart the carapace. Soul Sight showed Amdirlain the necromantic bindings splinter, and the Soul tortured within vanished from the Plane. A flying skull shot towards Mirage¡¯s face but veered strangely to one side, Amdirlain¡¯s psionic field having pulled it off course. It didn¡¯t have time to correct its path as a blast of flames erupted. The sudden heat of Mirage¡¯s Flame Bolt shattered bone and scattered the remains of the blunt-snouted skull back into the building. Further along the terrace¡¯s pathway came a shuffling noise, and they got to see the strange multi-legged gait in action. The figure¡¯s six legs moved independently, reminding Amdirlain of an ant¡¯s motion despite their positions set around the tubular torso. The intact leathery-look of its carapace prompted Amdirlain to check it. [Species: Zombie Level: 2 Health: 18 Defence: 16 Melee Attack Power: 13 Combat Skills: Claws [Ap] (2) Details: It¡¯s a toothless zombie. How sad, too bad! Pure claws and effect.] Hook waited for it to advance, stepped between its raised claws, and lashed out. The first strike alone was enough to blast it apart. The Archon¡¯s clawed hand drove down so hard, it might as well have been a paper bag. His follow up kick sent its falling remains along the walkway for a score of meters or more before they bounced off the edge. Bone scrapping against stone echoed, and soon, more came out to play. It didn¡¯t take long for them each to break a dozen kills, and she returned them to the others. The small experience was hopefully enough to trigger the experience gains to continue. Amdirlain had restricted herself to using the attraction effects to pull the few attacks that were launched first, off-target. [Combat Summary: Beheaded x8 Skeletons x29 Zombies x23 Total experience gained: 2,612 Fallen: +522 Scion: +522 Sora Master: +522 Psion: +522 Warrior Monk: +522 Note: Would you like some cheese with that experience mouse? ] ¡°It showed me five-twenty-two for each of my classes,¡± commented Amdirlain, ignoring Whisper¡¯s sulky look. ¡°That¡¯s weird. I¡¯m at eight-seventy,¡± Pip huffed. ¡°You only took two classes, goof,¡± reminded Mirage. ¡°Oh!!!!¡± squealed Pip, and Whisper hushing her drew good-natured laughter. ¡°We¡¯ll keep going,¡± Mirage said, after getting a nod from the others, and Pip spun in circles excitedly. ¡°Who¡¯s next up, and are you ready?¡± asked Amdirlain, moving them into position when their hands rose. 139 - Welcome to the black parade Amdirlain had set herself on the cliff edge, her Telepathy keeping her linked to those working the harbours. Ebusuku had already scried out so many harbours that the Archons had split into pairs to clear separate shorelines. While O¡¯Nai, Sage, and Solveiga were running solo, each was making quick work of undead. It was a stretch for her telepathic limits to stay linked to them, spread out through eight harbours. While a limited number of minds were certainly easier to deal with than a jungle, she wasn¡¯t sure when her range had increased to handle the scores of kilometres involved. ¡°So you assisted them to get experience faster?¡± ¡°I said once we get back to the Domain,¡± huffed Amdirlain primly. A quick smile flickered across Ebusuku¡¯s lips. ¡°That face you made tells me you did.¡± ¡°I thought we weren¡¯t playing the knowledge game?¡± Amdirlain asked with a pout. Ebusuku gave a casual shrug, the motion flexing her wings strangely. ¡°It lets me keep my wits sharp. Just tell me via Telepathy if you don¡¯t want to be overheard. If something here can read my thoughts, it won¡¯t matter where you tell me and I¡¯d still have to be thinking about it in their presence for it to matter. Or did you grab the first excuse since so many showed up?¡± Amdirlain frowned only momentarily before catching a hint of amusement. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell you, but I didn¡¯t want a discussion on it¡ªTickles and Pip both get a little excited. Betray me? No, but unintentionally chat where someone I don¡¯t want knowing can overhear? Potentially. If you curse me out, someone might hear that,¡± teased Amdirlain, fighting off a smile as she spoke mentally to just Ebusuku. Ebusuku gave a rueful smile. ¡°They are energetic now they¡¯re free. A few of them have been asking if they should change their names given the reaction others have had.¡± ¡°It¡¯s up to them. I¡¯m hardly one to talk about needing to change your name or not,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°They should do so only for their own reasons. Their names have meanings to them, regardless of what others think.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let them know you¡¯re not worried,¡± Ebusuku confirmed. ¡°Now spill on what you got up to rescuing the Erakk?. Since you knew the age of the Gate, I take it S¨ªrdhem helped you with the Erakk?.¡± Giving a quick nod, Amdirlain continued. ¡°They also had me focusing on developing skills. Their teams will keep focus on the Dao for now while they get stronger. I was trying to get an item off my list by getting access to Cemna.¡± ¡°Well, you gave some people a fright. We¡¯d know if you died, but if someone imprisoned you, then we might never know. Don¡¯t get cocky. Even Arch-Devils and Demon Lords have suffered imprisonment,¡± said Ebusuku sternly, before she reached out lightning quick to muss Amdirlain¡¯s hair, the motion strangely awkward. ¡°Keep growing your list. I¡¯m sure it will never be empty of Souls¡ªalive or dead¡ªyou¡¯re looking to help. None opted for the trial?¡± Is she getting used to being friendly with the Archons? ¡°Beast. No, given the part they played in the L¨®m? ending up in the Abyss,¡± said Amdirlain, pausing for words. ¡°Going into the Titan¡¯s maze isn¡¯t something they wanted to risk?¡± Ebusuku enquired. ¡°There is that, but none believe they deserve an easy way out. Some don¡¯t believe they should ever be free of the Abyss; rather continue to help others that get there unfairly.¡± A curt nod was Ebusuku¡¯s only response, and at her contemplative expression, Amdirlain left her to think. She¡¯d long settled back into stretching her Telepathy as the others worked before Ebusuku spoke up again, ¡°Tell me about them getting you to focus on developing skills.¡± ¡°They set a rule to use a skill for one purpose to ensure I was developing multiple skills,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You said there were more dangerous undead inland?¡± asked Ebusuku with a bright smile. ¡°You practiced using that field to divert the attacks of easy foes; time to get some serious practice. I¡¯ll scry inland and see what I can find for us to train with to challenge your skills.¡± * * * It was an hour later when Ebusuku motioned Amdirlain to link their minds again. The location she¡¯d found extended far inside a cliff face, and Ebusuku mentally traced the path through the canyons. A large building showed only faint traces of engraving; erosion had polished its columns and facade nearly smooth. Its broken archways all led into a series of warehouse-sized chambers within, making a massive and elaborate hallway that disappeared into the cliff. A four hundred-strong armour-clad battalion positioned in the first chamber comprised only Cadaver Lords. They weren¡¯t standing randomly, instead arrayed protectively around an individual carrying two staves topped with dark emerald crystals. The number of them alone would be enough of an impediment for many opponents. Inside the second chamber, ignored by the gathered undead, was a mound of foulness. The leading edge of the heaped bodies looked as if they¡¯d rotted together, with limbs and torsos sticking from the mass in all directions. Yet, despite the slick rotting carapaces, the magical preservation of the mound was clear. It wasn¡¯t only decay that stuck them together, they appeared as if a single entity. Those eyes that faced outwards moved continually, in sync with each other, shining with the red glow of the undead. As they watched it, a ripple went through the mass and the rotting flesh shifted within a membrane of glistening decay. ¡°Any idea what it is?¡± asked Amdirlain, Analysis not working through the scrying. ¡°It¡¯s not any type of mass grave or a juggernaut flesh golem I¡¯ve seen.¡± Ebusuku frowned in consideration. ¡°There are a few possibilities. Shall we go make a mess of it?¡± ¡°That is further than I ventured to explore; the Negative energy will be clouds, not wisps,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, as she rose. While Ebusuku¡¯s form had changed, she was certainly still eager to fight. ¡°Fight practice and Resistance training at the same time. You focus on diverting the attacks and I¡¯ll practice with my new swords,¡± proposed Ebusuku. ¡°Let¡¯s kill the caster, then you can play with the rest,¡± retorted Amdirlain, enjoying the hint of confusion she got from Ebusuku. ¡°Though I don¡¯t want the others here after nightfall. They¡¯re doing the fighting, and not getting pushed up levels, but-¡± ¡°You might have to drag them away,¡± Ebusuku interrupted with a laugh. ¡°They¡¯re now able to fight the monsters instead of just being vulnerable and afraid.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. They want to destroy the undead, but I¡¯ve felt the effect of fighting day and night. They should take downtime and ensure the combat experience isn¡¯t reinforcing bad habits,¡± Amdirlain replied, remembering the bad habits she¡¯d had to break. Ebusuku settled concealments from the undead around them and teleported them both to the outer pathway. On arrival, Amdirlain didn¡¯t hesitate to get a line of sight and information on their foes. The powerful enchantments on their equipment likewise attracted her attention. Heavily armoured like other Cadaver Lords, she¡¯d seen their armour held stronger enchantments than previous outlying foes. The plating seemed crafted to add menace to their appearance, and ghostly scenes of shifting torment pressed from beneath its surface. Standing hidden within the first chamber, Amdirlain considered the details of their foes. [Species: Abyssal Charnel Nightmare Level: 163 Health: 16,463 Defence: 967 Magic: 978 Mana: 1,956 Melee Attack Power: 1,200 Ranged Attack Power: 1,470 Combat Skills: Bite [M] (72), Claw [M] (90), Consume [S] (5), Spear [S] (2), Spit [S] (9) - Various Innate Powers Details: Construction of a Charnel Nightmare requires a complex month-long necromantic ritual and at least fifty sapients (alive at the ritual¡¯s commencement). Those used during its construction provide it with a base pool of attributes and combat statistics, as the thing is an amalgam of its constituent parts. The longer it exists in an area rich with Negative Mana, the stronger and more robust it gets; the progress is faster in areas of high concentration. If a substitution of Abyssal Mana occurs for the ritual¡ªand they call upon a suitable Power¡ªthe result will be an Abyssal Charnel Nightmare. These constructs possess additional powers to assault the mind and life force of foes. Both forms continually hunt for more living to add to their amalgam. If the spit of a normal Charnel Nightmare lands on bare skin, it will afflict various diseases upon the victim. The Abyssal variation afflicts the victim¡¯s Soul instead, forcibly converting them into a Bodak within days unless purified. ] [Name: Sel¡¯tr?th Species: Lich Class: Death Claw / Arch-Necromancer / Elementalist Level: 32 / 32 / 32 Health: 3,456 Defence: 423 Magic: 294 Mana: 1,291,680 Melee Attack Power: 292 Combat Skills: Dirk [Ad] (3), Staff [M] (5) - Various Affinities - Multiple Wizard and Necromancer Spell Lists. Details: A lesser cultist of Orcus; servants of the Demon Lord ¡®blessed¡¯ her with a static form of eternal life and power during the assault of his forces on Cemna. Assigned locations to help anchor the expansion of Negative energy through the continent, they¡¯ve been stationed in various locations for millennia as the expansion has progressed. Flesh empowered by Negative energy, their merest touch can damage the living. ] [Death Claw: This Tier 4 Prestige Class combines a level 60 Wizard with affinities: Death, Negative and Abyssal, with a level 60 Assassin having Grand Master in Death Strike. ] [Arch-Necromancer: A variation of the Arch-Wizard focused on spells involving Death and Negative Mana. Possession of this Class was an automatic death sentence within Cemna¡¯s Federation of the Crescent Spire for centuries prior to cultists opening many greater gates to Orcus¡¯ Plane.] [Staff of Creeping Death Melee Attack Power +200 Details: This staff allows mental control over Negative energies within a radius based on the possessor''s total caster level. Besides being able to direct raw energy, they can also control any undead in that radius at will.] [Bracers of the Arch-Necromancer Defence: +300 Details: These bracers protect the wearer and reduce the cost of spells involving Death Mana. They also allow the wearer to cast ¡®Unsoul¡¯ twice per day; failure to resist the effect causes target to die, and their body to be animated as a greater zombie.] Each Cadaver Lord had similar equipment and varied only by a few levels or points in their attributes. Though it was clear from the enchantments that most of their capabilities came from gear, they still had impressive base classes. [Species: Cadaver Lord Class: Knight / Templar Level: 43 / 40 Health: 2,988 Defence: 749 This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. Melee Attack Power: 606 Combat Skills: Axe Pike [M] (13), Dagger [M] (2), Kukri [M] (29) Details: Captured alive, ritual magics were used to corrupt them from their previous allegiances. The assaults performed during the ritual left their Souls twisted with hatred and bound within their corpse. The only remnants of their lives are the combat skills, the process allowing them to serve as weapons following their new Master¡¯s bidding.] [Templar: This base class is available to Knights accepted into the service of a Power. Those following this Class focus on increasing their melee and defence capabilities.] [Profaned Armour Defence: +500 Details: Corrupted blessings have made this once holy armour fit for use only by the undead. It projects a continual effect to unnerve the living. Anyone engaging the wearer in combat needs to resist its fear effect; failure will cause them to flee carelessly] [Pike of Eternal Hunger Melee Attack Power: +400 Details: The enchantments on this weapon bind a Wraith within, allowing for even touch contact to steal life force from opponents, and strike incorporeal foes. The enchantments allow the Wraith to be moved in daylight without them suffering damage.] ¡°So don¡¯t get touched,¡± Ebusuku replied the moment Amdirlain shared the information. ¡°Did you want to handle the Lich or the blob?¡± Ebusuku smiled smugly. ¡°I get them both. You get to play with diverting weapons from us.¡± She didn¡¯t have time to protest as Ebusuku teleported in, the blades striking through the Lich¡¯s body and ripping it apart. It''s Soul didn¡¯t fade away; instead, the enchantments binding it into it''s mockery of life dragged it rapidly away. Before it reached the chamber¡¯s edge, Amdirlain teleported in it''s path and swept it up. The enchantment shattering against Energy Drain¡¯s effect seared Amdirlain with Abyssal flame. At her full height, Ebusuku¡¯s reach balanced out some of the advantages of the opposing polearms, but scores of troops moved in quickly. Amdirlain set a diversion field as Ebusuku continued to move, but she couldn¡¯t keep pace with her. The troops¡¯ slower speed allowed her to snag at their strikes, reducing the number Ebusuku needed to evade or deflect. The first notification came quickly, with more following on its heels. Ignoring them, she lifted into the air, elevation essential as more troops advanced to surround Ebusuku. The thing in the next chamber wasn¡¯t attracted to the initial noise, but as another burst of Celestial energy cascaded off Ebusuku¡¯s blades, it moved. Whispers of sound led the way as the gilled mouths murmured and groaned together, producing an eerie chorus of sound. The unintelligible words uttered from hundreds of mouths conveyed a malevolent intent, and power lashed out only to be held at bay by her Willpower and Mental Hardening. Its effect hit Ebusuku harder, her Celestial nature leaving her exposed to the undercurrent of Abyssal energy, and the insanity within. As the power gnashed and ate at Ebusuku¡¯s strength of will Amdirlain added her own Willpower to her ally''s via Harmony and held the insane malice at bay. When its ongoing utterances hammered away at Amdirlain¡¯s protection, Ebusuku shifted targets. Teleport brought her to its undulating bulk, and flowing motion danced her away from its immediate attempts to engulf her. Waves of flesh rose and Amdirlain tried to divert them downward, but only slightly hampered its efforts to bring its mass to bear. Blades of brilliant metal ripped through foul flesh, and when it was on the brink of destruction, Amdirlain moved in. Teleport placed her alongside it and she lashed out. The last of its health pulled from it, Ebusuku turned back to the harrying troops. The agony the combined Souls had experienced hit Amdirlain harder than their whispers, and the diversion field dropped for a moment. The pikes contact caused ghostly hands to caress golden armour, pulling health from flesh despite its protections. Weapons moving unexpectedly cost Ebusuku a strike, adjusting to the sudden gap in defences against an enclosing pikewall of foes. Holy Smite illuminated the gloom with the radiance of sunlight; a circle of Celestial power some twelve metres across smashed down on the undead foes surrounding her. The force of it broke defenders already weakened by Ebusuku¡¯s previous counters. Their ranks buckling under the impact of the Power, Ebusuku moved in through the gap in the pikes. The longer reach of their weapons now hindering them. They tried to reposition or switch to their kukri blades, but her harrying continued among their ranks. Wind driven by wings buffeted them, sending off-balance foes staggering into each other, forcing further gaps. Warned through their link, Amdirlain moved clear an instant before Ebusuku turned on her Angelic Aura. Instead of flames, blood lust, and rage, the air grew clear and pure, and undead flesh hissed and smoked at its touch. The aura drove them back and Ebusuku continued to lash out, not with weapons but pulling Souls from their bindings with a flurry of Energy Drains. The emotional energy that Amdirlain had seen congealed into coins, burned in purifying gold flames around Ebusuku, leaving the Souls clean as they vanished. Those Souls freed by other attacks simply faded from the Plane; a grey energy about them showed they¡¯d taken their pain on with them to Judgement. A veritable wall of defenders threw themselves at Ebusuku and another Holy Smite smashed down on their charge. The moment she moved against new ranks, Amdirlain re-established the field and focused on keeping it angling blows away. [Combat Summary: Cadaver Lord x400 (50%) Lich x1 (50%) Abyssal Charnel Nightmare x1 (50%) Total Experience gained: 983,549 Fallen: +196,709 Scion: +196,709 Sora Master: +196,709 Psion: +196,709 Warrior Monk: +196,709 Resistance: Abyssal [L](12->13) Psychoportation [J](36->40)] ¡°I thought you were going to draw that fight out?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not after their friend started screeching worse than a Harpy in heat. We can extend out the next fights,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°That said, I have my own additions to practice. What are you doing?¡± Amdirlain looked up from where she¡¯d been collecting armour and weapons, leaving broken bodies behind. ¡°Jaixar told me not to bring scrap from the Abyss. When I asked ''would I do that'' she never gave me an answer.¡± Ebusuku shook her head. ¡°So you¡¯re going to take them as much scrap as you can carry?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± chuckled Amdirlain, her attempt at humour strained with the malignant Souls she held within her. ¡°Needed to use Energy Drain on the Lich; her phylactery dragged her Soul off for safekeeping.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to give it a chance; not with her capable of Abyssal magic,¡± declared Ebusuku. ¡°Did you intercept it in time?¡± A quick nod from Amdirlain was enough to ease tension from Ebusuku, but she continued. ¡°Yeah, otherwise I¡¯d be suggesting we move on. Who knows if she had an oubliette filled with bodies waiting to possess! She¡¯s only a lackey and we don¡¯t know what support is available to call on if she¡¯d reanimated,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re playing with someone¡¯s net; let¡¯s be careful that none of us gets trapped by it. You were all concerned about me; well, after seeing her information, I¡¯m more concerned about the others¡¯ safety.¡± ¡°We should make sure they don¡¯t get into deeper areas until they¡¯re much stronger,¡± agreed Ebusuku, moving to collect the remains of broken pikes. ¡°Your skin looked burnt earlier.¡± ¡°The bond to the phylactery used Abyssal Mana; ripping it apart let it smack me,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Soul Traps are nasty things.¡± Deliberating pushing a hand through an energy cloud, Amdirlain took in the way it avoided Ebusuku¡¯s aura. ¡°The air is a lot colder but there¡¯s still not sufficient Negative energy to harm me.¡± ¡°The interior goes further,¡± Ebusuku said, motioning past the quickly decaying mound. * * * The trip down the hallway didn¡¯t produce more foes before a dim light showed ahead. The vast hall had led to a hexagonal chamber open to the sky above. They came to a cautious halt as the energy haze beyond the final archway prickled over their skin. ¡°Likely the only thing keeping either of us safe is our magical strength at present,¡± Ebusuku said, as they watched the darkness sipping at the light streaming in from above. ¡°I would normally use protective spells rather than rely on my Resistance.¡± The sunlight from the ceiling created an angular shaft, illuminating motes of pulsating blackness swirling like dust in the light. The light it provided showed everything within, painted in frost. One side of a hexagonal dais lined up with the central archway they¡¯d taken. Five chambers aligned with its other sides, and in the dais¡¯ centre stood a plinth topped by six shattered feet. True Sight pierced the gloom showing the side areas had similar arrangements¡ªof dais and plinth¡ªyet their plinths had a creature¡¯s remains pinned in place with a spear. ¡°I actually have a resistance to Negative; your Magic rating is almost half again mine,¡± Amdirlain stated. ¡°I¡¯m going to take a guess and say desecrated altars.¡± Nodding at the central plinth, Ebusuku smiled knowingly. ¡°That guess assisted by Analysis?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t tell me their names, just says the plinths are each a desecrated altar formerly for the local Deities: protectors, judgement and wisdom, magic and knowledge, waves and travellers, luck, then finally, the sun.¡± With each aspect she stated, Amdirlain pointed a plinth clockwise around the chamber, the sun being the central plinth. ¡°What would you like to do now?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°First, I¡¯m going to retrieve five Souls, and then we¡¯ll see,¡± Amdirlain stated, motioning at the closest remains, and stepping out into the haze. Only after the haze had consumed a full five thousand health, did the first notification appear. [Resistance: Negative [I] (5->6)] I hoped you¡¯d go up faster. * * * The chamber¡¯s haze had remained even after she freed the Souls, and it had pushed her Resistance along. Each retrieved Soul had once been a High Priest of their respective power, sacrificed to desecrate the altars and weaken the deity¡¯s influence. The sunlight was fading when Amdirlain returned to the clifftop and recalled the teams. Amdirlain noticed even the normally bubbly Tickles seemed hyper-focused as they gathered. Her immediate question wasn¡¯t a surprise, though the absence of laughter was a concern. ¡°Are we leaving already?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to get back; my Wizard and Fighter are far outstripping Artificer and Alchemist,¡± Mirage stated sadly. ¡°If I prepare sufficient runes and objects to contribute to the fighting, I should be able to balance them.¡± A strange drifting sigh from Pip drew everyone''s attention. ¡°I want to stay. I only just gained access to Priest and Archer now,¡± Mirage frowned at her. ¡°You gained what? But you don¡¯t have a bow.¡± ¡°When I wanted to know how it applied, it showed me racing around a helmed man and zapping them in the butt,¡± giggled Pip. ¡°It lets me hit more with ranged attacks and still get tougher.¡± The others looked baffled by the small bolts of light in Pip¡¯s mind; the same images had Amdirlain rubbing her forehead. She¡¯s not a Training Drone! [Perception [M](44)] Reaching out a hand, Hook patted her side. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you can stick with Berry and me. We could use a spotter, and that¡¯s part of a Scout¡¯s job.¡± ¡°I¡¯d actually prefer if we all returned to the Domain,¡± Amdirlain said, motioning at the evening sky. ¡°While we can all see in the dark, we won¡¯t fix this fast, so it¡¯s important you confirm your foundations. I was forming spells incorrectly for a while; it caused me some problems learning harder spells until it got fixed.¡± Setting more concealments in the circle, Amdirlain opened a Gate focused on the cavern¡¯s bridge again. ¡°We likely shouldn¡¯t keep using the same spot,¡± Ebusuku suggested. O¡¯Nai had already stepped through the Gate and Amdirlain could see him checking for lurking dangers before he waved the others through. ¡°Have to decide other spots then,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll stay behind and cleanse the energy, then plane shift away,¡± Ebusuku offered, motioning them through the Gate. ¡°Don¡¯t be too long,¡± Mirage said, and a few others echoing her added to Ebusuku¡¯s amusement. ¡°After I see them home, I¡¯ll take care of a few things, then annoy Jaixar with my scrap,¡± Amdirlain said, and Ebusuku snorted at her bland tone. The moment the Gate closed up behind her, the others looked at her sceptically. ¡°Are you going to get some rest yourself?¡± asked Sage. The amused glint in his gaze softened the tone, and Amdirlain gave him an amused smile. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few things to do, but only related to the Souls and the equipment I salvaged. Then I¡¯ll take some time as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell Master Farhad you might turn up for practice,¡± Hook teased, even as Amdirlain opened another Gate placing them in the Outlands a distance from the Domain. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s nice, someone¡¯s telling tales it seems,¡± Amdirlain mock groaned. When the Gate closed a short time later. Amdirlain considered the site for the traces Ebusuku had mentioned. Strands of Mana remained behind, waving like long grass in the Plane¡¯s energy. They hummed with a feel of the Outlands, even as they dissolved slowly into the Plane. A similar harmonic pattern to what Erwarth had discussed with her when reviewing the natural Gate. Laying out the equipment, she set about purifying it. The armour reacted to the Celestial energies but the weapons enchantments shed the energy away from the Wraith¡¯s within. ¡°Little fuckers,¡± Amdirlain grumbled and held back from breaking the weapon she was examining. The Artificer¡¯s runes provided a barrier for the Abyssal energies that contained the Wraith. True Sight showed it nestled in the darkness of the Abyssal corruption. ¡°No, actually screw this.¡± Flipping the pike around, she dug its point into the stone underfoot. Braced securely, she brought a heel kick down where the axe blade joined the pike¡¯s spike. Yang flames fought with Abyssal heat as she shattered the metal. Pushing on Angelic Aura drove the heat away, but still, pain stabbed through flesh. From the ruined metal of the blade, the Wraith lifted free. The blighted undead was a cloud of darkness only vaguely bound in a phantasmal outline matching the natives of Cemna. Bright points of red light glowed in its eyes, as threads of Negative energy drank not only the dim light but tainted the energy of the Plane around her. The air turned unnaturally cold as it reached out for her, and her own strike punched flames into it instead. Its destruction left black frost melting on her arm as the Wraith¡¯s aura bit her in return. Amdirlain considered her injuries and flipped another pike into the air, pausing only briefly to consider the Wraith¡¯s details. [Species: Wraith Level: 50 Health: 728 Defence: 60 (Incorporeal - Requires enchanted weapon to hit - maximum 50% of enchantment bonus damage) Melee Attack Power: 100 (Touch attack bypasses defence on contact) Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (27) Details: A tainted echo of the once-living; wraiths hunger for the life taken from them. Surrounded by a True Aura projecting Fear continually in a four-metre radius, while also inflicting cold damage.] As the next wraith rose from the shattered weapon, she tried Daylight for the second time. The Power outlined the Wraith in its glowing essence, and Amdirlain felt the energy from within her fuelling it. Unlike within the Abyss, the Power¡¯s use didn¡¯t exhaust her. The Wraith flailed about in agony only momentarily before she crushed it with a Ki Strike, Ki Infusion preventing its incorporeal state from evading damage. Considering the weapons she had to deal with, Amdirlain sent a message. ¡°Sage, I¡¯ll be a little while. I¡¯m breaking some items with spirits bound in them; can¡¯t take them to Duskstone as they presently are. Tell Ebusuku she can find me on the bridge if she wants to growl. Didn¡¯t want to distract her clean up.¡± Once she¡¯d healed the damage and the fatigue from the Power¡¯s use faded, she broke the next. The burst of Daylight felt cleaner than the first time and clung to the Wraith. [Combat Summary: Wraiths x400 Total experience gained: 771,200 Fallen: +154,240 Scion: +154,240 Sora Master: +154,240 Psion: +154,240 Warrior Monk: +154,240 Resistance: Abyssal (L) (13) -> Abyssal (2) Resistance: Negative [I] (9->16) Resistance: Cold [I](16->37) Daylight (2) -> [Ap] (2) ] 140 - History The energy of the Gate had faded before Amdirlain finished purifying items. Armour no longer possessed the repulsive feel about it; the images within had stilled and faded. The pikes¡¯ hafts, once purified, had become a deep-blue wood laced through with veins of amber. Fragmented blades had become golden, and Analysis showed them as rededicated Celestial steel. The Lich¡¯s bracers were another thing entirely. An outer layer of metal had cracked, and the contents erupting in a white-hot fire had purged the odour of rotting flesh. The Staffs of Creeping Dread had burst into flames¡ªflailing and writhing¡ªwhile their dark-green stones had simply melted into putrid gunk. Clearly, they didn¡¯t consider soaking in Celestial Mana to be proper maintenance. Telekinesis lofted the fragments upwards, and bolts of Destruction Mana removed all traces. Planar Shift took her straight to Judgement, and amid a region of grey clouds filled with Souls native to Cemna, she released her passengers. They rushed out and went from enraged to calm between steps. A haze around them fogged the air with an odour of decay and the damp, musty stench of mildew. ¡°Normally, one cleans them before returning them, but the situation is understandable.¡± Nodding politely to the Titan¡¯s Servant, Amdirlain motioned to the Souls, still moving languishingly about to gain separation from each. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to take them to the Abyss. I don¡¯t know another place aside from the Treasury.¡± ¡°We do not need such to happen. Father agreed to the process and bounty to encourage them not to linger over returning Souls¡ªat least those that weren¡¯t truly theirs to claim,¡± replied the Servant. It raised one hand, and the Souls all vanished along with the haze. ¡°Though they require treatment rather than being left here, given the actions to bind them as undead. Father said he believed you had enough on your to-do list.¡± Amdirlain opened her mouth to ask a question, but the Servant had already vanished. A crate remained behind. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just have to bring so many you¡¯re caught up assessing them first.¡± The symbol for alchemical reagents on the crate¡¯s side drew a smile before Amdirlain stored it with a friendly pat. ¡°I¡¯ll get some of those spinels first and drop the lot with Jaixar,¡± murmured Amdirlain, the smile fading away as she considered the other Souls staring vacantly about them. Soul Sight showed no suffering or awareness, just a wait as the energy enfolding them from their past life bled off slowly, drifting heatwaves dispersing into a cold room. Two hops later, with four hundred-odd kilograms of gemstones, and Planar Shift rewarded her even though it didn¡¯t deliver her to where she¡¯d tried to reach. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](18->19)] The narrow crevice she¡¯d appeared in possessed a claustrophobic intensity. Around her, the Plane¡¯s energy was a thick, muddy vapour that didn¡¯t let her see an arm¡¯s reach along the crevice. Displaced by Planar Shift, it pushed back against her with bone-shearing force. [Health: -8,000 Resistance: Earth (13->15)] Her Ki hardened flesh was ground in a vice that made her bones groan. Fingers fractured and her nose broke on the heels of the next notification. The location¡¯s energy took exception to her presence. The haze thickened into rock around flesh and through gaps. [Health: -12,400 Resistance: Earth (15->17)] The pressure didn¡¯t just ramp up but spiked hard, even with her improved Resistance, and she teleported away. Amdirlain shifted form rapidly, and a moulded rock dropped free. Once she was sure nothing else was in the passage near Duskstone, she nudged it with a foot. Shredding the rock that had filled her throat and lungs, she considered the last damage being squashed between it and outer forces had caused. [Health: -42,800 Resistance: Earth (17->19)] Reformed by her transformation, she still ached from the injuries inflicted. Amdirlain knelt to rest¡ªa hand rubbing gently at her recently broken jaw as concealed eyes watched her surroundings. Her entry into Duskstone had again been simple. The guards took her statement readily enough and provided her directions to the Foundry for her scrap. Though she planned to stop there only after teasing Jaixar, this time as she approached, the front windows of the shop were wide open. The familiar yet strange energy radiating from it made sense when she looked inside. Instead of Jaixar behind the counter sat a Mediterranean woman with a clear complexion. Her round face was almost too perfectly symmetrical, only a few offset freckles avoiding it. The gentle lopsided smile wasn¡¯t the greeting Amdirlain expected from any of the Greek Gods. Traditionally garbed as statues she¡¯d seen of her, the red linen wasn¡¯t the colour Amdirlain had pictured Hestia wearing. It made her bronzed complexion, deep chestnut hair, and gaze stand out, framed as it was by the bright red. ¡°No, before you ask, I merely purchased out her shop lease. Jaixar¡¯s now in a bigger location. I can give you directions if you¡¯d like,¡± said Hestia, her tone bordering on apologetic in her choice of Celestial phrasing. ¡°You left quite an interesting energy impression upstairs. I¡¯ve cleared that up for you.¡± Amdirlain sighed and considered Hestia seriously. ¡°I¡¯m not looking to speak to any of you.¡± ¡°Not true. Bast told me you¡¯d spoken to Ra, various Norse representatives, including one that didn¡¯t go so well; even Mars speaks nicely of you. Though some others haven¡¯t formed an opinion as yet.¡± The longer she continued, the livelier her smile became, but Amdirlain refrained from interrupting, simply moving to the doorway. ¡°I¡¯ve seen what¡¯s going on in Judgement,¡± replied Amdirlain calmly, her fingers lightly tapping on the doorframe. ¡°I¡¯m expected to believe someone from your Pantheon would come looking for me with good intentions?¡± Hestia¡¯s smile faded, and she moved her scarf aside to display the Lichtenberg figure running down along her neck that started at what remained of her left ear. Burst capillaries that should have been red, showing black against her skin. ¡°Former,¡± corrected Hestia, letting the scarf fall back in place. ¡°I left Olympus. As you can see, my brother has made it quite clear what will happen if I return.¡± ¡°Was that Z¡¯s doing? Are you going to be alright?¡± Amdirlain asked. True Sight showed energy still flooded the wound. The burst capillaries writhed with energy, a seething fire front burning into the flesh that opposed it. ¡°My baby brother, or Z as you call him, is furious¡ªmurderously enraged even. It will heal in time. I was trying to talk some sense into him and received this for my trouble. You might have seen what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m sure word about Olympus hasn¡¯t reached you; I¡¯ve not heard the events even being gossiped about anywhere,¡± Hestia said, beckoning her inside again. ¡°You are quite difficult to track down, but that¡¯s just as well. Then again, some of my own false leads bit me a few times.¡± Watching in disbelief as Hestia folded up the freshly mended shirt and set it on the counter, Amdirlain slipped inside the shop. ¡°Why would I want to know anything about Olympus?¡± ¡°You should be aware, so you know the danger it places you in outside Judgement. The repercussions for the Hoplite who attacked you are being continually repeated, along with a simple message from the Titan. The Titan. That sounds so ominous to me. I prefer to call him Nicholaus, a High Priestess of mine picked that name for him when he was a baby,¡± rambled Hestia. ¡°What are the repercussions?¡± Amdirlain asked. Unsure of what was going on, she held herself ready to move. Yet she fought the urge to just leave immediately, not wanting to drop Duskstone in a mess. ¡°The power that transformed him into a Celestial has been reclaimed. His memories purged, and Nicholaus set him back as a blank slate on the wheel of life. The replay will continue until brother learns humility,¡± replied Hestia, and she paused thoughtfully. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯ll stop if he ceases to exist, as that¡¯s likely to happen first.¡± The stitching of a long rip in the shirt completed, Amdirlain watched as she folded it neatly. ¡°Do they know who¡¯s mending their shirts?¡± The lopsided smile returned as Hestia picked another from the pile and started stitching. ¡°Obviously a strange eccentric Human woman. Why else would take over an artificer¡¯s shop to mend clothing for a pittance?¡± ¡°How did you track me down?¡± Amdirlain asked. Not taking her eyes off Hestia, she put up concealments to prevent their conversation carrying despite their use of Celestial. Hestia gave a broad shrug, the motion not interrupting the smoothness of her stitching. ¡°Luck. Well, luck and Dwarven maker¡¯s marks. When I asked the Egyptian Pantheon directly, Bast told me to hop on my chariot. The Norse won¡¯t speak to me, and the Dwarven Pantheon hasn¡¯t spoken to us in a few hundred years. A bunch of items with the same clearly Dwarven maker¡¯s mark coming through the Adventurers¡¯ Guild caught the eye of a few of my followers. You¡¯re tied to new things. It¡¯s easy to watch for them, especially when they cause such stirs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised the Dwarven Pantheon hasn¡¯t told you to leave,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, I think my situation amuses them. The first rat to leave the sinking ship,¡± Hestia replied, her tone gaining a self-deprecating edge. ¡°I¡¯m being very careful not to interfere with any of their worshipers¡ªexcept giving paid help while I wait. I find mending relaxing. Sometimes one just needs to sit and deal with the mundane.¡± ¡°Is your family really like the tales the Mortals have?¡± asked Amdirlain. Taking a step inside the shop, she leaned casually against the outer wall. ¡°If they are, then your family is pretty fucked up,¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Hestia nodded and fell silent, quickly stitching a long tear in the shirt before adding it to the mended stack. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re becoming worse than the tales now. I hoped things would be different. They¡¯d been getting worse before the Dragons drove us from Greece. Our siblings falling while trying to execute our brother¡¯s plot stopped the decline, temporarily. Now though, a Mithra prophecy has Apollo worked up, especially after his latest Oracle confirmed it¡ªpoor girl. He¡¯s trying to ensure he comes out on top, and Z doesn¡¯t want to lose another.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard trying to change the future can sometimes cause it to come about,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Says the one without destiny. The sisters tried to find you in their threads. Nothing but tangles left in your wake; so many they expected to die, still alive. They enlisted a Demoness to cut a key thread that was resisting their efforts, but that just made things worse,¡± Hestia remarked. Amdirlain''s gaze narrowed suspiciously at the mention of a Demoness, but kept silent until Hestia¡¯s account paused. ¡°What Demon?¡± ¡°Epoch¨¥ is one of her names,¡± replied Hestia, and nodded at Amdirlain¡¯s recognition. ¡°Do you know anything about whose thread they¡¯ve been trying to cut?¡± asked Amdirlain. Hestia wiggled her hand, and just held up fingers slightly separated. ¡°It belongs to a child that died¡ªgiven its shortened length; something restored her thread unexpectedly is all they know. They can no longer read the thread or those immediately involved in its tangle,¡± Amdirlain froze for a moment before nodding her thanks to Hestia. ¡°If she dies from their meddling, I¡¯ll end them painfully. I hope the tangles break their loom.¡± ¡°Who knows? The pressures just might,¡± conceded Hestia. ¡°Be careful. My siblings and the others are arrogant, but they aren¡¯t powerless to retaliate. You should likely use a far more distinct face dealing with Mortals, the differences between the golden-skinned Elf and the Wood Elf form you wear now is minimal. I¡¯d suggest you ensure that any of your Temples founded near Greece do not have your likeness in them.¡± Do they not know about the Anar? ¡°Your followers saved more than they know. The Sahuagin would have inflicted a slaughter among the Norse and Egyptians, yet for all their initial successes, they got smacked down. The knot around the key thread is just growing greater, and none of the threads involved are allowing the shears to touch them. While some have broken, the Moirai haven¡¯t been able to sever even one.¡± ¡°Why the warning?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve had our time, just like the Titans before us,¡± murmured Hestia. ¡±Perhaps, if we hadn¡¯t come here, fewer people would have suffered.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say more than perhaps,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you come here?¡± ¡°We were desperate,¡± Hestia admitted, continuing before Amdirlain could speak. ¡°Our homeworld changed and left us behind. Other Powers had taken our place among Mortals hearts. The sun was setting in Olympus and promised to never rise again.¡± ¡°I meant, why come and find me?¡± corrected Amdirlain dryly, unsure about the admission. Hestia snorted in amusement. ¡°We certainly have a different perspective on things. The immediate: why am I here? After I moved my Domain, I felt I should find the catalyst for all the change washing against so many hearths. I spoke to one of his mechanicals in Judgement and they said to seek the new.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Titan. Why would he give you any useful advice? Why did you even trust him for refuge after what you did to his father and the others?¡± asked Amdirlain, and saw curiosity in Hestia''s gaze. ¡°Nicholaus has always kept his word, regardless of what others think or his own pain. We were nearly to be a point of dissolution ourselves. We sought his aid in desperation. He promised us a place of refuge, where we could have new followers; he never promised that we would keep them forever. There were rules that others seeking refuge had agreed to, and there wasn¡¯t any negotiation allowed. He was such a sweet child, happy to watch the Temple Smith work for hours until others drew him into their games; then he learnt how to be merciless.¡± The tales she¡¯d read in both lifetimes came to mind, and with Hestia here she couldn¡¯t resist asking a question. ¡°Did Kronos really swallow you?¡± Suppressing her laughter, Hestia still couldn¡¯t hold back all of it, and her giggling sounded as girlish as Tickles¡¯ own. ¡°No, he imprisoned us in the depths of Tartarus, away from the imprisoned cyclopes. Unlike the Plane here, it was a place that didn¡¯t abide Powers. While there, our strength faded¡ªperhaps more precisely, Kronos siphoned it from us¡ªuntil we had nearly Mortal limits. The collected power was what he¡¯d used to break us free and slay the Kamp¨º. I would have been the strongest, but I lost nearly everything in Tartarus. The power was in his control when he broke us out and he only allowed certain aspects of it to return, he kept a large portion for himself.¡± ¡°What was the boulder in the tale?¡± Amdirlain asked curiously. ¡°My brother slew his twin sister in the womb; her body was what Rhea gave to Kronos with the birth cord still wrapped around her neck,¡± replied Hestia sadly. ¡°He claimed it was self-defence to prevent her from doing the same to him. Now her only memorial is a boulder in that tale; Rhea didn¡¯t even give her a name.¡± Amdirlain motioned about the shop. ¡°Are you planning to remain here?¡± ¡°No, I just set this avatar here in the hopes I could warn you,¡± Hestia replied. A tiny pulse of power ran through the clothing before it and Hestia vanished. ¡°Hope the Dwarves get their clothing back,¡± Amdirlain muttered, and eased back out the door, and pulled the concealments down as she departed. ¡°So much for giving directions.¡± * * * With the business arrangement they had, Clan Gildenshield¡¯s receptionist had known Jaixar¡¯s new shop, and the directions had been easy to follow. As she approached, Amdirlain took in the freshly shaped Artificer motif with its scattering of vials, reagents, and pouches, symbolising alchemical products. Enchanted glass filled the broad shop window rather than the shelf format of the previous shop. Inside, she could see another stone countertop. A forge stood against one wall, while workbenches set out for different purposes filled a space bigger than a high school classroom. Past the workbenches stood a smaller glassed-in area with tables set up containing various apparatuses in place, but only a few were in use. There were no stairs, but a few sturdy doors prevented her from seeing everything. She took in the sight of Jaixar watching Salnox carefully engrave a rune into a copper disk¡¯s rim. The trickle of Mana flowing through the inscribing tool was subtly different in True Sight to her own rune inscriptions. When Salnox set her engraver aside to reposition the piece, Amdirlain gently cleared her throat. ¡°Keep going until you¡¯ve got the outer boundary set, then those runes will stabilise each other,¡± Jaixar said, giving Salnox a pat on her shoulder before turning to the counter. ¡°You¡¯ll be on your own a bit Salnox, the troublesome one is back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m troublesome?¡± questioned Amdirlain cheerfully. ¡°In a most interesting fashion, but you have a tendency to turn things upside down, Amdirlain,¡± replied Jaixar, the crinkles around her eyes giving away her amusement. Amdirlain narrowed her eyes dramatically and set thirty arm greaves on the counter. ¡°I¡¯ve four hundred sets of armour, figured you could do with some steel.¡± ¡°I told you not to bring scrap,¡± grumbled Jaixar, waving her hands in dismay. ¡°I¡¯m troublesome, remember?¡± Amdirlain retorted and laughed at the face Jaixar pulled. ¡°I¡¯m joking. Those go to the Foundry, along with the rest of it. I stopped in to find if it would be best to get it cast into a particular form. Would you prefer ingot, bar, plate, or rod?¡± Jaixar muttered under her breath until Amdirlain had finished storing the greaves. ¡°Small ingots are what I¡¯ve been using mainly. Though a dozen of their short rods would let me cut plenty of disks.¡± ¡°Should I get them to do the same for this?¡± asked Amdirlain, smiling broadly at Jaixar¡¯s stunned mullet expression when the Celestial steel appeared. Jaixar looked over the shattered axe blade, and her gaze grew concerned at the engraved runes. ¡°I had to rededicate the steel; it had been,¡± Amdirlain paused, groping for a suitable word. ¡°misused, shall we say?¡± ¡°Misused, when did you get so mild in your language?¡± Jaixar asked. Setting the pieces down quickly, she started wiping her hands down her apron front. ¡°Talk to the foundry Master for those, don¡¯t let them out of your sight until they¡¯re melted. I know enough that the patterns set my teeth on edge. A Master Artificer might insist on more caution.¡± ¡°The weapon¡¯s blade had Wraiths bound into each,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Hope you¡¯ve broken all of them,¡± declared Jaixar, and relaxed at Amdirlain¡¯s quick nod. ¡°Is there anything in particular you¡¯re after this visit?¡± ¡°Items against the undead along with Death and Negative Mana. Fairly common things, I¡¯m sure,¡° Amdirlain teased. ¡°Just some simple things, is it then?¡± Jaixar quipped, rolling her eyes in dismay. ¡°Can¡¯t help you with any of that quickly, unless you want some elixir of flames breath for the undead.¡± Amdirlain shrugged casually. ¡°What can I say? Sometimes simple things need to be dealt with. I have some more reagents to trade.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll bring a mop to the auction hall so I can avoid slipping on the drool,¡± noted Jaixar dryly. ¡°Once Salxor finishes stabilising her runes, I¡¯ll go with you to talk to the Foundry Master.¡± ¡°Well, why don¡¯t you have a look at these purple spinels while we wait. Let me know if I should take them to a gem-cutter or if they¡¯re useful to you as is,¡± said Amdirlain, and a dozen rattled across the stone counter. The way Jaixar¡¯s eyebrows shot up at the thumb-sized gemstones was funny enough, so she couldn¡¯t help but explain further. ¡°I¡¯ve got about four hundred kilograms of them from a Mana line in the Outlands.¡± * * * The business at Duskstone hadn¡¯t kept her long, but still hours more than she¡¯d expected. Arriving back in her Domain, she half expected to get a scolding from Ebusuku, but found her busy talking with Malnar and Sage; the passionate Dwarven Architect not holding back in arguing with them both. A broad grassy field beyond them held Archons kneeling in guided meditation around Farhad. ¡°I really think you need fortifications,¡± argued Malnar as Amdirlain approached. The Architect sounded frustrated in her conversation with Ebusuku and Sage. ¡°Malnar,¡± Amdirlain said, and when the group turned, she gave the Architect a smile. ¡°I know we¡¯ve had you busy supervising housing and simple halls. I was wondering if you¡¯d like a more interesting project.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Malnar asked suspiciously. ¡°I wanted a large crafting complex built including some tailored space for alchemical work,¡± explained Amdirlain, noting the sudden gleam of interest in the Dwarf¡¯s gaze at the word large. ¡°You¡¯ll want sturdy structures for Alchemists in case things get exciting,¡± cautioned Malnar. Amdirlain gestured towards the valley¡¯s closest edge. ¡°Do you think there are any suitable spots along the valley wall where you could set crafting spaces into the rock?¡± Malnar stroked her beard and looked up thoughtfully at Amdirlain. ¡°Not a bunker, though?¡± Amdirlain nodded in confirmation. ¡°Certainly not wanting it from a bunker perspective, rather a solid place where Petitioners and others can learn new crafts, setup with various levels looking out over the valley. I don¡¯t want it spreading out and taking out a lot of trees.¡± ¡°Has Moradin been in your ear?¡± asked Malnar happily. ¡°I like your boss, but learning new things doesn¡¯t hurt,¡± replied Amdirlain, the memory of their talk bringing forth a bright smile. ¡°Plus, Berronar mentioned that the familiar helps with change. If they don¡¯t possess the crafting skills initially, most would be familiar with some aspects of crafting. It would also give an opportunity for those looking to learn new things; even I¡¯d like to learn some crafts. A change from fighting and a chance to create instead.¡± Malnar patted her pockets and pulled out a grease pen and a slate. ¡°How many crafts are you thinking to include?¡± ¡°Let us talk about what crafts they normally have in a sizeable town.¡± countered Amdirlain, motioning towards the mead hall. ¡°After you.¡± ¡°O¡¯Nai took those training as rangers out to meet some of the Clan to get their perspective on things,¡± offered Ebusuku. A look of amusement replaced the frustration that had been present when Malnar was arguing with them both. ¡°Thanks, Ebusuku,¡± Amdirlain said, gesturing at herself. ¡°See, I even made it home in one piece.¡± ¡°All that proves is you¡¯re in one piece now; not how many pieces you left behind,¡± retorted Ebusuku, and laughed when Amdirlain pouted. 141 - Battle lines Amdirlain dropped into the grass before Tickles, watching the muscles clenching in her jawline. ¡°If it¡¯s sitting on you so heavily, maybe it¡¯s not the best role for you.¡± ¡°They hate everything living, don¡¯t they?¡± asked Tickles, and Amdirlain nodded at the haunted look in her gaze. ¡°Indeed, they do. They¡¯re in pain, and they think feeding on life will stop it. But it¡¯s a lie,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°There are other ways you can help rather than dealing with the undead.¡± Tickles tilted her head as she gave Amdirlain a concerned look. ¡°I thought you were going to leave it with us. Won¡¯t one less slow things down?¡± ¡°Cemna is actually a limited issue compared to the Dao. I¡¯ve got a bigger group working on that one, I¡¯ll continue helping with Cemna. There are other tasks that I need help with besides fighting. You¡¯d be on a world which mostly shouldn¡¯t involve fighting. Or you could remain in the Domain helping the Petitioners.¡± ¡°We¡¯re used to being together though,¡± protested Tickles. A calm nod was enough to stop any further protest, and Amdirlain just rested a hand on her forearm. ¡°I know, but it¡¯s still your call what you get involved with. I¡¯m worried about how Cemna unsettled you. It can¡¯t be fun confronting all these trapped Souls so soon after getting out of the Maze.¡± ¡°Trapped Souls? I thought they were undead!¡± Tickles exclaimed, her fun-loving spark still submerged. Rubbing a hand across her face, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Lots of undead are animated remains, but something trapped the Souls in most of those I¡¯ve seen. But for example, there are children I¡¯d like someone to keep an eye on in case they need help. They¡¯ve had a horrific time, and speaking to adults would be hard for them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re not alone in needing someone to look out for them, but their pain hurts me to think about. You¡¯d need to take on a different shape to avoid attracting attention.¡± ¡°Some Vargr Drangijaz told us about doing that sort of work. Being in disguise and staying unnoticed,¡± nodded Tickles. ¡°Does your Profile show a Power called ''Change Self'', or ''Shapeshift''?¡± enquired Amdirlain, noting the sudden interest in Tickles¡¯ expression. ¡°Not those, but ''Polymorph Self'' is in the Powers section,¡± Tickles said. Suddenly in place of a Hound Archon, sat a young lady appearing maybe in her early twenties, with bright blue eyes and ash-blond hair. Her form possessed a generous mouth, already curving in a smile as Amdirlain reached up; when her fingertips touch the side of Tickles¡¯ sharp chin, Tickles turned her head to let Amdirlain see her in profile. ¡°You¡¯ve created a nicely proportioned face. You¡¯d stand out among the Norse though, they have solid jawlines,¡± observed Amdirlain, and couldn¡¯t resist giving the tip of her straight nose a boop. ¡°That said, to me, your appearance is very normal, you created quite a pretty face.¡± There was a blur and a true bitza puppy sat in her place, her clothing turning into a loose rope collar. A floppy ear covered her snout as she tilted her head, and Tickles peeked around it at Amdirlain. Her coat was a mix of gold and brown¡ªas if mud splotched¡ªand paws five sizes too big waggled about in the air as she rolled around. ¡°Goof,¡± Amdirlain muttered, and her fingers danced lightly along Tickles¡¯ side. The yipping barks she got in response continued coming closer to human laughter, before eventually Tickles reverted to human form, clasping her hands protectively to her sides, she huffed. ¡°That tickles.¡± Pleased with her laughter¡¯s return, Amdirlain gave her a warm smile. ¡°Well, you seem very ticklish. Is that how you got your name?¡± ¡°It was the fish¡¯s fault,¡± declared Tickles seriously. ¡°That, I remember.¡± ¡°The fish¡¯s fault?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Tickles shrugged absently as her expression grew thoughtful. ¡°My spot had a small pond with tiny fish in it. They¡¯d nibble at whatever was on my fingers when I put my hands in the water. Their little mouths against my skin always made me laugh. I was just having fun getting them to feed, when Sage and Hook found me. The first thing Sage said to me was ¡®what¡¯s so funny?¡¯. I told him the fish were giving me tickles. Hook replied with something like, ¡®well Tickles, come meet the others¡¯.¡± ¡°Plus, you laugh a lot,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°There are lots of things to laugh about,¡± Tickles retorted blithely and gave Amdirlain a broad smile. ¡°So, lots of things tickle my fancy.¡± ¡°Have a think about what I said. You can let Sage, Ebusuku, or me know your preference,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°You like giving people choices, don¡¯t you?¡± observed Tickles. ¡°The other Celestials talk about their duty assignments, but you let us know what options there are.¡± ¡°As long as no innocent is being hurt, your choices are your own to make. Helping in ways others might consider minor is still helping, and that¡¯s the most important thing. When we¡¯re helping someone, we¡¯re making things better,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Even I have to remind myself that I can¡¯t help everyone, but I can keep helping the next person.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Tickles said and leaned forward with her arms out. Leaning into her hug, Amdirlain gave her a gentle squeeze in return and patted her back. ¡°Anytime.¡° * * * Limbo writhed around them, fighting against the platform¡¯s form as Amdirlain opened the Gate to Cemna. Ebusuku moved ahead of the others, and when the last was through, Amdirlain followed. The sun¡¯s position behind them showed they¡¯d gauged morning correctly, and long shadows stretched away from the group. ¡°Limbo¡¯s Chaos will rip apart the residual energy in moments,¡± Ebusuku said, and as Amdirlain closed the Gate, she motioned along the coast. ¡°I¡¯ll scry on the harbours in that direction.¡± Amdirlain nodded in confirmation and reached out with Clairsentience to observe the harbours they¡¯d been clearing the other way. Tickles bumped against Berry giving her a cheeky smile and Amdirlain was glad to see her grimness had lifted. She wasn¡¯t the only one more cheerful¡ªthe news that they were freeing Souls had seen all the Archons returning in better spirits than they¡¯d finished on the other day. As each harbour was cleared of surprises, she shared the image of the cleared space with its team until only Ebusuku and Farhad remained. ¡°My enchanted items aren¡¯t giving any sense of strain in sustaining me on this planet,¡± commented Farhad. His gaze had taken in the surrounding desolation as calmly as she¡¯d seen him observing the beauty of the valley. ¡°Though I feel a touch weighed down, it¡¯s not enough to slow me, so I¡¯ll be fine crossing canyons.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you pair delve deeper in,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll follow the Negative Mana¡¯s edge where the clouds are thickening; see if there are more Liches supporting the field¡¯s expansion. Hopefully, someone finds something resembling a map.¡± Returning Farhad¡¯s nod, Amdirlain blurred into a pebble and reappeared on the ledge outside the Temple¡¯s entrance. The clouds hadn¡¯t lessened but there were no replacement troops, and Amdirlain got in more practice with Clairsentience. Clusters of a dozen or more Cadaver Lords were common enough though she didn¡¯t spot any as heavily armoured as the Lich¡¯s troops. Setting concealments around her, she shifted forms and reappeared on a terrace across the canyon. Glancing upwards at the terraced buildings, she burst into motion, pushing hard with Ki Movement. Racing along the terrace¡¯s edge, she leapt upwards, angling to run along a building front. Landing with her feet slanted against the facade, Amdirlain snorted in amusement but didn¡¯t pause in speeding across the stonework. Bouncing between the buildings¡¯ outcroppings, she sped from one level to the next, pushing her physical skills by detouring rather than resorting to Flight or Teleport. With nothing reacting, Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop even when she finally reached the cliff top. Picking a road, she raced for the next canyon. Now I just need some pressure plates and pendulum blades swinging from the ceilings. Ki Movement and Agile makes parkour easy; I¡¯ll have to find some really challenging terrain. Oh, I should have Malnar make trap runs to practice with. * * * Three canyons later and an opening on the plateau¡¯s surface presented another temple area. Tapping a finger against the hard crystal dome, Amdirlain was curious about how it had remained unscratched for centuries. The dome was some ten metres across and reached just above knee height at its peak. Though there was plenty of dirt staining its surface, the dome wasn¡¯t showing any damage. [Laen: Laen, or True Glass, possesses an incredibly strong crystalline structure that readily holds enchantments. Natural laen is black or smoky but can become clear or tinted any colour with the right treatments.] Directly beneath the dome was a plinth with Negative Mana clouds thickening the darkness. The central plinth wasn¡¯t for the former Sun Power but was an altar to a Power representing agriculture. The chamber was again a hexagonal shape, but Analysis didn¡¯t show any repeated dedications. Curious what Jaixar would make of it, Inventory absorbed the dome, and she teleported past the thick clouds of Mana. Tempted to push her Resistance, she instead moved forward through the large corridor, checking for the undead. She wasn¡¯t disappointed; while there was no Charnal Nightmare, she found a battalion of troops arrayed around another Lich. A Yin-ladened Ki Strike tore it apart as Energy Drain ripped the enchantments on its Soul apart. Abyssal Energy seared flesh and Amdirlain switched on Angelic Aura for an instant to push it aside. The moment her attack broke her own concealments, the battalion surged towards her. This time it was Amdirlain¡¯s turn to dance among the pikes. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Blades that slipped past Psychoportation¡¯s deflections, she steered aside via strikes along their hafts. Even keeping to a mostly Elven form didn¡¯t restrict the strange aspects her body could take on. Strikes from bladed tendrils severed weapons, the pike heads clattering to the ground. Rows of troops moved in closer, their curved kukri slashing at her even as those with pikes still stabbed between them. Wraiths reached from blades when their numbers could force contact and sipped health away. Riposte strikes aimed at blades released them. Their hungry presence drew her next attack, shattering the Wraiths¡¯ incorporeal forms. Stolen health reclaimed, Amdirlain moved onto the next. When dozens tried to grapple her to the ground, Teleport took her out of reach and her practice continued. Shattered hands released Kukri¡¯s one by one to clatter on the ground. Only when she¡¯d disarmed the last did she bring them down. Her targeted strikes smashed through joints, twisting armour until they were completely vulnerable¡ªthen she ended them. Those pike blades left intact were dealt with quickly. [Combat Summary: Cadaver Lord x400 Wraiths x400 Lich x1 Total Experience gained: 1,735,826 Fallen: +350,949 Scion: +350,949 Sora Master: +350,949 Psion: +350,949 Warrior Monk: +350,949 Resistance: Abyssal (2->8) Death Strike [M](15->16) Agile [S](31->32) Danger Sense [S](3->4) Perception [M](44->45) Psychoportation [J](40) -> [Ad](8) Silent Storm [S](72->73) ] No Erotic Dance progress from this lot, so Ebusuku was watching my arse last time. The last of them dealt with, Amdirlain returned to the altars and claimed the Souls of the High Priests used to desecrate them. Amdirlain meditated in the Mana haze that thickened as it fed from her, until at last, the notification reported a single, begrudging increase. Teleport placed her near the cliff top, in the sunlight again and Amdirlain set a wall of Life Mana in place. While her health recovered, she scried on the teams, pushing Clairsentience to take in their progress and then check further out. Observing Sage taking down a lone Cadaver Lord, his finishing strike driving his hammer downwards, she gave herself a mental shake for the obvious oversight. Adjusting her focus again¡ªthis time straight up¡ªlet her look from the atmosphere¡¯s edge. Though she couldn¡¯t adjust her vision to make out more details, she saw the landmass laid out below her. A long way to the north were snow-capped mountains and a large continent beyond, but ahead lay a long stretch of dark ground. The far edge curved in a massive crescent around a gleaming island, spearing skywards in its middle. The south wasn¡¯t a solid landmass but a large archipelago, easily longer than Indonesia. Unconnected to a landmass in the south, the arc appeared to be a shattered sickle larger than the Gulf of Mexico. ¡°If all the canyons have living spaces, this is going to take a while,¡± Amdirlain muttered as she took in her personal surroundings. ¡°It¡¯s a world, of course it¡¯s going to take time.¡± Health rising upwards still, Amdirlain focused for a moment and sent a message to Torm. ¡°Hi, I hope everything is going well with the Erakk?. I¡¯d like to hear about their culture. The ones I rescued seemed good folks, but that doesn¡¯t mean they all are. Look out for yourself. I hope they are accepting of Tyr; not sure I¡¯d be happy if they have an unjust society.¡± Only when fully healed did Amdirlain set off to look for the next site. * * * Torm¡¯s PoV - Southern Pass Castle The flicker of armour surged in my direction. A twitch pulled me from a chatkcha¡¯s path and a breeze faned my face as it went whirling past. Claws lashed towards eyes and I was out of time. A welcome voice whispered in my ear, and regretfully, I only caught part of her message. Stabbing upwards, frost burst from Winter¡¯s Heart as the blade decapitated the Thri-Kreen. The Erakk? soldier deflected its suddenly relaxing claws away as the frost-coated body fell. The opening in my position invited an attack from my foe, and it lunged forward with its mandibles wide. Its blades glistened with venom, I pushed forward and headbutt its chest; its hardened shell buckled from the blow as we impacted. A high trill was the only sound it managed in time before my knee strike shattered its leg and drove it off the wall. The toppling foe dropped on top of those climbing up, and the armoured figures speeding towards me slowed. I know I¡¯m as strange to the Erakk?s as they are to me, even if they received word, but there wasn''t time for introductions. It¡¯s a momentary respite, but it let me channel a Blessing from my Liege. A mass healing washed over those around me, though the soldier who my last opponent had struck down remained unbreathing. Before the wall, the pass looked like a green and brown tide was washing in. Thousands of foes filled it, racing up the steep rock of the pass faster than a sprinting horse. The mounds of bodies already before the wall provided the next foes with a leg up; bodies piled up around the strange ladder poles they¡¯ve gotten into place. A greyish-blue stone castle and its troops are all that hold the living tide from overrunning the land behind us. With so many foes, I don¡¯t take the time to be selective, but without knowing those around me better, I target the Power away from the wall. Holy Smite lit up the late afternoon with a Celestial radiance, and swarming Thri-Kreen broke under its effects. The fact it injured them at all proved at least some of the Erakk?¡¯s accounts. If they¡¯d been as they once were, the Power wouldn¡¯t have hurt them: a race of spread-out tribes having become as ravaging locusts, devouring all before them. The push of fresh bodies racing over the fallen in front, doesn¡¯t speak of the caring tribal nature they once possessed for their kin. A click of claw against stone brought my focus close. The Thri-Kreen¡¯s head appeared above the battlements¡¯ edge, inviting a reply. My foot struck between the mandibles, and its head sailed away; the body falling onto those below. Most of the re-enforcements that had been charging towards the gap I held, spread out. The power granted me from Holy Smite¡¯s use recovered quickly, and I let another take my place. Kneeling by the fallen soldier, I could see her confused Soul, the Thri-Kreen¡¯s blade having opened her throat so quickly. I would wish to know more about her if the Soul had gone on before I take this action. Yet with her Soul so close at hand, I could see her loyal nature. Touching her armour is enough to form a connection. A brief link with the Soul, and I could feel her acceptance of my offer; I knew more than enough to be glad I made it. White light filled her wounds. Even as the flesh healed, her gaze refocuses and she stammered. ¡°I know you. I¡¯m alive?¡± ¡°Yes, you do. You are alive again, but you¡¯ll need time to recover properly. Go down and rest.¡± Stretcher-bearers took one look at her blood-soaked armour and didn¡¯t object to hauling her away. I can¡¯t bring all their fallen back, but I can save a couple more this day. Still, much better that none of them die than to bring them back. I need to buy them a break from the force that¡¯s hit. Teleport set me above the approaching foes. Resuming my full form caused gaps to form on my shirt¡¯s back, and my wings snapped into existence. My fall stopped, I let a Fire Storm fill the pass from side to side. Torrents of flame lashed down to roast shells and flesh. It forced a gap among those approaching, and I intentionally dropped on a foe still racing forward below me. I¡¯m still surprised by my own weight; it doesn¡¯t stand a chance. The close to five hundred kilograms of my full size crushed it into the ground. The others don¡¯t even look back at the noise, and standing in the mess left of my target, I cast again. A barrier of golden blades stretched a few hundred metres across the pass. Those that don¡¯t stop in time lost limbs, or at the least, gained gaping wounds as they crossed through them. Their allies died all around them and others didn¡¯t even turn aside, rather racing on for the wall. What¡¯s happened to them? Have they degenerated into animals? There isn¡¯t time for answers now, but they need to be found. The flames hadn¡¯t faded, but still more Thri-Kreen tried to push through its inferno, adding to the ashes. I could do with Whisper and her trumpet right now; the shock wave it could unleash would crush them in their shells. After teleporting close to the rearmost ranks, those ahead are so close, I could kick them, but they didn¡¯t turn on me. The word from my lips was pleasant to me and those serving Justice, yet Rebuke had them grasping at their heads and dropping lifeless to the ground. I looked for their Souls, and yet there was nothing. What¡¯s happened to the sapient species they once were? Yet they still bring siege ladders. How is that possible if they¡¯re not aware enough to have Souls? By the time the first Fire Storm died away, those clawing up the wall were shattered and broken. When the horde charged across the charred ground, I unleashed another and turned the pass into a charnel house. Their flesh cooking in their shells made the air smell like roasting chestnuts, and I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d ever be able to eat them again. It¡¯s a butchery that made a day at Azex¡¯s fishing hole look like a minor brawl. It was a long night of fighting before the last of the swarm was dead. Moving among the injured after the battle¡ªhealing those I can restore¡ªbrought only a slight feeling of balance after the night of carnage without rest. The thought of the Dao seizing the castle¡¯s inhabitants made my stomach twist; with their speed, the Thri-Kreen would have overrun so many places. The Erakk? soldiers didn¡¯t stop me as I moved along, helping heal their wounded. I made use of Blessings from Tyr, along with Universal Life and various gifts of a Planetar to ease the healers¡¯ burden wherever I could. There was an official waiting for me before I was even close to done; I recognised the rank insignia from conversations with V¨¡riy¨¡ka over the last weeks. When at last I stopped, I nodded politely to General Angarhela, who had waited patiently for the wounded to be tended. The rank I know isn¡¯t quite that, but Tongues translated it that way; it¡¯s also unclear if he commands the Castle or if there is someone else. The head healer had asked me to gift my name, and I¡¯d shared it gladly. They have an odd hierarchy: very formal, rigid in some ways, yet flexible in others; aside from the ruler, no one is born to their rank. Yet even the King¡ªor Queen as the previous two were¡ªis confirmed to the position on merit from among those eligible. There are no slaves nor thralls, but they¡¯ve been in a state of war for hundreds of years. ¡°Guardian Torm, I thank you for your name-gift that Healer Dokodela shared,¡± said Angarhela, the moment I straightened¡ªhaving needed to duck through the outer door. ¡°General Angarhela, I likewise thank you for your name-gift that Healer Dokodela shared.¡± His gaze kept darting beyond my shoulders, even though the wings weren''t out. His gauntleted hands interlaced across his torso in their sign of respect. ¡°I had a dispatch providing word of your description and purpose, but I¡¯d not expected to meet you. Certainly not under these circumstances. Would you join me and my staff to share a midday meal?¡± I was careful to return his gesture of respect before replying. ¡°I¡¯d be honoured, though I¡¯m curious to know what the dispatch said was my purpose. My journey¡¯s purpose was for learning about your people, and I wasn¡¯t aware they had sent any out.¡± ¡°We were told you spread the word of the great spirit Tyr, who you serve as a Guardian,¡± Angarhela replied, his arms falling by his sides. I shrugged and hoped I was correct that it meant roughly the same thing to them. ¡°That¡¯s not exactly my purpose here. I¡¯ve been checking to make sure your people are safe. I¡¯ve also been speaking about Lady Amdirlain, who rescued many soldiers that were taken from your northeast outpost. Without her help and permission, Lord Tyr wouldn¡¯t have been able to send me here to aid you.¡± ¡°Another great spirit?¡± asked Angarhela, a tic starting on his jawline Is the tic from anger, nerves, or something else? Their body language is so unfamiliar, I¡¯ve not yet learnt their cues. ¡°Great spirit isn¡¯t really the term, and they do not need blood to give aid the way Spirit Talkers request. They value an individual''s belief in their precepts and adherence to their ways.¡± Angarhela¡¯s tic eased, and he nodded slowly. ¡°Perhaps you could share these precepts and rites during the meal?¡± ¡°I¡¯d be honoured to do so. Have I kept anyone waiting?¡± I asked carefully. ¡°You¡¯ve been tending to the soldiers far faster than any I have seen. All would have waited until you finished helping. Hopefully, I¡¯ve not interrupted you on the way to assist another.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done all I can for now; I¡¯ll need to gather my energy for a time before I can render further aid.¡± I kept pace alongside the General as he headed within the castle. I could but hope I¡¯d do justice to both Amdirlain and Tyr in my explanations; It¡¯s just as well Ebusuku sent me so many of Amdirlain¡¯s symbols to share. Though, given how few I have left now, I¡¯ll have to ask Svenja to request yet another crate¡ªthe thousand Ebusuku sent last time had gone so fast. 142 - Tormented With her health restored, Amdirlain returned to the first temple site and, after orientating herself on the advancing teams, started mapping with Clairsentience. She confirmed Ebusuku¡¯s find was twice as far as her initial explorations had gone from the shoreline. A mental map of canyons prepared¡ªbut the others beyond Telepathy¡¯s range¡ªshe sent it out via their Oath link and received a sense of acknowledgement back. Cutting across the canyons, she cleared another five temples occupied by liches and their battalions along the line of the Teams¡¯ advance. Ki Movement carried her effortlessly through the dead civilisation, yet the weight of the place sat heavily. Only the odd noises of the winds through the damaged buildings provided any break from the heavy stillness. The lengthening day weighed with the familiarity of the Necropolis. ¡°Amdirlain, can you hear me? I found something you should see.¡± O¡¯Nai¡¯s words whispered directly into her awareness had her mistime a jump, and she caught herself with claws driven into a stone wall. Not taking her gaze from the dark waters beneath her, Amdirlain huffed in amusement and sent a message. ¡°Neat trick O¡¯Nai. I know you didn¡¯t take Wizard. How did you do that?¡± ¡°A Valkyrie explained¡ªif I understood properly¡ªit¡¯s using the bond of our Oath,¡± replied O¡¯Nai, the words still faint in her awareness. ¡°Anything new in your Profile?¡± asked Amdirlain, focusing just on O¡¯Nai¡¯s Oath link. ¡°I¡¯ll check,¡± replied O¡¯Nai. ¡°Did you see a picture just then?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± conceded Amdirlain, wondering how bad things could be. ¡°I have Spirit Bridge now, but only at four,¡± O¡¯Nai offered. Amdirlain teleported closer to the area she expected O¡¯Nai to be, and easily linked to his mind. ¡°We¡¯ll work on it. I¡¯ve teleported closer. Is it okay if I look through your eyes?¡± ¡°Of course. Be warned, it¡¯s worse than anything else I¡¯ve seen here,¡± said O¡¯Nai. Anger that hadn¡¯t been in the message was clear in his mind. The late afternoon sunlight streaming through a dirty window overhead cast a chamber in shadows. It appeared to be an indoor auditorium; arrayed from a central dais in hexagonal lines were low stone blocks, each set on ascending levels. A large crystal, drawing in wisps of energy from the chamber¡¯s undead, was positioned on the room¡¯s central dais. Thousands of small skeletons flailed about on the auditorium¡¯s floor with fractured bones. They weren¡¯t a danger to O¡¯Nai and didn¡¯t even seem inclined or able to move towards him. Teleport put her beside O¡¯Nai, and the situation became clear in Soul Sight. Every skeleton still had the child¡¯s Soul bound to it and mirrored the bone¡¯s wounds. The Souls experienced an endless repetition of the torture inflicted on them, and their anguish drained into the crystal. Tendrils raced out from her and brushed by each child to free their Souls. Looking over the crystal¡¯s enchantments, she ensured they were clear of traps. Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, and the tentacle she reached out towards it paused. Instead of smashing it apart, she stored it into Inventory. [True Sight [M](42->43)] Two today, that¡¯s a bit of progression from checking gear. I¡¯ll stop using Analysis as the first option on enchantments. She blinked away the tears for the pain of the Souls she held within, and spotting the distress on O¡¯Nai¡¯s face, she placed a hand on his forearm and gave a reassuring squeeze. ¡°If they take them to the Abyss, they have to release them to Judgement. They were keeping them here to harvest their misery¡ªyou helped free them,¡± said Amdirlain, more to make sense of it to O¡¯Nai than any need to hear it aloud. ¡°Suffering is a valuable commodity in the Abyss. I can use it to make them pay the bill for what they¡¯ve done here.¡± ¡°You would make the suffering of the children mean something rather than simply destroy it? Ebusuku says you have a strange mind to use Protean in such a fashion. It seems it¡¯s not limited to the use of your Powers,¡± observed O¡¯Nai, motioning to the retracting tendrils, his tone calmer than his mind. ¡°From her, I¡¯ll take that as a compliment,¡± quipped Amdirlain, patting him on the arm. ¡°It¡¯s getting close to nightfall; we should head back shortly. Thanks for letting me know, O¡¯Nai, now let¡¯s go outside; it feels vile in here.¡± O¡¯Nai nodded and shook bone fragments from the footman¡¯s mace he held in a white-knuckled grip. Their path out led through decorative chambers far more elaborate than other buildings she¡¯d looked inside. Scores of destroyed skeletons lay along their path before they reached the terrace. Amdirlain looked over the building front for some clue to its content, but its exterior was indistinguishable from so many others she¡¯d passed. ¡°I¡¯ve not found any places like this one, but I¡¯ve not explored a lot of building interiors. I could have passed by worse than that horror show,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°We can only help where we can. We didn¡¯t cause their suffering,¡± O¡¯Nai poked her with her own words, his tension setting a cutting edge. ¡°True, but it means we need to inspect every building,¡± Amdirlain said, letting the edge of the words slide off her, unsure how to comfort him. ¡°Thanks to you, we freed them. Our activity today might have attracted attention, we should tackle a different region next time we return.¡± ¡°You mean tomorrow?¡± questioned O¡¯Nai gruffly. ¡°No, I mean next time, we might not return every day. Even if we come tomorrow, it doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯ll strike here,¡± refuted Amdirlain and she teleported them both back before explaining further. ¡°If we¡¯re predictable, we¡¯ll end up sticking our head into a trap.¡± ¡°Like prey coming to the waterhole,¡± O¡¯Nai said thoughtfully after a moment. Motioning to the stone circle she¡¯d etched the previous day, she said ¡°I¡¯ll need to get rid of that marker before we leave. While we¡¯re acting, it doesn¡¯t stop others from enacting their own plans in return.¡± The other teams arrived just before nightfall; even Ebusuku and Farhad returned without prompting. Amdirlain couldn¡¯t see a mark on either of them, except for some dust on Farhad¡¯s shoes. The cliff¡¯s lip gained a jagged break as she fractured the rock face to remove the evidence of the circle. Their return path via Limbo quickly washed their trace away, and when they reached her Domain, Amdirlain waved them on. ¡°I¡¯m going to get my scrap melted down. Ebusuku, could you have a chat with Malnar for me while I¡¯m gone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can find her. What did you want built?¡± asked Ebusuku, directing a curious look at Amdirlain. ¡°A training corridor full of embarrassing traps, nothing that would risk someone¡¯s life. A face full of dye is clearly a bad sign when disarming a trap. Along with doorways with various challenging locks, that sort of thing,¡± explained Amdirlain. Ebusuku gave her a brisk nod. ¡°I know what you mean.¡± ¡°Oh, and chambers filled with obstacles to make it challenging to get through quickly, even for Farhad,¡± added Amdirlain. At the mention of a challenge, Farhad looked pleased, and she shifted planes. Thousands of Souls washing out across the grey cloud in Judgement again had the Titan¡¯s Servant appearing almost instantly. Relieved the children¡¯s damaged Souls had lost all sign of their injuries, Amdirlain turned towards the Servant. ¡°Does Cemna have anyone left alive on it?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°Good day to you as well, Amdirlain,¡± replied the Servant. Amdirlain rolled her eyes, but her tone was polite. ¡°Oh yes, my bad. We¡¯ve always taken time for the small talk. Good day to whomever it may concern since I don¡¯t know your name. I just think of you as the Titan¡¯s Servant.¡± ¡°That is correct. In answer to your question, except for some animals¡ªas you¡¯ve seen¡ªthe world no longer has any member of its sapient species left alive. The Demon Lord Orcus hates the living, he wishes everything to die.¡± Amdirlain breathed a sigh of relief that new Souls weren¡¯t being born into that torment. The pain Ebusuku had carried with her prompted another question she hoped to get answered. ¡°Why were there children trapped in the Titan¡¯s Maze?¡± ¡°Those trapped weren¡¯t children no matter their appearance. They were proto-deities from various worlds that failed to achieve a full transition from spirit to Power, for whatever reason,¡± the Servant said. ¡°She could see them as their original nature aligned to your own. Those too different to your nature, she could not hope to rescue. They appeared human merely for her benefit, otherwise she would not have recognised their forms.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let her know-¡± Amdirlain said, halting as the Servant and the Souls vanished. ¡°Thanks.¡± Storing the crates left behind, Amdirlain braced herself and shifted planes again, ready to teleport in an instant. The chamber¡¯s rock formations didn¡¯t press suddenly inwards, but it still wasn¡¯t a place she¡¯d been aiming to reach. Though the chamber wasn¡¯t large, Amdirlain dumped the weapons and armour to the ground. Laying wall after wall of Celestial energy in place, Amdirlain mentally reached out, and confirmed there weren¡¯t any minds close. [Summoning Notification You have received a summons from Summoner Aleko of Chernihiv via your ¡®Use¡¯ name. Your Willpower, Intelligence, and total levels all exceed the summoner. They meet no conditions to compel you to respond. The individual is not a member of your faithful. You can ignore this summons. Do you wish to accept the summons? ] Amdirlain grabbed at the name with Analysis and frowned at the information she received. [Name: Aleko of Chernihiv Class: Summoner / Thief / Fighter Level: 43 / 39 / 21 Health: 1,398 Defence: 61 Magic: 63 Mana: 722 Melee Attack Power: 54 Combat Skills: Dagger [Ad] (27), Short Spear [Ad] (3) Details: The youngest son of a Slav Witch, Aleko inherited her gift of dealing with spirits, but not her abilities with Spell crafting. So instead, he received training as a Summoner to help ensure the safety of villages in the family¡¯s care. After his family died in Hobgoblin raids, he became a mercenary, taking whatever jobs paid the best.] If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. [Analysis [S](16->17)] No Amdirlain brushed the summoning aside and chewed on her lip as she considered the implications. * * * Duskstone Amdirlain hadn¡¯t previously made it onto the main floor of Duskstone¡¯s Foundry with Jaixar. On this visit, she¡¯d turned up after night shift¡¯s commencement and the only Foundry Master present was already supervising a pour. The staff at the outer office sent her inside with an escort to ensure she didn¡¯t ¡®get lost¡¯. Entering the main floor, waves of heat and noise washed over her even from the furnaces not in use. Each added to the Foundry¡¯s sweltering conditions and emitted a massive amount of Fire Mana, but their setup made it impossible to determine the exact source. Amdirlain spotted the Foundry Master directing a team, but her escort motioned her behind a line etched onto the floor, and she settled down to wait. Unhurried in his approach, his reddish-black gaze regarded her silently for a few moments before he pulled off a long heavy work glove and held out a hand. Though his beard was unmarked, his bare skin was splotched with burn scars that showed even under his thinning black hair. Amdirlain shook his hand without hesitation and carefully matched his solid grip. [Name: Palnar Species: Mountain Dwarf Class: Master Engineer / Fighter Level: 23 / 51 Health: 2,181 Defence: 81 Melee Attack Power: 75 Combat Skills: Dagger [M] (5), War Hammer [M] (23) Details: Palnar, the third son of Narrax, worked his way up from a Foundry crew hand on his own merit instead of following his family¡¯s custom of mining. He is currently the youngest shift chief in Duskstone, having combined Engineer and Smith at level 50 into the Master Engineer Prestige Class. [Master Engineer This Prestige Class combines Engineer with one of several other crafting classes at level 50. The secondary class combined with the Engineer Class influences the benefits provided.] ¡°Master Palnar, thank you for talking with me,¡± Amdirlain said politely, the moment he released her hand. [Diplomacy check failed!] Oh fuck off! ¡°We¡¯ve a busy evening ahead of us Wood Elf. What did you need?¡± growled Palnar. ¡°I brought in a load of Celestial steel etched with foul runes, and I have more I needed smelted,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I was told to give it directly into the care of a Foundry Master.¡± ¡°That would make you Amdirlain then, correct?¡± Palnar asked. When Amdirlain nodded, he immediately continued on. ¡°Well, your steel lots are on the work docket for tonight. How much more do you have?¡± ¡°Six times the original amount, of both ordinary and Celestial,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The night just got busier, it seems,¡± Planar grumbled, and putting fingers to his lips, let loose an ear-piercing whistle even over the Foundry¡¯s noise. He motioned a team to bring carts over before he looked back at Amdirlain. ¡°Drop it there, and we¡¯ll get it smelted. We¡¯ve a reduced crew on, given the runes nature, so some furnaces are free.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, Master Palnar, but what do you use to power the furnaces?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°They radiate massive amounts of Fire Mana.¡± ¡°No secret there, petal pusher. Efreeti Hearts make for the best source of power for a furnace. It¡¯s the only good use for the bastards,¡± Palnar declared, and a smile twisted his burn-scarred lips. ¡°That¡¯s vaguely disturbing,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Not as disturbing as finding cooked miners they¡¯ve roasted on the edges of the Magma,¡± growled Palnar, before giving a snort. ¡°You know why their hearts can fuel a furnace for decades?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± Amdirlain admitted, wondering what the punchline was going to be. ¡°Because the Efreeti never use them while they¡¯re alive,¡± chuckled Palnar dryly. Does that count as Dwarven black humour? Unamused, Amdirlain started setting the salvage on the floor. ¡°Plus, it¡¯s not a fleshy heart, flower muncher. The stronger Efreeti crack apart after they die and leave a burning ruby behind. You do find ugly lots of steel,¡± observed Palnar, nudging a piece with his foot. ¡°Leave it with us. What we don¡¯t get handled tonight, we¡¯ll fit into a gap in our schedule. Delivery terms the same?¡± ¡°Yes, please. Jaixar will handle the rest of the details,¡± replied Amdirlain, ignoring Palnar¡¯s snort. [Diplomacy check failed!] I still need to take these crates through to Clan Gildenshield, wonder if I¡¯ll end up flooding the market. * * * Outlands None of the Archons was immediately where she could see them on her return, though Amdirlain could feel them spread out through the Domain. Fighting down the blush that the energy from Farhad¡¯s dwelling had brought up, Amdirlain worked to block her awareness of their home as she wandered through the original buildings. Though the Norse feel of it was consistent, she still wasn¡¯t sure she would have chosen it herself, however familiar it was to her original worshippers. This is what Sidero means about letting others put the bit between my teeth. If others are making choices for me, inertia can keep them in play. Need the right people to decide. Moving towards the closest Archon, she found Mirage sitting at a heavy table set in the sunlight with Artificer tools spread across it. Like Amdirlain had seen Salnox practising, Mirage was setting runes along a disk¡¯s edge that sat secured within a stand while one of Morgana¡¯s escorts gave her advice. The Archon looked nothing like Amdirlain had seen her earlier, and sat working as an alabaster-skinned Human, with wild, dark red hair. She glanced up as Amdirlain approached, revealing a brilliant emerald gaze. The quick motion caused the crafting glasses she wore to slip a bit on her snub nose. Releasing the disk¡¯s stand for a moment, Mirage quickly pushed them back into position and refocused on her work. Amdirlain sat down across from her and watched Mana steadily flow into the Artificer runes. While she waited, two Archons approaching drew her attention. Tickles taking on a human form was apparently catching on with the others. Berry and one of the male Archons¡ªEcho¡ªapproached the bench carrying a crate each. However, each had taken on very different forms than any Human she¡¯d yet seen. Berry had wavey black shoulder-length hair and dusky brown skin, her broad nose and jawline giving her a look similar to a Pacific Islander, though her skin tone was darker. Echo was far different, and his height made Berry look tiny even though she was slightly taller than Amdirlain¡¯s Wood Elf form. His skin was so pale it almost glowed, but covered by a network of blue tattoos, and his dark leaf-green hair reached to mid-back, its colour matching his eyes. While neither Tickles¡¯ nor Berry¡¯s features matched the Norse, Echo had their broad, solid look overall, though he looked like he could stand out in any setting. ¡°What¡¯s in the boxes?¡± Amdirlain asked quickly to avoid commenting on Echo¡¯s appearance. Though his questioning gaze looked as if he¡¯d been trying to elicit a reaction. Echo hefted the crate slightly, and she heard wood pieces slithering across each other inside. ¡°Mostly your symbols. Torm sent a message via Svenja asking for some. Sage is preparing a bunch for him since he¡¯s been asking so often.¡± Moving to sit beside Amdirlain, Berry set her crate on the bench, careful not to bump Mirage¡¯s work. ¡°Farhad only just give you a break from training to sort it out?¡± enquired Amdirlain, as she reached for the latches on Berry¡¯s crate. ¡°No,¡± Berry replied, and she continued on the moment Amdirlain gave her a raised eyebrow. ¡°Ebusuku sent some previously. Aggie had brought a Relic made by the Lady of the Forest to prepare them more easily. She wanted it kept here in case of trouble.¡± Pausing as she undid the first latch, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I know the one you mean, dark wood, with amber grain in the shape of my symbol. What sort of trouble is she worried about?¡± ¡°There have been some Greeks asking questions among the Norse and Egyptians. Eivor and Aggie have been growing concerned about them,¡± Echo explained. ¡°They weren¡¯t sure if they were Hestia¡¯s followers or someone else.¡± ¡°I hope Hestia is the only one of them looking on the Material Plane, but she¡¯s potentially not,¡± frowned Amdirlain, and she froze as she looked inside the crate. Mirage glanced up for only a moment. ¡°Aggie mentioned they¡¯re changing the engraving in the temples slightly; added a mix of faces and including adjustments to your Elven features¡ªsince everyone should do their bit to help.¡± Berry tilted her head at Amdirlain¡¯s continued frown. ¡°Did we do something wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done nothing wrong,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and she patted her arm. ¡°I had someone try to summon me earlier, but I¡¯ve never heard of them. The notification gave their name as Aleko of Chernihiv, which is more Slavic, but their details showed they¡¯re a mercenary, basically.¡± Forcing the frown from her face, Amdirlain took in the forearm dimensions of the cube-shaped crate. ¡°It seems to be mostly symbols. What else is in here?¡± ¡°Five thousand symbols in each, plus some potions,¡± Berry clarified. ¡°Why so many?¡± asked Amdirlain, glancing between Berry and Echo. ¡°Ebusuku already sent him five crates of one thousand each over the last two weeks¡ªhe keeps asking for more,¡± explained Berry. Taking the crate from Amdirlain she re-secured the latches. ¡°I told him to see if their culture was okay and tell them about Tyr,¡± protested Amdirlain, as she ground her teeth. I¡¯ve no idea if I¡¯m doing right by the people who look to me already. Echo gave her a relaxed shrug. ¡°He¡¯s been doing that, and telling them about you as well.¡± ¡°Once I get past level thirty, I¡¯d like to go to Eyrarh¨¢ls and join up with Livia,¡± Berry said hesitantly. ¡°I figure if the Greek Gods are going to send agents to strike at someone, she¡¯ll be one of them. I¡¯d like to get practice travelling through normal lands as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll switch with you when I hit forty, and you can work on catching up,¡± Echo interjected before Amdirlain could reply. ¡°The choice is yours, but thank you,¡± Amdirlain replied, giving them both a grateful smile for their concern. ¡°Now fill me in on what you¡¯ve heard about Torm¡¯s activities.¡± ¡°He¡¯s been talking to the Senior Shaper along with checking various villages and towns. Svenja sent Ebusuku a message today, and after you headed off, she asked Sage to create the symbols. That¡¯s all I know,¡± replied Berry. ¡°Oh, she offloaded it to Sage so she could go celebrate. I see how it is!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. Echo laughed and gave her a broad smile. ¡°She talked to Malnar first, but I¡¯ve never heard her speak so quickly before.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad they warded their place. I swear I¡¯ve seen the walls shaking,¡± Berry offered playfully. Amdirlain laughed at Berry¡¯s amusement. ¡°Guess they¡¯re doing stability testing of Malnar¡¯s construction techniques.¡± * * * Viper¡¯s PoV - Raivo¡¯s Quarters - Blades of Ruin Fortress Analysis showed that the inner door guards were Cambion rather than Hymadan. It had only been the lack of rotting fur on the Hyena-headed pair that had prompted her to check them¡ªthe plate armour that encased them had made it hard to spot. Though it was tempting to see how fast they could shed the armour, playing with someone else¡¯s toys might draw anger and that wouldn¡¯t gain her what she desired. ''Only what gets me closer to my goal''; that¡¯s what she¡¯d have said. I¡¯m sure to find plenty of Mortals I can fuck to death along the way. A bang from within prompted the guards to leap into action and yank the doors open. ¡°Enter.¡± The snapped order came from a wolf-helmed Narauk just within the doors. Even with his wings tightly folded against his back, he was nearly double her height. Then again, she¡¯d chosen a very special form for today¡¯s visit, and its lithe build wasn¡¯t that tall. As she stepped past him, the black flame wreathing the Narauk¡¯s almost human form, caused weird shadows to dance around the chamber¡¯s furnishing. The shifting flames competed with the red illumination cast by the throne¡¯s lightning-wrapped figure. Even if its heat didn¡¯t affect her flesh, she was glad she¡¯d kept her link to the clothing she wore¡ªfirst impressions and all that. Raivo stared at her flatly as she came to a halt near his throne. ¡°Why are you here again, Viper?¡± ¡°I want to make use of your lackey¡¯s Gate,¡± declared Viper. ¡°That will cost you. What¡¯s with the pixie form?¡± asked Raivo. ¡°Don¡¯t you like office girl Julia, or should I say J?¡± purred Viper, turning a quick circle and letting her skirt flare out to show off her tanned legs. ¡°Last time you spoke to her, you wanted to cut clothing off her. Should I add some layers for you L¨ºdhins, or do you only answer to Raivo now?¡± ¡°I thought bargaining with your flesh beneath your Mistress,¡± stated Raivo, not raising to her bait of his old name. Viper made the Rod of Lightning appear and spun it in her hand. ¡°I¡¯m not here for her, I¡¯m here on my behalf, and I brought another present as well.¡± Raivo looked her over and sneered at the empowered item she was waving about. ¡°Why should I cut a deal with you?¡± ¡°Because I can go where your Manes can¡¯t, and you seem to have a distinct lack of succubi willing to deal with you. I wonder why that might be?¡± teased Viper. ¡°You¡¯ll provide a half-breed for every five years you¡¯re there,¡± declared Raivo. ¡°One after each half-century on the Material Plane, and if you haggle with me, fucking this form is off the table,¡± Viper retorted. Raivo looked her over, and the next words came out in a heated growl. ¡°That was really her Mortal Form?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Viper replied. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you alive enough to heal,¡± Raivo said, his hand around Viper¡¯s throat the moment she finished speaking. She released her lightning-seared clothing from Protean¡¯s hold before he started cutting the blouse away. After the initial pain, the lightning aura died away, but Viper screamed in delight. Her special form was still in place, and she couldn¡¯t feel his will trying to suppress her abilities. 143 - Umbra Outlands Amdirlain considered both of the crates filled with symbols before she rose from the worktable. ¡°Think I¡¯ll have a little chat with Torm before I pass them over.¡± Her tone drew a snicker from Echo, and Berry glared at him. ¡°He¡¯s incorrigible, he¡¯ll sniff out the slightest opportunity for mischief.¡± ¡°Sage is still working on more," Echo laughed, motioning towards a building on the practice field¡¯s edge. ¡°A third?! Aren¡¯t ten thousand symbols enough for now?!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t listen to him, he¡¯ll have your head spinning,¡± warned Berry, and she slapped a hand over Echo¡¯s mouth despite his attempt to wiggle away. ¡°Sage is simply getting them ready in case he¡¯s busy next time. He likes to have things already prepared. I feel sure he¡¯s always been that way.¡± ¡°If you two bump my table, I¡¯ll roll your hairy arses in wax and rip it off!¡± threatened Mirage, fixing them both with a glare. Echo, who¡¯d been squirming around under Berry¡¯s hand, teleported away. ¡°See? Mischief, he could have done that from the start,¡± grumbled Berry. The heat in Mirage¡¯s glare didn¡¯t lessen a bit. ¡°Shoo!¡± Berry¡¯s space at the table was suddenly vacant. ¡°I¡¯ll let you get back to your engraving,¡± Amdirlain said, and she quickly secured the crates before heading off with an innocent wave. Away from the table, she could feel Mirage¡¯s grumpy gaze and gave in to the urge to snicker. ¡°Wax on, wax off,¡± giggled Amdirlain, and a teleport took her to the platform she¡¯d constructed on the valley¡¯s ridgeline. The mental image of the pair fleeing from Mirage wielding a waxing strip, set her off into a fit of hysterical laughter. ¡°Torm, so apparently you¡¯d requested some of my symbols from Ebusuku. I have a bunch of them Sage has prepared, so I¡¯ll open a Gate to you in roughly ten minutes. Then, we can have a talk.¡± Amdirlain waited not so patiently, her second-guessing herself about so directly interrupting him had her pacing. Feeling a blush stealing its way up her neck broke her from a pleasant daydream. Coughing at the tingling running through her stomach and groin, Amdirlain tried to get her imagination away from happily providing suggestions. ¡°Bloody panty soaker,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and focusing on her Time Sense showed barely any time had passed. She sighed as she went back to pacing. Close to the time, she opened the Gate focused on Torm, and found him waiting in a large chamber with a dozen armoured Erakk? present. Torm¡¯s simple clothing made him as out of place as his human form. The Erakk?¡¯s armour showed signs of recent wear, and though cleaned, there were scratches and marks from weapon blows that would certainly require a smith¡¯s attention. Torm¡¯s smile lit up his gaze, and Amdirlain focused on his words to avoid another blush from her active imagination. ¡°Thank you for taking this time, Lady Amdirlain. Might I share some name-gifts with you?¡± ¡°Of course, please come through all of you,¡± Amdirlain replied happily, and motioned them forward. The immediate spark of amusement in Torm¡¯s gaze nearly caused her to groan. Touching his mind, she caught a reminder of their usual formality. [Diplomacy check failed! Note: Really?!! Read the room, darn it! ] Oh, you fucker! Screw it. ¡°Please come through. There are seats suitable for you,¡± Amdirlain said, and stepped aside from the Gate. Ignoring Torm¡¯s amusement, Amdirlain endured a receiving line good-naturedly as he introduced her to General Angarhela and his command staff. The interlaced fingers of their greetings prompted her to return their sign of respect. Though she¡¯d only seen twelve beyond the Gate, a full score of Erakk? came through, a few constantly flicking their eyes at the clouds overhead despite her reassurances. With the junior ranks formed up in ranks to remain standing, Amdirlain hastily created extra chairs around an extension of the table. The sudden appearance of the furniture caused a stir among the Erakk?. ¡°Torm, what refreshment is suitable?¡± Amdirlain asked mentally, as the Erakk? remained standing near their seats. Torm drew a chair out from the table¡¯s end and gave Amdirlain a bow before stepping aside to let her sit. ¡°Our alcohol does nothing for them, though their water tastes the same. They¡¯ve been fighting until recently, so even that would likely be welcome.¡± The silent exchange went unnoticed by her guests and Amdirlain quickly shaped two spells. A thick half-litre steel stein appeared on the table at each position, and then pure water streaming from the air filled each nearly to the rim; its coolness frosting the metal. ¡°Well, that¡¯s one way to do a Divine gesture,¡± murmured Torm dryly. Amdirlain simply spoke over the top of him, suppressing the urge to poke out her tongue. ¡°I hope the water is alright for now. If you¡¯re feeling hungry, I¡¯m sure we can sort something out. Torm, stop looming and sit down, please.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s raised eyebrow and pointed finger had him quickly seated in a chair beside her. She raised her stein in a silent toast to Torm before draining half of it and returning it to the table. One of the Erakk? sampled the water, and others followed suit, though some moved more carefully than others wincing as they shifted position. Reluctant to intrude, she listened to the fatigued slowness of their broadcast thoughts, laced with pained reactions they sought to keep suppressed. ¡°You are not what I had expected from a spirit if I might be so bold, Lady Amdirlain,¡± said Angarhela, after he¡¯d taken a drink. ¡°From what I know of your spirits, that¡¯s a great compliment. I noticed some of your staff are recovering from wounds. Might I assist with healing them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We could provide no offering suitable for such a favour-¡± started Angarhela and stopped as Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°General, I don¡¯t expect any offerings. I¡¯d like to help and with your permission, I will,¡± stated Amdirlain kindly. ¡°If you do not expect any offering, what do you expect, Lady Amdirlain?¡± asked Angarhela. ¡°Guardian Torm told us of your tenets the other day, but I find it hard to conceive of a spirit not asking or demanding the blood price for aid.¡± ¡°I expect nothing, nor do I demand. I¡¯ll help people I believe deserve it. If Torm believes you worthy of help, I¡¯ll give you my trust and aid, unless someone abuses my trust. In the end, everyone¡¯s choices are their own, and I choose to help others where I can,¡± replied Amdirlain. Even though she could see their nature in Soul Sight, Amdirlain looked at Torm. ¡°Do you find the General and his soldiers worthy of aid?¡± ¡°I do, Lady Amdirlain. They are honourable warriors, risking their lives to keep their people safe,¡± replied Torm. Oh, we¡¯re doing improv theatre. [Diplomacy check failed! Acting [M](9)] Yeah, yeah. Whatever! Amdirlain looked back at the General. ¡°So I¡¯ll ask again; might I heal your staff?¡± ¡°Whatever aid you would gift us with, we would gratefully accept; the recent fighting was fierce. Our healers cannot produce the feats Guardian Torm has shown, and they are still treating those injured in the battle before he arrived,¡± said Angarhela. ¡°After we¡¯re done speaking, I¡¯d like to meet your medical staff. I¡¯d help them so they can help others. For now though,¡± Amdirlain paused and Life Mana suddenly covered the area. ¡°This should help your injuries.¡± The staff started at the greenish-golden light rippling around them. Amdirlain happily noted the pain in the injured easing quickly from the Mana she pushed into the wall. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t wish to impose on your generosity, but I would prefer we tend to the wounded first. Despite all the help Guardian Torm provided in defence and healing, we still have infirmaries filled with wounded,¡± replied Angarhela. ¡°That speaks well of you General,¡± said Amdirlain, and she glanced at Torm. ¡°Torm, would you know which injured need attention the most? I can open other Gates near the infirmaries with the worst wounded to minimise any disturbance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m uncertain, but I know who to check with,¡± Torm said and he rose to his feet. When he passed through the Gate, Amdirlain kept a mental link to him. ¡°How long were you fighting for before Torm arrived?¡± asked Amdirlain, catching the lack of titles unsettled the General but didn¡¯t correct her wording for him. ¡°The fighting was on its fifth day when he showed up on the wall. We¡¯d received word of his presence in the kingdom, but had never expected such help,¡± Angarhela replied. ¡°How is it that Guardian Torm can go through this doorway into our world and you cannot?¡± [Diplomacy check failed Note: Really, why have this skill then?] Because you fucking gave it to me, now piss off you wanker. ¡°I can give permission for Torm to enter because he serves Tyr, but I answer to myself, so I don¡¯t have anyone to give me that permission. The creator of worlds sets the rules for entering them, and I can only abide by his rules. That said, I have others that can help assist, but they¡¯ve recently returned from fighting to help another world.¡± ¡°Do you require the healers worship you to gain the help?¡± Angarhela asked. Amdirlain shrugged and considered her words after the Senior Shaper V¨¡riy¨¡ka¡¯s reaction to the word magic. ¡°You are persistent, General. Who they worship is their choice. You¡¯ve seen Torm provide healing that requires such worship, but while I can provide that form of aid to a Priestess, or Priest, it¡¯s not the only option. There is another method that depends more on the individual¡¯s capacity as with Shapers. While it has limits in the healing it can provide, it would make recovering from some injuries much faster.¡± The staff whispered among themselves but the General sat quietly mulling over her words before he spoke again. ¡°What sort of limits does it possess?¡± ¡°Flesh wounds, blood loss, various degrees of bruising, and strained muscles would all heal without issue. Broken bones and deeper injuries would need to be tended first, but then it could speed up recovery afterwards,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That would still do much to help,¡± said Angarhela. He gave her a respectful nod with his fingers interlaced that his staff echoed. ¡°Such aid would be extremely beneficial. I find I do not have the words to express sufficient thanks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not one for words either. I much prefer to be helping than talking about it,¡± Amdirlain replied, and gave the stunned General a bright smile. ¡°Torm has confirmed the first patients with Healer Dokodela. Anyone still experiencing pain, please stay seated in the light until the pain eases it will also help with the extremes of exhaustion I can feel from you.¡± Amdirlain flowed to her feet, and Angarhela went to stand, only to find Amdirlain¡¯s hand resting lightly on his shoulder. ¡°That includes you; when is the last time you¡¯ve slept properly?¡± ¡°In far too long, Lady Amdirlain,¡± Angarhela replied. ¡°The Gate will open right here. You can always turn your chair if you wish to supervise the lessons and the care given to your soldiers,¡± advised Amdirlain. Prior practice made quick work of training the Healers and others among the medical staff, including stretcher-bearers. They got to practice with the Spell Forms adapted to Life Mana, treating the first patients under her supervision. Despite the initial score of new Wizards, they had no chance of possessing enough Mana to tend to all the patients. Messages to the Archons added their healing efforts with either Universal Life or Blessings from those who¡¯d started levelling Priest. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Their provision of aid provided whatever reassurances the General and his staff had sought to gain. After additional groups of Healers came through the Gate for lessons, staff members returned to oversee the castle¡¯s matters, the General being the last to leave. Amdirlain set the crates upon the table in between groups, and Torm returned her raised eyebrow with a smile. ¡°Tyr, feels it is only right that we acknowledge your role in bringing them aid.¡± ¡°Is your boss miffed with me for not asking? I don¡¯t want all this,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, nodding at the excited surgeons funnelling back through the Gate. ¡°No, he¡¯s grateful and will abide by your terms; he intends to say nothing until the others prove themselves to you. Sidero told me that the measure of a person is what they do with power,¡± countered Torm. ¡°Sidero was just quoting, or rather misquoting someone else; at least she didn¡¯t tell you ''with great power comes great responsibility''. Fine, whatever, it¡¯s already done,¡± replied Amdirlain as she pushed aside her frustration to focus on the work at hand. ¡°What¡¯s the situation at the castle? The General¡¯s staff felt exhausted.¡± Through the mental link she still held, Torm presented memories of the fighting before he said anything. ¡°Exhausted but recovering, the swarm contained tens of thousands; they¡¯d been fighting day and night. I wanted to speak about the Thri-Kreen. Besides the extreme change in their behaviour from before the grey years, they release no Souls on dying. Yet the Erakk?¡¯s accounts make that unexpected; they depict intelligent individuals living in tribal groups that mainly kept to themselves and cared for their tribe mates. While there were occasional issues, their records show it was more at an individual level.¡± ¡°Are there any left nearby?¡± asked Amdirlain, after taking time in consideration of his words and memories. ¡°No, the swarm smashed itself apart against the castle,¡± answered Torm. Amdirlain considered her options and gave a sigh. ¡°Any bodies still around?¡± ¡°They are still dealing with the remains,¡± confirmed Torm, giving her a confused look. ¡°Can someone fetch me a Thri-Kreen corpse?¡± enquired Amdirlain, before she explained. ¡°Analysis can give me information about the dead; perhaps I can get a clue what¡¯s happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll arrange that while you teach the next batch,¡± Torm replied and he passed through the Gate in a gap between arrivals. It wasn¡¯t until the last of her students returned to the castle, practicing under the supervision of one of Tyr¡¯s Valkyrie that she got a chance to examine a Thri-Kreen corpse. [Species: Thri-Kreen (Psi Altered Drone) Class: Slave Level: 20 Status: Deceased Details: The Illithid Hivemind growing beneath the former Elven Kingdom of Elunith, gestated and controlled this body. ] Oh shit! ¡°What were the grey years?¡± asked Amdirlain, as she sought to wrap her head around the Illithid presence. ¡°It started with a massive sound that woke the inhabitants, and over the next days, the sun dimmed before fine ash fell across the crops. It was four years later before they experience a real summer, the Erakk? had a large number die for lack of food, and it hit the nations north of them worse,¡± explained Torm. ¡°After that, the plains Thri-Kreen vanished for almost a decade. When they returned, they tore their way through two Elven Kingdoms and drove them from the continent.¡± ¡°That sounds like a massive volcanic eruption seeded the atmosphere with ash. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s connected, but the Thri-Kreen have been modified by the Illithid,¡± said Amdirlain, opting to cut to the chase. Torm hissed as he inhaled sharply. ¡°The creatures that enslaved the Githzerai?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Amdirlain confirmed and gestured to the body. ¡°This is a Psi Altered Drone, Analysis says it was gestated and controlled by an Illithid Hivemind, but no indication as to how many of those exist. I might have to see if I can learn more.¡± ¡°Do you think the Githzerai will assist the Erakk??¡± asked Torm. ¡°Absolutely not. Their faction leader was opposed to continued warring with the Illithid and was assassinated for attempting to make peace. Plus, unless they¡¯re under threat, the Githzerai want very little to do with outsiders,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°A moment of your time Amdirlain,¡± Malnar interrupted, ¡°I have some drawings for you to look over.¡± Amdirlain quashed her initial response and nodded to the architect. ¡°Just a moment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be getting back, we¡¯ve still many to heal,¡± Torm said. His gesture towards the Gate had Amdirlain holding back a grumble. ¡°You¡¯re still not out of trouble for being sneaky.¡± ¡°You were out of touch initially,¡± Torm pointed out innocently. ¡°Alright, catch you next time boy scout,¡± Amdirlain said but caught his hand as he turned to go. ¡°Where¡¯s my goodbye kiss?¡± ¡°That, I¡¯ll happily provide,¡± Torm said and cupped her face as Amdirlain leant into his slowly heated kiss. Amdirlain coughed when they eventually parted and fanned her face to cool her blush. Distracted, she took the plans from the clearly amused Malnar, and laid them out on the table. After absently closing the Gates once everyone was through, it took Amdirlain a while to focus on the options Malnar had prepared. They were some time in going over them before others came to speak to her. ¡°Amdirlain, can I have a moment?¡¯ O¡¯Nai asked. ¡°Of course. What did you need to speak about?¡± asked Amdirlain, passing Malnar back her drawings. The architect gave her a nod before she moved off, jotting down more notes as she walked. O¡¯Nai didn¡¯t wait for her to move far before he spoke up. ¡°I was wondering if there were any plans regarding the other Clans.¡± ¡°There are plans, but I need an item made so I¡¯m not wandering fruitlessly searching the Plane for them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Given the Plane¡¯s size, it will need to be quite strong to ensure I don¡¯t miss them.¡± O¡¯Nai nodded and fixed Amdirlain with a determined gaze. ¡°I know where some were located while I was alive. I¡¯d like your permission to see if I can find them.¡± At his words, Amdirlain stepped close and clasped a hand to his forearm. ¡°While Angels have gone into the Abyss, it¡¯s extremely dangerous; my chief concern is for your safety. You took the classes Ranger, Fighter, Scout, and Priest, correct?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with it?¡± asked O¡¯Nai, his tone baffled. ¡°When you were among the living, your presence didn¡¯t stand out against the Plane¡¯s energy. As an Angel without concealments, Demons would know you¡¯re around even kilometres away. Your Class selection means that a lot of your strength comes from channelling blessings. Combined with your nature, those blessings will attract attention from even further away,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°After seeing those children being tortured, my people¡¯s fate won¡¯t leave my thoughts. I can¡¯t simply leave them waiting for however long everything else takes,¡± O¡¯Nai said sadly. ¡°Ebusuku has the list of materials needed,¡± Amdirlain started, and motioned to stop O¡¯Nai from interrupting. ¡°You can start gathering them, as none needs venturing into the Abyss. Once we have the materials necessary, I¡¯ll get it constructed and make finding them my priority.¡± O¡¯Nai¡¯s worried expression broke into a beaming smile. ¡°That¡¯s-¡± ¡°Wait up, you can start. However, if Ebusuku judges anything is too dangerous for you to try gathering, then you wait until she says you¡¯re ready.¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°I would make progress towards helping them, and I¡¯d grow stronger in doing so,¡± O¡¯Nai said, after a moment¡¯s thought. ¡°It''s your choice if you want to risk interrupting Ebusuku and Farhad fucking, or if you wait until they¡¯re done,¡± Amdirlain replied. At O¡¯Nai¡¯s laughter, Amdirlain patted him on the back. She gave Pit a smile as O¡¯Nai headed off. ¡°What did you want to talk about, Pit?¡± ¡°I was wondering if it would be alright if I travel with Aggie, rather than continuing to fight the undead,¡± asked Pit. Amdirlain nodded without hesitation. ¡°Of course, if that¡¯s what you¡¯d prefer, I¡¯ll send her a message. I¡¯ll tell her to summon you to watch her back, and you can grumble I sent you away from the fun. She¡¯s gotten strong fast, but she has to sleep like anyone else.¡± Her ready acceptance clearly relieved Pit, and he nodded happily. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°What level did you get up to so far?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Only level seven in Ranger, Archer and Fighter,¡± Pit replied with a shrug. ¡°I prefer using a bow, but it doesn¡¯t do much against the undead.¡± Amdirlain nodded understandingly, having seen arrows passing through skeletons. ¡°If you want to use a bow, have you got a form picked out?¡± ¡°Farhad mentioned the Basteti, I think I¡¯ll look like one of them, then people won¡¯t expect my strength,¡± Pit replied, causing Amdirlain to smile at the thought of the large Hound Archon disguised as what she still considered a cat-folk. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send a message shortly, might want to figure out an appearance,¡± Amdirlain said. * * * Viper¡¯s PoV - Raivo¡¯s Quarters - Blades of Ruin Fortress Viper groaned in pleasure and rose from where Raivo had left her draped across the throne¡¯s arm, every motion making something squelch. ¡°I¡¯m all filled up.¡± ¡°The Wizard will be at the Portal site shortly. Don¡¯t tamper with him, set a bond to sustain yourself with one of the Manes instead,¡± instructed Raivo, as he got dressed. ¡°Why can¡¯t I play with the Wizard?¡± pouted Viper petulantly. The flat look Raivo gave her caught Viper¡¯s breath in her throat from excitement, but the moment his aura ignited, she froze. ¡°His people would detect any corruption in him, so don¡¯t ruin my tool.¡± ¡°Your tool tried to ruin me,¡± teased Viper, as she slid a hand through the puss-green cum splattering her torso to spread her lower lips. A contraction of muscles sprayed blood and more of Raivo¡¯s cum from her vagina and added to the mess already on the floor. ¡°Cut the act, clean up before you go through, or you might offend the little Elf. You¡¯ll want his maps and information on the Ten Kingdoms¡¯ inhabitants. Since you want to kill Humans and he wants them gone from ¡®their¡¯ lands, you have a common goal. Though best you keep in mind ¡®our¡¯ goals. Mess with my plans, and not only will I ruin you¡ªI¡¯ll ensure your destruction,¡± warned Raivo, before the room vanished from around her. Viper found herself in a room with a rune etched archway set into a wall. The bleak grey stone walls made the burnished Mithril runes stand out from the stone that housed them. Across the seamless walls, Mana Sense showed the power of the wards that prevented unauthorised teleporting into the chamber and set a solid barrier against scrying and detection. Protean absorbed the blood and other fluids that coated her, inside and out, adding to the mass she held within its grasp. Viper took on a new shape far different from Julia¡¯s old lithe body. The brunette hair darkened to solid black as it rippled down to mid-back, contrasting with the sun-tanned skin, and pale blue irises. Her wings and tail melded into the human form, she created a set of new clothing. Long fingers trailed down her aquiline nose, the pout gone from ripe lips as Viper folded her arms under her full breasts and settled to wait. Her posture emphasised the presentation of her lush cleavage within a loosely laced, almost sheer linen top; its whiteness stood out from the deep red leather pants and thigh-high boots that completed her outfit. She¡¯d been standing there less than a minute when she tapped a solid boot heel hard against the black stone floor. Little by little, the pace of her tapping increased, until the sound was matching a woodpecker¡¯s speed, and the runes finally glowed. When the archway surged with power, she stalked through, beckoned by the magic beyond. A female Manes, and a pair of huge males nearly three metres tall, stood opposite a cloaked figure. At only one-eighty centimetres, the Manes were head and shoulders taller than him, and Viper found she was also slightly taller. The Elf wore a deep hood, the enchantments on it hiding his features from her perceptions. Dissatisfied with not knowing who he was, Viper quickly checked him with Analysis. [Name: Himelchon Malantur Species: And¨²n? Elf Class: Wizard / Fighter / And¨²n? Scion / Assassin Level: 49 / 48 / 51 / 46 Health: 7,964 Defence: 662 Mana: 62,768 Magic: 171 Melee Attack Power: 146 Combat Skills: Dagger [M] (1), Sabre [M] (15), Long bow [M] (22) - Multiple Spell Lists - Various Affinities. Details: A member of the And¨²n? Royal court¡¯s Y¨²cal? faction working to oppose the unexpected resurgence of two obsolete factions. Currently tasked with interfering in their mingling with Humans that has arisen from clandestine meetings in Eyrarh¨¢ls. Recently agreed to assist Yridhrendaer Malantur¡¯s request to tend to his pandering of the Jarl of Eyrarh¨¢ls in order to gain more information while the degenerate is off in Duskstone with his pet human.] I wonder if I can fracture all their factions into fratricidal fractals. How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck had a woody? Is this really what she was also so fascinated with? ¡°Oh, you¡¯re using the mysterious-wizard look, how cute,¡± Viper purred. Her smile added to the beauty of her fine features before she ruined it by cradling her heart shape-face mockingly with her hands. ¡°We have the maps of the Persian kingdom of Darius. You are to start there,¡± the Manes female snarled, though sounding calmer than many Demons Viper had heard. ¡°I have my own plans,¡± refuted Viper. ¡°There are humans you can kill, and Lord Raivo wishes mistrust of the adventurers sown in the north,¡± growled the Manes female. ¡°Tend to this, and then we will provide maps of the Norse kingdom.¡± ¡°Also, drawings that I¡¯ve accumulated, Viper. You¡¯ll be able to get south quickly instead of flying there, unless your memory isn¡¯t as impacted as Raivo led me to believe,¡± Himelchon said, the pitch of his voice magically distorting from one word to the next. ¡°Well, since you¡¯re going to save me time, I guess I can have some fun in the North first,¡± huffed Viper. ¡°Accept this.¡± She pushed a bond towards the Manes and kept a straight face when they all accepted. Greece - Aegina - Pal¨¢ti of Apollo The slap of leather sandals driven by quick, heavy footsteps echoed through the still halls, causing the woman dozing by the bedside to start awake. Blinking fatigue from a grey gaze that matched her patient¡¯s skin tone, she lay the back of a hand against the forehead of the man tossing on the bed. Wrinkling her nose at his vomit and filth-stained clothing, she reminded herself to get a slave to burn the bedding. The dim candlelight didn¡¯t sting her gaze like the lantern thrust into the room ahead of the guard. Light spilled over her golden tan skin and white cotton robes. A copper clasp stamped with Apollo¡¯s Lyre restrained the loose folds where they gathered on one shoulder. Brushing her auburn fringe from her eyes, she rose quickly to greet the arrivals. The guards stepped hastily through the doorway, allowing a muscular man in purple fey-silk robes to enter. The lantern caused his gem-encrusted rings to flicker coldly with every motion. His gaze rested briefly on her shoulder clasp, and with a sneer, he motioned for her to move aside. Staring down at the man¡¯s sweat-soaked features, his gaze didn¡¯t linger long, but more sweat ran across the ashen skin before he looked away. Wrinkling his nose in disgust at the rank and bitter odour, his black gaze stabbed at the woman, and his full lips twisted contemptuously before he spoke. ¡°Any sign of waking?¡± ¡°No, Highest,¡± the Priestess replied, holding herself motionless. ¡°He¡¯s been muttering some insensible words in that abomination they call a language.¡± ¡°Get someone that understands it to listen to his ramblings; I need to know if they¡¯ve relevance to Amdirlain,¡± snapped the man. ¡°What if he doesn¡¯t wake up, your Highness?¡± asked the woman, rapidly swallowing as the man¡¯s gaze hooked onto her. The sharp line of his nose added to the eagle-like effect of his cold, aloof expression. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t,¡± the man paused. ¡°Best ensure someone speaks to his Soul before it¡¯s carried to Hades and get me answers. After that, have his corpse thrown to the pigs, don¡¯t waste the temple supplies cremating him.¡± As the man turned away, the lantern¡¯s light reflected off his cloak¡¯s clasp¡ªa golden lyre with strings made of a series of individually carved gemstones. It was only when the footsteps faded away did she release a deep sigh that caused her shoulders to slump as the tension eased from her frame. ¡°Why is mercenary scum like you important enough to attract the notice of that High Priest?¡± she asked coldly. Busily contemplating her instructions, her fingers twitched and gathered up the blanket that constrained the straw pallet. Looking at him, she pulled it free and pressed it over the helpless man¡¯s mouth. 144 - Under your scars Unsure of the time at Aggie¡¯s location, Amdirlain used the Spell Waiting Message to ask her to summon Pit. The view here is why I created the platform; maybe I should ask Malnar to build a house. If the Domain expands more, it will be on its inside before long. Amdirlain opened Gates to let three Archons through again to help the Erakk? healers, and two others asked to assist O¡¯Nai in gathering materials. Hours flew by in planning discussions with Archons about their preferences and classes. Others had questions about roles and duties various Norse Celestials had mentioned. When Aggie¡¯s response came, the subdued tone in her words wasn¡¯t the reaction Amdirlain had expected. ¡°Amdirlain, I¡¯m honoured at your instruction to summon an Archon. Though can we meet somewhere rather than just sending messages back and forth?¡± ¡°I¡¯m outside the Domain presently, where I created the vantage point of the valley. You¡¯re welcome anytime you want to have a chat. I hope you know that,¡± Amdirlain quickly replied. Because yes, I¡¯m sure every Power has an open door policy. Aggie wasn¡¯t long in opening a Gate, and Amdirlain could see Stoneheart¡¯s temple behind her. A Dwarf in the temple proper held a young child in their arms, and both peered through the Gate, their mouths slowly dropping open. The child¡¯s excitement had Amdirlain smiling at them and she blew a kiss before Aggie shut down the Spell. ¡°No fair, they were cute,¡± pouted Amdirlain. ¡°Very godly of you,¡± teased Aggie, the light tone not matching the wariness in her gaze. Trying to lighten the mood, Amdirlain fixed Aggie with a mock-haughty look that she held for a long moment before she playfully huffed a reply. ¡°Blow it out your arse; I like kids.¡± [Diplomacy check terminal failure - Skill purged!] Fuck yes, one less thing to worry about. Amdirlain¡¯s triumphant fist pump had Aggie raising an eyebrow. ¡°Dare I ask?¡± ¡°Just got rid of a Skill that I didn¡¯t want,¡± Amdirlain answered and rose to hug Aggie. Returning the hug, Aggie didn¡¯t immediately release Amdirlain, but gave her a look of concern. ¡°Your view of skills is strange, but most people try to improve their capabilities, not remove them.¡± Amdirlain put her finger on Aggie¡¯s lips as she considered how best to explain and took her time responding. ¡°I have enough skills I need to work on developing. I¡¯ve felt the Tongues translation used incorrect words a few times, but I wasn¡¯t sure how they were wrong. The Skill I got rid of had me worried it would somehow influence my behaviour. I don¡¯t want that happening in my interactions.¡± ¡°What was the Skill?¡± asked Aggie curiously. ¡°Diplomacy,¡± admitted Amdirlain with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve gained various lores and I¡¯m still trying to understand all my knowledge and how to apply it. Having a Skill impact my behaviour isn¡¯t what I want, especially if I don¡¯t quite understand all the implications.¡± ¡°You¡¯d prefer to come across as rude? I¡¯m not sure I understand your preference there,¡± Aggie said before she sat down on a chair suitable for a human form, and Amdirlain perched on one close to it. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to have something else control the words selected to explain my views. I¡¯d end up second-guessing myself more if I had a Skill influencing people¡¯s view of me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°To me, it¡¯s better to risk people thinking less of me than me thinking less of myself.¡± Aggie blinked at Amdirlain in surprise. ¡°You second guess yourself?¡± ¡°Is that hard to believe?¡± Amdirlain asked seriously. Her brows furrowed, Aggie took a moment in replying. ¡°You come across with absolute conviction.¡± Amdirlain lent forward in her chair and clasped Aggie¡¯s hands. ¡°I always try to be true to my beliefs. Yet, becoming a Power was completely unexpected. Honestly, I¡¯m trying to do the best I can,¡± admitted Amdirlain, tilting her head towards the Domain. ¡°Not letting down those who have trusted me with such responsibility weighs on me¡ªI won¡¯t always get things right. When that happens, or you believe I¡¯ve taken the wrong approach, please let me know and we can talk about it. I might not agree, but I¡¯ll consider your view¡ªyou have my word.¡± Squaring her shoulders, Aggie spoke firmly. ¡°I¡¯d prefer you not assign me a Celestial bodyguard.¡± Amdirlain tilted her head as she considered Aggie¡¯s unwavering expression. ¡°If that¡¯s your preference that¡¯s fine, and I won¡¯t. Please share why you feel that way?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done more than I can ever repay. You keep doing things for me, and I don¡¯t feel like I¡¯ve earned them. Even the Prestige Class felt like it was because of your achievements rather than my own,¡± revealed Aggie, the firmness of her earlier words evaporating. ¡°You rescued me and then gave me so much, I feel like I¡¯ve not achieved enough to repay you. I often feel someone is going to realise I don¡¯t deserve any of it, and everything is going to fall apart.¡± ¡°You have nothing to repay; just choose a path in life you enjoy and be kind to yourself. As for that achievement,¡± said Amdirlain softly, reassuringly squeezing her hands. ¡°Given is very much the wrong word. If your Prestige Class was from me, than why don¡¯t I have a hundred High Priests?¡± Aggie stared down at her hands and grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ve had chances they didn¡¯t.¡± The hunched set of Aggie¡¯s shoulders hit Amdirlain like a blow to the gut. Amdirlain cupped Aggie¡¯s face to bring their gazes together, her voice soft with emotion. ¡°You asked for chances that I would have given anyone else that asked. You were the one brave enough to take that step. Don¡¯t judge yourself this way, please. I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t talk about this earlier, as I would have told you this immediately. All I¡¯ve given you is opportunity Aggie; you¡¯re the one that put in all the hard work to make the most of it.¡± ¡°You escorted Eivor and me through killing those Gnarls,¡± argued Aggie. Her wavering voice twisted a knot of pain inside Amdirlain, where she¡¯d long ago learnt to block her own. ¡°Yes, I helped you get some early levels with the Gnarls, but it still wasn¡¯t a given. You both cast the spells, and dealt the blows that ended the monsters, and could have asked to stop at any time, but you kept going. The early levels are the easy part, you got three classes over level eighty to get offered that opportunity I ¡®gave you¡¯. The hardest levels were entirely your own work, and that earned the Prestige Class,¡± countered Amdirlain. Aggie¡¯s protest got cut short, her expression forewarning Amdirlain. ¡°No,¡± interrupted Amdirlain gently. ¡°You can¡¯t talk down about what you achieved. I won¡¯t let you downplay your hard work. Plus, there is something you should know,¡± ¡°What?¡¯ asked Aggie, her posture still tense. ¡°I didn¡¯t volunteer Pit to be your bodyguard; he asked to be assigned to the role,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and releasing Aggie¡¯s cheeks, she softly booped her nose. ¡°Seriously, can you see me ordering anyone around? Telling them to go fuck themselves, yes; giving them an order, no way. The Archons are making their own choices about where they¡¯d like to help. I should have just told you Pit requested to help as your bodyguard, it wasn¡¯t even on my to-do list.¡± ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed Aggie, her eyes going wide. ¡°But why would he want that?¡± ¡°I only know what he told me. You¡¯ll need to talk to him, and you can turn him down if you¡¯re not satisfied,¡± Amdirlain said, with a wave in the direction of the training grounds. ¡°You can decide if you give him the job or not, I messed up by being cheeky.¡± ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll do that,¡± acknowledged Aggie, after long moments deep in thought. ¡°Though might I ask, why are you up here outside your Domain?¡± ¡°I like the view of the valley from here,¡± explained Amdirlain, pointing out along the untouched stretches of the valley floor. ¡°Is that the only reason?¡± asked Aggie, with a suspicious look. Amdirlain huffed and gave a mumbled reply, prompting Aggie to motion her to repeat herself. ¡°Ebusuku and Farhad are bonking like bunnies, celebrating some fighting. It¡¯s safer up here than down there, being able to sense it.¡± Aggie¡¯s giggles earned her an unimpressed look from Amdirlain before she playfully grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m glad someone¡¯s amused.¡± ¡°Being diplomatic at some point might not hurt,¡± suggested Aggie wryly. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose and vigorously shook her head. ¡°But why? I¡¯ll let you folks be diplomatic. Then if someone¡¯s annoying you, you can be honest and tell them they¡¯d be better off being nice to you than trying to talk to me. I¡¯ll just give them a verbal smack in the ear; if I don¡¯t kick their butt.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Aggie said. The raggedness still in her voice prompted Amdirlain to give her another hug. ¡°Most days, I can¡¯t believe anyone has faith in me. I feel like a fake, but I¡¯ll keep trying to be worthy.¡± Amdirlain whispered. ¡°Will you try to believe in yourself? I trust and respect you; you¡¯re a brave woman who I admire.¡± ¡°I will Amdirlain, I will,¡± Aggie sobbed softly as her grip on her emotion broke, and Amdirlain just held her. ¡°I¡¯m always here for you. If you need to talk, just let me know, and I¡¯ll make time,¡± vowed Amdirlain, and she held Aggie enfolded in a comforting embrace, and kissed her forehead while she cried. * * * Watching Aggie start towards the Domain, Amdirlain considered a matter she¡¯d delayed. ¡°Erwarth, when you have some spare time, I have someone for you to meet.¡± As soon as she released the Spell, Amdirlain sighed and forced herself to acknowledge the accumulated tension in keeping Ebusuku¡¯s situation from them. The moment she¡¯d committed with the message, bands of stress she hadn¡¯t realised were present, relaxed within her, drawing her attention with their easing. ¡°We¡¯re just trying to set up some faction fighting between the Dao. I¡¯ll be a half cycle or more. There¡¯s no news on the missing, but we¡¯ve just sent some Elves back to their home. You might even get another world¡¯s inhabitants praying to you. The courts aren¡¯t there, enjoy.¡± Groaning at the amusement in Erwarth¡¯s reply, Amdirlain rubbed her face before she sent out another message. ¡°Torm, if it¡¯s alright with your boss, could you arrange someone to look into the situation with the Elves? I¡¯d like to know about them. I¡¯ve sent three Archons to help at the castle; they¡¯re going to conduct scouting on the Thri-Kreen.¡± She took Sidero¡¯s advice and started working on something for herself with the immediate items handled. Creating paper and a pencil, she started trying to draw. Instead of being satisfied with only a very rough outline, she focused on actually getting it looking right, and after the first dozen failed attempts¡ªfinally got a message. [Drawing Unlocked! Drawing (1)] This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. Stacks of botched attempts¡ªand a bunch of Skill notifications later¡ªshe finally had a rough drawing of the house she wanted to be positioned at the outlook. The frequency of the Skill increases made her worry about what else was changing unnoticed. Though I guess my crazy level of Quickness explains my hand-eye coordination improvement¡ªI never expected to draw anything but crap. Teleport carried her to the cliff face Malnar had selected for the craft hall, where work had already started. One crew was busy marking out the ground floor entryway and windows; another was putting scaffolding together, while Malnar and her helper set out benches on a raised platform directed towards the worksite. The energy of the Domain wasn¡¯t conveying continued celebrations¡ªeven muffled¡ªas she breathed a sigh of relief. Almost as bad as coming home to find Rach hadn¡¯t closed her door properly in their rush for the bed. Amdirlain took the platform stairs three at a time and noted tools being unpacked. ¡°I thought you¡¯d be stone shaping the hall, Malnar.¡± ¡°There¡¯s not a rush for the crafting hall. I thought we¡¯d carve it out properly and get to know the stone while we set it up,¡± Malnar remarked, pinning some plans out on display boards. ¡°We could teach you some stone cutting if you¡¯d like. It¡¯s good quality granite; I could construct some nice ramparts with it.¡± ¡°What is your fascination with defensive works?¡± asked Amdirlain, finally giving in to temptation to ask. ¡°There is always someone planning to get someone else. Better to have defences prepared than have nothing when you need them,¡± Malnar replied. ¡°Your Domain¡¯s protections are fine, but what happens if you let the wrong person in the door, and they turn on you while you¡¯re away? How would you feel if your Petitioners suffered because they had no safe places to retreat?¡± Amdirlain winced and wondered how long Malnar had held that winning hand. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of that. I just figured I would keep the Petitioners safe inside the boundary. How about you build some places in an open area of the Domain. I¡¯d like them setup so we can use them for practicing teamwork¡ªtaking over fortifications and rooms safely. They can serve as a fallback position for Petitioners.¡± Malnar smiled broadly, ¡°Yes! I knew I¡¯d get you to come around.¡± ¡°Could you prepare some plans with this as a guide?¡± Amdirlain asked, and handed over her drawing. ¡°The rooms are noted on the back. Ground floor is just an open plan space for a library. I¡¯d like wide windows positioned to give a proper view of the valley¡¯s floor from where I have the vantage point at present,¡± ¡°You want a house outside your Domain?¡± Malnar asked in surprise. ¡°Who says it will stay outside for long?¡± pointed out Amdirlain. ¡°Even if it does, I could use it for guests and keep them outside if they come for a visit,¡± explained Amdirlain, and Malnar nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Do you want any sleeping quarters on the second floor?¡± enquired Malnar, getting out parchment and a grease pen. ¡°Not everyone visiting is a Petitioner or Celestial so that would be a good idea,¡± agreed Amdirlain. * * * Ebusuku found her still watching Malnar¡¯s crew setting up the scaffolding and marking out their initial cutting points for the multi-level crafting halls. Dwarves floating around on stone discs as they marked the upper levels had been an amusing sight to see. ¡°Gosh, you¡¯ve been a while,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Is Farhad still alive?¡± ¡°He likes a challenge,¡± retorted Ebusuku light-heartedly. When Ebusuku came closer to the platform, Amdirlain turned towards her properly and smiled. ¡°Care to meet with Erwarth and the others?¡± ¡°That would be good,¡± agreed Ebusuku. ¡°That way, if you go quiet for whatever reason, we can still exchange information.¡± ¡°They¡¯re looking to cause some in-fighting among the Dao at present. Should we spar in the meantime?¡± ¡°Looking to get tossed around, are you?¡± Ebusuku asked. Amdirlain shrugged and rose from her seat. ¡°Life is always hitting me for six. I need to push my skills. Figured we could meet up with Erwarth in the Elemental Plane of Earth soon.¡± ¡°That reminds me, I¡¯ve given O¡¯Nai the list of initial materials to work towards on that Plane and details of where to search for them. He and his volunteers will base out of Duskstone since the Hound Archons can¡¯t Planar Shift alone. You can expect a regular message from them via the Oath link, so not just O¡¯Nai gets practice with it.¡± ¡°Did you and Farhad find some interesting fights?¡± enquired Amdirlain, as they got clear of the platform and squared off. The amused smile from Ebusuku didn¡¯t match the focused look in her eyes. ¡°A few entities from the Negative Energy Plane, including a Demon transformed by it into an Undead. That was new; I¡¯d read about them but never fought one.¡± * * * Elemental Plane of Earth Though Amdirlain was in her Wood Elf shape, Ebusuku had taken full Solar form, with a serious expression on her face. Amdirlain was certain she¡¯d only assumed it to stir them up, so held her peace. A Solar with wings half-furled wasn¡¯t something any Succubus would walk towards normally, but the L¨®m? didn¡¯t hesitate to approach through the Gate Amdirlain had opened to meet up. Only when the Gate shut behind Erwarth did Ebusuku remove her helm and transformed into a figure far closer to her original shape. Even without the crest of horns, her appearance caused several L¨®m?s'' gazes to narrow. ¡°Your Solar looks familiar, Amdirlain. Would you introduce us?¡± asked Erwarth, speaking over the sudden murmur. Amdirlain gave her a smile that matched Ebusuku for mischief. ¡°Erwarth, this is Ebusuku. I believe you might have met Erwarth previously with a different name, Ebusuku.¡± ¡°First night,¡± breathed N?r, while others shifted their balance to leap away. ¡°Baln¨¦rith¡¯s binding of your Progenitor was her doing alone,¡± Erwarth said immediately, causing the others to freeze in place. ¡°Do you think after taking service with Amdirlain, I¡¯m looking for vengeance on others serving her?¡± asked Ebusuku and her serious expression disappeared into a smile as if she¡¯d gotten whatever she¡¯d sought. ¡°Family can draw strange reactions from anyone. I¡¯m not sure Demons or Celestials are exempt,¡± countered Erwarth cautiously. ¡°I¡¯m not looking to extract anything from you,¡± Ebusuku said merrily. As much as the words, her tone drained the sudden tension from the gathering. ¡°We¡¯ve only met in passing previously. Baln¨¦rith¡¯s favoured handled the arrangements with the irregular associates of the Order. They did not trust us with co-ordinating their instructions,¡± Erwarth explained, returning her attention to Amdirlain. ¡°Still, I¡¯d heard her name related to operations that they handled. The assignments of Sister and irregulars never hit the same locations.¡± ¡°I believe we should share names to make messages easier in case Lady Amdirlain goes for another jaunt without letting us know,¡± Ebusuku said. Ebusuku stated her own name, and after Erwarth, the others took their turn in doing likewise. ¡°Might we know what happened?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°Since Ebusuku¡ªit seems¡ªalso didn¡¯t expect you to be out of touch.¡± ¡°I gained World Step a little while ago,¡± Amdirlain said, and at Erwarth¡¯s frown continued on quickly. ¡°I travelled from an uninhabited world around one sun to an overrun world called Cemna. Apparently, the distance between them was too far, given it was my first use of the Power.¡± ¡°World Step! Between worlds on your first use of it,¡± groaned Erwarth. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to train with it moving between locations on the same world. When you can get between them precisely, train between planets around the same sun.¡± ¡°Oops,¡± said Amdirlain helplessly, and Ebusuku started laughing. Analysis didn¡¯t make it sound like something it could be used in place of Teleport, guess it¡¯s only going to work if you¡¯re teleporting around the world. ¡°What have you been up to with the Dao?¡± continued Amdirlain, ¡°You mentioned faction fighting?¡± ¡°There is always political positioning occurring within Dao society, normally with blades involved. We¡¯ve left traces behind that should have the compound¡¯s owners blaming a close rival for the destruction. Also, we¡¯ve begun scouting a few other locations we plan to handle similarly,¡± offered Erwarth. ¡°We can provide the details if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be interested in hearing more,¡± acknowledged Ebusuku, and Amdirlain settled down to listen. * * * The discussion covered Dao families and factions, and while meaningful to Ebusuku, had quickly lost Amdirlain. This was especially true when five different generations of the same family belonged to different ones, and the planning started on causing factions and families to self-destruct. ¡°I think I¡¯ll need to study the Dao,¡± Amdirlain said after reappearing in her Domain. ¡°They are a complex society, but even with the trouble that we plan to cause them, they¡¯ll reform. Dao are used to political factions fracturing only to reappear under new overseers.¡± ¡°While we can keep them focused on each other, they aren¡¯t spending as much effort taking slaves,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully,¡± countered Ebusuku. The Domain¡¯s aura told her Aggie was no longer present, but Pit was still near the archery range, and Amdirlain gave a wave to Ebusuku before she teleported away. She held off speaking until after Pit had lowered his bow to notch another arrow. ¡°How did the discussion go?¡± asked Amdirlain, and smiled when Pit spun about and stopped himself from drawing back the arrow. ¡°Amdirlain, you are worse than Echo,¡± grumbled Pit, his glare unabated. Patting him on the shoulder, Amdirlain looked past him to the arrow-peppered target. ¡°Why worse?¡± ¡°You¡¯re far quieter than he is,¡± Pit replied. He mussed her hair and froze in mid-motion. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°For what?¡± asked Amdirlain, with an eyebrow raised in curiosity. ¡°If getting my hair mussed worried me, do you think I couldn¡¯t have moved in time or just stopped you?¡± ¡°Point, but you¡¯re not like the others. I¡¯m not sure about being so familiar,¡± admitted Pit. ¡°My older brother and dad frequently used to muss my hair when I was young. Your height in full form makes you the same relative height,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re all used to being family; hopefully the rest of us will eventually feel like family.¡± ¡°We¡¯re used to including new arrivals,¡± assured Pit. ¡°though, this time, we¡¯re the new arrivals,¡± Amdirlain gave his shoulder a poke with a grin. ¡°Yeah, buster, you¡¯re in my playground now; I expect much laughter. You got me? Though, seriously, the discussion with Aggie, what¡¯s the verdict?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be in Stoneheart for another two weeks but will summon me before she leaves,¡± replied Pit. ¡°Presently, she¡¯s planning to travel west and visit communities along the way to the Wood Elf lands helping where she can.¡± ¡°She¡¯s right near the Sunset Elves, so she¡¯s going to the Wood Elves instead?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Aggie already had some plans in place to visit some Adventurers¡¯ Guild locations. Setting up the Stoneheart temple wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d gone there to undertake,¡± replied Pit. ¡°She¡¯d only been intending to talk to Clan Gildenshield; instead, she dedicated a temple there and in Duskstone and stayed to teach.¡± Amdirlain nodded and mentally noted to ask Aggie if she needed anything to help make up for the lost time. ¡°Oh, Duskstone as well? Oops, I just wandered in there and out again. Never mind, what did you say to convince her to agree? She wasn¡¯t sure about having a Celestial bodyguard.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t mention that, though she seemed tense, unlike her visit the other week. She wanted to talk about why I wanted to accompany her. Not sure if my rambling made sense, but I told her I want to be helping the living and ensure her safety so she can help others in ways I can¡¯t,¡± explained Pit. ¡°That¡¯s a good reason. That means you have two weeks. Want to get some bow practice in against Elementals?¡± asked Amdirlain and she quickly explained. ¡°I need to push up my various resistances, and you¡¯re immune to electricity. Care to accompany me taking on entities from the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning? You can improve your skills training when Aggie is in town, but levelling might be slow in civilised places.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that, thank you,¡± answered Pit. ¡°When did you plan to do that?¡± Amdirlain clapped her hands together. ¡°Right now, let¡¯s move out. Get your stuff together, and we¡¯re going.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need arrows, the magic in this bow doesn¡¯t make any,¡± Pit pointed out. ¡°Bring lots of spares. I don¡¯t want to lose time jumping back and forth,¡± instructed Amdirlain light-heartedly. ¡°Meet me at my vantage point; we¡¯ll go from there.¡± Maybe I should learn the bowyer skills? I doubt I¡¯d make perfect arrows; not sure anyone would notice off-balance clothing. Pit grabbed up the half-empty quiver and fetched the arrows from the target. ¡°Ebusuku, I¡¯m going to take Pit along while I do Resistance training. He¡¯s got two weeks to get levelled before he¡¯ll go bodyguard Aggie. Please oversee the work in Cemna, move along, clearing out places randomly along the coastline¡ªor even other countries¡ªin case of retaliation attempts.¡± * * * Pit peered uneasily through the Gate Amdirlain had opened outside the Domain towards a distant storm front. ¡°There is only air and clouds. Won¡¯t I fall?¡± She¡¯d aimed the Gate at the edge of the Quasi-Elemental Plane, and kilometres away through empty air were the greyish-black storm clouds of its leading edge. ¡°In both the Elemental Plane of Air and the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning, just focus on the direction you want to move or hold steady. Without any focus, a random direction becomes your down, and that¡¯s dangerous. Unless you control it once you start falling, your speed will keep increasing until your path intersects with something.¡± Pit gave her a relieved smile. ¡°Then you¡¯d get to stop?¡± ¡°It would depend on how fast you were falling. If you¡¯d been speeding up a while, you¡¯d just go splat,¡± Amdirlain replied, and somehow under his fur, Pit looked to be going green. Pit glanced at the ground beneath his feet and then at the open-air again. ¡°Maybe this wasn¡¯t a good idea.¡± Amdirlain waved out through the Gate and tried to keep a straight face. ¡°It¡¯s just like a Spell that allows flight. Just focus on which direction you want to move, and you¡¯ll be fine. Alright, just treat it like Limbo on the way back to Cemna.¡± ¡°But with Limbo, I couldn¡¯t see so far ahead of me,¡± grumbled Pit. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine. Look,¡± encouraged Amdirlain, and she stepped through the Gate and stayed motionless in the open air. She motioned for Pit to take her hand and left it extended while emotions warred on his face. ¡°After you¡¯re through, I¡¯ll put the Flight Spell on you.¡± Pit reached through the Gate with a disbelieving grumble to clasp her forearm and stepped through quickly. His grip on Amdirlain¡¯s forearm tightened as he struggled to keep from falling. ¡°Just focus on staying next to me; the Plane responds to your intent,¡± repeated Amdirlain, and she held him in position. ¡°You don¡¯t even need a Spell to fly, but it will improve how quickly you can move about.¡± It took a few minutes, but once he was comfortable, Amdirlain closed the Gate and started with increasing speed towards the clouds. Only once he had the essential control down did she add the Flight Spell, not letting him know she hadn¡¯t cast it previously. Interlude: Desires The well-maintained door barely creaks, but still the guard inside turns quickly at the sound. I can feel the enchantment in the blade at his waist, his hand falling on the hilt with an impressive speed. The human is taller than my summoner, just over six feet, his shoulders are a long axe haft across and he¡¯s delightfully proportion on the large side in other places. His dark brown hair he keeps too short to let me get a proper grip¡ªthe few chances I¡¯ve had to play with it. Moody-grey eyes, like storm clouds, regard me suspiciously as I glance between his firm, kissable lips and fine nose. Its solid line rubs me in delightful ways, depending on how I ride his face, making it my favourite feature. Well, the favourite part of his face. ¡°Hello, Ireneus. Aren¡¯t you happy to see me?¡± Ireneus swallows as he releases the sword hilt, his usual sure motions quite absent. ¡°Klipyl, how are you down here? The master said you would remain in his chambers from now on.¡± I keep my smile playful and give my upper lip a tiny lick before I purr a response. ¡°He¡¯s allowed me a chance to reward your recent success. Do you desire a reward from me?¡± I fold my arms behind me to change my posture, causing my breasts to strain the sheer gossamer tunic that is all that covers me. The tiny garment¡¯s hem lifts as the fabric shifts, and lust takes all awkward questions from his mind. His flushed look speaks of blood shifting about even if his dick wasn¡¯t causing a bulge under the chain mail he wears. Bringing a hand demurely to my chest¡ªI give him a winsome smile¡ªmimicking the innocent girls I¡¯ve seen flirting with boys about the market square. ¡°But you¡¯re-¡° The tunic¡¯s hem brushes against the line between thigh and torso. I shift my weight, and the flash of my lower lips shut his mouth. ¡°What would you like me to do you?¡± I barely finish the question when he pounces. His armour presses hard through the cloth as his fierce kiss claims my lips. My lips part coyly to let his tongue roam, and my own enters his in return. I¡¯m flooded with wetness as he chokes and coughs. The softness I felt of his tongue replaced by my tail¡¯s tip that he¡¯d never seen. Pulling its spike from his throat makes me wetter still as another gush of blood joins the first in adhering scrapped linen to me. I shift my tail away and rip the blood-soaked linen apart. The light is fading from his gaze as I part other lips and find I¡¯m wet in a more interesting way. My middle finger slips easily up to the second knuckle as I work to keep the anticipated orgasm from evaporating. The deep hole in his throat reached to the brain, and the mushy mess I see within helps tip me over the edge. The orgasm hits, and my cunt clenches hard about my finger. Screams from the females in the cages try to overshadow my cries of delight, but I continue until I finish my first, second, and third. I¡¯m glowing with pleasure by the time I¡¯ve finished. A woman in her twenties shepherds the teenage girls away from the cell door, while the sole male is glaring at me with pointless defiance. ¡°Demoness, are you going to kill us now as well?¡± I lick my fingers clean as I take him in and consider the fun I could have. Eyes the colour of the harbour¡¯s deep waters regard me with unsurprising suspicion. Like the other prisoners, the man is tall, with solid features and chestnut hair. His hands are bigger than Ireneus¡¯, though his nose has been flattened across his cheek at some point. Braids falling past his shoulder promise plenty to grip. Even the broad chin looks promising to rub my clit against while his tongue probes inside. I¡¯d need to ride his face in the other direction¡ªthat¡¯s such a shame. ¡°Why? Was he your lover?¡± ¡°He was not. I¡¯d see all slavers dead. I want to know what your intention are towards us.¡± His fierce gaze is so endearing, and I idly wonder if it would hold such heat while fucking me. ¡°Let¡¯s make a deal. Do you have a name?¡± ¡°Why should I deal with a Demon?¡± ¡°Tell me your name, or I¡¯ll walk out of here and leave you all to starve. The Wizard¡¯s dead, and so are his guards. When I leave, I have until the next dawn before I¡¯m back in the Abyss. Care to bet anyone left alive knows where these hidden chambers are? Or can get in? Remembering you¡¯re betting their lives as well.¡± I say, motioning to the men and women behind him. The glare only makes me smile, and his gaze burns hotter still. ¡°St?le.¡± ¡°Your name is steel?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I said; it¡¯s St?le.¡± ¡°Tell me, is this yours, St?le?¡± I pull the medallion from my storage amulet and hold it up by the leather thong. Polished wood shines in the smokey rushlights, and golden lines show along its surface: a blue-flamed candle surrounded by broken chains. ¡°Funny thing is, my former master had a prisoner in here a while ago that had a similar one, except she was praying to Eakc?. Not this Amdirlain, you and others were praying to yesterday, so tell me more.¡± St?le grinds his teeth before he growls out a response. ¡°Why should I tell you anything, Demon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you why. Are you simple?¡± He straightens at the insult, and I hear in his mind what I wanted to know a moment before he replies. ¡°If I give you all the answers you want, what¡¯s stopping you from leaving?¡± ¡°Nothing at all. Though nothing is stopping me now, you¡¯ve thought of the answer; I heard it in your mind.¡± I say and repeat what I¡¯d heard. ¡°Eakc? changed her name. It¡¯s weird. Eakc? sounds like a name I know if mauled by your human accents.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll trade with you to get them free,¡± St?le says as I turn to retrieve the weapon from Ireneus¡¯s corpse. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. I fixed him with an amused glance, my smirk bringing a wince to his face. ¡°I only had one question I cared about.¡± ¡°Do you want to go back to the Abyss so soon?¡± I fix him with a flat look and ask my own stupid question. ¡°Do you want to starve to death?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll accept a bond with you. Only after you get everyone to a safe place of their choosing.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ll accept a bond first, and then we can discuss getting them free. Since only a short time ago, you wanted nothing to do with a Demon.¡± I unleash the words with a playful snap, yet he flinches like I punched him. ¡°Why would I trust you¡¯d keep your word?¡± demands St?le. ¡°Why should I trust you? I get them free, and my leverage is all gone. I noticed you¡¯re carefully focused on my tits at present. Too afraid to consider how good it would feel to plough me for days?¡± St?le contemptuous snort makes me want to leave him, while his words make me want to strangle him instead. ¡°You¡¯re a Succubus; none of you are trustworthy.¡± I can hear the bitterness in my laughter. Rage at letting the emotion slip twists around inside me and fills my words. ¡°Yeah, because we¡¯re just whores for others¡¯ pleasure. There to order around, or fuck, but certainly not respect. So tell me this, if you won¡¯t respect me, why should I respect you? I was told beauty alone meant I¡¯d only ever be a toy. Since then, I¡¯ve found that it doesn¡¯t matter how strong your will or smart you are; they¡¯ll still call you a whore. They think that makes them strong and you weak.¡± At an understanding laugh I look past St?le to regard the laughing woman. ¡°My father and mother grew too ill to work. None of our relatives cared to help. I became a whore, so my family wouldn¡¯t starve. They eventually recovered, and I thought I might get my old life back. Instead, my father kicked me out of the home. My mother wouldn¡¯t even look at me. Everyone else in the town considered my family the honourable ones. So yes, they¡¯re always so much better, but they call us whores.¡± I listen to everything she leaves unsaid as she walks towards the bars and pushes past St?le. Her deep brown gaze holds tempered steel and explains the bruises over her body. Tattered scraps of clothing tied roughly together are all she has left, though all the other younger women look fully clothed. From the perspective of virgins being useful as sacrifices to dark powers and fetching higher prices from buyers it makes sense. She moves with a flowing, balanced grace for all the bruises she carries, making her ash-blond hair sway across her shoulder. Her long tanned limbs show well-defined muscles through torn clothing, and I wonder how she¡¯d taste. ¡°What does that matter now? Don¡¯t-¡° The woman doesn¡¯t stop but talks right on over him. ¡°It might belong to St?le, but they took mine as well. My name is Frey.¡± ¡°Would you like to make a deal, Frey?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got conditions I¡¯d need you to meet,¡± Frey declares. ¡°Frey don¡¯t!¡± St?le yell earns glares from us both, but Frey¡¯s gaze stays locked on him, the muscles in her neck straining in their tightness. ¡°At least when I was a whore, customers gave coins to fuck me. I didn¡¯t hear you offering to bend over for them yesterday, so don¡¯t start now!¡± Frey¡¯s response is furious, and St?le takes a long step back. Ice clamps hard on her emotions as she turns to regard me. ¡°Your name is Klipyl?¡± ¡°You listened, how sweet!¡± ¡°Frey!¡± ¡°Shut up, St?le, she¡¯s right; she can leave us to die. I saw the Portal they used after they grabbed us from the caravan. No one will risk looking for us, and they¡¯ve nowhere to start.¡± The image in her mind is a Spell knocking her down, where she was trying to protect her charges. ¡°You¡¯re a mercenary?¡± ¡°Adventurers, but some people see it as the same thing,¡± replied Frey, keeping her focus on me. It only takes a moment to remember what they call it here. ¡°What Path do you follow?¡± ¡°We call it a Class now, but that isn¡¯t important, is it?¡± ¡°Monk? That¡¯s an odd Class I¡¯ve not heard of it. Is it your only one? Why are you repeating its name in your mind? What are you trying to hide? Do you have others? How many?¡± ¡°We¡¯re rare¡ªI was fortunate¡ªbut I¡¯ve told enough of my life story. Did you want to deal or not?¡± Frey asks. Even as she speaks, her mind focuses on memories instead of a word. She stands in a cold courtyard repeatedly punching while a tiny crystal-eyed woman watches her practice alongside others. The repetitive drill filling her whole concentration pushes me out of her mind, a touch too late. ¡°What conditions did you have in mind?¡± ¡°You take the youngest ten women to safety immediately. When you come back, you take me to where you carried them and I confirm they are safe before you bring me back here. I¡¯ll form a bond with you, then you remove my manacles and collar. Each day you hold on to us, you provide us with food and water to keep us in good health. Every ten days you take another two to safety.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t Teleport with someone.¡± Pointing out my limitation earns a puzzled frown from her. ¡°I saw them using a bag of storage?¡± ¡°What of them? My deceased master has a number in his collection.¡± ¡°Have someone put their hand into its opening and focus on having it to store them. If you can Teleport with the bag¡¯s weight, you¡¯ll be able to release them in a safe place far from here,¡± instructs Frey waspishly. I frown as I consider the details sceptically. ¡°That works? Won¡¯t they die in the bag? Mortals are so frail; they need air.¡± ¡°According to a tale I¡¯ve heard, it works as long as you don¡¯t keep them in it too long. Though the bag needs to hold far more than the person¡¯s weight is my understanding.¡± ¡°You¡¯d trust their life and yours to a tale?¡± ¡°I trust the person that told me the tale.¡± Frey corrected without even a flicker of doubt. I tilt my head in consideration as if running possibilities. dragging out the drama for the fun. ¡°There are only seventeen of you. Why should I take ten to safety immediately?¡± ¡°That gives you a whole moon out of the Abyss while still having leverage. Even then, I didn¡¯t say you needed to release me immediately, but everyone else I want safe.¡± ¡°You¡¯re willing to endure whatever I come up with?¡± I ask teasingly and roam my gaze over her. ¡°If you kill me before you corrupt me, I believe my Soul will go to Amdirlain¡¯s realm.¡± ¡°Come to the bars where I can touch you.¡± Her bedroom eyes are as hard as granite, and she steps forward with steely determination. I reach towards her full bosom, but she doesn¡¯t even flinch, and I place my hand between them. The Chant spills painfully across my lips, but I¡¯ve practiced enough that it doesn¡¯t break my concentration. The Celestial words dissolving as the healing lightens her bruises makes their gazes widen. I sigh in relief as the pain fades; the stolen Divine Focus making the Blessing¡¯s flow so much faster than the one I¡¯d crafted on my own. ¡°Well, Sister Priestess, I find your conditions agreeable,¡± I say lightly and can¡¯t resist teasing. ¡°Monk, Priest, and Wizard, you are talented.¡± ¡°How did you not know her name?¡± demands St?le. ¡°She didn¡¯t send me a message, so very insulting of her,¡± I quip. ¡°How did you learn she¡¯d changed her name?¡± ¡°In a dream,¡± Frey answered, her expression showing she¡¯d made the connection that was instantly clear to me. ¡°You threatened to leave us here!¡± St?le roars, and I smile merrily at Frey. ¡°Demons don¡¯t dream,¡± I state casually, when St?le appears to be clueless. My smile shows too many teeth when I want to strangle him again. ¡°I lied. Can we work something out, Frey?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help you stay free as long as you don¡¯t hurt others, especially innocents,¡± Frey concedes after a moment of consideration. ¡°What¡¯s a little pain when you¡¯re fucking someone? How about I promise I won¡¯t permanently injure anyone that doesn¡¯t deserve it?¡± The saucy look I give her receives a snort. ¡°I decide who deserves it, not you. Deal?¡± Frey asks, extending a hand between the bars. ¡°Deal.¡± When I clasp her forearm, a shiver runs up my spine, as if an icy wind rushed in the open door even though the morning is already warming up. 145 - Sparks in the Darkness Pit¡¯s PoV - Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning The grey cloud ahead of us was more comforting than the vast emptiness we¡¯d travelled through, but it was also unlike anything I¡¯d ever seen. A sharp odour tickled at my nose and my fur¡ªyeah, that¡¯s still a new thing¡ªtingled strangely, tufts of it standing upright, oddly pressing against my clothing. The closer we got to the clouds, the more solid they looked, and limiting the range of my sight, they eased the tension in my shoulders. The endless emptiness of the Plane of Air was frightening after so long in the Maze. ¡°I put an arrow in whatever attacks?¡± I asked sceptically. A smile lit her face, and Lady Amdirlain nodded cheerfully, waving at the cloud bank. ¡°The magical energy the bow puts onto even normal arrows, will allow you to hurt Lightning Elementals. They¡¯re not incorporeal beings; even if they appear made of energy, they¡¯re in sync with this region, so you¡¯ll be able to hurt them.¡± Waving about us, I asked what seemed obvious. ¡°How do we find them? This place is open nothingness, but in there is greyness, we won¡¯t be able to hunt them.¡± Lady Amdirlain¡¯s laughter sparked the air, and she waved about, copying my gesture with a smile. ¡°We won¡¯t have to find anything; dangers will find us. The Plane of Air and all its neighbouring regions aren¡¯t static places. As we go in further, we¡¯ll pass through regions with a greater chance of serious trouble finding us. I plan to head in until we can find dark clouds, and then we¡¯ll skirt along their edge. If we run into clouds that appear blackish-green, we¡¯ve gone too far for you to be safe.¡± Running fingers through my fur prompted an amusing thought. ¡°You mean things here will scent us on the wind like a hound?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have a nose as you do, but close; they¡¯ll feel the difference in our energy state. To them, we¡¯re the strange things, and they¡¯ll want to kick us out,¡± explained Amdirlain after a moment. ¡°Isn¡¯t it wrong to be invading their home this way just to pick a fight?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe it is, maybe it isn¡¯t. We can go back if you don¡¯t want to fight here. Most of what we¡¯ll find are reactive concentrations of energy. The beings here able to think might talk to us, those that aren¡¯t hateful, like the Lightning Mephit. The simple entities are just the Plane¡¯s energy reacting to our presence like a Mortal¡¯s body fighting off disease.¡± ¡°Except we¡¯re the disease,¡± I offered, wrinkling my nose at the vague memory of Ebusuku¡¯s sick wounds. Lady Amdirlain ruefully nodded. ¡°Indeed, to them we¡¯re the disease. We¡¯ll scatter their energy back into the Plane, and their energy will contribute to the formation of a new entity. If we don¡¯t scatter them, they¡¯ll continue to accumulate energy or get absorbed by another entity that feels peckish.¡± ¡°If we find something that will speak to us?¡± I hesitantly asked, hoping for what I¡¯m sure would be a positive response. A careless glance down made my head spin, and Lady Amdirlain quickly blocked my gaze. ¡°Look straight ahead. If a local wants to talk to us, then we¡¯ll talk. Maybe we can trade for information.¡± With that said, Lady Amdirlain led the way, heading straight into the cloud mass. Lightning crackled within it, prompting me to halt and nock an arrow. I sighed softly in relief when the metallic head didn¡¯t draw any lightning to me, and Lady Amdirlain called back. ¡°You¡¯re immune to Electricity, remember? You¡¯ve got two weeks, and I hope you put your grinding shoes on, because we¡¯re going to push until Aggie summons you.¡± * * * Shag¨®rim¡¯s PoV - Massalia - Senator Marcellus¡¯ Ludus - New Arrival¡¯s Cells Shag¨®rim groaned as the dim light from the wall¡¯s crystals stabbed painfully into his eyes. The rough straw of the palate poked into his skin, and he wondered when he¡¯d removed his shirt. ¡°Fuck, now that¡¯s just what I need,¡± grumbled a deep voice in the rhythmic chant of Khuzdul. ¡°Arseholes could have chained the damn orc to the wall instead of me.¡± Even the low words sent a heated blade of pain through his ears, and Shag¨®rim clapped his hands over them protectively. Bleary-eyed, he stared in the voice¡¯s direction and could only make out a shifting squat form against a wall. ¡°Hush,¡± grumbled Shag¨®rim, and he tried to focus on the words he¡¯d learnt. ¡°Dwarf, how did you get into my room?¡± ¡°Vergadain¡¯s left nut; an Orc that speaks a civilised tongue!¡± exclaimed the Dwarf, the shouted words eliciting grumbles from multiple sleepy voices. ¡°Now, if only he weren¡¯t a moron.¡± Shag¨®rim wrangled himself into a sitting position against limbs that fought his instructions. A misstep caused him to sprawl fully onto the ground, and the impact against stone instead of wood snapped his eyes fully open. ¡°This isn¡¯t my room.¡± The Dwarf shifted position on the straw under him and leant back against the stone¡ªthe movement causing the chains that bound to the floor to jingle and slither. ¡°Too right it¡¯s not, green-skin. Now, go back to sleep. It¡¯s not morning.¡± Blood pounding in his ears, Shag¨®rim fought his way to his feet, growing steadier by the moment. A rush of energy cleared his mind and fought back the lethargy in his limbs. His vision cleared, and the pounding ceased as he froze in sheer confusion. Clearly no longer in the inn room he¡¯d gone to sleep in, iron bars divided the stone room into four cells, leaving a clear walkway in front of the only door. Instead of the clothing he¡¯d worn to bed, he wore only a loincloth, and his grasping fingers found only bare skin rather than the amulet around his neck. The cold steel band around his wrist touching his chest had him jerk his hand back in dismay. ¡°Calm down, green-skin, there is no one to fight here, and it¡¯s late, so no one cares.¡± Shag¨®rim stared at the band and ran his fingers over its seamless rune set surface. ¡°My name is Shag¨®rim, son of Shagoral and Urz¨¤l, born of the Seafang Tribe, not ''green-skin''.¡± ¡°Well, Shag¨®rim, there is still no one to fight here, unless you consider my chained-up arse a challenge. Now, since you can still actually talk instead of berserk rampaging, go back to sleep,¡± retorted the Dwarf. ¡°You¡¯ve still not shared your name with me. I gave you mine,¡± Shag¨®rim said pointedly. ¡°Do you not honour your people¡¯s customs?¡± ¡°Oh, well-played green-skin, I mean Shag¨®rim, my name is Durnat, son of Natmar,¡± stated Durnat, and a shrug set his chains rattling. The noise drew Shag¨®rim''s attention to the veins and bulging muscles showing through the Dwarf¡¯s skin. Many scars, naturally and magically healed, showed across the Dwarf¡¯s skin, including a notched ear almost hidden in Durnat¡¯s black hair and twin clawed scars that ran down the side of his nose. Durnat¡¯s obsidian gaze weighed on Shag¨®rim who was taking in his beardless state without even a whisker to show fresh growth. ¡°How did I get here? Where are my things?¡± asked Shag¨®rim, trying to remember a lesson on Dwarven customs involving removing beards. ¡°The guards dragged you in and dumped you on the floor, and you¡¯ve been keeping me awake with your snoring,¡± grumbled Durnat. ¡°But you forgot the most important question.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± asked Shag¨®rim doubtfully. ¡°Where are you? That¡¯s the important question,¡± Durnat chuckled dryly. ¡°And the answer to that is, we¡¯re both in the same shit hole. Welcome to Senator Marcellus¡¯ Ludus, his school for gladiators, in case you don¡¯t speak Latin,¡± ¡°I don¡¯t speak their tongue. I was travelling to Eyrarh¨¢ls with a caravan Merchant Prodan recommended,¡± Shag¨®rim stated. ¡°Come here, Shag¨®rim,¡± stated Durnat, motioning him over. When Shag¨®rim got within arm¡¯s reach, he spoke again. ¡°Exhale hard. I need to smell your breath; I sure hope you¡¯ve not been eating rancid carrion.¡± Shag¨®rim bit back a string of words and simply followed Durnat¡¯s instructions. ¡°Just as I thought, your breath still has the sweetness of slaver¡¯s sleep venom,¡± Durnat sneered. ¡°Need to be careful with recommendations Shag¨®rim; just because you trust one person doesn¡¯t mean the people they know will like you.¡± His hands balled in fists, Shag¨®rim felt the familiar rage of his kin-folk claw at his self-control. ¡°If you¡¯re so wise, how did you end up here?¡± ¡°Wise, I¡¯m not wise; I killed the wrong noble,¡± Durnat growled in frustration. ¡°They took you prisoner in battle?¡± asked Shag¨®rim. ¡°No, I got away clean, but the offal that hired me had his men grab me,¡± Durnat grumbled. ¡°No one told me the stupid human had a twin. Now sit back down. The manacle on your wrist means you¡¯re going nowhere.¡± Fingers still rubbing against the steel, Shag¨®rim stared at Durnat sceptically. ¡°If it is so secure, why are you chained and not manacled?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t have one that could hold a Dwarf of my stature,¡± scoffed Durnat, and he spat into the stray nearby. ¡°I¡¯m locked down until they have an Artificer figure out something suitable.¡± ¡°Your stature?¡± asked Shag¨®rim, the amusement in his tone earned a heated glare. ¡°A beardless Dwarf; what Clan kicked you out and cursed you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m stronger than you, green-skin; if I wasn¡¯t in these chains, these walls wouldn¡¯t stand against me, now go back to sleep,¡± ordered Durnat, his glare still fixed on Shag¨®rim. Shag¨®rim picked a spot in the straw near the cell door and repeated a frequent prayer. ¡°May I endure, overcome, and find my path. Lady Amdirlain guide me from this place to one of my own choosing. Let me find honour in her service.¡± ¡°Prayers won¡¯t help you, boy,¡± muttered Durnat, ¡°just go to sleep.¡± ¡°Everything breaks in the end. This manacle will break before I give up hope,¡± declared Shag¨®rim, holding firm against the anger that churned in his mind. The air tasted of the pre-dawn when the main door was pulled open and three men in segmented cuirass, stepped within. Their weapons were a strange mix, though the lead man had a gladius, the second carried an iron club, and the third just wore weighted gauntlets with studs across the knuckles. Words barked in the local tongue meant nothing to Shag¨®rim, and Durnat just laughed merrily before he spoke up in Khuzdul. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°They want you to step back from the cell door,¡± translated Durnat. ¡°Why are they so worried if the manacle is so strong?¡± asked Shag¨®rim, tapping the lone manacle with his fingers. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re not worried boy, but if they activate it, you¡¯re going to be in too much pain to walk anywhere,¡± explained Durnat. ¡°I don¡¯t speak their language,¡± stated Shag¨®rim. The Dwarf¡¯s broad smile wouldn¡¯t have been out of place on a shark. ¡°I¡¯ll translate for you, for a fee of course.¡± Shag¨®rim eyed him suspiciously. ¡°What sort of fee? I¡¯ve nothing left but a loincloth.¡± ¡°A future favour,¡± proposed Durnat blandly. ¡°That will not be necessary, Durnat,¡± the lead man stated in Khuzdul. ¡°Step back from the cell door, Orc. I¡¯m gladiator instructor Dante, you will follow my orders.¡± ¡°I¡¯m no slave. Let me go,¡± growled Shag¨®rim. ¡°We paid for you. You¡¯re a slave until you¡¯ve earned your freedom fighting,¡± replied Dante, and motioned Shag¨®rim back. ¡°Now step away from the door, Orc. Or would you prefer we leave you to cool off for a couple of days without food or water?¡± Shag¨®rim took a careful step back, and another when Dante motioned again. His eyes kept moving over the three men, taking in their equipment, and stances. None of them looked concerned at being studied, and the man who wore the strange gauntlets just smiled coldly. Fixing his gaze on Dante, he spoke in clear Khuzdul. ¡°My name is Shag¨®rim, not Orc.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. You¡¯ll answer to what it¡¯s decided you¡¯ll be called for the crowds,¡± declared Dante. ¡°Where are my things?¡± asked Shag¨®rim, concerned mostly for Amdirlain¡¯s symbol and feather. ¡°We bought you Orc. We didn¡¯t buy whatever primitive rubbish you¡¯re worried about,¡± replied Dante, his gaze fixed on Shag¨®rim. ¡°When the cell is unlocked, you¡¯ll come out and join the line in the yard outside. Is that clear?¡± Shag¨®rim nodded, and Dante focused on the men in the cell beside him, and spoke again in Latin. Massalia Markets - Later that day. Looking over a table of trinkets, Aurelia played with her white braid, wrapping the end around her belt. Ignoring her Mater haggling for alchemical reagents, she regarded the merchant¡¯s assistant keeping an eye on her near the table. Releasing her braid and silk belt, she pointed a delicate finger at a polished disk with a curious emblem she¡¯d never seen before, traced in amber. Sunlight glinted off the silver bracelet around her wrist and the host of emeralds nested in the metal. The assistant clearly had the advantage of a half decade or more, and despite being only sixteen, Aurelia held herself with the composure of a Matron. The fine silk of her robes and the silver wire wrapped in her braid held a multitude of runes. Energy within the runes matched the brightness in her eyes for those with the talent to see them. ¡°How much for the necklace with the long feather and amulet?¡± asked Aurelia, pointing at the disk that had caught her eye. ¡°The amulet is Elven woodwork, masterfully done with amber accents. I¡¯d need three tremissis,¡± the assistant declared. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t even give you Slav golds, let alone Nova Roma issue; the weave of the leather is clearly orcish. Did you scavenge it from a corpse and expect to fool anyone? Two Sestertius,¡± countered Aurelia, and she plucked the coppers from her purse to bounce them thoughtfully. ¡°Though even that is likely too much.¡± ¡°That feather alone is worth more than that; clearly, from its size, they took it from a magical beast,¡± countered the assistant. ¡°Nonsense, vultures have feathers that large, it could have come from a foul nest. I¡¯ll have to have it cleaned, and there is no beast Mana about it,¡± stated Aurelia imperiously. The assistant blinked and angled the wood amulet, carefully letting the sunlight play across the polished wood. ¡°Even if the necklace is orcish, the amulet is still clearly Elven. Look closely; you¡¯ll see the wood is flawlessly formed, and the amber pattern of the candle and the broken necklace would-¡± ¡°A Nature Wizard¡¯s apprentice can do better work, indeed, my Mater tutors an eight year old whose gift could manage it. Four Sestertius is generous for something a novice Wizard could craft as a training exercise.¡± declared Aurelia. The assistant looked at her sceptically. ¡°If your Mater¡¯s student can do better, why are you seeking to buy this?¡± ¡°Indeed, you are right. What am I thinking about, of course, just forget it,¡± said Aurelia dismissively. Returning her attention to her Mater¡¯s haggling, she ignored the assistant¡¯s next two counteroffers. Only turning back to him when her Mater started haggling over a new consignment of goods. ¡°Word of advice when haggling, never ask someone why they¡¯re looking to buy something. You¡¯ll talk them out of a sale completely. Now that I¡¯ve given advice, let¡¯s have some fun, shall we? Where was I, oh yes, one Sestertius.¡± When her Mater finally ordered the slaves to pick up her acquisitions, Aurelia tucked the amulet into an empty pouch on her belt. The necklace and its long feather slipped into it without changing its flat appearance in the slightest. ¡°Did you have fun making him sweat, Aurelia?¡± The elegant woman asked in a hissing tongue when they were out of earshot. ¡°It was amusing. Might I have another Denarius?¡± asked Aurelia, in the same language. The woman didn¡¯t hesitate to hand her daughter a small coin that flashed silver in the sunlight. ¡°How much should you have paid?¡± ¡°A few thousand tremissis, he clearly didn¡¯t know what he possessed, or they¡¯d have held it for auction. There is the scent of Celestial and Abyssal Mana mixed within it. I only caught the taste of it at the table¡¯s edge, but nothing shows to any detections.¡± ¡°What? I smelt nothing where I was standing,¡± whispered her Mater, her lips pressed so tightly their lushness thinned. ¡°Bring it to my study once we¡¯re home, don¡¯t let it out of your hands.¡± ¡°Of course not, Mater,¡± replied Aurelia, and she didn¡¯t break eye contact, but waited until her Mater looked away first, remembering her Mater¡¯s lessons in manners. Aegina - Pal¨¢ti of Apollo The murky energy writhed oddly within the diamond, unaffected by the sunlight shining through the stained-glass window set with Apollo¡¯s golden lyre. Taking a step back from the gleaming wood of the desk, the novice swallowed as the gemstone shifted position from where she¡¯d placed it. Its shift didn¡¯t continue, and she stood in silence, clasping her fingers tightly together and keeping her eyes downcast. Intent on keeping her gaze from the two men in purple robes, she didn¡¯t see the younger¡¯s haughty glare. ¡°Has the Interrogator learnt nothing more from Aleko¡¯s Soul?¡± ¡°No, your Highness, he said it was just repeats of his initial report and instructed me to return the soul trap to you.¡± The girl whispered, her eyes fixed on the floor. ¡°Very well, return to your duties,¡± the growl in the man¡¯s voice sent a shiver along the novice¡¯s spine, but she nodded respectfully and departed with a controlled grace. A far older man, thin with age and with pure white hair, sitting in the cool shadows beside the window, spoke up after the door closed. ¡°What will you do now, Charilaos?¡± Charilaos carefully composed his expression before he looked at the older man, whose black gaze blended in with the surrounding shadows. ¡°What can I do? I have Apollo¡¯s instructions¡ªgreater preparations will need to be made.¡± ¡°That is the way you¡¯ve chosen to take his order. Yet she killed the lead Summoner of a full eleven; exactly what greater preparation do you intend?¡± asked the old man, as he unrolled a scroll. ¡°I do like this line from the Necromancer¡¯s - oh sorry, Interrogator¡¯s report, ¡®brushed us all aside as if our summoning was an annoying fly¡¯.¡± ¡°They were all mercenaries hardly fit to hold a candle to the will of Apollo¡¯s Priests,¡± sneered Charilaos. ¡°At least we didn¡¯t have to pay them in the end. I¡¯ll have a greater circle carved to summon and contain her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let the church elders know you plan to lead the ritual; to show what the favoured of Apollo is capable of,¡± the old man stated, Charilaos¡¯ gaze narrowed at his very respectful tone even before he continued. ¡°Unless you believe the strength of your will is in question?¡± ¡°Very well, Elder Xanthos. I¡¯ll ensure preparations start at once,¡± Charilaos replied. Rising casually, he crossed the silk rug, his white-knuckled grip on the door¡¯s handle at odds with the controlled motion it opened with. He walked away at a stately pace, leaving the door fully open behind him. Xanthos''s smile remained pleasant, but the warmth of it never touched his eyes; only once Charilaos¡¯s footsteps faded did he carefully secure the scroll. ¡°Did you expect useful information after he was smothered in our infirmary?¡± Xanthos sighed to himself and levered his thin frame from the chair. Limping from the room, he passed the desk and slipped the diamond from its surface. ¡°The novice may have done you a favour, you¡¯re too arrogant to handle fear well; always best for stupid men to face their fate in ignorance.¡± Outlands - Runa¡¯s PoV Sage¡¯s wings are so glowing and beautiful, like drifting clouds beckoning the latest Erakk? arrivals from Judgement to follow calmly behind. In the weeks since Amdirlain¡¯s departure with Pit, the Erakk? became a common sight. Though I don¡¯t understand what Mirage means about being ''in tune'' with Amdirlain¡¯s beliefs before she came to their world. I recognise the common release of tension from their features as they crossed the Domain¡¯s boundary. Two of them barely made it fully inside, their expressions so blissful I wasn''t surprised when they simply walked over and sat among some trees. They leaned against a trunk, looking like they were about to fall asleep. Not that I blamed them; the sunlight was so warm and relaxing, I could melt into the cool wall behind me, its stone vibrating in time to the voice raised in cheer within. The Domain¡¯s energy mingled with it oddly, beckoning me to rest, even though I¡¯ve not needed sleep since I died. It was a comfort as if laying amid a field of ripe wheat, watching the golden glow of the stalks rustling dryly in the breeze. The dream-like glow surrounded me as I prayed Amdirlain would let me help those in need. A voice calling for help echoed and I heard others in the field moving towards the call. Suddenly eager to be of help first, I rushed ahead through the glowing stalks, the light melting around the hand I raise to shield my eyes. Suddenly, everywhere I looked, brilliant rainbow hues brightly shimmered in a glow whose source I couldn¡¯t see. [Evolution obtained, Profile available.] Profile? That¡¯s what the Archons talked about. A burst of light swept through me and dropped me into retreating darkness. The golden light pushed the darkness down the corridors and cast strange shadows across rune carved walls. I¡¯d never met a woman with bat wings before, let alone skin that was bone white and her presence felt wrong, but wearing Amdirlain¡¯s symbol halted me in surprise. The second woman was at least dressed, but her clothing was ripped and tied together with rough knots, and doing little to hide the muscles in her arms and torso. Her ash-blond hair showed all the dirt and blood, but her steel-grey gaze stayed fixed on me in wonder. The curve of her lush lips made for a friendly smile. They¡¯re both wore Amdirlain¡¯s symbol, though the winged woman¡¯s looks were roughly carved from stone. The initial burst of light faded into a steady golden glow. ¡°Where am I?¡± The feel of the winged woman drifted across my awareness, and wanting to get away from her put me against the ceiling. I felt my shell bump against the ceiling, and I considered the golden mesh around me in shock. I¡¯m like Pip! Knowledge rose up through me, and I realised the naked woman was a Succubus. Why is she wearing Amdirlain¡¯s symbol? ¡°A Lantern Archon, unbelievably useless when alone, but at least you¡¯ll be able to see what kills you now. I told you to be careful activating the runes; that was the only summoning one I looted from him.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you offering to cast it, Klipyl,¡± the second woman says, before looking up at me. ¡°I¡¯m Frey, this is Klipyl. We were escaping a Wizard¡¯s prison and activated a trap. We need help to get out of here. There are wards preventing Klipyl from teleporting out.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have liked the help we¡¯d have gotten if it had even worked,¡± insisted Klipyl. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot me, glow bug; it¡¯s not my fault we¡¯re stuck in this place. I shouldn¡¯t have told St?le where to avoid stepping, but of all the infernal tricks, I wasn¡¯t expecting him to shove Frey into me.¡± ¡°I heard someone calling for help? I¡¯m not sure how I can help if you can¡¯t teleport out of here,¡± I murmur, wondering how I can help anyone without hands. ¡°We¡¯re hoping there is a way out,¡± Frey replied. ¡°Klipyl can smell fresh air coming from somewhere, but undead have almost gotten me a few times.¡± ¡°Give me a moment please; I just have to check something,¡± I said, my voice sounding different now that I was paying attention¡ªit¡¯s airy and a higher pitch. They think ''Profile'' to see them, isn¡¯t that what Mirage said? But even if I can see my Profile, what classes could I use? [Available Class Options: Archer Guide Explorer Fighter Priest Scout Zen Archer (Monk variation)] No point taking Fighter if I can¡¯t use any equipment. Pip shoots at things with radiant bolts; Archer perhaps, but how is Zen Archer different? A sudden burst of Amdirlain¡¯s intent focused sparring with Ebusuku gripped me, and I felt the same energy in her fist wrapping around the energy of my shots. I¡¯m suddenly aware the light bolts could carry the Ki energy wrapped around them. Pip has four Classes, so Archer, Zen Archer, Priest, and Scout sound good, Yeah, I¡¯ll go for those. The moment I picked them, the meshwork around me changed even though it doesn¡¯t obstruct my vision¡ªa shadow of Amdirlain¡¯s symbol appeared on the wall near me. Profile. 146 - Push it Amdirlain''s PoV - Quasi-Elemental Plane of Lightning The battlefront flexed around them repeatedly. The pair were skipping about with Teleport, forcing their foes to chase them. Lightning Elementals¡¯ blinding speed pushed to keep up with their sudden position shifts. Spells and arrows tore enemies apart while the black clouds around them started gaining tinges of green as the battle progressed and more Elementals joined the fray. Elementals crackled and faded, but more flooded towards them. Warned by Amdirlain, Pit¡¯s Teleport carried him away before a hand clamped onto the space he¡¯d left. An Order filled Fireball exploded amid the Elemental swarm that raced after him. Fortunately, the explosion staggered the entire group before Amdirlain¡¯s Teleport took her away from the grasping hand. The latest arrival¡¯s form eclipsed memories of the Behemoth Lightning Golem in the Necropolis. The cloud bank that had swept towards them didn¡¯t contain a group of Elementals; rather, it was an Elemental. Yet even proximity to its attacks sent agony striking through her auras and searing flesh. Fists larger than trucks lashed out, and Amdirlain teleported away. Re-appearing amid a group of large Elementals, blades spun out from her sides and blackness extinguished the remaining energy within their broken forms. ¡°Focus on the others.¡± Amdirlain mentally warned Pit, and she shifted position again. [Species: Ancient Quasi-Elemental, Lightning Level: 650 Health: 136,750 Defence: 790 Magic: 975 Mana: 11,700 Melee Attack Power: 4,271 Combat Skills: Grab [S] (2), Engulf [S] (2), Strike [S] (12) - Various Spell Forms. Details: An Elemental that has existed between five to six thousand years, or absorbed sufficient energy from other Lightning Elementals, can achieve this size. A living cloud bank, this ancient entity controls other Lightning Elementals within hundreds of kilometres of its location.] A flurry of strikes left Pit almost flash blinded by the power washing across Amdirlain, battering at the auras sheathing her form. Breaking through the Elemental burnt swaths of flesh into ash, but Amdirlain continued casting spells. Protean sealed the injuries and started the healing process, yet more damage continued to roll in. Spell forms burst across the Elemental¡¯s surface and exploded partially across others when its power fought against her own. Her health bleeding away under the strikes, losing hundreds of health at a time, Amdirlain began skipping between Elementals. Every relocation had Energy Drain drinking health from among the biggest gatherings she could spot. Evading the Ancient¡¯s grasp again, she slid Ki Infusion into a Primordial state and prepared a Spell to hold within it. Once ready, the Ki churned with the Spell¡¯s power, and her Spell assaults resumed. ¡°Aggie¡¯s summoning me,¡± Pit yelled over the top of the booming battle, hurriedly loosing a flurry of arrows at a Large Elemental rushing to attack. Weeks of practice meant every one of them struck true against the Elemental¡¯s energy nexus. ¡°Hold on, darn it.¡± The words slapped across Pit¡¯s awareness. A semi-trailer formed of pure lightning raced towards her again, and this time, Amdirlain didn¡¯t evade it, but lashed out with a palm strike against it. Her enemy¡¯s blow struck through a black shape that appeared on her palm, and the Spell back lashed through its attack. A surge of power swept away from her, and the Spell¡¯s eruption turned the cloud¡¯s interior into an old fashion negative. The Primordial energy of creation cascaded through the lightning, grounding its energy into matter. A chain reaction continued through its mass to spear through the assembled forces. The sparking remains of the rest of its fellows quickly faded out before the cloud bank lost cohesion. [Combat summary: Small Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x54 (x50%) Medium Quasi-Element, Lightning x 43 (x50%) Quasi-Element, Lightning x 32 (x50%) Large Quasi-Element, Lightning x29 (x50%) Huge Quasi-Element, Lightning x19 (x50%) Greater Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x 12 (x50%) Old Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x4 (x50%) Ancient Quasi-Elemental, Lightning x1 (x50%) Total experience gained: 1,437,500 Fallen; +274,900 Scion: +274,900 Sora Master: +274,900 Sora Master Levelled Up! Psion: +274,900 Psion Levelled Up! Warrior Monk: +274,900 Warrior Monk Levelled Up! Resistance: Electricity [I] (30->33) Angelic Aura [Ad] (18->20) Ki Armour [S](17->18) Ki Aura [Ad] (22->26) Mana Critical [B] (13) -> [Ap] (2) Clairsentience [M] (7->8) Danger Sense [S] (6->7) Mana Finesse [S] (9->10) Telekinesis [Ad](10->11) Zen State [S] (10->11)] ¡°And done. Have fun.¡± Pit gave Amdirlain an incredulous look and let Aggie¡¯s summoning draw him away. ¡°Aggie, got to love your timing. Buy Pit some new clothing, please; his got wrecked.¡± Amdirlain finished casting her Spell and burst into laughter at the storm, lashing the fragments against her aura. Telekinesis grabbed the Ancient¡¯s lightning heart and brought it to rest above her palm. Energy compressed by a millennium of existence shone with the brilliant bluish-white of a lightning strike. ¡°That¡¯s another thing off O¡¯Nai¡¯s list,¡± Amdirlain said happily, and noting the level ups, opened her Profile to check on the changes. While the usual increases in her attributes were expected, the numbers in her cult made little sense, no matter how much she looked at them. She waited for the arm that had met the Ancient¡¯s strike to regrow before Planar Shift took her home. Sunlight of the Outlands washed over her, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t take in her surroundings; rather, she teleported home to the valley¡¯s ridgeline. There was no additional construction at the viewing point, and Amdirlain stopped to enjoy the view. Even as she took in the place¡¯s beauty, her Domain¡¯s closeness let her feel the thousands of Erakk? that were present within it. Their energy bled into the Domain¡¯s Wellspring, strengthening it with noticeable speed. ¡°What have you folks been up to while I was away?¡± muttered Amdirlain, and Teleport set her a safe distance from the training ground where Ebusuku, Sage, and Solveiga were sitting. The moment she entered the Domain itself, dozens of Lantern Archons swirled about on the edge of her awareness, surprising her with their existence. Mostly, they were Erakk? whose memories had faded during their stay in Judgement. However, Runa¡¯s presence in the group wasn¡¯t the biggest surprise¡ªher presence on the Material Plane topped that. ¡°Runa, focus on your Oath link to me and think a message at me. Why are you on the Material Plane without training, young lady?¡± asked Amdirlain, pausing out of sight of the training ground. Though she felt Runa¡¯s surprise through their link, she didn¡¯t receive any response; after waiting several minutes, she spoke again. ¡°I hope you¡¯re okay, as I¡¯m not hearing anything from you. When you¡¯re back, we will get you trained properly before going anywhere again. That way, if you need any extra help, you can contact me.¡± Rounding the last corner towards the training ground, she found Farhad training with most of her Hound Archons. Nearby, she spotted Ebusuku, Sage, and Solveiga sitting around a table looking over a drawing, with Sage busy making notes. ¡°Anything interesting showup?¡± Ebusuku looked at her sternly and raised an eyebrow. ¡°What time do you call this young lady?¡± ¡°Really?! You¡¯re going there?¡± asked Amdirlain in amusement. Sage smiled at her and set his notes next to the drawing of the canyons. ¡°Torm dropped by and suggested it would be suitable.¡± ¡°Picking up more symbols, was he? I got no messages. I figured everything was under control,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Though Runa transformed into a Lantern Archon and skipped off to the Material Plane¡ªshe¡¯s so grounded. Does anyone know anything more about that?¡± ¡°Pip grumbled there was a call for help, and Runa beat her to it,¡± Sage answered. ¡°We hadn¡¯t even known she¡¯d transformed until Pip complained. Torm came to speak with you about checking on the Elves; It will take him some time to reach them by boat.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°How about the Erakk? waiting in Judgement? How many more are present?¡± ¡°Millions, but we¡¯re just bringing them back in controlled groups. When we go through one of the Gates, we collect those closest that react to your symbol. Malnar¡¯s been busy building places for them, but a lot of them do little besides sit under a tree or by the water,¡± replied Sage. ¡°At times, an Erakk? will fade out, and a new Lantern Archon will appear. Other times there is a ripple of energy, and they¡¯re just gone,¡± Solveiga offered cautiously. Amdirlain patted her shoulder and sat down beside her across from Ebusuku. ¡°Not gone completely. Berronar warned me about it, but I wasn¡¯t expecting it so soon. The newly dead keep their Mortal forms and stick to the familiar, but older Souls will either transition into Archons, move back on to be reborn, or join the Domain. If they join the Domain, it¡¯s because they don¡¯t wish to be reborn and yet don¡¯t care about having a body. They¡¯re drifting peacefully in the Wellspring¡¯s energy, strengthening it with their presence.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good to know,¡± sighed Solveiga. ¡°I guess I¡¯m too new to all this.¡± ¡°Join the club! Meetings are the first Tuesday of each moon, but you¡¯ll need to bring your own drinks,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± asked Solveiga, and Amdirlain gave her a shoulder bump for her look of confusion. Ebusuku sighed and tapped the drawing. ¡°I think it¡¯s safer not to ask. Can we get back to this?¡± Amdirlain looked over the map they¡¯d put together and pointed to two circles marked on it to the north. ¡°What are those?¡± ¡°The one closest to the mountains looks like an Elven City,¡± Ebusuku said, pointing to the inland circle before gesturing to the second on the coast. ¡°The species from the canyons inhabited the coastal city.¡± Amdirlain looked at Ebusuku in surprise at her news. ¡°Elven City? Lots of undead there as well?¡± ¡°Not a single one that I could find,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Lots of broken skeletons, some mummified corpses, and various slain creatures, but not a single undead. Lots of relatively recent damage to the city though; traces of scorched and wind etched damage to structures that are otherwise unmarked by weather.¡± ¡°The servant said there aren¡¯t Mortal inhabitants,¡± offered Amdirlain. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I¡¯m not sure then. The spells were potent enough to damage stone unweathered by thousands of years, not something I¡¯d expect on an abandoned world. Tens of thousands of remains marked with concentrated Chaos strikes,¡± countered Ebusuku. ¡°The Elven city is actually near a natural Gate to the Outlands. I was checking for a pathway to the Abyss, and my Planar Sense helped me find it.¡± ¡°Have you been using that now?¡± Amdirlain asked, and Sage nodded. ¡°You trying to teach me how to be subtle?¡± Ebusuku added and reached across the table to poke her arm. ¡°Yeah right, zero chance of that,¡± refuted Amdirlain. ¡°It seemed like asking for an ambush, that¡¯s all.¡± ¡°Exactly why we¡¯re not using it,¡± agreed Ebusuku. Amdirlain went to ask a question but got cut off as Ebusuku continued. ¡°What level did you push Pit through to?¡± Waving her off, Amdirlain jumped to a matter that had been niggling at her. ¡°That¡¯s his business, back to the subject of ambushes though; Aleko, did you find anything out?¡± ¡°I sent a message to Sagga and Rika; they¡¯ve passed the details onto Moke to investigate,¡± Solveiga reported. Giving a nod of thanks, Amdirlain moved on to the issue that had brought her back to the Domain. ¡°Have you heard anything about why in the last two weeks I suddenly have a ton of missionaries and new locations with followers?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak to some of the recent Petitioners, see if they know anything,¡± said Sage and he packed up his notes. Amdirlain waved Sage to stay put. ¡°It¡¯s not super urgent, just when we get time. I¡¯d like to know what happened. ¡° ¡°The platoons must have finally mustered out,¡± Solveiga stated, and Amdirlain motioned for her to continue. ¡°The King¡¯s council kept finding reasons to extend their service. Some recent Petitioner from among them said they were planning to settle in various places and spread the word by example.¡± At her mention of the King¡¯s Council, the relaxed look vanished from Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°No one mentioned issues with them to me.¡± Solveiga gave her a casual shrug. ¡°That¡¯s because you shouldn¡¯t need to handle everything yourself; and it¡¯s Mortal politics, which doesn¡¯t go well with you.¡± ¡°Okay, you have a point there,¡± agreed Amdirlain reluctantly. ¡°Not happy that they were putting pressure on the ladies.¡± ¡°Well, sounds like it¡¯s come back to bite them at last,¡± smirked Solveiga. ¡°I know Gellamel, among others had discussed it occasionally even while I was alive.¡± Creating a set of paper and grease pens, Amdirlain wrote a few notes of her own. ¡°As I told Ebusuku, I wasn¡¯t happy with the mixed messages I was getting from the Norse temples. Solveiga can tell you how only a few were quick to help; the rest had to be persuaded. The King¡¯s Council is split between Jarl¡¯s representatives, a trio of the King¡¯s advisors, and senior priests. Either a majority of temples agreed, or the Jarls voted in a bloc. The King only had a reluctant agreement from them about hiring the platoons initially for a year¡ªa few Jarls declared it was an extravagant expense.¡± ¡°That changed about a year after you left,¡± Solveiga said. ¡°First it was three years, then five, then it was until further notice that same year after the five-year increase. Gellamel had them commit in writing to large bonuses to be paid each member; those bonuses increased for every year after six years.¡± Amdirlain winced at the ladies kept in combat service for so long. ¡°Were they-¡° ¡°It wasn¡¯t the length of service, Amdirlain,¡± reassured Solveiga. ¡°Lots have nowhere to return to; the platoons became their family, though we¡¯d been putting our lives together. Gellamel refused to let the council take our service for granted, especially after all the crap Eysteinn¡¯s family pulled.¡± ¡°Rat fucker, what did he do?¡± growled Amdirlain. ¡°Not him, them, the Jarl replaced him with his son not long after your run-ins with him. The Steward handles tax assessment on properties and businesses for the Jarl. The Daughters paid through the nose frequently, and he hit the properties of the Thralls we freed or caused pain for individuals dealing with us fairly.¡± Amdirlain ground her teeth and wondered why it hadn¡¯t been mentioned. ¡°The others just let this go?¡± Maybe because I just poured oil on the fire every time I spoke to him. ¡°Oh, he never crossed the letter of the law, just applied assessments on the upper threshold of what was allowed. Had new laws set up around legit trade problems, but then used them to bump assessment against merchants dealing with us as well,¡± Solveiga replied. ¡°They did everything according to the law, even if it was older laws, rarely applied to anyone else in a similar situation. Someone with the King¡¯s ear got other laws added that they gleefully applied against us.¡± ¡°And while you can provide evidence he¡¯s applying them to the Daughters if it¡¯s all legal, what are the grounds for your complaint? That he¡¯s not applying it to other people? It would be harder to get evidence that there is no one else he¡¯s applying it to, especially if he is using it as a weapon against allies of ours. He¡¯ll have some justification for each decision to apply it written up, I¡¯m sure,¡± commented Amdirlain. Solveiga nodded glumly. ¡°That¡¯s the issue as I understand it, but Gellamel was dealing with them. Yngvarr and Verdandi were providing her advice and backup for appeals.¡± Rubbing her face with her hands, Amdirlain tried to accept the churning in her guts instead of locking it away. ¡°You mean I took all her backup away?¡± ¡°Yeah, Yngvarr moved to Duskstone, but Verdandi would still be there to help her,¡± replied Solveiga calmly. Amdirlain shook her head and took a moment before replying. ¡°Verdandi moved to the eastern border of Greece to undermine the Greek Gods.¡± ¡°Get someone not known to them to set up an apparently separate operation. Then get them to document the lack of the rules being applied,¡± Sage suggested. ¡°One exception doesn¡¯t make a rule,¡± Ebusuku said. ¡°There are likely conditions in the laws that let the Steward decide when it¡¯s applicable.¡± Amdirlain contemplated the matter for a moment. ¡°I¡¯ll get Eivor to compensate the Daughters for the expenses from my looting of the temples. Maybe we can get someone trained up to be a better candidate for Steward than one of Eysteinn¡¯s relatives.¡± ¡°How are you going to get the Jarl to replace him?¡± asked Sage. ¡°Money,¡± Amdirlain said flatly. ¡°I¡¯ve got literal tons of it in the Clan Gildenshield account. I¡¯ll not put up with his family screwing with us.¡± Aggie¡¯s PoV - Stoneheart The Spell stretched on and left Aggie wondering if something had gone wrong, when a Hound Archon suddenly appeared before her. Though she expected to look up given their height difference, her gaze still only met a washboard stomach covered with badly charred clothing. Looking further upwards, she had to tilt her head right back to meet Pit¡¯s gaze. The Hound Archon¡¯s shoulders nearly pressed against the ceiling, hunched over as they were under the three-metre-high roof. ¡°What has she done now?¡± Aggie asked breathlessly. Pit shifted position carefully, but the abused cloth of his shirt cracked, and a sleeve slipped free, turning to ash before it hit the ground. ¡°Lady Amdirlain calls it ''power levelling''. The clothing I had before would change form with me, but it didn¡¯t share my Resistance. She¡¯d had to make me new clothes between bouts of fighting.¡± replied Pit. ¡°Do you perhaps have a cloak I can borrow? These garments don¡¯t change size with me.¡± Aggie paused as Amdirlain¡¯s message whispered in her ear and nodded solemnly. ¡°Does she know you call her Lady Amdirlain?¡± ¡°I address her as Amdirlain, but when I talk about her, it doesn¡¯t seem respectful to be so casual,¡± admitted Pit ruefully. ¡°We¡¯re all allowed our choices, right?¡± ¡°What level are you now, Pit?¡± Aggie asked and held out an enchanted cloak drawn from her storage amulet. Pit gave her a grateful smile and carefully put the cloak around his shoulders, its enchantments causing the cloak to expand in a rush of cloth. He quickly pulled it closed, but his shirt, belt, and pants joined the sleeve, turning into ash. With his bow clutched in one hand, he couldn¡¯t quite avoid flashing Aggie. ¡°Sand rash!¡± growled Pit, juggling bow and cloak. He put the bow away into storage and transformed into the Basteti form he had planned. The enlarged cloak struggled to re-adjust quickly, hiding him beneath an impromptu tent formed by its folds. ¡°Pit, what level are you?¡± Aggie asked again. ¡°I think I can change my travel plans.¡± ¡°The last fight pushed me to fifty-nine,¡± admitted Pit, when he¡¯d gotten the cloak sorted out. Aggie rubbed her forehead. ¡°Fifty-nine, all four of-¡° ¡°All five, if you include my Species levels,¡± interjected Pit. ¡°Lady Amdirlain suggested I add Scout as well to boost my Intelligence since I didn¡¯t want to be a Wizard. Though I¡¯ll need to practice skills, I¡¯ve not had time to progress properly. I¡¯ve had plenty of practice in Perception, Archery, and even sniping with my bow, plus loads of practice with Danger Sense.¡± ¡°Would have thought Scouts would be more Quickness than Intelligence,¡± Aggie mused, not being shy about admiring Pit¡¯s new form. His fur was almost pure black, broken up by infrequent silver-white tufts and a solid section of white fur in the shape of a flame in the hollow of his collarbones. Instead of the solid appearance, he¡¯d had previously, now there was a whip-lean grace about him even standing still. Though the cat-like Basteti was far different in appearance, she recognised Pit¡¯s energy. ¡°I felt the option when I chose it, and it¡¯s been working out so far,¡± said Pit. Pulling the cloak together more firmly as it threatened to gape. ¡°Black fur is going to draw a lot of attention; depending on the community, well, it¡¯s viewed as extremely lucky,¡± Aggie noted. ¡°You¡¯re going to have eligible females prowling around you trying to tempt you to stay if we drop by one.¡± Pit grimaced slightly at her words. ¡°I spoke with a Basteti Petitioner while I was considering taking this form, but they didn¡¯t mention that. Though they gave me some advice and taught me a few things about their people¡¯s customs. Where can I get some clothing?¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to be an issue. You¡¯re not exactly close to Dwarven. I can open a Portal to Eyrarh¨¢ls after we get outside the wards,¡± Aggie replied. His grimace disappeared at her suggestion, and Pit nodded happily. ¡°Sounds like a plan, or did you just want to Portal somewhere in the Kingdom of Darius instead?¡± ¡°The Daughters of Hope have contacts in Eyrarh¨¢ls for clothing, and they laid in lots of clothing with all the slaves that Amdirlain freed. They might have spares that can fit. I¡¯d like to introduce you to a few of those running the Daughters and Hope¡¯s Bastion,¡± explained Aggie. ¡°I know about the Daughters, but what is the focus of Hope¡¯s Bastion?¡± ¡°The Daughters take care of training the Wizard¡¯s cadre and helping people that need immediate help. The folks from the Bastion focus on keeping people¡¯s choices available to them. Intervening before people become enslaved¡ªor once freed, they provide training to improve their lives, and a fresh start. Anything to make sure they have the help to stay free,¡± explained Aggie. ¡°They¡¯ve started doing more work in Greece. Most people become slaves there because families sell the children they can¡¯t afford to support.¡± ¡°Lady Amdirlain said there were three sects,¡± said Pit. ¡°Are those two of them?¡± Considering the question, Aggie eventually answered. ¡°I¡¯d say so, but that¡¯s just a guess. They follow the same tenets but focus their efforts differently.¡± Pit nodded thoughtfully in response. ¡°What¡¯s the third sect?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve honestly no idea. Maybe it¡¯s me, or it could be the folks working with Moke. They don¡¯t wait to hear that someone needs a hand,¡± Aggie answered and gave him a grin before she finished. ¡°They¡¯re always poking their nose into places to find trouble that needs putting down; rescuing some of them contributed to several levels.¡± Isaac¡¯s PoV - Mountains - Cemna Laying on my side, I enjoyed the breeze off the mountainside brushing along my currently wingless back. For the first time in this existence, their weight wasn¡¯t present. The forest¡¯s music sounded cheerful under the warmth of the summer sun. It¡¯s light sparkling tones, not entirely hiding the groans and grumbles of things that prefered the cooler seasons. The disharmony between them was simply a fact of life; Ilya¡¯s gentle poke on my shoulder brought me back to myself, and I realised I¡¯ve been echoing the shadow¡¯s songs. ¡°Isa, you¡¯re not allowed to sing along to the sad shit. We¡¯re only here because you¡¯ve been glum; sing the lively stuff. Or didn¡¯t you enjoy your present?¡± ¡°All the presents were wonderful,¡± I replied, wiggling into her touch. ¡°I¡¯m worried that Summoner will try again; I can¡¯t figure out how she knew my secret, except options that are impossible or horrible.¡± ¡°Not telling me what she said, are you?¡± Ilya asked grumpily, her music equally part wary and curious. ¡°I have my secrets, and you have yours; it¡¯s safer only to share where there is need.¡± The words came out softly, but I winced when her music gained sharp cutting notes. They¡¯re not mine, and the sudden notes made me regret returning them to her. ¡°Not sure I want to play it safe some days,¡± Ilya murmured too softly for most to hear. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said it, Ilya, but remember, trusting to Luck is my role,¡± I countered. Turning towards her, I touched my fingers to her lips, not liking the hurt notes in her song. ¡°I want you to keep your plausible deniability. Now, if you want to pray to Luck, I could help you there.¡± Her purple bow-lipped mouth curved softly at my touch. The strange sunlight here lent extra warmth to her olive skin, but it was still far colder than the heat in her dark bedroom eyes. ¡°Would it be your altar I give homage to in my prayers, or a dice table?¡± Ilya asked. Her fingers danced up my thigh sending electricity through me, even before her warm lips brushed my palm, and little licks made me groan. I tried for a teasing tone, but my words contained too much heat under the temptation of her tongue. ¡°I think you¡¯ve tended to my altar enough today.¡± ¡°But I left it all messy. It needs a proper polishing,¡± protested Ilya playfully, each word accented by a kiss and teasing lick further along my arm. Her hand brushed my pussy¡¯s lips, turning my groans into a gasp. ¡°I will bite you,¡± I tried to growl but moaned instead. ¡°Promises, promises,¡± Ilya sighed, sliding a single finger along my wet folds, tracing a circle that made me twitch. ¡°Bad Ilya, didn¡¯t anyone ever tell you not to play with your food?¡± I barely managed, still feeling overstimulated from our last round. ¡°Only you,¡± murmured Ilya, her words obstructed as her tongue pressed harder into my skin. Little quick licks traced my muscles towards the soft skin in the elbow¡¯s crook, harder licks along my arm accompanied the motions of a finger teasing between my folds. Sliding into my wetness, her finger hooked inside me and pulls at me, making spasms burn through my core. The spasms rippling through me had me leaning into her touch, and breathy words were all I managed. "How long is the veil in place for?" Ilya smiled, drawing my face towards her chest. ¡°It will last until sundown, Isa.¡± ¡°Mercy, that¡¯s hours away.¡± Her fingers sliding suddenly deeper stole my playful objection away, and I lavished kisses upon the curve of her breast. ¡°I know,¡± Ilya purred. Another shift in my position was enough to turn her music triumphant. Her free hand ran through my hair, and I lightly licked a nipple in time with her motions. Teasing her other nipple with my fingers earned an excited cry in response. Her palm rubbing my mound while her fingers teasingly pump within my pussy, got me rocking to her rhythm. Sliding free from her fingers, I took my time moving along her body, landing kisses as I roamed across sun-warmed skin. Finally positioned between her legs, the soft grass tickling down across my sensitive places had me wiggling. Enjoying the silken feel of her skin, I slid my hands beneath her to cup her bum, the lifted peach-firmness feeling tight in my palms. I just held her carefully, feeling her anticipation build before I massaged her arse cheeks softly. Every motion had Ilya flexing her hips towards me, and I teased her by dropping more kisses along her inner thighs. Taking my time, I eventually brushed her pussy¡¯s outer lips with the softest of kisses, enjoying the groans I received in response. The aroma of her excitement was intoxicating, even before teasing her excited pearl with my tongue. Delighting in her moans of frustration, I brushed a slow lick across her glistening inner lips. Fiery notes arose in her song when quick teasing flicks of my tongue rewarded me with gasps of delight. Her motions, erratic with desire, pressed hard against my mouth, and I moved in time with them, sliding gradually deeper between lovely wet folds with my tongue. A flood of juices and a sweet shift in her saltiness announced her first orgasm, and I didn¡¯t let up. Alternating long slow licks with frantic flicks to prolong her pleasure, my fingers helped me conduct her song; I remained careful of its tempo. Long fingers entwined in my hair tugged me towards her in time with every lick. Focused on her music, I held her at the orgasm¡¯s edge, adjusting my pace to keep her music from losing its crescendo. Before it became too much, I let her balance tip, and she bucked hard against my face, her screams of pleasure resonating in muffling protections of the veil. Her trembling gradually easing, I kept going with slow and gentle licks. ¡°We¡¯ve put off looting another city for years. It can wait a day,¡± Ilyia panted. Sitting back on my heels at Ilya¡¯s words, I couldn¡¯t stop the laughter that erupted. The pleased smile my laugher earned matches her music. It¡¯s a simple decision to make, and I settled down to cuddle against her. Enjoying the feel of her arm around me, I ran a hand down the sensual curves that conceal a leopard¡¯s muscular grace. ¡°With Luck¡¯s blessing, we¡¯ll find something to bribe Coordinator Makaro, to sign off on your request to take a Prestige Class,¡± I murmured, nuzzling her skin. 147 - Who are you? Runa¡¯s PoV - Material Plane ¡°Oops.¡± The moment I uttered the word, Klipyl¡¯s gaze snapped around. ¡°What do you mean, oops?¡± I can see in every direction, yet my meshwork twisted about the moment I considered facing her. I can¡¯t tell if my body turned as well, but it would be so odd if it didn¡¯t. I¡¯m just a glowing light now, though, so weird sums it up. ¡°Nothing, I mean, I got a message from Amdirlain, and she didn¡¯t get my response.¡± ¡±How do you know she didn¡¯t get it?¡± Frey asked curiously, as she picked her way past the smoking Ghoul remains. ¡°She sent me a message asking what the situation was, and I replied to let her know I¡¯m trying to help you get free from this maze. Then she sent another later saying she hadn¡¯t heard from me,¡± I replied, ¡°She said to concentrate on my Oath link to send a message, and I did that.¡± The golden light on the walls shifted hue slightly, and I realised I was blushing, but I didn¡¯t feel flustered. ¡°Exactly how new are you, firefly?¡± Klipyl questioned. ¡°I told you this is the first time I¡¯ve responded to a summons,¡± I said, trying for Pip¡¯s energy in my reply, but the haste only made the avoidance worse. ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer the question,¡± Klipyl hissed softly, the edge in her tone unsettling. ¡°How long had you been a Lantern Archon before Frey¡¯s summoning?¡± Even if I didn¡¯t know she was a demoness, the edge of violence made me wonder how she could be one of Lady Amdirlain¡¯s Priestesses. ¡°That¡¯s secret business, Miss Squirrel.¡± Her sudden wide-eyed expression that appeared had me snickering, even before her question. ¡°What¡¯s a squirrel?¡± ¡°Something that likes nuts apparently,¡± I retorted gleefully, not sure what Ebusuku had meant, but Klipyl gave me a flattered smile. ¡°Let¡¯s just get out of here, then you can get home,¡± Frey said softly. The moment she finished speaking, she was back to looking suspiciously at the dry husks laid out along the catacombs¡¯ shelves. This warren of tunnels made me wonder if I should have let Pip answer her call. ¡°Seriously, why bury the dead with possessions?¡± asked Klipyl, poking at a badly corroded silver armband. ¡°I don¡¯t get Mortals. Yes, silver, gold, and gems are trinkets. Demons don¡¯t value them, but I know Mortals do, so why leave them with the rest of the rotting meat?¡± Frey glared at Klipyl but stopped and shook her head before speaking carefully. ¡°This isn¡¯t a Norse burial place; it¡¯s Roman. We don¡¯t have catacombs, but it¡¯s normally to show the status the deceased had in life.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re Ghoul food now, so how¡¯s that status working out for them?¡± asked Klipyl, the Succubus¡¯ snarky words so strange in her husky purr. She sounded like the village¡¯s brothel workers trying to entice the farm labourers, even while bad-mouthing the dead. Her pointed tongue brushing across her lips sent a shiver through me, but I tryed to stay polite. ¡°Do you have an Oath link, Klipyl?¡± ¡°Search me, firefly,¡± snorted Klipyl, her wings rustling in the tight confines. I took in her lush white figure, and the words slip-free. ¡°You¡¯re naked! Why would I need to search? I can see everything!¡± ¡°Not everything. I¡¯d have to spread wide for that,¡± Klipyl teased, the hungry tone in her purr prompting my light to turn pink. Frey¡¯s scolding words were low, raising a hand for us to be quiet. ¡°You pair are going to let the ghouls know we¡¯re here.¡± Klipyl waved dismissively before gesturing towards one of the junction¡¯s passages. ¡°They already know. I can hear them scrabbling around under the floor that way.¡± ¡°Under?¡± I asked in surprise, looking across the floor for holes. I imagined the stonework collapsing onto us, and my meshwork spun about. ¡°Even when there are passages to use, Ghouls like to dig tunnels for ambushing intruders,¡± Klipyl replied, glancing upwards at me. ¡°Keep Frey safe; I¡¯ll kill them.¡± ¡°Will do. Ghouls don¡¯t like my light bolts!¡± I exclaimed and got an annoyed look from her. ¡°Sorry about hitting your wing; I didn¡¯t mean it. Maybe put them away so I can attack things past you?¡± Klipyl¡¯s glare didn¡¯t ease, and I remembered the sound of her flesh burning and its stench. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± I focused on the tunnel Klipyl had motioned towards to fire a Radiant Bolt down it, still happy I¡¯d figure it out. Even though the bolt only hit stone somewhere straight ahead, the Ghouls screamed in rage. Beyond the first bellow, their eerie ravenous sounds continued to issue forth, and after a moment¡¯s pause, more screams started up from other directions as well. ¡°Oops.¡± * * * Outlands Ebusuku tapped a northern section of the mapped crescent shown on the drawing. ¡°We were going to hit this section tomorrow. Did you want the canyons near the coast to help the new Lantern Archons through their initial levels?¡± Looking over the cluster of serpentine canyons cutting their way inland, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°How many want to help with Cemna?¡± ¡°More than we should likely take along at once,¡± replied Sage. ¡°They all do. Might I suggest we take only an initial forty out of the eighty-seven?¡± ¡°That sounds wise. I¡¯ve got an Ancient Lightning Elemental¡¯s gemstone to deliver to Jantar or O¡¯Nai, but I can drop that off before it¡¯s morning on Cemna,¡± stated Amdirlain. Holding out his hand, Sage motioned towards Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that for you. I¡¯ve got scrap steel to take to Duskstone. None of the corrupted Celestial steel, just armour we¡¯ve cleansed with Blessings.¡± ¡°What, I can¡¯t go with you at least?¡± asked Amdirlain, giving a mock grumble. Sage¡¯s wary gaze contradicted his calm nod. ¡°You certainly can, and that would be your choice. I can¡¯t handle you getting time to talk to the new Archons, but I can save you this trip.¡± I need to learn to delegate. Amdirlain nodded and released the gemstone to him before placing a bunch of smaller gems on the table. ¡°You¡¯re right, thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not alone,¡± reminded Sage. ¡°Every day I have free of the Maze, I owe to yourself and Ebusuku, so I¡¯m happy to help.¡± ¡°More Ebusuku,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°She would have never been there except for the trust you gave her. Just because you knew some of her thoughts; she was still a Succubus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get a group of the Lantern Archons organised so you can start off their experience progression,¡± volunteered Solveiga. Amdirlain bit her lip and admitted what was worrying her about Ebusuku¡¯s suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m worried about the risk of that many Lantern Archons working together.¡± ¡°Lantern Archons might be the weakest of the Archons, but they have an ability others don¡¯t possess,¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°You¡¯ve got me. I must admit Celestials haven¡¯t been my focus of study,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Lantern Archons reform within a day of being slain; think of them as a transition between a Ghost and full Celestial. You can disrupt them easily, but slaying them completely is something else,¡± Ebusuku explained. ¡°But I¡¯ve destroyed ghosts,¡± Amdirlain argued, remembering all those seized in the Necropolis. ¡°Because you can grab their Souls and prevent them returning to whatever anchor they have from their mortal life,¡± countered Ebusuku. ¡°Still, as you said, I shouldn¡¯t get cocky,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s not take their safety for granted.¡± ¡°Not suggesting that, rather letting you know the options and priorities,¡± said Ebusuku. * * * Cemna - Pre-Dawn The Gate opening into the dark of the pre-dawn prompts Amdirlain to remind those Archons still fully lit against Limbo¡¯s blackness. ¡°Bank your glow to just a candle¡¯s brightness until the sun rises properly.¡± Stepping through the Gate, Amdirlain started scrying on the nearest canyons. What do you call a group of Lantern Archons? Flights? Constellations? Yeah, they¡¯re so constellations! Their stream finally ended, and Amdirlain let the Gate to Limbo close. The first forty already split themselves into groups of four. Archer, Fighter, Priest, and Scout seemed the primary classes in the combinations selected. The practice the Hound Archons had gotten in the previous two weeks showed in how quickly they organised the newcomers. She teleported to the first location, with Pip and Mirage appearing on the canyon¡¯s far side to provide backup after she moved on. The individual time she spent with each group meant hours passed before starting with the last group. The four Lantern Archons worked in tandem to lure undead out of buildings rather than fighting indoors. Their baiting and concentrated firing sent remains crashing to the stone. Happy with their progress, Amdirlain had set to teleport away after the last combat summary, when movement in the sky grabbed her attention. Two black-winged Erinys, flying southwards along the coast, crossed the canyon¡¯s lip a half a kilometre or more above them. Both clad in the same black leathers but radiating different magics. The lead flyer was red-haired, ivory-skinned, and possessed of predatory angular features. The second was olive-skinned, her oval face had a blade of a nose that took any chance of softness from her features, and bow-lips that appeared purple from bruising. Analysis gave her the details only a moment before the ivory-skinned flyer teleported only twenty metres away but keeping the advantage of height [Name: Isaac Species: Erinys Class: Spell Singer (Glinnel) / Archer / Fighter / Gambler (Priest) Level: 110 / 110 / 110 / 110 / 110 Health: 62,810 Defence: 1,226 Magic: 460 Mana: 298,872 Melee Attack Power: 655 Ranged Attack Power 719 (Chaos Infused Devastation Bow: 7,190 - Damage Multiplier: x8) Combat Skills: Long Blade [S] (150), Recurve Bow [S] (195), Short Blade [S] (73) - A piercing soprano. - Various Blessings Details: What would you like me to say about your girlfriend? Hell-fried bird, with a side order of Soul? She¡¯s been kind to two pussies, that I know of at least. ] [Name: Ilya Species: Erinys Class: Archer / Fighter / Scout / Wizard Level: 111 / 110 / 110 / 111 / 111 Health: 41,137 Defence: 1,684 Magic: 242 Mana: 309,400 Melee Attack Power: 852 Ranged Attack Power: 997 Combat Skills: Long Blade [S] (171), Recurve Bow [S] (259), Short Blade [S] (143) - Affinities Tier 1, 2, 3 + Infernal, Various Spell Lists Details: Ilya was born in a quaint village to the proud Mortal descendant of a Djinn bloodline. Curiosity killed this cat and the rest of her village in the bargain. Known for long romantic flights in sunlight and for having ¡®accidentally¡¯ pot shot the weapon from a Devil¡¯s hand at the worst possible moment instead of sniping at his opponent. Oops. Also has been kind to two pussies, at least, what a coincidence.] ¡°Please go back to the staging point, and send a Message to Ebusuku, but everyone stays clear for now.¡± The Archons teleport away together, not arguing with her request, and she felt through their link one activate a Message rune disc Mirage had secured to each Lantern¡¯s meshwork. * * * Issac¡¯s PoV - Cemna - Pre-Dawn Ilya¡¯s song blended in with my morning prayers from the years of familiarity. Her daily gear checks provided a soft counterpoint to the cards brushing across my skin. The tempo of her excited song provided a pace for my shuffling. Despite being in the mountain¡¯s shadow, I could hear the change in the sky¡¯s pure notes when the sun peeked over the horizon. That initial note fading brought my shuffling to a halt, in that instant, Ilya spoke up. ¡°Which way are we heading?¡± ¡°You¡¯re never going to let me turn the card first, are you?¡± I laughed and set the deck down. Even as she replied, I echoed her response, her rich alto supporting my soprano, in sync with each other. ¡°The question¡¯s part of the lucky charm.¡± I turned over the top card without opening my eyes, and Ilya answered her question. ¡°South.¡± Turning the next, I opened my eyes and considered the pair, ¡°Ace of Stars, and four of wands.¡± ¡°Well, there is plenty to the south. If you¡¯d pulled a wand card first, we¡¯d have a long flight across the ocean.¡± We finished our usual little ritual fun, but the card¡¯s song sat incomplete, the augury gathering heat. A drawn bow string¡¯s worth of tension suddenly sat within my shoulders. High soaring notes beckoned me on¡ªan arrow in-flight¡ªonly stopping when seven cards sat on the compressed grass before me. Touching each, I considered their meaning outside of a game of chance. Ace of Stars: stars represents guidance. The ace is a night¡¯s first star, or last star of the morning. Depending on the game, ace by itself can either be the highest card in a suit, or the lowest. Four of Wands: wands represents the light that conquers darkness, but a four is only a minor candle. Nearly worthless alone without other cards to support its run. Queen of Death: the death suit represents agents of change¡ªthis one is nearly all-consuming¡ªsomeone or something has, or will, undergo a major change. A high face value card, potentially a near certain winning card. Prince of Swords: the inheritor of the sword¡¯s rulership, a caring protector and faithful son. Depending on the game of chance, a helpful card. In a reading, it¡¯s bound to cause trouble for those not willing to accept another¡¯s protection. Princess of Diamonds: a suit of binding, an inheritor of rigid temperament yet to come into her power. Again, potent but not the strongest, plenty of cards to trump her depending on the game. Luck¡¯s divided face: custom drawn for me with an arrow between her teeth. Good luck or bad just happen, but skill and luck go hand in hand. Wild card in most games but can be poison unsuspecting. The Eternal Void: the beginning or the end represents corruption or creation. Appearing in your hand in some games is an automatic loss, but others allow it to negate another¡¯s card. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you stop on the second?¡± Ilya asked, stepping close enough that I could smell the cool dampness of her freshly washed hair. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Picking up the cards, I fanned them out to Ilya before I stored the entire deck in Inventory. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Luck¡¯s song told me to continue.¡± Ilya¡¯s fingers kissed across my cheek before brushing along my nape. ¡°You¡¯ve got a run of six major cards; it could be a winning hand.¡± Her fingers running down my back prompted a moan to clash with my words. ¡°Depends on the rules.¡± ¡°Someone always loses, and I thought you didn¡¯t believe in following rules,¡± Ilya said. Another step pressed the line of her body against mine, her lips dipping towards my throat; the shift of her wings reminded me I still wore the present she¡¯d had made. ¡°Every game has rules, but the skill is in picking the rules your luck likes,¡± I reminded Ilya once again. Her gaze dug at me, sparks of laughter wrestling with sceptical razors. ¡°Then why the random rule changes mid game?¡± Absorbing the ring shrugs off the enchantment compressing flesh and my wings erupted through the armour¡¯s slits¡ªa barely suppressed smile twitched my lips. ¡°Luck¡¯s a fickle thing. Did you want to delay another day?¡± Breathy purred words spilled from purple lips, and banked embers sprang to full flame, making me a moth to her gaze. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ve already gotten lucky, but surely there¡¯s more.¡± I let my eyes linger across clingy armour that had more than embers glowing to life in her gaze, but I pushed on and fully traced inviting curves. ¡°And here I thought Luck had done the getting.¡± Ilya¡¯s fingertips only brushed my hand before Teleport took me straight up. Once out of the shadows, sunlight washed temptation away, for now. Seven cards?! What lies to the south of such importance? The card¡¯s song might have found its completion, but the day¡¯s opening verse had truly yet to sound its first note. Appearing beside me, Ilya prompted me to Teleport again, aiming past the range¡¯s southern peak. Tilted wings let me ride the strong winds and combine with Flight to push me to a higher speed. The sunlight heated the air providing a thrumming chorus that set my nerves alight. ¡°What¡¯s the rush?¡± Ilya¡¯s message whispering in my ear drew my gaze from scouring the ground. I replied to her question within her mind, the anticipation present amusing me. ¡°The air is excited today. It wasn¡¯t like this last time we visited.¡± Her afterglow¡¯s energy fought a losing battle against Ilya¡¯s usual scepticism. Though the images she projected at my words were no longer enough to make me flush, but at my pleased hum she replied ¡°We¡¯ve not been here often, it could be a seasonal thing.¡± More images followed the words and one, in particular, got me humming with the thought of devouring her that way. ¡°I¡¯m calling dibs on that first one. I enjoyed the polymorph ring¡¯s ability to put my wings away, I hadn¡¯t thought of other options. But distract me later please; I want to look out for anything of interest.¡± ¡°Not going to trust to your luck?¡± ¡°There is being lucky, and there is pushing your luck. The augury cards have never behaved that way.¡± ¡°What are we looking for?¡± Ilya asked, and I sensed her teasing mood; even though it was clear in her thoughts she was looking at my butt. ¡°You have a better butt, you tease. Stars and wands both have light and guiding in common. Hopefully, it¡¯s something obvious.¡± The living forest gave way into kilometres of petrified groves, ages-old trees long dead held upright, their mournful songs painful, dusty, and dry. Ash-grey farmland overrun with thistle looked only slightly friendlier than the ash plains of Hades. It was a few hours of Flight before a glow from below caught my gaze. A constellation of four stars buraed in a canyon¡¯s shadow around a figure clad in familiar green, a breeze rippling through her Paige cut, revealing Elven ears. A Teleport put her in range, but the same silence emanated from her as the figure from the Gate, and Telepathy gave me nothing. I drew in breath to scream again, yet the airy, lilting music from the Lantern Archons held my tongue. Her back was to me, yet I saw sudden tension in her posture, despite the absence of music to give it away. A thought had my bow in my hand, its notes screaming out their rage to cover the melody beneath. At its appearance, all four Archons vanished from around her; their sudden absence shifted the canyon¡¯s illumination and allowed the place¡¯s sad music to weigh me down. ¡°Who are you really, and why did you focus a Gate on me?¡± The Elf didn¡¯t move to turn but kept her hands out to each side. Her reply in English was meaningless to Ilya, but clear to me. ¡°Isaac, this is a surprise. Please don¡¯t hurt any of the Archons. They¡¯re here gaining experience against the undead, and I¡¯ve asked them not to get involved. Did the Devil that renamed you know they gave you a boy¡¯s name, Rachel?¡± ¡°WHO ARE YOU!?¡± The unchecked anger in my voice gouged stone around her, yet left her flesh untouched, shredded clothing resealing in moments. The sorrowful living notes from the material had me holding back another scream, shame at inflicting the damage to them, prodded me with guilt. Yet the Elf didn¡¯t flinch away, and there¡¯s no sign of blood spilled. The Elf stayed put, but her arms flexed and I thought she was going to put her hands behind her head. ¡°You didn¡¯t believe me last time, or at least I hope you didn¡¯t believe me. If the devastation was because you believed me, then I don¡¯t know what I can say beyond, ''I¡¯m sorry''.¡± ¡°How can I trust this isn¡¯t just a trick?¡± ¡°Can you hear the music and use True Song, or just use True Song?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about.¡± ¡°Rachel, I¡¯m trying to prove who I am. I¡¯m told the area you blew apart was the work of True Song. I already told you I¡¯m J, well formally Julia. I changed my name to Amdirlain recently.¡± ¡°It sounds Elvish. You get sent here as an Elf, and I ended up as an Erinys?¡± I growled and felt the anger in my words. ¡°No, I just look like a Wood Elf at present. I didn¡¯t want to change forms and alarm you,¡± she replied. ¡°This is almost as embarrassing as helping connect your phone¡¯s Bluetooth to your vibrator so David could buzz you. Or maybe your mum catching us with the Playgirl mag that we got from Sarah¡¯s sister.¡± The possibility was so tempting, but I couldn¡¯t risk Ilya¡¯s safety. ¡°That just proves you know things you shouldn¡¯t if you¡¯re not her, not that you are Julia.¡± ¡°If you can hear my Soul¡¯s song, it should be recognisable, but I¡¯ll have to lower my protections. I know a healing technique like Reiki, but it repairs flesh and using it drops my guard to an extent. I don¡¯t need to touch anyone to use it, but it will cause my hands to glow. Would that be alright to show you?¡± ¡°If I see any spells coming our way, they¡¯ll be scraping you up,¡± I growled, and kept my aim at the base of her neck. A golden singing light issuing from her hands banished the canyon¡¯s shadow. The notes rising out of the light sang to me of pain, heartbreak, and fun once shared. Memories of days within them before my plunge into Dis¡¯ flaming river, and the old lifetime¡¯s memories rose, pressing against my mind. Julia! My words broke, grasping for the surface in a voice so strangled I didn¡¯t recognise it as my own. ¡°I thought I was alone!¡± Nerveless fingers let go of my bow, and it disappeared. The moment its screaming chaos vanished, it let me clearly hear Julia¡¯s sobbed words cross the distance between us. ¡°Rachel, I¡¯m so sorry.¡± Teleport put me on the ground in front of her, and faster than I could follow, her arms were around me, and she hugged me carefully. Panic spiked through my nerves, but I held myself still, feeling the restrained power in her taunt muscles. ¡°How did you get here?¡± ¡°We all got here the same way, a stalker fixated on me, and cursed me by abusing a family artifact. Who knew magic was a thing in our world? Then, the cunt cursed you and Sarah as well, because you¡¯d ''corrupted'' me and prevented me from falling for him.¡± It wasn''t just the words, but the eye-roll and the sarcasm was pure Julia. ¡°Sarah¡¯s here as well?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story, but you¡¯ve someone with you who can¡¯t understand a word we¡¯re saying. Would you introduce us? It¡¯s making her curious more than it worries her; but she is worried.¡± Ilya¡¯s song had slivers of something I¡¯d heard from her previously in the company of mortals¡ªjealousy¡ªand I nodded in agreement. ¡°You were with Lantern Archons, I want to know about that, but I take it you speak Celestial?¡± Julia¡¯s¡ªAmdirlain¡¯s?¡ªsmile was still the same. ¡°Yes, I do.¡± I switched to Celestial even as I continued. ¡°All Devils speak Celestial regardless of their origins. Ilya, this is Amdirlain, I knew her from before I ended up in Hell.¡± ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t a Celestial previously, Isa?¡± ¡°Neither of us was¡ªit¡¯s a long story, Ilya,¡± stated Julia before I had a chance. ¡°Though, the question is, do you feel you actually need to know it?¡± Her tone, blunter than I had expected Celestial to allow, caught me off guard. ¡°You still don¡¯t mince words, do you J?¡± I caught the flood of questions in Ilya¡¯s mind, and concerns about us stirred up the jealousy. The rueful shrug and pert smile I got in response showed not a hint of regret as J continued on. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest and show some cards. Isa was like a sister to me in life, not a lover, so while we have history, it¡¯s not one like you were thinking. I don¡¯t know you and you don¡¯t know me. I can only assume you helped Hell disregard Isa. For that, I can only say ''thank you''.¡± Ilya''s song growled low with suspicion, and despite the hand I rested on her shoulder, she questioned the situation. ¡°How do you know how Hell considers her? Did you just read my thoughts?¡± Julia¡¯s eye-brow raise made me want to say ''live long, and prosper'', but I didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°I¡¯ll take them in reverse order. I¡¯ve got experience as a Psion. While your thoughts don¡¯t appear guarded enough to keep me out, I don¡¯t need to go looking, given how loudly you¡¯re projecting. I got access to a summary of Isa¡¯s records and duty assignments. While I¡¯ll share how I managed with Isa, I¡¯m not just telling you that secret. I also learnt you¡¯re on Coordinator Makaro¡¯s ¡®Better Dead¡¯ list, Ilya, but all your records are accessible only via her office,¡± ¡°She¡¯s done what?¡± Ilya exclaimed in concern. ¡°Every copy of your duty assignments and assessments is locked up in Coordinator Makaro¡¯s vault. The contact that told me about it said there was no chance of getting to them without her knowledge.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a good sign,¡± Ilya sighed, the words pure understatement, from what she¡¯d taught me. The thought of the havoc she could play on Ilya¡¯s situation made me wince. ¡°She¡¯ll be able to adjust your records, and no one will know since she¡¯s got all the copies.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to gather a lot more than I thought,¡± grumbled Ilya. ¡°How did you piss her off?¡± Julia asked, sounding genuinely curious. ¡°I think that¡¯s information I need to know, and you don¡¯t,¡± refuted Ilya, ignoring my eye roll. ¡°I¡¯m concerned about what brings you to Cemna. It¡¯s a strange coincidence,¡± said Julia, her focus settling purely on me. ¡°Ilya said I needed sunshine, and we planned to hunt treasures to bribe Makaro,¡± I explained. Julia didn¡¯t even blink at the mention of a bribe, and I wondered how much she¡¯d changed. ¡®¡°An augury this morning brought us south. I guess Luck decided I¡¯d earned a big dose of its Blessing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Priestess of Luck?¡± asked Julia, her calm evaporating at my statement. Ilya snorted and patted my butt, the contact calming her song. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one that¡¯s surprised.¡± The growing strength in the grim songs about us drew my attention. ¡°We should talk elsewhere, or I can clear those close enough for our words to disturb. Their songs are getting more agitated; they¡¯ll come to investigate shortly.¡± My bow was already in my hand when Julia gestured for a moment. ¡°If it¡¯s alright, I¡¯d like to keep them for the Archons to destroy, they¡¯ll get a more immediate benefit. Ilya, would you like to think about a location where we can talk?¡± The offer of choosing the location mellowed Ilya¡¯s spike of paranoia from her song. ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± Ilya replied quickly, and her mind raced through options before she decided on one. I picked the image of an Elven Hall out of Ilya¡¯s mind, and teleported. The shattered remains of foes we destroyed twenty-odd years ago were still present, but the building¡¯s lonely music hadn¡¯t improved at all. Ilya was there a moment later, with Julia arriving on her heels. ¡°Will you tell the Archons they can go back to the canyon, or let the undead settle?¡± I asked after giving her a moment to look the place over. ¡°I sent a message and asked a Hound Archon to supervise them in another canyon. A few wanted to join us, but I told them it was alright,¡± Julia replied calmly. Before Ilya spoke, the first chords contained fast blows of the suspicion beating within her. ¡°A Hound Archon, Lantern Archons; how many Celestials are there?¡± ¡°You want Isa to restrict what she tells you, and yet you expect me to answer your questions straight up? It doesn¡¯t work that way. If you don¡¯t trust yourself to know about Isa¡¯s background, I¡¯m not letting you in on my business,¡± Julia said bluntly. Her crossed arms signalled the end of discussion even without the sharp look she gave Ilya, the lack of her song threw me off, but her gaze could etch steel. ¡°You already know I¡¯m associated with at least five Celestials; that¡¯s all you need to know.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t treat her that way, Julia,¡± I protested. ¡°She needs to decide which side of the fence she¡¯s standing on,¡± Julia declared. ¡°I apologise if that¡¯s not the situation, but a few people I trusted have screwed me over. If Ilya can¡¯t trust herself to protect you after you¡¯ve worked together for years, then why should I trust her with that knowledge?¡± Ilya¡¯s hand on my shoulder stopped my protest, and I heard the tension ease in her song. ¡°We¡¯re both protective of Isa it seems. I withdraw the question.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we start with introductions since i can then send you both messages? I assume Ilya knows Message given she has more levels in Wizards than I can believe, and has already heard me speak my name.¡± Julia¡¯s words got a spark of surprised chords from Ilya, but her hand didsn¡¯t slip away from me. Stepping closer, her hand moving down my back reminded me of our evening. I stated my name, only just refraining from squeaking when she squeezes my arse. ¡°My name is Ilya. What level do you believe I am?¡± asks Ilya. The confidence in Julia¡¯s answer was absolute. ¡°You¡¯re at level one-eleven for Erinys, Scout and Wizard, and level one-ten for Archer and Fighter. I¡¯d be interested to know why they¡¯re so high without taking a Prestige Class. ¡° The reply made Ilya start, and surprise had her growling. ¡°That isn¡¯t something you need to know.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have all the Affinities you need for at least one fantastic Prestige Class; there are conditions for stronger base classes as well you don¡¯t meet.¡± Julia¡¯s words weren¡¯t a jab, just another blunt statement. I wondered what was up with her. Ilya tensed at the words, changing the pitch of her song by a few octaves. ¡°I¡¯ve some interesting ones, but why I¡¯ve not taken them is my business,¡± ¡°Can I guess something?¡± Julia asked. Ilya''s glare at Julia didn¡¯t even make her blink, and Ilya finally huffed a reply. ¡°I can¡¯t control what you guess.¡± ¡°You used to gain levels slowly, but since you¡¯ve teamed with Isaac, you started gaining levels faster¡ªa lot faster. ¡° ¡°How did you guess at this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s exactly the reason I¡¯m teamed up with those Lantern Archons,¡± Julia revealed, with a smile that showed more teeth than it should. ¡°Which makes me concerned you¡¯re using my friend.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not. I can hear her song. If she doesn¡¯t know things, then she can give honest answers without risk of betrayal. It¡¯s not that she doesn¡¯t trust herself; she doesn¡¯t trust anyone else in Hell not to force answers out of her. They can¡¯t read my mind, and I can fuck up their truth sensing with a few giggled notes.¡± ¡°I would have preferred not having Isa confirmed as the cause of my faster levelling,¡± grumbled Ilya, concern adding bitter notes to her softening music. I¡¯ve seen her withdraw so often, I clasped her hand to anchor her before regrets swept her away from me. ¡°We¡¯re both high level because we don¡¯t have official permission to take just any Prestige Class, but terrible ones. They allowed Ilya a Tier Five option recently that left most of her advantages to one side, and we¡¯re trying to find something to bribe Makaro for an open permit.¡± ¡°Is that what you¡¯re here for?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Ilya replied. ¡°Not exactly,¡± I admit, and Ilya¡¯s gaze stabbed at me in surprise. Ilya¡¯s jaw snapped shut with a click, and she was lucky she didn¡¯t bite her tongue. ¡°What did you have planned, Isa?¡± ¡°The augury I cast wasn¡¯t to find something to bribe Makaro, I wanted to get Ilya free from her,¡± I admitted, and Ilya stared at me in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten loopy, songbird,¡± Ilya stated, her conviction clear from her song. Julia looked curious, more than concerned, and a glimmer of the amusement I remembered showed. ¡°What did you count as ''free from her''?¡± I could only give her a shrug since I hadn¡¯t thought out all the possibilities. ¡°A way out, or the means to destroy Makaro, would be two optioIs I can think of, but there could be others.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already out of Hell, why not simply stay gone?¡± Ilya waved off Julia¡¯s question dismissively. ¡°Don¡¯t you know anything about Devils? They know our names and we can¡¯t change them. If we leave and don¡¯t report back on time, they¡¯ll use a Gate and drag us back for punishment. Bit pointless working for ages to avoid that fate only to turn around and walk right into it.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re here,¡± Julia pointed out. I cut in quickly before Ilya had a chance to refuse. ¡°Technically, this world is between Hell and the Abyss, since there are permanent Gates open. We¡¯re assigned scouting duties to monitor approaches, but we¡¯ve not been here for years. Ilya brought me here for initial training, and even though Ilya put it in her report, we didn¡¯t get reprimanded.¡± ¡°I accurately reported that we destroyed undead forces of the Demon Lord Orcus. The report included an accurate count of what we destroyed in a region he controlled. If I have numbers to report, it won¡¯t be an issue this time either.¡± Julia¡¯s gaze weighed on Ilya for a time, yet amusement shone through the steel. ¡°What if I could potentially change your names?¡± My mind churned in confusion, and Ilya¡¯s brain was spinning as well, judging from her expression. But I spoke first. ¡°You can do what now?¡± ¡°I changed the names of fifty-odd individuals who¡¯d had their names locked by a Demon Lady,¡± explained Julia. I glanced at Ilya and foung she¡¯s already looking at me when our gazes lock. A soft refrain of hope skipped about inside my love¡¯s song, and she didn¡¯t look away when she spoke. ¡°Where would we go, though?¡± ¡°Ilya, you helped Isa. Would you help others if I could get you your freedom?¡± ¡°What would your help cost us?¡± asked Ilya, the question spun from pure guarded reflex. ¡°If you can even deliver on it. They assign the names using the authority of the Hell¡¯s Coordinators, you don¡¯t look like you have the juice to oppose them.¡± ¡°I¡¯d help Isa for free, but I don¡¯t know you. There is a world that didn¡¯t know of Wizard spells until recently. I¡¯d like you to teach some people, and help them out. One nation has been fighting a war against Illithid Hivemind drones for centuries, and Elves were driven from the continent by them. Or, you can just stay here and help us wipe out undead and Demons if we find them. Did you-¡± ¡°If we¡¯re slain, we¡¯ll end up back in Hell,¡± objected Ilya angrily. Julia¡¯s slow nod carried a reassuring calmness, not rising to the bait of Ilya¡¯s heat. ¡°I know a Spell that could change your Home Plane, it works on Demons. From my study, the Spell should work on any Outsider if the Plane targeted for attunement doesn¡¯t oppose their nature. I could attune you to the Outlands or somewhere else, your preference.¡± Ilya took one look at me. ¡°Do you trust her?¡± I could only answer honestly. ¡°Julia always spent more time helping others than dealing with her own problems.¡± ¡°Ouch,¡± Julia groaned, ¡°blunt, but true.¡± ¡°I need to know who I¡¯m dealing with,¡± declared Ilya fiercely, her song¡¯s cynical notes struggled to drown the spark of hope. ¡°You¡¯ve got concealments my True Sight can¡¯t see through.¡± ¡°You said we got cursed. What was the curse, and how did you learn about them?¡± I asked overriding Ilya¡¯s question. ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± I waved her protest away and cut to the chase. ¡°Then give me the cliff notes.¡± ¡°Sarah was to be chained in Hell. You were to feel the wrath of the Erinys Arrows, and mine was a bit more open-ended.¡± ¡°Opened ended being?¡± ¡°They cursed me to the Pit, to show my whorish nature for all eternity, for deceiving others about my goodness.¡± Her reluctance was easy to read, as was the way she answered without answering. ¡°Where and what did you end up as, Julia?¡± Julia¡¯s pouty sigh just made me want to hug her, but I didn¡¯t give in and covered my eyes to block her miserable look. ¡°Fess up!¡± ¡°Before I earned an evolution that changed my species, I was a Demonic Succubus. I spawned from the wall on Culerzic, as a Least Succubus,¡± muttered Julia reluctantly. I tried, I honestly tried, but the moment the first snicker escaped, the laughter rushed out to dance through the Hall¡¯s stillness. I couldn¡¯t get air in my lungs to laugh as loud or as long as that situation deserved. ¡°What are you now you¡¯ve evolved?¡± demanded Ilya. Julia gave me a worried look, but soon changed it. The Elven female vanishes, and the clothing flowed to cover the form of an Angel towering over us. Void black wings stabbed through with shining gold slivers cast ominious shadows, but the bright blue of her hair and golden-hued skin pushed that aside. I could see her old name no longer suited her, the colour of her skin grabbed at my memories, and the vines tattooed on her hands drew my gaze. Playful notes splash across the stone, her presence a fast riptide that had my mind begging to drown. This was Amdirlain. I could see why she changed her name. The giggling notes retreated with a playful tap, and the city¡¯s sad song flooded back in. ¡°You¡¯re a Fallen,¡± Ilya muttered uncertainly. ¡°She looks like an Angel to me,¡± I said, ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s snort. Ilya just gave me an amused look. ¡°That answers my earlier question, but why are Archons dealing with a Fallen?¡± ¡°My species evolution wouldn¡¯t let me be anything other than a Fallen until I free myself from the curse. They accept that this form isn¡¯t who I am.¡± Ilya¡¯s gaze narrowed speculatively, and her song raced along. ¡°How many years ago did you spawn?¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s Servant told me I spawned out of the wall seven years after Isa ended up in Hell,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What-¡± I didn¡¯t get another word out. ¡°Planar Attunement first, before you try to change our names. It would doom us if you could change our names, but not our Home Plane,¡± Ilya blurted out, running over my question. ¡°You¡¯re now ready to trust her so quickly?¡± I asked, curious, but happy at Ilya¡¯s change of heart. ¡°She¡¯s gone from the power level of baby slut to a Fallen in that length of time! This might have a chance of working,¡± stated Ilya hopefully. ¡°If it does, we¡¯ll figure out whether we work here, that other world, or if there is a better option. One condition: you test both steps on me before we risk Isa.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t agree.¡± ¡°Two votes for, one against, motion carried,¡± Amdirlain stated, dismissing my objection. ¡°What about Sarah?¡± I demanded, not intending to give in that easily. ¡°Is she your contact? Is she¡¯s still in Hell?¡± ¡°No, she''s currently in The Exchange,¡± admitted Amdirlain reluctantly. The way she dragged out the words was suspicious in the extreme. ¡°You better be planning to tell me your long story, buster.¡± I glared at her almost smug look, but Amdirlain smiled reassuringly. ¡°If the process works, I¡¯ll tell you the lot.¡± ¡°Wait, I need to know one thing,¡± I complained quickly. ¡°Have you bonked someone yet?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s glare was enough, and I couldn¡¯t contain the laughter. Ilya joined in when I projected an image in fits and starts. A virginal succubus with her knees pressed tightly together, dressed up in an old-fashioned school teacher¡¯s stern outfit. 148 - Uncaged Birds Adventurers¡¯ Guild - City of Ecbatana - Kingdom of Darius The northerly wind swept down from the lakes and brought a storm that lashed the city. Rain and wind constantly slapped against the front door and soaked the deserted street. Arrivals had slammed the door so often over the morning that its noise blended into the background. The clerk didn¡¯t even look up when someone forced it shut yet again. A soft knock on the countertop brought the clerk¡¯s attention from his ledger to the soaked young woman he hadn¡¯t noticed enter. ¡°Sorry for disturbing you, but how do I go about joining?¡± The strangeness of her appearance distracted him from her demurely put question. Her lithe but voluptuous build barely filled the plain manly shirt she swam in, but its soaked cloth clung to her like a second skin. The long, carefully tended fringe heavy with water didn¡¯t match the hacked off length of loam brown hair that barely concealed her ears. White teeth made it clear how young she must be, and those matched her white, strangely unmarked skin. ¡°Be older than sixteen years and have four golds,¡± grumbled the clerk. His eyes immediately returned to the ledger, the neat script readable even to the woman at the counter given the illuminating crystal set in the ceiling shining above his desk. The sound of clinking metal caught his attention, and he glanced into an earthy brown gaze¡ªa soft hand with carefully tended nails having brushed her fringe aside. The woman smiled and shifted position in a fashion that stretched the wet shirt across her hard nipples and full breasts. She tapped next to four large battered golds that sat on the countertop. ¡°My apparel is confusing, I¡¯m sure,¡± she purred. ¡°I lost most of my possessions when my home went up in flames. This Is one of the few shirts I¡¯ve gained since hiding from the Manes, but I¡¯ve coins, as you can see.¡± With her word¡¯s husky timbre licking their way across him, the clerk swallowed and tried to focus on his duties. The clerk coughed and hurriedly lifted a rune-coated, silvered-steel plate barely two palms wide from the desk¡¯s draw and set it on the countertop. ¡°Four small golds are to cover the Class assessment and costs of the ward stone to prove your membership. If you lose your ward stone, it will cost three gold to get another, and frequent losses¡ªaside from being expensive¡ªcan penalise your next rank assessment.¡± Taking a single coin from the counter, he efficiently replaced it with six small golds. A wary look peeked through the fringe, but she gave him a pleased smile. ¡°What¡¯s involved in the Class assessment?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, really; simply touch that circle close to you. I¡¯ll copy the information onto the register and attune a ward stone. Then we can discuss what work options are available at present. Can I start with your name, please?¡± The woman¡¯s smile broadened warmly, a reef of ice-white teeth clearly on display. ¡°Julia, please call me Julia; I feel sure we¡¯ll be fast friends.¡± Julia leaned against the desk, her shifting posture pinching the shirt against the counter¡¯s edge and drawing the wet cloth somehow tighter still. A quick motion swept the coins from the countertop, but the clerk couldn¡¯t see where they went. ¡°My name is Payam,¡± offered the clerk quickly. Julia¡¯s smile warmed her eyes, but the clerk¡¯s gaze was locked on her hard nipples, showing against the fabric of her ill-fitting shirt. ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be a pleasure, Payam,¡± Julia said, following his instructions, and the plate glowed with life. Payam started reading aloud the moment the glowing words appeared. ¡°Level twelve Wizard, part Moon Elf¡ªI wondered why you look so pale¡ªall tier one and two affinities. I¡¯m surprised, you don¡¯t look like a Wizard.¡± ¡°You likely shouldn¡¯t read it out so loudly; anyone could be listening. I¡¯ve had some recent setbacks, but I¡¯m looking towards the future and coming back into my own,¡± Julia stated firmly. ¡°Would you know of any adventurers needing a Wizard in their group? I have some skills to contribute.¡± Payam nodded and drew a sheet of rough papyrus from the drawer. ¡°It¡¯s just some we get can¡¯t read or write anything but their mark. I¡¯ll get details of your skills down, then look into that. There are a couple of groups with mentoring spots available. I believe one of them is present in Ecbatana; given your level and multiple affinities, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be interested. It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve heard of a Manes attack.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve travelled from the Kapisa Province. We hadn¡¯t even finished building the palisade around the village centre when they attacked,¡± explained Julia, her voice growing louder and rough. ¡°You¡¯re lucky to have survived,¡± Payam said sympathetically. Julia slapped the countertop with booming force. Rage burnt so hot in her gaze, it distorted her beautiful features in the clear crystal light. ¡°If I¡¯d had any warning, things would have been different. I dug myself out of the shop¡¯s rubble and checked for other survivors, but my spells found nothing alive, not even animals. My skills had pleased me before, but I just want revenge after losing my future home. Since the members of Adventurers¡¯ Guild helped turn the war, I hoped joining would help me gain the power to teach that bitch a lesson.¡± Payam removed a ward stone from a locked box and held it out to her. ¡°The Manes¡¯ Matriarchs can be powerful, but any Manes you kill will help keep others safer. Hold on to this with me please, I¡¯ll need to activate it properly.¡± Her hand trembled with the aftereffects of fury, but she carefully pinched the ward stone¡¯s curved edge. Payam gave a grim nod of condolences before an uttered word caused a copper symbol to flare into existence in its centre. ¡°That¡¯s now yours,¡± said Payam, letting go of the disk. ¡°Don¡¯t lose it; if anyone else presents it, the symbol won¡¯t display. While no one can impersonate a guild member, that won¡¯t save you the coin of replacing it.¡± Viper just smiled mentally behind Julia¡¯s features and kept the act from slipping again. Shifting the shirt about, she enjoyed the attention stretching it tight across her breasts received from Payam. Not as much as she enjoyed savouring the villagers¡¯ Souls screaming in the Abyssal Heat of her flesh. * * * Isaac¡¯s PoV - Desolate Elven City - Cemna ¡°I have someone I¡¯m interested in but we¡¯re taking things slowly. It¡¯s complicated, and not just from my baggage,¡± Amdirlain protested, and I snorted, trying to suppress my laughter. ¡°Is it complicated, or are you making it complicated?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a Celestial-¡± ¡°A Fallen interested in a Celestial¡ªthat isn¡¯t complicated. It¡¯s trouble,¡± Ilya interjected. At the interruption, I could see the shutters snap shut in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. ¡°If you pair don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll open a Gate to the Outlands and we can see about freeing you. I almost forgot Ilya¡¯s ¡®only tell her what she needs to know¡¯ policy is still in force.¡± The speed the Gate opened sets me back more than the sharpness in her words. I was colour-blind without the notes of her song to give me context, but it felt too strong a reaction. ¡°You¡¯ve not cared about what others thought of your views on things before.¡± ¡°Perhaps we can talk about it later,¡± Amdirlain replied, motioning for the Gate. ''Perhaps'' frequently came up when Julia preferred to pull her own teeth rather than talk about how she was feeling. Beyond the Gate was a ridgeline gleaming a brilliant purple in the Outland¡¯s sunlight. The broken line showed an unnatural gouge. Someone¡¯s been mining its crystals. Amdirlain led the way and shifted in mid-stride from Fallen to Wood Elf again. Instead of her pixie cut, auburn hair cascaded down her back. Waving in the clearing¡¯s breeze, the tendrils of hair flexed and twisted into a braid of their own accord. One moment, I could see her Fallen form compressed inside flesh, and then a Spell with oddly muffled music obscured her again from True Sight. The notes faded away, blending into the Plane¡¯s background song Resonance, only letting me hear the faintest trace, but I picked up its repeating notes. [Resonance [S] (151->152)] Oh, Mr Message is happy with my focus. I¡¯ll have to practice listening to that Spell¡¯s song. Ilya headed through the Gate with an amused glance for my humming along to the music. The notes led me along and I almost stumbled with worry twisting in my guts when I heard similar songs¡ªbreeze-like¡ªalong Amdirlain¡¯s skin. Layered beneath one, I find clingy burning hate. Vileness turned into napalm that made me flinch. A Demonic brand, she¡¯s got some explaining to do, but she did say it was a long story. I pulled a coin from Inventory and glanced at it. The ¡®tails¡¯ side gave Amdirlain more time before I¡¯ll ask. ¡°I normally cleanse the Gates after I send people through,¡± said Amdirlain to a question I missed focused on the songs. ¡°I should go back and clean it up in case someone finds it-¡± A wave caught her attention, but I interrupted when she continued. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of that.¡± It only took a moment of focus on the Gate¡¯s music before True Song¡¯s notes slid from my lips. The song didn¡¯t break her Spell, but bloomed into existence within the Plane¡¯s split, and reality re-sealed the tunnel without a trace of lingering notes. ¡°That was tidy compared to last time,¡± muttered Amdirlain. I gave her a prim look of mock disdain to cover my embarrassment. ¡°Last time was pure panic. I got dragged through a summoning one time by an Elf. She¡¯s still alive¡ªas far as I know¡ªand I thought it was a trick.¡± ¡°I spoke in English,¡± objected Amdirlain quickly, and yet again the words hit wrong. It wasn''t her tone, but something else, and still too quick to catch the song. ¡°It could have been a mental illusion getting through my defences. I couldn¡¯t hear your song, which had never happened.¡± A dancing sideways step took Ilya out of Amdirlain¡¯s line of sight, but she didn¡¯t seem upset. ¡°You said you trust her. Are you sure this isn¡¯t a different trick, Isa?¡± ¡°Trust but verify, I heard her song and felt some memories in it. I felt the emotions about things she locked down, and things I had never known. Some were surprising, but made sense. Which name did you burn first? I saw you copy my little ritual, but I didn¡¯t catch all the things you burnt.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s wince was all Julia, and I almost asked how she¡¯d been coping, but her song told me enough. Facing pain wasn¡¯t a thing she did. Vault companies would make a fortune to turn her mental safes into products. ¡°I burnt Andrew¡¯s name first, then Kathryn¡¯s.¡± Her face stayed so composed, but she practically spat their names. It was better than refusing to speak of them, but it still wasn''t good. I so want to hear her song. ¡°You burnt the names, but you¡¯ve not let go of the betrayal.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see if the Planar Attunement will work,¡± said Amdirlain briskly, turning towards Ilya, and this time, I caught the music¡¯s iron slap. Yeah, I wish Sarah had sat her down; she knows about psychology, not me. ¡°Why is she at The Exchange and not helping you?¡± Amdirlain looked back at me with a frown. ¡°She doesn¡¯t trust herself near me the way she is now. Aren¡¯t we still on a need to know?¡± Ilya nodded and held out a hand. ¡°Do you have the Spell¡¯s grimoire? I¡¯d like to see what you¡¯re planning to cast on me.¡± ¡°I do indeed, it¡¯s part of Planar Law; since you have Spatial Affinity, it¡¯s certainly learnable by you,¡± Amdirlain said, unperturbed by being asked to share the Spell. Every Wizard I¡¯ve met seemed paranoid about sharing grimoires without compensation and she didn¡¯t even bat an eyelid at the request. ¡°You¡¯ve more practice in it, so I¡¯ll leave the casting to you,¡± Ilya said, and I caught the confused notes, yet she didn¡¯t ask how Amdirlain knew her affinity. ¡°But I¡¯d like to see how it¡¯s constructed.¡± The grimoire Amdirlain held had an unassuming appearance, but its horrid stench and Abyssal song crawled along my skin and through my lungs¡ªevery note a vile maggot looking to feast. Ilya took it with a nonchalance that reminded me of all the weird materials I¡¯d seen her gather. She¡¯s so going to scrub her hands before our next alone time¡ªmaybe five times. The thought of that stench clinging inside me sent ice through my core. ¡°You will wash your hands after touching that, Ilya. ¡°It¡¯s a book,¡± Ilya protested, but Amdirlain thankfully drew it away from her. The slap on the butt I gave her gets me a pout. ¡°Touch that, and touching me again requires washing, lots of it,¡± Confusion flicked into a comprehension from Amdirlain faster than I¡¯d expected. ¡°I¡¯ll hold it for you, Ilya. She deserves the best.¡± The words weren¡¯t a slap this time, but maybe it was her lack of song that threw me off. The emotional energy coming into existence so abruptly in words strengthened their absoluteness. Her lack of judgement about our relationship was like a cozy warm blanket when I didn¡¯t know I¡¯d been cold. Ilya tilted her head momentarily and glanced between us with pursed lips that curved into her kissable smile. ¡°The amount of baths she likes is crazy, but the water can be fun.¡± ¡°Her scented oil collection had a permanent spot on her bath¡¯s edge,¡± revealed Amdirlain, smiling at least at my huff. ¡°That¡¯s good to know, but some Demons hunt by scent alone,¡± replied Ilya, her attention shifting to the grimoire¡¯s first page. A heavy wooden stand suddenly appeared at the right height and angle, but when Amdirlain moved her hands, I winced at the severed, painful sound. The stand¡¯s song was too precise in how it resounded from its grains before settling into more natural tones. Amdirlain sighed, turning the page at a gesture from Ilya, but playing page girl wasn¡¯t the issue. ¡°There is someone who¡¯d like to join us.¡± I couldn¡¯t trust the frown, too much incompleteness around her. Partly concealed truth felt too much like Hell, but she promised the story in time. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any Message Spell,¡± ¡°I can get messages in other ways besides a Message Spell,¡± said Amdirlain, her gaze regarding me curiously before focusing on Ilya. ¡°Who is it, exactly?¡± My question pulled her frown back in place, and shutters closed in her gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve asked them to wait for now. Once we know you¡¯re not getting drawn back to Hell, then I¡¯ll chance it.¡± ¡°The Hound Archon?¡± probed Ilya. ¡°I said to wait,¡± Amdirlain rebuffed. Again, the force smacked notes within the air, a bass wave of sound so low, it hummed through my bones. ¡°You-¡± Ilya growled at the energy¡¯s slap, and Amdirlain''s gaze locked her in place. ¡°Taking the same approach, you took with Isa, so lump it until I know you¡¯re free, or fuck off and I¡¯ll just help Isa. You matter to her, so I¡¯ll take the risk and help you, but don¡¯t dictate terms to me, Erinys. I can see that girl¡¯s head dangling in your mind. I don¡¯t like continually getting that image from you,¡± Amdirlain said, the force of her words spearing through my guts. Ilya¡¯s hiss was a razor¡¯s brush of steel. ¡°Stay out of my brain-¡± ¡°I am. You¡¯re screaming the image out. I¡¯m trying to listen for approaching minds,¡± growled Amdirlain. ¡°Both of you, please stop it, and I know the meaning of the girl. It¡¯s not what you think,¡± I grumbled and quickly switched to English, trying to hold my place instead of fleeing. ¡°You¡¯re used to your stories and games where anything from Hell and all the lower planes is evil, but sometimes evil drags Souls there that don¡¯t deserve it. Hell will twist a knife of guilt inside you and sear it through you-.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t explain it. She doesn¡¯t need to know,¡± Ilya interjected, and I quickly stepped close and hugged her, humming gently until the spray of pain in her song calmed. The knives were twisting around inside her, strumming dark chords, their sounds causing the sulphurous stench of my burning flesh to race through memories corridors. I switch back to Celestial and caressed her hair. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sharing her meaning. It was things from Amdirlain¡¯s past I was talking about, so she¡¯d reserve judgement. You think of her a lot when you question yourself. Don¡¯t you believe you¡¯ve paid the price for that mistake, Ilya? You were a child, and it¡¯s been three thousand years¡ªif not more. Forgive yourself.¡± ¡°How can I ever pay for it?¡± ¡°We can only repay them by making it matter. The fact it still hurts isn¡¯t because you¡¯re evil. It¡¯s because you¡¯re good; otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t care at all,¡± I said, trying to reassure Ilya before I redirected my attention to Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t talk about things you¡¯ve tucked away. Don¡¯t go asking Ilya to share things with you. Hell likes to stick hooks of guilt into you, to make you feel you deserve your fate. Do you want to ask me about my trip through the river¡¯s flames? I¡¯ll gladly share my pain with you.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s stern gaze locked onto me, and the intensity made my bones ache. ¡°You didn¡¯t deserve-¡± ¡°She got tricked. I got cursed. We both got tortured. I dropped into the river that runs through Dis. J! Every second you are in there, every hurt you¡¯ve inflicted on another, comes back to you. If someone got hurt and you¡¯re the cause, you know every moment of their pain multiplied a thousandfold. The river makes those seconds an eternal torment of fiery blades, repeatedly drawn along nerves, as its fire cooks your Soul. Your entire lifetime of guilt is flaying you and cooking through you. Your mind can¡¯t collapse while you¡¯re within the flames. It holds you aware so that the pain can break your Soul down into the form of a Devil. I got dragged out in a net because I¡¯d already formed into an Erinys. Ilya was drowning in a lake for longer than she knew. So don¡¯t ask about it again.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Rach,¡± murmured Amdirlain, the intensity easing from her gaze almost made me groan in relief. ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry, just don¡¯t. It¡¯s not your place to be sorry about it. Ilya¡¯s past isn¡¯t the issue it¡¯s what she does now that matters. She saved me, so if you can save us, then do. If you can¡¯t, we¡¯ll keep working on our plans. We weren¡¯t helpless princesses waiting on a rescue by you, Amdirlain.¡± I cried. ¡°We can do without this bullshit.¡± A coin suddenly spinning in mid-air stopped them both with mouths agape. Luck¡¯s song buzzed around me; I snatched it from the air and slapped it down to check the side. ¡°Ilya, I need a heart-to-heart with Amdirlain for a bit. I¡¯ll fill you in after we get done with testing this process,¡± I said, and after a glance at Amdirlain, continued. ¡°If it¡¯s still necessary.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t it wait until after we test this process? Or should we just leave?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°It can¡¯t. I was thinking about it, and the coin appeared; you want to read the grimoire,¡± I said, glad when she nodded that I¡¯d made my point that I need to follow Luck¡¯s path. Words churned in my head, and I hugged Ilya to make Amdirlain wait. It was only after I¡¯ve kissed Ilya for her pain do I calm enough to look at Amdirlain again. When I walked over among the trees, Amdirlain followed but gave me a moment to see the look of glee on Ilya¡¯s face. I need to get her some more grimoires¡ªshe¡¯s like a kid in a candy shop with them. Ilya looked up from the page and smirked before wiggling her fingers and turning the page. I¡¯m so pouring two-hundred proof spirits over her hand, or maybe holy water. Both? ¡°What was the coin about?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I was just deciding what approach to take, and the coin appeared. It came up heads, so head on it is. First, I want to make sure I got something right; you know we¡¯re lovers, right?¡± ¡°Yes, and?¡± asked Amdirlain, blinking in the complete emotional cluelessness that I remembered so well, without a speck of judgement. ¡°Good; wanted to be sure you weren¡¯t lashing out at her because of that. Since that isn¡¯t it, Amdirlain sweetie, I mean this in the nicest possible way. Why are you so damn fucking blunt? Don¡¯t you have any skill in Diplomacy at all?¡± I asked, ignoring the heat in my voice, and notes of my anger thrumming in my veins washed my fear away. Why can¡¯t I hear her song!? My question stopped her like a wet fish too long in the sun. Wincing and wiggling, with the tact of a two-year-old trying to avoid eating their greens, I waited until she finally coughed out the furball. ¡°I purged the Skill. It made me worry that I could influence people in ways I didn¡¯t intend.¡± ¡°What, like being nice and trusting you rather than, I don¡¯t know, telling someone to fuck off?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s sigh was so deep, I half expected her boot soles to show behind her teeth. ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever noticed Tongues picking words but feeling they were off even as you heard them?¡± ¡°I honestly haven¡¯t spoken to Mortals enough to notice that; I spent most of the time running around on patrol duty. The few times we interacted with Mortals was with languages I knew.¡± The tact she shows now. Where had that been before? ¡°It happened a few times when I was talking to the Erakk?, and it made me paranoid about what else gets twisted by skills. I hadn¡¯t intended to purge it, but I was so relieved when it happened,¡± explained Amdirlain, and I could see her yelling ¡®woot¡¯ with excitement. The image in my head spilled calm water over my annoyance, but I stuck with blunt. ¡°Sweetie, what the fuck were you thinking? You can opt to ignore what your skills tell you is the right approach, like I did before when I pointed out how blunt you¡¯re being. However, if you don¡¯t have them in the first place, you¡¯re just fucked.¡± ¡°How is that being diplomatic?¡± asked Amdirlain, eyeing me seriously. Though there was a coolness in her gaze, there was no impact, and I breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Precisely that. When you want to be blunt, you can be, despite mastering Diplomacy. It¡¯s a Skill; it¡¯s not in control, it re-enforces what you want to achieve. They¡¯re like unfading muscle memory for physical skills, or recalling the textbook better if it¡¯s knowledge. Powers, I agree, are different. I don¡¯t know how we Teleport; it just works. I didn¡¯t need to be a mechanic to drive my car or know how the signals worked to ride a train or program a computer to use my PC or phone. You need to stop being a control freak.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°My Charisma frightens me,¡± Amdirlain admitted, I expected her to continue, but she just stopped¡ªafter a line that¡¯s vaguer than a fortune cookie. ¡°I¡¯m missing your point, girlfriend.¡± Her incredulous expression had enough disbelief to kill Santa Claus at a thousand paces. ¡°Haven¡¯t you been paying attention to how your combat stats work?¡° ¡°If I say I¡¯ve focused on learning and living, do I get a prize?¡± I asked, making my best cheery voice earn its keep. ¡°No, you do not!¡± Amdirlain retorted, with strained playfulness, and I could see the distraction in her gaze. ¡°Meanie! I want a pony!¡± Her finger sat lightly on my lip, but I hadn¡¯t seen her hand move, let alone close the distance. She was already explaining before I get my heart to drop back into my chest. ¡°One fundamental to most games I played is that attributes would provide a passive reinforcement of skills. I¡¯ve seen evidence of it here, and I¡¯ve seen the effect my Charisma can have when it¡¯s free. You felt it, I know. I saw how you both reacted when I changed shapes, and it got out just slightly.¡± ¡°That was slight?¡± I asked, my voice rising at the memory of wanting to drown in her sweeping through me again, and I bit my lip to keep what I want to say in check. Ilya¡¯s joke about worshipping at my altar seemed too accurate right now, and I fought the blush. Amdirlain looked at me warmly, and I wondered what her Perception skill was at. ¡°Yeah, only slightly. I had most of it contained in my mindscape, and you still stepped towards me. Did you even realise you¡¯d done that?¡± Her question was serious, and I realised what she meant; there was only the riptide that swept over me. ¡°No, I mean, you seemed closer, but you were so much taller.¡± ¡°You both did, while eying me like I was your favourite ice cream.¡± The distaste in her voice made me wince, and given she wasn¡¯t judgemental about my being bi, I lefr it be. There is something there, and I¡¯m not sure I could deal fairly with her tale right now with my emotions on tumble dry. ¡°Alright, but you control it. So what¡¯s the issue?¡± ¡°I control the raw Charisma, but I control my Quickness and Strength as well. I don¡¯t have to think about applying my Strength when I hit something. If I¡¯m focused on convincing someone how vital something is to me, will my Charisma focus itself and overwhelm them?¡± asked Amdirlain, lining her face. ¡°What sort of effect will Diplomacy have? Will I just push people into doing what I want? Will I take away their choices?¡± ¡°I think you are being paranoid,¡± I argued. ¡°I¡¯d rather be paranoid than have everyone just agreeing with me,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°The fact you¡¯re able to argue with me is a good thing. I¡¯d rather you not fall at my feet.¡± ¡°Make sure you always give them choices.¡± I¡¯d thought the answer was obvious, but Amdirlain shook her head sadly. ¡°We all can get focused on what we want, Isa. What happens if no choices are ones they want to be involved in, but they pick one to make me happy? There are so many examples of charismatic Mortals¡ªeven in our world¡ªtalking people into things they wouldn¡¯t normally do. If Diplomacy provides a channel for my Charisma, I¡¯m afraid it would take away their choices.¡± I winced at her concern but wondered if she¡¯d fallen for a different trap. ¡°Your force of personality aggravates things. What was that term? Negative feedback something? The body¡¯s off switch? Whatever that term was. What if you¡¯re turning them off and not realising it? We started talking to you, and most of the time, you were fine; than there¡¯d be sudden jabs of notes that were unpleasant smacks against my awareness. And when you were rude to Ilya, I wanted to scream. Are you going to risk someone weaker than me dealing with that? Not that I¡¯m a fountain of Willpower.¡± ¡°What is your suggestion, oh wise marketing guru?¡± Amdirlain asked. I fought the urge to return her sarcasm and go for teasing outrage instead. ¡°Bite me bitch!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to Ilya,¡± quipped Amdirlain, the speed of her reply almost a zing. ¡°She¡¯s more of a nibbler, and the way she uses her fingers, yeah gads,¡± I teasingly replied trying to lighten the mood, before getting back to her concerns. ¡°Learn Diplomacy and listen to people first. Ask questions, Diplomacy helps with information gathering. You can learn what matters instead of what they¡¯re requesting. Hear their concerns and then give them choices of only what you help them with. Leave what they do up to them. Don¡¯t request their help; just let them know what you¡¯re working on.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve honestly not been paying attention to how the attributes interact with skills?¡± The strange calm in her gaze returned, and I wondered if she¡¯d flipped her emotions off, or locked the argument away already. That really couldn¡¯t be healthy. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t care how they work; they work. They keep me alive, so I focus on learning and improving my skills. Luck and Skill go hand in hand; The more skilled I am, the more Luck has to work with to keep me alive.¡± I said, and before I could continue, I caught a flicker of concentration. ¡°Did you just buy Diplomacy?¡± Amdirlain cracked her neck and reluctantly nodded. ¡°Yeah, I hopefully didn¡¯t waste a point re-purchasing it. I¡¯m sure the fucking troll will have fun.¡± The sudden venom in her tone made me blink. ¡°Troll?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you get a System message about Skill improvements and other things?¡± I blink at her question and mentally sigh in relief. ¡°Yeah, Mr Message. I admit it was weird at the start; he felt like a spam bot, but he¡¯s cool and helpful. Now we have a working relationship. You get combat summary messages and Skill increases?¡± ¡°Yes, but you think he¡¯s helpful?¡± asked Amdirlain, oozing scepticism. ¡°Doesn¡¯t he give you snark in Analysis messages?¡± Wincing at the memories of my earliest reactions, I could only give her a shrug. ¡°He¡¯s helpful to me. The initial occasions were rough, especially when I thought I was insane, but he was too helpful to stay mad. Though, what¡¯s Analysis?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have Analysis? How do you tell what you¡¯re facing and what to run from?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously, the calmness not closing her gaze, but there were no slaps of energy. ¡°Well, I have a cute native guide, but we shoot at things from a distance, and if we can¡¯t hurt them, we run away. Ilya already knew about the various Demons, undead, and general inhabitants of lower Planes. That¡¯s not including the massive advantage that, once I learnt enough, I could compare the strength of our songs to foes,¡± I explained, and a strange smile tweaked Amdirlain¡¯s lips. ¡°It gives me combat statistics via Analysis, but also gives me details about the entity I use it on. The amount of snark I get when I just want to survive this curse pisses me off. If it¡¯s the same entity sending me messages as you, they seem to have it in for me.¡± ¡°Maybe you need to be nicer,¡± I suggested and smiled at her droll look. ¡°Seriously, I say thank you¡ªfrequently¡ªespecially when I¡¯m trying to figure my way around a new Skill. Those progress messages are constructive when I¡¯m not confident I¡¯m doing the right thing. They even gave me some context that let me treat Hell like a toxic office instead of wanting to scream and run even in the numbness.¡± ¡°Numbness? What happened after they dragged you from the river?¡± Amdirlain asked in a carefully soft tone, the sheer gentleness clearly something she¡¯d had practice at maintaining. Contrasting it with the earlier force, I wondered how she''d managed it. ¡°Cliff notes, only some parts I don¡¯t like, so I¡¯ll fast forward. Initially, I was screaming and crying, so they chained me to a cell wall. The music thrummed through me like a bass drum, had me giggling and humming in time to the restraints¡¯ music¡ªtouching my skin they were the loudest songs. I kept getting loose, but I didn¡¯t know how; it was later I figured out echoing their notes made the restraints fall off. My bow made an appearance around then, and the gaolers kept beating me insensible.¡± I half expected Amdirlain to interrupt, she was so impatient, but she kept it zipped and nodded reassuringly. ¡°My head didn¡¯t get straightened out until an Erinys who¡¯d been a weird pain Succubus drank up the river¡¯s residual agony. Her kiss left me so numb, I could function. There was some bidding process to secure me for their department, and my imprint was so pathetic it was clear they¡¯d wasted resources. They¡¯d have lost reputation by keeping me around Hell, given the strength expected from a fallen Celestial. By the time that numbness ended, Ilya had been training me for days. She had to use a more ¡®brute force¡¯ approach once I started getting lost in the moment again. Luck, pure Luck, is the only reason I ever saw the outside of Hell.¡± ¡°Brute force?¡± Amdirlain asked, and though her eyebrow twitched, she didn¡¯t raise it. Wonder if I should give her credit for that one? ¡°We were in Cemna for training¡ªbeing in the sunlight helped. Ilya took me there to run a condensed version of Hell¡¯s basic training along with actual combat experience. She¡¯d been driving home a lesson in knife fighting when the numbness wore off, and she had to snap me out of it. After that, every time memories swamped me, she¡¯d stick a knife into me¡ªor an arrow. Physical pain can be a great grounding tool for a Devil, but it¡¯s not my cup of tea. Having skeletons, zombies, and death hounds rush you is a great focusing aid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t go mad.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, I thought I was mental. So I¡¯m not interested in knowing what¡¯s under the hood. I¡¯m interested in two things: not ending up in the mailroom, or being assigned to sit on someone¡¯s cock. I¡¯ve worked to learn the skills and powers needed to survive and try to make the most of them. Fortunately, some of them I have fun with, others I hate, but I¡¯ve learnt them, regardless.¡± ¡°Rach-¡± I waved her off, not wanting to get dragged into my past mindset. ¡°No, she died, and that¡¯s it. I¡¯m Isa. Can we do this already? I want out.¡± ¡°If you learned to master Diplomacy, why is your reputation in Hell so rubbish?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously. ¡°My Diplomacy¡¯s rank is Senior Master. How do you think I gained a rubbish reputation and still avoid a mailroom assignment? Or get used to breed Erinys? They breed those they don¡¯t find any other use for, or punish by lateral promotion; the same as they do the Succubi. Devils that can get pregnant have a specific use if they¡¯re considered otherwise worthless. I¡¯ve walked a fine line to be considered a menace they don¡¯t want in Hell but considered useful in the field.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned the mailroom before. What¡¯s the deal?¡± Amdirlain asked in confusion, and I almost laughed, remembering my own confusion. ¡°Never be the person delivering bad news in Hell,¡± I replied and walked back over to Ilya, leaving Amdirlain to follow or not. Ilya didn¡¯t take much longer studying the details of the Spell, working out whatever calculations Wizards do to confirm its stability. The Spell¡¯s result was beautiful, or maybe it¡¯s just because I¡¯m biassed with all the sunlight. It set a note running through Ilya that summed up the wild beauty of this place. Dregs of grinding notes washed out and vanished, nullified by the purity of the sound. Her song, resounding with the Plane¡¯s music, had my vision going blurry. I tried to wipe them away discreetly, but Ilya locked gazes with me before I could. ¡°I take it that worked?¡± ¡°Your song changed its foundation pitch to match the Outlands.¡± ¡°I can tell it worked, but I presently don¡¯t have an imprint stone to prove it to you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s okay, I trust Isa¡¯s word,¡± Ilya replied quickly, the tight phrasing cutting at Amdirlain, but she didn¡¯t even blink. Amdirlain nodded acceptingly and carried on calmly. ¡°What name will you use?¡± ¡°You expect me to pick a name like it¡¯s nothing?¡± Ilya grumbled. I saw Amdirlain¡¯s eyebrow raise, and when I braced myself for yet another blunt reply, her soft tone surprised me. ¡°I know it¡¯s important, but you need a name I can use to make the change at present. You can change it again later, but you need something now.¡± ¡°How does this change of names work?¡± I asked to buy Ilya a little time. ¡°Can I still call her Ilya and not ruin things?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told people to use names before that haven¡¯t shown on my Profile, so I can¡¯t imagine it will. Do they have your True Name?¡± Amdirlain asked Ilyia ¡°I don¡¯t have one; only stronger Devils have one, or at least know them. The process for discovering them in part solidifies them within you. Ainla, was one of my ancestors that I failed. I¡¯ll use her name so I don¡¯t forget them.¡± Ilya replied. ¡°I¡¯m still calling you Ilya, sweetie,¡± I said quickly and get a smile from her. ¡°Before you, I hated that name,¡± Ilya said, and I stopped in shock. I¡¯d told her I hated Isaac but never asked her if she felt the same. ¡°I¡¯m horrible. I never asked if you hated your name as well.¡± Ilya gave me a lop-sided smile. ¡°If it mattered to me, I would have told you. You¡¯ve helped me come closer to its meaning; instead of purely being something they gave to torment me.¡± Amdirlain paused, and I could see her consider her wording. ¡°Would you share its meaning?¡± For a moment, Ilya didn¡¯t answer, her gaze so far away. I gently rested my hand on her shoulder before she spoke. ¡°In my Mortal tongue, it meant noble or high born. My father was the village chief, and things happened. When I got to Hell, they chose Ilya out of spite. They made it clear why they chose it so it would be a continual reminder, yet still they took my family from me by taking my old name.¡± ¡°Ainla,¡± Amdirlain said, the pronouncement of the name echoing Ilya¡¯s exactly and I heard the notes of it shivering through her. The music settled into place, marching its score through her bones. ¡°It worked,¡± I whispered. ¡°Now it¡¯s my turn, chop-chop.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t waste a moment, and though I couldn¡¯t hear her song, I could almost see the weight lifting from her shoulders. The steel in her gaze became gentler, first as the Plane¡¯s note echoed through me, and then when my new name made me feel light-hearted. [Achievement: Like a Bat Out of Hell! Condition: Escape from a curse consigning you to Hell. Reward: Hell now thinks something destroyed you permanently! Note: Your records went up in smoke, and so did Ilya¡¯s. Note: Technically, she never correctly signed her contract. She should have taken them to the Infernal courts. Choices!] ¡°My name is Isa,¡± I giggled drunkenly, unsure how to break the news to Ilya. ¡°Now to sort out a Prestige Class at last,¡± Ilya stated happily, and I¡¯m not sure I would ever think of her as Ainla. ¡°I¡¯d hold off selecting anything yet. You¡¯ve more than enough levels, but we¡¯ll need to figure out how to get an achievement so you unlock a Tier Seven Prestige Class,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°Tier Five is the highest,¡± said Ilya, going bugged-eyed at Amdirlain. I quickly waved for her to calm. ¡°It¡¯s alright, we have a Tier Seven achievement.¡± I realised I''d never actually told her the instant her music soared, rich with frustration and disbelief. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°Well, a few of them actually,¡± I admitted carefully. If looks could kill, I¡¯d need a body transplant to handle my incinerated arse. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± ¡°Need to know!¡± I retorted, unable to help my smugness with her glower. ¡°Since they didn¡¯t permit you to take a Prestige Class, where was the need?¡± Her growl started deep, and discontent rode a freight train trapped in a tunnel. ¡°Isa! I told you Tier Five was the highest, and you didn¡¯t tell me differently?¡± ¡°Ilya! Then you¡¯d have told Hell if they¡¯d asked.¡± I retorted gleefully and quickly pinch her cheeks. ¡°Brat!¡± ¡°Oh, you cougar, you.¡± Amdirlain laughed at the English word I¡¯d kept from Ilya, and I shushed her quickly. ¡°You don¡¯t want to let her know? My, my, what¡¯s it worth?¡± teased Amdirlain, and I was pleased she was trying. The teasing immediately spiked Ilya¡¯s curiosity, and she turned to Amdirlain. ¡°What does that mean?¡± I gave a tug of her hand, but she stayed focused, and I gave Amdirlain a pleading look. ¡°She¡¯s giving me grief about my choice of name I used for you, that¡¯s all. It¡¯s as simple as that, right?¡± ¡°What does the word mean?¡± insisted Ilya. ¡°I¡¯ve been asking her for years. She started off making noises that meant nothing to me¡ªOwie, and Meanie¡ªand still throws other things out I¡¯m sure are words that Tongues won¡¯t translate.¡± ¡°Given she¡¯s using it with you, I¡¯d take it as an affectionate term for a mature lover,¡± Amdirlain said, and I groaned into my hands. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about that word later, love,¡± Ilya declared, and I gave Amdirlain a flat look for her amusement. Amdirlain just gave me a gleeful smile that didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. ¡°Turnabout is fair play.¡± ¡°Yeah, but payback is a bitch!¡± The expected retort felt flat to me instead of playful, but Amdirlain seemed to take it for face value. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know more about a Class to look for?¡± Amdirlain asked dryly. Everything felt so light inside, I couldn¡¯t help but try to tease. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Can you please tell me what turned you from a Succubus into a Fallen, oh mighty and revered custodian of knowledge?¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll keep, buster,¡± retorted Amdirlain merrily, and this time Icaoulfn¡¯t tell if her mood was fake. ¡°The Class is called Pure Scion of the Sun; it had an evolution indicator against it. Torm said the evolution Class he took felt like they had greater depth among any in the vision.¡± ¡°The Prestige Classes don¡¯t present to me in list form or vision, I hear their songs,¡± I replied. ¡°Whatever works for you,¡± said Amdirlain, with a casual shrug. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk about that later. The system seems to translate into my perceptions, so I¡¯m curious how it seems to you for other things.¡± I nod and focus on the music within, and the Profile¡¯s Resonance rippled through me. A Class I¡¯d heard before drew me with the richness of its song. There was a tower of songs, each of them vibrating with more power, and while I couldn¡¯t reach the highest of them, I let the music of the strongest fill me. For a moment, my flesh trembled, filled to bursting, pressure-tight across every part of me, and then I realised the issue. Seams stretched and groaned, and I tried to pull my armour into Inventory before it exploded apart. I was a moment too late, and leather pieces scattered across the grass and rocks, the enchantments not made for changing shape. My balance shifted, and I almost fell but caught myself and remained upright using Flight. From the way I loom over Ilya now, it was clear I¡¯d grown at least a metre. I caught my appearance from Ilya¡¯s mind and stopped in shock. Skin, the same golden-bronze Amdirlain possessed in her Fallen form, yet my wings aren¡¯t black, or even an Angel¡¯s white. They were crystalline, with an aurora of erratically shifting colour glowed from within them even with me holding still; the effect made my now silver hair look like liquid metal. My centre of gravity changing wasn¡¯t the only issue, and muscles shifted across my back when I flex my wings about me¡ªthere were four, not the two I expected! Their appearance calmed the chills rushing up my spine, every shift of my wings causing the aurora of light to spill forth. The colours danced randomly about, without the slightest shift or change in light. Running my fingers across my face confirmed what I¡¯d seen in Ilya¡¯s mind. The high cheekbones¡ªno longer sharp¡ª felt of graceful lines rather than predatory menace, and it was the same with all my features, from the sharp chin to my eye ridges. Ilya smiled happily. ¡°Your eyes glow golden, like polished coins.¡± ¡°You mean my irises?¡± I asked, not having caught that snippet from Ilya¡¯s mind. Amdirlain shook her head, ¡°No, your whole eyes are just a solid, softly glowing gold, instead of the black eyes I have as a Fallen.¡± ¡°You have solid black-eyes¡ªhow did I not notice that?¡± ¡°Too busy eye-fucking me,¡± Amdirlain retorted, and yet grief brushed past me. What? ¡°You give a come fuck me vibe,¡± I teased, trying to lighten the mood. ¡°Thanks,¡± Amdirlain drolly stated, letting the word slip free, greased with enough sarcasm to handle a lorry. ¡°My Profile says I¡¯m a Planetar?¡± ¡°Never heard of them,¡± muttered Ilya, but Amdirlain''s sigh drew suspicious looks from us both. ¡°Don¡¯t you have a Class to pick as well Ainla?¡± ¡°Ilya,¡± I protested. ¡°I¡¯ll avoid using that name¡ª since I renamed her¡ªin case of aftereffects. I don¡¯t have a manual for how it works,¡± Amdirlain explained, her tone apologetic. ¡°Can I have some clothes?¡± I asked, the flush running up my neck. Amdirlain nodded but hesitated with a hand extended. ¡°I¡¯ll make some if you take on a smaller size, or do you want to go around three metres tall all the time?¡± ¡°How do I change shape?¡± ¡°If you have Shape Change or Polymorph, just imagine the changes you want to make. The closer your form to the expected result, the easier it is. Perhaps just start at the height you want, and with or without the wings.¡± Ilya put her hands up, and a mirror of water condensed from the air. I nodded and looked myself over, planning the shape as I¡¯d done with the Polymorph ring. ¡°Without wings; having no wings makes some things easier.¡± Ilya¡¯s laughter accompanied my settling into new flesh. I was still taller than I¡¯d been in life, but I was rid of the wings, settling for blue eyes, and shrinking the proportions to get me under six feet. I pat my full breasts, happy to have the girls back, and Ilya made me snort by imagining kissing up my long legs. ¡°What Class did you take?¡± Ilya asked curiously. ¡°The song refers to it as a Varni Glinnel,¡± I stated happily. The words sounded Elvish but I¡¯d never learned to speak any of their tongues. ¡°Royal Singer,¡± Amdirlain said, looking at me with her scary intensity back in full. ¡°Tone it down, girlfriend,¡± I said, trying to focus on Ilya¡¯s song. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take a Class, love?¡¯ Amdirlain¡¯s gaze weighed on Ilya, and she waved me off. ¡°I should teach her extra Affinities to ensure she gets better options.¡± ¡°You mean it will be years before I can pick a Class,¡± grumbled Ilya. ¡°No, consider it an apology. It won¡¯t take long to teach any Affinity to you. I can teach you four more Tier Four: Positive, Negative, Time, and Mental, along with all four Tier Fives quickly, without risking injury to you,¡± Amdirlain replied. The moment she put a hand on my shoulder, clothing rippled across me, and I looked down at the silk blouse and black denim jeans. Her hand lifted away and tearing notes shivered across my skin. ¡°Not combat gear, but it¡¯s enough to get you into Duskstone. There are Dwarven Artificers that can make you equipment if I have nothing useful in the vaults.¡± The jeans felt exactly like Earth jeans, but I¡¯d never gone commando before. ¡°How did you make these?¡± ¡°Secret, I¡¯ll tell you later,¡± Amdirlain said before looking at Ilya. ¡°Relax and perhaps close your eyes, you¡¯ll feel me touch your mind, but I promise not to pry. We¡¯ll meet on a mental middle ground so I won¡¯t learn anything by accident unless you scream it at me.¡± The calmness that I¡¯d seen Amdirlain manage a few times was suddenly in place again, and Ilya closes her eyes. Surprise flickered across her face repeatedly before she opened her eyes again. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you want to undress, so you don¡¯t blow up your gear with whatever evolution you get,¡± remarked Amdirlain, teasingly ignoring Ilya¡¯s question. ¡°How long did I have my eyes closed?¡± Ilya asked, her eyes going wide. The beats of time were easy to track. ¡°Only a short time, three or four cycles of a trebuchet firing.¡± ¡°Eight Affinities in so short a time,¡± whispered Ilya, turning her unblinking gaze on me. ¡°Hopefully, that helps get at least some sort of Tier Seven Spellblade,¡± said Amdirlain. I stepped forward and absorbed Ilya¡¯s gear into Inventory, but just held on to her storage ring for her weapons. Her distant gaze flickered in surprise, and she exploded in height. Her olive skin turned pure white, with swirls of blue glimmering within that seemed almost to dance and move about. The soaring song roared as black feathers burned away, and rippling energy replaced them on four wings. Every feather was as insubstantial as an air curtain and resonated with its wild music. I had to step back to see her eyes without a crick in my neck, and wisps of white light radiated from glowing sky-blue eyes. The bald look she¡¯d gained in prime real estate had me suppressing a giggle. ¡°Two Planetars, well that makes three of you now,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What gained you the evolution? ¡°I can feel my breeze again¡ªit¡¯s back¡ªI thought I¡¯d lost touch with the wind forever,¡± Ilya murmured, and tears spilled across her face. ¡°Tircundo, the Class I took was Tircundo.¡± ¡°That¡¯s High Elven for ''Royal Guardian'',¡± translated Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you pick that Class?¡± ¡°Need to keep this songbird out of trouble?¡± retorted Ilya glibly and she transformed to match my reduced height, her skin turning a golden-bronze to match my own. A finger¡¯s length of hair grew in an equally silvery hue, enough to just brush across the tips of Elven ears that match the fineness of her features. She didn¡¯t quite manage the eyes though, and they were full of cloudy swirls, the pink skin of her bow-shaped lips strange after they¡¯ve seemed bruised for so long. The thunderclouds turned bright blue when I teased her about being in for a few inches and wiggled my fingers meaningfully. Amdirlain clasped hands with her, and I caught what I missed before tendrils rush outwards from her to form the clothing¡¯s weave. The tearing notes sound as they break free from her flesh. ¡°We¡¯re wearing-¡± ¡°You¡¯re wearing cloth, as that¡¯s what it becomes the moment I separate,¡± refuted Amdirlain. ¡°Ebusuku would like to meet you both, if that¡¯s alright?¡± ¡°Who is Ebusuku?¡± ¡°She keeps me on the straight and narrow and saved me when I was in serious trouble. I should have given your guardian more credit; not everything in the lower planes deserves to be there,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like to meet her,¡± I blurted out. ¡°When do I hear your side of the story?¡± ¡°Even my cliff notes are messy,¡± said Amdirlain, snickering at something, and I groaned when I remember where she spawned. ¡°Sage wrote it down¡ªwhat¡¯s safe to share¡ªso you can read it as much as you want.¡± The clearing and ridgeline burst to life with Celestials, and the beautiful music stopped me in awe. Scores of Lantern Archons and over a dozen Hound Archons were shocking enough. Though the Solar, looming behind Amdirlain in golden armour, made my jaw drop, especially reinforced by two others Angels, one dressed in martial arts robes of all things. ¡°I said you could come and meet her,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and the Solar¡¯s lips curved in a teasing smile. Her music, so completely wild, passionate, and free, wasn¡¯t anything like I¡¯d expected to hear from a Celestial. ¡°Did you expect me to leave the others in Cemna, Amdirlain? I checked the Gate to Outlands for traps, and we used it to come back. We¡¯d been waiting for your permission to approach,¡± said Ebusuku. Ilya blinked and looked at Ebusuku in confusion. ¡°Her permission? Why would you need a Fallen¡¯s permission?¡± Looking between Amdirlain and me, Ebusuku sighed gruffly. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, exactly how much haven¡¯t you told them yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯m so confused,¡± I groaned. Ebusuku¡¯s smile only hinted at the bubbling joyful music that started from her. ¡°We are all servants to Lady Amdirlain. Since I doubt she¡¯ll want to tell you her title I¡¯ll -,¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to tell us your title?¡± I interrupted and¡ªrealising I''d talked over the top of a Solar¡ªface-palm in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It affects others when a Power speaks their title,¡± stated Ebusuku. Eying Amdirlain suspiciously despite the Celestials, Ilya held up a hand. ¡°I still want to hear it from her. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll believe it otherwise. There are facts, and then there is the truth. ¡° Amdirlain groaned and she bit her lip for a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t say Ebusuku didn¡¯t warn you. Lady of the Accursed, Freedom, Hope, and New Beginnings.¡± The words ignited in the air with an orchestral crescendo, and would have dropped me to my knees. Amdirlain¡¯s arms holding me up were the only things keeping me from hitting the ground, my legs too weak to stand, the music spinning me down rapids of power. Ilya groaned next to me, held up by Ebusuku. ¡°I told you so,¡± murmured Ebusuku. The words set me giggling in time to the musical score still ringing in my mind. ¡°That was stronger than I¡¯d expected.¡± ¡°I got an achievement regarding the Erakk? while I was talking to them,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°What happened?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°The Erakk?¡¯s King adopted me as their nation¡¯s principal Faith when joining my Faithful, so it¡¯s no longer considered a cult. Though I don¡¯t know how the numbers jumped so much at once.¡± The Astral Deva stepped forward and rested a hand against my back to help balance me; the soft music coming off him, along with the scrolls floating around him, was soothing and calm. ¡°Likely, he made an announcement. The Shapers can make metal plates vibrate to repeat sounds through the city. If he declared for you in such a fashion, many of the populace might have done the same.¡± An absurd picture of everyone¡¯s dinner plates vibrating food into the air winked from my imagination. ¡°They have magical loudspeakers?¡± Ilya spoke up with a glance between the Deva and Amdirlain. ¡°Those are the people holding back the Illithid drones?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Might we meet them?¡± asked Ilya, her gaze flittering across the Celestials. ¡°You mentioned helping them was one option to repay you for your help.¡± ¡°Torm is off trying to reach the Elves on Letveri. I¡¯m sure the Erakk? would appreciate further help, if you decide to do so,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Though your species transformation proves how wrong I was to be rude¡ªagain, my apologies.¡± ¡°Do you have something personal against Erinys, Amdirlain?¡± I asked, hoping to distract from Ilya¡¯s lack of acceptance. ¡°It¡¯s part of my long story,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°More a Valkyrie that got turned into an Erinys. Guess I still haven¡¯t dealt with that properly.¡± ¡°Should I make a copy of my record of your tale, Amdirlain?¡± asked the Astral Deva. Looking relieved, Amdirlain nodded quickly. ¡°If you would please, Sage, I hadn¡¯t expected it to be useful.¡± ¡°I told you advanced preparations help,¡± chided Sage, his tone so light and teasing, he felt like Julia¡¯s brother. Amdirlain¡¯s pert smile wasn¡¯t the reaction I¡¯d expected after the earlier tension. Yet it wasn''t directed at us, and faded before she turned back to me. ¡°What would you prefer, getting equipment sorted out at Duskstone, or the tale?¡± Sage looked at us both and spoke up. ¡°Might I suggest travelling to Duskstone, and while you talk to the Clan Gildenshield or the Artificers, I can organise the scroll?¡± ¡°Thank you, Sage, that makes sense,¡± I said, blinking at his beautiful Elven features and muscular torso. I¡¯m taken, but yeah, the window shopping around here is fine! 149 - The Unforgiven Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Desolute Elven City - Cemna ¡°Is it complicated, or are you making it complicated?¡± Isaac teased. Amdirlain winced, uncertain what the truth was herself, she tried to explain. ¡°He¡¯s a Celestial-¡± ¡°A Fallen interested in a Celestial¡ªthat isn¡¯t complicated. It¡¯s trouble,¡± Ilya interjected. The words of explanation that had slipped from Amdirlain¡¯s lips to be greeted by Ilya¡¯s warning, slapped against her long-held fears. The burning twin hooks of guilt and paranoia twisted in her mind, only to be abruptly shoulder checked to the curb by a notification. [Achievement: Look, Ma, I¡¯m on top of the world! Condition: Have your Faith declared to be a country¡¯s Principal Faith. Reward: Easier to gain followers Additional Condition: Country¡¯s population exceeds ten million Souls Reward- 1) Promotion from cult to religion 2) Increased chance of followers becoming Priests. 3) Missionary benefits are automatically granted to any follower so inclined. Note: Someone needs to use the missionary position to feed your cats. Note: Well, fifty-fifty chance it was going to be you. Don¡¯t you feel so special? Aren¡¯t you glad there wasn¡¯t more competition?] Without further warning, wisps of connections she¡¯d never felt before rushed into place. Their presence brushing under her skin contained barely perceptible whispers that became a sparking static along her nerves. The choices of others forged the links that bound her onto a path others had incorrectly said would be needed. Did that count as the first time a Celestial had betrayed her? Had they lied to her and told her only one option they knew? Her thoughts had her automatically slipping into Zen State¡¯s icy calm to stem the jealous scream that suddenly formed in her throat. A disconnection of ¡®what ifs¡¯ sliced poison-smeared razors through her veins, mocking the glib words that had turned into her title. Every connection was a thorn that buried itself Soul deep and added more weight to her burden of responsibility. Each link carried within it an individual¡¯s hopes and choices, but it was an energy that taunted Amdirlain with the cost of failure. No one gave me a choice about being here. Please, can¡¯t I go home? Her Domain¡¯s aura suddenly made sense in that wash of emotions, amid the increasing torrent, it pointed out what she¡¯d missed. The valley¡¯s existence provided a twisted mockery of her selfishness in that instant. She hadn¡¯t intentionally created a place to make the Petitioners feel at home; instead, she¡¯d started it resonating with those feelings of home and her hungry longing for it. The Domain effect had translated it for others into the comforting aura, but she''d poured into it her long-suppressed hope of seeing family again. She offered familiar words to push back against Ilya¡¯s interjection but didn¡¯t bother to correct the reaction she could see in Rach¡¯s face. Ilya¡¯s words weren¡¯t her only issue that suddenly screamed for attention; they merely touched on one among a thousand icy cuts sipping at her life. The conversation continued while Amdirlain struggled to hold onto her calm. The extra weight continued to claim her attention and press down on her until only her focus on the moment blocked the urge to howl. Simple animal minds flittering about with momentary concerns greeted her mental net within the Outlands. Their presence grounded her and helped restore her wavering balance, Isa¡¯s beautiful song to close the Gate added to her calm. ¡°I thought it was a trick.¡± The moment those words had left Isa¡¯s lips, the hurricane tore at her again, heralded by an image Ilya¡¯s mind cast forth a teenager¡¯s blank, unseeing gaze, already cloudy in death, staring from a ruined face contorted in agony. Fragmented teeth poked like coral spikes through the churning surf of her pale bottom lip. Muscles contoured the face into a rictus scream that death hadn¡¯t released. The neck¡¯s flesh¡ªshredded and peeled away¡ªswayed in a breeze that brought more of that sweetness forward. Thirst clawed its way up, taunted by the thick metallic odour, so salty-sweet in the cold air, it saturated every breath, sliding across the tongue and filling lungs with death. Blood welling from the wound sent droplets to slip from the ragged stump, yet they fell in slow motion. Black nails and maggot-white fingers laced through the girl¡¯s soft brown, gore encrusted hair presented Ilya her prize. Memories of nails and Abyssal fire scorching flesh and Soul shuddered along her spine, but she adjusted her body to prevent it from reacting. Her mind filled with flashes of remembered battle within her Mind Palace, Viper¡¯s imagination caused the sensation of putrefying flesh and burning raging pain. Only when the Demon had feared for her own safety, had she finally broken off. Yet the memory of the battle in her Mind Palace pulled others to the surface that she¡¯d thought destroyed. Glimpses of fighting that Livia¡¯s memory walk had only hinted at, roared to life. A memory of her own pushed through Ilya¡¯s and a young man¡¯s face replaced the girl. Her fingers tangled in his hair while she could only look on and plead while Viper used her body to implement her sadistic tactics. A hollow melon sound reverberated with its impact against a tree, the pollen drifting on the breeze, the stench of death¡ªvoided bowels and more. The skull exploded and she pounced on the young man¡¯s friend, who she¡¯d allowed time to crawl away, trailing shattered legs. Laodice¡¯s presence hadn¡¯t even objected, but continued to grab for Amdirlain¡¯s attention. Memories of blood slid across her tongue, mingling with the taste of the Outlands¡¯ summer breeze, the memories distorting and taunting amid their conversation. Isa¡¯s description of the river Dis had her biting back retorts about the Abyss¡¯s inferno and the eternity within it she¡¯d experienced three times. The cliff notes Isa provided told her what else she¡¯d missed, and jealousy¡¯s venom became clear. She¡¯d walked so long alone, with only fleeting moments of friendship, where Isa had come out of numbness into Ilya¡¯s company. However their relationship had developed, Isa had found someone, in Hell of all places, that had her back, but Odyis had betrayed her. The comparison rattled forth locked memories and had her swaying, held aloft in memory by the ropes made from her own skin and tendons. A blade pierced skin, and a pop shuddered through her when wing cartilage gave way. The blade had carved her up repeatedly while Naz¡¯rilca purred out of her pleasure, tracing patterns across unbroken skin with Amdirlain¡¯s blood. Tightening her focus to Isa held the haunting memories at bay, but the child in Ilya¡¯s memory slammed repeatedly with the kindness of a car door against her mental grip. The pain called out to memories of other agonies and had them clawing and hammering against their vaults¡¯ walls. The churning seared mental scabs away and eroded mental barriers between roaring flames and burning, icy rage. Yet she pushed on through a whirlwind of razors whose acidic blades carried misery, madness, and jealousy. The beautiful aurora of Isa¡¯s wings drove a blow to her gut, spine-deep, and mixed relief with pain. Isa¡¯s freedom sent a wave of relief through her, yet that distraction let the jealousy grind spitefully through her bones. Deserved happiness immediately curdling amid the torments she¡¯d long held at bay. Shards of fragmenting pain speared through her mind, evoking the violation of impaled Souls and pressed her against oblivion¡¯s cliff. ¡°Thank you, Sage, that makes sense,¡± Isa said and let Amdirlain hold on to the moment against the sudden taste of iron. ¡°Ebusuku and Sage, could you spare some time to help sort out equipment at Duskstone?¡± Amdirlain asked, her voice filled with eerie calm, its ice held back the rising tide broken from their vaults. Ebusuku nodded, but opened her Gate across the clearing and never looked away. The Gate opening drew attention from Sage, Isa, and Ilya, who moved towards it through the crowd of Archons, who had begun to disappear back to the Domain, along with Solveiga. Beyond the rapidly diminishing gathering, Sage stepped through first¡ªdisguised as a male Moon Elf now fully clad¡ªIlya followed, and Isa hurried after to catch her in a hug. ¡°Is everything alright?¡± asked Ebusuku via her Oath Link, and the moment Amdirlain established a mental link, she continued on. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d be ecstatic about Rachel being free?¡± ¡°I am ecstatic.¡± Frost that etched within their connection mocked the offered reply. Her gaze hadn¡¯t left Amdirlain¡¯s normally leaf green eyes, concern growing at their appearance of frozen mildew. ¡°Then why do your eyes look so hollow, and your link cold enough to shatter trees?¡± ¡°There are other things on my mind that I need to deal with,¡± replied Amdirlain, and frowned when Ebusuku went to object. ¡°I can¡¯t delegate these.¡± ¡°What needs to be done?¡± asked Ebusuku carefully. Amdirlain smiled emptily and motioned her through the Gate. ¡°I first need to talk to Sidero, let her know Isa''s situation and¡ª¡± The sentence fell into stillness and Ebusuku eventually prompted her across the link. ¡°And?¡± ¡°And then I won¡¯t be back to the Domain anytime soon. Please arrange equipment and explain what¡¯s happening with the Erakk?¡¯s world and Cemna? I permit them to go to Letveri. Hopefully my intent there is enough; if not, send me a message. Truthfully, I don¡¯t care if they help or not, but Ainla believes I expect repayment.¡± Ebusuku pursed her lips and flicked her gaze coldly to the pair still caught up in each other¡¯s embrace. ¡°What trouble are you looking to get yourself involved in?¡± ¡°The most dangerous kind¡ªsearching within myself. Livia told me I needed to find my balance with Viper, but she was wrong; I never possessed proper balance, even when I was alive. Holding together through force of will doesn¡¯t count, Viper was simply the iceberg¡¯s peak while Livia was around me.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be best to meditate within your Domain?¡± asked Ebusuku, concern clearly fighting a losing battle to warm the link. ¡°Absolutely not!¡± growled Amdirlain aloud. The conflux of emotions wrenched the words and prompted Ebusuku to step close. For a moment, Amdirlain said nothing, but then tears streamed down her cheeks, and words slid forth. ¡°Even before I appeared in the Maze, I wanted to go home, Ebusuku. I¡¯ve pushed past it so long, but it¡¯s tearing me apart, everything hurts less. I wonder if that¡¯s why I can mutilate myself so easily; it¡¯s all a lesser pain. Now with Isa free, everything I¡¯ve held back is trying to drown me at once. The Domain alters my perspective in ways I don¡¯t understand and reacts to my emotions. Both of those are good reasons to keep clear of it until I have my balance settled.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, you need-¡° Amdirlain scrubbed her hands across her face, and her grimace stopped whatever Ebusuku had been about to say. ¡°Isa being free removed one massive reason I¡¯ve always had for delaying, and yet also has me off balance, Ebusuku. I¡¯ve gone from a three-legged stool¡¯s balance to lurching about on stilts. Things are churning around like I should be fighting to catch my breath, and now memories I thought destroyed are nipping at my heels,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Swallowing back a scream that wanted to burst forth had her fingers pulling unnoticed at her braid. ¡°I need to deal with everything I¡¯ve compartmentalised.¡± ¡°Perhaps you need to refine your Way?¡± asked Ebusuku, in concern.¡± I believe that is the term Farhad would use.¡± The sudden shoulder slump prompted Ebusuku to shift to her own Elven form and embrace Amdirlain. She went to speak but stopped the moment Amdirlain continued on. ¡°No. Lately, I¡¯ve had trouble keeping my focus for long, and thought it was because I needed to sort out my priorities. But having your head in the sand doesn¡¯t stop something from kicking you in the arse. I thought looking at my priorities and stripping the noise would help, but it meant Ilya¡¯s memory hit harder.¡± ¡°What memory did this to you?¡± ¡°A teenage girl¡¯s severed head. It prompted memories of when Viper took control and killed those first Slavers. She smashed a slaver¡¯s face into a tree until it exploded simply to scare his friend, who she¡¯d already crippled. The agony and fear on his face resembled the girl¡¯s so much,¡± admitted Amdirlain in a whisper. ¡°They¡¯ll need you to let them into the Domain,¡± mentioned Ebusuku, not releasing her embrace. Amdirlain stiffened in her arms, but her voice didn¡¯t raise. ¡°No, they don¡¯t get invited inside, at least not yet. Maybe they can stay in the Giant community, if they even want to be nearby. I¡¯m not sure I know Isa now. I certainly don¡¯t know Ilya, and I¡¯m not sure I even know myself.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s hands rubbed Amdirlain¡¯s back comfortingly, but her first question didn¡¯t escape her lips¡ª ¡°Where do you plan to go?¡± Amdirlain replied across the link before Ebusuku asked, and their conversation became a rapid-fire of responses; every question Ebusuku formed answered the moment it came. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the Githerazi; they said I was welcome to come study. I need advice about the mind from someone that Hell hasn¡¯t twisted.¡± ¡°What about the Archons?¡± ¡°If Isa helps, ask her if she¡¯ll team with them for short periods. Holy Smite hurt the Thri-Kreen, so it''s likely the Lantern¡¯s bolts will; otherwise, get them to train around the Domain. When Runa gets back, please ensure she doesn¡¯t go racing off again until that occurs. I¡¯d like her to have training first.¡± ¡°What should I tell Isa?¡± ¡°Tell her I¡¯m taking her advice about skills, and her comment about things I¡¯ve tucked away to heart. Given she can use the True Song, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s an Anar. While I¡¯d love to see her face when she gets to read that part, I¡¯m not in a state for it at present.¡± ¡°What state are you in, besides tormented and in need of care?¡± ¡°Not in a fit state, but not looking for any fights. I will seek the best care to help with all my suppressed stuff. Don¡¯t take my issues out on them please, I already fucked that up,¡± replied Amdirlain and pressed the grimoire with Planar Law into Ebusuku¡¯s hand. ¡°They¡¯re attuned to the Outland at present, but if Ilya learns this Spell List, she can reset it anywhere she likes. Please arrange copies¡ªI didn¡¯t notice how bad it smells¡ªand give Ilya one.¡± Ebusuku simply nodded and stored the grimoire before she headed through the Gate. Amdirlain caught Isa breaking the hug and turning towards Ebusuku in confusion as the Gate shrank. [Diplomacy (1-2) Note: Look who can learn! Who¡¯s a clever girl then?] I¡¯m too tired, whoever you are. Can you just note them down and leave me alone for a while? Please? [Diplomacy (2->8) Note: Extra points for effort even if it wasn¡¯t an A grade. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Note: I won the betting pool for how long you¡¯d hang on for by miles, enjoy your meltdown. They all thought the prize won when you started crying on reaching the Outlands. What suckers! Note: Don¡¯t break any Githerazi! Who am I kidding? That lot already know they¡¯re broken.] Amdirlain blinked at the message, and without retorting, followed Sidero¡¯s instructions to switch all notifications off. ¡°Sidero, Isaac is free from Hell. I¡¯ll wait for you inside The Exchange¡¯s main gates, near the building with the walls that look like flowing water. I¡¯ll fill you in on the details when I see you.¡± Planar Shift delivered Amdirlain into the entry area of The Exchange, the place far quieter than she had seen it any time previously. Unsure when Sidero would meet her, she took the queue whose runes showed it would allow a five-day stay. The place looked unchanged except for the variation in the crowd, and Amdirlain settled in to wait at her chosen spot. Blades of emotion twisting inside her mirrored Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s knives and battled every attempt to stay focused on the cool breeze coming off the watery wall behind her. Memories of forming clothing, blankets, and objects crackled painfully along her nerves. The comparison in their agonies mocking her anger at Naz¡¯rilca when she¡¯d done so much worse to herself. Flayed wings slapped the ground within memories¡¯ hold in time with every footstep nearby. With calm nowhere to be found, she grabbed detailed information from Analysis to distract her. [Prestige Class: Varni Glinnel (Evolution Class) This variant of the Tier Seven Prestige Class - Melehta Glinnel - is available when all four base classes are level 100 or higher. Other Requirements
  • One Glinnel Class
  • One Divine Caster Class
  • Two Combat classes
  • Tier 7 achievement available
  • Only available to Species: Anar whose Souls have earned Royal Title in a previous or current lifetime
Glinnel Class
  • Grand Master rank in True Song
  • Grand Master rank in Resonance
  • Grand Master rank in Singing
  • Senior Master rank in Duet
Combat Classes:
  • Senior Master rank in at least two weapon skills
  • Senior Master rank in at least one movement Power or Skill
  • Senior Master rank in a defensive Skill
Divine Caster Class
  • Senior Master rank in Conviction
  • Senior Master rank in Channelling
  • Senior Master rank in another Divine Caster Power.
General Class Skills:
  • Senior Master Rank in Perception Powers or Skill
  • Senior Master Rank in Diplomacy
  • Have evolved three Powers related to a Class
  • Grand Master Rank in two Powers
  • Senior Master Rank in six Skills
Provides the following gains:
  • Species Evolution at time of selection.
  • + 10 Willpower per Level
  • + 10 Intelligence per Level
  • + 10 (Primary Attribute of Divine Class) per Level
  • + 10 (Primary Attribute of First Combat Class) per Level
  • + 10 (Primary Attribute of Second Combat Class) per Level
  • + 4 Free Attributes per Level
  • + 7 times Total Melee Attack Power modifier from all base Classes per Level
  • + 7 times Total Ranged Attack Power modifier from all base Classes per Level
  • + 7 Defence per Level
  • + 2 Skill Points per Level
  • + 2 Knowledge Points per Level
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Daylight
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Sonic Barrier
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Multi-voice
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Silent Song
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Conductor
  • Evolution of the two highest Combat Class Powers
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: World Step (Group)
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in True Song and any other primary Glinnel power.
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in any Divine Caster Skills.
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in Combat and Social Skills.]
[Sonic Barrier Allows a Glinnel to put in place a set barrier that will cause vibrational damage to anyone they don¡¯t knowingly permit to cross it.] [Multi-Voice Allows a Glinnel to sing multiple concurrent parts of any multi-voice song simultaneously or perform two separate True Songs. ] [Silent Song Allows the Glinnel to project the True Song without actually singing, need for breath, or undamaged vocal cords. A combination of factors, including song complexity and power rank, may lead to Health backlash if any distraction occurs during the song¡¯s performance.] [Conductor Enables a True Song Gestalt to be formed when directing a group with a minimum of three singers. The total number of effective skill levels between True Song and this Power determines the limit of members included in the Gestalt. It compounds the effectiveness the higher in rank this Power grows.] [Name: Tircundo (Evolution Class) This variant of the Tier Seven Prestige Class¡ªT¨¢cundo¡ªis available when all four base classes are level 100 or higher. Other Requirements
  • Two Combat classes
  • One Stealth Class
  • One Arcane Caster Class
  • Tier 7 achievement available
  • Only available to individual accepted as the Protector of an Anar or L¨®m?
Combat Classes:
  • Senior Master rank in at least four combat skills
  • Senior Master rank in a defensive Skill
  • Senior Master rank in a movement Power or Skill
Caster Class Wizard:
  • All Tier Three Affinities known, along with two Affinities from Fourth and Fifth Tier.
  • Able to cast all spells from twenty Spell lists
Stealth Class:
  • Senior Master Rank in two Perception powers or skills
  • Senior Master Rank in one Power specific to Stealth Class
  • Senior Master Rank in a stealth or deception type Power or Skill
  • Senior Master Rank in Danger Sense
Provides the following gains:
  • Species Evolution at time of selection
  • + 10 Intelligence per Level
  • + 10 (Primary Attribute of First Combat Class) per Level
  • + 10 (Primary Attribute of Second Combat Class) per Level
  • + 10 Quickness per Level
  • + 4 Free Attributes per Level
  • + 7 times Total Melee Attack Power modifier from Combat classes per Level
  • + 7 times Total Ranged Attack Power modifier from Combat classes per Level
  • + 10 Defence or + 5 times total Defence modifier from base Combat classes ¡ªwhichever is greater per Level
  • + 2 Skill Points per Level
  • + 2 Knowledge Points per Level
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Advanced Absorb Injury
  • Evolve Defender or variant to Royal Protector
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Bulwark
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Disruption Parry
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Attend Li¨¨ge
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Unerring Direction
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Health Surge
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in Primary Weapons groups
  • Increases chance of gaining major insights in any Mana Finesse or higher skills
Increases chance of gaining major insights for Infiltration, and Social skills] [Advanced Absorb Injury Provides the ability to absorb all Health Damage of any type targeted solely at their sworn charge. This applies before any disruption of Power or Skill in use by the target and also absorbs accompanying conditions.] [Royal Protector Increases Melee Attack Power modifier to defence when in full defence mode while in the presence of their sworn charge. It also allows for any physical ranged attacks to be reflected at reduced Power.] [Disruption Parry Allows the possessor the chance to parry any Spell manifesting a visible energy structure passing within range of their weapon. ] [Arcane Bulwark Increases the defence rating of all combatants within the same defensive formation at time the Power is used; the duration runs to completion even if formation breaks apart. The effective level determines Mana cost, time required between uses, duration, and capacity limit of the barriers applied.] [Attend Li¨¨ge Transport the user to within the immediate proximity of a living sworn charge, regardless of distance or Planar separation. The Skill level determines how much drift there is in arrival position, but the Power doesn¡¯t allow for appearance within another object or person. The target is aware when Power used and may block its use at will, and inform them why.] [Unerring Direction Allows the possessor to know details regarding the direction, distance, and state of Health of their sworn charge with but a moment of concentration.] [Health Surge Provides a restorative surge of Health, not limited to user¡¯s maximum. Excess Health will fade but provides an initial buffer against injury while it lasts. The amount provided, and the time required between uses, is modified by Skill level.] I guess I don¡¯t get to tell the variable aspects of someone else¡¯s Prestige Class. * * * Sage¡¯s PoV - Elemental Plane of Earth ¡°Isn¡¯t she coming with us?¡± Isa asked, prompted by the Gate closing. Ebusuku¡¯s usually lively expression was far too calm, the same expression I¡¯d seen repeatedly in the Maze. ¡°She asked us to ensure you had everything you needed and to explain the places where we are helping. If you¡¯ve further immediate need, I¡¯ll contact her for clarification.¡± ¡°Seems she has other priorities, Isa,¡± quipped Ilya flatly. I barely opened my mouth to object when Ebusuku¡¯s retort froze the air. ¡°Unlike either of you, she¡¯s cursed still, or had you forgotten so quickly? Plus, she needs to speak with Sarah, who doesn¡¯t possess an evolution option yet. There are too many things Amdirlain has delayed because of putting others first.¡± I almost sighed, gesturing towards the fortifications, but focus on settling things. ¡°Duskstone is just ahead and Amdirlain said to equip you with whatever you need; some items are on a connected world, but we can arrange for them to be retrieved. Amdirlain¡¯s tale will take a while to read and consider; it has many details I found uncomfortable, along with a list of our current endeavours.¡± ¡°I take it she¡¯s modest since she wrote it down,¡± scoffed Ilya. ¡°Ilya, stop jumping to conclusions,¡± Isa advised, resting a hand on her arm. ¡°Isa, I was to tell you she¡¯s taking your advice about skills and not keeping things tucked away to heart. Sarah doesn¡¯t have any capability to travel so easily as any of us, so Amdirlain¡¯s gone to see her,¡± said Ebusuku, her tone regaining its usual warmth. ¡°Thank you,¡± Isa said, having the grace to nod in thanks. ¡°Ebusuku, isn¡¯t it? Amdirlain apologised, but I didn¡¯t take the time to give my apologies to her for my words. When will she be meeting up with us?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t see her again for a time; she has a complex task she needs to focus on. We¡¯re to help you get settled.¡± ¡°What?¡± Ignoring Isa¡¯s blurted question, Ebusuku merely glanced my way, the coolness of her attitude making me wonder what I missed going through the Gate first. ¡°Please help these two at Clan Gildenshield?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just fobbing us off as well,¡± accused Ilya. The muscle in Ebusuku¡¯s jawline visibly bunched for a moment before she responded. ¡°That Planar Attunement Spell Amdirlain used, gaining that grimoire, required dealing with a Demon Lady who almost arranged her destruction. Her version of Planar Law isn¡¯t the common Spell list. It¡¯s quite rare, yet she¡¯s asked me to arrange a copy of the grimoire for you. Not sell you one, give you one. If the grimoire was mine, I¡¯d charge you through the nose for a copy. I¡¯m not ''fobbing you off''; I¡¯m arranging things as per Lady Amdirlain¡¯s request.¡± ¡°The whole grimoire?!¡± exclaimed Ilya, and Ebusuku¡¯s curt nod set her blinking. ¡°Maybe I was hasty, but I still don¡¯t want Isa or myself to be another person¡¯s tool.¡± ¡°We have tasks we¡¯re tackling, and we will provide all the information we have. What help you provide will always be your choice¡ªAmdirlain wouldn¡¯t have it any other way,¡± declared Ebusuku, already stalking towards Duskstone. ¡°What name is Sarah using now?¡± Isa asked me softly, lingering behind. ¡°Sidero. She was turned into a Kyton.¡± Isa choked for a moment and looked grimly at Ilya. ¡°Sarah is Princess Sidero, last daughter of the Kyton¡¯s Great Mother?¡± ¡°No one mentioned Princess, but the rest matches,¡± I admitted. Isa pauses when I follow Ebusuku, but quickly catches up, muttering unhappily. ¡°The song coming from her is merciless and cold.¡± ¡°Might not that have been her chain garb,¡± I suggested gently. ¡°The songs of the living are different to objects, even Hell forged. I only heard her song once and wanted to bury her.¡± At that, Ilya spoke up from guarding the rear. ¡°Scattering her ashes across the Ninth Layer of Hell would be more effective. That¡¯s usually the Kyton¡¯s Home Plane.¡± 150 - Lash out Klipyl¡¯s PoV - Catacombs Claws caress me in quick strikes that slip along my breasts; they make them jiggle, but don¡¯t gain purchase. ¡°Oh, are you hungry, little Ghoul?¡± Frey retched in time to the wet slapping noise its tongue made coiled around my arm. ¡°Just kill it, Klipyl.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s hungry! Look, it¡¯s trying to chew my hand,¡± I said. Moving to give Frey a better view, I scraped the Ghoul along the wall, and its serpentine tongue coiled tighter around my wrist. ¡°Who¡¯s a hungry little Ghoulie? You are, yes you are, aren¡¯t you? Are you shy? Why don¡¯t you say anything?¡± ¡°How is it supposed to say anything with your fist in its mouth? Why are you even holding its tongue? Kill it, please,¡± insisted Frey, looking paler than me in the Archon¡¯s golden light. ¡°Curiosity,¡± I said, and clawed toes scraped high between my legs, prompting me to glare. ¡°You¡¯re a Ghoul. I¡¯m a Demon. Exactly how dumb are you to think your claws will hurt? Though given you kicked me in the crotch, your stupidity is a given.¡± My muttered icy words in Necril slithered through the catacomb¡¯s stagnant air and drew a shiver from Frey. The sudden delightful scent of charring meat mocked the searing pain of light twisting in my eyes and the glowing dots in my field of vision. Pieces were sprayed down my front, and the body¡¯s splat provided a distraction from the fire racing through my fingers. ¡°That was my toy, Firefly!¡± The words echoed back in the silence, but no screeches of annoyance at the energy. ¡°Frey said please, it¡¯s a magic word!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, and it¡¯s still not fair,¡± the words hissed from my lips, and Firefly hid behind Frey, casting her shadow down the passage. ¡°It was my plaything!¡± ¡°Frey summoned me, so too bad. By the way, I¡¯m sorry to be the one to tell you, but you¡¯ve got Ghoul gunk all over your hoo hoo!¡± Waving my still burning hand at the Archon, the smoke made its light hazy. ¡°I¡¯ll get to it, but you''re a naughty girl; you hurt my hand!¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t have your fist inside mouths,¡± declared the little bug, solemnly. ¡°Headshots count for triple points at the Archon¡¯s target range.¡± I blinked the dots from my vision and smiled at her; she¡¯s carefully not given any name, but the lilting voice made her gender clear. ¡°Some things like a fisting.¡± ¡°Why would anything like being punched?¡± she murmured thoughtfully, her tone changing quickly to excited. ¡°Oh, a Kyton would enjoy pain. I¡¯d forgotten about them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such an excitable little girl,¡± I laughed. ¡°Nevermind, Firefly. Maybe you shouldn¡¯t know, though Kytons, I¡¯m sure, would love a fisting; in more ways than one.¡± ¡°Can we move on?¡± Frey groaned and she motioned toward the narrow stairs upwards. ¡°Are you okay, Frey?¡± Firefly echoed my question before her meshwork¡¯s pattern spun to face me. ¡°Huh?¡± Frey smoothed a grimace away and waved at the stairs again. ¡°All the fighting is wearing me down. I¡¯ll be glad to get out of here. I¡¯m so hungry; Water Law¡¯s Condensation will only keep that need at bay so long.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry I keep getting them angry,¡± Firefly murmured mournfully. ¡±I¡¯ll scout the next level.¡± ¡°Wait, I need your light,¡± started Frey with a hurriedly raised hand. ¡°Oh right, sorry, I promised to stick with you.¡± Shape-changing my wings away, I beat Frey onto the stairs this time, leaving smears behind in their narrow confines. The rock¡¯s texture changed with every turn, the stagnant air slowly pulsing with power; they finally straightened ten steps before meeting a stone slab, with energy saturating the air just below it. The wards¡¯ power ran tingling across my skin in a way that made the Ghoul¡¯s claws more fun. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Frey¡¯s question came drifting up. ¡°Just watch my tail. There¡¯s a cut stone blocking the way, with layered wards. I don¡¯t know what they stop, but likely, at least my Teleport. Why don¡¯t you loot some of those bodies down below? You¡¯ll need some valuables to buy clothing.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll be recognisable as grave goods; though, who says this is the top floor?¡± ¡°There are complex wards below the slab that run into the walls. Who¡¯d bother putting such protections in multiple places?¡± ¡°Someone wanting to be safe,¡± retorted Frey glibly. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe like a certain Wizard with all his traps.¡± Snorting at her retort, I twisted about on the narrow stairs to meet her gaze. ¡°Yet the same someone didn¡¯t bother blocking four other sets of stairs?¡± ¡°Fine, that makes more sense. I don¡¯t want to loot grave goods, but you still have the ward stone for his place. Since you killed him, you could claim his possessions, whatever St?le and the rest left behind. Some of his guards¡¯ clothing would at least cover me up.¡± ¡°Fine, step around the last curve,¡± I replied, shooing her off. Frey¡¯s gaze narrowed at my words. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If it throws me away, I¡¯ll hit the wall instead of you.¡± She didn¡¯t reply, merely easing back down the stairs, and Firefly¡¯s light retreated further. My fingertips brushed the wards without response, but I didn¡¯t relax until my claws gouge lines across the stone without provoking a reaction. A hard braced shove against the rock didn¡¯t cause it to shift even a fraction. ¡°It¡¯s either jammed in place or just too heavy. I¡¯ll have to dig us out.¡± Without waiting for her response, I raked claws across the slab¡ªmundane rock parting like rotting flesh beneath my hands. The splashing debris soon set Frey coughing even around the curve and forced a further retreat. Fresh air brushing across my fingertips came only after I was elbow-deep into the rock. Rather than breaking out into Holy Ground, as other Mortal burial sites I¡¯ve seen in my stay contained, no fires sear my flesh. The breeze carried profane energy and the coolness of night. The hole expanded slowly until it was big enough to allow me to climb into the once high-ceilinged chamber above. One wall has collapsed, and the room had a despoiled temple¡¯s feel, given the types of decorations and the woman¡¯s statue. One wall¡¯s broken mural showed the same naked woman with feathered wings holding an inverted and extinguished torch¡ªone side of her was blackened, while the other is still an unblemished white. ¡°I¡¯m through. It¡¯s a desecrated Temple up here.¡± My words called down the hole echoed momentarily before I heard Frey scramble to her feet. Frey¡¯s passage through the hole eclipsed Firefly¡¯s light. The stone¡¯s edges scoured her Mortal flesh and damaged her clothing. ¡°This must be Belum. The Sahuagin hit it early in the war,¡± Frey¡¯s mutter wasn¡¯t meaningful, but there were no minds within my Telepathy¡¯s limits. ¡°I¡¯ll get gear from the compound. Stay alive now!" Frey just nodded jerkily at my statement and her hands tried to secure her shredded clothing. The compound¡¯s gates stood open, and the liveliest presence was the stench of death. A clicking noise drew my attention to a trap futilely trying to reset beyond the main door. The guards were where I left them in the compound¡¯s watchtowers, but their weapons and equipment are nowhere to be seen. The stable was empty of horses, mules, and gear prompting a sigh of relief at not having to deal with the girls. They¡¯ll have made decent time if they stuck to the road in sight of the walls, or they¡¯d be dead in a ditch¡ªtheir choices are theirs and not my problem. Wherever they¡¯ve run off to, I hoped Frey wouldn¡¯t expect us to track them down. When I push the main door open, I spotted the cause of the noise. A hand axe, fallen from St?le¡¯s grasp, sat amid blood and bowels, caught under the lip of a barbed spike that impaled him. The clicking sound came from the floor, echoing inside the entryway every time the spike¡¯s mechanism tried to retract. Rats on his body chewed away at scraps of exposed flesh and gave me the evil eye, before ignoring me to feed. The things didn¡¯t even stop when I slipped past and headed upstairs for the Wizard¡¯s chambers. The rug¡¯s white wool tickled against my feet while I looked over his anteroom. The stuffed hide couch, fancy reading table, and cupboard were now in pieces, littering the floor with shards. Valuables were missing among the remains. I wasn''t worried about most, but the pretty silver carafe and the Elven crystal goblets being gone had me grinding my teeth. The magic sealing the Wizard¡¯s bed chamber was undisturbed, but the putrid odour beyond leaked from around the door¡¯s edges. Dead Mortals are so weird; seeing him sprawled out on his bed reminded me of this fact. His limbs were all askew, bloated flesh with blood leaking from nose and mouth, cut lines through the froth and fluid he¡¯d choked on. ¡°I told you not to kiss me, but did you listen? No!¡± Silk sheets, slimy with his various leakages, were now sadly beyond salvage. My nails tapping on the dark-stained footboard made the sound of splintering wood echo through the upper floor. His spacious room was larger than the cells he¡¯d kept a score of prisoners in, all for him alone. The ward stone was still warm near the main cupboard and two travel chests set along the wall, warning me of places I wasn''t allowed to go. The cupboard near his door provided only three storage bags I could teleport with, the static weight of the others making them too great. Two bookshelves provided grimoires, a wand collection, and various other possessions displayed with a pride of place that hopefully matched their value. Greed made it so tempting to break through the protections, but the few bags I could carry helped me push greed aside, though curiosity took longer to fight off. Even limiting my looting to spots my ward stone allowed me to open, I couldn¡¯t carry all I wanted to take in the bags I had. Three return trips had all the bags delivered to Frey and the Firefly. ¡°That¡¯s all I can bring,¡± I said, setting the last bag near Frey. ¡°Unless you¡¯d like me to grab items we can¡¯t easily carry?¡± ¡°Are you going to be alright now? I might attract a bit of attention staying with you,¡± Firefly said, her light softer in the morning light. The number of ambushes she provoked made me snort, but the smoked Ghoul aroma wasn¡¯t forgettable. ¡°I¡¯ll keep her safe, Firefly. I¡¯ve no desire to go back to the Abyss.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let the others know what happened.¡± ¡°Stay safe yourself, Firefly. You weren¡¯t completely useless; you at least pulled everything from their hiding spots.¡± ¡°That¡¯s mean; I said I was sorry. I can¡¯t help how strongly they react,¡± grumbled Firefly, a moment before her light winked out. ¡°The arsehole got himself killed by a trap. However, all the horses and girls are gone. Those tricky horses¡ªwho¡¯d have thought they could get clean away by themselves.¡± Frey looked at me wide-eyed and for the first time bawled, tears streaming down her cheeks. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - The Exchange She¡¯d been waiting a few hours when the alien foot traffic parted hurriedly and attracted Amdirlain¡¯s attention away from the Class details. Sidero came stalking through them, her chains chiming out a metallic hiss with every step. ¡°Did you lose track of your mummy, little girl?¡± Sidero quipped, but her low husky growl made the cheeky question indecent. Amdirlain just ignored the taunt and cut right to the chase. ¡°Do you have somewhere secure we can talk?¡± Her forked tongue tasted the air, and Sidero tilted her head at Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve a workshop; come along. You ignored my advice, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Not ignored, I fully intended to take it,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°Things came up. ¡° ¡°That explains your scent then; such a sucker for punishment,¡± huffed Sidero, and she strode back the way she¡¯d come. Sidero led the way through the maze of buildings, passages, and tunnels without the slightest hesitation, until they eventually stopped outside a rune-etched solid metal door. The runes lit up the moment Sidero touched its surface, and it swung up to show a smithery beyond. The tools and forge carried as many runes as a Master Artificer¡¯s tools, and looked well used, but had Infernal energies about them. Amdirlain looked it over and bought herself a moment, taking in the runes¡¯ energy. ¡°Where did you get all the equipment?¡± ¡°It belonged to Gaius, though technically, I guess it still belongs to him,¡± conceded Sidero, waving at the room¡¯s contents ¡°You stole it?¡± accused Amdirlain. ¡°You took the equipment used on the expedition?¡± The distasteful look on Sidero¡¯s face almost turned her smile into a sneer. ¡°I had the equipment still in my Inventory when the contract¡¯s terms returned me to Hell.¡± ¡°Would you like me to get funds to him for replacing the equipment?¡± asked Amdirlain, glad that the conversation didn¡¯t immediately go to their own issues. ¡°He made more than enough wealth from the excess monster parts to replace this equipment twenty-fold,¡± refuted Sidero. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean stealing it was right,¡± asserted Amdirlain. Sidero huffed and dug a claw into a gap between scars on her forearm. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t right, but it happened. I¡¯m not talking about him, I should never have mentioned him again.¡± Her gaze caught on the blood dripping from Sidero¡¯s wound; Amdirlain¡¯s expression twisted between disbelief and pain, hooked on the edge of tears. ¡°Please, stop doing that to yourself. You¡¯d have never done that before. I¡¯m not sure I recognise myself now. How about you? Is there anything of Sarah left? Why did you assist with that contract?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t project your pain on me. He made his choice, Amdirlain. I made mine and followed the contract¡¯s terms. He was an idiot for being pressured into signing it, and I told him so so repeatedly, that I¡¯m sick of that subject. An expedition filled with hypocrites, and arseholes, but of them all, I¡¯m pretty sure I was the biggest,¡± admitted Sidero. Amdirlain frowned and bit back her anger. ¡°Really? How is that? Maybe because you were always big on talking about respecting an individual¡¯s desires if they didn¡¯t bring harm; yet you held him to a contract for evil? Where was your ability to make a choice, Sarah? Did someone come to harm because of your desires?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one stinking of pain right now. Why don¡¯t I ask you a question? Isa-¡± ¡°No!¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°Please, I¡¯m begging you to tell me, you can call yourself whoever you like, but let me know!¡± ¡°If I wasn¡¯t still Sarah¡ªin some respect¡ªI would have let you walk into Hell. I don¡¯t talk about your business. Think of it as client confidentiality. I will say Mother was amused by the outcome. That¡¯s all you get. Isa, right now, is free. How does that make you feel?¡± probed Sidero, her strange sulphur-yellow gaze fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°You¡ª¡± ¡°Enough, Amdirlain, please! I¡¯ve said all I¡¯ll say on the subject,¡± pleaded Sidero. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you anything more. No matter what you say, or do to me, or yourself. I¡¯m skirting my own limits by telling you what I did.¡± Her declaration froze through Amdirlain, and she nodded jerkily. ¡°Turned into a Planetar. She¡¯s got the looks of a tall, golden-skinned Elf, but more muscles; four wings of randomly shifting colours, all beautiful,¡± replied Amdirlain, her words flat and stopped when Sidero gave a bemused smile. Her smile broadened further at Amdirlain¡¯s wary look and Sidero waved her off her protest. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you what she looks like and I really don¡¯t care. I asked how it makes you feel. You¡¯ve had this brilliant success, so why do you smell like someone flayed you alive?¡± ¡°I¡ª¡± Shaking her head at the determined look that fixed itself on Amdirlain¡¯s face, Sidero waved her off. ¡°Don¡¯t give me whatever logic you¡¯re about to deliver. Close your eyes and think back to when she changed form. How did you feel?¡± ¡°She¡¯d been in Hell longer,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°And? So what? You¡¯re trying to justify her being free first. I¡¯m asking how it made you feel, your immediate emotion,¡± Sidero insisted, her gaze studying Amdirlain¡¯s posture. The muscles along Amdirlain¡¯s jaw flexed for a few moments before she spoke carefully. ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t trust yourself to give advice.¡± ¡°Since when is asking a question giving advice? Why do you want to change the subject?¡± Sidero asked emphatically. ¡°I wanted it to be me!¡± snarled Amdirlain. ¡°The stupid thing is, I even told her I expected it to break the curse. The wording of your curses were so different to mine. Am I really a bitch? Is that why the curse didn¡¯t break? Maybe I am, because I wanted to scream when the evolution changed her into an Angel. I was so jealous that it was like knives cutting me open. No, Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s knives hurt less. Claws twisting through my guts would have hurt less. I was jealous of my friend being free, and then the excitement caught her up celebrating when Ainla changed as well.¡± ¡°Ainla?¡± Sidero asked, in confusion. Sighing at the distraction, ¡°I had to rename them both to avoid Hell re-summoning them. I didn¡¯t want to risk using her old name in case it reapplied.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t. Call her what you want. If you don¡¯t concentrate on re-applying the name, it doesn¡¯t change back,¡± Sidero asserted. Amdirlain started in surprise. ¡°You know this for certain?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve renamed a few entities,¡± admitted Sidero. ¡°Their names don¡¯t change back.¡± The tacit admission that Sidero also had Profile Mastery caused Amdirlain to raise an eyebrow, but she carried on without asking. ¡°That¡¯s good, since Isa kept calling her Ilya.¡± ¡°You mentioned the excitement caught her up celebrating¡ªwith Ilya, I assume. Did your jealousy keep you from celebrating as well?¡± Amdirlain nodded jerkily and Sidero just sighed. ¡°The reputation of insanity?¡± Sidero questioned. ¡°Faked, Ilya apparently had a grudge against Hell for being tricked. I don¡¯t know the details, but she was brooding on a dead child¡¯s face. When they teamed up, they had each other¡¯s backs. She trained Isa in everything she needed to know to survive.¡± Sidero¡¯s barked laughter slapped off the chamber¡¯s wall with an icy edge. ¡°Lucky wench. I told you initially I had expected her to land on her feet.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know it by half¡ªshe¡¯s a Priestess of Luck,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°I got the details from Ilya¡¯s mind, but Isa was ready enough to admit an Augury led them to me.¡± ¡°Wow, that must seem like a real kick in the teeth. She¡¯s free and had backup nearly the whole time,¡° said Sidero. ¡°She did. Backup that even took a Prestige Class focused on protecting her; Ilya genuinely wants Isa safe.¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t get the details from Isa¡¯s mind?¡± asked Sidero. ¡°You said you took Psion.¡± ¡±I can¡¯t read hers or yours, or hear any broadcast thoughts,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Only a Greater Power can see through our hidden state; apparently, that includes reading our minds. I found that out ages ago. It¡¯s one reason they stuck my hand on that spike. Baln¨¦rith couldn¡¯t read my mind either.¡± ¡°I thought you were staying out of my mind because of your manners. Mother can read mine,¡± admitted Sidero, and Amdirlain froze in fear at her sudden revelation. Emotionally exhausted, the news had her swaying in place, and Amdirlain sat on the floor in an ungainly fashion. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Not that it would have mattered. She knew something was off the moment my egg rocked,¡± added Sidero. ¡°It was a runt, and she knew nothing would be born from it. Her eggs had only ever hatched when she let them free from hibernation. Mine started moving of its own accord instead of staying frozen in the mud.¡± ¡°Holy Fuck Sidero,¡± gasped Amdirlain. ¡°How are you still alive? Does she know about me and Isa?¡± ¡°Mother has an agreement with the Arch Devils, but Kytons aren¡¯t Devils. We report to her hierarchy when we¡¯re not serving in the armies of Hell. The rulers of Hell don¡¯t command her; they ask and trade favours,¡± Sidero replied matter-of-factly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t care about either of you; you don¡¯t carry her blood.¡± ¡°You both had someone protecting your back,¡± Amdirlain screamed, and slapped her hands across her mouth at the volume. ¡°Sorry that was¡ª¡± ¡°Loud, but understandable,¡± interrupted Sidero. ¡°Though, if it helps, think of it more like I had someone standing guard on my sentence. Testing me, and deciding if I warranted further punishment.¡± ¡°How did she take the situation with Gaius?¡± asked Amdirlain flatly, unsure what to make of Sidero''s involvement. ¡°Again with this? I said that¡¯s not your business. You can send me back to Hell, but you can¡¯t force me to involve you further in Hell¡¯s business. I¡¯m not doing that to you. Please stop asking me to risk you,¡± Sidero demanded, her gaze not leaving Amdirlain. A mix of emotions showed on Amdirlain¡¯s face, and when anger rose higher than the rest, another question pushed her off balance. ¡°What do you have planned now?¡± Rage had Amdirlain¡¯s Angelic Aura switch on all of its own accord, and she fought through all the other pain to dampen it. Sidero watched on, curiously unconcerned. ¡°Give me a sign you¡¯re still in there, Sarah. Why should I help you if you helped damn someone¡¯s Soul?¡± ¡°That¡¯s your own pain asking; don¡¯t go there, sweetie. You have yourself so fucked up already, and you wonder why I¡¯m not telling you a thing. It¡¯s nothing for you to get involved in. I can smell your misery, the amount of pain you¡¯re already in, and every potential outcome from that contract is going to have you worried about someone. Just stop asking about it. I shouldn¡¯t have said a thing about Mother¡¯s knowledge. You¡¯re showing it¡¯s not safe to tell you about a resolved situation. What can I talk to you about?¡± ¡°Then explain how it¡¯s not a danger,¡± insisted Amdirlain ¡°You¡¯re not letting this go, are you?¡± Her brow furrowing, Amdirlain took a half-dozen slow breaths before she responded. ¡°No, I can¡¯t. I honestly can¡¯t. I need to take concerns off my plate, please.¡± Sidero bit into her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood, and worried at it while she thought. ¡°Gaius isn¡¯t in Hell yet. He¡¯s still alive. What he ends up achieving for redemption or damnation is on his head. As for my situation, all I¡¯ll tell you is that Mother doesn¡¯t care where my Soul comes from, she cares about the blood in me. The Titan used the dead egg to fashion a host, but he crafted it so well that I smelled of her bloodline. He repurposed her trash, to put it bluntly. They have an arrangement, so she¡¯s more curious where his crafting leads than anything else. She admitted she was a touch miffed, but only to the extent she made my shroud heavier than any she¡¯d set on my sisters. Is that enough for now?¡± Amdirlain watched her ripped lip seal shut before she spoke. ¡°Arrangement?¡± ¡°One of the few safer subjects of Hell, he forged the chains that bind her to Hell¡¯s bedrock. She can¡¯t move far, but they also mean she is absolutely unkillable. She couldn¡¯t drive out the Devils when they arrived because of where she¡¯s bound. Yet even if they can get to her, they couldn¡¯t kill her; and they tried. Her hand maidens made a mess of the first regiments that came near our home, so Asmodeus ended up negotiating with her instead. But that¡¯s all ancient history. Since you¡¯ve not tried to smite me for being a bad bitch, where do we go from here?¡± asked Sidero, and she smirked at Amdirlain¡¯s suddenly gritted teeth. ¡°You need a Tier Seven achievement. Then hopefully¡ªonce you have level one hundred¡ªI can get you free with the same process.¡± ¡°Oh, of course, I¡¯ll just pop down the shops and pick one up then,¡± teased Sidero, and she stood with wary movements, her gaze not leaving Amdirlain¡¯s sudden fists. Slowly, Amdirlain¡¯s hands unclenched and her right hand moved of its own accord to wrap around her braid. Tugging and twisting it in a white-knuckled grip that had Sidero reach for her hand. ¡°Don¡¯t touch me right now,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got your chains on and I don¡¯t feel up to losing flesh from hugging you along with everything else.¡± Sidero¡¯s gaze flicked between Amdirlain''s braid and face. ¡°Then stop pulling your own hair, or do you plan to tear it out wholesale? Self harm isn¡¯t a healthy thing.¡± ¡°You hurt yourself,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. ¡°Or did Santa Claus deliver your scars because you were such a good girl?¡± A bitter smile twisted Sidero¡¯s lips in response to her words. ¡°I¡¯m a Kyton; I know I¡¯m fucked in the head. You¡¯re supposed to be the saner one, out of two nutcases. If you wouldn¡¯t do it to someone you care about, then don¡¯t do it to yourself.¡± Shaking her head slowly from side to side, the pressure continually increased. ¡°There are a few people I¡¯d scalp repeatedly.¡± ¡°No, you wouldn¡¯t. You might say you would, but you¡¯re not really one for torture,¡± argued Sidero. ¡°And I said those you care about, sweetie, not enemies.¡± ¡°I ripped his cock off and shoved it in his mouth,¡± said Amdirlain, her flat tone and abrupt subject change stopped Sidero in surprise. ¡°He¡¯s there, impaled, and I did something so vicious when he¡¯s already suffering.¡± Catching on to whom Amdirlain meant, Sidero smiled and purred. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I plan to do much worse to your stalker boy.¡± Amdirlain shook her head erratically, and her suddenly brittle voice edged towards a scream ¡°Don¡¯t! Just let him stay there. He knows the Titan is going to keep him there until time ends.¡± ¡°That¡¯s such a shame, but what someone else is paying him, I¡¯m not interested in. My chief concern at present is why you stink like you¡¯re right there beside him? You need to deal with all this pain you¡¯ve got knotted inside yourself,¡± declared Sidero. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this in sessions, Amdirlain. People in extreme pain will lash out.¡± ¡°I know that!¡± snarled Amdirlain, and she clenched her teeth to prevent more words from getting loose. Sidero waited her out, perched on her anvil. ¡°I¡¯m going to see about fixing myself. There are things I need moving or I won¡¯t be able focus on doing that. You¡¯re essentially sworn to Order right? Would you put a continent being overrun by Illithid¡¯s drones back in order?¡± Sidero tapped her nails against the anvil for a moment, before she finally gave Amdirlain a nod. ¡°Fixing yourself. Pretty sure you¡¯re not broken.¡± ¡°I am broken,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Look at how I lashed out at you¡ª¡± A raised hand stopped Amdirlain again, and Sidero¡¯s smile held no malice. ¡°No sweetie, you can vent at me all you like. I have my sensitive subjects as well and in no way am I fit to be anyone''s therapist. But pain isn¡¯t from being broken. Wounds provide pain to let us know there is an injury that needs to be tended. You need to take time to heal. You''ve never been someone that allowed yourself time to process her pain, and they don¡¯t heal fully until you do.¡± ¡°I should go, I shouldn¡¯t have come,¡± Amdirlain stated, and rose. ¡°Tell me more,¡± Sidero said, and Amdirlain stopped in confusion. ¡°What?¡± ¡°These Illithid¡¯s drones, tell me more,¡± clarified Sidero, motioning Amdirlain to sit down. It didn¡¯t take Amdirlain long to cover the situation with the Erakk? and what they¡¯d learnt. When she was finished speaking, Sidero just sat quietly and Amdirlain let the stillness run onwards until they were both interrupted. A message buzzed into existence near Amdirlain, and Solveiga''s words whispered into her ear. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, sorry if you¡¯re busy; Runa is back and has some weird news. A Priestess named Frey summoned her, but she was with another Priestess named Klipyl¡ªa Succubus. She left them in a ruin east of Nova Roma. I thought you should know at once. Runa witnessed her casting spells in Celestial despite it apparently injuring her.¡± ¡°I have a Priestess who is a Succubus, and casts spells in Celestial,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Sidero¡¯s eyebrows raised at the words. ¡°Come again?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all I know. She¡¯s on the Material Plane. Which means she has a Pact with someone, and is corrupting a Soul. I need to know what is going on. I¡¯ll leave you to think about the Erakk?¡¯s situation,¡± Amdirlain whispered, and she flowed upright. ¡°Let me pack!¡± Sidero exclaimed quickly, the moment Amdirlain turned towards the door. ¡°You can¡¯t summon her in The Exchange, so I¡¯ll go with you. Save you coming back to get me, so I can help the Erakk?. That¡¯s really why you¡¯re asking, aren¡¯t you?¡± The question caused Amdirlain to turn to study Sidero. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t interested. I¡¯d consider it a help, but the continent is a mess, so it needs to be tidied up,¡± argued Amdirlain. Though fighting against the tide of emotions pulling at her flattened her voice. ¡°If you contribute enough restoring order to the continent, it might even count as a Tier Seven achievement.¡± Sidero waved her explanation off and fixed her gaze on Amdirlain. ¡°I was thinking about it. You can¡¯t allow others to see what interests you in Hell. Whether or not I get any achievement, I¡¯ll still get lots of experience; and I need that. Tell me, where¡¯s your brain gone right now? You need to focus on first reactions to find your wounds.¡± ¡°One of my Priestesses likely has a Pact with a Demon, and if I just leave the situation alone, her Soul will become corrupted. A Demon¡ªnot a betrayed L¨®m?¡ªis a Priest, my head¡¯s spinning,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Ebusuku was a Demoness.¡± Sidero pointed out. ¡°She was a very unusual Succubus,¡± retorted Amdirlain quickly. ¡°Klipyl, not so much. I heard her thoughts.¡± ¡°You used a Gate in the Outlands to reach Isaac that time. Using that approach, or yanking her to you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s summoned to the Material Plane so I can¡¯t just yank her to me. I also need to investigate Frey¡¯s condition. My thoughts are going in directions I don¡¯t like, so I¡¯ve not a fucking clue what to ask. They¡¯re likely to freak, no matter what I say,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll actually tell me what happened?¡± ¡°Customer satisfaction survey?¡± Sidero glibly retorted, only for Amdirlain to snort. Forced cheer laced every acidic word that ran from Amdirlain. ¡°On a scale of 1 being completely disagree, and five being strongly agree, please rate these statements.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s enough. You don¡¯t have to torture us with my joke,¡± chided Sidero. ¡°Just let me pack.¡± In moments Sidero had emptied the space; the forge and everything else disappeared into her Inventory. Amdirlain followed along quietly while Sidero returned the space¡¯s ward stone, before they headed to an exit. The descent took them to a black room identical to her previous departure, and the stairs disappeared behind them the moment they were within. ¡°How would you have gone anywhere, Sidero?¡± Amdirlain huffed in exasperation. ¡°You can¡¯t Planar travel.¡± ¡°You ask me that now?¡± replied Sidero. ¡°The markets here have stalls that sell various Planar transport objects. I picked one up with para-Elemental Ice shards the day I arrived.¡± Her curiosity satisfied, Amdirlain opened the Gate back to the Outlands again. This time, she picked a spot near the Spire, not feeling stable enough to venture near her Domain; or even to revisit the ridgeline. The instant it opened, Sidero stepped through, unfussed about the possibility of attack. Tall trees rose above, casting them in shadow, and she headed towards a clearing some distance away. Amdirlain followed her, but didn¡¯t immediately speak, to allow herself a moment to sort her thoughts before she spoke. ¡°My Celestials can speak to me via an Oath Link. If she can do the same, would you be open to taking Klipyl with you to fight the Thri-Kreen? I¡¯d like you to be able to get in touch with me. There is also the issue that if she stays with Frey, any Pact will end up corrupting her Soul. Though, just telling her to go back to the Abyss isn¡¯t safe given she¡¯s casting Celestial blessings. Klipyl is interesting, I¡¯ll give her that much.¡± Sidero didn¡¯t answer immediately but appeared fascinated by the clouds above her. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with Succubi in Hell, but no promises. If it doesn¡¯t work out, I¡¯ll get her to send a message or store her in a bottle.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t joke about that, Sidero,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Who¡¯s joking? I made an iron flask that would hold a Succubus; think of it like a genie-style vacation spot for Demons.¡± ¡°That better be a last resort, Sidero,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°What did you make that for?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry; it wasn¡¯t in case you needed a time out. Though I was thinking about starting a Demon collection, one of each¡ªgot to catch them all.¡± teased Sidero. ¡°We might come to an arrangement if she proves herself useful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if she¡¯s even interested,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and she opened a Gate focused on Klipyl. She wasn¡¯t sure what she¡¯d been expecting, but she wasn¡¯t prepared for what she found. An ash-blond Norse woman, clad in badly torn clothing, sat on broken stonework. Dew speckled across weeds and grass in the morning sunlight, her face buried in her hands. Muffled sobs echoed through the surrounding ruins. A very confused¡ªand naked¡ªKlipyl awkwardly patted her back with a bewildered expression, the tip of her tail scratching between her wings nervously. Some hastily discarded bags lay scattered around the woman¡¯s feet. [Name: Frey Species: Human (Norse Ancestry) Class: Whore / Monk / Wizard / Priest Level: 5 / 7 / 7 / 7 Health: 286 Defence: 24 Faith: 22 Magic: 34 Mana: 726 Ki: 26 Melee Attack Power: 21 Combat Skills: Dagger [J] (5), Quarter Staff [J] (12), Unarmed Combat [J] (12) - Affinities: Water, Air - Water Law, Air Law (Tier One), - Various Blessings Details: Kicked out of her home after she earned enough money to prevent her family from being turned into Thralls. Instructed in a winter boot camp with several other ladies in the same profession, Frey was one of the more able students. While some of them joined the Adventurers¡¯ Guild, their base of operations continues to be the brothel that Livia helped them buy. Planning to talk to Livia about the company she keeps?] [Name: Klipyl Species: Succubus Class: Succubus / Priest / Scout / Fighter Level: 1 / 33 / 32 / 32 / 32 Health: 3,205 Defence: 187 Faith: 42 Magic: 43 Mana: 4,698 Melee Attack Power: 125 Combat Skills: Bite [M] (2), Claws [M](12), Tail Strike [M](4) - Affinity: Mental - Various Spell Forms and Blessings Details: Taken off the streets by a kind benefactor who used her as a spy and almost got her form destroyed. After getting tossed through the Abyss¡¯ inferno, she found her true calling and Faith in her benefactor upon emerging. I call trauma bonding. You¡¯ve been so mean to her.] Still just in the first level of the new species Tier. Her Succubus class has jumped from sixteen, and all three of the new classes have risen fast. Fuck, we fought together with those last Demons. Did I set her experience progression higher? ¡°Would you both come through, please?¡± Amdirlain asked softly, not inclined to chance raising her voice. The pair of them looked around in shock and Klipyl spun in her direction, deliberately stepping between the Gate and Frey, claws raised to attack. A chain around her neck showed a roughly carved symbol that echoed the feel of Amdirlain¡¯s own, though the appearance of it was certainly different. Instead of a candle, the amulet had a shattered torc cut into the stone. Okay, now I¡¯ve seen everything. ¡°Klipyl and Frey, please come through. I¡¯d like to have a talk about your situation,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Who are you?¡± Klipyl asked, not moving away from Frey. The words, invoking Isa¡¯s reaction, threatened her balance, but Amdirlain clung on by her nails to the mental cliff face. ¡°I look different from when we met at the Hollow, Klipyl. Though I¡¯m glad you took my advice about having options besides beauty,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m certainly interested in finding out how you¡¯ve grown.¡± ¡°Lady Amdirlain,¡± Klipyl said, and she quickly relaxed from being poised to attack. ¡°What¡ª¡± ¡°Lady Amdirlain!¡± Frey echoed in shock and stood, wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. Raising a hand to still the flood of words that looked ready to spill forth, Amdirlain forced her voice to stay soft. ¡°Please come through and bring your things.¡± The Succubus picked up the closest bags and prompted Frey to get the other before she ushered her through the Gate. Klipyl¡¯s glance flickered between Amdirlain and Sidero, but she held her peace. When Amdirlain sat on the grass, she motioned them to sit, and they followed her example. Frey¡¯s mind was a whirlwind of painful thoughts, and Amdirlain carefully blocked the noise off. The effects of the Pact between them were visible in the threads of infected blackness lacing across Frey¡¯s Soul, while the most recent rapes she¡¯d endured harpooned Amdirlain¡¯s raw emotions. ¡°Frey, how can I help?¡± asked Amdirlain, tears in her eyes for the woman¡¯s pain, her hand extended without conscious thought. Tears mirrored her own in Frey¡¯s deep-brown gaze, but she just shook her head. ¡°It was¡­ it all got too much, Lady Amdirlain. My heart was pounding in the catacombs. When Klipyl told me St?le died, it was just all too much; I¡¯d known him for years, and I yelled at him, but now he¡¯s dead.¡± Amdirlain wondered at her life, given what she¡¯d endured didn¡¯t warrant a mention, but her own churning emotions warned her against delving into that question with Soul Sight. She was grabbing for words, but Klipyl spoke up ahead of her. ¡°St?le betrayed you by pushing us into that teleport trap. Would he be sad if he¡¯d pushed us into a lethal trap? The trap wouldn''t have triggered if he¡¯d let me get everyone outside. He didn¡¯t push me directly, he pushed you into me. Remember, he tried to kill us both.¡± ¡°People do things they might regret later when they¡¯re afraid,¡± Frey argued and wrapped her arms around herself to keep her clothing together. Amdirlain almost smacked herself, but forced the calmness to stay on her face. ¡°My apologies Frey, I should have asked. Do you have clothes, or did you need some created?¡± ¡°Only whatever Klipyl¡¯s scavenged from the Wizard that captured me and the others,¡± Frey replied. ¡°We need to find out what happened to the girls, Klipyl.¡± Klipyl rolled her eyes in frustration, but Amdirlain interrupted her response. ¡°One thing at a time,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Would you stand a moment?¡± Frey just looked at her curiously but stood, only to find clothing draping itself across her, and she followed Amdirlain¡¯s instructions when she told her to lift one foot and then the other. Clothing and boots, finer than she¡¯d ever possessed, had Frey stroking fingers across the material, and Amdirlain quickly separated herself. ¡°Where is this place, Lady Amdirlain?¡± asked Frey. ¡°We¡¯re in the Outlands. I have my Domain a distance from here,¡± Amdirlain replied, and noted the slightly settling effect the clothes had on Frey¡¯s emotions. ¡°I¡¯ll ask someone to come to talk to you, about the girls and what happened.¡± Amdirlain sent a message and image of their location to Solveiga across the Oath link. ¡°Do you have time to speak to Frey? She¡¯s been through a lot and I hope you can help her.¡± Solveiga''s response was immediate, she appeared amongst the trees¡¯ in Amdirlain¡¯s line of sight¡ªher wings carefully folded behind her. ¡°Frey, I¡¯d like you to meet Solveiga,¡± Amdirlain said calmly and motioned towards the Angel. Their relative position kept Amdirlain from seeing Frey¡¯s face, but the moment she turned to see Solveiga, her posture showed disbelief. ¡°Would you share the details of what happened with her, and what you know of the girls?¡± Amdirlain continued and she watched Frey nod jerkily and hesitantly walk towards Solveiga. It was only when Solveiga clasped hands with her and drew her into a hug that Amdirlain turned her attention to Klipyl. ¡°How is it you came to worship me, Klipyl?¡± ¡°I took your advice with the inferno, and focused on wanting my will to be stronger. On emerging, the classes offered to me had changed. I took the Priest Class and I found out what you¡¯d been hiding. I learnt enough to make a divine focus, but I didn¡¯t know your symbol, so I carved one that matched how I felt,¡± explained Klipyl. Mention of it attracted Amdirlain''s attention to it again. The interlocking coil of snakes looked like a torc with cracks struck through in multiple places. ¡°You just made up a symbol? I¡¯m curious, how does a broken torc represent me to you?¡± ¡°They made us wear them in the harem where I was born. You¡¯d given me that same freedom I¡¯d gained when my first Ascending took me from it; broken free of its pretty bindings. Later, I felt a split. One way, my Faith stayed with the name Viper, the other used the name Eakc?. Viper felt similar to how I¡¯d been, while Eakc? promised it would be a harder journey. Getting trapped again was completely out of the question.¡± Amdirlain nodded, remembering the number of shards Klipyl had built up above what she¡¯d needed. ¡°That¡¯s an understandable choice, given how long you were blocked from Ascending. What happened then?¡± ¡°The next time I channelled a Blessing, the words sounded how I¡¯d imagined Celestial, and burnt my lips. I fled the Hollow straight away, hightailed it to a broker I knew, and they passed my name along to a Wizard wanting a companion. For obvious reasons, I didn¡¯t even know you¡¯d changed your name until after they took Frey captive.¡± Amdirlain tilted her head a moment and remembered the notification she¡¯d received. ¡°Of course, Demons don¡¯t dream. What was your involvement with the Wizard?¡± ¡°He wanted eye candy and a dangerous fuck toy to keep his guards in line. I spent a lot of time simpering and listening. He was so angry when a batch of prisoners escaped, but he didn¡¯t figure it all out. Never thought to ask why a demoness would help Mortals. It must have just been an accident amid the orgy. Still, he locked down the Portal they¡¯d activated to flee and he restricted me to his quarters when Frey¡¯s group was caught.¡± ¡°What happened then?¡± ¡°He enjoyed kissing me, and I¡¯d been told not to use any of my powers against him, nor attack him. I told him I wasn¡¯t in the mood to fuck. Is it my fault I had applied a contact poison to my cunt and lips if he didn¡¯t ask? After he finished the frothing and twitching, I removed the guards before I freed the prisoners. Frey¡¯s friend pushed her into me on the way out, and we went through a teleport trap. I¡¯d intended to loot his things after the prisoners were free thoroughly, but I had fortunately grabbed some odds and ends. One had some Priest runes on it that Frey used to call your Lantern Archon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Priest of mine, but I can¡¯t feel your Oath,¡± Amdirlain said, trying to pick a path out within her swirling thoughts. ¡°Will you swear service again?¡± ¡°I swear to serve you, Lady Amdirlain,¡± Klipyl declared without hesitation. The moment she spoke, the feeling of her Oath link became clear among the Celestials, its energy starkly standing out. ¡°Your Pact with Frey is lacing her Soul with corruption. Is there any reason you did this to another Priestess?¡± ¡°I gave her a choice. It¡¯s just, I can¡¯t risk going back to the Abyss. I need to stay on the Material Plane, unsummonable. Others heard me using a Blessing,¡± admitted Klipyl. ¡°Going back to the Abyss wasn¡¯t what I had in mind. Sidero doesn¡¯t have the means to send me information, but she¡¯ll be investigating a situation on the Material Plane. I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d accompany her to send me updates. There is another option; a planet where we¡¯re fighting undead. Your choice as to which you get involved with,¡± said Amdirlain, and she noted the frown that appeared. ¡°My choice, but I can¡¯t stay in the Ten Kingdoms helping Frey?¡± asked Klipyl, her choice of words intriguing. Amdirlain paused for a moment and bit back the retort that came up. ¡°Do you truly want to help her? That Pact between you will make things worse for her. The Abyssal energies will twist what she¡¯s endured and use it to torment her.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not in a Pact, they¡¯ll be able to get someone to summon me,¡± sighed Klipyl. ¡°That sounds like you¡¯re using Frey to protect yourself,¡± observed Amdirlain. Klipyl glanced at Frey and closed her eyes when she turned back. ¡°What else can I do? I¡¯ve no clue how to change my name. Frey needs someone to watch her back¡ªsomeone better than St?le¡ªalong with someone to clean things up with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild.¡± ¡°A name change, and someone to back up Frey. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild is a possibility. Anything else?¡± ¡°I could really use a decent fuck. That Wizard certainly didn¡¯t have magic in his staff.¡± ¡°That one, you¡¯ll need to figure out on your own,¡± Amdirlain said, disregarding Sidero¡¯s snickers. ¡°Can you follow orders, Klipyl?¡± asked Sidero once she¡¯d calmed. ¡°If they don¡¯t get me destroyed, I¡¯m open to working with you. I¡¯ve never heard of a Kyton with red chains before,¡± Klipyl said and pulled a face. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure about a name change.¡± ¡°Too late,¡± Sidero replied. ¡°I just fixed your name, but I¡¯ll call you Klipyl for short.¡± Amdirlain checked with Analysis and groaned. ¡°Klipyl-chan, seriously?¡± ¡°Klipyl-chan?¡± laughed Klipyl, blinking as she tilted her head towards Sidero. ¡°It was that easy for you? What do I owe you?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t owe us anything,¡± Amdirlain spoke up quickly and fixed Sidero with a reproachful look. Soul Sight showed the link between Klipyl and Frey break without further prompting; the energy in the threads across Frey¡¯s Soul lessened but didn¡¯t fade completely. ¡°Why don¡¯t we discuss working together? Let Amdirlain speak with Frey and-¡±, suggested Sidero. Amdirlain saw Solveiga and Frey intently talking among the trees. ¡°No, I-, Solveiga should have more time. First, feel for the Oath link. Try to send me words and an image. While you talk to Sidero, I¡¯ll move away, and we''ll eventually test it across Planes.¡± ¡°What do you want me to say?¡± Klipyl¡¯s question touched directly on Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and she nodded. ¡°Good, I heard your question. I¡¯ll start moving about and give you all time to talk. If I need to be back sooner, message me that way, or ask Solveiga to send me a message if I don¡¯t respond.¡± Teleport placed her at the limit of her vision, and another message from Klipyl brushed against her mind. While Flight and Teleport carried her onwards, Amdirlain tried to let the wind across her face carry some of her pain away. 151 - Everyday is a winding road Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Klipyl¡¯s Spirit Bridge had taken hours to progress to where it could reach across Planes. When Amdirlain returned, the change in Frey made her glad it had given her the time to talk quietly with Solveiga. Though Frey had a road ahead from all she¡¯d endured, she looked calmer at present. Determination and guilt flitted across Solveiga¡¯s face when she approached Amdirlain, making it obvious they hadn¡¯t just spoken about her ordeal. ¡°You have Allegiance Bond, right?¡± asked Amdirlain, not giving Solveiga time to speak. ¡°Yes, I do,¡± Solveiga replied hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯m¡ª¡± Amdirlain smiled and cut in. ¡°Why don¡¯t you offer the Bond to Frey and accompany her? You have both Monk and Wizard classes, so you can assist with her training. Strangely, you know the local culture and could take care of the guild situation.¡± ¡°Can I get a word in?¡± grumbled Solveiga, her cheeks flushed. ¡°You¡¯ve had a few words, and I didn¡¯t hear a ¡®No¡¯,¡± teased Amdirlain, lightly patting her shoulder. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure I should ask with O¡¯Nai off¡ª¡± The wary smile carried pain in it that stopped Solveiga, but Amdirlain spoke softly. ¡°If it¡¯s what you want, don¡¯t worry about anyone else. Your conflict was obvious from the moment I appeared. Only worry about what¡¯s the right fit for you. Where is it you want to be making a difference? What calls to you Solveiga?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to help Frey. She wants to ensure the girls get home safely, then go to Belum and lay the undead to rest. After that, go onto Nova Roma and help those starting the work to abolish slavery there,¡± replied Solveiga, catching her hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Lady Amdirlain?¡± ¡°The first two certainly sound achievable in the short term. Take care of Frey and yourself, Solveiga. You¡¯ve both been through a lot,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Please tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡± insisted Solveiga gently. Amdirlain considered her for a moment and reassuringly touched her arm. ¡°It¡¯s nothing you or the others have done. I¡¯ve old pains catching up with me now that Isa is free. I need some time for myself to get my balance.¡± Solveiga¡¯s gaze stayed fixed on Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°Like after battle shakes?¡± ¡°Not just battles, but those as well. I never wanted to consider everything I¡¯d pushed aside; there was always the next fight or person to help, anything rather than facing my pain. I need to learn to be kind to myself,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Solveiga leaned forward to press her forehead against Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°It¡¯s a platoon rule; those injured are removed from combat as quickly as possible.¡± ¡°Yes, I know I helped set those rules, but I¡¯m pretty sure that referred to physical wounds,¡± chided Amdirlain. ¡°We adjusted the rule after you left. It covers anyone with impaired effectiveness now,¡± said Solveiga, a smile softening her words. ¡°Some started getting drunk regularly once we received wages. After we didn¡¯t let them fight, they found a reason to stop drinking.¡± ¡°The problem with Amdirlain is she liked to let pain ferment away inside her¡ªnow the brewing vats are overflowing,¡± Sidero said, chains silently swaying about her. ¡°Are you putting this off longer or are we all set now that Klipyl can send messages to you?¡± ¡°All set, now that you have a comms officer. Your choice if you want to get introduced to the Erakk?,¡± said Amdirlain. Sidero nodded immediately. ¡°We should get introduced, better to avoid surprises if we need to provide a fast warning. After the animosity on the expedition, this will be weird, but I¡¯ll try to behave.¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯ll send Frey and Solveiga through to the compound first. Solveiga, talk to Frey about the bond, also ask if she¡¯d like me to purge her original Class. You might need to hide your wings,¡± Amdirlain teased and gestured for Klipyl to join them. ¡°No, really?!¡± gasped Solveiga, in mock confusion. ¡°Why would I do that?¡± Stepping past Klipyl, Solveiga put a hand on Frey¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Can I have a moment? I¡¯d like to talk about accompanying you.¡± Amdirlain focused on Klipyl, trusting Solveiga to handle her conversation alone. ¡°Klipyl, I¡¯ll need details of the compound from you, so I can place the Gate for them. Think of it as you last saw it, I¡¯ll draw the details from your mind.¡± ¡°Do I get a kiss for being a good girl if I help?¡± asked Klipyl, with a tiny pout. ¡°No, but since you¡¯ll be going to fight, I¡¯ve got a set of bracers I can give you,¡± offered Amdirlain, and considered what else she¡¯d stashed and not used. ¡°A magical spear as well if you can fight with one.¡± Klipyl laughed made a stabbing motion with her tail. ¡°I can learn to. It¡¯s a sharp stick. Stab the person with the pointy end, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit more complex, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll manage,¡± Sidero stated. ¡°I learnt how to use one, so I¡¯m sure we can figure out a trade for my training.¡± ¡°A trade?! A Demon learning from a Devil?¡± gasped Klipyl. ¡°Some Succubi come and go between Hell and the Abyss,¡± Sidero replied casually. ¡°Well, the things you learn,¡± remarked Klipyl. ¡°Not sure I want to get involved in the Hierarchy of Sin though¡ª¡± The sudden appearance of the items in Amdirlain¡¯s hands interrupted whatever Klipyl had been about to say. Klipyl¡¯s gaze darted between the items, and her amusement vanished. ¡°You¡¯re just giving them to me? No catch?¡± ¡°If you want them, you can have them,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, and Klipyl carefully took them from her. ¡°The Bracers of Fortification are rated at two-seventy defence, and the spear at two-fifty attack power.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen any imprint of mine,¡± admitted Klipyl. ¡°I can see your strength without one; they¡¯ll make a significant difference to your combat capabilities,¡± Amdirlain said and tapped her forearm lightly. ¡°Keep yourself intact. Now, please visualise the compound.¡± Klipyl donned the bracers before she followed Amdirlain¡¯s instruction. The place¡¯s feel arose in Klipyl¡¯s mind along with a mixture of details Amdirlain would have preferred not to know. Setting the sexual appetites of the various guards aside, Amdirlain focused on opening the Gate; when it opened ahead of her was a bloodstained step, and a rune-set door. ¡°That certainly looks right,¡± observed Klipyl. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, thank you for all your help. I accept your offer to remove it. I¡¯d like something more helpful to people,¡± Frey said warily, avoiding her eyes. Amdirlain lightly touched her cheek and prompted her to meet her gaze. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a judgement, Frey. I simply noticed you had stopped progressing it and wanted to give you a choice. I¡¯ll remove the Class from you now.¡± Frey¡¯s sigh of relief turned into a shocked gasp, and she trembled against Solveiga¡¯s quickly offered support. ¡°My apologies Frey, I didn¡¯t expect such a reaction.¡± ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary; it was more the surprise than discomfort, like dropping into cold water from a height,¡± replied Frey. ¡°I wish I could put all my bad choices behind me so easily.¡± ¡°Sometimes we learn more from bad choices than good, if we take the time to look at them properly,¡± commented Sidero blandly, ignoring the unamused look she received from Amdirlain. Ignoring their commentary, Klipyl held an elaborately carved stone out to Frey. ¡°That¡¯s the tower¡¯s ward stone. There are some storage bags just inside the tower¡¯s second level that I couldn¡¯t carry via Teleport. Don¡¯t open any door or container if the ward stone is warm near it,¡± instructed Klipyl. Frey took it from Klipyl without hesitation and patted her arm. ¡°You¡¯re a strange one, Klipyl, but I think you¡¯re alright even if you¡¯re a demoness.¡± ¡°You¡¯re alright for a Mortal, just try not to get your candle snuffed out,¡± grumbled Klipyl. ¡°Arsehole¡¯s just inside the door. Trap will reset if you clear the spikes, likely safer to leave him there¡ªnot sure if they¡¯re poisoned. Anytime a ward stone crosses the trap, it won¡¯t trigger for a half-dozen breaths afterwards. Watch out for the runes I pointed out before, they¡¯ll trigger regardless of the ward stone, which you know firsthand.¡± Frey nodded in thanks before she moved through the Gate, only to stop on the doorstep until Solveiga followed her. When they were both inside the tower, Amdirlain let the Gate close. ¡°I don¡¯t know a lot about the Erakk? customs, but I¡¯ll cover what I know before I open a Gate. I should make some clothing for you Klipyl. Is mercenary armour acceptable?¡± Klipyl pulled a face at the suggestion. ¡°I¡¯d prefer dominator leathers; I like the figure-hugging look.¡± ¡°Dominator it is then,¡± Amdirlain said, holding out a hand to Klipyl. The Succubus stepped close and removed her wings and tail before Amdirlain created the clothing. As soon as her outfit was ready, Amdirlain started on the details she¡¯d learnt of the Erakk? customs. Klipyl adjusted her appearance further to something similar to a Moon Elf after Amdirlain had finished the briefing¡ªthough far more buxom than Amdirlain had seen from any Elf. Her face, almost heart-shaped, came to a pointed chin, but Klipyl had smoothed out some of the feral edges from her features. The ink-black hair and iris, contrasting her pale ivory skin, were dusted with hints of sky-blue undertones and lush red lips. Gone were her horns, fanged eye-teeth, and pointed tongue, and she appeared a quite voluptuous Elf. The Gate opened in the castle¡¯s meeting room, interrupting the General and his staff¡ªbut Echo¡¯s presence surprised her amid what looked a formal discussion. I hope he¡¯s been avoiding pranks. Hiding her wince of embarrassment, Amdirlain laced her fingers and gave the General a slight bow. ¡°My apologies for this interruption, General. I would present you with two name-gifts from those that would seek to assist your country against the Thri-Kreen threat.¡± General Angarhela relaxed at her words and interlaced his hands before he bowed in return. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, I had not expected to meet again, and certainly not with more aid directly from you. The name-gift of whoever you¡¯d add to our efforts would honour me.¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Amdirlain noticed some hesitation among his staff, but the General walked through the Gate and bowed again. ¡°General, I present you the name-gift of Sidero and the name-gift of Klipyl,¡± Amdirlain said, motioning to each. ¡°They¡¯ll be venturing out into the Thri-Kreen held lands to cull their numbers but also to find the source of the swarms.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honoured by these name-gifts, Lady Amdirlain. Might I ask you to present my name-gift to them in return?¡± ¡°It would be my honour to be so entrusted General,¡± replied Amdirlain, sure she¡¯d gotten the words wrong, but the General seemed more comfortable than when she¡¯d ignored their protocols. ¡°My apologies for my awkwardness with your customs; I need to find time to learn more about your people¡¯s ways.¡± [Diplomacy (8->11)] Amdirlain just blinked at the message that appeared and turned to Sidero without retorting. ¡°Sidero, I present you with the name-gift of General Angarhela, commander of the castle¡¯s forces.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honoured by General Angarhela¡¯s name-gift,¡± Sidero replied, her husky tone causing the General¡¯s eyes to widen further. Amdirlain turned to Klipyl, repeated the introduction, and held back her sigh at the Succubus¡¯ reaction. Klipyl gave a sultry smile and copied Amdirlain¡¯s earlier bow. ¡°I¡¯m honoured by General Angarhela¡¯s name-gift. I look forward to gaining an intimate knowledge of the Erakk?.¡± Angarhela coughed at the purr in her voice and returned both their bows. ¡°I can¡¯t help but notice you¡¯re in a different location this time, Lady Amdirlain,¡± Angarhela said, quickly changing the subject. Giving a half-shrug, Amdirlain tilted her head at the trees. ¡°We¡¯re still in the same realm as my Domain. Might they have your permission to enter your fortifications? Sidero¡¯s chains are dangerous for Mortals to touch but she¡¯ll not look to harm anyone unworthy of it.¡± ¡°Some of the castle¡¯s passages are tight, perhaps an exterior location to prevent accidents,¡± suggested Angarhela. Sidero nodded and gave Angarhela another bow. ¡°My thanks, that sounds wise. We won¡¯t be staying long, General, but we wanted to meet you and let you know we¡¯d be rendering help. If you have any old maps of the south, we¡¯d appreciate seeing them before we set out.¡± ¡°Only some rough drawing in the archives. Few venture forth through this pass; it leads into the heart of the swarm-lands,¡± admitted Angarhela. ¡°That sounds like exactly the place we¡¯re looking to venture, General,¡± Sidero stated. ¡°We¡¯ll look to break whatever swarms we can while we seek the cause of their change.¡± ¡°I¡¯d ask Echo to assist me in refocusing the Gate to the yard; my apologies again for the interruption to your meeting, General,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Your help is welcome, and whatever way we might assist, please let us know,¡± Angarhela replied. ¡°Your people have helped keep watch on the approaches between other activities.¡± Sidero nodded and kept her strange gaze fixed on the General¡¯s mouth. ¡°We appreciate the offer, General Angarhela. Since you¡¯ve not recent maps of the region to the south, I¡¯ll provide you a map of our explorations. I¡¯m skilled in mapping and drawing; one can¡¯t make orderly plans without the proper information. We¡¯ll move out immediately.¡± The General bowed again and stepped back through the Gate; Sidero stopped Klipyl from immediately following him with a raised hand. ¡°Let¡¯s wait until the Gate re-opens; I¡¯d prefer not to need to track you down if you get distracted.¡± ¡°But they might fit or I could¡ª¡¯ Amdirlain cleared her throat and nodded to Echo, who headed towards the chamber¡¯s door, and she closed the Gate before Sidero could respond. ¡°You can find out another time,¡± Sidero said and switched to Abyssal. ¡°Be good, and I¡¯ll see you orgasm hard later.¡± ¡°OH!¡± exclaimed Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that, fingers, tongue, toys?¡± Sidero just smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait and see.¡± Giving them both a look, Amdirlain said nothing and re-opened the Gate when she received a ready message from Echo. ¡°I¡¯ll get Klipyl to send weekly updates so you don¡¯t worry while you¡¯re dealing with other issues,¡± Sidero said and stepped through the Gate. Echo blinked in disbelief at her appearance, and Amdirlain could sense he was suddenly aware of the Infernal energies coming from her. ¡°It¡¯s alright Echo, Sidero¡¯s situation is like my own, and Klipyl will assist her,¡± assured Amdirlain, and Echo just gave a wary nod. Once Klipyl was through the Gate, Amdirlain closed it and slumped to the grass, hoping she hadn¡¯t started something she¡¯d have cause to regret. It took a while to accept the anxiety chewing at her was merely emotion, not fact, but she worked to calm it and avoided simply suppressing it. Only when she¡¯d achieved that acceptance did Planar Shift move her into Limbo. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](19->20)] Her churning emotions agitated the Plane¡¯s chaos and energy swirled about before she gained control. Keeping a hold on Limbo¡¯s reality, she formed a small platform under her feet and teleported that with her to within sight of the monastery¡¯s defences. Amdirlain expanded the platform with Chaos Shaping and established a breathable atmosphere around it. This time she created nothing complex but merely a stone platform and knelt in the middle of it, sparing a moment to send an update message to Ebusuku. Members of the order stood guard atop the monastery¡¯s black adamantine walls. The moment she settled down to wait, Amdirlain felt increased activity among those upon the wall. It was perhaps a few hours before Master Duurth teleported onto the platform and sat down, crossed legged without a word. He was wearing the same deep-brown split robes, secured with a woven belt. He still restrained his hair in the tight topknot style that emphasised his features¡¯ angularity and the solid grey of his hair. ¡°Know Eakc?, though you gained permission to return and study, we did not expect you would,¡± Duurth said after a few minutes sitting in silence on her platform. ¡°I had to change my name; It¡¯s now Amdirlain. Am I not welcome, then?¡± Duurth nodded and raised a hand in a calming motion. ¡°Know what you call yourself is not important, though I¡¯ll share it among those that require it. Know that you are welcome, but the monastery¡¯s seers didn¡¯t foresee your returning at all. Do you seek another brief visit or wish to spend longer amongst us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking for help and to learn,¡± replied Amdirlain, and held her emotions in check. For a long moment, Duurth was still, but eventually, he tilted his head in a contemplative gesture. ¡°Know that to seek help is distinctly different than being allowed to study among us. What is it you seek?¡± ¡°My emotions and memories are unsettled; I need to calm them,¡± Amdirlain explained. A sudden burst of anxiety at being turned away battered at her control, and she kept her fingers laced together to prevent a hand from reaching for her braid. ¡°How did you get into this state?¡± asked Duurth. ¡°Know I do not feel your spirit projecting uncontrolled as it did last time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had emotions from many painful situations locked away, but recently, all I¡¯ve held suppressed is roiling around inside me,¡± said Amdirlain, and caught Duurth¡¯s suppressed wince. ¡°Know this sounds similar to a Psionic technique I¡¯m aware of, one that can be very dangerous in misguided hands,¡± said Duurth. ¡°How long have you continually utilised this approach?¡± ¡°Years,¡± Amdirlain admitted, and Duurth¡¯s jaundice-yellow skin paled. ¡°Various Monk abilities I practice¡ªthat differ from your people¡¯s ways¡ªhave helped me keep the emotions in check, but recent events have started them unravelling.¡± ¡°How many?¡± Duurth asked quietly. ¡°Three, four, five? Know the number makes a difference in how much work it involves helping you recover.¡± ¡°Decades and past lifetimes apparently,¡± said Amdirlain, only to watch Duurth¡¯s jaw drop. ¡°Know that your condition might not be recoverable, and those helping would need to touch your mind.¡± ¡°I can allow others into my Mind Palace at least, but you¡¯d find the memories strange and even horrific,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Duurth immediately frowned in response. ¡°Know the concern is not your memories; rather, a Psion¡¯s emotional energy can develop a life of its own. Know I will speak with Master Jarith? to see what he wishes done.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Amdirlain said quickly. ¡°Know you should not thank me¡ªI merely seek direction¡ªif he wishes you to leave, the decision is final,¡± corrected Duurth. Amdirlain felt his mind reach out along his link to those within the monastery, and the energy within the link grew stronger a moment later. ¡°Know that I am to escort you to him immediately.¡± The moment he finished speaking, Duurth rose and disappeared. Spotting his position outside the wall, Amdirlain teleported beside him. A narrow passage opened through the adamantine barrier, and Duurth motioned for Amdirlain to walk alongside. The robed Monks and Psions within the monastery observed their passing with restrained curiosity. Master Duurth guided her in silence, and Amdirlain noted the subtle ascetic flares that appeared among the bleak corridors and stairs that travelled in odd directions. The patterns drew the eye and provided indicators around changes in gravity. The Anarchs¡¯ control took advantage of their ability to alter Limbo¡¯s subjective gravity from one stone to the next. Escher style buildings whose floors twisted to become the walls created a subtle obstacle course through the monastery. Master Jarith?¡¯s door opened the moment they approached, its spare furnishings and minimalistic decorations matching the rest of the monastery. Jarith? sat cross-legged atop a backless chair and appeared almost unchanged since she¡¯d last seen him. The silver streaks still stood out clearly among his deep brunette hair, but showed no further spread. However, the severe angularity of his gaunt features seemed more pronounced, and his plain black robes hung looser on him than she remembered. Prompted by a gesture from Duurth, Amdirlain stepped inside, and two backless wooden chairs appeared in an exact triangle relative to Jarith?¡¯s position in the chamber. Duurth moved without hesitation to sit towards Jarith?¡¯s right side, and Amdirlain took the other chair without comment. The moment they sat, the door drifted closed again. ¡°Know that examination of your mind is required to determine if we can help each other,¡± stated Jarith?. ¡°Will you agree to this and Duurth accompanying me on the examination?¡± His choice of words drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention, and she glanced curiously between the two of them. ¡°What do I need to do?¡± Jarith? motioned her to patience. ¡°Know that explanation will need to wait until after I determine if we can even provide healing. Is this acceptable?¡± A light touch of Harmony was all Amdirlain managed, and she extended a mental hand to them both. ¡°Yes, it is. Shall we begin?¡± The connection¡ªwhen it was established¡ªwasn¡¯t a direct link to both of them. Instead, Duurth was the only one that accepted her mental invitation, his mind effectively a cut out between herself and Jarith?. Entry into her Mind Palace had them perched on a narrow spire of cold black rock that extended up from a bubbling sea of tar that stretched out of sight. In the sky overhead, a dark red sun shone angrily through a haze filled sky. Carefully approaching the spire¡¯s edge, Amdirlain peered down at bodies lay pressed under the surface of the tar. Some were humanoid, but others were extremely alien¡ªelongated, multi-limbed entities or weirdly stretched bodies and eyeless forms¡ªyet somehow, she could identify the ¡®face¡¯ of each. They varied dramatically in size, and there seemed no pattern to either their size or placement. Directly beneath them, the spire speared into the hollow of the giant¡¯s throat. At first, she didn¡¯t recognise it, but when a scream of bubbles burst forth, Amdirlain finally realised it had been her human face¡ªnot mirror-reversed¡ªit had evaded immediate recognition. ¡°Fuck!¡± Her outburst caused Duurth and Jarith? to glance at her before their attention returned to the surrounding environment. Amdirlain could barely sense their presence while they studied the elements in her Mind Palace with the utmost care. The emotional spill had caused her water park to turn into the polluted tar pit beneath them, muddied with pain¡ªboth hers and those she¡¯d seen in Soul Sight. Erupting bubbles sent the stench of effluent, blood, and viscera gagged down her throat, accompanying images from the perspective of both victim and tormentor. Images that she recalled from the initial horrific impact of Soul Sight mingled with her loathing and clutched at her. A cold knife-edge of fear drew forth a burst of pleading screams, accompanied by hate-filled pleasure lashing across her. Manifestations of Gnarls rippled into existence right next to her, their hands already groping breasts and legs, eyes bright with lust. Amdirlain retaliated on pure instinct, and grasping thumbs and sweeping feet, her twisting movements sent them tumbling from the spire. ¡°Know it is good you¡¯ve not devolved from your mind expressing in a proper conceptual fashion,¡± Jarith? said, unbothered by the blur of events and disappeared from her Mind Palace. When Duurth disappeared, she released her hold on it and returned to the room. Jarith? considered her for a moment and nodded. ¡°Know your condition is worse than any I¡¯ve read of making a recovery, yet appears at first assessment redeemable, which I find curious. Know you must remain in the monastery until we complete the efforts; otherwise, I¡¯m sure the healing will come undone.¡± ¡°What other conditions do you have? How can I compensate for your efforts?¡± asked Amdirlain. She stopped her shaking hands brushing across her chest, the Gnarls touch in her Mind Palace still cutting along her nerves. The manifestation constructed from the memories and Souls of survivors she¡¯d tried to help, laced with details Soul Sight had drawn from the Gnarls themselves and etched it into her mind. ¡°Know that you will attend the monastery as a novice to ensure you have a structured routine during your healing. Know that when healed, I would expect that you¡¯d undertake such duties within or without the monastery to match the efforts put forward on your behalf.¡± ¡°Am I able to choose between what duties I¡¯m doing in exchange? Also, can I undertake some tasks while the healing is in progress? I don¡¯t sleep like a Mortal after all.¡± ¡°Know you would choose from monastery requests as any other graduate, and Master Duurth will provide your schedule until we complete the healing. Do we have an agreement?¡± ¡°We do,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Some memories and emotions weren¡¯t my own.¡± ¡°How did you come to possess them?¡± Jarith? asked with mild curiosity. ¡°I can see Souls, but I get impressions of the entity¡¯s life. Images and experiences were rising from the tar that weren¡¯t mine,¡± explained Amdirlain. Jarith? stared off into the distance momentarily, and Amdirlain could feel the mental energy he was using to contact someone far beyond the monastery¡¯s boundary. ¡°Know since they are within your mind, they¡¯ll need to be examined to heal properly, though we will try the techniques for resolving memories implanted via psionic assault. Know that we will have to progress in measured steps.¡± ¡°I know a Monk who follows practices more similar to mine that the Githz¨¦rai practitioners¡ªhe knows of past lives.¡± ¡°Know that I will keep that in mind, but an outsider¡¯s ways may cause more confusion than clarity.¡± Having said his piece, Jarith? motioned for them to leave, and the door opened in time with his gesture. 152 - One step closer Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo Duurth silently led her across a sky bridge between buildings and down a path that ran to an inner courtyard. There he had introduced her to Master Tenzin and excused himself. The expression on the female¡¯s Githzerai face had been initially one of sceptical distaste, but Amdirlain caught the hint of a mental exchange with Master Duurth that washed it away. With Duurth¡¯s departure, Tenzin had looked Amdirlain over without any apparent trace of her assessment. The Githzerai female was only slightly shorter than Amdirlain. Her deep mustard-yellow skin and black hair weren¡¯t unusual among the Githzerai, but the angularity of her features¡ªaccented by her stern demeanour¡ªbecame heroic chic gaunt. Master Tenzin moved off without a word, and only a broadcast thought warned Amdirlain to follow. Her assigned room was on the dormitory¡¯s bottom floor¡ªalmost the furthest from the courtyard¡ªwith a tiny window high on one wall for light and ventilation. The room was barely large enough to host the pallet bed that was its sole furnishing. ¡°Hold out your hands,¡± Tenzin instructed after Amdirlain looked inside the room. Amdirlain held out her hands together, and one after another, clothing items appeared atop them. They were the same light grey robes and pants Amdirlain had seen Monk novices wearing, topped off by a pair of simple shoes. ¡°Know meals are signalled by three rapid chimes¡ªeveryone in a dormitory¡¯s year eats together, and you will do likewise. Know you are to follow only the schedule that Master Duurth passes along through me; no alterations are allowed,¡± said Tenzin. ¡°Is this understood?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Tenzin. I was informed a stable routine was essential,¡± replied Amdirlain, wondering what she¡¯d missed in their rapid exchange. ¡°Know the meals chimes are three quick rings, and you will attend each; the refectory is located up one set of stairs, at the dormitory¡¯s far end. Know that an entry Novice neither accepts, nor issues any invitation to exchange pointers. Is this understood?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Tenzin.¡± ¡°Know that you should change and spend your time until the last meal meditating. Know that I will introduce you to your escort to the healing sessions afterwards. Is this understood?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Tenzin.¡± Tenzin gestured for her to step within the room, and once Amdirlain was within, Tenzin closed the door, and soft footsteps moved away at an unhurried pace. ¡°Torm, I got Rachel free from Hell. Now everything I¡¯d bottled up is coming undone. My Mind Palace has turned from the starscape I showed Yngvarr into a nightmare. I¡¯m seeking help from the Githzerai. Let Ebusuku know if you need anything. I don¡¯t know how long it will take me to settle everything.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s Message Spell slipped away between Planes, and she changed into the provided clothes¡ªunsurprised they fit perfectly¡ªand stored everything else in Inventory away from Limbo¡¯s influence. The moment she went to kneel in meditation, fear knotted tight through her guts, and the dimness of the chamber threatened a consuming blackness that left her gasping from memory. The smooth-walled room around her morphed into the Sisterhood¡¯s oubliette cell, the floor loomed into a pit, and the slits high on the wall blurred into smooth stone. Another¡¯s will fighting within the stone against her awareness broke her free of panic and pulled her mind free from the image. The moment she broke clear of it, the floor, bedding, and window returned. Still, she nearly ripped the door off its hinges to change the room¡¯s lighting further. ¡°Fuck.¡± Shaping a doorstop, Amdirlain propped the door open and sat cross-legged on the pallet bed; she was barely seated when hurried footsteps came towards her chamber from the stairwell. When she appeared, Master Tenzin frowned at the door¡¯s position and Amdirlain. ¡°Know you may not alter your room.¡± ¡°My apologies. It wasn¡¯t intentional. The room¡¯s walls and its dimness stirred an unpleasant memory, and I got caught up in it.¡± Tenzin said nothing, but the room¡¯s lighting suddenly changed and a bright light shone from the ceiling, washing out the dim light from the window. ¡°Know the Anarch maintaining the dormitory will keep the light present now. Do you still wish the door to remain open?¡± asked Tenzin, motioning to the doorstop. ¡°Yes, please,¡± Amdirlain said quickly but tried to calm her tone. ¡°If it will not cause a problem. I¡¯ve been in closed spaces for months on end, so I wasn¡¯t expecting the reaction I just had.¡± ¡°Know the problem is not for me, but others may disturb you from curiosity once they are aware of your presence. Know that their curiosity might not be the politest, given our avoidance of other species.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to remain polite, regardless,¡± assured Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve heard of your left-handed conversation from Master Duurth. Know that it is best if your politeness extends further given the lack of control you just presented,¡± cautioned Tenzin, with only the slightest of frowns. ¡°Since I can avoid exchanges, that shouldn¡¯t be an issue, Master Tenzin,¡± said Amdirlain, giving the stern-faced Master a nod. ¡°Would it be alright for me to meditate in the courtyard?¡± ¡°Know I do not permit Novices unsupervised use of it; it would be best if you meditate within your room,¡± Tenzin stated, and she walked away. Amdirlain sought the calmness of the Ki mist that had held Souls still within her, not to still herself, but to let its drifting motions guide her meditation. Peace came only in fits and starts, each time it slipped away, it proved harder to regain. The hour chime had rung out twice before sounds echoing from the corridor showed the other Novices had returned, and a curious Novice peeked inside. ¡°What exactly are you?¡± The words from the young female Githzerai came in a rush, before she took a long step back, her eyes widening. The Githzerai was the youngest Amdirlain had seen and barely stood one-ten centimetres, and her features showed the delicacy of youth. Instead of the angularity, she¡¯d seen in adult features, spare flesh softened the sharpness of the lines, but she still possessed the upturned nose, and pointed chin. Her hazel gaze was intently focused, and ran over Amdirlain from head to foot and back. The lighter tone of her eyes was a stark contrast to her jet-black hair. [Name: Gemiya Species: Githzerai Class: None Health: 6 Defence: 14 Melee Attack Power: 10 Combat Skills: Unarmed [B] (1) - Racial Innate Psion Powers Details: Enrolled in the Monastery of the Will¡¯s Hand after she turned twelve to receive training as a Monk and Psion.] ¡°I¡¯m Amdirlain. Masters Jarith? and Duurth insisted I enrol as a Novice,¡± Amdirlain said, the young girl¡¯s reaction making it easy to stay calm. Gemiya¡¯s eyebrows raised high matching her change in tone. ¡°Why would they accept an outsider as a Novice?¡± ¡°You¡¯d have to ask them. Master Tenzin assigned me this room and these garments,¡± said Amdirlain, giving a light tug on the seam of her pants. The girl snorted at the suggestion, and the mention of a third Master¡¯s name closed her mouth with a snap. ¡°Know that my name is Gemiya, and you speak oddly, Amdirlain. Should I take it you¡¯re female, since you¡¯re in the girl¡¯s dormitory?¡± ¡°Yes, I am female, Gemiya. My native language is very different, so I¡¯m sure I sound funny to you,¡± replied Amdirlain. Gemiya frowned and glanced down the corridor before turning back to regard Amdirlain. ¡°Know if you need to wash, you¡¯ve enough time before the evening meal chimes¡ªif you¡¯re quick.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright, thank you. The refectory is one level up. Is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes. Know you need to turn left and follow the corridor to the end; if you do not need to wash, I¡¯ll see you there,¡± replied Gemiya and she continued along the corridor. When she heard the quick chimes, a parade of footsteps headed upstairs, Amdirlain fought her desire to stay away before rising to follow the fading sounds. The refectory¡¯s six tables sat arranged in a crescent formation beyond the entryway focused on the door, so she entered smack in the middle of the arc. The moment Amdirlain stepped inside, the room went still with everyone present having a clear line of sight on her¡ªespecially given her height difference. Though she wasn¡¯t sure why, she was in a refectory full of twelve-year-old girls, unless Githzerai matured far differently to humans. Master Tenzin, standing near the door, pointed her to the closest vacant seat. ¡°Know that will be your assigned seat until otherwise instructed Novice Amdirlain. Know that your duty assignments and classes are on the same schedule as that table¡¯s Novices.¡± Giving Tenzin a polite nod, Amdirlain moved to take her spot, ignoring the wide-eyed looks she received. The table¡¯s general vibe of disbelief warred with the curiosity apparent from only two of the girls. Gemiya was seated across the table from Amdirlain, with her attention fixed on the girl sitting to Amdirlain¡¯s right. A brunette-haired Githzerai, similar in appearance to Gemiya, frantically glanced between Master Tenzin and Amdirlain with a look of outrage. ¡°Master Tenzin, surely she doesn¡¯t need to sit with us,¡± objected the girl, barely beating another from speaking up. Master Tenzin regarded the girl flatly, and steel crept into her tone. ¡°Know that Amdirlain is here in our monastery at the invitation of Master Jarith?, and is a member of the same table as you now¡ªfor all matters, Novice Sarith. Know that this is not only for this year, but after your outburst, it will be for every year Amdirlain stays. Is that clear?¡± Every year? How long do they expect this to take? ¡°Know we¡¯ll ensure she knows what she needs to know, Master Tenzin,¡± Gemiya quickly said, cutting off Sarith. Sarith had opened her mouth again, but closed it quickly and glared at Gemiya in frustration. ¡°Know you can join the duty table in serving the meal, Novice Sarith,¡± Tenzin declared, her gaze not having left the girl. At her words, the girls from the second table along the crescent stood and filed to a hutch set in the wall away from the entry. Moving past it, they collected trays with bowls of food and drinks that they delivered smoothly. A few girls that slipped in after they started moving nodded politely to Master Tenzin and rapidly took their seats. ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain that you will accompany me following the meal,¡± Tenzin stated, watching the Novices start to eat from her position by the door. Her stern gaze took away whatever temptation Sarith might have had to hasten the delivery of Amdirlain¡¯s meal. The large bowls contained only a vegetarian stew that reminded Amdirlain of a documentary on Shaolin monks, and they¡¯d filled the mugs with clean water. Though she had no need for the food, Amdirlain ate what they¡¯d set before her; the taste and routine of it oddly calming. Though she looked like she wanted to spit in Amdirlain¡¯s food, Sarith ate quickly and without further drama. The clean-up of the meals followed the same flow in reverse, except it was the next table along that collected everything. ¡°When do you have time to eat, Master Tenzin?¡± Amdirlain asked, standing as the Novices departed. ¡°Know that I eat prior to the sittings to avoid opportunities for any Novice seeking trouble,¡± replied Tenzin. Motioning Amdirlain to follow, she led the way up through levels where Amdirlain spotted older Novices, their path eventually leading them to the top floor of the dormitory. An unmarked door at the end opened into a chamber with the walls subtly decorated in a fashion similar to where she¡¯d met Master Jarith?. Unlike Master Jarith?¡¯s room, it had a balcony overlooking the inner courtyard and a door on either side. One opened into a bedroom, while the other appeared to be a personal kitchen. ¡°Know that you have met your guide previously, a student Anarch named Domleha,¡± said Tenzin. ¡°I remember her. Master Duurth asked if I¡¯d allow her to maintain a garden platform I¡¯d made for practice,¡± said Amdirlain, suddenly curious about how well she¡¯d managed. ¡°The one with the strange red flowers belongs to you?¡± Tenzin asked, a flicker of curiosity in her gaze quickly stilled. ¡°If Domleha has been maintaining it for this long, it¡¯s more hers than mine now,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a particular reason they placed me in a dormitory with twelve-year-olds?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Know that Master Duurth noted your mental techniques wrestling off fear¡¯s manifestations¡ªwhile effective¡ªneeds refinement,¡± answered Tenzin. ¡°Is it not correct you had very little training once you unlocked your Psion Class?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried to practice techniques, but so far, I¡¯ve only managed a few,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I require a list of those techniques, along with your intentions towards mastery,¡± Tenzin said. Amdirlain considered her momentarily, but Tenzin just sat down on a chair she made appear and waited patiently. ¡°All techniques have been combat-orientated; breaking an enemy¡¯s focus, slowing a foe¡¯s motions, coating surfaces with ectoplasm, battle precognition, telekinetic punches, disrupting a foe¡¯s musculature, telekinetic deflections, energy ray, clairvoyance, sense link and taunt. I need to develop techniques around hampering foes that can move quickly or Teleport, and general combat along with reconnaissance, so I¡¯m not going into situations blind. I¡¯ve been using my Telepathy and clairvoyance to help coordinate combat teams.¡± Tenzin quickly took notes on a wax tablet and only looked at Amdirlain again as she set her stylus aside. ¡°Know that I will plan your course of study while the healing process is underway; we¡¯ll discuss it tomorrow. I take it there is no need to explain why you will not be exchanging pointers?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all children. I wouldn¡¯t want to risk hurting any of them,¡± said Amdirlain, anger burning along her nerves. She stopped with a wince when Tenzin frowned at the harshness in her tone. ¡°My apologies, the thought of hurting them, no, I wouldn¡¯t even spar with them gently¡ªI¡¯m off balance.¡± Giving her a nod, Tenzin continued on. ¡°Know the main routine for each day is: upon waking, meditation in the courtyard, first meal, physical training, second meal, Psion studies, general lessons, third meal. Know that in this schedule, there are breaks for washing and for handling small duties; in the evening, unlike the other Novices attending their duties, will be your healing sessions.¡± ¡°They¡¯re going to occur every day?¡± Amdirlain asked, worry about the mess she¡¯d seen in her Mind Palace gnawing at her again. ¡°Know it is likely to be most days for some time, but that will be for the Master Healer to advise you on,¡± stated Tenzin. ¡°Know that any day you¡¯re not attending those sessions, you¡¯ll assist the others with their duties between the last meal and lights out.¡± * * * The wait for Domleha hadn¡¯t been long, fortunately, given the silence Tenzin let fall. And the moment she arrived, they¡¯d both been shooed on their way. Domleha was still wearing the brown robes that Amdirlain had seen her in before, but carried herself more confidently. ¡°Domleha, I hope your training has been going well,¡± Amdirlain said, the moment Tenzin¡¯s door closed. ¡°Know that it has been, and I¡¯ve found your platform useful,¡± said Domleha with a pleased smile. ¡°Know Master Healer Ellniya arrived only prior to the meal; I¡¯m to take you to the quarters they provided her.¡± ¡°She arrived?¡± asked Amdirlain, starting in surprise. ¡°Know she came at Master Duurth¡¯s request, but she is not a member of the monastery,¡± said Domleha. ¡°Know rumour hasn¡¯t spread regarding why she arrived, but I¡¯ve heard the monastery healers are looking forward to consulting with her.¡± Domleha said nothing further and led the way in silence through several buildings until they reached a structure Amdirlain recognised. It housed Amdirlain¡¯s original guest room on the upper levels, but Domleha headed along the side and knocked on a door. ¡°Enter, Domleha.¡± The woman¡¯s voice warbled with age, and Domleha immediately followed her instruction and motioned Amdirlain to follow. Instead of the usual minimalistic furnishings, a variety of comfortable-looking couches and padded benches occupied the chamber. The air was rich with the odour of burning incense and blooms of flowering herbs that sat in vases about the chamber. A white-haired Githzerai sat on one couch with her feet tucked in under a thick blanket that matched the colour of her light blue robe. Her skin was pale and wrinkled such that the usual Githzerai freckles stood out as age spots. [Name: Ellniya Species: Githzerai Class: Psychic Surgeon / Master Psychic / Master Healer Level: 112 / 112 / 112] ¡°Know you can sit where you please Amdirlain, but I¡¯ll not be twisting about to face you,¡± said Ellniya, waving a hand at the various chairs. ¡°Know you have my thanks Domleha; please extend my regards to your grandparents when you speak to them next.¡± Domleha smiled and slipped from the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Rather than mess about, Amdirlain took a seat where Ellniya could see her easily, the healer¡¯s pale grey gaze seemed to press into her the moment she sat. ¡°How does this work? Do I let you into my mind and you take care of the mess I¡¯ve made?¡± asked Amdirlain nervously. ¡°Know I doubt that wrestling the knots out of you at my age would be good for my health, given your raw strength,¡± quipped Ellniya. ¡°Know you¡¯ll need to learn to deal with the psychic manifestations of your own emotions.¡± ¡°What do you mean? I thought it was my suppressed memories, and others I¡¯d gained from Soul Sight, messing things up?¡± Amdirlain enquired, and leant forward on her seat. ¡°What do you believe has happened?¡± ¡°I had everything locked away and its spilled loose. Now all my memories keep being prompted at the smallest similarity.¡± ¡°Know that isn¡¯t correct, more that you¡¯ve too much suppressed emotion. Know that energy brings the manifestations, they¡¯re not memories acting out on their own,¡± stated Ellniya. ¡°Master Jarith? said the memories would have to be examined to heal properly.¡± recounted Amdirlain. ¡°Know that when you come to understand a memory properly, your emotions can no longer misuse it, and we can get to the truth of your pain,¡± explained Ellniya. ¡°Did you recognise any of the images that were present in your Mind Palace?¡± ¡°The tar looked like a lake below a portal to an Abyssal Plane, where I found a Jungle Giant Clan trapped. The faces beneath it looked like constellations I had inside my old Mind Palace made up of sealed memories from past lives. I¡¯ve seen Souls trapped underwater similarly in an Abyssal swampland; visible but not quite able to touch the surface, with bubbles of water rising from their mouths. Various types of Demons prey on them, torment them, lay their young inside them even,¡± replied Amdirlain, shuddering at the thought of the Me?de Demon at the storehouse in Avaris. ¡°Know that while I can¡¯t see past your concealments myself, Master Jarith? has informed me you¡¯re a Fallen,¡± explained Ellniya. ¡°Know I will need knowledge of your situation if I¡¯m to help you effectively. How did you earn your state?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t a Celestial¡ªI was Mortal and cursed to the Abyss. When I tried to break free, the curse¡¯s form twisted me into a Fallen rather than let go,¡± Amdirlain said. The immediate look of disbelief from Ellniya had her counting quietly to herself. ¡°What were you in the Abyss before you tried to break free?¡± Amdirlain ground her teeth and fought with the urge to walk away. ¡°I emerged or spawned¡ªwhatever term you want to use¡ªinto the Abyss, as a Succubus.¡± ¡°Know that Master Duurth informed me you follow a spiritual Monk Class quite different in approach to the Githzerai Monks. Is this correct?¡± ¡°If you know that, why don¡¯t you believe I was Mortal?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A Demon can¡¯t pursue that Class.¡± ¡°Know that at my age there are few things that surprise me, but this is one. Know I will look to keep an open mind about your situation if you will do the same,¡± replied Ellniya, her unfussed gaze not straying from Amdirlain. ¡°Your statement took me by surprise, but why was your immediate reaction anger? Did you expect me to know everything about your Class?¡± ¡°Maybe this is a bad idea-¡± Ellniya motioned Amdirlain to stay seated and interrupted her. ¡°Know the common theme in your image is that of things trapped. Do you agree that it¡¯s understandable for someone cursed to feel trapped?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain, and forced her hands flat against her legs to stop them tugging at the robe¡¯s edge. ¡°Know I was told you had been restraining these emotions for decades. What had occurred just prior to your control slipping?¡± ¡°I¡¯d gotten a friend free from her curse,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Would you tell me more about this friend?¡± asked Ellniya and she relaxed back fully on her couch. ¡°Know I¡¯m not going anywhere, so you have plenty of time for your tale, us old folks sleep only a little.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be telling her secrets,¡± objected Amdirlain, shifting uncomfortably. ¡°Is she a recent friend or someone you shared a past life with?¡± ¡°The same person cursed her,¡± offered Amdirlain, unsure exactly what would be safe to tell her. ¡°How is it she is free and you¡¯re cursed still?¡± ¡°He used different wording for the curses. She¡¯d already fulfilled her curse, mine¡¯s open-ended but I knew that before I tried to get her free, and it worked,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How did that make you feel?¡± ¡°Angry, jealous, sickened by myself. Take your pick.¡± ¡°Know that anger, jealousy, and self-hatred are all three very negative emotions,¡± said Ellniya. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I hated myself,¡± argued Amdirlain, and she rose in frustration. ¡°Know you didn¡¯t need to, but sickened is a powerful reaction to have for a momentary fit at another¡¯s good fortune. Know you can leave if you wish or you can sit and continue talking¡ªthe choice is yours,¡± said Ellniya, her tone calm but her gaze not leaving Amdirlain. An emphasis on leave implied it wouldn¡¯t just be this session Amdirlain would be leaving. ¡°Choices, I¡¯m trapped by others¡¯ choices,¡± grumbled Amdirlain Ellniya nodded understandingly. ¡°Is that not the case for all that care about others? Know that the choice of what you do right now is yours. Do you wish to care for yourself, or let your pain consume you?¡± The sensation of hair under her fingers drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the grip she¡¯d had on her braid, and she slowly released it. ¡°I need to get better. I¡¯ll stay.¡± Only after Amdirlain had settled back down on her chair, did Ellniya speak again. ¡°Would you tell me about what happened when you emerged into the Abyss?¡± * * * Torm¡¯s PoV - Letveri The tormented words of her message were barely a whisper of sound against the background of the ship¡¯s noise. The vessel¡¯s motion continually brought back memories that held less hurt than her tone. My shield brother¡¯s scream pierced my mind in time with the agony of flames that clung to us, yet left the deck untouched. Blackness creeping across my vision mingled with the flames separating me from Poseidon¡¯s last High Priest. An inhalation left my lungs scorched, yet I leapt before my legs could buckle. The hilt¡¯s wire wrap melted across my hand, keeiing it secure as the blade cut deep into his throat. In that instant, the world stilled and inhaled, only to explode and throw me into the storm-tossed sea that eagerly drew me down. The last awareness in that life, the weight of armour and sword melted across skin, dragging me past the broken Kraken¡¯s drifting tentacles. I¡¯d have traded that pain a thousandfold to allow me a way to ease her pain¡ªeven a sliver. ¡°Next time I travel anywhere, I¡¯m going with someone that can send messages. Never thought I¡¯d want Wizard as a Class.¡± Evoking a Power my evolution had provided, a little Gate opened, and the golden light of a Lantern Archon with Tyr¡¯s symbol across its meshwork suddenly filled the cabin. Ironically, its light made the close confines of the lacquered walls close in further still. Old soot from the lantern¡¯s wick had stained its glass and left marks upon the cabin¡¯s ceiling. Having folded up the hammock from lack of need, it still didn¡¯t compensate enough to let the cabin feel anything but tiny. ¡°Hi Torm, this is a small room. What do you need me to do?¡± The Archon''s chiming voice washed the memory¡¯s sharp pain away. ¡°I¡¯d like a message relayed to Solar Ebusuku in Lady Amdirlain¡¯s service. Please request Ebusuku to pass a message to Amdirlain that I got her news, and if she needs me, to let me know. Presently, the captain says we¡¯re at least another week from the nearest island inhabited by one of the Elven peoples. Once there, I¡¯ll return to the Outlands, regardless.¡± When they disappeared the irony that it¡¯s a duty for Tyr, at Amdirlain¡¯s behest, that kept me from finding out what was going on, weighed upon my shoulders. ¡°Rachel¡¯s free, so what happened that makes her sound so stricken?¡± The creaking of the ship¡¯s hull provided no answer, and I could only pray and wait. * * * Isa¡¯s PoV - Duskstone The Dwarven wards¡¯ song possessed a military drum cadence, but its beat didn¡¯t settle the trembling in my hands. Setting the scroll down before it tore apart, and closing my eyes didn¡¯t blot out the words. Sage¡¯s song was more calming than the unceasing beat of the wards, and I can feel his solemn gaze resting on me. ¡°How far through are you?¡± ¡°Not far, up to the cave she describes filled with Song. I never had my wings cut from me repeatedly or had to fight off strange urges from my body. Does it get worse?¡± ¡°Yes, much worse,¡± Sage admitted reluctantly. ¡°No chance she¡¯s coming to meet with us soon?¡± I asked quickly. His gaze didn¡¯t shift from its calmness, but his lips twitched into a momentary frown. ¡°Not according to a Message Ebusuku received. Sidero is on Letveri dealing with the Thri-kreen, and Amdirlain has now headed for the Githzerai monastery.¡± Sighing, I leaned back in the chair, wondering how badly I messed things up. ¡°Who else is on Letveri?¡± ¡°Some of Lady Amdirlain¡¯s Hound Archons, Torm, a baker¡¯s dozen Valkyries in Tyr¡¯s service that have Wizard knowledge, plus Sidero and Klipyl.¡± Only one I¡¯d heard mentioned in any discussion, the other piqued my curiosity at its inflections. ¡°Torm is the Celestial, but who¡¯s Klipyl?¡± ¡°Klipyl is a Succubus that swore to Amdirlain¡¯s service as a Priestess,¡± said Sage. I¡¯m not sure how long I sat blinking. ¡°Amdirlain has a Demoness serving her?¡± I winced at my astonished tone and remembered how I accused her of being blind to the possibility of Ilya being good. Sage gave a reassuring nod, and his gaze was calm. ¡°She has a number. She is the Lady of the Accursed. You mentioned she clashed with Ilya, but she still gave Ilya a choice and freed her. Why would you expect her to reject someone else seeking to better themselves? Perhaps you should keep reading. The situation might make more sense with all the information.¡± The blandness in his tone made me curious about the surprises that were hidden ahead. ¡°I¡¯ll pick a scroll at random, buster,¡± I grumbled. ¡°Much won¡¯t make sense out of context,¡± murmured Sage, and his gaze refocused on his scroll. Grabbing up a scroll from the set, I closed my eyes and let it unfurl with a rush of energy, stopping at random I let my eyes open. ¡°What¡¯s the big deal about finding an Anar Glinnel?¡± Sage¡¯s glance only flickered across the scroll in my hand, and noting the ones I skipped, he frowned at me. ¡°Figures you¡¯d jump about. Are you a Glinnel?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first Class I took,¡± I said, and explained when Sage¡¯s curiosity was apparent. ¡°I tried to sing along to some notes in Hell intentionally and ended up swallowing back a mouthful of blood. Then Mr Message said, congratulations, have a prize, but I understood nothing about classes then; I¡¯d had a mental gap about the Profile mixed in with other things. I remembered it after Ilya finally showed me my imprint. Why?¡± ¡°There is another Elven race trapped in the Abyss, and only an Anar Glinnel can unseal the L¨®m? Royal Tower,¡± Sage said, setting his pencil aside. The smooth lines of its shape distracted me, and I wanted to know where he gets modern HB pencils from in this place. ¡°I¡¯m a Glinnel, but no idea if I¡¯m an Anar.¡± ¡°If you were a L¨®m?, you wouldn¡¯t have been on your Earth. Only the Anar Souls were freed to roam from the Titan¡¯s reality, and only Anar or L¨®m? can become Glinnel,¡± said Sage, and I could see how the pieces joined. ¡°I need to go to the Abyss? That¡¯s crazy, no way that¡¯s safe now,¡± I said and waved him off when he went to object. ¡°Before, we used to raid Planes to mess up various Demon Lord¡¯s forces, but I¡¯d be a glowing neon sign.¡± ¡°The L¨®m? have places in Tern¨°x that are safe havens. Amdirlain and some others know them well enough to open Gates directly to them,¡± argued Sage. ¡°Why don¡¯t they just leave then?¡± ¡°There is all the required context I was talking of,¡± Sage said and gestured to the scroll I¡¯d been reading previously. ¡°Perhaps reading in order makes sense now.¡± ¡°Smartypants, such a meanie.¡± Ignoring his amusement, I went back to Amdirlain¡¯s account and re-read her nasty guide¡¯s reaction to the Grotto¡¯s Song, and wondered how long she¡¯d put up with his shit. What does she capitalise song for? Every place has music about it. Still, L¨ºdhins got J to play at dominatrix; I wonder if Sarah found that funny? Did she even tell her? 153 - Where is my mind? Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo Amdirlain sat cross-legged, floating above the pallet bed¡ªTelekinesis rather than Flight keeping her aloft. The minds asleep around her tried to press across her awareness, but she kept clear of their broadcast dreams. Mental barriers extended by the High Anarchs surrounded the monastery, intermingling with their arcane protections. The supporting thoughts and Mana blended an interwoven tapestry formed with meticulous care. True Sight had shown what looked like gaps in the protections overhead, yet Telepathy now let her feel the traps that waited. Traps whose lethal force was kinder than the mental wounds she¡¯d inflicted on herself. The session hadn¡¯t even made it off the ledge she¡¯d initially appeared on after the age running through the maze. A series of casual questions forced her to stop and look at the horrors with fresh eyes. The focus was on lessening the impact of emotional horrors by analysing the facts within individual pieces of what Soul Sight had inflicted on her. Emotional shrapnel that she hadn¡¯t even realised had stayed, was slowly uncovered by Ellniya¡¯s prodding. Drawn up by Ellniya¡¯s questions, they¡¯d worked to set aside memories absorbed by Soul Sight. Her improved intelligence making the slow progress of chipping away seem at least eventually possible. Counting and cataloguing elements in the memories helped bring them down to piecemeal components¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t okay when a murderer¡¯s flayed kills hung in a row. Every question emphasised that their deeds weren¡¯t hers, and nothing justified her trapped alongside them, but accepting it was a different matter. She was neither the damned nor the judge, just an observer with no influence over their fates. Her survival was the only thing that had rested with her¡ªno one else¡¯s. None of her choices had placed her, or anyone else, in that nightmarish landscape. Holding herself aloft with Telekinesis let her judge her emotional stability. Anytime her position became unsettled, she had to stop and refocus herself. Deconstructing the memories that had smashed into her from the damned Souls was a laborious process. Running ragged and on emotional fumes, the first chime of the monastery¡¯s day was a welcome reprieve from her contemplations. She¡¯d spent the night working on fragments of memories, yet the impact of her first momentary use of Soul Sight hadn¡¯t lessened. With the surrounding minds roused by the chime, Amdirlain moved towards the courtyard. The Novices in the doors that opened along her passage, blinked sleepily at her. Amdirlain could see Master Tenzin already present through the courtyard¡¯s door and didn¡¯t linger in the passage. Once she was in the courtyard, Amdirlain spotted ?daka, kneeling calmly near the courtyard¡¯s wall. Tenzin motioned Amdirlain to a mat among those arrayed around ?daka in a crescent, and Amdirlain focused on her spot. ¡°Novice Amdirlain,¡± ?daka said and nodded to her the moment Amdirlain had knelt. ¡°Master ?daka, have you been well?¡± Amdirlain asked, her haggard tone grating within her skull, and hooked on thoughts. Her mind transposed ?daka¡¯s features onto a murder victim¡¯s broken form, and she shuddered to discard it. ?daka¡¯s eyebrows shot up at her reaction and replied so softly that the words barely carried to Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I have been; you have my thanks for your interest. Know I¡¯ve heard several things attributed to yourself, including a recent rumour you¡¯d been to see our latest guest¡ªwas she not helpful?¡± Stiffening at the words, Amdirlain almost spat a heated reply, but stopped herself and considered ?daka¡¯s tone before responding. ¡°Thank you for your interest. I found Master Ellniya very helpful, though her advice is draining to follow.¡± [Diplomacy (12->13) Note: In-tent¡ªnot just for taking shelter.] Her gaze didn¡¯t shift from Amdirlain, but ?daka grimaced. ¡°Know that I had hoped you¡¯d again show me that technique you used on the strike plate. Perhaps after you have recovered?¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain, giving her a polite nod. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure your people¡¯s style can utilise it.¡± The first of the Novices entering the courtyard stopped ?daka momentarily, but she continued as the girls started taking their positions. ¡°Know that I¡¯m aware as the Anarch on duty told me you used Mana rather than psionic energy within the strike. Know they said it was Destruction Mana, but held within a framework of energy they had never felt previously.¡± Is she hoping for an explanation of Ki? Letting the conversation lapse, ?daka waited until all the Novices were kneeling in their spots before she spoke again. The members of her table knelt on the meditation mats near Amdirlain. Sarith got poked by Gemiya to kneel next to Amdirlain, when she tried to signal the other Novice to swap. Ignoring Gemiya¡¯s scolding look, Sarith stared straight ahead, dismissing Amdirlain¡¯s presence. ¡°Know we will continue the breathing exercise; each of you should seek the air moving through your body with your mind. Know the importance is in seeking, not achieving¡ªnow let us begin.¡± With that said, ?daka simply breathed in slowly, and the Novices followed her example. Amdirlain could feel the psionic energy from ?daka brushing the flow of her inhalation and tried to copy the lightness of her touch. She displayed the lightest telekinetic control in merely touching the air without hampering it. Amdirlain followed the tempo of ?daka¡¯s breathing and tried to stay unfocused, allowing the exercise to relax her mind after last night¡¯s efforts. Some Novices seemed to want to emulate ?daka¡¯s relaxed expression, their youthful features trying to take on a mirror of her composure. While others seemed so intent, it was clear they¡¯d missed the point of the exercise. It hadn¡¯t reached the expected hour, but Amdirlain could feel the Novice¡¯s restless state when ?daka signalled a halt. ¡°Know there is time prior to your meal¡ªdismissed,¡± said ?daka. Flowing upright, ?daka nodded to Amdirlain, before she headed for the path Duurth had used to reach the courtyard yesterday. Gemiya leaned forward to get a line of sight around Sarith, who abruptly stood. ¡°How is it you know Master ?daka?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have to do your morning ablutions?¡± asked Amdirlain, and Gemiya pouted before she hurried to her feet. ¡°Know you are correct, but I still wish to know how,¡± grumbled Gemiya and she followed Sarith towards the dormitory. ¡°Know that I am Nomein.¡± The brunette Novice on Amdirlain¡¯s other side introduced herself softly, and Amdirlain turned to smile at the suddenly fidgeting girl. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet you, Nomein.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s reaction, Nomein smiled in return and when she looked up at Amdirlain, her mussed hair fell away from her face, and showed off a badly bruised cupid-bow mouth. The mottled shades standing out on her greenish toned skin. In her otherwise brown irises, gold and silver flecks stood out in the courtyard¡¯s brighter lighting. ¡°Know that Sarith is high-strung, but she should come around¡ªshe¡¯s not a complete yan.¡± Amdirlain kept her concern from her face and addressed the unusual term instead. ¡°Yan?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s a term for the Githyanki; we were once all Gith, but they¡¯re a bunch of tyrannical low-lives and bandits,¡± said Nomein in the knowledgeable tone only the truly confident¡ªor children¡ªmanaged without conceit. Amdirlain kept her amusement hidden and just nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Thank you for the information. Have you known each other long?¡± ¡°Know that my father is in the guard with the twins'' mother,¡± replied Nomein, the tip of her tongue playing across her split lip. ¡°Gemiya and Sarith are the twins?¡± asked Amdirlain, and Nomein nodded in response. ¡°I thought they looked related, but I wasn¡¯t sure.¡± ¡°Know they are; Sarith makes the most noise, but she closes her mouth when Gemiya speaks up,¡± elaborated Nomein. ¡°What happened to your mouth?¡± Amdirlain asked softly. ¡°It looks like something hit you.¡± Nomein sighed ruefully. ¡°Know I stepped in too close practicing a block last night and pre-empted Zenya¡¯s punch in the process¡ªshe is the Novice at our table with short hair. Know she¡¯s most upset with me for talking her into additional practice; I¡¯m expecting glares and silence until its healed.¡± ¡°Blocking a fist with your mouth isn¡¯t the best approach. Would you like me to heal it?¡± ¡°You can heal?¡± asked Nomein, blinking rapidly at Amdirlain¡¯s question. ¡°Maybe I can, or maybe I¡¯m just setting myself up to look silly,¡± teased Amdirlain. Nomein considered her for a moment before she nodded. ¡°Know it would save me waiting for a healer after first meal.¡± Amdirlain held a hand near Nomein¡¯s cheek, and the injury disappeared in a wash of Ki. The energy continued for a moment longer until Amdirlain felt a loose tooth re-establish itself. ¡°You¡¯re not really a Novice are you?¡± asked Nomein, pressing a hand to her face. ¡°I¡¯m already a Monk, but my style is different to what the Githzerai follow. While I also have some Psion experience, I¡¯ve not received training beyond the bare minimum,¡± explained Amdirlain. Nomein gave her face a final rub. ¡°Do you know the Zerthi fighting techniques?¡± ¡°No, my unarmed combat style is very different, though I know the individual attacks and blocks,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Know that since you are in our classes, Master Tenzin will insist you practice Zerthi with us¡ªshe¡¯s very good at being insistent. Know it was nice talking with you¡ªand getting healed¡ªbut I need to go pee,¡± whispered Nomein before she rose to follow the others. Her loose, still sleep-knotted bed hair looked uncontrolled compared to the tight braids or short cuts worn by most Novices. Breakfast was another simple meal, but smaller given the schedule had physical training afterwards. When they returned to the courtyard, the meditation mats had been removed, and the Novices filed past Master Tenzin to take up positions in lines ahead of her. Sarith was herding most members of their table into place, and yet, Gemiya seemed to herd her to stand beside Amdirlain. ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain, you will swap with Novice Nomein, to avoid blocking the Novices behind you.¡± Glancing at Nomein, who¡¯d taken up a position on her left, Amdirlain swapped to the end of their line. The layout had the familiarity of the dojo, but the bow they gave was quite different. Inclining their heads respectfully, they brought up their left hand to touch their fingertips lightly to their foreheads in time with the bow. After returning the gesture, Master Tenzin started static stretches, and the Novices followed suit. Although she wasn¡¯t at risk of injury, Amdirlain did likewise to avoid disrupting the class. The focus on her physical movements sent a shudder up her spine. Memories of meditating to the timing of finger motions while damned screams rose from the blood plains taunted her. Piece by piece, while the exercises continued, she tried to disassemble the memory in the fashion Ellniya had instructed. ¡°Start.¡± The single word was enough for the first row to turn left and run for the courtyard¡¯s wall, and Amdirlain felt Master Tenzin¡¯s will alter it. A section of the courtyard¡¯s lower wall blurred from a rectangle into an oval. The first Novice¡¯s steps set their feet flat against the wall, and gravity shifted under them. The wall itself became their running track. ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain, that you are to go higher on the wall and push your pace.¡± With no idea why she was seeking to make her stand out, Amdirlain simply followed her instructions. When her turn placed her on the wall, she passed the others on their right in an exaggerated velodrome. Their motions were so comparatively slow that she frequently lapped them. Each time she turned her attention towards the fluid movements of her running to stop herself from paying attention to the growing discomfort she saw among many Novices. She wasn¡¯t sure how many dozens of kilometres she¡¯d run by the time they returned to their positions. Amdirlain ground her teeth silently and tried to ignore the looks exchanged among the class. Going so far as to remove her concealed eyes, she missed the looks of determination that appeared among them. ¡°Know I will show each technique, then you will all repeat them with me. Know you will each execute the techniques in time with me, except for Novice Amdirlain,¡± said Tenzin. A few murmurs among the Novices drew Tenzin¡¯s notice and after they fell silent, she continued on focused on Amdirlain. ¡°Know you are to start with a mere twelve in the time taken for their one, then increase your count from there while you have time.¡± The Novices struggled to keep pace with Tenzin, the awkwardness provided a familiar experience, but her own speed cast it aside. The snap of her precise movements made the robe¡¯s cloth sound like a saw with its constant crackling. For Amdirlain, it was thousands of punches, strikes, kicks, and blocks later before the lesson wrapped up. ¡°Know I need a moment of your time, Novice Amdirlain,¡± said Master Tenzin, raising her voice slightly above the low chatter of the Novices heading for the door Amdirlain slipped around the Novices and bowed respectfully like the Novice had used earlier. ¡°Master Tenzin.¡± [Diplomacy (13->14)] ¡°Know I¡¯ve written up a list of techniques that build upon those you¡¯ve already learnt. Know that since you didn¡¯t have a specific requirement other than for Psychoportation, I¡¯ve included some variants in your options, along with explanations,¡± Tenzin said, and presented Amdirlain a scroll. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°I appreciate your guidance, Master Tenzin.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ve passed a copy onto Master Duurth who is now conducting the Psionic classes for this group,¡± said Tenzin, and she motioned Amdirlain to head inside. ¡°Would I be able to speak to you about the purpose of your instructions, Master Tenzin?¡± ¡°Know you might be best speaking to Master Duurth after his class,¡± Tenzin replied and turned away. ¡°Know the rest of us normally bathe now, but you look like you¡¯ve not shed a drop of sweat,¡± said Zenya. The words were the first Amdirlain had heard from the quiet Novice. Zenya looked like she¡¯d fallen fully dressed into a swimming pool. Her short black hair was stuck flat to her scalp, almost a cap of sweat, yet her grey eyes were bright with a runner¡¯s rush. The multiple layers of her clothing were soaked through in places Zenya wiped her hands across gaunt cheeks to shed trails of sweat and looked up at Amdirlain again. ¡°Know that our table serves this next meal, so I thought I should let you know.¡± ¡°I appreciate the forewarning,¡± said Amdirlain. Zenya gave a brisk nod and moved towards the door, but stopped to look back at Amdirlain. ¡°Know I appreciate you healing Nomein; she gave me a fright stepping into my punch.¡± The chatter within the passageway almost drowned out the Novice¡¯s quiet voice. ¡°Anytime,¡± replied Amdirlain and she received a hesitant smile. Since there was nowhere she needed to be, Amdirlain headed directly to the refectory to avoid being last again. The refectory was expectedly empty and neat, and Amdirlain stood behind her chair with her hands on its backrest. Rather than sit, she simply stood in place using the room¡¯s quiet to seek a calm mindset. Her vain efforts ended when Sarith appeared beside her sometime later with her hair still drying, and the others quickly took their spots around the table. ¡°Know you should just get the food for our table, so you don¡¯t -,¡± muttered Sarith The glare she received from Gemiya stopped whatever Sarith had been about to say. ¡°Know we alternate the tables served and you should get to know the others. Know if you handle the next table towards the crescent¡¯s middle, I¡¯ll get our food.¡± Gemiya took the lead towards the serving hutch, and when she slid the hatch open, Amdirlain got her first clear sight of it. It didn¡¯t extend into a kitchen, but a dumb waiter set up with trays of food stacked on shelves. Gemiya took a tray and carefully stepped off to one side, and the others followed her example before moving to a table. Sarith in line before Amdirlain took a tray and stepped towards the closest table, holding the tray out so that the Novices could claim their meals. When Amdirlain arrived at the table Gemiya had said to handle, the shy smile from the first Novice was unexpected, but she returned it before moving along. Though some looked at her warily, they simply glanced at the monitoring stare of Master Tenzin and took their meals peacefully. Each of them gave a polite nod of thanks when they claimed their meal from the tray. Big sister is watching, so everyone plays nice. [Sense Motive [M](10)] Yeah, thanks. I get that it was obvious. Do you monitor more than just the three of us? [Perception [M](45) Note: Millions, but most aren¡¯t special snowflakes that get notifications, yet still want to strangle me.] Amdirlain followed the example of earlier meals, set the empty tray into the middle of the table, and returned to her spot. The food was filling, but no one looked ready to fall asleep from overeating. Do they use Chaos shaping to craft the food or keep gardens that produce ingredients? Unlike the previous training session, they didn¡¯t move en masse to the next class, but headed into another building with the Novices from another table. The windowless rectangular classroom appeared as if a solid piece of grey marble, unlike the stone tiles that made up most areas of the monastery. It had a crescent of seats set within it arrayed with a single line before the room¡¯s long wall. They had all just taken seats when Master Duurth simply appeared before them, the abruptness of his arrival startling the surrounding Novices. ¡°Know that I, Master Duurth, will instruct this class going forward. Know that I¡¯m aware of each of your names and your progress,¡± said Duurth. ¡°Know that I will continue Master Nirkhar¡¯s lessons with some alterations.¡± A raised finger from Sarith received a gesture from Duurth, and she practically spat out her question. ¡°Is this disruption because of Novice Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Know that you seem to be the one intent on disrupting things, but her presence among your number warrants some changes.¡± ¡°If she¡¯s so powerful, why is she with us?¡± asked Sarith, not waiting for Duurth to acknowledge her again. Duurth looked at her flat, but though Sarith swallowed audibly, the aggressive set of her posture didn¡¯t shift. ¡°Know you are a Novice, not a Master. Know a focus on what you need to learn is advised, rather than objecting to your seniors¡¯ decisions.¡± Duurth stopped and looked over the class before he pointed towards a yellowish-brown skin girl at the end of the line. ¡°Novice Lezekus, what is an important part of progressing psionic abilities?¡± Suddenly at the centre of attention, Lezekus fidgeted with the loose end of a black corn-row braid that barely reached her shoulder. ¡°Know that Master Nirkhar said it¡¯s essential to plan out techniques as it can lead to a greater understanding rather than unconnected trinkets easily tossed aside by another¡¯s focus.¡± ¡°Know that is correct; today we¡¯ll work through an example of a plan. Do I have your permission to use the draft guidance Master Tenzin prepared for you, Novice Amdirlain?¡± asked Duurth, though he didn¡¯t turn towards her. ¡°I¡¯ve not yet taken the time to read it, Master Duurth, but I have no objections,¡± replied Amdirlain and she pulled the scroll out of Inventory. Master Duurth suddenly had a scroll in his hand and motioned with it. ¡°Know I¡¯ll use the copy she provided to me. Know I¡¯ll start with the first elements you learnt, and what you¡¯ve learned since last we met, and progress from there.¡± Six wide columns suddenly appeared¡ªetched into the marble wall¡ªtopped with the names of the different psionic skills. The names of the first techniques Duurth had taught her appeared under their related Skill. ¡°Know these are the original set of techniques I assisted Novice Amdirlain in learning a little while ago. Does anyone have observations?¡± Everyone raised their left-hand pointer finger in the same fashion Sarith had done. The controlled motion didn¡¯t reach overhead, just a gesture at shoulder height to catch attention. The moment Duurth motioned to Zenya, she winced and spoke in a quiet voice. ¡°Know I believe they all have combat applications, but most would be hard to practice outside combat situations.¡± ¡°Know that is correct, Novice Zenya, only the ectoplasm creation and telekinetic attacks allow for practice without a living target. Would someone else suggest a reason why you might start with these techniques?¡± asked Duurth. ¡°Know that your physical training lesson should provide insight.¡± ¡°Is it because Novice Amdirlain was already in situations where she was fighting, so she¡¯d be able to find foes?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Know that the techniques selected are useful in close-quarters combat. Novice Amdirlain, which of these techniques have you used the least, versus the most?¡± ¡°Coating a surface with ectoplasm, I¡¯ve used the least and danger precognition the most,¡± answered Amdirlain without having to pause. A symbol appeared against the two techniques, and Duurth motioned to her again. ¡°Would you explain why?¡± ¡°With the ectoplasm technique, I¡¯ve not been in situations where positional hazards have been worth the effort. Danger precognition is most because I¡¯m always sticking my nose into dangerous places. Even when my Danger Sense has been suppressed, it hasn¡¯t been countered, nor does it matter if my opponents lack living minds,¡± answered Amdirlain. Duurth listened without interruption and nodded when she fell silent. ¡°What was the original plan for learning the ectoplasm technique?¡± ¡°To set up a hazard to hamper approaching foes, but since then, most of my combat hasn¡¯t provided a suitable landscape for it,¡± replied Amdirlain ¡°What do we learn from this?¡± asked Duurth and he motioned to Sarith when she started to raise her hand. ¡°That we shouldn¡¯t let Novice Amdirlain suggest useless skills to us?¡± Sarith asked with a sharp look at Amdirlain ¡°Know it is I that suggested the technique to Novice Amdirlain,¡± chided Duurth dryly, and Sarith swallowed nervously. ¡°Novice Amdirlain, what does it tell you?¡± ¡°Just because you have a plan, life doesn¡¯t have to cooperate. You use the tools you have, but don¡¯t get fixated on something that you want to be useful,¡± replied Amdirlain and she gave a rueful smile. ¡°I wanted to see some foes dumped on their arses, but I¡¯ve not been fighting in passages.¡± Clairvoyance and then sense link techniques appeared under Clairsentience and received puzzled looks from most Novices. Master Duurth motioned to Gemiya who¡¯d signalled first. ¡°Why would you learn both?¡± asked Gemiya. ¡°Know I would think learning the clairvoyance technique sufficient.¡± Duurth motioned her to Amdirlain. ¡°Know you can reply to the enquiry, Novice Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Clairvoyance I learnt for scouting areas; I learnt sense link because it allows me to determine what a foe can sense. It allows you to tap into any of an individual¡¯s senses, including vibration sense. Keep in mind that some creatures don¡¯t use sight, and invisibility techniques don¡¯t muffle air movements or ground vibration. Also, while it¡¯s within the clairsentience Skill, the technique borders on Telepathy, so I wanted to see if there would be synergies in its use that some writing suggested.¡± ¡°Did you find that was the case?¡± ¡°To me, it seemed to be the case, but I imagine if they¡¯d possess mental shielding, it¡¯d have negated it,¡± said Amdirlain. Duurth nodded at her comment, and Taunt appeared listed under Telepathy, causing a few Novices to glance at Amdirlain. ¡°I learnt it to make things want to hit me instead of targeting more delicate folks around me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Know you don¡¯t look able to handle being beaten up. Know that while you¡¯re fast, our family has multiple Psychic Warriors that could likely break you with a finger,¡± declared Sarith. Her attention locked onto Amdirlain, and she didn¡¯t look away despite the reproving glare that Duurth immediately fixed on her. My ¡®insert-relative¡¯ can beat you up? ¡°Master Duurth, do the Githzerai have something that shows a person¡¯s capabilities?¡± asked Amdirlain, suddenly curious if they had anything like the plates Yngvarr had worked with the Elven and Dwarven Artificers to establish. He gave a sharp nod, not lifting his scrutiny from Sarith, who started shifting uncomfortably. ¡°Know there are psi-crystals that can read an individual¡¯s capabilities and allow others to share that understanding. Know psi-crystal theory is an advanced topic for future discussion.¡± Amdirlain nodded her thanks, but spoke when he still hadn¡¯t looked her way. ¡°Thank you, Master Duurth.¡± ¡°Going to boast now?¡± asked Sarith quarrelsomely. Amdirlain didn¡¯t even look at her, but exhaled softly while Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s voice echoed in her mind. ¡°I¡¯m not here to prove anything Sarith, the decision to put me in a class setting wasn¡¯t mine.¡± ¡°Know you are to remain silent now, Novice Sarith; you may ask questions next lesson if you discover your manners before then,¡± declared Duurth. ¡°Does Taunt build off another on this list, Novice Gemiya?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it an extension of breaking a foe¡¯s focus, but rather than distracting them, you¡¯re implanting an aggression fixation for yourself?¡± ¡°Know that is correct,¡± said Duurth, and looked again at Sarith. ¡°Know when you prepare your plan in the weeks ahead, you will be the first to share it for the class¡¯s mutual review.¡± The list vanished and the skills appeared in a circle, around them, overlapping circles were etched showing the area of influence that joined two or more skills. ¡°Know that in each Skill or discipline, there are techniques that need to be built up from others to realise their utmost potential. Know also¡ªas Novice Amdirlain mentioned¡ªsome techniques you will find supported by your capabilities within another Skill even if you don¡¯t know a related technique within it.¡± When Master Duurth reached the end of the few techniques she had learnt so far, there was a surprised murmur from the Novices before he continued through Tenzin¡¯s suggested plan. Amdirlain focused on the theory Master Duurth started covering and how the structure of the mental techniques in each discipline built up. The discussion ranged across the disciplines at a high level. It touched on their multiple synergies, providing her an opportunity to integrate the knowledge she¡¯d gained from buying Psionic Lore. The information within her shifted and organised itself while she considered the points he raised. Amdirlain motioned for Duurth¡¯s attention when the class ended but waited for the others to leave. ¡°Might I know the reason behind Master Tenzin¡¯s instructions at this morning¡¯s lesson, Master Duurth?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Duurth considered her for a moment, and the latest notes disappeared. ¡°Know your presence in these classes will serve multiple purposes, including for those besides yourself. Can you guess what those might be?¡± ¡°Some of them are going to hold themselves to standards they can¡¯t meet,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Know many of those will seek to leave before they progress beyond the basics; this will simply speed up the process,¡± countered Duurth. ¡°You expected that result. Why am I not surprised? Given time, those that quit might have developed the confidence to continue,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°Know that an individual¡¯s choice will always determine the path they take upon realising there are others far stronger. Did not my teaching show you at least one of them?¡± sought Duurth. Amdirlain considered the way he pursued his enquiries during the class. ¡°They¡¯ll see that even powerful individuals can make mistakes or simply not plan for everything?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Is that why you made it clear when the plan reached the end of the techniques I¡¯d learnt?¡± ¡°Know I expect five primary reactions: inspiration, caution, awareness, rejection, and fear. Know that those who see inspiration will set goals to match your feats, and those learning to be cautious might not die from arrogance upon graduation.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the difference between rejection and fear?¡± ¡°Know that rejection will inspire them to prove you have flaws, but you already know you possess them so their words should mean little. Know the fearful will lash out or use it as an excuse to quit.¡± Master Duurth vanished with those words, and Amdirlain huffed to herself. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me what you meant by an awareness reaction.¡± The moment Amdirlain stepped into the hall, Gemiya spoke up from where she stood by the door. ¡°Do you believe any of us can become strong like you one day?¡± A glance showed the passage was nearly empty, with only Gemiya, and Nomein still present from the class. ¡°I¡¯d suggest focusing on being the best you can, and not worry on comparing to someone else,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know that except for your odd phrasing, you sounded like a Master,¡± protested Gemiya. ¡°Know that our next lesson room is one floor up from here.¡± Gemiya pulled a face at her own words, yet Nomein nodded, which made Amdirlain curious. ¡°What subject do you have today?¡± ¡°Maths,¡± grumbled Gemiya. ¡°Maths,¡± Nomein burbled and poked Gemiya¡¯s side. ¡°Were you eavesdropping on my conversation with Master Duurth?¡± Gemiya brightened at the question, but Nomein clamped a hand over her mouth before she could reply. ¡°Know that listening into another¡¯s private conversation is rude. What sort of Novices do you take us for?¡± ¡°You know that your hand on her mouth answered the question,¡± said Amdirlain and she smiled at Nomein¡¯s eye roll. Gemiya slipped free of Nomein¡¯s hand and moved to Amdirlain¡¯s side. ¡°Know that you were so close to a proper structure in your reply, if only you hadn¡¯t started it with ''you''.¡± ¡°Know that it was quite obvious you were speaking about us,¡± said Nomein. ¡°Why add the additional word?¡± Amdirlain quickly booped Nomein¡¯s nose and got a stern look from her. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll keep this in mind.¡± ¡°Know that there is some hope for you, Novice Amdirlain,¡± laughed Gemiya, only for her expression to turn glum the moment she moved towards the stairs. ¡°Maths. Why maths?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s so you can add up all the debt your sister¡¯s mouth will attract,¡± teased Nomein, the reply having an oft-repeated flow. [Achievement: Entitled Condition: Faithful¡¯s belief has expanded your Portfolio Reward: Additional Title (Lady of Mana)] What have they been up to? Following Gemiya, she took a moment to send a message to Echo via Oath Link. ¡°Would you know why they consider me the Lady of Mana?¡± His enthusiastic response came before she¡¯d even reached the stairs. ¡°Mirage visited and helped many soldiers gain the Fire Affinity using your Harmony approach and taught them a basic spell each. She mentioned how easily you could help scores gain their Affinities simultaneously. There was a Valkyrie at your Domain that mentioned she needs to relay a message from Torm to Ebusuku.¡± An unneeded breath hitched in her throat when a host of potential problems requiring backup rose in her mind. Casting each one aside with a mantra of facts, she hoped her nervous reaction had cleared before she replied. ¡°Thank you, Echo. Ebusuku was heading to Duskstone but she might have already left.¡± 154 - Just go away Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Duskstone - Moradin¡¯s Hall The glances don¡¯t worry me, but being in this place is odd. I wouldn¡¯t have been able to cross the threshold before, yet now it doesn¡¯t merely tolerate me it welcomes me. The steady thump of hammers occasionally punctured by shouted instructions¡ªor cursing¡ªvibrates through my entire body. A steady wall of sound rumbling against my skin from the forges within Moradin¡¯s Hall. None of the Dwarves near the initial forges resembles Jantar, and walking through the Hall I find myself the target of many an informal call and nod of greeting. Nearly at the back I spot her speaking to a young Dwarf, a roughly forged chisel between them, the focus of their attention. The High Crafter is holding it tilted to the light and pointing out irregular spots along the edge. The youngster listens intently, and after they¡¯re both done speaking, moves back to a grindstone along the side, and Jantar looks my way. ¡°Apprentice?¡± ¡°Nah, he¡¯s a Novice to Moradin¡¯s Hall. He needs to learn to sharpen tools properly, so started him working through the flawed pieces that are only fit to be melted down,¡± replies Jantar amiably. ¡°What can I do for you, Ebusuku? Has Amdirlain found something new to stir up?¡± Given the wary expression on Jantar¡¯s face, I can¡¯t help a burst of laughter. ¡°I¡¯m not even allowed to introduce myself, High Crafter Jantar?¡± ¡°I assumed you¡¯d be as casual as your Lady. Though I¡¯m not sure what gave you away: golden armour, symbol on the breastplate, Elven looks, yet ebony skin,¡± grinned Jantar, stroking her beard happily. ¡°Then again, you don¡¯t have the six wings out and you¡¯re stretched but not standing three or four Dwarves tall, so yes, I could be completely wrong. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact, I got your description from the Priest handling guard shift when you arrived yesterday.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here organising something for Amdirlain. I need two recommendations for an Artificer weapon smith and one with containment experience.¡± ¡°What are you looking to contain?¡± asks Jantar, a note of interest in her voice. Even among the forge¡¯s noise, old habits guard my tongue. ¡°An entity that I don¡¯t want to risk wandering about for several reasons.¡± ¡°Your Lady is alright with locking even a Demon up?¡± asks Jantar. Her bluntness is so similar to Amdirlain¡¯s that I wonder if she expects me to be the same. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to keep her locked up, but I need to get hold of her first, even borrowing a summoning room might be enough. I need to dig into what she remembers.¡± Jantar is on her feet in a moment, but holds her position with her gaze fixed on me. ¡°There is a secure room here. I¡¯ll show you to it. Any reason you need to borrow one of Moradin¡¯s?¡± ¡°She has protection from a nasty Demigod; others that summoned her¡ªthings went sideways for them,¡± ¡°This could be fun!¡± Jantar exclaims, before hurrying off the rest of her words cast over her shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s go spit in their eye.¡± The doorway she heads towards is barely tall enough for her, and my armour adjusts the moment I take on a dwarven form. Jantar stops in her tracks to look me over, and when she strokes her beard, I mimic her¡ªthough mine is jet black, and I¡¯ve opted for braids, I¡¯ve seen on Dwarves from other worlds. ¡°If only you could get your Lady to grow a beard,¡± sighs Jantar. ¡°I can do many things but getting Amdirlain to do something she¡¯s against is like solving a paradox,¡± I reply, and get a quick smile from them. Jantar leans hopefully towards me. ¡°Would you even suggest a beard?¡± ¡°High Crafter Jantar, might I suggest you¡¯re on your own with that project?¡± I reply, and have to stop from laughing at the exaggerated, glum look she gives me. ¡°No suggestion at all? I mean, beards grow on one.¡± The flat look she gets for her wordplay just broadens her quick smile. ¡°Perhaps if you come up with a prank where you need her disguised as a Dwarf.¡± ¡°She likes pranks?¡± Stepping around Jantar, I pull the door open and wave her through. ¡°If the person being pranked would laugh afterwards.¡± ¡°Some folks don¡¯t take even kind-hearted pranks well. I¡¯ll work out something,¡± murmurs Jantar, her fingers drumming on her beard. The moment the door closes, the forges¡¯ racket thankfully cuts off. ¡°Don¡¯t rush. She¡¯s off tending to some matters at present. I¡¯m not sure when she¡¯ll be available.¡± ¡°You should never rush good crafting,¡± says Jantar, and I move to walk beside her. ¡°What weapon do you need made?¡± ¡°I need someone with an inventive streak. Though I¡¯ve got a sketch of the weapon, and someone with experience using it, they¡¯ve not made one, so I¡¯ll need someone open to experimenting.¡± Jantar¡¯s grin fades to a thoughtful expression. ¡°What¡¯s this weapon called?¡± ¡°Its name is Urumi, while it¡¯s technically a sword, it has a very flexible whip-like blade,¡± I say, and Jantar¡¯s blank look is the answer I¡¯d expected. ¡°It was a Human weapon. Farhad¡ªhe teaches our Celestials following the Monk Class¡ªrecommended it as something suitable to Amdirlain¡¯s fluid combat style. He has experience using it, so I can bring him to speak with the crafter once we¡¯ve found someone.¡± The years it requires to master might get her to sit still. ¡°Let me make some enquiries. You might need a crafter from outside Duskstone,¡± says Jantar after some time spent walking through the Temple¡¯s corridors. I don¡¯t interrupt her thoughts until we enter the summoning chamber. The wards around the walls crawl with energy focused on containing and banishing entities from the lower planes. Etched into the floor, the inner summoning circle is mithril, instead of the Alchemical silver I¡¯d expected. Protective Artificer runes underlay the wards, their energy waiting with the tension of a baited trap. ¡°What do you use this place for?¡± Jantar motions at the walls, ¡°Sometimes you have to get answers from places you don¡¯t want to deal with. Demons like to boast, and they¡¯re willing to stab enemies in the back. Never get the complete truth, but sometimes what they¡¯ll boast about can tell much; best to have a proper place crafted well in advance. It should banish any entity the moment they¡¯re released from the circle if a mistake occurs in questioning them.¡± ¡°Agreeing to a something¡¯s terms, you mean?¡± ¡°Indeed, the moment the summoning barrier drops the wards would apply to banish them, we¡¯d also know to break the Pact made.¡± ¡°Or Deal.¡± The correction slips free from habit, but Jantar nods with a grim expression. ¡°There is that, but it¡¯s hard to sign a deal accidentally when you know you¡¯ve summoned a Devil. The whole taking the document to sign it is a giveaway. Anyone stupid¡ªor malicious¡ªenough to do it on purpose would need to explain why they still count as one of Moradin¡¯s.¡± She waves at the circle, and I move close to it; opening myself to the chamber¡¯s energies. The Temple¡¯s power is a stable, reassuring fortress against whatever protections Epoch¨¥ put around Viper. The Spell¡¯s energy manifests correctly within the circle but vanishes the moment I utter Viper¡¯s name. ¡°You sure you know what you¡¯re doing there, Ebusuku?¡± asks Jantar, and I catch the teasing in her gruff voice. ¡°The Spell didn¡¯t fail, an existing bond blocked it!¡± I hiss in frustration and cause Jantar to gawk at me. ¡°She¡¯s roaming the Material Plane, anchored by a summoner or a Pact.¡± ¡°How dangerous is she?¡± asks Jantar. ¡°We don¡¯t know. That¡¯s part of the problem,¡± I admit. ¡°Though If I can get my hands on her I can deal with her, or at least slow her down.¡± Jantar frowns, but I don¡¯t plan on spilling secrets and she goes on before the silence draws out. ¡°Worst case?¡± ¡°Worst case, she has four classes over level one hundred to work with, plus other advantages.¡± ¡°That sounds like a dangerous foe,¡± cautioned Jantar. ¡°We¡¯ve started setting precautions in place, especially after a summoner tried to call up Amdirlain.¡± ¡°I think you should tell me more about this,¡± Jantar states, her tone uncompromising. ¡°Most summoners wouldn¡¯t dare risk calling a Power.¡± ¡°A summoner not of Amdirlain¡¯s faithful tried to call her to the Material Plane without warning. His name is Aleko of Chernihiv, which is a Slav name, and we¡¯ve confirmed there is a village by that name. Though we¡¯ve not tracked him down yet, he works as a mercenary, so potentially someone that Amdirlain¡¯s upset along the way hired him.¡± ¡°The Greek or Egyptian factions, if I understand all the noise right,¡± said Jantar, her eyebrows rising when I shake my head. ¡°Not just them,¡± I admit. ¡°There are also individuals among the Norse, Nova Roma¡¯s Senators, and a few others that might wish her ill.¡± ¡°Are they trying to start a Faith war?¡± asks Jantar, her narrowed gaze and bared teeth making it hard to tell what emotion is strongest in her. Maybe anticipation, by a whisker. ¡°We¡¯ve got a few people seeking information; I¡¯ll let you know if we discover more. Amdirlain isn¡¯t part of any Pantheon though, so action against her will not trigger one.¡± At the words, Jantar chews on her moustache for a moment. ¡°No, but if her allies go smashing other churches because of actions against her, it will start one. Moradin has Priests that travel through the various Human kingdoms¡ªto deal with old places that need tending. I¡¯ll send messengers to get them to make enquires about this fellow,¡± offers Jantar. Pulling out a scrap of parchment she¡¯s quick to note down the details. The series of crossed-out items on the scrunched parchment was too good to resist. ¡°Amdirlain has her to-do list in her mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m too old to keep it between my ears,¡± grumbles Jantar. ¡°What do you plan to try next with this Viper?¡± ¡°Immediately planned? I could open a Gate and see where she is, but I won¡¯t be able to attack her through it. If I get Mortals to help, it¡¯s a risky prospect for most Amdirlain knows; except for one who could have objections. Though, do you have a scrying chamber?¡± Jantar fixes me with a curious look. ¡°Objections?¡± ¡°If she¡¯s somewhere that she¡¯s legally allowed to be, he won¡¯t act against her,¡± I say, and motion her on. She huffs but moves along readily enough, the typical rolling Dwarven gait more pronounced in her irritation. ¡°Demon summoning isn¡¯t legal in Human lands¡ªit would be against the treaties.¡± ¡°Just because she¡¯s been summoned, I can¡¯t assume she¡¯s involved. Whoever tried to summon Amdirlain, could be completely separate, but her situation is a loose end I don¡¯t like.¡± ¡°Why do you believe this Demon might be involved?¡± asks Jantar. I smile at her lack of knowledge, but Jantar seems to take it otherwise with how she relaxes. ¡°Has Moradin shared with you Amdirlain¡¯s history?¡± Jantar''s smile vanishes at the question, but her posture stays relaxed. ¡°Other than being a Fallen seeking redemption? Well, I know she has a following among the Norse and others; along with possessing an extraordinary ability with Mana. I hadn¡¯t expected a Solar to be involved with her.¡± Maybe I should change the armour. ¡°It¡¯s a complex history and one I¡¯d never have believed if I hadn¡¯t become a part of it.¡± I say and pause when Jantar opens another door. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the long tale for another day.¡± In the middle of the chamber is a disk of polished crystal, wider than my wingspan. The edge, at first glance, appears molten metal, but it only takes a moment to realise it¡¯s quicksilver held inside a transparent tube that gives the effect. The crystal¡¯s surface is at chest height to my current form, and it¡¯s not a levitation enchantment that holds it there, rather the crystal is out of phase. For all the scrying mirror¡¯s fanciness, the room holding it is very simple. The natural stone they¡¯ve shaped as a single piece, with no embellishment; an interesting precaution given the rarity of spells that allow divination to be reversed. The chamber is taller than the crystal is wide, but still barely big enough for several armoured Dwarves to walk around the mirror¡¯s edge without bumping it Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The divination enchantments sit thick across it, and letting my fingertips drift across it, I feel their energy attuning my focus to their power. The moment Jantar shuts the door, I push my knowledge of Viper and desire to see her into the crystal. The pale-skinned woman who appears centred within the crystal pane is smiling at someone¡ªor something¡ªout of view. Plainly clad in new attire¡ªpants, blouse, and cloak¡ªthe garments, woven silk in bright arterial reds, and vibrant purples, still bright from being dyed. A silver headband holds back loam brown hair and shows off slightly pointed ears. The moment she looks towards the pane¡¯s focal point, her gaze hardens with menace. The mirror¡¯s magic doesn¡¯t allow True Sight to function through it, but that doesn¡¯t stop me from seeing the malice in her gaze. The crystal¡¯s perspective gives a clear view of a busy marketplace behind her. A bazaar filled with stalls with a variety of produce on display and packed with Mortals of all ages. The garb of the men is like Farhad¡¯s style, with guards carrying spears, notched shields and wearing scaled armour instead of the chain hauberks of the Norse. Suddenly Viper smiles and blows a kiss before presenting the back of her hand, the middle finger extending in a blur of motion. Her motion is far too fast for the best-case scenario, though I¡¯d like to know why she still possesses Classes of any significance when Amdirlain kept the levels. Was she leeching experience from Amdirlain all along? The moment I lift my fingers from the mirror¡¯s rim, the energy cuts off, taking the image with it. ¡°The worst case looks possible. I¡¯d hoped it had purged her classes.¡± The exasperated mutter I let loose makes me realise how much dealing with the Celestials has lowered my guard. ¡°Human marketplace, from the looks of it. Any idea where it is?¡± asks Jantar. ¡°I¡¯ve never stood on your world, and it¡¯s the first I¡¯ve seen any of it,¡± I reply, and it¡¯s the simple but foolish truth¡ªI should have checked on him. ¡°There were some banners in the background, Farhad might recognise them. I¡¯ll send a message and image to Aggie in case Viper keeps that disguise.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there Human¡¯s on other worlds?¡± ¡°No, there aren¡¯t. There are beings close to Human, or Humanoid as Amdirlain calls them, but not Humans. These seemed similar in appearance and garb to Farhad.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Zenya put her wax tablet on the shelf next to the others Amdirlain was setting in place. ¡°Know we have a bell until dinner.¡± Amdirlain snuck a glance at the impressions on the tablet¡¯s surfaces before setting them in place. Their maths lesson had been far more complex than she¡¯d expected, but then, a base twenty-one number system had been unexpected. It was strange that while learning the Gith language had told her all the words for their numbers, it hadn¡¯t included their numerical system. ¡°Novice Amdirlain, would you explain what you meant by the difference in our Monk ways to yours? Also, what was the light you used healing me?¡± asked Zenya hurriedly. ¡°Githz¨¦rai Monks unleash their physical potential by applying natural psionics to empower flesh. The way I follow empowers the flesh to exceed its limits via the use of spiritual energy called Ki.¡± Furrows appear on Zenya¡¯s brow, and after nipping at her bottom lip she continues on. ¡°But you still use your psionics with your Monk abilities?¡± ¡°I use psionics and I also use Mana with them,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Though my incorporating of psionics is likely different, I didn¡¯t have time to learn much of your people¡¯s approach.¡± The Novice¡¯s gaze snapped up at Amdirlain and went wide-eyed. ¡°You have an Affinity?¡± Surprised by Zena¡¯s reaction, Amdirlain finishes stacking the tablets in place before she answers. ¡°I¡¯ve a Wizard Class.¡± Zenya¡¯s mouth twisted into a mournful frown. ¡°A Wizard as well? Know my siblings take after my parents; they all had affinities before they were eight, so I doubt I¡¯ll ever get one.¡± With a reassuring smile, Amdirlain just rubbed her shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about others. Focus on what you want to achieve in life.¡± ¡°And if you still want a dream that won¡¯t occur?¡± asked Zenya. Amdirlain bit back the offer that was on the tip of her tongue, yet Zenya¡¯s sad expression twisted painfully inside her. ¡°You don¡¯t know gaining an affinity won¡¯t occur, just that it hasn¡¯t yet.¡± ¡°Know that gaining an affinity¡ªnever mind, you¡¯d know¡ªI think I¡¯ll focus on who I am now,¡± sighed Zenya. ¡°That¡¯s an excellent idea, but never give up on your hopes,¡± Amdirlain said and headed for the door. Hopefully Duurth is open to an offer. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll try, but that hope fades more every year,¡± muttered Zenya, and followed her. ¡°Could you teach me your fighting techniques?¡± ¡°How about I help you and any others practice Zerthi? You can practice strikes or kicks against me.¡± said Amdirlain and immediately hoped them hitting her wouldn¡¯t hurt them. ¡°Know that doesn¡¯t help us practice blocking,¡± Zenya said with mock frustration. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m not throwing an attack near any of you,¡± said Amdirlain ¡°Know when you were practicing you were just a blur,¡± Zenya said, her eyes lighting up to match the sudden energy in her voice. Amdirlain nodded sharply, still annoyed with Tenzin. ¡°I was following instructions.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t Master Tenzin say to take your time?¡± With them nearing the doorway Amdirlain lowered her voice, and Zenya had to lean close to hear her speak. ¡°That was me taking my time Zenya.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± The wide-eyed expression had Amdirlain chuckling and she had to wave off Zenya¡¯s hurt expression. ¡°Did you have anything planned for the break before the last meal?¡± ¡°Know you have my thanks for your concern. Know I need to help sweep the courtyard,¡± said Zenya. Amdirlain immediately headed in that direction, and Zenya walked quickly beside her. ¡°I¡¯ll come help then, since I¡¯ve not been told what duties to perform yet.¡± The rest of their table was already out in the courtyard when they arrived, and Sarith pointed to two broad brooms propped up by the door when they arrived, the gesture¡¯s snap matching her tight-lipped expression. Tempted to just restore the courtyard to a pristine condition, Amdirlain felt for the material that had accumulated and felt the will that kept it from disappearing. Giving them more exercise or an exercise in humility? Cleaning the courtyard¡ªand washing up afterwards didn¡¯t take long¡ªand they joined the other tables in the refectory after the chimes had barely finished. Amdirlain¡¯s bowl being offered first again made her aware of the pattern on the other tables. A recognition made clearer with the heated gaze Sarith fixed her with even while she nodded thanks. ¡°Why are you here? Can¡¯t you just leave, oh powerful one?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Know you should apologise,¡± said Gemiya. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Sarith can say what she wants as it doesn¡¯t worry me,¡± said Amdirlain, and gave Gemiya a relaxed smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad she¡¯s confident enough to express herself.¡± ¡°Know her behaviour isn¡¯t right,¡± Zenith said, and carefully took her own bowl. ¡°Relax, her question doesn¡¯t worry me. I know your places aren¡¯t normally open to outsiders, I apprec-¡± ¡°Know you talk a lot,¡± Sarith growled quickly. ¡°I do, but I was also defending your right to trash-talk me, so chill angry girl,¡± teased Amdirlain, trying not to smile at Sarith¡¯s frustrated expression. Did I upset seniority? I wonder how it¡¯s worked out. Sarith swallowed a quick mouthful of the stew and grumbled. ¡°Know that you make no sense.¡± Amdirlain stopped herself from laughing at Sarith¡¯s mood and gently chided her instead. ¡°Vinegar is good for preserving vegetables, but not everyone enjoys the outcome.¡± The statement only earned another flat look from the upset girl. ¡°Do you know how weird you look?¡± ¡°Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so just as well they have eleven,¡± quipped Amdirlain, her word play making her wonder if the eye-stalked monster actually existed in this reality. ¡°Know that you make no sense,¡± said Sarith. ¡°You¡¯re assuming I need to make sense to you,¡± said Amdirlain, fighting to keep herself from laughing. ¡°Novice Sarith and Novice Amdirlain are you finished eating?¡± asked Tenzin, and Amdirlain couldn¡¯t resist smiling at the heated glare Sarith gave her. After having been escorted to see Master Healer Elliyna¡¯s rooms once, apparently she could find her own way back again. Master Tenzin simply instructed her to attend her session and started assigning evening duties to others. The Healer responded to her tap on the door while her hand was still in motion. The old Githz¨¦rai was sitting stretched out on a different couch, but again had a blanket over her legs. Without being told to sit, Amdirlain just took the seat closest to her centre of vision. Her ready selection of the backless stool got a puzzled look from Elliyna. ¡°What¡¯s got your thoughts in a vice right now?¡± asked Elliyna, immediately upon Amdirlain sitting down. ¡°I¡¯m trying to behave myself, and speak to Master Duurth about something first,¡± replied Amdirlain. Elliyna didn¡¯t respond immediately, rather she studied Amdirlain and let the silence stretch uncomfortably. ¡°Merely behaving yourself etches a thousand frown lines into your face?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an exaggeration; I¡¯m trying to avoid causing disruption as a Novice,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Given the disruption you caused as a guest?¡± asked Elliyna, and waved her immediate response away. ¡°Know you aren¡¯t the only one I¡¯m speaking to while here. Know that shouldering more concerns by yourself isn¡¯t your purpose here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an issue I¡¯ve helped others with and I feel it would be wrong just to ignore her distress. There is a Novice whose parents are High Anarchs, and whose siblings are all able to follow that course. She doesn¡¯t possess any affinities, and it upsets her¡ªI want to help.¡± ¡°How did this topic come up?¡± ¡°We spoke briefly about my Monk Class¡¯s difference to the Githz¨¦rai¡¯s Monk Class. During my explanation, Mana came up in the conversation, and she told me about her family,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Know it is good you are talking to others, but don¡¯t shoulder what you cannot change,¡± said Elliyna. ¡°That¡¯s just it. I can change it, or I¡¯ve managed it with every other species,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know the fact is you¡¯ve not spoken to Master Duurth, so worry is a waste of energy you need for healing. How did you go separating yourself from any of those murderers¡¯ memories?¡± Amdirlain considered the progress that dragged on slower than the cliff climb. ¡°It¡¯s hard going.¡± ¡°Why do you find it so hard?¡± enquired Elliyna. ¡°Do you see yourself capable of their actions?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a murderer.¡± state Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve killed thousands, judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one.¡± ¡°You see battles as murder?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve killed sentient beings outside of battle, while they slept or distracted. I justified it to myself, but it was still murder. An entire priesthood has perished at my hands, many sleeping, and a bunch of their servants that were involved in their foulness.¡± Elliyna¡¯s gaze fairly pinned Amdirlain in place. ¡°Had you murdered anyone prior to viewing these Souls¡¯ memories?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain, fighting to let the tension that had built go. ¡°I¡¯d trained to defend myself, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯d ever hit someone outside of sparring prior to killing a Demon.¡± ¡°Who was the first being whose death you count as murder?¡± ¡°Unless you count a freshly gestated Demon, or when my Demonic side was in control? An animal who¡¯d been raping young women, some of them barely older than the Novices. The legal process needed one of them to stand up and accuse him, but he¡¯d left them so afraid they wouldn¡¯t or couldn¡¯t risk it.¡± ¡°So you avenged them?¡± questioned Elliyna. ¡°I couldn¡¯t do anything for them, except give them the peace that he wouldn¡¯t hurt another. I had no way to heal what he¡¯d done to them.¡± ¡°What happened to him?¡± ¡°I let him lure me to his house. He hadn¡¯t been planning to let me leave alive¡ªan escalation on his part. When he grabbed me, I kneed him straight in the crotch. Then we had an unpleasant talk in his cellar. He didn¡¯t die cleanly. I didn¡¯t know everyone he¡¯d hurt, and I wanted the authorities to get them help. I¡¯d ask him questions and just read the answers from his mind. Some of his thoughts had me wanting to hurt him more. When I was sure he¡¯d given me all the names¡ªI killed him quickly, and I''m still glad I did.¡± Elliyna pursed her lips a moment before she spoke. ¡°You were sure they would help them?¡± ¡°No, but I gave them information, so they¡¯d help the girls. My choice was to give them a chance to help them. I couldn¡¯t make their choices for them,¡± said Amdirlain, and missed the look Elliyna gave her when she rubbed her face. ¡°Did you enjoy hurting him?¡± asked Elliyna. Memories of his muffled screams rose up and the urge to hurt him worse carved its way through her tensing muscles. ¡°I hurt him enough to get what I wanted.¡± Elliyna¡¯s question snapped like a whip. ¡°Did you enjoy hurting him?¡± Amdirlain shift awkwardly on the seat, and almost changed spots but held herself in place. ¡°Yes, and no. When I could see what he¡¯d done to them in his thoughts, yes; but afterwards, no, I was just glad he was dead.¡± The barrage of questions didn¡¯t continue, and it was only after a pause that Elliyna spoke softly. ¡°What did you do afterwards, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°I wrote his victim¡¯s names and pinned the parchment to a beam near his body. I left the backdoor propped open to attract attention. The next day I gave his purse of coins, and some gemstones to the girl¡¯s mother so she could get her daughter healed.¡± Elliyna¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave Amdirlain, but she didn¡¯t leave her waiting. ¡°Do you see yourself as a monster for what you did?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even talk to anyone about it, and later the authorities went ''nice work. no problems,¡± replied Amdirlain, and waved a hand to one side. ¡°Did it upset you they accepted your torture of him? Or did you take it they confirmed you were a monster and thus merely acting as expected?¡± Elliyna whispered, the volume drop making Amdirlain focus to catch the words. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I felt!¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°There were others to help, and then I got verbally ambushed on other matters; I didn¡¯t even stop to consider it.¡± Elliyna motioned her to relax, and only after Amdirlain¡¯s expression calmed did she speak again. ¡°Know we¡¯ll come back to this. For now, when you arrived on that ledge, had you killed anyone?¡± ¡°Do animals for food count?¡± Her response had practically blurted itself out and left Amdirlain wondering why she was being evasive. ¡°Did they count to you?¡± asked Elliyna, her focus not budging an inch. ¡°No, I was a meat-eater, never honestly considered it,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and caught the amusement in Elliyna¡¯s gaze. ¡°Know that¡¯s a downside to a monastery; I¡¯ll not get a good cut of meat while here,¡± said Elliyna, lightly smacking her lips. ¡°Did you kill the animals you ate yourself?¡± ¡°Never. It was so impersonal where I lived. We didn¡¯t kill the animal, we just went to the store and purchased it already neatly cut up. Even seeing someone cut, or having a nosebleed, was an unusual day for me,¡± replied Amdirlain. Elliyna nodded thoughtfully at Amdirlain¡¯s words and her focus shifted away momentarily. ¡°Know that is quite a change, to go from never having killed for thirty-odd years, rarely seeing blood, to killing thousands.¡± ¡°Do Demons and undead count?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯m certain no one would count destroying undead as killing. Demons though; do you count their destruction as killing?¡± asked Elliyna, brought back to the moment by Amdirlain¡¯s question. ¡°Pest control mostly. I¡¯ve met very few Demons that didn¡¯t enjoy far worse deeds than the murderers I look into,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You looked at them with Soul Sight, did you?¡± Elliyna probed, her gaze fixed on a sudden twist in Amdirlain¡¯s expression. Amdirlain tried to smooth her flinch away before she replied. ¡°Their minds mostly said enough.¡± ¡°Know including mostly means yes,¡± observed Elliyna. ¡°Yes, there was some I looked at with Soul Sight,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Elliyna nodded grimly and fixed Amdirlain with a worried look. ¡°Now why did you ask if either counted?¡± ¡°If they counted, then it¡¯s millions; I¡¯ve killed thousands of Slaadi in a day,¡± replied Amdirlain. She paused before responding, but finally Elliyna nodded. ¡°Know that no Githz¨¦rai will count dealing with Slaadi as killing; that is indeed pest control. Do you count them?¡± ¡°They¡¯re intelligent,¡± retorted Amdirlain ¡°Know when you work to analyse memories¡ªtry to remember how you were¡ªnot how you see yourself now. Know the impact of the memories is making your view of yourself worse,¡± instructed Elliyna. Amdirlain gave her braid a tug and dropped it in reflex when Elliyna glared at her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t even recognise myself anymore.¡± ¡°Know partly it might be because of all the pain you¡¯ve allowed yourself to accumulate. Though can you imagine surviving all you¡¯ve been through as you were? Are any of the horrors you see your doing? Do you even know any of the Souls whose lives pressed into you?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Now, what is the first memory there?¡± insisted Elliyna. The effect of Soul Sight had been a brief instant; a single frame sliced into a film running fast within her mind. A thousand facets of moments in lives, not hers¡ªhad stabbed into, bled across and stained through her. The first surfaced from amid the wreckage in her mind palace and Amdirlain twisted in disgust within its coils. Reality stuttered within it as she found herself both the participant and observer through the perpetrator''s senses. Sweat so thick it was a membrane of foulness sliding across his/her face. It came oozing from every pore in the heat of his/her exertions, wrapping around her as the body¡¯s cooling fluids splash across his/her legs. ¡°I¡¯m fucking a corpse.¡± Elliyna flinched back at the flat statement, and her gaze softened. ¡°Know the action isn¡¯t yours and analyse it. Know you need to keep to the pattern you choose, so it¡¯s in your control. What¡¯s on the upper left of your perspective?¡± ¡°A severed head watching me¡ªthem.¡± ¡°Know you are doing well, keep going. Know you should break it down, turn it into facts of an act that is not yours.¡± 155 - The frayed ends of sanity Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Amdirlain caught the fatigue in Elliyna¡¯s sigh and opened her eyes to look over at the elderly Githz¨¦rai. ¡°I¡¯ll head back and continue this deconstruction.¡± ¡°Know that some nights my old bones need more sleep than others,¡± replied Elliyna. ¡°Know soon enough I¡¯ll be merely another within the Fortress of Memories, but hopefully that¡¯s years enough in the future that I can see you right.¡± The name caught at Amdirlain¡¯s attention and brought a frown to her lips. ¡°You worship an aspect of the Winter Court¡¯s Queen?¡± Elliyna jerked upright and fixed Amdirlain with a surprised look. ¡°Know that I¡¯m only a worshipper, so it¡¯s rare to hear other¡¯s names for her. Know that Raven Queen is the name used by the Githz¨¦rai who follow her.¡± The moment Elliyna named her Amdirlain felt a shift in the air about them, awareness focused on them implicitly invited through the wards. Yet while she could feel the cold kissing across her skin, Elliyna didn¡¯t react in the slightest but continued her explanation. ¡°As a mind healer, why would I not worship the Lady of Memories? Know that memories hidden in darkness are the key to resolving your present pain.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s among an Elven Pantheon, don¡¯t the Githz¨¦rai have their own Deities?¡± enquired Amdirlain and clamped down on her urge to leave. ¡°Know that if we once did, none survived our forerunners¡¯ time and the Gith¡¯s mental enslavement by the Illithid,¡± replied Elliyna. ¡°Is my allegiance an issue?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s certainly a surprise,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Her mind whirled at the thought of Mab later learning of what she endured via Elliyna¡¯s Soul, let alone any past lives if they unlocked them. ¡°Know that I can see from your expression it might be,¡± sighed Elliyna. ¡°Would you like us to limit our discussion to techniques while you consider it?¡± Amdirlain shifted slightly but remained sitting on the stool she¡¯d perched on earlier in the evening. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that.¡± ¡°Know that such won¡¯t be as effective as actively assisting you to explore memories, but discomfort would make the processing of memories harder.¡± ¡°How about I help you get to bed?¡± offered Amdirlain quickly. A flat look from Elliyna fixed her in place. ¡°Know I¡¯m aware you seek to divert the topic; I¡¯ll manage such in my own time.¡± ¡°Good evening to you then, Elliyna,¡± replied Amdirlain and politely nodded before leaving. Though the monastery was well lit, every shadow along her route to the dormitory felt more profound, more real than the surrounding stone. Each of them possessed a sheer weight of attention that hadn¡¯t been present when she¡¯d used Tyr¡¯s name on the Elemental Plane of Earth. It wasn¡¯t until she stepped into the dormitory that the shadows returned to normal. Though it was unclear the reason for normalcy¡¯s restoration, Amdirlain was glad for it, given that Zenya and Gemiya stood outside her room. ¡°Novice Zenya, Novice Gemiya, isn¡¯t it close to curfew?¡± Amdirlain asked when close enough to speak normally. Gemiya nodded and gave Amdirlain a pleading look. ¡°Know that it is indeed. Might we speak to you briefly?¡± ¡°Can it wait until tomorrow?¡± asked Amdirlain. Mental fatigue and tension from the evening turn set an ache through the back of her skull. The shoulder bump Gemiya gave Zenya gained her a quick look of frustration before Zenya spoke in her usual soft tone. ¡°Know that I¡¯m not sure if I can sleep without knowing.¡± Amdirlain sighed and rubbed her face, but after a moment of futilely trying to rein in her unsettled state, nodded sharply. ¡°What is it you wanted to know?¡± ¡°Do the Monk ways you follow provide a means to gain an Affinity?¡± asked Zenya quickly. ¡°Zenya, I¡¯m sorry, but what the Monk teachings I follow can do is beside the point. I¡¯m here as a Novice like yourself. I¡¯m sure the council would frown on me teaching without permission.¡± stated Amdirlain and continued when Zenya went to object. ¡°Do you think a non-Githz¨¦rai has ever taught here?¡± ¡°Know that I doubt such has ever occurred,¡± Zenya admitted. ¡°If you believe the lack of this knowledge is going to keep you awake this evening, it might be best to start meditating to calm yourself,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°I hope you achieve your dreams but taking that approach could have me asked to leave, which would end my plans and your own.¡± ¡°But surely-¡± Amdirlain held a hand up, and Zenya stopped immediately. ¡°Patience Zenya, please be patient. I want to help you with an immediate solution, but it¡¯s not something I can solve right this instant. I have a great need for simple meditation at present, so I¡¯ll bid you good luck in getting to sleep.¡± The glum expression on Zenya¡¯s face twisted a knife in Amdirlain¡¯s heart, and she removed her vocal cords to stop any promises from slipping out. Patting her shoulder, she stepped past them into her room and sat cross-legged in mid-air. Her position wobbled erratically at first within Telekinesis¡¯ support and made her unsettled state clear. She didn¡¯t look at the girls again, rather closed her eyes and extended her awareness to the Ki¡¯s mist washing through her form. The gentle energies¡¯ movements soothed the anxiety without wrapping her emotions in ice. The sounds from the other rooms gradually eased away, and finally, her fellow Novices settled off to sleep. The corridor¡¯s shadows thickened mere moments after the final minds around her settled into sleep. With her eyes still closed, it was the unvarying temperature plummeting that drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention. The figure that appeared, didn¡¯t stay within the shadows but stepped quickly out of them, and soft boots brushed the stones. The woman¡¯s translucent skin allowed ever-shifting symbols held within her flesh to project shadows across walls, and their continual movement made it impossible to determine her features. Like the symbols her features constantly shift¡ªeven disappear¡ªto allow the writhing symbols to appear unhindered by form¡¯s constraints. Only a mantle formed of raven feathers draped about her shoulders provided any constant. The ruffling feathers carried strange murmurs of sound and eerie voices that resonated within Amdirlain¡¯s room. ¡°I had no intention of invoking any of your names again,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m aware of the guidance Elliyna is providing you. Perhaps we might come to an arrangement that will speed the process.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t look away from Mab¡¯s twisting figure, fixing her gaze roughly on where her eyes should be¡ªif she actually had eyes. ¡°While I¡¯ll assume the offer is because of your oh so generous nature, I believe I need to put in the hard yards myself.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you even interested in hearing my offer?¡± asked Mab. Sharply biting her own lip as numbness tried to crawl across her skin, Amdirlain worked to keep her tone polite. ¡°Who are you here as?¡± The figure¡¯s lips twisted and moved out of sync with the words that whispered from behind Amdirlain. ¡°Aren¡¯t I allowed to visit an associate of old?¡± Amdirlain resisted the temptation to add concealed eyes. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can be here however you wish, yet you didn¡¯t answer the question directly. Good night.¡± A wave of darkness shrouded the figure, and their surroundings so completely Amdirlain couldn¡¯t see beyond the door. ¡°How many murderers¡¯ memories are soaking in your mind? How dark do they stain the light you¡¯re trying so desperate to hold on to? Wouldn¡¯t you like to be done with the torments you¡¯ve not earned? I could help you purge all those memories, take those murderers¡¯ memories from you.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not buying into your bait,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you delight in the unsavoury taste of what others have done?¡± Not caring that her hands clenched tight in the fabric of her robes gave her tension away, Amdirlain still spoke in a measured tone. ¡°I was too quick to offer you that aspect of Set¡¯s power previously, since you¡¯re taking me for a fool.¡± ¡°Do you consider yourself wise now?¡± taunted Mab in a tone sharp with mockery. The taste of blood trickled in her mouth, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t start back from having bitten her tongue. Slowly counting to ten, and then again, before counting to a hundred when the urge to spit angry words at Mab didn¡¯t wane. Only after the bitterness of pain and mocking thoughts ebbed did she trust herself to speak. ¡°I try not to make the same mistake twice. I already pointed out to Elliyna how I feel about what I¡¯ve done, so I¡¯m dealing with my memories. You do not have permission to touch any of them, ever.¡± So many mistakes I need to learn from, but I think I can keep Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s lesson in mind. ¡°If I leave without an agreement, I¡¯ll not be so quick to come answering you again,¡± growled Mab. ¡°I didn¡¯t say your name nor even mention your proper title, so you¡¯re not here at my call,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps not, but I could take my worshipper with me,¡± said Mab smugly. ¡°Such an old dear, isn¡¯t she? Who knows when her Soul might slip its Mortal coil?¡± ¡°You will do what you will do. I¡¯ll not negotiate any other agreement with you,¡± Amdirlain retorted. ¡°I¡¯m not responsible for her, and certainly not you.¡± ¡°Yet you have so many whose Souls are in your care, but you¡¯re here, alone and friendless,¡± Mab hissed. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you¡¯d drop your responsibilities on another and runoff. Planning to buy replacement friends with your nice little tricks?¡± ¡°Do you have multiple aspects so someone will agree with you?¡± asked Amdirlain and gave Mab a tight smile. ¡°Unlike you, where even the voice in your head hated you? I wonder what Viper might plot without you slowing her down?¡± teased Mab. ¡°All the things in your life, past and present, that you despised. Did you try to hold on to everything when you cast her out? Did it work? How much slipped through your fingers because you were drowning in these memories? How many lives or Souls will slip through them yet?¡± ¡°I never wanted Viper to be my friend. I wanted her gone, and I wanted her constant urging to fuck something to stop,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s got protections presently. Initially, there was the potential you¡¯d protect her¡ªfor all I know you do¡ªbut someone certainly stopped her from being summoned by the Sisterhood.¡± ¡°They stopped her from being summoned that time,¡± replied Mab. ¡°You wanted her gone? Well, that is certainly a theme of your friendships. Are you having fun sitting here in a simple cell with so many of your friends about you? How fast did your ¡®friends¡¯ leave you alone again? I know you rescued Isa, and she¡¯s not even by your side while you deal with all the pain you ignored. More than some of it, I¡¯m sure, because of her situation.¡± Amdirlain ground her teeth, and she replied in a hiss. ¡°Word gets around fast, it seems.¡± ¡°I hear everything that occurs in the dark, Amdirlain,¡± Mab purred. Pervert. Mental fatigue gnawed at her self-restraint, and the desire to spit venomous words at Mab clawed within her. Yet Amdirlain just closed her eyes and returned her focus to the Ki¡¯s mist drifting through her flesh. The whispers from Mab¡¯s mantle hissed questions she couldn¡¯t quite make out, only the tone gave their nature away. The silence stretched, and darkness pressed around her, but Amdirlain let the Ki¡¯s mist bring forth memories of a misty morning camping with her family. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Focused on that memory, she still noticed when Mab vanished; the calm natural silence that heralded her departure was a welcome change. ¡°Ebusuku, I¡¯d appreciate you letting me know if you have any ideas for safely tracking down Viper. I had a visit from the Winter Court¡¯s Queen. Her questions implied Viper is involved in something, though I don¡¯t know if she was baiting a trap, or it merely suits a plan of her own.¡± A mere moment after the Message Spell faded away, Ebusuku words came back to her. ¡°Let me worry about Viper. We¡¯ve got your back. I don¡¯t like loose ends, so I¡¯ve been looking into options already. Take care of yourself, Amdirlain. Give yourself time to heal properly.¡± Mentally battered Amdirlain didn¡¯t return to deconstructing memories but allowed her mind time to drift and relax in the Ki¡¯s mists some more. The energy¡¯s timelessness carried her on its tides until the morning chimes. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Duskstone ¡°Please tell me where she is,¡± Isa says the moment I let her in the room. Her furrowed brow and tight lips ripe with concern, at least a change from the light-hearted expression she wore last I saw her. Moving back to the weapon collection I¡¯d laid out on the bed for inspection I carefully moderate my words. ¡°Amdirlain is where she needs to be.¡± ¡°Ebusuku, I¡¯d appreciate you letting me know if you have any ideas for safely tracking down Viper. I had a visit from the Winter Court¡¯s Queen. Her questions implied Viper is involved in something, though I don¡¯t know if she was baiting a trap, or it merely suits a plan of her own.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s words whispering in my ear have me ignoring Isa and immediately sending a reply. Isa¡¯s shifting expression makes me wonder what she might have heard within spells that shouldn¡¯t be able to be intercepted. ¡°I just finished the last scroll,¡± Isa says, and I caught the tone of regret. ¡°I chewed her out, told her what we¡¯d been through, but she didn¡¯t even say boo about what she¡¯d endured. Please tell me where she is. I need to say I¡¯m sorry for misjudging her in person.¡± ¡°You and Ilya survived a lot together and have a bond in that survival. Amdirlain normally keeps her pain hidden away, and it sounds like that was the case in life. Was it not?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Isa begrudgingly admits. ¡°Amdirlain asked me to be gentle with you, so I¡¯m only going to say this to you. You¡¯ve read the details, but far more happened between the facts in her tale. While the pair of you were weaving your plans to get yourselves free, she was helping everyone she could along the way. What you do with your existence is your choice, but my choice is to put her wellbeing above your - requests¡ªhowever much regret you now have.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I messed up. Amdirlain¡¯s situation threw me. I can¡¯t hear her song, and that threw me even further. Yes, I missed what I should have seen. I was mostly outside Hell, but I was there enough to learn that immediately trusting someone at face value is foolish. I can hear so many details in your song: your outrage, those you consider family, an actual family, a lover, care for Amdirlain and not in any priority.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°So I get why you¡¯re doing this,¡± Isa says and slows her words before she continues. ¡°If you won¡¯t tell me where she is, at least tell me why she¡¯s rushed off.¡± ¡°You¡¯re used to her locking things down and focusing on others. Correct?¡± ¡°Julia¡¯s inability to look after her own emotional-¡± Isa stops and blinks. ¡°Her tale mentions nothing about issues. I should have read between the lines and knew she didn¡¯t look after herself. All the stuff she did? How could she not deal with all that as she went along and stay sane?¡± ¡°Pure Willpower, locking things in boxes, and focusing on what she needed to do next. After getting you free, and having a clear path for Sidero, she said the feeling was like suddenly being on stilts instead of balancing on a tripod. Without the need to keep going, memories¡ªher own and those she¡¯d absorbed¡ªbroke loose. She¡¯s dealing with their impact now, and needs time to heal. I¡¯m trying to buy her all the time I can so she doesn¡¯t feel something needs her attention. You need to not push her.¡± ¡°Can we help you buy her that time?¡± Isa asks, and I take back some thoughts I¡¯d had about her selfishness. ¡°We? You¡¯re offering Ilya¡¯s help as well?¡± ¡°I spoke to her before I came to see you, she¡¯s been studying her grimoires to distract herself. I¡¯m sure she¡¯d help as well.¡± ¡°Distract herself from what?¡± Isa pulls a face, and I¡¯m almost sure she won¡¯t tell me. ¡°She¡¯s not a fan of being underground, and that¡¯s all I¡¯ll say.¡± ¡°As long as it doesn¡¯t hurt Amdirlain or anyone else I¡¯m not worried,¡± I reply, and get a nod of appreciation. ¡°Do you know any songs that can pull a summoned Demon off the Material Plane?¡± ¡°Most of my songs I learnt by duplicating spells, blessings or environmental effects. Then it¡¯s a matter of focusing on applying the music I¡¯ve learnt to the songs I can hear around me. I¡¯ve heard a few dismissal spells and blessings, but I¡¯d have to be near Viper¡ªif that¡¯s who you¡¯re talking about¡ªin order to dismiss them from a Plane.¡± ¡°You heard Amdirlain¡¯s message.¡± I can¡¯t keep the surprise from my voice, even if her posture shift had hinted at it. The way she smiled when she threw in Viper¡¯s name made it clear she can manage what I thought impossible. ¡°Yours as well, the Message Spell resonates with its contents. What weren¡¯t you telling Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Viper is on the Material Plane, and when I scried her, I saw some banners. Farhad has since identified them as belonging to a city in the Kingdom of Darius. Her physical movements were fast so she might have kept all the levels Amdirlain gained. I can¡¯t easily get onto the Material Plane, and if she¡¯s got class over level one hundred-¡± ¡°Lots of people will die, and Amdirlain will blame herself. Can I help? I mean Amdirlain got to the Material Plane, and Ilya and I are both Planetars, not Solars. We both have technically five classes over level one hundred if you count Erinys. I wouldn¡¯t resist if Aggie summoned me the same way she summoned Amdirlain. We might be easier to summon since neither of us has gained levels since we evolved.¡± ¡°You¡¯re both independent Celestials¡­¡± Isa interjects the moment I stop to consider the options. ¡°Which means anyone with enough power could summon us, so try not to let our names spread too much,¡± Isa teases. ¡°I was more thinking that I¡¯ve met a High Priest of Vergadain¡ªthe Dwarven God of Luck.¡± ¡°Well, at least they have good taste. Two questions: would you trust them with your name? What¡¯s his help going to cost? Though actually, third question¡ªwhy not Aggie?¡± ¡°Aggie¡¯s no longer near the Gate she used but for the High Priest I mentioned it¡¯s just a matter of going to Stoneheart and summoning you. We¡¯ll have to see what he wants though¡ªhe does like to negotiate. He¡¯ll certainly ask for something in return. Keep in mind Vergadain¡¯s champions are often in need of rescue on various planets. If you don¡¯t like the offer, we¡¯ll organise it with Aggie.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go talk to him then,¡± Isa says. Storing the weapons I¡¯d been checking takes time, but she waits patiently by the door. The walk through Duskstone¡¯s corridors draws almost as much attention as previous days. I catch Isa¡¯s lips twitch in amusement several times before I ask. ¡°Anything special amusing you?¡± ¡°Do you like standing out? I mean because if so, it works, and based on Amdirlain¡¯s description of her initial meeting with you, it sounds like you stood out then.¡± ¡°My appearance serves the same purpose now as it did then,¡± I reply simply. Isa giggles erratically for a few moments and gets more stares focused directly on her, yet her voice is bright and cheery when she continues. ¡°Here I am. Try and take me so I can kill you. Is that the purpose of your past and current look? When I did the augury the other morning, I drew a lot more cards than normal. One of them was the Queen of Death. You have such fiercely passionate music coming from you, not the grim sound I was expecting from someone that card represents.¡± ¡°I wear what I wish to wear, what others make of my appearance isn¡¯t a concern beyond the occasional need to disguise myself.¡± The location of the inn on the main concourse isn¡¯t far from the Temple area, and Vergadain¡¯s Temple is the first of them. The Temple blends in with the wealthier merchant stores that sit on the concourse. A fur clad Novice wearing a chain of silver coins about her neck is haggling with a merchant over the donation expected for a Blessing. When another Novice comes forward to greet us, I give him a smile with enough teeth to prompt him to wave us through. I¡¯ve no intention of spending another hour haggling to get a moment of the High Priest¡¯s time when he invited me to come back. Beyond the storefront receiving area is a vault door, crawling with runes and wards, the outer energies hiding further layers of traps both magical and mundane. They¡¯d filled the inner Temple with displays of wealth, and I pick out the traps and guardian devices placed around each of them. The pattern around several have shifted from the day before, but I don¡¯t see any sign of them having activated. Merchant Prince Paqnid is easy to spot at a fancy table near the back of a Hall. His neatly trimmed brown beard braided with thin gold chains, and several loops of chain with gold coins held in jewelled settings sit about his neck. Though he¡¯s laughing, the sound doesn¡¯t carry to us through the surrounding wards until we get within arm¡¯s reach of his guest¡¯s chair. Just as the sound didn¡¯t reach us, his laughter doesn¡¯t get purchase in the agate gaze he has fixed on the Dwarf sitting with their back to the door. ¡°You¡¯ve got my terms. I¡¯ll let you think about them all you want, but they won¡¯t be changing. I¡¯ve others to speak with now, more worth my time. Good profits to you, Merchant Nardel.¡± ¡°Your terms are going to scrap my profit, Priest,¡± growls Nardel. The Dwarf pushing to his feet almost tips over the polished stone chair. With its stone back falling towards me I stop it and push it against his legs, the startled look in his black gaze making it clear I¡¯d spoiled his fun. Tanned skin flushed with anger matches the colour of his beard, but the gem-set clothing provides little doubt that the High Priest isn¡¯t the only one gouging profits. ¡°Fancy seeing you again so soon Ebusuku. Why I¡¯m sure it was just the other day we spoke,¡± booms Paqnid, before bursting into laughter. ¡°Because it was. Merchant Prince Paqnid, might I introduce you to Isa. Isa, this is Merchant Prince Paqnid, High Priest in Vergadain¡¯s service. Paqnid, we¡¯d like to discuss some terms of service with you,¡± I say, and note Isa¡¯s sharp smile. ¡°What sort of service are you after Ebusuku? I would have thought your Lady Amdirlain would speak with Jantar, or one of them more charitable types.¡± ¡°Paqnid, I hope you don¡¯t mind me calling you Paqnid? I have one question for you first: are you feeling lucky?¡± Isa asks sweetly. Flourishing a deck of cards, a flex of her fingers sends the cards cascading between her hands. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can talk while we play.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the stakes of the game?¡± asks Paqnid, his gaze twinkling at the prospect. ¡°We¡¯ll get to that. Tarot deck, six suits, wild, fine with you?¡± Paqnid wrinkles his nose and gives a quick headshake. ¡°I¡¯d prefer blind fool, with a double hidden, if we¡¯re not tossing bones.¡± ¡°Blind fool it is but let¡¯s make it a triple hidden. Winner gets to pick the next game after we discuss stakes.¡± Even understanding the words, the terms are gibberish, but I¡¯d never been much for games of chance outside battle. Though I catch the wordplay in Isa¡¯s choice of game. ¡°Now you¡¯re talking, lass,¡± laughs Paqnid, and looks at the cards Isa¡¯s shuffling in a blur of motion. ¡°Though perhaps we should use my deck.¡± ¡°Ebusuku didn¡¯t quite introduce me properly. I¡¯m Priestess Isa,¡± Isa says, and slaps the deck down on the table between them. Sitting down opposite him, she draws a silver arrow shaped medallion out of her shirt and lets it fall free. ¡°I worship Luck, and games of chance are sacred.¡± Paqnid slaps his hands together excitedly and reaches for the cards, only for Isa to put her hand on top. ¡°Shall we say the highest card deals?¡± The prince of coins card Paqnid turns up gets a smile until he sees the queen of stars in Isa¡¯s hand. ¡°I believe I win,¡± Isa says, and I can¡¯t tell if she¡¯s genuinely surprised or not. Klipyl¡¯s PoV - South from central Pass Though the sensations cut off, my insides keep pulsing, making the mewling noises sneaking from my mouth flutter. ¡°Was that the famous Dread Gaze of the Kytons?¡± I ask, only once the mewling noises stop fighting their way free from me. ¡°I was really expecting something different from that Power.¡± Sidero¡¯s reply draws my attention to the pile of bodies that have grown while I was distracted. ¡°It¡¯s a Power Dominators get called Stimulation, most use it to torment with pain. Separately, Amdirlain and I both found a different use for it. Her tale of taming those Hags was amusing.¡± Rising, I look around over dead stacked in neat rows nearby; with them shucked from their shells, the Thri-Kreen corpses make for a fine mess. ¡°Yeah, but when you promised an orgasm, I was hoping for something a bit more¡ªphysical.¡± ¡°I provided you with some very physical sensations,¡± answers Sidero. ¡°Count yourself lucky I went with pleasure, considering you must like pain the way you use Celestial blessings.¡± Hundreds of additional bodies suddenly appear, extending the height and length of the rows. Glancing about the battlefield, we¡¯d gotten nice and messy, the stretched bloodstains now free of bodies showing its diminished size. ¡°I can put up with a bit of pain to draw on Amdirlain¡¯s blessings. What are you doing? Why are all the bodies in piles?¡± ¡°They¡¯re in piles because I plan to deal with them,¡± states Sidero firmly. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving them to rot in the sun.¡± ¡°That would take forever. Why not just let the scavengers take care of them since you¡¯ve peeled them from their shells?¡± ¡°Once stacked, it won¡¯t take long at all to incinerate them en masse.¡± ¡°Do we got to?¡± ¡°Klipyl-chan you don¡¯t have to do anything, but I¡¯m not leaving them to rot. Their scent is wrong, and I¡¯ll not risk the soldiers to the north. I¡¯ve no memories that make sense of what I¡¯m tasting in the air. While it might be the Illithid¡¯s changes, it could be a disease. Unlikely, given that the soldiers should have died already if the Thri-Kreen carried diseases, but I prefer not leaving things to chance.¡± ¡°What¡¯s with the ¡®chan¡¯ you added to the end of my name?¡± Sidero glances my way with her lips twisting into a smile. ¡°It¡¯s a suffix that indicates you¡¯re a cute child.¡± ¡°What!?¡± ¡°Your behaviour is erratic. It¡¯s part of life¡¯s natural order that while they learn most species¡¯ young tend to be erratic. Would you prefer your behaviour viewed as part of the natural order, or for me to enforce order on you?¡± growls Sidero. Her suddenly stern expression doesn¡¯t shift when I pout at her, and even fluttering my eyelids doesn¡¯t get a reaction. ¡°Talk about reversal. I¡¯m wearing the Dominator¡¯s leather and you¡¯ve got chains on you. Why are you bossing me around?¡± ¡°You said you¡¯d follow my orders. You¡¯re here getting stronger and to let me get messages elsewhere quickly if it¡¯s needed.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I did, but I fight as well!¡± I quickly protest, but Sidero just waves it away. ¡°You do a reasonable job at that, but you have a lot to learn.¡± ¡°If I wanted someone talking down at me, I could have stayed a whore in the Abyss. Plenty of Demons and whatnot there ready to judge me. I figured it wouldn¡¯t be an issue the way you and Amdirlain spoke. Guess I was wrong.¡± Sidero freezes with an expression so intense I consider just teleporting away, but she abruptly nods. ¡°You¡¯re right, my apologies. Your battlefield mobility is a useful advantage. Though perhaps we need to discuss tactics so we can fight together effectively.¡± ¡°I would prefer to avoid getting speared by your chains,¡± I agree readily. ¡°Though how do you plan to burn all these bodies?¡± Sidero sends a horde of oddly shaped metallic mouths cascading from her hands and the closest that lands near me shows me a surface etched with runes. A loop of them wraps itself around the rows before she motions me back and touches the nearest. White-hot flames erupt from the mouths towards the bodies and the heat consumes them instantly, leaving only blackened baked ground behind. ¡°Like that,¡± says Sidero smugly. ¡°That¡¯s not normal for even magical flames.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t fire, it was plasma.¡± The last word I don¡¯t even recognise, but her tone seems to indicate it explains everything. Its sheer white fury reminds me of tales of some Dragons¡¯ breath weapon. 156 - If you try sometimes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Master Tenzin started when she entered the courtyard, and Amdirlain immediately appeared behind her. Her surprise vanished back into stillness, too slowly for Amdirlain to miss. ¡°Master Tenzin,¡± said Amdirlain politely, and noticed the meditation mats appearing under the direction of Tenzin¡¯s will. Tenzin looked over at Amdirlain again and frowned. ¡°Know the first chime has not yet rung Novice Amdirlain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware Master Tenzin, I just needed to be out of my room,¡± replied Amdirlain dryly. Once the mats were all created, Tenzin motioned Amdirlain to her position. ¡°Are things with Master Elliyna not progressing well?¡± ¡°They are progressing at their own pace,¡± Amdirlain said before adding an admission. ¡°I¡¯ve a long road ahead of me.¡± ¡°Know one truly has only now,¡± replied Tenzin, before she stood off to one side. Master ?daka wasn¡¯t long in arriving and bowed to Tenzin and Amdirlain before she took up her position. ¡°Master ?daka,¡± greeted Amdirlain. ¡°Know while I appreciate the formalities, I remain aware of the truth between our relative statuses,¡± replied ?daka. ¡°Novices have a half rest day every tenth if you wish to train together.¡± Amdirlain went to respond, but ?daka continued quickly. ¡°Know I meant train¡ªnot exchange pointers¡ªas I believe I would learn much just from observing your forms. Know I¡¯d understand if you¡¯d prefer to decline given the way we conflicted the last time you visited.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll consider it, but likely I¡¯ll be engaged in meditation any chance I get to rest.¡± ¡°Know that the offer is there whenever you need a change in your routine,¡± ?daka stated, surprising Amdirlain with her persistence. I don¡¯t think her father would be the type to force her to go play nice. Is she actually trying to make up for being a bitch? Though she didn¡¯t actually accept responsibility, maybe she¡¯s too proud to do so. Sense Motive [M](10->11) Amdirlain inclined her head to hide her surprise. ¡°It¡¯s appreciated, but it will be a while before I look to extend my schedule.¡± [Diplomacy (14->15)] The morning meditation didn¡¯t provide any surprises, though Amdirlain felt various Novices fleetingly contact their breath with Telekinesis. The session had only drawn to a close when Tenzin spoke up. ¡°Master Jarith? would like to see you in his study, Novice Amdirlain. You¡¯re excused from breakfast if you wish to see him now.¡± Paranoia cut through Amdirlain and she closed her eyes momentarily, only able to hope Elliyna was still alive after Mab¡¯s unsubtle threats. ¡°Thank you, Master Tenzin; I¡¯ll go immediately.¡± ¡°Know I hope he sends you away,¡± Sarith whispered smugly, but Amdirlain simply walked away. Master ?daka fell in step beside her. ¡°Know it¡¯s rare but not unheard for monastery business to start before breakfast, but only important matters. Did something occur last night?¡± She didn¡¯t prompt for an answer, and the silence stretched between them until the aerial bridge between towers came in sight. ¡°A few matters that I¡¯d planned to discuss with Master Duurth, but it could be unrelated. Did you hear of anything that might warrant his attention?¡± ¡°Know the only strangeness was the Grand Master¡¯s delegation arriving in the early evening. Know that the Seers didn¡¯t foresee their arrival either, but much over the last few days is providing surprises¡ªit has some of the council¡¯s factions unsettled,¡± said ?daka. Though other questions arose, Amdirlain merely stuck with the subject at hand. ¡°What is normal for delegations?¡± ¡°Know months of planning occur before a delegation¡¯s arrival; surprise delegations are unknown,¡± replied ?daka. Amdirlain gave ?daka an amused smile that rocked her with the energy surge that flowed with it. ¡°You¡¯ll never be able to say that again.¡± ¡°Know you also seem unsettled,¡± ?daka observed. ¡°Last night was unsettling. I really wanted to speak to Master Duurth about it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep myself under control.¡± ?daka slowed her pace momentarily, but darted forward to catch up when Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop. ¡°Know control would be for the best; the Grand Master¡¯s outer warden leads the delegation and she can override any of Master Jarith?¡¯s decisions. Know that any member of the order can challenge when a decision impacts them individually no matter what their rank, but only when it impacts them alone.¡± ¡°Great,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°So if a judgement applies to everyone it¡¯s one thing, but if it applies to an individual, they have a right of challenge?¡± ¡°Know that your understanding is correct,¡± replied ?daka. ¡°Know also that if one issues a challenge, the challenged determines the nature of the contest.¡± ¡°Is there a limit on what they can pick?¡± ¡°Know it has to be something that both can take part in, but since you know Chaos Shaping, for example, that becomes a possibility,¡± offered ?daka. ¡°My thanks.¡± Amdirlain continued to Master Jarith?¡¯s study at a steady pace even when ?daka nodded and turned from the path towards whatever duties she had next. The study door wasn¡¯t ajar this time, and two black robed Githz¨¦rai on either side of the door immediately fixed their attention on her when she turned the corner. The pair possessed an intense focus that left their deep-set gaze flat and cold, though their brown eyes showed sharp minds behind them. Their shaved scalps added an extra edge to the angularity of their features and pointed ears. Despite their opposing genders, the similarity in their carriage and dress gave them a strange air of uniformity. Though the female appeared to have a decade or two on her male counterpart. Amdirlain could see wariness turn to caution the moment their minds failed to touch her own. Their mental energy rippled around in her own perceptions and she sensed their confusion at their inability to touch her mind. Though she refrained from reaching into their minds, she checked them both with Analysis. [Name: Meir¨®yi Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Monk / Psion Level: 68 / 68 Health: 2,478 Defence: 458 Melee Attack Power: 318 Combat Skills: Zerthi [M] (5) - Various Psionic techniques - Various Innate Powers Details: After he graduated from the inner sect of Zerth¡¯Ad¡¯Lun, Meir¨®yi worked with a combat team until offered a position with the Grand Master¡¯s Guard. ] [Name: Raszaka Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Zerth Level: 12 Health: 3,508 Defence: 585 Melee Attack Power: 350 Combat Skills: Zerthi [M] (5) - Various Psionic techniques - Various Innate Powers Details: Has progressed slowly but steadily through the ranks of the Grand Master¡¯s Guard after her graduation from the outer sect of Zerth¡¯Ad¡¯Lun. Gained the Zerth Prestige class by combining Monk and Psion at level 70.] [Zerth: A Prestige Class combining the Monk and Psion classes among the Githz¨¦rai. Variations of this Prestige Class exist depending on whether the individual combines them at Tier 2 or waits for higher Tier options to become available. The Class transforms various Psionic techniques into innate individual powers, removing the expenditure of Psi energy required for their activation.] I¡¯ve not seen that Prestige Class offered. I wonder if it¡¯s the difference in my Monk way, or it¡¯s a racial restriction to Githz¨¦rai because of their innate psionic powers. ¡°Greetings Raszaka. Know that Master Jarith? requested my presence.¡± ¡°Wait outsider,¡± said Raszaka Amdirlain felt a burst of mental energy from Raszaka and listened to her smug thoughts when the instruction to keep ¡®it¡¯ waiting came back. Seriously, position power plays? Have someone summoned and then make them wait. Stopping herself from rolling her eyes Amdirlain just stood at ease, and started meditating. The same words that she¡¯d directed at Mab the night before helping her focus. I¡¯m not responsible for her, and certainly not you. Doesn¡¯t that apply to these strangers¡¯ memories? Why do I let them stick to me this way? Do they stick to me or am I clinging to them since I¡¯ve killed so many now? I¡¯m not responsible for their acts, and I acted only to stop the ones who enjoyed hurting and enslaving others. Torm called it fighting a war in a night, and I didn¡¯t consider killing the unborn Gnarls murder. Why am I hung up on Souls that knew it was wrong? If those I respect and care for don¡¯t consider my acts evil or murder; why am I letting them torment me? Is it really a perspective of different worlds, or am I clinging to the murderers¡¯ foulness? I killed fewer people than I rescued. When does liberating someone make me a murderer? Was it because I drew a line in the sand and everyone that had crossed it went regardless of their circumstances if I found they¡¯d experienced any pleasure in the acts? Doesn¡¯t my dislike of the killing make me different? I at least killed them without the torment they inflicted on others. What was that whole saying about the ends? The end cannot justify the means, for the simple and obvious reason that the means employed determine the nature of the ends produced. I¡¯ve simply been doing whatever I saw a need to do. Does it matter that I¡¯ve taken the easy way at times to kill those responsible for torturing others? Does it cheapen the freedom I got them or their value? Or would they say I freed people by striking cowardly from the shadows, rather than showing others what needs to be opposed? Caught up in her own contemplations, it was only when Raszaka¡¯s tone turned sharp did Amdirlain open her eyes to regard her. ¡°Sorry, you were saying?¡± asked Amdirlain, though her gaze flickered over Raszaka and noted her hand resting upon the door. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°Know you will go in now, any hostile action towards the Warden and we will see you dead Elf.¡± Despite the arrogant tone, her words gained a polite nod from Amdirlain before her mind churned in sudden consideration. Is it because I dismissed their cultural aspect and simply looked at it from what I considered the absoluteness of their evil? Their church¡¯s customs taught them it was right, so they followed it, but I judged them by my own standards and what their deeds had done to others. Though why do I judge myself harshly for killing them cleanly when Souls of others like them ended up in the Abyss from corruption? I¡¯m already there, and in past lives, I¡¯m told I destroyed nations and species. Was my reasoning then pure, or did my Soul¡¯s nature let me off the hook? ¡°Do you not understand my order outsider?¡± grumbled Raszaka. Time Sense made her aware of over an hour had passed since someone had provided instructions to make her wait. Amdirlain shrugged with forced casualness. ¡°Better the heartfelt devotion of a free Soul than the grudging obedience of a slave.¡± At her words, Raszaka clenched her fists and stepped towards Amdirlain. ¡°Know you will enter the study now or leave this place. Know your place outsider, and don¡¯t quote our people''s sayings at any of the Grand Master¡¯s servants.¡± The judgemental attitude she projected set Amdirlain¡¯s thoughts whirling, and she started muttering her thoughts aloud in English feeling the need to hear them said aloud. ¡°You don¡¯t know me. Yet you judge me; at least that is what you show in your words and tone. Their very Souls showed me what they were like and instead of only judging them, I judged myself as well. Heck, I judged myself more harshly for actions I would have preferred not to take than for actions they took willingly, regardless of their justifications.¡± ¡°Are you mad, outsider?¡± Amdirlain gave him a tight smile and switched back to Gith. ¡°On what scale do you determine sanity Raszaka? A question I¡¯d been working on distracted me, and speaking my thoughts aloud helped. It was a subject personal to me, so you didn¡¯t need to understand what I¡¯d been thinking about. Would you like to ask more questions and prolong this conversation?¡± ¡°Know, Novice Amdirlain, I would request you come inside,¡± called Jarith?, from beyond the suddenly open door. ¡°Would you like to step aside so I can pass?¡¯¡± asked Amdirlain, though she wanted nothing to do with this headache. ¡°Know you best heed my warning,¡± said Raszaka, and stepped aside only after Amdirlain caught the edge of another¡¯s mental instruction. Biting back a retort, Amdirlain entered the study and took in the room¡¯s occupants. Master Jarith? sat in his normal position with a female Githz¨¦rai sitting off against one wall as if she ruled the chamber with a condescending look fixed on her face. The upturned nose of the Githz¨¦rai accented her snobbish attitude perfectly from Amdirlain¡¯s perspective. Though she clamped down on a surge of anger, the spike of emotion caused the stranger¡¯s baby-blue gaze to widen. [Name: Tallis Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: High Anarch / Grand Anarch Level: 76 / 70 Health: 16,060 Defence: 620 Magic: 522 Mana: 712,152 Melee Attack Power: 411 Combat Skills: Dagger [M] (2) - Multiple Affinities - Various Spell Lists and Psionic Techniques] The energy within her daggers¡¯ enchantments showed where most of her melee attack power came from, and Amdirlain found the condescending attitude she directed at Jarith? distasteful. Fingers twitching against her braid, she pushed aside thoughts of grabbing Tallis¡¯ own black locks before face planting her at Jarith?¡¯s feet. Does not kicking her out count as control? ¡°Are you alright today Novice Amdirlain?¡± asked Jarith?, his focus settled on Amdirlain and he seemed to shut out Tallis completely. ¡°Thank you for your concern Master Jarith?. Master Healer Elliyna startled me last night, so I didn¡¯t have the most restful evening,¡± replied Amdirlain, his calmness making her wonder if Mab¡¯s visit had been gone completely unnoticed. Tallis¡¯ presence made her loathe to bring up the matter unprompted. ¡°Has the process been productive?¡± Amdirlain nodded respectfully, focused purely on Jarith? she followed his example in conversationally cold-shouldering Tallis. ¡°It¡¯s just starting, but so far productive. I thank you again for your help in contacting her. How are you and your family today?¡± ¡°Know that my wife and I are well, our eldest trio haven¡¯t been in touch lately, but I pray to Moradin that they are safe. Have your morning meditations with our youngest been insightful?¡± ¡°Master ?daka, and I are seeking to find common ground beyond our initial differences in perspective,¡± answered Amdirlain, with a smile. ¡°Are you a follower of Moradin, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Know he is a God of Crafters and Anarchs are continually crafting Limbo¡¯s Chaos into reality for our brethren,¡± replied Jarith?. ¡°I¡¯ll have to read up on the Githz¨¦rai beliefs. My visits to the library obviously didn¡¯t cover enough of your culture.¡± ¡°Know we draw Deities from among many species. Shouldn¡¯t all seekers search for those that match to our inner truths regardless of the species who originally revered them?¡± [Diplomacy (15->16)] Are we going to small talk her to death? ¡°Of course, I can see why you¡¯d be among his faithful with that perspective. He is inspiring,¡± replied Amdirlain. Jarith?¡¯s eyebrows raised at her phrasing, and Amdirlain continued. ¡°Though I¡¯m personally not among his faithful, I¡¯ve had several pleasant conversations with his Priests.¡± ¡°Is there any purpose to this prattle?¡± Tallis asked primly. Fixing Tallis with a dry smile, Amdirlain glanced back at Jarith?. ¡°Does she lose standing by interjecting so rudely?¡± Jarith?¡¯s lips twitched the slightest fraction, but he tilted his head in contemplation before he responded. ¡°Know that perhaps reading up on Githz¨¦rai etiquette might be in order as well.¡± ¡°Thank you for your advice, Master Jarith?, though I¡¯m sure the other Novices will slowly get me up to speed on what they¡¯ve learnt at home. Is Grand Anarch Tallis a political appointee to the position of the Grand Master¡¯s outer warden position, Paramount Jarith?? Though I find it telling she hasn¡¯t progressed other classes and instead just focused on her two Prestige classes.¡± ¡°How do you see that as telling, Novice Amdirlain?¡± ¡°While High Anarch and Grand Anarch certainly give her a power boost, to have gotten Grand Anarch to level seventy without taking another Class shows¡ªto me¡ªshe¡¯s more interested in rapid power grabbing than long-term growth. Those focused on purely growing their own power aren¡¯t normally interested in paying more than lip-service towards helping others.¡± [Diplomacy (16->18)] ¡°Says the one who can¡¯t even control her emotions,¡± sneered Tallis. Did I get extra points for getting under her skin? Here I was just poking the bear for her ¡®it¡¯ crack. ¡°Have you ever had a broken limb, Master Tallis?¡± Tallis¡¯ gaze narrowed, and she bit off each word of her reply. ¡°How dare you threaten me!¡± ¡°It was a question, not a threat; at present, I¡¯ve taken an emotional injury, you might say. Like a badly broken limb, I don¡¯t have complete control, but I still possess some control. Master Healer Elliyna is helping me tend to my wounds while I conduct studies as a Novice to ensure I have a stable routine, but I assure you, I kept control over most of my emotions.¡± ¡°Then you do not know the strength of the outburst that slipped your control earlier,¡± retorted Tallis and ignored Amdirlain¡¯s question. ¡°Know I¡¯ve decided you shouldn¡¯t be among the Novices, or within this monastery.¡± ¡°I challenge your decision.¡± ¡°Know as an outsider, you have no standing to issue such a challenge,¡± declared Tallis. Amdirlain couldn¡¯t help her smug smile but restrained her urge to lash out. ¡°I¡¯m an accepted Novice of this monastery. I¡¯m not allowed to offer or accept requests to exchange pointers, but correct me if I¡¯m wrong: are challenges exchanges of pointers?¡± ¡°Know your enrolment should never have occurred, and as the Grand Master¡¯s representative, I say you will leave now.¡± ¡°Yet Master Jarith? allowed it, and as a present member of the order I issue a challenge against your judgement as the Grand''s Master¡¯s representative,¡± replied Amdirlain, and caught the slightest of flinches from Jarith?. ¡°Do you even know the challenge process?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯m sure Master Jarith? or Master Duurth can bring me up to speed,¡± replied Amdirlain. Jarith? fixed Amdirlain with a measured look. ¡°Know this isn¡¯t what I wanted regarding you here as a Novice.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need,¡± replied Amdirlain. Ilya¡¯s PoV - Duskstone The amusement tickling across my mind grew stronger with each passing hour since Isa had gone to speak with Ebusuku until it reached near-constant giggling in the background. Packing up the grimoires I¡¯d gained for a couple of new affinities, the ability to teleport to her side tickles temptingly. Unsure how the wards would react, I follow the thread of her presence instead; the same link her amusement was still coming through now. The burly innkeeper tending to the counter at the inn¡¯s front just nodding at me with a grunt when I head up. Its angle drags my attention off to the left side of the concourse the further I progress until it¡¯s pointing directly into a shop front. Even without the guidance of the thread, Isa¡¯s wordless singing carried down the concourse. The presence of her amusement and music combine to ease the stone¡¯s pressure around us. While the Dwarves seemed oblivious to the earth¡¯s energy, its sheer weight makes my skin crawl the longer we stay here. Easing through the crowd of Dwarves on the concourse, a Dwarf wearing a greyish-black fur cloak over a tabard and pants blocks my way. Chain loops of silver coins draped across his shoulders, gleaming cleanly in the concourse¡¯s crystal lights. ¡°What service are you looking to purchase from Vergadain¡¯s Temple Elf Maid?¡± ¡°How about the service of you stepping out of my way? I¡¯ve a friend inside. My interest is with her, not you or yours.¡± ¡°The one in golden armour, or the other in strange apparel like yourself?¡± questions the dwarf again, his eyes taking on that sharpness every haggler I¡¯ve met possessed. ¡°She¡¯s wearing clothes like me. I know she¡¯s inside. Now step aside.¡± The dwarf shakes his head and holds out a hand. ¡°Entry into the inner vault is a silver for the privilege of viewing Vergadain¡¯s treasures.¡± ¡°You want to take a coin from me?¡± I say and look them over with a smile. ¡°Tell you what, merchant boy, you touch me before I make it inside and I¡¯ll give you ten.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a Priest.¡± The Dwarf protests behind me, my speed having let me slide between him and a female Dwarf in simpler clothing, with a part chain of copper coins about her neck. The Temple¡¯s very air has an energy that doesn¡¯t sit exactly comfortably but is welcoming. Isa is sitting at the head of a fancy table in clear sight with a half-dozen Dwarves all focused on their cards. Piles of chits sit by each player, most tiny molehills to the mountain that Isa is raking in without a break in her singing. Halfway to Isa, I spot Ebusuku standing against the sidewall, the last lavish display providing her cover from being seen closer to the door. ¡°You had rubbish, and I folded,¡± grumbles a bejewelled Dwarf with a brown beard woven with gold chains as his attention fixed on Isa. ¡°Guess it¡¯s not your lucky day,¡± I say, when Isa keeps singing with mischief dancing in her gaze, and the bejewelled dwarf glances my way. ¡°She¡¯s in a fine voice. She might not stop for hours yet. Did someone bet her on something?¡± The laughing notes don¡¯t make the answer clear, but the song continues unabated. ¡°Merchant Prince Paqnid, might I introduce you to Ilya. Ilya that good Dwarf is Merchant Prince Paqnid, High Priest of Vergadain. There was no bet. Someone who shall remain nameless remarked that a song without words is simply noise, not truly a song,¡± Ebusuku answers. ¡°She started singing and I swear the stones have been singing along.¡± ¡°That would be a neat trick,¡± I offer quickly, and wiggle my eyebrows at Isa. Her notes change pitch and skitter about through multiple octaves at once, yet the underlying song remains unchanged. The table flexes, sending the dwarves flinching back before one and all of them fix Isa with a wide-eyed look. ¡°Why are you seven playing cards, by the way?¡± I ask while the Dwarf who was shuffling gets himself back in order. ¡°I¡¯m trying to recoup some of my losses,¡± grumbles Paqnid. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s not your lucky day at all playing cards with Isa,¡± I say and sit at an empty seat. ¡°How did this start?¡± ¡°I lost some bets and ended up owing her six Angelic summons,¡± explains Paqnid. ¡°This was my chance to win four of them back.¡± A glance at Isa¡¯s face just gains me a amused look and I wonder what she¡¯s up to needing summons. ¡°Win four of them back how?¡± ¡°We started with even chits. One of us just had to win all of hers from her,¡± admits Paqnid. ¡°At this rate, I¡¯ll have to perform them on worlds I¡¯ve never heard of and with no idea how I can get to them.¡± Spreading my hands, I give Paqnid a smile that turns his grumpy expression into a glare. ¡°It¡¯ll be an adventure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what she said,¡± huffs Paqnid. ¡°Just think, you¡¯ll come back out of it with some tall tales, and perhaps valuables to trade. Knowledge of how to get to other worlds if nothing else,¡± I say, needing to slip my leg aside before Isa can kick my shin for the tall tales remark. The main song rises to a crescendo and comes to a sudden halt. With its end, the hall¡¯s back wall bursts into a wash of light. A natural Gate has replaced the decorative stonewall, its energies a deeper version of the Temple¡¯s dedication with a tinge of the Outlands¡¯ balance. ¡°What did you do, lass?¡± snaps Paqnid, rising to his feet, but the feel of the Gate shifts his outraged expression from disbelief to wonder in mere moments. ¡°I set a permanent Gate between here and Vergadain¡¯s Domain under the Outlands,¡± Isa says with a giggle, and motions for the Dwarf with the cards to deal. ¡°Pilgrims will flock through Stoneheart to come here,¡± Paqnid gasps and practically falls back onto his seat. Isa gives him a smile before turning to me with a wink. ¡°Don¡¯t say I can¡¯t be gracious in victory.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve not won yet,¡± proclaims Paqnid. ¡°I only needed two of those summons, so these extra four are the icing on the cake, and this game¡¯s been fun,¡± replies Isa. ¡°Even if someone reels my advantage back in, I¡¯ll still count this fun a win.¡± Sidero¡¯s PoV - South from the central pass ¡°Are you done yet?¡± Tracing the runes out along the human-sized steel plate, I focus and ignore the thirty¡ªor more¡ªrepeats of the question. The instruction¡¯s logic twists a balance between what I need, and what the material will sustain. ¡°Are-¡± Glancing up at Klipyl, I find her grinning, and I¡¯m so glad I left the child-raising to Mother. ¡°You looking to get yourself in trouble?¡± ¡°I¡¯m bored. Can we go yet?¡± Straightening, I fix her with a look that has her scuffing the dirt with her feet. ¡°What do you think I¡¯m doing?¡± Klipyl gives me a bright smile at my question. ¡°Drawing boring stuff for far too long and then you started looking at it like you¡¯ve forgotten why you drew it.¡± Sighing at her reply, I almost set her orgasms rolling through her but resist the temptation to reward bad behaviour. ¡°I take it you¡¯ve never seen an Artificer work,¡± I ask, already returning my attention back to the marked lines, to check them before I engrave. ¡°Work is overrated, I hated the ledgers the hags made me keep. I¡¯d much prefer to be killing these bug things,¡± replies Klipyl, and I imagine a Hag having to crack a whip to get her to record anything. ¡°This will help us find things to kill, if you¡¯ve patience enough to let me finish it,¡± I say, retrieving an inscribing tool when the logic looks complete. Klipyl squeals happily. ¡°Oh, why didn¡¯t you just say so?¡± I barely have twelve runes embedded with Mana before the first question comes from Klipyl. Glaring at her, I find she¡¯s sprawled on her side. ¡°Did you want to get punished?¡± ¡°Why? Did you want to spank me? I can promise you I¡¯ve been a bad demoness.¡± Before I can return to the inscribing, her mewling is already rising in pitch, but it was easier to tune out than her questions. By the time the last rune is in place, the air is thick with her aroma, and still I keep my grip on her will. Setting the first Thri-Kreen carapace in place, the runes activate in a burst of mana, and the shell fragments into pieces only to reform into crickets the size of my forearm. It takes only a moment for them to re-orientate themselves before they hop southwards in a blur of speed that will eventually erode the shell. I¡¯m only through the first dozen when the Eternal Map in my mind¡¯s eye expands along the initial constructs course, contours and landmarks coming into existence. 157 - Get what you need. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Master Tallis glared at Amdirlain and shot a look of hatred at Master Jarith? before she rose to her feet. ¡°Know your challenge is accepted, and I declare it¡¯s to the death for having insulted the Grand Master¡¯s honour. Know we are fortunate that the Grand Master¡¯s Champion accompanied the delegation, so we will not have to wait for her arrival.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll ensure Novice Amdirlain knows the rules,¡± Jarith? replied calmly. ¡°Does your successor know your burial preference, Master Jarith??¡± asked Tallis. ¡°Know it would be sad after your tenure for you to end scraped out along with this Elf¡¯s remains.¡± When Tallis stalked out, Master Jarith? waited a mere moment before the door firmly closed. ¡°Know for future reference, avoid mention of the Grand Master at all within challenges,¡± advised Jarith?. ¡°Know that I have placed protections to stop anyone seeing or overhearing us if you wish to discuss anything outside the rules.¡± ¡°Is that the reason for the deathmatch?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°My reference to the Grand Master in my challenge?¡± Jarith? frowned, and after a moment¡¯s consideration, shook his head. ¡°Know she likely would have selected an option involving the chance of it somehow; she seems to loathe any non-Githz¨¦rai. Know with his Champion present, there won¡¯t be an option for appeals to the challenge.¡± ¡°Master ?daka said that a challenge could involve Chaos Shaping.¡± At her use of his daughter¡¯s title, Jarith? gave Amdirlain a knowing smile. ¡°Know shaping can also be a lethal contest. Know if she had stopped to learn more about you, then it likely would have gone that route¡ªa faulty assumption based on your Novice robes.¡± ¡°Why did you put me among the Novices?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know it was simply to give you a year of peace and stability while your healing started,¡± answered Jarith? ruefully. ¡°Know if your healing wasn¡¯t progressing, I could have held you from rising through the classes or dismissed you for others¡¯ safety.¡± ¡°I thought as much even though my presence among them is disruptive,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Am I required to kill the champion to win the challenge?¡± ¡°Know that you are,¡± Jarith? said, his gaze focused gently on Amdirlain. ¡°Fuck,¡± Amdirlain growled. ¡°Know that isn¡¯t an option for a challenge,¡± quipped Jarith?, but his attempt at levity didn¡¯t gain any amusement from Amdirlain. ¡°Am I allowed a second or someone to stand by during the challenge?¡± Giving a slight wince Jarith? replied with weighted words. ¡°Know in a normal challenge each side appoints an adjudicator with authority to surrender on the competitors¡¯ behalf.¡± ¡°But in this case, it¡¯s unneeded¡ªI get that. I¡¯m just looking to bring in someone from outside the monastery.¡± ¡°It is possible, but why?¡± enquired Jarith?. ¡°If I kill them, what happens if they¡¯re then restored to life?¡± asked Amdirlain. Her question got her a puzzled look from Jarith?. ¡°Know that once an opponent dies, that completes the challenge, you won¡¯t need to kill them repeatedly.¡± Amdirlain slowly forced her hand away from her braid, unsure when she¡¯d started gripping it again. ¡°If there are no Priests able to raise them, I know someone with the ability to restore life. Could I invite them to help?¡± ¡°Know the monastery has several Priests of Moradin able to raise the dead. Know if you win, I¡¯ll request they do so.¡± ¡°If I lose, would Master Elliyna be likely to visit me in the Outlands?¡± Amdirlain shifted her appearance and eradicated her hair when her hand twitched towards her braid again. The sensation echoed back to the ledge and had her inhale sharply, but the clear air broke the moment. ¡°Know that for both our sake, see to it you win,¡± replied Jarith? and immediately frowned. ¡°Know I¡¯ve not heard of a Fallen native to the Outlands.¡± Amdirlain smiled before she answered. ¡°I never claimed to be normal for a Fallen, Master Jarith?. Do you mind telling me what I walked into that this escalated so fast? Or was it simply my choice of wording that caused this escalation?¡± ¡±Know the Prime Anarch whose defection we reported is¡ªwell, was¡ªthe older brother of the current Grand Master. Know that when we reported his continued existence and activities, we didn¡¯t include your involvement,¡± explained Jarith? hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯ve no problem with that,¡± assured Amdirlain, and Jarith? nodded in thanks. ¡°Though I take it the monastery getting credit hasn¡¯t done you any favours with the Grand Master¡¯s faction?¡± ¡°Know that is correct, it was but one of several upsets for them of late,¡± confirmed Jarith?, and the broad smile he gave earned a raised eyebrow from Amdirlain. ¡°Know I believe your presence in the monastery prevents the Seers from piercing the veil into the future.¡± ¡°Which then gave the Grand Master an excuse to send a delegation? Would he normally have Seers monitoring monasteries?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jarith?¡¯s smile turned cynical in a heartbeat. ¡°Why would you believe such is necessary? Doesn¡¯t it require but a thought to warn others instantly if a problem occurs needing greater help?¡± ¡°Oh, of course, my presence must have been such a disruption that it called for the Seers¡¯ attention,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Is there anywhere I should await this challenge?¡± ¡°Do you need time to centre yourself?¡± asked Jarith?, and raised his hand to halt her reply. ¡°Know we will have to wait; apparently the rest of the council conversed with her and didn¡¯t inform me until now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Know everyone not on guard duty will witness the challenge in person¡ªan arena is under construction,¡± replied Jarith?. The sharing of perceptions seemed an obvious solution, but Amdirlain wondered what she was missing. ¡°Why don¡¯t they just share the view of it mentally?¡± ¡°Know the other person¡¯s perception would influence things, and a skilled practitioner could show faked results,¡± replied Jarith?, and Amdirlain thought she saw a flaw in that logic. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they override what someone thinks they¡¯ve seen?¡± ¡°Know that it would stretch anyone¡¯s capabilities to handle hundreds of slight alterations required from differing perspectives around the arena,¡± explained Jarith?. Amdirlain nodded her understanding and motioned out the window where she saw a stadium coming into existence above the monastery. ¡°All this just for my challenge? Aren¡¯t the members of the council and delegation enough witnesses?¡± ¡°Know that after you deal with your challenge, I must answer a challenge to my leadership, and such is a requirement of that challenge,¡± admitted Jarith?. ¡°Know I will need to push Master Vugharuk harder; clearly he has become too used to maintaining objects and his construction ability of new objects has stagnated.¡± ¡°So, we¡¯re both a target of the Grand Master¡¯s ire?¡± ¡°Know you are not a target, merely a course they made use of to get at me. Know you have my apologies,¡± Jarith? said softly. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t come here, then they wouldn¡¯t have reason to send a delegation,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Know you are claiming responsibility for decisions that are not your own,¡± chided Jarith?. ¡°If another tosses you in a pool, are the water droplets responsible for your clothing becoming wet, or just a component of the inevitable? Know this is merely politics and not the first challenge I¡¯ve faced.¡± The texture of the robes across her fingertips drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the nervous twitch of her fingers against her sides. ¡°I don¡¯t normally fight in this form.¡± Jarith? inclined his head in contemplation and after several minutes silence spoke again. ¡°Know you have two options: fight to your full extent, or display only what is required to win. Know Liran? is one of a select few Warmaster Zerth among the Githz¨¦rai don¡¯t underestimate her.¡± ¡°My Ki can carry Mana within my strikes, but what do a Zerth¡¯s abilities allow for?¡± ¡°Know Zerth combat techniques normally allow for focused mental assaults, but also for metacreativity effects of acids and other harmful substances upon contact.¡± Amdirlain moved to Jarith?¡¯s balcony to better look up at the stadium mid-air above the monastery its seating tiers were coming into existence a layer at a time. The sheer size of it was a stark reminder that the monastery¡ª composed of thousands of Githz¨¦rai under Master Jarith?¡ªhad risked lots of lives allowing her among them. ¡°I don¡¯t want to kill someone for another¡¯s hurt pride,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I should have left and planned to meet Elliyna elsewhere. She isn¡¯t part of the monastery.¡± Jarith? snorted and came to join Amdirlain on the balcony. ¡°Know a renowned Seer described foretelling as peeking over time¡¯s chaotic waves where each is another¡¯s choice. Know it was Master Tallis¡¯s choice not to ignore your wording; Did I imagine it when you stated you lacked knowledge of our challenge process?¡± ¡°Choices! How ironic. I should be glad she can make them, but I dislike it means I¡¯m put in the position of killing a stranger for her arrogance,¡± replied Amdirlain. Pathways started reaching skywards towards the stadium from various locations throughout the monastery, and Amdirlain could see groups already collecting near them. ¡°Know they¡¯ve sent out instructions for classes to be suspended for the day.¡± ¡°I wonder if it will annoy the Novices, or have them grateful for the disruption to their physical training?¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°What are the rules of the challenge?¡± ¡°Know the challenge rules prohibit the use of arcane objects or spells.¡± ¡°Does that include raw Mana, such as what I used on the practice target?¡± ¡°Know we do not know of such techniques among our teachings if you mean what you used on the strike plate for my daughter¡¯s education,¡± replied Jarith?. ¡°I might keep it in reserve.¡± Jarith? tapped his fingers on the side of his chair and looked at Amdirlain contemplatively. ¡°Know there is something I had forgotten¡ªit actually prohibits her escalation to a death challenge in your circumstances.¡± Sighing in relief Amdirlain gave Jarith? a hopeful smile. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Know that our traditions don¡¯t allow a death challenge when either party is suffering from a mental injury of any kind,¡± explained Jarith?. ¡°Know that I had forgotten since death challenges are infrequent, and normally a mediator would influence the challengers to fight the Slaadi instead. Know I¡¯d certainly prefer argumentative types to compete via counts of Slaadi kills rather than against each other.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m still allowed to challenge her decision to kick me out?¡± asked Amdirlain, and smiled at Jarith?¡¯s quick nod. ¡°What do I need to know?¡± ¡°Know once combat starts, it goes until there is a victor. Know in non-death challenges there are things to observe, stand away from downed foes unless grappling with each other, and avoid immediately fatal attacks.¡± ¡°Will healers be in attendance?¡± ¡°Know there will be some on hand and we can teleport them into place instantly, but she possesses abilities to heal during fighting.¡± ¡°I heal pretty quickly as well. What about other powers and skills?¡± ¡°Know that any combat-related ability you¡¯ve gained is allowed. Know they would consider the Mana technique in poor form simply because the ability draws energy in rather than increasing your capabilities,¡± replied Jarith?. ¡°Alright, what about movement powers?¡± ¡°Know they are a skilled nomad, so they possess the ability to prevent teleportations, flight, and other such abilities.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Along with a bunch of other things,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°What if they just can¡¯t see me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know they might see you if you turn invisible,¡± countered Jarith?. ¡°Know though your mental shields make determining if you remain in the arena problematic.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t meant invisibility. I can move through stone and change into basically anything¡ªdown to a speck of dirt.¡± ¡°Know that since I¡¯m aware of the possibility if any argue that you¡¯ve fled when you utilise such tactics, I¡¯ll vouch for your presence. Know you should centre yourself as best you can, she will take any advantage she can.¡± ¡°Should we not inform them a death challenge isn¡¯t allowed?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s not to your advantage; rather let them work themselves up and then take their foundation away, it will unbalance them.¡± A pair of seats appeared on the balcony and Jarith? calmly sat on one, after a moment¡¯s hesitation Amdirlain took the other, and watched the stadium¡¯s assembly continue. Novices moved up the pathways as the lower tiers finished forming, but it took over two hours before the stadium was complete. Jarith? motioned to the last figures they could see on the closest pathway. ¡°Know it is time we moved to the arena. May I teleport you?¡± ¡°Thank you, Jarith?.¡± ¡°Know this fight is because of my people¡¯s politics. Know I have failed you by allowing you to be dragged into this farce,¡± replied Jarith?. Amdirlain smiled and patted his shoulder. ¡°Didn¡¯t you point out it was other people¡¯s choices that brought us here? I¡¯ll let you move us to where we need to be.¡± Their position shifted to a perspective overlooking the stadium floor, reminding Amdirlain of box seating overlooking a gladiatorial arena. The flexibility of Limbo was apparent in how various balconies jutted out at odd angles to give unobstructed views with only the bare minimum of support. Past a row of seated masters, Tallis and a hard-faced female Githz¨¦rai stood locked in a silent exchange; their attention focused solely on each other. Amdirlain couldn¡¯t help wondering at the extent of fury she saw in other female¡¯s posture. Her intense fiery gaze didn¡¯t shift from the delegate, despite the words murmured at their arrival. Analysis confirmed her suspicion that the other female was Liran?, but didn¡¯t offer her confidence in how the challenge would resolve. She wore a sleeveless top and short pants, her exposed skin tight over whip-cord muscles, and her posture balanced perfectly. The slightest hint of black stubble that capped her scalp reassured Amdirlain that she¡¯d made the right move in removing her hair. [Name: Liran? Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Zerth / Planar Zerth / Warmaster Zerth / Battle Zerth Level: 84 / 81 / 76 / 76 Health: 207,815 Defence: 1,603 Melee Attack Power: 1,249 Combat Skills: Halberd [G] (14), Zerth [G] (54) - Various Psionic Abilities Details: A graduate of Zerth¡¯Ad¡¯Lun¡¯s inner sect, Liran? has spent years travelling multiple planes and planets, extending and challenging her combat skills. ] Fuck, Master Farhad would love to exchange pointers with her, I¡¯m sure. [Battle Zerth This evolved base class focuses on the physical combat aspects of the Zerth Class. It extends the Class¡¯s Psi armouring and develops additional mental attacks into innate powers as the Class progresses. ] It was only when Tallis looked their way that Liran? turned her attention towards them. The amber-eyed Githz¨¦rai possessed the same angular gauntness of her fellows but with the air of a weapon fashioned by a master smith¡¯s care. Liran? gave a bow of respect to Master Jarith?, and¡ªunexpectedly¡ªAmdirlain, before striding towards them. Her movements flowed with a dancer¡¯s grace every instant in balance. ¡°Know I object to such a minor matter being a death challenge, Elf. Might I know your name?¡± asked Liran? once she¡¯d stopped a conversational distance away. ¡°Amdirlain, I¡¯d prefer to be learning and healing, not fighting someone I just met for an arrogant delegate¡¯s ego,¡± Amdirlain replied, surprised by her greeting. ¡°Healing?!¡± Liran? exclaimed and shot a look of disgust at Tallis. ¡°Know Tallis did not inform me you had a pre-existing injury; then again, she also didn¡¯t bother to tell me your name. Are you still undergoing treatment?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here studying while Master-¡± ¡°Know this is not the time to play for sympathy when you¡¯ve insulted the Grand Master¡¯s decisions,¡± hissed Tallis. ¡°Know that the only person I insulted was you, and I¡¯d be happy to insult you further,¡± replied Amdirlain, giving Tallis a broad, mocking smile. Tallis went to retort, and Liran?¡¯s hand clamp on her shoulder earned a hard grunt of pain. ¡°Know I apologise for Master Tallis¡¯ interruption, but this could change much. Are you still undergoing treatment? What is the nature of your injury?¡± ¡°Know Amdirlain is dealing with the absorption of others¡¯ memories; memories that I would classify as particularly horrific, Liran?,¡± Elliyna said, slowly wobbling along the pathway at the back of the seating. A hand trailing the stonewall aided her balance, and the reason for her unsteadiness was clear; the structure of her legs below the knees shifted and flexed in appearance as Limbo¡¯s energy mingled with her flesh. When she reached the aisle, one foot had transformed into tentacles writhing and braiding around each other, the knee on her other leg suddenly hinged in reverse. ¡°Master Healer Elliyna! Why did you leave the Elemental Conflux?¡± asked Liran? and stepped towards the healer. Elliyna waved her aside with her gaze fixed on Jarith?. ¡°Know we can speak later, youngster, but I arrived before you did. Master Jarith?, you will explain immediately how a death challenge came to be issued to my patient?¡± ¡°I issued a challenge to delegate Tallis¡¯ decision that I needed to leave the monastery at once,¡± explained Amdirlain, quickly cutting off Jarith?. ¡°She declared I¡¯d insulted Grand Master¡¯s honour during the issuing my challenge and that it would be combat to the death.¡± The steel glare Elliyna had fixed on Jarith? didn¡¯t waver but lashed across to Tallis. ¡°When your Grand Master, in all his hurt, prideful, stupidity sent you, did he perhaps remove your fucking brain?¡± ¡°How dare you speak-¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± growled Elliyna, the muscles in her neck snapping taut in anger. ¡°Know that I am not a member of your order¡ªI am a Healer. Are you familiar with the Healer¡¯s rights towards our patients? Or are you the imbecile child who forgets all her lessons? Know Master Jarith? just shared the conversation you had with him, Tallis. Did you think I would not extend that care in Amdirlain¡¯s case? Did you not remember that since our forerunners, our laws confirm a Healer¡¯s right to protect patients?¡± ¡°Surely you can¡¯t mean to extend that protection to an outsider?¡± Elliyna¡¯s glare turned hot with rage. ¡°Know your decision to declare this a combat to the death is a personal attack on my rights, therefore I challenge you to the death, delegate Tallis. Know that you disgust me, and I will not let this attack on a Healer¡¯s rights stand!¡± Tallis flinched, and Amdirlain fixed her with a contemptuous look of her own. ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to say she¡¯s-¡± Before she could finish Elliyna¡¯s glare had fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°Will you hush up Amdirlain? Know I¡¯m extremely cross with you. Did it not occur to you to tell me of this situation yourself?¡± ¡°In my defence, I had other matters on my mind, Master Elliyna,¡± Amdirlain replied meekly under Elliyna¡¯s glare. ¡°I¡¯d prefer no one die over this matter.¡± ¡°Know I can¡¯t allow this to stand as a precedent. Know it risks future patients¡ªthose of others if not my own.¡± replied Elliyna. A Master along the aisle stood and offered an arm to help Elliyna sit down. Grimacing in pain, the old Githz¨¦rai sighed when the stone adjusted under her into a comfortable-looking cushion. ¡°Know I¡¯d prefer you don¡¯t take all day beating on each other.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want the challenge called off?¡± asked Liran?. ¡°Know it should only be a normal challenge, not a deathmatch, foolish girl. Do you think I care if she stays here? Know she¡¯s my patient. If Amdirlain leaves, hopefully, it¡¯s to another Plane, and the better for my legs,¡± replied Elliyna sharply. Her gaze softened, and she returned her attention to Amdirlain. ¡°Know you¡¯ve much pain to release; such emotions can crush you or serve as fuel to reach greater heights. Why not burn up some of that pain and awfulness you¡¯ve been holding inside? Know it will allow access to the actual injuries faster with less of that mess festering away.¡± Liran? looked between the two of them unconcerned and turned to regard Tallis. ¡°Know that if you survive Tallis, I will challenge you next. Do you know what the penalty is for an illegal challenge?¡± ¡°She¡¯s an outsider,¡± hissed Tallis. ¡°Know the law makes no distinction,¡± rebuffed Liran?. ¡°Why should an outsider have the protection of Githz¨¦rai laws?¡± Liran? upper lip curled, and she fixed Tallis with a furious glare. ¡°Know exceptions for who they protect weaken them.¡± ¡°Do you think I won¡¯t have you stripped of your position?¡± threatened Tallis. ¡°Know after this gambit, I¡¯ll need reassurance from the Grand Master or I¡¯ll be resigning it,¡± declared Liran?. ¡°Do you have an adjudicator appointed?¡± ¡°Master Jarith?, are you allowed to handle this for me or should I call for someone I know?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯d be honoured to be entrusted,¡± replied Jarith?, and Amdirlain smiled her thanks. ¡°Shall we move to the floor and begin?¡± asked Liran?. Giving her a nod, Amdirlain teleported herself to the floor, and Liran? appeared a distance away. Mauve crystalline energy manifested around Liran?, and Analysis showed her defence jumped to over two thousand, two hundred, and fifty. Brutal psi spikes forged of screaming nightmares given form sheathed her limbs and her attack power doubled. Her raw attack power is under my defence rating with Ki Aura. Amdirlain activated her Ki Aura in return and fed it raw Jade Court Mana. The aura that had covered her entirely in an ice-blue light came alive with red flames and consuming voids that swirled around each other. As the power within it grew, where ever the aspects touched, bursts of golden light came into existence rippling outwards through her aura¡¯s upper layer. ¡°Know I thought I¡¯d have to hold back,¡± remarked Liran?. ¡°Know I¡¯d thought the same,¡± quipped Amdirlain, before she bowed respectfully, and Liran? returned the gesture. No sooner had she straightened than Liran? surged forward¡ªthough slower than Amdirlain had expected¡ªand she activated Angelic Aura as well. The surge of bloodlust and rage within it swept across the peacefulness of her previous aura like a forest fire that consumed sanity in its wake. The energy scratched and clawed incessantly at Liran?¡¯s control and chewed at the stadium¡¯s internal psi barrier. Emotions rocked Liran? for a moment and distracted, Amdirlain¡¯s front kick struck her thigh hard, but the brunt of it slid across her crystalline aura. Spinning with the impact Liran? used its momentum to launch a kick of her own. Battle precognition had Amdirlain tumble away from a psi blade that scythed out from Liran?¡¯s kick. Its course cut the air through where her ribs had been with an acidic hiss. A barrage of potential attacks flooded Amdirlain¡¯s precognition, each of them with the intensity of fact. Against the distraction of psychic feints, it was only Amdirlain¡¯s advantage in speed that let her slide aside a flurry of punches before a knee strike smashed against her ribs. Her aura absorbed most of its force, but the strike had used her momentum against her to crack hard against bone. Barbed blades tore apart cloth but failed to find purchase in her flesh. The pair flowed through moves, not with simple mechanical precision but inside instants of adaptation and inspiration. Blows slid away, deflected by attacks that turned into swift defences before their movements twisted back into attacks again. Zen State settled about Amdirlain and aided Death Strike seeking weaknesses to exploit. Liran?¡¯s knee struck again, only to be met this time by a turning elbow strike. Amdirlain¡¯s strike cracked hard against bone, and a surge of pain carried upwards through Mortal flesh. A teleport carried Liran? away, and Amdirlain added concealed eyes about her again. Not waiting for Amdirlain to turn, Liran? leapt to attack only to find Amdirlain ready, her body contorted through impossible motions. Without looking, her heels blocked kicks that could have broken her spine. Joints and limbs bent in improbable ways to oppose Liran?¡¯s attacks. Repeatedly, they exchanged minor wounds through the vastly different auras that guarded them both. Amdirlain¡¯s speed countered Liran?¡¯s psi fields as she used her barbs as leverage to inflict wounds instead. It was anticipation from skill and innate foresight that led Amdirlain¡¯s blinding speed into dangerous traps that brought her greater speed low. Fallen flesh impaled on psi forged barbs, only to grasp and grind Liran?¡¯s aura or flesh in a vice of pressure. The mental and physical efforts were a slow glacial wearing down on Liran? while Amdirlain¡¯s onslaught barely slowed from any wound sustained. The wounds inflicted on Amdirlain¡¯s flesh didn¡¯t cease to heal, while Liran?¡¯s recovery wasn¡¯t as swift the infrequency of her wounds gave her the needed time. But each of her wounds wore away her psi energy, which was also sapped by her ongoing attacks. Liran?¡¯s anticipation of Amdirlain¡¯s counters or assaults slowed while the hours steadily ground on. Within the battle¡¯s fury, Harmony allowed Amdirlain to cycle Mana and Ki alike. The continual assaults battering at her auras, forced her to work them in sync with each other. Exhaustion gripped those among the crowd more than the pair that continued to blur about the arena¡¯s floor. Snippets of moments replayed through psi-crystals were all that allow many to follow the combat. The price records of them would fetch had Novices from poorer families strain their own mental reserves to be the first to share the records far across Limbo. Elliyna¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Not all the day¡¯s bloodshed was on the floor itself, and Elliyna retired as the conflict reached evening, leaving the deceased Tallis to be removed as well. A psi-crystal had recorded the psychic manifestations exchanged between them, but Duurth had to nurse it carefully to keep it intact in the aftermath. The barrage of scalpel sharp power unleashed by Elliyna having left the construct fractured under the extreme backlash of Tallis¡¯ mind-death. A pair of trios¡ªfrom the delegation and the monastery¡ªcompleted the copying of its fragile record in haste and others endeavoured to re-check each impression taken. Her unsteady steps made slow work of covering the route to the stadium¡¯s side passage. The place¡¯s steady lighting lit up by a burst of energy when Liran?¡¯s strike drove Amdirlain momentarily against the floor¡¯s barrier. Phantasmal flames licked across the tormented child¡¯s strange aura and hissed at the barrier¡¯s differing energies. Those flames that made it past were no longer laden with the fury that saturated the air within the barrier. Elliyna wobbled her way down the pathway, supported by ?daka¡¯s arm. ¡°Why did I think either of them would declare quickly? Know another could have served as my escort, ?daka; I¡¯m fully aware you¡¯d prefer to be recording every moment.¡± ¡°Do you think others will let any moment go unrecorded by multiple psi-crystals?¡± The question drew a snort from Elliyna and she stopped to lean against the railing. Staring down the path that ignored gravity to plummet straight towards the ground, she murmured to ?daka. ¡°Know that these events will shake some political animals about.¡± ¡°Is that why you challenged Tallis?¡± ¡°Know I challenged her because parts of your order are rotting, ?daka. Know that the order¡¯s primary families needed an example to remind them they¡¯ll be held to account,¡± grumbled Elliyna, and she looked at ?daka seriously. ?daka fixed Elliyna with a look of disbelief. ¡°You killed her because you needed to make an example? What does that say about you?¡± Elliyna struggled forward for a few moments before she spoke again. ¡°Know when a limb is badly diseased and magical healing isn¡¯t available you need to excise a measure of good flesh and bad. Though are you sure she was good? Know based on what I saw in her mind I have my doubts. Know it might be best to establish an order of your own rather than follow in your father¡¯s footsteps.¡± Her disbelieving expression not having shifted ?daka shook her head. ¡°Why would I want to do that? Know that I don¡¯t believe things are that dire.¡± ¡°?daka, do you truly believe someone didn¡¯t deliberately misreport Prime Krlakai¡¯s death originally? How did their death get reported and none involved found a flaw in the false report? By accident?¡± asked Elliyna. ¡°Know someone had to have known he was still alive. Were they hoping to avoid shame, or gain some sort of benefit? Have you considered the power the Grand Master holds over the order¡¯s members? Know more isolated places of learning are becoming settlements ruled by the order than they have for generations past.¡± ¡°What is wrong with that? Know the monasteries are always willing to protect those Githz¨¦rai that live nearby.¡± Elliyna glanced at her before she started back down the path. ¡°Know with such blindness you have no place on your monastery¡¯s council. Do you desire to be another¡¯s puppet? Have you considered the army this provides to the Grand Master if he¡ªor someone in the future¡ªdesires rulership beyond the monasteries? Should we allow them to force all Githz¨¦rai to bend a knee to the rulership others choose for them?¡± Not saying anything further, the fatigue worn Healer continued along the pathway. Once they arrived at her quarters she shut her door without a further word to ?daka. Step by difficult step, she made her way painfully between the furnishing she¡¯d brought with her. Though they cluttered the place, they served the purpose of giving her plenty to lean against without resorting to a cane. Fighting against the wounds she¡¯d taken from Tallis¡¯ psyche she collapsed onto her bed at last. Unfurling the blanket across her body, she felt the strength of its protections force her legs into their original form. Her fatigue aggravated her old aches and pains, but she chanted soundlessly to keep her focus and set to work. She had a long night ahead to heal the mental injuries Tallis¡¯ attacks had inflicted and revitalise her chakras. ¡°Did I make a mistake when saving his mind?¡± Old memories offered distracting doubts, but Elliyna simply rechecked the memory of his treatment and returned to the task at hand. She had saved the Grand Master in his youth, but the sickness of his growing ambitions was beyond her healing now. 158 - Watch your words Zenya¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand - Evening Meal ¡°Stop,¡± cried Nomein, and Zenya froze the image in the psi-crystal¡¯s projector. Before the pair an image showed a furrow opened in Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. On the floor, the fight had progressed through more attacks and counters than she could guess since the snippet they were currently studying. The tattered remnants of her robes now showed more skin than they concealed¡ªat this rate she¡¯d be indecent¡ªand yet she remained unflustered. There also wasn¡¯t a grimace or even a blink when the image slowly progressed, blood sailing from the wound in slow motion. Amdirlain¡¯s palm hand block that had deflected the barbs from her face latched onto Liran?¡¯s forearm. Liran? twisted to get free while Amdirlain spun in place. An elbow strike smashed into the psi-armour that covered Liran?¡¯s chest and sent her flying from Amdirlain¡¯s grip. ¡°Why did she let her go?¡± ¡°Did Liran? grow a psi-barb into her hand?¡± ¡°Know that isn¡¯t right, Amdirlain¡¯s hand showed no sign of injury or blood,¡± Gemiya refuted against the barrage of questions and presented another image showing Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°Do you think she-¡± ¡°Why are you excited by her?¡± growled Sarith. ¡°Know it¡¯s obvious she has no respect for our traditions. Can¡¯t you tell? How can you see the colours in her psi armour and not realise she craves attention?¡± ¡°Know that isn¡¯t psi-armour; she told us she doesn¡¯t follow our Monk ways,¡± argued Gemiya. Zenya frowned at Sarith, and her expression twisted as if she¡¯d bitten into something rotten. ¡°Know your allegations are ridiculous.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious with that garish display?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s not one armour involved Sarith,¡± argued Nomein and presented another psi-crystal showing the fight¡¯s beginning. ¡°Know I believe one power activates, then a second, Liran?¡¯s moves, and only then a third activates.¡± Lezekus¡¯ voice rose over Nomein¡¯s excitement without looking their way. ¡°She¡¯s maintaining three layers of protection compared to Liran?¡¯s one?¡± With Lezekus¡¯ attention focused on their darting movement, her cornrows danced about as she swayed in sympathy. Still, her psi-crystal hovered motionless in the air, its focus covering the whole floor. The gestalt led by her uncle supported her link to the crystal. She could feel them drawing images back to Zerth¡¯Ad¡¯Lun, but didn¡¯t understand the degree of their excitement from Liran?¡¯s prolonged fight. ¡°Know you¡¯re missing much and distracting others with your arguing¡ªwatch and capture what lessons you can,¡± chastised Master Tenzin and returned her focus to the battle. ¡°Know I¡¯ve seen her bend in ways I can¡¯t understand,¡± complained Sarith. The Novices that had fetched the evening meal passed the food quickly in a rush to regain their seats. Their haste gained grumbles from other Novices prompted to look away from the fight to take their food. ¡°Know it is a matter of adapting techniques,¡± replied Tenzin, but didn¡¯t shift her eyes or mind from the fighting again. ¡°Know we will return to the dormitory shortly before the normal curfew since it appears they¡¯ll be fighting through the night. Know that I suggest you ask Amdirlain to show the techniques at a slower pace.¡± ¡°You believe that she¡¯ll win, Master Tenzin?¡± gasped Sarith. ¡°Know that I don¡¯t believe a battle of attrition such as this favours Liran?,¡± replied Tenzin. ¡°Know unless Amdirlain makes a grave error I believe, the result to be foregone; only what we can learn is undetermined.¡± Master Jarith?¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand - Late Evening ¡°Are you having trouble maintaining the arena, Master Vugharuk?¡± Jarith?¡¯s mental tone remained politely curious to the others in the gestalt, but he didn¡¯t look at Vugharuk. Instead, his focus remained on Amdirlain. Liran?¡¯s gravity multiplier field should have pinned her to the floor; instead, she moved with the same fluid grace. Her movements appeared to glide, but every footstep cracked the stonework underfoot. ¡°Know that gravity could pin an adult red dragon and still she attacks at the same speed,¡± Master Dharna stated and added his energy perceptions to the mix. ¡°Know each foot has to be loaded down with at least twenty-six times her entire body weight at present.¡± As if to spite Dharna¡¯s statement, she lightly side-stepped and then spun on her toes to avoid a flurry of attacks. To Jarith?¡¯s eyes, their physical motions were but a blur of colours, but his mental perceptions and that of others contributed to the gestalt¡¯s understanding. Master Duurth¡¯s mind sent a question across the meld. ¡°Can Liran? sustain that field for long?¡± ¡°Know she¡¯s already sustained it longer than I had expected. Know the expenditure against Amdirlain¡¯s resistance would make it unproductive to continue with some variations of that technique.¡± The gestalt shifted as ?daka¡¯s mind rejoined it and a burst of information passed to her from Dharna. ¡°Know that Master Elliyna is within her quarters. Did anyone catch the structure used for the field¡¯s formation?¡± Dharna provided a technical burst of information to ?daka, and added a query for her confirmation. ¡°Know with the way it¡¯s stabilised I believe it could last for an hour without further expenditure. Did anyone register how much energy she used to establish it?¡± ¡°Know hordes could have died with the physical energy alone they¡¯ve spent against each other so far,¡± Tenzin interjected. ¡°What energy is Novice Amdirlain using for her armour?¡± ¡°Are you continuing with the farce that she¡¯s but a Novice?¡± asked Vugharuk. His mental presence suddenly strained when a section of the floor exploded under an axe kick¡¯s impact. ¡°Know the only farce is today¡¯s situation. Should we challenge for some of the council spots, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Does any believe Master Jarith? still has to respond to the challenge against him given the fate of Tallis?¡± The question came in nearly identical phrasing from three members of the meld, ¡°Know that I will still respond as I¡¯m looking forward to the exercise,¡± offered Jarith?. ¡°Know I¡¯ve some metacreativity refinements I¡¯ve been looking forward to inflicting on an opponent¡¯s constructs.¡± A murmur came from the silent observers as Amdirlain¡¯s body flexed out of a tumble and her Novice robes were shredded by a nest of spiked claws that erupted from her back. The tattered robes fell away revealing black scales had sheathed her from neck to toe. Amusement filtered through the gestalt from Tenzin. ¡°Know I believe Novice Amdirlain is stepping up the degree of challenge for Liran?.¡± A mental image of a group of suddenly wide-eyed Novice accompanied the words. ¡°How many more tricks does she have?¡± Dharna asked. ¡°Master Duurth, did you not say she is inexperienced with Psychometabolism?¡± The arms attacked Liran? independently from multiple directions and speeds, while a flurry of regular punches and strikes herded her around the floor. Psi-barriers and mobile shields held most at bay but placed more strain on her reserves. ¡°Know you are assuming it¡¯s a result of a psionic technique,¡± Master Halank retorted, but Jarith? was relieved when he didn¡¯t share what was obvious in their private gestalt. The pair, perhaps the only ones in the monastery that could see through Amdirlain¡¯s concealments. Master Duurth had remained discreet since Amdirlain¡¯s first arrival, but he was glad Halank kept quiet on her nature now. ¡°Did she grow tired of her robes being shredded slowly and desire to be done with them?¡± asked Vugharuk. ¡°Did anyone check she has no arcane object?¡± ¡°Know she has nothing aiding her fighting,¡± replied Halank. Again, his perceptions took in the furled wings compressed inside Amdirlain¡¯s form, and he glanced at Master Jarith?. ¡°Know I will explain later,¡± declared Jarith?, the reassurance on their private gestalt enough for Halank to control his doubts for now. Master Jarith?¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand - Late Afternoon Second Day Liran?¡¯s ploy bore strange fruit when the trap closed. A kick collided with her committed leap and Amdirlain hung suspended in mid-air by its force. Before she touched the ground the follow-up sent her tumbling and she bounced across it, shattering stone amid a pulse of increased gravity. An arm within the nest across her back broke during her tumble. When her glowing armour vanished, the delegation¡¯s mental and vocal cheers of triumph started only to cut off before they truly began. She moved in a blur that made it appear as if she¡¯d reformed upright, and the glow now shone from within her skin. The black chitinous material was now liquid gold, but the change ran onwards to override the caramel colour of what little skin she still showed. Her strange green eyes were now solid energy, one glowing a watery blue, and the other so black it seemed to drink all the surrounding light. The flames that had guttered for a moment licked the air and came back stronger still to scream havoc across the psi-barriers. Liran? limped back a step, clearly favouring the foot that had struck Amdirlain. Yet Amdirlain didn¡¯t rush in to press the advantage instead she merely circled slowly and engaged when Liran? was moving normally again. ¡°Did she evolve her psi-armour technique in the middle of the fight?¡± asked Dharna. ¡°Know if Lezekus is correct; combined two techniques might be more what was occurred¡ªif that is what they are,¡± replied Tenzin. Liran?¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand - Third Day Afternoon Amdirlain¡¯s movements through the days transformed into unpredictable waters that flowed about and sought to drag me into their deadly embrace. Heated psi-blades had proved repeatedly useless along with paralytic agents. Cold had resulted in some damage, but it healed almost instantly. Blades shaped of acids and even corrosive poisons now barely etched flesh. Only solid contacts continued to provide significant damage, but since yesterday, the impacts had infrequently hurt me as well. Psi reserves that hadn¡¯t been tapped out in years now radiate a sharp drumbeat of pain in protest with my shifts in technique. Every gasping breath that flees my lungs bakes my tongue drier still and runs liquid fire through my thoughts. The viewing platforms glow strangely and nestle among Amdirlain¡¯s claws before they dance about her shoulders. Her appearance swims around and suddenly, five of her are swaying in front of me wearing tattered robes again. A toss of my head flings them away, but the air somehow pulls me about. The water scents from among the crowd had grown stronger all day, but now they burn my nose and my stomach coils tight¡ªits hollowness eating at me. Rather than taking advantage of my distraction, Amdirlain flows backwards, widening the separation that was suddenly too far to consider crossing. The motion still her typical bursts of restrained speed, the solid blue glow in one eye mocking my craving for water. ¡°Know you need water before you pass out,¡± Amdirlain states but doesn¡¯t lower her guard. The uncracked texture of her lips taunted me as the dried salvia glued my tongue to the roof of my mouth. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Do you concede?¡± Amdirlain asks carefully, and the words seem to come from far away. ¡°Why?¡± I want to speak, but my tongue is too thick to form the word. ¡°Liran? concedes.¡± The male voice sounds familiar, but I¡¯m not sure why he spoke. Zenya¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand - Third-Day Afternoon A hush had weighed down the stadium¡¯s air, with Liran? growing continually slower as the day wore on. Cracked lips showed skin gaps with raw flesh beneath, and her skin had grown unhealthy. Sweat that had covered her in the morning had stopped after lunch, her movements recently reduced to a speed I could follow without the crystal¡¯s help. Her bloodshot eyes were practically red and rolled upward when she thrashed her head about. Amdirlain flowed back with more speed than she¡¯d shown all day. Sarith hissed in anger across from Gemiya at the sudden burst of speed. ¡°She has been toying with her?¡± ¡°Do you concede?¡± Amdirlain asked carefully, the words echoing around me from all the crystals focused on the pair. Liran? swayed and blinks slowly at the words as if they make no sense to her. ¡°Liran? concedes.¡± As if the words hit with more force than punches Amdirlain had landed, Liran? simply toppled sideways. The motion arrested when Amdirlain was there and caught her. Instead of yet another throw, Amdirlain set her gently on her side and kept a hand cradling her face. Holding her as carefully as delicate glass, she¡¯d turned Liran? with sure and careful hands. Sarith gasps in surprise when a film of water wraps Liran? from head to toe, before rapidly sinking into her skin. Yet more appears even as a Healer teleports into place and kneels beside the pair. ¡°What spell is that?¡± ¡°Hydrate, standard Water Law.¡± Amdirlain stood and the water that had wrapped Liran? vanished. He gives only the briefest nod, and brought out a medallion engraved with a hammer, the chant of a Blessing sending motes of shifting light across Liran?. The glow from the Healer¡¯s hand sinking into Liran? causes her to gasp, but somehow, she doesn¡¯t choke on the watery film still coating her face. The psi-crystal focus made her appear barely an arm¡¯s length away. Her previous drawn skin looked far healthier while her cracked and raw lips looked moist and healed. Even her well-muscled form looks to have filled back out by whatever spell Amdirlain had cast or the Healer¡¯s Blessing. Amdirlain glared at the delegation and waved her right fist at their viewing platform. ¡°One of you just belittled Liran? and I want to feed you your words right now. Who was it? Was that you Raszaka? Got any more warnings for me?¡± Motion from one viewing platform lets me focus the crystal on a delegate guard, quickly stepping back. The angle of the platform lets me see Master ?daka give a strange smile. ¡°Know I have a challenge yet to complete Novice Amdirlain,¡± chided Master Jarith?, his quiet words somehow easily audible. ¡°Know you¡¯re not allowed to educate the former assistant delegate Shr?k with an exchange of pointers, even given his crass remark." ¡°Former?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know the head delegate died in a challenge with Healer Elliyna; officially there is no delegation now, only assorted illustrious visitors,¡± stated Jarith?, and teleported to the stadium floor. ¡°How did she hear him among all the noise?¡± Gemiya murmured in awe. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand - Third Day Afternoon She pushed more Mana into a Hydrate Spell even as the first soaked into Liran? skin. The energy from the first faded from her awareness as it sank towards organs. A male healer wearing Moradin¡¯s medallion appeared, and Amdirlain exhaled in relief. The worry that had been rising burnt away like mist. ¡°What Spell is that?¡± Though concern weighed the male¡¯s brown gaze, and worry set his generous mouth in a grim line¡ªthe politics of the situation nipped at her with suspicion. Her eyes rested on Moradin¡¯s symbol, but even with that reassurance, distrust prompted her to check him with Analysis. [Name: Arith Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Priest / Psion Level: 62 / 47 Health: 2,394 Defence: 214 Mana: 12,710 Melee Attack Power: 75 Combat Skills: Warhammer [M] (5) - Various blessings - Various Psionic techniques. Details: Originally from a Githz¨¦rai enclave on the Elemental Plane of Earth, he arrived in the Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand five planar years ago. ] The curt, unexplained nod might seem an awkward gesture of respect, but it was all the apology Amdirlain spared him before she replied. ¡°Hydrate, standard Water Law.¡± Celestial words dissolved with comforting power, and Amdirlain¡¯s attention split between the combat summary and the exchange of broadcast thoughts she could hear from the upper viewing areas. [Combat Summary: Liran? Total Experience gained: 244,555 Fallen: +48,911 Scion: +48,911 Sora Master: +48,911 Psion: +48,911 Warrior Monk: +48,911 Resistance: Acid [I] (62) -> [G](2) Resistance: Cold [I](37) -> [I](60) Resistance: Poison (18) -> [I] (6) Death Strike [M](18->42) Angelic Aura [Ad](20) -> [M](2) Harmony [S](9->11) Ki Armour [S](18->19) Ki Aura [Ad](26) -> [M](1) Ki Armour and Ki Aura merged and evolved into Ki State [S] (1) Ki State [S] (1->2) Protean [M](31->40) Agile [S](35->72) Clairsentience [M](8->10) Danger Sense [S](7->10) Pain Tolerance [Ad](26->31) Perception [M](45->50) Psychoportation [Ad](22->28) Silent Storm [S](73->80) Telekinesis [Ad](11->20) Zen State [S](11->20) ] [Ki State: Ki State combines Ki Aura inside Ki Armour with a single activation cost. The effects used to project above the skin are now combined and embedded within Ki saturated flesh. The cost of Ki Aura¡¯s reactive component is under conscious control and doesn¡¯t require expenditure of Ki, while Mana Expenditure is further reduced by 50%.] I wonder if she¡¯d like a rematch? An array of thoughts¡ªboth comments and questions¡ªflitted about the stands before one caught her attention, and rage blew her calm apart. ¡°Weak arse female, fainting in a fight.¡± Amdirlain glared at the delegation and waved her right fist at their viewing platform. ¡°One of you just belittled Liran?, and I want to feed you your words right now. Who was it? Was that you Raszaka? Got any more warnings for me?¡± ¡°Know I have a challenge yet to complete Novice Amdirlain,¡± chided Master Jarith?, her senses feeling Telekinesis echo his words about the stadium. ¡°Know you¡¯re not allowed to educate the former assistant delegate Shr?k with an exchange of pointers, even given his crass remark. ¡°Former?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know the head delegate died in a challenge with Healer Elliyna; officially, there is no delegation now, only assorted illustrious visitors,¡± stated Jarith?. Amdirlain caught a broadcast thought of intent, and he appeared within arm¡¯s reach and crouched across from Arith to lay a hand on Liran?¡¯s forehead. ¡°Why don¡¯t you teleport her and Arith to the infirmary so she can recover? Know she¡¯s stressed herself, but I¡¯ve felt much worse in my years.¡± An image from Jarith? displayed an open space with a high arched ceiling and beds spaced out along one wall. A glance at Arith gained her a nod, and she teleported them to the infirmary. The beds in the place were all neatly made and currently empty except for another male Githz¨¦rai napping on the far bed. ¡°Is there any effect pushing yourself past exhaustion that way?¡± Amdirlain asked and returned her attention to Liran?. ¡°Know she¡¯ll be fine, though her standing among the Grand Master¡¯s faction will probably take a hit for having lost,¡± replied Arith. Amdirlain lifted Liran? gently onto the bed and marvelled at the lightness of her build in contrast to the force of blows she¡¯d delivered. ¡°Do you mind if I wait until she wakes up?¡± ¡°Know that many would be off to celebrate such a victory,¡± commented Arith and unfolded a blanket to cover Liran?. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to celebrate together,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Know that is an odd attitude. Might I ask why you drew out the fight?¡± Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure how to explain the moments of revelation amid the fighting. ¡°A challenge teaches us a lot; it¡¯s been a while since I fought someone that I didn¡¯t take out in minutes. We might not get the chance to fight again, so why cut the lesson short? Though honestly, it was helping me vent old pains. I can only hope I didn¡¯t insult her by drawing it out.¡± The look of amusement Arith gave her made his angular face relaxed and open. ¡°Know it will be hours before she awakens. Would you apply another Hydrate Spell?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a reassurance that I didn¡¯t insult her,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and cast the spell again, the energy sinking into Liran? and leaving the blanket dry. ¡°I don¡¯t know enough about your people¡¯s ways.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe it has also been a time since she had such a fight?¡± ¡°Good. I was wondering if she would want a rematch,¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. Arith sighed in a mix of amusement and disbelief before he left her to her vigil. Isa¡¯s PoV - City of Ecbatana - Kingdom of Darius The inn seemed a pleasant place, and the innkeeper hadn¡¯t even blinked when they¡¯d asked to breakfast on the upper balcony. They¡¯d taken a seat in the empty area away from where Ebusuku had shown Viper sitting, and the serving girl had rushed off to bring them their order. The Demon¡¯s song stood out under the stone¡¯s song and the noises of the busy market¡ªdespite being barely after dawn. Her song had brought the demoness¡¯ image forth only for their sight, and the face Viper used dug at Isa¡¯s concerns. ¡°Pulling a face like that, you¡¯ll scare the serving girl,¡± chided Ilya, the Celestial tongue capturing her playfulness. ¡°She¡¯s pretty ordinary looking for what she is; why the angry face?¡± Isa shifted position on the hardwood seat and fought off old habits of silence. ¡°That¡¯s Julia¡¯s face when we were alive, before we were cursed.¡± ¡°Isa,¡± breathed Ilya. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear more when you want to talk about it.¡± ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t get jealous again?¡± Isa asked and fixed Ilya with a stern look. ¡°I heard your music, but I didn¡¯t pay enough attention with everything else. When Sage pointed out how he took some things we¡¯d said, I wasn¡¯t happy with either of us. Ebusuku was livid under her calm when I spoke to her later.¡± ¡°Not telling me your history was safer for you, but yeah, I admit I turned into a green-eyed monster. I should have trusted you better,¡± Ilya said, and reached across the table to caress her hand. ¡°I know why I was a bitch but why didn¡¯t you rein me straight in?¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t hear her song, and I didn¡¯t know if I could trust her,¡± groaned Isa. ¡°It was like dealing with something from the Hierarchy with their words, expression, and song all out of sync. She¡¯s not a sick kid anymore. She doesn¡¯t have to be strong for everyone else. I love her like a sister, but I could strangle her right now.¡± The spike of pain from Ilya¡¯s song had Isa clutching her hand. ¡°After we deal with her, did you want to see the mountains of home again?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t matter. Even if Humans hadn¡¯t been driven away a thousand years ago, I doubt it would look the same,¡± Ilya refuted. ¡°If we go there, I¡¯ll look back, and I don¡¯t want to know if all the others died as well. I¡¯d rather have hope the surviving children made it to another village.¡± ¡°You could put a memorial up for her¡ªfor them,¡± suggests Isa softly. Ilya clenched her teeth in pain and sorrow before speaking through restrained emotion. ¡°A memorial that no human is likely ever to see, and no one will tend once we leave.¡± ¡°Sometimes we need to undertake the action even if no one else knows,¡± Isa said and raised Ilya¡¯s hand to kiss her palm. The song of disgust from the returning server earned the girl a chiding glance before she started kissing Ilya¡¯s fingers. The girl set their mugs of tea quickly on the table next to them and hurried away in a huff. ¡°Are you sure I shouldn¡¯t send her a message to say sorry?¡± Isa waved off her suggestion insistently as worry spiked inside her. ¡°Trust me, I didn¡¯t just take Ebusuku¡¯s word that it was the best course of action. I used a divination Blessing during a break between hands; it wouldn¡¯t go well if you did, so please send nothing to her. Not for you, but for her. Well, if it went badly for her and Ebusuku found out, I don¡¯t know what she¡¯d do, but she¡¯s the Queen of Death card I drew.¡± ¡°Right, I¡¯ll save my apology until later,¡± Ilya murmured. ¡°Say sorry to Ebusuku and Sage as well. Sage is calm enough, but Ebusuku is so angry you could sharpen a knife on her song when she saw you last,¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send her a message and let her know I owe her an apology; then we can hunt down this Demon. Any leads on her?¡° ¡°Her song winds through the city a bit and heads west. But she¡¯s been on the Material Plane for days and visited here a few times with sated vibes. I think there might be other songs tied to hers. I want to know more before we send her packing.¡± ¡°Like who summoned her?¡± ¡°Yes, plus a lot more. Amdirlain hoped she¡¯d grabbed all her memories from her; maybe I can help with that.¡± ¡°Always best to plan for the worst, even if you¡¯d prefer to trust your luck,¡± teased Ilya. ¡°My luck found me you,¡± Isa replied, smiling sadly at Ilya. ¡°We raided Abyssal Planes where Amdirlain had been hunting. Those legions we fetched from the Necropolis were around the time she would have been there.¡± ¡°But she would have been twisted up with this demoness then,¡± Ilya replied. The angry, disgust ladened song coming up the stairs prompted Isa to raise a hand to warn Ilya from saying more. The girl hurried in and thumped the plates down so hard the table rattled, and Isa spoke up before she could go. ¡°Why don¡¯t you bring some food you¡¯ve not spat on.¡± Isa motioned to the spread of food arrayed on the plate around a bowl filled with some type of a red paste or dip. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± snapped the girl and moved for the door. Isa¡¯s voice carried an edge of power that shivered along the girl¡¯s back. ¡°Would you like all your friends to have good luck at the price of yours?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Or how about forever needing to tell the absolute truth to everyone? Or bad luck in who you insult next?¡± Isa asked, and drew her Divine Focus from within her shirt, its energy suddenly luminescent. ¡°I¡¯ll get you some fresh shireh.¡± the girl said, her defiance disappearing in the face of Isa¡¯s stern expression, and she grabbed the bowl filled with date syrup from the centre of each plate. Ilya snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t bother, we¡¯re leaving. We need to hunt the Demon that your father¡ªI take it¡ªhosted for days.¡± ¡°Uncle would never-¡± ¡°Uncle. Well, that explains why you look so alike,¡± Ilya said. When she rose, the transformation from Elven to Planetar form pushed the table behind her back. The enchantment in their new clothing shifted to match her sudden increase in height, though the formerly loose style of her pants and shirt became a sleeker cut. The girl¡¯s wide-eyed stare grew afraid when she caught Ilya¡¯s glare. ¡°You might think love is wrong between certain individuals, be it for genders or species. My advice to you is hope to be lucky enough to find love yourself, and don¡¯t begrudge others their good fortune¡ªeven if their choice isn¡¯t one you¡¯d make,¡± Isa said and rose as well. ¡°Sorry if she scared you, but I¡¯m not sorry for calling you on your rudeness. We¡¯ve already paid for the food; enjoy your spit-laden breakfast.¡± She tossed a single Dwarven copper on the table and sent a mental image to Ilya. Catching her nod, she turned invisible and teleported away. ¡°How did you want to handle this?¡± Ilya asked across Isa¡¯s mental link when they arrived on the roadside. The merchants and their creaking wagons trudging towards the city¡¯s western gate didn¡¯t notice their invisible presence. ¡°She felt Ebusuku¡¯s scrying, so we¡¯ll keep following the trail her song left. When we find her I¡¯ll use a song to anchor her in place and ask her some questions. Summoner, purpose, how much she remembers, and then we¡¯ll go from there.¡± ¡°Will you tell me more about the two of you while we travel?¡± Isa frowned and gave a sigh ¡°Three of us, I learnt more about Sidero. Yeah, I¡¯ll fill you in so you know just how badly we behaved. Viper¡¯s song feels like she¡¯s on a horse. We¡¯ll need to fly to catch up she¡¯s days ahead of us,¡± Isa replied, and took to the air following the road. ¡°Why did you tip her at all?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bad penny; after all, Luck has two sides. It¡¯s only set to nip her once,¡± Isa replied. ¡°Why did you react that way? She was just a teenager, even if she was a bitch.¡± ¡°My father-¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You still backed me up, even if you apologised for me,¡± Ilya pointed out. ¡°Of course, for better or worse.¡± ¡°You and those vows,¡± huffed Ilya good-naturedly. A moment later, a Message disappeared to Ebusuku asking for time to apologise for her conduct. ¡°So, these gifts do have a cost: burying my pride.¡± 159 - Angel of Death Sidero¡¯s PoV - Grasslands ¡°My, what a big hole you¡¯ve got there!¡± Klipyl squealed upon cresting the rise before she started giggling. It was a mischievous sound that turned into full throated laughter while slapping a hand against a thigh. ¡°A fisting wouldn¡¯t even touch the sides.¡± The pit resembles a sinkhole and¡ªexcept for the rain faded scent of acid¡ªmight pass for one. ¡°You have an odd sense of humour, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I mentioned fisting to one of Amdirlain¡¯s Lantern Archons,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°The little firefly was so funny. She thought I was talking about punching someone and even mentioned that Kytons would enjoy punches. Though after hunting with you, I¡¯d say it¡¯s more flaying things with your chain-blade thingies that gives you the jollies.¡± ¡°My preferred prey as a Hunter is Demons,¡± I reply and watch her eyes go wide before I wave her off. ¡°I¡¯ve been restraining myself.¡± ¡°Meow. Don¡¯t restrain yourself for my sake, Hunter girl,¡± Klipyl laughed. ¡°One question though, if you catch me, will you eat me?¡± ¡°You wish, Klipyl. You wish. We have other things to focus on.¡± ¡°Bugs, bugs, and more bugs,¡± huffed Klipyl and tugged a ragged rip a throwing disc had left in her leathers. ¡°I thought the wave would never end.¡± ¡°Damage to your wardrobe aside, it confirmed that this place is at least a staging area.¡± ¡°Will you tell me one other thing,¡± Klipyl started and paused until I waved her to go on, already used to her continual questions. ¡°If Kytons aren¡¯t Devils, why did you decide your preferred prey is Demons?¡± ¡°My years in Hell¡¯s Army,¡± I reply. ¡°When I gained the Class, I figured I¡¯d be back defending the wall at some point. Let¡¯s head down.¡± ¡°Do we got to? I mean, this place is the pits,¡± punned Klipyl, gesturing to the hole as if I might miss the point of her joke. I have to purse my lips to keep the smile at the dad joke from getting loose. ¡°I thought that was the Abyss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Hell that has Pit Fiends,¡± protests Klipyl. ¡°Don¡¯t go pinning that name on us. Have your little scouting bugs found anything else interesting?¡± Her question draws attention to my Eternal Map, only to find the Power shows no change in its fog of war since the fight ended. ¡°Nope, and they¡¯ve come apart.¡± ¡°Going to whip it out again?¡± Still working to keep a straight face, I set the plate on a clear patch among the bodies and added a new carapace. The recon crickets speed away around the hole, scouting ground level as per the plate¡¯s instructions. They¡¯ve barely started on their way when Klipyl tosses a body off the edge¡ªit¡¯s nearly ten seconds before I hear a faint splat under the bird calls. ¡°That¡¯s a long way down,¡± Klipyl cheerfully remarks before licking blood from her fingers. The burns and blisters that blessings had raised on her lips during the fighting had already healed. ¡°You¡¯re a strange demoness.¡± Klipyl snaps her attention from the pit to fix me with a beaming and inviting smile. ¡°You¡¯re a strange not-a-Devil.¡± The wave of sexual craving she projects washes across me, and¡ªfor just a moment¡ªI miss Gaius. There isn¡¯t any point in raising the sensation with her. I¡¯ve never met a Succubus that didn¡¯t project it. Though Torm insisted Amdirlain didn¡¯t project that vibe when she visited initially, he¡¯s hardly the best judge. ¡°I¡¯ll send out a few dozen sets, and then we can head down.¡± ¡°Not doing the burning bodies thing again?¡± asks Klipyl, waving at the thousands of dead on the plains about us. I give a quick head shake and point at the strange multi-winged birds overhead. ¡°We¡¯re hundreds of kilometres from the castle, and even scavengers have to eat. Though, jump back to the castle and describe this place to Echo with me standing on the edge, I¡¯d like him to have at least seen it.¡± ¡°Do you think he¡¯d be interested in-¡± I wave her off with a laugh, and ignore her hurt little pout. ¡°No and watch the come fuck me routine with the Erakk?.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hurt them, Amdirlain might get upset, but fighting and blood make me feel frisky,¡± Klipyl huffs, practically squirming on the spot, hugging herself and rubbing her hands along her sides. Brushing a hand across my face to hide the momentary smile that breaks loose, I indulge in teasing¡ªjust a little. ¡°Does flying make you feel frisky as well?¡± ¡°Oh yes, especially with no clothes. The wind brushing across my cunt makes me crave something, filling me up. How did you guess?¡± Yeah, she¡¯s a Succubus! I bet she¡¯d give a similar answer about walking, or eating, or heck, washing dishes! Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Arith¡¯s fellow healer was still napping when he returned with news that Master Jarith? had thrashed his challenger. He settled his gaze on Amdirlain with a glum expression before he continued. ¡°Know you¡¯ve missed two sessions with Master Elliyna, and my instructions are you¡¯re not to miss a third.¡± ¡°My session is following the evening meal, which is shortly,¡± Amdirlain said, and Arith nodded in confirmation. ¡°Am I allowed to return afterwards?¡± ¡°Know you are still a Novice and not injured,¡± Arith said reprovingly before he glanced at Liran? and frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Know that you¡¯ll need Master Tenzin¡¯s permission to return.¡± ¡°Thank you, Healer Arith.¡± ¡°Might I know if your armour technique is natural to your species or a technique that you learnt?¡± Amdirlain looked down at herself and smiled sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯d forgotten I still had the scales in place. At least I removed the back claws-¡± Master Duurth¡¯s arrival interrupted her, and she looked up hopefully. ¡°Know that Master Jarith? has sent the remains of the delegation on their way, so he expects no immediate trouble.¡± ¡°They left¡ªwithout Liran??¡± ¡°Know there were a few concerned about you finding a way around your restriction to exchange pointers,¡± replied Master Duurth dryly. ¡°I was looking forward to chatting with Raszaka. I wanted to see if he¡¯d run his mouth to the ¡®it¡¯ again,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Know you should change your attire¡ªit¡¯s very skin-tight,¡± remarked Duurth. ¡°Know I¡¯m naked. I transformed my skin,¡± retorted Amdirlain. Both of them blinked rapidly and then spun around. At first stilled into silence, laughter eventually hiccupped from Amdirlain at their reaction. A set of new robes appeared instantly via Protean but she halted and didn¡¯t separate herself from them. Shrinking them back away, she created a set with Chaos Shaping, and changed her flesh to normal. ¡°I don¡¯t know what is up with you two. I¡¯ve had that appearance for days now, but I¡¯m dressed again.¡± Duurth turned back with an exasperated look. ¡°Know that it is simply improper once we became aware.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel like rejoining them for the evening meal. Is it alright if I wait here and monitor Liran? for a bit and then go to my session with Master Elliyna?¡± ¡°Know that I only came to provide the news. Know that nothing is obstructing you from using Teleport to Elliyna¡¯s door from here,¡± stated Duurth and went to leave. Amdirlain raised a hand to motion him to stop, and he halted with an enquiring look. ¡°Master Duurth, might I have a moment?¡± ¡°What is it you wish to speak about?¡± Amdirlain gave Arith a look, and he simply returned it with a smile. ¡°Do you mind if I speak to Master Duurth alone?¡± ¡°Know I do mind: it¡¯s my infirmary, a patient is present, and my colleague is also still recovering. Would it not make more sense for you and Master Duurth to go instead?¡± ¡°Know that arguing with healers doesn¡¯t go well,¡± advised Duurth with a straight face. ¡°Shall I Teleport us to my office?¡± Arith caught her glance at Liran? and waved her away. ¡°Know I monitor her even when I¡¯m not in the room.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master Duurth.¡± The chamber that appeared around them was like Master Jarith?¡¯s, with its minimalistic furnishing and general lightly marked stone. A noticeable exception was a coloured sand painting¡ªnearly a metre square¡ªthe elaborate swirls standing out amid the starkness even in earth tones. ¡°What is it you wish to speak about?¡± Amdirlain considered the promise she made to Zenya and cut right to the chase. ¡°Would anyone have objections if I helped interested Novices gain Affinities?¡± ¡°Gaining Affinities is not a simple matter, and they have much to learn already,¡± reproved Duurth. ¡°It might be a simple matter if my technique will work for the Githz¨¦rai. It¡¯s worked for Mortals and Immortals, though, so I expect Githz¨¦rai will be fine learning as well.¡± ¡°Years?¡± asked Duurth with his hand resting on the back of his chair. ¡°Nowhere near that,¡± refuted Amdirlain empathically. ¡°You¡¯d need more time for a meal.¡± ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed Duurth, his mouth still agape he stared at her bereft of his usual calm. Duurth pulled himself together and eyed her warily. ¡°What is involved in this technique? Does this involve an ability of your kind?¡± The customarily composed master made a motion with his hands like a bird spreading its wings. ¡°It¡¯s a technique¡ªa Power really¡ªfrom my Monk style, called Harmony. I use Telepathy and Harmony to allow another to understand the energy involved in an Affinity, and it unlocks. There are no pacts, bonds, or deals involved; I¡¯ve even helped Celestials gain Affinities. Most recently, a group of Dwarves who were introduced to me by a High Priest of Moradin.¡± ¡°What Affinities can you teach?¡± asked Duurth. Still not sitting down, he tapped his fingers on the chair¡¯s arm. Amdirlain pulled a face and broached a matter that still worried her with Yngvarr. ¡°Two, I wouldn¡¯t want to teach unless someone I trust is looking to unlock a powerful Class option, but I can teach every Affinity. I¡¯d prefer not to teach Infernal or Abyssal, but at least two powerful Wizard Prestige classes required every Affinity to access them. Plus, there are a bunch of other Prestige classes that need multiple Tier Four and Five Affinities.¡± Duurth blinked at her like Liran? had kicked him in the head. ¡°You know what is required to gain Prestige classes?¡± ¡°Yes. If I don¡¯t know immediately, I can find out pretty easily¡ªwithin chimes with its name. If I focus right, I can also learn the effect progressing it will have on a person.¡± Duurth gasped before she¡¯d finished and more fell than sat onto his chair. ¡°Know I believe that Master Jarith? should converse with you on that matter. Would you show your technique to me?¡± ¡°What did you want to learn?¡± ¡°Would Nature be acceptable for a demonstration?¡± enquired Duurth, his gaze alight with excitement. ¡°Know that Nature is hard to gain in Limbo and understanding it benefits the Chaos Shaping of our gardens for food growth.¡± Amdirlain sat down on the simple chair opposite his own. ¡°Harmony is an extension of the Meditation Skill, so if you reach a centred state, it will be easier to help you. Reach out your mind towards me. I¡¯ll meet you in the middle, and we¡¯ll begin.¡± Focusing on the interaction of nature elements, Amdirlain experienced Duurth¡¯s wonder at feeling the energy wash over his awareness. The experience¡ªnormally muted¡ªcame across strongly with his Telepathy linked to her own. He absorbed the concepts wholesale because of his extensive Telepathy experience and dropped out of the meditative state in under a minute. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll discuss this with Master Jarith?, but he is still dealing with the aftereffects of the visitors. How many can you teach?¡± ¡°Maybe a hundred individuals at a time,¡± suggested Amdirlain and continued her explanation when Duurth raised his eyebrows in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve not pushed my limits in a while. It could be more.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯d expected perhaps a handful at once; certainly not that number,¡± protested Duurth. ¡°Oh!¡± murmured Amdirlain and gave him an embarrassed smile. ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll agree?¡± ¡°Might I ask why you enquired about teaching the Novices?¡± ¡°I was speaking to Novice Zenya. She wanted to follow in her family¡¯s traditions,¡± replied Amdirlain. When Duurth didn¡¯t respond immediately, Amdirlain went to fiddle with her braid, only to touch empty air. Duurth looked on without comment as she regrew it before speaking again. ¡°Novice Zenya is the student at your table with High Anarch parents?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Know you¡¯ve given me much to think about. Master Jarith? wasn¡¯t expecting you to repay our efforts for you until after you had healed. Know that both this Affinity process and your offer of knowledge¡ªif you would share it¡ªare both invaluable,¡± admitted Duurth. ¡°Do¡­ Is it alright if I use the practice yard until it¡¯s time to meet with Master Elliyna?¡± asked Amdirlain. She forced her face to remain calm, having cut herself off from asking if they knew about Tier Six Prestige classes. ¡°Know you have my permission to use the strike plates or free training¡ªthere will be no exchanging of pointers. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Duurth.¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Amdirlain teleported away and appeared on the edge of the training yard where Master Duurth had tested her control during her initial stay. At her appearance, everyone froze in surprise, and when Amdirlain moved towards an empty strike plate, they slowly resumed their practice. When the first trainee returned to the practice yard after the evening meal, Amdirlain moved along the side of the building towards Elliyna¡¯s door. Concern weighed her more than Liran?¡¯s gravity field and when she went to knock, the door simply opened. ¡°Know I can walk faster, now come inside Amdirlain,¡± grumbled Elliyna. ¡°Yes, Master Elliyna,¡± Amdirlain replied meekly and hurried inside. She found Elliyna stretched out on the couch she¡¯d used the first evening, her legs looking normal under the blanket that covered them completely. ¡°Know your question is obvious, but you¡¯ll still need to ask,¡± ¡°Might I know why your legs changed that way?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s a Chaos affliction from having lived too long in Limbo and gone places where the Chaos was oppressive,¡± replied Elliyna, unfussed by the question. ¡°How did you go burning up your pain?¡± ¡°My aura that projects rage was helpful for it after a conversation I¡¯d had with Master Jarith? about choices,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°My Mind Palace is still a mess, but the tar pit doesn¡¯t bubble as much.¡± ¡°Know after your reaction to my Faith last meeting I won¡¯t ask for access to your Mind Palace. Would you project to me what you experienced when you looked at it last?¡± ¡°Did Master Jarith? share it with you?¡± asked Amdirlain, hoping to figure out a way to decline. Elliyna didn¡¯t hesitate to reply but gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°Know that he did, it¡¯s part of what led me to come here. Know I would like to see the difference and discuss some aspects of its symbolism in time.¡± The moment she had checked it¡ªwith Arith absent from the infirmary¡ªrose in her mind. She tried to capture all the details before she sent the moment to Elliyna. Instead of the tar pit erupting bubbles in a rolling boil, each popped with the slowness of a bubble rising through a foul pancake. Each popped to release icy fear and eye-watering loneliness. While some vile memories still came forth, the single manifestation she¡¯d experienced was a pale apparition of a man whose hands wafted incorporeally through her instead of successfully grasping. ¡°Know I¡¯d hoped you¡¯d have gotten the bubbling to cease completely,¡± Elliyna muttered and cut off Amdirlain¡¯s protest with a wave. ¡°Know I¡¯m teasing you, but you¡¯ll need to keep working on burning it away or processing them. What fears drive you, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Failing the¡­¡± Amdirlain cut herself off and considered Elliyna¡¯s loyalties. ¡°Know that I¡¯m one of the few people in the monastery that know you are a Fallen. Know I¡¯m likely the only one who knows of your symbol on The Titan¡¯s Wall,¡± declared Elliyna and drew her blanket up high enough to tuck her hands underneath. ¡°How do you know about that?¡± ¡°Know I had a dream the other night, one of her guides leading me to the Titan¡¯s wall. Or is there another reason a symbol of a candle with broken manacles and chains around it radiates the same feeling as yourself?¡± asked Elliyna. ¡°Know the memory of it didn¡¯t fade upon awakening. I take it I don¡¯t need to name who sent the guide? Know Jarith? has told me I should avoid names of power since we last spoke.¡± Her interest in me isn¡¯t reassuring. She has a reputation for cruelty, like the depths of winter. Pushing aside her consideration of Mab, Amdirlain focused on trying to explain the tangle of emotions caught up in her situation. ¡°Celestials told me the only way to get free from a Demon Lady was to gain enough power to match her. That would require having a religion focused on me to move from Named to Demon Lady. Only after I could match her would I be able to break a bond she¡¯d placed on me and be able to get out of the Abyss. It wasn¡¯t true, but I¡¯d already attracted followers by the time I found they¡¯d lied, either intentionally or out of ignorance. Now there are so many Souls depending on me, more and more all the time. I can¡¯t stand the thought of failing them. I¡¯m furious. Celestials misled me¡ªfor whatever reason; I just wanted to be free and they fucked me up. Now I¡¯m afraid for myself and petrified for the Petitioners.¡± The words had come out in a rush, and the last admission had her clamping her hands over her mouth to stop more words from spilling forth. Tears streamed down over her hands, and Elliyna let her cry for a time in silence. Elliyna¡¯s expression shifted from disbelief to compassion. ¡°Amdirlain, is there anything that you can do to safeguard them?¡± ¡°Nothing I know of, but who knows what the truth is there. I wish they¡¯d fucking kept their mouths shut. I wish I¡¯d been able to stop Eivor declaring for me or reject her declaration.¡± ¡°I take it that becoming a Fallen was unexpected since you started as a Succubus? Do you think perhaps that they might have offered you advice based on remaining a Succubus?¡± Amdirlain thrashed her head about and had to push her hands out flat to stop her nails from driving into her palms. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just know what is now. Are you sure Master Jarith?¡¯s wards are tight enough for this conversation?¡± Elliyna gave her a firm look before she answered. ¡°Is anywhere ever truly safe? What is better for how you feel about yourself, a Succubus or a Fallen?¡± ¡°Fallen, I don¡¯t have carnal cravings pressing against me all the time.¡± ¡°Know that lust makes a fool of anyone. Know certainly I was a foolish young thing when I was young,¡± Elliyna remarked glibly and Amdirlain had to breathe around her rage instead of stuffing it in a box. ¡°Have you ever experienced someone dying of extreme cold with the knowledge their children were dying right by them and felt physical arousal?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ve not,¡± answered Elliyna quietly. ¡°When did this happen?¡± ¡°In the Abyss they serve ice treats called Frost Gasps,¡± Amdirlain said, trying to avoid letting the memory of the moment drown her. ¡°I should have known better, but it looked like ice chips. I bit into one, and I wanted to scream in horror, but my body had other ideas.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I gave the cup back to the Succubus who¡¯d bought them and told her they didn¡¯t appeal. The family was already dead, and I was already standing out too much,¡± replied Amdirlain and tried to relax her fists. ¡°I wanted to destroy all of them so the Demons wouldn¡¯t get any pleasure from their suffering.¡± ¡°Did you deal with this Succubus much?¡± Elliyna asked. Her deliberately casual tone poked at Amdirlain with the lightness of discussing a fellow office worker. ¡°I never wanted to deal with her at all,¡± growled Amdirlain. ¡°I triggered a ward because of how my Class presented itself to their detection. When I was on the ledge, I took Monk, but their ward saw it as Blood Monk¡ªa controlled Prestige Class. Since I wasn¡¯t a member of the order, it brought me to their attention, and they captured me. This same bitch that later brought me treats had wrapped me in binding chains of agony. Then she paraded me like an animal and brought me to their initiation room. That wasn¡¯t fun and involved the Demon Lady that placed a bond on me. ¡°That wasn¡¯t fun?¡± ¡°Four times in the Abyss I¡¯ve experienced what felt like an eternity of pain; my meeting with her involved the second of those occasions,¡± replied Amdirlain, and let herself dwell on fighting Liran? instead of the infernos of pain. ¡°Why do you use the word fun at all regarding it?¡± Amdirlain huffed before she replied. ¡°I¡¯m told sarcasm is a defence mechanism. It¡¯s a figure of speech.¡± ¡°Know that in trying to process all the pain you felt and harbour that making light of it won¡¯t help,¡± Elliyna said. ¡°Know that instead of denying the pain, you need to admit to it and whatever emotions arise from it. Do you think you¡¯ll be able to deal with your emotions by denying them when you know that no longer works?¡± ¡°Where do I start?¡± asked Amdirlain, fighting against the pain and fears sliding scalpels through her brain. ¡°What do you want to talk about least?¡± ¡°Lady Baln¨¦rith,¡± Amdirlain readily admitted. ¡°Know that is the one we should speak about then,¡± declared Elliyna, and waved a finger at Amdirlain reprovingly when she protested. ¡°Know you fought a champion to a standstill. Could you have done that when you faced her?¡± ¡°They hit me with a Spell of binding and I blacked out. When I was next aware, I was in complete darkness hanging by my wings,¡± Amdirlain said. The words grinding to a halt when the memory of despair and fear washed through her mind. ¡°Know you are safe, child. How long did you hang there?¡± When Amdirlain finally staggered back to her room, she looked at the bed and longed to be allowed the oblivion of sleep. Physically, she felt fine, but the memories she¡¯d dredged up had pain and fear still throbbing through her mind. The door closed softly behind her, but not before an errant breeze wafted into her room. An ethereal figure came into existence a moment after the breeze tugged playfully at Amdirlain¡¯s robe. The quiet energy radiating out from it stilled her immediate reaction to attack. The energy initially pushed against her with a palpable force but fortunately eased. A moment after its outline showed, the energy collapsed inwards and filled out the shape of an Elven male with golden skin. His eyes were a dark void split by a starburst of brilliant white light. The draw of his gaze made it impossible to focus on his other features, but for the sway of a snow-white mane that cascaded down his nude body. When she locked her gaze to his face, Amdirlain found herself drawn into their depths and momentarily closed her eyes to steady herself. As she opened them again, she futilely hoped he¡¯d be gone, even though the continued touch of energy was all she needed to know it hadn¡¯t occurred. ¡°Who are you?¡± breathed Amdirlain and fought the urge to run. ¡°We¡¯ve never formally met in this lifetime. Though you saw me awaken, you didn¡¯t stay around for introductions. Not that I was safe for you to be around as you were then, especially not in the Necropolis.¡± His voice was soft, and the Celestial words brushed against her awareness, carrying a depth of concern. ¡°Eleftherios?¡± questioned Amdirlain, and her eyes went wide. ¡°I owe you my existence, twice over, so please call me Thero, as you once did,¡± said Thero. Amdirlain stopped herself from retorting about assumed memories, and a question tripped off her lips. ¡°Didn¡¯t you return to the Titan¡¯s realm? I thought there were restrictions on interacting.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been monitoring a new sun and its primary cradle of life. Some orders Father gave when we went after the Leviathan and her children aren¡¯t complete, so I¡¯ve been using the loopholes while they exist.¡± The mention of loopholes had Sidero¡¯s situation niggling at the back of her mind, and Amdirlain merely tried to focus on the moment instead of pushing her concerns completely away. ¡°Are you going to get in trouble for that?¡± A slight curl of round lips fought for her attention, but Amdirlain focused on his words. ¡°Perhaps, but that is my choice and I¡¯m still fulfilling his orders from that attack, Ori.¡± ¡°Ori?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin,¡± replied Thero, and paused. ¡°Sorry, you use Amdirlain now; I¡¯ll try to remember. Please forgive me if¡ªor when¡ªI slip up.¡± Amdirlain pressed a palm over her forehead and tried to focus past the gentler presence that still made her mind ache. ¡°We were on that familiar a basis?¡± Thero snorted in amusement, but his voice remained unruffled. ¡°We were. You led the chorus that sang me into existence.¡± ¡°I led it? I thought I was only an adequate singer.¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡° asked Thero, his expressive lips twitching in amusement drew her attention from his gaze. ¡°Then again, you were always a demanding perfectionist, most critical of yourself.¡± ¡°Sorry, but I don¡¯t remember any of that. It was a Dragon who told me named Claughuthruuazex. You¡¯re the second individual that¡¯s just dropped in while I¡¯m trying to get time to heal. I hope you¡¯re not here to trick me into something, because that would be beyond disappointing,¡± Amdirlain said, and realised she¡¯d retreated until her back pressed against the door. ¡°The son of your friend, it¡¯s surprising he still lives; even Adamantine Dragons grow old and die. I heard some of your discussion with Elliyna this evening,¡± admitted Thero. ¡°What I heard was concerning, did you truly not want to become a Power?¡± Amdirlain narrowed her gaze and felt the tension in her jaw from her teeth grinding together. ¡°You¡¯ve been spying on me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯ll be doing when I check on you and what I overheard was worrisome. Mostly, I don¡¯t even monitor you but those beyond your power to protect yourself against. I can¡¯t act directly against them, but I have spiked their wheels from time to time. I can¡¯t protect you forever, and I can do nothing against the deeds of Mortals, but I¡¯m buying you time to grow. Father¡¯s taunting of his ancient enemies hadn¡¯t helped you there.¡± ¡°Are you playing the part of the guardian angel?¡± ¡°I would not call myself a guardian, nor am I an angel. I end things, I don¡¯t preserve them.¡± ¡°End things?¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s Servants, do you not remember what we are?¡± asked Thero, his voice alight with surprise. Amdirlain felt her anger rise¡ªa banked fire coming to life against exhaustion¡ªbut didn¡¯t block it with sarcasm this time. ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any of my memories from earlier lives. I¡¯ve the memories of a human in over her head and I¡¯m honestly tired of all the bullshit with people believing they know me because they remember my Soul.¡± At her words, Thero tilted his head, almost as if confused by her response. ¡°You have the memories. You just need to unlock them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not an Anar to have them sung open, and I¡¯m not sure I even want them back,¡± ¡°Memories are not personality, though I can understand if you see them to be related. Anar could unlock memories prior to the rite of adulthood. Your Soul wouldn¡¯t have lost that capability. All it needs is the right key, an event, emotion, or place.¡± ¡°Emotions aren¡¯t my strong suit,¡± snorted Amdirlain, and pushed back to the earlier subject. ¡°If you¡¯re not an angel, what are you?¡± ¡°For your situation, that not¡¯s important; I¡¯m simply a servant, skirting the rules to aid one who aided me. Your first follower will you tell me how you impressed them?¡± ¡°Honestly, it caught me out of left field. Yes, I had helped Eivor¡¯s daughter, among others, but I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d left that much of an impression with her. I¡¯ll do my best, but I never wanted such a responsibility, the pressure of not only their lives, but their Souls.¡± ¡°The Mantle does suit you though,¡± offered Thero. ¡°Mantle?¡± ¡°The Mantle of your title¡ªtitles now¡ªdoes suit you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about it suiting me,¡± refuted Amdirlain and asked a question that had worried her. ¡°Did he ensure I¡¯d be on this route?¡± ¡°A Mantle would easily form for any Anar or L¨®m?¡ªeither possess more power than a Demigod¡ªthey also possessed enough knowledge to stop them forming. Though your Soul cannot express all its power with your memories locked away, all it would take is someone truly inspired by you.¡± ¡°Great, I guess I¡¯m lucky someone didn¡¯t see me as a bedroom goddess first,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°I can believe you¡¯re worried about failing them. I assume you believe you¡¯d drag them into the Abyss if you fail your own redemption.¡± Thero continued on ignoring her interjection. ¡°Yes,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d say not taking the shortcut to get free speaks of your determination to endure. Be true to yourself, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make it to the end.¡± ¡°Shortcut?¡± ¡°The Grottos,¡± Thero said, his brow furrowed and changed the shape of his eyes. ¡°If you¡¯d died within their Song¡¯s perimeter, your Soul would have been able to shelter within its safety. Just as the Nox form imprisons the L¨®m?¡¯s Souls, your form imprisons you. The Grotto¡¯s Song would have protected your Soul from being dragged off to be encapsulated again by whatever home Plane your form possessed. However, there would have been only a slim chance of ever being reborn. Did none of their Souls respond to you when you were present? Recognise you?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze had continued to widen during his explanation. ¡°But the curse?¡± ¡°Brought you home and affects your Immortal manifestation,¡± said Thero. ¡°Did you truly not realise it? I hope I¡¯ve not done you a disservice by mentioning it then. Remember always, you have a choice¡ªboth in existence and in Power. Given your concerns, you should know Powers can transfer their Mantle to another, in part or in whole. Though I warn you, it can take careful preparations to avoid destruction, and it can also have unexpected repercussions.¡± ¡°What sort of repercussions?¡± ¡°Some that have attempted it have split themselves in two instead, or even destroyed themselves trying to transfer parts of their portfolios to Divine children. Others have passed them on without weakening¡ªbesides losing access to related abilities.¡± ¡°I thought Powers died if stripped of their Portfolios, or if all their Priests died?¡± said Amdirlain, the wood of the door creaking under pressure from her fingertips. ¡°If all their Priests have died and their form slain. That happened to the Greek Gods, from what I¡¯ve learnt. The protocols forced all the human gods to manifest physically on the material plane when their people fled their lands. The same protocols limited the access they had to their mantles for the duration of the conflict.¡± ¡°Then Set?¡± ¡°The former Hidden and Usd¡¯ghi took care of Set¡¯s destruction; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have died so quickly. There is a difference between having a Portfolio ripped from you and giving them to another. Mantles are extensions to your capabilities that allow entities to perform Divine roles,¡± said Thero and tapped his finger thoughtfully against his chest. The action drew Amdirlain¡¯s gaze to the muscular expanse, and she hastily looked away. ¡°Take your analogy of the classes and Prestige classes viewed as buildings. Your self-image might treat your Mantle as a separate building or incorporate it such that to remove one would have the other immediately fall. Even if separate buildings, careless removal can level everything within you.¡± Amdirlain blinked at his reference to her analogy and blurted out the question that came to mind. ¡°You know how I¡¯ve described normal classes and Prestige Classes to Mortals?¡± ¡°Why did you think your analogy wouldn¡¯t be reused? It is not just your enemies I check upon. Your followers, and even some Immortal allies, have gained much inspiration from your deeds.¡± ¡°Thank you, Thero. I¡¯ve more and more felt like the Celestials or the Titan had pushed me into the situation. The feeling of having used people was making me disgusted with myself. It¡¯s strange knowing I have a choice, and it could have gotten way worse. It makes what happened less painful.¡± ¡°Perhaps it is because you know you can keep them safe if you feel you¡¯re losing yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but it¡¯s a big fear of mine; I¡¯ll need time to process this and make my own choices. But I feel lighter with the knowledge.¡± Amdirlain said, and pushed her will against the damaged door to fix it. ¡°You should also know that just as your Mantle is tied to you, you are tied to it. At the moment, your Mantle provides you with a measure of balance to offset the cursed state of your form,¡± cautioned Thero. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Fallen normally cannot have a Home Plane that is not one of the lower planes, Amdirlain. The aspects of your Portfolio, your Mantle, and the Faith of others have effectively lifted you partway from the Abyss.¡± ¡°Okay, something to consider then. Who can I shift the Mantle to if I take that route?¡± ¡°Anyone in your presence or that you possess a bond to and trust enough,¡± replied Thero. ¡°I¡¯ve witnessed beings destroy themselves when the recipient was holding hands with them, and gods, planes away, succeed unaffected. If someone declares their belief in you now that you¡¯ve felt it, you should possess the ability to block it, especially with Profile Mastery. I had to look to see how you perceive things; you have a strange mind.¡± ¡°Thanks, I think?¡± Thero¡¯s laughter was a light wash of tranquil energy that chimed within her for a moment. ¡°Take care O- Amdirlain. I hope you can find peace again wherever your choices lead you.¡± Thero vanished, and his sudden absence let Amdirlain feel the wards his energy had seamlessly set within her chamber. She was scrubbing her fingers through her hair, trying to get her brain to stop spinning when she felt them fade away as well. I didn¡¯t talk to him about Laodice, but the Titan¡¯s servant knew about her situation. When she calmed, Amdirlain focused herself and sent a Message to Sidero. ¡°Even when I¡¯m supposed to be healing, I can get in trouble. In the last three days, I¡¯ve vented some of my pain through a marathon challenge fight, and spoken with the shadow queen and Eleftherios. The Mind Healer doesn¡¯t allow me off the hook¡ªno sarcasm allowed. You¡¯d like her, even if she worships the memory aspect of the Winter Queen.¡± Amdirlain sat on the blanket to wait, not even trying to keep herself suspended in the air. ¡°Sidero says the confirmation phrase this time is we¡¯re doing the ¡®great Aussie wave¡¯. A touch busy right now, wiping out a breeding site of drones. So far, we¡¯ve killed a few thousand and fried a few mushroom farms. We¡¯ve also squished a couple of big, modified queens popping out eggs that are completely unlike normal Thri-Kreen females. I hope you¡¯re at least getting fucked on your holiday because Sidero provided orgasms by staring at me. Not fair!¡± Giggling at Klipyl¡¯s report, she sent back a burst of amusement. The Aussie wave is slang for shooing flies. Though I guess that works since the Thri-Kreen are so bug-like, it indeed confirms they¡¯re still together there. Interlude: Betrayer The sight of the bow¡¯s polished wood wrenches at me, and pain twists inside me. Why did I stay hidden? The leather wraps on the grip show where his strong fingers held it, marks that will get no deeper now. Hands that guided my attempts to learn are no longer here to steady me. I want to cry, but the tears won¡¯t come, just a burning pain in my chest. Every time I see something that reminds me, it hurts so much. ¡°Finnegan!¡± My heart thumps under my ribs when mother screams behind me¡ªher piercing shriek bouncing off the hut¡¯s mud walls. ¡°Do you wish your father¡¯s urvan to starve? Why are you not still gathering with your sisters?¡± Fear of her fury swallows at the pain of my grief. The air within our house stirs it, and more breezes fill the house as the swirls beneath her skin glow. ¡°I left what I found by the basin. Father didn¡¯t die in his sleep. mother, you know that. Uncle Aryo killed him. Why doesn¡¯t someone punish him? Why is he involved in deciding who will be chieftain now?¡± ¡°You are still ignorant of the world, Finnegan. Your father¡¯s sickness worsened. He died in his sleep. Have I not already made this clear?! You will not speak such accusations.¡± Mother¡¯s insistence digs into me, sparking flames within the grief that her fury almost snuffed out. ¡°It¡¯s not an accusation. He pulled his heart out. I saw it; the breeze brought me the sounds. Look at father¡¯s body.¡± There isn¡¯t disbelief in mother¡¯s gaze; rather, her anger¡ªscorn even¡ªsears into me as the breezes harden about me. Pain hidden within me burns white-hot. Knowledge of the truth is as clear in her deep blue eyes as the sun in a cloudless sky. ¡°There is no need¡ªI¡¯ve already washed and wrapped him¡ªthere was no such wound. He died in his sleep. That is the end of the matter. Tomorrow, you will take Etti¡¯s turn. Make sure you take the goats sunward, never go near the cliffs again.¡± Her words are an eagle¡¯s scream striking down at me, matching the fierceness in her expression. ¡°Mother, why would you lie-¡± A hollow sound rings in my ears as pain spikes through my skull. A distant groan comes from me as the grit covering the hard-packed floor scratches at my nostrils with each breath. Mother swims in front of me as my confused breeze stirs dust from the earthen floor. My eyelids droop suddenly weighed down as she raises a hand and the hardening air shining like the mountains¡¯ ice. Afternoon sunlight highlighting the blue swirls under her skin catches at my vision but shimmer away like a mirage when I try to focus. Blackness shrouds my eyes, her voice distant and thinning like wind through the stream¡¯s reeds. Cool water trickling across my face is the first thing I feel¡ªthe soft sound of the droplets echoing amid the throbbing pain. ¡°Don¡¯t sit up; you¡¯ll dislodge the cloth. You¡¯re one massive bruise from chin to ear.¡± Etti¡¯s words are soft with grief, and I can hear the tears I can¡¯t find. ¡°Mother says you¡¯re to take the herd out tomorrow, but you don¡¯t look good.¡± ¡°She knows Uncle Aryo-¡± Pain stabs through my teeth at the slightest touch of her fingers against my lips. Her own barely move, but her breeze brings me the whispered words. The glistening tears in her eyes makes the silver of her eyes shine so bright evening in the dim light inside our home. ¡°Hush, she¡¯s just outside. She¡¯s so angry with you right now, and she¡¯s scaring me. Do you want me to help you to your bed?¡± She gently raises me as I take too long considering the question. The world spins with the motion and a sour tide claws at my throat the moment before I turn to vomit across the dirt. Each cough to keep from choking on it wrenches pain around behind my eyes. The rough cool cloth is painful against my face, but Etti cleans the mess from me before she lays me down clear of the mess. The smell of the soft goat¡¯s cheese and bread offered by Etti fighting the sourness from the scrapped floor. Even the thought of eating that evening sickens me more. The night is equally unpleasant each time I wake up, my head throbs in pain, and the straw where mother usually sleeps remains empty. Trying to beg my breeze to bring in fresh air just grinds more pain behind my eyes. My stomach gurgles hollowly as I herd the goats out of the paddock, though they take little prompting¡ªthere is nothing left they can eat within it. I must force myself not to lean on my bow stave as I follow along¡ªmy head hurts so much. The glare of pre-morning light already stabbing through my left eye, and my right sees double as I close one, then the other. Don¡¯t go near the cliffs. Mother¡¯s instruction digs at me repeatedly as I walk, and eventually, Mithra slowly brightens the sky. Anger at her lies about father echoes painfully in my thoughts. The dark cliff stones that I¡¯d last seen witnessing my father¡¯s death teased me with knowledge. Mother knew where he died. She wasn¡¯t just covering the injury; she knew everything. What was she hiding there? Why did I need to stay away? The goats wander down the hill, now far out of sight from town. A heat mirage flickers over the herd as the world swims around me, and my breeze¡¯s cries through the bushes echo my pain. The shadows of swaying trees point behind me, and I turn towards the mountain¡¯s peak. Hidden behind the rise I can¡¯t see the village, but the mountain¡¯s cliff draws my gaze. My eyes trace the trail from the shrines at its top that leads to the village¡¯s sunset edge, I know every step of its path. But it wasn¡¯t at the top of the cliff that my father died, and the goats¡¯ bleating fades away as I start around the village. It¡¯s a trip that takes so long with the world blurring around me. The morning¡¯s brightness is digging arrows into my eyes. The entire experience making me more miserable, I stop to eat the stone bread Etti has made last night. Dried mutton and bean paste had tasted fine and eased my stomach¡¯s gurgling before the world¡¯s movement made it come back up again. The dry heaves continue with my stomach long emptied across the ground, only the bitter bile gagging at the back of my throat. The ground tempts me to lay down, but I force myself to move on. My destination finally coming into sight sours my mouth further, the bile sweet in comparison. The dark-grey stone I¡¯d seen father laid out on; his blood oozing across its surface in the moonlight is so clean. The morning already having grown long, there is no shadow cast upon it but no bloodstains show. Had it been just a dream? The marks in its etched stone should have been thick with dried blood. Instead, they are as clean and familiar as they¡¯ve ever been. I¡¯d accused Uncle Aryo; had it been just a dream? Mother¡¯s scorn wasn¡¯t betrayal¡ªit was for contempt for speaking lies against the family. The swaying of the world smashes against me. Pain stabs into my knees and palms, only instinct getting my hands up in time to prevent my head from kissing the ground. Tears that had been so far away come with the sharpness of the pain, and my wails echo faintly back to me from the cliff¡¯s crevices. Its hollows a mocking pan flute and the thought makes my breeze brush against them stirring more noise. Bile erupts even though I¡¯ve not eaten anything more. The sour smell and bitter taste make it impossible to stop. I feel hollow and aching when it at last subsides. The foul smell clinging to me, my front speckled with splashes. My vision fills with the dark-grey stone slab, as I force myself to my feet. One of them becomes two, three, then hands¡ªworth swimming before me. Each swirls in circles merging and separating again, ripples caused by pain¡¯s rain striking puddles in my mind. I stagger around the sour puddle before me, almost dropping amid it, but finally I sit upon the stone. Cuts opened on my palms from pressing against sharp rocks in my struggles to stand; bead with blood that shines in the sunlight. I close my eyes as arrows of light twist in my eyes, reflecting off the pool of my bile. Beating against my pain, I clasp the stone¡¯s cool rounded edge to keep myself from falling again. Blackness steals the day away, and when I open my eyes again the sun is far close to its peak. Laying on the stone my gaze settles on where my hands had rested amid the etched patterns, to keep myself upright. The blood from my palms should have marked the stone, yet there is nothing. The stone was as cool as it was when I sat down, despite my warmth and the lateness of the morning. The swaying world has calmed slightly, but when I sit up, I see dark spots crawling along in my vision. A blink stops the swaying, but the drops are still there no longer crawling. They run beside footsteps towards a crevice, dark raindrops in the dry earth, but while the footsteps come back again, the droplets only run one way. Following them with unsteady steps leads me deep inside. I brush against the wall half for support to avoid stepping on the droplets leading the way. Their dark shapes in the sun¡¯s reach guide me to a wall I remember seeing before. Markings that I¡¯d traced with my fingertips, gleaming with light as my breeze polished their contours linking the stones as I tried to decide if they had any meaning. The polished markings there are now painted red, but the blood looks still wet in the light that has made it this far. The copper smell grows stronger the longer I stand before it, and my sudden scream echoes in my ears. Rage at the lies tears through my chest, and my breeze smashes hard against the rocks. Red blood flares and burns with sudden heat. The stones of the walls collapse into space beyond. The darkness within eats the sunlight and only the faintest gleam is clear within. An arc like the moon¡¯s edge gleaming with radiant light sits shining within the dust rising from the fallen stones. ¡°I smelt you seasons past, and now look what you¡¯ve done. So desperate to find someone to speak to, little girl?¡± The feminine voice sounds as if far away, but her voice isn¡¯t raised in a shout. ¡°I¡¯m not little. I¡¯ll be married next spring.¡± The thought of marrying the man my mother has selected twists and claws at my already abused stomach. ¡°Indeed? Is that supposed to mean you¡¯re an adult or do your men just like them young?¡± The voice is edged with anger and despite the darkness beyond, no echoes speak of a vast chamber in the darkness. A memory of his voice rises from the fog of pain, the quiet words intense as I defend my missed shot. Only those who are insecure defend their near success with words, those confident let their actions speak, and in failure, simply try again. ¡°No, you¡¯re right, I¡¯m still a girl. I¡¯m only fifteen winters now.¡± ¡°What is it you wish that brings you here?¡± The brief words are a cool mountain breeze on my thoughts and grab at my focus. Memories of gathering tales, our family¡¯s history clamours about, but I push the warnings aside. ¡°You grant wishes, are you an Efreet?¡± ¡°It depends on the terms we can come to agree on, and¡ªof course¡ªwhat your wish is. Some are far easier to make come true than others, and the use of Power always requires a price to be paid.¡± ¡°Who are you? Why were you behind this wall?¡± My curiosity, something I¡¯ve been told by mother is the bane of our family, gets the better of me, and I move beyond the fallen stones. ¡°Names are dangerous things in the wrong hands, but if you tell me your name I¡¯ll share one with you. I was betrayed and trapped here, so I would know who I speak with. Who are you, and what wish brings you here?¡± Betrayed, someone betrayed her as well? Why did I come here? The scorn and anger in mother¡¯s gaze, the cold hardness on Uncle Aryo¡¯s face as he drove the knife into father¡¯s chest, stab into me. Father had been so weak, he hadn¡¯t even had the strength to defend himself, and Uncle Aryo had hesitated cutting out his heart. The memory of the wet sucking sounds his knife made twisting through father¡¯s flesh, and the copper taste the breeze brought to my lips makes my stomach churn. Hard stone shards dig into the back of my legs and bring the world into focus. The broken stones that had been so cold under my touch when intact are already warm. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I wish vengeance. My father¡¯s betrayers need to die. They lie and hide the truth of his murder. I wish to make them all pay.¡± ¡°Do you know all those involved? Can you give me names? Or would I need to discover that for myself?¡± ¡°I only know two of them, my Uncle Aryo and my mother, but I don¡¯t know if there are others. There has to be though. From the footsteps, other men from the village brought my father¡¯s body back. They¡¯d have to have known the lies. They all live in our village, there hasn¡¯t been travellers. I want his betrayers to suffer and die. I want their heads.¡± ¡°Very well, since we¡¯ll need to talk terms you may call me K¨¡ma. Now that you have a name from me, what is yours almost-adult?¡± ¡°Finnegan.¡± ¡°Fair or white. What an interesting name for one standing in the darkness of my place. So you wish all your father¡¯s betrayers to suffer and die. Very well. I¡¯m not in a lamp, so what will you pay me for fulfilling this wish?¡± purred K¨¡ma. My mother¡¯s gaze filled with scorn roils rage within me at the thought she¡¯d try to pretend my father¡¯s murder never happened. ¡°Anything you want.¡± ¡°What if I want everything you have?¡± ¡°I¡¯d give you it all, but I only have a bow and a pendant. I¡¯d give anything to get proper vengeance against my father¡¯s betrayers.¡± ¡°Any one thing I chose it is then; I¡¯ll just record this properly,¡± K¨¡ma says, but I don¡¯t know what she means and a scratching noise starts like reed brushing a goat¡¯s hide. I ask for an explanation only to be hushed, but eventually, the scratching stops. ¡°The terms are now recorded. Now your commitment needs to be tested to see if you are worthy. Come forward and reach out your hand,¡± calls K¨¡ma. The purring gone from her voice, she sounds as determined as father making a judgement some wouldn¡¯t like. There is no resistance to my first step or any other, and I feel the air pop around me as my foot crosses the moon¡¯s arc. Darkness disappears as the light that it had been consuming suddenly shines into the chamber¡¯s depth. A circle gleaming like a full moon sits amid a space barely bigger than my family¡¯s bedroom. Within it, a woman crouches with a black feathered panel behind her, clad from head to toe in midnight black hide. She stands as I stare at the flames burning in her irises, and a smile twists across her lips that looked stained purple. Her eyes hands span above my own. A bruise-like my own runs across her cheek to a pointed ear that peeks out among red tresses the colour of fresh blood. The black feathers behind her unfurl into battered wings, stretching out as they touched the chamber¡¯s walls. Suddenly she holds out a rolled piece of leather to me, having moved so fast I didn¡¯t even see her shift position. ¡°The terms of your contract for your keeping,¡± K¨¡ma declares. ¡°They are a duplicate of my own, but I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t actually read.¡± ¡°Contract? Read?¡± Looking at the long black nails growing from poppy white fingers, I take what she offers carefully, but it still unrolls and flops about. For an instant, the sharp black lines on it glow with inner flames before they¡¯re snuffed out, but they mean nothing to me. ¡°Contract accepted then. Those are the details of your deal with me, in case you want to argue about them to a court. Don¡¯t lose your copy little one. Now I¡¯ve got some vengeance to find for you¡ªI mean your father¡ªI¡¯ll be right back. Don¡¯t go anywhere,¡± her words snap sharper than mother¡¯s orders and K¨¡ma simply vanishes. I glance about seeking her, but I find only the dull polished walls of the chamber visible in suddenly fading light. The moon¡¯s gleam fading from the circle leaving me in darkness as the sun climbs out of view. ¡°She said her name was K¨¡ma, but what is she?¡± A need for sunlight shivers up my spine, joining the dread at her disappearance, but as the darkness enfolds me, my feet refuse to move, and my limbs grow stiff. I have chanted out my family tree, repeatedly before she returns. Instantly before me empty-handed and words die on my lips as an outstretched hand suddenly holds hair. Etti¡¯s face stares at me with accusing eyes. My twin, my friend, her features twisted in agony. ¡°She was home sleeping when I got back. She couldn¡¯t have killed him,¡± my screams echo in the quiet chamber. ¡°Killed him. That isn¡¯t what you wanted. You asked for your father¡¯s betrayers to die and that you wanted to see their heads. This is the first, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll show you all of them.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t betray him!¡± K¨¡ma¡¯s smile grows edged with spite and more pleasure than I¡¯d seen anyone show. The hungry flames in her eyes burn hotter as my pain grows. ¡°A betrayer is someone who has led astray or deceived another. Your sister had been kissing a boy she liked and lied to your father about it.¡± My sister¡¯s head bounces off the floor as her hair billows in the air like cloth as it slides from K¨¡ma¡¯s grasp. It sounds hollow and light as a cored musk mellow, and even though I want to fall, I can¡¯t move in the slightest. Head after head joins hers on the ground. Lies told about escaping prey, a close call with a predator, the size of a leopard on a hill, minor moment of fun, or hurt feeling avoided. All punished with death that I asked to be delivered and she presents each to me. The head of my little cousin, having told father ¡®No¡¯, when rightly he needed to say yes to wanting more fruit when it was the only word he could speak. At the last, mother and Aryo¡¯s heads are presented together. My vengeance ashes in my mouth, I can think of only the infants and young left alive. Nothing, it means nothing now. I can¡¯t even fall to my knees in grief, held fast exactly where she told me to stay. ¡°Now you mentioned a father¡¯s murder. Is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes, I wanted vengeance for that betrayal. Not these foul deeds you¡¯ve done. You killed them for no reason, and you knew it.¡± Fear betrays the anger within me, and the words crack and break. ¡°Tsk, you said you wanted your father¡¯s betrayers to die, and to see their heads,¡± ¡°Your Uncle mentioned the etchings in this crevice in your hearing. Knowing your curiosity would likely lead you to weaken the wards, vulnerable to your family¡¯s power. Since your family¡¯s bloodline maintained the wards'' existence. He didn¡¯t kill your father. That was on you. He just hastened his end and tried to stop me from getting out as your ignorant father asked him to do. Your mother heard you talking about the cave to your sister and didn¡¯t warn your father. Knowing it was your Uncle¡¯s doing, she kept quiet, wanting your father dead for his mistreatment of her. As the eldest son, only sacrificing him would reseal the wards once they¡¯d decayed enough.¡± ¡°Father would never have mistreated mother.¡± Even as I speak in his defence, memories of moments pick at me. Things that were out of place, disregarded amid daily life. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he have mistreated a woman who only gave him girls? Including one who insisted she could do what boys could do, was a better archer than any of the boys, and wouldn¡¯t take her eyes from other girls in the village. Why wouldn¡¯t he mistreat such a failure of a woman?¡± ¡°Father taught me to handle a bow.¡± My protest sounds pitiful and void of confidence even to my hearing, and she just smirks coldly. ¡°He told your mother he taught you because he expected you to fail. She knew his pride with other men watching wouldn¡¯t let him do anything but teach you correctly. You spited him by being good at everything he wanted you to fail at so he could show you your place.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a liar.¡± Memories of father¡¯s guidance on using a Shepard¡¯s crook to herd the goats properly, steadying my aim towards the practice target among the boys. The words of advice he¡¯d shared with all of us settling deep within my mind. His deep laughter when I brought in my first brace of pigeons for a meal. K¨¡ma shook my mother¡¯s head at me, the tip of her tongue poking out at me from beneath her broken teeth, before disappearing away only to reappear on the next bounce. ¡°No, I¡¯m not lying. I¡¯ve no need. I got the memories from her when I was seeking all your father¡¯s betrayers.¡± Memories that aren¡¯t mine assault me, forcing into my mind. His heated words after my older sisters were born one after another until we twins were the last. I hear the bitter words and whispered conversation I¡¯d seen from afar, but never know the cause of the arguments. Mother had insisted they were problems with the village council, matters and things not to involve myself in. Try as I had, I¡¯d never been able to get my breeze to bring me the words of those discussions. Now, now I wanted to know none of them. ¡°Now I¡¯ve a challenge. You wanted to see the heads of all his betrayers. So one I¡¯m going to have to present before death. Perhaps best to keep it simple rather than play with necromancy in this place. To make it formal, for my payment, I choose your Soul.¡± A blue of shimmering water appears on her arm, its surface smooth and clear like a still mountain pool. The reflection shows hollowed, guilt-wracked silver eyes looking out of a bruised face, pale and worn. The markings of my family¡¯s linage showed in the blue swirls beneath that skin. My tear-stained face is apparent only an instant before the darkness swallows me whole. Fire burns through me as I¡¯m falling, the wind tears at my skin, compressing every ounce of guilt and self-loathing I possess and baking it deep into me until I feel when it shatters my Soul. Pain subsides and awareness of flesh returns in a rush. Hot water thick around me seems intent on cooking me. Not knowing how I got from the darkness to beneath the water, I kick and thrash. Light claws at me from above as I thrash towards what feels like the water¡¯s surface, every motion like moving through mud. Reaching the surface, I find it isn¡¯t water pouring off me, but liquid fire. As I pull in a breath that I didn¡¯t seem to need, it draws in heat and the taste of rotting and cooked meat. A forest of corpses and goat-sized lumps along the shoreline ahead of me, each baking in the heat coming off the liquid in which I¡¯m swimming. The flames lick at me and try to pull me under, but the instant I want to reach the shore¡¯s foul safety, I¡¯m standing on its rocky bank. The change in location carrying the sensation of a gale buffeting me. A strange weight shifts on my back and I hear wings flap behind me. A glance is enough to reveal the battered, black-feathered wings now arching from my back. Their erratic motions send me staggering about, the sharp rocks underfoot somehow not breaking through bare skin. The world swirls around me as I flail to stay upright. Rocky shore, lines upon lines of corpses tied upright against poles, swaying lumps of lard, and a dusky lake of fire. I¡¯m sure I died, and the underworld we¡¯re told is an empty void where spirits lived in hunger, not this monstrous place. I stagger against a corpse, the cooking flesh smears oil across me, and the body breaks into pieces. Only a desperate grab at the pole behind it keeps me upright. The sight of my arm sends shivers through me, where before my flesh had been pale with swirls of blue. Instead, my flesh is dusky brown, and the swirls that tied me to my breeze are all gone. My fingers now end in the same black nails that K¨¡ma possessed. Their edges¡¯ sharp enough to dig into the strange black material of the post that had held the corpse upright. Hot wind wafts against my bare skin and I can¡¯t feel¡ªtruly feel¡ªit. Its pressure is there, but without my breeze, there is no sense of it. The wind, once kin to my family, ignores my cries for help, leaving lonely silence within my mind. Focusing on the wind, I freeze at the agonising screams it carries. I keep hold of the pole for balance and carefully turn to face the lake again. Faces some close to the surface, some deep beneath it, stare upwards with wide horror-filled eyes, their mouths open in their own soundless screams. Mounds of brown, rancid lard clutter the shoreline close to the fires. The hardened gel across their surface showing twisting facial features that seem offended by my presence. Stone clicks against stone, the shifting sound drawing my attention the moment before the pole slams into my side. Yanked off balance again, its heated surface presses against my skin. A cord tightens around my neck, presses me hard against the metal. The pressure of it should have me choking for breath, yet I feel no urge to breathe. Twisting against the metal, I find cold furious eyes regarding me with the same intensity as finding a goat turd amongst clean stray bedding. The woman could be with K¨¡ma¡¯s sister though her hair is the colour of a golden flame. Her gazes shines with the same hateful intensity, though instead of flames within her ice-blue eyes reflect the lake¡¯s flames. A rope coils in her grasp and without a motion from her, it flexes and another section loops around my neck and forces my chin upwards. ¡°I saw when you broke the lake¡¯s surface, little one. How are you not a Lemure?¡± Words whose like I¡¯d never heard before dig and grates against my ears. I saw her beautiful bow lips shape them so gracefully, yet their tones are sharp and vile. Her eyes wander over my naked form, while I try to find meaning to answer her question. Leather garments enfold an alluring form that catches my attention. The slightest flex of her body speaks of a snow leopard¡¯s speeding grace. ¡°I don¡¯t even know what that is? Let me go.¡± The words come out as a choking sound, full of broken pottery shards and bitter scorn, even their barest sound cutting at the air. I struggle fruitlessly against the rope¡¯s loop as it forces my head about, and she motions at a lard thing. The clump is barely half my height, and at her motion, it somehow stands and turns our way. Melted features holding solid black eyes that stare our way with fear, hope, and hunger as one. ¡°I¡¯d best take you to the region supervisor and get this mess sorted out.¡± Instantly the same sensation that occurred when I appeared on the shoreline enfolds us and stones appear around us. Each block is twice my height, and as I try to determine their height, units of measurement I don¡¯t remember learning run through my mind. I now stand the same height as K¨¡ma, and my current captor, perhaps one-eight centimetres, if not a fraction less. The near flat chest that I¡¯d possessed had grown as well, and my breasts bounce awkwardly with every quick step she forces me to take. One hand is still upon the rope, but a hand reaching across my shoulder digs painfully tight into a wing¡¯s edge. Things of spiked hide, and red glaring eyes scurry around the chamber, presenting hide stacks to other black winged women sitting behind tables. When a figure clad head to toe in some strange metal moves from before a table, my captor drags me to the open spot, past other things that hiss and bark, only to be ignored. ¡°This one crawled from Moto Maluuni Lake on Avernus.¡± Though she shares the same battered black wings, within her feathers sit motes of blue light, that reflect off her ivory white skin in the chamber¡¯s dim light. Hair the colour of dead coals matches the gaze that she fixes on me, narrowing sceptically after a moment¡¯s consideration. ¡°What was your name?¡± ¡°Finnegan.¡± I don¡¯t know why I answer so readily, but I simply do¡ªmy name forcing itself from my lips. The eagle-eyed gaze digs into me as she glances between me and the bundles of flayed faces, a thing passing with spikes for flesh thing on her desk. Long nails tear a piece of skin apart and she sucks it in between knife-edged teeth as she looks through scrolls sealed with black blobs. ¡°Here you are. This is interesting, no wonder you¡¯re an Erinys now when you were formerly Mortal. Fancy a sylph ending up amongst us. Djinn-kin, you got your wish granted, now there is just Hell to pay. What to call you, hm? Chieftain¡¯s daughter Finnegan, you are no longer. Your new name is Ilya, little trainee. Welcome to Hell¡¯s Army.¡± 160 - Another one bites the dust Ilya¡¯s PoV - Eighty Kilometres North by North-West from Ecbatana - Kingdom of Darius The sight of people going about their lives during our travels only heightens Isa¡¯s joy at the sunlight. She delights in colourfully decorated buildings that fill the various villages and hamlets despite our purpose. Not that she¡¯s alone in enjoying the journey. The wind dancing and playing about me slowly eased a pain that had eaten at me for years. The pain of losing my connection to the living breezes had become more apparent with its return. Viper¡¯s winding trail has crossed through settlements and always left problems in her wake. Disputes and arguments settled for years have flared up again, and she¡¯d ¡®accidentally¡¯ exposed an affair with deadly consequences. Yet the problems she¡¯s stirred aren¡¯t the most significant issue the villagers face. Even the smallest hamlet appeared more prosperous than where I¡¯d grown up¡ªit was a prosperity that attracted dangers of its own. The playful winds bring tales of trouble¡ªboth very recent and a prolonged disruption to trade; the disappearance of caravans explains why the adventurers are scouring the roads. A thought from Isa sends my attention towards the overgrown woods about us, and she transforms into another Mortal Elf form. Her features are unchanged, just framed by the colouration of a dusky-skinned Elf with amber hints that match her eyes. Their shining gold muted and restricted to the irises, arrayed against the waist-length hair in the full scope of dawn¡¯s hues. A glance amid the trees¡¯ tight confines and I lean into the new Power to take Elven form as well. The Elven Spell Singer half- robes Isa¡¯s clothing shifts into matches that of Elves we¡¯d seen at The Exchange. In comparison, I wear pants and a shirt, but the silken green cloth used in both our garments blends into the leaves about us. ¡°There¡¯s a path hidden back there with a treacherous melody. It blends in with the hill¡¯s music and recent death.¡± Isa¡¯s directions lead us straight to a concealed path heading into the hills. Its starting point, a stone¡¯s throw from the actual road, clarifies its purpose. Weeks of infrequent but heavy use have cut it clearer than an animal¡¯s path, and they¡¯ve messed up by brushing only sections of animal tracks away. We¡¯re only a bow shot along its course when disturbed ground and fighting marks catch my eye. I determine the outcome quickly enough. A man¡ªface down in the dirt off the path¡ªhis neck ringed by harsh scars from a wire-garrotte. The stale stench of dried sweat mixing with his voided bowels has already attracted insects, though the canopy has prevented aerial scavengers from coming to call yet. ¡°Are you close enough?¡± I whisper to Isa, who seems intent on the battle sounds. Isa nods, and a feeling of intense focus wafts through the bond. After decades of her mind being opaque to me to have such a clear insight into her is strange but delightful. Her mind pushes words to me at my question. ¡°Trying a new Power¡ªSilent Song. I¡¯ve got one held ready. The moment I¡¯m close, Viper won¡¯t be able to Planar Shift, Teleport, or even Blink. Be careful of the adventurers. Their songs seem fine at this distance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set a barrier to hold her when I spot her. You can help their team clean up whatever raiders are here,¡± I reply. Shortly after we¡¯re moving again, the clash of blades and agonised screams echo through the woods. A wordless bellow of rage smashes the air, prompting me to pick up the pace¡ªnothing human had managed that sound. Blades clash amid screams, and I hope we can catch our target distracted. A curve in the path along a gully brings a wall into sight; its main gate still stands intact, beyond a spike-filled ditch. The sound of fighting behind the wall has the guard¡¯s backs to us, shooting their bows into the camp. Teleport sets us on either side of them, and Isa drives a knife into a throat. Not bothering with a blade, I shoulder mine down onto a rack of spears positioned below the rampart. His surprised scream ends in a gurgling noise and a clatter of weapons when his body¡¯s twitching pulls the rack to the ground atop him. The adventurers are easy to spot amid a broadening vale I hadn¡¯t suspected. However, they got in¡ªit seems like they¡¯ve nowhere to go. Arrayed in the curve of a stone barrier glowing with Mana. The position feels like they¡¯ve become trapped before I see the top of cages beyond the wall. The possibility of prisoners makes their formation¡ªand location¡ªa defensive choice. Split into two ranks, a fighter in solid heavy armour anchors the front, with a hooked axe and oval shield. While the two beside him are more varied than I¡¯d expected. An equally armoured woman wields a kite shield and spear, while a man clad in chain both work to keep their foes from the lightly armoured members behind them. A leather-clad woman snipes at raiders beyond the immediate melee. The male robed Wizard opposite her is busy tossing spells and countering sloppy castings from among the raiders. A fine setting for the Viper nestled in their midst, still the pale-faced Elven part-blood. Viper¡¯s look of faked concentration is clear to me, but the Wizard doesn¡¯t react to the cunning expression. I¡¯ll forgive him since he¡¯s got his hands full at present. Around the vale the raiders stream towards them. A strange sight likely driven by fear of the she-beast yelling orders. A blue-skinned Ogre with a single horn and nearly twice man-height holds the centre of the raider¡¯s rank that is already engaged with the party. Her presence raises questions about what else they¡¯ve got in reserve. She keeps pressure on the fighter in the middle with whistling strikes from a massive metal folding fan. Despite the noise, every impact raises sparks, yet doesn¡¯t dent his shield. Scattered ramshakle log cabin-like structures break up the vale¡ªsome still oozing sap. Perched atop split-shingled roofs raiders make use of unstable footing to try and put an arrow in the Wizard, only for the lady¡¯s arrows to frequently find throats first. Those that loosen arrows and live cursing a barrier deflecting shot after shot. The raiders stream in piecemeal sure to have been ground apart without the Ogre¡¯s advantage to balance the fight. ¡°I¡¯ve sealed her.¡± Isa¡¯s words push against my mind, and I form an Order barrier around Viper; the Spell set to contain her and strip her false form away. The crystalline light in their midst drew attention from friend and foe alike but too late. Isa¡¯s first dire note comes in time with the Ogre¡¯s backswing and her mass plunges like a felled tree amid collapsing raiders. The impact sprays blood about when she lands across her closest allies, but injuries among them aren¡¯t a concern when the short song stops. ¡°Be with you shortly, Succubus,¡± I call out, and the wave I give has Viper glaring at me with bared fangs. It¡¯s an amusing sight amid the adventurers¡¯ shouts of surprise. The tiara of horns that arc along her hairline from ear to ear, is an interesting little twist I hadn¡¯t expected. The bone they¡¯re made of is as white as her ivory skin. A few Devils that favoured scrimshaw would have loved them as a prize. Low cursing from the woman has the front rank risk a glance back, and the swearing spreads. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What happened to Julia?¡± yells the fighter who¡¯d stood toe to toe against the Ogre¡¯s strikes. The enchantments in his metal shield have prevented it from denting, but still, the strength required to brace himself shows he¡¯s not a lightweight. ¡°Julia never existed, not as you believed. This Succubus infiltrated the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. The detections in place alerted us to her incursion, so we came looking. That Ogre looks stronger than something I¡¯d expect Adventurers touring towns to be tackling,¡± Isa calls back, looking over the fighter fitted in solid metal armour. A leap taking her beyond the body prompts me to follow along¡ªcarefully keeping a line of sight on Viper. He doesn¡¯t need to know the detections are lies, but maybe we should suggest them. ¡°They¡¯re all above level thirty. They¡¯d likely have finished the fight well enough even if we¡¯d not interfered.¡± Isa¡¯s words in my mind make me reassess their strength, and I reconsider the enchantment laden gear while I keep Viper¡¯s cage in place. ¡°Anyone in need of immediate healing?¡± asks Isa when we get close enough to talk at a normal volume. Though the adventurers haven¡¯t relaxed their guard, Isa strolls amid the bodies with a casual disregard for their foes. ¡°Some wounds, but we would have likely managed. You¡¯ve our thanks¡ªthat weird Ogre was stronger than we expected,¡± replies the armoured woman, and when she shifts her shield, I catch sight of Vayu¡¯s symbol. The golden spear wrapped in his swirling winds showing on her banded armour drives remembered pain through my chest. The symbol reminds me of the shrine atop our village¡¯s cliff, and the ceremonies to him with my sister beside me. Her face brimming with delight as the wind¡¯s energy danced about his place. Long practice at holding back weaknesses in Hell restrains the tears I feel burning in my eyes. ¡°Are you a Priest of Vayu?¡± I ask trying to be respectful, fighting what Isa thinks is my urge to rebel against any ¡®authority figures¡¯. Isa pats my shoulder at my question, making my grief twist harder still. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m Esther, and these are my friends¡­.¡± Esther starts and cuts off when a boom of roaring flames erupts within the barrier. The raw, uncontrolled inferno turns into a ray of Abyssal Mana and gains her my focus. ¡°Not a good time to chat. I¡¯ll hold this barrier while you free the prisoners. Apologies for cutting short your fight.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve no way to keep so many under guard,¡± Esther motions at the fallen raiders. ¡°Why would you guard a corpse?¡± Isa asks, pushes the closest over, and raises an eyebrow at Esther¡¯s grim expression. ¡°Relax, Esther. It wasn¡¯t their lucky day; if any of their songs had been worth saving, they wouldn¡¯t have died. I¡¯d hate for some youths seeking fortune to have tripped into this trouble, its good you took this task on.¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of the purpose of the Guild. Previously, villagers could only hope that someone able enough might wander through or that the local nobles were interested enough to send a force,¡± replies the fighter. Though he rests the point of the oval shield on the ground, his hooked axe remains in his hand. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected them to have an Ogre able to use magic in charge.¡± Isa wrinkles her nose. ¡°She might not have been their leader, her song was bright, but too erratic for even this much organisation. There was a cunning methodical song about, but it¡¯s left, not ended.¡± Esther gives Isa a sceptical look at her explanation, but the Wizard behind her speaks up. ¡°We¡¯ll let the Guild know to keep an ear out. It¡¯s outside the job we took from the list: discovering the cause of the disappearing caravans and getting whoever we could back safe.¡± Even while he¡¯s talking his wary gaze doesn¡¯t shift from Viper¡¯s display. Though, given he¡¯s right beside a barrier holding a demoness¡ªthat¡¯s fair. While her attempts at breaking free have currently stopped, and it might seem safer, safety with a Demon is an illusion readily shattered. ¡°Has anyone had dreams of late that seemed vivid and tempting you with anything? It might have been just before or since she joined your team.¡± Isa asks, and the adventurers shake their heads after a quick conversation among themselves. The Wizard focuses on the stone barrier, and it collapses to show a group of merchants and caravaners behind it shackled within cages. They take one look at the Succubus standing close behind the invisible barrier, and some scream in panic. ¡°Won¡¯t keep you long. We¡¯ve got folks to get safe, sit in your cage Demon, until we¡¯re ready to chat,¡± I yell over the screams and prompt my breeze to carry my words about. The panicked thoughts calm at my words, and the breezes issuing soft calming murmurs has me sigh at their peaceful playfulness. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with, Elf,¡± snarls Viper, and I almost smile at her petulance. Her retort doesn¡¯t cause the lie detection song Isa had set in place to react. I can¡¯t resist smiling at her smugly¡ªglad for the confirmation she doesn¡¯t have True Sight. Since she believes the Sunset Elf forms, it would seem to be the case. ¡°Oh, but I do, Viper. I know exactly what I¡¯m dealing with. I¡¯ve killed more than a few Succubi and other Demons. Your magic feels potent, yet I¡¯ve got you locked up. Though for something with a Wizard Class over level one hundred, I thought you¡¯d be tougher.¡± My statement has the Wizard shift from watching the others prying open cages to casting a Spell that shatters the locks. ¡°Who sent you?¡± demands Viper, and it¡¯s so tempting to have some fun after what Isa¡¯s told me. ¡°I have information that I¡¯ll trade for my freedom. But none of what I¡¯m doing involves Elves. You might even profit.¡± There is the first lie. The detection didn¡¯t even react until she mentioned Elven involvement. ¡°Hush.¡± Her lips waggle, but I don¡¯t hear her words through the barrier¡¯s re-inforcement. ¡°I¡¯ll double-check to ensure there is no bond between any of you and the Succubus. If you¡¯ve not had any dreams, she must have been taking things carefully.¡± Isa¡¯s prayer makes the air shine, and three dark lines spear away northwards. ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild asked us to mentor a Wizard named Julia, new to the guild,¡± Esther says, looking distinctly displeased. ¡°The detections aren¡¯t local, so the person handling her signing up wouldn¡¯t have known. It would be an improvement, but then she could have read the registrar¡¯s mind¡ªSuccubi breeds have Telepathy. Who knows how many would have died if she¡¯d run amuck?¡± The Wizard amongst them winces at the thought. The familiar darkness of grief settling in his gaze has Isa twitching to comfort him. Only a few days free of Hell and she¡¯s throwing all restraint away. ¡°Who do you work for? I¡¯ve not heard of any Elves in the guild within Darius.¡± The question arises from a lean-looking woman¡ªwho, by her leathers and light gear¡ªI¡¯d say has some sort of stealth Class. ¡°Would you escort the captives back to the village?¡± Isa asks the heavily armoured fighter and ignores the woman¡¯s repeated question. ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s servants sent us this way to ensure her banishment from this Plane. It¡¯s them you should thank; they paid our fee.¡± I say with what I hope is a friendly smile. ¡°You were lucky that we were strong enough to deal with her.¡± Esther looks at me in surprise and stands straighter. ¡°The Norse cult? I didn¡¯t know they were involved in the Guild at all.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to ask someone else for the details. Now if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯d like to focus on this barrier, the last thing anyone needs is her getting loose and throwing that fire around.¡± The Adventurers are quick to free the captives, but they¡¯re faster still collecting all the raider¡¯s loot. They provided the former captives with equipment from the raider¡¯s gear and their own recovered possessions. Isa presses a heavy pouch into Esther¡¯s hand which she bounces thoughtfully when they finally walk away. I¡¯m not sure why she bothered. ¡°Soft touch,¡± I murmur quietly, and Isa gives me a glum smile. ¡°Want to secure a glamour to block sight and sound?¡± ¡°Is there any point torturing a Demon?¡± Isa asks. Patting her shoulder, I give a smile without taking my focus from Viper¡¯s barrier. ¡°Wasn¡¯t thinking about torture; she¡¯s a Demon, bet she screams threats if nothing else.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking that bet.¡± Isa¡¯s song drifts around us, and the compound looks cloaked in mist within a few measures when the song starts. When she stops, I drop the re-inforcement and catch Viper in mid-rant. ¡°-will feed your ovaries to your little bitch a slice at a time while Manes fuck her.¡± ¡°Manes? Is she threatening us with low Demons after we trapped her?¡± Isa¡¯s question brushes my mind. My Spell barriers allow her through my mental protections, but I can feel Viper trying to slip within my thoughts. ¡°Not sure. We¡¯ll ask in a town¡ªmight be some local critter¡ªif she doesn¡¯t mean those pathetic things.¡± I kick off the interrogation moments after I feel Isa take that thought from my mind. ¡°Who summoned you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not answering questions without an agreement,¡± snarls Viper, the cunning in her gaze hidden behind a veil of faked rage. The Blessing Isa casts has Viper hissing in pain, and when it ends black cords of darkness show stretching away from Viper drinking in daylight and spear away northwards. ¡°Viper, you are going to tell us everything, but first-¡± Isa sings a complex fast-paced melody that set the black cords pulsing and before Isa finishes, her gaze has hardened. ¡°Manes are large gnoll-like monsters in this world. She¡¯s got a bond to a Priestess of the Demon Lord Raivo and two of her bodyguards among them.¡± Without a pause, Isa lets out a single note rising higher than I can hear. The black cords that had remained visible bloat and writhe about before they shatter into pieces. Their serrated ends recoiling into Viper dropping her to her knees in pain, vomiting demonic ichor. A final cough from Viper sprays the inside of the barrier with more black blood before she whispers hoarsely. ¡°What do you want?¡± Both of us catch the sudden awareness of our names and a burst of details that seems an abbreviated imprint. ¡°What¡¯s Analysis?¡± I ask Isa, enjoying the moment Viper¡¯s gaze narrows in hatred. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later. Viper, our names are a memory that you won¡¯t get to keep. I¡¯m surprised you still have Julia¡¯s Analysis Power¡ªthe memory of that is going as well,¡± Isa says, her frown lines deepen, but her gaze stays fixed on Viper. ¡°Again, who summoned you?¡± Viper¡¯s mind is a swirling mess of Chaos and hatred. Her will isn¡¯t strong enough to keep us out entirely but it¡¯s still hide-and-seek within. Isa¡¯s Telepathy catches something and tosses me details from amid the Chaos. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you had Analysis for him at least. So Yngvarr¡¯s cousin summoned you. It seems we¡¯ve got another stop to make.¡± Isa¡¯s statement has me looking at her in surprise. ¡°Weren¡¯t you wanting to go chat to that new Steward?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s on my naughty list, but he¡¯s in the same town¡ªI wasn¡¯t planning to go out of my way.¡± ¡°That¡¯s handy then. Did you want to tell this Yngvarr fellow his cousin¡¯s been bad or surprise him with a funeral?¡± Isa gains a fury that is answer enough when she turns her gaze on Viper. ¡°Those three monsters are now cadavers. Their songs were foul but you didn¡¯t feel a hundredth of what I hit them with.¡± ¡°Change of plans?¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s got too many memories I don¡¯t want her having, so it¡¯s more that will go,¡± Isa replies. She grimaces and shakes her head at whatever she heard amid Viper¡¯s maelstrom of a mind. ¡°I¡¯m not torturing you, Viper, but I can hear the song of memories within you that aren¡¯t yours to possess. You don¡¯t get to keep a single second of Julia¡¯s life. It will be up to you whether you lose other memories along with them or you share information, so I don¡¯t blank it all out.¡± ¡°They are mine. Her body should have been mine! She took it from me! I WANT MY POWER BACK!¡± Viper¡¯s scream has blood and spittle spraying across the inside of the barrier before she unleashes more spells against it. ¡°At least I wasn¡¯t the worst child in this whole situation,¡± I murmur. My words hang in the air for only a moment before Isa¡¯s laughter enrages Viper further¡ªthe barrier under a near-constant barrage of shifting Mana. ¡°Cooperate and you¡¯ll keep more of your memories, Viper,¡± Isa says. ¡°If you don¡¯t, I¡¯ll let luck decide what memories you get to keep since you split from Julia. Everything before that is going.¡± ¡°Which of her friends are you? Aren¡¯t you both supposed to be cursed into Hell? You think I¡¯m the worst of her problems?¡± ¡°Then trade information and keep what you can for yourself,¡± I suggest. Viper¡¯s sneer of contempt speaks volumes about her determination. ¡°They¡¯ve promised to destroy me utterly if I mess with their plans. Bit hard for you to escalate the threat level. How can you top that?¡± ¡°Viper, you seriously need a better imagination. Destruction could be a merciful thing unless you tell me what I want to know. I could sing you into something else. So many options: a Laerve, or weak Dretch, a gestating Mane, perhaps? Oh, an Abyssal Chicken! Did you want to get eaten, Succubus?¡± counters Isa. ¡°They¡¯re not what I¡¯d call a chicken, but I¡¯ve seen plenty of Demons ripping their flesh apart.¡± Viper can¡¯t get any paler, but for the first time her eye goes wide, and a shudder sets her wings rustling. ¡°Your singing is True Song?¡± ¡°At least those stolen memories have use. Yes, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard many things about what it¡¯s capable of,¡± Isa purrs, the smug tone spiking worry through Viper¡¯s mind. ¡°They won¡¯t care what form you put me in, it still doesn¡¯t change the fact they¡¯ll destroy me.¡± ¡°They¡¯d have to find you first, bit hard to do that if I change your name,¡± ¡°My cult is linked to hers; you think she won¡¯t be able to find me?¡± Isa''s smile doesn¡¯t shift but the fury in her gaze twists it into something else. ¡°Oh Viper. Here Chickie, Chickie.¡± ¡°Alright, Usd¡¯ghi is not why I¡¯m here. What did she tell you about her time in the Abyss?¡± Motioning her to get on with Isa crosses her arms and the rage cools from her gaze. ¡°I¡¯ll ask questions if there is anything I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Raivo is L¨ºdhins¡¯ name after his Demon ate his Soul up upon transforming into a Demon Lord,¡± Viper practically spits, and I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s from distaste or envy. ¡°He and Usd¡¯ghi arranged Set¡¯s demise during the purge of his Priests. Raivo has most of his worshippers among the Manes at present. The Manes wanted help to ensure the Adventurers¡¯ Guild would fall apart; I told them that was my primary purpose. Raivo however, wanted me here to attract more worshippers in Egypt so he could seize swathes of Petitioners to increase his power base.¡± ¡°What did Yngvarr¡¯s cousin¡ªHimelchon¡ªwant?¡± asks Isa forcefully, and Viper doesn¡¯t blink at betraying him. ¡°He wants Humans gone from their lands. Apparently not all the flower eaters like them being around,¡± sneers Viper. ¡°Elves sullying their bloodlines by dallying with the animals gets folks so upset! Gosh, what a surprise! No idea how Raivo got his hooks into him. Promise to send me back with all my memories and I¡¯ll tell you something dangerously important?¡± Isa looks at Viper, and after a Blessing draws two cards from a deck. I don¡¯t catch what they are but my jaw drops when she says. ¡°I promise.¡± Viper glares at us, grinding her teeth, and yet while Isa projects simple calm an insane giggle slips loose, and I laugh at her habit. The strange moment stole more bluster from Viper¡¯s sails than Isa¡¯s promise or threats. ¡°A bunch of Manes are pregnant to Raivo¡¯s Br¨ªn with more planned. Next time the Manes hit the northern kingdoms, they¡¯re going to face lots of Cambions and part bloods,¡± Viper eventually says, and the detection spell doesn¡¯t object. ¡°Viper, I lied,¡± Isa says, and Viper howls in rage letting loose with handfuls of Chaos that tear chunks from the Order barrier. I switch spells and snap a Chaos barrier into place around the dissolving protection. Isa growls out a wrathful harmony while I keep holding Viper in place¡ªjumping between spells¡ªrestricted from just killing her by whatever Isa has planned. Eventually, Viper doesn¡¯t just collapse but explodes into dust. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have done that without telling her you lied?¡± I huff. Isa gives me a smile that makes me groan with desire. ¡°The cards spoke, and I needed her enraged.¡± ¡°What did you do to her?¡± I ask, wondering what her play had been. ¡°I wiped her memories of Julia¡¯s life, Analysis, and us. All the linked memories¡¯ songs are gone¡ªan improved version of a Mind Wipe Spell effect. The part I needed her enraged for was redirecting her rage into loathing for Raivo and Usd¡¯ghi. If I¡¯m lucky, she won¡¯t want anything to do with them. If I¡¯m fortunate, she¡¯ll plot against them, and that should get her annihilated. Maybe don¡¯t tell Amdirlain since I took away choices.¡± ¡°She still has choices about how she gets herself destroyed. Could you have warned me about all the Affinities she had?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you the one who taught me not to let my guard down regardless of expectations? I¡¯m just glad she doesn¡¯t have Amdirlain¡¯s Willpower; getting anything from her mind would have been impossible.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Master Tenzin bowed in time with Amdirlain when she arrived in the courtyard that morning. Thero¡¯s information had occupied Amdirlain¡¯s mind the remaining part of the night with a strange mix of thoughts. Being able to separate herself and save those at risk had lifted a weight from her shoulders. Anger at herself and the gathering had given way to a surety that she wouldn¡¯t abandon them. A surety that helped dispel concerns that had undermined her calm for years. ¡°Know that I hope you¡¯ve not arranged more challenges yet,¡± Tenzin said, with a note of dry amusement in her voice. Amdirlain tried to lock her expression to calmness, but it ruined her reply when a half-muffled giggle made it out first. ¡°Master Tenzin, my apologies for the disruption to the schedule.¡± The look she got from Tenzin didn¡¯t become the scowl she had seen the first day, and she simply motioned to her spot. ¡°Know I can see how contrite you are, Novice Amdirlain.¡± Hurried footsteps rushed along the hallway, and Amdirlain knelt on her mat to wait for ?daka¡¯s arrival. ¡°Know I didn¡¯t capture all the challenge, but I can share what I got if they don¡¯t provide a copy,¡± Nomein said the moment she knelt. ¡°Copy?¡± murmured Amdirlain. The grumble from Sarith distracted Nomein from her question. ¡°Know I still don¡¯t like you. Know that your behaviour was extremely insulting to the Grand Master¡¯s Champion.¡± Noting Sarith¡¯s ramrod posture when she knelt on the other side, Amdirlain kept her apparent attention fixed on Nomein. ¡°Copy of what, Nomein?¡± replied Amdirlain ¡°Know the way you played with her and drew the fight out to increase her shame was disgusting,¡± continued Sarith. Nomein leant forward to glare around Amdirlain at the other Novice. ¡°Know you¡¯re being rude to me also, Sarith, so hush. Know that I was speaking first.¡± ¡°Know that it is good you are all so early to meditations, but the next to speak has an extra shift of garden duty,¡± stated Tenzin. Nomein raised her hand shyly, and Tenzin sighed. ¡°What is it, Novice Nomein?¡± ¡°Will there be any time allowed for Amdirlain to show us her techniques at a slower speed? Know I didn¡¯t capture some of them clearly in my psi-crystal.¡± Psi-crystals record things as well? Sneaky girl at least answered my question; wonder what she wants to pick out from my style. ¡°Know you will need to ask Novice Amdirlain in your own time,¡± Tenzin replied firmly. Amdirlain just gave Nomein a wink before settling to wait for Master ?daka amid other Novices arriving to a silence, enforced by Master¡¯s Tenzin stern glare. The barest whisper of displaced air announced ?daka¡¯s Teleport setting her atop the mat, but she didn¡¯t bat an eye at half the Novices already being present. She knelt with a nod of greeting before taking in Tenzin¡¯s glare and letting her guard down enough for her mouth to twitch. ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain that the Masters are considering your request in this morning¡¯s council meeting. Know that Master Tenzin will communicate their questions or decision,¡± stated ?daka, just before the last of the Novices took their positions. Murmurs among the Novice cut off when Tenzin cleared her throat, and ?daka simply began the guided meditation. Settling into following her example, Amdirlain felt the erratic energy of Telekinesis among the Novices and tried her best to apply the Skill with as much subtlety as possible. The slow pace of the exercise helps refine the Skill and lets emotions settle. 161 - Remnant West of Ten Kingdoms - Sea Fang Tribe - Original Enclave Y?t¨¢l wiped her son¡¯s blood from her face but couldn¡¯t take her gaze from his shattered remains. Their plans to regain control of the tribe were in ashes now with his death. Dying clutching at his head while screaming about a piercing sound no one else could hear had left her family¡¯s reputation in tatters. That his body had erupted into a gout of blood and bone showed her family¡¯s ill-favour clearer still. The Sea Fangs¡¯ loyal warriors were already clashing with those enticed from other tribes over who would rule. None of them were paying heed to the generations her line had led. The shameful way V?rt¨¢l had died had cast all that to the sea beasts. The information offered by Lady Epoch¨¥¡¯s hags that night had ensured the end of her family¡¯s pride and strength. It might be generations before the tribe recovered the numbers lost today alone, allowing those who now followed the foreign Gods more time to gain strength. The initial powers granted by Viper had won her youngest son favour, but they¡¯d proved weak compared to what they¡¯d witnessed once the caverns became theirs. Then came the night of the fire with Viper¡¯s favoured icon erupting in flames, while her other face¡¯s glow banished all shadows within its chamber. Those who¡¯d favoured her had taken over rulership within the day. Distracted by grief, anger, and fermenting plans to recover her family¡¯s pride, she was too late to brace against the attack. Her bound spirits struck together to wrench her Soul from flesh and cast it into the depths. Usd¡¯ghi - Usd¡¯ghi Fortress - Abyssal Plane: Caverns of the Skull The bone quill skittered across the parchment when it fell from Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s grasp, leaving the ledger with a spreading blot of ink. Severed threads of fate writhed in her awareness, and she slowly drew in the remains of Viper¡¯s Mantle. The death of the fledgling¡¯s few Priests still shone within it, echoing energy she¡¯d not felt in eons. ¡°True Song obliterated her?¡± gasped Usd¡¯ghi. ¡°Grandchild, send Raivo a bill. He was supposed to make Viper believe she was working for him behind my back. He wasn¡¯t supposed to drop her in a situation that would cause her utter destruction.¡± A moment of focus had the furious Message sent, and she considered the plans further ruined by this turn of events. ¡°Lady of the Burning Tempest, Reaper of Souls, is a delightful addition to my other titles.¡± A strange surge prompted the use of an Empowered Dusk Emerald, and the new Power showing in her imprint brings forth a twisted smile. ¡°Send a Dretch in here.¡± She relaxed and awaited his arrival, slowly tapping black nails across the marble desk. The plodding brute doesn¡¯t even risk meeting her gaze but approaches within arm¡¯s reach as soon as she motions him forward. His heavy footsteps have barely ceased when Usd¡¯ghi grabs his hand, and Energy Drain pulls life from him. The body hits the ground with a thump that seems odd, Usd¡¯ghi having expected a drained sack of bones. Focusing on the Demonic Shard nearly lost amid her accumulated strength, only its unassimilated state making it stand out. The tiny sliver of Abyssal energy is seemingly a dark star within the glowing rush of health. ¡°Now I¡¯ve confirmation how she grew so fast, at least. I¡¯ll have to see if I can grant it to my lineage and the faithful.¡± Usd¡¯ghi murmured to herself. ¡°Hmm, that might be a dangerous course¡ªI¡¯ll test its limits first.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Nine Novices swarmed around Amdirlain with energy that put Pip¡¯s liveliness to shame when the meditation session ended. While other Novices walked away, Sarith seemed split between giving Amdirlain an earful and joining the exodus. Amdirlain quickly turned to Nomein and ignored the girl¡¯s glare at her back. Though the other Novices clearly would have interrogated her, those gathered seemed strangely tense given their excitement. I hope Liran? takes things better than Sarith¡¯s reaction. Nomein brought out a rainbow-hued crystal¡ªbarely the size of her palm¡ªthat floated the moment she let it go. It reacted to a thought from her and spilled forth a burst of colour before an image formed above it. The replayed moment showed a closeup of the Hydrate Spell wrapping Liran? in water and, in slow motion, her parched skin slowly filled out. ¡°What¡¯s that effect?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Spell called Hydrate, and requires Water Affinity obviously,¡± replied Amdirlain, and looked the crystal over closely. ¡°Know this is one type of psi-crystal¡ªmost amplify various psionic skills or techniques¡ªcheap ones only record events,¡± Nomein explained and motioned her to go on. ¡°We heard you say that, but what does it do? Why did you cast it on Liran??¡± ¡°You can last far longer without food than water. If you lose too much water and don¡¯t replenish it, you¡¯ll eventually pass out or die. Even if you recover, you can do damage to your organs. I was worried about her when I spotted her sweating stop,¡± replied Amdirlain and nodded at the crystal. ¡°Why are they cheap?¡± ¡°Know apprentice crafters churn out thousands of them practicing,¡± Zenya said, having beaten others to Amdirlain¡¯s side. Lezekus shook her head, and the motion made the ends of her cornrows dance. ¡°Know some of my father¡¯s apprentices churn out tens of thousands before reaching journeyman rank. Know that father says in his great grandsire¡¯s time they¡¯d grind them all up and dissolve the powder in acid to provide a base to grow the next batch.¡± ¡°How do they work?¡± ¡°Know they capture memories of the moment, where better psi-crystals take imprints of skills or techniques being used,¡± explained Lezekus. ¡°Know after attuning to the crystal any moments recorded in them are accessible.¡± ¡°Know that rumours circulate saying you challenged Liran? to the death,¡± Gemiya interjected, cutting Lezekus off when she went to continue. ¡°That¡¯s not correct, and I wouldn¡¯t put trust in rumours,¡± Amdirlain said, with a grimace at the thought of wild tales. ¡±Delegate Tallis escalated my challenge to her rejecting Master Jarith?¡¯s permission into a death challenge, but it was against various rules. Master Healer Elliyna took exception to Tallis breaching one of them in particular.¡± The explanation eased away much of the tension she¡¯d noticed among them. ¡°You¡¯re under a Healer¡¯s care?!¡± exclaimed several Novices. ¡°Is that where you go when we¡¯re attending to evening duties?¡± ¡°Know that it certainly didn¡¯t impact your ability to fight, and the why is not our business,¡± Gemiya stated firmly, cutting off further questions on some girls¡¯ lips. ¡°Healer Elliyna gave me some advice about using the challenge to aid my healing, but I¡¯ve got a long road ahead.¡± Gemiya looked at her in confusion. ¡°Is that why you drew it out?¡± ¡°No, it was an honour to fight Liran?, and we were both improving from it. If I¡¯d ended the fight sooner, we¡¯d have certainly learnt less,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Know that Sarith is furious with you for extending it, plus lying about what techniques you know,¡± stated Zenya with a glance at Gemiya. Amdirlain gave Zenya a puzzled look and saw the worry in her grey gaze. ¡°I barely made use of any psi techniques. I mainly made use of other powers and skills rather than psionics. Liran? would overwhelm my precognition technique with possibilities.¡± ¡°What were the three types of armouring you used?¡± enquired Gemiya, the last of her tension lifted by Amdirlain¡¯s reassurance. ¡°Know that many thought they were some unknown psi-techniques.¡± Many being Sarith perhaps? Ki hardening my flesh counts as protection but they can¡¯t see that. ¡°I started the fight with four protective layers¡ªone isn¡¯t visible¡ªbut none were psi techniques. Three, I¡¯ve learnt from my Monk Class, and while the other is different, it¡¯s a Power, not a technique.¡± Amdirlain replied, glad the psi-barriers had prevented the broadcast of emotions from the Angelic Aura. ¡°Four to Liran?¡¯s one?!¡± Zenya exclaimed, only to get hushed by Gemiya. ¡°Three are individually weaker than Liran?¡¯s psi-armour,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I thought a few times she was going to beat me. Breakfast will be soon. Does anyone need to wash up still?¡± The question caused a rush of Novices heading to the dormitory. Amdirlain followed them slowly, only to have Nomein and Zenya flank her. ¡°Know some of us are accustomed to rising earlier than here,¡± Zenya stated at Amdirlain¡¯s questioning look. At the girl¡¯s smug look, Amdirlain laughed in amusement. ¡°When I was your age, there were a few times my family dragged me out of bed¡ªgetting up early voluntarily didn¡¯t happen.¡± No, damn it! I just used an ¡®in my day line¡¯, shoot me now; at least it wasn¡¯t a putdown towards their habits. I haven¡¯t slept in years, is that part of why I rarely feel rested anymore? ¡°Know everyone wanted to get to the challenge early each morning¡ªincluding Master Tenzin,¡± said Nomein. ¡°I¡¯d bet some Novices were cheering for Liran?,¡± teased Amdirlain and laughed again at the admission provided by Zenya¡¯s rueful look. Nomein rolled her eyes at the teasing. ¡°Know she was requesting to switch tables so fervently last night that she¡¯s even got Gemiya unsettled. Does she think Master Tenzin¡¯s going to forgive her behaviour that first meal?¡± ¡°Hatred and fear grow dangerous fruit, but I don¡¯t expect everyone to like me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Lots of people dislike those different from themselves, but the Githz¨¦rai reputation portrays you as xenophobic. Perhaps she takes that attitude too much to heart?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°Know that battles caused by outsiders fill our histories,¡± advised Zenya. ¡°I first found this monastery by stepping through a Portal. My initial interaction with the monastery involved dodging boulders, and continued with two Monks attacking me. Might some events have another side?¡± asked Amdirlain gently. ¡°Are you saying our elders are wrong?¡± challenged Zenya suspiciously. Amdirlain stopped and face Zenya while she considered how to explain her perspective. ¡°Given the actions of the Illithid, I can understand how your people¡¯s attitude originated. I¡¯ve also met a lot of hostile entities so it may be as it is written. I only asked if some had another side. What others do is their choice, but I prefer to avoid killing those that don¡¯t deserve it. I will admit I was more cautious when I returned, and that¡¯s worked out well.¡± Zenya looked a bit abashed at Amdirlain¡¯s words and gave a murmured apology. Patting her shoulder Amdirlain turned towards the refectory, only to find Nomein staring at her with an incredulous look. ¡°You count nearly facing a death challenge as having worked out well?¡± ¡°But it wasn¡¯t a death challenge, and I really enjoyed fighting Liran?. I hope she¡¯ll be alright, and wants to fight again sometime,¡± replied Amdirlain brightly, ignoring the look of disbelief she got from them both. ¡°Why?¡± they asked in unison, the echo causing Amdirlain to laugh. ¡°I learnt a lot, and the way her fighting techniques adjusted, I¡¯m sure she did as well.¡± Amdirlain paused a moment in her reply and gestured for the pair to wait. ¡°We spoke before the challenge, and I had a good impression of her.¡± ¡°Know that Sarith is very upset you beat her,¡± noted Zenya softly. ¡°Know she was a big devotee of Liran? during the competition to gain her position a few years ago.¡± ¡°Ouch, yet another crime to punish me for in her eyes then,¡± sighed Amdirlain. The rest of the Novices weren¡¯t long joining them in the refectory. When the meal was served, nearly everyone drew out a psi-crystal playing one scene or another while they ate. Amdirlain saw an image of Liran?¡¯s combination kick that had sent her sprawling, playing on Sarith¡¯s. ¡°She set me up perfectly for that kick. I thought she¡¯d stumbled during her recovery from my throw.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯m not interested in hearing you speak about her¡ªI don¡¯t trust you, outsider,¡± declared Sarith, and returned to watching the image while she ate. Keeping a straight face at Sarith¡¯s irate tone, it was tempting to ignore her behaviour, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to easily let it go. ¡°I¡¯d intended no disrespect to Liran?. Could you explain why the events in the challenge showed disrespect?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll not educate an outsider since you clearly shouldn¡¯t be here,¡± huffed Sarith, without shifting her gaze off the image. Catching the pained look in Gemiya¡¯s gaze, Amdirlain changed her approach to reach the girl. ¡°Here¡¯s my perspective and some questions to consider. Would you cut short a lesson with one of the best-unarmed combatants you¡¯ve met? I gained so many insights fighting her it was an incredible experience. It was an honour and might be my only chance to learn from her.¡± ¡°What?¡± snapped Sarith and almost dropped the crystal on her food. Amdirlain took in her gobbed-smacked look and continued on, glad she¡¯d cracked the girl¡¯s shell of anger. ¡°Would you cut that lesson short or eke out everything you could from it?¡± ¡°You enjoyed fighting her?¡± Amdirlain grinned and the remembered rush from the battle light up her gaze. ¡°It was the best fun I¡¯ve had in so long.¡± Gemiya spoke up, cutting in on the stunned Sarith. ¡°Know by frequently letting her go it appeared you held her in contempt,¡± ¡°The times I let her go, I didn¡¯t want to risk crippling her. Overpowering her through brute strength alone wouldn¡¯t have given us insights towards improving. I¡¯ve gotten through using brute force to fight so many foes, but that wouldn¡¯t have been respectful to her skill.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe you could have overpowered her?¡± sneered Sarith. ¡°Did you notice the times when the stone was cracking underfoot wherever I stepped?¡± Still looking off-balance, Sarith frowned and managed a mutter. ¡°How is that related to anything? ¡°That was from a technique Liran? used to increase my weight, not from anything I was doing. It gave me so many insights into ensuring I kept my movements agile and light. Three points for you to consider: when she started using the technique, it felt like someone was sitting on my shoulders; each successive time, its increase was deliberately measured; lastly, how strong am I to move around when every step causes stone to crack underfoot?¡± The last question caught Sarith¡¯s attention and she swallowed before speaking. ¡°What are you trying to say?¡± Amdirlain sighed in frustration at the suddenly pale expression on Sarith¡¯s face. ¡°Liran? didn¡¯t look to win through applying a technique to its utmost immediately. I assume because she didn¡¯t want to risk killing me. Why should I insult her by doing something equally risky in return?¡± Sarith frowned at Amdirlain¡¯s words. ¡°You were trying not to insult her?¡± ¡°As I said, applying brute force would have insulted her skill, but I¡¯ll need to give her my apologies if that¡¯s not how it¡¯s perceived. I wanted to win by my ability, and that didn¡¯t happen. The rules not allowing Liran? a break¡ªto drink at least¡ªbeat her.¡± [Diplomacy (18->19)] Yeah, thanks, I guess. I hope I¡¯ll get through to her. I didn¡¯t expect to be upsetting kids simply by being here. ¡°Are you saying your race is so much better, since you clearly don¡¯t sweat or need to drink as often?¡± asked Sarith, and the spark of attitude was a relief after her moment of fear. ¡°I never claimed that, and it isn¡¯t true.¡± Not wanting to push further, Amdirlain began eating but it was a few minutes before Sarith did the same. Amdirlain noted her crystal projected the fight¡¯s beginning when she activated it again¡ªa step up from viewing her arse kicked across the floor. I need to learn psionics properly. I made this mistake with Mana Manipulation, spell lists, and other stagnated skills. Picking up things piecemeal isn¡¯t giving me a proper grounding to be subtle or improve. The old saying¡ªif the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. I need to admit that applies to rejecting diplomacy. Look what I¡¯ve learnt! [Perception [M](50)] Okay, Mr Message¡ªI think Isa¡¯s name for you is funny, but your messages to me have gotten snarky. Keeping her gaze fixed on the meal, Amdirlain didn¡¯t react to Sarith¡¯s glances or Master Tenzin¡¯s bemused look. The rest of the meal passed with the others at the table, clearly holding in their questions. The morning¡¯s physical training was quiet and Amdirlain tried to find more calmness among the repetition of forms. She was glad the day had actually provided a chance to recover from the mental efforts of the evening. ¡°Amdirlain, would you take time to show us some of your forms?¡± Zenya asked immediately after practice ended. ¡°At some point, but not now,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You need to bathe before lunch.¡± The upset look Zenya gave her was a complete put on and Amdirlain bit back her laughter. ¡°Soon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you some on the next rest day, but you look like you fell in a pool,¡± replied Amdirlain, and sniffed the air. ¡°Can¡¯t you show me some now?¡± persisted Zenya, still having Amdirlain fixed with a wide-eyed pleading look. Amdirlain just motioned her towards the door and couldn¡¯t resist teasing. ¡°One with dirty water from the smell of you.¡± ¡°Know the rest of us sweat, unlike you,¡± grumbled Zenya in return. ¡°Are you going to bathe as well?¡± ¡°I refreshen my clothing when needed with Chaos Shaping¡ªthat¡¯s sufficient¡± Amdirlain replied and Zenya nodded before she headed inside. Unhurried steps delivered her to the refectory and stopping behind her chair, she slowly put herself through more of Elliyna¡¯s mental exercises, reliving the traumas to lessen them through familiarity. Gemiya looked amused upon her arrival alone, taking in Amdirlain still standing. ¡°Know you can sit down.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t make much difference to me,¡± replied Amdirlain and sat in time with Gemiya. ¡°Bathed fast, it seems.¡± Gemiya gave her a slight smile and glanced at the door before speaking. ¡°Can I ask you some questions?¡± ¡°You can ask, but I won¡¯t promise an answer.¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Do you need to eat or drink?¡± asked Gemiya quickly, her attention split between Amdirlain and the door. ¡°Know that I found a book on Elves in the library but there is no mention of their diet.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t need to do either, but I enjoy food, and I¡¯m told a stable routine is important,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is every meal the same vegetarian stew with mushrooms?¡± ¡°Know every meal has been similar. Did you know two girls already decided it wasn¡¯t for them before you arrived¡ªafter only a few days?¡± asked Gemiya, and at her huff of disbelief, Amdirlain restrained a smile. ¡°Is not needing food or drink common among Elves?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s smile slipped free even as she considered how to answer. ¡°I¡¯m not an Elf Gemiya. However, you¡¯re not the only one that¡¯s assumed that. I will say that I don¡¯t plan to speak about my species, and I hope you¡¯ll respect my preference for privacy on that topic. Though I¡¯m happy to speak about a lot of other things.¡± Gemiya perked up at her words, and another question spilled out. ¡°What is the scariest thing you¡¯ve fought?¡± Farhad doesn¡¯t really count as a fight. It was more a test of character and he held back so much; Liran? went full on. ¡°Since fighting differs from seeing, I¡¯d say Liran?. I thought she was going to beat me a few times,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Scariest thing you¡¯ve seen?¡± ¡°Pass.¡± Gemiya frowned in confusion and immediately chirped up. ¡°What pass? Know that I¡¯ve never seen a pass before. I couldn¡¯t imagine them to be that scary.¡± ¡°Not a location. Pass is just a shorthand expression to say I¡¯ll pass on answering that question,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Know that¡¯s not fair, it¡¯s a simple question,¡± objected Gemiya, crossing her arms atop the table. ¡°It¡¯s a lot more complex than you¡¯d expect. Scary because of how weak I was when I ran into them. I ran into things that for a bunch of different reasons I¡¯ve found scary,¡± replied Amdirlain, and raised a hand to stop her objections. ¡°None of which I¡¯m getting into because most of them involve Demons, undead, or horrific things, along with a unique Slaadi I didn¡¯t want to mess with either.¡± Gemiya asked another question, but frowned and changed it mid-sentence when she heard the same footsteps Amdirlain had already noted. ¡°Have- you travelled to any planets on the Material Plane?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent time on three, and all had distinct problems. However, reality being stable on them was reassuring compared to Limbo¡¯s constant flux,¡± replied Amdirlain. A stream of Novices entered the room herded in by Master Tenzin¡¯s arrival. Some nodded cheerfully¡ªor from politeness¡ªbut the majority seemed to ignore her presence despite the recordings they stayed glued to over lunch. Their arrival in the psionics class found Master Duurth already present, and a couple of rectangular boxes rested on a table next to him. His haggard complexion and bloodshot eyes drew a surprised reaction from all the Novices. Following the others, Amdirlain had barely caught sight of him before Zenya had already taken in his state. ¡°Are you alright, Master Duurth?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll have recovered by tomorrow, Novice Zenya,¡± replied Duurth. The boxes wafted through the air without warning, and one landed in front of Amdirlain and Lezekus. Duurth nodded to the box sitting before Lezekus before he continued speaking. ¡°Know that you will both attempt a separate exercise while I take the rest of the class through attempting to unlock their psionics fully.¡± Amdirlain opened the box¡¯s lid without prompting and found the palm-width stone surface lifted smoothly upwards from a recessed lip. Inside the forearm length box, she found hundreds of variously sized glass spheres. ¡°Know that you will use telekinesis on them individually, not as a whole. Know your exercise is to lift and hold aloft as many as possible while keeping strict control over them,¡± explained Duurth. ¡°Do I need to point out they are fragile and will shatter if mishandled?¡± His question prompted Amdirlain to inspect them properly and she found they were more like tiny blown glass ornaments. ¡°Is there a penalty if we drop them?¡± ¡°Why would you suggest that, Novice Amdirlain?¡± Duurth enquired, his voice elevated slightly in surprise. ¡°Otherwise, you could have shaped them out of anything.¡± ¡°Know they are fragile to ensure you don¡¯t hold them aloft with erratic pressure. Why might that be?¡± asked Duurth and motioned to Lezekus. The girl considered the question before she hesitantly replied. ¡°Is it so we establish a proper contact sense through Telekinesis?¡±. ¡°Know that is correct; it can provide the same pressure sensitivity as physical touch. Know that pushing yourself to hold as many as possible aloft helps to establish that mental habit. Does anyone care to share why they think we use spheres?¡± Sarith raised her hands along with the others, and Duurth gave her a look that made it clear he remembered her attitude. ¡°Novice Sarith?¡± ¡°Is it because they¡¯d likely roll about unless you¡¯re grasping them when they rise?¡± ¡°Know that is also correct; grasp them, don¡¯t lift them via any visualisation of platforms,¡± replied Duurth and this time gave Sarith a pleased nod. ¡°Know that we¡¯ll be going through the contemplation exercises begun with Master Tenzin, to focus on one ability¡¯s sensation. Know this time as you contemplate its flow, I¡¯ll assist you in tracing its source to the spark within your mind.¡± Amdirlain lifted the first glass ball into the air, trying to get a feel for the delicate material, only for it to shatter immediately. ¡°Know you need to be gentle, but if you break them all, I¡¯ll make more,¡± said Duurth, his mental presence guiding the girls about her in their contemplations. By the time the session ended, most had unlocked the Psion Class, Amdirlain¡¯s efforts had resulted in shattered glass, and Lezekus frequently had managed to hold four or five aloft. 162 - New Divide Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The afternoon¡¯s class had resulted in a new knowledge Skill for Amdirlain with hours spent covering Githz¨¦rai history. Neither Elliyna¡¯s session nor her night had provided surprises, even if the mental exertions continued to wear her down. Fortunately, it wasn¡¯t until after breakfast that the subsequent disruption to the promised stability occurred. The presence of Master Jarith? and an exhausted Liran? upon their return to the courtyard caught Amdirlain flat-footed, but it was a pleasing surprise. ¡°You look wrung out, Liran?,¡± Amdirlain said, happy to see her up and about. ¡°Is your recovery going okay?¡± At her words, Master Jarith?¡¯s relaxed expression gained an exasperated edge. ¡°Know you¡¯ll need to address Master Liran? as you do other Masters going forward, Novice Amdirlain.¡± ¡°My apologies, Master Jarith?. Please forgive me, Master Liran?. I didn¡¯t realise such was the correct address to a visitor.¡± ¡°Know that the title isn¡¯t used for all guests, Novice Amdirlain, save for honoured visitors like Master Elliyna. Know they¡¯ve stripped me of my position, so Master Jarith? offered me a posting,¡± said Liran?, her voice weighed with fatigue. ¡°Who dismissed you? They must be a complete fucking moron!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. The spark of rage started an inferno that seared along her nerves and pulsed in her ears. Angelic Aura erupted and had flames flickering around her¡ªfuelled by the anger she had to fight to restrain¡ªbut the first flare was enough to cause Novices to recoil. The Masters didn¡¯t flinch, and Amdirlain felt calming energy cut them off from the fear. A barrier that kept them isolated while she wrested the Power back under control. Its impact unsurprisingly didn¡¯t end when the sensation abated, given the girl¡¯s fixed, wide-eyed expressions. ¡°Know that it is unworthy of distress and is simply part of life¡¯s journey,¡± replied Liran?. ¡°Know you have my apologies for interfering with your healing with such news. Know that I find it frustrating only in that I couldn¡¯t tell them where to shove their position first.¡± Amdirlain, turning her attention to the girls once she finally had herself braced. ¡°My apologies, everyone, I wasn¡¯t expecting that Power to activate. My emotions have me off balance at present.¡± Pulling her gaze from their fear struck expressions, she gave Master Jarith? a bow. ¡°Might I request a change in arrangements, Master Jarith?? Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t be among Novices until my condition is more stable.¡± ¡°Know that once we stop disrupting you, the routine will aid you and those able to see the benefits of your experience. Know I believe that even the rudest Novice is safe in your presence,¡± refuted Master Jarith?. His gaze suddenly sternly jumped across Sarith and some other Novices, who had never spoken to her. Wonder what they¡¯ve been saying when I¡¯m not around? He seems unimpressed. Still working to hold the aura from activating, Amdirlain didn¡¯t argue but simply bowed in acceptance. ¡°Yes, Master Jarith?.¡± ¡°Know this afternoon¡¯s language lessons are being adjusted. Know any Novices interested in Mana Affinities should return here instead of attending that lesson,¡± Master Jarith? stated before looking at Amdirlain. ¡°Know there will be others in attendance besides Novices.¡± Taken aback by the news, Amdirlain only managed a hesitant response. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting the council discussions to conclude so quickly.¡± ¡°Know we concluded those discussions before breakfast when the new council met, thus it was expedient for me to deliver the news and guide Master Liran? here,¡± stated Jarith?. With a nod, Master Tenzin simply walked away unhurriedly. New council? ¡°Know that it is time to begin practice. Know that Master Liran? will guide this class going forward, and I¡¯ll circulate to correct form where required,¡± stated Tenzin. Putting a hand on the closest Novice¡¯s shoulder, she coaxed her towards the practise area, and the moment Amdirlain hesitated, she received a stern look. Amdirlain wasn¡¯t focused on Tenzin though, instead, she was taking in the fearful eyes of the petrified girls. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Know you shouldn¡¯t give up so easily; that wasn¡¯t the example you showed me in the stadium Novice Amdirlain,¡± Liran? said and motioned her to move into position. ¡°I was the one at risk in the stadium, not anyone else,¡± countered Amdirlain. Liran? rubbed the side of her face and gave Amdirlain an amused look. ¡°Know I remember a few punches that risked my consciousness. Know that you should take your place, Novice Amdirlain. Or do you seek to delay the lesson?¡± ¡°Says the Battlemaster Zerth with three Prestige Classes compared to my one. Plus, you fought for the chance to get punched in the face,¡± chided Amdirlain but headed for her spot. Nomein licked her lips nervously but took position next to her. ¡°Master Liran? resisted that sensation the entire fight?¡± The question came with a nervous glance, and Amdirlain felt her self-disgust stab deep. ¡°That¡¯s only a hint of the effect, but yes, she did.¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°How is that a protection?¡± whispered Nomein with morbid curiosity, her voice still edged with fear. ¡°It has a defensive effect but also radiates blood lust and rage, which scares most that feel it. Giving in to those effects or spending the mental effort to fight them provides advantages,¡± replied Amdirlain, her voice brittle with the loathing writhing within. ¡°Novices,¡± reproved Liran?, and those who¡¯d been listening to their exchange snapped their attention forward. Liran? looked them over before she exchanged bows to start the class. ¡°Know that Novice Amdirlain has many interesting surprises, but it¡¯s not this class¡¯s purpose to discuss them. Know you will follow my example while we stretch and during the execution of forms exactly as you had with Master Tenzin.¡± The class followed the same routine as previous days until the Novices started towards the wall for their run. When Amdirlain moved to join the others running, Liran? motioned her over. ¡°Know I¡¯ve spoken to Master Elliyna about what might assist you¡ªguidance, not details¡ªthough what she said was enough to realise I¡¯d been fortunate in my recovery. Know that you¡¯re not alone in dealing with mental injuries, and when recovering, I found it useful to practice forms in the mist style. Have you heard of it?¡± Not wanting to assume, Amdirlain didn¡¯t hesitate in admitting her ignorance. ¡°No, I¡¯ve only been copying Master Tenzin¡¯s forms so far.¡± ¡°Know to execute every motion you are but drifting mist. Know while it is normally used to practice a perfection of form, it can also help find a calm centre,¡± said Liran?. ¡°Some Novices are going to be thrilled to have you instructing them. It¡¯s perhaps a sensitive subject, but it sounds like you inspired at least one Novice during the competition for your stolen role.¡± ¡°Know what another can take, was never truly yours. Know perhaps I needed the lesson that titles and honours are just another material thing,¡± replied Liran?, and paused before adding. ¡°Did anyone inform you of the champion¡¯s purpose?¡± ¡°I take it not just to punch someone in the face for offending the Grandmaster,¡± quipped Amdirlain. The briefest flicker of a smile showed itself, but Liran? kept her composure. ¡°Know the role¡¯s primary purpose is supposed to be a representative in arguments grown past mediators. Know that while political, it was a role intended to lessen conflict to an individual level instead of mobilising armies where many combatants might perish.¡± At the bitter tone in her voice, Amdirlain gave a reluctant nod. ¡°I can understand you wanting to quit the role if you saw the role¡¯s purpose being perverted. I¡¯d like to introduce you to my teacher when there is time, though he¡¯s not a Githz¨¦rai.¡± ¡°Know that for ones¡ªlike you and I¡ªto find comparable practitioners is rare,¡± Liran? said, waving off the concern and smiled eagerly. ¡°Is he as skilled as yourself?¡± Amdirlain had to chuckle at the excited edge in her question. ¡°Far more skilled than I am, though our unarmed styles are different.¡± The smile was still present when Liran? motioned her back to her position. ¡°Know that you should begin with the same forms that Master Tenzin had you practice previous days. Know each form should be slow like mist swirling on a breath of breeze. Before you begin, what was the name of the Novice you said I inspired?¡± ¡°I¡¯m told Sarith was a devotee during your past challenges, Master Liran?. She was upset my conduct dishonoured you,¡± replied Amdirlain and exchanged bows before moving back to her position. The first punch contained a burst of rage that slapped the air, and Amdirlain sighed in frustration. Trying to feel the Ki mist inside for inspiration, she found it churning about, and even the pool had rage driven chop churning its surface. ¡°Know your pace should match this feather¡¯s fall,¡± Liran? said, and a feather appeared drifting beside her. ¡°Know you should seek to slow each movement until they drift and flow. Know each result provides a gauge for the next attempt rather than determining failure or success.¡± Focused on the drifting feather, Amdirlain didn¡¯t consciously punch but tried to relax and let her body drift. Despite her intentions, she still finished a dozen punches by the time it touched the ground, only for it to disappear and fall again. ¡°Know that your punches are still tight with anger and fear; ensure you don¡¯t let frustration also empower them. Know each step taken is a chance to learn about ourselves,¡± said Liran? after dozens of feather falls, and Amdirlain continued on. The Novices returned to their positions, and Liran? gave them similar instructions. Tenzin and Liran? circulated among them, providing corrections to forms as they went. Each form they practiced, Amdirlain tried to slow hers to match the feather that Liran? kept falling out front of the class. It was only when she stepped past the fear in the gazes directed her way that she succeeded. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Know I don¡¯t know what your Prestige Class is, but I¡¯ll find the strength to deal with your likes,¡± Sarith hissed, the moment Liran? dismissed them. Not even looking at Amdirlain, she walked towards others already welcoming Master Liran?. ¡°Know those flames along your fingers were a strange colour,¡± Nomein shared timidly, before heading inside along with the others that had clustered around Amdirlain the other morning. Is Master Jarith?¡¯s idea insisting I stay among them actually the best for them? Crystalline music suddenly made the air sing around Amdirlain, and Isa¡¯s voice whispered in her ear. The message in English and the heart-broken tone pure Rachel¡ªnot the near-stranger¡ªthat the tears of relief flowed. ¡°Ebusuku said to leave you be, but for hours I¡¯ve felt I needed to send you a message. I can¡¯t tell you how sorry we both are and while I¡¯m not sure it will make sense, I¡¯ll try to explain. To me now, everything has music telling me constantly what lies beneath the surface. I¡¯m used to the insight provided about what others are truly feeling with all the false fronts in Hell, but I just got silence from you. I fucked up and misunderstood your pain as disapproval. There was an energy from you punching and pushing against me; I realise now it was likely your Charisma. But that¡¯s on me. I should have asked, and I didn¡¯t even ask if you were okay.¡± The moment the first message ended, another followed, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t trust herself to respond to either. ¡°Ilya was at her paranoid jerk best, but I was at a complete douche canoe grade¡ªA arse hat¡ªlevel, and our behaviour sucked. I am truly sorry, Amdirlain for any pain we caused you. We¡¯re taking care of some tasks for your people¡ªthings Ebusuku says we¡¯re allowed to get involved in. You concentrate on getting well. Pretend it¡¯s a martial arts retreat¡ªthat¡¯s if it isn¡¯t¡ªnot yet another course of chemo and don¡¯t find an excuse to stop. The sorry from Ilya wasn¡¯t just me saying so. I¡¯m rambling, sorry. I also want to strangle you because it¡¯s clear you blame yourself, but don¡¯t you dare; you¡¯re not responsible. Please don¡¯t answer yet. Vent at me in person after you get better.¡± Pushing back old memories of drips, nurses, and days of never-ending nausea, Amdirlain focused on the regret in her friend¡¯s voice. When soft footsteps nearby tapped across Tremor Sense, they snapped her attention back to the world. The size too large for a Novice, she wasn¡¯t surprised it was Liran? standing just out of arm¡¯s reach. ¡°Sorry, I received a message from a friend,¡± sniffled Amdirlain, pressing her palms to her eyes to blot away tears. ¡°Know that tears don¡¯t always mean bad news. Is it something you wish to speak about, to Elliyna if not me?¡± ¡°A friend I thought perhaps I¡¯d lost checking in on me, and letting me know a situation isn¡¯t as bad as I thought,¡± replied Amdirlain. Liran? nodded calmly. ¡°Know that good news can strike deeply into wounded emotions. Will you join them for the meal?¡± She considered the question and fought back the words that fought to escape before choosing a polite response. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that was optional.¡± [Diplomacy (19->20)] ¡±Know the meal isn¡¯t optional, but your response shows your preference to avoid it,¡± nudged Liran? and clasped a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Know that children are resilient, and like all dangerous animals, sense weakness they can exploit. Is it not best to show a brave face, so they don¡¯t rip you apart?¡± ¡°How comforting,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you mention Novice Sarith to me when she clearly dislikes you?¡± ¡°Why should I get between her and one who inspired her? Her dislike of me affects her emotions more than mine, and I¡¯m aware of what it¡¯s like to have things come apart at her age. She doesn¡¯t want me here, and I scared her today. Her hostility isn¡¯t great, but it¡¯s certainly not shattering my world. Whereas in a teenager¡¯s life, lots of things seem world-shattering.¡± Is that why the first thing I did was remove my hair? To get past what had once been THE worst thing to me? Her words set a thoughtful look on Liran?¡¯s face, and her subject change took Amdirlain off guard when she spoke. ¡°What inspires you, Novice Amdirlain? Why did you train as a Monk?¡± ¡°My situation is unique. I didn¡¯t have a lot of viable choices,¡± replied Amdirlain, shying away from thinking of other considerations from the ledge. ¡°Know that it might seem so, but perhaps it isn¡¯t. Why not take time to determine precisely why Monk called you to pursue it so strongly? Know finding that for me helped my recovery¡ªperhaps it would aid yours,¡± offered Liran?, and headed for the door, and called over her shoulder. ¡°Know that Master Tenzin will expect you in the refectory on time.¡± The mere thought of entering the refectory was more intimidating than being paraded through the Sisterhood halls. It wasn¡¯t humiliation that dug at her, but the fear she¡¯d caused and worry about inflicting more. Focus on facts, not your emotions. Amdirlain mentally repeated the mantra and forced herself into motion. Zenya and Nomein arrived first and quietly took their spots near her, but without hesitation. Nomein looked up at Amdirlain with a concerned expression that twisted Amdirlain¡¯s stomach. ¡°Are you alright now, Novice Amdirlain?¡± asked Nomein, and Zenya fixed her with an equally concerned look. ¡°Me?! What about you?¡± objected Amdirlain in surprise. ¡°Know it was scary, but we talked while bathing and realised you were angry for Master Liran?, not angry at us,¡± Zenya stated. ¡°Know that if you can be that protective of Master Liran? after hitting each other so much, it¡¯s clear scaring us was unintentional.¡± ¡°Know you looked miserable when we left, so I¡ª¡± Nomein started and paused at Zenya¡¯s nudge. ¡°Know you still look miserable,¡± interjected Zenya, and Nomein continued on, ¡°we wanted to be sure you¡¯re okay. Know Sarith¡¯s threat was ill spoken.¡± ¡°Sarith¡¯s spats don¡¯t worry me. I¡¯m more concerned that my presence upsets her so much, and I respect her right to speak her mind. I hope she comes to see that I¡¯m not here to cause anyone problems, but if she can¡¯t, then she can¡¯t,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know it¡¯s still rude,¡± insisted Zenya. ¡°I¡¯ve frequently been rude, so I¡¯d be a hypocrite if I wasn¡¯t understanding now. Her choices are her choices. I can only hope she chooses a path that doesn¡¯t bring her harm.¡± Zenya bit off her reply and gave Amdirlain a hopeful look. ¡°Will you tell us about what Master Jarith? mentioned?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to come along if you¡¯re interested; if you don¡¯t, then that¡¯s your choice,¡± teased Amdirlain, trying to release the tension still twisting her insides. ¡°Why did you bid me to wait the other day?¡± asked Zenya, not letting up on the earnest expression. ¡°I didn¡¯t have permission and also I didn¡¯t know if the process would help any Githz¨¦rai. Master Duurth tested it the other day, and the council had to discuss it,¡± replied Amdirlain, and the girls nodded. ¡°Know that Master Jarith? mentioned a new council this morning. Do you think that¡¯s why Master Duurth looked haggard yesterday?¡± asked Nomein speculatively. ¡°My understanding is he wasn¡¯t previously on the council, but I do not know the selection method,¡± replied Amdirlain. At Amdirlain''s admission, Nomein gave her a knowledgeable look. ¡°Know then that all positions in monasteries and cities involve challenges to keep them. Know also if the holding Master hasn¡¯t received a challenge in three years, they¡¯re compelled to accept unless supported by the council leader. Do you know why Master Jarith? would turn over the old council?¡± ¡°The old council had discussions with delegate Tallis behind Master Jarith?¡¯s back.¡± Zenya¡¯s eyes went wide and both girl¡¯s mouth dropped slightly. ¡°Know that Master Jarith? thrashed his challengers in Metacreativity and Chaos Shaping¡ªjust stomped them in moments. Do you think he¡¯s normally that aggressive in challenges or was he making an explicit statement?¡± ¡°Do you mean he had two challengers or two aspects to a challenge?¡± enquired Amdirlain, wondering how complex the challenges could get. Nomein nodded rapidly. ¡°Know only one challenger was announced, and after he thrashed the first; another Master challenged him. Know Master Jarith? saying he was ready to answer the challenge immediately took him by surprise.¡± Sarith¡¯s arrival stopped whatever Zenya had been about to add, and she took her seat at the table in silence. Glaring at the three of them angrily, she crossed her arms, the muscles in her jaw flexing, but she didn¡¯t lash out for once. Bringing forth a psi-crystal, Nomein displayed an image of complex structures and war machines appearing on the stadium floor¡ªeach set showing a different banner. Growing in an eye blink, they quickly hemmed in Master Jarith?¡¯s opponent in a swift real-time game of Go; every time a line of them tried to break out, he twisted them from the challenger¡¯s control. ¡°Isn¡¯t it fantastic how Master Jarith?¡¯s shut him down so quickly?¡± ¡°Know it would be fantastic if Master Jarith? shut someone else down so firmly,¡± quipped Zenya, giving Sarith a stern glare. ¡°Peace. Please don¡¯t start arguments, Zenya,¡± Amdirlain consoled. ¡°Sarith has a right to speak.¡± ¡°Know you shouldn¡¯t tell her what to do,¡± snapped Sarith. At Sarith¡¯s objection, Zenya hissed in anger. ¡°Know you were better off with your mouth closed. Or do you like lashing out like a Slaadi?¡± ¡°Know that we¡¯re serving lunch today. Know the schedule got pushed about because of tables taking turns fetching drinks,¡± stated Nomein ignoring the pair exchanging glares. Amdirlain glanced between them and gave Nomein a strained smile. ¡°Did you record the other challenge?¡± Sarith¡¯s stony silence didn¡¯t break again during the meal, but she turned rather smug when Amdirlain continued crushing box after box of the glass ornaments during the psionic lesson. By the lesson¡¯s end, all the other Novices had unlocked the Psion Class and were keeping at least two of them aloft consistently. Amdirlain poked the box full of shards with an accusing finger, and Nomein looked away from her floating spheres. ¡°Know that I don¡¯t believe poking them will help.¡± ¡°Know that you need a far lighter touch, Novice Amdirlain. Or do you believe you¡¯re trying to crush a Slaadi¡¯s throat?¡± asked Duurth, and Amdirlain signed in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m trying to grasp them gently, but I don¡¯t even sense any contact before they¡¯ve already shattered,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. The chime echoed through the corridor, and Master Duurth waved for them to go. The boxes and lids came together, landing on the table before all the Novice had risen. Zenya leaned forward in her seat to look around Sarith at Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t you have somewhere to be Novice Amdirlain?¡± Nomein smirked, and while others shook their heads at Zenya¡¯s antics, Sarith simply left without a word. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, Novice Zenya. Why are you so interested?¡± asked Amdirlain. Zenya¡¯s cheerfulness brightened her mood after another long lesson filled with breaking glass. Nomein headed for the door, and called back, ¡°Know I¡¯m going to the courtyard. What about yourselves?¡± ¡°You know what? I think I¡¯ll do the same,¡± Amdirlain replied, lightly and provided a smile for Zenya¡¯s giggle. Most of the class headed off to their next class, but Zenya, Nomein and after a moment¡¯s uncertainty Gemiya followed her downstairs. Spotting where Master Jarith? waited alongside those assembled, Amdirlain moved to greet him as the Novices with her joined others in the last row. Their strength of waiting presences had been clear, but it still surprised Amdirlain that sixty-odd Githz¨¦rai were present and regarding her with equal parts curiosity and puzzlement. ¡°Master Jarith?, I wasn¡¯t expecting this turn out for the initial instruction,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Know I had planned to keep numbers down initially, but word spread, and many are hopeful. Know that we¡¯ve organised those who are Wizards already by Affinity sought. Can you please teach the Novices with no Affinity only Air at this point so we can focus their lessons?¡± replied Jarith?, while moving towards the front of the gathering. ¡°I imagine that understanding would help with Chaos Shaping a monastery¡¯s atmosphere,¡± said Amdirlain, walking beside him. ¡°Know that is correct, and more minds maintaining it, save the Anarchs¡¯ energy for complex tasks. Know I have the list of what Affinities individuals are missing,¡± stated Jarith?. ¡°I¡¯ll start with teaching Air Affinity to everyone. Some I¡¯ve helped gain a better understanding of the Affinities, so repeating it since they¡¯re already here might be useful,¡± replied Amdirlain and took the list Jarith?¡¯s mind presented. Amdirlain stopped before them and sat seiza-style, her example cascading through the ranks as the Githz¨¦rai sat down. ¡°Know that this is an exercise that involves a form of guided meditation where I¡¯ll share my understanding of each Affinity. I¡¯d ask you to start by centring yourself, and when you¡¯re ready, reach mentally towards the presence I project.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s instructions echoed through the perfect quiet of the courtyard. Closing her eyes to follow her advice, she lingered amid the Ki¡¯s now quiet mist to reach a stillness before reaching out to the gathering. Against the scepticism in the surrounding minds, Amdirlain clung to the Ki¡¯s calm and led them through gaining a connection to Air. One by one, their minds touched her projected mind to varying degrees, and she began when the last connected. As understanding and surprise blossomed among them, Amdirlain realised she¡¯d gone astray. Though most had only picked up the intended Affinity, within one open mind, the Ki¡¯s calm had drifted in. Concerned about potentially interfering with her studies, Amdirlain projected the news to Master Jarith?. ¡°Nomein drew more from my lesson than the Air Affinity. She connected with the Ki energy my Monk style uses. I¡¯d healed some bruises and a split lip she got in practice using it¡ªI don¡¯t know if that made the difference.¡± Master Jarith? responded with tight quicksilver speed, with no hint of his thoughts leaking to anyone else. ¡°Know we¡¯ll discuss this afterwards. Know that we¡¯ll take the Novices through for some initial theory on Mana. Can you endeavour to keep this energy from touching anyone else¡¯s awareness today?¡± 163 - A breath of fresh air Isa¡¯s PoV - South of Eyrarh¨¢ls The town¡¯s songs are audible even with the southern-most farm barely within view in the dawn¡¯s light. The hectic notes blending and clashing for good or ill, strangely contrasting to a stately song further south. It resonates up from the depths, a beat struck with more regularity than the Dwarven thrum within Stoneheart. Its presence tweaks my curiosity, but Ilya¡¯s song is still twitching from being underground. Investigating isn¡¯t likely to happen, and unsatisfied curiosity prickles at me. ¡°This matches the image Ebusuku sent. Did you want to wait longer before heading in?¡± Ilya asks. Listening past her brighter tone is a song more relaxed than I¡¯ve ever heard, yet it still carries a heart attack¡¯s worth of tension. The sharp beats played on steel drums are now a deep bass rumble¡ªthe purring of a great cat. All the hints she¡¯s danced around, so I resort to a direct question. ¡°Why did you tell them Amdirlain¡¯s servants paid our fee? Ebusuku isn¡¯t giving us anything specific to tackle these problems.¡± Ilya¡¯s song rings with caution and embarrassment. ¡°They¡¯ve already given us plenty. I¡¯d prefer to balance things out, since it¡¯s not a trap needing us to play, grab the loot, and run. Doesn¡¯t everyone suspect a catch when something is said to cost nothing? This way they¡¯ll be grateful to Amdirlain¡¯s folks since they can see a reason for them to be involved.¡± ¡°And not react as we did?¡± I dig gently, knowing Ilya¡¯s taking time to get free of the paranoia Hell taught her. ¡°It gets to join the rest of my regrets,¡± Ilya admits with deliberate lightness, stretching gracefully with fingers laced overhead. ¡°Gifts always come with prices in my experience, and I thought she¡¯d use them to drag us apart. Now I know you weren¡¯t lovers, well it¡¯s easier to see how I misjudged things. Your reactions were off, and I felt blades along my spine like an Assassin was about¡ªa feeling that kept getting stronger. Was Amdirlain always so generous?¡± At the subject change, I choke back laughter and don¡¯t share there¡¯d been two assassins once Ebusuku had arrived. Giving her a quick nod draws forth a sigh, and she nervously plays with the short multi-hued locks she possesses in her Sunset Elf form. The action reminds me of the long mane I assumed before meeting the adventurers. It¡¯s a length far longer than I¡¯d worn in life but feels right. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t pauper herself, but she¡¯d give a lot for those she cares about. I worry about how much we¡¯ve changed,¡± I say, breaking free from contemplating her body. ¡°The three of you?¡± asks Ilya, erratic notes of confusion echoing in her song. ¡°I thought you said Sidero was cold and ruthless, that¡¯s hardly a good change.¡± ¡°Apparently Sidero¡¯s chains are alive. If her state also hides her song, it will all be their nature, not hers,¡± I say and caress her cheek before I go on. ¡°But I meant all four of us. You¡¯re no longer that ignorant village girl looking for revenge.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve changed too much and in ways that I never noticed until I met you. I¡¯m surprised I didn¡¯t end up as something completely different. Me! A Celestial! Who¡¯d have figured¡ªa Jinn maybe with my part-heritage¡ªending up a Celestial is so weird.¡± ¡°Think of it as a chance to rise higher than you might have,¡± I offer brightly. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to make a mess of things again,¡± replies Ilya, and gives me a mischievous grin. ¡°I guess your luck rubbed off on me.¡± The sun has fully risen when we Teleport far ahead beneath some roadside trees and surprise some merchants heading in the opposite direction. When we keep moving onwards the caravan guards slowly ease their hands from weapons, though their songs stay wary. The town¡¯s song grows rapidly as we continue line of sight teleports, but we walk before the southern curve of the outer wall. It¡¯s a section that extends south from just to the right of the gatehouse, and jumps eastwards along its course. From the description in Amdirlain¡¯s account, I¡¯d guess it¡¯s the district that holds the enclave of the Daughters, even without the joyous martial song that I¡¯d heard when we¡¯d arrived. How long will the farmers now within resist temptation of someone waving coins for protected land? ¡°I want to go see the Daughters of Hope¡¯s compound,¡± I murmur to Ilya. Ilya shrugs unfussed by my extension of our plans. ¡°What are we handling first?¡± ¡°V¨ªearr, I¡¯ll be able to tell by hearing his song if I can fix his eyes,¡± I reply quickly. Increasing my pace, I aim for a line made up of farmers towing handcarts. The guards checking them were far quicker than those examining two wagons waiting to go in. As soon as I get close, I hear the guards¡¯ songs gain quick light notes that chime with caution and more than a smidge of desire. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m used to restraining my Charisma unlike Amdirlain had been. Still, with Elven hotties about I¡¯d certainly look, window shopping is always fun. ¡°Name and reason for entry into Eyrarh¨¢ls?¡± the nearest guard asks while another checks the handcart ahead of us. ¡°R¨²sea, and I¡¯m seeking to meet V¨ªearr, a Priest of Tyr, and a few others. Is the food and mead at The Silver Chalice still good?¡± ¡°It¡¯s said to be, not that I¡¯ve got coin to spend at the fanciest Inn,¡± replies the guard, and he glances at Ilya, but she just points him at me. ¡°Tiror¡¯s my bodyguard and keeps me from wagering all my coins in dice games. She doesn¡¯t speak Norse.¡± Which is true, but then neither do I. No point learning it when Tongues handles all the translation we¡¯re likely to need. The rules are simple enough, and he hands us the ward chit the moment he records the names. If we¡¯re not having to flee within the day, I¡¯m pretty sure we still won¡¯t be staying the three we¡¯re allowed. The crowded streets sing of magical repairs, and while lots of folks¡¯ clothing is well worn, there aren¡¯t any beggars about. Though the fellows shovelling freshly processed hay into carts look much the worse for wear. Counter shops serving simple foods mingle in with stores, and straight-up inns. Our presence among the townsfolk ends up drawing no end of rubbernecking. Stealthy notes mingle in with a sudden look-away Spell from Ilya. The Spell makes us suddenly fit totally in place, despite Ilya¡¯s grip locking suddenly on a girl¡¯s wrist. The Spell continually nudges surrounding minds to find nothing of interest amid our goings-on. ¡°Join the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and practice being a Thief away from towns,¡± Ilya warns in a whisper. The teenage girl with her hair cut short, and breasts bound tight might barely pass for a boy. Then again, maybe she passes better to others, but her song makes her gender and the pain of her tightly bound breasts clear. Her clothing matches the labourers on the street. The rough worn cloth of her pants and shirt are on the lower end of what we¡¯ve seen but not so far to stop her blending in. The brown eyes that glare at us match the colour of the smudged dirt streaking her ash blond hair and tanned broad face. Her song is sneaky and desperate but her mind is bright, rather than vicious. ¡°Takes coins to sign up,¡± the lass protests, trying to pull her arm free of Ilya¡¯s grip. ¡°She¡¯s already a Thief and a Scout, though only first level in each,¡± I inform Ilya after a moment listening to her song, and direct my attention to the girl. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you add at least one combat Class in the mix to hold your own, perhaps get enough training for Fighter. Heads or crests, girl?¡± ¡°What are you talking about? I¡¯m a boy.¡± she exclaims in a pitch that doesn¡¯t help her case. ¡°Really?¡± grumbles Ilya in High Elven, already having seen me play this game in other towns while we followed Viper¡¯s trail. ¡°What, it¡¯s only Paqnid¡¯s coins,¡± I grin at Ilya, and turn my attention back to the girl. ¡°Heads or crests?¡± The girl¡¯s gaze loses some of its hostility amid her confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Pulling a large Dwarven gold from Inventory, I set it spinning across my knuckles. ¡°I guess you don¡¯t toss coins.¡± ¡°Ours don¡¯t have heads or crests on them,¡± the girl retorts. Her song and glances make it clear she¡¯s baffled at the passers-by still ignoring us despite Ilya¡¯s grip on her. ¡°They¡¯ll not be interested in any of us,¡± Ilya notes, ¡°A precaution to avoid someone yelling thief and hauling you away.¡± I present the coin to her so she could see it. ¡°King¡¯s face is on one side, mountain peaks are the other.¡± ¡°Why are you wanting me to pick a side?¡± asks the girl suspiciously. ¡°If you don¡¯t, we¡¯ll be here all day,¡± Ilya sighs, and the girl has her attention fixed on me. ¡°If you win, she¡¯s going to do something nice for you, and if you lose, it¡¯ll be a lesser prize, but you¡¯ll still win. She¡¯s in a cheerful mood at present.¡± ¡°Heads.¡± The coin flip proves her the winner, and I toss her the gold. ¡°Five more when we get there.¡± Ilya let go of her wrist the moment the girl won, and her song grows emboldened, but she doesn¡¯t run immediately. Snatching it from the air, the girl turns with the coin in her grasp, only for Ilya to snag her by the collar. ¡°Looks like I¡¯m not the only suspicious person. Where were you going to get her to lead us?¡± asked Ilya after her chuckles ease. ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild, I was going to settle the signup fee for her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s already a gold closer, and not missing a hand or whatever they do here,¡± Ilya retorts, her laughter relaxing her shoulders. ¡°Guess it was doubly her lucky day,¡± I reply and stepping close I tilt the girl¡¯s chin up. Her eyes are clear, and she looks sharp enough to cut herself. ¡°How old are you, and what¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Are you deranged?¡± the girl growls, twisting about futilely in Ilya¡¯s grasp. At a tearing sound from her doublet, Ilya shifts a hand to her shoulder, and under her iron grip the girl stops trying to get free. ¡°She¡¯s a Priest of Luck, sometimes it¡¯s incredibly hard to tell.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not nice to say even if it¡¯s true,¡± I mutter and turn to the girl. ¡°How would you like to be adopted?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a stray kitten,¡± grumbles Ilya. ¡°No fair, you didn¡¯t let me keep the cougar either! She¡¯s a growing girl, but her music is sorrowful and tired,¡± I retort. ¡°Obviously, she needs a patron to keep her out of trouble.¡± Before I can say more, Ilya is already sighing. ¡°Plans change.¡± Looking between us in disbelief, the girl begs. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I shouldn¡¯t have touched you, but can¡¯t you just let me go? You can have the coin back!¡± ¡°Of course, I didn¡¯t say. We can help you get setup, in the guild with new clothes, gear, armour, and weapons for your chosen classes. Alternatively, you can run with the coin but given your clothing you¡¯ll get accused of stealing. If you guide us around, we can ensure you get it changed into a safer mix. Would you like to choose, or should I toss another coin?¡± The girl grinds her teeth and looks down at the coin clasped in her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you¡ªfor now.¡± ¡°Excellent. Oh, you¡¯ve still not told me your name, or should I call you ¡®hey you¡¯? I¡¯ve already renamed one individual recently so it¡¯s someone else¡¯s turn.¡± ¡°What did you call them?¡± The memory of all the links I¡¯d felt shatter within her tickle my insides, and the individual parts of her name come out in a mashed rush. ¡°Thisspaceintentionallyleftblank. For a short name, I might call her Skank¡ªor something¡ªI¡¯ve not decided.¡± The baffled look on the girl makes me bark with laughter. ¡°Is that meant to be a Dragon¡¯s name?¡± she asks after giving me a look like I¡¯ve taken leave of my senses. ¡°No, it was a gag gift. I hope she doesn¡¯t enjoy it,¡± I reply, and prompt her again to cough up a name. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Ossi is all I make out from the mutter, and the fib rings clear, but I¡¯m hardly one to point fingers. ¡°It seems we¡¯re all using alternative names today. You can call me R¨²sea, it¡¯s Elven for wrathful,¡± I reply, before pointing at Ilya. ¡°You can call her Tiror. It means guard.¡± ¡°Why are you doing this?¡± Ossi asks suspiciously. ¡°You won the coin toss. It¡¯s your lucky day,¡± Ossi¡¯s suspicious expression says a lot. ¡°What would you have done if I¡¯d lost?¡± ¡°Given you a coin pouch and sent you on your way. Though frankly, having lots of wealth suddenly can cause trouble. Come along, don¡¯t either of you get lost. Tell me if I take a wrong turn, Ossi. We need the Temple Square and then The Silver Chalice.¡± The set upon tone in both their songs has me giggling softly, and I brush the merry tune into people we pass whose moods are grim and dark. ¡°Is she drunk?¡± whispers Ossi. ¡°She gets this way when there¡¯s sunshine. Either that or Luck is pressing on her mind hard today,¡± replies Ilya, still resting her hand upon Ossi¡¯s shoulder, though her grip rings far lighter now. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a Priest of Luck, well Luck with a dose of Skill working together, but mostly Luck. Faith makes your brain wiggle oddly toward your focus¡¯ needs once you get too many Priest levels I¡¯ve found.¡± ¡°Thanks so much,¡± I say, turning a glare her way, and a falling tile goes straight through where I¡¯d been about to step. The spray of its shattering was directed away from us and across surrounding pedestrians. The sharp pained notes snuff out my amusement, and I shift songs instantly falling into Silent Song to avoid causing offense. The notes set a soft glow across them and leave them with opened mouths¡ªgashes in flesh and clothes having sealed without a mark. ¡°Fortune favour you all. Is everyone alright now?¡± Surprise gives way to thanks, and it¡¯s an experience I¡¯ve not had in so long from strangers they make me blush. My cheerful mood only lasts until the surly guard at the next gate. He checks my chit and noting my entry waves me through. When Ossi goes to follow, he¡¯s growling like an ill-tempered dog, and thrusts his hand out to block her path. ¡°Get away with you lad, I¡¯m not letting the likes of you through.¡± ¡°She¡¯s with us, as our guide,¡± I protest, trying to keep a pleasant tone. The guard shakes his head firmly. ¡°I¡¯m not letting her through. She can¡¯t guide you in here. She¡¯ll have never been inside from the looks of her.¡± ¡°In that case you should be ashamed since the temples are within. But my disgust aside, I¡¯ve given her a coin and I insist she stay with me¡ªwhen I want her help, I¡¯m not tracking her down. I¡¯ll get her cleaned up and properly clad, but suitable tailors¡ªI¡¯m sure¡ªaren¡¯t in the outer district.¡± ¡°Those fit enough for her kind are,¡± growls the guard with sour tones lacing his song. ¡°Those fit for my patronage aren¡¯t. Now let her through,¡± I order and resist the temptation to make his dick stretch to the ground to aid his measuring it. Ilya¡¯s motion is subtle but draws his gaze to the mithril and gem-studded hilts at her waist. He carefully steps back from Ossi, his song torn between aggression and retreat. Ilya¡¯s furious gaze sends shivers through his music and slays what confidence remains. ¡°I¡¯ll record you took a waif within; any crimes she commits you¡¯ll be answering for as well.¡± I have to love how he assumes I¡¯d let her get caught. Maybe I should rob the Jarl¡¯s strongroom. Hmm, has the Steward been skimming among the other misbehaviours? Ossi waits until we¡¯re well out of earshot before she says anything. ¡°There are good tailors in the outer wards.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there are Ossi, but never admit someone has a good point when you¡¯re haggling,¡± ¡°That was haggling? It sounded like a threat. He¡¯ll pass word around now, even if he didn¡¯t want to confront you personally," warns Ossi. "The new Jarl¡¯s Wizard is an Elf as well, so he''ll not be so awe struck." ¡°Don¡¯t people haggle that way here?¡± Ossi glances back over her shoulder and lowers her voice despite the distance. ¡°Not with guards.¡± The Devils I¡¯ve threatened come to mind, and I give her a shrug. ¡°I just did.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you two are scary when you¡¯re focused on someone. I thought you were airheaded Elves not paying attention.¡± ¡°We¡¯re scary? I¡¯m truly shocked,¡± snarks Ilya. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re shocked at all,¡± mutters Ossi, glancing again towards the gate. ¡°Sceptic,¡± I mutter while focusing on the guard¡¯s mean song. The keen notes I heard throughout our interaction I silently sing in reverse to unravel the memory¡¯s song. Once done, I give her a smile and look ahead to the square. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯ll be fine; obviously, you¡¯re a lucky charm.¡± ¡°How?¡± asked Ossi, ¡°You won a coin toss, didn¡¯t get hit by any tile shards, and gave me time to act,¡± I reply, and point a thumb back at the gate. ¡°Please don¡¯t,¡± grumbles Ilya, and I find her giving me a sullen stare. ¡°The last lucky charm had fun,¡± I reassure the girl who''s looking at Ilya in concern. ¡°Time to act, how?¡± Ilya waves her off and gives her shoulder a light tap. ¡°Likely safer not to know.¡± ¡°We passed by like ships in the night.¡± I offer helpfully while walking on, but my remark only raises confused notes amid Ossi¡¯s song. The square is exactly like the scrolls said: a crossroads surrounded by various temples, the centre of the space is filled with old trees that have lifted flagstones despite plenty of space, allowed for their growth. My first step within its boundary sets music thrumming underfoot. When I stop and listen to their song, it¡¯s clear they wove the wards within the trees¡¯ roots. Their life and the ground keeping them hidden from True Sight, but they¡¯re like shivering webs. The chiming music shows they¡¯re aware of our presence¡ªbut not alarmed by it¡ªthough I wonder how Amdirlain made them sound. Around the square behind their stylised fences I can hear the temples¡¯ differing music, and despite the orderly feeling I head towards Tyr¡¯s symbol. Two guards in chain hauberk are beside the gates and greet us without concern when it¡¯s clear we¡¯re approaching them. ¡°What can Tyr¡¯s faithful assist you with travellers?¡± ¡°Would I please be able to speak to Priest V¨ªearr?¡± ¡°He¡¯ll be leading the morning prayers. If you can enter, you might wait within or join them,¡± the nearest guard offers, not hiding his curiosity at Ossi¡¯s presence with us. ¡°Never mind our guide. We¡¯re likely going to sponsor her to the Adventurers¡¯ Guild and get her a ton of training. Entering isn¡¯t a problem, but I¡¯m a Priest of another Faith,¡± I reply, and motion inside. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to walk about Tyr¡¯s Temple unless a Priest knows I¡¯m here, to avoid giving any insult.¡± The guard¡¯s unworried tone gains an edge of suspicion, and it¡¯s clear I stepped wrong. ¡°Around the side is an area for receiving visiting Priests, those able to enter typically wait there,¡± the guard replies, without shifting his grip on shield and sword. ¡°We¡¯ll have someone let him know after prayers are complete, if you wait there.¡± I smile instead of facepalm when pieces click into place. ¡°Oh no! No, I¡¯m not involved with the Winter Court. That sounds fine, and the lack of invitation was cute. Do you get many vampires roaming about in daylight?¡± I tease and step through the gate. The orderly presence is suddenly stronger and while it wraps about me, it doesn¡¯t crush down. The place¡¯s music stays orderly, though strangely kinder than I¡¯d heard outside¡ªstern, protective chords seasoned with a dash of compassion. The waiting area isn¡¯t a simple hard bench but a covered gazebo with chairs and tables set beneath its roof. Inside the Temple¡¯s primary structure, I can make out chants in Celestial praising Tyr¡¯s might and asking for guidance in bringing proper justice to the world. The effect igniting within their own song a fervent sense of duty and responsibility. Among the tempered notes comes the repetition of a repeated malignant and sour strain. The morning prayers¡¯ completion is obvious from the various individuals¡ªarmoured and unarmoured¡ªthat exit the Temple proper. It¡¯s a half-hour or more after the service finishes that the same guard accompanies an armoured man with the dark sour notes scratching cruelly at his song. A helm nearly envelops his face with a solid plate across his eyes but leaves an opening enough for his braided beard to escape. When he turns in our direction, surprise soars within his music and wrests the pain to one side. Curious, I listen closer to the helm¡¯s enchantments and realise among them is True Sight, rather than only providing him normal sight as I¡¯d expected. ¡°Greetings to you both. Is the church of Tyr able to assist the young girl with you?¡± I give him a smile when he braces himself against our presence. ¡°V¨ªearr, is it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct, and how might I address you?¡± enquires V¨ªearr. The introductions take only a few moments, but from his amused song, I can guess he knows every name is fake. ¡°Yes, we know they¡¯re fake, and you know they¡¯re fake, but isn¡¯t it better than calling us late for dinner?¡± V¨ªearr''s laughter is rich, but the guard still seems taken aback. ¡°It¡¯s alright, Ulf. They¡¯ve freely entered Tyr¡¯s grounds and visitors from higher planes don¡¯t always share names that give power. Thank you both for the honour of visiting. Since you¡¯re not here seeking help for Ossi, then how might I assist?¡± His explanation seems to go straight over Ossi¡¯s head and I wonder at how basic her education must have been. ¡°I¡¯m here to assist you, V¨ªearr, not seeking help; specifically, I¡¯d like to help with your eyes.¡± ¡°Another once asked if I wished to be healed. I declined then and I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d answer differently today. She was kind enough to give me this gift,¡± V¨ªearr says, touching the helm¡¯s visor. ¡°It allows me to see more than I once did, and the continued blindness reminds me to not judge by appearance.¡± ¡°Though I understand your intent, the issue is not merely blindness, rather the pain souring you. Its pain continues to eat at you, and anyone can snap if left in pain long enough,¡± I say, and give Ilya¡¯s hand a squeeze that doesn¡¯t go unnoticed by V¨ªearr. ¡°What aid I offer might not remove your blindness, but I can cleanse the curse left behind.¡± ¡°To ease the pain would be a blessing that I¡¯d not turn away. It¡¯s a mark of chaos though and opposes the blessings of Tyr. Might I ask who you serve?¡± asks V¨ªearr and stops when I smile. ¡°I¡¯m a Priest of Luck, not of any deity. Chaos is completely understandable to me. The curse is erratic and malicious, I¡¯d hate to leave it gnawing at you.¡± ¡°Even the most skilled warrior needs luck,¡± admits V¨ªearr, and Ilya groans beside me. Giving a pout at her sour tone, I turn back to V¨ªearr again. ¡°It¡¯s actually a facet of Luck I worship when Skill and Luck go hand in hand.¡± The power of the curse isn¡¯t something I¡¯ll need True Song to oppose. Instead, I draw out my Divine Focus, and give V¨ªearr another smile. ¡°May I remove that curse?¡± ¡°What would you want in return?¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you name who sent you the helm before?¡± ¡°It might be rude to my Liege to name another in his hall that wasn¡¯t of his kin,¡± replies V¨ªearr. ¡°Fair point. I have no way of knowing, Luck isn¡¯t worried about competition in her places of worship, so I¡¯ve never learned those rules. The one who organised your helm helped us also, and she didn¡¯t ask for anything in return. I¡¯m looking to clear old regrets on her behalf,¡± I reply quickly, enjoying the pleased notes that light up his song. ¡°Livia¡¯s m¨®eir regretted not helping me?¡± asks V¨ªearr. ¡°Her forgiveness is still surprising, considering the way I treated her when we first met.¡± ¡°Her old appearance unsettled you¡ªher new appearance totally threw us. She respected your decision but didn¡¯t like to leave it that way. I won¡¯t try a lesser Blessing, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s had plenty of ¡®Remove Curse¡¯ thrown at it, and the curse has festered in you long enough.¡± Luck¡¯s music rushes through me even before the first Celestial inflection dissolves in the air. The Blessing¡¯s dancing notes weaving a counterpoint to the curse¡¯s erratic notes and in its presence the curse finds every hand it plays called short. The sickly melody mutes a single note at a time before, in a rush of ill-placed bets, the rest fall silent. By the time I finish, his solid song has already reached a calmer state. The music¡¯s tempo, no longer unbalanced, still misses an odd beat showing it has more settling to do. The sigh of relief V¨ªearr gives seems to come up from the bottom of his boots. ¡°You have my thanks. I didn¡¯t realise how bad it had gotten until it was gone. It¡¯s like an ogre¡¯s grip is no longer clamped about my head.¡± He lifts the helm away, and it¡¯s obvious he won¡¯t be seeing normally without more blessings. Cataracts muddy his irises¡ªleaving them white¡ªwith only the slightest hint of colour showing that they might once have been brown or perhaps hazel. With it no longer obscuring his face, the lines of pain etched around his eyes are clear on his pale skin. The tight braids in his beard show a careful touch and carry the hint of tenderness within them. ¡°I can¡¯t see even a hint of light, but the pain is gone,¡± admits V¨ªearr. ¡°The curse has dissolved, but your body is still settling. If your sight doesn¡¯t return, at least there is nothing stopping another¡¯s Blessing from restoring sight now.¡± V¨ªearr pauses and rubs a hand across his bearded face before he re-secures the helm. ¡°Will you be in town long?¡± ¡°Her plans always change,¡± cautions Ilya, and my helpless shrug draws a laugh from all, though Ossi¡¯s laughter is fragile and uncertain. ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, we¡¯ll get you some clothing, and sort something out for you. You¡¯ve still not told me your age.¡± ¡°Fourteen,¡± Ossi offers after counting on her fingers. ¡°You really want to join the Adventurers¡¯ Guild at your age?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than the other options I have with no apprentice spots left. My uncle¡¯s children grew enough to take over the chores. New farms have his hemmed in so there isn¡¯t room to expand.¡± ¡°Do you plan to take Ossi with you?¡± asks V¨ªearr. ¡°That depends. Ossi¡¯s local and she¡¯s not found help. I know places where I could see to it she¡¯d prosper if she didn¡¯t want to travel with us,¡± I reply. ¡°The Daughters have been busy with a mass of freed slaves; I doubt they¡¯ll have time to look beyond the crowd of them soon,¡± V¨ªearr says and looks at Ossi contemplatively. ¡°My wife has recently had twins, and we¡¯ve older children, so another helping won¡¯t go astray. If you¡¯d like, it will give you years to find your feet and hone your skills if you¡¯re set on being an Adventurer once you¡¯re of age.¡± Ilya looks at V¨ªearr intently, quite a change to her protest about adopting Ossi. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask what classes she has?¡± ¡°I sense no mark of judgement on her, as long as she doesn¡¯t go getting into trouble within town, they¡¯re her business,¡± replies V¨ªearr. ¡°Where are you planning to go?¡± asks Ossi, the indecision clear on her face. ¡°We¡¯d likely be on other worlds or elemental planes. Though we could find you an apprentice position in another town or pay someone to help you train and get you the gear I offered.¡± ¡°Worlds? Planes?¡± Ossi swallows. Her words are barely a whisper with the realisation that her entire existence is in such a little bucket. ¡°How would I know I¡¯d be safe?¡± The question itself is an answer with the uncertainty of that much adventure finding root. ¡°That¡¯s what a geas is for, so they¡¯d have no choice but to treat you well. I¡¯ll not blindly trust a stranger with your safety,¡± I reply, and Ossi glances at V¨ªearr again. The quick glance is enough, and V¨ªearr offer advice like her song sought. ¡°So you know, our household is mixed faith, though most don¡¯t expect it from a Priest. My wife Gellamel is a follower of Mielikki, and our eldest girl is studying her ways. If you¡¯re not inclined towards Tyr¡¯s teachings, it¡¯s enough that you¡¯re respectful.¡± I can hear the fear and uncertainty tripping through her song. She mentioned an uncle and a farm, but her clothing still holds the chill notes of a night slept in the open¡ªor an alley. ¡°You¡¯ve nowhere to go, but you don¡¯t trust us enough to travel with us, is that it? Tales of Elves playing tricks, perhaps?¡± ¡°My father worked a few days¡¯ walk from Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± Ossi says softly and stops, her song swimming in uncertainty, and uncomfortable memories. ¡°You¡¯ve lost your family, been alone on the road before, rejected by your uncle after working for him, and you¡¯re not inclined to risk more abandonment. It¡¯s your choice, Ossi. If you stay, I¡¯ll have to weigh you down so you can¡¯t run fast.¡± My words recounting the tale of her song brings forth a look of exposed shock. The pouches I set on the stone table make a jangle of clinking gold and silver noise, that has her mouth agape and blinking rapidly. ¡°How much did the Dwarves lose to you in side bets?¡± asks Ilya, and I realise she missed most of the fun. ¡°Lots,¡± I purr happily, not saying how much I¡¯ve left in Inventory, and his wife¡¯s name finally rings a bell. ¡°You married the pregnant lady that Amdirlain rescued from the Dragon cultist?¡± I clasp a hand to my mouth too late, but there isn¡¯t any Divine retribution in sight. Ilya gives me an amused look. ¡°Seems he¡¯s fine with naming her in his hall¡ªat least by you.¡± V¨ªearr seems unfussed by my surprise and gives Ilya a grin for teasing me. ¡°Our eldest is a fine lad who takes after his mother. I couldn¡¯t be prouder of the man he¡¯s becoming.¡± Ilya doesn¡¯t get what he means, but I can¡¯t stop smiling at the glorious music I hear around V¨ªearr. ¡°Family isn¡¯t always about blood, is it?¡± ¡°Indeed, it isn¡¯t,¡± V¨ªearr responds. ¡°I wish good fortune bless you and your family.¡± The pulse of power within the miracle Blessing that rings forth makes V¨ªearr start and Ilya sighs. Ossi and the guard both go wide-eyed and stare at me like I¡¯ve grown a second head. 164 - Changes Succubus Patrol - Culerzic - Cliffs of Lust A sudden shift of energy mid-way up the cliff disrupts her entertainment, watching newly spawned Dretch tear into others. Adjusting her course higher, she watches the manifestation break apart to reveal a strange-looking demoness. Her lush figure, black lips, and ivory white skin match the Succubus¡¯ own ripe form, yet the lines of horns forming an odd tiara along her hairline are unlike anything she¡¯d seen in her thousand-odd years. Wings repeatedly ripple from the usual spiked shape for a Culerzic Succubus into dozens of writhing ribbons and chains, prompting her to slow cautiously. For all the extra time it gained her to leave, the stranger is heedless of her approach, despite being within Lord Moloch¡¯s territory. She has a blank, uncomprehending look instead of concern at the Cat O¡¯ Nine Tails marking her authority. ¡°Who are you?¡± The stranger¡¯s whisper is barely audible above the screams of the damned, and it ignites rage within her. The patrolling succubus sped up, snarling at the stranger. ¡°You are in Lord Moloch¡¯s territory! Who are you? What right do you have to be here?¡± Wings changed into ribbons that intercepted a lash of the whip, and she found herself catapulted into the wall. Snarling in pain, she tried to drop the whip and Teleport away only to find the ribbons that had caught it now wrapped around her arm. The stranger disappeared into a mass of malformed flesh that moved behind her and reformed instantly. Black claws pierce her shoulders, and the following impact shattered her face against the stone with impossible force. ¡°I can¡¯t remember my name,¡± the stranger screams, grinding her into the rock-face. ¡°let¡¯s see if I can find myself one in your flesh.¡± Bits of flesh fall away as the stranger¡¯s hands become rendering maws. Other patrols with orders to secure newly spawned Succubi take one look and stay well away, leaving their fellow to her horrible fate. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Master Jarith? returned and knelt quietly next to her before the session drew to a close. The mixture of Telepathy experience levels involved meant it was taking far longer to teach some Affinities than the swift understanding of Master Duurth. The gathering¡¯s most advanced wizards left with solemn dignity but not before bowing with a depth usually only given a Master to the strange Novice in their midst. ¡°Order wasn¡¯t on the list of Affinities requested, but I instructed the last group in it, Master Jarith?,¡± Amdirlain said after quiet had settled over the courtyard again. Jarith? gave her a half-smile before nodding minutely. ¡°Know I thought it best not to presume. Know that gaining such an affinity would normally require much compensation to the instructor.¡± ¡°I mentioned to Master Duurth that the only Affinities that I¡¯m reluctant to teach are the two directly associated with the lower planes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡° ¡°Know there is a difference between being willing to teach and me presuming to request them without discussing compensation in return,¡± Jarith? countered. ¡°Know I was extremely reluctant to request your assistance with even Tier Three Affinities, but others suggested you would not be vague in letting me know if I overstepped.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more in the monastery¡¯s debt than the other way around, Master Jarith?,¡± argued Amdirlain. Turning to face her directly, Master Jarith? just waved her argument away. ¡°Know that the best agreements are when both parties believe they benefit the most. Know that I consider the matter with the delegate weighs gravely against the monastery¡¯s side.¡± ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll cause more trouble, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Know it is not a matter of if, but when,¡± informed Jarith?. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not the source of other problems.¡± He frowned at her words but didn¡¯t answer immediately. When he broke the stretching silence, his tone held obvious concern. ¡°Know you have already disregarded my reassurances from before the challenge. Would you take the blame for others¡¯ insecurities or their quest for control? Know that politics is forever the source of much trouble, regardless of who it catches in its net. Know this wasn¡¯t close to the most disruptive incident in the decade since the Grand Master gained his position.¡± Amdirlain almost opened her mouth to ask what was going on but changed the topic instead. ¡°I didn¡¯t share the sense of the Ki with anyone else. What are your thoughts on Nomein¡¯s situation?¡± ¡°Know Novices normally may not instruct, Novice Amdirlain, but it seems we¡¯ve already broken that custom with yourself.¡± Amdirlain immediately spotted his choice of wording. ¡°Custom, not law?¡± ¡°Why would such an obvious situation need any official ruling?¡± enquired Jarith?, giving her a smug look. ¡°Is it not obvious Novices are here to learn, not teach? Know that Nomein can feel Ki energy in herself, and it¡¯s quite different from one¡¯s psi reserves in its sensation, like water instead of lightning.¡± ¡°It starts that way, but after practise circulating the energy, a mist will continually drift from the waters, re-enforcing flesh,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I have some treaties written in Celestial about it and practicing the various powers it allows. I¡¯m still working on understanding all its contents, so I¡¯ll have to make a copy.¡± ¡°And these powers allow you to make use of Mana controlled with Ki?¡± Giving a brisk nod, Amdirlain tried to provide a quick overview. ¡°Not all are about controlling Mana. Ki alone can empower strikes to hit through defences and incorporeal foes or provide the means to heal both yourself and others. Those that include Mana start out controlling raw energy and then Mana tuned to the practitioner¡¯s preference of Affinity. Later, the ability to hold spells at the ready, to be released upon contact.¡± The last ability caused Jarith?¡¯s eyebrows to climb high, and his expression turned decisive. ¡°Know Novice Nomein will continue to learn the Zerthi forms. However, would you be open to teaching her the use of these powers and any related skills she would need to learn?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can find some time to practice together,¡± replied Amdirlain with a smirk. ¡°After all, Novices help each other practice.¡± Mirth shone in Jarith?¡¯s gaze, but he gave her a dignified nod. ¡°Know that I stand corrected, Novice Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Might I ask one question, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Know that I believe you might ask many Novice Amdirlain,¡± Jarith? teased dryly. ¡°With some Novices now having Affinities, will there be schedule changes?¡± ¡°Know the extent is still to be determined. Know my current plan is to add classes in spells and Mana Manipulation after the evening meal in place of their duties. Why did you ask?¡± ¡°I need to learn ritual magic. It¡¯s an area my training has lacked, but I¡¯ll require it, I believe. I¡¯d also like to learn more about natural portals and gateways, as I¡¯ve encountered at least one where destabilising was required,¡± replied Amdirlain. The thought of tearing apart some of the Abyss¡¯ natural gates to disrupt their treaties and conflicts momentarily amused her. ¡°Know that rituals require a calm mind and are an advanced subject of study. Know your healing will require considerable progress before I consider allowing you to take part in that subject¡¯s lessons.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll speak to Nomein after the meal about effective meditation to use.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll ensure Master Elliyna knows you¡¯ll be delayed in that case,¡± Jarith? said before he rose and left after they exchanged bows. Any hope of being left to meditate alone was dashed a half-hour later. Master Tenzin appeared in the study building¡¯s doorway and motioned her over. ¡°Master Tenzin?¡± Amdirlain asked when she got close. ¡°Did you forget I said Novices aren¡¯t to use the courtyard unsupervised?¡± ¡°No, Master Tenzin, I didn¡¯t,¡± admitted Amdirlain ruefully. ¡°Know that since that is the case you will join Novice Sarith in scrubbing the study hall¡¯s ground floor corridor before dinner,¡± stated Tenzin. ¡°Know since the current lesson is almost over, you can start now.¡± ¡°Might I ask a question, Master Tenzin?¡± Tenzin motioned Amdirlain to speak. ¡°Since Chaos Shaping could keep this place spotless, why do you have Novice doing chores?¡± ¡°Know that everything in life that is worth having requires proper care, be it places, objects, or relationships. Know also that while Chaos Shaping could keep it clean, I would ask a question of my own. Why should any Anarch serve as a drudge to Novices?¡± asked Tenzin and gestured inside the study building. ¡°Know Novice Sarith has begun at the far end and has the cleaning materials. Know that I require you to scrub the floor beside her.¡± ¡°Are you looking to inflict more punishment on her, Master Tenzin?¡± ¡°Why do you see your presence as a punishment, Novice Amdirlain? Know the floor isn¡¯t getting any cleaner.¡± Amdirlain moved quickly through the entryway and past the staircase that led towards the upper floors at her reproving tone. Sarith had positioned herself in the middle of the corridor scrubbing from side to side, her motions practically attacking the floor with the brush¡¯s stiff bristles. Rather than immediately drawing her attention, Amdirlain moved silently down the corridor, listening to a muttered string of expletives. Sarith practically jumped when she picked up a brush floating in the battered wooden and metal bucket beside her. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Teeth bared, Sarith glared at Amdirlain before she growled. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Which side did you want to scrub?¡± ¡°Know this is my punishment,¡± snapped Sarith. ¡°I¡¯ve instructions to scrub next to you, so which side do you want to handle?¡± Sarith moved to the right-hand side and added more energy to her already vigorous motions. They¡¯d worked on without a word between them, but every time Sarith reached for the bucket, she fixed Amdirlain with a heated glare. ¡°Why are you even here?¡± Though it genuinely tempted her to treat it as a rhetorical question or just ignore it completely, Amdirlain focused on cleaning before she spoke. ¡°The same question applies to you, too.¡± Sarith¡¯s grip on the bucket¡¯s edge went tight, and the metal handle rasped against the wood as if she wanted to throw it down the hallway. ¡°Know that I have a right to be here.¡± ¡°Not what I meant, so I¡¯ll be clearer. Are you here to learn and train, or be angry at me? Things in life trip you up; that¡¯s a constant. We can¡¯t choose what life throws at us, but we can choose how we react. What do you want to spend your time on?¡± ¡°Know that you, your platitudes, nor advice are welcome here.¡± ¡°So be it,¡± replied Amdirlain, not having paused in scrubbing the floor. The moment Sarith rose and shifted stances, Amdirlain looked directly at her, and Sarith instantly froze. ¡°Don¡¯t cut off your nose to spite your face.¡± Sarith wet her lips before she whispered. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± It took a moment to contain her sigh, and Amdirlain made sure her Charisma was restrained before she spoke again. ¡°It can translate several ways, but don¡¯t seek retribution against someone in a way that¡¯s going to harm yourself. I think that¡¯s the most common meaning behind it.¡± ¡°Did I not just tell you your platitudes aren¡¯t welcome?¡± asked Sarith nervously. ¡°Know that if you leave, Master Tenzin will probably add an extra punishment. If you kicked over the bucket the way you had your foot, you¡¯d have hurt yourself and then have extra punishment on top. I imagine scrubbing more floors with sore toes would be unpleasant.¡± Sarith lowered her foot gingerly and shifted back a step. ¡°Why are you even warning me?¡± Ignoring her question, Amdirlain simply continued, ¡°If you¡¯re going to kick the bucket, at least curl your toes back properly, so your impact is against your foot¡¯s underside. That way, your kick will carry the most force, and you won¡¯t break or injure your toes. Then again, it¡¯s a wooden bucket with a metal handle, so if you hit it wrong, you¡¯ll hurt yourself. Is a temper fit the proper conduct for a Monk?¡± ¡°Know I hate that you¡¯re here, and I hate you.¡± snarled Sarith. ¡°There are lots of things I hate in life, but you aren¡¯t one of them, Novice Sarith. Now, do you think that Master Tenzin won¡¯t notice you leaving?¡± asked Amdirlain before she gave her a polite nod and returned to the chore at hand. She hadn¡¯t progressed ten centimetres before Sarith spoke again, the words containing the tension that knotted her brow. ¡°Know I will never like you, Novice Amdirlain,¡± growled Sarith. ¡°That doesn¡¯t surprise me, Novice Sarith. I¡¯m more surprised when people do like me. Do you hate me more because your sister came to the Affinity lesson or because you didn¡¯t?¡± Snatching up her brush Sarith knelt and resumed attacking the floor. They¡¯d progressed nearly along the front of one of six rooms that opened onto the corridor in silence when Sarith¡¯s words hissed out in a low distressed tone. ¡°Know she¡¯ll not be in my classes now because of whatever you did.¡± It tempted Amdirlain to share Master Jarith?¡¯s information but asked a question instead. ¡°Has anything ever separated you long?¡± Her mouth twisted into angry lines as Sarith glared at the floor as if she wanted to set it on fire. ¡°Know we do¡ªdid¡ªeverything together, but now we won¡¯t be training together.¡± ¡°Who told you that?¡± ¡°Know you¡¯ve not met our language instructor, Master Harkal. Know he said the ones that went with you had a lesson on Mana theory because of gaining an affinity,¡± complained Sarith. ¡°You and Gemiya are twins; nothing can ever take that from you. Whose idea was it to join this monastery?¡± ¡°What difference does it make?¡± grumbled Sarith and re-focused on her scrubbing. The remains of their duty assignment passed in a silence that Amdirlain finally broke after Sarith emptied the bucket into a drain. ¡°Master Jarith? said current plans are an extra lesson in place of after-dinner duty assignments. Still, you have four choices I can see: embrace walking your journey; stay angry with her and me; ask, and I¡¯ll help you gain Air Affinity as well; or whatever options you can come up with yourself.¡± ¡°Know that I prefer it when you don¡¯t talk to me. Know that our father graduated from this monastery, and it was Gemiya¡¯s preference.¡± Sarith¡¯s sullen look challenged Amdirlain to make something of her statement. Not lowering herself to take the bait, Amdirlain nodded. Smiling at Sarith, she cleaned her clothing with Chaos Shaping and headed for the refectory. When the Novices appeared for the evening meal, Sarith¡¯s scowl was still present. It remained in place but didn¡¯t stop the other chatting excitedly about their Mana class until Sarith made the mistake of glaring directly at Gemiya. Gemiya returned the glare with a displeased look and set her spoon down calmly. ¡°Know you need to stop being a yan Sarith. Haven¡¯t I told you before that expression makes you look severely bound?¡± Zenya held back a laugh, but the others went utterly expressionless. Without waiting for Sarith¡¯s response, Gemiya went straight back to the sentence she¡¯d interrupted. When the duty table had collected the bowls, Master Tenzin cleared her throat, and everyone fell instantly silent. ¡°Know that except for Novices Amdirlain and Nomein, you are all to attend your duties now. Know we will announce a schedule change tomorrow,¡± announced Tenzin at the meal¡¯s conclusion. Once the others had left the room, she fixed Amdirlain with a stern look. ¡°Know Master Jarith? has asked me to supervise in case any concerns are raised in this evening¡¯s practice. How much space will you need?¡± ¡°Initially, any of the rooms will be fine, there is a movement Power, but we won¡¯t get to that tonight,¡± Amdirlain replied quickly. Tenzin nodded and gave the Amdirlain a faint smile. ¡°Know we will use a room in the study building then. Know that I hope none of us come to regret this course.¡± Nomein glanced between them in apparent confusion. ¡°What do you mean, Master Tenzin?¡± Speaking up before Tenzin could reply, Amdirlain touched her shoulder reassuringly. ¡°Sorry, Nomein, I thought Master Jarith? might have explained; I shouldn¡¯t have assumed. When I taught you Air Affinity today, you also picked up on the Ki energy I use. That was the pool of water-like energy you sensed inside yourself when Master Jarith? asked you to cooperate with his review. The Ki energy allows you to pursue the Monk Class I follow rather than the Githz¨¦rai style.¡± ¡°How did that happen?¡± asked Nomein, wide-eyed. ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly. I briefly meditated on my Ki to calm myself before today¡¯s teaching session. You¡¯ve felt its energy previously when I healed you, so I can only assume that brief exposure allowed you to understand it while I was teaching Air. We¡¯ll practice the abilities of my style together, and-¡± Nomein went right to the point despite her wording, her face glowing with excitement. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯re going to be teaching me!? When do we start?¡± ¡°Technically, we¡¯re going to be practicing together in case anyone asks. By custom, Novices don¡¯t teach anyone. We are going to be starting now. Let¡¯s go to the study hall, shall we?¡± Master Tenzin escorted them to the room, and Nomein¡¯s initial excitement started to give way to jitters. ¡°What if I get something wrong?¡± ¡°Relax, Nomein. We¡¯re just going to start on meditation and getting the Ki energy to move through your body. Various abilities require you to call on your Ki instantly. Imagine the energy flowing through you instead of just pooling within you,¡± Amdirlain said. When she felt Nomein settled into a calmer state, she projected a mental guide on coaxing the Ki to move. Mentally listening as Nomein worked through the exercise, Amdirlain tracked her dipping past the psi¡¯s electricity and the accumulating Mana within her to bring up a droplet from her pool. Instead of drawing the Ki along her limbs, Nomein coaxed it beneath her solar plexus, and a mist suddenly traced vein-like patterns outwards towards her limbs. ¡°Ki likes the chakra as well?¡± asked Nomein mentally, though her attention stayed focused on the Ki¡¯s feel within Harmony that Amdirlain¡¯s lesson had shared. [Name: Nomein Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: Psion / Monk / Wizard Level: 1 / 1 / 1 Health: 32 Defence: 15 Ki: 6 Magic: 21 Mana: 14 Psi: 14 Melee Attack Power: 12 Combat Skills: Dagger [Ap] (1), Telekinesis (8), Zerth [B] (1) - Affinity: Air, Innate Psion Powers Details: Youngest daughter of a Githz¨¦rai merchant, her family lives in the Githz¨¦rai enclave in the City of Glass on the Elemental Plane of Water.] [Analysis [S](17->18)] First time I¡¯ve seen Psi and Ki values. I wonder if it¡¯s because I felt her mind touch her power centres? Amdirlain projected a question to Tenzin rather than disturb Nomein. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting reaction. Is that a technique for Psionic meditation?¡± ¡°Know running energy through the body¡¯s chakras is a fundamental exercise, though this Ki reacts far differently,¡± Tenzin said and paused mentally, following the energy spreading through Nomein. ¡°Know that we teach it to children to aid their recovery, but via the central chakra that Nomein is using. Do I need to explain why other chakras, especially one lower in the body, aren¡¯t covered?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s alright. I know what sex is, as surprising as some individuals might find that.¡± The mist cooled rapidly, but before it could finish the process, Nomein coaxed another droplet up and repeated the same exercise. This time, the mist extended further by a tiny but noticeable amount. The sense of the Ki pulsed again and joined with Harmony, an echo drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to a change in Tenzin¡¯s Profile. She¡¯d gained level one Monk besides the High Anarch and Ascetic Monk previously there. ¡°Master Tenzin, you¡¯re showing a new Monk Class.¡± ¡°Novice Amdirlain, I shall discuss this with Master Jarith?,¡± Tenzin said. ¡°I can purge the Class if you don¡¯t want it,¡± offered Amdirlain, not knowing what Tenzin had planned for her two classes. Tenzin snapped her attention from Nomein and fixed her gaze on Amdirlain. ¡°You can purge classes?¡± ¡°Yes, if the individual is willing. I¡¯ve done that for a few individuals,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The person has to be willing. I can¡¯t purge a Class if they disagree.¡± ¡°Know that Master Jarith? says your Ki abilities allow for spells to be held ready within it. Is this correct?¡± The moment Amdirlain nodded, Master Tenzin smiled. ¡°Know then I shall have to see what Prestige Class your Monk and Wizard provide when combined.¡± ¡°I have some information on that and can help you meet the requirements for a few powerful options,¡± Amdirlain offered. ¡°I need to speak to Master Jarith? regarding Prestige classes, but I can provide you details on some Monk and Wizard combinations and how to gain them.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯d be very interested in hearing more, but we have Nomein¡¯s practice, and you have a healing session to attend.¡± ¡°What is Ki, Amdirlain?¡¯ asked Nomein, drawing their attention back from their private aside. ¡°Know it feels like it¡¯s continually changing as I coax it around.¡± ¡°Ki is spiritual life energy. It¡¯s also related to a Mana Affinity that has a dual aspect, something that isn¡¯t on Master Jarith?¡¯s list.¡± ¡°Know you and I are on the same journey now, Novice Nomein. Know I glimpsed some interesting possibilities when I felt the Ki touch myself as well.¡± Nomein¡¯s beaming smile came through the mental link with a blazing burst of excitement. ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain that tomorrow, you will explain to me about what you¡¯ve done to your Psi reserves. Know that what I can feel of your strength through this link it would seem you¡¯ve crippled yourself at some point.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here for healing-¡± ¡°Know this is something else I will explain when we talk. Know that you are in my care, and I will not let you move on without doing my utmost to resolve this issue, Novice Amdirlain.¡± Within their private aside, Amdirlain felt the mental strength of Master Tenzin suddenly manifest like a storm cloud. ¡°Know I would have expected your mental strength to feel far closer to my own rather than your current pale presence.¡± [Name: Tenzin Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: High Anarch / Ascetic Monk / Monk / Wizard Levels: 70 / 44 / 1 / 1 Health: 9,339 Defence: 365 Ki: 3,180 Magic: 160 Mana: 804,720 Psi: 13,580,360 Melee Attack Power: 155 Combat Skills: Chaos Shaping [S] (23), Clairsentience [S] (12), Dagger [M] (5), Metacreativity [M] (89), Psychometabolism [S] (2), Psychoportation [S] (9), Telekinesis [S] (5), Zerth [M] (72) - Various Psi Techniques, Affinities: Tier 1, Ice, Light, Lightning, Nature, Positive, Various Spell Lists. Details: A mild-mannered dormitory mistress by day, a psionic combat monster, ahh forget it¡ªshe¡¯s always a psionic combat monster. When she says it¡¯s lights out, those Novices better turn the darn things off.] ¡°It seems whatever I did to myself isn¡¯t an issue for you with Ki. Your beginning capacity for it reflects your existing progression in Meditation and Willpower,¡± replied Amdirlain and gave an amused smile at the burst of curiosity she felt from Tenzin. 165 - Wrecking ball Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The hour spent guiding Nomein and Tenzin had disappeared in the blink of an eye. Time however, played its usual tricks while talking through the unpleasant memories with Elliyna. Each minute seemed to drag on, and the hours chewed her resolve with serrated teeth. When she finally called a halt, Elliyna looked at Amdirlain with grim consideration. ¡°Before you go, when did you first see yourself as unworthy of respect?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± A raised hand stopped Amdirlain¡¯s protest, and Elliyna went on once she¡¯d stilled completely. ¡°Know you accept responsibility for events, not your own doing. Know I¡¯ve seen that primarily in two types of individuals: ones where everything is about them and those lacking self-affection. Of the two, I¡¯m inclined to ask you two questions: why do you hate yourself, and why must everything be your fault?¡± Amdirlain opened her mouth to object but stopped at Elliyna¡¯s concerned but unyielding gaze. ¡°Would you like me to give you examples? Know I have many already, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll encounter more during our future conversations.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t see it that way,¡± Amdirlain replied and leant forward, ready to argue the point. ¡°Know we will meet again in a few days; I require time in meditations to ensure my body¡¯s self-image. Know you are to avoid delving into fresh memories, instead think about your life before your curse. ¡° ¡°Why? Is that going to help with the mess? It¡¯s all post curse.¡± Elliyna interrupted her protests before she could say anything more. ¡°When did you first see yourself as less important than others?¡± The question caught Amdirlain off-guard, and she jerked back in her seat. ¡°Know that last question I want you considering for me during this gap in our sessions,¡± stated Elliyna, having ignored Amdirlain¡¯s question. ¡°Know you are to delve until you truly get to its heart, even after our discussions resume.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it that way,¡± ¡°Know I¡¯m aware of that, but your self-perspective will certainly contribute to issues even if it¡¯s not at the core of them,¡± replied Elliyna. ¡°Know that I would suggest you decline Master Tenzin¡¯s aid for now in resolving your issue with the Psi reserves. Or are your emotions under control enough that providing them with greater strength is safe?¡± Feeling battered and worse for wear, Amdirlain nodded jerkily and left without a word. The walk through the passageways usually gave her time to find her calm. The minimal illumination of the evening was not bothering her senses, yet tonight peace escaped her, and the darkness itched against her mind. Peering at Limbo¡¯s black spiralling sky, she halted on an open walkway and took in the eerie displays far out of range for most being¡¯s sight. Before she moved on, she sent two quick messages not for someone else¡¯s sake but for her own. ¡°Isa, thank you for your Message; it helped, but don¡¯t send another; I¡¯m still working through too much. You wanted to speak in person, but I can¡¯t sit on this pain any longer. Everyone changes, but after enduring Viper¡ªfor you of all people¡ªto ask me if I¡¯d had ¡¯at least¡¯ bonked someone was worse than anything she put me through. I got asked by my Healer when I had stopped respecting myself, but when did you stop respecting me?¡± ¡°Maybe the vibes you got were from me being out of my head in pain, so much so, that I almost left. I can¡¯t even say it was because of our past friendship that stayed, but more I didn¡¯t¡ªcouldn¡¯t¡ªtrust my own emotions. Is that sad that you¡¯re free now because I couldn¡¯t trust myself? You¡¯re free, but I¡¯m trapped for who knows how long.¡± The trembling started after only four or five steps; with her legs threatening to give way, she changed into a transparent membrane across the stone. The responding tearful apology buzzed with its good news, but with no ears to hear and caught up in the painful memories churning inside her, it went unheard. Isa¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls I¡¯d eventually made our excuses, and we¡¯d left V¨ªearr to introduce his foster daughter to her new family. Stepping past the gate brought a sigh from the lifting of the orderly embrace. The first note crossing my lips in tune with the courtyard¡¯s song made me realise it wasn¡¯t only the courtyard¡¯s wards. We¡¯d both been in tune with another, further to the east. Music that had soaked into the town¡¯s groundwaters only to bubble and foam about every droplet joined by more energy draining out of its source. ¡°The Silver Chalice next?¡± Ilya asks, stopping next to me under the shade of the old trees. Her words spoken in Celestial were barely whispers; every word in it was a gentle melody across her battered song, calling my attention to all the sharp wounded edges. Its inflections are soothing to the ears and apparently to Ilya¡¯s emotions. ¡°We should get a room. I want to relax and listen to this town¡¯s music,¡± I reply happily. Ilya¡¯s smile echoes my own. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve still got plenty of coins left then since it¡¯s the fanciest inn in town.¡± ¡°I told you I got lots from the Dwarves, but I¡¯ve still got pretty things I can sell from years ago,¡± I reply, letting the music go for now. ¡°Amdirlain used her Inventory in so many ways, where I just became a massive packrat.¡± Ilya looks me up and down in mock confusion, but it¡¯s clear she¡¯s just using the excuse to ogle. ¡°You¡¯ve no whiskers nor a furry tail.¡± Looping my arm through her left to leave her sword hand free, I head in what I hope is the right direction. ¡°They have a very nice bathing set up.¡± My words raise light notes through Ilya¡¯s song. ¡°She put that in her account, too?¡± ¡°Only in that Verdandi was going to pay her contracts in chimes of bath time at this place,¡± I tease and feel Ilya¡¯s muscles tighten. ¡°Your friend has an Assassin Class? What do you mean, pay in chimes?¡± I manage not to giggle at the rise in her bafflement. ¡°Yes. I felt your tension, but I didn¡¯t listen for the cause. Until you mentioned it this morning, I¡¯d thought it was just nerves from being jealous and the unexpected situation. She took on assassination contracts with payment based on a chime of bath time for groups of undead destroyed. It helped her level the Class; if both parties agree to the contract price, it doesn¡¯t matter how silly.¡± ¡°You knew I was jealous and said nothing?¡± grumbles Ilya, but the quick notes make it clear the wheels spinning inside her mind are on a different matter. A quick kiss eases her frown, and the music from the people about us doesn¡¯t shift in unpleasant ways. ¡°Ilya, my love, you¡¯re often jealous, and if I say anything, it makes you paranoid as well. Letting you come to your own decisions proved the correct choice in the past. Plus, I wasn¡¯t the calmest either, and I¡¯m stupid. I heard her song briefly with Ki Healing active. I should have trusted her more, but it seems I¡¯ve gained some paranoia as well.¡± ¡°Tell me when I¡¯m going wrong; I¡¯ve inflicted enough injury in the past.¡± ¡°Training wounds don¡¯t count, though the first times you stabbed me were a shock,¡± I said and poke a finger into her forearms for emphasis. My dig gets the response I expect. ¡°I¡¯m not apologising for those wounds; you needed to learn fast.¡± Giving her a teasing smile gets an eye-roll reaction at taking my bait. ¡°Did I ask you to?¡± ¡°No, but if it makes you feel better, I¡¯ll kiss all the places I¡¯ve stabbed, cut, or put arrows in you,¡± My lazy smile draws delightful notes from Ilya. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of kissing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea,¡± murmurs Ilya happily, and I squeeze her arm, mostly enjoying the music about us. The melodies are full of life. Even the dark edges here are flicks of distorted chords compared to the grim choruses of even Hell¡¯s quietest places. The decorative exterior of The Silver Chalice is fancy, near-seamless stonework resonating with the Dwarven builders¡¯ care. Each note rang with their pride, sturdiness, and joy in their craft. Celtic-style knots link while climbing every edge of the building, corner work, doorways, and window frames alike. While crafters, Human and Dwarven alike, had skilfully built every structure within the inner ward, this one seemed almost a foundational piece of the town. It was a deep bass thrum that lent its support to the town¡¯s music, even though it clearly could stand on its own. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. It wasn¡¯t just the fanciest inn on price alone, but a family¡¯s pride and tradition ran throughout its melody, giving the place a life of its own. There are places in The Exchange that are shallow in comparison despite their greater age. It was the difference between existing merely to serve a function or being part of a larger whole with a family¡¯s focus, pride, and care. Ilya stops in sync with me, but with her gaze roaming the street and people, it¡¯s clear she doesn¡¯t see or¡ªunsurprisingly hear¡ªthe place as I do. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I wave a hand upwards to draw a canopy above us. ¡°The building feels like a solid, oak tree growing from the earth, rather than a place of business.¡± ¡°It''s stone.¡± Her dismissive tone draws up an unintended laugh. ¡°You¡¯re still such a sylph at heart.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a building, so what? There are wards woven into it, protecting its stonework against impacts, fire, and spells. It would gain a temporary respite during a fight. It¡¯s a place easily broken with sufficient force, and its wards don¡¯t change that.¡± ¡°And a romantic. Have I mentioned that? Can¡¯t you feel the sense of family about this place?¡± ¡°All I see is a stone building,¡± Ilya insists, pulling me towards the door before I can explain further. A blond-haired woman with a solemn song and faded laugh lines on her middle-aged features moves through the morning crowd with the ease of long practice. Her silver-eyed gaze flickered with the door¡¯s motion, and though the smile didn¡¯t waver, her gaze grew a fraction sadder. ¡°Would we be able to have a table on the next floor, please?¡± I ask. ¡°Near a window, if possible.¡± She greets the request with a polite nod, and doesn¡¯t react with surprise; despite having caught that my words and the movement of my lips didn¡¯t mesh. ¡°Of course, just follow me.¡± She leads us through a crowd of nationalities: pale Norse mixed in with Egyptian, Persian, Romans, and even two ebony dark Nubian warriors with enchanted weapons close at hand. The dark wooden staircase leaves plenty of room to walk beside each other, though its ceiling could be higher. On this floor, the wards muffle the chatter from below and far fewer guests sit about the fine wood tables with only a few Norse enjoying a quieter breakfast. Two of the wide windows don¡¯t have anyone sitting near them and she leads us to the closest table, before I motion to the next along. The view it offers of the Jarl¡¯s Hall is far better for my purposes. ¡°Is there a difference in menu between floors?¡± ¡°No, everything is available no matter the floor you¡¯re on. The guests eating breakfast in the common room at this bell seem to prefer the ground floor.¡± I stop her when she offers us both a thick vellum menu with elaborate calligraphy listing the options. I¡¯d already spotted a few diners downstairs with what I wanted. ¡°I¡¯d like a mead, along with two fried eggs, dark toasted bread along with bacon rashers or ham steaks.¡± ¡°A dark ale, and whatever is your biggest breakfast platter,¡± Ilya quickly adds and doesn¡¯t take one either. The surprised notes don¡¯t make it to her expression, but I can hear in her mind that Elves dressed as we are have never requested such an order. I give her a smile and a shrug before setting one of the large Dwarven golds on the table¡¯s edge. ¡°We¡¯ve been travelling all night, and I¡¯ve not eaten much of late.¡± Her thoughts give away exactly the gold''s worth, and it''s little wonder Ossi hadn¡¯t wanted to give up a half year or more of a skilled labourers¡¯ wages. ¡°We¡¯d also like a room for a few days, whatever is nearest the top floor.¡± ¡°A room each?¡± she asks, even though it is clear from her tone she¡¯s expecting a denial. ¡°No,¡± Ilya says, jumping in, but manages a friendly request. ¡°Only one room with a wide comfy bed, please, and I¡¯m told you have a fancy bath suite? How can we organise time for a long soak after we¡¯ve eaten?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make the arrangements for you.¡± ¡°We¡¯re R¨²sea and Tiror,¡± I say before she can walk away. ¡°Might we know your name?¡± ¡°Ylva. Well met to you both. Would you like your drinks brought with your meal or before?¡± ¡°With would be fine, thank you,¡± Ilya replies, and I give her a smile in thanks and turn to regard the Jarl¡¯s Hall. It¡¯s a simple matter to push Steward Hinrik¡¯s name into the minds of the Jarl¡¯s guards, along with a bunch of musings that fit in with their mental chatter. Grabbing the image of an older man, I share it with Ilya while I consider options for dealing with him. The mental image comes complete with a smile that reminds me of contract Devils, always polite, helpful, and unoffensive until they have their target over a barrel. I¡¯ll be glad never to get stuck protecting one of those again. From the guard¡¯s perspective, he¡¯s about a similar height to most Norse men we¡¯ve seen. Though he wears nice clothes, they¡¯re nothing over the top, a good cut but no jewellery or fancies. Square chin, with wide-set green eyes and greying-auburn hair, he looks friendly and ensures the Jarl¡¯s people get looked after. Now I so want to hear his song. Amdirlain¡¯s account even admitted she clashed with his dad; maybe he¡¯s avenging the family honour in his eyes. The song further along the street is an example of missing things that makes me wonder what Amdirlain¡¯s record left out. She¡¯d only said she transformed it during a fight a Valkyrie had triggered between herself and Viper. She had said nothing about leaving a blazing song beacon etched within the town, filled with determination. ¡°Thinking deep thoughts.¡± ¡°Trying to decide the best way to make it crystal clear to Steward Hinrik that he¡¯s messed with the wrong people. I was going to smack him proverbially but the guards respect him, so maybe I can smooth it over instead. I think the cousin is the higher priority, only because we don¡¯t know the next time he¡¯ll open that Gate.¡± ¡°Then do we go play nice or crush his head?¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t want to kill him,¡± I protest, and explain for Ilya¡¯s confusion. ¡°Someone might bring him back from the dead.¡± ¡°What do you want to do with him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I¡¯ll have him pick a card if I¡¯ve not decided before then.¡± Even though we¡¯re speaking Celestial, Ilya mutters so softly even I can barely hear. ¡°Just kill him and drop his Soul straight into Hell. Summoning demons to mate with monsters, the risk it puts this entire world in, he certainly deserves something permanent.¡± ¡°Someone might be stupid enough to rescue him since he¡¯s connected to the royal family. While I know he deserves it, whoever they send might not,¡± I reply and catch Ilya¡¯s hand across the table. ¡°We¡¯ll settle them both, check out the enclave and then I¡¯d like to talk to Sidero.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still concerned about approaching a Kyton.¡± ¡°The only reason I¡¯m concerned is that Sidero is going to be livid.¡± I admit, and pat her hand when the furious chords grow under the ice-calm expression. ¡°No getting between us with this! We¡¯re both higher levels, but I won¡¯t be fighting her. With Sarah it¡¯s safer to let her express herself then let her stew and I deserve a black eye for what I did. You¡¯ve given me far worse training.¡± I hiss in joy when a lightbulb hits me and I almost feel pity for one Himelchon Malantur. ¡°Oh, I know what I¡¯m going to do; it¡¯s vicious, but it will do the trick.¡± A grim, complex melody comes to mind, churning with life that makes it hard to hold back, forming them even without knowing if he¡¯s about. I make quick work of meshing it into another to fit my intent. Breakfast is a welcome distraction and makes me realise I¡¯d never stopped to eat before. The food we¡¯d ordered in Ecbatana had been the first I¡¯d even thought of since becoming an Erinys, and I hadn¡¯t gotten to even sample it. The chewy bread and still-runny yolks taste so good, despite being simple fare, and the crispy bacon, yum yum, isn¡¯t everything better with bacon? Well, except Hell, I¡¯m betting even multiple rashers of bacon an hour wouldn¡¯t make Hell palatable likely they¡¯d find some way to turn it into a punishment instead. The moan I make around a mouthful of food has Ilya chuckling. ¡°Meanie,¡± I mutter around a mouthful of toast. ¡°Says the one who likes to hold me on the orgasm¡¯s edge.¡± The red-headed Elf from Viper¡¯s memory steps out of the Jarl¡¯s Hall his polite well-mannered smile hiding the disgust that sits in his song. Echoes of notes hiss with the Abyss¡¯ screams at me from a song that¡¯s contemptuous of the people about him. A guard that nods respectfully triggering notes of sheer revulsion and hatred, beneath his tranquil face. The melody that I¡¯d been reconsidering springs up again, and I empower the chords running through my mind with the molten fires I¡¯d felt cooking me. I¡¯m not sending him to Hell. I¡¯m going to wrap his mind into it right here while keeping his body alive. He¡¯s out of sight, but I¡¯m still focused on his music when I release my song amidst it, charged with a troll¡¯s regeneration force to keep his body hale. The river Dis¡¯ song of spiteful self-reflection drops him shrieking in agony before it locks him within its embrace and the physical screaming stops. Though Hell-like agony rises from his song, and the running starts as guards, along with others, come to attend the scene. ¡°Should we see what happened?¡± Ilya asks idly. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone will take care of it. I have things to do today. Frankly, it sounds like someone made a grave mistake. I do hope they¡¯ll learn to be more careful.¡± One royal arsehole with locked-in syndrome now served sunny side up. Or should that be down? The sharp amusement in Ilya¡¯s gaze glints like ice shards reflecting sunlight. ¡°They weren¡¯t simply unlucky?¡± ¡°Some things don¡¯t count as merely bad luck, plus it¡¯s too nice a day to waste time on unpleasantness.¡± Ilya gives me a coy smile and traces a finger down the side of her tankard. ¡°Food, bath and some time together. Are you sure that plan won¡¯t change?¡± ¡°No, I think that one just became locked in. Remind me later to send a message and let everyone know how our travels have gone.¡± Savouring another mouthful of breakfast, a Message buzzed in my ear as if summoned by my intention. I felt my face blank from trained reflex against the sheer pain in her voice, and barely swallowed the suddenly tasteless food. I try to compose an apology with memories of Hell¡¯s pain twisting around inside me and bringing me to tears. ¡°Last message, I promise. You¡¯re right; that was beyond vomit inducing after what you went through. I know how Succubi songs sound with their continual raging physical lusts and I should have asked how you coped, not made that joke. I¡¯ve taken care of Viper. She was in the Persian kingdom, but I ashed her and her priesthood. Locked her use name to ¡®this space intentionally left blank¡¯. She might not get further names. I¡¯m not asking for forgiveness because I don¡¯t deserve it, but I¡¯ll still try to prove I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asks Ilya, her fingertips catching the tears on my cheeks. ¡°I hurt her, and I didn¡¯t see it. I just heard a Message from her, and she sounds so torn up.¡± Catching her hand, I try to give her a reassuring squeeze and wonder at how fortunate I¡¯d been. If they¡¯d kept me in Hell for training, what would have become of me? ¡°She¡¯s not a Modron with perfectly ordered gears; except for them, most beings have emotions.¡± ¡°With anything painful and important to J you normally had to read between the lines. Unimportant or happy stuff she¡¯d share, but anything painful or that mattered, that stayed under lock and key.¡± ¡°Would you tell me more about the three of you?¡± ¡°She was tiny compared to me even before we really grew, but talk about misleading. We had started school together, and this bully pulled my hair on like the second day, I think, and she punched him straight in the nose. I got her out of that trouble...¡± 166 - Memories Echo¡¯s PoV - Southern Castle The Outlands¡¯ light through the Gate appears strange after days of this world¡¯s white-yellow Sun. Ebusuku doesn¡¯t comment on the Erakk? form I¡¯m currently wearing, but I see the wry smile flit across her lips before she waves the Archons through. After days of gaining startled reactions from the locals, I¡¯ve finally seen the wisdom in what a Dwarven Celestial suggested about blending with the locals. The last flights of Archons line up near the castle¡¯s front gates like they¡¯re waiting for one of Farhad¡¯s lessons to start. ¡°Archon Echo, why have so many of your fellows come through? Did your patrol spot a force on the way?¡± asks Angarhela, having approached unheard despite his clawed feet and armour-clad form. It¡¯s the first time he¡¯s snuck up on me. Have others complained about me doing the same to them? ¡°My apologies for the confusion, General. I saw nothing approaching. Sidero and Klipyl have found a second breeding site to be cleared out, and we¡¯re going to assist them.¡± The general motions a secondary hand at the scores of Lantern Archons, his fingers slightly curled in a gesture I recognise now as a sign of curiosity. ¡°How much bigger is it to need so many?¡± ¡°It¡¯s hard to say, since the opening is another massive pit. They¡¯re here to gain combat experience together,¡± I reply, not wanting to explain Sidero¡¯s impact on their leveling. ¡°I¡¯ve Sidero¡¯s latest map that shows where it is if you¡¯d like to see it.¡± Angarhela nods appreciatively and clicks his nails while I unsecure the storage bag from my back. ¡°How far have they reached?¡± ¡°Slightly under four hundred kilometres at the furthest point, Sidero has expanded her southwards course with a grid search centred on the first site. They found this pit forty kilometres to the southwest of it,¡± I explain and pull out the flexible metal sheet Klipyl brought back. Unfurling it reveals embossed contours of the low foothills and rolling grasslands to the south. The sheer detail turns the practical map into a work of art, and the General brushes his fingertips across it taking in the contours leading southwards from the castle. ¡°Shaper Sidero does incredible work, does she not?¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a Shaper as you know them General, but yes she does,¡± I agree, looking over the fine lines that show a stream running through the grasslands. ¡°Sidero¡¯s not an Archon, is she?¡± ¡°No,¡± I admit, but dislike leaving him ignorant of her kin¡¯s dangers, ¡°but she¡¯s not like her kin either. They are far more dangerous, even malevolent to deal with. Lady Amdirlain trusts Sidero to assist you against the Thri-Kreen, otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have brought her here. Klipyl¡¯s is a strange situation as well, another entity far different to her kind, though she seems to have their¡ªappetites¡ªstill.¡± The general coughs at my attempt at discretion. The soldiers¡¯ tales about yesterday¡¯s visit made it quite clear her appetites are still present. Though I¡¯d been pleased to find no damage done to those who¡¯d indulged her curiosity. ¡°After you return, I¡¯d like to speak about her and Klipyl before you patrol again. While your Lady¡¯s help has proven beneficial to us, they both seemed far stranger than the rest of you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ensure I make time. I know little beyond that Sidero is an old friend of Lady Amdirlain¡¯s, however. She says Sidero will keep her agreements and is very strict in her adherence to rules. If she visits again I¡¯d suggest speaking about your laws, perhaps the same applies to Klipyl and what rooms not to make use of for any¡­ gatherings.¡± ¡°My guards said she was quite forward in how she spoke to them when she came looking for you recently.¡± Holding back my laughter at what might count as forward, I keep my expression serious. ¡°I¡¯m sure she was.¡± ¡°The castle shapers are particularly interested in knowing about the chains Sidero wears. Do you know about their alloy?¡± ¡°Very little. The metal is apparently alive, under her control, and able to undertake actions independently. I¡¯m told she¡¯s able to invest that ability in any chain near her, but her shroud is especially dangerous.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t keep you, but whenever you have time to speak, I¡¯d appreciate it. I¡¯ll arrange a scribe so you don¡¯t have to answer more Shapers¡¯ questions.¡± Uncertainty sends a chill through me for a moment, and hope I¡¯ve not over shared. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Sidero for permission and what information I might share.¡± ¡°Thank you for correcting me,¡± replies Angarhela, stiffening in concern. I quickly return his gesture of the interlaced hands and bow, to accept his apology. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that she doesn¡¯t report to you. Perhaps convey our respects and thank her again for her help.¡± He quickly accepts the map when I offer it, taking it carefully with his true hands. Despite the steel¡¯s thinness, the size makes for a substantial weight. ¡°I¡¯ll pass along your regards and arrange a time to speak further when we get back.¡± Pit¡¯s PoV - Kingdom of Remus The last Dwarven township is high in the foothills, and the closest slope is now lost amid the backdrop of the distant mountain range. The late morning sun creates cool puddles around the few trees that dot the grasslands. Recent rains make the dirt showing amid the lush grass choking the road, dark. No idea why the Dwarves who gave us the directions referred to this as a road; it¡¯s more of an animal track, pegged out occasionally with rock piles to mark the way. Intentional rock piles, unlike the rubble of the few hamlets we¡¯ve passed through so far, with grass already reclaiming the earth amid broken buildings and long cooled funeral pyres. ¡°Are you not listening Jenqith?¡± Aggie asks, and I glance back to see her looking down from atop the pony she¡¯s riding. ¡°Sorry, it takes more getting used to than I had expected,¡± I admit. The sounds of wildlife in the long grass makes my ears twitch, calling for my attention. ¡°Maybe use one that starts with the same sound,¡± Aggie suggests, and before I have time to reply continues. ¡°Pitnari, maybe?¡± ¡°Now I know why Amdirlain says picking a new name was hard for her.¡± ¡°You have an advantage there. It¡¯s not a name that you¡¯re going to keep using for the rest of your existence. It¡¯s just something to fit in while travelling,¡± offers Aggie. ¡°You may find something that appeals to us.¡± Even with my back to her, I rub my whiskers to hide my lips curling in the Basteti¡¯s odd smile, unsure how many times she¡¯s offered the same reassurance now. ¡±None of us could remember any names from before the maze. Sage insisted we needed to pick one, or one got picked for you.¡± ¡°Found it annoying to say hey, and three people answer?¡± ¡°Not far off. They bothered once there was five, but that was before my time,¡± I reply, rubbing away the floating grass seeds tickling my nose. ¡°How far to the nearest town that¡¯s still standing? I¡¯ve not seen much except animal tracks.¡± ¡°There might only be ruins until we hit the Kingdom of Darius. The road used to head towards the main township this far north. The Dwarf guardsmen believe it¡¯s still standing, but no traders have come through. Maybe any trade is going via towns further south, or by routes east of the mountains.¡± ¡°What does it mean for anyone left in this region?¡± ¡°Hard times with fewer traders coming through looking for crops and offering goods until their King or Senate decide to push for re-settlement. I hope they station legionaries further north this time, instead of letting the outliers tend to their own defences. The Kingdom of Darius wasn¡¯t hit anywhere near as bad, but there local lords, not senators safe in the capital decide.¡± I hadn¡¯t been paying attention when I picked the first name, but this latest sounds better. ¡°Pitnari, I¡¯ll try that one. Why didn¡¯t you offer it earlier?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, blame me! You picked the first one I offered,¡± Aggie retorts, and I have to duck when she flicks the loose end of a rein near my ear. ¡°Not like it wasn¡¯t your choice, friend.¡± The pony takes the motion as a prompt to move faster and pushes his muzzle against my shoulder. ¡°True, but I¡¯m na?ve about the ways of the world, and you choose to guide me wrong.¡± Aggie leans forward and pats the pony¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not alone, Mr Pony, it seems there is an arse about.¡± ¡°You¡¯d best give the pony a name he might answer when you call to me,¡± I warn in good humour, and start towards the only tree close to the road; the shade might allow Aggie some respite during her noon meal. ¡°Okay Mr Pony, it¡¯s you, me, and one smart arse.¡± At the pony¡¯s huff, I just shake my head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave that beast wandering free? We made better time without it.¡± Aggie gives a merry laugh and pats the pony¡¯s neck again. ¡°Nevermind Mr Pony, he¡¯s just a grumpy kitty.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand It was bittersweet how her mind could recall minute details now. While it was a capability that allowed her to remember family events like they were yesterday, it also let her remember other things exactly the same way. Prompted by the morning chime, Amdirlain reluctantly reformed. After the evening¡¯s initial churned up emotions, she¡¯d stayed concealed away from the dormitory thinking about her family. Her arrival by the upper pathway immediately drew Master Tenzin¡¯s stern notice. ¡°Know that you will clean the first-floor study corridor before dinner today.¡± ¡°Yes, Master Tenzin,¡± Amdirlain said and took her position for morning meditations. Nomein knelt beside her, the Novice¡¯s cheerful demeanour stilling as she took in Amdirlain¡¯s withdrawn expression. ¡°Is something wrong Amdirlain?¡± Master ?daka¡¯s arrival let her avoid the question and she closed her eyes to settle into a centred state, only to find more memories waiting for her. The girls¡¯ soft tenors reminding her of Rachel and Sarah fussing, the hard stone like the tiles under her knees and unsettled nerves churned in sympathy with remembered nausea. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Your mum will freak if you cut your hair,¡± Rachel breathed. Her hands supporting Julia while keeping her loose hair back from falling into the bile, which was all she¡¯d had to heave up. The toilet¡¯s lip dug into her clenched fingers, the edge of the moulded plastic feeling razor-edged with everything too sensitive. ¡°She looks sad brushing it when it¡¯s falling out. Having it all gone is better.¡± ¡°But don¡¯t you want to keep it for a bit longer?¡± asked Rachel glumly. ¡°It¡¯s only hair. Better to have it gone,¡± Julia murmured, undecided if she should give her comb collection away, or keep them in case she lived to regrow it. ¡°I¡¯ve found your dad¡¯s hair clipper. What number guard should I use?¡± Sarah asked, plastic rattling around inside the box. ¡°The biggest is sixteen, the thinnest is a one.¡± The stomach muscles that trembled in her memories caused her hand to clench in sympathy. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about a guard, just use them without one.¡± ¡°I might cut you,¡± objected Sarah, and the clippers gave a quick buzz. ¡°Flush and let¡¯s get this done. I¡¯m using the number one.¡± Her hand still rubbed Julia¡¯s back, as Rachel turned her attention Sarah¡¯s way. ¡°What¡¯s the rush?¡± The clipper¡¯s blade clacked against the sink and Sarah hurried off but called back down the hallway from the direction of the kitchen. ¡°If we get started before Mrs E is back, she won¡¯t have a choice but to help finish.¡± Rachel closed the lid and hit the button while Julia rested back on her heels. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect hair to come out so soon.¡± ¡°Apparently I¡¯m sensitive to the treatment,¡± Julia replied and glanced up in time for Rachel to plant a washcloth on her face, but she mumbled through it¡ªthe cool enjoyable. ¡°Chemo chic, it¡¯s the new heroin chic. All the top models will die for it.¡± ¡°Julia!¡± protested Rachel and scrubbed her face roughly with the cloth. ¡°What, Rachel? Shit happens, it¡¯s hair. Sarah¡¯s right, let¡¯s get it done. Mal might hear the clippers and come inside.¡± ¡°When did you get so unemotional?¡± ¡°Some things aren¡¯t worth being bothered about,¡± replied Julia with forced casualness. Rachel gave her a careful look and poked her shoulder. ¡°When¡¯s the funeral?¡± Julia locked the tears away and gave Rachel a smile. ¡°Elizabeth¡¯s was last week. Good odds or bad, there are always odds against. You can have those combs of mine you like.¡± ¡°You keep them for afterwards. You promised your mum to keep your hopes high, so don¡¯t be a sourpuss,¡± Rachel chided gently before her voice softened further. ¡°It sucks that they caught hers so late.¡± The clatter of a kitchen chair on the bathroom tiles prompted Julia to stand, and Rachel helped her stay upright when the world suddenly spun. Compared to Julia¡¯s petite form, her blooming and gangly height makes her seem years older, but they were both barely thirteen. ?daka¡¯s instructions let her shift out of the memory¡¯s grasp, and inhaling she felt for the moving air. The memory of her mum¡¯s laughter at her ¡®lamb¡¯ when she found the trio with jammed clippers and Julia half-sheared eased the pain. By the time the meditation session ended she was feeling more herself. Giving Nomein¡¯s shoulders a pat, she flowed upright and headed for the refectory. Expecting to have a few minutes alone, it surprised Amdirlain to find Master Jarith? standing where Master Tenzin normally supervised the meals. ¡°Good day to you, Master Jarith?.¡± ¡°Know that you caused Master Tenzin some concern last night during her evening checks. Know she contacted several of us to see if we knew your whereabouts and you proved impossible to scry to check you were safe.¡± ¡°My apologies. I¡¯m used to taking care of myself, and last night I couldn¡¯t bear the thought of the cell,¡± answered Amdirlain, and wondered how often Tenzin kept watch on her. ¡°Know it is not me to whom you should apologise, but I¡¯m sure Master Tenzin will extract her own apology. Know that is not why I¡¯m here this morning. Novice Amdirlain, would you be willing to assist anyone wishing to gain an Affinity after dinner over the next few days? Know you would have the right of refusal or compensation given the rudeness some have displayed.¡± ¡°If they ask, Master Jarith?, then I¡¯d still help them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know there will be Novices organised from the other enrolments as well. Know it will make sense after the announcements,¡± Jarith? said and motioned precisely to her usual seat. It startled the others to see Master Jarith? there, but he simply waved each hesitant Novice to their seat. Once they were all present, he addressed them with Master Tenzin waiting off to one side. ¡°Know that recent events require us to re-plan your training. Know in the short term, there will be an additional lesson on Mana theory every day, after dinner for those who¡¯ve gained an Affinity,¡± said Jarith?. A murmur started among the Novice but stilled even as he raised a hand for calm. ¡°Know that after we complete our planning, we will implement a restructuring of all the recent enrolments of Novices. Know our intention is to have three training paths: the one you are currently on, the Anarch training, and a combined course for three classes.¡± Zenya¡¯s raised her hand to her shoulder, and Jarith? nodded. ¡°Will the combined training cover all the same lessons? Can we switch to the Anarch training if we now have an affinity?¡± ¡°Know it will include the subjects expected of a monastery Master in each field, along with extras. Know that I expect the dedication required will be considerable,¡± cautioned Jarith?. ¡°But why, if it¡¯s just the same lessons over a longer time?¡± ¡°Know that it will tempt those on the combined course to compare themselves unfavourably to those completing the Zerth, or Anarch, course. Know they will earn their Master title years earlier than those undertaking the combined training,¡± warned Jarith?. Despite his tone, none of the Novices that Amdirlain could see seemed to take the warning to heart. ¡°Why all the enrolments, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain has agreed to help more learn an Affinity though I insist she may refuse any request. Know also that Novices from the other three recent enrolments have yet taken part; they¡¯ll do so over the next two evenings,¡± replied Jarith?. ¡°Will we still be in the same dormitory?¡± asked Sarith, her voice tight with frustration ¡°Are there any Anarch trainees in this dormitory, Novice Sarith?¡± Amdirlain hadn¡¯t known the exact division of Novices, but Sarith¡¯s rigid expression made the situation clear. ¡°Know that you may raise any further question with Master Tenzin when she allows time for them,¡± stated Jarith?, and left the refectory. Isa¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls It was fortunate that Ilya insisted we stick to the soak we¡¯d already arranged. By the time she decided I¡¯d gained all the benefit I could from it, news of the incident had spread far and wide. Dozens of Elven songs were humming their distress in the Jarl¡¯s Hall, and the upsetting notes had tempted me to tell them their worry was for a Demon summoning arsehole. Instead, I¡¯d lain curled up on the bed with Ilya stroking my hair and talking me out of sharing the same song with the arrogant snot in charge. The hornets¡¯ nest of the day had died down by late evening, and Ilya¡¯s scrying showed Steward Hinrik still tending to paperwork in his office. Ilya deliberately lets the door click shut, but Hinrik doesn¡¯t look up from the scrolls in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll be awhile yet.¡± ¡°You could always burn it all and pretend you never got the messages,¡± I suggest and Hinrik snaps upright in his seat. ¡°I¡¯d suggest getting a better desk setup; being hunched over can cause back problems. Hinrik¡¯s expression composes quickly enough but seems far too slow to me. ¡°My apologies, no one informed me there were still Elven delegates about. What might I assist you with?¡± Despite the lateness of the hour, he stands and politely motions us to the seats by his desk. Ilya plays the part of the guard standing to one side of the chair I take. When he stops fussing about offering declined drinks, and finally sits, I almost sigh in relief. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been a busy and distressing day for all concerned. We wanted to speak to you about a matter we¡¯d been intending to investigate for a while.¡± ¡°What can I assist you with?¡± ¡°We¡¯d like to know why you¡¯re targeting the followers of Amdirlain,¡± I state, and watch his gaze widen. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I know what you mean-¡± Before he can gather steam, I cut in. ¡°Please Steward Hinrik, it¡¯s been a distressing day.¡± ¡°Yes, so much so I¡¯d forgotten to even get your names, yet you know mine,¡± interjects Hinrik, the quickening notes of his song showing his mind recovering from his surprise. The reflex request a social gambit to buy time. ¡°R¨²sea. It¡¯s hopefully easy enough. Aren¡¯t some Elven names utter tongue twisters for those, not native speakers?¡± I reply and fix him in place with a smile. ¡°I¡¯d prefer a straightforward and civil conversation. It¡¯s not an accusation, we know that the town, indeed the kingdom, has levied and set up additional tax conditions to apply against them. I¡¯d like to hear your reason and what we can do to ensure they¡¯re only paying the regular rate.¡± ¡°They can be quite the mouthful, especially when no shortened or alternative version is offered,¡± replies Hinrik, grasping for the easy topic. The smile I¡¯ve been wearing gains an edge that freezes his next words on his lips. ¡°I¡¯d imagine Himelchon wasn¡¯t one inclined to offer either, but it is late, and this topic could take us far off course. To the topic I want to address¡ªtaxes¡ªcould you please explain? Surely together we can address whatever issue you have to ease tensions here and in other places. With today¡¯s matter now pressing for attention among the Sunset Elven court, let¡¯s address the core of this matter so we can focus attention elsewhere.¡± The Steward rolled up the scroll he¡¯d been reading and set it aside with an exasperated sigh. ¡°Do you know the amount of disruption their presence has caused to the town¡¯s economy?¡± ¡°I would have thought they¡¯d have improved the economy,¡± I protest, thinking about the efforts in Amdirlain¡¯s account. ¡°How, by making crops more plentiful and thus cheaper and increasing demand for finished goods thus increasing their cost?¡± asks Hinrik, and quickly continues. ¡°The Jarl collects tax revenue mostly in grain and produce. In good years, we¡¯d have excess to sell off after keeping those in his direct service fed. Now that excess is greater, but some years we haven¡¯t nearly the coin required. Why, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll ask, simply because the areas we can easily sell to are oversupplied by the region¡¯s farmers. That doesn¡¯t even cover the fact that the extra district meant we had to expand the town guard permanently.¡± The logic in his argument matches his song but doesn¡¯t match the belief Amdirlain¡¯s folks have, and I wonder if they¡¯ve ever been told. ¡°I suggest you¡¯re looking at this from the wrong side of the equation,¡± states Ilya, before I can ask more questions. ¡°I¡¯m the Jarl¡¯s Steward. My role is to ensure the maintenance of his household within the bounds of the law. Your Lady didn¡¯t even see fit to provide me with your name.¡± ¡°This suggestion might be within the bounds of your laws. You¡¯re looking at them purely from how you¡¯re used to earning coin: via taxes, levies, and the sale of goods. New revenue options are what I¡¯d suggest. Even the little I know of your situation I¡¯d suggest considering a Wizard school and a mercenary force.¡± Hinrik looks about to dismiss Ilya out of hand, but his expression shifts slightly, and he relaxes back into his seat. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°The Priests of Amdirlain can teach Affinities. Be upfront with them and point out the financial difficulties to avoid further misunderstandings. Some even believe you¡¯re targeting them because of your family history. Continued misunderstandings are just going to prolong the trouble for you and the Jarl.¡± A frustrated expression flicked across Hinrik before he nodded sharply. ¡°My father faded after the old Jarl made him retire, but he still has contacts that make problems for them that I can do nothing about. He believed her, to quote him, ¡®a jumped up entitled Elf tricking people and Powers into expending resources on her behalf¡¯.¡± He motions for patience when I interrupt. ¡°I¡¯ve seen enough to know that isn¡¯t the case. I will admit I don¡¯t like their disruption of traditions but I¡¯m not looking to ruin them¡ªthey¡¯ve proved too useful a group, and their elder members endured enough. However, I have a duty to my Jarl and this town; if I don¡¯t raise more revenue this trend will pauper his family. The Jarl¡¯s father isn¡¯t the same man since his wife¡¯s death so he¡¯s not about to go adventuring to supplement the holdings finances.¡± His song is honest in both his admission of his dislike, but also in his begrudging acceptance of them. Ilya continues the moment I tilt my head at her. ¡°Hence my two suggestions and you could likely come up with more working together. Ask them to co-operate with the Jarl to establish a school to train various kingdoms¡¯ aspiring wizards for a suitable shared fee. You¡¯ll attract craftsmen looking to profit from the richer students and bring in revenue from taxing them, plus craft goods from the apprentices they train will push down the price in town.¡± When the Steward immediately looks ready to object to Ilya¡¯s suggestions, I chip in to cut off his calculating song. ¡°I can assist with the upfront costs, but I¡¯d suggest starting small to work out any issues. At a minimum, you need to stop hitting the freed Thralls with extra taxes.¡± He doesn¡¯t wince, but a guilty tone shivers through his song. ¡°What was the other suggestion?¡± ¡°Establish a mercenary band around the cadre wizards that the Jarl could hire out. They¡¯d be able to take on sizeable forces like the Manes that hit the northern kingdoms. While there won¡¯t be wars every year, in quiet years they could hire out to patrol roads, garrison areas, or conduct pre-emptive raids on Gnarls and other humanoids. Established correctly, they¡¯d bring in regular coin to the Jarl. If you rotate your soldiers through the band, you¡¯d gain a stronger defensive force in time.¡± ¡°How would that even work?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen it work on other worlds,¡± Ilya replied and smiled at his baffled expression. ¡°Look into other revenue options; if you don¡¯t believe you can make these work. Stop counting on taxes.¡± ¡°About the school¡¯s upfront costs-¡± started Hinrik. ¡°I¡¯m in town for two more days staying at The Silver Chalice. I¡¯d suggest you meet with them and work out the framework of an agreement. Put a proposal together between yourselves, and then I¡¯ll provide the funds and materials you can sell¡ªif I¡¯m happy with it. You will arrange for the freed Thralls you¡¯ve overtaxed to be reimbursed.¡± ¡°I can at least waive their tax each year until they¡¯re repaid¡ªif this works,¡± offered Hinrik, the guilty tones still present. ¡°If you didn¡¯t like overtaxing them, why do it?¡± ¡°They were stirring up troubles that the guard couldn¡¯t step on, so I gave them a legal lesson in causing problems,¡± admitted Hinrik. ¡°Good night Steward. I guess it¡¯s your lucky day,¡± I say brightly and almost forget not to teleport away. The door closes behind us and Ilya¡¯s look-away Spell enfolds us again. 167 - All the things she said. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Upon Master Jarith?¡¯s exit, Sarith glared at Amdirlain, and perhaps it was only Master Tenzin¡¯s presence that kept her from erupting in anger. The moment Sarith opened her mouth, Gemiya cut in. ¡°No. Know you will simply put yourself in a corner, so cool down. Know I will take a course that includes Wizard, likely the new one.¡± ¡°Training in three classes at once! What is the point?¡± growled Sarith. ¡°Know that your Prestige Class will only combine two.¡± ¡°Some Tier 6-,¡± Amdirlain said, and the refectory abuzz with the Novices¡¯ excited conversation fell abruptly silent. Perhaps I should take a vow of silence. ¡°What was that Novice Amdirlain?¡± asked Tenzin, the Master¡¯s tone losing her usual detached calmness. ¡°It¡¯s something I need to talk to Master Jarith? about before discussing further,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarith¡¯s expression contoured through outrage, hate, and disbelief before it settled back into anger. ¡°You expect us to believe you have a Tier 6 Prestige Class no one has heard of?¡± Amdirlain sighed, and her lips twisted in an ironic smile. ¡°I don¡¯t expect you to believe anything I say.¡± Her gazed fixed on Amdirlain¡¯s smile, and as it narrowed, her skin darkened. ¡°Know that isn¡¯t an answer.¡± ¡°Very astute,¡± replied Amdirlain matter-of-factly. A sharp whack sounded from a foot hitting bone under the table, and Sarith''s flinch disrupted her retort before it began. Before any others could interject, Gemiya spoke up. ¡°Know you said you had only one Prestige Class Amdirlain. What level were the classes you combined into it?¡± ¡°Sorry, but no. I¡¯ll need to speak to Master Jarith? before I share information,¡± countered Amdirlain gently and tried not to smile their persistence. Nomein spoke up before Gemiya replied. ¡°But-¡± ¡°No,¡± repeated Amdirlain softly and gave a quick headshake at her temptation to share the information. Amdirlain glanced at Tenzin and saw signs the Master¡¯s patience was thinning. ¡°I¡¯m sure Master Tenzin would prefer that this discussion not occur during mealtime.¡± No gamer wikis here. ¡°Please?¡± asked Nomein hopefully, her wide-eye gaze not shifting from Amdirlain and a little catch caught in her tone. Tallis made her upturned nose seem arrogant, but Nomein uses it to cheat in cuteness. Analysis said she¡¯s the youngest. Training in getting her older sibling wrapped around her little finger? Amdirlain gestured for them to stop. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later.¡± ¡°Know it is time to serve the meal,¡± Tenzin declared, and the chatter between tables ceased immediately. As soon as they¡¯d distributed the food, Nomein looked at Amdirlain again. ¡°Is Tier 6 at level eighty or is it higher still? Shouldn¡¯t someone have discovered them before now? Do they only combine three classes?¡± ¡°I said I¡¯d need to talk to Master Jarith?,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know that he¡¯ll speak to you after this morning¡¯s training. I¡¯d also like to hear this information, but unlike others I can wait,¡± interjected Tenzin before Nomein could object. The others ate quickly with the conversation alternating between the new and trying to tempt Amdirlain into sharing more information. Despite or perhaps because of their enthusiasm, Sarith stayed scornfully mistrustful about the possibilities of either. Amdirlain stood when they cleared away the bowls and spotted Novices immediately moving towards her. The ends of Lezekus¡¯s cornrows lifted from the speed at which she spun from her chair, almost knocking it to the ground. ¡°Would you teach me an Affinity, Amdirlain?¡± The others mirrored Lezekus¡¯s hopeful expression, and Amdirlain turned to Tenzin. ¡°Master Tenzin, would we be able to use the courtyard for a while prior to dinner?¡± ¡°Know that would be acceptable, Novice Amdirlain, but only after you complete your punishment duty.¡± ¡°Thank you Master Tenzin,¡± replied Amdirlain, and noted the nearly score of girls now looking at her. ¡°I¡¯m not going to make anyone ask since there are so many interested. Anyone that attends that session before dinner I¡¯ll teach regardless of their attitude towards me.¡± A flicker of pleased surprise was the only reaction from Master Tenzin, and Amdirlain left the excited Novices to follow in her wake. She stepped into the courtyard and glimpsed Master Liran? starting down the path to join them. Rather than waiting to be told, she moved to her normal position, none of others yet even in the corridor. Finding Master Liran? in the courtyard, the first Novice rushed through the doorway; her burst of speed prompted those following to hurry to catch up. The haste of their assembly, not hiding the heated glare that Sarith fixed on Gemiya¡¯s back. Liran? looked better than the previous day, but still wore an edge of fatigue. As the stretching began, she and Tenzin moved among the Novices correcting postures and urging some to push their stretches or hold positions. Amdirlain used the time as a moving meditation, letting memories drift about while contorting herself to the limits of human form. The time let her try again to sense the chakras that Nomein had shown in yesterday¡¯s Ki practice. Her lack of biological processes presented a challenge. The guides that Nomein used, of air moving in her lungs, lacked the same impact sensed from their mind. While for Amdirlain some of the sensations were certainly present, there was none of a living body¡¯s warmth from drawing a full breath; no relief, no satisfaction, simply a stretch of her lungs¡¯ shape. Each failure highlighted a hollowness within her that chilled her nerves. Liran? stopped in front of Sarith on the way through the rows. ¡°Know that you should focus on your exercise, Novice Sarith, not on your anger; you lessen the benefit of stretching. Know Novice Amdirlain, you have a discontented expression today. Is there an issue with your stretching?¡± ¡°The positions are simple, Master Liran?. I was trying to meditate within the movements, but I can¡¯t get a handle on the Githz¨¦rai chakra style that Nomein and Master Tenzin showed me yesterday. The tips they mentioned don¡¯t seem to work for me.¡± Her explanation earned a contemplative look from Liran?. ¡°Know if it is an unfamiliar style, you should focus on it alone rather than combining it with something else. Do you need to stretch further?¡± ¡°No, Master Liran?,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Master Tenzin, would you change the wall?¡± In the middle of correcting a Novice¡¯s stance, Tenzin didn¡¯t even look around, but the courtyard¡¯s wall shifted formation. ¡°Know you should focus on simply running for a time. Know I¡¯d like you to push your speed and stay on the upper section to avoid accidents,¡± instructed Tenzin and waved her towards the wall before turning back to Sarith. Amdirlain didn¡¯t pay attention to the instructions Liran? turned to give Sarith, but headed directly for the wall. Instead of worrying about the unfamiliar technique, she pushed with Ki Movement. Her speed didn¡¯t so much increase as explode and her sudden blur of motion snapped attention her way. A focus that was already in the wrong place when she raced along the courtyard¡¯s wall. With so many travel options, Ki Movement was one of her least used powers and so she focused on how the energy flowed within her form. The mist¡¯s vapour stretched out in a web of energy through her body, and Amdirlain tried to trace its pathways. Yet there wasn¡¯t the sense of veins that Nomein¡¯s mist had elicited from contact with her chakra. Rather, the web shifted position in an ever-changing pattern, its energy stretching, compressing, and reforming with every motion. Rather than run on autopilot, Amdirlain pushed hard, so that only the habitual pattern of quiet movements prevented her pace from creating an echoing drumbeat. Liran? kept them all too busy for exchanges the remainder of the lesson, sliding from one lesson phase to the next. The sheer focus Liran? wordlessly insisted on frequently leaving the Novices gasping for breath. Where Tenzin allowed them time to recover between exercises, she switched from one to the other with concise instructions and demonstrations. As the Novices headed inside, Master Jarith? simply appeared where the path joined the courtyard. Amdirlain waited for him patiently and the other two Masters moved to where she stood. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve contacted some individuals in enclaves outside of Limbo,¡± stated Jarith? before Amdirlain could even greet him. ¡°Know they¡¯re aware of your way among Githz¨¦rai Monks on other planes, but had not heard of it being studied among those living in Limbo. Would you explain the details of the Tier 6 prestige classes to the three of us.¡± Amdirlain considered creating a book listing all the Class information, but sensed a mental link offered by Jarith?. Mentally gathering the information she¡¯d collected on the various classes she reached for the link and felt Tenzin along with Liran? join it as well. Initially haltingly, but with increasing confidence, she shared bursts of information to them. The details covering the requirements and benefits of the various classes¡ªthat didn¡¯t contain Succubus¡ªbut also the details of the Tier Six and Seven classes plus achievements she¡¯d seen. ¡°Would you be able to provide the requirements for other classes as you discover them?¡± asked Tenzin across the link. Amdirlain nodded, aware of the Novices¡¯ attention focused their way. ¡°Know that you need to bathe, Novices,¡± Tenzin stated firmly, without looking away from Amdirlain. At her stern tone, the lingering Novices, both in the courtyard and the corridor, hurried away. ¡°Know Amdirlain mentioned to Master Duurth that she would just need their names, but I hadn¡¯t considered asking the limits of Tiers,¡± admitted Jarith? silently. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll see this information reaches others outside our Order, given the current situation within.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t that get you into trouble, Master Jarith??¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°So?¡± queried Jarith?, and gave her a wry smile. ¡°Know that I¡¯m already picking other fights, since they wish to come here and cause trouble. Know you have my appreciation for this information.¡± The steel projected from his mind made Amdirlain feel almost sorry for the political players that had caught his attention. ¡°What should I tell the Novices?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯d prefer you say the information is being reviewed at present. Know we will include it in suitable lessons at the right time,¡± replied Jarith?. At amusement from Tenzin through the link, he turned attention towards her. ¡°Know that their questions won¡¯t end for weeks or until they know more,¡± countered Tenzin. ¡°Know that Amdirlain mentioned Tier 6 during the meal and had to fend off multiple requests and hinted enquires.¡± ¡°They are really that persistent?¡± asked Jarith? and chuckled dryly when Tenzin and Amdirlain both nodded. ¡°Know then you can confirm that Tier 6 and 7 exist, the relevant levels, and that each has particular requirements that have masked their existence.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Jarith? paused and considered the situation briefly before he continued. ¡°Know you should ensure they¡¯re told this is monastery business and not to share the information.¡± ¡°Know that won¡¯t stop the gossip,¡± observed Liran?. ¡°Know you can learn much about a group from who hears their gossip first,¡± replied Tenzin. Amdirlain smiled slightly at picturing the Novices whispering through windows to spread the word, aware it was more likely to be a mental conversation like this one. ¡°I¡¯ll leave sharing the information to Master Tenzin''s discretion then.¡± ¡°Might I know what level you were Novice Amdirlain?¡± enquired Liran?. ¡°Over one hundred in four classes, Master Liran?,¡± replied Amdirlain, and Liran? nodded her ready acceptance. The meal¡¯s gathering practically vibrated in anticipation with Novices shooting glances between Tenzin and herself, but Amdirlain kept herself carefully composed. The glances that jumped between Tenzin and herself reminded her of a tennis game with the audience following the shots between players without a word being said. As they were dismissed to their next class it was Zenya who finally spoke up. ¡°Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Know that Master Tenzin will provide the information at a suitable time,¡± replied Amdirlain, and held back her laughter at the collective sigh among the tables. Master Duurth glanced over the Novices that followed Amdirlain into class and she could see the amusement in his gaze. She was less amused at the boxes stacked next to him on the desk, and hers opened to show baubles that looked even more fragile than previous lessons. The glass already showing hairline cracks a soft bump from shattering apart. ¡°Know that to Novice Amdirlain¡¯s relief we¡¯re starting this lesson practicing a different technique today. Know that one use of Telekinesis, or Psychokinesis, is its ability to change a material¡¯s energy state,¡± stated Duurth, and motioned boxes before them. ¡°What purpose could that have with these spheres, Novice Amdirlain?¡± Glancing again at the spider-webbed spheres, one possibility occurred. ¡°If we heat them in a controlled fashion, the glass could reseal.¡± Duurth smiled. ¡°Know that is correct, likewise if you apply too much heat, or don¡¯t control it, you¡¯ll cause a cascade of melting glass. Know there are different mental images that one can use for this effect. Who has suggestions?¡± When most of the class raised a hand, Duurth pointed at Lezekus sitting at the end who replied in quiet voice. ¡°Know my father said for most techniques the image itself isn¡¯t important rather, it¡¯s the image that works for you.¡± ¡°Know that is correct, but provide two suggestions of what comes to mind for you to try,¡± insisted Duurth. Lezekus bit her lip, and then raised her voice slightly in answering. ¡°Know I would first try projecting an image of flame, or imagine the glass running like a thick syrup into itself.¡± ¡°Know the second doesn¡¯t¡ªto me¡ªcontain the sense of warmth required so you might find it simply shatters the glass by forcing it to move,¡± responded Duurth. ¡°Know that is where your father¡¯s comment about the image working for you comes into the picture. Know you should all observe my demonstration with eyes and mind.¡± A head sized sphere appeared floating in the air before him, and a pinpoint of white heat appeared on the side facing the class. The mental image in Duurth¡¯s projection showed a heated tool gently pressed against each side of the glass allowing it no option but to meld together. ¡°Know that is how I would repair breaks; if instead I wanted to overwhelm it.¡± The image turned to a forge¡¯s white furnace and the glass instantly puddled but stayed suspended in mid-air. Motioning to the stone boxes Duurth perched on the table¡¯s edge and Amdirlain could feel him listening to class¡¯s minds. The first sound was the tinkling of glass as an orb in Nomein¡¯s set shattered. ¡°Know you should just leave them sitting in the box for this exercise,¡± instructed Duurth dryly. ¡°Novice Amdirlain what might be a combat use of this technique?¡± ¡°If we learn how to heat something quickly then heating a blade would let us cauterise a wound, or inflict a burning injury. Alternatively if they¡¯re using wire bound hilts, heating an enemy¡¯s weapons could force them to discard them or risk injury.¡± ¡°Know that last is an example to remember. Know that while the Slaadi are our most prolific foes and mostly use natural weaponry, the Githyanki¡¯s silver swords are another matter,¡± offered Duurth. Careful to avoid using Chaos Shaping to repair it, Amdirlain used an image of a tiny dot of white heat sitting within the seam. The glass immediately began melting, and she cut the force of her will. On the second attempt, she tried again projecting just the melting feeling of a hot Australian summer. When the glass warmed with a soft glow and softened, the fracture was still obvious while the seam sealed together. ¡°Know you are doing well, Novice Amdirlain. Can you determine why you¡¯re not overwhelming the glass during this exercise?¡± ¡°It¡¯s completely different to other activities I¡¯ve attempted with Telekinesis,¡± replied Amdirlain and considered her explanation. ¡°My mental images for grasping the sphere might be too close to the combat images I use.¡± ¡°Know that is a possibility. What image are you using for the other exercise?¡± enquired Duurth. ¡°Just holding it aloft in my fingers,¡± replied Amdirlain and gave a sharp nod. ¡°I know how strong I am, and so the glass shatters under my touch before I can feel it. I¡¯ll come up with something different.¡± ¡°Know that might be the key and something for all to consider. Know that while we can¡¯t expect to succeed initially, it is important to examine any mental images used after repeated failures,¡± replied Duurth. ¡°Know the best and worst of teachers insist that things be done their way. Why is such a conflict of perception possible?¡± ¡°If teaching people of a similar background their images might be identical in context?¡± said Amdirlain and continued when Duurth simply looked at her. ¡°Those of that background would learn quickly but they¡¯d struggle with teaching those with unfamiliar backgrounds.¡± ¡°Know I was referring to something else. Is there another suggestion?¡± Gemiya motioned when the others looked at each other, and Duurth nodded to her. ¡°Are they forcing their students to tackle things rigidly? Know that the issue is lack of adaptability of their minds, and likely they are impressing the image and expected result into their students.¡± ¡°Know that a risk when being taught by a powerful Psion outside monasteries is that some enforce technique implementation and expectation upon their students. Know this effectively moulds their techniques into mere copies of their teacher¡¯s without the same grounding, making them more fragile, though frequently learnt faster. Know you should always examine the reasons behind what you are learning.¡± ¡°Do you mean people believe they¡¯re the best because they¡¯re forcing their students¡¯ growth but their techniques are flawed?¡± ¡°Know that is correct. Know you are each to continue this exercise until you have repaired four spheres. Know after you have done so, hold one aloft while you repair another,¡± instructed Duurth, and smiled at Amdirlain¡¯s groan. The images she tried didn¡¯t hold a sphere aloft, but at least she gained a brief sense of contact before each shattered. Their afternoon maths lesson progressed quickly enough but for whatever reason, despite her understanding of maths, it didn¡¯t unlock any related skill. The only guess Amdirlain had was because she was doing the calculations in her head using her knowledge of maths and then translating the result with her crazy intelligence, making it a cakewalk. She had made some progress scrubbing the corridor when angry footsteps thumped her way. With the scrubbing brush that Sarith held in a white-knuckled grip, Amdirlain moved over to ¡®her¡¯ side of the corridor and kept scrubbing. ¡°Know I hate you,¡± Sarith said after a few minutes, angrily scrubbing the floor. ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Amdirlain responded casually. At her relaxed acceptance, Sarith hissed in rage. ¡°Why is it fine?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your choice who you hate. Though I shouldn¡¯t say it¡¯s fine, I¡¯ve got issues with my self-respect, Elliyna would say it¡¯s not healthy to make light of another¡¯s dislike. Sarith, my presence might seem world-shattering to you but regardless of your feeling towards me, I simply have other problems,¡± replied Amdirlain and sat back on her heels when she was blunt. ¡°Do you want my assessment of where your hatred stands?¡± ¡°Know that I couldn¡¯t care less, but let¡¯s hear it,¡± retorted Sarith, slamming her brush into the bucket, so water slopped across the floor. Amdirlain didn¡¯t even spare a glance at the puddle she¡¯d made but continued calmly. ¡°As far as my problems go on a scale of one to one hundred, your fiercest hatred of me rates maybe one if I¡¯m being generous. My worst problems rate several thousand because they are so far out of my league. Your hatred will make things worse for yourself well before it can cause problems for me. There are certain people that agree with you, but at present, you¡¯re certainly upsetting your twin. Why did you get sent to scrub the floor? This was supposed to be my punishment for staying out of the dormitory last night.¡± ¡°Know that I screamed at Gemiya, because of you,¡± accused Sarith in a growl. ¡°No, Sarith, I certainly didn¡¯t make your mouth waggle, or the words come out. If you screamed at your sister, that¡¯s all on you. You took your anger with me and the situation out on her, so you¡¯d better own that and make amends,¡± replied Amdirlain, and went back to scrubbing the floor. ¡°Know this is your fault,¡± accused Sarith. ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. Life will suck; you can never completely control what will happen. You can, however, control how you choose to react to it. Life can either break you or make you. Your choice is to let your hatred put breaks in your relationship with Gemiya, and that¡¯s on you.¡± When Sarith tipped over the bucket, Amdirlain absorbed the bucket, water and brushes into inventory and sat back again, the bucket sitting suddenly upright beside her with the water once again inside. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of fire, Sarith, but I¡¯m not your enemy. I¡¯m also not your ally with how you¡¯re behaving, but I¡¯m not your enemy. If you want to learn an Affinity, turn up with the others, and I¡¯ll teach you, but stop hassling your sister. Treasure that relationship.¡± A rush of water sprayed down the corridor¡¯s length, only for most of it to disappear again. Amdirlain moved along, scrubbing the stone as she went and ignored Sarith for the punishment¡¯s duration. Amdirlain arrived at an empty courtyard but stepped back into the corridor to await Tenzin¡¯s arrival after a moment¡¯s consideration. After scrubbing the passage two days in a row, she wasn¡¯t eager to try for a third or whatever an escalated punishment might entail. She didn¡¯t have to wait long before Tenzin stepped out of the dormitory building, and Amdirlain caught the faintest twitch of her lips before Tenzin motioned her to enter. ¡°Know that it is good you can learn to follow the rules, Novice Amdirlain,¡± said Tenzin, her expression so settled in its usual calm, that the twitch might have looked like a trick of the light if Amdirlain needed normal light to see. Giving Tenzin a rueful shrug, Amdirlain was honest. ¡°I figured three days in a row scrubbing the halls would not be good.¡± ¡°Know there is no third day; the next punishment in a row involves spreading fertiliser among the crops,¡± replied Tenzin, sounding amused. ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep my days scrubbing floors to a minimum.¡± The look that Tenzin gave her made it seem she doubted Amdirlain¡¯s ability to make good on that statement. ¡°Know that would be best.¡± ¡°Does each dormitory have this same layout, Master Tenzin?¡± asked Amdirlain, trying to change the subject. ¡°Know you are correct; each is in a quadrant around the main tower to ensure they are deep within the monastery¡¯s protection. Know that most of our settlements in Limbo house the most vulnerable towards their interior,¡± ¡°I¡¯m honoured that Master Jarith? allowed me to join them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know if you hadn¡¯t conducted yourself with restraint and honour previously, it would not have occurred. Do you believe all those that sought to speak to you will attend?¡± asked Tenzin. Amdirlain walked to where she had conducted the previous exercise with Master Jarith?¡¯s group before she replied. ¡°I don¡¯t know. If they want an Affinity, hopefully, they will take the opportunity, regardless of their view on me.¡± ¡°Know that dislike doesn¡¯t just include Novice Sarith,¡± cautioned Tenzin. ¡°Given Master Jarith?¡¯s words, I was aware, though she¡¯s the only one fierce enough to say things to my face,¡± offered Amdirlain. Tenzin cocked her head at Amdirlain¡¯s choice of words. ¡°Fierce enough?¡± ¡°Yes, I like her spirit; her temper, not so much. At her age, I¡¯d have been hiding from someone like me, not telling them off,¡± explained Amdirlain. As much as the accompanying smile, her words earned a snort from Tenzin. ¡°Know then she can count herself lucky you have more patience for her behaviour than I do.¡± Lezekus emerged along with a few Novices, and Amdirlain wondered if the rest had changed their minds. She was about to enquire when the sound of running feet caught her attention. Amdirlain looked at Tenzin when the Novices streamed out. Their headcount showed only a few of the dormitory hadn''t taken the opportunity. ¡°You won¡¯t have much of an enrolment left.¡± ¡°Know that it isn¡¯t a concern,¡± replied Tenzin and continued when Amdirlain didn¡¯t hide her surprised reaction. ¡°Know that the need for able Anarchs is often higher than we have numbers.¡± Amdirlain knelt and sat back on her heels, and the closest Novices followed her example; only when they were all settled did she explain the process. One by one, the Novice joined the connection she offered, and Amdirlain kept herself from reacting to the suspicions some directed her way. However, when Sarith entered the connection last, she radiated a mental wave of heated rage that Amdirlain blocked with Ki¡¯s calm. Its coolness softened the rage but became a mist that rippled across the Novices. The same awareness she had felt from Tenzin bloomed in each of them at a touch of the energy. The intensity of Sarith¡¯s fury caused it to swirl into a yang state within her consuming her internal tempest. It was an inferno that left an odd, ashen calm in its wake that Amdirlain had never previously experienced. A mental sigh was the only notice from Tenzin, and she mentally signalled Amdirlain in their private link to continue. ¡°Nineteen Novices now opened to following my Monk way. Should I offer them the option to purge the Class?¡± ¡°Know that, given your victory, it¡¯s unlikely to be accepted, and Sarith wants to be strong enough to challenge you herself,¡± huffed Tenzin, her annoyance clear through the link. ¡°Know I informed Master Jarith?, he¡¯ll seek teachers of this way among the Githz¨¦rai living on other planes. Know that while it was just Nomein and I then practice between us could be effective, but not for multiple tables of Novices.¡± ¡°Should I go on with teaching the Affinity?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know that would be for the best. Know there is a proper decorum expected of a Novice and she¡¯s stepped far beyond acceptable with that display of rage¡ªwe will have words.¡± ¡°Please go easy on her, Master Tenzin. This is a most unusual situation,¡± requested Amdirlain. ¡°Do you wish to share her punishment, Novice Amdirlain?¡± asked Tenzin, her suddenly mild tone all the warning Amdirlain needed. ¡°No, I think her choices are her own and I¡¯ve got enough on my plate at present. I was concerned because her emotions seem strangely calm now.¡± Tenzin¡¯s focus flickered for a moment before she replied. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll take her to a healer before I discuss her punishment. Know you should complete the session so that I can see to it that she has suffered no harm.¡± Amdirlain started conveying Air to them, the strength in its presence, and motions, and the dangers of its absence. The paradox of the Air¡¯s life-sustaining nature coupled with its ability to kill, either violently or silently. Lezekus was the first to gain the Affinity and ironically Sarith was only an instant behind her. The entire session took only twenty minutes and at the end, each of them showed Psion, Monk, and Wizard, with a rapt Lezekus showing a fourth. Priest. 168 - You learn Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand While most started heading inside immediately when ushered by Tenzin, there were two exceptions: Sarith with cold, calculating fury lurking in her gaze and a still rapturous Lezekus. The yang seared her emotions? Did it leave only the strongest aggressions standing? Tenzin kept her hand on Sarith¡¯s shoulder and motioned the others to continue moving inside. Lezekus glanced at Sarith and whispered. ¡°You held back fighting Master Liran?, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Master Jarith? advised me to not to use certain capabilities in the challenge, and others I avoided,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Know that Nomein described the Ki. Is that what we sensed when Sarith lashed out in the link?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s been my guard for maintaining calm for so long that I used it instinctively, but I didn¡¯t expect it to have that reaction. Master Tenzin isn¡¯t happy with Sarith.¡± ¡°Know that someone could have gotten hurt by her projection without the shield you created,¡± responded Lezekus. ¡°Would you explain the power I sensed?¡± Her awed expression still hadn¡¯t faded, and Amdirlain held back a sigh before projecting to her mentally. ¡°Master Tenzin would have protected everyone, I reacted out of reflex. I know you already figured it out, Lezekus. When did the Priest Class appear to you?¡± ¡°Know the mist was a haven, gentle¡ªkind even¡ªand I believed I¡¯d be safe in your care,¡± replied Lezekus. ¡°Know that when I had that thought, I saw the safety you offer others and accepted the choice offered to me. Will you tell your newest Priest how you are so strong? Is that part of being a Power? ¡°Please keep this to yourself until Tenzin shares the information, but I don¡¯t hide these details from my followers. Tier 7 Prestige Classes are offered at level ninety, and some combine four classes, but they take more than just levels. They take dedication and accomplishments to become available. I took an evolution version of one that became available at level one hundred¡ªit combined four classes.¡± A burst of surprise came across the mental touch, but Lezekus¡¯ expression didn¡¯t reflect it with the exchange taking place in an instant. I don¡¯t know how strong Powers are without their Mantle. Did Set die to Epoch¨¥''s schemes because he was born into divinity, and so when his Mantle was weakened, he didn¡¯t have Class levels to back him up? ¡°How are you in need of healing? Know it¡¯s not what I¡¯d expect a Power needing.¡± The admission amused her coming alongside the feeling of awe Lezekus¡¯s mental connection contained. ¡°I¡¯ve been in places, seen and done things I thought would break me. Instead of dealing with the trauma of those events, I let them build until they broke loose. If it¡¯s not what you¡¯d expect of a Power, then why did you choose me to provide a focus for your Faith?¡± ¡°Know your explanation to Nomein said the Ki is spiritual life energy. Know when the mist surrounded me, I could feel the strength in it. I wanted to immediately pray to you, but still I could sense the choice was mine.¡± I should never have come here. ¡°I¡¯d prefer you not tell the others of what you discovered. Some are having enough difficulty with me being present.¡± ¡°Know that Sarith is jealous because she was expecting to receive special attention. Know that¡¯s not the monastery¡¯s way, and after you arrived, that became clear to her,¡± stated Lezekus. Amdirlain tilted her head, as frown lines shifted around eyes. ¡°Why was she expecting to receive a lot of attention?¡± ¡°Know that her natural Psionic gifts are strong, and she¡¯s skilled in Zerthi, though not as skilled as she believes,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure jealousy is the complete reason, but it potentially is a factor,¡± replied Amdirlain and let their mental link drop. ¡°Know the rest of you should ensure you¡¯ve completed your duty assignments,¡± Tenzin stated and once the last of them had entered the dormitory¡¯s corridor gently guided Sarith towards the upper path. ¡°I know this will sound odd, but we should meet with one of the monastery¡¯s priests, perhaps one of Moradin¡¯s. They can give you better advice about developing the necessary skills and utilising blessings than I can,¡± suggested Amdirlain. The confused look she got from Lezekus almost forced a laugh from her, but Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never been a Priest. While I know the blessings you can access, I¡¯ve no experience in their best applications or using them in battle.¡± Chaos Shaping created a medallion, the Elven styling of the amber lined grains showing her symbol. Amdirlain reached for the Faith energy that had grown in leaps and bound of late and allowed a trickle to flow through the wood. The residue alone was enough to cause the amber forming the symbol¡¯s pattern to gain a reflective sheen instead of remaining dull. That wasn¡¯t the only change; the wood grain itself became darker, and the candle¡¯s blue flame looked alive in the wood, wavering slightly as it shifted about. Amdirlain offered it over to Lezekus, who almost squeaked in surprise. ¡°For me?¡± ¡°Channelling blessings requires a Divine Focus,¡± observed Amdirlain, and moved inside. The chatter in the dormitory was louder than she¡¯d heard it before, with voices echoing from upstairs. Not wanting any involvement in the discussion, Amdirlain withdrew and closed her door this time. Arriving at the refectory later than usual, the other Novices¡ªexcept for Sarith¡ªwere already present. The last chime had faded before Master Tenzin entered the room. At her appearance, Gemiya¡¯s gaze flickered across the empty spot before it shifted to Tenzin. ¡°Will Sarith be alright, Master Tenzin?¡± ¡°Know you should all learn this lesson, as it is essential to keep your emotions controlled in mental links. Know on this occasion the Healer is confident there will be no lasting harm, but Novice Sarith risked others with her conduct,¡± stated Tenzin. ¡°Are there any in doubt that Novice Amdirlain instructed you all to meditate and centre yourselves before joining the link?¡± A negative murmur came from the Novices who¡¯d been present. ¡°Know that it is important to follow the instructions of the coordinator regardless of how much better you believe you know,¡± instructed Tenzin. ¡°Know I will accompany Novice Amdirlain to meet the other female Novice dormitory this evening, along with anyone still wishing to learn an affinity¡ªfew though you are in number.¡± With a nod to the table due to serve the meal, Tenzin fell silent. Instead of the usual chatter, the silence spread through the refectory under Tenzin¡¯s displeased gaze. Amdirlain left the table first but heard Gemiya¡¯s question and paused in the corridor. ¡°What will happen to her?¡± ¡°What punishment would your father give to someone risking others in a link that way?¡± ¡°Know they¡¯d be thrown out of the guard and face criminal charges.¡± Gemiya gloomily admitted. ¡°Know such a decision rests with Master Jarith?. Know that while angry words are merely air, all Novices have shown the ability to calm themselves before entering mental links. Do you believe those that risk harm to others will escape lightly?¡± The empty silence behind her stretched on and Amdirlain made her way back to her cell, not sparing a further thought for whatever trouble Sarith faced from her choice. I¡¯m good at ignoring things, but not so good at forgiveness once things cross the line to actual harm. The next bell had just rung when a single tap sounded on Amdirlain¡¯s door, and she opened it to find Master Tenzin alone in the corridor. ¡°Know you should allow me to protect any Novices in the link to ensure we have no further Monks following your way for now,¡± Tenzin said in lieu of greeting. Amdirlain held back her reaction to being teased at the slightest glimmer of amusement in Tenzin¡¯s gaze. ¡°Good evening to you, Master Tenzin. I will certainly try to avoid doing so. Though should I say instead: I¡¯ll do that since there is no try.¡± ¡°Know that many attempts end in failure¡ªit doesn¡¯t mean they didn¡¯t try,¡± corrected Tenzin. ¡°Know I will Teleport us since we keep the pathway between dormitories convoluted.¡± A quiet stillness was all that greeted their arrival from the lines of Novices already on their meditation mats. Rather than the Spell Amdirlain had expected, it was clear Tenzin had used a Psionic technique. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A quick headcount gave a tally of twenty-two Novices, and before she could double-check the number, the Novices¡¯ Master stood from her position at the front. The Githz¨¦rai looked far older than Tenzin, her near completely steel-grey hair pulled back in a short ponytail. Her well-lined expression was calm and unruffled, but she kept her purple gaze fixed on Amdirlain before nodding to them both. A graceful gesture to positions at the front served as the only invitation before she knelt. [Name: Peale Species: Githz¨¦rai Class: High Anarch / Ascetic Monk Levels: 71 / 60 Health: 20,503 Defence: 422 Magic: 91 Mana: 812,184 Psi: 16,030,872 Melee Attack Power: 240 Combat Skills: Chaos Shaping [S] (41), Clairsentience [S] (29), Metacreativity [M] (98), Psychometabolism [S] (47), Psychoportation [S] (91), Telekinesis [S] (52), Zerth [S] (2) - Various Psi Techniques. Affinities: Air, Dark, Gravity, Ooze, Steam, Spatial, Water - Various Spell Lists. Details: A mainstay in the monastery community for years. All of her children have graduated and achieved Master rank among the order.] Inclining her head respectfully, Amdirlain waited for Master Tenzin to take a mat before she knelt on the other. Still centred from her own meditations, Amdirlain joined the mental link and felt the calm curiosity of the Novices already present. The Novices¡¯ discipline was unfalteringly absorbing the lesson and, as each felt the Affinity settle in place, they withdrew from the link. When the last released the link, Amdirlain stood and bowed to Master Peale only to find the Novices mirrored her action but to her. A group mental broadcast of thanks issued forth before they retired indoors in well-coordinated motions. ¡°How many of the enrolment took up the opportunity, Master Peale?¡± asked Amdirlain, aware of the fluid grace of the aged Githz¨¦rai. ¡°Know they are all that remains of their enrolment. Know the first three months can have up to half a group leave,¡± explained Peale, before she made an encompassing gesture to the monastery¡¯s buildings. ¡°Did you think that monastery life is easy for all the Githz¨¦rai?¡± ¡°I asked out of curiosity, not from expectation. I¡¯ve been told a few left Master Tenzin¡¯s group within days,¡± replied Amdirlain, unruffled by the questioning look. ¡°Know you are far meeker in person than the fierceness you displayed in the stadium,¡± noted Peale. Her gaze weighed on Amdirlain, but there was nothing uncomfortable about it. ¡°Don¡¯t you find Githz¨¦rai present themselves differently at various times and places?¡± The loud snort wasn¡¯t the response that Amdirlain was expecting. ¡°Know that I think it is more that the infectious maggot mouth had you stirred up. Know that I look forward to seeing how well this enrolment does; they¡¯ve all chosen to pursue the harder course. Is there anything you need Novice Amdirlain?¡± A little hand twitch towards the dormitory made Peale¡¯s meaning clear and Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m happy to give them the opportunity. ¡° ¡°Know you are in excellent hands with Master Elliyna and I can only hope that mess didn¡¯t harm your healing,¡± said Peale and, giving Amdirlain another nod, headed inside. Only after Tenzin returned them to the dormitory corridor did Amdirlain voice her question. ¡°Why the silence from the Novices?¡± ¡°Know that there are times during the training that we maintain general silence to encourage Telepathy for co-ordination,¡± explained Tenzin, and nodded to her cell. ¡°Know you aren¡¯t expected in the Mana Theory lesson; perhaps conduct whatever exercise she has requested of you.¡± No one disturbed her after they returned from evening lessons and chores. Either everyone took the closed door as the request for privacy it was, or the recent events had rattled them. The dormitory¡¯s quiet settled in place like a psychological blanket. Having calmed some of the churning inside herself the stillness no longer bore the same resemblance to an oubliette. The quiet was so complete that when she pushed her perceptions, the sounds of soft breathing in the cells to either side were audible¡ªfortunately no one snored. Rather than taking on a form that might disguise her presence from Tenzin¡¯s inspection, Amdirlain simply sat cross-legged on the blanket and focused on Elliyna¡¯s exercise. Turning over memories of her early childhood brought up incidents she¡¯d thought long forgotten, affectionate gestures from family and friends. Happy times, and sad times. Besides the pleasant memories, she found the start of patterns that grew familiar and the start of cracks in her self-image. The pain from people, both those being intentionally nasty and ironically her mother¡¯s delight in Mal¡¯s children. I survived, and they died. When did my wondering ¡®why her¡¯ become ¡®why not me¡¯? I only knew her a month, but Elizabeth was so much more positive and gentle than I¡¯ve ever been. I was focused on locking my fears down to keep mum and dad from worrying where she looked to cheer everyone else up. Would Sidero blame survivor¡¯s guilt? Is that even survivor¡¯s guilt? I felt relieved that it wasn¡¯t my mum crying in the hospital corridor and decided then not to make mine cry. Did I get caught up because I didn¡¯t feel more compassion for Elizabeth¡¯s mum? I locked down everything even though I was so afraid after she died. Or was it because I¡¯d never give mum any grand kids? I knew intellectually that, when the treatment had to start quickly, there would be no hope of children. But then again, what thirteen-year-old places importance on kids of her own ¡®someday¡¯ when your life is on the line? It didn¡¯t bite home until later what I¡¯d lost. The boys that later expected I¡¯d put out easy because they remembered me having chemo and knew I had no chance of getting pregnant. Did I let them under my skin because I was already feeling guilty? Here I am back to survival mode again, no need for the Abyss when I have my internal demons. I can¡¯t change what I did, but I can look at it objectively now. Master ?daka was already in the courtyard when Amdirlain arrived, her posture making it clear she was mentally communicating with Master Tenzin. She hadn¡¯t even reached her spot when ?daka spoke up. ¡°Does one need the Wizard Class for Ki to direct Mana?¡± ¡°No, the progression of a Class Power called Ki Infusion brings with it insights into Mana. If you¡¯ve not learnt an Affinity by that point, insights in the Power help you gain one,¡± explained Amdirlain. Her words brought forth a broad smile from ?daka. ¡°Would you assist me in gaining access to the Ki then?¡± ¡°I¡¯d need Nomein or Master Tenzin¡¯s help to make it easier,¡± replied Amdirlain. Tenzin looked at her curiously. ¡°You believe using the Ki and the chakra would work again?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°All three times have been unintentional, but that seems to be the simplest to reproduce. I¡¯m told gaining access to the Ki normally requires years of meditation and guided practice.¡± ¡°Know then I¡¯ll assist.¡± ¡°There is still time before the morning meditations to attempt it,¡± ?daka eagerly pointed out. Amdirlain managed not to roll her eyes at ?daka¡¯s excited tone and crossed the last distance to kneel on her usual mat. Her gaze rested momentarily on the bare stone where Sarith¡¯s mat would have been. ¡°Know that she¡¯ll not be re-joining this enrolment. Know you have my apologies for not acting sooner; I had hoped she would in time calm, but Master Jarith? will now judge if that opportunity has passed.¡± ¡°What will happen to her?¡± asked Amdirlain, her concern more for Gemiya than Sarith. ¡°Know that after treatment completes, likely the best case is she¡¯ll be on probation given the unusual situation, but it will be her last warning,¡± replied Tenzin. ¡°She has an almost unhealthy dependency upon her twin¡¯s presence,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Did you believe that hadn¡¯t been noted?¡± Tenzin asked and motioned towards ?daka. ¡°Shall we begin?¡± Not like I didn¡¯t warn her about her behaviour. She made her choice. I hope for her sister¡¯s sake she recovers. It only took a moment to centre herself and connect to the link offered by Tenzin. Harmony enfolded all three of them before Tenzin moved a drop of Ki to her central chakra; the mist exploded out through veins. The moment it drifted outwards, it brushed against ?daka¡¯s awareness and Amdirlain felt the pool come into existence within her. Though initially empty in their meditative state, her vitality caused a film of Ki to glisten along its edges. ¡°I could teach you an Affinity now, if you¡¯d like, for use with Ki Infusion later,¡± offered Amdirlain through the link. ¡°Know that is tempting but it can wait until another time,¡± replied ?daka, her mind conveying her delight at the Ki¡¯s feel. Tenzin didn¡¯t break the link but moved another droplet to the heart chakra and the veins radiated upwards towards her shoulders and mouth. When they touched the mid-point of her throat, the residual energy swirled about before it bloomed even further upwards, propelled by another chakra point. ¡°Would you help me with chakra meditation, Master Tenzin?¡± ¡°Know if you can keep time before dinner free from punishment duty, we can do so each day,¡± confirmed Tenzin. ¡°Know that likewise Master Liran? enquired if you would be interested in additional training in the evenings once things settle, since you sleep so little.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll certainly try, Master Tenzin, though my dormitory Master is fierce. Master Liran?¡¯s offer is most welcome, and I¡¯d appreciate any guidance she¡¯d care to share,¡± quipped Amdirlain and broke the link to mental chuckles. Upon her arrival, Gemiya¡¯s gaze drifted across the empty spot, and then she nodded politely to Amdirlain without a hint of accusation, but there was a flicker of guilt. She apparently reserved the sadness solely for her sister¡¯s absence. Though she didn¡¯t procrastinate in joining the session, she also didn¡¯t hesitate in turning to leave the courtyard afterwards. ¡°Gemiya, are you okay?¡± Amdirlain asked. The girl paused in mid-step and turned back after a delay that almost seemed like she might continue. ¡°Know I¡¯m worried about Sarith, as we¡¯ve never been apart this long before. Know that she¡¯s never dealt well with the unexpected, but I never expected her to go so far. Should I not have set her an ultimatum to attend the session?¡± The guilty look in her eyes prompted Amdirlain to step close and rest a hand on her shoulder gently. ¡°I¡¯m not one that¡¯s taken this advice well, but I¡¯m told you shouldn¡¯t take responsibility for another¡¯s decisions.¡± ¡°If I avoid taking responsibility for my sister¡¯s actions, will you not hold them against me?¡± The question came out in a whisper and Amdirlain caught her gaze before she could look away. ¡°There is nothing to hold against you. You said you¡¯ve not been apart from her for so long, will you tell me how you really are and not the socially acceptable ¡®okay¡¯?¡± ¡°Know I miss my sister, but not all the anger she¡¯s had of late¡ªit makes her ugly,¡± proclaimed Gemiya and gave Amdirlain a slight smile before she went inside. The change in her demeanour made it clear Amdirlain wasn¡¯t the only one in need of stability at present. Aegina - Beneath the Pal¨¢ti of Apollo Every footstep echoed in the empty expanse of the vast underground chamber. His robes brushed across the smooth stone as Charilaos made his inspection with such thoroughness that the Wizard standing by his assistant, began sweating. When he completed his circuit, Charilaos¡¯ gaze fixed on the Wizard from a distance away and he sneered distastefully at the sweat trickling down the Wizard¡¯s face before he spoke. ¡°It is satisfactory.¡± ¡°The bedrock here is solid your Highness, it will provide symbolic stability for whatever works-¡± The blade¡¯s tip struck under the Wizard¡¯s chin and drove straight up into his brain. Steel grinding against bone echoed in the chamber at the twisting motion the assistant used to extract the dagger from his skull. Charilaos¡¯ only reaction was to step further back from the pooling blood. ¡±See that you also deal with his apprentices. Ensure I¡¯m not disturbed for any reason. I¡¯ll need to consecrate the chamber before the engraving can begin.¡± ¡°I poisoned their meal,¡± replied the assistant and gave a bow at Charilaos¡¯s stern look. ¡°I had already inspected the chamber and ensured it met your requirements before I allowed him to bother you.¡± ¡°Clean up their remains.¡± ¡°Very good, your Highness.¡± Quickly retrieving the body, Charilaos¡¯s assistant left without a further word. Charilaos confirmed the chamber¡¯s mid-point three times, before he knelt to begin the dedication to the glory of Apollo. 169 - A reason to fight Liran?¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The door whisked shut with the infirmary¡¯s usual muted noise, but still, the Healer on evening duty snapped his gaze about from a psi-crystal hovering above his desk. With no one else in sight, Arith stood up and started my way but relaxed when I motioned towards Novice Sarith¡¯s cot. The privacy screen was closed about it, but the bluish-purple glow made it clear the psi-skin still enfolded her. ¡°How is her recovery progressing?¡± ¡°Know only in the last two days of lucid dreaming have I seen the required stability, likely another week at least, if she can make a full recovery,¡± replied Arith. The prognosis drew a wince from me. ¡°The damage was that severe?¡± ¡°Know it was worse than we initially believe when Master Tenzin brought her in. Know we had to rebuild her capacity to feel any emotion but anger from scratch,¡± replied Arith. The impression of ashen calm that Amdirlain had shared makes more sense now. ¡°Know that Master Jarith? has allowed my request to speak to her when she awakens.¡± Arith nodded and returned to his desk to resume checking the psi-crystal that had commanded his attention. Aegina - Pal¨¢ti of Apollo Charilaos glared at Artificer Soranus, and the balding ancient didn¡¯t even blink at his ire. ¡°I told you to be prepared to begin four days ago.¡± ¡°I have already begun, your Highness.¡± A deep, slow breath stopped the sudden urge that Charilaos had to yell at the old man in his scruffy garb. ¡°Then why do I find you in your chambers? I worked tirelessly for days now to complete the dedication. I had expected you to attend me to begin the engraving this morning.¡± Carefully wiping the tip of his quill free from ink, Soranus took his time to return it to its holder and tuck his white beard properly behind his apron. The man¡¯s broad stained-tooth smile and unhurried motions, making Charilaos itch to set his assistant on him. ¡°You asked for a grand summoning chamber fit to rival the greatest construction of the Dwarves, did you not?¡± ¡°I know what I asked for,¡± snapped Charilaos. ¡°Such work takes planning unless you want a highly ineffective mess for whatever summoning you have planned. The question to ask yourself is simple: do you want this chamber constructed properly, or do you want it rushed?¡± Charilaos¡¯ glare was unabated, but his fingers stopped twitching to motion his assistant forward. ¡°It needs to be perfect.¡± ¡°Then leave me to my calculation and design work. Perhaps start figuring out how to pay for what it will need.¡± ¡°We have plenty of Alchemical Silver in the treasury,¡± growled Charilaos. ¡°I know exactly how much your father has to the last ounce since it¡¯s leftover from his last request,¡± retorted Soranus dismissively. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be enough, even if this chamber could use it.¡± ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve barely started my calculations, I will not give you even a rough figure. The chamber will probably need Adamantine, or at a minimum, Mithral. Unless you plan to bankrupt the kingdom, you won¡¯t be purchasing the amount required overnight.¡± ¡°Why-¡± The amusement left Soranus¡¯ agate gaze as his smile disappeared with the snap of a bear trap. ¡°The Church Elders told me what you would not, Prince Charilaos. Amdirlain, that is the one you seek to snare, is it not? Her followers are not mere cultists, they have blessings at their command. Yet that dead summoner learnt one thing for you. The name her worshippers use formed a summoning link. The lowest beings that are summonable yet able to grant real blessings are Arch-Devils, powerful Celestials, along with the various Demon Lord or Ladies. ¡°I know that-¡± The thump from Soranus¡¯s fist hitting the desk cut Charilaos off in surprise. ¡°Then don¡¯t leave out such details when you are making a request. My advice is simple: First, contact the High Priestess of Hecate about this summoning you wish to attempt, and second, let me do this commission properly.¡± ¡°If I do not deem to take your advice?¡± Soranus dipped his hand into a flat apron pocket and set a dagger on the desk¡¯s edge. ¡°Then cut your own throat now and save yourself all the wasted effort on the road to becoming a corpse.¡± ¡°How long will this take?¡± demanded Charilaos. ¡°The calculations¡­ likely months, but the work will take years even if all goes smoothly.¡± The growl of frustration brought only raised eyebrows from Soranus, and Charilaos grumbled through gritted teeth. ¡°I just need to summon her.¡± ¡°Go ahead without me if that is what you think. You need to do far more than summon her if you want to keep her contained for longer than you take to die in agony. Centuries ago, the Church had a circle crafted to trap one of Kupala¡¯s Solars; that circle took five years, and it was flawed.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°Because I have the Artificer¡¯s workbook with the complete design along with all his working notes. It was obviously flawed since the Temple at Crete required rebuilding shortly after they completed its construction,¡± replied Soranus, before he put the dagger away. ¡°Do you want this done correctly, or do you want to find another Artificer?¡± Charilaos stalked out of the chamber, but his snarled reply was audible enough. ¡°I want regular reports.¡± Isa¡¯s PoV - South Eyrarh¨¢ls The song of Eyrarh¨¢ls is fading the further south we go to avoid anyone seeing the Gate we¡¯re opening next. The tended fields have changed into grasslands to the west and woodlands to the east. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll stick to the agreement?¡± Ilya¡¯s question breaks the silence between us since we left the inn. My huff gets a sceptical look from Ilya. ¡°They¡¯d better since it took them a week instead of the three days I¡¯d allowed to reach it.¡± The sceptical look turns curious, and Ilya isn¡¯t long in voicing her question. ¡°You weren¡¯t in a rush to get anywhere until this morning?¡± ¡°It was never a good idea to let Sarah stew, and we¡¯ve taken far too long already,¡± I offer, which is part of the truth. ¡°That¡¯s if she¡¯s still the Sarah you remember,¡± cautions Ilya warily. ¡°I doubt she will be the same, but Amdirlain¡¯s account and Klipyl¡¯s new name shows her sense of humour has changed little. Plus, I had a feeling this morning we¡¯d overstayed, but the augury made little sense.¡± ¡°You could have waited until I returned from arranging breakfast. What did it show?¡± The memory of flipping the cards sends a shiver up my back. ¡°Every card I turned was a King, Queen or Prince. I¡¯d turned over the royalty in every suit by the time I stopped. I feel we need to move on and let it play out¡ªor lots of people will get mauled.¡± ¡°Town¡¯s well out of sight,¡± Ilya observes and motions to a pathway among the trees. It¡¯s only an animal trail, but it leads us to a suitable clearing. The Gate focused on Sidero¡¯s name opens to show a rolling metallic blue grassland under the white-yellow sunlight with its music so different from the surrounding woods. Despite the Gate being focused on her, Sidero blurs past on a red metal disc and I hope Amdirlain¡¯s permission works. The threshold provides no resistance and the grass crunches almost crystal-like underfoot but looking in the direction Sidero had been travelling shows her nowhere in sight. The malicious song is clear under the strange ringing chimes of these lands, though within it is a strange soft whisper of music. I realise the music is moving above me in time to catch Sidero hovering high overhead glaring at Ilya stepping through the gate. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb fuck; I was wondering if I¡¯d ever meet you,¡± sneers Sidero, her words in English jarring and she holds still her gaze assessing us both. The stillness between us disappears in a jolt at the sudden appearance of a Succubus¡ªKlipyl, I assume, from Sidero¡¯s lack of reaction¡ªon a nearby rise. Her outfit looks like she¡¯s been running through a blender wearing it; it once would have been a full-body outfit, now it¡¯s just scraps of leather held together by the result of a wet dream. She looks like any of the demonic sluts I¡¯ve seen, but her music is different. It¡¯s wild and impetuous, possessing a hunger that¡¯s almost playful instead of the pure spitefulness I¡¯ve heard from her ilk in both the Abyss and Hell. ¡°That¡¯s milder than I was expecting,¡± I admit. ¡°Would you do me a favour and remove your chains for a moment?¡± ¡°Why should I do you a favour after the way you treated her?¡± asks Sidero, switching to Infernal¡¯s familiar vicious words and her lips twist in a cruel smile. ¡°Especially since last time you exploded a mound of demons over me?¡± ¡°You were clear of the explosion, but I¡¯ll admit I didn¡¯t care if Sidero, the Kyton Princess, got caught in it or not. Your music sounds cold and malicious, but Sage suggested I hear your chain¡¯s song. I couldn¡¯t hear Amdirlain¡¯s song, and I screwed things up, so I don¡¯t want to make more mistakes from assumptions.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Sidero doesn¡¯t reply but drops to the ground nearby and the chains disappear along with the malicious song, leaving mostly silence from her. The scars she wears like a bodysuit aren¡¯t a surprise, but Amdirlain¡¯s account didn¡¯t do the living sense of them justice. I don¡¯t know how to break the subject of the whispered notes. Without the chains in place, the cause is clear: it¡¯s not her song, but another¡¯s lingering music¡ªa life¡ªhaving grown inside her. ¡°The music was from them.¡± Rage flickers across Sidero¡¯s face and muscles bunch before they relax again, but her song remains silent and I get a brisk nod. ¡°I¡¯ll assume your songs contribute to your decision making as much as scents do for me now.¡± ¡°Ever meet someone in Hell you could take at face value?¡± ¡°Point, we have that understanding in common. I was livid with you when Amdirlain came to me; the scent of pain from her was horrendous. I can taste your regret, but the same applies to the amount of sex you two have had lately.¡± ¡°Lucky them,¡± pouts Klipyl and giggles when Sidero glares at her. ¡°Oh, do it, baby.¡± Sidero¡¯s sigh of exasperation has me giggling in sympathy for Klipyl. ¡°We had a lot of time while waiting in Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± offers Ilya. Sidero snorts at Ilya¡¯s off-hand explanation but then glances between us curiously. ¡°What were you two doing in Eyrarh¨¢ls? Let alone, how did you get there?¡± The explanation of tracking down Viper doesn¡¯t take long, and when I get to the part of her summoner, Sidero¡¯s swearing up a storm. ¡°Bloody Yngvarr, yeah, he helped Amdirlain over the years, but I¡¯d say she provided far more from her side of their arrangement. He gets all butt hurt about Amdirlain grinding monsters apart and then goes off and trusts a traitor more than he does her. Bastard!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that trusting his cousin was Yngvarr¡¯s fault. His song was cunning and sneaky,¡± I offer, and motion to her chains. ¡°Amdirlain said you¡¯re talented for a Kyton but talk about an understatement; I¡¯ve only seen them directly control four chains at once.¡± ¡°Some of us didn¡¯t have your good fortune. We had to earn all our progress not have an escort from nearly day dot,¡± Sidero¡¯s reply is almost an accusation. ¡°We¡¯re here now. Can we give you some help?¡± Sidero¡¯s glare returns and her upper lips curls momentarily, letting me see her serpent-like tongue tasting the air. ¡°Isa, I¡¯ve no interest in your help. I have my way of doing things, and I¡¯m certain it won¡¯t be anything remotely like a Priest of Luck¡¯s approach.¡± ¡°Amdirlain wanted the-¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice, but I still need my achievement for Tier 7, and you two along could block me from getting it. The experience here is nice. They make up in numbers for their individual lack of experience granted. Why don¡¯t you go help the local Elves out? They¡¯re all scared and hiding in distant lands, Torm¡¯s at the Castle helping train Archons. He¡¯s been to their closest port, so you can bother him for the details.¡± One spike blurs and changes into an almost photorealistic embossed mural of a mountain pass with a strange-looking castle blocking it. ¡°Alright, Sidero, but can I ask something?¡± ¡°What, Isa?¡± Sidero sighs, her tone making me feel like I¡¯m wanting to borrow her car for a drunken night out. ¡°When did you give birth?¡± Her hands twitch to her stomach before they fist around loops of chains. ¡°Technically, I didn¡¯t give birth¡ªtoo much dragon heritage¡ªthey had to cut the egg out after the shell hardened. She¡¯s in the Mother¡¯s care now, if she has not placed her among the Kyton¡¯s creches.¡± ¡°You laid an egg?¡± ¡°Whatever, at least I didn¡¯t kick up a stink on Amdirlain¡ªtwice,¡± growls Sidero, and Klipyl¡¯s gaze darts between us uncertainly. The shift in her emotions is a razor¡¯s edge, but I can¡¯t leave what I hear unsaid. ¡°You¡¯ve still a song of motherhood about you.¡± ¡°Well then, your music appreciation has got rocks in its head,¡± huffs Sidero. ¡°No, you still care about her, so her song hasn¡¯t faded from you.¡± The muscles in her jaw flex, and her teeth make unpleasant noises with how hard she grinds them, all the while glaring at me. ¡°She made me aware of how much of a hypocrite I am, and it¡¯s not a lesson I intend to forget,¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what it says to me. Your daughter is a Kyton, but you still care about her, Sarah. Even if she might never understand that emotion, it says you still do.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t call me Sarah. You said you weren¡¯t Rachel.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, but I wanted to say you¡¯re still my friend, and that song tells me you¡¯re not what I thought as much as the silence without your chains. I¡¯m sorry for the hurt I caused Amdirlain and for the suspicion I had of you.¡± ¡°I can taste the regret from you, and that¡¯s the only reason we¡¯re talking at all. When I smelt the amount of pain Amdirlain was in¡ªthen learnt you¡¯d contributed¡ªI wanted to hurt you so much. Whatever account she provided to Sage wouldn¡¯t have told you about the heartbroken message she sent to me when she tried to open a Gate to you initially.¡± Sidero¡¯s words contain an angry hiss at the memory, and Ilya edges between us before I rest a hand on her arm. I opened my mouth, unsure if I wanted to ask, and she gut punches me with the information. ¡°She blamed herself for scaring you when she wanted to help you. She even said she spoke to you in English and you didn¡¯t give her a second of trust.¡± ¡°I thought someone had gotten inside my head and pried secrets loose. I could hear the Outlands, but nothing from her at all¡ªI freaked out that it was a trap. Ebusuku was furious with us for good reason, especially if she knew about the first time. I didn¡¯t know she¡¯d blamed herself for that mess, she never said.¡± ¡°Oh, Ebusuku was more than furious. You are so lucky she feels so much debt to Amdirlain and figures that hurting you would hurt her more. I suggest you tread lightly around Torm. I spoke to him yesterday, and he wasn¡¯t happy with either of you,¡± warns Sidero, and I can¡¯t hold the wince back. ¡°Not happy in the same way that Amdirlain uses the word fun to deflect discussing pain¡ªin case you missed that.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks,¡± the words come out in a low drawl instead of with the calm I¡¯d tried for. ¡°I think I figured that without the sarcasm for dummies highlights.¡± ¡°Well, try to figure out what to say to a Norse warrior who helped bring down a Greek God after you stuck an emotional knife in the woman he loves.¡± ¡°Oh, fuck!¡± ¡°Yeah, best of luck.¡± Greater Teleport puts me at the pass¡¯s base and the Erakk?¡¯s castle is a tiny shape in the distance. The bluish-grey stone shows countless scratches from the hordes that have used it over the centuries since the Thri-Kreen changed. Beneath the damage, the stone¡¯s song is still solid, and though I¡¯m tempted to meddle with it, the pass¡¯s presence might be what ensures the hordes funnel into this death trap approach. Ilya appears beside me with a pleased smile, the music of her Power sounding like a coming home. ¡°It¡¯s a nice day for a walk at least,¡± Ilya says, and strokes her hand down my back. ¡°For someone in a hurry, you landed quite a distance away.¡± ¡°No point startling the guards and having them waste ammunition.¡± The day is long in the tooth by the time we make it to the wall, having paced our approach so the guards have plenty of warning. There, within a stone¡¯s throw of the wall, I can hear the music of repeated carnage and desperation from the defenders. The music speaks of near mindless hunting beasts dying without a thought for their own safety. Yet those that have died have barely left an impression in the surroundings other than the flow of blood. The castle¡¯s wall is a sturdy, imposing thing sheathed in steel, blocking the wall from one side to another. While the music barely hints that a gate once existed, they blocked it some time ago the intention of their song having changed its pitch. Still in our Elven form Flight lifts us to the top of the walls after an exchange of name-gifts with the watch commander. In the area beyond the wall, a man looms over a company or more of soldiers. Both his true form and music are pressed into a shape that seems insignificant compared to the power he contains. He¡¯s so far the closest I¡¯d seen when I¡¯d imagined a Viking, with ash-blond hair, and dark blue eyes showing in his exterior form. The square jaw and broad features make him particularly superhero cliche. Complex music runs beneath his calm expression, a song of strength, dedication, and duty, with an undercurrent of love and worry. When we make the ground inside the wall, he strides towards us in a way that makes me want to grab air fast. He doesn¡¯t move in a predatory fashion but consumes the ground like a force of nature, an avalanche sweeping across the land before it. ¡°You¡¯re Isa?¡± His voice and his song are a deep bass that rumbles around in the pit of my stomach, and I give a jerky nod before I speak. ¡°Yes, and this is Ilya. Sidero didn¡¯t want interference in getting her achievement to evolve and suggested I come talk to you.¡± My gesture to Ilya doesn¡¯t deflect his steel-eyed gaze from me, and his song hardens in cold assessment, weighing us both up and not liking what he sees. ¡°I had expected Sidero to cut strips off you, but you don¡¯t look injured.¡± ¡°She has a thing about detecting scents. Said she could smell my regrets over the complete screw up I made misjudging Amdirlain. I¡¯m just trying to make things right¡ªpay my weregild¡ªis that a Norse justice concept from your time?¡± ¡°It is. She risked much for you, gave you what¡¯s denied to her, and you hurt her, even while she gifted everything she could to you and your lover. Then you trod on her heart, turned your back on her and walked away. Laughed in your lover¡¯s arms while she was in a world of pain.¡± Every word is a statement of fact, not even an accusation, but a recital of truth. ¡°I know what I did.¡± ¡°I doubt it. I doubt it very much because I don¡¯t know if any of us understand what she¡¯s enduring right now. She has never taken, truly taken, the time she needed for herself when there are others to help despite what she¡¯d lived through herself. Yet in two short meetings, you attacked her twice, and broke her enough she had no choice but to take time away to heal. Your situation may have helped her reach a tipping point regardless, knowing that you were finally free, and the path was there for Sidero. Yet you didn¡¯t just tip her over the edge, you kicked her over and walked away.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t need the lecture,¡± warns Ilya. His song didn¡¯t change. There was no warning. One moment he was there, the next Ilya was on the ground with his sword at her throat. The blade¡¯s sheer cold mists the air, so many blessings interwoven through the material contained by an Artificer¡¯s craft that its power is an orchestra of its own. A sharp striking note sets a Dimensional Anchor in place around Ilya and her eyes widen when she fails to Teleport away. Though his anger bubbles about, it¡¯s reined in with firm control, and I can tell he¡¯s no intention of escalating beyond a humiliating lesson. The soldiers hiss in surprise but don¡¯t act at the violence and I hear Ilya¡¯s song thrumming in my bones. ¡°Don¡¯t¡± I push the warning into Ilya¡¯s mind and hope I can calm things down. ¡°And she didn¡¯t need your attitude, Ilya. Your contemptuous mistrust and baited words even when she wasn¡¯t near,¡± states Torm, his foot pinning Ilya¡¯s closest hand to the ground. ¡°We¡¯ve just come here to help.¡± ¡°She spoke of you often Isa, feared for you, cried for you, and you treated her with contempt,¡± declares Torm, his words a simple flat-toned judgement. ¡°Tell me, why should your help be enough to make up for that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure it can, but we¡¯ve dealt with Viper, her summoner, helped some adventurers, and helped calm the situation in Eyrarh¨¢ls between the Steward and the Daughters,¡± I reply. Hoping that the rush of information has something in it that will be enough to start us on a path back with him. Torm tilts his head at my mention of Viper, and I wonder if Ebusuku has let him know. ¡°She was on the Material Plane. We passed warnings to Verdandi and others. What did you do to Viper?¡± ¡°Stripped her of Julia¡¯s memories, blew away some powers and skills she¡¯d kept, killed those that held her bond, and gave her a stupid use name. I also heard parts of her powers shred when her Priests died before I turned her body to dust and locked her in the Abyss for a century.¡± Torm steps carefully away from Ilya, and I breathe a soft sigh of relief. ¡°You¡¯ll have taken a weight off her shoulders with Viper. If you want to help more, there is a race of Giants from Cemna that is trapped in the Abyss. Some of Amdirlain¡¯s Celestials are gathering materials on various planes to create an object to find them. Or go talk to the L¨®m? and learn more of the True Song, so you can provide help with matters others can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Anywhere away from you?¡± I ask. The grim nod I get moves in time to the sharp tempo within his music. It¡¯s a song filled with righteous fury at the hurt we¡¯ve inflicted, yet the same love that stirs his rage holds it from being unleashed on us now. That¡¯s why his song didn¡¯t change when he attacked: it was a burst of controlled violence to make it clear to Ilya how deep the waters we¡¯d stirred against us ran. He¡¯d acted to humiliate her for the disrespect she¡¯d shown to Amdirlain with her sniping words and mistrust. ¡°I¡¯ll be honest. I¡¯m likely too angry at how you hurt her to judge this properly. You¡¯ve both apparently gone through a lot, yet you treated her that way. The weregild I¡¯d impose would be to see you both tied to your Home Plane for a century to give you plenty of time to think about your misconduct. However, that won¡¯t aid any that Amdirlain wishes to help.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get in touch with O¡¯Nai. He¡¯s the one organising the material gathering, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°Indeed, he is,¡± confirms Torm, his grim music still wary, and he takes two steps back from Ilya. She rises to her feet and murmurs softly. ¡°Never get close to a melee specialist.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± I reply, and give Torm a polite nod. ¡°We¡¯ll head to the Outlands and send a message to Ebusuku. Torm, might I say one other thing?¡± For a moment, I think he¡¯s going to refuse to listen, but the sword vanishes and his hands lower, though he still appears ready for a fight. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°Thank you for giving her that chance when you first met, and for persisting in loving her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s worth my persistence, but she needs time and deserves to be treated gently and with the utmost respect.¡± I don¡¯t need the dummies highlights to get that in his eyes our gravest offence was doing neither. A moment of music shifts us both away. 170 - Shake it out Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Days of stability that had seemed unlikely settled into place, and aside from making slow progress on not shattering glass, the days passed almost matter-of-factly. Attending lessons and sessions with Elliyna, following her instructions, and dwelling on happier memories. Memories that she hadn¡¯t even been aware of forgetting showed how much pain she¡¯d blocked even the few times she¡¯d allowed herself tears. Grief and regret mingled into happier times with her family. Her earliest childhood memories are accessible: of being curled up in bed to the quiet reassurance of Mum, Dad, or even Mal reading her simple infant¡¯s stories. The memories brought both happiness and a sense of loss that tried to sink its teeth into her with guilt at her family¡¯s pain. Yet Elliyna¡¯s demands for analysis of facts over feelings lifted her from that undertow. The guilt and responsibility she¡¯d taken on underpinned so many actions later on in life, and even decisions with Livia. Guilt that she¡¯d taken part in a scheme that had ended Livia¡¯s life had compounded her own sense of loss. It had been part of the catalyst for offering Verdandi her True Name, along with the fear of what she might become. The offer, intended to allow someone to cage her forever if she became a monster, was driven from guilt more than fear, yet neither emotion had ended up as fact. The fear had been driven by Viper¡¯s temporary takeover through the flaw in her resistance that Livia¡¯s death had provided. That fear had some fact to it, but the flaw Viper utilised shouldn¡¯t have existed. Guilt that she¡¯d survived where Elizabeth had died had left a wound, and it remained even if she could now acknowledge it. Their new location had been used by second years before the Novice groups¡¯ restructure, and though it was overall smaller, it provided some benefits that Amdirlain appreciated. The physical training was a constant even with the new training schedule. Despite the group¡¯s improvements, the enclosed training hall they now used was pungent at the lesson¡¯s completion. Dripping sweat, the Novices bowed to Master Liran? before they headed off to bathe. The newness of the continual access to the training hall, along with its wall that has a permanent running track, chief among the benefits she appreciated. Pushing away the urge to go for an extra run before their ¡®midday¡¯ meal, Amdirlain turned towards the lingering Liran?. ¡°How is she?¡± ¡°Know I checked on her last night, and Arith¡¯s prognosis was it will be another week at least,¡± replied Liran?. ¡°How is your chakra meditation progressing?¡± ¡°Slower than not shattering glass,¡± quipped Amdirlain and Liran? sighed in sympathy. ¡°Know you should try with a material that will deform instead so you can tell how much pressure you¡¯re applying,¡± suggested Liran?. ¡°Isn¡¯t that cheating?¡± ¡°Is there a reason to be stubborn about how you succeed?¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich from a Githz¨¦rai. I think they etched stubborn into all of you,¡± countered Amdirlain and smiled at Liran?¡¯s laughter. ¡°But sometimes there is importance in not only the end but the means.¡± ¡°Additional training this evening after your session?¡± asked Liran? and half-pivoted towards the hall¡¯s exit. ¡°As long as you remember, it¡¯s not a rematch,¡± Amdirlain said with a smile at the scolding Tenzin had given their first session. Liran?¡¯s chuckle is a rich rumble of sound, and she shakes a finger at Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll hold you to your promise of a proper rematch.¡± ¡°That promise is conditional,¡± warned Amdirlain. Liran? motioned in the infirmary¡¯s direction. ¡°Know that I still believe I should tell her.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer you didn¡¯t,¡± repeated Amdirlain and wondered if it was nature or nurture with how stubborn Githz¨¦rai could be. ¡°Know it would be an excellent test of character,¡± argued Liran?. Amdirlain scowled and turned up her nose. ¡°The monastery may believe they should hold those taking Novice oaths responsible as an adult, but they¡¯re twelve-year-olds. Please don¡¯t cause her to spike the offer while she¡¯s still recovering.¡± ¡°Know that Gemiya told me her father has already disowned her,¡± said Liran?. Wincing, Amdirlain gave a curt nod. ¡°Yeah, she told me when she got word. That¡¯s all the more reason I want her to have this chance at a new beginning.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll give her a chance, but it will depend on if she admits to the truth,¡± replied Liran? and waved off Amdirlain¡¯s attempted protest. ¡°Know I¡¯ve seen the same evidence Master Jarith? revoked her enrolment upon, and the only reason I¡¯m willing to speak to her is you tempting me with a rematch.¡± Then I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t have time to ask about one earlier. As tempted as she was to argue, Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to push Sarith¡¯s luck and bowed her acceptance instead, the motion now far more practised. ¡°Thank you. Everyone is taking her injury as evidence that she lashed out with greater force, but I still argue it was the Ki reacting to the aggression.¡± ¡°Know you are too forgiving,¡± retorted Liran? and stepped back to give Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder a hard bump. Amdirlain laughed bitterly and shook her head. ¡°Hardly, but I¡¯m trying to forgive myself as part of my healing, and I don¡¯t want this regret niggling at me.¡± ¡°Know then, I¡¯m glad it comes from self-interest. Know that a warrior shouldn¡¯t leave a live enemy behind them on the battlefield.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my enemy. She¡¯s a girl who was angry, uncertain, and scared; but life is scary.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll judge her attitude for myself; if I don¡¯t like how she answers, I won¡¯t give her a chance,¡± warned Liran?. ¡°That is your choice. Just don¡¯t let on the chance is at my request,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°She might see it as me rubbing her situation in her face, and pride is one of the few things she¡¯s not lost.¡± Liran?¡¯s shrug didn¡¯t fill Amdirlain with any conviction that she¡¯d keep it quiet. ¡°Know it¡¯s her choice to be stupid or not, and she¡¯s no reason to be proud now.¡± Following Liran? from the training hall, the light faded behind them even before the door had fully closed. When Liran? headed towards the exit from their dormitory area, Amdirlain headed directly for the refectory. Far smaller than their previous location, it was more a dining room than a proper refectory. The fourteen Novices in their dormitory on the tri-course spread between three tables. The new table assignment was only days old, but it didn¡¯t interfere with her developing habit of taking the time to meditate and enter her Mind Palace. The sullen, angry, blood-red sun had softened towards a deep orange amber and no longer had the sky tinged with flames. The jagged top of the spire had smoothed out¡ªsomewhat, at least¡ªand its sides had likewise transformed. Small patches of the tar had hardened into obsidian-like glass but much of it still slowly undulated with pain and memories she still hadn¡¯t progressed to dealing with. Beneath its surface, the faces kept their uncomfortable expressions but no longer appeared agonised and screaming as they¡¯d done in the past. ¡°Know I think I¡¯m annoying Master Xharn,¡± Lezekus stated the moment she sat down at the table, her words jolted Amdirlain from her meditation. ¡°In which aspect of his duties here: monastery Master or as Moradin¡¯s Priest?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s more the aspect of a nosey male wanting to know the name of the Goddess I¡¯ve chosen to follow,¡± replied Lezekus and rolled her eyes. ¡°I think you¡¯re enjoying frustrating him,¡± teased Amdirlain. A mock huff came from Lezekus before she grumbled playfully. ¡°Know that I can choose to share her name or not, and I chose not to share.¡± ¡°You barely made it to the physical training on time. Did you eat breakfast with the Priests?¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯d still be able to move if I hadn¡¯t eaten? Is it Master Liran?¡¯s intention to work us to death?¡± grumbles Lezekus. ¡°Know you had best get stronger as a Priest then so you can raise us when we die,¡± interjected Gemiya, before she sat down beside Amdirlain. ¡°Did you sit down without waiting for someone else to arrive at last?¡± ¡°Know she was sitting, but I think it was because she was meditating,¡± offered Lezekus and brushed the damp ends of her cornrows off her shoulders. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve seen her meditate standing up, so sitting must be a sign we¡¯re slowly getting through to her,¡± Zenya countered and took her spot across the table. As she sat beside Lezekus, she gave a damp spot on the Novice¡¯s robe a poke. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you take a few moments longer to dry your hair properly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my choice how damp I leave my hair,¡± retorted Lezekus with a smirk. ¡°Know that Amdirlain is having a bad influence on your language,¡± teased Zenya, but gave Amdirlain a mischievous smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t we always influenced by those we associate with, for good or ill?¡± Zenya¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t shift away, but her expression turned as serious as her tone. ¡°Were you in the training hall all last night?¡± The innocent smile that Amdirlain gave drew a chuckle from Gemiya and Lezekus, even before she answered. ¡°Maybe. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Know I needed some water last night and the underside of the training hall¡¯s door was aglow. Know I didn¡¯t peek inside in case someone was practicing spells against its targets,¡± replied Zenya. ¡°Do you get enough sleep?¡± ¡°Speaking of spells, any tips for Air Dart? Know I can¡¯t get it directed properly,¡± Gemiya interjected, and Amdirlain turned to her to ignore the question. ¡°Picture the elongated end of the structure aiming towards the target and projecting the Mana,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The intake of the Mana should flow down through the top of the formation, and out the tail to provide it focus and direction. Aren¡¯t you supposed to be only practising Zephyr at present?¡± Gemiya¡¯s gaze grew distracted for a moment before she nodded in understanding. ¡°Know I found Zephyr simple after what you showed us. What image are you trying now for the spheres? Know I noticed you¡¯re back to breaking more of them again.¡± Wrinkling her nose, Amdirlain shrugged ruefully. ¡°The images of the band and egg cups I was using lifted them, but I don¡¯t feel the contact, just the shape was preventing them from rolling around. I¡¯m trying tendrils and frond-like structures to hold them,¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s explanation, Zenya gave a shudder. ¡°Know I don¡¯t want to know the plant inspiration you used that sprayed the ceiling then.¡± Tendrils are likely a bad idea since I¡¯ve used them so often to kill. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out.¡± Yngvarr¡¯s PoV - Royal Palace - And¨²n? Court (Sunset Elf Court) He appears relaxed and merely sleeping floating in the healing pool, wrapped in the water plants¡¯ fronds¡ªas long as you avoid his eyes. The relaxed muscles of his face look to be in a contented smile, in stark contrast to the gaze and their darting, bulging horror. No residual magic lingered about him except for the healing water; whatever was causing this was neither arcane nor divine. Multiple detection attempts return nothing, and despite his evident awareness, even attempts to touch his mind avail nothing. No Spell calms the agony in his gaze, nor catches the lightning quickness of thoughts to tell what he was enduring. ¡°Do you see what they have done to my son, Prince Yridhrendaer Malantur?¡± The soft words draw Yngvarr¡¯s attention to the Elven Queen sitting quietly by the pool her gaze fixed on Himelchon¡¯s eyes. Her normally perfectly tended blood-red hair hangs loose across her crumpled finery like blood spilling from her heart, and pale-silver eyes echo the torment in Himelchon¡¯s own. Normally radiant skin looks wane and pale despite the room¡¯s vibrant life force that can hold death at bay for scores. ¡°There is no Spell, Blessing nor poison of any kind in place. This isn¡¯t something a Norse has done, even if one of them had an issue with Prince Himelchon. Inflicting this¡ªwhatever it is¡ªwould have been beyond them, Queen Norrin.¡± Slender fingers curl inwards, and for a moment, she looks ready to leap at me, only to slump as if the effort is too much to bear. ¡°You will return from your stay in Duskstone and scour the lands for information about what has befallen my son. Go among the human realms and shake out every speck of decay until you find the answer.¡± ¡°Surely there are others more experienced in such matters than I?¡± I protest, trying to figure out where even to start an investigation. Perhaps Moke or Hrafn might know who could come up with such a traceless affliction. ¡°He was in Eyrarh¨¢ls at your request, was he not?¡± ¡°No, your Majesty, I had requested help from my younger sister Brethil, but your son prevailed upon her to allow him the opportunity. Regardless, I will do my utmost to assist the search.¡± ¡°When my son is well again, you will return to your place among our people, and we will announce your engagement.¡± I freeze at her instructions and take in her dull gaze fixed on her son. ¡°No, your Majesty.¡± My reply stops whatever Norrin was about to say, and for a moment, her mouth simply moves soundlessly before a low hiss of noise comes forth. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°I have no intention of marrying her since I¡¯m already married, regardless of what you and Mother believe.¡± ¡°Your Houses need to be joined,¡± growls Norrin, the words¡¯ timbre harsher than I thought I¡¯d ever hear from her lips. ¡°I believe I have other things to do, your Majesty. Should I seek information on what ails your son or stay and argue with you?¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The lifelessness disappears from her silvered gaze, and fine features burn with rage and the silver blazes with power. ¡°Get out of my sight before I exile you from our lands forever, Yridhrendaer Edlen.¡± The hissed words spark and toss about in the chamber¡¯s tranquility, and her change to my name makes her decision clear. ¡°I will still seek to learn what has happened to your son, your Majesty.¡± I adjust the bow I start from habit, and instead of a greeting from Noble to the Queen, it becomes a fitting gesture of respect from a commoner. Before I can step away, the family¡¯s marks are already fading from my robes, and the Queen¡¯s attendants step well clear of me as if her ire is contagious. By the time I¡¯m clear of the palace¡¯s wards, the only evidence of my family connection is the gaps in my finery. Heedless of etiquette and the protests of guards, I open a Gate and step through to outside the wards of Duskstone; the familiarity of the corridor after weeks of coming and going with mining crews, have made it simple to target the Spell. I¡¯m fumbling at the front door, unsure how I got there, only for Alfarr to pull the door open in a rush and usher me inside. ¡°What happened?¡± Alfarr asks, frowning at whatever he sees in my expression, and his eyes dart across my clothing. ¡°Those look like your formal robes, but all the insignia are gone. There isn¡¯t a wound on you, but you look ready to hurl your guts.¡± ¡°I stand before you Yridhrendaer Edlen, of house Malantur no longer.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why they recalled you, to put a boot into your guts?¡± questions Alfarr, the anger in his voice falling into the ashes of my disbelief. ¡°My cousin-¡± Alfarr¡¯s arms wrap around me, and his warmth helps still the spikes of my sorrow. The comfort of his presence sheltered me in the way no one else ever offered to me. When the shudders of pain cease, I stay leaning against him enjoying his reassuring presence pressed along the line of my body. ¡°Sit down, I¡¯ll heat some of your tea, and you can take your time telling me what¡¯s going on.¡± Ebusuku - Elemental Plane of Earth A Portal ripples into existence as agreed but I stay concealed until the half-score group is through, and it¡¯s closed again. Only then do I let the concealments go but remain in place until they release or re-sheathe weapons. ¡°How is the raiding going?¡± Erwarth¡¯s gaze scans about the stone cavern before settling back on me. The bare bone of her wing¡¯s arch visible under the Sisterhood form she currently wears is a strange contrast to any Succubi I¡¯ve ever seen. ¡°We determined the fate of the missing Erakk?, but there weren¡¯t even bodies left to retrieve.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let Amdirlain know when she¡¯s recovered, but I¡¯ll ask their military to pass along messages to whatever families they left behind.¡± ¡°How is Lady Amdirlain¡¯s healing progressing?¡± asks Erwarth, with forced casualness. ¡°It¡¯s still progressing. The last Message didn¡¯t sound as distressed, but she¡¯s been too good at blocking things before. Her mindset is still so Mortal it¡¯s strange dealing with her.¡± My admission has Erwarth nodding. ¡°Maybe ask to see the Mind Palace she mentioned. It might accurately show her progress.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send her a message to see if she can use Spirit Bridge to contact one of us from her Mind Palace. She mentioned doing so with another previously, though she didn¡¯t possess an Oath Link with them,¡± I say and take in the others, unconcerned by Erwarth taking the lead. The rage and jealousy that I¡¯d seen in every Sister beneath their identical appearance was completely absent. ¡°What did you need to meet up for?¡± ¡°Equipment issues. We¡¯re looking to replace some of the Abyssal gear or acquire upgrades. We¡¯ve chests of gems and precious metals along with crates of Mithril and Adamantine ingots we¡¯ve pillaged. Mainly it''s weapons and armour from trustworthy Artificers, wands, or empowered rods to increase combat capabilities, along with healing potions. A lot of the enslaved people we¡¯ve freed have been in rough shape. It¡¯s been fine when the raid¡¯s gone smoothly, not so much the time things got messy.¡± ¡°Have you freed many? I thought you were focusing on quiet raids.¡± ¡°That changed when we found clues to the Erakk?s¡¯ location in the paperwork finally. We¡¯ve hit strongholds tracking them but ensured we first disrupted the portals for their reinforcements. Once we wiped them out, we ended up with fifteen thousand freed between four locations. With that many, even a fraction needing healing uses a lot of Mana.¡± Remembering the beaten state of those we¡¯d already freed, I know what she means. ¡°And it¡¯s never just a fraction.¡± ¡°Precisely,¡± growls S¨ªrdhem, shrugging out of the Succubus shape, her black feathers erupt into sight. ¡°Asshole Dao. Anyone from a species not their own is less valuable than tools and fit only to grind into dust. At least Demons have an excuse for being vicious.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve got a list with your needs, I¡¯ll see what I can organise from Duskstone. Though why aren¡¯t you buying from the Exchange?¡± S¨ªrdhem started setting down storage bags others from the group passed along to her. ¡°I said trustworthy Artificers, Ebusuku,¡± snorts Erwarth. ¡°I¡¯m keeping clear of it, and I don¡¯t want to risk commission work from there.¡± ¡°Avoiding information brokers?¡± As the last of the storage bags are set upon the ground, S¨ªrdhem holds out a gleaming memory crystal. The contents make sense but range from basic to extremely expensive. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to Mirage first; some of the simpler potions might be things she can craft to gain experience.¡± ¡°Whatever works, having someone organising it frees our time for progressing. No immediate need, but combat will claim equipment eventually,¡± replies Erwarth and motions to another. The energy of a Portal pulses into existence, showing another bleak cavern beyond its threshold. ¡°Good hunting.¡± The first of the group is quickly through the Portal securing the area, and Erwarth gives me a nod. ¡°Likewise.¡± As she steps across the threshold, a question comes to mind. ¡°Wait, do you remember one of the Titan¡¯s servants named Eleftherios?¡± My question causes Erwarth to freeze halfway across the threshold. She continues on, only looking back after she raises a hand to someone on the other side. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I heard that name. He is the personification of a Concept¡ªnot the whole of it¡ªmore a facet of one, a conduit to interact with it, you could say.¡± The amount of power he would possess chills my thoughts, but I manage another question. ¡°Which Concept?¡± ¡°Death,¡± Erwarth replies before the Portal closes, and the news leaves me blinking. Scooping up the bags, Planar Shift delivers me home and her Domain settles around me, its vibrant energy a rush of welcome. There are more Petitioners than days ago, and I notice two Elves sitting cross-legged beneath a new tree whose branches bend under the weight of fruit. Their deep moss green skin isn¡¯t a colouration I¡¯ve seen among Elves before, and I take note to speak to them later. I pass groups wandering the streets and watching Farhad teach a mixture of Archons and Petitioners. A glimmer of light zips by and I wave towards them prompting the Lantern Archon to spin about and race back to me. ¡°Do you know where Hook or Mirage is, little one?¡± As they bounce on the breeze, I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯ll have anything to share, but finally, a faint female voice resonates. ¡°I think Hook is at the staging area for outbound teams, but I¡¯m not sure about Mirage. I saw her at the brewer¡¯s place, but that was ages ago,¡± she says. ¡°Ages?¡± ¡°Two hours, or was it three?¡± Her voice is barely audible at the end, and she dims to candlewick before flaring up again. ¡°At least three hours.¡± My smile causes her to spin about, her filigree a blur of lace formed from golden vines. ¡°I see, thank you.¡± ¡°Bye, Ebusuku.¡± The Archon blurs away before I can ask her name. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯ll keep track of so many new ones about the place. Heading towards the crafting hall area, the activity at the staging area nearby is a swarm of shifting lights from the gathered Archons. Through an open Gate, I glimpse bluish grasslands and Sidero¡¯s chains lashing out to crush a constant trickle of Thri-Kreen drones. Another score of Lantern Archons race across its threshold before the Gate closes on the fighting. ¡°Hook.¡± The Archon was already turning in my direction before I spoke, and I raised a hand in greeting. ¡°How are things going?¡± ¡°Busy, but going well,¡± replies Hook, making notes on a crumpled piece of paper. ¡°Sidero found another nest, so we¡¯ve sent sixty Archons through to gain initial battle experience with her. I¡¯ve lined up a few of Tyr¡¯s Valkyries to help open Gates to Cemna and Letveri regularly now.¡± ¡°Things seem to be a little crowded,¡± I say, eyeing a group of new Hound Archons conducting weapon drills not far away. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to hold off retrieving more of the older souls. None of the last four groups faded into the Domain¡¯s wellspring; a lot changed into Archons instead,¡± says Hook, waving his pencil towards the valley¡¯s closest end. ¡±While the boundaries have crept outwards, we¡¯re soon going to need another major expansion like the last time Amdirlain tended them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll mention it to her, but we could set up some visitor¡¯s quarters outside. The Norse patrols don¡¯t need to be inside our borders all the time they¡¯re here. If nothing else, it will give the Dwarves some fun building defensive fortifications for them beyond the boundary.¡± ¡°They have a bit of work on at present,¡± objects Hook. ¡°I¡¯ll discuss the priorities with them,¡± I offer. ¡°If they build new structures outside the Domain for visitors, that will free up the ones inside they¡¯ve already built and let them build forts¡ªwin-win. Any messages to pass onto Amdirlain?¡± Hook¡¯s expression turns to one of thoughtful concern. ¡°Let her know we¡¯re chipping away at her to-do list so she¡¯s not to worry.¡± I snort when I leave him to organise the next groups. The Domain pathways are busy with Petitioners moving between gatherings amid the various clearings where groups are sitting to talk or learn new skills. Everywhere I look, they seem to be engaged in learning, almost as if the whole Domain¡¯s residents are obsessed with newness. The first quiet spot I find is an overlook along a cliff-side path that shows the hive of activity through the gaps in the trees. ¡°Maybe we should have held off gathering the older Erakk? souls; Judgement isn¡¯t traumatic for them,¡± I murmur to myself, and dismiss the thought. Twenty-twenty hindsight, as Amdirlain would say, and I consider how to tempt her to allow me into her Mind Palace. ¡°Amdirlain, when you have time in your routine, would you use Spirit Bridge to invite me to your Mind Palace? I¡¯d like to talk, not just throw messages back and forth.¡± No answer is forthcoming after nearly an hour, and I¡¯ve already started down the path again when I get her reply. ¡°I¡¯ll try, but I¡¯ve not used that Power except to pass a message across Oath Links for some time.¡± The Message buzzes in my ear, and there is a strange sensation a short time later. A narrow tightrope-like connection stretches out from far away carrying an invitation, it feels like Amdirlain¡¯s energy. Unsure how to make use of it, the process takes repeated attempts before I suddenly feel drawn along it. It¡¯s long moments in darkness before a deep-amber light beckons from ahead and I emerge to stand upon battered black stone. The light comes from a dull sun overhead in a black sky that illuminates the tar and obsidian covered landscape around us. It¡¯s a view fit for planes of the Abyss showing Souls trapped beneath obsidian, and foul tar. A series of bubbles from a mouth far away gives the impression of a Mortal drowning. Amdirlain¡¯s sitting away from the edge in the odd style she prefers, her downcast gaze fixed on the ground, deliberately focused away from the view. ¡°Was I interrupting anything?¡± ¡°No, I was only practicing Ki Movement in our new training hall. The delay was- well, it was more I wasn¡¯t sure I wanted to show you this mess,¡± Amdirlain says. Her gaze stays fixed downwards and away from the desolate landscape around us. ¡°Tenzin is letting you use a training hall, but didn¡¯t let you use the courtyard?¡± I enquire unsure where to start with her obvious discomfort. ¡°It was the fact we had an exposed courtyard that was the issue,¡± replies Amdirlain with a twitch of a smile. ¡°She didn¡¯t want anyone out there alone.¡± Laughter bursts out at the thought of what might happen to most things in Limbo upon crossing Amdirlain¡¯s path. ¡°Yeah, I know, but they have their rules, and if she made an exception for me others would have been asking,¡± interjects Amdirlain before I can tease her about Tenzin. ¡°Githz¨¦rai are a race known for their love of Law,¡± I say. Crouching close, I lift her chin prompting her, at last, to look at me instead of the ground. ¡°It¡¯s not the viewing platform you told me about, but is it worse or better than it was?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still a work in progress, but I¡¯m getting better,¡± admits Amdirlain I lean my forehead against hers and catch her in a hug. ¡°You had me worried. How is your training going?¡± ¡°I¡¯m still shattering glass ornaments when I lift them with Telekinesis, but I can hold myself aloft with it easily enough,¡± offers Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m at least making progress on other techniques, like Matter Agitation, and a few basic building blocks.¡± ¡°Lifting yourself? Your mind might associate that with Flight,¡± I suggest. ¡°Why not image holding a child¡¯s hand?¡± The look of confusion I get almost has me grinning before she finally speaks up. ¡°What?¡± ¡°When you are lifting them, imagine the glass object is a child¡¯s hand. I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d harm a child, and your mind might react more gently.¡° ¡°I¡¯ll give it a go,¡± Amdirlain says, and the bridge between us seems to waver for a moment under the pressure of her sudden intensity. ¡°If something happened to me, would you take care of everyone?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take your place. Their Faith is in you,¡± I huff in exasperation, her intensity making it clear what she means. ¡°Mortals¡¯ Faith and the Oaths link to the Mantle, and if something goes wrong, I need to make sure they¡¯ll be safe.¡± The raw need in her words bubbles patches of the hardened tar around us with a press of energy. Images of deeds common to the denizens of the Abyss flash momentarily into existence; the content and sheer number stop me in surprise. They come apart in patches that sweep from one side of them to another and the bubbling below us ceases. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°I can look into the Souls of Mortals, along with the essence of Demons. I hadn¡¯t realised it had stuck with me until I came off balance. That isn¡¯t important though. I¡¯ve simply got work ahead acknowledging none of these memories are my doing, so I can easily get at the sources of my pain. What is important is that the Souls that rely on me are safe.¡± The moment at the end of the maze rises within me, tempting me with the choice of power again, and I carefully push my focus away from it. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d trust myself with that amount of power over others. I chose to enter your service like I had promised when you promoted me.¡± Amdirlain goes wide-eyed at my words, and I brace myself for her disappointment, only for the landscape to rock when she erupts in laughter. Her body shakes with full-bellied amusement and for a moment I think her grip on the Mind Palace will collapse. In places, the obsidian rock cracks and shatters, exposing the lakebed through the gaps, but instead of more memories erupting, slivers of shattered pieces fade away. When the laughter finally eases, patches where there had been still-bubbling tar look calmer, other sections are spider-webbed with fractures and the slivers that faded are still missing. I look back from the changes in time to find myself caught in a hug and the still giggling Amdirlain trembles against me. That tail-end of the laughter takes far longer to subside than one of Tickles¡¯ outbursts and the light from the sun changes¡ªamid the deep amber patches of a softer yellow show. ¡°Those that believe they should have power really aren¡¯t to be trusted with it,¡± Amdirlain whispers in my ear when she finally mentally catches her breath. After planting a kiss on my cheek, she rests her cheek against mine for a time with a tightening hug before she steps away. ¡°You¡¯re such a fine big sister.¡± The laughter looks to have eased some of the unhappy lines that had been present in her expression, but there is still too much tension. ¡°You¡¯re far kinder than any of my family.¡± At my words Amdirlain catches my hand in hers and keeps hold, her voice becoming soft but intense. ¡°That¡¯s not true Ebusuku. All the Archons are part of your family now, in a way that matters the most. Always keep in mind there are two types of family, those linked to you by birth, and those that find a place in your heart along the way. I need to remember that as well. I¡¯ve been mourning lost family, not treasuring my new family enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯d still prefer you keep the Mantle or whatever you called it,¡± I protest and set aside the Domain¡¯s growing space issue. ¡°Mantle is what Eleftherios called it¡ªin Celestial, not some translation¡ªso I¡¯ll take it as the official name,¡± states Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not looking to abandon them, but I absolutely need to make sure I can keep them safe. Once, in some ways, their trust felt like a burden¡ªnow, it feels more like a gift. I only hope it¡¯s one I can measure up to, but that makes their safety even more important to me.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s attention turns to the landscape, and I wait while she takes it in. ¡°Wow, laughter does wonders. Have a think about it. I¡¯m not even sure how I''d go about transferring it, and Eleftherios said it¡¯s risky depending on how integrated it is with me as a person. I don¡¯t want to transfer it, but I also don¡¯t want to just dump this on anyone without warning if I find I¡¯m losing myself to the Abyss.¡± ¡°You¡¯re looking for an Heir Apparent?¡± I ask, trying to see it from Amdirlain¡¯s perspective, yet the thought is disturbing. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s called succession planning in my lingo. You should always know who is going to take charge if something happens. It saves confusion, and prevents power grabs from people you don¡¯t want in charge,¡± explains Amdirlain, and dread clouds her gaze. The look is disturbing and hearing bubbles popping, I blurt out the good news. ¡°Viper got toasted.¡± ¡°What?!¡± exclaims Amdirlain and genuine pleasure blows the cloud of dread away. ¡°They had summoned her to the Material Plane, and Isa found her. Apparently, she unsung all the memories of yours she¡¯d kept, killed those holding her summoning pact and her Priests, before she dusted her form. Plus, she gave her a stupid use name that makes no sense.¡± The news has Amdirlain grabbing my shoulders and a gleeful expression lights up her face. ¡°Thank goodness that¡¯s such a relief. Isa- oh.¡± ¡°What?¡± I ask, at the sorrow softening her gaze. ¡°I sent her a message, and I wasn¡¯t kind in what I said. Then she does this for me,¡± murmurs Amdirlain painfully and pain twists her expression chipping at the light in her gaze. The emotional zig-zags are showing me how damaged she¡¯d let herself become, and I owe Erwarth for this suggestion¡ªI wouldn¡¯t have caught this in messages if she¡¯d kept her voice composed. Her guilt has me wanting to shake sense into her, but I keep a level tone. ¡°No. She needed more than just one kick in the arse, though Torm delivered one to Ilya¡¯s butt yesterday.¡± ¡°He did what?¡± grumbles Amdirlain, and I wish I¡¯d held my tongue at the sudden irritation in her gaze. ¡°Did what should have been done! He was telling them off for the damage they¡¯d caused to you and Ilya protested his lecture. All he did was leg sweep her and had his sword pointed at her throat. I¡¯m not the biggest fan of you and Torm, but he rates higher in my eyes now.¡± ¡°But he shouldn¡¯t have-¡± The contact of my fingers on her lips feels so genuine when I cut her off, I have to wonder about what this Mind Palace is really. ¡°I didn¡¯t pass your idiot instruction to be gentle with them onto him¡ªand he was restrained¡ªso don¡¯t get angry with him. You¡¯ve taken harder falls sparring with me. Some of Ilya¡¯s words, let alone her attitude, deserve more than just a little humiliation. He made it clear your current situation wasn¡¯t entirely on them, but also how they hadn¡¯t helped. They needed to know exactly the consequences of their behaviour.¡± Her anger eases into a sullen look, and I hope I haven¡¯t caused Torm grief. ¡°Was this before or after they¡¯d helped?¡± ¡°After, but he didn¡¯t know about it until Isa tried to calm the situation down, although he had no intention of allowing it to escalate further. Torm heard her mentally warn Ilya before he needed to administer further chastisement. His words to Echo¡ªnot mine. Echo reported the whole thing to me; it makes me want to buy the kid a present.¡± I give a happy sigh, and when Amdirlain raises an eyebrow at me, I have to keep myself from pinching her cheeks. ¡°Which kid?¡± ¡°Both of them. Torm for the arse-kicking, and Echo for sharing the memory.¡± The exasperation that earns sets me laughing, and thankfully Amdirlain joins in. 171 - Decisions Yngvarr¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls My wards wrapped around us the moment we entered the side gate; it was home, yet it felt wrong. Little things out-of-place, the stone ornaments pushed about, and the garden untended showed a casual disregard. Stepping within the house, the discomfort deepened when I saw the scratches cut into the ornate kitchen table¡ªa wedding gift from Alfarr¡¯s uncle. Everything in the kitchen sat under a layer of dust despite the sound of voices from further in the house. It took more than a single Mending to set the damage right, but finally, the spells resealed the wood. ¡°Well, you told him to make himself at home,¡± Alfarr said. ¡°Yes, but as a guest, it¡¯s expected he treat our property with due respect,¡± I grumbled. The dust made it clear the damage had been from prior to Himelchon¡¯s affliction. The insult of the neglect, combined with what I saw in the yard, stirred the anger that had been growing through the days of discussion with Alfarr. Moving to find where the voices were coming from, I reached out, and anger tightened my skin at the sheer number of wardstones someone had issued to our house. The state of the sitting room turned the ashes that sat in my gut into a bonfire. The proper furniture was gone, rather a set of low reverie chairs, set in a circle, with no comforts for human visitors. From the walls, the music Amdirlain unleashed rang, stirring my blood. Touching the wards, I made adjustments I hadn¡¯t thought I¡¯d ever need. As I look over the changes made to the sitting room, Royal Guard Captain Teidon Fenmenor glared at me from within the map room¡¯s doorway. ¡°Yridhrendaer Edlen, where have you been? Did her majesty not order your help eight days ago?¡± His contemptuous tone didn¡¯t help me keep my calm, and the sound from the walls pulsed in my blood. ¡°Your Queen did indeed, and initially, I was going to do so, but then I discussed the matter with my husband. As for your question, you are mistaken on two matters.¡± ¡°She is your Queen as well, Yridhrendaer Edlen,¡± sneered Teidon, and I wondered how I¡¯d missed the contempt he¡¯d possessed earlier. A House of the same tier as my former standing, now that I was stripped of rank, his persistent use of that name served only to mock me in our home. ¡°This is our house, and I will address an intruder how I wish. None of you has our permission to be here, nor has any even attempted to contact us for permission to use our home.¡± I stated and finish up my adjustments of the wards. As soon as the last changes cascaded into place, the connection of the wardstones faded from within them. With the wards fully returned to our control, I continued. ¡°You will leave and do whatever planning you need to do elsewhere.¡± ¡°Your Queen ordered you-¡± ¡°Your Queen! Mine no longer; I said you are wrong on two matters. I renounce all ties to the And¨²n? Kingdom. I am not Yridhrendaer Edlen, I claim fully the names given by my husband¡¯s kin: Yngvarr Helviti?x. For your likely ignorance, the second means inferno axe and is my husband¡¯s deed name. You will all now leave before I have the wards eject you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a grave mistake,¡± hissed Teidon, but his contempt was an empty force compared to the anger I felt burning in my veins. ¡°In the words of a friend, you can fuck off,¡± I snapped and triggered the spatial constructs in the wards. He disappeared, and the wards in the room beyond confirmed that it was now empty of the others. I¡¯ll still had to toss their possessions out the door myself, but it was a nice dramatic gesture. Taking another look about the chamber, Alfarr pushed a reverie stool with a toe. ¡°This changes our plans?¡± ¡°Yes, it does,¡± I quickly agreed. ¡°They can search for the truth behind Himelchon¡¯s fate on their own. We¡¯ve levelling to do. Our priority is each other, and I want you around a long time to come.¡± ¡°And Farhad says the Norse are hot-headed,¡± chided Alfarr good-naturedly. ¡°Obviously, I¡¯ve learnt well from my husband and his kin,¡± I snorted, and almost shake my head at a sudden thought. ¡°I guess I learnt the power of choice from Amdirlain, after all. I never considered that choice would make me feel so light-hearted.¡± ¡°You seem to enjoy using ¡®my husband¡¯ today, though you could have used your own deed name,¡± observed Alfarr, his hand rubbing across my shoulders. ¡°No, I wanted something to confirm we¡¯re together.¡± My reply earned a warm smile from Alfarr, before he drew me in and melted me with breath-stealing kisses. When he eventually released me, I could only blink at him slowly, while I tried to get my brain to work again. Liran?¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand After twenty days enfolding her cot, they¡¯d pulled the privacy screen back from the bed, but Sarith looked less lifelike awake than floating in the skin¡¯s radiant fluids. Sitting in simple pants and shirt, her appearance reminded me of Amdirlain¡¯s repeated insistence on asking how a child should be treated. ¡°Who did I hurt?¡± The words were barely a whisper, and she didn¡¯t even look up when I sat down on the cot across from her. ¡°Know you entered the link enraged. What did you think would happen?¡± My question tightened her pained expression, but she didn¡¯t raise her eyes to meet my gaze. ¡°Know I was angry and upset, but I didn¡¯t feel enraged,¡± whispered Sarith. ¡°Did your childhood training not warn you of the dangers from powerful emotions in mental links? Why were you angry?¡± The digging questions finally got her to look up. ¡°How are you not angry after she treated you so dishonourably?¡± ¡°Know that the only person who can sully someone¡¯s honour, is themselves. Or do you believe another¡¯s actions can lessen your own self-worth?¡± I asked, and Sarith stopped with her mouth open as if to ask another question, before she simply closed it again. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve seen no dishonour in Novice Amdirlain¡¯s conduct, and while different, she has treated me with respect. That is who you are talking about, is it not? Know personally, I appreciate that she took actions to avoid killing or crippling me in the challenge¡ªeven as she surrendered advantages.¡± The self-doubt in Sarith¡¯s gaze carried a dangerous weight that had me re-evaluating Amdirlain¡¯s viewpoint, but still, bad news was best given quickly. ¡°Know I¡¯m here to discuss the tribunal ruling, which was supported by Master Jarith?, that your enrolment be revoked.¡± ¡°Know I thought as much when Healer Arith gave me these to wear,¡± Sarith said after a long silence, tugging at the edge of her shirt. ¡°When am I being sent home?¡± ¡°Know you have two options: to leave the monastery and seek a place that will accept you, or stay and perform whatever job a Master assigns you. Know you will not become a Master in the order, nor even re-join the lessons.¡± Sarith licked her lips for a time, struggling to keep her breathing from quickening, before she spoke again. ¡°Has the revoking of my enrolment been communicated?¡± ¡°Know that it has, along with the judgement of the tribunal according to the law. Know also that your parents have been in touch with your sister¡ªtheir reaction was not forgiving of your endangering so many others.¡± ¡°So I have no place to go home to?¡± I didn¡¯t answer the hypothetical question, and she eventually continued. ¡°What course did my sister decide on?¡± The expected question had me nodding. ¡°Know that she is progressing the three classes.¡± ¡°How long will it take her to graduate?¡± asked Sarith, with some sign of genuine curiosity peeking through her bleak demeanour. ¡°Know it will be eight years before we consider her a full member of the order,¡± I offered, even knowing it was the optimistic timeline. ¡°When do I start work?¡± ¡°You will not ask what job you¡¯ll be assigned?¡± ¡°Know I assume it will be to tend the crops or duties I¡¯ve seen the lay members take care of about the place,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Is that so? Know that you have until the morning chimes to change your mind. Know if you still wish to stay, you could report to the head gardener after breakfast, otherwise, a group leaves for Zerth¡¯Ad¡¯Lun in the morning.¡± ¡°Where I can hope to find employment before I starve without backing? Know I¡¯ll stay here where I can work, and perhaps Gemiya will wish to see me before she graduates,¡± Sarith stated, stretching out on the bed. ¡°You will not go back and see if you can convince your parents to accept you?¡± ¡°Know our parents will not accept any reason for injuring someone in that situation¡ªI should have left the courtyard. Know I remember the link¡ªthe peace of it mocking my frustration¡ªthen a blue mist blocked my awareness, and the link became an inferno of pain. Will you please tell me to whom I should make amends?¡± ¡°Know that Gemiya mentioned it was her preference to come here. What would you have done instead?¡± I questioned, thinking about the speculations Amdirlain had offered about the source of her anger. ¡°Did I maim or kill someone? Is that why no one will tell me what happened to the others?¡± The verbal parry of asking her own questions; does that mean it¡¯s something she wishes to avoid discussing? ¡°Know that your inability to follow instructions burnt the emotions from a Novice, except that rage you brought with you into the link. Know that it required Healers tending her for days, and even Master Healer Elliyna assisting, to enable her recovery.¡± ¡°But she¡¯s recovered? Who got hurt? Can I at least say sorry before I leave?¡± The sudden intent to leave had me leaning back to consider her fully from the hunched posture and the distress lining her face. ¡°You would leave now? What changed your mind?¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°How can I stay after harming a Novice so badly?¡± ¡°Why did you wish to stay?¡± ¡°Know I hoped Gemiya would at least talk to me on rest days,¡± admitted Sarith, her hesitation expecting a denial and hoping for me to provide some reassurance. Instead, I tossed a mirror on the bed beside her, and fight off a smile at the baffled look I got. ¡°You wanted to say sorry to the Novice you hurt, didn¡¯t you? Isn¡¯t it proper to look them in the eye?¡± Even as her glance shot back to the mirror, Sarith¡¯s brows furrowed, and it took a moment for understanding to bloom. The grim expression cracked with relief as the tears flowed had me shift to sit beside her, and rest a hand on her back. Only when her tears finally calmed did I let her go, her answers and reaction having taken away my intention to make her sweat. ¡°Know while you could report to the gardener, you have a choice of two jobs, both of low rank since most Masters can take care of themselves. Know one of those positions is as attendant to Master Healer Elliyna-¡± ¡°When do I start?¡± Her interruption had me blinking, and I wondered if I¡¯d offered it first intentionally to avoid the burden. ¡°Know you¡¯d start tomorrow, as you need some rest outside the psi-skin. Don¡¯t you want to hear of the other job?¡± ¡°You said Master Healer Elliyna helped me, shouldn¡¯t I work to repay her?¡± Sarith¡¯s words rushed out, and when they halted, I raise a hand to intercede against further objections. ¡°Know that I promised I would give you both options, so that you had a choice. Know the other position is to be my assistant, but the only compensation I can offer, is to teach you as time permits.¡± ¡°But I will never earn the rank of Master?¡± The moment I nodded, she echoed the motion, understanding it was only a stopgap to allow her to learn to protect herself and come of age. ¡°Can I think about it?¡± whispered Sarith after a long breathless pause, absently fiddling with the mirror on the bed. ¡°Know that is a wise request, and you certainly have until at least breakfast to decide.¡± I only made it a few steps when Sarith cleared her throat, and I halted for her response. ¡°Know that I would have gladly accepted your offer previously, Master Liran?.¡± The nervous expression I found when I looked back wasn¡¯t what I¡¯d expected to see from the brash girl, even after her earlier tears. ¡°Know that I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll give the matter proper consideration.¡± * * * I restrained a sigh when I found her kneeling at the end of her cot in the morning. Her posture and calmness showed she was conducting the morning meditations. ¡°Have you decided?¡± I asked, glad I¡¯d planned for a room near my own to make it easier to monitor her. ¡°Know that I¡¯m deeply grateful for your offer, Master Liran?, and I¡¯d give anything to be worthy of it. Know that in saying this, I hope my accepting the position of Master Healer Elliyna''s attendant won¡¯t offend.¡± The surprise could have killed me in battle, but I kept my mouth shut. Nodding, I motioned her to rise. ¡°Know I¡¯ll take you there directly.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Before Amdirlain even raised her hand, Elliyna¡¯s door opened in a rush, and a suddenly flustered Sarith startled back. ¡°Know you have my apologies, Novice-¡± ¡°Without the rank, Sarith,¡± interjected Elliyna, and Sarith stiffened at the scolding tone. Sarith¡¯s skin darkened from a simple blush of embarrassment instead of the anger she¡¯d so often shown. ¡°Know you have my apologies Amdirlain, I had planned to be on my way before your arrival.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you up and about. Though also surprised you¡¯ve not made time to see Gemiya yet,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she resisted the urge to hug away the hurt look her words brought forth. ¡°Know that I¡¯m not allowed in any of the dormitories without invitation,¡± murmured Sarith. ¡°I know everyone already told Gemiya they¡¯re fine for you to visit, so consider yourself invited. She was hoping to hear from you, but worried you didn¡¯t want to talk to her when she didn¡¯t feel any mental contact. Before dinner is likely the best time to catch her, but she¡¯s just in a theory lesson at present,¡± said Amdirlain, and she stepped aside. Even with the doorway clear, Sarith stayed frozen in place, her expression wide-eyed as she rapidly blinked away tears. ¡°Know I wasn¡¯t aware of her new schedule; my thanks.¡± The words had been so choked they were barely a whisper, and Sarith gave her a quick bow before she scurried away. When the door shut behind her, Elliyna fixed her with a stern look. ¡°Gemiya didn¡¯t ask the others, did she?¡± Amdirlain sprawled on a long couch and returned the look with a smile. ¡°I beat her to it, and I told everyone to credit Gemiya if Sarith enquired.¡± ¡°Why did you lie?¡± Wiggling to find a comfortable spot on the padded couch, Amdirlain considered cheating and restructuring it, but continued to adjust her position. ¡°I could tell Gemiya wanted to ask, but it could have been weeks, or never. Githz¨¦rai¡ªyou¡¯re all so stubborn. If it went on too long, the rift would have had time to fester. Her learning of my involvement in anything trying to benefit her will just blow up, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°Perhaps our mutual stubbornness is why you get on with so many of us?¡± ¡°Yeah, I know; pot meet kettle,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and she stopped when Elliyna gave her a blank look. ¡°Sorry, abbreviation of a longer saying from where I grew up¡ªcultural thing.¡± ¡°Have you made progress in ¡®jackhammering the asphalt¡¯?¡± ¡°I wish the progress was that fast. Getting rid of the obsidian intentionally is more working with a tiny fossicking rock pick given the scope,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she gave Elliyna a smile. ¡°How is your attendant working out?¡± The flat look was such an instant and honest response that Amdirlain couldn¡¯t contain her laughter. When she paused for a moment to look up at Elliyna, her still offended expression and raised eyebrows simply set Amdirlain off again. ¡°Know that I¡¯m glad you find this amusing,¡± said Elliyna once Amdirlain had calmed to the point of snickers. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Know that she fusses over me between sessions. Know with the amount of tea she tries to give me, if I¡¯d drunk it all, I¡¯d have been forever going to the toilet,¡± grumbled Elliyna. ¡°Old bladders, I¡¯m told, are a pain,¡± offered Amdirlain, and at the still flat look, continued glibly. ¡°It¡¯s her first day on the job.¡± ¡°Know that I only agreed to this after you convinced Liran? to also offer her a position,¡± stated Elliyna. ¡°You both expected her to take Liran?¡¯s offer, didn¡¯t you? Well, if she¡¯s fussing, she obviously has too much free time on her hands. I understand the monastery doesn¡¯t train Healers.¡± At the jump in the topic, Elliyna¡¯s flat look turned suspicious. ¡°What are you suggesting?¡± ¡°She¡¯s got issues with anger, but they often stem from something, don¡¯t they? She¡¯s not allowed to get training from the order now. Maybe if you untangle her, and train her, she can help others; in the meantime, all that study would give her something to do. Plus, she shows my Monk Class since she has Ki, so with some training, she could help not just mentally, but also physically with a Ki healing technique.¡± ¡°Who would train her in the Ki technique?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just have to figure out how to get her an instructor from among those Master Jarith? is bringing here.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you offer to teach her?¡± asked Elliyna. ¡°Yeah, because I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t view that as an insult,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s got three classes: Monk, Psion, and Wizard, she¡¯s got a Ki pool and the Jade Court Mana Affinity. I really think it was the yang aspect of the Ki that hurt her so much. Judging her on previous precedents of purely Psi injuries was really unfair.¡± ¡°Perhaps as unfair as judging yourself guilty on the words and deeds of others?¡± Amdirlain winced and her expression twisted in distaste before she gave a sharp nod. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°How goes reforming the spire to a platform?¡± Jerking upright, Amdirlain fixed Elliyna with a glare. ¡°You only asked me to try that yesterday.¡± ¡°Did you start?¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Grinding her teeth, Amdirlain leant back against the coach¡¯s armrest again. ¡°I¡¯m worried about what sort of wound it¡¯s sitting in, so I want to get rid of all the tar first.¡± ¡°Know that you told me the nearest tar is now far from the spire,¡± noted Elliyna. ¡°Has that changed?¡± ¡°No, but it¡¯s still there,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Know that smoothing out the spire is just picking at the bandage¡ªchange it back to a platform.¡± insisted Elliyna. ¡°Know that it¡¯s important for two reasons: greater active control over your Mind Palace, and learning if you have an infected wound beneath it.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Duskstone Jaixar¡¯s gaze hadn¡¯t stopped tracing the runes lining the waiting room¡¯s far wall since we sat down. Tidied up from her usual working garb, even her black braided hair¡ªthat matched my own¡ªlooked to be freshly washed. The runes were a complex nest of protections, most of which actually seemed more focused on containing sound and energy from the next room. ¡°For someone after lots of Adamantine, it took a while to get this meeting.¡± My words draw Jaixar¡¯s attention my way, and she looked me over again, her gaze lingering on the ornaments I braided into this form¡¯s beard. ¡°She wasn¡¯t in Duskstone this past week. If you aren¡¯t worried about impressing her, why do you look like a Dwarf today?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not wearing my armour, and I figured I¡¯d go incognito. Not working?¡± ¡°Yeah, you blend right in. Just another epic combat monster wandering the passages that wants no one to blink an eye,¡± murmured Jaixar. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s words, not mine, you can take it up with her,¡± uttered Jaixar defensively, and she shifted nervously on her seat. ¡°When did she call me a combat monster?¡± ¡°Before I met you. Are you saying she wasn¡¯t right? I know little about Celestial types, but you don¡¯t move about even close to anyone normal,¡± observed Jaixar, and her gaze dartted back to the wall. ¡°That really depends on your normal.¡± Jaixar simply nodded and continued her examination. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll take that as a yes.¡± The same young Dwarf that had ushered us into the waiting room, haules the workshop doors open, and waved us through into the cavernous chamber beyond. The figure in the middle was eight Dwarves in height, wrapped in scaffolding, and more mould than free-standing statue. Upper parts of its casting had been removed and sat in stacks off to one side with the exposed sections gleaming a metallic silver, smoother than an Adamantine Dragon¡¯s hide. Among the crowd of workers, the only white-bearded Dwarf stood at a bench near the entrance, tapping her fingers impatiently atop it. Solid work boots and battered brown hide garb, made Jaixar¡¯s normal attire look pristine, and now the journeyman looked completely overdressed for the occasion. Yet Pimnal¡¯s impatience wasn¡¯t directed at us, rather her hard, blue-eyed gaze stayed fixed on the documents laid out on the bench before her. ¡°Ebusuku, is it? Odd name for a Dwarf, what world are you from?¡± asked Pimnal, not even looking up from the paperwork. ¡°I¡¯m in the service of Lady Amdirlain, just blending in with the locals you could say.¡± ¡°My secretary said you¡¯ve got some Adamantine to sell?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re still in the market,¡± I said, and nodded to the figure. ¡°That Golem looks like you¡¯ve finished the pouring already,¡± ¡°I still need enough to craft the weapons for it. The stuff is scarce, and I just got back from outdoing bidders in Stoneheart. Don¡¯t know why there were stupid Humans among them, the stuff¡¯s wasted on their trinkets, but they pushed the price up before I smacked them into place,¡± grumbled Pimnal. ¡°Tried to appeal to me on religious grounds or some such nonsense. Idiots should just go off and mine it for themselves, not be interfering with Dwarven supplies.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep you in mind if we get more to sell. Though, perhaps we could deal with an assistant if you¡¯re away from your workshop next time,¡± I replied, her gruff manner amusing. ¡°I¡¯ve got some crates of Mithril and Adamantine in storage bags with me.¡± ¡°Over to the side area then, you¡¯ll be able to open the bags there,¡± Pimnal said. She tossed a thumb toward a metallic and glass enclosure, covered in more runes than her workshop walls, and one look was enough to have me shaking my head. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to put them down in your waiting area, I¡¯ve no intention of stepping into something with that mass of containment runes over it.¡± ¡°Suit yourself, it¡¯s to contain the interference of dimensional energies,¡± stated Pimnal, and she stompep towards the door. ¡°Plus all the accidents over the centuries with stuff falling into visitors¡¯ bags. I was told you wanted to trade for items more than coin.¡± ¡°Jaixar mentioned that your Senior Journeyman turn out items better than some Masters, and I¡¯ve got quite a list of things I need.¡± Pimnal pushed open the doors with a casual motion that belied the effort her secretary needed to use. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll pay them their share of the objects if they¡¯ve got things that match your requirements. Let¡¯s see what you¡¯ve got, and I¡¯ll check your list.¡± 172 - Hows it going to be? Yngvarr¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls The newly adjusted wards turn the air surrounding the house into a silver mirror for a moment before they settle in place. It seems a bare gathering with many of the people I¡¯ve known scattered to the winds or dying over the years. The few gathered to see us off again don¡¯t even murmur in surprise. ¡°Well, that¡¯s that. It took us longer to deal with everything than I had expected,¡± says Alfarr. ¡°We needed to spend the time. Who knows how long it will be before we return?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t handle what we¡¯re about to do well last time,¡± ¡°I thought we¡¯d take Amdirlain¡¯s approach but keep working at our pace until we reach our goal,¡± ¡°Here I was thinking next time I saw the pair of you it would be for longer and yet I missed most of your stay,¡± Sagga says. Suddenly, there was a cloth-wrapped bundle in her hands, the smell of freshly baked bread, spices, and warmed honey cheese strong in the air. ¡°Are you sure there isn¡¯t anything I should look out for with the Royal Guard? They¡¯ve made a bit of fuss at The Silver Chalice since you kicked them out of your place. Though considering the two moons of extra profits you¡¯ve added, Ylva might forgive you.¡± ¡°What sort of fuss?¡± I ask, glancing up from Sagga¡¯s gift. ¡°Ylva has mentioned nothing to me.¡± The irritation fades from Sagga¡¯s gaze and a broad smile brightens her expression. ¡°She¡¯s been charging them over full price since they¡¯ve been such a pita bunch. The ingredients for their favourite dishes became strangely harder to get almost overnight, that increases the cost you know.¡± ¡°And you know that pita isn¡¯t actually a word, right?¡± ¡°It is in the enclave since we all know what it means,¡° teases Saga. ¡°Plus, it suits them¡ªthey¡¯re all pains in the arse¡ªjust like your cousin.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Normally I don¡¯t speak ill of the dead, but your cousin isn¡¯t dead. He was an oh so politely snide bastard to Rikka, Alfdis, and me, plus anyone outside the Jarl¡¯s circle or his guards. The housekeeper quit. Why do you think your place ended up so dusty? Is it a thing with Elves that you come in two flavours, nice or pus bags?¡± The words have the discomfort from our return moons ago racing up my spine and sending a shiver across my skin. ¡°I hope you¡¯re counting Yngvarr as one of the nice ones, Sagga,¡± states Alfarr, clasping a hand to her shoulder. The words about me fade away, and a Scion¡¯s vision grips me with glimpses of the past: voices echo within a ruined cavernous space. A beautifully constructed summoning Gate, shaped with True Song crystals, illuminates the place, sitting within a broken building seized by the earth long ago. Yet within its crystalline arch, shaped like the space between two trees, is the black oozing foulness of a Gate opened into the Abyss. One voice speaking the Abyssal tongue digs at the edge of recognition, but the words twist the Elven lightness as whoever it was called out a name I recognise: Viper. The Succubus that stepped forth showed a tiara of white horns and an alluring smile, but only malice shone in her gaze. With a snap, the world returns with Sagga in mid-reply, ¡°-I¡¯ve met three nice Sunset Elves, but over a score of brain diseased twats.¡± Alfarr catches my nervous swallow. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Viper¡¯s been summoned-¡± ¡°That¡¯s impossible. She got destroyed and banished back to the Abyss,¡± Alfdis interjects calmly, motioning Alfarr and others that reacted to my news to wait. ¡°We received a message warning us she was on the Material Plane back in spring but received news of her destruction a little while later. We won¡¯t have to worry about her for a hundred years at least.¡± ¡°The vision was from the past, and the events felt moons old,¡± I admit, trying to catch up with Alfdis¡¯ casual revelation. ¡°Viper was on the Material Plane. Why wasn¡¯t I told?¡± ¡°You were in Duskstone at the time, and it was all settled before you got back. If they were past events, why you¡¯d get a vision now?¡± asks Livia, moving towards us through the gathering. ¡°Her summoner was Elven but speaking Abyssal and cloaked I couldn¡¯t tell who it was.¡± stopping, I recognised something else I got from the fleeting moments. ¡°It conveyed others sent the vision had ignored the warning.¡± ¡°Maybe the warning was because relatives of the deceased were involved, or because the Manes were breeding Cambion,¡± suggests Sagga. ¡°But as for Viper, we were told her Priests and those holding her Demonic Pact died as well. Rana even said her symbol has faded from the Titan¡¯s wall. Aggie¡¯s got people searching for the Manes groups that are involved and she¡¯s already confirmed killing a group with Cambion kids among them.¡± Trying to wrap my head around all the information just blurted out to me. Cambion breeding? ¡°Interesting that you told the Queen¡¯s folk to fuck off, yet the Elven Courts still obviously consider you a Scion,¡± Alfdis says and then giggles mischievously. ¡°I wish there was a way you could give your former Queen the news she got overruled.¡± ¡°Still, I would have thought with Viper active Amdirlain would have told me,¡± I start, and Livia pulls a face before looking at me glumly. ¡°I told you her aura showed tension and sadness when she looked at you. You had your chance to talk to her in Duskstone, and you wasted it on chit-chat instead of addressing matters between you. Perhaps she finds it easier just to not-¡± Livia cuts off, throwing her hands in the air ¡°Not what?¡± ¡°Not talk to you, bother you, or avoid being emotionally slapped by you. Which wording would you like to pick?¡± ¡°Slapped by me?¡± The question is barely off my lips when I hiss in regret, considering the accusations thrown at her about treating life as a game. ¡°We should see if we can meet up with her,¡± Alfarr suggests, and I can only nod. ¡°She¡¯s been back and forth at her Domain. I imagine they¡¯re still helping level Archons. The question is: are you going to be personable about it or impersonal and Message her?¡± asks Livia. Opening my mouth to object, I catch the look in Livia¡¯s eyes and stop. ¡°You told her how you felt, and she listened to you. Did you ask her how she felt or listen? You¡¯re both like uncles to me, but sometimes Yngvarr, you can be emotionally thick-witted about others¡¯ feelings.¡± ¡°Go in person?¡± I ask Alfarr and get a thoughtful nod in response. ¡°Good, then I hope my family will start talking to each other again. The latest messages I¡¯ve gotten from M¨®eir have been sparse. I told her I¡¯d take care of levelling myself, and I worry now your history has her isolating herself.¡± * * * The Outlands isn¡¯t a Plane I¡¯ve spent a lot of time on, so it¡¯s not surprising that the Gate opens up nowhere I recognise. A shadow-wreathed space under trees smelling of rich earth and ripe fruit has us passing through carefully in case there are any creatures about waiting in ambush. Nothing leaps out at us and closing the Gate I visualise the Valley¡¯s ridgeline and cast Greater Teleport to move us. The Spell places us exactly where I¡¯d intended, but the view freezes me in place. Instead of nearly untamed wilderness, a unique settlement rose from among the trees. On the outer edges, Celestials wearing Norse emblems move about but further in is a consistency of colours and sheer numbers I¡¯d not expected. Instead of a few Petitioners, among the woodland valley, a massive community has grown with various Archons and Angels obvious even at this distance. The black, gold, and blue of Amdirlain¡¯s emblem displayed on their assorted armour and attire. Though I see Humans and some Elves, I don¡¯t recognise the most common Petitioner species. Though their strange appearance, with their vibrant blue skin and four arms, doesn¡¯t faze the few Norse Celestials moving among them. The nearest buildings are a pair of prominent forts being constructed further along the ridgeline¡ªeach showing their first layers of stone barely peeking above ground level. Having taken no care to maintain the woods, Dwarven crafters merely stacked the fallen trees in the cleared space around them. ¡°By Fenrir, this place has changed,¡± Alfarr says, coming up beside me where I¡¯d stopped on the ridgeline. ¡°Mortals, you¡¯re lucky the guardians aren¡¯t nervous types.¡± A rich tenor comes from behind and above us, and turning, I find a pair of female Vargr Drangijaz standing up-slope of our arrival point. Like many, they¡¯re in their wolf-headed form, with deep brown fur and tufted ears, regarding us with amber eyes. Clad in leather breastplates, along with greaves, and armguards of a Celestial golden metal adorned with Tyr¡¯s emblem. They¡¯ve no weapons visible, but even if they¡¯re not stored for fast access in an Oath stone, their long claw-like nails are dangerous enough. ¡°Your names and business here?¡± At their words I¡¯m only a heartbeat behind copying Alfarr¡¯s bow of respect before answering. ¡°Yngvarr, and Alfarr, we were hoping to speak to Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Reason for seeking an audience?¡± The formal tone is surprising compared to the casual attitude Amdirlain has always possessed. ¡°We¡¯ve travelled with her before and had some matters I-¡± ¡°We,¡± Alfarr cuts in. At the firm nod he gives, I simply continue. ¡°We need to set right,¡± ¡°Wait here. Don¡¯t leave this spot or we¡¯ll assume you have ill-intentions towards Lady Amdirlain¡¯s people.¡± With that grim toned warning, they both simply vanish; their Celestial ability to Teleport no doubt whisking them away. ¡°When did this all happen? Why are there enough Celestials here to wage war?¡± asks Alfarr, quietly taking in the banners set about the valley floor. I can only shrug helplessly as well. We¡¯re not kept waiting long, but neither of the Vargr Drangijaz return. Instead, the new arrival has me stepping back. I lift my gaze high past a wall of armour set with Amdirlain¡¯s emblem to meet hers¡ªAlfarr and even Amdirlain¡¯s true form small in comparison. The golden armour and wall of gleaming white wings offset by the deep blackness of her skin and ebony of her gaze. The sheer darkness of her skin makes the whites of her eyes pop when her gaze latches onto my own. ¡°Yngvarr and Alfarr, I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m surprised to see either of you visit. Amdirlain told me you were among those already allowed within the Domain, so I¡¯ll make sure the Asgard commanders know your status. What can we help you with?¡± ¡°I¡­ we came to discuss how we left things after-¡± An inelegant snort from the regal appearing Solar cuts me off. ¡°Why is it so many good folks want to talk things out later rather than not fuck her over in the first place?¡± ¡°Might we speak with her? Livia said some things that made the-¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to show you the situation, and then I¡¯m going to give you some choices. Then you can talk to Torm, if need be, and decide what course you want to take.¡± There¡¯s no sense of the Solar¡¯s Spell, a vision simply comes to life around me. When I experience Amdirlain¡¯s distressed whisper rip around inside me, I recognise we share the moment from the Solar¡¯s perspective and shudder back from her outrage. ¡°I¡¯m going to talk to the Githerazi; they said I was welcome to come study. I need advice about the mind from someone that Hell hasn¡¯t twisted.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The twisted pain shown on Amdirlain¡¯s normally calm features accents the agony in her voice and gaze. The vision doesn¡¯t fade but shifts into a discussion that rushes across my awareness. A casual planning session I¡¯d never expected with Celestials around a table that looks rough and homemade. Amdirlain¡¯s ¡®to-do list¡¯ discussion between them making the options being offered clear and two of them catch my attention. Finally, the vision snaps away, without the Solar releasing my gaze. ¡°She¡¯s off healing from everything she¡¯s endured, including insults from those she respected and treasured. Leave her be. I¡¯ll let her know you wish to talk to her, but others have already caused her pain by ignoring that request.¡± If her posture had possessed an ounce of anger, the flat statement might have been a death threat. ¡°How long has she been there?¡± ¡°Somewhere around three of your moons, I¡¯d say. Keeping track of time systems between planes and planets is a pain. Around ninety of the monastery¡¯s sleep cycles. Does that work? They insisted she enrol as a Novice for a stable routine, and she¡¯s just finished this quarter¡¯s exams.¡± The thought of a bunch of Novices following Amdirlain like a mother-duck tries to usher a smile forth, but Amdirlain¡¯s pain and the Solar¡¯s concern in the vision are still too raw. ¡°No news on that Summoner who tried to pull her to the Material Plane?¡± The question gets a slight smile from her, and I¡¯m not sure why, but it¡¯s almost like I¡¯d passed a test. ¡°None as of yet. Moke found some people who knew of him but didn¡¯t know where he was or who hired him last. He has the irregulars, as Amdirlain calls them, looking for more information,¡± ¡°Hunting for materials on the planes, helping Aggie in the Northlands, or something else?¡± I ask, turning towards Alfarr; it¡¯s clear from the look in his eyes he saw the vision the Solar shared. ¡°It sounds like the Elven Court wanted you to know about the Northlands, and I¡¯ve no objection helping them,¡± replies Alfarr. ¡°Aggie is kind, and she helped a lot of folks. It will be good to have her back if she¡¯s looking into that sort of trouble.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go there then,¡± I reply, glancing at the Solar. ¡°Would you be able to tell us where she is at present?¡± ¡°She was stopping at various places, but last I heard she was on the Kingdom of Darius¡¯ eastern edge.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll contact her and organise where to meet. We¡¯ve travelled in the Northlands. You are right to judge me harshly. I focused on what I knew and felt and didn¡¯t stop to listen. I might not have been comfortable with the how, but she still helped us grow stronger.¡± She gives a polite nod, but it doesn¡¯t escape my notice that she doesn¡¯t offer us any name before I open the Gate back to the Material Plane. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The drifting strands of energy existed in a strange in-between state, nestled among the living spirit of the Ki, the Psi reserves, and angled off from her Mind Palace. The discovery had been an accident, but her ability to return had grown steadily more reliable after finding it the first time. Resting among them gave the same comfort her Domain possessed, the strands feeling like those that had existed on the boundary between its aura and the Petitioners¡¯ Souls. The drifting strands invoked an image of relaxing in a comfortable field of long grass with a picnic blanket beneath her and a warm spring sky overhead, she somehow knew it stretched out in all directions. Laying among it she could hear voices softly speaking, often too indistinct to make out, but sometimes prayers or cries reached her from far away. Yet even when they were audible, they remained too indistinct to understand completely what had prompted them¡ªonly their nature was clear. Standing on the blanket¡¯s edge had tempted her to plunge in among the grass to find those in need. Yet the exposed and raw wounds that she¡¯d found under the obsidian she¡¯d so far removed stayed her hand. Each time she heard more snippets, she restricted herself to messaging Ebusuku with what information she could. Her constant reply was to confirm she¡¯d continue to look into them only as long as Amdirlain didn¡¯t ask about what she found until fully healed. ¡°Know that I don¡¯t understand you,¡± Gemiya said, plumping down next to Amdirlain. The sense of the surrounding field wavered but didn¡¯t disappear the way it had done in the past. Slowly opening her eyes to regard Gemiya the field and Limbo mixed around her. ¡°Maybe because I¡¯m incomprehensible?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s obvious you don¡¯t need any of the Mana Theory classes since you are rarely there, but got the highest marks.¡± ¡°I got a question wrong,¡± corrected Amdirlain with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m only rarely there because it conflicts with my healing sessions.¡± The look Gemiya fixed on her was one of flat disbelief. ¡°Why do I think it¡¯s more likely our knowledge is wrong? Why did you answer nine to the number of Tier 4 Affinities when all tiers are multiples of 4?¡± ¡°What I want to know is why the psi-crystal reported you as a level 1 Squirrel yesterday?¡± enquired Nomein. Amdirlain secured the bowl Nomein floated to her in her own mental grasp and set it down in front of herself and waited for the others to be served. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m nuts, and you were all so excited in the attunement class it had me climbing a tree.¡± ¡°How do you mask yourself from the crystal?¡± persisted Nomein. Rather than answer, Amdirlain just simply mimed locking her mouth and throwing away the key. Lezekus, having finished serving her duty table, snorted at Nomein even as she took her seat. ¡°Since when has Amdirlain ever answered a question before she was ready?¡± ¡°Like you and who your emblem belongs to?¡± asked Zenya. ¡°Know that I shall tell you when I¡¯m ready to answer the question. Know that worship of her¡­ them was my choice,¡± replied Lezekus, but blushed as she corrected herself. The first slip in months of the neutral answer prompting the others to question her further, before Lezekus started busily eating breakfast. ¡°Know we should visit the library on a rest day to read up on the Goddesses,¡± teased Nomein. The thin porcelain spoon lifted from Amdirlain¡¯s bowl, the smooth texture of the handle clear in her mental fingers. ¡°Know you never told us what image you ended up using to get Far Hand working,¡± noted Gemiya. ¡°I¡¯m holding a baby¡¯s hand. They grip your finger so tightly but they¡¯re so tiny I was always worried about hurting them getting free,¡± ¡°That was it?¡± Gemiya said, in surprise. ¡°Your key was a baby¡¯s fingers?¡± ¡°Why so surprised?¡± ¡°Know that you don¡¯t seem like the motherly type,¡± observed Gemiya Giving Gemiya a shrug, Amdirlain¡¯s spoon didn¡¯t even waver in mid-air, as she focused on eating. The banter continued until they arrived in the training hall and found that, along with Master Liran?, Master Jarith? was present with guests. Among a group of six Githz¨¦rai, a human with a hawk-like profile seized Amdirlain¡¯s attention, but catching his gaze, she immediately realised he was far too kind to be Farhad. Though from the shape of his face, the black hair, dusky complexion, and the style of attire, he looked closely enough related to be kin. [Name: Cyrus Species: Immortal (Transformed from Human) Class: Bodhisattva / Immortal Bodhisattva / Exalted Immortal / Immortal White Guard Level: 101 / 102 / 101 / 101 / 101 Health: 449,143 Defense: 22,905 Ki: 110,026 Magic: 3,746 Mana: 9,661,372 Melee Attack Power: 11,902 Combat Skills: Devouring Mist [G](423), Affinities: All - Various Spell Lists Details: Former Grand Master of the Western Marches, currently serving as a delegate for the Monastery of the Western Steppes.] The details came with a razor-edged spike stabbing through her brain when the strength of his presence crushed against her. [Analysis [S] (18->20) Pain Tolerance [Ad] (31->32)] What the fuck? [Immortal Bodhisattva: This Tier 6 Prestige Class is only obtainable after having achieved Master Proficiency in Immortal Spirit. It requires combining Sora Master and an advanced Wizard base Class at level eighty and causes their species type to transform into Immortal.] [Exalted Immortal: This Tier 7 Prestige Class is only obtainable after having achieved a Tier 6 Immortal Prestige Class. It requires combining Sora Master and an advanced caster base class at level ninety.] [Immortal White Guard: This advanced base Class is only available to Monks who have gained rank among the White Tiger¡¯s Celestial guards.] Cyrus¡¯ gaze focused on Amdirlain with an uncomfortable intensity before he relaxed and turned to Master Jarith?. ¡°This ¡®Novice¡¯ is the source of your impossibility, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain assisted all these Novices, along with some others, to gain access to the Ki,¡± replied Jarith?. ¡°You mentioned they had a lesson scheduled for now, but might I talk with Novice Amdirlain?¡± enquired Cyrus, his tone and posture remaining polite and unconcerned. ¡°Perhaps the rest of the delegation could observe the lesson, to begin co-ordinating the Novices¡¯ training.¡± ¡°Know that Novice Amdirlain is a member of our order and in our care. Know that I would insist on being present unless she objects,¡± stated Jarith?. ¡°I have no issue with you being present. It is good to be protective of all within one¡¯s care, regardless of their stature,¡± Cyrus said. When Amdirlain nodded, Cyrus made a broad gesture motioning Master Jarith? to lead the way. As the Masters left, Amdirlain waited a moment to let them walk ahead of her, but Master Cyrus stopped and set a hand upon her arm. The energy in his slightest touch made her arm pulse with a pain that radiated up to her shoulder and across her chest. At first, she barely held onto her Mantle¡¯s presence, but as the purity in his touch washed across her the excess faded into the field. ¡°Please walk beside me, Novice Amdirlain. I¡¯m not a member of your order after all.¡± ¡°Should not an esteemed guest take precedence?¡± asked Amdirlain, wanting to keep well back from the Master. ¡°Please, I insist. The Jade Emperor instructed me to make this trip, so I¡¯m looking forward to getting to know you,¡± replied Cyrus. When he released her arm, Amdirlain stepped quickly forward, giving him plenty of space to move through the doorway. The door closed behind them with Master Liran? giving directions for the others to take their positions. ¡°You¡¯re in service to the Emperor of the West though, aren¡¯t you?¡± I hope I got that rank right. It¡¯s been a while since I read any of the Chinese mythology that I think his details are referencing. Cyrus gave her another assessing look but fortunately, with his hand no longer touching her arm, the pain had died away; the pressure of his gaze was fierce enough. ¡°The Four Winds serve the Jade Emperor and¡ªrarely¡ªI have the honour of being among those attending the Jade Court. I wasn¡¯t even aware of the discussion Master Jarith? was having with one of the Githz¨¦rai orders we¡¯ve been guiding when I received his instructions.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why such an august personage would have an interest in me.¡± ¡°There is a Mana Affinity that is rarely known among Mortals. It is called Jade Court Mana, but contains the aspects of the Tao. Enlightened Sages possess it, and those in religious service to Shen associated with the Jade Court. It was quite surprising when echoes of that Mana started occurring repeatedly in places no member of the Jade Court would venture.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Amdirlain stated and cut off the rest of the sentence. Fuck! [Diplomacy [B](12->13)] ¡°The Emperor himself instructed me to travel to the monastery, assist their travellers, and meet with the one to whom they led me. Neither the delegation¡¯s existence nor its purpose was I aware of until I spoke to its members,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°The Emperor sees much more than he explains, and often his orders have multiple purposes. I¡¯m curious though, how a Fallen Celestial¡ªa western Shen¡ªnot only possesses Jade Court Mana but has the Ki that I sense floating around inside you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long story.¡± ¡°Since we are both Immortal in varying fashions, I believe we have time.¡± ¡°Some of it I¡¯d prefer not to share, but I can explain how I ended up with Ki, and learnt the Mana Affinity,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°All beings have their secrets. I was told to come along and assist¡ªnot hunt you down,¡± reassured Cyrus. ¡°However, now I need to determine exactly what purpose my presence here aids.¡± The rest of the walk back to Jarith?¡¯s study passed in silence that Cyrus seemed content to let remain. Declining the offer of tea, Cyrus looked between them, and as Amdirlain started, he motioned for her to wait. ¡°Before you begin, I¡¯ve never met one of your species. Would you explain the look of recognition you possessed when you first saw me?¡± ¡°I spent some time training with a Monk who looks related to you, Master Cyrus. His name is Farhad, and he told me the rest of the Monks from his order perished, leading refugees to safety from an assault by Dragons.¡± ¡°Perished, interesting. The order and the communities it was protecting left the original world we inhabited because of a conflict between western Dragons. I thought I ensured we evacuated all worthy individuals in our care through the heavenly gates. I will admit the name is familiar, but I¡¯m aware of dozens of relatives, both in and out of our monasteries over the centuries with that name,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°But we can discuss that afterwards if your tale doesn¡¯t touch upon it.¡± All worthy individuals? Guess they disliked Farhad¡¯s attitude a bit more than his tale suggested. Even her tale¡¯s cliff notes took them well until dinner, with Master Jarith? skipping lunch and delegating tasks to listen. Master Cyrus didn¡¯t interrupt until she reached changing from a Succubus to a Fallen, avoiding all mention of becoming a Power along the way. ¡°Among the Jade Court, many Shen had to journey along something similar to this redemption path. Zheng Wu and his seven generals, to name a few; all had to find enlightenment again after falling from their Way before we even came here. I¡¯ll stay and help with your studies. Perhaps together, we can find a way for you to learn from your past lives and reach enlightenment.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure about those memories,¡± admitted Amdirlain, shifting uncomfortably on the seat. ¡°We must face our fears to overcome them. You mentioned Livia has access to her past lives. Does it change the child you care for?¡± Amdirlain smiled at the thought of Livia¡¯s cheery disposition and the enjoyment she took in life. ¡°Sometimes she seems a little too wise, but she is still her own person.¡± ¡°Wisdom comes from experience, but we learn every lesson in life through the filter of who we are,¡± asserted Cyrus. ¡°While we might change as a person afterwards, our foundation is still that individual. I remember your Master Farhad now. He possessed only one Prestige Class and sought to challenge one of the inner circle instead of properly gaining access to the inner secrets. They taught him a lesson and sent him away. Much wasted potential since he didn¡¯t seek proper guidance from the Heavens.¡± ¡°He sought to challenge the Grand Master. Was that you?¡± ¡°No, I had relinquished that position before the Titan even invited the Jade Emperor here. I know what you seek to avoid mentioning. Does Master Jarith? not know your full nature?¡± At the question, Jarith? fixed Cyrus with an unamused look and received a broad grin back. ¡°Know that I do not seek to learn more except what Novice Amdirlain wishes to share. Know that awareness she is a Fallen seeking to redeem herself is enough. Will you share more of what happened? When did you find our monastery in your travels?¡± Aware that the time for the evening meal was fast approaching, Amdirlain hesitated in consideration before she spoke. ¡°I will when time permits. I missed my classes today, but Master Elliyna will not be pleased if I miss my time with her. Would you tell me more about how the Jade Court came to be here? I thought the Human Gods had begged for sanctuary.¡± ¡°That is an even longer tale than your own. In summary, the time of the Yomi King was in ascent where we came from, and the Jade Emperor agreed to the Titan¡¯s request. Humanity¡¯s descent into evil was weakening his influence. It allowed him to step aside for the Yomi King to take the Heavenly throne without casting the earthly realm into a destructive war. It would have left little but ash because of horrible weapons invented by Mortals after I became Immortal; weapons that allowed Humans to destroy millions in an instant. While the cycle of life continues, there is hope for him to regain influence, as it is only an aspect of himself and the Four Winds within the Titan¡¯s creation.¡± ¡°And the other Human Gods?¡± ¡°The western Powers needed sanctuary, but the Jade Emperor would not have perished in our original realm¡ªindeed, has not. When is your next training?¡± ¡°Master Liran? provides me additional training after my evening sessions with Master Elliyna,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and noted the spark of amusement in Jarith?¡¯s eyes and tried to change the subject. ¡°I would have thought someone in existence so long would have higher levels.¡± ¡°Whatever power or levels you believe I possess is mostly what this reality translated from my prior state of existence. I do not seek the advancement of mere physical power; instead, I seek to advance my Soul. Perhaps one day I might progress from merely Immortal to full Shen, but in the meantime, I do my best to follow my Dao.¡± ¡°I look forward to your guidance in the Martial Arts all the same-¡± said Amdirlain and wondered how she could bend the rules to get a match with Cyrus. Whatever gave her away; it was clear she¡¯d let something slip at Jarith?¡¯s interjection. ¡°Know that Novice Amdirlain may not conduct exchanges of pointers; only training is allowed.¡± Cyrus glanced between the two of them with a suspicious look before grinning again. ¡°Know I shall endeavour to keep that in mind when I observe her training and consider how her studies might progress.¡± 173 - Imperfection Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The crystals ripped through the air a split second too late. Amdirlain slipped past a kick that rent the air and unleashed another Swarm of Crystals. The Psionic technique created a score of razor-edged spines that leapt towards Liran?¡ªtoo late again. Instead of retreating, Liran? had bounced off an invisible foothold, and Acidic Blade bloomed from her forearm, extending her reach. A moment of precognition slipped past Liran?¡¯s interference, and Amdirlain switched techniques on the fly in Zen State. Her mind enfolded in Harmony, it helped to link them and let Biofeedback slip instantly into place. The Acidic Blade scoured a thin line across Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder and Liran?¡¯s flesh hissed in sympathy. The wound far lighter than Liran?¡¯s mastery should have inflicted¡ªalready lessened by Amdirlain¡¯s Acid Resistance. It ended the round, but instead of breaking the link, Amdirlain used it to share her regeneration. [Psychometabolism [Ap](27->28)] ¡°Such a difference in styles does you both good, but I can tell you have begun adapting to each other.¡± Cyrus had watched the training with Liran? in calm silence and only spoke up when they bowed at the finish. ¡°Would you do me the honour of a brief exchange, Master Cyrus?¡± asked Liran?. Her request stirred a moment of envy in Amdirlain. Though she wanted to have Liran?¡¯s opportunity, sparring was a bad idea. The simplest touch of Cyrus¡¯ flesh was enough to cause agony, and the injury her Zen State had allowed Liran? to land was a reminder of Elliyna¡¯s instruction. ¡°I¡¯m merely a guest, there is no need for weighting me down with the title of Master. Since your match¡¯s rule was that Amdirlain had to inflict one Psi injury upon you to win. I would suggest if you touch me before you surrender, you win.¡± Switching places with Cyrus, Amdirlain watched the pair square off from the edge of the training hall. Liran?¡¯s focused intent was clear, but Cyrus seemed simply distracted. Neither of them moved for long minutes before Liran? feinted fast towards Cyrus¡¯ face. The Immortal didn¡¯t blink when Liran?¡¯s strike shifted direction and her body coiled into a rising knee strike. He simply wasn¡¯t there by the most meagre of margins. Against the flurry of attacks, there were no blocks or even deflexions, and Liran? picked up the pace. Cyrus flowed around her offence, a drifting mist that was impossible to capture. His only actions the absolute minimum of motion required for avoidance, and his hands stayed relaxed at his sides. A dancer following Liran?¡¯s lead, slipping away from everything she threw his way, be it physical or Psi. Manifestations and projections sprayed crystals, sparked or burnt the air, yet still, nothing landed. After ten minutes of full-on activity, Liran? stopped and bowed. ¡°Know it was a great honour, Master Cyrus, and you have my thanks for your indulgence. I learnt much that I need to meditate on.¡± Turning to Amdirlain, she bowed again and looked oddly pleased despite her failure to win either training match. ¡°Know that your Psi techniques are improving Novice Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Thank you, Master Liran?, but they¡¯re still far too slow to catch you,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Know further meditation on each is required; find the unnecessary aspects of your image. Know once you cut it down to the essential, it will become second nature,¡± replied Liran? and motioned to Cyrus. ¡°Know Master Cyrus reminded me of the same lesson in a different facet of battle this evening¡ªremove what is unneeded. Since your mind and will are so strong, why are your manifestations not able to be stronger and faster?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can discover,¡± assured Amdirlain, and watched Liran?¡¯s pleased expression. Master Cyrus moved to sit facing her as Liran? left the room, but he waited for the door to close before he spoke. ¡°One should avoid unneeded actions in battle, but be careful not to remove the apparently unnecessary from life. Gentler aspects help nourish the Soul; however rigid the Githz¨¦rai behave, they appreciate subtle art forms.¡± ¡°I thought enlightenment came from sitting under trees while living off pine nuts and air,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and instantly wanted to brick her mouth shut. ¡°Perhaps if that turn of the wheel of life has you living as a shrub. Would you care to have a training match as well?¡± The agony¡¯s memory shivered within her, and Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll decline, but thank you for the offer.¡± The words had Cyrus¡¯s eyebrows quickly lift, but thankfully he seemed genuinely curious, not insulted. ¡°Why is that? I saw the moment of envy when Master Liran? asked to spar.¡± Amdirlain almost picked a polite deflexion but went with the truth. ¡°Your touch alone was agony. Even if I only need to touch you to win, I¡¯d likely have that hesitation distracting me from whatever I could learn.¡± ¡°You resisted my touch and the opening of my third eye without a sound. Do you believe you could not handle a training match unflustered?¡± The long conversation she¡¯d had with Elliyna on the subject made Amdirlain all too aware of the abuse she¡¯d adjusted herself to enduring. ¡°I¡¯ve been casual about the injuries I¡¯ve inflicted on myself or endured, without good reason. Master Elliyna¡¯s instructions are to avoid them where possible while healing. She believes I need better stability to judge when it is truly necessary.¡± Her words brought a wince from Cyrus, and he fixed her with a concerned look. ¡°Winning the match against Master Liran? was a good enough reason?¡± ¡°No, actually it wasn¡¯t, and I shouldn¡¯t have taken the win that way,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you then?¡± Stopping, Amdirlain considered the moment, taking herself out of the flow of the battle and understanding her intent. ¡°Zen State, I¡¯m slowly getting the Psi techniques I¡¯m learning to behave within it. Biofeedback works so well with Harmony; it¡¯s instinctive, whereas the others still feel disjointed, which slows them down. I let frustration at missing get the better of my intent to avoid self-harm.¡± ¡°Do you need an image with Biofeedback?¡± ¡°No, I just stop being separate,¡± murmured Amdirlain, lapsing back into Gith as she considered Harmony blending with the technique to connect her will to Liran?¡¯s form again. ¡±How did you come to see it in such a fashion?¡± Protean weirdness, absorbing flesh of the fallen into my form. ¡°I gave you a summary of what I¡¯ve been through, Master Cyrus, but regardless of what you are, I¡¯ve experienced betrayal previously from a Celestial source. Telling you more will have to wait until I get to know you better.¡± ¡°Among the Immortals, some achieve the state via enlightenment, and others by being provided Elixirs. You remind me of the new Immortals raised through a gift of the Emperor¡¯s peach wine. Powerful compared to Mortals yet with so many flaws. Please accept my apology for the pain of my touch and undoubtedly the pressure caused by my third eye. Although, if you hadn¡¯t been able to resist them, you¡¯d have no place among children.¡± ¡°The apology isn¡¯t necessary, especially not if you believe there were children at risk. Yet I¡¯ll still draw the line at some secrets. Even though I¡¯m sure you see more with your third-eye than I might presently like you to know.¡± ¡°For me, the apology is necessary, both for the pain and the error in judgement. Even Immortals can make mistakes when interacting with others. We walk a path refining our own Soul but others can pay the price for the lessons one learns. Master Jarith? stated you were in his care; I should have left the responsibility to him.¡± ¡°Are you concerned about bad Karma or something?¡± quipped Amdirlain, remembering Rachel¡¯s argument about the European viewpoint being wrong. The prompt brought forth a calm memory, but their history still felt tainted. ¡°Karma is neither good nor bad it simply is what comes into your life. The importance is not what happens to you, but what you learn from it. Each journey on life¡¯s wheel helps the Soul refine itself from the lesson learnt. Hopefully, the journeys on the wheel of life can purify the flaws and aid the Soul to reach enlightenment.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to re-introduce a flaw to your Soul?¡± ¡°One should know others¡¯ pain. Kwan Yin has often rebuked those who believe they should disregard compassion. It is a path that causes an inability to form any sort of connection with others. Once you remove compassion, you cease to care about the state of others and become isolated and blind to the misery in the world. I judged whatever pain you¡¯d endured as a fleeting thing, yet I¡¯ve added to the burden of your healing. The way you spoke during your summary, let me see the pain you carry.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still not sparring with you or giving more secrets away. But.. that is a good reason to be given an apology, so I accept.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t see the world in the same way, so it might be for the best to keep your secrets. Would you tell me more of the world you came from before your curse?¡± ¡°That I can share. The weapons you mentioned. Did you mean nuclear weapons?¡± ¡°I can speak English if that is easier for you than Gith. Or do you speak a civilised language?¡± ¡°What do you count as civilised?¡± ¡°Parsi, or Hindi; I prefer conversing in these, but there are a few others. The Jade Court uses only Mandarin for its ceremonies, but Immortals and Shen can understand any language. English is only the language of commerce really¡ªit has no heart, just ugly sounds.¡± ¡°For that, I¡¯ll inflict English with all its contradictions on you.¡± ¡°Unnecessary cruelty is a flaw that one should remove,¡± observed Cyrus. Amdirlain waved him off with a smirk and continued in English with a roll of her eyes. ¡°Please, I grew up with English; I know how bad it is, but I don¡¯t get to speak my native language often.¡± ¡°A normal Human awareness going through so much, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t come apart,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°I pushed a lot into increasing my Willpower to hold myself together. It¡¯s annoying my new species doesn¡¯t increase it, instead of Charisma.¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I assume your Willpower is massive because of the defence rating you possess, but how is your Melee Attack Power so high?¡± ¡°From those that changed after our arrival here, developing Willpower is key to a Monk¡¯s defence, but also for some advanced Prestige classes it benefits offense as well. You were a native English speaker. Were you part of the English Empire, or one of its subjugated territories?¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Though she frowned at the subject reverting, his question caught her attention. ¡°The English no longer had an Empire where I came from; they had an alliance of former colonies but no longer an Empire.¡± ¡°The second Ming dynasty, or the Hungarian-Prussian Empire?¡± questioned Cyrus and leant forward eagerly. ¡°No, China was socialist, and most of Europe comprised individual countries, though many were members of an economic alliance. Russia¡¯s leadership was always sabre rattling to take back select chunks of what they lost in the late twentieth century.¡± ¡°Yet your native tongue is the same though you have an odd accent. I had wondered if there were more realms out there that evolved close together or came from an original source. Though I don¡¯t recognise your socialist term, no matter, it seems there is at least one other world. I¡¯m pleased humanity has more chances to prosper than just our realm.¡± ¡°Where are the descendants of the people you evacuated now?¡± asked Amdirlain, taking her turn to jump the conversation track. ¡°They lived for a time among the heavenly regions but returned to the earthly Plane after the conflict passed. The colonisation of Mars?¡± ¡°That¡¯s an odd topic switch,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°The Ming Dynasty set up the first colony on it. Did someone from your realm reach it? Immortals couldn¡¯t travel there; it was too far from our Celestial centre, and the life-field of the world couldn¡¯t support us. I was curious to explore it and find if there were ever little green men living on it.¡± ¡°Only unmanned probes had landed on it, but lots of studies going on.¡± Current situations were a more straightforward comparison, given her historical knowledge was only at a high-school level. With the odd jumps their conversation took, it seemed their worlds had diverged after the middle-ages, if they¡¯d ever been one at all. Their strange conversation continued until others arrived for the morning meditation. * * * ¡°Apologies, Master ?daka, but I know the source of Novice Amdirlain¡¯s inability to find her chakras. Might I assist in this matter?¡± asked Cyrus. ?daka hadn¡¯t reacted to Cyrus listening in to their conversation after the morning meditation. However, when he spoke up, she beckoned him to move closer. At the gesture, Cyrus raised his hand and glanced at Amdirlain meaningfully. ¡°My apologies again, but it is something that will be of no use to yourself and touches on other matters. Unless Novice Amdirlain, you have shared similar information to yesterday¡¯s discussion with Master ?daka?¡± ¡°Know that I will leave you to your discussion, then. Know that Master Jarith? has indicated that there are matters involving you that are best left to your discretion, Novice Amdirlain,¡± stated ?daka and touched her shoulder reassuringly. Cyrus didn¡¯t wait for ?daka to move far and switched to English. ¡°Instead of your breathing and blood, focus on the web of energy within Ki Movement, unless you have developed Ki Flight.¡± ¡°No, I never really tried to get access to it since I have other Flight options.¡± ¡°Very well. It is an exercise best done in stillness. Either a kneeling or standing meditation posture works best¡ªwhatever you feel most comfortable in,¡± instructed Cyrus, and copied Amdirlain as she took up a seiza position. Without preamble, fine lines of glowing Ki energy enfolded Cyrus, forming precise interlinking hexagons moving across his body, the strength of the lines apparently waxing and waning. ¡°The Ki wants to move, but it is always something like a net¡ªor a web¡ªthat contains one¡¯s form. Now the issue is that you¡¯re not actually alive, rather your form is a vessel encapsulating your Soul. The chakras are where the spiritual energy and physical life energies mingle in living beings.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t find them because I don¡¯t actually have any?¡± Cyrus nodded but signalled Amdirlain to wait. ¡°Not in the fashion of Mortals, but there are still key points. However, the challenge is they differ in both their position and nature depending on the Immortal. The field created by Ki Movement is an example of the differences. I¡¯ve caused mine to show by filling it with extra Ki so you can compare it to your own.¡± There was no need for her to activate the Power to see the difference, giving the uniformity of the shapes moving about his form. ¡°Yours is precise and carefully aligned, even while it moves around. Mine is more a spider¡¯s web flexing in a breeze; very few spaces within the web look identical.¡± ¡°Yet, though different, they work for each of us. Something else to know if you force the Ki lines into a new pattern, you¡¯d have to relearn it.¡± ¡°What causes the difference?¡± ¡°Ki is spiritual life force welling and merging within us. An individual¡¯s skill and control affect how well it is used, but the person¡¯s nature always influences it, even if trained in the same way,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Have you meditated on the patterns the Power causes in the Ki?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve meditated and watched it while running, but not to look for patterns. I tried to understand it and enjoyed the way it continually shifted about.¡± ¡°Spend time regularly meditating on the patterns and let them guide you. You should find key points within them that¡ªwhile they move about¡ªstay consistent in both form and the strength of Ki within them. You should find between three and seven, perhaps eleven of them. Your irregular patterns will make this easier; I had to spend months looking for key nodes to sections where the energy never varied in intensity.¡± ¡°Are those nodes our version of the chakra?¡± ¡°No, they are just a steppingstone on the journey. It is important not to rush ahead. You need to find your understanding of their pattern first; it is also in your Ki State but within this Power it is easier to see it. You have Ki filling you like a mist, which is good but also potentially limiting. One day you¡¯ll find it crystallising within your form if you do not move beyond that state. Understanding its flows¡ªthe pattern¡ªis one aspect to using it more efficiently and preventing that.¡± ¡°How long is too long?¡± asked Amdirlain, trying to remember when the mist had risen from her Ki pool. ¡°A century or three, so while you¡¯ve time to progress, it can disappear quickly,¡± replied Cyrus, and gave a wry smile. ¡°I once spent that long under a tree, which is why I wouldn¡¯t recommend it unless you are a shrub.¡± Suppressing a few choice comments, Amdirlain even avoided rolling her eyes. ¡°Then I¡¯ll heed your experience and seek my web¡¯s anchor points.¡± ¡°There your lessons in images for your Psi techniques that might help you find your path onwards.¡± Cyrus raised his hand to pat her shoulder, only to pull it back just before contact. ¡°It¡¯s good you could withstand my touch, exploding would have made a mess.¡± Not sure how to respond, Amdirlain simply bowed and rushed off to make the morning meal on time. * * * The morning¡¯s physical training saw a pair of the Githz¨¦rai guests join Master Liran?. Unlike the various hairstyles within the monastery, both female Githz¨¦rai had their heads shaved. A hand-width shorter than Amdirlain, their lean bodies possessed the typical jaundice-hued skin of other Githz¨¦rai. The clearest point of difference in appearance was the freckles dusting the cheekbones of Master Rinji, and the slightly sharper checks and chin of Master Chessa. Otherwise, they regarded each Novice with the same calm amethyst gaze and unshifting expression, the colours of their clothing equally drab as the monastery uniforms. Though the styles differed somewhat, they were still loose and practical. Neither of them had been among the gathering accompanying Master Cyrus the other day, and it had Amdirlain wondering exactly how many Monks Master Jarith? had invited. Though checking them with Analysis, she found that neither had a Prestige Class. Rinji¡¯s classes were Monk and Priest, while Chessa showed Monk and Fighter, and both had progressed their classes into the high sixties. It was clear they¡¯d already planned between themselves when after the warm-ups, Liran? invited Rinji to explain the principles within Ki Strike. After that, they instructed the Novices to add it to as many strikes as possible during the lesson¡¯s course. Instead of the usual instructions to Amdirlain to conduct multiple techniques, Master Liran? simply told everyone to match her pace. One by one, the Novices ran through their Ki, and the visiting Masters waved them off to one side to contemplate upon their pool¡¯s emptiness. Their nausea and hollowed looks showed the impact of burning through their limited Ki in a hurry. When the last of them were sitting off to the side, Rinji and Chessa stood close to Amdirlain, watching the energy sheathing her fists. Beyond them, Liran? didn¡¯t worry about keeping her smile concealed, leading through various Zerthi strikes and blocks. ¡°We could be here a while,¡± Amdirlain said in a closed mental link to Liran?. ¡°Did they not ask questions about why there is an older Novice in your class?¡± ¡°Know that they informed me they wished to assess the Novices¡¯ capabilities themselves.¡± ¡°And making Novices aware of how it feels to run dry Ki quickly?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed.¡± Unfussed, Amdirlain just focused on executing each technique properly and considered the applications of each in various forms. It was close to lesson¡¯s end before Rinji shifted impatiently, and Amdirlain was pleased to note the Novices were looking somewhat recovered. ¡°What level are you, Novice?¡± asked Rinji, her calm expression gaining an edge of exasperation. ¡°I¡¯ve a few levels in Monk, plus some other classes, Master Rinji,¡± Amdirlain replied glibly. ¡°I could do this all day. Since I have experience with Ki Strike, holding it ready this way isn¡¯t consuming Ki.¡± Rinji sighed and glanced back at Liran? before addressing Amdirlain again. ¡±Know that you keep your movements very controlled. Know I shouldn¡¯t have assumed it was merely Elven grace, but I¡¯ve only read of your species.¡± So many assumptions, so little time. At least I know Cyrus isn¡¯t a big mouth to everyone in the delegation. ¡°Would you show us a kata from your primary style?¡± asked Chessa, motioning for her to stop. As Amdirlain lowered her hands, she gave a full-bodied shrug, aware that the Karate Kata she used for Meditation in the past weren¡¯t really part of her style. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have any Master Chessa.¡± What¡¯s that comment attributed to Bruce Lee? Karate is an iron bar whereas Kung Fu is an iron bar attached to a chain. Does that make my style a storm lashing everything around it with iron bars and blades? ¡°Then how do you perfect its techniques?¡± ¡°By not dying,¡± replied Amdirlain, and hurried to continue before Chessa could interject. ¡°It¡¯s my own style and I try to keep it very adaptive. The only Katas I know aren¡¯t part of my style. What I¡¯m learning here will hopefully allow me insights into its improvement.¡± ¡°Would you demonstrate your form then?¡± The Novice¡¯s excited murmur caused Liran? to join the discussion. ¡°Know that I would suggest viewing the psi-crystal of a challenge that Novice Amdirlain conducted shortly after her arrival here.¡± ¡°Know a psi-crystal would not have captured aspects of her Ki¡¯s expressions,¡± grumbled Chessa, with a confused frown at the Novices¡¯ continued excitement. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for wasting your time Masters Rinji and Chessa. While I¡¯m a Novice here, I¡¯m not a Novice Monk, it¡¯s more important to assess where the others are; you needn¡¯t worry about me in that respect.¡± ¡°Know that you are here to learn.¡± ¡°Actually, I¡¯m here primarily for some peaceful stability.¡± retorted Amdirlain, and winced at the sharp tone. ¡°Apologies Masters, but I am among the Novices because of a mental injury and needing a stable routine during healing. Please focus on the others and I¡¯ll see what insights I can gain from your instruction of them. My presence shouldn¡¯t be a distraction from the importance of their learning.¡± A glint of amusement in Liran?¡¯s gaze provided Amdirlain with plenty of warning, but Liran? spoke over her attempted objection. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve already asked Master Tenzin to assist. Know Novice Amdirlain, I believe you should repeat the lesson you gave Master ?daka.¡± ¡°Master Liran?, with all due respect, you¡¯re a menace,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been avoiding it.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯m aware of that Novice Amdirlain,¡± assured Liran?, and her serious tone turned teasing. ¡°But there was no recording, which is shameful.¡± Amdirlain waved to the open space behind her and gave a frustrated grumble. ¡°Know that I can handle Chaos Shaping a target.¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s best if Master Tenzin does so, then there will be less argument later,¡± teased Liran?, and a psi-crystal appeared floating above her hand. At the low wordless murmur from the Novices, she glanced their way. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll copy the recording for all of you, and Master Tenzin will be here shortly.¡± Master Tenzin wasn¡¯t the only one, and ?daka, along with a stream of Masters that Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise, trailed in after her, clasping crystals of their own. As the score of excited Masters spread themselves around the hall¡¯s perimeter, Amdirlain glared at Liran?. ¡°I¡¯m going to get you for this.¡± Liran?¡¯s expression turned smug at the half-hearted threat. ¡°Know I¡¯m counting on you trying during our rematch.¡± The strike plate Tenzin created in the centre of the hall wasn¡¯t steel but black Adamantine that matched the monastery¡¯s outer walls. ¡°This is an upgrade of that demonstration, not a repeat,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and stepped towards it when Tenzin waved her forward. Eyeing Tenzin suspiciously, Amdirlain stepped to one side and found the strike plate could do a battleship proud. ¡°Do you expect me to punch through that?¡± ¡°Know I thought it would let us gauge how much damage you can do. Know since you can already destroy a steel plate, it¡¯s hard to judge when you improve later.¡± ¡°Squeak!¡± I¡¯m a lab rat! ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Nevermind,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and took her position in front of the target again. ¡°You¡¯re right. Complete destruction is the top end of the scale; after that, it¡¯s all over nine thousand.¡± ¡°Know you are in a strange mood today, Novice Amdirlain.¡± Letting go of the Mantle¡¯s strands of energy, Amdirlain settled herself and the whispers died away along with the grass-like field around her. Destruction Mana flowed into Ki Infusion in a rush of energy very alien in comparison to the field¡¯s peace. There was no malevolence about it, simply a mindless destructive force that claimed everything in its wake. Light twisted around her fist, pulled into the void¡¯s force, and the punch¡¯s impact cratered wrist deep into the strike plate. The Mana¡¯s burst chewed the metal into dust and sent cracks in all directions that thinned into hairline fractures the further they went. Dust streamed away from Amdirlain¡¯s fist only to shimmer from existence, but no light showed through the plate itself. ¡°Want to change it to one matching the training yard now?¡± asked Amdirlain, her own surprise at the damage¡¯s extent carefully restrained. While apparently ignoring the glance exchanged between Rinji and Chessa, she noted their assessing expressions. ¡°Know I will do so after I record the impression you left on the plate,¡± replied Tenzin, and shooed Amdirlain aside to get a clear view. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go full out with all the extra limbs?¡± asked Liran? sweetly. ¡°I¡¯ll save that for this evening¡¯s training,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and snorted at Liran?¡¯s look of mock-fear. 174 - The Unforgiven II Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand After lunch, the training hall looked quite different, cluttered with various sized stone cylinders laying on sloped ramps set around the hall. Master Duurth took in the curious reactions as they entered the hall with an almost amused expression. He motioned them to spread out among the ramps when the entire class was present. ¡°Know you will each pick a weight to use for this training.¡± Amdirlain moved to a mid-sized cylinder and looked the setup over curiously. The ramp had a forked base with a hooked lip that let them see the mid-point of the cylinder positioned on its side. There were guide rails at either side, apparently intended to prevent the weight from being twisted as it moved up the ramp that grew exponentially steeper. ¡°Know that since all your technique plans have variations on Telekinetic Force and you¡¯ve displayed consistency in telekinetic manipulation of smaller objects, it¡¯s time to progress,¡± stated Duurth. ¡°Know those whose plans include the thrust variation the ramp¡¯s curve will keep it from flying off the end; the rest shall endeavour to control the cylinder and keep it at the curve¡¯s mid-point for as long as possible. Does anyone have questions?¡± He gestured when no one answered, and the Novices turned their focus to the cylinders. Shortly after they began, he stood by Amdirlain¡¯s side and looked at the cylinder she had caught. ¡°Know that I hope that wasn¡¯t from you attempting the Telekinetic Force technique,¡± offered Duurth, with a glance at the shattered wood at the top of the ramp. ¡°Maybe you should introduce the curves as ''should'' instead of ''will'' keep the cylinder from flying off,¡° Amdirlain replied and shifted the cylinder through Inventory and caused it to reappear on the ramp. ¡°I have Telekinetic Thrust in my techniques plan as well.¡± Duurth harrumphed at her before the ramp¡¯s broken lip, and the battered cylinder reformed. ¡°Know you should rest and meditate to restore your reserves as required,¡± instructed Duurth, raising his voice to be heard over the stones being shifted. ¡°Know that anyone fainting from overextending themselves has a fertiliser bucket awaiting them in the gardens.¡± He¡¯d been about to step away when he pointed Amdirlain to the largest cylinder still available. Amdirlain shifted spots with a sigh and caught the airborne cylinder a few attempts later. Before Duurth could look her way, she restored the cylinder and ramp, but that didn¡¯t prevent Lezekus snickering away from her own spot. ¡°The baby¡¯s fingers not working?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pushing it, not holding it,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, trying different image that just caused the cylinder to rock. ¡°Know you should start with force to get familiarity with its weight,¡± suggested Lezekus. ¡°Why did you start with the thrust variation?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m a brute, obviously.¡± Her light-hearted response had some of the Mantle¡¯s strands swaying in the breeze of amusement wafting from Lezekus. ¡°What did you try to use first?¡± ¡°An unpleasant memory.¡± Setting aside the recollection of pushing against the Sisterhood¡¯s summons to report, Amdirlain shifted to a different image. Giving a snicker of her own, she tried a more light-hearted image of her teenaged self trying to push Mal¡ªfaking sleep¡ªoff the lounge room couch. This time, the cylinder merely rocked in place, and she set about trying again. Amdirlain fought back laughter as memories of her brother¡¯s larrikin antics rose unbeckoned. * * * ¡°Amdirlain,¡± Sarith said and nodded in greeting. Awkwardly extending a hand back to keep Elliyna¡¯s door from closing, she shifted out of the way. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hold the door, Sarith, but thank you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Gemiya mentioned you started studying to become a Healer.¡± ¡°Know that is right, I have a lesson this evening,¡± replied Sarith and headed off the moment Amdirlain moved forward to keep the door ajar herself. Amdirlain let the door close before giving Elliyna a shrug, sat down in an armchair, and curled her feet underneath her. ¡°Know that looks like an awkward way to sit, but your continued attempt to talk to her is more uncomfortable still to listen to,¡± Elliyna observed. ¡°Then don¡¯t listen,¡± teased Amdirlain and laced her fingers behind her neck. ¡°What is the plan for tonight, oh venerable Healer?¡± ¡°Have you been able to transform the spire yet?¡± The question wiped the calm look from Amdirlain¡¯s face. Dropping her hands, she crossed her arms and hunched inwards. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Know that this would be easier if you¡¯d trust me enough to let me enter your Mind Palace,¡± chided Elliyna. A sigh escaped her lips from reflex and at Elliyna¡¯s curious expression, Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re a compromised resource you could say.¡± ¡°Because of my faith? Even though I¡¯m only a follower, not a Priest? Isn¡¯t that hypocritical, given that some would regard your own Priests as compromised?¡± asked Elliyna. ¡°Please leave it be. You can choose whoever you want to worship, and I¡¯ll never try to talk you out of it. While I really appreciate your help, I can also make my own choices, so you don¡¯t get invited in,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°As far as my Priests being considered compromised, to some they are; anyone who gets off on being a tyrant or a slaver will not be happy if one of their members started following my tenets.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be foolish,¡± grumbled Elliyna, the frustration clear in her tone. ¡°Please, I¡¯ve done lots of foolish things, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll do plenty more. I¡¯ve trusted the wrong entities before, but I¡¯ll try not to make the same mistake again. You worship an aspect of a Goddess who was working with two of my enemies. Whether she was playing them like she implied or she¡¯s playing me now doesn¡¯t matter. I simply want no part of the next game she¡¯s playing and giving you access to my memories means that long term she¡¯ll see them as well,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t just have to plan for the now, but decades and centuries into the future.¡± Elliyna stared at Amdirlain before a crystal floated across to land on the table near her. ¡°Know since you can now separate your memories from those you¡¯ve absorbed, this will help with processing the rest.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine. You can keep that. Just keep giving me advice on how I can deal with the mess, but it has to be things I can do myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°So you can check the advice against your Psionic Lore, or with another Master?¡± asked Elliyna, in a dry tone that seemed edged with dissatisfaction. Oops, did I screw up? ¡°Know that Master Duurth had wondered if everything was alright because of questions you¡¯ve continued asking after your Psionic classes.¡± ¡°There is a saying: ¡®Trust but verify¡¯. I¡¯ve discussed things with you I¡¯ve never mentioned to anyone else. Though that wasn¡¯t my only reason, I¡¯ve asked many questions to get my understanding of Psionic Lore in order. I have all this knowledge, but I¡¯m still working on comprehending it,¡± replied Amdirlain and shifted position on the couch. ¡°If I have a question on Psionic Lore, I can recall what knowledge I have on it, but I don¡¯t have the experience to know what questions to even ask.¡± Elliyna tilted her head in consideration for a moment and then nodded slowly. ¡°Know that sheds a different light on your questioning. Know that the perception Master Duurth gained was things had soured between us, and it raised concerns.¡± ¡°I have no questions about your integrity, but your Goddess has many facets to her nature. I¡¯m sharing information with you in these discussions, but I¡¯m not content with giving her potentially unsecured access to memories I don¡¯t even realise you¡¯ve seen. Even if she doesn¡¯t pass it along, it gives her material to plan against me, and even these discussions will give her a lot once your Soul moves on,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I will see nothing that crystal helps you with,¡± insisted Elliyna. ¡°I once stuck myself with a dagger a Demon Lady provided and that didn¡¯t work out so well. While you¡¯re not a Demon Lady, using objects where I don¡¯t know one hundred percent what they do won¡¯t happen.¡± Her admission had Elliyna looking at her like she¡¯d grown a second head, and Amdirlain mentally sighed when Elliyna sputtered out a question. ¡°Why would you ever take such an action?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve mentioned holding the Souls of those I¡¯ve killed for a time. I had destroyed some undead with energy from an evil and chaotic god enfolded in their Souls. Not the Chaos of this place that¡¯s possible to manipulate; it was wilfully destructive and wanted to shred everything it touched.¡± ¡°What does a dagger have to do with this?¡± asked Elliyna, as Amdirlain rose to pace about, unsure what details to provide. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I had destroyed thousands of undead capturing their Souls, and when I did so the energy seeped into me. I had stolen power from them with the potential to destroy me, and I had no way of controlling it. The item was supposed to condense the energy into my blood and had a hollow core to let it then drain out. While I felt a channel open when I used it and could feel the energy leaving, she tipped her hand soon after that. It did more, it let her see through my protection as a Hidden. While it didn¡¯t let her see everything, she learnt my nature,¡± explained Amdirlain and gestured to the crystal. ¡°Even if it that crystal only does what you say, I¡¯ll have let an object that interacts with my mind bypass my defences. What happens if there is a way for someone to leverage that to learn things I don¡¯t want to share?¡± ¡°Are you perhaps being paranoid?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only being paranoid if there isn¡¯t someone out to get you,¡± countered Amdirlain. Elliyna gave a long sigh and waved her to sit down again. ¡°Know the crystal allows an untrained individual to use a variation of a Telepathy technique called Psychic Chirurgery, it''s safe and limited to themselves. Know that while Duurth can train you in it, the technique is not currently in your plan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak to him about what adjustments I need to make then,¡± asserted Amdirlain ¡°Know that it¡¯s a technique only Healers normally look to learn. Know also there are techniques you¡¯ll need to master first and it will stretch most anyone¡¯s Telepathy Skill,¡± argued Elliyna. ¡°How strong does it need to be?¡± asked Amdirlain, deliberately ignoring the crystal. ¡°I have Advanced Telepathy at Adept rank, though it¡¯s only at level nineteen presently.¡± The crystal returned to Elliyna¡¯s hand with a painful sounding slap. ¡°Do you know how vexing you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure if that was a Skill I¡¯d have Grand Master Rank, assuming I hadn¡¯t evolved it further,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Know I would like you to tell me about your progress clearing the obsidian, and what approaches have given the best results for you. Have you had any insights into removing the spire at all?¡± * * * Amdirlain sat down in the cleared training hall and closed her eyes while she waited for Liran?. The Mind Palace formed around her with the spire¡¯s surface dramatically changed. Instead of black rock beneath her, demonic blood bubbled at a roiling boil, separated from her by a thin crystalline barrier. Staying aloft, she floated to the spire¡¯s edge and looked down a crystalline tube to the giant below. The ground over long weeks had taken on the appearance of an archaeological dig site, with channels and retaining walls along its edges. She¡¯d structured the entire setup to prevent anything from spilling into the pit she¡¯d carved, for all that it should be under her control. The fractured obsidian cleared away from the figure¡¯s unblinking eyes to just below her collarbones. Last night the spire that had looked an oversized obsidian poniard speared into pale exposed flesh at the hollow of the throat. Its crystalline surface made it an obscenely large needle, and Amdirlain was unsure if it was injecting the demonic blood or showing what it drew from the form. Her position shifted and Amdirlain stood at the wound¡¯s bloodless edge. The impression in the flesh made it unclear if the needle had broken the skin or not. ¡°I¡¯m not a Demon.¡± The memory of the damned Souls of the Dretches¡¯ blood plain flickered around her and Amdirlain considered the way the spikes held them aloft while this one pressed her down. ¡°The Abyss presents them, holding their form aloft so they can bleed out their vileness and spawn Demons. Is that why these forms are pinned down and being smothered under tar and rock? All the pain threatening to drown me, and this is what my Mind Palace turned into. A twisted mirror image of that first Abyssal horror show with spikes pinning me in place instead of holding me in torment above the mess.¡± Amdirlain stretched out a hand to tap the spire¡¯s side. Despite the delicacy of its appearance, a dull noise resounded from its unyielding surface. ¡°This place should be under my control. It helped me get rid of Viper. Why is it so stubborn now? Why did I bury myself and my past lives if that¡¯s what they are? Elliyna¡¯s right, whatever the reason, I need to rid myself of this spire.¡± Trying to find the means to shift it, image after image battered at the spire¡¯s presence. It didn¡¯t budge. As bubbles increased their tempo and the needle shifted downwards, Amdirlain didn¡¯t stand she simply was upright. Her punch plunged deep into the crystal and boiling blood wrapped around her arm. In a moment of suspended time, cracks spider-webbed outwards in slow motion until they reached far overhead. Then time returned to full speed. The pressure behind the material exploded outwards in a flood of fiery blood and grief that crashed down upon her. Instead of drowning, Amdirlain knelt beneath the rotting body of a child¡¯s impaled corpse. The species details trampled her awareness amid the memory of rain streaming across her. Rain that mingled with her tears as the nearby Royal Champions kept vigil on her¡ªtheir prisoner¡ªmassed power combined with her feelings of grief and guilt to hold Song out of her reach. The local raptors cawed across the killing fields surrounding the dead city, their discordant notes speaking of sated hunger, and the endless food at hand. Beneath their living caws, the slaughtering army¡¯s merciless Song mocked a faded echo of the dead¡¯s torment. A Song that overflowed with arrogance, pride, and contempt for the lesser, short-lived beings they¡¯d purged from their world. Mournful notes laid the dead bodies out in neat rows when the choruses on guard ceased to suppress her Song. The child¡¯s broken body bled water and rotting flesh across the pyre she created. Reaching out a trembling hand out to close the child¡¯s empty eyes was a futile gesture as no lids remained. The thorns of judgment pointed at her accusingly from her branded flesh, and the Songs of departed Souls cried of her failure to protect. The weight of the guilt crushed her down, and her Song gave life to the sorrow that burned within. The flames'' fury unable to touch her golden skin, she stayed amid them while the bodies of gentle Souls who¡¯d paid for her failure burned. Across a purged city, the pyres¡¯ tongues reached skywards, and the raptors fled the flames. Their black wings mingling with the smoke and clouds above whose tears couldn¡¯t put out the fires that raged for weeks. The vision jumped about as hundreds of thousands¡ªand more¡ªdied to her blade, Song, and Spell. Finally, she stood upon a barren plain beneath a much younger jagged black cliff, and black clouds seeded with poisoned power blocked the blazing sky overhead. Looking across the thousands of Souls standing bond before her, finally only disgust remained, and her Song alone set an equally terrible judgement in place. Souls of golden-haired Elves screamed and begged for mercy at the grim music, but their bonds held them in place until the music died away. Thorns set into the image of the spikes they¡¯d used erupted upwards through anuses and out mouths to hold each a body-length or more aloft¡ªnow free to flail in their misery. The blood they¡¯d spilled in life flowed from each, along with fragments of their twisted Souls. With a start, Amdirlain opened her eyes and found the training hall thick with the smell of blood and death rising from her pores. Grief that she¡¯d turned into a killing rage in that life ripped around inside her before folding her in two, and tears dripped across blood-soaked robes. How long she stayed there crying, she had no clue. Awareness clawed at her the instant the gore-filled air cleared, and she spied the figure that crouched nearby through her concealed eyes. ¡°Novice Amdirlain, do you need me to wake Master Elliyna?¡± asked Tenzin. The Master knelt not far away, but still clear of her reach. Tenzin¡¯s typically composed expression was wide-eyed, and her complexion faded to the colour of yellowed parchment. The movement of Tenzin¡¯s gaze tracking over Amdirlain¡¯s body made her aware of the spikes and thorns jutting from her flesh. The clawing pain she¡¯d automatically dulled showed Chaos Shaping, not Protean, had grown them inside her, and the flesh rapidly sealed closed as she removed each. She still stank of death and needed repeated attempts to reshape her clothes and clean everything from her flesh. ¡°Sorry.¡± The single word was all Amdirlain managed as fresh tears burst forth. Music, like none she¡¯d ever heard before the spire exploded, rang remembered within her mind. The notes crying with pain and agony given to others, set forth to be experienced tenfold and more by those Souls she¡¯d judged. As she punished them, guilt burned the Song within her. She had failed to condemn earlier, to protect them from the poison she¡¯d discovered, but done too little against. All because concern for her cousin¡¯s Royal pride and their mandates had stayed her from purging them all, despite the horrors she¡¯d found present in their creation. Sociopaths, one and all, their society was only functional through the fear that those above might delight in your agony next. Even their children had taken delight in tormenting those lesser instead of playing innocent games. Their beautiful bodies could only give rise to brutally twisted Souls, somehow unable to see those that looked different as having any worth or understanding another¡¯s pain at all. ¡°Know I will organise a separate space for your evening meditations and training in case there are further such incidents.¡± The doorway pushed open to allow Master Liran? to enter, and she saw Cyrus and others beyond their calm presence, providing reassurance to a corridor of Novices. Sarith¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Sarith shifted uncomfortably on the end of Gemiya¡¯s pallet, her gaze locked on her fingers instead of meeting Gemiya¡¯s own. ¡°Know I no longer hate her, but I don¡¯t like her. Can we talk about something else?¡± ¡°Will you explain why you were so angry? Know that I¡¯ve been trying to be patient and wait to speak about it. Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d spoken to Master Elliyna about it?¡± ¡°Know that you will not understand.¡± Gemiya leaned in close and pushed Sarith¡¯s knee flat against the bed to stop her attempt to squirm away. ¡°Isn¡¯t that self-fulfilling? Know that I absolutely will not understand if you don¡¯t explain, Sari.¡± A moment of wresting freed Sarith from Gemiya¡¯s light pin, and she glared at her sister. ¡°Know that I wanted everything to be like father¡¯s and mother¡¯s stories. Know for me everything started fine: nothing was out of place, it looked the same, even the important Masters were still here. Does it make sense that I hated her for changing it so much? Know when she kept saying I had choices it just made me so furious. What choice did I have about her being here?¡± ¡°Know since that hasn¡¯t changed, why don¡¯t you hate her anymore?¡± ¡°Know it was some questions Master Elliyna asked me. Please, will you let me leave it at that?¡± Gemiya leaned forward again to press her forehead to Sarith¡¯s even as she tried to squirm away. ¡°Know I need you to tell me.¡± ¡°Know that you do not.¡± ¡°Tell me,¡± insisted Gemiya, and Sarith shot her a frown for the oddity of her speech. ¡°Why don¡¯t you hate your sister and parents for deciding that you¡¯d come here? Why don¡¯t you hate them for never asking if you wanted to become a Monk?¡± The questions had Gemiya sitting back in shock, and in distress she whispered around a hand she held before her mouth. ¡°Why did those questions change things for you?¡± ¡°Know that everything we did together I enjoyed, but you were always the one that made the important choices. Know I felt Amdirlain shouldn¡¯t have been here and hated her for choosing to stay,¡± replied Sarith and pushed Gemiya aside to pace momentarily beside the pallet. Moving to the door, she seized the handle in a white-knuckled grip before she pulled it open and looked back at Gemiya sadly. ¡°Know I wanted a choice that wasn¡¯t yours, and yet I let you push me into going to the courtyard. Do you want to know who I hate now?¡± ¡°Me?¡± ¡°No! Know that I hate my weakness in having allowed you to make every choice that mattered. Know I should have left the courtyard when I couldn¡¯t calm down, but even there, I failed to make the choice I should have,¡± replied Sarith. With that said, she stepped out into the corridor and didn¡¯t look back, but Gemiya heard her. ¡°Know it¡¯s not your fault, and I don¡¯t blame you; it¡¯s my fault, but now I have to figure out who I want to be, and it¡¯s a choice I alone will make.¡± With that, Sarith strode away, and Gemiya watched the door slowly close between them. Her footsteps carried her to the end of the hall, and the smell of blood caught her attention. The corridor¡¯s light showed dark streams reaching from beneath the training hall¡¯s door, and she mentally called for Master Tenzin even as she forced herself to push the door open. Squat multi-limbed bodies, the like of which she¡¯d never seen, sat amid pooling blood and viscera. A strangely intact face looked up at her from a tiny, crushed skull, the child-like innocence of its clouded gaze catching her own. Whether it was the stench or the child¡¯s face, the first spike of nausea dropped her, kneeling and vomiting amid the mess. The splattering noise of bile mingled with the tormented sobs of a figure further within the hall. The thousands of bleeding thorns blooming through Amdirlain¡¯s flesh and shredded robes alike had her finding what else she had to purge. She didn¡¯t feel the touch locking her into a dreamless slumber before they teleported her from the Hall. 175 - Regret Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Cyrus left the other Masters tending to the Novices and, following Liran? closed the door. ¡°Your Chaos Shaping certainly makes cleaning up after a massacre easier. How did the bodies appear in the first place?¡± ¡°Know Chaos Shaping formed them along with the spikes Amdirlain grew, but those needed her to remove them,¡± explained Tenzin and looked at Amdirlain again. ¡°Know you didn¡¯t answer: should I wake Master Elliyna?¡± ¡°You still don¡¯t look yourself at present,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m all healed,¡± insisted Amdirlain, forcing herself to grip her robe¡¯s edge. ¡°Physically, perhaps,¡± refuted Cyrus. ¡°Might we know what occurred?¡± ¡°I tried to change an element in my Mind Palace, and it had some side effects,¡± offered Amdirlain, hoping to avoid the details. Tenzin stopped Amdirlain¡¯s pacing with a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Know I need details on what occurred to determine if the Novices are at risk.¡± ¡°I unleashed a past life memory that caught me by surprise. I was-, it-,¡± Amdirlain turned away and paced, trying to get control of the surging guilt that she could recognise wasn¡¯t even her own. ¡°Such memories can be complex, and often those that surface first are among the most emotional,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Know that doesn¡¯t explain why the training hall ended up littered with the remains of furred six-limbed bipeds,¡± replied Tenzin and gently tried to get Amdirlain to face her. ¡°I created their bodies here?¡± asked Amdirlain, finally catching up with Tenzin¡¯s earlier explanation. ¡°Know that there were bodies from infant-size to chest-height on me; all mutilated,¡± stated Liran? and glanced over at Cyrus. ¡°Know when we arrived, Sarith had already summoned Tenzin, and I shifted her to the infirmary.¡± ¡°What did I do to her?¡± Liran? gave a nod of confirmation. ¡°Know it¡¯s simple shock from the state of the room and yourself as the spines growing from you horrified her. Know that I¡¯ve asked the Healer to ensure she has no lingering nightmares.¡± ¡°She was busy finding what she ate for dinner last week when we arrived. Liran? teleported her to the infirmary,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Know if it had been flames or other effects you¡¯d created instead of bodies, you might well have killed someone,¡± chided Tenzin. At Amdirlain¡¯s sudden blanch, Tenzin gave a grim nod and continued. ¡°Know I will see to it they prepare a separate room for your evening training; for now, stick with physical training. Know since it caught you by surprise, I want you to avoid working on your Mind Palace until it is available.¡± ¡°I can teach you the meditation techniques used by new Immortals in the Jade Court to deal with their returning memories,¡± offered Cyrus and smiled at Amdirlain¡¯s suspicious expression. ¡°You don¡¯t need to share any secrets with me¡ªI¡¯ll simply walk you through the process. It allows one to review the memory in stages rather than being overwhelmed.¡± ¡°Know I would prefer those exercises to wait until after we organise a separate location,¡± objected Tenzin. Glancing between them, unsure who to address first, Amdirlain took the middle road. ¡°I¡¯ll be guided by the advice of you both in that case, Masters. I¡¯ll let you know when the area is ready, Master Cyrus.¡± The stern look he gave her the moment Amdirlain added the title earned a flicker of a smile. ¡°Know that I¡¯ll leave you to your training matches,¡± stated Tenzin and clasped Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder gently before she left the hall and shooed the Novices back to their rooms. Cyrus looked her over but without the painful pressure of his third eye. ¡°I don¡¯t like the way you look still. Take the time to meditate on your Ki Movement¡¯s web while I bully Liran? for a while.¡± ¡°Know that I hadn¡¯t hoped for such honour a second time,¡± demurred Liran?. ¡°We¡¯re both here, and Amdirlain looks like goat¡¯s dung,¡± countered Cyrus. ¡°A touch for you to win the match.¡± A suddenly smiling Liran? moved to the training hall¡¯s mid-point, and Amdirlain moved out of the way. Within the first few techniques, Amdirlain could already see improvement in the conciseness of motion within Liran?¡¯s fighting style. Cyrus shot a chiding glance in Amdirlain¡¯s direction even while swaying away from an explosive punch, prompting Amdirlain to focus on her Ki Movement¡¯s web. Although Amdirlain was motionless in standing meditation, the web still slowly flexed and swayed across her form as she set about examining it for anchor points. The web¡¯s sections varied in size, the smallest of them barely a knuckle joint, and the largest a pinkie length across. Master ?daka arrived to find Cyrus and Liran? still sparring, though Liran? had taken breaks to meditate and drink occasionally. Cyrus paused by the doorway and looked over Amdirlain¡¯s meditating pose before he spoke. ¡°How many key points have you found so far?¡± ¡°Only six so far. Some sections only have tiny and irregular instabilities, so it takes a while to check them,¡± replied Amdirlain, not taking her attention from a nexus of lines within. ¡°Six already?! That formation of yours does aid you. Very well, but you¡¯ll need to keep looking; there is never an even number,¡± Cyrus said before bowing to the three of them as he moved to the door. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll even match the highest recorded at eleven. I¡¯ll leave you to figure out how to sense the structure across your back. Ensure you check down to your toes and fingertips. I¡¯ll check with you in a few days¡¯ time to see how you¡¯ve progressed.¡° Amdirlain refocused her efforts and didn¡¯t take time to work out how the web could anchor adequately with most of its points across her shoulders and neck. Even when Liran? and Cyrus departed she kept at it to distract herself from the lingering unease of the memory. * * * ¡°What happened, Amdirlain?¡± asked Lezekus after breakfast had been served, and the conversation at the other tables stilled. ¡°While Master Duurth touched on Mind Palaces in class the other week, we didn¡¯t go into details. It might seem strange but I¡¯ve had access to mine for some time, and in it are memories of past lives.¡± Zenya fixed her with a confused look before setting her spoon down. ¡°How is that possible, to have past lives? Know our lore says the Gods create our Souls and send us forth. Know it¡¯s said our Souls dwell in the Domains of those who we worshiped in life.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not arguing with that, as that is certainly the case for many. Some Souls will return to the wheel of life though if their deeds or nature don¡¯t earn them a greater state after resting in those Domains. Those that find enlightenment within the Ki¡ªor via other means¡ªattract the memories from past lives back to them yet still need to work to attune to them. I recovered a past-life memory. It was horrible: I had no control, just a prisoner inside her emotions, unable to stop them from drowning me. Master Tenzin said I created the bodies and the wounds I inflicted on myself with Chaos Shaping, but I don¡¯t even remember doing it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re enlightened like Master Cyrus?¡± asked Nomein, digging her spoon around in her food but making no move to eat. ¡°I¡¯m the ¡®other means¡¯ option,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and Lezekus smoothed a giggle. Gemiya tilted her head in confusion. ¡°But is it your memory? Why do you refer to it that way?¡± ¡°Her view of things was very different to my own,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I could tell that just from the fragment I picked up. She was very much a different person. I¡¯m not sure I would have made the same choices,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not going into details, but the memory was unpleasant, and she took vengeance on those responsible for their deaths.¡± Especially about not worrying about the Royal pride and mandates when it left innocents at the mercy of merciless sociopaths. ¡°Know if you keep talking, you¡¯ll not have time to digest breakfast before physical training. Know that anyone who throws up during training, will wipe it up before scrubbing everything,¡± Tenzin stated in a firm tone that silenced the room¡¯s chatter. * * * That evening, the walk to Elliyna¡¯s gave her a moment¡¯s respite to reflect on a hectic day. While the Novices had endured physical training under the auspices of Rinji and Chessa she¡¯d been taken off to the training yard by Liran?. The only explanation had been to avoid distracting the others, yet their presence in the training yard had certainly provided a distraction to those using it. Liran? had her defending herself in place amid a furious free-form exchange of strikes and kicks that had forced Silent Storm to progress. The afternoon classes had both overrun, leading to an abbreviated Affinity session before the evening meal. Caught up in the busy day¡¯s energy, everyone had inhaled the evening meal before rushing to their evening class, leaving Amdirlain alone. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Elliyna¡¯s door opened after the first tap, and Amdirlain entered without sighting Sarith. Motioning her to sit, Elliyna set her cup on the table beside her and looked Amdirlain over. ¡°Know that I¡¯m glad you¡¯re no longer the blood-drenched monster, nor still spouting painful-looking thorns.¡± ¡°Sarith?¡± ¡°Know her distressed descriptions were most graphic. Know also that Arith erased the scars left by an adolescent mind witnessing such horrors, so she¡¯ll suffer no longer-term effects beyond nightmares that will eventually fade. How did the bodies and thorns come to be?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t actually get to notice the bodies before Tenzin had cleared them away. From Liran?¡¯s description, I recreated victims of a massacre in a past life. She avenged them and prevented more of the peoples that lived on that planet from dying to their killers, but that didn¡¯t do the dead much good. Her grief held onto me even when the memory released me.¡± Her explanation was greeted with silence, but rather than disbelief it was obvious Elliyna was giving it due consideration. ¡°What led to you getting access to the memory?¡± ¡°The spire had turned into a crystalline needle filled with demonic-looking ichor. When I broke it open, the memory washed over me.¡± ¡°You broke it open?!¡± asked Elliyna in exasperation, and waved Amdirlain¡¯s attempt to answer away. ¡°What was the damage like under the spire¡¯s location?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not been back in my Mind Palace since the memory hit me. Master Tenzin insists I wait until after they create a separate space for my evening meditations and training.¡± ¡°Know that¡¯s the least they can do considering the scores of Wizards gaining Affinities I¡¯ve been hearing about regularly,¡± huffed Elliyna. ¡°Know those that have spoken to me have been truly delighted by the revelations they felt in your sessions. How often do you hold them?¡± ¡°Each day before the evening meal,¡± replied Amdirlain, and gave her a grin. ¡°I¡¯m working on getting all the Wizards the first three Tiers, and a few I¡¯ve helped with a Tier 4 or 5.¡± ¡°You would just give such a priceless gift away? Would you explain why a constant among those I¡¯ve spoken to afterwards is they find their meditative states have deepened?¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised no one has asked me sooner. Didn¡¯t they use a psi-crystal to check their gains?¡± enquired Amdirlain, her grin not having faded. ¡°Know those psi-crystals are strained by every use and normally only used to assess those approaching graduation. What will they find?¡± After a moment of consideration, Amdirlain restricted herself to part of the truth. ¡°A new Power called Harmony will have absorbed whatever Skill they previously used for meditating.¡± An incredulous expression flittered across Elliyna¡¯s features before she simply sighed. ¡°Does anything remain untouched by the changes you bring? No! Know that I don¡¯t want an answer to that question. Know you should enter your Mind Palace and tell me what you see within.¡± An unneeded breath settled Amdirlain into the moment and she held her own nerves at bay. Her arrival point was still high in the air, but it was now a transparent crystalline disc that let her see down into a crusted wound beneath her. Gusts that once would have issued from the figure¡¯s mouth now made a whistling noise directly from the figure¡¯s airway and shoved the maggots chewing on gangrenous flesh. ¡°Know that maggots only eat dead flesh, so perhaps they represent your own mental resilience dealing with your traumas. Know I would suggest in your evening meditations you explore the lake, since it stretches out further than you can see.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to work on my Mind Palace until the space is ready,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Would it not be best to find if there are any other spires large or small in order to clear them? Know I doubt you¡¯d be ready to do so quickly given the excavation work required to get at the afflicted forms,¡± offered Elliyna, and considered her thoughtfully. ¡°Know I would suggest first meditating on the sickened flesh and see if you can determine the cause, since its face resembles the life you remember.¡± Re-entering the Mind Palace, Amdirlain moved carefully down to the wound, keeping clear both of the gales caused by the figure¡¯s breathing and the maggots. The bitter stench of decaying flesh churned regrets and what-if¡¯s around inside her, and she realised the poisoned gangrenous flesh had been of her own making. The wince that crossed her face when she released her hold on the Mind Palace had Elliyna raise her eyebrows. ¡°What is it we need to talk about?¡± ¡°Not holding myself responsible for the decisions of a cheating fianc¨¦ and someone I had considered a genuine friend. It seems I¡¯ve still got regrets poisoning me.¡± ¡°Shall we start with your biggest regrets?¡± Amdirlain groaned and tilted her head back to consider the fascinating blankness of the ceiling. ¡°Do I got to?" ¡°Know that is up to you. Would you like to let your memory rot you from the inside?¡± ¡°I was fifteen when I started paying attention to him, but he¡¯d been in the same school year for a couple of years¡­ He gave some guys who were pressuring me ¡®what for¡¯¡ªguess I was easy to impress.¡± * * * When she spied Sarith waiting morosely outside her room, Amdirlain considered just slipping into the training hall despite knowing neither Cyrus nor Liran? would be along that night. Amdirlain pushed aside the momentary pettiness and strode ahead, allowing her movements to echo down the corridor. I¡¯ve got enough messes to clean up, but that doesn¡¯t excuse me from helping someone clean up their own, especially when I contributed. ¡°Are you alright, Sarith?¡± At her question, Sarith¡¯s gaze snapped upwards, and the conflicted expression vanished. ¡°Know that was the question I had intended to ask you. Know that Master Elliyna wouldn¡¯t tell me much, but she said that wasn¡¯t even the worst sight you¡¯d described to her.¡± Amdirlain gave a curt nod, and the now often repeated explanation ran from her lips. ¡°For years I just blocked things out, but that just let the memories and emotions fester. It had left me with quite a mental mess which is why I came here for healing.¡± At Sarith¡¯s flinch though, she added a question. ¡°Is there something I can help you with?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll ever like you, but I shouldn¡¯t have objected to you seeking healing. Know Master Elliyna says a Healer¡¯s most difficult patients are those they like or dislike, and I need to look at facts, not react with emotions,¡± replied Sarith. The silence weighed the gulf between them, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t respond, rather let it press upon Sarith until she found the resolve to continue. ¡°Know I don¡¯t expect you to accept, but you have my apologies for any interference I caused to your healing, no matter how small.¡± ¡°Do you believe your words of apology sufficient?¡± asked Amdirlain gently. Sarith¡¯s pained expression was enough of an answer even before she shook her head. ¡°Know I do not, but they are all I can offer you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not correct, and I¡¯ve a request that you can consider or reject, but that choice is yours.¡± ¡°What is the request?¡± ¡°After you become a qualified Healer, help members of other species, not just the Githz¨¦rai,¡± replied Amdirlain, and restrained a smile at Sarith¡¯s disbelieving expression. ¡°Why would you ask something like that? How do you benefit?¡± It¡¯s more I need nothing from you, but this might make you feel you¡¯ve made amends and learn from it. ¡°There are those that believe it¡¯s best to ask for repayment to be paid forward, and that it¡¯ll help you in unexpected ways. Though to truly help, you¡¯ll need to understand their cultures first,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Genuine understanding comes when you can set all preconceptions aside, and there are lots of people that need help.¡± ¡°Know I hadn¡¯t heard of that previously; our laws have regulations regarding the proper repayment of debts,¡± muttered Sarith, fighting her reflex suspicions. ¡°Well, as you¡¯ve pointed out, I¡¯m not Githz¨¦rai,¡± replied Amdirlain, and a smile took the sting from her words. ¡°I don¡¯t expect an answer, but you¡¯ll know if you¡¯ve made amends or not. Rest well, Sarith.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯d say the same, but I know you don¡¯t sleep,¡± replied Sarith, and with that she bowed to Amdirlain and headed on her way. Settled on her pallet Amdirlain re-entered her Mind Palace and, picking a direction, set out to find the lake¡¯s far shore. * * * Amdirlain stepped out in the morning to attend morning meditations, only to find Master Jarith? waiting and looking quite smug. The corridor near had ended at a blank wall, but now stairs led down from the sleeping level and ended in a vault-like door. At his prompting, when Amdirlain opened the first, she found there wasn¡¯t one door but two, and she shot Jarith? a surprised look. ¡°Know after the second the corridor loops back and there is a third to open, in case of explosions,¡± explained Jarith?. ¡°You expanded the dormitory into the bedrock to cater for my meditations?¡± ¡°Know that isn¡¯t what we did,¡± refuted Jarith? and the smugness in his gaze strengthened. ¡°Know it was an interesting mental exercise to raise the dormitory and add this as the ground floor overnight.¡± ¡°Thank you for your efforts, Master Jarith?,¡± replied Amdirlain and closed the first door. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure I only seek to alter my Mind Palace in the chamber.¡± ¡°Know it is large enough for yourself and Masters Cyrus and Liran? to conduct training matches as well.¡± ¡°Is there something going on?¡± asked Amdirlain and continued when Jarith? only tilted his head at her question. ¡°I caught some odd glances between Masters Rinji and Chessa during our first lesson,¡± Jarith?¡¯s sigh carried a mix of frustration and odd amusement. ¡°Know it is a matter of politics and philosophical differences. Know that while we had come to enough of an agreement for them to send a delegation to teach, there are still some details that are being determined.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just focus on my studies then and keep out of it. Thank you again, Master Jarith?,¡± said Amdirlain, before heading towards the training hall¡ªthe corridor quickly vacant behind her. Kneeling before the others arrived Amdirlain continued with her explorations of Ki Movement¡¯s web, unsure what she was doing wrong. Along with the six key points she found yesterday, she added another twenty during breaks from exploring her Mind Palace overnight. Whether it was politics or other matters, Liran? intercepted her after breakfast to ensure she stayed away from the Novices¡¯ physical training session again that day. Their own training was another session of her holding position against Liran?¡¯s assaults, but this time with others tossing objects her way. Though they threw none of them hard enough to injure, the purpose was to catch them with Telekinesis while she fought Liran?, they were distraction enough. Lezekus gave her a shoulder bump before she took her seat for the second meal. ¡°Know I believe that Masters Rinji and Chessa were disappointed you weren¡¯t at the lesson again today. Know I¡¯m curious to know what they¡¯re after as they asked questions about the Affinities you possess, but I don¡¯t think that is their main interest in you.¡± ¡°Do they know of the Affinity sessions?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know they didn¡¯t state it outright, but there were some subtle questions. Know they feel like some of my father¡¯s customers haggling for a deal.¡± ¡°What did you tell them?¡± ¡°Know we told them exactly what Master Tenzin instructed us to: the monastery hosted a Wizard with a gift for teaching for a time,¡± reported Zenya, and slumped into her seat. ¡°Know that I¡¯m exhausted after that class, normally the baths make me feel more alive.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the truthful vagueness of the reply that no one had instructed her to use. ¡°When did she tell you all that?¡± ¡°Know it was prior to the Mana Theory class after the delegation arrived,¡± answered Lezekus, only just beating Nomein in replying. ¡°I¡¯ll remember to use that line as well.¡± ¡°Do you believe it better than telling Cyrus to his face that you don¡¯t trust him with your secrets?¡± enquired Lezekus cheekily. ¡°It¡¯s a touch more diplomatic,¡± admitted Amdirlain to the others¡¯ laughter. ¡°Do you think Master Duurth will make us train with the stone cylinders again today?¡± Nomein asked. ¡°When has Master Duurth ever not made you repeat exercise until you had the basics right?¡± ¡°It is what it is, ¡° consoled Amdirlain. ¡°At least you¡¯re not either launching it towards the ceiling or just rocking them in place.¡± Gemiya gritted her teeth for a moment and, before even sitting, her words rushed out like she was afraid of the answer. ¡°Did Sarith speak to you last night?¡± With her focus on Amdirlain it was clear the question wasn¡¯t intended for anyone else. ¡°Yes, she apologised for her behaviour and adding to the burden of my healing.¡± Tension drained from Gemiya and she sat down quickly swallowing back tears of relief. ¡°Is that why you were tense yesterday and this morning? You were worried about what your sister had done?¡± ¡°Before she found you, we¡¯d had an argument. She hasn¡¯t spoken to me since. I saw her waiting in the corridor, but she just ignored me; when she moved away all I got was a sense of resolve.¡± ¡°I accepted her apology and gave her a choice as to something she could do to make amends I¡¯ve no idea if she¡¯ll follow through on it.¡± ¡°Everyone¡¯s choices are their own?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°Absolutely, and like everyone else I¡¯m quite capable of making a mess.¡± ¡°Know that we saw!¡± Gemiya asserted amid the grim nods, and winces from the rest. The mention of the gruesome sight didn¡¯t stop them eating, eager to recover before the mental training of the afternoon. 176 - Ashes to Ashes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Though some days Amdirlain herself didn¡¯t find hectic, the Novices¡¯ energy frequently had them flash by making the quiet nights feel odd. Whatever discussions were going on, they kept Cyrus absent for a week before he reappeared without fanfare at her evening training with Liran?. When Cyrus opened the door beyond Liran?, Amdirlain delayed her Swarm of Crystals manifestation long enough to dive to the side during its release. The unexpected direction change finally caused an edge to brush across Liran?¡¯s Psi armour but it still didn¡¯t break through. Crystals, shattered and whole alike, flung back towards her, only for Amdirlain¡¯s Telekinetic Thrust to smash them away. Hundreds of hours playing a DPS Sage had provided the base image that was becoming pure reflex. When Liran? didn¡¯t halt or even pause, Amdirlain kept her focus, and tried¡ªin the end, fruitlessly¡ªto manage a technique to breach Liran?¡¯s protections before she called a halt. Though the progress she¡¯d made was reward enough for the fight. Liran? gave her a pleased nod before she turned her attention to Cyrus. ¡°Master Cyrus, has the bargaining concluded?¡± A moment¡¯s concentration was all it had taken for Chaos Shaping to dispose of the shattered Crystals, and Amdirlain fixed her attention on Liran?. ¡°Do I want to know?¡± ¡°Know likely you don¡¯t, but the concessions from the monastery require nothing from yourself,¡± replied Liran?. ¡°Not that the delegation didn¡¯t try for it, but your Master Jarith? held firm,¡± Cyrus stated approvingly. Amdirlain glanced between them, wondering what game was being played. ¡°Is this why I haven¡¯t been to physical training classes in the last week?¡± ¡°Know I believe it was so their curiosity would go unsated,¡± teased Liran?. ¡°Know it¡¯s likely you won¡¯t be attending their sessions again; it distracts them, and you don¡¯t learn enough.¡± ¡°The delegation knows that you can unlock an individual¡¯s access to Ki,¡± said Cyrus, smiling at Liran?¡¯s tone. ¡°In saying that since your Novices don¡¯t have a proper feel for the Ki yet, the delegation isn¡¯t comfortable shifting from their traditional ways. After being blocked in their requests, they eventually kept with their own approach rather than probe into how you achieved it.¡± ¡°The delegation,¡± repeated Amdirlain questioningly. ¡°Yes, ¡®the delegation¡¯; not mine or even ours. My instructions were to accompany them and assist the one they met, not aid their negotiations or provide them with insights. I would have preferred to be absent from the negotiations and evening discussions, but such was not to be,¡± replied Cyrus with a mock sigh. ¡°How have you progressed determining the key points in Ki Movement¡¯s net?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯ve done wrong and was hoping you had some advice,¡± replied Amdirlain ruefully. A moment¡¯s concentration was all it took to force extra Ki into it, and the Power¡¯s lines glowed across her. ¡°I¡¯ve found way too many from what you¡¯ve said since I¡¯ve identified eighty-nine anchor points.¡± Cyrus scoffed in surprise, but Amdirlain focused on key sections she¡¯d found and pulled the Ki out of rest of the Power¡¯s net. Spreading her arms out, she turned so he could see the points along her side and across her back. Though they swayed and shifted across her form, none she¡¯d found showed the slightest change in shape. ¡°This poses a challenge and a puzzle,¡± Cyrus said, after an hour with Amdirlain patiently watching him observe the glowing sections. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see what the Emperor¡¯s sages have to say on this, but I can explain the next stage to you. Though your situation is going to make it more difficult than I had expected.¡± Eleven points glowed into existence at an angle across his torso, ending at his hip. As she watched, energy flowed between them, forming a constellation-like image of an odd crescent-bladed staff before it returned to the start and looped again. ¡°The challenge to cycling your Ki¡ªand likely Psi¡ªrequires determining the symbol that defines your centre and passing the energy through its pattern. Though the lines may cross, only use each node once in forming the symbol. Every loop you pass the energy through will help revitalise your Ki and eventually increase your pool¡¯s density. It will also prevent the Ki from crystallising inside you once you get to where cycling your energy is second nature.¡± ¡°How do I determine what point to start from, let alone which one is next?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That is why you¡¯ve got a challenge ahead of you,¡± replied Cyrus, looking them over again, motioning for Amdirlain to turn yet again. ¡°How did you recognise the key points along your back?¡± ¡°I allowed my focus to settle into the Ki¡¯s mist and then I could see the web glowing through it,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a difference between those that have only a few anchor points and your eleven?¡± Cyrus gave her a nod of approval, but it was unclear if it was her approach or question. ¡°The more points involved in your image, the greater the effect on your energy from completing each loop. Eventually, you get to where the cycling can be done with a whisper of Ki remaining, but at the start, it requires much in the way of reserves.¡± ¡°Lots of benefits, but it could take me years to figure out,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s likely without the right guidance,¡± remarked Cyrus with a broad smile. ¡°Planning to die soon?¡± ¡°Not if I can help it,¡± grumbled Amdirlain and gave the webbing another look. ¡°Don¡¯t suppose you know why some people have fewer key points than others because this is crazy.¡± The whole-body shrug from the relaxed Immortal had Amdirlain¡¯s lips twitching, but he gave her an answer after a moment¡¯s contemplation. ¡°There are several theories: an individual¡¯s potential power, difficulties the Soul has overcome, the length of the Soul¡¯s first life, and many more besides. Neither the Jade Emperor nor any Shen has seen fit to enlighten any Immortal as to the cause¡ªto my knowledge.¡± ¡°And what is your advice for determining the starting point?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If you start from the right one, the Ki retreats to it when you follow the wrong path, rather than fading out completely. The further along the path you go, the more Ki it requires. If you stretch towards the wrong point, the energy spent on the latest section will dissipate into the universe when you try to connect them. Though it isn¡¯t gone for good, just spent in the same fashion as empowering abilities.¡± ¡°Thanks, that turns this from impossible to just trial and error,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°The amount for the last section is dramatically higher than the first, even with my loop of eleven,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Also, it took a lot of practice before I could cycle the Ki automatically. I¡¯m not sure how long that will take you to accomplish as it varies between individuals, even after identifying the pattern. Concentrate Ki into the point you wish to start from, and you¡¯ll feel when it¡¯s ready to stretch to another.¡± ¡°Do I need to master that before talking about your past life technique?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to understand the pattern to utilise the meditation technique. It is the first step on a path to finding your truths. Even the simplest patterns can provide insights into greater enlightenment for the individual in question.¡± ¡°Know that yours looks to be a weapon. How did that enlighten you?¡± enquired Liran?. ¡°That is where you are wrong¡ªit¡¯s not a weapon,¡± corrected Cyrus. Liran?¡¯s sceptical look had him lighting the pattern again, and he traced from one crescent tip to the other, and then back to the middle before tracing down to his hip. ¡°Even a waning moon can provide a ray of light to guide the footsteps of those seeking enlightenment.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get started on it right away then,¡± Amdirlain said before giving them both a bow and leaving them to their evening. The morning chimes found Amdirlain running on Ki fumes, and she joined the others in the training hall later than she¡¯d ever managed before. Master Cyrus hadn¡¯t mentioned the amount of Ki drained away when trying to cycle between points that were both wrong. The first time four hundred Ki had vanished, spiralling out of her grasp, clarified that it was unlikely to be a process easily achieved. ¡°Why do you look so bedraggled this morning, Amdirlain?¡± asked Zenya. ¡°I have minimal Ki left at the moment; I emptied my pool and even burnt the mists away several times last night. I¡¯d only begun meditation to restore myself when the chimes sounded,¡± replied Amdirlain, and knelt in her usual spot, the casual statement earning a look and nod from Master ?daka. ¡°Know pushing yourself can lead to greater strength, but take care not to injure yourself,¡± advised ?daka. Closing her eyes, Amdirlain settled into her usual routine and imagined the mists rising from the droplets left in her pools before drifting it through her form. * * * Master Cyrus¡¯s warning about the pattern¡¯s increasing costs wasn¡¯t a jest, and the magnitude slowed her progress to a crawl before she was even halfway through. After the discovery of the initial points, the third point took far less Ki, but the cost steadily increased again for each she attempted to connect. The pattern jumping between jagged turns and smooth arcs made it hard to figure it out, other than one step at a time. Each wrong guess towards the tail end drained such massive amounts of Ki in one fell swoop that the pattern¡¯s discovery would take months. The only upside before its completion was that the constant strain and practice had pushed Harmony up multiple levels. Only the slow reduction in options prevented it from becoming frustrating amid the progress of her lessons and therapy with Elliyna. The techniques of Telepathy and Clairsentience had proved the easiest, but even so, other skills progressed until only Psychometabolism lingered an entire tier behind. While she¡¯d completed the exploration of the lake¡¯s shoreline, she¡¯d also discovered an Elven giantess amid the obsidian, wrapped up in thorny vines shaped of a strange metal. Her imprisonment ignored all Amdirlain''s attempts to pry her free, even as flesh about the thorns bled. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The morning she¡¯d found herself on the cusp of success, she¡¯d struggled to leave her room, and lessons had suffered from her distracted state. So much so that even Lezekus had teased her during the day. Still, the last night wasn¡¯t without failures, but at last, the ultimate connection transformed the constellation into a blazing pyre. Amid the blue-hot flames burned a dying phoenix reaching skywards. The jagged pattern she¡¯d found in the beginning had transformed to shape the feathers and consuming flames. Its feathers of the brightest gold burned to ash when the Ki faded from them. The grasslands of her Mantle¡¯s presence surrounded her personal space and glowed in the afterimage, a beguiling, lazy summer day¡¯s warmth. A phoenix? Am I always being reborn through destruction? Have I never died peacefully? The Ki swirled inwards instead of evaporating and its tranquil power settled entirely into a pure essence within her pool. The fatigue she¡¯d felt from that evening¡¯s failed attempts washed away, and refreshed, she repeatedly traced the pattern before the morning meditation session, unaware of the energy in her gaze. Master ?daka¡¯s jaw dropped when she entered the room, and she raised a hand for Amdirlain to stop. ¡°Know that you may wish to return to your room, Novice Amdirlain. What were you working on last night?¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Know that your eyes appear to have a golden light within them,¡± advised ?daka, and a mirror appeared in her hand. Her fine Elven features, auburn hair and caramel skin were unchanged, but a luminescent glow overrode the green of her eyes. ¡°I finally got the pattern down for the Ki cycling,¡± admitted Amdirlain and heard footsteps coming along the corridor. ?daka looked her over in appraisal and frowned. ¡°Know you appear better than you have of late, but perhaps you need to let the energies settle¡ªthat glow is eerie. Shall I have someone ask Master Cyrus to come to advise you on the next steps?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just the Ki¡¯s energy. I¡¯ll meditate here with the rest if that¡¯s alright, but not cycle. I¡¯ll just give it time to settle as you suggested, though I feel so refreshed and awash with energy at present.¡± ¡°Know that would be acceptable, but only meditate and don¡¯t cycle your Psi reserves in the same fashion,¡± stated ?daka, her tone edged with uncertainty. ¡°Of course, Master ?daka,¡± replied Amdirlain, quickly taking her position and closing her eyes, relaxing in the moment¡¯s success. ¡°What technique are you practising?¡± Nomein asked the moment she knelt beside her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Amdirlain, feigning ignorance. ¡°Know that your eyes are shining through your lids. Are you trying that Illuminated vision after all?¡± asked Nomein curiously. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say it amused you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the aftereffects of the Ki cycling that Master Cyrus has guided me with,¡± explained Amdirlain and opened her eyes for a moment to let Nomein see the full effect. ¡°Know it makes your eyes look pretty,¡± declared Nomein happily, only for ?daka to snort. ¡°Know I find they look strange, as if she¡¯s looking right through me and peering into my Soul,¡± argued ?daka. ¡°Guilty conscience?¡± teased Amdirlain. The comment drew a rueful shrug from ?daka before she frowned. ¡°Perhaps that is the issue, a reminder of my arrogance when first we met.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all good,¡± proclaimed Amdirlain cheerfully, holding herself against the energy that wanted her to move. ¡°We took the left fork in life¡¯s journey with that choice.¡± ¡°Know perhaps I should have left that in our history,¡± rebutted ?daka, her frown disappearing at the near giggle in Amdirlain¡¯s tone. ¡°Right then!¡± laughed Amdirlain, delighted at even the lousy wordplay. The pained sigh made ?daka¡¯s feelings clear before she shook her head at Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I certainly prefer the left option.¡± Nomein fixed ?daka with an amused look, and her cupid-bow lips twitched. ¡°Know that the Novices have all heard the gossip, Master ?daka. Do you feel it wasn¡¯t your proudest moment?¡± ¡°Know that it is a Master¡¯s duty to provide Novices guidance, especially about what not to do,¡± retorted ?daka primly. They¡¯d no sooner settled than Zenya entered and gave Amdirlain a puzzled look. ¡°Why are your eyes glowing?¡± At her question, ?daka sent a targeted mental broadcast to briefly inform the others that more Amdirlain weirdness had occurred and to ignore her glowing eyes. ¡°That¡¯s harsh,¡± muttered Amdirlain and playfully pouted at ?daka. ¡°I¡¯ve been behaving myself for weeks now.¡± ¡°Know that you might see it that way, but it¡¯s also true that you can be a disruptive individual,¡± teased ?daka. ¡°Know I believe she¡¯s an excellent influence,¡± objected Zenya, kneeling in her spot before ?daka. ¡°Know I saw Sarith in trainee Healer robes earlier this week.¡± Amdirlain checked to ensure Gemiya wasn¡¯t in the corridor before she offered her information. ¡°She had them three rest days ago; she must have avoided everyone else from this dormitory.¡± Her words caused Zenya¡¯s jaw to drop, and she sputtered for a moment before she got her words out. ¡°Nearly forty days? Which one do you think will give in?¡± ¡°Know I bet neither of them, the way Sarith¡¯s been holding Gemiya at arm¡¯s length since that argument,¡± interjected Nomein. ¡°What are your rest day plans? Will you join us this time or spar with Liran??¡± ¡°I think Sarith will eventually, but she¡¯s determined to be sure her choices are her own at present,¡± responded Amdirlain, before addressing Nomein¡¯s question. ¡°Liran? is busy tomorrow, so I¡¯ll help you with Air Stop, or Wind Wall in the morning. The afternoon I want to spend progressing my Ki cycling further.¡± ¡°Know you need to back up to Sarith¡¯s robes. Couldn¡¯t you have told us sooner?¡± asked Zenya. ¡°I¡¯m just confirming the timeline for information. Finding fresh gossip is your problem not mine,¡± refuted Amdirlain, shushing them when Clairvoyance showed Gemiya¡¯s door open. ¡°Did you finish revising those texts for Mana Theory?¡± ¡°Know that I did, but I don¡¯t think tonight¡¯s exam will go well,¡± replied Nomein. The look of disbelief that Zenya shot Nomein elicited a snort of amusement from ?daka. ¡°Know I remember you saying that last quarter¡¯s exams and the only person who scored higher was Amdirlain. Did you get that missed point back in the end?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t the one arguing about it after we spoke about Jade Court Affinity,¡± Amdirlain said, and gave an unconcerned shrug. ¡°Technically, since I¡¯m being tested on the information learnt here, I should have lost the mark, despite my answer being valid.¡± ¡°Know you can start your meditation now since the others will be here shortly,¡± urged ?daka, and the three of them stopped chatting before Gemiya reached her spot. Her resolved expression showed little change since before the last rest day, when the unhappy air she¡¯d worn for weeks had faded away. Regret can make for a bitter harvest. Hopefully Sarith stops avoiding Gemiya before it¡¯s too late. I¡¯ve dealt with enough gangrenous flesh in my Mind Palace to know how much regret can hurt. How will I deal with regrets from lives I don¡¯t even remember? Amdirlain didn¡¯t push the concern aside, just accepted she needed to talk to Cyrus about the next stage while she worked on getting the pattern automatic. As tempting as it was to continue cycling Ki, she stuck to her word and instead settled further into the Mantle¡¯s energy seeking its calmness. The moment her awareness touched it fully, the energy buzzing inside her washed outwards, taking a flood of the Faith that had grown within her skin. The two energies set the strands swaying wildly in the rush of power that seemed to intermingle with her Domain a Plane away. Though she experienced a momentary connection to the Domain¡¯s Wellspring, no feedback of another¡¯s needs pressed against her. Quickly she composed a panicked Message, unsure if it actually made it to her Domain, and not just spun into nothingness like the Ki she spent discovering the pattern. ¡°Ebusuku, I¡¯m hoping the Domain received a rush of energy, otherwise, it¡¯s bled off somewhere, but it feels connected to the Domain¡¯s wellspring.¡± Breathing in time with the strands swaying to a breeze, she sighed in relief at the near-instant response. ¡°Sidero would, I¡¯m sure, call you a cock blocker. Yes, an energy wave just pulsed through the Domain and knocked me off our bed. I¡¯ll set others to survey if it caused damage, then go back to fucking Farhad senseless. Things are going well, and you¡¯ve likely seen the change in your Faithful¡¯s numbers on Letveri. Take care of yourself, and I hope no one else has bothered you since Isa; if they have, let me know. I¡¯ve spoken firmly to a few that wanted to disrupt your time healing.¡± A giggle at Ebusuku¡¯s initially disgruntled tone tried to slip loose, but Amdirlain maintained her composure and spent the meditation session enjoying the peaceful vibe coming from the Mantle. When she rose at the end of the session, Nomein looked up at her and tilted her head curiously. ¡°Know that your eyes stopped glowing, but you also seem less tense now.¡± ¡°Less tense,¡± murmured Amdirlain even as the absence of the Faith energy pressing against her lately registered. ¡°Know you¡¯ve seemed tight with tension lately, but there is an obvious difference now compared to before this session started, so it¡¯s not the frustration of your cycling.¡± ¡°There was something else weighing on me, and that seems to be resolved, for now at least, as well.¡± ¡°How many things do you have weighing on you and the healing you are here for?¡± Amdirlain spent a moment and considered the faithful listed in her profile, along with the older Souls her Title had attracted still waiting in Judgement. ¡°My concerns are legion, and the number of those depending on me seems to grow even when I¡¯m not there to help.¡± ¡°Know that might be the case, Novice Amdirlain, but you can only do what you can; none of us are gods,¡± stated ?daka. As the other Novices rose, she gave a nod and vanished away. Heading to the dining room Amdirlain let the other Novices lead the way, and, once seated reached out, to brush her awareness across the Mantle. The Domain¡¯s wellspring seemed just out of reach but was concealed within the strange grasslands surrounding her picnic blanket¡¯s oasis. The boundary was even clearer than it had ever been, and Amdirlain felt stepping across it might mean she¡¯d never find this oasis again. A state that offered power and the risk of losing herself within its grasp. Lezekus sat down across from her looking pleased. ¡°Know you¡¯re smiling today. Are things going well?¡± ¡°I finally got my Ki cycling and shifted some pressure that I hadn¡¯t noticed building up,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°None of you mentioned I seemed tense.¡± ¡°Know that we didn¡¯t wish to probe unwisely with the healing sessions you attend almost nightly,¡± explained Lezekus and looked at Amdirlain with concern. ¡°Was that the wrong thing to have done?¡± ¡°No, I see your point. I just meant¡­ nevermind, I hope I wasn¡¯t sour company is all.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s in you. Know if anything you¡¯re far too kind to others, most especially when you¡¯re in pain yourself, it seems,¡± refuted Lezekus. ¡°Aren¡¯t you even now looking to shoulder responsibility for something you didn¡¯t do rather than chide us for not mentioning your growing tension?¡± ¡°What can I say? I choose to take responsibility for things best left to others,¡± replied Amdirlain blandly, and Lezekus gave her a challenging look. ¡°Aren¡¯t our choices our own responsibility?¡± argued Lezekus and pursed her lips at Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°You really do like me arguing with you, don¡¯t you?¡± Amdirlain gave a little bashful shrug. ¡°I find it reassuring that you can think for yourself and take pride in making your own choices, Lezekus.¡± At the sound of others in the hallway, Amdirlain tilted her head toward the door and changed the subject. ¡°Are you ready for your Psionics examination today?¡± ¡°Know that I am, but I¡¯m glad Master Duurth only expects us to have all our Tier 1 techniques ready. Why is he insisting you have Tier 2 and 3 ready as well?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°Not all of them, all Tier 2, and Tier 3 for Telepathy and Telekinesis. It''s simply I have more Psionic levels and needed to break my bad habits," Amdirlain replied. "Until you all get your skills strong enough to fight monsters you can¡¯t actually gain levels. I think he¡¯s also trying to get me to push past the mental scarring Elliyna said I¡¯d developed from even before gaining Psionics. Normally, those seeking to learn Psionics should at least begin with a reasonably healthy mind. Mine had been battered before I learnt the basics, but Master Duurth was unaware of that.¡± ¡°The consequence of an awful choice?¡± ¡°Bad choices. I¡¯m a prime example that pushing on isn¡¯t always the best course to choose,¡± Amdirlain said, and wanted to take back her words as Gemiya entered the room. ¡°I had too many wounds and ignored them, took responsibility for things that weren¡¯t wholly my choice.¡± Gemiya slid into the chair next to Amdirlain instead of her usual spot and rested her head against Amdirlain. ¡°Know I¡¯m aware it¡¯s her choice, but my choice was to keep pushing. Know that I¡¯m worried I¡¯ve lost my sister forever.¡± Her sorrowful expression prompted Amdirlain to give her a one-armed hug. ¡°She¡¯ll always be your sister, just don¡¯t make an issue of it when she¡¯s ready to talk again. She¡¯s finding her own feet instead of letting you help and being frustrated at the result. Let her figure out how to navigate life on her own and be able to stand tall.¡± ¡°But how do I get her to talk to me again?¡± protested Gemiya. ¡°Keep yourself positive, maybe she¡¯ll open up if she can feel that in your link instead of stress and worry. Elliyna said her lessons are going well, informal as they are since there isn¡¯t any official training for healers here. That¡¯s not a good thing: she¡¯s getting individual attention from six healers who are all taskmasters,¡± offered Amdirlain, at a loss herself for what made Sarith tick. ¡°That¡¯s not to say I¡¯m right, but you can sense her through your twin link, don¡¯t you think she can do the same?¡± Gemiya nodded against Amdirlain and sat upright. ¡°Know I¡¯ll try, but I miss my sister.¡± ¡°Maybe focus on that instead of shouldering the blame. She needed to talk to you earlier before things reached this point. Though you could always follow my sterling example and be stupidly stubborn about it until you both could end up bloodied from the experience.¡± ¡°Know that I think I¡¯ll pass on that option,¡± muttered Gemiya, and moved to her normal seat. 177 - Lithium Flower Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Outlands The sheet draped over Farhad spots where it clings to his sweat coated skin, and I move to see whatever sight has him captivated beyond the window. Stepping over my discarded armour, still shaped for my larger form, I press my body against him. My chin barely brushes his shoulder with my human-shaped form. Pressing against the vigorous lines of his lean body has me sighing before the sight through the window claims my attention. There was no sign of any destruction, despite the pulse of power that had tossed me from the bed mid-orgasm. Along the ridgeline, crystalline plinth-like towers¡ªhundreds of metres tall¡ªbeckoned towards the sky stretching out further than I can see from our home¡¯s vantage nestled amid the valley. Near us, the simple buildings of stone and wood are being transformed by the energy that still dances in the air. Wherever the blue and golden glow brushes, the building¡¯s lines blur into graceful arcs and alien curves that twist into additional dimensions in True Sight. Regardless of their construction, they become formed of opaque crystals that afforded privacy from those within even as it changes them into something fitting tales of the Heavens. ¡°Amdirlain was concerned that the energy might have not assisted the Domain,¡± I murmur, wrapping my arms around Farhad as I continue to take in the changes presenting themselves. ¡°That blue energy feels almost like it should be Ki, but it¡¯s certainly not.¡± Farhad¡¯s declaration is as fierce as always, and I can¡¯t help but dig at him playfully. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s what passes for Ki where Amdirlain is concerned. It¡¯s a spiritual life energy that emerges from her Soul.¡± The reluctant nod I get is surprising coming so soon. Then again, it¡¯s always a pleasant surprise when my stubborn husband changes his mind so quickly¡ªand here I wasn¡¯t even intending to have fun arguing about it. ¡°I take it you¡¯ll need to tend to this?¡± ¡°I had been planning to set others to survey the changes, but this looks like I¡¯ll need to see some of it for myself.¡± ¡°Understandable. What is the purpose of those towers? It doesn¡¯t appear as if anyone could stand atop them with the massive flowers growing there now.¡± Farhad¡¯s statement draws my attention back to them. The smooth towers now show a strange bloom of growth, and knowledge of their purpose presses into my mind in an instant. ¡°I need to talk to some of our guests and tell them to move away.¡± Stepping away, my wings brush the ceiling with the return of my full height. Snatching discarded items from the floor, I pull clothing and armour on as fast as I can. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asks Farhad, unruffled by my concern. ¡°Those might look like crystal flowers, but it seems Amdirlain is no longer so trusting. They¡¯re absorbing energy directly, beyond what the transformed buildings are feeding them. When they¡¯ve finished growing, anyone not allied to her, or an acknowledged guest of the Domain, is going to get a warm welcome. They¡¯ll get warning shots first, but that will quickly change to killing.¡± Setting the sheet aside, Farhad cleans up at a more relaxed pace. ¡°If you know, won¡¯t the others know as well?¡± Messages whisper in my ear from Mirage and many others, all surprised as I by the changes and the new towers. ¡°Yes, they know, but some Solars will probably take offence if it is a lowly Archon, or lesser Angel warning them, rather than myself.¡± As soon I secure the last piece, Teleport places me where the closest guests¡¯ campsite had been and there is only gear scattered in disarray. The host that had camped here at the valley¡¯s mouth had been pushed out far ahead of me down among the trees. A second Teleport puts me beside a Solar bearing Kupala¡¯s Sun-and-stream symbol on his armour. ¡°An exciting change, it seems,¡± the Solar offers, apparently unflustered by the displacement caused by the Domain¡¯s change. ¡°Amdirlain had a reserve of energy she provided to the Domain, it had quite the effect. Your groups will need to move further out. We¡¯ve defensive towers growing now to keep any allies near the Domain¡¯s borders safe. Since none of the Slavic Deities have formally recognised Amdirlain as an ally¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯ll assume we¡¯re a risk to those that have.¡± he finishes for me with a nod of understanding. ¡°Does this mean your Lady is back?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s still away. She unexpectedly provided the reserve from a distance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass the word along. How far out do we need to move?¡± ¡°Four or five kilometres at least, they¡¯ll be firing energy that will maul a Celestial as readily as a Demon.¡± My advice gets him glancing at the towers again for reassurance that they¡¯re still growing. The shimmering energy around them still forming the strange flowers that term themselves ¡®Shock Cannons¡¯, their stems braiding Order and Destruction Mana from the energy they¡¯ve been absorbing. ¡°We might take our camps out ten to avoid any mistakes. If you could have someone bring our remaining equipment to us.¡± ¡°Of course, if you head directly towards the Spire from here, I¡¯ll have it brought to you.¡± Kupala¡¯s Solar just nods and starts confused Celestials moving, his Message spells flitting away even while he¡¯s yelling orders. Turning back towards the Domain the closest fort¡¯s transformation stops me in my tracks. The solid structure the Dwarves had built changed in moments, melding and blurring lines making the building look as if the crystal had grown from the earth. A breeze racing past me causes banners nearby to flutter, and a soft melodic hum rises from the structure. Teleporting to the other encampments reveals similar scenes among forces of the Persian and Roman pantheons. Fortunately, they¡¯re as forgiving as Kupala¡¯s Solar, but then since they decided we¡¯re neutral territory, it¡¯s lucky for them they keep the peace. As I shoo the last away, Mars¡¯ Solar¡ªAloysius¡ªheads in my directory through the nearly empty Roman encampment. His forces and the Norse are still in place. ¡°Ebusuku, why do I feel something sneaky is going on with your Lady?¡± asks Aloysius. ¡°Sneaky?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been overhead. This isn¡¯t a Domain of a little pseudo-Power anymore. We ignored the strange Petitioners as we all know other races live in our world, but that¡¯s not it, is it?¡± Snorting I wave him off. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to speak about all those accords in place, but you expect me to tip Amdirlain¡¯s hand?¡± ¡°The Commander said if she¡¯s not abiding by the accords, then best you have her faithful ready to run at a moment¡¯s notice. Things are getting worse, and she¡¯d be the first the Greek bastards will want to crush if this escalates into a Gods¡¯ War again. Last time, those involved had their home Plane aligned to the Material Plane, and only those servants already present on the world could enter the conflict¡¯s arena.¡± I nod at the information matching what Eleftherios and other sources had shared, both for its confirmation, and perhaps as a sign of Mars¡¯ trustworthiness. ¡°I won¡¯t comment on what preparations we have made, but there is much going on at various locations.¡± ¡°We know your Lady is distracted on other matters. Best to keep a sharp eye out for her. Times like these are when she¡¯s most likely to get stabbed in the back. At least two that she counts as allies are good at twisting out of oaths when it suits them and harming those that aided them. The one-eyed Oath-breaker isn¡¯t likely to have her best interests in mind.¡± ¡°Why did Mars declare her an ally?¡± I ask, and explain when I see him start in surprise. ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s never learnt the why.¡± Aloysius¡¯ calm flickers for a brief, distracted moment that I recognise from my own experiences with Amdirlain¡¯s contact via Oath Link. ¡°The Commander is fond of those that look after fellow warriors without making a fuss or expecting a reward. It makes him especially annoyed that after her deeds with the Gnarls, her people got the suspicious treatment that they did.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll always prefer those that are more than just empty promises or provide scorpions as gifts. Did you hear me warning the others?¡± I ask, gesturing to a group of Vulcan¡¯s Celestials already disappearing among the trees. ¡°Yes, and I can sense the strange Order and Destruction Mana twisted together in those blossoms, so I understand their danger. We¡¯ve passed messages onto those patrols monitoring the Olympians¡¯ servants. Those that can¡¯t enter your Lady¡¯s Domain now know where the camps will be set up.¡± The moment he teleports away, I take to the air. Looking over the still transforming building, and the Petitioners gazing about in wonder. Buildings have grown in empty clearings, even while various trees loom far larger, providing cover for those disinclined to dwell indoors. The towers¡¯ lines disappear into the distance stretch for scores of kilometres along the valley¡¯s ridgeline. The only exception to their regular spacing near the crafting hall where they¡¯re set a few hundred metres deeper into the woods; perhaps marking the extent of the hall¡¯s reach into the cliff-face. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Sending out messages, I survey the changes in the area I assigned myself even as more buildings transform or grow from the earth. * * * Teleport puts me where I¡¯d expected, but with the changes, it¡¯s almost surprising. The glade and its table so changed from the day before. At the cardinal points, massive trees now rise far overhead, setting the glade in a dappled shadow. Scores of Catfolk Petitioners that the Norse had confused for Basteti when they arrived in the Domain relax in the upper branches that wouldn¡¯t have supported one previously. Instead of the rough wood table and benches that we¡¯d set out in the sun, they¡¯re now formed of a dark crystal. Though the legs are more gracefully formed, at least these benches haven¡¯t gained backs. Sage, Mirage, and Echo appear within moments of my Message. Echo shoots Sage an amused look that goes unnoticed with his attention still fixed on a scroll he¡¯s busily writing on as he sits. His distracted state makes me wonder if he¡¯s even noticed the change in the table. ¡°The sunlight is dimmer here today,¡± grumbles Sages. Echo just shakes his head, giving me a smirk, as if he¡¯d read my mind. ¡°No, there are just trees blocking it. Have you looked about?¡± The question has Sage glance up from his scroll and at the canopy above us, his mouth soundlessly shaping ¡®oh!¡¯ before he blinks and continues. ¡°That explains it.¡± ¡°Furthest point of the Domain?¡± ¡°Two hundred and seventy-two kilometres from the first mead hall¡ªit now runs the entire valley length. It broadens out approaching the mid-point to reach across the valleys on either side before it narrows again.¡± Mirage answers without hesitation, and Sage just scribbles more notes. ¡°We¡¯ve got more space combined than all the Mind Flayer cities that Sidero has wiped out so far,¡± offers Echo. ¡°That wasn¡¯t in the reports of Archon training,¡± objects Sage, reaching for another scroll and Echo just waves him to stillness. ¡°She¡¯s letting us join in the Thri-kreen breeding sites but keeping the cities to herself and Klipyl until after she¡¯s done with them. I¡¯d almost swear it¡¯s for the amount of loot she pulls from them, but it¡¯s likely the experience. She¡¯s getting more focused about gaining levels since Isa got free,¡± Echo explains and set down embossed scrolls made from aluminium sheets before Sage. ¡°Sorry for the distraction. I also found buildings rising from the Domain¡¯s ground, almost-copies of the communities that Malnar designed but all made from the crystal.¡± The observation makes me smile in recollection at the quick conversation I¡¯d had with her during my scouting. ¡°Malnar had words to say about the changes to the buildings: ¡®At least they didn¡¯t change into fucking flower kissed fucking trees¡¯. Personally, I think she¡¯s flattered that the Domain¡¯s transformation didn¡¯t alter the interior layout of any building we checked.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all still the same inside?¡± asks Sage, his scratching pencil stopping for a moment as he looks up at me. ¡°Haven¡¯t you run out of those by now? Exactly how many of those did she make?¡± I ask, disturbed by the thought of all the health she¡¯d been casually using to make items while hiding her mental anguish. ¡°I¡¯ve used those up, but a low-level Fabricate Spell does wonders for simple objects like these,¡± explains Sage, before tapping the scroll. ¡°Now the buildings?¡± ¡°No one has reported any change inside buildings. Though I don¡¯t know if that is because occupants were inside them when they changed, or because the Domain approves of them,¡± states Echo. I nod in agreement before offering an observation of my own. ¡°It copied a fort that Malnar had designed perfectly, with only minor tweaks because of the terrain. She¡¯s busily checking it from the storerooms to the ramparts at present, but all the areas I looked over appeared identical.¡± ¡°What is this crystal?¡± asks Mirage, hitting the table¡¯s edge hard enough that it blunts the dagger she uses. ¡°True Song crystal, the stuff of legends; it''s tougher than Laen. If anyone knowledgeable had any doubts that Amdirlain¡¯s Soul was originally an Anar, this should put those to rest. Only they and the L¨®m? could create anything constructed of it. Anything else important of note about the Domain¡¯s change?¡± Sage glances up again from his scroll and motions with his pencil. ¡°The towers took a detour and grew out around the Giant¡¯s settlements, but they seem aware they¡¯re to be protected even if they¡¯re not part of the Domain. There is almost a sentience within them.¡± ¡°I had the same impression,¡± Mirages readily agrees, repairing her dagger with a quick Spell before slipping it away. ¡°No one reported damage or injuries despite the power making the ground briefly flex,¡± offers Sage. ¡°Give the Domain a chance to settle and then assign teams to map the pathways. I¡¯d like an account of how much accommodation and facilities we have now,¡± I instruct. ¡°Are we going to retrieve more of the older Souls waiting in Judgement?¡± Echo asks. ¡°Eventually, but we¡¯ve gone from overcrowded to having space again. Let¡¯s work out how many we can accommodate first, and plan around this being the last growth we¡¯ll see for a time.¡± ¡°Not that all of them need buildings, the Catfolk¡ªamong others¡ªseem content with being up within the trees. Though, why are there so many Catfolk here already?¡± enquires Echo, and when Sage hesitates to reply, continues. ¡°I thought we¡¯d stopped bringing in old Souls before Erwarth freed any and returned them to their world.¡± ¡°They¡¯re newly deceased. While some of the Pantheon there were accepting of Amdirlain¡¯s faith joining their number, a few of their faithful objected. One sect has killed all the followers they¡¯ve found¡ªthe few left are now in hiding. I¡¯ve got an account from one victim. We¡¯re currently planning how to get the survivors help.¡± ¡°The Erakk? have been so welcoming I would never have-¡± Echo pauses with a lost child-like gaze, no matter how much taller he is now, or the years he spent in the maze. His pained expression has Sage tucking away the scroll, and speaking reassuringly¡ªthe protective eldest reacting to his uncertainty. ¡°Not all worlds are as welcome as Letveri, and some have established factions that are quite protective of their interests. The most recent I spoke to said it¡¯s making the rest more determined to continue worshipping Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Give me the name of their world. I¡¯ll see if I can get details to a natural Gate from someone in The Exchange,¡± I say, and Sage doesn¡¯t hesitate to jot the name down for me. ¡°But we can¡¯t get through without a Priest strong enough to summon us, and they¡¯re all still so new,¡± Mirage protests. My hard smile stops her in confusion. ¡°That¡¯s where mortal mercenaries come into play. I¡¯ll hire some from races that are close enough to the locals and send them to help. I know several worlds that have Catfolk species similar in appearance, though the spotted fur common among the Petitioners that have arrived is interesting. Anything else?¡± At their silence, I nod and stand. ¡°I¡¯ll head to The Exchange now.¡± ¡°Not going to give Farhad a kiss good-bye first? I¡¯m sure you two were interrupted,¡± teases Mirage. ¡°We were but I¡¯ll make it up to him.¡± Mirage just tilts her head at me and smiles. ¡°Isn¡¯t that his job?¡± * * * Despite all the changes I¡¯ve seen come and go the essence of the busy streets and sky of The Exchange hasn¡¯t changed since I first found my way here. Walking under an arch of imprisoned lawbreakers floating across the streets, the form of a Kyton in stasis catches my gaze. Her own chains pierced through her body in a way that avoided her destruction before the city wards encapsulated her. Aware as she¡¯ll be, no doubt the pain will be twisted into orgasms by her perverted nature unless the hidden ruler has some way to make her feel suffering instead. The mercenary¡¯s hiring hall has an unchanged feel, even though nearly everything within it is always changing. The crowded hall stretches out as far as the eye can see, and the crowds packing the place represent both mercenaries and patrons alike. Here and there I recognise company banners that have had representatives here longer than I¡¯ve existed, but something will cause most groups for hire to disappear within a century. Bipedal, quadrupedal and many floating beings move about, their weaponry ranging from barely enchanted shields and swords to multi-barrel things whose mass alone would kill most beings. Elven figures glide through the crowd that is parting quickly before them, bearing more than a touch of the Feywilds for all they display Titania¡¯s emblem. Their fine features twisted slightly off-true, more feral monster than the elegant beings Amdirlain likely expects of Elves. The circlets of Mithril they wear barely keep unkempt earthen toned hair in check. Their protections, greater than an enchanted full helm could provide, set the tone for the rest of their armour. The sets are woven in a strange style of gleaming Mithril and black Adamantine, with each piece containing enough power to make them a human Artificer¡¯s crowning work. When one snarls at a lizard man who doesn¡¯t make way fast enough, I glimpse pointed teeth more fitting for a great cat or Devil. But for all their attitude they step aside when I don¡¯t give way before them, my attention on a winged figure waiting before a stall. Ivory white skin, tresses of blackest night, with wings of deep blood red on display, but a single claw at the wing¡¯s joint. Clad only in unwholesome lusts, and desires best left unmentioned, every flex of her muscles is clear to see through the miasma her degenerating presence exudes. The mercenaries between us break and run, not wanting to risk being caught in any exchange of power. Regardless of who ended up punished, they¡¯d still be destroyed. As she turns towards me, familiar black lips that drink in the light part in a smile, to reveal perfect white teeth whose sharpness slices the distorted light. But it¡¯s a delight that doesn¡¯t shift the malevolence in the merciless pits others might call eyes. ¡°Mother, this is unexpected,¡± I say, keeping my tone flat and drier than an Efreet¡¯s skin. ¡°Daughter, you¡¯ve not responded to any Message I sent you. When my servants said they foresaw your presence here, I came myself.¡± ¡°I no longer have any interest in whatever business you believe we might have,¡± I state, wondering if the servants will survive her return. There are a few left among them that know me well enough to provide such insights even without a name to guide them. ¡°I merely wish to offer my congratulations and purchase your share of our business dealing here.¡± Keeping my reactions in check is simple enough, but her gaze presses into me, evoking memories of centuries in her ¡®care¡¯. ¡°I gave them away centuries ago when I told you I wanted nothing further to do with you.¡± ¡°Who did you give them to?¡± hisses mother, the smile disappearing faster than mead before a thirsty Dwarf. ¡°The Exchange, they gave me a building and resident status in return.¡± ¡°You¡¯d best get them back then. I know your names.¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. My True Name changed during my promotion and even Ebusuku isn¡¯t my use name anymore. It¡¯s just simply what those familiar with me call me in conversation,¡± I say, and smile at her lips twisting in frustration. ¡°Did you really think I¡¯d leave such a vulnerability for you to exploit? I choose my path, and it will never align with whatever you want now.¡± The look of disbelief she fixed me with is such a fine repayment for this unpleasant encounter. ¡°Then why can I still send a Message to it?¡± Considering the threats the Small Earth Elemental that Sidero locked the name onto for me has likely been receiving I almost feel sorry for it. I¡¯m glad the continuing frustrated search for Amdirlain¡¯s attempted summoner had prompted me to take precautions of my own. ¡°Summon them and find out. You might have been entertaining them, with whatever threats or demands you¡¯ve been sending.¡± ¡°Naamah will be furious with you,¡± growls mother, but I can¡¯t help but smile at the emptiness of that threat. ¡°Thanks for the confirmation, that you two still aren¡¯t speaking. I invoked her name swearing my Oath of service and received no objections.¡± Turning away I head down a different aisle in the hiring hall and rethink the plan of hiring any groups with her lurking about. Through the crowd and stalls, I can feel her furious gaze resting on me when I¡¯m a hundred metres or more away and I head towards an exit. It might be best to stop any dealing with The Exchange for a thousand years. I¡¯ll have to see if Jantar can gain knowledge of the trouble spot. Perhaps if there are Dwarves worshipping Moradin there, I can pay them to help. 178 - The outside Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand When Liran? turned up to the training hall for the morning session on exam day, Amdirlain smiled teasingly at her. ¡°I¡¯m uptight about my examination, Master Liran?. Do you think I¡¯ve got a chance of passing?¡± Liran? expression became a mock-glare, and she cocked her head at Amdirlain. ¡°Know Novice Amdirlain that I could always recommend your expulsion for excessive competence in the Martial Arts.¡± ¡°That would be lovely, then I¡¯d get out of all my exams,¡± laughed Amdirlain. A spark of amusement quickly spoiled Liran?¡¯s stern gaze. ¡°Know that the review process will take until the next rest day, so you¡¯ll still have to undertake this quarter¡¯s exams. But do you think anyone would take that reason seriously?¡± Affecting a pout, Amdirlain crossed her arms in a huff. ¡°Well, that¡¯s not fair.¡± ¡°Know that since you¡¯re worried about your exams, I¡¯ll have to be extremely thorough in evaluating you.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have three days to spar again, do we?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ve learned a technique to assist, so I won¡¯t require hydration next time.¡± Liran?¡¯s review of her Zerthi forms didn¡¯t take long, and she sent her off to a language exam where her knowledge of Gith made it simple¡ªthough structuring her responses properly still didn¡¯t come automatically. Lunch passed amid a hushed room, only disturbed by tense whispers and exchanged reminders. When they arrived for the first of the afternoon¡¯s examinations, a psi-crystal almost the size of her torso floated above Master Duurth¡¯s table which had a few open boxes spread out across its surface. Amid the crystal¡¯s internal structure, Amdirlain could feel a strange but simple awareness she¡¯d never felt in their training aids. Three figures formed of ectoplasm stood beyond the table, and Amdirlain could feel their simple biology and mindless state. As soon as the last Novice arrived, Duurth began with his instructions. ¡°Know that all attack or distraction techniques need to be targeted at the psi-crystal or a training construct. Know these are more complex versions of the tools you normally use and will illuminate to show the strength and nature of the technique contacting it.¡± Collecting a box from the table, he floated it past Lezekus at the end of the row. Drawing a token from it, she grimaced and flashed it down the line to show she¡¯d drawn number one. Duurth had already continued the box along the line, but Lezekus stood up and took up a position near the objects laid out for the examination. When the box skipped past Amdirlain, she looked at Duurth curiously. ¡°Know that since you have the most techniques to display, you will go last,¡± stated Duurth, and Amdirlain just nodded her acceptance. Observing the Novices, all started with Far Hand, they then moved on to various techniques they¡¯d learned for their path plan. Each technique targeted at it made the psi-crystal glow in different shades, with the intensity ranging from a firefly to a brilliant glow. While other techniques opened or sealed wounds on a training construct or moved one about the room. When Duurth waved Amdirlain forward, the psi-crystal emulating mental structures glowed to show Distraction then Taunt hit home even before she¡¯d reached the examination position. The mental assaults of Cloud Mind, Id Insinuation, and Mental Disruption caused various hues to appear within the crystal¡¯s depths, and Duurth calmly made notes. When Psionic Blast filled it with a burst of light, he gave her a nod and motioned her to continue. A construct echoed wounds she shared with Hostile Empathic Transfer. Of those, she sealed some with its Empathic Transfer before the rest closed as Biofeedback shared her regeneration. A moment later, the wounds reopened when Recall Agony undid the healing from herself and the others before she threw a Crystal Knife formed by Metacreativity. She followed in rapid succession with a propelled Crystal Shard and then a Swarm of Crystals¡¯ manifestation. Coating the ground with Ectoplasm Patch, she hit a target with Dismiss Ectoplasm that evaporated it along with the patch and the two designated friendly, which earned her a frown. A Mind Link allowed Duurth to observe the results of each Clairsentience and non-combat Telepathy techniques connecting her to others. Next came reading objects Duurth handed to her, using the Psychometry and Crafter¡¯s Insight techniques to determine their history and the abilities embedded in them. While she could tell she didn¡¯t get all the details, she got more than apparently Duurth had expected from the way his eyebrows raised. Using some Psychometabolism techniques on herself had given her the greatest challenge, so instead she showed them by applying them to Lezekus and Nomein, who¡¯d both volunteered. The tired girls had their health revitalised by Vigor, and Power Transfer topped up their Psi reserves from Amdirlain¡¯s still greater reserves. Then Harden Flesh made their gathering up glass shards from the box risk-free before Amdirlain used Repair Damage, and the pieces formed themselves into a sphere. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow at the bauble gleaming in Nomein¡¯s hand before fixing Duurth with a look. ¡°Yes, Master Duurth, I can now fix crushed balls.¡± Her words had Lezekus coughing to conceal laughter as Amdirlain continued with her techniques. Her use of Energy Adaptation let Nomein withstand a burst of heat when Duurth melted the sphere. Skate let her slip across the room to the other in a single gliding motion, while Deflect smacked another bauble Nomein tossed at her back straight onto the floor. Detect Teleport let her point in the direction that Duurth had teleported it away when she turned around. Hinder slowed Nomein¡¯s attempt to return to her seat with every step in slow motion despite her efforts to walk normally. Before she could sit down, at last, Dimension Swap had Nomein standing across the room, where Amdirlain had been a moment earlier. Turning her back to Nomein¡¯s seat, Amdirlain swapped them again to let her sit at last. Lock secured the token box Duurth had used earlier despite it having no mechanism; instead, it stayed closed by a psionic seal formed by Psychoportation. Unlock broke the seal on a waxed parchment, then a psionic-sealed box, and unlocked a drawer. When Duurth manifested a Crystal Spear that flew towards her, Time Hop phased Amdirlain out, then back into, the time stream moments forward from when she¡¯d been. Then Dimension Slide put her on the far side of the room, the line-of-sight technique not something she planned to need. Though it had an advantage in that most magic¡ªand even some psionic¡ªbarriers couldn¡¯t block if she could see past them, unlike her Spells or Powers. However, the main purpose of learning it was to provide a thorough grounding for the next technique¡ªDimension Door¡ªthat moved her into the corridor. When she opened the door to come back in Duurth raised his eyebrows. ¡°Know that today¡¯s exam only required you to show your understanding of techniques up to and including tier 3; Dimension Door is tier 4.¡± ¡°I put too much force into Dismiss Ectoplasm, so I thought I¡¯d show something I knew I could get right,¡± offered Amdirlain hopefully. ¡°Know I hope you still have reserves for the rest of your Psychoportation and Telekinesis demonstrations,¡± said Duurth when she closed the door behind her. The three Ectoplasm constructs reformed in their original positions, and he motioned her to continue. Far Hand lifted ten glass baubles from their case and held them in mid-air before the table. They made an easy target for Matter Agitation to melt en masse, and it sent molten glass pouring towards the floor. Puddled on the stone, Energy Ray sent a burst of cold that set them back to glass that quickly flew towards her under Telekinetic Force¡¯s control. Reaching out a fingertip, a pulse of the Hammer technique shattered the mass before Telekinetic Thrust flung the shards into the closest construct. Concussion Blast drove the slivers further into it and set the barrier Duurth held before the students pulsing. Its echo stilled by Control Sound before Energy Push sent a jet of flames at the mauled construct. The burning material was snuffed out by Control Flames before Energy Stun caused a burst of electricity in the surrounding air that sizzled across the fluid dripping from its wounds. An Energy Bolt sent a small lightning bolt from her hand to smash against it with enough force to drive it alone into the back wall. Last but not least, Dispel Psionics broke the barrier when she felt Duurth stop maintaining it, and Amdirlain returned to her seat. Duurth didn¡¯t keep them waiting and passed out the results immediately from his notes. Though a few didn¡¯t score as well as they¡¯d like, everyone still scored more than enough to pass. Fortunately, not all the day¡¯s tests were as dramatic or as draining. Certainly, the last tests of the day in Githz¨¦rai history, and maths were a cakewalk, and Amdirlain headed back to her training hall, leaving the others still in the exam room. * * * She hadn¡¯t expected his presence in the training hall, but Master Cyrus looked up at Amdirlain¡¯s entry with a grin. ¡°Master ?daka mentioned your eyes were glowing before the morning¡¯s session. What did your pattern turn out to be?¡± ¡°A Phoenix burning on its pyre,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Why would the Phoenix burn on a pyre?¡± asked Cyrus in confusion. ¡°The South Wind is Immortal and immune to mundane flames since it¡¯s a greater aspect of yang.¡± Waving off his protests, Amdirlain tried to remember if she¡¯d ever read about Phoenix mythology but came up blank, other than a few movies and game statistics. ¡°We¡¯re talking about a different Phoenix. In the legends where I¡¯m from, the Phoenix dies in a fire and is reborn in a continual cycle. I think every thousand years it perishes, and from the ashes an egg forms. I¡¯m sure there are other meanings behind it, but that¡¯s all I remember. Certainly, it¡¯s not a greater Shen like the South Wind.¡± ¡°Such a tale sounds familiar but is eluding me at present. A creature continually walking the wheel of life sounds like a good portent to have your pattern contain. Continually reborn, able to put the struggles of its past life behind it, and rise from its ashes anew. A cycle of rebirth and purification by fire, perhaps? It has been a day of exams for you, has it not? I suggest you sit for a while before your evening meal with the Novices and cycle.¡± ¡°You just want to observe its manifestation,¡± guessed Amdirlain, and gave Cyrus a suspicious look. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I did show you mine,¡± declared Cyrus in mock-offence, and his eyebrows leapt upwards at Amdirlain¡¯s outburst of gleeful laughter. When her laughter settled, she focused on the pattern and almost lost control when another fit of giggles hit. She steadied herself with the three months of nightly practice and set the Ki through the pattern. The Ki had it blazing even to regular sight the moment it completed, and the wings raised skywards amid the flames. ¡°I understand now. Your legend is like the Persian Phoenix, but it¡¯s been hundreds of mortal lifetimes since I¡¯d heard that tale last. They¡¯re said to live an endless cycle of life, death, creation, and destruction. It is a creature of beauty, kindness, and goodness that lives beyond the sun¡¯s brilliance, only venturing into the mortal realm when its time draws close.¡± ¡°But weren¡¯t you originally Persian?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d be more aware of that tale, though I can understand the Four winds take precedence for you now.¡± ¡°While our order existed in Persia nominally, the monasteries were on the eastern edge of the lands claimed by the Persian Empire. The surrounding lands were more influenced by Zh¨­nghu¨¢ culture than by the Empire and the Pantheon that held sway over most of its people. It is part of the reason we moved the villagers through the heavenly gate, rather than follow the Empire¡¯s plan,¡± explained Cyrus, and waved off Amdirlain¡¯s attempt at a question. ¡°Such is a mundane and old political matter. I¡¯m more interested in your Phoenix.¡± ¡°What are your thoughts on it?¡± ¡°Well, the version I¡¯m familiar with is different; rather than the egg forming from the ashes, after emerging from its predecessor¡¯s remains, the new phoenix carves a cremation egg from a lump of myrrh. The egg is hollowed out, and the ashes interred within it. They took the creature as a symbol of renewal and rebirth. The ability to rise again despite life¡¯s setbacks is among its attributes. It must have been a relief to see your Soul finds inspiration in such a symbol.¡± Amdirlain rubbed her neck ruefully, and Cyrus fixed her with a probing stare. ¡°My first thought was it ending up like ashes on the pyre. Seeing its destruction made me wonder if I¡¯d ever died a peaceful death.¡± His stare eased at her admission, and Cyrus¡¯ tone softened reassuringly. ¡°That is not how I see the symbol, the blaze of the flames, and the feathers speaks of fierceness. The ashes are not the end; they are the beginning of the next. For the Phoenix, the blaze is a peaceful death. It dies in the fire at the time of its choosing, having lived a full life.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit-¡± ¡°All you saw is the destruction. I hope that is only because you¡¯re still dealing with your pain, but time meditating is the only way you¡¯ll learn for sure,¡± Cyrus interrupted and patted her shoulder. Amdirlain flinched back even as she registered there wasn¡¯t an ounce of pain from his touch. ¡°Your touch didn¡¯t hurt me.¡± He gave her an amused smile and waved a finger. ¡°You assumed it would after our first meeting, but you never asked what I¡¯d been doing when I touched you.¡± ¡°Your touch and opening your third eye were both agonising,¡± declared Amdirlain, remembering his explanation. ¡°Yes, I touched you while my Ki State was active and used a power that has destroyed many of the Yomi King¡¯s demons. While it was agony for your flesh, you didn¡¯t explode or even endure lasting harm.¡± Amdirlain fixed him with an incredulous look. ¡°All this time, I¡¯ve avoided sparring with you because contact would be painful.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d been sparring with me, you wouldn¡¯t have been spending time in meditation. After your explanation upon declining, I saw no need to correct your assumptions. Now cycle your Ki again. You¡¯ve only just impressed the pattern, so while your Ki capacity has likely increased, there are still gains in that regard. Also, until you-¡± ¡°So about sparring,¡± interjected Amdirlain hopefully. ¡°-get towards the point of being able to cycle your Ki continually through the pattern; it won¡¯t be as useful to you for recovery. Or enable you to try the past life technique,¡± continued Cyrus, and gave her a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure Liran? provides you a suitable challenge.¡± As if the mention of her name had summoned her, Liran? opened the door to the training hall and looked between them upon entering the room. Ignoring the glance she directed their way, Amdirlain continued with their conversation. ¡°But-¡± Cyrus fixed her with a reproving look and waved her off. ¡°You are as bad as the Dark Warrior¡¯s disciplines, solely focused on the Martial Arts, and expanding the skills that aid them in battle.¡± ¡°I live a dangerous existence,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°This will help you develop a greater Ki strength, recover Ki faster, and gain a deeper understanding of yourself. It should also help your Psi reserves if you cycle them through the pattern.¡± noted Cyrus and motioned Amdirlain to go meditate. ¡°Go on, I know a battle addict when I see one. You avoid the pain inside yourself by focusing on immediate external threats or challenges.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been getting better,¡± argued Amdirlain, and folded her arms rather than move to her meditation spot. ¡°No, you¡¯ve been healing from damage you¡¯ve taken but not yet found the sources of your pain,¡± countered Cyrus. The explorations that had found the Elven form immediately came to mind at Cyrus¡¯ statement. ¡°Do you know anything about punishments branded onto a Soul?¡± Cyrus had motioned her to meditate yet again, but stopped at her words. ¡°Only true savages would do such a thing. A Soul might Damn itself to their Pantheon¡¯s Hell, but others shouldn¡¯t be branding Souls.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve found a past life in my Mind Palace but she¡¯s wrapped up in strange metal vines studded with thorns and spikes. No matter what I do, I can¡¯t seem to get a single one free of its form,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps when I¡¯ve earned your trust, you can show me,¡± suggested Cyrus, and seeing Amdirlain¡¯s sceptical reaction, he snorted. ¡°Though most likely I¡¯d say it will need to wait until you have the past life meditations working, and you might find out how to free yourself of it. Why do you believe it¡¯s a brand on the Soul? It could just represent pain that life¡¯s memories contain.¡± ¡°I was told they branded her in a fashion that imprinted the punishment on the Soul to prevent removal. It showed on the flesh looking like this tattoo of flowering vines with thorns and spikes,¡± recounted Amdirlain and rubbed her fingers across where the tattoo showed on her palm. Cyrus extended his hand, and she set her palm up on his own, so he could look the tattoo over. ¡°I¡¯d caught glimpses of it but find it disturbing that a monstrous act provides such a beautiful presentation. Your Mind Palace is perhaps showing you how you perceive it, but still such a thing is barbaric! A Soul should always be allowed to redeem itself in another life. Such an action might well have scarred all future lives by the pain your Soul carried between lives. Why punish a Soul that isn¡¯t enlightened and might never remember its past lives in such a way?¡± asked Cyrus, gently releasing her hand. ¡°I could argue that with some Souls, but they had rites that restored past life memories when the children reached adulthood,¡± objected Amdirlain, wondering why his words sparked a defensive surge within her. ¡°Still barbaric, even more so given they force an unenlightened Soul to remember its past mistakes instead of allowing it to learn the lessons in its new life,¡± argued Cyrus. ¡°Speaking of which, learn the lesson of your pattern and go practice cycling Ki.¡± ¡°Yes, Master Cyrus,¡± huffed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before about titles,¡± Cyrus grumbled, and beckoned Liran? to resume whatever sparring they¡¯d been doing. Amdirlain gave him an amused looked and pointed at Liran?. ¡°You use them for the other masters.¡± ¡°I use their rank since I¡¯m here in the monastery, but I¡¯m not a member of this monastery,¡± replied Cyrus, his dodging unaffected by responding to Amdirlain¡¯s argument. ¡°See how many times you can repeat the pattern, keep the points lit, and I¡¯ll warn you if you press too far.¡± Kneeling by the entry, Amdirlain started the Ki cycling again. The energy infused the starting point and with the practice of casting thousands of spells, she wove a course between the rest. Months of working out the pattern had the process take only minutes, but still it drew in the same amount of Ki as the first time. Even as the Phoenix flared and the energy rushed back into her pool, Amdirlain was already pouring it into the first key point. The scent of the ashes from the pyre was so real it tickled within her memory, and thousands of distant fires burned within her mind¡¯s eye. The taste of the fires so far distant tickled across her taste buds, echoing back to the ash soaked air of that last Sydney day. Again the pyre surged into life, with the Phoenix arching its wings, a rush of power returning to the pool cut it a hair deeper. Ignoring the energy coursing through her, the pattern held the vague memories of living quickening breaths brushing under her skin, ashes drifting like snowflakes covering all in the record of destruction before the Ki¡¯s waters washed her clean. The flow of the power kept the world distant from her and even though she registered an exchange between Cyrus and Liran?, her focus didn¡¯t truly shift from cycling Ki. The chimes rang for dinner while Amdirlain was cycling through a sixth time and Liran? started forward to put a hand on her shoulder only for Cyrus to stop her. ¡°She needs this far more than pretending to require sustenance from food.¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s part of her routine-¡± ¡°Yet they continually adjust her routine depending on Elliyna¡¯s need to rest. This will help her far more than Elliyna¡¯s discussion right now.¡± ¡°Then why didn¡¯t you tell her that-¡± ¡°I told her to see how many times she could repeat the pattern. You can either go to dinner or remain, but I¡¯ll watch to make sure the Ki doesn¡¯t threaten her control. It won¡¯t be long before she¡¯s overflowing with Ki and needs to stop.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll wait as well, but Elliyna¡¯s session-¡± replied Liran?. Cyrus just held up a hand and halted Liran?¡¯s objections. ¡°May have to wait until another evening depending on how strong Amdirlain¡¯s mind truly is right now. She has a pattern of such complexity that it should have taken years, not the three months it did to discover its key points, let alone trace it out¡ªespecially given the level of frustration it should have invoked. Perhaps I should have asked her about her Skill in Meditation.¡± ¡°Know from what she has told me, Meditation isn¡¯t what she uses. She told me she gained a Power called Harmony that absorbed Meditation and provides a greater result.¡± Cyrus glanced between them and settled on the floor cross-legged. ¡°Well, that changes things. We could be here all night.¡± ¡°Know that Elliyna-¡± ¡°Will have to wait. In doing this, she¡¯ll be helping to ease her injuries and potentially find inner truths,¡± declared Cyrus. ¡°The Jade Emperor directed me to assist her, and I will do so to the best of my ability, that I promise upon his Name and my Immortality.¡± ¡°And if your ability is not enough?¡± ¡°Then I will learn as well, and do better to assist,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Know I¡¯ve dealt with my own mental injuries in the past for you to act as though this is a cure-all,¡± grumbled Liran?, momentarily at a loss for words. ¡°It is not a cure, but certainly a powerful tool to help,¡± consoled Cyrus. ¡°You can tell Master Elliyna,¡± whispered Amdirlain, her focus still on cycling. As she started another, it felt like the Ki started flowing across the dry, rock strewn lake bed within her Mind Palace, and she stopped paying attention to them altogether. The cycles of Ki shaved the depth of her Ki pool a hair breadth deeper each time, but the slow increase in it wasn¡¯t enough to prevent it straining against the boundary of her skin, and the Mantle glowed in her awareness. The Mantle''s strands swaying in the breeze bent strangely towards her against the wave of Ki she first shared with it. Her small picnic blanket in that perception of a sea of grass expanded slowly but steadily, increasing half again in size from the first time. On the second, a boundary seemingly a metre wide grew around it before her blanket¡¯s space grew further, allowing her psyche a clear separation from the Mantle¡¯s press. Unaware of the energy that washed down into the Domain¡¯s Wellspring, to trigger further buildings to grow, she continued cycling the energy¡¯s flow providing a timeless tranquility. Cyrus observed her caramel skin take on a lustre of shining gold that drained away before he could prompt her to stop. The second time it occurred, he opened his third eye enough to observe the energy¡¯s torrent, being careful to evoke no pressure on her form and backed carefully away from what was before him. The Domain¡¯s wellspring was aware of him even as he glimpsed the protective Souls in its depths staring back. As the night grew later Liran? left Cyrus to watch over her and returned the next morning to find neither had moved. Amdirlain¡¯s flesh shone bright white-gold, and the energy within was melting vague obstructions to its flow before the energy faded and her flesh returned to normal. ¡°Has she rested at all?¡± ¡°No, and each cycle, the Ki¡¯s pressure builds ever higher, then suddenly it drains away somehow before she reaches a dangerous point.¡± Liran? fixed Cyrus with a sceptical glare. ¡°Somehow?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how she¡¯s doing it, but she¡¯s sending the Ki somewhere that has Souls resting at peace within it. I¡¯ve seen nothing like it,¡± admitted Cyrus. ¡°Know that sounds like Amdirlain then,¡± laughed Liran?, and knelt down beside Cyrus to observe Amdirlain. ¡°Know I believe some Novices are waiting for her.¡± ¡°Let them know she¡¯ll be awhile. She¡¯s stopped even bothering to fake her breathing¡ªI¡¯m not sure time¡¯s passage means anything to her.¡± ¡°What do you mean, fake her breathing?¡± asked Liran?, snapping her focus to Cyrus. Cyrus fixed her with a look of surprise. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what Amdirlain is? I know many are unaware, but I don¡¯t know who knows what around here. I think you either need to speak to Master Jarith? or ask Amdirlain once she¡¯s stopped cycling Ki.¡± ¡°Should we get her to stop?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be silly. Normally this would be a closed chamber exercise and the practitioner left to surface only when their insights prompted them,¡± dismissed Cyrus. ¡°However many days, months, or even years it took.¡± ¡°Know that Master Tenzin might have something to say about her avoiding classes tomorrow¡ªshe¡¯s very protective of her Novices,¡± warned Liran?. An unconcerned shrug from Cyrus drew a hard stare from Liran?. ¡°If she¡¯s that protective, she¡¯ll want the best for her, and this Ki cycling will help her Soul heal. Though she did come by last night to check on her.¡± 179 - From the inside Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The ashes teased within the Ki¡¯s cycling, and Amdirlain repeatedly chased streams of them around within herself. The scent of death mingled in with their smoky taste, thickening enough to choke her only to evaporate again. Flickering moments of memories stayed just out of reach until, the motion of the Ki¡¯s wave releasing into the Domain snatched one up and sent her plunging into the memory. * * * The pillar of smoke reaches upwards from beyond the ocean¡¯s horizon, adding to the haze already blotting out the sun. The waves are normal again, their swells tiny compared to the enormous rush of water that had left the village¡¯s lower reaches a wasteland of drowned buildings and broken dead. While her Y¦É¦Á¦Ã¦É?¡¯s hand rest on her shoulder in an attempt at reassurance, the trembling in her touch speaks of the pain and grief she feels. The normally hot late-morning sun feels cool behind the clouds of ash overhead. Their presence blurs out the light in the sky, looking as faded as the eyes of the dead. The few boats still in the harbour now wedged tight in laneways or having staved in buildings. Those caught too close to the docks are still being retrieved from the waters by survivors who keep watch, in case Poseidon draws the harbour¡¯s water into his grasp again. Her father¡¯s heavy footsteps cause the stone beneath her feet to bounce with every step, and his shadow laying across her prompts her to look up. Even this, his smallest form, stands head and shoulders above the tallest fisherman, and his horns reach further still. A broad face, and flat nose, nothing like anyone else in the village since she and her siblings shared their mother¡¯s feature. A pelt of slate grey fur coats his bare torso and while burn holes pockmark his pants, the fur and flesh beneath them is, as always, unmarked. Seawater still clings to his legs from his wading through the shallows. ¡°Did you find mother and the twins?¡± I ask through sobs that start when I see the sadness in his gaze. The words leave my lips in a language I can¡¯t remember knowing, but the rest of their ancient Greek tongue rushes around in her memory when he replies in kind. ¡°No, Poseidon took them when the wave withdrew and didn¡¯t cast them back ashore.¡± Y¦É¦Á¦Ã¦É?¡¯s wail breaks loose and Pappous closes the eyes of a woman caught up in a torn net he¡¯s carried up from the water and starts up towards us. My mother¡¯s parents both look almost frail in their grief, and my own tears won¡¯t stop, leaving a hollowness that deepens with every drop. ¡°How did this happen, father?¡± ¡°The noise that woke us before the dawn. Gaea told me that Poseidon forced the ocean into a fire chamber beneath Crete. The violence of the fire fighting with the waters destroyed the mountain that caused this wave to strike us later. More are dying¡ªor will die¡ªup and down the coastline for hundreds of leagues about us. Artemis guided this attack to us, but the laughter of many rings throughout Olympus this day.¡± ¡°Will you make them pay, father?¡± I ask with a pulse of anger and hurt, twisting against the raw pain of their deaths. ¡°If I can, but it will take time to plan and set things in motion. I don¡¯t have-¡± He stops and his finger is already on my lips to seal away my next words when a woman is suddenly nearby. A woman dressed in pure white robes the girl I¡¯d been had never seen before. Though her bronzed complexion, deep chestnut hair, and gaze was far healthier than the villagers, her visage quickly connected to Amdirlain¡¯s memory of Hestia. ¡°Hestia, have you come to bear witness to more of their crimes?¡± At his question, Pappous hurries my Y¦É¦Á¦Ã¦É? inside but she still gets out a scream, her angry wailing and furious words ripping at the air from inside their home. Yet instead of lashing out as Pappous clearly expected, Hestia simply glances sadly at the hurriedly closed door. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nicholaus, I was busy with those suffering on the islands near Crete. I didn¡¯t know they aimed this at you.¡± ¡°Whether they aimed this at me, or another, they take whatever they want, when they want it,¡± father grumbles, and I hide behind him before I peek around his torso at Hestia. Fear of a Goddess who¡¯s so close at hand is trying to smoother my grief and anger. ¡°What will you do, Nicholaus?¡± asks Hestia, her voice rich with sorrow and concern. ¡°They took my wife and our twins. Hopefully, our eldest son will be back within a day or so with his bride. When they arrive, we will go somewhere they can never find us. Until then, I have things to make, both for repairs and so the villagers have some spares while they find a new smith.¡± ¡°They will find you anywhere on this planet, Nicholaus, with the guidance of Artemis,¡± warns Hestia. ¡°You know that it¡¯s always only a matter of time before the huntress finds her prey again. Or are you just going to sit still for their next attack? What if they send someone in person before you leave?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be gone before they get done with their celebrating. You know as well as I that even lesser massacres, always have them in their cups. When we¡¯re far away, I shall make sure I have time to become secure against their assaults. We shall see who wins the next time our paths cross. Go care for those Mortals our siblings treat with contempt, Hestia, and leave us in peace,¡± says father, his tone rough with the threat of tears. When she vanishes, he lifts me up and sets me on his shoulder. ¡°Come, little songbird, sing me one of your mother¡¯s songs so we can bid her farewell while I work and think.¡± ¡°Father, promise me I¡¯ll never be a God like one of those monsters. Can you take the spark from me before I¡¯m old enough for it to bloom?¡± ¡°Perhaps we can find a purpose in life you are happy with,¡± replies father and strides up the slope towards our home high on the hillside. Even though he¡¯s only just put me in place, he draws me off his shoulder and cradles me like an infant. As he walks, I touch my hand to his cheek and the first tear of many runs across my hand. * * * The shared grief of lost family spikes linking the mingling memories, and a sob breaks Amdirlain free from the Ki¡¯s tranquillity. Golden light has the room aglow, and the once near-black of the tattoo instead has green growth and brown thorns presented against her skin. Pushing the excess Ki overflowing the pool into the Mantle dims the room¡¯s light back to normal. Cyrus was now sitting cross-legged away from her, but nearly triple the separation from a few minutes ago, and she fruitless looked around for Liran?. ¡°When did you move?¡± asked Amdirlain in confusion. ¡°I¡¯ve moved a few times,¡± replied Cyrus before he rose and walked towards her. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯re aware of your surroundings again so soon.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®so soon¡¯?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been meditating slightly over a day. The way your Ki kept draining away, I thought you¡¯d be at it for weeks yet,¡± Cyrus explained and sat down within arm¡¯s reach. ¡°A day! I was supposed to attend Master Elliyna¡¯s session and help Nomein with two spells,¡± objected Amdirlain. Cyrus raised a hand to halt her objections. ¡°We let Master Elliyna know and Master Liran? arranged some extra tuition for the Novice, though it sounded as if such is unnecessary. How do you feel after cycling? Would you explain what was occurring with your Ki? What I could see of it while draining was extremely strange.¡± Though she had halted when Cyrus raised his hand, she barely kept her words in check at his question. ¡°I feel better, but I just hope I¡¯m not drowning my pain again in the Ki¡¯s effect. Regarding the Ki draining away, that¡¯s a secret I¡¯m not ready to share, I¡¯m afraid.¡± ¡°I sensed Souls observing me whenever I watched the pressure of your Ki lessen. They are a great distance away, yet somehow they still noticed me,¡± explained Cyrus. with a grim expression. ¡°I would hope you don¡¯t have Souls imprisoned somewhere.¡± Did he see into the Domain¡¯s Wellspring through the Mantle? ¡°No, not imprisoned. I sent the Ki to a place where Souls are resting between lifetimes. Hopefully, it helps them,¡± offered Amdirlain, and her words eased the tension from him. ¡°I sense the truth in your words, even if I don¡¯t understand what you mean. But then, I¡¯ll admit I don¡¯t know how Pantheons arrange their afterlife, merely some of what occurs within the authority of the Jade Court. Why does a fallen have access to a place that is a haven for Souls?¡± ¡°I thought you said you were aware of my full nature?¡± ¡°So I had believed, but that isn¡¯t as true as I had thought,¡± remarked Cyrus. ¡°I guessed at your Anar aspect from legends I¡¯d heard and crystal objects of power that feel as you do, but what I saw is beyond that.¡± Amdirlain gave him a crooked smile, still considering the memory of being a grieving girl cradled in Nicholaus¡¯ arms. ¡°Well, as I¡¯ve said to others, I¡¯m not normal in many respects. Since you can sense the truth, I will confirm that I don¡¯t intend them harm, nor do I seek to corrupt. Each of them is entirely there of their own choice, and I seek to keep them safe until they wish to be reborn. Would you tell me why you said the pattern would help me find my own truths, yet you keep providing interpretations?¡± Cyrus frowned briefly but nodded his acceptance of her refusal to reveal the full situation. ¡°Master Elliyna said you view things associated with yourself in a pessimistic fashion. I merely hoped to provide you with a counterbalance to your own perspective that you might actually seek long enough to find the truth and not drown yourself in fears.¡± ¡°Yeah, I need to keep working on myself from the inside,¡± admitted Amdirlain, before she rose. ¡°First though, I need to go give my apologies to Nomein. I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d get someone to help her, I said I¡¯d help her, and I broke my word.¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°The chimes signalling the end of evening meal occurred just before you opened your eyes,¡± advised Cyrus, and Amdirlain hurried off with a nod. Approaching the door, she spun on her heel and stepped back through it, using Spirit Passage to phase herself. Once the powers I have would have had me feeling like a superhero, now they don¡¯t seem like enough to stay safe. Letting herself out the other doors normally, she saw Nomein and Lezekus coming along from the training hall as she got to the sleeping level. Nomein gave an amused smile and picked up pace, almost skipping along the corridor, the grin broadening as she closed the distance. ¡°Know that I got both those spells working with the tutor Master Cyrus arranged.¡± ¡°Oh no, you replaced me,¡± replied Amdirlain, and clasp her hands to her cheeks in mock-shock. ¡°Though seriously, that¡¯s good. I¡¯m sorry I got caught up.¡± ¡°Know he passed along a message from Master Cyrus explaining you were busy getting your meditation pattern settled properly,¡± replied Nomein. ¡°Know that every time I was near the stairs down to your training hall, I could feel a thrum of energy in the air,¡± Lezekus stated. Nomein shot her a sceptical look and just shook her head. ¡°Know I¡¯m thinking you¡¯re one of those strange Priest types Lezekus. Mysterious about the Power you serve and getting impressions from the air no one else gets. Has she told you who she worships, Amdirlain?¡± Amdirlain kept a bland expression at Nomein¡¯s interrogative gaze. ¡°Isn¡¯t who she tells her choice, Nomein?¡± ¡°Know that I worship Amdirlain then,¡± offered Lezekus in a dry tone, and the wink she gave behind Nomein¡¯s back had Amdirlain rolling her eyes. ¡°Okay, Nomein?¡± Nomein¡¯s sceptical look returned in full force and she spun about to glare at Lezekus. ¡°Know that some Powers can be jealous, so joking in such a fashion is dangerous to Amdirlain as well.¡± ¡°Some can be very petty, but I¡¯d say Lezekus is safe,¡± offered Amdirlain. Nomein ducked to avoid getting scruffed by Amdirlain, who gave Lezekus an amused wink. ¡°Not like she fooled you, right?¡± ¡°Any suggestion about the energy I felt in the air?¡± Lezekus asked, ignoring Nomein¡¯s grumbling about being reckless. ¡°I was accumulating a lot of Ki during the meditation. Maybe you¡¯re sensitive to it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I felt nothing, and we¡¯ve got the same classes except Priest,¡± protested Nomein, and gave Amdirlain¡¯s arm a squeeze that didn¡¯t even make an impression. Amdirlain gave Nomein a half-hearted shrug and a smile. ¡°Except that not everyone is the same, even with the same classes. But maybe it was a spiritual aspect of Lezekus¡¯ Priest class that assisted her. I¡¯m glad you still got your spells done.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll practice the ones I know now until I build up enough mastery of them, but I¡¯ll let you know when I want to learn another,¡± Lezekus fixed Amdirlain with a smile. ¡°Know that we¡¯re going to the library since Nomein wants to hunt down more religious texts to find the symbol of my Goddess.¡± ¡°Is that why you¡¯re teasing her tonight?¡± Giving Amdirlain a mischievous look, Lezekus waved Nomein towards her room. ¡°Who me?¡± ¡°Mind if I come to the library with you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve some research to do.¡± ¡°Know that you¡¯re welcome to come along,¡± replied Nomein, and ducked inside her room. Glancing between them, Lezekus looked at Amdirlain curiously. ¡°What are you researching?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d continue learning Ritual Lore, and get started on Magic Circles.¡± * * * The time they spent in the library allowed Amdirlain to unlock the Magic Circle knowledge¡ªboosted by her existing Arcane Lore¡ªand gain progress in Ritual Lore. As the others settled down to sleep Amdirlain sat in her room, and considered cycling her pattern again, but instead she reached for the Oath Links within her awareness. The moment she touched against Ebusuku¡¯s to send a message, she wondered again at her new Use name. Having intended a few times to ask her, Amdirlain stuck with the original in her greetings. ¡°Ebusuku, I¡¯ve been meaning to ask is your preference your new Use name or is it just a change for safety like Klipyl¡¯s one? I¡¯m sorry for interrupting you the other day. Do you have time to speak?¡± ¡°It was mainly a change to avoid old colleagues and family getting back in touch or laying traps. It¡¯s fine to keep calling me Ebusuku, just don¡¯t send a Message to my old Use name¡ªSidero bound it to an Earth Elemental. Farhad recovered from his blue balls and is organising training for a company of Angels that took form today after another set of blue and golden lights faded. Did you want to speak in your Mind Palace again?¡± Amdirlain hesitated only briefly before settling into it, and regarded the changed showing through the clear crystal platform beneath her. Neither the sun¡¯s sullen orange, nor the sky had changed in some time, but now as far as the eye could see there wasn¡¯t a patch of tar still in place. It had all hardened into black obsidian, riddled with a mix of hairline fractures or widening cracks that revealed whatever lay beneath¡ªground or forms. The form directly beneath her was more exposed than when she¡¯d seen it less than a week ago. The once rotting throat wound had been cleared of gangrene long ago, but now pink scarred flesh filled in the empty void. Its obsidian covering had taken months to remove, and now the cycling of the Ki had washed large swaths of the clay-like soil away, exposing scared and blemish-free flesh alike. When she extended Spirit Bridge to Ebusuku, the connection locked in place with a surprising speed, and Amdirlain snorted in amusement at the notification. [Spirit Bridge [Ad](12->14) Note: Learning to let in those you trust paying off for you?] ¡°The spire left a nasty scar on the throat, but this is looking healthier. Your Domain is showing more dramatic changes than what you¡¯ve got here.¡± Pursing her lips, Amdirlain motioned Ebusuku to spill. ¡°You told me that everything was fine, but you never gave me details.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s brash smile earned her a glare from Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell you. Many people are waiting to see the look on your face. The energy certainly transformed the Domain and expanded it in ways that I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll like. Is the knowledge essential to your healing?¡± ¡°You¡¯re enjoying being mysterious,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°When I get back there. I¡¯ll show up without warning, so you don¡¯t get to see the look on my face.¡± Her protest washed Ebusuku¡¯s smile away and turned her expression stern. ¡°Please don¡¯t do that. The Archons are looking forward to seeing your reaction. When your healer gives the all-clear, they want to give you a grand welcome home. We¡¯ll open up a Gate for you from inside the boundary to ensure you¡¯ve no risk of ambush, and that it¡¯s a spot with the best view.¡± Amdirlain pulled a face, but with a nod as she conceded to the request, and Ebusuku gave her a tight hug. ¡°At least tell me what you lot have been doing. The number of Faithful is getting more than a little intimidating.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t been providing Divine Foci anymore¡ªyour priests create all the new ones now. Though considering only yourself, Tyr and Sidero freely granted healing blessings, your groups of faithful are unsurprisingly increasing. I¡¯ve even been told they¡¯ve spread into the countries to the north, though mostly in major cities so far,¡± offered Ebusuku. ¡°Sidero?¡± gasped Amdirlain, going wide-eyed. ¡°Their culture has been focused on the Shaper¡¯s steel for centuries and the General had a company join an attack on a breeding site. After they saw the way she controlled her chains and metal moved at her whim, there was a bit of a fuss,¡± explained Ebusuku in a deliberate understatement. ¡°Some from the castle had spoken to her about Order. Yet instead of praying to Order, they started praying to Sidero; the Lady of Steel, World Binder, and seeker of Order. Her Faithful make Farhad look fickle, and she¡¯s attracted a bunch of the shapers in the Castle.¡± ¡°Geez,¡± Amdirlain groaned and stopped herself from chasing down that rabbit hole. ¡°Speaking of faithful I don¡¯t suppose you have any information on an Erakk? called Kralin Pir¨ºn?¡± Ebusuku just gave her a blank look, and a shrug, so Amdirlain continued. ¡°They show up in my profile as the Head Priest with a combination of the Soldier and Priest classes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask Echo to investigate, he knows more of the Erakk? than I do,¡± admitted Ebusuku. ¡°Have you tried recognising someone as your representative or Head Priest? I¡¯ve heard Powers pick them and not just let levels determine who is in charge. You set Eivor in charge and even after Aggie out-levelled her, she still showed in your Profile for the Ten Kingdoms.¡± ¡°Point. I will have to see if I can work something out. Eivor I told in person,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You intended Isa to be allowed onto Letveri, and she managed that. Just try focusing your intention again, but aside from meeting Tesfa when we freed him, neither of us really knows him,¡± cautioned Ebusuku. ¡°For all you know, this Kralin might actually be a better leader.¡± ¡°True, I¡¯ll hold off for now,¡± admitted Amdirlain, keeping her use of Soul Sight on him to herself. ¡°Since Echo is handling coordination at the castle can you ask him to collect information on a few things, the highest-level priests, the various sects, and the countries to the north?¡± Ebusuku nodded at each point and gave her a reassuring smile. ¡°I¡¯ll sort that out with him. I know there are three northern countries they trade with and share any length of their border with. There is another two further north and countries on other continents where ocean-going vessels are their only link, but they don¡¯t have any such vessels of their own.¡± Amdirlain nodded as she considered how much in the way of resources maintaining a navy could draw away. ¡°Too busy fighting off the Thri-Kreen?¡± ¡°Exactly, and the Thri-Kreen invasion paths are all inland routes.¡± ¡°How does she deal with cities of them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I know their mental assaults would roll right off her, but I¡¯d have expected her to call in support for cities.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not asked. Those we¡¯ve examined have lots of heat cracked buildings, and enemies¡¯ ashes baked into the stonework. Similar to the funeral pyre sites she¡¯s left behind, but looking like it caught the Mind Flayers running. From the injuries Echo has reported her healing afterwards, they¡¯re not completely one-sided fights. She calls in support for the breeding sites, but the experience from the cities she¡¯s been keeping for herself and Klipyl.¡± ¡°Okay, I just hope she doesn¡¯t bite off more than she can chew. Other than the physical changes that are around the Domain how are things?¡± asked Amdirlain, setting aside her concern for Sidero. ¡°Mostly the usual, organising new Archons, though there have been a few Angels manifesting recently. Oh, and Farhad finally asked me to marry him, so that''s official now,¡± Ebusuku added innocently, and smirked as Amdirlain spluttered. ¡°When¡¯s the wedding?¡± asked Amdirlain, eager for details the moment she recovered her mental balance. ¡°What do you mean? He asked. I said yes, we¡¯re married.¡± Her matter-of-fact tone gained a glare from Amdirlain, before she yelled at Ebusuku¡¯s disinterested expression. ¡°Ebusuku! That¡¯s not how it works. You¡¯ve got to have some sort of celebration.¡± ¡°Yes, it is how it works. It¡¯s my choice, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Ebusuku, her eyes glinting in amusement. Amdirlain groaned and put her face in her hands, but her muttering didn¡¯t stop Ebusuku from making out the string of cursing. ¡°You¡¯re a spoilsport, weddings are important,¡± Amdirlain announced, finally dropping her hands. Ebusuku merely waved off Amdirlain¡¯s protest and wrinkled her nose. ¡°No, they are not. I¡¯d prefer to spend the time that goes into planning one having sex instead.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± Amdirlain grumbled, and Ebusuku just playfully pinched at her cheeks. "But they¡¯re about celebrating as a community, so they are important to those not simply looking for their next sausage stuffing.¡± ¡°Once you¡¯re back, you can plan and officiate it if you can talk Farhad into a wedding. I¡¯ve got better things to do than plan one, and Farhad was quite happy to accept my take on how it worked. That¡¯s how it works in many societies; some we¡¯d have been married the moment we shared the same apartment in The Exchange.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just tell him the Law in my Domain is that a proper wedding is required,¡± teased Amdirlain with a playful smile. ¡°We were on Cemna when he proposed, so the local law that applies is none,¡± Ebusuku said smugly. ¡°We¡¯d just finished tearing through a horde of Mummy Lords who were all spell casters. Now that was fun!¡± ¡°Ebusuku, you¡¯re a spoilsport,¡± muttered Amdirlain, only for Ebusuku to flash her palm. She¡¯s been talking to Sidero too much, talk to the hand indeed. ¡°You¡¯re a goddess of freedom. Since it¡¯s me saying I¡¯m married, my choice is key, isn¡¯t it? Or are you trying to restrict our freedom of choice?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just hope everything goes swell then,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean?¡± asked Ebusuku suspiciously. ¡°I feel there is some wordplay in your statement, but I still don¡¯t have a proper understanding of the way you abuse English.¡± ¡°It¡¯s called slang. I could say you¡¯re looking mighty swell today, Ebusuku, to say you look good,¡± explained Amdirlain, her arms innocently folded in a fashion that had Ebusuku¡¯s gaze narrowing. ¡°That¡¯s not funny Amdirlain. If I get pregnant, I¡¯m going to strangle you slowly.¡± Giving a laugh, Amdirlain raised her hands in protest. ¡°I don¡¯t need to breathe, but you¡¯ve got a higher strength you could hurt me. I don¡¯t want to risk it, especially here.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t strangle you, even here, but don¡¯t say that sort of thing,¡± grumbled Ebusuku, her expression becoming concerned. ¡°Yeah, I know you¡¯re just as much as a battle addict as I get called. You¡¯d likely want to be pregnant over my dead body.¡± Ebusuku chortled and, after giving an eyeroll, patted Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder gently. ¡°Seems some people are getting to know you. Don¡¯t you mean I¡¯d want to end up pregnant over my dead body?¡± ¡°I meant what I said. Since I ill-wished you, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d want to throttle me if you end up pregnant unexpectedly. Can Solars even get pregnant? ¡°I¡¯d say it would be extremely rare for a Solar to allow such a distraction from its duty that raising a child would require to be true to them.¡± 180 - Light in the Dark Runa¡¯s PoV - Cemna - Southern Canyons The noise starts when I pass by cracks in the building¡¯s wall, and reversing lets me see a cluster of undead climbing to their feet. The Negative energy shifts in clouds that fight against the light emitted through my meshwork. A foulness that flinches back from Amdirlain¡¯s symbol, shifting across the stonework whenever I turn. Yet the red glow in the creatures¡¯ dried eyes echoes the movement of those black swirls. They aren¡¯t rotting, or waterlogged despite the moisture-laden air from the canyon¡¯s waterway; their carapaces look bone dry mummified¡ªor at least transformed¡ªby the energy. When the lead rank come eagerly out onto the walkway, another shows itself with weapons clutched in its multiple hands. Vile words hiss against the air from their gill-like mouths, and I focus on the closest whose mouth membrane is vibrating in its dry rasp. A burst of golden light punches through it and those directly behind, but it still finishes the dark Blessing. Red claws manifest as the Abyssal intonation falls silent and lash out towards the barrier protecting me, and I teleport away. My glow now directly above the black waters has bloated bodies stirring from the depths. A Spell sends a burst of lightning across the barrier, and I change position again, before sending a rapid fire of Ki-shrouded bolts in reply. The natives¡¯ multiple eyes make it hard to get them to lose track of me. Still while their bolts and blasts leap towards me, I teleport about letting them waste their energy while my own attacks chew through their ranks. The press of their numbers helps me inflict damage on more than I¡¯d hoped at once. With the host crowded on the walkway, most bolts burn holes clear through three or four at a time. The Cadaver Lord is last to fall and though I can¡¯t strip the armour off, its curved blades get tucked into the storage band Mirage attached to my meshwork. As I work through the building''s interior, and far into the canyon''s wall, bolts and blessings leave mounds of broken bodies behind. When I¡¯ve cleared out the interior, Teleport sets me back at the canyon¡¯s junction, and I find scores of new bodies around the rest of the team. Hook, and Mirage are still busy updating the map with the memories they focus into it, while Pip and three fresh Lantern Archons keep a lookout. The bow Pip carries shines with inner energy against the canyon¡¯s gloom. The string¡¯s pure white light cast a shadow behind her with her fingers resting on it, ready to draw. Her new body is currently in a human shape that¡¯s head and shoulders shorter than her Hound Archon form. But along with the green tinge in her ash-blond hair and dusky skin, the sharpness of her features and the bright mint green eyes hinting misleadingly at an Elven heritage. It¡¯s odd seeing her practicing with that body while the other two are in their Hound Archon forms. ¡°What was past the zag in that branch, Runa?¡± Hook asks, only looking up for a moment. ¡°Lots of fun,¡± I giggle in delight. ¡°Thanks for letting me play by myself. It was so much experience, and I levelled finally¡ªeverything since level 60 has been taking so many foes. It started with a bunch of the drowned zombies, but its end reaches into the start of the Negative energy clouds. Close to it, the foes got tougher with mummified wizards and priests, along with those Cadaver Lords.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you take that transformation you got offered at level sixty, Runa?¡± asked Mirage, looking up from the map¡¯s image suspended in the crystal sphere she holds. ¡°I enjoy being a Lantern Archon. At first I missed not having hands, but it¡¯s not so bad. Just a touch annoying when I can¡¯t get all the treasure without someone helping. There is a bunch of armour back there, but I got all the weapons and wands.¡± Hook snorts and draws my attention back. ¡°How are you for reserves?¡± ¡°I¡¯m low on Ki and Mana after dealing with the amphitheatre,¡± I murmur. ¡°Another amphitheatre?¡± ¡°Yeah, not as big as the others today. I¡¯ve got the crystal to give Ebusuku when we get back.¡± Mirage understandably winces and mutters in a low hiss of disgust. ¡°That makes five in the last ten kilometres; they¡¯re getting far too common. Anything different about this one?¡± Floating down towards the crystal, I touch it with Telepathy and see the images I project flicker within it. ¡°All the undead inside it were mummy-types, but otherwise nothing major. Are we going to double back and check the branches on the other side?¡± ¡°Another time, we¡¯ll need to meet up shortly,¡± Pip says. Coming from her, the reminder of responsibility feels odd, her playfulness having become more selective with the transformation from Lantern to Hound. She¡¯s still as quick to laugh when we¡¯re not in dangerous places but entirely focused when on duty. I think I¡¯ll hold off accepting that offer of a transformation, not like anyone is dying because of my lack of hands. ¡°Are you all done?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve captured all the details. Nothing we need to check on before we leave,¡± replies Hook, and signals for Mirage to move us. He¡¯s still dropping his hand when we¡¯re back on the forest¡¯s edge with Mirage¡¯s Spell fading around us. Only half the teams are present when we arrive but soon after another influx arrives in a scattering of Teleports. Among those present, I note the new strength showing in the first teams of Angels Farhad and Sidero finally declared ready to help here. Every time the Domain takes on the blue and golden glow, it seems more Angels emerge since this first company four moons ago. When the last team shows we do the usual shift through Gates that delivers us back within the Domain¡¯s boundary. With Limbo¡¯s chaos behind us, we emerge close to the newest training field in the third full valley the Domain¡¯s expansion has now entirely consumed. Master Farhad is supervising the large-scale drills and didn¡¯t even glance our way despite the Trumpet Archon¡¯s racket sounding the all-clear at the Gate¡¯s closure. The still training Angels are in their eleven companies¡ªone for each of Amdirlain¡¯s rest days since that first pattern meditation. It almost feels like it¡¯s greeting our arrival, but it¡¯s likely Amdirlain¡¯s punctuality that has the blue and golden lights shine through the closest tree line. ¡°Has it really been ten days already since her last cycling?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been busy,¡± replies Mirage, and looks at me. ¡°Come with me. We¡¯ll pass off the crystal from the amphitheatres to Ebusuku outside the Domain." ¡°O¡¯Nai¡¯s back,¡± Hook notes, gesturing across the training groups to the green-hued wings I¡¯ve only seen him possess. ¡°We¡¯ll have to see if the three of them tracked down more of the materials.¡± ¡°At least someone can stand working with Isa,¡± replies Mirage. ¡°She¡¯s so erratic.¡± Hook gives a Mirage a pat on the head that gains him a glare. ¡°She¡¯s no worse than the Eladrin that visited from the summer court, all focused on individuals rather than communities.¡± Floating down to Mirage, I waggled in front of her, drawing her attention to the storage band. ¡°Just return it when you¡¯re done. I will go look for those forming and guide them to the usual gathering spots.¡± ¡°Okay, Runa. Drop by my workshop in an hour or two. I should be there by then¡ªwill save me hunting for you.¡± As soon as she retrieves the band, Teleport sets me in the tree line, and I start through the woodland glades looking for the usual signs of confusion. A burst of light shines from the first glade I approach and the grass parts to let a pillar of crystal rise from the earth. A trio of new Angels appears nearby, touching it curiously they only step away when its continued growth reaches above the trees. With the fluted curves along its edges above the canopy, they add their soft music to the Domain¡¯s growing song. * * * The summons wasn¡¯t a general call for help but via my Use name. Feeling Amdirlain¡¯s power within the Blessing summoning me, I didn¡¯t even hesitate to rush along the rainbow conduit that snapped into place around me. The light at the end parted to let me out into the Material Plane. I take the place I¡¯ve arrived in instantly¡ªbeing able to see in all directions at once never gets old. There isn¡¯t even a summoning circle chalked on the varnished wooden floor beneath me. Nearby a twenty-something lady in a chain hauberk, sturdy brown clothing, and solid boots is smiling at me. She carries herself like a veteran; even standing still, it is obvious she¡¯s ready to move instantly. Chestnut coloured hair and tanned skin with features finer than I¡¯d expected from the Norse styling of the clothing and the room. Her grey gaze carries confidence and conviction within, borne of enduring things beyond what she¡¯d thought she could. Satisfied that she means no harm, most of my attention goes outwards, taking in the carefully varnished floor without bubbling. The place has the faint feel of the Domain so it¡¯s properly consecrated to Amdirlain with magical lights floating in the open rafters beneath a shingle ceiling. The light gives a sense of comfort and warmth to the sparse wooden furnishing, carved with Norse knots and runes, obviously crafted to match the edging along Amdirlain¡¯s altar. The only stone about the place is at the foyer end of the Temple. The carefully crafted stone floor, walls, and even the stone benches that sit along its walls is completely lacking the decorations of the rest of the Temple. With the wear they show, they¡¯ve either salvaged them from an earlier structure or perhaps they¡¯d built this place on the remains of another. The foyer¡¯s roof, and that of the rest of the Temple, is simple wood construction, though all freshly varnished. It¡¯s about the size of a log cabin, maybe seven metres from the foyer¡¯s edge to the wall behind the altar decorated with wildflowers in vases. ¡°Hi. Did you need some help?¡± The woman¡¯s smile broadens at my question, and she gives a brisk nod. ¡°Perhaps some introductions and background first. My name is Brina, a veteran of the cadre, and I came here once released from service. I met my old platoon leader when I passed through Utgard¡ªdespite her having died to the Sahuagin. We spoke for a time, and she gave me a few Use names if I ever needed an Archon to help watch my back. I know not to utilise your real Use name outside of the summoning. But what should I call you?¡± asks Brina. Her careful reference to Solveiga almost has me giggling, but I give a nod that I know looks like I¡¯m simply bouncing. ¡°Call me Tove.¡± I offered readily, having already discussed name safety with Hook moons ago, I¡¯d picked my mother¡¯s name for the purpose. ¡°What¡¯s the situation, Brina?¡± ¡°There have been traces found in nearby woods that I find concerning. However, it¡¯s the wrong time of year for the Gnarls or Gobs,¡± Brina replies, her words tight at mentioning the Gnarls, and I re-assess her age. The memory of the late-spring raid where I¡¯d died has my light dimming. ¡°Slavers don¡¯t have a time of year they care about sticking to for raiding, other than deciding people are vulnerable.¡± Brina reaches up and lays a hand on the closest of Amdirlain¡¯s symbols, making it obvious I¡¯d given things away. ¡°Exactly, but the village council only agreed to pass warnings. I¡¯d prefer to be a bit more proactive. It might sound silly asking you to patrol at night, but I know Lantern Archons can dim their lights way down to barely a wick¡¯s glow. If you¡¯d watch over the Temple during the day, sometimes I have to go out to the farms at the community¡¯s edge. They call it a village but it¡¯s more a hamlet, only just under a hundred, including children.¡± ¡°Anyone seeing a dim glow in the woods might take me for a Will-o¡¯-Wisp,¡± I cautioned. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard of any local sightings of those. But honestly, that might not be a bad thing; if anything is lurking in the woods, it could scare them off or at least make them more cautious. The village militia are proud folk, but they¡¯ve no real training,¡± advises Brina. ¡°Alright, sounds like a plan. Do you have a map of the local area?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the first thing I did when I arrived,¡± Brina replies with a chuckle. ¡°All the locals give directions based on folks who lived on farms three generations ago.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t know the area, why did you come here after mustering out?¡± Brina¡¯s laughter fades with a rueful snort and I see a spark of fire in her eyes when she answers. ¡°Do you want the long story or the short?¡± ¡°The short is fine, unless you prefer to tell me the long story.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. The recital seems to be one Brina has given more than a few times with the way the words rattle off her tongue. ¡°I believed honeyed words of a soldier far from home. When I showed up later at Utgard, I found he already had a wife. After I punched him out, I stayed only long enough to repay him in other ways. I¡¯d been heading toward Darius, it¡¯s only another twenty leagues north of here. Stopped during a storm and helped the innkeeper¡¯s wife deliver a baby. Found they didn¡¯t have anyone to provide healing beyond badly splinting broken limbs and catching babies, so I stayed.¡± ¡°Were you a Priest in the cadres?¡± ¡°Priest and Wizard, with more than a touch of soldiering thrown in. We can¡¯t all rely on being able to stay clear of the battle lines.¡± replies Brina, and her expression hardens momentarily. Taking a scroll of parchment from a case at her belt, she lays it out across a wooden bench and starts from the village centre and moving outwards. She provides a concise report of who lives where and her evaluation of their combat capabilities as well as the most vulnerable families. As the briefing continues, I use the Message token Mirage made me to let her know I¡¯m helping a priestess on the Material Plane, maybe I won¡¯t get scolded again. * * * The village looks peaceful, floating a half kilometre above, night having settled a blanket of darkness across the landscape. A half-score of buildings forms the village¡¯s centre, the Temple lies a stone¡¯s throw to the North from the closest one¡ªa simple blacksmith¡¯s half-covered forge set by a slope ceilinged cottage. Further away from the centre the farms become spread out. Most farms have a house and barn surrounded by a low wall, with their fields empty of livestock at night. The darkness is only broken up by the occasional light leaking when a farmer goes to check a barn, and a late traveller¡¯s arrival at the inn. The concealment Blessing settled over me will keep anyone from noticing me¡ªor my glow¡ªand I wonder again if I should have mentioned it to Brina. Drifting towards the woods to the east Brina had shown on her map, I find the tracks. Listening more for the absence of animal sounds than for folks stalking about. The initial traces I find at the most recent location match Brina¡¯s description, broken branches and subtle trail markers, and I hope they¡¯re only humans. But scouting through the woods I find enough to know they¡¯re not as the first print I find turns into nearly a half-dozen differently sized. Each footprint showing their misshaped feet and, despite how their claws dig into the ground, they¡¯ve placed their weight to minimise the chance of breaking twigs underfoot. True Sight separates them out from animals with ease, but they¡¯re careful in their fieldcraft and tracing them back to the tunnel heading downwards takes me a few hours. Right season or not, Gnarls have moved into the neighbourhood and are scouting carefully. Ebusuku says the worst monsters are the smart ones. Backing up a distance I cast a stronger concealment Blessing and start my explorations, within the tunnel staying near the ceiling with my light restrained my utmost in case the concealment fails. * * * In the morning, with news it was Gnarls that are now all dead, her expression goes tight with concern and perhaps rage. An energy that shows in the sharp movements when she tends the fire. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to deal with the problem without help,¡± admits Brina, forcefully stuffing an excessive number of twigs between branches she¡¯d stacked in the fireplace. ¡°They looked like the leftovers from a destroyed tribe. Some of them had wounds with traces of Mana, tight spells, nothing sloppy. I don¡¯t know if they were planning a raid soon as their larder had a few deer, rabbits, and other easy-to-catch prey.¡± The report has her nod and tension eases from her shoulders beneath the hauberk she¡¯s already wearing. ¡°Did you find their arrival point?¡± ¡°Their lair connected to deeper caves, but it had lots of branches not far beneath the surface.¡± Even as I explain, I project the appearance of the lair entrance into her mind, along with the deepest portions that had connected to limestone caves. ¡°Would you like me to stay awhile? I don¡¯t eat much, and I can make light meals.¡± As she gets my joke, Brina stops at my offer and then gives an almost huffing snort of constrained laughter. ¡°Can they spare you from other duties?¡± ¡°I should let the newer Lantern Archons get some experience, it¡¯s been a pretty full-on year for me. My first adventure was helping a priestess escape a trap that pulled her into a Ghoul lair.¡± Brina fixes me with a look at the mention of Ghouls and turns back to the fireplace. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about it after I have breakfast?¡± ¡°Oh, it wasn¡¯t gruesome, not for the most part,¡± I assure her quickly, and she goes back to setting kindling on the fireplace¡¯s edge. ¡°She¡¯d ended up in an old catacomb, nothing fresh in there.¡± ¡°What level are you now?¡± asks Brina curiously. Using flint-and-steel she sets the kindling alight and slides the bark it¡¯s sitting on under smaller twigs to get the fire started. ¡°Only sixty-one, in my four classes, and Lantern Archon,¡± I admit glumly and Brina coughs. ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°I know, a bit slow, right?¡± I ask, trying to keep a dry tone, and when Brina goes wide-eyed, I mess up giggling. ¡°Daily hunting through ruins filled with undead helps, but so slowly. We¡¯ve been working to free a world from a demonic influence.¡± ¡°I guess I should have only called you if a horde of Ogres had shown up.¡± ¡°Oh, do you know where some are I can fight?¡± I ask excitedly. ¡°But seriously, I¡¯m glad to nip that problem in the bud and happy to stay on for a time. Any potential apprentices or novices in the village?¡± ¡°What classes do you have if you don¡¯t mind me asking?¡± ¡°Scout, Archer, Zen Archer, and Priest. Zen Archer is a Monk variation that focuses on ranged combat.¡± Brina¡¯s hand rests on the kettle¡¯s handle for a long moment before she hooks it above the fireplace and stands ups. ¡°I think I should be taking orders from you.¡± ¡°Nah, that sounds like too much work for me,¡± I say, lightening my tone. ¡°Just let me know what I can do to help.¡± * * * Wherever Brina goes she¡¯s fully armoured with something to use as a weapon close at hand. But my low-key stay lasts only a couple of days, before I get busted talking to Brina while she¡¯s working in the Temple garden. Two of the local children, dropping by to deliver some cheese in payment for healing, go still when they see me teasing Brina about her sun-wilted plants. The flurry of visitors over the days that follow continue until I think everyone¡¯s come by to greet me, sometimes three or four times. ¡°You¡¯re part of this place¡¯s folk-lore now,¡± Brina remarks, when the village elder leaves after yet another visit to bring a loaf of bread from his wife. A pulse of light is the only way I can express my frustration and my lack of hands actually tempts me now to take that transformation. ¡°I¡¯m only a Lantern Archon. They should see the Angels¡ªmuch more impressive.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Celestial with a Norse name, in service to what many consider a minor¡ªor even annoying¡ªinfluence,¡± Brina says smugly. ¡°How did you annoy them?¡± Brina laughs and waves a finger in a mock-scolding. ¡°Who says it was me?¡± ¡°You were far too smug about being annoying,¡± I say quickly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t here, but in Utgard I was so annoyed I paid out for every Thralls¡¯ freedom from my supposed suitors¡¯ family. Left them short-handed to work their farm, since not one Thrall wanted to stay on as a hired hand. I don¡¯t know about you, but to me that says his deceitful ways didn¡¯t end with him.¡± Every night without fail I check the Gnarls¡¯ empty lair for her, even that simple mention of them setting a darkness in her gaze that¡¯s not dispelled by any light. Her being constantly armed and armoured paints a clear picture, and I can¡¯t help but wonder how long she survived captivity. I just wish there was something more I could do to help, other than keeping watch for her now. * * * The rafters¡¯ magical lights provide me with a place to blend in and let me peer out the smoke hole above the foyer. It¡¯s late in the day when I see the figures approaching along the dusty road. By far the most interesting pair I¡¯d seen come by in the weeks I¡¯d been here, battle stained and with a weary look in the fading sunlight. They¡¯re a muscular couple in their matching deep green leather armour, set with discs of silvery metal. It seems an odd choice, but when I focus I can see the inactive enchantments that would let them blend into almost any landscape and dull the metal¡¯s gleam. The woman leads the way with sure strides despite the bandages wrapping her right leg being dark with blood. I hear a few low hisses of pain, and each time the man reaches out to provide support, she pats his arm and they continue. She pauses only when crossing the threshold, not from concern but to nod respectfully towards the altar Brina had freshly decorated with wildflowers this morning. Gesturing towards the bench to the left of the entry, she rests the short fighting spear she was carrying against the wall. Once settled with her wounded leg outstretched, she pulls the open-faced helm free to reveal it was resting on a braid coiled atop her head. Her rich brown hair and eyes are a few tones deeper than the olive hue of her skin that is drenched with sweat. After stripping off her sturdy gloves, she set them in her helm and lays the short fighting spear on the ground beneath her feet. The man doesn¡¯t take his helm off, but tuffs of black locks poke out from beneath it. With him still standing, his head and shoulders advantage over her seems greater still. At an insistent gesture, he moves to the other end of the bench she picked, and he leans his sword and battered shield against the wall. His dark gaze never leaves her; his rough, blocky features, set with grim concern, are quite the contrast to her beautiful oval face. He has taken many a battering, including a broken nose. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll find a healer here?¡± ¡°Yes, the signs from Hestia were clear, and the lights among the ceiling beams match the vision.¡± ¡°This place is barely more than a roadside shrine. The wood looks new, and there isn¡¯t even an attendant,¡± the man observes. ¡°Hush, Stelios. If nothing else, it¡¯s a peaceful place to die,¡± she says, and pain shows in the man¡¯s gaze at her words. Teleport puts me at eye level a few spear lengths away, but I still startle her. ¡°Is the problem only your leg, or something else?¡± Her hand releases her spear and easing her leg back straight she gives me a polite nod. ¡°It was a curse that stabbed into my leg, and I can feel it chewing its heat through my flesh. Is there a Priest about?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do about your leg if that¡¯s alright with you before I try to find her. Brina is delivering a baby at present,¡± I reply and float closer to her. ¡°I¡¯ll start by determining the curse so I know what I¡¯m trying to break. You mentioned Hestia?¡± ¡°My husband and I are both in her service, but neither of us are priests. I¡¯m a Ranger and cast a guiding Blessing that led me here. Just let us know what offerings or services we can provide to Amdirlain for your help. Our Goddess wouldn¡¯t have led me here if that wouldn¡¯t be acceptable to her.¡± A quick Blessing sets the Temple proper aglow, and I can make out sickening colours twisting within her leg. A strong Dark Channels Curse is slowly progressing to spread rot through her body, the curse itself intended to wound and then extend the suffering of its target. Moving closer causes its edges to recoil back from the light I shed. ¡°How did you get cursed?¡± ¡°We¡¯d been leading a group of faithful out west clear from persecution, but a band following Hecate continued to pursue. The others went ahead, and we ambushed the hunters a distance north of here.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to unwrap the wound so the filth can leave you,¡± I state, remembering my lessons. Stelios puts a hand on her arm the moment she leans forward. ¡°Galyna, please let me do that; just rest back against the wall. You don¡¯t want to be throwing up on the wound.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the one that bandaged it,¡± grumbles Galyna. Despite her words, she leans back against the stonework as Stelios undoes the bandage pouring water over it so it comes easily free. As the bandage comes away, the swollen bite oozing dark blood and foul pus looks as if it pierced deep into the meat of her thigh. The torn legging, no longer covered by the bandage, shows a greenish supernatural mould crusting the edges and black lines radiate in all directions away from the wound. The curse tries to fight back against the Blessing as it starts, but Willpower gained from battling the undead steadily forces it to retreat. However, when the serpents at last dissolve, the swollen wound is still horrendous to look at, so I start another to purge the tainted blood. Foul yellowish-green pus oozes out and Stelios grows pale but keeps using his undiminished waterskin to clean the wound. The swelling slowly eases, but it takes a second casting before the green flesh is pink and appears clean enough to seal. ¡°Hold out your hand, please,¡± I ask, and when she does, I surprise her by landing in her palm. Universal Life causes the light glowing from me to shift to a blue hue, contact allowing me to let it flow into her. The beading sweat has eased off when I shut the wound, but I let the Ki flow until her breathing is properly relaxed. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d want me touching the wound, and I would have gotten grubby.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Lantern Archon and you¡¯re this strong?¡± Galyna asks, and I bounce into the air. ¡°I thought you and your fellows are merely guides and scouts. You broke a curse a High Priest set in place with her death when I gutted her.¡± ¡°A low-rent High Priest. I hear you can pick them up easier than diseased whores.¡± Stelios snorts in surprise and glances between the altar and me, expecting Lady Amdirlain to take offense. ¡°You¡¯ve got an interesting turn of phrase for a Lantern Archon.¡± ¡°You can call me Tove,¡± I say, considering the messy floor. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d clean up the floor? I¡¯m sure it smells gross.¡± ¡°Is there a bucket and rags about?¡± Stelios asks, rising to his feet. ¡°If you head around the left-hand side past the flowering bushes, you¡¯ll find a bucket and a rag mop near the side door to Brina¡¯s cottage,¡± I say, and turn my attention to Galyna when he moves off. ¡°Would you tell me more about the situation? How long had they been chasing you for?¡± ¡°We evacuated a refugee camp of Hestia¡¯s faithful from the Kingdom of Crete. The plan was to get them resettled on Egypt¡¯s western edge, but the priestess with our group got a feeling we needed to keep going. We¡¯d crossed the midpoint of the Norse lands when we spotted signs we were being pursued,¡± Galyna says, almost casually. ¡°No idea how long they¡¯d been back there, if they¡¯d started from the gathering point or simply crossed our path and learnt of us.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound good.¡± ¡°Many of the Pantheon¡¯s priests have made it clear those that continue to follow Hestia are to be persecuted. We¡¯ve fought those we¡¯d once considered allies with more frequency than I¡¯d like to think about in the last months, may Hades keep them forever.¡± ¡°When did this start?¡± I ask, and catch her glimpse of surprise. ¡°We Celestials knew things were getting tense in the Planes, but I hadn¡¯t heard it extended to the Material Plane.¡± ¡°For over a year we¡¯ve had to lie low. People have moved townships to places where their allegiances weren¡¯t known, cleared new fields in the wilds away from settlements controlled by other faithful, or joined the camps for mutual protection. But news came moons ago that the High Priestess of Hestia was killed in Thebes rescuing captives the priests of Apollo planned to burn. We packed all the camps, and they ordered groups to scatter between the west and north. Before this trouble none of us would have thought twice about making offering to others in our Goddess¡¯ family¡ªnow I think those times will never return.¡± ¡°You should get back to the rest of those escorting evacuees as soon as you¡¯ve rested.¡± ¡°We will, but we should repay your help first,¡± insists Galyna. ¡°Help someone else in need, especially someone whose choices are limited, and I¡¯ll call it even,¡± I reply so fast it has Galyna taken aback. ¡°And if they¡¯re a slave, try to get them free.¡± ¡°Is that all you need?¡± asks Galyna, wide-eyed at my request. I try to think of anything else but nothing comes to mind before I give up. ¡°That and a clean floor. Brina won¡¯t be happy about the puddle.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pretty foul,¡± admits Galyna and slid carefully along the bench to avoid the mess. ¡°Let us at least leave some coin. Maybe Brina can hire a builder to improve things? Stelios can be rather blunt, but this building does seem only a shrine.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, but you¡¯ve got a distance to travel, so don¡¯t leave yourselves short.¡± ¡°Tove, we looted those we dealt with,¡± states Galyna, wearing a grim smile. ¡°While I¡¯m not comfortable handing over items I¡¯ve not gotten identified, we got plenty of valuables and coin from them.¡± ¡°Really?¡± I ask and try to poke a hole in her logic. ¡°How many people are you escorting? How much will it cost to get them set up again somewhere new?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve funds for that,¡± Galyna insists. Her deft movements set three fist-sized pouches on the bench, the first two producing a sound like rustling gemstones before she adds a third that clinks on the stone. ¡°Thanks. That will help the villagers and we can improve the Temple.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll still look to follow your request to help others,¡± says Galyna. ¡°You saved my life; this is but a down payment. There is no way the priestess we were travelling with could have helped me, she was a Novice before we started west.¡± 181 - Evil Angel Erwarth¡¯s PoV - Elemental Plane of Earth The lord only has five guards left when they retreat to grab their wealth and run. Clouds of alchemical poison blend into their bodies as they reform from the gaseous forms they¡¯d used to flee. Teleport having already placed me behind an ornate statue, I¡¯ve got a front-row seat when the realisation of his error crosses the lord¡¯s face, and he hardens into stone. One by one, I crush their forms before a strike from my war hammer punts the lord¡¯s head into the back wall, getting me another rush of experience. I head towards his office when I¡¯ve looted their remains, and the treasures previously left untouched. We¡¯ve days of work ahead to collect and scour the memory crystals this town favours for their records to find more locations. The sounds of battle have died away by the time I exit the bolthole beneath the central tower. Through the crystal windows, I can see queues of collared individuals already trudging through the town¡¯s centre, where Fainil stands with one of Dao¡¯s superior command staves. Her appearance was like the others, that of an Elven warrior with dark grey armour and apparel to blend into the rock. The resigned expression they all possess at their complete lack of control vanished when the first that passed the checks had their collar unlocked. Most break down weeping, though teams stand by for those that turn violent instead. Those that don¡¯t pass the mental examinations are sent onwards where a team waits to deal with them away from those we¡¯ll save. The necessity of taking their will away from them has Fainil looking as if she¡¯d prefer to be back breeding for the Dao prince again. But it¡¯s the only way we can ensure no latent orders would force them to injure themselves or other slaves. Or, like those we condemn to death, more likely to slaughter everything about them. When the first notes ring out behind me, I turn and stop with my blade half-drawn. A memory crystal I¡¯d just picked up dropped from my hand at the sound of the Song that greets me from the Gate. Crystal spires shine in the sunlight vibrating with the wind rushing along their curves, the collection together forming music that speaks of the Outlands¡¯ wild balance. The light gleams off Ebusuku¡¯s golden armour, and white wings almost wholly block the Gate before she transforms to match my height in a wingless but still armoured form. ¡°Ebusuku. What¡¯s brings you by to such a lovely place?¡± I ask and catch Ebusuku¡¯s lips twitch at my sarcasm. ¡°I need to pass some items along to one of you. S¨ªrdhem asked me to give them to you, said you¡¯d need a break from gathering records.¡± ¡°What have you picked up?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s mouth twists like a foul taste was on her tongue, before she spits out the words. ¡°Torment Lodestone. We¡¯ve been recovering them from Cemna. I keep putting off dealing with them, but Amdirlain would prefer them not to have gone to waste. In her words, the Souls have already suffered, and we can¡¯t change that, but we can make it mean something good instead. There isn¡¯t any place we could sell them other than the Abyss.¡± ¡°Dealing in those will attract attention,¡± I can already tell she doesn¡¯t need the reminder when an idea comes to mind. ¡°We¡¯ll make the trail lead back to the Sisterhood.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave their disposal up to you, but don¡¯t risk any of your teams,¡± Ebusuku replies and moves to stand by the closest window. The tacky gold frames, with all their inset gemstones, looked shallow compared to the beauty of her armour. ¡°Amdirlain wants materials able to be purified of Abyssal energy to make equipment. I didn¡¯t let her know how much attention even one of those will attract, yet now we have hundreds to sell.¡± ¡°Has Isa changed her mind yet about travelling to a grotto?¡± The eye roll I get is a simple enough answer. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you could drag her into the Abyss; she knows what it¡¯s like. Her Infernal superiors often sent the pair of them into the Abyss to scout out the preparations of Demon Lords or the movements of reinforcements. Now they¡¯re both Planetars they want to¡ªadmittedly wisely¡ªstay far away from it. They¡¯ve been levelling again with all their work gathering the materials with O¡¯Nai. So far, they¡¯ve almost got everything needed for the crafting.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s one thing, but I¡¯d hope she¡¯d change her mind,¡± I reply, and a quick Spell, cast in frustration, melts leering golden lips from a nearby gaudy bust. ¡°You¡¯ve taken down a large town. That must have been a stretch for your teams,¡± Ebusuku says, gesturing outside to change the subject. I almost return to discussing Isa, but it¡¯s neither Ebusuku''s fault nor responsibility and truthfully, it¡¯s not Isa¡¯s either. We put them in their prison. ¡°We did it short-handed; only those currently replacing classes took part.¡± ¡°Anyone ready to Prestige yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. I take it you talked to Sidero about helping?¡± The quick snort of amusement has me ready to ask for details, but she continues before I prompt her. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯ll purge classes whenever you¡¯re ready, and she¡¯ll keep her fee reasonable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not quite what I¡¯d expected of one of Amdirlain¡¯s friends, but what does she want?¡± ¡°I think she was kidding. When I asked, Klipyl said everyone needed to pick a safe word for their playdate, after which Sidero remarked about keeping her fee reasonable.¡± Shaking my head, I make my view clear. ¡°Both of them are more than a little strange.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hardly able to point fingers in that regard. Amdirlain seems to have a talent for finding the strangest individuals.¡± Ebusuku says before she gives me a grin and gestures to herself, the admission cutting off my retort. ¡°How is her Mind Palace looking now?¡± I ask instead, wondering at how many of the Sisterhood¡¯s plots going subtly sideways Ebusuku had been responsible for over the centuries. ¡°She¡¯s got a dozen completely freed now, though wounds are still closing. She still can¡¯t control what memories she retrieves and none of them have come from the same lifetime¡ªso far as she can tell. I¡¯ll be glad when she¡¯s back, but hopefully she takes the time she needs,¡± Ebusuku answers, and then gives me a sudden smirk. ¡°Are you sure none of you want to visit Letveri?¡± Her innocent tone prompts me to glare at her, seeing connections I hadn¡¯t considered before. ¡°We all remember how to block a Mantle. You¡¯d not set us up the way you did Sidero. We¡¯ve debts to repay.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± Ebusuku says smoothly, and though I catch a faint hint of amusement, its reason is unclear. ¡°She had minimal personal interaction with the Erakk?, and then after one company attends a battle with her, they worship her. Do you think I can¡¯t tell a setup? Did you prepare the Erakk? or just pick those to go along that she¡¯d impress?¡± She just smiles and waves me off. ¡°I didn¡¯t; Torm did.¡± That news almost tempts me to want to meet the persistent Celestial. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°All he¡¯d say was that he was following instructions from his boss,¡± says Ebusuku. ¡°Right, and you had nothing to do with it at all. Did you perhaps suggest it to his boss?¡± I ask, and a thought has my shoulder tightening so quickly my bone-wings rattle. ¡°You¡¯ve not taken that course of action with Isa?¡± ¡°You still want to get her to help in the Abyss? If she gains a Mantle it¡¯s unlikely she¡¯d even get into the Abyss at that point,¡± Ebusuku points out and unhooks a storage bag from her belt. ¡°Plus, Torm is still not happy with her. Fancy a Celestial holding a grudge this long.¡± The dry humour in the last statement causes me to snort; the eternal patience of some Celestials, and their willingness to never forget, isn¡¯t an uncommon thing. Though she has a point with the concerns about the Mantle, I still prod for more. ¡°Plus, you¡¯re still angry with her, so perhaps you don¡¯t want to give her that chance at power.¡± Ebusuku doesn¡¯t meet my gaze but scatters stones from the storage bag across the elaborate marble desk and the feel of them sends a pulse across my skin. They¡¯re so rich with the energy of Soul shrieking torment that it stirs my demonic lust to heights I¡¯d prefer to avoid. ¡°I hope your teams don¡¯t find too many more of these, Ebusuku.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to move to a different region again. Something will come looking for who''s cutting into their profits in those canyons. Fortunately, Ilya gave us directions to a Wizard Academy on the northern edge. They had engraved maps of large world sections on their library ceiling, so we know where to head to find more ruins.¡± ¡°No, I meant I don¡¯t want to deal with how they feel to-¡± A spike of sensations has me sweeping all the crystals into the storage bag that I snatched from her hand. ¡°I don¡¯t get those sorts of responses anymore, and the progenitor¡¯s lineage mostly didn¡¯t. Though my mother seems to have come off the rails even further now,¡° admits Ebusuku, and I¡¯m not sure I want to know what she means by the last. ¡°We¡¯ll see what materials we can pick up for these and bring them back so Mirage or you can purify the metals. It seems I¡¯ll have to get one of the unpurged to deal with the sale though¡ªso many together got through my control.¡± ¡°Do you still expect to need Sidero to purge classes for more shortly?¡± I give a sharp nod, gesturing out the window at the ex-slaves queuing up to get their collars removed. ¡°Not straight away, but this settlement likely gave us all a considerable boost of experience. I hadn¡¯t expected it to fall. We were simply here to massacre as many Dao as we could. Instead, we ended up with thousands of them dead in a night, and I¡¯ve already been told all wounded team members have recovered. Do you have more symbols? There are a few species down there I don¡¯t recognise freeing previously.¡± ¡°You could have been lucky,¡± cautions Ebusuku. The knowing look I give her draws a smile of acknowledgement. ¡°You¡¯ve gotten too used to dealing with all your younglings. I know we were, but we¡¯re also levelling faster than any group of Demons has a right to do. We¡¯re going to shove our fist down this Empire¡¯s throat soon and start squeezing the life from it.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t get too confident. Amdirlain wouldn¡¯t be happy with herself if any of you got pinned back in the Abyss, and vulnerable to the Sisterhood hunting you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve each reset our Home Plane thanks to that Grimoire you passed along. We won¡¯t end up anywhere the Sisterhood has influence,¡± I reply, and flex a wing to forestall her objections. ¡°But we plan to switch back to smaller settlements after we¡¯ve completed the clean up here. We¡¯ve got eight modest mining operations that depend on this place for backup. We¡¯ll hit them, then take our attacks to another region of the Empire.¡± ¡°Something I should tell you: let those interested in Amdirlain know to be careful. We had a rash of Petitioners from more worlds you¡¯ve freed people to, where the established interests weren¡¯t happy with Amdirlain¡¯s presence among them.¡± ¡°Do you have a list of the worlds?¡± I ask blandly and met Ebusuku¡¯s gaze with an innocent smile. ¡°What do you plan to do with it?¡± asks Ebusuku, eyeing me suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯ve hired some additional Dwarven mercenaries, and they¡¯ve secured compounds for the survivors to give them time to get established.¡± ¡°Oh, just in case we find any more individuals native to them, we¡¯ll let them know to take care.¡± My glib answer doesn¡¯t lessen Ebusuku¡¯s justified suspicion, but she quickly hands me over a list and another storage bag. ¡°The latest lot of equipment that¡¯s ready for you, including symbols, some better weapons, and a few crates of potions. Dozens of the Hound Archons have taken to Alchemy in a big way.¡± ¡°Not liking their choices?¡± I ask, taking a poke at the note of frustration in her voice. ¡°I¡¯m shocked.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it at all. The gatherers need to keep ahead of all the reagents and materials they¡¯re consuming,¡± replies Ebusuku, clearly exasperated by the bottomless pit for materials that magical crafters can become. ¡°Just provide them with the basics, and if they want more, they can choose to go on expeditions to do the gathering. Have they at least gone with Sidero so they level faster?¡± Ebusuku smiles at me, like I¡¯m trying to teach a Succubus how to suck cock. ¡°Yes, and others have accompanied Isa material gathering since she also has the same effect. We get them out of the Domain once with that information. Afterwards, they usually make excuses about being in the middle of ¡®just another¡¯ batch.¡± ¡°Well, at least they¡¯ll be levelling their crafting classes at a Mortal rate. I¡¯ll let you know as soon as we¡¯re back out of the Abyss with the proceeds,¡± I say, and secure the storage bag. With a quick nod, Ebusuku simply disappears, leaving me to tear apart the office for every record I can find. * * * There aren¡¯t a few crates of potions but rather twelve in the storage bag, and they all get used up tending to the slaves. Ground down by the constant mistreatment by the Dao, it¡¯s weeks before they¡¯re all recovered, and returned to their homes. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. While we¡¯d achieve the biggest number of Dao kills¡ªat a ratio of fifty to one¡ªthe number of slaves rescued had taken a lot of time to help. When the last Gate was closed behind them it was almost a relief, yet the news Ebusuku had delivered made me concerned we¡¯ve sent some to their deaths. ¡°Anyone have a preferred location for selling the Torment Lodestones?¡± I ask the moment everyone¡¯s found a spot to sit with the last Gate sending survivors home having closed. ¡°Iron Spire on Torrent, we can sell them to the enchanter¡¯s consortium there,¡± Fainil says after a thoughtful silence settles across the group. ¡°That¡¯s Naz¡¯ricla¡¯s Home Plane,¡± observes N?r, from her spot sprawled out on a rock ledge. The way she trails a hand across her stomach and between her thighs gives the impression she¡¯s daydreaming about a lover coming to call. Fainil¡¯s grin turns vicious at the observation. ¡°I saw how many wings Amdirlain carried to the tanner after a session with Naz¡¯ricla; I want to bury her in trouble. She was involved in the raids the Sisterhood conducted against Orcus a half-century ago, so its plausible for her to have come into possession of them. They¡¯re too valuable to allow a Sister to keep though, very naughty to have kept any at all.¡± ¡°Likely they¡¯ll have her among the breeders, since she¡¯s planar locked at present,¡± argues N?r, her fingers digging into a thigh through the leathers she¡¯s currently wearing. ¡°I still want to cause her trouble.¡± retorts Fainil. Leaning across Calithil, S¨ªrdhem give Fainil¡¯s shoulder a thump, and the silver-haired beauty pushes S¨ªrdhem away before she gets stuck in the squabbling between them. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll believe she snuck out of the stronghold?¡± S¨ªrdhem¡¯s question is enough to still Fainil¡¯s reply¡ªeither physical or mere words¡ªbut still Calithil shoos S¨ªrdhem further away. When she goes to sit near N?r though, she gets smacked by a quick swipe of N?r¡¯s long red braid. ¡°Point,¡± Fainil admits, the word drawn out in a reluctant admission, having already ignored the rest of the byplay as she considered the situation. ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± N?r offers, and the others glance at her in confusion. ¡°There are ways out of the breeder¡¯s section of the strongholds. You lot just haven¡¯t spent enough time among them to know. If they learn she¡¯s been out, and selling goods that she should have told the sisterhood about¡­¡± ¡°Who¡¯s got Electrical Immunity? Not Greater Resistance, Immunity; Torrent¡¯s lightning bolts aren¡¯t for those with lesser resistances, especially not in the Iron Spire,¡± I state, and note N?r along with a half dozen others raising their hands. ¡°N?r, you¡¯re in charge. Pick two to go with you.¡± She flows upright dumping a set of Sisterhood armour onto her resting spot, before she signals two among those available that have Blood Monk and strips. Her form blurs into the familiar Sisterhood uniform shape before she dons the armour. ¡°We¡¯ll leave everything not Sisterhood-issue, in our refuge. The enchanters won¡¯t want to sell materials, so I¡¯ll get finished items and go trade for ingots in one of the mining centres.¡± When they vanish, I open a Gate to Cemna and the others rise to their feet, eager to be out in the sunlight again. The curved arches of the buildings that show the erratic pattern of stonework common to the Elven species that had called it home. Their living view of stone having grown from the Songs that had birthed them from the various stones native to the planet. ¡°It¡¯s so quiet,¡± murmurs S¨ªrdhem, and the others nods despite the sound of wildlife both in the tree choked streets, and the forest just beyond the wall. The plants growing in the streets are far smaller than the centuries the city¡¯s been deserted should have allowed to obtain, but that they¡¯re all growing between the trunks of long fallen trees shows the cause. ¡°Let¡¯s check the central spire. Perhaps Isa missed any relics they kept,¡± I suggest. S¨ªrdhem¡¯s casual shrug isn¡¯t a hopeful gesture. ¡°She can hear True Song. Do you think she would have missed hearing them?¡± ¡°Ebusuku said this was the first city Ilya brought her to for training. Do you think she would have possessed enough knowledge to separate any relic¡¯s music from the surrounding Song?¡± I ask. When no one answers the rhetorical question, I Teleport skywards. I spare a moment to take in the beauty still within the circular streets and spiralling sun towers that rise above the buildings along the city¡¯s outer ring. Moving towards the city¡¯s centre, we soon pass the outer line of statues¡ªdouble the height of the closest sun tower¡ªeach holding a circular fighting disc at the ready. I can¡¯t help but wonder if it was following their ancient custom of paying homage to the place¡¯s first ruler or simply a generic figure. * * * The inhabitants might have kept relics for themselves, but we find signs L¨®m? had deliberately left something behind in the central palace. The markers guide us to ancient passages that are hard to bypass without True Song¡¯s aid, but after days of effort, working our way through them finally bears fruit. In a music room beneath the palace, we find a small crystal harp atop a plinth in the room¡¯s centre. The body¡¯s material glows from within, yet its strings appear formed of the deepest blue of a midnight sky. ¡°It¡¯s one of the noble lap harps. Are you sure you want to risk this Erwarth?¡± asks Fainil, her voice low as if she were concerned that she might anger the relic by her presence. ¡°Since Isa remains unwilling, it¡¯s a risk I think I need to take; everyone else leaves,¡± I command and raise a hand before they voice expected protests. ¡°If it won¡¯t allow me near, its Song might lash out. Use no powers until you reseal the doors behind you. It might not be a full-sized harp, but it¡¯s more than enough to destroy us all.¡± Only once they¡¯re outside the room, and I hear the outer door seal, do I move forward. The first touch of its aura¡¯s light upon my skin makes me hiss in pain and I hasten forward, glad I¡¯ve replaced all my Abyssal equipment with Dwarven gear. I don¡¯t try for subtle but stretching the mouth of a storage bag open; I cover the harp in a single move. The brief moments of close contact with its aura having soaked the surrounding ground with a spray of Demonic ichor from half-a-hundred wounds. Where the harp had been sitting shining from within the top of the plinth¡¯s crystal, I see a most unexpected House crest¡ªmy own. A blue planet circled with shimmering rings of gleaming ice with the sun setting behind it. I can¡¯t hear the Song within but the memory of its beauty has me ache for tears I can¡¯t shed sealed in this form. ¡°Was this here originally, or did you send it, Titan?¡± There is no answer, nor do I expect one, but after sending a Message for the others to resume operations, I open a Gate to the cavern¡¯s edge. The beauty of the Burning Grotto¡¯s Song, at least, is one I can hear, with the crystals spires and broken walls still resonating true. Approaching until the Song is painful, I remove the harp from the storage bag, and rest it on a flat rock in one smooth motion, despite the pain. Teleporting away the moment it settles safely into place, I watch as the Ichor I left behind dissolves under the aura¡¯s assault. As the Burning Grotto¡¯s Song reaches its beginning again, the harp resonates with it. Each note that emanates from it fills the air with a tranquil feel of night, and within the closest shattered crystals I see the cracks narrow. Waiting beyond the edge of its aura¡¯s reach, I sit to wait and heal. It¡¯s some time before I see movement among the spires, and a figure armoured in black True Song crystal edged with mithril and a closed helm, crosses the boundary formed by a broken gate. Their stride shows they¡¯re female, but they¡¯ve no house symbols or rank to tell her importance among the survivors. I wait for her to approach and watch her gait to ensure she¡¯s flesh and blood and not a construct. ¡°Who were you to bring such an item to this place, and not already be destroyed, Succubus?¡± ¡°Once I was called Ewdil, I was the conductor of the Chorus that Baln¨¦rith bound, I now use the name Erwarth.¡± ¡°That name alone wouldn¡¯t promote trust, but I can hear the self-accusation and regret in your Song. You may call me Pengeth. What is your purpose here?¡± A single name only with no House, but I still take it as a hopeful gesture that she provided any name. ¡°I bring this harp to aid your barrier and bring news of events. I seek word with anyone that might advise us by what means we might aid you.¡± I can barely see her eyes through the helm, but I catch enough to tell the suspicion present when she glances at the harp, but she moves forward again. A soft Song filled with notes calling of curiosity stirs from her lips, and my flesh reverberates with every note, unsettling energy that fortunately stays beneath the threshold of pain. ¡°You speak the truth, the harp is safe, yet questions remain: you serve a Fallen, but I cannot hear their part in the Oath¡¯s duet.¡± ¡°It is part of my tale that I would wish advice upon. The Oath to the Fallen you hear within me is to an Anar who left the Titan¡¯s reality upon the fall. Someone cursed her unfairly and returned her here with two others. She seeks to free herself from the curse, and has freed another, but the situation is complex.¡± Pengeth said nothing for long moments, and I just waited, listening to her heartbeat¡¯s slow, moist sound. ¡°I will speak to the Elders. Step clear from the harp so that I don¡¯t risk hurting you without reason to do so.¡± When I¡¯m clear from it, she glides forward and smoothly lifts it up. The aura flares to life at her slightest touch, almost striking me despite the dozen metres I¡¯d allowed. Without even a glance, but doubtless aware of my Song, she doesn¡¯t hesitate in returning into the grotto¡¯s depths. Perching on a nearby ledge, I get ready for a wait, and don¡¯t bother wondering how long their discussions will take, it will take however long it takes. Getting past this first stage in one piece is enough of a victory for now. The reports from N?r that come in while I wait are something to celebrate; enough material to craft equipment for legions of Celestials¡ªand a few wayward succubi. When the others report that the mines we¡¯d intended to strike are empty, contemplating all the options about how the word could have gotten out gives me a mental exercise to fill my time. The Song repeats flawlessly for three days before I see not one figure but two returning this way. The armoured figure is Pengeth from her gait, and the figure behind isn¡¯t one I¡¯d expected to see. Despite his confident demeanour and sure grace he looks worn. Silvery hair he¡¯d once worn in a long braid is sheared so close that it is nearly stubble fit for mourning. His ageless features are unlined, but his deep emerald eyes look hollow with fatigue, and his once expressive mouth is in a tight line of worry. I almost flee the moment I feel the weight of his gaze tracing over me, from the top arch of my bone wings and down to my boots. Yet unexpectedly, his gaze doesn¡¯t grow judgemental, but tears glisten unshed in his eyes. ¡°What advice is it you desire, Ewdil?¡± asks Roher, after a long pause with them both having approached me almost to arm¡¯s reach. ¡°That is not my name now, Lord Roher-¡± I reply. With a look of exasperation, he waves my response aside. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you¡¯d label yourself, daughter. Erwarth is not your name¡ªit is an accusation¡ªand one you¡¯ve unfairly placed upon your Song. Yes, you were the conductor of the Chorus that approached Baln¨¦rith for aid, but the decision to accept the agreement her messenger brought was not yours alone. I would not label you a betrayer. We should have suspected she was hiding something when she didn¡¯t come herself, or at the very least, speak to the royal council via a Spell.¡± ¡°It is still the name I choose for deeds I need to make right,¡± I insist, my hands clenching tight doesn¡¯t draw a hostile reaction from either of them, but a calmness settles across Pengeth as my father steps close enough to touch. I can see him fighting the urge to do so, as his protections would likely snuff me out. ¡°Stubborn one, you are not to blame, and your mother and I still love you,¡± declares Roher, determination brushing away the fatigue in his gaze. ¡°I came when I got word, though I can¡¯t be long away from the place that we serve. What news do you have that the others freed from Baln¨¦rith¡¯s grasp did not know?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard from them?¡± ¡°Twenty-five lost ones returned to us many days past, having shed their demonic shell to join the Souls singing to the crystals for a sanctuary¡¯s defence. We learnt about her Sigil weakening unexpectedly, and they rejoiced to remove it at last. They did not know how it had occurred.¡± ¡°Neither did we until we met Lady Amdirlain¡ªwho I swore Oath to¡ªshe was once Orh¨ºthurin, Lord Roher.¡± The flicker of surprise in his gaze is clear, but so is the exasperation. ¡°Lord Roher? Can you not call me father, or at least Roher, since you are long past the rites of adulthood? As for the Anar, we felt them depart. Their Song faded from the universe. I would hear your tale, beloved daughter.¡± ¡°The tale is not just mine, but Lady Amdirlain¡¯s as well. She¡¯s not available, but an Astral Deva in her service has a transcript of her account. I should have gained a copy to bring with me.¡± ¡°Why do I feel unsurprised that the Lady of Dawn manages the impossible,¡± mutters Roher, and shakes his head. ¡°A Celestial in service to one bound as a Fallen. Why is she not available?¡± ¡°She has a mortal¡¯s perception still from her last life, and has endured horrors after returning here as a Succubus¡ªat present she¡¯s healing and meditating. The curse that returned her here sits upon her alone, not those in her service. She has gained the service of Angels only by enduring a painful challenge of will. The first of her servants came from failed powers freed by a Named Succubus who also endured the Titan¡¯s trial to rise to become a Solar.¡± Father looks almost sickened by my explanation and I know he can hear the worry in my Song from the tales Ebusuku has shared. ¡°This sounds like a substantial tale, but I meant in Mortal terms that I can¡¯t spend much time here. Would you arrange a transcript of the tale to be brought?¡± ¡°Of course, Lord-¡± the glare he fixes me with stops my reply, and nodding in apology, I continue on. ¡°Father, I never expected both of you to be still alive.¡± ¡°I will show you the edge of the sanctuary I serve. You will come visit regularly or your mother will have my ears. However, I¡¯m here now at the invitation of this Sanctuary¡¯s Elders and others are carrying my burden of the Song. So let us attend to the matters at hand first. You asked how you can help, I believe?¡± ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know what you need or what challenges you face. Are there any that would benefit from additional Souls to sing to the crystals?¡± ¡°Were you involved with how so many lost ones have returned in the last decade?¡± asks Pengeth in surprise, interrupting father¡¯s reply. ¡°The initial efforts were only Lady Amdirlain¡¯s, especially this place¡¯s initial expansion. We didn¡¯t even know the various Nox forms had Souls imprisoned in them until she told us. She can see Souls; none of us have that capability.¡± I reply and motion to the crystals. ¡°We didn¡¯t even know the Souls were singing to the crystals when we first came here. We had been listening to the Song and deciding if we should end the existence of our current forms when she found us.¡± ¡°We certainly need to hear more details than I had expected, but what you''ve already said requires acting on. Would you consult with your Elders¡¯ Pengeth that we may perhaps postpone this discussion? There are sanctuaries close to their breaking point from fatigued singers; Souls to help sing to the crystals would mean many kept safe.¡± Pengeth gives a sharp nod, and doesn¡¯t walk back to the sanctuary¡¯s depths but teleports away. * * * Naz¡¯rilca''s PoV - Sisterhood Stronghold - Torrent Her hungry snarls tempted Naz¡¯rilca to slap the brat, cage and all across the room, but the chance of killing the¡ªas yet¡ªfragile pest stayed her hand. Taking her from the cage, Naz¡¯rilca moved her top so the infant could feed, her sharp teeth drawing blood that mixed with Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s yellowish milk. Bolts of lightning crashed towards the battlements far below the window, illuminating her barren chamber with a blue-white afterglow. The bright light spilled across the child¡¯s dark red skin and tiny bat-like wings, but she didn¡¯t even blink in surprise at the light or the noise. With both Succubi native to this plane, the lightning posed no threat to either. ¡°Hurry and grow, you slow little shit. At this rate, you¡¯ll still be sucking my tits when they want me knocked up again.¡± Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s growl didn¡¯t prompt the child to suckle any faster. For a moment she actually paused, understanding the slowness caused frustration to the being feeding her, she stayed latched onto Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s breast. The emptiness in the child¡¯s pitch-black eyes growing greater still before she resumed suckling. The slow twitch of her wings reminds Naz¡¯rilca of the one that had brought her to this fate as a mere breeder for the Sisterhood. The door smashed open with a bang that startled the baby Succubus, not for the noise but rather the shadowy male figure that filled the doorway. Its mere presence set the energy to drain from the air, and his featureless face fixed on them both. ¡°You are to come with me.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for her acknowledgement but turned and walked away. Naz¡¯rilca had to force the child to release its hold so quickly her teeth took a chunk of nipple before being returned to the cage. The blood darkened the leather front even as she healed, but she hurried after the quarters¡¯ guardian. Entering the breeding mistress¡¯ office, the cold hostility from the Sister sitting behind her desk slowed Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s pace, and the guardian stepped to one side of the doorway before he shoved her towards the desk. ¡°How many more Torment Lodestones did you not turn in from the campaign raiding Orcus?¡± ¡°I gained none during the raids,¡± Naz¡¯rilca replied immediately, not mentioning the ones given to her by others to repay their debts. ¡°Your lies are disappointing,¡± the Mistress stated, and set a Torment Lodestone on the desk. The energies that stirred within the room caused Naz¡¯rilca to hold back a groan of pleasure and momentarily distracted her. An icy fist wrapped itself in her hair at a flick of the Mistress¡¯s wings and slammed Naz¡¯rilca face down across the stone desk. Blows and counters applied with lightning speed blocked every effort to get free. "I shall have to educate you about the theft of Sisterhood resources." 182 - Metamorpheus Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Elliyna¡¯s door opened to reveal a room nearly empty of its usual clutter of furnishings. ¡°Leaving already?¡± ¡°Know I wished to be packed ahead of the year-end break. Do you still plan to practice your pattern for the twenty days?¡± Elliyna asked from the sole long couch present in the room. Amdirlain took a half step towards a seat that would make it awkward for Elliyna to observe her, only to laugh at the sharp glare she received. ¡°Master Cyrus said that constant practice should help me make considerable progress.¡± The Healer snorted in amusement when she settled into the armchair opposite Elliyna¡¯s couch. ¡°Know I agree with Liran?¡ªyou¡¯re a brat.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll never argue that point,¡± replied Amdirlain cheerfully. ¡°Will you attempt cycling your Psi Reserves as well, or are you currently satisfied with the improvement that it¡¯s caused without even attempting it?¡± asked Elliyna. ¡°I¡¯ll hold off. The last half-year since I started cycling has seen my Psi energy jump ahead, and some of the obsidian seems to be more resistant to removal because of it.¡± ¡°Know I believe your expectation it will become harder causes it to be so, it should be easier with practice. Know I didn¡¯t say having greater reserves would increase your scarring; I warned it would give any manifestations greater strength, and you¡¯ve already quelled the tar pits,¡± argued Elliyna. ¡°Any more progress with the past lives?¡± ¡°I remembered being a sea monster last night,¡± Amdirlain practically chirped, leaning forward excitedly in her chair. Elliyna gave a start of surprise at her reaction. ¡°It excites you having a memory of being a monster?¡± Amdirlain pulled an image from the memory together and passed it to Elliyna. The perspective showed a column of pinkish-white¡ªa strange sea anemone¡ª holding itself steady with strange undulating motions within a crystal chamber extending upwards from the seafloor. Unblinking eyes were surrounded protectively by tendrils along the course of its body. While at the end, they writhed about as if to feed the flexing, grinding maw. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t say, monster. I was a scientist among an aquatic species trying to determine the nature of the void above,¡± amended Amdirlain. ¡°What is that enormous light that appears and disappears so regularly, or the little ones that replace it and the swarms of things that swim in the void? All great mysteries to be answered: sun, stars, and birds. Isn¡¯t it interesting that what we take as normal can be so strange when viewed differently?¡± The sights of the maw didn¡¯t distract Elliyna from Amdirlain¡¯s remarks, and she fixed her with an uncompromising glare. ¡°Does that include the perspective of not believing all the blame lies with you?¡± Her arm transformed back to normal, and Amdirlain sat back with a smile. ¡°That¡¯s still a work in progress, but I¡¯m getting there.¡± ¡°Did this memory contain a trauma?¡± ¡°No, more a triumph. They¡¯d successfully extended a tower out into the void without its viewing platform losing integrity. Long hours of work at the fire-seam forges in the dark regions finally paid off,¡± ¡°If you¡¯re getting snippets of these memories to learn lessons from past lives, what is this one telling you?¡± ¡°Either I need lots of work, or I got excited about a phallic erection, and it was substituting for a sex dream.¡± ¡°Not the possibility that your lives have had their share of successes as well? Know that perhaps you are seeing them now your healing has progressed,¡± offered Elliyna. ¡°Is twenty days out of Limbo enough to stabilise the advancement of the chaos within you?¡± Elliyna huffed at her for the blatant subject change, but still answered the question. ¡°Twenty days in the Elemental Conflux is longer than time spent elsewhere because of the pressure of the forces.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to try something to see if it can help,¡± said Amdirlain, pushing past the hesitation Elliyna¡¯s reverence for the Raven Queen caused her she offered an Allegiance Bond. The old Healer tilted her head and eyed Amdirlain as the silence stretched out between them until, finally Amdirlain felt her accept the link. ¡°What are you wanting to try?¡± ¡°You¡¯re here helping me and the strain is shortening the life you have left. I want to see if I can help overcome that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Just meditate and hopefully this helps you as it has others.¡± She let the Ki trickle through the bond and when it contacted Elliyna it seemed to disappear like the first tentative rains across a drought scarred land. Each droplet of energy soaked in or vanished into the broken crevices left behind by life¡¯s strains. Practice at directing Ki into the Mantle made it a simple task to keep the flow regulated into a steady flow of droplets. The effortless trickle didn¡¯t seem to make a difference and Amdirlain activated the Aura Sight technique even while continuing the Ki flowing into Elliyna. Large dirty-white bands suppressed an aura shot through with silver along with being rich with teal and magenta, showing Amdirlain how worn down Elliyna had become. The teal showed her emotionally balanced state, while the magneta was something common among Healers from the reading she¡¯d done. She¡¯s yet to examine a Githz¨¦rai that didn¡¯t have the psychic silver, but where some had mere threads, Elliyna showed cables of silver within her aura. It took most of their session for the white within Elliyna¡¯s aura to become pure and unsullied, and a tinge of black showed at the roots of Elliyna¡¯s hair. Stopping more Ki from flowing through the Bond, Amdirlain removed it and Elliyna blinked in surprise. [Allegiance Bond (20) -> [B](2)] ¡°Know that I feel strange, but in a good way,¡± Elliyna stated, and without hesitation drew the blanket away from her legs. The anticipation of pain striking in her expression slowly disappeared and Elliyna glanced up at Amdirlain in shock. ¡°Know I don¡¯t feel even twinges from my legs at present¡ªnothing to show the Chaos is gnawing at my self-image.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got black showing at the roots of your hair,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Know my hair has been pure white for decades. Do you think others will recognise me if it grows out black again?¡± asked Elliyna, and placed a suddenly trembling hand atop her head. ¡°What have you done, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°The lady who was my first Priestess¡ªI sent this sort of energy into her¡ªand her body became decades younger. She even had kids again, so maybe don¡¯t get frisky unless you want to raise a child,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°You did this for me even though I might not live the way you¡¯d like?¡± With a snort of disbelief, Amdirlain gave Elliyna an easy-going smile. ¡°That¡¯s your choice, but I¡¯ve heard tales about all the Githz¨¦rai you¡¯ve healed, including Liran?. I¡¯m pretty confident that you aren¡¯t going to suddenly turn your back on those needing help.¡± ¡°But my Faith?¡± questioned Elliyna, staring at Amdirlain with a mix of disbelief and awe. ¡°Is your own, not mine. I¡¯m certainly not going to judge you for your beliefs. Your fascination with memories and their influence on behaviour is something I can empathise with. I appreciate you for all those you¡¯ve helped,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Know that not all those I¡¯ve healed have done the best of things,¡± admitted Elliyna, with a regretful wince. ¡°Know that I put the Order¡¯s current Grand Master back together in his youth after he ran afoul of a pack of psionic beasts.¡± Amdirlain flowed from her chair and gave Elliyna a reassuring hug, adding to the Healer¡¯s surprise. ¡°I know some cultures believe that if you save someone¡¯s life, you¡¯re responsible for what they do with it. However, I don¡¯t see things that way. Their choices are their own. If you save someone¡¯s life and they turn around and hurt others, that¡¯s their crime, not yours. Because when someone needed help, you helped, and that alone shows who you are.¡± With a last gentle squeeze, Amdirlain release her and gave her cheek a quick kiss. ¡°Rest well Elliyna and I hope your family at the conflux has been keeping well.¡± When Amdirlain approached the dormitory, she saw Sarith ahead, having just exited. Since the mid-year exams, the former Novice had gone to extensive lengths to avoid her, and now Sarith looked genuinely more relaxed. ¡°I hope you¡¯re well this evening, Sarith, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve seen you about,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know that is true, Amdirlain, but I wanted to speak to Gemiya before she returned home instead of leaving the wound between us untended.¡± Her wording gave Amdirlain a pleasant surprise. ¡°I¡¯m sorry your father hasn¡¯t changed his mind.¡± ¡°Know that father never changes his mind; we need to change for him,¡± Sarith said, with a lop-sided smile, and moved past. Amdirlain gave her a polite nod and made for the door, but concealed eyes noted when Sarith stopped on the pathway. ¡°Amdirlain.¡± Sarith still had her back to her, but Amdirlain turned to look her way. The girl bowed her head momentarily¡ªas if gathering herself¡ªbefore she turned back. ¡°You aren¡¯t going anywhere for the break?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve got practice and healing exercises I¡¯m planning to continue with,¡± replied Amdirlain. She wondered if Cyrus planned to let her cycle endlessly or would actually prompt her to alertness to spar with Liran? as promised. ¡°Know that I hope the break is peaceful for you then,¡± replied Sarith, and moved off. ¡°What are your plans with Elliyna away?¡± asked Amdirlain quickly. Sarith turned to look at her with a flicker of surprise. ¡°Master Arith and others will continue my instruction.¡± ¡°Elliyna mentioned you¡¯d taken the oaths of a Healer. Have you been practicing Zerthi still?¡± The question seemed to catch Sarith by surprise and blinking, she gave Amdirlain a nod. ¡°Know that I had expected no one to allow me to do so, but Master Liran? has been ensuring I learn to protect myself. Know that Master Cyrus has also joined her and spoken to me about the Ki and its uses. Did you know you had unlocked the Ki within me?¡± The news about Cyrus assisting Sarith caught Amdirlain by surprise, but she simply smiled. ¡°Yes, I knew, and passed the information along, but I didn¡¯t know about your lessons. I¡¯m glad Master Cyrus is providing you guidance. He¡¯s an interesting individual.¡± Sarith¡¯s lips tensed for a moment, and then with a sigh, she continued. ¡°Know that when I first met him, he stared at me as if he could see within me. Did he do that to you as well?¡± ¡°Yes, it was quite disconcerting,¡± admitted Amdirlain, hoping it hadn¡¯t been painful for Sarith. ¡°Know that I found it hard to look at myself in the mirror for many days afterwards. Did it seem to you that he could see everything wrong inside you?¡± Sarith enquired, her voice softening. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°He only did that once, but it was very painful,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Know if you mean emotionally painful, then we agree. Know that I hope your reverie is peaceful this evening,¡± Sarith offered. The longest conversation I¡¯ve had with her, and she¡¯s not blown a gasket. So many still assuming I¡¯m an Elf, no matter how many I correct. ¡°Rest well.¡± With a nod, Sarith turned and walked away. When Amdirlain ventured inside she found Lezekus giving Gemiya a tearful hug. The beaming smile on Gemiya¡¯s face was all the confirmation Amdirlain needed, and she patted the girl¡¯s back reassuringly. ¡°Emotional night?¡± ¡°Know she thanked me for giving her time and said she¡¯d missed me as well,¡± Gemiya said, as she wiped tears away. ¡°Know she said that Master Elliyna had told her I¡¯d done well in all my end-of-year exams, so she wanted to congratulate me.¡± ¡°Know I think that excuse is pretty flimsy,¡± Lezekus teased lightly, and Gemiya snorted noisily. ¡°Flimsy or not, I think it was a wonderful change,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Have you been told yet when the Portal will open for you to head home for the break?¡± ¡°Know tomorrow afternoon for me, after the review session with Master Duurth,¡± Lezekus replied. ¡°Know mine is the day after, but it will be another two days for some. Know that I¡¯m not sure why they give us such a long break though, it¡¯s almost thirty days before I return,¡± Gemiya stated. ¡°Likely so anyone not wanting to return has time to convince parents,¡± replied Amdirlain, and smiled at the shocked looks she gained in return. ¡°Isn¡¯t that obvious? Your vows are only binding a year at a time until you reach Senior Novice rank. If someone decides it¡¯s not for them and doesn¡¯t return, then the Masters can provide more focused training for those who do.¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°How easy was it for those that changed their mind during the first week of the enrolment to go home?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know as soon as they declared they wanted to leave, Master Tenzin handed them off to someone to take them home,¡± admitted Lezekus. ¡°Personally, I take it that¡¯s a sign they¡¯re only after those that want to be here. Trying to force someone to learn is just wasting their time and energy,¡± said Amdirlain, and gave the pair a quick hug before she headed down the corridor. * * * The last days of the novices¡¯ year had a semi-familiar feel reminding her of her own schooling. The exams were done, everything winding back, yet instead of blowing off the lessons, the Masters helped every Novice improve where their exams had highlighted their flaws. It was routine that guided Amdirlain¡¯s path to the dining room, and finding all the chairs atop the tables, remembered she was now the only Novice left. ¡°Novice Amdirlain, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t head directly for your training hall,¡± Master Tenzin said, pausing in the doorway behind her. ¡°Habit, I was thinking of other things and my feet brought me here,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and turned to give the Master a bashful smile. ¡°Know I saw you heading here looking distracted, so I thought as much. Know that Master Duurth said you¡¯ve done well improving your techniques this year. Are you still going to be continuing next year?¡± asked Tenzin. ¡°That¡¯s still my intention, Master Tenzin. I¡¯m healing, learning, and enjoying having a bunch of little sisters,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her admission drew a smile from Tenzin, and she patted Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Know that I am glad to hear that Novice Amdirlain, the enrolment had a rocky start, but the last nine quarters have gone well¡ªfor them and you,¡± replied Tenzin. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve informed the Anarch responsible for maintaining this dormitory over the break to hold your training hall in place¡ªgiven everyone passed their exams, we¡¯ll likely just reuse this building and move it.¡± ¡°Master Jarith? is actually going to let me move ahead?¡± ¡°Know that Master Elliyna¡¯s reports on your progress from many rest days past cleared many concerns¡ªeven if we couldn¡¯t feel the progress for ourselves,¡± stated Tenzin. Amdirlain pulled a face, remembering the promise Tenzin made months ago. ¡°I¡¯m sorry we didn¡¯t have time to resolve the issue with my Psi reserves.¡± ¡°What makes you say that, Novice Amdirlain?¡± ¡°You said you wanted to ensure the damage I had done to myself got fixed,¡± Amdirlain reminded her. ¡°Know that I will do so, as I¡¯ll be handling this enrolment again next year, so we¡¯ve time ahead yet,¡± replied Tenzin. ¡°Or did you think I was going to let you get away that easily? Know if you feel the need to pretend you require food, I¡¯ll show you where you can eat over the break.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose as she considered it momentarily and then shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s okay Master Tenzin. I think I¡¯ll spend the time meditating.¡± ¡°Would you tell me what type of outsider you are, Novice Amdirlain?¡± asked Tenzin. ¡°Know that I do not know what plane you are native to, but it¡¯s become clear for some time you¡¯re not mortal flesh and blood.¡± ¡°Master Jarith? and Master Cyrus know, otherwise I¡¯d prefer to keep that secret, Master Tenzin. I appreciate all your insights and support this year,¡± replied Amdirlain. Master Tenzin didn¡¯t look upset but just nodded her acceptance before she headed along the corridor and left Amdirlain alone in the dining room. As soon as Amdirlain stepped from the room, she turned and headed for her training hall and considered again the changes the recent weeks had wrought in her Mind Palace. While she had been honest with Elliyna about the changes to the forms over the months, she hadn¡¯t mentioned the golden hues the sun had regained. Under its kinder light, the dried lakebed no longer felt like a place of desolation but filled with potential. Beneath the exposed figures, the once-clinging clay looked like a lush, warm mud bath, providing a comforting warmth instead of a suffocating menace. Kneeling beyond the immediate reach of the inner door, she lit the pattern¡¯s first Ki points, pleased it now only took three hundred Ki to start. Weaving the energy, she closed her eyes, and the first surge restored the Ki she¡¯d used to help Elliyna. The timelessness of the power ran through her in waves of power, changing from light to dark, and back again. In an instant of darkness a memory hit, and in that timelessness it wrapped about her. In the memory, the walls of their home had been replaced with a seamless impenetrable blackness that drank not only light but also sound. Father¡¯s hammer struck with a burst of sound, causing the darkness to retreat and shift about¡ªthe space their home had provided suddenly enlarged. She held herself quiet, listening to the ringing notes, and turned to watch her father¡¯s forge work¡ªnot the iron of the last week but sparks of reality instead. Power flared and rippled across her perceptions and shifted them away from what had been to place them ¡®between¡¯. The last scents of the ocean¡¯s breeze died away before his hammer stilled, and the weight of the darkness pressed against her mind. ¡°Keep your focus on our possessions, Phaedra. That will be easier on your mind, until you adjust to this place,¡± father said, and his hammer descended again. It fell so fast that it blurred, leaving an afterimage of multiple hammers that each became real and hit the forge instead of the anvil in a power waterfall. The stone¡¯s essence compressed and changed with every strike. Despite his advice, she found herself drawn to observe the energy stream that ran from the darkness through his hammer and into every strike to aid the transformation. By the time he stopped it had become a silvery-white metal so brilliant the simple fire within provided a brilliance like the morning sunlight off a clear blue ocean. The image showed her truth, that of a girl in her early teens wearing a simple dress with long black hair tied back in a simple braid. Her olive skin and dark brown gaze match that of her grandparents, and within the memory is that she has her mother¡¯s eyes. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he come with us?¡± ¡°Your brother has his own path to follow. He¡¯s in love with a mortal woman and we¡¯ve much work ahead. While I¡¯ve separated us from the movement of time in any reality, the flow of time still moves within this little pocket in between. She¡¯d have grown old and died before we were even ready to begin.¡± At the word ¡®begin¡¯ another memory rises to swamp the current one. * * * The now larger but shining forge reflects electric-blue hair, and a bright-green gaze. Once olive skin is now golden-hued, and her features are far different from the child she¡¯d been so many years ago. Instead of the round face, angular features now come down to a finely pointed chin. The formerly rounded tips of ears are pointed, holding something of the fey that father had consulted with repeatedly. Along with cheekbones that are sharp like theirs, though the smile that sat naturally on my lips is playful, rather than edged with cruelty or cunning. The transformation that father had effected to consume the divine spark had indeed let the centuries spent practicing rest easier than they had at first while holding onto humanity. Throughout the chamber, objects ring with music that is purposeful. Their notes the same resonating focus father possesses, and effortlessly sets into everything he crafts; even the simple furnishing behind screens that provided us privacy from each other. Still, for me now, there isn¡¯t true privacy from each other, the music of everything presses constantly. It¡¯s only out in the darkness beyond the chamber¡¯s border that total silence exists. Only the most practical items fill the growing space we live in, with his every moment dedicated to the purpose my words had set him. Creating a place where Gods could be held to account, whether it leads to revenge for our family is beside the point. Those that wielded power granted by the mortal¡¯s faith should be accountable rather than be allowed to run wild. Father¡¯s footsteps completing the circle around the scaffolding constraining his latest project draw my attention to him. A jet-black spike that bends the surrounding light, its similarity to the Mind Palace¡¯s spire, almost pushes Amdirlain from the moment until she lets this memory hold sway. Though I¡¯m now almost the height of the form father has used for most of my life, his horns will forever give him a distinct edge in that comparison. Yet despite us both being taller than any villager, the spike within the scaffolding dwarfs us both. ¡°Shall we begin?¡± asks father, his rumbling bass shallow compared to the growing depths of his power¡¯s foundations. ¡°Are you sure I¡¯m ready, father?¡± ¡°Consider this merely another stage in your training. It doesn¡¯t commit us to continue with the reality we form. If either of us feels there is an issue, we¡¯ll move back between realities and create another after resting.¡± The relaxed tone is comforting, but though he can disregard the century crafting the twin spikes, it''s still not something I¡¯ve grown used to yet. ¡°But what about-¡± ¡°It is a reality that we set in motion. It can develop without our direction, the same as a stream running down a mountain chooses it own course. This moment will be its headways nothing more, and nothing less.¡± His words answer the question that¡¯s on his mind but disregard my concern for the work involved. Though it''s certainly not surprising considering his continual focus on simply what he needs to do next. Taking a deep breath doesn¡¯t calm the jiggling nerves that a glance at the spike triggers. Its music echoes its distant twin with which it still resonates in time, even with the other floating far out within the void. Instead of commencing work, his fingers touch feather-light against my cheek, careful of a strength that a rare moment of carelessness can cause to leave deep impressions in any metal. ¡°You¡¯ve worked so hard; your mother would be proud. I¡¯ve set the reality¡¯s laws in place. We¡¯re merely bringing energy and matter in with this stage. The boundary of this space will protect us from the energy¡¯s entry. Now, what is the purpose of your Song?¡± I know from his Song that he doesn¡¯t doubt me; instead, I can hear his pride and intention to reassure and distract my nerves. ¡°To build energy that will amplify your strike and apply it when resistance stops progress.¡± Leaning forward, he plants a kiss on my forehead and teasingly scruffs my hair, smiling with genuine amusement at the scowl I give him in return. My antics adjust the momentum of his music, adding notes of playfulness to his nearly too-serious Song. ¡°Exactly. I¡¯ll strike the spike repeatedly. There is no need to rush, and it¡¯s best to wait until I¡¯ve got a constant tempo, then act.¡± ¡°I know, father just like we¡¯ve practiced. Can we start now?¡± I ask playfully, and throw my hands up in mock-despair. ¡°This wait is the worst part, this torment. How can I stand it?¡± He snorts at the pert smile I bestow, and he leaps upwards. Before he lands atop the scaffolding, I¡¯m already moving in time to his music and my own. Each motion causes my own Song to gather strength, and when the first hammer strike hits the spike¡¯s top, my Song is already well and truly begun. A drumbeat of power pulsing with his might and intensity sends me spinning about the chamber with a light heart. The Song of my body joins the music that soars from my lips in a fashion, that not even my father truly understands. My solo voice becomes two, then five, then twelve, each interweaving, forming a chorus of harmonic sound. My dancing once would have left me breathless, but no longer. Now, exhalation adds to the Song, and every inhalation brings in more power. He is a craftsman and composer, but to his technical brilliance, I add my heart. At first, my music swoops away from his, gathering its pace and intent; I have to be careful not to intersect too soon. Every shift of my posture, and alteration in speed, adds strength to my Song¡¯s foundation. Strike after strike, father¡¯s power doesn¡¯t cause the spike within the chamber to move a hair¡¯s breadth, but beyond, its twin breaches deep into Chaos. The metal is so dense that its mere presence distorts light. Now far from us, compressing time and space, our attempt to pierce the ever-increasing resistance of a collapsed universe¡¯s boundary. The Song gathers for endless moments until I can feel our duet¡¯s crescendo approach. Spinning again with my music¡¯s notes twisting tighter, they rise through me in time with the hammer¡¯s descent, and I realise I broke his rule. The notes don¡¯t just amplify his intent and power; they burn with my creativity, passion, and longing. My Song shifts through his hammer in the moment of contact before pressing playful against the spike, the music taking the spike with it. Together they leap to its distant twin, and our crafting doesn¡¯t just pierce the boundary¡ªit completely ruptures it. Where there had been darkness, there is now energy, and together, billions of finished songs begin to sing again. Their combined beauty and horror dropped me to my knees to weep. The seeds of realms for mortals, gods, and horrid things bloom and sing; as the unleashed power expands, it helps the reality¡¯s initial boundaries grow. Yet father¡¯s rules bind even this energy tight, directing its course through the start of time¡¯s river towards the delta and the endless ocean that awaits to host it. I¡¯m still crying when he kneels beside me and wraps an arm gently around me. ¡°The darkness will let the light shine brighter.¡± ¡°There is more than a bit of Chaos mixed in as well, father.¡± ¡°A veritable ocean of the ¡®between¡¯ it seems. Well, better this than a dry sterile reality where the ending is predictable. The Chaos will provide plenty of supplementary material, and a means to prevent the planes from eroding each other. Once it¡¯s settled, we¡¯ll make preparations to pierce the primordial barrier to bring in more building matter and set places for our guests.¡± ¡°Which of the Dragons are you going to allow in?¡± Father shifts position to sit with his knees tucked against his chest, not moving away from me, even though he doesn¡¯t like either kneeling or sitting on the floor. ¡°Nuwa, Tiamat, Bahamut, plus some of their children.¡± ¡°Nuwa has become warped though, after her husband¡¯s death her Song sounds so cruel. Are you sure she¡¯ll keep the bargain?¡± ¡°The chains are ready to hold her in place. While she wears them, she will remain unkillable. Should she ever allow them to be removed by action or inaction, inertia will drag her from this reality. She fears death more than the pain that has become twisted within her until it turned to pleasure.¡± 183 - Glory Soranus¡¯s PoV - Aegina - Pal¨¢ti of Apollo Letting the door shut behind him, Soranus walked along each of the four rows of workbenches. At each station, he checked the piece being worked on with a glance. A few he gave instructions for minor corrections, but most he ordered destroyed if he spotted the slightest fault at all. When he finally reached Argyro, where she sat at the supervisor¡¯s workbench, he didn¡¯t disturb her but sat and waited. Fatigue from the delicate work of the summoning chamber eating at his bones, he suppressed a sigh and just watched his daughter work. Her focus didn¡¯t shift from the diamond she¡¯d cut and polished into a perfectly symmetrical form. He hadn¡¯t seen her cut it in two, but the same judgement he applied to his work in the chamber told him she had flawlessly executed the work. In mirrored patterns, cut by cut, she set the runes into place in the diamond¡¯s interior, working against the rate the embedded Mana would decay from the incomplete runes. Only when each mirror pair was complete was a slight pause allowed without destroying the work. Yet even then she didn¡¯t hesitate and tripped the arms holding them to rotate to the next position starting on the next runes. The last of the journeymen had left for dinner hours before she was finally done. With veins of tiny runes set in place decorating the inside of each half, she exhaled and looked up from the work. ¡°Father. How did today go?¡± asked Argyro, carefully setting her tools back in the desk drawers, and cases. The question rubbed against suppressed frustration and his grimace curled his lips. ¡°All the circles and foundation pieces are now marked out. But here is the adamantine shipment they promised me today.¡± Dipping his hand into his apron pocket, he set a single silvery ingot on the workbench¡¯s edge. ¡°Perhaps you can use the lack of materials as a valid reason to withdraw from the commission. You should have turned it down, father. I¡¯ve done some research of my own, beyond what the elders told you,¡± cautioned Argyro. ¡°Turn down an opportunity to test the strength of my skill?¡± sputtered Soranus. Argyro shifted her tool case and reached out to rest her hand on his. ¡°Father, this is treading on dangerous ground, and not just for the Prince. We should make sure it doesn¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Is the diamond complete?¡± Soranus enquired, leaning forward to check the runes, and Argyro blocked sight of it with her hand. ¡°Is this for the chamber?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not, and apparently keeping you from any involvement with it is now required,¡± grumbled Soranus suspiciously, fixing his daughter with a fierce look. ¡°Father you can¡¯t go-¡± Soranus cut her off, with a cutting motion of his hand that he pulled away from her. ¡°You¡¯ve made enquires, you said. I hope you didn¡¯t speak about the work?¡± ¡°No, I asked about Amdirlain among some travellers. You vented to me about your conversation with the Elders after all¡ªI knew who to ask about,¡± stated Argyro. ¡°What did you find out then that causes you such concern?¡± asked Soranus and caught the edge of the temper she¡¯d inherited from him in Argyro¡¯ glare. The drawers and cases closed up with a series of sharp snapping motions, yet the frustration in the glare she fixed him with went unabated. ¡°She and her followers help people to gain choices. Though I don¡¯t understand why they find slavery offensive, I¡¯ve heard they take risks to free captives, including many that once belonged to Set¡¯s Church. There have been far more accounts of slave caravans going missing since her faith¡¯s establishment.¡± ¡°What, and next you¡¯re going to tell me the destruction of Set was her followers¡¯ doing?¡± Soranus asked, his sarcastic tone almost caustic. Argyro ground her teeth, and Soranus could see his own demanding temper clear as day in her expression. ¡°Father, they seized thousands of Egyptian slaves in a single night and moved them to Eyrarh¨¢ls. The border of the township suddenly had grain silos standing where none had been before¡ªwith Egyptian markings on them. Without a fuss, her followers then took charge of the slaves.¡± ¡°Took charge of? Stole you mean,¡± argued Soranus. ¡°If those accounts are authentic, her followers are thieves that disregard the rule of law.¡± Argyro huffed in frustration and waved off his argument. ¡°Father, I don¡¯t care about the slaves, though the Norse travellers I spoke with had ridiculous views about their status. Combined with the amount of power required to undertake such a relocation effort, Amdirlain¡¯s followers are apparently closely involved with someone having that power. It wasn¡¯t just slaves seized, they moved complete buildings, including foundations.¡± ¡°Another faction might have undertaken it and arranged for her followers to be burdened with the work. I know there was an Elven Wizard that worked for Eyrarh¨¢ls¡¯s Jarl. Perhaps the Elves finally did more than waving their lips and claim distress that old treaties are no longer followed,¡± asserted Soranus. When his daughter¡¯s glare grew hotter, his arms crossed as if bracing himself for his daughter¡¯s next outburst. ¡°Potentially over thirty thousand slaves, along with storehouses of food, and grain silos moved in a single night, father. Do you really believe a single Elf could achieve that? Even if it was a gathering of them, then it¡¯s still clear they have some sort of arrangement with Amdirlain¡¯s followers. Followers who provided many wizards that drove off the Sahuagin tide before their attacks came this far east,¡± snapped Argyro. Her words dropped to a low warning hiss when she took care to ensure they wouldn¡¯t overcome the workshop protections. ¡°A single Wizard? Certainly not, unless he¡¯s also an Artificer and spent years preparing. Likely the tale is overblown, and he took advantage of the confusion to steal six hundred, maybe even as low as sixty. Certainly, a single Gate spell would handle shifting sixty about. The way tales grow that is far more likely than a ridiculous claim to have moved thirty thousand in a night.¡± ¡°One traveller I spoke to was a merchant¡¯s guard who had been there. The thirty thousand was at the bottom range of his estimates. He had the look of a Legionnaire scout, one who¡¯d survived hard seasons in the field. It¡¯s what he believed, father; his words didn¡¯t stir any reaction from my truth broach; even when his fellow guards tried to inflate the story, he held firm.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already accepted the commission, daughter, and I always complete them to the utmost of my skill. Since you¡¯ve objections to the chamber, I¡¯ll not ask you to be involved in the work. There are other things I need to make, and the chamber will take up much of my time. Though if you believe there are those among them with access to greater teleportation magics, I¡¯ll include additional protections against teleportation and planar incursions. The diamond is for linking to a simulacrum.¡± ¡°Why do you need a simulacrum that requires something on this scale?¡± asked Argyro and motioned to the gem; glad for a reason to set their argument aside. ¡°There was a talented earth Wizard and his apprentices that I heard did some work for the priests, perhaps even the Prince himself. Now they¡¯ve moved west, and no one knows where they¡¯ve gone,¡± remarked Soranus, his snort echoed by his daughter. ¡°If you believe he¡¯ll attempt to dispose of you, why did you bother accepting this?¡± asked Argyro, her voice tight with worry. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Learnt about their disappearance after I accepted. Whether he attempts to kill me is beside the point. I¡¯ve no desire to be in that chamber if the summoning goes wrong. Though truthfully, given the motif of her symbol, most especially if it goes right; if they mess it up, all involved in the summoning will be dead and I¡¯d be able to walk away. However, I¡¯d still like to see what happens. The simulacrum will serve two purposes: first, to allow me to watch from a distance, second, in case he has any other purpose for requesting my attendance. I doubt he¡¯ll look beyond the surface of its appearance in his arrogance.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure it¡¯s perfect then, even if I¡¯d prefer you walk away. Take care you don¡¯t get caught up in your own arrogance, father. Every Priest of Set, lay or not, and thousands of his followers died in a single night. Whether that was the work of Amdirlain¡¯s followers or merely forces they associate with, that isn¡¯t something to disregard.¡± ¡°I will stay well clear on the day I promise,¡± Soranus declared, placing his hand over his heart. ¡°I just hope that is enough, father.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have my agent contact Duskstone, hopefully that Dwarven white-beard has finished his construct.¡± ¡°There are other challenges you can set your strength of craft against. Perhaps see if you can get out of the commission first father. After all, it¡¯s not your skill in question if the materials just aren¡¯t available, and there are other projects the King wants to be completed. Let the Prince blame others for their failure to gain the materials, and don¡¯t let him know you¡¯re trying yourself,¡± insisted Argyro. Soranus scrubbed his face with both hands and grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re not going to just let this go, are you?¡± ¡°Not a chance, but I won¡¯t take action to endanger you. Outside of bending your ear that is,¡± teased Argyro, before her look turned concerned. ¡°The seeress saw a bloodstained apron in your future father.¡± ¡°All men die, Argyro.¡± Feeling more tired than when the conversation had started, Soranus headed for his rooms with his daughter¡¯s final warning niggling at the back of his mind. Within his private workroom, he activated a series of runes to project a false image to any scrying. The room secure, he retrieved an old and battered stone ornament of a serpent eating its own tail¡ªan object plain and drab even to Mana Sense. Bracing himself he tapped it on his palm and kept his eyes from the book he could feel resting on his hand. When he set the book upon his desk, he pushed his focus past the runes that tried to drive his attention away and opened the age-greyed tome. The first sheet of fine vellum within contained but a single wordy phrase in Draconic. A study on the methodologies, benefits, and drawbacks of various phylactery constructions to preserve Souls, and enablement of life after physical death. The ancient pages creaked when he carefully opened them to the silk ribbon he had placed within it years prior. Carefully working his way through the pages that followed, he reviewed yet again the materials and rune work required to transform into a Lich. * * * Soranus carefully rechecked the circle¡¯s line before he shifted, checked it with a tiny spirit level¡ªbarely a hand-span wide¡ªseeking any deviation in the floor. A twitch of the bubble drew a frown that had him lift the spirit level. Wiping the metal¡¯s underside methodically, he checked it again. The stability of the bubble this time had him give a pleased nod, and he started marking out the last location for the dimensional shielding. ¡°Your report last week said you were done with the marking work. Why aren¡¯t you engraving?¡± yelled Charilaos. The tantrum came within a hair¡¯s breadth of breaking his focus, but Soranus finished setting the rune in place before he lifted his hand away. A slight twitch at the edge of a rune had him lift a cloth and clean an hour¡¯s work from the stone. Shrugging aside Argyro¡¯ warnings that continued to linger in the back of his mind, he turned towards the Prince and surrounded by easily damaged markings, reined his temper in. ¡°The next time you come into this chamber without first asking is the last time I will enter it. Is that clear?¡± Charilaos ground his teeth in a fashion that made Soranus wish he could slap him from half the room away. ¡°You accepted the commission.¡± ¡°My acceptance of your commission included my standard terms, two of which you just broke. Do so again and your coin will be returned as will all the materials. I¡¯ve requests your father would prefer my attention applied to rather than Argyro¡¯ skill,¡± stated Soranus. Cleaning the marking tool¡¯s nib he doubled checked the pouch strapped over his heart hadn¡¯t shifted with a discrete stretch. A movement that caught the attention of the mousey looking assistant who¡¯d followed Charilaos into the room, her delicate hands dipped lightly into the folds of her robe. ¡°Take another step in here and I will walk away. You¡¯ve both crossed three circle¡¯s lines and dozens of runes, now I¡¯ll have to check every one of them.¡± ¡°I had expected progress and you¡¯re back to drawing more runes,¡± declared Charilaos, the veins pulsing in his neck ¡°And I¡¯d expected materials delivered to set at least some runes by now. Since there isn¡¯t a sufficient quantity, the only activity I can progress with is including additional measures so we survive the summoning.¡± ¡°Adamantine arrived yesterday,¡± growled Charilaos. The fit of temper had Soranus change his mind about contacting Duskstone for this project. His next personal projects would be the only ones to benefit from his contacts there. ¡°One bar of Adamantine. Perhaps you can come back to scream at me when someone bothers to deliver at least a few hundred more. I will not set up the equipment for smelting and pouring for that pittance of material. Plus, doing the etching too far in advance is asking for trouble, unless you¡¯d like to carve a new chamber if something goes wrong as we could end up with the chamber contaminated. Would you like to discuss with the Wizard who prepared this one about setting up some additional chambers?¡± Charilaos turned his glare towards his assistant, but she didn¡¯t look away from Soranus. ¡°I was told they had fulfilled the order, your Highness.¡± ¡°They delivered a single bar to me. Wherever the supply problem lies isn¡¯t something I¡¯m spending time on. Have someone figure it out, and let me ensure you survive the summoning,¡± stated Soranus, not taking his gaze from the Prince, deliberately not bothering to show concern for anyone else. ¡°I¡¯ll make some enquires your Highness, and ensure this doesn¡¯t reoccur,¡± the mousey woman said, her expression perfectly composed. Taking exaggerated steps that made a mockery of Soranus¡¯ annoyance, Charilaos stalked from the chamber. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Artificer Soranus, I was careful to avoid my robes coming in contact with your markings,¡± the assistant stated, her gaze demurely downcast, but Soranus didn¡¯t bother to reply. Instead, his attention returned to the stone cleaned a short time earlier and with steady hands marked the runes again. He possessed no desire to extend any conversation with the Prince¡¯s empty-eyed pet killer. While he¡¯d never learnt her name, that situation wasn¡¯t one he intended to change¡ªever. After he finished, he rose and moved across to where the Prince and his pet had stood. A mark on a rune¡¯s edge set his skin to itching, and he stepped into the circle¡¯s interior. Once settled to the floor, he set about erasing every trace of that circle and three supporting ones closer to the door. Only when the floor they¡¯d crossed and all the connecting runes were clear did he begin again. By the time it was re-done an incensed Soranus set various objects in place to deter, with increasing violence, anyone else seeking to enter. The presence of one sets a hungry barrier in the outer corridor. Leaving the Wraiths to settle into the bedrock beyond the chamber¡¯s dedication to Apollo he headed for his rooms. The meal left for him was stone cold, and at nearly midnight he ate it regardless before turning in for the night. * * * Aches and pains from the extra hours greeted him the next morning and Soranus forced himself upright as the rooster crowed again. In the half-hour, it took for the morning prayers to Apollo to reach their mid-point he was already sitting at his workbench carefully packing a rune shrouded mirror away. ¡°Did you waste your contact¡¯s time?¡± asked Argyro when she came close enough to see him packing it away. ¡°I¡¯ve not asked them for anything regarding the chamber, but they¡¯ll start sending deliveries within a month. Make sure no one opens them. Some materials in the shipments will be volatile.¡± Argyro fixed him with a suspicious look for the lack of details, but when he waved her off she tried a different approach. Reaching out she touched a gem set on the desk, and let her expression relax. ¡°He annoyed you, didn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°From mid-afternoon to near midnight wasted because he wanted to chuck a tantrum that I was back adding more symbols.¡± ¡°Are you going to add protections against intrusion?¡± ¡°Already done. Stay clear of it until I¡¯ve completed the etching. The exclusion I¡¯ve applied to block their appetites can¡¯t be extendable to anyone else.¡± Argyro shuddered but didn¡¯t pale this time and Soranus gave her a nod of approval before she spoke up. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d place those under a Temple, no matter how far down into the bedrock that chamber sits. What if he visits again?¡± ¡°Then either the situation will resolve itself or I¡¯ll be able to levy a large breach of commission fees. Either way, I¡¯ll have some restitution for my annoyance,¡± smiled Soranus. ¡°You wanted me to walk away, remember?¡± ¡°Why let a grudge die of old age when you can beat it to death first?¡± Argyro¡¯s rhetorical question caused Soranus¡¯ relaxed smile to turn edged. ¡°He damaged some of my preparations.¡± ¡°Did you warn him at least?¡± ¡°About entering the chamber, indeed I had. As for the protections, no, but they escalate. If he¡¯s too stupid to understand ¡®go away¡¯ before he gets to the wraiths, well, it¡¯s not my problem.¡± Argyro gave him a look of disbelief before she sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll send a messenger, father.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Soranus. ¡°Is there someone you wanted dead? His little pet was acting all meek yesterday, I bet she¡¯s hungry for blood.¡± 184 - Gift of life Sarith¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The gathering in the outer courtyard was clearly visible from several buildings away because of the dozens clustered close in silence. Their presence blocked her view so that it was when Sarith got within a staff length from Master Duurth that she caught sight of a strange Human girl in their midst. Master Duurth stood amid the protectors talking to her in a fashion that showed a distinct lack of concern. When she looked Sarith¡¯s way, the crystal blue orbs she had in place of eyes caused Sarith to stop in surprise and reassess her age. With her barely taller than Sarith, she stood chest height to the adult protectors around her, and Sarith had mistaken the woman for a girl. Once Sarith considered her properly, it was clear the Human was at least a decade older than she¡¯d first thought. ¡°You requested my presence, Master Duurth?¡± asked Sarith, taking care not to let herself gawk at the woman¡¯s strange eyes. ¡°Know that this is Livia, who is here to see Novice Amdirlain. Know Healer Arith said the infirmary is quiet, so I requested your help in escorting her to the dormitory,¡± replied Duurth. Sarith just bowed respectfully to Master Duurth and hesitated before she spoke up. ¡°Know that I believe Novice Amdirlain is meditating on Master Cyrus¡¯ exercise, so I¡¯m not sure she¡¯d be aware anyone was nearby.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all right. If you take me there, I¡¯ll just wait for mother to notice,¡± replied Livia, and Sarith frowned at how her mouth didn¡¯t move in time to her words. ¡°How is Amdirlain your mother? Know that you don¡¯t appear to have Elven blood, however strange your eyes appear,¡± commented Sarith. Despite her bluntness, Livia just laughed cheerfully. ¡°Well, you get straight to the point, don¡¯t you? That¡¯s a long tale and not one I normally share. Would you show me the way to this dormitory please, Sarith?¡± ¡°Know you are to wait as well unless Master Cyrus is present, Sarith. Know that Livia is to be considered a guest of the monastery and will need to be shown quarters for the evening,¡± Duurth stated. Before he finished providing his instruction, apparently for Livia¡¯s benefit, Sarith received directions to Livia¡¯s assigned room. Sarith stopped herself from questioning the instructions and motioned for Livia to follow. ¡°Did you travel here by yourself?¡± ¡°No, a friend aided my travels after I twisted her arm a little,¡± replied Livia, catching up to Sarith with graceful ease. Restraining the immediate response that came to mind, Sarith let the silence sit between them and guided the way between the buildings. ¡°Have you lived here long, Sarith?¡± asked Livia after a few minutes of walking in silence. ¡°Know it¡¯s been less than a year,¡± Sarith replied curtly, wishing she hadn¡¯t given into the temptation of her initial question, but stopped when a thought came to mind. ¡°Would you like me to show you where your room is for your stay or take you to the dormitory first? Know that your room is on an upper floor near here.¡± ¡°It might be close, but the dormitory, please. Who knows how long it will take mother to notice if she¡¯d deep in meditation?¡± Sarith gave her another sharp nod and continued in the hope that Master Cyrus would be present so she might pass escorting of this stranger over. Despite her concerns, Livia fell silent after giving her another glance, simply walking alongside. When they reach the dormitory, the silence within its corridors weighs almost ominously. The Anarch responsible for maintaining it obviously not worried about maintaining anything beyond the most minimal of lighting. It wasn¡¯t until the outer door to the training hall that Sarith slowed and had to force herself to push each open. When the only thing leaking from beneath the inner door was a golden light, she gave a deep sigh and briskly pushed it open. Despite her hopes, Master Cyrus wasn¡¯t present, instead a strange sight confronted her. The golden light she¡¯d taken for the Anarch¡¯s doing instead radiated from Amdirlain¡¯s flesh, with an intensity that had flesh and cloth translucent, leaving her a strange outline of form. ¡°Well, no wonder the Domain is glowing so much,¡± muttered Livia, and slipped by Sarith, who¡¯d frozen in the doorway, and the meaning of her words went unheeded. ¡°Whatever she¡¯s doing makes her aura so beautiful.¡± Before Sarith could reply, Livia almost skipped across the distance, separating them, and knelt next to Amdirlain. ¡°Know I do not know when Master Cyrus will be present,¡± Sarith stated. A quick attempt to link to Liran? found her mental presence in a steel-hard focus. ¡°Know I believe he might be sparring with Master Liran?.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright Sarith, you don¡¯t have to wait around; but if you¡¯d tell me your name yourself, I can send you a Message later,¡± offered Livia happily. ¡°What do you mean? Know you just used my name. Why do you need me to tell it to you?¡± protested Sarith. ¡°Master Duurth said your name. However, the Spell requires the person to provide their name themselves. Even two people with exactly the same name can pronounce it slightly differently and impart a different emphasis to its sound. The Spell uses that energy pattern to reach the right individual even across planes,¡± explained Livia. ¡°Know this is beside the point since Master Duurth instructed me to remain in these circumstances,¡± replied Sarith. Moving to the side of the hall, she sat with her back resting against the wall keeping Amdirlain and Livia in view. Livia opened her mouth as if ready to argue, but with a thoughtful look shrugged instead. Her ready acceptance surprised Sarith, but not as much as the way she didn¡¯t hesitate to kiss Amdirlain¡¯s cheek before she settled beside her. It is only chime away from the evening meal when Cyrus arrives at last, and he gave Sarith a smile before he turned his attention towards Livia. ¡°I take it young lady that you are Livia?¡± Livia flowed to her feet beside the still meditating Amdirlain and stopped in surprise at the sight of Cyrus. ¡°Master Cyrus? I believed Master Duurth had been referring to another Githz¨¦rai.¡± ¡°It seems Amdirlain hasn¡¯t passed word about my presence,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Shall we get to know each other?¡± Rather than take offense, Livia just laughed and gave Master Cyrus an open smile. ¡°She hasn¡¯t even stirred. I believe I¡¯ll talk to her before I take up your dance offer, Master Cyrus. Given your appearance, I¡¯m uncertain what is going on here, and I¡¯d prefer to speak to her first.¡± ¡°Master Liran? and I frequently pass the time in here without it disturbing her in the slightest. Master Duurth said you are her daughter?¡± enquired Cyrus curiously. ¡°A long story, but she rescued me, and I adopted her,¡± Livia replied, and offered a cheeky smile. ¡°She said I must have been a cat in a past life but that¡¯s not the case.¡± ¡°She had said she wasn¡¯t expecting guests until she was done healing. Did she know you were coming?¡± asked Cyrus, not breaking eye contact with Livia. ¡°It was pretty obvious from past tales and messages she¡¯s sent where she¡¯d ended up. I had to convince one of mother¡¯s people to help me get here faster¡ªshe was being stubborn,¡± commented Livia, but Sarith noticed she didn¡¯t address Cyrus¡¯s question. ¡°Stubborn in what way?¡± ¡°Eb kept insisting I should leave her to heal,¡± Livia replied, her smile still firmly in place. ¡°Mother pulls in on herself at times, so I wanted to be absolutely certain she was alright. So I said if she didn¡¯t help me, I¡¯d travel Limbo by myself and she could let mother know why if I didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°What if she¡¯d called your bluff?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I wasn¡¯t bluffing, and you need to stop trying to look through me, Master Cyrus¡ªI don¡¯t find it acceptable. Master Duurth stated I¡¯d receive the hospitality of a guest of the monastery. The power you¡¯ve activated doesn¡¯t make me uncomfortable, but I do find it rude,¡± stated Livia firmly, and Sarith¡¯s jaw almost dropped at the sudden steel in her tone. ¡°Mother described the walls of the Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand to me last we met, so I was sure I could accurately Teleport if it came to that. Eb opening a Gate simply saved me time and made things more certain.¡± ¡°I wanted to make sure you weren¡¯t an imposter here with ill intentions,¡± countered Cyrus unflustered by her tone. Livia raised a single eyebrow in the same deliberate fashion that Amdirlain used and the firmness of her gaze lent her expression a cynical edge. ¡°That¡¯s nice, but that likely took an instant to determine and yet you left your third eye open. My mother said never to let a bully push me around. Are you a bully, Master Cyrus?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Her question had Cyrus frowning, but Sarith quickly found she¡¯d mistaken the cause. ¡°How do you know the name of that ability?¡± ¡°I remember things from other lives. I¡¯m pretty sure we could be friends, but not if you keep behaving this way. You don¡¯t own my mother, so you don¡¯t get a say in who visits her, Master Cyrus,¡± declared Livia. ¡°I came because I wanted to make sure she knows we love her. While mother¡¯s people are very loyal, I¡¯m not always sure if they understand that need. They focused on taking care of others and ensuring she has time to heal. She needs to be told she¡¯s loved, regardless of how she is now.¡± ¡°Your mother has omitted mentioning any individuals you term as her people,¡± stated Cyrus. ¡°Is it Amdirlain that needs to be told, or is it simply you that needs to tell her?¡± ¡°Mother didn¡¯t mention your presence either, so I¡¯ll wait until she tells me more before sharing anything further,¡± replied Livia firmly ignoring his question. Cyrus gave her a frown that was more surprised than offended by her still sharp tone. ¡°I was told to ensure I assisted her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± Livia quipped in a tone that made it clear she didn¡¯t care. ¡°Why don¡¯t we all wait for mother¡¯s meditation to end?¡± ¡°When her light eases away, it¡¯s safe to rouse her,¡± offered Cyrus, and motioned for Sarith to rise. ¡°Let¡¯s practice your Ki abilities while we wait,¡± When Sarith started along the length of the hall to give them space, Cyrus looked back at Livia. ¡°She¡¯s approaching the point where she normally causes the Ki to drain away. I take it you won¡¯t tell me how she does that?¡± ¡°No comment.¡± The verbal exchange didn¡¯t change the patience of Cyrus¡¯ instruction, even though Sarith still found herself distracted by the Human kneeling by Amdirlain. When the light suddenly died away, a squeal of delight that caused Sarith to glance their way shortly followed it, and she found Livia enfolded in a hug. ¡°Know it seems Amdirlain is not upset at her presence, Master Cyrus. Would you have Amdirlain contact me when I need to show Livia to her room?¡± Sarith asked Cyrus and started for the door. ¡°Sarith! Thank you for escorting Livia to see me,¡± Amdirlain exclaimed, as Sarith pushed at the door. Sarith was sure Amdirlain was simply saying that for politeness, but partly turning, she found Amdirlain regarding her with a bright smile. ¡°Know you are welcome,¡± Sarith replied, even as she wondered what else Amdirlain had hidden from them. ¡°I can contact Master Duurth to get the location of Livia¡¯s guest room,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Her offer made Sarith¡¯s thoughts churn faster. It was clear Amdirlain had overheard them even when it seemed she wasn¡¯t paying attention. At Amdirlain¡¯s continued focus, Sarith roused herself to project the details. The usual glass of Amdirlain¡¯s mental fortress didn¡¯t ripple, but Sarith felt a quick mental touch and Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I would not have asked you to let me touch your mind, but that makes it easier, thank you,¡± Amdirlain said, and Sarith let the door close. She¡¯d barely made it out of the dormitory when she heard the dinner chimes, and headed for the refectory near the infirmary, letting Master Arith know she¡¯d collect the meals. Weaving her way through those heading towards their dining places she ducked through her destination¡¯s doorway. Edging past some senior novices, she ignored their excited gossip about Celestials visiting the monastery, putting it aside as sparked by Livia¡¯s eyes. As she made her way to where servants were filling bowls, she focused on ignoring the occasional scornful glance directed her way. The dark wood box was already closed, and a nod from the senior servant made it clear it was ready to claim. She lifted the Chaos-shaped wood only after ensuring they¡¯d properly sealed the clamp, having made that mistake only once. The box¡¯s lightness provided a sure sign that they had admitted no new patients to the infirmary during her absence¡ªat least not any able to eat. Turning, she stepped over a Novice¡¯s outstretched foot that simply ¡®happened¡¯ to be in the wrong place and left without comment. Glad that no further obstacles presented themselves between the refectory and infirmary, she gave it an initial push with Far Hand. Bracing it open against her back, she eased through the door and placed the box on the table within the door. Seeing Master Arith at the triage station sealing up an open head wound, she unlatched the box and moved between the few patients present. By the time she brought the last pair of meals to the duty desk, the Novice was already on his way. ¡°Know a victory is never truly complete if there is anything still in motion,¡± Arith said before he claimed his meal. Collecting the blood-stained cloth, Sarith put them in the cleaning bag and settled down across from him. Arith didn¡¯t look up from waving away the steam from his evening meal. ¡°Why did Master Duurth want you to attend the gate?¡± ¡°Know Amdirlain¡¯s daughter arrived and requested to see her.¡± ¡°Any of the female protectors on duty could have escorted her to the dormitory, so why do you believe he asked for you?¡± ¡°Know likely that I need to be open to seeing more than I have in the past,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Know her daughter looked Human like Master Cyrus but she had strange eyes, almost faceted crystals.¡± ¡°Anything else for the gossip mill?¡± teased Arith. ¡°Know that I was just commenting I¡ª¡± Arith¡¯s low laughter stopped Sarith¡¯s protest, and he gave the serious apprentice a smile. ¡°Know that commenting on what you¡¯ve seen or heard is gossiping. How else do you think gossip gets around so fast in the monastery? Know that observations and questions about ¡®what would you have done if¡¯ are the surest way to spread gossip. Do you want to know the gossip that I heard?¡± ¡°Why do you ask when you just end up telling me, even when I say no?¡± The light laughter had Sarith scowling at his amusement, and she stirred her own meal, careful of the heat the box had maintained in it. ¡°A contingent of Celestials appeared a safe distance from the monastery¡¯s wall with the visitor you escorted to see Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Know this is why I don¡¯t like gossip, her eyes were strange, but when I arrived there was no one with her. Know the protectors-¡° The mental image that Master Arith shared cut off Sarith¡¯s protest, the appearance of Livia arriving through a Gate from a distance. The Gate shone with a blue-gold light rippling from it, and then a multitude of figures surrounded her and blocked her from view. The first that appeared were lion-headed Angelic figures, bi-pedal, their arms from the elbows down were glowing blades. The score of them were quickly joined by figures she recognised from her reading as Hound Archons. Both groups of Celestials stood half-again Livia¡¯s height, making the woman appear tiny. Already stunned speechless the last figure that appeared had her drop her spoon. Four pure white wings flexed on the figure¡¯s back, and he regarded the monastery with calm intent. Looming beside Livia at twice her height, his metallic blue skin and a strange featured quad-eyed face was literally eye catching. As the minds of the protectors were busy reporting a strong telepathy projected a polite request to speak to a representative. After that they all waited patiently until Master Duurth approached. Though he moved to speak to their obvious leader he politely directed Master Duurth instead to speak to Livia. The conversation that followed was but a quick exchange of names and her purpose that Master Duurth echoed to the protectors. Once Livia was within the monastery they simply vanished. The Celestial auras sudden disappearance leaving Limbo feeling far darker. That every one of them had their clothing marked by the same symbol as upon Lezekus¡¯ medallion of faith was the most striking aspect of all. Though Sarith had only seen the medallion once but its strange design had stuck with her. Seeing the design on the Celestial¡¯s clothing was disconcerting but she kept their relationship to Lezekus¡¯ deity to herself. ¡°Know it wasn¡¯t gossip,¡± declared Arith. ¡°No trouble collecting the meals today?¡± ¡°Know everything was fine,¡± murmured Sarith, still shocked by the mental image whose details felt far too real to be faked. ¡°Really?¡± asked Arith, his sceptical gaze receiving a glum look from the befuddled Sarith. ¡°Know it was nothing serious,¡± protested Sarith. ¡°You¡¯ll let me know if it becomes trouble again,¡± insisted Arith. Sarith shifted unhappily and her gaze dropped to the floor. ¡°Know I deserve far worse than a few embarrassments.¡± ¡°Know that it¡¯s not their place to determine what you do or don¡¯t deserve¡ªso tell me if it happens again,¡± Arith said. When Sarith continued to stare at the floor, he tapped the underside of her chin and gave her a lop-sided smile. ¡°Do you want to grind the herbs or practice unfurling the psi-skin?¡± Sarith regarded the bundles from the gardens and gave into curiosity. ¡°Why don¡¯t the anarchs just form the herbs already ground, instead of needing to grow them?¡± ¡°Know I think you should research an Anarch¡¯s role properly yourself. But tell me now, what do you think they do?¡± Sarith gave a frown and fixed Master Arith with a suspicious look, wondering at the question. ¡°Know they ensure that the Chaos doesn¡¯t consume our surroundings and create new objects or buildings as required.¡± ¡°How do they ensure Chaos doesn¡¯t consume something? Know that I don¡¯t see them going around smacking it on the snout.¡± Sarith looked back helplessly at Master Arith but he didn¡¯t look ready to take her to task. ¡°Know that unless one is an Anarch, that is all most know. Know the anarchs maintain the items about them by keeping an awareness of the objects within their mind. Do you think they understand each completely enough to create everything from scratch?¡± ¡°Know from the way you ask I take it the answer is no. Doesn¡¯t an Anarch¡¯s will need to understand the object, though?¡± ¡°Know that it is an Anarch¡¯s mind more than will, and they¡¯re busy keeping track of hundreds or even thousands of objects. Know that Limbo¡¯s Chaos consumes things left untended by another, and a mind aware of it wards that Chaos away,¡± explained Arith before he risked burning his mouth to take a quick spoonful of food. ¡°Know that this is an extension of how your self-image maintains your body in this plane, along with your clothing and carried possessions. Do you know the process used to weave your robes? Or how the crafter made your shoes?¡± ¡°But the air?¡± ¡°Know that is an exception because you partly consume it with each breath, so it¡¯s not enough to maintain¡ªit needs replacing. Know in this an Anarch knowing the Air Affinity helps because it is not just them breathing it.¡± ¡°But what about travellers in Limbo?¡± ¡°Know that for many travelling alone¡ªor in small numbers¡ªthey can manage it untrained, but not in populated areas with too much interaction. Know that even in smaller groups, not everyone can handle it. What would you consider more complex, the air or a plant?¡± asked Arith. ¡°Know I¡¯ll assume it¡¯s the plant,¡± muttered Sarith. ¡°Know that is why it¡¯s far easier to bring the seeds in and grow them rather than try to create them from scratch,¡± Sarith collected the herb bundles and headed for the preparation room without a further word. Juggling the piles on the threshold, she looked back to Master Arith. ¡°Know that gossip or not, when I¡¯m cycling Ki through my chakras, it feels like I¡¯m drifting in a mist. Know that when I escorted Livia into the room, Amdirlain¡¯s flesh was a golden flame; I¡¯m not sure what to make of it.¡± ¡°Other than that she could have squashed you for your misbehaviour and rudeness? But wasn¡¯t that clear after the challenge with Liran??¡° asked Arith, fixing her with a look that made Sarith shift uncomfortably. ¡°Know that since she has a daughter, perhaps she¡¯s simply tolerant of childish behaviour.¡± Sarith winced before moving through the doorway but blocked it from closing and glanced back at Arith. ¡°Know I don¡¯t think Livia was ever childish. Know she also seems to see inside you, but not in the judgemental way Master Cyrus does.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Know that when Master Cyrus looked into me, I felt like he was assessing my flaws, while with Livia, she saw who I was and accepted it.¡± When Master Arith didn¡¯t immediately reply, Sarith let the door close quietly and set to work, trying to keep her mind from dwelling on the connection between Livia¡¯s escort and Lezekus¡¯ medallion. 185 - Lifetime Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Holding her at arm¡¯s length, Amdirlain gave Livia a beaming smile before waggling a finger at her. ¡°I told you I was here healing.¡± ¡°Eb told me you were doing better, and I needed to see you for myself,¡± responded Livia, deliberately not looking at Cyrus. ¡°Why does he look like Master Farhad when all the rest had died?¡± ¡°Master Farhad didn¡¯t know the full story. They took a different route to get the evacuees to safety, hence why they didn¡¯t join the fleet going west,¡± Amdirlain replied, noting the tension in Livia. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°He got all possessive of you and questioned my choice to come to check on you,¡± Livia said and shot Cyrus a dirty look. The gesture reminded Amdirlain of a tiny kitten hissing and grumbling at a Great Dane, oblivious to their size differences. ¡°Aren¡¯t you being possessive of me as well?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m protective, not possessive,¡± corrected Livia and put her nose in the air, even as her lips twitched mischievously. Amdirlain gave her a stern look and held an eyebrow raised until Livia started giggling. When Livia leaned back in to hug her again, Amdirlain held her, stroked her hair tenderly, and kissed her forehead. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Livia? And how are you here alone? Sarith¡¯s mental touch showed no other guests with you. Where are the boyfriend and your team?¡± Livia¡¯s muscles tightened at her questions, and Amdirlain stroked her back. ¡°Sorry, never mind. I shouldn¡¯t have asked.¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing like that. Everyone¡¯s alive, but we¡¯ve just gone our separate ways. I saw the stress building in his aura months ago. Too many close calls, but he continued adventuring because he didn¡¯t want to let me down,¡± Livia said and glanced at Cyrus. The look she directed at Cyrus wasn¡¯t grumpy, but it was still cautious. ¡°Can we have a private talk¡ªunless you want to let him know everything going on?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll talk privately,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and Cyrus simply nodded to Amdirlain with a smile at them both¡ªthat Livia pointedly ignored¡ªthen left. Livia waited until she heard the outermost door close before she spoke again. ¡°They didn¡¯t end up talking to Judge Po?¡± ¡°They never died. They escorted the evacuees off the Material Plane by Heavenly Gates to the Celestial realms of the Jade Court. After the Dragons¡¯ fighting stopped, they returned and rebuilt. They didn¡¯t destroy everything, just whatever got in the way, where valuables were left behind, they always looted.¡± ¡°But Master Farhad-¡± A pained sigh from Amdirlain cuts off Livia¡¯s protest, and she continues when Livia doesn¡¯t speak up. ¡°Was wrong; it happens, not like anyone¡¯s perfect. Apparently, from their perspective, they didn¡¯t send him away to atone; they just sent him away and assigned him a duty to keep him busy. I¡¯m not sure what to tell him. He¡¯s so focused on his Tao that I don¡¯t know what impact that would have on him.¡± ¡°I think you should tell him it would be better for him. Not the first time he¡¯s assumed and then not gone back to check, is it?¡± asked Livia and Amdirlain gave a smile at her reference to Ebusuku. ¡°Are you going to put a concealment in place or just host in your Mind Palace?¡± ¡°There are some strong wizards here, and I¡¯m not sure I could quickly duplicate anything close to the wards against scrying on Elliyna¡¯s room,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You mentioned her in your messages. Any chance of meeting her while I¡¯m here?¡± asked Livia eagerly. ¡°She sounds so interesting, and she¡¯s been helping you.¡± As she gushed, the tension left Livia, and a bright smile appeared. Resisting the urge to hug her again, Amdirlain gave her a rueful head shake. ¡°No, sorry, she¡¯s away for another fifteen days at least. Be careful; she¡¯s a follower of one aspect of the Queen of the Winter Court.¡± ¡°Eb mentioned that to me, but I¡¯d like to meet her. Though I told Eb I¡¯d only stay at most five days to not distract you from normal routine too much,¡± replied Livia. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have tried to abbreviate her name to that,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Did you call her that to her face?¡± Livia threw her arms out wide in a full-bodied shrug. ¡°She gave me a stern look so I couldn¡¯t resist using it. I don¡¯t think she¡¯s perturbed about it given her name change; she didn¡¯t even tell me her new name.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been avoiding using it, so I don¡¯t let it slip unintentionally, plus she¡¯ll always be Ebusuku to me.¡± ¡°About that privacy thing?¡± Amdirlain presented a mental link, and when it touched Livia, she took them both into her Mind Palace, and they appeared atop a transparent crystalline sheet overlooking the landscape. Below them, clear blue waters lapped around the closest exposed forms seeping in through the cracks in the obsidian further away. If one ignored those still trapped in obsidian beyond, it almost appeared as if they were relaxing in a pool beneath the golden sun. Yet as Livia looked around the Mind Palace¡¯s landscape, Amdirlain could feel her tension increase. ¡°How many people have you shown this place?¡± ¡°Only a few,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Why, do you think I¡¯ll give them nightmares?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more concerned for you than anyone else¡¯s mind. I don¡¯t believe this is a Mind Palace; you¡¯ve been letting them see the boundary of your Soul,¡± answered Livia. ¡°My aura sight is still working. That shouldn¡¯t happen in a Mind Palace; I¡¯ve enough memories to know that. I can make out what looks like a facet of your Soul in every form.¡± ¡°Laodice told me that an Anar¡¯s memories remain with their Soul,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°Whatever defences you had in place are long gone, but your storeroom is sure a mess. I¡¯m so glad you took a different path and didn¡¯t find balance with Viper. My memories had me thinking she was simply a part of you¡ªI gave you terrible advice.¡± Amdirlain felt the landscape around her twist but rode the fear rather than attempt to lock it away. Among some forms still wrapped in obsidian, the rock buckled and cracked. Though some seemed to benefit and gain greater freedom, from others, she could see blood spurt or ooze from among the cracks. The clear waters became quickly stained into a rainbow of colours as many coloured fluids mingled with the water. Expecting pain, Amdirlain breathed in relief when it seemed the Ki flowed into the opened wounds. ¡°I believe I just got through talking about not being perfect. Though you just helped by letting me know what you see now. I guess that makes sense of why cycling Ki has been helping so much, easing the forms,¡± murmured Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s an energy that comes from the Soul. It makes sense when you accumulate too much it¡¯s washing back into the Soul¡¯s wounds and into your Domain,¡± Livia said. Despite the transparent crystal, she still moved to the platform¡¯s edge to peer down at the clear blue waters currently sitting atop the clay. ¡°What does the Domain look like now?¡± Amdirlain asked innocently, but Livia¡¯s first response was a derisive snort. Waving a finger at her, Livia fairly scowled. ¡°Oh no, no, absolutely not. If I tell you, I¡¯ll get skinned by Ebusuku. She even made me promise not to tell you. Though I will admit, she promised to ensure I was there when you got home because I want to see how you react.¡± ¡°Not fair; that could be years yet,¡± grumbled Amdirlain and motioned off to the forms whose prisons showed nothing beyond a few hairline cracks. ¡°Should we keep talking here, or does this mess make you uncomfortable?¡± ¡°I can see you¡¯ve come a long way. Ebusuku filled me in. It might be the safest place we can since your Soul has so much in the way of protection. Just don¡¯t bring anyone here you don¡¯t trust again. Okay?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t. I¡¯ve not even allowed a few people that wanted to see it a look,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Livia gave a pleased nod, and a mysterious smile twitched the corner of her lips. ¡°Ebusuku figured you¡¯d become more inclined to need someone to earn your trust. Don¡¯t you know enough now to continue this in the Domain?¡± ¡°I can feel others¡ªthe Petitioners¡ªand the wellspring itself when I¡¯m there. It makes it hard to tell between my emotions and others. Plus, this place was vile at first. I didn¡¯t dare risk touching the Domain for a while. Imagine tainting the feel of the Domain with the vile memories, the most bitter of regrets you can imagine, and then multiple that a thousandfold.¡± Livia wrinkled her nose in consideration and shuddered. ¡°Okay, I can see why you came here. I¡¯ll just have to continue to hope your healing progresses. Ebusuku mentioned you were getting past life memories. What¡¯s the weirdest memory you¡¯ve gotten back?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Some figures below look very non-humanoid, and I once remembered that I was some kind of Lizardman, not all of its life but bits and pieces. I¡¯ve got a memory of laying eggs and watching over them until they hatched. How¡¯s that for weird?¡± The change of subject had Amdirlain smiling again, and she paused as she considered the variety she¡¯d recovered but kept coming back to two in particular. ¡°The weirdest memory so far was when I was Human, well, sort of Human. It feels like it was my earliest life at that in it, the Titan was actually my father,¡± replied Amdirlain and bit her lip. ¡°Weird, right? To most, the creator of the universe, and I¡¯m still trying to wrap my head around that he was once dad. Not just the type that did the deed and then left type either. He looked after me, and we mourned lost family together. The events in it were before this universe, realm, reality, whatever you want to call it, existed. I saw Hestia in it as well, and she looked almost identical. I want to talk to her again, as it certainly seems like she has pieces of the puzzle.¡± ¡°That sounds a lot to take in,¡± Livia returned after a long moment of silence. ¡°It¡¯s been doing my head in. So far, out of thousands of memories, I¡¯ve gotten back two memories from that lifetime. I¡¯ve still got mixed feelings about getting more. Her form is in this mess, and her face matches what I saw reflected in the forge¡¯s metal.¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Amdirlain went through the details of the memories as best she could but avoided directly sharing them with Livia. By the story¡¯s end, Livia¡¯s expression was tight. ¡°Then what sort of father is he if he¡¯s let you stay cursed?¡± The words she spat out held anger that had Amdirlain holding up a hand to derail Livia¡¯s protest. ¡°That¡¯s it. He isn¡¯t letting me stay cursed, he¡¯s forced to let me stay cursed. The rules I told you about in the memory. I don¡¯t remember the complete details, but I know breaking them isn¡¯t an option if he wants to stay in this place.¡± ¡°That sounds like rubbish, m¨®eir. Shouldn¡¯t he the all-powerful being, be able to break you free?¡± insisted Livia. Amdirlain almost snorted, remembering the fury she¡¯d felt with her initial interaction with the Titan¡¯s servant, and her certainty she was being played. ¡°When he mentioned setting the rules in place, I knew we¡¯d decided them together after a millennium of consideration and planning. I so wanted to hate him, heck I did hate him when I found out he made the damn thing used to curse me,¡± offered Amdirlain, and clasped Livia¡¯s hand. Squeezing her hand in return, Livia leaned against her with a grumble. ¡°Then why does it sound like you¡¯ve forgiven him?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t the same as your father offering you to Janus¡¯ service, Livia,¡± replied Amdirlain gently.. ¡°He isn¡¯t doing this to profit from it.¡± The look of distaste on Livia¡¯s expression eased, but her suspicion was still clear. ¡°Because the memories let knowledge trickle in, now I know the inertia of the universe would recoil against him if he broke our rules. The longer he is here, the more power he accumulates, but if he breaks the rules, he won¡¯t even get to see the outcome. He will effectively take one path as the universe moves along another. The same way I flung Viper free, he¡¯d end up flung from this universe and then there isn¡¯t any coming back,¡± explained Amdirlain. Though she wasn¡¯t sure she¡¯d understood the full implications, it seemed like that would be the best result, and after billions of years of accumulating power, it could be far worse. ¡°Wait! You both were involved in setting them?¡± asked Livia, having caught the second reference. ¡°Yeah, that was a kicker when he mentioned the rules in the memory, and later more context trickled in. They weren¡¯t a set of rules, he determined, but we determined them and then he set them in place. I wanted a universe where we could hold them and other beings of power to account. An example of ¡®be careful what you wish for¡¯?¡± Was I later held to account for not doing enough? No, I don¡¯t have the information. I can¡¯t assume it¡¯s something I did or didn¡¯t do in a past life that brought this result. Livia¡¯ watched her expression shift and gave her another hug, the young lady¡¯s own concerns set aside. ¡°Stop doubting yourself,¡± Livia scolded gently, ¡°I can see your aura even here, so don¡¯t deny it.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s mock pout just drew a stern look from Livia. ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°No oops,¡± grumbled Livia with a frown. ¡°I swear you¡¯re worse than a house cat,¡± teased Amdirlain, and gave a playful sigh. ¡°How come you get to be the boss of me?¡± ¡°Not being the boss of you, just concerned. I came because I worry about you, but mainly I¡¯m here because I miss you. I wanted to let you know you¡¯re loved, not because of the help you give, but for yourself. You get so focused on doing things to help, you forget you need to stop and be yourself. Even here you came to heal because you didn¡¯t want to risk contaminating the Domain. Really?!¡± protested Livia, and clasped Amdirlain¡¯s face in her hands. ¡°You should heal because you deserve to be happy and loved.¡± ¡°Guess I brainwashed you when I cycled the Ki to replace those Abyssal energies,¡± Amdirlain offered glibly. Livia gave Amdirlain a frown and poked her in the side. ¡°Naughty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Amdirlain said and fluttered her eyelids. ¡°No, you¡¯re not,¡± Livia said, and glumly shook her head. ¡°You and Sidero are both quick to make smart remarks, though I noticed hers had the blades pointed out. You use words to dig at yourself as if you¡¯re to blame for all the hurts others near you have taken.¡± Amdirlain winced at how much Livia¡¯s observation matched discussions with Elliyna and tried to change the subject. ¡°You¡¯ve met her. How is she doing?¡± ¡°I went to Letveri. Ebusuku was trying to talk me into helping Torm. They¡¯ve recently started working with the Elves there, but they don¡¯t have a lower continent filled with Thri-kreen to deal with. Sidero¡¯s followers are so strait-laced, which is ironic considering the way she talked to me.¡± ¡°I still can¡¯t believe that Sidero has people worshipping her as well,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and stopped with a giggle. ¡°Well, kissing her boots I can see maybe, but worshipping her, that¡¯s harder to picture. Though you never know with quiet people: still waters can run deep, Sarah seemed very normal until you got beneath the surface.¡± ¡°Yeah, Sidero wasn¡¯t the one that arranged that,¡± Livia said, with a smug smile. ¡°Plus, I can see auras. They¡¯re all the type that wants everything done properly, agreements in place and plans set before anything starts. They certainly don¡¯t live for the moment.¡± Sarah told me about all the dominatrix questionnaires and scenario scripting involved. She didn¡¯t always live in the moment either. ¡°Back up, what do you mean Sidero didn¡¯t arrange that? What happened?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve left a sneaky lady in charge, m¨®eir . From what Torm let slip, Ebusuku¡¯s been in regular touch with Tyr. After you told her about the Mantle she apparently went to Asgard to have a long conversation,¡± replied Livia. ¡°You can talk to her about that. I only know the instructions Torm received, and I feel like I¡¯ve got a thousand questions for you.¡± Amdirlain gave her a tight smile and patted her arm. ¡°I¡¯ve got a million that I¡¯m hoping memories will eventually answer for me. The more I learn about the situation, the more questions I have.¡± Pulling a face, Livia raised a hand to still Amdirlain. ¡°If you were there first, then why weren¡¯t you the Anar queen?¡± ¡°No idea, but I¡ªshe¡ªdidn¡¯t want power, basically didn¡¯t trust herself having it. I wonder if she wasn¡¯t the brute force person others thought her to be? She could use the power of True Song to solve a problem, or she could use a lesser tool. My present belief is she used the least powerful tool required, so fought a lot of battles with weapons and spells instead of immediately resorting to True Song. That was the feel I got from the memories of her dealing with the Gold Elves. But-¡± ¡°You could be wrong?¡± Amdirlain gave Livia a wink and tapped the side of her nose. Livia winced and gave Amdirlain a hug, the mere contact conveying her concern and love. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve learnt some significant memories. No sign of being able to sing the rest free?¡± Pulling a face, Amdirlain could only sigh at the rather large missing piece. ¡°I remember singing. In fact, I remember dancing the True Song into effect, which I didn¡¯t know was possible, using my movement to twist my body¡¯s Song and project it. But I can¡¯t hear it outside the memories, and without hearing it, I¡¯m sure I can¡¯t do anything with it. I¡¯m currently tone-deaf, you could say, and no idea how I gained that ability initially.¡± Livia sat and let her feet dangle over. ¡°Have you found her amid this mess yet?¡± ¡°If we¡¯re really looking at the boundary of my Soul isn¡¯t this all both of us?¡± responded Amdirlain, before she made a tossing gesture behind them. ¡°Her form showed up quite a distance in that direction, with the brands presenting themselves as metal vines digging into her.¡± ¡°The fact they¡¯d not object to their royalty putting that into their laws makes me think the Anar aren¡¯t all they¡¯re cracked up to be. Obviously breaking their rules doesn¡¯t have the repercussion of the Titan¡¯s yet they branded your Soul,¡± huffed Livia. ¡°Well, you and Master Cyrus have something in common then. He called them savage for ever doing that to a Soul.¡± The discontented look that Livia fixed her earned a snort of amusement from Amdirlain. ¡°He used his third eye on me and kept it running even when I didn¡¯t flinch. Can¡¯t say that he impresses me with that sort of behaviour.¡± Amdirlain touched a finger to the tip of Livia¡¯s nose and gave her a cautioning look. ¡°He was immortal before the Jade Court entered the Titan¡¯s realm. Apparently, he¡¯s been working to transform from an immortal to a Shen for a while now.¡± ¡°Maybe he should work harder than,¡± huffed Livia, shrugging off some of her apparent ill-temper at Cyrus to give her another smile. ¡°After all, you went from a Succubus to a Fallen before you hit your second decade.¡± Livia¡¯s response caused Amdirlain to giggle lightly, and she wave a finger reprovingly. ¡°Stop stealing my job as the undiplomatic one, thank you. All I meant is he¡¯s likely got a different perspective on things. Also, he¡¯s got a lot of knowledge and experience that you might find useful, so some manners might be advisable. His levels are not something to be taken lightly young lady.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± offered Livia, and raised her hands in protest. ¡°Though he was rude first.¡± Amdirlain gave her an understanding look. ¡°You might have parted amicably with Gunnarr, but that doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯re not nursing some regrets.¡± An unhappy sigh confirmed her assessment and when she gently stroked Livia¡¯s back, the young woman sighed again and leaned against Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s ironic, he knew me well enough to know I wouldn¡¯t stop, yet I resent him for just accepting it. We parted ways, but I still love him.¡± ¡°You wanted him to fight to keep you instead of just giving in?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe. Yes. How am I supposed to know? I wanted us to keep adventuring together. I have to accept that what is, isn¡¯t what I had hoped for and not be unfair to others. He had been adventuring for a few years before me, so he had seen and lived through more.¡± ¡°Did his aura let you know something was going on?¡± ¡°Yeah, months before he decided. After we went back to the juniors we were escorting, we helped them for a time. Once they got to level twelve and had a bit of real-world experience, we left them to it. We took on a few tasks with some more senior adventurers and on the third job together, a trap almost caught us both. The rogue with us wasn¡¯t so lucky. One moment she was fine, and the next dead,¡± Livia recounted flatly. ¡°I take it from your tone, not in a way that was possible to raise them,¡± Livia¡¯s pained expression was answer enough, and Amdirlain sat quietly holding her hand. They stayed like for some time, just looking over the scene below them before Livia spoke up again. ¡°There were no remains at all, and resurrection with none isn¡¯t in my capabilities as yet. After that, the tension built in his aura for months, and all he¡¯d say is he had stuff on his mind.¡± ¡°You said one of your strengths as a couple was you¡¯d talk. How did you take the fact he didn¡¯t want to talk about it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Like you coming here, he was trying to work out what was best for him without wanting other viewpoints to sway him. Really, he knew what my preference would be without asking. He wanted to be sure it was a decision that was right for him, that he wouldn¡¯t hold against anyone later. What he eventually said made it clear he¡¯d known all along. He¡¯d been trying to figure out if he could continue,¡± explained Livia. ¡°Perhaps he had been fighting for you, since he didn¡¯t immediately throw his hands up and walk away,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°How long ago did you split up?¡± ¡°Six days,¡± muttered Livia, and gave a nod. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to let my irritation cause a problem with Cyrus.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got your own pain to deal with, so try is all I ask,¡± replied Amdirlain, and wrapped her arms around Livia and kissed her forehead. ¡°You¡¯re all grown up, and I missed it.¡± ¡°That is something you¡¯ve commented on before,¡± Livia observed dryly and leaned into her hug. ¡°Doesn¡¯t make it any less true,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, but didn¡¯t let her go. ¡°Has he been helpful to you?¡± asked Livia, her quiet tone a peace offering. She nodded, and Livia snuggled into the hug as Amdirlain explained. ¡°I¡¯m sure I wouldn¡¯t have figured out the cycling technique without his help, and that really made a difference to both my healing and accessing memories. Not to mention he¡¯s ranked as a grandmaster in an evolved Martial Arts style.¡± ¡°I turned down his offer to get to know me, said I wanted to talk to you first.¡± ¡°At least you didn¡¯t tell him to stick it where the sun doesn¡¯t shine,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and leaning back caught her out-of-sorts expression. ¡°You might learn a lot sparring with him. I put it off for ages. Or even spar with Master Liran?.¡± Not going to tell Livia why I delayed, I¡¯m sure that would make her cross with him again. ¡°He mentioned Liran?, what¡¯s he-¡± ¡°Her,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and continued on at Livia¡¯s confusion. ¡°The Githz¨¦rai use Master regardless of gender, Liran? is female.¡± Livia blinked thoughtfully, but then just shrugged and started again. ¡°He mentioned they¡¯d been sparring in the training hall, and not even disturbed your meditations.¡± ¡°When they¡¯re sparring, they don¡¯t come up and hug me,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°That certainly got my attention, in a good way.¡± Livia had just enough time to give her a relaxed smile before Amdirlain released the link between them. When the training hall was suddenly around them again, Livia looked at Amdirlain in confusion. ¡°Why did you release it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s great for privacy but that¡¯s not the priority right now,¡± stated Amdirlain, but her oh so serious expression had Livia¡¯s gaze narrowing. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°Taking advantage of Limbo, allow me to introduce you to the joy of ice-cream and chocolates,¡± Amdirlain stated, and two heaped bowls appeared in her hands. ¡°It¡¯s a known requirement for dealing with heartaches. Let¡¯s start with vanilla with chocolate chips, but since you¡¯ll be here a little while, we can try other flavours. I know you have milk and cheese, so you shouldn¡¯t have a problem.¡± ¡°Why would that be an issue?¡± ¡°Let me explain the horror that is lactose intolerance to you, a greater crime there has never been,¡± declared Amdirlain seriously. 186 - Warning Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Outlands. For whatever reasons the Domain has continued to expand away from Amdirlain¡¯s overlook, instead of in all directions. Blue and golden lights streamed upwards through the trees behind me, and among the already towering buildings growing from the grasslands. Heedless of their beauty my attention stays on the Gate and the strange girl who doesn¡¯t hesitate to step through into Limbo. Visible through it is a black adamantine wall, with Githz¨¦rai monks stationed along its battlements intently peering our way. Though the distance was far enough away to not draw an immediate attack, I still half expected at any moment to need to pull her back through. ¡°Thanks Eb, I¡¯ll make sure I return on schedule.¡± says Livia. She¡¯s only floating in the void a moment before Limbo, reacting to her Willpower, has a narrow strip of land appear beneath her feet. ¡°If you keep the Gate open, you might give things away she doesn¡¯t want to share.¡± ¡°Fuck that. She¡¯d want you safe. Wasn¡¯t that your trump card?¡± I ask with a playful huff. Motioning to an entire group of returnees from Cemna¡ªtwo scores of Sword Archons and Hound Archons, led by a Planetar. They¡¯d all been pretending not to watch the argument, so they can pay the price of admission for their entertainment. The Planetar practically jumps when I stab a finger his way, and I motion them all towards the Gate. ¡°Except for anyone needing healing, go with her, please. Know that she¡¯s Amdirlain¡¯s daughter. Come back to the Domain only after she¡¯s safely inside the monastery.¡± Before Livia has time to protest, they all Teleport through, and I let the Gate close to the sound of Torm¡¯s laughter. ¡°The munchkin will make sure Amdirlain is alright.¡± Torm says after his laughter stills. ¡°It will be good for them both, Eb.¡± When I flex my wings and fix my attention on the young Celestial, he just roars with laughter. ¡°You¡¯re pushing your luck, Uncle Torm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m proud she feels I¡¯m worthy of that title,¡± he counters with a cheerful smile, still wearing the human form I¡¯d seen him commonly wear. ¡°No Eb from anyone else. Only she and Amdirlain get away with that unless you want to pay the price in sparring to cover it.¡± My grumbling retort only makes him laugh harder still. It takes a few minutes for his laughter to calm, but eventually he smiles apologetically and looks up to meet my glare. ¡°Sorry, the moment you realised who she was, you really had no chance of winning that argument.¡± ¡°Amdirlain said she needed time to heal properly,¡± I retort, not completely sure why he¡¯d offer support for Livia but stay clear himself. ¡°They¡¯ve had far less time together than they¡¯d have liked. Amdirlain was always more cheerful with Livia nearby,¡± Torm states, before smiling as if he¡¯s aware of what I¡¯m thinking. ¡°I¡¯m still concerned my touch was causing her pain, and that¡¯s not what she needs for healing. She sends me messages; just as well I don¡¯t have a Wizard Class or you¡¯d be scolding me for returning them.¡± ¡°Are you going to have someone smack the idiot?¡± I ask, wondering how Amdirlain will react to her little daughter¡¯s sadness. ¡°Livia can read the auras of Mortal and Immortal alike, and she¡¯d seen the stress in his aura. He wasn¡¯t rude about it nor did he lash out, despite it being painful for him as well, so he still has all his teeth,¡° Torm says, all amusement leaving his expression. ¡°He was feeling his mortality, and yet Livia wants to keep pushing her abilities. Wanting to spend time with family, and perhaps even settle down isn¡¯t an insult to her, but it¡¯s a different path. That¡¯s not a path I think she ever plans to take, and certainly not right now.¡± ¡°Voice of experience?¡± ¡°Yes. I had a family, and I remember being Mortal¡ªpieces of it at least¡ªthe way wounds would ache in the cold no matter how well they¡¯d healed. Losing friends who were just a little too slow, or unlucky on the day to stand in the wrong spot. Some days that can weigh heavily on you, and the urge to have a family grows to leave a legacy behind,¡± Torm replies, and sounds far too Mortal-minded himself. His distracted state gives me the opening to shove him gently, and playfully scold him. ¡°I sent her to talk to you because I thought you¡¯d convince her not to go. Instead, between the pair of you, she came back in the mood to blackmail me.¡± Another host of Sword Archons suddenly appear, their forms condensing from the light, ahead of an array of other Archons and Angels. Ignoring my grumbles, Torm nods towards a handful of Planetars manifesting closer at hand from within the glow. ¡°You¡¯re going to have an issue getting them all an experience nitro booster, as Sidero calls it. After she helped that host the other day, she complained about experience thieves. How many Planetars do you have now?¡± ¡°Since this latest round began, Amdirlain now has twenty-nine new Planetars, and that¡¯s merely this latest round,¡± offered Hook. ¡°Sidero¡¯s been fine before. Any information on why she''s grumbling?¡± ¡°Echo and I talked to her afterwards. She actually hit ninety-four in all her classes last moon. Now that progress is a lot slower, she¡¯s getting worried someone will come looking before she¡¯s free,¡± replies Torm, and I can only wince in sympathy. Holding up a hand to stop Hook¡¯s interjection, I consider options quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange something for her. Farhad and I are pressing into some areas thick with dangerous undead on Cemna. She¡¯ll get more experience there than bug-smashing.¡± When Torm snorts in disbelief, I just fix him with an interrogating glare. ¡°What¡¯s that about?¡± ¡°Just the visual of you and Sidero fighting alongside each other, I¡¯ll admit, was amusing,¡± Torm replies and actually gives a full-throated laugh. ¡°Sorry, you¡¯d either work well together or it would drive you both crazy.¡± ¡°Regardless, I¡¯ll see if she¡¯ll try it; I might also bite my tongue and see if Isa will assist the Celestials to get that booster. Maybe I can put her to use instead of letting her go where the wind blows her. O¡¯Nai is at Duskstone talking to the High Crafter after her luck came in handy for gathering the needed materials¡ªI thought it would be a decade.¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest enlisting Rana or Amr¨²ngwen to help deal with her. It sounds like you¡¯re still inclined to punch her. Perhaps keep in mind that Viper being loose would have been a menace to not just the faithful when you speak to them. I¡¯ll admit hearing that news stilled a lot of the anger I held towards them both, even more so after I had time to reflect.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never dealt with either of them. The few Celestials from the Elven Courts stopped coming around after the Norse Celestials showed up regularly,¡± I remind him. ¡°Disappointing as Amdirlain might find it, it¡¯s not unexpected that they want to steer clear of Human trouble.¡± ¡°The activity around here will not lessen soon. Most Celestials have instructions to leave you in peace, those that don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on with Amdirlain¡¯s Domain. There¡¯s been actual fighting, not just arguments of late, though Tyr sees this as the various pantheons¡¯ problem.¡± Torm admits. When Farhad and I fix him with disbelieving looks, he gives a curt nod and continues on. ¡°Amdirlain escalated things, but the friction has been present for centuries and getting worse. If it comes to Celestials or worse clashing on the Material Plane, all the ten-kingdoms pantheons might get dragged back to the Material Plane. She¡¯s stayed free of joining any of them so she shouldn¡¯t get pulled into any God war.¡± ¡°How do you know that?¡± Mirage asked curiously, only just beating Hook to voicing the question. ¡°There were smaller individual Deities and even non-human Deities worshipped among those on the fleet fleeing the Dragons. When the last war occurred, it did not drag those Deities onto the Material Plane,¡± Torm advises, memories stirred up, and darkening his gaze. ¡°Anyway, the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar are far more likely to be relaxed in handling Isa¡¯s and Ilya¡¯s mindset than most of us are.¡± Hook looks back from studying the new building in confusion at the change in subject. ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± Torm is quick to smile after the earlier seriousness. ¡°The need to see true Justice done is important to any serving Tyr, and while sometimes it¡¯s about forcing changes to the law, mostly it is acting within the law. Ebusuku enjoys studying her opponents and finding their weakness. You¡¯re all focused on providing opportunities in an aspect or Amdirlain¡¯s title,¡± advised Torm. ¡°The Lj¨®s¨¢lfar have a tendency towards a very individualistic approach.¡° ¡°I will readily admit they¡¯re not evil, but they get caught up in the moment and their own desires,¡± I offer. Torm nods and motions to those organising the newest arrivals. ¡°The type of person to live by their own wits and rules might help an injured stranger on their doorstep, or a friend who asks them for help. Likewise, if they decide the stranger on their doorstep is going to be trouble, they might well step right over them. Similarly, someone that moves into town won¡¯t get even recognition from them until they¡¯ve proven their worth.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°But if they¡¯re new in town, isn¡¯t that the perfect time to get to know them and welcome them?¡± Hook asks, and I can¡¯t help but smile at the child-like innocence some Archons from the Maze still show. ¡°It would be, if you see the town as a community that helps keep everyone alive, and not something draining time or effort from your own endeavours. Some just see it as a place to live and buy things. It¡¯s no skin off their nose if someone else is having issues as long as it¡¯s not impacting them or their immediate circle of friends.¡± Torm seems ready to continue but stops the moment I hold up a hand. ¡°Moralising aside¡ªRana or Amr¨²ngwen¡ªhow do I get in touch with either of these Lj¨®s¨¢lfar?¡± ¡°Aggie has met them both,¡± replies Farhad, and nods when I glance at him. ¡°They were both in Eyrarh¨¢ls for a time when she was there, and I remember seeing them speak.¡± ¡°Right then. Mirage, get a message to Aggie,¡± I instruct. ¡°Then you can have fun co-ordinating with the Lj¨®s¨¢lfar, the duo, and Hook for the new group. If Aggie can¡¯t get in touch with them, let me know. No one mention how fast the Celestials are levelling in case Rana hasn¡¯t mentioned it to others.¡± ¡°Why do I get that fun?¡± protests Mirage. ¡°Because you took the Wizard Class, learnt various Message spells, and Ebusuku would prefer not to run them through,¡± Hook glibly offers. ¡°That explanation works for me. Go on,¡± I say and give Mirage an apologetic smile before I head towards the approaching Planetars. * * * A near-frozen pond of bloody flesh stretches out beyond the Gate, with a one-armed Sidero wading knee deep in it, a look of snarling focus on her face. A column of steel hauled aloft a pink mass of coral-like flesh, that it sends spinning from the blades around it and Sidero turns to give me a gleeful smile. The ragged stump of her right arm showing a steady regrowth of bone, muscle, and tendon. ¡°Care for some fried brains?¡± Her quip in the rolling growl of Draconic draws my attention to beneath the slaughter and the churned surface of the Hivemind becomes clear. ¡°Glad you didn¡¯t show up earlier. Next time open the Gate on Klipyl, she¡¯s started sitting out the city-burning fun,¡± Sidero says. A dozen or more chains retract, dragging bodies in from adjoining corridors, releasing the frozen corpses once they''re in place on the mound. The familiar smell of carnage floods through the Gate, but stepping through it into mid-air, I let it close to keep the thickened fluids from seeping through. The mottled greyish-brown cavern around me arches high overhead, allowing plenty of room to spread my wings if I still needed them to stay aloft. ¡°I would have thought she¡¯d need to progress as well,¡± I point out, knowing with Sidero, direct questions aren¡¯t always the best approach. ¡°She¡¯s not in danger of being recalled anywhere, so she¡¯s being decidedly un-Demonic about it. Personally, I think all the regular sex, simply for fun, has softened her brain,¡± Sidero says, and despite the words there is a fondness to her tone. ¡°Or it¡¯s her way of saying thanks, since you applied the name change that is keeping her safe,¡± I propose, ignoring the pointed words. ¡°Amdirlain could have done that,¡± she says dismissively. A spray of crystals erupts from beneath the brain mass, landing on her outstretched hand only to disappear, leaving blood dripping from her fingers. ¡°Oh look, it had grown on gemstones, kinky. Wonder if it had a bling ring? That makes me wonder: does a Hivemind crap?¡± ¡°How did you haul them upwards?¡± ¡°Metal Control evolved a while back and shifted into Mineral Control. Anything you¡¯d find on the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Mineral I can move at will,¡± Sidero says, and I feel a force tug teasingly at my armour. The playfulness in her expression isn¡¯t something I really want to explore, and at least one source of her odd mood is clear. ¡°What happened to your arm?¡± ¡°Their Hivemind had a frisky protector. A giant Xorn that caught me by surprise, but in the end, I had the situation well in hand,¡± explains Sidero. The fierce smile turning sardonic she waggles the stump. ¡°This is exactly why I never included fisting among my list of services; it¡¯s bad for the muscles¡ªfront or back.¡± ¡°Torm said your experience progression was slowing down,¡± I offer, keeping clear of the subject and above the Hivemind¡¯s corpse. Sidero just drops the waggling stump back to her side. Chains from her shroud wrap around it and blend to form a hollow limb. Through the gaps left, I can see the continuing regrowth, even as she motions with her artificial arm. ¡°It¡¯s gone down, way down, and not in a good way,¡± The purr in her voice has me shaking my head in disbelief, the tone more fitting for a sated succubus than a pain-loving Kyton. ¡°Can we have a conversation that you don¡¯t fill with sexual innuendo?¡± ¡°What, is it not fair when I turn the tables? You get to tease Amdirlain about sexual high-jinks buster,¡± scoffs Sidero, ¡°Pretty sure I don¡¯t have exclusivity on that,¡± I say. She returns my smirk before her protectiveness slips into place. ¡°Watch it when Amdirlain starts with innuendo, it¡¯s not always a good sign.¡± ¡°Really? Why?¡± The quickness of my questions brings a pleased smile to Sidero¡¯s lips, and I know my own protectiveness gave me away. ¡°That¡¯s her business. If she¡¯s joining in you talking about Farhad, that¡¯s fine, means she¡¯s happy for you. But watch how she phrases things. Anything that¡¯s cheapening her, step on, and break her out of her mood,¡± cautions Sidero, her often caustic tone having disappeared at the first mention of Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, those are few and far after she''s done at the monastery.¡± I stop to consider a few conversations I¡¯ve had with her, relieved at how often it¡¯s been her teasing me about Farhad. ¡°Normally, it¡¯s been the former.¡± ¡°Good. Now I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯ve not come to talk about my sex life or Amdirlain¡¯s lack thereof. So, what can I help you with, oh great and powerful Solar?¡± asks Sidero, giving me a series of exaggerated bows that almost fold her from the waist. ¡°More what I had in mind for you,¡± I reply only once she¡¯s stopped carrying on. ¡°I came to offer a Gate to Cemna so you could join us tackling some more dangerous undead and speed your levelling.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine,¡± Sidero says, cutting in before I can explain, her shroud shifting in a fashion I¡¯ve never seen from any other Kyton¡¯s chains. Every link disappears, and she¡¯s wearing a seamless suit of metal, giving her the appearance of a golem. How¡ªor why¡ªshe turns sections of metal covering her face and limbs gold I¡¯ve not a clue, but it makes a distinct contrast to the red. ¡°Are you sure?¡± I ask, ¡°It¡¯ll speed things up again for you.¡± Dragon maws shaped from various metals appear and float to settle about the edge of the Hivemind¡¯s chamber. ¡°Yes, but I gave my word to Amdirlain that I¡¯d help the Erakk?. I don¡¯t break my word.¡± ¡°Are you still missing an achievement for Tier 7?¡± A predatory smile nearly splits her face in delight, and she stretches sensually, an almost afterglow in every motion. As if provoked by the motion, the chains reshape themselves and stretch away in an expansive gesture. ¡°No, I got that from the last city I destroyed. Apparently, it held the central brain, and unfortunately for the Mind Flayers, I¡¯m also immune to mental attacks, so jello in a cup¡¯s big sibling could do Jack-all. I¡¯ll keep taking out Mind Flayers and their engineered troops until they¡¯re wiped from this planet, or Hell drags me away,¡± Sidero says. Her chains stab into the ceiling but she stays in place, and plasma suddenly fries the body to dust as it washes around our immune forms. As the mound falls to ash beneath her feet, and a pit grows, the purpose of the bracing is clear¡ªthe loops within the chains keep her from falling in. ¡°Why is that?¡± I ask over the roar of displaced air consumed in the inferno. ¡°I don¡¯t like the soulless things they¡¯ve turned the Thri-Kreen into. They used to exist in balance with nature; now they¡¯re used as both food and cannon fodder by the Mind Flayers,¡± growls Sidero, a deep timbre that is an obvious reminder of her lineage. ¡°You¡¯ve been helping us with all the new Celestials. Can I suggest a compromise?¡± The tension in her body makes me sure she¡¯s about to reject it flatly, instead she finally nods. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°The Archons interested in mapping the continent¡¯s southern reaches can follow your grid pattern to explore and locate all the trouble spots. That saves you time on the searching, and we can teleport you to each site to fight. While they handle the grunt work, you can get experience fighting undead on Cemna,¡± I propose, and Sidero chews her bottom lip in consideration. Both of us ignoring the blood that starts trailing across her chin, and I speak up over her growling hiss of pleasure. ¡°Plus, the three of us fighting together should be able to make up for all the experience you¡¯ve given up.¡± ¡°This a Deal?¡± Sidero asks, and I have to snicker at the teasing note in her voice. ¡°Certainly not!¡± I reject instantly. Although she¡¯s speaking Draconic, I still don¡¯t like the implications. ¡°It¡¯s an arrangement to repay your efforts.¡± ¡°Not something to help a friend of Amdirlain¡¯s?¡± ¡°There is that. You¡¯re protective of her. Amdirlain had to fight off urges as a Succubus, are there urges you¡¯re fighting as a Kyton? Is that why you don¡¯t trust yourself around her?¡± ¡°Too right. Tasting all that pain from her isn¡¯t good for my sanity, and I have to control my cravings to dig at her wounds. I want to be there for my¡­ her, but I can¡¯t trust myself around her. My evolution better get me out of a Kyton¡¯s flesh, Ebusuku,¡± hisses Sidero, with frustration and desperation. The blood lust in her gaze reminds me too well of all the battles I threw myself into seeking destruction, only to come out the other side. ¡°Why did you change what you were going to say?¡± Chains scratching at the rock echo under Sidero¡¯s rumbling growl. ¡°My friend. She¡¯s my friend, but I can¡¯t consider myself to be a proper friend to her. A friend is someone who has your back. I don¡¯t trust myself anywhere near hers. I won¡¯t betray her like others have done, so best to have that distance especially now.¡± ¡°Then work with me to get you an evolution as soon as possible, so you can trust yourself again.¡± The silence that follows has me wondering what it will take to convince her, but I wait her out instead of pushing her further. When she nods sharply, I continue. ¡°Klipyl can have some R&R time, as Amdirlain says.¡± ¡°It means rest and recreation, but for Klipyl it¡¯s rooting and more rooting,¡± laughs Sidero, her dry humour causing her husky voice to rasp harshly. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to set her up as the Goddess of Pleasure, Beauty, and Sexual Positions? Since you did the end run on me, I figured you¡¯ve got it worked out.¡± ¡°Not just me, I spoke with Tyr and he hoped it would lift you free from Hell. I wasn¡¯t sure it would even work, but it seems you were an Anar-¡± ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t,¡± snaps Sidero, so fast the words slap the air with anger, and I stop in surprise. From the fierce tone, it¡¯s clear she¡¯s unlikely to say more, but I try. ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I know,¡± Sidero replies curtly, and doesn¡¯t seem inclined to budge. ¡°I was not an Anar. Give me a few days to finish looting this place, and we can go killing together. I¡¯ll bring the chains and we can have some bonding time.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on killing undead and Demons shall we?¡± I suggest, and her eyes gleam with a hungry cunning. ¡°Demons as well, my, you give delightful gifts, Lerina. Did Amdirlain tell you they¡¯re my preferred playthings?¡± Sidero purrs, her smile broadening, and the tips of her forked tongue brushed across her upper lip. ¡°She did,¡± I nod, suddenly cautious about her voicing my Use Name, aware that Amdirlain isn¡¯t the only one that has Analysis. The purr she gave the words in Draconic sitting uncomfortably within the chamber, not unlike suddenly being in an ancient Dragon¡¯s den. ¡°I¡¯d prefer you not using my new Use Name where others might hear it.¡± Sidero just smiles, and her solid sulphur-yellow gaze digs at me¡ªblack slitted pupils flicker in and out of existence. ¡°Wise. An Anar word meaning ¡®free¡¯, did she inspire the choice or just your situation?¡± ¡°Amdirlain gave me the chance to get free, then my deeds and choices let me achieve it. It¡¯s something to remember that not everyone gets that chance,¡± I reply. My mind¡¯s eye reminding me of the proud fighter my mother had been before the corrupting influence of Baln¨¦rith¡¯s shadow had set in. 187 - Visiting Hours Livia¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand The third bowl Amdirlain hands me looks like it contains a lumpy fist-sized hunk of river mud. ¡°What flavour is this?¡± ¡°Double choc fudge,¡± says Amdirlain, already scooping out a spoonful. ¡°Side benefit of hanging out in Limbo¡ªyou can at least eat foods you remember?¡± I ask teasingly, not sure what to make of the latest offering. My jest receives a cross-eyed look, and she starts innocently munching on this last dessert. When I tentatively try some, the flavour is robust, and I give her a dubious look. ¡°I think I prefer the strawberry flavour.¡± ¡°Heretic! Not liking chocolate,¡± laughs Amdirlain, and my bowl¡¯s contents change to the pink colouration with almost red swirls that the second bowl had contained. Trailing the strange spoon¡ªsteel not wood¡ªacross the ice cream, I can¡¯t help but smile at her good mood. ¡°Isn¡¯t that my choice?¡± Amdirlain pokes her tongue out before she goes back to eating hers, and I dig into the helping slowly to enjoy the taste. ¡°Is this really what you¡¯d do to get over heartache?¡± ¡°Not for long, but indulging in nice food helps pick up someone¡¯s mood. Normally I just trained for the next karate grading or got focused on work for weeks on end,¡± admits Amdirlain, waggling her spoon. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve indulged since coming here¡ªice-cream is more fun shared. What¡¯s been happening?¡± ¡°Eb gave me a bunch of please-don¡¯t-talk-about subjects. She¡¯s being very protective of you; a few of the Norse Gods wanted to talk to you, and she told them off, according to Torm,¡± I reply with a laugh. Amdirlain¡¯s eye roll goes along fine with her happy smirk. ¡°She¡¯s such a big sister. Can you tell me where your adventures have taken you? Also, how did you meet Frey?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met a few Freys over the years; you might need to be more specific,¡± I reply teasingly. Amdirlain gives me a pointed look at my avoidance and I have to work to hold my innocent expression. ¡°A former prostitute who ended up gaining Monk, Wizard, and Priest.¡± ¡°Oh, that Frey,¡± I say with a grin. ¡±Yeah, she and the others were getting strong-armed and extorted by an innkeeper. I taught them to access Ki and some Mana affinities; spent most of a winter teaching them. Some of them are still working in the trade, and others took up adventuring.¡± ¡°Did all of them choose to become monks?¡± ¡°After Frey asked me to teach her, the others joined in the lessons¡ªall gained Monk¡ªthough the other classes they took varied. The Ki keeps their bodies healthy, the exercises make them more flexible,¡± I say, and add a wiggle of my eyebrows to get her laughing. ¡°They make far more than they used to now, and they¡¯re safer.¡± Amdirlain nods thoughtfully before eying me suspiciously. ¡°What did you do to the innkeeper?¡± I still my thoughts wondering what I¡¯d broadcast. The mantra for Diamond Mind encapsulates my thoughts and I remind myself to meditate on it while I¡¯m here constantly. Hopefully, I didn¡¯t leak too much information to all the Githz¨¦rai. ¡°You were cheating! That¡¯s a boring story, but he and his associates didn¡¯t come out as well as he¡¯d have liked,¡± I say, not mentioning the awfulness of the hearings that exposed their cruelties. ¡°Will you show me around the monastery? It¡¯s bigger than I had expected.¡± ¡°After you finish that, we¡¯ll go to one of the upper towers and I¡¯ll point out the different landmarks,¡± Amdirlain readily offers. ¡°It¡¯s not like any town you¡¯ll have seen before.¡± Her mention of the towers makes my hair stand on end. ¡°There are towers that look like they¡¯ve snapped in two and the top half folded on the break.¡± ¡°Those are normally next to senior training grounds. The Masters look directly out from the floor¡¯s balconies, reviewing those training. If classes observe an exchange of pointers, they do so from within the room.¡± ¡°That makes even less sense,¡± I point out, and m¨®eir¡¯s expression appears confused until she suddenly nods. ¡°Limbo¡¯s gravity plays by rules according to the mind that controls it, and the Githz¨¦rai fully utilise this. If you¡¯re not standing in the room, it looks like they should plummet straight over the balcony; that¡¯s if the tower itself doesn¡¯t just fall to the ground. To anyone inside the room looking out the balcony doors, it appears the people exchanging pointers are standing on a wall¡ªnot moving beneath them.¡± ¡°That still makes no sense,¡± I huff, still unable to picture what she means. ¡°The gravity is subjective: whichever location you¡¯re standing in, down for you, is always towards your feet. Go towards the wall, and try to brace your foot against it,¡± Amdirlain says and, without waiting, hops up¡ªbowl still in hand. Giving me a wink, she steps up on the wall and is suddenly standing on it¡ªeven her braids¡¯ fall is directed towards it¡ªmaking my head spin. Though the ice-cream shifts position, it quickly behaves like the wall is now the ground. ¡°They set the walls up to act as a running track. It¡¯s why towards the ceiling they¡¯re an oval shape instead of the rectangular shape of the lower sections.¡± A glance at the corners is enough to understand, and Amdirlain skips sideways. The way she moves, I can tell she isn¡¯t just faking it with Flight, but I give her a mock-glare that gets her smiling more. ¡°You¡¯re having too much fun.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to find bits of fun to go with all the hard work,¡± admits Amdirlain. Setting my bowl on the ground, I jump and find the wall provides a perfect landing spot. ¡°Okay, this is weird, but interesting. Those twisting staircases that ran upside down, people can walk on them without issues?¡± ¡°Absolutely¡­ well, once you get used to them; the ones that twist in a spiral on a single flight of stairs, I think they intend to be a subtle¡ªor not so subtle¡ªobstacle; but it could just be the Githz¨¦rai aesthetics. Their sense of art is interesting and could intend a twisting staircase to draw the eye to something on the building¡¯s side rather than be an obstacle.¡± Flowing from wall to floor with a single step and a twist, Amdirlain turns back. ¡°Your choice: we can talk here, or see the sights and talk?¡± ¡°Talk here first. I¡¯ll tell you about recent changes in Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± I say and note the interest mingled with concern in her gaze. ¡°All good stuff. The cadre has started a Wizard school with co-operation of the Jarl¡¯s Steward to draw in paying students.¡± Raising an eyebrow, Amdirlain¡¯s aura lost its amusement as suspicion showed in her expression. ¡°Last I heard, the Steward was being a pain.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know all the financial aspects, but it should help the town, the Daughters, and help put past issues aside,¡± I blurt. ¡°Something about oversupply ruining the holding¡¯s tax base. This way they¡¯ll attract wealthy patrons and crafters. You know how long they were looking for one silversmith?¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t realise how rare some skills were,¡± admits Amdirlain almost sheepishly, not that it would have changed the outcome. ¡°They have two already moved into town. One of the King¡¯s cousins signing up encouraged them to move.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad things are changing for the better,¡± Amdirlain says, and I see the momentary tension at my mention of the Steward vanish. ¡°Lots of good things to tell you on that front,¡± I beam, glad for her vibrant, happy aura. ¡°Eb won¡¯t get grumpy for me for telling you the good stuff.¡± ¡°What¡¯s going-¡± M¨®eir doesn¡¯t even try to dodge my finger tapping her nose as she did to me when I was ten. ¡°Good stuff only, buster.¡± Amdirlain playfully nips at my finger before wrinkling her nose at me. ¡°How did this change in Eyrarh¨¢ls come about?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t there. A pair of Sunset Elves turned up, politely asked the Steward what was going on, and got him talking to the Daughters¡¯ leadership. They got them to come to an agreement and provided funds to start things going¡ªpaid for in Dwarven trade coins instead of the tokens Elves use for trade.¡± * * * Fortunately, the skywalk m¨®eir picked doesn¡¯t have us standing upside down while I take in the view¡ªunlike others about the place. The monastery is even more massive when seen from above its grounds, a circle of at least twenty kilometres from the central tower. The buildings¡¯ construction is an almost uniform tan stonework, yet none are identical even if placed to serve the same purposes, such as the Masters¡¯ overlooks above the training grounds. The districts moving towards the centre are in a strange interlocking configuration. It makes the paths inward wind through multiple districts and twice as many obvious defensive points. From above, the lines distract the eye while I try to trace the pathway that I know exists. Even knowing it exists, I can¡¯t trace any section far. The section I try winds between offset buildings, only to enter another and emerge again two floors up and descend in a twisting course around the building. At least, I think that is where the passage emerges¡ªthere isn¡¯t any other exit to that building I can see. When Sarith had guided me, I hadn¡¯t noticed the effect, but from here I can tell how much situational advantage a defender would gain. The path doesn¡¯t give those moving inwards a long line of sight, while providing positions for defenders to shower the approaches with attacks. Despite the complexity of the pathways, the innermost sections around the central tower comprise just four quarters. At each quadrant¡¯s midpoint is a similar set of buildings, low and solid in appearance¡ªfoundation stones compared to the towers in the outer districts. The exception among the low sturdy buildings is a fluted tower in each group that looks to serve as a connection point to the central tower. I wouldn¡¯t have guessed at their purpose except I saw a skyway temporarily appear to let a group move from one of them. I had never thought to see a Mortal place match Nova Roma¡¯s claim to just shy of two hundred thousand inhabitants, yet this ¡®small¡¯ monastery far exceeds it. ¡°It¡¯s a small place but they consider it home,¡± Amdirlain says lightly, and I glance her way. ¡°Did my thoughts leak?¡± ¡°Yeah, watch that; ¡®this place is small!¡¯ was a scream, not a leak,¡± teases Amdirlain. My snort and eye roll before I turn back to admire the view sets her chuckling. A cluster of buildings catches my eye, a change in the light making it seem like a fist, even though not one of them changes, quite unlike the skyways¡¯ sudden growth. ¡°Is it me, or are they set up to look like other objects from different directions?¡± ¡°We had trick pictures at home, lots of coloured dots that if you stared at them right would present an image¡ªthe Githz¨¦rai manage that with the buildings. When you¡¯re done gawking, I¡¯ll show you the refectory near your room for the night, and make sure you know the way.¡± Her aura isn¡¯t the serene calmness of the Ki anymore; instead, it swirls with emotion. With the darkness providing a frame and backdrop to present her brightness¡ªlike staring at these buildings right¡ªmomentary shifts of emotion pop out, and form almost-pictures to me. ¡°Will they be serving food?¡± I ask-the quiet rooms we¡¯d left behind sitting in my thoughts. ¡°Your dormitory is deserted.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only the first-year enrolments that get to go home for a time,¡± explains Amdirlain. Putting an arm across my shoulders warmly, she leans against me and points out a building to focus on. Staring down the length of her arm, they suddenly seem to leap towards me like a spear hand strike, though nothing has changed except my attention. ¡°Defensive artwork?¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Shifting position to give me space, she smiles when I grumble at losing her one-armed pseudo-hug. Still, she doesn¡¯t put her arm back but leans over her arms now folded on the railing, her gaze scouring across the building tops. ¡°No idea, I asked once and Master Tenzin said: Know your mind sees what it wishes to see, and will ignore insights it isn¡¯t prepared to accept.¡± ¡°Will they assign me a table like they did for you?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re in a building for senior novices and they don¡¯t eat at assigned tables. It¡¯s a matter of rolling-up, getting food, eating, and then getting out. The courses of study grow increasingly tailored to each student, so operating in groups isn¡¯t possible for seniors, what with studies becoming specialised and a lot of solo practice being conducted..¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe there are enough novices to fill this place,¡± I remark. ¡°Do you know how many live here? It looks more than Nova Roma¡¯s two hundred thousand.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say closer to five hundred thousand, but I¡¯ve never asked. It¡¯s not only several years of novices¡ªif it were, this place would feel empty. After they graduate, many stay living here and even bring up families under the monastery¡¯s protection. Some earn Master rank at their own pace while others make up the core of the order. There are also scholars and crafters that call the place home, even if they¡¯re not official members of the order¡ªas long as they follow the rules, they¡¯re allowed to remain,¡± Amdirlain replies. A twisting staircase juts suddenly out from a building, and a shudder races up my spine at its resemblance to jagged vines. Amdirlain, speaking softly beside me, distracts me from following the thoughts. ¡°Your mind leaks too much. Focus on your mantra for Diamond Mind.¡± ¡°What-¡± ¡°You were worried about having let it slip earlier,¡± Amdirlain says innocently¡ªand of all things¡ªfluttering her eyelids at me goofily. For whatever reason, she¡¯s in more of a playful mood than I¡¯ve ever seen her. ¡°Fine!¡± My purposefully sulky response sets her laughing, much to the surprise of a few too-serious Githz¨¦rai that walk past us. * * * The evening meal is simple but filling, exactly like Amdirlain had told me to expect. The shifting focus among those eating around me makes it obvious they¡¯re speaking mentally behind my back. If not for the rarity of non-Githz¨¦rai among them, I¡¯d be sure it was solely because of the escort Eb set on me. With the way some auras shift while studying my features, it¡¯s clear my appearance contributes to their curiosity almost as much as who I arrived with. Among the first served, I¡¯m finishing up when Sarith comes in and heads for the end of the counter where a server is setting meals in a box. Her arrival drew my attention with her difference in height from those around her, but also for the bitter colours in some auras among those watching the door. Rising to my feet, I return my bowl and flow up beside Sarith¡ªstill waiting for bowls to be filled¡ª¡®accidentally¡¯ stepping on an outstretched foot. ¡°Pardon me, but perhaps you should line up properly. You wouldn¡¯t want someone to have an accident, would you?¡± I ask and don¡¯t give him time to respond. ¡°Good evening, Sarith. Would you like a hand?¡± ¡°Know that I can manage,¡± Sarith says, her gaze on the male looming behind me. I don¡¯t have to turn around to know he¡¯s glaring at my back. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can, but I¡¯ve finished eating. Are you delivering that in a direction I need to go?¡± ¡°Know the infirmary is located close to your room,¡± admits Sarith. Giving her a smile before turning towards the door, I keep it in place when I fix gazes with the glaring male. ¡°Excuse me, but you¡¯re in our way.¡± Sarith¡¯s sigh sounds like it comes from the bottom of her boots, but by the time she latches the box shut, he¡¯s properly in line. She doesn¡¯t say a thing until we¡¯re out the door, but the question is one I had expected at least ¡°Why did Celestials escort you through a Gate here?¡± ¡°Does everyone know?¡± Sarith gives me a look like she wants to say more. ¡°Know the rumours and even images from the psi-crystals have been circulating. Know that I don¡¯t like gossip; I seek only information on the symbol marking their clothing.¡± ¡°Not sure what I should tell you about that. Would you first tell me why you ask?¡± ¡°Know that one Novice in the same dormitory as your mother has that symbol on a medallion. She is training as a Priest, but won¡¯t share the name of her Goddess,¡± Sarith readily admits. ¡°Mother omitted to mention that to me. Well, that Goddess is better known on some worlds than others, but I don¡¯t know all their practices,¡± I answer quickly and keep my mantra rolling in my mind. I¡¯m now sure I¡¯m going to get lots of practice with Diamond Mind, which normally only helps me hold off charm effects and harpy songs. ¡°I¡¯m not one of her faithful, but I¡¯m on good terms with various of her Celestials, and one insisted on being overly protective when I announced my trip here.¡± When Sarith stops by a set of double doors, I push one open and let her step inside. Following her I find we¡¯re in an infirmary which feels perfectly clean, something not managed in Tyr¡¯s Temple, or even Eir¡¯s own. The various occupants resting in the beds aren¡¯t just novices but monks, judging from their ages. While I¡¯m looking around, Sarith already had the box set in place on a dark wood table by the door. The catches¡¯ release let the smell of the stew waft into the infirmary, but only a few of the injured look our way with much interest. Those that do seem more intrigued by me than the food. ¡°Know I hadn¡¯t expected you still to be escorting the monastery¡¯s guest about, Sarith. Are you seeking more gossip or actual knowledge?¡± A male Githz¨¦rai rises from behind a desk causing Sarith¡¯s skin to darken in what I assume is a blush, and I step towards him ¡°I¡¯m Livia, and you are?¡± He doesn¡¯t seem bothered by my self-introduction and just tosses Sarith a grin before turning to me. ¡°Know that I¡¯m Arith. I help teach Sarith and I look after this infirmary much of my time.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, Master Arith,¡± I say, and he waves me off. ¡°Know the only person who calls me Master Arith is Sarith, and it¡¯s not actually my rank.¡± Nodding politely regardless, I move towards him already having noted the absence of spare beds. ¡°Rough day for people training?¡± ¡°Know that some days those training possess more desire to embrace risk than others,¡± replies Arith. I shift my concentration past the rich silver-green of his aura to better look at his focused grey gaze, and the sharp angularity of his features. Like many of the Githz¨¦rai, his yellowed skin looks sickly to me, but the vibrancy of his aura already told me otherwise. ¡°I can help with recovery if there are any here just because of physical wounds,¡± I offer to Arith, and he hesitates before I continue. ¡°Not blessings, though I could use those if you¡¯ve no objection. I normally heal non-urgent injuries with Ki. Amdirlain said Master Cyrus, and those that came with him have shown it. If you¡¯ve seen it used, you¡¯ll know it doesn¡¯t leave the same effect as blessings do.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ve seen a demonstration of it from Master Cyrus,¡± admits Arith, and nods toward a few patients resting at the far end of the infirmary with bound limbs. ¡°Know those would take the longest healing, though the injuries aren¡¯t life-threatening. Would my assuming you worship the Goddess of your Celestial escort be out of place?¡± ¡°No, actually they serve a Goddess of choice, and freedom, whereas I serve a God of Justice named Tyr.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯m a Priest of Moradin. You don¡¯t name their Deity, Priestess of Tyr?¡± ¡°Well, apparently one of her priestesses is having fun by choosing not to tell others her name, so where would the justice be in removing her choice?¡± Giving him a nod, I head for the infirmary¡¯s end and ignore Sarith¡¯s grumbles. By the time Sarith finishes handing out the meals, I¡¯m working on the sixth patient, my hand hovering above her shoulder. The sensations provided by Universal Life give me an understanding of the original injury and the healing regeneration her mind is adding to my own efforts. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve seen others use Ki to heal, and their hands glow blue. Why do yours and Amdirlain¡¯s appear golden?¡± Sarith asks, standing discretely at the end of the bed having come back to watch me work. ¡°The colour of my Ki surprised my Master as well. Initially, it was gold and blue, but when I gained levels in Monk it shifted to pure gold,¡± I explain, knowing it¡¯s likely not the information she hoped. ¡°Know that I can tell you are her daughter,¡± Sarith declares resignedly. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°Know you both provide information that sounds like it should be insightful, but actually reveals almost nothing,¡± states Sarith, with no heat in her tone. ¡°Before I leave, will you provide me directions from here to my room, and to Amdirlain¡¯s dormitory from it? Mother provided me some, but I want to double check I have them right.¡± ¡°Know that either I or Master Arith can do that for you,¡± acknowledges Sarith, her gaze not having left my glowing hands. While Sarith watches I move my focus from the patient¡¯s shoulder along the hairline fracture I can feel present in her upper arm, her psi healing technique having focused on the worst injuries yet hasn¡¯t touched it. * * * Though my room was simple, to the point of being almost barren, it still provides a comfortable resting spot. I expect to sleep longer than usual but I wake up with the monastery still enfolded in silence. Following Sarith¡¯s directions leads me back to the dormitory easily enough, and as I walk down the quiet corridor passing by sleeping cells, I idly wonder which of them is m¨®eir¡¯s. From within the training hall on the lower level, I hear sparring even before I get past the second door. A pair blurs about the far end of the chamber, their auras bright with focus and joy. They shift position so fast with their attacks and counters I can¡¯t track the individual movements, just the major shifts in position. The bands of silver within Liran?¡¯s aura are forearm wide in places compared to the silver threads within m¨®eir¡¯s own. Mostly, the colours I¡¯d seen in auras about the place are much the same as in other places. It¡¯s the silver that is something I¡¯ve never seen in an aura before, and the way it shifts certainly seems to be related to their psionic capability. A happy sigh I can¡¯t help draws Cyrus¡¯ gaze my way, distracting him from watching m¨®eir and Liran? spar despite my entry, not having warranted even a quick glance. ¡°Does no one sleep around this place?¡± ¡°It seems we four don¡¯t seem inclined to take much rest, but I know most require sleep,¡± Cyrus says, motioning unnecessarily to include everyone present. ¡°I take it that the result was a joyous reunion.¡± ¡°Yes, she¡¯s doing far better than I had dared hope,¡± I say. ¡°Your boss really told you to follow the other monks here and help my mother?¡± ¡°The koans he gave me after telling me to seek the Githz¨¦rai monastery the order had assisted gave that impression,¡± admits Cyrus. His gaze quickly returns to the blinding fast motions between the duo, but he still continues. ¡°The wording of your questions almost sounds like a complaint, but your tone certainly doesn¡¯t match.¡± ¡°All the extra time to learn with individuals that can challenge her, will delight her,¡± I admit readily enough. ¡°As for helping Amdirlain if you¡¯re genuinely here to do that, I¡¯ve certainly no complaints. She told me she wouldn¡¯t have figured out that cycling pattern without your explanations.¡± ¡°I provided some guidance, but it was her hard work and persistence that made it possible,¡± says Cyrus, and with his aura matching the modest reply, I shift my estimate of him further. ¡°Since you know of my Third Eye ability, might I know what it is you see with your unusual eyes? Aside from them, you look human. Is that the case?¡± The question is calm curiosity, and I stop in the middle of saying no to consider the polite tone he used. His relaxed attitude doesn¡¯t deserve a smack on the nose, unlike his earlier conduct. ¡°I was born human. My eyes result from an unusual life event, you could say. Now I constantly see auras, and though I look past them as best I can, they¡¯re always there.¡± ¡°Most interesting. It sounds like your Third Eye might end up opening,¡± offers Cyrus, and he continues when I don¡¯t ask about it. ¡°How long have you had that ability?¡° Though his tone isn¡¯t pushy this time, I don¡¯t even hesitate in giving a glib reply, ¡°Oh, a few years now.¡± ¡°Not even a clue? I behaved and didn¡¯t enquire about the life event,¡± teases Cyrus lightly and gives me sad puppy-dog eyes. His difference from Master Farhad¡¯s serious demeanour has me snorting in disbelief, and he just regards me curiously. ¡°Aren¡¯t you an enlightened Immortal?¡± I ask, puzzled by the oddity of his behaviour. ¡°I am. Enough that I know enjoying life brings light into one¡¯s Soul,¡± replies Cyrus, without a sense of deceit, his relaxed mellowness so different to Master Farhad¡¯s own. The thought makes me frown in consideration, and I gesture for him to hold up. ¡°Shall we start again?¡± I ask and explain when he gives me a puzzled look. ¡°I believe my loyalty to Master Farhad might have made me annoyed with you yesterday, and that isn¡¯t just, so might we start afresh?¡± Cyrus looks thoughtful and turns towards me, his attention entirely off the two playing ahead of us. ¡°Why do you feel the loyalty to your teacher tainted your attitude?¡± ¡°He has spoken of your order over the years. Every time he did, I saw the regret and sorrow in his aura,¡± I explain, and Cyrus motions me to continue. ¡°Mother said he was mistaken about why they sent him away, but that didn¡¯t invalidate the pain he suffered from the misunderstanding.¡± ¡°You hold the order responsible for his pain?¡± asks Cyrus and stops at my nod. ¡°Perhaps in part, but I lack the knowledge to speak for us as I wasn¡¯t involved in the incident. It took time and Amdirlain providing additional details even to recall what I¡¯d heard.¡± ¡°And what had you heard?¡± ¡°Your Master Farhad had achieved a poor state of enlightenment and challenged one greater than himself for a position and knowledge he believed he had a right to. He failed, and they placed him in a role where his understanding wouldn¡¯t harm others¡¯ progress. They didn¡¯t expect him to gain the Immortal Spirit Power your mother told me he possesses,¡± replies Cyrus, without a flicker of doubt or deceit in his aura. ¡°Since I spoke to your mother on the matter, I¡¯ve confirmed the order¡¯s records show this. Yet I don¡¯t know what was told to him or how he understood it.¡± ¡°Would you do me the honour of getting to know each other?¡± I ask. The beaming smile he gives me is a clear answer, but his reply almost sets me laughing. ¡°We can spar since your mother has a playmate at present.¡± When I cough at his terminology, his smile broadens at the suspicious look I send his way. ¡°Has she been influencing your language?¡± ¡°She has some interesting turns of phrase,¡± Cyrus readily admits. Though I can see his aura shifting focus, there is no apparent intention to attack. ¡°You have no intention of attacking, and I like to see how opponents will start. We could be here a while,¡± I comment, and his smile causes pieces to fall into place. ¡°You want to see how desperate I¡¯ll get to score a touch.¡± Rolling my eyes in disappointment, I step back and sit to watch the swirling colours of the pair that get to have fun. ¡°Not going to try?¡± asks Cyrus, and I sense his probing intent. ¡°Correction. I did, and your aura told me much.¡± Cyrus looks down at me, unbothered that my focus is no longer on him. ¡°What did it tell you then?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve let yourself become too far removed from everything, Master Cyrus. When was the last time you allowed something to touch you physically or emotionally that had the slightest risk of bringing pain?¡± I ask, focusing on his aura¡¯s shifting colours so bright they silhouette his body. ¡°How can you find a greater understanding of your Soul, when the world¡¯s trials no longer make an impression?¡± ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ¡°Enjoying life adds polish and brightness to our existence. Yet, while a weapon might look perfectly forged, only in the test of battle will its flaws become apparent.¡± ¡°The Soul is not a weapon,¡± Cyrus corrects and leaves himself open for my counter. ¡°I grew up in a warrior culture, but wisdom comes in many forms. If you aren¡¯t open to finding it, you are no longer improving.¡± Cyrus¡¯s expression doesn¡¯t shift, but instead of remaining standing, he¡¯s suddenly kneeling beside me in m¨®eir¡¯s odd style, proving my belief about his speed. ¡°That¡¯s three touches for you.¡± ¡°Men!¡± I huff and ignore his chuckling, aware I merely matched his expectations. After a time, I feel the weight of his gaze on me and look his way. ¡°Will you be seeing your Master Farhad after you leave here?¡± He asks. Wondering why he needs to make conversation, I nod and readily answer. ¡°I plan to see him and his wife before working on progressing my classes.¡± ¡°Then, with your permission, I will accompany you,¡± Cyrus says, and at my mental yelp of surprise, both Amdirlain and Liran? halt. ¡°I should assess the situation with him for myself. The Emperor¡¯s koans always have multiple meanings only through the journey do we find the truth in them and in ourselves.¡± 188 - Moving on up. Erwarth¡¯s PoV - Tunnels of Tern¨°x Since their entrapment, the Grottos¡¯ music has stayed synchronised to the planar wheel instead of the night sky. Each one¡¯s music rings out with subtle differences, countering the local energies working to corrupt and twist the inhabitants. When I appear at our meeting point, I find my father standing far too close to the edge of the barrier¡¯s protection. After months of us freeing the lost near those Grottos most in need, he looks better¡ªhis features are less drawn, though there remains a gauntness I dislike. Though now, at least, the fit of his clothing across his lean frame hints at a healthier weight. I nearly growl in frustration and disbelief at his presence within arm¡¯s reach of the shimmering barrier. ¡°Father, if you get caught by a barrier shift, mother won¡¯t let your Soul hear the end.¡± ¡°I can hear some lost through the rock that way,¡± says father, his pointing hand almost breaching its glow, ignoring my warning. ¡°Lord Roher, you have responsibilities, and I can approach far closer to the Grotto than this. You said you had some news?¡± Father¡¯s brow furrows, and he glares my way. His reproving look¡ªI¡¯m sure¡ªis for using his title, but at least he takes some steps away from the barrier. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one at risk of a barrier shift,¡± I stalk further into the Song¡¯s reach and leave him to follow until its strength presses against my ability to resist. Even as I come to a halt, he moves to block my passage further, and I smile at his outstretched hand but I don¡¯t budge an inch when he frowns. ¡°I know how far I can enter. You were a hand¡¯s breadth from the barrier not protecting you. What were you thinking?¡± Father motions back towards where he¡¯d been facing, still focused on those he had heard. ¡°There are-¡± ¡°Lost you can hear, I know. Let us know when you hear them. We don¡¯t need precise directions, we can scour the rock with spells to find their suspended forms. Don¡¯t risk yourself that way,¡± I state, wishing I could hear his Song. ¡°Who between us is the child?¡± he demands, holding his amusement well constrained. When I let loose a bark of laughter, his expression turns into a look of mock outrage. ¡°You, given you nearly stuck your hand beyond the barrier, let alone stood there at all,¡± I tease, his hidden amusement digging at my concerns. ¡°Do you wish me to speak with mother about this when she arrives?¡± Father angles his arms out from his sides, showing his palms quickly in surrender. ¡°I might have gained a fey¡¯s impatience, but after so many centuries of decaying hope, what can I say?¡± There was no sense of Mana, but mother was suddenly there clad in her sung midnight-blue armour, stars glowing within the crystal sheathing her limbs. The open-faced helm she wore didn¡¯t hide her eyes¡¯ silver nor her delighted smiles. Glancing between us, she waves two fingers at father, scolding him for whatever she can hear in his song. ¡°Was he causing trouble, Merenien?¡± ¡°My name is Erwarth now, mother,¡± I correct, hoping the pair of them will give in. ¡°Merenien, please don¡¯t make me use that accusation,¡± she states firmly, her expression still calm and composed, belying the sudden sadness in her gaze. I set aside a flicker of frustration, but I don¡¯t resist taking a playful poke. ¡°Of course, Lady Laleither.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get in as much trouble as your father today,¡± Laleither asserts before glancing around. From the look she gives me, it¡¯s obvious she¡¯s disappointed that none of the others joined me for this visit. ¡°They¡¯re busy with preparation work for luring in a large gathering of Nox at present,¡± I answer her unvoiced question. She gives me an understanding smile before fixing father with a frown. ¡°As for you, Roher. Your mother always told me you had a Pixie¡¯s patience in your youth, but when did you become young again? I told you we¡¯d come out together, so we will speak on this matter.¡± ¡°I wanted to see if I could hear any lost ones with no distractions,¡± Roher answers quickly. His protests don¡¯t stop the sparks that brighten in Laleither¡¯s gaze, hopefully her private scolding will prevent him from soon risking himself again. ¡°Your message indicated you had news, father?¡± I ask before Laleither starts her scolding. Laleither purses her lips and, biting off her retort to Roher, turns back to me. ¡°It was my news, and I wanted to see you again; your father simply beat me to sending you a message.¡± Her excited gaze has a question roll off my tongue. ¡°Is it about retrieving Amdirlain¡¯s memories?¡± ¡°You should know that isn¡¯t possible; the Anar and L¨®m? are different aspects of the Song. They can¡¯t awake our memories just as we can¡¯t awaken theirs. Since Isa refuses to risk the Abyss to learn from us, only time or an event in the right key might bring them all awake now.¡± Laleither said, her scolding gaze fixed on Erwarth instead. ¡°Unless you count finding an echo of the first Song,¡± Roher teases and gives her a bright smile that had Laleither¡¯s lip twitch in amusement. ¡°That daydream, next you¡¯ll suggest finding the voice that gave us life from the forge¡¯s sparks,¡± sighs Laleither. ¡°To have a chance of finding either, you¡¯d need Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories returned. There is no record she ever spoke of the Titan¡¯s first singer, but she was the first awake¡ªif anyone saw them, it was her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been recovering some of them,¡± I offer, and their gazes snap towards me. ¡°Her Monk Class is allowing her to gain access to memories. It¡¯s a slow process, but Ebusuku has said she recovered some from multiple lives so far, including them lifting her sentence.¡± Roher¡¯s gaze looks darker than the void between stars for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m glad he and his puppets ended up reborn; at least the others weren¡¯t sycophants in their next lives. I remember his awakening ceremony following that life, even abstracted, he experienced sharp despair realising his misrule had cost his new family their titles.¡± ¡°Not everyone has your perspective on things, dear, or your current impatience,¡± chides Laleither before turning back to me and holding out a crystal sliver. ¡°We retrieved images of various caverns that we lost control of down the millenia. Given the Souls singing to the crystals wouldn¡¯t have been able to move away from them-¡± ¡°We can gather the Nox up and free those bound,¡± I finish and reach for the sliver, only for her to pull away. ¡°Are you trying to hurt yourself? Don¡¯t touch it,¡± reproves Laleither and slowly extends her hand again. ¡°I¡¯ll have it project the images for you.¡± Lowering my hand sheepishly, I frown in concern at a conversation with Amdirlain. ¡°What about the crystal guardians?¡± ¡°Would any of them still function after so long exposed to the Abyss?¡± Roher asks sceptically, father¡¯s tone regaining the confidence I always remember from him. ¡°One ambushed Amdirlain when she found a fallen Grotto¡ªit almost slew her using a sword imbued with Order,¡± I counter before Laleither can chip in her doubts. ¡°No command band would respond to demonic or celestial control,¡± father murmurs and I can almost see his mind racing with possibilities. ¡°We might be able to get a simple one working for a mortal.¡± ¡°I know there are mortals Amdirlain works with frequently. I¡¯ll ask Ebusuku for help; if they risk it, we¡¯d only need it to issue two commands: cease attacking and move through a portal,¡± I advise. ¡°Those Elves that came to where we met spoke of being told of our existence by a Julia,¡± Rother says, eyeing me curiously but not giving voice to his question. ¡°I hadn¡¯t been going to pry about that meeting, but yes, that was Amdirlain¡¯s name in her human life,¡± I explain, and before I can dig, he interrupts. ¡°To imagine one of us reborn in such a short-lived species is almost beyond belief,¡± father ponders. ¡°I¡¯ll see about setting up something, but it won¡¯t allow any complex commands.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d show me the locations, mother, I¡¯ll see about getting the outer edges cleared, away from where a crystal guardian might lurk. Did you have any preference for where we should lure the Nox?¡± ¡°Those in need of the most support now have it. If you could begin drawing more towards the main citadel? if we have enough Souls to support that barrier, it will expand enough to overlap some closer communities. Then we can enlarge the passages between them and shift distant groups into the additional space.¡± ¡°Without us being spread so thin, we might break her hold,¡± comments Roher, causing mother and me to regard him doubtfully. ¡°One can hope.¡± ¡°It¡¯s our oaths that bind us. While she remains in existence, without the royal line to void the agreement, we¡¯re trapped¡ªso no more foolish risks,¡± mother scolds him. Laleither is inclined to say more but cuts herself off and returns her focus to the sliver. Images of caverns large and small appear between us, giving me enough time to memorise each before the next replaces it¡ªthirty-nine lost communities. ¡°Is that all of them?¡± ¡°No, those are the ones with images available,¡± Laleither replies softly and continues forcing cheer into her voice. ¡°Now tell me how the others are progressing since we spoke last. Though first I believe I¡¯ll have someone join us since she had an interesting suggestion.¡± The Gate that opens shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise, but it¡¯s an effort not to stare in disbelief at Ebusuku. ¡°What are you setting us up for?¡± ¡°Ensuring a safety net, that¡¯s all. I wasn¡¯t even sure it was possible, but Lady Laleither has confirmed it is achievable,¡± Ebusuku replies glibly. ¡°How did you get in contact?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s smile is far too smug. ¡°Amdirlain showed me an image of the Burning¡¯s Grotto¡¯s edge; it was easy to open a Gate inside the protections.¡± ¡°Now, why don¡¯t you ask the others to join us? The preparations can wait,¡± Laleither says brightly, and I stare at her suspiciously. ¡°Dear one, you are all Greater Succubi, one step away from lost if you die on the wrong Plane. She kept you from becoming Named, and now you have this wellspring of energy sitting within your form. Let¡¯s get you a safety margin, and help ensure we can all achieve our goals.¡± ¡°Mother?¡± Father surprises me by taking the lead in the explanation. ¡°Ebusuku told us the effect of compressing excess shards above what you need to move to a new tier. It¡¯s up to you, but you¡¯ve been a long time sitting at the peak of Greater Succubus; she believes you¡¯ll gain considerable benefit with that excess power properly invested in your form.¡± ¡°Fine, but we do this one at a time,¡± I grumble. The others start to appear behind me and I fix a suddenly smug Ebusuku with a stern look. ¡°I¡¯ll go first, and if I feel something¡¯s wrong, we don¡¯t risk the others.¡± * * * They snap into existence around me, Teleporting in to appear on the hillside over looking a fog-shrouded plain of Jinamizi. I close my eyes for a moment against the lingering agony of the Ascension and have to catch myself against the feeling of power surging within my flesh. The agony that had left set me aching but also sickening with an exhilarating sense of immense power¡ªthe power itself not the issue, rather its demonic source. Most of the others have no further alterations to their form, though there is sexual energy in all of us, practically making our bodies glow. The cravings I¡¯d long learned to deal with have gained new strength, and I¡¯m not the only one to shift uncomfortably. ¡°We take some time to adjust, and then we¡¯ll resume operations around the caverns. Test your strength, speed, and magic limits, but spar carefully.¡± My voice is barely a whisper, but all nod their understanding and disappear. The bond I feel to the Plane about me is light compared to the possessive adamantine strength it once had. How long will it take to progress to where we can bind to more? Ebusuku¡¯s Energy Drain provided a music template for the singers to share with us. I don¡¯t know when she showed it to them, but I feel the Power¡¯s net, and it possesses a sharp hunger, filled with urges of its own. How does either of them handle these cravings? Pulling an imprint stone from my storage bag, I hesitate only briefly before forcing my concerns about what I¡¯ll find aside. When it activates, though, I get a blinding flare which makes the fog appear solid as the stone crumbles into dust. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯d trade to view my Profile as simply as Ebusuku can. ¡°Happy birthday to you all. Glad you are all safe, don¡¯t go doing anything silly, please! I¡¯m still fine, though you made your Oath links buzz. ¡± Amdirlain¡¯s words echo through the link, and I wonder how many others are snickering at her, instructing us to be careful. Fine one to be telling anyone that! * * * Cycles later, the most recent herding has already shown the shocking extent of our changes. None of us had been in a state to focus on the transformation as we were buffeted by the energy. Instead, we all found our capacities expanded in near equal measure, though accuracy is impossible given the destruction of every imprint stone tried. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Fortunately, that hasn¡¯t yet dulled our edge with overconfidence, and I halt the instant Calithil freezes. An orange glow from a nearby mushroom patch combines strangely with her silvery-blue hair, casting her face in shadows while her attention focused further along the tunnel. ¡°Problem?¡± The single word projected into her mind immediately had her easing backwards, but she didn¡¯t look about until she was close to me. ¡°Wards on the approaches since we last came through here¡ªSisterhood styling.¡± That is enough to send a withdrawal signal, and we get clear once everyone is gone. Long practice with Planar Shift has it set me right where I need to be in the meeting hall of our refuge. Far underground on the Plane of Jinamizi, with its multitude of factions providing even more options if any of us get Planar locked. We¡¯ve not yet spent enough time here to warrant softening its stark appearance, as we intended its construction of simple rooms for purely functional purposes. The central meeting hall is dome-shaped with corridors leading off at each cardinal point. Its simple curved roof of black stone is set with solid struts to help support the weight of all the rock above us. For all its simple appearance, it¡¯s large enough that curved benches along the perimeter provide more than enough space for us all to sit without crowding each other. I don¡¯t even have time to sit when N?r speaks up. ¡°Why a full meeting? We¡¯d just located a large grouping of Nox?¡± ¡°Sisterhood wards along the kill zone we intended to use,¡± Calithil cuts in, perhaps a little too sharply. N?r opens her mouth to retort, but Fainil sitting next to her, tweaks her sullen red locks and draws N?r¡¯s focus. ¡°Relax, you¡¯re getting close to ninety, but so are others¡ªno one¡¯s looking to delay things unnecessarily.¡± I hadn¡¯t thought it would need to be stated, but I can see a few others who hadn¡¯t purged classes nodding as if taking reassurance from her comment. The bones of my wings flexing draw their attention to me, and I continue. ¡°All the smaller communities are stable, so there is no urgency in this operation. I¡¯ll send a message to Lord Roher and let him know there will be a delay. Ebusuku is going to be working with Sidero in Cemna. Given we¡¯re all close to taking a Tier Seven Prestige Class, that raises the question: is there anyone that would like to get Blood Monk or other classes purged?¡± Fainil shakes her head, but a few glance enquiringly, an indistinct murmur starts , and I wait for it to settle only to be pre-empted again. ¡°But we¡¯re stronger now. What if we don¡¯t get a Tier 7 to use?¡± demands N?r, her words almost a hiss of frustration. ¡°We have one called-¡± ¡°What!¡± The group¡¯s combined exclamation of surprise cuts off S¨ªrdhem. Waving the others to be quiet, I fix my attention on her. ¡°S¨ªrdhem, how do you know?¡± ¡°I hit ninety with the last Dao town; likely from all the execution work most didn¡¯t want to do,¡± ¡°You could have told us!¡± ¡°What, make others take rash actions? Don¡¯t be silly. I¡¯m telling you now so you don¡¯t do something stupid. There was a plinth in my mindscape offering classes. On it stood a harp, and in a crystal chalice etched with one word¡ªEnduring. I sensed it¡¯s for what we went through with Baln¨¦rith and not breaking. It¡¯s something we¡¯ve had a while, I¡¯d say. I didn¡¯t take the Class. Thought I¡¯d wait, maybe hit a hundred and see what happens,¡± explains S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I¡¯ll line up a time and location,¡± I say, and note those whose tension eases. ¡°Maybe bring a gift for the grumpy Kyton.¡± ¡°Something that would appeal to a Dragon¡¯s avarice might be an idea,¡± quips N?r, but I can only nod at the wisdom. ¡°You joke, but we don¡¯t know who she is. We don¡¯t even know if she¡¯s Anar or something else,¡± I offer, and see most stop in consideration. ¡°Lord Roher has suggested there were a few non-Anar Souls entangled enough with Amdirlain¡¯s existence to potentially be drawn back into her influence with her return.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not out of the question, given Isa has True Song and needed a Royal title in a previous life to gain her Prestige Class,¡± remarks Calithil. ¡°Would be nice if Sidero had a Power that showed the colour of her Soul like Amdirlain¡¯s Ki.¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s one of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Dragons; a number died fighting Leviathan with her,¡± says S¨ªrdhem. Even the few thoughtful nods she gains has her grinning eagerly. ¡°Anyone looking to put up stakes with a name?¡± I wait until they have recorded the bets before I continue. ¡°With the Sisterhood wards near a Grotto, I suggest we focus on other activities until we hear of their attention shifting elsewhere,¡± I say. As I open my mouth to continue, ideas race away within me; the extent of my mental changes are going to take time to get used to. Tapping her foot, Fainil interjects during my distraction and shifts her wings restlessly, claws brushing against the stone, causing a hiss. ¡°That could be awhile, since they were setting wards near the cave. Obviously, they came with a plan and pre-knowledge. She knows the barriers¡¯ thresholds are the only thing keeping their oaths of service from coming into effect. Even if she doesn¡¯t consider the possibility we¡¯re helping them, it is clear something is up, and now she¡¯ll want to keep a close eye on them.¡± ¡°Anyone else have any thoughts to share?¡± I ask. When N?r signals first, I motion her way, and she doesn¡¯t hesitate. ¡°We gather information. Since she¡¯s shifting forces to Tern¨°x, it could mean vulnerabilities elsewhere.¡° ¡°I¡¯d say we go back to gain levels elsewhere and let things settle,¡± counters S¨ªrdhem. Her queue-jumping draws more than a few dirty looks, but she blissfully ignores them and deliberately fixes her attention my way. ¡°We¡¯ve taken the pressure off the others. Let¡¯s not stick our neck in any traps now. She still has lackeys that know our methods well enough to enable them to set up a contingency for any approach we¡¯d take.¡± Calithil huffs and rubs her fingers along her sword¡¯s sheath. ¡°I¡¯d say we lure some into reacting and take a few of them out.¡± ¡°If we do, they¡¯ll know someone outside is deliberating working on it. Regardless of whether we take their squads in a fashion to prevent them from reporting back, that will just provide them with information.¡± ¡°We should gather more information, see if it¡¯s a general reinforcement of their vested interests on Tern¨°x or if they¡¯re hunting us in particular. They could have just heard about the changes to that cave and set wards to trap anyone involved until instructions come.¡± Others put proposals forward, but I simply listen, considering the options, before the increasing heat in their tones elicits a frown that doesn¡¯t settle them down. A sharp clap from Fainil interrupts the exchange before it turns into a full-blown argument. I give Fainil a nod for her disruption and raise my voice so everyone can hear clearly. ¡±You¡¯re all too impatient; remember, we planned to take the long road. I know some of you are close to getting a new Prestige Class, but we can¡¯t take this bait. That is what this is, bait, and you all know it, so you¡¯re quarrelling. I feel we¡¯d be best not engaging with them until we¡¯re ready to crush a full battlefield force.¡± ¡°I would like some information at least,¡± objects Calithil and waves off Fainil before she can protest. ¡°There was an Alchemist that Amdirlain mentioned that is unlikely to be aligned with any faction.¡± ¡°The Fey half-breed,¡± grumbles N?r. ¡°You want to deal with one of them?¡± ¡°Her nature means the Sisterhood won¡¯t want anything to do with her, even at arms-length¡ªshe¡¯ll have True Sight,¡± I remind N?r, immediately seeing Calithil¡¯s point. My reminder earns a begrudging nod, and N?r signals¡ªobjection retracted. ¡°Can I come along with you?¡± Calithil asks quickly, giving me an eager grin. ¡°Did I say I was going?¡± ¡°Of course you are, so I¡¯d like to go along,¡± states Calithil, refusing to look away from my frown. ¡°I¡¯d planned to keep within the normal trio, but you and N?r can come along.¡± N?r stabs her tail towards Calithil in a complaint, her lips twisting into a scowl. ¡°It was her idea.¡± ¡°So she¡¯ll naturally have a bias in favour, you¡¯ll be against, and I¡¯ll arbitrate.¡± Calithil stops and looks at S¨ªrdhem curiously. ¡°By the way, what was the name of the Prestige Class?¡± ¡°Tirriel¡± mutters S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Guard of Daughter, what sort of name is that?¡± Calithil asks, not looking away from S¨ªrdhem despite the muttering. ¡°I don¡¯t know; it combined all four classes though, and it was the only one I got offered that did that.¡± ¡°We get some kills with Energy Drain first; I don¡¯t want anyone wondering about why there are three fresh Named Succubi about. Any accumulation degree will make them more cautious and further throw off the Sisterhood.¡± * * * A day is all it takes to gain power that should have taken a century to accumulate, and adjusted somewhat to our new strength it¡¯s time to progress. Qcppxtypcd, the place¡¯s name is a snarling sound in Abyssal and doesn¡¯t translate well into any tongue; perhaps the nicest version I¡¯d heard is ¡®Diseased Bone Pit¡¯. The central tower looks constructed from an erratic rock formation, but it¡¯s carved out of a primordial beast¡¯s slowly decaying thigh bone. No one knows how it got here or what creature it belongs to, but even long dead, its marrow held power. An expedition of miners out of Hrz¡¯Styrn found it and dug the first sample from the bone. Unfortunately for them, the Alchemist who had purchased it became even richer once he figured out a use for it. Naturally, he forced the previously free miners into working for him and set about accumulating power and connections until a rival destroyed him. The marrow is now supposedly all gone; however, the city became a trade hub before the workers finished hollowing it out. The city now stands out as an abscess, a diseased, rotting, and disgusting place. Which is something in an oppressively dank Plane filled with awful places, and the Abyss affords plenty of competition. When Ebusuku told me Amdirlain had found a half-breed devil in this place, it hadn¡¯t been a surprise given all the other oddities it collects. Lightly equipped in upgraded gear that still carries our group¡¯s symbol¡ªbars and broken chains¡ªwe start towards the closest gate, Teleport having set us down at the edge of their line of sight. Keeping on foot, we give them plenty of time to look us over without being obvious about our counter-inspection of their forces. However, we¡¯d deliberately picked an approach that didn¡¯t provide a view of the city to avoid drawing trouble from accusations of spying. The score of hyena-headed Hymadan watching from atop the battlements were out of place, but they weren¡¯t unexpected after Amdirlain¡¯s tales of the city. Whatever arguments caused them to leave Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s service hadn¡¯t ended with Set¡¯s destruction. Another half-squad stands within the gate¡¯s interior, happily taking bribes from a Cambion to ignore a line of Dretch and the packs they carry with lumbering steps through the gates. When a Shoosuva sniffs the last of the Dretch, the squad leader pushes it to one side. The massive hound doesn¡¯t move easily, but the Hymadan possesses enough strength to force it to move. Either his display of strength or the way he doesn¡¯t shift his focus from its scorpion tail holds the beast from lashing out. Though they both resemble a hyena, I¡¯ll never understand why they cooperate. Maybe their similarity is enough to cause a pack effect to hold a hierarchy among them, but delving into the minds of either species isn¡¯t something I plan to do. Every guard carefully disregards our entry, and for a moment I feel they¡¯re ready to pay us not to start trouble. The leader can sense the fresh power the first of our kills provided us and gets quickly out of our way. With the possibility of a Sisterhood presence, we all take extra care to avoid mimicking each others¡¯ behaviour. While the three of us look dramatically different, not all are lazy enough to go by surface appearance. Still, there was plenty of difference to distract even those not given to laziness. N?r¡¯s voluptuous figure with her dark blue eyes, sullen-red hair, and full lips. Different to Calithil¡¯s lean figure, silvery-blue hair and irises, even if both share equally fine Elven features with lifted cheekbones, ivory skin and pointed ears. Their feathered wings are rare enough, but alu-demons and some breeds of Succubi in the Pit, and assorted Planes of the Abyss, also have them. My bone wings, of course, do a lot to distract from the rest of our appearance, and my only similarity to them was my Elven features. Skin the dark red of dried blood, eyes of solid black, and the curves I possess beneath my leathers draw nearly as much attention as N?r¡¯s voluptuousness. The mental shouts from those around us aren¡¯t associating us with rewards, but simply lusting after our power and flesh. Navigating through the city is easy enough, even when avoiding attention by not teleporting within its wards. The three of us in a deliberately rough spike formation; different to the Sisterhood¡¯s line of five abreast, used to force other flyers from their path. From experience, we keep our flight paths low to avoid fire from the tower¡¯s enforcers. The obviously shuttered doors of the mercenary hiring hall draws a growl from N?r that¡¯s not just from keeping in character, and heading onwards, we land near the Alchemist''s shop. Ebusuku¡¯s description hadn¡¯t done the precisely structured wards woven through the shopfront enough justice¡ªunder an elaborate mask of chaos, their exacting standard was clear. Anyone screwing up within the wards was going to wish for an enforcer¡¯s ballistae bolt to end their pain. A fey wildness coupled with a Devil¡¯s precision had certainly bloomed to full life within the shop¡¯s owner. Taking in the way our reflections twist slightly off true in the glass windows and door, I hesitate to push it open. A departing customer solves that problem for me, though the alu-demon pauses with a hand out stretched¡ªbut her gaze is on us, not the wards themselves. Pulling the door open, she moves to one side holding it, either not wanting to offend or seeking a chance to put a knife in our back. The nervous glance at Lorrella though, makes it clear she¡¯s more likely to behave even before I touch her thoughts. Only once we¡¯re all within does she hurry away, the tension in her body language easing once the door latches behind her. Lorrella, it seems, was dressed up for Amdirlain last time, or this morning is a casual day, given she is clad in a gauze that is thinner protection than a dream. The whiteness of the scrapped silk swirls around her like the vapours of a cloud. Her attire¡¯s paleness highlights amber skin, along with making her vibrant red hair, and green gaze pop, particularly against the background of her furled black wings. ¡°Three Succubi in matching outfits, and not those Sisterhood menaces. I recognise your little crest of bars and chains, but the last individual wearing them hasn¡¯t been back for a time,¡± Lorrella says before I spoke. ¡°Duckie send you or did you stumble upon me on your own?¡± ¡°Duckie?¡± ¡°She never gave her name, but she was sweet,¡± Lorrella purrs and gives me a pouty sigh. ¡°Enough that I almost asked if she¡¯d bend over the counter, and let me check her undercarriage¡ªsuch a cute piece of tail, yummy.¡± ¡°I know who you mean,¡± Calithil admits, with her amusement under control. ¡°And her discussion of your skills is why we¡¯re here. She¡¯s outside the Abyss at present. She might say hello if her Master allowed¡ªor should that be Masters¡ªgave her free time.¡± ¡°Cabals and their summoning gang bangs,¡± sighs Lorrella, wrapping her arms tight around her waspish torso, the gesture lifting her breasts and straining the fabric. ¡°Is that little crest for a mercenary band, because I¡¯ve seen nothing like it for a ranking Demon?¡± ¡°Mercenary band,¡± I state bluntly, only just beating Calithil to the punch. ¡°I thought so, seems too tame for a Demon Lord or Lady. Well, aren¡¯t you three just out of luck being in the city now? Come to see if you can tap into Duckie¡¯s arrangement with the hiring hall shut down?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°Sisterhood is claiming all the contracts. We have to deliver them to the side door and they take care of them if we accept their price. One of their big wings pushed herself onto the city council,¡± Lorrella explains with a shrug, its casualness not enough to mask the spark of interest in her gaze. ¡°Individual arrangements they can¡¯t do much about, but who has time to bother talking to mercenaries who may or may not deliver?¡± ¡°Would have thought they¡¯d be trying to get their former city rebuilt,¡± sneers Calithil. Lorrella¡¯s lips twist in distaste, and her wings rustle momentarily. ¡°Who knows when that will be at present. ¨´eqr?kas is an endless pit draining in building materials; hard to get any metals to build my babies. Likely they¡¯re here to make a profit from the increasingly expensive resources coming out of the mines.¡± ¡°Our little duck mentioned you like building and maintaining transports, but is that the only machinery you deal with?¡± I ask. ¡°Depends on what you¡¯re after,¡± admits Lorrella. ¡°Got a special project in mind?¡± Giving a serious nod, I get down to business. ¡°Some gate breakers, and a fortress ward spike.¡± ¡°How big, how many, and who supplies the materials?¡± Lorrella asks in a flurry. ¡°I told you metals are a pain to source around here presently.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll supply the materials, and the Gate to shift them when complete,¡± Calithil offers readily enough, going with the flow of my request. ¡°That¡¯s the boring bits sorted. Now tell me the fun stuff,¡± Lorrella insists, tapping her fingers on the countertop and leaning towards me with parted lips. ¡°What do you need to break?¡± ¡°Gates two hundred metres across, equivalent materials strength of abyssal-steel plates, triple-reinforced with cross-linked adamantine-core bolts on a central-¡± Lorrella¡¯s squeal of excitement stops me, but she impatiently gestures for me to continue, and I get on quoting the information on the new gates of the Sisterhood stronghold on Hrz¡¯Styrn. By the time I¡¯m done, her eagerness has a heady murkiness filling the shop, and my body is twitching in response. ¡°Oh baby, that¡¯s going to be so much fun. When do you need this built by?¡± asks Lorrella, bouncing on the spot with sudden energy. ¡°Lorrella, I¡¯m sorry but I don¡¯t need one, I need at least five, and you¡¯ve forgotten the ward spike. I¡¯m going to need it capable of draining Mana from an energy nexus.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going to take a while to get ready,¡± pouts Lorrella, sounding like a sulky child about to have its toy taken away. ¡°Are you going to be fine with only me doing the work?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush for them, Lorrella. I want them built exactly right, not a rushed job like so much junk I¡¯ve seen assaulting the walls on Hades.¡± ¡°They have hired you to assault the gates of Hell?¡± asks Lorrella, the faintest fire showing in her gaze. ¡°Why else would I need such expensive equipment?¡± My bland question draws a smirk from Lorrella, and the barely discernable interest in her gaze eases off. ¡°Oh truly, why else?¡± Ignoring her smirk, I gesture towards the door. ¡°One necessity though: you¡¯ll need to use a construction yard in a different city.¡± ¡°That will cost you, sugar,¡± warns Lorrella, and I can see her mind jumping between possibilities. ¡°I¡¯m sure we can sort something out.¡± ¡°Oh, they¡¯re not for besieging Hell,¡± Lorrella breathes. ¡°I¡¯ll give a discount¡ªa small one¡ªbut a discount.¡± 189 - Insight Livia¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Between time spent talking and training together, the five days I promised Eb I wouldn¡¯t exceed passed quickly. Finding myself in an outer courtyard on the receiving end of a fierce hug, I can only wonder where all the time went. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you come for a visit and steal a teacher,¡± teases Amdirlain, her hug lingering as if she¡¯s bargaining with the universe for more time together. ¡°I¡¯ll come back to visit whenever Eb lets me. Master Duurth and I can exchange messages to know when that is suitable, so you don¡¯t get to cheat,¡± I retort, not complaining about the hug. ¡°Ugh, no fair, I¡¯m supposed to be the adult,¡± Amdirlain grumbles, her lips twitching playfully and her eyes gleam with a mix of emotions. ¡°Know you may open your Gate now, Novice Amdirlain,¡± says Master Duurth. His instruction forces mother to focus her attention, but that she needs prompting lifts my mood. The difference in her affectionate reluctance compared to my birth mother¡¯s cold dismissal was like day and night. ¡°Where you met up with Uncle Torm, and the others outside Xaos will do nicely,¡± I remind Amdirlain, and wave a finger when she tries to look innocent. ¡°No peeking, m¨®eir!¡± ¡°Meanie,¡± she grumbles, without pause in the casting. A point of light blooms into an open Gate showing a simple road and the strange gates of Xaos in the distance. ¡°I¡¯ve not given Cyrus entry access to home. Oh, remember, the bracers are yours if you want them, but pass on the rest to Mirage, not sure why I held onto some of it. It¡¯s mostly stuff that she should destroy, given their origins.¡± Amused by her fussing, I simply pat the Pouch of Holding with its contents of knick-knacks tied to my belt. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you would make him a guest there, even if he¡¯s been helping. Eb says you¡¯ve had too much bullshit from others who¡¯ve claimed to be helping,¡± I reply. I give her a last kiss on the cheek before moving through the Gate; Cyrus follows along smoothly, his goodbyes long since said. ¡°Where do we go to from here?¡± asks Cyrus looking about when the Gate closes. ¡°We don¡¯t go anywhere yet, I¡¯ll send a message.¡± I reply, and casting the Spell, I target it silently with Eb¡¯s new name, even as I speak the message aloud so Cyrus knows what I¡¯m saying. ¡°Auntie Eb, my visit is over, and I even made curfew. M¨®eir says, you¡¯re a fine big sister. Currently, I''m about a kilometre towards the spire along the road from Xaos.¡± Eb¡¯s reply is almost instant, and I smile at her cheerful tone. ¡°We¡¯ll be with you shortly. We¡¯ll depart for Cemna from there.¡± ¡°Oh crud,¡± I spit, and send another Message realising neither mother nor I have warned her about Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ve got a visitor with me, not sure if you¡¯ll want to warn Master Farhad to relax.¡± There isn¡¯t another response, but a few minutes later I feel the hairs at the back of my neck prickling like someone is scrying. They draw out the wait before a Gate opens a stone¡¯s throw off to the left of the road. Eb steps through in full Solar form, with golden armour, and white wings outstretched¡ªCyrus¡¯ huff is amused, and I work to keep a calm face. It had taken everything I had to argue with her before and I would not back down now. The aura about her feels like being wrapped up in a hurricane of power,determined to shield you rather than crush. ¡°Guess I should have told you to chill, Aunt Eb,¡± I say. I¡¯m glad for the distraction when Uncle Torm steps around Eb¡¯s left-hand side¡ªgiving a trio of rustling wings plenty of space¡ªhis happy aura wrapped around his human form. His presence almost distracts me from the shocked look on Master Farhad¡¯s face when he steps around her right, and sees Cyrus standing beside me. It¡¯s only when the Gate closes behind them that I realise Eb had been using her wings to block sight of where they¡¯d come from. ¡°Everyone, I¡¯d like to introduce you to-¡± ¡°Honoured Ancestral Master Cyrus,¡± Farhad states wide-eyed, bowing deeper than I¡¯d seen him ever do and then holds himself nearly bent at right angles. ¡°Steal my thunder, see if I care,¡± I murmur. So many factors in his greeting shock me: his instant recognition of Cyrus, lack of placid calm, but also the sheer respect he pays Cyrus. His reaction makes me realise the defiance I¡¯d clung to for days, even mentally considering him simply Cyrus, without the Master I¡¯ve unthinkingly given Farhad for years. ¡°Farhad, Livia has informed me of your ignorance regarding the order¡¯s fate,¡± Cyrus says, without even a twitch to acknowledge the bow. ¡°We safely evacuated most, far more than the western fleet apparently managed.¡± ¡°Might I ask what happened, Honoured Master Cyrus?¡± ¡°I will share the full story at a later time, but for now I¡¯d appreciate introductions,¡± instructs Cyrus crisply, his usual amused air completely absent. ¡°Ancestral Master Cyrus, Founding Master of the Temple of the Western Steppes, Captain of the White Tiger Guards, and Immortal Servant of the Jade Emperor¡¯s Court, allow this one the honour of introducing Ebusuku, Solar of¡­,¡± Farhad stops so quickly his teeth click together before Ebusuku needs to warn about over sharing. For her part there hasn¡¯t been a shift in her expression, though her aura shifts between amusement and concern at his flustered state. ¡°A mysterious Goddess frustrating a curious order about her name,¡± injected Cyrus, and a glimmer of his amusement returns. ¡°Titles weigh much but can mean little between those that don¡¯t know the background. Names are all that is required, Farhad. Please stand upright, there is no need to hold such a bow¡ªwe¡¯re not in a formal Court.¡± ¡°My apologies Master Cyrus,¡± states Farhad quickly, and though he stands upright, the angle of his gaze makes it clear he¡¯s not meeting Cyrus¡¯ own. ¡°Master Cyrus, might I introduce Ebusuku, Solar, you would consider her a greater western Shen. Also Torm, Planetar, also a greater western Shen, though his centre isn¡¯t as strong.¡± ¡°Thank you for your service in introductions. Is this all we¡¯ll be travelling with? Livia said the cleansing of the undead was a world spanning undertaking.¡± ¡°Other Celestials are already there working today, but another will be joining us that is not a Celestial,¡± says Farhad, his tone returning to his usual calm. ¡°She has been assisting Amdirlain¡¯s project, and I¡¯d ask you to stay your hand, no matter how disrespectful her demeanour or words can be.¡± My jaw almost drops, and I hear myself sputter. ¡°Sidero is coming with us?¡± Torm''s ready laughter has me eying him suspiciously, but Ebusuku just calmly nods. ¡°She needs to gain a lot of experience to evolve and I feel the timeframe for her being recalled got moved up somehow. Either that or something has changed since our initial arrangements.¡± ¡°As long as she doesn¡¯t attack me or anyone I care to protect, I¡¯ll stay my hand against her,¡± reassures Cyrus, and turns to Farhad. ¡°Can she be worse than a Snake Mother?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a western Devil,¡± affirms Farhad, and Cyrus¡¯ eyebrows shoot towards his hairline. Wanting to roll my eyes at Farhad¡¯s poor representation, I wave for Cyrus¡¯ attention. ¡°Amdirlain wasn¡¯t the only one cursed; the same individual sent two of her friends to Hell. Sidero has an aggressive outlook on life, but a lot of it is simply how she copes to keep her sanity.¡° ¡°Also, she¡¯s not a Devil and calling her one will get her off side,¡± cautions Torm. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get your own insights quickly enough, Cyrus, maybe even without your Third-Eye,¡± I reply glibly, and Farhad gives a low gasp. ¡°She¡¯s trapped as a Kyton, an inhabitant of the western Hells. Have you heard of them?¡± ¡°I had little interest in the Devils, and Demons away from the centre of the Jade Emperor¡¯s influence,¡± admits Cyrus. ¡°See, I told you; you need to live life to find the flaws in either your Soul or understanding. You were the one that told Amdirlain sitting under a tree is fine if you are a shrub.¡± I tease. ¡°But don¡¯t call her a Devil. They¡¯re not and were there before the current hierarchy took control.¡± My teasing lecture has Farhad almost choking in disbelief, but Cyrus motions him to relax. ¡°If you would give me a summary about her situation, shouldn¡¯t she be seeking healing as your mother has?¡± ¡°Her behaviour, extending through multiple lives, compounds mother¡¯s situation,¡± I reply, while I consider how to explain before I cut to the chase. ¡°Pain excites her sexually, her own, or that of others, emotion or physical if she can taste it in the air. If she¡¯s in a lot of pain¡ªor the air is thick with it¡ªher aura surges with pleasure and it makes her¡­ erratic. She hates it, but the hate brings emotional pain, which causes more pleasure. I met her after a fight, and once the pain eased down, she was stable, snarky but stable.¡± The look Torm gets from Ebusuku makes it clear he hadn¡¯t told her about the situation after I left. Cyrus doesn¡¯t immediately reply, but when I¡¯m about to prompt him he finally nods. ¡°Very well, I shall see. She sounds like a risky companion for you to fight beside.¡± ¡°Livia won¡¯t be fighting close to her; where you fight is your choice if you¡¯re coming along,¡± states Ebusuku. ¡°I won¡¯t be fighting,¡± Cyrus says. I just look at him and blink, taking in the mischievous aura. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll play bait and bring them to you. Amdirlain calls it pulling mobs,¡± Cyrus replies smugly. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to slow your progress, so I¡¯ve no intention of engaging unless absolutely necessary.¡± ¡°Then, why?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Why come along? To seek the meaning of the Emperor¡¯s koans and see you gain the strength to stand tall among your fellow monks. When you¡¯ve fought enough that you need to meditate and practice insights learnt we¡¯ll disengage,¡± states Cyrus. ¡°Where will you be fighting?¡± ¡°That better not be a crack at my height,¡± I huff, and my baneful glare just broadens his smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be fighting undead in canyons away from the strongest regions of negative energy; the Lantern Archons normally clear those out.¡± ¡°Then that is where I¡¯ll be as well,¡± states Cyrus, and gives a nod to Farhad. ¡°I¡¯ll share the tale of evacuation with Farhad when you are both resting from your fighting.¡± At the continued awe in Farhad¡¯s aura, the urge to tease him has me grinning, and he fixes me with a curious look. ¡°What is it, Livia?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to ask to know him properly?¡± Farhad snorts and frowns at me, still fighting to keep his balance after his world got tipped over. ¡°That would be too great an honour to request.¡± ¡°Are you going to engage with life or just let it pass you by, Cyrus?¡± I prompt and receive a matching snort from him. ¡°Since you feel it is too great for you to request, Farhad, I will make the request,¡± Cyrus says, and stepping away motions Farhad to join him. I don¡¯t poke at the deliberate absence of Farhad¡¯s title, given I¡¯ve not credited his own. While they¡¯re sorting themselves out, I move over to hug Torm. ¡°She misses you, Uncle Torm. I know Mirage made you that comms device, as you and Sidero call them, after you missed a message. Why don¡¯t you send her one now?¡± Concern sends ripples through the usual deep red of his aura, but he still gives me a smile. "If I start, I¡¯ll be wanting to every time I think about her.¡± ¡°Okay. I wondered, that¡¯s all. You might push her off-balance when she¡¯s healing, or training, I get it,¡± I say. Though I exaggerate a bit by standing on tippy-toes, it¡¯s still a reach to tap his chin. ¡°She was going to go do some reading to broaden her understanding of Githz¨¦rai culture. Perfect time!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t wear Mirage¡¯s device out,¡± Ebusuku adds. An excitement in Torm¡¯s aura shortly after shows he didn¡¯t waste time arguing, nor did Amdirlain with responding. With his attention clearly elsewhere, Ebusuku gives me a smile. ¡°We¡¯ll watch the children play and then get Sidero.¡± ¡°M¨®eir said: quote, watch out for Master Cyrus¡¯ levels, his numbers eclipse yours, five-digit defence and attack, end quote,¡± I report, and for once I make Ebusuku blink. ¡°We¡¯ll watch Farhad struggle then,¡± she replies, and turns back to the pair, who still haven¡¯t started. I can¡¯t track their conversation, whatever tongue they''re using is clearly not their native one so my Spell doesn¡¯t translate. Farhad starts and the pair blur, I¡¯d expected Cyrus to treat it the same way as other sparring seasons I¡¯d watched at the monastery. Instead, one moment Farhad attacks and the next he¡¯s on the ground, only Cyrus¡¯ momentary shifting stance making it clear he¡¯d moved at all. Clearing his head with a quick shake Farhad rises, and the air glows¡ªto me at least¡ªforming a trail that suddenly ends. Cyrus¡¯ posture shows no hint of strain or rush, but he simply flows back from the axe kick that smashed Farhad to the ground. Every technique he counters with brutal precision, and I wonder what I set in motion with Master Farhad repeatedly knocked down. The sound of ruffling feathers is the only sign that Ebusuku fights back the urge to get involved. There is no malice in his aura, and his serene precision holds my own objections at bay. Then Tyr¡¯s insight is sitting upon my shoulders and makes everything clear; Farhad¡¯s on trial. When Torm turns back, the nod he gives me shows he sees it too, and I wonder what he¡¯s telling Amdirlain. ¡°In each place, the laws can be oppressive and unyielding or kind and merciful; sometimes the same law depending on the side on which you stand within a judgement,¡± Cyrus says suddenly as Farhad¡¯s fingers dig into the ground. Their first words spoken in the almost hour since they began. When he spoke, Farhad had instantly stopped preparing to move again. ¡°Is it you that stands in judgement now?¡± asks Farhad, blood streaming from a lip split so badly I can see his teeth healing through the gap. The question from Master Farhad doesn¡¯t shift Master Cyrus¡¯ expression an ounce in either anger or compassion. ¡°You did not waver no matter that my response repeatedly overwhelmed you. So I would give you some points to think upon. It is up to you to decide if they are judgements or not.¡± Cyrus clears his throat and starts only when Farhad nods. ¡°A lord sets the laws in his lands, yet within their boundaries bandits can set their own laws. Which would you follow if you met the bandits in their lair? Are not both law? When does one rightfully override another? If they are following their laws, does that make the bandits action acceptable? You moved as one focused on Law: what is the greater law?¡± Though his tone was firm, it actually contained respect, and stepping back, he motions Farhad up, his familiar smile already back in place. Farhad hadn¡¯t moved while Cyrus spoke, but now he wipes the blood from his mouth before he rose. ¡°I thought you¡¯d argue my way is wrong, like the others.¡± ¡°If that is what they said, I¡¯ll have words with them¡ªthat wasn¡¯t in the records. To follow one¡¯s Tao is to be true to oneself; you¡¯ve shown an inner strength that they didn¡¯t record. You have gained Immortal Spirit, and clearly have had it for some time, so why are you still human?¡± ¡°Is that not what defines an Immortal?¡± Cyrus gives a slow headshake, but his expression is compassionate, not admonishing. ¡°No, but once you find what does and transcend, then we¡¯ll speak again. Who knows, one day you might stand more an equal to your wife.¡± ¡°I do not need to be equal to her; I need to be worthy of her,¡± refutes Farhad softly. His aura¡¯s colours heat my complexion, and I glance up in time to see Ebusuku¡¯s lips curl happily¡ªher worry easing. ¡°You have changed Farhad, even if you don¡¯t see it. The records¡¯ account declared you flawed and sent away because you cared only about seeking power for yourself, to gain sovereignty over all you looked upon. If there is truth in that, I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯ve since learnt that the progression of the Soul means more than merely gaining power,¡± states Cyrus. His words stop Farhad cold, and he doesn¡¯t even blink but bows even deeper than he had before their exchange. ¡°My thanks for your insights, Master Cyrus; the records, though missing the argument, were correct in that regard.¡± Cyrus acknowledges him with a lesser bow, and held a hand¡ªglowing with a pure white light¡ªnear Farhad¡¯s shoulder. In a second the wounds I can see upon him are healed, and only bloodstains showed they were ever there. ¡°Next time the insights I provide you won¡¯t need to involve a trial of your spirit, young Master Farhad,¡± says Cyrus, before bowing to Ebusuku. ¡°You have a determined husband Ebusuku. I believe he has much potential and while it has taken a long road to reach this place it is not yet wasted.¡± ¡°The road he travelled led us to each other,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Then perhaps finding you was what his Soul needed.¡± I take a step back to relieve the crink in my neck from watching her shifts in expression, and catch Ebusuku¡¯s mysterious smile. ¡°I say it was what we both needed to reach a better state.¡± Ignoring Cyrus'' confused expression she glances at Torm. ¡°Did you tell Amdirlain about these two getting to know each other?¡± ¡°I told her there was a delay because of an intense catch up going on,¡± Torm replies diplomatically, and my snicker turns his attention my way. ¡°Torm, she¡¯d think Farhad and Ebusuku were delayed due to sex if you told her that,¡± I huff, and enjoy Torm going red. ¡°I bet she changed the subject.¡± ¡°She did, and promised to set time aside each rest day to speak, since she¡¯s doing better now,¡± Torm said happily, a change in a normally stern demeanour. ¡°No passing on messages from others,¡± snaps Ebusuku. ¡°I appreciate you¡¯re protective of her, but you¡¯re not the only one,¡± chides Torm firmly, drawing a frown from Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯ve every intention of not letting others disturb her¡ªfor my own reasons¡ªas well as instructions from Tyr.¡± ¡°Why is your Deity protective of Amdirlain?¡± Cyrus asks right on the heels of his statement, a reminder of our conversation at the monastery. ¡°She¡¯s helped his faithful in a number of ways previously,¡± I respond getting in before Torm can reply. ¡°Sidero has been expecting us to open a Gate for a while now,¡± Torm says, taking the only subtle approach suited to him, and completely changing the subject. Ebusuku doesn¡¯t even hesitate, and when the Gate opens focused on Sidero, she¡¯s standing by a human-like statue¡ªtwice her height, apparently made of mithril¡ªetching runes along its torso. It¡¯s only upon finishing the one in progress that she bothers to look our way. With a casual pat on its side, the thing vanishes, I assume into her Inventory. Crossing the threshold of the Gate, Sidero gives Ebusuku an edged-smile. ¡°You finally ready to go? I sent Klipyl off to play ages ago.¡± ¡°That was a nice-looking toy,¡± Torm observes casually, deliberately keeping his gaze from Cyrus¡¯ own. ¡°It will make a handy defensive linebacker and paperweight once I¡¯ve finished with it,¡± said Sidero, her attention moving past us; I see a flicker of curiosity before a burst of pleasure washes through her aura the moment her gaze lands on Cyrus. ¡°I take it you didn¡¯t find that on Letveri?¡± questions Ebusuku. ¡°Please, I made it. The cities had enough mithril to make a few of them, but forming them was the easy part. Mithril soaks up Mana so readily that getting all the enchantments in place will take some time,¡± Sidero explains. Her voice remains casual despite a chain tightening around her forearm so hard I expect to hear bones break. Torm blinks at her phrasing, and beats me to asking a question. ¡°Them? How many golems are you working on?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not golems they¡¯re statues with enchantments. I can control their movements so I don¡¯t need any embedded intelligence getting in my way. They¡¯re more to serve as a shield wall, I¡¯ve got other toys for killing things, I¡¯m looking forward to testing my upgrades on undead,¡± responds Sidero, ¡°Are you okay, Sidero?¡± The simple question has her looking at me blankly, the surprise clear in her aura even if it¡¯s hard to tell by her face. ¡°You¡¯re one of the few people to ask that for years, Livia. No, I¡¯m not. The chains are being problematic; shall we get to grinding up undead already?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you remove them?¡± Cyrus asks curiously. Fear flares through her aura and chain loops that had been resting around her calves ratchet momentarily tighter. ¡°My name¡¯s Sidero, and you are?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Cyrus.¡± ¡°Well, at least I know your name. Thanks for the introduction in advance,¡± Sidero says, her voice sickly sweet. ¡°How about you save the personal questions until never? By my calculations, I¡¯ll need to kill millions of undead if they¡¯re only types of zombies and the clock is ticking.¡± ¡°A minute to midnight?¡± I don¡¯t understand what Torm says, but his tone implies a question, and Sidero nods sharply. ¡°I might not even have that much time.¡± Ebusuku opens a Gate up, and the sight of the barren wasteland sends a shiver up my spine. Judging from what I¡¯ve heard, we¡¯re atop a plateau between canyons, and in the distance black clouds move eerily, their course in opposition to the wind that is creating zephyrs in the dust. Sidero doesn¡¯t hesitate but strides through the Gate and a metal disc drops at her feet. The moment she steps atop it, the surface melds to her feet, and she ascends steeply faster than I can sprint. Metal cylinders larger than her torso appear in her wake, and spread out in an arc, keeping pace. Following the others, I can see a gathering of Lantern Archons streaming through another Gate with the blackness of Limbo visible through it. A flash of light draws my attention back towards Sidero, and I see bright bolts raining down from the cylinders striking towards targets within the canyon she¡¯s following. ¡°Well, Sidero¡¯s heading in the right direction for things to fight,¡± says Ebusuku casually. ¡°But I could have gotten her there faster.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think she wants help,¡± Torm murmurs with surprising concern. ¡°I sent her a message about how far to head before expecting serious trouble.¡± The three of them give me a nod before they vanish. Glancing back to the Archons I see Mirage come through the gate, and signal us towards the closest canyon. ¡°It looks like this is us, or at least me,¡± I say, and move towards the top of the broken gate at the canyon¡¯s mouth to spot a way down. Looking over the desolate tiers cut into the cliff wall, there are so many options among the broken buildings even without using a Flight Spell. It¡¯s more about picking what path I didn¡¯t want to take, but I can¡¯t see any undead before my survey reaches the waterline. ¡°Master Cyrus, can I ask a question?¡± ¡°Can you? Didn¡¯t you just ask one?¡± Resisting the temptation to rub my face I can¡¯t help but wonder if Amdirlain corrupted his humour or he was this way on his own. ¡°How can Master Farhad transcend? He already has three Prestige Classes.¡± ¡°Considering what might happen with the evolution of your own Immortal Spirit?¡± suggests Cyrus serenely, giving me a knowing smile, his aura confident. ¡°How did-¡± Cyrus¡¯ nod comes before I cut myself off, and his smug look has my eyes narrowing. ¡°You didn¡¯t know but you guessed, and I confirmed it by reacting.¡± ¡°More a moment of insight, your enlightenment and past memories are too strong for you not to possess Immortal Spirit. I really would like to know more about the life event that caused the change in your eyes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± I say, making a motion to lock my lips and throw away the key. ¡°My first wife used to say that, and it always meant to mind my own business,¡± mutters Cyrus, his tone rich with amusement. ¡°Watch it or I¡¯ll use the words I¡¯m told wise men dread.¡± I tease, enjoying the light banter in the face of the surrounding desolation. A nonchalant shrug accompanies exactly the sort of response I expect from him. ¡°I¡¯ve heard many words that bring dread to a wise man.¡± ¡°Fine, have it your way!¡± Cyrus looks at me for a moment, and turns his attention to the canyon beneath us. ¡°Where do you wish to position yourself?¡± At the sound of movement in the building beneath us I point to the ledge before it. ¡°I¡¯ll make them come to me. You can bait them after I¡¯ve cleared some space if it''s needed.¡± 190 - Home again Lezekus¡¯ PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Crossing the Portal¡¯s threshold brought a sigh of relief from Lezekus and she stepped to the side. It wasn¡¯t an action needed by protocol but prompted by concern given her parents had both accompanied her to the last transfer point. After the arguments over the break, she wouldn¡¯t put violating the rules past them with how strongly they¡¯d tried to talk her out of her choice of faith. When the last of the travellers was through the Portal, it closed and she gratefully let the solid peaceful feel of the monastery enfold her. ¡°Novice Lezekus,¡± said Duurth, and the unexpected greeting catching her amid thoughts of family startled her. Spinning in his direction, Lezekus stopped and bowed in formal greeting, not used to the outer defences¡¯ master¡ªa monastery council member¡ªgreeting her outside of class. That he¡¯d taught them at all had been strange enough and one that gossips attributed solely to Amdirlain¡¯s presence. ¡°Know that I¡¯m pleased to see you, Master Duurth, though your greeting surprised me.¡± ¡°Know you should accompany me as Master Jarith? wishes to speak with you upon your return.¡± ¡°Me?¡± Her pack almost slipping from her shoulder prompted her frozen mind into action, and she moved to the courtyard¡¯s boundary. Instead of leading her through the monastery¡¯s pathways, they were just suddenly elsewhere. A corridor much like any other in the monastery, even the door before them wouldn¡¯t have been out of place within the dormitory. Unlike those rooms though, the mental strength projected from within seemed to challenge Limbo and she hurriedly restrained her perceptions. The churning in her stomach had her draw into herself further and her breathing raced. A breath at a time, she deliberately worked to slow its pace, but before she¡¯d got it under control, the door opened. She wasn¡¯t sure what she¡¯d expected Master Jarith?¡¯s study to be like, but it was gorgeous in its details. The subtle grains in the stonework, leading to tiny oases of colour that burst like flowers within the stone, even their formation drew attention onwards. It provided an elegant framing that focused attention to the balcony and out into Limbo¡¯s embrace. The tail end of the public thoughts between Master Jarith? and Master Duurth pulled her attention back to the moment and away from the view. She wondered if that was part of the purpose of the room, given that Master Jarith?, positioned with his back to the view, wouldn¡¯t have to fight its beautiful distraction. The strength of the elder Master¡¯s presence became carefully restrained and no longer pressed against her. Instead, he gave her a smile that echoed her grandfather¡¯s warmth, though to outsiders it likely would have seemed a tiny, even meaningless, flex of his lips. Two backless chairs appeared¡ªexactly like Master Jarith?¡¯s own¡ªforming the point of an equal triangle, and Master Duurth motioned her to take the left. Not sure why she deserved the position of honour in such a conference, Lezekus still didn¡¯t hesitate to sit. Jarith? gave a pleased nod, and his serious tone focused Lezekus. ¡°Know that first, you¡¯ll need to view a crystal, but our discussion of them will not affect your studies here. Know that it is merely they raise questions that are the source of many rumours that I would like to still.¡± A psi crystal appeared hovering before her, its facets gleaming in perfect form showing its quality. At his nod, she mentally reached out and quickly attuning found there was no question about what he wanted her to review. There was only one record within it, and what a record it was. The light and the appearance of the Celestials¡ªstrange yet so beautiful¡ªpoured calmness across her mind. Their colours and symbol brought a thought instantly into her mind, though she gave voice to only a part. ¡°Has Amdirlain left?¡± A faint widening of his eyes was all the warning she got before Jarith? shielded the three of them. The background mental hum of all the monastery¡¯s minds went absolutely silent. ¡°I had called you to ask if you¡¯d share your Goddess¡¯ name with me. While it had been your own business in the past, now there are many rumours afoot¡ªsome best managed¡ªgiven her Celestials provided Amdirlain¡¯s daughter with an escort.¡± ¡°You thought she¡¯d left with her Celestials,¡± Duurth breathes. His pale complexion showed that he¡¯d obviously caught the chain of her thoughts. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll need to focus on higher level techniques for continually shielding one¡¯s thoughts.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± whispered Lezekus. Master Jarith? motioned her to relax, and the crystal disappeared. ¡°I should have shielded the room prior to the discussion starting.¡± ¡°How much did I leak?¡± ¡°Know that you wondered if they were here to accompany her home, or if she summoned them for some purpose,¡± offered Duurth, and glanced at Jarith?. ¡°Know I caught you wished the view through the Gate gave a better view of Amdirlain¡¯s Domain,¡± added Jarith?. ¡°Know associated thoughts can quickly flow from each other.¡± ¡°Know Amdirlain doesn¡¯t like anyone treating her differently,¡± stated Lezekus. ¡°Is that why you argue with her so much?¡± Duurth lightly teased. Lezekus laughed and covered her mouth, blushing at her outburst. With a headshake, she gave Master Duurth a flicker of a smile. ¡°Know I argue with her because I¡¯m not afraid to voice my opinion with her, and she¡¯s happy to listen.¡± ¡°Elliyna is helping to heal the mind of a Goddess?¡± Jarith? murmured, yet the question seemed rhetorical. ¡°Know Amdirlain told me that Elliyna is aware of her nature,¡± offered Lezekus. ¡°Know I don¡¯t believe she likes the Goddess Elliyna follows, though only because she¡¯s an aspect of the Queen of the Winter Court or something.¡± The slightest twitch at the corner of an eye was Jarith?¡¯s only reaction, and a tight set of his lips warned her of the seriousness of his question. ¡°How is it you discovered her nature?¡± ¡°Know it was during the incident with Sarith when she protected us I felt her nature,¡± explained Lezekus. She almost held her tongue but dared a question that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t known the answer to either. ¡°I¡¯ve not been able to ask Master Xharn, but do you know why I sense her nature where others couldn¡¯t?¡± Jarith? closed his eyes in contemplation and offered his view. ¡°Know that not all faithful can become Priests, and even those that are truly dedicated to their deity might remain lay Priests. Know all I can suggest is whatever allows individuals to become a Priest provided you with the ability to sense it.¡± ¡°She did not specifically recruit you as a Priest?¡± Duurth asked, a hardness in his tone hinting at concern. Giving a vehement head shake, Lezekus had to restrain her sigh of relief when Master Duurth motioned her to explain fully. ¡°Know afterwards I told her I could feel the strength in it and wanted to pray¡ªshe immediately knew I was her Priest.¡± Pausing, she considered her explanation to Amdirlain and felt its incompleteness. All the arguments with her parents had made her consider that initial response, and she tried her best to voice it now. ¡°Know that I sensed Amdirlain¡¯s nature in that mist, the hope, and choices she wants others to have in their lives. Know when she did so there was no proclamation of her nature, but what I sensed filled me with the knowledge of it.¡± A tightness around Duurth¡¯s eyes relaxed, signalling the easing of tension Lezekus hadn¡¯t noticed until then. ¡°Is that all you sensed?¡± ¡°Know there was also pain, loneliness, and a desire to protect us from harm. Know that moment shielded in the mists rang through me like someone had plucked a chord deep inside me. I even asked her why she was here healing. Do you want to know what she asked me?¡± ¡°Know I get the impression you would tell me regardless, but I¡¯ll choose to listen,¡± replied Jarith?, his light amusement setting a warmth through his mental energy. Restraining her sigh at his wordplay, Lezekus did her best to remember Amdirlain¡¯s exact words. ¡°Why would someone injured and healing have inspired me to follow? Know that I told her it hadn¡¯t mattered to what I sensed, but after time thinking, it¡¯s part of what is important about her. How can a Deity understand us if they¡¯ve never felt pain themselves, never needed time to heal. Wouldn¡¯t they just demand until we met their needs?¡± Duurth nodded in understanding, and Lezekus paused in her explanation for his response. ¡°Know that I¡¯m not a Priest, but I hope never to need aid from someone of that nature.¡± ¡°Know she then told me: I¡¯ve been in places, seen and done things I thought would break me. Instead of dealing with the trauma of those events, I let them build until they broke loose. And then she asked me: if it¡¯s not what you¡¯d expect of a Power, then why did you choose me to provide a focus for your Faith?¡° Lezekus paused, and when there was no immediate interruption, continued her explanation. ¡°Gods I had heard about before always felt so perfect and distant to me, but the way she fails then simply tries again gives me hope. Hope that I can achieve more myself, and that she won¡¯t hold my failings against me.¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. ¡°Know that the structure of your language needs work, Novice,¡± chided Duurth, though she caught the twitch of amusement. Lezekus barely stopped her cheeky retort. The first word was already on her lips, so she stopped, composed herself and started again. ¡°Know I¡¯m sure my words will flow as smoothly as Amdirlain¡¯s one day.¡± Hearing the words that left her lips despite her attempt to behave had her wince, but neither Master took offence. ¡°In that case, should I have Master Tenzin arrange more language classes for you both?¡± asked Jarith? teasingly, and Lezekus restrained her grimace. ¡°Do I have your permission to put a shield in place, to prevent leaked secrets that aren¡¯t yours alone?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not angry, Master Jarith??¡± ¡°Know that certainly I¡¯m startled, shocked even, but not angry,¡± reassured Jarith?, working to control his voice. He didn¡¯t continue immediately, but Lezekus didn¡¯t dare prompt him; when he spoke again, his tone was far calmer. ¡°Know that while she told me some of her background, this was beyond all my expectations of her: I never said I was usual. Know that given all the fuss the visit of her servants, and daughter caused, I can understand why she didn¡¯t tell me herself.¡± The eye roll that Master Duurth gave contained a great deal of frustration. ¡°Know that I¡¯m sure the guards on wall duty don¡¯t really need psi-crystals to record anything and everything coming close to the wall.¡± Jarith? gave a dry laugh at the comment, but neither elaborated. When Lezekus glanced between them wide-eyed, he actually gave her a smile that softened his stern face. ¡°Know we shall get you properly protected from prying minds. Would you like me to keep a link in case anyone is persistent?¡± ¡°Know I wouldn¡¯t want my mind to betray her,¡± replied Lezekus earnestly. ¡°Know personally I don¡¯t think she¡¯d take another¡¯s success against you as a betrayal, though certainly, it¡¯s safer for them not to succeed.¡± ¡°How much turmoil do you think the news would cause within the monastery?¡± asked Duurth. ¡°Know I think every Monk would be challenging each other for the right to exchange pointers,¡± Jarith? said, and Lezekus felt a brief touch of his mind against hers. When the touch withdrew whatever link he was maintaining was undetectable to her. ¡°Know that I¡¯m monitoring the energy of the shield, not your thoughts,¡± reassured Jarith?. ¡°Would you like me to Teleport you directly to the dormitory?¡± asked Duurth, and Lezekus took it as her cue to be on her way and stood. ¡°Know I¡¯d prefer to start from the quadrants¡¯ entryway, then I can practice reaching its new location,¡± answered Lezekus. Scooping her pack from the ground, Lezekus started on her way, looking for the markers Master Duurth¡¯s directions provided. Lezekus had found herself with her pack at her feet standing within the inner gates. After having to retrace her route twice, Lezekus finally found the proper path marks and orienting herself she hastened along the corridors and gave the dormitory¡¯s door an energetic push. The noise of it slamming against the wall made her jump even as the sight of Master Tenzin brought her to a halt. Master Tenzin nodded to Lezekus, unfussed by the energy with which Lezekus had opened the door. Though the glance she shot at it, having rebounded off the wall with a bang, had Lezekus brace herself for a scolding. ¡°Welcome back, Novice Lezekus. Know those who¡¯ve returned so far are in the downstairs training hall. Know that while regular classes won¡¯t start for another four days, the meditation sessions will begin tomorrow¡ªthough you may attend the usual prayer sessions.¡± Lezekus exchanged formal bows with Tenzin to acknowledge her greeting, relieved at avoiding extra duties. ¡°Know I appreciate the information, Master Tenzin; I hadn¡¯t expected to be greeted by yourself.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll continue to be your dormitory Master for this year, and potentially the next,¡± explained Tenzin, and motioned along the corridor towards her sleeping cell. ¡°Know you may leave your things in your room, as I have notified the section Anarch of your return.¡± ¡°Yes, Master Tenzin,¡± Lezekus said. ¡°Know also since you¡¯ve so much energy, the general training hall should be clean prior to dinner tonight.¡± ¡°Yes, Master Tenzin,¡± Lezekus repeated, and carefully restrained her sigh. ¡°Know I believe that still allows you time to catch up prior to lunch, in two bells,¡± states Tenzin, and shooed her on her way. Refolding her spare clothes and replacing them in her room¡¯s clothing chest only took a few minutes, but she found Master Tenzin had already departed upon exiting her room. With a sigh for the misfortune of her timing, she hurried along the corridor, and heard the conversation in the downstairs training hall as she reached the last door. ¡°Livia is my daughter, but it¡¯s because she adopted me, not the other way around,¡± admitted Amdirlain, giving a full-body shrug. ¡°I didn¡¯t get as much time with her as I would have liked, but she stayed with people I trusted to look after her.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t you tell us why she came with Celestials of Lezekus¡¯ Goddess?¡± persisted Gemiya. Lezekus found only seven dormitory members sitting in a circle chatting with Amdirlain, a proverbial pot boiling over with a happy vibe. The others seemed almost spellbound by her wild energy, all without a single hint from the smooth mirror-like calm of her mind. Her emotions were on full display: broad smiles, expansive gestures, and a gleaming gaze, so far beyond the subtle cues Lezekus had grown up looking for in adults. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy,¡± Amdirlain laughed and gave Lezekus a welcoming smile. ¡°She guilt-tripped their boss.¡± Running fingers through the short fuzz of hair she maintained, Zenya gave Amdirlain a baffled look. ¡°How does one guilt trip a Celestial? Who is their boss given the recording shows Celestials that seem so powerful?¡± Amdirlain''s smile lit up her eyes, almost to the point they glowed. ¡°They were just new Celestials that had time free from training. Since even Celestials must develop their powers and skills, shifting to their home Plane was good practice. As for their boss, Livia¡¯s an astute judge of character but never mind about the visitors. What happened on your breaks?¡± Gemiya and Zenya both rewarded her with their typical frowns for her avoidance, the momentary tightening around their eyes far less subtle than an adult¡ªbut quite understated in comparison. Sparing them only a glance, Nomein snorted and fingered the brunette braid she¡¯d been growing since she¡¯d taken a fancy to Amdirlain¡¯s typical hairstyle. ¡°No one?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Surely someone has something to share?¡± ¡°Know my father informed me of the grades I¡¯m expected to achieve this year,¡± Gemiya stated. Zenya gave her a sceptical look and nudged her to speak on, a gesture of the long familiarity between them. ¡°Do you think that counts as exciting?¡± ¡°Know that I meant that was the most exciting part of my break that I¡¯d wish to speak of,¡± replied Gemiya, her expression under careful control. ¡°Know my parents were both unbearable about Sarith, and the breaking of the family tradition. Don¡¯t you know Limbo will surely collapse over Zerth¡¯Ad¡¯Lun now? Know that every member in my father¡¯s bloodline has been a member of the Guard.¡± ¡°Ouch,¡± winced Amdirlain and gave Gemiya a wry smile. ¡°Ever considered running away and joining the circus? Sorry, that didn¡¯t translate, a group of travelling performers?¡± ¡°Know if I did that, my father¡¯s brain would surely explode, and then I¡¯d be guilty of triggering an event that levelled multiple buildings,¡± joked Gemiya. The unrestrained laughter of the others was so very un-Githz¨¦rai in nature that it made Lezekus wonder what Master Jarith? would say about Amdirlain¡¯s influence. As Zenya glanced sideways at Gemiya and flung her hands dramatically outwards, Lezekus put her concerns aside and joined in. The others exchanged tales of their breaks, and while some had found it easy to return, some families had provided more drama than her own. Nomein¡¯s mother had offered, repeatedly, to buy her an apprenticeship with a Master Wizard¡ªnaturally in the City of Glass that her family called home¡ªif she¡¯d not leave again. * * * The training hall was in a worse state than she¡¯d expected. Mostly Limbo dissolved everything untended over time but a thin layer of dust sat across the floor. A full bell into mopping it down Lezekus looked up at the sound of the door clicking shut and found Master Xharn watching her clean. Moradin¡¯s Priest being in the training hall was a surprise enough, let alone being in a girl¡¯s dormitory unaccompanied, she could only assume he had permission. Little tells cried out his agitation; the intensity in his normally calm eyes added thin lines around his wide-set green eyes and tension to his lean frame. ¡°Know I¡¯ve had a word with Master Jarith? this morning after I received confirmation of your return,¡± stated Xharn. Lezekus froze in mid-bow and fumbled with the mop, even as Xharn continued on without his normally strict sense of decorum. ¡°Know that when I was training as a Priest, the only other Class I had taken was Psion; even then I had focused from the start as a Shaper. Know I knew I wanted to serve Moradin before I was eight, and had sought to learn his ways. Can you understand then how gaining the Priest Class was a dream come true for me?¡± She barely had time to acknowledge before Xharn paced across the hall, running his fingers through his thick black hair. ¡°Is there something the matter, Master Xharn?¡± He didn¡¯t respond immediately but continued to pace and only after long minutes stopped and swiveled on his heel to face her. ¡°Do you intend to continue studies for all four of your classes?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Xharn, I do.¡± ¡°If I request you to spend your rest day training as a Priest, and every day of your nominal breaks, would you do so? Know there is no other way we¡¯ll have time to keep the progression between them equal,¡± stated Xharn. ¡°Know that if the choice is wholly mine, I would only ask: when do we start?¡± ¡°Know it will mean so much work you will envy Apprentice Sarith her free time,¡± Xharn warned. ¡°Know I¡¯ll have to push you extremely hard.¡± Lezekus raised her eyebrows in amusement and carefully replied. ¡°Know that I wasn¡¯t aware Sarith had free time, but I¡¯d still accept whatever training you¡¯d provide.¡± Xharn gave a sharp nod and headed for the door, his public mind entirely still without a single broadcast thought. ¡°Master Xharn?¡± He stopped at the question in her tone and turned back to face her fingers scratching on the edge of his robe. ¡°Yes, Novice?¡± ¡°Is there something wrong, Master Xharn?¡± ¡°You, of course, know who she is?¡± ¡°Yes, Master Xharn.¡± ¡°Know with all the confusion caused by her Celestials visiting, I prayed for insight into your Goddess and learnt things it would have been more restful not to know. Know that Moradin counts her as an ally, one he¡¯d welcome among his family!¡± exclaimed Xharn, his body taut with energy. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Master Xharn?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯m standing in a dormitory that houses a Goddess, an ally of Moradin! Know you are the first and only Priest of hers currently among our people, and I¡¯m responsible for your training,¡± retorted Xharn, his eyes ablaze with determination. ¡°Why should anything be wrong? Know you¡¯d best get rest tonight; while the others are still on their break, you will not be¡ªwe shall rise to this challenge together. Is there anything planned for after dinner tonight?¡± At her head shake, he gave her a fierce smile. ¡°Know you now have lessons in the chapel, be prompt.¡± Master Xharn strode from the hall, pulling the door shut energetically behind him, and even though it vibrated in the frame, there wasn¡¯t a sound. Breathing in relief at the muffled noise, Lezekus could only hope the effect had extended to cover Master Xharn¡¯s outburst. Taking a moment, she felt about for any minds and found those closest were working on their Zerthi forms with Amdirlain below. Lezekus took a deep breath and, feeling the extent of Master Xharn¡¯s determination hit, uttered Amdirlain¡¯s secret chant. ¡°Oh Fuck!¡± 191 - Picking up the pieces Baln¨¦rith¡¯s PoV - Ijmti - Sisterhood Stronghold Deep beneath the stronghold was a chamber that only one entity still in existence had seen. There was no flat surface anywhere in the room, though its artificial construction was clear. Twisting around every curve and cresting across sharp edges were adamantine runes quenched in primordial blood. Amid their malevolent glow, Baln¨¦rith snapped into existence and dropped her prisoner to the ground. Those of her order wouldn¡¯t have recognised her at present, the beauty she apparently prided herself on nowhere to be seen. Instead, her powerful presence magnified her true form¡¯s horrific appearance to a degree that would have shattered powerful minds that gazed upon her. Here in this place contained by the magics that touched even her, she looked nothing like the Succubus form she customarily maintained. Where a head would normally be was a mass of fine hair-thin filaments that writhed about, tasting the air and twitching happily in time to her prisoner¡¯s groans. Her body was a further mockery of her once angelic form¡ªbeyond what even a Succubus represented. Once-silvery skin was now a blackened patchwork of scars and sores. Flesh undulated continually, churning, bubbling, and oozing¡ªappearing like she might burst apart at any instant¡ªit twisted in ways that would sicken the strongest of stomachs. Wings that had radiated sunlight now dripped a nameless and spiritually cancerous fluid that hissed spitefully through the air. Her prisoner was far from mortal, but her form at least wouldn¡¯t destroy a mortal¡¯s mind. A blood-soaked pair of pus-coloured wings displayed the jagged ends of broken bones, jutting forth like open maws leaping from the foliage of the feathers. The prisoner¡¯s face appeared almost human: deep brown hair, straight nose, and oval face, but for her eyes and skin tone. Storm clouds churn within the orbs of her eyes, with lightning discharging continually across the eye from the pupil, while her skin tone befitted turned custard. Battered, acid charred, armour and clothing still covered most of her curvaceous form, but gaps showed bloody and slowly healing wounds. ¡°You won¡¯t get away with this. The cloister will rescue me. Is there any other drivel you¡¯re hoping I¡¯ll say to feed your pride?¡± Pressing her down, it only took Baln¨¦rith a few precisely cast spells to finish shattering her beaten prisoner¡¯s remaining protections and pull a crystal amulet free from torn flesh. With that in hand, she vanished again, and the walls of the chamber slowly closed in. Rough edges shrank all the way inwards until they held the prisoner in a position that made cleanly healing the wounds impossible. Hours later, Baln¨¦rith sat in her office, shifting through a multitude of reports that were provided on a vast variety of materials. From the flayed skin of enemies ripe with decaying blood, to pristine nightmare crystals that hummed with tormented Souls¡¯ crystallised screams. While some she stacked carefully to one side, others ended up destroyed or casually tossed in a pile. Not far away, the amulet she¡¯d spent far too long gaining, now sat casually atop a box of ashes, glowing with a soft inner light. The office itself was more practical than gaudy, with a dark-grey stone desk, barely two metres long, and half that wide, set in the centre of the room. A steadily shrinking stack of reports covered one end while on the other, two small boxes received a select number of reports, but the vast majority were simply tossed aside. The room itself was almost six metres to a side and lined with bookcases, and low tables made of sturdy stonework that blended into the walls. Here and there, amid gaps between them, stood backless chairs exactly matching the one Baln¨¦rith sat upon while studying reports. Aynaet, unlike many others of the Sisterhood, didn¡¯t hesitate in entering Baln¨¦rith¡¯s sanctum and hastened to place a fresh set of reports on the desk¡¯s end. The glowing amulet was impossible to miss, yet she kept any reaction in check. Holding out a hand,0 the reports Baln¨¦rith had discarded leapt from the floor, and tucking them away, she waited knowing her continued presence would draw attention. ¡°Report.¡± The order came without preamble, yet Baln¨¦rith¡¯s attention didn¡¯t flicker from the reports blurring through her hands. ¡°A Seer has determined the missing trainees haven¡¯t deserted¡ªsomeone summoned and destroyed them¡ªtraces showed they were all destroyed on Hrz¡¯Styrn.¡± Baln¨¦rith stopped and regarded her assistant with a look of outrage, and raised a hand before Aynaet could continue, intelligence racing behind her gaze. ¡°Planar Attunement isn¡¯t a commonly known Spell, and only beings with Souls can conduct a summoning. Have everyone whose Use Name the traitors might possess renamed, they could recommence this annoyance. What did the Seer say about finding them?¡± ¡°Their finding matched our own. They disappeared from within the grotto¡¯s outer barrier¡ªthough she determined the Song had destroyed some. Most of them somehow became tied to a hidden. She wouldn¡¯t elaborate further, but I found a reference that fit,¡± replied Aynaet. ¡°All her kind can be enigmatic. What did you believe this ¡®hidden¡¯ reference means?¡± Aynaet licked her lips and nodded before offering a memory crystal that was taken from her grasp with a blur of motion. Absorbing the crystal¡¯s information, Baln¨¦rith crushed it between her fingers, the coldness of her tone etching the air. ¡°J?¡± ¡°Most likely was one, given the common attributes they¡¯ve exhibited. Somehow, she¡¯s shared her protections with the traitors since we can no longer see them, even using their names. We¡¯re tracking down a mercenary she left ¨´eqr?kas with after visiting the Treasury. Ebusuku¡¯s report following the fight where J died in ¨¤luga also mentioned him.¡± ¡°According to these records, the few hidden discovered have possessed unusual capabilities,¡± said Baln¨¦rith, motioning to the powder now dusting her desk. ¡°She might have possessed the ability to rename them.¡± Sitting back, she gave Aynaet her complete attention for the first time since she entered the office. ¡°Impossible,¡± grumbled Aynaet. ¡°She shrugged off all our attempts to get into her mind and even burnt away the True Name the spike inflicted. Let¡¯s not assume it¡¯s impossible. Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s power increase after Set¡¯s destruction makes it seem we were but a pawn in one game, and perhaps more,¡± said Baln¨¦rith, waving towards the still glowing amulet. ¡°The ashes resonate with True Song and not L¨®m? but Anar, according to the crystal my latest guest possessed. Which makes the task I gave you even more important.¡± Aynaet nodded, and the merest hint of relaxation that settled about her proclaimed some good news. ¡°I secured the rights you wanted. The city council gave us two votes, and the sections of the pillar we requested for secure operations. There was no sign of any attempt to breach either your seals or their royal barrier. It presently remains out of phase with the surrounding Plane, and no hints of rumours in recent years.¡± ¡°Good. Where there is one Anar, there might be others. Any strange coincidences aren¡¯t to be discounted; I want them fully explored,¡± insisted Baln¨¦rith as she picked up a new report. ¡°They were all supposed to have left his realm. Let¡¯s assume that¡¯s just another of his lies and find out if others are in play.¡± ¡°That brings me to the next news,¡± Aynaet said, and offered another crystal. At her words, Baln¨¦rith stopped and tilted her head to regard her curiously before she held out a hand to accept it. ¡°You don¡¯t normally drip-feed reports.¡± ¡°Like the information on the hidden, I felt this was too important.¡± Absorbing the crystal took but a moment, but Baln¨¦rith reviewed the memories repeatedly, shifting through every detail. ¡°Those bone wings are distinctive, but few would have seen them previously.¡± ¡°I believe she¡¯s baiting us or wanted to attract attention given their destination. The images were recorded over ninety cycles ago now and the trio were gone the same day.¡± ¡°Get a hold of the Alchemist. Find out...¡± began Baln¨¦rith, only to pause when the slightest twitch signalled Aynaet¡¯s restrained wince. ¡°Gone?¡± ¡°It¡¯s as if the store never existed. We¡¯ve not wanted to get involved with Hell¡¯s spy, so we¡¯ve no way to track her. We¡¯ve got teams enquiring about anyone that might have her Use Name. And there is something more,¡± stated Aynaet, pulling a torment lodestone from her pouch and held it for Baln¨¦rith¡¯s consideration before setting it on the desk. ¡°I take it someone has compared the energies to those others recently sold in Iron Spire?¡± asked Baln¨¦rith. Aynaet didn¡¯t bother to answer the rhetorical question, and Baln¨¦rith hissed in annoyance. ¡°This turned up in the city?¡± ¡°The Alchemist used it to purchase all the equipment and resources from one of the city¡¯s transport yards,¡± advised Aynaet. ¡°The city council learnt of the purchase only well afterwards, but it took those assigned a while to find the Enchanter who¡¯d purchased it.¡± ¡°Any idea which world it¡¯s from?¡± ¡°No, but it could be any they¡¯ve decimated over the millennia; items like these are just side benefits for his plans,¡± replied Aynaet. ¡°I¡¯ll keep making enquires¡ªsee if anyone can tell. It would be like them to base themselves outside the Abyss.¡± ¡°The Grottos. I read some reports, but I¡¯ve not covered everything waiting,¡± said Baln¨¦rith, gesturing at the reports that had been there prior to Aynaet¡¯s entrance. ¡°You¡¯re got teams warding and patrolling the new boundaries, so how are they expanding at all? What help are the traitors providing them?¡± Aynaet raised a hand and Baln¨¦rith halted her questions. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s their doing. The Burning Grotto near Z?hma¡¯s mining operation was the first to have its boundaries expand, and it did so before the traitors broke free. Reports show that a short time after J had arrived in Tern¨°x, that she was in that mining operation. The timeframe matches up, as only cycles later, one of Lord Qjiadl¨®v¡¯s patrols noted the expansion.¡± ¡°Any word on what she was doing in Z?hma?¡± ¡°Raiding a group that had stolen from a Treasury caravan to Judgement,¡± Aynaet said, pausing at Baln¨¦rith¡¯s suddenly bared teeth, but at a quick motion, she continued. ¡°The same Br¨ªn mercenary she left ¨´eqr?kas with was still with her, but she killed most of the raiders. Then with the Treasury¡¯s backing, she converted their base into a brothel and moved on with another Succubus left behind as manager; but with Treasury¡¯s hand locked around her throat to extract profits. The Burning Grotto subsequently underwent massive expansion before the ¨¤luga operations. They again saw her in Z?hma, and she left an impression of being far stronger¡ªable to quell an entire bar of hardened miners just by walking into the brothel¡¯s main room.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Baln¨¦rith sat in silent consideration for a time before she finally spoke. ¡°Do you have the name of the manager?¡± ¡°It¡¯s also not useful, I¡¯ve already checked; Klipyl. All attempts to open a Gate with it failed,¡± reported Aynaet regretfully. ¡°She¡¯s disappeared from Z?hma, recently we¡¯ve turned up tales she¡¯d cast a Blessing in Celestial, of all things.¡± ¡°Sit down,¡± stated Baln¨¦rith, a simple motion to a backless chair slid it into position before Aynaet could turn. ¡°Let¡¯s work on the assumption that J ties these together. The crucial flaw is she died during the ¨¤luga operations, so she¡¯d be planar locked to Hrz¡¯Styrn. Yet something renamed the traitors, the grottos are still expanding, and this Klipyl has a new name.¡± ¡°We weren¡¯t monitoring them continually; they might have gone to her,¡± suggested Aynaet. ¡°It¡¯s possible she might have taught them the mechanism she¡¯s using¡ªif she even died. However unlikely, she might have left Ebusuku with that impression since she¡¯s near impossible to scry, and there were dozens of shattered Succubi in the Br¨ªn¡¯s lair.¡± ¡°If that is our working assumption, and she¡¯s helping the Grottos, where does that take us?¡± Baln¨¦rith asked, her gaze locked on Aynaet appraisingly. Aynaet winced and took time to shift through the pieces on the board. ¡°The traitors would want to bait us away from her, stirring up trouble elsewhere, so we go looking for them instead. J needs to be found. Too many pieces point to her being the key. If she is this hidden, she could conduct the summoning. That matches with why only our trainees have gone missing. The traitors would have been able to handle stronger members, even if not capable of taking out the most elite.¡± ¡°What if the Soul hidden inside her is an Anar?¡± ¡°That was part of my assumption, though I can only guess she doesn¡¯t have control of True Song in her current state or Naz¡¯rilca would have faced obliteration capturing her, but she must have some memories. She was sent to Tern¨°x because it should have been a death-trap for anyone with her reported levels, survived, and is practically on hand when a massive L¨®m? reversal of fortune occurs.¡° Baln¨¦rith gave a slight nod, and Aynaet¡¯s wings twitched briefly before Baln¨¦rith issued instructions. ¡°I want priority given to hunting down any information on Viper, J, whatever she wants to call herself.¡± ¡°Agents report a Viper among new members of Usd¡¯ghi¡¯s staff, but she¡¯s recently disappeared,¡± stated Aynaet, nodding to the basket of reports. ¡°Also that she has a new trophy, the embalmed heart of Set.¡± ¡°Why would an Anar be working with Usd¡¯ghi of all individuals?¡± asked Baln¨¦rith. ¡°See if they can learn more. Naz¡¯rilca?¡± ¡°Still among the breeders. I understand the Mistress of Chambers was thorough in expressing disappointment. While she had held out during the campaign against Orcus, it¡¯s clear now these weren¡¯t her doing.¡± ¡°Give her spawn to another to wean and put Naz¡¯rilca on information duty.¡± Baln¨¦rith said, ¡°Her only chance to redeem herself is to force Unerring Tracking to evolve. She¡¯s planar locked for now, but if she develops it into its next form, she should be able to see where J is operating from, even now.¡± ¡°Hidden can¡¯t be scried easily, who¡¯s to say the Power will work on her? The risk to Na-¡± ¡°I know the risk and time involved in forcing a Power¡¯s evolution; we should have taken that step earlier. If J¡¯s still on the loose by the time Naz¡¯rilca is free, then she can lead a team to capture her. In the meantime, she has two duties: stretching that Power until it evolves, and assisting you with sifting information for anything related to J, the traitors, or this Br¨ªn. Hopefully, she has it working far sooner than that, but given the report of the injuries she inflicted, the resonance of the connection should be present for centuries. What¡¯s the Br¨ªn¡¯s name?¡± Aynaet grimaced and blurted out the name. ¡°L¨ºdhins.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the weird Battlelord that Usd¡¯ghi played patron with?¡± Baln¨¦rith asked coldly. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention his name earlier.¡± ¡°None other,¡± acknowledged Aynaet. ¡°He has a history with the Sisterhood and I didn¡¯t want it to cloud things.¡± Baln¨¦rith¡¯s gaze narrowed, and Aynaet straightened on the seat. ¡°A Named Battlelord that has worked against us in the past travelled with her? Has his name changed as well?¡± ¡°None among us ever had his full Use Name, he assisted on contracts only through the Treasury,¡± replied Aynaet carefully. ¡°Start cutting ties with the Treasury. Their operations are convenient but not essential,¡± stated Baln¨¦rith. ¡°Her Ascension to Demi-God; have we confirmed that occurred after Set¡¯s demise?¡± ¡°There are questions regarding that, as she ceased actively managing the branch in ¨´eqr?kas years prior,¡± admitted Aynaet. ¡°Have someone let Naz¡¯rilca know the strike against the Sisterhood was the Hag¡¯s doing and it used her as a ritual anchor. It¡¯s a possibility, so let¡¯s place a wedge between them,¡± ordered Baln¨¦rith. Eyeing the lodestone again, she plucked it from the table, turning it over in her fingers with a sigh of pleasure. ¡°Any option we¡¯ve not explored discovering where they charged these?¡± ¡°The Seer asked for a higher payment than tracking the traitors¡¯ fate. It could be from many worlds; it¡¯s not like Orcus cares about them once he¡¯s wiped out their civilisations,¡± Aynaet replied. ¡°He knows what the result will be even without his continued endeavours.¡± ¡°Yes, everything dies in the end so he¡¯s in no rush,¡± murmured Baln¨¦rith. ¡°Though I wish he¡¯d be more thorough in bringing worlds to an end sooner.¡± ¡°He¡¯s too easily distracted,¡± observed Aynaet. ¡°The attraction of fresh sapient life to drag into undeath is more appealing than wiping out the animals and bringing a sun to its end.¡± ¡°Contact Ebusuku, have her gather a hunting pack of irregulars,¡± ordered Baln¨¦rith, her nails raking the desk¡¯s surface. ¡°There were reports on the-¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already tried getting in touch with her,¡± interrupted Aynaet carefully. ¡°She¡¯s not responding to any of my messages and her kin haven¡¯t heard-¡± Her explanation halted at a sharp gesture from Baln¨¦rith, and she hissed out instructions. ¡°Then leave the fortress and open a Gate focused on her. Remind her that there are prices extracted from those and their kin that continue such behaviour.¡± With a nod that eased the heat in Baln¨¦rith¡¯s gaze, Aynaet spoke carefully. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure she takes care of organising them. Did you need anything replaced? You¡¯ve been down on the deeper Abyssal planes a lot lately.¡± ¡°Not yet. I found a stronghold with an intact armoury close to the wound. It¡¯s partly blended with reality¡¯s conceptual boundary, and its protections provide a handy base for the teams,¡± said Baln¨¦rith, and she held up a finger. ¡°That reminds me, anyone close to being useful in operations there needs to have perfected their self-image. After a few cycles of excavating, one sister can barely Shapeshift even close to Succubus form now¡ªshe looks made of melted wax, uglier than a Lemure. Otherwise, excavations are progressing but going slow; the realm¡¯s scar tissue is resistant to damage.¡± ¡°We might need one of the servant¡¯s weapons to get through it,¡± said Aynaet, motioning to the latest reports. Baln¨¦rith set the lodestone down and rose to pluck the crystal pendant from the shelf. ¡°I¡¯ve already spent centuries looking for signs of them. The ocean around Leviathan¡¯s gravesite doesn¡¯t allow for easy exploration, and touches on territories even I need to tread lightly near.¡° Waving Aynaet to silence, Baln¨¦rith paced behind her desk before she continued. ¡°It¡¯s important the L¨®m? stay trapped as even a few of their singers could rapidly undo our progress. Focus on finding J, the traitors, and keeping our control over the tower¡¯s surrounds. Pull back operations on other planes if you need to but let nothing take priority over those three.¡± With a respectful bow, Aynaet left, and closed the door carefully, leaving Baln¨¦rith to the reports. Blazing through them faster than most could conceive, she left additional instructions on crystals and dispatched messages of her own. Only when the desk was cleared did she rise to collect the crystal pendant again. Clenching it tightly in her fist, she shifted between planes, displacing the foul water that occupied her arrival point. Thousands of kilometres beneath the ocean¡¯s surface, she endured pressures comparable to a gas giant''s atmosphere without damage. Moving to the limits of the region she¡¯d searched previously, she noted landmarks on the oceanic shelf¡¯s edge before plunging into the depths. When the first armoured Megalodon Shark approached, a Spell twisted its kilometre-long form inside out and left naught but thrashing bait to distract others from her descent. Hundreds of kilometres further down in the pitch darkness that muffled even her visual senses, she released the false form. With filaments feeling the currents and energy of the surrounding materials, she drifted carefully along the ocean floor, the pendant pulsing softly in her grasp. Each protrusion, regardless of its shape or the pendant¡¯s reaction, she probed for the source of its origin. Shattered bones older than faded stars fossilised by the pressure, simple rocks, and precious metals alike were all left behind as her search went on. * * * In the timelessness of the depths, cycles slipped away before a message buzzed for her attention. The filaments floating freely in the currents easily read the energy vibrations. The report from Aynaet was short but had an implication of greater trouble yet. ¡°Lady Baln¨¦rith, I¡¯ve word on Ebusuku, I¡¯ve ordered Naamah to your study.¡± Transforming back, Planar Shift took her through the fortress¡¯ wards to her inner chambers and Baln¨¦rith cleaned up before making for her study. Aynaet stood before the desk the way she always did, a strange display of un-Demonic discipline. Naamah was almost the spitting image of her granddaughter, with ebony skin and clawless wings, only lacking the row of horns forming a ridge down the middle seam of tightly curled hair. She lounged on a chair she¡¯d pulled forward, now tilted at an angle that had it steeply lodged against the wall, with her bare feet propped up on a nearby bookcase. The only thing she wore were the bands of the Leviathan¡¯s blood around her neck and wrists, barely darker than her skin. ¡°Report.¡± ¡°I tried to open a Gate to Ebusuku, and nothing occurred. When I questioned her relatives, I eventually reached her mother, who informed me she¡¯d confronted Ebusuku in The Exchange in an unusual state. A Goddess transformed her into a Solar by sending her through the Titan¡¯s Trial, and she accepted the transformation after swearing on Naamah¡¯s name.¡± ¡°You will tell me everything you know,¡± snapped Baln¨¦rith, her gaze fixed on Naamah. ¡°I remember the choice was hers, and you can beg at Asmodeus¡¯ feet before I¡¯ll allow you or anyone else to use me against her.¡± ¡°You will comply and tell me everything you know at once,¡± Baln¨¦rith snarled, rage threatening her hold on her form. ¡°No! You bound me to ensure I and all of my bloodline serve you, but she¡¯s no longer of my blood. She¡¯s a Solar, isn¡¯t that wonderful?! The oath you forced on me means nothing against this threat. I rejoice my bloodline produced a dagger to pierce your worthless hide. Oh, my father said to say hi. He¡¯s hoping the Titan allows him to come to play in the Abyss again. I think he said something about crushing every stronghold you control¡ªfollowing whatever order he¡¯s given, all by the rules, of course,¡± Naamah responded with a smirk. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡± growled Aynaet. ¡°The Necropolis collapsed.¡± ¡°He hadn¡¯t been in it for years at that point. You¡¯re both so ignorant. I almost wish I could remember why, but all I left myself with was the knowledge of you both being blind. Let me twist the knife further; I knew what awoke him, but I cut knowledge of that out as well. I know it made me laugh in delight, you parasitic bitch. You should have stayed rotting in your dying reality if you hate this one so much,¡± sneered Naamah. ¡°You¡¯ll never understand how much I¡¯m enjoying the expression on your fake face. Kill me if you dare. Father also told me there are limits to how often death can touch my flesh before you break the Leviathan¡¯s blood from it. Do you know how many times it will endure, bitch?¡± ¡°If that was true, why would you tell me?¡± challenged Baln¨¦rith, her gaze not having left Naamah during her icy rant. Naamah dropped her feet from the shelf and moved forward so fast, she flowed to her feet, leaving the chair a shattered remnant in her wake. ¡°Because I want to be here when she comes to crush you. I want to see her smash you so hard, your feelers all pop off your body. I¡¯m going to enjoy watching you mewl in pain, and when you¡¯re smeared across the floor, I¡¯ll roll in your ichor. If you kill me, which of my home planes will I appear on next? Decisions, decisions, my oh my!¡± ¡°As if your granddaughter would risk the Abyss for you, or ever possess the strength to challenge me,¡± Baln¨¦rith scoffed, waving for Aynaet to remove her. ¡°Get her out of here and have someone torture Ebusuku¡¯s mother into dissolution for not informing us sooner.¡± ¡°Wonderful, thank you!¡± crowed Naamah. ¡°Even if I wanted to kill that cunt myself.¡± 192 - Climb together Mirage¡¯s PoV - Cemna Sage picked another gloomy location for a regroup point, on the edge of a petrified forest where the pebble-strewn beach extends into the mainland behind us. Out on the central isle of the crescent bay, flashes of light come followed by booming explosions and are, I hope, a sign that Sidero¡¯s playtime is going well. The weaponry she controls having become increasingly destructive over the last months. The smell of rotting fish wafts up from the shoreline and causes the muzzles of the inexperienced Hound Archons around me to wrinkle in disgust. Those accompanying Livia and Cyrus don¡¯t flinch but continue to monitor their surroundings. The example they set refocuses the younger Celestials here for training on keeping watch. ¡°How long do you expect to be gone?¡± ¡°Mother said they¡¯re allowed three days for their re-match, despite Liran? being able to keep hydrated now. Master Jarith? has ruled that since it was the time set by their initial fight, it will be sufficient for a rematch. Even she admits it¡¯ll give them time to spar without restraint and an opportunity for locals to view their playtime. She hopes it becomes a bi-annual event given this one falls on the Novice¡¯s midyear break but doesn¡¯t expect it to be more often.¡± Cyrus smiles when I glance his way, but I¡¯m still unsure what to make of Livia¡¯s almost ever-present shadow, mentor, and consistent trouble magnet. ¡°After their frequent practice matches, it will be interesting to see the outcome with them loosening their restraint.¡± ¡°I get to meet the girls,¡± Livia says gleefully before waving a finger at Torm. ¡°Don¡¯t mope; maybe we¡¯ll let you come next time.¡± ¡°Never mind, I¡¯m content to wait until she¡¯s fully healed; we¡¯ve been exchanging messages,¡± Torm states, unperturbed by Livia¡¯s teasing. Stepping forward, he gives the diminutive woman a hug¡ªLivia almost disappearing in his embrace¡ªbefore he regards Livia at arm¡¯s length with a proud smile that has her beaming back. ¡°Pass that along for me.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll pass it along for both of us,¡± rebuffs Livia, playfully tilting her nose in the air before turning back to me. ¡°Never mind me, how long do you expect to be gone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what the situation is like before I decide. After all that I¡¯ve learnt fighting the undead and from Sidero¡¯s use of runes, I¡¯m sure I can significantly improve the cadre¡¯s security,¡± I reply. ¡°I had some discussions with Sidero last break and explained the situation. She suggested a multi-layer, escalating lethality approach, though I¡¯m not sure I want to make use of the hair-thin wire options she was drooling over.¡± ¡°The next lot of spies will regret coming by?¡± asks Livia. Waving her concern aside, I dig into a bag for her present, the extent of materials I¡¯ve packed making it challenging to find anything. ¡°The techniques the Daughters use when teaching the Affinities aren¡¯t duplicatable and the grimoires and texts they had in their possession weren¡¯t secrets. It was the Assassin that was more concerning.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Livia and Torm exclaim, their differing pitches making a strange echo. I blink when I realise that hadn¡¯t been common knowledge. ¡°It¡¯s all good; no one got hurt except the Assassin.¡± Pulling the cloth wrapped parcel from my storage bag, I hold it out to Livia, who glances over the box barely bigger than my palm. ¡°I know it¡¯s not your birthday, but I¡¯ll miss it if I¡¯m gone for a while.¡± ¡°No one else worries about birthdays except Amdirlain,¡± protests Livia, but still claims her present and gives me a beaming smile; the seasons she¡¯s been fighting here haven¡¯t dimmed her spirit. ¡°Some communities exchange gifts at different solstices in the year.¡± A shimmering pane on the beach accompanies a sudden silence from the island. It rapidly clears and transforms into a Portal which Sidero strides through with a facetted orb in her grasp. The moment she¡¯s clear, the Portal snaps shut behind her, and she moves towards us, humming happily, no doubt from the Planetars¡¯ active auras. When those whose auras are touching her turn them off, Sidero smiles and purrs. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to stop the vibrations; I was getting wet for you, honest.¡± Her every motion looks like a stalking animal, and the chains shift in silent serpentine movements around her. The spikes give the impression of tongues licking scents from the air, like a snake trying to find prey. ¡°Come to see me off as well, Sidero?¡± asks Livia casually, and I wonder what she sees in Sidero¡¯s aura. I can¡¯t smell blood, and I wouldn¡¯t have expected the auras to cause her enough pain to warrant such care. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to stop the light show.¡± ¡°Hey Squirt, Pu¡­ and assorted entities,¡± says Sidero, cutting off mid-word. She continues, waving the orb so sunlight reflects off runes etched into its facets. ¡°I¡¯ve got the world by the balls now, one of them.¡± Even with the auras off, she stops a distance away, and the others give her space. The muscles in her forearm bunch and strain before the orb explodes. ¡°Ahh, the rush of experience never gets old. Silly Lich should have hidden its phylactery better. Guess it didn¡¯t have a wicket-keeper ready for me to slip by,¡± murmurs Sidero. I catch the tension around her eyes easing, and Livia visibly relaxes, even though Sidero¡¯s spikes are still twitching. ¡°What was all the fighting?¡± ¡°Dealing with guards, mostly more of those weird Demons distorted by negative energy,¡± Sidero shrugs. ¡°This was the dead boy that got away last week. Orcus doesn¡¯t care how much of a mess we make of this place, does he? To him¡ªundead or dead¡ªit doesn¡¯t matter as long as their life has ended. Mission accomplished. Bet if you could bring some of them back to life, that would get his attention.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been dead for too many years; even resurrection has its limits,¡± Torm answers, and Sidero shudders beneath the chains. Her hands clench into tight fists, and as they relax, her tone softens. ¡°Torm?¡± ¡°Yes, Sidero?¡± ¡°Sorry for the times I¡¯ve called you puppy; Amdirlain scolded me, and she¡¯s right,¡± says Sidero. ¡°Perhaps you should give yourself a break,¡± replies Torm. His unbothered tone clarifies that the name had never worried him, but he gives her a concerned look and motions to her writhing chains. ¡°Can¡¯t do that anymore. They won¡¯t even store in Inventory, and I can hold hundreds of tons. Their appearance is deceptive. If I weren¡¯t supporting them, I¡¯d be paste right now.¡± ¡°Just let them drop to the ground then,¡± Torm proposes, and Sidero gives a bitter laugh. ¡°No, they¡¯ve reached the point where the only person that can take them off me is Mother darling,¡± Sidero says. ¡°I don¡¯t even need to use Chain Minion anymore; they¡¯re acting alive now.¡± ¡°Level?¡± ¡°That dead boy pushed me into ninety-five by the skin of my teeth. Fortunately it¡¯s still a target-rich environment, and unlike Amdirlain¡ªwith her Class requirements¡ªI don¡¯t have to be selective about how I kill things,¡± Sidero says lightly. When her sulphur gaze turns back towards me, a collection of chests appears on the ground. ¡°Materials that will help with that project; ensure you can power them up or down without digging them up.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t you just plant them before troops come in?¡± I ask, moving towards the closet chest. I¡¯m surprised when Sidero backs away; her focus on the closest chains sets a shiver up my spine. ¡°If they all don¡¯t go off, they¡¯ll be hazards for civilians. Ideally, you¡¯d set them up so you can bury them well in advance and then control their activation¡ªavoids scouts spotting them and knowing the ground to avoid. Also, you¡¯ll need a way to check that they¡¯re still present and haven¡¯t been dug up by anyone.¡± The first chests are spheres smaller than a thumbnail, with runes already marked out but not yet etched. While the last contains thin metal sheets of notes and little cups with broad, curved mouths. The detailed marks for etching the runes already in place surprise me. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to do all this, and why the guides?¡± ¡°Metals Control makes construction like that easy, and you said you were going to be teaching other Artificers. Anyway, there are a bunch of thoughts about their use and diagrams for alterations in the notes,¡± Sidero adds when I pick up the first metal sheet. ¡°Yngvarr got all nervous about knowledge Amdirlain shared; these are based on weapons of war from our world but I crafted them with magic instead.¡± ¡°I thought we were just discussing security for the compound,¡± I say. The sheer coldness of Sidero¡¯s smile cuts me off. ¡°If you don¡¯t think the Greeks sent that Assassin, I¡¯ve got a few bridges to sell you. Things will probably progress to armies soon enough. When they stick their heads out, make sure you lop them off.¡± ¡°Be careful not to unleash the spectre of weapons that lay waste to cities,¡± Cyrus cautions, and Sidero bitterly laughs. ¡°Those exist already, Mon-¡± Sidero stopped, rolled her neck, and started again. ¡°Master Cyrus, but I¡¯ve not seen anything used in the lower planes.¡± Cyrus regarded her critically, and Sidero huffed in amusement where I¡¯d seen her verbally lash out for the same look months before. ¡°You¡¯re fighting your nature more, Sidero.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m fighting a perversion of my human life that this form tries to inflict on me. The closer I get to the edge, the less I want to give in to its temptations,¡± corrects Sidero and gives Livia a wave. ¡°See you around, Squirt.¡± Livia raises an eyebrow at her teasing tone and the twitch of a smile ruining the look. ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t giving into temptation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nothing of the kind, more of an affectation,¡± Sidero replies. The only response is a huff from Livia before she opens a Gate to Limbo, and I can see the monastery floating in the distance. When Livia¡¯s Gate closes, Planar Shift takes me to the Outlands¡ªfar from the Domain¡ªand I signal Aggie that I¡¯m ready. I was soon shifting impatiently, wondering if I had time to engrave some spheres, when the Outlands pulsed around me, carrying a resonance of Amdirlain¡¯s energy. When I didn¡¯t resist the call, rainbow walls suddenly surrounded me, exactly like Amdirlain and Runa described. The bright wall ahead would challenge a summer sun while the glass-smooth sides were cool to the touch, like brushing against a shadow, drinking away the summer sun¡¯s heat. Though the moment I touch it, the pane bursts apart and its energy ripples within the summoning circle that marks my arrival point. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. The chamber I appeared in wasn¡¯t large enough to allow me to stand fully upright; after so much time spent looking human, it shocked me how much I¡¯d grown. Drawn carefully in chalk on a smooth greenish-grey stone floor, the runes that define its limits were similar yet different from the Artificer¡¯s craft. The circle seemed to harness the energy, and it coiled almost dormant along the circle¡¯s edge within True Sight. Even with my hunched position, I could see beyond the circle¡¯s edge to where the greenish-grey floor met red stone blocks, each nearly a human torso in size. The stones¡¯ perfectly smooth finish, and the way the barest hint of a line between them that vanishes when I momentarily disabled True Sight, spoke of Dwarf-like skill. Indeed, the only unevenness about the construction was the fine wavey grain of the white cedar door and a trio of individuals standing around a nearby brazier. They make an odd collection: a muscular young man, and more muscular female with greenish skin, and a lean female whose rune-crusted veil doesn¡¯t match her practical leathers. The three are small compared with my current size, but the greenish female looking up at me exceeds Torm¡¯s human height. One thing is consistent: they all wear Amdirlain¡¯s symbol and I can feel their solid Faith in her. With the jaws of two dropping open, I shift to the human appearance I¡¯ve frequently used, and my clothes reform around me. A slight reflective effect along the summoning circle¡¯s edge lets me take in my form¡¯s alabaster skin. Pushing back my wild mane of red hair, I can¡¯t decide if it¡¯s the lighting in here or if I made myself too pale¡ªbut it¡¯s what I practised. I reassess the rest of my choices, but I¡¯m happy with the effect of my straight nose, wide set emerald eyes, and full lips. ¡°You are?¡± My words at first get no reaction before the young man moves a hand towards his paling face. Clean-shaven, his paling skin has an ashen edge matched by the washed-out blue of his gaze. He runs long fingers across his sturdy face, pinching the bridge of his nose while he tries to catch his breath. ¡°Radovan. I¡¯m sorry, goodness, High Priestess Aggie could have provided me more warning. She said you were a Hound Archon, not an old Hound Archon. I summoned one to help a Priest of Kl?ppa once, and he didn¡¯t drain me anywhere near¡­¡± The greenish female supports him with one hand and gently hushes him. ¡°You¡¯re rambling, Radovan. I¡¯m Rika, and this is¡­.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Tomila,¡± the veiled lady¡¯s interjection cut off Rika before she could introduce her. ¡°Pleased to meet you all, though I had expected a call from a Priest not a Summoner. Considering she discussed it with Ebusuku, I¡¯m sure I can guess whose idea it was not to tell me. Which likely means Ebusuku¡¯s got a motivation to be secretive,¡± I admit and try for a reassuring smile. ¡°My apologies for my part in this then; I¡¯ll release you to return,¡± Radovan stated. ¡°Just need to get my breath.¡± ¡°Hold up, I just told you it¡¯s unexpected not that it¡¯s not allowed, I¡¯m told the cadre asked Aggie for some security help, and she passed the request along. Is that still the case?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± protests Radovan, almost wobbling on his feet from exhaustion. ¡°We still should have had a Priest Summon you.¡± Rika gives Radovan a chiding look and shakes her head. ¡°Summoners gain experience by summoning and maintaining agreements, and you¡¯ve been stagnating from your easy summons. It was this, go back to adventuring, or join the guards if you wanted to progress much further.¡± When he goes to protest again, I wave for attention. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about who summoned me, as long as I can help the cadre.¡± ¡°We need to have an agreement so that you can cross the circle,¡± explains Radovan. As I raise a hand again, he stops and blinks at me in confusion. ¡°I¡¯ve read about a Summoner¡¯s abilities, but I want to know what you would like from an agreement. How did you conduct the summoning¡ªdid she give you my name?¡± Radovan hurriedly shook his head, his forceful motions making my own brains feel rattled. ¡°No, that isn¡¯t always needed. She created a token for me representing you. It¡¯s not something another can use¡ªshe created it solely for my use¡ªand it¡¯s consumed by a summoning regardless of success.¡± Pausing, he pointed to the still smouldering brazier sitting outside the circle. ¡°Burning it activated the energised summoning. Though I could have just done a general call for help, that is a more open call for aid. Sorry, I¡¯m rambling, I¡¯m sure. It¡¯s just, summoning you ran me low on Mana. Rika, help, please?¡± Rika gave an amused, tusky grin and motioned him towards the closest wall. ¡°Sit down and catch your breath, then you two can figure out a loose wording that makes you both happy.¡° Tomila supported him to the wall, and Rika only turned back to me once he was seated. Their distraction gave me a moment to make sure my clothing had properly adjusted and settled during the resizing. The possibility to check against knowledge gain from books and what others have told me about them is tempting. Rika¡¯s name rings a bell and I make a note to ask how being Yngvarr¡¯s apprentice went for her. ¡°As I said, I¡¯ve read about Summoners but didn''t speak to anyone directly about them. From your perspective, what¡¯s the issue with his progression?¡± I ask, and Rika doesn¡¯t hesitate in answering. ¡°Radovan¡®s a rare talent¡ªSummoner and Magus¡ªbut he¡¯s young. Summoners bring forth entities from various planes that let them use the conduit to their original Plane to draw energy. It empowers the Summoner physically and mentally while providing an assortment of powers like a Wizard¡¯s spells. The nature of the summoned entity determines the nature of the benefit. He normally summons Earth Elementals and has helped the cadre with the various construction projects since Yngvarr¡¯s departure.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your theory about the spells he¡¯ll be able to cast with an agreement from me?¡± ¡°That differs between Deities, in theory he¡¯ll be able to form various effects with Celestial energy,¡± Rika said, shrugging. ¡°Worst case, it should be a balanced natural effect that might help the crops of the tenant farmers; growing herbs for our Alchemists is something we don¡¯t have time to do ourselves.¡± A flicker of thoughts on Amdirlain¡¯s Fallen form and her curse has me fighting back a shudder. ¡°That¡¯s not the worst case.¡± ¡°The worst case we expect,¡± suggests Rika. ¡°Alright, but any agreement we set has to include terms for breaking it if this goes wrong,¡± I state firmly. ¡°There are things that could twist an agreement, and I don¡¯t want anyone getting hurt.¡± Rika nods and points a thick thumb back to Radovan. ¡°He comes from a long line of Summoners, he¡¯ll certainly be able to verify any questions about Summoner capabilities.¡± Tomila, crouching next to Radovan, puts a hand on his shoulder, her hand glowing with a Blessing. The soft Celestial tones finish, but True Sight lets me see Mana moving between them and vanishing when it sinks into Radovan¡®s flesh. Though colour returns to his skin in a rush, it still takes minutes before he¡¯s on his feet again and giving me a formal bow. ¡°I offer an agreement to support your stay on this Plane. Upon your acceptance, I¡¯ll serve as an anchor for your presence. I ask that you allow me to access the energy carried by your entry onto this plane. I offer to support your endeavours while here, and a Wizard¡¯s Staff,¡± states Radovan. His pronouncement has the waiting energy humming, its presence becoming an offered hand, with runes glowing within the potential link. When a familiar staff is retrieved from a storage bag, I have to hold back a smile as I admire it again. Shaped from deep brown wood, shod in mithril that spirals up to its top where its clasps a red crystal¡ªidentical to one I¡¯d recently gushed over to Ebusuku. ¡°Provided I might break the bond between us at my will and that you¡¯d share information about the Summoner¡¯s art with me.¡± My words shimmer through the energy of his offering, setting twisting runes into existence within its pattern. Runes showing control radiating from me, join with runes I¡¯ve never seen, and divination runes swirl in the mix. ¡°I agree,¡± replies Radovan. ¡°I agree.¡± With my response, the circle bursts and I see the energy form a link between us, a crystalline spiralling cord shines golden for a moment before it vanishes. ¡°I¡¯m sure that Amdirlain would say this is all funny currency games. Did Aggie give you that staff?¡± Radovan blinks and looks at the staff curiously. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°An Artificer in Duskstone made it as a commission for Ebusuku. She never told me who it was intended for. My boss is a sneak,¡± I laugh, and step forward, the line of the circle no longer glowing with contained energy. ¡°Why would she do that?¡± ¡°Apparently, it seems I¡¯ve been missing some presents over the years.¡± At the blank look on their faces, I wave them off giggling. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it¡¯s a long story. Let¡¯s just blame Amdirlain and Ebusuku for liking to mother some of us. I¡¯m not sure who came up with the idea since Ebusuku often adds her own twist to achieving Amdirlain¡¯s goals.¡± ¡°When you say Ebusuku is your boss?¡± asks Rika curiously. ¡°She keeps us sorted out for Amdirlain¡ªshe¡¯s a Solar,¡± my quick words cause Rika¡¯s eyebrows to lift. Radovan still looks a bit worn and Rika takes her time ushering us out the door onto a covered pathway. The stone flooring sits only a short step above grass level in an open area between two wings of a U-Shaped building. To either side, the structure looks to provides them five stories of space assuming the interior of the high peaked slate roof doesn¡¯t serve a function as well. The gap in the U-shaped formation is devoid of ornamentation and leads to a road filled with women wearing leathers identical to Tomila. On the far side is a training ground¡ªlike in the Domain¡ªbusy with drilling troops. Beyond them is a much shorter barn-shaped structure that looks almost grown. The blue sky has only a few grey clouds, and the warm yellow sunlight is far different from Cemna or Letveri. ¡°Is that the original transfer location for the attacks on the Gnarls?¡± On the other side of Radovan, I catch Tomila¡¯s quick nod, but clearer still is her hands clenching into fists. ¡°We all worked hard to earn the right to take the fight to them.¡± ¡°Would you show me the platoon achievement board?¡± I ask, and her gaze turns my way still hidden behind the veil. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be surprised that one of Amdirlain¡¯s Celestials knows all about the building,¡± admits Tomila. ¡°Knowing, seeing, and understanding are different things. Amdirlain went to lengths to share a lot of details about herself with those Ebusuku brought together. She mentioned feeling the aid she provided you all was insufficient.¡± ¡°She felt what she did was insufficient?¡± Tomila asks, her words a soft whisper, and I wonder if I should have admitted that for Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps I¡¯m out of place, but I¡¯ve heard her speaking to Solveiga about it. To her, until someone¡¯s fully back on their feet, the task isn¡¯t done. She had to leave before she considered everyone had properly recovered,¡± I explain. From Tomila¡¯s dry laugh, though it¡¯s clearly no surprise. She touches the medallion at her throat and nods respectfully. ¡°She mothered every one of us. We could all tell the nights she stood guard to calm our rest. Please give our lady my love. She gave all we needed to grow strong again.¡± Despite the scolding, I¡¯m likely to get from Ebusuku it¡¯s still worth the risk. When I push the memory of Tomila¡¯s words across my Oath-Link to Amdirlain I immediately feel a bittersweet sigh. Though I¡¯m not sure she intends me to receive the images of a teenage girl with a nose-less, claw-shredded face. There was so much damage done that after healing, her face had been covered by a strange shiny skin. Amid the images, I catch the words of Amdirlain¡¯s response. ¡°I just did and she wants you to know she¡¯s happy you¡¯re well. She remembered you and wished she could have done more. She also said it¡¯s not just strength that is important in life, but she¡¯s glad you have it.¡± ¡°She did more than we could ever have hoped; I lived, others weren¡¯t so lucky,¡± says Tomila and starts out across the courtyard¡¯s grass. ¡°I¡¯ll show you all the compound, but shall we start with a tour of the staging post?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like that,¡± I agree and let Radovan and Rika catch up. When he¡¯s walking alongside me I toss him a question Rika¡¯s introduction had left me. ¡°Why is yours considered a rare talent, Radovan?¡± ¡°Those offered the Magus Class are rare and it¡¯s even rarer for people to take it on since much of the Class knowledge was lost in the scourge. The senior Magi spent their lives holding back the Dragons¡¯ minions while others sped the Persian fleet towards the west. They¡¯d sent their books with their apprentices, but they fell victim to fighting along the way, other classes weren¡¯t so unfortunate or possessed masters among the other peoples.¡± Studying him for a moment, I can only give a shrug. ¡°You don¡¯t look Persian, but the way you explain it makes it sound like the Magi were Persian.¡± ¡°Both my parents¡¯ bloodlines are primarily Slavic, but my many times great-grandfather was Persian. The Magus Class shows up in my father¡¯s line from time to time. I¡¯m the only one living with the talent, so I inherited my great-grandfather¡¯s scrolls. Why were you so tall, and difficult to summon?¡± asks Radovan, before we get to the road. ¡°I¡¯d blame that on my combined levels being over three hundred and seventy,¡± I say, not mentioning my Tier 7 Prestige Class, and continue before he can stammer a question. ¡°We¡¯ve all levelled lots clearing out the undead from a region larger than the entire ten kingdoms and Elven lands combined, and we¡¯ve a lot more left to do. I¡¯ve only been levelling three classes even though Ebusuku has suggested repeatedly I add a physical combat Class.¡± ¡°How many undead have you been fighting?¡± asked Tomila, stealing the conversation from an ashen-faced Radovan. ¡°Last time I asked, Sage¡¯s estimate was that Amdirlain¡¯s forces have destroyed over a hundred million combined, but he¡¯s not got tallies from some teams. Try asking Master Farhad for kills and you get I dealt with those I found. Plus, we have one helper who just goes: I¡¯ve got better things to do than maths about what I¡¯ve incinerated. Which, given the sheer number of ash marks she bakes into the rock, any of us would admit is fair. But they¡¯re just the worst offenders, not the only ones.¡± When Radovan¡¯s mouth drops open, Tomila laughs warily. ¡°Did you think Aggie would suggest seeking her help if she weren¡¯t far stronger? By the way, what do you wish to be called?¡± ¡°You can call me Leira.¡± 193 - Trading places Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Domain The nearest streamers of light rising throughout the Domain wipe away all shadows from my scroll. A glance across the tallies reminds me of when we¡¯d gone from keeping count in companies instead of platoons. We¡¯d been so few that now among the dozens of companies already through training we have some larger sized platoons. Though not really amusing, it still sets me laughing, comparing where we are now to the group that escaped the maze. Sage¡¯s appearance at our meeting table brings my laughter to a halt at the bleakness of his expression. ¡°Orcus enjoys leaving wastelands.¡± Setting a weight in place to hold the scroll, I take in his distraught expression, the calm of the clearing not softening his pain. ¡°After three odd years of cleaning up undead, what brings such pain?¡± ¡°I spoke to a Monarch Archon in The Exchange.¡± Sage stops speaking to look at the surrounding trees, almost as if seeing them for the first time. I don¡¯t disturb his thoughts but give him the time he needs to compose himself. ¡°Life is so fragile even without entities purposefully seeking its destruction. Why do beings with such a purpose exist?¡± Sage asks at last. ¡°What does he gain from it?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t answer what or why. But Orcus is just one of several Demon Lords focused on the destruction of life, either in part or as a whole, within the Abyss. Though I will grant you, he is one of the few that also have a fascination for the undead. Leaving aside what took you to The Exchange, what did this Archon say?¡± I ask, hoping to help him work through whatever pain currently afflicts him. ¡°Celestial or not, I hope you weren¡¯t speaking about Cemna there.¡± ¡°No, I was hunting for more information on the undead, and we both tried to purchase the same crystals. One thing led to another; we spoke about their respective sources. She bemoaned the predilections of Orcus and was grieving about recently adding a new name to the memorial,¡± explains Sage. The catch at the last gave me a clear sign of what had caused the pain lining his normally calm face. ¡°Memorial?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in the Elysium Fields, the Plane is the brightest among the upper Planes I¡¯ve visited. The energy there makes the memorial all the sadder. Every world that Orcus¡¯ followers have destroyed civilisation on over the millennia is listed: one hundred and twenty-eight. She said millions of worlds hold life, but that it doesn¡¯t lessen the billions lost to his cultists opening Gates?¡± explains Sage. A pained look peeks through his composure, and he sets aside a scroll he¡¯d squashed in a grip that had become too tight. ¡°There was a world whose name I¡¯d never known, but I recognised it somehow. Written in Celestial, it spoke to my heart and I remembered. I remember so much. How could I have forgotten all of it? The peoples, trees, and plants both great and small, the wind sighing through their fronds, the smell of summer heated rains, so much lost. The darkness stole it away, drank the light from them, left the people and trees but hollow shells¡ªthose it didn¡¯t inhabit and twist.¡± ¡°How long ago was it declared lost?¡± ¡°Millions of years according to the memorial,¡± breaths Sage, before he briskly speaks again. ¡°It shows Cemna was lost over nine thousand years ago. That matches to what Analysis told Amdirlain. I still find it a wonder that Ilya¡¯s treasure hunters knew about it at all.¡± ¡°You looked, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°How could I not? But I so wish I hadn¡¯t,¡± Sage cries, and tears start down his cheeks as his shoulders shudder with suppressed sobs. ¡°I opened a Gate, and it was ash and dust. As far as I could see, the planet was devoid of life. Even its seas crusted over, they had long become decaying pits of death. I would have been in the trial¡¯s maze all that time, yet it seems far longer since I got free.¡± ¡°Have you considered claiming your Prestige Class or taking a break from Cemna?¡± ¡°I already took it when my classes all hit ninety. My Fighter, Monk, Wizard, Priest, gained me Exalted Battle Thaumaturgist. Clearing the remnants of those first nations out got us a tier 7¡ªI¡¯ve no desire for evolution. I¡¯ll take the time to mourn for those in my memories, but I can¡¯t face letting his plans drain all life from another planet. Cemna is repairable with work, first we close all the gates then plan from there,¡± states Sage, his firm nod more to bolster himself than for my benefit. ¡°We can¡¯t bring the dead back to life, but we can stop all the remaining life from following them into ash.¡± ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s endured much but made it clear she doesn¡¯t want anyone to live up to her benchmark in stubborn stupidity. No competition of horrors, or arguing about who had it worse,¡± I say and motion for the scroll he¡¯d crushed. ¡°What¡¯s that a list of?¡± ¡°Options for the next locations once Sidero is done with the inner reaches of her island,¡± admits Sage; though he hands over the scroll reluctantly, he still does. ¡°What do I do?¡± ¡°Taking the time to mourn sounds like a good priority to me. We¡¯ve got lots of hands to make light work doing the initial recon and planning,¡± I reassure him and gently clasp his forearm. ¡°Light work!¡± snorts Sage, struggling to find a mental balance. ¡°Is that a play on words for the light show? Shouldn¡¯t the fourth rematch have started by now?¡± Sage¡¯s question tempts me to laugh, but sensitive to his pain, I give him a nod instead. ¡°It has! Livia sent a Message about how Amdirlain¡¯s cycling Ki, Psi, and Mana while fighting. It¡¯s causing a softening of the angry flames her Angelic Aura contains, and we¡¯re getting a light show.¡± ¡°She¡¯s lost the angry flames look?¡± asks Sage in disbelief. ¡°I thought it was her Fallen state that caused its manifestation.¡± When he¡¯s about to go on, I signal him to wait. ¡°No, not lost, calmed, that¡¯s all. Exactly what is going on is impossible to say. Without Livia pointing them out, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d have noticed the changes,¡± I say and share the image Livia sent. Sage stops to consider my mental display before he nods in satisfaction and changes the subject. ¡°I¡¯ll organise more Celestials to take care of the logistics Mirage used to handle. I¡¯d honestly expected her to be back by now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only been a year and a half locally for her. They¡¯ve secured the compound and made progress on trapping various troop routes. Did you want to contact Hook and Echo, or should I?¡± He doesn¡¯t pause in laying out the latest maps. ¡°If they¡¯re this late, I say we just get it sorted without them. We can fill them in when they¡¯re back from Cemna and Letveri. Most of the assignments are for the training companies that Isa has helped.¡± ¡°Why not provide Isa the name of that new world on the memorial?¡± I suggest, and he halts with the last map in hand. ¡°Do you think she¡¯d be interested?¡± ¡°Ilya has experience with The Exchange, and as neither directly associated with Amdirlain, they won¡¯t draw attention that risks her Domain. As long as it doesn¡¯t involve going underground, they seem happy to be involved.¡± Sage opens his mouth, and I can tell he wants to argue, but he picks a different approach. ¡°They went to Duskstone without argument.¡± ¡°Yeah, and we know how that turned out. I don¡¯t know what it is, but every time Ilya¡¯s not clashed with others has occurred under the open sky, or only within a building. I asked Isa, and all she¡¯d say was don¡¯t ask Ilya, being underground, it would seem is a reminder of pain for her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll pass the name and details; let her choose where she gets involved,¡± Sage says after consideration. ¡°But this approach feels like we¡¯re using them as a stalking horse.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I¡ªnot we¡ªam but it benefits them. It¡¯s the quickest way to level, and I¡¯d rather her luck helping somewhere worthwhile not simply seeking trouble. Remember, even providing them with the name, it¡¯s still their choice if they even try to get there, so you¡¯re not forcing anyone.¡± It¡¯s the truth and enough to ease Sage¡¯s concern. Determining the allocation plan doesn¡¯t take long, but it¡¯s hours before I leave Sage to his own devices. Getting him to speak about the happy memories he now has is a good use of my time. Torm and a smug, blood-stained Sidero appear at the muster point, drawing nods of greetings from those nearby. That no one moves close doesn¡¯t surprise me since only Torm and I among those gathered, possess immunity to Sidero¡¯s cold chains. Yet even Torm takes a step back when a dozen stray spikes transform into claws, snapping at the surrounding air. Other strands simply flail about while more stab into the ground, vibrating as they burrow deep. An actual grunt of pain from Sidero draws everyone¡¯s attention, and they¡¯re in time to catch the chains drawing tight and an explosion of breath that sounds like a gurgled scream. Teleport puts me at her side, and I scramble to grasp any chain, trying to drag it free from her. The resistance is more significant than I expected, and the meagre gap I create is enough to reveal the shroud growing spikes into flesh¡ªwhile they pulse and glow. Metal pours through my fingers like water¡ªor chilled blood¡ªand suddenly forms a metal coffin. One Spell after another to pry it open slides off runes that glow to life from within the metal, and others add their efforts to my own. Blood and grunts leak from shifting seams in a moment of sudden compression; with the coffin losing a third of its height, the sound of breaking bones echoes in the silence. Runes that had flared protectively burn bright red, and the coffin shrinks and changes again. Amid a pool of blood and gore sits an egg the length of a Farhad¡¯s forearm, rocking back and forth. The glowing runes dim, and what shows is no longer metal but a crystalline egg¡ªand the rocking doesn¡¯t cease. A crystal spike the size of a pinkie nail pierces through the side and, drawing back, punches out again. The third strike lets me see its nature, and the egg tooth atop the snout prompts me to kneel in the blood. An eye gleaming like polished gemstone peers along the snout that is set with faceted scales; a wiggle changes the angle of her head and she stabs again, breaking off a piece from the first hole¡¯s edge. Changing to human form, I carefully work to pry a section loose, only to receive a nip for my troubles. A long, drawn-out exhalation sounded through the stillness before Torm spoke, his tone almost a laugh of relief. ¡°She¡¯ll want to do it herself. When Sidero told me she broke past a hundred, I wasn¡¯t expecting that sort of evolution.¡± A faint hiss of Draconic comes from within the egg, and I don¡¯t have to catch the words to understand the tone. ¡°I think she just told me off,¡± I laugh, and a sudden mental force presses against me. ¡°Are you my mummy?¡± The cheerful voice in my mind sounds nothing like Sidero¡¯s husky tone, replaced instead with crystalline soprano chimes. Despite the lightness of the voice, its sharpness tries to etch the surface of my mind. ¡°What?!¡± My outburst of surprise results in laughter ringing in my mind, and a happy hissing noise sounds from inside the egg. It rocks again and the egg vanishes leaving a tiny dragon form still wrapped tight in a membrane, her loss of support sprawls her upon the blood-soaked ground. Though her torso is barely half the egg¡¯s length, the space required by her wings, elongated tail, and neck would have made for a tight fit. The internal membrane holds her nearly in a ball, and the scales through it appear a deep red, despite the pinkness of her egg-tooth, and snout. ¡°Can I help?¡± asks Torm, squatting down beside me heedless of the blood-soaked ground. ¡°This is so embarrassing,¡± Sidero hisses in draconic, and suddenly the membrane disappears as well. Sunlight reflects off perfectly formed pink-hued gemstone scales, each one an even hexagon, overlapping as required to ensure no skin is exposed. Across them, light refracts from scarlet hexagonal facets, each perfectly-proportioned. Untangling her twisted wings¡ªwhose crystalline membranes fold with ease¡ªand tail, she wobbles about on four paws, ungainly while she looks herself over. Snorting, she hisses and grumbles in Draconic freed from the shell; her words are clear, but their tone is sharp and tight. ¡°I¡¯m now a Diamond Dragon Planar Variant: Scarlet Lonsdaleite. It says level one with zero experience, so seems like standard Class progression¡­, oh snarky Analysis, years automatically give me species experience. I got a Prestige Class called Keeper of Eternal Oaths, and for claiming it, my home Plane is now Mechanus,¡± Sidero says. Her mental voice touches everyone within in hundred metres and, despite its strength, she sounds drained. ¡°Most things went up, lost my chains, and even defence went up also now it¡¯s got a tag of fortified against it.¡± Her ability doesn¡¯t surprise me, but I can see Torm¡¯s gaze widen. ¡°Most Gem Dragons species I know of are naturally Psionic.¡± ¡°You look pink,¡± Berry observes from near the group she¡¯d been escorting. ¡°Oh!¡± huffs Sidero, diverting my attention back to her. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I hurt all over,¡± grumbles Sidero and staggers off balance, trying to pick her way through the mud. ¡°Coming down off my endorphin high or whatever, fast. But I can feel pain again, so I don¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry.¡± Torm moves close enough to touch her at the last physical and mental groan but still stops short. ¡°Should I pick you up, or can you concentrate enough to shift yourself out of this mess?¡± When she slumps in the blood, and her lids fall shut, it¡¯s clear the second won¡¯t happen, especially when her nostrils almost submerging in the blood, only draws a snort. Without a word, Torm scoops her and wipes the blood away¡ªthe sunlight off her tiny form dazzling when she¡¯s lifted from our shadows. ¡°I¡¯ve been to Mechanus, I¡¯ll take her there and hopefully it helps her recover.¡± ¡°I was planning to see Tyr soon. I might talk this change over with him now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already let him know,¡± replies Torm. ¡°Ever the dutiful warrior,¡± I tease lightly, and Torm¡¯s pleased smile is a simple but clear response. His fingers supporting her head, he holds her sprawled along his forearm and Sidero¡¯s tail automatically coils around his upper arm before Torm vanishes. The energy left in his wake shows he¡¯s stopping off on the Plane of Air. Looking over the distracted state of the other teams, I move to cut their gossip short. ¡°Switch patterns again on the jump back to the Domain. We¡¯ve got new arrivals so clean up and anyone willing is welcome to help get them organised. Move out.¡± After the last of them depart, Planar Shift skips me through Limbo before it lands me on the Bifrost, instead of slipping directly to Tyr¡¯s Domain. I¡¯ve slipped in unnoticed a bit too often of late, perhaps best to keep them from investigating how often that occurs. The solid light beneath my feet is a clear path through the cloud bank towards ¨¢sgarer. Almost hidden within the clouds¡¯ depths I spot the tip of one of Yggdrasil¡¯s branches¡ªleaves, hundreds of metres long, wave on an unfelt wind within this boundary space. Further along the rainbow expanse¡ªjust below the peak of its course¡ªHeimdall¡¯s gaze turns my way. Petitioners, natives, and travellers walk by each side unhindered, but I can sense his power examining each, despite his focus on me. His height matches my Solar form, and he meets my gaze with steel-grey eyes. Even if he was only human height, the power within his gaze would call out his nature. Russet hair braided back away from his face matches the well-groomed beard that a Dwarf would declare too short. His broad features, hidden behind that short hedge, would easily pass for Mortal until you locked eyes. Then his simple attire, leathers reinforced with what seems dull steel plates, becomes not a lack of wealth, but rather a matter of choice. However, his choice of simple attire doesn¡¯t extend to his horn or weapons. The long oxen horn instrument is slung across his back, with a mithril mouthpiece and set with silver and gems; it fairly hums with power here on the Plane¡¯s edge. An unsheathed adamantine two-handed sword¡ªits keen edges gleaming¡ªfloats point downwards beside him, drifting in time to his motions. ¡°Ebusuku, from all the noise I¡¯ve been hearing, it seems you¡¯ve ignored every invitation I¡¯ve passed along.¡± ¡°Greetings Heimdall,¡± I say, wondering if Amdirlain would just tell him off. ¡°I¡¯ve been choosing to spend my time elsewhere rather than attending feasts. Perhaps one day I¡¯ll have time to invest in the offered honours.¡± Heimdall¡¯s scowl twists his face to the point his mouth vanishes within his beard before he retorts. ¡°Some honours can disappear if those they¡¯re offered to show little interest in them.¡± ¡°Such goes both ways, and Amdirlain shared guest rights with those individuals worth honouring, as well as those that best continue honouring the host,¡± I reply. I keep my tone light while wondering if he¡¯ll call me on my words as this was the sharpest I¡¯ve gotten with him. Their escalating posturing over the years has more than confirmed Amdirlain¡¯s reservations to me. ¡°I¡¯ve matters to discuss with Tyr, and business of my own to tend.¡± ¡°You make time for him on every visit, yet you¡¯ve never called on ¨®einn. Best you take care of the message you send with your deeds.¡± ¡°He should have taken better care with the last messenger he sent to aid Amdirlain,¡± I say. Even having kept my tone light my choice of topics cuts, and he grinds his teeth. ¡°I thought you were the Bifrost¡¯s guardian, not his messenger boy, but didn¡¯t his last messenger slip from this bridge?¡± ¡°It rejected her passage and carried her to where she deserved to go.¡± ¡°Such doesn¡¯t happen in a moment, and a leader should know his people. Strange how one on the cusp of falling was tasked to help, yet had no one on hand to stop any misdeed before injury occurred. Odyis¡¯ presence could have gone in so many ways, and yet every way I look at it, I can see benefits for your All-father Oathbreaker.¡± ¡°Best you get along. With your sharp tongue, I¡¯ll be glad when I don¡¯t see you again,¡± Heimdall growls. The tone is so sharp that even the Petitioners caught up in the distant, dreamy state of Souls between places react with a start. The smile that I give him doesn¡¯t calm his mood. ¡°Oh, if Tyr says I¡¯m welcome, you¡¯ll see me whenever I wish. If you don¡¯t like it when I make observations, tend to your watch and don¡¯t play messenger, Heimdall. I don¡¯t believe that¡¯s anything your worshippers revere you for, or is it? Does your Mantle support you when you go outside your role?¡± ¡°If all you¡¯re here for is to see Tyr I¡¯d step quicker then. Given all the packing, his servants are about, who knows how much longer he¡¯ll be present,¡± replies Heimdall his surly tone not enough to cause a further disturbance. He might mean the words as a warning, but I find them relaxing. Yet I still don¡¯t hesitate in moving past. The growing tension between the Human Pantheons stinks of plots on all sides not just from the Greeks. Now I know more, the alliance they so quickly offered Amdirlain makes me wonder what ¨®einn saw to make her a pawn. Too much I¡¯ve learnt since Mars¡¯ warning makes me feel that Tyr is the odd one out among the Norse, instead of an example of his kin. Even their Celestials tell tales that paint much of the Pantheon in an unflattering light to me. The way they agree to deals while always planning a way to break them¡ªthey call it cunning but it¡¯s betrayal all the same. I¡¯ve known Demons that would keep their word better than most of the Norse Gods. Once she¡¯s healed, I¡¯ll pass Amdirlain all the tales I¡¯ve collected and verified. If she knew half of them, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d do more than just treat them in a reserved fashion, something like disgust with the Pantheon¡¯s acknowledgement of her. Though I can see the factors in her choice, the Elven Summer court has been truer to her. If only the near-immediate presence of the Norse hadn¡¯t encouraged them to keep their distance. From where Heimdall stands, the Bifrost descends to a pier at the eternal waterfall¡¯s edge, a strange sight, but far more natural compared to Mechanus¡¯ floating cogs. The layout of the Norse Pantheon¡¯s Domains is a quilt of mismatched parts formed beneath Yggdrasil¡¯s canopy. Its trunk is far distant, and reaches even further overhead until the upper branches extend beyond sight. Despite its size, which should cast nearly everything ahead into shadow, the intermingled Domains remain lit by sunlight. A short distance past Heimdall¡¯s position a shift in the wind carries skalds¡¯ chants and raised voices of Valhalla¡¯s mead halls caught up their unrestrained revelry. The long halls that host the warriors of old are built from golden oak, lacquered so they glow in the sunlight. The barracks for those who¡¯ll serve if ¨®einn calls upon them when Ragnarok looks the Pantheon in the eye. Simpler halls and buildings provide quarters for those who lived quieter lives. With the Norse culture having a warrior focus, it¡¯s understandable who holds the highest regard in ¨¢sgarer. Yet they¡¯ve decorated even simpler halls with the complex knots and patterns that record a life¡¯s tales. Training yards and forges, all filled with Celestials and Petitioners alike, are dotted between the outer piers and the taller inner fortifications that encircle the tree. Apparently, all are free to come and go, and if there is a pattern it¡¯s been so far impossible to discern. I¡¯ve even seen a Valkyrie testing their skills against those who withered with age in life and not taking offense at a lesser opponent, wanting a turn against them. With my first footstep upon the pier, I feel the restriction against flying and teleportation lift away, and my Teleport takes me to the gates of Tyr¡¯s Halls. The outer gates are clean white stone carved with the tale of Fenris and the chain. With his Hall¡¯s position high upon a hill, it¡¯s a constant reminder of one of the Pantheon¡¯s traitorous deeds clearly on display to those who come to call. The nearest guard tilts her head back to look me in the eye. Some might take her curled lip as a threat but it¡¯s the closest thing a Vargr Drangijaz has to a smile. ¡°That was swift Ebusuku, the messenger only left recently. You¡¯ll have folks wondering at your travel time.¡± ¡°If they¡¯ve gone to the Domain, I left there some time ago. Heimdall implied that Tyr¡¯s servants are packing.¡± The moment I extend my hand, she eagerly clasps my forearm as if I¡¯ve honoured her, something I still find strange. ¡°More gathering items previously loaned to other Domains, we¡¯ve been told we¡¯ll shift overnight if Lord Tyr¡¯s sources hold true. Shall I escort you through, or let you find your own way?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s not a disruption I¡¯ll just head through. Would he be in his study or tending to a Hearing?¡± Her gaze doesn¡¯t even flicker, but she tilts her head as if listening to a distant voice before she speaks again. ¡°He¡¯s in his study with a guest, but Lord Tyr said to come straight through.¡± At her words, the gates glide smoothly open, giving me ample space even if I unfurled my wings but knowing the corridors I¡¯ll transverse I shift to Human form. Heimdall¡¯s phrase was a massive exaggeration, as nothing has been packed away, but I can see many a spot where things are back in place. From weapon and armour racks that had previously stood empty now being occupied, and even gaps in the library were now filled. The principal work that appeared to be in progress was the servants readying for a feast. As I take a passage alongside the kitchen towards the stairs closest to his study, I hear roasting spits groaning under whole oxen and boars. Though I don¡¯t understand even a once-Mortal¡¯s fascination for food, I know enough. And many a Petitioner at home would welcome the sweet smell of the apple blossom mead marinade and the spices they¡¯re using in their cooking. A servant leaving Tyr¡¯s study with an empty tray quickly tucks it beneath his arm and holds the door open with a smile. Far different to most Norse I¡¯ve seen, the man could almost pass for pure-Egyptian. The slight curl in his hair, that would for an Egyptian be perfectly straight, is the only hint of non-Egyptian heritage. From his straight nose, fine features, and thin mouth, he¡¯s far different from the blocky featured Norse. His appearance prompts consideration of whether Tyr has finally poached beyond national boundaries. When he ushers me through, the guest within steals all such thoughts away. His outward appearance matches so many of the Slavic Celestials I¡¯ve met, pale skin, blue eyes, and a clean-shaven square chin. His modest robes, long white hair, and bladed nose are simply a facade over the top of platinum scales. His focus causes me to drop my gaze, and it lands on a padded seat, hosting a farmer¡¯s woven broad-brimmed hat. A hat playing host to seven golden canaries tweeting softly at each other and apparently squabbling over the seeds poured across the hat¡¯s rim. If any of them transformed back to their Gold Dragon form, we¡¯d be picking up pieces of stonework in Limbo if not even further afield. Putting a hand back to catch the closing door¡¯s handle, I simply incline my head further. ¡°Tyr, had I known you were hosting Lord Bahamut, I would have come another time.¡± Bahamut fixes me with a crushing look that bores into my bones before he huffs impatiently. ¡°Oh sit down, Ebusuku. I¡¯ve no intention of eating you. You¡¯re much changed from the last time you crossed paths with my priesthood.¡± Perhaps it was the example of Amdirlain¡¯s own insanity, but I let the handle slip away and almost bounce from my skin when it clicks shut a moment later. Bahamut motions to the seat along the table from him, where he and Tyr have tankards of mead and a tray of sweetmeats laid out. The gesture was made with confidence almost as if the study was his own, and when I hesitated, all the canaries ceased their noise and fixed their gazes upon me. A flicker of motion has them perched upon the back of the seat that sat between Bahamut¡¯s and the one he¡¯d directed me to use. ¡°Exactly how had you crossed Lord Bahamut¡¯s priesthood Ebusuku?¡± asks Tyr. His voice was tight with suppressed amusement, and he clasped the table¡¯s edge like he was trying not to slap his knee with laughter. Sitting down carefully I didn¡¯t take my gaze from the songbirds, and likewise found the closest perched upon the empty chair¡¯s back hadn¡¯t shifted his gaze from me. Unsurprisingly, given the intensity of his focus, his scales in miniature match my recollections. ¡°When I was young and not yet wise enough to avoid annoying Dragons, I was summoned to a world ruled by various Dragon castes. The group my Summoner served had him set me to stealing naming day gifts intended for various wyrmlings about to come of age. At the last caravan I raided, I believe the Gold closest to me transformed and bite me in half. After that, I tried to have minimal involvement with Dragons and their disputes.¡± Bahamut¡¯s eyebrows twitched upwards at the last and he spoke before I could continue. ¡°Then why do you smell of Diamond hatchling and also Kyton blood?¡± ¡°Has Tyr spoken of Sidero?¡± ¡°The Kyton with the Soul of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s friend placed inside?¡± asks Bahamut. ¡°She achieved evolution and her chains crushed her. When the process was over a Diamond egg was left behind and it soon hatched. The transformation changed her into a variation of a Dragon, Red Diamond, with a Plane home of Mechanus. After hatching she passed out, Torm has taken her to Mechanus in the hopes it would help her recovery.¡± ¡°He said you had news to speak off, but nothing so dramatic,¡± Tyr murmurs, looking thoughtful as he plucks a sweet from the tray. ¡°Torm is reserved¡ªperhaps too much so¡ªuntil something gives him reason to bite,¡± I admit. ¡°I¡¯d like to meet this hatchling once she¡¯s recovered, even if she isn¡¯t one of those who looks to me,¡± states Bahamut, with his attention fixed on me. Though the pressure is less, I still feel crushed into the seat. ¡°Just speak my name when she is recovered and gives permission for me to visit her.¡± ¡°I hope you won¡¯t crush her like you¡¯re doing me right now.¡± I almost bite my tongue when I realise what slipped out, but Bahamut¡¯s pressure doesn¡¯t increase again, rather it eases off. ¡°You are in the service to Orh¨ºthurin, and I¡¯ve heard you¡¯re protective of her. For her sake, I¡¯ll let past offences lay by the side since you¡¯ve undertaken the Titan¡¯s trial.¡± With those words, the pressure disappears completely and I risk a question. ¡°Might I ask how you know her?¡± ¡°Why would I not know her? I met her before this realm existed. Orh¨ºthurin sang the first of my followers within this realm into existence while I listened in wonder and was captivated by her dance. The Anar and L¨®m? believe they were the first species, but the Dragons were first. It¡¯s simply there was just no world for them to live upon, and Dragons need space, so the Titan placed them in stasis.¡± ¡°Amdirlain has no memory of that as far as she¡¯s told me,¡± I say, hoping it will prompt him to share information that will help her. ¡°Then perhaps she¡¯ll remember in time¡ªwho can say for sure what will hold true for her state. I¡¯ve heard too many have already led her astray. Has she regained any memories?¡± A sharp nod is all the response he needs before he continues. ¡°Then perhaps she¡¯ll regain them all over time,¡± offered Bahamut, apparently unbothered by the prospect. A little twitch of his fingers has the canaries who¡¯d still been eyeing me swoop back to the hat, and resume squabbling over the seeds. ¡°Hopefully when she does, she¡¯ll not regain her loathing of power, she needs to keep in mind its the being who wields that determines if it services good or ill.¡± ¡°I¡¯d been told the most powerful singers were their King and Queen,¡± I say, trying to restrain myself when Tyr fills a tankard and pushes it my way, despite the company at the table. ¡°That was an agreement they reached in their early years for work that needed a leader beyond a conductor. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s name was even put forward, but she turned it down, not once but many times. Eventually, they stopped putting her up for consideration and her tendency to work alone eventually had them forget her strength until she made it clear.¡± A refusal of power certainly seems like it¡¯s something that runs true. ¡°Was that when she handed herself over for the trial and the branding?¡± ¡°That sentence didn¡¯t even exist until the King¡¯s lackey proposed it for her offence against his Majesty. No, it was when she slew those things to the last infant, along with the Anar King, and his Chorus all on the same day. It¡¯s a messy tale and I only know part of it. Hopefully one day she remembers the truth of it and considers it in as kind a light as possible,¡± replies Bahamut, and signals for quiet. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the purpose of my visit. Now if you use the edge of my Domain as a guide there will be no gap to put the Erakk? Petitioners at risk. From the foothills I spoke about before Ebusuku arrived, all the way across the plains to that trio of Deltas is unclaimed. I¡¯ve already advised those whose Domains sit close that a newcomer might be arriving.¡± ¡°Lord Bahamut has been hosting them for you. Might I ask how you two met?¡± I ask, looking between the oldest heavenly being and the human god, my brain objecting at the comparison. Bahamut gives a snort and the canaries trill with amusement, as if they¡¯ve caught my thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ve known Tyr since his concept of Justice drew a young Gold¡¯s attention. I wanted to know more about the Power she worshipped and arranged a meeting. It took this situation for him to listen to my centuries-old recommendation of moving his Home Plane. With the need to keep this under wraps and the more orderly mindset of the Erakk?, it was far better for them to be brought to the Seven Heavens.¡± 194 - Turn the Page Elliyna¡¯s PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to skip their rematch this time?¡± asked Duurth, as he sat down next to Elliyna. Her now dark black hair and smooth skin made it look as if he was sitting next to an eligible female far younger than his years. After the last half-year contest, she¡¯d had to head off rumours he¡¯d been courting her¡ªshe should never have allowed him to walk her back to her quarters. ¡°Know my patients are all attending, so I came along after all,¡± replied Elliyna, setting aside ridiculous thoughts and gesturing about the packed stadium. ¡°Don¡¯t they have anything better to do?¡± ¡°Know that we¡¯re all here studying masters of combat,¡± Duurth countered calmly, settling his robes about him. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t that be witnessing if your bets will pay? With all seven re-matches having all drawn out to three days, do you expect this time to be any different?¡± ¡°Know that Master Jarith? set the rules, not I; I¡¯m merely an arbiter of the contest,¡± refuted Duurth firmly, even though his nostrils flexed in amusement. ¡°Though do you expect me to believe you¡¯ve not got motivations of your own for being here?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Duurth nodded down towards the middle-tiers at the pair who had Elliyna¡¯s focus when he arrived. ¡°Know it is good that the sisters have some time together. Know I heard she¡¯d discovered the truth of your offer.¡± ¡°Know no one told her; Sarith asked earlier in the year and I confirmed it,¡± replied Elliyna. ¡°Know that she¡¯s not made an issue of it.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯m glad to hear she¡¯s made such progress. Know that I can¡¯t imagine it would have occurred that way initially. And how is her landscaping going?¡± Duurth asked across a link and felt Elliyna¡¯s steel mental grip in response to his reference to Amdirlain¡¯s mind palace. ¡°Know I wanted your general assessment, not details.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ve only the images to go on, but even those still shrouded in stone now lay upon grass rather than sunken into befouled clay ground,¡± replied Elliyna. ¡°Hadn¡¯t you noticed her Psi flows are much smoother now?¡± ¡°Know that I had indeed, much to Master Tenzin¡¯s relief,¡± answered Duurth. ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll use that fiery manifestation again this time?¡± ¡°Know while the flames have become clearer each rematch¡­¡± The appearance of the trio of visitors stops his commentary. Even without certain other aspects, the three, with their general Human appearance, would have been immediately out of place. The man loomed over everyone; his Monk robes bore the same insignia Livia¡¯s medallion displayed. Beyond just his height, solid features and a massive frame cast everyone into shadow, even without her knowledge of what lay beneath Torm¡¯s facade. Livia seemed child-like next to him her calm crystal eyes sparkling with inner happiness. Though wearing loose robes like the monastery¡¯s monks, beyond the eyes, her shortness and race still set her apart. Their third, with her tiny stature, should have better filled the child role. She appeared a mere toddler, but the way she skipped along from one step to another had far too much grace. Her appearance was odd compared to the other humans, red hexagon-faceted eyes¡ªwere insectoid and alien¡ªand her unvarying bleached white skin moved her beyond the strangeness of Humans. A long braid, the colour of bright arterial blood and held together with a silver band, almost reaches her feet. Though the braid¡¯s swaying itself was another unnatural display, it was an almost mechanical pattern, out of sync with her movements. While Torm and Livia wore clothing Elliyna at least recognised, the apparel Sarah wore was strange indeed. While the red loose pants and strange black boots weren¡¯t too odd, her shirt apparently was working to make up for their lack. A dark red shirt with sleeves cropped off not far along her arms, emblazoned on her chest was a black four-legged creature with a long tail. Its green slitted eyes and strange whiskers gave it a truly odd appearance, especially since the knife held in its mouth dripped blood. Runes set in the shirt''s cloth beneath the creature eluded the translation spells. Sarith had reported that she¡¯d been told they meant: You¡¯d better not be counting on Luck! ¡°Might we sit with yourself and Master Duurth, Healer Elliyna?¡± asked Torm when they drew close. The precisely spoke Gith tongue still rumbled strangely, but Elliyna just motioned them towards the spare spaces along the bench. Livia¡¯s calm blue gaze glanced down at Sarah, only to receive a huff. ¡°Know that I don¡¯t need you to hold my hand, Livia. Know I¡¯m sure if you want a child so badly, Master Cyrus would assist.¡± The words were spoken in fluent Gith and Sarah¡¯s lips actually moved in time rather than counting on a magical translation. Her soprano voice carried above the crowd and set gossip humming while Sarah¡¯s smile became more of a smirk. ¡°I thought you were going to play nice, Sarah?¡± Tilting her head, Sarah¡¯s hands cupped her cheeks and looked artfully innocent at Torm. ¡°Know that I am. Know that they¡¯re both consenting adults¡ªI¡¯m sure they can be nice to each other.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not even thought of that,¡± protested Livia. ¡°You¡¯re being precisely spoken, Sarah,¡± Torm observed to change the subject, as Livia¡¯s complexion struggled to reach the redness of Sarah¡¯s eyes. ¡°Know that speaking Gith correctly, or any other language, ensures a proper order,¡± chided Sarah. ¡°Can we sit down?¡± asked Livia, her cheeks still burning. ¡°I don¡¯t know, can you? Know if you stop wanting to hold my hand I¡¯ll stop pointing out what your body language and subconscious tells towards Master Cyrus mean,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°Know I don¡¯t need you to comment when I can smell your excitement after you get back from playing whack-a-skull with him.¡± ¡°Perhaps a change of subject?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Know that you shouldn¡¯t mind the gossips, they¡¯ve been mentally chatting since we arrived,¡± laughed Sarah, and slipped effortlessly past Livia to take a seat next to Elliyna ¡°Not sitting with Amdirlain¡¯s fellow Novices this time, Livia?¡± asked Duurth, his tone calm and reasonable. ¡°Know that Livia said Sarith hasn¡¯t been sitting with her sister on previous occasions,¡± Sarah said brightly and gave Elliyna an odd sniff. ¡°Know I appreciate you giving them this time then. Know I¡¯m hoping they continue their progress in building a stronger foundation,¡± replied Elliyna. ¡°Do your people often have trouble with a submissive twin developing a dependant relationship if their sibling is significantly more dominant?¡± Elliyna stopped to consider Sarah¡¯s question and gave the strange, unnerving child more attention. Though there was no sense of menace from her mind, in fact, it was as glass smooth as Amdirlain¡¯s, something about her put Elliyna on edge. ¡°Know that twins¡¯ minds can often become quite entangled. Know that parents are supposed to encourage differing interests and pursuits so that they don¡¯t persist in the entanglement.¡± Sarah nodded thoughtfully and sniffed Elliyna again before she raised a hand to scrub her nose. ¡°Know I appreciate you indulging my question.¡± A moment later when Sarah sniffed her again, Elliyna was unsettled by the air about the strange child, Elliyna¡¯s words slipped out. ¡°Might I ask why you are sniffing me?¡± ¡°Know you just asked,¡± Sarah replied primly, and gave a little shrug. ¡°Know that when I figure out what about you is tickling my nose, I¡¯ll let you know as well.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a human, are you? Know I thought at first you simply have strange eyes like Livia.¡± ¡°Know that is correct, I''m not human, but Change Self in all its various versions can¡¯t change a body above its upper mass,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Why is it our protections show only an odd-looking human?¡± asked Duurth, leaning forward to regard Sarah curiously from Elliyna¡¯s other side as Torm and Livia settled into their seats. ¡°Why on earth would I tell you that?¡± ¡°Know you¡¯re sitting on stone, not earth.¡± Duurth responded without hesitation. ¡°Does the matter you are on make a difference?¡± Sarah¡¯s giggles lacked any mocking tone but sparkled with a child-like happiness and somewhat eased the edge Elliyna felt yet it¡¯s easing helped her recognition. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t your parents have accompanied you this trip?¡± asked Duurth, so blandly his question had Elliyna nearly choke. ¡°Know I¡¯ve worked it out. Know that it simply took me a while to shift through your species¡¯ pheromones¡ªstill too much information in my head,¡± Sarah replied, not even acknowledging the question. A burst of action on the stadium floor had psi-crystals around them floating higher to get a better view. Elliyna didn¡¯t take her gaze from Sarah, who gave her a bright smile in return. ¡°Know that at your regressed age biological instincts can get the best of one, just like others I know. Know chemicals flood your body at present, even under the Gith self-control, but you¡¯re likely out of practice keeping them, well¡­ from affecting your judgement.¡± ¡°Githz¨¦rai,¡± corrected Elliyna. ¡°Know you smell like your forerunners,¡± retorted Sarah briskly. The cough from Livia who sat on the other side of Sarah drew their gazes her way. ¡°Know we¡¯re here to observe the rematch, not gossip about urges.¡± ¡°Know you smell of urges, so have fun with that,¡± teased Sarah, and turned her attention back to Elliyna. ¡°Are you here to watch the rematch for entertainment or to observe it from your patient¡¯s recovery perspective?¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Elliyna sent a mental probe at Sarah¡¯s glass defences and felt it slid along without a ripple; the same as Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°Know I believe you¡¯re one of her friends.¡± The statement had Sarah blink, and a genuine smile curved her lips. ¡°She didn¡¯t tell you our names?¡± Lowering her voice to prevent complaints, Elliyna carefully replied. ¡°Know that she referred to Sidero and Isa. Your behaviour doesn¡¯t match what I¡¯d expect of Isa, so does that mean you¡¯re Sidero?¡± ¡°Know that I was, but I¡¯m not trapped anymore if that was going to be your next question. Know the name itself had other connotations that I didn¡¯t appreciate, so I set it aside. Plus, isn¡¯t it healthier to acknowledge and move past one¡¯s issues than keep unnecessary emotional burdens?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Do you need to speak to someone?¡± ¡°Know Amdirlain informed me of your religious affliction, Elliyna, my words not hers,¡± retorted Sarah, and she smiled at Elliyna¡¯s narrow gaze. ¡°Know I meant affliction, not affiliation, and I¡¯d happily tell you horror stories about the one you worship: vicious, capricious, and disorderly. Would you like me to provide further words for her?¡± ¡°Know that I prefer Amdirlain¡¯s attitude,¡± rebuked Elliyna coldly. Sarah¡¯s eyes sparkled with an inner light, and pausing, she licked her lips before she continued. ¡°Know that would be completely your choice, but choice isn¡¯t my thing. Though speaking of choice, have you ever had a patient whose very choices have been the source of their injury?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be the case for every healer who has practised for any significant length of time?¡± asked Elliyna, her expression remaining calmly composed. ¡°Know that you should think on that answer,¡± teased Sarah, before turning her attention to the stadium floor. ¡°Know in that regard I¡¯m so glad your choice is your problem, not mine.¡± Flames of golden light shaped feather-like patterns in the sullen angry flames about Amdirlain that Elliyna had seen in every rematch. Their fury having changed over the years, they had become a clear indicator of progress, but left Elliyna frustrated at not being allowed to see Amdirlain¡¯s Mind Palace. Although she couldn¡¯t physically track their movement, her swift mind absorbed the details from a gestalt, unfortunately those within only included one who was barely able to follow them. When an unfamiliar mind joined the gestalt with crystal sharpness, the movements on the floor suddenly slowed from a near blur to a graceful, but brutal dance. Curious, Elliyna tried to trace the link and brushed against a junction of smooth glass. Her focus dropped to Sarah, who smiled back at her innocently. ¡°Did that not help?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Psion?¡± whispered Elliyna. ¡°Know I have Shaper as my Psion Class; I prefer making things than sticking probes into someone¡¯s brain, since I¡¯m not grey.¡± ¡°Why would being grey matter?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s a joke and a bit of a stretch, but since people can be butt heads...¡± replied Sarah and shrugged with a very Githz¨¦rai twitch of her shoulders. The look in her eyes made it clear the movement wasn¡¯t happenstance in occurrence or restraint. ¡°Know I¡¯ll refer you to my hunting partner to discuss my decaying humour.¡± ¡°Do you need a teacher of Psionics?¡± asked Duurth helpfully, and Elliyna caught a strange eagerness in the offer. ¡°Know that won¡¯t be necessary; I¡¯ve got a real gem of a teacher already,¡± replied Sarah, her tone changing into a grumble she continued. ¡°Know my only issue with her instruction style is she likes to mother me.¡± ¡°Might I know your other classes?¡± asked Elliyna trying to get back control of the conversation. ¡°Know I¡¯m sure you¡¯d like more information, believing it¡¯ll help in puzzling me out, but the names don¡¯t translate well from my species tongue into Githz¨¦rai. Know it¡¯s not so much the words but the implications, as I have an evolved version of Artificer and Hunter. Are you going to be brave enough to ask about my Prestige Class?¡± Elliyna recognised the blood-thirsty Hunter Class, a twisted cousin to the Ranger, and Sarah¡¯s relaxed mention raised the hair along the back of her neck. Flicking a glance at the human-looking Celestial and back down, Elliyna¡¯s gaze caught on Sarah¡¯s smile. Though Sarah smiled sweetly, if anything it made her sudden case of nerves worse. ¡°What do you focus on hunting?¡± ¡°Know the shock on your face was telling, but it¡¯s not a concern for you. Know that its focus involves Demons and undead. Is that enough information for you to digest, Master Elliyna?¡± ¡°Know that I appreciate the insights, but might I ask one more question?¡± Sarah¡¯s smile lost its edge and gained an almost friendly vibe. ¡°Know I¡¯m aware that, for certain professions and individuals, it¡¯s never one question. What did you wish to ask?¡± ¡°Know even given what little she¡¯d discuss regarding your situation, I can understand hunting Demons, but why undead?¡± Sarah¡¯s calm nod eased Elliyna¡¯s concern that she might take offence that another¡¯s healing required discussing her. ¡°Know they are a disruption in the natural order of life, and many of them will run rampant if left unchecked.¡± ¡°Does it always come down to order for you?¡± asked Elliyna. The grin that nearly split Sarah¡¯s face was pure cheekiness. ¡°Does it always come down to questions for you?¡± ¡°Know there is more involved than just questions,¡± insisted Elliyna. The firmness of her tone didn¡¯t lessen Sarah¡¯s delight. ¡°Know you have your answer.¡± Elliyna set aside the sudden urge to retort but held herself back unsure why she was still on edge. Taking a breath she returned her attention to the combat, aware that the help in the Gestalt hadn¡¯t lessened during their exchange. ¡°What level Psion are you?¡± While Elliyna wasn¡¯t sure of her attitude she had to admit to herself Sarah wasn¡¯t slow in responding. ¡°Know I¡¯m already forty, as levelling those initial stages in a target-rich environment is easy, even if my mentor grumbles that I started fighting again too soon. Know that some instructors can be as fierce as Dragons with wanting things done their way.¡± Sarah barely got her response out before she was snickering loudly, leaving Elliyna baffled about what warranted such amusement. The three days of the rematch passed quickly, and while others indicated both parties had improved Elliyna, as always, paid more attention to the individuals watching than the match itself. She was almost glad when Livia sat elsewhere, taking Sarah, and Torm with her. The pair of them seemed content to let Livia pick the company they kept each day. After the match''s tie was finally announced Elliyna spotted Livia, and others on the causeway leading into the monastery proper, and curiosity had her follow along. Before the dormitory group and their guests could reach their building, Amdirlain appeared in a blur to greet them. ¡°You look so cute,¡± gushed Amdirlain at Sarah, and Elliyna spotted the amused glint in her gaze hidden beneath the emotional display. Sarah¡¯s flat look was far too mature for her child-like features, but Amdirlain only laughed in response. Gemiya led the Novices group towards the dormitory, surprising Elliyna when Master Tenzin didn¡¯t make a fuss at Torm¡¯s presence. The look that Tenzin shot her way gave Elliyna a sense of trespassing, but she still didn¡¯t hesitate to continue with them, and Tenzin raised no further objection. Both moved along at the tail-end of the group, listening to an exchange between Amdirlain and Sarah, though Elliyna wasn¡¯t sure how much they really understood of it. The sense of mutual references was too great; it was like reading a book that referred to dozens of others, while having access to none of them. ¡°Know that I might be cute now, but you¡¯re going to be asking me again what I¡¯ve been eating to get so¡­ strong.¡± Amdirlain frowned at Sarah¡¯s hesitation but clearly read more into her change of phrasing when Sarah puffed out her cheeks dramatically. ¡°I don¡¯t remember telling you anything like that. What do you remember?¡± ¡°Know that I remember lots, but things I could tell you might mess up your perception of recovered memories. Know I wish I could tell you more, but I¡¯ll always have your back songbird,¡± Sarah said. Despite objecting to Livia''s attempts to do so, Sarah took Amdirlain¡¯s hand without argument, apparently content to appear like a child being escorted by her mother. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Know that he used to call you that at times, I won¡¯t say who, even if you remember,¡± replied Sarah giving Amdirlain a smile, before glancing at their escort. ¡°I¡¯ve remembered a few occurrences,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°How come I can¡¯t see you properly?¡± ¡°Know that Gaius had some interesting...¡± Sarah paused, flicked a glance back at Elliyna and smiled. ¡°tricks, and some I¡¯ve extended.¡± ¡°So many questions,¡± muttered Amdirlain, shooting a glance at Sarah when she giggled. ¡°No!¡± exclaimed Sarah, pressing the back of her free hand dramatically to her forehead. ¡°Not the questions!¡± ¡°At least that got you to stop speaking formally all the time,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and poked out her tongue. ¡°Know that the Githz¨¦rai language has a proper order to it, and I wish to respect that order,¡± huffed Sarah, tilting her nose in the air. ¡°Others have warned me I need to pass proper decorum next year, and that includes language,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Know that you¡¯re going to fail, Little Miss Swears-a-lot,¡± retorted Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve been restraining myself,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Shaking her head Sarah fixed an expression of mock-sorrow in place. ¡°Know that I bet they could tell me your favourite swear word even if it isn¡¯t in their tongue,¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± called back a few of the closest among the Novices having given up on discretion. ¡°How long before you grow up?¡± Amdirlain asked, jumping topics completely. Sarah wrinkled her nose and gave Amdirlain¡¯s fingers a gentle squeeze. ¡°Know that I could ask the same question, buster. Know I¡¯ll get out of this tier in another ten levels of my species apparently, and then I¡¯ll need a bit of a sleep in.¡± ¡°No sleep until bedtime?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯m going to bite you if you start singing that,¡± growled Sarah, and the tone set hair along Elliyna¡¯s body standing on end. The shivers among the group signalled she wasn¡¯t the only one, but Amdirlain just looked amused. ¡°I didn¡¯t check that box on my form.¡± The word Sarah muttered was too low for Elliyna to catch but Amdirlain simply blew Sarah a kiss. ¡°Thanks,¡± Sarah said. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Know I just appreciate you finding help. Know that I was worried, but you look relaxed and happy, even getting punched, twisted sister that you are.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not going to take it?¡± Though the words sounded like a question, Amdirlain seemed to be quoting something to Elliyna, a view reinforced when Sarah groaned. ¡°Know the same applies to that one.¡± ¡°Then stop providing musical prompts,¡± teased Amdirlain. Sarah huffed and gave Amdirlain a look of mock disgust. ¡°Are you forgetting you gave the first one?¡± ¡°So?¡± asked Amdirlain blankly, before switching topics. ¡°What is Mechanus like?¡± ¡°Know that it¡¯s filled with floating platforms that are in the shape of gears or cogs, depending on your perspective. Know that they turn in sync because each is rotating in time to the Planar wheel,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°In sync, I told you about musical prompts,¡± stated Amdirlain, and drew a deep breath. ¡°Know you shouldn¡¯t play with my words thank you!¡± grumbled Sarah, and Amdirlain huffed in mock disappointment. ¡°What happens if you fall off the edge?¡± ¡°Know that it¡¯s the same as in the Elemental Plane of Air, your focus directs where you go. Can you guess what happens if you don¡¯t focus?¡± quipped Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged and gave a glib reply. ¡°You fall until you orderly find your arse bursting out your skull when you hit a platform?¡± ¡°How big are the platforms?¡± asked Livia, the glance she directed at the pair¡¯s hands showed her restrained glee. ¡°Know that some are hundreds of kilometres across while others are barely a few metres, but most Domains feature a central platform, and dozens of others¡ªnot that all are Domains. Know the one I¡¯ve spent the most time in is only a few dozen kilometres across but has six platforms joined by a central shaft,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°One you spent the most time in?¡± asked Amdirlain quickly. Sarah fixed her with a droll expression. ¡°Know you can blame Ebusuku for that one.¡± ¡°Oh that¡­ yeah, I heard about that. Sorry, my mind jumped to a different option.¡± ¡°Did you set certain goals for her?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ve absolutely no need, Ebusuku runs with things and handles making up objectives as she goes,¡± replied Amdirlain cheerfully. Her poise seemed a deliberate effort to give Sarah a playful poke. ¡°Know I warned you about someone putting a bit between your teeth,¡± teased Sarah and bumped her head against Amdirlain¡¯s side ¡°Know that your warning included mention of people I didn¡¯t want in charge. Ebusuku, I¡¯m happy to place in charge,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Have you ever met a Modron?¡± ¡°The Celestial non-Celestial types that are native to Mechanus,¡± replied Amdirlain, her flurry of words prompting Sarah to snort in frustration. ¡°Once. They looked like they¡¯re comprised of clockwork. Though I''m not sure if the Titan¡¯s Servant that turned up in Judgement is also from there or his own creation.¡± ¡°Know they only like entities giving orders that the organisational charts say are in charge. Know that chart needs to match the rules laid out to support said individuals'' authority to provide commands to those following them.¡± ¡°Telling me this why?¡± ¡°Know that if you ever have reasons to go to Mechanus make sure you have the proper paperwork before touching down on any platform,¡± stated Sarah, and shot Torm a toothy grin. ¡°Right Torm?¡± ¡°I had no idea it was someone¡¯s Domain, there were no defence towers, nor sign it wasn¡¯t allowed, and the Domain just let me land.¡± ¡°Know that all those would be unnecessary clutter if you were simply being orderly,¡± retorted Sarah. ¡°Oh, laying down the law should be fun for you,¡° said Amdirlain. ¡°How long did it take to sort out?¡± ¡°I got passed along eight levels of their hierarchy and filled out more forms than I previously believed existed. I thought they were just parts of the fiction that Sarah had shared,¡± admitted Torm ruefully. ¡°There is a big difference between going to Mechanus with a guide, and just showing up. Though I don¡¯t know why Sarah¡¯s complaining¡ªshe slept right through most of it.¡± ¡°Know I was catching up on decades of sleep; that¡¯s my excuse and I retain my right to legal counsel.¡± 195 - Destination unknown Amdirlain¡¯s PoV ¨C Limbo ¨C Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand With the marks handed out, the guest examiners filed from the training hall, leaving the class to clean up the ritual circle. When the door clicked shut only Lezekus exhaled sharply¡ªnearly an unseemly cheer among the Githz¨¦rai¡ªthe girls all having worked on their composure over the years. ¡°Know I thought we would not pass,¡± Nomein stated, and Gemiya glanced towards her before returning to cleaning up. The crinkling around the corners of her mouth and eyes showed the excessive laughter that she was restraining. ¡°Are you going to be right with tomorrow¡¯s exams, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°I¡¯m likely doomed, but I¡¯ll give it my best shot,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know you must pass,¡± insisted Zenya. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be transferred to another dormitory, do you?¡± Amdirlain kept a straight face, and her tiny nod received a smile from Zenya. ¡°Know that I can only do my best, Zenya.¡± ¡°Know you should look to structure all your responses in such a fashion for the Masters¡¯ questions,¡± chided Zenya. ¡°Know that after five years together, you¡¯re not allowed to flunk.¡± ¡°How was I to know they were going to make the last exam a verbal one, and be half the grade?¡± ¡°Know I believe they are trying to make you sweat,¡± Lezekus declared, her eyes crinkling with amusement. ¡°Could it be they are trying to make you sweat, Lezekus?¡± asked Gemiya. ¡°Know you¡¯ve developed quite the fondness for ignoring formalities.¡± Lezekus spread her hands and started on her own cleaning, those that had been delaying joined in. The chalk they¡¯d used for the ritual circles was stubbornly persistent on the stonework. ¡°Know I believe the Anarch is maintaining the chalk in place,¡± grumbled Gemiya. ¡°Will Livia be here again for this rematch?¡± asked Zenya, over the top of muttered agreement from the others. ¡°Know I hope she brings Sarah again; I like the sharpness of her wit.¡± Her phrasing, implying Sarah was the younger of them, almost set Amdirlain laughing, but she kept a straight face. ¡°Know she intends to arrive when they¡¯re setting up the stadium,¡± responded Amdirlain and gave a quick eyebrow twitch that had Lezekus snorting. ¡°Do you think you¡¯ll be able to keep your cool tomorrow?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°I live in hope,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and when Lezekus broke down giggling, the others just shook their heads. * * * That evening, deep within meditative cycling, Amdirlain floated with memories teasing at the edge of her mind, whispered words that faded if she focused her attention on them. Years of practice kept her drifting in a zen no mind state, and she waited to see if another memory would rise high enough to learn more. The flames of the pyre waxed and waned until the power overran the pool within her, and accumulated in her flesh. With her flesh glowing a brilliant gold, she released the Ki into the Mantle with her flesh feeling like it might catch fire. In the sparking power, her awareness and memory found each other, and flared into life. * * * The forge sat centred atop a kilometre-wide platform orbiting a white star they¡¯d brought to life amid the matter and energy that still streamed upwards from the rift. The star¡¯s proximity burned with enough power that it should have incinerated the platform and those atop it as flares threatened to arc down onto the stone. A Dragon, her scales gleaming a molten silver in colour she resonated with adamantine¡¯s vibrant song, yawned in a display of teeth that each stood taller than Orh¨ºthurin. Her Song pulsed with sparks of inspiration provided by Bahamut¡¯s form but was uniquely her own. Lounging on the plateau edge, her half-lidded gaze affected boredom, but the notes of curiosity were clear. With casual disinterest, she ignored the Primordial beings that floated in space nearby, each occupying an area greater than the plateau, but still shuffled sideways to get closer to Orh¨ºthurin. Bahamut¡¯s gleaming wings stretched, giving the appearance he was drifting on the solar winds. Unlike the Dragon on the platform, there were no scales to be seen, rather he looked formed by someone having poured metal into a mould. An idealised Dragon of power and grace, a long-necked serpentine body with a tail that stretched further still and ended in a pointed spike. When his wings flexed again, one curled around momentarily, blocking the young Dragon from Tiamat¡¯s glare. Her solid black eyes, set in a griffon-featured bone-white face, turned towards him and grinding teeth emit a horrendously violent noise whose essence vibrates the platform. The Titan didn¡¯t glance at Tiamat, but when he hunches into his work the vibrations cease, and her scaly tail lashes the air with a force that could obliterate mountains. Every motion of her body has the metal feathers ruffling with violence that should have put the noise of a volcanic eruption to shame, but the silence remains. Though much of her father¡¯s crafting required the precision and leverage the hammer provided, such isn¡¯t the case at present. Still, his hammer isn¡¯t far from his side, leant against the anvil while streams of energy swirl free from the rift and pour into his hands cupped above the forge. In his current form, each finger is longer than the young Dragon¡¯s body, indeed the platform¡¯s size is more to give him space to stand than for anything else. Overflowing his fingers, energy pours into the forge while the flame within continues to change colour, shifting towards burning pure white of the Song of life and a universe pulsing within. The flames twist upwards past his hands, reaching towards a growing mass far above the plateau where a pillar of grey-white stone was the birthing of the Spire. Already around it, a corona of energy slipped across dimensions, attracting with it Elemental forces to seed the birth of the inner planes. As Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s dance continues, the last Dragon pairs finished forming and she stopped at last. Unwinded, she bowed to Bahamut and Tiamat, respectively. When the shimmering around the bodies ceased, they both considered her sleeping creations. Bahamut, the gleaming coppers and Tiamat, the whites radiating a winter¡¯s cold. At their nods of acceptance, the Titan acknowledges their gesture, and the pairs joined their kin, twisted out of sight into stasis until their worlds were ready. ¡°There is a spare adamantine template. I should remove it to keep the balance between us,¡± Tiamat declared. ¡°No, she¡¯s my sister now,¡± Orh¨ºthurin objected. Even though their forms towered above her, she didn¡¯t hesitate to move between Tiamat and the Dragon who had ducked her head away from Tiamat¡¯s focus. ¡°There is already no balance between us, but in your favour,¡± Bahamut stated. ¡°Nuwa has shifted this reality¡¯s foundations into a deeper plane. Do you not believe her hate and spite will always be an aid to you over my own interests?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care what she does playing in the Infernal mud,¡± hissed Tiamat, her huff a hurricane that swept out through the void but didn¡¯t disturb the platform¡¯s occupants. Before she could continue the Titan¡¯s rumble drowned out her words. ¡°She swore kinship to my daughter. They have exchanged their Oaths; in this life and all others their Souls will call to each other. She is no longer Bahamut¡¯s, rather, she is her own.¡± ¡°She is not Immortal, as the other lineage progenitors will be?¡± Bahamut chuckled and allowed the motion to drive him further from the platform¡¯s edge, but his words remained audible. ¡°Could you not tell, cousin?¡± ¡°As the first Dragon I Sang into existence, I wanted to ensure my music didn¡¯t overreach,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin. Though the sad look she gave the still nameless Dragon was a clear apology. ¡°Very well, but I insist upon the creation of more Dragons to set the balance between us eternally¡ªNuwa¡¯s spite isn¡¯t enough, constrained as she is,¡± Tiamat grumbled. Bahamut drifted further as Orh¨ºthurin considered Tiamat¡¯s demand, light reflected from his scales caused gemlike glints to appear across Tiamat¡¯s hard gaze and inspiration struck. At first tentative steps had her shifting balance to find the music¡¯s flow, and then the light blended within her mind. The Song made from her voice and movement flowed outwards to call materials from the rift¡¯s torrent, setting the foundations of her intent as they moved. Concealed within the backdrop of that surging power, and its ever-shifting Song some energising flecks never made it to the platform. Instead, they were drawn away across newly blooming planes, deep into the depths. Caught up in the inspiration she didn¡¯t notice the theft and never faltered in the Song. Hours after it began, the energised gemstones had multiplied and merged into Dragon forms along the platform¡¯s edge. Diamonds, Amethysts, and Emeralds were among the first, but soon there were more, and variations atop. ¡°There is more of these than my own,¡± complained Tiamat. ¡°You wished for balance keepers; shouldn¡¯t they outnumber both our groups combined?¡± laughed Bahamut. Unbothered by their numbers, he looked over them, admiring their forms¡¯ majestic beauty. The desire for such magnificence stirred through him and touched the minds of the Draconic progenitors despite their stasis. * * * Holding herself open to allow her memories to flow, the summoning came with neither warning nor prompt, its force simply set her amid a tunnel between planes. The rainbow wall tried to rush past but pulled from the memory¡¯s embrace she lashed out. Fighting tooth and nail against the draw, feeling the burning hate within the call. Ki strikes, spells, and sheer bloody-minded Willpower dug jagged gouges into the conduit¡¯s wall; though her efforts didn¡¯t breach the barrier, raw energy joined her passage between planes. The energy of the conduit¡¯s tunnel glimmered with the raw Mana as the passage forced her True Form forth and tore clothes apart. Before she reached the end, she pulled her bracelet from Inventory and the shadow vines formed Elven clothing about her larger shape. The first glimpse of her arrival point was a mirrored cylinder reflecting her image from all sides, its expanse enough to allow her wings to stretch at full extension. Engraved on the stone floor was a sun disk she recognised as Apollo¡¯s symbol, but with tiny runes embedded within every line. The inner edges of the radiant sun¡¯s boundary appeared more to be the jagged teeth of a consuming maw than the starting point of light heading outwards. Blood and vomit were a bitter odour staining the cool air and almost masked the cold stone beneath their stench. Unseen, retching noises and cries of pain came from multiple sources, racing heartbeats shuddering within Mortal flesh made it clear the price summoning her unwillingly had exacted. Reaching out with Telepathy, despite the noises, she felt no minds; instead, a tidal bore of pressure pushed back against her awareness. The pressure of it apparently rippled against her Mantle, setting a clear heat haze within the long golden strands, a ripe wheat harvest waving about in the sunlight. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Unless I¡¯m released from the summoning circle, I can¡¯t affect the Plane about me. The sound of Celestial blessings spotted the chamber, and cries of pain from beyond the mirrored air quietened, though from some directions the scent of death simply grew thicker. When no one spoke, she just started humming under her breath and laughed aloud when she realised the tune she¡¯d picked. Hello, is it me you¡¯re looking for? Seriously twisted, girl! True Sight just showed her the same flawless mirror, she couldn¡¯t even glimpse the runes used. Still, Amdirlain turned in a slow circle, scouring it methodically, but there wasn¡¯t even a ripple as she tried the varied means at her disposal to break out. By the time she¡¯d completed turning, none had spoken and Amdirlain sought to learn the nature of the trap. Analysis [Flawless Summoning Circle - Grand Rank Crafter: Arch-Artificer Soranus Details: Designed and crafted with precise care by the Arch-Artificer Soranus, long time Artificer to the rulers of the Kingdom of Crete. This circle incorporates adamantine and flawless gemstones sourced from the finest providers at Dwarven auctions, among other sources. Well, that plus knowledge from Hecate, along with enough blood, sweat, and tears to break a lesser artisan and one pseudo-power. Recently used to summon Amdirlain¡ªthat¡¯s you¡ªat the cost of multiple Priests and Novices contributing to the ceremony in the upper Temple. Don¡¯t think they were expecting said pseudo-power to kick up such a fight, but the weakest links break first.] The information that came seemed to do so only from the circle¡¯s inner edge, despite Apollo¡¯s symbol glowing with power within the circle itself. Focusing on it alone, she used Analysis again, and the information that was returned ironically sent a chill through her, and remembered nausea twisted within her guts. [Sigil of the Consuming Sun Crafter: Arch-Artificer Soranus Details: A sigil design provided by Apollo himself to the humble High Priest, Prince Charilaos, and engraved by an Arch-Artificer at his direction. Designed to feed the energy of those trapped within the confines of the Sigil¡¯s effect to the power to whom it is dedicated to. Note: Don¡¯t you feel honoured? Is it getting hot in here? Are you going to take off all your clothes?] Amdirlain didn¡¯t take her attention from Apollo¡¯s sun but felt her Mantle¡¯s strands closest to it wilting under its symbolic heat. As some grew parched, a haze of energy started towards the Sigil. Hissing in anger, spells lashed out with increasing force, but her attempts to gain purchase on stone or barrier resulted only in fading Mana bursts. Switching tactics, she hopped in the air and set a defensive shield beneath her, but its energy siphoned away as well. Landing she dropped to one knee and drove a Ki Strike towards the stone. The energy crackled about her fist, but the circle¡¯s barrier extended through the stone, prevented her from grounding the strike. The energy remained within her arm, and the Sigil intact. Varying Psionic techniques set her at the barrier¡¯s edge, but none of them allowed her past. Message spells cast in quick succession dissolved against the Planar obstruction, both those targeted locally as well as those planes away. Trying for the Oath Link¡¯s connection Amdirlain reached for Ebusuku and pushed a message out. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m in trouble. Prince Charilaos¡ªa High Priest of Apollo¡ªhas summoned me, but he pulled me into a killing jar. There is a Sigil of the Consuming Sun within the summoning circle¡ªthe same way I used runes of Planar Attunement¡ªand it¡¯s attacking my Mantle. It¡¯s drawn energy off but not into the Sigil, it¡¯s fading away across planes. I hope you get this message. I can¡¯t risk connecting to you via Spirit Bridge in case it works across it.¡± One moment she could barely feel Ebusuku¡¯s presence through the Link, and the next it glowed with rage. While she didn¡¯t fully enter her Mind Palace Amdirlain could feel the grass that had grown around the closest forms under the restored golden sun wilting in slow motion. ¡°Fucking arsehole.¡± Within the connection between them, Amdirlain pushed an image towards Ebusuku, showing her the Sigil beneath her feet and shared all the information her use of Analysis had provided. ¡°Ideas?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve got a few Archons within the kingdoms but if they arrived in the circle with you, they couldn¡¯t leave. If it¡¯s Aggie or any other Mortal teleporting to you, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be attacked immediately. If it¡¯s like the Dwarven circle rooms, there will be protective runes focused on holding the barrier in place and attacking anyone not dedicated to Apollo.¡± ¡°All I have to go on is the circle¡¯s edge and the Sigil beneath me. I can¡¯t see any of its formations, so it might contain a barrier preventing them from teleporting to me. There is supposedly a Temple above me, but I don¡¯t know which Temple of Apollo,¡± growled Amdirlain. At the grim intensity Ebusuku projected, Amdirlain could only quip. ¡°Bastard wants to eat me, and he didn¡¯t even buy me dinner first.¡± ¡°Spells?¡± ¡°Sorry, already used a number. The planar threshold of the summoning circle didn¡¯t even let them touch the stone, same with Ki Strike, and Psionic techniques.¡± ¡°Aggie wants to try teleporting to you regardless. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Ebusuku didn¡¯t ask, but her connection in the Oath Link grew suddenly distant. As Amdirlain waited, she focused on the Mantle¡¯s boundary and wrestled against the power she felt feeding on it. Despite her initial fuselage of spells, her Mana pool was almost untouched. Setting a Spell formation together, she didn¡¯t just let Mana flow into it but compressed it. Unleashing the overpowered Spell still made no impression, but the Sigil¡¯s consummation of the Mana flood slowed the drain on the Mantle. ¡°She tried teleporting to the symbol and opening a Gate based on the image. Neither worked.¡± ¡°Ebusuku, take care of them.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush to that course, Amdirlain. Aggie knows Crete¡¯s cities, and she is currently teleporting around to every major Temple she knows, looking for signs of excitement. Priests dying in a Temple will cause a fuss.¡± ¡°That could take too long. He¡¯s already drinking it, Ebusuku. He can¡¯t get the power within my Mantle, it could let him claim Letveri, and I don¡¯t know how long it will take me to pass it over. I have to start now in case it takes time, heck, if I can make this work,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°The longer we delay, the greater the chance he gets a connection to another world. We don¡¯t know if this Temple is even in a city. Please, he can drain all my Mana but he can¡¯t have the Mantle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want your Mantle,¡± grumbled Ebusuku. Frustration quivered along the link between them, and Amdirlain could almost feel her stalking about. ¡°I know that, but would you rather he gains control? Who do I send it to? What if he can use it to force you and the others to serve him?¡± Amdirlain asked and projected a sense of hug and kiss down their link. Locked down with her control of it, their connection provided Ebusuku with no hint that the Sigil might be draining more than the Mana and the Mantle. ¡°Amdirlain¡­¡± ¡°Hush, big sister. Hopefully, he gets bored having a Fallen in his holding cell. I¡¯d appreciate you sending someone to find me.¡± ¡°Send the Mantle. I¡¯ll care for them and find you. You have my word.¡± When the sense of Ebusuku disappeared again, Amdirlain pictured rising above the Mantle¡¯s grassy field and pushing it to Ebusuku, but it wouldn¡¯t budge. One image and intention after another proved fruitless, but with practice from the Psi techniques Amdirlain continually switched approaches. As she wove her way through mental images and options, she steered steadily away from whatever got the least reaction and ticked off the possibilities she eliminated. When the smell of a grass fire tickled in her awareness, Amdirlain¡¯s tactics grew desperate. The feel of the Mantle¡¯s energy being pulled from her deepened and she pulled the cold Yin energy within Ki State, and let it surge out along her skin. She found the thought of Apollo drinking the corrosive energy appealing. The only counter for it was Jade Count''s Yang Mana, and she doubted he mediated. Momentarily, the pressure on her Mantle eased, and the burning scent died away. Before it could resume, she pressed more Yin through Ki State until the power danced across her skin. Consuming tornados drank in the chamber¡¯s light. Overflowing her control, the Yin ate at the shadow vines¡¯ robe, even drawing slivers of skin and muscle away. For a moment she hesitated, and almost allowed it to consume her, but unsure of the Mantle¡¯s safety if she simply died, instead continued. The bracelet pulled into Inventory left her clad only in the writhing darkness. Tendrils of energy drawn from her Ki state fell into the sun¡¯s consuming maw. Mentally pushing again, she felt the Mantle shift further and lashed out. Flight held her hovering in mid-air, and a surge of Yin formed a black corrosive pyre to block the Sigil beneath her feet. With Ebusuku¡¯s smile firmly in mind, she pushed again, but nothing changed, and the Sigil drank from the Mantle¡¯s edges. Sending out a massive surge of Yin packed into an overcharged Circle of Flames gave it too much to consume at once, and the draining energy spun like a whirlpool. Burst after burst of that Spell drained her Mana in massive gouts that dangerously overcharged the Spell. Fuck! Eleftherios said it buoys me up! I¡¯ve been trying different ways to get above it or off to the side. Splitting her focus, she cycled Ki through her pattern and twisted its essence around Yin Mana, bending it to serve her purpose and sending them together through Ki state. Flesh glowing golden, gained threads of blackness stretched between the Mantle and the Sigil at her feet. She threw out a massive burst of spells dipping her Mana towards dregs. Focused solely on separating, she left the Yin to its own devices. She visualised tossing the Mantle upwards, with all those linked to it, to rise away and herself to fall. Wanting with an absolute conviction and unwavering focus for them all to be safe with Ebusuku. In that instant, the circle became a void, darker than space at a galaxy¡¯s edge, and the Mantle finally moved away. Without her focus on the Yin, the energy she¡¯d thrown outwards reversed course, and joined the whirlpool in such a rush that walls of a tornado climbed above her. The Sigil caused its base to swirl and drain away¡ªa steady whirlpool beneath her. The motion the Sigil had set in the energy kept her clear of it with her wings folded tight. Like her efforts with ejecting Viper, the Mantle quickly gained speed, but her efforts from years of cycling Ki had won great strides for her Domain and the Mantle both. The departing power was a metaphorical grassland with its roots grown far and wide. As the last of the Mantle lifted away, a few trailing roots caught at her blazing Soul and, drawn to the one who¡¯d guided their growth, clutched at her side. The sheer power in the Mantle deflected her positioning and tossed her into the tornado¡¯s wall. In the blink of an eye, the millions of Mana that she set loose, happily consumed her. With her sudden absence, the circle¡¯s barrier died, and that raging power was suddenly uncontained. No longer protected by the summoning¡¯s threshold, the Sigil, circle, stone, and flesh fed the tornado that expanded. Most flaring upwards, it devoured everything in its path until finally having darkened the summer palace¡¯s grounds completely, its momentum halted, and it fell in on itself. As the destruction ended, the gutted, Yin-expanded cavern collapsed and a massive sinkhole devoured the Temple, the few still living and the meagre remains of the dead. Everywhere her Mantle had touched, Amdirlain¡¯s followers felt the moment of her destruction, and only the reassurance of Ebusuku¡¯s stability tempered their cries of sorrow and rage. Olympus The image of the Hoplite had commanded the centre stage for years now, but the new voice that joined them drowned the cries and the Titan¡¯s chiding alike. Beneath his tanned and handsome features, black dots of power roiled under Apollo¡¯s skin. Drawn in by the Sigil¡¯s effect, the Yin had greedily consumed the Mantle¡¯s energy before he¡¯d gained mastery of it, turning into a black hole within him. A consuming void that continued to drink, for Apollo¡¯s radiant power wasn¡¯t the Yang fires of creation, but simply more fuel for ever-increasing consumption. Those gathered to witness his moment of glory stayed well back in case it was contagious¡ªlike some foul Mortal¡¯s venereal disease. Zeus, unheeding of Apollo¡¯s shifting skin tone, had moved to kneel by his son¡¯s side and grasped his wrist when Apollo clutched at Zeus¡¯ robes. ¡°Apollo needs compatible energy to snuff out the poison that thing inflicted on him,¡± growled Zeus, over his son¡¯s screams. ¡°Hera, Artemis, Athena; I want your strongest Paragons in Egypt immediately. Everyone that hasn¡¯t invested in Paragons, do so now, there are Mortals who will serve and it¡¯s time to act. The Roman will be too strong for now, but if needed, we¡¯ll take him as well.¡± ¡°That¡¯s madness father, you know his rules. He¡¯s shown his willingness to enforce them,¡± Athena cautioned. ¡°Better to get Hecate to draw it out than risk his ire again.¡± Zeus lifted Apollo from where he¡¯d slumped on the bench and strode through the image glowing in the centre. Locking a look of contempt on his daughter, he spat his words at her. ¡°Hecate is the one that led Apollo to this fate. She convinced him he could deal with that upstart thing alone¡ªwe need to strike together. If you have your Paragons in place, I have weapons prepared they can use against the Egyptian¡¯s lineage. Consuming the bloodline of another Sun God will give Apollo the power to deal with this poison. Time for this farce to end. The Mortals will worship us alone.¡± Only when he turns away does Athena¡¯s lips narrow at her father¡¯s words. His ham-fisted attempt to wash over the events of the last decades¡ªwell before the strange Elven power appeared¡ªleft a sour taste. The arguments she¡¯d had with Apollo about pursuing this course are now bitter ashes seasoned by the prophecy¡¯s threat. A breeze brushed by a trio at the back, and the Fates grasped for each other. In the blink of an eye, its coldness lifted, leaving them unaware the cause was now planes away, where only the Titan and his Servants could roam. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Outlands The Mantle¡¯s pressure rested on me, clamped on the Human shape I currently wear, but I couldn¡¯t take my attention from the scroll glowing in my mind. The feeling of devastation that had followed in the Mantle¡¯s wake twisted thousands of fearful claws within my chest. [Mantle transfer accomplished. Non-resident Celestials ejected from Domain. Boundary secured. Mantle Name Change: Lerina (Sole Use Name of entity commonly referred to as Ebusuku) Note: Status information provided immediately to all followers and beings connected to Mantle:
  • Mantle transfer.
  • New name.
  • Affiliation and name of individuals responsible for the destruction of the original holder.
Domain planar re-alignment beginning.] ¡°No, that¡¯s not right. It can¡¯t be right. I was to return her Mantle when she was free!" It didn''t say she was killed, destruction is an entity''s final death. The words are barely from my lips when a wave of blackness swept across the woodlands beyond the window. For the first time, night fell across the Domain, something that should be impossible for the Outlands. As Farhad wrapped a sheet around me and moved to hold me, the light drained, and the sounds of mourning washed through the Domain. For the first time in my existence, I think I might know what Mortals mean by grief. 196 - Open season Aggie¡¯s PoV ¨C Thebes ¡°No!¡± At Aggie¡¯s shout, Alfarr dropped the copper amulet, and it clattered across the craft master¡¯s stone table. The rest of the group turned in surprise, a rush of motion having sent her chair crashing behind her. Yngvarr hadn¡¯t hesitated to rise as well, and Pit just reappeared. He went from calmly waiting for the guild¡¯s scholar to check the amulets they¡¯d seized to having his back against a nearby wall with his bow already in hand. The craft master slapped a hand down atop its War Mattock motif and looked up, with confusion evident in his dark gaze. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Alfarr asked, not spotting anything out of place. Aggie¡¯s form shimmered for a moment before she snarled her reply. ¡°Apolloites summoned Amdirlain. They¡¯ve bound her in a circle, and I can¡¯t Teleport to her.¡± ¡°Wait-¡° Yngvarr didn¡¯t manage the rest before Aggie¡¯s Spell split the air, but the moment the Gate energy formed, it collapsed, and a Portal Spell gave the same result. Sending messages to Ebusuku and Livia, she stopped and glanced at the scholar, her tone softened from her earlier anger. ¡°I¡¯ve involved you in something I shouldn¡¯t have. My apologies.¡± ¡°Involved me in what? I¡¯m simply researching the source of this amulet. I can¡¯t remember anything else discussed,¡± the craft¡¯s Master stated. ¡°Though I¡¯d venture some Greeks need killing.¡± A Gate split the space where Aggie had been trying her spells, and Livia stepped through from amid the crystal buildings of what Aggie recognised as Amdirlain¡¯s Domain, leaving a grim-faced Cyrus behind. ¡°Isn¡¯t he coming?¡± Aggie hissed in shock, wanting to borrow his strength to free Amdirlain from the trap. ¡°He can¡¯t get involved,¡± Livia replied. Although her posture seemed calm she gave a smile that was tight with anger. ¡°But I¡¯ve sent a message to Liran?. She¡¯s going to come to me.¡± ¡°Where were you just then?¡± Alfarr asked. ¡°That¡¯s mother¡¯s Domain now,¡± replied Livia, and ignoring Alfarr¡¯s jaw dropping, she fixed her attention on Aggie. ¡°Any luck?¡± Aggie shook her head and spoke again, ¡°I couldn¡¯t get straight to her; I¡¯ll check Crete¡¯s temples.¡± With those words, she vanished. Starting with Crete¡¯s capital, she tried to remember the best vantages to check all the major ones she knew. The temples she landed near seemed calm and orderly. Shifting position to spots that provided a view through their ornate doors, all of them had Priests busy within, tending to the faithful¡¯s offerings. Scouting dozens of Temples passed in a blur before the pain struck and almost dropped her to her knees. The golden script that blazed in her mind gave plain words to a concept that made her scream. The surprise sent her staggering into the open, and her rooftop position across the market square from the Temple drew immediate attention. Spotting her garb, one of Apollo¡¯s guards grabbed for a bow and moved for a better line of sight. His reaction proved fatal as Aggie unleashed a Spell despite the distraction of her sorrow. The row of guards sent black smoke skywards, the air filled with the scent of burning meat, as their flesh crackled and bled flames. Passers-by and faithful alike fled through the market, but Aggie ignored them to focus on the Temple and started another Spell. The Priests within were chanting blessings, and though part of her admitted they might not be involved, they¡¯d chosen their side. She wouldn¡¯t let them live to strike first at any of Amdirlain¡¯s people. The dedication of the Temple would have been a sanctuary against another God¡¯s Blessing. Aggie¡¯s Wizard Spell slid through the ornate Temple¡¯s wards against lesser elements, and needles of chaos perforated her targets from head to toe. More Temple guards rushed to the forecourt, and those intelligent enough to loose arrows and javelins, died first. ¡°Aggie, Torm got word from Tyr. Meet at Eivor¡¯s compound; Moke¡¯s information gatherers might know of the Artificer involved. I¡¯m going to borrow a circle and summon Torm. I¡¯ll send him to you. I don¡¯t know what shape I¡¯ll be in afterwards, but he won¡¯t forgive me if I don¡¯t involve him. Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Liran? will be there shortly.¡± With Livia¡¯s Message whispering in her ear, the temptation to deal with the other Temples that she¡¯d already checked surged, but Aggie teleported to the compound instead, leaving burnt and broken remnants behind. Chaos reigned within the Temple that Eivor had grown from a roadside altar. A once small shrine outside Memphis, it now stretched out over acres and, like many Egyptian Temples, contained quite a community. Despite the apparent rise in fortunes, the compound¡¯s layout still had the Temple and a large infirmary set close to the road. Yngvarr, Alfarr, and Liran? appeared close to the Temple¡¯s main door, and Yngvarr waved for her attention, though Liran? accomplished that on her own. While Livia had described the Githzerai, her utterly blank expression struck Aggie as alien, unmoved as she was among the chaos and tears. Despite those mourning around her, she appeared unaffected by their distress. She was undoubtedly unique with short-cropped hair and skin yellowed like a person dying of too much drink, even without the Elven ears and upturned nose. ¡°Know that my peoples¡¯ way is about control of ourselves, so that what you perceive as a blank expression would show my grief. I hope you will understand I do not belittle your grief, rather I truly share it. Know you have my apologies if not displaying it overtly offends you. I didn¡¯t know as much about Amdirlain as I thought. I still counted her a friend.¡± That the words coming without Liran?¡¯s mouth moving gave Aggie pause. Being told about and experiencing Telepathy were two very different things. ¡°Know I¡¯ll try not to listen, but distressed minds project thoughts, especially untrained and undisciplined ones. Shall we see what records or contacts Moke possesses to aid the search? Know if you find individuals who might know their location, I¡¯ll crack open their minds.¡± Erwarth¡¯s PoV Fiery pain spread with impossible speed through her skin, burrowing towards her core, and they were all suddenly gathered in a room, along with Klipyl. Though they hadn¡¯t met, a Succubus wearing an amulet of Amdirlain and not much else could only be one individual. It wasn¡¯t a fancy room, nor enormous, but it provided enough space for them all to gather for the audience. Grey-white stone formed four unadorned walls and providing no distraction, but a grand master artisan¡¯s work wouldn¡¯t have distracted them from the Titan. Only Klipyl couldn¡¯t take her gaze from Eleftherios, standing almost meekly beside him. The moment Klipyl stepped towards him, Calithil clasped a hand over her eyes from behind and whispered in her ear. ¡°Death can be enticing. Best not to look, youngling.¡± The Titan began with no preamble. ¡°You¡¯ve two choices.¡± ¡°Not even a hello?¡± asked Erwarth. Her question had slid from her lips with acidic anger, but the Titan merely nodded. ¡°Hello, Erwarth.¡± ¡°Is this but another of your lies? Or an elaborate trap?¡± demanded Erwarth. ¡°Because we know you like those.¡± The Titan gave her a flat look, and she almost took back the words, but he spoke first. ¡°I never lied to you.¡± ¡°You did! You lied to us. We went from one liar to another,¡± growled Erwarth, trying to hold back the sorrow and rage burning within her form. For all she logically knew that she stood no chance; still, she wanted to hurt him. Her words brought a sad smile to the Titan¡¯s face, even as he replied. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then tell me we didn¡¯t create traps,¡± demanded Erwarth. ¡°You can¡¯t, can you?!¡± Her shout didn¡¯t stir any reaction beyond a sigh of frustration. ¡°I¡¯ll remind you again, I did not lie. I simply did not tell you all our plans. What you hold against me had only very specific prey in mind. For all other life, they were places to live and grow strong if they could, just as you were told.¡± ¡°You still¡­¡± The Titan didn¡¯t speak or move, but his forceful gaze cut Erwarth off. The weight was nothing compared to what he could project, but it still crushed her. ¡°I will not ask for your trust, Erwarth, because your trust means nothing to me. We¡¯re speaking because Amdirlain would insist it be your choice. All here have proven you don¡¯t need the Trial according to the rules,¡± stated the Titan. His gaze flickered to the softly protesting Klipyl still restrained by a whispering Calithil. ¡°Even Klipyl. A Succubus who was helping with relationships, what next?¡± ¡°Why are we even here?¡± ¡°Apollo¡¯s Mortals set a trap; one she hadn¡¯t grown strong enough to avoid. She tried to transition from the Mantle but was destroyed; now the consequences are hers alone to carry. You get to choose since she wanted all tied to the Mantle to be lifted with it.¡± ¡°Send us to the Plane she¡¯ll appear on,¡± insisted Erwarth, pushing back against the restrained pressure. The Titan¡¯s jaw clenched, and his hands suddenly held a heavy smith¡¯s hammer before him in a white-knuckled grip, but his words held no heat. ¡°I wish to be at my forge, not talking. Listen first, and then you can make a choice. First, know that what you ask for isn¡¯t an option. Your choices are simple: break the Oath and add to the weight of grief her once-faithful are under, or keep it and take what she wanted for you. Unless you¡¯d prefer destruction? She wanted you all to rise with the Domain and be safe with Ebusuku.¡± ¡°What about Amdirlain?¡± asked Erwarth, the anger and accusation secondary for the first time in the conversation. ¡°Her fate is still to be determined. It will depend on if she can adapt to her new situation and recover herself or not,¡± replied the Titan dispassionately. ¡°But the outcome isn¡¯t under my control.¡± ¡°Do you care at all?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°Make your choice,¡± demanded the Titan, and the force suddenly increasing on Erwarth would have pulverised her before her last Ascension. Erwarth merely ground her teeth as the fate of the trapped L¨®m? twisted in her. ¡°Can¡¯t we simply go back to the Abyss and continue our work?¡± With a grunt of frustration, the Titan grounded his hammer, its force rocking the room. ¡°Think, Erwarth. Your Oath-Link ties you to a Domain moving to the Celestial reaches. When that transition is complete, as you are now, you¡¯ll be purged, not just dust. Then those with Souls will become trapped, lost on your home Plane; whether you are still here or anywhere else. You have two choices, now make one. I have no patience today, yet none here are the ones I want dead.¡± ¡°Would we still be able to help those trapped?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll render some aid, despite the risk. Your families have been putting off their choice for millennia. While I can understand they don¡¯t wish to leave anyone behind, it¡¯s still their choice to continue risking everyone currently safe. Not choosing is a choice.¡± Sorrow twisting around inside her stomach, she considered the time she¡¯d spent dwelling on long conversations with her mother, and Erwarth made her choice. ¡°I¡¯ll accept her gift.¡± The majority quickly voiced their agreement until only a still distracted Klipyl¡ªmewling in soft protest against Calithil¡¯s gentle restraint¡ªwas left. ¡°Eleftherios, please wait for me at my personal forge. I wish to speak about your creative translation of orders. None of them carried upon your return; you walked a fine line for us both.¡± The moment he vanished, Klipyl¡¯s voice raised in protest. ¡°But I wanted him to fuck me!¡± After the Titan repeated the choices to Klipyl, with almost gentle patience, she agreed as well. ¡°What would you have done if she hadn¡¯t wanted us lifted?¡± asked Erwarth. He didn¡¯t answer before blackness smashed across them. Mirage¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls Mirage raised her hands, and those gathered stilled immediately. ¡°Are you sure this will be necessary, Leira?¡± Nodding at the question from among the group, she considered what to share. ¡°Mars had a Solar pass along a warning years ago that we¡¯d be one of the first targeted if trouble started. Most consider Lantern Archons weak but Am-¡° Mirage paused and held back the tears before she continued. ¡°Aryana¡¯s Celestials have been training hard for years. Tomila confirmed that general summoning for Lantern Archons works with minimal effort regardless of their levels. It¡¯s the fat arse Hound Archons like me that take work. Start sending messages to all the Priests we know are strong enough to summon them, asking them to focus on summoning the Lantern Archons. Most should just do a general call, and I¡¯ve got a few older ones I¡¯ll get summoned specifically by some of you.¡± The ¡®minor¡¯ rank of the Celestial beings generally made the energy required to summon them negligible. While Mirage didn¡¯t know why the rules were set that way, she was simply glad Runa had taken the time to share her tale. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Mirage moved around, sharing out specific names. Still, the majority were working through casting the general summoning Blessing, while the light within the chamber steadily grew as most of the host clustered above them. Other Lantern Archons popped into existence outside as they came to the gathering spot from elsewhere. They were still summoning the Lantern Archons when a sudden note cascaded outwards, a kingdom at a time, until it had touched every Human on the continent. In Thebes, a Pantheon¡¯s first casualty crossed the Titan¡¯s rules on Gods¡¯ warring. A golden script appeared within the minds of all civilised beings in the kingdoms¡¯ borders. The last occurrence was ancient history, but even those unable to read knew what this one said. Though politely worded, the content was crystal clear: The Human Gods are fighting, until they¡¯re all dead or have agreed to a peace accord, you¡¯re all in the firing line. No Human may leave the conflict zone, no other races may enter, and no more Celestials can be summoned. The last summoning finished with no result, and Mirage took the time to contact the commanders and nodded. ¡°All accounted for in the Outlands. How many?¡± Radovan, who¡¯d been monitoring the summoning, gave her a wry smile. ¡°Four hundred and eighty-nine by my count, likely more.¡± Mirage wiped an ink smudge from Radovan''s cheek before she took the parchment from him and cross-checked the numbers. When he leaned closer to recheck his count, she remained too aware of his warmth next to her. ¡°That¡¯s my tally as well. We¡¯ll get them into groups of twenty, so we can triple-check. Not quite six companies¡¯, but it will do.¡° A moment later, a message shone in her mind, and Mirage felt like grinding her teeth. ¡°We¡¯re only allowed to defend those who¡­ worshipers and settlements with public shrines.¡± ¡°Might be better to gather folks in. We¡¯ve enough in the Cadre who can open portals,¡± suggested Tomila ¡°Amdirlain¡­she¡¯d have said something about, all our eggs in one basket.¡± Mirage argued. ¡°Better than being picked off piecemeal if they come for us while scattered.¡± Teidon Fenmenor¡¯s PoV ¨C Captain of Queen¡¯s Guard - Thebes The Royal Alchemist¡¯s information had been the first useful lead in finding out a cure for the Prince. Yet it still wasn¡¯t a certainty, and the weight of having to provide that information back to the Queen wore at him as he left the woman¡¯s lab. Rude as she was, he did not know why the Pharaoh¡¯s guard hadn¡¯t put a fist in her mouth, for a mere servant to lash out in such a fashion was beyond reason. Yet it wasn¡¯t his place to deliver a fitting punishment to a Human commoner if the guard didn¡¯t have the spine to act for himself. The crack of thunder caught Teidon by surprise, and glancing out a nearby window revealed that the sky was still cloudless. When an explosion of flames flooded along the Palace¡¯s enclosed corridor, he threw himself back into the Alchemist¡¯s chamber and slammed the door. The sheer heat bled through the solid oak, melting the varnish under his hands, but the continual buffeting forced him to hold it shut. It was a long time before the roaring eased. The female he had spoken to earlier slammed open a cabinet and he looked up in time to see the awkwardly thrown bottle coming at him. Her bad throw was clearly going to miss. Dodging past it, he had his blade already out when the sound of shattering glass was followed by a wave of cold air across his back. Turning while he slipped towards her showed the door covered in frost and the edges sealed by ice, but above the door was a cloud of black smoke. ¡°You are as stupid as you are arrogant,¡± the woman snapped, her black eyes that matched the colour of her strange wig sparked with fury. Her shriek reminded him of a hawk that had been his hunting companion for years before he learnt the error of befriending a short-lived being. The thought though, drew a quick comparison to her beak-like nose and hard mouth. Another explosion echoed from the direction of the Palace¡¯s main building and dragged him away from the memory. ¡°Woman, is there another way out?¡± ¡°Woman!¡± The hiss that escaped her lips should have emerged from a giant snake, and Teidon would have preferred to be dealing with one than talking to a Human. ¡°I told you my name less than a glass ago, and you call me woman? Get yourself out.¡± Turning back to the cabinet, she started pulling bottles out, hurriedly emptying the shelves into the pouch at her waist. He almost did just that but as he put his hand on his belt pouch, his skin started crawling from the amount of Mana being used nearby. While not a Wizard, his Elven senses told him that this was no ordinary spell-fight going on. He¡¯d once seen a group of Wizards decimate a hoard of thousands of trolls assaulting a coastal community. This felt worse. ¡°Is there a way out¡­ Shanty?¡± ¡°My name¡¯s Shani you imbecilic rude oaf. You were going to gut me when I was trying to stop us both from dying.¡± ¡°The roaring had ceased.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in my lab, there are things in here that love fire. They get so excited by it that they¡¯ll blow us both into tiny pieces if they overheat. Why do you think there is no fireplace nor brazier in here?¡± asked Shani, her voice¡¯s pitch left a hawk behind and threatened to make his ears bleed. ¡°How do we get out?¡± ¡°How do you keep your face so pretty when you¡¯ve such an ugly brain? What a waste!¡± The door started rattling and the ice began to melt, Shani snarled at him before striding over to the back wall of her chambers, past the neatly organised stone benches, with stacked glassware of various sizes, and ceramic pots and jugs. The deep purple spider-silk top she wore caught the lights, and for a moment, runework stitched with thread to match the fabric caught his gaze. When they vanished again, he wondered if his blade would have been able to get through. Glancing across her unseemly wide hips, she reminded him of a beast Humans called cows waddling through a manure laden field; she moved only marginally faster. The black silk pants she wore tucked into knee-high boots favoured by mercenaries accented the curve of her body. But going from a decent, almost Elvish, narrow waist to those hips¡ªalmost the length of his forearm across¡ªwas truly grotesque. Despite the urgency of the situation, both her hands moved, constantly taking items from every table she passed and placing them into the pouch, regardless of size. Her collecting continued until Teidon was suspecting she had a death wish enough for them both as she swept into an adjoining room. Far bigger than the room she proclaimed her lab, there was no exit in sight or cupboard individually big enough to hide one. Teidon looked fruitlessly about among the freestanding bookcases that ran its length for any sign of an exit, hoping to leave her behind. Though, instead of delaying further, she casually strolled to the far end and touched a bare wall. The moment she did so, the wall changed into an archway, and revealed beyond was a flight of stairs downwards, yet there hadn¡¯t been a hint of magic about it. ¡°Are you coming or what?¡± Shani asked. ¡°I thought you would have been a quick enough study to catch my humble backdoor, oh mighty Captain.¡± The trip out from under the palace was a nightmare. Frequent explosions rocked the tunnel, even collapsing a side passage as they passed it. The rock dust at least made her cough enough to prevent her from shrieking again. A glimmer of light ahead of them finally hinted at an exit after what seemed a glass of being in the accursed-Dwarf-lovers tunnel, as a tone pulsed through his bones. He was still taking it in when Shani looked at him wide-eyed, gave a pained grunt as if he had gutted her, and breathed in sharply. The keening noise would have done a banshee proud, but even as he resorted to covering his ears it turned into a scream that made sense. ¡°Ra is dead! They killed my God. Curse them into the eternal sands. They will pay!¡± Ignoring her venomous cursing and threats against every Grecian, alive and dead, he picked up the pace. Still, it was quite a series of poisonous and inventive tortures she promised to inflict. The tunnel had steadily risen upwards over the last hundred metres, making him wonder how far they¡¯d descended from the lab. At the end was a short ladder leading up to a hatch that let them out into a room attached to the back wall of a hut. When he got outside, though, there was no sign of it, and his hand passed right through where it should have been. ¡°Do you have an Alchemist with you?¡± asked Shani, the question distracting him from trying to find the seam where the dimensional magic must connect to the building. Teidon spat the words, wanting to be done with the woman already. ¡°I will get one; we part company here.¡± ¡°The message said no Elf can enter, remember? I could tell by the look on your face you saw a message as well,¡± growled Shani. ¡°Did you get something else? You can leave, that¡¯s fine, let the victim keep suffering.¡± ¡°Why do you want to come with us?¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to find a Priest of a Greek God, to see if the poison is what you¡¯re looking for,¡± stated Shani. ¡°There¡¯ll be lots of chances to kill Greeks along the way, I¡¯m sure. How are you going to verify that any antidote they tell you about is workable? Wouldn¡¯t you like someone to brew it before you kill them?¡± ¡°We can send the details to the capital,¡± refuted Teidon, and he stepped back to look over the stonework. ¡°And if they use phrasing, or measurements that aren¡¯t common to an Elven Alchemist, and you need them translated?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll manage.¡± Teidon didn¡¯t stop to argue further but hopped atop the nearest blocky dried mud fence. Its awful mud-splattered appearance matched the rest of the city away from the stone buildings closest to the Palace. Blocky buildings of mud, speckled with worse constructions of stone, covered the city. Their only advantage was how tightly they were packed together, giving him an easy¡ªif at times meandering¡ªpath to transverse above the unwashed stench. Orienting himself by the Palace looming above the city¡¯s buildings, he started towards the only inn they¡¯d found acceptable in Thebes. In the distance, the smoking ruin of the Palace suddenly slumped sideways and collapsed. Despite the still-clear sky, repeated lightning strikes had him blinking to clear his vision. When he could see at last, the place had spilled its stonework across the clearer space around it. With its shattered roof and walls, it seemed a broken beast ready for the slaughter. The city had been awful before, but was far worse now. Crossing it, he gave up any thought of using the streets to shorten the winding path. The horrid Humans had packed them in a panic about their godling¡¯s fate¡ªsome even opened their own wrists. A child wailing for its mother was stepped on by a horse and only that the packed mob had prevented the rider from travelling at speed prevented its instant death. Just as the Humans did, he moved onwards towards his own destination, and it was left to its own fate. The messages he exchanged along the way didn¡¯t make him happy, but it would be as the Queen ordered. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Are we going to return home?¡± Varying questions of the same vein came from his patrol that had gathered in the inn¡¯s courtyard, a score of attempted thieves lying dead at their feet. The Elven steeds were the only horses they¡¯d allowed to be stabled in the inn and they wouldn¡¯t have stood for a Human to touch them. ¡°The Queen¡¯s orders remain,¡± said Teidon, and he fixed all the guards with a fierce look before he repeated them and shared the latest information. ¡°We are to continue looking for a cause or cure to the Prince¡¯s condition. The Alchemist we¡¯ve tracked down spoke of potions used by the Priesthood of Deimos. They induce madness and seizures that lock up the body. Given all the Prince¡¯s symptoms, it¡¯s a possibility we can¡¯t ignore.¡± ¡°Could she have been lying?¡± ¡°No, I wasn¡¯t lying, and I speak Elvish,¡± Shani snapped, and Teidon spun around to find her perched on the inn¡¯s green tiled roof. Grinding his teeth, Teidon¡¯s knuckles ached, but he kept himself from reaching for his swords. ¡°She wasn¡¯t lying about other details; she knew of Ra¡¯s death before we got clear of the Palace. Our Queen¡¯s vision showed her that the Greeks lured the Avatar of Ra here to defend his lineage. Four Paragons slew the Avatar with spears, swords, and bows of lightning, which triggered all their Gods to be sent here. Before he recovered from the surprise, they dealt a death blow.¡± ¡°Does it have a name?¡± asked Barawen in the mountain tongue. The lithe Ranger looked the Alchemist over with sensible disdain clear in her amethyst gaze. Prompted by her motion, a stray lock of her jade-green hair came loose and fluttered against her neck like a leaf in the breeze. It was a movement that set his mind to longing for the Elven glades after too long in these near-empty plains. The fine features and athletic build of the team¡¯s primary Scout provoked an appreciation for her beauty, made greater against the backdrop provided by this dross of a place. ¡°Princess Shani, twelfth daughter of the previous Pharaoh, Montu the second, descendant of Ra. I speak Elvish, and I¡¯m good at tracking down arseholes like your Captain. Finding a Priest won¡¯t be a problem,¡± declared Shani. She simply reappeared on the ground with a smile for Tideon. ¡°I got to examine your backdoor along the way. You should look behind you more often and stop putting your nose in the air. Oh, and when I said I speak Elvish, I should have said I speak every language known. It¡¯s part of my heritage.¡± Soranus¡¯s PoV - Pal¨¢ti of Apollo Sitting on an outer balcony of the Palace, Soranus frowned and tapped his chin as he considered the diagram before him. Across the grounds, where the Palace¡¯s Temple had once stood, was a dark pit that didn¡¯t deserve a moment more of his time. Neither did the message about the Gods¡¯ war that had sent some fleeing in fear. Activating the simulacrum¡¯s control crystal, he watched the process again, nodding with satisfaction whenever Amdirlain¡¯s tests of the barrier drained harmlessly away. Her flitting about at a pace that required him to slow the image, received a bark of laughter at her failures. Though he spent time laboriously examining her efforts, and the barrier¡¯s lack of reaction, the dead and injured among the secondary circles were unexamined. The dark flames that had burst into existence first appeared as a low hedge compared to the near-angelic figure, barely reaching her knees, but it quickly reached the top of the circle¡¯s barrier. When the barrier fell at the end of yet another viewing, he slowed the image further to enjoy a moment he could savour forever. Letting it crawl forward until the tide reached the sneering Prince, Soranus held the image frozen, enjoying the sharp lines cut into his expression. One by one, his failure to activate his various teleportation tokens deepened the lines of his fear and broadened Soranus¡¯ grin. As Soranus¡¯ dimensional blocks foiled each, they flared to ash. That, at least, had gone exactly as he had planned. The Prince turned to run too late, and Soranus slowed the image further still. What had happened in a mere moment, took ten minutes or more in the recalled event. The wave ate flesh then bone, consumed the Prince, his pet killer, and then Soranus¡¯ simulacrum. ¡°She destroyed her form, but only after filling the chamber with power. Without her there, the circle didn¡¯t prevent it from interacting with this plane; a delightfully efficient approach. Looks like I should have cut his throat myself. Now, if I¡¯d included a secondary containment circle separate from the summoning? I don¡¯t recognise that energy¡ªit wasn¡¯t Negative for all the blackness. The Sigil was drawing it away, so maybe a planar shunt to disperse it to Limbo¡ªnothing important there.¡± Ignoring the continuing shocked wailing and other noises from those about the Palace grounds, Soranus set about improving the circle¡¯s design. It was late in the evening when he looked up into the gaze of a stern-faced man who blocked his light. Beyond him stood a window showing an empty field of brown grass with a strange, jaundiced-skinned woman a few strides beyond. Motionless yet intently focused, she looked caught in a moment, reaching out with grasping hands as if she¡¯d drawn away and now held open heavy curtains. It was apparent she¡¯d created the opening through his wards. ¡°How is she doing that?¡± A cold blade stole his breath as it drove upwards through his lungs, shrugging his protections aside as if tearing through cobwebs. Icy blood gushed from his mouth as his eyes fell upon an exhausted-looking woman. Though she looked Greek, she wore Persian garb and had an amulet with Amdirlain¡¯s symbol around her neck. Soranus scrambled frantically for a pouch at his waist, and Torm¡¯s free hand leapt forward to clamp down with a force that splintered every bone to tiny shards. Pinned between Torm¡¯s sword and grip, the agony drew forth a gurgling scream that went as unheeded as those Soranus had earlier ignored. Torm¡¯s grim expression didn¡¯t shift when he twisted the sword within Soranus, but before withdrawing it from rime-coated flesh, Aggie¡¯s glowing fist exploded Soranus¡¯s skull, blasting it from his shoulders. The last beat of his heart activated a gemstone set concealed within his flesh, and it stealthily sent his Soul away to a preserving phylactery. ¡°Wait a moment, Torm.¡± Picking up a pair of blood-stained workbooks and a large sheet covered by circle and Sigil, Aggie looked about the chamber and set a few spells in place. A simple Spell had the blood flow away and leave the documents she¡¯d collected unstained. ¡°Now we can go.¡± Torm glanced at the Fire Mana within them and didn¡¯t argue when Aggie headed back out the Portal that Liran? held open through the Palace¡¯s wards. A few minutes after their departure, an explosion blazed to life, consuming the contents of Soranus¡¯ quarters and collapsed the ceiling upon it. The dust hadn¡¯t yet fully settled when, faraway in a chamber that Soranus had deliberately never seen, a skeleton of bone and mithril twitched then settled. Fingers tapped, its spine cracked and flexed, before the red dots of unlife glowed in hollow eye sockets as the masterwork became inhabited by its creator. Lorrella¡¯s PoV ¨C Construction Yard - Jinamizi The patches of ground where two of the mercenaries had been standing a short while ago still glowed a golden hue that hurt her eyes to look at. Dusting it with refined sulphur from one of Furnace¡¯s oldest volcanos caused the sulphur to burn into nothing before it even touched the stone. The burning dust, reeking of Celestial forces, had Lorrella move far back. She checked through the complex and found six other patches, including one left in the room their commander used for practice. Their routine and low conversations had been enough for her to pick up that this wasn¡¯t their primary base, but she hadn¡¯t yet learnt as much as she¡¯d hoped. For a moment, Lorrella considered just taking the advance payment along with the supplies and running, but then she¡¯d have to set up another construction space. Back out in the construction area, she looked over the scaffolding around the gate breaker before strolling over and patting the vehicle¡¯s base plate. ¡°There, there, it¡¯s alright, baby. If they¡¯re all destroyed, we¡¯ll find you a nice Demon Lord that wants to spread some nasty gates wide.¡± 197 - Hungry like the wolf Isa ¨C Outlands ¨C Evening First Day The ordinarily calm wind of the Outlands echoed strangely across the chasm. Its clean-cut sides looked like someone had scooped hundreds of kilometres out with a laser cutter. Here and there the wound in the Outlands was healing as the Plane¡¯s energy regenerates the lost ground. War hosts that had long operated from it have already scattered; the various pantheons¡¯ priests had summoned a few of their number when the news of Amdirlain¡¯s demise had spread. Mostly, they had simply returned to their home Plane upon the Gods¡¯ War beginning. Only Amdirlain¡¯s people and the three of us linger along the edge. ¡°I find you judgemental, arrogant, demanding, and a perfectionist with almost zero tolerance for others,¡± the words hiss from me, in time to Sarah¡¯s Song. The false veneer barely mutes the pulse of notes within her True Form and, despite my tone, all I hear is acceptance. Hers is a music filled with precisely measured notes, each technically executed, including the quick, razor-sharp ones that cut both ways. The Songs of memories soar within the veneer of her forms¡ªtrue and false¡ªcausing me to direct my focus away from their ancient Draconic sound. She looks like a young girl, maybe eight or nine years of age, but her set expression carries the weight of years. Still, she¡¯s tripled in height from Sage¡¯s description of her initial Human form. ¡°The way you fly by the seat of your pants and leave others holding the bag drives me nuts,¡± growls Sarah, the intensity in her gaze matching the music. The muscles along her jaw clenched, and I held back from budging until the very last moment before offering a hand. ¡°Fine, so we¡¯re both clear?¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± She gives my hand a precise double-pump handshake before she releases her grip. ¡°We both fucked the pooch on this one,¡± I huff and waved at the chasm. ¡°Can you get to the ten kingdoms?¡± ¡°Fucked what now?¡± Echo mouths to Ilya. His confused expression has me restraining a giggle, especially with the Hound features under the Human guise he wears. ¡°She swings both ways, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a promise of any action; she¡¯s such a meanie,¡± Ilya quips. Even as I focus on Sarah, I try not to groan. ¡°Ebusuku got the Erakk? worshipping me. While I can appreciate it was an action on my behalf, trying to stave off my situation, it now limits the worlds I can get to; otherwise, I¡¯d have been through a Gate so fast,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°We should have contacted you.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t have helped. We¡¯ve levelled too much between finding the materials for O¡¯Nai and the world Sage found. We tried to get back there recently because someone changed their mind about a memorial. The Priest that helped previously said no deal,¡± I explain, inciting Sarah to roll her eyes when I cross my arms. ¡°Bury the hatchet?¡± ¡°As long as it¡¯s not buried in my head, I believe we can agree to that,¡± grants Sarah. ¡°I was on Cemna hunting when I received word. I¡¯m surprised someone told you.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t need to. I felt a breaking harp string thrumming through me, and I followed the sound¡¯s source here. I hadn¡¯t the chance to see the Domain previously.¡± I try to keep my words light, but it¡¯s painful after the way we three used to live at mine or Julia¡¯s house. ¡°Teleporting blind could have gone bad,¡± chided Sarah. ¡°Have you two completed this ritual of insults yet?¡± Echo asked grumpily. The constant refrains of his grief kept my retort from my lips, and I feel my way through an explanation. ¡°It isn¡¯t to insult; we each get one statement about what we dislike the most, but it¡¯s factual, no rude words. We just had to clear the air between us,¡± I say, gently keeping my pointed remarks about not sharing info on the first failed summoning attempt with me. Honestly, I hadn¡¯t handled things well. Why would they share their concerns with me? ¡°We messed up before, but I¡¯d hope after the help we¡¯ve given that we can start afresh. I don¡¯t like the notification you received, but I¡¯m going to hope it¡¯s not what I believe and continue as if she still exists.¡± As I pull out a pack of cards, Sarah rolls her eyes. ¡°Must you do that?¡± ¡°How about this: you trust me to determine the information, and then you can use it to set up a precise plan? I¡¯d suggest you not rely on my delivering a particular outcome in your plans. You can use me as a decoy far from the scene of whatever you¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°We promise we can make plenty of noise,¡± Ilya adds quickly. Her hand squeezing my butt has me squeak in surprise; her music¡¯s change was nearly simultaneous with the action all over so fast. I grasp at her, but she dances away, and Echo¡¯s words steal my attention. ¡°None of Erwarth¡¯s teams are responding to messages. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s happened to them.¡± ¡°There is little we can do at present. Klipyl vanished from right beside me and left a glowing patch of ground behind,¡± Sarah states, before I can ask more. ¡°Then I heard and came here. I barely learnt what was what before Cyrus and I got booted out when the Domain vanished.¡± ¡°Not going to the Abyss,¡± Ilya says emphatically. ¡°Especially not underground. Sorry, Duskstone was bad enough. I don¡¯t need to go to Tern¨°x, I never want to see it again.¡± At Echo¡¯s sceptical expression, I lifted my hands and cut off whatever he was about to say. ¡°Ilya doesn¡¯t do well underground. An experience before dying and multiple run-ins on Tern¨°x, along with planes like it. Please keep in mind our supervisor treated us like she wanted us killed. When we weren¡¯t scouting Demonic armies¡¯ approaches, we¡¯d frequently get sent to planes with almost zero space for air superiority. Likely because we kept getting stronger than she¡¯d expected, the whole fear factor.¡± ¡°Is that why you¡¯ve not gone to learn from the L¨®m?, because Ilya won¡¯t go?¡± asks Echo. I gnaw at my lip for a moment before I admit the truth. ¡°Not just that but I¡¯m not going anywhere without her. I¡¯ve no desire to have people¡¯s memories jammed inside my head. Especially since I feel like there are some I don¡¯t want back, just nope. I¡¯ll live my own life, thanks. They got themselves into that mess, they can dig themselves out of it; I¡¯m not their saviour. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t know all the details, but the one memory I have is from the end of a battle and it makes me want to kill them myself.¡± ¡°Where is Cyrus?¡± Ilya asks, likely hoping to distract me, but the memory burbles at me too loudly, her beautiful voice blending into those recalled lifted in Song. I stand atop the highest tower in a city melting in flames, acid, and brutal magic, with no barriers to halt the destruction. I know it¡¯s because the L¨®m? are already gone, having fled before Orh¨ºthurin recovered from Leviathan¡¯s strike. High above us Orh¨ºthurin still fights despite her right arm gone, and her body a mass of acid-burnt flesh. Flights of her beloved Dragons die to give her a chance at Leviathan, sections of tentacles seared into dust by her strikes. If only we could do so well against the rest. Songs and spells alike that could significantly injure the Great Wyrms that form this host all take too long to form. We simply can¡¯t counter all the attacks that form the near continual onslaught. With no greater barriers buying us the time, it feels hopeless. We¡¯d already be dead if Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s ongoing hounding of Leviathan didn¡¯t prevent it from adding its might to the attack. We fought on with the L¨®m? Song silent and no word that evacuating the servants was complete. The knowledge pulsing in my head tells me that all our plans became dust because of them. Word comes that their city is simply gone, but it¡¯s news that¡¯s too late to save us. An Adamantine Dragon forces itself into a brutal course change to interpose itself, and kilometres away I hear bones break like thunderclaps before Leviathan¡¯s breath weapon dissolves it. A moment more and Orh¨ºthurin would have been untouched, not caught as well. The Dragon hadn¡¯t had the time, nor do we. Its tower-thick tentacles reach our way and, descending from the high clouds, its inhalation starts a hurricane. ¡°Gone to report back to the Jade Emperor,¡± answers Echo, and his rumble slaps the memory away. ¡°A shining bird appeared, but I didn¡¯t hear whatever he later claimed it said.¡± My rapid blinking has Ilya watching me with concern in her Song, and I can only shrug. ¡°Don¡¯t you believe what he said?¡± Sarah asks before I can manage my question. The bird-like tilt of her head makes me wonder how it would appear in her Dragon form. ¡°No, I believed him,¡± replies Echo, and his shoulders slump. ¡°Sorry, I guess I was unfair in my words.¡± Sarah snorts and rolls her eyes. ¡°As if I¡¯d complain about that, you all still endure me. I was more wondering if you had reason to doubt him. Message me if we hear where they went to. I wish I could, but I can¡¯t help on Veht?.¡± With that, a rune-carved gem appears in her hands, and she just vanishes, the Planar Shift¡¯s Song echoing with the resonance of Mechanus¡¯ order. ¡°You gave the impression you wouldn¡¯t give in first. So why the acting?¡± asks Ilya, and Echo looks between us in surprise. With the memory tickling at me again, I give Ilya a smile, grateful for the distraction. ¡°I could hear in her Song that she was about to do the same. Sarah was always strange to me. She was bossy and demanding, but do you remember what I said about why she started being a dominatrix?¡± ¡°You told me what she used to do but not why,¡± Ilya replies I shrug in embarrassment; almost sure I¡¯d told her. ¡°It was about helping others experience pleasure, as strange as those pleasures may have seemed to others. Her pleasure was from helping them be happy in themselves and pushing the boundaries of what they enjoyed. Her Song has so many unhappy, sharp notes; giving her back a little of that sense of control doesn¡¯t hurt.¡± Ilya shakes her head, and I can tell it still makes little sense to her. ¡°How were you two ever friends?¡± ¡°Amdirlain was the bridge between us. She always made our friendships work; we just clicked with her,¡± I reply. Memories prickle at me, and I don¡¯t realise how long I¡¯ve stopped until Ilya¡¯s fingers brush my shoulder in concern. ¡°Isn¡¯t that sad? I wonder how much I took that easy familiarity for granted. Once I knew it was her, things felt off because there wasn¡¯t that same click, and then there were those slaps of her presence, so I scolded her. And now this mess, I worry about the wording in the notification Echo shared.¡± ¡°True, destruction isn¡¯t a word you want. Killed, fine, you¡¯re Planar Locked, but destruction, ouch.¡± Ilya says her nose wrinkling, the wince she affected turns into a smile. ¡°Not that you¡¯d get told it happened if it was you.¡± ¡°Things will never be the way they were¡­.¡± Ilya waits when my words trail off, and I don¡¯t explain before I wave at Echo, my excited motion drawing his attention. I feel luck nudging me. Luck pressing so hard it¡¯s pulsing in my veins, its music soars through my senses, making my skin tingle with its pressure. ¡°Ilya, we¡¯ll head back to Cemna until the Domain is accessible,¡± says Echo, gesturing at the other Celestials. ¡°No, I¡¯m not worried about where you¡¯re going. You said years ago that Amdirlain¡¯s worship had spread to a couple of dozen worlds. Do you know any of them with a species close to Humans?¡± I ask, and he nods, but his confusion is apparent. Sarah¡¯s back almost instantly after I message that I¡¯ve got an idea. ¡°I¡¯ll need a volunteer, but a species close to Human, especially limbs and senses, so they need minimal time to adjust. I¡¯m certain I can change them into a perfect Human and back again when it¡¯s done. We can test with one, and then if they get through the barrier, send more with equipment. The question is, do you think any of them would be interested in repaying the Greeks? I¡¯m willing to bet they¡¯ll be able to get through, and if one can get through, I can do that with others. Sarah would you share some of your toys with them?¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t. The ideas would spread among their culture or the ten kingdoms, and then their societies would face chaotic disruption,¡± Sarah says sternly and motioned me to wait. ¡°But I have items I¡¯ve made for practice around the same technology level as the ten kingdoms. Minor trinkets really, nothing as strong as Winter¡¯s Heart.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get in touch with a few Priests I¡¯ve been speaking with over the years,¡± Echo says, and the first Message Spell flits away between planes. ¡°You¡¯re comparing everything you make to Winter¡¯s Heart?¡± The sound of all the pieces of its music was beautiful, beyond any sword I can remember hearing. ¡°Isn¡¯t it sensible to go by the highest benchmark you have so you can reach for a higher one?¡± Duurth ¨C Limbo ¨C Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand ¨C Evening ¨C First Day The door to Master Tenzin¡¯s office closes behind him, and she waves him to take a chair, with Master Jarith? already sitting on the left side of the trio. ¡°Know that I had quite the time settling the girls when Lezekus woke screaming. Why did neither of you see fit to let me know I had a Goddess in my dormitory?¡± ¡°Know that it was my decision as the head of the Monastery¡¯s council, Master Tenzin,¡± noted Jarith?, and the female Master fixed her attention on him. ¡°How do you expect the duties of the Dormitory Master to be correctly handled if I¡¯m not aware of all the details? Did you know all along? Know there are incidents that make far more sense, some of which could have been prevented, if I¡¯d known.¡± ¡°Know we realised her full nature after that first end-of-year break,¡± admitted Duurth, and kept Lezekus¡¯ part in it quiet. ¡°You knew for that long and didn¡¯t tell me?¡± Tenzin grumbled as she glanced between the pair of them. The tightness of her lips etching lines around her mouth was not from frustration, but contained grief. ¡°Know that Amdirlain didn¡¯t wish for different treatment, and nothing provided guidance for such an event. Know we took measures to ensure further incidents wouldn¡¯t go unnoticed, it proved unnecessary beyond the guidance you provided her.¡± ¡°Is that why almost no one challenged Amdirlain to exchange pointers? Were you preventing it?¡± Tenzin asked, not yet put off from her questions. Master Jarith? waved the question off with a slight flick of his fingers. ¡°Know that was the purpose of agreeing to those regular rematches; it cooled off those interested to an extent Amdirlain could handle.¡± Master Tenzin stared into the distance before turning her focus back to Master Jarith?. ¡°Do you have news I can provide Novice Lezekus?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ve heard from Master Liran?, a Spymaster found the crafter of the summoning circle. Know Master Liran? read his mind while he was reviewing a recording of the event; to gloat over his crime and determine improvements he could make. Would you believe they don¡¯t have wards that protect from Psionics?¡± asked Jarith?. The others twitched in obvious discomfort even as he continued, and he agreed with their concerns over mental parasites. ¡°Know that during this review she gathered additional mental evidence that was given to a High Justice of Tyr,¡± said Jarith?. ¡°The God that Amdirlain¡¯s daughter serves?¡± asked Duurth. ¡°Know that is correct, but she wasn¡¯t in attendance, nor is it allowed she serve in such a case. Know that one called Verdandi took the evidence from Liran?, but Torm and one of Amdirlain¡¯s Priestesses served as the executors of the sentence,¡± explained Jarith?. Master Duurth turned on his chair to fix his full attention on Master Jarith?, eyebrows lifting in surprise. ¡°They took the time to follow a process and not just rush off for vengeance?¡± ¡°Know that I found it surprising, given the reputation of many outsiders and Amdirlain¡¯s wildness,¡± replied Jarith?, a slight firm nod emphasised his statement. Tenzin stilled the twitching that had set her fingertips tapping against her legs. ¡°How do we wish to handle the rest of their end-of-year exams?¡± ¡°Know you should follow the normal evaluation process with the trauma allowances, particularly for Lezekus. Know that Master Elliyna is leading the circles providing Master Liran? additional Psi energy for the duration of the conflict,¡± replied Jarith?. ¡°Doesn¡¯t the barrier prevent us from sending more aid? ¡°Know the barrier is still in place and that Master Liran? cannot feel the dimensional aspect. Know, however, that Master Elliyna had no issues sending her mental strength to reinforce her capabilities, though I¡¯m not quite sure what to make of her other news,¡± admitted Jarith?. ¡°Do I wish to know?¡± asked Tenzin. Jarith? spread his hands slightly, showing reluctance as he shared the news. ¡°Know that after the group withdrew from a warded region, one called Hermes attacked them. Know that in the battle, Master Liran? killed him and gained the Mantle of Speed and Messengers, though there are additional aspects I don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°How did she kill a God?¡± asked Tenzin, surprise caused her to broadcast her question. ¡°Know that he couldn¡¯t handle her Acidic Scythe technique cutting off his legs. Know that the divine Mantle was a surprise to her, but he was goading them about Amdirlain¡¯s destruction, so she dealt with him. Would you both ensure that every student learns the importance of not speaking during a fight? Know I find this a stark reminder of that, and I am glad it¡¯s a practice we¡¯ve long discouraged.¡± instructed Jarith?, and both the masters nodded their agreement. Duurth cleared his throat, and his face wore lines of concern. ¡°Is Master Liran? going to take this Human God¡¯s position?¡± ¡°Know that she hasn¡¯t yet decided, nor does she need to until the end of the conflict. Know she doesn¡¯t like some aspects of the Mantle and is considering carefully,¡± advised Jarith?. Duurth nodded, but the lines of emotion still showed. ¡°Know that it is proper that things are not done in haste, ironic though that may be in this case. Know though, if anyone were to be trusted with such power, it¡¯s preferable that it¡¯s one with respectable ethics, at least.¡± ¡°I wonder if she¡¯d be the first Githz¨¦rai God since before the forerunners?¡± ask Tenzin. ¡°Know from my reading, I¡¯ve not heard a hint of us possessing a God other than those we¡¯ve found worthy among the outsiders,¡± replied Jarith?. Runa¡¯s PoV ¨C Early morning - Second Day The Grecian troops showed up in time to mess up our plans to evacuate to Eyrarh¨¢ls. Fortunately, sweeps had spotted them on the road when the schedule had half a day left until we¡¯d be ready to leave. There was too much to do and not enough time to do it. Although we still have over a half-dozen Lantern Archons that Brina had summoned to help me maul their ranks. I expected them to break from the initial onslaught, dropped dozens yet none of them falter, and I hear their mental rage grow. The killing continuing until the nearly eighteen-to-one we¡¯d faced¡ªwith no defensive emplacements¡ªare down to the last score on their side with no lost among us. It¡¯s a game of Teleport and tag with bolts and spells, cutting them down. ¡°Hecate take you, bug.¡± It¡¯s a pretty Lightning Bolt, a brilliant white-blue. Pity for it I¡¯ve already moved. The tree it hits groans and topples towards the road, smouldering and scenting the air with burning bark and sap. I bounce positions twice more before firing another bolt and teleporting again. The Devil¡¯s face opens with the Ki wrapped bolt that impacts the back of his head. And I¡¯ve already moved before his body hits the ground. Joined by another dismembered Devil dealt with by a large red-haired woman who had attacked from their rear after we¡¯d engaged. With the fifth Devil lost, its energy dissolving in True Sight, the Grecian troops coming from the North finally falter and pause. The Devil made them do it? Four in a shield wall close to the woman become eight; the cut made by her two-handed sword is fast for a Mortal¡ªstraight through their mid-sections¡ªshield, armour, and all. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. With the Temple nearly in arrow shot, despite them being caught between us, we don¡¯t stop. Among the other Lantern Archons, two wizards cut loose, and they don¡¯t miss. Though I hope defending worshipers includes when troops come marching in their direction, they might rally from the beginning of a retreat. Honestly, it feels one-sided; the only things injured are all the poor trees and trampled undergrowth when the few left, after the last Devil falls, try to flee. The spells they¡¯d successfully sent towards the Temple when the fighting started were blocked by Spell Barriers that hadn¡¯t even flickered. I¡¯m not sure what the Greeks call a legion of troops or even their purpose on this road. Simply wearing Hecate¡¯s symbol is enough proof of hostility for me, and the Devils are honey in a warm drink. Well, if I could eat. ¡°We could have handled them, but thank you,¡± I say, taking in the woman as she wipes brains from her blade, a cleft skull of her last foe nearby. The woman is tall even for a Norse, standing nearly three metres, her shoulders broader than an axe-haft¡¯s length across. Clad in leather armour, with bulky muscles, that I would have thought should slow yet don¡¯t impede her speed, a Devil having died in an eye blink. Her ember-red mane of hair cascades across her shoulders with a veil-like fringe that didn¡¯t seem to hinder her from knowing where and when to strike. Brushing aside her obscuring hair reveals amber eyes in a feral featured face, she doesn¡¯t hesitate to provide a toothy grin. ¡°Tyr liked your lady, so that¡¯s reason enough to lend a hand.¡± She grimaces at her own wording when I don¡¯t reply immediately, not sure what to say at all. ¡°Sorry for your pack¡¯s loss. Hope you didn¡¯t mind me lending a hand. I took out their rearguard for you as well. Their bodies are back that way, obviously,¡± she adds, waving a hand dismissively behind her. A helmed Norse warrior leaping from the woods, his spear leading the way towards the woman¡¯s back, prompts me to act. The woman is in the way, so I Teleport behind her. With his spear now aimed at me, I fire at his helm even as I take in the white beard and sole glowing eye. Yet I hadn¡¯t expected his speed to increase. Suddenly the spear tip leading the charge has light blurring off its edges, an edge that screeches across me sending me spinning away. Out of control with the force of the blow, I take in the gash in my golden filigree while I try to slow. Bouncing from ground to tree to ground again before I regain control and find the woman struggling with the man for control of the spear. Either he¡¯s a bad shot or its impact on me had driven the spear high. A bleeding wound across her shoulder shows where his thrust struck, instead of her spine. Spells and bolts focused on the warrior from the others seem only to rock the warrior in place when they can take a shot. The twisting movements of the pair aren¡¯t fast enough to cause me problems tracking them, but they¡¯re tangled up close and shifting too often to risk it. A slight flex of his knee finally gives me an opening, and my bolt, enfolded with Ki, strikes true. The wound sends a spray of blood across the ground and buckles his knee, finally giving her the advantage and letting her wrest the spear away. That she casts it aside, though, isn¡¯t what I¡¯d expected. Her mouth transforms into a muzzle and clamps onto his helm, with her boots planted as if she¡¯s about to lift the world. Her gear just melds into her body, and she is suddenly a wolf twice the size of the Temple. The closest roadside trees are uprooted and sent flying. The blood spray from the decapitated man goes far and wide. The post-battle experience rush is greater than the legion we¡¯d fought before him. ¡°Sorry we didn¡¯t get to introductions,¡± the wolf says, blood flowing from the now far larger wound on her shoulder. ¡°I appreciate the help. Your light reappearing to shift the shadows had me turn enough, though it looks like your decorative thingy took quite a blow.¡± ¡°Attacking someone from behind that just helped us isn¡¯t good. You can call me Tove. What should I call you?¡± ¡°Call me Fen, that¡¯s what Tyr uses around our home,¡± Fen replies, her muzzle curling smile showing teeth that would make lots of mortals run. If they didn¡¯t just die of fright. ¡°Ahh, what are you doing passing through this way?¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading south to Eyrarh¨¢ls, Tyr sent me a Message to meet him there. Can¡¯t Teleport the way I am now, but I move quickly so it won¡¯t take me long. He told me this road south had some temples of your pack that hadn¡¯t evacuated yet and asked me to check along the way. Ensure you all get to the safety of Eyrarh¨¢ls¡¯ den¡± ¡°Tyr is going to Eyrarh¨¢ls?!¡± I want to take the question back, that I¡¯d been startled into asking and not intending to insult with doubt. Fen nods, clearly taking my shocked words as a valid question. ¡°Said he¡¯d met a few friends, and they decided it was the place to defend.¡± ¡°Pardon me if it¡¯s out of place for asking, but friends? I should let the cadre know Eyrarh¨¢ls is going to be a bigger target.¡± ¡°Mithras and Skaei.¡± I send word off and move closer to inspect her injury; the wolf just gives me an amused side-eye while I hover near it. While the mess on her shoulder is still bleeding freely it doesn¡¯t seem to bother her. ¡°Would you like us to seal that wound?¡± ¡°Whatever help you can give would be appreciated. Odinn¡¯s spear had a nasty bite.¡± ¡°Odinn¡¯s Spear?¡± A paw lifts from the ground, and waves towards the decapitated body, the head is nowhere in sight. ¡°That was Odinn. None of his Mantle¡¯s aspects appeals to me. I feel like I could give one to you, otherwise they¡¯re just likely to be claimed by someone when the dust settles. I¡¯ll hold on to them for now so someone I don¡¯t like doesn¡¯t pick them up, but really, you want one? You took part in the fight, think that¡¯s why I feel I can pass them to you?¡± My mental shudder set me bouncing, but I¡¯m not sure what terrifies me most. Me a God? No thank you! Way too much work. ¡°No, thanks. I don¡¯t even want hands.¡± I feel like I¡¯ve got something buzzing in my glow and despite the daylight, the colours across her shift wildly. She waits quietly while I continue to heal her, surprised at how much health a single blow had taken, and the others join the moment I ask for help. ¡°You don¡¯t want hands. Why not?¡± asked Fen. Transforming back into a woman, the only sign of the injury at all was the blood across her armour that¡¯s reappeared, and the blood in her hair. ¡°Then I might have to help with chores. Kneeling to scrub the floorboards or stonework was never a favourite.¡± ¡°You get offered a Mantle and you¡¯re worried about chores,¡± Fen chuckles and looks at me in disbelief. ¡°It¡¯s my choice, isn¡¯t it?¡± The sheer volume of Fen¡¯s laughter caused an eruption of sound from hen houses all across the hamlet. ¡°You¡¯d better not have put them off their laying. We¡¯ve disrupted the farmers enough,¡± I scold, and a thought comes to mind. ¡°I always thought you were male?¡± Fen laughs so hard she snorts, and I figure the hens¡¯ laying anything for weeks is a dream. ¡°Well, I was, until Yggdrasil decided otherwise. After my blood and Tyr¡¯s mingling birthed the first Vargr Drangijaz, she decided I needed to be a proper mother figure.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you go wolf straight away?¡± ¡°Let him set the spear for me to transform against? That¡¯s one way to die,¡± scoffed Fen, and looked over at the Temple. ¡°How long have you been here for?¡± ¡°A few years now. It¡¯s nice and Brina¡¯s good company,¡± I say, even as I take in the shattered trees along the north road from the hamlet. Spot fires from the Lightning Bolt and other spells are being put out by the Lantern Archon wizards. ¡°Well, I hope it goes back to being nice when this is over. Odinn¡¯s blood spilled here might have weird effects, and its set another wolf among the sheep; the other Norse will know now. Speaking of worry warts,¡± Fen muttered, and tilted her head as if listening to something distant. A strangely shy smile crossed her lips as she stroked a runed amulet at her throat. But she quickly focuses her gaze on me again. ¡°How will the other Norse know?¡± I ask, not sure what to make of the rest of it. ¡°Not just them. The Mantle holders can feel the others dying and know the victor. Don¡¯t know if it¡¯s for provoking more hard feelings or just so individuals know how much this stupidity is costing everyone,¡± reply¡¯s Fen. ¡°Some Mortals have taken out a bunch of the Greeks and Persians. Apollo killed Ra but hasn¡¯t stopped eating: three more including Sol,¡± recounts Fen, wrinkling her nose in distaste at the gluttony. ¡°Thor killed Zeus, and then got killed by Raivo, whose mantle felt minor, but reeks of Set somehow.¡± Fen¡¯s shoulders slump but only momentarily before she grins. ¡°If those chickens aren¡¯t going to lay any more, do you think the farmers will roast some?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin [Domain¡¯s Plane re-alignment completed. Total Elapsed Time: 1.2784 Letveri Solar Day. Deity rankings- Primary World: Letveri Home Plane: Laurelin Sole Planar Connection: Elysium Fields, Oceanus Layer Rank: Greater Total Secondary Worlds: 26 Deity Rank held upon these worlds: - Intermediate: 3 Lesser: x 4 Demi x19 Expanding Domain into Full Plane: In-progress Transformation from Solar to Divine Ranks: Complete Transformation of all Oath-Links to default Domain Species: Angel New Angelic Contingent: Solar: 57 Trumpet Archon: 1 Note: A Gods¡¯ War is currently in progress on Veht?. As an independent Power, direct participation is only optional. Note: The time allowed for the agreement to take part has now been exceeded. We appreciate your patience while they settle the bloodshed. As a non-participant, you will not be eligible to collect any additional aspects for your Mantle from the dead unless all taking part succumb to mutual destruction. Note: Any servants in the designated conflict area may act in the defence of themselves and any settlement hosting a place of worship to yourself greater than a personal shine. Note: This includes the war host gathered by servant designation: Mirage, common name, Leira. Ensure she continues to follow the instructions provided to her at the conflict¡¯s commencement. The protocols will apply any punishment post-conflict based on accumulated offences.] Golden sunlight washes across the Domain and I¡¯m aware of everyone it touches even before it¡¯s shone through our windows. The light possessed the same comforting warmth I¡¯d felt in her Mind Palace. When it touches me, it gives such a profound sense of peace, but only softens the grief¡¯s grip. Emotions that had been foreign to my existence, claw and scratch, grief and sorrow drowning the familiar anger. The dedication of those near and far echoed my confusion, yet curiously adds to the sunlight¡¯s comfort, and a strange warmth churns within. The notification¡¯s words bite at my hair-thin control over the pain and I draw in a breath to scream at it, for what, I¡¯m not sure. Amdirlain had repeatedly grumbled about it, but she¡¯d also said lashing out verbally or mentally made no difference. Still, I want to yell at something right now. The extent of the information takes me a moment to absorb, and everything around me enters my awareness at once. Not just nearby for but scores of kilometres around me, I know what is present without a Spell, line of sight, or even a thought. My awareness simply tracks everything and despite the multitude present, it¡¯s effortless. The extent of the notification takes me longer to absorb than the movement of recovering Petitioners and Celestials. Crystal buildings are drawing in the new light and feeding it to towers I can feel at the Domain¡¯s edge. The faint mental presences they¡¯d previously contained blaze to me now, and their thoughts feel lightning fast. Not sure if the change is in them or me, I settle for what I can do now. ¡°Mirage, we had a time loss. I¡¯ve been told you received instructions about the conflict¡¯s rules. I¡¯ll get things organised here, but I¡¯d like more details.¡± Within the Mantle I can feel the Oath-Links, which convey far more than Amdirlain had said. One advantage of the Divine rank? They let me feel the thousands of Celestials all at once; unfortunately, mostly just within the Domain and Cemna. Five hundred and twenty-two Lantern Archons, six Hound Archons, and Solveiga are on Veht?. Ironically, level-wise, she¡¯s in line with the weakest Archon, but hopefully, her Angelic power provides some balance. Cleaning up with a Spell I let the new iteration of the dastardly trio know where to meet me. When my form refuses to shift under the Mantle¡¯s strange pressure, I feel a knot in my stomach. ¡°I¡¯ve told the others I¡¯d meet them on the ridgeline. Did you want to come along?¡± ¡°Will you first explain why you look distraught?¡± Farhad asks, his hands still resting on me comfortingly. ¡°A notification showed Amdirlain¡¯s destruction,¡± I reply, getting the words out quickly to separate them from my emotions. ¡°Just send her a Message and we¡¯ll arrange protection somehow if Erwarth isn¡¯t already covering that,¡± Farhad keeps talking, not taking the hint from me shaking my head. ¡°Destruction, the notification said destruction. You kill a body, destruction is when a Demon, Celestial, or similar entity meets their final end.¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re choosing to take it that way?¡± asks Farhad. Careful not to break it in my frustration, I tap my fist against the window, glad we¡¯re still located in the same relative position; hopefully that means no one got hurt. ¡°Amdirlain said the notifications she received frequently included wording that wouldn¡¯t make sense to anyone else. She was split between whether her mind translated the intention, or whatever sends them knows far too much about her life. It was strange for her, and I see what she means now.¡± ¡°This place feels strange,¡± murmurs Farhad, his tone edged and disconcerted. Turning, I let the sheet slip from me, and wrap my arms around him. ¡°Domains are normally on planes aligned to the Deity; while the Outlands is a balanced Plane, this has a much more Celestial feel. The notification indicated we¡¯re linked to Elysium Fields, which makes sense given Amdirlain was always more interested in doing what she could to help than rules but didn¡¯t just look after her own interests.¡± A fleeting crack in his composure closes before he nods. ¡°I¡¯ll try to help as much as I can, but I¡¯m not sure I can handle living here all the time.¡± ¡°Neither Amdirlain nor I had the same obsession with Law as you do, husband. Let¡¯s get things into a semblance of sanity and then look to work something out. It said we¡¯re connected to the Oceanus Layer of Elysium Fields, but we¡¯ll need to find the Gate¡¯s location. I¡¯m told the Domain is being expanded into a full Plane.¡± ¡°How?¡± ¡°Before I could see my Profile, but with her Mantle I¡¯m seeing the notifications she used to talk about,¡± I admit. His shocked expression makes it clear he hadn¡¯t believed that part, but he closes his mouth when I nod and continue. ¡°Including the extra commentary.¡± I send requests off through various Oath-Links while we get dressed and then Teleport places us on the ridgeline near where the first defence tower had once stood. It had shifted when the Domain had expanded, but now I¡¯m not sure which of the plinths standing out against the darkness it¡¯s become. The plinths are needles against the horizon¡¯s churning darkness that is further away with every moment. Sage, Berry, and Hook appear beside me a moment after our arrival, and by then the wall of darkness I¡¯d seen is but a thin line on the horizon. Wherever it has receded, bare ground is sprouting grass and saplings that stretch towards the golden sun with ever-increasing speed. ¡°Should I go check on what¡¯s left behind where the Domain was?¡± asks Hook before anyone else has a chance. ¡°That would be a good idea. The Giant community might have issues with the removal of the towers. This Plane¡¯s name is Laurelin, for Planar Shift. We¡¯re only connected to a layer of the Elysium Fields now.¡± ¡°Song of Gold in Elven,¡± murmurs Berry. ¡°Some of them are here, I was talking to a group of them near the original hall when it happened,¡± offers Hook, talking over top of Berry¡¯s comment. ¡°I told them I¡¯d let them know as soon as I had information to share.¡± ¡°Only non-resident celestials got kicked out as part of the transfer. I need to get in touch with Aggie and some others,¡± I start, but at Berry¡¯s immediate wince I stop and wait for her. Her Human form¡¯s dusky skin looks ashen from shock and disbelief, even though I was sure that a Celestial physically couldn¡¯t suffer from the first. ¡°Whatever happened wasn¡¯t instant. I sent her a Message, and Amdirlain¡¯s summoning... it was yesterday; after that, Livia and Verdandi summoned Torm, only just beating the Gods¡¯ War announcement,¡± explains Berry. She¡¯s quick to plant a palm across Hook¡¯s mouth as he nearly speaks over top of me. ¡°Wait up buster.¡± ¡°Sorry. I knew it wasn¡¯t instant. We lost just over a day and quarter on Letveri,¡± I inform them. ¡°They¡¯re close to the same then, it¡¯s now afternoon the day after things went bad. It was slightly before midday when you sent a Message to Aggie,¡± offers Berry. Sage brings out a pencil to write notes but stops as the glowing lights of a Celestial¡¯s manifestation starts nearby and continues until nearly sixty individuals are forming. The light fading away reveals nearly all of them have glowing pure-white wings despite the light within the Domain. Their faces are still the same, so it¡¯s easy to identify them. Erwarth, the other Lome, and even Klipyl. Erwarth walks toward us, and the others follow suit. Her gait is awkward in the first steps but quickly adjusts to her six silvery white wings. As she takes in her own changes, I do likewise for all of them. Red skin is now bronze-gold, though the smallest change is perhaps the most dramatic. Her solid jet-black eyes have restored to an Elven appearance, containing liquid silver irises that shine with an internal glow. The others are a mixture of hair and eye colours. All L¨®m? now have a Solar¡¯s form, taller than I normally stand and clad in golden armour. Their appearance leaves Klipyl to seem a much younger sibling possessing the single wings of a Trumpet Archon; of them all, she¡¯s the least changed. Ivory skinned, blue-eyed, with night black tresses, she¡¯s wearing a white shear-silk dress ending high on her thighs and concealing little of what it covers. In her hands is an ornate curved horn with Amdirlain¡¯s symbol upon it and she stares at it with open-mouthed surprise. The naughty giggle when she makes a circle with her thumb and forefinger and slides it up and down isn¡¯t a surprise. ¡°What happened?¡± I ask first, but Sage and Farhad echo me. Erwarth opens her mouth to reply, her gaze becoming heated, but she huffs and her shoulders slump before she goes on. ¡°Amdirlain wanted everyone tied to her Domain to be safe and lifted with it. The Titan gave us a choice, and only one option of the three appealed.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you her reasoning, but I know from when she started attempting to transfer it and when it finished took time. I know she appreciated you wanted to help your families. She might have been desperate to get the Mantle free of Apollo¡¯s trap. Please don¡¯t assume she intended to take your choice to help your kin away. What were the other two options?¡± ¡°To break Oath with her and the worshippers would have that knowledge added to their grief or be destroyed because of the link with the Domain in the Celestial heights.¡± Elves! I don¡¯t understand her anger now, given they¡¯ve escaped Amdirlain¡¯s destruction, but emotions are high, including my own. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have wanted your destruction on top of her own,¡± I try to tell her reassuringly, but the words rub against the pain in my chest. Erwarth blinks and shoots a look at the others before straightening and an odd sense of pushing aside anger came before she replies. ¡°The Titan said her fate is still to be determined. He said it depends if she can adapt to her new situation and recover herself or not. I don¡¯t know what that means, but hopefully, she¡¯s not gone forever.¡± ¡°He said nothing else?¡± I ask, but the news sends a sense of relief through me, wiping away pain in my chest, and settling the knots that had been growing in my stomach. ¡°We argued about our old issues, and he sounded amused about Klipyl having helped couples.¡± ¡°I only answered a few shy males enquiring about bringing their wives pleasure. Then one thing led to another, and every time I went back to the castle I had other staff or couples wanting to speak again. Maybe I should have visited more often, but I got busy elsewhere,¡± offers Klipyl, ¡°It didn¡¯t tempt you to seduce any of them?¡± asks Hook. ¡°I mean, Echo said you were often in the barracks.¡± ¡°Oh, these weren¡¯t from the barracks, and some couples were so cute together. But no, I had plenty of playmates, but Sarah said a therapist shouldn¡¯t get involved with a patient,¡± Klipyl replies, even while offering Hook a seductive smile. Berry blinks, but I¡¯m glad for what she focuses on even when her response catches me by surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard that word before.¡± ¡°I¡¯d never heard the word before either. I was helping them get over sexual issues Sarah said that made me as good as a therapist; well, as close they were likely to get,¡± admits Klipyl, ¡°But it was a weirdly nice seeing them so happy just from a little sex. Well, maybe not so little, some of the Erakk? I¡¯ve met have girth. And I mean girth for a Mortal, one male it reached his knees, and got as thick as my wrist, I was always happy to see him.¡± ¡°You just helped a few couples at the castle?¡± ¡°Oh no, I started there, but then they told their friends about me and asked if I could visit a few other places. I ended up travelling lots, even as far as one of the northern countries; it was more fun than bug hunting,¡± Klipyl casually explained. ¡°Sarah even suggested talks in their community halls after I had trouble finding time to speak to everyone. But in those, I just shared questions that others had asked and what worked for different couples, so they knew it wasn¡¯t just them. Then we had nibbles afterwards. They were nice to me.¡± ¡°If you were talking to groups, how many did you help?¡± asks Berry, her expression flickering between amusement and disbelief. ¡°You¡¯d have to ask Sarah. She did all the logistics with some of the military people. I¡¯m not so good with that. Hundreds at a time lately. We even let people ask questions, for a friend of course,¡± Klipyl¡¯s quick response came with a very exaggerated wink. Sage shifts a little, but when I deliberately look his way, his smirk disappears and he quickly taps his notes. ¡°We¡¯ve got a lot to do to get organised. This isn¡¯t a normal Domain expansion.¡± I won¡¯t be telling him I can see in all directions at once regardless of the obstacles. ¡°I¡¯ve got the normal list of activities for those, should I just add additional tasks or did you want a new plan?¡± continues Sage glancing in Berry¡¯s direction. ¡°I swear, Sage; you need to learn to let the Planetars work for a living. You¡¯ve known us the longest, but please give some of the coordination tasks to the troops,¡± Berry huffs. ¡°Your standard plan? You give a bunch of work to everyone from the Maze who is in the Domain to co-ordinate.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll discuss it,¡± I interject, cutting off Sage¡¯s reply. ¡°That¡¯s my fault as well. No need to shake down a team when you know individuals can work together. What else do you know?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll help,¡± Erwarth states quickly, and gives a respectful nod to Berry that leaves her blinking at the swift offering. ¡°We¡¯ve experience organising fortresses, and I¡¯m sure asking the Domain¡¯s inhabitants for help will be easy. Just let us know the way you normally handle things after a Domain expansion. If anything new comes up we can discuss it first and implement what you need. What do we know about the situation with her killers?¡± The word killers, not destroyers, let me move freely again, the tension easing from my form. My relief sends out an energy that washes through the Mantle, and an effortless moment of concentration lets me feel the emotions of relief and hope flowing out through it. I¡¯ll need to explore to see if it¡¯s the same outside the Domain, but I try to spread the news with my relief. She might be gone for now, but there is hope she¡¯ll be back. The joyous response I feel coming back through the Mantle feels like a Balor¡¯s left hook, but I catch Berry¡¯s explanation. My ability to track everything going on around me was far beyond what I¡¯d ever experienced. ¡°Aside from the Mortal pawn being dead, not a lot. Aggie said the Greek Pantheon attacked the Egyptian Pharaoh¡¯s court and triggered a Gods¡¯ War declaration. People felt it across the kingdoms. They still tracked Soranus down, but there isn¡¯t a need to find the High Priest. A Yin tornado Amdirlain set loose in the summoning circle gutted the whole Temple. Soranus had a record of the events.¡± Farhad lets out a long slow breath, the deliberateness of it attracting attention from the others. ¡°What are the restrictions on getting into the ten kingdoms?¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you fight in the last one?¡± asked Berry. ¡°When the barrier came up, it appeared on the rolling ocean around the ships of the involved nations. The vessels of other nations outside the barrier crossed it and it expanded; once in though, they couldn¡¯t sail out again.¡± Berry sent a Message and repeated the conditions Mirage had learned from the glowing script a moment later. ¡°Please open a Gate,¡± asks Farhad, his tone feeling as much an apology as a request. Licking my lips, I want to say no, but I won¡¯t. ¡°Any placement preferred?¡± ¡°Perhaps you should try for Mirage,¡± replies Farhad. ¡°The cadre will be in touch with numerous communities. The Greek Gods have broken the Law, as they did last time. I think they should be treated as lawbreakers.¡± I can see a hint of amusement in his steady gaze but the excuse is thin. Can a Goddess pray to herself? If so, I would. I¡¯ve seen Cyrus¡¯ questioning digging at him for years now. He breathes in relief at my curt nod of understanding but his shoulder shrug is another apology. My Gate opening effortlessly is a surprise, and it forms to reveal Mirage, standing at a table shaped into terrain with some interesting company. The Gate¡¯s position reveals Tyr, a dull aura of energy around him, looking far more Mortal than last I¡¯d seen him, especially in the company of Torm. Liran? is visible, just on edge, and I don¡¯t know why she possesses that same energy aura as Tyr. A rainbow of light obscures details beyond the Gate, and they don¡¯t react to its appearance. Though I can see their lips move, no sounds come through the Gate. ¡°Mirage!¡± Berry¡¯s call gets no reaction, which is more like what I¡¯d expected. Though why we can send and receive Message spells but not talk through a Gate is a little odd; tactical advantage, perhaps? Or just because the Spell requires the individual to have shared their name previously? That makes sense. A Gate would let you learn hundreds of names and provide co-ordination, tipping the balance of a war to those you favoured without risk to you. ¡°Going to tell me to stay safe?¡± asks Farhad giving me a wry smile. ¡°No, kill all of those law-breaking bastards you can, but come back to me,¡± I reply and hold my sabres to him. ¡°I¡¯ve got spares, and I know you can use them. That shouldn¡¯t count as help, should it?¡± He pushes them back, but I can see he considered the offer. ¡°I¡¯ll rely on myself but thank you.¡± I let the Gate close when he is through but see the smiles that greet his arrival. ¡°I¡¯ll take over the combat classes for the recent additions. I feel odd and need to move a bit. Let me know if I need to decide anything.¡± * * * I know the moment I see them working hard in the lesson that the intensity of focus comes from a renewal of hope with the news I spread. It¡¯s an effort not to know their moods and thoughts; even if I don¡¯t know every detail, it feels invasive. Late in the class I step close to a Hound Archon to show him how the counter is supposed to work. When I try to match his size Protean not only doesn¡¯t respond¡ªit objects. Confusion at the Power¡¯s repeated failure has me focusing on myself. What I find has me stop and check again; my flesh is fine but I sense a Soul floating in my womb. The foetus¡¯ growth matches the ones I¡¯ve scried within breeders over the years. I don¡¯t have to wonder how long I¡¯ve been pregnant¡ªjust over a day. I can see her now, still growing as quickly as any Succubi foetus, minute, with her limbs and face clearly formed. She¡¯s Elven featured like so many Succubi but thankfully not, and lacks wings, or even nubs. Focusing purely on her form in the darkness of my womb, I know her skin is golden-bronze. ¡°Are you alright, Lady Ebusuku?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pregnant? Amdirlain, you little minx, what did your Mantle do to me?¡± The questions are barely whispered off my lips, but the whole class freezes. * * * Drifting in the darkness, shrouded in an energy that makes her fingers twitch across shining notes, she soaks in the warm tranquillity. Within that calm, the booming voice of a Greater Power distantly demanding answers with her name makes itself heard. Not waking fully, Amdirlain shifts position with a sleepy yawn and returns to her dream. Just five minutes more mum. 198 - See you again Mirage¡¯s PoV ¨C Eyrarh¨¢ls ¨C Mid-morning to mid-afternoon Second Day The morning had seen the cadre¡¯s compound awash with faithful whose shock had worn off. While the initial surge of Ebusuku¡¯s presence¡ªsomehow felt by them¡ªhad braced them through the initial aftermath, it fell away after a night¡¯s fitful rest. The words Mirage had heard offered during breakfast in the cadre senior mess hall had stilled the place into silence. Conversations carry the undertone of disbelief drowned under the emotions shared by the captain when she rose to speak. Tears and stifled sobs broke up her account of the light Amdirlain had given back to her. Her words of the hopeless days in the darkness, with prayers for death unanswered, only to gain freedom instead was an experience still known by many there. Her closing words ended in her hope that they would find the strength to use her sacrifice to keep others safe. That none should give in to the likes of the foul beast who¡¯d stolen her away. The ice of denial melted throughout the morning until sorrow and anger overran their embankments. While sharing their grief with the first group, the cadre¡¯s leaders gave duties to the second and let them channel their emotions. With so many refugees and experience with handling floods of people, they had plenty of work to give out. The heavy weight of sorrow pressed upon all within the cadre¡¯s compound until some looked ready to drown¡ªwomen and men alike. Even those not of Amdirlain¡¯s faith who served among them knew that their Deity might be next with the Gods¡¯ War underway. News of the death of Thor and later in the morning Odinn drove the current danger home. If the strongest warriors among the Gods they knew weren¡¯t safe, how safe were they? Those that might have broken and run instead looked to their fellows and drew strength from their unity. The mourners from each culture showed their pain in different ways. Mirage found the usually neatly groomed Egyptians unkempt with tears running freely down their faces, undecorated by kohl or the other make-up they normally wear. A Norse skald worked a drum for them, with low, slow beats that carried a sound that knifed across the mourners with the wailing they let loose. More skalds chanted tales of her victories among the Norse, not focused on mourning her loss but celebrating the differences she¡¯d made. When the emotions grew too thick, they brought them up to breathe and laugh, with tales of misunderstandings salted with Moke¡¯s ribald poems that elicited laughter. Yet still, it was laughter edged with grief and pain. The Romans limited themselves to a shared eulogy, where each shared the difference she¡¯d had made to them. Tears frequently interrupted each tale, and those unable to stay standing on their own found others ready to support them as they spoke. A quiet gathering of the cadre¡¯s Persians raised a stone memorial solely for her within the original staging post. It was a long block-like structure with a peaked roof that reached three metres above the ground and surrounded by tiers of low steps. The steps led to a candle motif that sent rays across the stone¡¯s darkness. Along the steps¡¯ course, they¡¯d engraved messages of respect and left an offering of food. Those nations with far fewer representatives joined what felt most familiar or sought other ways to mourn. When moving through buildings between groups, Mirage had to stop to compose herself. Longing for the others who¡¯d been trapped within the Maze burnt through her, bringing forth tears that she couldn¡¯t stop. Her own pain grew and gnawed deep until she reached a point where she just wanted to leave and leaned against a wall with her arms wrapped around her midriff. She¡¯d barely stopped herself from going with a Gate¡¯s Spell form shining temptingly in her mind. The Mortals had their groups¡ªbig or small¡ªbut their very company left her feeling isolated and with the Oath-Link¡¯s silence. The Domain was shifting, but it didn¡¯t confine Echo or the others. Their voices in messages were insufficient against this emptiness, and she craved the reassurance of their company. The knowledge it was her choice made her crave them even more. She stood there for long minutes, intently turning over the pattern, an instant from allowing Mana to fill it. The long millennia spent in the maze had never felt so lonely as she felt right then. The certainty that Amdirlain¡¯s acceptance had given crumbled around her, leaving jagged edges of faded memories digging at her again. Though there were Lantern Archons aplenty, she felt desperate to hug any of her friends. Breathing out sharply, she forced the pain to stillness, but the hollowness left behind mocked her. With that pain taunting her she drifted through the mostly empty buildings that provide a shallow echo of the maze¡¯s stability. Almost, she wanted to hear the hammer¡¯s ringing strikes that would echo through the corridors. Their bright sounds when they dragged on were annoying, but when they first started after a long silence was something else, they¡¯d brought a strange surety: there was something bigger than themselves beyond the maze¡¯s confines. Right then she missed her waterfall, the pressure of plummeting water, the hollow behind it, and her pool, big enough to let a half-dozen of them swim together. It was a lonely but constant place of retreat when things menaced the maze. Mirage stopped as she heard a little pipping voice bright with tears complaining about the unfairness of her not meeting the lady. Peeking within the dormitory room, she found Eivor sitting on a bunk with her daughter on her lap. Mirage, having met Sigga earlier, would have believed she was the older sister rather than Eivor¡¯s daughter if she hadn¡¯t known better. Head nestled under her mother¡¯s chin, Eivor rocked Julia back and forth while tears streaming down both their faces. The little girl, around six years old, clasped Amdirlain¡¯s medallion tight, her half-brother, Ipy, nearly a teenager, crouched beside the bunk while he rubbed her back in gentle circles. His expression showed his determination to be brave. The differences might not have been great with their fathers both being Egyptian, but Moke¡¯s Celestial bloodline showed through. Though Eivor was a solid-featured woman, she possessed a surety and conviction that made it difficult to dismiss her. Even in the domestic scene of her comforting child, to Mirage she fairly blazed with life. Solid jawed, auburn-haired, and the grief settling in hadn¡¯t dulled the forest green of her gaze, it had added more steel within. Her youngest children looked far different from their mother or older siblings. Both had straight deep-brown hair that fell to their shoulders, and dusky skin instead of a Norse¡¯s fair complexion. Yet Eivor¡¯s Norse blood added a solidity to them despite their lean Egyptian features. It gave both children a strange delicateness that promised steel lay beneath, and while Ipy¡¯s eyes were an ordinary black, Julia¡¯s were bright emerald cat¡¯s eyes. Eivor looked up and caught Mirage while she was still considering what to do. ¡°Moke should be in the major¡¯s study. He received some unpleasant messages he¡¯s following up on with additional contacts from the area to get details.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Mirage said and slipped away, unsure how one comforts a child, but at least Eivor¡¯s words had offered her something to do. The rest of the morning had disappeared in a rush helping Moke collate information that contained death tolls already in the thousands. Destruction of the palace in Thebes had caused panicked riots to spread throughout the city, leaving many dead. While the Greek Gods had picked off other Egyptian gods with disturbing ease, bands of adventurers were organising to hunt them in return. The ancient Gods of Egypt, it seemed having forced the last war to a peaceful conclusion, had possessed too much confidence about the trouble that had been brewing. From the fights she had heard of, she wondered if that was why she was kept from attacking¡ªbecause they¡¯d all be dead. The thought of Torm and Livia among them, had her smiling in anticipation. * * * Settling into place that afternoon, Mirage shifted nervously as she glanced around the planning table, and Torm rested a hand on her shoulder. The gesture, perhaps automatic, didn¡¯t possess the reassurance it once would have done. A glance at how fixed and hard his expression had become sent shivers through her, with his gaze promising a hard death to someone. It also didn¡¯t help with three Gods in the room, and still not knowing what to make of Mithras. Amdirlain had never spoken of the Roman and Persian Sun God. ¡°How secure is Eyrarh¨¢ls?¡± asked Mithras, dragging her attention back to the new arrival. ¡°The guards seemed well trained, and I noticed more wizards among them than I had expected.¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly more secure than Apollo¡¯s Temple in Crete now,¡± Aggie said. ¡°Know you should look at it this way: they¡¯ve now got loose building stones and rubble for building something useful,¡± Liran? offered. ¡°Know all the council I interrogated there believed they would profit from his failure; their only problem with his plan was they doubted it would bring Amdirlain forth.¡± ¡°It was the last disappointment they¡¯ll experience in life,¡± Aggie blithely added. ¡°Any lead at all on Apollo?¡± asked Torm. His tone carried an intensity that caught the attention of both Livia and Tyr, who considered him with concern, but he stayed focused on Aggie. Tyr noticing Livia¡¯s attention, gave her a slight nod, but Livia¡¯s concern for Torm¡¯s contained grief didn¡¯t ease. Aggie shook her head and gestured to the morning¡¯s plunder before her, everything from broaches to staves shining with blessings. ¡°It¡¯s why we stole these.¡± ¡°Know for correctness you should use the term procured, or perhaps seized, since there is a war in progress,¡± interrupted Liran?. ¡°Know that I wouldn¡¯t want the monastery¡¯s Master to become upset with me any further.¡± ¡°Oh, no,¡± affirmed Aggie. ¡°It¡¯s why we procured these. I¡¯m hoping one of them might provide enough of a link to his Mantle to trace his location, either by Arcane or Psionic means.¡± Mirage stared at the smug pair before turning back to Mithras, deliberately ignoring the multitude of blessed objects that were already cluttering other tables in the cadre¡¯s main hall. ¡°Rededication of those items would be easier than their initial creation,¡± rumbled Fen, not bothered by the power in the items sitting close at hand. ¡°Back to the question you asked Mithras, while Aggie finishes her fun,¡± Mirage prompted and swallowed when all three Gods look her way. ¡°Eyrarh¨¢ls is as secure as we can make it. We¡¯d been training battle wizards for the Jarl to encourage people to sign up for standard pay, even before this occurred. Also, we¡¯ve more Lantern Archons than we¡¯d originally accounted for in our patrol planning. Other temples, like Brina¡¯s, held back support until their scheduled evacuations.¡° ¡°We were coming, but we wanted to make sure people got out safe,¡± injected Runa, ducking partly behind Fen when Mithras looked her way. Mirage waved reassuringly. ¡°Completely understandable, really. As was Aggie¡¯s expedition this morning without letting anyone know.¡± ¡°Lantern Archons will hardly deter anyone,¡± stated Mithras. Fen¡¯s rumbling laughter cut him off and pointed to the cut in Runa¡¯s filigree. ¡°Not yours perhaps, but my little shield sister Runa might disagree.¡± ¡°Yngvarr and Alfarr are briefing the Jarl on the other information they discovered in the raid,¡± Aggie mentioned, and Mirage checked she had Yngvarr¡¯s note before nodding in acknowledgement. Runa shifted position to hover over the map table before Mirage. ¡°I think Aggie might match your rank, at least in this conflict, and it was her choice. After all, she can take aggressive action. What happens if she involves you even in planning her raids? Do we know where that could lead? Do we think they¡¯ll really come to attack? How many soldiers will they send?¡± ¡°As many as they feel they need, pup,¡± murmured Fen, and tapped the southern route. The enormous woman¡¯s hands made Mirage feel small, but Runa reappeared and hovered beside her. ¡°Do you think the Gnomes will complain about any army that comes from the south?¡± ¡°Gnomes?¡± asked Mirage, and Runa, echoing each other. ¡°A subterranean race, the Dwarves call them the Stonekin. They set a treaty with the first Norse in these lands, certain regions we can travel over but not settle, nor use for conflict,¡± explained Tyr. ¡°If the Greeks do, the Gnomes will likely send a delegation with a demand for compensation to whoever wins since their Gods are staying out of it. Of course, they will word it precisely with all the proper treaty clauses referred to, along with an itemised list of the offences, and breakdown of the weregild required.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°The Greeks will just use portals to get close to town, they¡¯ve already hit a few places that way,¡± Mithras stated, and Mirage couldn¡¯t help but smile smugly. ¡°That won¡¯t be happening. They can¡¯t get a Portal in close without a ward stone,¡± replied Mirage. ¡°A friend developed a rune series to empower the ward¡¯s expansion, though it¡¯s currently stopped by natural boundaries.¡± Mithras looking over the map gestured to the markers in the grassland north of the woods, and then along a base of hills to the east. ¡°Is that why you have these boundary markers at the edge of the southern woods and hills?¡± ¡°Not just for that reason,¡± Mirage answered, and quickly changed the topic. ¡°Right, my biggest concern is if they opened a Portal and drop a boat right at the docks. The town wards don¡¯t expand beyond the shoreline.¡± ¡°What about if they use boats then?¡± asked Fen, her nose wrinkling at the concept. ¡°Know that I¡¯ve already set beacons in places that will divert any portals for boats to land on the far shores,¡± Liran? offered. ¡°I can see why Tyr suggested we come here.¡± said Mithras. ¡°How can you set such a barrier in place? The ones in Nova Roma can¡¯t individually cover such a space.¡± ¡°My Prestige Class is an Arcana Celestial Artisan,¡± admitted Mirage. ¡°Can I ask why you aren¡¯t securing Nova Roma?¡± ¡°Your Lady¡¯s followers started a slave revolt. An Orc that was fighting in the main colosseum turned out to be a Priest; he revealed that quite dramatically when the Gods¡¯ War announcement occurred. His fists were glowing with energy as he ran up the wall, smashing the wards. He slew the Caesar, who¡¯d been in attendance, along with his guards. The other gladiators took their cue from him. Soon the streets were awash with armed slaves, many casting blessings,¡± replied Mithras. ¡°I can¡¯t really say I¡¯ve been happy with the amount of slavery I¡¯ve heard about among the people in the southern kingdoms,¡± stated Mirage, her expression hard. ¡°To be blunt: you didn¡¯t ally with our Lady before, and now you¡¯ve come here increasing our danger. Why should we help protect you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just the southern nations, the northern lands maintain slavery under different names like the Thralls with the Norse. My influence has nothing to do with slavery, nor do I share your faith¡¯s perspective on it. The sun shines on all living creatures and provides illumination for deeds fair and foul alike. It¡¯s up to individuals to determine how they¡¯ll survive and prosper. The sun needs to warm the land, and ensure life can continue,¡± Mithras replied, calmly matter of fact. ¡°Or would you prefer Mortals not have time enough to learn the value of others and choice?¡± Mirage raised an eyebrow and turned to Tyr. ¡°Sol is already dead, and Mithras has been consistent in his attitude to Mortals, suggesting they search to improve themselves not telling them how. He has broken no law, and I¡¯d prefer Apollo not consume his power as well,¡± offered Tyr, and gave Mirage a smile. ¡°Perhaps you can change his mind about the tenets for his faithful.¡± Mirage bit off her retort and smiled as a Message from Ebusuku whispered in her ear and she winced at her instructions to mind the orders given to defend. When less than a minute later Berry¡¯s Message came, she quickly sent her a Message to summarise events. She closed her eyes to let her anger flow away, and the others waited patiently. ¡°The Domain has finished shifting locations. I¡¯ve heard from Ebusuku and a friend. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have more questions soon.¡± ¡°You refer to your new lady as Ebusuku?¡± asked Mithras. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some of her priests and priestesses leading prayers using a different name. I hope she takes care that she isn¡¯t summoned as well.¡± Runa squealed with laughter and Mirage had to stop and count to ten and then did so again. Yet with Mithras¡¯ words rubbing across open wounds when she tried to speak calmly her words snapped forth. ¡°I will refer to Ebusuku as what she prefers to use for conversation. If you and your ilk had dealt with the Greeks permanently before-¡± She cut off as Tyr motioned gently for her to calm down. ¡°Ra has paid the price for offering peace so quickly, but the fleet wasn¡¯t large, every vessel was crowded, and many were fragile. If the fighting went on, more of those we cared about would have perished even if we destroyed the Greeks. Peace had indeed seemed the wiser, and truthfully only, course to ensure survival. I wish he and his fellows hadn¡¯t rested on that success.¡± ¡°It would have been a victory where it would have been better to have lost,¡± Livia suggested. As she carefully took another sun symbol from the chest, she paused and held it out to Aggie. ¡°This artifact has an aura.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll go test it and see what information we can gather,¡± Aggie said, and headed towards the cadre¡¯s spell chambers. As Torm rose, Livia just held out a hand to block his way. ¡°We need to gather information, see where he is and what support he has with him. You¡¯re coiled like a snake waiting to strike.¡± ¡°The window to strike might be small, if someone detects it-¡° ¡°If they can block us, it could mean we¡¯ll have a fight on our hands attacking him and not one to just charge into. Please don¡¯t rush this, let us gather information. I don¡¯t want to lose you too, Uncle Torm,¡± rebuffed Livia. Torm stepped close and kissed her on the forehead before returning to his seat, his expression no less grim for his display of affection. Livia who had held herself ready to move until he turned away, followed quickly after Aggie. Mirage began briefing them on the town¡¯s defences and where those that accompanied them could provide support. She was barely into it when news washed through the Oath-Link, and they could hear cheering outside in the compound. Her control was a hair from rupturing at her own excitement when voices close by lifted cheering Amdirlain¡¯s name. At the sound, Torm¡¯s gaze snapped towards Mirage, and fixed on the joyful tears streaming past her smile as she started trembling. ¡°Ebusuku sent news: Amdirlain¡¯s not destroyed; she¡¯s not back, but she¡¯s not destroyed. You¡¯ll have to ask her for more information, that¡¯s all I know. It means there is a hope she can come back to us.¡± He almost sagged against the table but catching himself, Torm shuddered and straightened as if a weight had dropped from his shoulders, and Mirage caught Tyr¡¯s brief smile of relief. She was still trying to clear the tears flooding her eyes when Torm reached over and gently clasped her hand, tilting his head towards the doorway that lead outside. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t need to go tend to them a bit?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve got their leadership, and this is important. Let¡¯s ensure everyone in the town stays as safe as we can. I¡¯ve not got to it yet but-¡± Mithras turned to regard Tyr, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. ¡°How can Ebusuku communicate to her worshippers this way? It would take a power, above the Lesser rank to do that. She¡¯s not even got the faithful to achieve that rank.¡± Despite the intensity of Mithras¡¯ focus, Tyr simply nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Indeed, I¡¯ve also not heard of any Power of lesser rank or below performing such a communication to their faithful.¡± The next interruption broke her train of thought completely when Farhad stepped into existence from mid-air. Fen¡¯s growl wiped the smiles of greeting away. Everyone¡¯s attention snapped to her, but Tyr simply sighed. ¡°I would prefer you hush, though the lake isn¡¯t far from here if you¡¯d prefer another swim,¡± Farhad said. He hadn¡¯t even finished speaking when Fen made to leap across the table. Though her feet cleared it easily, she stopped and floated in mid-air above it. ¡°Know that your mind is loud with threats Fen, but he is, I believe Master Farhad,¡± stated Liran?. Fen struggled to shift position, but a mental rebuke from Liran? had her hold still. ¡°I¡¯m well aware of who he is.¡± ¡°I understand you and Verethragna mended things peacefully afterwards. Why do you still hold a grudge against me?¡± asked Farhad, unconcerned by her reaction. ¡°He might be a bull-headed idiot, but he wasn¡¯t the one who threw me in the ocean!¡± roared Fen so loudly her bellow made the table bounce. ¡°You leapt. I just redirected where you were going to land,¡± re-joined Farhad, only for a growl to start up from Fen, which elicited another sigh from Tyr. ¡°He¡¯s friendly!¡± Runa squeaked at the deep growl that escaped Fen. ¡°He taught me to handle Ki, I don¡¯t think my bolt would have injured Odinn without that.¡± Runa¡¯s protest stopped the growl and when Fen¡¯s grasping hands relaxed, she floated back to her seat. ¡°He didn¡¯t resolve the challenge he gave last time,¡± huffed Fen in a most put out tone. ¡°And he dropped me in waters that had a Kraken in them!¡± ¡°It hadn¡¯t shown itself at that point, and you might have sunk the boat you were leaping at despite the Human form you wore,¡± dismissed Farhad. Fen pouted and fixed Liran? with a surly look. ¡°If I¡¯d changed into my wolf form, I don¡¯t believe you could have held my weight.¡± Liran? lips twitched into something that almost resembled the faintest hint of a smile. ¡°Know then you¡¯d be wrong; to me, you wouldn¡¯t have weighed a thing. Know also that I¡¯m aware you decided it would possess a risk to your mate, given his proximity to your expansion.¡± ¡°I still want to resolve his challenge,¡± Fen grumbled, her body language digging in as she shifted about for something to win. ¡°Anytime you desire before your Mantle returns to full force¡ªit seems the Gods have grown too dependent upon them. I would have enjoyed watching Amdirlain smash certain Gods into the ground,¡± Farhad stated. ¡°How many have died so far?¡± ¡°Many, fortunately some among the Greeks as well,¡± answered Mirage. ¡°Know that Novice Amdirlain was more fun to fight; one kick at Hermes and his legs came off. Know I was most embarrassed that when I ended his misery, I found myself with his Mantle. Did you know it includes worship from thieves?¡± asked Liran?, her composure unchanged. Turning to Torm, she gave her the barest hint of a nod. ¡°Know that I believe that wherever Novice Amdirlain is she¡¯ll fight tooth and nail to get back to you. Know also that I¡¯ve passed the good news to Master Duurth.¡± ¡°It is good that you are in touch with Ebusuku again, and I agree with Mirage. We need now to focus on keeping people safe. These days are leaving plenty of people in dire straits,¡± Tyr suggested, changing the subject before the exchange could go further. ¡°Now Mirage, we¡¯re aware you can only defend.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t mean that we can¡¯t help in other ways and if they attack us, then we¡¯re defending ourselves. In the meantime, we can scout locations, guide people to safety, and we¡¯ve got wizards who can handle continuous portals,¡± countered Mirage, and motioned outside. ¡°Also, the rule about defending only applies to the Celestials, so if they¡¯re accompanying other Priests or faithful as bodyguards, we¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°What have they been doing?¡± Mithras asked. ¡°Things,¡± Mirage said. Her tight smile made it clear she wouldn¡¯t say more on the subject. When Aggie and Livia came back, Aggie looked divided on what they¡¯d discovered. With a sigh she set down a crystal mirror the size of her torso and laid the sun disc they¡¯d taken with them on top of it. ¡°We found him, and he has Artemis with him. Did another God die recently?¡± ¡°Baldur,¡± sighed Tyr, ¡°Artemis killed him.¡± ¡°My condolences,¡± replied Aggie. ¡°If I¡¯m right, they were sacking temples in a town northeast of here. Greek troops routed the town guard. I¡¯d have hoped for better, but they¡¯re travelling with enough troops to crush villages and most towns. Apollo isn¡¯t looking healthy, and I believe I know why he¡¯s chasing after Gods.¡± As soon as Aggie paused, Mithras got in before anyone else spoke. ¡°What¡¯s your theory?¡± ¡°The Yin tornado we saw in the crystal. She was filling the circle with Yin Mana so his Sigil would drain it. She¡¯d tried all those spells, and then covered herself and the floor with Yin. The Sigil must have been absorbing Mana. Did she find the Sigil had a limit and sought to block it or was she trying to feed him enough to kill him before he got wise? But anyway, the Sigil absorbed the Yin. He¡¯s trying to warm up,¡± stated Aggie, and considered Torm a moment. ¡°You¡¯ll not run off if I show you?¡± ¡°No, I have nothing to prove, and it seems I should prepare myself for some more waiting,¡± Torm stated, giving Aggie a worried smile that she was quick to acknowledge. ¡°I believe working together is best to achieve our common goals.¡± At his words, Farhad¡¯s focus shifted into the distance, and he murmured softly to himself. ¡°What is the greater Law?¡± ¡°Pardon?¡± Aggie asked, and when he didn¡¯t response turned her attention to Torm. ¡°It¡¯s good you think so because the Greeks already do that. There is at least one other God with them.¡± ¡°How could you tell? I¡¯ve spoken to Mortals since I got here, and they¡¯ve not known my identity unless I¡¯ve told them. I don¡¯t know how the Mortals identified the other Gods to kill,¡± interjected Mithras. ¡°I¡¯d suggest they¡¯ve likely given themselves away,¡± responded Livia. ¡°And it¡¯s not how Aggie can tell but how I can. From the crests we¡¯ve got Artemis travelling with Apollo, but there could be more. Liran?, I hope you¡¯re still open to helping.¡± Liran? nodded, and Aggie cast her scrying spell. The image showed a blond, once-handsome man who seemed wasted away. Lumps of blackness distort his classical Greek features as they crawl under his skin, leaving skin blackened with frost, and capillaries bulging nearly to bursting point in their wake. The bags under his rime coated eyes gave his face a sunken, hollow look, and emphasised the almost skeletal appearance of the man. Speaking to someone standing outside the image, every breath caused plumes to frost the air. Aggie shifted the mirror¡¯s focus to further out, showing troops stepping over the bodies of the fallen and tossing canisters into the closest Temple. Where each ruptured, the white-hot flame burned through the stonework. A golden-haired woman carrying a pure white bow came closer to Apollo, her classic features calm even though hostility burned in Apollo¡¯s gaze. Wearing hunting leathers, she moved with poise and grace, and her fingertips rested an arrow on the string as if ready to draw. ¡°Artemis,¡± declared Livia, and Aggie nodded, her gaze narrowing with distaste. ¡°I¡¯d like to deal with her, and Torm can have Apollo. Everyone else focuses on killing the murdering bastards with them, if there aren¡¯t other Gods about,¡± stated Aggie. ¡°Unless you want his Mantle Torm, I¡¯ll come along to bait him, and add some spells in,¡± offered Mithras. ¡°He might be desperate for my Mantle which will hopefully give you a greater advantage. Unless you¡¯ve objections to stabbing him in the back?¡± Torm shook his head and motioned to the image of Apollo. ¡°The priority is for him to die. As for the Mantle, I¡¯ve my duties to attend to. You can have it with pleasure. I only hope it¡¯s not poisonous. But what if you die?¡± ¡°Then give it to Belinos among the Gaul, or Arinna of the Hittites. I¡¯d trust either of them to look for a way towards peace,¡± ¡°As would I,¡± added Tyr. ¡°Though both would be more likely to work for a better position first rather than focus on peace foremost.¡± ¡°The edges of his Mantle¡¯s aura are clean, but veins of darkness are within his aura,¡± stated Livia. Aggie looked between Livia and Liran?. ¡°As soon as he dies, or even if you think he¡¯s going to die, try to Teleport him straight up.¡± ¡°Yin?¡± asked Torm. ¡°If he has been getting anything from the Gods, then it¡¯s likely he¡¯s been gaining more power. Even if he hadn¡¯t, it¡¯s still been eating whatever strength he possesses,¡° replied Aggie. ¡°You don¡¯t stop Yin by choking it, you need to leave it with nothing to consume nearby, so once he¡¯s dead, it might eat him and everything close.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯ll look to slow his movements, and prevent any teleporting during the fight, perhaps best I handle teleporting him away,¡± stated Liran?. ¡°That would be useful to keep him off me. I¡¯d prefer not to get eaten. Would you move the focus to show the town? We should scry the town, but I suggest we act quickly, given there may be people still within the buildings they seem intent on burning,¡± said Mithras. At Mirage¡¯s curious look, he gave her a bland smile. ¡°People can¡¯t see the light of any kind if their eyes are closed in death.¡± 199 - Bitter Harvest Epoch¨¥ - Crete ¨C Early afternoon Second Day When the one-sided slaughter ended, Epoch¨¥ reappeared, and her ledger snapped shut; the noise drowning out the cursing women. Ignoring the prisoners pinned to the chamber¡¯s stone wall by her Spell, she focused on the tall figure wreathed in red lightning. ¡°Now that the interruption is over, do you agree with the plan or not?¡± Her tone was calm despite the closeness of the figure tapping the butt of a war mattock¡¯s haft against his boot. Wiping a finger across the dripping blade, he savoured the taste, slowly licking it clean a droplet at a time while the Mantle of Doom settled across his form. It was only with the last of his treat consumed that he rumbled, ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± ¡°Then you can go your way and I¡¯ll go mine. If your activities don¡¯t cause problems for me, I won¡¯t crush you. If you continue to work with me, I¡¯ll provide you help in gaining all the mantles on your list,¡± offered Epoch¨¥. Multiple spells already prepared and held within a contingency Spell lent her a sharp confidence that echoed in her voice. ¡°Or are those three mantles and the other pieces of Set¡¯s you¡¯ve retrieved enough?¡± ¡°Let me know when you have the pieces in place. Are you sure I can¡¯t play with her first?¡± asked Raivo, gesturing to Clotho, his gaze taking in the dress that clung to her curves. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with them; their mantles are of no use to you,¡± replied Epoch¨¥ and tossed him a memory crystal. ¡°Happy hunting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not her Mantle I¡¯m interested in,¡± grumbled Raivo. His gaze ravaged Clotho again, before he licked his lips and vanished, leaving the corpse and the three Fates, to Epoch¨¥. ¡°How did you find us?¡± Atropos asked in a growl, the Spell¡¯s pressure increasing as she struggled, and joints popped. ¡°Death himself marked you, and that scut work you gave me helped so much,¡± sneered Epoch¨¥. ¡°Thanatos wouldn¡¯t have betrayed us,¡± snarled Lachesis. ¡°I¡¯m not speaking about the puny God that you think controls Death. The Titan¡¯s servant Eleftherios marked you; oddly, it¡¯s already fading. This Gods¡¯ War started just in time, a few more days and it might have taken me weeks to find you.¡± A hollow bladed dagger appeared in her grasp, the blade¡¯s metal appearing fragile with age. ¡°Even without our mantles active, that blade doesn¡¯t frighten us,¡± sneered Lachesis, trying to project greater confidence than the situation warranted. Unbothered by her posturing, Epoch¨¥ moved to the maiden Fate¡ªClotho¡ªand drove the dagger up under her ribs. The single blow pierced deep, and Epoch¨¥ could feel the blade twitch in time with her victim¡¯s heartbeat. As the Deity struggled, Epoch¨¥ casually pressed against her and let the book hover mid-air at waist level before unlatching the cap in the dagger¡¯s hilt. The first spurt of lifeblood sprayed a golden deluge across the book¡¯s cover, and while more continued to flow, the ledger drank in the initial rush. The stream sent splashes surging that halted, beaded up, and neatly rolled back to it. With every heartbeat, the jet¡¯s pressure waned, yet still the Goddess screamed with pain that echoed within the Loom¡¯s weave, and on Olympus, the Fates¡¯ Loom creaked. The thick coppery aroma of the Olympian¡¯s blood, cloyed as it was with Clotho¡¯s twisted eternal maiden state, brought a smile to Epoch¨¥¡¯s lips. ¡°How?¡± When the last of the blood drained from the dagger, Clotho¡¯s youthful appearance had become shrivelled and mummified, and a horrified Lachesis breathed the question again. Without responding, Epoch¨¥ quietly, and methodically repeated the process on her as well, despite the middle-aged Fate¡¯s screams. The Loom¡¯s cables snapped as she perished, and the frame crumpled inwards. Atropos, the fate Mortals had titled ¡®The Inflexible¡¯ for millennia in this realm and their original, broke as Epoch¨¥ moved towards her. The Deity, who appeared as an elderly woman, sobbed and shuddered as the force of the emotion gripped her. But Epoch¨¥ didn¡¯t pull back to drive the dagger home, rather simply stood beside the sobbing Atropos, and gently patted her shoulder. Only when Atropos finally raised her gaze and met Epoch¨¥¡¯s hollow eye sockets did Epoch¨¥ slowly, almost tenderly, push the dagger home. When the last Fate perished, all three bodies collapsed into ash and Epoch¨¥ breathed in as their essence swirled towards her. The black mists roiled within her eye sockets before they turned gold to match the blood of the three Olympians. When the last vanished, a landslide on Mount Olympus cast their home¡ªand already shattered Loom¡ªinto oblivion. The brown hide covering the ledger dimpled around her grip, and the state of every entity the Fates¡¯ Loom had ever touched impressed itself into her mind. Noting those with an abundance of evil and false deeds, Epoch¨¥ smiled. Humming happily, but grossly out of tune, she carefully put the now pristine ledger away. The first part of her fun for the day complete, Epoch¨¥ set about preparing for the next stage of her plan. She¡¯d gained the materials during the War of Four and intended to get everything she could out of them. A brazier crafted from a section of the destroyed Demon Lord ¨´eqr?kas¡¯ skull, former Lord of Malice, was set down. It was only after the surrounding miasma had settled that she drew out a steaming black jug. Prying its seal open she slowly let lava from Furnace¡¯s depths drip into the brazier until it was bubbling away just beneath the brim. Tucking the still smoking jug away, Epoch¨¥ cracked her neck and carefully pulled on sturdy gloves sewed from Silver Dragon hide. Only when completely satisfied with their fit did she gesture, and a table crafted of human thighbones bound in dried sinew harvested from new-born children appeared. Giving the table a tender caress, she savoured the energy from the thousands of innocent Human children harvested by Hags over the centuries of its construction. Setting a sealed black-hide bag upon the table, she cut it carefully open with an adamantine blade, its edge dulling as she worked with an unfortunate but necessary haste. With the last layer breached, a white glow showed through the gaps, and she cautiously peeled the protective material away to reveal a glowing container larger than her head. Like her dagger crafted from Eleftherios¡¯ feather, a feather sliver from the facet of War, Laodice, needed careful precautions to use without risk to oneself. Aggie¡¯s PoV ¨C Eyrarh¨¢ls ¨C Mid-afternoon Second Day Focusing on the scrying mirror helps me reach past the pain of seeing Artemis¡¯ visage. The one and only time I¡¯d seen her actual face was in the vision of her declaring me despoiled. None of the Temple statues do her justice, but it¡¯s a beauty that holds a cruel edge. Though I¡¯ll admit I can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m simply set on seeing it that way, but her expression makes her marble busts seem warm. The way she walks around monitoring the soldiers, casually stepping over even dead children, has me wondering if she sees anything in the world except her prey. Her coldness dredges up memories of Actaeon¡¯s tale, provoking the thought that she¡¯d enjoyed hunting him. Had it all been an excuse for her to torture someone? Was it to enjoy her dogs ripping a Human apart that she¡¯d forced into a stag¡¯s form? According to the tale, his offense was he¡¯d seen her bathing. Had he seen her naked at all? If she was so great a huntress, how had she not heard his approach? Livia¡¯s hand resting on my arm almost breaks my distracted mind from the mirror. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be the one to deal with her.¡± Rather than answer, I keep shifting the perspective around the ruins of the town I¡¯d known. A vibrant place now full of the dead and dying, but if we rush, all we might do is join them. I stop when I spot a youth directing soldiers ransacking the local Jarl¡¯s Hall. He hadn¡¯t been a perfect man, but he was honourable. He¡¯d hosted me to talk about Amdirlain¡¯s tenets and he¡¯d freed his holdings¡¯ thralls with his own funds when I¡¯d finished speaking. His wife had commissioned a carving of Amdirlain¡¯s symbol, even asking me to bless it when I next visited. She¡¯d set it in the family¡¯s shrine, placing it next to Tyr¡¯s among the higher platforms. ¡°That¡¯s another; I can see a Mantle¡¯s aura on him,¡± Livia says, pointing at the lounging figure. ¡°Plutus, I assume; God of Wealth and Greed,¡± I reply, forcing my jaw to unclench. He sneers at the Jarl¡¯s family sword before casting it aside like trash¡ªI¡¯d last seen the Jarl¡¯s fourteen-year-old trying his strength to lift its man-height length. ¡°He looks just like his statues.¡± ¡°It looks like him,¡± confirms Mithras. I glance up to get caught in his blue hawk-like gaze, and I lose my connection to the mirror. ¡°Does anyone want to see anything more?¡± Torm asks, with the image suddenly absent from the crystal. His grim expression might be gone, but his eyes have grown flinty the more dead we¡¯ve seen while scrying the town. Taking bracers from her forearms, Livia puts them on me, her hands quicker than I¡¯ve seen anyone but Farhad move. ¡°M¨®eir''s. They deflect ranged attacks. Artemis and Apollo both favour bows. I hadn¡¯t expected you to want Artemis¡¯ Mantle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it, I¡¯ll give it away; I need to make sure she¡¯s dead,¡± I say, and Livia just nods. ¡°Care to help?¡± ¡°Is this a thing with Amdirlain¡¯s followers?¡± asks Fen, guesting to Runa. ¡°She doesn¡¯t want hands or a Mantle, and you don¡¯t want Artemis¡¯ Mantle.¡± ¡°Artemis needs to be kept busy or dealt with. Yet I¡¯m not the only woman she¡¯s tossed aside or tormented, so benefiting from her demise feels wrong,¡± I state. Livia smiles brightly at Fen. ¡°Mother says the Titan never rewards the quick routes to power. I think it fixated her followers on working hard.¡± Mithras froze at Livia''s reference to the Titan and looked at her wide-eyed, but Tyr suddenly found the table¡¯s map fascinating. ¡°Your mother claims to know what the Titan rewards?¡± Her smile remains in place as Livia glances at Mithras. ¡°We have murderers to stop. Are you coming?¡± ¡°Mirage, I¡¯ve got two companies forming up. Thank you for messaging me. Give us to a count of a hundred and we¡¯ll be ready on the training ground.¡± The woman¡¯s voice draws my attention to the door just in time to catch her veiled face hurrying away. ¡°You were worried about a trap, so I let Tomila know there were Grecian troops about,¡± states Mirage. ¡°Oh, Tomila is a Priestess. I¡¯d best make sure she stays safe, along with the other followers. Not that I couldn¡¯t have used that reasoning with you, Aggie, but I¡¯ll let you pummel a Goddess to death yourself.¡± Torm¡¯s snort sounds out when Runa zips off, beating her out the door. * * * Tomila is true to her word, and she¡¯s gathered two companies in a tight formation and ready to be teleported, before we even get there. The companies don¡¯t have a single skill-set, variations in gear show what to look for if you know: all have Wizard, but combined with Scout, Fighter, Monk or Priest, some with multiple classes. Hard to tell if you don¡¯t know them; but I¡¯ve spoken to enough. Some still have tear-stained eyes, but everyone stands ready to go, all their normal equipment in place and extra wands poking out of carriers strapped to calves or thighs. Another captain stands ready with Tomila and we exchange quick introductions. The second captain is Aleena, a Slavic woman I recognise from among those rescued on the same day as me. Her ice-chip blue eyes and pale blond hair are unchanged. She doesn¡¯t wear a veil even though her face bears healed marks from when a Gnarls¡¯ claws caressed her. A spider¡¯s web of shiny flesh, she wears them with fierce pride. Considered a champion in the Green Tide War, she even ventured into the depths of the Sahuagin¡¯s city to slay their Queens. She¡¯s one of the few other High Priests, and unlike me, she has levelled the Priest Class completely in Amdirlain¡¯s service. I hadn''t ever asked her what Tier she¡¯d earned, but she moves with Livia¡¯s grace. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°You have two priority interior groups, plus looting soldiers spread through the town, and a rear guard at the gate. Two targets in the Temple Square, one target at the Jarl¡¯s Hall, both with soldiers accompanying them,¡± Tomila states, summarising the information Liran? quickly shared. ¡°Correct?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± Aleena looking thoughtful and gives Liran? a polite nod, ignoring her unique aesthetic. ¡°Hlioir has a circular hub layout, five districts made up of an inner district with four outer ones set up in quadrants. The east gate is the one they¡¯ve broken. The Jarl¡¯s Hall is within the inner district, along with the wealthier households; Temple Square is in the southern. Aside from the inner district, the richest district is north, so in a normal raid they¡¯d have the most looters pillaging there. The Jarl¡¯s family should have expanded the walls long ago, instead, they¡¯ve packed the houses in tight. It¡¯ll take time to clear properly with three or four layers each, plus basements, to check.¡± ¡°Can you use Greater Teleport or do you need someone that can?¡± asks Tomila, when Aleena finishes up. ¡°I can move a company,¡± Livia offers, and Torm likewise nods. ¡°You¡¯ll just need to Teleport your escort,¡± says Tomila. Raising her voice so her words are audible to all. ¡°First Platoon spilt by ranks, the first rank escort details on Livia, second and third on Torm and Aggie. Second and third platoon you¡¯ll secure the main Gate, and then seal the east side of town to ensure no strays circle in. Second company will move inside and sweeps northwards through the east district, securing every street junction and taking down any of these invading arseholes that so much as twitches. One block at a time, no rushing, loop along when you hit the wall. Any survivors, send them out over the wall, direct them to head to the east gate.¡± Even as Tomila speaks, Aleena orders observers from other companies to shake it off and get ready to assist, and I watch some hurry away. When I turn back to Tomila, she''s handing out carved stones and Mithras looks at them curiously. ¡°They¡¯re not warding stones; they¡¯re just mundane keys. The companies will put down holding runes that anyone not carrying one of those will trigger, we¡¯ll clear them when the fighting is done. They all know what pattern the key is currently.¡± ¡°Any further instructions?¡± asks Torm, with genuine amusement. ¡°Come in on the western side of the Temple Square, not that it¡¯s a square really. When you hear the explosions, cut loose. Don¡¯t die, have fun, and go.¡± At her go, the platoons not allocated to back us up disappear and Tomila vanishes with them. Torm doesn¡¯t even mutter. Our group reappears around the corner from the square fortunately without a soldier in sight. Farhad and Liran? look far more composed than I feel but flank the ranks that have accompanied us. Wands appear in various hands though I know they¡¯ll likely use spells first and rely on those second. We start forward and Mithras moves beside me with the rank split to either side. At first, I think he¡¯s unaffected by all the death, but I catch his gaze moving continually across the faces of the dead stopping on every child. By the time we reach the Temple Square I¡¯ve got multiple spells held within Ki Infusion ready to share with Artemis; I doubt she''ll enjoy the gifts. The square they¡¯ve been ransacking was much like Eyrarh¨¢ls¡¯ own, though more oval. A ring of temples with a lightly shaded green space in a crowded town. It¡¯s a place for the townsfolk to stop in the shade and talk after whatever Temple service they¡¯ve attended. Normally, in late spring, the trees hold ripening fruit, free to all, but the only thing they hold aloft now are flames. Artemis and Apollo aren¡¯t arguing when we spot them; the first explosions from the cadre¡¯s spells have their attention directed to the east. The Temple Square is littered with bodies, and soldiers are preparing more clay pots to toss into those temples not already ablaze. Flames lick across the stone from within Tyr¡¯s Temple, and a squad turns away from adding another clay pot to the blaze. Mithras¡¯ Spell has them buckling at the knees and cracking the flagstones beneath their feet. Staggered by the pressure, Apollo¡¯s lightly held bow falls from his hands. Torm shifts balance but he doesn¡¯t just run in, he teleports. Suddenly beside Apollo, Torm¡¯s kick blurs forward, driving hard into Apollo¡¯s back and, in a spray of blood, he¡¯s airborne towards Tyr¡¯s defiled Temple. The soldiers that had been between him and the doors burst apart on impact. Burning wood from the doors seed the air with splinters that mingle with Apollo¡¯s blood, and Torm disappears again. Almost at once, an Angelic Aura radiates outwards from the Temple¡¯s interior. Radiating from the shattered windows and doors, it creates long tunnels through the smoke, and wherever the pure light touches flames, it snuffs them out. ¡°Brother.¡± The word is still leaving Artemis¡¯ mouth when my Teleport sets me close. With her mouth open, I can see Artemis¡¯ perfect white teeth and lying pink tongue. The mere finger width she¡¯s drawn her bow has it shrouded in electricity that runs along the arrow¡¯s shaft and turns both silver with the power. She¡¯s fast, but still far slower than I¡¯d expected, and her eyes are only widening before my fist smears her straight nose across her cheek. Though she keeps a grip on the bow, the momentum of my blow turns her and the arrow flies from her light draw grip. A sliding step puts me out of her line of sight. She shimmers for a moment yet stays in place. Copying Torm, my kick with Ki Strike sends her into a burning tree three metres away. She¡¯s gone one way, the bow another, and the squad¡¯s spells blast more soldiers into so much dead meat. Farhad blurs past, the bow vanishes, and a Celestial Hoplite I hadn¡¯t spotted until he screamed is torn apart. His still-helmed head bouncing off the ground by Artemis¡¯ feet. Rolling away from the tree, she comes up covered in flames caused by whatever magics they¡¯ve used to burn greenwood. The enchanted flames cling to leather and flesh, but she doesn¡¯t burn; the flames merely silhouette her form. Artemis steps sideways, her knife darting about, trying to herd me into setting my back to the few living soldiers. The few arrows and javelins sent my way are more endangering her than me. As she tries to get me to turn again, Ki Movement hurtles me forward, adding momentum to my blow, and puts her back into the tree. Striking hard and fast, I keep her pinned to the tree, every punch and strike that land rupturing flesh with Ki and Mana alike. Countering her attempts to grapple me with elbow strikes and headbutts, I don¡¯t allow her space to act, enduring her bites and slipping her attempts to eye-gouge. Danger Sense warns me repeatedly, letting me disarm her of the daggers appearing in her hands, and I go right back to trying to smash my fists through her. The steadily splitting trunk finally gives in and splits down the middle, having given into the combination of flames and body-cracking blows. Darting back in a hurry, I get clear before its branches entangle me. Liran?¡¯s mental touch warns me to shift left and I abort closing on Artemis again. Apollo comes back out of Tyr¡¯s Temple, widening the door in a spray of stone. A moment of Liran?¡¯s focus has the largest pieces pulp the last remaining soldiers. Their corpses are still spinning across the ground when Apollo stops tumbling. Artemis, bloodied and battered, still rises with a new dagger in each hand. They¡¯re coated in something that¡ªeven surrounded by the dead, smoke, and flames¡ªfills the air with the clear scent of rotting meat. The vileness creates a haze, making the edges hard to judge amid the smoke. Her once beautiful features are now battered, but the feral hatred in her gaze is more suitable to her nature. Her pained movements smooth out, but she approaches carefully, and I use the time to set a dangerous Spell within Ki Infusion. Close enough at last, she lunges at me with a speed borne of desperation, and careful of the blade, I give ground. She feints and swipes, trying to herd me again and get me to leave an opening, but when next she lunges, the blade twists upwards in her grasp. The distraction is enough to let me get in close. Dropping low, I hammer a fist into her front knee and through my knuckles I feel the joint pop and the leg give in as the bone and ligaments rupture. Her lunge turns into a fall that put her full weight and momentum onto my hook punch from knee level straight into her sternum. Releasing my Spell from Ki Infusion sends a blast of Chaos Lightning through her body at an angle, obliterating burning branches above us and part of Loki¡¯s Temple front. Under the blow, I feel the bone change and rupture, pulping into her heart¡¯s heavy muscles as her ribcage separates. The knives clatter to the ground from twitching hands. For a moment, with her face close to mine, it seems there is recognition in her gaze. But with the light fading from her eyes, she looks beyond me instead. ¡°Broken ar¡­¡± The words are a dying exhalation brushing my cheek, carrying a gush of blood before I can push her corpse away. The Mantle settles across me, and it feels like clothing someone else has worn too long. Trying to chafe in some places while others hang too loose, I shudder to keep as free from it as possible. I¡¯d wanted her dead and the world free from her. I didn¡¯t want this thing. I recognised some elements of the hunt in the Prestige Class I¡¯d chosen, the travelling, and providing for others, though now its food for the Soul instead of the body. Her desire for chastity chafes at me because while Amdirlain might restrain herself, she certainly doesn¡¯t expect it from the rest of us. My desire for freedom in life and love, which Amdirlain encouraged, battles against this ill fit. Another crash turns me toward Torm¡¯s fight, and I wonder how Apollo isn¡¯t already dead. Under Torm¡¯s battering attacks, he¡¯s now missing fingers, and frost oozes from broken flesh where his healing retracts jutting bone shards. With Apollo standing side-on across the square, I see ribbons of blackness oozing from where Torm has ripped his left ear away. A worm-like thing, its growing length consumes the surrounding smoke. With its appearance, Torm lashes out again, but this time his sword is in his grasp, and Winter¡¯s Heart plunges deep. Where the finely crafted frost blade should show through his back, instead fragmenting shards of planar ice and a blue Laen frame is dissolving as the Yin consumes them. The energy in the blade¡¯s enchantments, unbinding from the materials, cause the remains to burst into steam, and Apollo is gone. An explosion of blackness blots out the sun, casting the square into darkness, as above us ink blankets the sky, only to consume itself and light return. A golden script shines within my mind, containing a simple and brutal epitaph: One of Tyr¡¯s servants has slaughtered Apollo. Torm¡¯s hard shudder draws my attention to catch him motioning towards Mithras. The God straightens when I assume the Mantle settles in place, but it doesn¡¯t stop him from dropping another Spell, crushing soldiers that have been trying to enter the square. A second message comes shortly before a golden flame reaches far above the town¡¯s inner wall, and I receive a third. The golden script announcing Livia has crushed Plutus didn¡¯t come as a surprise, but Aleena¡¯s incineration of Hecate did. Soldiers that had been trying to get into the square break and run, only to be cut down before they¡¯re out of sight. Dozens go down, clutching their heads and screaming only to go silent with blood leaking from their ears. With the dead civilians, adults and children, littering the streets, it seems none of us wants prisoners. * * * The fighting continues through the streets, but trained or not, focused spells don¡¯t give the hoplites much chance. Those that get too close to our soldiers are taken apart with fists or blades. The swirl of battle and rescue work splits our group repeatedly, before Liran? and I meet up with Tomila again. The rank with her were putting fist-sized stones through fleeing hoplites. Given the explosions they¡¯d used prior to fighting Artemis, I hadn¡¯t expected them to use such simple spells. Whatever my expression Tomila nods in greeting before she explains. ¡°Mana conservation¡ªno point using Mana on running filth that could help put things right.¡± ¡°Thanks for the support today, Captain Tomila. How are the companies holding up?¡± ¡°Some assorted injuries but nothing that the healers can¡¯t handle. Main roads have runes in place. Now we¡¯ve got scout groups starting work with Torm, Livia, and Leira to find hiding and injured civilians. So, do I address you as Goddess Slayer Aggie or still just High Traveller?¡± I¡¯m wincing at her offered title when she waves towards the inner wall. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one. I¡¯ve had reports that Livia and her backup took care of that little fucker Plutus. During the fight the group¡¯s spell barrier caught a fire blast from Hecate, and Aleena counter spelled a second blast into her face. The fight only lasted a few more exchanges before she went down under a pillar of Celestial Fire. Surprised she didn¡¯t flee.¡± ¡°Know that she indeed tried, but I was aware of the fight from Aleena¡¯s mind and anchored her dimensionally. Know it¡¯s fortunate that Aleena was present since Livia¡¯s mind has become increasingly slippery with all her practice,¡± Liran? states. The brief tic at the corner of her mouth might have been a smile, and she fixes me with a knowing look. ¡°Where did Livia get off to?¡± I ask, not having seen her since we teleported from Eyrarh¨¢ls. Tilting her head towards the setting sun Tomila sighs. ¡°She¡¯s working with groups in the west district, two other priestesses with her, along with some monks. Hopefully, they find plenty of folks still in a state they can help; I don¡¯t know about you, but streets of dead are nearly all we¡¯ve found. I pray there are folks in hiding, though unless Hlioir¡¯s got massive basements, it¡¯s unlikely to be enough to re-establish the place.¡± ¡°I might go with a team and help. So many dead, I can bring back some, but this¡­¡± ¡°We can only help who we can help,¡± Tomila intones, and I recognise the words from Amdirlain. ¡°Know that while many have indeed died, there are many minds below ground and, I believe in hiding places, though their thoughts make little sense. Know that I can help determine which buildings have living within, but the town is awash with their thoughts,¡± offered Liran?. ¡°And with the companies spread out, it¡¯s impossible to co-ordinate this many?¡± asked Tomila. Liran? nods glumly and I look at her suspiciously for the exaggerated motion. ¡°Know you are correct; your primitive minds make such impossible.¡± * * * Each building I mark off is another someone else doesn¡¯t have to handle, as hours feel like they¡¯ve stretched out endlessly. Surviving locals come out of hiding as the day turns into night, helping us sort out the dead, and the wounded. Working through one building after another, brings occasionally, burst of excitement that shifts the tedium of the horror. The smell of burnt flesh hits me as I push open yet another apartment door and take in the scene before me. The living space is a mess of destroyed furniture, but those are just replaceable things, her body is another matter. Lying face down over the kitchen table, as if discarded like a broken rag doll, the Grecians had provided the woman with no respect, even in death. She looks as if someone has shoved a giant scoop into her back. The blow, severing her spinal column just below her shoulders, runs in a straight line, hooking out her heart, lungs, and pieces of fragmented ribs up through her back. The massive wound is so precise it¡¯s left her neck barely connected to her shoulders, hanging by undamaged muscles. The sign of lightning damage makes me wonder how many weapons like Artemis¡¯ bow they possess. Still, for her, it only took one; charred flesh reveals burst capillaries, and the stubble of hair burnt away. Yet there is no blood in the room despite shredded clothing and burnt flesh awash with it. It looks so fresh and wet, but there is only silence here now, and I can only wish we¡¯d gotten here sooner. If I¡¯d been faster clearing buildings, or picked a different route, could I have stopped this horrible murder? Danger Sense quiet, I still cross the room carefully. Finally stepping close, I reach down to ensure her eyes are closed, planning to straighten her body next and I realise they¡¯re blue crystals, now empty of life. ¡°Torm, Livia¡¯s dead!¡± I¡¯ve barely sent my Message when a metallic smell fills the air, and my world goes red in a blinding flash. 200 - Sleeping in the cold below Livia¡¯s PoV Blackness surges only a moment behind a wave of pain, and I can only blink at what¡¯s suddenly before me. A corridor stretched onwards, with endless rows of people standing in lines on dull grey stone squares. Those waiting nearby vary widely in their attire, from simple crisscrossed robes secured with a cloth waistband and woven straw sandals to elaborate printed silk dresses with dozens of layers. The ones far ahead stand within a fog that makes them appear colourless. Yet beneath my feet, a white silk carpet stretches in the same direction. It¡¯s an atmosphere and sight instantly recognisable from Master Farhad and Master Cyrus¡¯ tales: Judge Po¡¯s waiting room. A raised desk appears in front of me with a young man seated behind it. His skin is olive-yellow, with narrowed eyes, straight black hair, and a short, spiked beard. He looks me over, and his lips purse in a fashion that might as well scream his haughty disapproval. I hope my Prestige Class won¡¯t cause headaches for Tyr. His attire is an unadorned black-on-white coat and shirt with strange loops that hold the front of it closed along one side before it angles up his throat. It¡¯s there where the shirt¡¯s high white-collar peaks above the jacket¡ªan accent around his neck. The long sleeves come down to his wrist where the shirt¡¯s white shows almost as a border jutting from the coat when they reach his hands. The desk is immaculate, with smoothly black lacquered panels inset with elaborated gold patterns extending along its top and front. I recognise the symbols of the four winds sitting at the cardinal points of that panel and the Jade Emperor¡¯s mark in the middle. Only the swirls of wood grain¡ªbarely visible¡ªaccenting the gold let me determine there is wood beneath, not black jade. I¡¯m still taking in the elaborate desk, ignoring his disapproving sigh when he removes a stack of white, flimsy-looking square paper from a desk drawer. ¡°Name.¡± His lips don¡¯t move in time with the single word, and the previously blank paper before him blurs to show far more lines for answers than I would have believed possible. ¡°Am I in Judge Po¡¯s court?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t your name; state your name.¡± the scribe says out of sync with his lips¡¯ movements, and I wonder how much whatever translation is occurring leaves out. A lifted hand sudden holds a brush glistening with black ink. ¡°Livia.¡± The symbols that go down on the paper are black, smooth flowing lines with complicated swirls, but nothing like the decoration on his table. ¡°And?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± The scribe eases his brushes away from the paper, despite no ink threatening to drip from the tool he lightly holds. ¡°Is that your family name, village name, or first name?¡± ¡°My first name is Livia; I was born in Nova Roma, daughter of Amdirlain.¡± In time with my words, the scribe writes further in his strange script and gives the page a stern look as if expecting something to occur. After a long minute of waiting, I go to offer more information, and he motions with a finger. When he lifts it, I can feel him touch my lips, even though his hand doesn¡¯t reach. The first aura I¡¯ve seen here shows me a thin line of jade green Ki, and I study his Power¡¯s projection while I wait. Finally, he gives up and sets the brush down with its tip resting in a white bowl that simply appeared. Only once it¡¯s settled in place does he bring forth stacks of white jade plaques from another drawer. Shuffling through them, he stops and looks at me again. ¡°I don¡¯t have a plaque for you. Who is your Master?¡± ¡°I serve Tyr,¡± I answer quickly. The clerk¡¯s eyebrows rise to meet his fringe. ¡°That isn¡¯t a Mandarin name, nor one I recognise. How did you gain your Immortal Spirit?¡± ¡°Master Cyrus guided me in gaining a Bodhisattva Prestige Class, but he said he was unsure how I qualified for it.¡± ¡°What is this Prestige Class then?¡± ¡°Primordial Bodhisattva.¡± ¡°You certainly don¡¯t seem like a daughter of Sun Wukong to have such a Class,¡± the clerk snorts. He shakes his head and carefully takes his time replacing the plaques in the drawer before considering me again. ¡°And this is the first time you¡¯ve been here?¡± I nod, and he raises a hand to stop me from continuing. ¡°That explains much; with such a Class, your paperwork is still likely being reviewed. Wait!¡± He disappears, and the silence settles in. Despite his barked order, none of those waiting has looked around. Those I¡¯d seen before now appear further away and drained of colour. More suddenly appear, causing the queues to stretch past me on either side. When their colours bleed, I look at myself in my typical loose clothing robes. Though I¡¯ve stood here for longer than the new arrivals, my clothing¡¯s blacks and greys remain intact. Torm¡¯s PoV ¨C Late Evening ¨C- 2nd Day ¡°Torm, Livia¡¯s dead!¡± Aggie¡¯s Message rips through me, prompting denial even as a golden script glows within my awareness. Yet I can¡¯t understand why there wasn¡¯t a message for Livia. The brutal news of Raivo¡¯s kill makes me want to scream with rage: Raivo has snared the new Huntress Aggie in a lethal trap. There won¡¯t be any chance of a response from Aggie, so I send one to Liran? instead, trying to keep my politeness intact. ¡°Were you in touch with Aggie or knew where she was working?¡± I don¡¯t get a reply immediately, but suddenly I feel her mental connection touch my mind. Her voice felt distracted, with thousands of whispers carried within it. ¡°Know that I saw the message as well. Know that I tried to locate Aggie and have succeeded, but her killer is already gone.¡± An image comes across her mental touch of two bodies draped across a table. Aggie is only recognisable because of the bracers Livia gave her, but even they are badly melted. Her body slumped over the remains on the table, has a hole stabbed through the back of her head. The strike¡¯s pressure forced an eye from its socket, where it boiled in the electricity that burned her clothing from her. I can¡¯t think of the broken and charred body beneath her as Livia. The charred flesh, broken limbs, and wounds stripped the sense of her liveliness away. The only hiding place in the sparsely furnished home is a small storage nook thick with darkness that seems only a hand span deep. With the image of the room too strongly in place, I active Angelic Aura, brightening the courtyard I¡¯m helping healers in and Teleport. With my arrival, the shadows flex and scurry away, my Angelic Aura dismissing them but illuminating the grisly scene too clearly. Liran?¡¯s mental warning follows my appearance, yet I hear the corridor¡¯s floorboards shift under her weight before she speaks from the doorway. ¡°Know I¡¯ll examine the bodies first. Know that I might learn of their killer.¡± ¡°Amdirlain mentioned techniques to see the past?¡± I ask hopefully, the lack of a message about Livia¡¯s death itching at me. ¡°Can we be sure that¡¯s Livia and not a plant? There was no message.¡± ¡°Know, while not a specialist in Clairsentience, I possess a high Master rank in the Skill,¡± replies Liran?. ¡°Know she¡¯d passed the Mantle along to another because it didn¡¯t sit well with her Prestige Class, but I won¡¯t say who has it.¡± Through the mind touch, I feel her move people away, providing a quick burst of information that quiets the surprised protests. Among them, Aleena¡¯s mind is already seething with rage and guilt. It¡¯s such a pang of intense regret that I know to whom Livia gave the Mantle without asking. The moment I move towards the bodies, Liran? lifts her hand. ¡°Know I¡¯d like you to disable your aura¡¯s light as its purging traces. Know I can feel something, but it is like phase-spider webs hiding in plain sight just beyond the edges of the physical world.¡± Pulling in my aura plunges the apartment into near darkness, only an old crystal providing dim illumination from one wall, but that doesn¡¯t appear to hamper Liran?. Not stepping towards the bodies, Aggie floats towards us, and Liran? lays it out on a suddenly clear floor. While keeping watch, I could hear her touching the head wound and didn¡¯t want to look after that. ¡°Know I can feel several things: it was a Demon eager for her pain, frustrated that Livia no longer had the Mantle he wanted. Know that he watched from deep within the shadows; they raised canyon-like walls about him, letting him see out into the light where he¡¯d position the bait in a way to obscure her identity.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect your techniques to let you know his emotions,¡± I admit, unsure what to make of something that can delve into a Demon¡¯s reasoning. ¡°Know it picks up many things that Assassin abilities would otherwise conceal unless they have Psionic abilities themselves.¡± Liran? rose, but I motioned to Aggie before she could move away. ¡°Can I cover her or resurrect her now?¡± Drawing a blanket from a pouch at her waist, Liran? quickly tucks it around Aggie, covering her from head to toe. ¡°Know that I might need to examine the injury further. First, will you let me see if what I¡¯ve learnt will help?¡± The body, no, I need to admit it¡¯s Livia, floats over, looking barely human, more charred pieces barely stay together from being near lightning twice. Before Liran? can say anything, I take out a blanket I carry in my Oath-stone for Mortal emergencies and carefully enfold her. I failed to protect her. Even if she was far more potent than when I¡¯d made that promise, the failure twists a knife inside my chest. Someone is always deadlier, faster, or luckier, but losing them both has bile rising in my throat. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Moving to crouch near the storage space, Liran? seems to listen; her head tilted, eyes slightly closed. Her fingers trace across something in the air, and she shifts position to plunge her hand into the shadows further than it should go. When she withdraws it, she has a fist full of mist trying to wiggle free from her grip. ¡°Know that there are things alive within these shadow tunnels.¡± Not knowing what to make of the tunnel¡¯s existence, I focus on the now. ¡°How will that help us?¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s still alive, and he has touched it, providing me with more traces. Know you can restore them now,¡± Liran? states calmly, motioning to the ladies. Her expression of sadness is such a subtle shift that it''s only apparent because of True Sight. ¡°Know, I believe we should ask Master Farhad after I¡¯ve rested. Unless you believe we fight him immediately after the day we¡¯ve had?¡± Her words cut off the protest that had been on my lips, and I kneel next to Livia and gently touched her blackened skin. The Power sinks into her, falling like it is plunging into a bottomless well. Nothing happens without a Soul to guide the body''s reformation, no matter how hard I try. ¡°Stop!¡± snaps Liran?. ¡°Know that I can feel the strain in you; I suggest you try on Aggie and see if she is not the same.¡± ¡°Do you think he has her Soul?¡± I ask, hoping that Amdirlain was right about most Demons¡¯ inability to capture unwilling Souls. ¡°Know I do not know of Souls, but continuing with something that isn¡¯t working may just waste your reserves.¡± This time the Power feels like I expect not plummeting away; it sets a beacon in Aggie¡¯s flesh and lets me reach out to offer her a way back. I can feel her at the threshold of the Outlands. The confused state of the new Petitioner has led her to follow the Spire¡¯s siren call, but my offer to restore her is readily accepted. Her body stitches together beneath the blanket in a glowing light, the Resurrection¡¯s Power was leaving fewer traces than Raise Dead. The flesh seals together and smooths out, but she¡¯s still left with burnt stubble where her hair had been. Her burst left eye is whole when she blinks and opens to show both her eyes are orbs of burnished gold. ¡°Livia?¡± The first question from her lips has me blinking back tears. ¡°She¡¯s not answering. I don¡¯t know why.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t I see a gold script that she died?¡± asks Aggie immediately, and I wonder at her clarity so quickly. ¡°There was no message.¡± ¡°She no longer had the Mantle; it clashed with her Class. But it¡¯s why he killed both of you: for the mantles,¡± I say. The messages don¡¯t occur for transfers.¡± She nods before her lips twist in disgust. ¡°Who was it? Can we find him? I want him dead.¡± Liran?¡¯s mental touch warns me against responding aloud. ¡°Know that I¡¯m not aware if Raivo is scrying us now or something else, but there was a sense he was stalking both of you. We should plan only through my mental links and leave all others in silence. Shall we find Master Farhad and plan while I track him down?¡± ¡°How did my race change to Paragon?¡± murmurs Aggie, my confusion echoing her own. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin - Late Evening - Second Day I¡¯d left the combat class to celebrate my¡ªapparently¡ªgood news and get my thoughts worked out. The excitement in the Domain, as word spread, buffeted against my own mixed emotions as I worked to keep them straight. Me being a mother sounds like a recipe for a child that hates me. Yet would any of them believe my concerns? Various Petitioners have told me that breathing isn¡¯t something they¡¯d considered until they found themselves unbreathing. I¡¯d never understood how a Greater Power could know people were saying their name without being distracted. Now I know it¡¯s a whisper on the edge of awareness, and knowing what¡¯s occurring takes no concentration, like a living person¡¯s breathing. I simply have a memory of them, and when I consider the prayers, I know the choice I¡¯d made, but it wasn¡¯t even a conscious choice until I stopped to think afterwards. But, it¡¯s not a distraction; it¡¯s just more information, like being able to sense everything around me. I can tell the urgency of why my name was said: mundane conversations, cursing me, asking a Priest questions about me, or a genuine need for help. Thousands of them in any one moment is the slightest breath of existence. The absorption of the details is instant, joining with the knowledge needed, and I know and act on what needs attention immediately. It doesn¡¯t matter if I¡¯m standing, flying, fighting, running, checking the river¡¯s depth for playing children, or laying on the bed; I can feel them. Yet I can feel the strength of their world¡¯s link and know the limits of what I can send to aid them. My connection to some planets is like woven bridges of vines, compared to the stone bridge that controls how much of Amdirlain¡¯s power I can send to Letveri. Among the Planes themselves, there seems to be no restriction. I¡¯m not sure what the faithful would make of it, but I¡¯m the custodian or the quartermaster. The power is hers, and I hope I¡¯ll always feel that way. I¡¯m likely one of the last beings in her service that she should have trusted to keep them safe for her, and yet she trusted me to do it. Aggie gaining a Mantle causes a rippling through the channel between us. I can only listen to her prayers for advice and send the reassurance I can that the choice is hers to keep or discard it, with no ill-will from me. The flood of blessings used by priestesses in Hlioir paints a picture of the dead, dying, and fewer injuries. I¡¯m not sure there is any sound logic about whom to raise first, but those that can are wearing themselves out, channelling blessings to restore those they can. Among the lulling work, Aggie¡¯s death causes surprise to spike within the Mantle, and when I focus on the sensation, she¡¯s already crossing into the Outlands. Energy from another brushed against my connection to her. We both recognise Torm, and when I feel her desire to return, I help her on her way with a mote of the golden energy Amdirlain added to the Domain. A press of knowledge on Raivo¡¯s background and fighting style gifted along with the power. I feel the echo of Aggie¡¯s notice as her Soul re-joins flesh. Though I¡¯d heard enough of Paragons, agents of their Deity¡¯s plan, to know I¡¯d better be more careful dispensing that energy. The Deity I¡¯d trust to tell me more is stuck on Veht?, and I will not visit Bahamut. I¡¯ll ask Mirage to question Tyr in the morning since he needs rest without the Mantle¡¯s energy. Stretching out on the bed feels strange without Farhad present, but then the house feels odd without him. The rooms mainly containing his necessities echo and sound odd without his living presence. Now, after so many years apart, I want him here. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve grown clingy or if this even counts, but I want my husband with me for our child¡¯s birth. I don¡¯t even need a Spell to know it¡¯s true that she¡¯s ours. Whenever my focus brushes against her, it brings an absolute knowledge that she¡¯s a new beginning we created between us, and I want him here. The sunlight has remained consistent across the Domain, feeding every building power that they send off to the crystal plinths that we might now never need. Yet regardless, they are still there and illustrate that Amdirlain¡¯s focus was to keep us safe. Propping myself up slightly, I trace the slight change that I can already detect in the lines of my abdomen. There¡¯s no reaction, but there are a few days ahead before the baby¡¯s wiggling will be to the point I can notice, at least without focusing inside my womb. ¡°Amdirlain, where are you? I need someone I trust to tell me how to be a mother,¡± I grumble. Focusing again on the foetus¡¯s form, I watch her steady growth, but my awareness just slides off the golden Soul. I sigh when I find myself staring at Farhad¡¯s desk. ¡°I know nothing about being a proper mother, so I hope you let me know when I¡¯m screwing up.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV A loud voice calling her name made her stir, and the cold water around her snapped Amdirlain upright with the thought she¡¯d fallen asleep in the bath again. The suddenly ice-cold water streaming off her body made her gasp, and the memory of the voice washed away. Gone was the mirrored cylinder and Yin tornado that she remembered. The chamber¡¯s walls were grey-white stone. It was large, nearly fourteen metres across, and its walls arched far above to provide plenty of space for the two trees inside. A wide passage of unadorned stone stretches off at the pool''s far end. A crawlspace extends into the stone concealed by one tree. The two trees stood on opposite sides of the pool, an apple and an orange, laden with every shade of their fruit she¡¯d ever seen and more. Though the fruit looked ripe, none had fallen to the thick green grass below. Did apples come in purple? The sudden feeling of cloth across her body prompted Amdirlain to look down, and she caught her gaze in the lapping water of the knee-deep pool. Irises of polished gold seemed the source of the soft golden glow washing from the whites of her eyes, or the gel itself glowed. Her reflection in the water showed her the Anar features and lean body she recognised from both the Soul-scape and the form she wore following her argument with Viper. The tattoos were now bright with colour, containing a pain that itched beneath the surface of her skin. Even standing still, a strange weight within them swayed as if trying to throw her off-balance and out of tune with herself. The predominant colour of her dress was the same electric blue as her hair hanging long and loose, still wet from laying in the water. The way it clung brought forth the memory of the Mantle¡¯s roots dragging her into the Yin and sent a shiver up her spine. Her clothing seemed to continue the floral theme of her tattoos, but subtly clashed with it. While the rose vines in her tattoo were a red, vicious variety, the maker had hemmed the dress with a border of delicately embroidered baby¡¯s breath and white roses. It echoed the pattern on the shoulder straps and in the fabric¡¯s print of a summer dress that wouldn¡¯t be out of place on a Sydney street. [Welcome to the Maze Residence Program, former pseudo-power Amdirlain. You perished because of Yin Consumption while poisoning a God, who has since expired at another¡¯s hand. At the commencement of any trial, we will return you here for semi-safe keeping. During this time, please ensure you remain at the back of your provided shelter as much as you can to avoid temporary dismemberment by monsters. Depending on your powers, you might find some disabled in the Maze for the safety of yourself and others. Please enjoy your eternity of semi-restful and unfulfilling relaxation. This now concludes our welcome and safety announcement.] ¡°One down, at least,¡± Amdirlain grumbled to herself and gave a smile that was more of a snarl. ¡°But staying here? Yeah, not happening. Everyone will be mad enough with me as it is right now.¡± Forming a Message has its pattern gleaming instantly in her mind, yet nothing happens. With no Mana filling it, Amdirlain turned her focus to the pools within her. Her reserves of Ki and Psi had filled, but the Mana pool was dry and cycling to fill it drew nothing from the surrounding environment. An easy hop carried her out of the pool, and Amdirlain willed her hair to shorten, but the long locks remained; the familiar feel of Protean was simply non-responsive. A quick experiment found all her Ki Powers remained active, even Ki Flight, but her normal Flight Power and some other strange choices she found disabled or altered. Angelic Aura did nothing, likewise unsurprisingly Planar Shift, yet while Greater Teleport worked, it carried nothing with her, even leaving the dress behind. Walking to a wall, she lashed out with Ki Strike, and felt the power grounding into it. Though she didn¡¯t ?damage it, Tremor Sense let her track the vibrations. The wall was a wide swath of stone nearly eighty metres thick before the vibrations fell into a space about the length of her chamber. In contrast, those that radiated up or down eventually died with nothing detected. The psi technique Astral Projection lifted her free from flesh and tethered to it only by a silver cord; she felt the barrier that kept her within the current Plane. However, floating there, she felt the hundreds of thousands of minds hidden in the maze about her. From some, vileness twisted her interest away, but others seemed too innocent to be possible, and every spectrum in between. About her was a kaleidoscope of existence: warlike vibes came from some, while others seemed only interested in the turning seasons of their long-lost homes. Brushing across those closest to her, she felt their various auras: beings of honour, courage, gamblers, lovers, nature beings, mixed with those of pettiness, cruelty, and so much more. 201 - Lucky Liran?¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls - Morning Third Day The meeting when the others awake is simple and to the point: killing Raivo. Leaving them to it, I continued to work at the traces I¡¯d located the night before. Mentally scurrying through the shadow tunnels, I steadily feel the trail growing stronger as I work, from its freshness and the additional psionic residue throughout the tunnels aiding me. Even before dawn, the compound is busy with activity, and I keep my mind well shielded. Lowering the shield isn¡¯t something I want to do after Hlioir. The town immediately after the fighting had been bad enough, but the chaotic emotions brought by the survivors make things worse. The feelings are running high and have their unshielded thoughts, awash with a riot of noise and images¡ªhumans are headache-inducing. Understandable or not, the flurry of emotional highs and lows has too many with their thoughts whirling. The possible good news of Amdirlain and dealing with Apollo and his sister lifted spirits before Livia¡¯s death smashed them down again. While not exactly a member of the cadre¡¯s forces, she was Amdirlain¡¯s daughter. It was a double blow to have lost her and Aggie in such a fashion after their victory. She hadn¡¯t been the only one that died, but of the rank, she remained dead. Torm had resurrected Aggie, setting them on a razor¡¯s edge. Even if the rank were still recovering from being raised, their easily read emotions show they blamed themselves. It¡¯s just as well that none of the humans is Psionic, given the messy state of their minds and emotions. Still, their minds are simple; perhaps the apprentice healers could get practice here. Walking through the compound in the early pre-dawn air feels like Limbo with the darkness and the energy hovering in the air. The regularity of their day cycle, so closely aligned to our timekeeping, makes me wonder if the forerunners lived on a similar world. Breakfast is again a simple and solemn affair in the same dining room. There is a simple mixture of foods today, mainly meat and the strange things they call eggs cooked in half a dozen unappealing ways. A sampling of the table¡¯s bread and berries are enough to still my appetite this morning, even without the monastery providing more Psionic reserves. The wait for Leira to have a battle site ready sees me wandering through the compound again. The memorial building doors are wide open to allow a clear view of the flowers decorating the steps. Given the overly cheerful bright pinks and yellows, I can only assume they are offering them in hopes of her return. Standing by the doors gave a clear view through most of the compound, and I took time to determine what was happening. Lines of various ages waited patiently to approach that Priest and others, where they quietly clasped hands. It¡¯s when I notice young men and women that had been speaking to a Priest now casting a simple Spell that I pay attention to the faces. Among those queued at the training grounds¡¯ far end were survivors I¡¯d brought here from Hlioir, none of them in the cadre¡¯s uniform. Nearly thirty bleak-faced women appear near the board that lists the original platoons. Each one wears a uniform showing the signs of extended storage and a medallion with Amdirlain¡¯s, now Lerina¡¯s, symbol. One puts a hand to the board and removes a mark¡ªone our initial guide had said meant disbanded¡ªfrom beside a support platoon. As one, they walk towards those queued, spreading along the line to clasp hands without a word said. Then who they are couldn¡¯t be more transparent, even if I intended to read their minds. Can all her priests grant affinities? Despite my mind being closed off, I still notice Aleena¡¯s quiet approach and glance in her direction when she hesitates. ¡°The morning is going to be busy, so I wanted to give you these first.¡± Bringing forth a cloth pouch, she walks closer but hesitates in offering it to me. ¡°Know that I wasn¡¯t expecting anything to be returned to me,¡± I say, unsure where her confusion comes from. ¡°They¡¯re rank insignia, but in silver. We present them to those whose help we want to honour. You ensured Apollo paid for what he did,¡± explains Aleena. ¡°It¡¯s the best thanks we can give at present with everything going on, but let us know if you need any potions or magical items. Any full member will look to help wherever they can.¡± Giving a proper bow surprises her before I take the pouch and pour the silver crests into my hands. While hers are black and barely show against the dark brown leathers she wears, the ones she offers are bright silver and would be readily visible. The crest looks like miniature broken manacles, set flat against a white backplate. ¡°I¡¯d suggest not wearing them except in a town where we¡¯re welcome,¡± Aleena explains. ¡°These are only the third pair we¡¯ve given out in twelve years. We normally don¡¯t trust anyone with such open rights to ask for our members¡¯ help. You don¡¯t have to wear them, simply present them if you need help.¡± ¡°Know you have my thanks.¡± Aleena just smiles at me. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Even without what you did with Apollo and Artemis, you¡¯re helping find L¡­.¡± Blowing out a breath, she started again but changed the subject. ¡°I noticed you ate little at breakfast. I had heard your people are mainly vegetarian,¡± Aleena says. Though her voice is calm, the way her fingers press into her leg has me concerned for her. ¡°Know what happened wasn¡¯t your fault.¡± My words, intended in kindness, result in her posture stiffening, yet she nods jerkily like a puppet having its strings yanked. Aleena¡¯s nostrils flare, and she grits her teeth before finally managing a reply. ¡°I just¡­ that is, I want to let you know I¡¯ve ensured there will be suitable food available for future meals.¡± ¡°Know I didn¡¯t mean to offend and appreciate your kindness. Know there are often enough side dishes to make a meal, but this morning I wasn¡¯t hungry,¡± I say, hoping I understood the emotional context among her unpredictable reactions. I¡¯ve no wish to read a noisy mind already filled with pain. ¡°Is the Cadre mustering more people in?¡± I wait while she steadies herself and nods appropriately this time. ¡°We¡¯d left them with their families, but the leadership is taking a different approach after last night. If this war doesn¡¯t calm down soon, we won¡¯t be looking only to defend.¡± ¡°Know that I understand their pain, but-¡± Aleena¡¯s headshake stops me, and I wait while she considers her words. ¡°That isn¡¯t it, or not it completely. We¡¯ve had reports of nations fighting amongst themselves, not just against the Greeks, overnight. A legion from Remus wiped out a village in northern Egypt, and a cavalry unit from Darrius attacked a Hittite community. Those are the ones we¡¯ve heard about where we know who did it, but the scrying teams have found other locations already razed to the ground with no sign of who or why.¡± ¡°Know it¡¯s my hope you¡¯re not letting your second Mantle influence you,¡± I probe, wondering at the motives for going on the offensive. ¡°You¡¯re assuming I argued for this,¡± grumbles Aleena, crossing her arms in frustration. ¡°I¡¯d prefer most of our focus remains on keeping places safe and using small strikes. The cadre¡¯s council have decided that since others want war, we¡¯ll give them a war. They¡¯ve ordered the training of additional platoons to a basic combat level.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯d appreciate it if you let me know anything I can do to assist,¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got teams busy with Hlioir and preparing the surprise for Raivo. In the meantime, there is one threat with which you could help us. He¡¯s among those responsible for the circle,¡± Aleena says, her meaning clear enough. ¡°but he¡¯s sitting behind wards handing out orders.¡± ¡°Who is he?¡± ¡°The King of Crete. Care to help me remove a snake¡¯s head before he can send more troops out?¡± asks Aleena. ¡°They¡¯re just as likely to argue about who should succeed him as to fight other nations.¡± ¡°Know that I believe the monastery would appreciate me sending a message to those that attack our novices,¡± I offer dryly. Aleena¡¯s answering smile shows even more teeth than my own. ¡°That is a priority. I¡¯ll gather the company and be back shortly.¡± She¡¯s out of sight when a young woman approaches, stopping silently near me in the familiar cadre uniform; I don¡¯t recognise her at all. I can only assume she¡¯s here to watch the trainees practice when she doesn¡¯t speak. Russet haired like many of the Norse, I sense her brown gaze flit across me a few times before she ventures to speak. ¡°Are you going somewhere soon?¡± With the question throwing my assumptions awry, I glance over at her. ¡°Know that I¡¯m waiting for someone. Does my presence upset you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not upset. I¡¯m simply trying to figure out something important and hoped if you were planning to go somewhere, it might make sense.¡± ¡°Know your statement makes little sense, and since I don¡¯t know you, I¡¯d prefer not to speak about my plans,¡± I state, and the young woman winces. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for being rude and jumping right in. My name¡¯s Ossi¡ªnot that it would change your mind about telling me, I¡¯m sure¡ªand I already know you¡¯re Liran?,¡± offers Ossi quickly. Pulling back her hand before fully offering it, she fidgets momentarily under my gaze before continuing. ¡°I had a hunch I should come here, and then seeing you, I knew I should stand next to you, but I don¡¯t know why. I heard about you helping in Hlioir, so I wondered if you were going on another strike.¡± ¡°Do you often get such feelings?¡± ¡°Frequently, especially when it¡¯s important to me or someone close to me. V¨ªearr blames it on R¨²sea, and I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s right,¡± says Ossi, as if presenting compelling evidence though those names aren¡¯t familiar. ¡°The more friends or family that it¡¯s important to, the stronger the feeling. This time it was so fierce it was scary. It felt like a bull was ready to drag me here.¡± Ossi holds out her hands as if fighting against the pull of a rope stretching before her. She is genuinely odd. ¡°Who are V¨ªearr and R¨²sea?¡± With my question, words spill out like someone upended a mug, and I resort to listening to her mind instead of counting on the translation Spell to follow it all. ¡°V¨ªearr is my adopted father. I was just going to help him and Gellamel with their twins, but Gellamel insisted I was too young not to have a family. R¨²sea is an elven lady who introduced me to V¨ªearr. V¨ªearr is one of Tyr¡¯s priests, Gellamel is part of the cadre¡¯s council, and no one truly knows about R¨²sea. Besides that, she¡¯s a Sunset Elf and helped fund the start of the Daughters¡¯ college.¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯m supposed to be helping Aleena with a strike. Know I¡¯m sure your parents, adopted or not, wouldn¡¯t appreciate you going with the company,¡± I state. Ossi waves me off and taps the single rank mark on her sleeve. ¡°I¡¯ve been qualified for an entire year and blooded in raids against gnarls and manes. I¡¯m currently between duty assignments,¡± refutes Ossi. ¡°Gellamel talked me into joining the cadre instead of going adventuring.¡± ¡°Know then it¡¯s certainly not for me to say,¡± I state. Ossi nods happily, not put off by my tone as others seem to be. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll wait, and I know Aleena. Do you have questions about the cadre? I know you¡¯ve had the full tour of the compound and the school, but sometimes things get skipped.¡± I¡¯m not sure what to ask her and instead watch a trainee move aside for someone else to practice casting. Eventually, I came up with a question for conversation. ¡°Are you a Wizard?¡± ¡°Nearly everyone in the cadre is a Wizard plus something else unless they¡¯re working in one of the support areas,¡± Ossi says, offering a shrug. ¡°Even there, fifty-fifty since the support staff can learn as much magic as they¡¯re interested in.¡± Having spent my only question, silence returns, and I focus on scratching away at the aspect of thievery that¡¯s been nagging at me. It finally falls away after what feels like hours of waiting for Aleena to return. When it departs, it feels as happy to be rid of me as I am of it. ¡°Oh,¡± Ossi breathes out suddenly. ¡°Yep, that¡¯s Aleena coming back now.¡± I don¡¯t recognise any of those following Aleena, but two companies march smoothly along the path beside the training grounds. Aleena¡¯s gaze has fixed on Ossi suspiciously before she even orders them to halt. ¡°Ossi, do I dare ask what you are doing here?¡± ¡°Hi! I¡¯m standing with Liran?, of course. Having no currently assigned duty post, I thought I should escort our guest,¡± Ossi replies, too quickly, given Aleena¡¯s narrowed gaze. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°You thought?¡± ¡°More got dragged here by the back of my neck,¡± Ossi admits, rubbing a hand across her neck and giving Aleena a sheepish smile. ¡°Requesting permission to accompany this venture as a company auxiliary, Captain Aleena.¡± ¡°If you get any hunches we need to get out, you will immediately tell Liran?. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Understood, Captain,¡± Ossi responds cheerfully, delighting in her easy success. Aleena sighs when I glance between the two of them. ¡°If she randomly says: move, stop, or something else, I¡¯d follow it. She¡¯s not giving orders but suggestions for your health. I don¡¯t know how she does it, and I don¡¯t want to in case it stops working.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that bad,¡± protests Ossi. ¡°No, she¡¯s worse,¡± counters Aleena and motions Ossi towards me. ¡°You¡¯re with her. Keep her safe.¡± ¡°Should I not be the one to be doing that?¡± I ask. ¡°Today, you get the cadre¡¯s lucky charm as your escort,¡± Aleena says. Holding her hand out, she presents two magical images: one of a round-faced man, the other a sizeable columned throne room constructed of polished white stone. ¡°Are you able to scry this location? If he¡¯s there, just put us near a wall at the back.¡± Some of those nearest us look at Aleena curiously while she shows me one image after another until she shows a fancy amphitheatre formed of growing tiers of stone. The half-circle seating raises high towards the back, giving the guards a clear line of sight of the stage where musicians perform using stringed instruments. A company of men in armour carrying familiar shields stand atop the upper tiers between pillars capped with long stones. However, the soldiers are more common among the lower tiers, and several women sit close to the King. When I focus on them, one woman¡ªwearing a purple silken robe, her hair lifted in combs of gold¡ªstands to hurry away, shouting for the man to run. Sharing the placement of the guards among the company, I Teleport both companies when Aleena signals readiness. We can see the Palace beyond the rear seats with our back to the stage. Whatever wards were in place hadn¡¯t hindered me in the slightest. The King is already on his feet, far quicker than I had expected for a rounded man, running down the channel that splits the raised seating. The first spells that hurtle toward him slide away before they hit, and Ossi¡¯s yell sounds out as I focus on decapitating him. ¡°Pillar.¡± Ossi points to the closest pillar on the upper-tier towards stage-left. Though only a single Spell blasts it, as I shove the matching pillar on the other side, it¡¯s enough. Both surge along the tier, sending them, and the one following cascading into the others on the highest level and toppling stones crush one guard after another. Spells target those drawing their swords after the few archers go up in flames or die to stones. The final toppling pillar misses the woman, but the top cylinder crushes the King. The flat block atop it bounces high and tumbles in our direction before I push it towards the fleeing woman. She trips, and the block sails above her in the exit¡¯s narrow channel between the stands. I can¡¯t see who casts the Spell, but the lowest blocks turning to mud causes the ones above to drop atop her. The golden script answers the question of the caster: Ossi plays dominos with Tyche, and fortune doesn¡¯t favour the old. ¡°Oh!¡± Ossi breathes again, even as a wave of flames turns the dead king into ash and baking the mud dry. The last guards die to bursts of fire or acid before I Teleport us all away again. The ¡®Oh¡¯ sound Ossi made at the announcement was the same she¡¯d made when I¡¯d forced my Mantle¡¯s thievery aspect free from me. With Aleena¡¯s arrival, I had assumed Ossi¡¯s noise had been about her, not it; now, I¡¯m not so sure. The training ground reappearing has low pleased murmurs from the companies with us. ¡°The thievery aspect I got rid of?¡± I ask Ossi, who¡¯s practically bouncing beside me. ¡°That¡¯s where that came from!¡± exclaims Ossi. ¡°I got told I¡¯d been awarded the Mantle of Thieves.¡± ¡°Anyone wounded?¡± Aleena asks, only to be met by a chorus of negatives, and it doesn¡¯t surprise me, given the volume of spells cast in so little time with no reply. Aleena confirms with the other commander before she motions for attention. ¡°Clean strike. Back to your duty stations. Those not on duty, please check if the instructors need any helpers to assist the trainees.¡± As soon as they leave, Aleena fixes Ossi with a fiery glare. ¡°You¡¯ve got some explaining to do, young lady.¡± ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°Should we go join the others?¡± I ask before Aleena can say anything further. * * * A quick Far Seeing confirms that Leira and others are already beyond the wards to the west, preparing a place to fight Raivo that will reduce his advantages. We find Tyr, Mithras, Fen, and Torm in the planning room. Even though Tyr is in the room, Ossi is open in her part in things, but her explanation of hunches and gut feelings make only vague sense to me, given her lack of Psionic ability. Looking at them in terms of Clairsentience, I had assumed she was some sort of wilder, but there is no sign of Psionics in her aura. ¡°Sorry, not sorry. My gut said that killing her would avoid trouble. When the rock missed, I used Rock to Mud to bury her. Guess she couldn¡¯t breathe mud.¡± ¡°Or she couldn¡¯t handle the rocks that dropped on her,¡± grumbles Aleena, her arms crossed as she stared hard at Ossi, apparently unhappy for her killing a fleeing civilian. ¡°Maybe I should have let her go, but I didn¡¯t know she was a purely civilian bystander. This is war, and she was with the King, possible King¡¯s council, adviser, or something given her fancy clothing,¡± protests Ossi, looking between Aleena and Tyr before pointing at me. ¡°Liran?, do you know why she ran even before we got there? And why was the King running after her?¡± ¡°She¡¯d told him to run the moment I scried the amphitheatre,¡± I admit. ¡°I also tried to kill her, but she ducked or tripped under the stone¡¯s path.¡± ¡°See, potentially she was a protector that knew they¡¯d been scried. Instead, she was one of the Greek gods responsible for starting this war. I didn¡¯t see you stopping to ask any of King¡¯s guard questions,¡± says Ossi in a rush of words. ¡°No one here has authority over Crete. Care to hand me to them?¡± ¡°Ossi, you are pushing your luck,¡± warns Aleena ¡°Am I?¡± asks Ossi, spinning a coin edgewise on a fingertip. ¡°Care to call axes or blade?¡± ¡°The girl is right. Stop quibbling over how one of them is dead. It¡¯s one less member in that rabid pack to kill,¡± Fen states and grabs for the coin still spinning on Ossi¡¯s fingertip. Ossi¡¯s flinch before Fen even moves causes the coin to bounce off her broad fingers and into Ossi¡¯s lap. ¡°Hearing all this reminds me so very much of a Priestess of Luck,¡± Torm says and looks at Tyr. ¡°We are at war declared by actions of the Greek gods. One of them died, and the other combatants died. I don¡¯t see why you brought her here, Aleena. Wouldn¡¯t your Goddess be telling you it was her choice?¡± Tyr asks, ignoring Torm¡¯s questioning look. ¡°She¡¯s nineteen and with a Mantle that makes her a target,¡± says Aleena softly, the anger disappearing from her eyes. Tyr looks at her, weighing up the situation. ¡°Were you hoping I had a way to strip her of it? Relative to Ossi, you¡¯re just as young to me, Aleena. Giving the Mantle to another doesn¡¯t remove the target. If someone is after it, she¡¯ll still be in danger.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what I was hoping, but¡­.¡± ¡°What¡¯s done is done,¡± states Tyr. Aleena shakes her head. ¡°We don¡¯t know what other mantles Raivo is hunting.¡± ¡°Right.¡± Tyr looks between the two of them and smiles at Fen. ¡°Care to keep a young puppy safe?¡± ¡°Oh, I think if Aleena¡¯s worried, she should be her guardian,¡± Fen says, and Aleena grunts, suddenly pale. ¡°And I gave her Odinn¡¯s knowledge and magic aspects to enjoy or pass along. I¡¯ll keep the aspect of war.¡± Farhad¡¯s bright smile as he enters the room has everyone regarding him as if he¡¯s taken leave of his senses. ¡°Master Cyrus confirmed to Ebusuku that Livia¡¯s in the waiting hall of Judge Po. It¡¯s why you can¡¯t bring her back to life at present. It also means you can bury her body; she¡¯ll form a new one when she¡¯s through.¡± Torm almost slumps in his chair, and Tyr pats his back reassuringly. ¡°You¡¯ll see them both again, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°Know that is indeed good news that I also appreciate,¡± I say politely, though not sure what to make of it. When Farhad moves around the table to sit down, he looks at Ossi and Aleena as if he¡¯d just noticed their presence but, with a shrug, turns towards me. ¡°We were talking after you left this morning. It might be best for you to stay outside the barrier after teleporting Raivo within. The spells containing him won¡¯t stop you from rendering Psionic help.¡± Ossi slips from her seat, and Torm motions her to sit back down. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave Ossi. You¡¯ve got a Mantle; regardless of whether you keep it, the announcement has made you a target. You¡¯ll need to know the depth of danger.¡± ¡°Announcement?¡± ¡°Whenever a Mantle holders die, all other holders learn who killed them. However, if they¡¯re passed to someone else, it¡¯s not mentioned, so you¡¯ll still be a target,¡± ¡°Oh, is that what you call the golden scripts? Guess I should have just stuck to the one you shrugged off onto me,¡± Ossi says and smiles at me. ¡°You did what to her?¡± Aleena snaps. ¡°Know that I followed your advice about removing the aspect of thievery. How was I to know the young lady next to me would catch it? Perhaps you should ask who caught your greed,¡± I counter, and Aleena¡¯s recovering complexion goes pale again. ¡°I told you it was best to give it to someone,¡± Fen huffs and picks her mug up from the table. ¡°Thievery?¡± asks Tyr. ¡°What one person counts as thievery, another might count as adventuring, or just excellent business skills,¡± counters Ossi. Farhad sits back with a broad smile still in place. It¡¯s an expression that looks as unnatural upon him as seeing one of my people doing so. ¡°Was there other news?¡± ¡°Just a personal matter,¡± says Farhad, and his composure slips into place, the smile disappearing. ¡°Know that I can understand your concerns about my presence within the barrier. Know, having fought Amdirlain so often; I¡¯m aware of the risk her greater strength posed. Is that your concern?¡± ¡°Even if you¡¯re only knocked out or incapacitated, he¡¯d be able to Teleport away. While we don¡¯t know if he can do so, we shouldn¡¯t assume he can¡¯t. Plus, if he breaks the stone and forces a shadow tunnel into existence, you can bring him back only if you¡¯re still conscious,¡± declares Farhad. The times Amdirlain had released a grip on me when she could have inflicted damage by simply squeezing has me nodding in agreement. ¡°Know that while I prefer the challenge of fighting him, we¡¯ll each fulfil our roles. Do you expect Raivo to be physically stronger than Amdirlain was?¡± ¡°Much stronger. Ebusuku provided some other information about him. While you are much stronger than you used to be Torm, I¡¯d still suggest we gain some items to amplify your physical strength. Leira has some potions that will assist me, but she¡¯s unsure how they¡¯ll work on you,¡± Farhad says before looking at me. ¡°Have you traced him?¡± ¡°Know there will be some Cambions to deal with after this is complete,¡± I remark distastefully and catch Aleena¡¯s flinch. ¡°Know he seems to have found some worshippers who do not care that he is a Demon; their only desire is power.¡± Farhad tapped his fingers on the table¡¯s edge, the energy in the motion almost making it bounce. ¡°Power is going to be the issue. Ebusuku feels that it might be a hard fight if it¡¯s only the two of us, Torm. Before he Ascended to Demon Lord, we should have matched him if we coordinated well, but now she¡¯s unsure. Hopefully, Liran? can hinder him enough to sway the odds in our favour.¡± ¡°Sway the odds,¡± Ossi repeats brightly, sitting up straighter. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so? I¡¯m a Priestess of Luck. Do you think blessings from me will help?¡± ¡°What!¡± Torm blurts out. ¡°Oops. Is that a problem for you?¡± Aleena clasps a hand on her shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s one of the few with a Priest Class I¡¯ve met that worships a concept rather than a Deity. How long have you worshipped Luck for now?¡± ¡°Since after I met R¨²sea, so five years,¡± admits Ossi, giving Torm a beaming smile while trying to wiggle out of Aleena¡¯s grasp. ¡°Who is R¨²sea, and what did she say about her Faith in Luck?¡± asks Torm, leaning forward, his gaze narrowing in suspicion. ¡°An Elven lady I met, and she hired me as a guide. She only stayed in town a while and hasn¡¯t come back. She taught me how to make my medallion before she left. As for her faith, she said it was more a combination of luck and skill, whereas I¡¯m more focused on good fortune,¡± Ossi answers readily. ¡°R¨²sea said it¡¯s a benefit of worshipping a concept¡­.¡± Ossi lets her words fade out, glancing between Fen and Tyr, and she looks like she wants to hide under the table. ¡°Was there another Elven lady with her, wearing blades with jewelled hilts?¡± asks Torm, and Ossi nods happily. ¡°I think I know the Elf you¡¯re speaking of, but I don¡¯t know why she¡¯d have been using a name that means wrath.¡± ¡°Yeah, her lover had very fancy swords. R¨²sea told me her name and its meaning. I don¡¯t know why, but it stuck with me because it was such a weird thing to do. She also told me her partner¡¯s name meant ¡®guard¡¯. The talk of them being lovers was far more interesting to the gossips than the fuss with the Jarl¡¯s Wizard,¡± burbles Ossi. ¡°What is it about guys imagining two women in bed together, geez? I¡¯m sure some in the cadre would be happy to give them first-hand experience if they asked nicely and didn¡¯t smell.¡± ¡°Fuss?¡± asks Torm, trying to pick at a single thread among Ossi¡¯s torrent of words. ¡°He collapsed or something, then a bunch of elves came to town afterwards asking questions,¡± explains Ossi, frowning at Torm. ¡°How do you know them?¡± ¡°I believe we¡¯ve met,¡± replies Torm before adding with a sigh. ¡°I think I have some questions to ask, and likely I¡¯m going to get no answers.¡± Tyr smiles at him and pats his shoulder again. ¡°I know their reason for being in town. It was balancing some scales, and she helped V¨ªearr beforehand. You know who she had matters to pursue within the ten kingdoms. Does it make sense now?¡± Torm pauses in thought and nods. ¡°Speaking in ways that are clear yet hidden. I hadn¡¯t expected you to take such an approach with your people, Tyr,¡± Mithras says, glaring at the unbothered Tyr. ¡°What else are you hiding?¡± ¡°Confidential information when presented to a judge as context should remain confidential,¡± explains Tyr and matches Mithras¡¯ glare. ¡°Like my judges, there are matters I shouldn¡¯t go into unless it applies to a judgement I need to render. Or should I talk about Vitus and a few other matters openly?¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright. Let¡¯s get back to planning how we¡¯ll deal with Raivo.¡± ¡°Indeed. Unfortunately, without our mantles, I think both of us will be liabilities in this fight. I don¡¯t share my mate¡¯s J?tnar bloodline, so unlike her, this situation has lessened my strength,¡± Tyr states and smiles at me. ¡°Know that you¡¯re not the only one that would have enjoyed the challenge, but at present, he¡¯d kill me easily.¡± ¡°Know that I believe your Mantle isn¡¯t one that he¡¯d ever seek,¡± I offer, and Tyr snorts in amusement. ¡°Why does your wife¡¯s bloodline matter?¡± ¡°Mate, not wife,¡± huffs Fen. ¡°Mates are for life. Wives can get replaced among humans.¡± ¡°The J?tnar are the closest ¨¢sgarer have to a Primordial being, and she has two in her ancestry,¡± explains Tyr, motioning to Fen. ¡°Gods need worshippers to gain strength, but the Primordials came long before any other Mortal existed. It makes it obvious they derive their power purely from their essence, with nothing required to assist them.¡± ¡°They just are,¡± mutters Mithras, and Fen gives a sharp nod. ¡°Odinn picked the wrong person to stab in the back,¡± mutters Ossi, stiffening when Fen laughs. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I played with him a bit, even if his stupid spear bit hard.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you out there killing the other gods then?¡± asks Ossi. ¡°I don¡¯t want their power, and I¡¯m here protecting my mate. I¡¯m strong, but I¡¯m still not so strong to believe I could massacre them all alone. War is a concept for men and stupid gods, not wolves,¡± Fen retorts and huffs at Tyr. ¡°I like a fight, but maybe I shouldn¡¯t keep the war aspect.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve time to decide,¡± Tyr replies and gives her a modest kiss that Fen quickly escalates until it looks like she is trying to eat him alive. 202 - Aint it a drag Torm¡¯s PoV - Eyrarh¨¢ls - Evening Third Day He doesn¡¯t say a word when he enters the study; he simply lets the door settle behind him. Lord Tyr¡¯s presence had been apparent when he entered the building, but his purpose is unclear. Once I wouldn¡¯t have had to wonder what he needed, my Oath-Link would simply have made it known. Now it¡¯s a struggle to hear through it; his voice and needs are faint and far away. ¡°Torm, I¡¯m glad I caught you,¡± Tyr says, even as I rise to greet him. ¡°I have a matter I need you to consider.¡± ¡°What do you need, my Lord?¡± Tyr approaches the table I¡¯d been working at and looks over the reports that ladened its surface. Each one from Moke¡¯s contacts painted an increasingly grim picture, with few glimmers of light. Picking up the nearest, he winced at the list of casualties and replaced it with a weary sigh. ¡°When I asked you not to use my title, I hadn¡¯t just meant in public, Torm.¡± ¡°Old habits,¡± I offer, cutting off the addition of the title this time. ¡°However, the Titan¡¯s rules judge such a thing. I don¡¯t know if those holding the barrier will count in the fight against Raivo. In which case, one of the three of you will end up with the accumulated mantles,¡± states Tyr, not bringing up the possibility of loss. ¡±What do you wish to do with them?¡± It¡¯s a question I¡¯d already considered, and the answer wasn¡¯t hard to decide. ¡°I¡¯ll let the mantle go to Liran? if she¡¯s comfortable holding them.¡± Tyr simply watches me, and I don¡¯t return to the report but wait for him to speak. ¡°Not planning to gain the strength from them?¡± ¡°My Lord, if I did that and Amdirlain needed someone to help her, it might block me from doing so,¡± I reply honestly. ¡°If she becomes a Goddess again, standing at her side might feel divisive if you remain in my service,¡± says Tyr. ¡°What happens if it comes to a choice between ensuring Justice and allowing someone their Hope?¡± ¡°I will do my duty to you, my Lord,¡± I state and continue despite his sigh. ¡°I¡¯m sure whatever happens, Amdirlain will respect my decisions. I¡¯m concerned about where Amdirlain might be when she recovers herself. Would I have your permission to aid her wherever that might be?¡± ¡°I see you had considered that it might be within the Abyss. I hadn¡¯t wanted to bring up such dark possibilities before their time,¡± says Tyr, who surprises me with an approving nod. ¡°That¡¯s a risky course of action, but not as dangerous for you as others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad most of the strength in my classes doesn¡¯t come from casting blessings,¡± I admit Tyr thumps the stack of reports with the side of his hand before motioning at me. ¡°You¡¯ll still need something to conceal your nature better.¡± ¡°I know a few artificers,¡± I state, though how busy they currently are has me wincing. ¡°Well, two of them might possess the skill to create something strong enough,¡± replies Tyr, pausing. ¡°You might also want to consider how to present your arguments. She¡¯s not inclined to let others risk themselves for her. Given the aid she¡¯s provided to both of us, I¡¯ll leave the course to the pair of you, but your intentions have my approval. I hope you both make it out safely if it occurs.¡± ¡°Taking the risk is entirely for me, Tyr. I told Amdirlain I¡¯d wait, but I didn¡¯t say where I¡¯d do the waiting,¡± I say and catch the briefest of smiles from him. With that, he leaves me to the reports, but I soon come across one that claims my focus. Accounts from contacts in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild sacking an eastern port in Crete. Rechecking the port¡¯s name, I shift it to the priority pile, hoping Verdandi is safe amidst the fighting. Since my summoning, the Allegiance Bond she holds is still intact and pointing off far to the east. The need to see Raivo destroyed soon in case something happens to Verdandi settled itself in place further. Unlike Amdirlain, I didn¡¯t know another that could simply form an Allegiance Bond at will. Either I linked it with the summoner or not. Setting the latest report back on the stack, I give in to impatience. Checking the pouch and ward stone is still about my neck; Teleport places me at the planned killing ground. What had been a grassland well beyond the last farmhouse to the west was now a perfect circle of stone fifty metres across. Lantern archons float above where Mirage works alone, her Mortal helpers having already retired for the evening. True Sight presents a brief shimmer of Mana as she finishes yet another rune etched into the stone. ¡°Come to check on the hired help?¡± asks Mirage. Even as she teases, she¡¯s shuffling along to position herself further along the circle¡¯s edge. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s more that I¡¯m restless. I¡¯ve read too many disturbing reports today,¡± I admit with a grimace, not having considered checking in from her perspective. ¡°While we¡¯ve acted on some of them, we cannot help everyone.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve stayed close in case anyone comes after Tyr or Fen?¡± ¡°Partly, but also in case certain foes surfaced,¡± I reply. ¡°Do you know how to form additional allegiance bonds in the same fashion as Amdirlain?¡± Mirage''s look makes me feel like I¡¯ve taken leave of my senses. ¡°Seriously, you can¡¯t?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one way to say yes,¡± I mutter, and Mirage bursts into strained laughter. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, please. I know you¡¯re all able to access your Profile, and that¡¯s just one example of our limits you¡¯ve been bypassing since the Maze.¡± ¡°Right, you have a point,¡± admits Mirage. ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone to town, or we could experiment. We¡¯ll find someone awake before dawn, and I¡¯ll try using Harmony to let you feel how forming the bonds feels to me.¡± Giving her a nod of thanks, I motion to the circle. ¡°Thank you. Anything I can do to help?¡± Mirage shakes her head but stops and looks along the sections inscribed so far. ¡°Since you seem all keyed up, why not go punch the stone near the runes I¡¯ve got in place? Every time anything hits the stone, the runes will cause it to get stronger. However, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to build up an energy sump before the fight,¡± explains Mirage, picking the etching tool back up and checking its edge. ¡°If any initial impact is too strong, I don¡¯t quite know what it will do.¡± ¡°Perhaps Liran? can increase my weight while I walk around,¡± I suggest remembering the stone cracking under Amdirlain¡¯s feet in their duels. Mirage clasps her hands to her face in fake surprise. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not just a pretty face.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I drawl. ¡°No charge at all for Amdirlain¡¯s sweetheart,¡± Mirage teases, trying for a light-heartedness that seems beyond her at present. Given the way I¡¯ve seen her brush back Radovan¡¯s hair and sit close to him, it¡¯s tempting to enquire if she¡¯s sewn him a shirt for their wedding. However, the work is too important to get her flustered; still, she catches something of my mood. ¡°You think she¡¯ll make it back to us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m positive she¡¯ll be fighting tooth and nail to return,¡± I say, but the worry in her gaze remains. ¡°I¡¯m also sure she¡¯d approve of your young man. Remember that relationships take work, but those involving mortals can be harder.¡± ¡°You¡¯re as bad as Ebusuku,¡± growls Mirage. Her paleness has the blush showing bright red, right up to the tips of her ears. Though it seems the flustering is good for her when she returns to work with a lighter heart. ¡°Hardly that,¡± I protest. Shifting closer to my True Form, but without the wings, I walk with deliberate, heavy footsteps along with the distance she¡¯s covered so far. Reaching the end, I loop back towards her and catch Mirage¡¯s nod of approval for my steady approach. * * * Farhad describes the Harmony Power as seeking oneness within the world around you. Mirage¡¯s request for help from priests at the pre-dawn service immediately has more offers than I hope she needs for me to get this right. Stepping into her temple feels like Amdirlain¡¯s hand is suddenly holding mine as I take in the place. The long hall is standard for Norse buildings, but the motifs along the walls are something else. The motifs are of broken chains with a woman among them helping figures regain their feet and are different to the carved cord knots and pictures of battles within Tyr¡¯s halls. When they¡¯d first carved them, there had only been an elven lady¡ªa perfect resemblance to Amdirlain¡ªhelping them to their feet. They¡¯d since changed them, and now the women along the temple¡¯s walls represent each race among the kingdoms. The only Elf left among them is just to the right of the doors, perhaps chosen on purpose to watch over them all yet not draw attention. I¡¯m not sure when the roses that seemed part of the floor had appeared, but the Divine energy in them is clear. Their appearance doesn¡¯t disturb the stone''s surface; it¡¯s more a 3D illusion, one of the many things Sarah had shared with me while in the frozen north. True Sight shows the temple¡¯s consecration causes them, and it makes the one Verdandi had set centuries ago within Eyrarh¨¢ls¡¯ Judgement Hall feel shallow. Each step within has the roses shift in a gentle breeze, and the blooms stay focused on each person within the temple. They are just gathering when V¨ªearr comes into their Temple with the familiarity borne of his regular visits. His beard''s neat, close grooming shows his wife¡¯s touch, given he used to grow it a hand span and longer. While still nearly colourless, his eyes take in the people present with no need for the magic he¡¯d used for years. ¡°Hello, V¨ªearr. Hopefully, Torm¡¯s lesson this morning doesn¡¯t take too long,¡± Mirage says and motions us to where she¡¯d been talking to those who¡¯d offered to help. ¡°Morning, Leira. That''s fine, I can understand the importance, and we¡¯re not all fast learners like yourself. But Torm and I will muddle through, I¡¯m sure,¡± V¨ªearr says, taking her teasing tone in stride. ¡°Well, at least you both know how to meditate,¡± Mirage begrudgingly admits and ignores my snort. ¡°I¡¯ve learnt Harmony as well. I don¡¯t have the same understanding of Allegiance Bond that certain cheating celestials have,¡± I grumble good-naturedly. Glad to see the flicker of amusement among the sadness that seems to hold so many in thrall. Mirage¡¯s telepathic touch, like other Celestials, is a controlled light touch of power, unlike Liran?¡¯s, which is either nonexistent or holding more than a hint of danger. My Telepathy Power lets me feel the contact of her mind, wherewith Liran?, the first thing I¡¯m aware of is when she wants me to know. Repeatedly I¡¯ve been sure she¡¯s listening, but I¡¯ve never detected that initial connection. At her prompting, I settled into Harmony¡¯s drifting state. Through our link, I can sense her reaching out her mental touch, almost getting how she offers it. The bond forms lightning quick, and I lose it on the edge of understanding. An instant crystal path blazes between them in True Sight, and her awareness immediately fades into the world¡¯s background. ¡°Don¡¯t accept the bond immediately when you feel the bond offered. Please give Torm a moment,¡± Mirage says and motions to the next. The next is more apparent, and I can feel the Power inside myself, tracing down along my link to Verdandi. At the stream¡¯s spring, I mentally dip my hand in as Mirage sets in place a third. The crystal path she blazes again feels different to my Power, and mentally cupping my hands, I draw on the Power¡¯s essence and offer its waters to V¨ªearr. The moment of his acceptance is a greeting between friends, and I feel it like a solid hand¡¯s clasp between us. I can¡¯t see my Profile as Mirage can, but now I can feel two bonds instead of one. ¡°Thank you, Leira,¡± I say, feeling a weight of concern shift from my shoulders. Despite her now having the protection of a Greater Power against being summoned, I¡¯ll stick with the common name she¡¯s using. Mirage smiles a teasing grin. ¡°Maybe you¡¯re not so hard to train after all.¡± ¡°Perhaps add a few more bonds with other priests before breakfast. I know I¡¯d feel better knowing we weren¡¯t counting on just the High Justice and me staying alive to ensure you can protect Lord Tyr,¡± V¨ªearr says. At my nod, he turns to address Mirage and those gathered. ¡°Thank you to everyone that offered help.¡± Adding my thanks, we head towards the inner gates and Tyr¡¯s Hall. ¡°Most faiths have their service after dawn,¡± V¨ªearr says, stifling a yawn. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d be wanting to rise in time to hold a service before dawn every day.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the darkest before the dawn. They focus on what they need to move towards, not what they already have.¡±. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but I¡¯d have fewer headaches some days in court if some would move towards proper relationships. Yesterday was the latest case of some parents complaining about the men dishonouring their daughter. However, according to her testimony, she has ¡®an understanding with them¡¯. I¡¯m not sure I see three women and four men as a marriage, but the daughter insists it is,¡± grumbles V¨ªearr. Though his tone isn¡¯t one of disapproval, I wonder at the source of his grumbling. ¡°Is it more because someone brought it to the court that bothers you?¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°In part, but I¡¯m not sure I understand it; it seems more about sex than a proper commitment,¡± offers V¨ªearr. ¡°Love as you will is to their faith a law,¡± I explain. ¡°Their standard rule is all parties need to be consenting adults, and the adults should care for any child resulting from the union.¡± ¡°She was fine with that?¡± V¨ªearr asks, not mentioning Amdirlain¡¯s name. Even without using it directly, he still seemed hesitant to ask. ¡°Amdirlain told me her guiding rule about other people¡¯s relationships is that it¡¯s normally none of her business. It should only be anyone else''s business if someone involved in the relationship says things aren¡¯t right. She said if the people involved are consenting adults and the children are happy, she wishes them well. I¡¯d heard she told some of the freed women the same.¡± V¨ªearr nods thoughtfully, and we walk silently, nearly reaching the temple square before he speaks again. ¡°I might have to get the Jarl to put something in writing to head off these headaches.¡± ¡°Some folks will complain regardless,¡± I warn, but he just nods and continues. ¡°What do you mean by in a way they don¡¯t want? Surely everyone wants the same treatment-¡± I don¡¯t need memories of Sidero and Gaius¡¯ odd antics rattling around in my brain, and I cut him off. ¡°I¡¯m not going to get into that. If the law you seek stipulates willing consent from all involved adults, that should be enough for a just ruling on the definition of if they¡¯re involved in a marriage.¡± We¡¯re barely at the hall when V¨ªearr picks a few from among those gathering to prepare things for the service, including one very surprised Novice. The young lad went wide-eyed at the explanation he¡¯d be ensuring I could remain on the Material Plane. His awe-struck expression was sitting uncomfortably on me when his homage should rightly be Tyr¡¯s. The service is a good affirmation within the dark days we have now. The cause of Justice is more important still when madness for war and death seems to want to close its fists on one and all. It adds a solemn air to my morning¡¯s walk that evaporates at Fen¡¯s belch when I step into the smaller dining hall. Tyr, Mithras, and the senior cadre officers present don¡¯t even blink at the volume, and I wonder how much noise she¡¯s made again this morning. ¡°He¡¯s been picking up mantles you¡¯re not going to like if they come to you,¡± Fen growls before downing another mug of mead like water. Her plate was already clear of food, but she looked ready to get more. ¡°Don¡¯t play games with him. We should gut him and end him quick.¡± ¡°Will you be fighting with us?¡± I ask in surprise; despite discussion, she¡¯d never mentioned her intent. ¡°Did you think I was going to let a member of our pack fight that Demon alone?¡± chuckles Fen. ¡°Plus, can¡¯t let Farhad boast that he¡¯d contributed more to the pack¡¯s wellbeing. I wasn¡¯t going to sink that boat; it might have taken on a bit of water, but it would have been fine.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t remember the day well. Just bits and pieces of the last fight on the High Priest¡¯s boat, but fires burning and boats sinking in the background,¡± I admit. It wouldn''t have come to mind if I¡¯d not seen their altercation amidst the memories I kept. There had been enough chaos among the longboats, barges, triremes, and other craft to hide thousands of momentary clashes even if I¡¯d had a perfect recollection of the day. ¡°You were busy elsewhere, I¡¯m sure, but I didn¡¯t have time to get out of the water before the Kraken came up to play,¡± huffs Fen. Her tone isn¡¯t angry but more upset, making me feel like she¡¯d wanted a chance to fight it. The sound of hulls cracking like kindling snaps through my mind, and a raised altar shines in my memory of Poseidon¡¯s Priest readying to sacrifice a child. I don¡¯t remember who the child had been, not even their face, but it had set my Jarl in a frenzy to free them. The mosaic across the altar¡¯s front showed cresting waves rolling towards each other, symbolically supporting the youth they were offering to their God, despite his presence on a nearby vessel. I hadn¡¯t lived to witness Poseidon¡¯s death but learnt that peace had come on its heels, and with the restoration of their mantles, Odinn had slain the Kraken. ¡°You should have had them make the circle bigger; not much room for my wolf form,¡± grumbles Fen, bringing me back to the present. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll just have to make do.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to be fighting with you, but this aid I provide,¡± says Tyr. Shifting his scabbard, he pulls it off his belt and sets it on the table before me. Its darkened leather would not look special if one didn¡¯t know his blood had stained it the day the Vargr Drangijaz came into existence. The sword¡¯s aged hilt is likewise bound in stained leather and looks like simple steel, but I know the Dwarven gods had a hand in the weapon¡¯s crafting. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t take your sword from you,¡± I protest, uncomfortable even considering carrying his blade. ¡°What if someone attacks while we¡¯re dealing with him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve other weapons, Torm, but if I¡¯m not allowed to be fighting alongside you,¡± Tyr says, ignoring Fen¡¯s broad grin at his words. ¡°I want to ensure you have all the aid I can give you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll treat it honourably,¡± I pause, unsure what to say when Tyr shakes his head. ¡°It¡¯s a weapon, Torm; use it to kill the thing as quick as you can. Let¡¯s ensure fewer people are in danger. I¡¯m worried about the time preparations are taking us, and what mark he¡¯ll leave on this world in that time,¡± admits Tyr. ¡°What plans do you have while you wait?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d spend some time training with the monks in the cadre,¡± I offer. One commander I recognise from the training grounds nods in greedy anticipation, and it seems I might not have to search for training partners. * * * It¡¯s nearing noon when I get a message from Mirage to return to the circle¡ªfar sooner than I had expected. The others were already present, or the few minutes I took to excuse myself had seen them arrive and quickly settle. Beyond where the cadre¡¯s wizards are gathering to start the casting, I spot Liran? sitting cross-legged. When I crouch by her, she simply opens her eyes and contently waits for me to start. ¡°If it offers the mantles to you, would you hold on to them for now? Or would you prefer I carry them?¡± I ask, feeling like she¡¯d happily sit there silently if I didn¡¯t speak. Liran?¡¯s twitch is slight but makes her discomfort clear even before speaking. ¡°Know that I¡¯m already uncomfortable, even with what I have. Can you hold them and pass them to another as Fen did?¡± I¡¯ve no problem understanding, given the mess she¡¯s aiding us with, and I hope my nod is enough reassurance. ¡°I had told Tyr I¡¯d pass them to you only if you were comfortable holding them. We will sort it out afterwards.¡± ¡°Know that he has killed one called Taranis recently, an extremely unpleasant individual,¡± ¡°The Gaul god of lightning isn¡¯t¡ªwell, wasn¡¯t¡ªpleasant,¡± I offer, wondering what ritual of Taranis¡¯ that Raivo had interrupted for Liran?¡¯s understanding of that Deity¡¯s nature. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t Far Seeing him.¡± Liran?''s normally calm mental voice is roiling with distaste when she finally replies. ¡°Know that usually, I check on him from time to time to ensure my link hasn¡¯t gone astray. Know that after Taranis¡¯ former priestesses welcomed Raivo enthusiastically, I¡¯ve kept a distance.¡± We both wince, and the lingering mental touch shares her mutual concern about cambions. Mirage double-checks the circle¡¯s edge, leaving her assistants to set additional runes along the way. A dozen more arranged by the cadre had reinforced the town¡¯s pair of artificers. When Mirage completes her work, she walks towards us, pausing only to toss a medallion to Fen, busy pacing about the middle. ¡°I bring gifts,¡± Mirage says, holding out a hand to myself and Farhad with a medallion for each of us. ¡°Lightning immunity.¡± ¡°When did you get time to do this?¡± I ask, adding the medallion to the necklace holding my Oath-stone and Divine focus. ¡°I had made some temporary lightning resistance ones. These came from a company that butchered a bunch of Zeus¡¯ former priests this morning. They stopped the bastards trying to slaughter an Egyptian village, and these were among the loot,¡± replies Mirage, ¡°The company¡¯s leader recognised some of the rune patterns and asked me to check them. They¡¯re Artificer-made with no Blessing in place, so they should be right for both of you to use.¡± ¡°Know that I could have kept the lightning from harming with psi-techniques,¡± states Liran? in a flat voice. Mirage shrugs, unconcerned by a tone that others might find offensive. ¡°I know, but this lets you save your strength for other things. You¡¯re doing something we can¡¯t do; let us contribute to this community effort." ¡°Quite a community effort,¡± notes Farhad, spotting the captains exchanging ready signals. ¡°I hope the barrier can hold him, given the wizards'' experience limits.¡± ¡°Between Yngvarr, Aggie, and Aleena guiding the companies, they¡¯ll keep him inside the dome. Let¡¯s make sure we do our part,¡± I say, wishing Livia had been here to join their efforts and even things between them. ¡°Working together for a common purpose, especially taking down a Demon Lord, makes it a fine day. I hope this destroys him,¡± Farhad says. He doesn¡¯t even wait for a reply before striding towards Fen, standing near the centre, twirling a spear effortlessly in her hands. I see him drink down a flask and crush another that sets a mist around him before it sinks into his skin. When I cross over the circle¡¯s edge, I sense the barrier¡¯s energy forming and the dome snaps into existence. The presence of Liran?¡¯s mind touches mine, and I¡¯m aware of Fen, Farhad, and Liran?, as well as the strength of the Githz¨¦rai community. Thousands of masters add their power to her and her link with Raivo. He¡¯s on the move again, racing through the shadow tunnels. I feel his motion like a hurricane racing across my skin. As Liran? works to shift him, his presence weighs down the world, and the slipperiness of the tunnels¡¯ existence helps in resisting her efforts. Yet it¡¯s a resistance that doesn¡¯t last long against her mental energy. The strange soaring canyon walls had made him look tiny and somehow compressed him. His form expands to nearly three metres when he¡¯s torn from the canyon¡¯s enclosure, but the stone beneath his feet holds firm. He has black hair and grey skin, with bruised-purpling blotches across his muscle-bound form. The timing was nearly perfect. Caught by surprise, no aura ignited, and no weapon in hand. He takes a single step, his brain racing, adjusting to the unexpected event. Bloody Hell. A burst of details from repeated Analysis uses comes on the words¡¯ heels. Liran?¡¯s awareness shunts aside vile thoughts clouding his own, adding dozens of false targets within the barrier. I don¡¯t have time to get the exact rating, but Fen¡¯s numbers have him throwing himself aside as her battle-won spear pierces the air where his head had been. Locks of black hair clipped free, and droplets of blood were her only prize. Not giving him time to recover, we attack. Wolf pack tactics. Fen will be happy. Teleport shifts me, and a slash already started rises into the path of his dodge. A change in his stance has it gouge out muscle from his bicep instead of opening his chest. As his Lightning Aura ignites, it washes harmlessly around me, and Farhad¡¯s kick sends him back towards Fen¡¯s next jab. His war mattock appears in his grasp to deflect it, and he flows through a turn with the momentum Farhad gave him. The strange third arm shifts position to land a punch into Fen¡¯s throat. Combat quarters are already closer than we¡¯d expected so soon. Yet, the wound I¡¯d carved into his arm sealed up far slower than demonic speed. A shimmer around him fades instantly, taking his gloating smile with it. When he tried to Teleport away, I had already appeared beside him. I must drop beneath a backhand to open his side from rib to hip, pinning him against Fen¡¯s attack. Her spear¡¯s spiked butt raked across his leg, almost taking him in the knee. He blurs towards Farhad to get away, and crystal bursts into existence. His Black Knight Charge, read by Liran?, let her create a Crystal Spire technique just in time. The construct forms a grounded spear that strikes up through his crotch, bending his giant form in two and causing him to vomit black blood across where Farhad had stood. The crescent kick twisting him on the spike comes in time with Raivo¡¯s fist, shattering the spire apart. Fragments cascade amid the blood from the sealing wound, yet I can feel Liran?¡¯s control of the ectoplasm still within him through the gestalt. He swings a controlled strike for Farhad even as we close. The weapon¡¯s strike would have taken Farhad through the ribs, but he¡¯s already inside the swing. A smashing noise comes with broken bones, and the blow throws Farhad away, but he¡¯s already seized his prize. The landed shoulder strike hadn¡¯t been at Raivo; he¡¯d shattered the weapon¡¯s haft. Its head still carries with it the force of the swing and spins across the ground before we feel Liran? Teleport it away. I skip-Teleport one way to grab his attention at the edge of his peripheral vision. Fen fakes a rush, only for a hurried Ki Blast from Farhad to burn the air with liquid fire and hit him squarely. Though single-handed, the energy still drives Raivo towards me, and I slice upwards, brushing past his attempt to turn my blow. Though it was a clean upwards slice, it doesn¡¯t cut him in two but still castrates him and opens a gushing wound. Celestial steel grinding against demonic bone sets his eyes blazing with fury and agony. The blast carried him a fraction too close, and I endured his return strike. A thumb catches my face, and his explosive strength pressing through Ki Armour ruptures an eye. ¡°Derek.¡± With his thumb hooking into the socket, I taunt dangerously with his original name. It prompts him to let go, but his reply isn¡¯t words. Ignoring my blade¡¯s damage, he slaps my arm aside before a flurry of rabbit punches shatter Ki Armour and break ribs. Liran? is the one who teleports me away as I stagger backwards under the force. He¡¯s savouring my pain and believes in his assured victory. Yet despite the surrounding danger, he savours memories of the once-determined rejections of his most prized victim. His thoughts provoked by an extra dig from Liran? become a dangerous kaleidoscope as disgusting memories bubble up. Each shows a man''s struggles, not wanting to give in to a beast but slipping away, regardless. Then Liran? spikes his brain, and the memories explode with strength. The Psi force almost threw us from the battle gestalt she had formed. Memories of the man Raivo fought for so long to consume come alive with energy provided by a monastery¡¯s loaned might. It¡¯s not the man; his Soul is gone, but an artificial construct ravages the Demon¡¯s mind from within. Disrupting battle instincts and plans, the Derek who held him at bay for a millennium became two, then four. More snap into existence, multiplying in a Mortal¡¯s heartbeat to a howl of hundreds, demanding to be free and mocking the parasite that ate him. He¡¯s still screaming when Fen¡¯s spear drives between ribs, and she feels it pulse with the drum of his heart. A deadly wound for most, but he thrashes about, fighting to get free. Fen moves with him, leaving him with no space to manoeuvre or time to heal. His grasping hands try to break the haft, but Odinn¡¯s spear holds firm. A stomp of his foot lets loose a thunderclap, the force that would shatter a castle wall not making a dent. My regeneration has already restored full sight, but I feel bone shards shifting in my chest and force myself to move past it. Glowing blue Ki is still sealing Farhad¡¯s broken shoulder, but Ki Movement hurtles him forward. Air Mana wrapped through his Ki State; he runs up Fen¡¯s back and leaps the slicing wind enclosing his shins. Yanking Raivo about on her spear, she brings him in perfect line with the kick. Deadly Strike and the cutting wind of the Mana wrapping the limb send Raivo¡¯s head flying free. He is still in mid-air, readying to land, when a white light¡ªso different to his Ki¡ªbursts from his flesh, and he disappears. The golden script carries a mocking note but also makes things clear: Farhad has slain Raivo but fled the battlefield to climb Immortal heights. The spoils go to Fenris and Tyr¡¯s servant to split between them. Raivo¡¯s body slumps to the ground while the head, when it impacts the barrier¡¯s dome, shatters like a melon. The lightning mantles flare across my skin. The air tasted of a storm rolling in across an open ocean. Nature''s power amplified to a level that gods would fear, carrying a promise of pain and destruction. Even as I take in Fen¡¯s displeased grunt, the other aspects Raivo gained make me hiss in pain. Spoils indeed, more like spoiled, diseased riddled, rotting meat. Desires, unwholesome and vicious mantles scream out, seeking the domination and pain of others. They make me wish I could vomit. The residue of filth it had collected over countless years, the rape and violation of the innocent and foul alike, all bear down on me, sickening me to my core. Flashes of those tormented in their name mock and deride me, trying to gain control via my satisfaction with the previous holder''s death. Searing through flesh, the power of the aspects struggle and writhe, trying to escape when I hold to my Oath of service. I¡¯d willingly let them go but warned by Ossi¡¯s gaining of thievery; I¡®m far too close to Eyrarh¨¢ls. Teleport sets me far to the north before they can break away. The barrier that the Gods¡¯ War set restricts my choice of locations, but they slide away far beyond the closest town. I let them escape into the long swamp grass. Though the strong winds coming off the great expanse of freshwater ahead of me press upon the surrounding grass, they don¡¯t disturb the foul grey mist that leaves the ground blighted within its haze. Holy Smite burns across the fog, forcing it to retreat into the soil, and I¡¯m not comforted by the location¡¯s remoteness. Evil always resurfaces. I feel the tendrils of its foul power leave me, falling away like necrotic slime and trailing downwards after the retreating force. To seal it, I set one Consecration and Hallow after another into the now-dead ground beneath my feet. The blessings used in Tyr¡¯s service don¡¯t restore the land the miasma killed, but they make its vile sensation seem far distant. I¡¯d happily leave right away, yet the circle of dead ground nearly an acre across within a region of life-filled swampland is too helpful a marker for future seekers. ¡°Mirage, I hope you have some ideas for steering mortals away from a place they shouldn¡¯t venture.¡± Mirage¡¯s reply is quick and filled with a celebratory zest that I hope she can keep when she feels this place. Waiting for Mirage the mantles that didn¡¯t flee from me shift about and settle in place. The raw lightning aspects from a half dozen deities mingle and merge strangely, becoming an awkward weight across my shoulders. Yet others like Plutus¡¯ Wealth and Artemis¡¯ chaste female aspect sit uncomfortably indeed. A suspicion that Fen pushed that aspect of Artemis off on me soon niggles when her Hunter aspect isn¡¯t among those that swept over me. 203 - Into the darkest desires [NSFW][TW] Epoch¨¥ - PoV - Kingdom of Darius - Northern reaches The sense of her magic shattering caused Epoch¨¥ to halt with the dagger just breaking the surface of Hades¡¯ skin. Despite the trickle of golden ichor spreading across his stomach, the Olympian didn¡¯t flinch away from her gaze. The golden script that blazed into Epoch¨¥¡¯s awareness made her hiss just as she¡¯d returned her attention to him. Farhad has slain Raivo but fled the battlefield to climb Immortal heights. The spoils go to Fenris and Tyr¡¯s servant to split between them. ¡°Oh, you idiot. I told you to stay well away from Fenris. You were asking to be destroyed by fighting her and tangling with a Celestial¡ªwhat a waste. Well, no matter,¡± huffed Epoch¨¥ and shoved the blade into Hades''s heart. As the Greek God of the Underworld died, she felt her Domain shifting in the fashion she¡¯d long planned out through her dormant Mantle. ¡°At last, I¡¯ll be free of the Abyss as well. I wonder if the Titan named a Plane after you Hades because he liked you or to remind him of those he planned to trap?¡± Looking at the mummified body in front of her, she leaned in and kissed his lips. In the pendant around her neck, War¡¯s call continues to pulse, seeking to spread its infection through the minds of gods and mortals alike. When her actions caused the fragile remains to collapse into dust, Epoch¨¥ howled in laughter. The sound echoing through the town emptied of life by Hades¡¯ troops before the spells from Epoch¨¥¡¯s hags and an onslaught of her manes and gnarls shock troops slaughtered them?. An ancient Night Hag, shrouded in shadows wrought from centuries of harvested pain and misery, let the door to Epoch¨¥¡¯s borrowed chamber open with a gentle push of her taloned fingers. Her long tresses of green hair, a curtain that continued until mid-torso, hid her craggy features well. Indeed, they were far more effective in concealing what they covered than the mildewed rags of tunic and skirt beneath the shadows. ¡°The manes want to move on to slaughter the city as well, Lady Epoch¨¥. Should I continue to hold the Shaman in check?¡± ¡°Let them move to attack but don¡¯t support them. The defenders are strong enough to deal with them. Ensure there are enough hints of my name and nature among their possessions to spread the fear.¡± Epoch¨¥¡¯s instruction had the Hag shift her weight unhappily as she moved off, only to stop and, with a moment¡¯s hesitation, look back. Even as she turned, her shadow continued walking and stretched away from her, drawing thinner as it did. ¡°Does that announcement require any adjustments to the plan?¡± ¡°Yes, my little sister of fear, send me a few gnarls. With Raivo destroyed, I¡¯ll have to take care of seeding some half breeds of my own. I want to ensure I have pawns in play to stir future conflicts as needed.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV¡ªMaze True Sight washed away the dense shadows allowing Amdirlain to take in all the details that the dull lighting hid. The beautiful flowers and ripe fruit are a temptation to stay, relax, and meditate, but it was a temptation she ignored. Given the millennia the others had spent within the maze, finding a way out was not a priority¡ªit was the priority. The grey-white stone of the corridor met the chamber¡¯s ceiling towards its peak. Where the hall and chamber joined was a simple curved archway decorated with carvings of roses, marking the threshold of her room. With the shadows no longer obscuring sight, it was clear the corridor quickly turned away, and Amdirlain headed out to explore. The rough stone underfoot is far different from her assigned room¡¯s lush grass and soft earth. Activating Ki State prevented the stone from rubbing her feet raw but, in a quick test of shifting direction, had the tattoos¡¯ strange weight moving suspiciously. Still, while every passage she found was large enough for a Fire Giant to travel along, none went in a straight line for long. Their twists and turns left uneven spaces for the dead ends of other halls to nestle within, though none of the pathways she initially tried led to another chamber. Despite the fragrant blooms in her room, there weren¡¯t any odours or sounds as she explored the maze. She followed the twisting curves through crossroads and T-junctions, turn after turn, mapping out her course by noting every choice and looking back frequently to memorise her return path¡¯s appearance. Tremor Sense sometimes showed chambers near, but finding her way to them was another matter. Her path twisted away from one promising hollow after another, and the vibrations from her deliberately echoing footsteps more often faded into solid rock. Rounding a bend, Amdirlain stopped to regard an archway ahead. The stone was indistinguishable from the walls, the archway itself was completely unmarked stone. Beyond was an uneven path of river stones set into fallow earth. Only a few metres away, it looked like a rich brown loam, ripe for growth, churned with compost and dug up for a fresh planting, but there wasn¡¯t any odour. True Sight showed her nothing at the threshold, but she approached it carefully. A brief thought that death would likely set her back into her room wasn¡¯t a comfort, but Precognition warned of no dangers ahead. The chamber beyond the threshold curved away, and the stepping stones arced wide along the chamber¡¯s course until they disappeared from view. The smells and sounds hit her when she moved to the first steppingstone. The room¡¯s odour contained fallow soil and mulch in the moisture-laden air. With it came a loud splashing from around the path¡¯s bend. Lifted by Ki Flight, she floated along the visible curve of the wall, keeping alert for any danger. Her precautions proved unnecessary when she spied the chamber¡¯s far end. The chamber¡¯s shape curved like a kidney bean reaching nearly twenty-five metres at its longest point. The room contained more turned soil and stepping stones, with no obstructions until a pool at the far end. A stream of water cascaded down a tiered rock face at the back before it plunged the last four metres to froth the pool¡¯s water. The crystal-clear water away from the foam allowed her to see the pool¡¯s bottom, its depth mostly like her own¡ªit might reach past her knees in some places. Despite the volume of water streaming in, the pool¡¯s level didn¡¯t change. Though it was bare of the foliage that Mirage had described, the chamber still looked eerily like the description of her long time home. Amdirlain became sure of it when a shadow behind the waterfall deepened in True Sight. Skirting the fall¡¯s edge, she crouched, slid behind the water, and wiggled inside. Meticulous drawings and portraits covered the walls of the hidey-hole; worn pebbles carefully shaved to leave remnants behind used to set each in place. Amdirlain looked over carefully drawn illustrations and found familiar faces. ¡°What happened to Mirage¡¯s trees?¡± Heading back out, she continued onwards and slowly found more chambers. Each stripped of foliage, but some showed features that matched the stories the others had told. The occurrence of hunger was a surprise and prompted a return to her chamber. Ki Movement sped her along the passages so quickly that sometimes she ran high along the walls or flipped from one to another to make a turn. The first time the weight in the tattoos threw off her balance within a flip, she¡¯d put it down to coincidence; the second time, her suspicions grew. Now Amdirlain was certain the brands contained deliberate malice and wondered how Orh¨ºthurin had lived with them for so long. Had she been deaf to the effect, or were their results so minor that they hadn¡¯t been able to throw her off-balance in the same way? Rising, Amdirlain slipped her dress free and tied it around her waist, the cloth just long enough to fashion a loose sash. Inventory not working here was just one of the niggling annoyances among her locked powers. Ki State had lessened most of the recent damage, but a freeway speed collision with stone had left bones broken. It was only when the last bones finished healing that she ran again. Picking up the pace slowly, she selected from the growing paths she knew. The echoing pulse of her running let Tremor Sense map out more of the maze. In a test, she flipped from one wall to another at a slower speed, and though the tattoos itched, their uneven-balance stayed consistent. With deliberate care, she looped around, pushed her pace higher, and kept running while the itching grew more annoying. Three loops, then four, below her maximum speed, did nothing more than provide irritation. The instant she raced forward, going full speed, legs a blur of motion and Ki Movement added in, the vines coiled within her flesh. At first, they did nothing, but she had the growing sense of them waiting to strike. When she finally committed to a path that required her to manoeuvre dangerously, the tattoos shifted forcefully to throw her off balance. Instead of fighting it, Amdirlain turned into the shift and flipped the opposite way completely. Now heading away from the direction she¡¯d planned, she landed on the ceiling, running along the other passage. The tattoos thrashed themselves about, and Amdirlain, riding within Precognition¡¯s hold, had fractions of seconds to adjust. Icy nails of pain raced up along her spine, and iron scented the air when their tips of growth breached her skin. The pressure of her muscles and flesh contouring around the thorns had her gritting her teeth, and still she ran. She migrated from the ceiling to a curving wall before reaching the ground again. Through all her manoeuvring, the thorns grew, their weight shifted, trying to hamper her into a dangerous misstep. It was the pain of thousands of bone splinters squeezed up through every breach they made; gravel rash laced with salt and two hundred proof alcohol poured into an open gut wound, with a molten lead encore. With the next course, things got nasty. The speed caused them to vibrate, humming through her bones like they were trying to yank each one from her flesh. The blood that had trickled across her skin became a stream. Thorns spearing upwards from her thighs tried to gut her as she ran, but Amdirlain snapped them, even when each regrew, without dropping speed. Their growth impeded her movements more and more, yet she pushed faster towards her space. The thorns scratching after stone didn¡¯t leave a mark but repeatedly threatened her balance. I¡¯d want to gut the cunts that sung this if they weren¡¯t already long dead. I will not give in to them. Her path delivered her back to her home chamber, and she looped around the walls before spinning free to land on the pool¡¯s edge. Within the water, her reflection showed a bizarre monster of thorns, blood, and serrated flesh. Holding herself still, Amdirlain cycled Ki, counting each cycle until the thorns finally withdrew, letting her flesh heal. [Ki Movement [M] (40->41) Protean [M] (52->53) Tremor Sense [J] (10->13) Mental Hardening [S] (16->17) Pain Tolerance [Ad] (33->35)] Nice to see that doing stupid stuff has the regeneration aspect of Protean progressing. When the last thorn retracted, her skin was glowing gold, and she untied the dress from around her waist and held it up. Thorns had left it a cut, pierced, blood-soaked mess, and Amdirlain rolled her eyes before she tossed it off one side. And this Amdirlain is why you can¡¯t have nice things. ¡°Back to hurting myself and celebrating the gains; Elliyna would be disappointed,¡± Amdirlain said aloud, simply to hear the words echo within the chamber. Without the thorns¡¯ distraction, hunger pangs provided a reminder of why she¡¯d returned in the first place. All the empty chambers lacked the food this one offered, and she hadn¡¯t wanted to use a Psi technique with the offered juiciness of this fruit. The green apple¡¯s selection was immediate for its familiarity, and the taste was what she expected. But the message that appeared when her teeth crunched into a green apple certainly wasn¡¯t. [Resistance Poison [I] (6 -> 7)] Underneath its bitter-sweet taste was something else, and she spat out the juices before she could swallow them. Seriously what the fuck! My food¡¯s poisoned? Analysis [Fruit of the Maze Details: An apple from Amdirlain¡¯s room. In other words, they are not telling. Holding it away, she considered her bite marks and the fruit¡¯s exposed flesh with True Sight, but there wasn¡¯t a glimmer of magic. With Crafter¡¯s Insight, the Psi technique revealed what lay within. The fruit would sustain her, but it would cause fading memories and the years to drift. While it might be a blessing for some trapped in here for endless years, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t eager to indulge in fruit formed by an aspect of Oblivion. A flick cast the apple beneath its tree and the ground quickly absorbed it; as it submerged, she spun to seek her dress. Fortunately, it hadn¡¯t disappeared, still laying atop the grass, but with the blood whisked from it. When she lifted it from the ground, she found the cloth was still pierced and cut but was slowly recovering. Leaving it to whatever process was reversing the damage, she knelt by the pool¡¯s edge and cleaned herself off. Her Inventory¡¯s non-functional state made washing necessary for the first time in far longer than she cared to consider. As she cleaned herself up, she applied a Psi technique to herself that she had only ever practised on training constructs. She¡¯d learnt it for two reasons: one, in case she found someone starving, and secondly, as a base for its more dangerous variant, which she hadn¡¯t yet learnt. With a combination of Psychometabolism and Metacreativity, Sustenance eased the growling in her stomach. The technique read the target¡¯s nutritional needs and created a paste-like material straight into its stomach; it was a technique that the infirmary¡¯s psi-skins maintained continually during a patient¡¯s healing. The advanced technique read a living organism and then produced materials that would either make it sick or kill it, depending on her need. ¡°Brands on my Soul showing and behaving as if living things, and my body needing food. Soul made flesh or part of the prisoner maintenance system?¡± grumbled Amdirlain as she let the technique work. By the time the hunger was gone, the dress had finished mending and collecting it, and Amdirlain moved to investigate her hiding place. Like Mirage¡¯s waterfall retreat, it reached far into the wall, though hers had a completely smooth wall untouched by artwork. Tucking the dress inside, she glanced down at herself and shook her head; while the tattoo¡¯s coverage was extensive, it hardly counted as clothes. Teleport placed her back at the furthest point she¡¯d explored so far, and she didn¡¯t hesitate to continue. Yet another bare room followed others with varying foliage. In all of them, her True Sight showed no one hidden, and the Aura Sight technique just showed the life force around the plants she found. Crafter¡¯s Insights delivered the same verdict on the food source present in each, sustenance to ease the stomach and the burden of captivity. Hours stretched out and she sensed Protean¡¯s regeneration wash fatigue away. Food wasn¡¯t the only thing her body needed now. When she finally found the staircase after days spent fruitlessly exploring blind pathways and empty chambers, it wasn¡¯t entirely what she¡¯d expected. Instead of only the expected paired staircases, another corridor was across the room, stretching for a half-kilometre or more. Where it joined the room showed hints that True Sight was peering through something, and turning it off, the change was instant. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. The chamber plunged into near-complete darkness, and a blank stone wall blended seamlessly with the rest. The staircases at least held no surprises. One led up, and another set led down. Those leading down ended in an archway with the mosaic boundary that Ebusuku had described just beyond it. The short staircase upwards ended in a blank stone door that matched Sage¡¯s description of the seal when a trial wasn¡¯t in progress. Reactivating, True Sight shunted the illusion aside but looking between another plain grey-white hall and the stairs down, Amdirlain went for option two and started down the stairs. [Warning: Multiple life paths detected in approaching entity The trial decision pathway is unstable.] Sage said it put him back in his room, so if I fuck up, I can be back here quickly to try the corridor. The first square showed a scene she wasn¡¯t expecting rather than her first life. It showed the first sight she¡¯d seen when emerging as a Succubus¡ªstretched out in that image were scenes from Culerzic, the ¡®Blood Planes of the Dretch¡¯ beneath ¡®The Cliffs of Lust¡¯. She ignited Ki State, making her flesh appear formed of golden flames, but when Ki Flight wafted her across the mosaic boundary, nothing happened. An invisible barrier stopped her at the far edge of the scene when she tried to continue down the corridor. Looking down had her reconsidering her choice. It was a scene she had spent hours taking apart in her mind, cataloguing all the vileness that the tortured souls beneath had committed. But with the exit Ebusuku had taken potentially laying ahead, Amdirlain settled down, ready to move at a moment''s notice. Yet she wasn¡¯t allowed that moment; when skin touched the stone, she plunged into a cliffside moment far different from what happened. Amdirlain could only function as a helpless observer to another choice. This Julia got caught in a cycle of denial that what lay beneath her was possible. A moment of choice to disbelieve costing her a fragile grip against the urges Amdirlain recognised as B¡¯s work. Each moment of denial tipped the balance further from Julia¡¯s control and made it harder to regain self-control. When she desperately forced herself to move, she realised she¡¯d been screaming too late, and a Succubus¡¯ lash wrapped around her neck. The cat-of-nine tails'' metal tips guided the hide to smack against her skin, and when they touched against each other with the loop complete, the leather merged into one. ¡°My little pretty. I find it curious I didn¡¯t see you arrive,¡± the Succubus purred and blurred forward to press bodily against Julia¡¯s and Teleport them both. The chamber they arrived in burned with Mana to Julia¡¯s senses, and uneducated, there was no way of understanding it. Amdirlain, though, wasn¡¯t hampered and picked apart the ward¡¯s nature. Entry and exit via teleportation or other means were only possible by breaking the wards or possessing the key. Julia caught a flash of gold, gem-encrusted walls, and a wide bed covered in poppy red silken fabrics before being face planted into it. Still restrained, the other Succubus pressed against her in a way that had Julia''s body pulsing with body blows of lust. Trying to twist free, she found hard nipples rubbing teasingly against her back with the Succubus effortlessly pinning her in place. The leverage afforded by her wings was abused in full by her grinding captor. ¡°Get off me,¡± screamed Julia and snapped an elbow back that hit squarely but didn¡¯t even make the Succubus blink. The press of the other¡¯s weight grew, and the observing Amdirlain hissed in dismay to realise the uninjured Succubus was flying down to pin the inexperienced version of herself. The writhing Succubus pressed atop her, drawing an unexpected moan from Julia with the burst of lust spiking heat from her groin. The struggles brushed her body against living silk that sucked hungrily at every millimetre of exposed skin. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll get you off alright.¡± Quick licks of the Succubus¡¯ long tongue along her spine follow each word. In time a tail¡¯s coil rubbed against Julia¡¯s lower lips, each movement in sync with the undulations atop her. Waves of lust and heat drowned out her disgust and tried to swamp a mind already unbalanced by B¡¯s unspeaking pressure. Not wanting to give in to the Succubus or the wet heat pulsing inside her, Julia tried again to twist free but felt like a helpless kitten in her grasp. ¡°You are a playful one,¡± the Succubus growled, her voice husky with lust. It only took a few well-practised movements for the Succubus to effortlessly force Julia to look in her eyes¡ªexpertly crumpling Julia¡¯s wing into place as she flipped her onto her back. The Succubus¡¯ demonic gaze and beauty locked Julia in place but had Amdirlain within, frustrated with the inability to rip out her throat. Black tresses framed an ivory-skinned, heart-shaped face, and the power in the Demon¡¯s gaze burned incongruently inside baby blue eyes. Her delicate, straight nose led down to full, poisonous red lips, that showed just the hint of sharp eyeteeth as they parted in speech. ¡°Why can¡¯t I touch your mind? Oh, pretty! And here I was looking forward to simply fucking your newly spawned brains out. You might net me far more fun than simply a new toy. I¡¯m not sure if I should hope Lord Moloch has time now or not.¡± Pressed in place by a hand on her throat, Julia could only gasp in appalled surprise when a hand suddenly cupped her crotch. Not content to hold, long fingers plunged deep into Julia¡¯s hot, desire-slicked pussy. Caught between revulsion and heat that had her twitching, B¡¯s voiceless presence nudged for more. Unreasoning lust unchained, Julia¡¯s hips lifted to allow the Succubus¡¯ fingers to slip in further still. Leaning forward, she shifted her grip into Julia¡¯s hair and undulated to brush their breasts against each other. Her other hand wedged between them, she pressed hard against Julia¡¯s mound, and with a slurp determined fingers sheathed fully inside her. The coil that had teased against Julia¡¯s outer lips shifted to wrap python-like around the Succubus¡¯ hand. The way it rubbed against Julia with every combined motion added to the electric bursts of pleasure through her body. One moment she was on the bed and the next in a chamber far different, though the Succubus retained her hold and they hovered upright instead of sprawled out. The familiar grains of caramel-white polished marble formed the immense chamber¡¯s floors and walls. Within the echoing expanse, a pair of leather reclining couches faced each other, with a low table between them. Various crystal glasses, from flutes to brandy snifters, inlaid with gold filigree, sat on the shelves of a silver and glass rack nearby. ¡°Let her go. Return when I call for you.¡± The relaxed tenor issuing the order was too pleasant for the tongue they were speaking. As soon as silence returned, the Succubus disappeared, taking only her furnace of lust with her; the one ignited inside Julia remained and grew hotter still, dropping from her climax¡¯s edge. Denied on the cusp of release, Julia staggered and barely kept herself from falling. It had been a nightmare of sexual cravings made flesh, but the heat and fluid slicking her lips and trailing down her legs confirmed it wasn¡¯t a dream. It hadn¡¯t been a dream, and the desires ignited still roared around inside her, making it hard for Julia to think but causing a cold fire of rage to burn in Amdirlain. The voice had come from behind, and finding her balance, Julia turned around and found herself only metres from a massive rosewood wine rack covering a long wall. It was a strange sight moments after an assault that still had her torn between fighting and her own body¡¯s cravings. It was precisely like a twisted rapist would insist; that their victims had wanted it. That thought added to her feeling of being off-balanced and stained, let alone the desire still pulsing inside her. Standing by that massive wine rack, examining her confused state, was a relatively ordinary-looking man. When their gazes locked, that deception got blown away as his powerful Charisma pressed against her, making lust surge higher. The furnace in the Succubus¡¯ gaze was a mere candle to the inferno in his. Purple irises glowing with power made his supernatural nature clear, but that was the only inhuman trait he possessed. Indeed, his straight nose, rugged features, and shoulder-length chestnut hair would have looked right at home in a romance novel. A black silken robe that draped from broad shoulders hung open, allowing a V to show sun-kissed skin and a muscular torso before a belt drew it tight at his waist. ¡°Julia Amanda Diane Earnst with such an Anglo-Saxon name, I¡¯d assume you¡¯re also a Hidden like myself. Is that correct?¡± asked the man and stopped to wave a hand at himself. ¡°Call me Moloch. Not my real name, but one an old Jewish man called me some years before I ended up here.¡° How his eyes looked her over made Julia aware of her naked state. When she moved to cover her breasts and crotch, appalled by her stereotypical maiden in distress behaviour, she found her wings wrapped¡ªwithout thought¡ªaround her front. The spike at their knuckle joint framing either side of her face, but against him, the blades and claws felt a feeble threat highlighting the meaningless barrier of the wing¡¯s membrane. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± Julia asked. With the question, she was suddenly aware the only words spoken were in a tongue that sounded cruel to her ears and not one she¡¯d ever learnt. ¡°My apologies, where are my manners! But that is your name; I can see it with Analysis. If you prove yourself, I might help you with that and more. Obviously, by your behaviour, you¡¯re not used to walking around in such a state of undress,¡± Moloch said. Pointing in her direction, a loose dress of royal purple puddled to the floor before her. ¡°It has an open back. You can step into it and tie it behind your neck.¡± When Julia hesitated, he raised his hand to cover his eyes. ¡°I won¡¯t look, in case that¡¯s what¡¯s keeping you.¡± The Fabricate Spell had been evident to the observing Amdirlain despite the limited Mana Sense Julia possessed, but she couldn¡¯t help but wince at Julia¡¯s ready acceptance of it. It made her wonder how she¡¯d survived the Abyss and avoided remaining tied to Usd¡¯ghi or worse. Unsure what was holding her in this phantasmal existence, Amdirlain kept digging away, trying to find its seams to escape. Julia dropped her hands away and bent to snatch it up, ignorant of the scrying spell that had formed to watch her. The dress was what he¡¯d said and more: a backless satin dress with a split bodice, easily secured with a loop she could tie about her neck. The curve of its back reached low enough to allow her tail and wings free movement, but the loop had it crossing her front in a way that supported her breasts. ¡°How did you get here?¡± asked Moloch; once Julia stopped moving, he drew a bottle of what looked like a white wine from the rack and offered it to her. When Julia didn¡¯t immediately respond, he returned it and continued along the wall. ¡°A red instead? I was in the mood for a crisp white, but I could have a red.¡± ¡°Why should I tell you?¡± asked Julia, still trying to regain her composure, aware of the musky desire wafting from the slickness spreading down her legs. Moloch¡¯s eyebrows lifted, and he waved his hands at the racks. ¡°The colour wine you¡¯d prefer or how you got here? In either case, what you tell or do is completely up to you. Likewise, what I do or don¡¯t do is completely up to me. Our choices are our own, as is the repercussion of those choices. I did, though, just make you a dress,¡± reminded Moloch unnecessarily, Julia¡¯s fingers still stroking the soft fabric. ¡°You¡¯re new here, but we¡¯re already damned, so why not have some fun?¡± ¡°Will you tell me how you got here first?¡± asked Julia, desperate for time to calm down. Moloch didn¡¯t answer immediately but selected two bottles before he stalked across the room to the closest couch. ¡°I¡¯ve decided I¡¯ll have a white, you can have it or the red.¡± Not waiting for a response, he set both the bottles on the table, and wine glasses vanished from the shelves to appear beside each. The bottles he opened by obliterating their tops¡ªthe bottle vanishing from the curve up¡ªand then he delicately poured himself a glass. Sitting down, he sipped his glass and nodded in approval at Julia, nervously pouring herself one at his prompting. ¡°I was in the Holy Land and got news that a ship of mine had made a delivery in Cyprus under a new name; truly a miracle, since I had the assurances from a formerly trusted source that it had been lost with all hands. Naturally relieved that the ship and crew were safe, I had investigated and was told it had arrived from Crete. Oddly enough, a business partner also lived in Crete, but surely they wouldn¡¯t have betrayed me.¡± Awkwardly, Julia tried to sit down sideways on the other couch seeking a position where the wings wouldn¡¯t get caught. Raising a hand to stop her, Moloch gave an amused smile. ¡°You¡¯ll have Change Form, though more powerful versions are possible. Most powers activate by willing the result; the simpler the use of the Power, the less effort. Try it.¡± Nodding, Julia followed his instructions, felt the wing¡¯s weight disappear from her back, and repeated the exercise with her tail. Moloch smiled at her and gestured, welcoming as she settled onto the couch. ¡°You referred to my name as Anglo-Saxon. What nationality were you? What year was it?¡± asked Julia and stopped before she could blurt out any more questions. A helpless observer, Amdirlain still had no trouble spotting the cunning and desire in Moloch¡¯s gaze. An emotion B¡ªmore in tune with her lusts¡ªalso felt, and set surging heat to engorge Julia¡¯s clit. The embarrassing wetness that followed the heat wave widened the smile on Moloch¡¯s lips. ¡°I was born in France. I made money transporting people and goods to the Holy Land and more in continuing to supply knightly orders. I would have made far more except a partner got greedy.¡± Gulping down the glass, he leant forward and collected the bottle from where Julia had left it on the table. ¡°I didn¡¯t know it was him at first. I thought it had been a factor in our employment. When I investigated, I eventually was directed to his lovely new opulent resident, and I felt compelled to clarify my disappointment. The guards he¡¯d gained with my coin weren¡¯t conversationalist, but after a brisk discussion, I slipped away,¡° Moloch replied and relaxed into the couch, sipping the wine. ¡°If you left, how was he involved in your getting here?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t stay away,¡± laughed Moloch. ¡°When we first met, he¡¯d complained about people trying to make his children starve when they haggled hard. I returned later to save them from that fate since he was certainly going to pay me back, plus interest, the church be damned.¡± ¡°What did you do?¡± asked Julia, but Amdirlain could already see what direction he was heading by the smug smirk on his face. Moloch took another sip of the wine and motioned Julia to drink as yet untouched wine. ¡°Various things; it was roaring fun. I saw him later outside the church with his two eldest boys that unfortunately hadn¡¯t been home for the fire or my archers. He started waving something at me when he caught sight of me, cursing my name, calling for my damnation, and for me to be tossed into the depths of the blackest and foulest of pits. Then here I was, well, not here exactly, but in the Abyss, though I look a lot better now than I did then. Demonic evolutions are wonderful things. Now, will you tell me your story?¡± ¡°The only thing I know about who sent me here was a message about breaking a heart, but I don¡¯t know who cursed me. I was on the way home and felt unwell. Then I was chased through a stone passageway by something and burst out onto the cliff,¡± admitted Julia, reluctantly appalled by his tale and the delight he took in recounting the murder of a family. ¡°My experience was similar, but I was underground, in a dark hole filled with corpses, inhabiting a distorted and twisted body. If you ever see a Rutterkin, you¡¯ll understand what I suffered. The thing chasing you would be the Demon whose form your Soul should have spawned if you were a normal arrival; its energy is what¡¯s forming that lush body of yours,¡± offered Moloch, and Julia blanched. ¡°Mine tried to eat my Soul later, but I was strong enough to strangle it out of existence. We¡¯re able to get stronger faster than the normal demons can. You must be careful to avoid also empowering your Demon.¡± ¡°Is that why the Succubus needed to report my existence?¡± Moloch nodded and responded after he refilled his glass. ¡°I¡¯ve met two other fortunate souls like us. We gain Class levels faster and increase our demonic tiers; if you know what you''re looking for, it becomes obvious.¡± ¡°Fortunate? How are we fortunate? I want to get out of here, get home, not get stronger as a Demon.¡± ¡°Fortunate because the Church¡¯s ridiculous declarations of sin no longer bind us, and we have eternity. Plus, out? There is nowhere to get out to,¡± Moloch laughed. ¡°You¡¯re not even in the realm whose existence once contained us. Time doesn¡¯t even follow the same path, the most recent fellow I met came from nine hundred years after me, yet for me, it¡¯s been a score of millennia. But the three of us, now perhaps four, were from the same world at least. That¡¯s likely since I gave a few names and you didn¡¯t even blink at them, so I know you recognised them. No, you¡¯ll be far safer with me. That is if you know what¡¯s good for you.¡± ¡°You feel a need to threaten me?¡± ¡°Merely a statement of facts. Given you didn¡¯t like me looking at you naked, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll break quick. Away from me, you¡¯ll find yourself a mere sex toy, passed around to one and all. Now with me, at least I don¡¯t share my toys; you smell all excited, I can¡¯t wait to get acquainted.¡± ¡°Great, saved from a rapist by another rapist,¡± Julia growled, trying to fight the overwhelming desire twisting with the sick feeling in her guts. Moloch shook his head, and a finger wave caused the dress to vanish. ¡°I don¡¯t need to indulge in such vices, well, not today; there are plenty of willing succubi. Despite your abuse of my hospitality, I¡¯m still willing to forgive if you make it up to me. Otherwise, I¡¯ll choose not to save you from whatever use my people have for you. After you¡¯ve screamed yourself raw and pushed out a few litters of baby Succubi, then maybe we can talk again. Your choice, my companion, or Dretch bait? Choose now.¡± His words chilled Julia to be core, and everything collapsed within the blooming of that frozen sense of desolation. Amdirlain, still fighting to get free, knew she hadn¡¯t caused it. Instead, the illusion had released her to lay shuddering on the now blank stone. Being helpless in the framework of that imaginary place didn¡¯t lessen her. Holding herself motionless, she carefully took her time to work through the churning emotions that still sat inside her. Though these cut far closer to home, originating from the same life she¡¯d lived, she¡¯d lived far more since then. Every moment, she¡¯d seen how the Succubus, B¡¯s, urges and even Moloch had manipulated Julia¡¯s reactions. Shaking her head to escape the remnants of her old na?ve self, she stopped at the change in her surroundings. Besides the scene beneath her having transformed into blank stone, the corridor was gone. Ahead and to the sides was a crescent of roughly hewn stone lined with fractures. The largest might fit a hand inside, but the rest were barely hairline breaks. When Amdirlain leant forward to peek into the hand-wide crevice, she caught sight of a rustic home scene before the corridor trembled and shook. The closer she got, the stronger the vibrations, but even as she paused, the fracture opened like a credenza door, compressing the others. [Trial path critical anomaly. Warning: Cascading collapse from multiple lifetimes within path walker¡¯s Soul.] The words flashed through her mind, and the stone walls slammed on her. Suddenly, back in her room, the grass underfoot replaced the sensation of crushed bones and pulped flesh. Despite a quick survey finding her body uninjured, the feeling of being squished remained, and exhaustion accompanied the bone-breaking agony from head to toe drawing continual gasps of pain. [Resistance: Mundane Materials [G] (4->6) Pain Tolerance [Ad] (35->37)] Moloch¡¯s PoV ¨C Culerzic With his wards showing that no scrying occurred, he shook off a feeling that something had reached out to him. Stretched with his heels on the table before his couch, Moloch looked at the strange Succubus before him. Her sharp pointed features weren¡¯t unusual among her kind, but the tiara formed of bone-white horns and ¡®wings¡¯ were very different. It had taken a dozen of his better wizards to secure her, and even with her Protean inert, she still possessed her strange features. The nest of ribbons and chains formed from black ligaments that sprung from her back hinted at some exciting evolutions ahead for her. Even more interesting right now was the classes Analysis showed her possessing: Queen of Planes, Assassin to a delightfully high level, and Hunter and Wizard. It was another anomaly for investigation, since most would have taken a better base class after gaining a Tier 5 Prestige Class and all those affinities. ¡°Now, my lovely, since you¡¯ve had us chasing you so long, I think it''s time we got acquainted,¡° said Moloch, motioning for the Succubus to sit across from him. ¡°Your name is quite interesting. I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯d call yourself that, but the Anglo-Saxon lettering is interesting since it doesn¡¯t exist here. This space intentionally left blank?¡± murmured Moloch. ¡°How about I call you Slate? Or Intent?¡± ¡°You might have me for now, but I¡¯ll get free of you. I¡¯ve got foes I need dead, and I won¡¯t let you stop me,¡± growled the Succubus. ¡°Stop you? Are you sure I¡¯d stop you?¡± laughed Moloch and pushed aside the Succubus¡¯ Will. ¡°Who are you looking to kill?¡± ¡°Raivo, Baln¨¦rith, and Usd¡¯ghi,¡± she replied, grinding her teeth as if it might restrain the answer he¡¯d demanded. ¡°My, you have delightful tastes in enemies,¡± laughed Moloch. ¡°One of those I don¡¯t know, but the ladies, I¡¯ll certainly at least applaud while you get blood on their boots. The question is: who do you want dead? You or them, Intent?¡± ¡°Them,¡± growled the Succubus. ¡°Call me-¡° ¡°Bliss! That¡¯s what I¡¯ll name you, Bliss.¡± The Succubus growled at the pressure from his Willpower set the name in place. A moment later, Analysis showed Profile Mastery hadn¡¯t replaced it completely; instead, it had simply added his name to the existing one. ¡°Well, someone messed you up,¡± murmured Moloch. ¡°This could be fun.¡± 203 - Into the darkest desires [Fade Version] Epoch¨¥ - PoV - Kingdom of Darius - Northern reaches The sense of her magic shattering caused Epoch¨¥ to halt with the dagger just breaking the surface of Hades¡¯ skin. Despite the trickle of golden ichor spreading across his stomach, the Olympian didn¡¯t flinch away from her gaze. The golden script that blazed into Epoch¨¥¡¯s awareness made her hiss just as she¡¯d returned her attention to him. Farhad has slain Raivo but fled the battlefield to climb Immortal heights. The spoils go to Fenris and Tyr¡¯s servant to split between them. ¡°Oh, you idiot. I told you to stay well away from Fenris. You were asking to be destroyed by fighting her and tangling with a Celestial¡ªwhat a waste. Well, no matter,¡± huffed Epoch¨¥ and shoved the blade into Hades''s heart. As the Greek God of the Underworld died, she felt her Domain shifting in the fashion she¡¯d long planned out through her dormant Mantle. ¡°At last, I¡¯ll be free of the Abyss as well. I wonder if the Titan named a Plane after you Hades because he liked you or to remind him of those he planned to trap?¡± Looking at the mummified body in front of her, she leaned in and kissed his lips. In the pendant around her neck, War¡¯s call continues to pulse, seeking to spread its infection through the minds of gods and mortals alike. When her actions caused the fragile remains to collapse into dust, Epoch¨¥ howled in laughter. The sound echoing through the town emptied of life by Hades¡¯ troops before the spells from Epoch¨¥¡¯s hags and an onslaught of her manes and gnarls shock troops slaughtered them?. An ancient Night Hag, shrouded in shadows wrought from centuries of harvested pain and misery, let the door to Epoch¨¥¡¯s borrowed chamber open with a gentle push of her taloned fingers. Her long tresses of green hair, a curtain that continued until mid-torso, hid her craggy features well. Indeed, they were far more effective in concealing what they covered than the mildewed rags of tunic and skirt beneath the shadows. ¡°The manes want to move on to slaughter the city as well, Lady Epoch¨¥. Should I continue to hold the Shaman in check?¡± ¡°Let them move to attack but don¡¯t support them. The defenders are strong enough to deal with them. Ensure there are enough hints of my name and nature among their possessions to spread the fear.¡± Epoch¨¥¡¯s instruction had the Hag shift her weight unhappily as she moved off, only to stop and, with a moment¡¯s hesitation, look back. Even as she turned, her shadow continued walking and stretched away from her, drawing thinner as it did. ¡°Does that announcement require any adjustments to the plan?¡± ¡°Yes, my little sister of fear, send me a few gnarls. With Raivo destroyed, I¡¯ll have to take care of seeding some half breeds of my own. I want to ensure I have pawns in play to stir future conflicts as needed.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s PoV¡ªMaze True Sight washed away the dense shadows allowing Amdirlain to take in all the details that the dull lighting hid. The beautiful flowers and ripe fruit are a temptation to stay, relax, and meditate, but it was a temptation she ignored. Given the millennia the others had spent within the maze, finding a way out was not a priority¡ªit was the priority. The grey-white stone of the corridor met the chamber¡¯s ceiling towards its peak. Where the hall and chamber joined was a simple curved archway decorated with carvings of roses, marking the threshold of her room. With the shadows no longer obscuring sight, it was clear the corridor quickly turned away, and Amdirlain headed out to explore. The rough stone underfoot is far different from her assigned room¡¯s lush grass and soft earth. Activating Ki State prevents the stone from rubbing her feet raw but, in a quick test of shifting direction, has the tattoos¡¯ strange weight moving suspiciously. Still, while every passage she found was large enough for a Fire Giant to travel along, none went in a straight line for long. Their twists and turns left uneven spaces for the dead ends of other halls to nestle within, though none of the pathways she initially tried led to another chamber. Despite the fragrant blooms in her room, there weren¡¯t any odours or sounds as she explored the maze. She followed the twisting curves through crossroads and T-junctions, turn after turn, mapping out her course by noting every choice and looking back frequently to memorise her return path¡¯s appearance. Tremor Sense sometimes showed chambers near, but finding her way to them was another matter. Her path twisted away from one promising hollow after another, and the vibrations from her deliberately echoing footsteps more often faded into solid rock. Rounding a bend, Amdirlain stopped to regard an archway ahead. The stone was indistinguishable from the walls, the archway itself was completely unmarked stone. Beyond was an uneven path of river stones set into fallow earth. Only a few metres away, it looked like a rich brown loam, ripe for growth, churned with compost and dug up for a fresh planting, but there wasn¡¯t any odour. True Sight showed her nothing at the threshold, but she approached it carefully. A brief thought that death would likely set her back into her room wasn¡¯t a comfort, but Precognition warned of no dangers ahead. The chamber beyond the threshold curved away, and the stepping stones arced wide along the chamber¡¯s course until they disappeared from view. The smells and sounds hit her when she moved to the first steppingstone. The room¡¯s odour contained fallow soil and mulch in the moisture-laden air. With it came a loud splashing from around the path¡¯s bend. Lifted by Ki Flight, she floated along the visible curve of the wall, keeping alert for any danger. Her precautions proved unnecessary when she spied the chamber¡¯s far end. The chamber¡¯s shape curved like a kidney bean reaching nearly twenty-five metres at its longest point. The room contained more turned soil and stepping stones, with no obstructions until a pool at the far end. A stream of water cascaded down a tiered rock face at the back before it plunged the last four metres to froth the pool¡¯s water. The crystal-clear water away from the foam allowed her to see the pool¡¯s bottom, its depth mostly like her own¡ªit might reach past her knees in some places. Despite the volume of water streaming in, the pool¡¯s level didn¡¯t change. Though it was bare of the foliage that Mirage had described, the chamber still looked eerily like the description of her long time home. Amdirlain became sure of it when a shadow behind the waterfall deepened in True Sight. Skirting the fall¡¯s edge, she crouched, slid behind the water, and wiggled inside. Meticulous drawings and portraits covered the walls of the hidey-hole; worn pebbles carefully shaved to leave remnants behind used to set each in place. Amdirlain looked over carefully drawn illustrations and found familiar faces. ¡°What happened to Mirage¡¯s trees?¡± Heading back out, she continued onwards and slowly found more chambers. Each stripped of foliage, but some showed features that matched the stories the others had told. The occurrence of hunger was a surprise and prompted a return to her chamber. Ki Movement sped her along the passages so quickly that sometimes she ran high along the walls or flipped from one to another to make a turn. The first time the weight in the tattoos threw off her balance within a flip, she¡¯d put it down to coincidence; the second time, her suspicions grew. Now Amdirlain was certain the brands contained deliberate malice and wondered how Orh¨ºthurin had lived with them for so long. Had she been deaf to the effect, or were their results so minor that they hadn¡¯t been able to throw her off-balance in the same way? Rising, Amdirlain slipped her dress free and tied it around her waist, the cloth just long enough to fashion a loose sash. Inventory not working here was just one of the niggling annoyances among her locked powers. Ki State had lessened most of the recent damage, but a freeway speed collision with stone had left bones broken. It was only when the last bones finished healing that she ran again. Picking up the pace slowly, she selected from the growing paths she knew. The echoing pulse of her running let Tremor Sense map out more of the maze. In a test, she flipped from one wall to another at a slower speed, and though the tattoos itched, their uneven-balance stayed consistent. With deliberate care, she looped around, pushed her pace higher, and kept running while the itching grew more annoying. Three loops, then four, below her maximum speed, did nothing more than provide irritation. The instant she raced forward, going full speed, legs a blur of motion and Ki Movement added in, the vines coiled within her flesh. At first, they did nothing, but she had the growing sense of them waiting to strike. When she finally committed to a path that required her to manoeuvre dangerously, the tattoos shifted forcefully to throw her off balance. Instead of fighting it, Amdirlain turned into the shift and flipped the opposite way completely. Now heading away from the direction she¡¯d planned, she landed on the ceiling, running along the other passage. The tattoos thrashed themselves about, and Amdirlain, riding within Precognition¡¯s hold, had fractions of seconds to adjust. Icy nails of pain raced up along her spine, and iron scented the air when their tips of growth breached her skin. The pressure of her muscles and flesh contouring around the thorns had her gritting her teeth, and still she ran. She migrated from the ceiling to a curving wall before reaching the ground again. Through all her manoeuvring the thorns grew, their weight shifted, trying to hamper her into a dangerous misstep. It was the pain of thousands of bone splinters squeezed up through every breach they made; gravel rash laced with salt and two hundred proof alcohol poured into an open gut wound, with a molten lead encore. With the next course, things got nasty. The speed caused them to vibrate, humming through her bones like they were trying to yank each one from her flesh. The blood that had trickled across her skin became a stream. Thorns spearing upwards from her thighs tried to gut her as she ran, but Amdirlain snapped them, even when each regrew, without dropping speed. Their growth impeded her movements more and more, yet she pushed faster towards her space. The thorns scratching after stone didn¡¯t leave a mark but repeatedly threatened her balance. I¡¯d want to gut the cunts that sung this if they weren¡¯t already long dead. I will not give in to them. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Her path delivered her back to her home chamber, and she looped around the walls before spinning free to land on the pool¡¯s edge. Within the water, her reflection showed a bizarre monster of thorns, blood, and serrated flesh. Holding herself still, Amdirlain cycled Ki, counting each cycle until the thorns finally withdrew, letting her flesh heal. [Ki Movement [M] (40->41) Protean [M] (52->53) Tremor Sense [J] (10->13) Mental Hardening [S] (16->17) Pain Tolerance [Ad] (33->35)] Nice to see that doing stupid stuff has the regeneration aspect of Protean progressing. When the last thorn retracted, her skin was glowing gold, and she untied the dress from around her waist and held it up. Thorns had left it a cut, pierced, blood-soaked mess, and Amdirlain rolled her eyes before she tossed it off one side. And this Amdirlain is why you can¡¯t have nice things. ¡°Back to hurting myself and celebrating the gains; Elliyna would be disappointed,¡± Amdirlain said aloud, simply to hear the words echo within the chamber. Without the thorns¡¯ distraction, hunger pangs provided a reminder of why she¡¯d returned in the first place. All the empty chambers lacked the food this one offered, and she hadn¡¯t wanted to use a Psi technique with the offered juiciness of this fruit. The green apple¡¯s selection was immediate for its familiarity, and the taste was what she expected. But the message that appeared when her teeth crunched into a green apple certainly wasn¡¯t. [Resistance Poison [I] (6 -> 7)] Underneath its bitter-sweet taste was something else, and she spat out the juices before she could swallow them. Seriously what the fuck! My food¡¯s poisoned? Analysis [Fruit of the Maze Details: An apple from Amdirlain¡¯s room. In other words, they are not telling. Holding it away, she considered her bite marks and the fruit¡¯s exposed flesh with True Sight, but there wasn¡¯t a glimmer of magic. With Crafter¡¯s Insight, the Psi technique revealed what lay within. The fruit would sustain her, but it would cause fading memories and the years to drift. While it might be a blessing for some trapped in here for endless years, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t eager to indulge in fruit formed by an aspect of Oblivion. A flick cast the apple beneath its tree and the ground quickly absorbed it; as it submerged, she spun to seek her dress. Fortunately, it hadn¡¯t disappeared, still laying atop the grass, but with the blood whisked from it. When she lifted it from the ground, she found the cloth was still pierced and cut but was slowly recovering. Leaving it to whatever process was reversing the damage, she knelt by the pool¡¯s edge and cleaned herself off. Her Inventory¡¯s non-functional state made washing necessary for the first time in far longer than she cared to consider. As she cleaned herself up, she applied a Psi technique to herself that she had only ever practised on training constructs. She¡¯d learnt it for two reasons: one, in case she found someone starving, and secondly, as a base for its more dangerous variant, which she hadn¡¯t yet learnt. With a combination of Psychometabolism and Metacreativity, Sustenance eased the growling in her stomach. The technique read the target¡¯s nutritional needs and created a paste-like material straight into its stomach; it was a technique that the infirmary¡¯s psi-skins maintained continually during a patient¡¯s healing. The advanced technique read a living organism and then produced materials that would either make it sick or kill it, depending on her need. ¡°Brands on my Soul showing and behaving as if living things, and my body needing food. Soul made flesh or part of the prisoner maintenance system?¡± grumbled Amdirlain as she let the technique work. By the time the hunger was gone, the dress had finished mending and collecting it, and Amdirlain moved to investigate her hiding place. Like Mirage¡¯s waterfall retreat, it reached far into the wall, though hers had a completely smooth wall untouched by artwork. Tucking the dress inside, she glanced down at herself and shook her head; while the tattoo¡¯s coverage was extensive, it hardly counted as clothes. Teleport placed her back at the furthest point she¡¯d explored so far, and she didn¡¯t hesitate to continue. Yet another bare room followed others with varying foliage. In all of them, her True Sight showed no one hidden, and the Aura Sight technique just showed the life force around the plants she found. Crafter¡¯s Insights delivered the same verdict on the food source present in each, sustenance to ease the stomach and the burden of captivity. Hours stretched out and she sensed Protean¡¯s regeneration wash fatigue away. Food wasn¡¯t the only thing her body needed now. When she finally found the staircase after days spent fruitless exploring blind pathways and empty chambers, it wasn¡¯t entirely what she¡¯d expected. Instead of only the expected paired staircases, another corridor was across the room, stretching for a half-kilometre or more. Where it joined the room showed hints that True Sight was peering through something, and turning it off, the change was instant. The chamber plunged into near-complete darkness, and a blank stone wall blended seamlessly with the rest. The staircases at least held no surprises. One led up, and another set led down. Those leading down ended in an archway with the mosaic boundary that Ebusuku had described just beyond it. The short staircase upwards ended in a blank stone door that matched Sage¡¯s description of the seal when a trial wasn¡¯t in progress. Reactivating, True Sight shunted the illusion aside but looking between another plain grey-white hall and the stairs down, Amdirlain went for option two and started down the stairs. [Warning: Multiple life paths detected in approaching entity The trial decision pathway is unstable.] Sage said it put him back in his room, so if I fuck up, I can be back here quickly to try the corridor. The first square showed a scene she wasn¡¯t expecting rather than her first life. It showed the first sight she¡¯d seen when emerging as a Succubus¡ªstretched out in that image were scenes from Culerzic, the ¡®Blood Planes of the Dretch¡¯ beneath ¡®The Cliffs of Lust¡¯. She ignited Ki State, making her flesh appear formed of golden flames, but when Ki Flight wafted her across the mosaic boundary, nothing happened. An invisible barrier stopped her at the far edge of the scene when she tried to continue down the corridor. Looking down had her reconsidering her choice. It was a scene she had spent hours taking apart in her mind, cataloguing all the vileness that the tortured souls beneath had committed. But with the exit Ebusuku had taken potentially laying ahead, Amdirlain settled down, ready to move at a moment''s notice. Yet she wasn¡¯t allowed that moment; when skin touched the stone, she plunged into a cliffside moment far different from what happened. Amdirlain could only function as a helpless observer to another choice. This Julia got caught in a cycle of denial that what lay beneath her was possible. A moment of choice to disbelieve costing her a fragile grip against the urges Amdirlain recognised as B¡¯s work. Each moment of denial tipped the balance further from Julia¡¯s control and made it harder to regain self-control. When she desperately forced herself to move, she realised she¡¯d been screaming too late, and a Succubus¡¯ lash wrapped around her neck. The cat-of-nine tails'' metal tips guided the hide to smack against her skin, and when they touched against each other with the loop complete, the leather merged into one. ¡°My little pretty. I find it curious I didn¡¯t see you arrive,¡± the Succubus purred and blurred forward to press bodily against Julia¡¯s and Teleport them both. The chamber they arrived in burned with Mana to Julia¡¯s senses, and uneducated, there was no way of understanding it. Amdirlain, though, wasn¡¯t hampered and picked apart the ward¡¯s nature. Entry and exit via teleportation or other means were only possible by breaking the wards or possessing the key. Julia caught a flash of gold, gem-encrusted walls, and a wide bed covered in poppy red silken fabrics before being face planted into it. Still restrained, the other Succubus pressed against her in a way that had Julia''s body pulsing with body blows of unwanted lust. When the nightmare what-if scenario finally released her, Amdirlain lay on a blank stone square and shuddered at what might have been. Being helpless in the framework of that imaginary place didn¡¯t lessen her. Holding herself motionless, she carefully took her time to work through the churning emotions that still sat inside her. Though these cut far closer to home, originating from the same life she¡¯d lived, she¡¯d lived far more since then. The Succubus had teleported the what-if scenario¡¯s Julia from her bed directly to the Demon Lord¡¯s opulent marble chamber without even a warning. While the older Succubus and B¡¯s urges had provoked blatant reactions, the Demon Lord Moloch had more subtly manipulated Julia¡¯s emotions. From the non-reaction to her abused state, the wine selection process, providing clothing, the revelation of his Hidden state, and the shared tale of his butchering a family that had ended with him cursed. His casually offered choice: to return her to the Succubus¡¯ care, or she remains his companion had been a stake of ice through Julia¡¯s growing desperation. Through it all, he¡¯d seemed dangerously rational, and she made a note to keep as far away from him as possible; unless she possessed the power to crush him. Amdirlain could see herself as the Julia back then, having taken the dangerous safety of being his companion. Escape would have taken years, and who knows if she would have remained someone recognisable to herself. Shaking her head to escape the remnants of her old na?ve self, she stopped at the change in her surroundings. Besides the scene beneath her having transformed into blank stone, the corridor was gone. Ahead and to the sides was a crescent of roughly hewn stone lined with fractures. The largest might fit a hand inside, but the rest were barely hairline breaks. When Amdirlain leant forward to peek into the hand-wide crevice, she caught sight of a rustic home scene before the corridor trembled and shook. The closer she got, the stronger the vibrations, but even as she paused, the fracture opened like a credenza door, compressing the others. [Trial path critical anomaly. Warning: Cascading collapse from multiple lifetimes within path walker¡¯s Soul.] The words flashed through her mind, and the stone walls slammed on her. Suddenly, back in her room, the grass underfoot replaced the sensation of crushed bones and pulped flesh. Despite a quick survey finding her body uninjured, the feeling of being squished remained, and exhaustion accompanied the bone-breaking agony from head to toe drawing continual gasps of pain. [Resistance: Mundane Materials [G] (4->6) Pain Tolerance [Ad] (35->37)] Moloch¡¯s PoV ¨C Culerzic With his wards showing that no scrying occurred, he shook off a feeling that something Primordial and dangerous had reached out to him. Stretched with his heels on the table before his couch, Moloch looked at the strange Succubus before him. Her sharp pointed features weren¡¯t unusual among her kind, but the tiara formed of bone-white horns and ¡®wings¡¯ were very different. It had taken a dozen of his better wizards to secure her, and even with her Protean inert, she still possessed her strange features. The nest of ribbons and chains formed from black ligaments that sprung from her back hinted at some exciting evolutions ahead for her. Even more interesting right now were the classes Analysis showed her possessing: Queen of Planes, Assassin to a delightfully high level, and Hunter and Wizard. It was another anomaly for investigation since most would have taken a better base class after gaining a Tier 5 Prestige Class and all those affinities. ¡°Now, my lovely, since you¡¯ve had us chasing you so long, I think it''s time we got acquainted,¡° said Moloch, motioning for the Succubus to sit across from him. ¡°Your name is quite interesting. I don¡¯t understand why you¡¯d call yourself that, but the Anglo-Saxon lettering is interesting since it doesn¡¯t exist here. This space intentionally left blank?¡± murmured Moloch. ¡°How about I call you Slate? Or Intent?¡± ¡°You might have me for now, but I¡¯ll get free of you. I¡¯ve got foes I need dead, and I won¡¯t let you stop me,¡± growled the Succubus. ¡°Stop you? Are you sure I¡¯d stop you?¡± laughed Moloch and pushed aside the Succubus¡¯ Will. ¡°Who are you looking to kill?¡± ¡°Raivo, Baln¨¦rith, and Usd¡¯ghi,¡± she replied, grinding her teeth as if it might restrain the answer he¡¯d demanded. ¡°My, you have delightful tastes in enemies,¡± laughed Moloch. ¡°One of those I don¡¯t know, but the ladies, I¡¯ll certainly at least applaud while you get blood on their boots. The question is: who do you want dead? You or them, Intent?¡± ¡°Them,¡± growled the Succubus. ¡°Call me-¡° ¡°Bliss! That¡¯s what I¡¯ll name you, Bliss.¡± The Succubus growled at the pressure from his Willpower set the name in place. A moment later, Analysis showed Profile Mastery hadn¡¯t replaced it completely; instead, it had simply added his name to the existing one. ¡°Well, someone fucked you up,¡± murmured Moloch. ¡°This could be fun.¡± 204 - Music to my ears Livia¡¯s PoV - Judge Po¡¯s waiting area Time is hard to measure here, with no shifting light and no apparent need to breathe. Those surrounding me don¡¯t even blink, cough, or shift their weight, just staring off into the distance as if enraptured by something only they can see. When the black desk re-appears with the same young man behind it, I¡¯m glad to see even his grim expression. This time he has a look of frustration that seems more perplexed than annoyed. His lips move, but no sounds come forth, and when he stops, instructions burst into my awareness with still no sound uttered. ¡°You should proceed forward. When you reach the valley, climb a mountain and bring back a bloom.¡± ¡°Is that needed to see Judge Po?¡± I ask, not having heard anything about a trail from my teachers. ¡°No, it¡¯s needed because reviewing your paperwork will take time. At present, you¡¯re cluttering up where others arrive.¡± ¡°Which mountain?¡± The clerk¡¯s lips move silently, and when I ?prompt him to speak up, he raises a finger, and an invisible thread of Ki conveys the pressure of his finger against my lips. I suddenly hear his voice again, but only after several minutes of talking. ¡°Whichever one calls to your heart.¡± I want to rub my face in confusion when I hear nothing more. ¡°I think a lot of what you said got left behind through the translation.¡± The clerk just looks at me haughtily. ¡°Might I suggest learning the tongue of civilisation?¡± ¡°I speak Celestial and several languages,¡± I protest, more to tease than expectation of allowance. ¡°You don¡¯t speak the language the Shen use and here, that is all that matters.¡± Sighing, I can only bow my head in acknowledgement and hurriedly ask a question before he can vanish. ¡°The mountains. Are they all on the Celestial side of the Eastern Hells?¡± ¡°Perhaps.¡± Without that, he vanishes and in the distance, through the grey mist, I see a dim light appear. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin - Gods¡¯ War - 7th Day Shadows cast by the branches overhead mottle the river¡¯s surface into different shades of blue. It''s a quiet place, with a strange rope setup hanging from a tree; the material obviously created by Amdirlain. At first no one had wanted to touch it until Berry insisted that She would have liked it used; I hope it''s not the last vestige we find of her. Berry¡¯s gaze stays fixed on my shirt, where a bulge flexes around to the left, and another extends to my right before it retreats. ¡°I think that¡¯s her head now.¡± ¡°If all you wanted to do was know which way she¡¯s laying, you could have just asked,¡± I tease, wondering if mortals are as fascinated with watching unborn children fidget as celestials. ¡°The second was an elbow, and she¡¯s a wiggler today. I¡¯ll be glad when she¡¯s born, and I can be back in armour.¡± ¡°No, you won¡¯t be back in armour that quick,¡± Echo declares, and I wonder when he became the expert. ¡°You¡¯ll likely have to breastfeed, making getting in and out of armour tiresome.¡± ¡°Plus, don¡¯t mortals'' breasts swell or something? Mirage talked to me a few times before the war about the weirdness of Mortal pregnancy; I wonder if any of that will happen to you,¡± adds Berry, the pair of them taking a swim right about now sounds like a plan. ¡°My armour changes size with me,¡± I retort and tap Sage¡¯s notes. ¡°Do you think ?either of you will get back on topic?¡± ¡°Erwarth and the others are getting things running smoothly. Aside from the things we¡¯re sending through to them with Isa¡¯s recruits, there isn¡¯t much more we can do for...¡° ¡°Still can¡¯t believe that worked,¡± grumbles Echo, but it''s clear his words are more to hide his anxiety than actual disbelief. ¡°She sings them into Human form, and they march through the barrier on the Gate like it¡¯s not even there.¡± ¡°Still not on topic,¡± I mutter, turning the notes around and looking over the diagram again. ¡°Latest count?¡± asks Berry, ignoring my reminder of the problem that lies between us... ¡°Two regiments, but they¡¯ve got a mix of experience,¡± Hook states. ¡°I think we need to determine where we should-¡± My slight headshake is enough to stop Hook. ¡°We¡¯re not drawing the line, the mortals need to do that. I¡¯ve got a feeling that¡¯s why they can get away with it.¡± ¡°Divine hunches?¡± asks Berry Before I can reply, I catch a concerning movement inside me that has me directing my attention to my swelling stomach. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± The little girl growing inside me releases her grip on her umbilical cord and waves her hands excitedly through the fluids, as if it was all a game. Berry jumps in surprise at my words, an apology spilling from her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to¡ª¡± ¡°Not anything you said; little miss was playing with her umbilical cord. I¡¯m not sure, but it felt like a dangerous thing¡ªshe had such a grip on it.¡± The smile I get from Echo is enough warning before his words. ¡°Any chance of us getting back on topic?¡± ¡°Keep that up and I¡¯ll send you to figure out how we can get the Jade Emperor to release my husband faster,¡± I mutter and find my hand rubbing where the little one is trying to push on my stomach again. Nothing she does hurts, but it feels bizarre. ¡°Master Cyrus said he¡¯d try to assist,¡± Berry offers, and I can tell she¡¯s trying to reassure me despite her uncertainty. ¡°So we need to get back on topic,¡± I state, giving Hook a look that he returns with a helpless shrug.¡°Has anyone figured out yet how we put this thing together?¡± Hook confidently slips some pieces into place before lifting the centre section; the assembly looks correct according to Sage¡¯s notes. The central cord supports a thin wooden lattice, which supports more threads holding carvings of tiny animals aloft. A breeze drifts lazily, fluttering across nearby grass and turning the assembly; that shifting movement is enough. One animal drops when its cord comes loose, and the latticework bounces upon its release; that bounce is enough, sending a tiny flex through the structure that does the rest. By the time the last piece falls away, Hook only holds the cord joining the central cross-piece. ¡°This looks like a safety hazard.¡± Hook replies and the others fix him with a look. Before the others have a chance, Berry swats him. ¡°We¡¯re never going to have this ready in time for the baby.¡± Sage appears to hand me a wrapped bundle and eyes the remnants with amusement. ¡°Having problems?¡± ¡°Your notes don¡¯t work,¡± huffs Berry, giving Sage a pout. ¡°Schematics, and you missed taking some ?parts. The crafters have already delivered a cot and a finished version to your house, Ebusuku.¡± ¡°But we were getting this one ready,¡± protests Berry. ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to do the presents thing as well?¡± Bringing forth a bag, Sage extends it to Berry. ¡°Considering the results, perhaps leaving it to the crafters might be an idea.¡± Berry fixes him with a flat look that fights fruitlessly against his smile. ¡°That¡¯s not fair; you still had some parts for it.¡± ¡°You were the one that snatched them up and left,¡± Sage teased. ¡°Don¡¯t go blaming me.¡± * * * My awkward proportions limit me in what I can do, and the risk to our growing daughter even more. Still, my belly doesn¡¯t stop me from sitting in the sun and studying a grimoire¡ªspell lists I¡¯d put off for centuries finally getting some time dedicated to them. Turning a page, I catch whispers on the edge of my awareness. Focusing, I realise why it¡¯s drawn my attention. Farhad is speaking to a Wood Elf Priestess wearing Amdirlain¡¯s symbol. Information comes spilling in with my focus, and I know he¡¯s in the Taur?¡¯s forest making enquiries about a midwife for me. The Priestess has the typical dusky skin, with green hints usual for the Taur? or Wood Elf people. Her hair is a striking, vibrant crimson¡ªa single solid colour¡ªunlike the normal elven hair tone that typically shifts through a range or a blend of multiple hues. It''s not just her hair tone that is unusual, but the curvaceous figure with her well-rounded bust and hips makes me almost doubt that she¡¯s an Elf. Elleth, I know her name, and then a swell of information rises through the link of her faith, the moment she says my name in protest at being unworthy to aid me. Not a pure Wood Elf but ?a child of a Dryad and Wood Elf; their union¡¯s outcome strangely hadn¡¯t resulted in a Dryad daughter. That had quickly become apparent and her mother¡¯s grove had sent her to an elven community. Only there Elleth found no genuine acceptance; more treated like a curiosity rather than genuine a Elf. Farhad looks unchanged yet calmer, the unsettled edge that had been present last he had stood within Amdirlain¡¯s Domain nowhere in sight. ¡°Neither Lerina nor I have any experience with children, and certainly not mortal childbirth. The petitioners, while they keep memories, sometimes have unexpected gaps, and I¡¯d rather get help from someone whose memories aren¡¯t questionable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only a junior Priestess,¡± protests Elleth again. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°You can protest, but you¡¯re a junior Priestess with previous experience as a midwife and a Wizard.¡± I wait and let the argument of Elleth¡¯s ¡®I¡¯m not worthy¡¯ and Farhad¡¯s ¡®you¡¯re recommended¡¯ go around in loops. The patience my husband shows draws a smile, even impatient as I am to have him home. A kick that hits a rib makes me aware of how someone has finished shifting position. It¡¯s tempting to touch the baby¡¯s thoughts, but I don¡¯t want to risk overwhelming her. Now head down, she appears undistressed by her position; despite being curled up tight, she¡¯s just playing with her fingers and drawing patterns in the fluid. Seeing the conversation go around a few times too many, I shortcut the process as Amdirlain would say. A Gate opening beside them has Elleth look my way, surprise and awe widening her honeyed gaze. Farhad flows into readiness then relaxes immediately, and my serious husband miraculously smiles. I know what he sees when he looks at me: I¡¯m hardly in fighting shape, already looking like I¡¯m fit to burst despite her needing at least another day. Yet his delighted smile lights up his eyes and he quickly enters the Gate. It¡¯s only then that he motions towards Elleth. ¡°You mentioned the lack of midwives, so I thought I¡¯d seek some help in the Taur?¡¯s lands before I returned,¡± Farhad states. ¡°Priestess Elleth, might I present Lady Lerina, or Ebusuku, as most in the Domain call her.¡± Elleth momentarily struggles for words and even as I ?get worried, that she¡¯ll not be able to think straight; she relieves me of that concern. ¡°Lady Lerina, I¡¯d be honoured to assist you, but I¡¯m unsure what help I can offer.¡± ¡°My husband, I know, has already explained; I¡¯m not sure what else I can add. Will you lend us your experience and assistance?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get my things,¡± Elleth says and manages a curtsey in her figure-hugging robes before hurrying out of sight. She carries a large bundle in her arms when she returns within minutes. I can sense the things she¡¯s carrying within it and wonder what else we missed. Fabricate will cover our daughter''s clothing, blankets, and clothes, but she¡¯s salves and other things I hadn¡¯t considered. What would Amdirlain do? I take her bundle and pass it to Farhad, who carefully takes custody of it. Kissing Elleth¡¯s cheek, I add a hug, and she relaxes into my greeting with such completeness that I catch the absence of genuine affection in her life¡ªanother broken one, like so many here. ¡°Thank you for coming. I¡¯m sure there is too much we don¡¯t know. The baby has a heartbeat, so I believe she¡¯s half-Celestial but not Celestial.¡± When I step away, Elleth gives me a dazzling smile that brightens her heart-shaped face and removes the doubt from her gaze. ¡°There we¡¯ll be on familiar ground. The few half-celestials I¡¯ve seen records about were normal babies. Though when the mother was Celestial they had to take action and surgically remove the baby¡ªto prevent any chance of injury during birth,¡± Elleth offers and continues at my raised eyebrows. ¡°Birthing mothers need to push to deliver a child.¡± ¡°Remove?¡± I ask, being caught on the back foot by her sudden switch to business. ¡°How did you expect to deliver the baby?¡± Farhad asks, and at my bemused look hurriedly continues. ¡°Your strength is so high that it won¡¯t go well.¡± Grimacing at that mental image, I brush a hand across my stomach to reassure myself she¡¯s okay. ¡°Sorry, yes, I¡¯m just waiting until she feels ready; as for the birthing process, I got some advice from Fen on that part. Taking care of a baby afterwards is where I¡¯m in the dark.¡± ¡°Advice from that wolf?¡± snorts Farhad and I have to hide my amusement. ¡°It was direct and to the point,¡± I laugh. ¡°You¡¯re a Goddess, silly; just will her safely born. My body doesn¡¯t want her hurt; my womb and stomach muscles don¡¯t apply the force they could, and my shape-shifting restricted itself, refusing to let me shift form. I hope that when the child is ready to be born, it will let me change myself cosmetically to make the delivery easy. The important thing is: do you have ideas for a name?¡± ¡°How am I supposed to answer that without seeing her?¡± retorts Farhad, leaning in for a kiss. ¡°Names should suit a person.¡± Once I¡¯ve appropriately rewarded him for returning in time, I return to their earlier point. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re back in time; we¡¯ll talk about what kept you later. Birthing. I¡¯ve already figured out two options for that. Do you have suggestions for determining the best time?¡± ¡°The mother¡¯s water breaks when the baby is ready to be born,¡± offers Elleth, and I know what that means, at least. ¡°We¡¯ll go based on that then,¡± I reply, glad for something more than the impatience that¡¯s guided previous births I¡¯ve seen. ¡°Let¡¯s get you settled into a room close at hand; I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll try to take me by surprise.¡± ¡°Of course, my lady, wherever is convenient,¡± replies Elleth. ¡°No need for titles; please call me Ebusuku.¡± ¡°That is a strange-sounding name,¡± offers Elleth. ¡°Ebusuku, I will try to remember to use it.¡± Elleth doesn¡¯t blink when I Teleport us all into the study; the spells that create a bed and cupboards for her just get a happy nod. Farhad wisely doesn¡¯t protest about me taking over his room. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get settled, and then we can discuss what I need to know to take care of this little new beginning,¡± I say and motion Farhad towards our room. ¡°I¡¯d like to know what happened.¡± Farhad gives Elleth a bow of thanks before he opens the hall door for me. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can explain everything in a way that makes sense. Have you word about what¡¯s happened since?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some details, but things aren¡¯t getting much better. The cadre isn¡¯t playing favourites; anyone caught trying to spread the war outside Crete and Egypt either surrenders or gets smashed¡ªthey always get the choice. Isa transformed two regiments of experienced Catfolk soldiers to a Human form. They made it through without a problem, so while that helps tip the odds in the cadre¡¯s favour, there are too many forces wanting to spill blood. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild has already conquered a large swath of south-east Crete, and Egypt is in chaos.¡± ¡°No chance of them consolidating against the Crete forces?¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of the problem; too many previously minor nobles fighting for the Pharaoh¡¯s throne, in addition to the Grecian troops within their kingdom. Hittites recently killed the few Egyptian gods that survived the initial attacks. There have also been reports of sunset elves in a few places, apparently sacking Greek temples.¡± ¡°I thought the elves would have stayed out of it,¡± Farhad offers. I can only shrug as he echoes my bewilderment. ¡°They must have been inside the national borders before the war commenced. Now they seem to be intent on doing as much damage as possible rather than just leaving. Given they seem to portal about, they could have easily departed.¡± A double-kick has me glancing down, and I can only wonder what¡¯s got her excited. ¡°You¡¯ll hurt your feet, little one.¡± Farhad steps close and rubs a hand across my belly, only to provoke a push. ¡°Looks like she knows I¡¯m here.¡± Laying my hand atop his, I enjoy his excitement when she pushes some more. ¡°She¡¯s lively today; talking gets her to settle down when she gets too excited.¡± ¡°Seems we¡¯ll have to forgo our usual celebrations,¡± teases Farhad. My eye roll just provokes his laughter. ¡°Postpone, not forgo.¡± That gets me another kick and two more when Farhad joins in my laughter. ¡°How did he ?hit you?¡± Farhad looks at my stomach for a moment as if reluctant to speak about it even before an unborn baby. ¡°His weapon was close to becoming an artifact or at least it felt that way from the miasma of death shrouding it. I decided it needed to be destroyed first, in case his death tipped it over the precipice. I deliberately sacrificed my ability to avoid him to do so.¡± He hesitates, clearly unsure how to continue his explanation. ¡°Even as I was flung away I realised I hadn¡¯t acted because of any law or need of my own. I had acted for the common good, and that leant me the realisation that I had forgotten the true purpose of Law. Not the adherence to written words but the reason for its existence. Its purpose is to set rules to ensure the common good within a community. Those who write laws simply to profit from them or advantage themselves might as well be writing lies.¡± With those words quietly shared, Farhad moves to wrap his arms around me, but he has to hold me side on. Still, he smiles contentedly. ¡°The greater law Master Cyrus asked me about couldn¡¯t be determined by what he¡¯d told me. When I realised ?why, my insights flowed; indeed, more than I could retain. Still, by the time I had decapitated Raivo, I had enough to transcend my previous state.¡± ¡°How long do you think you¡¯ll be able to stay before the Domain gets too much for you?¡± I ask, hoping our daughter will see her father frequently. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the Domain that was the source of the problem. That was from my flawed understanding, and the pearl of wisdom Master Cyrus'' question was trying to get me to grow was irritating the flaws in my understanding. Now that I¡¯m properly in my Tao, why should another¡¯s path be upsetting to me?¡± With that the kisses between us become heated until little miss is administering too many kicks for me to avoid laughing at her antics. Farhad crouches and lifts my shirt to cover my stomach with kisses; as if she could feel it through my body. Yet still, either us ceasing to kiss, or his kisses in apology, calm her down. ¡°So you¡¯re going to be happy here just training more celestials?¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll still want to go out and perfect my skills. I ?have four new classes to progress.¡± * * * My water breaking catches me by surprise, and I carefully set the grimoire aside and pay attention to my womb. The little one isn¡¯t in any distress, but there isn¡¯t any point in waiting further. Elleth hurries from her room and freezes at seeing what I¡¯m doing. Protean has objected to changes in my outward form, yet cooperates now as I shift my stomach open and expose the interior of my womb to free our child. Caught by surprise or not, Elleth doesn¡¯t hesitate to help, carefully supporting the child¡¯s neck and lifting her free so I can restore myself. Mana glows in True Sight, as spells clear the gunk from the baby¡¯s lungs, and she makes a little huff of surprise. When she lazily blinks as if I¡¯ve awakened her from sleep, Elleth looks at me in shock, but her hands don¡¯t shake at holding an Elf from legend. Bronze-gold skin, delicate elven ears, and a turned-up nose match what I¡¯d seen when viewing her inside me. Instead of the normal Elf-like eyes I¡¯d half expected with her appearance, metallic gold irises glow with internal energy, causing the whites of her eyes to glow in sympathy. Anar. ¡°How is this possible?¡± Elleth asks. The suddenly loud thoughts within my daughter¡¯s mind gives me an excuse to avoid the subject for now. ¡°How do you already understand words, little one?¡± I ask, avoiding Elleth¡¯s question, given there were only two Anar souls I knew of in the Titan¡¯s realm. Will Amdirlain need to retrieve her memories? Is that what the Titan had meant to Erwarth when he said she¡¯d have to recover? With her curse, how did I end up with her as my daughter? Elleth doesn¡¯t pursue her question; instead retrieving various items from among those she¡¯d brought along. In short order, we have the cord¡¯s stub secured and swaddle her up¡ªI¡¯m sure I slowed the process. When I pick her up from the changing table, I catch more of my baby¡¯s loud thoughts, careful only to brush the surface of her mind. She understands what we mean through the music that underlays our spoken words, carrying the truth within it. Music, entire orchestras of sound, her mind flitting from one to another and meanings bloom from each. Then she¡¯s back to reviewing what we said, dwelling on our exchange during the simple process of learning about the creams, rashes to watch for, and how to dress her. Her mind had latched onto the music apparently representing me, an intense awareness. She instantly recognised my voice as her mother¡¯s and wondered if my lack of a heartbeat was something to worry over when she¡¯s got one. Now she¡¯s just listening to the music of my movements and presence, taking comfort in it. Her mind is loud and strange, multiple orchestras and whole concepts running wild through her thoughts. ¡°You are a sharp little one,¡± I murmur. It¡¯s strange taking in her mental excitement for stimulus while her little fingers grasp one of mine. Faster than some adults I¡¯ve met, she¡¯s chasing down concepts relating to words¡ªmentally grumbling whenever some slip away. The Domain¡¯s sounds provide multiple concepts, and¡ªtied together¡ªthey race through her mind. When a happy wiggle causes the silk-wool blanket to brush her skin, yet another cascade starts. Information on wool, cotton, silk and a dozen materials gets chased inside her thoughts¡ªher mind going sulky when concepts escape her grasp. My listening catches her attention, and she deliberately presents me with a mental image of snuggling into an enormous ball of soft wool. Soft footsteps pause at the door, and my body at last freely lets me shift to add hidden eyes. ¡°Any suggestion for names now?¡± I ask Farhad. As tempting as it is to name her Amdirlain, the L¨®m? said they never kept names between lifetimes. He flows up beside us, and a precise musical score becomes louder in her mind. Farhad looks her over, simply nodding calmly when her glowing gaze tries to focus on him. ¡°I don¡¯t think a Persian name makes sense. Gailneth, perhaps, it¡¯s And¨²n? for bright light, and you took on an elven name.¡± She makes a little noise, and her thoughts confirm she knows what we¡¯re discussing. ¡°Gailneth,¡± I say and catch her thoughts. ¡°She thinks it''s pretty but long.¡± ¡°How is she able to understand us already?¡± asks Farhad, this time astonishment evident in his tone. ¡°I thought she reacted when I spoke to her a few times in the womb but didn¡¯t want to risk touching her mind; now she¡¯s practically shouting at me,¡± I reply and catch the disbelief from them both. ¡°Her mind isn¡¯t like any Mortal¡¯s I¡¯ve encountered before. One concept leads onto another in a cascade, and she plays with them like toys, even if they try to slip away from her.¡± Fighting off his surprise at my announcement, he looks at Elleth. ¡°Ordil. It means morning sunlight, I believe.¡± ¡°That is close, lover or friend of morning sunlight, depending on the dialect,¡± confirms Elleth. ¡°I¡¯ve no objections to either,¡± I reply. More wiggles, and an arm slips free from the enfolding blanket. Squirming so much, it''s a balancing act to avoid injury while still not letting my hold slip. ¡°It seems that she prefers the first; I caught a thought about squeezing it down until it''s comfortable; it gives her plenty of nickname options, it seems.¡± ¡°How is she an Anar?¡± asks Elleth. ¡°Our legends say that after their city¡¯s fall, their souls all travelled to seek new realms, unable to be reborn.¡± ¡°Gailneth or Ordil?¡± I propose, trying to avoid Elleth¡¯s question. ¡°Time to choose. What do you say?¡± The cheeky miss burbles away, almost as if she¡¯s trying to answer the question, but I catch sleepy thoughts about her tummy. ¡°I think she¡¯s hungry; let''s see if my body will provide for her.¡± Elleth doesn¡¯t wholly buy my evasion but goes to shoo Farhad out so I can breastfeed. ¡°It¡¯s alright; he¡¯s seen my breasts before. Certainly, I don¡¯t believe the sight will shock him.¡± Another quick Spell cleans up the last mess the water left and I settle down to feed her. I don¡¯t take action with Protean, but it takes a bit of encouragement from her suckling before she gets anything. ¡°Complaints about food already.¡± ¡°What?¡± echoed Farhad and Elleth in different tongues. ¡°She says it doesn¡¯t taste like the concept of milk that came to her,¡± I explain and look down at her sleepy expression. ¡°Looks like you got home just in time, husband.¡± ¡°Have you forgotten my name, Ebusuku?¡± asks Farhad. ¡°Well, you were gone for so long, maybe you¡¯ll have to remind me; of a few other things as well.¡± Shaking his head in amusement, Farhad sits close by, watching our daughter. The wiggling arm gets free from the swaddling. It almost looks like she¡¯s going to wave at him before she puts her hand possessively atop my breast. ¡°She likes your music, but I think she¡¯s hungry,¡± I state, and her mind¡¯s loud announcement surprises me. ¡°She said it''s her bottle, not for papa.¡± The shared announcement made them laugh even though Elleth covered her face with both hands. ¡°Anyway, to see something like an imprint for her to determine her situation?¡± asks Farhad. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Moradin about a Soul Forge. I remember Torm saying the Norse use them to assess their Celestials.¡± 205 - My mother told me Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin ¡°Ebusuku.¡± Farhad¡¯s call came from the baby¡¯s room I¡¯d sorted out before Gailneth¡¯s birth. Without thinking, I teleported to the room, hoping nothing had gone wrong in the diaper lesson. Maybe he should take the Wizard class this time to whisk away messes. Our newborn baby had become a boy, which was the source of his concern. The glowing golden eyes and the mentally shared music made it clear the baby was still Gailneth. She had wrapped her fingers around his thumb, and her expression was a picture of concentration. When he tried to free his thumb, her fingers grew longer, almost tendril-like and entwined with other fingers. ¡°What happened?¡± I ask, quickly taking in their surprised expressions. Elleth¡¯s response is only stark confusion. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a baby doing this at all.¡± ¡°I¡¯d just finished washing her, and afterwards, she grabbed my thumbs and changed to a boy,¡± Farhad replies, looking bemused. Gailneth gives a little huff and waves, trying to pull Farhad¡¯s hand with her¡ªhis?¡ªmotions. ¡°Are you going to change back, little one?¡± A tiny burble comes with her releasing of Farhad¡¯s thumb, but other than her fingers regaining their original shape, there isn¡¯t any change in her appearance. ¡°It happened after she was holding Master Farhad¡¯s hand,¡± offers Elleth, and I step forward to offer my own to Gailneth. When she takes hold of my pinkie finger, I catch the Power use, Protean tickling through my flesh, gaining an understanding of my form; Gail becomes ¡®her¡¯ again. Her thoughts made it clear she¡¯d read Farhad earlier and tried to copy some of his music into herself. ¡°Protean. If I understand correctly, Gail read your body and tried to copy it,¡± I explain and try to project concern for her safety. Her bottom lip sticking out makes such a cute face, but the danger chills me. The worried notes she hears in my song have her hiccup in surprise, and tears flow when she goes wide-eyed. ¡°You¡¯re not in trouble, but you could hurt yourself, okay? Don¡¯t go playing with that ability.¡± ¡°Do you think she¡¯ll follow your instructions?¡± asks Farhad. The sulky little pout doesn¡¯t come with any mental objections. ¡°I¡¯ll get something to avoid accidents until Gail understands the need for care better. No other being I¡¯ve known in possession of it was a biological entity.¡± The last aside to Farhad has him eying his daughter with concern. She picks on the worry in his song and waves her hands at him, but he¡¯s too careful in picking her up. ¡°Your body¡¯s music shouldn¡¯t have others'' songs copied into it,¡± I say and brush fingers through the fuzz of hair she has with barely a hint of the palest blond present. ¡°Okay?¡± An image of two sets of figures playing instruments suddenly appears in her mind, and the groups slide away from each other. A kiss on her smile earns me a happy squeal, and the figures keep walking away from each other in her mind. ¡°She seems to understand the need to keep music separate from her own. I¡¯ll send some messages and see what options we have to learn more about keeping her safe.¡± Sorry! The simple word in her thoughts gives me pause at her use of words already. ¡°You ?understand words! Then understand that Power is dangerous to you until you¡¯re much older.¡± A mental picture of her walking about like we do accompanies a huff. ¡°That won¡¯t help; you need time to grow and learn the use of your own limbs.¡± * * * It took some time for the messages I sent out to get a reply, but we used the delay to get Gailneth and Elleth better settled. I gave birth to one daughter, but it already feels like I have two; Elleth knows more than I had ever thought one needed to know about children, especially babies. When we hear back, it¡¯s not to meet up far from the Domain but that they¡¯re on their way; it seems neither Sarah nor Isa have issues travelling in the Elysium Fields. Their arrival though will take some time since Sarah wants to travel under her own power through the Plane instead of gating directly to us. It¡¯s just as well navigation in the Elysium Fields is simply a matter of travelling with a goal in mind, and within a day, the Plane will see you¡¯ve arrived there. Yet travel with no destination in mind, and then one could wander endlessly in its beauty and never see the same place twice. Despite their ability to arrive quickly, it''s nearly two days before we get a message they¡¯re close. A lot of time that Gail had spent sleeping, and she¡¯d put a portion of her waking hours to use charming her father into plenty of hugs, bestowing sad-eyed looks and chin quivers whenever he appeared concerned about collecting her from my arms. She shows no sign of continuing her rapid growth. I¡¯d been expecting her to be independent within a few years, not for her to develop at a Mortal¡¯s pace; each time I consider the situation, I find myself less concerned. From our side, the Gate to the Elysium Fields ended up sitting within the Domain¡¯s boundary, yet still surrounded by crystal plinths. It appears as an upright golden-green energy pane within an archway formed by two trees. Even without True Sight, the pane¡¯s surface ripples outwards from the central point to the boundary. I¡¯d have preferred a Portal to a Gate¡ªwith the ability to see what lay on the other side¡ªbut with a heavenly Plane beyond, the risk was slight. Sage had still insisted on waiting on the other side for Isa to arrive, but Gailneth was unbothered by the wait, wiggling about in my arms in time to the Gate¡¯s music. Everything to her is music, but rather than swamp her with noise, she can move from piece to piece with a focus I¡¯m sure isn¡¯t natural for a newborn. When she listens to it as a whole, it washes over her in a murmur of white noise. She falls asleep doing either that or focused solely on my song. We hadn¡¯t been waiting long when the all-clear from Sage prompted me to wave toward the Gate. ¡°They¡¯re here.¡± Farhad and Erwarth move before I¡¯ve finished sharing the news, disappearing into the pool nearly as one. Burbling, Gail tries to wave an arm in its direction, but it''s a more uncontrolled flailing, and I catch the songs she¡¯s listening to fading into the distance. ¡°You enjoy the music while we wait, Gail.¡± She gurgles away, trying to make a popping noise that works in her mind but not in the flesh. ¡°Would you like me to hold her, my Lady?¡± asks Elleth. I hesitate and immediately know she takes it wrong, but it''s a chance to broach something else. ¡°Elleth, I¡¯ve noticed Gail¡¯s not grown noticeably in the day since her birth.¡± ¡°That¡¯s normal,¡± reassures Elleth. ¡°So I understand based on what you¡¯ve had time to share, but it occurred to me that we might need you around longer than just while we get settled. Growing at a normal pace for a Mortal, she¡¯ll need someone around who is in tune with that pace rather than the eternal years of celestials and immortals,¡± I say and catch a hint that she sees where I¡¯m heading. ¡°Would you be open to staying on for some years?¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Elleth almost curtsied immediately. ¡°It would be an honour, my lady.¡± ¡°There is one condition,¡± I state, and Elleth freezes. ¡°You¡¯ll need to call me Ebusuku instead.¡± Elleth laughs and reaches out to touch Gail¡¯s waving hand. ¡°It would be an honour to be her nurse, Ebusuku.¡± ¡°Hopefully, you find yourself more a friend or even a big sister. I¡¯m told they¡¯re important confidants.¡± The shocked look from Elleth echoes what I already know from her, and leaning forward, I kiss her forehead. ¡°That¡¯s settled then, but I¡¯ll keep a hold of her for the moment. I¡¯m still amazed by how good it feels holding her.¡± ¡°At least your arms don¡¯t get tired,¡± quips Elleth. With a smile, I step through and find myself atop a gently sloping hill that runs down to the shoreline of a sapphire-hued rolling ocean. Where it kisses the shore, white beaches stretch out in my senses for hundreds of kilometres. Upper layers of the Elysium Fields are visible as platforms overhead, with long waterfalls plunging from the closest to land far out into the ocean. It¡¯s a strange place, each platform containing an infinite amount of space, but the limits of each are visible from above and below. Despite the platforms, sunlight washes the surrounding terrain; with dozens of suns of various shades drifting around, light comes from all directions instead. The warm sunshine of those just rising or setting obliterates any shadow the platforms might cast. Sarah wears her young form with gemstone eyes, while Isa and Ilya both are in angelic form. With my arrival, Erwarth shifts from Solar to Elf, an action that prompts Isa and Ilya to do the same, taking on their Sunset Elf forms with wild auburn tresses and brilliant but normal-hued eyes. With Gailneth burbling and directing her gold gaze towards Isa, we don¡¯t need to repeat our explanations. Isa tilts her head to regard Gailneth as if she¡¯s listening to something unheard. Gailneth seems to listen to everything about her, skipping from song to song, having already moved on from Isa¡¯s wild music. It takes a while before Isa runs trembling fingers through her hair and turns to consider Sarah. Sarah doesn¡¯t budge; she just gives her a sharp-edged smile. ¡°You look ready to toss rainbow cookies; spit it out.¡± ¡°There are hints of things from our world in her Song. Her Soul has memories of places I know: our school, Julia¡¯s home, and many other places.¡± breathes Isa, and the others regard Gailneth in surprise. ¡°Amdirlain, how were you reborn as my baby?¡± I ask, and the little darling blinks at me so sweetly with eyes that seem too big for her face. All her attention is back on the music she fully associates as meaning me. Distracted by Gailneth, I still catch Sarah''s approach, and she holds out a golden bangle etched with a spiral pattern of runes. ¡°It won¡¯t dimensionally lock her, but it will restrict her shifting forms. Attune to it before you put it on her; it¡¯ll allow you to set a range of shapes. A shape-shifting species uses it for their prodigies to let them use their Power while keeping them safe.¡± It¡¯s a type of object I¡¯ve seen taken many forms in The Exchange; collecting it from her, a simple press of awareness against it confirms its abilities. ¡°I can hear her understanding of the Song already. There is no certainty that it will continue to restrain her abilities for any length of time,¡± remarks Isa, and Sarah just pulls a face. ¡°It should buy some time,¡± objected Sarah. ¡°Human children don¡¯t normally pick up classes until they¡¯re teenagers, and that same acquisition is relative to other species¡¯ growth patterns.¡± ¡°Why do you emphasise song that way?¡± I ask. ¡°It''s the music inside the essence of everything,¡± states Isa, and gives me a smile. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you emphasise it?¡± It¡¯s a smile that turns wintery when she glances at Erwarth and looks like she wants to spit with rage, but instead takes a deep breath. ¡°I can hear your Song, L¨®m?, and your doubts about me.¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I have my doubts?¡± ¡°We¡¯re both on equal footing then. Do you remember when your people left the fight?¡± ¡°Yes. Orh¨ºthurin had fallen; there was no chance of defeating Leviathan without her,¡± responds Erwarth. ¡°No, Erwarth, that¡¯s just it: you left after he knocked her down the first time,¡± Isa states. From Erwarth blanch, it seems she also catches the emphasis on the word. ¡°I¡¯d like to talk about this, but I also don¡¯t want Gail hearing our songs. I¡¯m sure I don¡¯t remember everything of the day our cities fell, and perhaps more information might change my view. Perhaps we can talk somewhere else?¡± asks Isa, and turns to look at Ilya. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come along.¡± ¡°Where are you planning to go?¡± asks Ilya suspiciously. ¡°If it takes an Anar Glinnel to restore her memories, there is only me, and I don¡¯t know enough to sing her memories back,¡± explains Isa reluctantly. ¡°Imitation of spells is one thing, but while I can wipe out memories in a mind, I¡¯ve never restored them from a Soul.¡± ¡°You really want to go into the Abyss?¡± ¡°No, I really, really and lashing more oodles of really don¡¯t, but I will ?to help Amdirlain.¡± Ilya winces and stares almost belligerently at Isa. ¡°I hate being underground, but I¡¯d hate worse you being in the Abyss and not being there to guard your back. You¡¯ll do something crazy and have no one to pull you out of it.¡± ¡°I will admit I resemble that remark,¡± Isa says, her voice tight despite her attempt to lighten the mood. She glances at me but seems to think better of whatever she wants to ask, and turn to Erwarth instead. ¡°Even I don¡¯t like the odds around things going wrong if we open a Gate from here. Also not going to ask mum to be away from her Domain, so that leaves you or another Wizard that knows the grottos well enough to open a Gate straight into one.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with you,¡± Erwarth replies and I catch she intends to do more than merely see them arrive safely. ¡°Stay safe, all three of you,¡± I offer, and Gail almost whimpers sadly from the concern in my music¡ªI¡¯ve seen what happens to celestials captured by demons. ¡°You had to tell her that, didn¡¯t you?¡± Ilya sighs, and looks suspiciously at Isa. ¡°Now I know this is a bad idea.¡± ¡°Gate to the Elemental Plane of Earth, and then on from there?¡± asks Erwarth. Isa nods. ¡°That works for me.¡± Catching Erwarth''s calm expression has me suspicious that what she¡¯s up to might be riskier than she wants to let me know. ¡°Spend time with your parents, Erwarth. Do that first, not whatever else it is you¡¯ve got planned.¡± Raising a hand to bid everyone to wait, I turn my attention to Isa. ¡°Torm said you were involved in the Sunset Elf Prince¡¯s fate?¡± Isa¡¯s laughter is answer enough, bubbling up from nowhere, it sets Gail burbling excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I did to him when little ears aren¡¯t listening.¡± The Gate opens to a familiar cavern and the three of them ?move through and when it closes up; I find Sarah still watching Gailneth. Her mental touch while listening to Gail is far lighter than mine. I can barely feel Sarah, but there is a clear familiarity with the music Gail is continually hearing. Faster than Gail can blink, a relatively small Dragon suddenly sits where Sarah had been standing. My little daughter doesn¡¯t flinch, but ?giggles in delight at the burst of music that accompanies the transformation. Elleth¡¯s eyes go wide at having an almost horse-sized Dragon with red-diamond scales before us. Jewelled hide causes flares of sunlight to dance around us, and I catch her nostrils flexing with the deep breath she takes. ¡°I can¡¯t tell anything about her Soul in this state either,¡± Sarah admits in Draconic, each intonation chiming songs within Gail¡¯s awareness. ¡°Should I assume, while she¡¯s your daughter, her Soul isn¡¯t something you can assess without her being a worshipper?¡± ¡°I can feel her Soul¡¯s presence, but that¡¯s all; I don¡¯t know if that is the reason,¡± I admit and consider her growth since last I¡¯d seen her in Dragon form. ¡°Why did you want to travel on foot through the Elysium Fields?¡± ¡°I needed time speaking to Isa without distractions, not that I got as much time as I wanted,¡± Sarah says, leaning forward enough so Gail can clumsily stroke her snout. ¡°I¡¯m glad Gailneth didn¡¯t need us here immediately; some other matters needed sorting.¡± ¡°What do you think? Is there a chance this is her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. A chance, yes, but I was the one always being reborn when I was here initially. I also knew her in those lifetimes; as soon as I met her, I¡¯d immediately know who she was to me, even disguised. Now whether because she¡¯s reborn, or that¡¯s not her, I don¡¯t know,¡± admits Sarah. ¡°Let¡¯s see what Isa can learn; hopefully, it¡¯ll be enough. Their songs are different, but their choruses would work in harmony, so they should be able to teach her the musical counterpoints or whatever they call them.¡± ¡°Why is she willing to take the chance?¡± ¡°She just needed time to think about things, and she¡¯d had a certainty that Amdirlain was still about in some state. Now there is the possibility that Isa could help her recover herself,¡± says Sarah, before giving a rare smile. ¡°A better question to ask is: why wouldn¡¯t she take the chance? We are talking about Isa here; she¡¯ll either find what she needs for this or win in some unexpected fashion.¡± ¡°You think Gailneth is Amdirlain reborn?¡± Elleth gasps, looking between us. Farhad gets in first and motions for calm. ¡°Amdirlain and Isa are the only Anar Souls present in the Titan¡¯s realm from all we¡¯ve learnt. Given that we¡¯re not sure how else we could have had an Anar child; all the other Anar left the Titan¡¯s realm.¡± Elleth nodded her understanding and smiled when Gail waved at her. ¡°Maybe another returned?¡± ¡°After so many millennia?¡± asks Sarah. ¡°Plus, while Isa said life¡¯s important events can bind souls together, I find it hard to believe there is suddenly another of them here just in time to be reborn as your daughter.¡± ¡°I thought you said you weren¡¯t an Anar?¡± I ask, curious how she can speak with such certainty and hoping she¡¯ll be open enough to learn more. ¡°I wasn¡¯t, can¡¯t you tell?¡± teases Sarah and thumps a forepaw on the ground. ¡°She sang me into existence; I¡¯ve always been a Dragon in this realm. Most of the time, an Adamantine Dragon, and I lived on this Plane when I wasn¡¯t out hunting. It¡¯s why I didn¡¯t want to rush to meet you, ?and it''s just as well. Far more memories than I expected surfaced on our way through the layers.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it make you feel stressed being here?¡± Farhad asks. Sarah¡¯s snout wrinkles and she transforms back into her odd humanoid form, and brings out a prismatic-looking crystal that has soaring notes running through Gail¡¯s mind. ¡°Still want to see her Profile?¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°An Anar version of an imprint stone,¡± answers Sarah. Waving it in Gail¡¯s direction has my little one wanting to play with the beautiful shiny. ¡°It can do a lot more than the primitive ones we¡¯re used to; pity we¡¯re limited in the functionality we can access.¡± ¡°As much as I want to trust you, I still have to ask. Where did you get it?¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy. I told my son from my last life here that I needed to borrow it; he almost died from shock at seeing me. Meeting up with him was the reason it took a bit to get here. Anyway, he said he¡¯d be along to say hello and pick up Morgana as soon as they¡¯ve completed the conclave.¡± Farhad gives a nod, and I let Gail touch the shiny crystal when Sarah holds it close. The imprint doesn¡¯t get stored within the crystal, but ?shines in all our minds. ¡°Powers of Resonance, and Protean, no skills, but what¡¯s Polyglot under languages?¡± I ask, not having heard of that language. At my question, Sarah looks distracted, but quickly nods. ¡°All Anar were like that. They didn¡¯t need to learn languages, they could understand and communicate in whatever language they wanted. Helps when you know what underlays everything,¡± replies Sarah, and stores the crystal back away. ¡°Bright little thing; no wonder her mind is so sharp with Intelligence already at thirty, smart-arse Anar. Tongues, or True Speech, lets a Celestial speak in another creature''s native tongue only, Polyglot has no such restriction.¡± ¡°She¡¯s physically normal though,¡± Farhad notes. ¡°Well, she is a baby; having physical stats above one is a bit of a stretch,¡± replies Sarah. ¡°Charisma of thirty, dad will have trouble saying no.¡± Elleth gives me a nod. ¡°Someone already wraps him around her little finger.¡± ¡°At least her Willpower is only fourteen; I stand a chance,¡± objects Farhad. Moving closer, he brushes Gail¡¯s cheek with the same apparent wonder that I¡¯ve seen repeatedly when he lets down his guard. His tone prompts Elleth and Sarah to exchange smug glances, but I keep carefully neutral. ¡°He¡¯s doomed,¡± pronounces Sarah. ¡°Fourteen and she¡¯s days old; she needs to train that, but that process ?makes teenagers so much fun.¡± 206 - Maze Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze ¡°Amdirlain, how were you reborn as my baby?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s voice snapped Amdirlain awake from the exhausted slumber that had swamped her after the corridor, but it took her a few moments to process the words. Amdirlain felt the grass tickling her back, and she realised she hadn¡¯t even made it to her hidey-hole. Sitting, she found the pool was within arm¡¯s reach, and she was lucky not to have fallen in. ¡°Was I dreaming?¡± Amdirlain asked the words echoing in the chamber when she moved to splash water on her face. ¡°I swear she was whispering in my ear just then. Must have been my brain playing games with how I teased her.¡± Rising, she headed past the trees to explore the Maze again. Through Astral Projection, she¡¯d gained an awareness of others present, but she was reluctant to reach out mentally with so many unknown and foul-minded entities in range. She had spent too long healing to want to risk her mind by reaching blindly near new threats so soon. The Maze children had memorised their Maze, but that had turned out to be a section of a larger one. If she couldn¡¯t walk the mosaic corridor alone, she had to be ready when a trial occurred. Though she knew where one exit existed, she¡¯d need a trial key to get through the blaze at the top of the stairs once the barrier lowered. It was days before Amdirlain finished exploring the passages radiating from the staircase chamber¡ªit had taken going back and forth within the Maze, mentally mapping corridors that ran for scores of kilometres with thousands of junctions. They formed a four-leaf clover of curling passages, with the hidden tunnel serving as a stem that connected them to yet another hall. She¡¯d found a near-even mix of empty and plant-filled chambers, and in one such room, she finally found someone else. True Sight didn¡¯t show them, but seeing rocks lined up to form strange patterns, she¡¯d enabled Aura Perception. With that Psi technique active, their presence was unmistakable. They were all bipedal and humanoid, but they didn¡¯t seem to have anything like the normal jointed limbs; knees flexed in reverse, and limbs twisted at odd angles off bloated shoulder joints. They sat around in groups of three or more engaged in some type of ?game; touching the ground between their limbs appeared to move objects in the spaces, but she couldn¡¯t see anything shift. Reassured by the calm, logical shades in their auras, she tried to touch their minds. Words and images came erratically through untuned static that felt like trying to make out a picture from an old black-and-white TV¡¯s snowstorm. A flash of stones, twigs, and leaves on a lop-sided board skipped between images of faces that rarely had Human features; some lacked any sort of eyes or mouths from what she could tell the only exception being two who appeared almost Elven. While she only caught some of their features, those she did all had the same youthful presence as Ebusuku had described the children in the Maze possessing. The other common thread she could detect in their broadcast thoughts was a focus on overcoming the other¡¯s strategy in their game. They¡¯re out of sync with me. [Advanced Telepathy [Ad] (40) -> [M] (1)] Amdirlain continued ?listening to their minds and eventually it was made clear how difficult it would be to communicate. None of them was listening to another''s thoughts, and attempts to project to them didn¡¯t seem to get through. While she was listening hard to hear them, ?she had no way of determining if they could even hear her attempts. Teleport placed her at the outer archway of the junction chamber, the staircases and illusion-concealed passage beyond looked unchanged. Given the result of the mosaic corridor, unless Amdirlain gained a key, the only way out might be somewhere along the hidden passageway. The corridor was the same as the ones she¡¯d spent days exploring except for the lack of any branch in sight. It took her hours travelling at a pace that had the thorns ready to erupt before a T-junction came into view. Close to where it joined, the walls expanded outwards, curving away as they did so. Without warning, she felt an energy she hadn¡¯t noticed lift from her as she entered the expanding area. Oddly, the Maze felt less pleasant without it in place and Amdirlain took a step back¡ªaway from the T-junction¡ªto assess the situation. Entirely within the regular width of the passage, she felt the energy settle around her again, somehow welcoming and providing a stable feeling of security. It was a reassurance that would do nothing to assist her in leaving, and Amdirlain quickly rejected the thought of remaining. Turning back to the T-junction, Amdirlain looked in both directions but found nothing to distinguish between them. She was only a few hundred metres down the left-hand path when a message impressed itself into her mind. [Warning: You have now departed your home region within the Maze. Please be aware that the Maze places entities of similar affinity together to minimise the chance of aggressive action. While conflict with monsters and guardians won¡¯t cause lasting harm, residents have the potential to bring ultimate death. We strongly encourage you to return to your assigned region to avoid sustaining lasting harm.] If they¡¯re in here, eating the provided supplies, it will have hopefully weakened anything that had significant Class levels. After the warning, it was another five or six kilometres before she encountered a passage branch. This time its structure gave the impression the passage she was travelling along branched off to the right, the curved corners funnelling into it like an organic growth. When Amdirlain entered it, the air washed a wild feeling across her, like being deep in the wilderness despite the enclosing stone. The passageway ran along, unmarked, for hours before it ended with an illusionary wall that put up an odd resistance even though she could make out a space beyond. This time though, the room beyond was a mere shimmering mirage, and True Sight struggled to press through the illusion¡¯s barrier. Eventually, a Power improvement chimed, and she looked into a staircase chamber that was identical to the one in her region: a staircase up, another down, and a corridor lined up with the passage she was in presently. [True Sight [M] (44 -> 45)] The engraving in the archway showed a giant eight-legged beast looming over figures that looked like humanoids and other animals. It didn¡¯t take her long to spot it within the predatory aura¡¯s sharp colours swirling around it, silhouetting an eight-legged creature with a wolf-like muzzle. A flicker of a small aura near a wall had the creature freeze, its attention snapped towards the movement. It pretended to ignore the other aura until it was in range¡ªthen it pounced. Yet within the predator¡¯s aura wasn¡¯t malice, but simply hunger. The aura¡¯s colour shifted, showing the beast drifting off to sleep with its need calmed. The thoughts she caught from it seemed a natural predator, simply following its instinct to feed. That touch gave her no sign ?of how mortals had once revered it, but she had enough precedents to make some guesses. Whether it was a case of hunter-gathers worshipping the ideal predator to gain strength to bring in food or something else was impossible to tell. Unlike the occupants she¡¯d found gathered playing games, it seemed to have no desire to leave its territory. Though she couldn¡¯t see it beyond its aura, Analysis had no issue providing details but didn¡¯t provide a name, just that it was a hunter pseudo-power whose followers died through a plague. Continuing her exploration led to other chambers containing a variety of wild and predatory spirits. They varied ?from a massive Remorhaz, whose room appeared to be ?tundra, to a blindingly fast, mongoose-like creature that darted about through an actual undergrowth. Within several of the other rooms, she noticed the auras of natural prey animals trying to avoid the notice of the apex predator they shared it with. The preys'' aura seemed more like that of a natural animal than the spirit feeding upon them. Analysis showed that the Predators were spirits that hunter-gatherers hoped to be blessed by, whether for their speed, strength, or sheer power. Killers, one and all, they weren¡¯t killers for no reason, but ?only to sate hunger or in defence of their own¡ªand Amdirlain had no axe to grind with them. It took days of exploring to confirm, but each chamber simply held a creature following its nature. How anyone might recruit them to their service she did not know but she also had no sense of overt malice despite their predatory natures. Teleport placed her easily back at the main passageway and she headed onwards, picking up the pace enough to have the tattoos itching menacingly. One region after another gave the same wild natural zest as the region with the predators until the fifth which had quieter energy. Curious, Amdirlain worked her way inside and, overcoming another strong illusionary barrier, she continued exploring the Maze. The first chamber she found gave her a straightforward answer¡ªit was another manifestation of a natural ideal but it wasn¡¯t predatory. A strange giant elk moved about its chamber, grazing in a relaxed fashion on the foliage that re-grew in its wake, under what it felt to be a bright sun. Its aura was rich with strength, perseverance, and family. Telepathy¡¯s touch had little noise to filter out. Indeed, in its mind, the chamber¡¯s walls didn¡¯t even exist; instead, it was grazing on an open plain, lonely for its herd yet unsure when they had become separated. Further explorations only showed more of the same within that offshoot of the Maze, various herbivores representative of similar themes. Amdirlain teleported back to the main corridor without worrying about counting the lost days and continued to the next junction. Beyond a series of areas that felt majestic and wild, she encountered a region with a predatory vibe laced with malice and delight in suffering. Despite that, there was nothing different with the corridor nor the strength of the illusionary wall. Only when she found a chamber did the archway make the nature of the entities that inhabited it clear. The engravings showed a bipedal creature cutting apart creatures identical in appearance to itself. They engraved those it cut apart in such detail as to show their muscles taut and struggling to get free from its grasp. Beyond the archway was a chamber bare of foliage littered with gnawed bones. The figure within possessed a broken aura, with cruelly edged spikes jutting from what should be a smooth energy flow. Still, it showed where it squatted atop a bone pile, its movements jerky as it gnawed at something held before it. This Power offered strength from its aspects of cannibalism, torture, and ritualistic murder. Let¡¯s see if Ki Infusion lets me make contact the way it would with an incorporeal creature. Wonder if it was like a Wendigo? Ki Flight kept her from contacting any of the bones while slipping inside the chamber, but she found the foul energy vibe reduced upon entering the room. Studying the creature¡¯s posture, it was easy to spot its defensive attitude with its gaze fixed on the archway; rather than looking for more prey, it seemed ready to leap aside if something came inside. Puzzled by its behaviour, Amdirlain still quickly closed the distance between them. Activating both Ki State and Ki Infusion, Amdirlain studied it and felt Death Strike¡¯s guidance when it arched its neck to gnaw away at whatever it was holding. Her blade hand strike barely slowed as her infused flesh made solid contact; Amdirlain felt a soft pop of separating flesh and bone, and the suddenly fading aura showed its head bouncing away. [Combat Summary: Malevolent Spirit x1 Total Experience gained: 1,620 Fallen: 324 Scion: 324 Sora Master: 324 Psion: 324 Warrior Monk: 324 Warning: Continuation of such behaviour will draw a Maze Guardian¡¯s attention.] One less vile thing that won¡¯t ever get out of here. Now to find the next chamber and see if they¡¯re similar. The creature she found in the next chamber was more like a land-based octopus. A multitude of limbs held it off the ground while the end of two tentacles dipped into a shallow pool and brought whatever coated them to its mouth for it to lick clean. Those that worshipped it saw it as having control over all aspects of murder, corruption, and spiritual destruction. A single blow planted her fist deep into the aura around its main body, and for a moment, its presence flickered into existence in True Sight as its body slid from her arm. Eyeless, its thick skin showed an abrasive shark-like roughness covered by gel that slurped off her arm when the body dropped. [Combat Summary: Malevolent Spirit x1 Total Experience gained: 1,620 Fallen: 324 Scion: 324 Sora Master: 324 Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Psion: 324 Warrior Monk: 324] ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations.¡± The crisply spoken words had her spin towards their source, hands already raised protectively. What she found wasn¡¯t a comforting sight, but neither was it unexpected; within a translucent humanoid shell, cogs and gears churn about almost identical to the Titan¡¯s Servant from Judgement. However, this one came equipped with a spear and shield, and it seemed ready to make use of them. Analysis [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 1(Construct) Class: Soldier / Scout Level: 50 / 50 Health: 2,500 Defence: 320 Melee Attack Power: 280 Combat Skills: Spear [M] (20) Details: A focused combat construct used to keep the peace between the Maze¡¯s residents.] At least it¡¯s not that Servant from Judgement. ¡°If I don¡¯t?¡± The gears within the unit started back and forth before it replied, almost a soundless laughter. ¡°Then this unit or another of its kind will ensure you¡¯re returned there.¡± ¡°No offence, but I don¡¯t think you¡¯re up to that task,¡± replied Amdirlain. Even as she spoke, she repositioned nearer to the wall in case other reinforcements suddenly appeared. ¡°The material capability of this unit indeed restricts me, but procedures state that immediate escalation to activating an inevitable is wasteful.¡± Not risking a glance at the fading aura of the headless entity, Amdirlain kept the conversation going. ¡°You look stronger than the entity I just dealt with.¡± ¡°This unit is stronger than the ?average resident in this region. Please return to your assigned space promptly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re controlling that from somewhere else; you¡¯re not some living intelligence within the unit, right?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Being restricted to an individual unit would be inefficient,¡± replied the construct. ¡°Destruction of this form will cause the allocation of additional units.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I ask a few questions?¡± ¡°I do not believe you should require directions to return to your assigned space; you possess a restricted capacity for Greater Teleport but it''s more than sufficient.¡± Amdirlain smiled at its knowledge of her abilities. ¡°Do you feel pain?¡± There was emotion in the construct''s voice for the first time, as it almost laughed. ¡°How would that be efficient?¡±. A motion blur ended in a single punch that shattered the translucent shell. When the metal fragments stopped bouncing, they melted into the stonework. [Combat Summary: Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 Total Experience gained: 4,700 Fallen: 940 Scion: 940 Sora Master: 940 Psion: 940 Warrior Monk: 940] ¡°Just wanted to make sure,¡± Amdirlain said, hefting the spear she had seized before it could hit the ground. Twirling it one-handed, she checked the shorter point at the opposite end and spun it around a few more times to test its balance. ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations.¡± The words didn¡¯t come from one unit this time, but from two sources spaced apart within the chamber. Analysis returned the same attributes from each, and that was all Amdirlain needed to know. The borrowed spear led the way, and she used it to brush aside the glacial-paced attempt at a parry. The purpose of her using the spear wasn¡¯t to destroy it, but to distract it, and the kick struck hard. A brutal sweep below its shield took out its footing before the turning kick hurtled it across the chamber, taking out its backup with it in a spray of parts. There wasn¡¯t an experience point announcement as the parts cascaded about three new units were already in play. Spread out in a line facing her, two held the same spear and shield, while the centre had a long shaft in two hands with a cruel crescent on the haft¡¯s end. A nearly complete circular band with a spiked-lined interior intended to allow the wielder to secure a humanoid around the neck and force them to submit. ¡°Come here often?¡± Her words halted their approach, and they let down their guard a fraction. ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s reply came via a Teleport that put her at the left end of the line, her dropping spear drawing their attention even as her kick obliterated the shield, cannoning the spear unit towards the line¡¯s centre. Unfortunately, her kick this time was too strong and instead of a destructive impact, fragmented components sprayed the one man-catcher unit chipping away at its translucent shell. ¡°If I talk, do you stop?¡± The units immediately turned and faced her. ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a yes. Why aren¡¯t I allowed to destroy these foul things?¡± ¡°You are a resident,¡± insisted the man-catcher unit. ¡°You¡¯re not permitted to render a verdict.¡± ¡°In that case, why can a resident hurt another resident if it¡¯s not allowed?¡± asked Amdirlain, hoping she¡¯d be able to argue them into letting her clean up the trash. ¡°Such a question is outside this unit¡¯s area of responsibility,¡± replied the man-catcher. Amdirlain blurred in a turn while teleporting, and the kick smashed the spear unit into its damaged colleague, bursting them open like mechanical pi?ata. Before their remains hit the ground, Amdirlain was already moving based on Precognition¡¯s guidance. Four foes appeared encircling where she¡¯d been a blink earlier; the three spear units angled inward ?to force her towards a man-catcher. The air was still shimmering around the centre spear unit when an axe kick shattered its shield arm off at the shoulder, the momentum of the blow hastening its fall. Leveraging its staggering body, she shoved the damaged unit to the right and, grasping the shield¡¯s edge, flung it, with the arm still attached, at the man-catcher unit in the squad. A perfectly formed thrust from the left might as well have been moving through molasses to Amdirlain¡¯s perceptions. A quick grab let her seize the spear¡¯s haft and, with a yank that pulled the unit off balance, Amdirlain moved. With the thrust coming towards her, she kept hold of the haft while she rolled away to add more momentum, and jammed the spear¡¯s point into the first unit¡¯s open arm socket; the gears inside shearing off the tip. A ground-based sweep looked almost dance-like but brought the two smashing down. Coming to her feet tempted the man-catcher to ?strike at her neck. Instead, she fell sideways to apply an elbow drop, the wrestler¡¯s move aided by Ki Strike and Death Strike calling out a vulnerable spot among the gears. Her impact shattered the shell and sent a shock wave through its construction, tearing the insides apart. The attempt by the man-catcher to ensnare her instead thrust uselessly above her, and Amdirlain teleported behind the unit. Ki Strike empowered a punch that exited the front of its chest, and spinning, she flung the body at the one-armed unit, smashing them both apart. This time, Precognition warned her of an encircling emplacement and she teleported through the archway as a group of eight appeared around the chamber¡¯s perimeter. A broad passage with her alone holding it wouldn¡¯t be a suitable defensive location by any means; it merely stopped their initial appearance from encircling her. She didn¡¯t ?hinder their smoothly coordinated motions but studied them as a mini-phalanx formed and hastened towards the archway. Four spear wielders set the front rank, interlocking shields and spear tips danced about, trying to herd her as they drew close. Two man-catchers formed the second rank; their weapon¡¯s three-metre long hafts reached well beyond the front rank''s shields, waiting for a moment to exploit. The last two spear wielders moved carefully, apparently intent on protecting the phalanx¡¯s rear. She repeatedly drew back down the corridor, watching them approach and feeling Death Strike¡¯s understanding of them grow. It was a chill reminder of L¨ºdhins watching her in Tern¨°x, but that didn¡¯t stop her from letting the Power educate her about these foes. When they closed the range again, they paused, clearly expecting that she¡¯d retreat. When the spear tips thrust, Amdirlain struck, Telekinetic Thrust exploding forward with air-cracking force; an invisible battering ram down their formation¡¯s middle sent them flying into the sides. Amdirlain¡¯s movement became a blur, and the last was regaining its feet when a scythe kick also claimed its head. Like the other shattered pieces, it dissolved as soon as it stopped bouncing. The front rank of another formation stepped over it with no hesitation, and another formation of eight rounded a bend in the passageway, trying to pin her between them. ¡°Is this like the backgammon betting dice now? Doubling up each time?¡± ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations.¡± The words seemed to originate from all the units at once, and Amdirlain glanced between the two groups, which had paused when she spoke. ¡°Really? That¡¯s all you have to say?¡± ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations. Procedures dictate ?that upon any violence between residents we need to ensure the survivors promptly return to their accommodations.¡± The words this time seemed to come from the closest spear unit, and Amdirlain turned her attention to it. ¡°I just need to return to my accommodations, then we forget all about this? What about the units destroyed?¡± ¡°The resources required to construct these units are meaningless, hence the escalation procedures.¡± Waving her hand towards spots where pieces of metal had recently dissolved, Amdirlain gave the unit a wry smile. ¡°Happy to throw away thousands of these to avoid using the more expensive ones?¡± ¡°The materials for millions of these units, or even higher tier units, do not equate to the expeditor for forming one ¡®Inevitable¡¯ unit. Fatigue or hunger will eventually force you to return to your accommodations. We need only continue to delay you.¡± ¡°This doesn¡¯t discourage me. Do you understand that?¡± ¡°We will follow the procedure; please ensure your compliance.¡± Amdirlain laughed and slapped her hand against her leg, the tattoo suddenly itching as if it objected to her being in good humour. ¡°You know that doesn¡¯t work well for me. I complied with someone else¡¯s rule once, and look what it got me.¡± ¡°That thing growing on your Soul is not our concern. You will comply.¡± The Psi technique was one she had just started learning towards the year¡¯s end. It hadn¡¯t been a technique on her schedule for the year, just a matter of studying ahead. Disintegrate sounds high-tech, but the Psi technique had the same effect as what she¡¯d witnessed with the broken pieces. The unit that told her to comply dissolved into nothingness, molecular bonds snapping away and releasing a cloud of heated gas, with the excess energy bled off into the ether where ectoplasm originated. ¡°Is there anyone else that wants to tell me to comply?¡± ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodations.¡± A wolf-like smile was their last warning. Amdirlain reappeared behind the furthest phalanx and cut loose. Energy Surge wasn¡¯t Sith lightning, but the Psi technique did an excellent impersonation. Shaping its manifestation into electricity had the unleashed power arcing between the figures as it raced down a forty-metre stretch of passage. The initial surge didn¡¯t destroy all of them, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop at one. The electricity that arced white-hot between them cracked open shells and melted gears to make quick work of her opponents. The destruction of those sixteen had thirty-two appear to meet the same fate, then sixty-four, before the corridor became flooded with 128 units. It was a wild, swirling melee, salted with blasts of power. The ?time that group took Amdirlain to destroy was more an aspect of being spread out than anything else, they too dropped to Ki assault, raw telekinetic blasts, and energy manifestations. When the last pieces melted into the floor, it felt as if the Maze had taken a breath and a combat summary appeared. [Combat Summary: Species: Maze Guardian - Tier I x 257 Total Experience gained: 1,207,900 Fallen: 241,580 Scion: 241,580 Sora Master: 241,580 Psion: 241,580 Warrior Monk: 241,580 Telekinesis [M] (4 -> 5)] The lone figure that appeared carried a hook-bladed axe and a round shield, and instead of a translucent shell, it appeared made of solid metal. [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 2 (Construct) Class: Soldier / Scout / Fighter Level: 50 / 50 / 50 Health: 5,700 Defence: 420 Melee Attack Power: 380 Combat Skills: Axe [M] (30), Grapple [M] (30) Details: A focused combat construct used to keep the peace between the Maze¡¯s residents.] A smooth helm fixed its attention on her, and its words were almost a repeat of the others. Its flatly intoned words seemed to come from vibrations from its surface. ¡°I insist you return to your assigned accommodations.¡± ¡°I take it that those materials are less restrictive on your capabilities?¡± asked Amdirlain cheerfully. She snatched a moment to check her Ki and Psi reserves and found them still largely intact but made adjustments to their presentation in her mind¡¯s eye. ¡°They are less restrictive, but still, they have limits.¡± Catching the edge of dissatisfaction in its tone, Amdirlain gave it a genuinely amused smile. ¡°Is it the ¡®Inevitable¡¯ unit that lets you cut loose properly?¡± ¡°No, it is still inadequate; it is, however, a more acceptable host.¡± ¡°When is the last time you took the brakes off?¡± ¡°When I accompanied the others into the Abyss.¡± Amdirlain almost spluttered but ?inclined her head politely and gestured in what she believed was the direction of the closest exit. ¡°You know, we could bypass all this by just providing me a key and opening a barrier.¡± ¡°That is against procedures.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t it seem a little wasteful?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The expenditure of these units is meaningless, and we both know you¡¯ve gained from this Orh¨ºthurin.¡± Being addressed by that name drew a disappointed huff. ¡°That isn¡¯t my name anymore.¡± The unit gestured towards her with the axe and repositioned the shield. ¡°Perhaps not, but these procedures are what you designed. We will hold you to account by them as well.¡± ¡°Is that a royal we, an official we, or are you just taking the piss?¡± ¡°Official.¡± They spoke the curt word with the force of a disapproving slap, but their attitude just brought forth Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°Do you have a name I could call you?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t recall enough to know the four he would have sent, I¡¯ll keep my name to myself. Your father can¡¯t interfere with the official rules here; you insisted on neutrality in these confines.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I remember desperately wanting to hold the Greek Gods to account, to want them stopped from running over mortals at their merest whim. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d tell me who killed Apollo?¡± ¡°That is not within my authority to share.¡± ¡°You¡¯re rules-lawyering, aren¡¯t you? How is that going to help me in here?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I want to know who I have to give a present to when I get out of here!¡± ¡°I insist you return to your assigned accommodations.¡± ¡°Do you normally handle the Maze Guardian units?¡± asked Amdirlain, sceptical that a concept¡¯s aspect would attend such a duty. ¡°Given you are here, I felt it was suitable.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s a case of you using the situation to fulfil your desires in that case. Don¡¯t you? It''s a clear sign you¡¯re losing perspective.¡± The unit lurched upright, its body straightening from its guard stance. Amdirlain teleported behind it the instant its position shifted, and a backhand strike sent the unit¡¯s metal body hurtling into the wall. The impact cratered its head and dropped it to the ground. Before it could rise, she reappeared atop it, administering a flurry of blows into its back that only ended when her fists were wrist-deep through the metal, causing the unit to slump. The moment it did so, two identical units appeared with her positioned between them in the corridor. Though the tattoos crawling under her skin tried to sour her desire for the fight, Amdirlain focused on gaining strength snarled. ¡°Game on.¡± ¡°Law shall prevail.¡± The stereo response just widened Amdirlain¡¯s grin, and she attacked. 207 - Catch on fire Minerva¡¯s PoV - Nova Roma The Temple¡¯s side balcony had once provided a view of buildings sheathed in polished white stone that ran to the fortified harbour entrance. Yet ?it had been a sight that had hidden a decaying culture with the ratio of slaves to citizens at twenty to one. Even though she had to admit Remus wasn¡¯t free from such behaviour, in the harsher northern kingdom, enslaved people were a minority. The city and its people were paying for that decay, a reckoning in blood and destruction as the former slaves burned out the rot. Throughout the visible districts, many flame-blacked buildings were in various states of collapse. Something had collapsed a ring of buildings; whether this was to serve as a firebreak or because of fighting, she couldn¡¯t tell in her current state. While some might see only the reconstruction in terms of coin, Minerva hoped the view would remind those present of the price paid in lives¡ªslaves and citizens alike. The city had years of repair work and recovery ahead even if they achieved peace today, and this being her third attempt, she wasn¡¯t sure it would. The rebels¡¯ present upper hand meant that if it wasn¡¯t, there would be five legions dead an instant after the words stopped. An attendant rang a chime and Minerva turned from the balcony¡¯s railing to consider those gathered. The senate¡¯s representatives were the sixteen men sat on her left mostly dressed in armour¡ªsome sets better fitting than others¡ªinstead of the finery they¡¯d once possessed. The senate leader, Flavius, was the sole exception in a white linen toga whose loose folds mirrored the skin around his neck, his body not having adjusted smoothly to rapid weight loss. Still, after two months with the supply of food to the city falling, he was far heavier than any of his fellows. His mass, however, paled when compared to the weight ?of hatred the senate¡¯s guard directed at the rebel¡¯s leader. Dressed in armour showing he¡¯d been part of the Caesar¡¯s guard, the reason for his anger was obvious. It was a fruitless display of hatred given the amusement she could see in Marauder¡¯s yellowed gaze. The Orc hadn¡¯t worried about finery but wore his arena armour, leather and steel positioned to allow some defence while still displaying enough skin to allow the crowd to see blood. Fine scars painted a map across his massive muscles that pressed his veins tight against his skin. Most of the rebels'' council had come equipped correctly for the fighting they¡¯d endured. They were a mix of species and gender, Orc, Human, Dwarf, Basteti and Rat-kin. Except the two noble women all possessed a strength of Faith, that made it clear each of them had at least one Priest Class. The heaviest armoured of them was a Dwarf¡ªMarauder¡¯s arena partner¡ªand a Human who served as the rebel¡¯s bodyguard. The Dwarf looked pretty normal in a set of dwarven plate armour, though it strangely lacked crests for clan and family and his beardless round chin jutting from the bottom of the helm added to that. It was the rebels¡¯ guard who was the true oddity. Clad head to toe in what seemed like liquid silver with a kite shield held easily at the ready, the power of the armour¡¯s enchantments fairly screamed to her senses. If they sold it, they could have commanded enough coin to free every slave in Nova Roma; instead, it protected a mere guard, even though he seemed primarily there to protect two noble women. Although the two women in dresses weren¡¯t the only females present, they stood out the most. Clad in silver silk dresses that left their arms bare from the shoulders, but otherwise covered from their neck to toes. Shifting mist and light barely allowed Minerva to make out their mouths, as it veiled their faces and hair, and concealed all other features. While they didn¡¯t have the strength of Faith about them, they possessed the magical air of wizards. She¡¯d seen them during previous attempts to restore peace and still hadn¡¯t learnt why anyone wealthy had sided with the slaves, nor even where their true allegiance sat. It didn¡¯t seem like they were using the free council to gain power in a new regime, but with so much hidden about them and their motivations, it was impossible to be sure. Minerva stepped towards her couch to start proceedings when Marauder set the glass filled with Elven wine aside, untouched, and turned towards the main doors. An axe blinked into the Dwarf¡¯s hand, and just as suddenly, both women focused on the door. Meanwhile, their guard and the others kept his attention on the rest of the room, dividing their focus with an eerie wordless coordination that spoke of mental magics. The door opened with indecent haste, and Minerva realised they¡¯d been listening to events outside the chamber. Whatever was going on must be dramatic from the Novice¡¯s grey complexion. ¡°Lady Minerva, guests at the Temple¡¯s door seek to meet with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d make them wait, but given your concern, who are they?¡± asked Minerva. Despite her words, none of the tension left the guests that had stirred, and their guard¡¯s hand dropped to his sword¡¯s hilt. ¡°Lady Athena and Lady Nike?,¡± said the Novice. ¡°Greeks to kill. This day gets better,¡± growled Marauder, rising in a burst of power. His calm evaporated with an eruption of molten Willpower burning in his yellow gaze; how had they ever believed him tamed? Minerva motioned gracefully, trying for what she hoped was a calming gesture and not to come across as if ordering him to sit. ¡°This is my Temple. I¡¯d prefer to at least hear what they have to say.¡± The younger lady among the mystery pair smiled, but it was the barest hint under the veils of magic that hid her features. Marauder had still been moving despite Minerva¡¯s request, but that slight smile had him halt, and he waved at the senators. ¡°The only reason we¡¯re here is to accept the senate¡¯s surrender. So let them speak the words, and you can tend to your guests. Once the Greeks leave, we¡¯ll be hunting them.¡± Flavius shifted nervously as the others murmur. ¡°We were here to discuss terms, not just accept your demands.¡± It was the older woman who snorted with a vigour that would have done Marauder justice. ¡°The terms are: would you like your armies to be still alive, or should we collapse the spells poised above them? It¡¯s your choice, but if you decide they¡¯re to die, we won¡¯t offer your families any surrender, no matter where they flee.¡± The kite shield upon the guard¡¯s arm blurred, and what had been a plain silver surface now sported Amdirlain¡¯s symbol, and any hope for the day seemed dashed. The entire nation¡¯s fate seemed sealed when both the ladies brought out Amdirlain¡¯s emblem from beneath their robes. Unlike those broken chains among the freed, the younger woman¡¯s symbol looked to be a single piece of wood whose grains held amber; shaped to show a candle and broken chains. In past discussions, they¡¯d seemed the two most reasonable parties on the slave¡¯s council, but now they¡¯d firmly declared their position. Those previous negotiations now seemed to be cast aside when their guard spoke up. ¡°My family doesn¡¯t care about your guests. They can wait,¡± the man declared, unbothered by brushing Minerva¡¯s request aside. ¡°You¡¯ve heard Amdirlain¡¯s voice on this matter. Surrender now. All slaves in the Kingdom of Nova Roma are to be declared free and given four months of a servant¡¯s wage to make a fresh start. In return, we will release your soldiers after they¡¯ve divested themselves of their weapons and armour. We¡¯ll also spare you and your families.¡± She¡¯d only ever heard the term ¡®voice¡¯ used to a refer to a representative by Dragons, and from the mouth of this guard it froze Minerva¡¯s skin. Reduced without her Mantle¡¯s power, she had no way to be sure it was just him, or if the two women were also dragons; even one might be far too much for her if they were old enough. ¡°You¡¯re a monster to threaten women and children,¡± protested Flavius, and Minerva almost burst out laughing but held her tongue by the barest of margins. Marauder turned to him and sneered, the expression showing his sharp Orc teeth off to full advantage. ¡°What about all those who your kingdom enslaved over the centuries? We won¡¯t torture our captives as the likes of you have, nor grind them down, stripping them of dignity and pride. What we will do is end slavery here?. Surrender, give up the past, and accept the new laws we¡¯ve declared, allowing none the right to enslave in either name or deed, or die.¡± His brief speech was in well-articulated Latin, and Minerva wondered if this or his savage battle-rousing speeches were the biggest act. A woman¡¯s hand suddenly rested on the Novice¡¯s shoulder and guided her aside to let two women who¡¯d appeared behind her pass. Both of them looked travel-worn, but in apparel that still showed its quality, fine linen tunics and pants with Grecian armour made from Manticore hide atop them. Neither carried a shield, instead blades sat sheathed on either hip, ready to be quickly in hand. ¡°Can¡¯t you even wait where you¡¯re told?¡± growled the guard, the timbre of the words resonating within Minerva¡¯s chest. While Marauder gave the outward appearance of being the savage brute, something about the man¡¯s words promised he was the most dangerous between them. Given her suspicions, the only question that remained was what colour dragons were in the room. ¡°We¡¯re not here to start trouble,¡± declared Nike removing her helm. Her brunette hair clung in sweat-soaked ringlets to her scalp, but her olive-toned skin shone with vitality. ¡°We¡¯re here to surrender our mantles to Minerva to ensure she can forge a peace. Something is inciting mortals and gods alike to continue fighting for the illusion of gains, but all it will do is ensure the obliteration of the Human species.¡± ¡°Why should we trust a Greek God¡¯s word?¡± Marauder asked, his gaze roaming over the women, assessing their postures and taking in their obvious and concealed weapons. ¡°Once I would have defended Mount Olympus from all outside threats, but after Zeus and the Moirai allowed the rot within, there is nothing left to defend. I, Nike, daughter of the Titan Pallas, ?surrender my Mantle to Minerva. Do you accept it?¡± ¡°I would have believed you unceasing in striving for victory. Why this surrender?¡± asked Minerva, not taking her attention from the former Titan nor the Grecian Goddess. ¡°Zeus cast my advice aside well before this war started and earned his fate. My victory will be to ensure that whatever side wins won¡¯t be celebrating a pyrrhic victory,¡± said Nike and looked at the Roma senators. ¡°You should surrender quickly. Mars escorted us here but left to tell the generals to surrender to Amdirlain¡¯s cadre; every other army he¡¯s spoken to is already under their command. Once they agree, those here won¡¯t need to use their Spell trap.¡± ¡°Amdirlain died before this even started,¡± Flavius declared pompously. ¡°Her people want to ensure no one forgets her name, and they won¡¯t allow an insult to her to stand,¡± warned Athena. ¡°While they¡¯d been arguing for years about what name to use, it would seem that is no longer the case. The Wizard¡¯s cadre of Eyrarh¨¢ls now acts in her name. They give simple choices: stop fighting other nations, or they¡¯ll stop you. They¡¯ve helped destroy a score of forces in the last week alone. Mars told us the cadre recognise the free council as the rightful rulers of Nova Roma given their greater numbers.¡± The senators shifted nervously at the news, and Minerva acted. ¡°I accept your Mantle, Nike. Will you serve me as well as you served Zeus against Typhon?¡± ¡°I pledge my arm and skill to your service while ever you ?work to keep humanity from destruction,¡± Nike declared. The light flickered in a golden sheen around her, and six wings sprouted from her back as she faded away. ¡°It seems I have a new Solar,¡± stated Minerva and looked at Athena, trying to hide her surprise at Nike¡¯s transformation. ¡°I will give my Mantle to you, but I already promised another I¡¯d serve them after I met with you,¡± replied Athena. Her voice had already regained its composure. Minera¡¯s eyebrows raised at the words. ¡°Can I ask whose service you¡¯ll be entering?¡± ¡°Hestia. I should have stood by her when she sought to calm Zeus¡¯ ire,¡± replied Athena. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it would have made a difference, but so many that died might still be alive if I¡¯d taken that chance.¡± ¡°I thought Hestia had stayed out of this?¡± asked Minerva, wondering what she had missed. ¡°She did. I met with a High Priestess on the journey here, and she communed with her for me,¡± admitted Athena. Without further delay, she offered her Mantle to Minerva and received a ready acceptance. With the exchange of their oaths, Athena gasped and folded in two, golden blood pouring in streams from her ears and mouth, pooling on the floor at her feet. Minerva moved to her side, but Marauder beat her there. ¡°Speak your oath, Athena,¡± growled Marauder. His hands shone blue with radiant energy that washed across her skin. It fought a losing battle against her suddenly ashen complexion as the blood continued to flow and flesh peeled from her bones. ¡°I pledge my¡­.¡± Athena pushed as blood pulsed from more opening wounds and twisted aside from Marauder¡¯s touch. ¡°No, it¡¯s time to die. We should have never begged for a sanctuary; we¡¯d had our time. Now it¡¯s time to pay the price.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Like a tension-twisted catapult, Athena came apart in a spray of flesh and blood that left all about her a gory mess. Before anyone can react, a rush of magic comes from the younger woman, and everything is clean again. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you tried to help her, Marauder,¡± Minerva stated, catching a shift in the Orc¡¯s expression. ¡°Didn¡¯t you want to kill her a few moments earlier?¡± ¡°Killing an enemy in an honourable battle is one thing; for someone to die after they¡¯ve done something right is another,¡± declared Marauder. Putting a hand momentarily to the ground where Athena had been standing he rose and glared at Flavius. ¡°It is a pity I know of all your family''s vile deeds, Flavius; I don¡¯t believe any of them have earned mercy. You have until the last of us leaves this chamber, and then we¡¯ll eradicate you.¡± The free council stood, and the words of surrender left Flavius¡¯ mouth in a rush. Lezekus¡¯ PoV - Limbo - Monastery of Will¡¯s Hand Ignoring the others in the senior dining room, Gemiya sat next to Lezekus and placed a bowl before her. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll ever tell us how someone kidnapped Amdirlain through the wards? You still haven¡¯t told us how you knew they¡¯d killed her.¡± Lezekus opened her mouth to reply but closed it with a snap. Instead, she picked up the spoon and poked the stew as if it was an enemy she wanted to rip apart. ¡°Know they will not let you resume Psi studies until you are calmer,¡± observed Zenya. ¡°Or do you want to risk Sarith¡¯s fate?¡± Closing her eyes, Lezekus raised a hand to rub at the medallion inside her robes, and her lips moved in silent prayer. ¡°Did you hear the latest news from Liran??¡± Gemiya asked, trying to deflect Zenya¡¯s focus for Lezekus. Sarith, looking wrung-out and pale with fatigue, entered the dining room and headed for the serving section. Still, she walked with purpose, and her passing nearby attracted Lezekus¡¯ attention from her prayers. ¡°Know, Sarith, you look exhausted. Do you have time to sit?¡± ¡°Know the infirmaries are busy after the Slaadi¡¯s swarms attacked last night; I need to get back,¡± responded Sarith and motioned to a meal box a server set at the end of their bench. ¡°Know I¡¯ll help you with the meals then,¡± stated Lezekus, leaving her bowl in place and standing to move away. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to finish that before classes today?¡± retorted Sarith and pointed to Lezekus¡¯ bowl. ¡°Know I understand you¡¯ve been avoiding speaking to Elliyna; if you don¡¯t feel comfortable speaking with her, there are others that can help.¡± ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°Know I don¡¯t believe my help would best serve you,¡± replied Sarith. Lezekus shook her head and started towards the serving bench. ¡°Know I don¡¯t want help, just someone to listen that won¡¯t then gossip.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll be able to do that ,¡± acknowledged Sarith and hurried after her. ¡°Good, but after you¡¯ve gotten some sleep,¡± Lezekus said, stopping Sarith from claiming the box. ¡°Know you can lead the way.¡± Erwarth¡¯s PoV - Tern¨°x Ilya¡¯s blades flow in ways that had been impossible on our arrival. Time spent among the singing crystal walls and sitting beneath the inner trees had helped wash her fears away. With that tension eased, her performance in the sparring sessions with my mother kept improving. Mother¡¯s preference for a shield shows in the purely defensive applications of her second blade, using it to force openings but never exploiting them with her off-hand. Although Isa doesn¡¯t take her eyes from Ilya, her distracted gaze makes it clear she¡¯s focused on their music rather than watching the sparring. ¡°Mother, are you going to swap out to a dual-blade specialist shortly? I can see Ilya has spotted your bad habits.¡± Her disengaging from Ilya¡¯s attacks sends the young Celestial¡¯s blades flying in opposite directions. Raising her hands to surrender the point, Ilya tosses me a sour look. ¡°I still need to improve enough to exploit what you call a bad habit.¡± ¡°You will get there in a century or twelve,¡± Laleither quips and motions for Ilya to retrieve her blades. ¡°How did the dragons even defeat you?¡± ¡°We got complacent and lazy¡ªmemories of past lives are beneficial, but they are also a trap. When one remembers having the heights of power, it brings confidence you could regain it whenever you wish,¡± Laleither explains, time having leeched the sadness from the topic. ¡°Being reborn is tempting after millennia of drifting along¡ªit restores freshness to life¡¯s experiences, but it also tricks you until reality pulls the rug out from under your feet.¡± ¡°But didn¡¯t you have reasons to improve again if you worked for the Titan?¡± Ilya enquires and illustrates the ignorance I¡¯ve often heard from others. ¡°Making all those worlds must have kept people improving.¡± ¡°We had ceased working for the Titan well before Orh¨ºthurin executed the Anar King,¡± admits Laleither. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was the only one that frequently travelled to other worlds or even far beyond the cities¡¯ walls; as for the rest of us, our lives had become comfortable. There is a difference between proficiency in times of peace and what times of war require. The Anar and we no longer possessed the needed proficiency for battle; even if we had, we¡¯d never fought on such a scale.¡± ¡°I remember all the Glinnel taking too long to unleash effective attacks on the dragons,¡± admits Isa. ¡°I had only seen it from the side of needing protection, not from insufficient practice under pressure. The memory has been slowly growing for years now; it started as a dream before he sent me to Hell.¡± Laleither winces and moves to lift a hand to hide her eyes in shame but ?clenches it into a fist. None had wanted to address ?Isa¡¯s memory when she arrived, but something had changed. ¡°Your memory was right, but it was only a snippet of the fall after we¡¯d left. We saw what we thought was her death to the Leviathan¡¯s acidic breath and never imagined she¡¯d rise to fight on. Instead of waiting, we accepted Baln¨¦rith¡¯s offer to assist us from what we saw as the Titan¡¯s trap. Nothing had dared to come at us for billions of years, so the Leviathan''s assault must have been the Titan¡¯s doing, mustn¡¯t it? Better to get free of it so we can pull others free, right? We were such fools.¡± ¡°Singing requires substantial endurance of body and mind. We¡¯d played at keeping our skills sharp, but they¡¯d gone to seed,¡± Roher injects, moving mother away from the subject of our shame. ¡°Have you recovered enough to practice further, Isa?¡± ¡°Yes, please. I want to get the Song for the crystal right,¡± replies Isa, happy to let the discussion of the past slide for now. With her swords recovered, Ilya readies herself and they spar again, but Isa returns to her practice. I listen to the developing duet and crystals spun from True Song form for the first time since the fall. Merely long strands at first, but they spin together to form a conductor¡¯s baton with starlight shining a guiding path from within. * * * The pair come into the study with too much amusement to not have something planned. Still, I pretend to remain focused on a grimoire Ebusuku shared until Isa makes her move. She plants herself on the table¡¯s edge and gives me a smile that¡¯s too bright when I look up from the grimoire. ¡°I thought you came here to see about getting in trouble?¡± ¡°I have some plans to annoy the Sisterhood, but Ebusuku asked me to spend time with my family first. Though I have already sent a message to ensure a project we had underway won¡¯t vanish.¡± ¡°What kind of project?¡± ¡°The construction of siege engines that should be effective against a Sisterhood stronghold is in progress,¡± I offer, knowing she¡¯ll hear the truth in my words¡¯ Song. ¡°I wanted to send her word from within the Abyss in case the builder could tell the difference in the Spell¡¯s energy..¡± ¡°The fifty-odd of you were going to besiege a stronghold?¡± Isa asks incredulously. My laughter has Ilya looking our way, but Isa lets me laugh until I¡¯m ready to explain. ¡°No, not us. We know the Sisterhood¡¯s principal enemies. They¡¯re not trustworthy, but we were sure we could provoke them into attacking with the right tools and information. The engines are still under construction, though our builder was surprised to hear from me.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± ¡°She found patches of ground in the construction yard glowing with Celestial energy,¡± I admit and enjoy Isa¡¯s wide-eyed expression. ¡°Bet she thought something had obliterated you. How long does Celestial energy last in the Abyss?¡± ¡°It depends on the strength of the energy involved; often, it will decay rapidly,¡± I explain and grow suspicious at the smile she gains. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°When we got here, you spoke to Roher about the Sisterhood wards,¡± Isa comments, and her smile widens. ¡°What would happen if a Demon teleported into an area affected by Celestial energies?¡± ¡°It would be unpleasant and potentially quite painful. Lesser Succubi would sustain injuries just from being close to the energy; stronger ones could endure it since we¡¯re in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Hold up on whatever you plan to do, please?¡± asks Isa excitedly. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea, but I¡¯ll need more practice and consulting with Roher to see if it¡¯s possible. It¡¯ll use a concept from my world.¡± Her gleeful tone has Ilya voice my question first. ¡°What concept is that?¡± ¡°Signal boosters, repeater stations, and a few other things. I don¡¯t know the technical details, but they don¡¯t matter. Let me talk to Roher,¡± Isa says and skips towards the door. ¡°This could be so much fun!¡± * * * It takes a few weeks of work and more quiet conversations between Isa and Roher than I¡¯d ever expected to see. I¡¯d caught them from time to time singing crystals into existence but not spotted whatever the strangely short-lived duets they sing repeatedly has wrought. ¡°What are you two planning to do?¡± asks Laleither, looking between Isa and Roher, pointedly ignoring the dozen Glinnel observers far too close to the boundary to offer comfort. ¡°Playing scattershot with crystal,¡± Isa glibly answered, almost dancing in place with excitement. ¡°It should give us a way to push the signal through the narrow passages and access more trapped souls. If I can get a passage into a big enough space, we can set up a repeater station. Enough of those, plus a smidge of luck, and we¡¯ll link up to the settlement in this direction.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t afford to waste-¡± Laleither stops and eyes a bag of miniature batons Isa brings forth with a flourish. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be better to place them in an organised fashion rather than whatever random placement you¡¯re planning?¡± Isa laughed and waved a scolding finger at Laleither. ¡°If you were placing them, that might work fine. But since there are plenty of L¨®m? Glinnel and only one of me, I want to try my way first. Tell you what, I¡¯ll make you a bet.¡± ¡°What sort of bet?¡± asks Laleither, already forgetting to be wary when Isa makes such offers. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work, I¡¯ll work on repairing all the stress-cracked walls and pillars before we take another shot at this your way,¡± Isa states. ¡°It¡¯s exactly those elements that I¡¯m worried about putting under additional stress.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why we¡¯re doing this next part first,¡± Isa says and lifts her voice in overlapping songs that cause the air to shiver. When Roher and his Chorus, who¡¯d been there merely to observe, join in, Laleither¡¯s eyes narrow. A flat wall of True Song crystal forms at the lip of the cavern¡¯s bowl, perfectly lining up with the passage I¡¯m scrying. The presence strengthens the boundary¡¯s effects, and further down the tunnel, I can see stone momentarily boil as souls just out of reach erupt from the ground. ¡°And if you win the bet?¡± asks Laleither in a tone admitting her expectation of loss. ¡°Oh, we just get to do this at each suitable passageway out of this cavern before doing repair work,¡± Isa says. ¡°I want to make an express corridor to the three caves nearby. There is one between us and the cavern with the biggest remnants of the city, right?¡± ¡°Very well, Isa.¡± With a smile that has Laleither shaking her head, Isa sings again, and the chorus shows the planning when they sing flawlessly with her. The music soars until the power pulses in the air, making my hair almost stand on end and, from the heights of a crescendo, it flares out. The passageway erupts in a swirling maelstrom that races forward, twisters branching off through the connecting tunnels in the region I¡¯ve kept under observation. Erupting Sisterhood wards have their Mana lashing out, only to be drawn into the Song and transformed, adding their power to its own. The stone glowed with the wild heavenly Arborea energy, and within the consecrated path, stone blisters burst open. Each opening reveals a charred body of one type of Nox or another, but freed souls race towards us. Wards continue to rupture in a cascade of energy that doesn¡¯t go unnoticed. The Fourteen Glinnels sing with multi-toned voices that lift through the registers as the first team of six appears into a waiting pulse of Song. Isa signals as one of their combined songs unleashes Dimensional Lock and I move in. The chamber is just big enough for my approach, and the human-sized succubi find themselves dwarfed by my assumed Hound Archon form, their faces barely level with my ribcage. I recognise their leader just before I turn her into pulp; then, there is nothing remotely recognisable among her crushed flesh and black ichor. The Celestial energy swirling around my fists sets even her armour aflame. Her team starts a fighting retreat with their teleports failing, lashing out with spells and thrown blades; but they¡¯re dimensionally locked, not me. I catch their thoughts, not understanding how a mere Archon has such strength as they seek to rally instead of fleeing. The standard spells don¡¯t even get through my aura, and their flesh ruptures under power they¡¯d never have expected to face here. But I give them enough time to get off a Message while I play some more¡ªto see if reinforcements will arrive. Five squads appear in response to their cry for help, and I speak a word whose inflections echo the essence of Ebusuku¡¯s Domain. I can feel her approval within the power that comes forth, but the will to support it here is all mine. The heavenly energy in the word rolls through minds steeped in filth and torment, blasting their senses away as it purifies its way inwards. Among them, the strongest merely go blind, stunned by the anathema power clawing at their faces, while the weakest explode into flames and crumple rapidly to dust. Planar Attunement repeatedly cast between blows sees only the three strongest team leaders permanently destroyed¡ªbut the others die so quick it seems I should have used something less potent to incapacitate. The rush of experience boosts my new species through the initial levels and, surrounded by Isa¡¯s music, I suddenly catch the edge of True Song again. Though the Song of the Abyss is loud around me, that is enough to make me weep, despite the soaring musical energy of creation stained by its corruption. Teleport puts me back near Laleither before transforming into my Elven form. ¡°To encounter six teams in total isn¡¯t a standard response. I wasn¡¯t expecting them to have more than a single backup team. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but something must have focused Baln¨¦rith on Tern¨°x.¡± ¡°The expansion of our sanctuaries isn¡¯t enough?¡± asks Laleither as dozens of crystal batons ride the power down the passageway, unexpectedly jamming deep into the stone at its entrance. ¡°The location of the city¡¯s remnants would limit that expansion. She knows enough to understand you shouldn¡¯t get any more sung crystal,¡± I remark and continue in a rush. ¡°I can hear True Song again¡ªI¡¯ve gained Resonance.¡± Mother clasps my hand, and I see the tears shining in her eyes before she blinks them away and gives a happy nod. ¡°You¡¯d better hurry ?and level whatever classes you¡¯ve got so you can take a variation of Glinnel,¡± Roher says when their work on Isa¡¯s Song ends. ¡°I look forward to training you as well.¡± ¡°Father, I have taken no classes since I became a Solar.¡± ¡°I remember unlocking Glinnel by humming a short couplet in Hell. It had me spitting blood,¡± offers Isa. ¡°You¡¯re lucky not to have¡­¡± starts Roher, and briefly stopping glances along the corridor where I can hear the echoes of the cavern¡¯s song rushing flawlessly through it before he lamely finishes. ¡°gotten yourself killed.¡± 208 - Something in the way Amdirlain''s PoV - Maze Her skin glowed golden with the energy circulating through the phoenix pattern. As the feathers flared upwards, Amdirlain blazed past the Guardian and unleashed a flying sidekick. Precisely targeted against an unsuspecting foe, the edge of her foot decapitated the room''s inhabitant. Its aura fading rapidly, Amdirlain spun on her heel and stuck her toes into the bone pile beneath its body. The Guardian that had turned to follow her caught the kicked corpse straight across its torso, the slain entity¡¯s remains shattered. "Don''t you have any Prestige Class units to throw at me?" "Your disruption doesn''t yet warrant such an opponent." The unit went to move forward, only to stop and point towards her shoulder with the spear. "It grows from your flesh?" Tempted to ignore the pain of the thorns prickling beneath her skin, Amdirlain nodded. "How many of these units do you have stockpiled, or does someone just punch out more on-demand?" "There is a vast stockpile of life energy you call experience that has returned to the spire with no allocation. I believe you might be familiar with the two events where the energy release occurred." "You''re using my destruction of the pyramid and the city to make these units?" It shrugged and circled along the chamber''s perimeter. "It seems appropriate since I believe you had complained about theft, despite your class selection not matching the fashion of energy released. This way you can earn some of it instead of gaming the system for Assassin bounties that you didn''t even collect on." "That was completely within the rules," Amdirlain protested, trying to restrain her laughter. "Should I race you to see if I can kill the next spirit before you can stop me?" "Why don''t you put your money where your mouth is and fight like a girl?", the teasing tone was quite unlike its initial conversations. "You are so going to get smacked for that." "Big words, little Amdirlain. You''re not even halfway through the Tier 2 waves, and each tier adds another wave to defeat." Amdirlain''s eyes lit up at the information, and teleporting one way, she waited for the thrust to commit and shifted position again. Death Strike added to the effectiveness of her spear hand strike that drove inwards through its side, rupturing gears in a spray of parts. A small phalanx of two ranks blocked the width of the corridor and around the curve of the passage she spotted the spear tips that marked another phalanx¡¯s presence. Clairvoyance let her spot the third phalanx even further back, and Teleport placed her at the mid-point of their second rank. The closest unit shifted position a fraction, and instead of smashing gears, her blow merely moved it, despite breaking through the shell. Failing to deliver an immediate kill, Amdirlain unleashed a quick flurry and twisted away to disengage. The unit she''d targeted slumped to the ground, but those on either side of it turned to attack. Instead of using their spears, they let their weapons and shields fall from their grasps and threw themselves ?forward to pin her. Sidestepping to the right, she grabbed a wrist and swung it into the other attackers, the metallic impact ringing through the Maze. Their attack hadn''t brought time for the rest of the back rank to shift around completely but it was unnecessary given the style of spears they used. Another unit stabbed backwards with the short spike on its butt, but Amdirlain¡¯s palm hand block slipped it past her torso and got her within its reach. Her sudden proximity forced the haft across its body rendering the spear nearly useless. Slapping a hand onto either side of its skull, she twisted it through the path of jabbing spears¡ªblocking attempted attacks from those ahead¡ªand continued its spin before setting it loose into the units to the right. The shunting away of her closest foes created plenty of space, but there was a downside: the front rank, having reversed facing, now had that room for their long weapons. Given their lack of strength, none of them was individually a threat, but the last thing she wanted was to develop bad habits. Retreating from darting thrusts that didn''t allow her to grab anything but bare blades, only her speed advantage saved her from being struck. Teleporting backwards, she gave them plenty of space to redress their lines, and they quickly charged. The phalanx moved in perfect sync with each other and had their feet all hit the patch of ectoplasm at the same time. It was an experiment, and one that unfortunately only got her the briefest shift in their strides, but the imperfection in their balance didn''t tempt her to react. She was still considering how to take them apart when the middle phalanx moved to join them, and wanting to prevent them from combining, she attacked. The ectoplasm disappeared as Amdirlain rushed them, diving into a tumble where a Deflect saved her from their response; the psi field sending the provoked thrusts high above her. Hitting the left end of the line, a scythe kick hooked behind an ankle, knocking the target of her manoeuvre off balance. Grabbing their shield''s edge, she flowed to her feet, upsetting its balance further. Already past their lead rank, she rolled onwards to fling the seized foe at the next phalanx, shattering their advance. A hole through the middle makes it a bitch to collect the spare. Aware those behind her were adjusting position, she teleported again. This time she reappeared in the spot she''d made vacant and lashed out with an open-handed shove against the shield of the closest foe. This time the Telekinetic Blast erupting from her palm compounded its unbalanced stance, catapulting it through their perfectly coordinated line; the five piled against the far wall rapidly dissolved. The last two standing flung their spears at her, but the Deflect was still in place, and the field twisted them off course, and they clattered off the ceiling. Most don''t consider a shield a weapon, but the shield rush they performed with linked shields would have smashed a living Julia into a broken mess against the wall. One fist targeted each shield and Ki Flight held her braced. Their momentum against her braced attack had her fists plunge through the shields and into torsos before she erupted with electricity controlled by Energy Aura. Once, the Psi usage would have overwhelmed her limits, but now she wasn''t strained, and the cycling felt like a living dynamo. You folks have my experience, and I have my coat claim stub right here. Before the bodies could fall to the ground to dissolve, they went hurtling through the air, and a Telekinetic Wave added to their momentum. The front of the wave sent the broken foes into those still standing among the second phalanx, and the wavefront bounced them all off the corridor''s curve. She was teleporting in a buzz among their fallen forms, unleashing flurries of blows. Not pausing, she teleported after Ki Strike, leaving the majority wreckage, dissolving in her wake. The original phalanx she''d seen from the chamber arrived, and Amdirlain started a spinning kick that had no hope of hitting anything until she appeared behind them; metal screaming as the first unit came apart. The cycling had golden phoenix wings and blue flames continually flaring within her flesh. The light it caused shined out of her form, filtered by streams of blood released by the thorns, and the light jumped. When the last of the Tier 2 guardians fell, it was a light that danced on the Tier 3¡¯s metallic shield that ushered forth a memory. It was tempting to fight it off, but even as Analysis revealed her foe''s details, the memory bubbled higher, and she teleported away. Analysis [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 3 (Construct) Class: Soldier / Scout / Fighter / Knight Level: 50 / 50 / 50 / 50 Health: 9,500 Defence: 524 Melee Attack Power: 555 Combat Skills: Broad Spear [M] (40), Grapple [M] (35) Details: A focused combat construct used to keep the peace between the Maze''s residents.] [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Total Experience gained: 4,574,600 Fallen: +914,920 Scion: +914,920 Sora Master: +914,920 Psion: +914,920 Warrior Monk +914,920 Death Strike [M] (59->60) Harmony [S] (70->71) Telekinesis [M] (5->6)] * * * On a near-barren world, fiery sparks provided the only stars against the utter darkness of the sky. Tiamat''s memories had let her grow the world and now life slowly spread. Guided by songs learnt from listening to Tiamat''s memories, she turned the spark''s energy into an array of simple organisms and plants, a basis for further life. Her father had rescued Tiamat from a state of perpetual torment in a dead realm. Plucked from her chest, the Mesopotamian gods had utilised the power in her still-living heart in place of a sun. Half her ribcage had formed a world''s metaphysical boundaries, while the other had set limits of the planet''s atmosphere. Torn asunder but still alive, Tiamat had remained trapped in that state, even when the rest of the realm died around her. The Primordial''s powerful memory had shared the experience of life coming into existence. The very essence of it resounding in such a fashion that it had provided Orh¨ºthurin the Song needed to make her first world. Father had offered rescue and sanctuary for her help, but Orh¨ºthurin would have freed her regardless to halt that torturous Song. The agony of ages, betrayal, and sorrow for her dead children wasn''t something Orh¨ºthurin could lift from Tiamat completely, no matter how much? she wanted to. She could only hope enough good would come from it to have some meaning. If nothing else, the children Tiamat longed to see alive again would have worlds of their own to soar over. Life had slowly spread across the world''s surface, growing more complex as the centuries rolled on. Yet even with Tiamat Song guiding the way, it wasn''t enough to create it flawlessly, and mistakes destroyed many species. It was a stage of work they needed to get through, and the longer it took, the more Orh¨ºthurin changed. * * * The vast field was part of the world but slightly out of tune, so nothing would disturb the sleepers before it was time. As the last of the energy settled, Orh¨ºthurin felt her father''s gaze resting on her as the stasis enfolded the latest Anar she''d sung into existence. "You didn''t remove the divine spark from me when you transformed me?" asked Orh¨ºthurin, and when he didn''t respond, she prompted him. "Did you?" "As I told you when you woke up, there isn''t one in you," declared Nicholaus, his attention not shifting from the material in the forge. "Father, tell me the whole truth." Nicholaus''s hammer rang against the anvil with enough force to shatter steel. Unflinching, Orh¨ºthurin moved up to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Please." "You never had a divine spark; my father''s bloodline ran true in us both. Once the idea was within your mind, the transformation was all your own doing. I couldn''t carry a note in a bucket; getting your Song to interact with the rules of the realms we''ve visited, and this one, has all been you," sighed Nicholaus. "You''re a Primordial, not a God, and while I supplied some energy, you''ve created species and not one, but two races¡ªif you don''t include the Dragons, though Bahamut certainly would." The truth of his word was evident in his notes, but they''d never rung false before, merely contained hidden depths. "I don''t want this power; I just wanted them to pay for their crimes." "You already had the power, daughter. And it''s not power, but what you do with it where fault or credit lies. Or am I also at fault for possessing power?" Ignoring his question, she continued unabated. "I don''t want to be a Primordial, father; I don''t think I can trust myself with that much power. You could have been the monster they treated you as, trapped under Crete, but you didn''t just kill anyone and everyone they sent into your prison." "I gave them a chance to get free, not all of them took it." "Those that end up in the spirit prison, can we give them a way out?" Nicholaus frowned and shifted his grip on the hammer. "That isn''t what I intended." "I know what you were looking to use it for, father. Can''t it do both?" insisted Orh¨ºthurin. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. "Not all of them will be good," stated Nicholaus. "Why not just let them stay in there?" "The mantles aren''t natural to them; the beliefs of mortals will put them in place and influence their options for survival and power. While I want the good ones to ?have a chance, additions need to have balance." "Honestly, I doubt there will be a balance beyond the equal chance," declared Nicholaus. "Those whose natures incline them towards helping will be far more likely to help others get free; those out for themselves will see those imprisoned there as potential rivals." "It''s a chance, and we''re not making their choice," wheedled Orh¨ºthurin, and Nicholaus looked at her between strikes, his gaze narrow with suspicion. His steady hand worked the material heated in the forge and, into the Soul he formed, Orh¨ºthurin sang. The essence of every note settled into the fibre of its being, so it could hear them ring out through eternity. "Is that why you intend to keep who you are a secret from your sleepers?" Orh¨ºthurin transitioned smoothly from singing to dancing, empowering the Soul and circling the forge in a spiral. "They should determine their course. Hopefully the Anar and L¨®m? will help us with the work, but if not, it will take longer." Rather than pick up another ingot, Nicholaus set the hammer on the rack above his workbench, out of reach of the forge''s sparks. "And even if they don''t help, you''ll have others to speak to ?besides me?" "Bahamut is busy guiding the energy through the heavens. Tiamat is exploring the planes close to the scar in the Abyss'' depths. Would you prefer I speak to N¨¹wa?" He fell silent after a muttered expletive, and it was only after the Song had almost finished settling into the Soul that he spoke up. "Not really. She taught you how to form a living being from clay, but she''s also used that knowledge." "Those blue women are strange," granted Orh¨ºthurin, and this time Nicholaus''s attention snapped her way. "I''d prefer you keep well clear of N¨¹wa and the Kyton; those depths will continue to twist their already warped nature. Though in that, as with your sleepers, what path you travel will always be up to you, little songbird," replied Nicholaus. Returning his focus to the newly formed Soul, he guided it to a nearby body. "But if you don''t want the power, who would you trust with it instead?" "No one." Nicholaus''s focus took only a moment to ensure the prepared form adapted to the Soul. "Life doesn''t work that way. No matter how unlikely you believe the possibility, someone will try to fill a power void. Will you trust someone else to set the rules by which we will judge others?" As the Soul settled into the flesh, Orh¨ºthurin sang a short, well-practised Song that bound the Soul in place. "Then what do you want me to do, father?" "I prefer you not take the path you seem intent on, but I can understand you want them to ?talk to you as an equal," replied Nicholaus and watched the newly breathing Anar flesh shifting to gain female attributes. A sleepy blink of her eyes showed the same golden glow that Orh¨ºthurin''s gaze had gained over the centuries. She didn''t blink again as Orh¨ºthurin finished multiple songs at once, placing her now clothed form in stasis. "How many do you wish to sing into existence?" "Given the process we set in place won''t be able to create suitable souls, I was thinking eight million of each will be necessary. At least." * * * "It is necessary to push yourself if one wishes to improve," Orh¨ºthurin stated without even a drop in her pace. Flowing steps took her across the slick slates suspended above the razor-tipped spears. Orh¨ºthurin leapt and spun horizontally between Dragon claws scything across her path, leaving her shoulder-length hair a knuckle joint shorter. The instant before she adjusted to touchdown, a shift in the air had her continuing the roll and carried her under a half wall of spines that suddenly appeared following the claw¡¯s path. The grey-white stone chamber around her rose nearly four hundred metres to a balcony area. That colouration was a reminder of father''s Maze, but the memory within a memory didn''t linger. The room contained an obstacle course that scrambled its contents regularly. There were hundreds of square metres of cris-crossed slat flooring, where a misstep would plunge one onto a spearpoint, if said spear didn''t rise ?seeking flesh itself. Pillars would suddenly grow spikes, slashing blades, or even grasping hands that would break bones. Whirling blades appeared and vanished in ever-changing pathways that formed and disappeared among bursts of energy. "Is that why father left, because you pushed him?" Her daughter''s words came from an upper balcony area but carried clearly through the noise of the shifting dangers about Orh¨ºthurin. "No, ¨®lneth. He left because he wanted things to be straightforward," explained Orh¨ºthurin, using a finger twitch motion to release notes that teleported her past a diagonal jet of fire. "Mother! Why are you being so vague?" demanded ¨®lneth. Orh¨ºthurin raced around a pillar in time with the blades that chased her and caught sight of a berry thrown into a flame-jet. "I didn''t correct a misunderstanding he had of me, and yesterday, when I did, he left. He felt he''d been living a lie during our time together." "When did telling this lie come about, or should I say, misunderstanding?" It wasn''t promising that their daughter started with the first option, but Orh¨ºthurin kept her focus away from ¨®lneth''s Song and moved on through the obstacles. "I didn''t tell him anything on the subject; he made an assumption the day I first met him," answered Orh¨ºthurin. A leap took her over a section of flooring that had suddenly collapsed in her path. Without even landing, a sword appeared in her hand to cut apart one of the session''s targets, and she ran at an angle across a wall towards the next. "Mother, you met on the day of the awakening. Why is he suddenly holding a lie against you after all those eons?" "Because I only just corrected his assumption," repeated Orh¨ºthurin, and wondered yet again if she shouldn''t have left it in place. "Now, at the very least, he needs time." "How bad could the truth be for him to react in such a fashion?" demanded ¨®lneth. "Will you tell me when he''s going to be back?" She dealt with more obstacles and targets while considering the last question and was unhappy with the answer when she admitted it. "Honestly, I don''t believe he''ll come back. I''m ?sure the truth frightened him, and I wish I''d left the fiction in place." "What could you have told him after so long together that it frightened him away?" "It''s nearly time for your coming of age ceremony, and he deserved to know the same thing I needed to speak to you about." "Deserved to know what?" asked ¨®lneth. "You said it was from when you first met, so obviously, it''s not about someone else being my father." Teleport placed her on the railing above the training chamber, and she found ¨®lneth sitting at a crystal table a stone''s throw away. Instead of returning Orh¨ºthurin''s welcoming smile, her daughter fixed her with a hooded glare and twitched in her seat. Golden eyes glowed above high cheekbones in her heart-shaped face, but she''d picked up most of her father''s features, only gaining Orh¨ºthurin''s electric blue hair which she wore in a long, complex braid. "No, he is your father. I informed him ?I know a Song to awaken your Soul''s memories," answered Orh¨ºthurin, only giving up one part of the truth this time. Her daughter''s jaw dropped slightly to reveal teeth stained purple by the berries she''d eaten during the wait. "How is that possible, mother? I''m the firstborn Anar. How do you even know my Soul has memories?" asked ¨®lneth sharply. "You do because it''s necessary, and I also know because someone must know," declared Orh¨ºthurin. "There will never be more than the eight million Anar or L¨®m? that were at the awakening, and their souls can''t be reborn in a weaker species. As the Titan told us after we awoke, it is not for either to have children as freely as other species in the realm." "I was one of those that died against that Abyssal beast?" asked ¨®lneth, a moment all it had taken her to put together the shared revelation and last century¡¯s incident. Her lean form hunching forward saw an out-flung arm thrust the bowl to one side, and it leapt to Orh¨ºthurin''s hand before it could spill to the floor. "Will the others be reborn?" "A Dragon, not a beast, and it''s never wise to underestimate a Dragon," offered Orh¨ºthurin. ¨®lneth sat up as suddenly as she''d hunched forward; the set of her jaw and the crossed arms made her irritation clear. "Mother, you do that all the time. Don''t go on tangents; try answering the questions." "Yes, the others will be reborn when the Titan deems it the right time and necessary." * * * "Have you done what was necessary, Orh¨ºthurin?" asked Vanya. The Anar Queen stood watching the flames that continued to consume the city from the court''s vantage point. Despite the days she''d worked to clean up the mess, the others hadn''t shifted from their position on the hillside beyond its wall. Her attire now was as immaculate as when the hearing started, showing no stain from weather or battle. Above the place of judgement, someone had set a dome in place to prevent the rain from washing it away. The L¨®m? resonance within its music meant it could only have been the single representative they''d allowed present for her execution. They''d wanted everything controlled and pristine, like Vanya''s clothing. Her own wasn''t in such fine shape, dried blood from enemies both external and internal to her flesh. The vines had sounded like an organic living thing, and the notes she''d taken to represent the deaths she''d caused already contained sneaky hidden depths. Depths that had revealed themselves with the initial deaths she caused, prompting them to grow with every death she''d wrought with True Song. They''d grown well established after the initial surge of carnage when she obliterated the Gold Elf city. The roots of their growth had slipped into crevices that wouldn''t have existed if she''d been a true Anar, and it had her unsure if it had been intent or misunderstanding of her that caused their strange nature. Still, she had more issues to deal with before she could look to remove them, if it was even possible, given she''d submitted to their initial creation. "Now that matter has been-" Orh¨ºthurin''s blade cut the seated King in two from crown to crotch, but the thorns shifted her movement slightly off-pitch. The Song her strike unleashed should have cleanly killed his entire chorus; instead, it horrifically mauled them, leaving contorted masses of flesh, partly turned inside out, muscles, and organs exposed to the air. As tempting as it was to leave them that way for eternity¡ªgiven the horrors the Gold Elves had caused¡ªshe didn''t let them suffer long. "What have you done?" demanded Vanya. A sword appeared in her hand, only for Orh¨ºthurin''s forceful parry to send it flying, and the spinning blade struck an advancing guard in the shoulder. "The necessary," rebuked Orh¨ºthurin and effortlessly shattered the Guards¡¯ Song that sought to contain her power. An unleashed silent song sent the Chorus¡¯ souls immediately to safekeeping in her father''s forge to avoid the chance of someone resurrecting them. "Isn''t that what you ordered?" "We didn''t order you to kill any Anar," objected Vanya. Backpedalling from her grandmother, she started a killing song. "The Gold Elves were his creation," Orh¨ºthurin said in a tone that carried hoarfrost''s deadly touch, already prepared to kill her granddaughter if it proved necessary. The truth of her words froze everyone in place, and Orh¨ºthurin started again. "Your husband and his chorus created them before the laws of non-interference were written. They not only created this problem, but they also hid it and set it up so no one could interfere with their work. Were you involved in helping them gain time to spread?" Vanya''s gaze widened, and her nostrils flared in disgust. "Never. How could this be?" "Lucky I hear the truth in your Song. In their principal city, I found a grove of bones where they''d been Sung. It, and the first bones, echoed with the remnant of your husband''s work. Yet, despite the centuries, I could hear the twisted nature of the Gold Elves in those bones. There is no way he or his chorus couldn''t have known their work was flawed and would grow in this fashion." "By what right did you kill the King?" demanded Vanya. "He should have stood trial." "Weren''t you listening? My orders were explicit: do what is necessary so that this never happens again. Isn''t that what you and he said, Queen Vanya? I was acting on your royal command, and I won''t let you have it both ways. What applies to the Gold Elves applies to the Anar." Vanya''s mouth twisted like she wanted to spit in Orh¨ºthurin''s face. "That doesn''t explain why you tortured the others instead of killing them cleanly.¡± "The brands I accepted grew into my Soul when I killed the first Gold Elf. Unfortunately, I killed about twenty thousand at once in my initial strike. Since then, they''ve been throwing things off and continued to grow." "You continued to kill them even with something growing into your Soul?" "I was doing what was necessary; paying the price comes later. So far, it only affects the songs I unleash via movements," said Orh¨ºthurin and gestured to the bodies. "Though I will admit, it is indeed twisting those considerably." "How?" "That is an interesting question and one for which I don''t yet have an answer," replied Orh¨ºthurin. "Let his throne stand empty to remind people there are consequences." "What will you do if we don''t listen to that order?" "I will do what is necessary for the Song, no matter who I end." "Then I will do what is necessary. You are my grandmother no longer, merely Orh¨ºthurin." "So be it. If you believe such is necessary, you''ve fallen further than I feared. I won''t let anyone forget the King''s shameful deeds, and if you follow his course, you''ll join him." * * * "That''s unnecessary," protested the And¨²n? Elf as Orh¨ºthurin took the tray from his hands. The kitchen beyond the transparent kitchen door behind him was bustling with activity. "I''ll handle that tray for you." The words of reassurance didn''t lessen his wide-eyed look, and Orh¨ºthurin knew what he saw. As ageless as any other Anar, her clothing would have some throwing fits. Though fashioned from the standard royal servants'' uniform of deep blue silk with hints of gold, the cut was anything but proper. Low-heeled boots, pants that seemed more like ribbons, linking bands from ankles to below the knees, then the strips continued to under-garters high on her thighs before meshing together to form a broad belt. The gaps in the cloth flashed glimpses of the branded vines with every motion. Atop were more cloth ribbons that left her midriff bare and modesty far behind. It did well in showing off nearly every illustrated thorn that the Song had laid across her skin and the bleeding tattoos left in their wake. Where the vines made it to her collarbones, she''d added a rose for every city of Gold Elves she''d destroyed. "But you''re an Anar, and that outfit isn''t a servant''s attire," protested the young male Elf. "I''m just doing what is necessary," replied Orh¨ºthurin politely. "May I know your name?" "Goluher, of House Malantur. My apologies for my rudeness. The preparation for the Prince Consort''s coronation has everyone busy." "It''s a pleasure. I¡¯m Orh¨ºthurin of House Amaur?a. I''ve already spoken with the head steward. He agreed, after a long discussion and thought, that I should help serve the wine in the main hall." "My parents drilled the Anar''s house names into my memory, and I''ve not heard of that house name. It means morning, doesn''t it?" asked Goluher. "I''ve also never seen a servant''s outfit crafted in such a fashion." "If I wore normal attire, how would anyone see the markings of service?" asked Orh¨ºthurin and balanced the tray atop a lifted palm. "As for my house, it''s minor; there used to be three of us, but now I''m the only one left. This visit is the first time I''ve been to the new palace; I understand they levelled the old one after the King''s death. The Queen¡¯s architect and builders did a wonderful job, didn''t they? It only took them three thousand years to decide on the style; fortunately, the Prince consort broke the deadlock." Not waiting for Goluher to respond, she turned and walked away. Not a single guard dared stop her after she met their affronted gazes. Dignitaries from most of the higher houses packed the main hall celebrating the Prince Consort''s day, and as she moved among them, the conversation stopped. One tray after another, she ?pressed upon the guests by force of will. "Orh¨ºthurin, what are you doing here, not to mention dressed like that?" ¨®lneth softly asked. Orh¨ºthurin waited until the guest, the current focus of her attention, removed a glass from her tray before she turned towards her daughter. "You¡¯re worried about my clothing, yet ignore the brand¡¯s Song?¡± ¡°They¡¯re horrendous, but at least I can filter out their wailing. What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Then pretend I don¡¯t exist as you¡¯ve done for some time now. I¡¯m doing what is necessary, given the stories I''ve heard circulating about the King''s heroic death, saving the poor benighted species of a world," replied Orh¨ºthurin and stepped closer, her predatory grace immediately setting the knight escorting the Queen''s mother on edge. ¡°From now on, I''ll regularly attend court, and my attire will ensure everyone sees the legacy of the King''s shame.¡± "Mother, is that necessary?" "Your daughter stripped us of that, and you chose to follow her instructions until now, so don¡¯t play on our former relationship. I''ve heard the spreading tales; you should have stepped on them," replied Orh¨ºthurin sweetly before the false happiness finally left her eyes. "Now, I''m going to rub your faces in what some have tried to sweep away." "You should leave," the guard warned. Orh¨ºthurin bared her teeth, and the guard felt the weight of her focus impact him. "It''s such a lovely day. Planning to mar it with the need for a funeral? I will go wherever is necessary, and you''d best stay out of my way. I¡¯ve pulled all the deceptions from the brands, and now the malice of their Song is as clear as the music of their creators. You should all be ashamed; I spent little time around him, but how did you miss it?" * * * Amdirlain blinked as the chain of memories finally released her, trying to shake off the impact of Orh¨ºthurin''s rage and sorrow. However, the worst part had been the deep loneliness that had saturated the last memory. "Just facts, my arse," Amdirlain muttered and rose to her feet. "She felt so alone. Had she stopped caring about herself?" Tempted as she was to ?coax more memories up, Amdirlain teleported back to the region she was exploring. At present, she needed to let out some of Orh¨ºthurin''s rage and not bottle it up inside her. 209 - Ready for combat Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze With the killing of nearby entities, she¡¯d quickly provoked the guardians¡¯ reappearance. The burning pain from the memories echoed within the vines and spurred her on. A punch shattered the first unit without time for its usual request. Blasting through them without hesitation, she only bothered to check with Analysis when new units made their appearance. The change in spear style had marked the Tier 3 she fought last time, which possessed not only a Knight class but an accompanying jump in stats. While Tier 4 had shown the first signs of runes across the surface of their outer shell, it was insufficient reinforcement to keep her fists or psi techniques from ripping them apart. [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 4 (Construct) Class: Soldier / Scout / Fighter / Knight Level: 60 / 60 / 60 / 60 Health: 16,440 Defence: 604 Melee Attack Power: 650 Combat Skills: Broad Spear [M] (50), Grapple [M] (45)] Though the hardened material of Tier 5 took quite a beating before it dissolved, her destruction of them slowed. [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 5 (Construct) Class: Soldier / Scout / Fighter / Knight Level: 70 / 70 / 70 / 70 Health: 27,300 Defence: 684 Melee Attack Power: 745 Combat Skills: Broad Spear [M] (60), Grapple [M] (55)] A kick had just sent a decapitated Tier 5 spinning away into another phalanx when a metallic chime struck. The air about her glowed, and before the noise stilled, Amdirlain stood on the grassed poolside. Bemused to find the spear she had just liberated still in hand, she spun it, and in True Sight, the enchantment¡¯s glow became a firework¡¯s pinwheel. [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 72 Total Experience gained: 66,178,600 Fallen: 13,235,720 Scion: 13,235,720 Sora Master: 13,235,720 Psion: 13,235,720 Warrior Monk: 13,235,720 Death Strike [M] (59->60) Energy Drain [S] (32->33) Ki Movement [M] (41->42) Ki Flight [Ap] (11->14) Tremor Sense [J] (13->15) Agile [S] (90->91) Clairsentience [M] (22->23) Telekinesis [M] (6->8)] The spear continued to whirl in her hands until Amdirlain heard the chime ring again, but rather than the overwhelming sound wave, it was far in the distance. Tossing the spear into her hidey-hole, she didn¡¯t even wait to see if it would melt away. Teleport placed her back where she¡¯d been shunted from and she waited impatiently for the next chime. When it came, she was disappointed by a noise no louder than a crowbar clattering across, and Amdirlain shifted locations. Reappearing in the main corridor, she waited for another ring and raced towards the sound while it still echoed in the passage. Leaving dozens of junctions in her wake, Amdirlain sprinted along the main corridor for hours before it, at last, came out of an adjoining passage, and she altered course. A push with True Sight to break the illusion''s effect only took a moment, and Amdirlain paused on the chamber¡¯s threshold. At the top of the stairs going up, a blazing curtain of white flames had replaced the stone barrier. In True Sight, the energy was a curtain of destruction, and Amdirlain hurried on. Amdirlain found a silent battle between seven shapes swirling in the passage. The aura in the battle¡¯s centre showed demonic energies that spiked out erratically to outline a massive arachnid. Its foes were six dog-like shapes, their auras showing wild Celestial energy as they instantly shifted positions erratically around it, snapping at legs and vanishing again. Beyond the fight, Amdirlain could see three keys gleaming on the ground. [Name: Olessian Species: Vitiate Weaver (Suppressed) Class: Scout / Corruptor / Dominator / Hunter Level: 61 / 62 / 59 / 61 Health: 4,990 Defence: 388 Melee Attack Power: 272 Combat Skills: Claws [M] (15), Bite [M] (12) Details: Having sworn to the service of Umbral, it received a promotion opportunity to transform from its infernal species. Trial rating: Easy] [Goddess: Umbral Aspects: Corruption, Decay, Entrapment, and Defilement. Umbral is an intermediate power known on twelve worlds; she maintains her Domain in the Minauros, the Third Plane of Hell. ] The Devil made a series of rapid strikes at the dogs, and in response, Amdirlain¡¯s fist struck the monstrous thing off-balance. The unexpected motion had the pack give it space. Once they were clear, a spinning kick blasted it back down the passage. Amdirlain barely caught the surprised reaction from the Celestial dogs¡¯ minds, but that didn¡¯t stop her from following up repeatedly with Energy Blast until the thing was a smoking ruin. On the heels of its destruction, there was a double chime of ringing metal. As the sound died away, the auras of the Vitiate Weaver, along with the dogs, vanished. [Combat Summary: Vitiate Weaver x1 Total Experience gained: 10,050 Fallen: +2,010 Scion: +2,010 Sora Master: +2,010 Psion: +2,010 Warrior Monk: +2,010] Analysis [Species: Vitiate Weaver Details: The natural form of this species of Devil is that of an armoured spider, but as they progress in power, they develop shape-shifting abilities. These devils specialise in providing favourable terms with the initial contact, working towards having a pawn to enable long-term plans to bring the downfall of multiple individuals. ] Her curiosity about its species satisfied, Amdirlain didn¡¯t worry about Umbral¡¯s reaction or if she¡¯d even learn what happened; instead, she rushed for the keys. When her fingers touched the first, she found its purpose impressed within her mind: she could only pass through the flames with a key in her possession. Scooping it up, she gathered the others and moved back to the exit chamber, only to find the stone barrier restored. Not wanting to risk the keys¡¯ loss, Amdirlain started back towards her region on foot. Sage¡¯s nix-knacks stayed in his hide-away. Hopefully, these don¡¯t fade away when I put them in mine, but they¡¯ve already lingered longer than destroyed foes. When she arrived at her space, she crouched, found the dress still present, and set them atop its folds. After nearly an hour of waiting, the keys were still present, and she teleported back to the weaver¡¯s region. Once there, it was a short hunt to find the chambers she needed and the second corruption spirit¡¯s aura hadn¡¯t even faded when the first Tier 1 Guardian appeared. ¡°Please return to your allocated accommodation.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose we can take up where we left off?¡± Amdirlain asked hopefully, giving the Guardian a bright smile. It merely shifted into a ready stance; its spear pointed in her direction. ¡°That is not part of the protocols.¡± ¡°Will the keys disappear?¡± ¡°Perhaps you should go back and watch them if you¡¯re worried.¡± ¡°I¡¯d tell you to have a heart, but you¡¯re just a tin man,¡± snipped Amdirlain. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked the unit, losing the flat tone in its confusion. Amdirlain sighed and motioned it to come at her. ¡°Nevermind.¡± The first step it took saw Amdirlain Teleport behind it, and her kick spread it along the passageway. This time she didn¡¯t play games that spread them throughout the corridors to chase after her as she killed. Rather, as each group appeared, she smashed through them, taking them out as expeditiously as possible. It was rapid-fire destruction that didn¡¯t slow until confronted by a unit with a fresh form. No longer furnished with an outer steel shell, the unit was a humanoid skeleton with exposed muscles and bones that gleamed with mithril¡¯s silver sheen. Nestled in its joints, Amdirlain¡¯s True Sight revealed gemstones covered in enchantment formations. [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 6 (Construct) Class: Removalist / Battlefield Caretaker / Elite Knight / Elite Scout Level: 30 / 30 / 30 / 30 Health: 79,600 Defence: 1,212 Melee Attack Power: 1,245 Combat Skills: Broad Spear [M] (80), Grapple [M] (75) Details: A focused combat construct used to enforce cooperation within the Maze.] ¡°Upgrades?¡± ¡°You will return to your accommodation.¡± Amdirlain stopped and bent in two from laughter despite the continual pain from the thorns. When she straightened, her smile was feral, and her gaze channelled Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s rage. ¡°Make me, law boy!¡± Exploding into motion, she slid in along the outthrust spear to seize its haft, twisting around; she used the spear for leverage. The leap in strength didn¡¯t surprise her, but despite its resistance, it was quickly off-balance, and its tipping weight took it straight into a knee strike that buckled its shield. Staggered by the blow, it fell back towards the wall, but the damage didn¡¯t stop it from grabbing at her follow-up kick. Even as she braced herself to pull away a Power rippled across her skin and she slipped free from its grasp. Amdirlain eventually returned to her grassed area, a living but blood-soaked mess, and considered what she¡¯d earned from fighting. With the improved stats of the latest tier, the effectiveness of their coordination had spiked. Fighting them was a challenge that it seemed her skills approved of, and she almost scolded herself for breaking off the fight. Their opposition wasn¡¯t enough to force her to retreat; instead, it had been the keys niggling at her mind. [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 6 x 312 Total Experience gained: Fallen: +32,595,000 Fallen Level Up! x2 Scion: +32,595,000 Scion Level Up! x2 Sora Master: +32,595,000 Sora Master Level Up! x2 Psion: +32,595,000 Psion Level Up! x2 Warrior Monk: +32,595,000 Warrior Monk Level Up! x2 Death Strike [M] (60->61) Greater Teleport [M] (44->45) Ki Movement [M] (42->43) Protean [M] (53->54) Tremor Sense [J] (15->18) Free Movement [J] (20->24) Metacreativity [Ad] (1->3) Psychometabolism [Ad] (8->9) Silent Storm [S] (110->111) Telekinesis [M] (8->9)] At least all the healing is giving Protean a workout, even if it won¡¯t let me shift shape. The three keys were where she¡¯d left them, along with the dress and the spear she¡¯d placed inside her hidey-hole. As tempting as it was to keep one key, she picked them up and headed for the gathering spot she¡¯d found. It was a half-day winding through the maze to the chamber where she¡¯d encountered the auras. As before, there were marks on the earth, and the movement of the auras showed them in groups playing games. However, shortly after entering the chamber, one looked towards the entry and jumped up excitedly. When others spun in response, Amdirlain caught images through the mental static, and the three keys she held floated in their view without visible support. Not wanting to alarm them further but also not willing to risk the keys disappearing, Amdirlain slowly skirted their group and put the keys in the entry of this chamber¡¯s hidey-hole. Stepping back, she held her breath, hoping they wouldn¡¯t disappear. One aura approached and tentatively touched a key, and excitement burned away its concern. They quickly spun away to press it into the closest figure¡¯s hand. The one that had given it to turned it over thoughtfully before they motioned to the rest. When sadness showed in some auras, Amdirlain desperately tried to send them a promise of more and saw the figure with the key stiffen when a notification appeared to her. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (1->2)] It made some gestures to the others and waved the key around; whatever it said charged their auras with hope. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll need to live up to my promise to get them more keys.¡± The child-like wonder in their auras invoked a memory that hit her mid-step. The memory that enfolded her was another of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s. It seemed calmer, but the pain immediately itched under her skin. From where she stood the crystal walls of the new palace stretched out behind her nearly a kilometre to either side, however her focus wasn¡¯t on the building but the grove. The slow-growing trees before her were barely taller than herself; spaced out with a dozen metres between them, they¡¯d given each plant plenty of space to grow. Hundred of them stretched out towards the palace walls, a veritable forest once they reached full height. Like the trees, the palace itself allowed plenty of space. True Song crystal from the foundation to its spires, its halls ran for kilometres from the front doors to the back. Although it was the new palace, it was already eight centuries old. It was so odd to remember when the two centuries the spikes had taken her father to craft seemed endless; now, close to a millennium was nothing. ¡°I can nearly see your bottom.¡± The young girl¡¯s voice was a clear soprano whose beauty matched the innocence of her Song. Despite the chiming of the palace¡¯s crystal, her Song had given her stealthy approach away. Orh¨ºthurin had heard her getting closer and wrapped the vine¡¯s music in ¡®white noise¡¯ to muffle them completely. ¡°The ¡®nearly¡¯ part of that statement is the important bit, don¡¯t you think?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin, not taking her eyes from the breaking dawn. Coming to where Orh¨ºthurin stood at the railing, the girl was almost at her elbow when she spoke again. ¡°You¡¯re not a servant, are you?¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± The girl waved a hand up and down, gesturing to the gossamer outfit that Orh¨ºthurin had worn on this visit; only a few meagre strips of cloth strategically positioned beneath it hid her from complete exposure. ¡°Even if the colours are right, you¡¯re an Anar, and I¡¯ve never seen a servant wearing a uniform like that.¡± Orh¨ºthurin turned to take in the young girl properly. Already having noted Vanya and the Prince consort¡¯s songs'' influence on the girl, the wavey dark blue of her hair wasn¡¯t a surprise. She hadn¡¯t fashioned it as her mother was fond of; it simply hung loosely down her back, reaching nearly to her thighs. The turned-up snub nose and cheeky smile weren¡¯t something she¡¯d gained from Vanya. She wore a dark green dress that came to mid-shin that showed a patch of dirt down one side and shoes she¡¯d scuffed across the toes. Her Song indicated she was twelve years old and didn¡¯t even reach Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s ribs. ¡°Your mother is the Queen?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Morivanesse, technically Princess Morivanesse, but there isn¡¯t anyone but us here, so please don¡¯t use it. I won¡¯t complain if you call me Mori,¡± offered Mori, her tone brightening in extending the offer. ¡°It''s a pleasure to meet you, Mori,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I¡¯m Orh¨ºthurin. If you don¡¯t enjoy using your title, you¡¯ve very different from your mother.¡± Mori bobbed her head in an abbreviated curtsey and gave her a beaming smile. ¡°I¡¯ve never understood her insistence on using it. She¡¯s elected, and what is she, the fiftieth Queen? What was that music that was out here?¡± ¡°Is that what brought you?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin, avoiding the political question, she¡¯d have preferred if they kept the conductor¡¯s council. ¡°My room is two levels up; my parents assigned me this wing. I prefer reverie with my window open, but waking to that Song wasn¡¯t the best,¡± answered Mori. Her expression turned glum. ¡°You¡¯re not intending to answer, are you?¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Mori held up three fingers and folded them down as she spoke. ¡°Adults do three things when they want to ignore my questions: change the subject, pretend I didn¡¯t speak, or tell me to await my awakening.¡± ¡°How are you out here without a Knight escorting you, Princess?¡± ¡°Nice to know you¡¯re persisting with option one, but it''s not nice that you backtracked to my title,¡± sighed Mori. ¡°You did the same thing to me by changing the subject,¡± observed Orh¨ºthurin. The smug smile on Mori¡¯s lips tickled at Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s humour. ¡°Technically, I didn¡¯t change the subject; rather, I commented on your change of the subject.¡± Gesturing at the markings close to Mori¡¯s eye level, Orh¨ºthurin kept her expression calm despite the bitterness of them digging at her. ¡°My markings are unpleasant constructs of True Song; I masked them when I heard your approach.¡± ¡°Do they hurt you?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re just delaying answering my question,¡± Mori declared, and her gaze firmed. ¡°Is that a demand?¡± The huff Mori gave seemed to come from the soles of her feet. ¡°Like a demand from me would work. You¡¯re silencing the markings¡¯ Song, but not your Song. I¡¯m not sure anyone could silence your Song, so do I look stupid?¡± ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Yes, the brands hurt, some things turn their presence into agony, but it is what it is,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin and caught Mori blanch. ¡°Are you going to answer my question now?¡± ¡°Thank you for answering first. I wanted to know because the Song sounded awful, and I couldn¡¯t imagine how they wouldn¡¯t hurt you,¡± replied Mori, her voice soft with concern. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get rid of them?¡± ¡°I made some mistakes; they¡¯ve got their roots in deep.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t someone help you?¡± ¡°Perhaps the Titan, but I¡¯m not even sure if he could,¡± Orh¨ºthurin said. ¡°But he created the Song. Why wouldn¡¯t he be able to remove them?¡± The thought of her father dealing with the Song almost made her laugh. ¡°The Titan didn¡¯t create the Song, his songbird did that, and she isn¡¯t an option.¡± ¡°Great-grandfather told me he met the first Singer, but he thinks she took the memory from him,¡± stated Mori, directing her attention to the dawn sky. ¡°He remembers feeling her strength, but there are no details left even in his Soul. A scholar convinced him to let them try, but there was just a faint hint of a woman¡¯s voice and a sense of loss.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s safer that way,¡± offered Orh¨ºthurin, and kept the hurt caused by her former husband¡¯s request for forgetfulness from her Song. ¡°Are you in my mother¡¯s service?¡± Orh¨ºthurin tapped her hands against the railing, listening to the Song in the morning air as she considered how to answer. ¡°I don¡¯t serve royalty.¡± Mori tilted her head up at her. ¡°If you don¡¯t serve royalty, why are you lingering in the Palace? Shouldn¡¯t you be getting home? The party ended hours ago.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t have a home anymore. I just go where the wind blows me.¡± ¡°Everyone has a home to go to,¡± refuted Mori, with the absolute confidence of youth. ¡°Not everyone,¡± refuted Orh¨ºthurin and gave Mori a bump with her hip. ¡°I lost the right to the land and never got around to building another.¡± ¡°How can you lose the right to land?¡± ¡°It was on a titled estate; the land went with the title.¡± ¡°You¡¯re her, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Her who?¡± ¡°The bearer of the Marks of Royal Shame,¡± blurted Mori. ¡°No one would describe them to me, but I¡¯ve seen nothing like your vines. So you said you don¡¯t serve royalty, but I thought you were my mother¡¯s Assassin?¡± ¡°Never!¡± snapped Orh¨ºthurin and worked to still the rage that burned within her chest. ¡°What in the world makes you believe that?¡± ¡°Just some things I overheard, they made it sound like you¡¯ve killed at mother¡¯s command,¡± Mori explained, her tone and posture suddenly careful. ¡°I¡¯ve killed monsters and vile things, but I¡¯ve never taken payment for it,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°But you didn¡¯t argue about having killed at mother¡¯s command,¡± observed Mori, moving away to sit on a nearby bench. ¡°She and her late husband ordered me to do something once; they didn¡¯t appreciate how it turned out. Then again, they didn¡¯t want to get their own hands dirtier, so they¡¯ve no right to complain,¡± responded Orh¨ºthurin, her edged smile making Mori¡¯s eyes widen. ¡°Since then I¡¯ve not done a thing she wanted me to do, and I know I¡¯ve done lots she¡¯d certainly preferred I hadn¡¯t.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re not my mother¡¯s assassin, why do they make you sound like one?¡± ¡°I killed the King,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied. The offhand tone had Mori blinking, and she suddenly seemed uncertain about being on the balcony. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Several reasons,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied, her reasonable tone easing Mori¡¯s concern. ¡°What was on your mind when you killed him?¡± ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Nearly fifteen,¡± replied Mori casually. ¡°Liar,¡± murmured Orh¨ºthurin, amused at the merest ripple that had been in Mori¡¯s Song at her exaggeration. ¡°You should know how old I am; unless you¡¯re incompetent in True Song,¡± teased Mori. ¡°Why did you ask?¡± ¡°To see how you¡¯d answer,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°They¡¯ve put you in a separate wing at twelve?¡± Mori folded her arms, and despite her disadvantage in height, gave Orh¨ºthurin a challenging glare. ¡°You need to answer my question first.¡± ¡°I wanted to stop him from unleashing more monsters on the innocent; I guess it makes me more a hypocrite than an assassin. Though I never hid from others when the Song¡¯s balance needed monsters sung into existence,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin, and beckoned Mori to spill. ¡°I¡¯m not on my own, the And¨²n? and Itil are about,¡± explained Mori. ¡°Plus, there are my teachers, but they¡¯re normally only around during the day. Also, it was when I was ten they shifted me. I kept asking mother awkward questions about sex until she decided I could have rooms of my ?own. What was all that noise last night, mother? Why did your Song get so erratic? It took a while, but I won out.¡± Orh¨ºthurin''s lips pursed as she held in her amusement, and she quickly continued. ¡°And the escorts that you gave the slip?¡± ¡°Are you certain I gave them the slip?¡± ¡°I can hear a few songs two stories up that are growing alarmed,¡± offered Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Oh, those escorts. I¡¯ve got a talent for sneaking around,¡± Mori replied airily. Orh¨ºthurin pointed at the scuffed toes on her shoes. ¡°You climbed out the window, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°They set the wards to keep things from coming in the window, not from going out.¡± Freed from the memory, Amdirlain paused, only able to wonder why the child felt so familiar. A glance back at the auras starting new games had her heading off to hunt again, hoping the next trial would provide a better opportunity. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin Our little rascal smiles up at Farhad and then tries to spit her food onto the tray, though it mostly dribbles down the front of her clothes. She¡¯s been growing faster again until, at only four months, she was nearly the size of a one-year-old Elf; we¡¯ve no way to judge what¡¯s normal for her. The intelligence in her gaze is clear as she returns to smiling the moment Farhad has her face clean. ¡°Yuck.¡± ¡°You liked it yesterday.¡± Pushing the bowl away, she waves at him with both hands. ¡°Yuck.¡± ¡°What do you want then?¡± asks Farhad, setting the bowl of stewed apple aside before she can tip it over. Gail claps her hands excitedly as she draws her breath to yell. ¡°Dragon!¡± Farhad snorts and lightly taps her nose. ¡°You can¡¯t eat a Dragon; they¡¯d eat you.¡± Gail''s open-mouthed giggle shows off her tiny white teeth, and she chimes enthusiastically. ¡°Father silly! Sarah won¡¯t eat me.¡± Farhad taps the spoon against the bowl¡¯s edge and tries to fix her a stern look, only for it to be spoiled by his smile. ¡°Well Sarah won¡¯t eat you, but what do you want to eat?¡± She has a thoughtful expression flash across her face before responding with a quick stream of beautiful music. My ability to read her mind this morning wasn¡¯t helping with her focus on my music drowning out the rest of her thoughts. ¡°I don¡¯t understand your songs,¡± Farhad reminds her patiently. ¡°What name does it have?¡± Elleth comes into the kitchen, giving the pair of us an amused look. ¡°She had apples earlier, and she doesn¡¯t seem to like the same thing twice. Also, don¡¯t give her too much fruit; it¡¯ll give her the runs.¡± Farhad nods and sets the bowl on the table, away from pushing hands. ¡°Suggestion then?¡± ¡°Sparkles,¡± Gail says, her soft palate adding a cute lisping sound. ¡°You can¡¯t eat sparkles,¡± laughs Farhad Gail wiggles in her chair and gives little giggles. Leaning forward, she pretends to gobble on a beam of sunlight that spills across her tray from the kitchen window. Her focus seems to shift away from my song, but she turns her face to give me a little pout; I then catch her wondering why she doesn¡¯t have a sibling yet. ¡°What do you mean, Gail? Why do you think you should have a sibling?¡± I ask, and an energetic song sounds through her mind. This time she translates it for me, and I realise she¡¯s listened to our sex from the length of the house away. ¡°I believe you might be a little young for this conversation,¡± I say, and crocodile tears immediately show at the corners of her eyes. ¡°Faker.¡± Covering her ears, she burbles away with more music before unleashing another pout. Laughing at her antics, Elleth takes the stewed apples away and digs through the larger cold cabinet we¡¯d added to hold food for three. Before Elleth finds something suitable, Gail waves her hands in the air, accompanying the motions with a noise like a breeze through rustling leaves. ¡°You want to eat light like a tree?¡± asks Farhad, only to get an open palm planted on his nose by a nodding miss. ¡°No, little one, the bracelet lets you switch your hair colours and gender as you want, but that¡¯s it for now,¡± I remind her. A quick skipping of mental pictures and she changes hair colour to bright green before it shifts to Elleth¡¯s solid red, spinning through a rainbow, eventually settling on my black. She let out more wordless music, and her skin changed to Farhad¡¯s olive. The alterations don¡¯t stop there when her golden gaze fades, showing clear blue, but then returns in full force. When she tries to squirm beneath the tray, Farhad frees her and seats her on his lap instead. Giving him a coy smile, she clasps his fingers before she turns to rest her ear against his chest. Her ongoing fascination for heartbeats earns her an amused chuckle from Farhad that gains him a shush. ¡°Yes, can¡¯t you tell she¡¯s trying to listen?¡± asks Elleth, and a little fire Mana sets some stewed vegetables to warm. I¡¯m just about to tease Farhad myself when the scroll of golden letters appears in my mind. [A peace accord among the survivors of the Pantheons has settled the Gods¡¯ War in Veht?. Fifty-seven survivors have returned to their domains. The war has utterly destroyed the Greek and Egyptian Pantheons and decimated the others. Your High Priestess Aleena has become a Goddess, her Mantle¡¯s aspects are Magic, Females, and Wealth. Your Hound Archon Mirage, now known as Leira, has become a Goddess, her Mantle¡¯s aspects are Blacksmiths, Artificers, and Crafters.] ¡°Amdirlain, how many powers will you end up bringing about?¡± I mutter, and with the disappearance of the scroll, I look back at Farhad. ¡°Any word on Livia?¡± ¡°Master Cyrus said she picked the hardest mountain, and she¡¯s not yet reached the peak,¡± Farhad replies, and Gail pats his shoulder as if trying to comfort him. ¡°The Gods¡¯ War is over; I hope what¡¯s left of the kingdoms can declare peace quickly.¡± Farhad nods and rubs gentle circles on Gail¡¯s back?. ¡°Any news about Isa?¡± ¡°She still hasn¡¯t worked her way up to songs dealing with souls yet,¡± I reply, and don¡¯t go into details about Erwarth¡¯s combat reports, but Gail¡¯s eyes still bug out. ¡°You certainly hear too much, Gail.¡± ¡°Boom!¡± declares Gail happily and turns her attention to the bowl of mashed tubers Elleth set on the table. ¡°Not yuck.¡± Farhad glances back from the bowl at her excitement. ¡°Boom?¡± ¡°Auntie Erwarth, made skanks go boom!¡± ¡°Where did you learn that word? And how did you know what Erwarth¡¯s been up to?¡± asks Farhad. "Mummy''s song," replies Gail softly, blinking at him slowly in an act of confused innocence. 210 - Hope is my prison Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze As a chime¡¯s impact rang out, Amdirlain again found herself on the pool¡¯s edge within her space. Stepping into the water, Amdirlain quickly washed off the blood trails that crisscrossed her body. She¡¯d pushed through four times to handle an increasing number of Tier 6 before stopping to meditate and let it reset. The fifth time she¡¯d hoped to reach Tier 7 before another ringing chime interrupted her. While she waited for the next chime, she considered the latest combat summary. [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 4,098 Maze Guardian - Tier 6 x 928 Total Experience gained: 280,732,000 Fallen: +56,146,400 Fallen Level Up! Scion: +56,146,400 Scion Level Up! Sora Master: +56,146,400 Sora Master Level Up! Psion: +56,146,400 Psion Level Up! Warrior Monk: +56,146,400 Warrior Monk Level Up! Death Strike [M] (65->67) Ki Movement [M] (46->48) Ki Flight [Ap] (24->27) Suppress Target [J] (7->10) Tremor Sense [J] (27->30) Agile [S] (90->91) Metacreativity [Ad] (18->20) Psychoportation [M] (12->14) Telekinesis [M] (21->24)] The jump in Tier 6 had turned the fighting into a time-consuming process, but fortunately, her Ki and Psi abilities provided a continued edge. They represented a challenge to her capability when working together, so the battles had pushed Skill increases and experience. Better than the 300-odd Tier 6 the first time. ¡°Amdirlain, how many gods will you end up bringing about?¡± At the first sound of Ebusuku¡¯s voice, Amdirlain had spun around, only to find no one present. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a Spell,¡± Amdirlain said, looking around for any lingering trace of Mana. ¡°How the heck did I hear her? What gods, Ebusuku? Why am I getting the blame for bringing about gods?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s mind churned with possibilities, but with no way to prove or disprove them, she forced herself to stop. Rubbing her hands down herself to strip the water away with the friction, she continued to wait. When the pulse of sound came, it was only the barest sensation of vibration picked up by Tremor Sense. Teleport placed her in the main corridor and, feeling the vibrations still within the stone, immediately teleported again. Her previous explorations cut off nearly a day of running, but it was still far distant when the pulse came again. Repeatedly teleporting caused the passageway to stutter around her, with the barest moments spent orienting herself between each. Hearing ?fighting from further in the maze when she finally isolated the region surprised her, but it helped her find them fast. When the fight came into sight, she found an Elven male, taller than herself, clad in leather armour and wielding a thin metal quarterstaff. He moved fluidly while using it to keep a pair of massive shifting-hued hounds at bay; the shoulders of each hound? came up above his hips. As she took in the scene, the weapon guided a dog¡¯s lunge past him, and he flowed beside it, using its body to shield himself from the second¡¯s one attempt to close. Murderous bloodlust burned in the hounds¡¯ auras, and she didn¡¯t bother to check further. As the second tried to manoeuvre behind the Elf, Amdirlain teleported close to the nearest and unleashed a full forced front kick. The kick, intended to launch it into its partner, instead burst through it, and the spinning ends coated the corridor in blood. The second turned to run, and Amdirlain planted her front foot and blurred through a sweep that added its remains to the mess. [Combat Summary: Chaos Hounds, Large x2 (50%) Total Experience gained: 1050 Fallen: +210 Scion: +210 Sora Master: +210 Psion: +210 Warrior Monk: +210] The Elven male gaped at her and it took some time for him to collect himself before he finally spoke in clear Celestial. ¡°Who are you, and why are you naked?¡± As he spoke, he¡¯d locked his amethyst gaze on hers as if desperate to ignore everything below her shoulders. Amdirlain took a moment to look him over from the short multi-hued hair with various earthen shades, a lightly tanned complexion, and amethyst-coloured eyes. Though his ears were as pointed as any Elf she¡¯d met, his features were solid and handsome rather than the ethereal beauty most possessed. Her examination took in his deep-set eyes, bladed nose, and sturdy cheeks before it continued onto his full mouth, rounded chin and a solid jawline. His broad-shouldered frame carried plenty of muscle, with the way the cloth of his shirts and pants clung to bulging muscles. Despite all the bulky muscles, the evasions she¡¯d seen from him showed ?grace and speed. [Name: Roitar Lasgweloth Species: Petitioner Class: Guardian Level: 42 Health: 9,212 Defence: 260 Melee Attack Power: 278 Combat Skills: Club [M] (21), Staff [M] (7), Short Blades [M] (24), Heavy Blades [M] (34), Recurve Bow [M] (12) Details: Petitioner seeking promotion into the ranks of the Goddess Opilni¡¯s celestials. A long-term member of his nation¡¯s military in life, he gained Guardian from combining Ranger and Fighter at level seventy. Trial rating: Easy. ] Analysis [Opilni: A lesser Goddess worshipped among the sub-terrain and surface elves of Unqua. Her followers are common among guards of both settlements and caravans. Aspects: Protection, Safe Passage, and Healing.] ¡°Two dogs were trying to eat you, and you¡¯re worried about a bit of skin?¡± asked Amdirlain, focusing primarily on the remains. When they vanished and left behind the keys, she smiled and collected the pair from the ground. Wonder if he¡¯ll end up with the experience boost once he¡¯s a Celestial? ¡°I¡¯d already dealt with others, and it¡¯s not a bit of skin you¡¯re showing¡ªyou¡¯re naked,¡± countered Roitar, his voice rising in pitch. Amdirlain nodded understandingly and then deliberately put a hand to her chest to attract his eyes with the motion. ¡°It¡¯s what happens when you''re not wearing clothes. My name¡¯s Amdirlain, and you are?¡± ¡°In life, I was Roitar Lasgweloth; the Lady Opilni has yet to grant me a name in her service,¡± stated Roitar. ¡°What do I have to do to complete the trial?¡± ¡°Well, there are a few options for that,¡± stated Amdirlain, and Roitar shifted his gaze to look at the wall beyond her. ¡°I take it your people have an issue with nudity?¡± ¡°It¡¯s improper for a female to be naked except alone in their husband¡¯s presence,¡± insisted Roitar, his tanned complexion deepening to match his nearly black hair. ¡°Sorry, but get over it. When attacked, you need to be watching your attackers'' movements, not worrying about seeing my arse,¡± said Amdirlain unsympathetically. ¡°Plus, to be blunt, focus on what¡¯s important. Presently you¡¯re dead and hoping to get into your Goddess¡¯ service as a Celestial; do you think anyone¡¯s social rules will matter if you get destroyed?¡± ¡°How is it you know why I¡¯m here?¡± ¡°I know a few things, and the ringing in the air you¡¯ll have heard means there is a trial ongoing. Since you don¡¯t look like a Maze resident, that makes things obvious,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Have you seen any chambers with children in them?¡± ¡°All I¡¯ve found so far is empty passageways. Who would trap children here?¡± Roitar asked. Amdirlain hesitated for a moment, and a prickle of guilt stabbed her before she brushed it aside. ¡°It''s complicated. Think of them as spirits, you¡¯ll be able to see those aligned with your Goddess¡¯ aspects. I knew some freed from here by being given one of these keys. After they got out, they went into the service of the same Goddess as the one undertaking the trial.¡± ¡°How did you get here?¡± ¡°I chose to keep others safe,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Ending here was the very unexpected price I paid for how I went about it.¡± ¡°Were you a spirit as well?¡± Roitar asked curiously. ¡°It¡¯s complicated, but I wasn¡¯t Mortal,¡± conceded Amdirlain ¡°You say that, but how do I know it''s complicated, and that¡¯s not just an evasion, so you don¡¯t get caught in a lie?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not giving you my life story¡ªI¡¯m frankly sick of doing that¡ªand there is too much of my ?history that I ?don¡¯t know,¡± retorted Amdirlain and held out a key. ¡°Did you collect the keys that would have appeared from the other dogs?¡± ¡°Appearing as they did with no way to identify them, I thought it would be safer to leave them.¡± She almost snapped at him but bit the words off and exhaled sharply. ¡°I guess that¡¯s fair; I had the advantage of knowing about them.¡± ¡°Will you tell me how I get out of here?¡± ¡°The immediate options I know about are: use a key to quit, or walk the corridor of choices. The key for you is a way to admit defeat and run away, but for the residents of the Maze it''s a way out safely. A key will also let you through the flames atop the stairs, but it''s considered a partial success.¡± ¡°Will you show me where these corridors and stairs are?¡± ¡°I can do that right away, or you can help me get a few others safely out of here.¡± Roitar blinked at her ready offer and paused briefly. ¡°How do I know we should even release them?¡± ¡°Other than my word for it, which I know is meaningless as we¡¯ve just met, you don¡¯t,¡± replied Amdirlain, and held up the keys. ¡°You could carry these, and if you don¡¯t like them, don¡¯t give them a key.¡± ¡°You¡¯d leave it up to me?¡± asked Roitar but didn¡¯t make a move to accept them. When her snort escaped, Amdirlain didn¡¯t hold back her smile. ¡°I won¡¯t force you to give anyone a key.¡± Disgruntled, Roitar''s sharp tone chewed out his words. ¡°You¡¯ll give them one regardless, won¡¯t you?¡± At her quick nod, Roitar sighed, and Amdirlain beat his objection. ¡°Not regardless. I¡¯ve found things in here I wouldn¡¯t let loose, but what I do is my choice, not yours.¡± ¡°Safe passage is for travellers, not prisoners held to ensure others'' safety.¡± ¡°Those taking the trial seem to get placed in areas matching their Deity''s Mantle. If you want to leave them here, you¡¯d leave entities that share common values locked away..¡± ¡°If you know so much about this maze, why are you still in it?¡± ¡°Right now, I could leave with one of these keys, but I gave three away already, and I''ve promised to gain a few dozen more for others,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Roitar started stripping off his armour, and Amdirlain put a hand out to restrain him. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°You look like my shirt will fit you, then you wouldn¡¯t be naked,¡± stated Roitar. ¡°You should wear my armour as well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your armour, and if you¡¯re not wearing a shirt underneath it, it will be uncomfortable, and you¡¯ll hamper yourself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s wise to hamper your ability to protect someone?¡± ¡°You being naked will hamper my ability to protect you.¡± She continued to block his attempt to remove the armour, and Amdirlain tapped the closest blood splatter on him before she stepped away. ¡°You can choose to take your armour, shirt, and whatever else off, but you have zero chance of getting me to wear it. I don¡¯t need the protection, and it would hamper me.¡± When Roitar opened his mouth to protest, she started cycling Ki, and the phoenix pattern flared beneath her skin. ¡°I¡¯m not a Mortal, in case that wasn¡¯t clear. Do your people tell Dryads or other woodland spirits to wear clothing?¡± ¡°We mainly deal with earthen spirits, though I understand the surface elves deal with woodland ones,¡± corrected Roitar and stopped to scratch the back of his head bashfully. Amdirlain held up a cautioning hand. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not any of those, so don¡¯t make assumptions. My Teleport transports nothing but me in here, so it would just fall off the first time I needed to do so. Would you like to see if you can recruit more celestials for your Lady?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Those trapped that you help might well choose to enter your Lady¡¯s service if you make a good impression.¡± Roitar blinked and almost spat out his words. ¡°You wish to enter my Lady Opilni¡¯s service?¡± ¡°I meant the children you¡¯ll find in the Maze,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though depending on your Lady¡¯s tenets, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be opposed to helping her cause where I can. Anyway, would you prefer I just guide you to the corridor so you can leave, or will you help?¡± ¡°And if I choose to leave?¡± ¡°It¡¯s back this way,¡± Amdirlain said. Without hesitation, she moved to lead the way. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. When after a half-dozen steps, Roitar didn¡¯t follow, Amdirlain glanced back. ¡°You coming?¡± His churning thoughts were loud enough that Amdirlain deliberately stopped listening, despite its diminishing her sense of any potential attacks. He followed quietly, not saying anything despite Amdirlain dispatching another three sets of dogs in the space of a few corridors. Each time the fight ended, she snatched up the keys before he got close to them, the bundle of eight becoming awkward clasped in one hand. When they reached the chamber, Amdirlain gestured towards the stairs going down. ¡°As promised, the corridor of choice is below; be careful of the trapped mosaic edge. For the barrier of flames, you need a key.¡± ¡°You claimed them all,¡± noted Roitar. ¡°You¡¯d already chosen to leave some behind,¡± countered Amdirlain. Roitar moved towards the stairs going down and stopped at the top stair. ¡°Are you coming?¡± ¡°You do not want me in that corridor with you,¡± laughed Amdirlain. When his gaze narrowed suspiciously and he took a step back from the stairs, Amdirlain motioned for him to relax. ¡°It''s intended for those taking the trial. The walls crushed me when I tried to walk it, and I ended up in my assigned chamber.¡± ¡°And you are saying this is the way out?¡± ¡°The one I spoke to about it told me that mosaics release another key to tempt you to leave after you¡¯ve seen various life choices. The one mosaic I got allowed to step on was a nasty what-if for me. I don¡¯t know what yours will be like,¡± explained Amdirlain. Glancing between her and the stairs down, Roitar again moved to strip off his armour, and this time Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop him. The shirt beneath it followed, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t fuss about admiring the view of his well-muscled torso, though as Roitar re-donned the leather cuirass on bare skin, she winced slightly. However, when he held out the shirt to her, Amdirlain made no move to take it. ¡°If you won¡¯t wear it, fine, but you can at least use it to fashion a rough bag to carry the keys,¡± stated Roitar and simply tossed it to her. ¡°Would you like me to bring the keys back to you?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll watch from the stairs and collect them from a distance,¡± replied Amdirlain. Rather than ruin the shirt immediately, Amdirlain simply bundled the keys up in its cloth. ¡°I hope you do well in Lady Opilni¡¯s service.¡± ¡°You mean that, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You asked for help, and I didn¡¯t agree to provide it, yet you still wish me well,¡± observed Roitar. ¡°I¡¯m not sure many people would do so in those circumstances.¡± ¡°It''s your choice, Roitar,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Can I ask a question? It might be too personal and, if so, ?my apologies.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll certainly listen.¡± ¡°Why are you taking a trial to become a Celestial?¡± asked Amdirlain, holding up a hand to get him to wait. ¡°I know promotions don¡¯t require them unless the petitioner wants to keep all their memories.¡± ¡°I died in a battle, and I don¡¯t want to risk forgetting those I fought beside, as many I¡¯d known for years died earlier in the fighting. For me, this was a way to protect the memories I have of them. Not all of them followed Lady Opilni, and it''s likely we¡¯ll never meet again, so I don¡¯t want to forget,¡± explained Roitar, his gaze momentarily going distant. ¡°That makes sense; memories of friends and family are something to be cherished.¡± ¡°You seem to know many things. How do you know what requires a Petitioner to go through a trial?¡± ¡°You answered my question, so it''s fair I answer that one, though I doubt you¡¯ll believe me,¡± replied Amdirlain and deliberately paused. ¡°I used to be a pseudo-power.¡± Roitar blinked before his eyes went wide, and Amdirlain caught a tremble in his hands. ¡°You¡¯re a dead god?¡± ¡°No, I had a Mantle, but I hadn¡¯t made it into the divine ranks,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°A pseudo-power is the term I¡¯ve heard used.¡± ¡°Are those around here in the same situation?¡± asked Roitar, his voice barely a whisper. ¡°Yes, every one of them is an entity from one world or another whose worshippers died before they made it into the divine ranks. Accepting the worship cut their existence short, so if they can get free, it''s an opportunity for a second chance,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a big if, as those undergoing a trial don''t have to help them. The one I know who walked the path freed some that recalled hundreds of trials. Most of them became Archons, but one was an Astral Deva.¡± ¡°Isn''t there only one world?¡± Amdirlain kept her smile contained and quickly picked an approach to explain. ¡°Have you ever seen the night sky?¡± ¡°Only once; my people don¡¯t normally go to the surface; I preferred it to when the sun was burning in the sky,¡± replied Roitar. ¡°Are all those lights worlds?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re suns that are very far distant. Most of those suns have worlds that circle them, and some among them have several species living upon them, though many are uninhabited.¡± He had to shake his head, having found it impossible to picture the number of worlds involved. ¡°If I meet them and I agree to help, how long do you think it will take to get them safe passage?¡± ¡°Roitar, it''s a maze, and this is the first time I¡¯ve been in this region,¡± replied Amdirlain and pointed towards the illusionary wall that concealed the tunnel. ¡°What do you see there?¡± The questioning look he shot her way regained the suspicion from earlier. ¡°It''s a stone wall.¡± Rather than argue, Amdirlain walked straight through the wall; she then waited for a few seconds before re-entering the chamber. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of such deceptions, but I had thought nothing would deceive my people¡¯s gifts with stone,¡± offered Roitar, his gaze roaming over the stonework. ¡°I¡¯ve got an ability that lets me see through it, but some are tougher to get through than others. Beyond it is a connection to the main corridor where I¡¯ve found scores of branches for regions like this. Each region has only one or two similar groups, some nice and some foul. However, they seem to vary in size and the number of occupants. There could be a few spread out over kilometres in here, or there could be scores.¡± ¡°Well, my shirt is already off. Why don¡¯t you put it on, and let''s go find some to rescue?¡± asked Roitar. Taking the keys from the bundle, Amdirlain flung it back at him, Far Hand letting it smack him square in the face. ¡°Put your darn shirt back on so the armour doesn¡¯t chafe; your body reacts like Mortal flesh and blood, so keep that in mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no provisions,¡± Roitar stated thoughtfully after his shirt and armour were back in place. ¡°There is food and water in the chambers; my friend reported no issues with it, but it causes the time perception of residents to drift. If you¡¯d rather not risk that, I¡¯ve got an ability that can provide you sustenance, but it might seem a little odd,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°It determines what your body needs and delivers a paste directly to your stomach,¡± Amdirlain explained and wrinkled her nose. ¡°Since the paste looks weird, not having to eat it is a good thing.¡± Tapping his staff against the ground, Roitar headed back towards the Maze¡¯s corridor. ¡°Let¡¯s see how many we can find before I¡¯m in need, and I¡¯ll decide then.¡± ¡°Not worried about getting lost?¡± A confident smile lit up his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m a trained Ranger; I can always retrace my path through tunnels to places I¡¯ve been.¡± ¡°Guardian, so Ranger and Scout at level seventy. Can I ask why you hadn¡¯t taken more classes yet?¡± asked Amdirlain, and Roitar froze in surprise. ¡°I had been planning to retire from the military and learn magic when a war against the Warped Ones broke out,¡± explained Roitar. ¡°Do you know so much because of your previous status?¡± ¡°Warped Ones?¡± ¡°A twisted species, they use mental powers to distort the bodies and minds of other species, using them as tools of conquest,¡± explained Roitar. ¡°It¡¯s not understood why they even do so since they live in vast underground lakes and the deepest reaches of the oceans. The sighting of a living member of the species is rare since they act through those they control. They look like Elves but have green skin and webbed hands and feet.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± ¡°Since you know about my classes, what are yours?¡± Amdirlain almost dismissed his question but had to admit the fairness and gave the barest information instead. ¡°My Prestige Class is Pure Scion of the Sun, and I have three base classes: Sora Master, Psion, and Warrior Monk.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not heard of those,¡± Roitar said and paused in consideration. ¡°Do you have any tunnel you wish to explore?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never been here before, so why don¡¯t you pick?¡± offered Amdirlain. His aura shifted and lost some suspicion as Roitar nodded towards the tunnel they used to approach the chamber. Before she moved, he darted to get ahead of Amdirlain, and the burst of sudden embarrassment made his reason clear. Guess he doesn¡¯t want to watch my arse. After a few hours of walking, Amdirlain doubled the keys collection. When Roitar offered his shirt to fashion a carry bag, she halted and grabbed a handful of her hair instead. Her ruthless yank caused Roitar to gasp in shock. ¡°You just yanked out your hair?¡± ¡°It regrows,¡± Amdirlain said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯ll braid these together and make a line to string the key on.¡± ¡°How can you do that to yourself?¡± ¡°Pain is relative, and to me, that was nothing. I wouldn¡¯t do it to someone else, but I can make a line from this,¡± Amdirlain replied, not taking her focus from the keys. With multiple Far Hand effects sustained at once, she quickly had the long hair formed into a cord. Tying the end through one key¡¯s handle to function as an endpoint, she threaded the rest onto the cord. When she combined a score into a bundle, she braided another line and started afresh. Roitar¡¯s expression made his upset state clear, and he turned to look away as she worked. ¡°What do the children do if the hounds find them?¡± ¡°Hide or die; this place isn¡¯t kind.¡± ¡°Why does it even exist?¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s necessary,¡± replied Amdirlain; when she started moving, Roitar hurried to get ahead of her. The chamber they found at the end of a zig-zagging corridor was a perfect rectangle some eight metres across and nearly twenty metres long. Against each long wall was a neatly tended herb garden filling the air with rich aromatic scents, and a pathway split the chamber down the middle. A carefully set boundary of river stones ran along each garden¡¯s inner edge, while along the long walls several trained grape vines grew on stone trellises. Amdirlain went to point out a shadow behind the vines, but Roitar didn¡¯t need the help; his gaze already fixed on it, he moved to crouch on the pathway in line with it. Analysis showed her every plant in the garden near him had a medical use, but there was nothing dangerous if he touched it. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Go away; the monsters will come.¡± The little voice sounded like a boy, and Amdirlain moved forward to pass Roitar a key; with his attention focused on the shadow, he took it unthinkingly. When his skin came into contact, he inhaled in surprise and looked up at Amdirlain. The angle of his gaze gave him a view that had him blushing to the tips of his ears, and he almost gave himself whiplash, fixing his attention back on the shadow. ¡°You did that on purpose,¡± whispered Roitar. ¡°Grow up. Not everything is about you,¡± Amdirlain huffed and nodded towards the shadowed space. ¡°Would you like a way out?¡± asked Roitar and offered them the key. ¡°So you could go places without monsters.¡± ¡°The monsters go everywhere; we need to hide in our safe places when they come,¡± replied the voice. ¡°You need to find somewhere else to hide, this is my spot.¡± Crouching down beside Roitar, Amdirlain could make out an Elven child clad only in loose pants who looked suspiciously similar to Roitar in their features. Amdirlain tried to push aside any illusion with True Sight, but their Elven form didn¡¯t blur. ¡°I¡¯m Amdirlain.¡± Does the Maze adjust the occupants to match the trial participant to get a favourable reaction? One way to get rid of potential issues. It might be part of the purpose of the fruit, blur the entities'' self-image. The minor stuff no longer matters, so I¡¯m me if I¡¯ve got four legs or two. One point of evidence doesn¡¯t make proof, though; let''s see how others we find are. ¡°I¡¯m Orta. Why have you got vines drawn on your skin?¡± ¡°Do you like them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. They¡¯re pretty, but they don''t look happy with thorns drinking blood,¡± replied Orta and motioned towards the key. ¡°What¡¯s that thing?¡± ¡°It will let you out past the Maze¡¯s barrier,¡± answered Roitar and stretched his arm further towards the child to present the key. The child wiggled from the hidey-hole and carefully stepped between the plant rows. The boy was tiny, maybe six or seven years old; upright, they wouldn¡¯t even reach Amdirlain¡¯s waist. His skin matched Roitar¡¯s tanned complexion, but his hair was an earthen tone instead of black. When he timidly touched the key, Orta¡¯s gaze widened, and he snatched the key away and clutched it to his chest. ¡°I get to leave?¡± asked Orta. ¡°Do you know where there are any others?¡± Roitar asked, and Orta nodded quickly in response. ¡°We¡¯d appreciate it if you show us so that we can get them to safety as well,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°My friends get to leave as well?¡± ¡°Are your friends nice?¡± asked Roitar. The caution that had been clear in his aura had vanished upon seeing the child. It''s why charities try to give their causes faces for people to relate to; harder to dismiss their plight. Orta considered the question before he shrugged. ¡°Sometimes we argue, but mostly.¡± Roitar nodded and gestured for the boy to come closer. ¡°I¡¯m Roitar. Why don¡¯t you walk between us and give directions? There are hounds about, but we¡¯ll keep you safe.¡± ¡°Monsters have killed me before, it happens,¡± Orta said matter-of-factly, and Roitar inhaled sharply. ¡°Are there any chambers you know of with plants that your friends don¡¯t live in?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°Dozens.¡± Smiling at him, Amdirlain extended a hand. ¡°Could you also show us them on the way to meet your friends?¡± Orta didn¡¯t hesitate to take her hand and jumped over the last rows of plants. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Roitar, would you tell us about your Lady¡¯s tenets as we walk? I¡¯ll make sure nothing gets either of you.¡± Orta led them through the maze with an ease that spoke of long familiarity, following a path that took them through occupied and vacant chambers alike. In each case, where a child was visible to Roitar, their form was a variant of his Elven species. The first chamber where the only sign of its occupant was its aura, gave Amdirlain more proof of her theory. When she peered into the hidey-hole tucked away between two rocks jutting from the chamber¡¯s wall, she found a serpentine form coiled at the back. With its aura showing a human-like face surrounded by a cobra¡¯s hood, Amdirlain¡¯s immediate guess was Naga, and Analysis provided confirmation. When she¡¯d set a key down at the entry to the naga¡¯s hidey-hole, it licked the air and slithered carefully forward. A single nudge of the key with its nose had prompted it to swallow it whole. Its tail had writhed about with its aura glowing happily. With its celebration completed, it had slithered from its hole and started on its way. ¡°Where did the key go?¡± asked Orta when Amdirlain stepped back from the hidey-hole to watch the departing Naga. ¡°I gave it to the Guardian Naga that was here; mortals that died out had revered its protective nature,¡± explained Amdirlain as she watched the Naga¡¯s undulations slip it between shrubs near the chamber¡¯s exit. ¡°If it was a protective being, why couldn¡¯t I see it?¡± asked Roitar suspiciously. Amdirlain gave him a smug smile that didn¡¯t make him any happier. ¡°Its idea of protecting was killing those that threatened its loved ones before they struck.¡± And you don¡¯t need to know the rest. ¡°That¡¯s not an approach, my Lady favours,¡± Roitar grumbled. ¡°I¡¯d say that¡¯s why you couldn¡¯t see it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I have no problem with her reactive approach, but I¡¯m not worried about the Naga¡¯s proactive one either. There are some foes that if you wait for them to attack openly, you''re in for far more trouble.¡± ¡°You shouldn¡¯t assume someone will attack,¡± countered Roitar. Amdirlain waved him off and nodded towards the Naga, though he couldn¡¯t see it. ¡°Can¡¯t judge every world by your standards. There are things I¡¯ve met that it''s not if they¡¯ll attack, but when. Don¡¯t make me explain Gnarls to you; they¡¯re not a pleasant topic. Thank you, Orta. Will you lead the way to the next chamber?¡± It took them days to reach and escort the children to the barrier. This Maze region was scores of kilometres across, and Roitar had needed time for reverie along the way. Every foe encountered had provided keys until Amdirlain¡¯s collection numbered in the hundreds. She now carried them secured in a makeshift bag she''s fashioned from a freed child¡¯s gifted shirt. Roitar didn¡¯t shift his gaze from the barrier until he could no longer see Orta waving from the other side. ¡°Do you think you have enough keys now?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve far more than I had expected you to help gain. Honestly, twenty or thirty spares would have been great,¡± answered Amdirlain and patted the bag. ¡°What do you plan to do with them?¡± ¡°There are a bunch of spirits in the same region as me that were the focus of worshipers seeking help with strategy and tactics. After I give them all keys, I¡¯ll explore other regions and pass out keys to those I like. The others will be stuck until the next trial, but at least they¡¯ll have a key to get out then.¡± ¡°Making yourself the judge of them?¡± Roitar probed. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow but held back a retort that he¡¯d been ready to judge the children he¡¯d not met. ¡°I¡¯m learning. I¡¯ve let others make the rules before, and it didn¡¯t turn out so well. From now on, the only person¡¯s moral compass I steer by is my own.¡± The strength of her gaze had Roitar shift about nervously, and he changed to a safer topic. ¡°You said the corridor¡¯s trapped?¡± ¡°The mosaic boundary of the squares; I didn¡¯t trigger any trap landing on the first picture directly.¡± ¡°Why would they trap the border then?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pass out from the visions. You won¡¯t like what happens if you hit the border,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°I won¡¯t enter the corridor, but I can help you from the stairs if you want my help. If there is any sign of my presence on the stairs causing instability though, I¡¯ll have to leave you to it.¡± He seemed ready to reject the offer but stopped and nodded. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate the support.¡± ¡°Could you do one more thing for me?¡± ¡°That would depend on what it is,¡± Roitar said, though there was no suspicion, just caution. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t cost you anything and might help your Lady.¡± started Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like you to deliver a message, but I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯d get in touch with them. Have you heard the names Bahamut or Moradin?¡± Roitar twitched at her mention of Bahamut and quickly nodded. ¡°The God of the metallic Dragons I recognise, but not the other. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Would you be able to have someone let a servant of Bahamut know that I¡¯m in the Maze? When they speak to them, ask them to pass the word to Ebusuku that I¡¯ll get free when I can, and I¡¯d like it if she could help your Lady.¡± Hopefully, she can help her gain access to at least the Erakk? world. ¡°Ebusaqu?¡± asked Roitar ¡°Not quite, its Ebusuku,¡± corrected Amdirlain and nodded when Roitar repeated it correctly. ¡°I¡¯ll see it done as soon as possible,¡± declared Roitar. ¡°Thanks. Oh, also, let Ebusuku know that I¡¯ve heard her voice. I¡¯m unsure why or how, but every time I¡¯ve heard her, it''s like she¡¯s been trying to address me.¡± ¡°Why don''t you go deliver keys so they can get out now?¡± "They''ve been in here for many years, so waiting until the next trial won''t hurt. I want to ensure I''m on hand if I can help you." Roitar took a steadying breath and started down the stairs. Amdirlain let him get halfway down before she followed and paused at that mid-point while he dallied at the mosaic¡¯s edge. The picture in the centre was of a large mushroom grove, the caps well above the group of people clustered beneath them. Ahead of him was a long corridor, but unlike her own experience, Amdirlain could see a stone door left ajar at the far end; rather than it fading into the distance. A long step carried him across the mosaic border, but when his back foot touched it, his posture stiffened and his aura flared with regret. It was a long minute of waiting before his body relaxed, and he shuddered from whatever he¡¯d seen. When he¡¯d recovered enough to glance back, a key rattled onto the now blank stone at his feet. ¡°Another key? Does it think facing regrets are enough to flee this place?¡± asked Roitar, in a case of false brashness. ¡°Some people¡¯s regrets they find hard to face and facing a lifetime of them one after another might be too much for them. No one should judge what brings another pain,¡± countered Amdirlain. Roitar bent to pick up the key, but Amdirlain held out a hand, and the key leapt into her grasp. ¡°I¡¯ll get the keys. You can focus on what¡¯s ahead,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. A square at a time, he progressed, and while mainly each only caused his aura to flare, there were others where whatever he¡¯d seen rocked him to the point of screams. Each time he came to his senses, Amdirlain retrieved the keys from a distance and occasionally steadied him with Far Hand. When his hand finally touched the door, Roitar simply disappeared, and Amdirlain heard the double chime ring out. ¡°Best of luck, Roitar,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Rising, Amdirlain relaxed her grip on the key she¡¯d been holding the entire time and nodded upon seeing the white flames had returned to stone. ¡°At least plenty will get free next trial.¡± Her return to the known gathering point was far slower, using a steady pace to ensure she didn¡¯t stress the bag. When she reached it, the auras¡ªminus three¡ªwere all present. They didn¡¯t even move, but through the mental static, she saw the bundles of keys floating about without her or the satchel visible. After she set enough keys into the hidey-hole and stepped back, one among them rose. From their aura''s shape, the individual who¡¯d announced her promise stood and ushered them one at a time to claim a key. 211 - Emperors new clothes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze She¡¯d spent weeks exploring regions where the energy within felt promising. Now, all she had left of her accumulated keys was a sole key that she¡¯d left laying on her folded dress. The Ki racing through her meridians flared and, caught in her meditations, Amdirlain almost missed the oddity completely. Adrift in a no-mind meditative state, she allowed the energy to cycle again and glimpsed a shadow, not within the network of energy points but resting beneath it. With each circuit, she gradually traced more of the shadow¡¯s pattern until a cracked and vine-choked wall presented itself piece by piece. Am I seeing an aspect of my Soul? Master Cyrus said cycling helped to understand one''s flaws; I didn¡¯t expect it to be so literal. It might be a mixture of this place and my weird mind. Amdirlain, for the first time in years, turned on Soul Sight and focused it on herself; the vines¡¯ maliciousness seethed. Holding her own details at bay, she took in the way the vines clung in crevices, the way ivy creepers would dig out a wall¡¯s mortar. The leaves curled and shifted here and there as if they were aware she could perceive them. Fuck! When the thorns breached her skin, the unit''s words came to mind, and Amdirlain had to restrain herself from immediate action. Flaring the Ki through the pattern silhouetted the vines in a stark shadow within her. With the Ki having nowhere to go, she finally had to stop when her flesh lit up from within. A final check confirmed a section of the vines aligned with the shadows sensed while cycling Ki, and she deactivated the Power. Teleport set her at the entrance to her chamber and at full speed, she blurred through the passageways, waiting for the thorns to react in the fashion she needed. One thorn just below her wrist joint at last lanced through flesh, and Amdirlain brought it up beside her mouth to clamp teeth along its length. Fingers scrambled on blood-slicked skin, and she tried to pull it further out rather than snap it off, but the vine fought back. Though it felt as if it had bloomed from the bone, the thorn twisted about, growing spines to rake across her lips when the pain didn¡¯t get her to back down. More thorns sprouted from her arm to ?drive themselves into her cheek and neck, and Amdirlain activated Ki State to armour her flesh. Pain and memories exploded inside her while they thrashed, contained within her skin. Those she hadn¡¯t restrained retreated to join the fray inside her, grinding against flesh and bone. Memories snapped at her through the haze of pain and threatened to swamp her, but Amdirlain pushed on until a loop of vine protruded from her wrist. Fingers jammed deeper into the open wound beneath the vine¡¯s tendril and memories battered frantically at her control. With one last effort, she hooked her fingers under the squirming vine and let a memory drown her. Footsteps echoed within the chamber, the meagre furnishing in the sun room not enough to absorb their sounds. Released, the Song quickly went to work, and she watched the opaque crystal darken as it soundlessly filled the carafe. ¡°Were you ever going to tell me?¡± asked Mori at last, having spent nearly half an hour since her arrival pacing. The bitter notes within Mori¡¯s Song had been enough to warn Orh¨ºthurin to keep her focus well away. Though she¡¯d visited her home since Orh¨ºthurin had created it, she¡¯d never come in the evening, or even unaccompanied. Indeed, she wouldn¡¯t have expected Mori to come calling on the eve of her awakening ceremony, a time most Anar would spend in meditation. The young girl from the last memory had bloomed into a delicate beauty whose gaze glowed with strength and determination. She wore her dark blue hair short, and with it barely touching her jawline, it was unsuitable for any of the court¡¯s long styles. ¡°Tell you what?¡± ¡°That you''re my great grandmother,¡± growled Mori. ¡°You let them keep it a secret from me.¡± With careful movements, Orh¨ºthurin set the carafe back on the table and focused on the upset young lady. ¡°While you weren¡¯t aware, they tolerated me seeing you; that tolerance would have vanished if you¡¯d learned more from me. I¡¯m surprised you found anyone willing to speak about me among the court¡¯s pets.¡± ¡°It depends on where you go digging. I found a journal that spoke of the first awakening and included names. It¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve found anything with any mention of your relationship to ¨®lneth,¡± Mori hissed, and the furious Song from her words made it clear Orh¨ºthurin wasn¡¯t their target. ¡°How could my mother do that to you?¡± ¡°I executed her husband.¡± ¡°Then how could grandmother let her strip you of everything! He composed the vines; she should be glad you didn¡¯t imprison them both in Hell.¡± Mori declared, and the fury in her music soared. ¡°I found his chorus¡¯ songbooks locked away among keepsakes of hers. Their notes made it clear it should cripple you, so you¡¯d beg from his chorus to free you. They wanted to stop you from ever working for the Titan again and make you fall in line with the other Anar.¡± That news had Orh¨ºthurin blink, but she pushed past it. ¡°Your grandmother has long been unhappy with me.¡± Mori opened her mouth as if to argue but sighed before she continued. ¡°Great grandfather?¡± ¡°We separated long ago, but what was between us is old history now.¡± ¡°No, he still loves you,¡± refuted Mori and paced again. ¡°I asked him to tell me about his wife, and though he didn¡¯t name you, he spoke with love.¡± ¡°Ah, Mori, but that just makes it worse,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin, taking in Mori¡¯s disbelief. ¡°Love provides the seasoning for hate¡¯s grandest feasts. I''m sure he remembers that love when we don¡¯t see each other for a time, but the hate becomes a crescendo when we¡¯re in the same room. It rises, ?using those happy times as fuel for its rage: how dare I take that happiness from him? Obviously it was entirely my choices that split us, since he certainly can¡¯t be at fault.¡± Orh¨ºthurin restrained the words when she felt her pain stirring and simply let Mori pace further until she dropped into the chair opposite her. ¡°I want you to sing for me tomorrow.¡± ¡°Any piece in particular?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin and raised a glass to take a sip. The taste in the memory was a sweat-sour, a cross between strawberry and passionfruit. ¡°Not at the celebration. I want you to perform my awakening,¡± insisted Mori, and Orh¨ºthurin quickly returned her glass to the table. ¡°I believe the plan is for your mother to sing that for you. Don¡¯t you want the best Glinnel to restore your memories?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± exclaimed Mori and threw her hands in the air. ¡°I can¡¯t hear the music as clearly as I used to, Mori¡ªsome registers I can¡¯t hear at all. You might well be better off with someone else singing for you.¡± Mori''s indignant glare drew a smile from Orh¨ºthurin, and her amusement heated Mori¡¯s reply. ¡°What do you mean? You sing beautifully.¡± ¡°I sound so to you, but to me, my singing is merely adequate now. It takes too long to achieve what used to take moments. The vines muffle things, and I have to strain to hear some days,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin, the acceptance in her voice made Mori¡¯s complexion pale. ¡°A single note at the right time, empowered the right way, can mean a world of difference. Instead of using a few notes to tip events at their critical point, ?I have to sing for minutes or even hours.¡± ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°It draws what it needs from me. In this realm it will only continue to get stronger; one day it will kill me, I¡¯m sure. When reborn without my current powers and skills, I¡¯ll completely be deaf to the realm¡¯s music, a songless Anar.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t you do something?¡± ¡°If I hadn¡¯t empowered them with the destruction of millions of souls, perhaps I might have, but I didn¡¯t pay enough attention to the danger. Doomed by my desire for accountability, it was a fitting trap. It seems the Anar learnt well from the Titan after all,¡± Orh¨ºthurin mused. Mori¡¯s knuckles turn white with strain as her fists tighten by her side. ¡°I still want you to perform my awakening.¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be the perfect Song for you, Mori. I might sing the awakening technically perfect, but that might not be what you need.¡± ¡°Mother can¡¯t sing perfectly for me. She¡¯d sing the perfect Song based on who she expects me to become, not who I am,¡± refuted Mori. When her pacing brought her close, Mori moved into the chair next to Orh¨ºthurin and leaned against her shoulder. ¡°You listen to me, Ori. Please sing my awakening.¡± ¡°Fine, sit down and have your drink. I¡¯ll make sure your mother is killing mad with me and not you,¡± sighed Orh¨ºthurin and moved to take a large swallow of the juice. ¡°Now, about you training me,¡± coaxed Mori. ¡°Not happening,¡± Orh¨ºthurin said and flinched as the glass shattered in her grip. Mori swallowed, and a quick ripple of music from her cleaned up the mess. ¡°You broke a True Song glass?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve other classes besides Glinnel in my skill set¡ªsome add to my strength,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied, the truthful lie didn¡¯t rouse even a single note in reaction within her music. ¡°One doesn¡¯t physically break that crystal,¡± countered Mori and picked up her glass to listen to it closely. ¡°You have a loud Song, great grandmother; I can¡¯t hear anyone else in its construction.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯ll have to get a new set,¡± stated Orh¨ºthurin before she teleported the glasses and carafe away. ¡°And please pick something a little shorter to use.¡± ¡°Ori, why won¡¯t you train me?¡± ¡°Nearly everyone I¡¯ve trained dislikes me to varying degrees, and I¡¯d prefer you not to join that number.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t think of anyone I¡¯d rather learn from,¡± insisted Mori. ¡°With my training, it isn¡¯t about what you think you can accomplish; rather, I¡¯ll push you to the standard I know you can accomplish. No one has ever enjoyed the way I drive students. I have some students that might respect me, but none of them like me, and more than a few learned to hate me,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Is it selfish that I want to enjoy your company?¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s instructors don¡¯t include any proficient in weapons or any physical skills,¡± retorted Mori, and the sour notes in her music caught Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s attention. ¡°They¡¯re all pure musicians or politicians; I need to move something besides my mouth. Please, it will make mother furious! Isn¡¯t that worth it?¡± ¡°No, that''s not what this is about, Mori¡ªit¡¯s about what¡¯s right for you. Since your mother can¡¯t even understand that physical need, I¡¯ll do both,¡± agreed Orh¨ºthurin and rubbed her hand along an aching mark. A hesitant smile crossed Mori¡¯s lips. ¡°Both?¡± Orh¨ºthurin nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll sing your awakening and train you. Though I¡¯ll miss our growing friendship.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll still be your friend,¡± refuted Mori. ¡°I¡¯ll be your friend forever! I¡¯ll swear it if you don¡¯t believe me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make promises you won¡¯t keep, and never rush into them. Friendship isn¡¯t an option until your training is complete. You¡¯ll be my student, and I don¡¯t permit myself friendship with those I teach.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± Orh¨ºthurin gave her a sad smile. ¡°I¡¯m kind to my friends, not to my students. You really will not enjoy yourself.¡± Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Is that why mother hates you?¡± asked Mori, her tone suddenly curious. ¡°No, I refused to teach Vanya or her first husband,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Though that alone might have contributed to their dislike of me, training certainly contributed to ¨®lneth¡¯s hatred. Which was, I¡¯ll admit, my fault. She wanted me to train her as a reassurance after her father left; I should never have agreed. Instead, my daughter was my first student to end up hating me, though she wasn¡¯t the last.¡± ¡°You never say the king¡¯s name, nor your husbands,¡± observed Mori and continued at Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s suddenly pain-hardened gaze. ¡°Why did you refuse to teach them?¡± ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t like either of them enough to want to spend those hours with them,¡± admitted Orh¨ºthurin and went for a safe truth. ¡°Vanya still has no interest in blades and her future husband was too interested in me. The selection of royal positions is far too political now, and they were both very good at politics.¡± ¡°He was interested in you?¡± ¡°Centuries before he proposed to Vanya, he¡¯d proposed to me. I turned him down when he tried to propose at a public gathering,¡± stated Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°See what I mean about love and hate? Though in his case the love was more his ego, and I slighted it in refusing the way I did.¡± ¡°How did you turn him down?¡± Orh¨ºthurin raised her eyebrow and reached absently for a glass that was no longer there. ¡°Any reason for the interrogation this evening?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just getting in my questions while I can; soon I¡¯ll be your student, just following instructions,¡± Mori said smugly. ¡°Brat. I turned him down ?in a very undiplomatic fashion. Few take laughter and being told they¡¯re a foolish child well,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied dryly. ¡°I could tell he thought the public setting would trap me into saying yes. Other events of that evening had me furious, and I had no tolerance for his stupidity. I should have killed him on the spot and claimed his rudeness made me lash out; it certainly would have saved me some trouble.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have,¡± gasped Mori. ¡°No, we have laws against that, but occasionally the ¡®what-if¡¯ is nice to consider when the roots are trying to burrow deeper.¡± ¡°Mother is going to announce a royal order,¡± warned Mori. ¡°I found the Song for their insignia; while they don¡¯t dig into the Soul, they¡¯ll look very similar to your vines.¡± Orh¨ºthurin blinked, and then she started laughing; her laughter only got louder at Mori¡¯s baffled expression. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± asked Mori in a huff after the laughter went on and on. ¡°She keeps trying to rewrite history as if I¡¯ll forget it,¡± declared Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°When I¡¯m ready, then she¡¯ll pay the bill. Until then, I¡¯ll stay my hand, but I¡¯m not sure why she wants to keep adding to the tally.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do to her?¡± Orh¨ºthurin shrugged, and after a moment, grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. She¡¯s your mother, but it will be something suitable, as she insists on adding to the debt.¡± ¡°How do you see this royal order rewriting history?¡± ¡°She¡¯ll have volunteers wearing something that appears to be my vines, going about duties at her behest. If she has even a dozen scurrying about and winning honours with the court, slowly, it dilutes my rubbing these vines in their faces. How would my vines be any different for those guests who can¡¯t hear the music in them? Given I¡¯ve lately been keeping them wrapped up in white noise, even the Anar will, in time, forget.¡± The disgusted look on Mori¡¯s face caused her golden gaze to blaze. ¡°Two can play at that game. What did you call them that first night you showed them off at court? The Markings of Royal Shame?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good, I know what my demonstration Song will be for the court tomorrow night. Let''s see her spin it when I don the tamed versions and declare my embarrassment at my mother¡¯s part,¡± Mori said, and within the memory, Amdirlain felt a twinge of recognition again for her reactions. ¡°Best speak to a few that don¡¯t normally attend and get some elders there to back up your position,¡± Orh¨ºthurin suggested, her fingers tracing the table¡¯s edge absently. ¡°They might not like me, but I know a few that could give you advice on ways to sway things your way.¡± The memory shattered, and opening her eyes, Amdirlain found a wriggling piece of the vine in her grasp. Streamlets of blood flowed down her body, but she ignored the mess with her gaze fixed on her hand. The once lifelike fronds that had sat across her palm were gone, replaced with a meshwork of fine white scars. The tattoo ended in a broken stem at her wrist, where the thorn had erupted from her flesh. ¡°Was Isa once Mori?¡± Unheeded, the vine¡¯s cutting dropped from her hand, and Amdirlain brushed fingers across the scars. By the time she thought to look for them, the vine''s remains were nowhere in sight, as if they¡¯d never been. Quickly testing finger movements found them unaffected and, empowering a Ki Strike, she found no issue hammering it into the stonework. But despite the tests on her arm, she felt a wrongness left behind by the vine¡¯s removal. The area provided her with a sensation of absence that nagged, but without pain or any clue as to its depth. Teleport placed her back within her chamber, where she knelt to meditate and cycle Ki. The first cycle caused an icy shock to erupt, and Amdirlain felt the excess Ki draining into the gap. She continued to cycle until the excess ceased to drain away and entered the Mind Palace. The lush grassed landscape of her Soul stretched out, now beneath a familiar golden sun. Those figures immediately within sight all lay relaxed upon the grass, the rhythm of their breathing synced to the breeze that played within the long grass. It took only a single thought to reach the figure she believed to represent Orh¨ºthurin. Here the rich grassland hadn¡¯t yet reached, and the figure lay on hard clay, encased in stone and wrapped around with barbed metallic vines. The vines that had wrapped her left arm, now ended in a rough fracture of its stems that wept a dark fluid that gave over a bitter stench. Where the vines had extended was pink scarred flesh instead of rock. * * * Slipping through stonework as freely as it once had through flesh, the vine cutting continued to fall rather than dissolve. Wrought of a Song and having fed for millennia on Amdirlain¡¯s Soul, it wasn¡¯t anything the stone knew how to handle. It was eventually shunted beyond its limits among the Spire''s energy currents, and the Outlands¡¯ winds carried it far away. Roitar¡¯s PoV - Elysium Fields His trial, promotion, and even first assignment had already required a considerable change in expectations. His rise to Hound Archon had provided him with a range of new powers, skills, and an array of knowledge. Yet despite all that, he didn¡¯t understand why almost eighty archons secured the area surrounding a golden energy pane like it was a forward military camp. Unless he misunderstood the knowledge he¡¯d gained, the energy from the Gate was a connection to another heavenly Plane. The strange symbol on the archons¡¯ clothing at least showed he was in the right place, but none of them wore any armour. Instead, they were barefoot, wearing loose pants, and a shirt in an unfamiliar style. Their visible weapons varied widely, but many had nothing at hand. The majority had a hound-like appearance, similar to his own, but where the pelt he had gained was earthen toned, theirs was a golden brown. Wishing Bahamut¡¯s servant had come along to provide an introduction, Roitar forced himself to walk slowly and steadily towards the closest Archon. With nearly a score of the archons focused on him, his skin started prickling with each step he took once he was in bowshot. Continuing on deliberately, a step at a time, no one called out until he was a short stone''s throw away. ¡°Traveller, what brings you this way?¡± ¡°I¡¯m to convey a few messages to Ebusuku. Would you be able to put me in contact with her?¡± asked Roitar. Unsure of their customs, he hoped general politeness would suffice. ¡°The Gate here opens within the boundary of our Lady¡¯s Domain, so I¡¯ll need to know more if you want to see her. Who are the messages from?¡± Their placement suddenly made sense, and he almost shuddered at the thought of anyone having direct access to get beyond Lady Opilni¡¯s borders with but a step. ¡°Would I be able to gain permission, and an escort, to enter the Lady¡¯s Domain to speak with her? Lady Opilni asked that I deliver a gift in greeting; I¡¯ve got it in my Oath-stone,¡± Roitar said, touching the necklace at his throat. ¡°Also, Lord Bahamut and Lady Opilni added to the message that one named Amdirlain asked me to pass along.¡± The Archons had seemed relaxed but alert until the strange Elf¡¯s name had left his lips. Its utterance spread like a shock wave through the military force before the Gate. They quickly settled into total silence, and a female Solar appeared before him, clad in golden armour, with mithril outlining the same emblem upon her breastplate, white wings flexed forward, almost as if she wanted to seize him with them. Elven featured, she had skin like blue-white ice, piercing sky-blue eyes, and pitch-black hair. Barely an arm''s length away and over double his height, he had to lean back to meet her gaze and took a stumbling step backwards. ¡°Where was she, and what did she look like?¡± Her tone wasn¡¯t unkind or overly demanding, but the Solar¡¯s focus was intense. ¡°I met her in the Maze. She appeared like some elven races, but her skin was golden-bronze and her eyes glowed the colour of the Gate behind you. Tattooed vines, with thorns and barbed leaves that ?made her flesh bleed-¡± At the words, the Solar hissed in distress, and her physical presence was nothing compared to the weight of her spirit suddenly clamped around him. An uproar among the archons had her raise a hand to silence those on duty behind her. When they immediately settled down, she focused on him, and her presence drew in until its weight was gone. ¡°My apologies, you caught me¡ªwell, all of us¡ªby surprise. You have our thanks for bringing this news. Might I know your name?¡± ¡°Roitar.¡± The Solar shrank to match his height and her wings disappeared before she motioned, as Amdirlain had done, laying a hand flat across her breastplate. It was a simple gesture, but it made Roitar reconsider if Amdirlain had done it to embarrass him. ¡°I¡¯m S¨ªrdhem; whatever news you bring of Amdirlain, I consider myself in your debt. I¡¯ll ask where Ebusuku wishes to speak to you.¡± She didn¡¯t take a step away but simply nodded, and Roitar returned it only for her to smile in amusement. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m getting used to hearing her in my mind without a Message Spell, the fuss among this lot caught her attention,¡± clarified S¨ªrdhem, and Roitar realised she¡¯d been nodding in response to her Goddess¡¯ instruction, not at him. ¡°She¡¯ll see you at once if you come with me through the Gate.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an honour,¡± said Roitar. The Archons quickly made way for S¨ªrdhem, and Roitar moved to follow respectfully behind her, but S¨ªrdhem waved him to walk alongside. ¡°I won¡¯t bite. You can walk beside me.¡± ¡°Your customs differ,¡± remarked Roitar. ¡°If I walked alongside you, I¡¯d be declaring us to be equals.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case here, but if you¡¯re uncomfortable, ?it''s your choice if you follow or move ahead to the Gate,¡± replied S¨ªrdhem and moved off. Roitar followed her lead, glad he¡¯d avoided offending her. Past the Gate, eight crystal plinths reached high overhead, out of reach of any bow he¡¯d ever fired, but the decorations that glowed atop each burned with ominous power. Ahead, beyond the plinths, a regiment of hound archons occupied a grass field and conducted training drills similar to attacks Amdirlain had unleashed. ¡°You¡¯re safe, don¡¯t worry,¡± S¨ªrdhem said and motioned to the pillar. ¡°Though I¡¯m told they fired warning shots at uninvited guests before the Domain shifted to this Plane. I¡¯ll Teleport us to where Ebusuku asked to meet if that¡¯s alright.¡± ¡°Of course, thank you for the warning,¡± said Roitar and added an appreciative nod. ¡°Bahamut¡¯s servant just jumped me from official to official when I visited his Domain.¡± ¡°Choices are important to us.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t mind me asking, how do you know Amdirlain?¡± The relaxed smile S¨ªrdhem bestowed on him aided her reply in taking him off guard. ¡°She set me, and others, free from enslavement in the Abyss.¡± He was still trying to get his mouth to close when he found himself in a clearing with trees towering five or six times his height around its boundary. In the centre was a crystal table with two long benches. On one bench sat an ebony-skinned female with tightly curled short hair, wearing an earthen-toned shirt and pants with weapon harnesses overtop. ¡°Playing games, S¨ªrdhem?¡± ¡°He asked how I knew Amdirlain, so I gave him the cliff notes,¡± laughed S¨ªrdhem and motioned between him and the female. ¡°Ebusuku, this is Roitar, a messenger of Lord Bahamut, Lady Opilni, and our wayward troublemaker. Roitar, this is Ebusuku, inheritor of Lady Amdirlain¡¯s title and currently Goddess of a bunch of stuff while Miss is in the Maze.¡± ¡°You can tell S¨ªrdhem doesn¡¯t do formality well, it¡¯s new to many of us,¡± stated Ebusuku, and a child''s musical squeal came from somewhere beyond the meadow¡¯s border. ¡°Lots of newness about this Domain. Please sit down. I¡¯d like to hear about Amdirlain first, but likely Bahamut and Opilni¡¯s messages will be the more straightforward part.¡± ¡°What¡¯s Gail doing?¡± asked S¨ªrdhem, looking in the squeal''s direction. ¡°Farhad is air-walking her through the trees, playing tag with some Catfolk petitioners.¡± Their exchange gave Roitar time to pull himself together to a certain degree, and though his knees didn¡¯t want to cooperate fully, he staggered to the other bench. ¡°Amdirlain said she used to be a pseudo-power,¡± whispered Roitar, and Ebusuku gave him a sympathetic smile. ¡°To be fair, she was. It''s complicated, and if she didn¡¯t explain it, I¡¯ll leave it at that,¡± Ebusuku replied. ¡°How did you two meet?¡± ¡°I was undertaking a trial to keep my memories through my promotion from a Petitioner to Celestial,¡± explained Roitar. ¡°I¡¯d fought a few things in the Maze and was slowly exploring the passageway. Another pair of large hounds attacked, and Amdirlain killed them in a blur.¡± ¡°I believe she would manage that even as a child.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t a child, but ?an adult Elf, and far too naked,¡± blurted Roitar and slapped a hand across his muzzle. Ebusuku''s lips twitched, but S¨ªrdhem showed no restraint and roared with laughter. ¡°Sorry, that came out wrong. I tried to give her my shirt and armour, but Amdirlain refused them and said I had no chance of getting her to wear it,¡± stammered Roitar, glancing between them. ¡°It''s alright, Roitar,¡± reassured Ebusuku. ¡°You said she had a message for me. Why don¡¯t we start with that, and then you can tell us more?¡± ¡°Amdirlain said to let you know that she¡¯d get free when she can and also that she¡¯s heard your voice; each time, it sounded like you were addressing her.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°All that¡¯s important,¡± replied Roitar, and Ebusuku fixed him with a knowing smile. ¡°What did you do together in the Maze?¡± ¡°She explained a friend of hers had been through it and freed ?children from it, but at first, I wasn¡¯t sure if she was trying to trick me. When I asked her to show me the way out, she immediately agreed and led me to what she called the corridor of choices. I¡¯d expected her to ask again for help, but she just provided me information on the Maze and left the choice to me.¡± Ebusuku listened without interruption while Roitar detailed their explorations and the release of the children, simply nodding her understanding at various points in the story. ¡°So most of those you could see swore service to your Lady, I¡¯m sure that made her happy,¡± observed Ebusuku. ¡°She was glad they got to safety, regardless of deciding to swear to her. Part of the gift is a greeting to yourself, and another she¡¯d like you to pass onto Amdirlain when she gets free,¡± explained Roitar, and placed a small bundle wrapped in dark cloth on the table. ¡°What else did Amdirlain ask you to convey to me?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not important; I''d prefer not to mention it,¡± pleaded Roitar. ¡°My lady thought it was unsuitable given what work I had Amdirlain¡¯s help to accomplish.¡± ¡°I¡¯m that friend Amdirlain spoke of, and I can guess what she asked you to pass along. She wanted me to help Opilni, didn¡¯t she?¡± probed Ebusuku. Roitar nodded reluctantly, unwilling to lie. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Roitar, I don¡¯t consider myself a Goddess; I¡¯m merely the custodian of Amdirlain¡¯s Mantle. She passed it to me to keep her people safe from an unpleasant Deity. All you¡¯ve seen in this Domain is her doing, not mine, and when I can, I¡¯ll be returning her Mantle to her,¡± declared Ebusuku. Hammered by yet another shock, Roitar¡¯s jaw almost fell open again. ¡°Your Goddess isn¡¯t asking for a favour from me. Amdirlain has already said to help her, so let her know I¡¯d like to assist her in gaining faithful on another world besides your own.¡± Throughout his tale, S¨ªrdhem had remained standing and simply listened. ¡°Thank you again for this news, Roitar. Ebusuku, since I¡¯ve been to Letveri, should I see Roitar back to Opilni¡¯s Domain and open a Gate to help some of her celestials reach it?¡± ¡°He has a few other messages he needs to pass on first,¡± Ebusuku reminded her before Roitar got his thoughts together. Despite all the shocks this assignment brought on, he again found himself startled when Ebusuku¡¯s tone grew firm. Fortunately for his nerves, he wasn¡¯t the one in trouble. ¡°Amdirlain, I hope you''re not planning to rescue everyone you find suitable from the Maze.¡± ¡°Lord Bahamut used to deal directly with the Titan; perhaps he can learn more. As for getting others free, I¡¯d bet that¡¯s what she intends since she was giving away keys,¡± offered S¨ªrdhem. ¡°How many did you free together, Roitar?¡± ¡°Fifty-eight, of whom forty-one swore service to my Lady, plus there were scores of keys that disappeared in chambers where Amdirlain said she saw the auras of others,¡± replied Roitar. ¡°She had to have hundreds of keys wrapped in that bundle by the time we were done, more from the corridor of choices.¡± ¡°How long have you been out of the Maze?¡± asked Ebusuku. Roitar turned at the sounds of roaring spreading through the woods and realised the noise was cheers of celebration. ¡°A few weeks at least, Lady Ebusuku. Unfortunately, it took time for my Lady Opilni to contact Lord Bahamut. While I knew his name in life, my Lady had no prior contact with him or his servants and wanted to ensure we did not offend.¡± A Catfolk Petitioner with black and dark-green spotted fur leapt down from a lower branch on the clearing¡¯s edge and, after bowing, met Ebusuku¡¯s gaze. ¡°The Archon¡¯s tale brought me from my dreaming, Lady Ebusuku. Might I see if I can carry your concern to Lady Amdirlain and learn if she heard you? Perhaps I might also help her gain more keys by walking the Maze with her and thus speed her journey home.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Ebusuku said, and the Petitioner vanished. ¡°How many more promotions do you have?¡± asked S¨ªrdhem curiously. ¡°At present, only a few that require any sort of trial,¡± admitted Ebusuku. ¡°But I¡¯m not planning to send more to ¡®help¡¯ Amdirlain. It would appal her if that was my reason, such a risk to a Soul in her care for minimal gain. I gave him the promotion via a trial because he chose that path, and I could help him ?follow his choice.¡± S¨ªrdhem¡¯s eyebrows lifted, and she tilted her head, caught in an obvious reconsideration of her thoughts. ¡°What do you expect?¡± ¡°The Catfolk¡¯s name is Rasha. He¡¯s been sharing weapon training with others since he arrived. Given his prestige classes in life, I expect he¡¯ll likely change into an Angel after completing the trial. As for Amdirlain, I expect she¡¯ll give him a dose of her mother-hen mode, and that she¡¯ll come out of the Maze when she¡¯s achieved whatever goal is keeping her there.¡± explained Ebusuku. 212 - Wont stand down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze The phoenix¡¯s wings flared through her and Amdirlain drifted across a darkened landscape focused on the shadow beneath the meridians. She¡¯d spent days cycling to repair the gap left by the vines, and not once had it reacted to the Ki despite its obvious awareness of Soul Sight. Fortunately, despite the Ki energy pouring through her, there was no sign of regrowth. Unfortunately, she was no closer to determining if there was a better approach than brute force. ¡°Amdirlain, I hope you''re not planning to rescue everyone you find suitable from the Maze.¡± Ebusuku''s voice startled Amdirlain from her meditation, and she lost the pattern of vine junctions she¡¯d been tracing. I hope that means Roitar got to you Ebusuku, but it''s not as if we can play twenty questions. She had barely returned to her standing meditation when a chime rang out, but already within her chamber, the normal teleport to set her by the pool didn¡¯t occur. The shock wave continued reverberating through her feet, and Tremor Sense clarified that its epicentre was almost on top of her. As she tried to determine the distance, a voice roared her name. What have you nutcases done? Amdirlain kicked off into a sprint so fast that she left a large divot behind her and raced through the passageways. When a pained roar joined the voice calling her name, Amdirlain dug deeper and pushed her speed. The vines thrashed as she flipped from wall to wall but didn¡¯t emerge from flesh despite her reckless manoeuvres. With the sounds of the latest fight growing louder, Amdirlain leapt from the corridor¡¯s wall to the far side of a T-junction, rather than slow to round the corner. Distracted by the battle she saw ahead, Amdirlain almost smacked into the wall when the vines twisted again. A Catfolk with black and dark-green spotted fur blurred around an enraged Hill Giant. The Giant was some four metres tall, clad in layers of dirt and rancid furs that protected its torso and legs. Its massive club looked like it¡¯d uprooted an entire tree and the only crafting had been to break off the excess branches and roots. The Giant was swinging wildly, its muscles and veins bulging from its exertions and anger. Despite the short blades strapped to the Catfolk''s legs and the daggers that adorned his belt, he seemed intent on taking it down with claws alone. Each time a wild swing passed by him, he left more bleeding wounds in exchange. As the make-shift club descended, he tumbled aside, and the weapon bounced off the ground where he¡¯d been. The impact caused a resounding crack that almost drowned out the Giant¡¯s displeased grunt. A leap took the Catfolk atop the weapon and, sure-footed, he ran up the muscle-bound arm, jumping past a grasping hand. Cresting its shoulder, he slid down its back, but not before his claws opened the artery throbbing in its neck and a blood jet sprayed against the stone. [Name: Rasha Species: Petitioner Class: Bulwark / Brim Bulwark / Brim Champion / Rift Guardian Level: 84 / 81 / 79 / 74 Health: 523,030 Defence: 2,901 Melee Attack Power: 3,086 Combat Skills: Claws [G] (2), Daggers [S] (52), Short Blades [S] (112), Spear [G] (272) Details: A tribal protector who changed primary faiths following the rescue of younger relatives from the Dao. Died during clashes with vested interests that objected to Amdirlain¡¯s faith, particularly its goals of choice and freedom. Mr big-ears volunteered to check if a certain someone would take forever to get dressed. Trial rating: Easy] Fuck, what do they feed them on his world? The near blur of his motions kept him clear of the Giant¡¯s desperate attacks during its dying moments. When it dissolved to leave behind a key, he picked it up and tucked it into a pouch on his belt. Only once he had it secured did he turn towards her with a smile that contained a perfect Cheshire smugness firmly in place. Yellow and black feline eyes showed expanded pupils in the dim light, but he seemed unbothered by it. While clad only in black cloth pants that went from waist to knee, his blood-speckled pelt covered him from twitching ear tips to clawed toes. Rasha sheathed his claws and spread his hands out to his side before he bowed from the waist with his eyes fixed on her. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, I¡¯m glad the tale that the Hound Archon Roitar shared was true.¡± Unsure of his people¡¯s etiquette, Amdirlain mimicked his example. ¡°You weren¡¯t sure, and you still volunteered?¡± ¡°Your celestials volunteer to help others every day. How could I not do the same?¡± asked Rasha, and his whiskers twitched to signal his amusement. Amdirlain laughed and returned his smile. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re Ebusuku¡¯s celestials now.¡± ¡°She stated that she only considers herself a custodian. While a custodian might stand in another¡¯s place, they should direct those serving to tend only to the principal¡¯s goals,¡± countered Rasha. ¡°I came to determine your intentions and if you¡¯d heard Ebusuku¡¯s recent words about rescuing everyone from the Maze.¡± ¡°I did, though I found it a little frustrating since I can¡¯t answer,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t accumulate Mana here, and other restrictions prevent me from contacting the outside via Psi techniques. When you return, let her know she should send me updates, not ask questions. Let me show you to the corridor.¡± ¡°I told Lady Ebusuku I would walk the Maze with you for a time to help you gain more keys,¡± Rasha countered, another broad smile gracing his muzzle. ¡°The keys are a bonus, but my purpose isn¡¯t to free more entities,¡± countered Amdirlain, and Rasha gave a disappointed chirp. ¡°It¡¯s something I do opportunistically.¡± ¡°So my staying won¡¯t speed your return?¡± enquired Rasha. ¡°Do you have goals I can share with Ebusuku?¡± Amdirlain presented both palms and saw Rasha''s eyes widen when he took in the white meshwork of scars on her left hand. ¡°I need to get rid of these vine markings. They¡¯re not merely decorative but ?actively malicious towards me. You could consider them a curse, but I think they¡¯re more a cage. Whatever this place does to the entities it holds also seems to give me an opportunity to get rid of them. Indeed, it might be the only place it''s possible. Though I¡¯m not just working on these, I¡¯ve also found foes in here that have let me grow stronger.¡± ¡°It is important to grow stronger so we can help others keep their freedom,¡± acknowledged Rasha. ¡°Should I carry the keys for you, or do you wish to do so?¡± ¡°You can hold on to them for now. Let¡¯s head towards the stairs¡ªI want to see if I can spot the auras of others getting out,¡± replied Amdirlain, lowering her hands. ¡°All those left in this region aren¡¯t visible unless I¡¯m looking for auras.¡± ¡°As you decide,¡± agreed Rasha and moved up to walk beside her when Amdirlain headed back the way she¡¯d come. ¡°You shocked poor Roitar. Your being willing to walk around in a furless state gave him an amusing scent.¡± ¡°I found his immediate assertion that I needed to get dressed annoying so I might have dug my heels in,¡± explained Amdirlain, and a thought occurred to her. ¡°Oh, do you know who killed Apollo?¡± ¡°Sorry, Lady Amdirlain. I¡¯ve heard the murmuring in the Domain about the Gods¡¯ War that the Greeks started, but other than their destruction, I didn¡¯t take in the details,¡± admitted Rasha. ¡°Destruction,¡± repeated Amdirlain, her stomach clenching at the thought of Hestia being dragged down with them. ¡°All of them, including Hestia?¡± His ears dipped, and Rasha spread his hands helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know their names, my Lady. Upon my return, I¡¯ll ask Lady Ebusuku to recount the details so you can hear.¡± Amdirlain restrained herself from stroking his expressive ears; instead, she rubbed his shoulder reassuringly and gave him a closed-mouth smile. ¡°They¡¯re not from your world, I can understand your interest being limited. Thank you, Rasha.¡± ¡°You smell amused, Lady Amdirlain,¡± stated Rasha. ¡°You have very expressive ears; I was restraining myself from touching them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Her admission had Rasha burst out in laughter, a strange mix of a human laugh crossed with a great cat chuffing noise. ¡°Not every species can have ears as interesting as mine. Perhaps you should transform to my species, then ones like Roitar might be less worried about your unclothed state.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s smile broadened, and amusement lit up her face. ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t switch shapes at present.¡± An Ogre appeared in the corridor ahead of them, and Rasha blurred towards it, but Amdirlain¡¯s Telekinetic Thrust crushed it against the wall. [Combat Summary: Ogre x1 (50%) Total Experience gained: 551 Fallen: 110 Scion: 110 Sora Master: 110 Psion: 110 Warrior Monk: 110] Rasha snorted, and his whiskers drooped, but he still collected the key on their way past. ¡°Spoilsport. Though your home has those willing to train, I¡¯ve not hunted in a couple of years now.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be able to go hunting after you get back,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll not encourage you to stay by letting you have fun.¡± Rasha¡¯s whiskers drooped further and gave her an exaggerated, mournful look. ¡°Isn¡¯t this meant to be my trial?¡± ¡°Your trial rating is ?easy, but the corridor of choices might be unpleasant enough,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about what¡¯s been going on in the Domain?¡± ¡°It moved from the Outlands; It''s now connected to the Oceania layer of Elysium Fields. Erwarth and the other L¨®m? are solars, and Klipyl became a Trumpet Archon. The expeditions on Letveri have passed the halfway point on the continent; with Sarah having broken the major forces, they now plan to get the Erakk? more involved in the fighting,¡± said Rasha. He stopped to clean the drying blood from his claws, but the amusement twinkling in his gaze had Amdirlain¡¯s eyes narrow in suspicion. ¡°Spill it, Rasha,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. His expressive ears weren¡¯t his only tell, and his tail tip swirled and twitched in a fashion that reminded Amdirlain of her mother¡¯s cat. ¡°Farhad was absent for a time but returned just before Ebusuku gave birth to their cub.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°What?!¡± squealed Amdirlain, her eyes wide; she stepped close to clasp Rasha¡¯s hand. ¡°Offspring? Or is baby the right word? Though she looks Elven, unlike either of them,¡± replied Risha. ¡°There was some confusion since she looks like an Anar¡ªher eyes glow like yours. I believe some wondered if she might be you reborn¡ªthough Roitar¡¯s news will have ended that speculation.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s mind raced for a moment before she snorted with amusement. ¡°It¡¯s likely Andre. I was told the Titan had purified her Soul, but I¡¯ll admit I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d meant Anar. A Solar or a Deity would be the only entities strong enough to let an Anar Soul be born, so she¡¯s got a mum that fits. I thought I had mentioned her Soul being purified to Sarah.¡± ¡°Andre?¡± Rasha asked curiously. Amdirlain gave a casual shrug and guided Rasha along. ¡°Someone Sarah and I know from outside the Titan¡¯s realm, but I¡¯m not sure if any of her lifetimes occurred here. How long has it been if the baby¡¯s already been born? Oh, what¡¯s her name? How are Ebusuku and Farhad handling parenthood?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s rapid-fire questions raced on about baby details, with Rasha¡¯s whiskers twitching in amusement. ¡°Hold!¡± Rasha exclaimed, at last cutting Amdirlain off. ¡°Could I answer those?¡± Amdirlain stopped with her mouth open and another question on her lips. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Ebusuku was only pregnant for a week. Farhad had just left to help with the Gods¡¯ War when she found out. He got back well before the Gods¡¯ War ended because he¡¯d evolved into an Immortal, and it prevented him from reentering the region. I had heard Berry mention that the Gods¡¯ War took roughly four moons to settle, but the humans are still fighting,¡± Rasha explained. His tail¡¯s tip twitched about as he considered what to answer next. Gods¡¯ War? I want to hear more about that. His pause had Amdirlain open her mouth again, but she stopped herself and mimed locking her lips. ¡°Gailneth is her full name, but they call her Gail. She has Farhad under her paw in a doting father state, but Ebusuku seems to be handling motherhood calmly. Farhad fetched a Wood Elf midwife who has stayed on as a nurse to help give a Mortal perspective. I¡¯ve heard that Gail¡¯s growing faster than normal, but it¡¯s nothing like the pregnancy¡¯s speed.¡± ¡°So many questions,¡± murmured Amdirlain and absently tore another Ogre apart by unleashing a multitude of the psi technique Swarm of Crystals. ¡°Would you mind if I read your recent memories? I¡¯m sure there will be things I won¡¯t even consider asking otherwise.¡± ¡°Whatever you need, but would that be safe to do here?¡± asked Rasha. ¡°Well, once we get to the stairs. No monsters enter that chamber; I¡¯ve seen them stop, pressed up against the archway, so once we¡¯re there it will be safe,¡± replied Amdirlain and squealed. ¡°I bet she¡¯s so cute!¡± His muzzle curled in a smile, and Rasha motioned for Amdirlain to lead on. ¡°Mostly furless but cute.¡± Practice let her find her way quickly, and the trip answered one question of concern for Amdirlain. Close to the stairs, Amdirlain spotted a Hill Giant that ignored an aura as it had strode towards them. Clairvoyant Sense linked her to its sight, and a moment was all she needed to confirm it could only see Rasha and herself. The safety of those visible only as auras assured, the Hill Giant catapulted into the ceiling, and Rasha let out a mew of protest. ¡°You¡¯re not fair; I could have taken it,¡± grumbled Rasha when Amdirlain glanced at him. ¡°I¡¯d be pitying the Giant, not worried about you, but you¡¯re right¡ªmy skin isn¡¯t pale,¡± Amdirlain glibly answered. Her retort earned her an amused snort, and Rasha waggled a finger. ¡°You remind me of my grandchildren¡ªa cheeky cub, just like all of them.¡± His mention of a family made her curious about his age, but she didn¡¯t want to discuss age or family. ¡°Guilty as charged. But I told you: I¡¯m not going to let you get started on having fun in here. Not on my watch, buster.¡± ¡°Is there any other need for you to stay in this place besides the vines? Could you not get stronger elsewhere?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Aside from the vines, I¡¯m doing some preparation for worst-case scenarios. With some possibilities I¡¯ve thought up, it''s better to get stronger here, and the bonus is I can free entities while I¡¯m at it. Though I¡¯ve been told the foes I¡¯ve been fighting can¡¯t destroy me, they can hurt me and challenge my skills.¡± ¡°The same as your friend Liran??¡± asked Rasha. ¡°Very different,¡± responded Amdirlain without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ve not run into any as strong as Liran?, and they only have physical skills, but they¡¯re not fighting me individually.¡± ¡°A fight versus a pack rather than a duel to become Alpha is very different,¡± acknowledged Rasha. ¡°Exactly, and I need to push my skills so that fighting even a well-coordinated pack is easier,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Liran? helped avenge you against the Artificer, but your Yin tornado had already consumed the priests involved. When you vanished, it gutted the chamber, and the Temple above it collapsed into the pit it made,¡± reported Rasha, getting back on topic. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected her to want to get involved in events that didn¡¯t affect the Githz¨¦rai,¡± Amdirlain murmured thoughtfully, trying to brush aside concerns about innocents that might have died. I wasn¡¯t the one who pulled me into that death trap; any innocent deaths aren¡¯t on my hands. ¡°While I only know the parts I¡¯ve overheard, I¡¯d more say she got involved in rescuing a friend,¡± Rasha said dryly and nodded at Amdirlain¡¯s rueful blush. ¡°Yes, okay. Still, I wouldn¡¯t have asked her to risk herself,¡± mumbled Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t need to ask friends for help or to risk themselves. Anyway, when they all believed you had been destroyed, she stayed on to repay those who summoned you. Again, from what I¡¯ve heard, she fought in the Gods¡¯ War and gained a Mantle though I¡¯m not sure whose,¡± replied Rasha. A few more quickly dispatched monsters crossed their path before they finally arrived at the stairs. Rasha moved over and sat down on the far lip of the stairs, heading downwards, his feet dangling well above the closest step beneath his feet. ¡°How long do you think you need to give them to leave?¡± ¡°The furthest occupied chamber would take them about a day to get here,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve passed out keys in other regions as well. Most are around the same size; one is a lot larger.¡± Rasha tapped his fingers against the stonework as he considered her reply. ¡°We should give them at least two, in case they get lost. That gives you plenty of time to ask questions or read my mind.¡± Use of Analysis had given her some interesting information on his classes, but it hadn¡¯t wanted to provide her with more details on his achievements. With it likely being how she was trying to gain the information, she checked them again, before she resorted to asking. [Brim Bulwark: This Prestige Class is available to those who have gained the achievement Rift Shield. It combines a Melee Combatant and Stealth Class at level seventy. Primarily gained by the tribal warriors that live near one of the mana rifts that litter the Seas of Grass on Halyaa. ] [Brim Champion: This Prestige Class is available to those who gained the achievement Rift Walker. It combines evolved Fighter and Stealth classes at level seventy.] [Rift Guardian: Acquisition of this evolved Fighter Class requires gaining the Rift Walker achievement and having slain an additional twenty greater rift beasts without help beyond its requirements.] ¡°You¡¯ve got three classes that seem related to the mana rifts. Would you tell me what they are?¡± asked Amdirlain before she knelt facing the archway and tried to extend Aura Sense through Clairvoyance. ¡°They are regions of uncontrollable Mana, said to have come about during a war waged because of gods from another world many generations ago. Though some unproved whispers say they are cursed places caused by our gods fighting among themselves,¡± explained Rasha. ¡°Within these wild regions, beasts come into existence out of thin air. Those who hunt them gain classes and advancement greater than any others.¡± ¡°What I saw mentioned greater rift beasts. What are they?¡± ¡°They have varying degrees of resistance based upon whatever lesser beasts merge to form them, plus resistance to physical weapons. It makes the method to kill them difficult to predict,¡± explained Rasha. ¡°Is there anything I can do to help you learn about the Domain¡¯s changes?¡± ¡°Just think about the days since the Domain¡¯s relocation; I¡¯ll listen to your thoughts and pick up details. I¡¯ll prompt you with questions if I need to,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You mentioned you were worried about worst-case scenarios. Would you share them?¡± Amdirlain pulled a face and raked her fingers through her hair. ¡°Besides the vines, my Profile still shows I¡¯m cursed. I don¡¯t know what Plane I¡¯ll end up on when I get out. Also, will I still count as Planar locked? What point does that lock start from? If it''s from when I get loose, I¡¯ll have a hundred years before I¡¯m safe. That would make being stronger before I¡¯m free even more important.¡± * * * Amdirlain found the snickers from the latest story refused to subside until yet another pulse of sound washed over them. The constant interruptions from the sound had been only a minor inconvenience to Rasha¡¯s storytelling as he shared tribal tales; their oral traditions were clearly still strong despite a written language. He¡¯d insisted on stretching his presence well beyond what Amdirlain thought the nearby entities would need to get free. Despite the racket, having friendly and unjudging company had been welcome. Yet it had already been a full day since the last aura in this region had passed through the barrier. He went to start another tale and Amdirlain gestured down the stairs. ¡°I really would like to stay to help you?¡± offered a bemused Rasha over the dying din. Amdirlain waited for it to fade completely before she answered. ¡°I can¡¯t work on the vines with this stupid ringing even if I don¡¯t have to worry about wandering monsters in this room. Two things you can do for me: reassure the others I¡¯m still me, and let Ebusuku know I¡¯m only going to stay until the vines are gone. Helping residents get free is a bonus; it¡¯s not my primary focus.¡± ¡°Are you sure there is nothing else keeping you here?¡± ¡°Not beyond what I¡¯ve already mentioned. Plus, I¡¯ve got a big sister, who I¡¯ve stuck with my job while I snuck off to relax here,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°How mean do you think I am to keep them all waiting if it wasn¡¯t necessary?¡± No idea if I can even reconnect to the Domain, and I need to know more about mantles first. Rasha barely restrained his snort, but Amdirlain saw his amusement flare in his aura. ¡°Take care, Rasha,¡± stated Amdirlain and waved at the corridor again. ¡°I¡¯ll be home as soon as I can. When I get out of here, I promise I¡¯ll send messages to folks regardless of where I am.¡± ¡°Fine, but let me pay my respects properly first,¡± huffed Rasha. Circling the stairs from where he¡¯d sat on their lip, Rasha stopped near Amdirlain and held out his hands in an offer to help her rise. ¡°I know you don¡¯t need any help; consider it a gesture of my respect.¡± Amdirlain smiled at him and rose with her fingers resting lightly on his hands. Once upright, Rasha leaned forward and placed his forehead against hers. ¡°As our breaths have mingled, so may we never be truly parted. May you always find your way home to your tribe, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°May you always find your way home to your tribe, Rasha,¡± replied Amdirlain, hoping it was right to echo his words. [Diplomacy [J] (13->14)] With a smile of approval, Rasha released her hands and unsecured the belt pouch they¡¯d filled with keys from monsters that had come to the archway. Once he¡¯d pressed the pouch into her hands, he motioned to the mosaic corridor. ¡°I¡¯ll let you use that lifting trick to retrieve the keys; my corridor looks to be long.¡± ¡°Must be all those grandchildren making you choose favourites,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to pass those requests to Ebusuku. I want to know more about the Gods¡¯ War and what the heck is going on with Livia; the Jade Emperor better not be trying to keep her.¡± ¡°I¡¯d give you a hug, but your Torm might get jealous.¡± ¡°Brat! He¡¯s his own person.¡± ¡°Brat? I had a century of life; Or is that a mere pittance?¡± retorted Rasha, and started down the stairs. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin The message catches me by surprise, having expected his experience in life to net him at least something like Planetar. That it shows him as a Hound Archon has me snorting in disbelief, and the Domain brings him to me. Despite having been on the plains one moment and in our kitchen the next, Rasha bows calmly as he had when he jumped from the tree. He¡¯s the tallest Hound Archon I¡¯ve seen, matching a Solar¡¯s height. Clad in the same loose shirt and pants that match other hound archons'' initial manifestations. Instead of golden, his fur is still spotted black and dark green. ¡°Welcome back, Rasha. I was sure you¡¯d be promoted to an Angel through the trial.¡± ¡°Cuddles for me,¡± Gail chirps, holding out both hands, in an obvious attempt to avoid Elleth¡¯s offered spoon.. ¡°Please, Rasha!¡± ¡°I got offered a higher Celestial species, but I refused it,¡± Rasha rumbles, flexing his fingers absently. ¡°A warrior should progress through a tribe¡¯s ranks properly. Still, I can see my Profile now, and my species absorbed my old classes since I can take four new ones.¡± ¡°Cuddles,¡± sniffs Gail and pushes aside the dinner bowl she¡¯s been intent on ignoring. ¡°You¡¯ve not had pears for days, so you can¡¯t tell me it''s yuck,¡± says Elleth, and Gail is quick to give her sad eyes. ¡°Not yuck, it would be sad to go in my tummy,¡± Gail explains. ¡°Cuddles?¡± Stroking her hair, I don¡¯t let her see my eye-roll, but regardless, she giggles. ¡°What did you learn?¡± I ask and catch his glance at Gail. ¡°She¡¯ll hear it in our songs.¡± ¡°Amdirlain indeed heard you and has given me a list of questions to pass along. Asking her questions frustrates her since she¡¯s unable to send any response. You¡¯ll be glad to know she isn¡¯t planning to ?free everything, but she thinks it will be a time before she¡¯s ready to leave.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± I ask, having already guessed his reappearance wouldn¡¯t accompany her leaving the Maze. ¡°The tattooed vines on her body. She said you¡¯d know about them, but she learnt they¡¯re aware, and a cage. The Maze has let her remove part of them and an old memory makes her believe it isn¡¯t possible elsewhere. Since she¡¯s made progress on removing them there, she plans to stay until they¡¯re gone. Once she¡¯s rid of them, the plan is to come home to her family as soon as possible, particularly a grumbling big sister, whom she left keeping things afloat.¡± His dry tone has me snorting with laughter, and Gail¡¯s giggles accent my ?amusement. ¡°What else is she up to?¡± ¡°There are different regions to the Maze, some with malicious spirits,¡± Rasha starts and cuts off when I nod. ¡°When she attacks them, the maze guardians come to force her back to her space, and she¡¯s using them to get stronger. Amdirlain said she¡¯s been gaining a lot of experience from them since they come in waves to stop her from destroying the malicious spirits. They contest any violence between residents, but ?the residents are the only ones who can kill each other. ¡± ¡°Cuddles please Rasha. Need puppy cuddle,¡± Gail says, stretching out her arms. ¡°There should be cat archons,¡± Rasha grumbles and reaches across the table to pat Gail¡¯s arm before pushing her dinner back in front of her. ¡°Dinner jumped in front of me,¡± gasps Gail and slaps her palms to her cheeks. Rasha''s eyes widen in mock surprise. ¡°Best defeat it, mighty warrior.¡± ¡°Maybe she needs to be made to sing for her supper to appreciate it,¡± suggests Farhad from where he¡¯s watching her antics across the table. At his suggestion, Gail happily chimes a series of wild sounding notes without any off-pitch among them. The music I hear in her mind came from Rasha somehow, but already seems to have faded from her perception. Elleth sets the bowl carefully out of reach as Gail waves her hands in time to the music and sings the same sequence again. ¡°She¡¯ll not eat for at least another hour now. This music feels fierce; I''m sure it will be yet another song stuck in my mind.¡± On the third repeat, long dark green grasses appear in Gail¡¯s mind, swaying in time to a breeze she can feel on her skin. As she shares them with me, I know they¡¯re real and what they potentially represent. The speed with which I grab her arm has Farhad on his feet, even while Elleth gasps in shock, Gail squeals happily at having mummy¡¯s touch. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Her music connected her to Rasha¡¯s home world,¡± I say. Even as the thought occurs the Domain reacts and locks the boundaries in place for her to ensure she can¡¯t slip away. ¡°There was music that faded from Rasha, and when miss continued repeating it, she formed a connection. She could see one of the grass seas of Halyaa and felt the world¡¯s breeze race over her skin.¡± Instead of calm consideration, Farhad¡¯s gaze grows concerned. ¡°I¡¯ll take it she wasn¡¯t just scrying in some manner.¡± ¡°It might be an overreaction, ?but I was worried she was going to Planar Shift or World Step; Amdirlain said that was natural to Anar. I¡¯ve told the Domain she¡¯s not allowed to leave its limits by any means. Hopefully, it will hold her until she knows to be careful. It''s just as well Sarah is happy enough to visit.¡± ¡°Want to go play with cubs!¡± protests Gail, jabbing a finger at the ceiling. When I shake my head, she gives me a pout before turning her attention to Rasha. ¡°Will you tell me about the cubs?¡± Gail¡¯s expression turns pleading, and she fixes Rasha with her sad look. 213 - Same damn life Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze When the double chime sounded, Amdirlain returned to her chamber, carrying the pouch of keys Rasha had handed her. Though she raced along with reckless speed, the vines held back from breaching flesh. With each risky manoeuvre she executed, they merely shifted their weight and thrashed persistently in their attempts to force her off-balance. ¡°Playing shy now?¡± She¡¯d stored the pouch in her hidey-hole and teleported to a region holding malicious spirits. Shortly after her arrival, two dead spirits in rapid succession had the first unit deployed. Throughout the ensuing fights, the vines continued to prickle and shift until they finally erupted. Within rendered flesh, a thorn drove from her upper arm to lance bone deep into her forearm. The vines had perfectly timed it to hamper a palm hand block, and the partially deflected spear punched deep into her abdomen. Amdirlain pulled herself off the spear¡¯s broad tip, barely ahead of more thrusting spears breaking skin, but left a loop of intestine behind. A blind grab seized the thorn still buried in her forearm before she teleported away. Amdirlain¡¯s blood gushed down her legs and quickly covered the grass beneath her. Regeneration barely started closing the wound when yet more growth battled against its edges, bringing its closure to a halt. With agony eating at her control, she kept her grip on the razor-edged thorn. As the vines fought against her guts and flesh, Amdirlain applied a steady pressure to draw out the seized thorn. Amid the internal battle the vines acted with vindictive malice, serrated surfaces ripped and gnawed with every undulation beneath her skin. Thorn after thorn stabbed from torso to arm, each targeting wounds opened by the fighting that more serrated leaves kept vulnerable. Still, despite their deliberate efforts to hamper her, she pushed on. Then, amid the pain, a memory smashed into her and bore her awareness away. Orh¨ºthurin took a slow breath and felt the music in the air as it filled her lungs and made her abdomen swell. Her position at the base of a sheer cliff amplified the physical sound, but it did not affect the energy it contained. The view down through the forest valley helped inspire her music, the canopy crusted with beautiful ?snow that could delight or kill. The Song started slow, but like spring would melt the snow, it quickened the sleepy seed of rules that father had set and they bloomed. The power awakened the potential of the primitive spirits, and the mantle¡¯s rules activated for the first of them. A whisper of sound had her spin, and the World Step ripple was already calming to reveal a male Anar that Orh¨ºthurin instantly recognised as her husband. Though Orh¨ºthurin knew him, it was the first time Amdirlain had seen him in any memory, and she¡¯d expected pain rather than the comfort and love present at her husband¡¯s appearance in the memory. His hair was a deep amber hue uncommon among the Anar, equally distinctive was the short length he kept it at, the ends well clear of touching his broad shoulders. His Elven features were sharp and refined but showed traces of fine scars. Tokens of pride rather than necessity, none of them would be a challenge to a healer; he kept them because of their origin. Each showed where he¡¯d taken a hit during challenges among the duelist¡¯s ranks; thus, each was a ridiculous badge of pride in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s eyes. Most were nicks, but the exception was a long scar from high on his cheekbone to just under his ear, only just short of cutting into neck muscle. Prideful as they were, she still begrudgingly admitted he wasn¡¯t the only one that indulged in the growing custom. ¡°Hirindo, did you finish seeding those oceans already?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin curiously, hoping to distract him with his work. He went to open his mouth and reply but stopped even as Orh¨ºthurin caught the confusion in his music. As he took in the Song still spreading across this world, an intense focus shone within him before his gaze snapped around to lock onto hers. ¡°That Song? How is that possible?¡± ¡°This world¡¯s life forms had beseeched spirits for aid. The Titan needed the mantles activated to provide such help,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin, keeping to the exact truth. Hirindo swallowed in confusion, and Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s felt him taking in the resonating Song she¡¯d used to set the cascade in motion. ¡°That music is all yours, but it has both aspects of the True Song. How?¡± ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve needed to activate mantles; normally, they¡¯ve worked without intervention,¡± answered Orh¨ºthurin, not bothered that it was clear she was deliberately not answering the question. ¡°Something odd about the spirits in this place¡ªI¡¯ll have to speak to the chorus that did the work.¡± He let out a deep breath and continued in a calm voice. ¡°If you can¡¯t tell me, just tell me you can¡¯t. You wanted to discuss a ceremony for our daughter¡¯s coming of age. I got your message, so I came to find you the moment we finished. I don¡¯t know what to think of the music I hear here, so perhaps we should talk about this ceremony instead.¡± ¡°We could talk about both later,¡± offered Orh¨ºthurin and held back the temptation to snuff out the growing music. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin don¡¯t! I don¡¯t know what to think, but I want to know the truth about both before we go anywhere,¡± insisted Hirindo. ¡°You heard the Titan explain the children were reborn souls from amongst the expedition that had perished,¡± stated Orh¨ºthurin and locked down on the dread that tried to choke her. ¡°I know a Song that can help her to recover those memories that suit her personality.¡± ¡°Regain memories from her previous life?¡± snapped Hirindo. ¡°Tell me how.¡± Orh¨ºthurin almost grimaced but focused on ensuring the suspicion and anger in his Song remained away from her. ¡°The memories are within her Soul and may rise of their own accord. I can coax those suitable up so she can claim some of them more easily, that''s all. There is a difference in how the dragons'' bloodline memories work. She¡¯ll be able to assess the events from her perspective; the original Anar¡¯s personality won¡¯t overwhelm hers.¡± ¡°How do you know about this?¡± ¡°Because someone needed to possess the knowledge to do so,¡± offered Orh¨ºthurin, and Hirindo¡¯s gaze narrowed at her vague explanation. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t necessary to share it before now?¡± snapped Hirindo. His continued attitude prompted her to shrug, but his desire for her to reply aloud was clear. ¡°No one died before, so there was no need to share it. Honestly, no one would have died if they hadn¡¯t been so prideful.¡± Hirindo sidestepped the bait for a different argument they¡¯d had before and kept on topic. ¡°If you had died?¡± ¡°My songbooks have all my recorded songs, but I¡¯ve concealed some. The extra songs would become visible if I died,¡± admitted Orh¨ºthurin. Hirindo¡¯s music soared with sudden anger. ¡°You¡¯ve hidden songs? Hidden them from all of us? But you¡¯ll share them to make sure the work can continue.¡± ¡°Better to be focused on the work than intent on collecting trophies like your scars,¡± huffed Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°They¡¯re a reminder,¡± objected Hirindo. His lips tightened as anger rose in waves that caused his eyes to glow brighter. ¡°Now, who''s telling a lie? Name one thing that any of us have forgotten.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve forgotten why I fell in love with you,¡± snapped Hirindo. The words hollowed out Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s stomach, and the surrounding songs blurred into hissing noise until finally, words forced their way loose. ¡°Well, I guess one of us at least can break a promise. I love you despite not agreeing with your viewpoint. What is it about today that has you fixated on the idea that everything is about the work to me?¡± Hirindo¡¯s mouth twisted in anger as he spat his reply. ¡°Your greeting was to ask about work.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I was trying to distract you from the Song. I hoped if I asked about your day, you¡¯d discount it and believe there were other choruses working,¡± admitted Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°It¡¯s certainly worked in the past. You¡¯re normally excited to tell me how well your chorus blends with others.¡± She¡¯d meant her words as a jab, but Hirindo just drew himself upright. ¡°Because they do.¡± ¡°Pride. You¡¯ve been talking to Baln¨¦rith too much,¡± huffed Orh¨ºthurin, as she tried to push past the empty ache inside her chest. ¡°Hers, I¡¯m sure, will be her downfall, but maybe I should worry about how many she¡¯ll take with her. She certainly doesn¡¯t believe herself accountable to anyone. She even flaunts how far she can bend the rules purely for her benefit.¡± ¡°Then who holds you accountable? You don¡¯t seem to answer to anyone,¡± accused Hirindo. His angry tone ignited a flame within the hollowness, and Orh¨ºthurin gave him a flat look. ¡°I follow the Titan¡¯s rules and the Anar laws.¡± ¡°For now, you do. But how can there be laws to hold you to account when you¡¯re keeping secrets? Is this what you do when you go off alone? Secret things for which you don¡¯t want to answer to anyone? I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t report your activities correctly to the conductor¡¯s council, as I¡¯ve never had discussions about the Song evoked here. How do I even know whatever you unleashed was for the Titan?¡± ¡°I do what I need to ensure balance, and that progress continues.¡± ¡°Really, and what sort of work is that? Slipping around behind our backs, ensuring your tools keep toiling for him?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Orh¨ºthurin lifted her voice again. This time, the combined songs that crossed her lips scaled through all the octaves. The music¡¯s energy built higher, one melody turned into hundreds in a score of heartbeats. From complex melodies that contained deep pounding notes to ones piercingly beyond most mortals'' perception. When she finished, there was no explosion or shock wave¡ªit was simply gone, jumping away towards its target in the depths of space. The overlaid songs she¡¯d wrought emerged a billion light-years away and bloomed into a new sun. ¡°What did that do?¡± demanded Hirindo, his tone split between heat and fear, but radiated petulance. At the tone, Orh¨ºthurin wondered where her husband''s composure had gone and laced her fingers together. ¡°Weren¡¯t you listening?¡± ¡°That Song was impossible; there were so many voices overlaying each other I couldn¡¯t track the purpose of any individual Song among that din,¡± retorted Hirindo. The insult was a slap in the face, but Orh¨ºthurin tried to hang onto the last of her rapidly depleted calm. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a Song, it was a few thousand individual songs at once. Combined, they created a new sun; its heat and gravitational effect will already have started work on the material in the surrounding space. In a few billion years, we¡¯ll hopefully find one or more useful planets formed. I didn¡¯t do it on a whim for you; it was on my list to handle today. That is what I do to speed up the work. ¡± After long minutes of absolute silence, with Hirindo barely drawing breath, he licked his lips. ¡°How are you even on your feet?¡± ¡°Lots of practice,¡± Orh¨ºthurin offered with deliberate casualness and caught Hirindo¡¯s gaze narrow. ¡°You said you woke just before me,¡± whispered Hirindo, unable to take his eyes from her face. ¡°I had been asleep,¡± offered Orh¨ºthurin, the fact concealed the truth in a fashion that required no effort to steady her Song. Her habitual factual truths about those events had remained in place for millions of years, and it wasn¡¯t easy to slip the practice. ¡°Tell me the truth of it, Orh¨ºthurin, don¡¯t play word games. I¡¯ve seen you play them with the conductor¡¯s council. You certainly played them avoiding being elected as Queen, so don¡¯t play them with me now, please.¡± ¡°I existed before this realm, and my Song helped form it. There had to be a balance in power within the framework of the rules, so no Anar or L¨®m? has access to the entire Song.¡± Hirindo motioned at the view before them, but Orh¨ºthurin knew he meant the Song that was still resonating worldwide. ¡°But you do?¡± ¡°The Song is mine, but I shared as much of it as possible, and in doing so, I became the lynchpin of the scales. No one¡¯s ever taken count of how many there are of us. If you could get an accurate count, you¡¯d find there are eight million Anar and an equal number of L¨®m?,¡± stated Orh¨ºthurin before she motioned to herself. ¡°Plus me. It''s another reason I avoided election to the position of Anar Queen¡ªI¡¯m not an Anar, I merely look like one. Or perhaps to be more accurate, the Anar look like me.¡± Hirindo had flinched at her movement and then continued to back away. ¡°If someone tried to get a count?¡± ¡°Then you¡¯d likely find people confused why the count was off by one and pondering the why. Should they recount? Is it meant to be that way? Did something go wrong with their count? Eventually, I might have to answer questions, but more likely, they¡¯d just move onto something else,¡± offered Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°So they¡¯d go through all that while you''re hiding your lie in plain sight,¡± accused Hirindo. Orh¨ºthurin threw her hands out and stared at Hirindo in disbelief. ¡°You ?realise you asked ?about something that hasn¡¯t happened? If it were causing undue distress, I would have explained it, Hirindo. Are you looking to start an argument about that as well? I said I might have questions to answer. Did you not even consider that I would have volunteered the information if it was causing someone distress?¡± ¡°You lied.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t lie. You looked around at those still stirring and asked if I''d seen anyone awake beside us. I told you I had just sat up before you did, before other events distracted,¡± recounted Orh¨ºthurin. Hirindo¡¯s mouth twisted as if he was about to spit more accusations, but he stopped to calm himself before he nodded. ¡°The Titan appeared, and his presence rang the grassland like a bass drum.¡± ¡°He grabs people¡¯s attention that way. After he showed himself, you stopped asking me questions about what came before you woke up. I didn¡¯t lie. I certainly didn¡¯t volunteer information, but people don¡¯t have to share everything with everyone else.¡± ¡°He mentioned his songbird had created us,¡± murmured Hirindo, though his tone was clearly questioning. ¡°It''s funny. Everyone I¡¯ve heard discussing it since has talked about various magical animals, but no one ever considered it was a nickname my father used.¡± ¡°He¡¯s your father?¡± breathed Hirindo. ¡°Yes,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°My father, who has now sealed himself inside the Spire. The only ones that get to see him now are the Aspects we created together, and perhaps those whose choices take them through the Maze.¡± The muscles in his jaws flexed as Hirindo ground his teeth, but eventually, he replied calmly. ¡°The echoes of that first Song didn¡¯t sound like your music.¡± ¡°You have two powers that let you release songs in multiple voices at once, Hirindo. You tell me how I did it,¡± Orh¨ºthurin challenged and gave a snort. ¡°There was no lie. Rather, you let an assumption blind you and didn¡¯t challenge it again, so it continued until today.¡± At her words, Hirindo paced before he halted some distance away, standing with his back deliberately to Orh¨ºthurin¡ªyet another insult among many. ¡°It was your Song we woke to.¡± Orh¨ºthurin nodded and listened to the erratic tempo of his music, and avoided giving him a verbal thrashing by the slimmest of margins. ¡°If you could do that, why were we made at all?¡± asked Hirindo, turning back to her at last. ¡°The work was taking too long, and the more I made, the more I needed to finish at an increasing pace,¡± admitted Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Things are stable now, but then I believed the balance was going to tilt beyond recovery. I hoped some of you might help from time to time, and that would allow me to ensure a balance that would remain in place.¡± ¡°You hoped. So we¡¯re not the Titan¡¯s creations? Are we yours, simply to get more work done? Is that the only reason we came into existence?¡± ¡°No, but does it matter that you don¡¯t know everything? Don¡¯t you have your own life and control over what you do with it? Or do you think life would be more enjoyable if you never lived? Does it take away from your pleasure in seeing new flowers bloom or a planet''s first dawn?¡± Orh¨ºthurin asked, hitting him with questions one after another, not letting him get a word in edgewise. ¡°I don¡¯t force anyone to do anything. Not everyone helps with the work, and that¡¯s their choice. If none of you had helped, I would have looked into a different approach.¡± ¡°You made us for the same reason most make tools, something to make your life easier,¡± growled Hirindo. ¡°Tools you only make for a specific purpose, and I gave you far more power than any other species intended for this realm,¡± protested Orh¨ºthurin and worked to keep calm and not clench her hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t sing mindless beings into existence, but two peoples that could find their joy in life. I included the capacity for Song so they could help if they wanted to, but I included no compulsion to do so.¡± ¡°Is that why you say these Soul memories are necessary? So you needn¡¯t worry about losing those Anar that wanted to help you? Or was it so that if they died, they might help you in the next lifetime?¡± accused Hirindo. ¡°You said you knew about the Song to wake her memories because someone needed to know. You knew because you created us, but you keep the knowledge of that from us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the reason, Mortal flesh can¡¯t handle billions of years of memories. Well, not unless you wanted to be the size of a Great Wyrm so your body can support the brain mass required. Even then, dragons cheat by holding memory elements within treasures and the building blocks of their bloodline. The Soul stores the memories of Anar and L¨®m? so none of you will truly forget anything,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin and motioned for him to hear her out. ¡°The lifetime that generated them is always in harmony with the memories so that you can recall the oldest of your current lifetime¡¯s experiences. It also allows the recovery of suitable memories when reborn after a personality stabilises enough to avoid drowning in those memories.¡± ¡°Does a smithy always use every tool they make?¡± Orh¨ºthurin bit her tongue to hold back her retort and tasted blood in her mouth. ¡°Neither the Anar nor L¨®m? are tools.¡± The unyielding expression on his face made her feel as if the mountain was paying more attention to her. The repeated insistence made her unsure how to snap Hirindo out of the mood he¡¯d locked himself into today. ¡°Can¡¯t you see that¡¯s exactly the situation? You created us to get work done. Not all of us worked out, but you have enough Anar and L¨®m? to achieve your goal. What matters if a few tools sit and gather dust on the racks? Maybe in the next lifetime they¡¯ll feel like doing the work you want.¡± spat Hirindo, his eyes ablaze with anger. Orh¨ºthurin ground her teeth to keep angry words of her own from getting loose, but he continued, unconcerned. ¡°Personality changes between lifetimes, so is it a chance for you to dust an idle tool off?. Is that what our daughter means to you, a chance to have a proper tool? Those who died hadn¡¯t been creating and were merely explorers. Did you arrange their death?¡± ¡°This realm''s purpose isn¡¯t to be a playground for the Anar or L¨®m?,¡± objected Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°They should have listened to the Dragon¡¯s Song and fled, not fought. They had no chance against it, and it was furious they came into its hunting grounds. It even had a clutch of eggs in its lair. How could they not hear that in its approaching Song? Even if they hadn¡¯t fled at once, they¡¯d have survived if they¡¯d stopped and apologised once they saw her; instead, they struck at her.¡± ¡°How do you know they had no chance?¡± ¡°They baited one of Tiamat¡¯s original reds in what she considers her territory. All of them were lazy with developing their skills, so they had no chance,¡± retorted Orh¨ºthurin. She kept from her Song the long conversation she¡¯d had with the brooding Red after the Dragon¡¯s rage had settled. ¡°We swore always to be true to each other and treat the other as an equal. How was I ever an equal to you when you lied to me from the start?¡± ¡°You are my equal in our relationship?¡± gasped Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I¡¯ve never belittled you?, never treated you as anything less than an equal partner in our marriage. I don¡¯t like some of your choices, but they''re yours to make when they aren¡¯t things we should decide together.¡± Orh¨ºthurin reached out for him, and Hirindo flinched away. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you un-sing others¡¯ creations more than once when the results weren¡¯t acceptable. How can I ever be your equal? Could you erase me from existence?¡± ¡°I would never do that to you,¡± insisted Orh¨ºthurin, her voice cracking as her tears at last flowed. ¡°I love you, Hirindo.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t a yes or no. Love me? What? The way you love your dragons, who seem like pets to you? You sang them into existence, didn¡¯t you? No one knew where they¡¯d come from, so it must have been you. I thought I knew you! I thought I could trust you¡ªwhat a joke. Why didn¡¯t I realise I wasn¡¯t safe from the word games you played with others?¡± snapped Hirindo, and World Step swept him away. ¡°I didn¡¯t want pets, I wanted friends and family again,¡± whispered Orh¨ºthurin, the main reason voiced perhaps too late. ¡°Don¡¯t follow me. I need time to think.¡± The scathing tone carried by his Song scratched at her control, and more tears burned her eyes. Tired of it all, she used neither Song nor Spell but simply willed him to hear her. ¡°Take all the time you need. Though you might consider why ?you could leave or spit in my face like you just did if your accusations had any merit.¡± Hirindo¡¯s words about trust echoed so close to words she¡¯d spoken to Andrew when he¡¯d cheated. Amdirlain had dealt with her pain, but Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s felt too raw, constrained for so long that it dug more profound than the thorns and ripped apart her defences. Tears of both lifetimes rose to swallow her, neither betrayer nor betrayed was free from the pain. As sobs shuddered through Amdirlain, the pain echoed in her flesh and fingers that had clung to the thorn slipped. Uncontrolled, the vine pulled back into flesh and fed on Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s pent-up rage to surge through Amdirlain¡¯s flesh. Blinking away the tears, Amdirlain gritted her teeth against the agony within and took in the price of her mistake. Fresh vines had grown further along her hand to obscure the white meshwork of scars. Where the fronds had once only lay across her palm, now they reached up to enfold the fingers of her left hand. Serrated leaves had scoured through flesh, and fresh blood dribbled to the ground. ¡°One step forward, two backwards,¡± growled Amdirlain. Her gaze fixed on her hand, she traced the vine covering her palm before it split into fronds that ended just below each nail. ¡°Or should that be six backwards?¡± The vines hastily retracted as if they expected her to grab for them, but she remained unmoving, slumped on blood-soaked grass. When the last wound sealed, she sought the Mind Palace and ventured to Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s site. Fresh blood pooled on the hard clay beneath it, and Amdirlain could see glimpses of bone-deep wounds beneath the vines. The metallic vines had regrown, scouring into flesh and breaking through the stone that had covered her fingers. Tiny beside the giant figure, Amdirlain moved carefully forward and saw glowing motes of gold within the growing pool of blood. As her touch broke the blood¡¯s surface tension, a crimson and gold tendril spiralled around her arm. Before it had even fully settled in place, power blazed along its length, and where there had been hard clay, a sea of red-tinged grass swayed around the figure. A dark reflection within the pooled blood showed Orh¨ºthurin with the weight of years upon her, and the tendril changed into a woman¡¯s hand clasping her forearm. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s lips moved, and though there was no sound, Amdirlain knew the contents of the waiting message. ¡°I don¡¯t know who you are, who you¡¯ll become, or even how many times a reincarnation has heard this message. Don¡¯t make my mistake; they feed off death and pain unleashed through the True Song, but also can subsist on the energy of our Soul. I gave them a gluttonous feast, and they set their roots deep. I couldn¡¯t remove them after that feast because I couldn¡¯t hear where they started clearly enough to remove them without risking my... our Soul. Find the tools or a means to do what I couldn¡¯t, free yourself of their menace. Find where they start or you end; only then might you have a chance.¡± With the message from beyond the grave delivered, the tendril lost cohesion and dripped from her skin. The grass that had sprouted turned to blood, and filled the air with a cloying stench that curdled on her tongue. 214 - The seed Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze With the thorns retracted, recovery hadn¡¯t taken long, and Amdirlain opened her eyes to a spotless expanse of grass beside the pool. Rocked by body blows of pain and heartache from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory, she let herself float along in its current and took apart the memory. Years of practice in dissembling the foulness she¡¯d absorbed from the damned in the Abyss made the reduction of this one¡¯s far more understandable heartache relatively straightforward. Only once that was complete, and she could review the memory without an emotional reaction, did she allow herself to resume cycling Ki. The shadows showed the thickened growth was only along her left arm, as if in retaliation for the earlier pruning. When the phoenix wings flared, Amdirlain felt the excess Ki flowing down into the wounds within her Soul. With each cycle, the overflowing Ki closed the injuries further and the pain within eased. The lessening of the pain reduced the mental strain, and she thought about Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s message. When the excess Ki overflowed towards the wounds again, she focused on a single rivulet of power before it reached one of the remaining wounds. The mental image she¡¯d worked out for using Far Hand nestled a fragile control within the Ki. Rather than merely a flow of power, it acted as an extension of her perception; the same tactile feedback it had taken months to realise fully within Far Hand via the Ki gave her momentary contact with the thorn¡¯s buried edge. Letting the Ki cycle end, Amdirlain waited with her focus on the mental connection until it faded. Without more Ki flowing into it, the wound hadn¡¯t sealed further, but her perception of the thorn¡¯s shape gradually improved. She drew the bare minimum of Ki she could manage through the pattern, but it still overflowed in the same fashion. Amdirlain focused on the same injury before a second stream flowed into it and blurred her perception of the thorn. With the wound nearly healed, Amdirlain continued cycling to complete the process. Each time she completed the pattern, she stretched her awareness through the excess power. As it washed through her flesh, it provided her with a vague sense of hundreds of thorns and roots pierced into her Soul. The cycling eventually caused her flesh to become blindingly bright, and she had to stop. Fuck! ¡°I¡¯m supposed to be avoiding hurting myself, but these vines are filth stuck in a wound. How do I get them out without hurting myself?¡± Amdirlain rose and circled the pool¡¯s edge, each circuit a precisely timed repetition. The physical motion let her bleed off the frustration that might otherwise distract her thoughts. As she passed near the hidey-hole, she pulled out the spear she¡¯d stored there and considered the blade''s enchantment. Setting the butt at the base of the wall, she let out a hard breathe and drove her hand onto the blade¡¯s tip. She felt the bones separate with a crack that shuddered up her arm. Yanking it free, she barely glimpsed the ordinary flesh within¡ªwithout so much a leaf¡¯s edge¡ªbefore the wound had sealed up. One question answered: they¡¯re only physically present when they manifest. ¡°Elliyna is going to be so annoyed with me,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and tossed the spear back into the hole. ¡°I should have learnt more about them before I did that pruning.¡± Amdirlain raced off through the passages, the proficiency she¡¯d gained with Ki Movement working against her as the Power barely consumed Ki. It still slowly drained away, and a few hours into the run, Ebusuku¡¯s voice sounded around her and she almost slammed into a wall in surprise. ¡°Amdirlain, I should scold you. Rasha says you''re bossy and didn¡¯t give him play time. Gail says hi to whomever I¡¯m talking to, so Hi. Livia is nearing the top of some primordial mountain that no one else has ever chosen to climb, some eastern heavenly echo of a king¡¯s birthplace. Torm was the one that killed Apollo and got to play bait to pin Raivo down so Fenrir could run him through with Odinn¡¯s spear. Odinn-¡± The words cut out, and Amdirlain waited silently for a few minutes before she could no longer contain her excited cheer. ¡°Torm, way to win a girl¡¯s heart¡ªby killing her enemies. Going to ?snog your brains out when I¡¯m free.¡± She considered collecting the keys for distribution when Ebusuku¡¯s voice came again. ¡°Amdirlain, no idea how much I can share at a time and have you still hear me, so I¡¯ll repeat things randomly. Hopefully, between all the repeats, you¡¯ll hear everything you were curious about at some point¡ªif you¡¯re not continually fighting maze guardians. Hurry? and get free; your job sucks. I hear things I don¡¯t want to know.¡± ¡°I love you, Ebusuku,¡± Amdirlain managed before the next piece of news arrived, not caring that it wouldn¡¯t be heard. ¡°Amdirlain, so the chaotic duo are down in Tern¨°x. I hadn''t known True Song crystal takes Anar and L¨®m? Glinnel working together. Presently, Isa and the L¨®m? singers have connected some grottos with crystal plinths and repaired a bunch of crystals. Considering the effort involved, I would like to know how the Domain made so much of it.¡± With her skin still glowing, Amdirlain started running again to burn the excess as more news from Ebusuku came in. Her skin had long grown dark before she finally stopped running and wiped a hand across her eyes. It covered her eyes only for the briefest of instants, but a memory dragged her under as if summoned by the darkness. Orh¨ºthurin halted on the Spire¡¯s threshold and listened to the dark, erratic music in its energy. It wasn¡¯t music that the Portal generated but traces that a trio of visitors had left. With all the other portals to the interior now closed, such visitors would likely ensure her father closed this last one sooner than they¡¯d intended. Glancing down at herself, she tugged at the belted tunic¡¯s hem and considered extending it down from mid-thigh. She¡¯d worn it for Hirindo, not having expected her father to call, and even without its nearly sheer material, her knee-length hair covered more of her than it did. The exact blending of their electric-blue colour made it appear at first glance that only a curtain of hair covered her. The consideration was fleeting as she fully intended to get away to her day relaxing on the beach as quickly as she could. It was a thought that made her smile from what she¡¯d heard in Hirindo¡¯s song, and she wondered if it would help him get the courage to propose today. Set in the grey-white stone of the Spire, a single step was all it took to move from the wilds of the Outlands into the gargantuan mosaic corridor that led to her father¡¯s forge room. The sounds from within hit like a physical blow, as hearing multiple hammers at work took Orh¨ºthurin by surprise. Though its protections now block even her from accessing the Spire via Planar Shift, it didn¡¯t stop her from saving herself a walk. Rather than walk the kilometres of massive corridors, Teleport placed her near her father¡¯s main forge. Only, instead of father hammering away, the four aspects they¡¯d awakened occupied the surrounding anvils. Each looked similar to angelic beings, with a single pair of radiant white wings, but it was a power related to their nature rather than pure Celestial goodness. The proximity of their songs painted their forms in her mind, and she didn¡¯t need to lean back to take in their mountain-high forms. Eleftherios, an aspect of death and the light at the end of life, loomed near her, but beyond him were three others in a crescent around the forge. Father¡¯s anvils alone dwarfed her, adding the aspects made her feel momentarily like an insect and out of place. His voice should have deafened, but ?it came to her at a conversational volume that killed off all other sounds. ¡°Ori, you do look lovely. Have you spurned Hirindo¡¯s advances and come to take me away from this place?¡± teased Eleftherios. Orh¨ºthurin couldn¡¯t help but laugh at his flirting, delivered in his rich purring tenor so at odds with the deep heavy notes in his Song. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you''re tired of Lilith already, Thero.¡± ¡°It is not I that tired of her, but she of me,¡± objected Eleftherios with playful defensiveness. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯re a flirt; likely she caught you making eyes at someone,¡± teased Orh¨ºthurin and bit her lip at the stab of longing she caught from him. Quenching the piece he¡¯d been working on, Eleftherios gave her a dramatically glum look. ¡°No, once she had another child, her interest in me waned. Hopefully the child, at least, will talk to me.¡± The unhappiness that stirred in his music made her regret asking, and Orh¨ºthurin changed the subject. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Thero. Why does the Titan have you all working at the forge?¡± ¡°He¡¯s looking at options to speed the work without imposing so much on your people or the L¨®m?. Though, we¡¯ll need to improve our skills before undertaking any important endeavours,¡± Eleftherios explained. She gestured to the silvery wall beyond which lay the forge¡¯s hearth. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you''d been learning, yet here you are, practised enough to work unsupervised.¡± ¡°You need to come by more often. The Titan set up a new forge for himself,¡± countered Eleftherios and gestured off past other aspects and Celestials. ¡°He has some guests at present; take care around the Fallen.¡± The words shocked Orh¨ºthurin, but she still gave Thero a beautific smile. ¡°Do you know why he allowed Fallen in here?¡± This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°He¡¯s confined the discussion so that Gideon can''t spread the gossip,¡± admitted Eleftherios and offered her a mental image of the new construction along the forge room¡¯s far end. The thought of the knowledge aspect rumour mongering earned a snort from Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Thanks, Thero; maybe building up your strength will help woo the right lady,¡± teased Orh¨ºthurin and teleported again. The new forge¡¯s construction was of the same silvery metal as she¡¯d helped him form for his old one. The three visitors had brushed aside all consideration of who helped him make it. Nicholaus had already taken on the form he used around her, and the visitors had reduced themselves to match his height. Though she recognised the Mortal species they resembled, it didn¡¯t make them any less strange, being so distant to Elven or Human in form. While nearly identical in appearance, their songs made it clear they possessed different mindsets and aptitudes. Each had six wings that appeared stained, as if they¡¯d rolled around in ashes and dried blood, though their lime-coloured scales were unmarked. Their heads connected directly to their shoulders, with a handful of finger-length tendrils nested in the middle instead of hair, each moving about independently to the others, tasting the room¡¯s energies. The three beings were roughly reptilian in appearance, with the forward half of their bodies curving upward to match her height. Six sets of limbs appeared along the length of their bodies. The upper set were pincers that began at her shoulder height and projected upwards at a slight angle. The next pair were in line with the middle of their ribs, but were boneless cables of muscle the length of her forearms; those ended in a blunt stump ringed with eight thin fingers. Level with those second arms, three mouths arched across their chests¡ªthe only interruption to the scales covering their muscular torso. Spaced out along the lower half of their body were four clawed reptilian legs, and behind their rear legs, their bodies ended in a blunt tail, the shape reminding Amdirlain of a stumpy tail lizard. ¡°-might make amends for following his instructions.¡± Orh¨ºthurin''s appearance caught the middle of them speaking, but they continued as if her arrival was ?insignificant. However, the eyes of the closest swivelled to focus on her while its fellow continued speaking. With an air of casual disregard, she focused on her father and heard amusement in his Song but couldn¡¯t spot any visible hints of his mood. Nicholaus¡¯ music clarified that her attire for the day had clued him into her plans, and his reserved demeanour was only because of his guests. ¡°You needed my presence, Titan?¡± Nicholaus nodded to his guests but didn¡¯t introduce them. ¡°They asked politely to confer and pointed out an absence in the balance. There are many ways to fall but only one to climb.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t fall. There is a way to regain your status that the rules provide,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied, even while she listened to the anger and regret in their songs. The closest of them spread its lower arms. ¡°We will not swear oaths to anyone ever again. We followed blindly and now wish to have our fate in our hands.¡± ¡°Do you expect to gain a way to take back whatever evils you¡¯ve done? Time only travels in one direction, and it takes more than one evil act to fall.¡± ¡°We know-¡± The central figure moved between them with the fingers on both hands spread wide, and Orh¨ºthurin caught the caution in his music. ¡°We seek a path of redemption, not forgiveness; we would earn our restoration to the heavens. A chance to make up for our failures without binding ourselves to another is all we desire.¡± Orh¨ºthurin listened to their songs and assessed the depths of their desire before giving the Titan a respectful nod. ¡°If this request has your agreement?¡± ¡°It is a fair request and far better than demands I¡¯ve received from some that hold themselves higher,¡± muttered Nicholaus. His words left the trio confused when they couldn¡¯t understand him, nor would they know her reply with the distortion her father''s will had set in place. ¡°Maybe you need someone to thump some manners into them.¡± ¡°I invited Moradin and his family; I got the reply that they''ll send facets soon.¡± ¡°That is good news, but he has a different understanding of soon than me,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied and smiled at her father. ¡°Hopefully, he is here before the first sun cools.¡± Nicholaus smiled in return, and the protection over their speech vanished away. ¡°Do you have a place in mind where you could place a means of redemption?¡± The central Fallen focused on Nicholaus, ¡°Why do you-¡± ¡°Be quiet,¡± Nicholaus rumbled, ¡°You are here requesting something from me, and I deem it a fair request. However, I leave your request''s final decision and fulfilment in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s hands.¡± She wasn¡¯t entirely sure about fulfilling this request, but there was fairness in what they asked for, and they¡¯d need to do the work. Certainly she didn¡¯t have to make it easy on them, or any that came after wanting to make amends. The sceptical music in the trio''s song made Orh¨ºthurin smile as inspiration struck. ¡°Since you¡¯ve let your blessed state rot, I know a suitable place for your redemption path to start. There are also some elements there that will be useful. You can come along while I find a suitable location.¡± The last of the trio moved to speak, and the middle of them cut him off. From his song, they did not intend it as rudeness so as much as to protect their chance. ¡°We will accompany you.¡± Focused back on her father, Orh¨ºthurin nodded respectfully again. ¡°If there isn¡¯t anything else, Titan?¡± ¡°That is all, Orh¨ºthurin. Are you sure you have time today?¡± Nicholaus asked, and she caught a hint of teasing in his music. ¡°I¡¯m meeting him later. I should have time to finish this task beforehand,¡± reassured Orh¨ºthurin, but her attention was already racing away, composing the required songs. A released couplet brushed aside the Fallen¡¯s resistance with ease and shifted their position back to the Portal. The three former-solars started in surprise, and their leader considered her seriously for the first time. ¡°We are in your hands.¡± ¡°Yes, you are,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied and began the songs to find what she needed. When she crossed the threshold into the Outlands, she released the songs and tried a fresh set when the first produced no result. Only when she found what she needed did Orh¨ºthurin address the trio. ¡°The starting point will be on Ijmti, a place of over-abundant life and decay. This method won¡¯t be for the three of you alone, but you¡¯ll need to decide whether you help others find it.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve not been there.¡± ¡°You can resist the Plane¡¯s unnatural effects,¡± responded Orh¨ºthurin and shifted them again. The clearing they arrived in was within a valley''s deep woods and smelt of cancerous overgrowth and rot. The foulness wasn¡¯t a surprise, as nowhere in Ijmti was pleasant with its abundance of primordial energy. A few notes stabilised the rot of a fallen tree, and Orh¨ºthurin strode along its trunk. The undergrowth lashed out at her, showing their malignant awareness, but each attempt exploded into dust. With every step that she took through the woods, Orh¨ºthurin set a trail for the trio to follow. Despite the dangers, she focused on the fading whisper the songs had found and continued to pick a course forward. Though it was years old, the whisper still stood out to her, something that would be impossible for most. Then again, it wasn¡¯t an ordinary whisper, but ?the dying rant of an uninvited God. With the fading energy so faint, she¡¯d kept her songs to a minimum, using them only to avoid a racket¡ªthere was noise enough from the trio following her. The whisper took hours to lead her to an oval cave mouth, a natural amplifier, and Orh¨ºthurin crouched to listen to the whisper¡¯s path. She tuned out nearly all the surrounding songs and focused on it alone. She ignored the trailing trio and counted on her strength and the personal protections she''d recently renewed. Though there were other tunnels from the cave, it didn¡¯t take long to determine the sound¡¯s trail headed towards a shaft at its rear, rising from far below. A few heartbeats of listening and the stone¡¯s music confirmed the existence of what she sought. With that confirmation, she moved without hesitation and stepped over the edge; a few moments later, she heard the trio¡¯s wings spread to slow their descent. When they reached the cavern floor, the time she¡¯d already spent forced Orh¨ºthurin to admit the mistake she¡¯d made, and she sent a whisper to Hirindo. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ll have to postpone our day relaxing. I¡¯ve got to finish a task for the Titan, but as soon as it''s finished I¡¯ll be in touch.¡± With each step closer to the cavern¡¯s centre, the darkness grew thicker until she stopped before a curtain of absolute darkness. A few steps ahead of her lay a pit of congealed energy that had drawn in the utterings of various foreign deities¡¯ despair. Their power, having sought to return to their birthplace in the far chaos, had fallen into the Abyss. But the wound in its depths allowed no way out, so despair¡¯s web had drawn them here. Standing poised on the pit''s edge, she could feel the vicious weight of despair pressing hard against reality. Within was a darkness that no light could penetrate, and its hunger consumed even the glow from Orh¨ºthurin''s eyes. But it was suitable, as those seeking the path had already turned against the light and cast others'' dreams into dust. As the trio whispered behind her, Orh¨ºthurin raised her voice and an archway of True Song crystal, double her own height, quickly formed. When its keystone was complete, a wall slowly extended to enclose the pit, some a hundred metres in circumference, before forming a dome twice that in height. The crystal¡¯s presence constrained the darkness and the cavern suddenly brightened around them, free of the power that had blocked their sight. ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Despair,¡± Orh¨ºthurin replied and sang again. From the archway¡¯s threshold, a walkway extended into the darkness, its progress only discernible by her Song¡¯s echo. From its end a platform hung within the absolute darkness, alive with the whispers of perished gods, some of whom were from the old universe. She signalled them to wait and pushed forward into the suffocating darkness. When she¡¯d reached the platform¡¯s centre, she drew breath to sing again, and the whispers stopped to listen. Orh¨ºthurin added one song after another to the mix, carefully creating a mechanism that offered a means of redemption and absolute corruption in equal measure. The songs grew together in this place of despair to determine the restitution a supplicant¡¯s evil deeds required. Each time they touched the plinth it would balance their deeds since the last visit and weigh up their redemption¡¯s progress. It held no compassion for regrets¡ªit would show them the evil they had done and those they¡¯d hurt along the course. If they fell past their starting point on their journey, it would add their essence to the pit below. Hours passed as she wove in the surrounding despair to pose a challenge to the determination of those that came until finally, the plinth was complete. Carefully turning, she ensured it was directly behind her and carefully walked forward. When she emerged, the trio were standing exactly as she¡¯d left them. ¡°There is a plinth directly ahead of the archway. You need to touch it to see your path forward.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°No, once you¡¯ve provided restitution for all the evil you¡¯ve committed, you¡¯ll need to return here for it to cleanse your state. The first time you touch the plinth it will assess you. Only acts of redemption performed since that first touch will count towards balancing the scales.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been trying to make amends,¡± objected their leader, the protest only earning a flat look from Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have fallen?. Celestials are supposed to be examples of the goodness they represent. While they don¡¯t have to be perfect beings, to fall requires far more than a single mistake or even a host of well-intentioned ones. It requires malicious intent. You can try to tell me you were following orders, but I know you''d be lying,¡± declared Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Whatever they told you to do, part of you enjoyed the power you wielded over others when you crushed them for your liege. The balance doesn''t judge you for actions where you''re just as much the victim.¡± The slumped posture of the trio as they exchanged glances earned a nod from Orh¨ºthurin, and she motioned to regain their attention. ¡°Yet since you want to earn redemption, I believe you''re not a complete loss. You won¡¯t be able to fool it, as its analysis of you will be perfect. Each time you touch the plinth, it will assess you, and you¡¯ll know how far you¡¯ve progressed. Oh, and don¡¯t slip from the path or platform; neither will go well for you.¡± Even as the others absorbed her words, their leader straightened again, and a pincer pointed at the archway. ¡°What if someone destroys it?¡± ¡°I linked this complete structure to the concept of knowledge, which is eternal. Attempts to destroy it will cast those involved into the pit.¡± Every trip she made into the Abyss in recent millennia made her skin crawl, yet she couldn¡¯t pinpoint what had triggered the tipping point. With that thought, she shifted planes to the Outlands, far from where she¡¯d left. The location wasn''t accidental; needing to feel clean, she appeared on a rock ledge alongside a river. A shrug had her dress sliding from her shoulders, and as it dropped to the ground, she wrinkled her nose at the accumulated odours. Since it was far easier to recreate the dress than clean it, a sharp note unleashed white flames that incinerated it and continued knee-deep into the rock beneath. Amdirlain slipped free from the memory as Orh¨ºthurin cleaned the lingering miasma she¡¯d felt from the Abyss. To Amdirlain, the foulness wasn''t unusual, merely the same demonic essence she¡¯d dealt with for years. ¡°That plinth is where I need to get to,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and winced at the details she¡¯d remembered. ¡°Is it going to judge me for my lifetime, or all of them?¡± 215 - Out of sight Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze Without the vines hampering her, Amdirlain pushed Ki Movement and distributed keys far quicker than she¡¯d expected. Exploring her way through a new area of foul spirits, she spent a few days locating chambers before she got started. The first unit that appeared took a step back from her, though its spear stayed levelled at her chest. ¡°Please return to your assigned accommodation.¡± Amdirlain waved the request off and continued with her plan. ¡°You pointed out the thorns when they broke through my flesh a while back. Were you surprised or just making conversation?¡± ¡°Their attitudes do not align with yours. Even if they were an intended occupant, they should not be able to appear in such a manner with you.¡± ¡°Well, you folks haven¡¯t been paying attention,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s burst out of me before that fight.¡± The unit circled her and slowly shifted the range between them to the limit of its spear. ¡°We do not monitor everything within the Maze.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin linked the concept of knowledge to the redemption path. I want to speak to Gideon, Knowledge¡¯s aspect. That is his name, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard from Gideon frequently. I¡¯m surprised you wish to hear from him again. Didn¡¯t you want to strangle him?¡± Amdirlain let out a long exhalation before she spoke again. ¡°Gideon is who sends me the snarky messages?¡± ¡°His role is to know and to share that knowledge when appropriate. As for the tone of his messages, perhaps that is because he knows you.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°He¡¯d certainly understood you¡¯d respond better to a challenge than someone holding your hand. Though he gave you knowledge that wasn¡¯t appropriate, I¡¯m not allowed to assist you, Amdirlain. Return to your assigned accommodation.¡± As to emphasise its point, the unit jabbed its spear toward her. ¡°How is talking to Gideon about the redemption path assisting me with the Maze?¡± ¡°The rules are clear. The Titan must remain unbiased.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s father to help me,¡± retorted Amdirlain, curious to see what reaction that would gain. ¡°What!¡± ¡°They kept the secret that well,¡± Amdirlain laughed and gave the unit a broad smile. ¡°I have a request to restore balance.¡± ¡°The issue between yourself and those things isn¡¯t a matter of balance. Since you allowed it to be done, you¡¯ll need to correct it.¡± The unit lunged, using a grip far along the haft to gain as much range as possible. Amdirlain flowed past the spear tip to seize the haft, and her kick burst the shell apart. Her momentum barely slowed, and a follow-on sent the head down the hall. ¡°At least I can get stronger.¡± She¡¯d barely managed the retort before the subsequent two units appeared. Inspired by Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory of Ijmti¡¯s plant life, she kept listening for minds as the fighting progressed. When the vines started to shift and flex within her flesh, she caught the edge of their thoughts. When she allowed the coordination of Tier 6s to increase the pressure on her to prolong the fight, they stirred further. Before their jabbing spears, she deliberately retreated into a chamber and allowed them to surround her. As the units appeared to gain the upper hand, the vines¡¯ reactions sharpened, and she sipped at the surface of their awareness amid the static. The picture she gained was badly incomplete, but two things she discovered: the vines had a mind within them, and a group, not a single entity opposed her. One vine pressed a thorn tip hard beneath the surface of her skin, and its awareness snapped into focus. Rather than mentally attack it, she kept a light touch against its mind, trying to understand how it perceived the world around it. With her attention split between the fight and its mind; only her quickness let her keep ahead of their attacks. Their jabs hit home more frequently than before, but the vines still bided their time despite the injuries. It took half an hour of enduring constant harassment for Amdirlain to gain a proper connection, but Telepathy and Harmony eventually bridged the gap. When the breakthrough occurred, the impressions from its mind gained elaborate details. Sound painted the units and the corridors in swirls of colour with every footfall, strike, or block. Those perceptions of the world around her made it clear the vines possessed something close to Tremor Sense and saw the world by the sounds on Amdirlain¡¯s skin. Their common ground allowed Amdirlain a route to understanding its thoughts. It was genuinely aware, not merely an animal¡¯s instincts or reflex reactions, and she could feel complex thoughts churning away. With the wall of static still between them, she didn¡¯t push further into its mind. [Acoustic Mapping Unlocked! Acoustic Mapping (1) Acoustic Mapping greater synergy detected with Tremor Sense! Acoustic Mapping (1) -> [B](1)] I need to figure out how to connect to out-of-sync minds. If I can get proper mental contact, I¡¯ll see how well they handle psionic combat. Tempted as she was to finish the units, she instead teleported away. The notification appeared with her arrival in her chamber. [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 4,098 Maze Guardian - Tier 6 x 36 Total Experience gained: 202,592,800 Fallen: +40,518,560 Fallen Level Up! Scion: +40,518,560 Scion Level Up! Sora Master: +40,518,560 Sora Master Level Up! Psion: +40,518,560 Psion Level Up! Warrior Monk: +40,518,560 Warrior Monk Level Up! Advanced Telepathy [M] (1->2): Free Movement [J] (25->26) Tremor Sense [J] (31 -> 32) Clairsentience [M] (24->25) Perception [M] (54->55) Psychoportation [M] (16->17) Telekinesis [M] (26->27)] Amdirlain¡¯s injuries were healed by the time she collected Rasha¡¯s pouch from atop her dress. Its folded fabric niggled at her, and she slipped it on amid a brief desire for normality. The trip through the corridors with its fabric brushing against her skin felt strange after long weeks naked. She had nearly reached the stairs when she recognised the reassurance being clothed brought her, despite the fragile material. Once she arrived in the main corridor, Amdirlain raced past the regions where she¡¯d distributed keys and forced herself to ignore them. She spent days racing along the corridor, noting one region after another of various foul sensations until she finally found one that triggered a reaction from Precognition. The place had a militaristic feel: the stern discipline of a drill sergeant and that acceptance reserved only for experienced comrades at arms. It suited Amdirlain¡¯s purpose, an area where the occupants wouldn¡¯t be entirely alien but out-of-sync enough to challenge her Advanced Telepathy. When she ventured beyond the stairs, she found the corridors of the region¡¯s maze shared a disciplined approach that matched its atmosphere. Instead of the organic curving passages elsewhere, every path had sharp, ninety-degree corners. Their twists and turns didn¡¯t run outwards from the stairs like veins but frequently reconnected to the one they left. Still, like all areas, the lack of distinguishing marks made it easy to get turned around, and Amdirlain explored carefully. One chamber after another was empty, but the ?plant life made it clear their inhabitants were elsewhere in the region, so Amdirlain left behind keys. The fifth chamber was perfectly square and contained an old olive tree that seemed planted deliberately off-centre. Its thick, gnarled base forked into two branches that reached out erratically, almost as if to challenge the region¡¯s discipline. There wasn¡¯t an aura in sight, so Amdirlain moved to leave a key in the area¡¯s hidey-hole. Upon rounding the tree, Amdirlain spotted the outline of a figure slumped against the tree, out of sight from the corridor. Unlike all the other auras she¡¯d see in various regions, the figure wasn''t childlike; instead, the aura marked the outline of a human woman wracked with hunger pains. Above her head, branches ladened with ripe olives dipped down as if to tempt her to eat, but she didn¡¯t even look up at them. Amid the pain in her aura, regret and sorrow weighed her down, and Amdirlain winced in sympathy. Without thinking, Amdirlain held a key out to her, but the colours of her aura didn¡¯t even flicker. Not sure what else to do, Amdirlain set the key down on her leg and got an immediate reaction, just not one Amdirlain had expected. She¡¯d barely released the key when the woman snatched it from her leg and threw it in one motion. The key splashed down directly in a small water basin near the hidey-hole and disappeared beneath the water. But the woman¡¯s focus wasn¡¯t on the key she¡¯d thrown away but on the Amdirlain¡¯s pouch of keys, and she gestured imperiously to leave. Not sure if she could see her, Amdirlain moved the bag towards the hidey-hole with Far Hand and watched her focus shift with them. The moment the woman¡¯s pain spiked, the strength of the emotion cut through the mental static and, shame-faced, Amdirlain stopped herself from playing games. Retrieving the key from the water, Amdirlain returned it to the pouch and tried to push a question into the woman¡¯s mind. ¡°Who are you?¡± The woman tumbled away and flowed to her feet, raising her hands as she did, ready to defend herself. ¡°I won¡¯t attack you. But why don¡¯t you want a key to get out of here?¡± Among broken fragments of other thoughts came a piece of a response. ¡°Should be dead.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a ghost.¡± ¡°I should be.¡± To emphasise her words, the woman slapped a hand against her stomach. Amdirlain moved closer and, with Ki Infusion activated, rested a hand on the woman¡¯s shoulder and felt a dress¡¯ cloth beneath her fingers. ¡°You¡¯re not dead and don¡¯t have to die.¡± The woman¡¯s hand slapped against her stomach with more force than before, adding physical pain to her sorrow. Through the mental static, Amdirlain caught a repetition of thought. ¡°I want to be dead.¡± ¡°I hope it''s okay to put my hand on your shoulder. It''s easier to hear your thoughts this way. Will you help me practise talking to your mind?.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Maybe we can help each other,¡± offered Amdirlain, and the woman¡¯s hand rose to clasp, pleading at her energised arm. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Can you kill me?¡± The intensity of her desire cut through the mental static. ¡°I don¡¯t kill for no reason.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s refusal, the woman bent with her arms wrapped around her stomach. ¡°End my pain, please. The food does something, and I don¡¯t want my mind to fade away further. End me.¡± ¡°I''ve got an ability that I hope can help with your hunger. Will you let me help so we can talk without its distraction?¡± Amdirlain focused on the form beneath her touch at the woman''s sharp nod. It took some time, but she felt the Sustenance technique established a connection, and the hunger eased from her aura. ¡°Tell me about yourself, and if I agree, I¡¯ll help. Maybe we can both learn a few things." ¡°What do you want help with?¡± ¡°I need to practise telepathy on minds out of phase with mine. Do I sound clear to you?¡± She could feel the woman consider the question, and eventually, she replied. ¡°I can hear you clearer with your hand on my shoulder.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Athena.¡± Amdirlain released Athena¡¯s shoulder and slid her foot back, only to stop with the kick partly started. Rage pulsed through her and Amdirlain didn¡¯t fight it as much as redirect it through the pattern. It was a rage that echoed deep inside her, but the phoenix¡¯s pattern effortlessly guided Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s rage and her own. [Name: Athena Species: Spirit of war, strategy and wisdom Class: Commander Level: 40 Health: 640 Defence: 32 Melee Attack Power: 42 Combat Skills: Spear [G] (224), Gladius [S] (194) Details: Having given her Mantle to Minerva, she died from separation backlash because of her ?self-identification and dependency on it. She backed out of an offer of service to Hestia at the last minute, resulting in her painting the town, or at least a bunch of folks, red.] She died after giving up her Mantle, so divine potential but no longer divine. Where I got destroyed handing mine to Ebusuku while considered a pseudo-power, hopefully, that means none of the other Greek gods got this second chance. I wonder if a Demon Lord counts as a pseudo-power? ¡°Guess you should have sworn that oath to Hestia after all,¡± noted Amdirlain coldly, trying to deal with the rage growing inside her. ¡°Who are you?¡± asked Athena, her mind adjusting quickly to the shock of Amdirlain¡¯s unseen presence. ¡°Amdirlain. You know, the one your brother tried to consume.¡± Athena threw herself backwards at the casual pronouncement, and she scrambled to get away from Amdirlain¡¯s unseen presence. ¡°How?¡± The fear in the thought pushed it through the static, and Amdirlain blurred forward to grab Athena¡¯s arm. Again, the physical contact cut down on the static as Athena¡¯s mind raced between hope and fear. Amdirlain caught her intention to provoke a fight and lightly tightened her grip in a warning. ¡°I¡¯d prefer talking to you presently, and sorry, but I¡¯m not going to assume you''re helpless like your brother did to me.¡± Athena¡¯s gaze narrowed as she stared at where Amdirlain gripped her arm. ¡°Your destruction preceded the Gods¡¯ War. How do you know what Hestia offered me?¡± ¡°Not going to ask how I ended up here instead of destroyed?¡± ¡°Part of the Titan¡¯s game, I¡¯m sure,¡± muttered Athena. ¡°That¡¯s if you¡¯re even real. Are you avoiding answering my question about Hestia?¡± Despite knowing Athena couldn¡¯t see her, Amdirlain couldn¡¯t help but roll her eyes. ¡°Why, oh why, would I volunteer information to you? Why don¡¯t you tell me something interesting, and I might return the favour.¡± ¡°Your destruction poisoned Apollo. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be happy to hear that,¡± Athena offered, attempting to ignore Amdirlain¡¯s sarcasm. ¡°He and Zeus had gathered us for a surprise announcement. In the middle of Zeus telling us his plans for victory over the other pantheons, Apollo bragged about having captured you. Apollo¡¯s screams disrupted Zeus¡¯ requests to arrange celestials on the Mortals Plane a short time later. Apollo was in agony and had black blotches bubbling beneath his skin. His pain caused Zeus to discard his careful plans and issue rash orders instead.¡± Her explanation came with the mental image of a tanned and handsome man screaming in pain while bubbling blackness swam beneath his skin. Yin poison indeed. ¡°My state had me count as a pseudo-power, and the mantle separation wasn¡¯t clean. Guess it¡¯s unwise to count on victory before you finish the current fight. Since I actually don¡¯t want to hurt you, let me make one thing clear.¡± Amdirlain released her and flowed to the tree and let loose a kick that drew on the rage still racing through the pattern. The blow¡¯s force shattered the tree¡¯s base and bounced it into the corridor, leaving only a broken stump behind. Before the tree¡¯s remains had finished dissolving, Amdirlain¡¯s hand gripped Athena¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°How are you so strong in here?¡± The music she¡¯d heard in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory and its interaction with the mantles¡¯ rules had explained much. While she was sure Moradin knew, from hints he¡¯d made during the pantheon¡¯s visit that she had only recently seen, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure how best to explain. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m strong, you let yourself grow weak by acceptance of the Mantle. The more you saw it as defining yourself, the more of your strength it absorbed. Mantles ?allow beings to function as gods that aren¡¯t capable of doing so on their own. The Mantle is also an aspect of the office, and all the power accumulated belongs to it, not the individual. Those who aren¡¯t aware can easily find their personal energies and deeds having only strengthened the office.¡± ¡°We were gods before we came here,¡± protested Athena. The outrage in her mind almost set Amdirlain laughing, but she projected a calm reply. ¡°Weakened gods or you wouldn¡¯t have sought refuge with someone you¡¯d mistreated. And he certainly didn¡¯t want you possessing true power again, did he? He gave you each a Mantle and restricted you to a single world, so you couldn¡¯t progress to be anything greater than fake gods.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll trade you for the details, but they¡¯ll be useless here, or to you. Though if you get out, you could pass the information to Hestia. Who knows, she might even share them with the new Human pantheon that is forming.¡± Athena shook her head and mentally grumbled. ¡°Every time you tell me something, it raises more questions.¡± ¡°A Greater Power has been speaking to me; I¡¯ve got lots of information about how things turned out. Isn¡¯t it funny how useful having genuine friends can be?¡± ¡°Are you gloating?¡± asked Athena, her mental voice calm despite the pain Amdirlain could see in her aura. Her question probed at the rage that Amdirlain could still feel within the pattern, and she had to admit the truth to reclaim it for herself. ¡°Slightly. One Gods¡¯ War wasn¡¯t enough for your father. He had to start a second and didn¡¯t stop to think that the Fates¡¯ alliance would allow two major demons to join in. Your family¡¯s folly allowed a former Demon Lady to execute a plan that allowed her to become the Goddess of Death, with a claim over all the humans'' faithless and false souls.¡± Athena¡¯s mind pushed past the pain caused by Amdirlain¡¯s retort, and she focused on what Amdirlain had offered instead. ¡°How does Hestia get beyond being a mere tenant to the Mantle?¡± ¡°Only after you¡¯ve helped me achieve my goal, then I¡¯ll tell you. Nice how that tidbit revitalises your interest in living. Yet you don¡¯t seem worried about all the souls that now won¡¯t get to wait on judgement, but will get shipped to Hades instead.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t do anything about that here. But how could I just wait for death instead of helping Hestia? But how do I know you¡¯ll keep your word? Or that you even have that information?¡± ¡°My word is better than yours. The news I got said that you broke your word to Hestia. Even after being injured, kicked out by your father, and her worshippers persecuted, she wanted to ensure you¡¯d live; a marvellous job you did with keeping your word to her.¡± Athena shifted uncomfortably under Amdirlain¡¯s hand, though she hadn¡¯t tightened her grip. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even get dying right.¡± ¡°It was a messy death. You plastered those nearby with blood and guts.¡± ¡°After your demonstration with the tree and the rage in your mind, why should I trust you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ll get on, but I don¡¯t break promises. I¡¯ve heard tales about you that disgust me, but I¡¯ve no evidence they¡¯re true. Zeus, Apollo, Artemis and others I had direct evidence of their actions or from their servants to assess them. You, I don¡¯t, so you get to prove yourself. Though your aura shows you can be cold, I¡¯ll give you a chance to make a decent choice. Or I could leave you here to experience starvation without relief until you give in to the lure of food.¡± Athena flinched at the response and, after a moment, nodded sharply. Amdirlain didn¡¯t give her time to voice her agreement, but continued. ¡°Here is what I¡¯d like to do. I¡¯ll let you go, so reading your mind becomes a challenge. I¡¯d like you to think about whatever topics you want, and I¡¯ll repeat the information. Gesture up for yes, or down if I missed elements, and we can keep working on it.¡± ¡°There are things I¡¯ve done in the past that I regret, some of them are why I wanted to die. Will you tell me why you want me to do this? How do I know I¡¯m not helping another monster?¡± asked Athena. ¡°You¡¯re the first entity in here I¡¯ve met with whom I have some common reference points, and I need to strengthen my telepathy for my plans against something that enjoys torture. You can take the key and leave, stay here forever, or you can help. If you help, then I¡¯ll give you the information you can share with your aunt so she can avoid your fate. Deal?¡± With those words, Amdirlain released her and stepped back to scoop up the pouch she¡¯d dropped while confronting Athena. ¡°I wanted to die.¡± ¡°There are worse things than dying,¡± rebutted Amdirlain and saw Athena start. ¡°A simple topic. Would you tell me about the countryside around Athens?¡± At Amdirlain''s question, Athena sat down and leaned back against the wall. Despite the anger that still churned within her, Amdirlain sat down within reach; in case she needed physical touch again to improve their mental contact. The topic had been an attempt to give Athena something neutral to think about while avoiding baiting Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s rage. It was quickly clear from the strength in Athena''s thoughts that the recollections were causing her anguish. Amdirlain leaned forward and placed her hand on Athena¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°You can change the topic to something less painful.¡± ¡°Given your attitude earlier, I thought you¡¯d be enjoying my discomfort.¡± ¡°The provocation of old memories, but I don¡¯t know if you were directly involved. Unlike your family, and perhaps you, I don¡¯t hurt those undeserving of it,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°Now, if you¡¯d been some of your relatives, I would have gladly shattered your limbs for you.¡± ¡°Tell that to the tree.¡± Amdirlain huffed in amusement. ¡°It will probably reappear, and you weren¡¯t wanting to eat from it?.¡± ¡°Are they all poisoned in the same way?¡± asked Athena. ¡°Yes, they are. They wipe away memories and cause your sense of time to drift. How did you realise it?¡± ¡°I tried a piece of one and then waited. When I realised something was off, I didn¡¯t eat anymore. I was hoping I could starve to death, but that didn¡¯t seem to work out; I just kept getting hungrier. What do you want me to share?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not worried about what you share, so choose something less painful. My goal is to strengthen my telepathy; I¡¯m not interested in torturing you,¡± replied Amdirlain, and leaned back again. Athena¡¯s topics jumped between the goods of various city-states, boat-building, and other crafts. Bursts of nostalgia would eventually accompany even dry details, and Athena would invariably switch topics. The mundane details, without emotional content, were the most challenging to follow, and progressively Amdirlain¡¯s telepathy improved. The mental static obstructing their contact slowly faded with each improvement, but stayed an annoyance. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (4->5)] Fatigue had already set its hooks within Athena¡¯s aura before the latest improvement, and her colours showed hunger had returned. Without warning, Amdirlain rose and rested a hand on Athena¡¯s shoulder to ensure she wouldn¡¯t miss any words. ¡°I¡¯ll ease your hunger and come back later. In the meantime, why don¡¯t you get some rest? Though do you mind if I leave the rest of the keys here?¡± Athena had flinched at her initial touch but didn¡¯t fight to get free from the hand resting on her shoulder. ¡°What happens if I take them and leave?¡± ¡°You could do that if the barrier was open. It only happens during a trial, but I¡¯d prefer you take only one key.¡± ¡°Not worried I¡¯ll leave you stranded?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get more keys, and I¡¯ve one left at my ?hidey-hole. I¡¯ve just been handing out spares to free others. Do you know where the stairs are from here?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never left this chamber,¡± admitted Athena. ¡°Well, next time I¡¯ll start by showing you the way, so you know it¡¯s a matter of choice if you stay. I¡¯m going to practise, so you¡¯ll have plenty of time to rest.¡± Amdirlain placed the pouch inside the hidey-hole out of Athena¡¯s line of sight and then folded her dress on the ground beside it. Though unsure if the dress would remain, she didn¡¯t intend to waste days travelling back and forth between training with Athena. Teleport placed her back at a location she¡¯d scouted previously, and the destruction of more spirits triggered the first wave. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t destroy her.¡± ¡°You are chatty today. I thought you didn¡¯t monitor the Maze?¡± The unit snorted and motioned with its shield. ¡°Gideon mentioned your ?tantrum.¡± ¡°Old memories and unfinished business. Are you ready to dance?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in watching you wiggle.¡± ¡°Such a comedian.¡± Amdirlain retorted and flowed forward to smash the unit apart. When the next units appeared, she closed her eyes and relied on Acoustic Mapping and Tremor Sense to track their movements. Not wanting to spend time on the initial tiers, she lashed out, destroying them as rapidly as they appeared with Psi techniques. When the Tier 6s appeared at last, she slowed her pace and fought them hand to hand. The proximity of the dangerous units taunted the vines, and when their forms pressed within her flesh, her mind slithered into their thoughts. Though the static was still present, she could hear more details than before, and noted the whispers between the minds. Eventually, she teleported back to her own chamber to heal and wash. While the combat summary wasn¡¯t a surprise, the second notification was a shock. [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 4,098 Maze Guardian - Tier 6 x 78 Total Experience gained: 206,272,000 Fallen: +41,254,400 Fallen Level Up! Scion: +41,254,400 Scion Level Up! Sora Master: +41,254,400 Sora Master Level Up! Psion: +41,254,400 Psion Level Up! Warrior Monk: +41,254,400 Warrior Monk Level Up! Acoustic Mapping [B] (1) -> [Ap] (2) Telekinesis [M] (27->30)] [Fallen transformation routes unlocked by the accumulation of four hundred levels. Options available based on accumulated class types, powers, and skills:
  • Malfex
  • Corruptor
  • Martinet
  • Profaner]
What are these? Analysis [Malfex: Arcane and spiritual specialists focused on the development of their powers, whether gained from Arcane, Divine, or other sources. Dependent only upon themselves, this limits their opportunities for advancement to direct action?, they gain no experience from pawns.] [Corrupter: Experts in luring mortals into acts of increasing depravity, they are specialists in negotiation and manipulation. These Fallen earn a portion of experience from the actions of pact-bound mortals they¡¯ve ?corrupted.] [Martinet This route is for those who fancy themselves to be commanders though they are specialists in tyranny and the domination of others. These Fallen earn a tiny portion of experience from those members of an organisation sworn to them, regardless of if it''s composed of Mortal or Immortal beings. ] [Profaner: Experts in physical debasement, whether from crushing foes in combat, torture, or physically forcing others to participate in deeds that horrify them. These fallen earn a portion of experience from pact-bound mortals undertaking similar actions.] Ebusuku told me that Pip¡¯s transformation to a Hound Archon absorbed her classes. If this has a similar effect, I can use it to absorb Prestige Classes. Amdirlain focused on one option and tried to gain further details from Analysis. [Malfex Increases the chance of gaining insights into powers and skills directly related to the Fallen¡¯s arcane and spiritual classes. Attribute adjustments provided by new species: +7 Strength per Level +2 Intelligence per Level +2 Willpower per Level +7 Charisma per Level +6 Free Attribute Points per Level +8 Melee Attack Power per Level +10 Magic per Level +8 Defence per Level Increased Mana recovery. ] I don¡¯t like the description, but what benefits does the physical route provide? [Profaner Increases the chance of gaining insights into physical powers and skills. Increases the chance of gaining minor insights into available pact powers. Increases the chance of gaining insights into intimidation and torture-related skills. Attribute Adjustments provided by new species: +9 Strength per Level +3 Endurance per Level +2 Quickness per Level +7 Charisma per Level +8 Free Attribute Points per Level +10 Melee Attack Power per Level +10 Defence per Level Increased Health recovery. ] It''s a combat monster, but it completely loses the magic increases. If it absorbs Scion, I won¡¯t get any further gains from that Prestige Class. The magic rating influences how hard spells hit, so losing the increases sounds like a bad idea. 216 - Everyones dead inside Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze When Amdirlain teleported back to Athena¡¯s cell, she found the olive tree had regrown. Athena was already awake and pacing out the chamber¡¯s walls, but Amdirlain recovered her dress before she pushed a thought toward her. ¡°Been awake long?¡± Athena spun and set her back to the closest wall, her stance reminding Amdirlain of an Olympic wrestler. ¡°Yes.¡± The anger in the single word broke through the static, no doubt aided by the hunger Athena¡¯s aura showed gnawing at her. ¡°Apologies for having kept you waiting, but I needed to practise. How about I deal with your hunger again?¡± It was easier to establish a link to Athena, but it wasn¡¯t a simple task, only Ki Infusion allowed contact. Psychometabolism [Ad] (12->13) ¡°You are a hypocrite, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Athena, and Amdirlain¡¯s laughter slapped against her thoughts. ¡°Are you hoping I¡¯ll kill you?¡± ¡°You said some deeds you¡¯d heard credited to me disgust you. Yet even if they were all true, wouldn¡¯t they still have been my choice? You were supposed to have been about choice and freedom, from what I heard. Aren¡¯t I allowed the choice and freedom to act against my enemies?¡± ¡°Is it true that you were jealous of the original Medusa and Poseidon? Where was her choice or freedom after you cursed her?¡± retorted Amdirlain and controlled her urge to dig her fingers into Athena¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Love isn¡¯t a game for the meek. She was my enemy¡ªI got her out of the way. At least I let her live, didn¡¯t I?¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t reply immediately but ?constructed a mental image of a sturdy stone room with a low table and two comfortable armchairs facing each across it. The walls were white-washed stone, a single steel door set in one wall, and though the chamber was well lit, there was no obvious light source. A decorative strip that ran a complete circuit around the room was an unintended feature. Its subject was a prisoner tossed into a pit, and despite the traps and trials, her journey through the Minotaur¡¯s Maze ended with them leaving together through a tunnel that shone with sunlight. At the spontaneous addition, she snapped a mirror into existence and confirmed she appeared as an Anar clad in a summery white dress shot through the blue highlights. Satisfied with her appearance and the room, Amdirlain dissolved the mirror. With her attention split between the image and the Maze, she willed the door open and yanked Athena¡¯s awareness inside. As Athena¡¯s form collapsed, Amdirlain caught and eased her body to the grassed ground effortlessly. The woman who appeared within the room possessed the classical Grecian look: Mediterranean golden brown skin and brown hair with sun-lightened hints throughout its length. The long hair that spilled past her shoulders provided a backdrop for her round face, unmemorable brown eyes, sharp nose, and hard-set lips¡ªdressed in a simple blue linen dress that hung to her knees and cinched at the waist by a knotted belt. Laces of white leather looped around her calves from just below her knees to secure rugged sandals. Despite her attire and off-balance entry, she still projected a military commander¡¯s presence. She had barely steadied herself when the door slammed shut with a steely ring. With a smile fixed in place, Amdirlain smoothed the dress her mind had instinctively provided and settled into a chair. ¡°I thought this might be an easier way to have a conversation.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t give me a choice to come into this place either,¡± accused Athena and paced in front of the door. At her sharp tone, the smile Amdirlain had assumed disappeared, and her hardened gaze startled Athena. ¡°Currently, I¡¯m the goddess of nothing, but neither are you, Athena. You still have a choice, sit down or not.¡± ¡°What is this place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the starting formation of a Mind Palace, and my mind governs here,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The difference between the technique Duurth had instructed the others in and the landscape of her Soul had become apparent after Livia¡¯s revelation. ¡°It¡¯s a mental technique I learnt from a species that have little to do with humans.¡± ¡°Because Elves are so much better?¡± Athena asked and motioned towards Amdirlain. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (5->6)] Amdirlain tried not to allow herself to react to the notification, but ?Athena¡¯s gaze narrowed at Amdirlain¡¯s momentary happiness. ¡°They rarely ?associate with elves, either. In my case, they made an exception since I had assisted them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You seem smug about that,¡± noted Athena snidely. In response, the bark of laughter that erupted from Amdirlain took Athena aback. ¡°No, holding your mind here in our out-of-phase states is a better challenge than only listening to your mind.¡± corrected Amdirlain. Knowing her lack of social skills would give Athena an advantage, Amdirlain dissolved the table and spare chair to confuse the issue. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to sit.¡± ¡°Why did you drag me in here? Don¡¯t tell me it was simply to improve your progress.¡± ¡°You seemed upset about your hidey-hole, so I thought to provide a more comfortable setting to talk.¡± ¡°And if something finds us?¡± ¡°Currently, I have my focus split between this manifestation and the chamber,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°And if I want to sit down now?¡± ¡°Enjoy the floor,¡± replied Amdirlain and gestured at Athena¡¯s feet. ¡°Choices often have a way of disappearing or being stolen by another''s plans. You could have asked Apollo about that before my friend killed him.¡± The words had Athena¡¯s jaw clenching, but her reply was still calm. ¡°I¡¯d heard you were a kind sort given to rescuing useless slaves,¡± Amdirlain took in the provocation in Athena¡¯s tone and word choice. ¡°I thought your goal was to take useful information to Hestia. Did something change your mind?¡± ¡°I had time to think. You butchered Set¡¯s priesthood in a single night and killed him off,¡± clarified Athena, and her demeanour grew stern. Her gaze quickly hardened when her words only gained a cheerful smile from Amdirlain. ¡°That level of murder would have taken cunning and planning, and that sort of act speaks of one willing to betray.¡± ¡°I can only claim the first part of that evening¡¯s events. A few years ago, your words would have bothered me, but I¡¯ve gone over all the foulness I saw in their minds and know I cut out a disease. I certainly had no expectation it would kill Set. Indeed, technically, it didn¡¯t and would only have crippled him. He had allowed someone into his Domain that took advantage of his sudden weakness,¡± corrected Amdirlain and tilted her head in thought. ¡°Happy about his death, not so happy that your fates¡¯ demonic allies snatched up the power from his demise.¡± ¡°The Moirai were involved?¡± ¡°Not sure, but their allies were in exactly the right position to take advantage of the situation,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Almost seemed fated or something.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just trying to twist-¡± Amdirlain slapped a hand onto her thigh and cut her off. ¡°You want to find something you can point the finger at and say, oh, the shame you should feel. I¡¯ve some news for you: I know I¡¯ve made mistakes. But I¡¯m ashamed of zero of them because I didn¡¯t stand by and leave evil to remain unchallenged. Repeatedly one Greek god or another committed an atrocity, and the rest of you did nothing. Care to claim you can say the same?¡± ¡°So much for letting others have their choices,¡± retorted Athena. ¡°You can have all the choices you want, but if you take an evil path through life, I¡¯ll be happy to help someone kill you. I support those who improve the world with their choices. If your choice brings no harm to others, you can do whatever you want. Life is complex and filled with shades of grey, but we should seek to lighten them.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°That¡¯s big of you,¡± snorted Athena. Amdirlain bit off a retort and softened her reply. ¡°Is the story about Arachne true?¡± The question jerked Athena¡¯s gaze back to Amdirlain¡¯s as if she¡¯d slapped her. ¡°What has that got to do with this?¡± ¡°The story I heard was Arachne was a genius weaver and challenged you to a contest. She worked hard and produced a magnificent tapestry, far better than anything previously woven. In response, you wove one using the elements of nature itself and cast it across the sky. The girl killed herself upon seeing she would never be the best. I found it interesting that when a Mortal challenged you to a crafting contest, you didn¡¯t keep yourself to Mortal limits but crushed her dreams.¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t occur in the Titan¡¯s realm. How do you know about that tale?¡± demanded Athena angrily. ¡°I know it¡¯s not in the legends the humans tell here.¡± Ignoring the heat in her tone, Amdirlain smiled at her. ¡°Did you reincarnate her as a spider afterwards so she could spend her days weaving beautiful webs?¡± ¡°She loved weaving,¡± whispered Athena, and Amdirlain held her mind in the image as it tried to shy away. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (6->7)] ¡°Your choice broke her, and her choice to take her life hurt you. You had restrictions that prevented you from restoring her to life, but you gave her a way to do what she loved again,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Sounds like some choices there that caused a lot of pain. Choices aren¡¯t about delivering a happily ever after to everyone; that¡¯s impossible. Ideally, choices are about taking control of your actions and accepting the consequences¡ªgood or bad¡ªthen trying to do better next time.¡± ¡°How do you know Arachne¡¯s story?¡± ¡°I know lots of things, Athena,¡± replied Amdirlain, and the warmth in her smile vanished, ¡°but you¡¯ve earned none of that information. Now, do you want a chair or not?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The chair reappeared, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t replace the table. ¡°Why did you decide to pick a fight?¡± Athena frowned and settled herself in the chair. ¡°I¡¯m not sure.¡± The same rage that had seethed through her yesterday spiked, and Amdirlain doubted the wisdom in this approach¡ªbeing able to see Athena¡¯s features had triggered its return. ¡°I¡¯ve been guilty of poking at those who¡¯ve scared me more than once. Now, other than shattering you, force-feeding olives to give you a clean slate seems like an option. Still feel like trying for a fight?¡± Athena flinched at the ancient rage that burned through Amdirlain¡¯s mind. ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s information you don¡¯t get,¡± growled Amdirlain, holding back against the growing tide. ¡°I¡¯ll need time to calm down. We have a history you don¡¯t realise and that I''m not sure I''ll share, but I''ll warn you that it inclines me to kill you. My suggestion is to not push your luck unless you are set on dying. Do you want to continue with our deal from yesterday or not?¡± When Athena nodded, Amdirlain released her from the mental image and contained the rage within the pattern. As each cycle flared, she didn¡¯t ?push the anger down, instead imagined it as metaphysical fuel for the phoenix¡¯s flames. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s rage feels far too personal, I¡¯m not sure I want to know what else went on. Does choosing not to let a past life decide for me make me a hypocrite? When their exchange resumed, Amdirlain kept it a simple thought connection and tried to imagine Athena as a disembodied narrator. They pushed through the day, seeing only a few improvements until eventually fatigue filled Athena¡¯s aura. Rising to her feet, Amdirlain patted Athena¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You need rest. I¡¯ll be here when you wake up.¡± Sating both their appetites with Sustenance didn¡¯t take long, and Athena just fell asleep on the grass. Amdirlain didn¡¯t teleport away but constructed a mental image and tinkered with details. While she¡¯d learnt the tools for Psionic combat and defending the minds of others, her hidden state had eliminated the need to protect her own. Yet, with the vines linked to her, it was best to assume that wouldn¡¯t be the case fighting them. From an inner mental fortress, she set about constructing an environment inhospitable to plants but also with elaborate decoys. With Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s message about the vines having fed on death and pain unleashed by True Song, she sought memories to bait them away and draw them into traps. The creation of the Dretch¡¯s blood fields and the deaths of the King and Chorus gave her a starting point. From the billions of years before the vines had taken hold, she beckoned more memories forth. A kaleidoscope of species bled through her mind amid fights that ranged from quick notes to others where she¡¯d sung for hours. So many of them contained a complexity of music interacting with her foes¡¯ songs that it proved impossible for Amdirlain to understand what had occurred. The sea of sound they struck through wasn¡¯t the deliberate growth of music that had activated the mantles. Instead, the fights contained strikes of sound unleashed through Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s automatic recognition; even when the songs ran on, she adjusted them instinctively and on the fly. Still, it wasn¡¯t the knowledge to fight with True Song that Amdirlain sought now, she needed the songs of death from the aftermath. Those she found and drew into the mental constructs until she had to stop and prepare more. Each time the pattern flared the phoenix into ash, she kept herself open to memory connections until glowing flesh forced her to stop. With that source of material momentarily stymied, she held off on duplicating the same memories into constructs, unsure if the vines¡¯ minds would recognise them. Instead, she set up more environmental images, purely hazardous and not just to plant life, the heat-blasted landscape of Mercury was the first cab of that rank. Along with that landscape, she included other mundane but inhospitable memories: the salt flats of Lake Eyre, a drought-baked summer at Broken Hill, a raging bushfire, and more besides. Before Athena awoke, she¡¯d finished the memory framework for hundreds of attack and defence constructs. Athena jumped when Amdirlain made her mental presence known. ¡°You in a better mood this morning?¡± ¡°You''re here.¡± The surprise in Athena¡¯s mind made Amdirlain reassess Athena¡¯s previous attitude, and she placed a hand on Athena¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You weren¡¯t poking me because you were afraid of me. You thought I was going to leave you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve no reason to help me or Hestia and plenty of reason to hate us,¡± observed Athena. ¡°You''re a secondary beneficiary, and Hestia, I don¡¯t hate. Hestia and I have the most to gain from this arrangement. I¡¯ve already given you a key, so speak up if you want no further part in this.¡± ¡°Hestia gets forgiven because she left before Apollo¡¯s attack? She was part of the pantheon for many years, yet you forgive all because she objected and got smacked?¡± enquired Athena, and Amdirlain could detect only curiosity in her thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s not someone¡¯s first choice that matters, Athena, or even their hundredth; people are always changing,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Then why were you bringing up my past deeds?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ve seen no sign you¡¯ve changed from those stories, Athena,¡± huffed Amdirlain, her frustration leaking through the connection. ¡°I¡¯m already giving you the benefit of the doubt, and you want to throw insults around. You seem to want to win a verbal fight with me; I thought you¡¯d be wiser.¡± ¡°But-¡± A sudden edge in her mind prompted Amdirlain to cut in. ¡°We¡¯re not friends, Athena, and I certainly don¡¯t need to explain myself to you. I tried to be friendly and made you an offer that I certainly didn''t need to, and you wanted to start with the verbal jabs. Take it or leave it, but now I''m taking all the keys if you want to leave it. You can rot here.¡± Athena didn¡¯t respond immediately, and Amdirlain started counting down to herself. When the count reached a hundred, she lifted her hand from Athena¡¯s shoulder and moved towards the hidey-hole. ¡°Fine!¡± Though she heard the mental yell just fine, Amdirlain still collected the keys and double-checked the count. Stamping hard against the ground, she listened to the echoes react to the metal and collected the concealed key from amid the grass. Athena tried to snatch the keys while Amdirlain was securing them, but Amdirlain intercepted her strike. With Athena''s hand secured in a vice-like grip, she reopened their mental link. ¡°Did you think I was bluffing?¡± ¡°You¡¯d take it?¡± ¡°Not only the key from you, but I¡¯m also going to reclaim the rest I¡¯d given out in this region. There are plenty of regions to help, but I doubt you¡¯ll find out where they are. Have a nice eternity.¡± ¡°Please wait.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not playing, and I don¡¯t need you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°A forced apology means nothing,¡± retorted Amdirlain, her thoughts cold and hard. ¡°Since you have the upper hand, it''s all I can give, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°What are you sorry for?¡± ¡°Insulting you and picking a fight," replied Athena, but Amdirlain could feel her still testing Amdirlain''s reaction. ¡°Pity you¡¯re not sorry for all the people your family killed in the Gods¡¯ War.¡± ¡°Zeus would have started that with or without me. Neither Nike nor I fought by his side when Hecate found Thor for him,¡± explained Athena. ¡°The first days were chaotic, but so many gods and mortals went crazy with bloodlust. I was the Goddess of War, but it wasn¡¯t warfare; it was butchery.¡± ¡°And if it had been warfare?¡± ¡°Then I would have fought to win for the side I believed in, which wouldn¡¯t have been for Zeus. You can believe that or not, but he was already dead when the bloodlust swept over the kingdoms. The two kingdoms descended from Roma were the surest means to restore stability, so Nike and I sought to speak to Minerva. It sounds like you know how that turned out.¡± Amdirlain offered her a key, and Athena looked at it in surprise. ¡°You just had to be honest. I don¡¯t have to agree with you, but I don¡¯t tolerate games where people have suffered. Shall we start again? A new beginning, you could say? Hi, I¡¯m Amdirlain.¡± The immediate reaction from Athena was harsh scepticism. ¡°You¡¯re just willing to let it go?" Unsure about the rages¡¯ source, Amdirlain tried to push ahead. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure we¡¯ve not met before coming to the Maze. Since I don¡¯t know you personally, why don¡¯t we get to know each other?¡± A riot of thoughts washed through Athena¡¯s mind and swirled the shades in her aura. Eventually, she nodded, and Amdirlain heard her clearly. ¡°I¡¯m Athena. What brings you to my humble abode?¡± ¡°Just thought I¡¯d do a bit of travelling and pass out some chances at a new beginning,¡± Amdirlain glibly offered. Her words, offered partly in jest, chilled Athena with uncertainty. ¡°Do you think the key will allow me out?¡± ¡°I know they do,¡± reassured Amdirlain, letting go of her hand. ¡°My first Solar went through a Trial to earn her promotion to Celestial and rescued dozens in doing so.¡± ¡°Did they see the Titan?¡± ¡°Some did; most talked to one of his servants,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Athena shuddered, and fear overflowed their connection. ¡°I don¡¯t want to talk to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the feeling would be mutual. The mental image was more effective for progress. Shall we attempt that again?¡± ¡°It seemed from your mind''s rage that you wanted to rip me apart yesterday,¡± Athena warily responded. ¡°Not entirely untrue. More smear you over the walls and leave you a mewling mess of pain.¡± Rather than debate the matter, Amdirlain reformed the room and drew Athena inside. She could feel the rage edging upward at the sight of Athena again and turned the chair around before she sat down. ¡°You seemed unsure when you indicated that we¡¯ve never met, but I don¡¯t remember ever meeting you,¡± offered Athena. ¡°At least some of your family murdered those I cared about. Let¡¯s leave that be before the memories provoke more rage; after all, we¡¯ve agreed on a fresh start. Why don¡¯t you tell me about the tale of Troy? Is it true Ares opposed your support of the Greeks there?¡± Athena laughed in strained amusement, with Amdirlain¡¯s explanation putting her back on edge. ¡°He whined to Zeus about it and then whined more at the injury I inflicted when he confronted me directly. The Trojan war didn¡¯t occur in the Titan¡¯s realm either. You know, the more you say, the more curious I get.¡± ¡°Then perhaps you should be the one doing the talking,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Eris might have kicked off a contest between us with the apple of discord, but Aphrodite was the one that waved Helen¡¯s likeness in front of Paris as a bribe. I admit both Hera and I offered bribes, but at least we only offered him personal advantages. Aphrodite offered him the most beautiful of Mortal women. Then when he ruled in her favour and asked for his reward, she replied: I just told you where she was, do the work to get her. Oh, and did I mention she¡¯s married?¡± Amdirlain restrained herself from commenting, and Athena continued with her account. * * * The day of keeping the connection to Athena via the Mind Palace provided progress in leaps and bounds. The strain had pushed Advanced Telepathy to breakthrough but had left Amdirlain nearly drained of Psi energy by the end. As Athena settled down to rest again, Amdirlain knelt to cycle. With her flesh still filled with Ki, Amdirlain began cycling the Psi reserves alone, and the electrical energy jumped between the meridians in a way she¡¯d never seen. In its wake, it caused a strange strobe effect that washed away tracks of shadows and illuminated the vines. Though it let her determine their surface clearly, it provided fewer details of what lay beneath the leaves. In their out-of-sync state, she heard barely a whisper of mental noise, far less than any of the maze¡¯s inhabitants, as the energy brushed across them. 217 - Nowhere to go Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze ¡°We¡¯ve been at this for weeks; how have you continued to contain that rage?¡± Athena rose and stretched before making her way to the water basin. That her thoughts were now clearly audible to Amdirlain was both a blessing and a curse. They could communicate clearly outside the mind palace, but it now slowed Amdirlain''s progress, even within it. ¡°I have the proper motivation; giving into it isn¡¯t as important as my plans. Though I¡¯m not bottling it up, simply redirecting it to serve as fuel for an important fire.¡± She cupped her hands to splash water on her face and projected another question. ¡°Are you planning to turn a world into cinders when you get out?¡± Already on her feet, Amdirlain removed her dress and tucked it away in Athena¡¯s hidey-hole. She already had her plans for Athena¡¯s rest break. After nearly twenty days spent on mental constructs and stretching telepathy¡¯s limits, she needed to punch something. ¡°No, but I need to burn down a metaphysical forest. I won¡¯t be here when you wake up, but I¡¯ll return when my task is complete.¡± ¡°Finally getting back to your other training?¡± ¡°That should get the enemy I¡¯ve been practising for to put in an appearance.¡± Without giving Athena time to reply, Amdirlain teleported away to a region she¡¯d only explored via a scrying technique. Though the corridors were the same grey-white stone, the region¡¯s atmosphere gave the place a claustrophobic air. The slaughterhouse feel was complete when she rounded the last bend before the cell she sought. Broken and rotting corpses made the large chamber crowded with a macabre harvest. In the middle, deliberately ignoring his setting, burned an erratically spiked aura that radiated malevolence and violence across the containing threshold. Amdirlain dealt with two targets she¡¯d scried on in short order, and a Guardian appeared in an almost relaxed stance. ¡°Your father wants to know if you intend to follow through with assisting her?¡± ¡°Nicholaus was Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s father, not mine. While I can feel an old rage directed at her, if Athena keeps behaving, I won¡¯t take the key back off her,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know what his rules say about her leaving?¡± ¡°The same as they do for your departure,¡± replied the Guardian, lowering his spear. ¡°Though you do not have to: when you use your key, would you be willing to speak with him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I can manage the speaking part and avoid ranting,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve remembered that this Maze was at my request, as were other matters..¡± ¡°Let us begin.¡± The mental presence of the vines grew steadily throughout the fighting, but even when they were clear, Amdirlain waited. With each exchange, she memorised how their minds reacted to Acoustic Mapping. As the fight progressed, she continually cycled the Psi energy to maintain her reserves for what lay ahead. When they first breached skin, she provided the signals to mimic the fight¡¯s movements. Though she didn¡¯t yet have their proficiency in Acoustic Mapping, she could provide them enough that they filled in the blanks. Only when it was apparent that they were responding to what she offered and not reality did Amdirlain retreat to her chamber. She ignored the combat summary as the thorns continued to shift within her. Thorns surged through flesh and retracted with lightning speed while the vines¡¯ weight twisted. Amdirlain didn¡¯t fight the pain but rode its storm-tossed waves, slowly allowing the vines to grow aware of her agony. The first hint of pain she allowed through excited and blinded them to her deception. A flurry of thorns erupted from her flesh around the pain¡¯s apparent origin, yet Amdirlain continued. Rather than seek a mind based on its relative position beneath her skin, Amdirlain instead assessed their mental strength. When she found the weakest, she didn¡¯t strike but split her attention and slowly slipped beneath the surface of its thought. Carefully mimicking the same mental aspects of the other whispers, she kept the contact in place while she listened and learned. To the mind that she¡¯d invaded, Soul and flesh were simply different sources for the nourishment they sought. With the vitality from the pain she¡¯d fed them surging through their mind, she eased it away, and they all surged higher. Their whispers became a frenzy of information, exchanged in their determination to restore their food. Their uncooperative host had hurt one of their junior growths; now, they worked in tandem to gain food to spawn new growths to bring it under control. Memories of injuries the guardians had inflicted elicited the same response as being allowed to sense the pain they caused. So, a source at a time, Amdirlain catalogued what provoked the strongest reaction. With their minds more complex than she had expected, but simpler than her worst-case scenario, Amdirlain adjusted her plans. She faked the mental touches she¡¯d heard while listening in the first¡¯s mind and slipped between vines. Upon her arrival, she set a telepathic thread in place, a tendril of her own to guide a return even when they fell out of sync. With reserves running low, she tallied the minds again before she brought the faked sensations to an end. The mutual exchange of protest from her parasites contained nothing that hinted at understanding her deception. They took it as another of her strange position shifts and merely thrashed in protest before they retreated to safety. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (37->38)] Seventeen green parasites were hanging on a Soul. And if one green parasite should accidentally fall. With a groan for her poor joke, Amdirlain teleported back to Athena¡¯s empty room. Amdirlain¡¯s pouch of keys and the dress were still present, but the key she¡¯d given Athena was missing. With no trial in progress, she wasn¡¯t sure what Athena intended to do with the key. Amdirlain dressed, collected the pouch, and started along the path to the stairs. The route wasn¡¯t long, just one that allowed a traveller to get turned around quickly. Yet Athena had made it to the stairs and sat on them halfway to the corridor of choices. The weeks of practice must have given Athena a sense of familiarity with her presence, as she immediately looked up when Amdirlain mentally reached out. ¡°You called it the corridors of choices, but never said why.¡± ¡°The borders of every square hold lethal traps. To a trial participant, stepping onto the picture shows a key choice in their life. The trap gets them if they can¡¯t take what they have to face and unbalance. A corridor only allowed me onto the first square and showed me an unpleasant what-if, though that could just be my weirdness.¡± Her aura surged with wild extremes of emotions as Athena rocked in place. For a moment, Amdirlain thought she¡¯d leap into the corridor. Slowly, the wildness in her colours eased, and Athena turned the key over in her hands. ¡°Corridor of choices. Why does everything that¡¯s connected to you have to do with choices? Do you have something to do with this place?¡± Amdirlain calmed her thoughts and took her time before she responded. ¡°It''s not just me, Athena, life is about choices. Good ones, bad ones, and moments where every option is ugly. Just walking through a Maze is about making choices.¡± ¡°What happened to you after the first square?¡± ¡°The walls crushed me, and I ended up back in my room.¡± Athena clenched her hand around the key and punched her palm. ¡°Do you need me any longer, or did your training work out?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ve pushed my telepathy power enough. Did you want the information now?¡± ¡°No, you can tell Hestia yourself when you get out. We¡¯ve been in the Titan¡¯s realm for a few thousand years. Do you think a few more will make the situation worse? Plus, without us dragging her down, perhaps the dwarves or elves might share the knowledge with her. I want to see what choices these pictures have to show me.¡± ¡°Go right ahead; if you die, you¡¯ll just end up in your room. The downside is you won¡¯t forget whatever it is you see. I hope your first square, or any of them, aren¡¯t like the one I faced.¡± Athena extended her key to Amdirlain. ¡°Would you hold on to that for me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you need it at the corridor¡¯s end.¡± ¡°Guess I¡¯ll find out.¡± Reluctantly, Amdirlain took the offered key and placed it in the pouch. Almost as if Athena sensed Amdirlain''s hesitation, she gave a reassuring nod before she started down the stairs. A confident step took her across the boundary, and Athena¡¯s aura brightened with a surge of colours before she momentarily slumped. Her shoulders heaved as she gasped for breath unsettled by whatever she¡¯d seen. Amdirlain didn¡¯t intrude into her thoughts but set a mental link to track her presence. A square at a time, Amdirlain watched Athena shakily progress down the corridor until she vanished from sight. ¡°I hope you make better choices if you get out, Athena.¡± She¡¯d long-delayed handing out the pouch of keys, but with nothing immediate to do, Amdirlain began that task. Days later, she was still scouting out the local pathways when the mental link to Athena snapped. Not knowing if that was good or bad, she scried Athena¡¯s chamber to find only bare earth instead of grass and the olive tree. ¡°Gain more levels and then see how things go.¡± Amdirlain finished her distribution of the keys and headed for home. Despite her blistering pace through the corridors, the vines remained beneath her flesh. Along the main corridor¡¯s curving path, her mind reached out to locate more targets for elimination. The next phase began once she had her dress safely tucked away in her chamber. The waves of guardians ebbed and surged, but Amdirlain set a brutal pace of destruction. Whoever was in control tried multiple times to start a conversation, only for the unit to be smashed apart. Amdirlain¡¯s immediate retreat left the first Tier 6 unit that appeared untouched. Yet she¡¯d barely been in her chamber for a minute before teleporting back. When she found no opponents in place, another two spirits quickly met their end. Cycle after cycle, she ground them down and pushed every spare attribute point she gained into Intelligence to strengthen her psionics. This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Ebusuku¡¯s PoV - Laurelin - Hestia¡¯s Domain At first sight, the white stone of the community''s buildings had given me a cold and unfeeling vibe quite at odds with the friendliness of Hestia and her Domain. Once inside Hestia¡¯s home, the lush colours of tapestries, rugs, and other decorations thoroughly washed away the immediate sense the white stone had projected. The welcome from her celestials had been genuinely kind, and they¡¯d ushered me through to a central courtyard. There they arrayed the space with furnishing that gave the area an atmosphere of welcome, relaxation, and family. That impression hadn¡¯t faded with any of my subsequent visits. No doubt Gail would complain about not being allowed to hear the Domain¡¯s music in person, yet again. Her verdict on the lingering music was extra cuddly. The last Gate closed behind us, and with the darkness of Limbo no longer looming beyond its threshold, that warmth took full effect. Hestia¡¯s escort took its closure as a signal to disperse and left Hestia alone in the courtyard with me. Only when she let the last weapon settle onto its rack did Hestia¡¯s Mantle flare to life again. Her posture immediately relaxed with the rush of energy washing the aches and pains from a day¡¯s fighting away. The black leather cuirass fashioned from some sea monster¡¯s hide had moments before weighed her down, but now she shucks it effortlessly. With it set aside, the last of her clothing alters in an exercise of will, and she¡¯s in her usual white toga. The sigh of relief that follows has already become familiar, but I keep from laughing. ¡°Will you come along tomorrow?¡± Brushing back a loose strand of hair from the burn along her face, Hestia nods. ¡°Those canyons are so sad. All those hearths that used to be home to so much life now perverted in such a fashion. I¡¯m not sure you could keep me away.¡± ¡°Seems Sage has another convert to his war against the undead.¡± Hestia¡¯s laughter isn¡¯t a denial; she gives me a helpless shrug. ¡°Steady progress is the key, right?¡± ¡°From what Titania shared with me.¡± A new light source suddenly shines in the room with the manifestation of a Lantern Archon, and Hestia turns towards it in shock. I¡¯ve seen thousands of lantern archons manifest from a Domain but never seen one immediately charge their Goddess. Hestia¡¯s arms rise not to hold it away but ?to enfold it against her chest, and she bends to rest her cheek atop it. ¡°I¡¯ve no arms.¡± The archon¡¯s silvery whisper of a voice is feminine, with a clear soprano tone. ¡°Athena, how is it you''re not destroyed?¡± ¡°I was in a holding place; the Titan¡¯s servant said it is simply called the Maze. I met Amdirlain there, and she had a theory about why I didn¡¯t just meet my end.¡± Hestia''s gaze immediately rises to catch my own, and she gasps at my knowing smile. ¡°You knew.¡± With my smile already a clear admission, there isn¡¯t a point not sharing some details. ¡°She got a message to me before we started speaking.¡± ¡°How?¡± Gesturing at the apparent remnants of Athena buys me a few moments while I consider options. ¡°Haven¡¯t you ever promoted a Petitioner or a Celestial?¡± ¡°How would you deliberately do that?¡± ¡°They go through a trial in the Maze and walk the corridor of choices,¡± offers Athena, and I can feel her attention on me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry ?about the part I played, but I didn¡¯t know Apollo¡¯s plan until they announced her capture.¡± The words almost earn a snort, but I catch myself in time. ¡°Did Amdirlain tell you anything about her plan''s progress?¡± The slightest twitch of the lattice is enough to give away Athena¡¯s attention shifting to Hestia for confirmation. ¡°She has to deal with an enemy and needed her telepathy stronger. She spent weeks holding me in a room¡¯s mental image. I was out of sync with her in the Maze, and our states made it a challenge.¡± ¡°A mental room?¡± ¡°Said it was a proper Mind Palace but didn¡¯t explain what that meant. At first, it was enough just talking to her about people and places. As I told her about things, the room gained cabinets containing little keepsakes: mosaic plates, urns, or paintings atop them; and then adjoining rooms appeared. Towards the end of my stay, she had me constantly trying to free myself, that was the most exhausting part.¡± ¡°Why did you help her?¡± Hestia asks, and I catch the question is for my benefit. Athena¡¯s reply wasn¡¯t immediate, and her tone was almost shamefaced. ¡°I¡¯d love to say because it was the right thing. She had to slap sense into me, fortunately only verbally, and threaten to leave me to rot. I¡¯m sorry, she was going to give me a reward to pass to you, Hestia, but I couldn¡¯t take it. I said she could give it to you when she got out.¡± ¡°What reward?¡± ¡°Information about how to bypass the Mantle to regain personal strength and stop it from being leached away. With how I behaved, I couldn¡¯t take it from her even if it was to help you. I knew you¡¯d always remember that I was the one that passed it to you. I shouldn¡¯t be the one to earn any credit for it, even by association. So no getting dragged into another Gods¡¯ War until she¡¯s free, okay? ¡± The gesture Hestia makes just stroking across the filigree reminds me of brushing Gail¡¯s hair, and I wonder at their relationship. ¡°Ebusuku has already shared that information with me.¡± Athena starts about, and the energy in her voice turns her tone into a squeak. ¡°How did you learn it?¡± ¡°Titania shared it with me after the Gods¡¯ War settled, and Hestia and I have been discussing things. It seemed only fitting to pass the information to a new ally, especially one I know Amdirlain likes.¡± ¡°Amdirlain said they knew how to bypass the Mantle¡¯s leaching effect.¡± ¡°More mysteries of Amdirlain, it seems. I would like to know how much she remembers of her existence as an Anar.¡± ¡°What are they?¡± asked Hestia and Athena in unison. ¡°Well, that¡¯s for me to know and you to find out,¡± I happily tease. Livia¡¯s PoV - Judge Po¡¯s Court The valley floor grew rapidly closer, but neither the speed of the descent nor the mountain¡¯s constant hurricane buffeted her. During her ascent, it had ?threatened to rip her from the mountain; now, standing on B¨¤of¨¥ng¡¯s cloud form, it barely brushed her skin. Though tempted to ask the boisterous spirit, Livia acknowledged the reason ?didn¡¯t matter and enjoyed the scene. At the valley¡¯s midpoint was Judge Po¡¯s five-story courthouse, surrounded by hundreds of buildings that matched its black walls and red roof. The precisely ordered streets felt like they should have more significant meaning than simple order. Yet, while the images formed by the monastery¡¯s structures had leapt out to her, these remained simply buildings. B¨¤of¨¥ng chose a path that approached from the courthouse¡¯s side and made a final loop around the third floor before he softly landed in front. The cloud beneath her feet grew insubstantial when she finally touched down before the courthouse. At first, she thought that B¨¤of¨¥ng had vanished away, but she suddenly felt his presence amidst her chakras. ¡°What are you doing?¡± asked Livia softly. While his energy wasn¡¯t uncomfortable, it seemed like a stray breeze could sweep her away. ¡°You said I could come with you, how else can I do that?¡± Despite the young storm spirit inside her middle chakra, his voice sounded mid-air from right beside her. The attention of court officials in fine silk robes had fixed upon her when she¡¯d landed, and B¨¤of¨¥ng¡¯s booming voice drew a feeling of ire. Each of them possessed a sterner demeanour than many judges she¡¯d met, yet the four stood beneath the building¡¯s protruding awning as if they were mere attendants. Each had a black goatee that came to a thin point with a well-groomed moustache to match. Though far fancier in attire, their voluminous silk robes matched the black-on-white layers of the scribe she¡¯d encountered upon her arrival at the waiting hall. Their robes¡¯ fabric was so clean that the black layers appeared wet with how they shone in the morning light. Unfortunately, she wasn¡¯t in anything close to the same state. Her loose clothing was now frayed, and she¡¯d lost her boots climbing the mountain long ago. Traversing its slopes had challenged her perception of time, and frequently it had lost all meaning. The battered fabric barely changed when she tried various spells to clean and repair it. Her journey had imprinted the mountain¡¯s presence on her clothing and flesh. The only matter of appearance she felt able to correct was her wild, wind-blown hair. A slow exhalation calmed her nerves, and Livia unfastened the jade combs that B¨¤of¨¥ng¡¯s father had gifted her. The jade matched the gleaming white the peak¡¯s touch had left on her hair and skin as precisely as their sapphires'' shade matched her eyes. ¡°But we¡¯ve reached the mountain¡¯s base. Isn¡¯t that what you wanted?¡± enquired Livia, confused by his antics as he repeatedly shifted between the chakras of heart and solar plexus. ¡°No, I asked if I could come with you. The word ¡®with¡¯ doesn¡¯t mean just help you off the mountain, and I certainly didn¡¯t say only to the courthouse. Wasn¡¯t your judgement that I had to make amends by assisting mortals?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Livia warily, the testimony of B¨¤of¨¥ng¡¯s father had painted B¨¤of¨¥ng in a very unpredictable light. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll come along and assist you; you''re not a full Immortal yet.¡± A shift in pressure caused Livia¡¯s gaze to narrow. When it continued, she clapped a hand to her mid-rift and hardened her Ki flow to block him. ¡°Out.¡± ¡°Your heart chakra is a bustling place with her present, and it¡¯s not like you''re using that sacral chakra; I could blow all the dust out of it for you.¡± ¡°If you must accompany me in such a fashion, nowhere below the solar plexus.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± grumbled B¨¤of¨¥ng. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be going inside?¡± ¡°Your behaviour distracted me,¡± chastised Livia. The spirit swirled around within her solar plexus chakra, and Livia only started towards the front doors once it had a consistent pattern. A sensation of energy flowed around her, and without action from the officials, the doors swung open to reveal a polished black slate floor beyond. White pillars with bands of gold reached towards a ceiling far higher than the five-story exterior allowed. The vastness of the interior drew her attention, appearing, as it did, capable of swallowing Eyrarh¨¢ls without a ripple. Yet endless rows of desks with scribes busy at work consumed the space allowed. The same energy that had opened the door beckoned her forward. With the invitation extended, a massive white jade door bearing the likeness of five eastern dragons appeared. Livia had barely started ahead when the first scribe she passed absently handed her a white jade plaque. When he glanced over her ragged appearance, he didn¡¯t so much as blink in surprise. ¡°You certainly have the roughness of one of Master Cyrus¡¯s disciples. Present that to the dragons tending the door; they¡¯ll see you back to the Mortal Plane.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I have to see Judge Po?¡± asked Livia. ¡°You¡¯re three months overdue for your hearing, so he dealt with the formalities in your absence.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was that slow in climbing the mountain,¡± murmured Livia, ignoring B¨¤of¨¥ng¡¯s snickers. ¡°Your instruction said nothing about going all the way to the top, rather climb a mountain and pick a bloom,¡± replied the Clerk and motioned her towards the door. ¡°How many flowers did you pass once you got out of the foothills?¡± ¡°Your translation effects leave much to be desired,¡± Livia replied, tapping the plaque against her palm. ¡°Why didn¡¯t someone send a message to let me know the hearing date?¡± ¡°The hearing occurred when the clerks finished reviewing your paperwork. One who strives for immortality must always find their Tao,¡± replied the clerk and motioned towards the door again. ¡°They told you to climb a mountain and pick a bloom. To you, that meant reaching the top of Sun Wukong¡¯s mountain and helping spirits resolve disputes along the way. No instructions said to bring back the spirit flower sitting in your heart chakra, nor the child born of the mountain¡¯s wind.¡± ¡°Best to take the plaque and run while we can,¡± B¨¤of¨¥ng whispered; this time, only Livia heard his voice. Within Livia¡¯s heart chakra, the spirit born of the peak¡¯s sunlight added her own murmured agreement. ¡°One last question: how long ago did I arrive in the waiting area?¡± ¡°Eight moons and eleven days. Some have spent years trying to reach that peak. You are fortunate that tally wasn¡¯t in centuries.¡± The possibility of lost centuries had Livia blink in shock, and she hurried towards the Gate. As she got within a hundred metres, the dragons that had seemed carved into the jade came alive with colour. None of them was a single hue like what Master Cyrus called western? dragons. Each was lion-headed with deer-like antlers that rose out of a mane that turned into a spiked crest running down the length of their serpentine bodies. When they first moved, the depiction in the gate¡¯s carving suddenly gained genuine depth. A cloud-filled space had replaced the jade-carved gate with an archway, the only constant in its transformation. The closest dragon gripped the archway with a five-clawed paw; each nail was longer than her body. With its motion, the others retreated and revealed a set of stairs spiralled upwards, and the other dragons circled it in a predatory fashion. ¡°A first-time visitor from your plaque. You can ascend safely, though do not dally on the stairs. We¡¯ll guard the way so no other might misuse the stairs.¡± ¡°Where do these stairs come out?¡± ¡°Within an older section of the City of Zhongdu. Given your current attire, you¡¯ll appear like a vagrant. Best be cautious to avoid trouble. Unless you seek to test your fighting skills against the imperial guard.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll waft you away, and then you can Teleport us to your home,¡± offered B¨¤of¨¥ng. ¡°That¡¯s far from your centre,¡± warned Livia. ¡°That¡¯s fine, miss sunshine and I have got you to serve as an anchor, don¡¯t we?¡± The dragons snorted in amusement at his words, but Livia treated the question carefully. ¡°Don¡¯t go causing trouble, or I¡¯ll send you back here. Alright?¡± ¡°Agreed.¡± The spirit girl who had barely murmured since taking up residence in her heart chakra spoke clearly. ¡°Agreed, Livia. I¡¯ll behave and watch him as well.¡± ¡°Thank you both,¡± Livia replied. ¡°Have you decided on a name yet?¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯ll let you know when I do.¡± Not wanting to delay further, Livia moved onto the stairs. As she drew near, the first dragon retreated to allow her to pass and sealed the gate behind her. The timelessness of the mountain climb tried to press upon her, but taking the clerk¡¯s words of centuries lost as a warning, she focused and pushed hard. When she stepped across the stairs'' upper threshold, Livia found herself in a small quiet courtyard. The surrounding buildings, with their grey stone and faded red ceramic roofs, looked worn by time and weather. Despite the worn-down appearance of the buildings, Livia found herself on a small, well-maintained stone dais. The background of the dais was a man-height stone version of the jade carved gate, a stone that looked freshly carved and polished. Someone had covered the stairs leading up to its platform in flowers, small bowls of food, and various trinkets that she didn¡¯t recognise. The suggestion B¨¤of¨¥ng had provided seemed valid, as a glance around with Mana Sense showed her traces of a city ward, though the Mana styling was different. ¡°If we go straight up, we should avoid trouble from anyone believing they need to defend their home,¡± offered B¨¤of¨¥ng. ¡°You know what¡¯s got you into trouble before, so let¡¯s avoid that,¡± replied Livia and felt B¨¤of¨¥ng reform, lifting her feet from the ground as he did. The air crackled with electricity, and they sped skywards, leaving zephyrs to swirl about the platform in their wake. 218 - Better off Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze While her body wasn¡¯t a perfect replica of Mortal flesh, it certainly had hunger, thirst, and fatigue down perfectly. It was odd after going so long without needing rest to depend on Psi techniques she¡¯d learnt to wash other people¡¯s fatigue away. After months of holding her body¡¯s desire for rest at bay, she wasn¡¯t sure how long she¡¯d slept, but she had to acknowledge she felt better. Amdirlain blinked, bemused by her desire to sleep a little longer even though she¡¯d slept on grass rather than a mattress. She could feel the vines'' minds in their current near dormant state through the links she''d set in place months ago. When she sat up, the motion woke the vines from their slumber, and they went from dormant to active instantly. They hadn¡¯t roused when she did, only after the activity had caused new information to cross their perception. The whispered sounds of the grass shifting position painted her movements in their awarenesses. The notification she¡¯d received after hitting a hundred had been niggling at her the last few days of combat. She focused on her meridians as the details and questions swirled inside her thoughts. Having already memorised every leaf, thorn, or vine visible from above she concentrated on the depths. Cycling the Ki and Psi through her pattern painted the vines with power. When the process began again, she slowed the pace further and added extra unfocused energy to drift along in its wake. Mist-like, the golden energy concealed her Psi presence as the energies drifted downwards. She reached among the leaves and through the many layers of vines concealed beneath. Drawn along by the dominant power in the pattern, the mist painted out the pathways of the vines, convoluted highways that crisscrossed each other as they wrapped around her Soul. Yet, with the Ki concealing the sparking Psi energy, the vines didn¡¯t so much as twitch under her observation. Hours of cycling later, she had to halt and took satisfaction with her progress, now significantly further into the depths than any previous attempt. In a few spots, she felt hints of her own Soul¡¯s outer layer were almost within reach. Those spots had tempted her to push on, but she stuck to her routine. The first Guardian that appeared grounded its spear¡¯s butt and tilted its head at her in consideration. ¡°You¡¯ve still not taken either a new Prestige Class or transformation?¡± ¡°Why would I do either yet?¡± ¡°After being absent for days, I thought you must have had some grand plan afoot for this next pointless exercise.¡± The news halted Amdirlain¡¯s move to attack, and she drew back a few steps and bowed politely. ¡°I appreciate you letting me know I slept so long. Any ?reason for your chattiness today?¡± ¡°Athena left months ago, as you measure time now. You¡¯ve been at this for a year and not bothered to push past Tier 6.¡± She ignored the Guardian¡¯s inference of laziness and smiled instead. ¡°Ebusuku mentioned she turned up as a Lantern Archon.¡± ¡°How the mighty fall by the time a Mantle''s insidious effects are done with them. You, or I should say, Ebusuku, has far more powerful lantern archons in her service.¡± The Guardian''s dig didn''t bother her, but its earlier words had Amdirlain''s lips twitch. The pointless jibe had her recall an old comic about first-edition clerics, and she motioned to his spear. ¡°Oh, and this exercise isn¡¯t pointless. You all have those.¡± As the Guardian responded, Amdirlain teleported behind and shattered its skull with an elbow. When the next unit appeared, Amdirlain spun on her heel to face it and lashed out with a kick. The empowered Ki Strike not only shattered the metal, but her saturated flesh let out an eruption of Ki in line with the motion. A sliding step took her past its partner¡¯s thrust, and Amdirlain tried once again to replicate the effect deliberately. The energy barely extended beyond her skin, it was more a haze than an eruption, but her fist still drove through its face. All this practice without Farhad¡¯s treatise to read, I¡¯m sure I¡¯m missing something. Cycling to keep her flesh saturated with the radiant energy Amdirlain continued through the waves. Each obliterated with strikes and kicks until the Tier 4s appeared. It was then she stopped cycling and began to deliberately burn Ki and Psi energy alike. As the fight continued, she ran herself down towards exhaustion. The vines erupted on schedule, tiny bristling protrusions barely breaking the skin, as they tried one of their alternative approaches to disrupting her. In Zen State, the world slowed around her, and the familiar blossoming of pain felt like breathing in freezing air on a winter''s run. The sensation crinkled through her flesh, not distracting the way it had done all her life. Where pain had ?been something that she¡¯d, like most, previously just endured, an evolution of Pain Tolerance now gave everything a crystal-clear clarity instead. The physical efforts of the vines also hindered her far less than they¡¯d once done. From what Amdirlain could tell, their renewed shyness came from the understanding that the Tier 6s now barely hampered her. The combination of factors made quite the difference in the total she destroyed before she finally stopped. [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 4,098 Maze Guardian - Tier 6 x 3,588 Total Experience gained: 513,748,000 Fallen: +102,749,600 Scion: +102,749,600 Sora Master: +102,749,600 Psion: +102,749,600 Warrior Monk: +102,749,600 Death Strike [M] (81->84) Greater Teleport [M] (45->46) Ki State [S] (48->49) Ki Strike [S] (47->48) Universal Life [M] (95->96) Tremor Sense [Ad] (9->10) Acoustic Mapping [Ad] (5->6) Agile [S] (92->93) Danger Sense [S] (16->17) Psychoportation [M] (30->31) Silent Storm [S] (116->117) Telekinesis [S] (9->10)] Washed and stretched out on the grass of her chamber, Amdirlain let exhaustion weigh her down. The notification message she¡¯d received upon obtaining level 100 in all her classes niggled at her. Her mind, still high on the adrenaline days of combat had released, raced around poking at questions she¡¯d held at bay. [Replacement transformation routes are unlocked by the accumulation of five hundred levels. The following options are available based on accumulated class types, powers, and skills:
  • Greater Malfex
  • Greater Corruptor
  • Greater Martinet
  • Greater Profaner
  • Greater Deviant]
Amdirlain was sure that Pain Tolerance''s evolution at Master rank had opened the last option; its new name was unsavoury enough, but the description was worrying. [Pain Eater: Pain no longer distracts; instead, it increases your mental clarity. Only those who have deliberately sought and endured pain in various forms come to possess this Skill. ] Though she¡¯d hoped to maximise the number of merges, holding out for the highest increase set might be the only advantage. She¡¯d held off for a week or more reviewing the numbers, but with her mind avoiding sleep, Amdirlain gave into temptation at last. ¡°Ki is spiritual energy, so unless I get Analysis explicitly to state it, I can only hope Malfex includes the Monk¡¯s skills and powers. Though the offered Willpower increases alone will help my Monk classes.¡± [Greater Malfex Increases the chance of gaining insights into powers and skills directly related to the Fallen¡¯s arcane and spiritual classes. Attribute adjustments provided by new species: +8 Strength per Level +4 Intelligence per Level +4 Willpower per Level +8 Charisma per Level +12 Free Attribute Points per Level +9 Melee Attack Power per Level +12 Magic per Level +10 Defence per Level Unlock Powers:
  • Mana Drain
Increased Mana recovery. ] A growl from her stomach prompted her to use Sustenance, and Amdirlain drew up more information with Analysis while her hunger pangs eased. As she tried to get comfortable, she considered what else she needed to learn. [Fallen: These powerful celestials have turned from the path of light they once embodied. Their fall might have been instantaneous or a progression through a period of denial and suspicion. While able to seek redemption, it is a long and difficult path and many choose to embrace their new ways instead. Though powerful in their own right, Fallen can become more potent still, and many seek to evolve or transform into greater beings among the lower planes.] ¡°I¡¯ve never tried to find out what happens with a Fallen¡¯s evolution,¡± murmured Amdirlain and nervously licked her lips. Repeated attempts with Analysis finally came up with unsettling information. [Fallen Evolution: Fallen are the only entities that can bypass the requirement for an established religion to become a Demon Lord or Lady. They can do this either through evolution or transformation. To transform involves risking their strength at an Abyssal Transformation Site, allowing them to fuse their power and status into a new species.] ¡°That sounds like my Tier 7 evolution option would turn me into a Demon Lady. Fuck! What are those sites? Are they how Moloch changed himself from a Rutterkin? Did Baln¨¦rith use one of these? Too many questions.¡± [Abyssal Transformation Site These places of intense abyssal energy allow demons to transform from one species to another by compressing all their accumulated strength. The deeper the entity can progress into the site, the longer the transformation takes and the stronger they emerge if they survive. These transformation attempts are not without risk and can cause the Demon¡¯s destruction, regardless of the location of their home Plane¡ªor planes¡ªrelative to the transformation site. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Generally used by weaker demons that have grown enough to know their limits, few risk a transformation more than once. The noticeable exception is the Demon Lord Orcus, who endured the transformation process eight times in his progression from Larvae to Balor before becoming a Demon Lord. The Abyss corrupts any celestials or mortals who stumble into these sites, turning them into either a Demon or Bodak.] ¡°I wonder.¡± [Demon Lady Baln¨¦rith: While progressing along the route of Grand Martinet, Baln¨¦rith stumbled upon an Abyssal Transformation Site in the Abyss¡¯ primordial depths. Her trip through the site ended several things, including her beauty and Fallen status. She emerged a genuine Demon Lady instead of merely the self-proclaimed title she had used after her fall. Twisted by her transformation, the former Solar fully embraced her new path. The nascent Sisterhood of Blood expanded rapidly after this and established their first strongholds on a half-dozen planes.] ¡°Grand Martinet, so more layers for transformation routes.¡± [Analysis [S] (24->25)] It took multiple attempts that revealed only hints, but with the Skill¡¯s progress she finally got the information she sought. [Fallen Transformation ranks: Selection of a route option locks out any further selection:
  • Base (Requires four hundred levels)
  • Greater (Requires five hundred levels)
  • Grand (Requires six hundred levels)
  • Arch (Requires eight hundred levels)
  • Lord/Lady (Requires a thousand levels)
  • Royal (Requires twelve hundred levels)]
¡°No point in going for less than the top shelf, but royal means I¡¯ll have to be careful when I prestige. If I keep pressing to 110, then Prestige, after that, I¡¯ll have to get my next two Prestige classes to 110, plus whatever base Class I take. Wait, I slipped a number. I¡¯ve only got 10 class slots, including my species, so that¡¯s 1,100 if I go for 110.¡± She quickly repeated previous Analysis checks to confirm the numbers required. [Accumulated experience requirements 110 to 115 range 110 requires 8,700,000,000. 111 requires 9,400,000,000. 112 requires 10,100,000,000. 113 requires 10,800,000,000. 114 requires 11,700,000,000. 115 requires 12,600,000,000.] [Accumulated experience required for a class to reach 120 is 17,500,000,000.] [Accumulated experience required for a class to reach 125 is 23,000,000,000.] ¡°Okay, so get them all to 120; glad I was already aiming for 110. A few days fighting to get a half billion doesn¡¯t make this feel impossible. Though if I need that experience amount for each Class, it''s more than slightly insane. Effectively three days to add 100 million into each Class. I need to get rid of my guests to push harder. Unless a better path comes up, I¡¯ll take Malfex. So what do you look like?¡± [Royal Malfex: Increases the chance of gaining significant insights into powers and skills directly related to the Fallen¡¯s arcane and spiritual classes. Attribute adjustments provided by new species: +15 Strength per Level +15 Intelligence per Level +15 Willpower per Level +15 Charisma per Level +30 Free Attribute Points per Level +14 Melee Attack Power per Level +50 Magic per Level +18 Defence per Level Unlocked Powers:
  • Mana Drain
  • Mana Rift
  • Energy Drain
  • Planar Rift
Highly accelerated Mana recovery. ] ¡°Holy cow, those numbers are insane; it makes me glad Baln¨¦rith was on her Grand route. I don¡¯t know what her Demon Lady stat gains are like though since Analysis insists each Lord or Lady is unique. But she had taken Grand Martinet, so?¡± [Grand Martinet Increases the chance of gaining significant insights into powers and skills directly related to the Fallen¡¯s Commander variant classes. Attribute adjustments provided by new species: +4 Quickness per Level +4 Endurance per Level +10 Intelligence per Level +10 Charisma per Level +14 Free Attribute Points per Level +14 Melee Attack Power per Level +10 Magic per Level +10 Defence per Level Unlocks Power:
  • Enduring Dominion
  • Name Bind
  • Pact Torment
  • Conscript Pact
Increased Mana recovery. ] ¡°Oh, poor Baln¨¦rith. I don¡¯t know what you were like as a Solar, but that gives me hope of getting close to you.¡± Amdirlain knew ?raw numbers didn¡¯t help her Skill difference, ?regardless, they lifted a bit of weight from her worries, and she lay down again. This time, with fatigue weighing her mind, Amdirlain had barely settled down when she crashed into slumber. When she awoke, careful touches on the vines¡¯ minds checked their near dormant state. Not moving, Amdirlain eased her hunger pangs away before any sound might alert the vines. With them eased, she drew herself along the link to the weakest mind, intent on an expedition far beyond its surface thoughts. With the link and long practice breaching the mental static between them, the process went smoothly, and its mindscape opened around her. Its mind duplicated its apparent physical form, and she slipped into its depths. The route was a winding path overrun with fibrous growths like the hairs along a bristly leaf. Not wanting to attract its attention, Amdirlain was careful not to disrupt the thoughts rushing along the vine''s length. Sparks lept between the growths, but their infrequency aligned with the steady dormant state. When she reached its inner depths, she¡¯d moved far past the layers of its conscious control. She found the mental areas that controlled its autonomous instincts and began studying how it drew sustenance from her. The pain and death it needed were ambivalent to the living Ki, and she slowly extended her plan. Before she left, she set a tether line directly to the depths of its mind. Her slow ascent challenged her patience, but her resolve for completeness remained. She compared each pause she made to avoid alarming the mind with a free diver''s careful return to the surface to prevent the bends. The twisted mind of the pain-eating vine beneath her made that particularly apt. Whenever aphids and other bugs that seemed to represent its mental defences scampered close, she held her position, waited, and watched. Only halfway to the surface, the mind¡¯s surrounding areas came awake in fits and starts. Each time it took them longer to settle down, the extent of the defences'' activity grew. The clicking mandibles of aphids and bugs would be nothing in the real world; here, they represented mental assaults. Untrained as their defences seemed, only the risk of what the vines might learn from their destruction deterred Amdirlain from attacking. When the activity surged again, Amdirlain settled beneath a curled leaf and listened closely to her surroundings. A fragmented image of her lying on the grass was enough to determine what had happened when another sound pulse painted her skin. Her body¡¯s hunger pangs caused another growl, and the vines stirred further into full awareness. She continued her ascent in fits and starts, darting between closing gaps in its understanding until, at last, she risked breaking free from its thoughts. Adrift in the mental static between their states, Amdirlain deliberately kept clear of the tether lines she¡¯d set and focused on her body. With her concentration on it alone, she pushed to make her fingers twitch, and eventually, her mind¡¯s awareness filled her flesh. Another rumble echoed up from her gut, and she sat up with a start, hoping the vines would consider it a surprise reaction. ¡°Took too long.¡± The extent of the grumbling in her gut made her aware almost twelve hours had passed, and she held still while she eased her hunger. When she stood, the vines shifted almost imperceptibly. Unsure how long her plan would take, she crawled inside the hidey-hole and lay on her side against its back wall. They settled down when she didn¡¯t move further, but she could feel their alert state. Cycling to help restore depleted Psi energy, she let the combined mist roil and drag along in the pattern¡¯s wake. Inspired by the mental image of a free diver she¡¯d conceived during her exploration, she took a different approach to extending the mist. Weighed down with intent, it plunged past the phantasmal vines until she felt the wisps contact her Soul''s surface. The formation of her Soul, enforced by the Maze, let the mist¡¯s tendrils map out its wounds and scars. Though the mapping was far from complete, with her skin aglow, Amdirlain stopped cycling. Laying still, she sent her awareness inwards again, trying to use Ki Infusion to touch the vines¡¯ phantasmal presence. As her experimentation continued, hundreds of failures provided only the faintest hint of contact. However, each attempt burnt away at the accumulated Ki until her body¡¯s glow was at last muted. Days turned into weeks, with an endless repetition of cycling Ki, Ki Infusion, and exploration of their minds. Her constant state of apparent inactivity lulled the vines into a deep, dormant state. Working through their minds, she moved the tether lines deeper into each awareness and shortened the time for subsequent expeditions. Progress was gradual and carefully paced, but eventually, the tether lines rested beneath the conscious level of each awareness. The link¡¯s placement allowed her to ensure their Acoustic Mapping received only silence more easily. Sitting under a tree is fine if you¡¯re a shrub. Amdirlain¡¯s absent recollection of Master Cyrus¡¯ words almost sat her bolt upright, but she stopped and considered the thought. Focused on her fingers where the fronds of the vines had enfolded, she concentrated on the Ki Infusion across her left hand. Her attention reached into the Power and imagined hair-thin wires descending like roots towards the shadows beneath her meridians. The progress felt glacial, but a tactile impression from an incorporeal leaf finally rewarded nearly an hour of work. [Ki Infusion [S] (32->33)] With the approach determined, the following contact only took minutes, and from there grew faster until all that was required was the intent. Amdirlain slowly teased the serrated leaf¡¯s edge from her Soul, and the excess Ki rapidly sealed the wound. A burr at a time, Amdirlain worked along the vine¡¯s frond until it reached a tipping point and started to coil back onto itself. Years of working with imagery for Psi techniques turned Ki Infusion¡¯s shell into latticework. Then, rather than allow an uncontrolled fall, she secured it against Ki Infusion¡¯s underside, like a gardener training a growth. The first frond carefully secured, the work resumed until it reached the first finger''s base, and she started clearing the next. Extra extensions descended from Ki Infusion¡¯s shell to support the loose lengths of vines. Her progress moved from the fronds onto tendrils, and as the growth thickened, she reached the first genuine thorn. Stuck into her wrist, it had been the marker point she used to tear the first section from her flesh. A wire mimicked the thorn¡¯s intrusion and slid beneath her Soul''s surface, easing its way downwards between scar tissue and thorn. When it reached the thorn¡¯s tip, it shifted to form a cap in case the attempt slipped. New wires lowered and secured the vine to prevent it from driving deeper. Gradually, the cap changed shape, expanding upwards like an inflated bouncing castle. Between its support and the wires reeling in, she eased the thorn upwards but stopped when it put pressure on the main vine. Pain stabbed along her arm as deep wounds threatened to reopen, and her new Skill showed its approval. [Pain Eater [M] (5->6)] With a method determined, Amdirlain returned her attention to the dormant minds and plunged back into the first. With the tether lines set, the trip that had once taken hours now required a mere thought to access the heart of its awareness. An initial test revealed their natural telepathy with each other didn¡¯t provide sufficient protection against the techniques she¡¯d learnt. She went to work with surgical precision, impersonally dissecting their capabilities. Mind blades eliminated their ability to communicate with each other, and in its place, she set constructs ready to let loose insidious whispers of self-doubt and loathing. The silence Amdirlain had imposed on the vine''s Acoustic Mapping was no longer needed as she sliced the understanding of the Power from their minds. The roots she¡¯d begun with turned into block and tackle arrangements to lift the vines'' upper layers to access areas she¡¯d mapped beneath. She freed her flesh from burrs and thorns a millimetre at a time, raising the areas of connected vines to train them in the same fashion. The careful approach wasn¡¯t only in case she¡¯d missed something within their minds; the vast amount of old injuries they¡¯d inflicted simply didn¡¯t allow for speed. Before reaching the midpoint of her forearm, thousands of wounds had reopened to allow the vines¡¯ element, whether a thorn, burr, or serrated leaf edge, to be lifted free. Some produced agony that would have once seared her nerves and left her screaming on the floor. Now her Pain Eater Skill merely acknowledged and devoured each while the work continued. When a double-chime sounded in the Maze from somewhere, Amdirlain ignored it to focus on her prize. Ki Infusion structures slowly pushed all the thorns and creepers that had pierced her to the surface. Repeatedly, Ki cycling renewed the energy available for healing old wounds. Unwavering willpower kept her on track until she finally completed the first stage after months of work. A latticework shaped by Ki now supported the vines that had once rested on flesh. In time, another double chime had signalled the trial¡¯s end, but Amdirlain gave it even less attention than the first. With the last of them no longer resting against her Soul, the Ki cycling through her meridians showed her a topography as battered as the moon''s. The puckered scar tissue around where the roots had dug in were the last vestiges of their intrusion. Each root cluster seemed placed above vital organs or locations she was familiar with through cancer in life. The upper sets had sunk deep into what would have been the lymph nodes in her armpits and, from there, had once coiled around her shoulders before they¡¯d proceeded to her fingers. Others had sunk above her heart, kidneys, liver, and lower chakras. Another week of careful preparation ensured Ki sheathed each root to its lowest nodule, leaving them nowhere to cling. Consuming all the excess Ki to prevent preemptive healing, she set to work. Keyhole surgery had Ki wires become blades, and she reopened the scar tissue that reached far into her Soul. Icy blades slithered across her thoughts, with each spike of pain that set her Skill aflutter with excitement. Amdirlain opened her eyes, and Aura Sight showed her the first writhing vine slipped free from her flesh. When the lattice holding it shifted the entity clear, the Psi technique Disintegrate lashed out. One after another, they breached her form''s surface and met the same fate. When the last came free, a muffled sound whispered across her awareness. When Disintegrate ripped through that final vine, a trio of notifications ran through her mind. [Combat Summary: King''s Spite (Legendary True Song Construct) x17 Total Experience gained: 41,650,000 Fallen: +8,330,000 Scion: +8,330,000 Sora Master: +8,330,000 Psion: +8,330,000 Warrior Monk: +8,330,000 Ki Infusion [S] (33->34)] [Resonance Unlocked! Resonance (1) Notice: Power subsets detected. Unlocked Skill will subsume?: Tremor Sense [Ad] (10) Acoustic Mapping [Ad] (5) Resonance (1) -> [Ad](21)] [New Class option unlocked: Ostim? ] The muffled sound became an overwhelming thrum of multiple beautiful choruses, her mind identifying each. Her practice with the other powers allowed her to identify the originating points of every piece of music. From the surrounding stone, her flesh, the earth her long motionless body had sunken into, down to the chamber¡¯s blades of grass and the trees¡¯ leaves. [Ostim?: True Song''s creator is the only being able to possess this primordial version of the Glinnel Class. It allows the possessor to employ the full range of the True Song, a natural blending of the sounds available from its twin aspects. Complete mastery allows for the creation of solar systems or the ending of a reality¡¯s existence. Enjoy! Note: I¡¯d say welcome back, but you¡¯re still you.] [Achievement: Hedge Clipper Congratulations! You finally got your bush under control. Note: If only cleaning up your past life¡¯s messes counted, but it doesn''t, so too bad, so sad.] The snarky comment only earned a raised eyebrow from Amdirlain before she teleported free of the hidey-hole. The Power¡¯s usage sounded a compressed burst of music across Amdirlain¡¯s new perception, though it quickly faded. All around her, the long silent Maze was alive with entire orchestras; some close but far more were a hum of white noise in the distance. Glancing down at herself, Amdirlain winced. Across her body, where the tattoos had once spread, now white scar tissue revealed the injuries they¡¯d inflicted. Fortunately, a quick test showed that her flesh didn¡¯t possess the tightness of burns; still, her skin was an unsightly mess from neck to toe. ¡°Small price to pay. The appearance here is just the Maze¡¯s rules at play.¡± The sound of her spoken words buzzed across her awareness and prompted another notification. [Language: Polyglot Unlocked!] The notification sang through her mind. Without Analysis confirming it, Amdirlain knew she could now speak and understand any spoken tongue she wished. 219 - Never hold back Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze Even in the Maze, five months laying motionless had coated her with dust, and while Teleport had left the caked layer behind, the sensation lingered on her skin. Stretched out in the pool, Amdirlain relaxed and considered her next move. ¡°I hope Ebusuku won¡¯t get angry, but if I end up any place in the Abyss, I¡¯ll need to be as strong as possible. Wonder what the Tier 7 guardians are like?¡± Her arrival at the malevolent spirit¡¯s den was both unpleasant and comforting. Part of her had worried about what she would hear but, while not pleasant, it wasn¡¯t anything to be feared. Indeed, the music told her too much about the chamber¡¯s occupant. The precise notes didn¡¯t convey the impact of Soul Sight but still provided an insightful account of its nature. Listening to the music raised the hairs on the back of her neck, the violence and hatred within was clear, without weighing her down. Amdirlain didn¡¯t even need to look for any aura; the entity''s music painted its location for her precisely. A single kick ended it, and she was onto the next to trigger the first Guardian¡¯s appearance. Its music seemed fragile compared to hers, whistling notes from a makeshift reed flute compared to an orchestra¡¯s rolling bass drum. The Guardian nodded to her almost respectfully upon its arrival. ¡°They had mutilated your Soul, it seems.¡± Harmonies intermingled within the Guardian, and Amdirlain¡¯s mind separated the precise sound of its interior from the stately music that drifted into the distance. It was that stately music that pushed a name to the fore. ¡°Theinas, that is your name, isn¡¯t it? The aspect of the concept of Law.¡± [Resonance [Ad] (21->22)] The Guardian¡¯s spear tip dipped, but it¡¯s shield stayed ready to protect itself. ¡°You ?remember now?¡± The whisper it projected was far from the sometimes harsh tone it had taken with her. Cheerful skipping notes sighed from among its dignified strains, a child playing among its sober adults. ¡°Only your name currently,¡± answered Amdirlain. The skipping notes cut off abruptly with her words, as if someone had slammed a door. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I can¡¯t remember more yet.¡± While she¡¯d continued, the Guardian shifted its grip and readied itself. ¡°You can only remember what you remember. Shall we begin?¡± ¡°Back to being polite? I thought you said these exercises were pointless.¡± ¡°The vines invariably caused you to retreat rather than being forced away by myself. Gideon told me your mind was strange, but I couldn¡¯t understand the benefit of repeating a futile exercise. He said your increased psionic strength made taking the vines apart simple.¡± ¡°Psionics let me crippled them, but the Ki let me remove them. It isn¡¯t futile to grow stronger or work on perfecting a technique,¡± retorted Amdirlain, beckoning for it to attack. The difference in her fighting was as day to night without the vines; they¡¯d hindered her, even with subtle shifts in her flesh. Now, blows landed with exacting precision as the battle''s music soared around her. Notes whistled piercingly during attacks and shivered slyly across her skin or shied away to warn her of feints. When the world had come alive with music, it was as if she was seeing for the first time; in battle, she found her surroundings clear within her mind. The music''s ferocity provided cues to determine the energy behind assaults and the stability of defences. Amid the battle, a rising note behind her prompted Amdirlain to roll aside from a thrust. Shifts in the tempo provided her windows for reaction, and the guardians came apart in droves. Psionic energies rippled through the air with complex electric harmonies before they plunged the guardians¡¯ precise music into chaos and blotted them out. While her understanding of Resonance grew, mistakes occurred in the shifts of battle. While the Power helped read intent, they could read her reactions. When the sheer volume of sound around Amdirlain was overwhelming, she had to let her mind float amid the sound. The skills she¡¯d already possessed helped her to find her balance with the walls of sound that smashed against her senses; Harmony and Zen Mind let her sift through and react only to the essentials. The last wave of guardians crashed against the wall of the main corridor. She carefully assessed the newest solo Guardian¡¯s appearance. Its music was a unique density of sound; the unit was an obvious progression from Tier 6. Along the metallic skeleton, strands of woven muscle shone with enchantments, and internal plates layered protections over key structural points. [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 7 (Construct) Class: Removalist / Battlefield Caretaker / Elite Knight / Elite Scout Level: 40 / 40 / 40 / 40 Health: 100,160 Defence: 1712 Melee Attack Power: 1665 Combat Skills: Broad Spear [M] (90), Grapple [M] (85) Details: A focused combat construct used to keep the peace between the Maze¡¯s residents.] ¡°If you needed extra firepower, why not just bring out the big guns?¡± asked Amdirlain, though her focus was on its song. Extra strength projected from its spear and shield, and the muscles¡¯ fibrous material echoed a foundation¡¯s stability. ¡°You¡¯ll have to earn that entertainment the hard way.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have it any other way.¡± Amdirlain teleported in close and blocked the Guardian¡¯s attempted knee strike. It stopped her attempt to wrest the spear from its grasp by simply dropping its foot and shoving her away with its shield. ¡°Stronger, but not a lot faster. Think it will be enough?¡± asked Amdirlain, circling to draw out the conversation. ¡°Not alone, at least. You certainly didn¡¯t destroy the last wave as fast.¡± ¡°You are turning into hardy punching bags, but physical abilities don¡¯t matter enough without powers. You can¡¯t trap me, and you¡¯ve no ranged attacks.¡± ¡°Except you still like to fight with your fists,¡± huffed Theinas. ¡°The challenge is helping me improve Resonance and associated abilities in leaps and bounds.¡± As it started to retort, Amdirlain reappeared to sweep its legs out from under it. Before it could hit the ground, Amdirlain¡¯s follow-up held it suspended in mid-air. Already too far away for it to strike at, the unit thrashed like an overturned turtle. As soon as she had an opening, Amdirlain yanked the spear from its grasp and drove the broad point through its spine. Like a puppet with its strings cut, the limbs stopped moving. With the appearance of the following two, Amdirlain dropped the dissolving unit and lunged with her new spear. The fights that had taken days progressed to a week and then pushed on past two as the difficulty increased. Several double-chimes in quick succession had forced interruptions in Amdirlain¡¯s schedule, but none of those trials ended well for their participants. Various dark deities lost potential servants when Amdirlain tracked them down. A land-based pseudo-octopus with an obscene amount of legs and a six-legged bull with arms extending from its sides were the strangest in appearance among them. As the last Tier 10 dissolved around her, Amdirlain grounded the blazing halberd she seized from the unit. Protean¡¯s regeneration sealed the large gash of vaporised flesh along her ribs and caused the blood to stop cascading down her side. Almost Human in appearance¡ªalthough metallic skinned¡ªall the Tier 10s fought with various energies wreathed around their weapon¡¯s blades. The lone Tier 11 that appeared had enchantments over its skin that matched the internal layers progressive tiers had gained. Amdirlain smiled when she took in the details and quickly compared the sole unit to her recollection of the previous tier. [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 10 (Construct) Class: Removalist / Battlefield Caretaker / Elite Knight / Elite Scout Level: 70 / 70 / 70 / 70 Health: 201,740 Defence: 2,435 Melee Attack Power: 2,515 Combat Skills: Halberd [S] (5), Grapple [M] (100) Details: A focused combat construct used to keep the peace between the Maze¡¯s residents.] [Species: Maze Guardian - Tier 11 (Construct) Class: Removalist / Battlefield Caretaker / Eliminator / Knight Champion Level: 80 / 80 / 75 / 75 Health: 353,020 Defence: 3,221 Melee Attack Power: 3,458 Combat Skills: Halberd[S] (20), Grapple [S] (10) Details: A focused combat construct used to keep the peace between the Maze¡¯s residents.] ¡°Shiny new toy with a nice jump in levels. New Prestige Class and an evolved base Class I take it?¡± The smooth flex of the metallic sheath made Theinas¡¯ nod eerily lifelike. With each tier increase, Amdirlain was sure she saw more of his emotion in their movements. ¡°Each Tier gaining sufficient experience for ten levels across all its classes means significant gains for the new classes.¡± ¡°It''s all just a battle of attrition, isn¡¯t it?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°I mean the way Orh¨ºthurin set it up. The entities that end up here, even if they keep their powers, will need to eat and rest. As soon as they eat, it¡¯s likely game over, and if they rest, the waves reset.¡± ¡°Correct. A memory or simple reasoning?¡± ¡°Reasoning. My old life¡¯s memories will have to wait for now. Does the last wave double each time?¡± ¡°Once you are past four units, the waves continue to double,¡± corrected Theinas. ¡°So much experience! I just hope no one interrupts.¡± Theinas¡¯ lunge had Amdirlain deflect his halberd¡¯s point with her own, and she felt the strength, beyond her own, in the strike. As the waves progressed, the sounds that had once threatened to swamp her stayed tightly under control, with the music from further away tuned out from her awareness. Only the fifteenth unit had fallen when a double-chime rang out. To Amdirlain, her fun had barely begun, but regardless she found herself back in her chamber. ¡°Bloody spoilsport.¡± [Combat Summary: Maze Guardian - Tier 1 x 258 Maze Guardian - Tier 2 x 514 Maze Guardian - Tier 3 x 1,026 Maze Guardian - Tier 4 x 2,050 Maze Guardian - Tier 5 x 4,098 Maze Guardian - Tier 6 x 8,194 Maze Guardian - Tier 7 x 16,386 Maze Guardian - Tier 8 x 32,770 Maze Guardian - Tier 9 x 65,538 Maze Guardian - Tier 10 x 131,074 Maze Guardian - Tier 11 x 15 Total Experience gained: 45,475,915,720 Fallen: +9,095,183,144 Fallen Level Up! x9 Scion: +9,095,183,144 Scion Level Up! x9 If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Sora Master: +9,095,183,144 Sora Master Level Up! x9 Psion: +9,095,183,144 Psion Level Up! x9 Warrior Monk: +9,095,183,144 Warrior Monk Level Up! X9 Death Strike [S] (2->17) Energy Drain [S] (37->40) Greater Teleport [M] (74->80) Harmony [S] (72->74) Ki State [S] (53->61) Ki Infusion [S] (34->36) Ki Movement [M] (54->60) Ki Strike [S] (68->80) Protean [M] (62->70) Resonance [M] (24->34) Suppress Target [J] (10->18) Universal Life [M] (96) -> [S] (1) Free Movement [Ad] (22) -> [M] (12) Ki Flight [J] (30) -> [Ad] (14) Agile [S] (93->95) Clairsentience [M] (70->75) Metacreativity [M] (24->30) Pain Eater [M] (44->50) Psychoportation [M] (82) -> [S] (1) Silent Storm [S] (121->131) Zen State [S] (88->98)] The notification caused Amdirlain¡¯s light-hearted protest to turn into a groan. ¡°Battle mad, wretch. I should have considered how much experience all those Tier 10s would be worth. I could have cut that cycle short by a week or more.¡± One fact overshadowed the improvement in all the powers and skills she¡¯d deliberately pushed hard on during the fighting. ¡°I was already at 113!¡± Snorting, Amdirlain put most of the accumulated points into Endurance and felt the rush of health surge through her. Though it let Charisma stay past Willpower, she threw the rest into Intelligence as the psi-abilities were the fastest way she had for destroying guardians. ¡°346,847 Health now, almost as much as the Tier 11s. Now for my shiny new toy.¡± Analysis quickly displayed the Prestige Class she intended to pick, and Amdirlain took reassurance from the details. [Ascetic Triumvirate This Prestige Class merges three classes of self-discipline and focus, requiring types representative of mind, body, and spirit. Increased chance of significant insights into combat skills. Increased chance of significant insights into psionic skills. Increased chance of significant insights into spiritual powers. Body Class (Warrior Monk):
  • Senior Master in at least three combat powers or skills
  • Senior Master in two or more defensive powers or skills
  • Possess a physical attribute greater than 1000
Spiritual Class (Sora Master):
  • Senior Master in at least three spiritual powers
  • Possess Willpower or Charisma greater than 1000
Mind Class (Psion):
  • Senior Master in at least three class powers or skills.
  • Possess Intelligence greater than 1000
+ 10 Endurance per Level + 10 Intelligence per Level + 20 Willpower per Level + 10 Charisma per Level + 5 Free Attribute Points per Level + 9 Melee Attack Power + 14 Defence
  • Willpower attribute bonus increases both Defence and Melee Attack Power.]
It has Sora Master tagged against the Spiritual Class. This triumvirate? [Triumvirate Prestige Classes Available for various class combinations, these prestige classes all require at least two evolved base classes. The classes involved must overlap in at least one aspect but differ to complement each other rather than being only variations toward the same goal.] [Class selection: Ascetic Triumvirate Note: Tier 7 Achievement is no longer available for further use.] Orh¨ºthurin unleashed True Song by dancing. Did she effectively have an evolved base Class in that memory about the spike piercing into the other universe? [Available True Song base classes: Glinnel Ostim? Ont?lin Dag?rlin ] Amdirlain scrubbed the blood from herself and translated them from Elvish. ¡°Ont?lin, roughly ¡®Singer of the forge¡¯, whereas Dag?rlin is ¡®Singer in battle¡¯. What details will you give me on that first class I unlocked?¡± [Ostim? A primordial version of the Glinnel Class allows access to both aspects of True Song. +1 Intelligence per Level +1 Charisma per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22 +1 Melee Attack Power per two levels +1 Defence per Level +2 Magic per Level Requires:
  • Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Soul
Powers unlocked::
  • Resonance
  • True Song
  • Lingering Song]
Does True Song use Charisma? Well, shit! Are you essentially performing for reality to get it to change? [Dag?rlin This variant of the Glinnel Class specialised in wielding True Song while engaged in melee combat. Increased insights into combat skills possessed at the time of selection. Increased insights into Resonance. +1 Intelligence per Level +1 Endurance per Level +1 Melee Attack Power per Level +1 Defence per Level +1 Magic per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22 Requires:
  • Resonance Power in Adept Rank
  • A balance Skill or better in Master Rank
  • A weapon Skill in Master Rank
Powers unlocked:
  • Silent Song]
[Ont?lin This class encapsulates the powers developed by a particular young lady while practising her abilities in her Father¡¯s forge. Increased insights into Resonance +3 Endurance per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22 +3 Magic per Level Requires:
  • Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Soul
  • Resonance Power in Adept Rank
  • A balance Skill or better in Master Rank
  • A dance Skill (or subskill) in Adept Rank
Powers available for acquisition
  • Silent Song
  • Physical Song
  • Multivoice]
¡°Minimal combat potential, but the generalist path of Psion served me well, so let''s avoid specialising to start. Plus, do I want only want to gain more ways to leave corpses piled high? Also, any Endurance increases affect all my existing Class levels; Multi-voice and Silent Song, Isa only got in her Prestige Class,¡± muttered Amdirlain. The thought of the dance performance she had given in the Abyss levelling the town bubbled around in Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and she roared with laughter. A distant echo of a hammer striking an anvil reminded Amdirlain that a trial was in progress. [Class selection: Ostim? Resonance already unlocked Resonance increased [M] (34->35) True Song unlocked! True Song (1) Singing unlock! Singing (1) Lingering Song unlocked! Lingering Song (1)] ¡°I teased Sarah by threatening to sing, but when is the last time I just stopped and relaxed with music? I need to practise my singing, it seems. Isa said she used True Song to emulate spells, but I can at least hear Psi techniques. One last thing, no rushing True Song. I want to practise my new powers and skills first to avoid I locking myself out of something.¡± [Class Selection: Ont?lin Resonance increased from Resonance [M] (35 ->36) True Song increased from True Song (1) -> (10) Singing (1) -> (10)] Darn, I should have practised first! [Experience allocation confirmed: Ascetic Triumvirate: 100% weighted.] Profile Mastery [M] (48->49) Teleport placed her in the main corridor, and Amdirlain raced towards where the fading chime had originated. With all the recent interruptions arising from the viler areas, it was a pleasant surprise that the region this time wrapped her in the deep stillness of a forest¡¯s clearing. It was also a region she had been in previously to distribute keys. A howl that shivered through oddly out-of-sync tones had Amdirlain reach out mentally, catching a glimpse through an assailant''s twin minds. Even if the nature of the mind hadn¡¯t been enough, a glance was all she needed. The mental touch she¡¯d established unleashed a construct of agony she¡¯d prepared for the vines. Separating from its death throes, Amdirlain teleported into the scene she¡¯d caught from the Death Hound¡¯s mind. The Wood Elf male she¡¯d seen in the vision still had his quarterstaff raised in case the thrashing of the two-headed hound was only a ploy. Intent on the hound, he didn¡¯t immediately notice her presence. His colourful auburn hair and dusky skin, with hints of mint-green, reminded Amdirlain of Rana. However, his hair was barely past shoulder length, and he seemed like an Elven youth. [Name: Nestorion Patarion Species: Petitioner Class: Priest / Healer / Druid / Ranger Level: 40 / 45 / 40 / 40 Health: 2,020 Defence: 52 Melee Attack Power: 92 Combat Skills: Staff [M] (12), Club [M] (5), Various Blessings [Locked] Details: Recently died in combat with Orc raiders attacking a Wood Elf community. In life he was a Priest of the Lady of the Forest, Toreth, nominally of the Summer Court. Upon arrival in Toreth¡¯s Domain, she asked him to risk a trial to become a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar and investigate something for her.] [Species: Death Hound Level: 5 Health: 120 Defence: 25 Melee Attack Power: 32 Combat Skills: Bite [Ad] (14) Details: Opportunistic predators that dwell on open plains. Often found scavenging around villages, looking for untended livestock. Their dual-toned howl landed them with their name among the humans of the former Kingdom of Darius. Not averse to eating carrion, their bite can cause infectious blood diseases easily able to weaken or kill if left unattended. ] Former kingdom? ¡°What, by the Lady, are you?¡± demanded Nestorion, though his attention remained on the hound at his feet. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not expecting it to answer you. It¡¯s called a Death Hound in some lands because of their eerie two-toned howl, and they¡¯ve no issue about eating corpses,¡± offered Amdirlain, and Nestorion spun to face her. ¡°Which isn¡¯t surprising, given they have two sets of vocal cords. Did it bite you?¡± Nestorion stammered before he gave a confused bow with his hands across his chest. ¡°An Anar here! How is this possible? And all your scars¡ªwhat happened to you, my Lady?¡± Even as Amdirlain started to motion to calm him, Nestorion immediately stopped speaking. ¡°They¡¯re an old injury, Nestorion; I¡¯m working on healing them.¡± His notes sparked as brightly as his smile before he gestured towards a scar along her nearest arm. ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡± Amdirlain smiled at his cheerful demeanour. ¡°That¡¯s kind of you to ask, but they don¡¯t hinder me, and they¡¯re improving. What brings you here?¡± ¡°A host of celestials came into my lady¡¯s service, apparently from here. She asked me to undertake a trial to investigate and see if their rescuer was still present. While risky, I wanted to help the Lady determine the truth of the situation.¡± ¡°A risk for you, at least,¡± murmured Amdirlain, not sure what debt his goddess sought to fulfil. ¡°Not just for me; it required an investment of her Divine energy to send me here,¡± offered Nestorion. ¡°She¡¯d never undertaken the method before, as she feels it¡¯s improper to grow a tree before its time. Her offering me the opportunity honoured me.¡± The hound¡¯s pitiful noises prompted Nestorion to put it out of its misery, and he blinked as it disappeared. In its place was a Maze key, but he gave her a wide-eyed look. [Combat Summary: Death Hound (50%) Total Experience gained: Ascetic Triumvirate: + 160 Note: Wow, so impressive!] ¡°Do they all do that?¡± ¡°The keys ?let the entities trapped here out,¡± offered Amdirlain and gestured in the direction she knew to be the stairs. ¡°Let me show you the corridor of choices. That¡¯s the way you need to go for the results you were hoping to achieve. The key lets you escape or achieve a partial success.¡± Instantly dismissing the key, Nestorion focused on Amdirlain. ¡°What about you?¡± ¡°I already have one, but it''s not yet time for me to leave.¡± ¡°Our legends say you¡¯d all left this reality, my Lady. Were they not true?¡± ¡°No, all had left, there was no way for us to be reborn,¡± stated Amdirlain, and the tension eased from Nestorion¡¯s melody. ¡°I ended up back here unexpectedly. The uniqueness of the Maze has been helpful for my healing, so some good has come of it. I¡¯ve also been helping others like those that entered your Lady¡¯s service.¡± ¡°Might I share your name with my Lady?¡± enquired Nestorion, and Amdirlain noted the slight self-interest in his song. ¡°Is that the only reason?¡± ¡°You are beautiful, and I take it the beast died because of you. I¡¯m not allowed to know the name of my rescuer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you could have handled it. Names can be dangerous things to allow out into the wilds. You should be careful who comes to learn yours, Nestorion, once you¡¯re a Celestial. Or, I should say, a Lj¨®s¨¢lfar, since those are the higher beings among the Summer Court,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°You can let her know the one that saved Rana from Set¡¯s Altar is doing well. She¡¯ll know who I am.¡± The mingled notes among his song matched the disappointment she could see in his gaze, but he nodded respectfully. ¡°It will be my honour to share the news with her.¡± ¡°Good, now let''s get you out of here,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°There aren¡¯t any new occupants in this region that need rescuing. Why don¡¯t you tell me about your neighbours? I understand there was some disruption among the Human kingdoms.¡± Surprise sparked through Nestorion at her words, but his emotions turned sombre. ¡°So many died because of fighting among the humans'' pantheons, and it even caused the collapse of kingdoms. But the disruption isn¡¯t just with them, as the And¨²n? kingdom has deposed their royal family.¡± Amdirlain held herself from interjecting and merely listened while she led the way to the stairs. The relative youth of Nestorion was evident by the shortness of his corridor, and Amdirlain waited until he vanished from the far end. Surprised by the details Nestorion had shared, Amdirlain let out a bemused huff and ran fingers through her hair. ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s cadre now rule three kingdoms, and the Adventurers¡¯ Guild two! What did I feed them? At least they''re holding elections for local positions, but the cadre could have picked a different name.¡± She pushed her concerns aside and rose to her feet, ready to start the grind again. * * * At the appearance of the first Tier 4, she¡¯d stepped back and waved before teleporting away. Before she vanished, Amdirlain caught the confusion from Theinas¡¯ connection to the Guardian. Her amusement at his reaction added a cheerful tone to her first deliberate practice. She¡¯d recalled bits and pieces of Mori¡¯s training with Orh¨ºthurin and understood why some people might hate Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s instruction. Orh¨ºthurin loved to sing and make music?. Anyone who turned up to practise not giving it their full attention got an immediate kick in the butt. Three hours of singing practice followed that hour of killing guardians. Then it repeated, and the cycle tracked to a strict tempo, without Amdirlain ever once using True Song. The Power seemed to hover in the back of her mind waiting for her intent to spark it to life, yet she didn¡¯t falter. Even trials didn¡¯t budge her from her routine for long, and she found the guardians would show up regardless of the trial if she started killing entities. Time Sense, which she had long left lying stagnant, rose to the challenge of her routine and the music¡¯s beat. Endless hours of singing with Protean wiping the strain that would, in life, have required rest. It was a brutal training regimen that even Orh¨ºthurin wouldn¡¯t have followed. ¡°Are you planning to burn out your love for singing?¡± snapped Theinas after thirty days of her unvarying schedule. At the distraction, Amdirlain half snorted in annoyance, but stopped and considered his waspish tone. ¡°Being ?emotional about this, aren¡¯t you, Theinas?¡± ¡°Please go through the barrier when it opens and make a choice,¡± pleaded Theinas. ¡°Why Theinas, do you mean you care?¡± gushed Amdirlain and quashed her curiosity at his statement. ¡°Listen, once I hit level 100 in my latest Prestige Class, I should have the basics in Singing down, and at that point, I¡¯ll start practising True Song. Once I¡¯ve got the basics of True Song down, then I¡¯ll leave. After all, I need to earn an achievement to prestige again. But, Theinas, if you were worried, all you had to do was ask.¡± Theinas tried to stab her, and Amdirlain smashed the unit across the room. 220 - My way Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Maze Time Sense prompted Amdirlain to end her latest session, and she almost teleported to her next target out of habit. A quick check confirmed Ascetic Triumvirate had reached 100 last practice session, and she made another change. [Experience Allocation confirmed: Ostim?: 50% weighted. Ont?lin: 50% weighted] Absently rubbing her thumb across a now smooth palm, Amdirlain considered how to start. ¡°She¡¯d act on key notes within songs, that¡¯s what Orh¨ºthurin said to Mori. These trees might be useful after all.¡± Far Hand applied force to an apple, and she listened to the change. The pressure added to the tree¡¯s music, though the technique¡¯s notes sat apart from it. Resonance focused on the pseudo-apple tree, and Amdirlain let the rest of the music around her wash away. Just the same as the blades of grass, she could hear the individual music for the technique, tree, and fruit. Within the orchestra, the musical sections painted out the trees inner details down to the leaves and sap. While the Power absorbed all the music individually, her inexperience blurred the lines between them in understanding it. She repeatedly plucked apples with Far Hand, trying to find where the fruit¡¯s stem snapped in the music. She knew a few sharp notes would signal the stem¡¯s severing but kept getting lost in the overall harmony. ¡°I want to get to where I ?just need the notes where the stem breaks. Let¡¯s take it one stage at a time.¡± Returning to the longer music, Amdirlain listened again, not to the tree or the fruit but the pressure¡¯s Song. She¡¯d practised scales and familiar songs from Earth, but now her voice rose in unearthly vibrant tones. The music¡¯s energy shivered across her tongue, and a focus slip flattened the tree in a sharp crescendo. Pain Eater informed her of a minute ache of fatigue damage only for Protean¡¯s regeneration to wash it away. [True Song (10->11) Note: Are you going to tell yourself it''s just your stronger Willpower?] Gideon¡¯s gauntlet just made Amdirlain chuckle. ¡°Well, that¡¯s awkward.¡± She turned her attention to the chamber¡¯s orange tree, and this time, the energy didn¡¯t catch her by surprise. The intent of the music added to a ripe orange and sprayed pulp across the ground. [True Song (11->12) Note: So close, yet so very far away.] ¡°You¡¯re looking for a spanking, Gideon,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she almost laughed at the thought of Sarah dealing with an aspect. A memory of a perfectly faceted gemstone¡ªthe size of a child¡¯s fist¡ªsuddenly leapt up and grabbed her attention. It was burning in the forge¡¯s light, infinite facets adding across it every moment, growing outwards as she watched. Within each was a funhouse maze of reflections tracing each choice that had led to the outer shell. An awareness formed as the layers grew, and it looked back at her from every surface as it turned. The gemstone spun erratically, in constant motion, spraying the walls with a rainbow of possibilities. Sound clawed its way across her skin, leaving bruises in its wake, and power roared out within the memory. The music contained more layers than the combined Song that Orh¨ºthurin had used to create a distant sun. A sensation of needles piercing flesh had Amdirlain yank herself free through force of will, unsure if she even wanted to know what Orh¨ºthurin had been doing. She felt herself twitch with the remembered pain and moved over to pluck the dress from the hidey-hole. The act of settling it into place provided her mind with a signal to relax. Forcing the memory aside, she started a step at a time and progressed from spraying the ground with pulped fruit. The pressure of her intentions made the difference between pulped, squished, and then finally whole. Only once a fruit dropped undamaged from the tree did Amdirlain attempt the next step in the reaction. * * * It had taken practice, but eventually, she reached the point where a single note severed a stem, and a series would cause a clean cascade of fruit. Amdirlain was already singing before she put her foot through the second entity. When the first unit appeared, she pushed the Song towards the core notes within its precise music and released it. The unit staggered but didn¡¯t fall, the difference in the material having slipped her strikes partially aside. ¡°Can¡¯t blame a girl for trying.¡± ¡°Yes, I can,¡± grumbled Theinas, the dissonant edge to the unit¡¯s sound proclaiming it hadn¡¯t gotten off scot-free. The sounds painted an image of multiple cracks running through gears and connecting shafts. ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s all I needed to know.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not planning to grind for experience?¡± ¡°No, you¡¯ve been accommodating. Told you I need to get the basics down,¡± chirped Amdirlain. ¡°Time to practice other things, and I¡¯ll work on getting experience applying them to foes wherever I end up.¡± ¡°Are you going to stop destroying entities?¡± ¡°These vile things? Why would I let them remain a potential risk? They¡¯re so faded they don¡¯t give experience, but maybe I¡¯ll use them for target practice. I get one free shot each time after all.¡± Amdirlain gave him a pleased smile and teleported back. What do those other powers do? [Lingering Song: This Power can establish persistent True Song effects. Open flames will continue to burn regardless of fuel source, weather effects will persist, without additional energy provided. The effect size will also influence the total duration, but the Singer¡¯s Will can end any results they set. Altering a True Song with this Power causes fatigue damage dependent on the intended time and complexity of the Song.] [Physical Song: This Power makes use of the movement of the possessor¡¯s form to shape music. Requires skills to provide precise control over the tempo of motion to release the songs correctly.] Lingering Song I¡¯ll start on after I get ?better. Figuring out how to unlock Silent Song and Physical Song will be interesting. Putting those aside, she started on another Psi technique. Memorising its Song, she worked through the music it caused and set about duplicating the sequences of effects individually. The challenge of pressing the Power into an increasingly shorter piece of music helped her progress. * * * It was weeks later that the double chime caught her while duplicating an Energy Stun. Despite the ringing sound, she finished the short Song, and the air crackled with the lightning strobe effect of the third-tier technique. The Lingering Song effect sent an increasingly familiar icy chill along her nerves, but she didn¡¯t wait for it to settle. Already dressed, Amdirlain grabbed her key and blurred through the passageways towards the stairs. Please let me not exit into the Abyss. The stone barrier at the top of the stairs had transformed into the same destructive energies she had seen various auras pass through unscathed. With her dress quickly settled into place, Amdirlain started up the stairs and, without hesitation, stepped through their blazing light. The quick notes in their Song signalled an instant shift in location, and Amdirlain found herself in a corridor of Human proportions. After the years she¡¯d spent in the Maze, it was a claustrophobic experience. Though the grey-white stone remained the same, a bright mosaic strip ran the corridor¡¯s length. The artwork along the mosaic showed a procession of figures passing through a door. At the corridor¡¯s end, a varnished rosewood door stood ajar with a warm light showing around its edges. I said I¡¯d talk to him; not the time to be shy. When she pushed the door open, she found beyond it was a large white room with a black basalt door on the far side. In the middle of the room was a figure familiar only from Orh¨ºthurin''s memories. The Titan looked nothing like the D&D monster she¡¯d imagined before regaining those memories. He stood nearly half her height again, but partly because of the straight horns that rose from above his ears. Broad featured with a wide nose, the deep brown gaze seemed odd among the grey-slate pelt that covered him from head to toe. Unlike those memories she¡¯d gained of him, he wore a sleeveless shirt and pants made from roughly spun material. At her entrance, he stood slowly, his gaze fixed on her face, and sorrow rolled off him in waves. Despite the tidal force she could hear trying to catch him, he politely constrained himself and nodded to her. As his silence dragged on, Amdirlain spoke up to prompt him to find his balance. ¡°Hello Nicholaus. Theinas said you have some choices for me.¡± Nicholaus smiled sadly and gestured towards a chair that appeared across from him. ¡°Hello, Amdirlain. Would you spare me a moment and sit, or would you prefer the choices immediately?¡± When Amdirlain moved towards the seat, Nicholaus lowered himself onto a low bench, the difference in height setting them at eye level. The Song from him vibrated through her bones, but it still wasn¡¯t the intensity Amdirlain had expected to hear. ¡°You¡¯re not physically here, are you? Your presence is like Theinas¡¯ training connection.¡± ¡°Training connection,¡± chuffed Nicholaus, and a trace of amusement tickled across his song. It drowned out quickly, and he nodded sharply. ¡°Nothing like that. I¡¯ve focused my attention here, and that''s enough to express a physical form. I¡¯m sorry for what happened to you, Amdirlain, even before you left here the first time.¡± ¡°I''m sorry too, Nicholaus, but I¡¯m not your daughter. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s my past life, not me. I know enough to contextualise some ?situations, but we¡¯re different people.¡± ¡°That I know, though some ?aspects in my service were hopeful you¡¯d remember her fully, or at least regain more memories quickly,¡± affirmed Nicholaus. ¡°What did you want to talk about?¡± The broad, crooked smile ?he affected made Nicholaus appear relaxed, but his music didn¡¯t match it. His smile intended to relax her, but her eye-roll in response turned it genuine. ¡°I¡¯ve had to speak through servants, and that isn¡¯t the same as talking to you directly. I know you¡¯re not my daughter, but you wear her face, and you¡¯re a result of your Soul¡¯s journey. Knowing her Soul endures is different to seeing you and sensing its presence within you.¡± ¡°I guess it''s like a heart donor¡¯s family wanting to meet the recipient.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean, so I¡¯ll have to take your word for it,¡± replied Nicholaus, and he fell quiet. Amdirlain just waited for him. ¡°I¡¯m honestly not sure where to begin. The important thing first, though, unfortunately it changes nothing. I¡¯m sorry you came back under these circumstances. I knew you still existed, and that was enough for me.¡± ¡°Wrote your eldest son¡¯s bloodline an open-ended IOU, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, foolishly, I did exactly that,¡± admitted Nicholaus. ¡°I had intended it to be the last safety measure if the other gods caught up to him and his wife. It would have allowed them to call on me and flee to us. I could have put them in stasis or something if we had no options for them to live somewhere. When he perished, I should have reclaimed it, but I could feel his descendants through it.¡± ¡°When did it get twisted to cursing people?¡± Wincing at her question, Nicholaus grimaced fiercely. ¡°Hundreds of years in their reality, billions had passed for us. They used it to ask for punishment for a child murderer, and I saw no harm in it.¡± The words evoked her experience in the corridor, and her utterance of the name uttered was cold. ¡°Was that Moloch?¡± ¡°No, much before him,¡± asserted Nicholaus. ¡°Gideon told me you met a mental simulation of him. Your term ¡®corridor of choices¡¯ isn¡¯t quite right. It shows you the points in life where you had the most fear, or could have changed things, and the progression of fears or regrets you¡¯ve dwelt on.¡± ¡°So my fault for being paranoid,¡± chided Amdirlain. ¡°Not what I meant. I was just trying to explain why it threw you into that sickening torment.¡± objected Nicholaus softly, rubbing his hands down his thighs. The nervous motion was something she¡¯d never seen in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories. But as he shifted, Amdirlain listened to the discomfort in his Song and waited him out. ¡°I¡¯m not belittling the foulness that it put you through. It is what it is. I wish I could have sealed it off to you, but the most Gideon could do was try to warn you.¡± Wrinkling her nose at the memory of the instability warning, Amdirlain nodded sharply. ¡°He tried, and being me, I ignored it. Did I set the rules for the corridors?¡± ¡°No, Orh¨ºthurin did; that wasn¡¯t self-inflicted. You¡¯ve already told me you¡¯re not her, so don¡¯t you dare blame yourself,¡± protested Nicholaus. Frustration and sorrow spiked hard within his music. ¡°I¡¯m not good with people; it never seems like I have the right words. You have my daughter¡¯s Soul, and you destroyed a factor that contributed to her death. If I could, I¡¯d reward you generously, but the rules bind me.¡± ¡°Can we move on to my choices? I take it they¡¯re not good.¡± A low growl of frustration rumbled around in Nicholaus¡¯ chest. ¡°The one I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll take isn¡¯t good at all.¡± ¡°Then start with what you think I won¡¯t take.¡± ¡°Leave. As occurred before, I can eject you from the realm. You¡¯ll be reborn somewhere and this time free of the vines; I¡¯ll hope your future lives are better ones. You might find yourself a genuine Godly being somewhere with the vines gone.¡± His explanation had Amdirlain¡¯s lips twitch with suppressed amusement. ¡°Not worried about that last. But you¡¯re right, not happening. Next?¡± ¡°Come into the Spire¡¯s workshops,¡± huffed Nicholaus, the exasperation colouring his tone at her quick dismissal. ¡°You¡¯ll never be able to leave the Spire again, but you¡¯d be safe. The interior is an infinite plane, and you could practise True Song and whatever skills you wanted. Stay and help us build the worlds; the aspects can come and go. They ignite the sun and shortcut the process by setting planets in place. Lots of work to do, but we could work together again.¡± Amdirlain raised a hand and cut short his sale¡¯s pitch. ¡°But I¡¯d never be able to leave. Why?¡± ¡°The seal. Since you''re related to me, once you go into the main areas of the Spire, you¡¯d never be able to venture out into the realm,¡± explained Nicholaus reluctantly. ¡°It''s part of the reason you left. Nowhere to be reborn, even if you had been Anar. When you left, I sent them out with you.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t want to go?¡± ¡°No. As you would say, I kicked them the fuck out!¡± growled Nicholaus. ¡°They allowed him to betray you and then killed you by declining into almost universal laziness. I wouldn¡¯t keep them in the forge where they¡¯d just ruin my mood. The rules stopped them from being reborn except by an Anar, and I wanted them gone. Your Sarah got Bahamut to send me a message, and I also allowed her to leave. I knew your oaths would draw her to you in other lives.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Sarah¡¯s in charge of herself.¡± ¡°True, but she wouldn¡¯t stay in Bahamut¡¯s care with you gone.¡± ¡°Alright, next?¡± ¡°While it is possible for others, it''s not an option for you. When-¡± Nicholaus cut off his explanation with a raised hand. ¡°It might be best if I explain something first. Souls or spirits transform into celestials by adding their energy to the celestial¡ªmerging. The celestial energy of most souls, even those like Anar, merges in a smooth alloy with nothing lost.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Amdirlain¡¯s gaze narrowed at his wording. ¡°But for me, there is a catch?¡± ¡°To the energy that serves as the foundation for the celestial species, adding a primordial''s Soul would be like pouring oil over water. It won''t merge and might form a layer atop, but most will simply slide away.¡± Amdirlain swallowed at the image and sat back in her chair. ¡°So the excess?¡± ¡°Lost, to blur away into the realm¡¯s energy. I don¡¯t know who the Celestial would be, but it certainly wouldn¡¯t be you. Even as you were when newly arrived, it would still be equivalent to pouring an ocean into your Maze accommodation¡¯s pool. The demonic energy was a shell around your Soul in case that was the next question. You stretched that thin, making it easier for you to shuck her later. With Fallen, it¡¯s a state, not a change to your Soul.¡± ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°You need soap for that mouth of yours?¡± snorted Nicholaus. He motioned, and a plain table sat between them. Atop its rosewood surface were two practical clay cups, and a large amphora rested on the ground next to it. ¡°You swore!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain playfully, trying to lighten her mood. Nicholaus fixed her with a bemused smirk and poured them a drink. The fluid he poured out didn¡¯t smell like the wine she¡¯d expected from the clay amphora but high-proof spirits. ¡°So what? It''s my damn house, and I¡¯ve heard you swear enough.¡± ¡°Why the drink?¡± ¡°Relax and drink first; it''s almost strong enough that you¡¯ll feel it.¡± Amdirlain took a sip and was sure it would have killed a Mortal instantly; despite that, it was smooth, with a citrus bite she couldn¡¯t identify. She nodded in appreciation, and after a moment, Amdirlain pressed on with something she¡¯d wanted to ask. ¡°Will you let the others come home?¡± ¡°Of course, Laodice and Ruithor may come home if they¡¯re freed,¡± Nicholaus said Even as Amdirlain opened her mouth to correct him, her thoughts jumped at the second name, and a reverse black-and-white image shone in her mind. The massive arc of his wings and even the fine line of his face were all cast in shadow. He was a living silhouette of an angel, defined by the limits of surrounding energy, a void that continually sang as it obliterated even the light that touched it. ¡°The fourth aspect was oblivion?¡± ¡°Not was. He still exists, of course. Otherwise, he would have returned here, but his very nature makes it hard to determine his location. The Leviathan¡¯s death throes flung his body away and, like Eleftherios, somewhere with a similar nature will have drawn him in.¡± ¡°I was talking about the Anar. Will you let them come home?¡± ¡°Why should I let the Anar return?¡± asked Nicholaus flatly. ¡°After what they did to Orh¨ºthurin, why would you even want them back?¡± Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory of arguing with her husband and other references to Baln¨¦rith swam together from fragmented memories. ¡°Let me work this through. Baln¨¦rith was a Solar, wasn¡¯t she?¡± Nicholaus blinked at her sudden change in topic and shrugged after consideration. ¡°As close to what her previous reality had to them, why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just pieces of memories that I caught references to her in. Still trying to make sense of lots of fragments. I¡¯ve got the feeling they never really met in person.¡± ¡°I dealt with the entities that arrived here by tapping that reality for the initial fuel we required. It was to mask Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s existence initially, then Orh¨ºthurin continued that pattern,¡± explained Nicholaus, concern etched lines across his broad face. ¡°You will not avoid her?¡± Amdirlain smiled grimly, baring her teeth as if she could sink them into the memory of Baln¨¦rith in the Sisterhood¡¯s chamber. ¡°No?, I¡¯m planning to destroy her. Orh¨ºthurin wasn¡¯t perfect, but I¡¯m pretty sure Baln¨¦rith had set her hooks in lots of the Anar. I think she¡¯s why they slowly warped in attitudes the way they did. She arranged their destruction; she manipulated the L¨®m? too smoothly not to be involved with the Leviathan¡¯s attack.¡± ¡°Some people react to power in different ways. What happened with the Anar was not all Baln¨¦rith¡¯s doing,¡± cautioned Nicholaus. ¡°You¡¯re right; a large part of it lies with Orh¨ºthurin. She was so afraid of her power that she let others determine the path she needed to live in life. You even warned her, but creating the Anar and L¨®m? had her attention in the memory I gained.¡± ¡°I warned her more than once, but we all have our blind spots or obsessions,¡± replied Nicholaus, and his music shivered with amusement and concern. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to be concerned about growing powerful.¡± The wince his words provoked stilled Nicholaus'' Song, and Amdirlain gave a rueful shrug before she explained. ¡°Initially, I wanted to be strong enough to get free. I didn¡¯t want power over others, and in part, I still don¡¯t, but I¡¯m seeing the price of letting others fill the power vacuum she allowed. It''s part of the reason I don¡¯t want Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories. I need to be more comfortable with myself before her memories, especially her fear of power, gets added to the mix. The L¨®m? said the memories are factual, but they hit me with an emotional punch.¡± ¡°You are not Anar nor L¨®m?,¡± observed Nicholaus. ¡°She crippled herself, didn¡¯t she? Not only the vines but before that.¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°There was a memory where you created the souls of Anar and L¨®m? together.¡± Nicholaus raised a finger to signal his objection. ¡°I never created the souls.¡± ¡°In the memory, sparks fly up into the air. Orh¨ºthurin transformed them via True Song, and you bound them into bodies she¡¯d prepared. I could feel the power in each one, and I¡¯ve heard from a few that the Anar had power equivalent to demigods. Yet she felt stronger there than in a memory where they''d seeded the vines on her, but they''d not yet fed,¡± observed Amdirlain, and she met his gaze. ¡°You¡¯re right; she didn¡¯t need my help to create them. My part was to fuse and purify the raw energy, but even that was simply to speed the work. Orh¨ºthurin created all the original souls in our realm. I¡¯ll admit I can ?copy the ?result, but that isn¡¯t where my talent lies. Indeed, aspects she sang into existence now handle the creation of new souls.¡± ¡°Our realm?¡± ¡°Our,¡± confirmed Nicholaus. ¡°She was the spark of life, its inspiration. I was just the smith assisting in the labour. Have you recalled the creation of the dragons?¡± ¡°I have, but don¡¯t you know everything I know?¡± Nicholaus slowly shook his head, but his horrified gaze never left her own. ¡°Long ago, I promised Orh¨ºthurin I¡¯d never listen to her thoughts. You might not see yourself as her, but allow me to treat you as I would her in this respect. I said I would never, and I will never, break the promise I gave to Orh¨ºthurin. It would have saved us both pain if I¡¯d never made that promise, but I did, and I will not break it now.¡± Stung by his pain, Amdirlain raised her hands in apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. Do you change yourself when you make a promise?¡± [Diplomacy [J] (14->19) Note: Polite conversation! Several apologies! The wonders never cease.] The snort of amusement from Nicholaus came perfectly in time with the message. At first, Amdirlain thought he¡¯d also seen it, but his reply made it clear it was for her words. ¡°I¡¯m not an eastern spirit to change myself with a promise. My word is my bond, and I do not break it, regardless of the pain it causes me. Aren¡¯t we getting a little off track? Why did you ask about Orh¨ºthurin crippling herself?¡± ¡°Your intent? No matter how others interpret the promise?¡± ¡°My intent, not what others wish to hear. Otherwise my kin would have known not to set foot inside the trap that tested their nature,¡± Nicholaus wryly admitted. ¡°Still, back to your question. ¡± ¡°The memory I regained when you¡­ she was making the souls. You told her she was primordial. Even then, she felt stronger than any memory I¡¯ve regained before she set to killing the gold elves,¡± Amdirlain stated, only to pause in amusement at Nicholaus¡¯ smirk. ¡°Did I amuse you?¡± ¡°No, not amuse, you are right. After Orh¨ºthurin''s husband parted from her, she extracted and set a significant amount of power aside. She felt ?it isolated her from the concerns of others. She justified it by saying the balance was stable, and I didn¡¯t need her to be as strong. I had already set the seals and didn¡¯t know how badly she¡¯d eroded her capabilities until the vines held her.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she reclaim it?¡± ¡°Twice crippled, her Soul wouldn¡¯t have survived the process,¡± explained Nicholaus. ¡°What she kept was but a fragment. When Orh¨ºthurin died, she wouldn¡¯t tell me where she¡¯d hidden it, so I could help. Since she''d hid the power in our realm, breaking the rules to force the matter would have wasted all her work, yet gained nothing. I would have been pushed from the realm, and she''d have remained trapped in the Spire, bodiless. In part, Orh¨ºthurin left because she just wanted to be normal. I failed her in that regard. It''s all she wanted since her mother died.¡± ¡°I remembered that morning,¡± whispered Amdirlain, and she caught Nicholaus¡¯s pain. ¡°I lost my family coming here, but you lost yours a long time ago. While I¡¯m sorry for that, it touches on things I need to discuss for my explanation to make sense. It was Poseidon¡¯s abuse of power that hurt Orh¨ºthurin, not you. It locked the fear of having power, and becoming a monster, into her. Without that fear, I think she could have kept the Anar from Baln¨¦rith¡¯s influence,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Nicholaus waggled a hand cautiously. ¡°Neither of us can be sure; you¡¯d need all of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories to know. How do you think she could have stopped it?¡± ¡°By actually being a leader and not hiding in the background. In various snippets I¡¯ve recalled, I can see Baln¨¦rith¡¯s touch twisting the Anar towards ruin. Orh¨ºthurin had other priorities and stayed distant so the Anar wouldn¡¯t understand how powerful she was,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°But you¡¯d have done it so differently,¡± snorted Nicholaus, and an edge of defensiveness set in. ¡°It took me years to sort out my mess. I won''t judge Orh¨ºthurin for the fear she held. I¡¯m simply applying that same attitude to the Anar. We don¡¯t know everything. There are things in the memories I¡¯ve seen that are red flags,¡± At a shift in Nicholaus¡¯s Song, Amdirlain signalled him for patience and gave him time to settle the emotions that churned through him before she spoke again. ¡°I saw red flags only because of what I know are the events, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. I¡¯ve had plenty of time to think. I have questions: Why did Baln¨¦rith want the Anar and L¨®m? weak? Just to destroy them or for something else? What did she have planned, and has she completed it? If she has, why keep the L¨®m? trapped?¡± Nicholaus¡¯ expression went hard, and his music gained a wariness that screamed of concern for her. ¡°I¡¯m not omniscient, and Gideon has rules I won¡¯t cross. Maybe from her perspective, why let them go? Baln¨¦rith couldn¡¯t abide by the rules we¡¯d set. I told her she could follow her nature within the limits of the rules. All she heard was the permission without acknowledging the limits, she was extremely reluctant to give in to the need to earn something.¡± ¡°Baln¨¦rith was powerful previously; I don¡¯t think she understands being accountable,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she gave a sarcastic snort. ¡°Pride, why should anything restrain her? Sounds like the Greek gods.¡± The sudden shift of sadness in his song stopped Amdirlain. ¡°Aren¡¯t you pleased they got destroyed?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t try to deny that; I¡¯m partly glad. But I find myself happier that Hestia survived than that any of them are gone. Some were just the victims of poor leadership; I¡¯d have preferred they changed, but they¡¯ve no more chances. The souls that looked to them, at least, will ?be reborn under better stewards,¡± stated Nicholaus. ¡°With great power-¡± At his words, Amdirlain immediately jumped in. ¡°Comes great responsibility?¡± Nicholaus scratched a horn before he shrugged. ¡°Not what I was going to say.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry, it''s a common phrase,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°With great power comes temptations to abuse it as merely your right. Baln¨¦rith was proud of her power and couldn¡¯t understand why the rules restricted her. Outside the Abyss, power can corrupt; inside, it''s even more insidious. Know that Laodice brought herself, Theinas, and Eleftherios low, looking for battles that didn¡¯t need to be fought.¡± ¡°She seemed so calm and reasonable when dealing with B,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Though some of her statements seemed strange.¡± Her words earned a nod of comprehension. ¡°Laodice couldn¡¯t reach either of you. How else was she to fight against the demonic influence trying to corrupt her? There was a war to be fought, in this case, for your soul. Why wouldn¡¯t she take part?¡± ¡°So the entire ¡®War of the Four¡¯?¡± ¡°They followed Laodice¡¯s urging and provoked it. The events were in line with the task I set them, but they stretched the boundaries quite far. On Leviathan¡¯s home planes, ?they deliberately herded him to where they could lay waste to demonic armies while they fought. They let themselves get distracted and paid the price of their choices.¡± ¡°Then why did the others agree with the approach?¡± ¡°You clearly don¡¯t remember your previous relationships with Eleftherios or Theinas,¡± teased Nicholaus. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you know of Ebusuku¡¯s heritage. If you could destroy what your deceased lover despised, and destroy her murderer, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°No wonder he turned up naked in my room,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°He did what?¡± started Nicholaus, and he seemed to focus into the distance. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to him about that.¡± ¡°It was during my stay at the monastery, not here. And Theinas?¡± At her question, Nicholaus gave a disgruntled sigh, and shrugged. ¡°The relationships occurred post your divorce. I should keep my nose out.¡± Clearing her throat, Amdirlain mediated to calm the blush and deliberately crossed her hands in her lap. ¡°Regardless, whatever she wanted to ruin, I want to bring back. The Anar were victims of poor leadership; Orh¨ºthurin''s lack of providing it is something I can hopefully resolve.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t simply pull them back in. I won¡¯t be a part of that again. If I did, ?it would be the same as what the token put your families through. Plus, doing that to them would open the option for others to be caught up in the effect,¡± warned Nicholaus. ¡°No, I meant, as a reincarnation option,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she tried not to snicker at the Isekai situation she just asked him to create. ¡°You take your pattern¡¯s motif seriously, but not seriously enough. It¡¯s a key to more than your energies.¡± A rift of razor-sharp notes shivered across Nicholaus¡¯ presence; though isolated from her, they still made Pain Eater react and suppress the pain clawing at her spine. ¡°Stop, please,¡± gasped Amdirlain, surprised at the music¡¯s viciousness. Snorting, Nicholaus gave her a sharp nod. ¡°I will have to. What I¡¯ve said is already at the limits of unbiased behaviour. I will look at your request.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s only after they¡¯ve already died, at least they get another chance at life.¡± ¡°This might catch others who¡¯ve become connected to their souls. Such connections don¡¯t require the oaths you and Shindraithra exchanged.¡± ¡°Shindraithra?¡± puzzled Amdirlain. A memory of an Adamantine Dragon in front of her and Leviathan¡¯s acidic breath washing over them both hit her from nowhere. Orh¨ºthurin''s guilt had her gasp as bile surged in the back of her throat. The roiling guilt from failing her friend brought tears that made Pain Eater¡¯s recount of all her flesh scoured away seem dim. ¡°I got Sarah killed. Shindraithra was Sarah¡¯s draconic name?¡± ¡°It was her original name. She frequently adopted it after achieving adulthood, either in whole or part,¡± acknowledged Nicholaus. ¡°You ?see your failures instead of accomplishments, don¡¯t you? Is that what drives you?¡± ¡°Sometimes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The weight of failure can crush someone if they don¡¯t look at what they¡¯ve brought to a world. Sarah wouldn¡¯t have had any of her lives without you. Keep that in mind, I know my Orh¨ºthurin asked that question of Hirindo, her husband, when they parted ways. He was lucky I had already finished the seal, or he wouldn¡¯t have liked our discussion,¡± growled Nicholaus. The thought of Nicholaus in a grumpy father mode had Amdirlain clearing her throat in amusement. A huff cleared Nicholaus¡¯ throat, and when he resumed, his tone was calm. ¡°Anyway, if their Soul bonds are strong, they might find themselves reincarnated here as well. It can¡¯t balance otherwise, so I¡¯m going to have to allow outside Souls a chance to reincarnate in this realm. Those realities that have no singular authority aren¡¯t the issue, but some might have gone to realms like ours. This will take some investigation and potentially negotiation.¡± ¡°So that is the difference between realms and realities? One has a bunch of over Gods, and realms have one?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an over God,¡± laughed Nicholaus. He motioned to Amdirlain with his cup and took another swig. ¡°Talking to one person, maybe three, is the limit of my patience. I¡¯m certainly not telling them what to do. I don¡¯t even tell them the rules. They¡¯re more careful when they have to figure out what draws punishment themselves. But with the Anar, this is a chance some don¡¯t deserve.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin failed them first,¡± offered Amdirlain, her tone gentle but firm. [Diplomacy [J] (19->20)] Despite her soft tone, she still drew a wince from Nicholaus, and his shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°Very well, but I will have nothing to do with stealing someone from their loved ones again. Ebusuku¡¯s little Gail at least will ?have the option for children, and they can return slowly. If they mess up again, I¡¯ll toss them out, and they can stay gone.¡± ¡°Where am I going to end up when I leave here?¡± Nicholaus sighed and motioned to the door behind him. ¡°Without your Domain offsetting your state, the curse will send you to Culerzic. Please stay. You can get word to them ?you¡¯re okay.¡± ¡°The planar lock?¡± ¡°Not leaving as a new Celestial means it starts from your manifestation on the Plane,¡± Amdirlain smiled tightly and knocked back her drink in one gulp. ¡°I¡¯d best get going then. I heard there was a plane in the Abyss that celestials cleansed a region of?¡± ¡±Might I ask what you planned to do, eventually? I heard you sent a message out with Rasha about your concerns.¡± ¡°If I get destroyed there, the Plane plays catch with my Soul, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes, trapped underground unless you gestated like one of the Nox.¡± Tilting her head for dramatic effect, Amdirlain thoughtfully tapped her chin. ¡°Then maybe I should lie low and practice my skills.¡± ¡°It would be time well spent, but why is it I don¡¯t believe you?¡± Amdirlain stopped to put a hand on Nicholaus¡¯ shoulder. ¡°She loved you, that I ?know.¡± ¡°We could make another realm somewhere else,¡± offered Nicholaus before Amdirlain could lift her hand. ¡°While I ?appreciate the offer, I don¡¯t abandon friends, Nicholaus. Plus, this realm was intended to hold beings of power to account, and Baln¨¦rith has a bill to settle.¡± Nicholaus smiled at her sadly, and his music turned anxious. ¡°I had to try. With coming here, you lost the key to her wards. You¡¯ll have to find another way, or gain strength to break them open.¡± ¡°I¡¯m planning to go for option two.¡± Amdirlain headed through the door and started along the passage beyond it. It was another grey-white corridor, and the door clicked shut with a sense of finality. With it closed, darkness covered her like a heavy blanket, despite True Sight. Resonance at least made it clear the path ahead was open, but the notes of the stone door and air faded away. A pace at a time, the corridor steadily sealed behind her. Quickening notes ahead warned her of the Portal, but the transition wasn¡¯t pleasant. Her first contact with it felt like putrid mud oozed around her, and suddenly immense pressure clamped hard into place. The second step had her wings sprouting from her back, and her height doubled. Her third left the dress remnants behind and finished her shift in location. Her feet sank into the loose rock that coated the depression in which she¡¯d appeared. Before her, the edges of a shallow depression framed the black cloud laced with rancid clots of energy. Stretched to the horizon, the impaled damned of the Blood Fields of the Dretch screamed for mercy. Even if she hadn¡¯t previous experience with their nature, the malicious tones within the closest Songs made it clear. As she looked over the loose pebbles and powdered rock beneath her feet, Amdirlain took in the bronze-gold skin of her bare legs. The surrounding depression looked like an artillery strike had struck the cliff face but gave her no sign of what caused it. Scrying herself took but a thought, and though she was taller, her Fallen form remained unchanged. The one factor that had changed was her height, now four metres. The arc of her wings rose higher still, but the feathers were the same mix of dried blood with their shafts a gold core. Electric-blue hair framed her sharp elven features and cascaded down her back. Her eyes were a solid deep amber, and her bow lips twitched in genuine pleasure as she took in the smooth scarless skin across her form. Spying an approaching Succubus patrol, she moved on with her preparations. A Fallen would attract too much attention from demon lords competing for an alliance or to remove a threat. Amdirlain checked the pros and cons of various disguises off in her mind, but those able to detect the accumulation of demonic shards tipped the balance. And it even fit lying low, given the sheer disregard demons held for their half-breed kindred. She pushed an image of an Alu-Demon at Protean. With that, she shrank back to 180 cm, and though her new form kept the fine elven features, there were plenty of changes. The Power bleached skin to ivory, shortened hair suddenly didn¡¯t touch her shoulders, and it matched her lips¡¯ inky black. The final touch was her eyes that suddenly matched freshly spilled blood. Inventory opened effortlessly, and Amdirlain took some small satisfaction in having the bracelet of shadow vines back on her wrist. When it had finished enfolding her in new clothing, she teleported above the clouds to the lurkers¡¯ plateau. 221 - Reunion Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic When Amdirlain appeared on the plateau¡¯s lip, she was under an angry molten sky, unchanged from the last time she''d seen it. Flames formed from mottled combinations; dark, angry reds and bitter orange raged from horizon to horizon. Though the flames provided far more illumination than Earth''s midday sun, they didn¡¯t illuminate the plains below. The cloud bank¡¯s top was barely an arm¡¯s length below where she stood. The dark surface churned and boiled as it stretched outwards, the image of a violent sea waiting to consume an unwary traveller. Even as that thought came to mind, she spied more souls plunging towards it, not knowing what fate awaited beneath. Welcome back to the Abyss. Aren¡¯t you glad you came, Amdirlain? Years ago, when she¡¯d first reached the plateau¡¯s top, Amdirlain had wondered at the stones'' strange behaviour with the arriving souls. Now, within the rock, she could hear the corrupting melody that was the lure of this region of the Abyss. To those souls not firmly attuned to the aspect of this place, it served as a promise of sanctuary, only to consume them upon arrival. Just as above the clouds, the impaled damned sounded like a wild celebration in progress far below. The perverse nature of the Abyss reacted to what the corrupted souls craved and had stolen from others. Each region competed to lure them close enough to grab them by the throat and drown them in demonic energy. That energy had been what had formed B; given life by her presence, it had absorbed the negative emotions and memories from her mind to gain sentience. Gestating demons told her the truth, B had never been part of her life¡ªshe¡¯d merely sipped enough from her awareness to fake it. Setting her old state aside, Amdirlain focused on the now. Though there were no overhead succubi patrols, she added concealed eyes with Protean. Being focused on the music in her immediate surroundings still left the risk of something spotting her unnoticed from a distance. The 360-degree view didn¡¯t make the scenery any better, but it let her listen to the closer songs'' details. Among the floating energies were the familiar ones she¡¯d used to increase her resistances, but now Amdirlain only rated their music¡¯s strength as gossamer wisps. The first trickle of Mana separated from her surroundings and, thankfully, left the foulness of the Abyss outside. After such a long absence, regaining Mana provided a strange warmth beneath her skin, like medical contrast dye, but a whole body flush as it started ?filling her Mana pool. The emptiness of her Mana pool started to vacuum up the surrounding Mana and cause a shiver of energy in True Sight. The closest clots of energy winked out with the Mana charging their presence drawn away. Later I¡¯ll have to see if there are energies able to improve my resistance levels Amdirlain started towards the plateau¡¯s interior and slowly allowed the focal range of Resonance to increase. At first, she heard scratching whispers below the plateau¡¯s corrupting Song, but before she reached the first pit, the lurkers¡¯ predatory music was evident. The music¡¯s foundation sound was similar for each, ripe with spite and rapturous hunger, but the strength and vibrancy of aspects varied. From the change in the closest songs, ?the lurkers were aware of the swirling Mana caused by her pool refilling. [Demon: Scouring Plains Lurker Level: 3 Health: 75 Mana: 30 Defence: 28 Attack Power: 18 Combat Power: Claws [Ap] (6), Acid Shot [B] (17), Hunting Group Mind (9) Details: As a Lurker gains levels, they can form a group hunting mind with those close enough. You seem to have a thing for beating up on poor hive minds. ] And I¡¯m pretty sure it was you that looked like a disco ball, Gideon. Focused on the shell¡¯s music, Amdirlain injected her focus with a sighed note. Though she barely gave it the force of a whisper, it split the Lurker¡¯s shell from head to broad tail. The weight shift had its teeter on the pit¡¯s lip before its flesh slipped from its outer shell and plunged past others attracted by the surrounding Mana¡¯s behaviour. The slip that had crushed the tree had her start a proper Song, and as the next neared the surface, she added Lingering Song. Her music created a zone of pressure that filled the pit and pulverised the half-dozen stronger Lurkers following it against the pit¡¯s bottom. Those not immediately slain quickly died from being squeezed out of their shells. [Combat Summary: Scouring Plains Lurker x7 Total Experience gained: 2,100 Ostim?: +1,050 Ont?lin: +1,050 Lingering Song [B] (14->15)] With her Mana Pool having refilled enough to exchange some messages, Amdirlain held off approaching the next pit. ¡°I¡¯m out finally. How¡¯s motherhood been treating you, Ebusuku?¡± It took a while before a reply came, and when it arrived, Amdirlain caught the chaotic themes that overlaid the Spell¡¯s structured music. The shifting energy in the music invoked Limbo¡¯s whimsical changes to Amdirlain¡¯s mind. Ebusuku¡¯s energy in the words rang with relief hidden behind happiness in her tone. ¡°Amdirlain, why am I not surprised that¡¯s your first question? In case you couldn¡¯t keep track of the time, it''s been two and a half years¡ªyou had us worried.¡± ¡°Parents always want to talk about their children, and I¡¯ve been looking forward to asking you.¡± ¡°Gail¡¯s a little rascal, and she¡¯s growing fast, but I¡¯ll talk about her later. What¡¯s your situation?¡± ¡°I¡¯m on Culerzic, and I can feel the Planar Lock¡¯s tension across my skin. I¡¯m still recovering Mana presently, so I¡¯m limited to the number of Message spells I can cast.¡± ¡°So glad you¡¯re out of there, Amdirlain. Culerzic, okay, it''s workable. Obviously, not as good as if you¡¯d ended up on Tern¨°x, but I can at least get you some support. How did it go with the vines?¡± ¡°The vines¡¯ wounds left me with unpleasant scars that I¡¯m still healing, but Ki cycling is helping with that. So far, I¡¯ve cleared up from fingers to mid-forearm and smoothed out others, though Protean hides them. Where did you send that Message from, its energy is odd?¡± The response that came back was nearly instant, and Ebusuku sounded suspiciously relaxed. ¡°I gated to Limbo, didn¡¯t want any ?signal flares giving you away. Send me an image of where someone can meet you; I¡¯ve got someone to guard your back available.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind, Ebusuku? It¡¯s not exactly safe.¡± ¡°Not for you either, since you¡¯re Planar Locked. A Celestial agent, and they¡¯ve been in the Abyss helping with other investigations for a couple of hundred days. If I tell them you''re locked on Culerzic, they¡¯ll simply come looking for you. I know they¡¯ll ask for an update on your situation and I won¡¯t lie. Please take their help.¡± ¡°They can keep doing whatever has them in the Abyss.¡± ¡°They¡¯re already in the Abyss with their boss¡¯ permission to learn the ropes in case you ended up there. Now, your choice. Do you meet up with them and make their job easy, or let them wander alone?¡± Gritting her teeth, Amdirlain considered her options. ¡°I won¡¯t say no to backup even if I¡¯m a lot stronger than I used to be. Why were they risking themselves in the Abyss on a just-in-case?¡± The sly notes of amusement in the reply made it clear she¡¯d made Ebusuku¡¯s day with her acceptance. ¡°You¡¯d risk yourself for others, Amdirlain. They¡¯ve got more knowledge of Culerzic than you do, and can watch your back for a while, pass on details, or even play fetch between planes if you don''t want to risk gates for others to pass you gear. You left me in charge remember, and keeping some stubborn people safe is like herding chaos sprites.¡± ¡°What¡¯s their name?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what name they¡¯re using at present. What did removing the vines do?¡± ¡°They¡¯re all gone, and I can hear True Song again. You¡¯re being evasive, Ebusuku.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t mistake the agent then, since Isa can hear music beneath Sarah¡¯s item; it¡¯s an improvement on what she used to block your Analysis¡ªit also gives fake details to imprints. They¡¯ll be able to catch you up without all the back and forth these spells require.¡± Though tempted to argue, Amdirlain used a different Spell to send an image of her current location. It was only a fraction under four minutes before the male figure appeared. Only slightly taller than herself, she had to angle her gaze slightly up to meet his yellow-slitted eyes. In form, he was a bald humanoid with greenish-black skin clad in an umber-hued hide shirt and pants. Bare-footed, his long toes ended in sickle claws that dug into the ground with the first shift in balance. The vicious false facade of music was a tinny distraction from the inner melody that instantly surged with relief when he saw her. That inner tune wrapped her worries in a gentle embrace and smoothed the bitter music provided by his appearance. ¡°Glad I got started learning when I did.¡± [Name: Tor¡¯m Altha Species: Cambion Class: Hunter / Fighter / Scout / Wizard Level: 23 / 23 / 23/ 23 Health: 1,702 Defence: 240 Melee Attack Power: 72 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (23), Unarmed [Ad] (5), Sword [Ad] (4), Long Axe [Ad] (28)] Amdirlain counted to ten before she spoke and wished she¡¯d waited longer, hearing the concern in her voice. ¡°You were supposed to be waiting on another Plane.¡± ¡°Wherever you are is the only place I¡¯m happy to wait. If it came down to your worst-case situation, I wanted to be ready, not keep you waiting. Erwarth and the others drilled information into me before they set me loose. Whatever you have planned, I can help and bring in extra equipment or grimoires for your studies while you¡¯re keeping a low profile,¡± replied Torm, and Amdirlain caught his natural expression in the smile he gave her. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°How do you see this working?¡± ¡°One day at a time. I figured I could at least pass along the local information I have so that you could plan. The others said the situation is constantly in flux, but the fundamental power structures of Culerzic, from Moloch down, is likely to remain intact without a major war.¡± ¡°I know Culerzic is one of the abyssal planes with infinite space. How does he control a plane?¡± ¡°He controls lots of it through proxies: named demons, weaker demon lords, apparently a few Fallen. Though he doesn¡¯t control all of it, he¡¯s just the principal power of the Plane. He grew strong fast, took out the previous Demon Lord, and continued to accumulate strength since.¡± ¡°I know a bit about that,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°My bossy big sister said you¡¯d been here a while. Any safe-ish locations handy?¡± Torm held out a hand, and above his long clawed fingers, an image of a makeshift stone shack sitting on a rocky plain appeared briefly. ¡°Shielded from ears; line of sight for kilometres; it''s a disposable investment of time and Mana. The local wildlife can get annoying, but they¡¯re not strong enough to break through the wards.¡± Amdirlain immediately teleported, and Torm appeared beside her. The outer ward parted around her presence, unable to oppose her magical strength, but Amdirlain sensed nothing triggered in reaction to her breach. They were already inside the strongest barrier, and Amdirlain recognised the stealth effect that blended the shack with the heat-blasted tan rock surrounding it. True Sight revealed more wards against eavesdropping and scrying. Torm casually lifted a stone slab from the closest wall and stepped clear so she could see within. The interior was a single room with a large, hip-height, green stone block in the middle; around it sat a mix of carved stone chairs in various shapes. ¡°Can¡¯t stay here long; it¡¯s one of several shared locations, but didn¡¯t want to say more out in the open.¡± With nothing catching her attention after repeatedly checking the wards, Amdirlain moved inside and settled for a backless stool. Though the nearest chair was an awkward shape for any humanoid, Torm perched on its curved frame after he¡¯d replaced the door. ¡°What sort of tasks brought you here?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I was learning how to move about safely and stay unnoticed, in case you ended up here or on Hrz¡¯Styrn. Erwarth and the other L¨®m? solars taught me initially, but I learned more working with the Celestial agents here.¡± ¡°Knew they had a network of agents in the Abyss, never learnt what they did.¡± ¡°They serve various purposes depending on the alliance of powers they serve. Sarah refers to the group I¡¯ve been working with as the underground railroad.¡± ¡°They free slaves from the Abyss? What do they count as a slave, with stronger demons oppressing anything weaker?¡± ¡°The L¨®m? knew of the Dao because the Sisterhood purchased mortal slaves from them. Demons like to torture souls, but mortals to torture and corrupt is a greater prize.¡± ¡°You¡¯re here rescuing people?¡± Torm¡¯s slight shrug had Amdirlain cup his face in her hands; the remembered searing sensation she¡¯d ignored last time didn¡¯t occur. With a smile, he caressed her forearms and earned a smile in return, and notes thumped with passion within his music¡¯s core. ¡°Sarah¡¯s item holds my energies below the surface of the flesh.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, but you risk yourself here freeing slaves. Don¡¯t tell me my motivations have lured you away from your boss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to support you with his permission. He felt it was only fitting, given all you did to help others, including my liege. Where is the Justice in letting one who has not earned this fate suffer?¡± ¡°How did you get a connection with these Celestial agents?¡± ¡°We discovered shared interests when I made enquiries with Ebusuku¡¯s guidance. I¡¯m glad I got in touch with them; their experienced agents have been beneficial in educating me.¡± ¡°Torm being sneaky.¡± ¡°There are times I can be sneaky; this is an ongoing military operation,¡± corrected Torm, but his music developed wary notes. ¡°One function of rangers in such operations is to act in environments requiring stealthy combatants to accomplish the mission.¡± Amdirlain leaned forward to kiss him, and Torm intercepted her motion with a finger to her lips. ¡°The agents refer to Culerzic as the home of twisted desires. The gathering spots of the damned vary wildly but have one thing in common: the damned either took a wholesome desire too far or gave into one already dark. Eventually, their focus on that desire thoroughly corrupted them, with their regard for whoever they hurt becoming abandoned or lost along the way.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a strong enough Willpower to control my desires,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°You have that advantage over me, beloved.¡± The word provoked a broad smile from Amdirlain. ¡°I promised myself I¡¯d kiss your brains out for killing Apollo.¡± ¡°Guess I should have resurrected him and killed him a few more times,¡± laughed Torm. ¡°This Plane makes my skin crawl. I¡¯d gladly accept your reward, but somewhere clean of such a miasma.¡± Letting out a badly faked sigh, she gave him a pout. ¡°I promise I¡¯ll behave then.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that promise.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather you hold me in other ways.¡± The teasing gleam that appeared in his gaze Amdirlain caught as easily as the shift in his Song. ¡°You¡¯ll have to learn enough True Song to cleanse an area, as Isa and the L¨®m? have done to link grottos. Would that even work with a single singer?¡± I told Livia about that memory, but not anyone else. Do I tell him now or when I get out of the Abyss? ¡°Oh, I need to prove myself now, do I?¡± huffed Amdirlain, in mock affront. ¡°Already well and truly proven. Honestly, I¡¯d rather kiss you where only you matter, and I¡¯m not distracted by such foulness.¡± ¡°And if that opportunity never came?¡± ¡°Be steadfast, and it will.¡± Amdirlain groaned and leaned forward to rest her forehead against Torm¡¯s. ¡°I want to kiss you until you''re begging me to stop, regardless of what¡¯s around us. However, since you want to wait, I¡¯ll behave, but only under protest.¡± ¡°Noted, and I¡¯d also rather be kissing you than for either of us to be here.¡± Amdirlain listened to the warm notes that started to drown out other themes within his music and slowly straightened. ¡°Maybe I should say I¡¯ll try to behave. Though this is your fault. You know that, right?¡± ¡°Why my fault?¡± asked Torm calmly, unaffected by her teasing. ¡°If you¡¯d been waiting outside the Abyss, our reunion would have been very different,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve memories of Orh¨ºthurin using True Song by dancing, and I figure I should practise that for someone.¡± ¡°You already move like you''re dancing. Some individuals found it difficult to keep their eyes where they belong?.¡± The amusement in his tone earned a raised eyebrow from Amdirlain. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You and the L¨®m? both move gracefully, but where they move like predators, you glide in a way that accents your feminine nature,¡± observed Torm thoughtfully, though Amdirlain caught his hidden amusement. ¡°Are you saying I strut?¡± teased Amdirlain, glad her skin didn¡¯t show her flush of embarrassment. ¡°I said glide, though there is a great deal of swaying involved as well,¡± corrected Torm. ¡°It¡¯s not just my admittedly biased view, as I overheard more than a few guards mention it. It wasn¡¯t something that I noticed the first two times we met, but it was certainly apparent during your last visit.¡± Amdirlain stopped to consider what might have changed and eventually groaned. ¡°That stupid Erotic Dance Skill.¡± At her pronouncement, Torm blinked in surprise. ¡°You have what?¡± ¡°Erotic Dance, it''s a ¡®come hither and watch me, baby¡¯ type Skill. I gained it trying to entice demons'' attention while I set them up for Ebusuku and me to kill.¡± Torm¡¯s warm laughter didn¡¯t fit the place, and he choked it off the instant Amdirlain glared at him. ¡°Acquiring some skills have passive effects; the theory I¡¯ve heard is it helps maintain the skills, even if you¡¯re not actively progressing them.¡± ¡°Does Sarah¡¯s gadget keep out telepathy as well?¡± Torm nodded and motioned beyond the doorway. ¡°There are various breeds of demons that possess telepathy, and I can¡¯t always be on guard. The enchantment gives them a false front to overhear. Why?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t ask you to remove whatever ?Sarah created for you. I¡¯d planned to ask you to show me your memory,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she smiled when Torm coughed. ¡°Or were you thinking naughty thoughts?¡± When he coughed again, Amdirlain laughed, and Torm gave her an amused smile. ¡°Sorry, no access to those memories for you ?anytime soon, but you can watch through plenty of beings¡¯ eyes before then, I¡¯m sure.¡± Amdirlain''s continued bright laughter certainly didn¡¯t suit their surroundings, but she didn¡¯t suppress it. Torm stood to meet her when she rose, and Amdirlain hugged Torm. His initial awkwardness in responding had a direct cause, and Amdirlain removed her wings. With his muscular arms wrapped around her, Amdirlain rested her head on his shoulder and sighed happily. Eventually, the pleasure of his proximity added a spike of warmth she couldn¡¯t blame on ongoing Mana absorption, and Amdirlain stepped back reluctantly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me more about your activities?¡± ¡°The work has a few aspects: recon, resource gathering, and liberation. Finding slaves is the easiest but also the hardest part. There are markets around the cities, but seeing them in that state makes it hard to be patient. However, finding where they¡¯re taken after leaving the market is more difficult. We gain abyssal coinage to purchase them if we can, normally from destroying demons and trading their possessions.¡± The thought of demonic slave markets revolted Amdirlain and added an edge to her reply. ¡°Purchasing slaves just continues the cycle.¡± ¡°Demons aren¡¯t mortals¡ªunless they¡¯re all destroyed, this will continue somewhere. Our work is to rescue who we can, find out how they got captured, and seek to stop that from occurring again. We also don¡¯t always pay for them; if we track down isolated demons with slaves, we¡¯ll raid them.¡± ¡°Continually plugging the leaking ship.¡± ¡°I know from experience a vessel big or small always gets water inside the hull; someone has to bail,¡± replied Torm. ¡°I don¡¯t deal with the markets¡ªnot enough experience passing as a Cambion. Destroying demons is one activity to gather coins and materials, but the wildlife and plants yield materials others sell.¡± ¡°Let me create a base for us like I¡¯d intended to use in Pandemonium, and I can set wards in place to stop any attempts at scrying. Ebusuku said Isa has been making True Song crystal with the Lome?¡± ¡°They are indeed making crystals. I¡¯ve seen a sample Erwarth brought back and thought it looked exactly like the crystal in your Domain. Gail says yours sound prettier.¡± ¡°She must have excellent taste then,¡± declared Amdirlain, lifting her chin with exaggerated smugness. ¡°How far out do these barren plains stretch?¡± ¡°Thousands of kilometres in all directions from here. The Zealots¡¯ Maze is the closest landmark, and it''s nearly 5k that way,¡± Torm said and gestured towards the room''s opposite corner. ¡°You could fly continually for a year and still not reach the nearest point of the Cliffs of Lust.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad Sarah trained you to use a proper measurement system.¡± ¡°Metric snob,¡± huffed Torm. ¡°Too right, mate,¡± retorted Amdirlain and caught the sudden ecstatic notes in Torm¡¯s music. Not sure why she¡¯d gotten such a response, she continued. ¡°I¡¯ll teleport us both then.¡± At his nod, she teleported them out across the barren plains in random hops for a time before she settled to the ground. The solid, tainted stone¡¯s music beneath her feet promised a lack of hollows such as she¡¯d heard on the plateau. In contact with the stone, she stretched her awareness into it through Inventory and excavated a section nearly three hundred metres down. [Inventory [Ad] (12->13)] Turning to put the wind at her back, Amdirlain drew the stone section from Inventory and Disintegrate turned it into dust. The fine mist wafted away, and she confirmed that its originating point wasn¡¯t apparent before she proceeded. A section at a time, she continued to enlarge the space, and with the reach stretch, Inventory regularly increased. ¡°Mana is swirling around you at present, but I can¡¯t see any Spell doing that,¡± noted Torm. ¡°It¡¯s a Psi technique. As for the Mana, my pool was bone dry; now it¡¯s guzzling Mana,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°When did you take Wizard?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a baby Wizard. I plan to combine it with an evolved Class. So far I¡¯ve only learnt the initial tiers of a few lists, but as you pointed out, spells are useful tools. Venturing here, I needed to have less reliance on objects.¡± ¡°Just as well then that I helped you gain those affinities. Have you learnt any more?¡± ¡°Aggie helped me gain Spatial, but I¡¯m learning five Spell lists presently. No lists exist for the court affinity as far as I¡¯m aware, at least not as far as anyone has seen fit to share.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t blame me that the rest of you aren¡¯t as mentally adaptive,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll get rid of this stone while my Mana recharges and then set concealments before we move again.¡± It didn¡¯t take long before the stone was dust, but Amdirlain already had enough Mana for her immediate needs. With personal concealments set over them, she teleported them into the space she¡¯d opened below. Torm looked around and took in the area she¡¯d carved out. It ran twelve metres? long, three wide, and three high¡ªslightly larger than a shipping container. Unhindered by the darkness, she marked the distance and cut out two ceiling-high archways at the three and nine-metre points on the long sides. ¡°Aside from the stone¡¯s colour, it feels like my last home already,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Rasha said you had a chamber, but he hadn¡¯t seen it. I didn¡¯t think it would be small from Ebusuku¡¯s tale of her trial.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fibbing¡ªthe chamber was a lot bigger, plus it had grass, a pool, and two fruit trees,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Couldn¡¯t eat the fruit, or I¡¯d have ended up like Sage and the others, but meditating was nice. I¡¯ll set up some initial rooms, but hold off expanding it too far until I have the Mana to ward it properly.¡± ¡°How big were you thinking?¡± ¡°I need room to practise, study, and space to move around without feeling claustrophobic,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Once I have Mana, we can contact others and bring in materials to make the warding easier. Perhaps a pretty crystal chandelier will drive back the stone''s abyssal corruption and make this place feel nicer.¡± At the amused smile, Torm gave her, Amdirlain set to work. 222 - Moments Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic With her hand pressed against the wall beneath the first archway, Amdirlain paused and glanced at Torm. ¡°This will take a little while. Did my arrival interrupt anything urgent?¡± ¡°I was harvesting giant necrotic worms from the Blood Fields¡¯ far edge so our cell leader could trade them for the local currency?¡± ¡°Cell leader?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the right term?¡± Torm asked before he shrugged. ¡°Anyway, we normally only operate in groups of five. To prevent the risk of exposing multiple groups if anyone becomes compromised, we conduct all arrangements for groups within the Abyss via external agents.¡± ¡°Sarah fed you too many movies it seems. What¡¯s so special about those necrotic worms?¡± asked Amdirlain. Her suggestion only earned a wry smile. ¡°Some demons enjoy the taste as they feed off the pain and misery of the impaled souls. They¡¯re also good bait for those fishing the Kraken breeds that inhabit the abyssal seas.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen Kraken-hide armour, and it held some high-end enchantments,¡± commented Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°Too much abyssal energy in the material for it to survive beyond the lower planes. While it¡¯s concerning that we are contributing to their equipment, it¡¯s still only items with limited usefulness,¡± explained Torm. ¡°Oh, being selective about how you¡¯re getting coins?¡± ¡°Very.¡± The bags of abyssal coins she¡¯d held ?in Inventory quickly formed a small mound along one wall. ¡°Your team can have the lot if it will help free slaves.¡± Crouching next to the stack, Torm peered inside a bag and glanced up at Amdirlain. ¡°I need scores of worms larger than me even to get a single pouch of obsidian coins. We might have picked the wrong prey.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve selected something used for food or harvesting materials with limited usefulness outside the Abyss. Whereas, among other things, I¡¯ve sold poisonous materials to a Fae-Devil Alchemist.¡± ¡°Erwarth mentioned that contact of yours. Did you know Lorrella¡¯s more likely to use the materials to kill demons than help them?¡± Torm asked with a dry chuckle. ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Torm smiled at her and deliberately raised a single eyebrow. ¡°Ebusuku didn¡¯t mention that Erwarth figures she¡¯s one of Hell¡¯s agents?¡± The news had Amdirlain clicking her tongue as she considered what Analysis had told her. ¡°No, she hadn¡¯t. The Analysis details said Lorrella had come to the Abyss as an act of rebellion against Hell¡¯s regulations, yet admittedly it said nothing about her current allegiances.¡± Amdirlain paused and gestured at the closest wall. ¡°Are the concealments in place enough, or do you want to add more?¡± ¡°Perhaps you can spend some time giving me magic lessons,¡± Torm murmured and nodded reassuringly. ¡°They look secure to me, so I¡¯d say we¡¯re safe to talk on more delicate subjects. Livia and Ebusuku mentioned you¡¯ve recovered some memories, but we didn¡¯t talk about them when I visited. Have you recovered more while in the Maze?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not talked about much in the way of my memories. I had a guarded conversation about one with Livia, and I don¡¯t think she quite understood what I meant. Though it¡¯s likely just as well, I¡¯m now of the opinion that some of my memories would put a target on anyone¡¯s back, especially mine.¡± The statement caused Torm¡¯s eyebrows to rise. ¡°If you need to talk about them, I¡¯d take that chance for you,¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure there is a point to risking anyone over them. Just because I remember how things were, doesn¡¯t mean I can restore them.¡± ¡°The offer still stands. Though, speaking of risk, are you planning just to lie low?¡± Torm asked, standing upright. Though his expression gave nothing away, his music was a mix of concern and curiosity. As if she¡¯d bitten into something sour, Amdirlain¡¯s lips twisted. ¡°No, I¡¯ll be careful about what fights I get involved in, but I won¡¯t be sitting idle.¡± Even as she¡¯d tried to reassure him, Torm had smiled in relief. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°For what, letting you know I¡¯m more than slightly insane?¡± asked Amdirlain with a laugh of relief at his ready acceptance. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re insane, and I¡¯m sure you have your reasons for not just going into a besieged state,¡± replied Torm. ¡°It was for being open with me about your intentions and for whatever weighing of the risks you end up doing. I¡¯ll let you get more concealments up before we talk further.¡± Amdirlain only continued the expansion of the space while her Mana continued to recover, but her Mana capacity meant that she needed plenty of time. The initial corridor had expanded into a complex of rooms, with each of the four archways used for rooms with a different purpose. In the first, she created an area for private rooms, with additional rooms laid out in case of guests. The second archway led into the beginning of a library, while the third had a corridor with two circular domed chambers that Amdirlain planned to ward, especially for casting practice. The fourth area had her pause, and at Amdirlain¡¯s hesitation, Torm spoke up. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°An engineering issue. The other chambers have been straightforward with the strength I can hear in the rock, just joined cubes or smooth domes. But in this area, I want an ample space, which means I¡¯ll need to get the support right,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Too used to doing everything yourself,¡± teased Torm. ¡°How is your Mana recovering? It seems to swirl around you less now.¡± ¡°About a quarter recovered,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Once it reached the ten per cent mark, the effect on the area¡¯s Mana started to reduce. It doesn¡¯t feel so strange under my skin now.¡± Torm motioned upward with a casual grin. ¡°Plenty of people on other planes can help design a space with proper ceiling support. I take it that once you have a plan, you¡¯d be able to carve it out with enough precision to please a Dwarven engineer? That¡¯s if you don¡¯t want to ask the L¨®m? in Tern¨°x for their advice.¡± ¡°Okay, you have a point,¡± admitted Amdirlain, ruefully scratching the back of her head. Torm smiled warmly and brushed a stray hair away from her face. ¡°You¡¯re fixating on doing everything yourself again. I saw it in Eyrarh¨¢ls, and Sarah said you used to get this way, but I thought you were delegating better. Don¡¯t think because you¡¯re Planar Locked that we can¡¯t help.¡± Already distracted from her excavations, Amdirlain reached out and caressed Torm¡¯s face. ¡°I need to push my skills and levels. The last time I sat still instead of gaining levels didn¡¯t end well. Even though I gained a lot of levels in the Maze, I also don¡¯t have a Tier 7 achievement for my next Prestige Class.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t? I would have thought freeing the aspect-¡± ¡°I burnt it up taking a Prestige Class after 120,¡± interjected Amdirlain. A snort accompanied the warbling notes within Torm¡¯s Song that almost had Amdirlain laughing. ¡°You took a Prestige Class at what level?¡± Amdirlain gave him a deliberately guileless smile. ¡°Technically, it was at 122 that I took the Class but I had planned to only go for 120. I got details on a Fallen¡¯s transformation options and figured it was best to hold off. I¡¯d been fighting maze guardians and got a little carried away, so I went beyond my targeted level.¡± When Torm motioned for her to go on, Amdirlain set further concealments before she began. As soon as she completed the first, Torm started to speak, but Amdirlain continued her castings. It was only after all the chambers sat under multiple layers of concealments that Amdirlain explained the information she¡¯d learned about Fallen transformations. He¡¯d sat cross-legged opposite her when she began and listened quietly without interruption. When she¡¯d finished, he sat in quiet contemplation, and Amdirlain held her tongue to give him time to think things through. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m worried about what such a transformation will do, yet you¡¯re right, a Demon Lady evolution is likely to have an even greater impact. If this transformation gives you enough power to take on Baln¨¦rith without risking that evolution, even better,¡± offered Torm. ¡°I¡¯d prefer you get clear of the Abyss without trying to take on the Titan¡¯s problems, but I¡¯m not foolish. From your few mentions of her, I can tell you mean to destroy her, if possible.¡± ¡°Torm, I¡¯m not counting on being able to avoid needing that evolution as well,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Yet if I take the transformation route, it has to be before I evolve.¡± ¡°The redemption path is only for the Fallen, isn¡¯t that what Rex said when he shared the information about it?¡± For a moment, Amdirlain considered holding back the information but pushed the worry aside. ¡°That¡¯s what our host knew, but it¡¯s not right.¡± ¡°What source of information did you find?¡± ¡°I recovered the memory of its creation, but I don¡¯t quite know how it will react to me,¡± allowed Amdirlain, holding back a grimace for her concerns. ¡°The redemption path is an object that assesses the evil deeds committed before touching it. Whenever a being touches it again, it weighs every action committed since and determines if the individual is making amends or not.¡± The music in Torm relaxed during her explanation, and the slow tempo of his tapping fingers matched his Song. ¡°Their deeds are the judge of their sincerity.¡± He went to continue but paused with his lips slightly parted and his gaze narrowed. ¡°So, what¡¯s the problem you see?¡± ¡°Problems. First is that celestials are ?the ultimate examples of good, so it doesn¡¯t consider whatever eons of good deeds they might have done. It assesses only the evil deeds they¡¯ve taken satisfaction in before their Fallen state for which they need to make amends.¡± ¡°Do you believe it will judge you for all your past lives?¡± asked Torm, and she could hear his determination clamp down on an internal protest. [Resonance [M] (38->39)] ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± The admission didn¡¯t help him much, but Torm nodded a ready acceptance. ¡°What happens if you ?slip from the path?¡± ¡°If that slip takes you into a worse state than you started with, it destroys you,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The sudden jangled music from Torm had Amdirlain offer a reassuring smile before she continued to divert him. ¡°It¡¯s certainly not the best news. It would have been great if I¡¯d gotten there, and with one touch, I got declared not guilty and sent on my way. But the evil deeds of those who appealed for a way to redeem themselves inspired its precepts.¡± ¡°How bad?¡± ¡°While she didn¡¯t create it to punish them further, she could hear their deeds and wanted any redemption to be earned with the possibility of a disaster included for those that wavered.¡± ¡°Alright, at least she didn¡¯t completely weigh the scales against you,¡± stated Torm. ¡°Do you think it will help if you make amends for whatever it decides requires atonement?¡± This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Amdirlain didn¡¯t hesitate to nod and saw Torm relax this time. ¡°If the assessed being has done enough to redeem themselves, it frees them from the Abyss. When it does so, it converts them into a being of equivalent strength native to the Plane that matches their nature.¡± So since I have a crippled Primordial¡¯s Soul, what will it make me? Firm bass notes rumbled across her skin and matched the intensity in his gaze. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll help however I can.¡± ¡°The deeper abyssal planes aren¡¯t places I want to risk you, Torm,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s hard even having you here thinking about what could happen to you. I won¡¯t reject your help here, but please don¡¯t ask to accompany me to places like Ijmti.¡± Torm caressed a hand reassuringly along her shoulder before he leant forward to embrace her. ¡°I know there are places where I can¡¯t risk going, but those are years away. For now, I¡¯ll be here for you, I promise.¡± With a relaxed sigh, Amdirlain wiggled closer to make it easier for him to hold her. ¡°Thank you, Torm. Are you planning to introduce me to your team?¡± ¡°Last time I introduced you to some celestials didn¡¯t go so well. I¡¯d suggest we work on what they need together, and I¡¯ll conduct any deliveries separately. There are plenty of others you can speak to through gates once your base is secure.¡± ¡°Bases, but I¡¯ll follow your lead if you¡¯re not sure about involving your team.¡± ¡°Your safety is too important, and I won¡¯t risk those that don¡¯t need to know about your presence when you¡¯re Planar Locked,¡± stated Torm. ¡°My Liege pointed out to others a few times ?that justice doesn¡¯t require sharing everything you know. Indeed, it¡¯s more likely for injustice to occur from people making a hasty judgement on information they shouldn¡¯t possess and aren¡¯t qualified to weigh up correctly.¡± ¡°Not arguing,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve certainly been too trusting in the past, sometimes for self-destructive reasons.¡± ¡°Verdandi wondered why you were so quick to offer your True Name.¡± ¡°Children were always a sore point with me; I couldn¡¯t have them in my previous life. So being even an innocent party involved in Livia¡¯s death gave B the chance to take over, but I didn¡¯t remember when I got free,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°After what I thought I¡¯d done to the slavers, I was already wondering if I¡¯d become a monster. That led me to mishandle the situation with Aquila, and I partly hoped Verdandi could lock me away with my True Name before the Sisterhood made me even worse.¡± ¡°Ellynia help you work that out?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°She had me working on reviewing those memories I¡¯d gained from Soul Sight, but also my own memories.¡± ¡°I noticed you said past life,¡± observed Torm. ¡°One of the Titan¡¯s offers was to let my Soul leave the realm, but that made it clear it would simply be born somewhere else. Even though I¡¯ve not called myself Julia in years, I still clung to her for so long. She¡¯s a big part of me, but I¡¯m no longer who I was, and I¡¯m still finding out who I¡¯ll become.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case with everyone? The transformation into a Celestial requires letting go of the past and focusing on what our Liege needs from us,¡± offered Torm. Amdirlain squeezed him tight and felt his solid muscles not even shift under the extra strength in her arms. ¡°I¡¯m still a lightweight compared to you; it seems I don¡¯t have to worry about hugging you hard.¡± ¡°Your Willpower leaves mine far behind,¡± countered Torm. ¡°Well, now that we¡¯ve finished complimenting each other, who do you think I should contact?¡± ¡°If it would help, I¡¯ll gladly shower you with well-deserved compliments. Who do you least want to contact for help with your base?¡± Isa couldn¡¯t hear my music before, so I hope, like Sarah, it will be the case without the vines. Orh¨ºthurin had so many secrets that the last thing I want is to spill them out before I ?even remember the details. ¡°Let me think on that one,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Sitting back slightly, she laced her fingers with Torm¡¯s. ¡°Why did Isa end up talking to the L¨®m??¡± ¡°You, well, the possibility that Gail was you. Isa heard snippets in Gail¡¯s Song that reminded her of your world, your home and school,¡± explained Torm, caressing the back of her hand where the tattoo had once been. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t go there to help the L¨®m?, but she dragged Ilya there at a chance of helping me?¡± asked Amdirlain, distracted by her thoughts. Torm gave a slight headshake and gently squeezed her hand. ¡°I wasn¡¯t there, but Ilya dragged herself there, apparently, said she wouldn¡¯t let Isa go alone. If you¡¯re worried about the possibility that others might have pushed them into going, it was Isa¡¯s suggestion.¡± ¡°No problems with learning True Song from the L¨®m??¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not heard the details on the process, only about what they¡¯ve achieved from Erwarth.¡± Amdirlain smiled at Torm¡¯s hand still clasping hers and pushed the worries aside. ¡°I had learned some of it by listening to Psi techniques and the change in the music they¡¯ve caused, but if they can teach Isa-¡± ¡°Might not be as effective since they can¡¯t come here, but keeping a Gate open within a grotto¡¯s perimeter should hopefully be safe,¡± suggested Torm. Amdirlain considered the situation with the caverns. ¡°I know several locations occupied by the L¨®m?; if I set a Gate near one, would you be my envoy?¡± ¡°It would be my honour.¡± Though Amdirlain let go as she stood, Torm flowed to his feet in time with her and kept their handclasp intact. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to let me go?¡± asked Amdirlain happily. ¡°Not right away, as I treasure every moment at present. I¡¯m delighted my duty to my Liege puts me in a position to help you, Amdirlain,¡± stated Torm. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get your boss something extra nice,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she headed back into the main corridor. She quickly activated the Spell while picturing the ledge where she¡¯d found S¨ªrdhem and the others. The Gate¡¯s boundary appeared at the far end of the corridor and banished the darkness. As the ethereal singing from the Grotto washed across them, Torm inhaled in surprise and glanced between the Gate and Amdirlain, ready to move her away. ¡°This grotto has expanded as well, but it seems I could have gotten much closer as a Fallen than I risked,¡± offered Amdirlain. Shedding the wingless Alu-Demon she¡¯d kept while carving out her base, Amdirlain motioned Torm towards the Gate. ¡°If you would be so kind?¡± ¡°But of course,¡± replied Torm, and he released her other hand. He hesitated momentarily, only to brush some wayward strands of electric-blue hair into place behind her ear. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± As he moved forward, Amdirlain walked with him to the Gate¡¯s threshold, glad the discomfort from the music¡¯s pressure she¡¯d first felt as a Succubus wasn¡¯t present. Torm stepped through without hesitation, and Amdirlain heard the music¡¯s beauty interacting with his nature. With barely any delay, he headed towards the Grotto¡¯s interior, having taken only time for a wave and a blown kiss. Before getting more than a half-dozen paces, Amdirlain heard the Song¡¯s purification effect wash an edge of tension from his core. Though the L¨®m? were likely to hear the truth within his form, he shifted from Cambion to Celestial in appearance, though he kept his height. While she waited, Amdirlain touched her fingers against the Gate¡¯s threshold and listened to the lock¡¯s tension preventing her from crossing. Torm had barely been out-of-sight for ten minutes before he reappeared, accompanied by four Elven figures. Isa and Ilya still wore the appearance of And¨²n? elves. Their auburn hair tied back in loose ponytails accented their high cheekbones and angular features. When Isa¡¯s silvery gaze fixed on Amdirlain, her music shivered between relief and concern. The concern in Ilya¡¯s blue eyes matched the theme in her Song, but her attention was on Isa alone. The L¨®m? couple who appeared with Torm didn¡¯t wait for them to speak but walked towards the Gate. They were ?opposites of each other in attire and, from their music, apparently personality. The male L¨®m? wore casual robes of an amber hue that didn¡¯t go well with his emerald green eyes. Unkempt and shoulder-length, his silvery hair looked like he¡¯d run fingers through it frequently; whether to comb it or in frustration, it was in an untidy state. In contrast, the female L¨®m? wore solid plates of sung midnight-blue armour, stars glowing within the crystal. The severe theme within her Song didn¡¯t seek to quash her husband¡¯s music but moved to support and guard him. It was that music that added an extra depth to the determination in her silvery eyes. Yet despite their differences, they both held a theme that spoke of a sense of familiarity and made Amdirlain sure that they recognised her face. The sudden appearance of a Solar beyond Isa yanked Amdirlain¡¯s gaze away from them, but their music showed a lack of surprise. She wasclad in the same style of golden armour Amdirlain had seen Ebusuku wear, with the symbol of a candle surrounded by broken chains upon her breastplate. Her six glowing white wings folded back only to disappear as Erwarth strode forward and prompted Isa to get herself into gear. ¡°Lady Laleither, and Lord Roher, I¡¯d like to introduce you to Lady Amdirlain, formerly Lady Orh¨ºthurin,¡± stated Erwarth, not giving anyone else a chance to speak. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, these are my parents, Lady Laleither and Lord Roher.¡± ¡°While your current state hides your music, Lady Amdirlain, we recognise Lady Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s face. We¡¯re glad that Isa¡¯s denial of your possible destruction was correct,¡± Roher offered. ¡°Please, you¡¯re Erwarth''s parents, just call me Amdirlain. I¡¯m glad Erwarth found you both alive when so many others perished. How are your people faring?¡± ¡°They¡¯re much improved, Amdirlain. While I could talk about all the improvements for weeks, your envoy said you needed help. What do you need of us?¡± asked Laleither. ¡°I¡¯ve three priorities, two immediate and one long term. Short term, I need means to secure and conceal a location, and also any memory crystals for learning True Song,¡± ¡°You have access to it again?¡± started Roher and raised a hand to halt her answer. ¡°My apologies. That was a silly question. I imagine you wouldn¡¯t be asking if you couldn¡¯t hear the Song again.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve taught myself a few things from memories I¡¯ve recovered. But my recollection remains fragmented, and I want to ensure I don¡¯t make a mistake I could avoid.¡± ¡°As Isa found, our uses of True Song are similar, but the energies that we can invoke differ. If you would like, I could teach you myself, though my focus is more about uses in battle,¡± offered Laleither. ¡°After we get past the fundamentals, I could introduce you to additional teachers to discuss more subtle uses.¡± ¡°Teaching through a Gate won¡¯t be a problem?¡± Laleither gestured to one side, and Amdirlain took in the unconcerned intent behind it. ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll have an issue with careless intent disrupting the Gate¡¯s energies. If it proves an issue, we¡¯ll work something out.¡± At her words, Isa, who¡¯d lingered in the background, stepped up beside Laleither. ¡°Would you be okay with me helping? With you being so far underground, I doubt anything would detect my presence in your base.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we set up a concealment barrier first?¡± asked Laleither. ¡°You and Roher might have proven correct with the last gamble you took, but I prefer to be strategic about protecting everyone.¡± Themes of guilt and tension whirled around in Isa¡¯s music, and Amdirlain gave her a warm smile that had her blinking back tears. ¡°I¡¯d love that, Isa. I couldn¡¯t use spells within the Maze, but I¡¯ve been duplicating Psi techniques and their effects.¡± A sudden rush of tears from Isa had Ilya clasp her shoulder in moral support. ¡°Did you jump straight into using it as someone else did? She got scolded by Roher for that approach.¡± ¡°I regained the ability to hear it first, but I didn¡¯t have spare Class slots available. When I finally did, I first spent time on pure singing practice.¡± Her statement earned a nod of satisfaction from Laleither, who¡¯d moved to the other side of Isa and rubbed her back with almost parental affection. ¡°Some are just wilder than others. Isa regained some memories you might wish to discuss. She recalled being trained by you in life.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you remember, but Orh¨ºthurin was a brutal taskmaster, yet Mori enjoyed the challenge,¡± blurted Isa through her silent tears. Guilt, relief, and happiness at the sight of her warbled erratically through her Song with an undercurrent of pain. ¡°I ?remember some of it, and that teaching helped my initial singing practice. The elephant in the room first: you weren¡¯t to blame for what happened, Isa. I was a fucked up mess and eventually would have broken. Like running along full pelt at work and then immediately getting sick the first day of holidays; I¡¯d pushed myself too far for too long,¡± said Amdirlain. Isa opened her mouth to argue, and Amdirlain raised a hand and softly hushed her. ¡°Listen when I say this, okay? To me, the problem wasn''t you. I had too many mental wounds festering away, and my control finally slipped. The things I learned at the monastery helped me free from the vines. Without taking the time to learn them when I did, I might never have gotten free, and the visualisation techniques help to add intent to True Song. So how about we call it a no-ball and get on with the innings?¡± ¡°Bloody cricket fans,¡± grumbled Isa playfully. A quick melody flowed from Isa and shrouded the Celestial energies within her form. Amdirlain moved back to let her through when she stepped toward the Gate. When Isa was clear of the Gate, she pounced to hug Amdirlain. Unfazed by the impact, Amdirlain wrapped her arms around Isa, aware of how delicate she felt. "I made an ungrateful pig''s breakfast of it as well, and needed my arse kicked. Even if you want to take the blame, I won''t let you; you were off balance and weird from my perspective, but I was bitchy about it. Instead of telling you how you came across, I reacted to it after telling you off about doing the same with Ilya. Even before that, I thought about the Gate you first opened almost continuously, yet I attacked you instead of even attempting friendly contact." "Let''s just write it off as Luck pushing your brain around," offered Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe it was Luck at play, but I still brought up all that pain,¡± sobbed Isa, her face buried against Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Then everyone thought you were destroyed, and I couldn¡¯t believe it. I wouldn¡¯t let that Message I¡¯d provoked be the last time I heard from you.¡± ¡°How about a do-over?¡± Isa waggled her head but kept her face tucked in against Amdirlain. Her tear-filled voice was further muffled by her position. ¡°I¡¯d love one, but not this time. We had our plans to get free, but you freed us, and the groves here have eased so much of Ilya¡¯s pain. I won¡¯t pretend none of that happened, I just wish people would stop throwing it in my face.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to forget it, but I don¡¯t hold it against you. We can both learn from it,¡± offered Amdirlain, rubbing gentle, reassuring circles across Isa¡¯s back as Erwarth¡¯s mother had done. The shift in her music at the contact made it clear why Laleither had comforted Isa that way. ¡°I still can¡¯t hear your Song,¡± huffed Isa in protest. I didn¡¯t get it before, but now it would be unsettling. The immediate thought Amdirlain pushed aside, feeling shame-faced by its distraction. ¡°Well, I can hear yours, and it¡¯s all over the place.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m feeling emotionally off balance at present,¡± admitted Isa, who noisily sniffed. ¡°Your music¡¯s usual theme is still pretty erratic, I¡¯d say, or am I wrong in that?¡± ¡°There may be some truth in that,¡± laughed Isa. 223 - Dig down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic While Amdirlain sensed no impatience, the others¡¯ presence prompted her to hold Isa out at arm¡¯s length. ¡°But we¡¯re good now, right?¡± ¡°Only if you¡¯re okay,¡± replied Isa, wiping away her tears. Amdirlain gave Isa another brief hug before she released her. ¡°I¡¯ll be better when I get released from Culerzic, but one step at a time.¡± At the mention of the Plane, Isa shuddered. ¡°Blah! This place sounds like the energy present when I dusted Viper.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t in the best place mentally when you sent the message about her. Thank you for dealing with her; the thought of her loose on the Material Plane was sickening,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she caught the worried notes at the Gate. ¡°Is your concealment wide enough to wrap up Ilya as well?¡± Isa turned and motioned Ilya to join them. Ilya¡¯s theme stretched and strained, but she pushed fear aside to step through the Gate, keeping her focus on Amdirlain. ¡°My apologies for my rudeness as well, both when we met and afterwards. I was waiting for the hook to show itself, not for your servant Sage to keep giving us ways to get stronger.¡± Amdirlain snorted, which caused Ilya to pause. ¡°Friend, not servant.¡± ¡°Now he is, but once you regain the Mantle-¡± ¡°No, Ilya, he¡¯s not a servant. Sage is a friend; was before, is now, and will be even if things go that way,¡± Amdirlain replied and caught the sceptical notes from Ilya. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I can understand your viewpoint. I doubt acceptance will ever be your first reaction, especially with all the schemers I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve dealt with for millennia.¡± ¡°Torm said you needed some advice about your situation and help with some priorities. Frankly, you¡¯re Planar Locked; your only priority is not being found by your enemies. I once had an enemy return to Hell in that state¡ªI ensured they didn¡¯t survive.¡± ¡°Concealment is my highest priority, and then comes avoiding getting sucked into someone¡¯s summoning circle again. Got any tips on setting wards?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A few, but mainly from what made them hard to take apart when scouting,¡± admitted Ilya. ¡°You¡¯ve solid wards, though, mostly because of the layers you¡¯ve set. I don¡¯t recognise the concealments, but I¡¯d say you need more spellcraft practice. I¡¯ll get you some grimoires from reliable sources at The Exchange.¡± ¡°Ebusuku told me she¡¯s been establishing a library. Perhaps let Erwarth know what grimoires you¡¯ve got in mind, getting copies won¡¯t take long if we already have them.¡± Ilya quickly shrugged off her disappointment and nodded politely in acknowledgment. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that¡ªI wanted to balance the debt owed.¡± ¡°You could always add more grimoires to the library if Ebusuku already has the ones you had in mind,¡± Amdirlain suggested. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure you owe a debt, I wouldn¡¯t leave Isa¡¯s love in trouble.¡± Her casual tone almost had Ilya sputtering, but she shook it off. ¡°Don¡¯t you know how much that grimoire you had copied was worth? Let alone how dishonourable I was?¡± ¡°They charged me for the Planar Law grimoire, but not enough, judging by your reaction. Maybe it was a lure to keep my interest,¡± replied Amdirlain in an intentionally dry tone. ¡°As for dishonourable, I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve offended my share of people along the way. No ball.¡± Ilya¡¯s confused reaction provoked laughter from Amdirlain and Isa, but when Ilya gave them a mock glare, it only made them laugh harder. Once Amdirlain controlled herself, she gave Ilya an awkward smile. ¡°Let''s just write it off among the rest of the weirdness.¡± Ilya hesitated but pushed past her growing fear of the confined space. ¡°My only suggestion is to hide. You¡¯ve got a good start: underground, with concealments in place; reinforce those, make fallback locations and stay hidden.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very good at taking some suggestions. People kept telling me to rest; look how well that worked out once I finally caved,¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°Just sitting in hiding for a century won¡¯t happen. I need to get stronger. So I¡¯d rather know who and what to avoid while I¡¯m picking fights. At present, I need more levels and a Tier 7 achievement for my next Prestige Class.¡± Torm finished speaking quietly with Erwarth and her parents before venturing through the Gate. Before crossing the threshold, he shifted back to his Cambion form and moved to stand near Amdirlain. When Erwarth approached the Gate, her fortissimo notes threatened to overwhelm Isa¡¯s concealment of her and Ilya¡¯s Celestial energies, and she held herself back. ¡°Let¡¯s start with what I know about Moloch, which hopefully is the least of us. He¡¯s a Hidden and got cursed for trying to butcher a family because one member stole a ship from him,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Except, whereas I kicked Viper out, he destroyed his demonic host¡¯s personality sometime between starting as a Rutterkin and becoming a Demon Lord.¡± Torm took in her purposefully bland tone and almost gingerly asked a question. ¡°How did you find that out?¡± ¡°I tried to walk the corridor of choices¡ªit didn¡¯t go so well. It showed me what may have happened if I¡¯d chosen to deny the reality of the situation when I appeared on the cliff face,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The unpleasant what-if you mentioned to Rasha?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°Yeah, let''s just leave the details out, but I spoke to Moloch in the vision. He seems the type to focus on what¡¯s important to him; messing with his power will draw his attention, and then he¡¯ll crush you,¡± replied Amdirlain considering Moloch¡¯s casual cruelty. ¡°His demons fight under other demon lords¡¯ banners. Isn¡¯t that lessening his power?¡± enquired Ilya. ¡°You¡¯re assuming he considers demons important, and he wouldn¡¯t be hiring them out unless it got him something. At the very least, they¡¯ll get combat experience and get sent back to his Plane when they¡¯re killed,¡± started Amdirlain but paused in consideration. ¡°They¡¯re using them in the Blood War, correct?¡± ¡°Not always. I saw them in battles between other demon lords,¡± replied Isa. A potential reason for the troops caused Amdirlain to wince. ¡°At least one type of Fallen earns an experience share from even demonic groups following them. Torm mentioned some work for him?¡± ¡°The group I¡¯m working with know of five,¡± replied Torm. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean any follow the Martinet route; he could have a Prestige Class that allows him something similar.¡± Roher cleared his throat and drew their attention to the three still beyond the Gate¡¯s threshold. ¡°Both are worst-case assessments, Amdirlain. He could just be using the fees to equip armies he keeps on the Plane, and get those demons some combat experience away from their home Plane. Most entities become cautious while Planar Locked, so if they get killed, things will be quieter while they lay low. Could you please expand this Gate¡¯s width to make it easier to converse?¡± The question left Amdirlain feeling she¡¯d excluded them from the conversation, and she quickly reset the Gate. After its width had expanded to nearly? two and a half metres, she locked its dimension again. ¡°Sorry, I hadn¡¯t planned on talking through the door.¡± ¡°It is a small matter, but let us arrange a few other items. I take it you have no furnishings?¡± asked Roher. ¡°I¡¯ll carve some shortly-¡± started Amdirlain and stopped at the music that beckoned from Roher. Roher smiled reassuringly and a clear crystal pedestal table and a collection of chairs appeared, sitting awkwardly on the rocky terrain. As Erwarth passed the first of the chairs through the Gate, Amdirlain listened to the crystal¡¯s music and detected the aged resonance. Even when Erwarth shed her wings and changed her Solar form to match Amdirlain¡¯s current height, it was an odd gathering. ¡°Alright, let''s talk about Culerzic from the head villain down.¡± Ilya spoke up first. ¡°Hell considers him the Abyss¡¯ purveyor of armies. Moloch raises, trains, hires out, and/or sells demonic forces. Short of troops? He¡¯s got a few million you can hire. Need your troops entertained or more bred? Then he¡¯s got thousands of whores you can borrow for a price, be it succubi or incubi that you fancy.¡± ¡°Your best bet for practising your skills is against the bestial demons, anything that Moloch can¡¯t make a member of his mercenary regiments,¡± suggested Erwarth. ¡°But can¡¯t your levelling wait until after you¡¯re no longer at risk of destruction?¡± ¡°I gained another Prestige Class in the Maze, but I can¡¯t just assume I won¡¯t be summonable. The other problem is I need a suitable achievement to unlock my next Prestige Class. Bestial demons are hardly going to be worth a Tier 7 Prestige Class at my power levels,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Also, I want to stretch my True Song capabilities.¡± Erwarth frowned and fixed Amdirlain with a stern glare. ¡°Is your priority doing something outlandish or surviving and developing your skills?¡± ¡°Outlandish is a bit harsh. But I could have stayed in the Maze if I just wanted to survive and grow my skills. There were guardians to fight that gave me plenty of experience and pushed my skills.¡± ¡°It is disconcerting not hearing your Song. Have you taken the Glinnel class?¡± enquired Roher quietly, his focus resting on Amdirlain. ¡°No, I got offered that plus some evolved ones. I took two evolved classes focused on True Song that offered the broadest range of advantages¡ªneither truly combat classes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Then you won¡¯t have to fight to gain experience. Perhaps building might provide you what you want without risking yourself,¡± suggested Laleither. Her armour hid Laleither¡¯s body language, but her concern for Amdirlain was apparent in her music. The sense of familiarity struck Amdirlain again, a strange d¨¦j¨¤ vu that offered a half-dozen or more sets of features for Laleither. ¡°We knew each other previously, didn¡¯t we?¡± ¡°You could say that,¡± laughed Laleither, and she shrugged. ¡°In previous lives, I admired you and was certainly distraught over your death. We¡¯ve already lost so many during our imprisonment, I¡¯d hate for you to join the lost.¡± ¡°I need to get stronger so no one can summon me unwillingly again,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°There are general songs to shatter summoning conduits, close gateways, and many other dimensional interactions,¡± said Laleither. ¡°We can ensure you¡¯ll be able to protect yourself from that again or make it easier on your summoner if you wish to meet them.¡± Amdirlain glanced at Isa, remembering the Gate from Cemna to the Outlands she¡¯d sealed. ¡°Is that the song you used to close the Gate in the Outlands?¡± ¡°No, that was just singing a reversal of the Gate¡¯s music,¡± replied Isa quickly. ¡°The first proper True Song I learnt was here.¡± ¡°Any music using our peoples¡¯ power is a proper True Song,¡± objected Roher. At his tone, Laleither gently touched Roher¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not get into that debate, at least not at present.¡± ¡°Hmph,¡± snorted Roher. ¡°I don¡¯t know this Moloch fellow, but I prefer building over any battle. The Titan¡¯s realm always moves to balance; destroy him, and another would grow to take his place. From the Song of your surroundings, it sounds like it would serve as an adequate foundation for many construction options. That would be good training, especially once you learn enough to purify the corruption.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Amdirlain isn¡¯t one of the L¨®m?, Roher. Temporary constructs only provide a fraction of the experience, and building enduring ones is going to be problematic by herself,¡± cautioned Laleither. ¡°Though a few centuries of dedicated singing practice wouldn¡¯t go astray.¡± ¡°To make a proper decision, I¡¯d still want to know more about this Plane and its rulership,¡± interjected Amdirlain, and she caught a twitch of amusement from Erwarth. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure you would consider me barely more than a child, I can make my own choices, and it''s not just weak demons that need to worry about me.¡± Laleither started, and Amdirlain grew sure she realised her presumption when she began to blush. ¡°Our apologies. You are right, we''ve not the authority, either parental or seniority, to decide for you?.¡± ¡°Even if you thought you had the authority to give Amdirlain orders, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d ignore them. Or we could play the authority game and get Gail to revoke them,¡± snorted Torm. The confused exclamations from the others crashed over each other, and Torm waited for them to stop. ¡°She got told the Anar elected their queens, so since Gail¡¯s the only living Anar, she elected herself,¡± Torm explained, keeping his amusement under control. ¡°It gave her a vision of two additional base classes.¡± ¡°When did that happen?¡± asked Roher. ¡°Please tell me she¡¯s not taken any classes yet.¡± ¡°Just before she turned two, the vision¡¯s music warned her of the downsides. The cautious, subtle notes in the song warned her, so she¡¯s holding off for now. Though she requested a puppy so she¡¯d have something to play with besides a Class.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll stunt her natural growth if she takes a Class too early,¡± cautioned Roher. ¡°We are aware, Roher. Gail¡¯s bright, and ?she knows what trouble it would cause her,¡± repeated Torm. ¡°Though she grows faster than I think is normal for an Anar.¡± ¡°She does indeed. I think that¡¯s partly the effect of Laurelin and partly her parentage, but mostly Gail¡¯s desire to grow quickly,¡± said Erwarth. ¡°She appears to be a fourteen-year-old already; she wanted to start Willpower training against Farhad.¡± ¡°He¡¯s got a teenage daughter, his deadliest challenge yet,¡± chuckled Amdirlain. ¡°You didn¡¯t think to tell us about her Class situation, daughter?¡± asked Laleither. ¡°It''s her parents'' business. Perhaps her uncle Torm should be the one scolded for speaking out of turn,¡± retorted Erwarth smugly. ¡°What is it with young ladies nominating you as uncle?¡± asked Amdirlain, looking to change the subject. Erwarth laughed at the question, but Torm simply shrugged. ¡°I got titled uncle after she found out Livia called me Uncle Torm, and her mother is your big sister, according to you.¡± ¡°What do you want to focus on? Building some safe locations for yourself and perhaps the Celestial agents, merely finding trouble, or lying low while you train?¡± asked Roher, trying to drag the conversation back on topic. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much time we¡¯ll have at present.¡± His wording made his preference for avoiding fighting clear and had Amdirlain holding back a smile. ¡°Focus? I¡¯ll do all three, but the second I¡¯ll do carefully. Now, someone tell me a bit more about Moloch and his Plane. The last thing I want is to be caught by surprise.¡± ¡°Moloch¡¯s presence in the Abyss far predates humans entering the Titan¡¯s realm,¡± stated Torm. ¡°The earliest records of his name mention him being a Balor at least a hundred thousand years ago.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s grimace had Torm pause, and she forced herself to give a relaxed shrug. ¡°It seems he played down how long he¡¯d been in the Abyss in my vision.¡± ¡°He wasn¡¯t originally from Culerzic but seized control while still a named Balor. He destroyed a triad of demon lords who used to control swaths of it, hunted them down on each of their planes,¡± added Erwarth before buttoning her lip. When Torm motioned to her, she continued. ¡°They hired the Sisterhood for an easy win. She ended up losing a half-dozen squads to his forces, and he ?killed the Castalian in the second lord¡¯s hall.¡± ¡°Does he hold a grudge for them fighting for the other side?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°He regularly sends the Castalian slivers of her body, along with love letters asking for the chance to bathe in her blood again.¡± ¡°Charming,¡± murmured Ilya. ¡°Also a reminder that he¡¯s got material to track her down if she dares cross him.¡± ¡°I should let you give the briefing, Erwarth,¡± offered Torm. Erwarth gave a tiny head shake. ¡°I only know the historical information. Amdirlain needs the current details, not just ancient history lessons.¡± ¡°Our apologies. As I believed they would, the Grove¡¯s council has requested us to return to discuss their situation. Let us introduce ourselves so you can send a Message to us, Amdirlain,¡± interrupted Roher. ¡°I¡¯m Roher. Do you have any memories of the Abyss that might assist, Laleither?¡± ¡°Unfortunately not,¡± replied Laleither. ¡°I would like to talk longer, but Roher is right. We¡¯ll need to excuse ourselves. I¡¯m Laleither. Let me know if you wish to discuss tactics for True Song use within combat. Clearly, you don¡¯t wish to name the classes you gained, so I promise not to enquire.¡± Even as she stated her own name, Amdirlain noted how Resonance reacted to their announcement of their names. While Yngvarr had explained the Message Spell¡¯s theory long ago, access to Resonance clarified the focus of individuals naming themselves. The connection brought a rush of understanding, with modulations in pitch fragmenting into frequency shifts so minutely precise, she didn¡¯t possess the maths to categorise them correctly. [Resonance [M] (39->40) True Song Composition Unlocked! True Song Composition (1) Two unique True Song classes detected, additional levels added True Song Composition (1) -> [B](5)] Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s ability to target the creation of a star from billions of light years away suddenly made sense. True Song''s tonal structure allowed it ?to encompass galaxies or precisely target a single sub-atomic particle within an individual. It was an awe-inspiring recognition that didn¡¯t provide any understanding of how she could achieve full use of it. It''s like a DVD technology frequency of sound instead of frequency of light, and I don¡¯t have the required Skill levels to interact with it precisely enough. ¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Later, too much swirling inside my mind at present. Let¡¯s continue the briefing.¡± ¡°Wish I could hear your Song,¡± grumbled Isa. Her mock-petulance earned her a condescending pat atop the head from Ilya but her music had good-natured, teasing tones. ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to your discussion,¡± Laleither stated, and rose slowly. ¡°Isa, we¡¯ll let you know when the preparations are complete. Our apologies again, I¡¯d prefer to remain to assist you, but connecting this Grove to others is proving more complex than I¡¯d hoped. We''ll let you know as soon as we¡¯re free from the latest discussion.¡± Isa nodded happily, and with that, Roher and Laleither vanished. ¡°By complex, she¡¯s talking about the politics, not the work involved,¡± observed Isa. ¡°Plus, Elves like to talk, talk, then talk some more, ponder, and then talk,¡± added Ilya rolling her eyes. ¡°Some are fine. Roher won¡¯t give me a figure, but I¡¯d say he and Laleither are among the eldest alive, and they can decide things promptly.¡± ¡°Being among the eldest merely gets them into the senior councils. Some have billions of years of deferring to the royal family, and now they¡¯re not around,¡± noted Erwarth, spreading her arms in a ¡®what can you do¡¯ gesture. ¡°Though some politics are involved, to be fair, most of the issue is because of the distance they are from the nearest Grove. It''s a problem that will affect other locations and, until the connection is complete, the effort will be largely theirs to maintain its growth.¡± ¡°It''s why the first connections we created didn¡¯t involve asking for permission. It¡¯s easier to get forgiveness when you¡¯ve delivered a success,¡± stated Isa. ¡°Shall we get back to Amdirlain¡¯s briefing?¡± Torm glanced between Isa and Amdirlain. ¡°The breadth of Moloch¡¯s operations on Culerzic, I¡¯m not sure anyone knows, except perhaps himself. As I mentioned, we know of five Fallen, some weaker demon lords and a host of named demons that work for him. The Cliffs of Lust and the Blood Fields of the Dretch are two of the regions he oversees personally.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised he bothers with the Dretch. Such a weird combination to focus on himself,¡± murmured Isa. Torm glanced over at Isa¡¯s comment. ¡°They form the bulk of the forces he provides to other factions; more of them than all the other demonic species combined.¡± ¡°Low-cost goods sold in high volume; he is a merchant at heart,¡± added Amdirlain and winced at Moloch¡¯s threat within the vision. ¡°A Dretch alone is only useful if you want a thug or arrow fodder. It''s the millions thrown into battles that give them significance. They soak up damage, distracting forces so that stronger demons can close on Hell¡¯s forces,¡± commented Ilya. ¡°Yeah, and he¡¯s got a never-ending supply of them here. I know about the cliffs and fields, but what other punishment regions are there? And who controls them for him?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The Zealot¡¯s Maze is for those that forced others to their beliefs and holds the damned in a state of perpetual suffocation. The Searing Forest, the shelter of its metal leaves, bakes those restrained beneath them; my group¡¯s commander calls those damned slum lords. Glutton''s Banquet, where the damned continually gnaw on their souls, and the scraps that fall into the muck transform into Larvae.¡± Torm¡¯s account of the damned¡¯s gathering places, and Moloch¡¯s regional supervisors, continued until Fainil¡¯s sudden arrival next to Erwarth interrupted the briefing. Her outer form possessed the dusky skin of an And¨²n?, but her hair was a radiant white that wasn¡¯t anything like their normal tones. It was a shade that shone with an inner light matching the wings hidden within her form. Despite her changed shape, even the first notes Amdirlain heard announced her clearly. ¡°I brought you a gift; N?r redrew them from memory,¡± said Fainil. She set a large parchment roll on the table and slid it towards Amdirlain. It only took unfurling it slightly to understand what Fainil meant, but Amdirlain finished laying them out. The bundle contained multiple sheets detailing the plans for a complex of rooms, from small individual rooms to a vast library and training complex. ¡°Was this what you started to build?¡± ¡°It was closer to completion, though N?r was still constructing the storage areas,¡± explained Fainil. ¡°It''s so good to see you, Amdirlain. This might be overkill for a little base, but Torm told Erwarth you need plans to build chambers that wouldn¡¯t risk collapse.¡± ¡°It will give me something to do,¡± joked Amdirlain as she shuffled her way through the sheets. ¡°I could always change rooms every few days to mix things up.¡± ¡°The intent was it would let anyone stuck there a long time have options to avoid going stir crazy, as well as space for training,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°The less confined it felt, the less temptation to go out and do something crazy. Like pick fights with bestial demons or the rulers of a Plane.¡± ¡°Does everyone want me to just hide for the century?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not just hide¡ªbuild, hide and learn,¡± offered Erwarth. ¡°Who says you have to build just one of these? Could set up multiple hideouts, so you¡¯ve got fall-back positions. Build various sized ones, and provide some of them to the Celestial agents to give them safe locations. It will help you build up skills you can use for future projects. You¡¯ve still got a Human perspective of time. Why are you in a rush?¡± Amdirlain looked the plans over again and shrugged. ¡°It won¡¯t take me long to build a dozen or more of these by carving them out with Inventory.¡± ¡°Then build them with True Song, a room at a time. Roher could teach you enough composition so you could sing them into existence,¡± noted Fainil. ¡°Doubt you¡¯ll get it perfect the first time, but excavating a room is an Anar thing, a burst of energy to destroy or move the existing stone. Then you can adjust the songs to carve through fortress walls later on.¡± ¡°I can start your lessons,¡± Isa quickly offered. ¡°But personally I¡¯d also vote for putting your feet up for a century or two with a few million books.¡± Amdirlain gave Isa a lopsided smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t plans ?something that¡¯s a little left field for you?¡± Lifting her chin snottily, Isa tossed her hair. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know composition takes skill, and skill and luck go hand in hand.¡± The suppressed worry in her music had Amdirlain take it for the strained joke it was?. ¡°I¡¯ll sit still for lessons after I dig out the first version of this place. Okay?¡± ¡°Would you sit still until you¡¯ve got the confidence, level, and Skill to construct a place quickly with True Song?¡± asked Isa. ¡°As long as it¡¯s pushing my singing capability towards mastering those songs that Laleither mentioned dealing with conduits. Also, I¡¯ll want options to do more with True Song besides excavation,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she set aside the sheet labelled as the top level of the complex. ¡°I believe some you won¡¯t be able to practice properly while Planar Locked,¡± cautioned Erwarth, and she raised a hand to head off any objection. ¡°You¡¯ll only be able to learn and practice on Portals leading between spots on Culerzic, but the planar barrier will stop you from interacting with conduits between planes.¡± ¡°I can teach you songs that duplicate a bunch of combat spells. I¡¯ve written them out in the same musical notation Roher taught me for composition,¡± offered Isa. ¡°They¡¯re simple compared to other True Songs, but it''s a starting point for improving the Skill.¡± ¡°Agreed, for now. The situation might change, but we¡¯ll talk. Now, I need to move a bit, and being in this corridor has stressed Ilya. Why don¡¯t you lot talk to the Grove about a lesson plan, and I¡¯ll get started on the first excavations,¡± said Amdirlain; she didn¡¯t wait for their reply but moved to the far end of the corridor. Once there, she set a hand to the stone and started carving a staircase downwards at forty-five degrees. When the others retreated through the Gate, Torm remained and moved the table and chairs clear before it closed. ¡°Going to trust them to devise a plan you¡¯ll follow?¡± ¡°No, I just needed them out of my hair for a time,¡± admitted Amdirlain, after a moment¡¯s consideration. ¡°They had good points, and I¡¯ll see what they come up with after a planning session. If I don¡¯t like it, I¡¯ll raise objections; but mostly, I started to feel crowded. Orh¨ºthurin spent so much of her life alone, and I think the last two odd years surfaced that habit in me.¡± ¡°Should I have left with them?¡± asked Torm in a concerned tone. ¡°No, I¡¯m glad you stayed,¡± clarified Amdirlain quickly. ¡°Just because I¡¯m currently more used to being alone doesn¡¯t mean it has to stay that way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you had the habit of being alone buried too deep.¡± Amdirlain laughed and waved a finger at him reprovingly. ¡°Oh, you¡¯ll keep, buster.¡± 224 - No Matter what Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Torm remained silent until the stairs descended another fifty metres from the corridor. ¡°How much further are you looking to descend?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t mess up the conversion, the plan¡¯s cross-section showed the tallest chamber on the top floor being forty metres.¡± ¡°Going to carve out the full base they designed for all of them?¡± ¡°Why not? Gives me something to do while my Mana recovers and I think over the information you¡¯ve gathered,¡± replied Amdirlain and claimed another section into Inventory. ¡°Do you also think I should hide away for the century?¡± ¡°I think a century focused on training your skills could be good for you,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°Compare your combat capabilities with Liran?. You only had one Tier 7, and only her better skills kept you from overpowering her. But from what you¡¯ve learnt about transformation sites, there may be demons with far more Tier 5 Prestige classes and better skills.¡± ¡°You all have a point, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll go crazy just hiding out. I¡¯ve always needed to be doing something,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Have you ever been Planar Locked?¡± ¡°Twice.¡± ¡°Well, at least I¡¯ve not exceeded your count,¡± teased Amdirlain, and Torm¡¯s snort drew her attention from the stone she¡¯d been disintegrating. ¡°Yet,¡± cautioned Torm. ¡°Both of mine were in the first five hundred years of being a Celestial, and I wasn¡¯t in a dangerous location while Planar Locked.¡± ¡°Oops.¡± ¡°Indeed. Are you going to carve out all the chambers this way?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cut the border of each out and disintegrate the rock in the middle rather than chop it up this way,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not just going to hang around here, are you? I mean, you¡¯ve obligations to fulfil with the other celestials.¡± Torm nodded understandingly. ¡°I do indeed, but I¡¯ll be here frequently. Though given all the bags of abyssal currency you donated, we can now operate for some time. We must limit what we handle at once to avoid risking the entire operation.¡± ¡°Flashing too much coinage isn¡¯t keeping a low profile,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly, and the reason handling the market isn¡¯t my job.¡± ¡°That¡¯s even better. I could just tag along to help? harvest while avoiding contact with the other celestials since you want them out of the loop,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯re hiding me from disapproving parents.¡± ¡°You implying you¡¯re a girlfriend from the wrong side of the tracks?¡± ¡°I need Sarah¡¯s movie list,¡± muttered Amdirlain before her voice returned to normal. ¡°Can I take field trips to help the gathering, please oh mighty one?¡± With a sigh that sounded like it came from the bottom of his boots, Torm shook his head glumly. ¡°Having a beautiful Alu-Demon accompany me while gathering isn¡¯t keeping a low profile.¡± Amdirlain reached out, tugged Torm¡¯s earlobe, and promptly vanished, but the elaborate earpiece that held fast to him only elicited a sigh. A decorative metal spike ran up along the curve of his ear, and insect-like limbs protruded from it to clamp onto his flesh. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be out in the open.¡± The metallic words vibrating along his ear drew a nod. ¡°We can work something out if you really need to get out into the foul abyssal air and endure the appalling scenery.¡± An Abyssal Stone Hag appeared next to Torm, clad in black robes that looked frayed with age. Despite the craggy texture of her grey skin, the mischievous smile was pure Amdirlain. ¡°Pass,¡± retorted Torm. ¡°What, don¡¯t want to take an old lady for a walk, youngster?¡± cackled Amdirlain. ¡°Hags appearing in unexpected places are a sure sign that some scheme is afoot,¡± chided Torm. Amdirlain shifted back to her wingless Alu-Demon form with its long sable locks and ivory skin. ¡°Most Alu-Demons can¡¯t change their form,¡± warned Torm. Unbothered, Amdirlain simply shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a Wizard, obviously. Now let me get back to work.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s staircase finished after a hundred-metre descent and levelled off into a large domed chamber. Ten stone arches ran up along the chamber''s walls, spaced five metres apart, and merged at the peak like a strange rib cage. Though she wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d provide additional support, they at least broke up the sterile appearance of the meeting hall. The dome¡¯s peak was almost forty metres overhead, and Amdirlain was considering carving out artwork to lessen the bleak appearance when Isa came skipping down the stairs alone. ¡°Got your own Hall for singing practice, but it will echo up those stairs,¡± observed Isa. ¡°I¡¯ll hang a set of doors shortly and put concealments in the passages to block sound travelling and disturbing guests,¡± replied Amdirlain. Curious at Ilya¡¯s absence, she glanced meaningfully beyond Isa. ¡°She trusts you to keep me safe. The groves have helped, but her claustrophobia still kicks her arse. Do you want to keep carving, or shall we have a lesson since you have a lovely hall?¡± asked Isa. ¡°We could go through the basics as Roher did with me.¡± With no urgency to complete the hideout, Amdirlain shrugged reluctantly, recognising the trap procrastination offered. ¡°Why not? How many hours a day do you and Roher practice?¡± ¡°I get a couple of hours a day with him at present,¡± replied Isa. ¡°It was a lot more when I first arrived.¡± ¡°Then you went and caused some distractions, didn¡¯t you?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Too right,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°Now I get more time with Ilya¡ªwhat a relief.¡± Amdirlain couldn¡¯t resist giving Isa a pert smile at her gleeful tone. ¡°It''s likely just as well regeneration takes care of tongue fatigue.¡± ¡°I know. Singing takes so much out of me; I¡¯d hate not to be at my peak for Ilya. Being a Planetar is fun, and I don¡¯t even need the ring she commissioned to shapeshift anymore.¡± ¡°TMI,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and Isa burst out laughing. When Amdirlain gave a deep sad sigh, Isa clapped sharply. ¡°Right, let''s get started, my little Padawan. I¡¯ve some memories of Orh¨ºthurin teaching one of my past lives¡ªtalk about brutal, so time for some payback.¡± ¡°You mentioned that,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°Guess you won¡¯t need anyone to sing for you.¡± ¡°Fragments, which Roher says can happen even before the rite. I¡¯d still recover more with it; maybe you or Gail can help me later,¡± countered Isa. Quickly cutting the beginning of a planned passage, Amdirlain extracted two stone chairs from the mass she¡¯d stored and set them on the floor. ¡°Dealer¡¯s choice Torm. Stick around, listen to boring vocal lessons, or head off to take care of whatever you need to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m curious.¡± Isa plopped down casually on a seat and motioned for Amdirlain to get started. Though she¡¯d set concealments in place while excavating, Amdirlain added another layer and set up the stone doors before she began. When she finished a demonstration of regular singing, Isa looked like Amdirlain had grown a second head. ¡°What¡¯s your singing at?¡± ¡°Presently, it''s Adept 41,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s not what I was expecting to hear. I remember you singing along to your stereo. You had a pleasant voice but strictly amateur; now, you could be a lead singer.¡± ¡°Depends on your standard,¡± countered Amdirlain, and Isa rolled her eyes. ¡°What¡¯s your True Song at, and what effects can you create?¡± ¡°Adept 15. So far only some mimicking of telekinetic techniques, both physical and energy effects,¡± answered Amdirlain. Laying out some chunks of stone, Amdirlain lifted them with Far Hand before progressing through the techniques she¡¯d replicated. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. . ¡°Have you gained the composition skill?¡± ¡°True Song Composition is at Beginner 5,¡± replied Amdirlain quickly. ¡°Or did you mean something else?¡± Her question just had Isa look at her owlishly. ¡°No, that¡¯s the Skill I meant. I didn¡¯t even know it was a thing until Roher taught me. When did you gain it?¡± ¡°Would you believe listening to music while talking to Roher and Laleither?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d been trying to understand aspects of True Song for a while, and some pieces from old memories clicked into place.¡± ¡°Maybe I should stop avoiding them. Though some I¡¯ve not been able to avoid rising to the surface, most I¡¯ve distracted myself from and the memories subsided,¡± admitted Isa. ¡°I will admit the whole idea scares me; having someone¡¯s life experiences cram themselves into my skull.¡± ¡°Your Soul¡¯s life lessons are readily accessible; click the link to download now,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°How do you find them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just it¡ªthey vary so much I never know how emotional the memories will be,¡± Isa replied. ¡°Sometimes they hold such strong singular emotions, and other times it''s like all the colours had washed away. Those faded memories aren¡¯t too bad, but the one where the Anar city fell was the first, and it carried so much rage and sorrow. How about you?¡± ¡°For me, it''s like I¡¯m living the moment, but that could just be how I¡¯m recovering them. Individuals with Immortal Spirit use the Ki technique to recover lessons learnt in past lives. Since our memories are still sitting in our Souls, they come back in high definition,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°All of them?¡± gasped Isa and winced when Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I think I¡¯ll take my method. I don¡¯t want the high-definition version of being incinerated by a Dragon.¡± Remembering one of Ebusuku¡¯s Maze briefings, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow questioningly. ¡°Ebusuku conveyed a report from Echo that said you were furious with the L¨®m?.¡± ¡°I was furious with them, but I remembered more of why they left now. The Anar society was like a tree that had become rotten within: their rulers, court, and customs; by the time Mori became Queen, it was too late to change them. She¡¯d barely been at it a few millennia before the end,¡± answered Isa. ¡°The L¨®m? trusted precisely one among the Anar, and when they thought she died, they left.¡± ¡°How old was Mori at the end? Was it the same lifetime as when you were my great-granddaughter?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I had at least a half dozen lives before I came into your circle of influence. Then we met, and I¡¯m sure that last life ran for over a billion years because of your teachings. At least, I had the name Mori still when the city fell,¡± replied Isa and snorted. ¡°A couple of billion years! That¡¯s nothing, right?¡± Amdirlain smirked at Isa¡¯s disbelief. ¡°Spring chicken.¡± ¡°Are you going to learn or run off and get in trouble?¡± ¡°Now why would you ask a question like that?¡± Isa glanced at Torm. ¡°Will you help us keep track of her? Maybe she needs a babysitter like Gail.¡± ¡°As long as I¡¯m making progress, I¡¯ll keep a low profile,¡± Amdirlain offered. ¡°Though, do you think Moloch will notice if a few hundred thousand demons perish?¡± ¡°It depends if they were ones he was planning to profit from next,¡± noted Torm casually. ¡°Do you think you can predict which ones to avoid?¡± ¡°Good point; if only I possessed something like Precognition. Oh wait, I do!¡± laughed Amdirlain and returned her attention to Isa. ¡°Right, where do we start?¡± Isa tapped her foot and jabbed a finger at Amdirlain. ¡°With some practice. Now, if you¡¯d demonstrate how you practiced in the Maze.¡± ¡°Each session was three hours,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not moving¡ªIlya is sparring.¡± ¡°Normal singing or True Song?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve listened to you sing; now show me the Power!¡± exclaimed Isa. With a snort of suppressed amusement, Amdirlain scattered head-sized rocks across the floor and shattered each with a single severing note. When she ran low on material, she extended the new passage further. Isa was faithful to her word and sat through Amdirlain¡¯s practice session without shifting position. For several beats, after Amdirlain halted, Isa said nothing but slowly blinked and finally breathed. ¡°Holy cow.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just rocks,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°No, I mean the single notes you¡¯re using. How did you learn that?¡± Isa asked and pointed to a fist-sized rock among the rubble. ¡°May I?¡± ¡°By my guest.¡± Isa¡¯s focus sharpened, and the rock burst apart under the note she sang. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll ever be able to forget that note after listening to you drill it for three hours. Where did you learn it?¡± An illusion of an apple tree appeared beside Amdirlain, and she plucked the closest fruit. ¡°By listening to a tree¡¯s stem sever from its fruit.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± asked Isa, ¡°It took a long time to isolate the note. I only listened for it because of a memory where Orh¨ºthurin told Mori about using single empowered notes,¡± Amdirlain replied, aware she was short-changing the situation''s complexity. ¡°Power, plus intent,¡± murmured Isa and exchanged a hug with Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks for sharing that, I¡¯ve not heard Roher do anything like it. Since I have some things to think about, I will let you two have some alone time. I also need to return to the groves'' purified region¡ªthis place''s energy makes me want to bathe with acid.¡± A quick song from Isa opened a Gate overlooking the cavern. Giving them a wave, she stepped through and let it close. ¡°I¡¯ve been good. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d show me some sights?¡± asked Amdirlain, a new idea racing around in her mind. ¡°Not going to keep working on your hideout?¡± ¡°I want to collect music from different locations,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea, but it will take a while to implement, maybe even longer than I¡¯m trapped here. I¡¯m not planning to fight anything, but I want to see and listen to the regions of the Plane.¡± ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°Is that part of the tour fee?¡± teased Amdirlain. Torm shrugged and beckoned her to share. ¡°No, I was simply hoping you¡¯d share your plan.¡± ¡°True Song can target points far out of sight. The L¨®m? purified parts of the Tern¨°x, and Celestials living on another Plane in the Abyss have done the same,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°You want to purify this Plane?¡± asked Torm, gaining an incredulous expression. ¡°Not all of it, but if I build something to cleanse a sizeable chunk, it might be interesting,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Laleither seemed to indicate that the Anar weren¡¯t good builders,¡± noted Torm and stopped at Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°Let¡¯s just say there is a bit of truth in that and move along,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°What if we come across mortal slaves?¡± questioned Torm. ¡°Ebusuku mentioned you couldn¡¯t ignore the plight of the captives.¡± Amdirlain winced and rubbed a hand across her stomach, remembering that ache that had hit her. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯d wanted me to rest and thought showing me that the task was endless would do the trick. Blame it on me being in a terrible place emotionally. If we see someone that needs help where it''s too dangerous to do so, I can scry them out later. If we don¡¯t help them in time, avenging them also works.¡± ¡°What made you push before?¡± She chewed on her lip for a minute as she considered how to explain it. ¡°I felt like an imposter, a fake, a fraud¡ªhowever you wanted to put it. I had this Title, and zero belief that I¡¯d earned it. Eivor pronounced her belief in me, and suddenly I was a goddess or pseudo-power. If I¡¯d had an option to refuse at that time, it would have been no way, no how.¡± Amdirlain exhaled and raked fingers through her hair. ¡°You all wanted to let me know what you believed I should do, and I appreciate it came from a place of concern. But no, I can¡¯t nod and go along. I can¡¯t just agree that way. I will not let someone else set the goal posts and the rules. Orh¨ºthurin made a mess of her life by following other people¡¯s rules until it was too late to avoid a trap that eventually cost her life.¡± ¡°Following rules isn¡¯t always a bad thing,¡± teased Torm. ¡°It is, in excess, just like this Plane attracts those who¡¯ve taken desire too far. For Orh¨ºthurin, the desire to be accountable, and avoid even the perception of power, was the poison that killed her. I didn¡¯t want power, but I wanted to be safe. Guaranteed safety isn¡¯t a thing, and in this realm, safety can be challenging to maintain.¡± Torm paused, and Amdirlain listened to his calm inner music, enjoying his melody. ¡°What rules will you follow to be safe?¡± ¡°If it is too dangerous for me, then it''s too dangerous for you,¡± replied Amdirlain, smiling when Torm froze. ¡°Isn¡¯t so much fun when the shoe is on the other foot. But seriously, tell me you wouldn¡¯t be in the Abyss if you hadn¡¯t considered me being here a possibility.¡± ¡°If I get killed, I¡¯ll end up back on Tyr¡¯s Plane,¡± argued Torm. Even before he finished speaking, Amdirlain started to shake her head. ¡°Death isn¡¯t the worst thing that can happen to you here. While you¡¯re here, I¡¯m guarding your back. I can¡¯t imagine a Transformation Site would be good for your health. Do you think I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear that sort of music nearby?¡± ¡°What about when I meet with the other celestials?¡± ¡°Please, do you think I can¡¯t hide my presence from them? Erwarth can¡¯t come here because she¡¯d be a signal flare, so how strong are the others in your team?¡± The wince Amdirlain¡¯s suggestion drew didn¡¯t surprise her, nor did the conviction in Torm¡¯s voice. ¡°I won¡¯t deceive them.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t do it by going behind their backs,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Let them know you¡¯ve got a strange ally working to free herself from the Abyss. If they opt not to trust you, it''s their choice, not just because a judge was keeping another¡¯s secret.¡± ¡°You mean far more to me than that, beloved,¡± declared Torm softly. Amdirlain gave him a warm smile that drew forth a bashful grin. ¡°First time you¡¯ve said that directly. I liked hearing those words from you, especially since the risks you''ve taken for me show it even more clearly. I love you, and there are so many secrets I want to tell you, and I¡¯ll do so once I¡¯m no longer Planar Locked. I hate even having to put conditions on sharing them.¡± Hopefully, that gives me enough time to figure out how to guard him against anyone listening to his music or mind. ¡°Even married couples don''t have to tell each other everything. Are your Class names among the secrets, or can you share them?¡± ¡°They''re hardly a secret, and it took points off her for that dig. That was such a classic Elf move¡ªpassive-aggressive bullshit. I''ll tell you what I¡¯m interested in, but not voice the question. The implication that I¡¯m the naughty child for not sharing is so annoying,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°If she¡¯d asked, I would have told her, but they would have meant nothing to her.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± asked Torm, giving a puzzled frown. Amdirlain pursed her lips and almost held her tongue. ¡°They¡¯re unique to my situation, so they would have never heard of them before. If Orh¨ºthurin had them, I¡¯m sure she never shared them; she could keep a secret until it died of old age. I don¡¯t know if you know High Elven? Ont?lin is one, and it roughly means ¡®Singer of the forge¡¯ and Ostim?, a term for ¡®blending of sound¡¯.¡± ¡°Blending of sound?¡± asked Torm, his voice rich with curiosity. ¡°It''s a term for when combinations of letters get put together that requires the first letter to be pronounced differently,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The letter ¡®m¡¯ becomes pronounced as ¡®mb¡¯, ¡®S¡¯ becomes ¡®St¡¯, etc. Make sense?¡± Her explanation earned a nod, and Torm asked. ¡°And I assume the forge in the other refers to the Titan¡¯s forge?¡± ¡°Yeah, Orh¨ºthurin did lots of work with him,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Right, I¡¯m nearly out of words for now. What horrific sites do you have to share with me?¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to go out?¡± sighed Torm. ¡°Torm, I¡¯m not a Dwarf,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been underground too much. This Plane feels awful above or below ground, so I¡¯d prefer to at least see further for a little while. As a compromise, I¡¯ll keep carving while my Mana Pool is recovering, and then you can take me worm hunting or something. You have until then to decide on a suitable disguise, or I¡¯ll pick something.¡± ¡°Not worm hunting¡ªI¡¯ve had enough of wading across those flats lately,¡± argued Torm. ¡°Give me a week. It¡¯ll let me arrange a meeting time with the other celestials, and then we can explore. We can handle gathering together if they still want to work with me.¡± ¡°Alright, a week I can handle, and we can do something else besides worms,¡± cheered Amdirlain and cut out a fresh section of stone. The regular cycling of Mana finally sated her Mana Pool a few hours later. The time it had taken had allowed Amdirlain to carve out nearly a third of the complex¡¯s top level. ¡°Have you picked an activity yet?¡± ¡°I''ve sent a message to the cell''s leader. We''ll meet them in four days, which is sooner than I had expected for a non-emergency,¡± said Torm. ¡°If they want to work with us, we''ll go fruit picking in the Orchards of Hunger.¡± Nodding her acceptance of the plan, Amdirlain motioned for him to continue. ¡°What are the Orchards of Hunger?¡± Torm snorted at her quick response and gave her a wry smile. ¡°You mentioned them previously to me, but it seems you weren¡¯t aware of the region¡¯s name. The Orchards of Hunger contain the trees with the famine fruit.¡± The name recalled the sight of the trees for Amdirlain, and she curled her lip at the memory. ¡°The trees with fat boughs growing in what looks to be barren soil?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± acknowledged Torm. "The Abyss buries the damned, and the tree''s taproot goes down their throat, drinking from their Souls. New arrivals are the only time I¡¯ve seen the trees move¡ªthey¡¯re like a revolting version of a Treant. The tree sprouts almost instantly; its side roots seize the damned, pulling them close, before it starts to push them under. Even before they submerge, you can see their throat convulsing when the tap root drives in, their skin becoming parched and desiccated." ¡°Demons eat the fruit, don¡¯t they?¡± asked Amdirlain and grimaced at Torm¡¯s answering nod. ¡°Well, I asked to get out to see the sites. Did you have a particular location in mind?¡± ¡°There are a few I¡¯ve been to scattered across the flats,¡± replied Torm. ¡°What form for you to use is the biggest question.¡± ¡°Well, you have a week to pick something,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°But I''m not sure what else I could use considering the abyssal energy they¡¯d expect to be present in a Demon.¡± 225 - The rot within Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic With the last room finished, Amdirlain returned its page to the roll of designs. It had taken four days of effort to carve the hideout exactly according to the plans Erwarth had provided. Having committed them all to memory, Amdirlain stored the rolled plans in Inventory, before she re-checked all the rooms. Only when she completed a few circuits walking varying paths, to ensure she caught them from different angles, did she teleport to the library¡¯s main hall. The room increasingly resembled an old library with the number of heavy volumes that Torm had unpacked from Isa¡¯s deliveries. Among the books weren¡¯t only the leather-bound volumes Amdirlain had expected, but texts in a variety of materials, from dark stone plates to liquid that swirled within a set form. The last Amdirlain had found ?especially interesting as layers of compressed water formed the entire volume. Its runes were perpetual eddies that sat within the ¡®pages¡¯ of the book. Listening to that tome¡¯s music was relaxing and yet caught her up in its dancing energy. Already restless, it added to Amdirlain¡¯s desire to move, and more of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories bubbled up only to stay teasingly out of reach. With Amdirlain¡¯s arrival, Torm added yet another empty crate to the stack he¡¯d handled unpacking for her. ¡°I¡¯ve finished checking all the rooms again,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Everything appears and sounds stable. Likely I didn¡¯t need the whole place, but it gives us plenty of space.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll provide reminders that you have more than the main hall and the library if you seem too restless. The meeting is soon; we should Teleport close and scout around.¡± offered Torm. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea? I could just help you gather whatever they need and not meet them.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve left this meeting¡¯s outcome to chance?¡± asked Torm. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°My Liege and Ebusuku have already spoken to their counterparts,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention that,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Torm gave a mischievous smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask until now; I was hoping to surprise you.¡± Rubbing her hands nervously, Amdirlain reappeared close to him. ¡°Teleport us whenever you¡¯re ready.¡± Torm looked at the Alu-Demon shape Amdirlain had adopted and rubbed the back of his head. ¡°You¡¯ve more control over your Charisma, but it still shows clearly. Perhaps a Hag might be better after all.¡± Despite his calm tone, Amdirlain caught the light notes in his music and poked out her tongue. ¡°Every humanoid form I can use in the Abyss has its downsides.¡± The sky overhead was the same raging flames, but she found they weren¡¯t in any region she¡¯d previously visited. Rolling dunes of glossy black sand stretched towards the horizon, where the heat haze generated a mirage-like shimmer in the distance. Strange animal cries, strangled chirps, and vicious screams echoed down from the rugged foothills behind them, but there wasn¡¯t even a whisper of any animal sounds among the nearby dunes. Even the region¡¯s music seemed subdued to Amdirlain with a skulking, predatory intent, a grim orchestra lulling its victims to sleep. A sudden movement above a distant dune snagged Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. A demonic buzzard had flown too low, and a tentacle erupted from the dune¡¯s crest to crack a wing. The blow sent it skimming across the sands, and a beast lunged upright from concealment. It had a distorted horse-like appearance, with wide circular feet preventing it from sinking into the sand. Black plates of bone covered the entire length of its legs, from the strange membrane of its feet until they joined its solid torso nearly three metres above the ground. Boney spikes and ridges covered it from the base of its tentacle tail to just behind its insectoid head. Six black compound eyes in an arc across its forehead monitored the surroundings as it moved towards its meal. Once it reached the bird, struggling to get airborne with a broken wing, its mandibles made quick work of snipping its prey into pieces. The tentacles that extended from its neck fed the remains into its maw once that dismembering was complete. [Species: Dune Strider Level: 52 Health: 1,300 Defence: 240 Melee Attack Power: 270 Combat Skills: Tentacles [M] (12), Bite [Ad] (2) Details: This species pre-dates the demons within the Abyss, and they still live in the deserts of several abyssal planes ] The strider folded itself back down to the ground when its meal was complete and writhed around until it had sunk into the sands. The irregular formations of its plating broke up its lines, and the tentacles splayed out along the ground and twitched with the same motions that had attracted the last victim. ¡°Can I have a pony?¡± Torm coughed and motioned towards the foothills behind them. ¡°The meeting point is further into the hills, not among the dunes. Let¡¯s make sure there isn¡¯t any activity in the area.¡± Amdirlain nodded and stretched out her perceptions, picking out the mental impressions of various abyssal creatures but no demons nearby. ¡°Lots of critters, but no demonic minds within a few kilometres.¡± Torm teleported them again and started to check the meeting point¡¯s perimeter through the gullies. An hour later, they were close enough to it that Amdirlain heard the music of the first arrival within the wards. They possessed the same mixture of heat and rage covering their true nature as Sarah¡¯s item had provided Torm. ¡°The first has arrived,¡± Amdirlain offered, and Torm looked up from the tracks he¡¯d been checking. ¡°A group of Dretch, maybe ten or twelve, but at least a few days old.¡± ¡°Dretch,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°None of their minds are close, and they can¡¯t come teleporting back.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve not much time left before the meeting. Should we be present to meet them ?upon arrival, or wait and greet them in one go?¡± Neither option was risk-free, and Amdirlain shrugged after a quick consideration. ¡°Might as well get the introductions done in one hit. Only being there for part of the discussion could muddy things further.¡± With the abyssal harmonics tuned out, Amdirlain heard the others arrive, even hundreds of metres away. The sour dissonance that touched the last arrival¡¯s inner core set an unpleasant itch within her mind. Its melody reminded her of the three fallen Orh¨ºthurin had met. Crossing the wards¡¯ boundary, Amdirlain felt the wards react in a similar fashion to those at the shack. Their creator had set up the outer wards as a trip-wire and diversion for entities that might stumble across them. Though they had stayed dormant at the shack, this time they called out for the attention of the second arrival, further clarifying ?the nature of the wards. The meeting location was a house-sized boulder that jutted from a hillside. Torm pointed out the entrance and slipped beneath its lip to pull himself inside it. When Amdirlain followed, she found the entry cavity twisted awkwardly and eased herself along with Flight. The sight of three cambions and an Alu-Demon matched her expectations from hearing their disguises¡¯ songs. Though the Alu-Demon appeared the least physically imposing, her inner strength set her in the middle of the group. Of the four, only one was an Angel, but all three of the Archons were old and comfortable in their strength. One glance at the Analysis details and Amdirlain ignored the faked information and memorised only their names and appearances. They all shared the same lack of Abyssal Heat, but that was the only feature they had in common. Torm proceeded with the introductions, motioning to each ?as he introduced them to Amdirlain. Caltzan was the alias of the cell leader; they possessed a spider-like form with a bulbous thorax supported by twelve legs. Their upper body was an insect torso, a uniform matte black, like a mutated praying mantis. Two long arms extended from their shoulders ended in folding scythe-bladed forearms, and two smaller arms with four-digit hands jutted straight out from their chest. Their torso was headless, simply ending with an open maw filled with serrated teeth. Surrounding it were hundreds of eyes that shifted about on the ends of finger-length tentacles. The strength of their angelic song carried a firmness of power that brought Sage¡¯s Hammer to mind. Maybe an Astral Deva, or something ?stronger. Their second in command was Munais, the apparent Alu-Demon, whose eyes were pupilless and matte white, almost blending in seamlessly with their skin tone. Almost-Human features covered in fine hair and feline ears gave her a cat-girl appearance, though the sharpened fangs that gleamed when she spoke added a dangerous air. Ash wings? that she held wrapped partly around her body blended with the colour of her hide armour. The third member, and the source of the dissonance she¡¯d heard upon their arrival, used the name Brel. Humanoid with a narrow Human face, it was the features that twisted his face off true. He landed right in the uncanny valley, close to Human but not entirely, among the oddities were long-slitted pupils running horizontally across his eyes and a tri-forked tongue. His crimson teeth and barf green skin helped ease her mind¡¯s expectation of Human traits. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory of meeting the three fallen caught at her again, and the dissonance seemed a promise of that fate for him. Last but not least, their fourth member was called Oitrix. He was both the strangest of them and the most ordinary. He looked like someone had petrified a Dwarf, and then animated the statue to move. Even the hairs of his beard had a stone texture, though each was perfectly defined. It was the stone¡¯s ragged edges that gave his presence the hint of cruelty that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t felt from any Dwarf she¡¯d met to date. Caltzan¡¯s grating vocals sounded like bone scratching on bone and had Amdirlain wondering if more teeth, further into its maw, were generating the sounds. ¡°Greetings. While it is good to meet who we are dealing with, what name should we normally use?¡± ¡°Jade is a name I¡¯ve used in other places,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then that is what we¡¯ll use if we request your involvement in any operations.¡± ¡°You can work with her, but my Liege has given me no instructions to do so,¡± Brel growled and rose from an oddly curved chair. A surge of burning notes screeched within the dissonance that had been already present in his essence. ¡°Brel, before you go,¡± Amdirlain stated before he could Teleport away. ¡°Take some time at home. I think being here is getting at you.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What would you know?¡± ¡°I can hear you¡¯re off balance and the path you¡¯re on isn¡¯t one that¡¯s easily reversed if you travel too far,¡± warned Amdirlain. Brel opened his mouth to cut her off, but Amdirlain hurried on but kept her tone calm. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to believe me. I would only suggest you take time to visit your Liege¡¯s Domain. You¡¯re angry and off balance, and how you feel right now isn¡¯t good for you.¡± Her words had Brel close his mouth with a snap. Exhaling sharply, he stared off into the distance, and when his focus returned to them, he nervously licked his lips before speaking in a carefully measured tone. ¡°I¡¯ll visit my Liege''s Domain and speak to my superiors. If you¡¯re wasting my time and effort, I¡¯ll seek restitution from you.¡± With those words, he vanished away, but the word he''d chosen resonated with Amdirlain as being at the source of his problems. ¡°How is it you knew of his situation?¡± asked Caltzan. ¡°I don¡¯t know what information got shared about, but let¡¯s say I can hear your inner nature past your disguises. It let me tell that Brel has been letting anger twist him; his desire for restitution ?might have opened a way. Those taken can never have true restitution, which seems like a knife twisting inside him. How long has he been handling this work?¡± Caltzan¡¯s bladed forearms twitched as it shifted position. ¡°A few centuries now. Perhaps it would be wise for all of us to take time at home occasionally.¡± ¡°What part of the work does Brel handle for you?¡± ¡°Scouting any location where we believe mortals can be found after they¡¯re taken from the markets,¡± replied Caltzan. ¡°Is this something you can assist us with?¡± Torm glanced at Amdirlain, but she kept her attention on Caltzan and spoke up first. ¡°I won''t make any promises, but I''ll see what I can handle on a case-by-case basis until Brel or someone else is available to assist.¡± ¡°I thought we were only going to undertake materials gathering?¡± questioned Torm. ¡°We can do both. I shouldn¡¯t need to venture into any location, so this is low risk¡ªI¡¯ve plenty of options to gather information from a distance,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she relaxed as an edge of tension left him. ¡°Are the places you deal with ?warded against psionics?¡± ¡°No Demon I¡¯ve heard of possesses sufficient discipline to master such talents,¡± offered Oitrix. One of Caltzan¡¯s smaller arms drew a memory crystal from a sash that blended in with its torso and tossed it smoothly to Amdirlain. Catching it with Far Hand, more from reflex than necessity, Amdirlain floated it into reach and secured it in Inventory. ¡°Those are records of the locations we need to be scouted; there should be sufficient details to pick a spot to teleport a safe distance from any of them.¡± As Caltzan spoke, Torm set the bags of abyssal currency Amdirlain had given him days earlier on the chamber¡¯s floor. At the first clink, Munais opened a bag and drew out a handful of the irregularly-shaped coins. When Torm continued to set more bags on the ground, she waited until he stepped back before she spoke. ¡°Are the majority this obsidian denomination?¡± ¡°All of them are except one bag, which has a mix of lesser coinage,¡± answered Amdirlain. Munais tapped her hand lightly against the closest bag. ¡°What do you want for these?¡± Nudging the bags further towards Munais, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Slaves freed. If I need more coins, I¡¯ll kill some demons.¡± ¡°Though our Lieges have received reassurances, Tor¡¯m Altha will be your only contact point with our operations,¡± stated Caltzan. ¡°Light willing, I hope you can ?redeem yourself from whatever misdeed led you to your accursed state.¡± Rather than correct them, Amdirlain just nodded in appreciation. ¡°That¡¯s my plan.¡± Caltzan and Oitrix vanished with that, but Munais lingered to store the coin bags. ¡°Caltzan is very formal, but we appreciate the help. Your allies didn¡¯t inform my Liege or theirs about how you came to be cursed because they felt it was only yours to share. I believe that likely has Caltzan a touch wary since there is already so much unknown within our operations.¡± ¡°Perhaps after we get to know each other better,¡± offered Amdirlain. Munais gave a dry laugh and motioned towards where Caltzan had perched. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll not learn either. These gatherings are few; normally we don¡¯t even meet to exchange goods. I pick the materials up from where Tor¡¯m Altha hides them.¡± ¡°Might I ask what your Liege¡¯s aspects are?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s careful question brought forth a smile from Munais. ¡°My Liege is a Goddess of beauty and pleasure.¡± ¡°You must find being in the Abyss particularly difficult.¡± ¡°It can be, but there can be both beauty and pleasure; if you look at it the right way,¡± countered Munais. ¡°Not as a whole, but aspects of it in isolation can contain beauty if you look. The stark shadows set across a strange landscape from a lightning strike, or a Succubus¡¯ expression when lust and hunger give way to pleasure in a moment of sexual release.¡± She must have caught something of Amdirlain¡¯s shock as Munais stopped. ¡°I¡¯ve several artworks I created for my liege capturing such moments. The contrast between depravity and vulnerability make them interesting subjects to depict. I derive pleasure from my limited ability to capture such a transcendent moment.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve¡­¡± Amdirlain''s question died before she could voice it. A memory of her form¡¯s inner heat responding to Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s hands running over her, killing any desire to know more. ¡°Lain with demons? Some are awful lovers, and some are skilled, but most are merely desperate for any release from their boredom. While it was not genuine pleasure with or for many, if that is what it takes to free an innocent, I¡¯d bed scores of them. Freeing an innocent is a pleasure worth all that and much more,¡± declared Munais, as she put the last of the bags away. ¡°At the very least, when I¡¯m away from here, it¡¯s easier to find genuine pleasure with even the most hesitant of lovers.¡± With that statement, Munais vanished as well, and Torm gave a slight frown. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was expecting.¡± ¡°Brel? That they¡¯d only exchange names and dashed? Or did you mean Munais?¡± ¡°I already knew that about Munais. But Brel and the others leaving so quickly was unexpected,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°They might at least have taken the time to ask questions and get to know something about you.¡± ¡°Optimistic aren¡¯t you? Well, at least they¡¯re not asking ?questions I don¡¯t want to answer,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she pulled the memory crystal from Inventory. ¡°Can we go check these out?¡± ¡°If they expected it possible to retrieve the last captives, it wouldn¡¯t have been something that waited for this meeting,¡± cautioned Torm. Amdirlain focused on the crystal and sorted the impressions she received. Views of three locations from various vantage points poured into her mind. The first two were remote, but the last was smack in the middle of a sizeable demonic town with packed streets. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°The first two are fine, the third might require some care,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she handed him the crystal. ¡°Let¡¯s handle the first two, and then we¡¯ll see about the third.¡± Torm reviewed the crystal and returned it to her quietly. ¡°This is a problem. I recognise that town, It¡¯s on the edge of a regimental training area. There will be lots of demons reporting to Moloch around there.¡± ¡°Did your boss tell Caltzan¡¯s boss I was Planar Locked?¡± The question drew Torm¡¯s mouth into a hard line, and she heard him resound with a deep Celestial tone. The notes caused a foreign pressure to brush against her mind, but it still eased the foulness of the Abyss. ¡°He did and asked that they limit the hazardous work they requested your help to undertake. Something about you being unable to turn your back on the Dao slaves.¡± Amdirlain snorted at the memory of Ebusuku¡¯s frustration with her once they returned to the Domain. ¡°Who judges what risk is minimal? Did Caltzan take off to make it harder to refuse?¡± ¡°Do you want me to send a Message?¡± offered Torm. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose and gave a helpless shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s see how things go. If we don¡¯t like the risk, and I can¡¯t get information without getting close, you can at least report on the first two. Who does the initial information gathering?¡± Her use of ¡®we¡¯ earned a relieved smile from Torm. ¡°Caltzan. They might have been planning to provide that crystal to Brel.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll move us this time,¡± Amdirlain volunteered, and when Torm nodded, she teleported them both. They reappeared in a forest that was the furthest point from the initial location¡ªa misshapen structure deep in its interior. Overhead, a thick canopy blotted the fiery sky, while within its branches Amdirlain could hear the music of various abyssal creatures. A deep musty smell assaulted her nostrils and Amdirlain spotted the caked mildew clinging to the trunks and branches around them. Mould, slimes, and fungi grew in abundance across the wet ground. Within a translucent ooze, draped over a log nearby, a slowly dissolving eyeball turned in their direction before it continued to orbit the ooze¡¯s glowing core. ¡°My, grandma, what a big eye you have,¡± murmured Amdirlain, taking in the multitude of animal minds about them, glad that nothing was aware enough to be interested in them. Analysis [Species: Slime (Acidic) Level: 5 Health: 60 Defence: 90 Melee Attack Power: 20 Combat Skills: Pseudopod [B](1) Details: Particularly vulnerable to fire, these abyssal variations can inflict almost no impact damage via extended pseudopods, but their slightest touch is highly corrosive.] ¡°Glad they didn¡¯t curse me into a slime,¡± muttered Amdirlain. She listened to the hissing static of its corrosive fluid eating the mildew from the log as the slime twitched away. ¡°I think this is a bust if the building is ahead; it''s already empty and there are only animals nearby.¡± It was even more depressing when they reached the site than the crystal had portrayed. A large tree, some sixteen ?metres in diameter, served as the central post of the odd construction. Something had stacked trunks around it haphazardly and somehow got it coated in spider webs to fasten them in place. The region¡¯s prevalent mildew had since taken over and rendered it into a congealed pile of vomit. Beneath the songs of decay and corruption, Amdirlain heard the faint whisper of a passage leading downwards and spaces underground. ¡°Seems the locals aren¡¯t opposed to setting up subterranean bases. A tunnel leading downwards is under that mess, and I can hear? scores of underground chambers and passages,¡± ¡°No sign of wards,¡± offered Torm, and Amdirlain gave a quick headshake. ¡°I could use Clairvoyance to examine a chamber, and we can jump down and explore. Or find the entrance and go from there. Preference?¡± ¡°Reporting back that there is more here than meets the eye isn¡¯t an option?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°We could go that route,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What sort of information would Brel have brought back?¡± ¡°His training is different to either of ours,¡± grumbled Torm; considering the options, he motioned downwards. ¡°If they have any traps in place, it''s likely they¡¯re on the entryway, so let¡¯s skip past them if you can find an unoccupied chamber.¡± Amdirlain gave him a quick smile and turned her focus towards the chambers. ¡°There are no minds among the chambers down there. It looks like a series of natural passages and underground caves here; maybe this rubbish pile of a shelter is more to mark the location. There is also a metallic song that zig-zags downwards.¡± ¡°Most demons that can teleport only have the Power¡¯s self version. They might have left some type of guide rail behind if they¡¯re natural tunnels,¡± suggested Torm. Reaching out with Clairvoyance provided an image from a large opening, and Amdirlain moved them to a rock ledge. Water oozed through the surrounding rock, trickling along the decaying roots that jutted down from the ceiling and contributed to the gagging stench of rot that filled the air. The only downward path was almost knee-deep in accumulated water, with a mixture of debris suspended within it. Though moving about stirred the muck, the water¡¯s current quickly obliterated evidence of their movements. Moving them closer to the metallic song, they eventually found the source of the music. Abyssal steel wedges shaped a rough staircase in places without a simple path. Amdirlain moved them downwards but kept a distance from the stairs. It was almost a kilometre before Amdirlain caught a deep song on the very edge of her perception. Though similar to the Gate she¡¯d opened to Tern¨°x, it was wild and raw, and its sound continually consumed approaching music. When she placed them near the song¡¯s origin, it made sense. They entered a giant cavern that seemed at least a kilometre across. The exact distance was hard to determine because a whirlpool that filled the lower section continually threw massive water sprays from rocks along its edge. Dead centre within the whirlpool¡¯s maelstrom was a Gate¡¯s event horizon. A gantry extended from the cavern¡¯s side to provide access to a platform hovering directly above it. Analysis [Gate of Decay Details: This one-way Gate leads to the Plane of Infliction, ruled by the Lady of Fungi.] ¡°Unless they just toss them over the edge, the slavers made a one-way trip. The Gate isn¡¯t bidirectional; it leads to the Plane of Infliction,¡± said Amdirlain, and she pointed to where the gantry started. ¡°Do you want to set notification wards, so we know how often they come this way?¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest setting them further up the stairs.¡± ¡°Can you keep yourself airborne without your wings?¡± Amdirlain immediately asked. ¡°I figured it out while you were on vacation,¡± teased Torm. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll teleport us to a few spots, but I want you to hover and not touch anything.¡± 226 - Rabbit hole Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic After setting some delicate wards in place on the approach to the whirlpool¡¯s Gate, they¡¯d moved onto the second location, a broken tower perched on a hillside. The debris within the tower showed minimal signs of use; there had been no one present in days. From the impressions Amdirlain could draw, it was simply the demons¡¯ version of a dead drop. Amdirlain straightened from the debris she¡¯d been checking, having found nothing useful for tracking their target. ¡°How many places that Brel checked were dead ends like this?¡± At her question, Torm looked up from checking for traces across the chamber. ¡°He could check hundreds of places to find a few to rescue. The work is still worthwhile for those few we rescue, even if those rescues are few compared to the numbers we check.¡± ¡°All the false leads stack the odds in favour of the Abyss for something to go wrong. If I improve Clairsentience, I might ?isolate which ones are worthwhile, otherwise we¡¯re working nearly blind. The odds of me now running into something I can¡¯t handle are low, but it only takes once. Decision time, check the town or avoid it? What¡¯s your vote?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not happy with Caltzan; I asked for more information while we checked here. It''s not only dretches trained in that region but also far stronger demons. They¡¯ve even seen balors, among others, trained as commanders there,¡± advised Torm. ¡°Gaining attention won¡¯t be good since neither of us has enough experience blending in, and half-breeds stick out.¡± ¡°It''s a catch-22. He doesn¡¯t have enough information to understand my situation, and I don¡¯t trust him enough to give him that information. Let''s head back. I think I¡¯ll discuss approaches with some experts,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°Let Caltzan know I¡¯ll have to pass on investigating this time¡ªI need to learn how to blend in before I do something that risky.¡± Once she heard the music of Caltzan¡¯s response, Amdirlain teleported them away. She didn¡¯t take them directly to the base but through a series of hops to stretch their trail and hopefully make it impossible to trace. They arrived in the spellcasting chamber where they¡¯d stacked crates of material delivered by Isa. ¡°Did he have any word on Brel?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t be returning ?soon,¡± started Torm, and Amdirlain sighed in relief. ¡°His Liege was equally concerned so arrangements are being made for a replacement. Until we have a full group again, he¡¯s restricting operations to resource gathering and acquisitions at Munais¡¯ market. Since Munais now has so much coin, he¡¯s sent Oitrix for a break.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll practise stretching towards the advanced versions of Clairvoyance and Psychometry. In the meantime, I can work on a few other things.¡± Amdirlain smiled and motioned to a crate marked with the symbol for alchemical silver. ¡°I had so much fun getting that stuff years ago. Now, thanks to Jaixar, I¡¯ve got boxes of it available.¡± ¡°Her operations in Duskstone have expanded a bit in the last seven years. Erwarth and the others still supply materials for her crafting. Since she has the materials available, a senior Alchemist apprentice she took on is using processing the silver as their base purification practice,¡± explained Torm. ¡°You know how strange it is for celestials to be dealing with mortals on matters of trade?¡± The laughter his question provoked had Torm shaking his head in bemusement. Once she calmed down, she fixed him with a wide grin. ¡°Want to help me make a circle?¡± At her question, Torm looked at her curiously. ¡°Seems like I¡¯d more get in the way, but I¡¯ll help if I can. What did you have planned?¡± ¡°You can help me double-check marked runes before I carve them out. I need to establish a barrier to block the energies from the other side of any Gate. Not sure if I can combine it, but I also want to establish a barrier to lessen what they can feel from our side. Ebusuku messaged me that a certain young lady wanted to speak to me, and I need to spend some time speaking with Erwarth.¡± ¡°Sure. What else can I do to help you keep Gail safe?¡± asked Torm. Amdirlain stopped with her hands resting atop the first crate she needed. ¡°You¡¯re not arguing?¡± ¡°Too many others have been doing that; I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got a reason. Would you mind sharing?¡± asked Torm as he hefted the next crate. ¡°Gail complained that my song teased at a memory, and she wanted to meet me. Though I won¡¯t open the Gate for her to say hello unless Roher or Isa are happy with the protections I put in place,¡± explained Amdirlain. Lifting her crate, she headed towards the main hall. ¡°A familiar frustration for you?¡± asked Torm. Amdirlain¡¯s nod jerked with suppressed annoyance. ¡°Absolutely. I¡¯ve had so many memories tease me only to vanish away. Seeing me likely won¡¯t help her, but I want to see her and hear her song myself. Have you studied magical circles yet?¡± ¡°Not as yet. I¡¯ve been more interested in combat and utility magics,¡± Torm admitted and followed. ¡°What chamber will you set it in?¡± ¡°For what I have in mind, Erwarth will need to come through, so I plan on using the meeting hall since it''s the biggest circular room we have presently.¡± ¡°Talking through the Gate won¡¯t be enough?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°No, I need her to train me well enough to fool a member of the Sisterhood that I¡¯m allowed within their halls,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure that will need more than just conversations.¡± Her announcement had Torm freeze, and Amdirlain turned back to face him. Even though she could hear the conflict of understanding warring with his desire to protect her, she waited for him to speak. ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± asked Torm, his still conflicted emotions not leaking into his calm tone. ¡°Nothing soon, and it will probably take centuries to get all the pieces in place.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad it won¡¯t be soon after you¡¯re released. Still, would you share your end goal for such training?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°I won¡¯t argue, and while I might not need to be in the loop, I¡¯d like to know.¡± ¡°Destroying Baln¨¦rith.¡± Torm set the crate down in the middle of the hallway and perched atop it, scrubbing his face while he considered his words. ¡°Have you considered the possibility that you¡¯re insane?¡± The blunt question tickled gales of laughter from Amdirlain, and Torm waited her out, not looking the least bit amused. ¡°Sometimes. It would be much easier if I was, but unfortunately, I don¡¯t have that excuse.¡± ¡°Can you tell me why without giving away the secrets you won¡¯t talk about?¡± ¡°She corrupted the Anar and, in doing so, brought about the downfall of both the Anar and the L¨®m?,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°She might have even been behind the design of the thorns. Sometimes all it takes is an idea shared to set something in motion. Orh¨ºthurin had rejected the King, and I think he wasn¡¯t the sort to take that lightly.¡± ¡°How could she have done that without them hearing her song?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rude to listen to others that closely, and the Anar customs made them hide-bound. She slowly and carefully twisted them; there weren''t dramatic changes. Baln¨¦rith was once a Solar in service to a Goddess of pride, duty and leadership in an older reality. No idea how strong she is, so yes, I won¡¯t be rushing to fight her.¡± ¡°Seems you¡¯ve learnt a lot from your memories,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°Bits and pieces added together. It was a process that took her billions of years, and if their downfall was her end goal, why bother keeping the L¨®m? imprisoned? I¡¯m betting she¡¯s got more planned, and whatever her end goal is, I need to stop it,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Also, I need to undo what she did.¡± ¡°Why you?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was the first choice for Anar Queen, and she declined it. Not once, but repeatedly, and she ?kept herself on the edge of their society to ensure others would disregard her strength.¡± ¡°So?¡± ¡°She turned her back on responsibility because she was afraid. I need to fix what got broken because of that, not for her, or them, but for myself,¡± explained Amdirlain. Torm shifted minutely and took in Amdirlain¡¯s intensity. ¡°That¡¯s all it took to forget her. Just stay away?¡± ¡°She did more than that, but that was a big part of the issue, her isolation from them because of that fear. Over enough years, the most recent accomplishments of others just seemed more impressive,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she continued before Torm could offer his next question. ¡°She was afraid of having power and so didn¡¯t take on the responsibility she should have, and eventually, it all went to shit. Not immediately, I¡¯m talking billions upon billions of years.¡± ¡°Maybe she simply saw her responsibility differently to you. You have the outcome, but only parts of her memories. There were millions of Anar, incredibly long-lived beings that should have been able to see corruption set in, so I wouldn¡¯t lay it all on her shoulders,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°Even if it was all true, why are you responsible for something she did?¡± ¡°It¡¯s how I am. I know I ?can restore things, and I won¡¯t be able to stand myself if I don¡¯t try my hardest,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she snapped her fingers. ¡°Eight million Anar should have seen what was coming and didn¡¯t, but Ori felt power corrupts and didn¡¯t put in any effort to head it off.¡± When Torm went to interrupt, Amdirlain held up her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s leave that aside for the moment. We could turn that argument around for weeks, and we¡¯ve got a century to discuss relative responsibility,¡± said Amdirlain, and she fessed up with a deep sigh. ¡°Also, I can¡¯t clarify why I feel this way without sharing those secrets I want to keep aside for now. So, what¡¯s got your emotions twisted the most?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll admit the thought of you being near the Sisterhood makes me sick,¡± Torm huffed, the restrained tension in his hands sending cracks along the crate¡¯s edge. ¡°The thought of you clashing with an entity like Baln¨¦rith scares me. There is no justice in you being held in this place or being made to fix anyone¡¯s mistake. But I¡¯ll trust your judgement that you need to deal with her. Please let me know if there is any way I can help along the way.¡± ¡°At present, clashing with her scares me as well, but I¡¯m not planning to confront her ?soon. It could be thousands of years, or I could figure out how to snuff her out from a distance and never fight her,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I vote for the second option. Could Orh¨ºthurin have done that?¡± ¡°Before she became crippled with the vines and other events? I¡¯d say easily,¡± admitted Amdirlain ¡°Well then, you¡¯ll need to do lots of training in True Song,¡± observed Torm with forced cheerfulness. Amdirlain''s laughter was brittle, and she quickly bit it off. ¡°My goodness, that sounds like part of my plan.¡± Turning back towards the meeting hall, Amdirlain got moving but sent a Message to Erwarth. ¡°Any suggestion for a concealment circle? I¡¯d like to keep celestial energies disguised so you or the others can come to visit. I need some experienced teachers in a few areas, and Gail wants to say ''Hi'', so I need a circle to disguise a visitor''s presence and restrain abyssal energy away from a Gate.¡± Erwarth''s response came back almost instantly. ¡°There are some texts among your collection that might do the trick. I¡¯ll check the list and see if you need any others, then get Isa to bring you the instructions. My first thought: don¡¯t ?combine them; separate circles will make things easier.¡± ¡°Erwarth has some research to do,¡± Amdirlain said, over her shoulder to Torm. ¡°Looks like we''ve got time for some lessons in magical circles. Might need to practise and refresh my memory, feel like being the guinea pig?.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so not comforting,¡± grumbled Torm. ¡°I¡¯ll carve a new version of this hall at the far end of the complex. This chamber is on the junction of this floor. While I¡¯m sure it doesn¡¯t matter presently, or perhaps even in the future, I can tell now that it will end up being a mental itch,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Doesn¡¯t take long to carve another. Since you ?have an exercise planned to duplicate this place via True Song, perhaps best not to include annoying aspects,¡± agreed Torm. Neither instructions nor the work was quick to turn around, and it was nine days before Amdirlain finished carving the delicate rune work. The buffer to block out the abyssal energy required a set of five nested circles, the boundary of each a coiling lacework of runes. It wouldn¡¯t have taken so long if Erwarth had simply provided the pattern. Instead, she¡¯d turned it into a lesson in finesse and insisted Amdirlain engrave them by hand. Scrying across planes didn¡¯t leave a trace, so Erwarth watched and provided feedback through multiple attempts. Amdirlain smiled when the Gate opened and picked out the parts in its casting where the magic focused on her. The chamber Ebusuku was standing in, Amdirlain recognised from her description of the summoning chamber in Moradin¡¯s Temple within Duskstone. The circle restrained the power from both sides, preventing each from affecting the other. Yet Ebusuku''s song seemed a distant conduit to a greater whole, further afield. ¡°Interesting use for a greater summoning circle,¡± offered Amdirlain. The knowing smirk from Ebusuku set Amdirlain wondering before she replied smugly. ¡°I told you I was sure there was an option to keep Gail safe.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have felt right not taking precautions on this side as well. Is that body an avatar?¡± ¡°At the divine rank ?your Mantle applied, it only takes minutes to form one, and it''s easier on mortals to use them than arriving in person.¡± ¡°Multiple bodies an option?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± laughed Ebusuku. Amdirlain cleared her throat at Ebusuku''s enthusiasm and the sultry chords that rang out. ¡°Wow, bet Farhad loves that. So when does Gail get a sibling then?¡± Ebusuku raised her eyebrows but didn¡¯t ease up on the glare. ¡°Isa told you she¡¯s been teasing?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Amdirlain replied, and looking to change topics, motioned to the runes on the walls around Ebusuku. ¡°If that is Duskstone¡¯s Hall, could you thank Jaixar for all the alchemical silver she prepared?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I will,¡± acknowledged Ebusuku with an amused nod. ¡°The containments seem fine to True Sight; how do they sound to you?¡± ¡°Everything to me is currently in tune. Do you want to catch up first to ensure they¡¯re going to hold or set Gail loose on me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can trust Moradin¡¯s High Crafter to have done a proper job. Anyway, I¡¯d best set Gail loose on you so Farhad can take her home; she¡¯s a slippery youngster with finding trouble,¡± said Ebusuku, and the door to the summoning chamber opened. A young Elf bounced through the door at Ebusuku''s statement, her cheeky music amused from eavesdropping on their conversation. Though she had a teenager''s awkward, gangly appearance, her movements were a well-balanced flow. Her hair was mostly midnight black but had a solid crimson streak through her right side. To make it stand out more, she¡¯d braided the streak in a fashion that dangled it down across her right shoulder. Amdirlain took in the delicate features she¡¯d combined with blue-eyes and a mint-dusted mahogany skin tone. Before Ebusuku could say anything, Gail changed course and moved to her mother¡¯s side, well back from the circle. ¡°I¡¯m not sure the circles do anything for the song, but I can hear a wall of energy being restrained on the Abyss side. That Plane¡¯s music is awful, Auntie Amdirlain; how do you stand it?¡± ¡°Control, control, and, oh, more control,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she laughed at the reproving eye-roll Gail gave her. ¡°Though more seriously, beneath the corruption, there is the raw wild song of creation, which is ?less disturbing.¡± ¡°Less disturbing?¡± asked Gail sceptically, before she wrinkled her nose. ¡°That doesn¡¯t exactly instil me with comfort given the murky tones in the rest.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t focus solely on it, but perhaps in time,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I only got the advice about ten days ago, and it took me a bit to find a layer of its song that had the right potential for my purpose. Do you hear anything from me?¡± ¡°No,¡± huffed Gail in a teenager¡¯s frustrated tone. ¡°Will you do your trick with Universal Life that let Auntie Isa hear your song?¡± ¡°That might be a little risky. I¡¯ve got this circle trying to keep abyssal energies from you, not to stop others hearing me.¡± ¡°Okay, no risking it then,¡± said Gail. ¡°But you could send messages regularly to mother or me. It may jog something loose.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not heard your name from yourself,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°Gailneth! Since you needed me to say it aloud, I would have thought you¡¯d hear it properly in my song,¡± huffed Gail, the twitch of her lips giving away the teasing beside her careful tone. ¡°I know it had to do with a story Gideon told me, but all I recalled is the first bit. After that, he¡¯s just floating there, sending the forge¡¯s light everywhere in a massive rainbow. I know he kept speaking, but all I recall are the lights playing shadow puppets.¡± ¡°Who is this Gideon?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°Information I haven¡¯t yet shared,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re an aspect of the Concept of knowledge.¡± Gail nodded and shot Amdirlain a quick grin. ¡°He called Orh¨ºthurin his mother when I was in the forge. Does that mean the aspect of knowledge is my adopted step-cousin or something?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you can quite stretch your adoptions that far, Gail,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Not everyone you like has to be related.¡± ¡°But if I lead with auntie, uncle, or cousin, it sounds friendlier,¡± insisted Gail cheerfully. ¡°What was the first thing you recall?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°He began telling me the history of a harp Orh¨ºthurin made for the L¨®m?,¡± explained Gail. ¡°He¡¯d gotten through describing it when the words and the images from my memory got disconnected.¡± ¡°Can you remember if he had a reason to tell you about it?¡± ¡°Nah, I remember him sharing bits and pieces of the Anar history and customs. Most details slip through my fingers, even if I try to follow the memory¡¯s song, but this one seemed especially important.¡± Ebusuku rolled her eyes in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re not even three, Gail; it can wait. After all, anything to do with them has waited over half a million years.¡± ¡°Well, I hope I remember more details before I pick classes at ten,¡± observed Gail. ¡°Wait until you¡¯re a hundred, then pick them,¡± countered Ebusuku, pinning the smiling gremlin in place with a stern look. ¡°Maybe at twelve, I¡¯m growing fast,¡± argued Gail and, used to her mother¡¯s looks, she barely wilted. ¡°Can we agree on fifteen if I¡¯m done growing by then?¡± When Ebusuku didn¡¯t budge, Gail put her hands on her hips and huffed in response. ¡°Stop with the grumpy eyes, or I¡¯ll walk out of here as a boy. Then you can explain what happened to the daughter you brought with you.¡± Gail''s exaggerated description drew a snort of amusement from Ebusuku, but the stern look eased off. ¡°Patience. Extra training might help expand the options you get.¡± Gail shrugged and offered a cheeky smile. ¡°Healers have patients. I already have a half-dozen options, and someone can teach me the affinities to snatch up Wizard; magic''s music is lovely. All that said, I think it¡¯ll be right as soon as my body says not to push it taller.¡± ¡°Really? What ones do you like out of the vision so far?¡± ¡°It''s a short garden path with room for it to grow. Along its course, the royal Class stands behind Glinnel, but maybe I¡¯ll take both. Plus, a few types are suitable for information gathering; being curious has benefits. I¡¯ve got a sneaky Spy Class, which was amusingly presented in the vision.¡± ¡°When did you get offered Spy?¡± asked Ebusuku curiously. ¡°A while back, I think it was a reward for information gathering on two merry adults while hoping to hear a sibling¡¯s song start,¡± teased Gail, the cheeky smile she gave displaying her dimples to full advantage. ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s right; you could let an avatar get pregnant.¡± ¡°I never said that,¡± countered Amdirlain, holding back laughter from the merry notes that shimmered through Gail. ¡°I think you¡¯ve still got the energy of a toddler. You¡¯re just able to pour it into a wider range of mischief.¡± "I¡¯ll admit you didn¡¯t say it, so my apologies,¡± Gail offered and gave a broad shrug. ¡°However, there was already so much implied with your comment about how papa would love mother having multiple bodies.¡± Gail stopped suddenly and started giggling with a wide-eyed expression that had Ebusuku¡¯s gaze narrowing. ¡°What?¡± asked Ebusuku when the giggling continued. ¡°Imagine papa explaining to Judge Po that he died from keeping you entertained,¡± stated Gail. ¡°I think his bureaucratic head would explode.¡± Amdirlain held back further laughter but didn¡¯t restrain her smile. ¡°You ?have a point there. You enjoy keeping your mother on her toes, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It''s purely self-defence,¡± protested Gail, and she batted her eyelids innocently. ¡°Mother¡¯s always closing the loopholes I find playing games. There is one of me and so many minions about the place ready to babysit whenever Elleth needs a break.¡± ¡°I need to pay her more for putting up with us,¡± grumbled Ebusuku, reaching out as if to tweak Gail¡¯s ear. Gail skipped away and waggled a finger in a huff. ¡°It''s my choice not to have my ears tweaked. That tickles.¡± Ebusuku raised a finger, and Gail held still to let her tap her nose instead. At the gesture, Amdirlain caught the amused gleam in Gail¡¯s eyes, which made it clear she considered restricting Ebusuku to be a victory. ¡°Since you can¡¯t hear Amdirlain¡¯s song, what was the alternative you said you had in mind?¡± enquired Ebusuku. ¡°Auntie Amdirlain, would you tell me what you remember about True Song crystal from your perspective? Since you made this thing that Gideon was talking about, your context on the crystal might jog something loose.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll trade you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°For what?¡± The light-hearted teasing between Gail and Ebusuku had Amdirlain add some of her own. ¡°Would you tell me about what you like doing and how strict your mother is?¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s not strict without good reason. I gave her a scare when I was barely days old after all, turning myself into a tree wouldn¡¯t have been good, " Gail replied. ¡°Now I understand her reason for caution, which is good since I¡¯ve now got World Step.¡± Ebusuku and Amdirlain hissed in concern, but Ebusuku got the question out first. ¡°When did that happen?¡± ¡°A couple of weeks ago. I¡¯ll wait until I¡¯m older to practise with it,¡± replied Gail glibly. ¡°According to memory crystals Aunt Isa shared, that didn¡¯t normally happen until an Anar was twenty or older. Obviously, whatever gives it out agrees that ?I¡¯m growing fast.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll discuss that later,¡± stated Ebusuku. Gail''s relaxed shrug and smile made it clear she wasn¡¯t worried. ¡°I¡¯ll abide by training restrictions. Perhaps we can trade with you relaxing the shape-shifting restrictions.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Turning myself into a tree would be dumb, but I want to try out other humanoid forms.¡± Amdirlain''s snicker brought Gail¡¯s attention back to her. ¡°So, Aunt, what did you want to know?¡± ¡°Do you switch genders freely?¡± asked Amdirlain, curious about how relaxed Gail''s song had been when she mentioned the option of turning into a boy earlier. ¡°A gender doesn¡¯t define me, it''s just a body that matches my mood. Sarah says I take being gender fluid to the extreme, but it''s my choice,¡± replied Gail. ¡°You switch between female and monster without blinking an eye. Why should changing into a male be any different for me? Sometimes I¡¯ll go weeks in one gender, and then switch twenty times in the day. The body has a penis, not a fanged maw to rip something apart. Oh, the horror!¡± With the back of her hand pressed dramatically against her forehead, Gail''s swooning gesture framed her exaggerated eye roll. Her antics and words held Amdirlain in thoughtful consideration of the times she¡¯d transformed into monstrous entities without a second thought. ¡°Alright, I can see that works for you; I just don¡¯t feel the same way. What¡¯s your first question?¡± ¡°What do you hear from True Song crystal? The first thing that comes to mind is?¡± prompted Gail. ¡°When I heard the crystal in the grotto, I perceived interlocking energy structures. The two parts, Anar and L¨®m?, continually transforming their energy from one to another, maintaining the form''s crystalline matrix.¡± ¡°You hear the parts transform?¡± exclaimed Gail, ¡°I just thought the song¡¯s parts oscillated in strength, causing it to fade in and out. Seems I need to work on listening better.¡± That was a bit of a cat out of the bag. I need to learn more about the Anar and L¨®m? perceptions. ¡°I could have told you that, dear,¡± murmured Ebusuku. ¡°Thank you, Amdirlain,¡± offered Gail, deliberately ignoring her mother''s remark. ¡°For what?¡± Gail motioned to Ebusuku dramatically and smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°Isa told me who I was, though I don¡¯t remember being Andre. With a different Soul, I know I wouldn¡¯t be the same person at present, and being here was because you yelled at the Titan¡¯s servant about Andre. Mother and papa might have had a child, but it wouldn¡¯t be me, if you know what I mean, and even if I tease them, they¡¯re great parents.¡± ¡°I get what you mean, and I¡¯m glad you three are getting on well.¡± ¡°Four of us. Papa arranged Elleth to nursemaid me and provide them guidance, but I grew up so fast, she¡¯s more like a big sister now,¡± corrected Gail. Amdirlain shot an amused look at Ebusuku, who simply shrugged. ¡°I believe I mentioned she enjoys adopting people. Who was I to say no?¡± 227 - My heart has teeth Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Gail¡¯s questions took hours and ranged from various types of songs to what ¡®good¡¯ meant to Amdirlain in different situations. With each question, Amdirlain could hear her listening to internal music that spun her trails of concepts, from the meanings of unfamiliar words to philosophical viewpoints. An Anar¡¯s memories are within their Soul. How much did Gideon talk to her about? When Gail¡¯s eyes finally glazed over, she waved her hands in surrender and leaned against her mother. ¡°My brain¡¯s all full at present. Maybe I might need to listen to the harp found on Cemna; that might jog the memory of Gideon¡¯s tale.¡± ¡°Harp?¡± asked Amdirlain. Ebusuku wrapped her arms around Gail as the exhausted girl snuggled against her. ¡°In the city Isa and Ilya used for Isa¡¯s initial training, there was an Anar vault with a harp. Erwarth delivered it to Roher years ago now.¡± ¡°Little miss luck,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like to listen to that harp as well. I¡¯ll speak to Roher about it next time I talk to him.¡± Ebusuku nodded and smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°Erwarth is with her parents at present, so I¡¯ve asked her to pass the message along.¡± ¡°So you just know everything now?¡± teased Amdirlain. Catching her light tone, Ebusuku narrowed her gaze in a mock-huff expression. ¡°Do I look like this Gideon being? I know what is happening with the celestials sworn to your Mantle, but it¡¯s mostly churning away in the background, along with the worshippers¡¯ prayers.¡± ¡°I could argue that it¡¯s your Mantle currently,¡± prodded Amdirlain. Ebusuku¡¯s glare of outrage came with a sharp retort. ¡°It¡¯s not; I¡¯m merely the custodian.¡± Gail¡¯s ready laughter eased Ebusuku¡¯s sternness, but Amdirlain caught a flash of hurt in Ebusuku¡¯s gaze. ¡°Sorry, but I¡¯ve got no idea what it¡¯s like for you, so I can¡¯t even give advice. I¡¯ve never been a Greater Deity; which, because of my lack of experience, makes it yours,¡± explained Amdirlain. The outrage continued to soften from Ebusuku¡¯s gaze as Gail offered her own words. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have had me if you didn¡¯t have it; I can tell from your music. The Mantle¡¯s refrain, linked to the Domain¡¯s golden notes, let you have me.¡± ¡°And while that is a wonderful event from this messy situation, I¡¯ll gladly pass it back to Amdirlain,¡± retorted Ebusuku. ¡°You could make the best of it and give me a bunch of other siblings,¡± suggested Gail gleefully. ¡°Yours is the only Anar Soul around, Gail,¡± noted Ebusuku. ¡°The Domain¡¯s energy isn¡¯t the same as mine,¡± Gail started. Amdirlain caught Gail¡¯s comparison of its raw energy to the refined music she recalled from hearing hers and the host of L¨®m? souls within the Titan¡¯s forge. ¡°Presently the only Anar Soul. The Titan has considered letting others reincarnate back into his realm,¡± offered Amdirlain quickly, cutting off Gail¡¯s revelation. ¡°Though given Ki¡¯s nature, who knows if that is all it would allow you to have. Care to play mother to a host of L¨®m??¡± Wariness flickered across Ebusuku¡¯s expression, in conflict with regret. ¡°And risk them being dragged into Baln¨¦rith¡¯s agreement? No thanks; guess more children aren¡¯t in the offering.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve zero chance of that occurring,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°If their souls and not just bloodlines bind them through their royalty, the Titan won¡¯t allow any to incarnate in a child from you. But there are plenty of other souls about the place, and there will be Anar ones in time.¡± ¡°Exactly why did the Titan let you know he was planning to let the Anar reincarnate back into his realm?¡± questioned Ebusuku suspiciously. A wry smile lit across Amdirlain¡¯s lips as she caught a barrage of Gail¡¯s bubbling music. ¡°Oh, he wasn¡¯t planning to let them; I asked that he allow it. I wanted Gail to have a chance of having children in the centuries to come if she wanted. Though your mother giving you a bunch of siblings sounds like a wonderful idea, Gail.¡± The disbelief that rang suddenly from Ebusuku had Amdirlain and Gail both immediately in stitches. Gail laughed so hard that Ebusuku lifted her to prevent her from accidentally crossing the circle. ¡°The pair of you,¡± grumbled Ebusuku. ¡°Well, custodian though you may be, you¡¯re still the Goddess of new beginnings and the only deity with a link to that golden music,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Gail doesn¡¯t seem inclined towards a Monk¡¯s disciple, but the next child might.¡± ¡°Oh, then papa won¡¯t be upset that I¡¯m not interested,¡± exclaimed Gail and partly draped herself across Ebusuku¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Farhad isn''t upset. He¡¯d not push someone towards a way that isn¡¯t theirs,¡± reassured Ebusuku. ¡°Upset might have been the wrong word, more woebegone,¡± teased Gail, and Ebusuku rolled her eyes. ¡°Where is Farhad?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Papa¡¯s talking to the smiths in the main forge about a bunch of weaponry mother had commissioned for you,¡± replied Gail and waved towards the roof. "Giving us girl time." ¡°Weaponry for me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I hadn¡¯t even spoken to you about what I had planned yet.¡± ¡°This plan pre-dates your entrapment, and we didn¡¯t cancel the process just because you were a little trapped,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°The dwarves are recreating a weapon that takes mastering a series of others before you can learn it.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she gestured with a hand wrapped in Ki. ¡°You have your Ki to bypass a foe¡¯s armour, but sometimes a weapon¡¯s enchantments are safer to count on. I had been hoping to get you to sit still for a bit and learn skills. I was sure you needed the rest even once you''d finished with the monastery, but now the end goal is different,¡± explained Ebusuku, and Amdirlain caught her expectation of rejection. It was an expectation that had Amdirlain pause and nod instead, and she caught Ebusuku''s surprise. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± The question had Ebusuku raise her eyebrows curiously, and she looked between the pair of them. ¡°Nosey Anar. Very well, I¡¯ll take your question in good faith. Learning various weapon skills was more about knowing your opponents better. It would have given you a better awareness of the possibilities in combat, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯d merge them into something frightening with your Silent Storm and Protean.¡± A blob with tentacles scything through a demonic horde came through Ebusuku¡¯s song, and Gail wrinkled her nose at the vivid bloodshed. ¡°Gross, mother.¡± ¡°Amdirlain makes a mess in fights,¡± countered Ebusuku. ¡°That might teach you not to always listen to my music.¡± ¡°Whatever,¡± muttered Gail, nipping her mother¡¯s ear playfully. ¡°Are you going to put me down?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t cross the circle,¡± warned Ebusuku, and she set her down well back from it. ¡°Yes, mother!¡± chimed Gail as she got placed on the ground. ¡°So now that you¡¯ve heard my reason, what will you do?¡± Ebusuku asked. ¡°Once Gail¡¯s out of earshot,¡± suggested Amdirlain. The innocent expression Gail instantly adopts has Amdirlain rubbing her mouth to hide a smile. ¡°True, time to go home, Gail,¡± agreed Ebusuku. ¡°Do I need to speak to Roher to stop you from listening for it in the future, or will you give me your word that you¡¯ll not probe for Amdirlain¡¯s secrets?¡± ¡°I promise, Amdirlain¡¯s secrets aren¡¯t mine unless shared directly with me,¡± Gail replied, putting her hand over her heart. At her mother¡¯s nod, Gail waved goodbye and skipped from the room as quickly as she¡¯d entered, and Amdirlain caught sight of Rasha in an Elven form when the door opened. When the door closed, Amdirlain waited for the Plane Shift¡¯s energy to still before she spoke again. ¡°Rasha only gained a Hound Archon rank?¡± asked Amdirlain in surprise. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°He said he refused promotion to Angel because it was improper to speed through the ranks of a new tribe,¡¯ replied Ebusuku. ¡°He¡¯s volunteered to help Elleth keep tabs on Gail. Now that we have privacy?¡± ¡°Infiltrating the Sisterhood¡¯s operations and destroying Baln¨¦rith,¡± offered Amdirlain at last, and Ebusuku coughed harshly in surprise as she choked off her immediate response. ¡°Before you swear, did you manage the item I asked about?¡± interjects Amdirlain. The answer was immediately in Ebusuku¡¯s song, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t speak as Ebusuku unsecured a storage bag and set a crystal block on the ground. The music of the summoning chamber seemed to inhale sharply, and the forearm-length plinth bloomed to waist height on Ebusuku and changed into a strange sunflower. With each moment, its surface darkened as it drank energy from the Elemental Plane of Earth. Unbothered by its appearance, Amdirlain listened to the woven harmonies within the orchestra of its construction and gave a grim smile. ¡°That¡¯s going to take some work to duplicate.¡± ¡°It took some work to get the Domain to make it until I focused on needing it for you¡ªthen this immediately popped out of the ground. I¡¯ll pass this along to Erwarth to bring to you. I noticed you hadn¡¯t mentioned your Sisterhood plan to her when you requested training.¡± ¡°I figured it would be rude to go behind your back. If you don¡¯t want me trying it, say so,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t because you once promised to help free my grandmother,¡± probed Ebusuku. Amdirlain gave a relaxed smile that quickly turned predatory. ¡°I remember that promise, and potentially, that might happen, but my motivation is a bit more base. What it boils down to is the bitch hurt me, tried to own me, so I''m going to crush her.¡± ¡°Be careful you don¡¯t slide into trouble,¡± warned Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯m sure she has hurt a lot more innocents than me, but I will not torture her. I¡¯m just going to end her, once and for all,¡± reassured Amdirlain, earning a satisfied nod from Ebusuku. ¡°Exactly how do you plan to make more of these?¡± ¡°Studying its song will take time, and I¡¯ll talk to Roher,¡± offered Amdirlain. That way, Roher and Isa can make active defences for the L¨®m?. I''ll need to get Multi-voice unlocked to have a chance on my own. Ebusuku nodded and tapped the closest petal of the sunflower, which immediately collapsed back into the block state. The energy it had drawn slowly exhaled back into the chamber¡¯s stone. ¡°How ?can your Domain make True Song crystal?¡± enquired Ebusuku, collecting the block from the ground only after it faded to clear crystal again. ¡°Anar and Lome aren¡¯t as powerful as a divine being unless they work together,¡± replied Amdirlain, carefully keeping a straight face. ¡°You were a pseudo-Power when hundreds of these towers popped up, and we had a Domain full of crystal buildings,¡± observed Ebusuku. "Why are you being sly about this?" ¡°After I¡¯m free of this plane, then I¡¯ll let you and Torm know,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Until then, I¡¯m not speaking dangerous secrets where, among other dangers, the Abyss can hear. I¡¯m sure Sarah already remembers.¡± ¡°The Abyss isn¡¯t aware,¡± scoffed Ebusuku. ¡°It is,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°It took the concept of demons from the Abyssal primordials¡¯ experiments and spawned billions of them, along with ways for them to progress. The filth and corruption it collected over aeons turned into a force that drove the older inhabitants to the brink of extinction.¡± ¡°Time of legends.¡± ¡°I remember some of those times, and the corruption accumulating in the Abyss unnerved Orh¨ºthurin. She felt as if it had watched her whenever she descended into it, and when she sang in the Abyss, it listened and copied her creations,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°The Blood Plains of the Dretch started as a punishment she created for a group of powerful, monstrous souls that she didn¡¯t dare let fall into the Abyss whole. It was ?a few kilometres across when she created it. Now, how far does it extend?¡± Ebusuku gave a sharp nod. ¡°Alright, you said you¡¯d train, and I¡¯ll hold you to that. Best start work on crafting a concealment circle for Erwarth. I don¡¯t want you trained to the Sisterhood standard; I want you to ?be better than them all.¡± When Ebusuku closed the Gate, Amdirlain didn¡¯t immediately move. Though a part of the conversation with Gail echoed Amdirlain¡¯s conversation delivering the bad news to the Titan, there was no doubt she was a bright, happy child, outgoing where Andre had always been so quiet. ¡°Gail¡¯s not Andre, and I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin,¡± Amdirlain said when she finally turned to meet Torm¡¯s concerned gaze. ¡°Does not being Orh¨ºthurin change what you¡¯re planning to do?¡± ¡°Overall, no, not one bit; but I¡¯ll take the measured approach I decided on, though I¡¯m open to suggestions towards the goal,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin created the plains,¡± Torm offered hesitantly, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t force him to voice his concerns. ¡°She saw the genocide of a dozen peaceful species because of the hatred that originated within the twisted souls of a warped creation. Then following the rules forced her to wait while more died and the Anar court debated what to do,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I remember her assessment that she didn¡¯t dare risk more than fragments of the Gold Elf souls forming demons; they were too strong and twisted. She also wasn¡¯t in a good place herself; the vines were making themselves at home.¡± With a nod of acceptance, she saw him push his concern aside. ¡°What¡¯s your immediate plan?¡± Amdirlain spun with her arms outstretched and finally halted, facing Torm. ¡°Right now, I need even an ugly sky. I¡¯ve just spent yet more days underground, so let¡¯s gather materials that won¡¯t go funky, then I¡¯ll work on a barrier circle to keep a Celestial¡¯s energy from being a signal flare.¡± ¡°Going funky, is that a technical term?¡± asked Torm dryly, not objecting to the change of subject. ¡°Hilarious you are,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, while Munais doesn¡¯t need the coin, having materials to sell might help her disguise why she has the funds.¡± Giving her response a reluctant nod, Torm took a moment to reply. ¡°There are some Drake species we could hunt; they¡¯re useful for scales, claws, and various organs.¡± ¡°Any ?reason to suggest those?¡± ¡°Among other places, they inhabit a mountain range far away from population centres,¡± explained Torm. ¡°You can work out some frustrations before more practice carving circles with Erwarth supervising.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a wonderland compared to the blank walls here,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°We could just add artwork or something to liven them up if that¡¯s all it would take for you to stay and practice,¡± teased Torm. ¡°Onwards,¡± commanded Amdirlain, and she jabbed a finger towards the ceiling. She had barely lowered her hand when they reappeared on a mountain ledge. Perching high on a sheer cliff face provided a view of a jagged mountain range. Its sharp peaks and brutal angles leant the impression of teeth biting towards the blazing sky. The exposed stone was a moulted patchwork expanse of black, grey, and umber hues appearing to melt into the churning flames overhead. ¡°The winged drakes nest all along the ridgelines above the plains, and there are species that shelter within the various caves that line the mountain range,¡± stated Torm, but Amdirlain¡¯s focus was on the booming song below the mountain. ¡°There is also an ancient Dragon that lairs inside the mountain we¡¯re on,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s move closer to the plains.¡± Torm didn¡¯t question but shifted them again. The grey stone of the ridgeline ahead of them twisted and turned like a heat-warped razor. ¡°I¡¯m trying to keep you away from trouble and instead landed us on a Dragon¡¯s doorstep,¡± grumbled Torm, and Amdirlain snickered. ¡°It was a bass drum of power thrumming through the rock face behind us. I said ancient, but I¡¯ve no accurate comparison to judge its strength; it¡¯s not trifling, that¡¯s for sure.¡± ¡°What was it doing?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Sleeping; let''s hope it stays that way,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is hunting along the lower slopes enough?¡± ¡°The air is fresher than the chambers¡¯ closed-in scent,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll focus on detecting nearby creatures, and after we¡¯ve found a few drakes, I might ?have luck tuning in on them alone.¡± An hour later, Amdirlain spotted the first massive Drake feeding gleefully. Its jaws snipping with deliberate delicateness at the bloated thorax of a hairy spider larger than a moving van. The spider scratched away ineffectually, trying to get purchase to pull itself free using the legs only on one side; the other side comprised of stumps that showed the brutal removal of its legs with sadistic deliberateness. Patches of black ice over a half-kilometre stretch of the steep slope showed the fight''s progress. With each leg frozen in place by its clawed end, the drake had pulverised chitin and rock to squash it from the spider¡¯s body. As the spider¡¯s attempt to flee had gradually slowed, the removal of legs had progressed; the last two removed barely fifty metres apart. The hulking form of the muted grey Drake overshadowed the spider it had slain. The Drake had a long angular muzzle with a ridged scale that continued along the line of the beast¡¯s form. From its serpentine neck, solid body, and long tail, the outline was very similar to a western Dragon¡¯s form. Though instead of a spear or bladed tail, its particular elongated tail doubled the body length and ended in a boulder-sized bulb. The cracked mess of stone around the spider¡¯s leg testified to the weight the mass provided the Drake¡¯s tail slams. [Species: Frost Ridge Drake (Old) Level: 2 Health: 22,472 Defence: 3,180 (Hardened) Melee Attack Power: 4,240 Ranged Attack Power: 1,060 (Breath Weapon) Combat Skills: Bite [M] (52), Claw [M] (12), Tail Slam [M] (72) - Breath Weapon [M] (90) Details: These creatures favour mountain terrain, but variations ?exist in deserts and arid mesa. Though distant cousins to dragons, the drakes lack their relatives¡¯ intelligence and magical capabilities. However, they possess a breath weapon composed of a sprayed liquid that freezes on contact.] [Hardened This defence category is incredibly resistant to injuries from piercing, cutting, or slashing weapons. It provides no additional protection from blunt or smashing type weapons.] Level two, advancing an age category reset the Drake¡¯s levels the same way it does dragons or demons. A touch against the Drake¡¯s mind kept it from noting their approach and allowed Amdirlain to study its music and mind closely. The sadistic glee it took in its prey¡¯s continued struggles was clear in its mind and, though five times the spider¡¯s size, the drake deliberately drew the killing out. Within the beast, its notes resounded with cruel delight, every twitch of pained desperation from the spider met with more enjoyment. Though the spider was no better, ?its malicious hunger to consume had simply met a bigger predator. Within them existed similar strains and themes from the Abyssal landscape. They bore only a slight resemblance to the natural inclinations of the predator spirits within the Maze, a tendency that the Abyss had twisted into a perverse state of desiring cruel dominance. Amdirlain teleported beside the Drake¡¯s head with an axe kick already in progress. The Drake instinctively began to rear up, and it''s very movement did it a disservice, speeding the contact with Amdirlain''s kick. When the heel cleaved through the stone crest between its eyes and drove downwards into its brain, the breaking scales sounded like a quarry explosion. The Drake''s death was no reprieve for the spider but hastened its end. The weight of the Drake collapsing on it squashed the life from it in an explosion of brown blood from its stumps and maw. [Combat Summary: Frost Ridge Drake x1 Basalt Wolf Spider x1 (25%) Total experience gained: 30,064 Ostim?: +15,032 Ostim? Level Up! x 4 Ont?lin: +15,032 Ont?lin Level Up! x 4] I wish I knew if jumping those classes fast was the right thing to do. While the early levels give me power gains, they don''t help to progress skills and powers. The grey bristles that covered the spider were as rock-like in texture as the Drake¡¯s scales. Amdirlain listened to the materials¡¯ subtle music with its cruel edges and sharp hooked notes, a natural camouflage for blending into the jagged terrain about them. With her focus on the empty landscape, similar music made itself apparent. Besides other spiders, many beasts blended in with the landscape as they sought food and shelter from the inhospitable environment of the Abyss. Torm appeared nearby and looked over the fallen pair before he turned his attention to Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t feel any energy rush from their deaths. Were you showing off for me?¡± His teasing tone gained a raised eyebrow before Amdirlain fixed him with a smug smile. ¡°My apologies for being greedy; it seems I¡¯m too used to fighting alone. You said I could vent my frustrations.¡± ¡°This is a large specimen; we¡¯re going to have more than enough materials,¡± offered Torm. ¡°Mission accomplished already?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Just an overachiever, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just that good; results, and more results,¡± Amdirlain retorted before pretending to fan herself. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯d seen you fight anything serious, and despite its size, I¡¯m not sure that counted,¡± commented Torm, giving her a wry smile. ¡°Erwarth would scold you for going for the brute force kill.¡± ¡°Yes, and no. I deliberately struck to drive its crest back down through its skull,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we get started?¡± Between Amdirlain¡¯s Inventory and Torm¡¯s experience, they quickly dismembered both the Drake and the spider¡¯s remains. They placed various organs from both beasts in containers of preserving fluid that Torm returned to storage devices he had on him. He scraped rolls of skin clean of excess flesh and fat before giving them a quick preserving treatment and storing them. ¡°Do you want to hunt more of these, or is one old Drake enough?¡± ¡°Munais knows spells to preserve the materials if we harvest too much. Depends on how much time you want to spend outside,¡± replied Torm. ¡°Longer still, but let¡¯s explore; I want to see what I can learn simply by listening.¡± 228 - Gold Digger Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Resonance had slowly improved, allowing her to isolate individual beasts among the Abyss¡¯s mind-piercing racket. Lairs she found were saturated with the malevolent vibrations of drakes, spiders, and dozens of other predators. Needing a break, Amdirlain drew back on Resonance¡¯s perception range and signalled Torm to leave. Before she could consider teleporting herself, she found them already in her sanctuary¡¯s library. ¡°After a while, the din gets too much, though shifting through the noise out there pushed Resonance up two levels,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I think I¡¯ll give my brain a break; want to spar for a bit before I contact Erwarth?¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised she hasn¡¯t already been in touch,¡± replied Torm, and the faintest of smiles showed before they reappeared in the sparring hall. Weapon racks that hadn¡¯t been present earlier were now set along the walls; their contents ranging from thumb-length knives to heavy-bladed polearms. Before Amdirlain could ask, Torm¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Isa brought them along while we were hunting, which is why I¡¯m surprised Erwarth hasn¡¯t been in touch.¡± ¡°I only saw the Sisterhood using daggers, a compact recurve bow, and what I¡¯d call a long sword. I¡¯ll ask her if you can start me on the basics of any weapons until I¡¯ve got a concealed chamber ready.¡± ¡°Are you still cutting out a new chamber for it?¡± Amdirlain hesitated and then gave a sharp nod. ¡°I am, and I think I¡¯ll put it at a new site completely. We¡¯ve unpacked a library here and now weaponry, so let¡¯s not risk compromising this site unnecessarily.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the closest you want them?¡± Amdirlain gave a casual shrug. ¡°At least twenty thousand k apart should be fine. While putting all my hideouts in the same geographical region could be risky, it''s more important to have terrain that won¡¯t result in a flooded chamber.¡± ¡°The Zealots¡¯ Maze extrudes from the same rock as these plains, but it''s unpleasant,¡± advised Torm. ¡°I¡¯ll make the initial extraction quick, and then we can get beneath its surface,¡± offered Amdirlain. With a nod from Torm, they teleported, and Amdirlain took in the scene before them. Pointing accusingly towards the sky were twisting lines of rock needles that rose from the plain. From each needle, hands or strange limbs waved and raked the air. Though she could make out the bulging eyes of the damned experiencing eternal suffocation, only their various forelimbs and eyes weren''t enclosed. A fresh arrival fell from the sky almost right before her, and a spike of mud rose from the rocky plain to greet its fall. The impact splashed the mud upwards, and the notes tightened. With the snap of a steel trap, the music of the ground changed, and it hardened into black stone. Pushing out through Inventory, Amdirlain absorbed a square of stone some five hundred metres down and did the honours of transporting them. Though there was plenty of space for them both in the five-metre square chamber, after what they¡¯d just seen, it was tightly claustrophobic. With a well-practised routine, Amdirlain immediately started expanding the chamber. Slabs of stone rapidly changed into dust but Amdirlain didn¡¯t slow until she¡¯d doubled the chamber¡¯s dimensions. Once she had spare space, she moved to the chamber¡¯s side and released the initial block of stone to vaporise it. Rather than cut a passage downwards, Amdirlain repeated the process by absorbing another block five hundred metres below them. This time, she angled it off to one side, in the hope it would be harder to find if something stumbled onto this space. With the proximity of the damned¡¯s suffering no longer sitting uneasily upon her mind, Amdirlain started cutting a spiral staircase downwards. Though unsure if she¡¯d use it for anything beyond the domed training chamber she currently had planned, Amdirlain left landings every twenty metres in case she wanted to expand later. The process took them another six hundred metres beneath the surface before she stopped. With the nearest suffocating song far beyond the range of her Resonance, Amdirlain cut a corridor two metres by two, straight ahead from the stairs. Once it had grown thirty metres long, she started the domed chamber. The corridor didn¡¯t join at floor level, rather, she used its ceiling to mark out the dome¡¯s base. Once she''d hollowed out the dome, Amdirlain cut a shaft ten metres down and set stairs spiralling around its perimeter. From the floor to the peak gave them just over thirty metres of air space, with a fifty-metre diameter. Though Torm didn¡¯t comment while she was working, Amdirlain could sense his growing amusement. The brief twitches and the way his hand occasionally brushed across his mouth might as well have been neon signs. ¡°Out with it?¡± Gesturing broadly at the chamber¡¯s expanse, Torm gave a rueful smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to experiment to ensure you can even get it to work before carving a circle this size?¡± ¡°Naughty Torm, making assumptions are you?¡± teased Amdirlain, and she waved a reproving finger. Tapping her foot on the floor dramatically, Amdirlain extracted a four-metre radius disc from the chamber¡¯s midpoint, leaving an impression only ten centimetres thick. ¡°That¡¯s the initial test limit. I¡¯ll extend the depression if I need to cut out failed attempts until I can get the circle working. After I can carve it a few times, I¡¯ll cut the outer floor downwards to match and work on the bigger version. Let me find out what is going on with Erwarth.¡± ¡°I contacted her while you were carving,¡± advised Torm. ¡°She¡¯s currently sparring with Ilya; asked to advise her when you''d finished. She¡¯s got that crystal block and the True Song needles you wanted, ready to pass along.¡± ¡°Excellent,¡± cooed Amdirlain, clapping her hands eagerly. She laughed when it echoed back to her. Releasing a Message to Erwarth, it was only a few minutes before Amdirlain got a response and created a Gate in the depression¡¯s centre. Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise the view of the cavern behind Erwarth, but the L¨®m?¡¯s song thrumming from the crystal walls washed through the Gate and dispelled the lingering echoes of torment that had clung to them. Erwarth hadn¡¯t significantly changed appearance this time, only shrunk to a Human height and removed her wings. Her hair was in a loose braid that spilled down her back, and as Erwarth turned towards them, Amdirlain felt a weight of worry lift from her shoulders. Though no energy leaked across the Gate¡¯s threshold, the Celestial energy in her eyes was enough to elicit a sigh of relief from Amdirlain. The sound earned a brief smile from Erwarth, and she tossed a cloth bag through the Gate. ¡°Storage bag with your goodies, but don¡¯t retrieve the crystals until you¡¯ve got a working concealment circle. I don¡¯t know how much noise any of them will make outside a grotto¡¯s purification song,¡± warned Erwarth. ¡°There are some extra texts in there you¡¯ll need, and I¡¯ve sketched out the circle. Both the complete circle and marked references to all the warding runes you¡¯ll need.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done all the research for me?¡± ¡°Yes, but by the time the circle is working, we¡¯ll have gone over the lot. I expect you to understand how it hangs together,¡± cautioned Erwarth. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± Amdirlain shouted and snapped to attention. Erwarth fixed her with a droll stare, studying Amdirlain as she held herself still. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a drill sergeant, I couldn¡¯t help it,¡± teased Amdirlain, and she motioned to the cutout section. ¡°That big enough to practise?¡± Erwarth considered the depression Amdirlain had cut and shot her a look of amusement. ¡°It is; glad to see you didn¡¯t intend a larger one to start.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll meet up with Munais and deliver the materials we harvested then return,¡± stated Torm, and he vanished as soon as Amdirlain nodded. ¡°How¡¯s the boyfriend handling the Abyss?¡± ¡°Seems Isa or Sarah like to share, but the same applies to you. How are you handling being back in the Abyss?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Sarah asked me to check on him, seems she feels a debt. I¡¯m mostly within a grotto¡¯s protection or picking off Sisterhood investigators that show up occasionally. He¡¯s having to deal with its energy in the raw state?. My parents are at least still alive, except for N?r, none of the others¡¯ families have endured.¡± ¡°So far he seems to be okay. It''s clearly uncomfortable, but he is keeping up the calm front better. I think my arrival removed a burden of worry from him,¡± replied Amdirlain, choosing to stay clear of the casualties suffered among the L¨®m?. Giving a nod of understanding, Erwarth continued. ¡°How do you feel about him risking himself?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a nut job, who¡¯s far too good for me, but he gives me something to live up to when I¡¯m not sure I have it in me. So having him around helps,¡± responded Amdirlain, after she retrieved the texts from the storage bag. A thought was all it took to create a reading stand, and she absently separated herself from it. Erwarth wrinkled her nose when she saw Amdirlain¡¯s connection to it sever. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t doing that anymore.¡± ¡°Protean fixes me in a moment and for something so small, Pain Eater doesn¡¯t even flicker,¡± Amdirlain retorted, waving her off as she set the largest of the texts atop the stand. ¡°Your Pain Resistance evolved?¡± asked Erwarth, with a hint of distaste in her voice. Giving her a brief smile, Amdirlain opened the text to the first bookmark and settled it in position. The diagram appeared to be a geometric puzzle formed without the boundaries of a trio of circles, and Amdirlain could see how the pieces linked, even if she didn¡¯t understand all of it. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m such a masochist, but at least now I know exactly how much I¡¯ve hurt myself. Right, let''s get started. This diagram is only a three-circle layer; aside from the fact it looks like hundreds of runes, this seems like it will be a cinch. What¡¯s the catch?¡± ¡°You must place the runes precisely along the circles¡¯ circumferences, and you¡¯ll need to repeat the full pattern as the circle expands. It means you need to calculate the circumference based on the space you¡¯ll need for the runes. You¡¯ll understand why they¡¯re a pain once we get into it.¡± ¡°Still not allowed to just yank the stone out?¡± ¡°Now why would I let you do that?¡± laughed Erwarth. ¡°Get measuring. This isn¡¯t an aspect of the Wizard Class you should have neglected. While an Artificer¡¯s runes are far more flexible and enduring, there is still plenty a Wizard can do with a decent knowledge of runes.¡± ¡°True, Yngvarr¡¯s imprint plate showed me that,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Though Erwarth let Amdirlain work undisturbed initially, that only lasted while she marked the main circles in place. After that, they began to pore over the theory of every rune, both individually and how it interacted with the surrounding elements. They hadn¡¯t even finished the discussion on the first rune when Amdirlain received a notification. [Rune Lore [J] (40) -> [Ad] (1)] ¡°Looking to push my Rune Lore along?¡± Erwarth nodded and pointed to the rune Amdirlain had just chalked in place. ¡°You¡¯ll need to redraw that one. I took it easy on you with Gail¡¯s circle, as I knew what Ebusuku had planned. This endeavour rests entirely on your circle, so by the time we are done, I expect you to know everything there is to know about it. Not just the Rune Lore, but I¡¯ll be cramming the Magic Circles'' knowledge into you.¡± Amdirlain set back to work, and Erwarth¡¯s interrogation and instruction continued at a rapid-fire pace. When he returned from meeting up with Munais, Torm had only a moment''s respite to see Amdirlain scrubbing out some chalk marks before Erwarth tossed him another storage bag. ¡°You need to catch up with your own knowledge and skills. I¡¯ll give you both some time to spar and stretch each day, but you¡¯ve lots to learn,¡± Erwarth informed him. ¡°Some demons use magic as easily as mortals breathe. While Amdirlain has options to bypass it, you could drag her down if you get stuck in a magical trap she didn¡¯t spot.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t argue. Just tell me which text? to read first,¡± replied Torm, and he started to unpack. ¡°Once the circle is complete, the others will also come to spar and teach you both weapon skills,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°We don¡¯t expect you to be Grandmaster rank in every weapon we can teach you. What we want to ensure is that you can cut down most foes with whatever is at hand, and buy time to get away from the rest.¡± ¡°You planning to fill up my entire century Planar Locked with instruction?¡± The question earned a knowing laugh from Erwarth. ¡°I¡¯d fill up a few millennia if I could get you to sit still long enough. Between weapons, True Song, magic, not to mention your Ki or Psi options, you¡¯ve a broad range of capabilities. What I want to do is ensure you can effectively use them.¡± It was some eight hours later before Erwarth called a halt, and Amdirlain reluctantly agreed. With the Gate¡¯s closure, the Abyss¡¯ miasma seemed to press tighter about them, but Amdirlain pushed the sensation aside. ¡°Are you trying to learn everything in a day?¡± asked Torm, carefully setting a bookmark in place. ¡°Not everything,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she plucked a tiny container from the storage bag, drawing a hiss of concern from Torm. ¡°I remember bringing items of True Song crystal into the Abyss; it doesn¡¯t ring out, unless you have things like the purification field in place. Erwarth was more referring to the crystal block, as that would cause a bit of noise.¡± Opening the lid, Amdirlain found nearly twenty thin needles the length of her middle finger inside and stored all but one into Inventory. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± ¡°The only thing important about the needles is that they¡¯re an example of the crystal¡¯s song in an uncluttered state,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she waved the needle like a conductor¡¯s baton. ¡°Exactly what I need to learn the song for making more of it.¡± ¡°I find it amusing that you and Isa emphasise the word song differently,¡± observed Torm. The observation had Amdirlain wrinkling her nose, and her eyes gleamed with suppressed glee. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll just say Isa has a different perspective on many things. Did you want to spar or continue studying?¡± ¡°Sparring is tempting, but Erwarth¡¯s right; I need to get better at magic,¡± replied Torm. ¡°Though I still need to keep up my combat practice, perhaps we should set a routine as you did with your monastery stay?¡± As he flowed to his feet, Amdirlain told herself that she was just admiring his grace but coughed when he fixed her with a smile. ¡°Thank you for the compliment.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll admit you busted me.¡± ¡°Such a hardened criminal indeed,¡± laughed Torm before motioning to the needle she still held. Amdirlain gave a casual shrug. ¡°Can¡¯t touch, and I¡¯ll try to keep the ogling to a minimum. I¡¯m sure there is a place for damned that took their desire to watch too far.¡± Her offhand statement earned a wince from Torm, and Amdirlain held up a hand before he could answer. ¡°Not sure I want to know, at least not until we¡¯ve any need to go near it. Now, with these needles, I can hear two Anar harmony lines within their song. I¡¯ll need to unlock the Multi-voice Power to sing those parts alone, which could take a bit of practice.¡± Not to mention the L¨®m? parts. Four interlocking harmonies just for creating crystals, though I guess that isn¡¯t bad for material harder than mithril. ¡°Can¡¯t dig into Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories to figure out how?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we want me to be glowing like I did cycling Ki,¡± advised Amdirlain. "Using Yang Mana to consume rot from Ijmti got a massive reaction from far and wide." Torm started at her causal statement of a near double calamity, but didn¡¯t let her distract him. ¡°You experienced some memories previously in your soulscape without cycling Ki. When is the last time you¡¯ve ventured into it?¡± ¡°Not since I got rid of the vines. I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve been hesitant to see what change removing them has caused.¡± ¡°Maybe you can find what you need through it now,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°Livia said Master Cyrus wasn¡¯t aware of anything like it.¡± ¡°Maybe, but not yet; I might kick myself for delaying later, but I¡¯m still worried about remaining myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to move us, or should I?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the lady¡¯s choice, of course.¡± Even as she raised an eyebrow, Amdirlain teleported next to the library table. ¡°Currently, I don¡¯t have a title. I¡¯ll leave you to your study. I¡¯m going to do some singing practice.¡± Before he could reply, Amdirlain vanished and reappeared in the main hall. With so few doors between it and the library, it wouldn¡¯t do much to prevent the sounds from reaching him, but it at least lessened the volume. When she took a break after three hours, Amdirlain found him still focused on the same text and sat down across the table from him. A few minutes after she¡¯d settled down to wait, Torm made some notes and looked up from the book. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°Just wanted your feedback, and this depends on Erwarth¡¯s availability. In the Maze, I would train for three hours and then fight the guardians for one. I don¡¯t want to disrupt Erwarth so frequently, so how about we use a 24-hour day, divided into eight-hour chunks.¡± ¡°Eight-hour training stretches might get a bit much,¡± cautioned Torm. ¡°We don¡¯t have to push to fill the entire time, but we should look to switch to other activities at the end of the time.¡± At her statement, Amdirlain caught the ghost of a smile from Torm, the only outward hint of the wary amusement ringing through his core. ¡°Eight hours of lessons with Erwarth, then combat training together, and the last for individual practice. The exception, of course, is when we need to gather. Do we switch that out for combat training or individual practice on the day?¡± ¡°Whatever works best at the time, we don¡¯t have to fix it in stone. But since we¡¯re coordinating with Erwarth, it makes sense to have a pattern to follow.¡± Torm tapped his fingers thoughtfully against the table as he considered her suggestion before he replied. ¡°When do you intend to let yourself have a break?¡± ¡°I planned to mix up what I handled in the individual practice,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That still isn¡¯t the same as having a rest,¡± argued Torm. ¡°But while I know this place isn¡¯t restful, it also won¡¯t help to push yourself until you break.¡± ¡°Having the Gate open for eight hours was the most peace I¡¯ve had since I¡¯ve arrived back here,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Then how about one day in five is a rest day, where you just hold a Gate open near one of the L¨®m? grottos and enjoy the song?¡± proposed Torm. ¡°Whether you read something or just sit and listen.¡± ¡°One in ten,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we split the difference at one in eight?¡± Amdirlain stuck out a hand with a grin. ¡°Deal.¡± ¡°If you need a longer rest, just let us know. It''s not as if I¡¯m going anywhere, and Erwarth would do nearly anything for you,¡± noted Torm. ¡°I should have mentioned that Munais appreciated the materials. It gives her a reason to be in the markets, though she requested we kill something a little smaller next time.¡± ¡°Well, she knows best, but Torm, how rude! Why didn¡¯t you tell me we should kill a smaller one?¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°One moment you were next to me, and the next it had a caved-in skull. When was my opportunity to advise?¡± enquired Torm dryly. ¡°Excuses, excuses; men, all the same,¡± teased Amdirlain. Torm took in her mischievous smile and shook his head in exaggerated dismay. ¡°Such a brat!¡± ¡°If I¡¯m the brat, that makes you a sugar daddy.¡± ¡°You have far more wealth than I do, so I propose I¡¯m the gold digger in this situation,¡± retorted Torm. When Amdirlain blurred into her Anar form, the light radiating from her gaze pushed back the surrounding darkness. The outfit of the shadow vines shifted to match the floral summer dress, and Amdirlain spun a circle with a laugh. ¡°Well, my skin tone and eyes are pretty cool. So it¡¯s fine to dig this, right?¡± ¡°Right.¡± breathed Torm. 229 - Restless Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic With the stone from the fourth attempt at the circle vaporised, Amdirlain forcefully released the salvaged chunks of alchemical silver from Inventory. It was a spray of metal that clattered off other scraps in the side area she¡¯d constructed after the first failed attempt. The lip of that chamber now sat nearly a full metre above the shaft floor. ¡°Well, at least you¡¯re getting closer,¡± cheered Isa, only to receive a flat look from Amdirlain. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make me happy.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been at it for three months. Why are you expecting perfection so soon?¡± ¡°It only took me a month to get the little circle working. But this bigger one costs me a week to set up each attempt.¡± ¡°The work taking that long is no justification for insisting it should succeed. If it''s flawed after a week, stop rushing and take two weeks to carve it. Weren¡¯t you the one that used to say rushed katas appear sloppy?¡± questioned Isa. ¡°You are improving; after all, that circle didn¡¯t sound like a million mossies buzzing to me.¡± ¡°A million is a little bit of an overstatement,¡± argued Amdirlain. Isa sadly shook her head. ¡°Would you prefer I say thousands upon thousands? It¡¯s a shame Resonance doesn¡¯t help until after the pouring is complete. At this rate, I¡¯ll have my concealments strong enough to handle Erwarth before you¡¯ve completed a large circle.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where it¡¯s going wrong,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. An A0 sheet of paper she¡¯d created with an enlarged diagram appeared lying on the floor. ¡°Put that aside for now,¡± Isa said and flipped her fingers dismissively at Amdirlain¡¯s plan. ¡°You still have to unlock Multi-voice, so let''s work on that and give your brain a break. Do you hear me complaining that your base Class gives you a chance to unlock it?¡± ¡°No.¡± Clearing her throat, Isa started speaking in a whinny granny voice that grated on Amdirlain ears. ¡°In my day, I used to sing with my head upside down in a bucket of water to get Multi-voice. Now, this whipper snapper just waltzes right in¡­¡± The water bubble didn¡¯t start high above her, but Isa jumped away like a scalded cat. ¡°You dirty rat.¡± ¡°At least I¡¯m not looking like a drowned one,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Keeping a careful eye on Isa, Amdirlain watched as Isa dramatically wrung out her clothing with a haughty air of disdain. ¡°Plebeian!¡± As quickly as she had created it, Amdirlain gathered the water together and hovered the beach ball sized mass above her hand before causing it to disappear. ¡°I warned you about that crone''s voice last time you used it.¡± ¡°No one appreciates a bad impersonation nowadays,¡± grumbled Isa and flipped her now dry locks of silver hair back over her shoulder. A burst of musical strains announced a Teleport, and they both relaxed when it released Torm on the stairs spiralling around the shaft. With their attention focused his way, Torm carefully took in the chamber¡¯s alterations. ¡°I missed the fun.¡± ¡°No sparks this time,¡± chirped Isa, giving Torm a casual wave. ¡°Though your song has more than enough right now.¡± Crackling notes beneath Torm¡¯s disguise churned and tightened, and Amdirlain got in first. ¡°Meeting Brel¡¯s replacement didn¡¯t go well?¡± ¡°Her name is Ulat, and she seems capable enough, but Munais didn¡¯t arrive,¡± answered Torm. ¡°Neither Caltzan nor I could get a response from her.¡± Amdirlain hurriedly stored the diagram away, only to catch Torm''s gesture to relax. ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡± Torm''s smile was deceptively calm, but the tense notes continued within his song. ¡°Isn¡¯t that my line? Ulat and Oitrix will investigate her last location, but it''s not the first time she¡¯s been out of contact.¡± ¡°Isa mentioned something that gives me a way around the Abyssal Heat effect, so I can help in the cities if needed now,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I did no such thing,¡± hissed Isa and looked at Torm in concern. ¡°All I made was an observation, then Amdirlain skipped tracks and came up with the plan in her stir-crazy brain. I in no way provided her with this plan, nor thought she¡¯d see it as a get-out-of-gaol card.¡± Torm held up a reassuring hand, and at the gesture, Isa exhaled in relief. ¡°If you are getting stir crazy, we could go hunting again,¡± offered Torm. ¡°Or go into obsession mode to get Multi-voice working, then you¡¯ll be able to argue with yourself about your plans,¡± Isa suggested with a tense smile. Amdirlain rubbed her nose with her middle finger, and Isa laughed her off. ¡°Will you let me listen to your mind while using the Power?¡± ¡°My mind is a weird place. It would be safer for you to figure your own way out. Let¡¯s just stick to me showing simple uses for you to try copying.¡± ¡°Alright, Little Miss Luck,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly! And I don¡¯t know what would happen if I get into what Ilya calls my Luck-ridden state when you¡¯re in my brain,¡± cautioned Isa. The curiosity from Torm had Isa playfully patting her own shoulders. ¡°What? Did I grow a second head?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never met another Priest with your issue,¡± Torm advised. ¡°Maybe because I was insane and barely functional when I picked the Priest Class,¡± offered Isa and shot Amdirlain a tight smile. ¡°I got better, but Luck had gotten in deep by that time. This isn¡¯t helping Amdirlain¡¯s progress. You know, the meaning is nice but Amdirlain is a mouthful. Gail calls you Auntie Am. Can I do the same?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not your aunt,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°You might have been in a previous life. You were Mori¡¯s great-grandmother, and I¡¯ve recalled more of her memories. I think Orh¨ºthurin came close to crushing that kid¡¯s spirit?. What a bitch of a drill sergeant!¡± Isa proclaimed, dramatically pulling at her hair. ¡°Here I was thinking Ilya had been ruthless while training me.¡± A whisper stirred within Amdirlain¡¯s memories. Orh¨ºthurin, allowing Mori the dignity of crying undisturbed in the guest room she¡¯d set aside for her. The tears were not because of any injury but from bone-wrenching exhaustion. Orh¨ºthurin pushed Mori until pain etched acidic across her vocal cords and scoured its way deep into her bones. Each time she¡¯d passed out, Mori had woken in her room, and the challenge of completing Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s exercises would begin again. ¡°To be fair, Orh¨ºthurin warned her.¡± Isa shrugged, and light drifting notes spilled from her lips. Within a few breaths, the energy had stirred the chamber¡¯s air until a dozen knee-high zephyrs spun on the surrounding floor. It was a song that Isa had performed previously, and Amdirlain joined in on the second pass, their voices perfectly blended. A dozen zephyrs became three dozen, not two. The wild energy of the music shivered across Amdirlain¡¯s bones and made her feet twitch with a need to dance. Focused on their song alone, Amdirlain held her place and continued to sing while she waited for Isa¡¯s next piece. The Power split the note in two, and two songs continued from the split. One theme continued the airy spinning music, while the other became a frosted bitterness that crept across the skin and clung to the floor. Their exhalations became white plumes in the chamber¡¯s plummeting temperature, while ice flakes spun upwards with the zephyrs. Isa¡¯s songs continued, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t hear further splits, simply the flow of the threads she¡¯d set. It had been a note where the music could go one way or another and instead had gone both. Both drew from the shared resource of Isa¡¯s ability with True Song and Amdirlain stopped singing as concepts bloomed within her. Isa''s song strengthened, and the three dozen zephyrs they¡¯d kept between them became seventy. Amdirlain joined back in on the zephyr¡¯s music and pushed the single song into two within True Song. [Multi-voice unlocked! Multi-voice (1) Lingering Song minor synergy with Multi-voice detected Multi-voice (1->6)] The strain against her didn¡¯t double¡ªrather, it quadrupled¡ªas the pulse of her doubled notes resounded through the stone shaft. Across the polished floor, forty of the zephyrs rose to near waist high and threw a barrage of ice flakes upwards, creating a miniature snowstorm. Fatigue from the simple song washed through her form, only for Protean¡¯s regeneration to crush it. She¡¯d been singing the dual songs for thirty minutes before Amdirlain got another notification. [Multi-voice (6->7)] Despite the message, sustaining the music grew no more manageable. Amdirlain tried to push it into producing a third song, and suddenly notes clawed at her throat. As the other two songs bounced and threatened to shift off-key, she abandoned the attempt and focused on them alone. The taste of blood at the back of her throat almost ended them, but she absorbed the trickle with Inventory before she could gag. Isa tapped her foot to the beat of the air¡¯s song, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t experiment again. It was two more hours before Isa stopped singing, and swirling ice had cut visibility to nearly zero. As Isa¡¯s contribution to the music ended, Amdirlain avoided supporting the full power of it herself. The zephyrs collapsed one by one, the ice flakes slowly changing into a fine mist that drifted to the ground without the wind. ¡°Alright, what visualisation did you use?¡± asked Isa when Amdirlain¡¯s voice faded. ¡°I¡¯m a geek. I imagined the True Song as a multi-core CPU and told it to handle parallel programs.¡± Isa blinked slowly and raised her hands as if to throttle Amdirlain, only to lower them with a huff. ¡°That was all it took you?¡± ¡°That, along with the weeks of practice and listening to you perform. I didn¡¯t even realise the mistake I¡¯d been making in listening to the overall music. It was by chance I caught when the split occurred,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That gave me the concept that made the difference in getting it to activate.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had no luck getting Lingering Song to work,¡± grumbled Isa. ¡°Classes seem to either unlock powers straight away or help gain access to them. I don¡¯t know if Lingering Song is Class restricted, but your Prestige Class doesn¡¯t mention it.¡± Isa let out a huff of discontent and poked out her tongue before she went on. ¡°Yeah, it might push my luck, but I¡¯ll keep at it. I¡¯ve got several powers that don¡¯t seem related to any Class, or previously being an Erinys, so who knows? Maybe classes make some things easier to learn but aren¡¯t the only key.¡± ¡°True, I got Greater Teleport Self before my species tier would have granted it to me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You got Multi-voice through pushing True Song to support it too,¡± mused Isa thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ll keep pushing my True Song¡ªmaybe it''s the key to unlocking other related powers. Something might happen if it¡¯s strong enough, and I¡¯ve not yet earned an evolution. Roher said there are records of three different evolution paths for True Song.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of similar things among fighters with the progression of their Defender Power,¡± offered Torm, brushing condensation from his clothing. Amdirlain considered their comments as she took in the growing puddles. ¡°Gives me a reason to push all my singing powers¡ªto see what I get offered. I¡¯ll have to get rid of this water before I can start marking out the circles again.¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°It is nearly time for your weapon training session,¡± Torm reminded her. ¡°You can gather it all once the mist has finished settling.¡± ¡°Yeah, take an early mark since Torm¡¯s got an axe to grind with you,¡± teased Isa. Amdirlain¡¯s hand blurred out and gently tapped her nose faster than Isa could follow. ¡°Bad pun.¡± ¡°What?!¡± protested Isa. ¡°How many types of axes are you learning at present?¡± ¡°I¡¯m keeping it to hand axes and the basic long haft style for now,¡± answered Torm. ¡°See, I wasn¡¯t being punny. Axes are involved, and given your strength, I¡¯m sure there is some grinding involved to fix their edges after lessons,¡± argued Isa. ¡°It¡¯ll be better when you get out of here, and then you can grind other things.¡± Amdirlain groaned and shooed Isa on her way. ¡°Maybe you should go harass Ilya.¡± ¡°Bye, kids. Don¡¯t do what I¡¯d do!¡± Isa vanished, and the music of Tern¨°x echoed momentarily within the chamber. Amdirlain sighed and moved herself and Torm to the sparring hall. Among the once-filled racks were dozens of empty spots, and Amdirlain studiously avoided meeting Torm¡¯s gaze. Amdirlain listened to the song of oak and steel as she went to collect a pair of hand-axes. The intermingling of the music told the tale of both the material and the efforts of the weaponsmith in their making. With her hand resting on the closest of the racks, Amdirlain focused solely on the orchestra within its form, from the primary themes to the subtle twists of the underlying melodies. Resonance allowed her to trace the melodic music of wood and steel, and Amdirlain began to sing only after memorising both. Focused on their dual music, Amdirlain pushed her intention through True Song the moment she started to sing. There was a warble of hesitation as the notes separated into their threads, and Amdirlain stopped despite the encouraging notification. [Multi-voice (7->8)] ¡°It would have been flawed,¡± Amdirlain explained when she caught Torm¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Does everything always have to be perfect?¡± ¡°No, yes, maybe,¡± waffled Amdirlain. ¡°Apprentice crafters of all kinds learn from their mistakes.¡± ¡°It was early in the song, and it would have been off balance,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Exhaling forcefully, she started again, the songs split correctly this time. It took a half-hour of singing before blazing motes of light created by the music had compressed into something close to what she¡¯d intended. It was far from a perfect copy, but the shape was stable. The axe¡¯s curved steel blade showed warped places and, along the handle, flecks of metal intermingled within scuffed patches of incomplete varnish. [Multi-voice (8->11)] ¡°You know what this means?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°That I¡¯ve got a lot of work to do?¡± Torm snorted, took the weapon from her, and set it on a nearby bench. ¡°It means you¡¯ve completed your first crafting and have something against which to measure your improvements. Not against what Orh¨ºthurin could have done, or what Isa can already do, but a fair baseline to assess your progress.¡± ¡°At least it wasn¡¯t just shattered glass balls,¡± agreed Amdirlain with a laugh. Torm huffed and quickly changed the subject. ¡°Did you gain progress in either Power?¡± Unsure why the Power had shown more appreciation of the weapon¡¯s creation than the multitude of zephyrs, Amdirlain only nodded. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t mind giving up a combat session if you want to continue. Hearing you sing is interesting, so I¡¯ll happily listen to the local Bard for hours if you want to keep going,¡± stated Torm. ¡°Bard!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, mock outrage betrayed by the suppressed laughter in her voice. A smile flickered across Torm¡¯s lips before he could compose himself. ¡°Well, there are limited words for beautiful female singing voices: songstress, Siren; I won¡¯t say Harpy.¡± ¡°You just did!¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Their voices can beguile Mortal minds,¡± observed Torm, his gaze brightening with the distraction of their banter. ¡°Those wind spirits have an unfair advantage over singers that need lungs,¡± argued Amdirlain before playing up her outrage. ¡°The real insult is you put me in the same category as Moke!¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re seeking to extend the argument to avoid singing for your supper. I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be unhappy to use this axe, so why not see if you can improve with your second attempt?¡± suggested Torm and slid the axe to the end of the bench. The steel rang strangely, and Amdirlain realised there were slivers of wood embedded in the steel blade. Fixing her attention back to the axe still in her hands, Amdirlain focused on replicating its music. The result wasn¡¯t what she¡¯d hoped for, but different flaws stood out this time. Even as Torm gave the result a heft, only to set it down next to the first, Amdirlain was composing herself to try again. Eight hours of singing later, among the results there was only one genuine mishap, the twisted ball of wood and steel Torm had set aside on the far side of the bench. In a line before her sat fourteen hand-axes, from the first rough attempt to what Amdirlain considered barely acceptable. The latest notification appeared after she had drawn the songs to a close, and it wasn¡¯t the single advancement Amdirlain had hoped to receive. [Crafting Summary (Category: simple weapon) - experience by item grade: Apprentice: 20 each (x2) Crude: 10 each (x12) Total experience gained: 160 Ostim? +80 Ont?lin +80 True Song [Ad] (25->26) Multi-voice [B] (5->6)] ¡°Well, if I do that sixteen more times I¡¯ll gain a level,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Not sure how fast a crafter would normally gain levels.¡± ¡°Consider that an apprentice wouldn¡¯t be quick to turn out a hand axe, between making the head and handle. Also, they¡¯d be unlikely to make the lot themselves,¡± advised Torm. ¡°In larger towns, the local woodworkers would fulfil orders for simple weapons like clubs or quarterstaffs, but also the handles for axes, or the roughs for arrows.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a point. In larger places they wouldn¡¯t be gaining the full item experience, while in smaller settlements they might not need to create even a score of hand axes in a year. I remember the smithy you took me to in Eyrarh¨¢ls to deal with that awful dagger; the apprentices were busy on the bellows,¡± murmured Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°But they might make or remake ploughs, wagon wheels, fix axles, or a few dozen kettles,¡± commented Torm. ¡°The notification showed it was a crafting summary for the category of simple weapons,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder if they¡¯d get diminished experience for producing lower grade goods, below their crafter rank.¡± ¡°A proper crafter is only going to give their best,¡± argued Torm. ¡°The weaponsmith at the temple would have tossed you out if you suggested he provide shoddy work. He might tell his apprentice or journeyman to make something for you, but he wouldn¡¯t lift a hammer if you wanted less than the best he could produce.¡± ¡°So you could get a masterwork steel blade, or he could make you a masterwork mithril one, but he wouldn¡¯t just knock you out a rough sword an apprentice would strain to craft,¡± reiterated Amdirlain and tapped her chin at Torm¡¯s nod. ¡°I wonder if masters get experience from teaching their craft. Never mind, I doubt I¡¯ll take up a craft soon; I found it interesting that I got more progress in Multi-voice from that than the zephyrs.¡± ¡°Those two songs sounded more complex than the one you sang with Isa. Also, I didn¡¯t hear you singing anything different, but your voice seemed to reverberate.¡± ¡°Maybe that was the cause,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°I got it to work by doubling up on the same song. That''s what caused the weird sound pulse you felt.¡± ¡°At least you have it now, that¡¯s the important thing.¡± ¡°Now to get it to the point of supporting thousands of songs at once,¡± joked Amdirlain. Torm tapped his fingers against the bench top beside the axe. ¡°Maybe worry about getting some results that you are happy with first. I saw the disgruntled look you gave each of these. I take it the crystal song you¡¯ve been studying isn¡¯t anywhere close to this music?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Yeah, it''s much harder,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It won¡¯t be long before Erwarth¡¯s next session. I could use a break from the circle. Did you have arcane questions you wanted to discuss with her?¡± Torm opened his mouth to protest but stopped himself. ¡°If you need a break, I have a few things I¡¯d like to clarify. Can I ask what Isa was referring to earlier?¡± ¡°She mentioned that, at least in Hell, it was only the cruel music and not the demonic energies she had to contend with,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Then I remembered a few individuals telling me about the succubi coming and going between the Abyss and Hell. When I asked her if she¡¯s encountered abyssal succubi in Hell, she said their cruelty and lust didn¡¯t differ, but the haze of energy about them did.¡± ¡°Pretending to be a visiting infernal Succubus would be risky due to your lack of knowledge,¡± cautioned Torm. ¡°Yeah, I know that, and when I asked her to teach me more about Hell, Isa promptly freaked. I certainly wouldn¡¯t offer the services that Munais seems unbothered by providing. Though I could always put on Dominator leathers again, I think my current Willpower would hold me in good stead against most,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If I keep my mouth shut and don¡¯t talk about Hell, they¡¯ll likely take whatever oddities they might see in my behaviour as part of Hell¡¯s designs.¡± The wince that twisted Torm¡¯s expression didn¡¯t mesh with his song, but Amdirlain waited for him to explain. ¡°I¡¯d hate to admit it, but that might be safer than being an Alu-Demon. A powerful infernal Succubus, demons would see plans and opportunities rather than immediately considering you to be prey. A major risk in that disguise is if you draw attention from something too powerful, especially since your unreadable mind might draw the attention of Moloch¡¯s agents.¡± ¡°False Mind,¡± blurted Amdirlain casually. Torm tilted his head and beckoned her to continue. ¡°What is the rest of that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a telepathic technique for mental shielding¡ªyou set up a false shell around your inner thoughts; in a way, a bit like Viper was around my soul,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Though I used it during training to protect others in my group, I couldn¡¯t get it working consistently around myself. However, that was over a hundred levels ago, and I know it''s possible to establish it outside the mental barrier of being Hidden.¡± ¡°Another thing to practice then; I doubt it would be safe for your mental presence to vanish mid-questioning.¡± ¡°So much to learn,¡± wailed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°At least you won¡¯t get bored while slowly going crazy,¡± joked Torm. ¡°Would you explain one thing to me? You can create things, so what is the difference between the Anar and the L¨®m??¡± ¡°I told you before that Roher¡¯s statement about creating wasn¡¯t factual, more his particular biases. I¡¯m not sure I understand it completely to give a good explanation. The standard Human singing voice varies from baritone to soprano,¡± Amdirlain started and stopped with a huff. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can extend this analogy sufficiently. It¡¯ll have holes in it.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡± ¡°Anar and L¨®m? both have singers with the same octave ranges; it''s not what stops them from being able to do the same thing as each other,¡± explained Amdirlain, waving at herself. ¡°Protean lets me change my voice; someone could do the same with True Song, so the registers you can sing don¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°The explanation doesn¡¯t have to be perfect,¡± reassured Torm. ¡°I was just seeking a general understanding.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good because I¡¯m not sure I get it perfectly either,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. When Torm snorted in amusement, she crossed her arms with a stony expression. ¡°Never mind, I didn¡¯t say a thing,¡± Torm declared, raising his hands defensively. ¡°You¡¯re not helping my confidence in being able to explain this properly,¡± Amdirlain huffed, clapping her hands together sharply. ¡°This is simplified, but pretend all the materials in the Titan¡¯s realm align with particular octave ranges that True Song can touch. Some resonate with deep bass notes, while others favour high, shrill notes that would cause any dogs nearby to whimper.¡± Her explanation caused Torm to frown with mock indignation, and Amdirlain fluttered her eyelashes innocently before she continued. ¡°It''s okay, Torm, you¡¯re not a puppy anymore, it''s alright,¡± teased Amdirlain and skipped back out of reach. ¡°Now, for this analogy, consider that quickly changing material involves songs with high notes, and any enduring changes to the material involves songs with deep notes.¡± ¡°But steel doesn¡¯t change easily,¡± argued Torm. ¡°Yes, it does, especially compared to various magical metals, like Laen, or those that require special circumstances to manipulate for crafting. That¡¯s not to say all magical materials have deep notes; I remember mithril¡¯s song being a delicate honeycomb which might be why it drinks in magic so easily,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Now, like humans have a natural octave range for their voice, Anar and L¨®m? have a natural octave for their True Song. Like Human singers, that range can expand with training, yet only to a certain limit. Follow?¡± Torm nodded, with no hesitation. ¡°So, in your analogy, L¨®m? won¡¯t be breaking glass, and Anar can¡¯t sing the rumbling notes. Which is why, for defensive protections, the Anar relied on the L¨®m??¡± ¡°Exactly. Anything enduring that won¡¯t react to other energy, you¡¯d need L¨®m? Glinnel support. If you¡¯re looking to create an extremely high-energy reaction, you get an Anar whose natural octave range could shatter metal, not just glass. Close to the middle, they both can create mundane materials if their ¡®vocal¡¯ range is suitable.¡± ¡°Then why do the L¨®m? need Anar to create True Song Crystal?¡± enquired Torm. ¡°It''s an enduring material that is nearly unbreakable.¡± ¡°Because it¡¯s a weird hybrid material. As it can enable extremely high energy reactions¡ªlike the purification fields¡ªit needs both Anar and L¨®m? working together to create it,¡± Amdirlain said. Picking up the first axe, she used Inventory to etch out a sine wave graph on the surface of its blade. ¡°The energy state within True Song Crystal goes from the peak to the trough of these waves. The Anar can create the portions of its song above the line, the L¨®m? those below.¡± ¡°Does that mean when the singers are working together, their music combines, and the motes that made your axes follow the wave?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Like a ship driven by the storm, the material¡¯s motes reach the trough, and if the crew doesn¡¯t mess up, it climbs the next wave.¡± ¡°In this case, the crew are the choruses handling the creation. The crystal can stay stable for billions of years if they sing properly. It''s also why some grottos failed¡ªfatigue not just of the singers but also in the crystal that let them support the barriers and purification fields,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The L¨®m? singers couldn¡¯t manage the high notes, but the crystal¡¯s oscillation took care of that problem. They just had to keep feeding it in more deep notes and let the wave do the rest.¡± ¡°When Isa was working to fix the crystals, was she shoring up those high notes or bailing?¡± ¡°More like she was below decks, caulking the seams. Reestablishing the pattern of the crystal¡¯s song, which from what she¡¯s said is far easier than crafting them initially,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Regardless of the singer¡¯s fatigue, eventually the L¨®m? would have faced extinction as they lost more and more crystals. With the destruction of their homes, they¡¯d effectively have left their holdings, and the clauses of service in the agreement would take effect.¡± ¡°You know, that means Baln¨¦rith might not have any further dire plans? After all, the Anar species is no more, and the L¨®m? are on death¡¯s door,¡± offered Torm. ¡°Why spend resources when she can just wait them out like the Titan did the Greek gods? She might not have trapped them in Tern¨°x for any other reason than to ensure their destruction. The female L¨®m? she¡¯d convert into more Succubi, and the males she¡¯d leave imprisoned in Nox demonic shells.¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. I¡¯d prefer to err on the side of caution and put a stake in the bitch¡¯s heart.¡± 230 - Because the night Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic As the Mana hardened the last of the silver filling the runes, Amdirlain took in the chamber''s silence. Focusing on it through Resonance provided her with a steady orchestra rather than the rough and off-tune music she¡¯d heard from the previous two attempts. There were some apparent weaknesses in the song¡¯s components¡ªthemes that shifted softly beneath others. Yet it was unclear if that was from Amdirlain¡¯s construction being flawed or simply because, with the circle empty, there was nothing for them to do. ¡°Erwarth, it seems I¡¯ve got a circle for you to check once you have time. Parts of its orchestra seem too quiet, but most of it feels good.¡± With the Message sent, Amdirlain jumped from the shaft¡¯s floor to land on the stair¡¯s lowest landing, just out of reach of her extended arm. ¡°The runes blaze to True Sight, but how does it sound?¡± ¡°Good, but some parts feel too soft compared to the majority¡¯s steady thrum,¡± replied Amdirlain before she sat down on the step below where Torm sat. As she leaned back against his shins, his fingers brushed through her hair, and Amdirlain hummed happily. After a half hour of waiting, Amdirlain tilted her head to rest her head against his knees. ¡°Munais still feeding information from that Wizard¡¯s household?¡± ¡°Yes. Fortunately, he doesn¡¯t seem to have consistent customers, so we¡¯ve caused no ripples freeing the prisoners she¡¯s marked in transit,¡± replied Torm. ¡°She¡¯s learnt some of them don¡¯t come through his compound, but she¡¯s not been able to get more information on their transport yet.¡± ¡°Demon ownership rules 101: if you aren¡¯t strong enough to keep your possessions, they¡¯re not yours.¡± ¡°Potentially. It¡¯s why their rescue hasn¡¯t garnered attention. Caltzan asked again if you¡¯d help with the markets since Munais is working the household for information,¡± Torm said. ¡°They insisted I ask you directly, not just repeat your previous answer.¡± ¡°Persistent, aren¡¯t they? You can tell them no again. I¡¯ll need acting lessons from Erwarth or someone before I take on that role without an immediate need,¡± mumbled Amdirlain and wrinkled her nose at Torm¡¯s expression. ¡°You don¡¯t have to look smug because I¡¯ve been lying low.¡± ¡°I¡¯m simply enjoying your expression,¡± objected Torm. ¡°Hair being stroked, need to purr,¡± complained Amdirlain, and a tortoise-shell kitten sat perched on Torm¡¯s knees. ¡°I can¡¯t talk to you this way,¡± Torm grumbled, but his complaint didn¡¯t stop him from running a finger down the wiggling kitten¡¯s spine. At a shift in the chamber¡¯s lighting, Amdirlain resumed her Anar form, standing on the steps and ready to move. The Gate that opened amid the circle revealed Roher standing on its threshold. His sapphire blue gaze locked on Amdirlain¡¯s own, and for a breath, she stood before a choir with their eyes blazing a rainbow assortment of hues. Beyond them was only blackness, an empty void, with the sole exception being a pinprick of light that marked their homeworld¡¯s sun. It was the only world those around her knew, but it wasn¡¯t the only one supporting life in her father¡¯s realm. She hoped it would be the last she¡¯d make alone. Out of the memory¡¯s line of sight, a chorus of Anar voices rose to entwine and reach beyond their protected perch. Amid the mass compressed by the L¨®m?, a cascade started, and raw power flared into life. At a gesture from her, most voices stopped, and only those L¨®m? responsible for the barrier continued to sing. It took a breathless moment before light washed past them, and the assembled choirs listened to the sun¡¯s birth cries. Its brilliant silvery-blue hue was too hot for the planetary system she¡¯d intended, but it matched the eye colour of a few dozen among the L¨®m? present. Making adjustments to her conductor¡¯s notes, Orh¨ºthurin signalled the transport team to move them to the next point amidst the void. Amdirlain blinked the memory aside at the sound of Roher¡¯s delighted laugh. With a boyish grin, Roher let a hand-sized crystal tumble from his fingers, and when it bounced off the chamber¡¯s stone, it shot upward. Ten metres overhead, it blazed with light, and the circle Amdirlain had spent nearly seven months trying to perfect chimed. The soft notes countered the crystal¡¯s chime like a punchbag compacting under a blow, only to relax back into shape. From her position outside the circle, Amdirlain could hear no sound escaping from whatever power the crystal had released. ¡°What was that, Roher?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A little test I devised, it unleashes a temporary purification field at slightly above Erwarth¡¯s strength. I hadn¡¯t planned to use it today, but your circle seemed sound,¡± replied Roher. ¡°Erwarth is talking to her mother and she¡¯ll be along in a little while, so I thought I¡¯d come and merely listen, but it seemed ready for more.¡± Amdirlain jumped down within the circle. The energy contained continued to resound around her, but the circle easily contained it. As the purifying energy washed across Amdirlain¡¯s skin, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation. In a moment of pretence, it felt almost like she stood beneath the Outlands¡¯ Sun before she set the whimsy aside. ¡°Do you mind if I hold on to that crystal?¡± Amdirlain enquired. Setting aside her desire to complain about his lack of warning, she focused on the crystal¡¯s song. It was a bubbling liquid sound that Amdirlain had yet to hear repeat its melody. ¡°Feel free, but the effect won¡¯t last long, a few hours at most,¡± explained Roher. ¡°If you want to learn the Song, Isa can teach you. She mentioned your Multi-voice has been progressing particularly well this last month.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got it handling six different songs now,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like a demonstration?¡± ¡°It depends if you intend it to chastise me,¡± replied Roher dryly. ¡°Age makes the expressions of youth easy to read.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see a point in complaining about what you¡¯d already done. You and Isa are like two peas in a pod; you both flow with the moment,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°I bet you drive your wife crazy some days.¡± Roher laughed good-naturedly. ¡°We each sing unique lines in the realm¡¯s melody.¡± ¡°Will you tell me a bit about the Anar?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I might jog memories free without resorting to cycling the Ki; figured that would attract attention here.¡± ¡°It depends on the era. This lifetime of mine started well after things had declined,¡± replied Roher. ¡°While I have some earlier records, those I have are from the L¨®m?¡¯s perspective.¡± ¡°What legends do you have of the start? Erwarth mentioned the echoes of the first singer?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°The legends say we woke to her song slowly fading as the sun crested the horizon. We were all laying on thick grass amid an orderly orchard where one only needed to reach out to find food at hand. As the last strains of it faded, the Titan appeared. It''s unclear from the tales if he loomed above the trees or touched our minds, but all later recounted they could see him clearly,¡± recounted Roher. For a flickering moment, Amdirlain was lying on a gentle slope looking along rows of fruit trees whose names she couldn¡¯t recall. Sitting up, the smile of wonder on Hirindo¡¯s face twisted a sharp pain through Amdirlain¡¯s chest, and the memory snapped away. Roher stopped at her gasp, and Amdirlain turned away to regain her composure. ¡°I can¡¯t hear your Song but that seemed to touch on an unpleasant memory,¡± observed Roher gently. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an unpleasant setting, but there was someone close that made it a painful memory,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Not from my perspective, but it seems Orh¨ºthurin has something to say on the matter. I¡¯m concerned now about what I¡¯ll find when I venture into my soulscape again; none of the memories in the maze came through that way. ¡± Roher grimaced, and Amdirlain caught the echo of a chiding note before Erwarth appeared. Her form was that of a L¨®m?, with silver eyes and hair that matched her mother¡¯s hue. They glowed almost radiantly with a Solar¡¯s strength instead of the more subtle L¨®m? tone. A moment later, another Solar appeared beside Erwarth and, at first glance, was all glowing white wings and golden armour. Her bright smile and luminous blue eyes were a giveaway when she removed her helm to tuck it under her arm. Amdirlain recognised S¨ªrdhem though her form differed from the Succubus Amdirlain had last met. ¡°S¨ªrdhem! What brings you here?¡± S¨ªrdhem gave Amdirlain a bow. ¡°Lady Amdirlain, I won the draw to play teacher next, and I¡¯ve got some delayed birthday presents for you from Sarah.¡± ¡°Won the draw indeed,¡± snorted Erwarth and motioned S¨ªrdhem through the Gate. ¡°S¨ªrdhem wants to handle your combat training. Given I¡¯ve been pushing you for moons now with magical studies, I thought she should have a chance.¡± ¡°Plus, I¡¯m better with blades and bows than our magical guru,¡± teased S¨ªrdhem, giving Amdirlain a wider grin. Erwarth primly ignored the dig and didn¡¯t shift her attention from Amdirlain. ¡°Has Torm progressed your axe skills into journeyman ranks?¡± ¡°He did,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve stayed focused on those and Silent Storm, as you recommended.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. The sisterhood doesn¡¯t use them, and I couldn¡¯t find anything about Orh¨ºthurin using axes. The L¨®m? records showed she favoured slashing weapons, primarily a curved blade called a Kopis,¡± commented Erwarth. ¡°Given the information you shared about the history of the Greek gods in your world, it didn¡¯t surprise me when Hestia was familiar with it.¡± S¨ªrdhem transformed into a moon Elf, pale-skinned with a dusting of powder-blue showing on her exposed skin. The dark blue of S¨ªrdhem¡¯s hair contrasted vividly with her emerald eyes, which grabbed Amdirlain¡¯s attention before she focused past them to take in S¨ªrdhem¡®s pixie features and lop-sided smile. Golden armour disappeared and left S¨ªrdhem in a dark-green sleeveless shirt and loose pants tucked into low-heeled boots. Quick steps brought her across the Gate¡¯s threshold, the circle echoing with her presence. The soft notes reacted in the same fashion as during Roher¡¯s test, reflecting her form''s energy inside the circle. With the circle remaining stable, S¨ªrdhem gestured to Roher, and the Gate closed. ¡°I think if we set you loose among the elven courts, we¡¯d distract even their courtiers,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Too much of the boost I gained from reaching Named tier went into Charisma,¡± S¨ªrdhem ruefully admitted. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why, but it''s almost harder to control the energy as a Solar than it was as a Succubus.¡± With a laugh, Amdirlain motioned for her to spill. ¡°Come on, what¡¯s your Charisma at?¡± ¡°Just over four thousand,¡± stated S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Darn need another five thousand then,¡± joked Amdirlain. S¨ªrdhem rubbed her fingers across her chin, almost as if she could smug her looks away. ¡°Absolutely not! I have enough trouble.¡± ¡°I can see why,¡± murmured Torm. ¡°Your Charisma is like being in the presence of an elder Celestial.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°You¡¯re not supposed to talk about a lady¡¯s age, Torm. Not sure if it''s my Willpower or a combination of things supporting me, but after I get past the initial focus of your gaze, I can function,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Just have you show up, and you¡¯d stop a battlefield.¡± With a flourish, S¨ªrdhem dipped a hand into a pouch at her waist and drew out a pair of black sheathed swords, with a belt bundling them together. The shape of the sheaths showed the blades weren¡¯t straight but curved slightly into a bulge towards its tip, making it clear it was a slashing weapon. A single straight piece served as the hilt. Hooked sections curved towards the middle from the start of the hilt and the pommel to protect the grip. ¡°Something suitable for my lessons, I take it?¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll focus on the sisterhood weapons. These are for your private time,¡± explained S¨ªrdhem and presented the hilts towards Amdirlain. The motion drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the black adamantine wire wrapping the hilts and the curved guards on the pommels. Set along the pommel¡¯s hook, black rune-carved diamonds blazed with power in True Sight. [Kopis of Shattering Melee Attack Power: +2,000 Crafter: Grand Master Pimnal Details: A quarter of the damage from the blade¡¯s bonus will permanently reduce the protection a foe gains from armour. The weapon¡¯s damage is applied normally to foes possessing natural armour or upon the blade¡¯s destruction of a foe¡¯s armour.] ¡°You¡¯ll have to thank her for me,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m surprised Pimnal is still alive; she was already a white beard when I visited Duskstone.¡± ¡°Ebusuku spoke to her about these after you spoke to her and Gail. We still had some records to check, but Sarah confirmed the kopis was Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s preferred weapon,¡± explained S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I don¡¯t believe Pimnal has long left, but she took the time to craft these since we¡¯d helped provide the materials to complete her Golem masterpiece.¡± ¡°What did Ebusuku plan to do with these if Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s weapon turned out to be something else?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Would have come in useful to someone eventually,¡± S¨ªrdhem stated, pushing them towards Amdirlain. ¡°Take them, and store them. You can try them out later. For now, we¡¯ll start with dagger work. Silent Storm might let you use them, but you¡¯ll need to know the sisterhood style.¡± Though tempted to decline, Amdirlain grasped the belt and drew the bundle into Inventory. ¡°What now?¡± ¡°Well, unless Torm wants to see us both buck arse naked, we need some alone time,¡± teased S¨ªrdhem. Her melody was full of sharply focused notes, and Amdirlain carefully eased her perception away from it. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the library,¡± Torm coughed and waved goodbye before he promptly vanished. ¡°Should I have mentioned we¡¯ll be in the sisterhood form for every session?¡± enquired S¨ªrdhem. Drawing the bracelet into Inventory, Amdirlain concentrated for a moment and tried replicating Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s form. Though she hadn¡¯t seen her naked, the tight leathers the sisters wore let her closely approximate her body. Circling Amdirlain, S¨ªrdhem clinically offered corrections in contours and posture before getting her to walk about the chamber. It was almost an hour of little tweaks before S¨ªrdhem finally approved the form, and Amdirlain held back a laugh as she recorded the shape. [Protean Quick Slot One Set: Sisterhood Bitch] ¡°Now you must learn how to walk, talk and fight like a sister. Aren¡¯t we both going to have fun?¡± sighed S¨ªrdhem and changed form to match Amdirlain. Pulling a set of leathers from the same pouch she¡¯d extracted the swords, she tossed them to Amdirlain. ¡°Leftover equipment?¡± ¡°Indeed, genuine sisterhood leathers. Not a good idea to be seen wearing them on Culerzic,¡± said S¨ªrdhem. With a nod, Amdirlain stored them away. ¡°I heard. Actually thought we¡¯d start with weapon skills first.¡± ¡°Not so fast. You¡¯ll need them today. Since you want to learn to fake being a sister, getting used to their form and the limitations armour puts on you is part of that process. We¡¯ll have challenges since, physically, you can crush a lot of them. Older sisters have grown used to controlling their motions as they¡¯ve progressed over centuries.¡± ¡°What do you recommend?¡± ¡°Not pretending to be one of them at all,¡± declared S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Before you say no, will you listen to a request? It should prove beyond a doubt what a bad idea it is to consider infiltration, even as a contingency plan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll listen.¡± S¨ªrdhem sighed and closed her eyes as if she didn¡¯t want to look at Amdirlain. ¡°My request is simple. Fuck me.¡± ¡°What?¡± growled Amdirlain, only for a raised finger to halt her before she could demand an explanation. The tone of S¨ªrdhem¡¯s song twisted with self-loathing, and Amdirlain shied away from learning more from its melody. ¡°There you go, exactly the reaction I was expecting. Do you know the only use for bedrooms in a stronghold? Three guesses and the first two don¡¯t count,¡± muttered S¨ªrdhem. Amdirlain thought back to the perpetually heated state she¡¯d frequently had to force herself to think past. ¡°Sex.¡± ¡°You went straight to the worst case. I was sure you needed the first two missed guesses. Nice work, and exactly right,¡± stated S¨ªrdhem, before opening her eyes to regard Amdirlain. The sorrow and disgust in S¨ªrdhem¡¯s expression made Amdirlain glad she hadn¡¯t listened deeply with Resonance. ¡°I thought it would be something I need to dodge, but how badly did I underestimate it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°An off-duty sister is doing one of two things: scheming to gain rank or fucking the nearest sister. Sometimes the two activities mingle well with each other,¡± explained S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Bedrooms make it easier to get comfortable while screwing each other''s brains out, and they¡¯re determined by rank. Giving your supervisor a screaming orgasm is a good way to get a plum assignment with a chance for promotion. Continually refusing offers of sex, you¡¯d stand out like a chastity belt at an orgy; even Dominator types wouldn¡¯t be refusing alone time with someone.¡± Even with Resonance focused away from S¨ªrdhem, Amdirlain still caught hints of echoing memories that rippled within S¨ªrdhem. Moments burning with carnal longings and ecstatic releases rang loudly and raked their claws across her mind. Revulsion salted the memories of pleasure that had kept S¨ªrdhem from complete despair. ¡°Damn,¡± whispered Amdirlain, as she recognised that while she had rejected her sexual side completely, S¨ªrdhem had used it as a mechanism to stay sane. The points that Munais had raised had been a fragmenting life raft for S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I eventually strangled my demonic host the way you said Moloch has done, but it took me thousands of years to do so. By then, I¡¯d had sex with so many things and the heat was still present, even after I was free of its whispers and demands,¡± explained S¨ªrdhem, her lips twisting in disgust at the memories that sour her mood. ¡°I was so lost, and the horrific became just another day after so long. Sex was the only thing in which I could find even a glimmer of pleasure. Even when it left me hollow with self-loathing, I was an addict after a fix to numb the hours.¡± ¡°But still you were ready to teach me,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You can hear my music. While I could have sent you a message, how much clearer is my argument listening to my song? I¡¯ll still teach you to be a fake sister if you insist, and I hope you never use it for infiltration. But do you know what I¡¯d suggest?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll listen to suggestions as long as fucking someone doesn¡¯t feature in them,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. The laughter that burst out of S¨ªrdhem erupted forth with sheer relief. As S¨ªrdhem¡¯s laughter turned hysterical, Amdirlain pulled the leathers into Inventory and shed the Succubus form before she rested a hand gently on her shoulder. Eventually, the laughter subsided, and S¨ªrdhem patted her arm. ¡°Sorry, I was so worried you¡¯d stay the course despite my argument against it. Please use the form only to provide sightings that will stir trouble as you did in Set¡¯s fortress. We can help you plan operations that will have dozens of demon lords clamouring for her head. If Isa or you can get her concealment song working on us, we can help you execute them.¡± ¡°Would your help leave more than smoking ruins for someone to puzzle over?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe not, but all of us together won¡¯t be enough to take on Baln¨¦rith. So even if we leave a pit a kilometre deep where a fort had been, I wouldn¡¯t get too impressed and think we can,¡± warned S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Alright, no infiltration, just sowing of confusion,¡± agreed Amdirlain and caught the tones of S¨ªrdhem¡¯s tension fully evaporate. ¡°What do we do first?¡± ¡°Take it one step at a time,¡± stated S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Get those leathers back on, and then we¡¯ll review each weapon. You will spend eight hours a day repeating drills until you are sick of every one of them. First on the ground, then airborne, and you¡¯ll need to learn to use your flight with the wings, not just willing yourself about like you do.¡± ¡°If I¡¯m just doing this to sow confusion, why go into such details?¡± ¡°Because that way, if a sister sees you, it will point at internal troubles,¡± replied S¨ªrdhem. ¡°There are factions inside the sisterhood, let''s have you ready to stir up trouble inside and out.¡± ¡°Would you still have instructed me if I hadn¡¯t listened to your argument?¡± Pain flickered across S¨ªrdhem¡¯s expression as she gave Amdirlain a nod. ¡°In the end, it''s your choice, and I would have respected it. I would have helped you to work out tactics and responses to delay standing out as long as possible. I¡¯d suggest that you give yourself some time out of the Abyss once you''re no longer locked,¡± requested S¨ªrdhem. ¡°We''ve got thousands to help find you a restful place.¡± ¡°I was going to get to Ijmti and find out if the redemption path applies to me.¡± ¡°Afterwards, regardless of good or bad news, please take some time outside the Abyss, and I can continue teaching you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have a century to learn here,¡± protested Amdirlain. S¨ªrdhem snorted, unsurprised but equally unimpressed by Amdirlain¡¯s argument. ¡°You¡¯ve got a century to learn weapon skills, magical knowledge, and True Song against succubi that have been growing powers and skills for millennia. You¡¯re more focused and learn faster, so taking extra time will let you close the gap.¡± The concern from S¨ªrdhem stilled the protest on Amdirlain¡¯s lips, and she gave S¨ªrdhem a crooked smile. ¡°A place with some sunshine would be nice.¡± ¡°Colour preference? Maybe I can find you a baby world without civilisations or pantheons to block you visiting,¡± suggested S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Though, worst case, you¡¯d have the Outlands.¡± ¡°A nice warm golden hue, like Veht?¡¯s sun. It¡¯s almost identical to my home,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°A world to explore for a time sounds like fun.¡± ¡°Gives me something to investigate when I¡¯m not training you then,¡± said S¨ªrdhem and held out a pair of dagger sheaths to Amdirlain. ¡°Strap these to the inside of your forearms, hilt towards wrists. They¡¯re just practise weapons¡ªnothing magical to assist your attacks for now.¡± A weapon at a time, S¨ªrdhem helped Amdirlain get each settled until her arsenal matched those sisters she¡¯d seen on guard duty. Seven daggers, four garrotes, a host of spikes that could carry various poisons, a long blade, and an unstrung recurve short bow. S¨ªrdhem turned her around for the last time before she pointed at the dagger sheathed at Amdirlain¡¯s hip. ¡°Start with that one. I¡¯ll show you how to draw and sheath them.¡± ¡°Only drawing and sheathing?¡± ¡°Yep, a thousand times each will be a good start. Repeat my demonstrations exactly until it doesn¡¯t require thought,¡± ordered S¨ªrdhem, promptly showing the draw. ¡°Do you know much about infernal succubi? Or Hell in general?¡± The tightening of S¨ªrdhem¡¯s mouth made Amdirlain sure she¡¯d decline to answer, but she nodded a moment later. ¡°None of us went there, but we still know details about Baln¨¦rith¡¯s foes. Is this for your disguise idea that freaked Isa out?¡± ¡°Yes. Torm thinks it a safer option than someone believing I¡¯m an Alu-Demon¡ªweak prey and all that,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I can see his point,¡± said S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Alright, once you get proficient enough in each drill, I¡¯ll share what I know. You''ll do a thousand more drills if you make mistakes or can¡¯t answer questions about what I share. Refusing someone¡¯s advances is far more in keeping with their character. They¡¯re ?manipulative seducers, always with a plan in mind.¡± When Torm appeared hours later, Amdirlain was still at it, the recurve bow flowing into her hands and rapidly strung. Easing the string¡¯s tension, Amdirlain reversed the process and replaced the bow in the holder angled between her wings. ¡°S¨ªrdhem said she was done with you for the day,¡± ventured Torm, after watching another dozen repeats. ¡°Draw and sheathe, it''s all she¡¯s let me do,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°She wants my handling of them all to be second nature. Tomorrow she¡¯s going to teach me how to stab someone, in the approved sisterhood fashion.¡± With the bow secured again, all the sheathed weapons vanished into Inventory, and Amdirlain motioned primly for Torm to turn around. ¡°I¡¯ll need a moment unless you want me to flash you. I can¡¯t change out of these leathers and into the shadow vines'' clothing instantly.¡± Despite her teasing tone, Torm spun about and focused on the wall ahead so intently that Amdirlain started giggling. ¡°S¨ªrdhem¡¯s tone seemed happier in the Message. Did you two have a good catch-up?¡± ¡°We did, and we worked through a few things, including scrapping my plan about infiltration,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll only use her training to create issues for the sisterhood and sow confusion in their ranks.¡± A twitch of motion showed how close Torm came to spinning about, but he kept control and focused on the wall. Inventory absorbed the entire outfit, and Amdirlain restored the bracelet of shadow vines to her wrist. When her robes were in place, Amdirlain resumed her Anar form and slipped closer to Torm. Her clothing¡¯s sounds must have given her movement away as curiosity sang amongst his now relaxing music. Hovering slightly, Amdirlain stretched her arms around his torso and nestled close with her chin resting on his shoulder. ¡°Your music sounds relieved, but you didn¡¯t say a word,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You said it was an option you wanted available,¡± explained Torm, tilting his head slightly to press his cheek against hers. ¡°While I hoped it was one you never used, I didn¡¯t want to hamper your plans if you saw the need.¡± ¡°She started teaching me about infernal succubi, and their known dealings and behaviours in the Abyss,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Another option I hope you never need, but potentially safer,¡± Torm replied and teleported them to the training room. ¡°Time to sing for your supper, Bard.¡± ¡°So cruel, woe is me,¡± whimpered Amdirlain playfully. Moving to the bench, Amdirlain began to sing, and the motes of lights that had once slowly compressed quickly spun into place. Three copies of the dual songs of wood and steel had a trio of axes rapidly assembling. While Torm listened to the music''s beauty, the Abyss''s miasma remained at bay. 231 - The death of peace of mind Torm waited until the glow left it before hefting the latest hand axe. ¡°You''ll soon be producing a journeyman¡¯s quality at this rate.¡± The notification appeared as Amdirlain gathered some to stack them in the crate she¡¯d been filling this session. [Crafting Summary (Category: simple weapon) - experience by item grade: Apprentice: 20 each (x480) Total experience gained: 9,600 Ostim? +4,800 Ont?lin +4,800 True Song [Ad] (36->37) Multi-voice [Ap] (20->21) Multi-voice can now support seven separate songs.] ¡°I think it''s hitting the limit of improvement these can provide. I need to push my capabilities with different songs,¡± observed Amdirlain after considering the notification. ¡°Still, the combination of improvements to True Song and Multi-voice has it under three minutes to create a hand axe.¡± [Achievement: Axe me if I care! Details: For having created over 16,000 hand axes with True Song Reward: Boredom?] Amdirlain coughed at the notification, and Torm looked up from gathering her creations. ¡°Something wrong?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if Gideon is hinting that I¡¯m right or teasing, but I got an achievement,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she repeated the message¡¯s details. ¡°The announcement of Raivo¡¯s death implied Farhad ran away by accepting the Immortal transformation after decapitating him,¡± Torm said. ¡°I heard you got stuck with Artemis¡¯ Mantle for three days after that fight,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about that experience,¡± Torm grumbled playfully, stacking the collected axes into the overflowing crate, and stepping away. ¡°This seems a waste.¡± ¡°Either I give them away, or I charge for them. Either way, I don¡¯t need money, and I¡¯d ruin it for apprentices trying to sell their wares,¡± said Amdirlain. She disintegrated the lot when the last axe had joined the overloaded crate. ¡°Erwarth was going to help me with some spells. Will you join that session, or do you have something else in mind?¡± asked Torm. ¡°I¡¯m going to consider some new songs to work on for pushing my singing capabilities,¡± replied Amdirlain, after a moment¡¯s thought. Once Torm had disappeared, Amdirlain set the bundled kopis and the True Song needle she¡¯d been studying on the bench. Checking the blades¡¯ hilts set a restless itch across her arms¡ªnot an actual physical pain but rather an odd restlessness. The sensation prompted Amdirlain to snatch her hands away, and she examined the craftsmanship of the weapons¡¯ harness carefully. She drew the bundle back into Inventory when the itch started to heat across her skin, and without the blades in view, the irritation vanished. ¡°Yeah, not sure what that was about,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Unsettled by her reaction to the weapons, it took some time for Amdirlain to restrict her focus to just the needle¡¯s song. The entwined melodies'' complexity made it hard to isolate the four songs she knew should be present. Having already listened to it for scores of hours, the memory that surged up took her by surprise. *** Soft grass tickled Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s feet, but she paid little heed circling the crystalline pillar. Sunlight passing through sent rainbows spilling across the grass, tinting its pale blue into vivid hues. Other conductors arrived and joined her examination of the material. ¡°What were you doing?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin, taking in the crystal¡¯s continually changing yet stable song. ¡°Playing a game to mirror each other¡¯s music.¡± The reply came from someone among the group, and an echo of their memory bubbled forth. Orh¨ºthurin''s tracing of the memory¡¯s music allowed Amdirlain in turn to follow along. Each melody¡¯s essence, flipping from one choir to the next, was exchanged at the Anar¡¯s lowest register into the care of a L¨®m? choir. While their melody passed into their partner¡¯s control, the process grew more complex as more choirs joined in; each pair sang the same song two beats after the choruses before them. When the glowing pillar had grown between them, none dared stop singing until the motes ceased glowing. Puzzled by the stability of the song, Orh¨ºthurin stepped closer and slid the tip of a mithril kopis across the pillar''s surface. She stepped away when the only stress came in the blade¡¯s song rather than the crystal. The memory faded away and left Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s puzzlement blazing in Amdirlain¡¯s mind. *** ¡°Serendipity,¡± Amdirlain murmured, focusing on the music again. Though it was tempting to try, the complexity of each melody was daunting, and Amdirlain tucked the needle away to seek a more straightforward song. Examining the objects about the hide-out, she quickly found a material song that felt on the edge of her capability. Torm returned after his training session to find the bench cluttered with mithril. Progressing along the bench, the samples started as mere flecks but grew into rough nuggets before becoming regularly shaped. Towards the end, they changed into tiny thumb-sized ingots, but the latest glowing sample was a pencil-thick cylinder the length of Amdirlain¡¯s forearm. When Amdirlain stopped singing, Torm quickly spoke up. ¡°We''ve a prisoner situation. Did you want to come along?¡± Sweeping the assorted mithril into Inventory, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Some marked prisoners are leaving the compound early via a ground route,¡± answered Torm. ¡°The group that would have freed them isn¡¯t available. I¡¯m just keeping my promise not to go into a dangerous situation without you¡ªCaltzan didn¡¯t ask if you were available to assist.¡± ¡°What''s your plan?¡± Amdirlain asked with a laugh, drawing a derisive snort from Torm. ¡°The plan is to perform reconnaissance first and decide our next move,¡± replied Torm. Already in his Cambion form with its dark green scales, his limited facial expressions gave nothing away; Amdirlain heard the amusement gurgling within his song anyway. ¡°However, if the caravan''s defences aren¡¯t substantial, we¡¯ll rescue the prisoners ourselves." The crystal disappeared, and Amdirlain shifted into her Alu-Demon form and flexed her wings. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll come to keep you and the other youngsters out of trouble.¡± ¡°You¡¯re. . .¡± started Torm before stopping and shaking his head. ¡°If you¡¯re going to measure my age against your Soul¡¯s age, I¡¯m not a gold digger.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t basing it on my Soul¡¯s age,¡± refuted Amdirlain, folding her wings tight against her back. ¡°I was weighing ages based on levels. Those give me an advantage, especially if I resort to experience points, and make me the cougar to your boy toy. You¡¯d make a cute pool boy¡ªsun-warmed skin, dressed only in board shorts. Lounging around sunbathing in a tiny swimsuit watching you do your chores, growl.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going, shall we?¡± asked Torm gruffly. ¡°Such teasing is dangerous in this place.¡± Amdirlain lost the grin and regarded him reassuringly. ¡°I know, but I can also tell if either of our songs starts to sour. Ready to go.¡± Their arrival point was a gully along the edge of a massive valley, whose far side Amdirlain could barely see. Red rocks and black bracken made the landscape look like they were standing on dried and clotting blood. The mouth of the gully gave them a view of a line of bare rocks. Only the distant presence of a plodding caravan made it obvious it was a rough road, rather than some boundary marker nothing wanted to grow upon. The caravan comprised three massive behemoths, but unlike the ones she¡¯d first seen at the docks of ¨´eqr?kas, these were very much alive. A series of flat plates distributed the weight instead of rods jutting from rotting flesh, supported the same u-shaped harness. Atop the harness was a multi-layered platform loaded with assorted cargo. The offensive weaponry varied from those in Hrz¡¯Styrn. Where those had supported multiple rows of ballista along the upper platforms, these only had a single emplacement at each layer¡¯s corners and a central pair at the top platform''s midpoint. Amdirlain grinned during the awkward exchange of observations as Torm¡¯s novice proficiency with Br¨ªn hand-sign turned his replies explicit. Though they had hidden well, the songs of the other three cell members made them easy for Amdirlain to spot. The few times she¡¯d met Caltzan and Oitrix had given her enough time to isolate the music of their Use Names. Watching the slow-moving caravan, most of her focus was on Ulat¡¯s song, and the regularity of her music allowed Amdirlain to isolate the Use Name within it. The facade of the Alu-Demon sat strangely close to her inner form of a Monadic Deva, with her almost elven form, angelic wings, and flawless skin. [Resonance [M] (46->47)] ¡°No one else has Protean. I¡¯ll get close and check on their defences.¡± Amdirlain signalled, and before Torm could protest, she¡¯d already vanished. A tiny pebble appeared beneath some bracken on the roadside, the fronds of the fern hiding her appearance from anything on the caravan. The malicious boredom of the demons was unsurprising, but what was a surprise was the orderly magic that encapsulated the prisoner¡¯s cages. The wards used the regularity of the prisoner¡¯s cells as a touchstone to help them oppose tampering both from the prisoners and corrosion by abyssal energies. I had assumed Torm meant the Wizard was a Demon; these wards aren¡¯t demonic, though he could have a Mortal working in his compound. Keeping herself clear after touching the prisoners'' surface thoughts, Amdirlain checked the enchantments of the ballista, wards, and other defensive formations. Each time she checked the caravan, Precognition itched like she was coming up short until she looked beyond the caravan and mental alarms went off. Shifting to a hiding spot further away, Amdirlain cast a Spell of detection to isolate magical scrying, and a host of spots glowed in her awareness. Teleport placed her back near Torm, and she warned him before reforming into her Alu-Demon shape. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Trap.¡± Amdirlain signalled. ¡°Damn, are the prisoners even on that caravan?¡± whispered Torm. Giving him a nod, Amdirlain replied, ¡°They¡¯re present, miserable, and terrified. Either tell Munais to leave before we spring the trap, or we need to make a mess that he won¡¯t associate with her.¡± ¡°Who says we¡¯re springing this trap?¡± asked Torm. ¡°We track the prisoners, find other locations they use, and then retrieve them. He doesn¡¯t need evidence to act against Munais; if he suspected something, he¡¯d have moved to kill her already.¡± ¡°There are wards on the cells that are orderly. If I knew I had a spy screwing with me, I¡¯d want to take out all their support,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°The song of the magic feels Mortal, not demonic. Is the Wizard she¡¯s entertaining Mortal?¡± ¡°No, and she hasn¡¯t mentioned other wizards,¡± replied Torm. ¡°I¡¯d say get her out of there, but it''s Caltzan¡¯s call.¡± Torm nodded, and a Message Spell flitted away. Amdirlain heard the angelic songs vanish, and Caltzan¡¯s strange spider form reappeared in the gully near them. ¡°What is the nature of the trap?¡± ¡°Multiple scrying spells overhead are focused on the caravan; their energies blend into the sky. I didn¡¯t spot them at first, and my psionics kept giving me an off sensation. The prisoners¡¯ cells all have Order-based wards threaded through them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not just a security precaution, my Precognition tells me it''s an intentional trap.¡± Caltzan¡¯s eye stalks focused on the caravan, and his mantis scythed forearms twitched briefly. ¡°We let the next few caravans reach their destinations and get Munais to keep a lower profile. I end up with bad news each time you meet with us.¡± With that observation, Caltzan vanished. ¡°Great, your cell leader thinks I¡¯m a bad luck charm.¡± Torm shrugged. ¡°It would have been worse if instead I got surprised. Let¡¯s get going. I hope someone else can rescue them safely.¡± ¡°Same.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t wait for Torm to shift them but teleported them back to the sparring room. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few hours, but I¡¯m going to try S¨ªrdhem¡¯s exercises with the kopis.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d have tried them earlier,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°They gave me a strange phantom itch¡ªmade me wary about drawing them.¡± ¡°Then why are you going ahead?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been avoiding any contact with Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories, but I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s the right thing to do. I¡¯ve said she was afraid of power, and feeling those prisoners'' fear made me wonder If I¡¯m letting my fear of her memories trap me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°She left me a message in my Soulscape.¡± ¡°You hadn¡¯t mentioned it. Did she have some Precognition that let her see ahead?¡± ¡°No, it was an open message for any incarnation that got close enough. It was weird to hear her speak that way. One line she said stuck with me. She said ''I don¡¯t know who you are or who you¡¯ll become'',¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It felt like she¡¯d already given up, just tossing a message in a bottle out into time¡¯s ocean, not knowing who, if anyone, would ever read it. But the message helped, and I¡¯ve avoided her, not wanting to risk being overwritten.¡± *** After she¡¯d shifted into her Anar form, Amdirlain settled the belt around her waist. Rigid leather pieces set the sheaths at an angle on opposite hips. The formation of the sheaths kept the 65 cm blades angled for easy drawing. Amdirlain found the blade in her hand when she shifted her balance to draw. Though drawing the blade had taken only intention, it still felt awkward in her hand, too light, and slightly off balance compared to what something within her expected. A sensation like someone had provided her with a balsa sword yet weighed down her limbs. [Kopis Unlocked! Partial memory synergy achieved < 0.001% Kopis (1) -> [B] (15) Another ¡®sword¡¯ type weapon skill is present in your profile. Merging Sabre and Kopis into general skill Sword. Sword [B] (16)] And that rounding is as accurate as you want to provide Gideon? ¡°Fuck,¡± breathed Amdirlain, aware that the blade didn¡¯t feel as natural to her as it had been in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory. ¡°Problem?¡± Restoring the kopis carefully to its sheathe, Amdirlain hesitantly explained. ¡°I recovered a memory that included her absently drawing a kopis earlier. Trying to emulate it jumped my Skill with it from nothing to Beginner 15. Drawing and sheathing daggers for hours netted me a Skill level of 4.¡± Torm gave her a puzzled frown. ¡°That is quite the difference. I find it strange that Orh¨ºthurin never used or trained in daggers.¡± ¡°Same, but maybe she never kept up her practice with them or didn¡¯t enjoy the combat style.¡± ¡°From what you¡¯ve told me, she wasn¡¯t the type to let preference stop her from doing something.¡± ¡°Not sure we¡¯ll ever really know. Maybe the blades were simply something she was continually looking to improve, so provided more impact,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she drew the kopi again. Though the blade flowed into her hand, there was no notification of improvement, and she hefted it thoughtfully. ¡°This blade feels balanced like an axe with most of its weight towards the tip. I know she was strong, but just a chopping blow will have some force behind it.¡± ¡°Going to practise with it before the next session with S¨ªrdhem?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m going to do something I¡¯ve been avoiding,¡± replied Amdirlain, putting the blades away before kneeling. ¡°Time to see if I can talk to Orh¨ºthurin in the Soulscape now.¡± When Amdirlain opened herself to the Soulscape, the scene was far from what she¡¯d expected. It wasn¡¯t the platform in darkness or any version of the fields she¡¯d seen. Instead, she stood on a tiled floor. Close to her was a vaguely familiar cashier, but the glass display where she used to order sandwiches stretched onwards forever until it disappeared into a shimmering mirage in the distance. The door¡¯s chime rang again as the door slipped from her hand. The motionless scene came alive, and servers started moving between tables, taking orders from all manners of species. Plates appeared and disappeared on tables, shifting through a kaleidoscope of foods she didn¡¯t recognise. At a table just in front of her, a motionless Orh¨ºthurin appeared dressed in the sheer silk livery she had worn, pretending to be a servant. Instead of the vine tattoos, partially healed scars oozed the clear liquid one would find from a popped blister. When Amdirlain put a hand on the back of a nearby chair, Orh¨ºthurin blinked and looked up at her. ¡°Why a cafe?¡± asked Amdirlain. Orh¨ºthurin merely shrugged. ¡°Whatever scene you see is not my doing.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re responding to me.¡± ¡°Who do you believe is responding to you?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin.¡± Two cups of black coffee appeared on the table. The drinks'' surface spun about as if someone had vigorously stirred them. Even before they settled, Orh¨ºthurin raised a cup as if to drink but set it down untouched. ¡°You see her because you were expecting her. Orh¨ºthurin is dead and will never be again. The collective lives, including your own, are all you can interact with here, that we know from the knowledge she left.¡± ¡°She left a message,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°The Soul responds to the active life, using the living''s perceptions to decipher experiences or memories. Only what is in harmony with the current life should be available,¡± Orh¨ºthurin said. ¡°We know the message wasn¡¯t to you directly. Think of it as a login notification once you were determined suitable to access the memory.¡± ¡°Still doesn¡¯t explain why this place now looks like a cafe from the twilight zone.¡± Orh¨ºthurin shrugged and motioned around them. ¡°Don¡¯t overcomplicate it. Why did you normally meet someone in a cafe?¡± ¡°If I wasn¡¯t having lunch with a friend, it was a safe zone to meet someone new,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Alright, maybe this makes sense since I wanted to reach out to Orh¨ºthurin to learn what I could. Bridge the distance between us, so to speak. Her emotions were in a memory of Hirindo, and they were so real, it shocked me.¡± Orh¨ºthurin nodded and traced a fingertip back and forth along the table¡¯s edge. ¡°Have you never found recalling the face of a former love painful? Do you think Orh¨ºthurin didn¡¯t dwell on that memory ?and not feel pain about it? When you touched that memory, you likely experienced her regret as well, and even more regrets from other lives with lost loves involved.¡± ¡°The Anar and L¨®m? don¡¯t recover the emotions from their memories,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You are neither, and we didn¡¯t give them everything that was ours,¡± advised Orh¨ºthurin. Touching the coffee cup provided warmth through her fingertips so real, it seemed impossible for this to just be a vision. The aroma of the coffee tickled at her nostrils and had her licking her lips in anticipation of the taste. ¡°It will only taste as good as the memories you added in life, or perhaps as good as the strongest dreams,¡± informed Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Depending on your mood, it might be a wonderful coffee or taste as bad as the cheapest instant you¡¯ve tried.¡± ¡°Or it might not taste like coffee?¡± asked Amdirlain, shuddering at the possibilities. ¡°True, but now you¡¯ve put that thought into this place, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to risk drinking it,¡± stated Orh¨ºthurin, and she set her cup aside as a cloud of gagging copper-sulphate burned at her nose and eyes. A momentary focus had the cups vanish, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop pushing her will outwards, treating it like the Mind Palace she¡¯d once believed it to be. The cafe disappeared in a flare of light. When it dimmed again, Amdirlain stood alone on a platform orbiting the golden sun she hadn¡¯t seen in years. Rather than the black or opaque disc from those times, Amdirlain stood upon the grassed disc she created outside the monastery. In the surrounding void, images ignited, hinting at memories of strange places. While some seemed almost within arm''s reach, others kept a teasing distance beyond the platform¡¯s edge. Focusing on the kopis¡¯ balance caused fresh memories to swirl closer, and Amdirlain reached for what she believed was the oldest. Touching it, she stood no longer in the darkness, but within a grassy clearing surrounded by pine trees that soared far overhead. On one side of the clearing, her father¡¯s forge shoved the turf aside, where its stonework and benches had impressed themselves into the fabric of this new place. *** Bent over, shoulders heaving to catch her breath, she lifted her gaze from her gangly knees. Before her, Nicholaus extended a kopis to her, hilt first, the blade seemingly a dagger when held in his grasp. The leather-wrapped hilt was sweat-stained, and she visibly trembled when she reached to take it. Instead of the blade, Nicholaus thrust a water skin into her hand. ¡°Here, drink up.¡± The heavily diluted red wine the goat-skin bag contained didn¡¯t surprise her past self. When she tossed the skin away and reached for the sword again, Nicholaus lifted the hilt out of reach. He waited patiently for her breathing to calm before he let her claim it. ¡°Though you like to dance with the blade, remember the kopis¡¯ tip is still sharp enough to kill. Do what is necessary to survive, not what looks pretty. Now, return to the position when you ignored the chance to stab him.¡± Nicholaus stepped away, and the warrior reappeared, his position mimicking the opening she¡¯d ignored before being disarmed. Despite muscles burning with fatigue, she practised the same stab against countless images of foes that appeared before her. The realism of the blood, and sound of rendered flesh, was but an illusion she had long ago grown used to experiencing. With every strike, the blade grew heavier, and when she finally set it down, the forge¡¯s solid bench groaned with the strain and sank further into the ground. Even though he¡¯d continued to manifest the warriors throughout her practice, Nicholaus had continued working at his forge. A piece at a time, the foundation for their next refuge was created from the essence of the elements, shadows, and the forest¡¯s fresh air. At the bench¡¯s protest, he quenched the latest piece of forged darkness and added it to a waist-high stack. ¡°Tomorrow, you¡¯ll do that again, and every day from now on,¡± stated Nicholaus. ¡°For how long?¡± ¡°Until, when sparring with the warriors of my memories, you ?take advantage of any genuine opening, no matter how plain. The moment you draw a blade, fight to kill. It is too late to quibble once weapons are out.¡± *** The memory vanished, and Amdirlain stood on the platform¡¯s edge. A stepping stone that showed the glade scene circled the platform a distance away. ¡°Why do I keep banishing myself from others?¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Or are the ancient memories of those refuges so attractive? A space to sit out in a void while Nicholaus worked on the next step in the plan.¡± Unlike the ease of banishing the cafe, changing it again took a surprising amount effort. When the light dimmed, this time the scene before her swam momentarily in protest. Though she¡¯d only seen a fragment, she knew it was complete. Standing atop a ridgeline, she looked down a gentle slope and saw the rows of Anar and L¨®m? laid out fast asleep. The orchard¡¯s canopy blocked the warm golden sun, spreading shadows across those sleeping still in stasis. It wasn¡¯t a valley, as she¡¯d initially thought, before Hirindo¡¯s presence¡ªor rather her pain¡ªhad shunted her from the memory, but a large crater-like depression. Unlike that fleeting memory, within the Soulscape¡¯s presentation, she could hear every song. The tree¡¯s theme snagged teasingly at other memories that refused to come forth completely. Nevertheless, Amdirlain caught glimpses of glowing trees and the beauty of the Summer Court with Titania upon her throne. It was fey fruit that grew in a thousand forms from every tree in the crater. Outside the fey¡¯s realm, the fruit provided only sustenance and didn¡¯t cause a Mortal¡¯s perception of time to drift away. With the tree roots reaching deep into disruptive chaos, it seemed a paradox that their fruit provided everything any living being needed to survive. The trees twisted chaotic energy into twinned strands of Order and Life, and its music was an incredibly complex melody. Amdirlain sat next to the closest tree and focused on it alone. The song was so familiar that it was soon obvious these were the original version of the trees Orh¨ºthurin had added to the Maze. 232 - Lets pretend Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure how many times she¡¯d traced the fey tree¡¯s complex symphony when she finally released the memory. After focusing Resonance on such beauty, it left her sensitive to the biting sounds of the Abyss¡¯ vile rage. Shuddering in disgust, Amdirlain opened her eyes and found Torm hadn¡¯t even moved. ¡°Not going to do some training?¡± Amdirlain whispered, struggling to pull Resonance back under tight control. ¡°I was giving you a moment to settle before I started,¡± replied Torm. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Amdirlain blinked in confusion. ¡°It felt like I¡¯d been in the Soulscape for over an hour. Okay is relative.¡± ¡°You closed your eyes a few minutes ago,¡± Torm replied before he knelt facing her. ¡°What did you find there?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin seems to be gone, well not gone, because she¡¯d never been separate rather mingled with my Soul,¡± replied Amdirlain, only to laugh in grim amusement. ¡°Does it count as mine when it was hers for billions of years?¡± ¡°It''s certainly in your care now, so it''s your Soul,¡± advised Torm. ¡°Did you learn more about the Soulscape or your past?¡± Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably, considering what she¡¯d learnt. ¡°The Soulscape reacts more like a Mind Palace now, with my will able to influence its appearance¡ªthough I have to watch out for stray thoughts. There was a presence there that looked like Orh¨ºthurin, but she said that my perceptions filter the memories in the Soul. Unlike the song to allow others to access past life memories, I¡¯ll also get the emotional pain.¡± When Torm grimaced, Amdirlain nodded and pushed aside all consideration of how long Orh¨ºthurin had endured the vines. ¡°Focus on just the memories you need for now to avoid lingering pain,¡± suggested Torm, having caught the wariness in her expression. A strained smile twisted Amdirlain¡¯s smile face before she managed to relax fractionally. ¡°That and use Ellniya¡¯s methods to disassemble the pain of what I retrieve. Though, a painful memory let me get something calmer from earlier in her life.¡± ¡°Sometimes it''s best to work around a problem rather than hitting it head-on,¡± teased Torm, with the slightest twitch of a smile. ¡°Gosh, you and Erwarth want me to be subtle. How will I ever manage it?¡± asked Amdirlain. Torm groaned at her sarcastic tone. ¡°The final decision is always with you. Getting back to your experience with your Soulscape, communing with the Yggdrasil is apparently like that, though I never had the need. Those accounts I¡¯ve read said the person saw their face reflected in exposed sap or the pools of water between its roots, and heard their voice on the wind. It''s said it does so to avoid its awareness obliterating the sanity of those seeking its knowledge.¡± ¡°I guess ingesting billions of years of memories would be one way to get your brain scrambled,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°At least it doesn¡¯t take as long to re-experience the memory as you had believed,¡± consoled Torm. Giving a huff, Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°That¡¯s not comforting. I don¡¯t want to be a voyeur of anyone¡¯s pain. Though, let me see if one memory helped.¡± Rising, Amdirlain pulled a kopis out of Inventory and directly into her hand before she took her stance to copy part of the memory she¡¯d recovered. The difference in the blade and her own body required a few attempts before the attack felt even close to right. Relaxing into the blade¡¯s motions, she continued and tried a slashing strike; though that first strike felt awkward, Amdirlain sensed the ways it was off balance. Repeating the attack, she experimented with shifting the strike angle and her stance, slowly finding the sweet spot for each motion. Working through the gradual corrections took over an hour, but finally, when her body moved smoothly, a notification arrived. [Partial memory synergy achieved < 0.001% Sword [B](16) -> [B] (20)] The notification came with a rush of awareness, and Amdirlain shifted her position to practise the stab again. Though there wasn¡¯t another notification, she let the same sensation of awkwardness focus her attention on what needed correction. After shifting her footing, plus a half dozen other tweaks in posture, she finally achieved the same unhindered sensation. ¡°Looks like I have another cheat power,¡± stated Amdirlain. Though Torm gave her a teasing smile, he stayed mute, and Amdirlain fixed him with a flat look. ¡°You got something to say?¡± Wiping away the smile, Torm nodded towards the blade she held. ¡°How many hours do you think Orh¨ºthurin spent practising with the kopis, given her lifespan?¡± ¡°I followed a memory where she seemed barely a teenager, and she¡¯d practised until her muscles wanted to give out, then pushed further,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Millions upon millions of hours.¡± ¡°Then it isn¡¯t so much a cheat power as refreshing skills you¡¯ve already spent the time learning,¡± commented Torm. ¡°Promoted petitioners keep lots of the skills that they had in life. Gaps only come if they¡¯ve lost extensive memories travelling through the Astral Plane and the Outlands. So actually, you''re behind since you need to reconnect to the skills.¡± ¡°Then what made you so amused?¡± ¡°You seemed pleased about having a cheat power, even though you don¡¯t cheat,¡± clarified Torm. ¡°Analysis, gaining affinities, Energy Drain, and a bunch of other stuff seem like cheat powers to me,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°And please, seriously, I cheat all the time. If you¡¯re not cheating, you¡¯re not trying hard enough.¡± ¡°Everyone is different. I have many powers from being a Planetar that I can use at will. Does that mean I¡¯m cheating?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Or is it more that this appeals to your sense of humour to see yourself as one of those ¡®ise¡¯ something or other?¡± ¡°Isekai¡¯d. Guess I¡¯m not really since I was from here and came back via a curse, not a summoning.¡± ¡°That means ?you were Isekai¡¯d into your old world,¡± teased Torm. ¡°Nah, that only counts if you have memories of your previous life when you¡¯re reincarnated,¡± Amdirlain smugly protested. Ignoring Torm¡¯s snort, Amdirlain''s brows furrowed into a frown. ¡°I should have mentioned that S¨ªrdhem¡¯s instruction unlocked Sabre, and I¡¯ve unlocked Kopis, which immediately combined into Sword. I hope it won¡¯t cause problems for learning to mimic the sisters.¡± ¡°Combining skills happens. There are a couple more axe styles I¡¯ll teach you, and you¡¯ll find they¡¯ll combine,¡± advised Torm. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say most of the former L¨®m? had variations like Sword-Legend?¡± ¡°Point, but I still should check with S¨ªrdhem,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Was Dagger the other one, or did you get Short Blade?¡± ¡°Dagger, why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just curious. From what I know, that¡¯ll get absorbed into Short Blade if you train with bladed weapons shorter than your forearm,¡± explained Torm. ¡°Though it''s odd the two skills combined so soon, normally it takes a higher proficiency before the individual learnings merge.¡± Amdirlain gave an exaggerated grin. ¡°Perhaps because of my cheater memories.¡± ¡°No longer worried about her erasing you as a person?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Good news, in that space at least. If what I learnt is true, Orh¨ºthurin won¡¯t emerge and override me. The bad news is I might not recover her powers and skills in an unflawed state if my foundations are flawed¡ªlike attracts like¡ªand all that.¡± ¡°So instead, you''re again worried that it all depends on you?¡± asked Torm carefully. ¡°Remember, you have others willing to help you figure out a path forward for whatever you need to do. Some even have experience in the skills and powers you want to learn. How do you know Orh¨ºthurin did everything the right way? After all, you said she messed up socially.¡± ¡°Still makes me feel like I want to buzz out of my skin at present,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I remember you telling others they only worry about doing their best. Since you¡¯ve so much energy, obviously you need to be practising,¡± countered Torm. ¡°Since you need to practise as well, how about we combine them? I¡¯ll use True Song to create targets of various materials. You hit them with spells, and I¡¯ll try to sing whatever spells you use.¡± At Torm¡¯s nod, Amdirlain teleported them to the largest Spell chamber presently established with wards. It took several attempts to set up a few free-standing targets, but the notification she got made sense when she did. [True Song Composition [B] (10->11)] Though the cut-out figures didn¡¯t qualify her for crafting experience, it was enough that letting her intent shape the music helped a critical Skill. Repeating the song, Amdirlain followed her instinct to strengthen notes and found it changed the number of figures created. Torm waited while she continued to fill the centre of the room. When she was done, Torm walked around the chamber, examining the thin wooden Dretch figures, remaining up with an angled brace behind them. ¡°Interesting targets; these aren¡¯t what I had expected.¡± ¡°You can start us off,¡± prompted Amdirlain as she motioned Torm to join her. He didn¡¯t delay further and, reappearing beside Amdirlain, immediately unleashed a Fire Bolt upon the closest target. Catching at the energetic notes, Amdirlain copied them and sent a second bolt through the same figure. The combination of hits had set the wood ablaze, and Torm smacked it with a Water Bolt that put the fires out and shattered the panel. With the top bouncing off the floor, Amdirlain settled for sending the base hurtling away from them with her sung version. They continued alternating through the combat spells Torm had learnt, and Amdirlain replaced the targets as needed. Though creating more Dretch figures didn¡¯t provide further gains, shifting to different targets and other materials helped her progress through the session. After a fireball obliterated a chunk of targets, Torm signalled for a rest. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. Amdirlain copied the surging music and shattered the rest. ¡°Tapping out already?¡± ¡°Not all of us possess your bottomless mana reserves.¡± ¡°Not bottomless; you¡¯re just still working on yours. If you don¡¯t want to attract attention killing in the Abyss, you could also hop out to help Sage¡¯s projects or Cemna¡¯s cities,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to be close by in case you need help. Plus, how is it fair for me to flit between planes when you¡¯re locked here?¡± asked Torm. ¡°You seem pleased by something?¡± ¡°True Song Composition went up, so creating materials in alternative forms helps that grow,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I started with copying Psi techniques and a few spells. Working through materials and creating new objects will help push that skill, and Orh¨ºthurin wrote the songs to help choirs sing stars into existence. I remember her adjusting the conductor¡¯s notes of her music because the first sun they created burned too bright.¡± ¡°Where did the knowledge of True Song come from if the Titan¡¯s first singer wasn¡¯t around?¡± ¡°She left basic knowledge implanted and memory crystals about the various skills they needed. Though some were more interested in some powers or skills than others,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I remember they weren¡¯t True Song crystals, so all those would be long gone now.¡± ¡°If you can remember those crystals, exploring that might help you remember their contents,¡± suggested Torm. ¡°I remember we each had a pouch of them, so individuals could learn what they wanted when they took the time. If anyone decided they weren¡¯t interested, nothing forced us to study,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°There was a crater filled with fey fruit trees, and beyond that, an untamed planet with a stable ecosystem. It gave everyone the choice of helping the Titan¡¯s work, or using what knowledge appealed to make a life for themselves.¡± ¡°Ignore the realm¡¯s creator and just wander on their way¡ªI can¡¯t see that happening,¡± commented Torm, and he halted at a slight head twitch from Amdirlain. Though she already talked about it more than she¡¯d considered safe, Amdirlain explained. ¡°It did, and even those that worked weren¡¯t consistent. Like all groups, some were more serious about it than others or interested only in certain aspects. That memory of the sun¡¯s birth included a group of L¨®m? who were only interested in the barrier that protected the other choirs.¡± ¡°What else do you remember?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Not enough. Let''s head over to the circle chamber. We can spar a bit there before my next lesson.¡± ¡°Have you spoken with Sarah?¡± asked Torm. ¡°A few messages; she¡¯s caught in a catch-22. She wants to be helping me, but her Mantle fits her too well,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°The eternal oath part is the kicker. Her teacher¡¯s Precognition screamed about the risk when Sarah discussed passing it to an Erakk?. So Sarah¡¯s focusing on progress to avoid its effect weakening her, but the stronger she gets, the better it fits her.¡± ¡°So the Abyss goes too far against her Mantle to risk in-person contact?¡± ¡°Yeah, even through a Gate like Ebusuku did. This place goes so far against all her Mantle¡¯s roles. Sarah would have preferred to be just a Dragon rather than how she is now,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°To me, I¡¯m glad that she¡¯s out of Hell and enjoying Mechanus. That is such a relief that I can¡¯t put it in words.¡± ¡°Let''s get in some more training; sparring with or without weapons?¡± ¡°Without; we can spar in the circular chamber, then¡ªwhenever S¨ªrdhem¡¯s ready¡ªshe can start your lesson.¡± While they sparred, Amdirlain listened to his song, continually dancing around Torm¡¯s strikes and kicks, even though she could see refinements in his technique. In the hours before S¨ªrdhem showed up, the sparring helped them work out at least some mutual frustration with the aborted rescue. The speed of their exchanges caused Amdirlain¡¯s mind to race, and she tossed together new plans as the tension lifted. When S¨ªrdhem¡¯s Gate closed, Amdirlain stepped back, making it clear she was disengaging from the bout. Once Torm followed suit, they exchanged bows and turned towards S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Change of plans,¡± stated Amdirlain, and caused S¨ªrdhem¡¯s eyes to narrow in suspicion while the distress ringing through her song carried vivid images of smirking Sisters. ¡°Wow, why did you think I¡¯d just returned to my plan to infiltrate?¡± ¡°The way you proclaimed plans had changed,¡± huffed S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I need two¡ªmaybe¡ªteachers to spread things out. That¡¯s what the change of plans is, not infiltration,¡± explained Amdirlain, and S¨ªrdhem visibly relaxed. ¡°I know you find the abyssal energies unpleasant.¡± ¡°What do you need, oh mighty and great one?¡± asked S¨ªrdhem sarcastically. ¡°Now that I have my heart back in my chest.¡± ¡°Torm, up to you if you keep working with the cell. I''m not sure I''ll need to go above ground to avoid going stir-crazy if I use that memory I found. It felt so real, it was better experiencing it than spending time above ground here. I just have to watch out not to leave my Resonance active when I release it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It does matter, and I¡¯ll stay as safe as I can,¡± replied Torm and, pushing her worries aside, Amdirlain told herself to respect his decision. ¡°You can still let me know if you need help with anything in particular. I need to push these lessons harder, but I also want separate lessons in stealth, tactics, and general acting. I have Protean, but I use it for a fraction of its capabilities. The more I stretch its capacity, the faster it will heal me, keeping me alive and letting me recover from using True Song. I want the capability to pass confidently as anything, considering I can get better at yanking knowledge out of a mind.¡± ¡°What about your True Song practice?¡± asked S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I¡¯ll be working on that one-third of each day by myself. For that, I need samples of materials, starting with every element I don¡¯t already have in my hide-out, along with compounds, alloys, solutions, whatever folks can somehow safely bring to me,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she saw S¨ªrdhem catch on. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m going to learn the song of every material I can; creating materials in various forms will stretch my True Song and Composition skills. I want to push as hard as possible to develop my foundations, not just spikes in particular capabilities.¡± ¡°If we can¡¯t bring a material to you safely?¡± asked S¨ªrdhem. ¡°You¡¯ll figure out a way, I¡¯m sure,¡± Amdirlain assured her with a broad smile. Torm gave a puzzled frown. ¡°Why are you suddenly so hyped up?¡± ¡°To paraphrase an interesting statement: I realised ''I¡¯m not trapped here with them, they¡¯re trapped here with me''. For most demons out there, this is their only Home Plane. Everyway I can push my skills up makes me that much more dangerous for them to face, either now or once I¡¯m no longer locked. Wherever the redemption path takes me, I want to pursue it.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to impersonate demons, what do you plan to do about the Abyssal heat?¡± ¡°Once I¡¯ve learnt enough, I¡¯m pretty sure I can construct one of Isa¡¯s concealment songs to project the amount of Abyssal heat I need. The composition Skill will be the key to that; Isa said it helped with structuring and changing songs.¡± S¨ªrdhem and Torm exchanged glances, and Amdirlain laughed when she heard they were happy to go with whatever kept her busy and safe. ¡°Yeah, nosey one,¡± grumbled S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then; assume the form, and we¡¯ll resume where we left off.¡± ¡°I don''t always need to listen to your song. Your mind screamed no earlier, and the look you exchanged with Torm, dead giveaway,¡± countered Amdirlain. Torm teleported away, and Amdirlain shifted back to the Sisterhood form she¡¯d created. Her amused smile twisted into Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s sneer, and S¨ªrdhem nodded. When the sabre came out of its sheath, far smoother than the last session, S¨ªrdhem signalled her to pause. ¡°What did you do to improve so fast?¡± ¡°Tried out the kopis a bit; no sooner did I unlock the Skill, then skills merged into Sword,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Torm thinks it should have taken longer.¡± ¡°Skill merges normally don¡¯t happen until at least journeyman rank,¡± noted S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Still, it won¡¯t cause an issue; many of them already had the Sword Skill before being recruited. So keep going. In other sessions we¡¯ll ensure separate time for the kopis, that might push Sword along faster.¡± Hours of drills comprised drawing and sheathing, basic attacks, with the only break allowed covering simply walking as a Sister. The alluring glide that Torm had commented on needed work to change into a predator¡¯s strut. The process to Amdirlain felt like My Fair Lady in reverse, a large serving of bad habits with a teaspoon of a sadist in the mix. The planning session where Ebusuku had watched the Sisters had been the most time Amdirlain had studied them unharassed. Her memories provided precise details from that room and let her quickly duplicate some mannerisms S¨ªrdhem wanted her to adopt. Towards the end of the session, S¨ªrdhem''s discomfort began to spike, and Amdirlain listened closer. The pain she heard had her signalling S¨ªrdhem to halt. ¡°This isn¡¯t comfortable for you. How about you teach me to fight as one? Whoever handles the acting lessons can manage the mannerisms and location briefings.¡± ¡°I can do it,¡± objected S¨ªrdhem, but Amdirlain could hear the pain S¨ªrdhem held at bay starting to dig in. ¡°Yes, but you don¡¯t need to,¡± stated Amdirlain, stepping forward to hug S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I didn¡¯t get myself into a better state so I could inflict pain on someone else; not happening.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about my mental pain, but have you spoken to your mind healer again?¡± ¡°Not as yet,¡± admitted Amdirlain. S¨ªrdhem gave her an edged smile. ¡°Still worried about her Winter Queen?¡± ¡°Absolutely.¡± Amdirlain heard the message spells S¨ªrdhem sent off and returned to her practice to give her time to organise. ¡°They¡¯re arranging a list of materials to ensure we don¡¯t double up. We¡¯ll get you a copy of the list while we¡¯re doing the gathering and you can double-check it.¡± ¡°Nice,¡± Amdirlain said as she smiled at S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I¡¯ve all my memories of my last life as L¨®m?, and I¡¯ll say I never heard of anyone learning True Song this way.¡± ¡°How did you learn?¡± ¡°From my parents. They taught me the songs they knew by heart or provided songbooks,¡± replied S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Which is an issue, since there aren¡¯t copies of the Anar songbooks unless they¡¯re songs that needed both their parts and ours. Isa had to learn many songs by ear, from memory crystals.¡± ¡°She mentioned Roher was being inventive in teaching her,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°With Isa busy linking grottos, I¡¯ll have to learn by gaining control of fundamental natural songs, then spells.¡± ¡°Going to the source material,¡± observed S¨ªrdhem with a perfectly straight face that belied the relaxed amusement within. ¡°While Isa jumped onto spells.¡± ¡°I can hear you, you know.¡± ¡°Indeed. I know, you know, I know,¡± laughed S¨ªrdhem. Taking in the tight notes evaporating from S¨ªrdhem, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°See, you¡¯re feeling better already, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes, mother,¡± S¨ªrdhem mock grumbled. ¡°You know I¡¯m older, right?¡± ¡°So? We can all put blinkers on and ignore what others can see. I¡¯m a prime example of that,¡± snorted Amdirlain before returning to her practice. When S¨ªrdhem called a halt, the Gate she opened didn¡¯t show one of the solars; instead, a nervous Ilya waited on a grotto¡¯s edge. Though she wore an elven form that matched Amdirlain¡¯s height, Ilya¡¯s pure white skin with a blue swirling pattern made it clear who was waiting even without listening to her song. Her loose pants and top were in a feminine style similar to those Amdirlain had seen Roher wearing. Amdirlain spotted when Ilya¡¯s gaze touched on the silver circle, determination all that contained her spiking fear. Not sure what to expect, Amdirlain waited for Ilya to say something, and caught S¨ªrdhem¡¯s prompting gesture. ¡°I understand you are looking for someone to instruct you about Hell and its succubi,¡± Ilya stated. Amdirlain looked between them in frustration. ¡°Is everyone a masochist?¡± ¡°Pot, kettle, black,¡± chirped S¨ªrdhem. ¡°I know more about Hell than anyone you can trust to help you,¡± declared Ilya, and she stepped through the Gate. ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one that has things to work past. I can teach you for a while each day, and work to get my fear under control. I¡¯ll immediately let you know if I need to cut a session short, and I¡¯ll be honest if I need to skip a day.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to do this?¡± ¡°Fuck no,¡± laughed Ilya nervously. ¡°But I need to face my fears to heal them, so it''s healing pain, not just digging at a wound. I helped Isa get her weapon skills to Senior Master rank, and I can help you do the same. Your solars and the L¨®m? are so far beyond that, it¡¯s hard to see your progress sparring with them. The Sisters have a way of fighting, but so do devils, and you¡¯ll need to learn to pass?.¡± "Did S¨ªrdhem warn you I just declined her Sisterhood lessons?" "Listen to my song. You tell me if you think this is about enjoying the pain or needing to heal?" asked Ilya. The impressions Amdirlain caught weren''t the poisonous memories that dug at S¨ªrdhem, but indeed the need to get better. Isa''s work in the tunnels constantly left Ilya behind, and Ilya''s desire focused on being beside her as a partner, not a liability. Amdirlain extended a hand but didn¡¯t move closer. ¡°Thank you.¡± Ilya took another shaky step forward before she pulled herself together. She crossed the remaining distance with quick strides and clasped Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you didn¡¯t say deal.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t ask what happened,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you,¡± Ilya replied and took in a calming breath. ¡°For everything, especially since I deserved to be told to fuck off.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve apologised a few times. Please stop,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe, but it''s my choice,¡± said Ilya, with a wink. 233 - Get through Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The electric notes of Ilya¡¯s fear slowly chilled. With Ilya settling, S¨ªrdhem waved before slipping back through the Gate, and the circle¡¯s internal pressure eased. Though the Gate¡¯s continued presence confirmed she was nearby, she moved out of sight. Amdirlain restrained a wince at the erratic spikes of pain and grief that suddenly gouged into the cavern¡¯s song. Ilya caught her attempt, and she nodded reassuringly. ¡°The grotto¡¯s song and the trees should help S¨ªrdhem.¡± ¡°Did she let folks know why I was after other tutors?¡± ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m not surprised. Both the Abyss and Hell have a talent for inflicting wounds that won¡¯t heal properly,¡± observed Ilya, her emotions cracking in her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t let it claim too many pieces from you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying,¡± reassured Amdirlain, taking in the brittleness within Ilya. Ilya let out a sharp breath. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get started so I can forget where I am. Sarah said you¡¯d picked up a supplicant¡¯s guide at some point. Is that right?¡± Amdirlain pulled the folio from Inventory, and Ilya took a hasty step back. ¡°I recognise the book and don¡¯t want to touch it. Hell makes sure it gets circulated far and wide. The author got a nice deal from what Isa calls Hell¡¯s PTBs for writing it,¡± sneered Ilya, thrumming with tight anger. ¡°The damn traitor¡¯s work gives a false sense of security to those who read it. Whoever gave that to you might have had good intentions, but they didn¡¯t do you any favours. Also, it won¡¯t help you.¡± ¡°I used it to get close enough to Hell to meet up with Sarah,¡± Amdirlain objected. ¡°Yeah, I heard; so glad someone else can piss her off,¡± Ilya replied with a tight smile. ¡°She wanted to strangle you for that stunt. Listen carefully when I say this; what I¡¯m going to teach you won¡¯t get you safely through Hell.¡± Catching Ilya¡¯s steely focus, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°What do you intend to teach me then?¡± ¡°Enough to fool any Demon into believing you¡¯re infernal or convince any infernal you¡¯re one until they seek confirmation. It won¡¯t help you go steal Sarah¡¯s daughter from Hell,¡± replied Ilya and smiled when she caught the slight twitch in Amdirlain¡¯s stance. ¡°I didn¡¯t have that planned,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Yet,¡± interjected Ilya, but tension ruined her smug smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t have it on your plans yet, but I can read the writing on the wall. It won¡¯t get you into Hell¡ªand not from any shortcoming in what I can teach¡ªrather, there is a massive difference between an arriving supplicant and an infernal returning home.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Paperwork,¡± declared Ilya. ¡°The same paperwork they would refer to if any succubi checked up on you.¡± ¡°I was told succubi come and go freely between Hell and the Abyss,¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re not stopped, that¡¯s true, but that¡¯s because they have their registration completed. An infernal Succubus doesn¡¯t leave Hell for the Abyss without documentation to prove they have permission; an abyssal one visiting will do so safely if they¡¯re known to an infernal. That infernal will have filed a request for the permits. That¡¯s then used as a reference for the bureaucracy to check the visitor against before they start their permanent record,¡± explained Ilya. ¡°So I¡¯d get in the front door, and the first checkpoint would blow the cover?¡± Ilya nodded. ¡°Exactly. It wouldn¡¯t take them long to figure out you¡¯re an unknown infernal¡ªwhich is impossible since you¡¯re entering Hell. The devils on duty immediately escalate issues outside procedure through the chain of command. Let''s say the outcome would be quick and unpleasant. I worked on security details at the Gate during my first few centuries. There were attempts by demon lords to slip agents in; they didn¡¯t go well for the pawns.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that limitation in mind. Where do we begin?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A bit of context, and then we¡¯ll start on weapons. No point covering claws, tails, and wings¡ªI¡¯m sure you can handle them with Protean and your martial art¡ªso we¡¯ll start with daggers,¡± said Ilya. ¡°You should remember that a Succubus doesn¡¯t come to the Abyss for a holiday. She¡¯ll come to further Hell¡¯s goals: undermining progress in a region, stirring up trouble within or between regions, or just gathering information. They will spend most of their energy achieving that goal.¡± ¡°Okay, but I¡¯m just faking being one,¡± noted Amdirlain. Ilya frowned unhappily. ¡°What happens if you meet another or there is a Demon who can read deeper into that False Mind technique than you expected? You need to have those answers ready, be consistent, and not make stuff up on the fly. To do that, you need to build your cover story from the ground up and stick to it; it could save you a lot of pain.¡± Ilya¡¯s expression didn¡¯t give away so much as a twitch, but painful memories bloomed into razors, scrambling Ilya¡¯s theme. With neither face nor voice shifting in the slightest at the fear, Amdirlain reassessed Ilya''s fear of being trapped underground. In that pause, Ilya¡¯s gaze flickered towards the circle¡¯s edge while the silence lengthened between them, and Amdirlain forced words out. ¡°You had to go spying in Hell? I thought--¡± ¡°That I was just a battlefield scout?¡± interjected Ilya, forcing her gaze back to Amdirlain. ¡°No, I spent a few centuries assigned to scut work, like all the proper trainees. Learning the ropes in different roles along the way, with superiors secretly assigning you to audit locations.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t most devils have one form of telepathy or another?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± popped Ilya. ¡°Surface thoughts, at least. It''s fun learning how to spy against telepaths, and there are many opportunities to give your superiors, or those you¡¯re spying on, an excuse for vivisection practice. You learn to keep the cover story firmly in your mind and not slip.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t bother to hide her wince and gave a whole body shudder at Rachel enduring that fate. ¡°Until a trainee turns up that doesn¡¯t fit into expected regulations and whose mind they can¡¯t read.¡± Ilya snorted. ¡°She had no hope of fitting in anywhere in Hell. Thank Isa¡¯s luck that Makaro thought her an embarrassment fit only to get me in trouble.¡± ¡°How does the place not come apart?¡± ¡°Tyranny. Hell has its regulations and laws, and everyone¡¯s quietly trying to seize the advantage over each other. Everyone that ended up there manipulates the rules and agreements to get ahead. However, those higher up will come down on anyone openly flaunting them, so everyone¡¯s mostly working towards the same goals¡ªjust seeking to pad their own nest along the way,¡± explained Ilya. Retrieving a hide-wrapped mass from her storage bag, Ilya unfolded it to reveal pockets holding dozens of different short blades. From the wavy-edged kris, snub-bladed punch daggers, thin stilettos, hooked knives, knives with fat wedge-shaped blades, and more. ¡°We¡¯ll start with these,¡± announced Ilya, pulling two sets of kris from the bundle. ¡°Each requires a different approach to combat.¡± Amdirlain caught the hilts when a pair got tossed her way and took in the unenchanted blades. ¡°Isa calls these blades kris but I¡¯ve run across four worlds with similar wavy-edged blades,¡± Ilya advised. ¡°Slashing attacks work best with these, though you can certainly stab using them. Don¡¯t try direct blocks¡ªthese blades are too thin. You need to slide attacks away.¡± ¡°Is that why you didn¡¯t bring enchanted ones?¡± ¡°With these, there isn¡¯t a chance of risk to you,¡± answered Ilya. ¡°Plus, you¡¯ll need to be delicate to avoid crushing them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not immune to mundane materials,¡± offered Amdirlain, ignoring the comment about delicacy that she was sure was Erwarth¡¯s doing. ¡°It¡¯s not so much immunity that I was expecting, but what rank is your mundane resistance at?¡± ¡°Greater.¡± Ilya nodded happily. ¡°Yeah, no chance of hurting you with these; even a standard rank resistance, you¡¯d be fine. I¡¯d need to be smashing you with boulders or a massive war maul.¡± Amdirlain twirled the daggers around to test their balance. ¡°Isa said you spent weeks stabbing her.¡± ¡°That was different,¡± grumbled Ilya sadly. ¡°She needed to learn fast in case we got called back.¡± ¡°Sorry, Isa already explained; I shouldn¡¯t have teased.¡± Ilya rolled her eyes and adopted an angled stance. ¡°Just make sure you stick with the attacks I show you, and don¡¯t use them with Silent Storm. The goal is to unlock Short Blades.¡± ¡°Do you have any Grecian-style blades in your collection? Kopis advanced fast for me because it was familiar to Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°Weird, she was familiar with a sword from another realm? A parallel development, or did the Titan bring it along?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°The Titan made at least one for her,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll message Erwarth. She¡¯s been to the survivor¡¯s domain, so she can describe the Greek daggers.¡± It didn¡¯t take long to get a response, and Ilya switched the kris for a pair of solid-looking daggers. The base of the blades went the entire width of a crosspiece, wider than Amdirlain¡¯s fist, and progressed smoothly to a point in line with the hilt¡¯s centre. It was a pleasant surprise when Amdirlain encountered the same awkwardness she¡¯d experienced trying the kopis. While smoothing out the awkwardness didn¡¯t unlock Short Blades, the notification she received was significant. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. [Dagger (4) -> [B](1)] The next stab following the notification felt like a piston¡¯s motion and had Ilya¡¯s eyebrows lifting. ¡°That¡¯s interesting. I take it you didn¡¯t just throw a bunch of Skill Points into it like Isa sometimes does?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± Amdirlain stated. ¡°I just had to follow my body¡¯s cues about what felt wrong and smooth my motions to match its guidance.¡± Ilya gave her a thoughtful look. ¡°How about we concentrate on the kopis, those daggers, Infernal Lore, and Diplomacy for the next few months?¡± ¡°Why that knowledge in particular?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s normally progressed by working on Hell¡¯s different layers, running into¡ªor from¡ªvarious devils, and picking up bits of history. It covers the factions and who is who about the place. With it high enough, you won¡¯t get tripped up ?in casual conversation if you run into an infernal,¡± advised Ilya. ¡°Though if you progress the weapons fast, I¡¯ll add acting exercises and other challenges early.¡± ¡°I already progressed my Infernal Lore to Master one,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± gasped Ilya. ¡°There is no way you can could learn that from that folio.¡± ¡°Not just from the folio, but I had some intuitive leaps, plus dropped some points,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The monastery had some texts.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin might have had dealings with Hell, maybe your intuitive leaps were snippets from memory? We¡¯ll work to increase the lore further, figure out a cover identity, a form, and acting, along with weapons,¡± murmured Ilya. ¡°Acting is Master 11,¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°Then we¡¯ll push it until you¡¯re impossible to shift from a role,¡± Ilya declared. ¡°Fix your Diplomacy, otherwise it will give any Succubus Manipulator act away.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± said Amdirlain, and concern had her push forward. ¡°Will these lessons cause trouble between you and Isa?¡± Ilya gave a tight smile. ¡°Isa¡¯s not thrilled, but she admitted ignorance won¡¯t help you. Especially since it sounded like Erwarth would teach you regardless, and I¡¯ve got more experience. We¡¯d prefer you to have a proper knowledge of the infernal rules and beings. Especially since we don''t know what collected misinformation, the Sisterhood has slapped together in believing its correct.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Stay free. That¡¯s all the thanks we need,¡± replied Ilya, demonstrating another attack. Towards the session end, Amdirlain was working through a sequence of attacks when Torm arrived on the stairs. Sitting on the landing, he simply watched the training, and only approached after Ilya acknowledged his presence. ¡°Those attacks were much smoother than I expected.¡± ¡°We found a dagger that matched Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to your fun,¡± quipped Ilya. Distracted from her focus on supervising Amdirlain¡¯s practice, the last word cracked with strain. ¡°Go on, Ilya,¡± said Amdirlain and ushered her towards the open Gate. Shortly after Ilya crossed the threshold, it winked out. Torm sighed. ¡°Caltzan wants you to stay well away from our operations, even my material gathering.¡± ¡°What?¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°I warned him about Brel and the trap, and he says ¡®don¡¯t come back¡¯?¡± ¡°Their Liege must have a thing about bad luck or omens. I¡¯ve been trying to reason with them since shortly after I left you at S¨ªrdhem¡¯s mercy,¡± advised Torm. Shaking her head in disbelief, Amdirlain gave a broad shrug. ¡°What do you want to do?¡± ¡°Are you content to sit out the work if I keep assisting them?¡± asked Torm. ¡°I¡¯m going to spend time mostly training and meditating on memories. It might get boring for you to sit around watching over me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But are you sure you don¡¯t want to hop out of the Abyss and work on something else? You could visit when I¡¯m not training.¡± Though tension screamed his dissatisfaction, his voice remained calm. ¡°I won¡¯t leave while you¡¯re stuck here. Also, they invested time helping me learn about the Abyss.¡± ¡°Your Acting is improving, but I can tell you¡¯re unhappy.¡± Torm flexed his hands and gave a tight smile. ¡°It is what it is. Caltzan¡¯s being unreasonable, but the Abyss is an uncontrollable place, and they desire what control they can get.¡± ¡°Well, while you feel you owe them a debt, I¡¯ve funded their efforts and asked for nothing in return. Maybe factor that into consideration of debts owed,¡± Amdirlain suggested, unsurprised by Torm¡¯s need to be fair. ¡°I¡¯ll endeavour to ensure they don¡¯t drag me into anything foolhardy,¡± replied Torm. Amdirlain laughed and spread her arms. ¡°Already too late for that; you¡¯re in the ultimate bad neighbourhood.¡± With a shift of energies that echoed Tern¨°x, Isa arrived high on the stairs. Leaning over the shaft¡¯s edge, she waved a hide bag at Amdirlain. ¡°Got a bag of goodies for you! S¨ªrdhem closed the Gate too quick.¡± ¡°Regardless of their wants, please yell if you land in trouble. Alright?¡± Amdirlain asked Torm before she waved for Isa to join them. ¡°Trouble?¡± asked Isa, reappearing next to Torm. ¡°Just asking Torm not to follow my example,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is Ilya okay?¡± ¡°She¡¯s going to chill in the grove of the biggest settlement for a while. The cavern¡¯s size makes it feel airier. How did she do?¡± Amdirlain pursed her lips as she considered Ilya¡¯s shifting moods. ¡°Shaky at the start, but her nerves settled for a while. However, towards the end, there were a few times I thought she was going to panic. She didn¡¯t lash out verbally¡ªjust her voice got brittle.¡± Isa winced and rubbed her palms along her arms. ¡°Can you keep her to shorter sessions?¡± ¡°I suggested we break early, and she insisted we keep going. Told me it was as much for her as me,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°If that¡¯s what she¡¯s like after the groves eased her fears, what was she like before?¡± ¡°You could shatter glass with the tension in her song,¡± admitted Isa. ¡°And you got to listen in,¡± said Amdirlain softly. ¡°We¡¯re both guilty of that now,¡± Isa laughed bitterly and tossed Amdirlain the bag. ¡°A bunch of sample materials for you. Sarah also included some items with basic enchantments so you can start studying their music.¡± ¡°Why did you go to Sarah over this?¡± asked Amdirlain, attuning to the storage bag. The contents ranged from air-tight cylinders, boxes of various powders, and pure metal ingots, each carefully marked with its name. Beyond the samples of pure elements, there were compounds, glass, crystal, porcelain, magical metals, and a host of cloth swatches¡ªranging from rough hemp to Phase Spider silk. ¡°If you want something properly organised, who better to go to?¡± asked Isa rhetorically. ¡°Couldn¡¯t get you all of it, and we figured you didn¡¯t want radioactive materials. Sarah added a heap of stuff from her Artificer collection, though some of it isn¡¯t useful to Anar.¡± ¡°Would radioactive material push up poison resistance from being exposed to them?¡± Amdirlain teased and laughed when Isa¡¯s eye bulged. ¡°I was joking. Relax.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do with them?¡± ¡°Learn to sing them all and make some things. The classes I took seem to like creation the best, so my True Song training might focus on crafting for a few years,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Though, do you think the dwarves would sulk if I started shipping them mithril?¡± ¡°Does raw material creation get you experience?¡± asked Isa eagerly. ¡°Does copying a Spell?¡± countered Amdirlain, and Isa shook her head. ¡°Though seriously, it seems limited to finished products, and since creating targets for Spell practice didn¡¯t give experience, not even all of them.¡± ¡°With your mithril, I think the dwarven craftsman would be ecstatic to have access to more. Unless you go creating megatons, I doubt you could even dent the demand on some worlds,¡± advised Torm. Amdirlain tied the bag to her belt and gave Isa a careful hug. ¡°Take care of your partner. You¡¯ve caught her concern about being a liability when you¡¯re in the tunnels?¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve spoken about it a few times, but fear makes her paranoid,¡± sighed Isa. ¡°I¡¯ll go curl up with her for a bit.¡± ¡°Do the groves contain any fey fruit?¡± Amdirlain asked as she caught Isa''s intention to shift planes. Isa gave a puzzled frown. ¡°No, why do you ask?¡± ¡°Just a memory I had from the awakening of the races,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°A crater-like bowl with groves of fey fruit.¡± ¡°Never heard mention of anything like that; now I¡¯ll have to dig into the records,¡± exclaimed Isa, giving her a wave. ¡°The settlements¡¯ groves are a mix of trees; some I recognise¡ªlike oak and pine¡ªbut most I don¡¯t.¡± When she¡¯d vanished, Amdirlain smiled at Torm and patted the material¡¯s bag. ¡°Things to do, or do you want to listen to me play around singing?¡± ¡°Listening to you sing for a time sounds like what I need; Caltzan was incredibly frustrating to speak with,¡± admitted Torm. Amdirlain shifted them to an unfurnished room in her main hideaway and extracted a mithril sample. ¡°I¡¯ll create more of this and then see if I can form it into a hand-axe.¡± The mithril¡¯s lilting honeycombed song continually stirred the air and echoed down the halls. Small ingots or large, none warranted a notification awarding experience, though her True Song increased when she managed an arm-length rod. [True Song [Ad] (37->38)] Focused on the material she¡¯d created, an alteration of the axes¡¯ music triggered a reaction. Various small ingots got caught in her focus, blurring together, twisted by the song¡¯s form and her intent. Rather than the golden glow, the light around the work had a silver hue, matching the metal. Part way through her song came apart. Mithril''s foundation was incompatible with a piece intended for steel and wood. A molten smear across the stone and a lash of pain within her throat are all she had to show for the effort. ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°The music for the form and the material clashed,¡± replied Amdirlain, the welt within her throat already gone. [True Song Composition [B] (15->16)] ¡°And recognising that helped improve the Skill to compose songs,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°Weren¡¯t you going to start with the fundamentals?¡± Torm¡¯s question had Amdirlain shoot him a smile, and she began again. Rather than changing anything, she repeated the music of each sample. She¡¯d spent another hour singing copies of the various examples into existence when she finally stopped. ¡°If I¡¯m copying an existing object, the form and material are already in the item¡¯s song. With the axes, I used one song for the handle and another for the blade because the material was different. Creating something new, I might need to shape the pieces and apply the material¡¯s song to them.¡± ¡°Is that memory or theory?¡± ¡°Theory, hence the ¡®might¡¯. This has pried no memories loose, at least not so far,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll need to work out how to separate the object¡¯s form from its material.¡± Torm smiled and sat down on a large iron block Amdirlain had created. ¡°If only you had, oh, say, a century to experiment. Or, say, a host of L¨®m? that could give you lessons or show how it works for them.¡± ¡°They sing-¡± ¡°Different registers, but isn¡¯t the framework the same? Otherwise, how would True Song Crystal¡¯s waveform work?¡± asked Torm. ¡°The energy goes from one register range to another; if the frame was different, wouldn¡¯t it slip off?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want them setting my expectations by what they remember,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I want to find out what I can do now, then stretch my limits and find ways around them.¡± And I don¡¯t know what might give me away. If I¡¯m copying Isa, it''s one thing. If any of the L¨®m? teach me, I might slip into impossible land. ¡°Won¡¯t you end up putting in time reinventing the wheel?¡± asked Torm, watching Amdirlain move between the created samples. ¡°Perhaps I am in some ways, but Yngvarr had a perception of how Mana and spells behave that didn¡¯t hold for me. I¡¯ve got time, as you just put it, so I¡¯d like to experiment. If I find my powers or skills aren¡¯t advancing, I¡¯ll put my hand up for help,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m concerned you were talking about returning to the foundations but ignoring an available resource. It''s not the first time you¡¯ve tried to carry the whole burden yourself,¡± noted Torm. ¡°Isa had a memory that distorted her perception of the L¨®m?. One she later found was only a small part of the story.¡± Looking over the samples she¡¯d duplicated, Amdirlain realised she¡¯d let herself get carried away. Among the mess were materials the Anar couldn¡¯t have managed. ¡°Oddly enough, one Anar or another caused most of the painful memories I¡¯ve recovered from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s life.¡± With that said, she continued to collect samples, rapidly leaving entire sections bare to conceal the items of concern. ¡°Done practising?¡± ¡°Need to get myself organised. The room started to look like someone had upended a toy box,¡± replied Amdirlain, not stopping until she¡¯d cleaned up most of the chamber. Torm laughed good-naturedly. ¡°You have lots of empty rooms to use.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t stay that way,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Those targets you created with no bother? Maybe you just need to try forms you don¡¯t associate with other materials,¡± suggested Torm and tapped on the block he¡¯d claimed as a stool. ¡°You have no trouble altering the sample¡¯s dimensions.¡± 234 - Damn Gurl Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Amdirlain caught S¨ªrdhem¡¯s hesitation when their training session ended. ¡°I don¡¯t want to give you these, but Erwarth and Sarah asked me to pass them along.¡± A metal strong box appeared in her hand, and Amdirlain caught the pulse from the storage amulet at S¨ªrdhem¡¯s wrist. The box was nearly a half-metre cube, and S¨ªrdhem held it with casual ease. ¡°She got it working?¡± asked Amdirlain eagerly, claiming the case before S¨ªrdhem withdrew the offer. ¡°There are funds in there, along with the prototype,¡± grumbled S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Sarah says it will work, but she isn¡¯t sure how long, so any weakening in the enchantments means it''s likely to fail pretty fast. Have Torm test you with True Sight after activating it to ensure it gives off the right effect. She¡¯d prefer you continue Ilya¡¯s training rather than rely on its enchantment.¡± ¡°Training the last four months has been going well, with more than just the disguise. But I love the central heating this will provide,¡± quipped Amdirlain. S¨ªrdhem¡¯s concerned expression hardened at Amdirlain¡¯s joking. ¡°The only reason we¡¯re giving you this option is that you¡¯ll need to meet with Lorrella soon. Otherwise, any variation on that plan is back at square one. Replacing the coins would be easy, and the time is next to nothing, so I would prefer to let her go on her way, but Erwarth said it was your choice.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be careful,¡± reassured Amdirlain, catching the location details from S¨ªrdhem¡¯s mind. ¡°Can you have Erwarth tell her to swing by the agreed location in about twelve hours? If the prototype works, I¡¯ll scout it after training with Isa.¡± ¡°Being timid makes you prey in the Abyss, but you know that. So be bold, but also mindful that sometimes you¡¯ll find bravely running away is the best option,¡± cautioned S¨ªrdhem. ¡°Sarah told you to say that, didn¡¯t she?¡± laughed Amdirlain. Growling in frustration, S¨ªrdhem looked ready to burst into flames. ¡°Did I get played by Sarah? She swore it would stress the seriousness to you.¡± Raising her hands reassuringly, Amdirlain reined in her amusement at the reference. ¡°It''s part of a joke, but I¡¯ll take the point that survival is more important than appearing brave at present.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your test,¡± grumbled S¨ªrdhem. Before she could move away, Amdirlain gently touched her arm. ¡°How long has Sarah had this prototype ready?¡± ¡°A couple of months,¡± admitted S¨ªrdhem. ¡°She¡¯s been hoping to come up with an improved version. Any sign of trouble, get out immediately.¡± S¨ªrdhem¡¯s Gate opened to show Isa waiting with Ilya on the cavern¡¯s ledge. Giving a tense wave, S¨ªrdhem slipped past them through the Gate, and Isa gave her a wink. ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind if I crash your practice session,¡± said Isa. ¡°Got asked to give you a phantasmal stress test; I¡¯ve been working on a holo combat simulator.¡± Following Isa through the Gate, Ilya released the Spell and dropped the chamber into near darkness. The glow from the silvery runes around its circumference was more than enough to allow them to see clearly. ¡°What have you two been up to?¡± ¡°Setup as we agreed, or do you want to bow out?¡± asked Ilya before Amdirlain could reply. The sudden presence of a public mind from Amdirlain caused Isa to hiss. Barb-edged lusts bit her senses when cruel thoughts told of fresh toys. As the furnace of twisted desire flared hotter, Isa hurriedly pulled her telepathy clear. A teasing smile twisted Amdirlain¡¯s lips, and her clothing disappeared as she smoothly shifted form. Ilya and Amdirlain had designed the form carefully, its purpose to stand out and, by doing so, paradoxically blend in. Few succubi wanted to remain unnoticed, and Amdirlain wouldn¡¯t go unnoticed. Across her ruby-skinned form, silver jewellery added contrast to her already striking presence. The form held a mix of danger and desire as the ebony silver-capped ram¡¯s horns that started high on her forehead weren¡¯t the only threat that her alluring body held. Shoulder-length midnight hair framed an oval face with refined features and hints of sharp cruelty. Her high cheekbones were too sharp to be delicate, though they drew focus to Amdirlain¡¯s dark eyes that invited the viewer to drown in their depths and a full sensual mouth that barely allowed tips of feline eyeteeth to show. Her slim humanoid frame supported voluptuous breasts and large, bat-like wings¡ªtheir black membrane pulsing with crimson veins. Silver jewellery chains extended from a torc at Amdirlain¡¯s throat, connecting to bands and strategically placed piercings. They ran along her curves in a mockery of the vines and chimed brightly at the first movements to settle them. Once ready, Amdirlain motioned an agreed warning to Ilya, who mentally braced herself and began to clap. On the third beat, Amdirlain looked up with Willpower and Charisma unfurled. Caught by surprise, the wave seized Isa and dragged her under¡ªa swimmer drowning in a whirlpool of desire. Ilya only had time to breathe out a surprised curse when the extent of Amdirlain¡¯s prior restraint showed. The first strutting step added the chime of chains and tiny bells to Ilya¡¯s beat. The undulating sensual motions made Isa¡¯s world spin faster. Though Amdirlain started a distance from where the pair stood, her flowing motion teased at them, and she slowly closed the distance. Proximity made it hard for even Ilya to resist being caught in the effect. The pace of the dance quickened as she reeled in the distance; a sensual dervish swirling about them. Amdirlain¡¯s undulations created an ever-increasing pressure of lust gripping their minds. The first teasing feather-light caress across Isa¡¯s cheek sent heat kissing across her skin and brought forth a moan. Temptation had them swaying towards Amdirlain, yet she slipped away from any contact she didn¡¯t start. Amdirlain didn¡¯t withdraw but circled, adding targeted caresses on each pass. When Amdirlain at last swayed by them, close enough to kiss¡ªthe heat of her body licked across them and elicited groans. Her alluring motions, backed by unleashed Charisma, burned them in a furnace of lust. When the dance was complete at last, Isa leaned against Ilya and shuddered in the afterglow of release. [Erotic Dance [M] (8->9)] Ilya panted and propped Isa upright. ¡°That was my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have told you not to hold back. If you do that in a city, you¡¯re going to cause a riot that would rip it apart.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I should tuck wads of bills into your chains or run for the hills,¡± Isa hissed, fanning her face. Letting out a groan, she bent in two and pressed her hands against her crotch. ¡°I need a mop for my pants.¡± ¡°But I did hold back,¡± purred Amdirlain. The liquid sound caused Isa to mewl. ¡°What?¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t let up her role and let her heated gaze roam over them. ¡°I didn¡¯t use Dominion or Stimulation. Would you like more?¡± ¡°Hell¡¯s ball!¡± gasped Ilya. ¡°I misjudged this. My body¡¯s on fire with need, and my clits so hard it feels like a river stone.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± whimpered Isa. ¡°Can we go now? I need to cum frequently, and my pants are so wet I¡¯ve already lost count.¡± ¡°Time to get some payback then,¡± declared Amdirlain before teleporting to the chamber¡¯s midpoint. ¡°Sing for me.¡± Still caught up in Amdirlain¡¯s presence, the words were a command that had Isa¡¯s voice lifted and phantasmal figures attacked. The pair of kopis appeared in Amdirlain¡¯s hands, but she spun with the same dancing grace. The months of practice had turned each kopis into an extension of her arm, and Amdirlain¡¯s flowing sensuality add a surreal edge to her fighting. Rolling music added an increasing number of phantasmal killers to the mix and, unrestrained by any flesh, they nearly matched Amdirlain¡¯s speed. The enchantments in the blades dissipated opponents with every blow, yet behind came a dozen more. Swaying beneath a sword cutting through where her head had been, Amdirlain¡¯s wings spread out and swept those closest away. Chiming, the chains shivered under the centrifuge of her motions and teased at the flesh around their anchor points. Beyond the latest attacker, her body¡¯s spin added speed to the decapitating slash. As the enemy¡¯s head faded away, Amdirlain turned her motion into a slide. The altered trajectory dropped her beneath the next attacker, while another¡¯s blade split the membrane in her wing. Black blood had barely begun to drip before the wound sealed again. Sheer speed carried her across the polished stone, sliding on her knees. Her path planted the tips of her kopis into opponents'' groins on either side. Slowed by the friction and impact, she teleported to the group¡¯s rear, where a cleaving blow shattered a spine. [Sword [Ad] (50) -> [M] (1)] Before they turned towards her, she was already plunged into the mob, parrying blows and using the openings to cut apart her foes. When Isa¡¯s song finally ended, Amdirlain¡¯s blood splattered the floor, and its blackness added leprous stains to the chains¡¯ silver links. ¡°One woman army. I¡¯m surprised I hurt you at all.¡± ¡°Ki Armour and Angelic Aura are both off at present; I¡¯m trying to focus on pushing my skills up, so that means sticking to parrying and avoiding attacks,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Did you enjoy my dance?¡± ¡°Yes, and no. Never dance like that where Torm can see you, girl. That would be a cruel and unusual punishment,¡± laughed Isa. The return of her good humour brought up an internal sigh of relief, but outwardly, Amdirlain smiled coyly. ¡°At least not down here; wait until you are somewhere he can safely repay your teasing,¡± agreed Ilya; leaning into Isa¡¯s side, she nipped at her ear. ¡°We should go back to our room, or maybe even somewhere we can enjoy ourselves with no L¨®m? commenting later.¡± ¡°Down, girl,¡± Isa growled. Ilya looked her up and down with a slow smile, the heat in her gaze swirling between them, and Isa lapped it up. ¡°Yes, please.¡± The purr in Isa¡¯s voice had Ilya laughing happily, and Amdirlain noted the difference in her with satisfaction. Ilya¡¯s fear wasn¡¯t completely gone, but it was now only a subtle current that didn¡¯t interfere. Giving Ilya a playful push, Isa motioned to Amdirlain. ¡°You still have a session in progress. But seriously, is this what you two have been doing with your time? Having Amdirlain learning supernatural stripper moves?¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. After absorbing all the blood with Inventory, Amdirlain smiled at Isa. ¡°Weapons, plus acting, a bunch of infernal knowledge skills, along with improving my social responses.¡± ¡°Diplomacy, that¡¯s your main stumbling block at present,¡± Ilya grumbled. Isa gasped in mock surprise. ¡°Surely not. Amdirlain is the soul of diplomacy, especially compared to Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s brick to the face.¡± ¡°Her pickup lines rate high on the lame scale,¡± joked Ilya. ¡°Baby, do you come here often, because I want to come with you?¡± questioned Isa with a laugh, but Amdirlain caught her intent focus. ¡°Ok¡ªno flinch, no coldness, no slap of emotions in your presence. After that display, can you do that Universal Life thing and let me hear your song? I want to make sure this isn¡¯t hurting you, playing this part.¡± Amdirlain fixed her with an incredulous look. ¡°You asked that before. Do you want me to send up a signal flare?¡± ¡°Come on, we¡¯re in a circle that can contain a Solar¡¯s energy presence,¡± objected Isa. ¡°I don¡¯t want to bet it will be the same. After all, Roher tested it knowing the strength and nature of Erwarth¡¯s energy. What if the energy is too different?¡± Isa winced and squinted at Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s not risk that. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Long over those pains, Isa; I¡¯d put a pin in this if I weren¡¯t, I promise,¡± replied Amdirlain, putting a hand on her heart. Isa¡¯s lips tightened into a line, restraining her protest. After a moment, she nodded her acceptance. ¡°You used your tail a few times to pull foes off balance. Maybe the only thing to watch was that some of those were behind you¡ªInfernal succubi don¡¯t have Protean to see behind them.¡± The subject change was blunt, but Ilya just went with the flow. ¡°It¡¯s fine in battle. If they survive, most will put it down to good situational awareness. She was continually shifting position, so it''s not like it couldn¡¯t have been a planned move.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do with this form now?¡± asked Isa, suddenly gaining a nervous edge. Amdirlain motioned her to relax. ¡°We¡¯ll keep improving on where I am now, like my reactions and knowledge¡ªas Ilya said, my Diplomacy needs lots of work¡ªthen figure out some other cover identities I can use when going places in the Abyss. We''re doing long-term preparations against worst-case scenarios. I don¡¯t want to mingle with most demons, just kill them.¡± ¡°True Sight matches the form you¡¯re showing,¡± noted Isa. ¡°Best guess is my Hidden state is helping my concealment spells in that regard,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Erwarth can¡¯t get through them either, and the low-powered wards we¡¯ve tried seem to ignore me, even without concealments. High-powered ones, unfortunately, still twig to my presence.¡± ¡°Fuck,¡± Isa grumbled. ¡°Master ninja.¡± ¡°Not looking for a threesome today, pet. Well, not unless you¡¯re willing to make it worth my while,¡± purred Amdirlain. Sitting in mid-air, she crossed her legs and leaned forward; the chains following the slope of her breasts provided glimpses of skin within their gaps. ¡°What are you offering?¡± Isa spluttered when Amdirlain¡¯s Charisma hit and turned towards Ilya. ¡°What did you do to her?¡± ¡°You told me about method acting, right? Well, she gets into her role now, but don¡¯t worry, her fees are outrageous,¡± retorted Ilya. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°I asked for Orcus¡¯ dick in a jar,¡± breathed Amdirlain, ¡°but I¡¯d be so worth it.¡± Despite the request, her silken voice seemed to rub along Isa¡¯s skin and caused yet another full-body shiver. When Isa looked between them wide-eyed, they both snickered. Amdirlain blurred into her Anar form even as the chains and blades disappeared into Inventory. The bracelet of shadow vines returned to Amdirlain¡¯s wrist and enfolded flesh in her typical loose garb. ¡°I win that bet,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Bet?! You two were trolling me!?¡± exclaimed Isa in mock outrage. ¡°Was it at least a decent bet?¡± ¡°She gets two days off since we stunned you into temporary silence,¡± Ilya replied. ¡°Wait, can we bet on trolling Torm?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Or is that cruel?¡± Ilya gave her a nudge. ¡°Not asking her to go there. This place¡¯s focus is the corruption of desires, remember? We can work off our frustrations away from here.¡± ¡°How did you disguise Ilya¡¯s song?¡± Isa breathed. Amdirlain released the song she¡¯d kept sheltering Ilya¡¯s amusement and felt the light strain on her regeneration immediately ease. ¡°Silent Song unlocked the other day. Only lets me support one song so far, but that will be useful enough.¡± ¡°You two will keep,¡± warned Isa, waving her finger. ¡°Wait, most demons? Do you expect you¡¯ll find more like Klipyl and Ebusuku?¡± ¡°No, but they were certainly an exception to the rule. Their independence and willingness to hurt others were more self-preservation than deliberate malice,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They were just an example of the type I wouldn¡¯t kill on a hair trigger reaction.¡± Waving goodbye, Amdirlain reappeared in the sparring room¡¯s entryway and found Torm practising hard. As he worked through his techniques, sharply focused punches and strikes snapped in the air. Even Amdirlain¡¯s entwining melodies didn¡¯t distract him until she threw a newly created mithril longsword his way, the runes shining beneath the metal¡¯s silvery surface illuminated the room. [Crafting Summary (Category: martial weapon) - experience by item grade: Journeyman: 1,405 = 40 (base) + 400 (rare material) + 965 (enchantment rating: +193 (basic success)) Total experience gained: 1,405 Ostim? +702 Ostim? Level Up! Ont?lin +702 Ont?lin Level Up! Multi-voice [J] (32->33) Inscribe [M] (24-25)] That¡¯s the first time doing that has pushed inscribe up. Leatherworking being lower might have made the difference. After testing the blade¡¯s balance, Torm flowed through a sword kata while Amdirlain leaned against the door and listened to the precise music that arose. The regularity and order battled the unsettled edge that living within the Abyss tried to stir within him. When he stopped, Torm smiled at her before he settled the blade on a rack nearby. ¡°Enchantments now working consistently?¡± ¡°Eleventh in a row, though I¡¯m sure I¡¯d have any dwarven smith crying at the quality of the blade,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Still, that one squeaked me into gaining level 19 and improved Multi-voice. I¡¯ll push harder with Multi-voice to see if that improves the quality. Sometimes I catch a hum of distortion while they¡¯re entwining.¡± ¡°I think the dwarven smiths would be going: who let the journeyman near the mithril?¡± ¡°Precisely!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m still only producing journeyman quality.¡± ¡°I believe they might be more upset that it only takes you half an hour to create a mithril blade with enchantments.¡± ¡°Basic enchantments,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Basic enchantments?¡± questioned Torm. ¡°To me, a basic enchantment is something up to plus 20.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s what the experience notification rated it as, a basic success.¡± Giving her a sceptical look, Torm released an Appraisal Spell, and when the divination results registered, he shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s certainly a matter of perspective. Some people would pay thousands of gold for that blade.¡± ¡°Find a baby hero and give it away,¡± joked Amdirlain before giving Torm a crooked smile. ¡°I might try to disguise it as an old iron sword first so they don¡¯t get their throat cut.¡± ¡°You¡¯re back early. Is everything alright with Ilya?¡± asked Torm. ¡°It''s been a month or more since she last ended a session in a panic.¡± ¡°No, I just managed a training exercise and won a bet, so I¡¯m taking two days off,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her statement froze Torm open-mouthed, but he recovered before she could tease him. ¡°Exactly what are you planning to do with two days off?¡± ¡°Some experimenting,¡± declared Amdirlain, but she held off on discussing the second reason. ¡°With what I¡¯ve tried so far, tools, weapons, and armour gain me experience awards, but accessories, furniture, and raw materials don¡¯t. Given my related skills progress occasionally, I wonder if my skills and knowledge influence it.¡± ¡°If it was only that, why would you need two days off?¡± questioned Torm. ¡°Setting up for some experimenting requires me to meet with someone, but I¡¯m not sure when exactly they¡¯ll arrive. Care to come along?¡± ¡°Who are we meeting with?¡± ¡°Lorrella, the Artificer-Alchemist that Erwarth and the others hired. I need to make another payment to her, so I¡¯m going to buy materials and sample potions,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If we don¡¯t pay her for the next stage of work, she might sell the siege engines she¡¯s already constructed. I¡¯ve got a location to meet her, and S¨ªrdhem passed along the funds I should need.¡± Despite the various protests that churned within Torm, he simply nodded. ¡°What do you plan to do with those siege engines Erwarth commissioned?¡± ¡°Their construction has the Sisterhood defences in mind, and she¡¯s ready to work on a second set. I might not need them, but having the contingency can¡¯t hurt. However, if I use them, I have a different force in mind than what the others were planning,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hand them over to provoked demon lords; instead, I thought I¡¯d recruit the cloister. Provided, that is, I can get them to work with me. A fallback option is to hire a bunch of demon hunters from The Exchange.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer the first option, if they are genuine in trying to make amends,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Where are you meeting with her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a nice little town¡ªcosy even¡ªfriendly natives, but don¡¯t drink the water.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯ve been training with Ilya, but isn¡¯t this risky?¡± ¡°It is risky, but the first sign of trouble and we¡¯ll leave, plus Sarah sent something along,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Retrieving S¨ªrdhem¡¯s case, Amdirlain pulled out a precisely carved gemstone, its faceted edges forming the shape of an arrowhead. ¡°That differs from what she gave me,¡± noted Torm. ¡°This reflects the Abyss¡¯ energy in a particular pattern. It should make it seem like I¡¯m a Succubus with nearly a score of species levels. I don¡¯t know if Lorrella can judge the Abyssal Heat, but it should be about what the Jade identity I used could have gained without shortcuts,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Projecting the fake mental impressions and the rest is all up to me.¡± An understandable wince tightened Torm¡¯s expression. ¡°I was hoping you¡¯d keep lying low; it hasn¡¯t even been a year.¡± ¡°You got four months of me behaving myself since Caltzan showed me the door. How many tasks have you been out on without me complaining?¡± ragged Amdirlain, but she stopped when she recognised how that might sound. ¡°Sorry, I take that back. It''s not a competition, and I¡¯d prefer not to meet with her now, but I don¡¯t want to let her work go.¡± ¡°Do you want me to come along to watch your back?¡± asked Torm. ¡°You can come with me, but it might be safer for both of us if I do this alone,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°The location for the meeting is a town where Moloch¡¯s control is nominal, so the risk is low.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean he doesn¡¯t have agents keeping an eye out. Are you concerned I¡¯ll give you away?¡± ¡°Torm, I love who you are, but I¡¯m going into a Demon town to make a deal, not to lay waste. Stealth missions don¡¯t suit you. It''s not a complaint, it¡¯s an observation, and I''d prefer that being undercover as a Cambion is something that never suits you. Have you even ventured into a town for the cell¡¯s work yet?¡± ¡°No, just gathering and raids on remote locations,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°Then sit this one out. I¡¯ll go channel serious resting bitch face,¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°Now, for the fun part, I will need you to check my form after I set this in place.¡± Exposing her abdomen, Amdirlain drove in the arrowhead with a single motion, and the trickle of blood across it set the gemstone ablaze. With the enchantment linked to her by the spilled blood, she used Protean to draw it inside and tuck it under her sternum. Torm nodded grimly. ¡°I can see a haze of Abyssal Heat around you.¡± ¡°Now, this one?¡± Amdirlain appeared in a demonic Succubus form, with ivory-white skin, sable hair, and wings that featured the typical claws and spikes common to Culerzic succubi. Carefully ensuring she had the same appearance she¡¯d used visiting Lorrella¡¯s shop in Tern¨°x. ¡°Same energy, no sign of your true form,¡± confirmed Torm. ¡°That¡¯s what I needed to hear,¡± sighed Amdirlain patting his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll get changed and head out.¡± Torm held onto her hand a moment. ¡°Take care.¡± ¡°See, you get to say that this time,¡± Amdirlain said brightly. ¡°You¡¯re not even a year through the Planar Lock,¡± cautioned Torm. ¡°I, at least, would end up home.¡± [Remaining Planar Lock duration: 36,164.45 days] Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I will be extra paranoid and keep Precognition in place. Roughly five more days until I¡¯m through the first year.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if your Time Sense is right.¡± ¡°I always cheat, remember?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Analysis gives me a counter in days, and it¡¯s still over 36k.¡± Teleporting to her private study, she changed into the attire she had ready. The mercenary leathers she donned had the same crest of upright bars looped with chains representing musical chords. The weapon¡¯s harness allowed for a half-dozen of her preferred daggers and had space for a single kopis. 235 - Lie to me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The form and clothing had been the most comfortable part of her preparations, and Amdirlain pushed herself to stop procrastinating. Steading herself, she recalled Viper¡¯s taunting words and twisted desires. She distilled years of snipping and provocations down and fed the attitude behind them into a False Mind. As it bloomed into life, the simulated awareness sneered at the simple furnishing about her until Amdirlain¡¯s gaze fell on the weapon she¡¯d prepared for a demonic cover. A brutal black kopis hung unsheathed from a weapon rack. Sung of an Adamantine alloy instead of the pure metal, she¡¯d added a cruelly jagged striking edge. Its steak knife edge had longer spikes randomly placed, making it more fitting for hacking blows than slashing attacks. [Kopis of Butchery Melee Attack Power: +293 Crafter: {unclaimed} Details: Wounds inflicted by this weapon counter the first 193 points of regeneration or healing applied to the target.] Securing it across her back with a harness, Amdirlain double-checked the location images S¨ªrdhem had shared. Opting to give herself the most safety, she selected a picture far from the agreed town. It was one among hundreds that existed within the mangroves along the Perdition Sea¡¯s edge; the towns¡¯ only purpose was harvesting materials for sale or the worker¡¯s consumption. Appearing on an embankment, she looked over a vista of overly lush greenery. Though the mangrove''s canopy seemed rich with life, pitiful screams and the stench of stagnant water assaulted her senses from within the expanse. The wind spreading from that direction contained the tang of salt; a subtle hint, as if the Abyss wanted to spice the Damned¡¯s pain. Spotting the causeway to the town where she expected it to be, Amdirlain stretched her mental senses and noted the demons and damned present. The latter were common, although the trees¡¯ broad poisonous green leaves hid them all. Though to the damned, the mangrove¡¯s waters were crystal clear and smelled enticingly sweet, Amdirlain saw the reality of the brackish fluid. Hanging by their feet from the mangrove¡¯s canopy, the damned wiggled and squirmed, trying desperately to sip from the waters. Constantly sweating in the humid heat present beneath the canopy, the waters promised a balm to their parched throats. The environment distilled the desperation from their souls through tears and sweat that slithered down their bodies to join the waters in intermittent streams. Within the water, the essence of desperation drifted on invisible currents that dragged the combined energies towards the distant sea. The closest demons she felt were in the open, approaching down the road through the gently rolling hills. Only empty packs held in place with thick straps across their broad chests burdened a hundred plodding Dretch from the caravan. None of them had earned clothing, or scavenged materials to make their own, merely plodding along, unbothered by their nakedness. A skim with Analysis revealed only nameless Least Dretch, without even a second species level to their credit. Indeed, most hadn¡¯t even gotten into the second level of Thug or Brawler, let alone gained a second improved class of Warrior or Fighter. A half-dozen red-skinned demons of a type that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t yet seen, marched alongside the column. Though each was a large humanoid figure, they were comparatively leaner than the bulky Dretch. Where the Dretch only had their fists and claws, their escort carried a variety of weaponry: coiled whips, swords of diverse make, and the largest of them carried a massive metal bow. They were broad-shouldered, wearing hardened hide armour in various degrees of repair, but even the best of them was ghoulishly filthy. Loose folds of hairless flesh covered their skulls, and with the deeply sunken eyes and mouth, the effect gave them an unsettling impression. It was as if another¡¯s flayed skin was a rotting mask over their dark interior. [Name: Ky¡®rals Species: Barbatos Class: Hunter / Fighter / Thief-taker / Priest Level: 5 / 39 / 39 / 37 / 37 Health: 3,894 Defence: 109 Magic: 35 Mana: 7,512 Melee Attack Power: 92 Combat Skills: Longbow [Ad] Details: A native to Culerzic, he¡¯s worked to prove his dedication to Lord Moloch¡¯s service and gained substantial benefit from his initiative while climbing the servitor¡¯s ranks. Recently undertook the organisation of a caravan to pull in a harvest of desperation crystals for a senior servant of Lord Moloch.] [Thief-taker: This Class focuses on detecting and hunting those that have stolen, either for the benefit of themselves or as the employee of another. Some Thief-takers gain the Class simply because it can be easier to bash in someone¡¯s head for stolen valuables than doing the stealing yourself. Others because they were fortunate enough to be on guard duty in the right place and the wrong time for a would-be Thief.] Petrified trees marked the causeway¡¯s entrance into the mangrove¡¯s swamp. Many shattered tree stumps rose along its course amongst piled dirt and stone. These were being used as anchor points for the mounded materials and stepping stones in places where the marsh¡¯s waters had eaten away the path. With the lead rank of the column still a half kilometre away, Amdirlain teleported to the water¡¯s edge. Using Telepathy to scan ahead for anything that might be an attack, she skipped along the winding path in short hops as it looped through the mangroves. Along the way, she extended her perception to catalogue assorted reptiles and scavengers that fed off each other and the renewing flesh of the damned. She¡¯d travelled kilometres before catching hints of other demons tending filters along the main tidal paths, their minds were bright with greed over the crystallised flakes collected in them. An hour into the trip, the town still hadn¡¯t yet come into sight when Precognition growled for attention¡ªa danger from within rather than external. The dissonance between the enchantment and flesh prickled again, causing Precognition to grumble louder. The flaw not in the object itself but a clash between its pattern and surrounding life caused the heat to flare higher. Taking S¨ªrdhem¡¯s warning to heart, Amdirlain pulled the gemstone into Inventory and sighed in relief when the heat died away only seconds later. With her constant scanning confirming no one around, she weighed up her options and then changed. Her body shifted from the Culerzic Succubus form back into the elven-featured Alu-Demon. Hours of short teleports later, the township came into view with no further issues. The only dangers to her seemed minor, especially compared to the slow but steadily growing heat that had started Precognition¡¯s grumble. I¡¯ll have to give Sarah her prototype back. It seems I¡¯m breaking everyone¡¯s toys. Flexing out the raven-featured wings, she confirmed her sable hair had darkened to black, matching the hue of her lips. Checking a hand, she took in the matte black nails contrasting the still ivory-hued skin and questioned her sanity. Pros and cons ticked off, and the deciding factors came down to two. The town could serve as a low-risk testing ground for her acting and desire to maintain the arrangement with Lorrella. While she might be replaceable, finding a stable abyssal resource wouldn¡¯t be a simple task. ¡°Erwarth, let Lorrella know her contact won¡¯t be a Succubus but an Alu-Demon associate. The prototype started to whine at me. I¡¯ll use this as a trial run for my Acting Skill, and I don¡¯t want to burn her as a contact.¡± Erwrath''s immediate response held a stressed, sharp-edged tone. ¡°I will let her know that there will be a change, but send me regular updates. If I don¡¯t hear from you, I¡¯ll Planar Shift right into that town and level it if that''s what it takes to rescue you¡ªsignal flare or not.¡± ¡°Will do.¡± ¡°What happened to the prototype?¡± ¡°It either didn¡¯t like all the abyssal energy around me in the mangrove, or the pattern didn¡¯t enjoy interacting with my form,¡± offered Amdirlain. It still took another two hours to reach the town, and the sea¡¯s scent lay heavily over the mangrove¡¯s decay before it came into sight. Rounding a curve in the mangrove-enclosed path, Amdirlain saw a cleared space ahead. A half kilometre of open ground was filled with drying trays that resembled salt harvesting, but in racks nearby, she saw black crystals reflecting the sky¡¯s flames. [Desperation crystals (unprocessed) These crystals mix the raw desperation drained from the damned with the abyssal waters of the Ravager¡¯s River. The river¡¯s constant flow pushes the combined materials out to the mangroves¡¯ edge. A basic evaporation process is used to secure the bound essences as these crystals.] [Ravager¡¯s River This waterway carries the waters of destruction from its headwaters high on Mount Suntsipena through various regions of Culerzic. The river splits into two main courses along the millions of kilometres it stretches. One drains into the Perdition Sea, and the other washes the effluent from the Blood Plains of the Dretch into the Umbra ocean east of Moloch¡¯s Palace.] Beyond the long lines of drying racks, a rough stone bridge crossed the river and ended at the top of the embankment on the far side. The information S¨ªrdhem had shared promised a town with a haphazard arrangement of buildings, and Amdirlain¡¯s Far Sight confirmed that hadn¡¯t changed. The structures were inconsistent in almost every aspect, including whether they had roofs. Among the chaotic township, the streets were a matter of wishful thinking more than any planning, with few running more than a hundred metres, and even they didn¡¯t go in a straight line. While a central square nominally existed, it looked more like a hacked open wound among the structures than a setting for businesses. Her approach to the cleared space didn¡¯t go unnoticed and, despite looks that ranged from hostile to lustful, Amdirlain continued on the path to the bridge. One of the giant demons led others to encircle her on the road, his lustful gaze not leaving her. He was slightly bigger than an Ogre at four metres, with long fingers that could have wrapped around a basketball. Seven wide horns formed a scoop-shaped crest at the back of its head, and purple-slitted eyes stood out vividly from the dark green skin that clung tightly to its muscle-filled frame. [Species: Least Pilfin Class: Fighter / Brawler Level: 3 / 9 / 9 Health: 1,113 Defence: 45 Melee Attack Power: 48 Combat Skills: War Axe [Ap] (5), Claws [Ap] (20), Grapple [J] (3) Details: While his species make up one of the primary elite combatants among Moloch¡¯s armies, the drop out rate during training is high because they frequently show dependency on their native strength. Having failed to gain the required proficiency during training, the assistant overseer deemed him useless and sent him to join the dredge crews. ] ¡°Sweet fresh meat. Which brothel are you working at, half-breed?¡± Amdirlain lashed out, and the demon split in two, the strike bisecting him in line with his floating ribs. The blow sent organs, hooked out by the kopis¡¯ spikes, into the other would-be predators that had encircled her. When the pieces finished landing, Amdirlain looked over them and smiled sweetly. ¡°That didn¡¯t even touch the sides!¡± squealed Amdirlain in protest. ¡°Does anyone else want to play with me?¡± When they stepped back, Amdirlain struck again and picked up his severed head by a horn. Though the head was the size of her torso, she spun it lightly, unbothered by the blood that splattered her and them. ¡°Either someone guides me to the gatherer¡¯s sorting house, or I will get cross with you all,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a reward?¡± rumbled a Dretch while others were still looking at each other. The massive Demon stooped as if trying to avoid offence, and Amdirlain wondered if he was a genius among his kin. His clothing was a rough hemp-like cloth that seemed woven from reeds she¡¯d seen in clusters among the mangroves. ¡°I won¡¯t torture you,¡± laughed Amdirlain. The Dretch bobbed his head and motioned towards the bridge. ¡°Follow me.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Without another word, he set off, the Dretch more than accustomed to the deadliest present making the rules. [Combat Summary: Least Pilfarin x1 Total Experience gained: 1,505 Ostim? +752 Ont?lin +752 Diplomacy [Ad] (12->13) Intimidate [M] (1->2) Details: When in Roma!] Amdirlain laughed maniacally at the notification, and under the pressure of her Charisma, the menial demons fled. Having not pushed her guide, he merely held his place, rapidly bowing his head like a strange bobblehead doll. When Amdirlain pointed towards the bridge, he gave a content grunt and moved on. Before Amdirlain had reached the river¡¯s edge, scavengers began to circle, and the first descended to peek at the corpse they¡¯d left behind. The presence of the head held lightly in her fist kept most other demons at bay. Though she did smack another Pilfarin through a wall for having the nerve to look at her wrong. Her guide didn¡¯t pause at the commotion, so Amdirlain left the stunned Pilfarin behind. Though it was clear she¡¯d hurt him, the injury wasn¡¯t sufficient to warrant a notification. The sudden exchange of mental alerts passed between those with telepathy had the news ripple out, and nothing further attempted to harass her. That didn¡¯t stop the developing procession, tailing her with lust-filled minds. While the aura of Amdirlain¡¯s presence didn¡¯t affect the company she normally kept¡ªthe same didn¡¯t apply in this town. Halfway to their destination, Amdirlain still hadn¡¯t encountered a Demon whose levels had gone above 40. They were nearing what Amdirlain hoped was their objective when they turned a corner onto a red-light alley that dog-legged along. The windows along each side provided spots for the prostitutes to advertise themselves. It wasn¡¯t only succubi and alu-demons, as she spotted the incubi among them. The attire varied, from nearly naked to fully clothed, one thing was consistent ¡ªaround their throat was a black ribbon with silver runes tied in a bow. The sheen of it matched the semi-incorporeal Phase Spider silk; without True Sight, they were invisible. [Collar of servitude (cursed item): Crafted from Phase Spider silk, these contain a version of the Dimensional Anchor enchantment. Unlike the basic version, the wearer can still Teleport or Blink, but is effectively Planar Locked. The Enchanter can link multiple to a command item that allows the wielder to issue orders requiring continual Willpower checks to even ignore.] Narrowing Resonance¡¯s focus to a single ribbon, Amdirlain memorised the enchantment¡¯s song before she reached the last living advertisement. When they continued, she listened for the item that held the collar¡¯s leash. When she found the first, she continued to collect each link within the town. While most succubi would likely happily fuck for fun, it doesn¡¯t mean another should control them. Is Moloch such a merchant that everything is for sale and the demons are just another product? When the Dretch finally stopped, they were in an irregularly shaped yard before a multi-level stone warehouse. Within the warehouse, torso-sized black widows stood on platforms around which webbing formed a curtain. After they examined each crystal, the demons passed it between flexible claws to affix them to strands. As Amdirlain watched, a strand glistening with the crystals lowered through the floor to provide a fresh stretch for a sorter to work. ¡°You may go,¡± stated Amdirlain, passing the Dretch the severed head. Stretching out Resonance, she took in the sounds around the place. Among the thrashing music common to the inhabitants, precise playful notes made it clear Lorrella was watching from one room overlooking the warehouse¡¯s yard. ¡°Reward!¡± boasted the Dretch to those following¡ªthick fingers smoothly scooped out an eyeball and popped it between his teeth. ¡°I found you useful, and you didn¡¯t annoy me,¡± replied Amdirlain, the edge in her tone freezing the procession in place, the leading elements blocking one entry to the yard. [Name Provided: Useful Target: Least Dretch Do you wish to apply this name?] Fine The Dretch jumped as if she¡¯d goosed him and thumped a hand against his chest. ¡°Useful.¡± With that declaration, he sprinted away, only stopping to throw a confused look back as he reached the yard¡¯s far exit. Two things: find out who normally names demons, get someone without all the levels to help with checking my Charisma restraint. Confirming Lorrella''s location with Far Sight, it was tempting to appear beside her, though Amdirlain waited for Lorrella to make a move. After barely a minute of waiting, the procession''s members started to get restless, and Amdirlain sent a message off, not wanting a massacre to tip Lorrella into fleeing. ¡°Erwrath, can you tell Lorrella I¡¯ve arrived in the yard before the sorting house? I know she¡¯s watching me right now. Maybe only tell her it''s the Alu-Demon with the Dretch guide and the procession following that she¡¯s meant to meet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told her. But what have you done?¡± Amdirlain drew her kopis again and turned so those ahead could see the blade. ¡°It seems I need more practice restraining my Charisma. At the moment, it seems it runs a gambit of options: fuck her, flee or obey her completely,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If you kill them all, it will be safer, but someone will investigate. Call it a bust and leave,¡± cautioned Erwarth. Amdirlain turned and smiled at the group. ¡°What wants to die first?¡± Stamping her foot shattered stone with an explosive sound¡ªthose demons that could teleport left, and the rest trampled each other underfoot. Lorrella appeared after the closest edge of the stampede rounded the first corner. Under the flame-filled sky, her red hair was a bright crimson, and the light played tricks with the multiple pupils in her vibrant green eyes. Lorrella¡¯s amber-hued skin seemed a tone darker, almost blending in with the light brown of her rune-covered leather. Her only obvious weapon was the short sword at her hip and daggers in her boots. Amdirlain turned and properly took in her appearance, comparing it to the flirt with the dental floss outfit Lorrella projected in her shop. ¡°That was mild,¡± noted Lorrella. Turning towards her, Amdirlain simply shrugged. ¡°I was sure you were around and didn¡¯t want to make you wait while I bathed in litres of blood.¡± ¡°Demon blood stains the hair. What happened to the others?¡± asked Lorrella. ¡°They have provided you all the information you need to know about that,¡± replied Amdirlain. Lorrella shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not asking Erwarth; I¡¯m asking you.¡± ¡°And I didn¡¯t mention her name on purpose. We should go somewhere less populated if you want answers to such questions,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Not that it means you¡¯ll get an answer if that is the only question you have for me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll shift us somewhere,¡± offered Lorrella, and Amdirlain waved the suggestion off. When Lorrella¡¯s eyebrows raised questioningly, Amdirlain explained. ¡°No teleporting from either of us. I¡¯ll be the one to open a Portal to a remote location. That way, you can confirm it''s safe before moving through it¡ªafter all, I¡¯m sure a level 70 Wizard has a few scrying spells.¡± The revelation of her level had Lorrella¡¯s expression turn wary, though inwardly, her natural playfulness spiked with interest. ¡°I name the location.¡± Amdirlain retrieved S¨ªrdhem¡¯s case from Inventory and opened the lid for Lorrella to see the obsidian-coloured coins inside. ¡°I came to pay you for the next lot of work and the objects you agreed to bring along. We can just stick to that, or we can go to a remote location that I decide, and you can ask your questions until I tire of them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re expecting me to play along by your rules?¡± huffed Lorrella. ¡°Surely I should pick the location, and you can veto it if you don¡¯t like it.¡± ¡°I know where you¡¯ve been working for years. Why would we have waited if we wanted you dead or trapped?¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like the constant paying work that challenges you to dry up?" ¡°No,¡± grumbled Lorrella, and she crossed her arms under her generous bosom. Amdirlain almost laughed at the move that Lorrella had intended as a slight against her modest bust line. ¡°When I¡¯m offering payment conditions, you can either decline or accept. I won¡¯t accept haggling. Wasn¡¯t that the rule in your shop? No haggling on the price offered for goods.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t see it as a price for goods,¡± argued Lorrella. ¡°You want information. Many people would see that as a purchase,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Now make your choice: payment and exchange of goods, or I choose a shift in locations, we make the exchange, and then you can ask questions until I stop answering.¡± Lorrella pouted and gave a sulky huff. ¡°If I choose neither?¡± ¡°Then the work you¡¯ve completed for us best be at the compound for someone to collect,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Or we¡¯ll have hard feelings.¡± ¡°What will you charge for your questions?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll add extra items to the list of things to be made, for which you¡¯ll receive payment. When you ask your question, I¡¯ll tell you the cost and if I¡¯ll answer.¡± The terms had Lorrella chucking merrily. ¡°At the same rate as the construction work I¡¯ve been doing?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± stated Amdirlain. Without further delay, she opened a portal targeting a spot close to where she¡¯d slain the first Wyvern. Listening to the Clairvoyance Spell Lorrella cast, Amdirlain caught hints of difference in the design to what she¡¯d learnt. The Spell quickly ended, and Lorrella stepped through, moving without hesitation to the blood-splattered rocks where Torm had butchered the Wyvern. Scratching at the bloodstain, Lorrella inhaled deeply and looked back as Amdirlain closed the Portal. ¡°Old?¡± ¡°The price for the answer is, why do you want to know?¡± ¡°I could use some blood, especially from an old one,¡± explained Lorrella. Amdirlain gave a mercenary smile. ¡°Yes, it was an old wyvern. I¡¯ll hunt one down later and drain it for the right price.¡± ¡°What is the name of your group?¡± Amdirlain pretended to consider the question¡¯s fee while Silent Song set a Dimensional Anchor in place around Lorrella ¡°The price is a question of my own. Do you still report to Hell?¡± asked Amdirlain, only to hold up a hand immediately. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer that, I know you do. Your chain of command reports to the Arch-Devil Zariel, at least nominally; likely, some in the pecking order have their side deals.¡± In rapid succession, Lorrella tried to shift away using three different powers, and the song quashed each. ¡°Relax, we already knew that, and you¡¯re not dead,¡± Amdirlain said after ten minutes of dodging past bolts and blasts of various elemental energies. Her mental touch followed every action Lorrella took before she¡¯d even decided on it. ¡°Dimensional Anchor means you¡¯re not going anywhere.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t see any Mana about me,¡± growled Lorrella, a ball of lightning clasped in her hand causing a Saint Elmo¡¯s fire effect along her forearm. ¡°Didn¡¯t say it was a Spell,¡± retorted Amdirlain. Lorrella stared at her in disbelief. ¡°If you knew my allegiance, then why ask?¡± ¡°Should I set a price for that question, or shall we treat this as a conversation?¡± ¡°What does it cost me to have this be a conversation?¡± Amdirlain gave a friendly smile that made Lorrella swallow nervously. ¡°Don¡¯t lie to me, since I¡¯d rather not have cause to kill you. Which would merely send you to Hell, but we both know you don¡¯t want to be there, as attractive as you find Order.¡± ¡°How do I prove I won¡¯t lie?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need proof of your word, just agree not to and then don¡¯t. The moment you lie, I¡¯ll invoke the penalty. You can decline to answer, but don¡¯t lie,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°That condition is stupidly foolish,¡± declared Lorrella. ¡°You¡¯ve gained a level in Artificer, Arcane Smith, and Alchemist since you began working for us. What else would you like me to tell you? I will know when you lie,¡± Amdirlain said and let her Charisma free to rampage. It was like a weight had lifted from her shoulders and smashed onto Lorrella¡¯s when the half-Fey froze in shock. Gasping, Lorrella made the mistake of looking up and locking eyes with Amdirlain. Focused Willpower smashed into her through Amdirlain¡¯s gaze, and Lorrella could only whimper. Before she could even start to adjust, Amdirlain pulled it back under control, and Lorrella dropped to the ground¡ªa marionette with its strings cut. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about your allegiance. To us, it''s a positive since you should stick to the beneficial arrangement you agreed to¡ªin theory. Erwarth said you might have guessed the purpose of the siege engines, so to ensure you¡¯ve not since detoured into misleading assumptions, I¡¯ll state it clearly,¡± declared Amdirlain. She waited until she had Lorrella¡¯s full attention. ¡°The siege engines you¡¯ve already made, and the ones you¡¯ll work on from now, have one purpose: the destruction of the Sisterhood of Blood.¡± ¡°Why are you telling me?¡± whispered Lorrella. ¡°Because I know various arch-devils have personal grudges against Baln¨¦rith,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Also, it certainly would be more effective for you to spend your time working only on what¡¯s needed rather than determining their intended use or trying to implant traps in case they venture towards Hell. Would you like to know what this arrangement will cost them?¡± Lorrella eyed Amdirlain nervously. ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°Yes, we knew of the trapped enchantments. This arrangement will cost Hell nothing but your time and efforts, for which you¡¯ll continue to receive compensation,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°We will fund the construction and source the forces. The specification for the first set of engines you needed to build was based on the defences of the Sisterhood stronghold, for which we have a particular interest.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± murmured Lorrella. ¡°While there are some others, that one in particular we will destroy ourselves. For the majority, when we provide the specifications, we¡¯ll provide the name of the Plane and images of its location. Since we have an extended timeline, if your superiors decide to preempt our assault with one of their own, we won¡¯t take offence,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t even be upset if their forces strangely end up with the equipment you build for the attack.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Lorrella. ¡°They¡¯ll want to know why you¡¯re working against her.¡± ¡°We were all bound by Baln¨¦rith¡¯s oath until she lost her book of names. We want to destroy her and every bitch that didn¡¯t take the chance to run when they had it,¡± growled Amdirlain. ¡°Hundreds, maybe even thousands left, but far more stayed, so they can pay with her.¡± Lorrella¡¯s gaze went wide as the Alu-Demon shape Amdirlain had been using slipped away. Flexing the red and gold wings of her Fallen form, Amdirlain took in the instant when all Lorrella¡¯s pupils turned into pin-pricks. ¡°Have I made myself clear?¡± ¡°I guess I won¡¯t be learning your name,¡± breathed Lorrella. ¡°No, you most certainly will not be,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°How long do you expect your extended preparations to take?¡± asked Lorrella. ¡°A few hundred years. We have to deal with the issue caused by the marks left in the compound. Before you ask, no, that had no relation to Baln¨¦rith, more a matter of unfinished business, one might say. As you know, it impacted several named Succubi in our group, so we¡¯re taking that into account with our timeline.¡± With that, Amdirlain resumed her Alu-Demon form and restrained her Charisma as firmly as possible. Taking in the transformation, Lorrella¡¯s tongue flickered across her lower lip. ¡°I take it you rarely pretend to be an Alu-Demon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent much time in solitary training lately. It¡¯s harder to restrain my energies than I remember, especially around such lowly demons,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Would you be open to opportunities for recruitment?¡± Amdirlain smirked. ¡°The leadership of Hell don¡¯t want me in their playground, and I¡¯ve no desire to be part of their hierarchy. I enjoy breaking things, and I doubt that would go down well.¡± ¡°I had to ask,¡± Lorrella said. ¡°The enemy of my enemy.¡± ¡°Is merely a future enemy that has not yet crossed me. Hell is not my friend or ally. We have a mutual loathing for a bitch that needs to be destroyed¡ªthat¡¯s all.¡± Putting the metal case on the ground before Lorrella, Amdirlain accepted a storage bag in exchange. Picking up a stray thought, Amdirlain pulled out a vial inscribed with a tracing rune and passed it back to Lorrella. ¡°You''re so cute, but nice try.¡± Her relief let Amdirlain connect to the rest, and she returned other items set with different tracing runes to Lorrella one at a time, the Succubus¡¯ smile growing more strained with each. When Amdirlain finally ended the Silent Song, she opened a Gate to the construction yard Lorrella had been using and ushered her on her way. It took Amdirlain a few minutes of internal debate before she wrapped herself in concealments and teleported to the rooftop of the red-light street. With focus and a few hundred whispered notes, the town¡¯s collars of servitude were no more. Most brothels¡¯ rooms emptied, but a few entrepreneurs haggled with their former ¡®employers¡¯ instead. 236 - The saint and the sinner Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The flat plains stretched for thousands of kilometres; only scattered patches of gravel dropped haphazardly by the powerful winds disrupted its wind-polished surface. Far from her hidey-hole, Amdirlain took each item from Lorrella¡¯s storage bag and listened for unexpected elements. Though she was positive she¡¯d caught all the tracked items from her mind, it was best not to be taken unaware. When nothing more turned up, Amdirlain stopped and considered her plans for the materials and alchemical creations. Quarantine station. Reaching into the stone through Inventory, she collected slabs from far underground, doing the usual exchange with bursts of air, and quickly created a small six-metre cube hidey-hole. Carving out a workbench in the small chamber, Amdirlain dropped the storage bag on it before completing tighter wards than she¡¯d managed a year ago. After notching a number 1 into the wall to provide a reference for future teleports, Amdirlain returned to the training circle. ¡°Erwarth, Lorrella and I spoke. She¡¯s returned to the compound with payment, and I¡¯m back at the circle if you¡¯ve time to talk.¡± The Spell¡¯s energy had barely faded when a Gate ripped open and Erwarth came rushing through, her elven form clad in a similar loose garment to what Roher usually wore. The speed of her motion caused the cloth to give a whip-like snap, and her bright white hair streamed behind her. ¡°Spill. How did things go?¡± ¡°Oh! Impatient much?¡± teased Amdirlain, but she could only keep her composure a moment before smiling ruefully. ¡°I might have overdone things.¡± ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± laughed Erwarth, relief brightening her silvery gaze as she looked Amdirlain over. ¡°What do you want to cover first: the prototype, the town, or Lorrella?¡± Amdirlain nodded and opted to start at the beginning. ¡°The prototype worked for about the first hour. I started at the mangrove¡¯s edge and used line-of-sight teleports, checking for trouble after each hop. The dissonance that started didn¡¯t sound like it was inside the gemstone or the runes, but more around it, and I felt an increase in Abyssal Heat. I extracted the gemstone, and things settled, so I switched to an Alu-Demon shape,¡± explained Amdirlain. Retrieving the prototype, Amdirlain passed it over. Erwarth took it and carefully turned it over before tucking it into a belt pouch. ¡°What happened in town?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s recount of her trip through the town stirred amusement from Erwarth, especially at the procession. ¡°Thoughts?¡± ¡°Dominion training sounds like a priority. It seems the techniques you learnt from the monastery aren¡¯t enough for the Charisma strength you possess without more work,¡± declared Erwrath, clicking her tongue thoughtfully as she considered the options. ¡°I¡¯ll ask N?r to help you.¡± ¡°Why Dominion?¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t pull your Charisma in completely, you can deliberately set up a Dominion field about yourself to project unease or disinterest to counter it. That way, you have control over their reactions instead of your presence randomly influencing them based on their mindset,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°Oh, I like her, but I don¡¯t want my throat ripped out,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Please, with a Demon that¡¯s just being playful,¡± retorted Erwarth. ¡°After she¡¯s helped you for a while, we¡¯ll get some of the weaker celestials, or even a Mortal or two, involved to help you test it.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m not comfortable involving a Mortal in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Other mortals come here of their own accord,¡± countered Erwarth. ¡°We¡¯ll need to sort out this chamber¡¯s air¡ªI don¡¯t think a Mortal would find it breathable.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going for quality, and most of it is from Disintegrate releasing dust and vapour,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s the deal with unnamed demons? The Dretch I named acted weird.¡± Erwarth pulled a sour face. ¡°Weaker breeds rarely have names, especially within the Least Tier. Stronger demons claiming them into their service name them, or they come out of the Ascension fires with a name for themselves. I can¡¯t believe you named a Dretch of all things.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost like Gideon was bored and took my calling the Dretch ''useful'' as a chance to play,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Or he was trying to tell me something, and I missed it. I find the Dretch disturbing, and I had expected little intelligence from them, yet that fellow reacted faster than the others.¡± ¡°Your viewpoint on a Concept¡¯s Aspect is strange, you know that?¡± asked Erwarth, smiling at Amdirlain¡¯s shrug. ¡°As for the Dretch; they¡¯ve got a keen instinct to know when other demons are dangerous to them. Though most bullies know to bow when a greater predator is present, the Dretch aren¡¯t smart enough to have egos or the pride to slow them.¡± ¡°I had to humble Lorrella a bit,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Did she try to pull one over on you?¡± ¡°Of course she did,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want me to give you the highlights or share the memory?¡± Erwarth paused thoughtfully. ¡°Highlights are fine.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s summary of events elicited dry laughter from Erwarth until she mentioned her reveal as a Fallen ¡°You were supposed to make that offer without tipping that you¡¯re a Fallen,¡± grumbled Erwarth as she idly began to nibble on a strand of hair. ¡°She knew something was up. With my Charisma not behaving, it had her trying to figure out what would hide as an Alu-Demon. Better to give her something more rather than have her go digging,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°After I told her I enjoyed breaking things, she grew disappointed that I wasn¡¯t suitable. Her standing would have jumped by giving them a lead to recruiting a Fallen. How many strongholds were you thinking about giving them the details on?¡± ¡°There are only two Sisterhood fortresses we want ourselves, though I¡¯d suggest we keep back at least ten to keep them guessing,¡± suggested Erwarth, waving the strand she¡¯d been nibbling about in a way that tempted Amdirlain to snatch it from her. ¡°That will still let them have the vast majority if they want to act. Given that the Sisterhood hires out to enable the strongest demon lords to help them stay in power, they¡¯ll likely see it as a chance to increase infighting in the Abyss. Which honestly isn¡¯t that hard with the right leverage.¡± ¡°Demons are more likely to consume each other than to fight against external forces,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°When did you want me to start lessons with N?r?¡± At her question, Erwarth gave her a crooked smile. ¡°Sounds like it should have been weeks ago. N?r¡¯s mainly been helping establish the administrative aspects of the Domain, so stirring her out of the paperwork will be good for her. Just because you have these tools and skills, I hope you¡¯ll avoid using them? until you¡¯re free of this plane.¡± ¡°This was an exception,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been good.¡± ¡°Good at what?¡± teased Erwarth. ¡°How is Torm¡¯s work going?¡± ¡°They freed a bunch of prisoners the other week. I¡¯ve been trying not to peek at what they¡¯ve been up to in advance and just listen to what he wants to share afterwards,¡± admitted Amdirlain, but she grumbled as Erwarth lifted the strand back to her mouth. ¡°Please stop chewing on your hair; it''s driving me nuts.¡± Erwarth looked down absently at the hair she¡¯d brought to her mouth and released it to settle back in place. ¡°What happens if something goes wrong?¡± ¡°He always leaves a memory crystal with details in his room before he heads off, but I¡¯ve not had cause to look at it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad he¡¯s careful enough to leave a safety line in place,¡± stated Erwarth. ¡°Are you kidding me? If he didn¡¯t, I¡¯d be tagging along every step of the way,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Stupid fucking paranoid lizard arsed fuck wit not wanting me working in his cell pisses me off.¡± ¡°Lizard arsed?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°Seriously, you need to take lessons in cursing; you repeat fuck a lot.¡± Amdirlain stuck her nose in the air in a mock huff. ¡°Under the weird pseudo-spider guise that Caltzan uses, they¡¯re more reptilian.¡± ¡°Try to relax,¡± suggested Erwarth. Amdirlain exhaled sharply and flexed her shoulders to release the tension. ¡°I know it''s Torm¡¯s choice, but the possibility of my presence in the Abyss got him involved in this work. That Caltzan obstructs me from guarding Torm¡¯s back makes me see red. Since Torm¡¯s too dutiful to whatever commitments he makes, to him, it¡¯s reasonable that the person in charge has the last call in who is involved.¡± ¡°Why do you feel he¡¯s too dutiful?¡± asked Erwarth, and she smirked at Amdirlain¡¯s raised eyebrow. ¡°Yes, Sarah¡¯s given me tips on what to focus on with you.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer Torm just leave than work for someone that won¡¯t take my help. Yet it would be petty for me to insist he leave with beings here to help. I¡¯d even be okay with him working with someone more flexible than Caltzan. It¡¯s Caltzan that does my head in; I¡¯ve headed off Brel¡¯s corruption, supplied the cell with funds, and prevented them from getting ambushed,¡± Amdirlain said, ticking off the points on her fingers. ¡°Yet I¡¯m a disruption he wants to minimise the cell having contact with. How does that make sense?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°It doesn¡¯t unless you respect Caltzan¡¯s concern about omens and figures of bad luck. Need to vent more?¡± asked Erwarth. Tossing her hands in the air, Amdirlain let out a full-throated scream of rage. ¡°There, I¡¯m good now.¡± Pretending to clear her hearing, Erwarth gave a tight smile. ¡°Don¡¯t bottle it up so much.¡± Catching the Spell start, Amdirlain waited Erwarth out and heard the contents to N?r. ¡°Going to leave me to N?r¡¯s tender mercies?¡± Pulling Amdirlain back into a hug, Erwarth rubbed her back. ¡°Remember, we¡¯re all broken in different ways. You¡¯re concerned because you care for him and worry that he¡¯ll come to harm because of you. With your emotions roiled up, it might be the best time to work on applying control to what you project.¡± An increase in light beyond the Gate prompted Erwarth to release her, but Amdirlain gave a last squeeze. ¡°Thanks for the hug, Erwarth.¡± ¡°You and Torm have to play things carefully, but sometimes physical contact helps even us,¡± replied Erwarth before stepping through the Gate. When N?r glided through, it was with a liquid grace rather than Erwarth¡¯s raw speed. The glow of the circle¡¯s runes reflected off rainbow-hued eyes that glistened like polished fire opals. Tight-fitting purple leathers clung to her elven form¡¯s voluptuous curves, reminding Amdirlain more of N?r¡¯s Succubus body than any Elf she¡¯d met. Blowing a stray black lock from her face, N?r gave Amdirlain a beaming smile. The pleasure in it was especially ironic, given the meaning of N?r¡¯s name. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t give the sad vibe anymore,¡± observes Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve kept the name, regardless. I should have the reminder that reality can be a sad place,¡± replied N?r moving to hug Amdirlain tight. ¡°Erwarth is being greedy and rationing your time out to people, but I know it''s more because of this place rather than either of you.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure any of you would be comfortable with the reminder,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not just Erwarth¡¯s choice.¡± Giving her a last squeeze, N?r released Amdirlain and held her out at arm''s length. ¡°We don¡¯t have to be comfortable to be happy to come here and help. Now relax your control; I want you to let all your Charisma out to play.¡± ¡°Play?¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°What it does isn¡¯t playing.¡± ¡°But it can be, and maybe the issue is that you need to find a visualisation that lets you control the intensity. You used water before, but that no longer seems to work, so set it free, and we¡¯ll experiment,¡± prompted N?r, and at Amdirlain¡¯s apparent scepticism, reached to tweak her nose. ¡°My willpower is up around what yours is now. You won¡¯t drown me.¡± Directing her intention inwards, Amdirlain dissolved the insufficient barriers of the mental water park. The Charisma didn¡¯t wash out; instead, it exploded. As it rippled across her skin, Amdirlain felt a tight constraint within her ease, and the golden light from her gaze grew brighter. Giving a nod of satisfaction, N?r looked her up and down. ¡°Now that¡¯s more like it. The way you stand, the glow in your gaze, and your skin tone all improve when you let it out properly. The attribute¡¯s power nudges things about you, enhancing what you have to elicit favourable responses.¡± ¡°It mentally mugs them, you mean?¡± corrected Amdirlain, and tension crackled in the surrounding air. ¡°You can certainly have it do that by focusing on someone, especially if you¡¯re trying to project a particular mood. Like being a grump as you are now,¡± teased N?r, and she tweaked her nose again. ¡°You projected peacefulness through Dominion for those women you rescued, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°Think that was Dominion alone doing that?¡± ¡°No, I had to focus Dominion on what to project,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Not what I meant; I¡¯m talking about synergies. Dominion and Charisma work together all the time. There are other powers you can link in with them, as you did with Stimulation, but it''s always Charisma and Dominion hand in hand,¡± countered N?r. ¡°Now you¡¯ve controlled the mood you¡¯ve projected with Dominion. The only difference with raw Charisma is that it''s limited to people who can see or hear you, convincing them of the message you¡¯re conveying.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want that procession following me,¡± protested Amdirlain, wrinkling her nose at the memory. ¡°Erwarth said you¡¯d had some fun with demons tagging after you,¡± said N?r. ¡°You set your Charisma loose, or did it get free?¡± ¡°One swaggered up to me asking what brothel I¡¯d be at; I cut him in two and set it loose to scare the other menial demons that had encircled me with him,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°They ran, but it didn¡¯t affect those further away.¡± ¡°Oh, you went for tough and scary,¡± N?r said, clapping happily. ¡°Did you try to pull your Charisma back in afterwards?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± snapped Amdirlain. The waspish tone didn¡¯t faze N?r; instead, it elicited a smirk. ¡°Okay. Did you think about projecting a different vibe before you did?¡± ¡°No, why?¡± ¡°Since you didn¡¯t kill them all during your lesson, I take it you were going for restrained violence, predator at their throats,¡± stated N?r, and when Amdirlain nodded, she gave a tight smile. ¡°Charisma lets you influence others, but it''s always an emotional reaction based on their mindset. Know your audience, and keep that in mind. Demons are predatory, but they¡¯re also scavengers that will take scraps from another¡¯s table.¡± Amdirlain groaned at the explanation. ¡°The air of violence. They were following to see who else I was going to kill.¡± ¡°Then, if you just walked away, as you did with the menials, they would have fought over their possessions,¡± explained N?r. ¡°They weren¡¯t following hoping to fuck you. They were after your leavings. What did you get from them?¡± ¡°I caught their excitement, but I didn¡¯t dig deeper. I was listening for ambushes ahead, and then I got caught up with the collars of servitude used to control those in the brothels,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The admission had N?r¡¯s gaze narrowing with suspicion. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I severed a few hundred of them, and most of the brothel workers fled,¡± explained Amdirlain with a tight smile. Tilting her head back, N?r let loose gales of rolling laughter that echoed around the chamber. The good-natured laughter niggled at Amdirlain infectiously, but she just fixed N?r with an incredulous look. ¡°Oh, Amdirlain, only you would worry about the freedom of demons.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t control how they¡¯ll behave, and I¡¯ll gladly kill them if they attack me or another, but it doesn¡¯t mean someone else equally bad, if not worse, should profit from their enslavement,¡± objected Amdirlain. The memory of the vow being forced on her by Baln¨¦rith had the last words chewed out. The anger washed N?r¡¯s amusement away, and she gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°Let''s work through some exercises with Charisma. Isa said you and Ilya had some fun with acting and dancing. So let¡¯s start there, and then we¡¯ll work to switch up what you¡¯re projecting as smoothly as you can dance.¡± ¡°Erwarth suggested working on Dominion,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m the expert on Dominion, not Erwarth. It lets you extend your influence beyond a being¡¯s line of sight or hearing but still doesn¡¯t stop you from needing to control your Charisma,¡± declared N?r. ¡°I¡¯d like most of your time for a few months. Likely, you¡¯ll need to unlearn some habits, and we¡¯ll mix up the day by trying different exercises.¡± ¡°I need to practise my singing,¡± warned Amdirlain. N?r waggled a finger reprovingly. ¡°You don¡¯t think you can incorporate Charisma into your singing practice? Never heard music that made you cry or laugh, even without words? Emotions are energy, and True Song can manipulate or control energy in every imaginable fashion.¡± ¡°There are projects I¡¯m working on that I don¡¯t want to interrupt,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Well, I said most of your time. You spend a third of a day on private projects, so have three or four hours between magic and weapons practice. That would leave me half a day to work with you,¡± suggested N?r. ¡°I want to get you to where you can chat with someone like Eivor, Elleth, or even a junior Priest without melting their brain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a gruesome way to put it,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Given what I felt when you pushed out, I think you restrained yourself at the town,¡± commented N?r. ¡°Even if you¡¯re not projecting a particular intent like confidence, or allure, you¡¯re going to be appealing to their mindset.¡± ¡°But Ilya¡¯s lessons,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll work them in by getting you to practise exercises while being drilled on Ilya¡¯s information or weapons,¡± countered N?r. ¡°Projecting violence or confidence while fighting can unsettle enemies, but it can also be dangerous if you distract your allies. If you can¡¯t control it, you could have that effect regardless of your intentions.¡± N?r said nothing at Amdirlain¡¯s nod of acceptance, so she spoke up. ¡°Alright, how do we begin?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s begin with something calming. I want you to do that empty mind meditation Farhad talks about with the others. Properly controlling Charisma isn¡¯t about restraint¡ªit''s about acceptance, understanding your emotions, and directing them. Comfortable emotions are easy to work with, uncomfortable ones you¡¯ll need work to master, and that will push your Dominion high, along with control over your Charisma. Eventually, I¡¯ll look to bring a Mortal in, so practise hard.¡± Starting at the thought, Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°I don''t want to go near a Mortal and risk gaining a different Mantle.¡± ¡°You think one of them would accept you as divine?¡± enquired N?r and paused at Amdirlain¡¯s nod. ¡°Then maybe we should use someone like Moke, since he¡¯s hardly religious. He could compose more verses of the Ode to the Dawn with such a muse as yourself.¡± Mention of the Bard made Amdirlain groan, and N?r¡¯s laughter rang out again. ¡°Now I might have to speak to him, after such a reaction.¡± ¡°You can go right ahead. I¡¯m sure Moke would pass on ever returning to the Abyss.¡± With Amdirlain not rising to the bait, N?r offered her a smile. ¡°I know finding acceptance for this won¡¯t be easy; you see it as stealing another¡¯s will. It¡¯s not!¡± ¡°It sure seems that way.¡± N?r shook her head. ¡°Charisma equals the strength of reaction; the viewer''s mindset and perceptions determine the reaction itself. Some Mortal species consider your current Anar form hideous. They''d likely attack or run away if they saw you now, projecting the raw look-at-me vibe of unfocused Charisma. Get seen by your average Elf, and they¡¯d drop to their knees if they didn¡¯t want to swoon at your feet.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just an amplifier,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Why do you say that? Because of all the attention you drew in Eyrarh¨¢ls and other places? All those people wouldn¡¯t have been paying attention to you for the same reason. Sexuality, beauty, grace, and the rareness of elves in the area are just four of hundreds that come to mind,¡± explained N?r. ¡°Did you go reading their minds?¡± Sighing, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t want to know.¡± ¡°Because you put yourself in the temptress Succubus box, you didn¡¯t need to find another reason,¡± teased N?r. ¡°Pretty much.¡± ¡°Well, we have a lot of work to do,¡± declared N?r. ¡°Do you mind if I speak to Sarah and Isa about your life before the curse?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s obvious that you¡¯ve some history regarding people that found you attractive. I could feel the energy you¡¯ve let out reacting in ways I found weird,¡± observed N?r. ¡°I¡¯ve dealt with that stuff,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Emotions aren¡¯t things you handle once¡ªthey strangely linger on for emotional reasons,¡± N?r said softly. Letting out a huff, Amdirlain motioned to the Gate. ¡°Fine, go speak with them.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get off that easy. I¡¯ll speak to them, but you¡¯ve got some exercises to do first. Consider this an extension of the acting lessons Ilya¡¯s been giving you,¡± suggested N?r. ¡°More dancing?¡± ¡°Not dance classes. We¡¯re talking raw emotional context: fear, love, hate, despair, and all the rest; we¡¯ll work through emotions big and small, pushing them out into your surroundings through Charisma,¡± N?r said and threw her arms out wide. ¡°It will even let you practise Resonance by listening to that energy. If nothing else, you¡¯ll at least be able to learn the emotional music to separate what you¡¯re hearing better within someone.¡± ¡°Alright, what do we start with?¡± N?r shrugged. ¡°An old crowd control favourite. Fear; raw, mind-numbing fear.¡± 237 - work on me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic When the Gate closed behind N?r, the chamber dimmed, and Amdirlain slumped cross-legged to the ground. The hours they¡¯d spent had left Amdirlain emotionally numb from the toll of continually dredging up unpleasant emotions. She didn¡¯t shift position when she heard Torm behind her, simply taking in his concern. Without a word, he knelt in place and rested a comforting hand on her shoulder. Closing her eyes, she leant back, and without comment, he let her rest against his chest. Raising his free hand, he started to caress her hair and let the silence linger. ¡°By the way, you stink,¡± Amdirlain muttered after nearly a half hour. Torm¡¯s first response was a rumbling chuckle before he pretended to smear his fingers along her hair. ¡°I cleaned with multiple spells.¡± ¡°There is a miasma sitting around you at present,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You could have told me before leaning against me,¡± murmured Torm, and Amdirlain grabbed his ankle as he tried to rise. Giving a little mew in protest, Amdirlain didn¡¯t relent. ¡°Don¡¯t go. I¡¯m enjoying my hair being stroked.¡± ¡°You told me I stink,¡± noted Torm. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to clean up anyway now, so you might as well keep going,¡± insisted Amdirlain. When Torm settled back into his previous position, Amdirlain leaned back against him and let out a content sigh. Laughing when she tilted her head in an invitation, Torm resumed stroking her hair, and neither spoke for a time. ¡°N?r sent me a message, told me she¡¯d run you ragged.¡± ¡°Made me march down a gauntlet of emotions and get beat up by them,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Problem: when looking to project emotions, you need to open yourself up to them first.¡± ¡°Well, at least I found out you¡¯d been back and training a while,¡± teased Torm. Twisting around, Amdirlain caught his tone too late. ¡°Oh crap, I messaged Erwarth to brief her, and it completely slipped my mind to let you know.¡± ¡°Relax. I¡¯ve been gone for days at a time,¡± reassured Torm, only to earn a disgruntled huff. ¡°I messed up, but please don¡¯t tease,¡± admonished Amdirlain. ¡°I feel all raw and beat up.¡± Torm lent forward and gave her a light kiss in apology. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t gotten an enchanted bathtub arranged at some point.¡± ¡°Hadn¡¯t even thought about it. I think I¡¯d need to set up a shielded room to relax. Maybe a circle to keep the energy contained, surrounded by another to keep the abyssal energy out,¡± considered Amdirlain. ¡°Seems extreme for bathing,¡± murmured Torm as he ran his fingers through her hair. As Amdirlain wiggled back happily against him, he gave a deep chuckle. ¡°Or do you think you¡¯d need to contain your ecstatic reaction?¡± ¡°I was thinking I could purify the inner circle area after I get it set up,¡± declared Amdirlain and felt Torm tense in surprise behind her. ¡°Then I could relax instead of having the Abyss gnaw at me.¡± ¡°Seems excessive to get a bath,¡± teased Torm. Amdirlain waggled back against his chest. ¡°Please, I never got my undead bounties from Verdandi. Maybe I should tell her I need an enchanted bathtub¡ªat least on loan¡ªsince I can¡¯t get to the Silver Chalice to collect my bounties. Yeah, I should get that set up. It would also give us a space to breathe without Culerzic¡¯s desires digging at us.¡± ¡°You want one that conjures and removes the water?¡± Torm asked carefully as he tucked a loose strand behind her ear. ¡°Not just that, it needs hot and cold water, soaps and oils, all under the user¡¯s control,¡± declared Amdirlain. Torm¡¯s bass rumble of laughter drew a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°Now that sounds excessive,¡± declared Torm playfully. Giving a playful huff, Amdirlain reached back to poke his thigh. ¡°Cleaning with Inventory gets old. I need a proper bath. It¡¯s been years, years and years. I shouldn¡¯t have avoided them at the monastery, but I didn¡¯t want to intrude on the girls initially, and then it just continued. I bet I would have wept in dismay at what they considered baths; I loved the time there, but they take ascetic to the extreme.¡± ¡°I agree, I can¡¯t see any of them stretched out, wiggling their toes in warm water with smelly oils,¡± Torm replied, and Amdirlain caught a well-concealed cheekiness in his tone. ¡°Oi, no insulting bath oils,¡± admonished Amdirlain playfully. ¡°If I¡¯ve said this before, I apologise. I miss a relaxing soak; my body doesn¡¯t need it for recovery, but I think my brain does.¡± Torm gave the exposed ear tip a teasing tap. ¡°Smelling of flowers makes it hard to hunt things with any sense of smell.¡± ¡°How did the hunting go?¡± ¡°We took out a compound and freed a score of mortals,¡± offered Torm. ¡°Munais¡¯ information has been really useful of late.¡± Unease crawled across Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Maybe ease off on taking out his customers a bit.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been taking out the competition he¡¯s been spying on,¡± explained Torm. ¡°From an espionage point of view, one way to find leaks is to silo the information individuals can get to and see what happens,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°He could still use the information on his competition to figure out what is happening inside his operation. Hold information on some of them in one place and on others in a different place to see which get hit. Then narrow it down, rinse and repeat.¡± ¡°How do you know about espionage?¡± asked Torm. ¡°Mainly from reading and company security issues. I know a little about that from the work I handled in IT¡ªnot directly with security but overseeing the management of an issue¡¯s resolution. From an IT perspective, we¡¯d track who has accessed what information, basically put in ways to see who has altered or viewed information. Sometimes it''d be in obvious ways that any staff can see, but other times it''s subtle and hidden, except from the admins, and logged in different ways.¡± Torm¡¯s caressing halted, and he just rested his hand on her shoulder. ¡°What are you most concerned about?¡± ¡°Wards can track who has entered an area and trigger messages. I used messages to write into a book for Livia. If he only stores an opponent''s files in one room and tracks who enters the room, then the operations of that opponent get repeatedly hit in ways that tie back to the information in that room that narrows who he needs to monitor. Rinse, repeat, track more rooms, and put in time-sensitive information to see if it''s acted on.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let Caltzan know,¡± conceded Torm. ¡°I¡¯d suggest going quiet for a while and pulling Munais out, but continue her routine until you can,¡± suggested Amdirlain and frowned when Precognition still wasn¡¯t happy. ¡°Something is up with Munais¡¯s situation, and Precognition is making my skin crawl. I¡¯d get her out. I know it''s not your call, and if you tell Caltzan the warning is from me, he might ignore it. Not sure I¡¯ll be able to tell more; I¡¯ve only met her once.¡± ¡°Caltzan hasn¡¯t told us a lot about her location, and the few times Munais has made a meet, she¡¯s stayed quiet about it. I don¡¯t even know the Wizard¡¯s name,¡± admitted Torm. ¡°If you feel you must stay, can you at least ask to switch to a different cell operating on Culerzic?¡± asked Amdirlain. The wince made Torm¡¯s view clear. ¡°Caltzan was the one that took the time out from the cell¡¯s work to escort me around initially.¡± ¡°Too darn loyal, Torm,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°You can respect someone even if you no longer work with them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my duty and be as careful as possible,¡± consoled Torm. ¡°There is no way to be careful if someone is ignoring warning signs and won¡¯t let you look for traps,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we do some magic or weapons training today, or do I get to hear you sing?¡± asked Torm. Amdirlain almost objected to his change of subject but stopped herself. ¡°I¡¯m wiped. I think I might spend some time meditating. N?r wants to resume again in eight, well now seven, hours.¡± ¡°Pushing yourself?¡± ¡°N?r claims it''s the only way I know how to do things,¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°I think Erwarth and the others want me too exhausted to think about sticking my nose into places it doesn¡¯t belong.¡± The first session was merely a gentle warmup for the following months; in each session, N?r pushed her control and patience to the limits. It was never the same twice, with sessions ranging from holding a single emotion during sparring to quickly projecting a gambit of emotions while working a ritual. Sometimes the session would last only an hour, and other times N?r would run well over time, keeping the demands on Amdirlain unpredictable. The progress in control over emotions and song was her only consolation. The test came without warning, except for N?r messaging her to lock her emotions down before the Gate opened. Amdirlain understood why when N?r stepped aside, and Moke followed her through. His features didn¡¯t look like he¡¯d aged a day since she¡¯d activated his Celestial bloodline, though aspects of that were clearer. Black-haired, with dusky-gold skin, his cat-green eyes almost glowed in the chamber¡¯s dim lighting. His angular features were as lean as ever, straight nose and raised cheekbones that lead down to a wide generous mouth above a firm chin. Yet the set of his mouth was now more serious than flirtatious. His walk contained a feline grace that spoke of his family''s old tie to Bast and accented the litheness of his build. However, it was a poise that expected the need to react to danger rather than the swaggering confidence of youth. Upon seeing him, she almost expected him to be in the pattern bonking skeleton clothing she¡¯d made years ago; instead, he wore a sedate dark blue shirt and black linen pants tucked into solid boots that came up to mid-calf. The years sat heavily in his gaze, the sorrow and regrets having compressed much of his wildness into the determination of a survivor. ¡°Lady Amdirlain,¡± Moke intoned formally before he gave an elaborate bow. ¡°Eivor wanted to come herself. After much discussion with N?r, she finally allowed that it would be best if I helped you in this matter.¡± ¡°Moke, it''s been years; hard ones for you, I see,¡± Amdirlain said, unsure what to make of his presence; she kept Resonance under tight control. Frown lines showed around his mouth, but he simply shrugged. ¡°Others have had harder years than I. While I¡¯m given to understand I¡¯m perhaps not your favourite person, allow me to point out that in one aspect, I¡¯m the best suited for these tests.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± ¡°Of all the people that your priesthood could risk asking, my incapacitation won''t be a loss to your cause,¡± explained Moke. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone is expendable, Moke, and you underestimate your contributions. Certainly, if Apollo¡¯s plans had been different, you would have led rescuers to the site of my imprisonment,¡± countered Amdirlain. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°I made a mistake searching for your original summoner, which took the investigation in the wrong direction. Earlier, I¡¯d gained information on that Artificer and the High Priest. For that reason, once Ebusuku passed along their names, it was a matter of digging out the information and confirming they were still present at the summer palace,¡± declared Moke. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t failed you-¡± Moke cut off instantly at Amdirlain¡¯s raised hand. ¡°Were others looking?¡± ¡°Yes, but I was handling investigations in Egypt and Crete,¡± objected Moke. Amdirlain stepped closer and let the light from the Gate wash over her, and Moke blinked in surprise at her Anar form. ¡°You can¡¯t get a new beginning without things changing, Moke. Mistakes happen. When we fall, we need to get up, learn from it, and start again. How about you give yourself a chance at a new beginning from this guilt?¡± Though he nodded awkwardly, Amdirlain could tell he wasn¡¯t so easily swayed. With a shadowed smile, Moke motioned around the chamber. ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t the extent of your quarters.¡± ¡°No, this is just to prevent N?r and the others from ringing the Plane like a giant bell,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got multiple floors and rooms for variety when I don¡¯t wish to go to the surface. I¡¯ve rooms for various crafting work, studies, libraries, and training, among others.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you play us a few songs, Moke?¡± asked N?r, and both snapped their gaze towards her like she¡¯d grown a second head. Moke looked back at Amdirlain wide-eyed and raised his hands. ¡°Ode to the Dawn was never about you, that I swear. How could it be? You were already awake when I woke up on the hillside.¡± ¡°Relax, Moke. I¡¯ve been told that confusion got cleared up,¡± reassured Amdirlain, but couldn¡¯t resist teasing. ¡°Eventually.¡± Moke rubbed the back of his head before he reached down and pulled a lyre from the storage pouch at his waist. ¡°What am I meant to do while he is playing?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Project whatever emotions relate to the words or the music for you. Keep it low enough that Moke can still function,¡± instructed N?r. The first dancing notes gave Amdirlain the impression of a bird floating on a breeze. His repertoire of songs, poems and stories ran them from light, joyous dancing to dark tales of hungry undead. He finally paused after hours of playing, and Amdirlain took the chance to ask a question. ¡°What do you feel about the situation with the gods?¡± ¡°Unsettled, with the accord the hag you knew as Usd¡¯ghi forced them to sign to allow peace from her curse. The gods have made it clear being Human and faithless or false means you answer to her in the end. Anyone faithful goes on to their primary patron¡¯s Domain, which may be nowhere near your ancestors. The Adventurers¡¯ Guild bards are unaligned missionaries spreading the word of all the surviving gods'' teachings as unbiasedly as possible,¡± explained Moke. ¡°Your cadre opens portals to let priests access regions where their gods were unknown. Those nations where some gods survived cling to their own. Now, instead of thousands of gods, we have fifty-six¡ªthough some argue even that count includes mere heroic figures¡ªits chaos.¡± ¡°Not my cadre; they¡¯ve their own agenda,¡± argued Amdirlain, holding back a wince at what Epoch¨¥ had managed. ¡°Well, their own mission that they dedicated to your name and tenets, to keeping peace and humanity alive,¡± declared Moke. ¡°Hamlets, villages, and towns were going up in flames left and right. Then they got involved¡ªhearing repeated tales of forces being wiped out by earthen spikes and fireballs cooled the head of even the most blood-thirsty warrior.¡± ¡°I understand it didn¡¯t cool heads in Eyrarh¨¢ls,¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°That was early on; Ti¨²emundr¡¯s eldest tried to get out Eyrarh¨¢ls¡¯ guard to have the cadre enforce his rule over neighbouring jarls. Now his sister, Lady Angrboda, serves as the Steward of Eyrarh¨¢ls for the cadre. Most won¡¯t even speak his name without spitting, especially after he cut his brother¡¯s throat for trying to get them to stand down.¡± ¡°Hrafn?¡± asked Amdirlain, and at Moke¡¯s nod, she continued. ¡°Was he still the Jarl¡¯s spymaster and bard during his brother''s rule?¡± ¡°He was, but they¡¯d been butting heads on several issues, the cadre¡¯s compound among them,¡± Moke said with a shrug. ¡°I would have expected him to handle it smoothly, but Hrafn wasn¡¯t too right in the head after Odinn¡¯s death. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for former priests to handle things less than delicately during their time of mourning. Your desired power transition to Ebusuku spared your priests that fate. Eivor and the others were in shock and quiet. I was waiting for the storm to start to rage, then before they broke fully, Ebusuku spread the word there was hope for you.¡± ¡°Was it that way with all the changes?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she hurried to clarify before he could start. ¡°I mean the priests, like with Hrafn, the erratic behaviour and bad endings.¡± Moke grimaced as if he¡¯d bitten into something foul. ¡°I think it depends on the nature of the new Liege. A lot of Thor¡¯s priesthood killed themselves in fits of madness after Raivo claimed his Mantle, that was the worst. Everywhere there was mourning for the fallen. I don¡¯t know if that eased the Hag¡¯s curse or made it worse with people seeing their gods falling like leaves from a rotten tree.¡± ¡°I wish I¡¯d been there to stop it,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I think you could have killed most of them with your eyes closed,¡± said Moke. ¡°Yngvarr told me about your butchery at the Dragon¡¯s fishing hole. He made it sound like you were death incarnate.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met an Aspect of Death. I wouldn¡¯t want to cross him,¡± deflected Amdirlain, glad to change the subject. Though she was unsure if she wanted to know what Yngvarr had to say about her. Moke¡¯s gaze lit up with excitement. ¡°Do you know their name? Am I allowed to know it?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°The Hag is the only Goddess of death left in the pantheon. Some people want to pray to someone to ensure their loved ones transition peacefully. I¡¯d prefer them not give her power,¡± explained Moke. ¡°She¡¯s responsible for hundreds of thousands of extra deaths in the wars, and for her to gain that power from their belief and prayers makes me sick. I want to pray my mother¡¯s Soul is safe, but I won¡¯t pray to that bitch. I don¡¯t know if I even need to do so, but once I would have prayed to Anubis that she was safe in the afterlife.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a servant of the Titan. I¡¯m not sure he¡¯s allowed to answer prayers, or if any aspects in his service can,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to hope he¡¯s listening and can help any lost souls,¡± implored Moke. ¡°Know any others?¡± The steely look in Moke¡¯s gaze had Amdirlain shaking her head. ¡°Only four others, but I¡¯m not sure this is a good idea.¡± ¡°The worst that can happen is that they don¡¯t respond to the prayers,¡± said Moke. ¡°Better to pray to a being that won¡¯t answer than her.¡± ¡°They¡¯re primordial beings, Moke; I don¡¯t know how they¡¯ll react. You¡¯d be better off proposing people pray to the Concept itself.¡± ¡°People are used to gods with names, not a faceless Concept. Isn¡¯t that our choice, to risk it or not?¡± His question had her biting back a denial, and Amdirlain exhaled sharply. ¡°You folks like hitting me with that question. Having a name doesn¡¯t mean they have a face. Gideon is the principle Aspect of Knowledge, and they appear like a spherical gemstone with infinite facets. I¡¯d bet the golden scripts of announcements people saw were from Gideon. It also manages classes and even that rush of energy people get when they¡¯re progressing because it knows how meaningful everything is to individuals and their progression.¡± Moke struck an exaggerated pose with his arms upstretched. ¡°Would you please help me figure out the best way to order my library, oh great vast and wondrous Concept of Knowledge?¡± Lowering his arms, he folded them across his chest before dramatically tapping his chin. ¡°Not feeling it. I think Gideon is far better, especially since it might encourage people to treasure knowledge if they look like a gemstone. But seriously, you knew the name of the being that determines our classes advancement, and you wouldn¡¯t share it?¡± Catching his teasing, Amdirlain kept her tone light. ¡°I¡¯ve shared it with non-mortals. The four other aspects I know are Laodice, who is War, Eleftherios is Death, Theinas is Law, and Ruithor is Oblivion.¡± ¡°Those last four sound Greek,¡± noted Moke. He checked the spelling with her, getting out a stick of charcoal and a piece of parchment as he did so. ¡°The Titan was originally from the same realm as the Greek gods. He fled their imprisonment and torment. His crime was that he was born not a God but a Titan, a primordial being not in need of worshipers, so they hounded him and killed his loved ones until he left their realm. Eventually, he created this reality with the help of his songbird and three primordial dragons. The Greek gods eventually weakened in that other reality and came here hoping to wrest this realm from his care,¡± recounted Amdirlain. ¡°That account begs so many questions,¡± Moke exclaimed, his eyes gleaming with an excitement previously absent. ¡°The Titan hoped they would change, or at least the good ones would break away from their corrupt leadership. Your world was a chance to prove to him they had, but they blindly followed Zeus and triggered not one but two Gods¡¯ Wars,¡± stated Amdirlain. Catching the surprise from N?r, Amdirlain held up a hand to stop Moke¡¯s questions. ¡°I¡¯m not explaining more, Moke. I¡¯m not sure I should have even provided that much information.¡± ¡°Why did he create this realm? It''s such an imperfect place, so many evil things prosper,¡± grumbled Moke. The tone of accusation had Amdirlain grinding her teeth, but she recognised in part it was an old frustration of Orh¨ºthurin at work. ¡°The Titan and his songbird had never created a world before this realm, Moke, and they set about creating millions of worlds. I think they tried their best, by creating rules for an entire reality in a way that it could grow. Would that really be a simple feat? From what I¡¯ve learnt, they were in pain and mourning their lost family even when they created this place. Does anyone do the best work in such a situation?¡± ¡°Why did they create it then?¡± Moke asked. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just for themselves. The realm was a refuge for others who¡¯d also suffered at the hands of beings that held power over them. They wanted a challenging place but also one that would hold individuals to account. Are there problems? Yes. Do we have options to improve things for ourselves and others? Yes. Do enough people do that? No.¡± Moke frowned in dissatisfaction. ¡°So it''s just on us to fix it. How is that fair?¡± ¡°Life isn¡¯t fair, and no one person has to fix everything. You can improve things, leave them as they are, or look to make things worse. That is the key question at the end of anyone''s life: are people better off because I was around or because I¡¯m no longer around?¡± ¡°Have I helped or hurt the most?¡± murmured Moke. ¡°Exactly, but a mortal¡¯s death isn¡¯t the end of the negative impact they can have on existence. Those evil and vile enough, their Soul will carry their corruption into the Abyss. Here it will remain, weighing the realm down until the destruction of all the demons that spawn from that vileness.¡± ¡°How can good win against that?¡± ¡°Evil feeds on itself as much, if not more, than it feeds on the realm¡¯s good. Trillions of demons die yearly on their Home Plane without a good being having to lift a hand. Though it''s not something to be relaxed about because¡ªfrom that destruction¡ªstronger demons can grow. Do you think the Abyss was always evil?¡± ¡°Of course, it must have been,¡± declared Moke. ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t. The material in the Abyss is from a place called The Far Chaos and has the potential to be shaped into anything with enough power. But that makes the Abyss a place without rules and limits, so it attracts souls only interested in themselves. It used to be a wild, unpredictable, and even amoral place, but it wasn¡¯t originally evil or corrupt. The corruption soaked into the Abyss with the vile souls that found their way here, slowly transforming it. Have you spoken to Livia since she got appointed to one of the High Justice seats?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Moke. ¡°She¡¯s in Nova Roma since her appointment, working with an ex-slave who calls himself Marauder.¡± ¡°Ask her how many jarls and lords are trying to blame her or other high justices for problems that existed even before the Gods¡¯ War. Heck, even the people that caused the problems try ?to blame them for not solving the problems. There will always be people wanting to shift the blame to someone else rather than rolling up their sleeves to do their share of the work. Can they agree on a name for either of the combined kingdoms yet?¡± ¡°No,¡± grumbled Moke, and Amdirlain got the impression it was an argument he¡¯d given up on seeing resolved. ¡°Do me a favour, just propose ¡®The Republic¡¯ to Livia,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Tell her to use it in paperwork and see if it takes off. I¡¯ll leave it to someone in the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to figure out their name.¡± Moke narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but Amdirlain could tell he¡¯d caught onto her having fun. ¡°Why that name? The Republic? It sounds strange, but not elven.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ll find it slightly funny if they adopt it¡ªnot perfect, but slightly suitable. Plus, if other kingdoms decide to join, the name doesn¡¯t have to change.¡± ¡°What would be a perfect name?¡± questioned Moke. ¡°Oh, ¡®The Old Republic¡¯, but ¡®The New Republic¡¯ might work. Though a republic isn¡¯t exactly what they¡¯ve formed. If it was a republic, everyone would have a vote on matters important to their region, yet still within the overarching laws that the cadre set. The three combined kingdoms have the new senatorial system of Nova Roma, and the Norse elected jarls, but there are still hereditary lords from Darius. Anyway, I¡¯d prefer some republic name over The Empire, or anything like that,¡± mused Amdirlain, and motioned to his lyre. ¡°I¡¯d like to wind up for today, N?r. Instead of practising emotions, can Moke teach me a few songs?¡± ¡°That would be Moke¡¯s choice,¡± teased N?r. ¡°Would you do me the honour of hearing you sing?¡± asked Moke. ¡°I¡¯ve heard the L¨®m?¡¯s songs in the grotto this time, well, some of them at least. N?r said others were being sung that I couldn¡¯t hear.¡± ¡°I remember the purification song didn¡¯t react well with the curse,¡± recalled Amdirlain with a frown. ¡°That was years ago; I¡¯m surprised you remembered me trying to get you to hear them?¡± ¡°I remember that and all the rest of my ignorant assumptions,¡± sighed Moke. ¡°I¡¯m glad you were forgiving of my youthful obliviousness.¡± ¡°May I?¡± Amdirlain asked and pointed to a dagger hilt poking from the top of his boot. Moke scrambled to unsheathe the blade and quickly presented the hilt to her. Taking the blade from him, Amdirlain turned it over, took in the blade¡¯s balance, the sound of its good steel, bereft of enchantments, and began to sing. Soon the burnished steel took on a liquid silver sheen, and when its glow settled, she passed back the now mithril blade. He turned it over in his hands with an almost reverence before he secured it away. ¡°Thank you for that gift, and that honour, Lady Amdirlain,¡± breathed Moke. ¡°I never thought I¡¯d hear a Goddess sing today. It was like listening to a waterfall of sound wash through my mind. I¡¯ve not felt so inspired to write a song in years.¡± Amdirlain fixed Moke with a beaming smile. ¡°My name is Amdirlain. I told you, no lady needed, and I¡¯m not currently a goddess either, just a prisoner of the Abyss because of my cursed state. Now, would you teach me some songs, particularly some ribald ones, please? I¡¯ve got a friend I want to get to blush.¡± Moke coughed in surprise, but quickly started the first song. By the time they wrapped up, Amdirlain had a dozen new songs memorised. Teleport set her in the training hall, which was unexpectedly empty. Shifting between other rooms they ?were currently using in the hideaway provided the same result. Finally, appearing at the doorway to Torm¡¯s study, she spotted the memory crystal on his desk and teleported to the main meeting hall. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll entertain myself for a while.¡± Restraining her giggles, Amdirlain started with The Imperial March, enjoying the echoes of sound that came back to her from the tunnels. 238 - Burning down the house Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic When Torm appeared, Amdirlain had to cut off the explicit lyrics she¡¯d been experimenting with, but they echoed back to her in the sudden silence. ¡°Interesting song choice,¡± offered Torm. Amdirlain gave a bashful smile. ¡°I was trying to get the inflections and emotions right for maximum impact on Isa.¡± ¡°I find it interesting you can sing the instrumental and words. It¡¯s been years since I heard that song,¡± murmured Torm. ¡°Though the words were different.¡± ¡°What words did you know it with?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t try to sing them, and I¡¯m only sure of the first verse,¡± Torm said, and gaining a thousand-yard-stare after clearing his throat, began to chant. ¡°I dreamed a dream last night of silk and fair furs, of a pillow so deep and soft, a peace with no disturbance.¡± Torm paused, but his gaze stayed distant. ¡°That¡¯s all I remember from the original version, along with fragments of other lines.¡± ¡°Where Moke¡¯s lyrics imply other pillows and furs,¡± quipped Amdirlain, trying to shift his mood. With his expression still distant, Torm gave an absent nod. ¡°Yes, it does. I¡¯ve heard several variations of it, but I prefer the original. To me, it''s about needing peace and time to set the world''s worries aside. But Moke, playing in taverns, would no doubt earn more coin with his version than the original.¡± ¡°Old memories?¡± ¡°Even now, bits and pieces from my life tease at unexpected moments,¡± replied Torm shaking his head. ¡°I remembered a Skald sitting near a fireplace with folks I¡¯m fairly sure were family around me. But I couldn¡¯t be sure of all their names or when it occurred. When did you learn that song from Moke?¡± ¡°N?r arranged a surprise visit today to test my Charisma control,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s ?different, or at least coming here put him in a different mood. How did your latest trip go?¡± ¡°The latest information from Munais let us save a few dozen elven children from a compound. Ulat is currently getting them back to their home world,¡± Torm said, giving her a quick hug. The news of the rescued children twisted Amdirlain¡¯s guts, knowing she¡¯d asked him to stop. ¡°I¡¯m glad you saved them.¡± ¡°Munais is being recalled soon. First, she¡¯s looking to gain extra information on other mortal allies of the Wizard. Caltzan wants to know if they also have regular involvement in selling mortals to demons. That way, they can plan our next areas of focus,¡± offered Torm. Breathing a sigh of relief, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°That¡¯s good news; I¡¯ll be glad when she¡¯s out of there. What would you like to do now?¡± ¡°Do you have time for some sparring?¡± asked Torm. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to meet Caltzan again in a few hours.¡± Amdirlain forced aside a knot of anxiety and nodded. ¡°I suppose I can fit you into my schedule. Since I didn¡¯t blow Moke¡¯s brain out, I¡¯ll be getting back to my standard training schedule now.¡± ¡°What are you trying next with True Song?¡± Amdirlain flashed him a cheeky smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to try recharging Roher¡¯s purification grenade.¡± ¡°Do I want to know what you intend to do with it?¡± asked Torm. Blinking innocently, Amdirlain gave an exaggerated shrug. ¡°Just want an ace up my sleeve.¡± Her playfulness elicited a wary look. ¡°Should I be glad you only have one of those?¡± ¡°No, no, I cheat,¡± laughed Amdirlain. One of the True Song needles appeared in her hand, and Amdirlain twirled it through her fingers. ¡°I can turn each of these into a small version, and I have other plans.¡± When Torm headed off after their training, Amdirlain moved to the Spell casting chamber. Walking around the circumference of the small containment circle carved into the stone, she listened to its smooth melody. Finally satisfied that nothing had caused its protections to decay, she placed Roher¡¯s crystal within its boundary. Though the complex song didn¡¯t take her long to set into place, it kept erupting when she stopped singing. The once dull black stone within the circle had brightened with each failure, and as Amdirlain watched the power erupt again, the stone started to glow. At first, just the hint of a heat haze, but the rock blurred and gained a polished look. Now with the appearance of glassy obsidian, it sat gleaming translucent beneath a summery heat haze coming off the stone. Attempting to retrieve the crystal from the circle caused Amdirlain¡¯s fingertips to hiss and smoke the moment they crossed the inner threshold. True Song let Amdirlain create a new circle in the space of minutes, and she transferred the crystal to it with Far Hand. Lingering energy around the crystal had the ever-present abyssal miasma hissing as it crossed the circle¡¯s threshold. As tempting as it was to continue experimenting on her own, Amdirlain bit the bullet and sent a message. ¡°Roher, do you or Isa have some time? I need advice on the purification song that was in your crystal.¡± Musical tones instead of Mana carried the reply, and Amdirlain realised why they¡¯d never asked her to state her name. Her Spell¡¯s signature resonated with her name, and Roher had caught it. ¡°Amdirlain, I wondered when you¡¯d ask us for help. Isa told me you wanted to get past the fundamentals first. Open a Gate to where we last spoke; I¡¯ll be there in a few minutes.¡± Creating a third circle to mask the energy of the grotto, Amdirlain hurriedly created a Gate oriented towards the crystal¡¯s circle. The process had taken her long enough that Amdirlain expected to find him already present, but all that showed was the rough ledge and the cave below. The cracked walls had previously allowed her to see hints of the groves through their breaks, but now only the treetops showed their locations. Knowing she hadn¡¯t messed up, Amdirlain settled down to wait, and it was nearly a full hour before Roher appeared. His dishevelled state made it seem like he¡¯d run to make the meeting, even though he teleported into place. ¡°Hope I didn¡¯t drag you out of bed?¡± ¡°If I had been in bed, I would have asked you to wait. No, just one thing cascaded into another; quick questions always seem to take the longest. I hope I didn¡¯t keep you waiting for long,¡± replied Roher, but he didn¡¯t even pause for a response. ¡°What can I help you with?¡± ¡°I can get the purification in place within the crystal, but it releases immediately,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Roher gave an understanding nod. ¡°I believe I know the issue, but would you perform it for me?¡± Hoping she wouldn¡¯t give herself away, Amdirlain ran through the performance again and got the same reaction. The appearance of the rough stone within the circle was cleaner after the energy eruption faded. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve copied the sound of the Song you heard upon release, which is quite understandable. It¡¯s also how Isa duplicated spells, but I wanted to check, as your thought processes are very different. The key to remember is what you heard was the energy¡¯s release, not its preparation,¡± commented Roher. ¡°A cat might seem the same if it¡¯s pouncing or ready to leap, but its energy differs.¡± Taking out a fist-sized crystal, Roher sang in a smooth tenor. While his performance only differed in a score of notes, Amdirlain caught the changes¡¯ intent. In particular, a paired section of chords towards the theme¡¯s end kept the energy contained. [True Song Composition [J] (15->16)] ¡°The section at the end where the two tunes mesh. That seems to be the key to restraining it, correct?¡± Roher smiled at her. ¡°Sing a part without Power in it and tell me its purpose; I¡¯ll let you know if you¡¯re correct.¡± Amdirlain repeated one section carefully and considered the intent she¡¯d felt. ¡°That is the lock.¡± ¡°Indeed, waiting for the condition set by the interwoven notes to be fulfilled. But earlier differences in the Song make it possible to restrain it,¡± offered Roher. ¡°Like gathering muscle tension.¡± ¡°The other part at the end restrains the power flow until the crystal touches the ground?¡± Roher nodded. ¡°Abyssal ground, in particular. I¡¯ll sing some other conditions you can use for the experiments Isa says you¡¯ve been conducting. You can use the same adjustments on Spell effects you want to duplicate. This construct within the Song differs from the Lingering Song Power, which keeps an effect going; this approach holds the Song ready.¡± Placing the crystal on a stand within the circle, Amdirlain repeated Roher¡¯s demonstration several times before she restrained the purification effect. [True Song [M] (44->45) True Song Composition [J] (16->17)] ¡°There now. Next, let¡¯s try a simple time delay,¡± remarked Roher. Drawing another crystal sphere from his pouch, he rolled it through the Gate. The lesson continued for a couple of hours with mixed failures and successes, but only her composition Skill experienced further progress. When Roher finally left Amdirlain to practise independently, she didn¡¯t stop for a break. Using her singing to battle against the hideaway¡¯s silence, Amdirlain continued for hours. One after another, she tested various modifications to both songs and spells. Halfway through the setup of a time-delayed explosion, impacts rang through the chamber like a tuning fork, and Amdirlain had to focus on finishing the song. A blazing ball of plasma hung at the chamber¡¯s midpoint, threatening to destabilise when the room seemed to rock again. The shockwave wasn¡¯t physical, but the Plane¡¯s miasma issued protests against heavenly intruders. When another bell-like tone rang out, Amdirlain recognised Erwarth¡¯s music as a sub-component of the song. ¡°Erwarth, what is going on?¡± As soon as she released the Message, Amdirlain began to pace, her steps in time to Erwarth¡¯s music pulsing within the celestial chimes ringing across the Plane. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Busy, stay away.¡± The sharp note of command in Erwarth¡¯s reply made Amdirlain blink in surprise. The scrying shaped with a spontaneous casting, and Erwarth stood within its focus in her Solar form, her golden armour and luminous wings burning against the abyssal miasma. She launched into the air as Amdirlain repeatedly pulled back the scrying focus. Twenty metres of separation rapidly turned into five hundred, and more celestials came into view each time. Finally, she¡¯d shifted focus far enough out to get the complete perspective. Five shining gates blazed on a hillside overlooking a vast briar-covered plain. Each was wider than a six-lane expressway, and through them streamed Celestial armies, driving wedges into demonic forces massed to meet them. While most of the Celestial troops displayed crests that Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise, there was one that she knew¡ªTyr¡¯s symbol on banners, tabards, and armour caught Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. A warding barrier radiating from a distant compound explained their strange line. The energy within it prevented those without ward stones from teleporting or gating within its limits. Flares of Celestial powers and black burning flames ravaged the interior of its walls as demons continually hurried among its buildings. S¨ªrdhem led an aerial wedge of 57 familiar solars spearing towards the fortress. Before they¡¯d covered even a quarter of the distance, a hundred balors snapped into existence ahead of them. Each was far larger than any Amdirlain had seen, their bat-shaped wings spreading out further than any of the solars¡¯ wingspans. Four more groups surrounded the solars as a brigade of lantern archons let loose with blasts of light that struggled against the Abyss¡¯ darkness. Spells and weapons lashed out between the forces, sending feathers, motes of light, and sprays of black blood showering to the ground. Individual combatants took wounds that would have slain lesser foes. The solars within the wedge healed those on the fringes, but when demons took severe injuries, they¡¯d teleport out only to be replaced. Their fellow balors simply ignored those that fell crashing atop the forces below. Archons and angelic archers joined the effort to keep smaller combatants from entering the aerial melee. Words of power clawed at each other in an arcane stalemate between the lines. With the ground melee¡¯s shifting battle lines, weaker demons and celestials fell in droves. Massive Dretch locked weapons with sword and hound archons while more lantern archons sniped at succubi, vrocks, and other flying demons racing overhead. Through other gates, additional solars appeared and sent arrows arching beyond their lines. The impact of arrows released bursts of magic that slew the demons struck¡ªyet still more appeared. Thousands of them teleported onto the battlefield, while others raced through already opened portals. A titanic reptilian Solar, standing 50 metres tall, whose six white outstretched wings would each shadow a city block, ducked through the middle Gate. The long arc of its curved body echoed the three fallen Orh¨ºthurin had met, and beneath it, smaller beings raced. As its gaze crossed her scrying focal point, the Spell shattered with an agonising spike. Recasting the Spell, Amdirlain set its effect out of the Celestial¡¯s line of sight and found the scene had already changed. Hundreds of new dark portals appeared along the battle¡¯s perimeter and began to vomit forth streams of goat-headed humanoids protected by dark chain mail. What flesh the armour didn¡¯t conceal showed a mangy grey hide over a gaunt but muscled frame. While their height at only three metres didn¡¯t match the largest of the hound archons, their bardiche¡¯s reach evened the battle in places. Amdirlain recognised them only from her Demonic Lore. The Schir were frontline troops common among abyssal forces, but these were larger than she¡¯d expected. Among the new portals, scores opened near the celestial gates, forcing reinforcements to head them off. The kilometres to the walled compound became packed with forces already numbering in the tens of thousands, eager to engage their eternal foes. Amdirlain took in the demons¡¯ disciplined ranks, enforced by the whips and threats of greater demons. She barely began to weigh the risk of remote help when another arrival caught her eye. A gigantic Balor dropped towards the compound¡¯s edge and flattened the wall it had landed beside with its arrival alone. From the perspective of her scrying, Amdirlain witnessed it rush through demons packed within the compound, trampling them underfoot. Its cloven hooves left craters of broken ground and flesh in its wake, even as its speed blurred faster before ramming straight through a heavy stone wall of one of the compound¡¯s largest buildings. The structural damage threatened its collapse, even before blackness exploded out of the hole the Balor had left. Secondary eruptions gutted the building, and its fragmented walls collapsed, exposing a swirling pool of blackness previously concealed. The broken form of Caltzan¡¯s spider-like body lay atop mounds of charred demons, but of the others, there was no sign. The concealed transformation site boiled and churned, causing liquid streams to run outwards. What bodies the streams touched, they consumed. ¡°Torm?¡± The Spell¡¯s message went unanswered. Amdirlain didn¡¯t consciously dismiss the scrying, but with her focus off it for long minutes, it faded away. ¡°Amdirlain.¡± Isa¡¯s voice made Amdirlain flinch, and almost stagger as another metaphysical shockwave rang through the Plane. ¡°Torm?¡± ¡°Ebusuku sent me to ensure you don¡¯t do something stupid and reckless. I find it frankly odd because such activity is my job,¡± remarked Isa nervously. Clenching her hands, Amdirlain turned to face her. ¡°He didn¡¯t call me for help.¡± ¡°His choice was not to risk you. Don¡¯t do something now to make it meaningless.¡± ¡°The next person who uses that argument on me, I will maim. Oh, it was someone¡¯s choice to hurt Torm. Should I ignore that too? What about my choice to say that I am involved? What about my choice to decide the risks I will take?¡± screamed Amdirlain, and when her hands clenched into burning fists, Isa took a careful step back. ¡°Come with me to the training circle,¡± instructed Amdirlain. Teleporting herself there, she yanked a perfect ritual circle, complete with its runes, from the ground before Isa appeared. ¡°What are you doing?¡± whispered Isa. ¡°Cheating,¡± snapped Amdirlain, and she started to sing. Golden motes of light gathered along the circles'' perimeter, and when the light subsided, alchemical silver had formed perfectly in each. Clearing her throat, Isa tried again when Amdirlain stopped singing. ¡°No, what are you planning to do?¡± ¡°There is a big Solar that shattered my scrying Spell. I can¡¯t afford a disruption, so I¡¯d like you to cast a scrying spell or something to let me target a ritual,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Try to scry for Erwarth, N?r, or -¡± ¡°His boss said the Balor went into the transformation site with Torm,¡± interjected Isa. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be here if that weren¡¯t the case. Now, I¡¯m going to make a bunch of demons burn,¡± growled Amdirlain. ¡°Either help or leave. Your choice, Isa.¡± ¡°Erwarth?¡± questioned Isa. ¡°Any of them, all the L¨®m? solars joined the battle. Try to have the scrying focal point a few kilometres away so I can see the entire battlefield,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to blow your careful Class levelling if you get too much experience?¡± asked Isa. Amdirlain started to spit a reply before she stopped herself and nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll set it all to levelling the triumvirate for this ritual.¡± It only took a moment to change the experience weighting, and Amdirlain let out a long slow breath as Isa began to sing. A crystal clear image appeared outside the ritual circle, showing the entire battlefield. The aerial wedge was curving back towards the Gate, cutting down every Balor that faltered along the way. Carefully following the ritual progression a step at a time, Amdirlain focused on shaping the largest Firestorm she could and twinned it with her Celestial Affinity. As Amdirlain worked, Isa counted on the circle¡¯s protection and sent out a Blessing, hoping that Luck would find a way. Moloch¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The sweetness of the wild berries used within the elven wine lingered on his tongue, and Moloch relaxed in his chair in half-lidded pleasure. The wine and the Human form he¡¯d adopted were just two vices he was presently indulging in. Stretching out a silk-covered arm, he lifted the crystal goblet to let the light play through the vintage and paint his vision in a scarlet hue. He¡¯d perfectly matched the selection to the new Succubus¡¯ colouration. Her screams and moans entwined with the wet sounds of Bliss¡¯ ministrations. Moloch took another slow sip and let his gaze linger on all the tendrils and ribbons that extended from Bliss¡¯s fluid-streaked form. Each seemed a living entity in its own right, fighting the others around it for the chance to explore its new toy. The nameless Succubus was a vivid splash of colour, rare among the normally ivory-skinned succubi from the Cliffs of Lust. Her red stood out so well next to Bliss¡¯ ivory that watching their sensual undulations was a pleasant distraction from the distant explosions of power. The windowless marble hall echoed with the succubi¡¯s cries of pleasure. Relaxing in a padded armchair, Moloch settled back to enjoy the show. Well away from the king-sized bed, a Portal ripped into existence and framed a gargantuan Balor. The Demon was some 30 metres tall and had a wingspan nearly triple that in size. From his long black horns, with their downward arcs to protect his neck and shoulders, the massive being¡¯s form expressed rage and hate. Flames burned in the eye sockets of his brutal face, with a pig-like snout and a razor-filled maw that could elongate to swallow a heavily armoured Ogre whole. A thick red hide clung to the bulky muscles that covered his body from the jaw-line down to black cloven hooves. Segmented abyssal steel plates added selective protection to vital locations, but his natural defence was normally all he needed. Freshly gouged marks in the armour prompted Moloch to set aside his drink and consider him more closely. A loosely coiled flame whip was in the Balor¡¯s dominant hand, and the other dragged a length of organic sinew that ended in a charred burn. Wrist thick, its serpentine motions didn¡¯t match any gesture from the Balor, and it continued contouring around the cocooned forms behind him. Both shapes were larger than Moloch¡¯s current body, and through gaps in the rope, shards of broken wings poked out. The forms dragged across muddy ground as the Balor delicately stepped across the threshold onto the polished white and caramel marble. He took each step with extreme care, not allowing his weight to disturb either Moloch¡¯s glass or the contents of his lord''s extensive wine collection. ¡°Lord Moloch.¡± The bass drum of the Balor¡¯s voice rumbled in the chamber, and he prostrated himself to get beneath Moloch¡¯s seated height. ¡°It''s only been a few hours, and you¡¯ve certainly returned faster than expected. Congratulations on surviving the Ascension to Demon Lord. You may rise, Zutag,¡± instructed Moloch. ¡°Did you only take two through?¡± ¡°A group of solars arrived and started penetrating the trap¡¯s perimeter faster than expected. I grabbed what advantage I could. I broke one potential in the rush to capture them, but the others I swept into the site with me,¡± explained Zutag as he straightened. ¡°What happened to the third?¡± Zutag pointed to the scorched end of the ligament. ¡°The enchantment frayed exiting on Ijmti. I was fortunate not to lose these as well.¡± The Plane¡¯s name had Moloch''s mouth twisted in distaste, and Zutag eyed him warily. Nodding thoughtfully, Moloch sat fully upright. ¡°Ijmti. A former celestial has gained it as a Home Plane; now that¡¯s quite interesting. What about the Wizard¡¯s pet?¡± ¡°She¡¯s still collared and believes that she¡¯s gathering information. He ordered her to ignore anything but the sound of his voice before the others arrived at the trap,¡± explained Zutag. ¡°Good. Order someone to take possession of her; there will probably be rescue attempts after the celestials retreat,¡± declared Moloch. ¡°What about the battle¡¯s expenditure?¡± A grimace twisted the edge of Zutag¡¯s maw. ¡°Expensive. Above what you¡¯d hoped but well under the worst-case budget. We¡¯ve not yet had to draw on any of the locals. We¡¯ve already bloodied the Celestial forces significantly. The spilled blood and corpses will fetch a high price.¡± ¡°What caused our losses to get that high so quickly?¡± asked Moloch and motioned towards the distant battlefield. ¡°All four deities of those trapped sent contingents, then additional forces arrived from a deity whose crest we still don¡¯t know. They almost broke through with 57 Solars arriving in one hit, along with brigades of lantern archons able to rip up the vrocks providing support,¡± explained Zutag. ¡°Their arrival provoked the initial contingents to commit their own solars to the fray. Because of those initial solars, we¡¯ve now got hundreds of balors in a Planar Locked state.¡± ¡°Of course, can¡¯t let another deity show you up as being more dedicated to the light,¡± sneered Moloch. ¡°Tell the forces to break off and let the celestials exit with whatever dignity they have left. Have the commanders know I¡¯m pleased, and we¡¯ll gather to learn what tactics and weapons worked well and what needs to be scrapped. Set the balors that fell to extra weapon drills; obviously, they¡¯ve begun counting on raw power too much. Which one dragged you to Ijmti?¡± ¡°The third, he was far stronger than that one,¡± Zutag muttered, pointing at the largest captive entirely encased in the sinewy rope. ¡°The fraying might have been his doing rather than any flaw in the enchantment.¡± Picking up his glass, Moloch took another sip, his gaze weighing on the bound prisoners¡¯ struggles to free themselves. While the smaller of the two could barely shift position in the confines, the larger figure caused the bonds to stretch noticeably. ¡°Stop struggling, and I¡¯ll release you,¡± declared Moloch. ¡°Try my patience, and I¡¯ll hang you somewhere by the remains of your spine for thousands of years.¡± As he approached, the pair stopped struggling under the weight of his presence. Quickly shifting the ensnarement from the larger of the pair, Moloch smiled in appreciation at her elven beauty, high cheekbones, and pointed chin. Her pale teal skin contrasted with solid black eyes containing a shattered ruby starburst instead of irises. As he examined her, Moloch caught her mental surprise at his almost Human-like features. Analysis quickly provided her details, and Moloch reconsidered her appearance. ¡°This one¡¯s a Fallen, not a Demon; now that¡¯s quite interesting. Let''s call you Pena, little Fallen. What would it cost me to entice you to become my dark, punishing angel?¡± Moloch¡¯s will impressed the new name, and he took in the former Angel¡¯s presence within his Domain. Broken by the transformation site, its power had twisted Pena¡¯s memory of every freely offered sacrifice and dutiful obedience into unnecessary suffering and toil. Then the Ascension¡¯s inferno had scoured the Angel¡¯s essence down to its bedrock and smothered her past beliefs in torment and rage. Before the Fallen could reply, a pulse of Celestial power rang through the Palace. Not bothering to look at Zutag for answers, Moloch simply cast Scry. The distant battlefield appeared in his mind, and he snarled at the torrents of golden celestial flames that purified the Abyss¡¯ miasma. The deluge of liquid fire broke the stalemate between a massive reptilian Solar and a pair of only slightly smaller balors. The flames quickly covered kilometres of terrain in searing death for demons, but their nature left the celestials untouched. Demonic regiments that didn¡¯t die to the blessed inferno broke and ran, trampling down kin that moved too slowly, and the celestials struck. Their spilled blood evaporated without contaminating the greening ground. ¡°Why should I work for you?¡± rasped Pena, her voice grating like a pig-iron file against basalt. Holding back his rage at the scene he¡¯d scried, Moloch raised a finger, beckoning her politely to wait. ¡°Zutag, go find out how your forces gave them enough time and peace to set up and use a ritual circle on this plane.¡± Zutag dropped the rope''s end and vanished away. Flexing her broken wings within the confines of the bonds, Pena fixed Moloch with a sceptical expression. ¡°It seems you have a problem. Did your costs get a little higher now?¡± With an easy sale snatched away, Moloch merely nodded. ¡°Not every plan goes one¡¯s way, but that cost isn¡¯t yours to bear.¡± Pena tapped her chin against the loop around her neck. ¡°This position doesn¡¯t feel like we¡¯re negotiating for anything but a collar.¡± Willing the enchantment to release her alone, Moloch offered her a hand to rise. ¡°After all the trouble we took to enlighten you, I needed to make sure you¡¯d hear what I had to say.¡± ¡°You certainly changed your tune,¡± Pena said. Not moving to take his hand, she smoothly stood and forced her wings to straighten with a crack of bone and ligaments. ¡°Getting some to listen can take dramatic gestures,¡± Moloch stated, unfazed by her towering over his Human form. He waved a suntanned hand toward a couch, giving her a pearly smile. ¡°Join me and talk. I see no current need for promises of violence.¡± Pena¡¯s gaze flickered only momentarily to the other figure, still entrapped in the bonds. ¡°And him?¡± ¡°He can wait. We¡¯re talking about you right now. Is that former Movanic Deva more important than your future possibilities? Millennia toiling as an Astra Deva just got you more work and pain. Why suffer for mortals when you¡¯re far more important?¡± asked Moloch, waving again towards the assorted chairs around the bed. ¡°Come sit and enjoy the show. We can talk about the possibilities available to you.¡± With that, he returned to his seat and reclaimed his wine. ¡°Before we start, tell me about the Alu-Demon that the one called Tor¡¯m Altha had with him. Is she another fake Celestial as well?¡± ¡°She¡¯s someone trapped by a curse,¡± replied Pena before she lay on her side atop a lounge nearby. ¡°A curse, you say? Did you get that from her mind?¡± asked Moloch with sharp interest. ¡°I never met her,¡± admitted Pena. ¡°That was the information given to me before I joined the cell''s operations.¡± Moloch took a sip to wet his lips and offered a smile. ¡°Then let¡¯s talk about your priorities.¡± His tone had set Pena on edge, but she kept her voice steady. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You, of course,¡± replied Moloch. ¡°One¡¯s priorities should always be on oneself. So let us determine the price for your cooperation with my priorities.¡± 239 - On my own Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Isa¡¯s panel remained focused on the Firestorm¡¯s target site and showed the celestials cleaning up the glowing landscape. With Amdirlain having emptied her Mana pool into the ritual, she watched the continuing celestial inferno she¡¯d unleashed. The millions in experience it had netted her were as bitter as the ashes from kilometres of burning briars. Green grass sprang from the blackened earth as the burnt undergrowth faded into smouldering embers. With the demons in total disarray, they had time to collect the celestials¡¯ bodies from the mounds. The torrents of celestial fire were still protecting them from counterattack, and the armies eventually withdrew through the gates in an orderly fashion. [Achievement: Celestial Purge Details: Inflict over 60,000,000 damage to abyssal forces with one ritual using Celestial Affinity. Reward: Unlocked evolved Wizard Class - Divine Arcanist. ] Prompted by the notification, Amdirlain pushed Analysis to give her information on Torm as it had done with Baln¨¦rith. [Torm A Planetar formerly in Tyr¡¯s service, having earned promotion through the ranks from Mortal Petitioner. He broke service and changed his name upon descent through a transformation site that twisted his perspective and filled him with violence, rage, and selfish desire. By some miracle, he was lucky enough to become a Fallen instead of a Demon.] Amdirlain tried repeatedly, but Analysis only provided variations of the same information; nothing about what his name had become. ¡°He¡¯s a Fallen, not a Demon. A lucky miracle? Was that the Blessing you used, Isa?¡± ¡°I asked Luck to find a way,¡± admitted Isa, and staggered back with Amdirlain suddenly clinging to her. ¡°It was the first thing that came to mind; I didn¡¯t think the transformation would be instant.¡± ¡°Thank you, and sorry for screaming. I don¡¯t know what Torm will be like, but that gives him a better chance,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Releasing Isa, Amdirlain teleported them to the library and started emptying the shelves. ¡°You expect him to come here?¡± ¡°I doubt he¡¯d risk it by himself if he¡¯s become as twisted as Gideon indicates,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°But until I know otherwise, I need to take a scorched earth approach.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got everything locked down, Amdirlain,¡± Isa sighed. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t keep it in, but base evacuation comes first. I¡¯ll deal with it once I¡¯ve got a new bolt hole,¡± Amdirlain said tersely. ¡°Can you help gather things? I know you didn¡¯t push your Inventory the way Sarah did, but every little bit helps.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll open up a Gate in your Spell chamber with the containment circles. I¡¯ll bucket brigade whatever you bring into the cavern,¡± Isa suggested. With a touch, Isa emptied a shelf and teleported away, and soon, Amdirlain heard her voice echoing down the hall. Teleport placed her in the chamber, but Isa was already through, so Amdirlain offloaded the books she¡¯d collected and returned to gather more. The hours spent carefully setting up the library with Torm were quickly reversed, as if they¡¯d never been. The workshops and training rooms followed suit, and the chambers¡¯ silence became an echoing hollow that carved bloody scars in Amdirlain¡¯s heart. When Isa took the last crate of weapons through the Gate, she turned to face Amdirlain. ¡°Set yourself up a new base, and then you can figure out a plan.¡± ¡°Got to find a place that I think will be safe. I¡¯ll be in touch,¡± Amdirlain stated. As soon as Isa closed the Gate, Amdirlain teleported away. The darkness of the material quarantine station enfolded her, and Amdirlain leaned her forehead against the engraved ¡®1¡¯ marker she¡¯d set in the wall. Torm had never been here, but Amdirlain felt no desire to let the others know yet. With the mana swirling towards her through the surrounding rock, Amdirlain let her mind blank and started to cycle mana through her pattern. The first completion washed the chamber with a burst of light, an afterimage of flickering flames and golden feathers. As the flames repeated over again, Amdirlain slowly smiled and began to consider the details of her next move. ¡°Ebusuku said I was empty of the Abyssal Heat when I first met her,¡± Amdirlain murmured, and she tossed additional options into the mix. An option that came to the fore twisted her stomach with distaste, but her discomfort with the form sealed its selection. Her body bulked out and shifted genders, and Amdirlain thudded around the chamber to practise the heavy gait of a Dretch. True Song added poorly patched clothing, the abyssal hides rasping against her skin. ¡°Ebusuku, I¡¯ll be busy for a while. I¡¯m choosing to take care of a few things alone. Don¡¯t worry; it''s not a head-on fight I¡¯m picking. You and the other deities made some choices, and I had to sit back because of the risk to me from our side if I¡¯d charged in. Now you can sit back while I take some calculated risks.¡± Her message sent, Amdirlain focused on Mana cycling and practising the slow lumbering movements. She¡¯d barely begun when a buzz of Mana from a waiting Message caught her attention, and Amdirlain almost shattered it but listened instead. Ebusuku¡¯s words were brittle and frayed, making Amdirlain regret the tone she had taken with her. ¡°Amdirlain, Isa told me that Torm is a Fallen now, but you¡¯ve helped even demons climb out of that place. While Torm didn¡¯t want you contacted, I didn¡¯t have a chance not to follow his preference. Caltzan¡¯s boss ordered the first Gate; after that, the rest of us could have sat it out or backed them up. Their deities are clueless about you and think someone did the impossible to reach across planes with a ritual. We¡¯re always here for you, whether to scream at, talk to, or plan with. Be safe.¡± Loss and regrets tried to claw across her mind, but Amdirlain tore them apart. While she deconstructed every regret¡ªthe knife wounds of loss¡ªshe crushed down with the determination to find him again. She packed away each moment of misery and pain to inflict and share with her foes. As fury grew cold inside her, Amdirlain let out a slow breath before she started on a song. Caltzan¡¯s internal music had given her the key, and Roher''s message song had given her the means. ¡°I only know you by the name Caltzan, but I have other means to contact and reach you than ¡®Use¡¯ names. Your paranoia cost me and has twisted at least Torm. You and I will discuss that cost when you¡¯re no longer Planar Locked. Somehow, I doubt you¡¯ll like the outcome of that discussion. Love from your now personal ill-omen of reckoning.¡± It was petty, but Amdirlain released it anyway, and the song leapt upwards across the planes before she could change her mind. The next message Amdirlain wanted to send, she knew, didn¡¯t require any transmission. ¡°Thanks for letting me know even that little information about Torm, Gideon. Hopefully, me saying thanks instead of swearing at you doesn¡¯t cause a flaw in a facet or imply you¡¯ve broken a rule.¡± [Diplomacy [Ad] (13->14)] Bitter laughter spilled from her, and Amdirlain returned to cycling Mana. When her Mana pool finally refilled, Amdirlain reappeared in a gully close to where she and Torm had waited for the caravan. She quickly set up a fake profile that contained her name as ¡®Useful¡¯ and presented levels in the mid-20s for Warrior and Labourer in case anyone insisted on an imprint. A few minutes later, with lumbering steps, a Dretch just large enough to have gained his Lesser Tier started towards the dusty road. The Demon¡¯s heavy steps led directly towards the trade route that ran up the middle of the broad valley. Though it was out of sight from her position, Amdirlain knew the caravan they¡¯d aborted the raid on had originated from a township at its end. One that should contain the residence of Munais¡¯ Wizard if the information Caltzan had shared with Torm was true. Though she could have appeared far closer, it was time she wanted to practice the Dretch¡¯s lumbering walk. Each step felt like she was miming wading through thick mud, and she had to monitor that she didn¡¯t move at a pace impossible for her apparent level. Cruel brutish thoughts, patterned off her recent guide¡¯s mind, germinated a mental construct with False Mind. Among the simple thoughts were sharp recollections of an Ascension¡¯s recent agony. The form¡¯s heavy brows and narrowed gaze concealed how she took in all the township¡¯s details when its walls came into view. The trip down the valley¡¯s slope allowed plenty of time to memorise the layout. Overall, it was simple enough: a massive doughnut cut into quarters by wide roads leading to a gleaming Gate. Around the shifting energy, loading docks and their connected warehouses made up the inner ring. Beyond the warehouses, the second layer¡¯s buildings were an erratic splashing of entertainment, crafters, and housing before the townships¡¯ defences. Garrison buildings and thick stone walls of soot-blackened rock marked the boundary, abyssal steel slabs posed as the gates at each entry. Throughout the settlement, narrow lanes and alleys supplemented the main roads and wove between the buildings. Two gates had small processions of Dretch labourers pulling large wagons behind them. Though the behemoth caravan would have exited using the path she followed, there was a distinct lack of any traffic currently approaching using Amdirlain¡¯s route. Her lonely presence let the Schir guards securing the gate focus solely on her disguised form. The goat-faced demons narrowed their gazes suspiciously, and Amdirlain caught their commander pointing the contingent at the gate her way. Dipping into long nights of mind-numbing boredom, Amdirlain let the emotion leak out. As she trudged forward, the sheer slowness of the form¡¯s pace added to the boredom¡¯s weight, even as it sharpened her fury. One guard stepped forward with a bardiche lowered towards her, its black chain mail slithering with rasping ill-intent with every motion. [Name: Nazarg Species: Schir Class: Fighter / Soldier Level: 3 / 38 / 38 Health: 2,957 Defence: 214 Melee Attack Power: 181 Combat Skills: Bardiche [M] (2), Short Blades [Ad] (24), Mace [Ad] (31) Details: The Schir are the front-line infantry troops for many demon lords and possess a coordinated Blink ability that lets them move in packs. ] ¡°Where are you from, Dretch?¡± growled Nazarg; his nostrils flared but only registered the road¡¯s dust upon Amdirlain¡¯s form. ¡°Road,¡± muttered Amdirlain, jabbing a finger at the ground. ¡°I know you¡¯re on the road. What town?¡± ¡°Not a town, famine fruit place.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t orchards near here.¡± ¡°Overseer gave me name. Glared at me. Called me Useful. Everything hurt. After, me appear near road. Long walk here,¡± Amdirlain stumbled out the words while waving angrily behind her. ¡°Useful?¡± ¡°Big Demon gave me that name,¡± declared Amdirlain proudly, thumping her chest. ¡°Why?¡± Making a show of scratching her bald scalp in confusion, Amdirlain gave a broad shrug. ¡°Carrying things? Or hitting things?¡± ¡°Fine. What was their name?¡± Amdirlain''s expression of sullen confusion drew a snort of derision. ¡°Me not thick. Why ask their name? Not want be dead. He wore Moloch¡¯s crest. No need know more.¡± Nazarg¡¯s gaze raked over her badly patched leathers and caught at the lack of pouches. ¡°No coins.¡± Amdirlain spat. ¡°At Orchard. Cambions won all bone games. Take money, run fast.¡± Finally, her nudges of boredom had Nazarg growl in disgust, and he stepped aside to wave her through. Beyond the gate¡¯s thick steel barrier, the initial occupants she spotted comprised Schir, and Dretch, with the rare Succubus. With nothing on hand to offer them, the stronger demons disregarded her presence. Those around her apparent strength responded to a subtle press of disinterest and boredom and moved on their way. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! Bare-footed, she trudged forward, keeping her path straight despite the blood and offal squelching underfoot. The heavy outer barracks gave way to barred shop fronts where she spotted signs advertising weapons and armour. An array of goods and services followed those along the main road, all apparently to keep boredom at bay. When she got closer to the central circle, other demons began to appear. The bruise-coloured Br¨ªn showed up among the guards, most keeping their primary hands free of weapons, but their third flexible arm rarely strayed far from a weapon¡¯s hilt. A behemoth¡¯s head poked beyond the Gate¡¯s threshold as she got towards the warehouse area. The ground reverberated with the shockwave of its first thumping step through the Gate, eliciting a swarm of demonic labourers heading towards the town¡¯s interior. Picking up the details from the inhabitants'' minds, she found hiring was a simple process. Her thudding steps followed the other Dretch to the loading docks and brought her to an overseer¡¯s desk. Eventually, it was her turn to step forward, and Amdirlain had already confirmed there were no traps here. Her motion had the Schir overseer direct his beady red gaze at her from out of deeply sunken eye sockets for a long moment, before it pushed a token across the desk. ¡°Press it to each crate you pick up. Pick up the crates you are told to take and follow the line. Stack them where they tell you to and only there. Understand?¡± The Schir gave the orders with lots of pointing and pantomimed pressing another token to an empty crate that sat nearby¡ªas he had done for every other Dretch. When the Schir nodded his goat-like head, Amdirlain followed suit and picked up the token he had pushed forward. Rebalancing her experience allocation between only her Anar classes, she moved towards the goods being unloaded. Metal ingots weighed down the first crate she lifted, and the supervisor ordering them about eyed her warily as Amdirlain lifted it smoothly and set it on her shoulder. Already committed, she strolled along holding her focus on Silent Song. The slow pace allowed her to set coiled energy nodes in place. She tied each lock to her proximity within the town and set them in different places: alongside walls, under walkways, or in mid-air, each undetectable¡ªeven to those that walked through them. [Silent Song [Ap] (2->3) Multi-voice [Ad] (3->4)] Stacking the crate in the warehouse, Amdirlain found the next crate she collected contained jugs of chemicals. When she laid her hands on it, a supervisor yelled to handle it carefully. She set a mix of songs within the new warehouse in the rows of similar crates¡ªa blend of Celestial energy alternating with coiled plasma. [Silent Song [Ap] (3->4)] Hours spent offloading pallets that had arrived on the behemoths allowed her plenty of time to establish energy nodes in her crates and others. By the time her shift was done and the token traded for a pittance of abyssal coins, she had sung hundreds of songs. A network of linked energy nodes sat throughout the warehouses and the Gate¡¯s perimeter. As Lorrella had confirmed, True Song left no sign of Mana, but Amdirlain could feel the links. A spider web of sound and intent linked her to each bomb. Slouched outside a fruit stand, Inventory allowed her to mimic the consumption of a famine fruit without tasting it. With each faked bite, Amdirlain carefully copied the satisfied grunts she heard from the other Dretch. It was a pantomime purely to spend more time studying the Gate¡¯s swirling energy while it was still within easy reach. While Amdirlain didn¡¯t find a hint of dissonance, its energy strands gave her food for thought. Its natural energies linking Culerzic with the Abyss¡¯ uppermost plane made its value apparent. If there had been any doubt in her mind, the iron fortress at the other end confirmed the prize¡¯s worth. With her snack complete, Amdirlain shambled off to tour the town¡¯s middle loop. Ironically, without the wards, she might have missed what she was seeking among the noise. The building didn¡¯t stand out from its neighbours with the same dingy grey stone and narrow windows as the rest of the township. But the wards'' precise layering differed entirely from what others possessed. Though their presence caught her attention, they did nothing to stop Resonance from taking in the details of the Wizard¡¯s house. A fading song of mental desperation highlighted the tiny room where Munais had spent months in battle with a Collar of Servitude. Despite her efforts, the enchantment¡¯s music had held Munais¡¯ will fast. At the sound of her pain, Amdirlain had to force herself to keep moving rather than risk alerting the Wizard to his fate. Starting with his house, she slowly completed multiple circuits of the outer district. Amdirlain projected a steady intent to continue with her business on each loop through various lanes and alleys. She set more explosives on every path, alternating their placement before or within every building. Never pausing in her wandering, she targeted whatever caught her attention on her path but ensured there were frequent charges in foundations. Passing slave pens, she lingered for a time with other demons, terrifying those restrained. She used her time to set paired songs in place within the prisoners. The first to shatter the binding enchantments and a second to dismiss them to their home worlds when their manacles broke. After a day of work completed, she crouched among the shadows in a quiet cul-de-sac and mentally reached towards the Wizard¡¯s home. Mental wards sufficient to block basic demonic telepathy didn¡¯t prevent her from peering into his mind. She spent only a moment examining the ornate study and the tome he had open before she coiled her fingers into his mind and yanked it hard. Within the enfolding blackness of the mental prison she had prepared, the Wizard screamed, yet his body in the real world didn¡¯t even twitch. His self-image presented him as a bearish biped with maggot-white fur and gold-capped claws. ¡°Where is Munais?¡± ¡°Release me at once.¡± The Wizard thrashed about, lashing out with claws, only to scream when acid dissolved mental fur and flesh. ¡°You¡¯re in my mind. The rules are what I make them. Every attack you try will earn you more pain, and a lack of cooperation will earn you agony. Where is Munais?¡± insisted Amdirlain. The sharp intelligence of the Wizard¡¯s mind burned with the pain that Amdirlain¡¯s will intensified, and he grunted a reply. ¡°Moloch¡¯s people claimed her. I don¡¯t know where she is now.¡± ¡°You will tell me how you collared her and hid it from the others,¡± ordered Amdirlain. The malicious whisper of the vines and a looming sense of aeons of pain cracked against the Wizard¡¯s mind. Stretching out his perception of time, she waited for him to speak. Yet, used to the Abyss''s cruelty, weeks of subjective time passed in seconds before he broke within the darkness that had shrouded him. ¡°My household uniform had a collar hidden. It had implanted orders to take true form and do nothing until told. I put a second on her directly. I didn¡¯t need to hide it from True Sight, her device did that when I ordered her to change back. She was then told to forget she was wearing it and to believe she had just put on the uniform. Amdirlain almost groaned at the piece of the trap the celestials had set for themselves. ¡°Why did you have the collar there? Had something given her away?¡± ¡°No. I¡¯m always dealing with spies from other factions, both from the Abyss and my world. All my uniforms have them. It lets me question their spies and learn their plans. I never expected a Celestial.¡± ¡°How did Moloch become interested in them? What do you know of the trap?¡± The bearish figure struggled, and Amdirlain¡¯s willpower slowly crushed the answers from him. ¡°I don¡¯t know if Moloch was ever directly involved. I sold one of her feathers to the town¡¯s commander; soon, they wanted more. A month later, a Balor named Zutag commanded my presence at his castle. After that, I spoke only to him. He gave me locations to test the preparations of Munais¡¯ allies.¡± ¡°What about the slaves they freed?¡± ¡°She never gained details about any of my sales.¡± An image of a caravan showed floating in the darkness between them. The faces of the prisoners from within the cages floated around it. ¡°You told her of a shipment with suddenly changed transport plans. Was this before or after Zutag¡¯s involvement?¡± The question had him struggling again, and Amdirlain pulled up a memory. It was one she shared with perfect detail, thrusting her arm into the acidic sap on ?buthan. At the experience of flesh melting from the bone, unrestrained by her ability ?to handle pain, he screamed the answer. ¡°After. That was his first test.¡± ¡°What was your role, and what did you earn?¡± All it took was the smell of dissolving flesh, and he overcame his hesitation to answer. ¡°Grimoires, in return for acting as her controller. He wanted to avoid the temptation to kill her while he decided what trap to set.¡± ¡°Do you know more ¡®Use¡¯ names of Moloch¡¯s officials?¡± He started to nod, but Amdirlain continued. ¡°Have you been to other towns on this Plane?¡± ¡°Yes, of course.¡± ¡°The officials¡¯ names and then picture the towns.¡± The Wizard tried to wiggle free, and Amdirlain¡¯s mental slap fragmented his gathering will. ¡°Would you like to experience more garden time?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she gave the Wizard a grim smile. ¡°You can have a pleasant time with vines ripping at your flesh, or acid, or I can find something mildly uncomfortable. Would you enjoy being flayed?¡± ¡°What sort of Celestial are you to torture someone?¡± Amdirlain laughed and pressed the fear she¡¯d felt meeting Tiamat on Judgement through the darkness. ¡°I¡¯m not a Celestial. As for what you call torture, these are some of my more pleasant memories. Surely you can tell I put my arm in the acid myself. Now talk, or we can walk with me through my memories. Press me, and I¡¯ll make it seem like a billion years and yet keep you sane through it all.¡± Amdirlain memorised the eight names the Wizard rapidly provided and images from hundreds of towns. On each, she questioned him about the reason for the visit and the goods he¡¯d seen or heard of being produced by the settlement. ¡°You¡¯ve travelled extensively, so I think it¡¯s time you had some rest. When I release you, make no sound. Continue to sit at your desk and try to study that grimoire before you. Hopefully, you can learn the lesson that is coming your way.¡± Amdirlain let his mind go and, with her awareness still extended to him, felt him struggling against the bars of her instructions. Without even standing, Amdirlain reappeared in the mouth of a distant gully and watched as Celestial eruptions broke the town. No longer restrained by her presence, the songs exploded nearly as one to wash buildings clean and char the weakest demons into ash. A few, a very special few, left mortals with blackened souls screaming in despair. The Celestial energy turned a mirror of reflection on their souls to see the fate that awaited them ahead of time. However, they didn¡¯t have to wait long for judgement as a wave of plasma song, linked to that first explosion, washed across them to melt stone and flesh. Away from the Wizard¡¯s house, the light that washed through the slave pens shattered the wards and left them empty in their wake. Their Mortal flesh, attuned to their worlds and homes, guided their way. Between the buildings, blackened ground softened, and green shoots came forth. For a brief time, the primal essence of the Abyss flexed and churned, toppling buildings like dominos. The rush of experience that hit made her blink at the combat summary tallying demonic dead. [Combat Summary: Assorted Mortals x23 Br¨ªn, Lesser x344 Br¨ªn x124 Dretch, Least x1,472 Dretch, Lesser x619 Succubus, Least x524 Succubus, Lesser x85 Schir, Lesser x2,098 Schir x1,178 Sk?ll, Lesser x4 Humsi x12 Fraz-g¨°n, Lesser x47 Total Experience gained: 15,817,362 Ostim?: +7,908,681 Ostim? Level Up! x32 Ont?lin: +7,908,681 Ont?lin Level Up! x32 Note: Blow things up with an approach related to your classes, and you¡¯ll get the cookies. Okay? ] ¡°Thank you, Gideon,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Among the Celestial music, the bitter harmonics of the Gate were even more apparent. Amdirlain sang, but not to sunder the Gate; instead, she energised a dozen threads among the spiralling energy and set them speeding faster until a high-pitch dissonance buzzed through the Gate¡¯s integrity. The whirlpool of forces continued to speed up, gaining a deadly momentum as it went. Teleporting away, she appeared back in the quarantine area. Amdirlain tossed conservative plans out the window when an attempt to Scry for Munais got her nothing. Not having enough capability to compose the songs she wanted, Amdirlain started to spend the Skill points she¡¯d been saving. True Song Composition, already pushed by the day''s creativity, quickly leapt ahead with the Skill points Amdirlain dropped into it. One point at a time, her awareness of the Skill continued to expand and resonated with experiences within her Soul. Normally, a Skill¡¯s increase signalled her own increased proficiency. The first few points had entire sets of notational concepts that she¡¯d only started to study with Isa, flooded through her mind, and more rose from her Soul to meet them. Soon, elements she merely copied from spells or materials gained clarity of meaning and purpose. How to manipulate energy forms became tinkering with chemical reactions, creating biological processes, simple lifeforms, and their characteristics. The limits of the songs she could compose stretched further than she¡¯d expected towards her imagination¡¯s boundaries. Cycles of life and death within species had lured her into learning enough to understand immortal flesh. A goal that seemed ever only slightly out of reach, and repeatedly, she spent just one more point. Each time the information smashed against her Soul, doubling the gain and tempting her to learn ?more. [True Song Composition [M] (99) -> [S] (1)] That notification finally caught Amdirlain''s attention with how far she had pushed the Skill along. She had long ago learnt more than she could currently use. Still, the truths and capabilities within the Skill¡¯s knowledge had teased at the possibility of more extraordinary revelations just ahead, so she had pressed on. Now, the pain was an ice-cold pick through her brain with dots of light swimming in her eyes despite the complete darkness. ¡°Too much.¡± [Mental Hardening [S] (23->24) Pain Eater [M] (54->55)] ¡°When did you two go up during that?¡± muttered Amdirlain. Leaning against the chamber¡¯s stone table, Amdirlain set down stacks of paper and started to write, working through the unfiltered knowledge she gained to learn to apply the Skill properly. One idea after another that she¡¯d intended to experiment with, she now jotted down the songs to achieve them using notations the Skill¡¯s increase had taught her. Applying the Skill reinforced mental connections as she went, easing the pain away until she no longer needed to lean against the table. Shifting back through the last songs she wrote, it was clear hundreds of them were still out of reach for her True Song. But eventually, she found an option to achieve what she needed. Practising the song a half-dozen times let Amdirlain smooth out her performance of the work but not the foulness in the music itself. Hoping she wasn¡¯t too late, Amdirlain sang. This time to deliver a promise that she hoped would be welcome. ¡°Munais, if you¡¯re still on Culerzic, you will feel pain shortly. If you¡¯re not, I¡¯m sorry, but you¡¯re out of my reach to help. If you actively resist, this won¡¯t work. My intent is to destroy your form and force you to your Liege¡¯s Domain regardless of any wards or opposing domains. You know me. You once gave me your perspective on finding beauty in the Abyss.¡± The released song didn¡¯t leap away across the planes but remained on Culerzic. Hoping Munais could act on the message True Song had impressed into her mind, Amdirlain began. The music wasn¡¯t a clean or pleasant tune; rather, a horrid and brutal implement of destruction that would cause a willing target to explode violently. Stretching at the limits of her capability, the song¡¯s completion tore up Amdirlain''s throat, but the notification made it worth it. [Combat Summary: Astral Deva x1 Schir, Greater x1 Schir x10 Total Experience Gained: 73,256 Ostim?: +36,628 Ont?lin: +36,628 True Song [M] (48->49)] Pleased at the notification despite the song¡¯s backlash, Amdirlain gave a grim smile and waited for her voice box to regrow. [Achievement: Angel Killer Condition: Kill an Angel with a single strike while having taken no damage from it in combat. Condition: Resident of one of the lower planes. Reward: Minor bonus damage to an Angel or Fallen in melee combat. Reward: Celestials of the slain Angel¡¯s rank or lower will fear or loathe the very sight of you.] Growling, Amdirlain spat bits of flesh and blood across the floor. ¡°Fuck!¡± 240 - Hows it supposed to feel. Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic After her throat healed, Amdirlain almost sent another message but stopped herself in time after remembering the chamber''s original purpose. Collecting all the papers, she teleported away from the quarantine station, leaving the items Lorrella had provided in the racks they¡¯d sat in since she¡¯d memorised their songs. Intending it only to be a temporary location, Amdirlain created another small chamber with a table and benches a few hundred kilometres away and carved a ¡®2¡¯ into the wall for a teleport reference. ¡°Ebusuku, sorry I was short with you in my last message¡ªI should have apologised the other day rather than stay silent. My update: I¡¯ve blown up one of Moloch¡¯s towns and killed Munais to free her from captivity. So pretty much nothing is going on here. Let me know when you have time to talk via a Gate or something.¡± A Gate opened in the gap on the table¡¯s far side, and Amdirlain peered into the summoning chamber of Moradin¡¯s Temple in Duskstone. The glow from the mithril runes along the circle¡¯s edge washed into her bleak room. Ebusuku appeared as a midnight-hued Elf, with tightly curled black hair and eyes, whose tight fighting leathers almost blended with her skin tone. The buckles and sheaths made it somewhat easier to separate where her skin ended and the leather began. Ebusuku winced when she saw her. ¡°Amdirlain, I was hoping Munais'' death wouldn¡¯t mark you, but there is a haze of violence around you now.¡± ¡°My song doesn¡¯t have dissonance, but I¡¯m angry and I¡¯ll admit it''s adding sharp notes. The issue is that after I killed Munais I got an achievement called ''Angel Killer''. Now astral devas and below will fear or loathe me on sight,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It''s in the layer of my physical presence, not my Soul. I didn¡¯t think that would affect you.¡± ¡°It doesn''t affect me, but I can see the haze,¡± explained Ebusuku. ¡°You¡¯ll find that demons can feel it as well, but they¡¯ll react to it far more favourably. Killing an Angel by yourself; did Gideon tell you anything about the conditions for gaining this aura?¡± ¡°Killing with a single strike while also taking no damage in combat,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That makes sense. I¡¯ve known a few Angel hunters that some of my kin had found enticing,¡± offered Ebusuku. ¡°You''ll likely have demons reacting with attraction, respect, or jealousy from those able to sense it. Dumber or weaker demons will react to the menace of a predator nearby, as you experienced with the Dretch.¡± ¡°Gideon¡¯s notification mentioned nothing about that side,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks for letting me know. Wouldn¡¯t have been good to pose as a Lesser Dretch again¡ªno one would have believed it.¡± ¡°He might not have considered it worth mentioning, given how obvious it should be,¡± teased Ebusuku, nodding resignedly when Amdirlain¡¯s bleak mood didn¡¯t shift. ¡°I mean, what celestials hate, demons love.¡± Amdirlain scrubbed a hand across her face and suppressed a sigh. ¡°Did you have an avatar here waiting for me to call?¡± Patting a pouch at her belt, Ebusuku smiled sadly. ¡°I brought plenty to read since I wasn¡¯t sure how long you¡¯d not want to speak to me, and it''s not like the dwarves use these summoning chambers often. I hope your current chamber isn¡¯t the limit of what you¡¯ll allow yourself as a base now.¡± Amdirlain glanced about. ¡°Might be hard to spar in here. What¡¯s with the stealth commando look?¡± ¡°I was in the mood for black, plus I was planning to lay waste to undead on Cemna once I had heard from you again. Will you share what you¡¯ve got planned?¡± ¡°Moloch¡¯s a merchant at heart. Since his or his lackeys'' plans hurt Torm, I¡¯m claiming the debt owed from Moloch¡¯s worldly possessions,¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°Better leave nothing to trace back to you. When you said you ''blew up the town'', did you use another ritual?¡± enquired Ebusuku, and only her time at the monastery let Amdirlain catch the concern tightening Ebusuku''s gaze. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Ebusuku started to ask for more details but stopped at Amdirlain¡¯s tight smirk. ¡°True Song isn¡¯t detectable by magic, so I used it to set up the effects of different spells. By the end, I had thousands of flame strikes, fireballs, earthquakes, plasma flares, and others, all tied to my presence in the town. When I teleported away, they all went off in one hit.¡± ¡°How did you get into town? Teleporting around could get you detected eventually,¡± cautioned Ebusuku. ¡°I walked in looking like a newly ascended Dretch, mimicking ¡®Useful¡¯ and his mindset.¡± ¡°The Dretch you named?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Seems I¡¯ll have to use other names for future strikes. The town was a glowing wasteland of Celestial energy, and I trapped the Gate. Though I should have been more systematic in my placement, I didn¡¯t end up with enough of the demons dead. There were prisoners in the town, so I used a Dismissal tuned to them so they would get taken home.¡± ¡°The most common use of that Spell is to banish demons,¡± laughed Ebusuku bitterly. ¡°True, but it works on anything that isn¡¯t on its Home Plane. Speaking of home planes, can you find out Munais¡¯ Use Name? I want to message her the same as you did after fighting L¨ºdhins to release her Planar Lock, but I wasn¡¯t sure if it would work without a Use Name.¡± ¡°Caltzan¡¯s boss enquired about you threatening them. You raised some questions by contacting their servant without access to their name,¡± noted Ebusuku cautiously. The flare of anger in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze had Ebusuku purse her lips in concern. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a threat; it was a promise. I¡¯ll have an in-depth discussion with them once they¡¯re not Planar Locked, which might be something they won¡¯t enjoy. However, I ended the message by calling myself their ill-omen of reckoning. Do you think they took that as a threat?¡± Ebusuku''s expression looked divided between laughter and worry. ¡°Careful you don¡¯t slip into a mindset where you don¡¯t recognise yourself. Coming back from some choices is a lot harder than others.¡± ¡°If I had been near that compound, I would have heard the transformation site. Torm¡¯s Fallen now because Caltzan was a paranoid arsehole. I want to bury my arms in the guts of Moloch and every demon involved and tear them slowly to shreds. It''s this burning fire pulsing under my skin, yet I¡¯m freezing with worry for Torm. I should have made a fuss about Torm being too loyal to the group¡¯s rules. Caltzan¡¯s choice had consequences for Torm, and I¡¯ll share my feelings on the matter in great detail,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll remind you that Torm¡¯s choice was also in there. All I¡¯m asking you to do is be careful how far you let anger and pain carry you. We don¡¯t want to lose you as well,¡± Ebusuku reiterated. Sighing in frustration, Amdirlain spread her arms. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll have cooled down by the time I can get my hands on them. Maybe.¡± ¡°How did you kill Munais?¡± asked Ebusuku. Giving Ebusuku a tight smile at her change of subject, Amdirlain explained. ¡°I composed a song to cause a willing target to explode. I sent her a warning and then used it. There was a combat notification for her, and some Schir kills.¡± ¡°No chance of freeing her otherwise?¡± Ebusuku enquired. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know where she ended up. The Wizard had collared and controlled her since day one. He had passed her onto Moloch¡¯s forces by the time I found him. Zutag is the name he used for a Balor who had been interested in Munais. Anyway, part of the song I set up was to cast her back to her Liege¡¯s Plane,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I take it you used True Song to message her?¡± asked Ebusuku, and when Amdirlain nodded, she continued. ¡°Why not try that again, and have her contact me via her Liege if she¡¯s still Planar Locked.¡± Amdirlain sent a new message with the same phrasing for her release that Ebusuku had used and sighed in relief when it jumped across planes. ¡°She¡¯s certainly on an upper Plane; hopefully, it goes well.¡± Creating a list of details she gained from the Wizard, Amdirlain turned it into a paper aeroplane and sent it through the Gate. At the circle¡¯s edge, it ran into the barrier and nosed-dived into the ground. ¡°List of demons, towns, and goods produced. I¡¯ll find a lone Demon nearby and see what they sense from me.¡± ¡°Besides raiding those towns, what else do you have planned?¡± ¡°The Anar are good at energy manipulation, and there are so many places with clouds of burning energy to use. I¡¯m sure I can have some fun,¡± Amdirlain smiled, and she continued with forced casualness. ¡°Also, I thought I¡¯d open a Gate between this Plane and one of the Blood War battlefields and let Hell invade.¡± ¡°What!¡± exclaimed Ebusuku, her mask of composure shattered with fear for Amdirlain. Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°I know one of his training camps. I imagine Hell would love to butcher thousands of demons before they get training.¡± ¡°Why would you involve yourself in the Blood War? What¡¯s stopping demons from using the Gate when they drive Hell back?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°I thought I¡¯d use orderly energy within it. Devils will pass either way, but demons will go boom! As for involvement in the Blood War, in some ways I¡¯m far too pragmatic. Here, the enemy of my enemy is not my friend, but I¡¯m happy to give them a chance to butcher Moloch,¡± remarked Amdirlain, and her gaze shone with rage. ¡°You know you¡¯re treading dangerous ground.¡± ¡°I know, just, I¡¯m not sure I care. Worst case, I¡¯ll set a circle up somewhere to keep my energy contained, have Isa use her concealment song on me, and meditate for the rest of the time. Best case, I¡¯m going to put a sizeable hole in Moloch¡¯s resources and profits,¡± declared Amdirlain, and she held up a hand to get Ebusuku to wait. ¡°No,¡± Ebusuku denied, ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s gesture. ¡°Worst case is you lose yourself or become a prisoner.¡± ¡°Oh, Ebusuku, I¡¯m already a prisoner and have been for decades, in one form or another. I will do what is necessary to make Moloch pay,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Torm is out there somewhere, and I can¡¯t even start trying to find him; this gives me something useful to do while I wait. Amusingly, whoever came up with the scheme to bait deities is to thank for some of my plans because your gates gave me some fascinating ideas.¡± ¡°We¡¯re already looking for him,¡± offered Ebusuku. ¡°Hold off on making yourself a target in that fashion. True Song might not leave Mana traces, but examining any Gate will let them determine it opened from your side.¡± ¡°So I wait because you''re looking for Torm?¡± asked Amdirlain sceptically. ¡°The realm is a big place.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not trying to talk you out of your intent to hurt Moloch¡¯s realm. Just, some things are sure to provide them with more clues than others. Remember, you¡¯re not alone. You have people that love you, and we don¡¯t want to see you destroyed,¡± pleaded Ebusuku. ¡°One of those people is likely not concerned about my safety anymore,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Ebusuku nodded. ¡°Choice can have consequences, as you mentioned to Caltzan. Livia got a message from Torm while you were destroying the town.¡± The stone table cracked under Amdirlain¡¯s suddenly gouging nails. ¡°What did he have to say to her?¡± ¡°He promised her you¡¯d be his one day, and then the three of you would be a proper family,¡± stated Ebusuku. ¡°Fuck,¡± groaned Amdirlain, and she angrily scrubbed her face to wipe away a sudden rush of tears. ¡°He¡¯s obsessed with you. Don¡¯t get yourself twisted by obsessing over avenging him,¡± warned Ebusuku. Giving Ebusuku a sad smile, Amdirlain ran her nails across the stone table, leaving grooves in her wake. ¡°Logically, I know going for revenge is bad, but I can¡¯t just hide. I¡¯m not quashing all my emotions down, and I hurt so much. I need to keep moving while I work on breaking down the pain.¡± ¡°Torm¡¯s not a Hidden like you. It makes him far easier to find, even without his current Use Name. His Liege is seeking oracles to help locate him, and we will find him,¡± assured Ebusuku placatingly. ¡°Remember, Moloch will sell anything. Hurt him too much, and he might decide that service to a dark Greater Power is worth the price they¡¯ll charge to find the pest on his Plane.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll just have to make sure he¡¯s not got the price of admission,¡± growled Amdirlain. ¡°Amdirlain,¡± breathed Ebusuku, her voice soft with concern. Holding up a hand, Amdirlain closed her eyes to break Ebusuku¡¯s gaze. ¡°Please don¡¯t.¡± Ebusuku paused, and Amdirlain caught a link leading away to a higher Plane. ¡°Your message freed Munais from the Planar Lock, and her Liege told me that Munais would like to meet with you. I¡¯ve already told her the issue, but she insists Munais wants to thank you in person.¡± ¡°Alright, might as well interact with someone else¡¯s Celestial to see how bad things get,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she pushed herself away from the table. ¡°But not at present. I¡¯ve got other things I want to handle. Please ask her to give me a few weeks.¡± Before Ebusuku could say anything, Amdirlain teleported away. Returning to the vantage point on the plateau, Amdirlain looked over the churning clouds of energy and considered options. The shift into a Balor¡¯s massive form was a calculated risk. Amdirlain added abyssal steel armour adorned with Moloch¡¯s crest and jagged black adamantine blades before she teleported again. A hundred metres below her appearance, the erratically placed spikes occupied by the damned spread out. As she flew, Amdirlain ensured she used her wings as she took in the Dretch birthing from the ooze. The patrolling succubi stayed clear, even though the aura of violence radiating off the unfamiliar Balor fuelled their lust. Most put the Balor¡¯s unusual presence down to the recent Celestial incursions, and none wanted to risk attracting his ire at being in such a low-duty station. It was nearly a day of flying and teleporting before Amdirlain found what she sought. Perched on a jutting stone ledge, she took in the Gold Elf King among the rows of the first souls consigned to this place; his Soul¡¯s power had faded from their aeons of torment. Here and there among the rows of gold elves were gaps now filled by the damned of other species. The cloven hooves of her form crunched the loose rocks on the ledge. Most of the nearby succubi kept flying, but a bolder one flew to greet her. Ivory-skinned and crimson-lipped, her black wings showed an extensive collection of claws and spurs along their outer edge. The whole proclaimed she¡¯d spawned from Culerzic¡¯s cliffs, but Amdirlain caught her connection to another Plane. Yet, with the Succubus not even projecting the strength of the Schir guards, Amdirlain simply held her position. ¡°Is there something you desire here, Balor, or just sightseeing?¡± ¡°Perhaps there is something worthwhile; come closer, so I can decide,¡± demanded Amdirlain, and she projected the heated lust from memory as she beckoned for her. Before the gesture was complete, Ki Infusion contained a casting of Planar Attunement without hinting at its existence. The crimson lips of the Succubus curled in appreciation, and she wafted down to hover with lazy wing beats before the ledge. The smile didn¡¯t have time to disappear at Amdirlain¡¯s blurred motion. Her first contact with the Succubus¡¯ ivory skin released the constrained Planar Attunement, and it shrouded her target just before the claws parted flesh and her head flew away. Unsupported, the Demon¡¯s body dropped into the muck. [Combat Summary: Succubus, Least x1 Total Experience gained: 2,931 Ostim?: +1,465 Ont?lin: +1,465] Under the control of Far Hand, the head spun around and returned to her, and Amdirlain grasped it by the drifting locks. With the long hair curled around her fingers, the swaying head warned others to stay away. Further distractions held at bay, Amdirlain returned to studying the damned. Those succubi patrols that came near simply flew higher and continued on their way. Remembering what Hestia had told her about the Celestial whom the Titan had purged of all memory and experience, Amdirlain tried memorising the song of each Gold Elf. True Song Composition made the sheer complexity of achieving the same purge clear, so instead, she used Silent Song to enact a different effect. The music she silently invoked continually tried to twist from her control and pushed True Song up repeatedly before she was done. One by one, the gold elves Orh¨ºthurin had consigned there became oblivious to the blades scraping at their souls. No longer in pain, the construct to inflict agony couldn¡¯t shred their souls. Those succubi who passed her in their patrols saw only a Balor upon the ledge with his arms crossed, staring angrily at the damned. When those gold elves that remained were all settled into an eerie silence among the other screaming damned, Amdirlain left and flew on her way to the final acknowledgement of her efforts. [True Song [M] (55->56)] Only when she was well clear of the new oddity did Amdirlain teleport away. Repeatedly, she shifted forms and teleported to another random location before arriving at her next destination. When she appeared on an arid and drought-cracked dirt plain, she had taken on a female Sk?ll¡¯s bulky form. Vibrant red scales ran from the base of her black horns down across her shoulders. Their vividness bled into the jet-black scales that covered the rest of her body down to the clawed hands and feet. The length of her arms was almost gibbon-like in proportion to her four-metre height, allowing her to switch between bipedal or quadrupedal motion. The famine grove ahead of her appeared untended, but Amdirlain extended Resonance to ensure there was nothing but the trees and the damned before she moved closer. Songs added a weapon harness to her person, greaves on her long limbs, and an assortment of enchanted axes. She ignored the minor trickles of experience to focus on the grove ahead. Under the dry earth, she could sense the misery of the damned beneath almost every tree. Their suffocation and impalement drained their vile nature into the trees, which produced sickeningly lush fruit. The fruit itself wove a theme that would be lethal to most Mortal species, but to demonic tastes it was a great treat filled with suffering and despair. With no one present, Amdirlain started to experiment with her compositions. The same song that stopped the gold elves from suffering did nothing for these souls. The enclosing earth was too all-encompassing to block the tree¡¯s drain with the same approach. Plucking fruit from a nearby tree, Amdirlain crushed it in frustration; instead of a pulp oozing between her fingers, it exploded into a cloud of grey dust. The next fruit Amdirlain experimented with more carefully, and its chalk-like flesh broke apart in chunks. A tiny trickle of grey dust caught Amdirlain¡¯s imagination and set her to compose a new song. Inspired by tales of purgatory, she mingled it with the Mind Palace¡¯s music and put together something valuable despite the lack of complexity. [True Song Composition [S] (1->2)] At the notification, a grim smile of satisfaction broadened her flat lips into a predatory smile. Though the song was within the capabilities of her composition Skill, it still was a stretch for True Song to implement changes to a Soul. With no one nearby and unrushed by the potential for her target to be snatched away, Amdirlain practised it repeatedly before she began. Not from ill-conceived compassion¡ªsince she could hear the vileness within them¡ªthey were simply fortunate that her revenge required drying up Moloch¡¯s sources of wealth. A grey haze enfolded the targeted Soul¡¯s awareness when she sang. From their perspective, an endless grey mist encapsulated them as she changed the Soul so it couldn¡¯t perceive anything else in this place. There was no suffering, but there was also no joy, just an endless grey void from which they might never be free. Perhaps a kinder fate than energy being slowly sucked out of their souls by aeons of suffering. Indeed, it was kinder than those souls beneath her feet might deserve. [True Song [M] (56->57)] The targeted Soul gave a clean chime when Amdirlain¡¯s changes locked in place. The note was purer than the Soul that emitted it, and Amdirlain hoped she wasn¡¯t being too kind considering the foul deeds that had brought them here. Yet the change would prevent their misery and corruption from feeding the Abyss via the tree¡¯s fruit. A damned at a time, Amdirlain started working her way through the grove. It was a score of them later before she used Multi-voice to apply two songs at once. The difficulty of focusing on identical and complex pieces against individual souls metres apart almost unravelled both tunes. She resorted to pointing towards the damned to keep her bearings until the end. Creating identical axes close together had not adequately prepared her for what she was doing now. [Multi-voice [Ad] (4->6)] Glad she hadn¡¯t been trying to project the music through Silent Song, Amdirlain began from the top. On the second attempt, she kept her focus on a single Soul initially, only adding a second song well behind the first. Though it still strained her capabilities, the offset placement in the tunes allowed her to keep them split mentally. Once she¡¯d cut off the source of despair from a hundred-odd trees, she went back through and disintegrated all their existing fruit. Taking hold of the rage that had been boiling inside her, Amdirlain began to sing and created stacks of the red abyssal coins referred to as ¡®rage¡¯. Using her fury as the source of the coin¡¯s emotional layer made Amdirlain focus on examining it. Slowly, as she turned it over and caught at the self-accusations and regrets within, its boiling eased away, aided by the harsh rippling music that the currency¡¯s creation required. Her voice beckoned in a harsh wind that engulfed the area in a dust storm. A storm that would rage for hours, though the first minutes had obliterated all physical traces of her presence at the grove. Amdirlain didn¡¯t shift forms but teleported to the biggest target the Wizard¡¯s mind had provided. With the aura¡¯s extent still to be determined, she had picked a spot from his memories that was a day¡¯s journey away from the city she planned to target next. Yet even at that distance, the massive walls were a visible red blotch where the blackened land met the horizon. With her destination confirmed, Amdirlain turned her attention to the travellers close at hand. The grey dust wafted off her across the surrounding black abyssal soil as Amdirlain took in the kilometre-wide road on the other side of the unplowed field. Spread out along the road were living and undead behemoths intermingled with pack-carrying Dretch, other abyssal creatures, and demons pulling wagons. The latter varied from open-bed ramshackle vehicles that appeared on the verge of falling apart, to box wagons crafted completely of black metal. Among the various vehicles, Amdirlain spotted a metal carriage that relied on arcane discouragements instead. Prominently displaying Moloch¡¯s crest, its exterior bore glowing enchantments to protect it and retaliate against attackers. Six black nightmares in their draft-horse-sized forms, their manes and hooves ablaze in a furious display, towed it down the road¡¯s centre at a racing car''s speed. They ignored other travellers and left lingering flames in their wake. Though she tried to catch their music, the other traffic quickly drowned out the nightmares¡¯ theme. Amdirlain moved towards the road¡¯s edge, where the slowest travellers heading towards the city ambled along. When her aura¡¯s edge touched a group of pack-laden Dretch, it smashed them to a halt, and they loitered long enough to give her a few hundred metres of separation before they began to follow. Farmland, erratically sown with demonic crops, bordered the road as they got closer to the city. Blighted grains and other less enticing produce provided the ingredients for plague bread and the other foodstuffs she¡¯d seen inhaled by demons. Workers walked the lines among the corpse farms to pull forearm-length maggots from carcases rotting beneath the flaming sky. They stripped fronds from corn heads on another farm, revealing lumps that bled black corruption or bubbled with oozing pustules. Abyssal Lore provided her with the confirmation of the plants and beasts, but Amdirlain ignored the names and focused on memorising the songs of each for later use. 241 - Pride and misery Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Her journey along the road¡¯s outer edge proved enlightening for observing her aura''s impact. A juvenile Behemoth the size of a truck had swerved away from her. Despite the efforts of its driver, it had ended up stamped into the ground by a larger Behemoth moving beside it. With its blood splattered across the black-scaled shape Amdirlain presently possessed, she didn¡¯t even break stride. While its prey reaction had been in the extreme, few around her didn¡¯t react in some fashion to the aura of violence. It was certainly a preferable reaction to those offering lifts or employment, including one Sk?ll offering to share his plague farm. In the final kilometres before the city, the road ran parallel to the Ravager¡¯s River. From the Wizard¡¯s memory, the city encircled the river¡¯s fork, where one course eventually ran to the Umber Ocean while the other emptied into the Perdition Sea. The crowd on the road and those damned in the river washed her surroundings in white noise. The embankment let her see into the water¡¯s depths and survey the damned chained well beneath its surface. The thickness of their presence was a mass of strands and made seeing the riverbed impossible. Indeed, as they swayed about from the current and the fish pushing between them, they revealed further levels of the damned below. Most fish were a gopher-shaped species with a razor-sharp fin down their back. They ranged from barely a hand¡¯s length to nearly the size of an adult Human. The chunks of matter their hang-tooth maws stripped away instantly regrew. Yet the pain of the injuries continued to accumulate despite the healing. It was kilometres of effort trying to focus solely on the damned¡¯s music before Resonance started to make sense of it amidst the noise. It was still another hour before the difficulty finally earned her a notification for her persistence. [Resonance [M] (72->73) The injuries weren¡¯t merely pain inflicted on the caught souls, but each left an alteration, forming layers of changes like the grey fate that she had imposed on other souls. Their healing wounds braided scar tissue into the chains securing them to the river bed. Within the final kilometres, the energy of the place radiated a concentrated foulness of abyssal energy. Taking her time, Amdirlain focused on the wards and checked the protections for traps. Among the divinations, she spotted those for various species, along with the Sisterhood sigil. They didn¡¯t obstruct teleportation out of the city, but she found sensors that extended kilometres beyond the wards seeking arrivals. The walls of the abyssal city Ngakinga loomed far overhead by the time Amdirlain arrived at its gate. The blood-red wall ran further than she could see in both directions, arcing over the nearby river to allow barges and other vessels to travel its course. The random charges the guards levelled for entry to those ahead seemed to have little rhyme or reason. A behemoth emblazoned with Moloch''s crest paid less than the owner of a hand-drawn cart. Despite no imprints being demanded, Amdirlain still set her profile to show the Tier 5 classes of Black Knight and Warlord. The Schir guard that waved for her to halt looked her over almost dispassionately, bolstered by the support of other troops. ¡°Purpose.¡± Titling her head in the river''s direction, Amdirlain rumbled. ¡°Visiting the arena.¡± ¡°Betting or taking part?¡± ¡°Betting,¡± Amdirlain huffed, keeping her tone bored. ¡°Five Rage.¡± When Amdirlain slapped five red coins on his palm, he looked at them appreciatively and sniffed the metal. ¡°Nice purity, such sweet toxicity.¡± The guard stepped aside and waved her to move on, palming one coin when he dropped the others in the chute. A large male Sk?ll supporting the Schir guards at the gate was less restrained than the farmer, practically drooling while Amdirlain was speaking to the Schir. As soon as she crossed the city¡¯s threshold, he stepped towards her, and Amdirlain lazily backhanded him into the guardhouse¡¯s wall. Amdirlain fixed a smile on her flat maw and projected a cold menace. [Intimidate [M] (2->4)] The Schir she¡¯d paid simply waved her to hurry on her way, unbothered by the Sk?ll¡¯s groans of pain. ¡°Clear the way.¡± At his instruction, Amdirlain stomped forward and her clawed feet digging into the stone prompted the other guards to yank hands from their hilts and step well back. Much like the polluted city of Avaris, travellers split off in all directions once through the gates. The course of the external road split repeatedly, turning from an expressway into a few main roads and scores of tiny capillaries within a few hundred metres among the city¡¯s soaring black towers. Within the lower levels, businesses large and small mixed in with personal residences that made even the most oppressive low-rent flats on Earth seem luxuriously spacious. As she progressed, erratic concentrations of abyssal energy twisted against her perception and warped distance. A notification chimed when Amdirlain caught a mid-block twist in her sense of direction. [Abyssal City Navigator (13->14)] Stepping back toward a busy alleyway that she¡¯d already passed twice, Amdirlain found the source of the issue. With her form head and shoulders above the surrounding demons, Amdirlain examined the top edge of an energy ball twisting within the alley. A natural portal formed by clotted abyssal miasma drew on the surrounding concentrations, fluctuating in intensity as demons moved through it. Waves of energy ebbed and flowed, shifting the feel of the Abyss nearby. The clot was almost solid purple, flickering only momentarily to hint at another location beyond as demons stepped through. The transition point wasn¡¯t like other portals she¡¯d seen; instead, the demons seemed to co-exist with it before being shunted away. When one Demon was too slow to move aside, the nexus displaced the following Demon in the alley, setting them down in a cleared spot. Though those travelling through it eyed Amdirlain carefully, her aura of violence prompted them to keep their mouths closed. From amid their thoughts, she caught that the transfer was completely normal to them. Scrying, Amdirlain looked through it, and a dim image showed the far end was a platform beside an open market. Detection spells established it was a naturally forming portal, twisting the surrounding plane within the city¡¯s confines, and showed the trails of demons that had journeyed through it. Further spells confirmed the existence of many similar portals forming a network within the city. ¡°Isa, can you send me images and details of the Hade¡¯s Blood War battle sites you mentioned? Also, ask Ilya if she knows the names of any demon lords or ladies that might attack Moloch.¡± It was a long wait before Isa replied, and Amdirlain caught a list of names. The first image was a massive mountain slope with dots moving across it. In a sequence of pictures, sections of the mountain came into focus, dots became ant-like figures, and resolved into forces of Hell and the Abyss smashing each other apart. ¡°Care to explain what your next play is?¡± asked Isa, with a hitch of worry. ¡°Demons are always turning on each other; I will be radio silent for a few weeks or longer. Don¡¯t open a Gate focused on my name until I let folks know. Anything inbound where I am will set off a ton of wards and get me spotted¡ªplease pass that along,¡± Amdirlain replied. Keeping a sharp eye out for further concentrations, Amdirlain continued following her chosen course. Splitting off from the main road, she followed the images she¡¯d gained from the Wizard. Now warned about the distortions, Amdirlain watched for their attempts to twist her off course. The notifications chimed three times before she finally found her way to the bridge she wanted. Within the city limits, rows of the red acidic-fleshed Babau spear-fished along the river¡¯s edge. The ooze-coated demons continually hauled in fish, and occasionally even a damned, but they didn¡¯t secure their entire prey. Instead, the Least Dretch and Schir attending them hurriedly hacked off meat, which they dropped into nearby baskets. Once they were done, the Babau shook the remains back into the waters and looked for their next target. The bloodshed chummed the waters, drawing more fish to feed and become prey while the damned started to reform. Streams of blood and gore leaked from the baskets into gullies further from the river and flowed off deeper into the city. It seemed a strange precaution, given the murk in the waters¡ªand a macabre curiosity dug at her¡ªbut Amdirlain left it well alone. Once across the bridge, the highrises blocked the view, and she gladly left it behind. The Wizard¡¯s stolen memories gave her no perspective on the city''s size, but his business dealings gave her a target. An arena that used mortal prisoners for twisted games of prolonged suffering and let them recover in between to extend their use. Rounding a bend in the road, she caught sight of claw marks cut into an aged stone foundation. Though they looked haphazard, beneath the scratches were cuneiform markings in primordial abyssal with a single concept emblazoned: seeker. Though curious, Amdirlain almost walked past it until, out of the corner of her eye, it blended into its surroundings. The grey stone block reemerged from a black metal wall when she focused back on it. Shouldering aside a pair of large Dretch, Amdirlain stepped over to it and allowed Resonance barely beyond her skin. With the Power reactivated, Amdirlain caught a whisper of True Song lingering within the rock. It wasn¡¯t a waiting song but one set in place billions of years ago. The rock lingered out of phase with its surroundings except for those with True Sight. The sense of it nipped and dug at old memories of work performed rather than danger, pushing Amdirlain to touch the symbol. It only required the lightest touch, and Amdirlain heard a voice she¡¯d only known from memory. ¡°Finding Redemption¡¯s Path can take many steps for those that care to seek it.¡± An image appeared in her mind, with Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s voice in her ear. Upon a demonic landscape, another rock stood out from a grim moor. The plant life around it continually rotted into the ooze while more grew to fill the place. The location pressed hard against Planar Sense, and inside it, the feel of a beacon activated, pointing her attention off to another Plane. It was far too close to be Ijmti, and the beacon didn¡¯t possess the tight focus of those she¡¯d practised. Though it was unclear, it seemed only a link to an indistinct region. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. With the location out of reach, Amdirlain returned to her search with curiosity niggling at her. Had Orh¨ºthurin not left sharing the Redemption¡¯s Path location to the original three, or had they slipped from it? It was a day of walking and repeatedly retracing her route before Amdirlain found what she¡¯d been seeking. The building was kilometres around, with a host of various-sized entry points. Though its upper rim didn¡¯t reach half the height of some skyscrapers within the city, it covered enough ground to fit scores within. Wards along the boundary protected them from teleportation, blocked things from leaving, and strengthened the building against more magic than she¡¯d expected. Following the building¡¯s curve, Amdirlain found an area without entryways. Finding a suitable hiding spot beside the ward, she stored her gear before transforming into a pebble among the other scattered debris. Ensuring she kept her spells from touching the wards, she spun delicate concealments into place, using her proximity to the wards to hide in their background noise. With Resonance pulled in tight, Amdirlain allowed herself to take in details only a finger length away. Starting by cataloguing information on the ward¡¯s first layer, she slowly extended her reach until everything became a blur of white noise again. She struggled to isolate the elements that had earlier been clear. Working through visualisation approaches, she eventually managed filters and grouping within the incomprehensible noise¡ªgrouping tracks and muting them away. Some layers separated cleanly, but others caused everything to hiss and scream within her mind until Amdirlain stopped trying to pull them apart. Every inch of progress gathered information from a sphere of influence. In the cluttered city, a hundred metres of expansion had more songs within it than a dozen of kilometres of barren waste. The songs of demons and material, warped by the Abyss¡¯ corruption, scratched at her awareness and Amdirlain pushed hard to keep control within Resonance. When the pain started to pulse through her in waves, she deactivated the Power and shifted her focus. True Song Composition had provided so many conditions she could coil her waiting songs around. The structures of the linked spells she started to design touched back on lessons she hadn¡¯t considered since university. Even though she had barely touched them in her career, programming concepts now seemed like child¡¯s play. Breaking down the overall goal she had in mind, Amdirlain planned out a network of conditional songs to reinforce each other. Despite the source of the logic, the notifications showed her True Song Composition absorbing the gains. Rooms grew within the mind palace that Amdirlain had started with Athena, each becoming covered in complex notations. With some songs she needed beyond her reach, she started with the easiest ones and planned out their placement to stretch her capabilities to the heights she needed. A room became a map of the links between the songs, and she visually checked for gaps. Each time the pain ebbed enough to focus on Resonance again, she returned to her practice. It was nearly a month of work and focus until she could perceive the entire arena. The strain of the ongoing effort not only cranked Resonance¡¯s levels but taught her more about shaping its focus. No longer limited to a full sphere, it let her sweep focused regions in her surroundings. When she breached Senior Master rank, its reach exploded, yet the extra elements grouped into the controls she¡¯d set. Within her mental framework, the Power kept cataloguing the assorted tracks in her focus, accumulating numbers and strength, and letting her shift between them with a moment''s thought. Resuming her Sk?ll form, Amdirlain replaced the weapon harness and padded towards the closest nexus point within the range of her perception. As she listened, she contemplated what she¡¯d already composed and added more to the list. With Resonance pushed through the challenge of filtering the arena¡¯s noise, she could feel the prisoners¡¯ within its depths. Though she wanted to free them immediately, the nature of the wards anchoring them in place required preparation. With her plan always in mind, Amdirlain took to wandering the city. No longer merely searching for a single location, she looked for targets amid the assorted skyscrapers, ones formed of gristle and bone next to those made from light-drinking abyssal steel. A trip through the original portal she¡¯d seen set her within a crowded square. Food vendors in the middle sold familiar demonic foodstuffs similar to the square in Hrz¡¯Styrn Hundreds of flayed damned hung the square¡¯s perimeter, linked limb to limb like obscene Christmas ornaments. Their lower jaws and tongues were removed, making their screams a reverberating tune. Streams of blood oozed down the walls something had pinned them to, and demons moved about, sampling the flavours on offer. Many wiped it onto assorted foodstuffs to add to their appalling cuisine, while others simply licked it off the wall. Amdirlain moved for an exit and left scores of songs coiled in her wake. When she released them, the music flooded the air with her rage, causing patrons to lash out at those around them. Taking in the music of their attacks added more songs to her list. Projecting disinterest allowed Amdirlain to move about the city, but she kept a wary lookout with eyes hidden among scales and Precognition was pushed to the limit. Constructions, already warped by the chaos of the Abyss, were twisted or corroded and strained harder against the enchantments that held them upright. Weaker demons stayed out of her path, and she shifted course whenever those strong enough to risk trouble approached. Exploring the streets, she found an endless assortment of horrors. Chains looped between buildings held decorations of screaming souls that swayed perilously on corroding links forged from their malice. Among the buildings, she found growths that blocked out the light. Retriever demons stretched their webbing between buildings to let them torment the dangling souls. Giant wasps'' nests bulged out from buildings, and sometimes their cancerous masses merged with multiple constructions. She found regions of imprisoned souls in the city. Thousands of damned lay trapped beneath surfaces of metal, stone, or layers of bone, their quests for freedom mirroring a fetus¡¯ efforts in a womb. Those passing reacted to the bulges with barks of laughter or blows to settle the damned back in place. Filtering out demons and abyssal materials, she searched the twisting warrens of the crowded rats¡¯ nest for prisoners amongst the demonic residents. Those left unattended, Amdirlain considered fair game for immediate release. With a fake in their place, she dismissed them to their homes. The corpses sung into existence showed wounds copied from the brawls she¡¯d provoked. The energy and stench of various demons left the original captors searching for those that had stolen their fun. During her explorations, she created linked songs to focus through each portal¡¯s nexus, each layer and each nexus adding further amplification to help grab her targets. The songs at the end of the chain, she already primed against a simple melody to be projected within the city¡¯s limits. Looping through the city, she located other arenas and private locations not so easily breached. With each of those, she took the time to tag their prisoners, mourning the dead whose fading songs she heard. The number kept mounting, reopened painful wounds with every death. With the primary pieces set in place, she moved towards executing the main event, hoping she¡¯d not already left it too long. Isolating out each of the arenas¡¯ prisoners, she set effects into place¡ªsimilar to the town, yet amplified to pierce the wards. Though she worked as quickly as possible, with the numbers involved and her bigger plan, the preparations took weeks to complete. Still, by the end, thousands of prisoners had songs set silently from kilometres away, each linked to early tunes in the chain Amdirlain had planned out. Months after she began, Amdirlain pulled the pin. The endless days within the Abyss normally stretch out for demons, delivering only more boredom and spite. Normally. ¡°Ooh, let¡¯s go!¡± As the strange song rang through the city, demons looked around as sound waves drowned them. The Abyss'' reaction wasn¡¯t to the audible words but to the coiled songs that thrummed in response. Within the concentration of abyssal miasma that millions of demons clustered together formed, the portals started to change. More songs tweaked and amplified the nexus points excluded from the city¡¯s wards, and their unnatural energies flowed. Glutted with power, they transformed from portals into one-way gates and scooped up hordes from among targeted battlefield reserves. Battalions that were already primed for battle disgorged into the city¡¯s laneways, streets, and buildings. The portals'' basic nature spread them further as the crowds thickened, squeezing them into every available space throughout the city while continuing to draw more in. Confusion and discomfort quickly poured anger into the situation. Then the next conditions flipped, and it used the planar displacement of the arriving troops to shatter dimensional wards. With that disruption, surviving prisoners from arenas, mansions, and guarded pest holes found themselves suddenly home. With troops still arriving, the next sequence obliterated the stunned confusion of demonic troops and citizens alike. The same song of heart-filled rage that Amdirlain had injected into coins distilled itself into countless demons to give hate form. Powers, weapons, and spells clashed as the city exploded in violence. Unnoticed by the demons, planar attunements pulsed through the streets to ensure the ultimate death for most combatants. Far outside its walls, a smiling Sk?ll enjoyed flaring songs as the destruction began, unable to resist amusement at Queen¡¯s song having kicked things off. As the battling forces toppled the first weakened skyscrapers, Amdirlain felt a chill of remembered horror run up her spine, and the notifications hit. [Achievement: True Song Cascade Condition: Achieve a difficult goal using over 20,000 interlinked songs Reward: 2,000,000 Experience split between True Song classes Reward: 5 Additional ranks in True Song and Multi-Voice.] [Achievement: True Song Dominos Condition: Achieve an epic goal using over 50,000 interlinked songs Reward: 50,000,000 Experience split between True Song classes Reward: 10 Additional ranks in True Song and Multi-Voice.] [Achievement: True Song Virtuoso Condition: Achieve a legendary goal using over 1,000,000 interlinked songs Reward: 140,000,000 Experience split between True Song classes Reward: 15 Additional ranks in True Song and Multi-Voice Reward: True Song Composition evolved to True Song Architecture. Note: You pulled over 20 million demons into that city with a single combined effect. Going to create a sun next? Note: Normally, this would be an achievement for someone with Grand Master in this Skill. You¡¯re going to toast your brain pulling these stunts.] Raw knowledge of how to apply the Skill pulsed through her mind and dropped Amdirlain to her knees. As the agony continued to mount, she forced herself into the form of a pebble to immobilise herself and avoid garnering attention. The distraction of that change pushed her off balance, and she could only helplessly ride the waves of pain. Her physical form didn¡¯t stop the agony of information looping between awareness and Soul, which reverberated for hours in a self-perpetuating feedback loop. When she finally returned to herself and peered towards the city with True Sight, she found it eclipsed by the shadow of a strange planetoid covered in thousands of writhing eyestalks. Spells filled with Destruction Mana rained down from it, adding to the billowing smoke that obscured much of the being. Despite the haze, more than enough was visible to target Analysis and pain ripped through her battered thoughts. A price she paid for only his name: Moloch. Before she could move away, more notifications hit. [Achievement: City Breaker Condition: Plan and carry out an attack on a city with a population of over 20,000. Condition: Achieve 50%+ destruction of a city¡¯s populace and infrastructure. Reward: 100,000 Experience. Reward: Evolved base class - Terrorist Unlocked!] [Achievement: Metropolis crusher Condition: Plan and carry out an attack on a city with a population of over 150,000. Condition: Achieve 60%+ destruction of a city¡¯s populace and infrastructure. Reward: 500,000 Experience. Reward: Evolved base class - Master Terrorist Unlocked!] [Achievement: Megaplex Annihilator Condition: Plan and carry out an attack on a city with a population of over 10,000,000. Condition: Achieve 70%+ destruction of a city¡¯s populace and infrastructure. Condition: Activities remained undetected. Reward: 15,000,000 Experience. Reward: Evolved base class - Shadowy Manipulator unlocked Note: It¡¯s easier to destroy than create. Don¡¯t lose your head!] [Achievement: Great Escape Condition: Free over 1,000 prisoners through a single escape plan. Reward: 2,000,000 experience.] [Achievement: Epic Liberator Condition: Free over 5,000+ prisoners through a single escape plan. Reward: 20,000,000 experience. Reward: Peace of mind for what else you did?] [Achievement: Murderer of Innocents Condition: 100+ innocents perish because of one scheme. Condition: Terrorist Class Unlocked Reward: 100,000 Experience.] [Achievement: Baptised in Blood Condition: 500+ innocents perish because of one scheme. Condition: Terrorist Class Unlocked Reward: 500,000 Experience.] [Achievement: Lady of Butchery Condition: 1,000+ innocents perish because of one scheme. Condition: Terrorist Class Unlocked. Condition: Resident of the lower planes. Reward: 1,000,000 Experience. Note: Not a Mantle, just an aura. Going to collect them all?] Amdirlain teleported away to her second hidey-hole. She flowed back into her Fallen form as she pressed her forehead against the table, and burning tears flowed. Howls of anger and grief ripped out of her throat, releasing harboured emotions. When her claws fractured the table¡¯s stone, the cracking sound caught her attention, and Amdirlain reared back to fling it against the wall. ¡°Over a thousand?!¡± Enraged at herself, Amdirlain surged forward, and the first punch obliterated a torso-sized chunk of stone. Even without Ki, the power in the strikes and her hardened flesh turned stone into dust. Follow-up blows lashed out faster than a jackhammer until the chamber threatened to collapse from the destruction. When the tunnel she¡¯d carved began to collapse from the ongoing impacts, Amdirlain teleported away. 242 - Waiting in the wings Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Leaving behind the collapsing chamber, Amdirlain crouched amid a dank treeline overlooking a town in a brand new form. Sharp claws dug into the damp bark, and in the armoured ferret form of a Gil?glp, Amdirlain climbed onto the lowest branches. All the while ignoring the invoked memories of her first meeting with the Sisterhood¡¯s knowledge Demon. Though grief and rage burned her mind, Amdirlain didn¡¯t bottle them up but sought ways to channel their energy. The town was a trade stop that dealt with alchemical materials harvested from a slime-filled forest. This town hadn¡¯t been a place the Wizard had come to for prisoners but for buying materials, particularly volatile materials. She noted grimly that the town¡¯s wards had the same elements seeking the Sisterhood sigil she¡¯d seen in both locations she¡¯d destroyed. With Resonance¡¯s trained reach, she didn¡¯t even have to go into the town to scour it from side to side. Taking in the liquid songs of the captured slimes, Amdirlain considered their assorted elemental affinities. With each type, she compared their structures and broke down the components of their species'' songs. While the forest wasn¡¯t home to a wide range of slime variations, those present gave her the basis for more options. Slimes were Mana concentrated into a gelatin-like form with single or multiple affinities merged to determine their traits. The nuclei at their centre provided limited sentience whose only need was to consume. Her version of Isa¡¯s concealment song wrapped around her, and Amdirlain was aware of a momentary pain when Lingering Song drank from her health to handle the strain of masking the auras. The notification that came with it made it easy to focus on her progress. [Lingering Song [Ad] (10->11)] With the theme enfolding her auras, Amdirlain hid within the branches and composed adjustments to the slimes¡¯ essences. When ready, she pulled one of her needles from Inventory and sunk it into the tree trunk. A final push with a hardened claw buried it completely. She sang out her rage, the fury of her losses, in whispered tones that the forest¡¯s noises drowned, and secured them tightly in the crystal. The melody of her aura twisted into a consuming drive keyed to unleash upon command. She set anchor points around the town''s perimeter to create a Star of Solomon. Given the origins of Moloch¡¯s name, the irony was as appealing as the double triangle formation was practical. Once her trap was ready, with fire lanes set, Amdirlain created a keyed song of subtle arrogance and pride. The moment she dismissed the few prisoners present in town to their homes, her latest creation poked within the wards. Commanders throughout the town and beyond received alerts about multiple Sisterhood sigils. The reaction was fast, but only part of the ten-strong Balor squad arrived in her firing lanes. Instead of lashing out, Amdirlain pushed individually at the wards. Silently triggering more detections to manipulate their reactions had the Balor drawing weapons and charging into town. She triggered the needles'' music once the entire squad entered the target areas. The rage and fury common to demons found fertile ground, and the blade of her Willpower within the song inserted the mental virus of her trap. The squad and scores of other demons had the slimes'' mindset imposed, temporarily turning them into feeding machines that sought to consume everything. The effect only lasted half an hour, but it was enough for those infected to flatten sections of town. Rather than set them off again, Amdirlain teleported the needles to her hand and took a moment to reapply Isa¡¯s concealment before she disappeared. Her arrival at the next target had her claws scratching across the petrified wood of a mangrove tree. Positioned across the river from the drying racks, Amdirlain remained outside the town¡¯s wards. Hidden in a tree¡¯s boughs, she stretched her focus to seek Mortal souls. When she found no prisoners to release, Amdirlain started to lay out a net of songs, pausing briefly when a notification came up partway through her work. [Silent Song [M] (11->12)] Once the last was in place, she scanned the town for mortals again before setting them off. [Combat Summary: Least Barbatos x980 Lesser Barbatos x127 Barbatos x15 Lesser Dlirzin x190 Least Dretch: x2319 Lesser Dretch: x83 Least Succubi: x12 Least Pilfarin x234 Lesser Pilfarin x12 Least Schir x3231 Lesser Wenga x7 Total Experience gained: 8,978,954 Ostim? +4,489,477 Ont?lin +4,489,477 Servant¡¯s Destruction: Useful] Celestial energies rang across the plane and sent a wave of displacement up the river¡¯s course, causing crystal residue to dissolve in its wake. Shifting location to the mangroves¡¯ edge, Amdirlain slipped through the canopy. Once she¡¯d found a damned whose song was bloated and foul, she pulled it into her flesh with Energy Drain. The Soul''s former bindings contracted for a moment, and Amdirlain hopped clear before they lashed out desperately. A wild blow fell across a nearby Soul, and the vines started to wrestle for its possession. Not waiting to see the outcome, Amdirlain slipped away. With the Soul held within her flesh, she set herself near another town from the Wizard¡¯s memory and headed towards the stone gates. As she moved, black bracers of adamantine came into existence, gleaming with red runes. [Crafting Summary (Category: Protection item) - experience by item grade: Masterwork: 2,430 = 100 (base) + 400 (rare material) + 3,390 (enchantment rating: +678(success)) Total Experience gained: 3,890 Silent Song [M] (12->13)] Unlike other places she¡¯d seen that bothered with walls, these were barely two metres tall, and the roofs beyond were so low that her position close to the ground made them invisible. Everywhere she checked, the enchanted stonework showed deep abrasions from the plateau¡¯s storms. A dry wind moving from behind her rasped across her obsidian fur and promised another sandstorm before long. With her auras concealed, Amdirlain scampered along the lines of pack-laden Dretch towards the town''s gate. Only the odd thug looked her way, and a spiteful stomp from one sent loose rocks towards her that the shield from her bracers stopped dead. A Spell that drove a black spike through its thigh prompted the rest to ignore her existence. The goat-headed Schir at the gate looked her over and motioned her inside. Within the walls, the upper streets were nearly empty and Amdirlain didn''t take the first ramp down that lead below. Instead, combining information from the memories and the guards'' minds, she headed deeper into the twisted interior before using a shaft meant for smaller demons. It joined the first level at a shelf that consistently ran near the corridor¡¯s ceiling, allowing her to wind unhindered towards her destination without touching the ground. With the bracer¡¯s magical protections creating a distortion visible to the smaller demons with Sense Mana, they kept clear of her path. Those that couldn¡¯t sense it still eyed the runes warily and took their cues from others. Pausing in the town¡¯s main corridor, she took in the wards of her target and listened to their song for traps. Satisfied there wasn¡¯t anything that would trip her up, she activated a Wall Walk Spell to blend in with the demons she disguised herself as, and made her way down to the door. When her front paw touched the doorstep of ¡®The Treasury¡¯, the door swung open without protest. Packed in the foyer was a crowd of demons waiting to be served by the three tattered-looking hags beyond the counters¡¯ grill. A Schir approaching from behind her prompted Amdirlain to scamper up the wall, and she took a spot beside a greenish-black Quasit on a shelf. As Amdirlain shifted from wall to shelf, he looked her over, moving his wings uneasily, but kept his stinger-tipped tail clear. His features looked like a wizened old man, but from his bare scalp emerged a pair of backwards curving horns. With the Quasit only forty-five centimetres taller, her body was triple his length and out massed him significantly without even the bracers making it clear she had protection. [Name: Palqarz Species: Lesser Quasit Class: Spy / Thief / Wizard Level: 25 / 25 / 10 Health: 560 Defense: 45 Melee Attack Power: 35 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (2), Tail Strike [Ad] (4) Details: Native to the Cavern of Skulls and on retainer to the local Treasury coven.] ¡°Caravans came in, racing the storm. Wrong time to come.¡± ¡°I can wait,¡± muttered Amdirlain, her voice like rasping rock. ¡°What flavour of knowledge do you trade in?¡± Looking at it sideways, Amdirlain kept her tone curt. ¡°Arcane and Planar Lore, including spells.¡± The last word brightened Palqarz¡¯s demeanour. ¡°Oh nice, I don¡¯t suppose I could get-¡± ¡°No,¡± snapped Amdirlain, having heard the desire for spells on the cheap from his thoughts. ¡°You didn¡¯t even give me a chance,¡± protested Palqarz. ¡°You were about to ask for my name, to get in touch with me when you had the coin for spells. So, No,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Spending too long in a circle turned me off name-sharing. If you¡¯ve any coin now, I¡¯ll answer questions; if not, you can talk to someone else when you do.¡± ¡°Bloody circles. Twenty years I spent tied to my first Wizard after spawning. Served him from apprenticeship days, when coins were tight and things unpleasant. Things had been looking up, then the bastard got religion and imprisoned me.¡± ¡°Not a religion of a suitable power?¡± ¡°Nah, pointy-eared prick fell in love with a priestess of the Summer Court, wanted to redeem himself, the little flower fucker. He locked me in a circle for years while researching how to break our link without weakening himself,¡± grumbled Palqarz. ¡°No respect,¡± snickered Amdirlain. ¡°Mortal wizards are always looking to screw demons of our due. Wish we could just get their Soul in advance or say no deal.¡± ¡°Did he break the Pact without weakening himself?¡± asked Amdirlain, more to keep him distracted than curiosity, as she rummaged his mind for the town¡¯s layout. Despite its location, the town was far smaller than the mangrove¡¯s locale¡ªmerely a servicing point for alchemists and those hunting Lurkers for their glands. ¡°What will you pay me?¡± Amdirlain had already caught the lie in his mind but ground her teeth together. ¡°The likelihood your story is even true is low. Binding you in a circle wouldn¡¯t have kept the Pact Bond from corrupting his Soul. Thus, you on the Material Plane would have worsened his situation. Pass.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°I deal in knowledge, not lies; proof or shut up,¡± growled Amdirlain, her sharp teeth drinking the light. Palqarz kept his mouth shut, and Amdirlain waited until the hags at the counters had cleared the foyer. A simple Jump Spell took her from the shelf to the counter¡¯s outer edge, and the closest Hag looked her over. The red specks of light gleaming from the black mist in her eyes'' sockets were an eerie reminder of Usd¡¯ghi. Though the cracked greyish-black skin was similar, she seemed to be in her youth, and her tattered dress was crafted from plaited sinew. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Soul.¡± Before the Hag had set the jar on the counter, Amdirlain was already taking in the song of its enchantments. Their process to strip the emotions away from the Soul was exactly what she¡¯d been after, however, the other details made her bare her teeth. ¡°One without the imprint enchantment,¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± grumbled the Hag, but she was quick to raise a hand when Amdirlain turned to leave. ¡°Fine.¡± She retrieved another canister from beneath the counter, the affronted Hag setting it down with a sharp click. Though she knew it was already clean, Amdirlain considered the bile-green barrier that sealed the opening as if she was carefully examining it. ¡°It will cost you now.¡± The Hag scowled and gave a gapped tooth grimace. ¡°You¡¯ll get your coins.¡± ¡°I want to see you compress the Soul for transport,¡± declared Amdirlain. At Amdirlain¡¯s words, the hag looked suspicious. Her forehead furrowed and turned cracks in her dry skin into chasms. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I deal in arcane knowledge, and it''s an interesting concept. Not looking to compete in your trade,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I could trade it somewhere else, and you must compress it at some point.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± With her acceptance, Amdirlain stuck her paw inside the seal and let the corrupted Soul come forth. At its curdled blackness, the Hag whistled appreciatively. ¡°So much corruption would have been among the damned if you hadn¡¯t claimed it. You''ve let this one get muddy. Don''t examine them inside the Abyss in the future; bring them straight to us.¡± Setting irregular discs into the container¡¯s slot one after another, they came out moulted black, then various hues of red, and finally green. ¡°It would have been among the damned for sure.¡± The Hag¡¯s whispered words weren¡¯t a Spell but set off the enchantments in the container. Listening intently, Amdirlain caught the effect on the Soul. Even as she memorised it, she could tell how the pressure of influence manipulated the Soul¡¯s form. Collecting her coins, Amdirlain made her way out of the store and explored the town¡¯s layers, setting seeds in place as she went. The process of exploration and setting charges in place took her a day to complete her preparations. The town held dozens of alchemist workshops processing glands and other materials she had never seen before, into battle elixirs. When she was sure no prisoners were present, Amdirlain simply exited into the still-raging storm. The shock waves that erupted rumbled the ground beneath her feet. Sealed doorways to the surface burst open, shattered by fierce winds and hot gouts of magma that flooded the tunnels. Amdirlain ignored the combat summary of the small town and teleported away. This time, her target was the hills where they¡¯d hunted drakes, and she accepted the stab of grief at seeing their jagged ridgelines. Setting up a new chamber far beneath a gully, Amdirlain sealed it from seeping water and shifted to Anar form. With a basic hidey-hole secured, she sent Ebusuku and Isa the same message. ¡°Still alive and kicking. Not anywhere dangerous now, but please give me some time before we meet.¡± The acknowledgements she received contained equal parts worry and relief. Holding the guilt for their concern away, Amdirlain focused on her project. Replicating the training chamber didn¡¯t take long, and when the excavation was complete, Amdirlain tested her new limits. The circle to contain the celestial energy sprang into existence when she was done. Instead of depending on thousands of runes, she set the effect into a single True Song needle embedded into the chamber¡¯s midpoint. ¡°Are you giving me things I technically qualify for because you¡¯re worried about me as well, Gideon?¡± The words echoed back to her and carried an edge of grief she¡¯d ignored when speaking aloud. She didn¡¯t expect a response but used Analysis on the needle?. Analysis [True Song Crystal-Needle Creators: Roher and Isa Expected Life Span: ~7,200,000,000 years Note: You¡¯re not burying your rage and grief, but don¡¯t let them bury you.] ¡°At least you can''t continually nag,¡± muttered Amdirlain. It took her hours to bring the first song to completion. When she finally stabilised the four-part harmony, a spike of True Song crystal the length of her arm lay nearby. Retrieving it from the floor, she turned it over and took in the smoothed material and the energy within it. [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item) - experience by item grade: Masterwork: 800 = 100 (base) + 700 (exotic) Total Experience gained: 800 Ostim? +400 Ont?lin +400 Singing [M] (18 -> 19)] ¡°At least being able to sing aloud will help that Skill. With those towns, it''s still roughly 500 of these to hit the next level in both classes. Do I use them as repeater stations or individual sources?¡± With a dissatisfied grunt, Amdirlain stored the crystal and started again. One spike after another formed on the floor, with no clear reduction in the time required. Their complexity pushed her ability to maintain the four parts by herself, making shortening the time impossible for now. Amdirlain though, took some satisfaction in that she could complete them solo. [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item) - experience by item grade: Masterwork: 800 each (x7) = 100 (base) + 700 (exotic) Total Experience gained: 5,600 Ostim? +2,800 Ont?lin +2,800 Multi-voice [M] (30->31)] Analysis [True Song Crystal - Spike Creator: Amdirlain Expected Life Span: ~2,600,000 years] ¡°Barely passable as masterwork if I compare it to the needles,¡± noted Amdirlain. With nearly a day already spent creating the eight spikes, Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to waste them on experimentation. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak, if you have time. Can you bring a crystal used to propagate the purification fields?¡± Amdirlain heard the quickening melody, and it gave her enough warning not to lash out. Isa appeared and threw her arms around Amdirlain with no hesitation. Even as she returned the hug, Amdirlain memorised the structure and limits of the concealments Isa had in place for visiting. The one she¡¯d created from memory was different, but then, it needed to handle her unique presence. ¡°You feel gross; more achievements?¡± asked Isa, without flinching away. . Amdirlain exhaled sharply. ¡°Sorry, my concealment of the auras faded.¡± ¡°Oh, when did you get that working?¡± Isa asked, and she stopped Amdirlain before she could answer. ¡°Tell me later, how did you end up with this aura?¡± ¡°I set off a battle, and prisoners died.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there is more to that story. You feel like I¡¯ve walked into a morgue,¡± stated Isa, and she leant back enough to let her tap Amdirlain¡¯s nose. ¡°One with violent zombies lying in wait to eat my face.¡± ¡°Rawr!¡± Isa blew a raspberry and leant forward, pretending to nip her. ¡°Hilarious you are! I was worried about you¡ªwe were all worried. Don¡¯t ever again go radio silent that long again. Get out if you¡¯re someplace so dangerous that you can¡¯t even exchange messages with Tern¨°x.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t the place, it was how I intended to hide and what I planned to do. I didn¡¯t want to risk a distraction at the wrong moment getting me killed,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°You spend far too much time in your head, Amdirlain. Alright, fess up. What did you get up to with the information I sent you?¡± ¡°I encountered natural portals inside the city. I had an idea to amplify their nexus points into gates. Though it took a bunch of preparation work; I spent a month stressing Resonance to force it to increase. Whenever I needed a break, I¡¯d compose songs and later scried the battlefield on Hades,¡± Amdirlain stated, and she stepped away from Isa to pace. Isa¡¯s expression twisted in disgust. ¡°You sat in the middle of a demonic city to stress it? That¡¯s not stressing it, more like bathing in sulphuric acid when you want a skin peel.¡± ¡°Senior Master Rank 21,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°You figure how you got there no longer counts?¡± snapped Isa in exasperation, and she stepped close to rest her hands on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Please stop doing this to yourself; pushing luck uphill is my thing.¡± ¡°At no point was I counting on luck,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I took it methodically and tried various sound-mixing visualisations. When I found one that worked, I¡¯d push out until I got white noise and slowly isolated all the elements.¡± ¡°Then why did we need to shy away from contacting you?¡± ¡°I used the background of the arena¡¯s wards to blend my concealments in and listened. The local wards had planar and other detections. I didn¡¯t want to risk tripping anything. Once Resonance reached Senior Master rank, it was easier to explore the city. That was when I set linked songs to amplify the portals, weaken buildings, and free prisoners.¡± ¡°Did the songs you used not free them?¡± asked Isa, ¡°No, I got five thousand free, but over a thousand died. I must have missed an area, or they¡¯d brought in more. Their deaths gave me an achievement called ''Lady of Butchery'', a delightful addition to ¡®Angel Killer¡¯, don¡¯t you think?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t everything, was it?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Please, I spent long enough in Hell. Your acting is great, but my ability to detect lies or partial truths is also pretty great. My Perception Skill evolved, and it rocks,¡± Isa retorted and poked out her tongue. ¡°Why else did you not want to be contacted?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want more reassurance that things would be okay. I just needed to be, as you said, alone in my head for a while.¡± Swallowing back a curse, Isa nodded. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯d call it. Sarah¡¯s been beside herself with concern. Can I ask you something?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°You can always ask. If I answer is the question.¡± ¡°Do you remember if Orh¨ºthurin did something to Sarah¡¯s Soul?¡± ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ¡°At parts of her harmonic, lines disappear; there are gaps in bars, or pauses you could drive a truck through. It''s like the masking Orh¨ºthurin used to wrap around her presence, but obviously, Sarah¡¯s not doing that herself.¡± ¡°I know they were involved long before Mori was born,¡± replied Amdirlain cautiously. Isa fixed her with a suspicious look. ¡°Sarah¡¯s been working to get free from her Mantle, despite the risk.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Amdirlain softly. ¡°I learned she¡¯s told her Erakk? priesthood that she has an older oath to uphold. So the first priest worthy of holding the Mantle, she¡¯ll step aside for,¡± stated Isa. ¡°I thought the Erakk? would be upset, but their take is that she¡¯s giving up power to remain true to her word. Appeals to her follower¡¯s whole mindset that the rule of law is more important than any individual.¡± ¡°I hope she¡¯s careful,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I knew she was unhappy with being unable to help, but I didn¡¯t expect her to take such a risk.¡± ¡°I said the same thing,¡± huffed Isa. ¡°She responded that she knows where she¡¯ll end up if it goes wrong, and she¡¯s learnt the trick to not needing food. From what she tells me, that whole goop in the stomach is easier for her psionics talents. Hey, whoever gets the job can send someone on a trial, right?¡± Amdirlain stared at her in disbelief. ¡°Isa.¡± ¡°Alright, but only partly joking. I think she wants to be in here with you, but not sure if it''s so she can help you hunt demons or be here to help you work through your grief,¡± Isa replied, her tone turning serious. ¡°You can vent with me, and I¡¯ll listen, but I¡¯m not good at grief. I was terrible both times you died.¡± ¡°You let yourself feel it; that¡¯s not terrible, it''s hard,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°Amdirlain, were you keeping busy to distract yourself?¡± Amdirlain tossed her head in denial. ¡°No, I was working through the pain by sharing it with Moloch¡¯s minions. I sang my rage into abyssal coins, and the demons approved of the scent.¡± ¡°Not a good sign of the road you were travelling,¡± noted Isa, and she gently wiped away tears that started. ¡°Have you cried?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± croaked Amdirlain. Isa bit her lip. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will be okay. Things are ashy now, but a phoenix rises from the ashes. While it''s pretty dark, that¡¯s simply because dawn¡¯s not yet arrived. Hope and practical planning are your things, right? Luck¡¯s mine, and taking control is Sarah¡¯s go-to.¡± ¡°He could be anywhere,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Yeah, we both know finding him would be impossible if he intended to stay away. I¡¯ve spent more time travelling on different planes than either of you. I know how vast this realm is and how needle in the haystack things can get. You know what we did with scouting?¡± ¡°Only the tales you¡¯ve told me,¡± replied Amdirlain. "Were you keeping secrets about your role?¡± Amdirlain snorted at the irony of her asking that question, and Isa gave her an affronted look. ¡°No, but I wanted to remind you. You don¡¯t go randomly kicking over rocks. The work was based on locations we knew our enemies needed to use, gates, portals, and routes between planes. Now Torm has two bottlenecks he needs to approach to make his message to Livia come true. I would bet you he¡¯ll see Livia as your control point,¡± Isa stated. ¡°This presents him with a problem, since Livia¡¯s on Veht?, and she¡¯s not even going to visit Duskstone.¡± ¡°He''ll need to get access to a Mortal that can summon him,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Isa nodded. ¡°Yeah, and he doesn¡¯t have access to a deity that can give him answers or a priesthood to help anymore,¡± Gnawing her bottom lip, Amdirlain considered options. "He might find contacts in The Exchange." ¡°He¡¯s not been there, according to his T¡ªhis PTB. Sure, he knows it exists because of you, but he¡¯s a newbie with no information about the merchants there, and Ebusuku isn¡¯t. Not only does she have a residence there, but she knows a bunch of the information brokers.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow and studied her intently. ¡°I¡¯ve almost slipped a few times and said names I shouldn¡¯t in the Abyss. You two been planning things while I was radio silent?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t do planning well. It''s more Sarah, Ebusuku, and your scary commando solars doing the planning,¡± corrected Isa. ¡°There is the risk that he¡¯ll team up with someone and come after me,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you changed your name if you think that¡¯s likely? Are you hoping he comes after you directly?¡± asked Isa before she shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll want to share you with anyone. I bet if he is still levelling as quickly as before, he is pushing hard. You had told him about the Royal Fallen, and it¡¯s possible to resist True Song¡¯s effects if you¡¯re stronger than the force in it.¡± ¡°I''m not running from him. His message to Livia could be several things, but it screams possessiveness, and I don''t think he''d want to share. He was marking his territory, playing with his prey, misleading us, or something else,¡± replied Amdirlain. Isa nodded reluctantly. ¡°So he''ll need to get stronger to ''claim'' you both. Do you think he''d use some of the world¡¯s Sage found or elemental locations to grind experience??¡± ¡°We used the magma elementals, but he¡¯s been on Cemna and some other worlds. He¡¯s trained in physical combat, but Torm''s not much of a Wizard yet. He can Plane Shift but not open a Gate,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Yep, he¡¯d need to use existing gates to access any of Sage¡¯s worlds. We put traps on them to see if it nets us anything, but more likely, he¡¯s playing on the planes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more than a few steps behind now, aren¡¯t I?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got your back. You just had to deal with different things,¡± reassured Isa. ¡°What have you done besides blowing up a city and pushing Resonance and True Song?¡± ¡°I evolved True Song Composition and destroyed two other towns,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she raised a finger as Isa started to interject. ¡°I scanned the town completely before setting off bombs. The plan is to hurt Moloch, but I¡¯m done blowing up towns. I¡¯m looking to take away his resources.¡± ¡°How do you plan to do that?¡± ¡°I worked out songs to put souls into a grey purgatory state where they were unaware of the pain the Abyss inflicts. It stopped Soul fragments and energy from being extracted,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s why I needed to examine the repeater crystal you and Roher designed. I wanted to design a song that would provide a temporary relay based on them.¡± A crystal rod the length of a gladius appeared in Isa¡¯s hand. ¡°I noticed the lack of a circle in your new training pit. I take it you anchored the song in a needle?¡± Amdirlain nodded and didn¡¯t take the rod from Isa but listened to its song. ¡°How¡¯s Erwarth¡¯s singing coming along?¡± ¡°She¡¯s improving. Why?¡± ¡°I can get experience from creating, and while I could set temporary songs, a heap of those would be useful. The L¨®m? can¡¯t spare much of your time yet, and they can¡¯t come here. I thought once she¡¯s experienced enough to handle the L¨®m? side-¡± Isa interrupted with a laugh. ¡°She comes here and sings crystal into existence with you, and then you two split the pot?¡± ¡°Split, my arse. I¡¯ll keep the lot, seeing as I¡¯ve got a Plane to deal with here. The L¨®m? have the limited scope of securing their settlements, and you already have that well in hand,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°There are spare crystal sections now that you and Erwarth could gain practice repairing,¡± suggested Isa. ¡°The L¨®m? just had to stabilise their side while I injected energy. That would help her practice and speed things along for the pair of you. If you returned the ones you repaired, it would also help us secure the settlements faster and allow us to combine efforts with you.¡± Amdirlain blinked and gave a wide grin. ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¡°Do you plan just to sit still and train True Song?¡± asked Isa, and she gave an eye roll at Amdirlain''s wary expression. ¡°That¡¯s what I figured.¡± ¡°I think Roher has underestimated Moloch¡¯s threat,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°He was in the air over the city and cast the place into shadow. He was showering it with spells or Power effects laced with Destruction Mana. Thousands of effects being dropped at a time,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she projected the image into Isa¡¯s mind. Isa grimaced. ¡°Then you need more strength before picking fights with him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not planning to fight him at all. I plan to make Moloch bleed profits and stop him from gaining new soldiers.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, he has a whole Plane under his nominal control,¡± protested Isa as she waved her hands in frustration. ¡°Even the loss of that city won¡¯t hurt him for long.¡± ¡°That is why I¡¯m planning to stop entire regions from generating demons,¡± announced Amdirlain, and Isa hissed in shock. ¡°You¡¯re a crazy girl,¡± declared Isa. ¡°What¡¯s a little craziness between friends?¡± Isa''s only reply was to give an exaggerated sigh. 243 - Whatever it takes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The Gate was a liquid pool of light struggling against the chamber¡¯s oppressive darkness; beyond its threshold were the gleaming runes of Duskstone¡¯s summoning chamber. Without the runes on the Abyss¡¯ side, there wasn¡¯t even a glimmer of reflected light, but Ebusuku had no issue seeing Amdirlain. True Sight showed Amdirlain¡¯s Anar form within the darkness, with the entwined auras of violence and death around her. ¡°I wanted to meet with you sooner, but it took a few days to get things settled,¡± Ebusuku stated. ¡°Have you just been standing around in the dark since then?¡± ¡°True Sight is wonderful, so it''s not dark,¡± refuted Amdirlain. Ebusuku frowned at Amdirlain¡¯s glib tone. ¡°Yes, because that makes all the difference to being in a plain stone chamber. Did you spend too much time at the monastery?¡± Unworried by Ebusuku¡¯s expression, Amdirlain just smiled. ¡°Not plain stone¡ªthey had little details in the stonework to catch your attention. That said, there are grains in the stone here, so it''s also not plain. Singing kept me busy while I waited. I¡¯ve got lots of preparation to do for my next phase.¡± ¡°Stopping regions from creating demons?¡± questioned Ebusuku. ¡°Yeah, altering souls, so they no longer experience the torment stops the Abyss from creating demons or anything else.¡± ¡°Isa didn¡¯t say how you planned to accomplish it,¡± murmured Ebusuku. ¡°She didn¡¯t ask. We had other things to talk about when she visited. Are you okay if I borrow Erwarth long term?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s the only one with Glinnel, so I need her help to repair the damaged crystals from failed L¨®m? grottos. Isa started collecting viable ones yesterday, but we¡¯ve hundreds already.¡± While her expression gave nothing away, Amdirlain caught the smugness. ¡°Consider her your permanent assistant.¡± ¡°No, I won¡¯t need her all the time. I still have things I¡¯ll be venturing out to handle,¡± Amdirlain demurred. That earned a disappointed frown. ¡°Are you still willing to meet Munais or, more to the point, N¨¢rendil?¡± Giving her an apologetic smile, Amdirlain accepted the subject change. ¡°It depends on the reason for the meeting. I can conceal the auras if I need to, so there isn¡¯t a need to test their impact.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s frown didn¡¯t fade, but she didn''t direct it at Amdirlain. Her following words made it clear Ebusuku had never intended the frown for Amdirlain. ¡°To let her know what freeing her cost you.¡± ¡°She was hardly to blame, but why does she want to meet? What does she want to know? That I don¡¯t hold Torm¡¯s situation against her?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she shook her head. ¡°Like I¡¯d blame her for being someone¡¯s puppet. If she needs to hear it face to face, I¡¯ll meet with her and let her know.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say she needs to hear it, and it might even help you,¡± counselled Ebusuku. Mulling it over, Amdirlain finally nodded. ¡°I take it she still doesn¡¯t know who I am?¡± Ebusuku shook her head. ¡°She knows that you and Torm were close. Her Liege, however, made it clear she knows you used True Song, but Munais isn¡¯t aware of it.¡± The news made Amdirlain pause, but she nodded her acceptance. ¡°So, since this meeting took a few days to arrange, I take it N¨¢rendil is in Duskstone.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t any dwarves on her pantheon¡¯s planets. It took some formalities for her to enter Moradin¡¯s temple. That was the biggest part of the delay,¡± admitted Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯d thought she was from the Summer Court?¡± ¡°Brel and Ulat were from the Summer Court, but not all elves worship them. Her Liege is a member of a multi-world pantheon. Most of its members are good deities, although they also include some dark powers,¡± clarified Ebusuku. ¡°Sarah says you loved your ¡®game¡¯ elves, but remember, they¡¯re mortals and possess their expectations, temptations, and prejudices¡ªas you experienced with Yngvarr.¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve spoken to him,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Ebusuku nodded. ¡°I was harsh speaking to him when you were at the monastery. Now he¡¯s making better choices, though that might be my expectations. Yngvarr, Alfarr, Aggie, and Pit are helping to defend the kingdoms¡¯ northern borders.¡± ¡°How¡¯s Pit doing? Is he still using the Basteti form?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Her question prompted a laugh from Ebusuku. ¡°He is, and he visited recently. Which led to Rasha grumbling about not being told it was an option. Now Gail teases him about not having thought to switch forms and that he needs to follow her lead more.¡± ¡°Ahh, poor Rasha,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed, Gail adopted him as her big brother.¡± Amdirlain laughed at the mental image of Ebusuku¡¯s family continually expanding. ¡°How many babysitters do you have for her?¡± ¡°Supervisors, hardly babysitters. Many petitioners have customs of extended families, with the entire community raising the children, but she¡¯s the only child,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Makes her the centre of attention?¡± ¡°Too much so,¡± admitted Ebusuku ruefully. ¡°Though they rein her in and don¡¯t just go along with her, fortunately,¡± ¡°It''s healthy for children to have limits,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°There is a difference between limits for our safety and limits that challenge us to grow stronger. You¡¯ve certainly shown you can get in and out of places. I would only suggest you limit yourself to subtle sabotage. We spoke about Moloch allying with dark powers if you attract too much attention.¡± ¡°Wow, you turned it back to me so fast. Harsh. Alright, so you don¡¯t want me playing skyscraper demolition with the Cliffs of Lust?¡± Amdirlain asked with forced cheerfulness. Ebusuku¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It would be very destructive. Guess I¡¯ll go with stopping the damned from feeling pain.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, plan, set up, and sneakily free whatever mortals you can if that¡¯s what you choose to do,¡± stated Ebusuku. ¡°But?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There has to be a but. So what is it?¡± ¡°Please save triggering further dramatic events for when you¡¯re not Planar Locked,¡± beseeched Ebusuku. Amdirlain folded her arms tight across her body. ¡°I needed the energy from the planar displacement to crack the arena-¡± Holding up a hand to get Amdirlain to wait, Ebusuku explained. ¡°That was not what I meant. Turning demons on each other is normal, though your use of those gates made it at the grander end of the scale. I¡¯m talking more about celestial explosions in a gathering town and filling another town with energised magma. What you did to the Balor squad was subtle¡ªfor the Abyss¡ªand you directed the blame at the Sisterhood.¡± ¡°Local style events only, check,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you,¡± breathed Ebusuku. ¡°Shall I ask N¨¢rendil to come in?¡± Amdirlain transformed into an Alu-Demon and shrugged. Ebusuku took that as agreement and sent a signal. The door opened to reveal an elven female. Her ocean-green skin had white swirls across the visible sections, giving it the appearance of rolling surf, shoulder-length hair, the greenish-gold of Granny Smith apples, and her eyes a shimmering light blue. Amdirlain could see her outward appearance nearly matched the compressed Astral Deva form within, the only exception being the absence of wings. A half-sleeve, figure-hugging, silk top matched her eyes, and she¡¯d tucked it into loose dark blue silk pants. She wore the same shade of boots, but woven from what looked like plant fronds. Her music matched the tune she¡¯d heard from Munais but edged with pain and regret. N¨¢rendil entered the room carefully, her gaze fixed on Amdirlain. Racing notes spun through her song, and the Angel clenched her shaking hands into fists. ¡°You look like the Alu-Demon that I met. I was warned, but the extent of the violence from you is frightening. It even feels like your gaze is cutting through me. I didn¡¯t expect this effect across a summoning circle¡¯s boundary.¡± ¡°Killing you set an aura on me, according to Ebusuku,¡± offered Amdirlain, and Ebusuku didn¡¯t even twitch at the partial truth. When she gestured towards Ebusuku, N¨¢rendil started and quickly gave Ebusuku a bow of respect. ¡°My apologies Goddess. I found Jade very distracting,¡± stated N¨¢rendil, and she hurried to shut the door. ¡°Though I assume that is not her name any more than mine was Munais.¡± ¡°You look very different from when we last met,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure we both look very different from our Alu-Demon disguises, though you¡¯ve kept yours,¡± noted N¨¢rendil. ¡°Would you prefer I address you by Munais or your actual name?¡± ¡°You could contact me across planes and target me with that Spell,¡± N¨¢rendil stated, and she gave Amdirlain a coy smile. ¡°Calling me N¨¢rendil isn¡¯t an issue.¡± ¡°I hope it wasn¡¯t painful,¡± offered Amdirlain, getting to her biggest concern. ¡°When I received your message I almost didn¡¯t believe it, but I¡¯m glad I did. The pain was only momentary and nothing compared to what I¡¯d already endured,¡± assured N¨¢rendil, and her mouth twisted sourly. ¡°You provided me mercy, and I am in your debt. I received information that some demons died because of the way you released me?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. At the shift in N¨¢rendil¡¯s expression, Amdirlain nodded and offered what confirmation she could. ¡°Eleven Schir, one of them a commander.¡± ¡°There were a few more. Perhaps the other''s proximity stopped the rest from dying,¡± noted N¨¢rendil, and Amdirlain caught the barest of twitches. ¡°Will you be alright?¡± The question elicited a sharp nod from N¨¢rendil. ¡°It gives me an appreciation for what I still have, yet deepens my sorrow for those who endured such. I¡¯m sorry for failing all of you, and I can understand why it took you so long to wish to speak with me.¡± ¡°N¨¢rendil, I¡¯d never blame a victim. When were you aware they had caught you?¡± ¡°When he told me to go with the Schir troops, I walked up to them. I wanted to teleport away but couldn¡¯t,¡± admitted N¨¢rendil. ¡°The Wizard had carefully concealed a collar of servitude equivalent in the household uniform. He had preparations in place because he was expecting betrayal from other factions. That¡¯s why he caught you from the first day when he wasn¡¯t expecting a Celestial,¡± announced Amdirlain. ¡°It wasn¡¯t because you made a mistake, other than trying to get into his household. Once he had you, he planned out his next steps, and you didn¡¯t know the maze he had you in.¡± ¡°I should have-¡± ¡°You were the victim in his trap, and he used you. There is nothing I blame you for in your situation,¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°Yet I¡¯m told you still blame Caltzan,¡± observed N¨¢rendil. ¡°They are another matter entirely. Caltzan had plenty of choices and chances to avoid what occurred. No one compelled them to reject my help. If I¡¯d been at any of the meetings with you, I would have caught the collar the Wizard had you concealing. That¡¯s why the responsibility stops with Caltzan,¡± said Amdirlain, her voice cold with suppressed anger. Her words caused N¨¢rendil to shift uncomfortably on the spot. ¡°Are not all of us bound by our circumstances and experiences?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s tone remained icy, and she spat out a rebuttal. ¡°We can choose to work to overcome them. There was nothing wrong with Caltzan either of the times we spoke. Caltzan was paranoid about omens and quick to point and judge me even though I¡¯d provided help. I helped both with Brel and avoiding the trapped caravan. Caltzan made choices, and I¡¯ll choose their consequences.¡± ¡°What do you plan to do to him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not yet decided. It will depend on what becomes of the three fallen celestials,¡± Amdirlain explained, and she caught N¨¢rendil¡¯s pained flinch and gestured for her to wait. It took a few minutes to conceal her auras, but the change in N¨¢rendil was dramatic. Amdirlain waited while N¨¢rendil¡¯s posture relaxed, and the tightness around her eyes disappeared. ¡°How?¡± breathed N¨¢rendil. ¡°I believed such auras are impossible to conceal.¡± ¡°It takes an amount of effort, but it¡¯s not impossible. I want you to consider my words without fear influencing you,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I hold Caltzan responsible for Torm and the others. Torm passed on multiple warnings to them.¡± N¨¢rendil fidgeted with a pouch on her belt. ¡°I worked with Caltzan for many years and would like to provide some-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t, N¨¢rendil,¡± snapped Amdirlain, and N¨¢rendil snatched her hand away from the pouch. ¡°You are not responsible for their choices, and there is nothing you can offer me that compensates for what that site did to Torm. To offer me a gift as compensation, especially seeking leniency for Caltzan, belittles that. One of your goddess¡¯ aspects is joy, is it not?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± whispered N¨¢rendil. ¡°How would you feel if someone snuffed out all your joy?¡± growled Amdirlain. N¨¢rendil swallowed at the rage in Amdirlain¡¯s words and let her continue. ¡°Caltzan snuffed out the one joyful aspect of my imprisonment here, and more besides. They will pay once I¡¯ve spoken to them. Moloch is paying, his generals will pay, and this plane will not remotely resemble its current state when I¡¯m done with it.¡± ¡°You might not blame me, but I blame me. Please, let me render some help to apologise,¡± pleaded N¨¢rendil, and she almost crossed the circle¡¯s threshold. ¡°Torm was guarding you, was he not? I worked with Caltzan for many years and should have eased their initial assessment of you after the truth of Brel¡¯s state became clear. I feel responsible for not heading off his paranoia.¡± Amdirlain turned her attention to Ebusuku. ¡°How is the pantheon situation with the elves on Letveri?¡± ¡°The oldest still remember the forest¡¯s great spirits¡ªit makes them wary after their losses. Unlike the Erakk?, they¡¯re uncertain about the help we¡¯d like to give them,¡± started Ebusuku, and her puzzled frown disappeared when Amdirlain motioned to N¨¢rendil. ¡°Would you care to help some elves from a world not among those worshipping your Liege¡¯s pantheon, N¨¢rendil?¡± N¨¢rendil looked at Ebusuku in confusion, but her tone was respectful. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Clearing her throat to ease the anger she felt, Amdirlain deliberately softened her voice. ¡°There is no debt between us in my eyes, but if you want to help, there is a project that might benefit from an alternative approach. Two species of elves lost their ancestral spirits that might have become gods. The souls of those elves could use a pantheon to give them a home. I¡¯ll leave the two of you to talk. If you choose to help the elves, I only expect you to tell them about your Liege and her kin¡ªit''s still their choice,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she disrupted the Gate before Ebusuku had the chance to do so. With the lingering energy of the Gate fading, Amdirlain sent off a message. ¡°Isa, I¡¯ve finished meeting with Ebusuku. Will wait in the chamber so you and Erwarth can bring the crystals.¡± Amdirlain returned to her singing practice when she received no immediate response. Each chord caused the Abyss¡¯ ancient primordial music to echo in the chamber. The wild complexity of it roiled within True Song and pushed her Power to its limits. She¡¯d spent the past days since talking to Isa trying to sustain the music for more than a couple of minutes. The manageable duration didn¡¯t increase until she received a notification. [True Song [S] (34->35)] The shift eased a tension in her throat and body she hadn¡¯t noticed. Letting the echoes fade, she started again and sustained the twisting melody for three minutes before it snapped loose. Precognition shivered up her spine and brought Amdirlain to a halt. There was nothing after the first warning, but Amdirlain waited for a more apparent sign in the growing silence. What came next wasn¡¯t a foe or danger, but Isa¡¯s music as Planar Shift delivered the pair to the chamber¡¯s midpoint. Precognition¡¯s trigger trickled up from her growing understanding of True Song: no Anar would have been able to handle the song she¡¯d been trying to master. Yeah, let''s not get busted doing impossible things. Without even a hello, Isa released a dozen crystal slabs¡ªsome weighing over a ton¡ªwaved, and disappeared again, leaving Erwarth behind. The Solar was in her Anar form, but her silver gaze showed restrained tears that the darkness would have concealed. ¡°Isa¡¯s in a rush,¡± Erwarth managed. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°She could have told me. What¡¯s she doing?¡± The question came out as Isa reappeared and released more crystals. This time, the blocks and shards were a variety of sizes, from a child¡¯s fist to a match for Amdirlain¡¯s torso. ¡°Sorry, got to go. Be back later.¡± ¡°She was grabbing the smaller stuff,¡± Erwarth laughed grimly, and she waved needlessly to the assorted crystals. ¡°She¡¯s got to help with a final linkage between settlements. I wasn¡¯t sure of the effect I¡¯d feel from your auras, but you¡¯ve got them nicely contained.¡± ¡°How do you find the concealment with Resonance?¡± Erwarth closed her eyes and swayed in time to the music swirling around Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could sing that yet; it¡¯s very different from Isa¡¯s concealments. The concealment sounds like you¡¯ve got the aura¡¯s energy feeding back against itself to deaden it. The aura¡¯s music is dark and grim, with sharp upswings and a smashing bass that I can feel deep in my abdomen. I believe I¡¯ll keep my focus off it.¡± Nodding, Amdirlain moved to pick up a crystal slab the size of a chessboard. ¡°Different mindsets achieve the same end goal through different means.¡± The section she randomly selected was an off-white milky hue instead of the usual transparent crystal. Numerous flaws caused its colouration, so it surprised Amdirlain that the piece had stayed intact. As she turned it around, a jagged edge corrected her assumption, showing the severed connection. A glance over the rest showed others in a similar state, but most seemed to have isolated cracks and a fading in their music. ¡°Are these the most salvageable or the ones that are nearest death¡¯s door, so it''s fine to mess up?¡± ¡°What Isa could grab. She just started at the edge of the grotto you found that construct in and filled up her Inventory a few times. While she plans to collect more, this should keep us busy until she has free time.¡± ¡°I hope she¡¯ll be careful of the construct,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she set the plate down carefully. ¡°It''s no longer a danger. Roher created a command rod, and Isa used it to usher it through a Gate. We¡¯ve got it sitting in the outer region of a grotto while it''s cleansed,¡± Erwarth explained. ¡°A suggestion from Roher before we start work on this: we should focus on getting the Duet skill for you. Isa mentioned she¡¯d sung with you but had to work to sing to your lead. With a proper duet, both singers look to work together.¡± ¡°Another Skill; feels like some are going to stagnate,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Could always get a few of them higher or see if we can force them to combine,¡± replied Erwarth. ¡°Plus, the Duet Skill isn¡¯t just for singing, it¡¯s about interlacing activities, be it singing, combat, or even Multi-voice.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve spoken about my skills before, so what suggestions do you have?¡± ¡°The low-hanging fruit is combining Haggling, Intimidate, Sense Motive, and Diplomacy if we can get your Diplomacy into Master rank. Pushing your weapon skills might force them to combine into Silent Storm and cause it to evolve. The other option is trying to get them to combine and evolve but stay separate.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she hid her amusement that it was Diplomacy that needed to be higher. ¡°Combining Danger Sense, Perception, and Planar Sense would need another Skill, or skills, depending on what you pick up. You¡¯ll likely need to progress to Master rank since those three are in that rank already,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°Well, put your grinding shoes on¡ªtime to get your True Song to match mine.¡± ¡°How long shall we go for this time?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll keep going while we have crystals to repair,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Isa will probably bring more in an hour,¡± objected Erwarth. Amdirlain just raised an eyebrow. ¡°And?¡± Erwarth gave a slight frown. ¡°It¡¯s just not your usual training routine.¡± ¡°Torm isn¡¯t here to take a break with anymore. I¡¯ll keep going, either helping you train or doing something else. If you don¡¯t want to push, then I¡¯ll go find demons to destroy.¡± The partly concealed edge in Amdirlain¡¯s voice prompted a quick response. ¡°Once I can sing concealments for myself, I¡¯ll help you annihilate more.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Deal.¡± The Protean they had in common washed away the fatigue and strain that the True Song invoked. Days turned into weeks and months while the milky crystals Isa continually supplied regained transparency. Not needing to draw breath for their bodies, they moved from simply singing to sparring while they worked. Though doing so presented completely distinct challenges, it pushed up the skills they needed to improve. Walking the fine line between keeping Amdirlain under pressure and overwhelming her pressured Erwarth¡¯s singing, and while Amdirlain sought openings with different weapons, she had to match her singing to Erwarth¡¯s tempo. Amidst the fighting, Amdirlain released a thrown axe even as a side roll took her beneath an arrow¡¯s flight. It impacted Erwarth¡¯s thigh, and a click rang through Amdirlain¡¯s being. [Duet [Ad] (19->20) Throwing Weapons [Ad] (50) -> Throwing Weapons [M] (1) Silent Storm [S] (132) evolved into Devouring Cacophony [S] (1) Sword [M] (11) merged into Devouring Cacophony Axe [M] (1) merged into Devouring Cacophony. Dagger [M] (1) merged into Devouring Cacophony. Short Bow [M] (1) merged into Devouring Cacophony [S] (1 -> 2).] The weapons she kept shifting between became mere extensions of her arms, yet still Erwarth bore down. Her greater Skill prevented Amdirlain''s minor increase in proficiency from providing any advantage. The improvement just had her press Amdirlain harder, repeatedly leaving her with no time to react. Caught between the exhalation of a soaring note and swaying clear of attack, another piece clicked into place. [Zen State [S] (98) merged into Devouring Cacophony [S] (2 -> 49)] The empty state of the meditative technique activated, and Amdirlain stopped reacting with merely the weapon she had in hand. Though she maintained an Anar form, her whole body became the weapon. The awareness of her opponent¡¯s thrumming song fed information into Zen State, and complete awareness flickered into life. Erwarth, having walked a tightrope of pressure versus combat domination, missed the sudden shift which sent her sword flying. Amdirlain stepped carefully away, and together, they finished the repairs on a column they¡¯d been circling. Only when they¡¯d restored its transparency did Erwarth recall her sword to hand. ¡°I think it''s time to play with some bad guys,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Think you can handle your concealment now?¡± Erwarth sheathed her sword with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll find out soon enough. That was quite a jump in combat efficiency.¡± ¡°All my weapon skills merged into a combat style called ''Devouring Cacophony'', and then it consumed Zen State too,¡± explained Amdirlain. Singing a sheet of paper into existence, Amdirlain jotted out the notation for a concealment tailored to Erwarth. When Erwarth looked over the notations, she shot Amdirlain a surprised look. ¡°This isn¡¯t your song, is it?¡± ¡°No, it''s for your song and energies, and it lets you fake a degree of Abyssal Heat to pretend to be a Greater Demon. Evolving True Song Composition allows for more concise music.¡± ¡°There are some twists, but I could have managed this song weeks ago,¡± complained Erwarth. Amdirlain restrained her smile. ¡°I hadn¡¯t combined my skills yet. There is something else I want to try. While we fought, I isolated Inventory¡¯s song and wanted to see if it''s possible to unlock it for you. If I can manage that one, I¡¯ll work to see if I can isolate Energy Drain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard enough to know what Inventory does, but why Energy Drain?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°Honestly, it sounds like something an undead would possess.¡± ¡°Ebusuku has it. We¡¯ve both used Energy Drain to collect souls trapped in undead on Cemna,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°The main reason to give it to you is that I used it to capture L¨®m? souls upon killing Nox and transported them to Judgement.¡± ¡°The Sisterhood stronghold when you were overflowing with Souls?¡± enquired Erwarth. Giving a nod, Amdirlain felt compelled to explain more. ¡°That was the first time I used it on mortals¡ªthe slaves involved in Livia¡¯s death. Be careful hitting demons with it; I used it to leech health from them but also got demonic shards. It anchored to the humans and undead on Cemna and drew them in after death, but L¨®m? souls I had to intercept before they sank into the ground.¡± A broad smile appeared, and Erwarth hugged Amdirlain close. ¡°I could rescue the L¨®m? souls without having to play around luring them to grottos.¡± ¡°It seems weird to give a Power this way,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Because combining Harmony and Telepathy to give affinities is so normal?¡± teased Erwarth. ¡°I¡¯ve always loved magic because one of the oldest memories I recovered in my last life was a song binding the ability to gain affinities into a species. Honestly, though I can¡¯t remember the species, I remember the wonder of the music and its complexity. Anyway, we¡¯re getting off track. Let¡¯s see if you can give me this special ability of yours.¡± The melody spiralled in the air between them within the first few bars, and despite the Power¡¯s potential, it wasn¡¯t a complex song. The only challenge in performing it was applying the intent to Erwarth¡¯s essence. When the connection at last settled, Erwarth snorted in surprise, and she gave Amdirlain a lopsided smile. ¡°It felt like I got smacked, and then I got one of those messages you speak of, including a note, and it¡¯s added a new area to my Profile.¡± Resisting the temptation to rub her face, Amdirlain grimaced and motioned to Erwarth. ¡°Spit it out?¡± ¡°The first part was normal, ''Inventory unlocked''. The note part said, ''A Fallen attached you to an inter-dimensional hole? Does this make you more or less holy?''.¡± ¡°I think we need to deal with a location you know about, not talk about Gideon¡¯s taste in puns,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Erwarth nodded and worked through Amdirlain¡¯s song without applying True Song. Once she had the tune down, she started from the top. This time the air about her thrummed and churned, and the abyssal miasma about them wrapped itself like a cloak around her. Amdirlain could hear Erwarth''s internal song, but a layer of Abyssal Heat radiated from her. While it wasn¡¯t as strong as her normal Celestial presence, it was more than some demons that Amdirlain had avoided within the city. ¡°Yeah, that should do the trick,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t feel different,¡± confirmed Erwarth. ¡°The Abyssal Heat is being reflected away from you.¡± 244 - Me & my demons Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic With Erwarth ready to go, Amdirlain stacked up the last of the crystals they¡¯d repaired. ¡°You¡¯ve got information from the Wizard¡¯s brain, but we need a local¡¯s knowledge of what will most hurt Moloch to lose,¡± stated Erwarth. ¡°Yeah, the cliffs and the blood plains are obvious choices, but there will be others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exactly after local knowledge. If we gain materials generated from the damned, we could find locations. I eventually want to deal with them all,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she caught Erwarth¡¯s pause. ¡°Have you only used a Succubus¡¯ form?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what set me aback. How will the song let you track where they came from?¡± Amdirlain blinked in surprise. ¡°There are tones in the song that mark out points of origin. Clairsentience techniques also let you track or experience past events related to objects or places.¡± ¡°In my previous life, I was very combat-oriented with True Song. Guess I have a lot more to re-learn than I had expected. As to your question, I¡¯ve used other forms, but that¡¯s the one I know best,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°I¡¯d suggest we use a Marilith¡¯s form; we¡¯ll fit in, but with equal measures of attention, fear, and submission. However, they are at least senior commanders or generals to a Demon Lord by the time they reach Greater Tier.¡± ¡°Let''s reduce the Abyssal Heat the concealment is currently providing,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she shifted into a Marilith. Still elven-featured, a bald scalp with a mohawk of spikes and a fanged mouth gave her face¡¯s angularity a feral quality. Her upper torso still nominally matched her elven form, though it now supported three pairs of arms and flattened breasts that barely added any curves to her muscular chest. What skin remained turned matte grey as, from mid-abdomen, flesh blended into sandy-brown and grey scales that covered a snake-like body extending five metres from where her hips should have been. The dense mass of coiled muscles in the tail increased her weight to exceed a midsized car. Amdirlain gave Erwarth a dangerous grin before she created rings of stygian steel for each hand. Each creation contained simple dimensional enchantments; without pause, she made a jagged falchion in each hand. Partway through Amdirlain¡¯s crafting, Erwarth shifted into a similar form. Instead of grey skin, her upper torso and scalp were a swirling geometric pattern of interlocking red and black. Poisonous-green scales with black spines covered her serpentine lower body. Once she completed her equipment, Amdirlain created similar ones for Erwarth and added a set of bracers. [Crafting Summary (Categories: Various) Masterwork Stygian Falchion: 5,030 x 12 = 100 (base) + 400 (rare material) + 4,530 (enchantment rating: +906 (success)) Minor Storage Ring: 210 x 12 = 10 (base) + 500 (Enchantment: Spatial (Capacity: 20 kilograms)) Masterwork Bracers: 5,030 = 100 (base) + 400 (rare material) + 4,530 (enchantment rating: +906 (success)) Total Experience gained: 67,910 Ostim? +33,955 Ont?lin +33,955 Duet [Ad] (20->21)] The dissonance Amdirlain had previously noticed in the blending of the materials and enchantment had eased considerably with Duet¡¯s addition. ¡°Other mariliths weren¡¯t so ornate,¡± commented Amdirlain, looking over Erwarth¡¯s threatening colour scheme. ¡°They only moult to change the colouration of their skin or scales. Some regions they go in for more ornate colouration, but basically anything they feel at the time is attractive,¡± explained Erwarth. Amdirlain considered her form again, and all the swords disappeared into the storage rings she¡¯d created. Keeping her torso upright, Amdirlain coiled her body to support her and lifted until she loomed about two and a half metres in height. In that position, she still found it easy to move about either with a sidewinder¡¯s motion or that of a typical serpent. Their scales rasped across the bare stone floor for a time as they both familiarised themselves with their new bodies. Amdirlain found the clustered positioning of her arms required the most significant change, as her attacks required adopting a pattern of moves to avoid tangling herself. Aware of the dangers of predictability, Amdirlain tried adding tail slaps, stabs, and grabs, among other strikes. Erwarth caught Amdirlain¡¯s addition to her familiarisation. ¡°Marilith attack so fast that patterns aren¡¯t normally an issue. Plus, most foes with two arms get overwhelmed by the near-constant streams of attacks.¡± ¡°All patterns have weaknesses,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Erwarth smirked. ¡°Hiccup the pattern.¡± ¡°I can guess what you mean, but care to confirm?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll not need the tactic with most foes, only against those holding their own and getting used to your pattern. When they look committed to a parry, hold back one of your attacks, especially when they¡¯re putting strength into parrying; let¡¯s you lure them into putting themselves off-balance when they go to parry a blow that isn¡¯t there.¡± ¡°Teleport around them?¡± ¡°The form¡¯s size makes that a bit more of a challenge,¡± replied Erwarth. ¡°Do you have a particular preference for the size of the place we search?¡± ¡°I take it the Sisterhood didn¡¯t just leave Moloch be?¡± ¡°I know a couple of trade cities and larger towns. The Sisterhood couldn¡¯t go into them without provoking a response, but ?we¡¯d scout around them. Watch the amount of traffic and track banners to determine who had dealings with Moloch and sell the information,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°Even the smaller ones will have goods from all over the Plane.¡± ¡°Demons and their boredom.¡± ¡°Ennui is not your friend when millennia roll along. Finding something to motivate you is important when many want to tear you down,¡± acknowledged Erwarth. ¡°Let¡¯s go through the larger towns, check out the raw materials on offer, and free any prisoners,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know any with a Gate that we could alter?¡± ¡°If you have it immediately sending them home, the demons will stop using it.¡± ¡°What do you propose?¡± ¡°How about we add a song into it so mortals get tagged with an enduring marker?¡± suggested Erwarth, and Amdirlain motioned her to explain. ¡°Well, two parts: one to send us a message when mortals pass through, and another so we can track them. We don¡¯t even have to do the rescuing. The other covert cells operating on Culerzic need valid information.¡± ¡°It would have to be conditional; otherwise if a prisoner caravan comes through, we could get hundreds of alerts,¡± considered Amdirlain. ¡°We need to know there was an arrival, which tagged new prisoners. The song to tag new mortals would be a simple condition; it would be a continuous effect tagging anyone not already tagged.¡± ¡°Tag the arrivals of prisoners or collaborators,¡± added Erwarth. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll need some help to test it.¡± ¡°Ask Livia or Moke to help and organise some additional travellers,¡± advised Erwarth, and her expression turned wary as Amdirlain started to protest. ¡°I¡¯ve heard some messages the pair of you exchanged during training even before things went wrong. It was fine to keep her away when she had the reassurance of Torm backing you, but now you¡¯re both hurting from Torm¡¯s situation. It would be good to meet in person, not merely hear each other¡¯s voices.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not risking her,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°I was the one that told her you needed to be out of touch for a while,¡± Erwarth declared. ¡°Did she chew you out when you got back in touch?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then maybe put some trust in her judgement, that she wouldn¡¯t wander around in the Abyss nor criticise you for what happened. Those you killed might already be in Judgement and free from the tortures inflicted here,¡± stated Erwarth, her concerned focus not shifting from Amdirlain. ¡°We could have her using a Gate from Stoneheart unless there is another protected chamber you trust on the Material Plane. Of course, if you wanted to worry her less, I¡¯d suggest you set up a good base again instead of this shaft.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°There are other mortals that can help us test it,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, but I¡¯m certain Livia would top the list of people that have a right to catch up in person. You¡¯ve even had evidence that someone with lowish Willpower won¡¯t get crushed by your new Charisma,¡± argued Erwarth, and she reached up to cup Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°Give yourself a gift for once. Tell her what you have planned and ask if she¡¯ll help.¡± ¡°Part of her Immortal path is her service of Justice through her boss. So I don¡¯t see her refusing a chance to help rescue individuals from the Abyss,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Then how do you think she¡¯d feel if you didn¡¯t trust her to be involved?¡± asked Erwarth, and she nodded at Amdirlain¡¯s wince. ¡°Once we get the songs working, we can create zone effects with the salvaged crystals. Then when we explore for materials, place them using Inventory to swap stone for the crystal.¡± Ideas and plans raced around in Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and after a long pause, she nodded. ¡°We could create them and not even have to place them ourselves. Also, we should set them up to record the message back to a memory crystal or a book instead of sending the alert to us.¡± ¡°My goodness, are you going to delegate by chance?¡± teased Erwarth. ¡°We can create the materials and effects. We don¡¯t have to be the ones to set them in place, especially since there are too many to handle ourselves.¡± Erwarth nodded and slithered clear before she turned back into her elven form. ¡°You know we don¡¯t have to gather materials from markets. We can get the various cells to leave them at drop locations.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to get me to avoid trouble,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We¡¯d need to do some design work and test that this will even work. Then we¡¯ll need to work out how to expand it in a way that isn¡¯t dependent on our efforts.¡± Her statement had Erwarth smiling broadly. ¡°Fine, so what do you want to handle first?¡± ¡°What I want to handle first is finding new areas of the damned,¡± said Amdirlain, and she held up a hand to forestall Erwarth¡¯s objection. ¡°I need time to compose songs and think about the best approach to these problems.¡± With a forlorn sigh, Erwarth gave Amdirlain a conflicted look. ¡°I had hoped you¡¯d given up on this, but it''s your choice to go out. The location is a large mining and trade town. The place is called Doraz. It''s beside a stretch of where the Stygian River touches this Plane. It seems a useful place since the river¡¯s song might help your plan.¡± ¡°Washing all memory away?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Erwarth, and her mouth twisted sourly. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the melody, but I can remember the distaste I felt hearing it. The river is a brutal thief, stealing memories from those that touch or drink its waters. It leaves them a husk, with the scars of life, but no memory to know why.¡± ¡°Then it only does part of what I need,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Giving Amdirlain a puzzled look, Erwarth tilted her head in thought. ¡°I thought your focus was on changing the souls, so they didn¡¯t generate demons or abyssal produce.¡± Licking her lips, Amdirlain hesitated a moment before she took the plunge, ¡°The Titan used his forge to reset a Grecian Celestial¡¯s essence into a brand new Soul, washed clean of memories and accomplishments. Hestia told me about a message with an image of it occurring on Mount Olympus.¡± ¡°You want to do the same thing to all the damned souls you can?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever be able to, but that¡¯s my end goal,¡± Amdirlain declared, keeping her entire focus purely on her own words. A muttered curse hissed half heard off Erwarth¡¯s lips. ¡°Sarah was right. You don¡¯t let the pain in, you focus on another goal.¡± Holding her interior trembling at bay, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s only partly right this time. I¡¯m focusing on a goal, so I¡¯ve got a channel to funnel it away. I¡¯m not in denial, and I know I¡¯m not okay. Between the pain and anger, it''s hard to think if I let his situation be my focus. So right now, I¡¯ve been trying to use that energy to do something constructive, and instead, I killed at least a thousand prisoners.¡± ¡°That didn¡¯t stop you from blowing up three more towns,¡± commented Erwarth. ¡°Only ones that Resonance let me check from one side to the other,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she focused on the strengthening concern amidst Erwarth¡¯s chords. ¡°Burning towns to the ground won¡¯t cost Moloch enough. I need to destroy his profits.¡± ¡°Do you think Torm would have wanted you doing something simply to cost Moloch?¡± asked Erwarth, and though her concern hadn¡¯t lessened, Amdirlain had to fight off the chaffing sensation that it evoked. Despite her effort, the second-guessing prickled at her, and Amdirlain raised her hands to stop Erwarth from interrupting. Swallowing, Amdirlain kept her tone deliberately soft, despite the anger that sought to leak into her voice. ¡°I can hear your concern, but never use Torm¡¯s name to manipulate me for any reason. Better still, don¡¯t mention him unless you have a way of finding the individual he became.¡± The reaction Erwarth had caused didn¡¯t escape her notice, and wincing, she nodded to Amdirlain in apology. ¡°I had thought the last months of singing had taken the edge from your grief. You talked about helping prisoners and then went back to wanting to cost Moloch.¡± ¡°I never have only one plan going, Erwarth,¡± stated Amdirlain, and her tail rasping across the stone had her forcing out a slow breath. ¡°There is so much anger in me right now, I¡¯m sure my grief is letting the rage Orh¨ºthurin kept locked away vent as well.¡± ¡°I remember her as calm and unshakable,¡± murmured Erwarth. Amdirlain gave a bitter laugh. ¡°Oh Erwarth, I can guarantee you she wasn¡¯t a calm individual. I think I¡¯ll regret my new combat skill claiming Zen State.¡± Fire flared under her sternum, and Amdirlain let the pulsing rage slip from her lips. She kept it chained in a song that tore apart the chamber¡¯s air, spilling crimson abyssal coins in its wake. Though Erwarth couldn¡¯t hear Amdirlain''s internal melody, the venomous fury in the metal was clear. Carefully keeping herself clear of the coins, she used gathering spells to set them into stacks. Amdirlain stored the stacked coins away when they began to clutter the floor but didn¡¯t miss a single beat. It was hours before Amdirlain drew her song to a close; by then, her Inventory held millions of coins. ¡°That wave has eased. Shall we be on our way, or do you not trust me to keep control?¡± Her hissing tone was like water thrown into a raging inferno. ¡°Was that anger from yourself, or Orh¨ºthurin?¡± asked Erwarth softly after she had given Amdirlain time for her trembling to ease. ¡°From the snippets of thoughts that came with the wave, it was ?Orh¨ºthurin. It contained bits and pieces of wanting to rip her former husband limb from limb. Torm¡¯s situation is completely different, but Hirindo leaving Orh¨ºthurin was devastating for her, so the loss is resonating. There were other messes in there that came from other lives, so I think dysfunctional relationships must be common.¡± Though Amdirlain had kept the demonic form, Erwarth moved close and rested a hand gently on the lowest forearm. ¡°But how are you?¡± ¡°I hurt too much to want to focus on it,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°It feels like someone scooped out my insides and left ash-filled firepits in their place. Whenever I feel I have some control, the fires in them flare to life again. I need to use that fire for something other than wallowing in the pain, Erwarth.¡± ¡°What do you want to do?¡± asked Erwarth, and she rushed to clarify before Amdirlain could snap. ¡°What¡¯s your end goal, I mean.¡± ¡°It''s not just about the souls, Erwarth. The Abyss was wild, amoral, and uncaring, but it didn¡¯t start filled with the sickening corruption you¡¯ll find everywhere now,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I have Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories of shifting materials from the Abyss to create hundreds of star systems. The materials initially didn¡¯t need any purification, as a planet doesn¡¯t care about the beings that might come to live on it. On any planet, the natural cycles do not consider right or wrong. The strong survive, and the weak perish, and that was the Abyss.¡± ¡°I have memories of choirs putting in extra effort to create materials rather than touch anything from the Abyss,¡± advised Erwarth. ¡°That was much later,¡± Amdirlain said, and she let out a shaky breath. ¡°I want to see if I can reset parts of the Abyss, purge it of the corruption to reduce the number of demons that manifest. Moloch hurt Torm, so his fiefdom gets to be the first target of my endeavours, but it won¡¯t be the last.¡± ¡°Here I thought you planned long-term for a former Mortal with your goals against the Dao,¡± commented Erwarth. ¡°How long do you think it will take?¡± ¡°Even if you figure out a mechanism, for one Plane alone, it will be aeons of effort,¡± declared Erwarth. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting something,¡± ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°The Abyss duplicated Orh¨ºthurin''s efforts previously,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t make it a paradise, but I will remind it what it used to be and ensure the effect spreads.¡± ¡°But you¡¯re not Orh¨ºthurin,¡± countered Erwarth. ¡°Thank goodness for that!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯d focus on the souls getting whatever they earned. Now, will you show me this stygian town, or do I need to find a spot to start on my own?¡± Erwarth nodded quickly and returned to the Marilith form she¡¯d assumed earlier. Ending the concealment she¡¯d set in place previously, Erwarth sang again, and this time the Abyssal Heat was of a standard strength. Amdirlain took the time to copy the intensity of the aura she¡¯d set in place, and Erwarth teleported them away. When they reappeared, Erwarth had positioned them a distance back from the edge of a drop into a massive cavern. A few kilometres to their right, a wide river descended from the ceiling and rushed down a set of cascades. Its music was a grey drone that grated and rumbled, a collection of abrasive chords that scoured across their senses. The song¡¯s callous scouring stripped away joyous memories with sickening delight and yet took its time removing painful ones. Within the waters, ignoring the current¡¯s speed and the buffeting of the stones, Amdirlain could see thousands of empty-eyed souls staring vacantly upwards as they drifted along. Despite the obstacles and the river¡¯s contents, the waters raced along, following the straight course of a rock-filled gorge. A mist rose to nearly the bottom of the natural bridges from the buffeting. Fortunately, the top of the stone arcs remained dry and provided entry to the town beyond. The wards within the township blocked anyone teleporting closer to it than the guard station at the start of the bridge. ¡°The mines and furnaces produce some of the highest quality adamantine available. The value of the metal attracts merchants carrying many goods, materials, and luxuries to exchange,¡± explained Erwarth. ¡°We should find what we¡¯re looking for here, if they let us through the gates.¡± The only scenery on the gorge¡¯s far side was a twisted piece of defensive work and a pair of gatehouses. Stacked bodies of the damned wiggled and squirmed for freedom, with the weight of their fellows holding them in place between twisted spiked bars that ran from floor to ceiling. The two gatehouses blocked any view of the town, even with their gates partially open, instead revealing more walls of the damned behind. ¡°Cute. The damned heal nearly instantly, so it''s hard to hack your way through,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°How far below ground level are we?¡± Erwarth nodded and slithered towards the ledge¡¯s end, picking a path that led towards the road across the closest bridge. ¡°Here we¡¯re only thirty or forty kilometres; the mines on the other side extend hundreds further.¡± Though the road ahead was busy with traffic, a steel wagon pulled by two giant spiders the size of draft horses skidded to a halt to allow them into the line ahead of it. The goat-headed Schir in the driver¡¯s seat shot them frantic looks as his team continued to chitter in protest over him having suddenly yanked on the reins. 245 - Drowning Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The presence of the surrounding demons rankled Amdirlain¡¯s nerves, and it wasn¡¯t an act when a Greater Schir tried to cut ahead of them. Her snarl came out with a crush of projected agony in an echo of the vile music within him. Dominion drove the Schir and a hundred demons around them to their knees. ¡°Wait your turn, wretch.¡± ¡°Kill him for his arrogance,¡± hissed Erwarth, but Amdirlain caught her concern beneath the outward facade. ¡°I¡¯ve got a better idea,¡± Amdirlain said, and she grabbed the struggling Schir by a twisted horn and threw him towards the gorge. When his feet left the road, she spun in place, and a tail slap broke bones and added momentum to a flight she controlled with Far Hand. The moment he touched the mists above the river, Amdirlain heard the effect of the waters at work, stripping away memories and chewing into the demonic essence. The wards on the gorge prevented him from teleporting away, and Amdirlain shot Erwarth a glance. ¡°Guess his ability to Teleport wasn¡¯t strong enough to rescue him from the wards.¡± ¡°Such a shame indeed,¡± purred Erwarth. Listening carefully, Amdirlain caught that the effect was only within the gorge itself; the stygian¡¯s mists hid the additional wards'' energies. Tuned to the wards¡¯ nature, Amdirlain focused but couldn¡¯t find the same effect within the town except in isolated locations. Silent notes shared the information Amdirlain had gained through Erwarth¡¯s mental barrier, and she nodded in apparent satisfaction. Not giving the demons a chance to recover, Amdirlain moved through the crowd and pushed aside those that obstructed her way. The Schir contingent at the toll station looked at the pair of them, and Amdirlain¡¯s rage-twisted expression before they pushed a smaller guard forward to speak. Amdirlain offered a single coin and gestured to Erwarth to make it clear it was to cover both. A fearful bleat-like noise escaped the Demon¡¯s lips, and he waved them through, making no motion towards the coin. ¡°No charge, no charge.¡± ¡°Are you thinking of the agony you wish to share with someone, lover?¡± murmured Erwarth. ¡°Why yes,¡± growled Amdirlain. Erwarth gave a twisted smile and raked a glance across the guards. ¡°Save your rage for the merchants; perhaps you¡¯ll break their pricing margins.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t respond but moved through the open gate, leaving Erwarth to follow. As she breached the outer wards, Amdirlain took in their reaction¡ªacknowledging her species and apparent tier¡ªtheir judgement matched the concealment Amdirlain had set in place. Their bridge crossing was without incident, with those ahead hurrying to get through the gates. ¡°Did you cast a Haste spell on them?¡± joked Erwarth dryly. ¡°It''s my shining personality,¡± growled Amdirlain as the wards beneath her mocked the memory of Torm¡¯s entrapment. The fury she¡¯d sung out flared again, and other memories taunted her with familiar and unfamiliar failures. Their energy pulsed through her, and Amdirlain surged forward, setting the demons ahead of them sprinting. ¡°We should leave,¡± whispered Erwarth. ¡°Go then, I¡¯ve things to do,¡± hissed Amdirlain, and she continued to slither across, focused on memorising the river¡¯s song. She caught an energy flare atop the stacked damned and a new form squeezed into existence, adding to the compression of the near-ceiling high stacks. Those near the top lay curiously flat, and when she got close enough, it was clear weight bands held them down, even as they waved and kicked, trying to get up. As she approached the town¡¯s gate, the reason for its obstructed view became clear: the naked bodies of thousands of damned formed winding passages beyond the town¡¯s outer walls. Like the exterior walls, they lay in stacks that reached towards the ceiling. Along the first passage, Amdirlain could see the flares of new arrivals. It was a bizarre and twisted fate, with those towards the base squeezed into a pulp that oozed forth tiny larvae, each with a screaming face. Least Tier quasits sped along the walls'' base, each gathering up the scattered maggots into pouches stitched from flayed faces. Those whose pouches had nearly grown full gave the impression that the pouches still lived in that state with their mouths and eyes sealed shut. The maggots within added bulges that contoured in a proxy of agony. As they worked their way deeper into the town, Amdirlain didn¡¯t find buildings. Each area, be it stores or workshops, existed within the walls of the damned. The variously-sized cul-de-sacs off the main paths found use according to the space they provided. Large loops had become smelters or warehouses, while smaller ones were one or more stores set in free-standing racks. The casual cruelties Amdirlain witnessed along the pathways spiked her rage in response. On each path they took, Amdirlain focused on listening for mortals. Not wanting to be caught out by new arrivals, she left linked songs, scanning for non-demonic life. Yet hours of exploring the large town didn¡¯t turn up anything beyond the presence of pests and spiders among the stacks of the damned. A pained screech caught at the rage that had simmered beneath her skin for hours, and Amdirlain saw red. A Quasit she¡¯d seen scrambling for maggots screeched repeatedly and thrashed in vain to free its tail from beneath a Schir¡¯s hoof. Her path took Amdirlain by him as the goat-faced Demon broadcast thoughts of revelling in his pointless sadism. Bending to snatch it up, the Schir rose with the Quasit¡¯s head clasped in one hand and the wings in the other. A millimetre at a time, the Schir steadily pulled, all his attention focused on experiencing the Quasit¡¯s expected death throes. The noise of the Quasit¡¯s screeches dug into her ear, and Amdirlain lashed out. The blow from above smashed a course through the Schir¡¯s shoulder into his ribs before it crushed his heart and spine. [Combat Summary: Schir x1 Total Experience gained: 5,037 Ostim?: +2,518 Ont?lin: +2,518] The Quasit gasped in relief and looked at Amdirlain in surprise. ¡°You¡¯d best not screech again,¡± growled Amdirlain, her writhing tail accenting the harsh command. ¡°Any slave dealers in this place?¡± ¡°Mortals can¡¯t stand being down here, especially not near the mine,¡± replied the Quasit. ¡°No toys, bored now,¡± grunted Amdirlain unhappily. ¡°Get out of my sight.¡± With that, both the Quasit and the Schir¡¯s allies fled as one. Though she hadn¡¯t expected to find anything new, a hideous rasping noise beckoned them along a bend in the path. They entered a large area at the cavern¡¯s edge where the walls curved around a deep depression. The height advantage of the pit¡¯s lip allowed her to see an eldritch horror, pinned to the ground with bands of True Song Crystal keeping it in place, despite the sheer malevolence that stained even the Abyss¡¯ miasma. Its main body was the size of an Olympic stadium, and the bands that crisscrossed it pinned it down, but still allowed claw-covered tentacles the size of lorries to thrash and scrabble ineffectively at the ground. Within each band, the enduring strength of dozens of choirs compressed its form into something discernable while suppressing its abilities. Aeons worth of marks showed where the being had slowly worn away at the stone, but its progress had simply caused the bands to push it deeper into the ground. Above its thrashing limbs, walkways filled with demons watched its misery as they supped on delicacies of agony and spite. The essence of the thing caused a kaleidoscope of after images as its very nature fought the constraints that bound it here. With even its suppressed strength a keening dissonance, Amdirlain didn¡¯t even try Analysis. Erwarth moved ahead of Amdirlain and took the busiest passage away from the pit. Despite Erwarth¡¯s hasty departure, Amdirlain followed at a leisurely pace, trying to memorise snippets of the song¡¯s overwhelming complexity. Spurred on by the being¡¯s presence, Erwarth left Amdirlain behind, but ironically, the concealment song made it simple to find her again. The path Erwarth had chosen eventually joined onto a wide concourse packed with carts piled high with ore. By the time Erwarth turned onto it, Amdirlain was nearly level with her, and their presence forced drivers to swerve along the wall. The damned¡ªat their height¡ªhad been so thoroughly squashed they could no longer flail or scratch. The entry to the mine was a sloped pit a few kilometres away from the eldritch horror. The maze of tunnels beneath the cavern floor made Amdirlain wonder what would happen if it eventually broke into them. Taking advantage of the crowds, Amdirlain deliberately picked a path that took far longer to transverse. Despite the Quasit¡¯s claim, and having seen the imprisoned horror for herself, Amdirlain sent scores of songs through the tunnels¡¯ scanning for Mortal life. None returned with the faintest trace of anything but demons having been within the mines. Once she found a path that exposed the cavern¡¯s back wall, Amdirlain listened carefully to determine the reach of the wards. When she¡¯d plotted its course, she pulled a funnel of stone into Inventory, and carefully extended a passage from the widest point that stayed within the wards. Though the entry was barely a half metre in height, the interior gave them enough space to turn towards each other. Hunched forward, Amdirlain slithered into the hollow she¡¯d created and reformed in a Succubus body to allow Erwarth enough space to enter. ¡°Plan?¡± asked Erwarth once she was completely within the passage. Rather than immediately explain, Amdirlain released the stone funnel from Inventory to seal the cavern¡¯s end of the passage. Whispered notes hung glowing into the air and formed sheets filled with musical notation. Without prompting, Erwarth took the pages and looked over the song Amdirlain had composed. ¡°The principal theme is adamantine, but I¡¯m not sure what you¡¯re doing with the undertones throughout this song,¡± stated Erwarth, and she gave Amdirlain a puzzled look. ¡°I¡¯ll need you to focus the song as deep into the mines beneath us as you can. The undertones are anchor points for my song to link to,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she gave a harsh smile. ¡°No slaves here or in the mines. I plan to let the stygian wash this place away and drown these adamantine mines for all time.¡± ¡°The river is a dangerous target to even attempt altering,¡± cautioned Erwarth. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Our songs won¡¯t touch the river directly¡ªI¡¯m going to alter the riverbed. The mine¡¯s anchor points will guide me in cutting an alternative course. I¡¯ve got some preparation work to do first. I want linked songs to do most of the heavy lifting of dissolving the stone.¡± ¡°Did we even have to come inside?¡± asked Erwarth softly. ¡°You¡¯ve had me worried a few times with how you behaved.¡± ¡°Erwarth, acting training, remember? I¡¯m channelling my pain, and while I don¡¯t know when that pain will ease, I didn¡¯t come here to lash out randomly at demons,¡± stated Amdirlain. Feeling the anger start to rise, she exhaled sharply and forced herself to stop. ¡°What was that creature?¡± The muscles in Erwarth¡¯s jaw bunched as she ground her teeth together, but Amdirlain waited her out. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. It felt like something from the Far Chaos,¡± Erwarth replied. ¡°Maybe a foreign God that wasn¡¯t cooperative or thought it could control the realm¡ªhundreds of them ended up imprisoned on the lower planes for various reasons. Well, those that weren¡¯t just slain for intruding. It doesn¡¯t look like the Abyss was copying only Orh¨ºthurin now, does it?¡± Amdirlain frowned at Erwarth¡¯s knowing tone. ¡°Is that why you suggested this as a location to investigate? Were you seeking to prove a point? Because to me, it proves that if I make significant alterations, it will get the Abyss¡¯ attention and cause them to be copied.¡± ¡°I¡¯d heard tales about something trapped here, but it was the only location for accessing the Stygian River that I knew about on Culerzic,¡± huffed Erwarth. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Seal the rock completely. It should be a perfect fit, but I don¡¯t think we want anything getting in while we work,¡± instructed Amdirlain as she pushed her frustration aside. Nodding, Erwarth also took on her Succubus form, and quick notes merged the stone Amdirlain had set back in place with the wall. As Erwarth studied the pages properly, Amdirlain worked out the shortest path between the gorge and the mine tunnels. She laid out markers of linked songs to create hydraulic pressure by pulling in a stormwater tunnel of water into a needle-sized hole. Once Amdirlain laid out the first series, she placed another set to erode the stone between each point, lessening the resistance they¡¯d provide once things started. ¡°After we¡¯ve flooded the mine, I¡¯ll disintegrate a tunnel past the wards and trigger the Sisterhood detection.¡± ¡°Have you considered what will happen if Moloch crushes the Sisterhood fortress on Hrz¡¯Styrn?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°He¡¯d get Laodice¡¯s prison, and. . .?¡± The lack of concern in Amdirlain¡¯s voice set Erwarth aback. ¡°I thought you wanted to free her?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t matter where that prison is once I¡¯ve got the means to free her. It might be interesting to see how a fight between the Concept of War and Moloch goes,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Her imprisonment will have weakened her,¡± warned Erwarth. A small smile flitted across Amdirlain¡¯s lips. ¡°I shared her name with Moke. Has anyone started praying to her yet?¡± Erwarth shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°The Leviathan¡¯s blood stops her from naturally recovering, but prayers should let her regain her normal strength,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she grinned at the disbelief she caught from Erwarth. ¡°Maybe ask Aggie to provide an update in a few years.¡± ¡°Why so soon?¡± asked Erwarth. The smirk that her question earned from Amdirlain had Erwarth¡¯s gaze narrowing. ¡°That question is exactly why you¡¯re frustrated with me,¡± observed Amdirlain, and she tapped the sheath of papers in Erwarth¡¯s hands. ¡°I¡¯m frustrated because you don¡¯t listen,¡± corrected Erwarth, and she pulled the papers away from Amdirlain¡¯s reach. ¡°No, you¡¯re frustrated because you don¡¯t get my mindset. I will always live like this life is the only one I¡¯ve got, and the opportunities presented now might not come back again. The trick I pulled with Apollo? I expected to die, but I was going to do my best to take him with me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That circle was eating everything. I didn¡¯t expect to be killed and end up on another Plane, and certainly not in the Maze. I was sure my last act was poisoning the meal he set to make of me.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d rushed and made a mistake,¡± admitted Erwarth grimly. ¡°There was a misjudgement with the Mantle not separating cleanly, but I was only trying to give the Yin energy a head start before he consumed me as well,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You want to know something? If dying that way meant killing Apollo, I was completely fine with it.¡± ¡°Why aren¡¯t you afraid of dying?¡± The question provoked bitter laughter from Amdirlain, and pulling a face, she shook her head. ¡°Not afraid? Why would you think I¡¯m not afraid? I will do my utmost to stay alive, but hiding under a rock somewhere isn¡¯t living¡ªthat¡¯s simply existing.¡± ¡°What if this fails?¡± ¡°Would you prefer to leave? I can let you know when I¡¯m finished,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she held herself back from rolling her eyes at what felt like never ending questions. ¡°No, I¡¯ll stay and help.¡± ¡°How¡¯re the songs?¡± Erwarth frowned. ¡°It would be better if I had some time to practise these first.¡± ¡°Learn by doing. If they hold, they¡¯ll amplify the forces at work and hasten the mine¡¯s demise, but they¡¯re not essential,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Just set each as a linked song and maybe key them to the touch of the Stygian¡¯s waters.¡± ¡°But that will-¡± ¡°Amplify the result of the breakthrough after the breach in the walls has already occurred,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It will turn a pinprick of water into a geyser of force.¡± ¡°You¡¯re still touching the river,¡± protested Erwarth. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to carve a path for it with summoned water, laced with an abrasive material to cut through stone like soft butter,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The first blasts will be to open the entry channel, and I¡¯ll cause the riverbed to buckle into it. After that, even the supernatural water pressure should widen the flow. At each anchor point, we¡¯ll need to set effects to create a vacuum by annihilating the air and stone at each location.¡± ¡°What happens if the river¡¯s course doesn¡¯t change? It''s not exactly bound by the normal rules of behaviour.¡± ¡°If it behaves like I hope it will, it¡¯ll claim a trapped God,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you hear the hunger in the river¡¯s song? Would you care to wager the being¡¯s presence won¡¯t draw the river to it? The best part is that if it goes pear-shaped and doesn¡¯t work, I don¡¯t care. I don¡¯t care if we destroy this place or not. We¡¯ll still leave here the same way, and Moloch might put it down to a Sisterhood plan misfiring.¡± ¡°You either hurt Moloch directly, or he¡¯ll use troops against the Sisterhood and can¡¯t rent them out,¡± mused Erwarth, disbelief clear in her tone. ¡°It¡¯s truly such a shame,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not looking to control anything that Moloch possesses. I¡¯ll settle for eroding it over aeons until it all collapses.¡± ¡°Do you truly have the patience for that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t mistake my drive to take action now for not being able to persist in my plans,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ll see the results within a few billion years.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you believe you possess such patience,¡± declared Erwarth. ¡°Do or do not, there is no try. I¡¯ll keep working at it until everything he possesses now or in the future falls apart,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you set some linked songs in place, and I¡¯ll set up some more routes for the water to flow?¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t wait for Erwarth but started on her next steps and sought to ensure whatever Erwarth did wouldn¡¯t be a crucial component. She continued singing for weeks, far longer than Erwarth expected Amdirlain to continue, and then, without warning, the ground pulsed. Enchanted waters burst into existence and hundreds of thousands of pressurised needles ripped through the stone. Kilometres of stone from the river to the nearest shaft disintegrated in a cascade of pressure that continued onwards. Diamond dust amid the water scoured through demonic flesh and metal alike, leaving only pulped victims in its wake. Songs that Erwarth had set in place turned narrow tunnels into massive galleries as the stone between adjoining tunnels simply vanished. The vacuum pressure almost collapsed the town above the mines before the riverside gave in a rush of displaced air. The entire river embankment ended up undercut, but it wasn¡¯t until a ramp of stone lifted from the riverbed that it changed course. Back pressure churned the calm waters into a white froth as it drained away into the mine¡¯s depths. A normal river would have taken weeks to fill the ancient passages, but the Stygian River was itself a Plane. With the ancient boundary point changed, it simply flexed and expanded, filling the mineshaft in moments, claiming the essence of the demons within. Ignoring the combat summary with the thousands of lower-tier demons, Amdirlain listened to the changes in their surroundings. Despite the key successes of the plan, there was a noticeable exception. The river¡¯s hunger didn¡¯t cause it to flood up through the town for the imprisoned being. Instead, once the cavity of the mine became filled, the river overflowed the levy and continued on its way. ¡°Guess I should have taken that bet about the river,¡± quipped Erwarth. ¡°It''s patient. The thing is still trashing about increasing the pit¡¯s depth. Eventually, it''s going to drop itself into the river.¡± ¡°Maybe. Shall we get going?¡± Amdirlain used Inventory to cut a tunnel through the boundary of the wards. A change to her concealing song had the wards react the moment the pair crossed through. Teleport set them on a dusty, drought-cracked plain, and the pair resumed their Marilith forms before heading away. After a dozen hops to random points to muddy their trail, they finally returned to the Amdirlain¡¯s hidey-hole. The stacked crystal they¡¯d left behind was gone, but Amdirlain relaxed at what she sensed. Music burst to life in the chamber, and an alert keyed to Isa sped away. ¡°I noticed the tunnels expanding before the river flowed in,¡± commented Amdirlain before she resumed her Anar form. ¡°Since you told me what you had planned, I linked them to your songs being triggered,¡± admitted Erwarth. ¡° I¡¯ll do my best to offer tweaks rather than trying to prove my concerns. It seems Isa wanted to know the moment we returned.¡± Isa snapped into existence accompanied by a dark-haired woman, and sharp, striking beats resounded about them. Upon arrival, the woman transformed, and a Dragon whose torso alone stretched out longer than a few utes end-to-end appeared. Her shift in form unleashed a radiance that illuminated the chamber¡¯s interior. The internal light refracting through her scales cast a hypnotic kaleidoscope across the stone. Wings flexed in an arch raised above Isa¡¯s head, and a pointed snout, half again Amdirlain¡¯s height, extended towards her on a serpentine neck longer than the dragon¡¯s torso. ¡°Fuck, Sarah!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve grown so much. What have you been eating?¡± ¡°Are you saying my arse looks big now I¡¯ve moulted?¡± growled Sarah, the rolling draconic words chiming in crystalline tones. ¡°Sorry,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically. ¡°It was big before you moulted.¡± ¡°Bitch,¡± laughed Sarah. The word blended in with a suppressed draconic cough that still caused Amdirlain¡¯s hair to fly about in the gale that erupted. ¡°This place stinks. Girls, give us the room, please. Amdirlain and I need to talk without eavesdroppers.¡± Isa and Erwarth promptly vanished, and Sarah gave an unsuppressed sigh of frustration. ¡°Have they been at you to stop? Because seriously, fuck that. Let''s make Moloch pay.¡± The words unleashed the pain Amdirlain had barely kept restrained, and tears started to flow. Stepping forward, Amdirlain wrapped her arms partly around Sarah¡¯s neck and clung to her as she cried. ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting so long. I¡¯ve got your back, Sis.¡± The reassurance from Sarah made Amdirlain cry that much harder. The burning grief vented in torrents of sound, and Sarah simply rumbled with a comforting croon that anchored Amdirlain against the storm. Hours later, Amdirlain realised Sarah¡¯s tail had been stroking her back for some time. ¡°Great, now you¡¯re trying to give me a piece of tail,¡± snuffled Amdirlain, and she scoured her tears away with her palms. Blowing a raspberry, Sarah grumbled lightly. ¡°Ain¡¯t giving you nothing; it''s only on loan.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s sigh of relief felt like it came from the bottom of her feet. Leaning back, she stroked a hand across the side of Sarah¡¯s jawline, marvelling at the polished feel of her scales. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here. What do you remember?¡± ¡°Where would you like me to start? Opening my eyes to Orh¨ºthurin, the Titan and his forge sitting on a platform hovering over a void, our Oath, Ms griffon-face threatening to end me, or something later?¡± ¡°Dragon memories don¡¯t work that way, they¡¯re blood-line related.¡± ¡°Blame my creator; obviously, she screwed up in the prototyping,¡± grumbled Sarah, and she huffed in amusement when Amdirlain snorted. ¡°What stage of grieving are you up to?¡± ¡°I keep backsliding into anger.¡± A blast of air wafted through the chamber, and Amdirlain caught Sarah¡¯s psionics at work, creating a high-pressure spot to push contaminants away. Amdirlain didn¡¯t question what Sarah was doing but simply waited her out. Once the air smelt clean, a large polished oak table appeared beside Amdirlain, topped with mist-shrouded ice cream containers. ¡°Triple choc fudge?¡± asked Amdirlain in a near whisper. ¡°What else would I bring?¡± A globe of white light floated above the table, and Sarah returned to her Human form. The light revealed her black hair and sun-tanned skin. Before Amdirlain could take in the transformation completely, Sarah¡¯s hazel gaze caught Amdirlain¡¯s own. ¡°Gail wants to know if Analysis tells you who set your Planar Lock?¡± ¡°High Priest Charilaos. Why?¡± asked Amdirlain, amused at Sarah¡¯s transformation from the bulky dragon to her willowy figure. ¡°She remembers Gideon telling her tales while waiting in the Titan¡¯s Forge room. One included something about you presenting, or making, a harp for the coronation of the first L¨®m? Queen. Gideon¡¯s story said that, among its powers, it possessed the ability to raise the dead. Unlike normal resurrection spells, it could revive them regardless of their wishes.¡± An image flashed through Amdirlain¡¯s mind of a plinth with a black crystal lap harp sitting on it that looked like something carved from the night sky; each silvery string gleamed like starlight and caught the viewers¡¯ gaze. The power within the Harp burned like a compressed star; even unplayed, the echoes across its strings caused a hum that reinforced the chamber¡¯s songs. ¡°I think Orh¨ºthurin was there for the presentation, but I don¡¯t think she made it, or if she did, not alone. The memory felt like multiple choirs were involved. You can¡¯t remember any details on it?¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t interested in the Anar or L¨®m?, they were merely useful imitations of their creator. Let me know if you recover any memories of it. Hopefully it hasn¡¯t become lost somewhere in the Abyss or locked in the L¨®m?¡¯s royal tower.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve used Analysis to get details of individuals that weren¡¯t near me. We could try that approach if I remember the harp¡¯s name,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°It has a name? Don¡¯t tell me, Excalibur Junior,¡± teased Sarah. ¡°I liked those choose-your-own-adventure novels, thank you very much,¡± retorted Amdirlain, affecting a snobbish tone. ¡°Yes, it has a name, and a mind of its own.¡± ¡°Well, Gail sees it as a key to getting you out.¡± ¡°Charilaos would still need to permit me to be summoned or send me a message,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°Gail thinks she can sweet talk him, but I wasn¡¯t planning to ask nicely,¡± growled Sarah. ¡°Unlike you, I have nothing further obstructing me from getting onto the Material Plane. Now that I¡¯ve shed that Mantle, I¡¯m just another pesky Dragon.¡± ¡°She¡¯s supposed to enjoy her childhood, not worry about me,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Who else knows about her interest in the harp?¡± ¡°Me, and now you, but likely Ebusuku, since we were talking in the Domain. Gail¡¯s playing it close to her chest,¡± replied Sarah, and she grinned happily when Amdirlain groaned at the pun. ¡°Well, let¡¯s keep it that way. No point getting anyone¡¯s hopes up. Do you think Gideon was dropping a hint at her?¡± ¡°This could have been years ago. Gideon frequently dropped by and told her stories of Anar and L¨®m? history to keep her entertained,¡± explained Sarah, and she offered Amdirlain a steel ice cream scoop. ¡°I¡¯ve recalled a memory of a giant faceted sphere like a polished gemstone,¡± stated Amdirlain. Focusing on the tubs, Amdirlain was unsurprised at the residual energies of Chaos Shaping in the containers. ¡°That¡¯s Gideon''s physical form, but he isn¡¯t visible most of the time,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°I remember him recording the formation of the planes before you started crafting Ms griffon-face¡¯s brood.¡± ¡°How much of this do you have in Inventory?¡± asked Amdirlain, waving at the containers to change the topic that threatened to stir more memories. ¡°A few dozen litres, but does it matter?¡± asked Sarah, and she started to use her scoop as a spoon. ¡°I can always go make more.¡± ¡°You¡¯re double dipping,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°No, I¡¯m not,¡± protested Sarah. ¡°The tub is my bowl.¡± 246 - Feel like us again Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Their ice cream feast had passed in silence for a time. When she finally started speaking, Amdirlain kept to the safe subject of monitoring devices to tag mortals brought into the Abyss. Then it slowly became a logistical discussion about a planar network of the crystals and what items those rescuing the mortals would need. Whenever Amdirlain rambled about matters on which Sarah couldn¡¯t provide input, she nodded like a wild bobblehead until Amdirlain snorted with laughter and moved along. As the table had emptied of tubs, it had gained an assortment of crystals crafted from psionics or song. Abandoning her Human form, Sarah had stretched out on the floor, her internal glow illuminating the chamber like a 70¡¯s disco. ¡°Got your breath back?¡± asked Sarah after Amdirlain had paused. Sighing, Amdirlain warily considered Sarah before she finally nodded. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll save further discussion on your 1984 big brother network for later. More importantly, what¡¯s the biggest source of your pain? What thought keeps coming up?¡± Exhaling hard, Amdirlain rocked on heels briefly before she answered. ¡°He didn¡¯t trust me enough to contact me.¡± ¡°Where does that lead you?¡± ¡°I hid so many big secrets from him. Why should he have trusted me?¡± ¡°Were you going to tell him?¡± asked Sarah, her tone softening. ¡°Trust yourself to go back into psychologist mode?¡± enquired Amdirlain. The question earned a head waggle. ¡°I¡¯m better than I was, and I¡¯ll tread as lightly as possible.¡± Amdirlain sat beside Sarah¡¯s sprawled form and leaned back against her side. ¡°I¡¯d let him know I had secrets I¡¯d share as soon as I was free from the Planar Lock.¡± Coiling her neck around, Sarah rested her head on the ground close enough that the warmth of her exhalations washed over Amdirlain¡¯s legs. ¡°That¡¯s healthy. You admitted you held important secrets in your partnership but had given him a clear timeline for when you¡¯d share them. Orh¨ºthurin¡ªto my knowledge at least¡ªnever planned to talk about her secrets with anyone that didn¡¯t already know them.¡± ¡°Did Orh¨ºthurin do something to your Soul to prevent others from hearing knowledge from your Song?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I thought I¡¯d be able to hear it, but parts are missing.¡± Sarah hesitated. ¡°Yes, she did. You got rid of the vines, but do you know what other events weakened her yet?¡± ¡°Events? I figured there was at least one besides the vines'' growth. I got a memory of the trial, and she felt weaker than when she had faced down Tia about your right to exist. Not Class or Skill weakened, but there wasn¡¯t the same burning power inside her.¡± ¡°Tia?¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°That makes her sound like a woman Orh¨ºthurin was arguing with over something petty. I don¡¯t know for sure if there were multiple events, but I know that the energy around Orh¨ºthurin changed between one reincarnation cycle.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t know all her secrets?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. But, weirdly, you¡¯re worried Torm had reasons not to trust you, and here I am keeping your ancient secrets from you. Where is your distrust of me?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°You told me you didn¡¯t want to distort my understanding of events. You''re my secret keeper, and I think how dragons access memories might be safer than how I''m recovering them.¡± ¡°Might Torm have also trusted that your secrets were yours to share or not? Does it feel you were being as open with him as you could?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Was the timeline of the battle pretty tight?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she exhaled softly as grief washed across her again and tears burned in her eyes. Sarah didn¡¯t hurry on but waited quietly until Amdirlain calmed. ¡°How proficient had Torm gotten with his Wizard Class?¡± ¡°It was still a work in progress,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she dug her fingers into her thighs. ¡°He would have been fighting demons, and I¡¯m going: ¡®why didn¡¯t he call me for help?¡¯¡¯, fuck I¡¯m so pathetic.¡± A claw tapped against the ground hard enough to cause a fracture, but Sarah¡¯s consideration of her didn¡¯t shift. ¡°Would you call someone wounded and in pain pathetic?¡± ¡°No,¡± cried Amdirlain, and Sarah shifted position enough to press against her side, letting Amdirlain¡¯s fingers dig into her scales as she wept for a time. Sarah waited until Amdirlain¡¯s crying had eased and drew back enough to watch her face. ¡°Did the Balor give you time to get Torm out once you knew the situation?¡± Raking her fingers through her hair, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°He moved so fast, slammed into the ground, and then was a racecar¡¯s afterimage even for me. One moment he shattered the compound¡¯s wall, and he started to run, then the warehouse wall caved in, and it was only after the dust settled did I spot Caltzan¡¯s remains.¡± ¡°Should we count that as no?¡± ¡°I remember your adamantine scales felt more comfortable to lean against,¡± evaded Amdirlain, and she shifted awkwardly against Sarah¡¯s faceted hide. The scales around Sarah¡¯s eyes lifted slightly, and Amdirlain sighed in defeat. ¡°No, I had no time. I didn¡¯t yet know enough True Song to pull them free from a distance, and the other combatants might have spotted me if I¡¯d come nearer. I was trying to figure out what to do, and then the Balor acted, and I was out of time.¡± ¡°Did you know the troops trying to rescue them were just the first available?¡± ¡°No¡­ but I figured they must have been,¡± whispered Amdirlain. As she slumped slightly, Sarah¡¯s snout nuzzled her side, and her warm breath washed over Amdirlain comfortingly. Sarah gave her another gentle nudge. ¡°No one had time to react in a considered manner. Two of the involved deities are greater powers, and they think incredibly fast, darn multi-tasking minds. Is it fair to rate your reaction as inadequate against a Greater Power?¡± ¡°No,¡± Amdirlain admitted after a moment¡¯s hesitation. ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep that in mind.¡± ¡°Alright. Do you feel this puts you in a better spot to take apart your bad self-talk? You trusted Torm to make his own choices, but none of us can control everything. Can you put more trust in yourself?¡± ¡°Maybe. Can we just sit for a bit?¡± ¡°Of course we can,¡± agreed Sarah. Amdirlain sat relaxing in the quiet and ?rubbed a hand along the ridgeline of Sarah¡¯s snout. It was an hour before she spoke up. ¡°Is it weird you being in a Dragon¡¯s form feels right to me?¡± ¡°Neither of us is who we used to be; to me, a Dragon''s form also feels right. I find a Human body so confining now.¡± ¡°Will you tell me about the Erakk? and their shapers?¡± ¡°They¡¯re interesting people, but they''re not an immediate priority. I¡¯ll figure out a way to repay them, as while I didn¡¯t want the Mantle, the connection to them helped. I heard the whispers of the faithful from it a lot clearer than you did in your grasslands,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Our mutual need for order and rules added a commonality of concern and brought me back to an even keel. Millions of hours of positive reinforcement can do wonders to one''s perspective.¡± ¡°Ebusuku said things had gotten a little heated,¡± probed Amdirlain. "How were you handling things?¡± ¡°I was frustrated,¡± huffed Sarah, her massive lungs provided enough force into the last word that Amdirlain¡¯s hair got the wind tunnel treatment. ¡°With the Mantle, I couldn¡¯t go help on Veht?, and then I couldn¡¯t even come here. I could have if I wanted to cause you more issues than I would have helped with; it added up, and I caught myself being sharp with her a few times. I knew she¡¯d done it purely to help me as your friend; certainly, she had no reason to trust a Kyton with a Mantle.¡± ¡°But gaining the Mantle helped overall ?¡± ¡°After I got free from being a Kyton, it helped me find my balance, among other things. Recently though, not so good. I have the Oath to keep with you, and so I was stuck in a catch-22. As much as the Mantle helped me restore my balance and perspective, it sucked in that respect. Day after day it was pushing and gouging at me, and when things went pear-shaped, it was frecking painful.¡± ¡°Did it let you pick your punishment?¡± Amdirlain asked, and she pretended to flick a whip. ¡°Only in ripping the Mantle free, and I didn¡¯t even have a safe word to call time out,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°My presence here, with the Mantle representing a bigger danger to you, was all that let me keep things moving and stay clear.¡± ¡°Sounds uncomfortable. Did the Mantle¡¯s nature make it hard to separate yourself?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she raised an eyebrow when Sarah hesitated. ¡°Yes, but let''s focus on your plans. They¡¯re more important than a bit of discomfort.¡± ¡°What did it cost you?¡± persisted Amdirlain, and she leaned forward to briefly cup Sarah¡¯s snout. ¡°I¡¯ll have to regain some levels, an achievement, plus restore the level of a Grand Master Power that dropped a full rank,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°But then, you need to gain a Tier 7, so we¡¯re in the same boat.¡± ¡°Ouch, and we¡¯re not in the same boat; I used my achievement up. What Power?¡± ¡°Mineral Control,¡± rumbled Sarah, and she flicked a claw dismissively. ¡°Ebusuku said you wanted to cost Moloch profits and stop the damned from forming demons or producing goods? Is that still the goal, or did your sweet alone time with Erwarth change things?¡± Amdirlain leaned forward again to swat Sarah¡¯s nose lightly, gaining an amused chuff. ¡°It is the goal, but I also want to reset this Plane of the Abyss.¡± ¡°That¡¯s basically like scraping the scum from the top of a polluted soup, so I take it that¡¯s the long-term goal,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°It would be simpler to lay waste to towns and cities, or even neuter the damned, but we could do those along the way.¡± ¡°I know the scum will rise again, but you need to change the oil from time to time.¡± The edge of Sarah¡¯s lip curled up to show crystalline fangs. ¡°Pure food metaphors are better since you can sink your teeth into them; plus mixing metaphors is messy.¡± ¡°Brings me back to my earlier question: what have you been eating? You¡¯ve gotten so big,¡± cooed Amdirlain, and she rubbed the sides of Sarah¡¯s snout. ¡°Lots and lots of experience,¡± rebuffed Sarah. ¡°My mentor says I¡¯m the biggest, very young, Diamond Dragon that she¡¯s seen, of any variation.¡± ¡°Where have you been levelling?¡± ¡°One of the older worlds Sage found listed on the memorial. The place is dead as can be, but I don¡¯t have to hold back on breath weapons and large-scale destruction effects,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Why were you even working with Erwarth when you can create your crystals solo?¡± Sarah¡¯s matter-of-fact tone brought out a smile. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°To cover it up,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I kept samples we fixed. So I must have anchored any song in the crystal we¡¯d fixed, right? Though it helped me level Duet, it''s all about challenging skills to get them to progress fast.¡± Sarah snorted and flipped Amdirlain off with her tail. ¡°Did it smooth out your issues with Multi-voice?¡± ¡°Not yet, but it''s reduced the dissonance in the objects I make when multiple songs blend into the working. After I reached Journeyman rank, the enchantment effects jumped,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d call you a dirty cheater, but how can you be cheating when your former self wrote the rules?¡± enquired Sarah, but she continued before Amdirlain could reply. ¡°Anyway, besides ice cream, I come bearing another gift.¡± A floating patch of light that looked like a mildew-covered tea towel appeared between them. ¡°A yucky-looking coffee table holograph is a gift?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Patience, grasshopper,¡± retorted Sarah, and the chamber¡¯s illumination shifted as she rolled her eyes. Amdirlain huffed jokingly. ¡°Do I look like a cocktail to you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not sweet or minty, girlie, but you¡¯re trying to distract me with silliness now. I¡¯m not an IT person, but I know enough about maps to know how the zoom control works,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Moloch''s palace is the dead centre of this projection. It has every location where I could purchase validated information from The Exchange.¡± ¡°How much did that cost you?¡± asked Amdirlain. The hologram shifted and became an aerial overview of the junction of Ravager¡¯s River, where the destroyed city had sat. Images of locations around the city, clear enough to guide teleportation, appeared as Sarah zoomed in further. With the images showing an untouched city, Sarah hissed in amusement. ¡°Let¡¯s say it''s good I had a world full of ancient treasures to plunder. I wonder if I can get a partial refund for your redecorating? Where do you want to begin?¡± ¡°Alternate crafting with recon, neutering, and mass destruction?¡± When Sarah nodded, the map zoomed out, and specks of light appeared hovering over it, appearing like malignant Christmas decorations. ¡°Black is training sites, blue is mining, green farming, red is production facilities, striped icons are mixed sites; here¡¯s the full list.¡± A memory crystal floated in the air before Amdirlain, and she quickly absorbed the information. ¡°Not all of what we¡¯ll need, but it''s far more than I knew. How big an expanse does the zoomed-out map cover?¡± ¡°My supplier apologises that he only had one that could cover a billion kilometres across,¡± Sarah replied in a glum voice. ¡°Woeful.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s not quite the distance of Earth from the Sun, so I¡¯m sure that will give us more than enough to work on for a few centuries,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Even with the vast areas on the Plane that are barren wastelands.¡± ¡°93 million kilometres short, hence the apology for the woefulness; it''s barely a blip of what Moloch controls. Feel like a gnat yet?¡± joked Sarah. ¡°A tick bite can kill or paralyse a Human,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°How about we aim for the Balor first? I hear you got a name from the Wizard. Do you think the Moloch¡¯s general was the same Balor that took them into the site?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°If he went into the transformation site, he¡¯s now likely a Demon Lord,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, but a baby Demon Lord,¡± purred Sarah. ¡°One boss fight at a time, girlfriend. Isn¡¯t that the way gamers handle things? Build up, take out the boss of a region, and then prepare for his boss.¡± Amdirlain gave a reluctant nod. ¡°Any information on Zutag?¡± ¡°He used to handle this region,¡± Sarah said. With her pronouncement, most of the lights over the map went out; those that remained clustered together a hand span from the map¡¯s edge. ¡°The location of the first town you blew up is likely within that region, otherwise Munais would have come to someone else''s attention.¡± ¡°This will be useful, but I¡¯ve been trying to be discreet, or at least provide some misdirection, in my outings,¡± Amdirlain tapped on Sarah¡¯s foreleg impishly. ¡°I¡¯ve got that covered,¡± laughed Sarah, and her scales smoothed out. They took on a deep purple hue, a crest of razor scales appearing to run from behind her forehead and down along the length of her body. ¡°Why did you pick a half-breed to change into?¡± ¡°This is option one. Purple dragons are arrogant, mercenary, and manipulative, more so than either of their red or blue ancestors,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°But they also operate in family units instead of solo, so we¡¯ll have demons looking over their shoulder for mum and dad. A Succubus in Sisterhood leathers working with me should have Moloch¡¯s lackey foaming at the mouth, wondering what family got hired.¡± ¡°Their breath weapon is very different to a Diamond¡¯s dehydration effect, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah, it can manifest differently according to their intentions. In either case, it¡¯s an effect of searing pure Mana, either a cone for a group of enemies or a blade to focus it on a single target. I¡¯ve got enchantments to convert the energy in my breath weapon into either,¡± Sarah smugly advised. A smile twitched across Amdirlain¡¯s lip before she schooled her expression. ¡°Just as well you did your research.¡± ¡°Are my protections still holding up against your Analysis?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± groused Amdirlain. ¡°Sweet. Let that serve as your motivation to push the Skill higher,¡± Sarah taunted mischievously before she turned serious. ¡°They¡¯re diversions for many types of divination, and since I¡¯m no longer Hidden, I want to make sure the folks in charge around here can¡¯t find you through me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more concerned that it''s endangering you being here,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she stopped when Sarah¡¯s determination caused her eyes to glow. ¡°Did you get your second Prestige Class, at least?¡± ¡°I did. Indeed, being able to make an Avatar helped my experience farming. My mentor slash foster mum thinks the Prestige Class contributed to the size I gained in my second moult. I locked it off from getting experience until I got the Class. Unlike a certain individual, I wasn¡¯t trying for level 120,¡± teased Sarah. ¡°No work ethic in the youth nowadays,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and she smiled at Sarah¡¯s mock glare. ¡°Shall we start on some prototypes for tagging and tracking?¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d want to get out and smack a few bad guys,¡± remarked Sarah, and she released a long table to sit near her lounging form. Various containers of fluids and psionic-sensitive materials appeared atop it. A vivid green liquid fountained from one bottle and poured into a beaker larger than Amdirlain¡¯s skull. The liquid swirled at an even pace while assorted measuring tools floated between the containers, adding various powders gently to the whirlpool Sarah maintained. When the last residue dissolved, Sarah slowly settled a psi-crystal fragment, smaller than an apple seed, to the bottom of the beaker. ¡°The pigeons being helpful?¡± asked Sarah, not having to clarify that she meant the celestials. Wrinkling her nose, Amdirlain gave a sharp snort. ¡°Is it helpful to continually try changing my mind about what¡¯s best?¡± ¡°If they knew what was best, just because they¡¯re old or celestials, Torm wouldn¡¯t be MIA,¡± rumbled Sarah. ¡°Want me to go destroy Caltzan? I could get onto their Home Plane and rip them apart.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t decided what I¡¯m going to do with them yet,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Not wanting to pursue the subject, Amdirlain started to sing. The crystal¡¯s four-part harmony flowed from her lips, and a glow appeared beside the table¡¯s closest leg. One after another, faster than she¡¯d previously managed, palm-sized blocks of True Song crystal solidified near the table. She was on the fourth block when the seed Sarah had been agitating into the shape of a spire peaked above the beaker¡¯s rim. Having reached the tipping point, the matrix expanded in a rush¡ªturning into a pillar the length of Amdirlain¡¯s thigh¡ªhaving drawn in all the material in the beaker. The surface still gleaming with fluid, Sarah impressed a mental pattern into it and floated it to the table¡¯s end. ¡°I¡¯ve only got a few blank memory crystals with me. Do you want to make some, or should I fumble around to handle it?¡± asked Sarah, even as she fixed Amdirlain with a sad-eyed look. Amdirlain rolled her eyes at the dramatic tone. A clear spot above the table started to glow as airy notes lilted and danced about in the chamber¡¯s stillness. Dozens of clear memory crystals settled in place, and Sarah¡¯s laughter rumbled in her chest. ¡°If any sufficiently advanced technology will appear as magic, does that mean we¡¯re devolving magic into technology by applying your 21st-century Earth techno-babble?¡± ¡°You zoned out on my techno-babble,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°True Song Crystals to monitor an area, tag mortals, and send messages to memory crystals. My psi-crystals will then collate data and pass it in a fashion that allows others to track them with your toys. You¡¯ll also set up other toys to scry them, either singularly or in groups,¡± reiterated Sarah. ¡°Fine, that¡¯s the highlights,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I wanted to ensure I had it covered to scale up without issues.¡± ¡°Maybe stop trying for perfection the first time through? You¡¯re hurting, so you feel the need for control. Let¡¯s build some of your ideas, see which work best, and use them to help people,¡± replied Sarah, before she pointed a claw at one of the palm-sized pieces of crystal. ¡°Are you going to put one in a fancy black holder and have it make a beeping noise, so I can pretend we¡¯re in aliens?¡± The request drew an amused snort from Amdirlain. ¡°That I won¡¯t be doing.¡± ¡°Spoilsport.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For what? Calling you a spoilsport?¡± teased Sarah. The lift at the corners of her mouth lent her draconic features a smug feline feel. ¡°For not being yet another person trying to get me to change my plans to keep me safe because they know best.¡± ¡°You lost your partner and didn¡¯t immediately go off in an uncontrollable homicidal rage. I don¡¯t count the ritual or that town as a homicidal rage. I know you¡¯ll be kicking yourself enough about things you can¡¯t change. Everyone needs to shut up and not waste your energy on dealing with that sort of shitty behaviour,¡± declared Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m here to help.¡± ¡°I got a bunch of innocents killed in the city,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Sarah gave a heavy sigh. ¡°Honey, they were already dead. We both know that it might have taken a year, twenty, or even more in which they¡¯d have experienced agony and torment. Did you give them a far quicker death than prisoners would likely find here?¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°Yes, my butt is bigger than it used to be. Stop body shaming,¡± quipped Sarah, her dry tone causing Amdirlain to snort in surprise. ¡°You know the extremely slim likelihood of them being rescued. In their place, would you rather a quick death or a fate that involved slow, agonising torment and corruption?¡± Clearing her throat, Amdirlain bit off her objection. ¡°Quick.¡± ¡°The rules prevent demons from keeping innocent souls¡ªthey must transport them to Judgement, if they¡¯re still innocent when they gain them. You saved them, no matter what the achievement said. Gideon has his rules and you likely fulfil a sucky requirement with the curse. Okay?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± breathed Amdirlain, and she nodded when Sarah didn¡¯t immediately continue. Sarah hummed for a moment, and when she spoke, her tone was gentle. ¡°Can I point out something that isn¡¯t to stop you from hurting Moloch and his allies? Heck, after what happened, I want to hurt them as well. So maybe I¡¯m not stopping you because I¡¯m still an evil bitch at heart.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not, but go on, share what¡¯s on your mind,¡± whispered Amdirlain, but she braced herself just the same ¡°Torm isn¡¯t destroyed. Yes, he¡¯s wounded, messed up and twisted¡ªand I can¡¯t say to what degree he¡¯s damaged¡ªbut he¡¯s not destroyed. He¡¯ll never be the same because he¡¯ll have the memories of whatever he thinks or does between now and us getting him to see sense. Yet not being the same doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s irredeemable.¡± Amdirlain let out a soft breath and tried to swallow down her protest. ¡°Torm already sent Livia a message.¡± ¡°Yeah, his current state has turned his love into an obsession,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Might be hard to recognise him, but if you¡¯d seen my behaviour on the expedition, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯d have recognised me, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°He wouldn¡¯t tell me what happened other than some of the expedition died,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you one day. Torm helped pull me back from where I¡¯d been heading. He came and delivered your message, and he could have left it at that,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Instead¡ªbecause you counted me a friend¡ªhe stayed to help me regain some of the sanity I¡¯d lost. You didn¡¯t give up when you found yourself in the Abyss, don¡¯t give up on him.¡± ¡°He said leaving would have interfered with the ward keeping the rift open,¡± recounted Amdirlain. Sarah gave a bark of laughter. ¡°See, partial truths aren¡¯t just your thing. If he¡¯d left via the Material Plane, it would have. Except he regularly helped with the hunting on the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice, and he could have just gone on his way on that Plane.¡± ¡°We both owe him.¡± Assuming a woebegone expression, Sarah nodded. ¡°Yeah, and I really don¡¯t like debts I don¡¯t want to repay because the person¡¯s become a dick. This means we need to heal him first, so I¡¯m not uncomfortable repaying said debt.¡± ¡°But what the transformation site did to him-¡± ¡°Yet there is a path for the Fallen to rise again, phoenix girl. Can you figure out how to set up the gadgets to tag fallen and mortals? You might not revert him, but maybe if we find him, you can dilute the corruption enough he¡¯ll want to be better.¡± ¡°Do you think it¡¯s possible?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but we both owe him, so we should at least try. You¡¯ll only need to hear Torm¡¯s new song to contain him if he¡¯s not grown strong enough to resist. But what do you plan to do next? I¡¯m sure you memorised at least snippets of his old song,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°You might not wash everything out, but can you clear some pollution?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just sing someone¡¯s old song into them,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°His exact song, no. I remember being told songs are always changing, but the essence of it might remind him of who he¡¯d been. Could you compose something along those lines?¡± persisted Sarah. ¡°Remind him so he wants to be redeemed for whatever he¡¯s done before we find him. Yes, it won¡¯t turn him back into who he was, but none of us are who we once were, and that doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t become a better version of ourselves.¡± ¡°I remember the trio that Ori created the path for,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she straightened as she considered Sarah¡¯s proposal. Sarah gave her a broad smile. ¡°Is the memory precise enough to isolate the fallen as a species?¡± ¡°Maybe, but they served the same deity. It will help if I have at least one other Fallen beside me for comparison.¡± ¡°You mean like a member of the Cloister of the Fallen who might have occasional trips to The Exchange,¡± proposed Sarah, coyly tracing a circle into the stone with a claw tip. ¡°I have a name.¡± ¡°How did you-¡± ¡°I¡¯d been searching for a way to contact them for you before things went wrong. Your proposal seems worth bringing forward the timeline,¡± interjected Sarah, tapping the circle¡¯s midpoint. ¡°Those fallen on the path want to make up for what they¡¯ve done and can move about the Abyss safer than celestials. Why not have them place the marker gadgets about the place? Let them know the purpose is to help free mortals. Taking on such risks will help them offset their past deeds.¡± ¡°If you think they¡¯re safe to deal with in my circumstances,¡± replied Amdirlain, heading off Sarah¡¯s suggestion. Sarah nodded. ¡°I can run them past Isa first, use her nosy listening to individuals'' songs to sniff out issues.¡± ¡°You corrupted Torm with puns?,¡± observed Amdirlain, and she noted the slightest easing of the pain that saying his name had brought. A little twitch of Sarah¡¯s lips warned Amdirlain. Ignoring Sarah¡¯s snickering, she resumed creating crystals. The possibilities opened up by Sarah¡¯s information added fresh energy to her efforts. 247 - What can you say? Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The simple awareness within the psi-crystal seemed content to wait, focusing on the memory crystals touching its base. When Sarah departed for the Elemental Plane of Earth with various monitoring crystals to test, Amdirlain gave its thoughts more attention. Fortunately, it seemed content to review the rules for collating information that Sarah had set it. Returning to the other project, Amdirlain began creating a crystal spike the size of a piton, paying particular attention to the flow of harmonies between the parts to ensure endurance. She didn¡¯t take the time to examine the stabilised creation but immediately stored it and started on another. The places where she¡¯d caught even a hint of dissonance, she strove to smooth out in the next. A couple of hours after Sarah¡¯s departure, a rush of information flooded into a memory crystal, the energy of messages causing its material to glow. The consistently rugged solidness conveyed that Sarah¡¯s first stop had either been Duskstone or another dwarven settlement on the Plane. ¡°You¡¯ve tagged 496 dwarves and counting; where are you?¡± The wait for a response felt like forever to Amdirlain¡¯s racing mind. ¡°If details only just came through, the ones with the biggest ranges didn¡¯t work. I¡¯m approaching Duskstone¡¯s front gates. I¡¯ll drop the mithril bars off at the auction house, then try other versions.¡± Amdirlain went over the composition for the version with issues before she replied. ¡°I¡¯d say stick to the ones under a kilometre range. It''s a sphere, so the greater volume might make it hard for the detection effect to separate them.¡± ¡°Will do. I sent Ebusuku a message telling her we were working on this project and ratted on the pigeons for being oh-so-helpful. She¡¯s going to have a few words.¡± Amdirlain returned to her work and, after a while, memory crystals connected to different devices began to receive information. The initial tide of details had slowed when a new message arrived. ¡°Amdirlain, do you have time to talk soon?¡± Ebusuku¡¯s voice didn¡¯t distract Amdirlain¡¯s focus, but she finished settling the crystal before she sent a response. ¡°I¡¯m at a stopping point.¡± ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll be at Duskstone shortly. This isn¡¯t about your plans; I¡¯ve told the others to choose between actively helping you with what you¡¯re undertaking or staying away. Sometimes I¡¯ve nearly been as bad, ?so I¡¯ll also try to do better. Gail wants to talk to you about Gideon¡¯s harp tale, and I also have questions about it.¡± Aware Gail would hear her surroundings, Amdirlain stored the latest crystal she¡¯d created and considered the hidey-hole. She first carved a series of corridors and rooms off one side of the circular chamber that she¡¯d been content to use until now, then added some basic furnishings and lighting to reassure Gail. Looking at the drab stone of the shaft, she carved images from a remembered glade; the stone became a frozen moment amid its peace. When the Gate opened from Duskstone, the scene was radically different to the last time. Though Ebusuku appeared in her Wood Elf form again, given that Gail¡¯s song came from a Catfolk boy, the negotiations on lifting racial restrictions must have gone Gail¡¯s way. A broad feline grin appeared on Gail¡¯s short muzzle before ¡®he¡¯ gave a double-handed wave. They¡¯d modelled the general shape and colouration of Rasha¡¯s appearance, including the black and green fur, but Gail stood waist height next to Ebusuku, smaller than in the Wood Elf form she¡¯d used last time. ¡°Good Morning, auntie Am,¡± Gail chirped excitedly when the Gate finished stabilising. ¡°Aunt Sarah sent me a message saying you remembered the harp as well, but didn¡¯t tell me more.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just interrogate her when she came to visit next?¡± ¡°That could be an age from now,¡± protested Gail, spreading his arms dramatically. ¡°She said you had lots of things you needed help to get in place.¡± ¡°I do indeed,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Since you convinced your mother to bring you, I gather you told her about it.¡± ¡°Talking within the Domain, it''s hard to hide things from me,¡± explained Ebusuku, and she brushed Gail¡¯s closest ear and drew forth a chirping squeak. ¡°People speaking out of direct earshot sits in the background of my awareness, but anything to do with helping you will always get my attention.¡± ¡°Mother has big mental ears,¡± grumbled Gail. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re in a Catfolk form today?¡± ¡°No, Ras played bodyguard coming here, so I¡¯m in disguise,¡± whispered Gail, and brought a finger to his lips. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind, little-not-Gail,¡± teased Amdirlain. With a squeak of protest, Gail crossed his arms. ¡°I¡¯m still Gail; I¡¯m just seeing places with fresh eyes today.¡± A finger tapping his cheek drew attention to the elongated pupil typical for Catfolk. Gail continued before Amdirlain could comment further on their appearance. ¡°Aunt Am, did you make the harp?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I did. I¡¯ve got a memory of it being presented, and it sounded like at least several choirs were involved.¡± Gail shifted on the spot and scratched behind his ears. ¡°Could you have been working in one of them?¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible, but I couldn¡¯t say for sure,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll still consider it your harp until proven otherwise. Gideon said you presented it to the Queen, and your husband presented another gift to the King,¡± declared Gail. ¡°Do you have any idea what happened to it? I don¡¯t want to talk to Isa or the L¨®m? about what they know.¡± ¡°How come?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to get their hopes up. Plus, Erwarth says lots of older knowledge is but half-remembered hearsay, even for them,¡± sighed Gail. ¡°What do the harps do?¡± asked Ebusuku. Gail gave a broad smile. ¡°Gideon said it could bring people back to life even if you had nothing of their body, regardless of the Soul¡¯s preference.¡± ¡°That¡¯s specific to that harp. Generally, they magnify whatever True Song effect the player is singing. Some can amplify only specific types of effects, and I think that was one of them. From what I remembered the other day, restoring the dead to life was only a minor aspect of its power. Its primary purpose was around seeding planets with life. It could alter the environment to assist with that.¡± ¡°How does bringing someone to life unwillingly tie into that?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°Souls that have never known flesh before aren¡¯t just going to hop into a body. You need to give them a shove to get them settled into place,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she nodded when True Song Architecture provided the song components. ¡°The Anar or L¨®m? can individually settle souls in place, but the harp lets them handle tens of thousands at once.¡± Gail gave a curious hum. ¡°What environmental alterations did it allow?¡± ¡°Land masses influence environments, so raising and lowering them. So shifting material¡­¡± Amdirlain paused, and she snickered at the possibility of Gideon¡¯s scheming. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± asked Gail. ¡°Gideon is fulfilling the role of the Concept of Knowledge and being sneaky?,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder if they audit themselves for rule breaking? Though technically, what we do with the knowledge we come to possess is our own decision.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t seem like that was all you were laughing about,¡± observed Ebusuku. ¡°The harp supported bringing primordial matter from the Abyss to germinate life and refine landscapes. Once the L¨®m? royal family is free, it would help get their settlements out of Tern¨°x,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Or pull their tower out of the Abyss in the first place?¡± Gail asked, and he continued when Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Would one of these harps help you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think Orh¨ºthurin played any instrument, so you¡¯ll have to get someone else to give you lessons. Have you considered the possibility the harp you are looking for is still in the Royal Tower?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she continued despite Gail¡¯s suddenly glum look. ¡°If Gideon was telling you about Anar and L¨®m? history, the first L¨®m? coronation is reasonable to include.¡± Gail¡¯s ears drooped expressively before they perked back up again. ¡°In my memory of the story, they seemed to focus on describing the harp more than the event.¡± ¡°While I¡¯ve got a memory of its song, I can¡¯t divine for it since that would require me to use an active effect across planes,¡± advised Amdirlain. Gail gasped and Ebusuku immediately grabbed his shoulders to stop him from moving. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going anywhere, mother. Amdirlain, would you share the memory with me so I can find it when I¡¯m older?¡± ¡°Only if you study,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she impressed the fundamentals of True Song Composition into a memory crystal. The easiest knowledge formed the largest nesting doll, locked by challenges of increasing difficulty, for every layer breached. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. ¡°There is a lot of noise in that crystal,¡± noted Gail critically, despite his whiskers twitching with curiosity. ¡°This is to help you, so stick to the crystal¡¯s rules. While you shouldn¡¯t risk using True Song until you gain a suitable Class, you can learn other skills that will help. This has the basics of a Skill you can master with no Class since you have Resonance. When you get to the prize in the middle, the right way, I¡¯ll give you another.¡± Crouching, Amdirlain flicked it forward like she was playing marbles, and it skipped through the Gate. Once it reached the circle¡¯s inner edge, it bounced off the barrier and rocked back and forth. ¡°Any tips?¡± ¡°Thousands of them are in that crystal, but Resonance will let you find examples of songs all around you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I wish I could use True Song now,¡± grumbled Gail, and he shot Ebusuku a look. ¡°I heard that eye-roll, mother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s only fair¡ªyou eye-roll your father,¡± rebuffed Ebusuku, her smile softening the words further. ¡°I spent months practising singing almost non-stop before I tried using True Song,¡± commented Amdirlain, and her statement grabbed Gail¡¯s attention. ¡°Consider that I have memories that helped, so ?I was only relearning; I¡¯d suggest you plan for years instead.¡± ¡°So many things to learn,¡± sighed Gail. ¡°The more you learn, the easier it is to learn more,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°The knowledge you gather gives you a base to understand more things.¡± ¡°I supposed that makes sense,¡± mused Gail. ¡°But are you doing okay, auntie Am?¡± ¡°Better. Sarah is helping me work on that, along with some of my projects,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Gail chewed on the inside of his cheek and gave Amdirlain a concerned look. ¡°You¡¯ll find Uncle Torm again, and then everything will be alright, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Time will tell. Hopefully, it will be better than now,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me what you¡¯ve been up to?¡± ¡°Ras is teaching me how to sneak through the grasslands and woods. The tricks are so different, and he doesn¡¯t let me stop when I hear someone close,¡± grumbled Gail. ¡°Of course not; sometimes the purpose of sneaking is to remain unseen, but other times it''s to get closer,¡± Amdirlain agreed, and she held back laughter when Gail¡¯s ears drooped again. ¡°Aunt Isa is always busy with the L¨®m?. Would you help me with Resonance?¡± Amdirlain considered the request and eventually shook her head. ¡°It would be difficult with you having to tune out the Abyss to focus on the objects we¡¯re studying.¡± ¡°Can you hear objects here?¡± asked Gail. ¡°Yes, but I can¡¯t alter them to see if you can pick up changes in the same object.¡± ¡°If I was in the circle, I could just roll the object back through the Gate,¡± observed Gail, and Amdirlain caught Ebusuku''s exasperation. ¡°The circle is there so you¡¯re protected from the Abyss¡¯ miasma,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Even if it wasn¡¯t, all the protective circles and runes are a lot of background noise for you to ignore.¡± ¡°I¡¯m used to ignoring background noises. The domain is¡­¡± Gail¡¯s argument faded away as Amdirlain¡¯s smile broadened. ¡°Glad you told me ignoring the chamber¡¯s protections and the Abyss together will stretch your capacity further. I¡¯ll just adjust items here.¡± ¡°Drats!¡± ¡°Foiled again?¡± asked Amdirlain, and Gail¡¯s shoulders slumped as he sighed dramatically. Amdirlain created a steel disc and flipped it across her fingers, even as she made other adjustments. ¡°Now, the simple part of Resonance is detecting the general gist of what¡¯s ?around you. Determining details about items gets harder the more noise there is or when the information is subtle.¡± ¡°Getting drowned in the overall harmonics and losing details?¡± Gail asked. ¡°Yes. Knowing there is rock, steel, or something living about can be hard when too much is going on. Separating details on the items you are interested in increases the difficulty. Can you tell me what¡¯s wrong with this disc?¡± ¡°Other than that it''s in the Abyss?¡± joked Gail, and his ears pricked forward, signalling his focus. ¡°I want you out here with us. It''s not fair that bad things happened to you.¡± ¡°Life isn¡¯t about fairness, Gail, it is what it is. We can¡¯t control anything but our decisions, not even their outcomes,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Now, focus on the disk.¡± ¡°Is something different with its middle?¡± Gail asked after concentrating on it for a few minutes. Amdirlain sped the disc¡¯s pace across her fingers up. ¡°Right. Now tell me what¡¯s different.¡± ¡°Hold it still,¡± protested Gail. ¡°Nope. It¡¯s not about the object¡¯s speed¡ªthat¡¯s just an element added to its framework. Focus past it and tell me what¡¯s inside the frame.¡± Gail¡¯s whiskers twitched in surprise, and he gave Amdirlain a wide-eyed look. ¡°How did your song touch me?¡± At his prompting, Amdirlain caught a tag resting against Gail¡¯s Soul. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me. Sarah is in Duskstone with crystal tools I developed to detect and tag mortals. We¡¯re looking to devise a way to avoid celestials following false leads in the Abyss. There are tools to put a mark in place and another to detect them from a distance or scry where they¡¯re located.¡± Gail focused on his mother and then shifted to peer at the chamber¡¯s door. ¡°Mother¡¯s not marked, and neither is Rasha.¡± ¡°You should only hear them on mortals, so that¡¯s good. Perhaps you can help Sarah with some experiments to determine if other tools can dissolve the marks,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°They should dissolve if you go to the Material Plane.¡± ¡°Can I visit auntie Livia then?¡± Gail asked, and he gave Ebusuku a pleading look. ¡°We¡¯ll sort that out later,¡± agreed Ebusuku. ¡°Okay, lesson first,¡± said Gail, and returned his attention to the disc in Amdirlain¡¯s hand. Eventually, Gail realised the same stone around Amdirlain was present in the disc¡¯s core. ¡°How did the stone get in there?¡± asked Gail curiously, peering through the Gate as if it was some trick. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it in your song.¡± ¡°I cheated. I used Inventory to hollow out the disc and insert the stone,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If you aren¡¯t cheating, you¡¯re not trying hard enough.¡± ¡°Aunt Am, that¡¯s naughty,¡± protested Gail, and he posed with hands planted on his hips. ¡°Focus on the lesson, and not my morality, thank you,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and promptly poked out her tongue when Gail burst out laughing. Amdirlain created various items, quizzing and instructing as the lesson went on. Gail¡¯s improvements were steady for a while, but as the session continued, he started to get stuck on more details. When he yawned for the third time in as many minutes, Ebusuku called a halt, despite Gail¡¯s protests. ¡°Practise what we¡¯ve gone over. Listen for the object¡¯s edges, and you¡¯ll be able to hear changes in the material and its flaws,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Does it get easier when you have True Song?¡± Gail enquired. ¡°Having True Song doesn¡¯t help unless you¡¯re listening. It enables you to act on what Resonance and Composition will tell you about your surroundings. ¡± ¡°Thank you for taking the time with me, auntie Am,¡± Gail said, and he muffled another yawn with a fist. ¡°When you need a break, can I get more lessons, please?¡± ¡°If you study that memory crystal and master its first challenge,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Will do! I¡¯ll be ready for another lesson in no time,¡± declared Gail, and his enthusiasm fought a losing battle against another yawn. ¡°Thank you for working with Gail, Amdirlain. If you need any materials for those tools, let me know,¡± Ebusuku said, and she lifted Gail. ¡°I know you can create most things you need, but if I provide raw materials, it will save your efforts for the harder parts.¡± ¡°Their key component is True Song Crystal scraps I¡¯ve repurposed,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps I can get the Domain to produce items for you like it did that miniature tower. Any size of crystal in particular?¡± Amdirlain gave a pleased smile. ¡°If it will play nice, something about the size of my hand will be enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± When the Gate closed, Amdirlain retrieved the sphere Sarah had brought. Focusing on Zutag¡¯s territory, she moved between smaller production towns looking for glimpses of the damned in the associated images. When she found signs of the damned, she noted the energies being harvested and the forms they took. For each one, she worked out the rough harmony to change the damned to render them oblivious to their torment. Until she heard the damned in person, it was uncertain if that¡¯d be sufficient, but it gave her a framework to start from and should reduce time spent in the area. The memory crystal attuned to the last experimental tool stopped accumulating alerts a few hours after Gail¡¯s lesson ended. Sarah appeared in the chamber as a dwarven miner, but her sturdy garb quickly disappeared as she resumed her glowing draconic form. ¡°You snuck in as a Dwarf?¡± ¡°Fewer questions that way,¡± replied Sarah before she stretched out, claiming a larger section of the floor than she needed for comfort. ¡°I see you made some adjustments.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Only because Gail wanted some auntie time.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t want to worry her?¡± Sarah enquired before she shifted her focus to the psi-crystal. ¡°Andre had enough worries in life, I don¡¯t need to inflict unnecessary ones on Gail,¡± pronounced Amdirlain. A glowing claw waved towards the sphere in Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°What were you working on?¡± ¡°Checking the images of smaller townships for glimpses of the damned. Their situations let me work out primary themes to neuter them.¡± ¡°What¡¯s next on the agenda, undercover jaunts or fire and brimstone?¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll handle a bunch in a low-profile fashion. While I¡¯ve got the themes, they¡¯ll need some embellishment, which might take time,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get in touch with this Fallen. I stopped in but couldn¡¯t speak to the High Crafter in the hall¡ªshe was busy,¡± said Sarah. A Message delivered an enquiry that caused Amdirlain to laugh. ¡°Oh, Gail detected getting tagged.¡± ¡°On that topic, none of the tools showed species,¡± noted Sarah. Amdirlain gave her a mock-affronted glare and huffed loudly. ¡°Not exactly a priority, is it?¡± ¡°Poor quality results represent a lack of care,¡± Sarah said pompously, and she waved a talon reprovingly. ¡°Shape up or ship out.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll go check on my first location for the demonic neutering project,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she shifted into her Sk?ll form. Oddly enough, its red and black scales rasped louder than Sarah¡¯s gemstone scales. Withdrawing the tools from Inventory, Sarah lined up each with their associated memory crystal. ¡°If you love your pet, make sure it''s spayed.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do that to you, Sarah,¡± retorted Amdirlain before she disappeared. ¡°Bitch.¡± Amdirlain took in the scene before her as Sarah¡¯s message buzzed in her ear. The field ahead of her held countless funeral platforms upon which the damned thrashed and fought for freedom. Giant birds, radiating the hostility of an angry cassowary, stood astride each pinned limb, continuously pecking at their wiggling food, they jerked strands of material from the souls. The damned screamed from the assault and the sensations that fed back to them from the slowly digested material. Among the platforms, dretches shovelled the droppings into carts they dragged behind them. One cursed a bird for deliberately shifting position to shit on it when the Dretch passed near enough to hit. Others laughed at its misfortune, but those who paused too close to the corners of the platforms, likewise ended up anointed by worm-riddled excrement. The Dretch¡¯s muck-stained leathers showed it wasn¡¯t an uncommon occurrence, and even as more Dretch screamed and ranted, most simply continued work. Those closest to the road emptied their handcarts into large wagons so shoddily built, they looked ready to collapse. There wasn¡¯t a smooth or straight piece of wood in their construction, and splinters formed a field of burrs along their surface. Amdirlain ambled along, and the first Dretch she passed looked ready to fall to its knees at her presence. With others registering the effect of the Angel Killer aura, she kept walking towards the town. Her arrival point was on the edge of a swath of the damned, and she focused on their tormented songs as she travelled. Her path eventually took her past grain fields and towards an orchard surrounding the nearest town. As she drew closer to the town, she could see the barrels of droppings harvested from the birds being emptied across fields of disease-ridden crops. 248 - Something in the air Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The wide outer layer of grain fields took her hours of line-of-sight teleporting to cross. Fertilised by the damned¡¯s corruption, the rancid grains sprang up continuously from the soil. Outwardly, continuous payments from the overseers were the only things that kept the malevolent field hands trudging between the damned and the fields. Yet Amdirlain caught from their minds that the coin wasn¡¯t their primary motivation¡ªtheir toil helped stave off eternal boredom. Ignoring the looks she got from the overseers and workers, Amdirlain kept moving. Eventually, the road ran through an orchard where meat-coloured fruit rotted on the branches. Despite their appearance, the fly-blown fruit seemed disinclined to fall; instead, they slowly expanded like putrefying flesh stretched by a corpse''s internal gases. As she grew closer to the town, the stench from the fruit thickened into a haze. Various lesser demons moved among the groves, carefully picking fruit that seemed ready to explode. Their demonic appetites, primed by the foul odour, gave Amdirlain an idea. Her pace slowed as she started the silent three-part harmony, wrapping yin with a desire for the energy of the demonic shard into the tree''s growth. The first tree into which she embedded it immediately budded more fruit, and soon their budded flesh sang a hungry yet subtle consuming melody. The town on the orchard¡¯s far side wasn¡¯t walled. Instead, she found a few thousand shanties sprawled along a gentle, ashen slope towards a wide river. Along the slope, what started as isolated buildings became the town¡¯s erratic core on the river bank. Various demonic breeds lounged about, covering the ground between the buildings, apparently too bored to even bother constructing a dwelling for themselves. She paused on the slope¡¯s lip and set off dozens of detection songs she¡¯d designed for the crystals. Amdirlain altered their placements and repeated the checks twice before she strode forward; her path towards the river took her between the largest groups of assorted demons. The songs'' overlapping areas provided her with a surety that no mortals were present within the town. As Amdirlain¡¯s aura swept across them, a few perked up to see the source. They flinched at her glare and, without saying anything, returned to daydreaming of torments they could inflict on vulnerable prey. Idle hands for the fields? Amdirlain pushed more of Charisma¡¯s energy through Dominion, gifting those around with her anger and pain. Amdirlain slowly extended Dominion and built up the pressure until a wave of unsettled anger nipped and snapped at those lying nearby. A sudden burst of violence between two bored Dretch had dozens of others join their brawl. The fight she¡¯d triggered exploded and sucked in hundreds of combatants within a breath. By the time she reached the first clump of buildings, dozens were dead and more were being dismembered. The formerly bored demons found release in an orgy of violence as they lashed out with teeth and claws. Before she reached the township¡¯s boundary, the fighting had spread beyond her Dominion¡¯s range. When Amdirlain found the first brothel, True Song lashed out. Collars of servitude enslaving the staff fractured and fell away. Though many former captives left, dozens erupted from huts, the succubi joining the fray. Their sharp claws and health-draining powers reaped a harvest from among the distracted demons. Those succubi that came close to Amdirlain took in her aura and set upon safer targets. Before she reached the township¡¯s centre, the pressure of infecting the horde with her rage triggered an increase in Dominion. [Dominion [S] (6->7)] A long loop took her along the riverbank and out to the furthest upstream building. Most of the demons behind her threw themselves at each other in a frenzy of mutual destruction. Treading her way back through the orchard, she infected its trees with more songs of interlocking yin, hungering for the demonic shards. Tendrils of flames continued to leap from buildings and screams followed her as the fruit pickers began to fight. Ignoring the destruction they inflicted on isolated trees, she returned through the fields of the damned, composing changes to her original song on the move. An emptied funerary platform received a new screaming arrival, and Amdirlain¡¯s song enfolded them. Beaks piercing flesh to rip out the manifestations of organs and muscle drawn from memory invoked no reaction from the suddenly silent figure. The lack of torment caused the memories of flesh to fade before the birds could swallow. As one, the four birds tilted their heads in confusion and pecked again. Their pace increased with the frenzy of their frustration, yet it delivered no result. Beneath the platform, the ground splattered with the last remnants of their lost prey, started to dry. With the melody''s success demonstrated, she entwined it with a detection theme and embedded the result into a crystal spike. As she walked along, more of the damned fell silent without her own direct intervention. However, the lines of damned stretched on further than she could see across the vast kilometres of the open plain before her. The thought of trudging those distances, even at the Sk?ll¡¯s ground-eating pace, elicited a grunt of dissatisfaction, and she teleported away. With her return, Sarah opened a jewelled eye and snorted in amusement. ¡°You smell of smoke and violence, among other fun things, but there¡¯s no blood on you.¡± ¡°I let the demons rip each other apart.¡± ¡°They just decided it was time for a brawl?¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Perhaps I wandered through projecting with Dominion to incite a touch of violence.¡± ¡°Oh, the shame,¡± gasped Sarah, and she gave a deeper snort. ¡°Did you stick around to babysit them? You¡¯ve been gone a while.¡± ¡°The location¡¯s images didn¡¯t indicate distance, so I walked more than expected. It gave me time to think about the local damned and compose a song. I also poisoned the local orchard,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she resumed her Anar form. ¡°What sort of poison did you use?¡± Amdirlain gave her a lop-sided smile. ¡°I interlaced yin with a hunger for demon shards into the trees.¡± ¡°Sounds cute. What do you think it will do, spawn a bunch of female demons?¡± Giving an exaggerated face-palm, Amdirlain shook her head dramatically. ¡°Oh, hilarious. If I got it right, those eating the fruit should find the energy eating away at their accumulated shards, weakening them.¡± Sarah coughed in surprise, lifting her head to consider Amdirlain properly. ¡°How much effect do you think it will have on a Demon?¡± ¡°While it won¡¯t drop them down a Tier, it will stop them gaining levels inside one, potentially even dropping them back levels,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s if anyone comes back to harvest them.¡± ¡°Cool, maybe we¡¯ll need to feed a Demon with a few to check the effects,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°While you had fun, I organised contact with that cloister member. Since I wasn¡¯t sure how long before the High Crafter would be available, I talked to Roher. That turned out to be a lot easier than I had expected. They opened a Gate focused on his name inside the settlements'' protective aura. While it scared the nightmares out of the Fallen, he¡¯s passed Roher and Isa¡¯s muster.¡± ¡°Nightmares? Really?¡± groaned Amdirlain. Sarah poked out her tongue and blew a raspberry that was more of a sibilant hiss. ¡°Living daylights didn¡¯t have the right feel to it. You¡¯ll understand whenever you get around to meeting him. Don¡¯t worry¡ªhe¡¯s told it might be some time before you¡¯re in touch.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this Fallen¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Dagrast?r,¡± Sarah replied, the word flowing easily despite her draconic form. Amdirlain caught the name¡¯s elven inflections and translated it. ¡°Master of slaughter? Who is this fellow?¡± ¡°He was equivalent to a Solar in the Summer Court before his fall. The Queen renamed him when his deeds revealed how twisted he¡¯d become and struck his old name from their records,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°He¡¯s been with the Cloister for some time now.¡± ¡°Some time?¡± ¡°Only about eight hundred thousand years. Don¡¯t mention your old name to him¡ªhe might recognise it,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°Were you there when Roher spoke to him?¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re being careful to avoid letting things slip. However, since the L¨®m? aren¡¯t aware of what you¡¯re hiding, they¡¯re coming up with other reasons for your avoiding them. I¡¯d suggest at least giving out more chores¡ªthe kids are heartbroken,¡± sighed Sarah dramatically. ¡°Not exactly the easiest since we¡¯re stuck on different planes and they¡¯re restricted to their settlements,¡± countered Amdirlain, and repeated her question. ¡°So, were you there when Roher spoke to him?¡± ¡°Yes, but Analysis gave me a headache trying to get his levels. Use Analysis on his name and see what you get,¡± suggested Sarah knowingly. [Name: Dagrast?r Species: Arch Profaner (Fallen Transformation) Details: A Celestial that came to the realm in the service of the Summer Queen Titania and continued to serve her until his fall. His corruption began from slaughtering tribes of elves and other species aligned with the Winter Court. Cast out from the Summer Court, he spent aeons running amok before finding a reason to seek Redemption¡¯s Path. Presently acts as one of the contact points for those negotiating with the Cloister.] ¡°Profaner?¡± ¡°At least he¡¯s only an Arch Profaner. He seems a physical combat type, so maybe that¡¯s the only option he got offered,¡± remarked Sarah. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°So even if I avoid giving him my current or old name, he¡¯ll still likely recognise the True Song Crystal if he¡¯s that old,¡± stated Amdirlain. Sarah flexed her wings. ¡°Yes, but he already recognised the L¨®m?, so that cat is out of the bag. Plus, even if he hadn¡¯t, dealing with Fallen or Celestial forces, you¡¯ll likely come across someone old enough to recognise it. Right now we don¡¯t have to go near him. We''ve got plenty of ways we can hurt Moloch without involving ourselves with the Fallen yet.¡± ¡°I appreciate your help.¡± ¡°No worries. I¡¯ll help as much as possible, even if that doesn¡¯t include your stealth missions,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°Isa helped me confirm that your magic eraser removes the tags from Mortal souls. I used the version you set in the repaired crystal rather than those you created from scratch when we tested it. She¡¯s off scrubbing the rest of Duskstone clean with it at present.¡± ¡°Thanks. I don¡¯t know if Isa or Erwarth will notice, but it''s different if Roher hears one I did solo. I¡¯m certain he¡¯ll pick up on it,¡± Amdirlain said, and she paced about in silence with Sarah watching on. When Amdirlain broke the silence with a muttered curse, Sarah finally spoke up. ¡°Penny, for your thoughts?¡± ¡°No, then I¡¯d have to give you change,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I caught myself in some circular logic and realised the obvious way to break it. I could have Roher compose the Fallen detection for the crystals. We¡¯ll need to test them to ensure the Mortal and Fallen detections will work together.¡± ¡°I told blood boy you were looking to get their help to release trapped mortals, and he seemed eager to help,¡± Sarah advised. ¡°How eager?¡± asked Amdirlain warily. ¡°It didn¡¯t seem like he was looking for a cheat to get out, but more they need what you¡¯re offering to get out at all.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Sarah tapped the ground with an extended claw as she considered her words. ¡°It seems like they¡¯ve got a version of the 12-step program at work, and their making amends doesn¡¯t count the slaying of demons. They need to undertake work that helps mortals. Providing guidance and protection of primitive worlds seems to be their mainstay since it''s almost impossible for older ones to reach civilised worlds.¡± ¡°What about mortals on the planes?¡± ¡°Most planar mortals seem to consider getting mixed up with Fallen bad news,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that; Orh¨ºthurin didn¡¯t make the path easy,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°The worlds on the Material Plane didn¡¯t used to be sealed, as there wasn¡¯t the same need. The original abyssal primordials didn¡¯t care about mortals. After they experimented with corrupted souls and created demons, worlds became sealed against Immortal beings from all the outer planes,¡± recounted Sarah. ¡°It was then the Big A and his Hierarchy of Sin got an invitation to come to play in this realm.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s unsettling. I wonder if Orh¨ºthurin made the path easier to find after that occurred. It seemed like she was going to leave it up to the trio to tell others,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°What level of detail did you go into?¡± ¡°Pretty light, kept it to an initial exploration of if they were interested and learning about them. Didn¡¯t tell him about our lost sheep¡ªI wasn¡¯t sure if it would even be helpful to bring him up,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Not much point. Torm isn¡¯t using that name any longer, and who knows what he looks like,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Anything else you covered?¡± ¡°I asked him about the marker you found,¡± Sarah replied, and she deliberately stopped until Amdirlain motioned her to spit it out. ¡°He says they¡¯re quite common. They turn up in places they¡¯re not seen previously, but once they¡¯re reported in a spot, others checking have found them. Their purpose seems to be to lead prospects along a path depending on whatever resistances they¡¯re lacking for Ijmti,¡± said Sarah, absently scratching at her forelimb. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know Orh¨ºthurin had created them, let alone seeded them through the Abyss.¡± ¡°Must have been something she did in her downtime. You know, when she didn¡¯t have one of your incarnations to entertain?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I know, dragons are worse than house cats with needing attention,¡± said Sarah, and she gave a dramatic sniff that turned into a little sob. ¡°You¡¯ve neglected me so much. Woe is me.¡± Amdirlain closed her eyes and gave a mock sigh. ¡°Yeah, fine. Next time I pop down the shops, I¡¯ll pick up a dragon tree,¡± ¡°Make sure you get one with enough height so I can properly stretch when scratching,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Not even a proper bed in this place.¡± ¡°What about if we talk to Roher, get him to compose the song for the Fallen detection? Then get him to open a Gate for us to speak to Dagrast?r to test it.¡± ¡°We just talked to him,¡± said Sarah, and her initially puzzled expression quickly evaporated. ¡°You¡¯ll use the settlement¡¯s song as a firewall instead of meeting him on this plane.¡± ¡°Oh, look at you using techie concepts,¡± gasped Amdirlain. ¡°Please, I wasn¡¯t a complete Luddite,¡± huffed Sarah, and she gave Amdirlain an expressive tail flick. ¡°The PC software was always telling me about blocked intrusion attempts.¡± The similarity to her mum¡¯s cat giving her a feline middle finger had Amdirlain smiling. ¡°That¡¯s because you needed to spank some of your customers harder.¡± ¡°No, I handled them exactly as they needed to be handled. Stop trying to change the subject. When did you want to talk to Roher about the Fallen detection and chat with Dagrast?r?¡± Sarah enquired. ¡°Let¡¯s see if he has time,¡± Amdirlain said, and she sent off a Message. ¡°Oh, I think he¡¯ll make time,¡± whispered Sarah. The reply wasn¡¯t long in coming. A Gate that hummed between the planes opened with its focus on Amdirlain. The Gate¡¯s nature gave her plenty of warning, and Amdirlain gave a relaxed wave trying to ease the tension she saw in his usually relaxed demeanour. ¡°Hi Roher, it¡¯s been a while.¡± Roher gave her a formal bow, and his bright gaze glistened through tears. He reached out as if to clasp her hands but clenched his teeth in frustration and forced himself to step back from the Gate. ¡°Amdirlain, we¡¯ve not enough melodies to convey our sorrow. While we never met him, his loss reminds us of our lost kin. Those who have learnt of your pain weep that you now endured such loss, especially atop your existing trials.¡± Amdirlain nodded and blinked a rush of tears away. ¡°As Sarah reminded me, he still exists, so I¡¯m trying to focus on his recovery as we¡¯ve recovered others.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll pray to the Light that this comes to pass,¡± affirmed Roher, and he coughed roughly to clear his emotion-thickened voice. ¡°Do you believe the Fallen that Sarah and I met with can help you recover him?¡± ¡°Not in the immediate future, but perhaps once we get him interested in Redemption¡¯s Path,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I wanted to ask you if you have any compositions that could detect a Fallen¡¯s presence.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Amdirlain explained their goal and the tools they¡¯d made to track down captive mortals. Through her explanation, Amdirlain carefully referred only to the scraps repaired with Erwarth. ¡°Turning scraps into tools to rescue others,¡± murmured Roher. ¡°And the use of psi-crystals to organise the provided information,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°It was Sarah¡¯s idea to add detection for Fallen on them as well to see if we can locate Torm. I¡¯m unsure about composing something that would cover all Fallen transformations.¡± Roher gave her a cautious smile. ¡°I¡¯ll put together a melody for you. Might I see what you¡¯ve composed so far?¡± Securing the pages into a scroll case, Amdirlain tossed them through the Gate. The initial resigned hunch of Roher¡¯s posture reminded Amdirlain of a teacher being handed a problem student¡¯s assignment for review. As he worked through the pages, he straightened and started to shoot speculative glances her way. ¡°Isa mentioned your composition evolved, but I must admit I hadn¡¯t given that enough credence,¡± said Roher, and he shifted back through the music. ¡°These are all songs we could set into crystals for you. You¡¯ve broken the elements into more individual songs than I would have, but I can see it would reduce the crystal¡¯s stress.¡± ¡°My Soul memories helped my composition to evolve into True Song Architecture,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she smiled when Roher hummed appreciatively. ¡°There are a few parts with problems, and I¡¯ve created alternative songs to restrict the range. Our tests found the greater ranges experience failures,¡± His focus didn¡¯t shift from the pages as he turned back to the start. ¡°You¡¯ve some inefficiency here and there, but I can help refine them. Fine-tuning your detection to a greater area is possible, but the trade-off is that the greater the range, the faster the crystal decays and requires repairs.¡± ¡°The plan was to plant them as close to natural gates as possible,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°In that case, the range shouldn¡¯t be an issue if they can place it close enough¡ªstill, smoothing its melody will minimise strain. We should add a melody and control to sink the crystal into rock or soil,¡± suggested Roher. ¡°I had planned to put the first static ones in place myself with Inventory,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Isa has shown me some of your tricks with that ability, but yes, no point in getting too far along before you prove something works,¡± said Roher, and he drummed his fingers lightly on the pages. ¡°Would it be acceptable for me to show this to other composers?¡± ¡°Whoever you think might be interested,¡± affirmed Amdirlain. Tucking the pages away, he slipped the case into his sash. ¡°We¡¯ve been doing some experimenting of our own. How is your Multi-voice going?¡± Amdirlain gave him a tight grin. ¡°For simple, individual songs, up to 90 at once. Duet still lets me down. If I need to intermingle the songs, I end up with a dissonance between them that lessens their impact, and I have to cut back to a lesser number.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve done well to advance it so quickly. The issue you face is understandable. Your skill in Duet would need to be considerably higher if you are singing all the intermingled songs,¡± explained Roher, tapping the scroll case at his waist. ¡°We can help you stretch it and move towards this goal.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Roher hummed the intro of True Song Crystal¡¯s melody and smiled slyly at Amdirlain. He pointed to a spot on her side of the Gate as he started it again, and Amdirlain joined in. With Roher leading, his intent controlled the manifestation. When they¡¯d finished, a crystal spike about the length of a stiletto¡¯s blade had stabilised. ¡°I didn¡¯t think that was possible without the singers in the same location.¡± ¡°Isa mentioned you hadn¡¯t asked for our help because we can¡¯t come to you, so we¡¯ve been experimenting,¡± gushed Roher happily. ¡°The Gate¡¯s energy was initially distracting for those singing through the Gate, but one gets used to it with effort. We¡¯ve been using gates between settlements to practise. It has been a good stretch of our abilities, and it''s even more challenging if you sing through a series of gates.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the most anyone¡¯s managed?¡± asked Amdirlain, amused by Roher¡¯s sudden enthusiasm. ¡°I¡¯m up to twelve,¡± replied Roher smugly. ¡°What would you like for your help?¡± Amdirlain asked, wincing when Roher flinched as if she¡¯d slapped him. Roher¡¯s gaze changed to a mock glare, and he waved a finger reprovingly. ¡°What would you like for yours? We owe our continued existence to you, and you think we need repayment from you? It saddens us all that you¡¯ve kept interactions with our settlements to a minimum, and often, it seems, at arm''s length; I can only guess our abandonment of Orh¨ºthurin makes you leery of dealing with us.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the case,¡± sighed Amdirlain. He fixed her with a sad smile. ¡°It would be completely understandable if it were.¡± Amdirlain gave him an apologetic shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for giving that impression. I¡¯ve remembered nothing that felt to be after Mori¡¯s coronation, and I¡¯ve not even remembered that. How about we focus on what we can do together? ¡± ¡°Whenever you wish to spare time from your other projects, I¡¯ll have singers available for this work,¡± offered Roher. ¡°Give me a few weeks, and I¡¯ll see what refinement we can compose around your vision of this net. Do you wish to start on crystals before the addition of the Fallen detection and refinements are ready?¡± His enthusiasm caught her by such surprise, Amdirlain had to gather herself. ¡°The crystals are likely to be the biggest bottleneck. I was also looking at using them to set songs to mute the damned¡¯s suffering.¡± It was Roher¡¯s turn to be caught by surprise, and he scratched his head in confusion. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Muting the souls'' ability to suffer prevents demons from being formed by the Abyss,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The Abyss is adaptive and attracted to corruption; the amoral attitude carried within it matches the Abyss¡¯ original nature, even if the malicious doesn¡¯t. If you stop it drawing the damned¡¯s corruption away in one fashion, it will probably find another,¡± cautioned Roher before he stopped and snorted. ¡°Here I am, holding onto what I¡¯ve always known. If you¡¯d taken that approach with us, we¡¯d still be treading the path to joining the lost.¡± His fingers tapped against the case, and Amdirlain could hear his racing thoughts but stayed clear of eavesdropping. ¡°Is this neutralisation all that you wish to achieve?¡± Roher finally asked. ¡°I was hoping to purge the souls to a blank slate instead. I was taking this approach as a stepping stone along that path.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°Ebusuku spoke to me, and perhaps I was too hasty in dismissing your desire to deal with Moloch. Is this goal part of your plans for him?¡± ¡°For what he did, Culerzic gets to be the first one I try this against, not the last. The Abyss was once a wild and dangerous place, but not corrupt as it is now. Scouring parts of it clean would be impossible if more corruption from millions of worlds continues to pour in,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°If you scour Culerzic clean, the energies in the Abyss will probably attract the corrupt souls to other abyssal planes. Yet, if you hadn¡¯t brought our lost to be scoured by the purification field, they¡¯d have remained lost,¡± said Roher. ¡°It seems I need to listen better when younger people tell me things. What do you need?¡± ¡°Ideally, I¡¯d like an inferno like the Titan¡¯s forge to purify all the memories and corruption. However, Ebusuku suggested that while Planar Locked, I stick with effects others would see as demonic. Any suggestions along those lines? ¡°The primordial essence of creation within his forge isn¡¯t something any singer is likely to manage,¡± replied Roher, and he gave her a wry smile. ¡°Unless you can find the Titan¡¯s Songbird, we¡¯ll have to aim for lesser goals. I doubt damned souls going quiet is something others would see as demonic. Also, while merely a curiosity in smaller numbers, they''d look harder once it reaches large enough zones of silence. Dangerous, since some powerful magics can look into the past events of a region.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been going near places in different guises to delay enquiries,¡± said Amdirlain. Roher tapped his chin thoughtfully. ¡°Instead of leaving the damned in place, why don¡¯t we steal them?¡± The proposal sent Amdirlain¡¯s mind whirling through possibilities, but she held her tongue from blurting out what she saw. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± 249 - We all lift together Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic ¡°The Energy Drain Power you gave Erwarth has allowed her to recover more of the lost. Have you listened to the thread it sets into the souls?¡± asked Roher. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°This is just a thought, so we¡¯ll have to work out the details. What if we mark the damned with an identical marker rather than one adjusted for each target? Use that to target thousands at once and remove them from the Plane. I¡¯d suggest leaving false Mana and planar traces, so it seems as if another Demon Lord is stealing them,¡± proposed Roher, gesturing absently as if flicking a concern away. ¡°Though stopping them from shifting back between planes is also something we¡¯ll need to manage.¡± ¡°There are the Treasury¡¯s enchanted soul containers. They also use them to extract certain negative emotions and compress the souls. It even works on a Damned, though the Hag complained about its muddy quality.¡± ¡°The terms on the demons is that they must take souls that don¡¯t belong in the Abyss to Judgement after extracting the emotions they find pleasurable. Neither they nor we have to do that to souls that have naturally ended up here,¡± commented Roher. ¡°What do you want to do to the souls long term? Flawed souls taken to Judgement would likely end up back here.¡± ¡°Even if we don¡¯t have the Titan¡¯s forge, can we do a purification of the souls? Purge their memories and heal the worst of the flaws so we can give the souls a fresh start.¡± ¡°Phoenix girl,¡± chuffed Sarah, and she snorted with laughter. ¡°Laugh it up, sparkle butt,¡± grumped Amdirlain. Sarah''s howl of laughter stopped Roher''s immediate objection, but he spoke up once she¡¯d settled down. ¡°We¡¯ve not previously influenced any souls¡¯ journey after their creation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true, and you should know that,¡± countered Amdirlain. Roher gave her a puzzled frown until realisation dawned. ¡°The elves?¡± ¡°They got treated like children by both the Anar and L¨®m?. Five species of elves that we hopped with us whenever we moved to a new planet,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°You think their involvement with us didn¡¯t influence their souls?¡± ¡°That¡¯s different,¡± protested Roher, exhaling in exasperation. ¡°Why? Because we created them when we initially had no option for children? Even when we did, it was only the limited numbers of the reborn. We clung to the species we created to fill that role of children, but eventually treated them as servants instead.¡± ¡°I¡­ might not have enough older memories to give me a proper perspective of them,¡± admitted Roher. ¡°I can¡¯t remember when they weren¡¯t part of our communities as servants. That they appreciated the ease of life being part of our communities provided was my biggest impression.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a problem with the current life helping attune the memories,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°It avoids the personality being overwhelmed, but the full historical perspective is sometimes missing.¡± Roher looked lost in thought for a time, but he eventually nodded. ¡°Alright, so we plan for purification, but that will take time and might need the souls in an uncompressed state,¡± pondered Roher, stroking his thumb along his jawline. ¡°Do you have the melody for those containers?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll write them out and test that I¡¯ve got everything,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If you can provide those, we¡¯ll see if we can change the songs to cleanse their corruption and memories. Then the biggest challenge is the amount of space we¡¯d need to effect a meaningful change. Creating a full plane isn¡¯t something True Song allows for; trapped as we are, even something like The Exchange¡¯s Demi-plane would be problematic.¡± Amdirlain almost opened her mouth to protest the limitation, but cut herself off. ¡°You had a thought?¡± asked Roher. ¡°Just that the music of planes differs, so I thought-¡± The indulgent smile Roher gave had Amdirlain expecting to be called on the lie. ¡°The Songbird¡¯s work, not that of the Anar or L¨®m?. Like with my purification burst, trying to sing the results of a song doesn¡¯t always provide the music for its creation.¡± What else did you leave out of the sharing between them, Orh¨ºthurin? ¡°Where did you want to start first?¡± Amdirlain enquired, eager to move the conversation along. ¡°One of those containers and some damned souls so we can listen to the emotion removal and the Soul¡¯s compression,¡± answered Roher. ¡°If you would arrange those, I¡¯ll talk to some of the more skilled composers about your net for rescuing mortals.¡± ¡°Thanks, Roher,¡± blurted Amdirlain. The compassion in his eyes made it clear Roher caught her meaning. ¡°Amdirlain, even if we have to make more of these than there are stars, we will find him.¡± With that declaration, he let the Gate close. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell him about Gail¡¯s project,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Please, she¡¯s barely three. I don¡¯t think Gail needs someone watching over her shoulder in anticipation of their rescue,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, you like keeping secrets,¡± teased Sarah. ¡°You almost spilled the planar one.¡± ¡°I remembered the main framework being built. I didn¡¯t know they hadn¡¯t been involved in creating more,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s related to how the information in your Soul and thoughts remains out of audible range. I¡¯ll have to be extremely careful in casual conversation with them.¡± ¡°Well, it used to be one mouth, two ears; use them in that ratio. But I think you need to tilt the ratio even further away from speaking,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°Got to watch it. They can¡¯t hear your theme even if they¡¯d listen, but they¡¯ve got trained Perception to fall back on.¡± ¡°Another thing I¡¯ve left stagnant. Precognition, and now Resonance, take up the heavy lifting from Perception.¡± ¡°Sounds like you need to go searching for wally,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re the wally,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Meow,¡± taunted Sarah. Giving an exaggerated sigh, Amdirlain planted her hands on her hips. ¡°Geez, I let you in the house, and now I¡¯ll never get rid of you.¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my dinner, servant?¡± Sarah asked haughtily before she pretended to lick her forepaw. Suppressing a snicker, Amdirlain rolled her eyes and got to work. A few minutes later, the glow stabilised into the form of the Treasury''s small soul jar, its opening quickly sealed when the bile-green barrier snapped into place. With its creation stabilised, Sarah sidled closer to the table and started her examination. ¡°Though more seriously, use Resonance, and focus on an object. Don¡¯t just stop at hearing its song or even picking up details about its structure. Dig into it and find out not only if the t¡¯s are crossed, but are they straight or slanted, or are the I¡¯s dotted directly in the middle or to one side. Learn its history and flaws, then, instead of being able to do a passable copy, you¡¯ll learn far more.¡± ¡°Overheard a few lessons in your younger days?¡± enquired Amdirlain, noting how Sarah kept her attention fixed on the jar. ¡°She did a lot of teaching, though I modernised that one for you,¡± admitted Sarah. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°She was certain most of her students disliked her.¡± ¡°In awe of her is more the point. By the end, she was the only Anar known not to have been reborn at least once, and some had been reborn more times than me,¡± countered Sarah, even while she continued to examine the container. ¡°I can see that to Orh¨ºthurin the outcome was the same. Whatever their reason, it left her isolated and alone most of the time. Then, by the time Mori came along, she had to work hard to overcome her habit of having the walls in place.¡± ¡°Sorry, Amdirlain. From what I remember of their interactions, she never really took those walls down. Some secrets can be too isolating,¡± offered Sarah, and she returned the container to the table. ¡°You mentioned that the bigger containers needed to be reinforced?¡± Happy for the subject change, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yeah, but no idea how they managed it.¡± ¡°I might need to experiment. It would be inefficient to sing billions of these into existence, even to act as temporary holdings.¡± ¡°True, it also means we¡¯d only be able to draw in a few souls with each batch. How about I get a few dozen souls, see how many it can contain, and then figure out the adjustments we need?¡± ¡°Tagging enough souls to make this worthwhile is also going to take a while,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve already got an idea about that,¡± Amdirlain said, and her edged smile drew Sarah''s attention. ¡°What are you up to?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to use demons,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she deliberately waited until Sarah started to ask for more details before teleporting away. After she ignored the first message, another didn¡¯t follow. A few hops later, once she¡¯d broken up the trail and changed form, Amdirlain was scrambling amidst the mangrove canopy again. When she found her first target, it appeared like she was just another Demon tormenting one of the damned. With the small yet sharp claws of the Gil?glp¡¯s form, she found pinpricks proved enough damage for Energy Drain to catch hold. She repeatedly jabbed a claw into it and, ignoring the corruption that oozed out, listened to the Power that linked the black thread of energy into its Soul. The compressed burst of sound took her hours to decipher and, after she caught it all, she slowly adjusted the composition. She released the damned back to the thrashing branches with each successful change, composed more adjustments, and sang again. It was nearly a day before she had what she needed, and teleporting to the hill outside the mangroves, she could feel the rope stretch between them. A mental yank caused the damned to materialise beside her and then slide within her form. With it secured, a Teleport took her back among the branches. Hidden out of sight, she set the Power¡¯s connection within a crystal and tied it to a melody to target the damned. With the crystal clenched in her mouth, she used skip teleports to move among the trees until she could feel the strain from the number of damned tied to her. She pulled them to her in increasingly larger groups, paying attention to the energy beneath her skin. With the last of them tucked away, Amdirlain teleported again. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. This time her arrival was quiet and concealed, positioned in a ditch outside a training township whose image Caltzan had once provided Torm. Resonance extended in a line to sweep across the demons, and Amdirlain gathered the information she sought. When she returned to Sarah, she was nearly a thousand souls and dozens of songs richer. ¡°At last, she returns,¡± Sarah teased, not taking her gaze from an outline of a massive drum nearly four times Amdirlain¡¯s height. The ectoplasm rippled as drawn runes shifted places along its surface. ¡°Having fun playing with your toys?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she collected the Soul Jar from the table. Sarah huffed. ¡°Well, it¡¯s slightly better than if I was playing with myself.¡± ¡°Yeah, go polish some scales,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and Sarah snickered. Amdirlain started releasing Souls into the jar, but after ten, she had to stop, the bright light of the runes almost challenging Sarah¡¯s glow. ¡°How many did you collect?¡± ¡°Nearly a thousand, but that¡¯s only ten in there so far,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re slowing down if it took you that long to wander around tapping them on the nose,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°Isolating the Power¡¯s song was one thing, but it formed a connection to a Soul so quickly, it was hard to catch the effect¡¯s song. Then I had to change it, so it didn¡¯t need physical contact,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then you kept going until you got it working in a crystal and tweaked that until you strengthened the ability to pull them in,¡± Sarah finished knowingly. Amdirlain gave a wry smile. ¡°I strengthened the effect first, smart-alec.¡± ¡°How about an experiment: you tag those fellows, I¡¯ll release them on Tern¨°x, and give them a head start and see if they return,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°Pretty sure they¡¯ll come back, though the process might take a few days. I suppose it doesn¡¯t hurt to try,¡± Amdirlain commented. ¡°I¡¯d suggest releasing them outside the L¨®m?¡¯s purification field. It¡¯s designed to incinerate demons, but I¡¯m not sure what it would do to damned souls.¡± ¡°I sent Roher a message when you headed off, so he wouldn¡¯t bother you,¡± Sarah explained. ¡°A few hours ago, he asked if you¡¯d contact him when you have time.¡± ¡°You taking on the job of my secretary?¡± ¡°Please, that puts me completely on the wrong side of the equation,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m just handling organising your play dates.¡± ¡°Yes, mum,¡± Amdirlain chimed. ¡°Though you''re only a few months older than me.¡± ¡°I gained a few extra years on you when the Titan released me into Hell earlier,¡± reminded Sarah. Amdirlain briefly wore a pained expression before pushing it aside. It didn¡¯t take long to create another jar slightly larger than the last, but it glowed just as brightly when she¡¯d released ten souls into it. ¡°See, it''s not the size that matters,¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°Everyone who has said that knows it''s a lie,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°Guess you got some memories back then,¡± teased Sarah. ¡°Did you review them for research?¡± ¡°Hush you,¡± Amdirlain said, glad she could prevent the blush. Sarah¡¯s tail twitched expressively, her attention remaining fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going to explain your bit about getting demons to help?¡± The smirk Sarah received earned a frustrated sigh before Amdirlain relented. ¡°How does Hell hold the forces of the Abyss at bay?¡± ¡°Planning, scouting, discipline, and turning their forces against each other,¡± replied Sarah warily. ¡°You said you lost some levels in Mineral Control?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Guess you should look at a large-scale manufacturing control to get your mojo back,¡± replied Amdirlain cryptically. A sharp sound echoed in the chamber from the sudden tap of an extended claw. ¡°Continuing to add puzzles will get you in trouble, missy.¡± Waving her off, Amdirlain burst out laughing. ¡°What do demons carry with them everywhere?¡± ¡°Weapons, if they can afford them,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I take it you remember what demonic weapons feel like from when you were picking over their dead?¡± Sarah regarded Amdirlain with wary curiosity. ¡°What do you need me to make?¡± ¡°I stopped outside a training town and listened to their armoury,¡± replied Amdirlain. One after another, she created examples of the weaponry she¡¯d heard within the building. ¡°You provide enough of the abyssal steel and corpse wood used in their crafting, and I¡¯ll make you as many as you want,¡± declared Sarah. ¡°Not so fast,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Here is where it gets tricky, and why I don¡¯t just sing a bunch into existence. I need the weapon to keep its balance after we insert a crystal into its handle.¡± ¡°How big a crystal are you talking about?¡± ¡°I had thought about the sword¡¯s pommel stone or a long needle. Let me know what sizes would work best for the various weapons.¡± ¡°Demons don¡¯t have fancy weapons when they¡¯re in the rank and file, so a fully enclosed crystal would avoid attention,¡± suggested Sarah. Amdirlain gave a satisfied nod. ¡°Might be for the best; I could set songs to shatter the crystal if anything broke the weapon.¡± ¡°That just leaves you creating enough crystals,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°Guess I better contact Roher,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll need to devise other ways to reach as far across Culerzic as possible without having to go everywhere myself.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to develop them,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re not on your own.¡± When Amdirlain contacted Roher, she received a quick response that provided a time to expect him. ¡°He¡¯ll be a couple of hours,¡± announced Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll get started on the supplies for your work.¡± ¡°How about carving out a storehouse for materials and the results before I get started?¡± suggested Sarah. When Amdirlain created a vaulted chamber the length of a squash court, Sarah snorted derisively. ¡°Go bigger.¡± ¡°Thought you said size doesn¡¯t matter,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯m going to stretch Mineral Control, I will need to make thousands of weapons,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°A chamber on each side of the main shaft?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve got a kilometre reach on the power, so don¡¯t skimp,¡± advised Sarah. After adjusting the first, Amdirlain ended up with two vaulted chambers the length of a football field. They connected to the main chamber by passages four metres on opposing sides of the shaft to make it easier to avoid them intersecting. The first stack of abyssal steel ingots was nearing the ceiling when she heard the Gate in the main chamber open. The opening was larger than she¡¯d expected; with Roher were ten L¨®m? that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t met yet. Despite the similarity of their features, elements among the group varied their appearance wildly. Vibrant hair colours ran a gauntlet between individuals from dark blue to bright red and onwards to pale green. ¡°Amdirlain, I wanted to introduce you to some singers who have already volunteered to take time to help with the crystals,¡± said Roher, his sapphire blue gaze burning with excitement. ¡°I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what we can do together,¡± replied Amdirlain and, recognising their accumulated experience, she inclined her head respectfully to those gathered. Roher gestured towards a male L¨®m? on the end, whose hair was an indigo hue that almost shone despite the depth of its colour. The deep colour contrasted dramatically with his pale, spearmint green irises and the usual L¨®m? bronze-gold skin tone. ¡°First is Laergul. He¡¯d also like to work with you to evolve your True Song once it is in the Senior Master rank.¡± ¡°Pleasure to meet you, Laergul. We should likely talk afterwards,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It''s Senior Master level 48 at present.¡± Laergul paused in mid-reply, lips slightly parted in thought before he continued. ¡°It¡¯s an honour, Amdirlain. I know your rapid progress shouldn¡¯t surprise me. Still, I find your growth a shock, be it a delightful one, and I look forward to seeing what you can accomplish.¡± With that, Laergul let Roher complete the introductions of those waiting, each offering to assist her in progressing with varying powers and skills. ¡°Amdirlain, this is my conspiracy chorus, as my wife has taken to calling them. They assisted with the first project Isa helped us undertake,¡± Roher said after he¡¯d completed the introductions. ¡°We don¡¯t have to start yet, but I wanted you to meet them.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve all spare time now, I¡¯d like to get started,¡± replied Amdirlain, and they all nodded. ¡°How would you like to begin?¡± asked Roher, when the last member signalled their readiness. ¡°I¡¯m going to need lots of small True Song Crystals,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she glanced over at Sarah. ¡°What¡¯s a good general size?¡± ¡°Go for the thickness of a heavy darning needle,¡± suggested Sarah, and a glob of ectoplasm reformed, hovering in the air to serve as a guide. ¡°We¡¯ll start slowly adding a chorus member at a time,¡± explained Roher. ¡°Working on forming a crystal with each of us will require 22 songs. Rather than just going straight to that, we¡¯ll start with me alone and add another singer once we¡¯re five cycles through each formation. I''ll signal the next person to wait if I notice any issues with you stabilising the existing songs.¡± ¡°That sounds good,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, and her smile of anticipation brought a chuckle from the group. ¡°We¡¯ve each a slightly different timbre to our vocals. Hopefully, that aids you in separating the duets,¡± offered Laergul. ¡°Erwarth mentioned you¡¯re very focused once you get working, but initially, we¡¯ll break every 2 hours to check the results of the crystals,¡± advised Roher. ¡°Since crystals that size should only take a few minutes each, we''ll finish the current songs once we hit the 2 hours. The most we¡¯ll go is one crystal per singer for this first run.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s nod, Roher began, and as he reached the intro¡¯s ends, she blended two songs with his own. After the first five singers, the difficulty of blending songs started to climb, their complexity making each addition a noticeable stretch. When the last singer started, Amdirlain could feel the strain on her concentration. The energy¡¯s intensity pressed hard against her, all the moving parts grinding and shoving against her concentration and will. With the strain of the musical batons being exchanged, Amdirlain was glad Roher had kept the restriction to one crystal each. When they finally wound down, it had become a cyclone of sound reverberating through her bones. [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item [minor]) - experience by item grade: Journeyman: 380 x 5 = 30 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Masterwork: 400 x 235 = 50 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Total Experience gained: 47,950 Ostim? +23,975 Ont?lin +23,975 Multi-voice [M] (43->45) Duet [Ad] (27->36)] ¡°How long does master grade crystal normally last?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It depends on the strain we¡¯re putting on them. Everything in the Abyss is always under pressure,¡± explained Roher. ¡°Indeed, many of the older relics we arrived with have shattered over the aeons, even without being used.¡± ¡°I noted a few wobbles when the last singers joined, but you stabilised quickly,¡± observed Laergul. ¡°They¡¯ll account for the crystals that have the most dissonance. Since you don¡¯t need an insight stone, how did your progress go?¡± ¡°Duet and Multi-voice both progressed well from that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Insight crystal? Is that the L¨®m? version of an Imprint stone?¡± ¡°Something close to that, though it will also highlight abilities you¡¯re close to evolving,¡± explained Roher. ¡°I noticed the improvements in your singing and admit I hadn¡¯t expected it to be obvious in a single session.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the force of your Intelligence and Willpower,¡± remarked Laergul. ¡°We can¡¯t hear your song, but we can hear the intensity of your singing and how you''re continually adjusting to avoid previous errors. There is no give in you except where the music expects it.¡± ¡°Shall we begin again?¡± ¡°Will you push the shards through?¡± requested Roher. ¡°We¡¯ll have someone prepare the songs for them when the composer¡¯s review is done.¡± The crystals floated towards Sarah as she transformed into a willowy brunette Human. Hunting leathers suddenly enfolded her, and Sarah gave Amdirlain a smile befitting a vixen. ¡°I¡¯ll take the Soul Jar through as well, and we can see how long they take to return.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve secured some of the damned already?¡± asked Roher. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s casually standing there with nearly a thousand of them,¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°I assume they¡¯re wrapped up in Ki since they¡¯re not screaming.¡± ¡°They are,¡± Amdirlain admitted, and at Roher¡¯s surprised expression, she gave a little shrug. ¡°By the way, how¡¯s Laleither? It seemed like she¡¯d want to be here to keep you in check. Is she letting you run wild now?¡± A flicker of hesitation crossed Roher¡¯s features, and Amdirlain caught a mixture of concern and delight. ¡°Well, her situation is delicate at present.¡± ¡°Delicate is a term some will use for being pregnant among humans,¡± noted Amdirlain. Roher gave a slight smile, but worry showed in his gaze. ¡°Then I¡¯m glad it translates properly.¡± Any of the L¨®m? being pregnant with a child set Amdirlain aback. ¡°I thought the L¨®m? weren¡¯t risking having children?¡± ¡°It was unexpected,¡± admitted Roher. ¡°We hadn¡¯t needed precautions like Isa says humans use. The Titan had released no souls for rebirth since our arrival here, and those that stayed to sing don¡¯t have his permission to reincarnate. We don¡¯t know if any of those that died in the last battle even made it to the Titan¡¯s forge; they could have ended up in the Abyss with us,¡± admitted Roher. ¡°Gail said she recalls the shelf was empty when she arrived, but others had come later,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°Unless the Titan had them somewhere else and placed them with her,¡± suggested Roher. ¡°Where was this shelf?¡± ¡°Right near his personal forge from what Gail could tell,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve two memories of being in the forge room between lives. Both times I was standing on a shelf near a forge that only he used. I remember watching him. He was constantly working when he wasn¡¯t moving among the greater and lesser concepts, helping them with their work,¡± admitted Roher. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean there weren¡¯t other shelves with occupants.¡± ¡°Maybe, maybe not. If you stop having a baby boom, get Erwarth to take more souls on to judgement,¡± Amdirlain suggested. ¡°I took a bunch there some years ago.¡± ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t there been a pregnancy earlier?¡± ¡°I spoke to the Titan before I left the Maze, and during our conversation, I asked him to figure out a way to let the Anar return. Maybe it¡¯s that, or maybe it''s just because there is an Anar Queen now,¡± Amdirlain pointed out. ¡°You¡¯re recovering, and your situation has stabilised, so he isn¡¯t dooming the children to a brief life.¡± ¡°Do you believe Gail will get us out?¡± asked Roher, his voice soft with a father¡¯s concern. Amdirlain almost groaned at her slip but didn¡¯t backflip. ¡°Gideon told her about a harp that would provide a link to the royal family, so have a bit of hope. It will likely take some time to make progress.¡± Though he gasped sharply, Roher surprised Amdirlain when he squared his shoulders and nodded. ¡°Sarah, if you¡¯d come through, we¡¯ll get back to our practice.¡± ¡°The Harp is still on Veht?,¡± announced Sarah. ¡°How do you know?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah smiled smugly. ¡°I was there for its presentation, silly. I''ll give Gail the details if you don¡¯t remember its name in a few years to check for yourself. ¡± Amdirlain snickered at her tone. ¡°Bitch.¡± ¡°Yes. And?¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Please don¡¯t put any pressure on Gail, Roher,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°A tree grows in its own time, and we¡¯ve waited this long. A few more millennia is nothing,¡± declared Roher before he motioned between Amdirlain and Sarah. ¡°If she¡¯s anything like the two that came with her, I doubt it will be that long. Those heading westward took many relics with them; I hadn¡¯t expected the O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand? to be among them.¡± The conviction in Roher¡¯s voice caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°How do you know it''s that harp?¡± ¡°For a connection to the royal family, it makes no sense for it to be any other. It was the first harp of the royal family, and every newly crowned monarch played it while they performed their first song upon taking the throne,¡± explained Roher. [Name: O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand? The combined efforts of 26 choirs created the harp of eternal life as a coronation gift for the first L¨®m? royal couple. It was bound to the royal couple''s lineage by Orh¨ºthurin upon their coronation, and their heirs renewed the life bond each coronation. Isil refugees lost it beneath the waves when a pursuing Great Wyrm drove parts of the evacuation fleet ashore, leaving others battered and floundering off the southeast coast of their future haven. Hearing the fleet''s plea, Laodice slew the Wyrm before the four ventured into the Abyss, pursuing Leviathan. The battered remnants took aboard the survivors and limped northwards, their hulls packed with survivors. They had no space for additional salvage.] ¡°Spoilsport,¡± grumbled Sarah. 250 - Black Bouquet Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Sarah slipped through the Gate in human form and gave Roher a reassuring shoulder pat. Smoothly handing off the bundle of crystals, she headed towards the cavern¡¯s edge. Once clear of the group, Sarah pushed her pace hard and sped away quicker than an F1 car at full speed, her draconic strength cracking the stone beneath her feet. ¡°Sarah seems eager,¡± Roher said. ¡°I wonder if she wants to provoke a reaction from the Sisterhood¡¯s wards?¡± Laergul chuckled, and his eyes shone with amusement. ¡°She¡¯ll face disappointment if that¡¯s the case. We¡¯ve set songs beyond the purification¡¯s reach to untangle any workings of Mana.¡± ¡°We¡¯re experimenting with a batch of the damned I¡¯ve tagged to see if they¡¯re drawn back to Culerzic,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d say she wants to stretch her legs since she¡¯s been stuck in this chamber for days.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°She seems possessed of more restless energy than most dragons I¡¯ve met. Restricted to your chamber might play a part, but she¡¯s young, and only in her first evolution. I can¡¯t remember meeting any dragons before they were in their second century.¡± ¡°Part of that is just Sarah, and part is the energy common to relatively young dragons,¡± Amdirlain said. Memories of excitable siblings squabbling playfully amid gold dust and magical items flickered in her mind and brought a smile to her lips. ¡°I think Orh¨ºthurin enjoyed watching dragonlings play. While I¡¯m sure Sarah is already aware of that, it might be fun to tease her about being too cute for words.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she transform when she visited the monastery?¡± asked Roher. ¡°No, she was trying hard to maintain her dignity. Sarah even got snappy at Livia because she kept trying to hold Sarah¡¯s hand after they arrived for the rematch,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°She didn¡¯t enjoy feeling like a toddler with her mother.¡± ¡°Snappy?¡± snorted Laergul. Amdirlain smirked. ¡°I had to go there.¡± While Laergul rolled his eyes, Roher returned her grin. ¡°The three of you share an odd sense of humour.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a cultural thing,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then again, humour is always determined by cultural mores.¡± Roher started shifting through the bundle of crystals that Sarah had handed over. ¡°Did you want these sung to mark those damned, or mortals?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t endure close to what I want to achieve with the network marking mortals and Fallen,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re set to the size Sarah wants for the hafts.¡± ¡°With the sheer number of the damned there are to mark, we¡¯ll have to be conservative in the approach we take drawing them in. Do you have a sample for us to hear?¡± asked Laergul. Amdirlain brought the second Soul Jar she created near the Gate, and the corrupt souls within started to hiss and boil. Not wanting them destroyed, she returned the jar to the table and, once clear of the Gate¡¯s proximity, the energy within the souls settled down. ¡°Does the purification field cause you any discomfort?¡± enquired Laergul. ¡°Not discomfort at this distance from the centre, but it¡¯s a firm pressure even across the Gate¡¯s threshold,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°How close are you cutting it to the field¡¯s edge?¡± Roher made a tossing motion in the direction Sarah had headed off. ¡°The cavern narrows at this location, and the field extends out into the tunnels some distance that way. Let¡¯s discuss the best composition for marking the damned, and then we can create another batch.¡± Determining the changes to her original song concepts didn¡¯t take long, but opened up other options for discussion. Sarah returned before they resumed, swinging the Soul Jar casually by her side. When she reached Roher, she set it on the ground and hopped back through the Gate. ¡°What¡¯s Isa up to at present?¡± ¡°Constructing primary supports for a connecting passage,¡± answered Laergul. ¡°The choirs have months of preparation work ahead for the next connection, but what we¡¯ve already achieved heralds large changes.¡± ¡°Anything I can help with?¡± Amdirlain enquired. ¡°You have your projects. Let¡¯s focus on those and push your abilities along,¡± countered Roher. ¡°Would you like me to arrange some additional choirs, or would you prefer limiting crafting to a particular period each day?¡± asked Laergul. Amdirlain motioned to the others. ¡°How many choirs did you intend to involve? I don¡¯t want to overwork them.¡± ¡°Until you improve your capabilities, you will shoulder most of the strain. If we keep going at this pace for a few more sets, it¡¯s practically a rest day. I¡¯m more concerned that you ensure you don¡¯t overdo your efforts,¡± cautioned Roher. ¡°I¡¯ll be keeping that in mind,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°The crystals¡¯ songs are far more complex than the ones I used to twist the portals. Two hours again?¡± At her question, Roher nodded and immediately resumed singing, while Amdirlain, focused entirely on the songs, joined in at the intro¡¯s end. The strain grew as the other singers added their efforts until it reached the same peak. As they worked, Laergul claimed a crystal Sarah had delivered to Roher and started on additional songs. The interwoven melodies he set within the crystal caused it to shine like a green star before Laergul tossed it over his shoulder. When it impacted bare stone, its motion stopped, and a cylinder of green light matching the Soul Jar¡¯s barrier sprang into existence, enclosing a space 10 metres across. Giving Amdirlain a wink, Laergul placed the retrieved crystal in a pouch and tossed it through the Gate. Already returned to lounging in her draconic form, Sarah fished it from amid the forming crystals with an idle thought and placed it out of the way. Two hours into the session, with crystals already littering the ground, Amdirlain motioned to Roher. He didn¡¯t immediately add a new song pair to the mix but waited until they¡¯d completed the current work before he started the intro of four songs at once. One by one, Amdirlain motioned to each L¨®m?, and the din within the chamber grew. When she reached 44 crystals being created at once, most manifested with an appearance like nearly white opaque quartz, rather than the translucent they¡¯d been. The challenge facing Resonance, True Song, and Duet became a frantic battlefield where infinitesimal slips impacted the crystal¡¯s quality. A chord at a time, she struggled to keep her balance with the energy thrumming through her being. Though the pulse of its beat strained at her, it evoked a reminder of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s past. Her fingers twitched in time to the constant rhythm the songs required, and Amdirlain caught her tendons being plucked like strings. The shifts of muscle, bone, and ligament reverberated up her arms and towards her core, which gained a growing drumbeat. Sarah swept old crystals away to allow Amdirlain to focus on the new and the flaws in each began to reduce after another two hours of practice. With the pressure easing, Amdirlain signalled for Roher to continue, and the others took their cue from him. Two hours turned towards three of constant effort, yet the demands of the music continued to decrease. But while nearly-white crystals were now few, none were close to transparent. Amdirlain motioned for them to carry on, and though Roher frowned, he continued singing. Amdirlain kept the crystal creation going for five hours before she called a halt. The last of the crystals before the Gate were all perfectly transparent, as the most recent batches before them had been. [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item [minor]) - experience by item grade: Beginner: 355 x 226 = 5 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Apprentice: 360 x 294 = 15 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Journeyman: 380 x 448 = 30 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Masterwork: 400 x 112 = 50 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Total Experience gained: +495,490 Ostim? +247,745 Ont?lin +247,745 Multi-voice [M] (45->56) Protean [M] (72->74) Resonance [S] (24->25) True Song [S] (48->49) Duet [Ad] (36) -> [M] (19)] Laergul gazed thoughtfully at the transparent crystals before the Gate. ¡°You favour pushing the powers rather than ensuring immediate quality.¡± ¡°They¡¯re going into demonic weaponry, which could travel anywhere, potentially not even near the damned. So the bottom line is that I don¡¯t need high quality; I need millions of them. What helps me the most in the short and long term is my progression, which means pushing hard,¡± explained Amdirlain. The worry eased from Roher¡¯s expression, and he nodded his acceptance. ¡°Unlike my other students, I can¡¯t hear what strain you¡¯re under, but I¡¯ll try not to hold you back.¡± ¡°And to confuse things, I doubt others you¡¯ve trained have my health capacity or a Power that heals them,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Your insight stones stone provide a health rating, something to ease your concern is that my health rating is over a million.¡± Roher froze with his mouth open in surprise, and Laergul responded first. ¡°That would certainly be a factor. We¡¯ll endeavour to let your self-awareness of your limits be our guide.¡± ¡°That is something I hadn¡¯t considered,¡± said Roher after Laergul gave him a nudge. ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll work to the best of our limits and let you judge your own. What is your Regeneration at?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve Protean at Master rank, and it¡¯s currently 74,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s unexpected,¡± whispered Roher, and he gave Amdirlain a rueful smile. ¡°Perhaps I should stop underestimating you. While your composition is remarkable, and you¡¯ve still got far to go, you¡¯re further than I expected. I keep viewing your abilities relative to Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s capabilities instead of your accomplishments.¡± Amdirlain restrained the urge to sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin, but I know she had neither Psionic training nor any experience using Ki.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Rightly said, and I don¡¯t understand why I¡¯m having trouble with the comparisons. Perhaps I¡¯m simply out of practice in treating with those reborn, or my mind still doesn¡¯t wish to acknowledge we lost the enduring Orh¨ºthurin,¡± confessed Roher. ¡°It is a matter I shall have to meditate on and find a resolution for within myself.¡± That Roher saw it as a matter that he needed to resolve and not requiring a change from her brought forth an unguarded smile from Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you, Roher.¡± Roher started and frowned in confusion. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°You considering that the issue is yours to resolve and not mine,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Ahh, that¡¯s alright. I''ve long believed that projecting your problems onto others is a frequent source of interpersonal conflicts. Now, since this experiment was so successful, should I look to arrange additional choirs to assist?¡± enquired Roher. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that, Roher,¡± confirmed Amdirlain and she nodded respectfully to the choir members. ¡°I can¡¯t begin to say how much I appreciate you taking your rest time to help me push my abilities.¡± Her thanks received murmured acknowledgements and smiles of appreciation from the choir. ¡°Are you planning to work non-stop, Amdirlain?¡± asked Laergul curiously. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I can easily get overly focused on achieving my goals, so let¡¯s see about keeping this to efforts the L¨®m? can easily support,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve thousands of choirs, many of whose commitments are reduced as the connections between grottos progress, and will drop even further shortly,¡± said Laergul. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s work it this way. We can alternate between my project work and the pillars needed for the grotto connections to speed them up,¡± suggested Amdirlain. Roher and Laergul both frowned at her. ¡°No,¡± declared Roher. ¡°That won¡¯t be necessary. What Laergul referred to is that we¡¯ll be reaching the point where we¡¯ll begin merging communities. That will reduce the choirs¡¯ workload and free up more individuals that might like to assist.¡± ¡°Indeed, we don¡¯t even need a full choir to assist you at this point in your progress,¡± stated Laergul. ¡°I could have sung all the crystals with you alone. While we were all present to make the initial exercise easier, I¡¯m not sure a large group is required until you progress your Multi-voice further.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak to a few choirs, and we¡¯ll get a schedule set up with alternatives,¡± said Roher. His remark only got determined nods from the others present, and Amdirlain heard them comparing their current commitments to see who¡¯d be available regularly. ¡°Along with primary contacts to open the Gate for whoever is assisting for the duration, they¡¯ll be the ones to let you know if you¡¯re working on something else,¡± added Roher, his words drawing Amdirlain¡¯s focus from the choir¡¯s discussion. ¡°As you rightly said, the crystals will be the bottleneck, so whenever you have time to work on them, we¡¯ll have someone available to help.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how well the containment crystal will work on the same plane as the damned. After you try it out, please let me know the outcome, and I¡¯ll compose some adjustments,¡± offered Laergul. ¡°What do you think the containment limit will be?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure there will be one. Though, as you¡¯d expect, the greater the perimeter, the greater the strain, the faster the crystal will erode,¡± explained Laergul. ¡°Now, that is only for containment; we¡¯ll still need to compose songs to remove the corruption and memories.¡± ¡°There is an area on the side of the Soul Jar where the corruption and negative emotions are drawn away to form coinage.¡± Picking up the Soul Jar, Laergul examined its side and traced his fingers across the runes where the raw coins sat. ¡°I¡¯ll have to look over these and experiment with a translation. I¡¯m not sure we can listen to it processing a corrupted Soul within the purification field.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll create some more and load them up with souls, but I¡¯ll keep them here. Hopefully, you can learn enough even if the processing occurs a distance from the Gate,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Should we do that before creating more crystals tomorrow?¡± ¡°I can do that, though I¡¯ll need to get someone else to cover my duties,¡± Laergul said, giving Roher an enquiring look. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll handle your rostered position for you, but for now, we¡¯d best get going,¡± grumbled Roher. A stream of the better crystals floated across the Gate¡¯s threshold, and the choir gathered them up. When the Gate closed, Sarah gave a casual yawn. ¡°You three sounded like you were having fun theory-crafting when I returned.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re all options we want to pursue; even one of my projects has a vast territory to cover,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Planar Attunement,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°And?¡± At the question, Sarah guffawed, and her lips curled into a smug expression. ¡°Turnabout is fair play, and it''s an option that hits at his bottom line. If you shifted the demons¡¯ Home Plane, they¡¯ve got no reason to remain loyal to him, and you could rob Moloch of his demons.¡± ¡°The individual needs to be on the Plane to anchor them, which is why I¡¯m still locked here,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, but most of Moloch¡¯s demons aren¡¯t Planar Locked. My idea was around setting up a cascade trap. A crystal to Planar Shift everything in an area, including the crystal, and then hit them with a Planar Attunement field,¡± explained Sarah, giving Amdirlain a vicious grin. A stray thought brought a mirrored smile to Amdirlain¡¯s lips. ¡°How about we use it to feed Moloch¡¯s demons into a meat grinder?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°The Br¨ªn don¡¯t like intruders on their proving grounds,¡± said Amdirlain conspiratorially. ¡°Would you be able to target the Planar Shift that accurately when you¡¯ve not been there?¡± ¡°Point, but we could send them to a Plane they can¡¯t survive,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Deep in thought, she walked over to the table and picked out a crystal from among those Sarah had kept back¡ªthe material was white and filled with dissonance flaws. ¡°Let¡¯s take a step sideways on your idea.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± asked Sarah eagerly. Picking up the pouch with Laergul¡¯s containment crystal, Amdirlain waved it towards her. ¡°This little toy gave me the idea, and I¡¯ve now got a ton of almost worthless crystals. I¡¯ll set up boxes with a decent crystal to handle detection and a teleportation trigger. When it gets a hit, it teleports a crystal from the box into the back of a detected Demon¡¯s mouth. I set the box¡¯s crystals to trigger Plane Shift, then Planar Attunement. Though, that brings up another question: can you grow diamonds?¡± ¡°Yes, but why?¡± ¡°High-quality diamonds would be strong enough to hold a couple of condition-triggered songs and save crystals,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Then I could still use these needles for weapons; even the beginner ones will last a few hundred years.¡± Sarah gave a pleased chuff. ¡°Synthetic diamond manufacturing would push up Mineral Control, especially if I¡¯m making thousands at once.¡± ¡°Push towards hundreds of thousands. I won¡¯t need anything in a large carat, just the tiny ones common in cheap rings.¡± The snicker she got in return had Amdirlain raise an eyebrow questioningly, and Sarah squirmed in amusement. ¡°No such thing as half measures.¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± affirmed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re a bad influence on some of your poor celestials. Tier 7 achievements aren¡¯t easy to get unless you find a demonic Gate to the Material Plane to close or exterminate major undead or demonic forces.¡± ¡°Or wipe out a city whose inhabitants had genetically engineered other species into mindless battle fodder,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she reached out to tap Sarah¡¯s snout. After mock nipping at Amdirlain¡¯s fingers, Sarah grumbled. ¡°Or that. Your bad influence means that Ebusuku¡¯s got thousands of celestials with a quartet of classes over level 90 that aren¡¯t taking a Prestige Class.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that issue is why Laodice was honest in saying she only had Tier 5 classes. As the personification of a Concept, she was too powerful to get either Tier 6 or Tier 7 with the restricted interactions they normally operated under,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder if she realised who I was; she laughed when she stated the Four weren¡¯t the strongest of the Titan¡¯s servants.¡± Sarah considered the explanation for a bit and finally nodded. ¡°It would be easier to fill up her classes and find a suitable celestial wellspring. The more species that indulge in war, the stronger she becomes. As for recognising you, we¡¯ll only know for sure once we get her loose.¡± ¡°True,¡± murmured Amdirlain as she set to composing a new set of songs. It didn¡¯t take long to put together what she needed, and Amdirlain cut the beginning of a fourth passageway leading away from her training chamber. She hollowed out a block of stone about the size of a car battery and set it with a lid that slid into place along dovetailed tracks. Giving Sarah a teasing wink, Amdirlain sang a dozen diamonds into existence, then set up the test songs into them. Seeing the diamonds, Sarah grunted. ¡°How are you going to know if it worked?¡± ¡°The song in the diamond is going to message the memory crystals their name,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she hefted the piece of the stone she¡¯d extracted from the chest¡¯s interior. ¡°So, I''ll let the psi-crystal¡¯s intellect know to separate anything that is not in the tag pattern. I¡¯ve got the diamond exploding afterwards just to kick them while they¡¯re down.¡± ¡°Okay, so use Analysis and focus on getting it to provide their Home Plane?¡± asked Sarah, not taking her focus from the stone Amdirlain was bouncing thoughtfully in her hand. ¡°You¡¯re not planning to play catch or something, are you? Because if you are, you can chase your own throws.¡± Amdirlain laughed and teleported the stone across the chamber. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking about that at all. I was considering the logistics of your idea. Should I set up warehouse shelving so the stone boxes can teleport themselves back here when empty? I¡¯d need other locations anyway to make it hard to trace.¡± ¡°Are you going to experiment with it first or see how many damned that crystal can hold?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one that gave me the idea,¡± complained Amdirlain. ¡°It wasn¡¯t one you had to act on immediately, and it wasn¡¯t like I could tell what you were composing,¡± protested Sarah. ¡°Why don¡¯t you progress the plan with the damned further first? Better to stop Moloch from getting replacement demons.¡± Amdirlain gave an embarrassed shrug. ¡°Fine. If Laergul¡¯s crystal can serve as a location to draw the damned, we could have them circled with others to handle the purification of the souls.¡± Creating a series of soul jars, Amdirlain filled each one with ten souls before creating a few hundred blank metal discs. Listening to the Soul Jar¡¯s enchantments at work, she recorded the purification of the souls into a memory crystal. After collecting the first set of souls, Amdirlain refilled the jars and set them and the record aside. ¡°Those just in case your record doesn¡¯t capture all the details?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°No, the record is for me to work on later. I don¡¯t know if I can hear notes that the Anar shouldn¡¯t be able to hear, so I can¡¯t share that with Laergul,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she waved at the refilled jars. ¡°Those are for Laergul to hear the process.¡± Collecting the crystal from the pouch, she tossed it off to one side and examined the ten-metre-high cylinder that appeared when it landed on the stone. The motion of the energy within was a cyclone of force that pushed towards the centre. Hearing the similarity to the Soul Jar¡¯s barrier, Amdirlain stuck her hand inside and pushed out the rest of the damned she¡¯d collected. The stream created a black spiral that began a metre above the crystal needle and stretched eight metres upwards. ¡°They seem disorientated,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°Laergul was more merciful than I was with the slavers¡¯ souls I brought back into the Abyss,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah snorted in disgust. ¡°Easy to be merciful when you¡¯ve not seen the evil someone has done. Since Laergul hadn¡¯t seen the souls you just released, they were a hypothetical question to him.¡± Amdirlain looked at her sceptically. ¡°There was the second jar you didn¡¯t take with you; he¡¯d have been able to hear those.¡± ¡°Never underestimate someone¡¯s ability to delude themselves,¡± retorted Sarah. ¡°What will you do with the spin-o-matic toy you¡¯ve got there? I don¡¯t think the spin cycle is washing them out.¡± ¡°It looks like a weird spinning lava lamp if I don¡¯t listen to them,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. Retrieving a rough cube of crystal the length of her forearm, Amdirlain sat it on the floor beside the cylinder. ¡°The corruption and the emotions in the souls are energy.¡± Sarah stalked across the chamber and sniffed the cylinder. ¡°I can smell their foulness. Are you planning to sublimate their emotions?¡± ¡°Within them, no. I plan to extract the emotions and use them to fuel a reaction,¡± explained Amdirlain. Moving around the chamber, she spaced out four blocks along its edge. In each one, she set the same concealment that warded the chamber. The extent of her precautions had Sarah observing the preparations intently. ¡°How are you planning to do that?¡± ¡°Not going to attempt it in a single jump; this is for the first stage experiment,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she gave a rueful smile. ¡°Though technically, I¡¯ll admit it¡¯s at least the second stage since Laergul beat me to recreating the Soul Jar¡¯s confinement.¡± Rather than explain further, Amdirlain repeated Laergul¡¯s song. When she was done, an acidic green cylinder of the same size sprung up around the first crystal block. On the edge of the initial cylinder, Amdirlain isolated a melody of the damned and sung Energy Drain¡¯s thread into place. It was a changed composition that connected the link to the block at the centre of the other cylinder, though she kept careful control. With a thought, Amdirlain willed it to reel in, and the Soul leapt between the confinements. Making use of the improvements in her Multi-voice, Amdirlain rapidly sang more and more connections into place. With the growing noise, she activated them in a rush, causing the souls to be pulled away from the spinning mass. With the block lower than many of the souls¡¯ positions, it looked like hundreds of petals sprayed groundward from a dried and blackened bouquet. Upon their souls touching the block, the threads ruptured, letting the damned join the steadily growing spiral around it. ¡°What¡¯s your phase two?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Something to strip one of the negative emotions away,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she used Far Hand to pull the needle to her. The first cylinder collapsed as soon as the needle left the ground, but Amdirlain set up a replacement created around another block. ¡°Why do that while moving them between blocks?¡± ¡°Ideally, I¡¯d like to strip them away as the souls arrive,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she gestured between the cylinders. "This is just my test environment for perfecting the songs." 251 - Play with my limits Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Amdirlain turned away from the twinned cylinders to consider Sarah. ¡°While I appreciate you keeping me company, you don¡¯t have to be lounging about in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°I can think of places that would be far more comfortable, even if you¡¯re not trying to increase your levels,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s certainly true, but you¡¯re stuck here,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Won¡¯t make up for those times when I couldn¡¯t be there to watch your back, but I can at least keep you company now and help with your projects. If a project needs my help elsewhere, I¡¯ll think about it. With being a Dragon again, the perspective of my other memories is clearer; now, a century is nothing.¡± ¡°You have that advantage over me. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s perspective is hard to understand ?when so many years seem to be nothing,¡± mused Amdirlain. Sarah snorted derisively. ¡°It¡¯s not an advantage. It can erode your sense of urgency when a millennium seems a short time spent planning. Focus on what you want to do; let me worry if I¡¯m feeling bored.¡± ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll make you some ingots to play with, or do you want a proper bed?¡± ¡°Stone is fine. I don¡¯t need acres of coins and gems to lounge on, even if it is pleasant to scratch my hide against,¡± replied Sarah before she smiled in anticipation. ¡°Once you get loose, you can make me a few million platinum and gold coins to cover my consulting fees. Or would you prefer I charge hourly? Should I put on a leather outfit?¡± ¡°Where the fuck did I get you from?¡± grumbled Amdirlain in mock indignation. ¡°Well, you¡¯ve already remembered you¡¯ve only yourself to blame,¡± countered Sarah. Amdirlain laughed and started to sing; stacks of Abyssal steel formed rapidly as each song worked to create an individual ingot. Heedless of the flaws in the forming metal, Amdirlain pushed Multi-voice to its limits. ¡°Create them out here. I¡¯ll stack them up,¡± instructed Sarah. ¡°Try to keep them at least evenly shaped, but I can tidy them up.¡± As the most recent ingots finished forming, the creation''s glow shifted from the storage room to the training chamber. When Sarah set to work, metallic slithering and chimes resounded from the storage chamber before she moved the newly finished bars. The storage chamber had threatened to overflow with materials before Amdirlain halted. ¡°There is so much to do, Sarah.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let yourself get overwhelmed. I notice you let yourself get distracted easily, which isn¡¯t exactly like you,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°What¡¯s your most important goal?¡± ¡°Recovering Torm,¡± Amdirlain answered without hesitation. ¡°What things do you see aiding you in that goal, and what are distractions?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The project with the damned will push my True Song, and I could have the weapon crystals tag mortals, damned, and fallen as well. Figuring out a way to remove the corruption from the damned might help me heal Torm,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The network specifically for the mortals, I can create the crystals and let the celestials worry about their placement.¡± Aware of the fading reverberations that the singing with the choir had set beneath her sternum, Amdirlain gave a full body stretch. The motion unexpectedly had the energy shift outwards across her tendons. ¡°Something up?¡± ¡°The crystal singing is echoing in me still,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You held yourself mostly still, but I could see your fingers twitching in time to the music,¡± noted Sarah. Amdirlain flexed her arm and focused on the shift in sound. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin had a way of activating True Song with movements. I¡¯ve got lots of memories of her dancing songs.¡± Pretending to yawn, Sarah stretched out but kept her muzzle slightly out of Amdirlain¡¯s reach. ¡°I don¡¯t know how she did it, but I¡¯ve memories of massive effects appearing after she¡¯d danced.¡± She tried the monastery¡¯s physical training routine, and the energy flexed erratically with her motions. Though Amdirlain tried to isolate parts of the pattern, it didn¡¯t shift as her memories suggested it should. As Amdirlain continued experimenting, Sarah took on Human form, and a metal stream spun itself into a sword in her hands. A crystal retrieved from the work table disappeared into the sword¡¯s hilt, while Sarah made nearly undetectable adjustments to the weapon. Between adjustments, she swung it with surprising proficiency. She repeated the creation process with war hammers and an assortment of other weapons, though she couldn¡¯t fully complete all of them with the materials available. Some were variations of those Amdirlain had created for her after scouting the armoury, while others must have come from Sarah¡¯s own experiences. ¡°So near, yet so far,¡± grumbled Amdirlain before she walked over to examine Sarah¡¯s collection of weapons. ¡°Either you¡¯ll figure it out or you won¡¯t,¡± Sarah helpfully offered before gesturing to the weapon heads that she¡¯d spread out along the table. ¡°I¡¯ll need hafts for those. Likely I can get away with different weights on the weapon butts or reinforcements along the haft to balance the lighter blade.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to expand the armoury area; weapon racks need more space than stacked ingots,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, but we don¡¯t need space to walk between the racks. Just set up simple narrow shelves,¡± suggested Sarah. She retrieved a bardiche¡¯s blade from the table and used Inventory to insert a crystal into the gap she¡¯d left in its formation. ¡°I can create these in advance, and then we can insert the crystals as they¡¯re ready.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s keep those completed crystals in separate areas from the rest. Do you want bench space, or will you put them right into the racks? Double-checking a sword¡¯s balance, Sarah briefly considered the question. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to rack them straight away. If I run out of hafts, I¡¯ll focus on swords for a time. If I create all the swords with wire-bound hilts, you won¡¯t need to create any hide straps to wrap them.¡± ¡°That means I won¡¯t be able to swap them out for ones already in the training armouries I checked, but I¡¯ll work something out,¡± accepted Amdirlain. As Amdirlain moved towards the unused storage room, Sarah switched back into draconic form. A sword she¡¯d been clasping looked small enough to rate as a toothpick. Within the chamber created for finished weapons, Amdirlain filled most of the space with floor-to-ceiling shelving to slide the weapons in on their sides. The only exception was a narrow corridor down the middle to allow for it to be expanded. No sooner had she finished than Sarah slid scores of completed swords into place. Extending the fourth passage Amdirlain had started with her experimental stone chest, Amdirlain created another storage room with identical shelving. ¡°So we don¡¯t have to check each one; please put the weapons with crystals in here?¡± requested Amdirlain as she stepped out of the new storage chamber. ¡°I can do that,¡± accepted Sarah, and she nodded to swords still sitting on the table. ¡°Those are the only ones with crystals.¡± Amdirlain gathered them, extracted the crystals, and set each with the other muddy white needles. When she returned the swords to the table, Sarah whisked them away to join the others in storage. The pair got to work, and when Amdirlain had thousands of hafts created, Sarah shifted from making swords to polearms. Sarah was the first to notice when the psi-crystal started cataloguing new messages within the memory crystals. ¡°They¡¯re a touch proactive. The crystal has messages about mortals tagged on Tern¨°x,¡± rumbled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll check with Roher. Unless they adjusted the songs, the detection could have tried to tag any L¨®m? in range,¡± remarked Amdirlain. When she sent a message to Roher, the response she got was unexpected. ¡°No songs are marking any L¨®m?. They¡¯re teleporting crystals through the cities in Tern¨°x. I take it you got results?¡± Acknowledging Roher¡¯s message, Amdirlain had barely passed the details to Sarah when she received another. ¡°We¡¯ll scry those marked and determine their situation. We¡¯ve taken some crystals you repaired with Erwarth and set them near those gates and portals from Tern¨°x known to us. Let us know when you want to sing more crystals¡ªLaergul already has more singers wanting to help you.¡± Sarah snorted when Amdirlain relayed the second message. ¡°Seems they are grabbing your projects by the throat and running with them.¡± ¡°It seems crystals won¡¯t be the bottleneck, but rather me, until Isa¡¯s other work winds up,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll create some additional psi-crystal arrays and work on more weapons,¡± offered Sarah. Nodding, Amdirlain sent another message. ¡°Roher, whenever you have people ready, open a Gate. Sarah is creating more psi-crystals. I¡¯m sure you can create memory crystals to serve as a target for the messages.¡± A Gate opened a few minutes later, and Laergul introduced Amdirlain to a new L¨®m?. Laergul loomed head and shoulders above D¨²hel, who, at maybe 160 centimetres, was the shortest Elf Amdirlain had met so far. Her bright pink hair was a blaze of colour against the dark stone of the Abyss and was still dull compared to the glow of her seafoam-green irises. Though she still wore the loose robes Roher and the others had worn, she wore elaborately decorated garments with an array of jewels and tiny bells all over them. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Amdirlain. Let me know if anyone can¡¯t fill this time section in the roster; I¡¯ll be available every day,¡± said D¨²hel when the introductions had finished. ¡°You have my name, so just message me directly.¡± ¡°D¨²hel, don¡¯t jump the queue,¡± chided Laergul. D¨²hel stuck her nose in the air. ¡°Bother the queue! I just started the available-to-fill-in line.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have plenty of chances to work together, D¨²hel,¡± reassured Amdirlain. At Amdirlain¡¯s comment, D¨²hel shook her head sadly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen how many people wanted to speak to Laergul before Roher told him to come back here. Do you want more crystals the size of the last set?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll start with those,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. As they got ready to begin, Sarah floated the psi-crystal array through the Gate. With a nod of thanks, Laergul took possession of it and headed back towards the cavern¡¯s centre. ¡°I¡¯ll keep starting a new song pair after double the intro¡¯s beats. Signal when you reach whatever limit you want to work at,¡± D¨²hel stated, and she immediately sang the intro to the first songs. Amdirlain focused on her singing, and true to her word, D¨²hel quickly began another pair. One after another, the glow of needles started appearing on the ground on Amdirlain¡¯s side of the Gate¡¯s threshold. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! D¨²hel, not showing the strain when dozens were forming, swayed in place to the music¡¯s tempo. Unlike Roher¡¯s choir, who had held themselves still, D¨²hel happily danced to the music she was singing. The tiny bells provided a giggling accompaniment to the music¡¯s repetition. When there were 45 being created at once, Amdirlain finally signalled. Instead of halting the increase, D¨²hel signalled for another, and when Amdirlain met the challenge, delight shone in D¨²hel¡¯s gaze. When they¡¯d completed all the crystals, the material barely showed a hint of white, and D¨²hel rolled her eyes. In rapid succession, she added four more crystals, and with 50 going at once, it had tipped them over the threshold. The strain showed in the crystal''s murkiness¡ªone after another were a cloudy white, but still nowhere near as bad as Amdirlain had created with Roher¡¯s choir. At the colour of the crystals, D¨²hel gave a pleased nod but kept working at the current rate. The 200 songs between them filled the air with sound and energy that pounded across Amdirlain¡¯s skin. It had only taken them some eight minutes to reach that point instead of the slower pace Roher had adopted. For a further eight hours straight, D¨²hel sang and¡ªfrequently¡ªdanced energetically before the Gate. Each time she did, she motioned for Amdirlain to move her feet. Though she didn¡¯t give in to the temptation, Amdirlain felt the resounding energy pounding within her and let Harmony embrace the tempo. Midway through the session, Amdirlain felt the tension drop away from Multi-voice, but D¨²hel nodded and didn¡¯t press harder. It was only when Laergul reappeared that D¨²hel wound down. The minimal intervals she¡¯d allowed between songs made a dramatic difference to the total amount of crystals and Amdirlain¡¯s progression. [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item [minor]) - experience by item grade: Beginner: 355 x 412 = 5 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Apprentice: 360 x 636 = 15 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Journeyman: 380 x 908 = 30 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Masterwork: 400 x 2,844 = 50 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Total Experience gained: +1,900,485 Ostim? +950,242 Ont?lin +950,242 Harmony [S] (77->78) Multi-voice evolved into Symphonic! Symphonic absorbed Duet! Symphonic [M] (1->24) Protean [M] (74->79) Resonance [S] (25->29) True Song [S] (49->50)] ¡°Pushing yourself works out much better when you feel like the music will sweep you away at any moment,¡± advised D¨²hel. ¡°Did you place Amdirlain at risk?¡± interrogated Laergul. ¡°Of course not, and I believe she evolved Multi-voice. At worst we would have mucked up some crystals, but she kept pace fine,¡± huffed D¨²hel. Laergul gave D¨²hel a suspicious look before he turned his attention to Amdirlain. ¡°Are you alright, Amdirlain? Is what D¨²hel believes true?¡± ¡°It was a rush trying to keep up, but it forced progress. Multi-voice evolved into Symphonic,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Were you going to work with me about evolving True Song, Laergul?¡± D¨²hel gave Amdirlain a wave before she vanished. ¡°Yes, perhaps we can focus on the theory around that so you can properly recover,¡± suggested Laergul. ¡°I ended up with a lot more crystals. Which I¡¯d find encouraging if we weren¡¯t looking at hundreds of infinite planes,¡± said Amdirlain. The last of the crystals lifted from the ground, and Sarah stacked them into a large stone crate she¡¯d crafted while Amdirlain and D¨²hel sang. ¡°You need to sing faster,¡± said Sarah, waving her tail at the crate. ¡°You¡¯ve barely lined the bottom.¡± ¡°Maybe create one that¡¯s a little smaller,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and she jabbed a finger at the container. ¡°What¡¯s that, about a metre cubed?¡± ¡°Yeah, about that,¡± laughed Sarah. With one hand, Amdirlain lifted the crate to the Gate¡¯s threshold, and she pushed it through far enough for Laergul to claim without risk. ¡°Did you expect that evolution?¡± asked Amdirlain once Laergul had teleported the box of crystals away. ¡°No, I certainly didn¡¯t, though I should have expected D¨²hel to see if she could help you combine the Power and Skill. You might wish to regain Duet, as it has a physical coordination aspect that is useful for combat and other group coordination,¡± suggested Laergul. ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, but there are some psionic techniques I can develop and, usually, I¡¯m fighting alone,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she ignored Sarah¡¯s disgusted snort. ¡°What are the options for evolving True Song?¡± ¡°Cutting right to the chase,¡± said Laergul. ¡°Not even wanting to hear the theory?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Options and then theory.¡± As he considered his words, Laergul sat down on the nearest rock ledge facing the Gate. ¡°The option that most have historically taken focuses on evolving True Song and avoiding combining it with other powers. When evolved that way, the name of the Power doesn¡¯t change much; it merely gains a suffix.¡± ¡°Like the evolution of Sword to Sword-Lord?¡± ¡°Yes, but the suffixes are different. Many weapon Skill suffixes seem male-focused: Sword-Lord, Sword-King, Sword-Saint, etc. Meanwhile, True Song is less specific, and another factor is that they don¡¯t appear logically progressive suffixes.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°The most common suffixes are: Virtuoso, Custodian, Commander, Artiste, Crafter, and Builder; uncommonly, others have gained Preceptor and Guru,¡± explained Laergul. ¡°Most people only evolve True Song once, while others have moved from one common suffix to another, or onto one of the rare suffixes.¡± ¡°Why only once?¡± ¡°Have you ever injured yourself with True Song?¡± asked Laergul. ¡°Yes, I ended up spitting out pieces of my vocal cords,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Laergul nodded understandingly. ¡°Lucky you have your healing capability and no need to breathe. Were you singing something right at the edge, or even beyond, your ability with True Song?¡± Amdirlain echoed his nod. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°True Song is powerful, but it''s also incredibly unforgiving. It''s been said that the greatest cause of death among the Anar and the L¨®m?, hands down, is True Song itself. Forcing True Song to evolve requires the singer to push their limits for an extended period, not in a safe calculated fashion,¡± warned Laergul. ¡°I¡¯ve felt my abilities with it improve during longer songs,¡± noted Amdirlain when Laergul didn¡¯t continue. Her comment drew another nod from Laergul, and his brows furrowed before he spoke. ¡°Given your history, I worry about the risk you¡¯ll take with this knowledge, but I will not keep you ignorant. First, a warning you¡¯ll likely understand: To gain the evolution of True Song ahead of time is to risk death.¡± When Amdirlain simply nodded, Laergul continued. ¡°You can start with a calculated song designed to force yourself to skim along the edge of the dissolution, only to find you¡¯ve stretched your Power too early. The effort suddenly lessens mid-song, and before you know it, you¡¯re well within your safe limits again. No one has gained an evolution of it until the song completes.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s¡ªwhat? Finish up and go back to the drawing board?¡± ¡°That¡¯s one choice. You can continue singing the song you intended, bring it to completion or add flourishes on the fly to increase its complexity and strain.¡± ¡°I take it the first doesn¡¯t result in an evolution,¡± prompted Amdirlain. He lifted his hands in the air helplessly. ¡°It might or it might not. Those that played it safe infrequently receive one of those common ones.¡± ¡°What did you gain?¡± ¡°Artiste the first time, Preceptor the second. Artiste, I gained even though I added flourishes to my composition on the fly. Preceptor though, I nearly killed myself getting it. The backlash destroyed three-quarters of my lungs as I finished the song. I almost drowned in my blood except for magic another used to sustain me,¡± explained Laergul, and he smiled knowingly at Amdirlain¡¯s wince. His smile drew a frown from Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t think of any other Power where it''s possible to hurt yourself simply using it. Putting yourself into a situation where you get hurt is one thing, but from using it?¡± ¡°As I said, it''s unforgiving¡ªnow. Our legends say that it wasn¡¯t always the case, but we can only guess what changed. Fragments of memories tease at things we¡¯re no longer certain about,¡± offered Laergul. ¡°It''s all guessing with incomplete memories and likely polluted further by partial recollections or studying history in other lives,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Her words caused Laergul to shift uncomfortably. ¡°Except for the memories that you¡¯ll recover. Your recollections won¡¯t have ended up muddied in the same fashion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sharing my memories,¡± denied Amdirlain. ¡°I can appreciate that, but might I know why?¡± ¡°Because they¡¯re incomplete, and you all judged the Titan. I won¡¯t give you a chance to judge Orh¨ºthurin based on partial memories,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Now, shall we get back to our discussion on evolving True Song?¡± Laergul nodded. ¡°What happens if you don¡¯t force it to evolve?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Take the safe road and get the Power to the maximum level of Grand Master?¡± ¡°It will evolve once to one of the common types, depending on the primary focus of your use,¡± explained Laergul, and he continued before Amdirlain prompted him. ¡°Unlike other abilities, once it reaches the highest level of Grand Master, it doesn¡¯t automatically evolve again. The different suffixes cause the power to focus more easily on different songs.¡± ¡°It sounds like I¡¯ll need to avoid levelling it through crystal construction alone,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°What would that get me, builder or artiste?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d only been creating the rods and needles you¡¯ve been creating, the suffix ''crafter'' would be the most likely¡ªif you got any at all. Though, given what you did to that city, I don¡¯t believe it could consider your primary advancement of the Power to be merely crystals,¡± argued Laergul. ¡°Primary advancement of the Power yet; I¡¯m going to be creating millions,¡± refuted Amdirlain. ¡°While I appreciate the L¨®m? working on the crystals to handle the marking, I think I¡¯ll have to handle some myself. Either that or come up with projects where I¡¯m not handling only a single piece of the puzzle to ensure my progression remains diverse.¡± ¡°Much of our work remains the purification barriers, so I can appreciate not wanting to be singing the same piece endlessly,¡± agreed Laergul, and he gave a crooked smile. ¡°I think that is part of why so many were swift to offer to help you.¡± ¡°Glad to know I¡¯m spicing up people¡¯s singing careers,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°You were destroying demonic towns with True Song, correct?¡± Amdirlain shrugged, unsure of what Laergul was getting at. ¡°Only four, plus one city.¡± ¡°Roher is working on a means to determine if detected mortals were suitable to banish to their homes. If we can send in a host of such crystals first, you could destroy the location,¡± offered Laergul. ¡°You were saying it needs to be a single song?¡± queried Amdirlain. Laergul nodded, his indigo hair fluttering wildly in the cavern¡¯s erratic breeze. ¡°It''s impossible to push your True Song''s limits with multiple songs at once. Plus, then you¡¯ll cause other powers to improve, instead of True Song.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to think about it. I¡¯d rather be creating with True Song than merely propagating destruction,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Merely?¡± ¡°Yes, even though destroying demonic cities isn¡¯t something many consider mere. What I most want is advancements that will help me restore Torm.¡± ¡°Your purification of the damned,¡± said Laergul. ¡°We could just send them into the river Styx or Acheron.¡± ¡°The melody within the river Styx is cruel,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Wiping all their deeds away, and resetting the flaws in the souls, means the resulting Soul is innocent and might improve a world. Throwing all the souls into either river means feeding it energy and corruption. Who knows what effect that will have later? Since those rivers touch too many planes, I wouldn¡¯t be comfortable with the risk.¡± Though he looked ready to debate the point, Laergul nodded in acceptance and pulled a memory crystal from a pouch. ¡°Will you bring one of the Soul Jars closer? I want to listen to it processing the souls.¡± After working through the jars individually, Laergul kept his thoughts to himself until the end. ¡°It''s not looking to purge them, it''s only extracting specific emotions, making it easier to determine how it''s targeting them. Still, the problem is removing all the unwanted elements without extinguishing the Soul. Amdirlain collected the processed souls and added them to the others swirling within the crystal¡¯s energy cylinder. Her action drew Laergul¡¯s attention to the block at the cylinder¡¯s base, though he couldn¡¯t see the second through the Gate. ¡°You duplicated the cylinder I created with only the sample?¡± ¡°I was paying attention while you sang the first one,¡± said Amdirlain with an innocent smile. ¡°Yes, while you had the background of the threshold and all the songs you were working on to contend with,¡± huffed Laergul. ¡°Oh, poor Laergul, I practised Resonance listening for particular songs inside a demonic city,¡± chided Amdirlain, and she laughed when he pulled a disgusted face. ¡°I¡¯ve also got a way to link the souls to the crystal instead of me so I can draw them into the cylinder.¡± ¡°Would you show me?¡± Though it had the potential to expose secrets, Amdirlain targeted the trapped damned. When they were all connected, she moved the second cylinder in front of the Gate. With Laergul focused on what she was doing, Amdirlain activated the Energy Drain¡¯s effect to pull the souls between cylinders. ¡°If the cylinder had an outer barrier that targeted the emotions and corruption, we could strip those away as each entered,¡± suggested Laergul. ¡°That was the next stage of my plan,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Laergul pressed some notes into a new memory crystal and rolled it through the Gate. ¡°I¡¯ve recorded the section that handles targeting and extraction. With those separated, we¡¯ll need to develop more targeting variations or find something in common. What did you have in mind for the extraction? Would you add the effect to the cylinder or take a different approach?¡± ¡°I was thinking of using a secondary aura like the concealment barriers instead of adding extra strain to the cylinder itself. Someone else will need to transfer them to Judgement, as I won¡¯t be able to test any melodies I develop for reaching across planes yet.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see what we can determine about the processed souls,¡± suggested Laergul. Amdirlain left only one jar close to the Gate and stored the rest away to avoid distraction. Reclaiming all but one Soul from within, the pair spent hours reviewing the damned¡¯s melody before the next singer arrived to create more crystals. 252 - Control Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic In the months spent working with the L¨®m?, Amdirlain had created nearly two million crystal rods, needles, and other objects for the combined projects. Yet, despite that progress, the first test batch of the damned was still an irritating burr for Amdirlain. Countless attempts hadn¡¯t progressed the corruption purification beyond the point of leaving them ashen grey despite all the emotions and memories extracted from them. Amdirlain had been staring at the cylinder containing the damned for hours when Sarah huffed in her ear for what seemed like the hundredth time today. ¡°Something to say?¡± Sarah huffed again. ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired of staring at that ash fall yet?¡± ¡°There has to be a way,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Take a break; all you''ve been doing is combat practice, singing crystals, and scratching at this itch,¡± suggested Sarah before immediately changing the subject. ¡°Are you going to tell Gail how many layers are in that crystal you gave her?¡± The question broke Amdirlain¡¯s mood with a snort of laughter. ¡°Why would I want to do that?¡° ¡°It reminds me of that old joke about parents giving their children mental blocks for Christmas,¡± said Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s ancient for her age but also pretty wild. A little hard work will hopefully let her know things aren¡¯t always easy,¡± said Amdirlain, flowing upright from where she¡¯d been leaning against Sarah and stretched her arms out behind her back. ¡°She should be a toddler, not the hyperactive teenager she comes across as,¡± Sarah observed. ¡°How far through True Song Composition will the crystal get her?¡± ¡°Close to Master rank, but I¡¯ve started planning her next crystal; that will be far worse,¡± replied Amdirlain gleefully. ¡°Oh? What diabolic scheme do you have in mind for it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set it up so the lessons will evolve her Skill, but True Song Architecture isn¡¯t the first Composition evolution, so that will take a bit of planning.¡± ¡°Did you leave mistakes in the songs you gave to Roher?¡± ¡°No, my approach to setting up the songs differs from theirs, and I restricted it to what I could handle,¡± Amdirlain explained and spread her arms helplessly. ¡°But what I can handle now is vastly different given the progress I¡¯ve made. How are the psi-crystal arrays going?¡± Sarah snorted. ¡°They¡¯re fine. The one I¡¯m growing will handle far more complexity in information.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. I¡¯m going to go get some foul air, and sell some weapons,¡± announced Amdirlain. ¡°I had originally planned to slip them into training armouries, but this might get them more widely dispersed.¡± ¡°I came to watch your back,¡± reminded Sarah. ¡°You being here to talk to has helped ground my emotions. I can¡¯t rescue him if I¡¯m destroyed,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I think I can avoid doing crazy things now. Well, at least things that aren¡¯t worse than anything else I¡¯ve gotten up to.¡± Sarah shifted uncomfortably before speaking. ¡°Would you sing a crystal that links to your Soul?¡± Amdirlain looked at her in surprise. ¡°Why would I do something so risky?¡± Sarah¡¯s wings rustled, and she shifted position again, coming around to face Amdirlain properly. ¡°I don¡¯t want it lost in the Abyss for eternity if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.¡± ¡°It being my Soul?¡± enquired Amdirlain. At first, Amdirlain thought Sarah¡¯s nod would be the only response, but she interrupted before Amdirlain could ask further questions. ¡°Every time you go near their population centres is a risk. Even if you¡¯re not planning anything risky, it doesn¡¯t mean another Demon isn¡¯t targeting your location, going after someone else. I¡¯d like you to set up a safety rail for your Soul. You dying from being in the wrong place at the wrong time would be bad enough. Your Soul would end up within demonic flesh like the Nox; eventually, with only memories of the Abyss to guide it, corruption would find purchase.¡± ¡°A crystal linked to my Soul, strong enough to find it when it''s not Hidden but rather trapped in the Abyss or demonic flesh,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Would that be sufficient? I¡¯d pushed that worry aside when Torm¡­¡± Amdirlain stopped and exhaled slowly. ¡°How long have you been thinking about this?¡± ¡°I thought about it every time I saw you moving the damned between crystals and working at erasing their memories,¡± admitted Sarah, and her internal illumination dimmed. ¡°Why did you wait so long to say anything?¡± There was a slight crystalline slithering sound as Sarah flexed her claws momentarily. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to, but with you going out again, I have to admit that I¡¯d hoped you¡¯d let Celestial cells distribute the weapons.¡± ¡°Are you happy to risk them?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have to take any additional risk. But I¡¯d risk a stranger with a safety net over you with none,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Especially since what you¡¯ve set up will make their ongoing work easier and thus reduce their risk.¡± ¡°You know, I could say the same thing about your Soul being here,¡± critiqued Amdirlain. ¡°I know, and I¡¯m not asking you to change your plan, just taking an extra precaution,¡± explained Sarah, and she shrugged. Giving a thoughtful nod, Amdirlain drew out sheets of paper and set to work on the tracing composition. It took Amdirlain some time to listen to the barrier within her form and develop tweaks to the song¡¯s specifics. In the end, the composition was straightforward but her Hidden state offered an obstacle that needed to be bypassed. Amdirlain drew out a rod from Inventory and mentally crossed her fingers that the chamber¡¯s layered concealments wouldn¡¯t fail. As the golden Ki shone from her hand, shielding crystals resonated in sympathy, but there was no hint of dissonance from them. Within the rod, specks of light roamed the crystal and stayed in place when she¡¯d finished. With that complete, she walked through the storage chambers to collect an arsenal of swords and assorted polearms. She double-checked each to ensure the finished crystal was in place before securing it in a newly created storage device. ¡°How long do you expect selling them to take?¡± asked Sarah as Amdirlain returned. Amdirlain offered Sarah the storage device and the crystal rod, causing her to rear up slightly in surprise. ¡°I¡¯d been planning to try that city near the other Gate, put detection crystals in place permanently, and then sell this lot,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she bounced the ring created to hold the tonnes of weaponry. ¡°The crystal is for you alone¡ªI know it¡¯s safe in your Inventory. The storage device is for whatever Celestial group you can get to sell them off.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask you not to go,¡± whispered Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t have to ask you to be here or have my back. I¡¯ll limit my risk-taking to things I alone can handle until I get free of Culerzic. With the randomness of the Abyss, that could be dangerous enough all on its own,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she dropped the items on Sarah¡¯s palm and patted it. ¡°You should have a break yourself, take in a non-abyssal environment for a change. I¡¯ll go out and scout a few locations that I have some ideas for and then return. I¡¯ll be a week at most.¡± ¡°Alright, don¡¯t wait up if you get home first,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Hopefully you get a burst of inspiration.¡± ¡°Going to Veht??¡± asked Amdirlain innocently. Sarah gave a suspicious glare. ¡°No, why?¡± ¡°Thought you might have some people to track down,¡± said Amdirlain, ensuring she kept her tone matter-of-fact. ¡°No. Even if he¡¯s still alive, I doubt he¡¯d want to see me,¡± snapped Sarah. ¡°He?¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°I said nothing about a man.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have told you about Gaius at all,¡± grumbled Sarah, and she gave Amdirlain a tail flip before she disappeared, leaving the Planar Shift¡¯s energies in her wake. ¡°I¡¯ll get her to look one day,¡± Amdirlain promised herself. Before she questioned the sanity that she felt long lost, she dispatched a message to Roher to let him know they¡¯d be absent a while. Using the map orb, Amdirlain zoomed out and traced her gaze across the ugly discoloured landscape. Far from any settlements, a prominent feature drew her gaze, and she focused the orb on the closest edge of Mount Suntsipena. Thousands of tributaries ran down the mountain''s slopes into Ravager¡¯s River. She checked the start of each until she¡¯d found a series of suitable locations. Teleport placed her where a large watercourse emerged from the mountain through a cavernous maw. Just before the maw¡¯s lip was a waterfall that plunged into a canyon, running hundreds of kilometres down the mountain before any other waterways spilled into the river. Standing clear of the water, Amdirlain took in the churning mist at the waterfall¡¯s base. A nexus point at the maw¡¯s lip intermingled the natural corrosive nature of water with raw Mana. The water''s continual erosion of the stone focused the nexus¡¯ Mana towards the destructive nature that gave the river its name. The energy-infused water carried that power onward down the mountain. ¡°I used to love the sight of waterfalls,¡± murmured Amdirlain. The waterfall¡¯s roar, its sheer ferocity, constantly slapped against her skin and drowned out her voice. Peering into the depths beyond the waterfall¡¯s turbulence, she found none of the chained damned that were near the city. With no way to determine why they were absent, Amdirlain continued her plan and flew into the mountain. The fast-flowing waters within the cavern grew steadily clearer of abyssal corruption. The level of corruption continued to reduce as she flew through kilometres of winding tunnel, even the air grew noticeably cleaner. As the cavern narrowed, the water churned beneath her, filling the air with a billowing mist. Despite the natural darkness, the place smelled like a summer¡¯s rain instead of dank and horrid. Amdirlain was hoping to reach the water''s source, but the roof slowly lowered towards the waterline until further travel was impossible without submerging. Rather than dig a landing out with Inventory, Amdirlain disintegrated a half-dome of stone a metre above the cavern¡¯s waterline. Before the mist could turn the resulting dust into sludge, Amdirlain used multiple spells to sweep the platform clear. Once settled on the stone, she focused on the river¡¯s song. It took her an hour to isolate the source, which wasn¡¯t an artesian well-spring, but the mere possibility that water could exist. The weight of that possibility had coalesced until it had created a primordial focal point, as once the water existed, it fed possibility with reality in a perpetual feedback loop. Amdirlain set a sound barrier before she moved to the next step¡ªavoiding the cavern becoming a megaphone. After a moment¡¯s consideration, another barrier formed to protect the platform from the mist and spraying fluids, though if all went to plan, they wouldn¡¯t be dangerous to her. After thousands of hours of singing crystals with so many partners, the melody had become ingrained; however, the scale of the construction was entirely new. Amdirlain didn¡¯t sing the four paired melodies usually involved in creating a single crystal, but stretched Symphonic to support her current expanded maximum reach of 480 songs. The pounding beat she¡¯d felt more frequently in her flesh grew and thumped along her nerves. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. The glow flowed her intent and rapidly stretched across the cavern¡¯s ceiling, turning it into a blazing canopy. Its creation strained Symphonic and True Song¡¯s limits, not because of the music¡¯s complexity, but the scale. The pressure within her scrambled to get loose, but Amdirlain¡¯s will contained it until the pressure relaxed. After singing for hours, the pressure had eased off several times, signalling the familiar increases in the powers. When the illumination of creation began to alleviate, it allowed Amdirlain to examine the regular lines of the meshwork that reached the entire width of the cavern¡¯s 200-odd metre arch. Before the glow faded completely, Amdirlain had started on another song. This one she set linked to a detection condition that checked for the river¡¯s presence beneath it. The essence of the Maze¡¯s poisoned fruit had inspired a new composition to erase memories and cause one¡¯s awareness to slip away. The experience notification didn¡¯t appear until that song was complete and purple droplets began to cascade into the river from the meshwork¡¯s junctions. [Crafting Summary (Category: Mammoth Exotic Relic) Grand Master: 10,175,000 = 10,000,000 (category outcome) + (350 (exotic material) x 500 (material volume)) Total experience gained: 10,175,000 Ostim? +5,087,500 Ont?lin +5,087,500 True Song [S] (56->59) Symphonic [S] (38->41) Note: Were you looking for an upgrade over the River of Lethe? Guess you can¡¯t remember its music. ] Wiping the blood from her mouth, Amdirlain focused on her creation. Analysis [Arch of memory¡¯s bane Creator: {unclaimed} Expected Life Span: ~1,900,000,000 years Details: Releases a spiritual toxin that will purge memories from damned that come in contact with it and place them in a permanent unfeeling stupor. Failure to resist the creator¡¯s Willpower rating determines the speed at which it purges memories. Note: That¡¯s you, but your Hidden state blocks you from registering as the creator of anything. And congratulations, the relative parts per trillion won¡¯t matter against that toxin.] The river¡¯s flow quickly diluted the essence''s colouration, but the arch¡¯s deluge was fast enough that it caused thinning streamers to ripple through the water. Refreshing the wind barrier that kept the mist from touching her, Amdirlain targeted the cavern¡¯s roof. Changing the roof¡¯s curvature was easy compared to the crystal, and only a few minutes later¡ªdownriver from the arch¡ªthe cavern¡¯s ceiling lowered towards the waterline. Despite the legendary indestructibility of the crystal, Amdirlain felt happier with its presence concealed from casual investigation. One by one, she checked the other tributaries that started from within the mountain and set more arches in place. The effort of the second didn¡¯t see the same rate of improvement, and with the third, she felt the pressure of the song ease only a score of notes before the creation solidified. [Crafting Summary (Category: Mammoth Exotic Relic) Grand Master: 10,175,000 = 10,000,000 (category outcome) + (350 (exotic material) x 500 (material volume)) Total experience gained: 10,175,000 Ostim? +5,087,500 Ostime Levelled Up! Ont?lin +5,087,500 Ont?lin Levelled Up! True Song [S] (60->61) Symphonic [S] (42->43)] Teleport placed her back in her practice chamber, and Amdirlain cursed under her breath at the sight that awaited her. Though she¡¯d only barely been absent a day, Sarah had already returned. ¡°Did you get done whatever you wanted to hide?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain blew a raspberry. ¡°Yes, I did; thanks for asking. Was I that obvious?¡± ¡°So you were out to get up to something special,¡± Sarah stated, and she nodded when Amdirlain smiled sheepishly. ¡°I figured you planned to do something that would push you. I¡¯m glad it went well.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Nothing to be sorry about. Will you enlighten me about what secret squirrel business you have going on?¡± ¡°Want me to share the memory?¡± offers Amdirlain. ¡°Only if you¡¯re okay with me knowing precisely what you did or are doing,¡± replied Sarah. When Amdirlain offered the mental thread to Sarah, she didn''t hesitate to take it. Amdirlain didn¡¯t provide merely a cognitive summary of the situation, but her entire experience with the river and the crafting in fast forward. Sarah absorbed the recollection and sat quietly for a time before she spoke. ¡°Isa could provide you the details of Lethe¡¯s song.¡± ¡°She¡¯s been avoiding me since I threatened to maim her,¡± observed Amdirlain ¡°From what she¡¯s said, you threatened to maim the next person who attempted emotional manipulation. I¡¯d have done worse. She drew the short straw, bringing you the news, but what she said was wrong,¡± disagreed Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s been worried that she needs healing of her own, the way she, and I quote, ''keeps fucking things up with you''.¡± ¡°Now I can see she was desperate to keep me safe, but then I wanted to rip off her wings,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Roher sometimes mentions her projects with the L¨®m?, and I¡¯ve not wanted to disturb her." ¡°It says something that I seem to be the most normal of the three of us now,¡± said Sarah, and she loudly ruffled her wings. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°My improvement in True Song has plateaued with creating rods and needles. I either need to make much bigger crystals, or use it for other things.¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest other things, even if it''s more effects embedded into crystals,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Like creating stars solo?¡± The off-the-cuff comment had Sarah laughing. ¡°Well, this Plane is infinite, but that might be beyond your ability to control right now.¡± ¡°So much comes down to exercising control,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she started to pace. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Control.¡± The new composition rapidly came together, formed from pieces of other works. Amdirlain withdrew a crystal rod and spun it idly as she worked. When the first notes growled and snapped in the air, Sarah drew upright and watched the crystal drink in the unpleasant melody. Once the song was complete, Amdirlain set the crystal between the two green test cylinders and stepped back. Contact with the stone caused the energy within to release, and a midnight-hued cylinder surrounded the rod¡¯s resting place. With Sarah watching, Amdirlain kept singing and hooked the familiar links into the damned. When the Energy Drain pulled the first damned through the black cylinder, they emerged stripped of the ashen colouration. Finally washed of the emotions, memories, and corruption, the flaws and scars caused by the lives the souls had gone through showed clearly. ¡°What did you do?¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve been treating the corruption like scrubbing dirty clothing and avoiding further damage to the flawed Soul. This cylinder ignores the Soul, but the corruption is its bread and butter.¡± ¡°What are you doing with the corruption?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°For now, it spits it out into dimensional storage. Since the Abyss uses that corruption to form demons and materials, I can¡¯t just let it loose. I can control where the corruption sits and keep it away from the Abyss until I figure out how to destroy it.¡± Pulling the souls back to the original cylinder, Amdirlain nodded when none displayed changes despite having passed back through the corruption containment. Sarah moved to peer inside. ¡°Now you just have to determine how to repair them. Got any thoughts on that?¡± ¡°You look like a cat examining fish in a tank,¡± teased Amdirlain, and she laughed when Sarah extended a middle claw and flipped her off. ¡°No eating my test subjects, pussycat.¡± ¡°The Gold Elf farce shows the damage flawed souls can inflict on a place,¡± cautioned Sarah, ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s joke. ¡°Be glad there isn¡¯t an ethics committee overseeing things.¡± ¡°Oh, but there is; I don¡¯t know what the Redemption Path will make of this,¡± Amdirlain countered, waving at the translucent souls. ¡°I¡¯ve stripped them of every scrap of emotion, pearl of wisdom, and memory¡ªgood and bad alike.¡± ¡°I doubt that path¡¯s assessment will hold this against you. My perspective is that if you¡¯d come up with this after starting it, it would be in your plus column,¡± remarked Sarah as she idly doodled on the floor. Both of them ignored the ease with which the claw slid through the stone. ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t directly help any Mortal,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°What are your thoughts on taking this approach?¡± asked Sarah, her annoyance with the restriction adding an edge to her tone. ¡°The Abyss would eventually destroy them. If I succeed, the Soul¡¯s essence gets a fresh start, reducing the generation of new demons.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t hear any enjoyment about this,¡± noted Sarah. Amdirlain shot her a sour look. ¡°I could hear the horrors they¡¯ve inflicted on others. I¡¯d prefer to leave them to the Abyss. When I figure out how to heal the Soul¡¯s wounds, it¡¯ll be as if they¡¯ve freshly emerged from the Soul Font for their first life.¡± Sarah smirked. ¡°Finally remembered it?¡± ¡°Only its appearance, nothing about its song, so I hadn¡¯t mentioned it,¡± groused Amdirlain. ¡°With what you¡¯ve done already, is there a need to heal the souls'' scars?¡± asked Sarah. The question caught Amdirlain off-guard. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it could stop them from reacting to things properly, and I don¡¯t like handling things in a half-arsed fashion. With all the effort I put into getting myself healed from others'' torments, why would I let an innocent Soul suffer?¡± ¡°What makes it innocent?¡± challenged Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°It knows nothing of what it had done in any past lives, nor is there anything left to recover if it found a path to immortality.¡± ¡°Maybe you should see if you can burn the corruption with it now free from the soul,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°I had some thoughts about that earlier, but it was too risky to try while it was still close to the Soul,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she paused. ¡°I¡¯d like to make a request.¡± ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to take time away from here regularly to recover at least what you lost through shedding the Mantle,¡± Amdirlain said, raising her hands to hold off Sarah¡¯s immediate objections. ¡°It''s a request, that¡¯s all. The various psi-crystals and weapons have helped you gain some experience, but it''s still nothing serious.¡± A snick sounded as Sarah¡¯s teeth clicked together. ¡°You are more stable than you were last time we spoke about me getting away. If you¡¯re planning to go hunting, I¡¯d rather do that with you.¡± ¡°At least two-thirds of each day, I¡¯ll make crystals or work on other projects here¡ªI¡¯ve got a few relics in mind. During that time, how about you level outside the Abyss? That way, you get experience and take a regular break from the miasma here,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°If I go hunting, it will be when you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll consider it, but I admit it is tempting,¡± conceded Sarah. ¡°It was only a request. I won¡¯t sneak off when you¡¯re not looking,¡± Amdirlain said, and she extended her right hand, wiggling her pinkie. ¡°What, are you eight again?¡± asked Sarah. Giving an eye-roll, Amdirlain lowered her hand. ¡°Pinkie promises are serious things.¡± ¡°Your word is good enough for me. Alright, agreed, I''ll start levelling again while you''re creating,¡± declared Sarah, and she twitched a wingtip towards the empty storage room. ¡°The celestials I offloaded the weapons to were more impressed with the storage item than the weapons.¡± Though she started to shrug dismissively, Amdirlain froze and looked at Sarah suspiciously. ¡°Did you bill them for it?¡± ¡°Too right I did. Don¡¯t want them taking you for granted,¡± Sarah smugly declared, and she gave Amdirlain a wink. ¡°I¡¯ll keep it as a down payment on my bed.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Whatever! I¡¯ll be right back; I need to pick up more souls.¡± Multiple teleportation hops saw her under the mangrove canopy, far from the location she¡¯d emptied previously. Looting a few hundred souls from the trees'' clutches, Amdirlain returned to the chamber. Once Amdirlain had released them into the empty cylinder, Sarah chuffed. ¡°Scientific process?¡± ¡°Indeed, run the test, record the results, and then ensure it''s repeatable,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. The link formed between the crystal in the cylinder with the clean souls and a single contaminated sample, and Amdirlain reeled it in. It took far longer than the other souls to transverse the containment area, and when it did, Amdirlain ground her teeth. The blackened Soul she¡¯d tested with showed no hint of lessened corruption. Dragging the soul repeatedly through the containment area didn¡¯t make a difference. When Amdirlain set the link for the umpteenth time, she first pulled the emotions and memories from the soul into a metal block. This time, the Soul practically raced through the containment field and emerged scarred but completely clean on the other side. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°You can clean the damned, but it''s useless as far as stripping corruption from Torm goes,¡± growled Sarah. Amdirlain raked her fingers through her hair. ¡°The memories and emotions must bind the corruption to the souls.¡± ¡°Which makes sense, but doesn¡¯t help," said Sarah. ¡°All knowledge is useful, even if it''s just learning an approach that doesn¡¯t work,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°Says the woman that was getting frustrated earlier.¡± Dropping to the ground beside Sarah, Amdirlain reclined against her side. The casual use of her side as a backrest earned a snort from Sarah before she stretched out herself. With her fingers interlaced behind her head, Amdirlain looked over the engraving she¡¯d set across the wall and distracted herself by planning additions. Hours later, Sarah¡¯s breathing had long settled into an even rhythm, and Amdirlain jerked up. ¡°I had a thought about the souls.¡± ¡°Congratulations, that and a coupon will get you a coffee,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Coffee, where?¡± ¡°I can have you coughing up a lung,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Spill.¡± Amdirlain pretended to squirm excitedly against her. ¡°Oh, yes!¡± ¡°Faker,¡± grunted Sarah, and she flexed her body to push Amdirlain away. Pouting, Amdirlain let a few crocodile tears appear. ¡°You¡¯re so mean.¡± Sarah huffed and snaked her head around to face Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re not ready to talk about your idea, just say so.¡± ¡°Nah, I¡¯m just goofing off. Souls keep pearls of wisdom from past lives,¡± Amdirlain stated, and she paused dramatically, giving Sarah an expectant look. ¡°Not biting; that would cost you extra,¡± joked Sarah. ¡°How about we let the souls earn some before we send them on?¡± ¡°Alright, what did you have in mind?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the part I¡¯m still working on, and I¡¯ll need your help with it,¡± admitted Amdirlain before she smiled wickedly. ¡°They don¡¯t look like batteries.¡± ¡°Batteries?¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°It occurred to me that your normal psi-crystal isn¡¯t truly intelligent; it¡¯s only a logic machine with a complex decision matrix.¡± Sarah closed her eyes with a pained expression. ¡°You¡¯re terrible.¡± ¡°I know, but it does compute.¡± When Amdirlain started giggling, Sarah¡¯s playful shove sent her sprawling to the ground, but Amdirlain only laughed harder. As she continued for longer than the joke deserved, relief added a vibrance to Sarah¡¯s smile. ¡°Matrix indeed.¡± 253 - This is the beginning Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Creating hundreds of crystals at once, their singing was a deluge of sound that echoed into white noise within the chamber. With each creation starting a bare second apart, it took eight minutes to wind down. As the last crystal of the session ceased glowing, Laergul gave a full-body stretch. ¡°I¡¯d swear some days you¡¯re a construct. How you continually tolerate this is beyond me.¡± [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item [assorted]) - experience by item grade: Minor Items - Masterwork: 400 x 147,200 = 50 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Basic Items - Masterwork: 450 x 73,600 = 100 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Total Experience gained: 46,000,000 Fallen: +9,200,000 Scion: +9,200,000 Ascetic: +9,200,000 Ostim?: +9,200,000 Ont?lin: +9,200,000 ] ¡°This has been simple work,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she dismissed the notification ¡°Having 480 crystals going at once in your echo chamber is not simple work,¡± argued Laergul. ¡°Even if your powers¡¯ advancement has plateaued from the repetition of these items.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to create a space tailored to cut out the echo. I need more spheres from each session, but increasing the network¡¯s size is important,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°We added those spheres over a year ago now. Will you share what they are for?¡± asked Laergul. Amdirlain blinked innocently. ¡°What, a girl can¡¯t just want some balls to play with?¡± Sarah snickered loudly, but her attention didn¡¯t shift from the delicate enchantment she was preparing for a gemstone. The sound had Laergul''s gaze flicker past Amdirlain. ¡°You both like your innuendoes far too much. Some of those most dedicated to your projects have levelled for the first time in years. Whatever you¡¯re using the spheres for, I¡¯ve hundreds that would be happy to assist with setting songs into them.¡± ¡°How¡¯s the construction of the new central pillar going? Is it large enough to handle everything?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she gave Laergul a guarded smile. More than the subject change, her smile caused Laergul¡¯s spearmint gaze to glow with interest. ¡°If you¡¯re still not ready to share, I¡¯ll leave it be. I will admit to being intrigued by whatever else you¡¯re working on.¡± ¡°Once I¡¯m happy with it, I¡¯ll give you, Isa, and Roher a run-through. Mostly it''s a refinement of things you know about, so it shouldn¡¯t be a shock. How are the last lot of needles going?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Most are ready. Did you want to wait for the full batch, or are the celestials expecting another delivery?¡± asked Laergul, giving into her subject change. ¡°Just once the full batch is ready; Sarah¡¯s got an excess of weapons prepared, so we¡¯ll wait,¡± replied Amdirlain. Laergul looked towards the settlement and shook his head. ¡°Your next singer is running late.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Let them know they¡¯ve got the session off for today. I¡¯ll work on polishing up my ball-handling skills,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she kept a straight-face despite Laergul''s reproving expression. As the Gate closed, Sarah impressed the runic pattern she¡¯d worked on into the fist-sized ruby floating in the air before her. ¡°They might have got caught up with the pillar¡¯s erection.¡± Even as Amdirlain went to gather up the last crystals, Sarah beat her to them and floated the different types into their crates. ¡°The L¨®m? don¡¯t get the fun of innuendoes,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I blame Polyglot; they catch all the meanings intended by the speaker at once, so there isn¡¯t any subtle play to it. Still, I didn¡¯t realise how prudish they¡¯d become until I made D¨²hel blush.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve changed a lot, but not everyone had the same disregard for clothing as you do,¡± observed Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I used to tell myself I wasn¡¯t a naturist, but don¡¯t think I can still claim that.¡± ¡°Depends on your classification. The naturists I knew enjoyed getting their kit off; you seem to have stopped caring at some point if you¡¯re clothed or not,¡± commented Sarah, and she rustled her wings absently. ¡°Shall we move up today¡¯s plans, or did you want to do more tunnelling?¡± The realisation of when she¡¯d completely stopped caring froze at Amdirlain¡¯s heart, but she forced herself to nod. ¡°Yep, and maybe test a full deployment if the weapon changes work. How is the education environment going?¡± ¡°It should be able to cope with eight thousand at a time once I iron the kinks out, but you''ll need to wipe my latest test batch. There were some issues I caught,¡± said Sarah. With the energy array she¡¯d been working on impressed into a gemstone, she gathered up the others she¡¯d completed. Amdirlain reclaimed a sphere from the chest and brushed her fingers along its tiny facets. ¡°Think I missed deep scars? I could send them back through a treatment unit and see what shows.¡± ¡°Not sure; it could just be flaws in the simulated environment. Only had issues with two so far, so the sample size is too small to determine if there is a common pattern.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to just toss them in for reprocessing, let me listen before you spend more time on them,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she grinned at Sarah. ¡°Yes, I know you prefer it done your way, but if I can pick up anything, it will save you time. Shall we?¡± Sarah nodded before she blurred into her willowy Human form and pulled on her usual hunting leathers. Teleport placed them¡ªand the crate¡ªon the ground floor of a narrow gallery some five metres wide and thirty tall, with tightly packed niches carved into the stone walls. Along the wall to the right, spheres sat in every nook for the first hundred metres, forming crystal columns that rose to the ceiling. As Sarah opened the stone door behind them, Amdirlain distributed the new spheres into recesses on the right, the session¡¯s spheres filling another fifty metres of slots. ¡°I still think we might have overdone the size of this place,¡± critiqued Sarah. ¡°Don¡¯t put all your eggs in one basket¡ªring a bell?¡± ¡°To make a scratch, we¡¯ll need a host of these. Between the wards and constructs Roher provided, they should prove sufficient security to deal with anything finding it by chance,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re the only person I know that haggles to drive the price they¡¯ll receive down,¡± stated Sarah, waving at the five elven statues arrayed along the five hundred metre corridor the gallery joined. ¡°One in twenty of those you repair is seriously underrating your value.¡± Besides the statues, the corridor was an empty, unadorned passage. They had ripped its five hundred metre length from the granite with one use of Sarah¡¯s inventory¡ªa capacity in mega tonnes that didn¡¯t tempt Amdirlain to duplicate. Doors showed every ten metres on the right, but only one every hundred on the left. ¡°Yes, but now I¡¯ve learnt all the songs I need to make my own,¡± countered Amdirlain. Sarah snorted in mock surprise. ¡°How many are you planning to make?¡± ¡°Not sure yet; their complexity means they¡¯re a double gold mine of experience and pushing my capabilities,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got an image of a few million carving their way through demons with the Order-infused blades they use. Only, using them out in the open would be a complete giveaway, so it''s not a top priority.¡± ¡°At your current rate, the Tier 7 Achievement is going to get more crucial and harder,¡± warned Sarah. ¡°I know. I¡¯ve got a goal in mind that should do the trick, but I won¡¯t risk going for it until I¡¯m free of my Planar Lock,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, what we¡¯re getting up to between now and then does the trick.¡± ¡°Not going to share?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°What will you offer for the information?¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ve pushed your Haggling Skill high enough,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°It hit Master, yet still hasn¡¯t combined with anything, so clearly not,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°You must have done something that aligned it towards a particular combination¡ªall we can do is wait and see,¡± Sarah said before she pulled the next door open and stepped out onto a raised walkway. ¡°Maybe set time aside to work on raising Diplomacy with Erwarth or Isa.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask whichever one shows up first,¡± agreed Amdirlain cheerfully. The walkway ran the length of the chamber and crossed it at several points along its length, dividing the workspace into sections. The first twelve-metre section was a fantasy factory floor; an array of colour fields illuminated the chamber and painted the dark abyssal stone with a living rainbow. Butted up against the end wall was an acidic green energy cylinder filled with the souls of the damned. Crystals at the far end targeted souls within that cylinder and drew them through a spectrum of barriers that stripped emotions and memories before purging the corruption. They sent those wholly cleaned into a containment cylinder at the next section¡¯s start, while it relegated rejects to join the few currently in a side niche. Sarah smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°I used to think your factory simulators were weird.¡± ¡°Bright lights, things moving, and goods being produced. What more do you want in a game?¡± blurted Amdirlain. Her pretend glee drew a laugh. ¡°Poor kitten, did you want to paw at the things on the screen?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave the hand jobs to you,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and started along the walkway. ¡°Says the girl that likes to fist things,¡± Sarah retorted. Walking beside Amdirlain, Sarah tugged on a strand of Amdirlain¡¯s electric blue hair. ¡°I do more than fist things,¡± declared Amdirlain, shooing Sarah¡¯s hand away. The response got an exaggerated sigh. ¡°Promises, promises.¡± The banter continued until they reached the next section, where rows of transparent treatment cubes ran the length. As they entered, a nearby unit sent a Soul to a container in the last area before it drew from the containment cylinder holding the cleansed damned. The new arrival was a badly scarred Soul, and harmonics that pulsed against even Sarah''s awareness went to work. The chamber¡¯s enchantments put the Soul into a torpor state before it excised and sanded at the scars like a woodworker preparing a cut of timber. Fresh energy poured across the pitted surface that resulted and boosted the Soul¡¯s recovery to full health. The enchantment twisted and kneaded the Soul like dough, and when it brought fresh scars to the surface, it began again. Sarah caught Amdirlain¡¯s discontented look. ¡°Yeah, none of this will work for Torm. We¡¯ll figure out something.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, was thinking more about what improvement we can make on cleaning the damned. I¡¯d hate to duplicate this only to find a basic flaw. Let¡¯s look at the weapon unit.¡± ¡°You could create towers with inbuilt offensive enchantments,¡± observed Sarah. The familiar argument earned a shrug. ¡°I told you, we¡¯re not in a rush. The weapon construction gets you experience, and I¡¯ll bet you controlling a deployment will get you the kill experience the same as your hunting runs.¡± ¡°Normally they¡¯re around me, it will be interesting to see if playing drone operator has the same effect,¡± admitted Sarah. The last section they passed had four large containment cylinders with nearly half a million souls already thoroughly cleansed¡ªand still, it was only a fraction of their capacity. A door at the end opened before they reached it and revealed racks that wouldn¡¯t be out of place in an armoury on Earth. The racks of tubular shapes vaguely resembled the RPG-7 rocket-propelled grenade launchers¡ªminus the trigger and grip. They still had the shoulder brace beneath them, but one set with threaded holes as if intended to be fixed to something. Another difference was that there wasn¡¯t any wood, as Sarah had constructed each from gleaming mithril that shone with the embedded runes. A nearby silence caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention as she studied their melody again. ¡°Do you have enough ingots left?¡± ¡°Big ears. The stockpile you made me is in my Inventory. I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m down to a million tonnes, little miss overkill.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t-¡± ¡°Such a thing as overkill,¡± Sarah cut in as she stepped into the armoury, her words echoing in the vast chamber. ¡°Just moving, or dead.¡± ¡°Fine, be that way,¡± huffed Amdirlain when a random thought occurred to her. ¡°You know, you never told me what you did with the granite from the corridor here.¡± ¡°I got rid of it the next day. It was a present for a brigade of undead Sage had me playing with, though they didn¡¯t enjoy it dropping on them from a few kilometres up,¡± replied Sarah, and she paused in thought. ¡°With his focus on undead, I think you or Ebusuku should release him when he hits Solar. He is becoming more intent on wiping them out rather than serving the tenets in your Mantle.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see. Sage needs a few more Tier 7 achievements to get through Planetar yet. He feels guilty that others from the Maze still haven¡¯t gotten one. I¡¯m thinking that might slow him down,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°When did you speak to him?¡± blurted Sarah in surprise. ¡°What, do I need to tell you everything?¡± ¡°No,¡± allowed Sarah, before she gave a chin quiver and a fake sob. ¡°Thought it would warrant a mention to your work-wife. Guess I¡¯ll expect the divorce attorney to call.¡± ¡°Aww, don¡¯t be heartbroken. You can join my mistresses,¡± quipped Amdirlain and gave Sarah¡¯s shoulder a reassuring pat. Ignoring the flat look her response received, Amdirlain continued. ¡°He accompanied Ebusuku and Gail on their visit yesterday. The bastard gave me a jump scare by standing right in front of the Gate when it opened. Freaking five metres tall, standing in the circle with his wings out as far as the circle allowed for,¡± described Amdirlain, throwing her arms out wide, she arched them forward threateningly. ¡°Oh, a real in-person visit, not just chatting through a Gate. Did he give you cuddles?¡± teased Sarah. Amdirlain shot Sarah a glare. ¡°A hug, not a cuddle. Gail complained Ebusuku still wouldn¡¯t let her through to get one herself. Sage mentioned he¡¯d been practising his Planar Shift to get it accurate enough to avoid needing someone to open a Gate.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Something to watch out for; you might get a surprise visit when you¡¯re creating crystals solo,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve been expecting it for a while now, especially with Isa and others visiting more often. I¡¯ll continue to restrict myself to creating it here or one of the bolt holes,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and they turned right at a crossroads among the racks. They stretched for fifty metres before the gap ended at a double door. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve had so many restricting themselves to messages passed along. The last time I popped into the Monastery, I got mobbed with demands for information.¡± ¡°What, they stood in neat lines around you?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, but with such serious looks. I should have let someone else go for the texts you wanted,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°Speaking of serious looks, who gave Gail the idea about birthday presents?¡± asked Amdirlain with a smile. ¡°I know it¡¯s not a custom among any of Veht?¡¯s cultures.¡± Sarah¡¯s expression didn¡¯t shift. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe Gail remembered something.¡± ¡°Guilty,¡± declared Amdirlain, her smile broadening. ¡°No idea what you¡¯re talking about,¡± chuckled Sarah. ¡°What did you get up to on your last visit? Movie nights, as you did with Torm?¡± ¡°She was nearly ten when I figured she could handle the brain sludge that was Earth movies,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°Did she remember any of them?¡± enquired Amdirlain softly. ¡°No, and she laughed at things Andre didn¡¯t find funny,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°She got all the compensating references in Shrek. Gail finds innuendos funny, but with her parents, it''s not a surprise she¡¯s growing very liberated.¡± Amdirlain laughed but said nothing further until she opened the door to the next chamber. Assembled machinery cluttered the space beyond with an assorted number of attached tubes from the armoury. Some of the small ones resembled quad anti-air guns, while larger clusters resembled a roman tortoise formation with the weapons bristling outwards between shields. Walking past rows of the small assemblies, Sarah stopped at the first arrangement that resembled an old fashion Gatling gun on a pivot ball. The end of each tube flowed open and Sarah set rubies into each. Moving along the line, she repeated the process for the first thirty Gatling guns. ¡°Pick a random one for the test firing,¡± Sarah instructed. Scrying first to ensure there wouldn¡¯t be any immediate witnesses, Amdirlain teleported them, along with one of the adjusted units, to the edge of the Zealot''s Maze. The clawing hands of those trapped showed which of the enfolding stone cages had occupants. A well-practised song pulled those visible into Amdirlain¡¯s custody. Sarah¡¯s control reached out, and the assembly began to spin. Even before it had reached full speed it started to fire blasts of golden light¡ªthe colour of Celestial steel. Instead of the noticeable gaps that had been present in the first testing, the Gatling gun looked like it was producing a nearly continuous beam. Under the barrage, the rock cages, formed of abyssal stone, burst apart. They were rapidly approaching the perimeter of pens Amdirlain had drawn the damned from when she heard a ripple in the ground¡¯s corruption. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± At the question, Sarah stopped firing. ¡°What?¡± The air of anticipation around Sarah was all that stopped Amdirlain from skip-hopping them back to the storehouse. ¡°There was a ripple.¡± ¡°Oh, that,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°You were always driving Yngvarr crazy, converting spells on the fly to use differently attuned Mana. I figured out a way to burn the corruption as an energy source. It is more sludgy than crude oil, but burning it should be good for the environment.¡± ¡°You what?¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°The Abyss treats it as energy, so I pretended ignorance and followed its example. Well, not quite that simple, and it took years, but you felt it.¡± ¡°Yes, barely a trickle, but one drop at a time makes a river,¡± Amdirlain said, and she returned them carefully to their origin. ¡°You are getting all philosophical in your old age,¡± Sarah said when the last hop placed them back in the storehouse. Amdirlain opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself. ¡°I¡¯ll have to set you loose on the dimensional space into which I¡¯ve been accumulating the corruption. Did you want to test deployment or prepare more of them?¡± ¡°All the ones I¡¯ve got ready are corruption fuelled. I only had to fix the recharge rate for the Gatling¡¯s gems,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Right,¡± said Amdirlain, and extending her right hand, a sphere appeared atop it. Without warning, a cascade of sound battered Sarah¡¯s eardrums, and she triggered an enchantment that brought silence, fixing Amdirlain with a flat stare. The torrent of sound coming from Amdirlain¡¯s lips didn¡¯t even earn a wince from her. As the songs wound down, Amdirlain shot Sarah a predatory smile. ¡°Want to blow something up?¡± [Crafting Summary (Major Relic) Grand Master: 510,350 = 510,000 (category outcome) + 350 (exotic material) Total experience gained: 510,350 Fallen: +102,070 Scion: +102,070 Ascetic: +102,070 Ostim?: +102,070 Ont?lin: +102,070] ¡°Next time you do that, I will walk away. Too loud; try some warning, Songbird.¡± grumbled Sarah. The reprimand earned the wince the sound hadn¡¯t, and Amdirlain had the good graces to look abashed. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Just be a little more careful; that wasn¡¯t kind to my ears,¡± chided Sarah. ¡°What did you have in mind to destroy?¡± ¡°Got a preference?¡± Sarah gave an unbothered shrug. ¡°Dealer¡¯s choice, but I¡¯d suggest keeping it small for the first test.¡± ¡°Just the lasers and mortars; I want to keep the gauss rifles in reserve.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not lasers,¡± insisted Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t care if they¡¯re firing Celestial or Order Mana like the bigger cannons; they look like lasers,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Enough. You still haven¡¯t told me the nitty gritty.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather show you,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°This sphere has a modified version of the arrangement I put together for recycled souls to use.¡± ¡°Recycled?¡± blurted Sarah, cackling with laughter. ¡°Recycled. I wouldn¡¯t call them redeemed¡ªthey did nothing to earn it, and they¡¯re not who they once were. We¡¯ve blank slated them and impressed them with a basic VR life experience.¡± Amdirlain''s observation got a shrug from Sarah. ¡°Fair enough.¡± Creating a three-metre diameter platform with a divot in the middle between the rows of armaments, Amdirlain sat cross-legged on one side and motioned Sarah to sit across from her. When she did, Amdirlain placed the sphere in the divot. Pulling out the map orb, she presented an image of a small trade hub sitting on the edge of some foothills. The town¡¯s walls were massive blocks of orange stone, stacked almost haphazardly, the weight alone holding them in place despite sizeable gaps in their placement. Rust-eaten gates hung off their hinges and looked like they hadn¡¯t been closed in years. Despite the lack of care, the town seemed busy with cart and foot traffic using all of its five gates. The nearby foothills were overgrown with an abundance of thorny bushes. Amdirlain pointed to a location high on the slope away from town. ¡°Should be high enough for the towers to have a line of sight over the walls.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to be out in the open,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°No we¡¯re not. Wait and see; you¡¯ve got an adaptation enchantment, so you¡¯ll be safe.¡± With that, Amdirlain triggered the orb, and hard-packed earth was suddenly surrounding the platform, a transparent energy dome keeping it from collapsing on them. Amdirlain, putting her fingertips on the sphere, caused a glowing illusion of a 360-degree perspective to appear above it. The image showed the same overgrown landscape the map orb had presented to Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m only an observer,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Touch the sphere and think of towers deploying.¡± When Sarah followed her instruction, eight twelve-metre towers surged upwards from the earth, and before they finished growing, Gatling guns capped four, while the rest had the quad gun batteries. The image jumped around momentarily while Sarah tried focusing it on different locations. Each time, the 360-degree perspective centred on her focal point, giving her a clear vision of approaching dangers from fourteen metres up, allowing her to see all the guns. ¡°What else can I deploy?¡± ¡°Ground defence and the mortars. You¡¯ll need to accumulate energy to deploy more, and I¡¯m sure you can figure out how to do that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll know when you can.¡± A smiling Sarah settled the illusion¡¯s perspective on the town¡¯s wall and took in the scurrying defenders. Without a word, bursts of light cut across the defenders, and the quad guns started firing blasts that purified the walls'' abyssal stone, causing demons to scream in pain. ¡°Where are we located?¡± asked Sarah. The question didn¡¯t take her focus from the visible gates, and the Gatlings chewed apart ill-prepared Schir guards, workers, and travellers alike as they attempted to get behind cover. ¡°We¡¯re a few hundred metres from the circle¡¯s centre point and about the same distance below ground. Shielded with various concealment auras within the sphere,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°There is a banishment array dealing with any mortals within the town.¡± ¡°Why am I not surprised?¡± laughed Sarah, and a new gun appeared in the image. A fat pot belly cannon mounted on a mithril platform dug its supports into the ground next to the closest tower to the town; a second after it settled, it bleached a twisting coil of primordial energy on a flat arc towards the town. Even before the first landed, Sarah¡¯s aim was already adjusting, and the cannon started rapidly firing each round in slightly different trajectories. Three were in the air when the first hit, caving in the front of a three-story building and dropping the rest of it to the ground. ¡°That¡¯s got to hurt.¡± ¡°They need better wards,¡± Sarah crowed. A defensive porcupine appeared off to one side before a second and then third mortar added to the barrage. When groups of demons teleported close, the energy blasts from the porcupine scattered them in clouds of crystallised dust, their demonic flesh having crumbled under bolts of pure Order. A follow-up group successfully dodged the first defensive strikes only to fall to a lethal surprise when they couldn¡¯t teleport around to evade a Gatling pivoting down on them. More towers and other weaponry appeared, and the town''s destruction escalated. ¡°Does this just keep letting me bring in more?¡± asked Sarah once large swathes of the town were on fire or flattened. ¡°I haven¡¯t decided yet¡ªit''s interacting with a crystal in the compound and some bolt holes. The crystals are skip-teleporting the equipment into place, so it doesn¡¯t come straight from the storerooms,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°Also, if things went wrong, you could trigger an evacuation.¡± ¡°Is that going to damage the equipment at all?¡± ¡°Only someone successfully hitting them will damage the gear. The evacuation shifts all the equipment away first, then has a blast. There is a faster option if things go pear-shaped while you evacuate, but there is more collateral damage,¡± grinned Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t resist the teleport series when you trigger it.¡± The mortars and other emplacements ceased firing and vanished quickly before the earthen towers exploded outwards in a release of raw Mana. Their detonations shook the ground but didn¡¯t break the dome protecting the pair. The sphere hopped them through seven locations before it returned them to the armoury. ¡°Not a massive amount of experience, but nice,¡± allowed Sarah, and she motioned Amdirlain towards the door opposite the warehouse and its racked weapons. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at the training groups. The two with odd reactions are in the first training chamber.¡± ¡°No experience for me, just the driver,¡± stated Amdirlain as she headed off. When Amdirlain slipped into the training chamber, she stayed well back from the crystal barrier. Unlike the black granite that made up the rest of the facility, a room of polished white granite was beyond the floor-to-ceiling window. Its purification wasn¡¯t her doing, but the concentrated Celestial Mana used to create the slimes within the chamber. Hundreds sat in rows looking like torso-sized Petri dishes filled with a silvery-white gel. Above each, a psi-crystal projected a unique simulated environment for them, letting the Soul¡¯s new life form experience the simple life it would find on a Heavenly Plane. ¡°How do you intend them to interface with the sphere?¡± asked Sarah, and unlike Amdirlain¡¯s care, she stepped close and rested her fingertips on the window. ¡°Instead of a visual illusion, the crystal will project a VR presentation to them as if they¡¯re sitting on the ground. An attempt to grow a new pseudopod or shift in a direction will trigger new towers to deploy. Lashing out at a foe will trigger the towers¡¯ weaponry. Once they get a few levels into their classes, they should have enough intelligence to react in a more organised fashion.¡± ¡°Classes?¡± started Sarah, her attention fixed on the closest slime. ¡°What did you do?¡± The buzz of Analysis from Sarah prompted Amdirlain to ensure it hadn¡¯t shifted from what she¡¯d sung into it. [Species: Slime (Celestial) Class: Fighter / Siege Engineer / Scout / Wizard Level: 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 / 1 Health: 44 Mana: 8 Melee Attack Power: 11 Defence: 12 Combat Skills: Pseudopod [B] (1), Engulf [B] (1) ] ¡°No wonder you had me introduce you to those engineer types from Mechanus.¡± ¡°I was saving it for a surprise,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I needed to talk to the engineers about my tunnels more than pilfering their Class songs.¡± ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work?¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll try a different species or training program. The deployment will present a situation where invaders are threatening their life. As the towers spread out, they¡¯ll feel like they¡¯re growing, taking over more land around them.¡± ¡°How do they trigger the retreat you had me use?¡± ¡°If all their towers get destroyed, it¡¯ll present cover they can slither into, and that decision will pull them back here for rest and refit. The sphere will end up in the niches on the opposite walls, and I¡¯ll check them before they get used again.¡± ¡°What about sending them to Judgement, or will you keep them levelling?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to flood the heavens with billions of slimes. If they accumulate enough experience to reach level 50, they¡¯ll perceive a heavenly gate to flee. If they choose that option, it will send the Soul onto Judgement, and the accumulated energy of the slime will end up sprayed across the landscape above the deployment site¡ªsimilar to the tower¡¯s detonation.¡± ¡°You''re going to level up the slimes so they can leave patches of Celestial energy all over Culerzic?¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°Don¡¯t forget your blue light when you check into this hotel, boys and girls,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Now let¡¯s sort out your problem children, and expand the horizon of the rest.¡± Sarah paused in thought and beckoned Amdirlain to wait. ¡°Are you still hoarding your points, or do you have spare?¡± ¡°The Skill and Knowledge points I¡¯ve been holding onto,¡± Amdirlain admitted. ¡°I¡¯ve been more conscious of spending attributes points as I go.¡± ¡°How many Skill points are you sitting on?¡± ¡°142,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Do I want to know what you have in mind?¡± ¡°142! Are you planning to melt your brain by forcing an upgrade on True Song Architecture?¡± gasped Sarah. ¡°Pushing it fast if it gets into Grand Master without evolving again is one thing I was considering. Why?¡± ¡°Notice how various merges happen when everything hits Master? ¡°That¡¯s not always the case,¡± argued Amdirlain. Sarah rolled her eyes. ¡°I said various, not all. Push Diplomacy or spend some time with Roher learning various cultural mores.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you teach me?¡± ¡°A Dragon¡¯s version of Diplomacy is Intimidate; we just eat those that don¡¯t do as they¡¯re told,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Lies,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°How close is your Diplomacy to Master?¡± ¡°6 more levels,¡± concedes Amdirlain. ¡°Push it, so I don¡¯t have to hear grumbles about lessons for years to come,¡± prompted Sarah. ¡°Think of it as freeing up time.¡± Amdirlain ground teeth momentarily. ¡°And if it doesn¡¯t trigger any merger?¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s ready to merge with another Skill later. You just don¡¯t want to spend the points because you deliberately fucked around with it before,¡± argued Sarah, mirth sparkling in her gaze. ¡°This isn¡¯t about that at all,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Have you figured out something?¡± ¡°Maybe, come on, do it, please!¡± pleaded Sarah, clasping her hands together as she beamed at Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°I want to see your face if I¡¯m right, and I¡¯m not always around for your lessons,¡± admitted Sarah, grinning with unrepentant glee. ¡°Why do I feel I¡¯m going to regret this?¡± muttered Amdirlain, giving Sarah an exasperated glare as she reluctantly spent the points. [Diplomacy [Ad] (45) -> Diplomacy [M](1) Previously incarnated as Succubus! Succubus Class detected! Assassin Class detected! Diplomacy [M] (1) evolved into Femme Fatale [M](1). Erotic Dance [M] (10) merged into Femme Fatale [M] (1->4). Acting [M] (40) merged into Femme Fatale [M] (4->32). Haggling [M] (1) merged into Femme Fatale. Intimidate [M] (4) merged into Femme Fatale. Sense Motive [M] (15) merged into Femme Fatale [M] (32->34). Danger Sense [S] (17) merged into Femme Fatale [M] (34) -> [S] (10).] ¡°Fuck! Femme Fatale?¡± Sarah howled with laughter. ¡°What made you think this was going to happen?¡± asked Amdirlain once Sarah¡¯s laughter eased. ¡°Assassin, a double dose of Succubus, having used sexual stimulation to get your way with the hags, and luring the demons in with Erotic Dance multiple times, to name a few,¡± Sarah rattled off. ¡°I didn¡¯t think about it until your planned innuendo-ish situation with the slimes.¡± ¡°Great, I¡¯ll have to leave it off until I get it under control.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an active-passive Skill, sweetie,¡± sighed Sarah, the realisation stealing her humour. ¡°The aspects you¡¯re most concerned about will always be active along with Sense Motive, Danger Sense, and yeah, your Dance Skill.¡± [Femme Fatale Details: Often developed by those whose beauty and charismatic allure help get their way with others. Possessors always present themselves enticingly to their audience. It provides them with an intuitive awareness of social and emotional cues and environmental shifts that represent a danger to themselves or their goals. This composite Skill also includes automatic recognition of the best approaches to seducing or manipulating individuals. Even the most intractable individual¡ªwithout the required counter skills¡ªis likely to open up to individuals with high levels of this Skill.] ¡°Fuck!¡± ¡°Try to break that habit. Unless you want to spend a lot of time and energy explaining to strangers that it isn¡¯t an offer,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°I better keep a tight lid on things then,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Sarah gave a tight smile. ¡°More lessons with Ilya. What did it end up at?¡± ¡°Senior Master 10.¡± ¡°Okay, well, yeah, that merits a string of profanities, not just fuck. From what Analysis says about it, there is an upside,¡± offered Sarah. Her mouth twisted, and Amdirlain had to restrain her response. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Your objectives are usually to help others achieve their goals, so I see you learning a lot about what people truly want and not just what they¡¯re normally comfortable sharing.¡± Amdirlain pulled a displeased face. ¡°Intrusive busybody, great.¡± ¡°Pretend you''re the old-fashioned bartender lending a sympathetic ear,¡± counselled Sarah. ¡°Instead of the con artist picking up a mark,¡± groaned Amdirlain, scrubbing at her face. Cataloguing all the stunts she pulled, Amdirlain came up with more that might have influenced the combined Skill¡¯s evolution. 254 - Hold the girl Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic When Ilya opened a six metre wide Gate, a beaming D¨²hel beyond its threshold clapped excitedly at the sight of Amdirlain. Her bright smile challenged the brilliance of her blazing seafoam-green irises. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯ve resumed sessions, Amdirlain.¡± Amdirlain held herself nearly motionless and gave a careful nod. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect such enthusiasm; I know you¡¯ve been busy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been months, and even though we had plenty of things to help with, it wasn¡¯t the same,¡± dismissed D¨²hel, and for the first time, shifted her gaze from drinking in Amdirlain¡¯s form. ¡°I like the new chamber.¡± Sarah had engraved the gigantic dome with a vast wilderness scene and embedded runes to absorb excess noise. Amdirlain reflexively shifted position to follow D¨²hel¡¯s gaze, drawing a subtle gasp. At D¨²hel¡¯s inhalation, Ilya stepped between Amdirlain and the Gate, blocking D¨²hel¡¯s line of sight. ¡°Sex on two legs and a bunch of pent-up elves. We¡¯ll have to be extra careful with your fan squad,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine, just surprised,¡± D¨²hel exclaimed, waving her hands in protest. Ilya snorted. ¡°Amdirlain barely turned, and your heart started racing¡ªthat is not fine. You could have told Laergul you¡¯re attracted to Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be crass; she has someone,¡± retorted D¨²hel. ¡°She¡¯ll restore him. I¡¯ve done enough work on duplicating the facility to be sure she¡¯ll find a way.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were involved, D¨²hel,¡± said Amdirlain, happy to change the subject, even if it involved her failed experiments. ¡°My choir is handling the fifth facility you and Sarah excavated,¡± blurted D¨²hel. ¡°We¡¯ve set up the processing room and started duplicating the armoury. Working through gates is weird, but we¡¯ve got the constructs to be our hands.¡± ¡°Bunch of cheaters,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°You can¡¯t have all the fun, Sarah,¡± laughed D¨²hel. ¡°And duplicating your enchantments made for interesting melodies. Given the deeper notes they reach, Amdirlain wouldn¡¯t have been able to handle them.¡± Tapping her claws, Sarah rumbled. ¡°Not what I¡¯m talking about.¡± ¡°Should I apologise for theft of experience?¡± enquired D¨²hel with mischievous meekness. Sarah reluctantly huffed. ¡°No, the weapons will be the bottleneck at some point, and we¡¯ll need far more. It¡¯s hard to give away toy designs when I¡¯m sure there are features I want to add or tweak.¡± ¡°Given your nature, would they ever be perfect enough?¡± Isa asked and, slipping past Ilya, she stepped through the Gate. ¡°Perhaps not,¡± admitted Sarah. Isa put a hand on D¨²hel''s shoulder and motioned her to step further back. ¡°Seems Luck let us catch you isolated.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m slightly early,¡± admitted D¨²hel, ¡°I¡¯ve let Laergul know you¡¯re here.¡± Laergul appeared further along the ledge, as if his name had summoned him. Looking between the pair, he glanced at the Gate. ¡°Are you having problems, D¨²hel?¡± Glancing at the floor, D¨²hel''s fingers twitched against the fabric of her pants. ¡°The grace of her motions draws the eye.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯d suggest we¡¯ll need holding racks in place, and you can keep your attention focused on them,¡± stated Laergul, not taking his focus from D¨²hel. ¡°Please put something that won¡¯t hinder you in place, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve not seen her move yet, Laergul,¡± huffed D¨²hel. ¡°I have, and neither Roher nor I have had issues. I suggest you conduct more exercises to improve your discipline instead of focusing on intellect with the levels the work is providing,¡± ¡°I¡¯m disciplined,¡± protested D¨²hel vehemently, and she pressed her hands flat against her thighs. ¡°Not enough,¡± remarked Laergul. ¡°My apologies Amdirlain. I¡¯ll ensure another supervisor or I arrive ahead of time when any of our more flighty kin are involved.¡± ¡°Laergul,¡± warned D¨²hel. Her tone didn¡¯t even make Laergul blink. ¡°If your behaviour shows it, how can you protest? Shall we begin, or should I refer the matter to your conductor?¡± ¡°How do you credit Isa¡¯s calmness?¡± demanded D¨²hel. Isa gave a wicked giggle. ¡°There are many reasons, plus I¡¯ll have a complete catch-up with Ilya later.¡± Amdirlain almost mentioned the combination of powers and skills Isa and Ilya had discussed in the last months, but held her tongue. D¨²hel¡¯s jawline tensed as she held back a retort. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re right, Laergul.¡± ¡°Any preference in style or approach, Laergul?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Whatever works best for you, Amdirlain. Something practical that also sets a barrier to aid those who might otherwise find themselves distracted until you¡¯ve overcome your new challenge,¡± suggested Laergul, and he frowned in surprise. ¡°Your chamber¡¯s tone is significantly different, how far underground is it?¡± Amdirlain created a steel-mesh rack on the side towards the Gate, its grid layout mirroring the wall niches. On her side, however, each slot was angled to ensure the sphere would fall into a trough behind it when its weight stabilised. She was glad when neither Sarah nor Isa commented on its resemblance to a snack machine. With the item quickly completed, Amdirlain seized the subject change. ¡°About 120 kilometres. We found an adamantine vein we¡¯ll use for some weaponry. While we¡¯ve had issues with some burrowers, Sarah enjoyed the snack.¡± D¨²hel almost jerked her gaze up but kept her attention on the rack¡¯s framework. ¡°How did you locate it?¡± ¡°I was stretching Inventory¡¯s range and kept pushing deeper.¡± ¡°Luck favoured her,¡± observed Isa once Amdirlain had finished. ¡°Not having to create the metal would speed the process somewhat,¡± agreed Laergul, sidestepping Isa¡¯s observation. ¡°Shall we proceed?¡± Laergul smiled. ¡°D¨²hel, if you start on the left, I¡¯ll handle from the right. Is that acceptable?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± D¨²hel replied curtly. As they completed spheres, Sarah drew them from the end of the trough and loaded them into a crate in a continual flurry of activity. When they finished the session, Laergul gave D¨²hel enough time to say farewell before he escorted her away. [Crafting Summary (Category: Basic utility item [assorted]) - experience by item grade: Sphere-in-a-hurry-vending machine: 400 Basic Items - Masterwork: 450 x 441,600 = 100 (base) + 350 (exotic) (x50%) Total Experience gained: 99,360,000 Fallen: +19,872,000 Scion: +19,872,000 Ascetic: +19,872,000 Ostim?: +19,872,000 Ont?lin: +19,872,000 Symphonic [S] (43 -> 44)] ¡°That¡¯s what you¡¯ve been doing?¡± Isa breathed, looking faintly sick. ¡°That has got to be the most boring use of True Song I¡¯ve witnessed. How could you willingly endure that?¡± Sure they¡¯d need it again, Amdirlain stored the rack away and let Isa through the Gate. ¡°We used to create them on the floor with needles or rods between the spheres to stop them rolling around until Sarah could move them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Not pretty, I know, but it gets the job done.¡± ¡°How much experience was that?¡± asked Isa. ¡°99,360,000 plus 400 from the rack,¡± shared Amdirlain as she stored the last spheres that Sarah hadn¡¯t yet loaded into a waiting crate. ¡°Oh yeah, can¡¯t forget the rack,¡± drawled Ilya. ¡°Nice rack,¡± commented Sarah. Isa laughed. ¡°Nice balls?¡± ¡°Not in this group,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Sarah laughed. ¡°You could always¡­ never mind.¡± ¡°Yeah, not using that disguise again,¡± Amdirlain said with a shudder. ¡°Not making yourself useful again. Is that what I¡¯m hearing?¡± asked Sarah. At Isa and Ilya¡¯s blank looks, Amdirlain waved a reproving finger at Sarah. ¡°You took that joke too far, buster.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an insane amount of experience,¡± interjected Ilya. ¡°Isa, isn¡¯t that what we needed for gaining level 66?¡± ¡°A bit more than that,¡± agreed Isa. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Doesn¡¯t even get me a level now, even if it all went into a single class.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gone up an enormous number of levels with all the help I¡¯ve given the L¨®m?, but that¡¯s crazy. That said, I wouldn¡¯t be able to handle that for, what, eight hours every day?¡± asked Isa with a shudder. ¡°Some days she pushes past sixteen,¡± corrected Sarah. Isa pretended to stick her fingers down her throat. ¡°Shoot me now; I couldn¡¯t do so many repetitious songs for so long. Singing pillars at least involves variations in the compositions.¡± ¡°Enchanting the crystals gives far more experience,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°If I handle setting the songs in all the spheres we created today, it would be a touch short of 225.4 trillion.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you do that, then?¡± asked Ilya, and she gave a cynical bark of laughter. ¡°Listen to me giving advice. All three of you are way out of my league. I earn experience from killing stuff while you and Isa are legendary elves, and Sarah comes up with weaponry that would make Hell jealous.¡± ¡°Yet Isa likely wouldn¡¯t be here if she¡¯d not be fortunate enough to meet you,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Once legendary elves, now we¡¯re us, and you came through intact but scarred by events that would break many others,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°We had a rough start, but of the four of us, you get my vote for coming out the sanest.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t sane,¡± admitted Sarah. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯m still not,¡± declared Isa, and she gave Ilya a one-armed hug and leaned into her reassuringly. ¡°We¡¯re in this together. Since the settlements are all now clustered, we can spend more time killing bad things with all those new spells you¡¯ve learnt, or we could sleep in for a change.¡± The warm, satiny melody that brushed through their songs had Amdirlain hastily tuning them out. ¡°Sleep? Not what I¡¯d want to use our bed for,¡± mock whispered Ilya. Amdirlain laughed happily at the meaningful smiles they exchanged. ¡°Good choice.¡± ¡°After we¡¯re out of said bed, I could spend time each day creating a variety of crystals for Amdirlain to enchant,¡± offered Isa, getting back on track. ¡°Not the spheres or rods. I¡¯d want to go back to flying through trees in a snowstorm in short order.¡± ¡°You said all the settlements are together? When did the last one get transferred in?¡± asked Amdirlain, even as Ilya muttered about vigorous physical training protocols. ¡°Not joined at the hip, but close enough that the central pillar¡¯s field provides backup to the local barriers. They should have handled the last relocation today,¡± clarified Isa. Sarah hummed. ¡°Has anyone said how many of the L¨®m? are alive?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not asked anyone for an exact count. I believe you might have spares if you gave them each a sphere from today,¡± replied Isa. ¡°But back to my offer: yes, no, maybe?¡± Holding in the wince, Amdirlain let it be. ¡°What were you thinking of?¡± ¡°Various equipment, armour and weapons, or an enormous crystal that could support massive enchantments to stretch your True Song. What would you prefer?¡± ¡°Create whatever comes to mind on the day; mixing it up might save what¡¯s left of your sanity. True Song crystals to enchant would save me from trying to push this further,¡± admitted Amdirlain, ignoring Isa¡¯s pout. ¡°I could sing these for the L¨®m? to work on and then enchant objects or conduct other training afterwards.¡± ¡°You certainly need more training to turn your Femme Fatale¡¯s instinctive awareness into planning,¡± agreed Ilya. Amdirlain raked her fingers through the electric blue locks of her current pixie cut. ¡°I just turned.¡± The protest had Ilya adopt a sultry half-lidded gaze and pant dramatically. ¡°You just turned? I think not; you stretched your neck proactively and motioned her to come hither with an enticing finger twitch. Fairly dared her to trail her tongue from collarbone to ear in one heated, lust-laden swoop. The poor maid''s heartstrings were sorely plucked.¡± Sarah groaned. ¡°Have you been corrupting Ilya with period dramas, Isa?¡± ¡°No, it''s just the voice of experience,¡± Isa laughed and pretended to smack Ilya when she nodded vigorously. ¡°Seriously, they all need to unwind occasionally, but they¡¯re concerned about corruption, what with being in the Abyss so long. Makes them very puritan in some respects.¡± ¡°Uptight is how I¡¯d classify it,¡± commented Ilya. ¡°Come hither finger twitch?¡± asked Amdirlain, and wished she hadn¡¯t spoken. With a coy look, Ilya let her hands settle at her sides before sliding one hand slowly across a thigh, curling fingers drawing focus towards her crotch. ¡°I so did not,¡± gasped Amdirlain. ¡°You so did,¡± refuted Ilya. ¡°Just at a faster speed.¡± ¡°Alright, I need to get the body language under control.¡± ¡°D¨²hel''s been fangirling over you for years,¡± offered Isa. ¡°Your brain might have missed the cues, but something caught onto her libido today.¡± ¡°That term I¡¯ve learnt; an Orh¨ºthurin fan girl would be the correct reference,¡± cautioned Ilya. Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°Not interested?. Happy to be her friend, but regardless of other factors, I don¡¯t swing both ways, and I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°Unless you have something else to do, we can get on with more training,¡± suggested Ilya brightly ¡°Before you get to your training, Amdirlain, you¡¯ll likely have to handle Gail¡¯s training in True Song when she¡¯s older,¡± stated Isa. ¡°I thought we agreed-¡± Isa scowled and crossed her arms defensively. ¡°I tried to give her a hand with that nightmare crystal you gave her. After an hour, the little miss thanked me and said I jumped around too much. Decided she¡¯d be better off working through the lessons and asking questions directly when they next visited.¡± ¡°How is it a nightmare crystal?¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s so dense in content that it makes my head hurt, yet she enjoys it,¡± proclaimed Isa, throwing her hands up in disbelief. Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s your composition evolved to?¡± A snort greeted the question. ¡°Evolved? I¡¯ve not pushed it hard enough to evolve. Why?¡± ¡°Ahh, she¡¯d already moved it to True Song Formation before she finished the first crystal,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Roher¡¯s going to laugh at you,¡± commented Ilya, smiling at Isa to ease the sting of her words. ¡°Don¡¯t I know it. Outdone, and she¡¯s not even 11,¡± huffed Isa. ¡°Can you make me a copy of that first crystal you gave her?¡± ¡°Gladly,¡± replied Amdirlain, tossing her a memory crystal in short order. ¡°Shall we get started, Ilya?¡± Ilya shooed the others off and drew her swords. ¡°Let¡¯s try a different lesson today and see if sparring gets you back in tune with your body.¡± Seeing Ilya¡¯s blades brought out a smile to light up Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°Oh, you lovely person, you.¡± ¡°Oi, stop flirting with my better half,¡± laughed Isa before she vanished from the chamber. As the pair squared off, Sarah also vanished. With the chamber clear, they blurred into motion. While the recent increase in her classes tipped the balance of speed in Amdirlain¡¯s favour, Ilya¡¯s weapon skills kept her from being overwhelmed, and weapons disappearing and reappearing from Amdirlain¡¯s hand continually put her on the back foot. Amongst the sparring, her zen clarity settled into place, and Amdirlain caught herself using exaggerated motions to draw Ilya¡¯s gaze. Her combat style didn¡¯t suffer from it; if anything, it used distractions to put Ilya at a disadvantage. After the fifth time she caught an occurrence, Amdirlain stepped back and lowered her swords¡ªsure, she¡¯d missed far more. ¡°I¡¯m catching it only after I¡¯ve already flirted.¡± ¡°Flirted, or suckered me into a trap?¡± laughed Ilya. ¡°Teasing smiles and artful poses are the blades of a Succubus, getting in under their target¡¯s skin. So let¡¯s figure out how to align this towards what you want.¡± ¡°Which is?¡± Ilya gave Amdirlain a sceptical look. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you want?¡± ¡°World peace?¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°Which piece of it do you want?¡± asked Ilya, and a twitch of her lips had Amdirlain rolling her eyes. ¡°Isa¡¯s humour has corrupted you,¡± declared Amdirlain gravely. ¡°Which differs from yours or Sarah¡¯s humour, how?¡± enquired Ilya. Amdirlain smiled mischievously. ¡°Clearly, her name is different.¡± ¡°Word play!¡± exclaimed Ilya. ¡°Your humour isn¡¯t identical, but you all use it to deflect from topics you don¡¯t want to talk about or when you¡¯re scared. That is the key I think you¡¯re missing with the succubi. They don¡¯t use only their bodies to entice and corrupt; they also use words.¡± ¡°The last thing I want is to pick up more succubus traits,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t be in such a rush,¡± calmed Ilya. ¡°You don¡¯t just need control over this Skill; you need to redirect its evolution.¡± Blowing out a slow breath, Amdirlain felt like facepalming. ¡°I¡¯m listening; not sure why I didn¡¯t think about that myself.¡± ¡°Not sure anyone can catch everything themselves. Isn¡¯t that why you and Sarah have been bouncing your armoury ideas between each other?¡± enquired Ilya. When Amdirlain nodded to acknowledge her point, Ilya continued. ¡°Now?. Hell still has plenty of succubi who are fine with something available to fuck their brains out regularly, but they also have a lot whose main arsenal is in their words. There are cities in Hell where the hierarchy is entirely succubi, and no, they¡¯re not giant brothels,¡± drawled Ilya, cutting off the question on Amdirlain¡¯s lips. ¡°You got me,¡± surrendered Amdirlain. ¡°A Succubus generally isn¡¯t the most powerful of combatants. How do they keep control?¡± ¡±Rules, of course. The cities I¡¯m thinking about all have a particular ward in their protections. If you hit someone, you find yourself naked outside the city, your gear left behind,¡± Ilya grimly explained. Amdirlain raised a hand, beckoning Ilya to wait. ¡°Let me guess. The locals use the setup to their advantage?¡± ¡°And you¡¯d be right, since the gear drops where the attacker was standing. These cities aren¡¯t too common, so we didn¡¯t cover them in our discussions. Within the walls, it¡¯s a literal war of words where those that raise weapons are the losers.¡± ¡°Randomly insulting devils is unlikely to get you much of a reaction.¡± ¡°The succubi master learning through observation and casual conversation. While many are what you¡¯d expect, whores or spies with little regard given to them, those that have climbed the ranks are a different breed,¡± explained Ilya. Putting her swords away, she sat cross-legged, unheeding of the hard stone. ¡°Did your world have those that made their living by their ability to communicate and manipulate?¡± ¡°Politicians, salespeople, and even some entertainers found those skills profitable,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Your Polyglot is weird. I heard one word¡ªpolitician¡ªand got an impression of the tribal council of my Human life saying one thing, yet getting away with acting in bad faith. Did these politicians take lessons from Hell?¡± ¡°No,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Just the wording of your question had me focus on those who abused their position and conned people.¡± ¡°You¡¯re likely going to find this frustrating,¡± cautioned Ilya. ¡°And take it as a suggestion we¡¯ll need to verify, as all I¡¯ve got to go on is observations; I¡¯ve never seen the imprint of the higher members of the hierarchy.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± encourage Amdirlain. ¡°Learn Interrogation, but also relearn Diplomacy,¡± suggested Ilya ¡°Really?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Ilya nodded firmly. ¡°It¡¯s not just the skills¡ªit''s the use you put them to. You want to take this Skill that is an alluring manipulator and alter its course. My first idea would be to focus it more towards being a confidante type, with whom people would trust and share secrets, but that is likely not the only option.¡± ¡°Okay, I see what you mean, but I¡¯ve not had much time to sit and talk with strangers. Getting someone you don¡¯t know to open up would likely be the way to advance the skills towards that end,¡± commented Amdirlain. At that, Ilya winced. ¡°You¡¯ll likely need to do something else now that I hear you put it that way. Even with your Charisma suppressed, you don¡¯t have trouble getting people to talk to you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had people that strongly hated my guts,¡± refuted Amdirlain. ¡°Charisma can emphasise the feelings people have about a situation they encounter a person in, or their appearance; the alien becomes intolerable,¡± countered Ilya. ¡°Maybe you were just ugly to them.¡± ¡°One persistent girl, I was interfering with her expectations and dreams. I¡¯d need a place with elves, or a charismatic race where my looks wouldn¡¯t be out of the ordinary.¡± ¡°Physical appearance is hardly a limiting factor,¡± Ilya noted and reinforced her point by changing her skin to purple ¡°You¡¯re a purple people eater, are you?¡± quipped Amdirlain to distract Ilya. ¡°Best go find Isa.¡± The joke actually got Ilya to wiggle her eyebrows. ¡°Isa¡¯s educated me on some of your music and idioms, and she¡¯s finger-licking good.¡± ¡°Yep, she¡¯s corrupted you,¡± chuckled Amdirlain. Ilya gave her a bland smile instead of joining in. ¡°See, subject change with humour.¡± The observation got a grunt from Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d want it to be a place where I felt comfortable in my appearance while dealing with others, not like I was lying to them.¡± ¡°When¡¯s the last time you released your control of your form to see your natural appearance?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°I¡¯m a lot taller but otherwise have stayed the same, except my wings have more red spicing up the black and gold,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Be glad I keep the auras concealed.¡± Snorting, Ilya traced her fingers across the claw marks Sarah had left on the floor. ¡°I¡¯ve been around some brain-melting individuals. So, a path to redirect the Skill from a sensual manipulator into a confidante or something else benign?¡± ¡°Any reason your primary suggestion is the confidante tack?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You told Isa you¡¯d intentionally screwed up Diplomacy because you were worried it amplified your Charisma¡¯s influence. Many people don¡¯t expect a confidante to give advice¡ªthey just want someone to listen to them,¡± Ilya said, and gave a broad shrug. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not sure where we can find information on options, but I know this lady with a thing about Luck and Skill.¡± ¡°Remarkable!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°That she is,¡± agreed Ilya, and stopped at Sarah¡¯s sudden return. With a Cheshire cat grin firmly in place, Sarah glanced down at the scratches Ilya was still absently running her fingers along. ¡°Feeling up the wrong slit there, Ilya.¡± Amdirlain gave Ilya a sympathetic look before she flipped off Sarah. ¡°Not all of us think about sex as much as you do, Sarah. Why don¡¯t you spill it?¡± ¡°I unleashed our dogs of war,¡± laughed Sarah. Ilya looked between them. ¡°Hadn¡¯t you already started hitting places?¡± ¡°Sarah moved the armouries the towers draw from to another Plane to negate any chance of Moloch¡¯s forces tracing them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If they figure out a way to trace them, they¡¯ll still be able to access other planes in the Abyss,¡± cautioned Ilya. Amdirlain gave her a wicked smile that had Ilya inhaling in surprise. Coughing, Amdirlain schooled her expression. ¡°They¡¯re not in the Abyss. Although Mount Olympus is no longer home to a pantheon, it¡¯s still a heavenly Plane that demons can¡¯t intrude upon. We still have the slimes teleport locally, but they¡¯re below ground and concealed. Their spheres provide a beacon for the weapons to be shifted across planes, so the placement is still accurate. I take it the latest tests you planned went well?¡± ¡°Flawless, they¡¯ve rotated crews and are still going strong. I¡¯ve kicked it up to eleven with a new set,¡± Sarah said, and she transformed into her Human form. Not bothering to dress, she held out an orb that served as a psionic-relay and projected the captured imagery so they could see it. The perspective was from a kilometre overhead of where sixteen hundred towers surrounded a great number of low-level demons. Even as they watched, another hundred towers appeared, these topped with singular cannons. Their shells, wreathed in a prism of Celestial energy, tore at the air, sending out at a wave that shredded demonic flesh even before they hit. Ilya grunted at the sight of swaths being cut down. ¡°Dretch I can understand being ripped apart, they¡¯re slow and plodding. What I don¡¯t understand are the horde-lings or schirs not blinking into melee range or fleeing that way,¡± ¡°Interdiction fields; missy doesn¡¯t want Moloch¡¯s forces getting away,¡± purred Sarah. ¡°Pity about these training brigades.¡± ¡°Where are their commanders?¡± Sarah pointed out large chunks of shattered crystal within the ring of towers. ¡°I started the deployment with some Order explosions and raw kinetic force; which netted me the experience for some balors and senior schirs.¡± ¡°Celestials, when they attack the Abyss, turn up and go toe to toe,¡± breathed Ilya as she watched the carnage continue. ¡°That can be fun, but I prefer force magnifiers,¡± retorted Sarah. Some towers faltered momentarily as litres of glowing, silvery-white gel burst across the battlefield melting flesh and bone. The demons didn¡¯t exploit the opening before the towers resumed firing¡ªthough initially with slightly reduced accuracy. ¡°What was that?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°Some slimes levelled enough. Amdirlain¡¯s gizmos sent the souls onto Judgement, but the slime¡¯s body got repurposed.¡± 255 - Til I collapse Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The vast chamber could swallow Sydney harbour, the result of who knows how many aeons of the cruiser-sized Lurker¡¯s efforts. Dodging away from the Lurker¡¯s claw strike, Sarah barrel-rolled and pulled her wings in tight to slip between two columns. The beast didn¡¯t correct its attack, and the blow pulverised the stone and unleashed a cloud of dust and debris wider than a giant Balor¡¯s wingspan. Arching upwards, Sarah¡¯s wings snapped open, and she turned on a wingtip to reposition herself above the arc of the claw strike. A solid mass of shell plating covered the bulbous claw that was larger than the purification chamber. From the razor-sharp tip of the claw¡¯s fixed finger to the end of the claw¡¯s palm was easily 50 metres. Despite the creature¡¯s cargo train bulk, its attacks moved with a speed that Amdirlain would have once found blinding. Against Sarah, it was ponderously slow. The breath weapon¡¯s exhalation frothed in the chamber¡¯s damp air, its glittering particles ripping the water molecules apart. The froth barely scorched the edge of the claw¡¯s plate, but when the cloud of particles touched down on the membrane between armoured sections, it savaged its way through. The desiccation effect dug under the shell, driving deep into demonic flesh and causing a chemical heat wave to radiate outwards and cook meat deeper inside the limb. The Lurker grunted and spat before unleashing an odd belly grunt of pain. Its pained flinch brought the limb back towards itself, dropping and shortening the strike¡¯s arc. Taking advantage of the opening, Sarah flew through the steam from the hissing limb. Her course, at a level with the Demon¡¯s eyestalks, had the already flinching Demon scuttling backwards, claws tearing into the rock as it fought its momentum. In place of the acid bolts fired by its lesser kin, a ball of acid 10 metres or more across shot forward only to stream harmlessly off Sarah¡¯s scales. Before it could try again, she twisted away from a last-ditch attempt to catch her in its mandibles and released a flurry of seeker orbs from inventory. Most impacted against the grinding plates of its mouth, where the enchantments fractured plating, deforming the creature''s mouth. The two that made it past the moving plates exploded with a muffled thump, the overpressure causing a secondary effect to trigger. Helplessly caught in the energy consuming it, the Lurker convulsed, laying waste to city blocks worth of columns in the last moments of its existence. Even after its thrashing stilled, the pure Order that crystallised its flesh continued in an ongoing tsunami. Though the battle was over, Amdirlain waited until she was sure the cavern ceiling wouldn¡¯t crumble before she teleported atop the broken stump of a collapsed pillar. Shortly after Amdirlain¡¯s arrival, Sarah finished her victory lap of the remains and landed, perching atop its eyestalk to take a bite. ¡°Thanks for sharing,¡± Sarah mumbled around a mouthful of flesh. Shaking her head, Amdirlain huffed. ¡°How can you eat that?¡± Sarah belched and gave a wing shrug. ¡°Dragons are the universe''s trash compactors¡ªeven stone in a pinch.¡± Faint scuttling noises at the cavern¡¯s upward path caught Sarah¡¯s attention. ¡°Dibs!¡± Sarah yelled mentally, her mouth still filled with crystal. Amdirlain took in the details from Sarah¡¯s mind and huffed at the range of her draconic hearing. ¡°They¡¯re at least fifteen kilometres up that tube.¡± Swallowing the mass whole, Sarah waved a claw reprovingly. ¡°I heard them; I called dibs.¡± ¡°Fine, you go play while I seal the tube and set wards. I want nothing getting into my tunnels and distracting the tunnelling crews.¡± ¡°The constructs won¡¯t care,¡± protested Sarah before she took another large bite of her meal. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°They¡¯ll kill them and get back to work, but refitting damaged units would slow progress. By the way, that was a copycat move taking advantage of the mouth.¡± ¡°Too bad. I did it with more style, miss eldritch horror.¡± Ignoring Sarah''s smug retort, Amdirlain set a sound barrier before she teleported in more constructs and drilling machines that hummed with entwined Order and Destruction Mana. Linking them to the navigation stone tracking the excavations beneath the plateaus, she put them to work. The constructs guided the floating cylinders towards the cavern¡¯s far side, burrowing through pillars that got in the way and leaving reinforced tunnels in their wake. ¡°Trying to move the schedule forward?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m worried about more having lairs this deep.¡± ¡°It could just be a natural cavern that it took advantage of,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Add longer detectors to the tunnellers, so we¡¯ll get more warning if we need to intervene again.¡± ¡°Maybe, but if we find any like this under Moloch¡¯s plateau, just laser it, will you?¡± asked Amdirlain as she examined the detritus-ladened floor. Sarah rolled her eyes. ¡°They¡¯re not lasers. Say that once more, and I¡¯ll start asking you to Bard stuff.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± grunted Amdirlain. ¡°Spoilsport. You play with your other targets, I¡¯ll ensure the cavern is stable and take care of the setup.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got that look on your face. Got someone walking over your grave?¡± ¡°Nothing like that; seems this Lurker was a cannibal, or it shed lots of shells while it grew,¡± explained Amdirlain, pointing out pieces of shell well away from the fighting. ¡°Might mean we won¡¯t find any below this point if it becomes a pattern.¡± ¡°Two points of data aren¡¯t enough,¡± replied Sarah and she paused in mid-bite, slowly tilting her head. "I¡¯ll go play now. I think they might have heard the fighting.¡± ¡°Want me to come along?¡± In reply, Sarah gave a fierce predatory smile, and twenty larger versions of the Gatling guns appeared floating around her. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve got my fire support.¡± With that, Sarah flew towards the opening in the ceiling, the Gatling¡¯s already spinning up. The initial tidy-up and linked songs only took a few hours, even with Sarah dropping a trio of lurkers, each 120 metres long, to the ground. Amdirlain closed the tube in the cavern¡¯s ceiling and finished her other songs before she spoke. ¡°Do I want to know how much you¡¯ve stretched your Inventory?¡± Sarah grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s just say Azex has his hoard laid out in limbo again, and it inspired me to keep pushing it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m heading back to work on the items Isa dropped off. You coming with or heading off to help Sage?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got Gail¡¯s lesson shortly, and it''s her birthday, so I¡¯ll stick around,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ve been a bad influence: she wants a lesson for her birthday present.¡± ¡°Lessons,¡± countered Amdirlain before she teleported them back. When the Gate opened to reveal Duskstone¡¯s summoning chamber, Amdirlain immediately grinned in response to Gail¡¯s beaming smile. Nearly the same height, Ebusuku and Gail had opted for Wood Elf forms, though Gail¡¯s mane of neon red hair wasn¡¯t a normal colouration. Otherwise, the pair could be sisters with matching delicate features and brown skin tone, lightly brushed with hints of mint green along their neck and cheeks. ¡°Happy birthday, Gail; I find it hard to believe you¡¯re fourteen. Has your dad been scowling at the boys?¡± The smile wavered for a moment but came back even brighter. ¡°Hey, aunt Am and aunt Sarah. The only boys around are petitioners, so it''s not like I¡¯m going to be dating. So looking forward to taking my classes next year so I can get out and about.¡± ¡°I suggested waiting at least another year,¡± corrected Ebusuku. ¡°See how you feel then and what options the Class vision gives.¡± ¡°Yes, because your mother pushed you into taking a Class before you wanted to, and it hampered things. I know, mother,¡± sighed Gail, and shoulder-bumped Ebusuku. ¡°You¡¯re not your mother, you''re not rushing me, and I know the classes I want.¡± ¡°Just keep an open mind rather than locking in choices,¡± cautioned Ebusuku. ¡°You¡¯re rushing yourself because of Amdirlain¡¯s situation.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I¡¯d rather you wait decades Gail-¡± ¡°You¡¯re both killing my excitement,¡± protested Gail, and she flung her arms wide. ¡°It''s a glorious day and my first singing lesson. Don¡¯t be buzz kills.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had singing lessons before,¡± corrected Ebusuku. ¡°And getting you not to sing is the challenge.¡± ¡°My first with Amdirlain,¡± argued Gail empathically. ¡°Let¡¯s see how you feel after the lesson. It¡¯s a strange request for a gift, considering how many tutors you have,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But they¡¯re not you, and I want to learn songs from you,¡± countered Gail. Amdirlain frowned in concern. ¡°Only normal songs until you get classes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I meant, but I want to learn every innuendo-ish song that you know,¡± Gail stated. ¡°Then every rock song you know¡ªaunt Isa said they¡¯re the best.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°So I can serenade certain nameless individuals when I hear them feeling frisky. When they¡¯re trying to break the house is the only time I know they¡¯re properly distracted,¡± laughed Gail. ¡°I¡¯m standing right here,¡± sighed Ebusuku. ¡°Mother!¡± gasped Gail. ¡°I didn¡¯t name the randy goats involved; you ruined your deniability.¡± ¡°Trying to break the house, I¡¯m disappointed, Ebusuku,¡± gasped Amdirlain, dramatically clutching a hand to her chest. ¡°Don¡¯t you start as well,¡± warned Ebusuku. The scowl had Amdirlain holding back laughter. ¡°What?! By now, I was sure it would be a mountain range or twelve; the fact it''s only a house is my concern.¡± ¡°No hurting mountains. Mr M likes mountains,¡± Gail declared, waving a finger sternly at her mother. ¡°The mountain knows what it did,¡± laughed Amdirlain, relieved at Gail¡¯s avoiding referring to Moradin by name with the Gate open. ¡°It has been a while since we¡¯ve both been out in the wilds,¡± murmured Ebusuku. Amusement twinkled in Gail¡¯s gaze. ¡°That¡¯s the spirit mother; you two go off, and I¡¯ll take care of everything.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Ebusuku stroked her hair. ¡°You mean Ras and Elleth will take care of you. Wiggling free of Ebusku¡¯s attention, Gail grabbed her mother¡¯s hand. ¡°Luckily, our house is True Song Crystal; one of their beds didn¡¯t last an hour.¡± Amdirlain shook her head sadly. ¡°The poor bed. Though I guess all the property damage gives the crafters something new to do.¡± ¡°While it is an opportunity to make a new bed, I¡¯m not sure it''s a new beginning,¡± pondered Gail. ¡°You¡¯d best try harder, mother.¡± ¡°I think that''s your father¡¯s responsibility,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and Gail snorted with laughter. ¡°The pair of you,¡± muttered Ebusuku. ¡°She¡¯s incorrigible enough without you and Sarah helping her along.¡± A gleam of anticipation in Gail¡¯s eyes had Ebusuku wag a reproving finger. ¡°What did I do?¡± asked Gail. Clasping her hands behind her back, Gail fluttered her eyelids in a picture of innocence. ¡°Pretty rich blaming us; I¡¯m sure your and Farhad¡¯s choices are as much a factor. You¡¯re running down your visiting time; the warden will get grumpy,¡± rumbled Sarah, turning her snout slightly to fix Gail with a bejewelled eye. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I disturbed your nap time, aunt Sarah,¡± said Gail, contritely. ¡°Don¡¯t let the warden¡¯s grumbling fool you. She was just checking in on our latest students,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we get started?¡± ¡°Aunt Isa said to ask you to teach me AC/DC first. Are they good?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t begin to cover it; more like iconic. We¡¯ll start with ¡®Big Balls¡¯ then,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Big Balls?¡± laughed Gail Gail smiled excitedly when Amdirlain¡¯s voice produced the electric guitar intro. Amdirlain ran through each song once, and Gail joined in perfectly on the lyrics after only a single example. They were only partly through the session, and she became he. Getting into the lyrics of dirty deeds, Gail¡¯s voice shifted into a gravelly baritone and their body blurred to male. Gail''s form stayed that way for a time but started to flip back and forth to suit how they wanted to express each song. After the host of Earth songs Amdirlain was most familiar with, she moved on to the ones Moke had taught her. Along the way, Gail¡¯s Wood Elf form gave way to an Anar appearance, with platinum-blond hair and solid gold eyes that shone with an inner radiance. The unrestrained excitement Gail projected as the lesson continued lent her bronze-gold skin an almost molten sheen. Ebusuku waited patiently off to the side, focusing on her daughter¡¯s enjoyment. Her attention didn¡¯t shift, and Amdirlain could hear that she remained undistracted, simply enjoying her daughter''s delight. ¡°When I take my classes, can I visit your chamber to learn True Song?¡± ¡°Gail,¡± murmured Ebusuku, her voice low with sudden fear. ¡°What?! I was asking, that¡¯s all. On this side of the Gate, there is a separation that would make initial lessons harder,¡± argued Gail. ¡°I thought I¡¯d bring it up now so auntie Am can think about what precautions would keep you both satisfied.¡± Amdirlain caught the conflict as trust fought protectiveness in Ebusuku¡¯s eyes. Worry began to win, but Ebusuku stopped herself and raised a hand to ward off Gail¡¯s protests. ¡°Do you think you could keep her safe from abyssal corruption in your chambers, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it, but we¡¯d need to discuss and test the best protective measures first. If we¡¯re not both satisfied, then it¡¯s a no-go. The other side of the argument is that True Song is a dangerous Power. It would be safest for her to learn from someone that can match her range,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and gave a frustrated huff. ¡°Isa admits she¡¯s too erratic.¡± ¡°That I get, and Gail doesn¡¯t have the sink of health that you or Erwarth possess to prevent exhaustion from turning into injury,¡± conceded Ebusuku reluctantly. ¡°We¡¯ll check, triple-check, and check again before we get that far, Gail,¡± declared Amdirlain, and she fixed Gail with a stern look when the excitement bloomed in her gaze. ¡°This isn¡¯t a commitment to anything besides sorting out protections for you. Some ideas I have will help keep you safe even with normal adventuring. Understood?¡± ¡°Yes, auntie Am,¡± said Gail meekly. Looking between the pair of them, Ebusuku rolled her eyes. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t she listen to me that easily?¡± ¡°Daughters and mothers frequently butt heads,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°No,¡± proclaimed Gail, and she kissed Ebusuku on the forehead before giving a cheeky smile. ¡°I¡¯d knock myself out.¡± ¡°Brat,¡± Ebusuku huffed affectionately. Gail nodded emphatically. ¡°Yep, but you still love me, right?¡± Ebusuku wrapped her arms around Gail and planted a return kiss on her forehead. Rubbing Gail¡¯s back gently, she released her. ¡°How much time do you have left, Amdirlain, or should we return another day?¡± ¡°I¡¯m supposed to meet with Laergul shortly,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then we shall return another day,¡± declared Ebusuku. ¡°Thank you for Gail.¡± ¡°I can thank Amdirlain myself,¡± objected Gail, and she waved energetically. ¡°Thank you, aunt Am.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s smile remained Amdirlain¡¯s focus as the Gate closed off. ¡°That one has her engine revving away, wanting to get loose,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s got to get past Ebusuku in protective mama mode first.¡± Amdirlain released the remains of Isa¡¯s last delivery onto the chamber¡¯s workbench and looked over the assortment. From a quiver suitable for a short bow¡¯s arrows, an array of different knives, bracers, a dozen shields in different styles, all the way to a quarterstaff that came up to her shoulder. Besides the weapons, Isa had also provided cups, rings, pendants by the score, and even some decorative music boxes. ¡°Workaholic much,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°Oh, you think I can¡¯t sense you interacting with the teaching crystals nearly non-stop, warden of the recycled?¡± Sarah hummed. ¡°Besides the point, I¡¯m trying to improve their speed.¡± Setting aside the other items, Amdirlain worked through the shields, adding protective effects to help safeguard the already deadly constructs. Each enchantment she sang into the items she stretched against the threshold of True Song backlash. Amdirlain was still working through them when a Gate opened at the chamber¡¯s midpoint. Ignoring the notifications, Amdirlain gave Laergul a polite nod and stepped away from the bench. ¡°Laergul, what can I help you with?¡± ¡°A few things. First, it''s come to my attention that choirs were using some of your crystal arrays to locate L¨®m? trapped inside Nox rather than passing all of them along to the celestials and fallen contingents.¡± ¡°Are they sweeping Tern¨°x for the mortals at the same time?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to ask. I saw it as a breach of your trust and request for help,¡± admitted Laergul. ¡°I¡¯ve no objections to that continuing as long as the arrays are looking for trapped mortals along with the L¨®m? souls,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°If it''s a disciplinary matter, I can carve out a new facility and set them to work duplicating the crystals¡¯ enchantments and protections.¡± ¡°Many would see that as a reward; I¡¯ve already set them to handling the maintenance songs in place of others,¡± countered Laergul. ¡°Whatever works best. Tern¨°x will also need a net in place, so I don''t have an objection as long as they cover both angles. And the second item?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been considering the work you¡¯ve been doing to undercut the plateau. In particular, I¡¯ve a potentially viable option for part of what you wish to do,¡± explained Laergul ruefully. ¡°It should provide sufficient energy to crack Moloch¡¯s wards so that the banishment arrays can deploy without issue.¡± Unbothered by Laergul¡¯s expression, Amdirlain beamed, ¡°That¡¯s excellent news. How obvious is this going to be in hindsight?¡± ¡°Extremely. I¡¯ll admit it isn¡¯t an approach that L¨®m? True Song can handle, so that blinded me to it. As an Anar though, redirecting energy sources such as the Mana in the clouds at the cliff¡¯s heights should be simple.¡± ¡°Redirecting it won¡¯t be enough,¡± interjected Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ll need to concentrate the energy and convert it. The wards will have protections featuring the common energy types.¡± ¡°Yang flames,¡± proposed Amdirlain tentatively, remembering the reaction she got last time she¡¯d used them in the Abyss. ¡°That won¡¯t be something he¡¯ll be expecting, nor is it normal Celestial energies they might have a counter against,¡± Sarah replied after a moment¡¯s consideration. ¡°Certainly got a flare for attention.¡± ¡°The other issue with your design is the time the linked song will need to be active,¡± cautioned Laergul. ¡°Are you still looking to achieve this without using crystals?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to keep them for the network,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Though we could create a few large pillars.¡± Laergul¡¯s immediate frown wasn¡¯t promising. ¡°I¡¯ve not yet determined a way to avoid it, and given the distances, a few pillars might not be enough. Your change of the portals into one-way gates was immediate. This time you want an effect that will consume thousands of cubic kilometres of stone¡ªit won¡¯t stay in place long enough unless you renew that energy.¡± ¡°She almost had a self-sustaining reaction, but limiting it was problematic,¡± chimed Sarah. Amdirlain shushed her. ¡°Hush you.¡± ¡°Do I want to know?¡± ¡°Sarah has been converting the corruption into energy for the weaponry. However, the saturation in the ground¡¯s substrate is inconsistent,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What she means to say is the effects were volcanic,¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a large eruption,¡± protested Amdirlain. Her objection turned Sarah¡¯s snickering into full-fledged laughter, and Amdirlain raised her voice so Laergul could hear over Sarah¡¯s racket. ¡°If I did that to the plateaus, it would either not be enough or destroy locations outside the planned blast zone.¡± ¡°What about if you sliced off sections of the plateaus towards the Umber Sea?¡± asked Laergul. ¡°The linked effect triggers and liquefies the stone above it, letting it pour away. The detections set further into the cliff face would trigger their linked songs and repeat the process.¡± ¡°I¡¯d likely end up with a large mound of materials which would eventually flow off in unpredictable directions,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Breast reduction surgery,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re in a mood today, aren¡¯t you?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Just liposuction it,¡± retorted Sarah. ¡°Care to translate that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You want to remove the cliffs, set up a Demi-Plane, and superimpose it temporarily around the plateaus and scoop it inside,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°I¡¯d likely have to break Moloch¡¯s wards to achieve that; they could wedge the door open. That was the point of dropping the plateau; I didn¡¯t have to worry about kicking in the front door,¡± replied Amdirlain before she got a thoughtful look. ¡°Let alone work out how to create a Demi-Plane while locked here, still.¡± ¡°What if it''s triggered by someone that isn¡¯t locked?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Can you enchant an object that Isa can trigger, or get her to sing it into existence? Then let it expand for a few years and swallow the plateaus only when it¡¯s big enough?¡± Amdirlain opened her mouth to object. Before she could start, Laergul interjected. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯re going to solve it quickly. The tunnels would still be beneficial¡ªproviding a hidden location to set the linked songs or apparatus as required. Alternatively, we can use their presence as a delimiter on other effects.¡± ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll brainstorm some more, but if Isa does the Demi-Plane trick, then it wouldn¡¯t be an achievement for me,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re already outsourcing part of this to the L¨®m? by creating constructs and drillers with them. The chance you get full credit for it is fading fast. So the question to ask: Is the priority getting it done or getting the Tier 7? If it''s the Tier 7, look for a new project,¡± counselled Sarah. ¡°It''s not the highest priority. This project was a way to stretch my abilities; the network¡¯s crystals are too routine,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Next?¡± The session with Laergul continued for a few hours, reviewing the various projects. The last piece of news he shared laid a silence over Amdirlain that lingered after the Gate closed. ¡°The Dao will be so pissed.¡± ¡°Banishing a city¡¯s slaves back to their homes is only a start,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°What plot are you hatching?¡± ¡°Nothing yet,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. ¡°They can still raid the Material Plane for more slaves. Elemental creatures don¡¯t encounter the same barrier as those from the outer planes.¡± ¡°Give yourself one victory lap first. The L¨®m? were all sitting, waiting for their end. Now they¡¯re returning to the work they used to handle before they told the Titan to stick it,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You need to think about your recovered memories from a different perspective,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Sure, creating planets was one thing, but Ori didn¡¯t stumble onto the gold elves by accident. She was investigating a problem, one that just led home.¡± ¡°Like Ori creating Redemption¡¯s Path.¡± ¡°Yep, they handled creation, but they also handled problem resolution when the balance was shifting,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Now the Titan is creating more places and hoping things stay upright because most concepts don¡¯t get the concerns of flesh and blood.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I should practice my Interrogation Skill on you.¡± ¡°What makes you think it would work?¡± ¡°Would you feel professionally threatened if I asked questions?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Why do you feel it would count as a threat?¡± Instead of another question, Amdirlain changed tactics. ¡°I remembered Azex¡¯s hatching the other day; I felt like I attended many of your hatchings.¡± ¡°You did, and he was so cute,¡± gushed Sarah. ¡°Still, landing on his head when he tipped out of the shell wasn¡¯t a good first step.¡± ¡°Certainly took after his mother.¡± ¡°Must run in the family, sis,¡± quipped Sara. ¡°I never hatched.¡± Sarah gave a wide smile. ¡°Not in this realm.¡± ¡°Smart alec, do you have a gadget for opening gates?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I can, but it''s not the most accurate,¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The Exchange takes care of where it lands, and I¡¯d like to hear its song. I might not be able to get it working, but exploring fallback options won¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°Fine, but let''s do that from a bolt hole, not here,¡± countered Sarah. 256 - Nothing good comes easy Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Sarah looked over the framework image hovering between them and zoomed in on the first tunnel approaching the far end of one plateau. ¡°The tunnelling is speeding up, but you¡¯ve got so many square kilometres to cover.¡± ¡°This latest round of diggers and constructs are more powerful and challenging to create; I¡¯ll keep focused on those for a while,¡± said Amdirlain, taking in the creeping advance. ¡°I think the tunnelling under Moloch¡¯s palace can wait until last.¡± ¡°Is four years of building them not enough? What are you going to do with them afterwards?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s not like you can repurpose crystal that easily.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to get up over twenty thousand at least. The diggers can be used as siege weaponry for sapping castle walls¡ªthe strength of reinforcement they¡¯ll put in the tunnels is controllable.¡± ¡°I missed that one. Who came up with that idea?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain gave her a wry smile. ¡°Ilya, she has all sorts of ideas about what can make tunnels collapse.¡± Sarah¡¯s lip momentarily curled, but she didn¡¯t need the predatory edge. ¡°Do you still want to get into the Sisterhood castles? Why not just blow the places up? Use the mistake with burning the corruption in the substrate.¡± ¡°Given Baln¨¦rith¡¯s pride, how do you think I¡¯ll most easily lure her to me?¡± ¡°The number of strongholds they have, there isn¡¯t going to be a one-to-one connection to her home planes.¡± Pulling a face, Amdirlain gave a noncommittal shrug. ¡°I hope not, but I¡¯m willing to bet on two things: one, each of her home planes will have at least one; two, destroying those on her home planes will get the biggest reaction-¡± ¡°and a personal response.¡± finished Sarah. ¡°Exactly. Plus, if I blow them up, I¡¯ll lose any clues inside that might let me isolate her,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°And I¡¯m preparing another surprise for her.¡± ¡°Do I want to ask?¡± ¡°Ebusuku said the Levithan¡¯s blood restrains her grandmother. What if I can set her loose without getting into the chamber with the rest of the blood?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°¡®Setting her loose¡¯ is right,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°Do you remember she¡¯s technically infernal? Why would you do that?¡± ¡°Erwarth told me that the irregulars can be up to a quarter of forces in a stronghold,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Not all of them but in the majority of them.¡± ¡°That might be another way to tell which strongholds are her home plane ones,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Pride, I can¡¯t possibly have irregulars defending my key homes,¡± said Amdirlain, and she shook her head. ¡°I take that back; it could be paranoia instead, keeping them secured only by those she has the greatest hold over.¡± ¡±If those even are the ones,¡± cautioned Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Something to think about, but that¡¯s a long time from now. If I get her loose, want to bet the irregulars wouldn¡¯t immediately get kicked out by the wards? How much damage might they do?¡± ¡°They could cost you the clues you¡¯re after in that case.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the thing with all plans; you need to weigh up the potential risk versus reward.¡± An alert highlighting a section of the image in blue interrupted what Sarah had been about to say. ¡°Detectors are complaining about water again.¡± ¡°Gives me something different to practice on,¡± grunted Amdirlain as she vanished. Ki Movement allowed Amdirlain to quickly navigate the vast kilometres of tunnels, setting additional seals along the walls to prevent water from seeping in. Not employing a crystal to support the songs had each section draw on her health via Lingering Song, but Protean¡¯s regeneration quickly obliterated the aches and pain. An hour in, she caught a slithering echo that had left an oily frosted feel across the darkness¡¯ melody. Focused on the sound, she isolated it near a T-junction the tunnellers had set in place. An accumulation of darkness and undeath had slipped sour, discordant tones across the Abyss¡¯ jagged beats. With nothing in immediate sight, Amdirlain focused on the junction¡¯s midpoint and pressed into a Power that had finally gotten used in the last few years. Where only darkness has existed, daylight flared into being, only True Sight prevented it from blinding her. Shrill notes inaudible to mortals called out the undead beings'' rage, and Amdirlain teleported forward to stand beneath the light¡¯s focal point. The pool of light reached nine metres or more, centred at the midpoint of the T-junction. Off to the side, Amdirlain found a dozen figures that had lain in ambush, hidden from her approach. Each looked like a distorted, elongated humanoid shadow, bodies composed of inky living darkness laced with negative energy, possessing too many fingers and limbs that bent in strange directions. Even though they drifted above the ground, feet kicking in continued pain from the light, it seemed as if they had found a solid purchase. The remains of one of them was already evaporating as it drifted, wisps of negative energy dissolving in the essence of purifying daylight. With only the upper part of it present, its drifting form guided Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the shattered Gate connected with the Plane of Shadow. The light continued to sear at the eleven that remained, and they turned to flee in apparent slow motion. A lightning surge erupted from an unstretched hand to illuminate a long stretch of tunnel and three crossroads in a stark blue-white radiance. The harsh light and raw electricity shredded the force that held the wounded figures together, along with thirty more beyond the initial glow. In rapid succession, multiple firestorms filled each crossroad with whips of flame and chewed up the last oily dissonance. [Combat Summary: Shadow: 62 x 840 Greater Shadow: 5 x 1320 Total experience gain: 58,680 Fallen: +11,736 Scion: +11,736 Ascetic: +11,736 Ostim?: +11,736 Ont?lin: +11,736 Daylight [Ap] (29->30) Mana Critical [Ap] (10->11)] With the intrusion ended, Amdirlain listened to the wound left by the severed Gate before she continued sealing the tunnels. ¡°Amdirlain, will you be able to make time for Gail? She took her classes today.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s voice buzzed within the Message orb, containing an almost wistful tone. ¡°They grow up so fast. I¡¯ll be back in the chamber shortly; give me ten minutes.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll take longer than that to get organised. Elleth and Gail are discussing her choice of attire.¡± Amdirlain''s lips quirked, and she sent a teasing reply. ¡°She¡¯s only sixteen. I hope she isn¡¯t going for your old fashion sense.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the issue, and she¡¯s seventeen today,¡± corrected Eubusuku. ¡°Fuck, already?¡± Amdirlain murmured to herself. After finishing the seal on the latest section, Amdirlain teleported home. Escorted by Erwarth, Gail appeared through the Gate at the chamber¡¯s exact midpoint, with Gail¡¯s usual erratic appearance shift in full force today. A long braid of crimson hair brushed the back of her knees, elven angular features hosted bright green feline eyes ringed with black. Her mouth was nearly normal except for the protruding long canine teeth pressed against her bottom and upper lip. To top it all off, her pale washed-out skin showed the blue hints common to the Isil, and she was solid with muscles that strained the cloth¡¯s stitching. Her martial arts uniform was of dark blue silk and looked like it had seen better days, with threadbare cuffs and grass strains. Scruffy as she appeared, the starburst of the protection amulet around her neck meant Amdirlain wasn¡¯t worried about the rest. ¡°Happy 17th, Gail,¡± cheered Amdirlain as she unleashed the song she¡¯d been holding. A cloud of streams and a horde of metallic balloons burst into existence, floating about the chamber. ¡°Aunt Am, this is so cool,¡± yelled Gail before dashing over to hug Amdirlain. Their heights almost matched, letting Gail plop her chin on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder and stare at the floating balloons. ¡°They¡¯re so colourful.¡± Erwarth walked over at a sedate pace and briefly clasped Amdirlain¡¯s hand while Gail clung. Unlike when she visited alone, she was fully armoured and in Solar form with wings present; her posture spoke of alertness, ready to sweep Gail away at a moment¡¯s notice. Despite the unchallenged concealments, Amdirlain was relieved by Erwarth¡¯s vigilance. Carefully returning Gail¡¯s embrace, Amdirlain didn¡¯t immediately reply. ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. Are you feeling rebellious today?¡± A huff accented Gail¡¯s words with frustration. ¡°Mother tried to talk me out of picking my classes again, and Elleth wanted me to dress correctly to come to visit you. Do you like my look?¡± ¡°Your form is very you,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°And your clothing?¡± ¡°Among the elven tribes in the deserts of Letveri, it''s proper to dress down upon arrival at someone¡¯s home if you¡¯ve travelled a long distance. This is so the host might feel greater in their benevolence and more easily fit you with better clothing upon washing,¡± lectured Gail brightly and she released Amdirlain to spin in a circle, showing off the entire state of the uniform¡¯s disrepair. ¡°Since you¡¯re frequently dressed scruffily, I thought I¡¯d play it safe.¡± ¡°Well, you certainly managed scruffy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s also good manners not to show up the host. Last time I visited, you and Ilya had just finished cutting each other up with those big hooked swords, and you had a boob hanging out of your shirt.¡± ¡°Cheeky miss,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re Kopis.¡± ¡°I know what they¡¯re called. Thank you for hosting me today, aunt Amdirlain. I feel much refreshed by your greeting. Have you been well?¡± asked Gail. As she spoke, Gail¡¯s form and clothing shifted. While the uniform only shed its damage and stains, Gail¡¯s body changed extensively. Her shape turned into a lithe Anar with the typical bronze-gold skin and solid gold eyes. Crimson locks became a light platinum-blond that was shortened to shoulder length, and her smile twitched with suppressed mischief no longer sporting elongated eye teeth. ¡°I¡¯ve been progressing nicely,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°More important now is what agreement you and your mother came to?¡± ¡°I took my classes, but I agreed to spread out my acquisition of Mana affinities and get a proper foundation,¡± explained Gail, and letting her shoulders slump, she gave a melancholy sigh. ¡°Mother is far more interested in the precision of spellcraft than you are, aunt Am. However, I had to admit I need to know enough about a Wizard¡¯s capability to disguise the other classes I took.¡± ¡°Which were?¡± ¡°I know you said it might be better to go for an evolved form of Glinnel, but it felt like a foundation in my Class vision,¡± blurted Gail, the rush of words carrying a hint of worry. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Amdirlain gave her a relaxed shrug that eased the sudden tension from Gail¡¯s posture. ¡°Well, I¡¯ve never seen a Class vision, so you have that advantage over me. What you take should be what you¡¯re happy with, though I¡¯m curious. What made you feel that way?¡± Gail tapped her chin thoughtfully before she replied. ¡°You need some context. My Class vision has heaps of beautifully paved pathways through a forest¡ªthey¡¯re all laid out using these big, golden-brown, buttery river stones. The sort of stones when you find them above a stream¡¯s waterline gives you a sense of confidence you¡¯ll get across and not tip in. Do you know what I mean?¡± ¡°Yes, I know the type you mean.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± chirped Gail and gave a satisfied nod. ¡°Now, along most paths, the figures turn to face me. I know what the classes are just by looking at them, but if I meet their gaze, it hints at living a life with that Class. Not like seeing the future, just knowing what activities it¡¯s best for, so you can see if it''s a comfortable fit. Like the Thief Class, it felt wrong, but I unlocked it with Ras¡¯ sneaky training.¡± ¡°It helped hone your grace and unlock other classes,¡± observed Erwarth. ¡°True, there is that,¡± admitted Gail. ¡°Certainly, I wouldn¡¯t have gotten one of my options without that training. But anyway, I digress, those figures, base or evolved, normally stand in easy arm''s reach of those paths¡¯ borders..¡± ¡°With all this build-up, I¡¯m getting the feeling the True Song path is quite different,¡± commented Amdirlain, and she got a grim nod from Gail. ¡°It¡¯s not a comfortable path. It looks like the stones were once there, but something came along and ripped them out or perhaps shattered them and drove them into the dirt,¡± grumbled an affronted Gail. ¡°And it''s all overgrown!¡± ¡°True Song is a dangerous power; it''s quite possible to kill yourself with it, Gail,¡± reminded Amdirlain. Gail nodded with a familiar teenager self-assurance that made Amdirlain want to laugh and groan simultaneously. ¡°I know, and it makes sense, but I¡¯m just telling you about the path¡¯s vibe. It¡¯s so ugly and blah. True Song is dangerous, but the music is beautiful; even the thrashing music here has beauty. If it can have beauty here, why is its path ugly and cluttered?¡± protested Gail. ¡°That I can¡¯t tell you for sure,¡± admitted Amdirlain and she kept her guesses to herself. Sighing a nod, Gail threw her hands out in a what-can-you-do motion. ¡°Anyway, Aryana stands further back from the path, with a hand resting on the shoulder of the Glinnel figure. Screams: we should go together, or this one leads the way. Especially since none of the other classes come close to touching each other¡ªaside from Glinnel and Aryana¡ªnone wanted to meet my gaze, despite being visible.¡± Suppressing a frown, Amdirlain stepped close and enfolded her in a bear hug. ¡°No worries, that makes sense why you picked it.¡± ¡°No worries? That¡¯s it?¡± gasped Gail. ¡°What did you expect me to say?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe, since you¡¯ve never had True Song, it''s a requirement.¡± Giving her a helpless look, Gail shrugged in Amdirlain¡¯s embrace. ¡°So many people have been giving me talks about having the strongest foundation of classes.¡± ¡°Some of us remember being eager to pick classes. We wanted you to be sure of your choices; they¡¯ll have lasting consequences,¡± replied Erwarth. Gail rolled her eyes in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ve not spoken of them because I hadn¡¯t changed my mind once I got the last one I was interested in. Why would I update you about things I wouldn¡¯t take? Would you talk about it if you got Exotic Stablehand after shovelling up Unicorn droppings?¡± ¡°Unicorn manure you mean? Do I want to know why?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t ask what goes into some potions; that¡¯s all I¡¯ll say. Alchemists are weird, just shut your eyes, hold your nose, and drink,¡± advised Gail, keeping a severe expression until a twinkle of amusement escaped control. Snorting with laughter, Gail clasped Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°I know I didn¡¯t fool you, but I tried, auntie. Why no smile?¡± ¡°Why Unicorn manure? You¡¯ve got me too intrigued to smile; discerning minds have a right to know,¡± Amdirlain retorted and kept a composed expression in place against the gremlin¡¯s antics. ¡°But it¡¯s a secret recipe!¡± protested Gail and she fluttered her eyelids. ¡°Are you trying to play facts versus truth?¡± ¡°A girl can try,¡± admitted Gail. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°What is the intended effect of the alchemical creation we¡¯ve been discussing?¡± ¡°No fair narrowing down loopholes that way,¡± grumped Gail. ¡°Since you don¡¯t want to play, it was a purification tonic for an old tree that had some magical disease damaging it.¡± ¡°Fine, so back on track. What classes did you take?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I took Glinnel, Aryana, and Solar Emissary, along with Wizard,¡± recounted Gail. [Aryana Details: This evolved Base Class is available only to the elected Queen/King of the Anar or the ruling Queen/King of the L¨®m?. Requirements:
  • Ruler elected by a clear majority of living Anar or their spouse.
    • Or
  • Heredity ruler of the L¨®m? or their spouse.
Provides the following gains:
  • +3 Intelligence per Level
  • +3 Willpower per Level
  • +4 Free Attributes per 2 Levels
  • +4 Magic per Level
  • +3 Defence per Level
  • +1 Skill Rank per 2 Levels
  • +3 Knowledge Ranks per Level
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: World Step (Group)
  • Unlock acquisition of Power: Radiant Dawn
  • Increases strength of insights related to powers and skills involved with True Song.
  • Increases strength of insights for the progression of social skills.]
[Solar Emissary Details: This evolved Base Class combines aspects of Spy and Diplomat. This Class suits those that seek to determine issues impacting communities of good beings, either through general discussion or covert action. Requirements include:
  • Biological child of a Solar or divine being of the higher planes
  • Master rank or higher in Diplomacy, Stealth, and a perception-type Skill
  • Exposure to multiple cultures and species.
  • Committed to helping good beings solely to increase the strength of good within the realm.
  • Believer in a Concept or Sub-Concept related to Light or Good.
Provides the following gains:
  • +4 Quickness per Level
  • +4 Charisma per Level
  • +2 Free Attributes per 2 Levels
  • +1 Defence per Level
  • +1 Melee Attack Power per 2 Levels
  • +2 Magic per Level
  • +1 Skill Rank per 2 Levels
  • +3 Knowledge Points per Level
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for the progression of infiltration skills.
  • Increases chance of gaining insights for the progression of social skills.]
¡°Do you want to know the numbers?¡± Gail grimaced as if she¡¯d bitten into something sour. ¡°Nope, I don¡¯t enjoy knowing them. I want to be happy with my life and not get worried about optimal combinations. The classes feel right for me.¡± ¡°Well, Glinnel and Wizard are typical, but your evolved classes are very strong.¡± ¡°And not in the smelly cheese way,¡± remarked Gail. ¡°No, I suppose not,¡± chuckled Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to start by duplicating spells or things unique to True Song?¡± ¡°You and aunt Isa learnt the spells by listening to them, so let''s focus on unique stuff,¡± Amdirlain motioned her to wait and handed over a mithril pair of bracers and a ring. ¡°The bracers set a physical deflection field around you and reflect harmful magics to their source. The ring will boost Protean¡¯s regeneration by a few Skill ranks. Always wear them when adventuring anywhere, no matter who you¡¯re with.¡± ¡°How long have you had these ready?¡± asked Gail, handling the gifts reverently. ¡°They make my skin tingle.¡± ¡°I might have overdone their protections,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I prepared them last year. Did Ebusuku go easier on you this year?¡± ¡°No, Gail made the two-day mark this time,¡± advised Erwarth. Gail looked between them in disbelief. ¡°I could have had these last year?¡± ¡°Guess you shouldn¡¯t have given up debating with your mother so quickly.¡± ¡°Oh, you two are cheaters,¡± protested Gail. ¡°Which just means I wasn¡¯t trying hard enough, I know!¡± ¡°You have them now, so let''s get started,¡± stated Amdirlain pointing Gail¡¯s attention to a spot at the chamber¡¯s side. A golden light spread over a section of stone, turning it into rich loam. Shifting her melody, the glow focused on a palm width in its centre, and a fey fruit tree rose from the soil. Amdirlain waited until its upper branches were an arm¡¯s length overhead before she caused it to bloom. Large royal purple flowers with thumb-sized petals obscured their view of the greenery. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not to manage that right from the start,¡± Gail nervously joked. ¡°Have you listened to petals and leaves fall?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Gail. Amdirlain motioned to the tree. ¡°Pluck a leaf or petal and listen to the interplay of forces.¡± As soon as Amdirlain had issued the instruction, Gail moved to the nearest branch and plucked a petal. Listening intently, it was only after the petal had nearly reached the ground that Gail spoke. ¡°Is this what you did in the Maze, auntie Am?¡± ¡°I started with abilities targeting the fruit and slowly found the note when force overcame the fruit¡¯s stem. You need to do this part manually.¡± Gail bit her lip in thought. ¡°Aunt Isa said you sang one note in a demonstration to her for hours. Was that this one?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You could sing the note, but then I wouldn¡¯t learn how to isolate it. Is that why I¡¯m doing this?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Her curiosity satisfied, Gail slowly plucked the flower, listening to the increasing tension applied and its fall to the ground. She was on the fourth flower when she stopped again. ¡°There are multiple parts to its fall: the air pushes against it, something else pulls it to the ground, and the petal has an existing downward speed, and I think there are some more.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°What about when it comes away from the flower?¡± ¡°There is the tension of my finger on the petal, stress on the material of the petal and the flower, but it''s where they join that gives way first. Why doesn¡¯t the petal rip, or even the flower?¡± ¡°Depending on how you yank at one, you could tear a petal, but the flower¡¯s core is tougher. You should be able to tell from their song''s presence the relative toughness,¡± pointed out Amdirlain. ¡°Do you have the songs of those tensions memorised? If so, sing the increase of tension into the link between a petal; make sure not to shorten it.¡± Gail nodded and set to work, gradually littering the ground with the petals. ¡°There is a sharp popping note right at the end.¡± ¡°I want you to sing the lead-up as well. Try it carefully, and focus on one at a time,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, and she got Gail to shift position to ensure she had only a few blooms in her line of sight. The lesson continued without a hiccup, accumulated fatigue being banished by Gail''s Protean until a slip of focus denuded a branch of petals and leaves. ¡°Drats!¡± muttered Gail, and she swiped at the blood dripping from her nose. Amdirlain acted without thinking and put a hand on her shoulder, letting her Ki flow. The golden energy illuminated Amdirlain¡¯s skin, and Gail¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°I¡¯m fine now,¡± Gail squeaked, giving Amdirlain a wide-eyed look practically buzzing with the energy. Erwarth frowned in momentary confusion before she crouched to wipe Gail¡¯s face clean. ¡°What did you do wrong?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I tried to expand my intention to a whole flower at once,¡± admitted Gail, not struggling against Erwarth checking on her. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Then you slipped; more at once isn¡¯t always better.¡± Gail frowned. ¡±Don¡¯t you need to do heaps of damage in combat? How does this help?¡± ¡°A precise strike to a vulnerable spot can be worth far more than randomly hitting a foe. You¡¯re learning to focus your intent on a specific target location.¡± ¡°But wouldn¡¯t a series of precise strikes be better? Like hitting someone in the nose, throat and under the ribs, just one, two, three.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to run before you¡¯re on your feet; build the foundation to stand on first. Plus, you don¡¯t need to get one song to do everything. Once you¡¯re set, you can learn Multi-Voice, then by having each song do a little, you¡¯ll achieve far more before you tire,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Gail nodded seriously. ¡°Can I try again?¡± ¡°Alright, but this time, I want you to focus on the intent of each note. The goal is to stretch the Power so you can apply the notes faster rather than diffuse your attention,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°This severing note you can use on various objects once you get it right. Severing the ligaments in an undead¡¯s limb completely, you¡¯ll reduce its effectiveness.¡± ¡°Oh! Mother told you I was going to train on Cemna?¡± ¡°Not directly, but I figured it was likely,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°How is the giants¡¯ resettlement going?¡± ¡°More of the tribes have been located. Since all the closest canyons are now cleared, they¡¯ve set up communities outside that ruined elven city¡ªthe one Isa used for training and where Erwarth found the harp,¡± answered Gail excitedly before her shoulders slumped. ¡°Protean won¡¯t let me become a Giant.¡± ¡°Once you¡¯ve increased its strength, you can take in extra mass,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°When it''s able to do that, you¡¯ll be able to grow.¡± ¡°Excellent!¡± squealed Gail. Amdirlain motioned her to a new branch. ¡°Take your time, and don¡¯t practice this alone.¡± ¡°Yes, Auntie Am,¡± replied Gail, giving a sharp nod for emphasis. ¡°Once you get your focus down, I¡¯ll perform a few high-energy songs suitable to your Anar range,¡± offered Amdirlain, and Gail gave her a beaming smile. 257 - Rumours Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic When a Gate bloomed into existence well away from the chamber¡¯s midpoint, it emitted a pained screaming, and the pair reacted in a blur. When Amdirlain leapt out of the Gate¡¯s focus, Sarah''s head swung around. Inhaling sharply, she readied her breath weapon, only to stop with a grunt and settle back to the ground. ¡°We weren¡¯t expecting anyone, Livia. Not like you to bring smelly gifts,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you both, I know it''s been a while since you gave me the location image. I¡¯ve been trying to find a resolution for this on my own.¡± Amdirlain wrapped her auras¡¯ concealments in place before she moved to the Gate, and spotted Livia on the other side of a protective circle. Attired in grey half-robes over leather pants and black boots, Livia''s outfit bore Tyr¡¯s symbol¡ªan upward arrow within a circle of Norse runes. The rectangular chamber she stood in was barely wide enough for the four-metre circle, but allowed a few metres between the door and its outer edge. Instead of the familiar dark granite of Duskstone¡¯s summoning chamber emblazoned with Moradin¡¯s symbol, the grey stone chamber had protective runes centred around Tyr¡¯s symbol. Within the circle was a sizeable, misshapen bundle tightly wrapped in a dark, waterproof cloth¡ªand the location of the screaming Soul. It was still a mental jolt seeing Livia now; despite exchanging messages, Amdirlain hadn¡¯t entirely understood the extent of her changes. Though she¡¯d been told Livia¡¯s mountain climb in Judge Po¡¯s realm had bleached colour from her, the extent hadn¡¯t been clear. Livia¡¯s previously olive Mediterranean skin tone and dark hair were now an icy white. The vividness of her crystal sapphire eyes and a hint of pink colouring her lips accented her stark paleness. ¡°Livia, I hadn¡¯t expected you to be opening a Gate. What, or should I say, who is in the bundle?¡± asked Amdirlain warily. ¡°Something I should have told you about earlier,¡± confessed Livia. ¡°I¡¯ll admit it was tempting to not tell you, but I couldn¡¯t do that any longer.¡± Amdirlain listened beyond the screams and curled her lip in distaste at the ugliness of the Soul and the curse enfolding it. Noting her focus, Sarah took a careful sniff and wrinkled her nose. ¡°An infernal curse for those failing the supplicant¡¯s trials.¡± The announcement jerked Livia''s attention towards Sarah. ¡°I knew its source but not its purpose.¡± ¡°Various infernal groups use it to break those they¡¯ve found wanting in their petitions or for trying to breach contracts. They¡¯re trapped, continually experiencing the moments of their death and all the damage inflicted upon their corpse; eventually, the hatred-filled remnant is bound among Hell¡¯s undead legions. They shouldn¡¯t deliver them to anyone, let alone one of your boss¡¯s temples,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Do you know that for sure?¡± whispered Livia. ¡°I¡¯ve seen it administered several times. If the petitioners fail the initial challenges, they¡¯re dragged to Hell¡¯s Main Gate, and they administer the curse there. Kytons on the outer walls help prepare the recruit¡¯s flesh before they¡¯re hung from posts lining the path from the mountain Gate,¡± said Sarah, her voice tight with pain. ¡°The materials required to affix the souls to the bodies are expensive. How did you get this?¡± ¡°These have shown up addressed to me for years; ?maybe one a season, sometimes only one in a year,¡± explained Livia. ¡°So what about this one prompted you to seek advice from us?¡± asked Amdirlain; keeping her voice calm, resisting the temptation to listen to Livia¡¯s song. Livia let out a disgruntled sigh. ¡°There were only hints until this one arrived. The usual note we¡¯d find in the wrappings with their crimes was this time signed ¡®Torm¡¯¡ªthough it looked nothing like his handwriting. I was undecided when I¡¯d tell you about it, but the news I got on my return to Eyrarh¨¢ls changed my mind. Is Gail on Veht??¡± ¡°Gail¡¯s been planning a trip, but let''s deal with this first.¡± ¡°But she-¡± ¡°Is twenty and has been working with clearance teams on Cemna for three years. Is the note still with the bundle?¡± asked Amdirlain. Giving a sharp nod, Livia pointed to a fold in the cloth. ¡°It¡¯s tucked in there; they have all shown up wrapped the same way. Normally, the note lists the people they¡¯ve murdered and the means they used.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear any magics besides the curse,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she glanced back at Sarah. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s safe for you to bring it through?¡± ¡°He knows what Plane you¡¯re on. Might have found someone with enough power to trace the body and pull a variation of L¨ºdhins¡¯ trick; let''s not bring a trojan horse through the Gate,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°I can read details from the parcel and the remains.¡± Sarah transformed into her willowy brunette shape and donned a set of hunting leathers between long strides. Stepping through the Gate, Sarah crouched and laid a hand on the cloth wrapping with no hesitation. As she touched it, Amdirlain could hear Sarah¡¯s psychometry technique beginning to work. After reading impressions from the cloth, she moved on the letter¡¯s parchment, though she didn¡¯t comment on the contents. While Sarah worked, Livia looked on in apparent fascination. ¡°Livia, I¡¯ll make crystals to alert you to a Fallen and other bodies cursed this way. You¡¯ll need to distribute them throughout the locations where the deliveries have occurred. That way you¡¯ll get warned before they drop another or if a Gate is opened with a Fallen beyond.¡± ¡°Enough warning would let me catch whoever is doing the delivers, and then I can trace them back,¡± smiled Livia grimly. ¡°So far, they¡¯ve broken into random shops and wealthy homes and left a slip of parchment addressed to the local Temple, and me, on top. I¡¯m pretty sure no infernal cult is operating within the towns, and the break-ins used normal tools.¡± ¡°Turned them upside down and shook them out?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, when I showed the local jarls the bodies, they didn¡¯t argue about the disruption,¡± clarified Livia. ¡°While I broke up a few thieves'' guilds, I found nothing serious going on, though certainly criminals were getting away with things that we were glad to stop. Petty thefts, smuggling, and a few protection rackets on merchants. The note with this one clarified that was part of the intent.¡± ¡°What does it say?¡± Sarah repeated the start of the note from memory. ¡°''You remain too soft on the lawbreakers I¡¯ve shown you through trying to catch us. You should take my examples to heart so we can be together. Doesn¡¯t part of you cry out to inflict the same punishments your M¨®eir did upon the raping silversmith? Can¡¯t you see the weaknesses in mortals will continue to fester? Torm.'' Then it listed the details of various murders.¡± ¡°You mentioned the materials are expensive?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Is it something we could trace?¡± Sarah pulled open the wrapping. The cloth came away with a moist sucking sound, and the stench of putrefying flesh suddenly wafted through the Gate. ¡°Depends on where the materials come from. First, let''s see who¡¯s involved. They enchanted the cloth to keep the odour and fluids contained while closed up, something else that¡¯s potentially traceable.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not made on the Material Plane,¡± prompted Livia. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean it''s not traceable; just need to go further afield,¡± stated Sarah as she unwrapped it. ¡°Like Amdirlain, you¡¯ve not only your resources to draw on, Livia.¡± Though bloated, the exposed flesh looked like someone had carefully flayed the victim¡¯s body, leaving the fat layer showing barely any scraping. At the shoulders and hip joints, they had entirely cut away the flesh, and the limbs'' empty sockets showed no damage. ¡°You¡¯ve got a Kyton processing them,¡± murmured Sarah, her eyes roaming over the decaying meat and fat. ¡°I couldn¡¯t smell her until I unwrapped the body. She¡¯s on the Material Plane from the smell of her; my flesh smelt different when I was on the expedition.¡± ¡°Processing them, murdering them, you mean?¡± corrected Livia briskly, her lips pressed tight as if seeking to keep the stench at bay. ¡°He died from the torture,¡± acknowledged Sarah, motioning to the mutilated crotch. ¡°If all the bodies were this carefully done, she¡¯s been handling them. The group has someone with an infernal bond, which should make detecting them possible. Though I¡¯m not sure what Blessing paths that your faith provides.¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t just summon her each time?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Her smell says she¡¯s been out of Hell a while,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean they summoned her solely for dressing these gifts. She could be a bodyguard and torturer for the group or a key member.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Why a key member?¡± ¡°This rite of binding isn¡¯t something given to mortals to do. To perform it, she¡¯s not a junior Kyton, and before you ask, I don¡¯t know her scent. She likely has at least one Tier 5 Prestige Class with Wizard and Priest at level 70. I take it you¡¯ve been breaking the curses?¡± asked Sarah. Livia¡¯s expression hardened, and she gave a sharp nod. ¡°Yes, given the dead¡¯s nature, I wouldn¡¯t resurrect them. With their body so badly damaged, a Raise Dead wouldn¡¯t be enough, and I wouldn¡¯t waste that effort on them either. I can gauge enough from their auras to know the crimes listed likely aren¡¯t the only ones.¡± At first, Amdirlain thought Sarah would have to fish through the remains. However, she merely poked a finger into swollen flesh before raising her other hand to show a neatly faceted smokey black diamond about three centimeters in diameter. Etched into a few visible facets were infernal glyphs that shone banefully against the chamber¡¯s protections. ¡°Breaking the curse would shatter these,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Otherwise¡ªfrom what I know about Duskstone¡¯s auction prices¡ªyou¡¯d likely have buried at least thirty thousand small golds a time with the various remains.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°All the people we could have helped with those funds make this even sicker,¡± groaned Livia. Giving Livia a polite nod, Sarah re-wrapped the body. However, it did nothing to remove the stench that had permeated the dome. ¡°This adds to my concern about Gail. Do you know what her goal is?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s move on. Why did you ask about Gail?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t in town as I¡¯d been collecting this body and investigating. On my return, I got news of a Wood Elf named Gailneth asking about me¡ªI had hoped it was someone else¡ªshe visited the Cadre compound and then left town the next day,¡± details Livia. ¡°When I attempted a Message to Gail, I realised she¡¯d never given me her name directly. Those she spoke to at the Cadre also couldn¡¯t Message her.¡± Sarah snorted. ¡°She likely picked one of the few non-wizards in the Cadre and got them to handle introductions.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t known she¡¯d left,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The last time we spoke was three weeks ago; she intended to stop at Eyrarh¨¢ls to surprise you and get information. I¡¯ll message Ebusuku.¡± It only took a minute for Amdirlain to get confirmation. ¡°Your timeline matches, except she stopped at Stoneheart first and got a ward stone so she could teleport there directly,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°She wanted to secure a fallback position, and the Temple¡¯s priests happily facilitated it.¡± Livia blinked in surprise. ¡°Fallback position? She¡¯s handling a trip like a military operation?¡± ¡°Gail can plan well when she has a reason; she¡¯s got her mother¡¯s devious mind,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°I pity whoever disappoints her first; scratching the varnish of her idealism could be painful.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t seem the type to get aggressive,¡± refuted Livia. ¡°No, but she¡¯s likely to fix whatever caused her to be disappointed until it meets her standards,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°The people involved might not recognise themselves or their lives afterwards.¡± ¡°But with her mother being-¡± Sarah waved a finger. ¡°Gail doesn¡¯t worry about someone¡¯s choice; she worries if beings are unnecessarily injured or disadvantaged. She knows the realm isn¡¯t perfect, but that won¡¯t stop her from trying to improve it.¡± ¡°What improves conditions for one person can worsen them for another,¡± noted Livia. A nod of acknowledgement from Amdirlain cut them off. ¡°Gail has this flexible tool called True Song to hammer down the bits that stick up. She¡¯ll see problems quickly; learning about the repercussions of each fix could take longer. However, if she¡¯s caused a problem, Gail will probably keep working until she smoothes it out.¡± ¡°Was it just Gail being around that prompted you to contact us?¡± asked Sarah. Livia motioned to the body. ¡°With Torm¡¯s name used, this went from being an investigation for me to track down to something M¨®eir needed to know about. I only considered delaying because I had hoped to learn more before I got in touch. If he is somehow involved with individuals like this on Veht?, it might not be safe for Gail.¡± Casually crushing the gem, Sarah let the powder trickle between her fingers before she stood. ¡°He has no reason to suspect she¡¯d even come to Veht?. The reason she¡¯s visiting wasn¡¯t determined until after Torm was corrupted.¡± ¡°Gail spent the last three years working on Cemna. She can take care of herself better than many with Prestige classes and she¡¯s planning to recruit from the Adventurers¡¯ Guild,¡± advised Amdirlain. Retrieving a half dozen crystal needles, she held them casually while Silent Song impressed an altered detection array in each. ¡°Take care of herself? She isn¡¯t travelling with a bodyguard?¡± asked Livia, brow furrowing in concern. ¡°Given she wants to get out from under everyone¡¯s shadow, I doubt it. We¡¯ll see how long she can manage it,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If she¡¯s that dependent on others-¡± started Livia. Sarah laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not like that. Gail¡¯s got a nose for trouble and a passion for improving things. Helping people matters more to her than pride; if she finds something she can¡¯t resolve herself, she¡¯ll be in touch for advice at the very least. She¡¯s not unprotected though. Besides the safeguards Amdirlain provided, Gail would hear the likes involved with these atrocities out of range of most spells.¡± ¡°How long since she left?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Over a full week now,¡± clarified Livia Sarah humphed. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected her to last two days without finding some trouble to fall into.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m going to hold you to the bet,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Anyway, you don¡¯t know if she hasn¡¯t found trouble; we¡¯ve just not heard yet.¡± The statement made Livia pause. ¡°When I met Gail years ago, she¡¯d been very focused on your situation, M¨®eir. Is there something on Veht? that can help?¡± ¡°She¡¯s after more than just fixing my situation, but-¡± ¡°Fixing your situation? The curse or Planar Lock?¡± interjected Livia eagerly, and she leaned forward in anticipation. ¡°The lock,¡± admitted Amdirlain with a laugh. ¡°There isn¡¯t a way for her to help with my state; I need to be the one to fix that.¡± ¡°But that would mean bringing Prince Charilaos back to life,¡± protested Livia. ¡°His Soul will know the caster¡¯s purpose, and he won¡¯t cooperate.¡± Her tone perked Amdirlain¡¯s interest. ¡°Oh? That sounds like you did more than consider it.¡± Livia huffed. ¡°I already tried True Resurrection on him planning to get him to let me summon you. I only needed his permission, and I could have released you; the spiteful bastard rejected the Resurrection.¡± ¡°What would you have done with him afterwards?¡± probed Sarah. ¡°Had him face justice for his actions,¡± declared Livia. Both that she¡¯d tried and the implicit permission from Tyr involved in the casting had Amdirlain beaming. ¡°There is a way, Livia, and if Gail¡¯s on Veht?, she¡¯s looking for the key now.¡± ¡°She asked at the Cadre about the closest location to the peninsula,¡± stated Livia. ¡°Yes, the key to getting me free early and finding the L¨®m?¡¯s Royal tower is somewhere out there or in the surrounding ocean,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The news broke Livia¡¯s composure; waving a hand to the east, her jaw dropped. ¡°Why aren¡¯t more helping her then?¡± ¡°I told her I¡¯d expect it to get her an achievement. Gail had the idea it would help some locals get one. Also, since she¡¯ll need to be stronger to use the key, being carried won¡¯t help,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Gail needs more time to mature and improve certain skills.¡± ¡°There are other factors,¡± added Sarah. ¡°But still-¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter where I am for my current projects,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Livia slashed a hand down sharply, and her words rasped. ¡°You¡¯re not safe, so it matters to me.¡± Amdirlain picked out the shift in the light reflecting from Livia¡¯s eyes and softened her tone. ¡°I know, but it is what it is. I don¡¯t want others ruining things for Gail, and rushing her progress could cause failure. Unless her plan has changed, she intends to pretend to be a Wizard and Spellsinger; her capabilities will easily get her into a party. She shouldn¡¯t attract more attention than another Wood Elf.¡± ¡°Her Class names might appear on the imprint plate; a group of artificers have improved Yngvarr¡¯s original design,¡± cautioned Livia. ¡°A bunch of elven words that most won¡¯t recognise, except her Solar Emissary class,¡± countered Amdirlain. Livia blinked. ¡°Does that relate to her-¡± ¡°Parentage? Oh, indeed it does,¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°It''s a spy diplomat combination only available to children of solars or divine beings. Blending socially with mortals will initially challenge her since most of her diplomacy training isn¡¯t Mortal; sneaking through the long grass or stealing someone¡¯s heart is a different matter.¡± ¡°I¡¯m told she was exquisitely polite and very cheerful as you¡¯d expect. My clerk has quite the crush on her, but I hadn¡¯t the heart to tell him how young she was for an Elf,¡± detailed Livia as she fought to regain her composure. ¡°By the way, M¨®eir. What have you done to yourself? You¡¯ve looked like you¡¯re impersonating a statue nearly this entire conversation?¡± ¡°A Skill evolution is still giving me problems. The safest thing presently is for me to minimise unnecessary motions,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What counts as unnecessary?¡± ¡°For some people¡ªbreathing,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Sarah placed a hand on her chest and pretended to swoon. ¡°The mere swell of her bosom had one poor sod enraptured. Dominion lets her calm things down if the person is in the same Plane, but not across a Gate¡¯s threshold.¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Mere is right. I¡¯ve only a lithe build.¡± ¡°The git¡¯s an Elf; he wasn¡¯t expecting curves,¡± laughed Sarah. Taking out a memory crystal, Sarah recorded all the snippets of information her examination had provided her and set it on the ground. ¡°There were some people I caught impressions of handling the bundle, and one on the body itself¡ªthe Kyton wears adamantine chains.¡± Sarah stepped back through the Gate, leaving the re-wrapped bundle behind. ¡°Thank you, Sarah. I¡¯ll keep an ear out for trouble involving Gail, M¨®eir,¡± offered Livia. ¡°I might chat with Verdandi, as I know we don¡¯t have a temple at that village she picked out. Sending someone to establish a shrine would let us have support close at hand. Lots of the Greeks dislike elves.¡± ¡°That village?¡± enquired Sarah lightly. ¡°It¡¯s called Apollo¡¯s Reach,¡± spat Livia, her hands clenched by her sides. ¡°Give me a few moments,¡± requested Amdirlain, and she started to set another song into a crystal cube she retrieved from Inventory. Securing it in a pouch along with the needles, she tossed it through the Gate. ¡°Plant those needles in areas where you¡¯re most concerned. If they detect that curse, a Kyton, or a Fallen within twenty kilometres, you¡¯ll get an image of the location of the needle and the reason. The cube lets you track any close to you.¡± ¡°What have you been doing that you had this song ready?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been working with various groups to free mortals from the Abyss,¡± replied Amdirlain and missed keeping the edge from her tone. ¡°Various?¡± enquired Livia, her eyebrow lifting at Amdirlain¡¯s tone, setting Sarah snickering. ¡°Fallen have to help mortals to redeem themselves. Roher and Sarah coordinate with a cloister representative, but I¡¯ve continued to stay clear because of my current state,¡± explained Amdirlain, ignoring Sarah¡¯s antics. ¡°It¡¯s a touch frustrating even if I suggested they proceed. I¡¯ll organise some time with Roher and create more crystals so you can spread a wider net for them.¡± ¡°The Planar Lock isn¡¯t the state she¡¯s referring to,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°It was more that she didn¡¯t want to risk a come hither moment.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it was a ¡®you had to be there'' moment,¡± laughed Sarah. When the Gate closed, Amdirlain pulled a face. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Roher to spare some time for more crystal rods and get him to help create these changed detectors.¡± ¡°Not just needles?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯d want to set them up with both series of songs so we can redistribute them afterwards,¡± explained Amdirlain before she started to pace. ¡°Gail will be safe unless she slips up lying low,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°Murphy¡¯s law seems to be my fan, so let¡¯s assume something goes sideways,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°What other protections do you have to give her?¡± ¡°If it sounds like she¡¯ll need a proper safehold, I¡¯ll create a Demi-Plane seed based on Isa¡¯s last test. We¡¯ll see if she gets in touch.¡± Feeling confined, Amdirlain paced the chamber and let her true form come forth. Her Fallen form¡¯s elven features were sharper, and electric blue hair cascaded down to her upper thighs. The quad wings had become a mix of black and red feathers with cores showing as veins of gold. Previously, the only red that had been present were the flames when the Angelic Aura was in place. Part of the challenge of directing the Femme Fatale Skill and learning her body¡¯s motions properly was accepting her new seven-metre height and eighteen-metre wingspan. ¡°At least you don¡¯t have my problem,¡± muttered Sarah, and she moved out of the way and shifted back into Dragon form. As a large barrel of familiar goop appeared, Amdirlain smirked. ¡°You mean because I have hair, and it''s still the electric blue I like?¡± ¡°No, I meant itching scales,¡± grumbled Sarah, and she used Far Hand to slather herself with an abrasive gel. ¡°Come help, please?¡± ¡°At least the first armoury rotating through the towers got you an achievement.¡± Sarah humphed and snaked around to ensure she could properly see the area along her side she was tending. ¡°Setting a net to cover the kingdoms will be far easier than a Plane.¡± 258 - Twist the knife Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic ¡°Roher, after my next session creating constructs with Laergul, would you have time to create some crystal rods?¡± It was a few minutes before he responded. ¡°While I¡¯ll be able to spare time, I have a family commitment, so I¡¯ll only be able to give you about seven hours for a session. If that is insufficient, I can organise someone else?¡± ¡°Even a few hours will be enough, but I don¡¯t want to chew into family time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you at the end of your next session,¡± declared Roher. The message globe winked out and added a strange sense of finality to his reply. Amdirlain was reviewing the new composition when the Gate opened, and Laergul gave her a distracted wave. ¡°How certain are you of this composition?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not an exact copy, as I had to make some modifications, but it should provide the result we want,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Taking a psi-crystal from Inventory, she placed it in a small divot before the Gate. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the easiest one, and we¡¯ll work our way up.¡± Despite being easier materials-wise to create than the True Song constructs, the complexity of the songs pushed the pair. Amdirlain''s composition was based on the Tier 3 Maze Guardian but with the controls allowing others to link into the units, though they possessed the same fixed Class capacity. When the session ended, Amdirlain brushed aside the notification; bringing her lowest three classes closer to a balance had brought no satisfaction. [Notice: Upper transformation capacity threshold exceeded by over thirty levels - species transformation types recalculated. The following transformation thresholds are now available: Royal: (Requires twelve hundred levels) (previous maximum) Imperial Princess: (Requires fifteen hundred levels) Empress: (Requires two thousand one hundred levels) Grand Empress: (Requires two thousand seven hundred levels) Note: You made it so I can continually extend the upper limit of nearly everything. Why are you trying to reach it? Thanks! Your current True Song rank has unlocked a new Tier 5 Prestige Class: Failed Songbird. Congratulations!] ¡°Well, Gideon is being snarkier than normal,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°What message did you get this time?¡± asked Laergul. ¡°Judging from what he doesn¡¯t say, it seems I¡¯ve progressed my Fallen transformation further than others in the past,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°He¡¯s had to add three new thresholds. The first one jumps another three hundred levels, but the next two are six hundred level increases each.¡± ¡°I still find it odd how it communicates with you,¡± commented Laergul. ¡°Though, being the aspect of Knowledge, I can understand how it can share knowledge in whatever fashion makes the most sense for an individual.¡± ¡°Thanks for your help, Laergul. These will come in handy for some of my plans. They¡¯re not as tough as the crystal constructs, but they¡¯re faster to create, and I¡¯ll need thousands for Spell fodder.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Amdirlain,¡± said Laergul, and he looked around to find no one waiting. ¡°Should I leave the Gate open, or do you not expect another singer?¡± ¡°Roher will probably be here shortly,¡± admitted Amdirlain. When Laergul disappeared, Sarah huffed. ¡°Your disapproving expression would do a dominatrix proud.¡± ¡°I got a new Tier 5 Prestige Class from my current True Song and maybe Singing, since they both went up one point from that,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°A new Tier 5? I think they take a poke at you whenever they want to let you know something without telling you outright,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°They¡¯re not allowed to make suggestions; their role is to know and inform about the current state,¡± started Amdirlain, and she shrugged before she continued. ¡°As well as make all the new classes, skills, and sometimes powers that changing circumstances require. The combined knowledge enables them to extrapolate and determine potential issues.¡± While Amdirlain was speaking, Roher appeared close to the Gate. ¡°Gideon digging at you again?¡± ¡°Yes, a Class with a ¡®Failed¡¯ prefix as part of Tier 5 unlock because of my True Song level.¡± ¡°No wonder you look annoyed. Should we focus solely on pushing your Power for a while?¡± ¡°Did you have something in mind?¡± ¡°Making use of the burning sky of Culerzic¡ªthere is so much energy there. In the same way, we could use the Mana clouds at the top of the cliffs; why not funnel that energy somewhere?¡± The suggestion had Amdirlain smiling brightly. ¡°Transform it?¡± Deliberately looking to one side, Roher stepped over to a rock ledge and sat down, prompting Amdirlain to compose herself. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°You caught me off-guard, though Isa says it¡¯s becoming much easier when she¡¯s on the same Plane as you,¡± said Roher. Brushing dirt off his hands, he looked up at Amdirlain again. ¡°I use Dominion to project calm or disinterest to counter the Femme Fatale Skill,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It''s still a cheat, and when I take that approach it hinders my training. Hard to practise interrogation when the person is disinterested in my questions or keeping a secret.¡± ¡°She has me trying not to catnap,¡± stated Sarah in an offended tone. Her words only earned a tolerant smile from Roher. ¡°What did you have in mind for these rods?¡± ¡°A change to the normal composition. They¡¯ll be on the Material Plane initially, monitoring for infernal curses and Fallen, then messaging Livia with an image of the location if they detect anything. I thought to have a condition overlaying the normal songs determining the Plane first,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she rolled a memory crystal through the Gate to Roher. ¡°Should I send them to Livia once they¡¯re completed?¡± asked Roher. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind speaking to her again; Livia and her spiritual companions have an intriguing perspective.¡± ¡°Yes, please. Though try to remember they¡¯re Shen,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re small Shen but still Shen; referring to them as spirits is a bit like calling a Celestial a ghost. Likely safest to refer to them as celestials; they won¡¯t find that offensive.¡± ¡°Ahh, thank you. I¡¯ll try to keep that in mind,¡± coughed Roher, and he stood. ¡°Did you want to create more of the spires tomorrow? A sufficiently large one would be a useful anchor for a powerful True Song.¡± ¡°You call them spires; I think of them like spikes,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Just because you intend to plant them inside a mountain is no reflection on the object itself,¡± argued Roher. ¡°I¡¯ve still got a few more here I need to put in place, but tomorrow I¡¯ll get help working on a central pylon,¡± advised Amdirlain. Roher nodded. ¡°Shall we get started? I want to see how far we can stretch today; it might help improve Resonance and Symphonic.¡± No sooner had Amdirlain beckoned him to begin than Roher started hundreds of songs at once. Resonance picked out the location references and Amdirlain scrambled in surprise to match, but caught them all in time, setting the floor awash in light. Roher started them off and pushed rapidly towards her limit, adding multiple crystals to the workload each time. Nearly forearm-length rods solidified so fast that Sarah rushed to keep up with the flow; rapidly filling a large stone crate sitting a few metres from the Gate¡¯s edge. They¡¯d nearly reached the limit of Roher''s time when Sarah chuffed in surprise and called out. ¡°Gail¡¯s made some noise and has some And¨²n? court officials coming to visit. Do you remember the High Singer Lady Glingaerneth? Gail wants to know your perspective on her.¡± With no vocal capacity left to reply, Amdirlain projected a mental link instead. ¡°I do. But I¡¯d also like to hear what she¡¯s been up to get the court interested already. Please send her an image to open a Gate; this racket will stretch her Resonance.¡± ¡°Should I warn her?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°If she opens a Gate without protections in place, she needs a scolding instead of advice,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°True, if it''s not on, it''s not on.¡± snickered Sarah. The Gate opened against the wall behind Amdirlain, a few feet from Sarah¡¯s snout, because of its focus on her. ¡°You didn¡¯t send an image?¡± Sarah¡¯s amusement hiccuped in her mind. ¡°Nah, this was more fun.¡± Amdirlain caught a sound barrier rapidly set in place within Gail¡¯s chamber but focused on finishing the current crystals. Their compressed songs started to draw to a close, and a flurry of crystals filled the first crate, and more flew into the second. Amdirlain blurred, momentarily distracting Sarah by snatching up rods before she could send them to another container. Amdirlain¡¯s movements blocked the first crate Sarah had been floating across to Roher. ¡°I¡¯ve told you to be careful opening gates, munchkin,¡± rumbled Sarah when the last song faded. ¡°The circle is high quality, and I was opening it to you. You could have warned me about the decibel level, auntie,¡± Gail grumbled, gesturing to a pristine Mithril circle enclosing her Gate only to elicit an amused snort from Sarah. ¡°Have you moulted since the last time we spoke in person?¡± ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s been shooing me off to hunt more frequently,¡± huffed Sarah. Roher waved in Gail¡¯s direction, the song to close the Gate already ready. ¡°Take care, Gailneth. I need to leave, unfortunately.¡± With Gail¡¯s wave of acknowledgement, he released the song, and the Gate¡¯s closure cut off some of the chamber¡¯s illumination. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Spotting Gail¡¯s lifted brows at his sudden departure, Amdirlain gave a teaching explanation. ¡°Sarah was making too much noise snoring lately. Roher was procrastinating here over a meeting he didn¡¯t want to attend.¡± Sarah waved a tail reprovingly. ¡°Don¡¯t tease, Amdirlain. He has other commitments for his wife, and he left on time.¡± ¡°You have been snoring¡ªbreathing loud counts,¡± Amdirlain projected mentally. ¡°You¡¯ll keep. I¡¯ll make you scrub more scales.¡± ¡°Your abrasive gel is too smelly. Did you include too much Demon arse?¡± Amdirlain teased mentally, keeping her expression deliberately composed. Amdirlain formed a large pouch with Protean and, dropping the collected crystals inside, tossed it through the Gate. Its solid thump against the circle barrier had Gail direct an appalled expression her way. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how you can make things out of your flesh that way, auntie. It¡¯s gross, and I¡¯ve still got crystals you gave me left.¡± Already mentally chiding herself, Amdirlain only gave a nonchalant shrug. ¡°It becomes the material it mimics. Not being Mortal means Protean provides me with distinct advantages. As for the crystals, now you have more. Quest stage reward: you¡¯ve got a team formed.¡± The barest twitch around Gail¡¯s eyes was enough to let Amdirlain know she¡¯d successfully confused her. While Gail could be incredibly expressive, Erwarth and the others had helped Gail train to avoid giving away negative responses unless she wanted to show them. ¡°Mother thinks it''s weird as well,¡± Gail countered. ¡°I think you like freaking people out.¡± Amdirlain restrained herself to a safe smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure my habit of self-flaying isn¡¯t why you messaged Sarah asking if we had time to talk about your guests.¡± Her choice of terms elicited the response she¡¯d expected and more when Gail leant forward and pretended to throw up towards the circle. The gleeful twinkle in Gail¡¯s eyes, as much as her antics, got a dry laugh from both Amdirlain and Sarah. The possibility that whatever had drawn the And¨²n? court¡¯s attention would bring trouble niggled at Amdirlain and, considering Gail¡¯s smile, motioned to her. ¡°Tell us how things have gone and what you need. We¡¯ve news of our own that¡¯s local to you.¡± ¡°Well, I stopped by Eyrarh¨¢ls and got information on the peninsula; the little village I¡¯m basing out of is the last before the first swampland. It''s called Apollo¡¯s Reach," said Gail, pulling a disgusted expression at the name. "Dirt roads, houses ranging from two-story stone buildings through to little more than wood slabs leant against uprights. I overdressed for my arrival; a plain silk dress that was fine in Eyrarh¨¢ls attracted too much attention here.¡± Nodding in understanding, Amdirlain restrained her urge to ask questions as Gail¡¯s tale progressed. Fixing the village¡¯s rotting wall and recruiting the initial team members had proceeded fairly calmly, even with some typical Gail-style twists, especially with the reversal of a local half-Elf¡¯s age. Regenerating someone¡¯s finger to gain a Scout and summoning Runa to help her mother¡¯s local temple so she could recruit the Priest made complete sense. The fact she¡¯d done both only to show her goodwill and not to gain a solid commitment came from a broad streak of wanting to make things around her better. That the same streak added to another chain reaction caused by a young boy swearing an Oath to join her team was unsurprising. An Oath to the Anar Queen had unlocked classes that, when he grabbed four of them in an impactful Class vision, had nearly destroyed his Soul. That Gail¡¯s new bodyguard had survived was more surprising to Amdirlain than the length to which Gail had gone to save his existence. True Song Architecture gave her the details of the knife edge Gail had walked, balancing energy from three planes to shore up an unprepared, unclassed Soul. Four evolved classes at once¡ªall meant for Anar and the blazing energy in their souls¡ªshould have drained his flesh and Soul into an ashen husk. The energy that leaked into the Guildhall and created pocket annexes of the planes¡¯ aspects was a curious side effect and made the extent of the signal flare Gail had sent up clear. With the cat out of the bag, the rest of her choices had done little but perhaps sped up the process. Gail¡¯s dredging of the village¡¯s cove and setting a Radiant light to serve as a lighthouse beacon was amusing, especially how she had refused to answer the Wizard¡¯s questions. That Gail had gone on to create a Temple of Lerina, with murals of planar scenes, followed by refurbishing Hestia¡¯s Temple, took the cake. That the refurbishment included a library purely to bring happiness to Hestia¡¯s priestess was Gail through and through. In different circumstances, Amdirlain would have felt compassionate to the local Guild Master for having run afoul of Gail¡¯s bubbling enthusiasm. Yet his choices and demands had put him in Gail¡¯s crosshairs, especially once, at Runa¡¯s prompting, Yngvarr, Aggie, Alfarr, and Pitnari had arrived as guild investigators. The neglect and deaths he¡¯d allowed in the local guild left Amdirlain surprised he¡¯d gotten out alive. However, that was perhaps her own urge to squeeze the life out of him for barging in on Gail bathing and ranting at her rather than leaving. Gail had joked around in her account and was clearly still more upset about the demands than being found nude. An attitude Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure she could attribute more to Ebusuku¡¯s attitude, or to Gail¡¯s lack of attachment to her form. Hard to be upset about bits of skin being seen when some forms Gail took on didn¡¯t need clothes at all. That she¡¯d quit the guild and moved the dimensional energies to a location in her control showed more of her father¡¯s mindset about enforcing a personal sense of order. Far better for the strange annexes to be under Gail¡¯s direct control than leaving them with a guild struggling to find its balance, especially with corruption having been shown locally. Still, the events, and Gail¡¯s choice of architecture in her new building, had escalated the court¡¯s discovery of True Song being used. ¡°I think the scale of things means my bet about two days should hold water still,¡± murmured Sarah mentally. Amdirlin gave her a mental push. ¡°No, two days is two days.¡± ¡°Yngvarr asked permission for the Lady Glingaerneth, High Singer of the And¨²n? Court and Tower of Singers, to attend. The King¡¯s courtiers talked him into assigning an escort of a hundred royal guards. I told him I¡¯d receive her and a small entourage. I¡¯ll be so miffed if they don¡¯t scale back from that number of guards,¡± Gail said as she wrapped up. ¡°Glingaerneth was in a difficult political situation, and the Tower of Singers had been losing influence with the court before she met with me. That seems to have changed, given the King is sending her with a royal escort and appointing an entourage of courtiers. I¡¯d suggest learning more about her situation from Yngvarr,¡± advised Amdirlain calmly, and she mentally nudged Sarah to pay up. ¡°I¡¯ll come help with your visitors,¡± stated Sarah, and she changed into her Human form¡ªa willowy brunette Human with a lean but well-toned build. Her skin was pale like many of the Norse, but her features possessed a fox-like sharpness accented by her stern gaze. ¡°Did you miss me mentioning there is a Gold Dragon here, auntie Sarah?¡± blurted Gail, her smile slipping slightly. Sarah stopped her consideration of what to wear and gave the slightest shrug. ¡°Send him a message and ask him to come meet me. Let him know my request is for negotiating guest rights without hunting permission. I¡¯ll stick to your property except in emergencies,¡± ordered Sarah. ¡°I won¡¯t be solving everything for you, Gail.¡± Gail¡¯s smile reappeared at that statement. ¡°What exactly are the terms of your aid?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll act as your household¡¯s chamberlain while the delegation is present. While I¡¯m your chamberlain, I won¡¯t help you negotiate with anyone¡ªyou sink or swim on your own in that regard. What I will do is hire some household staff for you, as you can be sure this won¡¯t be the last visit. Also, I won¡¯t involve myself in your work to recover the O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?. If any evil priests show up, you leave them to me. Last, I might ask you to do me a favour when this visit ends,¡± recounted Sarah flatly. The bright smile sobered, and Gail regarded Sarah more seriously. ¡°Do you think Gaius is still alive?¡± ¡°Still got big ears,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°If Gaius is, he¡¯s old and grey, and likely cursing my name.¡± ¡°Only if he hasn¡¯t figured out why you injured him,¡± retorted Gail. ¡°And if he couldn¡¯t figure out you freed him from Hell¡¯s contract, he¡¯s beyond help and stupid.¡± ¡°I told her a few times she should have checked on him,¡± poked Amdirlain. ¡°Bite me,¡± grumbled Sarah, and she ignored Amdirlain¡¯s snort of forced laughter, her focus still on Gail. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I can agree with those conditions with one of my own,¡± countered Gail. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Sarah, not bothering to don any clothing. ¡°If he¡¯s still alive and things work out between you, then I¡¯m allowed to offer him the opportunity to change into a Scarlet Lonsdaleite to match your species.¡± ¡°You¡¯re assuming he¡¯d want to be a Dragon,¡± dismissed Sarah, and she fixed Gail with a flat look. ¡°If he wants to be with you, wouldn¡¯t it be fair to offer? I accidentally reversed Androkles¡¯ age, and I could do that intentionally with Gaius, but it wouldn¡¯t be fair.¡± Sarah¡¯s fingers trailed along her bare arms, tracing patterns that were likely memories of her former scars. ¡°Agreed. Now let me get dressed.¡± Metacreativity shaped the diaphanous red silk dress that only just reached her knees and barely hid the lines of her body, teasing at the edge of transparency. To clinch it at the waist, she added a belt made of interlinking golden adamantine circles, each set with a procession of red diamond chips that sounded like her scales. Singularly or independently, the links provided her with a formidable weapon given the enchantments within. Accessing her Inventory, Sarah pulled a set of serpentine bracers¡ªmade of mithril and black adamantine¡ªthat started at her wrist and wound the length of her forearms. The enchantments in the bracers and belt stood out against the melodies of the Gate and Abyss alike. Amdirlain, having bounced options around while they conversed, spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ll make you something that will construct a residence.¡± One of Isa¡¯s latest quarterstaffs appeared in Amdirlain¡¯s hand, she started on a complex melody that enfolded the staff and a spire within the storage room. She pushed more power into the complex composition than in previous tests, adding facilities such that it took an hour to settle into place. The staff was only its beacon and the key to establishing a doorway to the Demi-Plane the spire would create with nested protective wards. By the time Amdirlain had finished the linked songs within, it would require only a last push. Carefully singing the final stage, she repeated it twice and saw Gail¡¯s eyes light up with understanding as the staff continued to glow like a blue star. [Crafting Summary (Category: Legendary Item): Complex Demi-Plane Seed: 2,500,000 Total Experience gained: Ascetic: +833,333 Ostim?: +833,333 Ont?lin: +833,333 True Song [S](121->122)] ¡°This will make you a residence able to fit a few hundred knights and guests properly, with secure wards. The main feast hall will serve three meals daily, and the place will handle the basic cleaning itself,¡± Amdirlain announced, aware she was woefully understating what she¡¯d provided Gail. ¡°Main feast hall?¡± chirped Gail. ¡°It includes a small dining room big enough for your team plus some guests,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°This will save you further straining yourself constructing suitable facilities.¡± Amdirlain handed it over to Sarah instead of tossing it through the Gate, and Sarah stored it away, keeping a calm expression ¡°Why did your conditions involve evil priests, aunt Sarah?¡± asked Gail, her voice tinged with sudden concern. Sarah looked at Amdirlain. ¡°She asked.¡± ¡°Torm has been sending Livia presents for the last few years,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she clamped down on the pain that tried to leak out. ¡°Livia only told us yesterday after she learnt of your arrival on Veht?. Mortal agents delivered them. If they, or Torm, learn of an Anar¡¯s creation occurring on Veht?, he might arrange for someone to summon him.¡± Gail licked her lips, her voice rasping slightly. ¡°What sorts of presents does a Fallen send?¡± ¡°Flayed bodies, each with their hearts removed after death. The souls are still bound to their bodies, experiencing the torture leading up to their demise,¡± stated Sarah. The description earned a disgusted look from Gail. ¡°Did Livia bring them back to life?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Every one of them was a sadist, murderer, or worse.¡± ¡°It seems he is now favouring extreme forms of vengeance instead of justice. Did the magic give Livia any sign of who he¡¯s aligned with since his corruption?¡± Gail asked. ¡°It didn¡¯t have to,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I know of the curse; it''s one favoured by a certain faction of Hell.¡± Gail¡¯s Wood Elf skin tone gained an ashen sheen. ¡°But the Abyss corrupted him. You¡¯ve been trying to track him down in the Abyss. Why is he dealing with Hell?¡± ¡°The transformation site should have corrupted him into a Demon, but it turned him into a Fallen. Honestly, we¡¯ve no way of telling his mindset now, and we''re also no closer to discovering what name he adopted,¡± answered Amdirlain, and she fought back against revealing her pain to Gail. ¡°Go on, Sarah; talking about this won¡¯t help anyone.¡± At the break in Amdirlain¡¯s composure, Sarah stepped through the Gate and collected the pouch. With Sarah through, Gail closed the Gate before Amdirlain needed to prompt her. When the crystal spire disappeared a while later, Amdirlain forced herself to move. ¡°Laergul, I provided some crystal rods to Roher earlier, along with a new composition. Could you please have those handled first? Gail¡¯s presence on Veht? has become known to the And¨²n? court, and others of concern will hear about it.¡± Laergul''s steely-toned response was lightning quick. ¡°He left them with me. I¡¯ll have choirs working at once to get them all prepared. Given the circumstances, we¡¯ll look to have the first thousand through to Livia within the hour.¡± 259 - Out of love Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic After years with Sarah¡¯s constant company, the months of near isolation since her departure gnawed at Amdirlain. While Sarah and Gail''s various puzzles and updates helped, the gateways opened with the L¨®m? weren¡¯t sufficient to push the feeling aside. The gates were teasing windows into a place she couldn¡¯t reach and, in some ways, hurt more than helped. Ironically, the sparring and training with Ilya did the most to distract her. With Ilya¡¯s issues being underground still clear, Amdirlain felt bad continually requesting her presence at the dome. She already spent so much time there helping Amdirlain with Femme Fatale before Sarah¡¯s departure. The impossible lingering tension along her spine since the last session had Amdirlain hissing in discontent. With the sensation being neither her Precognition nor the absorbed Danger Sense, Amdirlain fell back on her habitual distraction¡ªmore work. Teleporting the spire from the last session to the storeroom, Amdirlain moved to her workbench. Stacks of paper covered in her workings sat in neat lines beyond the memory crystal Gail had provided only days ago. Amdirlain spun it across her fingers with a sigh and watched the prismatic refractions of the chamber¡¯s lights. It wasn¡¯t even a problem that she could refer to Roher, as it was an energy issue that fell within the Anar range. The energies of Veht? had been slowly sterilising the And¨²n? for half a million years. Their ancestors had lived within the Anar and L¨®m? households as domestic servants to their creators. Given the abilities of both to create whatever was needed, it was a pampered existence. The elven races, planet after planet, had their lifeforms tweaked to accommodate the new locations¡¯ Mana fields. With their outdoor duties, the other species might have received more extensive modifications to their physical song. With spending most of their time behind the True Song Crystal shielding barriers, it potentially hadn¡¯t been a change considered necessary for the And¨²n?. However, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure if that had been the cause or if the composer had made the slightest of errors to have taken this long to show. While each species could have fertile children with each other, they weren¡¯t identical, so the required tweaks had been different. If the Anar had been around, they¡¯d have caught the problem. Instead, with their arrival on the planet barely a hundred years before the scourge, there hadn¡¯t been a settling-in period to detect the issue. If the And¨²n? had children with the other elves frequently enough, they¡¯d have negated it. However, from the songs Gail had gathered, that was ?not the case. ¡°No wonder their society doesn¡¯t like anyone avoiding marriage. I wonder how many childless marriages they already have?¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°What can I do?¡± The question caused Amdirlain to pause, and she slowly stretched her attention solely on the impossible tension she felt within her muscles. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for the other shoe to drop with Gail. There is no help I can give her from here, trapped inside this planar lock. If something more comes for her¡­.¡± Amdirlain strode away from the workbench and through the nest of rooms that had been her living space for Gail¡¯s visits. Ignoring the beauty of the carvings she¡¯d set in place on the far wall, a flurry of notes obliterated them and cut a long passageway some four metres square. The transformed stone caused a burst of air to rush across her, and Amdirlain renewed the chamber¡¯s atmosphere, not waiting for the mechanisms that had been put in place by Sarah to do the job. She quickly constructed a domed rectangular chamber, six metres high, a hundred metres long, and nine metres across. Radiant light sources ran down the middle, illuminating the stone path she left beneath them, but Amdirlain turned the stone along the sides to loam. Ideas mingled with intent, and though ready to sing, Amdirlain forced herself to stop. ¡°I need to be sure.¡± Taking out crystal needles, she added a purification song to push back the corruption and walked down the line, driving them into the soil on either side of the path. With those in place, she left them to work and returned to the central dome. ¡°Yngvarr, do you have time to talk about some things? I¡¯ll need you to open a Gate focused on me, obviously somewhere shielded. I have some personal questions, so I didn¡¯t want to include Gail.¡± While she waited, Amdirlain set to work reducing the lingering corruption in the chamber¡¯s midpoint. She was a couple of hours into that when words buzzed in her ear. ¡°It has been a while since we have spoken. Do you need anyone else included?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°You could include Alfarr. I¡¯m not sure if Gail¡¯s told anyone what she asked me about, and it''s certainly an And¨²n? matter.¡± ¡°I just woke from my reverie. Give me, say, half an hour?¡± ¡°Take two. I plan to be ensconced safely in my chambers for a while,¡± Amdirlain replied, and included an image of herself sitting at her workbench. After adjusting the wards to allow for Yngvarr¡¯s Gate, Amdirlain created several large stacks of paper in one of the workbench¡¯s few open spots and she set to work. The first point she spent in True Song Architecture hit like an express train. Hundreds of previously isolated concepts in her mind spun about in the storm of fresh additions and settled into patterns that made their relevance obvious. By the time she¡¯d worked through a thousand sheets of paper, she¡¯d barely scratched the surface of her observations. Amidst the pain of acclimatising herself to the information, she¡¯d already spotted more options but no problems in her approach. Yngvarr''s Skill showed when the Gate opened, perfectly aligned with the image she¡¯d sent him. Instead of standing outside the circle, he was within its protection and, seeing Amdirlain, immediately stepped across the threshold. ¡°And if you¡¯d screwed up landing it?¡± asked Amdirlain, as she turned to face Yngvarr keeping every motion to a minimum. As best she could, Amdirlain tried to project the monastery¡¯s calmness through Dominion. He appeared different from when Amdirlain first met or last saw him. The mane of hair he¡¯d possessed was cut short enough that it did nothing to conceal his ears and made it harder to spot the lighter sunset tones blending into the darker red hue. Dressed in grey loose pants and a shirt of Persian cut belted at the waist, he appeared as if someone had stamped Farhad over him. Tall and lean, even standing still he carried himself with the lethal grace of a well-honed knife that would have intimidated Amdirlain if she¡¯d first met him as he was now. Yngvarr cleared his throat almost bashfully and fought to retain his composure. ¡°Between the image and your name, that would be highly unlikely. You¡¯re quite different now; there is an allure about your motions. I¡¯m not interested in the female body, but you still draw my eyes with the grace of simple gestures.¡± A compressed series of notes and a focused intent set a chair near her, and she motioned Yngvarr to sit. ¡°Perhaps sit, and then you can close them,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and Yngvarr hurriedly did so. ¡°Is that better?¡± ¡°Yes, but your voice feels like warm silk pressing against me. Gail mentioned she visits you?¡± asked Yngvarr, sounding more distracted in proximity to her. Amdirlain touched his public mind and didn¡¯t intrude; simply gently projected words into his awareness. ¡°Then I¡¯ll speak in your mind. I was trying to share the monastery¡¯s calm with you.¡± ¡°Perhaps another emotion, or less. I feel like I¡¯m floating, free of worry, making your beauty and the carvings on your walls more alluring. Sitting this close to you, your presence presses against my skin,¡± murmured Yngvarr. ¡°Moke omitted this in his account to me. Him not exaggerating that this seems strange.¡± ¡°This is a recent change, since Moke visited, along with many levels added,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Might I touch your mind more fully so I can gauge the impact?¡± ¡°Could I keep you out if you wanted in?¡± asked Yngvarr, trembling with strain. ¡°I still consider you a friend, Yngvarr. Your simple preference would keep me out.¡± ¡°Sorry, that wasn¡¯t what I meant. I feel like I want to throw aside all my allegiances and just kneel at your feet. Do anything, be anything, to earn a smile from you.¡± Cursing mentally, Amdirlain slipped a wisp of awareness within his mind. Sensations and pressure roiled within it, and Amdirlain recognised the impacts. She stopped Dominion, which had been hammering him with a calm that drowned his self-interest. Even her Charisma was trying to drag him under gently, and Amdirlain mentally sought a way to adjust it. The relaxation of a good book had Yngvarr moan in pleasure and shift uncertainly on his seat. Remembering he possessed the Sage Class, Amdirlain wanted to facepalm. Considering more generic options, she drew up a memory of childlike happiness of a warm day playing in the park with friends. Barely eight in the memory, Amdirlain was sure she wouldn¡¯t have remembered it if her Soul had been normal for a Human. Instead, it had recorded the events, and she could draw on them flawlessly now, having remained in tune with them. Yngvarr shuddered from the ease of pressure and, with his elbows braced on his knees, curled in to bury his face in his trembling hands. ¡°That was intense. Do I want to know what your Charisma is rated at now?¡± ¡°Closing in on five thousand,¡± Amdirlain said, risking speaking aloud. ¡°That oddly brings some comfort, knowing what your attributes are, if I can be overwhelmed in such a fashion,¡± breathed Yngvarr, and Amdirlain took in the calmer reactions in his mind. ¡°How did Gail withstand her visit to you?¡± ¡°Two things: Erwarth¡¯s Aura cancelled them out somewhat, and Gail¡¯s been listening to the music of a heavenly plane since before her birth,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah said it wasn¡¯t there initially, but by the time I first met her, she had an evolved Mental Resistance ?in her song.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, I had to come and apologise in person for my accusations last we saw each other.¡± ¡°That was long ago forgiven, Yngvarr. Part of my behaviour was driven by running ahead of the pain I was in, which didn¡¯t make it a healthy situation for anyone,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Yngvarr nodded his appreciation and sat before he replied. ¡°Yet I knew your situation and should have spoken with more consideration.¡± ¡°Hindsight is wonderful, and I can¡¯t claim perfect judgement either, but it''s all water under the bridge now. Your words and choice brought no actual harm to anyone. Let¡¯s consider Ebusuku¡¯s protective scolding to be the end. I hear she was stern enough for both of us,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°It was very intimidating being told off by a Solar in full armour looming over you,¡± admitted Yngvarr, pretending to look up at a figure looming over Amdirlain¡¯s Anar form. ¡°You instil such a fierce loyalty within those close to you.¡± Amdirlain flinched from his words as if slapped. ¡°I wish some had been less inclined to risk themselves.¡± ¡°Not to speak ill of his choices, but Torm should have trusted your Precognition and chewed up the cell leader, not accepted his judgement. Verdandi says the Vargr Drangijaz can get caught up in the perceived hierarchy, and it seems he hadn¡¯t shaken himself from those practices.¡± When she let out a slow, pained breath, Yngvarr stopped with a wince. ¡°Sarah says you¡¯ve been working on options to help him recover himself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what remains of him. Can we speak of something else?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°How is Alfarr?¡± ¡°Asleep when I left, which is why I didn¡¯t drag him along. He¡¯s doing well as Guild Master, even if Gail makes Sanctuary¡¯s Cove a handful to deal with some days.¡± ¡°Sanctuary¡¯s Cove?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what the Grand Master started calling the village in correspondence, and Alfarr had one of his notes at a village meeting. There was some noise, but then the priestess from Hestia¡¯s Temple started using it during the morning services,¡± Yngvarr said with a shrug. ¡°Those prepared to argue over it folded?¡± enquired Amdirlain, and at Yngvarr¡¯s nod, she laughed. ¡°At least they didn¡¯t name it after me.¡± ¡°It was almost Amdirlain¡¯s Beacon,¡± interjected Yngvarr, stilling her laughter. ¡°Since the seawall¡¯s lighthouse looks like your candle with a base carved in the likeness of a mass of broken chains.¡± Amdirlain gave an exaggerated sigh of relief. ¡°Remind me to get the Grand Master something nice for not going with that name.¡± ¡°Because passing along a gift from you would be easy to explain? What did Gail ask you about?¡± asks Yngvarr. ¡°The falling And¨²n? birth rate,¡± Amdirlain said bluntly. ¡°It''s hardly falling. We¡¯ve never had a lot of children,¡± objected Yngvarr. ¡°But the And¨²n? used to have a lot more, four or five spread out over centuries, so each child had a healthy amount of time and attention from their parents and relatives,¡± Amdirlain countered, with the confidence instilled by scenes from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories. ¡°The records say the number of households was unchanging before the scourge,¡± objected Yngvarr. ¡°We¡¯ve lost too much knowledge to keep our communities safe, so we¡¯ve suffered a population erosion.¡± ¡°Yngvarr, the number of households was unchanging because the Anar and L¨®m? numbers rarely changed and never rose above eight million each. Put that together with some not employing servants, and you can figure out the rest.¡± ¡°Gail¡­¡± started Yngvarr reluctantly. ¡°Some individuals finding certain facts about the past hard to swallow?¡± ¡°Gail can administer quite a verbal thrashing when she sets her mind to it,¡± said Yngvarr warily. ¡°I could practically hear her channelling Farhad¡¯s punches in her tone.¡± His tone earned a lifted eyebrow from Amdirlain. ¡°There are ways to use True Song while speaking by putting pressure on the pitch within words. Don¡¯t be mysterious. What happened?¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Some lords wanted to argue with her. Gail clarified that the emotional stability of the villagers was more important to her than pandering to nobles'' demands,¡± explained Yngvarr. ¡°When they talked about short-lived peasants being unimportant, her tongue got sharp.¡± ¡°She¡¯d told me some lords had been frisky, but she¡¯d gotten them heading in the right direction.¡± ¡°One lord learnt the value of logical arguments and how painful mathematics can be to one¡¯s ego,¡± laughed Yngvarr. ¡°I¡¯m sure there is much more to that story.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let Gail do the honours. I missed part of it, so I¡¯ve only got hearsay,¡± demurred Yngvarr. ¡°Gail told me the King and Queen have been trying to have another child and haven¡¯t managed it in the years since they took the throne. She sent me a memory of their songs, plus thousands of other elves; And¨²n?, Isil, and Taur? alike.¡± ¡°When did she meet so many?¡± asked Yngvarr, sitting up in surprise. ¡°Or the royal couple?¡± Amdirlain started to reply, and Yngvarr rubbed his face and groaned. ¡°Nevermind, she¡¯s a sneaky girl. I guess the better question is, did she even look elven when they saw her,¡± laughed Yngvarr and motioned at her pages. ¡°Is that what all this is about?¡± ¡°A lot of it, some of it is just me pushing my True Song Architecture,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°When an elven female wants to conceive, they use a particular type of reverie before the attempt, correct?¡± Yngvarr gave Amdirlain a sheepish look that reminded her of guys being asked to pick up tampons at the shop. ¡°Well, not being female, that is my understanding. I don¡¯t know exactly the-¡± ¡°Yeah, I get it, caveats of personal understanding aside,¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, I believe that is the case,¡± allowed Yngvarr. Bitter memories twisted Amdirlain¡¯s mouth, and at Yngvarr¡¯s gasp, she returned her focus to the innocent joy of the park¡¯s playground. ¡°They give you grief because you¡¯re not going off and happily continuing your family bloodline?¡± The flinch her question got had Amdirlain nod in sympathy. ¡°I only ask because Gail commented on the evidence of the extreme social pressures about having children and the impact of diminishing numbers in many areas.¡± ¡°You sound like you knew it well.¡± ¡°I was rendered sterile from a childhood illness. At social gatherings, people would invariably talk about who had settled down and started their own family. You wouldn¡¯t believe the number of times someone said ¡®you best settle down and have children¡¯. I got that even from people who knew I couldn¡¯t have them,¡± Amdirlain absently explained, though she had her focus fixed on the flat notes within parts of Yngvarr¡¯s song. ¡°You asked about female preparations. Is the issue only for certain ladies?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°No, it''s also a male issue, so couples have to beat the odds on both sides.¡± Yngvarr sighed. ¡°Am I being selfish?¡± ¡°You want the bad news or the good news?¡± ¡°Bad,¡± groaned Yngvarr. ¡°So you think I¡¯m being selfish in not trying?¡± ¡°Not what I was talking about. At present, you could bang an excessively fertile Human woman, and you couldn¡¯t get her pregnant, let alone an Elf.¡± ¡°Bang?¡± blurted Yngvarr, and he quickly smiled in amusement. ¡°Nevermind, I¡¯m sure I understand from the context, but your choice of words is as strange as ever.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to keep away from the other expletive. I made Isa whimper and drag Ilya away the other day.¡± ¡°Fuck?¡± enquired Yngvarr. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not the type to let people cheat,¡± Amdirlain replied primly, sitting up as if affronted. Yngvarr groaned and put a hand on his forehead. ¡°You dose bad news with humour to ease a sting I don¡¯t feel.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure how you¡¯d take it. Some might see it impacting their masculinity even if they had no intent to take advantage,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she shrugged broadly, pleased when the movement didn¡¯t grab at Yngvarr¡¯s attention. ¡°What¡¯s the good news?¡± ¡°It''s fixable, both yours and the growing sterility of the And¨²n? people,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s involved?¡± Amdirlain tilted her head and gave a mischievous smile. ¡°When a mommy and daddy get in the mood-¡± ¡°Amdirlain,¡± huffed Yngvarr. ¡°Please, if you¡¯re going to talk about sex, I¡¯ll go back to bed and get Alfarr to demonstrate. Sarah told me a joke about a lion tamer the other day. I¡¯m happy to be the lion for him.¡± Amdirlain snickered loudly and stretched her arms above her head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be on your hands and knees for that one. When I first met you, my Succubus form¡¯s heat beat me up some days around the pair of you.¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t stirring a reaction,¡± Yngvarr stated, and Amdirlain fixed him with a pleased smile at the change of subject. ¡°I¡¯m going to push my song design up a lot further before I do this, so I had questions,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°About sex? Aren¡¯t you a little old for that talk among humans? Sarah told some stories about sex education in your school system. Did you skip class those days?¡± Amdirlain reached out both hands as if she was going to strangle him, and Yngvarr clasped her hands with a smile. ¡°Smart alec,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Pressing his forehead to the back of her right hand, Yngvarr released them both. ¡°What were your questions?¡± ¡°Some you¡¯ve already answered. I was going to make it a general fix. But I thought it best to provide a way that gave control to each couple. Is there any fruit that the And¨²n? associate with fertility already? I¡¯m going to create some plants whose fruit will reverse sterility. If they want the fruit faster, they¡¯ll need Gail to speed the plants'' growth; Blessings or spells might distort the outcome like they do in healing wounds.¡± ¡°Nothing I can think of, if you¡¯re talking about as a whole, culturally,¡± conceded Yngvarr. ¡°Some communities might have particular marriage practices.¡± ¡°Fruit elves loathe?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d hate for it to be something that could ruin the mood.¡± ¡°There are some berries that leave too strong an aftertaste. Dried they¡¯re fine, but I take it you¡¯re talking about eating them while fresh.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t hold the same effect otherwise,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Yngvarr shrugged. ¡°What¡¯s your preference?¡± ¡°Do you have apples?¡± Amdirlain asked and mentally projected various images and tastes through to him. ¡°Some of those green and reddish ones are familiar,¡± allowed Yngvarr. ¡°Not the same, but familiar.¡± ¡°Golden apples it will be then,¡± decided Amdirlain. ¡°Why apples?¡± ¡°Personal joke. I guess I better tell all the And¨²n? not to eat them.¡± Even as Amdirlain held back the snicker, Yngvarr frowned in confusion. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that defeat the purpose?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, they would need to eat them, but it¡¯s part of the joke. The best way ?to get some people to do something is to tell them not to. Tell Sarah I¡¯m going to make the tree of life and see how hard she laughs,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°What effect will they have?¡± Amdirlain almost explained their songs¡¯ changes but cut to the chase. ¡°They¡¯ll fix the sterility issue in both genders, but females consuming one soon before using their special reverie will ensure its success. Since they¡¯ll boost an individual''s vitality, they¡¯ll certainly feel frisky after consuming one. It might take me a bit before I¡¯m ready to test them. Care to help with the first part? I mean, I had thought about offering you Protean but-¡± ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed Yngvarr. ¡°How do you give someone Protean?¡± ¡°What powers would you like? I can inject them into you if I can figure out their song. I didn¡¯t know if your mindset was-¡± ¡°I could have a child with Alfarr?¡± The logic jump caused Amdirlain to blink in confusion. ¡°What? You jumped straight to that option?¡± ¡°You and Gail have said it lets the flesh take on the truth of the form,¡± noted Yngvarr. ¡°Well, with enough practice, you could eventually take on a proper female form to have a child. So yes, why?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t find females attractive, but Alfarr finds both genders attractive,¡± stated Yngvarr, giving a dreamy smile that would have many women squirming. ¡°Him being a father would be grand. You should see him with his extended family and the care he gives his nieces and nephews. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯d want to stay female forever, but to have a child together... well, I¡¯d stay that way for centuries if need be¡ªafter all, we¡¯ve both gained the Immortal Spirit.¡± ¡°A half-Elf child,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°They don¡¯t always receive the best reception from either species.¡± ¡°We¡¯d raise them knowing we loved them,¡± persisted Yngvarr. ¡°If you¡¯re so interested, I thought there¡¯d be various shapeshifting spells that would have let you do this?¡± ¡°No, they let you take on the appearance, not the actuality, nor are they necessarily fertile. Even when they are, the child can end up deformed, and there is also the risk of them being dispelled mid-pregnancy,¡± advised Yngvarr with a shudder. Amdirlain''s brows lifted in surprise. ¡°Sounds like you looked into this previously.¡± ¡°Extensively. For years I thought I¡¯d lose him to old age and wanted a piece of him to stay in my life,¡± said Yngvarr, and he added a sharp nod. "I learnt two Spell lists through to mastery hoping I''d find what I needed. Nothing I found overcame the risks I mentioned.¡± ¡°From what I know of the Power, you¡¯ll have to get it into at least the Journeyman rank,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°Gail can take you through what she did to get Senior Master rank.¡± Yngvarr blinked. ¡°She¡¯s what?¡± ¡°Yeah, please don¡¯t start on me. She won''t use imprints, but I can hear it in her song,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve barely got it into that rank. I feel like a grandparent being taught my old world¡¯s technology by a three-year-old.¡± ¡°She lived with the Power since birth,¡± reminded Yngvarr. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Hold still; this won¡¯t hurt. My advice is just to start with simple things. Change of hair colour and skin tone, ?but talk to Gail. It works by having an image of what you want. Later, when you touch someone or something, you can read the object and learn the finer details, not just appearance.¡± Amdirlain performed two songs together, one to set Protean within Yngvar¡¯s form and the other to add the size-shifting enchantment to his clothing. When Amdirlain stopped, Yngvarr looked down at his hands nervously, and the skin of his fingers began to darken to near black. ¡°Thank you, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°That set of clothing will change to cater to whatever body size you take on; I¡¯ll make you some more later. Now you have some new opportunities in your life,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve given you the Power, but you don¡¯t have to use it for what we discussed. It would be a big change in your relationship, so talk to Alfarr first.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°Nothing is ready to test for fixing the sterility issue. Would you come back at other times?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°At least until you get pregnant if you go that route. It seems I could use practice in not overwhelming people again.¡± ¡°I can come back as often as you need. Though, with Farhad¡¯s training, I would have expected better from myself,¡± murmured Yngvarr. ¡°Even given your attribute¡¯s strength.¡± ¡°Well, you can help me train, and I can help you train your Mental Resilience,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she gave a lopsided shrug. ¡°Might even get Mental Hardening like Ilya and Isa, which greatly helps them. Ilya also has a Skill called Focused Observation, which lets her hold mental distractions aside. They sometimes resort to using blessings and spells that help protect their minds.¡± ¡°How did she come by that Skill, and what does it do?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°Focused Observation?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she continued at Yngvarr¡¯s nod. ¡°Ilya said she knew many of Hell¡¯s scouts had it, but it''s likely something a higher-level Scout gains, not just those serving Hell. It lets her catalogue information around her and avoid getting suckered by various charm effects or environmental distractions. Useful for still gathering information when someone is hacking you apart.¡± ¡°Catalogue information, I hadn¡¯t thought to try that,¡± muttered Yngvarr. ¡°Can you turn your Dominion on again in a moment? I have a Sage Power that might help.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± agreed Amdirlain warily. Yngvar sat upright, his expression relaxed and his eyes became unfocused. ¡°Please begin.¡± When she restored Dominion and Charisma to their previous projections, Yngvarr didn¡¯t even blink, though he nodded calmly. ¡°This will make an interesting memory to review. The Power is called Sage¡¯s Retention; it lets me take in details I wouldn¡¯t have noticed. Though it''s tiring to keep up, it''s good for studying or examining objects for details without being impacted by any emotions while it''s active.¡± A smile twitched on Amdirlain¡¯s lips at the challenge offered, and she flowed to her feet and glided across the open floor before the bench using dance-like steps. When Yngvarr failed to blink, she tried the dances that Ilya had taught her until Yngvarr finally groaned and closed his eyes. When he started to flag, she dropped Dominion and concentrated on holding the emotions from the innocent memory again. ¡°Maybe I should get you to teach me to dance when I can take on a female form,¡± Yngvarr said, his tone heavy with fatigue. ¡°Your sexuality isn¡¯t enticing to me, but the beauty of your movements is sublime and alluring.¡± ¡°I can do that. Though I was thinking about learning the standard Dance instead of the Erotic Dance that I absorbed into Femme Fatale,¡± explained Amdirlain. The memories of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s use of dance, which had later evolved into finger twitches to generate True Song, had been prickling at her since Gideon¡¯s Failed Songbird offering. Yngvarr nodded. ¡°I know all the court dances and some festival ones.¡± ¡°You sound exhausted. Why don¡¯t you snuggle up with Alfarr and allow yourself some more reverie time?¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea, for more reasons than just my mental fatigue,¡± smiled Yngvarr. Amdirlain held herself motionless until Yngvarr was safely on the Material Plane and had closed the Gate. Returning to her writing, Amdirlain persisted until the pain from the new Skill increase had faded completely. When she spent the next point, the wave that hit felt like it was trying to rip the top of her skull apart and pour lava through her synapses. Then the feedback from her Soul hit, ripping and tearing at Pain Eater¡¯s control. [Pain Eater [M] (82->85) True Song Architecture [S] (88->90) Note: Having Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Soul, you¡¯ll be enjoying double taps from a Skill on its 5th evolution. As you can now see, Skill levels within a rank aren¡¯t ticking off a steady progression. Skill Lore [Ap] (15->16)] Turning over the stacks of paper, Amdirlain scrawled in desperation, trying to absorb the information and get the pain to ease. She was still writing four hours later when the Gate for the next session with the L¨®m? opened. Barely able to see the figure, she waved them away. ¡°Please give me a week.¡± The Gate closed after an acknowledgement and their commitment to passing the word along. When Amdirlain had finished, the stacks of paper had multiplied and overflowed the table. The melody within the thousands of sheets clarified their source, even though she couldn¡¯t remember using Protean to create them. Moving to the far side of the chamber, True Song created a longer workbench and pallets of paper. The pain that hit the third time dropped into her unconsciousness despite Pain Eater¡¯s buffer. When Amdirlain awoke, her head blazing with agony, she wrote as she bled and wept. Only after the pain had eased to migraine levels did Amdirlain notice Isa¡¯s presence, carefully taking finished sheets from her hands and setting them aside. ¡°How long have you been here?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A day. You¡¯ve been at this constantly since you told D¨²hel that you¡¯d need a week.¡± Ilya tidied a stack of paper and slipped it into a box. ¡°Isa didn¡¯t want to crowd you, but worry got the best of her. Especially given your arrays have detected two Fallen near Moloch¡¯s palace.¡± The pain in her head dragged Amdirlain¡¯s focus back to the blank pages nearby. ¡°Need to write more to calm it down.¡± ¡°Your handwriting leaves a bit to be desired; some of these notations aren¡¯t in anyone''s range.¡± Amdirlain made the mistake of shrugging and felt like her head would fall off. ¡°It''s tapping into Gideon¡¯s knowledge to gain the Skill progression with points; maybe it''s Songbird stuff.¡± ¡°What¡¯s got you in a tizz to do this without a bodyguard? You were not coherent to talk to, and I doubt you could have protected yourself properly,¡± critiqued Isa. Amdirlain winced and gave a reluctant nod. ¡°Just let me finish getting this stuff organised in my brain.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the empty horticultural area for?¡± asked Isa. ¡°To test out some seeds once I get their song composed.¡± Isa gave her a cautious look. ¡°Write and then explain. You have me feeling like there are bets to place, and I don¡¯t even know the game or stakes.¡± ¡°High stakes and I¡¯m trying to stack the deck, as always,¡± laughed Amdirlain and returned to her work. Isa¡¯s mouth thinned in concern, and she stroked a hand down Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°Are you going to do more of this?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kitten, buster. I was going to use the Skill points once I got to Grand Master rank. Now I¡¯m not sure my brain would handle it. Might be best to save them for a different Skill or wait until my Intelligence is higher; too much information hits at once.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this all about?¡± ¡°To fix sterility in the And¨²n?; I¡¯m fairly sure I have what I need now. I got some minor options towards improving it from the first increase I forced, so I wanted to ensure there wasn¡¯t something else within easy reach.¡± Amdirlain continued writing until the pain eased away. Only then did she lead the way through to her agriculture chamber and sprouted the first pair of trees. Their rapid growth and subsequent pollination spread golden apples through their branches. Giggling, Amdirlain transformed into a serpent and slithered up into the branches of the closest tree. ¡°Care for a bite.¡± When Isa started cackling with laughter, Ilya regarded them as if they were both mad. 260 - New beginnings Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The message globe buzzed at her shoulder, Resonance letting her hear the contents without activating it. ¡°Aunt Am, are you busy?¡± Gail¡¯s words were in an excited yet anxious tone that snatched at Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°I can be at the dome shortly.¡± The energy in Gail¡¯s message clawed at her for attention, but Amdirlain forced her notes to stay true. True Song was already straining with the force of the intention she was pushing into the tunnel¡¯s latest linked song, so Amdirlain strove towards perfection in the notes instead of rushing. It hooked into the Plane¡¯s primordial, fiery sky when it finally settled; a pulley anchored into the depths. Yet it was only one among the millions she¡¯d set within the tunnels that now completely undermined the plateaus. It currently wasn¡¯t so much if she could annihilate the Cliffs of Lust, but how fast they¡¯d fall. [True Song [S] (175) evolved into True Song Genesis [Ap] (1). Lingering Song [S] (1) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (1 -> 2). Symphonic [S] (102) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (2 -> 6). Silent Song [S] (24) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (6 -> 7). Singing [S] (100) merged into True Song Genesis [Ap] (7 -> 11). Dance [Ad] (12) insufficient to merge. (Pre-Existing Exotic Dance in Master Rank bypasses Dance requirement for Power.)] Amdirlain started to groan in dismay, only to freeze up at the impact running through her. The orchestra of delicate notes representing the Power to her senses thrummed and pulled. Around her, the tunnel¡¯s walls shimmered in and out of focus while the pattern she¡¯d avoided cycling through for decades, inhaled. When reality came properly back into focus, a few solid chords strummed a pattern within her, and a dim light pulse ran the phoenix¡¯s path of its own accord¡ªa light that seemed incredibly insufficient against the gulf it was trying to illuminate. Clearing her throat, Amdirlain swallowed the blood the strain had caused and checked the Power name in the notification. The beat echoing within her brought up a memory of a young Orh¨ºthurin, maybe seven, pushing back at the surging Far Chaos and trying to create a bubble nearby like the one where her father¡¯s forge sits. The Titan had rumbled a warning not to make a tiny realm without an exit defined and sat listening to her sing for hours. [True Song Genesis Details: The start of the Songbird¡¯s path, a Power unrealised by, and then denied to, the ungrateful children that turned their back on the realm¡¯s purpose. The music is within and without the flesh, and all can become one for those that tread this path fully. Note: They still don¡¯t have access to what they used to, but she didn¡¯t lock her Soul from accessing this Power path.] Amdirlain considered Gail¡¯s objections to the ugliness of the True Song path in her Class vision. Though she¡¯d sung other powers into individuals, the beat of this energy seemed extremely risky to instil. Putting the matter aside, she instead teleported back home. Once there, but only after setting concealments around her auras, Amdirlain sent a confirmation. The Gate opened precisely in the section Amdirlain had kept clear of abyssal contaminants in the four years since Sarah¡¯s departure. Gail¡¯s confirmation that it simplified her clean-up efforts¡ªafter each of Yngvarr¡¯s training trips¡ªmade the continual effort worthwhile. The other side of the threshold wasn¡¯t one of the stone chambers they usually used but a small clearing. The interlocking branches arched overhead, and the area¡¯s illumination was a restful twilight. It wasn¡¯t the material or a heavenly plane; instead, the faint radiant sunlight echoed the energy she¡¯d put into the creation of Gail¡¯s Demi-Plane haven. The mithril circle they¡¯d centred the Gate in kept the abyssal energies from spreading their contamination. In the small clearing was an excited Gail in her Wood Elf form wearing a green silk gown, Sarah in a figure-hugging knee-length red dress, and a terrified Greek man Sarah held suspended in mid-air. At least, he was Greek as far as Amdirlain could tell from his face since Sarah had wrapped him in a shiny, black latex-like material with a bright red ball stuck in his mouth and a pink bow around his neck. A sheen of sweat covered the man¡¯s face, though Amdirlain didn¡¯t hear a single wound within his song. Sarah waved her forward. ¡°Amdirlain, with the permission of your slayer, Prince Charilaos, I bid you come forth from your imprisonment. Hope you have your party shoes on, girlfriend.¡± The pressure across her skin, whose sensation she¡¯d long grown used to, shattered. [Planar Lock released Elapsed Time: 8,193.72 days (22.7 Veht? years) Remaining Time: 28,241.28 days (77.3 Veht? years) Note: Just in case you wanted to know. Keeping count last time wouldn¡¯t have been too hard for you. ] Not quite believing it, Amdirlain stepped towards the threshold and hesitantly reached out. Half expecting to hit a barrier when her fingers breached into the Demi-Plane, success drew a gasp of delight. Pulling her hand back, Amdirlain set a filter before the Gate¡¯s threshold to hold back abyssal energy. Mindful of Gail¡¯s presence, she carefully projected the restful serenity through Dominion that she¡¯d perfected with Yngvarr before she stepped through the Gate. Her passage through the barrier provided the sensation of having her skin scraped raw, and the disturbing image of the corruption seeping into her skin¡¯s pores made her pull a face in disgust. The moment she was entirely in the circle, the Gate closed, and Gail launched herself forward with a squeal to claim a hug. ¡°Auntie Am.¡± After holding Gail for long minutes, Amdirlain kissed her cheek. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯m alright. I brought him back, but Sarah insisted on doing the convincing. She didn¡¯t have to lay a finger on him, just showed him a bunch of options in his mind,¡± explained Gail. Amdirlain rubbed her shoulder and stepped towards the captive. ¡°How did you convince him to give permission, Sarah?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Since bringing him back from the dead wasn¡¯t enough to cooperate?¡± ¡°The hag built the new wall around Hades¡¯ old palace using the godless as its bricks,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Those that took over Apollo¡¯s Mantle found him lacking when they gathered souls from Judgement. It made it challenging to find something interesting enough since he knew we needed him alive. Eventually, I made it clear I¡¯d happily make his torments far worse. There were so many loopholes in what I promised him, that I could still make that happen.¡± At Sarah¡¯s words, the man squirmed and thrashed. The harsh edges of his melody, with its brutal tones similar to the damned she¡¯d claimed, told her enough about the man¡¯s nature. Despite all he cost her and others, Amdirlain stepped forward and killed him with a single strike below the ear. The contact linked her to his Soul, and she yanked it from his dying body. ¡°You didn¡¯t even unwrap him,¡± Sarah mock grumbled. ¡°What do you plan to do with his Soul, auntie Am?¡± Gail asked softly. ¡°You could have left this to Sarah and me,¡± Amdirlain noted, ignoring Sarah¡¯s teasing. ¡°No. Sometimes a ruler needs to ?make hard decisions, and turning my eyes away just makes it easier for evil to grow,¡± refuted Gail. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask because I doubted you. I need to know the details to ensure I don¡¯t turn a blind eye or assume things.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The last four years have matured you, even if your song is still very playful.¡± ¡°Four and a bit, auntie. Yet that isn¡¯t an answer to my question,¡± probed Gail. ¡°I¡¯ll put him with the rest of the damned I¡¯ve gathered to wipe their memories and cleanse their corruption. The Soul can have a fresh start. What he did to me wasn¡¯t the greatest malicious action he¡¯d performed,¡± stated Amdirlain. Sarah snorted. ¡°On another day, I¡¯d happily argue that point.¡± The slightest twitch of Gail¡¯s mouth as she glanced at the prince¡¯s remains prompted Sarah to pull his body into Inventory. The interaction nearly tempted Amdirlain to ask what Sarah¡¯s job title had become. ¡°The Soul deserves a chance, though the person he¡¯d been wouldn¡¯t have shown others the same mercy,¡± stated Gail. ¡°From his self-centred song, I¡¯m not sure he ever understood that another person could feel pain.¡± ¡°You¡¯re slightly off, Gail. He didn¡¯t see anyone as a person, just objects that frustrated him by obstructing what should have been his,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°Before we do anything else, I need to change my Home Plane,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°This place isn¡¯t enough for it?¡± asked Gail, waving a hand towards the trees. ¡°No artificial Demi-Plane is, and even some naturally forming demi-planes are too unstable to risk. At least I assume Gideon wouldn¡¯t reset your Home Plane if the one you linked to ceased to exist,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t be too long. Gail¡¯s got a party planned,¡± cautioned Sarah. Amdirlain gave the suddenly smug pair an amused smile. ¡°Do I get advance notice of what you pair are up to?¡± Sarah smiled merrily. ¡°Many people you¡¯ve not seen in years, though they don¡¯t yet know the purpose. Make sure you keep your concealments steady and your Femme Fatale in check. We didn¡¯t think opening the Gate directly in the banquet hall with them would have been a sensible approach.¡± ¡°The wards will force me to the entry foyer when I shift back here, so I¡¯ll clean up before I come back,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, and she took a few moments to add to her protections. As Amdirlain did so, Gail¡¯s delicate soprano cleaned up the corruption that had leaked through the Gate and removed the mithril circle from the ground. Gail glanced at her in concern when it was done. ¡°Will it take you long?¡± Amdirlain pulled a face as she considered possibilities. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t, but allow me up to ten or fifteen minutes.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll gather some more for the party,¡± Gail said as she rubbed her hands gleefully. ¡°Are you planning to kick things off before you come back?¡± asked Sarah, and a predatory gleam showed in her gaze. ¡°Not yet. It¡¯s all set if I wanted to trigger it, but there are a few final touches I want to put in place,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Also, I need to check with Roher that we¡¯ve got enough banishment arrays to cover the towns and palace.¡± Sarah¡¯s smile got broader. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me what approach you settled on. Planning to use the misdirections still?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to wait and see, but the fireworks should be fun,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Planar Shift placed Amdirlain in the Outlands with nothing but grasslands visible all around her, even the spire but a distant line splitting the horizon. The feeling of the sunlight differed from the Demi-Plane, and the Plane¡¯s song was significantly more substantial. Eager to get back, Amdirlain quickly cast Planar Attunement, but it didn¡¯t go as she¡¯d hoped. Instead, it behaved as she¡¯d expected: the tuning fork that ran through her turned sour and faded away well before it would have caught hold. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. With that hope dashed, concern knotted in her stomach, and Amdirlain opened a Gate to the Elemental Plane of Earth. The image she targeted was the cavern she and Ebusuku had used to stage the Erakk? they¡¯d first rescued from the Dao. The pool of sunlight from the Outlands splashed across the massive stone arch, which ran from one side of the gigantic cavern to the other. Hoping to minimise notice, she dashed through and hurried off to one side. It hadn¡¯t even been a half second from the Gate opening to its closure. Here again, Planar Attunement soured and failed, and alone in the darkness, Amdirlain listened to the grinding bass tones of the elemental creatures. Without the counterbalance the Mantle had provided, it was apparent her nature didn¡¯t allow a connection to the planes she¡¯d hoped she could use. Weighing up the options to try next, Amdirlain used Planar Shift again and appeared floating in a dark void. A thousand kilometres away was one of the countless planets floating in Carceri¡¯s infinite darkness, eternally unlit by any sun but its surface emitting a reddish phosphorescent glow. This time, when she cast Planar Attunement, the Spell struck through her and continued to ring as a surprising notification appeared. [Planar Attunement Success Primary Home Plane: Culerzic Secondary Home Plane(s): None Attunement Target: Carceri Override Primary Home Plane, or accept the target as a secondary Home Plane?] Amdirlain immediately picked the secondary option, despite never wanting to return to Culerzic, having doubled her survival chances. Attempts to gain more information quickly paid off, and it wasn¡¯t as bad as Amdirlain had feared, but still not good. [Secondary Home Plane Limit: 3 Options: Abyss (Any Plane) (Current Primary: Culerzic), Acheron, Carceri (Secondary - all layers accessible during Planar Lock), Hades, Hell, Gehenna, and Pandemonium. ] ¡°Chaos incorporated at one end of the tour and the order of Acheron¡¯s eternal battlegrounds at the other,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Shifting back to the Outlands, Amdirlain reinforced the efforts of the sunlight to clear herself of the lower planes¡¯ energy before she returned to the Demi-Plane. Unguided by the Gate, her arrival this time placed her exactly where she¡¯d expected. The entry foyer for the Demi-Plane showed seven silvery energy panes that served as exits to various locations on the Material Plane. Interlocking branches created an arched ten-metre ceiling some twenty metres long. The hints of the radiant sunlight that broke through the net of branches barely illuminated it brighter than late twilight. Towards the foyer¡¯s end, the lines of trees curved away, rapidly expanding into a long oval space, open to a bright blue sky with a Radiant orb high overhead serving as a sun. Shrubs filled the gaps between trees, and woven within them was a distortion to prevent anyone from seeing through to other clearings. The feast hall¡¯s tables were transparent blue laen¡ªthe magical glass on display would make tens of thousands of swords, if not more. The tables ranged in size from those that barely fit four guests, to others that could seat dozens along their lengths. Around each table, chairs showed polished golden brown grains and the smooth melody of the sung oak that Amdirlain had found in an ancient memory. The layout of the tables followed a pattern Amdirlain had modelled off the Titan¡¯s maze sigil. Scattered throughout the tables, gaps allowed easy passage between a wide path along the hall¡¯s perimeter and the round dance floor covered in a soft fragrant moss in the middle. Along the perimeter of the banquet area, a wide path provided enough space for six armoured knights to walk side by side. It ran in an unbroken curve along the sides from the entry until it reached a sloped rise at the far end, atop which stood the head table. There was space to seat a thousand guests¡ªor more¡ªand the hall was beyond capacity. A few hundred older women bore the Amdirlain Cadre¡¯s uniform, many of them bearing heavy scars with pride. Though the years sat heavily on many, Amdirlain recognised every one of them. Mingling with them was nearly twice their number in assorted apparel from the Human countries. While off to one side, on the nearest table, the closest of a dozen dwarves were speaking to elves who Amdirlain identified based upon conversations with Gail and Yngvarr. Standing on the foyer¡¯s boundary, Sarah turned to face the hall¡¯s shallow bowl and clapped for the crowd¡¯s attention before Amdirlain reached her. The force of Sarah¡¯s presence brought utter silence to the room. ¡°Everyone, Gailneth¡¯s guest of honour has arrived.¡± As Amdirlain neared Sarah, eyes attracted by her gliding motions were already starting to widen. Livia turned from conversing with Verdandi and Eivor nearby, calling out in delight. ¡°M¨®eir.¡± ¡°Lady Amdirlain,¡± Eivor intoned, long practice at public speaking letting her effortlessly project her voice. Her pronouncement caused a ripple the length of the still silent hall as she directed a near genuflection to Amdirlain. The veterans turned to the figure who¡¯d rescued them and stood guard to banish their nightmares, and the utterance of her name became a unified roar. The surprise written on their faces turned into delight as they called her name with increasing fervour. Along one right side of the hall, Amdirlain spotted Gail laughing merrily while most of those Amdirlain recognised from descriptions as Gail''s teammates paled in shock. Only a broad-shouldered man whose song resonated through a link to Gail seemed unsurprised among them. As Livia darted towards Amdirlain, the rest of the crowd began to move. Worried that someone would get hurt, Amdirlain projected a firm reassurance through her Dominion, even as she touched their minds to ensure they all heard her. ¡°Hold position.¡± The order stopped most of the crowd in their tracks from long ingrained habit; the rest took their guidance from the hundreds that snapped to a halt. ¡°Thank you. I don¡¯t want anyone hurt in a crush. Thank you also for being here. Many among you are my heroes, having endured much and then continued risking themselves for others. While I appreciate the welcome to me, it¡¯s their names you should be cheering. Please remain where you are and enjoy the refreshments. I promise I¡¯ll come around and speak to all that wish to speak to me.¡± Embracing Livia, Amdirlain looked over the crowd before her. The belief and conviction Amdirlain saw in many that met her gaze hit hard, and taking a breath, she focused on keeping the jittering emotions away from her mental voice. ¡°To address the question, I¡¯m sure many will ask: I¡¯ve recovered enough to win part of my freedom, but I still have many difficulties to overcome before I can resume the role it honoured me to hold. I¡¯m gratified by those who¡¯ve continued to protect others in my name and cherish Lerina for looking after those who previously followed me. I would ask you not to hesitate to return if I don¡¯t meet with you in time today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll handle portals if anyone leaves early and set up a time for their return. You¡¯re the star with no security from fans,¡± heckled Sarah lightheartedly, slipping away through the crowd towards Gail. Even caught up in hugging Livia, Amdirlain felt the flurry of celestials arriving behind her. Rather than intruding on their reunion, Ebusuku briefly rested a hand reassuringly on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder and headed towards Gail. The cheeky miss in question was now smugly waving off queries and¡ªfrom how she cupped her ears and leant towards the others¡ªpretending to have gone deaf. Erwarth and the rest of the L¨®m? solars moved past in various Wood Elf forms, giving Amdirlain and Livia a wave or blown kisses. ¡°You attract quite the company, M¨®eir,¡± murmured Livia as she happily lent into Amdirlain¡¯s prolonged hug. When Amdirlain finally released her, she kept a hand on Livia¡¯s shoulders and gave her a broad grin. ¡°Will you accompany me around?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to monopolise your time,¡± objected Livia. ¡°Nonsense. We can greet everyone together. Sarah keeps putting off telling me about the cultists, and she¡¯s already slipped away. You¡¯re my captive until I learn more,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Best spoken about afterwards; it was honestly nothing you could do anything about. The few clues we have led through The Exchange, not where we expected,¡± sighed Livia. ¡°Alright, afterwards,¡± said Amdirlain, and she shifted position to clasp Livia¡¯s hand, starting for the first nearby group. ¡°I¡¯m not ten still,¡± laughed Livia. ¡°You were never simply ten, missie,¡± countered Amdirlain. Hours spent carefully moving through the crowd, Amdirlain caught up with many women from the first platoons. Along the way, she fulfilled a promise she¡¯d once made herself, and those that wanted their scars removed found themselves with unblemished flesh; though not all veterans took up the offer, enough did to keep the crowd abuzz. Among the dwarven contingent, Jaixar¡ªnow a Master Artificer and Alchemist¡ªbecame bashful from the warmth of Amdirlain¡¯s greeting. Later in the evening, as they slipped between groups, they found Aggie smiling at their approach. The network of lightning scars that had covered her face since the Gods¡¯ War was gone. Instead, she now possessed blemish-free Mediterranean skin that looked too young for her years. ¡°How long did Gail wait before she made you accept her healing?¡± Livia asked and clasped Aggie¡¯s cheeks; the two women, dwarfed by Amdirlain, were nearly the same height. The contrast between Aggie¡¯s dusky skin and black hair made Livia¡¯s white skin an almost neon glow. ¡°The moment the pair of you started circulating,¡± laughed Aggie, and she waved towards the hall¡¯s entrance. ¡°Though I think partly to deflect her team¡¯s questions because she then made her escape.¡± ¡°Gail told me she¡¯d set you up for healing the day you came to Sanctuary¡¯s Cove,¡± informed Amdirlain. Aggie gave a rueful head shake. ¡°The enthusiasm she possesses makes it seem she¡¯s not the type to plan more than a few days ahead, and then she goes and shows she can wait years. The key she¡¯s been seeking, did it have something to do with getting you out?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t tell you when she found it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not a peep,¡± confirmed Aggie. ¡°I was in the dark about what this party was for. Given the crowd, there was plenty of speculation, but none included you being even partly freed.¡± Amdirlain gave a helpless shrug. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just for me. I¡¯m merely a first step in rescuing many others from undeserved fates.¡± ¡°That young lady can sure keep a secret,¡± laughed Aggie. ¡°I think Myrto almost fainted in religious ecstasy that the often-mentioned auntie Am turned out to be you.¡± ¡°Why? She¡¯s one of Hestia¡¯s priestesses,¡± protested Amdirlain in confusion. ¡°I know Gail and Tove arranged a meeting for her with Hestia shortly after Gail got here.¡± ¡°One, you wouldn¡¯t know but Hestia¡¯s faithful have sung your praises for years. Two, Tove¡¯s done almost as much for Hestia¡¯s faithful as yours and Lerina¡¯s in the years she¡¯s been working with Ipy.¡± ¡°I spotted Eivor¡¯s son with Gail. He looks much like his father but massive for someone of Egyptian descent,¡± observed Amdirlain. Aggie smiled brightly. ¡°The fact you remember his father will make his day.¡± ¡°I remember them all,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she smiled at the waiting group. ¡°Care to do the introductions, Grand Traveller Aggie? There are some here I¡¯ve not yet had the pleasure to meet.¡± Renewing her aura concealments several times through the evening kept one problem at bay. It was the easiest of the issues to resolve, and Amdirlain needed a great application of Dominion to calm some among the crowd. The occasional spike of serenity caused Livia to lift an eyebrow, but Amdirlain persisted in meeting those who waited. The evening had long ago lengthened into the morning¡¯s early hours when Amdirlain spoke to the last group who¡¯d patiently waited. With the last farewells exchanged, some of Gail¡¯s elven staff took responsibility for getting them home safely. Amdirlain followed Livia to the closest table the servants had cleaned. ¡°I never asked, but it seems Sarah¡¯s got things organised.¡± ¡°Gail helped by poaching from other households initially, though most of her staff come from poor families,¡± commented Livia. ¡°Are you going to give yourself time to relax?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made some promises I intend to keep. However, in the short term, I will be here regularly. The next stage of Gail¡¯s plan will need Isa and myself helping,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll wait until Ebusuku and the others come back before I discuss the next steps. What happened to the cult?¡± ¡°The Kyton turned out to be an older one that Sarah had encountered during her years trapped. When we raided the cult¡¯s main temple, she didn¡¯t appreciate Sarah¡¯s ability to wrest control of her chains,¡± explained Livia. ¡°Sarah rummaged through her mind and found the deliveries weren¡¯t part of the cult¡¯s plans. A broker from The Exchange hired them, and the Kyton charged for help and used the funds to forward Hell¡¯s agenda on this planet. They never met Torm directly or gained his name.¡± Amdirlain tapped the table lightly, listening to its song¡¯s shift with each impact. ¡°Using cutouts. I guess that¡¯s hardly surprising after his work with the cell and my conversations with him. Any idea how Torm learnt of them?¡± ¡°The cult is old. Verdandi said that Torm had assisted her in putting it down a few times over his years with her. The Kyton didn¡¯t know how the broker learnt of them. He paid well and, besides providing the material for the ritual, also helped them source hard-to-come-by goods. She got the feeling the broker had been told to ensure they complied speedily on their side of the deal,¡± clarified Livia. ¡°You¡¯ll have to get the broker¡¯s name from Sarah¡ªshe didn¡¯t share.¡± ¡°I can guess why. What would you have done if she¡¯d given you the name?¡± Livia crossed her arms. ¡°He aided criminals breaking the law; there must be a way to get him.¡± ¡°There are ways and means of dealing with matters in The Exchange. I¡¯ll discuss it with Sarah and Ebusuku; I know Ebusuku has had the most recent dealing with the Demi-Plane¡¯s management.¡± ¡°Most recent dealings? You know who runs The Exchange?¡± ¡°A mated pair of gem dragons set it up; I don¡¯t know who is running it now,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You remember it being founded? How long do dragons live?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°I know Azex said he¡¯s well past an Adamantine Dragon¡¯s normal lifespan.¡± ¡°Dragons on the Material Plane, if they don¡¯t get themselves killed, can live ten or fifteen thousand years, depending on their strength, before their body weight kills them. The pressure slowly causes organs to fail and blood vessels to constrict, cutting off circulation,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°The dragons native to other planes live longer because of their aspects. Legends say there are dragons the others supposedly descend from that are truly immortal.¡± ¡°But you remember it being founded?¡± persisted Livia. ¡°Why do you think Orh¨ºthurin was at every significant event in the realm?¡± Amdirlain countered evasively. ¡°That¡¯s completely implausible. I¡¯ve many memories of her being surprised by various changes or finding out about things long afterwards.¡± ¡°M¨®eir!¡± chided Livia. ¡°Can you be slightly more subtle in avoiding answering?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve remembered Orh¨ºthurin being invited along with others to visit after its founding,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Amethyst dragons believe in the balance, but they¡¯ve no concerns over profiting from maintaining it. The Exchange started as a neutral territory because the couple expected its businesses to be good for consistently increasing their hoard. If they or their family remain in control, being the landlords earns them a lot.¡± Livia started to speak, but Ebusuku, Gail, and Sarah reentering the hall and, heading their way, halted her questions. 261 - Back one day Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Sanctuary¡¯s Demi-Plane As Sarah got close, Amdirlain gestured to Livia. ¡°Livia brought me up to speed on the main points with Torm and the cult. I¡¯ll get the details about Torm¡¯s contact in The Exchange from you after we take care of some key items.¡± ¡°Whenever you want, we can go together,¡± acknowledged Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Erwarth or the others to help,¡± offered Ebusuku. Gail sat down and put her head on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Did you enjoy talking to them at all?¡± ¡°I did. It was a wonderful surprise to see them,¡± Amdirlain said as she gave Gail a gentle, one-armed hug. ¡°I never took enough time to convey my respect to them.¡± Livia hummed and shook her head. ¡°It''s not how often you say things, M¨®eir; it''s the conviction that you project with them. Those women have gone away knowing they are the heroes of Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Bet Gideon gives them a Prestige or evolved Class,¡± giggled Gail. ¡°Nanok got a Prestige Class offered in his last Class vision that I think was Gideon teasing him. Not going to say, but it was slightly rude.¡± ¡°Elf Herder? Grumpy Bear?¡± proposed Livia. Gail¡¯s laughter rose, and she waggled her head against Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder, not leaving her embrace. ¡°No, I¡¯m not saying. Not sure why he told me the name.¡± ¡°What have you been up to while Livia and I met with the guests?¡± asked Amdirlain, reaching up to brush a stray lock from Gail¡¯s face. ¡°Putting out fires initially, and then I got some rest while my folks tried the soundproofing in a bower. Your reveal was fun, but I thought some people¡¯s brains would explode,¡± Gail chirped. ¡°Who approached you?¡± asked Amdirlain dryly, wondering if there was a problem to head off. ¡°There weren¡¯t any issues at all with your veterans. However, some of their guests? got a little excited. Like the Adventurers¡¯ Guild Grand Master¡ªhis name is Hasusar¡ªwho came along at the invitation of a friend instead of asking me what was going on. After settling them down, I took time for reverie so I wouldn¡¯t hold you up,¡± explained Gail. As Gail spoke, Farhad entered the hall from the same path Gail and Ebusuku had appeared from, his hawk-like features set in a stern expression. The regimented notes within his being gained a lightness that brushed across them when he spotted Ebusuku and Gail. His severeness was further eased by Gail¡¯s slumped pose against Amdirlain; his daughter''s antics added amusement to his gaze. ¡°Are you not on Hasusar''s nice list?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve had our differences of opinion over the last four years. I¡¯ve smacked him on the nose a few times, and he¡¯s returned the favour a few times. Other times we¡¯ve worked out approaches to handling situations together.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°What does it look like it will be this time?¡± Covering her mouth, Gail gave a bone-cracking yawn. ¡°Sorry, still waking up. On this one, I think we¡¯ll agree to disagree.¡± ¡°Myrto had a meltdown,¡± prompted Amdirlain. "And none of them stuck around to speak to me." ¡°They likely figured you meant the veterans. Myrto had an excited meltdown, and she wasn¡¯t the only one having that sort of reaction, even if hers was the most extreme in my team. The rest were so funny they almost had me in stitches,¡± giggled Gail. ¡°Ipy¡¯s immediate reaction was the best. You completely shattered his normal calm so all he managed was: ¡®Your aunt Am is Amdirlain? Then who is your mother?¡¯ I pretended I¡¯d gone deaf at that point and rushed off to fix aunt Aggie¡¯s scars.¡± ¡°I played an additional decoy for her,¡± Farhad said, sitting across the table. ¡°You promised no interrogations,¡± groaned Gail. ¡°Fatherly questions aren¡¯t interrogations,¡± argued Farhad. Gail scrubbed her fingers in her hair. ¡°They so are. Wait, how did you introduce yourself?¡± As Gail started to say more, Farhad gave her an enigmatic smile and added fuel to her fire. ¡°You¡¯ve kept your rank secret from them?¡± asked Amdirlain, interrupting Gail''s protest. Gail shrugged. ¡°Nikias knows it, but he¡¯s known since his Class vision. Though I¡¯ve had to word my answers carefully with the rest, I¡¯ve never lied.¡± ¡°The degree to which Nikias is planar-touched should make an interesting legacy for his children,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Now that Amdirlain is free, when do we see a grandchild?¡± Farhad asked, and Gail sputtered in wide-eyed disbelief at the topic shift. Ebusuku laughed at the question. ¡°All the times you¡¯ve asked about siblings, surely you don¡¯t mind indulging us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m young yet,¡± protested Gail. ¡°You said you were all grown up when you started adventuring. You could always establish a harem of beautiful ladies if you didn¡¯t wish to bear a child¡ªI hear you have two on the hook,¡± stated Farhad. ¡°You forgot the men chasing Gail,¡± Livia added. Farhad shrugged. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but it''s hard for them to help with the grandchild part unless Gail¡¯s staying put for a bit.¡± Hiding her face in her hands, Gail¡¯s shoulders shook with suppressed mirth, a reaction that had Farhad directing an indulgent smile her way. Their interaction didn¡¯t distract Amdirlain from Ebusuku placing concealments to prevent their conversation from being overheard. ¡°Gail mentioned you¡¯d gone to set a new Home Plane,¡± started Ebusuku, and her getting down to business brought a pleased nod from Amdirlain. ¡°I did and found out I can have four now, but none is anywhere I want to be. The best is Acheron,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°There are safer planes in the Abyss,¡± muttered Ebusuku. ¡°Where did you set?¡± ¡°Carceri as a secondary, the five layers of it are all accessible if I get locked again,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°I''m leaving my primary alone until I¡¯ve researched locations to use as a haven and find a replacement that I¡¯m happy with going forward.¡± Livia snorted. ¡°In other words, you¡¯ll leave it in case you get Planar Locked again. You¡¯ll be able to shift there at least and hurt that vile bastard further.¡± ¡°Am I that transparent?¡± ¡°I deal with the Norse and Persians daily, M¨®eir. Some of the tribal groups will keep revenge going for generations,¡± reminded Livia. ¡°Four home planes. Do I want to know what level you got to?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯m sure you would have told me if you¡¯d taken a new Prestige Class.¡± ¡°The last four years, I stopped creating so many crystals. Instead, I¡¯ve focused on pushing my True Song and other abilities. That has unfortunately meant that the net scanning for mortals and fallen isn¡¯t growing as fast,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Gail tilted her head in thought. ¡°If I need to get stronger to open the seal, I could help sing crystals to push my levels. Aunt Isa says it''s boring, but I¡¯ve far more patience for the routine than she does.¡± ¡°I would never have guessed,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°How many hours a day do you practice the harp?¡± ¡°I try for at least four, sometimes pushing to six, but I don¡¯t always manage it,¡± replied Gail, and she gave a forlorn sigh. ¡°Yesterday was almost a complete bust; I only squeezed in an hour.¡± ¡°Shocking,¡± gasped Amdirlain playfully. ¡°It¡¯s truly slack,¡± Gail said, her expression carefully schooled to show only disappointment. ¡°The only one of you that seems to know how to relax is Isa,¡± noted Livia. ¡°I blame Amdirlain. She¡¯s a corrupting influence on an impressionable mind,¡± Sarah commented. ¡°I just have to look at the routine you keep.¡± ¡°Alright, pot calling a kettle black,¡± admitted Livia. ¡°What¡¯s your next step?¡± enquired Ebusuku, contently watching Gail cuddle up against Amdirlain. ¡°When Gail¡¯s ready, we¡¯ll see if the harp¡¯s connection can lead us to the royal tower,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Whenever you want to give it a whirl,¡± acknowledged Gail excitedly, her attempt to leap up countered by Amdirlain''s arm not moving as she continued her recount. ¡°After that, we¡¯ll see if we can find the royal tower, then shift its location into one of the L¨®m?¡¯s caverns,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°As Gail said, we don¡¯t know if she¡¯ll be capable of breaking the seal even with being Anar Royalty¡ªshe might need to get stronger. We also don¡¯t want to risk breaking it open and the agreement coming into force on them, so it needs to be shifted into a safe spot first.¡± Gail shrugged. ¡°Jokes aside, I was really worried I wouldn¡¯t be good enough to handle the O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?; it harshly critiqued the first song I played on it. Auntie Am, when you said it had a mind of its own, I didn¡¯t understand you meant that literally.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk with it,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Rising, Gail teleported to the hall¡¯s dance floor, and Amdirlain followed suit, allowing the others to follow at their own pace. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The floor harp Gail released onto the soft ground was taller than many. Rising from a flat base¡ªthat presented a series of pedals¡ªthe head of its column came up to Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. The True Song crystal looked like they had filled it with living darkness, clouds of it swirling and brushing against the boundaries of the crystal. Within that darkness, brief glimmers of silvery stars shone, flaring brightly only to be swallowed up again. From the tuning pins on the harp¡¯s arch, strings made from wisps of energy stretched downward to the soundbox, at first looking phantasmal, they quickly solidified into the physical reality and pulsed. A gentle strumming followed the initial run across the string, and Amdirlain¡¯s Polyglot picked out the meaning. ¡°Your features resemble Orh¨ºthurin, but you project serenity instead of harsh judgement. Are you her or another Solar posing as a grove keeper that Gail is permitting to ogle me?¡± ¡°In my first life, I was Orh¨ºthurin,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Good. Are you planning to sort this mess out soon, or do you need more time?¡± Nand? asked waspishly. ¡°Nand?, do I need to remind you that neither of us had anything to do with the L¨®m?¡¯s agreement?¡± chided Gail. The notes that followed stung the air. ¡°I¡¯ve been under water and mud for over half a million years with only the realm¡¯s beat to track the time. I¡¯d like to see how patient you are after that long.¡± ¡°It has the potential to go very wrong, so we need to locate the royal tower first and plan our next steps,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°Has Gail told you I need to use your link to the royal couple?¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s get on with it then,¡± grumbled Nand?. ¡°Though not you. I expect Gail to play the song. She¡¯s told me you don¡¯t know how to play, and I refuse to be mishandled.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need any song played. I just need you not to resist mine when it touches your bond to them,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°If you do that, you could deflect its intent.¡± Nand?''s huff was a cascade of deep base notes. ¡°What will your song do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only be scrying the location of the primary bondholder.¡± ¡°Of course, you need the songs of its place. It¡¯s been a while since I considered the basic theories I¡¯d heard spoken of,¡± Nand? said. ¡°The bond will tell me enough about the place¡¯s song. Rather, I need to see what other seals, traps, and glyphs are in place; otherwise, we might drag them with the tower. The last thing we want is explosions inside one of the L¨®m? settlements,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and Nand?¡¯s bass notes thrummed sharply in response. ¡°Before we start, I¡¯ll reinforce the wards here.¡± ¡°Well, you said you¡¯d pushed your True Song, so have at it,¡± said Gail, and she swung her arms out wide. While Amdirlain¡¯s voice wasn¡¯t louder, the raw power within the first note surprised her. Gail¡¯s jaw dropped, and her eyes widened, yet she clapped excitedly. Continuing to push, Amdirlain tried to split her voice as she¡¯d done in the past with Multi-voice and found the hundreds of songs kept the same strength. Pushing through to their end, she resisted the temptation to extend their duration and still felt their strength drink from her health. ¡°Might want to close your mouth, Gail,¡± Ebusuku instructed. ¡°Mother, auntie¡¯s been holding out on me,¡± protested Gail playfully. ¡°Her True Song has gotten extremely loud. Not her voice, but the energy within each note makes me feel like I¡¯m whispering.¡± ¡°It was like a giant choir singing. Were you using Multi-voice to layer the effect, not combine them?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°Gail¡¯s been teaching the logistics, it seems,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Was the power rating over 9000?¡± quipped Sarah. Gail grinned at Sarah. ¡°Well, she still needs to work on her resistance training.¡± ¡°Right, we need to find a high-gravity planet for her,¡± nodded Sarah. ¡°You pair make no sense,¡± muttered Ebusuku. ¡°They¡¯re being goofy, talking about things from our previous world,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m completely the wrong person to talk to about dragon balls. Has Gaius decided one way or another?¡± Sarah sighed lightly. ¡°Not as yet. He allowed Gail to reverse his ageing, so there was no rush. Plus¡ªand I should have predicted this¡ªwe¡¯re still getting to know each other again. He¡¯s lived a lifetime without me, and I¡¯m very different now.¡± ¡°Is the injury you inflicted all forgiven?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hit him as hard as I believed. When I disappeared, he figured out what I¡¯d done and why, even before finding his copy of Hell¡¯s contract had crumbled to dust. Other matters are why we¡¯re still working on the relationship,¡± explained Sarah, and she waved at the harp. ¡°Don¡¯t you have other matters to tend to, or are you putting them off because of nerves?¡± ¡°Nerves indeed,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Amdirlain built up the song slowly, but it still contained more energy than she¡¯d expected. Before Amdirlain completed the first series of chords, the link with the bond reached the Abyss and quickly progressed onto the familiar Tern¨°x. However, when the image snapped into focus, there wasn¡¯t a crystal tower in view. The manifested image was of a large rectangular chamber; shaped from an off-white, roughly pitted stone. Inside were naked writhing succubi ravaging each other on the floor or smashing each other against the chamber¡¯s wall. With the scrying point buried amid the undulating bodies and flaring wings, seeing the entire room was impossible. Amdirlain could see enough to tell the forty-odd identical succubi in mid-orgy weren¡¯t going at it sedately. Fingers, fists, tongues, and tails all vigorously but soundlessly violated whatever suitable orifice was nearby. Their physical appearance was far too familiar to Amdirlain. The focal point of the scrying was above a pinned succubus with two hands thrust up inside her. ¡°Did you intend to scry on bored members of the Sisterhood?¡± asked Ebusuku, tilting her head as she tracked a plunging tail. ¡°Lucky that tail isn¡¯t coming out her mouth; must have followed her intestine¡¯s curves.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t any blood, so I think that¡¯s safe to assume,¡± observed Farhad, his hands covering Gail¡¯s eyes. Amdirlain released the song, and the image closed off. ¡°No, spying on the Sisterhood wasn¡¯t my intention at all. The bond led towards Tern¨°x without an issue, but ended up there.¡± ¡°At least we didn¡¯t get sound effects, and now you know the Sisterhood¡¯s members will be happy to get punched. I mean, with how deep a few fists were inside another sister,¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°I know what sex looks like, father; it¡¯s not like I haven¡¯t seen you two,¡± snorted Gail as she tapped the back of her father¡¯s hands. Despite the scene''s disappearance, he hadn¡¯t lowered them. ¡°There is sex, and then there is unchained lust,¡± critiqued Farhad. ¡°That wasn¡¯t about their partners¡¯ pleasure, only sating their twisted fits of hunger.¡± ¡°True, but you can at least do both,¡± remarked Ebusuku glibly. ¡°I think we¡¯re done talking about the scene,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll adjust the tracing composition and retry somewhere less open. With people still cleaning up, I¡¯m glad Ebusuku¡¯s privacy barrier had moved with her. I had just wanted an accurate visual for teleportation.¡± ¡°The walls weren¡¯t typical of Tern¨°x stone; then again, it¡¯s not stone,¡± remarked Ebusuku. ¡°The town where you met your infernal half-breed was one location with a primordial bone being mined for its marrow. However, years ago, Erwarth reported the Sisterhood had been clamping down on trying to control it, and that isn¡¯t the only town involved in such endeavours.¡± ¡°Qcppxtypcd? The town with the awkward name that means rotting marrow?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise the tower in the pit was a bone.¡± ¡°Rotting marrow or diseased marrow, depending on the abyssal dialect you use, there are other translations. The tower is the top of a bone that extends down further,¡± clarified Ebusuku. ¡°You¡¯ve been there twice now. Would you need to return to scry it?¡± ¡°If I go there, Resonance will let me sweep wide around by just walking through town.¡± Ebusuku nodded. ¡°Will you be servicing half the town or slaughtering them? I don¡¯t think your projection of calm will be enough, given the number of males I saw reacting to you this evening.¡± ¡°I could get behind a mass slaughter of demons,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Not sure that ripping someone apart counts as blow jobs,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Besides a blow to their ego when you crotch shot and rip.¡± ¡°Or you could compose a new song that lets you hear the True Song at that location. Wouldn¡¯t that let you determine if True Song crystal is nearby?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°I know there are times you¡¯ll need to take the risk. But with the Sisterhood present, let''s not draw their attention until you¡¯ve secured the tower.¡± Amdirlain considered the options before she nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been restraining myself for the last dozen-odd years. I¡¯ll admit getting my hands messy had great appeal.¡± Mentally composing a different song, Amdirlain tried again. When the image appeared, it was empty of Succubi; instead, within the chamber was a collection of indistinct shapes. Parts of hazy pillars extended through the ceiling along one edge, and scattered through the chamber were free-standing sets of full armour¡ªsome poised in mid-step. A set of crystal-scale armour hung in mid-air before the scrying point¡¯s focus. ¡°It¡¯s out of phase, pushed back several dimensional layers. The crystal, however, exists in about a dozen dimensions, so detecting for it gives us this,¡± explained Amdirlain, stabbing a finger towards the image floating between them. ¡°No sounds still,¡± noted Farhad. Gail grinned. ¡°No sounds you can hear, father. A distorted crystal resonance is present, and I can hear the planar location amidst some screeching; I''ll let you guess from what.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve found them; time for us to delegate. Roher and the other composers can figure out what we¡¯re dealing with. It¡¯s hard to tell if the seals intentionally pushed the tower out of phase or if it''s something applied over the intended protections,¡± stated Amdirlain. Tonnes of tension lifted from Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders, and almost laughing, Amdirlain planted a kiss on Gail''s forehead. ¡°Darling child.¡± ¡°Auntie Am,¡± protested Gail to the others'' laughter. ¡°Child, really?¡± ¡°And thanks to you as well, Nand?. I appreciate you permitting the distortion of your purpose,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°I take it that individual is now again deceased,¡± Nand? hissed, the notes¡¯ tone sharper than previously. ¡°That¡¯s correct. I plan to cleanse the Soul and give it a fresh start,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, wary of Nand?¡¯s tone. ¡°Good. Though far more merciful than I expected from Orh¨ºthurin,¡± noted Nand?, the abrupt disappearance of its sharpness surprising Amdirlain. ¡°I felt his Soul''s nature when I helped restore his life; obliterating it would be better than releasing that back into the realm.¡± The judgement from the harp set Amdirlain aback. ¡°I didn¡¯t realise that hearing the souls was part of your abilities, Nand?.¡± ¡°So that I might better fit souls to the bodies they were being placed in, I grew aware of them. I didn¡¯t need to mention it to anyone before now,¡± clarified Nand?, and the tempo of the notes lifted. ¡°You said you were cleansing souls. Are you perhaps returning to your labours executing the Titan¡¯s plan for new worlds?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve so many challenges ahead of me I hadn¡¯t considered what I would do once I get through them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The thought of being the first to see a world¡¯s dawn tickled her. That Nand? had a different take on her as the Titan¡¯s executioner was very clear, and it wasn¡¯t as the life taker the L¨®m? considered her. ¡°If you do, perhaps you might request the use of my capabilities? If it''s not too forward for me to ask.¡± pleaded Nand?, the notes skittering quickly. ¡°That is, once you re-learn how to play properly, unless Gailneth or another helps you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do. For now, I¡¯d best go speak to Roher and let him listen to what we¡¯ve found,¡± stated Amdirlain. Gail gave Amdirlain a grin of pure mischief. ¡°We didn¡¯t tell any of the L¨®m? that you were being set loose.¡± ¡°Then this should be fun. If someone could let me know when those coming back to speak to me show up,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she shifted away. The energy of the familiar staging location prickled over her uncomfortably, but the purification field at this point wasn¡¯t enough to cause Amdirlain injury. No longer restricted by the Gate¡¯s mail slot perspective, Amdirlain could now see further ledges leading up the cavern¡¯s wall. A narrowing passage she¡¯d never seen led further away from the settlement, its sides a series of irregular rock shelves. The border of the settlement was ninety metres away across broken rocky ground, marked by flawless pillars. Once cracked walls stood in perfect lines, humming in tune to the purification song echoing out from the central pillar. Amdirlain kept the message simple. ¡°Roher, I need some time if you can spare it.¡± When Roher appeared ready to create a Gate, his jaw dropped. ¡°How?¡± His surprised stutter earned him a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°Gail and her team recovered O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?, and Sarah convinced the prince to give his permission. We found the royal tower.¡± Roher spluttered for a minute, struggling to express himself coherently. When he recovered from his surprise, Roher gave Amdirlain a deep bow, momentarily causing his silver locks to obscure his face. ¡°This is a great day.¡± Returning his bow, Amdirlain frowned. ¡°It¡¯s good to come to you for a change. You were cutting it very fine with this location all this time.¡± ¡°As I mentioned when we first opened a Gate to you, it''s not as bad as it seems. The perimeter is still another hundred metres out,¡± corrected Roher. ¡°I¡¯m glad Isa understated how much easier being directly in your presence is for resisting your allure. Though given you can now come to us to sing, the danger of being lured through the Gate is no longer a factor.¡± ¡°Yngvarr¡¯s frequent visits helped, but some are still more susceptible,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Let me show you what I¡¯ve discovered.¡± Repeating the second song used for scrying, Amdirlain presented the image of the phantasmal walls to Roher. ¡°The side of the throne room and the Queen¡¯s armour,¡± gasped Roher excitedly. ¡°That¡¯s the ground floor¡ªa public location¡ªso it makes sense you could still scry her there. There might be some protections against scrying, but I¡¯m unsure if you needed to put such force into your song.¡± ¡°Would be embarrassing if I¡¯d failed to show you the image,¡± quipped Amdirlain, not correcting his belief that the force was intentional. ¡°Is this out-of-phase effect to be expected?¡± ¡°In theory, but no one amongst us had the full details of the royal tower¡¯s protections,¡± answered Roher, and he focused on the music of the crystal in the image. ¡°This will take some time and study. We don¡¯t have songs designed for teleporting populated buildings that aren¡¯t fully corporeal.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave that in your care then,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m all set for the transformation site and plateaus, but how many of the banishment arrays are now prepared?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need to sacrifice a spire to cover the palace completely. You¡¯ll want to banish the mortals in his palace and then trigger the linked songs almost on top of each other. Too much of a delay, and we¡¯ve no chance to catch Moloch off guard. ¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll put some more songs in the series beneath his plateau. The series beneath the site¡¯s compound is all set to go. Are the prison crystals ready?¡± ¡°They are, but are you sure they¡¯re the right Fallen?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve scried and listened to their songs. Neither of them should have been strong enough to have become a Fallen, so whatever Isa¡¯s miracle unleashed to help Torm rescued them as well.¡± ¡°Laergul and the others prepared an extra spire to support the smaller crystals. What location did you want to use?¡± ¡°Nowhere here. I will create a location and embed the crystals outside the cells. It will cause them to deteriorate faster, but if need be, we can replace the crystals or repair the more critical ones in place,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to set up to shift the crystals away if anyone breaches the location. I want nothing to point back to True Song Crystal being used.¡± ¡°That makes a cautious amount of sense. I think Laergul, in part, suggested using a boundary location so he could study their situation more easily,¡± informed Roher, and he sent off a few messages. ¡°He¡¯ll have to make do with scrying them,¡± Amdirlain stated, barely restraining her eye roll. ¡°I¡¯m sure it was only Laergul that wanted that outcome.¡± Roher coughed and changed the subject with a reminder. ¡°This is a more dangerous approach than stripping them of their celestial energies and reincarnating them.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier for a Mortal to make up for things, but if I left the corruption in place, they¡¯d likely have no desire to heal their souls¡¯ flaws. I can¡¯t bring myself to steal everything from Torm,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°This is more than a little ironic. I¡¯m poisoning them and hoping it destroys the corruption while leaving them intact enough to care about redeeming themselves.¡± Laergul appeared with a large stone tray, some three metres long and two wide, floating beside him. On either side of the tray, held in place by bracers, a four-metre-long spire blocked in the variety of crystals between them. ¡°You¡¯re here?!¡± exclaimed Laergul, his spearmint eyes ablaze with stoked internal energies. ¡°Gail found the harp, and we¡¯ve found the tower. Roher will brief you on the next challenge with it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Everything in the plan is on the tray,¡± stated Laergul eagerly, unfazed by there being more work. He distractedly blew a stray indigo lock from his face and waved towards the tray. ¡°Shall we get started on the containment set-up?¡± Amdirlain glided close and absorbed the lot into her Inventory before giving Laergul a shoulder pat. ¡°Change of plans. My occupational health and safety representative has spoken.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°If the concealments don¡¯t stay in place, Moloch could find them here. I¡¯m not making the settlement a target. For the health and safety of the settlement, I¡¯ll set the containment up outside the Abyss.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a dimensionally sealed building to study so we can teleport it. Roher has the details,¡± offered Amdirlain before she gave them a casual wave, and Planar Shift took her away. A teleport after her arrival placed her at a familiar location in the Outlands. Sarah had told her the landscape had healed itself, but she hadn¡¯t expected the valley to look and feel exactly like her original discovery. Teleporting again, she set herself at the cliff face that had once housed the crafter¡¯s hall. Reaching far into the cliff, Amdirlain pulled a block of stone into Inventory, and set to work. 262 - I am the mayhem Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands The structure she¡¯d set up allowed plenty of space, but the excavation had taken only minutes. A hollow fourteen-metre cube held four smaller free-standing cells in a grid pattern, with a lane around each cell for layers of containment and protection. The base of each of the smaller cells was five metres squared, and the elaborately carved interior walls rose ten metres. Unaware of how long they¡¯d need, Amdirlain constructed a picture with millions of details along the walls to catch their eyes for however long this took. Once the area¡¯s layout was complete, Amdirlain set a layered summoning circle gleaming within each cell. The summoning circles had been the most time-consuming part, and initially, Amdirlain had considered just binding each target with a crystal. The only distraction Amdirlain allowed herself was to return to the Demi-Plane to meet those she¡¯d missed the night of her release. It was over a day before she¡¯d finished with each circle, even though the triple-layered circles weren¡¯t required except to serve as a misdirection. Each cell had a host of crystals affixed to the outside to bind them and block the Fallen from contacting anyone else. That she intended to use only three of the cells didn¡¯t stop her from trying to improve on each summoning circle she crafted. With everything else set in place, Amdirlain turned the solid stone door to a cell into a two-way mirror and began the summoning. The resistance to her summoning was so negligible that they appeared in the circle almost instantaneously. The Dwarf was barely 150 centimetres, wearing only a simple pair of dark blue pants and boots; his exposed skin appeared covered in the weeping blisters and open wounds of third-degree burns. A single set of bone wings extended from his back, a misty black energy all that kept the bones together. Amdirlain had already chosen names for them, and she didn¡¯t hesitate to press her Willpower through Profile Mastery. ¡°Gondren.¡± Even before she¡¯d finished, the Dwarf smashed against the summoning circle¡¯s barrier; smoke drifted from his flesh and blisters popped as the purification field began to work. As he bellowed in rage and started screaming threats, Amdirlain activated the sound barrier and moved on to the next cell. The second Fallen appeared to be a beautiful female Elf with high cheekbones and a pointed chin¡ªthough her thin lips were twisted in a fury. Her teal skin wasn¡¯t a colour Amdirlain had any memory of from an Elf, and neither were her solid black eyes with their shattered ruby starburst pupils. The circle''s barrier pressed a pair of wings¡ªwith feathers the colour of dry blood¡ªtight against her back. Amdirlain activated the rest of the protections she had learnt from the Maze, the strength of the L¨®m?¡¯s songs within the crystals, preventing them from drawing on Mana or shifting form. ¡°Where are you, Mortal?¡± snarled Pena, only to grunt in surprise under the impact of Amdirlain¡¯s Willpower. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Cuiniel,¡± intoned Amdirlain, and she pressed through Profile Mastery to wipe away the Fallen¡¯s previous names. Amdirlain listened as multiple variations of communication spells fizzled out and an attempt to broadcast through an oath link shattered. With the music of that link isolated, Amdirlain focused on the former Celestial¡¯s energy and ruptured the bond at Cuiniel¡¯s end before repeating the process with Gondren. A reddish mist rose from Cuiniel¡¯s feathers as the purification field set in. Though it would be far safer not to speak or communicate with them any further, Amdirlain pressed a simple message towards their minds. ¡°You are in a purification field that I hope will lessen the abyssal corruption within you. My goal is for it to allow you to rebalance your perspective and decide if you wish for redemption. If it does not work, I¡¯ll try other approaches, but you¡¯re unlikely to leave here for some time.¡± As Cuiniel started yelling demands, Amdirlain set another sound barrier in place. Amdirlain didn¡¯t leave immediately but recorded the befouled song of the pair into a memory crystal for others to study before she settled down to monitor their progress. Memories of hospital stays and nurses doing their round check, ensuring her name and other details, niggled at Amdirlain. The slow pressure of the purification field, Amdirlain knew, was a magical version of poison in their state, though she had no way of knowing yet if it could dilute the corruption. The only other options she¡¯d found would mean the complete erasure of their previous personality instead of recovering it to any degree. After two hours of monitoring their efforts to escape, the two were alone, Planar Shift having returned Amdirlain to the Demi-Plane. Both the foyer and the banquet hall were empty upon her arrival. Knowing the wards would report her presence, Amdirlain wandered along the woodland paths, looking for a place to relax undisturbed. Eventually, she settled on a glade open to the brilliant blue sky some kilometres from the entry point. A bubbling brook, its spring hidden in the undergrowth, split the clearing in two. [Imperial Princess Malfex: Increases both the chance of gaining significant insights and the frequency at which they occur for powers and skills directly related to the Fallen¡¯s arcane and spiritual classes. Attribute adjustments provided by new species: +20 Strength per Level +20 Intelligence per Level +20 Willpower per Level +20 Charisma per Level +40 Free Attribute Points per Level +20 Health per Level +20 Melee Attack Power per Level +70 Magic per Level +24 Defence per Level Unlocked Powers: Greater Mana Drain Greater Mana Rift Energy Drain Planar Gate Greater Energy recovery. Amplified Energy efficiency. Note: For those seeking to be Daddy''s little princess.] "Gideon, I''m sure you gave it that title just to poke fun at me," grumbled Amdirlain. [Empress Malfex: Increases both the chance of gaining significant insights and the frequency at which they occur for powers and skills directly related to the Fallen¡¯s arcane and spiritual classes. All insights become staged by an additional level, regardless of the chance to gain them. Attribute adjustments provided by new species: +40 Strength per Level +40 Intelligence per Level +40 Willpower per Level +40 Charisma per Level +80 Free Attribute Points per Level +30 Melee Attack Power per Level +40 Health per Level +150 Magic per Level +30 Defence per Level Unlocked Powers: Greater Mana Drain Greater Mana Rift Enervating Aura Planar Gate Greater Energy Recovery. Amplified Energy Efficiency. Note: Maybe I should rename Imperial Princess to Repetitive Grind Queen.] ¡°Thanks, that¡¯s fine how it is; not about to show anyone my real profile,¡± muttered Amdirlain. [Greater Energy Recovery. Details: This trait causes the possessor to recover any energy type used by their Class abilities at five times the standard speed. It will add rather than multiply to existing Class features (powers or skills) that already provide recovery capabilities.] [Amplified Energy Efficiency Details: This trait adds to the possessors'' powers or skills that amplify the maximum amount of energy type available.] [Enervating Aura Details: This aura allows the possessor to drain mana, health, and other forms of energy from living and non-living sources that are within ?their abilities. The possessor''s strength of will determines the degree of this drain.] [Insight stages: Common Uncommon Rare Significant Extraordinary Momentous] [Momentous Insight: These insights always cause a Power or Skill below Senior Master rank to gain a triple progression. When gained at Grand Master rank it can cause the ability to evolve.] Running the numbers for Empress, Amdirlain blinked at her level calculation and let out a low whistle at the experience tally Analysis provided. [Accumulated experience required for a class to reach 245 is 6,848,500,000,000.] Amdirlain pushed away the temptation to check on Grand Empress¡¯s benefits, her inner gamer already threatening rebellion for flinching at Empress''s required effort. With her first rough guesstimate putting it over three hundred and thirty levels, Amdirlain mentally applied stakes to the heart of considering that transformation. Still, as she mentally buried it face-down, her brain spat out the number of levels she¡¯d need to accumulate in classes. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. ¡°Getting three hundred and thirty-four in every Class I have plus a Prestige and evolved Class hurts to think about,¡± muttered Amdirlain. [Accumulated experience required for a class to reach 334 is 263,378,500,000,000.] Racking her fingers through her hair, Amdirlain groaned. ¡°I¡¯ll be nice and leave that for some other masochistic sod.¡± ¡°Whips and chains exciting you?¡± asked Sarah from the clearing¡¯s edge, Gail trailing behind her in female Wood Elf form. ¡°Speaking to yourself is a sign of insanity, auntie Am,¡± Gail chirped. ¡°I passed that point long ago,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out ways to counter some of Baln¨¦rith¡¯s power advantage. Gideon added new transformation levels, but the second highest already hurts just thinking about the effort involved.¡± ¡°The longer you take going after Baln¨¦rith, the more the gap will close,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°How are you going to do your experience farming?¡± ¡°It might close, but if she still has her Fallen advantage, she might earn experience from a Sisterhood experience tithe.? As for the next stage, I think I¡¯m cutting back on crystals for a while. When I don¡¯t have any leads on Torm, destroying demons while pushing my powers and skills will be my primary focus,¡± Amdirlain stated. Sarah came across and sat on the grass beside her, while Gail almost skipped in her excitement at Amdirlain¡¯s presence, but moved to wade along the stream. ¡°When Gideon provided the notification about adding them, they made it clear more would get added if I exceeded the highest. Since Power and Skill ranks have impacted Prestige Classes offered before, it''s time to push them hard.¡± Gail laughed and bent to splash water towards Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know how to work at a goal except hard?¡± Her antics caused Amdirlain to focus on Gail. ¡°Did someone put an extra dose of bubbles into you this morning?¡± ¡°It¡¯s afternoon, auntie. I just returned from visiting Queen Iphandis and the brand-new addition to the And¨²n? royal family. He¡¯s so cute and didn¡¯t want to let go of my finger,¡± gushed Gail. ¡°Surely you¡¯ve seen babies since you arrived at the village?¡± prodded Amdirlain. ¡°This one is different,¡± Gail exclaimed, and she hopped out of the stream and came over to drop cross-legged onto the grass beside Amdirlain. ¡°He would never have been born without our involvement.¡± Amdirlain smiled and tapped her nose. ¡°How is the And¨²n? baby boom going?¡± ¡°Very controlled, but not as much as aunt Sarah,¡± replied Gail, and she shifted to lie down, the pair of them book-ending her. ¡°Stage one of your post-freedom plan complete?¡± ¡°Yes, the pair that had been coming and going around Moloch¡¯s palace were former members of Torm¡¯s cell. They¡¯re in a purification field, so I¡¯ll see how that goes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain before she turned her gaze towards Sarah. ¡°Will you have time to go to The Exchange today?¡± ¡°No point going today. Erwarth established contact with the broker, pretending to be a human. The best she could do was to meet with us two days from now,¡± Sarah stated. ¡°He was happy to deal with a Solar?¡± Sarah wrinkled her nose. ¡°Fancies himself a completely neutral party, which isn¡¯t surprising given The Exchange¡¯s nature. Erwarth didn¡¯t get to see him but learnt he¡¯s an Outlands¡¯ Satyr, so his planar nature is keeping with that neutral attitude.¡± ¡°A Satyr is living in The Exchange? That has to be one of the weirdest things I¡¯ve heard,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Lives in the middle of a park, atop a skyscraper,¡± noted Sarah. The news had Amdirlain raising an eyebrow. ¡°Alright, so not a standard agent for the lower planes. That leaves things in question regarding what side Torm¡¯s operating on. While I¡¯d like to meet him sooner, it gives me time to drop off my passenger and kick things off.¡± ¡°Given the initial message to Livia and the notes he left, it''s more likely he¡¯s operating purely on his side,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°What was the Home Plane of your captives?¡± ¡°Both of them had Ijmti,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she nodded at Sarah¡¯s surprised hiss. ¡°Rummaging in their brains even after the purification field has yielded some results won¡¯t be pleasant, so I¡¯m inclined to chalk it up to the Miracle Isa cast to help Torm also benefiting them.¡± ¡°If he still had it as his Home Plane, we could at least detect the combination of Fallen and Ijmti,¡± Gail said. Though she seemed intent on saying more, she stopped to chew at her bottom lip. ¡°All that would let us do is fine-tune the detection, but at the risk of missing him if he has changed his Home Plane,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Can¡¯t scry for someone based on the attributes of their song.¡± Gail wrinkled her nose. ¡°Yeah, I had the same thought as soon as I made my suggestion. How come you¡¯re lying in the grass here?¡± Amdirlain tilted her chin towards the Radiant orb high overhead, illuminating the vast stretch of woodlands within the Demi-Plame. ¡°I was laying here enjoying the light and listening, making sure I¡¯d not slipped up in crafting its seed.¡± ¡°Well, it seems you have a couple of days to relax,¡± proposed Gail, and she sighed when Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to organise a few things,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°If everything is good to go, I¡¯ll kick off the attempt to destroy the plateaus.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re underestimating the conversion, given you¡¯re drawing on primordial fire,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to be greatly underestimating, especially since I couldn¡¯t test the energy in sufficient volume,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°Before you start worrying, I won¡¯t be anywhere nearby. I¡¯ve got all the songs chained to an empty memory crystal; they¡¯ll go off as soon as it records a message.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Anything I can do to help out?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I would like an extra day of setting songs in place. Can you spare time to cross-check labelled banishment arrays against the plateau¡¯s settlements?¡± ¡°I can do that for you. Gail¡¯s staff don¡¯t need help with running things anymore,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Employees sounds better. Calling them staff makes me think I¡¯m going to beat someone around the head with them,¡± quipped Gail. ¡°I¡¯ll do one run-through and leave a memory crystal for you to crosscheck in the storeroom. If you¡¯d do the first check against that, I¡¯ll have Roher and Laergul also check it against the mapping orb,¡± said Amdirlain as she flowed to her feet. ¡°Once I¡¯m done with my check, I¡¯ll add more songs to the tunnels to improve my odds of making this work.¡± Gail tucked her hand behind her head and gave Amdirlain a hopeful smile. ¡°Will you be by regularly, auntie Am?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to visit regularly, but I¡¯ve got a lot of things to take care of,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°A few individuals I owe visits wouldn¡¯t have been comfortable at your gathering. I¡¯m amazed you got Jaixar to come along without a hint.¡± Gail gave a pleased smirk. ¡°Well, I couldn¡¯t hint; that might have been a lie; after all, we only hoped his permission would be enough. I have ways of convincing people, not infallible, but I¡¯ve got a pretty good ratio.¡± ¡°That and she bribed Jaixar,¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°Shh, you¡¯re not supposed to tell,¡± Gail said, putting a finger to her lips. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a bribe; it was an encouragement, and she told me it was a great surprise.¡± ¡°You pair have fun now; I¡¯ll be back in a day or so,¡± stated Amdirlain, and Planar Shift moved her through a series of skips before she arrived at her target. The storeroom featured a few rows of racks with thousands of circular pigeonholes. Each had a crystal, ranging in size from a sewing needle to a wrist-thick rod. She¡¯d set a hologram beneath each with a picture and settlement reference, from locations barely thirty rooms carved into the top of the plateau, to two cities carved into a cliff face. The thousands of crystals would have expanded the monitoring network, but Amdirlain wasn¡¯t taking a risk with Mortal lives this time. Setting the map orb beside the memory crystal, Amdirlain teleported to the tunnels far beneath Moloch¡¯s palace. Initially, she¡¯d didn¡¯t restrain the Power, and the force within the song reverberated through the tunnel. Despite the song''s energy, it neither overly strained her nor warranted an increase in the now Apprentice-ranked Power. It did, however, niggle at her with fleeting tendrils of fatigue, the additional vibrant energy within the notes coming at a price. Though that price was minor for a single Song, Amdirlain was sure that wouldn¡¯t be the case if she pushed hard with multiple songs at once. ¡°Roher, I¡¯d like some time from you and Laergul tomorrow to cross-check that all plateau locations have sufficient banishment coverage. I¡¯m adding more songs, but after we check everything, I¡¯ll hopefully destroy the plateaus.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll organise a time with Laergul and send you a reminder an hour in advance,¡± replied Roher, his amusement and anticipation adding a vibrant energy to the Message¡¯s music. Snorting in amusement, Amdirlain sang again. This time she fed her anticipation into every note, feeling it trickle along her tendons and lay across her bones. She split her voice three ways to harmonise with the song''s first strand. The secondary strands of vocalisation provided a sturdy support that formed a resonating brace for the primary theme¡¯s reach. As soon as the second song was complete, Amdirlain shifted into another and felt her fingers twitch in time to the complex interwoven beats. Hour after hour, she moved along the tunnels beneath Moloch¡¯s palace and linked hundreds of additional songs into place. Yet, despite her efforts, no notification of progress appeared. Slightly over a day passed before Roher¡¯s prompt to meet up came, and she had plenty of evidence that improvement needed a different tack. By the time Amdirlain collected the orb and memory crystal, she found Roher and Laergul already waiting for her. Laergul immediately grinned; his restraint since Amdirlain gained Femme Fatale noticeably absent. ¡°How is freedom?¡± ¡°I¡¯m happier that Gail¡¯s effort got us the royal tower¡¯s location than at my freedom.¡± ¡°Pfft, we were more worried about you,¡± Roher interjected. ¡°You have your safety net again. By now, I hope it''s at least a triple one.¡± ¡°I was a bit distracted last time I visited; I¡¯ve not set this plane as a secondary yet,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Roher''s lips twitched as he suppressed a smile. ¡°I thought that might have been the case, as I heard nothing being cast before you left.¡± Resisting the urge to poke out her tongue, Amdirlain cast the Spell and quickly set Tern¨°x as a secondary Home Plane. Amdirlain passed over the memory crystal and the orb. ¡°Have you got the spire set up to cover the palace?¡± ¡°It should be completed shortly if the choir hasn¡¯t finished already. We¡¯ve added a few extra elements to the song,¡± replied Roher, giving her a triumphant grin. ¡°Its destruction will release a mist that should be untouched by the energy you demonstrated. We¡¯ll check this list and then follow them up.¡± Duplicating the memory crystal, he passed one to Laergul before activating the orb. The image of the plateaus manifested between them, and with them focused on the task, Amdirlain waited patiently. When they reached the sullen markers on the last plateau, Roher sent a Message, and even before he could continue, a physical acknowledgement arrived. A spire appeared beside Roher and gently lowered to the ground. The linked songs within it hummed with a barely contained force, causing Amdirlain to regard Roher in surprise. ¡°I get there is no point holding back, but this feels like a dam about to burst.¡± ¡°You¡¯re using it today, aren¡¯t you? We want to utilise as much of the contained force as possible,¡± explained Roher. ¡°Yes, but what size choir did you use in creating these songs?¡± ¡°A hundred of our best singers; it''s doing a few extra things besides the banishment of mortals. We wanted to cover as much of the plains as attainable. While we¡¯re unsure if the field will affect the individual who cursed you, we want to collect as many of the rest as possible.¡± Shrugging at that last news, Amdirlain stored the spire away. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I might have a use for him if my first attempt at handling the corruption doesn¡¯t work.¡± Giving a nod of thanks to Roher, she opened a Gate and stepped through to the storeroom on Culerzic. Within a minute of setting it onto a stand, she had the Spire linked in, last but not least in the series of banishment arrays. She could hear someone had already targeted the spire for the palace¡¯s location. With that reminder, she walked along the line and triple-checked the tagged crystals were all set for their locations atop the plateaus. ¡°Let¡¯s see what Moloch thinks of these greatest hits,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she sent the trigger message. The racks containing the banishment arrays emptied in a rush, and the spire signalled the end of the first chain of events. Amdirlain barely got the scrying window created before the light show beneath the sky¡¯s flames began. Moloch¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Moloch smiled as the black skin of the male Elf that Bliss currently straddled turned ashen. The unique consumption of energy she managed tantalisingly beckoned to him, yet so far remained beyond his ability to grasp. One moment the male struggled to breathe, and the next, he vanished¡ªnot dissolved into dust as so frequently happened¡ªbut gone. The feeling of a tuning fork ran through him, resonating down to his bones and trying to bind him to the Plane before he fought it off. Danger Sense screamed to a degree he¡¯d not felt in thousands of years, and Moloch responded without thinking. Teleport took him far out above the Umbra Sea, and he remained Human formed to avoid being easily spotted. His preparations to retaliate faltered when he caught sight of the vortexes blazing in the sky. High above, millions of miniature hurricanes sat, blazing a pure gold beneath the sky¡¯s burnt amber flames. Their continued inhalation coiled energy downwards, twisted from the familiar primordial flames into strands of black and white. Strands that wrapped around each other even as they smashed downwards, purging all in their path. Moloch''s palace was suddenly beyond the black and white curtain they¡¯d formed, yet he couldn¡¯t sense anything from its wards. A feat that should have been impossible¡ªeven if he were planes away¡ªwhile they remained intact. Buffeted by the impact of strange, painful winds that didn¡¯t touch his flesh but reached within, Moloch could only stare at the sight before him. The energy curtain veiled the entire plateau his palace sat upon, along with those out to the extreme limit of his eyesight. A Spell to extend his perception beyond a hundred kilometres showed more of the same. At the base of the curtain, a rolling mist started to wash across the Blood Plains of the Dretch. The first impaled Damned it touched vanished, and the spike they¡¯d rested on crumpled into dust. Slowly at first, as the curtain flexed like a breeze was buffeting it, the mist started at a walking pace outwards and left no damned in its wake. Tendrils from that mist lashed towards the energy clouds that covered the blood plains and drank them in. That added to the speed of spread as the slow-moving mist suddenly burst into a sprint. He saw it hit a group of squabbling Dretch, and bones stripped of flesh dropped to the ground. When the energy curtain vanished hours later, Moloch growled with rage. Beyond where the curtain had touched was now a giant pit that descended so far that it disappeared beyond his still-amplified sight. A massive waterfall streamed into that expanse where the Ravager¡¯s River had once passed his plateau, and not even an echo returned. As far as he could see along the virtually empty Blood Plains of the Dretch, the residual ooze of aeons flowed to join it. With a push on Analysis to learn of the ritual that caused such devastation, the familiar image of a golden scroll with burning black script touched his awareness. However, that is where the usual ended. The message was far from what he expected and, coupled with the power displayed, added a long-forgotten emotion to the day¡¯s events¡ªfear. [Bay of Annihilation Details: A landmark showing where the Cliffs of Lust once stood¡ªbefore Moloch¡¯s mistake. Lured from retirement through enticements of various demon lords, the Titan¡¯s Songbird gave a minor trill, and a Plane trembled.] Ignoring the strange, taunting implications, Moloch started trying to push for an answer. ¡°The Titan¡¯s Songbird, what is that? Who awakened it?¡± Despite attempts with thousands of questions to elicit information, Analysis returned nothing but further cryptic nonsense. Eventually, after many unanswered messages to those stationed in the palace, he sent yet another, not expecting a reply. ¡°Bliss?¡± ¡°Lord Moloch, are you alright? You vanished after our toy, and my Danger Sense yelled. Where did you go to?¡± Moloch smiled at the Succubus¡¯ concerned tone, the falseness abundantly clear to him. ¡°Meet me at the reconstruction overseer¡¯s tower. It seems I¡¯ll need a new palace.¡± Bliss''s acknowledgement was a gush of words, said in a soft bedroom tone. ¡°That¡¯s where I teleported; others I¡¯ve tried contacting haven¡¯t answered. You should know something weird is going on here. The souls in the river are boring now; they float in the chains as if asleep. The overseer says the Primordial is the same way and went to sleep weeks ago.¡± Her careful, long-distance delivery of that news had him snort with amusement before he teleported to meet her. 263 - More than you know Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic [Achievement: Legendary Liberator Condition: Free over 10,000 prisoners through a single escape plan. Reward: 50,000,000 experience. Note: Practice makes perfect?] Amdirlain drew in a shuddering breath and scrubbed away the tears that the release of tension freed. The notification almost caused her to miss the descent of the entwined yin and yang energies. But the way the Plane shuddered around her, even hundreds of thousands of kilometres away from the plateaus, made her focus on the vista in the scrying window¡ªits focal point a hundred kilometres from the central plateau. The black and white curtain boiled and consumed stone in a frenzy and, despite drawing in the sky¡¯s primordial flames for less than a minute; a notification appeared. [Combat Summary: You do not get an itemised list! Count grouped by demonic tier: Bestial: 12,989,467 Least: 5,195,787 Lesser: 3,896,840 Standard: 1,428,841 Greater: 25,978 Named: 119 Total Experience gained: 97,337,443,092 Fallen: +19,467,488,618 Scion: +19,467,488,618 Ascetic: +19,467,488,618 Ostim?: +19,467,488,618 Ont?lin: +19,467,488,618 Note: Gee, that list is missing a tier; I wonder why?] ¡°Yeah, fine, I missed Moloch,¡± muttered Amdirlain. The experience rush faded, and a flurry of achievement notifications hit. [Achievement: Mistress of the Snip Details: Your actions have destroyed the Cliffs of Lust and thus annihilated the spawning site for the Succubus sub-species native to Culerzic. Reward:
  1. Tier 5 Achievement - Prestige Class: Bloody Magpie Unlocked!
  2. 250,000,000 Experience Points
Note: So many Solars spend their time hunting threats against the realm and mortals into oblivion. If only you were among their number, I could have given you a nice reward. Note: Three more major Abyssal sub-species to go. ] [Achievement: Demonicider Details: Your actions have extinguished all existing entities of the Scouring Plain Lurker species. You annihilated their spawning point for the entire demonic species and destroyed an abyssal industry. Reward:
  1. Tier 6 Achievement - Prestige Class: Wannabe Songbird Unlocked!
  2. 2,000,000,000 Experience Points
Note: The alchemists and berserkers who love the Lurker¡¯s adrenaline gland potions won¡¯t be happy. Too bad, so sad? Note: I¡¯m sure I mentioned something about easier to destroy than create.] ¡°Not even any credit for creating havoc and confusion?¡± grumbled Amdirlain, annoyed at missing Tier 7 despite having expected it. The massive destruction had raised a faint hope that the achievement had quickly dashed. [Achievement: Hole in one Details: Having dug over fifty thousand kilometres into a Plane with one event. Reward: A place to hide ever so many bodies. Note: You may have underestimated the energy¡¯s effect?!] [Achievement: East-ender Details: Have unleashed an event of cataclysmic heavenly wrath within the Abyss, utilising the energies of the Jade Court. Reward(?):
  1. The Jade Emperor knows your name and nature (in more than just the vagueness he¡¯d felt previously.)
  2. {{Pending successful meeting}}
Note: You¡¯re not in a cultivation realm. Why invite a heavenly tribulation? Note: Havoc and confusion are part of the unnatural state of the Abyss. Do you want one for making water wet?] ¡°Did Orh¨ºthurin consciously decide that water would be ¡®wet¡¯ or subconsciously copy her home world¡¯s rules in some places?¡± murmured Amdirlain. [Achievement: Got out of bed Reward: Feet on the ground. Note: If you¡¯d ever been in someone¡¯s bed.] Amdirlain resisted the urge to grind her teeth and kept her tone civil. ¡°You are in troll mode today. Are you hassling me for considering how the basics work?¡± [Achievement: Crybaby! Details: The name says it all. Note: Well, you were all hot with each other, even if one of you was initially blind to different tunnel exploration opportunities. Note: Plan to take a trip down memory lane or soak in a hot river? Note: Until your next calamity.] ¡°What are you on about, Gideon?¡± muttered Amdirlain, unsure what to make of their overly chatty state. When the Plane¡¯s shuddering settled, Amdirlain teleported through various facilities, ensuring none had taken damage before heading on. Planar Shift deposited her in the Outlands, where Amdirlain scrubbed the abyssal miasma from herself. Once cleaned, Amdirlain cast Invisibility and set concealments to negate her auras before she headed to Gail¡¯s Sanctuary. Her discrete arrival was fortunate, given that Gail and more than a few scores of dwarven guests occupied the banquet hall. Though there wasn¡¯t a feast in progress, maps and diagrams covered dozens of tables. A spirited debate had voices raised proclaiming the benefit of one road-building approach over another between the Hill and Mountain Dwarf attendees. Standing near Gail was an odd man out. The Human male was broad-shouldered and clad in leathery armour set with mithril runes and edgings. Festooned with weapon harnesses, he carried as many blades as Ebusuku had when Amdirlain first met her. As she watched, he pointed at something among the plans, and Gail crossed her arms with a defiant grin. Not wanting to interrupt, Amdirlain traced her way back to the clearing she¡¯d used last time, mentally reaching out to let Sarah know of her arrival as she walked. Sitting by the stream, she adjusted the shadow vines and placed her feet into the water. It seemed a simple pleasure to enjoy, but the cool motion across her skin relaxed Amdirlain while she waited for Sarah. So much so that she almost forgot to dismiss the enfolding invisibility she¡¯d placed around herself. When Sarah arrived, she wore a barely opaque red silk dress that reached mid-calf and sandals with diamonds spaced along the straps that crossed her feet. Coming over to the stream, she sat cross-legged, keeping her bejewelled sandals away from the water. ¡°You planning to hide away here each time you come by?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Gail looked like she was busy planning with the dwarves. Anything up?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve been having planning sessions for a while now about building better roads,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°The township of Sanctuary¡¯s Cove has got those Gail sung into place, but she wanted to extend them west and north. Hasusar thinks he¡¯s got some say in the matter, but Gail¡¯s set on running them to every town, village, and hamlet for a few hundred miles.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the locals get annoyed she¡¯s hiring the dwarves to do the work?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re not doing the construction. Gail¡¯s hired the Dwarf engineering and construction crews to teach the humans how to do the work to their standards,¡± clarified Sarah. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Then what are folks arguing about?¡± ¡°The dwarves are arguing about the best road techniques and bridges for the different areas along with the initial routes. Hasusar is arguing with Gail about road tolls,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Gail¡¯s insisting the Adventurers¡¯ Guild foot most of the bill and not place additional taxes. Since she hired agents from Mechanus to help restructure the guild, she knows the state of their books and how much she¡¯s already earned them.¡± ¡°Gail''s involved in far more than either of you let on,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Life¡¯s like that. It was nothing you had to worry about unless you had plans for the Adventurers¡¯ Guild,¡± said Sarah, and she rapidly continued before Amdirlain could interrupt. ¡°And I know your primary concern was avoiding it becoming a tool for tyrants. Hasusar and Gail are trying to ensure that can¡¯t come about.¡± Surrendering, Amdirlain moved on. ¡°How long do you think dealing with the broker will take?¡± ¡°As long as it takes. Ebusuku gave us use of her residence,¡± stated Sarah, holding out a token to Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s yours to keep. The management gets fussy when deities turn up, so Ebusuku hasn¡¯t used it in years.¡± ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll be in The Exchange long enough to warrant it?¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Sarah shrugged. ¡°Depends on what this goat tells us; we could need to stake things out for months or years.¡± ¡°Satyr,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Goat,¡± repeated Sarah. ¡°And a randy one, most likely; every Satyr I¡¯ve met wanted to shag something. The way you are now, he¡¯ll want to get between your legs, sweetie. It likely didn¡¯t come up last time, but The Exchange doesn¡¯t like the use of mental influence effects past the entryway; that includes your Dominion.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see how little attention I can draw, with only moderating my influence via Charisma,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Yngvarr told me about your practice session,¡± Sarah countered glumly. ¡°Some species are just going to take that as being coy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s always going to be a risk. I won¡¯t improve unless I challenge my abilities,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°We should hop somewhere else. I don¡¯t want to go straight to The Exchange from here. Let¡¯s keep the risk to this place at a minimum.¡± ¡°Hold up, since you¡¯re not jumping for joy, I take it no Tier 7?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°Tier 6, and Gideon was taking digs. This time he pretty much flat out stated that destroying stuff is not challenging enough to warrant it,¡± stated Amdirlain, digging her fingers into the stream¡¯s bank. ¡°However, I got a tidy sum of experience for ?killing demons, digging for the centre of the Plane, wiping out the spawning site for the local succubi, and exterminating the scouring plain lurkers.¡± Sarah gave a slow smile. ¡°It seems you didn¡¯t do things by halves while I was here. Are you going to share the memory with me, or do I have to drag it out of you?¡± Amdirlain reached out, and the first vortexes soon shone in Sarah¡¯s mind. When the show finished its fast-forward run, Sarah whistled softly. ¡°The way they wrap around each other looks like something from an old anime I remember you got on DVD and were disappointed with,¡± noted Sarah before she gave Amdirlain a grin. ¡°That place is the pits now.¡± ¡°The star blazers wave motion gun. I watched it with Mal when I was a kid; some memories you shouldn''t revisit,¡± laughed Amdirlain bitterly. ¡°But really, it''s the yin-yang effect. The cycling of their balance naturally turns the energies around each other when in proximity. Shall we go?¡± ¡°Something has you on edge, and it''s not the lack of Tier 7,¡± Sarah stated. ¡°I hate parties,¡± growled Amdirlain, letting loose with the first thing that came to mind. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you talk Gail out of a party?¡± ¡°The party wasn¡¯t for you; it was for the hundreds who¡¯d be waiting for news about you,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°So yeah, I knew you would hate the party, miss workaholic, but try again; that isn¡¯t what¡¯s got you on edge.¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Torm not being here for it, along with other things I don¡¯t want to discuss here. It felt wrong being on the same Plane as Livia knowing¡­¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got time before the meeting with the broker. Let''s go somewhere secure and talk. That way, you can vent before steam bursts out your ears,¡± suggested Sarah. At Amdirlain¡¯s nod, the pair flowed to their feet. Before Sarah could ask a question, Amdirlain had them standing in the Outlands. ¡°Okay, now I feel like I should have pushed my levelling more,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°You did a mama cat impersonation and yanked your kitten across planes.¡± ¡°Sorry. I should have asked if you were ready,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Let me get us somewhere secure.¡± Teleport placed them in the outer corridor of the cell block, and Amdirlain concentrated for a moment on each song. After two days caught up in preparations, the lack of progress they¡¯d made roiled frustration under her skin. ¡°Damn it.¡± Sarah glanced about at the bare stone walls. ¡°Nice cell block.¡± Trying to temper her expectations, Amdirlain huffed defensively. ¡°I¡¯ve got an image carved on the interior cell walls. I¡¯ll put in an illusion presenting different locations later.¡± Amdirlain ignored Pain Eater¡¯s cataloguing of the purification field¡¯s sensation pressing on her. ¡°Torm¡¯s absence I can understand, but what else has got you on edge?¡± ¡°I evolved True Song,¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°It now has a name Laergul didn¡¯t know about, and now it won¡¯t progress.¡± ¡°I doubt that¡¯s all your edginess is about, but is this really where you want to talk about something like that?¡± asked Sarah, waving at the closest cell. ¡°They¡¯re behind triple layers, including sound barriers that deaden the vibrations in stone. So they can¡¯t hear us, and their powers can¡¯t reach beyond the edge of the summoning circle,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Plus a load of other protections that the L¨®m? included against scrying and tracking.¡± ¡°I know that; it just seems strange. Like one of those TV shows where they¡¯re talking super secret stuff in a cafe scene,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Maybe talk mentally on top of those protections? That way, even psychometry won¡¯t be able to pick up a trace.¡± When Sarah felt Amdirlain¡¯s mind touch hers, she ventured a question. ¡°Now, what won¡¯t progress?¡± ¡°True Song Genesis,¡± stated Amdirlain; trying to keep her mental tone low, she projected the memory of the notification. Unintentionally, the memory of the Titan¡¯s forge started along with it, and Amdirlain reluctantly continued it for context. ¡°Do you have a primordial¡¯s strength?¡± asked Sarah, and she waited with their gazes locked until Amdirlain sighed. ¡°True Song was hers even before she chose her adult name of Orh¨ºthurin.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s nose wrinkled, and she mentally grumbled. ¡°I had expected to be further along than a child¡¯s level.¡± ¡°You had an insight while trying for perfection. What was the insight?¡± ¡°Perfection is never enough,¡± stated Amdirlain. Sarah nodded and tapped her nose meaningfully. ¡°Why do you mostly hold yourself still when you sing? I¡¯ve seen your fingers twitch, and that¡¯s about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to get the song perfect, not let myself get distracted,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she frowned at the contrast to memories of Orh¨ºthurin in motion. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin didn¡¯t always dance or move about when she was singing. However, even where she stayed still, it was like watching a skier on the lip of a ridge about to push off. It would give me a feeling that she¡¯d be in motion at any moment, and then the real energy would come into the song,¡± recounted Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s the key, but it¡¯s one key difference. There is also something else; if you stop worrying, you¡¯ll see it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Apprentice-rank Power-¡± ¡°That absorbed Senior Master ranked powers. Maybe it will take much more to level,¡± interjected Sarah, and she gave Amdirlain an exasperated eye-roll. Amdirlain closed her eyes and forced herself to pause. ¡°You said one key difference. What¡¯s another?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin sang and danced because she loved it. She didn¡¯t create purely because she had to; Gail says she finds creating addictive. The joy of seeing new things come into existence brings out smiles from her,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°When was the last time you smiled because you created something? Have you loved anything you¡¯ve done with True Song lately? Even enjoy it at all? Or was it simply a tool in your arsenal?¡± ¡°Corruption clings to memories,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°And?¡± Sarah asked with a mental huff before tossing Amdirlain a mental image of jumping between rail tracks. ¡°I¡¯m scared that if I can¡¯t dilute the corruption, I¡¯ll have two options, both of which will cost me Torm.¡± ¡°If there are only two options you see now, learn more until you find a third or fourth. Keep going until you find one that gives a path back.¡± ¡°Option two gives him a path back,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Then why would it cost you, Torm?¡± ¡°Caltzan failed Torm and the rest. I could entice the corruption to Caltzan¡¯s memories instead, then Torm would be free of the corruption, and he could start to heal,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I was thinking of using stalker boy, but Torm¡¯s too old, probably too many memories coated in corruption to scrape off that way.¡± Her suggestion had Sarah whistling softly. ¡°I would have been fine annihilating them; it would release their energy into their Home Plane. But you¡¯d corrupt an angel for the chance to save Torm?¡± Amdirlain shrugged and jabbed a hand towards the ceiling. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could avoid corrupting them, but the process would be comparable pain-wise to the Abyss¡¯ inferno for ascending. Caltzan''s presence on the heavenly plane would burn the corruption out of them as it arrived; the effect would be far stronger than the purification field. So from what I can hear in these two, it would certainly hurt like someone pouring acid across every fibre of their being.¡± Sarah straightened and gave a displeased grunt but continued the mental exchange. ¡°What¡¯s the purification field doing to you?¡± ¡°It hurts, but they¡¯ve been here for far longer already,¡± growled Amdirlain, her hands slowly clenching into fists. ¡°I so want to share their pain with Caltzan right now.¡± ¡°Any sign of a change?¡± asked Sarah warily. ¡°No, but I didn¡¯t expect it to work fast,¡± spat Amdirlain, no longer speaking mentally. ¡°I can hear the corruption boiling and hissing, but there isn¡¯t any sign of it lessening in them yet.¡± ¡°You burnt the corruption out of Livia through a link,¡± proposed Sarah, deliberating hanging onto the mental link Amdirlain had extended. She sent an image of Amdirlain locking her mouth shut and tossing away the key. Amdirlain gave her a sullen glare, but she resumed using their mental link. ¡°No, I pulled the abyssal heat¡ªnot corruption¡ªout of her and fed her my Ki in return. The abyssal energies taint a Soul and influence it towards malicious acts,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and she exhaled hard to release tension before scrubbing her palms across her face. ¡°But the difference is of Mortal Soul versus a formerly Celestial being. I don¡¯t know what would happen if I pulled corruption into me.¡± ¡°Forget I mentioned it; I¡¯d misunderstood your explanation,¡± Sarah hastily said. ¡°We don¡¯t have to find an answer immediately, you know. Celestials stand on guard duty in the strangest places with absolutely nothing to see for centuries at a time.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± interrogated Amdirlain. ¡°Guarding dangerous objects that cultures have cast out to drift among the stars or between planes,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Those are ones that quickly come to mind.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I suppose you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Gail commented on you being extremely loud. A third option I see you could look into is exercising control. Letting a fire hose of power out is fine, but I¡¯d imagine controlling it so it can still be a mere whisper would be harder,¡± offered Sarah, redirecting the conversation. ¡°Precision and control showed up in much of what Orh¨ºthurin did emotionally and physically. While I can¡¯t hear the energy with the True Song, I can¡¯t imagine she wasn¡¯t that way using it.¡± ¡°Control is more your thing,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Sarah pressed on the tip of Amdirlain¡¯s nose. ¡°Planning is an attempt to exercise control, and as you said, you control your motion in combat.¡± Mock snapping at Sarah¡¯s finger, Amdirlain huffed in frustration. ¡°Hold up,¡± Sarah said, cutting Amdirlain off. ¡°I¡¯ll create you a little magical item, one sensitive to excess energy. Let¡¯s see how you go duplicating it.¡± Pulling out a bar of silver and a set of inscribing tools, Sarah floated them about her. Fine filaments streamed from the block and wove into a braided ring barely large enough for a toddler¡¯s pinkie finger. The formed ring hovered in front of Sarah, and she began inscribing tiny runes along each braid. Amdirlain waited, patiently watching with True Sight the delicate patterns of Mana that Sarah was setting across the metal. The primitive type of enchantment she was doing gave the object a piece of fragile, tinny music interwoven within the silver¡¯s song. It took Sarah half an hour to complete, and she thrust it towards Amdirlain with a discontented look. ¡°Here, that¡¯s your sample. Try to sing another one.¡± ¡°That deflection field doesn¡¯t sound like it would work against a spitball,¡± commented Amdirlain as she claimed the ring. ¡°Maybe a paper plane,¡± countered Sarah. The first notes Amdirlain tried came out far too loud, and she stopped shaking her head. ¡°Can you set up some items staging down to this for me? This feels like pouring an Olympic-sized swimming pool into a thimble.¡± The moment Sarah nodded, Amdirlain thrust the ring back to her. ¡°I don¡¯t want it back,¡± protested Sarah. ¡°Too bad. Give me a complete set once I¡¯ve got a new house set up,¡± instructed Amdirlain. The news caused Sarah¡¯s eyebrows to lift. ¡°Where do you plan to do that?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d make a bunch of mithril and sell it at one of the larger Outlands towns. See if they¡¯d let me buy a house instead of living cut off from everyone,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I want to live somewhere there is sunshine for a while.¡± Sarah blinked. ¡°That would be interesting. Should I contact the cloister representative at The Exchange? We might see him before meeting goat boy.¡± ¡°It makes sense,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I think we¡¯ve been here long enough.¡± Amdirlain caught the music of the representative¡¯s name when Sarah sent a Message and quickly received an acknowledgement to meet. This time, Amdirlain didn¡¯t yank them between planes but opened a Gate into the Elemental Plane of Air. Unfussed by the empty blue sky before her, Sarah just stepped out and concentrated on remaining before the Gate. As soon as Amdirlain was floating beside her, the Gate closed, and another opened into the wide foyer of The Exchange. The broad space contained the most entities Amdirlain had yet seen at the entryway at one time, to the point of almost overflowing. Most of the entities were queuing for entry towards the shorter-term stays, but Sarah¡¯s path cut across them towards the resident entrance at the far end. The Exchange¡¯s varied skyscrapers soared towards the brilliant silver sunless sky, the Demi-Plane¡¯s illumination provided by the sky¡¯s constant glow. The volume of the noise within the foyer today competed fiercely with that generated by the crush of activity beyond the entry gates. Through the crush, Amdirlain could see the same unadorned entry gates she¡¯d seen on her previous visits. Yet, except for the express lane Farhad had taken her through, the queues streaming arrivals inside today seemed to move at a glacial pace. A heavily armoured Storm Giant, with a frosted white beard, and electricity dancing across its skin, tried to pretend he couldn¡¯t see Sarah. However, his attempt to step into her path found his foot held off the ground by a lone hand, and he almost fell when she shoved him back. ¡°Try that again, and I¡¯ll hunt you down outside The Exchange and eat your face,¡± growled Sarah. The reddish glow that radiated off the giant¡¯s armour made it clear at least her eyes had shifted. The giant wisely held still at Sarah''s proclamation, allowing them both to pass unhindered. Arriving at the last gate along the row, Sarah pulled out a duplicate of the token she¡¯d given Amdirlain and presented it to the adamantine barrier at arm¡¯s length. The gate lifted and slid aside, allowing Sarah to move beyond it, where she turned to wait for Amdirlain. When Amdirlain presented the guest token to the gate mimicking Sarah¡¯s action, a voice murmured in her ear. ¡°It¡¯s prohibited to use Dominion or any other mind-altering effects beyond the entrance area except in a private residence with the owner''s permission.¡± Despite her foreknowledge, Amdirlain briefly felt an anxiety prickling before deactivating the Power. The moment she did so, the barrier swung open, and Amdirlain stepped forward, considering her options. The further she moved from the entry, the more eyes followed her flowing movements. In mid-step, Amdirlain reached a decision and released her true form. Though the wards kept her from towering over the surrounding pedestrians, that wasn¡¯t necessary. The appearance of her wings and black-eyed gaze was enough to have others diverting their attention, suddenly finding anything more alluring. Sarah led the way through the streets, keeping them at ground level. ¡°The meeting place he uses overlooks a market close to here. Almost as bad as a stupid cafe, but it''s a public space covered by The Exchange¡¯s wards punishing violence.¡± 264 - Let there be blood Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - The Exchange Those watching when she¡¯d passed through the entry gate had looked away at her transformation, but her state didn¡¯t remain a deterrent. Other entities began to follow the pair in their travels through the city streets, some only for short distances, but one persistent Nymph continued to trail Amdirlain for blocks on their way to the marketplace. With many steering clear of the duo, the Nymph had plenty of opportunity to get a clear view of Amdirlain. Her eyes drank in Amdirlain''s undulating stride and, amusingly, Amdirlain caught the Nymph trying to duplicate how Amdirlain walked using her Dancer Class. ¡°You could wiggle a finger at her and she¡¯d follow you home,¡± murmured Sarah. Amdirlain had already reassured herself of the Nymph¡¯s nature. ¡°Outlands Nymph. I wonder if someone transplanted her tree or if it grew from a cutting? Does your Analysis give you anything details-wise beyond native to The Exchange?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I get as well,¡± agreed Sarah. Up ahead, a group of seven mercenaries¡ªtheir weapons and armour glowing brightly with Mana¡ªturned to watch her gliding strut. ¡°Let¡¯s just find this marketplace,¡± sighed Amdirlain. When the street traffic started to fade, Sarah guided them off the major thoroughfare and took them through twisting alleyways. The cries from merchants promoting goods growing louder promised a gathering ahead, but Sarah bounded up a flight of stairs before the latest alleyway''s end. After passing three floors, she exited onto a balcony overlooking a square filled with orderly stalls selling an array of foods. As Amdirlain turned off the stairs, the contact for the Cloister became obvious. To mundane sight, he looked like a femininely petite Elf, 150 centimetres tall with bone-white skin and clad in a black loincloth, but True Sight revealed his actual form beneath Shapeshift. Clotted blood swirled around in a featureless humanoid form, the wings folded tight within his adopted form showed metallic spurs and a leathery membrane. His fingers tapping the railing concealed the phantasmal claws of shiny black metal that would have shredded stone with each motion. [Name: Dagrast?r Species: Arch Profaner Fallen Class: Void Stalker / Cloister Assassin / Consuming Knight / Cloister Delegate Details: Formerly of the Summer Court, corrupted by the red caps into playing too much with his foes. Note: But you knew his name already. Are you trying to peek beneath the loin cloth?] Getting those details earned a bite of pain in Amdirlain''s mind, but Analysis appreciated her efforts. [Analysis [S] (25->26)] Sarah moved towards him without hesitation, and Amdirlain kept pace. ¡°Dagrast?r, thanks for meeting with us. I hope we weren¡¯t interrupting other activities.¡± Sarah''s use of his name prompted Dagrast?r to turn towards them. As he did, Amdirlain spotted a crystal pendant shaped like a flint arrowhead sitting at the hollow of his collarbones. A short black cord around his neck adhered to his skin and held the pendant in place. [True Song Crystal - Mark of the Seeker Creator: Orh¨ºthurin Lifespan: N/A Details: Allows cloister members to communicate across planes and pass through the testing plinth¡¯s wards. Gained by following the trails to the start of Redemption¡¯s Path or by accessing the path¡¯s focal point within the darkness.] ¡°Sarah, you and your associates have truly earned the Cloister¡¯s aid; a meeting, even one with short notice, isn¡¯t a burden,¡± replied Dagrast?r before he nodded towards Amdirlain. ¡°I take it you¡¯re the individual Sarah spoke of looking for Redemption¡¯s Path.¡± ¡°I am. Sarah said you had information you could share with me,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°First, I should share with you some things about the Cloister. Would you prefer talking in the open behind concealments, or taking a private room at one of the Mortal restaurants that litter The Exchange?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Either is fine with me if I¡¯m allowed to put the concealments in place.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know your capabilities. How about we both put concealments in place?¡± countered Dagrast?r. ¡°That¡¯s agreeable,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Might I start?¡± ¡°Feel free,¡± Dagrast?r stated, and he folded his arms behind his back in what seemed an awkward position to Amdirlain. When Amdirlain sang, she split her voice and layered concealments in place. The outer layers duplicated the Wizard ones that Ebusuku had used, with an inner layer composed of True Song barriers. Dagrast?r started at her singing and watched the Mana of the barriers settling into place. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected a Spellsinger; you don¡¯t follow their fashion¡ªyour clothing is far too plain. Not that it matters; your history is your own, and there is no need to share it, or your name.¡± When Amdirlain nodded to signal her barriers were in place, Dagrast?r set some of his own. The songs of their magic were sometimes identical to the concealments Amdirlain set, or subtle variations, but nothing for any other purpose than to conceal them from another¡¯s senses. The strength of the magic in them was higher than what Amdirlain would have managed casting instead of singing. ¡°Now we¡¯ve taken care of that; what do you believe Redemption¡¯s Path to be?¡± asked Dagrast?r. ¡°An ancient mechanism by which a Fallen¡¯s actions, post starting the path, get weighed against all evil deeds committed until a balance is reached. After it determines they have achieved a balance, those worthy can return to the heavenly planes,¡± stated Amdirlain, focusing solely on the information she wanted to share. Amdirlain''s explanation caused deep furrows in Dagrast?r¡¯s brow. He lost his air of casualness before she was halfway through and looked her up and down more carefully. ¡°You know far more than most. What do you know of the Cloister?¡± ¡°Only that you have a fortress on Ijmti and likely guard the start of the path in a cavern beneath it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Only? To most we are merely whispers and rumours unless a seeker has progressed far enough along the trial to have come under observation,¡± stated Dagrast?r as he glanced between them. ¡°I don¡¯t normally talk to candidates so openly, merely hinting. There are marker stones of the trial within The Exchange, and they¡¯re the most common start of the trials.¡± Amdirlain hummed. ¡°Sarah said you were the Cloister¡¯s representative here.¡± ¡°I am, but my purpose isn¡¯t to recruit, other than nudging a potential if I find one. I¡¯m here to aid our projects in various fashions. The information sources here mean I can find situations where our members can provide aid or pick up materials for ongoing work,¡± explained Dagrast?r. ¡°Sarah never explained how she came to know of me. Yet the fact we¡¯ve already helped save thousands of mortals from the Abyss inclines me to talk to you more fully.¡± Sarah gave him a tight smile. ¡°Some individuals on Mechanus know of your order and its endeavours.¡± Her explanation earned a relieved nod from Dagrast?r. ¡°I¡¯ve encountered a marker stone; it pointed me towards a location on the Plane Kap¨´cterv,¡± interjected Amdirlain before Dagrast?r could question Sarah. ¡°Your resistance to decay must need a lot of work; those lacking it at the trial¡¯s start normally take that route,¡± noted Dagrast?r. ¡°Is it permitted to skip the trial and access the path¡¯s start?¡± asked Amdirlain. Dagrast?r frowned. ¡°Existing on Ijmti is difficult for those lacking the trial¡¯s tempering.¡± ¡°Difficult isn¡¯t impossible, and the Cloister has benefited from my project with the crystals.¡± ¡°Your project? How can it be yours? You¡¯re neither Anar nor L¨®m?, so you can¡¯t have created the crystals,¡± argued Dagrast?r. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I am Fallen, not Mortal. Yet I developed the plan and broke the L¨®m? out of their despair to act.¡± ¡°An interesting claim,¡± challenged Dagrast?r. ¡°Did the L¨®m? that you met with introduce himself?¡± ¡°He did,¡± admitted Dagrast?r, though he frowned in confusion at the question. ¡°Then ask him if they would have started work on the crystals you¡¯ve been using without Am¡¯s involvement,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not my full name, but he¡¯ll recognise it as a reference to me.¡± It took less than a minute for Dagrast?r to receive a reply. The acknowledgement and plea from Roher for the Cloister to provide her help raised Dagrast?r¡¯s brows. ¡°You inspire concern for your well-being, not fear. That is most unusual for one that hasn¡¯t even started on the trials, let alone the path,¡± observed Dagrast?r. ¡°Part of belonging to the Cloister is sharing the duty of protecting our fortress on Ijmti. Counting on magical protections instead of resistances could leave you vulnerable when present on the Plane.¡± ¡°What other expectations do you have of your members?¡± ¡°First, to work to assist each other¡¯s progress on the path. Many facets of the Cloister¡¯s work won¡¯t help your immediate progress, but benefit others,¡± warned Dagrast?r. ¡°So the path doesn¡¯t credit your actions unless they¡¯re done intending to help another more than yourself?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°How long do you keep new members on other duties?¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°We¡¯ve lost a number because they refused to realise that help provided for selfish reasons is meaningless to the path,¡± offered Dagrast?r. ¡°We keep new members undertaking support roles until we see they¡¯ve stopped worrying about themselves and instead focus on helping others.¡± ¡°Second?¡± ¡°Not to judge each other for mistakes, but to leave that to the path. Its verdict is always harsher than any we would inflict,¡± stated Dagrast?r, the kind smile he offered was weird with Amdirlain being able to see his form beneath it. ¡°Last is to protect the path, so those who come after will also have their chance.¡± ¡°What do you do if someone starts the path and then leaves the Cloister?¡± ¡°Then they leave. Hopefully they¡¯ll come back before they fall into corruption completely, but it''s their path to walk. If we forced another to make things easier on ourselves, I¡¯m sure the judgement wouldn¡¯t be kind,¡± clarified Dagrast?r. ¡°Will you let me shortcut to the path¡¯s start?¡± ¡°If you can put sufficient protections in place yourself,¡± said Dagrast?r. ¡°You¡¯ll need the equivalent of Greater Resistance to Chaos, Decay, Primordial, Poison, and Life energies. If you have less than that, I wouldn¡¯t be comfortable taking you to Ijmti.¡± ¡°While I¡¯m happy to help others progress their path, I have a project I presently need to finish. Could I start the path and complete the next stage of my goals before actively working with the Cloister?¡± Dagrast?r frowned. ¡°Are these goals why you asked about individuals walking away?¡± ¡°In part, but I wanted to make sure you weren¡¯t binding anyone with oaths on their True Name or something,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she nodded at the distaste evidenced in Dagrast?r expression and the increased tempo of his tapping fingers. ¡°The other part is the time-sensitive nature of my goals; if fulfilling them takes too long, the outcome will be far worse. I¡¯ll admit, if you tried to stick me with guard duty for a hundred years straight before I¡¯ve fulfilled them, I wouldn¡¯t stick around.¡± Dagrast?r snorted. ¡°We undertake such duty on a rotation. We¡¯ve thousands in the Cloister, and all of us can freely transverse the planes. Might I know what your project is?¡± ¡°Three celestials got dragged into a Transformation Site; somehow they came out of it as Fallen instead of the demons I feared they¡¯d be. I¡¯ve caught two of them, but I¡¯m still seeking the third; he sent ¡®gifts¡¯ to mortals in the form of flayed bodies and necromantically tortured souls. The longer I take to catch him, the more he has to make up for,¡± clarified Amdirlain, keeping the pain that dug its claws through her guts from her voice. At the first scritch from the metal railing, Dagrast?r lifted his hand from the impression he¡¯d left. ¡°It is unlikely you¡¯ll be able to get them into a state to want to redeem themselves.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve got them in a L¨®m? purification field outside the Abyss. I¡¯m hoping it weakens the corruption¡¯s hold on their minds.¡± ¡°You are unusual! I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve never encountered a situation where mortals have contacted the Cloister on behalf of a Fallen, nor ever met someone that wasn¡¯t already on the path and willing to help those on its journey to any degree. Yet Roher confirmed it was your doing that put the rescue of thousands in our hands. Those undertaking that work have been gaining from it. Given the unlikely events you¡¯ve already been part of, what help can I provide your search?¡± asked Dagrast?r. ¡°That¡¯s kind of you to offer, and if something comes up, I¡¯ll let you know, but we¡¯re still getting to know each other,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°I shared that information to clarify the importance, not because I was looking for your help.¡± ¡°Understandable; still, the offer remains open,¡± replied Dagrast?r. ¡°Do you need more time in The Exchange, or do you want to show me your protections and head to Ijmti?¡± ¡°We need more time here, but I¡¯ll show you mine,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Between the Shield Mastery and Elemental Shields Spell lists, Amdirlain quickly had protections against the five energies in place. When the last barrier settled into place, Dagrast?r nodded in satisfaction. ¡°That relieves my concerns in that respect. My name is Dagrast?r; now you won¡¯t need Sarah to pass messages for you.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Amdirlain said, and she gave him a respectful nod before she followed Sarah downstairs. When Sarah reached the alleyway again, she tilted her head, and Amdirlain extended a mental link. Sarah pointed upwards, and the pair flew between the buildings until they reached the open sky. ¡°Did your Precognition ping on anything?¡± ¡°No warnings, but he was sensitive to the news of corrupted celestials,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Or he reacted to the pain and sorrow in your voice, sweetie,¡± countered Sarah, her mental voice carrying an enfolding warmth. Amdirlain winced. ¡°Where is the Satyr, and what¡¯s his name?¡± ¡°Hybris, and we keep flying straight this way until you see an oak tree that adds four stories in height to a skyscraper,¡± responded Sarah before she transformed into her Dragon form. Despite the wards restricting her size, the inner red glow of her hide had more than a few flyers giving them a wide berth. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea? I can meet with him and get the information.¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Hybris, is that one of the classic Greek Satyr names? Yes, insolence. As for meeting him, it¡¯s likely not a good idea for me, but we¡¯re doing this anyway. ¡± Despite the time she¡¯d spent listening to the wards before creating Sanctuary¡¯s Demi-Plane, Amdirlain rechecked them as they flew along. Here and there, she poked at them with True Song ensuring it didn¡¯t cause the slightest of reactions. ¡°The wards are psionic and magical blends like the monastery''s, but more powerful. Without the Gate in the way, they have the feel of the Amethyst Dragon templates to them.¡± ¡°Very true,¡± agreed Sarah. When the tree came into sight, they made out the surrounding park was awash with people, and on closing the distance, it was apparent an orgy was in full flight. Among the naked revellers¡ªof mostly humanoid species¡ªfemale fauns and male satyrs danced and fornicated, apparently uncaring which gender or activity they were engaged in. Open swathes of grass, couches, and tables hosted couples, trios, and more. Looking over the party guests, it was clear someone had picked them for their clean muscularity and their proximity to a Human appearance. ¡°He¡¯s among a circle of chairs near the oak tree,¡± stated Sarah as they regarded the scene from the air. A raised dais before the oak tree provided a vantage point to overlook the orgy and space for the dozen armed guards to stand amidst the chaos. Their weapons catered to the Demi-Plane''s wards: bladed shields, man-catchers, and other contraptions; well-chosen options suited to hinder and delay until the wards reacted to capture attackers. ¡°The Greek mythological creatures the Songbird added always had a taste that tended towards Human-like species, even without the Greek deities presence,¡± Amdirlain projected, and Sarah snorted in amusement. Picking the closest spot along the rooftop¡¯s edge¡ªa half kilometre from the oak tree¡ªthe pair landed and started to move through the crowd. When they were still a hundred metres away, the Satyr Sarah had mentally pointed out as Hybris was already watching them, licking his lips at their approach. His only goat-like features were his legs from mid-thigh and horns rising from about his temples. Chestnut locks hanging across his muscular shoulders possessed wavey curls similar to the hairs covering his lower legs. Standing up, he pulled a nearby Faun across the table in front of him. Her legs wrapped around his lower back, and he sheathed himself in her with a single thrust. The Faun happily moaned and wiggled about on the table, yet Hybris¡¯ gaze wasn¡¯t even on her. Instead, his eyes lingered on Amdirlain¡¯s approach. As they drew near, Hybris thrust, slowly building up a rhythm in pace with their growing proximity. When Amdirlain had to push aside guests that tried desperately to entice her to join them, Hybris laughed and picked up the pace. The sour music emanating from his Soul dug at Amdirlain to get the Faun away. When Amdirlain and Sarah got within arm¡¯s reach of the table, they stopped without exchanging words. ¡°Hybris, you were supposed to meet with us now to sell information,¡± stated Sarah. Hybris kept up the pace for a few minutes more until he unloaded into the Faun with a shuddering grunt. With a slap on her arse, he pulled out with a wet sucking sound, his veined member still standing its ground. ¡°Who¡¯s next for receiving my wondrous seed?¡± crowed Hybris. ¡°You were supposed to meet with us now to sell information,¡± repeated Sarah, deliberately repeating her words in a slow cadence. ¡°Perhaps if she dances I might indulge you,¡± countered Hybris, waving at Amdirlain. ¡°I saw her slide through my party and needed to screw something.¡± ¡°No, Hybris, you tell me what I want to know, or I will dance for you,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Are you that bad?¡± laughed Hybris as he looked her up and down, licking his lips before waving to the panting Faun on the table in front of him. ¡°You can always lay next to her and I¡¯ll teach you some moves.¡± Amdirlain smiled and let her Charisma unfurl across the party, bringing the nearby revellers to a stumbling halt as they looked towards her. True Song¡¯s power silently amplified their attraction while freezing them in place through awed confusion. The reinforced inflections in her reply had the Satyr¡¯s rampant display twitching with every second word. ¡°No, you don¡¯t want to experience the steps I¡¯d take with you. Delay further, and I¡¯ll leave you with nothing.¡± The harsh tones in her last word had Hybris wilting like celery on a hot summer¡¯s day, the last droplets splattering across his cloven feet as his member hung decidedly limp. ¡°What did you do to me?¡± whimpered Hybris, fruitlessly tugging at himself to stimulate a reaction. ¡°Your choice, goat boy. Shall we meet as agreed, or should I leave you to lick up the last cum you¡¯ll ever produce?¡± growled Amdirlain, the pain she held at bay washing out across the gathering, drawing cries and sobs. ¡°Meet,¡± bleated Hybris. Channelling the arrogance learned in her lessons with Ilya, Amdirlain turned on her heel and looked over the crowd. ¡°Everyone, pack up all your things and calmly leave. Anyone pushing or shoving will displease me.¡± They left quickly and calmly towards one flight of stairs or another. The guards that had stood closer to the oak tree were among the first to flee. ¡°Fix me,¡± begged Hybris as the crowd started to disperse. ¡°How did you do this through the wards?¡± ¡°You''re a Satyr, so I know you have Mana Sense at the very least. Did I cast anything?¡± enquired Amdirlain, her tone becoming almost gentle. Hybris whimpered. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Raw Charisma alone can be a dangerous thing. When I warned you, your body reacted; it didn¡¯t want me unhappy. We need information. You have that information. Please me, and I¡¯ll please you; anger me, and my offer remains,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she jabbed a finger towards the trail the Faun had left in the wake of her immediate departure. Swallowing nervously, Hybris moaned. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°The world of Veht?, you hired some of Hell¡¯s agents to freelance. They killed, flayed, and delivered tortured souls to various locations. I want to know everything about who organised that through you,¡± announced Amdirlain, her words delivered in a sharp tone that slapped against him. ¡°If I tell you, no one will deal with me again, and it won¡¯t help you,¡± whimpered Hybris ¡°Tell me, or you won¡¯t be having an erection ever again. What¡¯s more important to you? Business, or your pleasure?¡± asked Amdirlain, motioning to his flaccid member. ¡°The Exchange management-¡± ¡°Have their rules, which I won¡¯t break. I¡¯ve not struck you, cast a Spell, or used a Power to influence your mind. Your body is following a natural process that, I¡¯ll admit, I encouraged; even satyrs don¡¯t always have erections. Of course, it might decide to continue to follow that option for the rest of your life,¡± interrupted Amdirlain. Her words contained an undercurrent of desperation that matched emotions she projected through Charisma, and the combination clawed along his spine, making him shiver uncomfortably. ¡°Four or five hundred years of abstinence will give you plenty of time to follow other pursuits.¡± ¡°They did everything through couriers: hiring me, delivering payment, and the materials for the Kyton¡¯s rites,¡± blurted Hybris, eyes widening in horror. ¡°A different courier on every exchange.¡± Amdirlain growled, a deep rumbling noise that she laced with dread for him alone. ¡°Then tell me about the couriers before I grow bored and leave.¡± ¡°They looked like different races,¡± gasped Hybris, looking towards Sarah in desperation, only to receive a vicious smile. ¡°Fine, they were all Efreeti; even transformed, they smelt of hot brass and smouldering flames.¡± ¡°Was that so hard, Hybris?¡± asked Amdirlain, ignoring Sarah¡¯s snicker. ¡°The Elemental Plane of Fire is a big place, any chance of narrowing it down?¡± At her question, Hybris swallowed, his eyes darting frantically about, seeking anything that might help. Sarah yawned to show multiple rows of sharpened teeth. ¡°The grilled sausage is a bit of let down around here. Maybe they need some fresh meat for the stuffing. Should we perhaps pop out to the Outlands to fetch some, Hybris?¡± ¡°They had no markings, but they all looked over everyone carefully; how an Assassin assesses a target,¡± babbled Hybris. ¡°The Efreeti laws only allow one assassin¡¯s guild,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°I believe we¡¯re done here, Hybris,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she linked his body¡¯s processes to his soul''s condition. ¡°Harden.¡± His erection returned in a rush that had every vein standing out, and Hybris clutched at himself from the sudden change. Letting out a bleat, he bent in two as if kicked in the crotch, the veins of his penis looking fit to rupture. Taking to the air, Sarah transformed into her Dragon shape, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t immediately join her. Instead, Amdirlain''s glare pinned Hybris in place, the rage burning through her rasped across her words. ¡°Something to screw? You helped fund Hell¡¯s agents and knew it. Bring your life back into balance, and your erection will behave. You¡¯ve taken neutrality as an excuse to grow rich, but the amount of evil you¡¯ve knowingly assisted marks your Soul.¡± ¡°Please, mercy,¡± grunted Hybris, his dick growing dark red as blood continued to engorge it. ¡°Tell that to those whose souls you helped send to Hell,¡± growled Amdirlain, and she pointed to his engorged penis. ¡°That could be your last erection. You picked the wrong person to fuck around with today.¡± With that, she leapt into the air and let Flight carry her along without flapping her wings. As they flew away, Sarah asked. ¡°Last one?¡± ¡°Even satyrs sometimes need to let it rest, so I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be having fun; that medical condition leads to permanent damage,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Given his Soul''s state, he¡¯s been a knowing cat¡¯s paw for the lower planes for years.¡± ¡°Regeneration?¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Bound it against his Soul. While ever his dick is functional, the stains on his Soul will cause it to engorge painfully, so right back at square one,¡± Amdirlain said with a snort. ¡°Redemption¡¯s Path might smack you for that one,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°Except all I felt was disgust, not enjoyment,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think Farhad would provide information on the assassin¡¯s guild taking courier jobs?¡± Sarah smirked. ¡°Are you trying to invoke disgust in him for the life he used to lead?¡± ¡°He would say that is where he was on the journey. To deny who he was is to ignore the lessons it taught him,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s see if Dagrast?r will meet up now.¡± Giving a disgruntled snort, Sarah shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Farhad and leave you to take the trip to Ijmti with Dagrast?r.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t go to the City of Brass without me,¡± Amdirlain said before she sent a Message to Dagrast?r, including an image of a street exit they¡¯d passed near the marketplace meeting. ¡°I¡¯ll wait there until you are ready to leave.¡± Dagrast?r¡¯s response was within seconds. ¡°Be right there.¡± ¡°Catch you later,¡± Amdirlain said, and she gave Sarah a wave before speeding away, her path dipping close to the rooftops. She descended into an alleyway close to her target and found Dagrast?r true to his word: the spot she¡¯d pictured already hosted Dagrast?r. ¡°Your other business didn¡¯t take long at all,¡± commented Dagrast?r as she landed nearby. ¡°It was a bit of a quickie,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she motioned to stairs leading down to an exit zone. ¡°Shall we?¡± 265 - I see red Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - The Exchange The exit from The Exchange was identical to the others Amdirlain had used. The flight of stairs descended to a square black room, where a pressure change made the sealing of the route behind them known. Leading the way, Dagrast?r stopped at the chamber¡¯s midpoint. ¡°Easiest if I open a Gate, but I¡¯d prefer if you¡¯d renew your protections first.¡± Though the assorted shields had barely begun to fade, the fact he wanted them at full strength got him an appreciative smile from Amdirlain. Recasting the five of them was done in half a minute, and when the last renewal settled, Dagrast?r opened a Gate. The threshold framed a view of a valley sloping down towards a forest seething with a sick overabundance of life that Amdirlain had seen twice before. While only once in the flesh, Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories of it had seemed vivid and disturbingly real. Night shrouded the Plane, its black sky filled with bleak-toned nebulae, giving the appearance of unblinking alien eyes that glared down. A predatory menace crawled up along her spine, and Amdirlain caught a hint of Tiamat¡¯s song, but it was only one within the mix of powers. Memories of domains spanning multiple planets and systems speeding outwards beyond the nebulae rose unprompted. Their ever-expanding separation meant their light would never reach where she now stood. With a quick look at the structure ahead of her, Amdirlain opted to lock down Resonance¡¯s range to a mere four hundred metres. She was prompted not by the primordials¡¯ songs but by her aversion to the Plane¡¯s music with its slithering and oozing tones. Some three hundred metres down the valley wasn¡¯t the massive fortress that Amdirlain had imagined. With thousands in the Cloister, she had pictured a large structure, not a tiny fort formed of brown rock that jutted a mere hundred metres from the valley¡¯s wall. The design was an odd, three tiered wedge; along the top of each tier were lines of ballista-type weapons. Behind them, Amdirlain could catch glimpses of Fallen. None were even close to Human; they had exotic forms with snouts and maws, scales, fur, or slime, representing scores of species, yet all kept careful watch. Where the Sisterhood had gone for a giant castle that remained upright only through magic, the Cloister had focused its magic entirely on securing the building. The wards reaching out from it formed a dome above the fort, and Amdirlain could hear them reaching far underground. Amdirlain couldn¡¯t make out the dread whispers Orh¨ºthurin had followed to the cave mouth, but the location¡¯s song niggled at Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory of the path¡¯s creation. Its layers of warding and a hidden network of tunnels had stamped Order into the place¡¯s Chaos. Overlaying the location, the regimented music of the fortification dominated the region¡¯s melodies. ¡°It seems orderly. Is that a theme with the Cloister?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Dagrast?r shook his head and stepped through the Gate ahead of her. ¡°And you say that without a hint of distaste. No, it¡¯s more about balance, though ?we¡¯re balancing it against the Plane¡¯s Chaos, so I can understand why it feels orderly. It is the nature of the path and has affected our perspective; the Cloister seeks to have a balance between it and its members. We must weigh the freedom to find and walk our paths against the duties owed to the Cloister and the support we give each other.¡± Amdirlain transformed into her Wood Elf form once she¡¯d stepped through the Gate. The autumn hues a challenge to the overly lush forest at the valley¡¯s far end. Ignoring the weight of Dagrast?r¡¯s considering gaze, she sought more details from the place¡¯s song. With a strange silence between them, she offered a distraction. ¡°A tripod provides the greatest stability. Your mix has the order, the individual, and the collective members. Is that triad why the fort has three tiers?¡± ¡°No, not at all,¡± denied Dagrast?r, and he let the Gate close. ¡°Though I find it interesting that you look for meaning beyond the surface. Do you do that a lot?¡± Amdirlain smiled and turned the question back. ¡°The Cloister has been around for a long time; customs and architecture can tell a lot about the inner nature of an organisation. Does it look much at the members'' motivations?¡± ¡°The better we understand others motivations, the better we can aid their progress back to the light,¡± responded Dagrast?r. After motioning towards the fort, he slowly started down the valley and beckoned Amdirlain to follow. ¡°They¡¯ve seen our arrival; it''s safe for us to approach now.¡± ¡°If it''s not prying, why have the fort set up this way?¡± prompted Amdirlain, and she walked alongside Dagrast?r. ¡°It¡¯s very different from any fortification I¡¯ve seen in the Abyss.¡± ¡°It¡¯s about maximising the number of weapons that can fire at anything approaching while minimising the frontage they have to attack,¡± explained Dagrast?r. Amdirlain took in the mounting of the weapons and nodded. ¡°If you were flush against the cliff wall, you wouldn¡¯t be able to fire upwards.¡± ¡°We look to find a balance,¡± confirmed Dagrast?r. ¡°Sometimes one does things you¡¯d prefer they not to gain the advantage in another arena. Demons tend to attack what they can see if at all possible. They''d chop through from every direction if we built solely into the cliff. I¡¯d caution you not to stray too far from any escort until you earn your pendant; otherwise, the wards will object to your presence.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not like I expected another Fallen to be,¡± offered Amdirlain. Dagrast?r slowed and glanced her way. ¡°You show little of the emotions many of those new to the path display. Mood swings are often violent, and yet I¡¯ve only caught some grief and sorrow from you once. I¡¯ve followed the path for an aeon and intend to follow the Eldest¡¯s example.¡± ¡°And what is that?¡± ¡°Some of us remain to guide those that come after,¡± explained Dagrast?r. ¡°I¡¯ve nothing to return to, so I remain to help others regain the light.¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t return to your previous position?¡± Dagrast?r gave a bitter laugh. ¡°Certainly not. The one I once served doesn¡¯t accept the return of those who¡¯ve given in to corruption. She likes only the purest of light within her Domain.¡± ¡°How do you know?¡± ¡°I saw another rejected before my fall. That same one pointed me to the path after learning of my fall; enraged at first, I didn¡¯t listen,¡± admitted Dagrast?r. ¡°Where is she?¡± ¡°She now serves one more accepting of those whose journey has kissed the darkness,¡± Dagrast?r replied, an edge of steel cutting an undertone in his voice. ¡°Given the elven appearance you choose, if you are talking about the Summer and Winter courts, there are other Pantheons,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps, but then I doubt I¡¯d feel as if I had succeeded,¡± explained Dagrast?r, and he glanced towards the eerie nebula-filled sky. ¡°There is never a sunrise on this Plane. The glowing patterns in the sky are eternal. Many say they feel as if something watches whenever they are in the open.¡± Amdirlain almost left his subject change alone. ¡°The path lets you choose to remain?¡± The question earned a pleased smile from Dagrast?r, staying away from discussing pantheons as it did. ¡°Yes, it lets one know their progress, and a woman¡¯s voice asks if you wish the light once you¡¯ve balanced your evil. Do you have questions before we go within?¡± ¡°How do you coordinate things if there isn¡¯t a need to share a name? Or is that only until I become a member?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Even afterwards, only share with a minimum of beings; we¡¯ve lost members to corruption before now. I choose to represent the Cloister at The Exchange for two reasons. One, I¡¯m confident in my ability to resist being summoned and two, because I¡¯ve multiple home planes. Anyone summoning me would pay the price for nothing if they meant evil,¡± declared Dagrast?r, the edge in his tone hinting of personal experience. ¡°Priests of a foul Deity summoned me into a mirrored circle at one point,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°I used a vortex of energy; it killed me, and with the circle¡¯s collapse, them as well. A friend found the temple¡¯s site and said there was only a pit left behind.¡± Dagrast?r threw his head back and laughed. ¡°I had meant the summoning materials and injuries suffered from your opposition. How many of the black priests died?¡± ¡°Black priests, that¡¯s an interesting way to refer to them. No way to tell for sure, mirrored circle and all.¡± ¡°Yes, of course,¡± acknowledged Dagrast?r, and he started towards the keep. ¡°I unleashed a Spell solely to kill me; perhaps I need to learn some spells that will linger past my death and expand beyond their boundary. Were you just freed from a Planar Lock?¡± ¡°Interesting question,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one to have experienced such. Though I only ask as it would explain why your associates spent years hiding your existence from us. Otherwise, it seems they were allowing us to think the crystals were their scheme so that they might profit,¡± explained Dagrast?r. ¡°You have also continued to ensure you don¡¯t need to share your name.¡± Amdirlain nodded but tried to mislead with a fact. ¡°True, the pieces are obvious. After being locked to a single Home Plane, one gets paranoid.¡± ¡°From your motions, I wouldn¡¯t have thought you¡¯d only one,¡± observed Dagrast?r, smiling. ¡°You need far more practice at misleading, young Am. It is a skill that is sometimes needed to get mortals to accept our help willingly, especially those of us who end up with unsettling auras.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very open with your observations,¡± retorted Amdirlain. Though she knew at least part of the answer, she asked anyway. ¡°Since I don¡¯t need to share my name, how do the Cloister members keep in contact?¡± Tapping the pendant at his throat, Dagrast?r smiled. ¡°The pendants let us communicate with other pendant holders we¡¯ve met. As you¡¯ll learn, there are some limitations, but they are far more convenient than Message spells.¡± ¡°Do you have to run message chains to get in touch with someone in emergencies?¡± ¡°No, the Eldest knows all the members; you¡¯ll meet them at the path¡¯s start. Over time, we find there is less need for others'' help to make contact,¡± explained Dagrast?r. ¡°You keep glancing at the sky; is it unnerving to you, or is it from spending lots of time underground?¡± His words had Amdirlain fix her gaze upon the path they were following. ¡°Right. Shall we go inside? I¡¯ve been worried about what it will judge me for since I learnt about the path. My apologies for procrastinating with so many questions. ¡± ¡°How long ago did you learn of the path?¡± asked Dagrast?r. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Thirty odd years ago.¡± ¡°At least it wasn¡¯t at the start of your Planar Lock,¡± consoled Dagrast?r. Not wanting to correct him, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°A hundred years would have been far worse; only after I got free did I realise how much worry it had added.¡± When they passed through the ward¡¯s perimeter without a sign of trouble, Dagrast?r signalled to one of the Fallen. When he lifted off the ground, he tossed her a grin that carried more than a hint of wild fey. ¡°No door at ground level; follow me and aim towards the fellow with the orange-scaled torso and red tentacles so you don¡¯t get too far away. Despite the fanged maw that splits his front, he doesn¡¯t bite.¡± He wasn¡¯t close to the worse thing Amdirlain had seen or many of those she¡¯d become. ¡°How far is too far?¡± ¡°Good question. Double arm¡¯s reach,¡± replied Dagrast?r, and Amdirlain moved close enough that she could put a hand on his shoulder. Amdirlain spotted the fellow Dagrast?r had mentioned at the mid-point of the lowest tier, and their path landed them near a rack of Human-sized ballista bolts. While each bolt exceeded her Kopis¡¯ enchantment, the bolts could only convey a magical surge once. It was an approach that avoided supplying an attacking force with ammunition to return their way. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. As they resumed walking, most of those tending the weapons spared the pair only glancing looks. Among them, Amdirlain spotted most wearing a similar pendant, varying only in colouration. None were the clear transparent of Dagrast?r''s, though several possessed a nearly translucent tint, most were opaque and included various colours and patterns. The harmonics from those stationed on the battlements warbled through notes both acute and worryingly sour. By the time they reached a secure corridor, taking them into the fort¡¯s interior, Amdirlain hadn¡¯t spotted a single humanoid Fallen. ¡°Do those on watch stay near the weapons in case of forces teleporting into the valley?¡± ¡°Why else? It has proven necessary in the past,¡± confirmed Dagrast?r. ¡°Any experience with ballistae?¡± ¡°None,¡± ¡°Well, you certainly could get a training instructor, but perhaps joining those providing Spell support when you undertake guard duty would make more sense,¡± suggested Dagrast?r. The passage took them into the mountainside, and Amdirlain could hear others casually chatting in ready rooms to either side. Most of the content of the conversations she ignored, though some voices contained the ready anger Dagrast?r had mentioned. She could make out a layer of protective wards within the stone beneath their feet that a tight staircase a few hundred metres into the mountain took them beneath. They passed through several hardened doors in their descent before they entered a rectangular chamber with more weaponry focused on it. At the chamber¡¯s rear was a large circular hole, and Amdirlain could hear it plunging towards the depths. Ignoring the weapons that concentrated on the doorway, Dagrast?r headed for the shaft and paused, waiting for Amdirlain to join him. Looking down the shaft, Amdirlain spotted runes that spiralled around it, dropping beyond her eyesight¡¯s range. Dagrast?r pointed downwards. ¡°Step off together and match my descent.¡± When Amdirlain nodded, he took a step forward Amdirlain moved in time with him. The shaft descended directly down, yet at various distances, tunnels broke off around them. While some were for accommodation, libraries, and training levels, others led to complex traps. They¡¯d encrusted most of the walls with runes intended to confuse and kill anyone entering the floors, but many reinforced the fort¡¯s wards in a cylindrical pattern. As they drew closer to the shaft¡¯s base, the whispers she¡¯d expected started. The death throes of the dying powers that had sought to usurp the Titan¡¯s rule had been minor nuisances to Orh¨ºthurin, but even at the current limits of her perception, they dealt Amdirlain forceful blows. Amdirlain turned Resonance off entirely rather than risk injury from their spite. When they exited the shaft, they came down into the point of a tear-drop cavern, and Amdirlain saw what was waiting for them. It wasn¡¯t the darkness from memory; instead, the natural cavern lighting revealed all the details. Around its walls sat alcoves engraved with many scenes: battle and compassion, killing or healing. In others, the images showed mortals receiving instruction in life improvements for hunting, foraging, or agricultural techniques. At the far end, a True Song Crystal sphere that matched her memory was present, but so too was a figure from memory. Their very presence made the cavern¡¯s vast, echoing interior seem tiny. Its head connected directly to the shoulders, with a handful of finger-length tendrils nested in the middle instead of hair, each moving about independently to the others, tasting the room¡¯s energies. Where before the tendrils had seemed simple strands of green flesh, now they¡¯d become covered with cruel hooks that cut the air as if taking samples by force. The being was still roughly reptilian in appearance, with the forward half of its body curving upward towards the cavern¡¯s vast roof some sixty metres overhead. Three types of limbs appeared along the length of its body. The upper set were now barbed pincers that extended from the body around what would have been a shoulder joint on a Human figure that size. The next pair were in line with the middle of their ribs but were boneless cables of muscle that coiled tight against their sides, preventing her from determining their new range. Instead of the blunt stump ringed with eight thin fingers that had once been at their end, the fingers had transformed into solid curved claws. Level with those arms, three mouths arched across their chest, each a fanged consuming maw, now seemingly a wound in the red and bitter green scales. Four clawed reptilian legs were spaced out along the lower half of their body, and the body that had come to a blunt end now sported a long wyvern tail complete with barb. Dagrast?r moved four steps towards the figure before he gave a respectful nod. A token of willing respect between colleagues rather than a duty owed a liege. ¡°Eldest, I bring a candidate to walk the path.¡± The ancient Fallen arched its body down towards her, the tendrils writhing in the air as it did so. Black pupilless eyes regarded her for a time before speaking. ¡°She doesn¡¯t come via the trials; I can see the protections sitting about her. Why do you count her worthy of trying without the trials¡¯ tempering?¡± ¡°She¡¯s aided the Cloister. The crystals that the L¨®m? provided to aid mortals were created and given to us through her planning. The L¨®m? contact, Roher, confirmed this is the case and asked us to lend her what aid we could,¡± explained Dagrast?r. ¡°Many have gained, but I¡¯m wary of such easy successes,¡± countered Eldest. ¡°What do you have to say about the crystals, candidate?¡± ¡°The plan wasn¡¯t to provide a Fallen easy gains; it was for rescuing as many mortals as possible from the Abyss. Celestials might learn of the prisoners, only to lose track of the mortals,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Originally, the crystals were going to get issued to Celestial searchers, but it got suggested a Fallen would draw less attention in the Abyss. I didn¡¯t care who did the work, only that the mortals weren¡¯t left imprisoned here.¡± The Eldest stared at her unblinking as it considered her words. ¡°I¡¯d be delighted to hear your words from one who¡¯d walked the path for four or five millennia. However, many of our new candidates still struggle with obtaining such an attitude.¡± ¡°Everyone is different,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Everyone is, but the patterns in the Fallen follow certain trends. Only a foolish hunter doesn¡¯t ask why game signs show changes without reason,¡± Eldest stated. ¡°I won¡¯t argue with your experience, but trends always have outliers. But I¡¯ve enough looking to treat me as prey to want to avoid being predictable,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to say, except I¡¯ve enemies within the Abyss that I¡¯m sure don¡¯t favour the Cloister.¡± ¡°One can tell much about one from a being''s enemies,¡± offered Eldest. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°One can profit from another''s enemies if you offer them information.¡± The tendrils that formed Eldest¡¯s flickered about. ¡°You believe we¡¯d sell you out?¡± ¡°Dagrast?r said to be careful sharing a name; if a member falls further, I¡¯d prefer my enemies not know I¡¯ve found the Cloister. The wards prevent those coming here from teleporting inside to immediate safety; I¡¯d like them not to be staking out your borders. Also, I don¡¯t know any of you; I came seeking Redemption¡¯s Path, nothing else,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°And so you have found it. By finding it, I hope you¡¯ll see value in contributing to the Cloister¡¯s ranks, but regardless of that, someday, return to the light. Redemption¡¯s Path has existed for billions of years to let worthy seekers obtain that end.¡± ¡°How did it come to be?¡± ¡°That tale is one that many seekers work hard to earn. It is not a tale readily shared, because you are right: others have failed on the path before, and knowing its origin, I¡¯ve found, distracts,¡± answered the Eldest. ¡°Failed? If it¡¯s not rude to ask, what happened to them?¡± ¡°Various things, though it depends on the failure. Some failures it''s possible to recover from, but other setbacks are not. When one slips, it¡¯s important to examine your failing before attempting to push forward again,¡± admitted Eldest. ¡°This is one facet of why the Cloister exists: to help each other find the truths we need. Many achieve destruction because desperation made them take undue actions.¡± The Eldest moved to one side, giving Amdirlain an unobstructed view of the crystal dome. As per her memory, the archway at its base was an inky blackness held back by an energy barrier across its threshold. ¡°There is a short pillar within the darkness directly ahead of the archway. It''s argued if it''s a stand or plinth, as no one has ever seen its form, however, don¡¯t explore the chamber. Immediately through the archway is a narrow path that leads you to a suspended platform. Those who¡¯ve survived a brush with the platform¡¯s edge say things tried to drag them in.¡± ¡°Anything else I should know?¡± ¡°The start of the path can be hard. Walk straight, ignore the voices, don¡¯t jump if they scream, and you¡¯ll be fine. Also, once you¡¯ve encountered the obstacle in the middle, don¡¯t take your hands from it until the judgement has ended,¡± informed Dagrast?r. ¡°Worry not about what the path will declare; once you are out of the chamber, you can worry about redeeming one deed at a time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± replied Amdirlain, and her lips twisted at her gut''s sour churning. The memory had shown her the plinth directly in line with the archway, and Amdirlain strode towards it, tossing around approaches to ensure she walked straight. Taking a balanced stance at the threshold lip, she willed the vines to retract away from her feet and slid a foot into the darkness. Beneath her toes, she could feel the smooth crystal she expected and nodded to herself. ¡°Don¡¯t wait up,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and she slid into the darkness. The whispers Dagrast?r warned about became audible when she crossed the inner threshold. For many, their words might have been impossible to understand, uttered as they were in tongues unspoken in the realm. There was no promise of great power for their liberation nor temptations offered for aid; instead, they spoke of their demise and offered to share their agony. The first scream from a phantasm remembering its death made her ears bleed, and bones ache from the impact but forewarned, Amdirlain had already locked her reflexes down. Never taking either foot from the floor, Amdirlain moved forward in sliding steps. She moved her front foot directly out and shifted balance before dragging the rear to form a T-shape between heel and instep. As her hands found an obstruction at waist height, even with Resonance off, Amdirlain felt the plinth¡¯s song dance along her Soul''s surface but fail to dip within. The plinth¡¯s music warbled a series of confused notes as it slipped and slid against the barrier of her Hidden nature before it righted itself. It didn¡¯t cease but sipped from her mind and flesh. Events started to flash with brutal force, but none pre-dated her arrival in the Abyss. Viper¡¯s brutal slaying of the slavers got dismissed as the awareness within the plinth rated Amdirlain a hapless observer. However, the first Soul shard she consumed from a slaver froze its considerations. For a long time, the review tipped back and forth, distressed by her feeding on the Soul yet pleased by her soaking the damage in Ki¡¯s purification. The judgment at first wavered because she¡¯d taken, yet provided an unintended gift. The Ki energy she¡¯d used gave the Soul a better chance of seeking goodness in its next life. That she undertook the act to continue the pleasure of freedom from the Abyss decided the judgement. Having benefited from the Soul¡¯s demise changed her state from a hapless observer to a beneficiary, so the death and outcome were on her head. With that judgement rendered, it extrapolated outcomes. Amdirlain felt its ties reach out and information come back: the fate of the man¡¯s wife and children, eventually sold as slaves with his failure to return. It was from his expected date of return the calculations began. Each sequence in the chain became abandoned once they confirmed they had exceeded a single separation from her act, but the path weighed each real outcome against what felt like a best-case scenario for his dependents'' lives. The misery they¡¯d suffered versus the happiness they would have possessed. With that calculation complete, an anvil of red weight and a cascade of black dropped onto her scales. One at a time, its review marched through the hundreds she¡¯d taken, giving her no mercy from witnessing their bitter ends. It simply ignored those who came out of it better because of a parent''s death. The death of the priestess of Set didn¡¯t cause even a droplet on her negative tally, and Amdirlain witnessed tens of thousands of projected lives improved by that death. Because of her unflinching anger in dealing with the silversmith, he counted. No life showed a noticeable improvement from his best-case life span. Scores of women and girls would have been worse off if he had stayed alive. His best-projected outcome showed his violence escalating, leaving more damaged individuals in his wake before he started the killing, but that gained her no credit. The games she¡¯d played using the screaming of the souls to distract the sisters and yank Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s chain were another negative. That she¡¯d taken enjoyment from yanking her Succubus tormentor off balance was the catalyst for the souls¡¯ misery to weigh against her. It wasn¡¯t a single set but rather the pain and horror each Soul had felt each time she¡¯d yanked them from the Ki¡¯s comfort. Like the other deeds, they weighed the scales down sevenfold. The recount of them battered against the fortress of her willpower, and Amdirlain acknowledged she had erred by the plinth¡¯s black-and-white rules. To it, enjoyment or anger while causing a Mortal or Soul pain incurred a cost. Slaughtered demons it ignored, and those L¨®m? she¡¯d freed from their imprisonment in their Nox forms, it simply judged had been the right thing to do. Her first time in the Necropolis it skimmed through. Nothing in that place of death on the first trip warranted a mention. Moke, and then prisoners she¡¯d freed from the Temple of Set on her return to the Necropolis, got a nod for its rightness but no lightening of the debt. Fighting on the elemental planes were skipped over. It was finding nothing of concern to it in combat with the near-mindless elementals or the malicious fire giants. Back and forth, it tallied deeds with ruthless logic and the application of its rules. With the thousands she¡¯d freed from fates worse than death among the gnarls, it simply rated the activity a worthy action for a Celestial and moved along. The troops whose lives she¡¯d saved from fighting the gnarls got a nod but no amnesty. After that, the millions of souls freed from undeath while harvesting for Usd¡¯ghi went into a good bucket, earning her another proverbial pat on the head. The liberated souls had gone to Judgement, again with no credit because it pre-dated the start of her path. The slaughter of Set''s priests put thousands of deaths at her feet because she enjoyed smacking them down for the evil they¡¯d wrought. But oddly, not for killing the priests; if they¡¯d remained alive, they¡¯d have prevented other innocent deaths. The only positive for many priests was their expected protection of villages and towns during the God¡¯s War. That it ignored the further misery they¡¯d have caused was a burr beneath her skin. An aspect of Set¡¯s focus was dealing with foreigners, so his early destruction tipped things against the Egyptian Pantheon. She barely escaped the thousands of priests among the like of Ra, Bast, and others dying being considered her fault. Due to too much uncertainty introduced by the years between events, she paid for those the priests¡¯ original locations could have saved. The hundreds of thousands of dead it could have laid at her feet by extending the separation chain one or two degrees shook her. However, that was not the rule, and projections ended when they determined the separation was too far along the chain. They did not give Amdirlain the details, but she felt trillions more permutations being executed and extended with Gideon¡¯s knowledge of the people and factors involved. Her execution of malignant spirits in the Maze wasn¡¯t worth more than a brief consideration of her motives. Though it seemed to linger in quiet contemplation when she started purging the damned of memories and corruption, it finally skipped across the thousands she¡¯d gathered and reset for a clean reincarnation. That matter, the review settled by focusing on her intent to make the souls earn a fresh start and gain a seed of wisdom about the opposition to evil. The deaths of the prisoners in the first city were an expected hit. The bitterest blow was when the review hit the prisoners she¡¯d enjoyed releasing from the Abyss. While battered, large numbers celebrated their freedom, yet so many returned home in physical conditions that made them a burden to their kin¡ªyears of torture having broken them in mind or body. Worse yet, were those that returned home diseased and tainted with abyssal energies; their arrival wiped out more than one village with outbreaks of disease. One blessing for her was that it stopped the tally of extrapolated deaths from when her hands touched the plinth. The most heartbreaking were those who ended up in the hands of those who¡¯d initially sold them and added significantly to her tally. The process didn¡¯t care if she¡¯d done the right thing before starting the path, simply the existence of a Celestial should have been serving the realm¡¯s good. It assumed all the good was from before the fall and thus only tallied the weight of the evil outcomes where she enjoyed the deed or had acted in anger. When it at last ended, Amdirlain slipped and clutched at the plinth. She slowly dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around it to keep herself in place. Amdirlain retained a dim awareness of decisions that could have weighed against her that throbbed painfully, and only slowly faded from the back of her mind. [Achievement: Catastrophic cluster fuck - missed you by this much. Reward: Have a pendant! Note: I didn¡¯t make or apply the rules, and Ori almost made them far worse. The plinth is the arbitrator, I merely provide reference material and the simulations of outcomes. Note: The plinth¡¯s creation pre-dated the first Hidden. Hence it couldn¡¯t link to your Soul, and I didn¡¯t correct it. Let Ori¡¯s deeds and those of your past lives lay where they are, shall we?] ¡°Was that a ¡®Get smart¡¯ reference, Gideon?¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Never mind, yes. Be smart about things.¡± Staggering to her feet, Amdirlain felt as much as heard the True Song Crystal pendant that now rested against the skin of her breastbone. It had catered to her preference to have a longer cord during its creation. Hands still resting on the plinth¡ªshe¡¯d been careful not to release it in case a second judgement occurred¡ªAmdirlain reformed herself, facing the way she¡¯d come. With her back to the plinth, Amdirlain set pride aside and floated forward until the cavern¡¯s light returned. ¡°You were a while,¡± observed Dagrast?r. ¡°I was beginning to get concerned you might have ended up in the pit; most don¡¯t enter as fearlessly as you did.¡± Looking down at her, the Eldest nodded. ¡°It looks like you¡¯ve got a lot of work ahead of you. Focusing on redeeming yourself one deed at a time is all I can advise.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°Your crystal shows where you stand according to your last judgement,¡± stated Dagrast?r and motioned to her chest. Amdirlain looked down in surprise; unlike the crystal at Dagrast?r¡¯s throat, hers was an opaque scarlet hue with a lacework of black and green. The black formed veins of varying thickness showing a leaf-like pattern that reached into its depths. Resisting the urge to curse, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°What¡¯s the worst you¡¯ve seen?¡± ¡°A crystal looking like black stone is the worst on record,¡± offered Dagrast?r. ¡°Red hues are for bloodshed, black for injuries to souls, and greens are for actions that cause the spreading of disease.¡± ¡°We only know the colours by piecing them together from the testimonies of our members,¡± interjected the Eldest, beating the question forming on Amdirlain¡¯s lips. ¡°Everyone asks.¡± Dagrast?r nodded. ¡°I did, and I asked how they knew. Mine was once that deep carmine with nothing else patterning it. Revisiting the chamber after you¡¯ve accumulated deeds of redemption will alter its hue. Slipping past where you¡¯ve begun will see the crystal vanish. If it''s lost for that reason, the path won¡¯t provide another, no matter how often one dares the darkness.¡± ¡°Best to be confident I¡¯ve progressed before daring it again,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain calmly. Eldest grunted. ¡°For the darkness of your stone, I¡¯d have expected anger at that news.¡± ¡°Where am I now does hurt,¡± admitted Amdirlain, momentarily touching the pendant before she absorbed it within her flesh. ¡°But the most important thing is moving ahead, and from what the path showed, anger most certainly isn¡¯t going to help me. I¡¯ll channel my anger¡¯s energy into constructive actions and try to avoid tantrums.¡± 266 - In our blood Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Ijmti The pair seemed uncertain about what to make of her calm response; then the Eldest turned his gaze towards Dagrast?r. ¡°Please see to the assignment of a mentor.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a project I need to finish before working with the Cloister more closely,¡± Amdirlain calmly informed them. ¡°I¡¯m sure this isn¡¯t normal for someone seeking Redemption¡¯s Path, but getting myself settled on the path needs to wait.¡± Eldest frowned, but Dagrast?r got in first. ¡°Am is currently tracking a Celestial changed into a Fallen by a Transformation Site.¡± The statement caused the Eldest to start almost fully upright, their coiled arms unrolling as if to lash out in surprise. ¡°Am is your name?¡± ¡°Just a reference that Roher knows me by,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°The Fallen is a long story, and I¡¯ve already used time here that I¡¯d prefer to invest in finding him. I¡¯ve summarised the situation to Dagrast?r.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± conceded the Eldest. ¡°Dagrast?r, please see Am out past the wards to where she can travel freely. Ensure she¡¯s proficient at using the pendant to communicate with us.¡± ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll likely come back here via the trials,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°May you find the heavens¡¯ grace again, Am,¡± intoned the Eldest. With that dismissal, Dagrast?r motioned her towards the exit, but Amdirlain respectfully nodded before she moved to leave. As they ascended through the shaft, Dagrast?r tapped the pendant at his throat. ¡°We¡¯re not sure how they manage it, but if you form the mental image of an individual or individuals who possess pendants for a few minutes, it lets you converse. Once the person who started the conversation releases the image, the link breaks.¡± ¡°The people must have the pendants on them, or be wearing them?¡± ¡°Be wearing them,¡± confirmed Dagrast?r, glancing meaningfully at her neck. ¡°It¡¯s hidden under my skin, not in storage, if that was a hint,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Care to try?¡± When Dagrast?r did, Amdirlain caught the sensation of True Song buzzing beneath her skin and turned Resonance on again. The vibration from the pendant continued for a few seconds, and though Dagrast?r¡¯s lips stayed closed, she heard his voice in a whisper. ¡°Can you hear me?¡± The music that carried the words came from below, making it likely the plinth, or whatever issued the pendant, handled the communications. ¡°Just as a whisper,¡± replied Amdirlain, examining the wisp of music linking them to the plinth. ¡°That¡¯s as loud as it gets,¡± clarified Dagrast?r, and the vibration stopped. ¡°I can see what you meant by its limitations,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Useful, but drawbacks related to the time to start, volume, and one person controlling the link. If someone¡¯s trying to chat to you in the middle of a fight, hard to hear what they¡¯re trying to tell you.¡± ¡°It''s not useful for coordinating on a battlefield,¡± confirmed Dagrast?r. ¡°More a tool for when things are quiet, or for group discussions, like coordinating watch schedules.¡± ¡°If you need me, call, but I¡¯ll likely be busy for a while,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°With the three Fallen to purge of corruption, and needing to be somewhere with lots of sunlight for a time.¡± Her admission drew a frown from Dagrast?r. ¡°The Cloister normally doesn¡¯t aid a member¡¯s access to a world until we know-¡± Amdirlain cut him off with a laugh. ¡°If I want out on a world, I know a bunch I can get onto right now. Nothing alive, but a lot of sunlight, and some might be a good idea when I need to push myself. No, I¡¯ve other plans.¡± ¡°Plans you¡¯ll not share?¡± ¡°No, but I¡¯ll see if I can come up with an option besides the crystals to help,¡± promised Amdirlain. ¡°After experiencing the judgement, I¡¯ll have to see if the Celestial in charge will accept help from the Cloister.¡± Her mention of talking to a Celestial had Dagrast?r regarding her in surprise. ¡°What is the nature of this crusade?¡± ¡°Sorry, not yet; I don¡¯t want to get anyone¡¯s hopes up,¡± declined Amdirlain, and she glanced down a passageway off the shaft at the sound of clashing weapons. ¡°Training level?¡± ¡°One of a number within our facility,¡± Dagrast?r confirmed before reverting to the subject Amdirlain had sought to avoid. ¡°They might not accept help from the Cloister, but they¡¯d accept your help?¡± ¡°It''s a matter of being careful of who you trust, just like in sharing names,¡± explained Amdirlain. The trip out was uneventful, and Amdirlain soon stood close to where they¡¯d arrived. ¡°Positive Material Plane for Life Resistance?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s an option. The trials should lead you along routes that will strengthen needed resistances if you¡¯ve got the patience.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t, the path will be too much??¡± asked Amdirlain, though his wording raised another question. ¡°Should lead me through places?¡± ¡°It will be interesting to see if the seeker stones will send you to the next stage when you''re already in possession of a pendant,¡± admitted Dagrast?r. ¡°The ones I know about that skipped the trial didn¡¯t need its help to gain any resistances.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ll find out; at least it should help me gain one I need,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she gave a respectful nod before she used her Planar Shift Power instead of a Spell to move. [Planar Shift (Self) [B](20) -> [Ap] (1)] Though she¡¯d focused on arriving near Hrz¡¯Styrn¡¯s Portal to Tern¨°x, her arrival point in the foothills didn¡¯t even have the Portal in sight. Her pattern of using spells and only particular combinations of skills had left others to stagnate; now, with a margin of safety reestablished, Amdirlain was determined to experiment. With no movement evident in the small ravine she¡¯d arrived in, Amdirlain continued with the testing. Focused as she was on the critical nodes within her phoenix pattern¡¯s wings, Ki Flight somewhat awkwardly bore her aloft. Though she¡¯d raised the Power into the advanced levels, it still didn¡¯t possess the same speed or manoeuvrability as Flight. Mentally laughing at herself for the critical review of an ability that in her former life would have been a wonder to possess, Amdirlain started to practice. Amid the brownish-grey foothills covered with scraggly bushes and twisted trees, Amdirlain picked a random direction and set to it. After the first hour of skimming between trees and rocks in breakneck manoeuvres, Amdirlain started to mentally dust off plans set aside while the Planar Lock was in place. Her body blurred and compressed, although she continued to race along faster than a cavalry charge. Flapping the smaller wings of the Quasit form didn¡¯t aid her progress in the air, but she kept up with the standard behaviour for the wizened demons, barely the size of a toddler, supported typically by their Flight Power and batlike wings. Her wings flattened out and, diving between the bare branches, Amdirlain twisted through a forward tumble roll and landed on the crest of a ridge. She only took a moment to examine the course of the next pockmarked ravine before she teleported away. Amdirlain had aimed to appear on the boulder she¡¯d perched while studying the Sisterhood Fortress decades ago, reality had other plans. With the rock long gone, Amdirlain appeared in mid-air and nearly went sprawling across the dusty ground. Her reaction time let her catch herself with Flight just before she face-planted, and she let out an indignant hiss. Claws digging into the rocky soil, she gazed towards the fortress held by the Sisterhood. The place was reasonably unchanged in the time that had passed; only incidentals had shifted¡ªthe angles of readied siege weaponry and the locations of those patrolling the outer wall. Looking over them, Amdirlain grinned; the tonnes of diamonds Sarah had grown for an abandoned plan bloomed in her mind with an objective. The sheer randomness of the destruction against unknown demons had felt like a waste of unrealised potential. Here though, against the Sisterhood, the potential gleamed for a razor-edged strike, but didn¡¯t yet feel complete. Bursts of energy around the higher towers showed a drill in progress. The flicker of that memory didn¡¯t hold Amdirlain''s attention; instead, she focused on the rocky ground and extracted a rock mass. With all her practice, establishing a chamber far underground was a routine matter. After creating a long corridor on the side facing the Sisterhood¡¯s castle, she set off a hundred diggers, cutting two-metre-wide hallways with a bare metre of separation between each. Blasting its wards apart wouldn¡¯t be an option with no energy source so readily available, but Amdirlain was looking forward to unleashing a new surprise. Obliteration wasn¡¯t an option since she needed access to the chamber where she¡¯d encountered Leviathan¡¯s blood. A matter she¡¯d long held tucked away among her plans nudged at her; Precognition gave her a sense of opportunity rather than danger for the first time. The flare of potential brought with it an insight that caused the whole Skill to brighten in her mind as pieces slotted into place. The permutations that the path¡¯s judgement had run also clicked into place and added a jolt. Though she¡¯d mainly used the techniques within Clairsentience to supplement Danger Sense, the insight made it clear it could do so much more. [Clairsentience [M] (75->78) Note: Greater insight achieved; you can have a cookie. Erwarth¡¯s attempt to train you not to brute force solutions might finally pay off. Yeah, right, who am I kidding?] Holding in a huff of disgust, Amdirlain scried the domed chamber that had contained her first summoning circle and discovered it was still intact. Though the others had changed her primitive circle before they¡¯d used it, they¡¯d left the circle in place, though dust-coated. Transforming into a pebble, she teleported again to sit smoothly along the perimeter of the fortress¡¯ wards. With Resonance focused into a blade of intent, Amdirlain stretched through the fortress wards. For hours, she took in the songs of thousands of succubi that crossed the narrow band. Separating their aspects, she identified the themes of their classes and even isolated the different music contained within the irregulars¡¯ glyph compared to the full sisters. Yet the irregulars¡¯ presence stirred at her, and pieces of another plan clicked into place. A Planar Shift Spell took her precisely to where she¡¯d wanted to be¡ªsettled among storage shelves whose niches contained the needed gear. Distributing a layer of diamonds within ten empty chests, she placed a false bottom to conceal their presence and poured abyssal steel coins filled with rage on top. While unaware of anything that could detect True Song¡ªexcept for Resonance¡ªshe had no intention of spoiling the trap with someone glancing in. The crystal buried in the chest¡¯s lid received conditions to teleport diamonds into the throat of random sisters with complete sigils and a few careful exclusion loopholes. If she¡¯d needed the Sisterhood''s uniform appearance as a disguise, Amdirlain wanted to avoid shooting an ¡®own goal¡¯ again. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Naamah. The name of Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother and the primogen of a Succubus lineage from which all the irregulars descended came to mind. Her very name was a promise from long ago had Amdirlain dwelling on it and, in doing so, brought forth memories, including some that were very unexpected. That Orh¨ºthurin had cut her from Lilith¡¯s belly to bring her screaming into the realm wasn¡¯t even the biggest of surprises¡ªthe stubborn child had wanted to stay within, holding onto the interior of her mother¡¯s womb with unsheathed claws. Conceived sensing all the essence of Death, the still-innocent being had wanted to stay where her life had begun. Life¡¯s choices had taken her from the Infernal reaches where Lilith still lived. She¡¯d stayed in Gehenna, and even Hades for a time, eventually settling within the Abyss before the first Demon had spawned. Despite the slowly growing corruption, the limitless wild potential of the place''s Primordial energies drew her. Naamah had mated with whatever beings took her fancy¡ªmany just for the bizarreness of the experience¡ªbut every child she¡¯d birthed had come forth a Succubus. When some abyssal primordials had rung the death knell of many of their species with the experiment that had formed the first Demon, Naamah had been there to bear witness and laugh at the lure of death that had drawn her there. Billions of powerful beings had died when their experimenting with corrupted souls had finally borne tainted fruit. The first demons had been minor things with a few random powers, but the chaos of the Abyss had exploded that potential. Souls throughout the abyssal regions transformed in a tidal wave of malice. The weight of numbers had brought down those that had sought to raise themselves to be gods over their experiments and killed hundreds of other species alongside them. Uncountable hordes of weak, newly gestated demons had perished daily in the centuries of fighting, but so many had grown strong in the forge of that conflict. The name she¡¯d learnt long ago twisted within the scrying Spell, and despite Amdirlain''s Willpower, the formation repeatedly shattered before it finally settled in place. The scene before her screamed of Ijmti, though the song was inaudible through the Spell. The baneful nebulas alone seemed a unique feature. Set against that backdrop was a naked Succubus, pacing on a ledge that overlooked the lush forest. The blackness of pure ebony formed skin that drank in the nebulae¡¯s light, the gleam of white from her teeth and eyes made those features pop in her rage-twisted expression. Her skin¡¯s colour was almost uniform; the only places of a lighter hue were bands that showed around her wrists and neck. Her brown irises looked Human but promised to be the earth of the viewer''s grave. Coils of black hair formed into bristles, which initially seemed an artificial cap over her scalp. The clean lines of her forehead, the broad curve of her nose, and the wide strong cheekbones all proclaimed a mixture of hunger and strength. Her face''s tight lines led past generous lips to a rounded chin. Though lean, her body still possessed feminine curves that would have been alluring to the modern eye. Firm breasts, with nipples already hard as if inviting a lover¡¯s attention, and well-curved hips. Hairless, except for the cap covering her scalp, her flowing movements seem a continual prelude to sex that the flexing muscles promised would last for days. Naamah glared straight at the scrying focal point as if she could see Amdirlain through it; her lips curled back, and her teeth became jagged. ¡°Go away. I have permission to hunt.¡± Her words were spat out in hard abyssal inflections that promised torment and battered against the fortification of Amdirlain¡¯s Willpower, trying to spill over. [Mental Hardening [S] (26 -> 28)] Despite fending off the impact, Amdirlain let the scrying window close and rethought her plan completely. She¡¯d intended to avoid involving anyone, but there was one who might get through to her. ¡°Ebusuku, can you please Message Naamah? She¡¯s outside a Sisterhood ward, and I need to speak to her. I tried to scry her, but she wasn''t happy¡ªI¡¯ll need an introduction.¡± A few minutes later, a reply came back, and Ebusuku¡¯s voice cracked. ¡°Take the greatest of care with whatever you''re planning, Amdirlain. We just got you free, and she¡¯s nothing like me. I¡¯ve sent her a Message, but there is no way for her to reply. Give her time to calm down and try again if you must, but one false step and she¡¯ll crush you. Don¡¯t let her see you or come close to you unless you are sure of your safety.¡± Amdirlain cursed and sent another Message. ¡°Sorry, I was setting up to take action against the Sisterhood, and Precognition warned me of a window of opportunity. I¡¯ll need her help, or information, and I¡¯m unsure if the opportunity will come again.¡± Grabbing a block three metres by three from out beyond the dome, Amdirlain set it before the circle and carved a greeting including Naamah¡¯s name. With a chest at the circle¡¯s mid-point, Amdirlain teleported into the space she¡¯d created with the block¡¯s removal and transformed herself into a pebble again. It was an escalation of the approach she used contacting Erwarth and the others, and she could only hope it would bear fruit. The Gate formed within the circle, opposed by a screaming pressure of hate and blood-thirsty will, even though Amdirlain wasn¡¯t summoning her. It almost immediately shattered when it snapped into existence, but Amdirlain held it in place. Listening to the murderous fury that made up Naamah¡¯s melodies, she almost dispelled it before Naamah laughed and read Amdirlain¡¯s greeting aloud. ¡°Naamah, it''s been a few years since I freed Eleftherios. Has he been in contact?¡± said Naamah. ¡°Such a bold introduction. If you¡¯re trying to trick me, you should know that circle won¡¯t hold me if I come through to kill you.¡± Amdirlain stripped the stone from the front of the block and carved another message. ¡°Not a trick. Do you always have to do Baln¨¦rith¡¯s dirty work?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± snapped Naamah, but her tone and song cooled with mercurial speed. ¡°I won¡¯t say. I need some time to listen to the music in Leviathan¡¯s blood. Ebusuku said Baln¨¦rith had used it to bind you, but I hadn¡¯t expected it to still be present on you.¡± Naamah gave a pleased grunt. ¡°Music? My hunting time got interesting, but what¡¯s in it for me?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t promise you anything. After all, I might breach some rule that¡¯s in place. The chest contains special gifts for the Sisterhood. Do your oaths prevent you from giving them gifts?¡± ¡°Why would I want to deliver them anything of value?¡± snarled Naamah, though the heat had returned to her tone, the melody within her filled with cutting-edged notes. ¡°Some gifts keep on giving, and others get used up quickly. Your father could distribute short-lived gifts at a glance. Staring at my scrying point, you promised the same gifts.¡± ¡°Word games are such fun. I¡¯ll claim your gift for the Sisterhood and see what occurs. I¡¯m forbidden from harming myself, but surely picking up a gift is safe,¡± snickered Naamah, and a Spell had the chest leap from the circle and land at her feet. ¡°The night is pleasant; perhaps I¡¯ll sit and watch the stars for a time. While I do that, what you listen to is not my business. I had to cut out memories recently; should I also cut this one out? Can you show me something that proves I should?¡± Once again, Amdirlain removed the words and carved the Titan¡¯s crest into the stone. True Song filled the gaps in with gleaming mithril, and Naamah hissed. ¡°An interesting symbol that few would dare use, and True Song¡¯s glow. Not what I was expecting, but it certainly holds promises of so much fun. My father told me about someone freeing him, though I had removed their name from my memory to ensure she couldn¡¯t get it. If that¡¯s you, I was sure you¡¯d be coming to squash her into a pulp.¡± That tempted Amdirlain to utilise the plinth''s song that linked the pendants to talk to Naamah, but she held off. Amdirlain carved her response below Titan¡¯s symbol. ¡°I plan to, but first, some things need removing.¡± ¡°I was recently given an interesting order about one called J. You shouldn¡¯t tell me if that¡¯s you. The ugly bitch got a pendant off a Fallen that she used to determine an Anar was involved in destroying her book. Something about traces of Soul energy matching the crystal, yet not the L¨®m?¡¯s barrier,¡± prattled Naamah. The news that Baln¨¦rith could detect her Soul¡¯s energy made Amdirlain especially glad she hadn¡¯t been cycling Ki in the Abyss. ¡°If J came near you, would it force you to kill her?¡± Naamah snorted when she read the question. ¡°Weak things that come near me die. They only let me out of the fortress when I start to overload. Laying waste to acres of the forest here calms me; otherwise, my accumulation of Death energy leaks over them.¡± ¡°If you didn¡¯t have an accumulation of energy, would she die?¡± ¡°If I knew I was communicating with J, the orders Baln¨¦rith has set in place would be activated. I¡¯m sure it''s lucky the order I have now requires certainty. I had such fun with word games and abusing loopholes, that Baln¨¦rith eventually had to play it safe. She got so wonderfully mad, I thought she¡¯d risk killing me a few times¡ªpity she backed off. My order is to capture or kill J if I encounter her. It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t hunt for her or act on suspicion, but I¡¯m so suspicious that three sisters died when she tried some stupid clauses,¡± sneered Naamah. ¡°Just as well I¡¯m not J. How much did the Fallen sell the pendant for?¡± Naamah giggled at the carved reassurance before she scoffed. ¡°Sell it? There wasn¡¯t so much a sale as it was carved from their hide.¡± Amdirlain mentally noted to speak with Dagrast?r about any Fallen having lost a pendant¡ªand what happens. ¡°Why were you trying to get her to kill you?¡± ¡°Father said the blood would crack off if I died too many times,¡± explained Naamah. ¡°If she destroys me, she¡¯ll lose access to my lineage, which outnumbers those serving her directly. Each time she kills me is a risk I¡¯ll get free. I¡¯m torn. I¡¯d love for her to break my tie, but I want to see her feelers pounded off.¡± Feelers? Amdirlain held that question aside and instead carved one to check the situation. ¡°And you can¡¯t go killing yourself?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not even allowed to play with the Immortal dragons. No taking on any foes I¡¯ve got reason to believe might kill me,¡± grumbled Naamah, and she started to pace. The motion brought to Amdirlain¡¯s mind a predator in a concrete zoo cage pacing unhappily. ¡°I think I¡¯ll have to carve today¡¯s memory away.¡± ¡°How does she not stop you from doing that?¡± There wasn¡¯t a response to that carved message for some time, but Amdirlain waited and continued to listen to Naamah¡¯s song while she paced about. ¡°The blood still binds my flesh, but it''s been millennia since it could seriously bind my mind,¡± explained Naamah. ¡°Unfortunately, if I try to kill her with a Spell, pain¡¯s kiss makes the ascension¡¯s fire feel tame.¡± Amdirlain smiled at the thought of Baln¨¦rith¡¯s grip slowly weakening and carved another message. ¡°Can you travel to other fortifications of the Sisterhood outside your current Plane?¡± ¡°I can. But, like the name of this Plane, my lips won¡¯t move to share that information. I can¡¯t enter any fortress where my lineage helps the Sisterhood,¡± clarified Naamah. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to your mind if you don¡¯t resist, saves us the stonework scribbling.¡± Naamah laughed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t resisting your little Gate, but you seemed to have difficulty spreading it wide. Do you think your stone dome hides you? I can¡¯t read your mind, but sensing your fragile life force is another matter. You are strong compared to the newly minted sisters, so you¡¯re right; you¡¯re not that weak fledgling J.¡± Ignoring the taunt, Amdirlain made further adjustments to the plinth¡¯s communication song, and the next words whispered into Naamah¡¯s mind instead of her ear. ¡°You¡¯ll only need to direct a thought towards me while I¡¯m maintaining this link. Do you have a Message Spell that can record to a known memory crystal?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always been a more in-person communicator,¡± countered Naamah, and she mentally giggled with vicious glee. ¡°You seemed to easily create a connection with whatever method you just used.¡± ¡°True Song lets me apply my Willpower directly and makes it easier in other ways. The question about memory crystals wasn¡¯t about the conversation now but about options for you to talk to me later. You¡¯ll have to wait for me to contact you if we don¡¯t resolve things now. Here is your choice: do you want me to set you free early or wait until I¡¯m ready to crush Baln¨¦rith?¡± ¡°You claim the ability to set me free now?¡± asked Naamah suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯ve been studying bonds for various reasons, and I can hear the cords in the blood¡¯s music that tie it to you. They are easily targeted, and I''ll only need the right leverage to sever them. I¡¯m not sure if I can do it without preparation, but I believe I can,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Tell me your name, Anar,¡± insisted Naamah. ¡°My current name you can¡¯t have,¡± deflected Amdirlain. Naamah laughed. ¡°Your current name I don¡¯t care about; what was your name?¡± ¡°Only if I can bind the memory of it so you can only think of it while talking to me,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Until you choose to be free, I¡¯m loathe to risk Baln¨¦rith learning it.¡± ¡°As I said, father told me who freed him, but I cut the name out of my memory. Both to keep it safe and annoy her, but I left myself certain it was someone that could hurt her. However, it¡¯s been driving me mad, and I didn¡¯t leave myself enough reassurance,¡± stated Naamah. ¡°If that was you, as you claimed, tell me how you woke him.¡± ¡°I freed him from the Necropolis. Set was using the energy from souls to drill into him. Destroying the artefact being used caused a shock wave that snapped him from his slumber.¡± Giving a pleased growl, Naamah rushed on. ¡°If I¡¯ve reason to respect your old name as I believe, then share it, and I¡¯ll accept your offer. Otherwise, keep your name. I¡¯ll also excise the memory of today¡¯s conversation until you decide to share it. Maybe you won¡¯t be so fortunate to convince me to listen next time, even if my granddaughter vouches for you again.¡± The way Precognition¡¯s window had felt needled at her, and Amdirlain mentally cursed. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin.¡± At her admission, Naamah threw back her head and howled with laughter, slapping her hands against her thighs with a force that unleashed shockwaves to flatten nearby trees. ¡°By the Titan¡¯s ballsack, that¡¯s rich. His little messenger girl has returned. Are you going to carve a message into Baln¨¦rith¡¯s bones? Messenger girl, why would Baln¨¦rith play around on the deepest Plane of the Abyss?¡± Ice ran through Amdirlain¡¯s veins at the question. ¡°What is she doing?¡± ¡°Something that melts the bodies of those without a solid mental image of their form. It hurt her before she learnt that lesson. Now, underneath her uniform appearance, is a face made up of tentacles and insect feelers, while her skin looks like it''s holding giant writhing worms in place,¡± chortled Naamah with sadistic delight. A memory she¡¯d long ago recovered bloomed in Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and a worrying possibility became clear. ¡°Has she said anything at all about it?¡± ¡°No, but she loathes this realm¡¯s rules as much as I need to kill and fuck.¡± Amdirlain refrained from sharing her concern, unsure whether Far Chaos or something else caused Baln¨¦rith¡¯s metamorphosis. ¡°How often does she go to the Fortress on Hrz¡¯Styrn?¡± ¡°Likely only when there is trouble, or she has a new batch of her empty-skulled recruits to swear in that her tit bitches can¡¯t handle,¡± sneered Naamah. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to go there, but if I give you an image, can you open a Gate into the Stronghold?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve not tried since my mind slipped free. Why?¡± ¡°There is a block made of Leviathan¡¯s blood. Around your neck and wrists is all the sympathetic link I need to steal and control it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I want to seize it at a time when she can''t respond quickly.¡± ¡°She left for the deep planes a few days ago. The return trip alone takes time; it¡¯s hard to use Planar Shift, let alone create gates reaching to or from those planes. So whatever you need time for, you should have some now. But I¡¯m only allowed to enter certain fortresses,¡± Naamah slyly dug. ¡°Opening a Gate doesn¡¯t mean you intend to visit,¡± countered Amdirlain. Naamah snickered and gleefully rubbed her hands together. ¡°I wanted to make sure you don¡¯t miss the obvious; why do you need me to open the Gate?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re wearing her sigil, you can brush her wards aside,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°So you were once Orh¨ºthurin but don¡¯t have her strength; otherwise, Baln¨¦rith¡¯s wards wouldn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have her strength yet, but a subtle approach doesn¡¯t require as much strength,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and an idea came to mind. ¡°Your father said your death will eventually cause the blood¡¯s bond to break?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did he give you an explanation as to why?¡± ¡°Leviathan¡¯s blood doesn¡¯t like the caress of Death that destroying my form unleashes.¡± After restoring her Wood Elf form, Amdirlain teleported before the protective circle and took in the haze of Naamah¡¯s power corroding it. ¡°I know how to get you free. How much of your accumulated Death energy would you be willing to let me use?¡± Naamah¡¯s heated gaze drank in Amdirlain¡¯s body, lingering along every centimetre of her lean lines. ¡°Quite a bit. I never get rid of it all, merely follow my instructions to stop them dying around me. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet again. What use do you have for Leviathan¡¯s blood?¡± ¡°Nothing major, but I¡¯ll tell you after I finish a song or three,¡± quipped Amdirlain, giving a casual shrug and hiding the extent of her hopes. 267 - I want it all Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Gate between Hrz¡¯Styrn and Ijmti With the circle¡¯s alchemical silver tarnishing fast, Amdirlain set sung barriers against Death and the other energies found on Ijmti. ¡°Your ability to channel energy certainly reflects your age,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°What do you remember, Ori? Without someone around to sing your memories back,¡± purred Naamah before leaning forward, the tip of her tongue pressed against her upper lip. ¡°I know father used to call you Ori, but other than getting messages from you, we never spoke much.¡± ¡°I remember how your claws pierced your mother¡¯s womb and tried to hook into her floating ribs,¡± recalled Amdirlain, the sight and smell of the blood vivid in her memory. Lightly tracing the crushing currents within Naamah, she let her awareness shift across the net formed from Leviathan¡¯s foreign energy. ¡°We never saw eye to eye right from the start, likely because I was in her womb when we started fighting. She wanted me out, and I wanted to stay,¡± laughed Naamah, and the vicious smile she offered didn¡¯t need fangs to chill Amdirlain. ¡°In the end, I went further away than she ever wanted.¡± At first, the hooks of Leviathan¡¯s blood reminded Amdirlain of the vines'' roots, but they slowly took on an appearance in her mind of long barbed tentacles. Within distant memories, flashes of a dark cloud resolved into a Dragon¡¯s body but with thousands of tentacles instead of wings. Unlike the vines that had clung and dug into Amdirlain with intelligent malice, the links between the bands and Naamah were Leviathan¡¯s slowly decaying life force formed into restraints. There was no intelligence, merely strict control ordered through its energy, restricting and interacting with Naamah¡¯s flesh. The life force itself had continued to decay over the years of its originator''s death, and Naamah¡¯s energy confirmed that demise. The life force¡¯s constriction didn¡¯t possess the interwoven effect the same way corruption tied itself to memories, and Amdirlain found gaps in its grip. The vulnerability and Naamah¡¯s song had Amdirlain finding an unexpected use for research she¡¯d done post some of Gail¡¯s antics. Where Gail had channelled planar energy to save a Soul, Amdirlain now twisted a primordial source into a weapon. With critical links within the bonds identified, Amdirlain carefully deflected the Death energy within Naamah''s aura. The bonds were already showing the price for having survived millennia of erosion, which made it easier for Amdirlain to target the flattest notes. As a dried crust started to crack off the bands on Naamah¡¯s wrists, Amdirlain stopped. ¡°Can you use the lid from the chest or something to capture the band when it comes free?¡± ¡°Do you want the scabs that it¡¯s shedding as well?¡± ¡°As much of the material as you can,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Baln¨¦rith set no order to contradict this?¡± ¡°Contradict what? I¡¯m taking no direct action against my bonds; there is no Spell nor attempt to attack them I can detect. I can only see them drying up like a Mortal¡¯s wound. Guess my nature must have been fighting them off at last. Silly loopholes,¡± laughed Naamah. Naamah glanced at the chest and instead tore a slab of rock off the ledge. Setting the slab atop the metal chest, she squatted explicitly with her wrists positioned to let the material drop atop the rock. Unbothered by her exposed position, Naamah nodded at the chest. ¡°What are all these about?¡± ¡°Do you know of any way to detect True Song?¡± ¡°Detect, no,¡± admitted Naamah, and she seemed surprised at the question. ¡°But anyone can feel it the same way as being hit with a Spell. By the way, what do the chests do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you more details later, but they deliver a sung diamond to Succubi possessing a particular Prestige Class and a particular sigil.¡± ¡°Carefully spoken, just in case my lips can¡¯t tell you the truth of my restrictions, nicely played,¡± approved Naamah, though her gaze tightened regardless. It was a half hour before the wristbands appeared ready to come free, and Amdirlain shifted focus to the one around her neck. ¡°It would be best if all three could fall away as close together as possible.¡± Naamah moved around the chest to the Gate¡¯s side with a provocative smile and sat on the ground with her legs wide and back arched so her neck was above the crude tray. ¡°Yeah, do it all at once. I¡¯ve never gotten done by True Song; maybe after this, you can see about making my nerves sing a century or three. Though you seem a little mundane to my tastes, I could make an exception.¡± After tucking her hands behind her head, Naamah''s heated gaze returned to savouring Amdirlain. ¡°Not what I had in mind. I¡¯ll focus on screwing over some of our mutual enemies rather than screwing each other, in any form,¡± countered Amdirlain. Giving a pout, Naamah playfully inhaled and waved her pointed tail scolding Amdirlain. ¡°No fair, I¡¯m even holding still for you.¡± ¡°Indeed, but I¡¯m sure you''re well above what I can survive,¡± argued Amdirlain. The slow, steady erosion of the bonds didn¡¯t challenge her capacity with True Song since it required focusing Naamah¡¯s energy into an abrasive cutter more than any strain from Amdirlain. Dancing the touch between them, the three bands didn¡¯t entirely fall away together. When the band from her right wrist first fell atop the stone, Naamah froze, eyes wide with delight, not daring to move, but the other two quickly followed. ¡°You¡¯ve delivered your side of the bargain first,¡± panted Naamah, breath speeding up in anticipation, her hands stroking from her bare throat down her body. ¡°Did you do that with Ebusuku as well?¡± Ignoring the wordplay, Amdirlain focused on the question''s literal meaning. ¡°No. Unfortunately, Ebusuku had to take a leap of faith with an oath before I could help her. Though the choices in the trials were all her own.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m free. I want some answers before your game begins,¡± declared Naamah, and she moved before the chest, posed ready to cast the stone tray with the remains of the bands away. ¡°Depends on the questions; I¡¯d like an information exchange,¡± hedged Amdirlain. The threat against the remains of the blood wasn¡¯t entirely unexpected, though it was unwelcome. ¡°What do the diamonds do?¡± demanded Naamah. Amdirlain considered using a silent song to duplicate the remains in her previous hiding space before switching them over. The way Naamah¡¯s nostrils flared though, Amdirlain wondered at her senses, and she decided the risk of detection was too great. Instead, she concentrated on the materials song, ready to draw them to safety if the tray got flung away. ¡°Nothing endangering the irregulars; it targets full sisters by using the sigil and Blood Monk Class theme. The diamonds have linked songs that cause a Planar Shift, a Planar Attunement, then an explosion,¡± confided Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got hundreds of thousands of the diamonds with linked songs in place already created if you want to deliver other chests inside Sisterhood fortifications.¡± The information caused Naamah to relax, and she practically purred. ¡°Interesting.¡± At Naamah¡¯s reaction, Amdirlain realised her earlier description had left the irregulars potentially at risk. ¡°I had to be vague earlier in case the orders reacted to explicit threats. When I first met her, one of Ebusuku''s principal concerns was getting you free¡ªI told her I¡¯d help.¡± ¡°Not exactly something she can do now,¡± stated Naamah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yes, but she also isn¡¯t wanting you destroyed. Her mother? is a different matter.¡± ¡°A different matter we have in common,¡± Naamah said, stroking her neck where the collar had been. ¡°Betrayal by kin ignites a powerful need for revenge; I want to flay her a claw width at a time. I¡¯ll let the others know they are free to play soon enough. What chaos did you want to let loose with Leviathan¡¯s blood?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to see if I can pull it off. The target I¡¯d want to use is the fortress here, so there is no risk to your kin. We¡¯ll need to retrieve it and ensure my idea will work,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Embarrassing to promise something only to fall flat. First, I¡¯ll need you to open a Gate to this location.¡± The image showed a set of double doors, their surface a polished crimson shade inlaid with a twisted silver filigree. The pattern across it depicted figures involved in ritualistic sacrifices, impalements, and random dismemberments, all amidst an orgy with hundreds of succubi hungrily enjoying themselves. ¡°The doors to the Chamber of Bone. You aim high. There is a saying: you shouldn¡¯t wound something you can¡¯t kill,¡± Naamah cooed. Amdirlain smiled and waggled her right hand. ¡°Baln¨¦rith should have considered that before she stuck my hand on a spike. Can you position the Gate tight against the wall to the right of the doors? I¡¯ll bring the block to us through the wall if this works.¡± Chuckling evilly, Naamah rubbed her hands together. ¡°It''s been a long time since I was there, but I can try it based on that image. Are you on Hrz¡¯Styrn now?¡± ¡°Yes, but for the next step, it''s likely better if I come to your side of the Gate. Can you put concealments in place, please?¡± Naamah smirked. ¡°Please? You are an odd one, asking a Demon nicely after you ignored my open offers.¡± ¡°I know you are more a Primordial than a Demon, Naamah, and I¡¯m not dismissive of your age and experience with magic. You want to play games, but my focus is on matters that hurt Baln¨¦rith. So my question is: what¡¯s more important to you: playing games and winning against me when I¡¯ve little real challenge to offer you, or getting revenge on Baln¨¦rith?¡± Her smirk hadn¡¯t lessened until the last question, and Naamah¡¯s smile turned feral. ¡°How much pain will she be in?¡± ¡°How many of her sisters would you like to Planar Lock?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°All of them, but I doubt we could hunt down the trillions of them quickly,¡± huffed Naamah. ¡°Trillions? That is a lot more than I¡¯d expected,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I thought the Sisterhood was small; Ebusuku said the irregulars outnumber them.¡± ¡°It is a small faction,¡± insisted Naamah. ¡°If you¡¯ve not seen a Brood Mother pop out succubi, then you don¡¯t know how quickly we can breed. I¡¯d swear some of them are perpetually pregnant. I¡¯m not sure which of my lineage gained that Class first, but another Demon can give them a bit of side-eye, and they¡¯ll have another child on the way.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Are you exaggerating on that?¡± ¡°Not by much,¡± grumbled Naamah. ¡°I think it''s a weird version of Protean combined with a pregnancy craving.¡± [Demon Lore [M](20->21)] Amdirlain swallowed at the notification and rechecked her protections. With all the barriers in place, she stepped across the protective circle, and her Death barrier immediately registered a steady pressure from Naamah¡¯s aura. Setting nine more chests at Naamah¡¯s feet, Amdirlain motioned to them. ¡°There are two thousand diamond traps in each chest and far more in storage. Do you want to help steal the Leviathan¡¯s Blood or Planar Lock sisters first?¡± ¡°Will we get to see them explode?¡± ¡°Sorry, I hadn¡¯t considered it necessary. I could add something to the traps to record their songs and help you hunt them down,¡± offered Amdirlain. At Naamah¡¯s delighted laughter, Amdirlain suppressed an eye roll and added a new link to the crystals; each would record the target¡¯s song into a memory crystal array on Culerzic. When Amdirlain stopped singing, Naamah gave her a questioning look. ¡°Now it will also make a record of all the sisters it detects, even if it has no traps left to utilise.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ll help me hunt them all?¡± Naamah asked with a widening smile. ¡°I¡¯ll create a device to let you track them,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Naamah darted in to steal a kiss only to stop, her lips not quite touching Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got a Skill that passively entices, yet you¡¯ve no desire for contact?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in the female form,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I could become male,¡± Naamah glibly offered, and she brushed a fingertip down Amdirlain¡¯s ear that sent a shiver of desire along her spine before setting her lower stomach on fire. Amdirlain gritted her teeth, the heat showing how pale Viper¡¯s provocations had been. ¡°I¡¯ve someone.¡± ¡°I tried that once. It''s such a waste of opportunities,¡± chided Naamah. ¡°That might well be the case, but I¡¯ll wait until I know for sure,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°With your one, how long before you branched out?¡± Naamah tsked. ¡°A day or two, I got bored.¡± ¡°Thanks for not pushing the kiss onto me,¡± said Amdirlain, though Naamah¡¯s proximity still had every word caressing Amdirlain¡¯s skin. ¡°They forced me for many millennia. You¡¯re giving me my tormentors, why would I force you? Unless you¡¯d like me to?¡± Naamah smiled, and she moved to check on each chest. ¡°Is there a need for these coins?¡± ¡°To cover the false bottom, the crystals teleport the traps from within the chest. If someone takes them out, they¡¯ve no ammunition. The presence of the coins will at least delay someone digging,¡± explained Amdirlain. Tapping the nearest chest lid, Naamah contemplated it. ¡°How did you plan to distribute these?¡± ¡°If you weren¡¯t interested in helping by opening Gates to fortresses, I¡¯d somehow get them added to cargo deliveries,¡± explained Amdirlain. Naamah¡¯s theme gained intensity, and concealments that pressed down on the surrounding Plane snapped into existence. ¡°Let¡¯s see about getting that blood you wanted.¡± At the ledge¡¯s edge, a Gate opened with a bland stone wall in front of it, and Amdirlain could hear the fortress'' wards. Beyond the wall, a wailing chorus of power screamed out within Resonance''s perception. Most songs were repeats of the same theme, and Amdirlain filtered them out, hoping for a more manageable weight that didn¡¯t come. The blood¡¯s song, no longer concealed by the hissing static, filled her awareness and obscured its exact location. Considering her options, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I need to touch you to make it easier to borrow from her glyph.¡± ¡°I already offered to go deep into you or let you into me. Are you going to be daring and grab a bit of tail, or will scandalously holding hands do?¡± questioned Naamah, but she stepped up beside Amdirlain¡¯s position at the Gate and held out her hand. Lightly clasping Naamah¡¯s hand Amdirlain spun out the glyph¡¯s energy in a false wall around them. Pressing her palm against the stone, Amdirlain almost sighed in relief when the ward didn¡¯t react to her minimal intrusion. Using the one time she¡¯d seen the chamber burned in her memory, and even without Resonance to guide her, Amdirlain reached out through the stone and the carved sections of Leviathan¡¯s skull to where the blood rested. The simple block shouldn¡¯t have weighed much, but when Amdirlain absorbed it, the impact hit Inventory hard. Amdirlain had barely absorbed it before she released it on the ledge behind them, and the rock ledge cracked and groaned under the blood¡¯s weight. Ready to leap away, Amdirlain let out a sigh of relief when no further noise or motion came from underfoot. [Inventory [Ad] (38->39)] The dark ruby block rippled in the still air, its existence straining against Naamah¡¯s muffling concealments. As Amdirlain turned, she caught Naamah¡¯s predatory smile, and her grip tightened around Amdirlain¡¯s fingers. ¡°Fallen, I couldn¡¯t tell that until you touched my skin. You¡¯ve such concealments about you; even with Protean, there should be a smell of Power. Yet you smell like a Wood Elf. Were you J?" ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°Now that I no longer have to play word games to avoid that Dretch sucker¡¯s orders, I¡¯d like to know. Were you J? How are you now Fallen?" ¡°I don¡¯t know if there are constraints she inserted into you outside that blood, so let''s focus on the next stage.¡± Not releasing her grip, Naamah¡¯s tail coiled loosely around Amdirlain¡¯s waist, and she pulled Amdirlain close, folding a wing around her. ¡°Tell me.¡± ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t force me,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°I asked ''why would I'', never said I wouldn¡¯t,¡± corrected Naamah. ¡°Right now, I want some answers.¡± Amdirlain absorbed all the chests from the ground and placed them within the Chamber of Bone. She released a slow breath as the crystals within them hummed and started delivering the diamond payloads. ¡°Close the Gate, it''s tight against the stonework, but the sound might leak.¡± Naamah followed the instructions but didn¡¯t release Amdirlain even though the ledge groaned again from the blood¡¯s weight. With the Gate shut, Amdirlain released the sigil¡¯s false wall around them. With that concern removed, she reformed on the other side of Naamah¡¯s wing. Amdirlain, having severed her hand, the flesh remained in the ancient primordial¡¯s grip. A rush of experience started, and Amdirlain shut down the combat notifications that tried to keep her informed¡ªa distraction she didn¡¯t need with Naamah beside her. ¡°Shall we move along?¡± Amdirlain calmly asked, her body having recovered from shedding her lower arm. Naamah¡¯s laughter rang the air, and she tossed the oozing mass of the unprotected flesh and bone towards the nearest tree. The mass carried enough force that the tree exploded on impact. ¡°You like to act as calm as can be, little one?¡± ¡°You scare me, but being scared isn¡¯t new. I¡¯m unlikely to win against you, but I will not lie down and accept your shit. A question: do you want to be on my list when Ori¡¯s Power is mine again? Because I will not stop until I reach that point or even after, Naamah.¡± ¡°She was the strongest Anar, but don¡¯t think I couldn¡¯t end her. How long is your list?¡± demanded Naamah, letting out a wave of desire that pushed against Amdirlain. ¡°Is getting your brains screwed out on it as well? Wouldn¡¯t you rather we indulge that hunger I can taste within you? How many years of suppressed desires do you hold on to?¡± Amdirlain''s mind spun with the thrust of desire licking and tugging at her flesh. Rather than meet it head-on, Amdirlain flowed with the ignited passion and deflected the heat that burned through her into the opening notes of a song. A booming salvo rang out unheard but not unfelt, and Naamah drew back rather than continue her languished attempt to seize Amdirlain¡¯s wrist. [Mental Hardening [S] (26->30)] The song pulled on the Death energy that Naamah¡¯s aura cast off, leaving a void in its wake. Amdirlain didn¡¯t absorb the energy but twisted it to fill the mental image of a scalpel slicing through the bonds holding the blood together. Crimson dust erupted from it, and Amdirlain continued to sing as she moved. The tempo felt awkward and displaced from Amdirlain¡¯s steps, but she concentrated on the vestiges of decaying life that remained and slowly put them into a grave. The dust caught at Naamah¡¯s gaze, and she growled. ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m merely ignoring the game you want to play. You¡¯re far too dangerous to ignore,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Conquest or revenge, which do you want today? I¡¯m not afraid to die, but will that get you what you want? Our window of opportunity to hurt Baln¨¦rith isn¡¯t infinite. How soon before you have to rip her glyph away?¡± ¡°Hurting Baln¨¦rith isn¡¯t all that drives you. I can taste all the suppressed desire within you,¡± growled Naamah, and she stalked the ledge after Amdirlain. Licking her lips, she gave a sultry groan. ¡°Such purity from you is intoxicating; I could eat you all up and come back for seconds.¡± ¡°Many things drive me, including getting payback on dozens of enemies. There would be more names, but some died or aren¡¯t worth bothering with,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her words came out amid the background of the song¡¯s thrum that continued to draw on Naamah¡¯s killing shroud. ¡°Are you still using my energy?¡± ¡°Yes, what you¡¯re throwing out through your aura,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and catching Naamah¡¯s gaze narrow, she started composing a different approach. Before she could determine how to pull the life away from the block instead of cutting it apart, Naamah stopped stalking her, and the energy surged higher. Lichen that covered the ledge¡¯s rocks turned to dust, and Amdirlain reverted to her original song. She spun hundreds of musical strands to twist the surge into more blades, slicing a wedge deeper into the block¡¯s top. ¡°We¡¯re going to need a Gate open into the fortress.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s words were barely audible over the din she was unleashing, but Naamah¡¯s reply was to the point. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°When this comes apart, even you don¡¯t want to be standing close. Unleashing its contents should level the fortress,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she was glad Naamah''s chaotic nature seemed roughly running alongside her plans again. Still, Naamah wasn¡¯t making it easy, and another death wave surged off her skin, causing Amdirlain to scramble to channel it completely. A Gate opened at the front of the ledge again, revealing a room strewn with broken furnishings and cracks that ran deep into the walls¡¯ stones crisscrossed everywhere. Sure that the noise would alert those within, Amdirlain pushed True Song to dig harder into the block even as she sliced the stone beneath it into a sled. A concentrated push sent the sled begrudgingly through the Gate, and Amdirlain filled the room with Naamah¡¯s aura of Death. Her music''s cruel, dry notes kept the energy focused on the links holding the curse within the block in place. As the tempo of the pulsing beat within increased, Amdirlain sang to match it. Flecks of dried blood cascaded from the block¡¯s sides and began to coat the floor like an ash wave spilling from a volcano. When the block bulged outwards, the drying blood created a lacquer around a rapidly expanding gauntlet threatening to fill the room. At the sight of the armoured hand forcing its way clear, Naamah shot Amdirlain a look of disbelief, and the Gate snapped closed. Amdirlain¡¯s songs continued to reach the block despite its sudden distance, and she felt it rupture seconds later. Taking full advantage of the flaws Amdirlain set, the pressure from within focused on them. The notes Amdirlain¡¯s song remained focused on strained and shuddered, and finally snapped with an explosion of force that travelled to everyone linked to the block¡¯s power. [True Song Genesis [Ap] (11->12)] [Achievement: Breaker of Bonds (Tier 7 Achievement) Details: The destruction of the last glob of Leviathan¡¯s Blood destroyed the ties binding the Sisterhood of Blood. Freed:
  • An Aspect of War (Laodice) (Curse)
  • 40,000,000,000+ succubi (True Name Oaths)
  • 120,000,000,000,000+ assorted demons (Oaths of service to a now-defunct organisation)
Reward:
  1. Tier 7 Prestige Class Unlock: Second Rate Songbird.
  2. 160,000,000,000 experience.
Note: Hope you like the name of the Prestige Class I just created; not like you¡¯ve brought life to a dead space rock. Note: You¡¯ve crippled her income stream with that trick. You still weren¡¯t subtle, but at least you included a vague use of surgical precision this time.] [Achievement: Planar Class Warfare (Tier 7 Achievement) Details: You¡¯ve destroyed the Prestige Class: Blood Monk once held by trillions of demons and altered the balance of power on dozens of planes. The Class requirements are impossible to meet with Leviathan¡¯s Blood unavailable to empower members. Reward:
  1. Prestige Class purged from all possessing succubi. (As per Profile Master effect)
  2. 1,500,000,000 experience.
Note: Here I¡¯d predicted the next cataclysm might take a while; then you went to Hrz¡¯Styrn.] ¡°Know a place where we can see the fortress from a distance?¡± asked Amdirlain. Naamah pointed up the slope towards the ridgeline, and an earthquake hit. Boulders and rock slabs slipped free, and it was Amdirlain¡¯s turn to get the mother cat treatment. Naamah¡¯s Teleport set them level with the ridgeline, with a second Spell to create a floating platform beneath them. ¡°Who was in the blood?¡± Far ahead, a giant fortress supporting hundreds of towers trembled and shook. Sections of its towers cascaded away, the released Mana in their wards ripping stone to dust. The place split like a lightning-struck tree following another ground hop, and a figure clad head to toe in solid, metal armour burst upwards. Quickly dwarfing the fortress, she grew until a single foot covered where the structure had been. The armour wasn¡¯t the mediaeval knight the glove had hinted at; instead, it had an organic appearance with whorls and ridges, preventing strikes from landing true. Amdirlain felt Laodice''s senses wash over them before her eyeless helm focused in their direction. With the fortress already shattered and rubble falling from her back, Laodice¡¯s single pair of glacial blue wings flexed, throwing rubble to either side. Given the sonic booms that battered at a barrier Naamah placed around them, it was just as well Laodice had turned. Naamah cursed. ¡°You released another of the four?¡± ¡°Only one more to find,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Oblivion¡¯s still unaccounted for?¡± enquired Naamah, and she grimaced at Amdirlain¡¯s nod. ¡°Good luck getting close to him, even if you can find the absence of everything.¡± Amdirlain smirked and gestured towards the still-growing colossus. ¡°An aspect of War is now on the loose in the Abyss again. You might want to spread the word about your lineage; all the Sisterhood lost their Blood Monk Prestige Class.¡± Half expecting Laodice to vanish, a flourish she made with her right hand took Amdirlain by surprise. A moment later, another sonic boom flattened the surrounding forest as a spear the size of a skyscraper appeared in her extended hand. ¡°Solars have six wings, so why do aspects have two or none?¡± muttered Naamah, even while she sent off a barrage of messages. ¡°As you said, they¡¯re aspects, not celestials,¡± announced Amdirlain, and she gave Laodice¡ªstill scores of kilometres away despite her expansion¡ªa casual wave. ¡°I¡¯d say she was saving up her energy.¡± The spear spun in Laodice¡¯s grip, and seizing it in a two-handed grip, she planted the tip into the ground. From the strike point, the ground rent apart and crevices large enough to swallow supertankers zig-zagged across the landscape, consuming swaths of the toppled forest. ¡°I think she¡¯s saying ''I¡¯m annoyed'',¡± said Naamah. Despite Laodice being nearly sixty kilometres away and looming high overhead, Amdirlain directed a declaration at her. ¡°There is at least one underground location I need to stay intact on this Plane. Can you vent your annoyance on other planes? Naamah could provide you with a list of Sisterhood fortresses.¡± ¡°You just volunteered me?¡± grumbled Naamah, but despite her objection, she made no move to flee. ¡°I said you could, but go right ahead and say no,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°We were involved in starting this, so we¡¯re within her theatre of war.¡± Laodice vanished with a bang caused by the air rushing in, and with barely a pause, a now Human-sized version joined them on the platform. Giving a quick nod, Laodice intoned dryly. ¡°Amdirlain.¡± ¡°You were a bit of a bitch breaking our connection, but regardless, I thought I¡¯d free you. Was there a reason you opened up the crevasses?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Keeping you company while you fought Viper was one thing, but helping you fight or find yourself wasn¡¯t something I could do without changing us both. I opened the crevasses because there were prisoners I could sense underground. Some I¡¯d prefer to kill, but I¡¯d not leave worthy combatants sealed away,¡± explained Laodice, and she regarded an unfazed Naamah. ¡°You have locations?¡± ¡°Planning to devastate planes again?¡± enquired Naamah blandly. ¡°As Amdirlain might say, I think I¡¯ll take the scenic route home, but I¡¯ve only a few key destinations in mind.¡± Naamah gave a predatory smile. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d have gotten a better taste in armour over the aeons, Laodice. What sort of key destinations did you have in mind?¡± Shifting her spear to her left hand, Laodice planted its butt on the platform and rested the haft against her shoulder. ¡°War is brutal; I see no need for fancy armour. As for my desired targets, only every Sisterhood stronghold. I will destroy as much of her progress as possible. Leviathan was the weapon she¡¯d pointed at the Anar; if I¡¯d known that earlier, our pursuit would have taken a different route.¡± 268 - Hollow Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Ijmti Naamah''s grin had broadened at Laodice¡¯s pronouncement. ¡°Let¡¯s get going then. I¡¯ll get my kin to send me images of the fortresses I¡¯ve never seen¡ªa few planes have hundreds.¡± That the two knew each other shouldn¡¯t have surprised Amdirlain, ?yet the knowledge sat uncomfortably. ¡°I¡¯ve got a question for Laodice before you leave.¡± ¡°There are some things I can¡¯t tell you and some things I don¡¯t know,¡± cautioned Laodice. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re here now, and it''s a chance to get an answer I might need. The L¨®m? called Orh¨ºthurin ''the Titan¡¯s Executioner'' because she kept working on his designs. How did she know the areas to work on with the spire sealed?¡± The weight of Laodice¡¯s presence touched her mind directly, past the barrier of mental protection Hidden afforded her. Laodice kept her mental touch light, yet each word rocked Amdirlain¡¯s mind. ¡°Gideon handled blending Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s work list with the activity in the Titan¡¯s Forge, and I know you have a Skill where they give you information even now. Have you considered that the original purpose of that Skill isn¡¯t what you¡¯ve used it for?¡± ¡°A clue would be great,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°You use it at the micro-level, but Orh¨ºthurin worked at the macro level. Try to use Analysis on an entire species and its relative balance or what is missing from a planet. Orh¨ºthurin used it on patches of stars to learn if more needed to be made and other such works; I¡¯d say that is beyond what you can currently handle.¡± At Amdirlain''s nod of admission, Laodice shrugged. ¡°Give it time.¡± ¡°You two done talking in your minds? Some sisters are going to get away,¡± prompted Naamah. ¡°Only if they know what¡¯s good for them,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°My girls are killing them; some will run instead,¡± argued Naamah. Laodice glanced between them before shifting her spear back into her right hand. ¡°Project the first image, Naamah. May we meet again after you¡¯re free, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Have fun-¡± The pair vanished before Amdirlain even finished and, trying to dismiss her concerns, Amdirlain opened a Gate to the digging site she¡¯d started on Hrz¡¯Styrn. Quickly returning the digging equipment and constructs to storage, Amdirlain sent a message to Sarah. ¡°Naamah and Laodice are free.¡± ¡°I¡¯m talking to Ebusuku and Farhad about the assassin¡¯s guild; she mentioned you wanted an introduction to Naamah. Should I assume it was that murderous berserker slut who helped you get what you wanted?¡± ¡°Naamah¡¯s accumulated Death energy let me speed up the breakdown of Leviathan¡¯s life force binding her, Laodice, and the Sisterhood. Oh, and it got me not one, but two Tier 7''s because I destroyed the Blood Monk Prestige Class. Destruction still allows for T7s¡ªI need to destroy sizeable organisations rather than physical objects.¡± ¡°Enough messages. Let''s meet in Sanctuary; it''s our most secure meeting place,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°No, I won¡¯t keep dragging my troubles into Gail¡¯s Sanctuary. I have to hide my auras going into the place and, with the other night¡¯s announcement, enter the place invisibly as well. Give me a little while to create something suitable,¡± objected Amdirlain. With the Message sent, Amdirlain used a Gate to access the Outlands directly and was confronted with a wall of long grass that rose above her head. Stepping across the threshold, she pushed clear and hurried to seal it and wipe the creeping miasma away. Hearing the wildlife hidden within the grass, she spent extra time ensuring Ijmti¡¯s cancerous energy was removed before teleporting. Not wanting to work in the open with what she had planned, Amdirlain created a dome deep in the cliff face half a kilometre from where she had the two fallen imprisoned. Setting sound barriers to avoid attracting the attention of any burrowing creatures, Amdirlain paused to reconsider the design of a Demi-Plane she¡¯d had in mind. Having experienced Gail¡¯s Sanctuary firsthand, she realised it presented too much temptation to hide away from the realm. In that respect, a comfortable sanctuary was the last thing she needed, providing fewer opportunities to stretch her abilities or make a difference to anyone. It took a few hours considering options before Amdirlain came to a decision and messaged Sarah. ¡°Sorry for the delay. I¡¯ll create a Demi-Plane suitable for training various skills I¡¯ve neglected. It will be handy for planning, but nothing comfortable like Gail¡¯s place.¡± ¡°Take your time. Farhad¡¯s been called away. Let me know if you need me to meet you, so you have someone to bounce ideas off.¡± Amdirlain took a dramatically different approach to Gail¡¯s pleasant glades. Despite knowing she could alter it internally once done, Amdirlain still spent hours preparing. Reviewing her memories of the monastery and those recovered from Orh¨ºthurin of arcane and mundane traps was time-consuming. Creating reams of paper, Amdirlain sat on the stone floor and started to draw idly, plotting out pathways. The first spring-based spike trap she doodled beside a path had a notification appear. [Trap Design Unlocked! Trap Design (1) Assassin Class detected; Class bonus levels added. Trap Design (1 -> 9) Disable Device detected, insufficient levels to gain Synergy effect for Knowledge Skill.] Amdirlain held off on the temptation to crunch up the drawing. ¡°Why make a Demi-Plane filled with traps to train against?¡± Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s training room came to mind, and this time, the songs within the mechanisms were audible; the obstacles hadn¡¯t been the product of magic or True Song as Amdirlain had first believed. Beneath the floor, timed mechanisms and pressure plates set off mundane and arcane effects. Orh¨ºthurin herself had designed simple puzzles to relax with compared to the interlocking connections in establishing a planet filled with life. ¡°It was a game to Orh¨ºthurin that she¡¯d then push herself testing to train her reaction time. It¡¯s been so long since I relaxed properly.¡± Bringing the pendant out from her flesh, Amdirlain considered the connections within its song stretching away across the planes. Though basic, its formation was similar to vague memories of the link between Sarah¡¯s Soul and her own. Amdirlain heard barriers and protections against arcane and True Song intrusions along that connection to the plinth. Though Amdirlain couldn¡¯t sense them within her link to Sarah, something deep within her screamed out danger when she considered the Oath. Shuddering at a consuming danger that lurked on memory¡¯s edge caused Amdirlain to recoil. Even when safely away from the link, Amdirlain physically shook and worked through a vocalisation exercise to calm herself. ¡°Something¡¯s protecting the link,¡± breathed Amdirlain, and a random thought had her sending a Message. ¡°Ebusuku, can you sense Oath links¡ªthe link, not the individual?¡± Ebusuku replied immediately, her voice rich with amusement. ¡°Is it a day for random questions and changes of plans? I can sense the individual at the other end of an Oath but not the link itself. I¡¯m glad you came through dealing with Naamah; I hope she didn¡¯t injure you.¡± As another image came to mind, Amdirlain sent her reply. ¡°Naamah was a bit pushy, like someone wearing harnesses and an aggressive attitude who I vaguely remember. It took repeatedly waving revenge against Baln¨¦rith under her nose to get her to focus. Laodice swept Naamah up in plans for more revenge when I was done; they certainly seemed comfortable talking.¡± With the last words impressed into the Spell, Amdirlain sent it on its way and teleported to the prison cells. Within both her prisoners, she could hear the oath links that she¡¯d locked down to prevent communications options. Analysis quickly confirmed the links¡¯ nature. [Subservient Oath link Holder: Moloch] ¡°Do I have a way through your firewall, Moloch?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Wonder if it would let me bypass his resistances? What can I do with you, you naughty little link?¡± A dancing step took her between cells, and a bounce of the pendant made Amdirlain realise how distracted and scattered she¡¯d become. Putting thoughts of traps and training aside, she stopped and focused on the closest Fallen¡¯s Oath link. After carefully recording the music into a memory crystal, she¡¯d returned to the dome she carved for her project. Dropping to the floor, Amdirlain knelt and let out a slow breath. ¡°Too many frights and bad news on top of each other. I want to get Zen Meditation back¡ªthe plinth¡¯s judgement and close calls with Naamah have me on edge.¡± The thought of instinctively reacting to all of Femme Fatale¡¯s prompting to take advantage of a target caused Amdirlain¡¯s skin to crawl. Not wanting to risk that outcome, Amdirlain avoided the practice that she knew would unlock Meditation, and flowed upright with Kopis in each hand. One strike turned into another, and Amdirlain centred herself in the weapon practice, letting her fear and grief out in bursts of controlled power with the blows. A practice session of Devouring Cacophony provided a healthy outlet for emotions she¡¯d learnt not to bottle up. Her combat techniques settled into a gliding dance when that initial emotional rollercoaster started to smooth out. Allowing herself to relax amid the blurs of motion, Amdirlain listened to the music within each action. Notes caused by her body¡¯s shifting tensions and the impacts rippled through her leg bones. She didn¡¯t try to use them but listened and let Resonance and Harmony work together to understand them. Orh¨ºthurin had danced instinctively, but Amdirlain felt the need to know and plan. When the weight of the emotions was lifted, Amdirlain returned to the drawings she¡¯d started. This time, instead of considering traps or anything else, she concentrated on drawing out a planar layout that looked like a massive neural network. [Drawing [J] (2 -> 3)] With the prompt bringing forth a smile, Amdirlain created reams of paper and set to work. One cross-section and perspective at a time, she laid out drawings of a spherical space, with a network of pathways, buildings and platforms linking a core to the inner wall of the sphere. Hundreds of platforms she intended to be the size of sports ovals were suspended in the space between pathways. Unsupported, only the rules of the Demi-Plane held them aloft, like the monastery floating in Limbo. Working at a pace that threatened to have pencils and paper burst into flames, it still took a day of work before she was satisfied. Bare staircases and structures showed the Monastery¡¯s influence on her designs. Though there weren¡¯t yet traps or training facilities included, there were plenty of locations to put them in place later. Within minutes of starting the song, the chamber blazed with creation¡¯s glow, its lines showing the structure of a caged gazebo. The crystal¡¯s music was interwoven with the Demi-Plane theme it supported instead of adding it after the fact. The greatest complexity wasn¡¯t in what she immediately added but in what she enabled it to handle. [Crafting Summary (Category: Legendary Item): Greater Demi-Plane Seed: 17,800,000 Total Experience gained: Fallen: +3,560,000 Scion: +3,560,000 Ascetic: +3,560,000 Ostim?: +3,560,000 Ont?lin: +3,560,000 The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. True Song Genesis [Ap] (12->13)] The crystal gazebo floated before her, its barely constrained energies obliterating the shadows within the chamber. Rather than linking it to the Outlands, Amdirlain hopped onto the platform and activated it in an unanchored state. The surrounding landscape vanished, and momentarily, the gazebo existed in the gap between planes, the already humming crystal keeping the Chaos that separated the realm''s planes from touching her. From the platform¡¯s steps, the rules she¡¯d embedded into the crystal set to work interacting with her imagination and the practice she¡¯d had at Chaos Shaping. This Demi-Plane seed didn¡¯t merely create a small bubble that pushed the Chaos back and set its structure in place; it drank in large gulps of Chaos before it sealed the Demi-Plane¡¯s perimeter, and then its growth surged. Around the platform, the shell expanded outwards, leaving the designed pathways, buildings, and platforms in its wake. There wasn''t a single visible light source, yet the Demi-Plane illumination matched a cloudless morning¡¯s daylight. Wards keyed to Amdirlain alone promised security far beyond what she managed for Gail years ago. The pavilion¡¯s crystal no longer blazed with the restrained forces and had settled down to a translucent appearance supporting all the wards within the place. The structure was far removed from anything she¡¯d created singing crystals with the L¨®m?. It was tempting to hide it beneath a layer of stone, but Amdirlain decided it was time to come clean to one individual at least. ¡°Sarah, all done. I¡¯ve got everything set for some limited company if you want to get to a location where I can open a Gate for you?¡± ¡°How fancy did you make it?¡± ¡°Monastery stark, since it''s only a framework with the breathable air maintained by the Demi-Plane¡¯s energy. Hollow earth set-up. Inner space is fifty-odd kilometres from the core to the inner layer of the shell. The shell is a hundred kilometres of tunnels and chambers I¡¯ll trap for practise or use as workshops.¡± ¡°Sweetie, I thought you¡¯d want sunlight?¡± asked Sarah, her message edged with concern. ¡°I¡¯m not living here. It will just be for training and when I need to work undisturbed. Only showing you, Ebusuku, and Farhad if he¡¯s back.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not; it will just be the two of us. Be in the Outlands shortly.¡± Amdirlain opened a Gate to Sarah when she received the next Message. The Gate¡¯s outline framed them standing beneath some old-growth tree, and the pair stepped through without hesitation when they saw her waiting. ¡°Very stark indeed, but that''s a beautiful latticework shell,¡± Ebusuku motioned towards the gazebo. ¡°Which of the L¨®m? helped with that? ¡°None of them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I sang it into existence myself; Orh¨ºthurin was the originator of True Song.¡± It was one of the few times Amdirlain could remember catching Ebusuku off guard. She spun from her gaze tracing the pavilion''s latticework to having her attention fixed solely on Amdirlain. Despite the blur of themes whirling around in her mind, it still took Ebusuku a few minutes to respond. ¡°What are you talking about? Erwarth¡¯s told me tales about a mystical songbird.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was the biological daughter of the Titan, the individual known as the Titan¡¯s Songbird,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°It was Nicholaus'' nickname for his daughter.¡± Ebusuku''s eyes widened, and she raised a hand to her temple. ¡°Gideon just gave me an achievement called ¡®Down the rabbit hole¡¯. I¡¯ve only seen those golden script announcements three times; what a way to get a fourth. Now to get that strange pronouncement.¡± ¡°What details did it give you about it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Just that the realm will never seem the same again,¡± grumbled Ebusuku, and she nodded to Sarah. ¡°Who else knows?¡± ¡°You mean besides Nicholaus? I¡¯m not sure I remember everyone, but certainly Moradin and Gideon. Bahamut knows, as does his counterpart, along with Sidero¡¯s mother. Most of the entities from the early days never met Orh¨ºthurin until there were Anar and L¨®m? about the place to confuse the issue. The elven courts met Orh¨ºthurin when she had her Human appearance and name. Potentially Naamah¡¯s mother, but again, I think they met before Orh¨ºthurin changed.¡± The recount of names had Moradin and Bahamut¡¯s attention suddenly fixed on her Demi-Plane. While the wards she¡¯d set in place were strong, nothing she could presently create represented a challenge to either of them. ¡°You didn¡¯t mention Isa?¡± ¡°I never told her in that lifetime or this one. She¡¯s too frequently with the L¨®m?, and I¡¯m not up to informing them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve had conversations with them about you in the past, Amdirlain; they both seem to have your well-being at heart. Being very careful with names is wise with the primordials you¡¯re including. How does the curse even hold you at all?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin hated her power and eventually crippled herself, yet I¡¯m far weaker than she¡¯d ever been. My current True Song limits make me feel like I¡¯m finally matching her capability with it when she was maybe eight or nine. Now there are certainly some L¨®m? stronger than I am at present.¡± ¡°How long have you known?¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± asked Amdirlain carefully. ¡°No, it¡¯s more me being curious,¡± admitted Ebusuku. ¡°Not planning to rant at you, Amdirlain; I¡¯m honoured you told me now.¡± ¡°Cycling Ki in the monastery let me recover memories,¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°One of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories was her husband rejecting her and his accusations when she admitted to her role.¡± ¡°This puts the Titan¡¯s conversation with Erwarth and the others in a new light,¡± stated Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯m surprised he gave them a chance from what Hestia¡¯s told me or that he hasn¡¯t done more for you.¡± ¡°The rules provided him power and control, but they restrict him. I could hear his pain when I spoke with him, but I¡¯m not the daughter he lost,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Despite that, he tried to provide hints about my True Name, and the rules bit into him hard. Now that I¡¯m free of Culerzic, discovering my True Name is another priority. I considered the need to cycle when I designed this Demi-Plane; it will handle me pouring the energy into it similarly to the Domain.¡± ¡°The True Song crystal defensive towers around the Domain?¡± enquired Ebusuku. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t know how that happened?¡± ¡°Technically, I didn¡¯t then and still don¡¯t. They¡¯re a True Song construct. Though I remembered more, I didn¡¯t have access to it, and they would have needed to be sung into existence,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°While I have memories of Orh¨ºthurin doing incredible things, to my knowledge, she never just willed something into existence. Though she created a lot, everything I can remember was through True Song.¡± With her mind busily churning through possibilities, Amdirlain barely caught Ebusuku¡¯s reply. ¡°Thank you.¡± Not catching on, Amdirlain frowned. ¡°For what? The towers haven¡¯t done anything, have they?¡± ¡°Not the towers. Would this realm have existed without Orh¨ºthurin?¡± huffed Ebusuku. ¡°No.¡± Stepping close, Ebusuku wrapped her arms around Amdirlain. ¡°She might be dead, but you have her Soul, so the only person I can thank is you. I exist and got to make all my awful and wondrous choices. None of those choices, or my existence, would have occurred without Orh¨ºthurin. Hestia told me when she last saw the Titan, he had his daughter cradled in his arms, and she was crying over the death of her mother and siblings.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got that memory; the perfect recall of memories I synchronise with isn¡¯t fun. It feels like someone¡¯s reached inside my chest and crushed my heart whenever I dwell on that memory. She had no other harrowing life experiences to compare it with, it was life-shattering. The extent of the child¡¯s pain makes me want to throw up until I¡¯m hollow,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°What child wouldn¡¯t be grief-stricken at a beloved parent¡¯s death?¡± asked Ebusuku. ¡°Grief-stricken, but also guilt-wracked. Orh¨ºthurin never forgave anyone because she couldn¡¯t forgive herself. She argued about going out with her mother the morning of her death, it only delayed her departure a few minutes, but it birthed too many what-ifs for Orh¨ºthurin to theorise on." ¡°Amdirlain!¡± gasped Sarah. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin never mentioned an argument. Are you sure she was still dwelling on an incident from her childhood?¡± Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably. ¡°And she couldn¡¯t keep a secret until it died of old age? It would have meant nothing on a normal day, and her mother didn¡¯t raise her voice. However, Orh¨ºthurin did what-ifs for so many aeons over it that she was still doing them when teaching Mori." ¡°That does sound like something she¡¯d do,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°Getting caught on something and never letting it go.¡± "This isn¡¯t getting us a step closer to recovering Torm," said Amdirlain, changing the subject. "What information and options do we have regarding the assassin¡¯s guild?¡± Creating a wooden table and chairs on a nearby platform, Amdirlain led the way. ¡°How do you feel about becoming a member of the assassin¡¯s guild?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Where¡¯s Farhad?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You said he¡¯d been called away?¡± ¡°The Jade Emperor got in touch with him about the noise you made,¡± explained Ebusuku. Amdirlain restrained a whistle and sat down. ¡°Did he contact him directly?¡± ¡°It was one of his generals if I understood the rank correctly,¡± clarified Ebusuku. Amdirlain considered the pendant concealed within her chest. ¡°Do the assassins have the option of declining a target?¡± ¡°When I was a member, they only operated in the City of Brass or other Efreeti major cities. Typically they¡¯re assassinating the Efreeti who are vying for promotion slots; everyone is as much a sadist as any Dao: the kind that slowly roasts their prisoners for the amusement of onlookers before the remains get fed to something,¡± recounted Ebusuku. ¡°Or, if they are aesthetically appealing, they end up in the Efreeti harems.¡± ¡°How does that explain the couriers?¡± ¡°Farhad said it''s not a usual contract. It''s normally when the two individuals want a third party to take the delivery risk, and it comes at a hefty premium,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Farhad is no longer a member, and you¡¯d need to advance in their ranks to learn any details about the jobs. No oaths, merely a set of guild laws.¡± ¡°I never took any job besides kill missions,¡± explained Ebusuku when Amdirlain glanced at her for input. ¡°That¡¯s surprising,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Ebusuku shook her head and smirked. ¡°Oaths, no matter how tightly worded, can have loopholes. The guild watches for those breaking the guild laws and breaks the offenders with years of torture when they''re caught. There is a reward for the discovery of violators, paid after a Seer confirms the truth of the claims, so the assassins are self-policing.¡± ¡°Why is Farhad no longer a member?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Unless you are a guild administrator, to maintain your rank, you can¡¯t allow two hundred years to pass since your last job. However, after five hundred inactive, regardless of rank, they strike you from the roster. It¡¯s been over a thousand since Farhad last worked with them,¡± reported Sarah. ¡°I haven¡¯t been back there since Farhad went to issue his challenge, so I¡¯m also excluded,¡± clarified Ebusuku before Amdirlain could ask. "Not to mention two greater powers call the City of Brass home, so me going there is not a good idea." ¡°Okay, that makes sense,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I doubt the Satyr will take more work from them. Will the trail to him grow cold while I progress through the guild?¡± ¡°Wolves are territorial and, to some extent, hierarchical. Torm was Vargr Drangijaz for over a thousand years. Do you think that mindset will have washed away completely?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve encroached on his territory?¡± Sarah huffed. ¡°I got to kill his pawns, and you¡¯ve blocked a path to Livia.¡± ¡°Ok, fine, I¡¯ve got to think super possessive mode,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°Potentially, we¡¯ve got minimal evidence of his mindset, but it''s an approach to try. Even if we don¡¯t get him directly, we might find out who took the work and talk to them about him,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°That might give us more clues about how to track him down.¡± ¡°How would we do that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Are we going to just pull the information out of someone¡¯s brain?¡± ¡°Too risky that we¡¯ll spook the person who knows,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°The Efreeti possess knowledge of psionics; hence my question about becoming a member. We need to get inside to earn access to their records and see if any new matching jobs come through them.¡± ¡°High enough guild members have access to the records of past jobs. Efreeti law requires them to be kept. That¡¯s so if anyone challenges the legality of someone¡¯s promotion, the guild records will prove if it got commissioned legally,¡± explained Ebusuku. She didn¡¯t restrain her snort at Amdirlain¡¯s look of disbelief. Amdirlain closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead; the bizarreness of the Efreeti legal code taunted her after the plinth¡¯s brutal judgement of her situation. ¡°Okay, so you and Farhad believe he¡¯ll try to use The Exchange or assassin¡¯s guild again to prove I¡¯ve not driven him off? Thus by getting into the guild and ranking up, I¡¯ll be able to learn what jobs are on offer or find out who did the courier work. I might claim and meet him if new matching jobs come up.¡± ¡°Pretty much sums it up,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°How did he learn about the assassin¡¯s guild in the first place?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Farhad and Torm used to discuss various laws and attitudes towards justice after training. They argued over various laws and their lack of justice, including the Efreeti legal code for promotion using the assassin¡¯s guild,¡± Sarah stated, reaching out to rub the back of Amdirlain¡¯s neck. ¡°It''s a place to look that we didn¡¯t have previously, and you get to practice some powers and skills.¡± ¡°It''s also the only lead we have until Livia receives new gifts; otherwise, we¡¯re back to hunting for a mote of dust between stars,¡± advised Ebusuku. ¡°Don¡¯t risk ruining the lead, got it,¡± nodded Amdirlain. ¡°There are other meditation styles besides the Zen Meditation you¡¯re used to; it might be good to explore one of those,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Got any suggestions?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll work on a few I learnt at uni,¡± offered Sarah. Nicholaus¡¯s PoV - Titan¡¯s forge room Nicholaus considered the tiny elven figure he held up between thumb and forefinger, and tension flexing muscles warned him that his anger stirred. ¡°I promised my daughter to consider a way for the Anar to reincarnate here, but I never promised all of them would do so. Still, it''s ironic that you were among the first to arrive by the path I opened.¡± Reaching out, he placed the golden figure upon the King¡¯s square of a chessboard that his will formed from grey and black stone. ¡°You designed this thing; it''s only fair it comes back to you.¡± With a quick motion, he emptied a plain wooden box, and an uprooted cutting of a writhing vine fell at the figure¡¯s feet. After a moment of inactivity, a tendril reached out, and the vine slithered home when it touched the figure. ¡°Gideon, please assist Eleftherios in reproducing the energy the vines had feasted upon within Orh¨ºthurin.¡± Gideon floated closer to Eleftherios¡¯s shoulder and shrunk smaller than the elven figure¡¯s hand. ¡°Of course, father,¡± Eleftherios replied, and he raised his hand and stepped close. From his fingers, motes of a pale white light drifted, and where they touched the figure, green leaves enveloped the gold. ¡°Thank you for retrieving it from the Outlands,¡± commented Nicholaus. ¡°Have you decided what you¡¯ll do if Veht?¡¯s humans continue praying to you?¡± ¡°Not yet, father, but their natural faith supports the minor blessings they¡¯ve gained. It is, however, accelerating; Sage has spread my name elsewhere, hoping I¡¯ll counter Orcus¡¯ advancements.¡± ¡°Would you sponsor a clergy for that purpose?¡± ¡°The existence of undead mocks the natural cycle and disturbs the balance. Death should bring quiet and reflection, not signal the transformation into a predator,¡± mused Eleftherios. ¡°Then there is the matter of the Hag and her new Domain in the ruins of Hades¡¯ castle. The sea hags have already spread her worship to the other worlds where she already had worshippers.¡± ¡°She tried to bind my daughter forever in that shell,¡± stated Nicholaus, gently picking up the chessboard. Gideon lapped the chess board and skipped across spots before the former Anar King. ¡°Revenge didn¡¯t factor into why Amdirlain shared our names; she sought to provide mortals additional choices to remain free of the Hag''s grip.¡± ¡°Also, wherever Ruithor is, prayers might tip the balance to return to himself. Certainly, they allowed Laodice a conduit to regain her strength while cut off from the realm in the Leviathan¡¯s death curse,¡± noted Eleftherios. ¡°The demonic death toll is considerable.¡± ¡°How is Laodice¡¯s progress returning home?¡± ¡°At present count, twelve hundred and seventy-nine fortresses have been destroyed. The other abyssal factions are staying clear of Laodice, picking apart minor Sisterhood holdings that she''s not bothered with,¡± Gideon said. ¡°This has been aided by information Naamah possesses about their locations. Baln¨¦rith will be another 164,160 minutes clearing the lowest planes if she continues along her usual route to the natural Gate to access Ijmti.¡± "Is that all? I''d hoped Baln¨¦rith took the three days returning," grumbled Nicholaus. "She wasn''t yet to the Far Chaos breach point when she received the news," stated Gideon. Eleftherios shook his head. "Could just say close to 2 days?" "It was funny to see your excitement growing until I mentioned minutes," rebuffed Gideon. ¡°Did you think she¡¯d got caught in a time rift?¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you adjust the plinth to save Amdirlain such pain?¡± asked Eleftherios, ignoring Gideon''s giggles. Huffing, Nicholaus tapped his workbench. ¡°You should know better, Eleftherios. I ceded full rights of Redemption¡¯s Path to Orh¨ºthurin. Though they pointed out a gap in the rules, I was disinclined to let them have any way back.¡± ¡°I know, it''s just-¡± ¡°Enough,¡± snapped Nicholaus. ¡°Please leave it. Orh¨ºthurin was my daughter long before you were lovers. Gideon is poking Amdirlain along the paths which might help her find Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s former strength. However, nothing is certain, and she is choosing a winding, dangerous path. That is all we can do according to the rules. Perhaps you should pick a world project to work on around the forge; it might keep you out of trouble until you¡¯re properly settled.¡± ¡°Or leave?¡± whispered Eleftherios. ¡°You¡¯d be missed, but that option is open to you after the fine line you walked.¡± Giving Eleftherios a nod, Nicholaus carried the chessboard to a storeroom. Among its shelves were the experiments too dangerous to release, and Nicholaus secured the chessboard in an otherwise empty crate. ¡°Don¡¯t worry; the rest of your choir will join you in time. When I let you be reborn, we¡¯ll see if you can get free of your creation.¡± With those words, he patted the crate¡¯s lid and walked away. On the way back to his forge, he took in the rows of L¨®m? souls that Amdirlain and Erwarth had returned to his care and the few other Anar that had joined them. Flittering among them, various nature spirits kept those waiting company. Among the lines of figures, there was a spot he¡¯d left deliberately empty when the others arrived. Now he took a Queen¡¯s piece crafted from the essence of Light and set it as a marker. 269 - Burning sky Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane Ebusuku gave the pair an overview of the City of Brass before she left Amdirlain and Sarah to attempt alternative mediation techniques. Some of those Sarah took Amdirlain through were variations on approaches Amdirlain had previously used. Despite her efforts to develop the Skill separately, Amdirlain found everything tied back to Devouring Cacophony. The moving meditation of a Tai Chi form, and even mindful meditation, caught her up listening for the music encapsulated in her motions. ¡°Tai Chi is an example of moving meditation; you don¡¯t have to get meditation separately again,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Just do some shadowboxing or set katas whenever you need to meditate, lose yourself in the movements.¡± ¡°Devouring Cacophony doesn¡¯t have the same connotation,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Sarah snorted. ¡°Gideon¡¯s trolling getting under your skin? It means what you decide it means. Maybe let it consume your worries for a time; after all, you enjoyed training with Ilya.¡± After experimenting to find a comfortable pattern that mixed in various attacks, Amdirlain focused on the Ki nodes within her flesh. The first cycle through her phoenix pattern took her longer than she recalled, but aware it had been nearly a quarter of a century, Amdirlain didn¡¯t rush. As the last node connected, a blaze of power coursed through her flesh. Amdirlain immediately followed the illuminated path without pausing to celebrate her success. Sarah didn¡¯t interrupt but, taking in the phoenix feathers dancing under Amdirlain¡¯s skin, she moved to a nearby platform. Expanding into her draconic form, she sprawled out to enjoy the show. With her chin resting on the closest edge of the football field-size plate, Sarah¡¯s tail didn¡¯t quite reach the far end, and its elongated spike sketched the time as Amdirlain¡¯s dancing blade work continued. By the time Amdirlain stopped, her skin was ablaze from cycling Ki, Mana, and Psi through her pattern. Swords disappearing away, Amdirlain glided to the pavilion and pressed her hands against its latticework. Evoking Universal Life, Amdirlain¡¯s already glowing hands shone like floodlights, and the crystal drank up the power. Only once all the excess energy had drained into the Demi-Plane did Amdirlain relax and stretch. ¡°That will take getting used to again, particularly since providing it to the Domain was smoother than doing so to the crystal.¡± ¡°A lot faster than going around smashing things until you use all the power up,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°You look like you weren¡¯t idle,¡± Amdirlain quipped. Sarah coughed. ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t allowed to hunt close to Sanctuary¡¯s Cove, but that didn¡¯t stop me from wiping out places further afield that could cause trouble later.¡± ¡°Not to mention the Kraken,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°The Kraken isn¡¯t for discussion; Esdras wasn¡¯t happy about the mess,¡± exclaimed Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Sarah, pretty naughty getting the local Gold Dragon upset with you,¡± tsked Amdirlain. ¡°It was more that my manner of execution meant the body didn¡¯t provide as much profit,¡± explained Sarah. Amdirlain gave her a grave nod. ¡°Silly Dragon, how are you supposed to increase your hoard?¡± Blowing a raspberry, Sarah flexed her wings. ¡°Get singing.¡± ¡°There is an obvious hole in your plan with the assassin¡¯s guild; I¡¯ll stand out a bit,¡± replied Amdirlain, ignoring Sarah¡¯s mock demand. ¡°Only if you don¡¯t get good enough at Stealth. But there are a few holes, including that the assassin¡¯s guild operates throughout the Efreeti¡¯s caliphate,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°Torm might never have visited the City of Brass; however, their ledgers record all of the guild''s work within the Grand Sultan¡¯s control.¡± ¡°What do you plan to be doing while I earn rank?¡± Sarah grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll find a merchant contact dealing with their cities throughout the Plane. Then, whether they know it or not, we can use them to distribute crystals about the place; spread the detection network. I¡¯d suggest not looking like an Elf, or would even suggest picking a species that doesn¡¯t have genders you¡¯re used to; it might throw him off.¡± ¡°We likely shouldn¡¯t travel together.¡± ¡°No, we¡¯ll stick together; he doesn¡¯t know I got rid of the Mantle,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll use that Purple Dragon disguise since I¡¯ve already sorted it out. You can be my lackey serving as my voice, if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°That¡¯s normally used when the Dragon isn¡¯t in a smaller form. There is no way that you¡¯re getting into the City of Brass in full Dragon form,¡± dismissed Amdirlain. ¡°No fair,¡± huffed Sarah. Waving a hand at Sarah, Amdirlain smirked. ¡°Well, you¡¯re red, not fair.¡± ¡°Well, isn¡¯t your humour being all scaly today? Whatever. What form are you going to use?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s form shifted, dark red scales growing across her body as her legs merged into an elongated tail. ¡°Salamander is a risky form to use,¡± critiqued Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve practised moving around in a Marilith¡¯s form,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant. The Efreeti enslaved the salamanders because of their metal working proficiency, of which you have zero, unless you sing it into existence,¡± observed Sarah. Sighing, Amdirlain¡¯s form expanded to four metres tall and gained a stern expression as her skin turned crimson. Black locks cascaded past her square jaw, and Amdirlain treated Sarah to the same cruel smile she¡¯d seen on the fire giants. As Sarah rolled her eyes, Amdirlain created a set of red Dracolisk leathers for herself and a pair of cestus. She added fishhook spikes jutting a finger length past the knuckles of each hand, the v-shapes pointing forward carefully sharpened across the tip and jagged to help rip and tear. ¡°Red Dracolisk?¡± ¡°Another fragmented memory¡ªseeing Hasusar¡¯s black leathers prompted the recollection.¡± ¡°Chromatic dragons will stick their dick into anything, won''t they?¡± joked Sarah. ¡°The Adventurers¡¯ Guild has some interesting individuals, and the Grand Master isn¡¯t even the strangest. Are you sure you want to use a Fire Giant form?¡± Though it wasn¡¯t a shape she found comfortable because of the malice she remembered the fire giants possessing, Amdirlain only shrugged. ¡°I could go as an elder thing instead, but the local Efreeti might get upset.¡± Growling lightly, Sarah tapped her tail against the platform. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me Cthulhu exists.¡± ¡°After seeing that imprisoned thing in the Abyss, there could be something worse,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Now you¡¯re being weird,¡± retorted Sarah. The sharpness of Sarah¡¯s tone drew a snort from Amdirlain. ¡°Why are you all snippy at me today?¡± At the question, Sarah froze in mid-quip and ruffled her wings thoughtfully. ¡°You surprised me by telling Ebusuku before Torm.¡± Sarah¡¯s explanation earned an understanding nod from Amdirlain. ¡°Torm was your hunting partner, so draconic instincts have you irritable. I¡¯m trying to face facts, finally. The Torm I knew likely won¡¯t come back; that made it pointless to hold out from telling Ebusuku. Setting the condition of telling her after Torm¡¯s restoration meant keeping it secret forever.¡± ¡°A lot of time alone to think and consider the situation, is that what you needed?¡± enquired Sarah. Amdirlain¡¯s lips twisted at the sourness of her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ve not given up entirely; otherwise, I wouldn¡¯t have bothered to capture the two. Hopefully, I can help all three return to being celestials, but it''s not a foregone conclusion. At this point, my best case scenario is I keep all three from causing more evil; anything else is gravy.¡± ¡°Why were you asking Ebusuku about Oath links?¡± ¡°They¡¯re both sworn to Moloch,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I can hear the connection between them. Moreover, using Analysis on the link confirmed the holder was Moloch. From a computer perspective, he¡¯s got holes in his firewall¡ªbut most can¡¯t hack into them.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± The vicious smile Amdirlain gave this time was genuine. ¡°If I can get the corruption to drain through that link, Moloch has plenty of memories I can use for extracting the foulness from the Fallen.¡± ¡°How strong is the link?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, it¡¯s different to the Soulbond Livia had with me, so manipulating energy across it will be a delicate undertaking,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°The links didn¡¯t stir any memories, but True Song Architecture has plenty to say about them, so lots of careful experimentation will be needed.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the City of Brass then,¡± Sarah suggested. ¡°You can compose the tests in your downtime.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to come with me?¡± Sarah huffed. ¡°Not letting you go alone; Efreeti like rare goods, anything to sate their appetites.¡± ¡°I take it you¡¯ve fireproof clothing?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Transforming into a Fire Giant that was nearly a twin to Amdirlain¡¯s form, Sarah gave a smile that added to the coldness in her black gaze. ¡°Yes, mum. If you spot any of the Azer about, don¡¯t think the Efreeti are at fault; they¡¯re still under an indentured contract to the fire mephits¡¯ Matriarch for another 400 odd years.¡± The name invoked a memory of a Dwarf with bronze skin and a beard of orange flames, mining out diamonds from within a volcano. Far stouter than other dwarves she¡¯d met, their skin possessed a metallic sheen. The elemental nature made it clear they were more spirit than flesh even before the song grew clear in Amdirlain¡¯s mind. ¡°I¡¯ve got a bare memory of one mining within a magma field. How did the fire mephits manage a contract like that?¡± ¡°The Azer didn¡¯t take their holdings¡¯ defences seriously enough while we were gone. They got conquered, and the terms of their surrender forced them to sign a contract that indentured the species for a hundred thousand years,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Ebusuku told me someone in their hierarchy betrayed them, letting their foes into fortresses; hopefully, they will have learned that lesson if they get their freedom.¡± ¡°If?¡± queried Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s shrug was barely a shoulder twitch. ¡°Whatever the rumours are, the terms of surrender might be completely different, especially with traitors. How much did they sell their species out for?¡± ¡°I might have to see if I can track down an Azer elder; I won¡¯t leave Moradin¡¯s elemental children enslaved,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°Sometimes you¡¯ve got to let people take responsibility for themselves¡ªyou¡¯ve enough on your plate,¡± countered Sarah, and she raised a hand to forestall Amdirlina¡¯s protest. ¡°That said, there are likely plenty of the Azer where we¡¯re heading. Tell me about these two achievements of yours.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. It didn¡¯t take Amdirlain long to cover the details, and Sarah whistled appreciatively. ¡°Do you remember if achievements can decay without being used?¡± ¡°No, why do you ask?¡± ¡°The Class level you are going for isn¡¯t something most people try to achieve. I¡¯d be worried about these going to waste,¡± clarified Sarah. Amdirlain frowned at the options. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in becoming an Imperial Princess, and I¡¯m concerned about the Prestige Class.¡± ¡°So you¡¯ll push for Empress instead,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Gamer girl, I know the truth¡ªyou want the shinier toy but, that said, second-rate songbird or whatever Gideon called it, is obviously a dig to do better. I¡¯d suggest levelling the classes you¡¯ll be merging and getting them to where they need to be. Then you can focus on levelling abilities and the other classes. If one of those achievements decays after that, you can switch levelling off until you get something you want unlocked.¡± ¡°I was using the spread of experience to give my powers and skills time to level,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Are you sure they wouldn¡¯t decay together?¡± Sarah gave her a reproachful look. ¡°Got your blinkers on, girl? You¡¯ll have to get them higher anyway, but you can do that once you get the next Prestige and evolved base Class. As for decaying together, freeing Laodice and destroying all those oaths is far more important than destroying a Prestige Class.¡± Amdirlain winced and adjusted the experience to apply to the two classes alone. ¡°Done.¡± Her pronouncement gained a laugh from Sarah, and Amdirlain gave her a mock reproachful look. ¡°That¡¯s the attitude I get for taking your advice?¡± ¡°I used Analysis on your achievements; Gideon was snarky about Planar Class Warfare,¡± Sarah explained, and she laughed again. [Analysis: Planar Class Warfare Details: Given for destroying the Prestige Class Blood Monk. It was like alfalfa on a steak: most people will be inclined to push it aside and keep eating, like pubic hair if you¡¯re going pearl diving anyway.] ¡°Alright, I see what you mean,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°How about you open a Gate to your secure prison and we can teleport and planar hop from there to mask your Demi-Plane?¡± suggested Sarah, holding back her snickers. ¡°After you calm down, scale butt.¡± Her grumbled response set Sarah laughing, and it took her many attempts to stop completely. For a half hour, every time Sarah came close to calm, one look at Amdirlain¡¯s storm cloud expression set her laughing again. Once Sarah was finally calm, a double hop took them to the Elemental Plane of Fire. Around them, a firestorm was in progress, sending lashing sheets of flame across the top of a sea of liquid fire beneath them. Amdirlain¡¯s immunity to Fire didn¡¯t stop her from feeling the oppressive heat or make it any easier to see through the smoky haze filling the space not occupied by flame. Hovering beyond the wards surrounding the City of Brass, Amdirlain found the source of its name wasn¡¯t from the colour of flames. The city¡¯s streets formed rings along the curvature of a massive enchanted brass bowl. While the radius at the lip was some 70 kilometres, it was double that tall. Among its monumental buildings, thousands of minarets atop palaces and apartment blocks stab like needles towards the flaming sky. The Efreeti had made not only the buildings and streets but everything else from the same glowing hot brass; from the humble street signs to the tallest of grand minarets. The whole of the city was easily visible from their current height. Through the Willpower of the Grand Sultan of the Efreeti, the air over the city was clear of the Plane¡¯s pervasive smoke and flames. There could be little doubt that the effort''s only purpose was to sate his ego by ensuring his city¡¯s glory was always on full display. Teleport placed the pair near the travellers ascending the obsidian steps to the closest city entry. The position below the bowl¡¯s rim gave them a view of a cracked obsidian plate supporting the bowl¡ªlike a giant teacup resting on a neglected saucer. It further reinforced the perception of the city¡¯s ego trip. Since the plate wasn¡¯t visible from the Grand Sultan¡¯s palace, he didn¡¯t ensure it was maintained to the same gleaming standards. The crowd of travellers was mostly Efreeti, but there were fire giants, mephits, and even evolved fire elementals able to compress themselves into a humanoid form. A minority were from other species, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t spot a single Elf or Human. She spotted a group of Azer ahead with beards the colour of heated steel clad in stained labourer''s clothing. The first Efreeti Amdirlain had sensed provided her with an encapsulated understanding of the species'' nature and song. Though she had known they were an elemental species, she hadn¡¯t understood that their very essence limited what they could become or learn. The cruelty she knew they possessed was appalling, but the song made sense of their behaviour. However capricious they seemed, the Efreeti were rule-bound, and their cruelty was the unthinking mercilessness of flames. They didn¡¯t understand or care about others'' suffering; they only cared about what they could consume. Those Efreeti on the stairs were four to five metres tall and relatively uniform, with skin ranging from deep maroon to burgundy, black hair, loose pants, and well-muscled torsos on display. The main variation between them was in the shape of the horns that stuck out of their foreheads beneath black locks; some had barely nubs while others rivalled a fourteen-point stag¡¯s antlers. Their sharp Human-like features were cruelly predatory, and bejewelled garb in a rainbow of colours matched the Arabian tales. ¡°They¡¯re predatory living flames pretending to be flesh,¡± Amdirlain grumbled mentally to Sarah. Her comment received only a nod from Sarah, who was already striding across the liquid flames surrounding the obsidian pathway to join the line. Their trip up the kilometres of black stairs was a procession conducted in near silence. The surrounding travellers were not interested in their presence, and those around them greeted Amdirlain¡¯s enquiring glances with scowls and grunts. The heat reflected from the black stairs would have baked a Human to death nearly instantly, and the air shimmered from the continual heat. They could see the same heat waves from the metal as they approached the gates. Though the Efreeti guards on duty shook down those carrying conspicuous packs for payment based on their contents, those who didn¡¯t have bags entered without enquiry. Those rich enough to have a dimensional container as jewellery weren¡¯t to be bothered. The directions that Farhad had provided Sarah allowed them to avoid making enquiries, and they continued straight ahead towards the central palace. Despite being a main road, they still had to push through the packed crowd navigating between stalls and shops. The crush of the surrounding crowd initially contained few Efreeti, but their numbers steadily increased the further they ventured into the city¡¯s centre. Ring after ring, the buildings grew increasingly lavish until each block was a single palace. The crowd had at least eased once the palaces started showing up; but both armoured guards and elaborately dressed Efreeti regarded them with distasteful looks. Through it all, Amdirlain kept her pace to an aggressive stomping gait, hoping the martial feel of her kata stride would keep those tempted by a Fire Giant¡¯s form at bay. They were only four crossroads from the Grand Sultan¡¯s palace when Sarah turned left. The mansions they passed seemed more places of business than residences. Polyglot only worked for spoken languages, so the symbols above the gates were meaningless to Amdirlain. Seeking context for the heavy traffic approaching some gates, she caught sight of various ¡®paperwork¡¯ on metal plates being presented to guards and, in return, directions provided to the floors or palace wings. ¡°Do you read Efreeti?¡± ¡°Illiterate bitch, the signs are all in Ignan,¡± grunted Sarah. Avoiding rolling her eyes at Sarah¡¯s theatrics for observers, Amdirlain merely spent a knowledge point on the language. Compared to the rush of understanding gained through points spent on True Song Architecture, Amdirlain didn¡¯t even notice the sensation of learning the language. Amdirlain merely grunted in return and took in the cursive script of the signs. All along the street, the palace signs proclaimed their relationship to governmental departments: trade, city maintenance, military, interior, and more. When Sarah tapped her shoulder and headed for a specific gate, Amdirlain snorted. Department of the Auditor General was the closest translation Amdirlain had for the writing above the Gate. When Amdirlain shot her an incredulous look, Sarah returned it with a tight smile. ¡°We need to get paperwork lodged with them before we can join the guild.¡± ¡°Assassins are auditors?¡± ¡°More that every one of the Efreeti auditors is an Assassin,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°After all, they work in correcting those unsuitable who hold a government or non-government position among the living.¡± ¡°That-¡± ¡°An employment opportunity, making a difference in local government near you,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Vote now, vote often,¡± retorted Amdirlain and approaching the guards, she dropped the concealment from the Lady of Butchery aura. When she¡¯d drawn closer despite her stomping gait, the guards¡¯ consideration of her had been lecherous until the aura hit, and they turned pink. The guard she''d focused on continued to have the colour drain from his face, and he almost hurried to escape Amdirlain¡¯s path. ¡°Don¡¯t go away,¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°Where does a new Assassin register?¡± Turning, he jabbed a hand towards the main door and stammered. ¡°T-t-take the right-hand passage from the foyer; you¡¯ll want the second doorway from the end¡ªlast on the left.¡± Following his directions, Amdirlain moved through the main doors and found herself in a hallway awash with an opulent display of wealth. Dimensional magics played tricks with the interior space, and the palace that had seemed modest from the outside promised to contain kilometres of hallways and rooms. The foyer was a two-hundred-metre square with ornate pillars supporting a dozen galleries along its edges. A curving staircase to their right started ten-metres from where they stood, joining each level as it spiralled around the room. The staircase¡¯s bulk almost hid the passage they needed to take, but twin corridors straight ahead and to the left prompted Amdirlain to move forward until she spotted it. The builder had sheathed every surface in patterned mosaic metal panels that gave the place a distinctly Arabian style, especially combined with the horseshoe arches. Every mosaic contained only geometric forms and curving knots, with gemstones adding additional splashes of colour along the walls. In contrast to the other busy surfaces, the ceiling¡¯s only adornment was the Grand Sultan¡¯s seal. Amdirlain¡¯s aura cut a path through the few occupants they found within, those they approached, regardless of the species, practically jumping to get out of their way. Before she opened the door they¡¯d been directed to, Amdirlain restored the concealments on her aura. The chamber within was a windowless open space twenty-metres across and fifty-metres long. Along its length, plates of near-molten steel littered desks made of precious metals that looked like they should themselves melt in the heat. A dozen Efreeti sat at them, transcribing details onto blank plates and correcting errors by allowing the metal to melt together. Those that staffed the office, for the most part, had barely nub-sized horns. The noticeable exceptions were two female Efreeti that held desks at either side of a door at the far end, and the one with a series of vicious Class songs had three pointed antlers to her credit. [Name: Wasmaaa el-Sultana Species: Efreeti Class: Hunter / Assassin / Wizard / Torturer Level: 40 / 40 / 41/ 46 Health: 8,564 Defence: 220 Magic: 51 Mana: 10,190 Melee Attack Power: 261 Combat Skills: Short Blades [M] (12), Pole-arms [Ad] (15), Fire Mastery [S] (2) - Assorted affinities and spells lists. Details: She is the youngest daughter of the Grand Sultan and a lesser concubine. Wasmaaa recently accepted a position as a junior auditor for the interior ministry. She loves her work and enjoys digging into any problem that comes her way.] They stood inside the doorway while everyone ignored them until Wasmaaa¡¯s gaze turned their way. A spike of basalt shattered across the ear of the nearest Efreeti; he dropped the stylus etching sigils into a steel plate and clasped at the glowing blood dripping from his ear. ¡°Handle those giants,¡± snapped Wasmaaa. The scribe¡¯s fingers left impressions on the metal plate still clasped in one hand, but he fixed his furious gaze on them and did his best to ignore Wasmaaa. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Registration for the assassin¡¯s guild,¡± stated Sarah. The scribe pulled an obsidian brazier from his desk then filled and poured in a flask of steaming quicksilver. A transparent film of energy kept the quicksilver steam from dissipating completely. ¡°Place your hand in the bowl.¡± Sarah followed his instructions, and glowing sigils appeared over the bowl. The details accounted for Hunter, Fighter, Artificer and Dominator classes, and Amdirlain adjusted her profile further to mimic the details she wanted to show. Pulling a brass disc out, he touched it to the sigils, and they impressed themselves onto it. ¡°Do you know the location of a suitable guild office?¡± When Sarah nodded, he waved her aside before she could speak and jabbed a finger at Amdirlain. Having already listened to the song within the enchantment, Amdirlain stuck her hand in the bowl and saw it report levels sixty-four in Fighter, Assassin, Hunter, and Wizard. The scribe scoffed and started to record the details on a metal plate. Once he¡¯d transcribed everything, an official-looking seal got pressed into the metal beneath the entries, and then he thrust the plate out to Sarah. ¡°Well, the guild needs thugs and useful types. Now get going.¡± Retracing their route took them back out nearly to the city¡¯s edge before Sarah turned down another side street. A half kilometre along it, a flight of stairs took them beneath the city street. After descending a few levels, the brass walls became obsidian, but the heat didn¡¯t lessen. ¡°This is a minor outpost, but I got told to start here and not try registering closer to the Palace. Nice Class levels should get you some interesting jobs; I hadn¡¯t known you were quite so talented.¡± Aware of those listening in as they passed through the maze of corridors that sometimes required them to stoop, Amdirlain grunted. ¡°You don¡¯t need to know everything.¡± When Sarah gave a mocking laugh, Amdirlain clenched her fists and ignored the derisive snort that came in response. The unilluminated corridors around them didn¡¯t hinder either of their perceptions. On the fifth level down, Sarah turned off the stairs and wove her way through a maze of passages, her confidence granted by the memory crystal to which Amdirlain could sense her listening. The unadorned stone door Sarah finally thumped on had nothing unique to mark it as different than the hundreds they¡¯d passed. Songs within it proclaimed scores of individuals, ruthless even among the Efreeti, engaged in various purposeful activities. Without being prompted, Sarah presented her metal plate to the door. A moment later, the door was flung open and Amdirlain looked down to regard the young Efreeti doorman looking up at the seal displayed on Sarah¡¯s paperwork. ¡°Come in. Talk to the Elf at the desk, don¡¯t eat or maim him, or you¡¯ll be doing the administration.¡± The youth wasn¡¯t quite two metres tall but carried the same arrogance she¡¯d seen from every Efreeti they¡¯d passed until now, despite his song possessing only two weak Class themes¡ªFighter and Thief. 270 - Reason Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - City of Brass - Outer ring assassin¡¯s guild outpost Stepping past the Efreeti at the door, they entered a short corridor, closed at the end by a silver privacy curtain glowing from the constant heat. Waves of it brushed against them from the walls, the clinging darkness still providing no relief. Though Amdirlain was immune to the temperature, it didn¡¯t stop her from sensing it, and part of her longed for a cool drink. The faintness of that longing caught Amdirlain by surprise; momentarily distracted, she wondered how much she¡¯d lost. The chiming of the beads being brushed aside by Sarah brought her back to herself, and Amdirlain strode forward to catch up. Though the curtain of metallic beads seemed ready to paint her skin with molten silver, it let her through without incident. The chamber within was yet another choke point, allowing a serpentine passage between cage walls made of obsidian with similar enchantments to those in the walls. Behind a solid barrier at the very end of the path, a single light source sent a humanoid shadow pooling out into the passage. Though barely brighter than a candle, it seemed like a halogen spotlight in the darkness. When they reached the barrier, they found a small gap in the grillwork, giving the impression of a cashier counter. The Elf behind the counter was the tallest Amdirlain had seen at nearly two and a half metres tall, with long thin limbs. The enchantments and spells about him made it clear he was both not a native and protecting himself from the heat. His skin was chalk white, with russet-coloured hair in loose curls barely reaching beneath his ears. Clad in dark loose pants and a shirt of a cotton-like material, there wasn¡¯t any sweat on his exposed skin. The way the Efreeti on the door had spoken, Amdirlain had expected a slave, but all the themes in the enchantments and spells over him matched his song, and nothing bound him to the place. He barely glanced up as they approach, and Amdirlain could hear the vicious contingencies in his protections¡ªdimensional magics paired with pure chaos to rip an attacker apart. The enchantments that wreathed the bracers winding around his forearms helped to focus the force. ¡°Registration,¡± grumbled Sarah, thrusting the metal plate towards him. [Name: Feindil Truthkissed Species: Luna Elf Class: Wizard / Sage / Artificer / Alchemist Level: 68 / 75 / 71/ 75 Health: 3,179 Defence: 144 Magic: 289 Mana: 165,886 Melee Attack Power: 528 Combat Skills: Short Blades [M] (72) - Various affinities and Spell lists. Details: After upsetting multiple imperial family members, he has been studying numerous elemental cultures on a planar jaunt for his continued health. After an extended period in the City of Glass within the Plane of Water, he¡¯s come to the polar opposite ahead of his offended patrons'' searchers.] ¡°It says your names are Soztag and Alinus, correct?¡± Sarah tapped her chest. ¡°Soztag.¡± ¡°Have you checked the rest of the details on there? The clerks don¡¯t always record the details properly, and while it doesn¡¯t matter for the auditors'' department records, it will impact the work you get offered,¡± cautioned Feindil. ¡°We¡¯d been warned, so I watched to ensure he got every sigil right,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Did they also warn you that entry-level members don¡¯t make a lot of gems until they¡¯ve proved themselves?¡± asked Feindil. ¡°Yes,¡± hissed Sarah. Feindil gave a tight-lipped smile. ¡°Good, so I won¡¯t have to clean the floor.¡± Ignoring the implied threat, Amdirlain motioned to the grillwork. ¡°Why the security?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I thought the assassin¡¯s guild is legal here.¡± ¡°It is, but occasionally the unhappy relatives of a guild¡¯s client come through to file protests; it''s another reason the floor needs cleaning.¡± ¡°Clients¡¯ relatives get upset?¡± ¡°A common misunderstanding with new members. The guild¡¯s client needs a swift death delivered while a guild¡¯s petitioner requests said delivery,¡± clarified Feindil. ¡°The auditors don¡¯t like the clients being called targets if they ever speak to you about a job.¡± ¡°What about the interior ministry? Do they ask about jobs?¡± Feindil''s gaze widened, and he quickly shoved the metal plate under the counter. ¡°No, and you¡¯d best hope you never come to their attention. Ensure you don¡¯t mention them further¡ªthey hear things.¡± The reference she¡¯d seen in Wasmaaa¡¯s details suddenly became much more interesting than Amdirlain had expected. His hand paused beneath the counter, and Amdirlain heard an enchantment buzzing away. When Feindil drew his hand forth, he nodded at Sarah and set down a bloodstone; motioning to Amdirlain, he released a second. ¡°Membership tokens. The first is free, but lose it, and you owe the guild four jobs¡ªthe fee for which the guild keeps.¡± ¡°The fees from the next four jobs?¡± asked Sarah. The question drew a hard smile from Feindil. ¡°No, the guild decides what jobs contribute to the fee. You¡¯ll be told when the fee is theirs, and refusing the job means you¡¯re the guilds¡¯ debt slave.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose the token,¡± murmured Amdirlain, eyeing the black gemstone with red veins on the counter. The colouration of it weighed on her mind, balanced against the pendant the plinth had gifted her. Amdirlain didn¡¯t need to push with Precognition to feel the chasm she¡¯d step up to and the depth of disaster that could lay ahead. The suggestion of using a Class Amdirlain already had seemed so logical for Sarah¡ªwith her now having the same regard for the law Farhad had once possessed¡ªbut for Amdirlain it could spell disaster, and she scrambled for a way to turn her path and still achieve her goal here. ¡°The Efreeti with the broken horn will have a work assignment for you. You¡¯ll have to complete it to confirm your membership,¡± declared Feindil. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Does he have a name we should use when addressing him?¡± ¡°He¡¯s the novice master of this post until you¡¯ve proven your worth to the guild; address him as Sayidi,¡± replied Feindil, motioning to the door. Polyglot translated the word¡¯s meaning as my lord, and the connotations decided things for Amdirlain¡ªshe would not risk being under another¡¯s command. Amdirlain set to work, the first theme concealing the usual creation glow from everyone. With that in place, Amdirlain pushed hard and kept the songs silent even as she spoke. Despite her words to Sarah, she''d focused on Torm¡¯s capture and had almost risked losing herself. ¡°I¡¯d like to enquire if it''s possible to petition the guild for a particular job,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Really?¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°Petition us for what?¡± snapped Feindil, his tone acidic with suspicion. ¡°Whether someone can perform a delivery job. The issue is, I don¡¯t have the recipient''s name, but I can tell you about the petitions they requested the guild to undertake. So I''d like the guild to identify them from its records and deliver my gift the next time they hire the guild.¡± "Something poisonous or explosive, perhaps?" probed Feindil. "Not at all. They helped me in the past, but I can''t contact them. If I had other options to get in touch, I wouldn¡¯t have approached the guild. However, honour demands I repay the debt," clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure the grand Efreeti guild masters can understand undertaking something they are bound to do. Besides this gift to consider my unusual request, I would provide a considerable fee for privacy and completion of the delivery.¡± [Diplomacy [J] (22->23)] Amdirlain held up a hand to clasp the sword she¡¯d been creating in midair. Her touch dispelled the concealment, and a massive falchion appeared in her grip. Along the mithril blade¡¯s length were runes set within the metal, and Amdirlain heard Feindil¡¯s Mana Sense register their existence. The heated air around the blade turned into a mist and, as the cooling vapours wreathed it, the air plunged a score of degrees. [Crafting Summary (Category: Martial Weapon) - experience by item grade: Masterwork Great Falchion of Icy Bursts: 18,730 = 500 (base) + 400 (rare material) + 17, 830 (enchantment rating: +3,566 (success)) Total Experience gained: 18,730 Ostim?: +9,365 Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Ont?lin: +9,365] Feindil reclaimed the bloodstones and placed them into a container beneath the counter. As they plunged from the bottom of the container, Amdirlain heard the enchantment within them dissolve. The sound was still echoing when he teleported away, and Sarah eyed Amdirlain meaningfully. ¡°It''s not just the result?¡± murmured Sarah mentally. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°It''s the path you take that matters.¡± ¡°It would have pushed your skills up,¡± grumped Sarah. ¡°There are other places and ways to do that, and I wouldn¡¯t be killing to benefit an unknown cause,¡± countered Amdirlain, keeping it a purely mental exchange. A buzzing Message whispered its content to the young Efreeti at the door. Even as the speaker told him to guard the door and keep others away from the guests in the foyer, he stuck his head through the beaded curtain. One look at the sword glowing in her grip and he slowly backed out again. ¡°There are beings in the City of Brass that we can help while we¡¯re here¡ªand who deserve such help,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°Try to be subtle.¡± ¡°There you go, compromise,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she rested the sword''s tip against the stone floor, the sudden heat shift causing the ground to crack. ¡°But let''s see what the meeting brings.¡± It was three hours before the inner door opened, and the pair heard the outer guard shoo other visitors on their way several times. Within the outpost, a flurry of steadily stronger songs arrived and departed. Each spent only a few minutes looking at a scrying mirror within the inner chamber, but detection spells sometimes brushed across the waiting pair. The strength of the sword¡¯s enchantment elicited a growing mixture of fear and greed from each new group. At last, an arrival showed up that didn¡¯t just use the chamber¡¯s facilities, but took command of it completely. Amdirlain heard a trio of Efreeti push all the occupants out a concealed exit, and furnishings were rapidly displaced before a more extensive group arrived. The song from the central figure washed the themes of the rest into a mere background noise that didn¡¯t even collectively match his own. The clacking of sturdy bolts preceded the inner door swinging open to reveal a massive Efreeti, clad in brass armour, whose song was alive. Stepping to one side, he swept an arm out to beckon them in. ¡°Pitiful mortals, the Ash Prince himself will see you now. Best you explain yourself promptly for disturbing his day.¡± The advance guard had pushed aside or tipped workbenches and furnishings over to clear a space in the centre for a seated Efreeti and a score of guards that circled the chamber. The guards were equipped with elaborately enchanted mithril armour, and each stood with a falchion at the ready. A large muscular Efreeti sat on a gem-inlaid brass chair in the centre of the room. His crimson skin contrasted with his minimal black attire, clad only in a waist sash, silken pants, and curl-toed boots; he seemed like a genie from a storybook and was without horns of any size. [Name: Hatim Ibn al-Razin Species: Elder Efreeti Class: Wish Binder / Sword Tyrant / Pyroclast / Inferno Levels: 97 / 96/ 96/ 94 / 94 Health: 2,982,074 Defence: 8,280 Magic: 4,706 Mana: 28,109,237 Melee Attack Power: 7,032 Combat Skills: Sword-Lord [GM] (72), Flame-Tyrant [GM] (23) - Various affinities, multiple Spell lists Details: A distant relative of the Grand Sultan, he has achieved his position in the assassin¡¯s guild council through personal power. His title was passed on to him through the death of his predecessor on the council. Unlike typical promotions, it occurred on the sands of the Circus of Pain during a personal duel to settle a dispute between them.] [Analysis [S] (26->27)] [Wish Binder Details: Efreeti-specific Tier 5 Prestige Class gained by combining the evolved base classes Sultan¡¯s Champion and Arcane Blade.] [Sword Tyrant: Details: Tier 5 Prestige Class gained by combining the Gladiator and Sultana¡¯s Champion evolved base classes.] [Pyroclast: Details: This Tier 5 Prestige Class is gained by combining the evolved base classes Elementalist and Inferno after previously gaining a Prestige Class that included Inferno.] While the initial Analysis had left questions, the details of the Prestige classes confirmed that the Efreeti also had access to a transformation-type effect that caused the classes to combine into his species. [Elder Efreeti: Details: Having compressed their essence three times, even a brand new Elder Efreeti stands high among the Grand Sultan¡¯s servants. Note: What? Orh¨ºthurin put the effect in place for the dragons, and you¡¯re giving me some serious side-eye for allowing the option to some elemental creatures and outsiders? Few survive the process, and most of these guys kill each other off¡ªthey¡¯re literally in cutthroat competition with each other.] ¡°Why were you trying to join via deception and now offering such a weapon?¡± asked Hatim. Amdirlain glanced at the guard that ushered them in. ¡°I¡¯m uncertain of the etiquette; do I address the Prince directly or speak through one of you?¡± ¡°You aren¡¯t important enough for me to be bothered with etiquette; address me directly, foreigner,¡± declared Hatim. ¡°Your Highness, I was uncertain if what I wanted to achieve was acceptable for someone not in the guild. Others suggested that if I earned enough rank, I might earn the right to enquire within the guild for the information I sought,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It also had the benefit that I wouldn¡¯t need to pay such a prize.¡± ¡°Did you intend all along to betray the guild?¡± ¡°Betrayal of the guild wasn¡¯t my intent. If I joined as I had planned, I would have undertaken the work, but standing in the foyer of this modest outpost, I felt it was not the right approach. I considered the time it would take to earn enough status to make such an information request directly, and in doing so, I felt opportunities to repay the debt slipping past.¡± ¡°From the details on your record, it doesn¡¯t seem as if you have strength enough to keep that blade,¡± declared Hatim. Amdirlain gave a grim smile. ¡°Your Highness, appearances can deceive; the blade exists because I enchanted it. But so far, I¡¯ve proven better at killing than creating.¡± Dropping the concealments around the Lady of Butchery, she let her aura out again. Unlike the guard and the scurrying civil servants, Hatim didn¡¯t pale. The honour guard around him clasped their hilts tighter, but Hatim stilled their move to attack. ¡°The sale of such elemental weapons in the City of Brass is illegal,¡± advised Hatim. ¡°Yet, I¡¯m not selling it; it¡¯s a gift of thanks being offered to the guild for considering my enquiry,¡± observed Amdirlain innocently. ¡°After all, the petitioner isn¡¯t the one to set the price.¡± ¡°Very true; present the gift to my guard,¡± instructed Hatim, and he gestured to the same guard who¡¯d bid them enter. Amdirlain casually spun the sword, so its tip nearly cut into the floor before she presented the hilt to the indicated Efreeti. Though he eyed her suspiciously, the guard clasped his hand around the hilt while carefully keeping his fingers clear of her spiked gauntlets. As it exchanged hands, the blade¡¯s frost stayed away from the guard¡¯s flesh but cooled the surrounding air. The resonance of the enchantments rippled across the guard¡¯s skin, and Amdirlain saw him frown in surprise at the magical energies. ¡°Your Highness, its touch is painful; the enchantment must be flawed,¡± complained the guard. Hatim''s gaze flickered between the blade and the guard. ¡°What do you have to say to that?¡± ¡°Your Highness doesn¡¯t need the strongest guards, given your strength. Yet I suggest you need a stronger guard to test it; its enchantment is beyond the reach of some Grand Masters,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. The guard swung the blade with lightning speed, but Amdirlain moved faster. A long step took her inside his reach, and she swept him off his feet. She yanked, keeping her hand coiled around his grasp, and the sword and two fingers came free. The guard¡¯s attempt to lift himself aloft allowed Amdirlain¡¯s kick to drive him into the wall with enough force to fracture the stonework. The sword and the guard¡¯s gauntleted fingers stayed within her grip. ¡°You need stronger guards to properly wield what I make.¡± Not liking the acquisitive expression Hatim directed her way, Amdirlain followed Gail¡¯s approach to let him make a wrong assumption. Stowing the sword, she teleported to the guard and blocked his pitiful attempts to disengage with a speed that was far above his own. Around them, the other guards had barely started repositioning themselves when the skirmish was over. Though she was aware that the Prince¡¯s gaze followed every move she¡¯d made. Amdirlain¡¯s grip had tightened around the guard¡¯s throat, and she pressed him against the wall. His attempts to break free ended when her hand began to blaze with golden light and the guard¡¯s wound sealed. The Ki¡¯s light fully illuminated the chamber, and the guard''s eyes widened in surprise when her touch washed his pain away. With the healing complete, Amdirlain returned to where she¡¯d started. ¡°I don¡¯t know what game you¡¯re playing here, Celestial, but the Grand Sultan doesn¡¯t like your kind meddling in his city,¡± warned Hatim. ¡°Then best we form an agreement, so I don¡¯t have to linger,¡± countered Amdirlain, bringing the sword back out in a deceptive, unprepared grip. While the guards relaxed at her stance, the Prince¡¯s posture coiled to leap from the chair. ¡°Who do you serve?¡± ¡°My values,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Your Highness, might I ask what you were told about my request? It seems strange that your august personage came here to tend to a simple enquiry about whether a petition was permissible, regardless of what gift I offered.¡± Hatim scowled. ¡°Why so lavish and dangerous a gift?¡± ¡°Lavish?¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she motioned to the sword with her free hand. ¡°It¡¯s a trinket that is only dangerous in strong enough hands. I hoped it would be enough to catch the attention of this outpost¡¯s supervisor, not to bring someone so esteemed to such a squalid location. Though I¡¯m aware that tales grow in the telling.¡± Her words had Hatim tapping on the arm of his chair, and he glanced at the guard next to him. ¡°The exact words you were told.¡± The guard cleared his throat and announced in a booming voice. ¡°The guild leader said: a foreign candidate has tried to join, but their deceptive intentions were revealed. They now offer a dangerous prize for a breach of the guild rules.¡± ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ve already cleared up that I voluntarily went from trying to join to enquiring whether a particular petition was permitted. Or did you have further questions there?¡± ¡°What was your request before it became distorted in such a fashion?¡± ¡°I enquired if a gift could be delivered to an individual whose identity is in the guild¡¯s records. I assured the clerk the object isn¡¯t dangerous; rather, it was intended to thank the individual for past deeds that left me in their debt. I didn¡¯t even ask to be told anything about them. The gift would be enough to prompt the individual to get in touch so I¡¯d know when the job was completed,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she motioned to the ring of guards. ¡°This seems to have been blown far out of proportion to that enquiry.¡± [Diplomacy [J] (23->24)] ¡°A complex way to get in touch with someone,¡± commented Hatim. ¡°Many find debts of honour important,¡± insisted Amdirlain, and she motioned to the sword again. ¡°This was a gift intended to progress my enquiry with all speed so that I might ensure my debt could be discharged.¡± Hatim rhythmically tapped his fingers on the chair¡¯s arm again, and Amdirlain heard his detection spells touch the weapon in her hand. ¡°Two identical swords with an enchantment of magma or flames would be a suitable gift for my time today,¡± stated Hatim. ¡°What was the nature of the petitions that were conducted?¡± ¡°A series of deliveries to an information broker in The Exchange and hiring him to undertake some work for the petition,¡± explained Amdirlain. Hatim nodded. ¡°After the gifts arrive, we can discuss your enquiry and a suitable fee. Come with any further details of the petitions performed for this mysterious individual, though such requests are likely unique enough. How many petitions were there?¡± ¡°Over thirty that I¡¯m aware of in the last score of years, all to the same broker, the Satyr Hybris. I¡¯ll need a few hours to arrange the delivery of the swords. When and where should I present them?¡± asked Amdirlain, not wanting to completely tip her hand. Her ready acceptance and confidence in her tone caused Hatim to blink. ¡°Deliver them to my palace when the consortium allows darkness to cloak the city again. That should allow you ten hours unless someone encourages them to alter its onset.¡± Amdirlain caught his gesture to the guard, who in turn shooed them from the chamber. At the gesture from the guard, Amdirlain bowed deeply to the Prince and left the sword on the ground. Slipping from the chamber, she did so without presenting her back to him. Only once they were climbing towards street level did Sarah say anything. ¡°Your lessons in diplomacy were showing.¡± ¡°Shocking, I can learn,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know where the Ash Prince¡¯s palace is located?¡± ¡°Nope, but it will be somewhere on the inner rings,¡± asserted Sarah. ¡°Who are the consortium?¡± ¡°Bunch of wizards,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°The Grand Sultan has them use ritual magic to cover the city sky in darkness every thirty hours so the Mortal foreigners can get some sleep. Been that way for a few million years since a visiting dignitary made it clear it would be better to let some Mortal foreigners get a restful sleep occasionally.¡± When they reached street level, Amdirlain paused in an alcove and masked the creation of the requested swords. She also created a set of old fashion merchant scales from mithril, protected from the heat with a crystal rod concealed within its sturdy base. ¡°You getting the feeling we¡¯ve walked this road before,¡± quipped Sarah when they started towards the city¡¯s interior. ¡°No black cat, so we¡¯re fine,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Keep an eye out for a guard we can risk annoying for directions¡ªmight be bad if we went to the wrong palace.¡± Though she made the statement aloud for observers, a melody already gave her a location. Not only had the Prince already returned there, but the wards protecting it were tied to him. It was hard to get more information on him despite the time listening to his song, the strength of power he channelled outstripping her own. 271 - Tread lightly Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - City of Brass Their trek back through the city streets had provided Amdirlain confirmation that operating in the city would lead her to disaster. The nature of the Efreeti wouldn¡¯t change, and she could already feel her growing anger and disgust. There weren¡¯t any alien circumstances or anything obscene, weird, or grossly horrific like she¡¯d encountered regularly in the Abyss. Instead, the situations were close to what she knew had occurred in mediaeval and recent Human history, yet their familiarity grated on her nerves. Thousands of enslaved people moved among the populace wearing collars of living brass, but enchantments tied into their souls prevented them from quickly, or perhaps ever, being free. Most of them bore brands, marking them as criminals of one kind or another, yet the criminal offence most bore was a debtor¡¯s mark from which they¡¯d never be free. Sarah took in Amdirlain¡¯s tight jawline as their path lead them into areas where groups of slaves worked in the sweltering heat. The protections infused in the collar prevented more vulnerable species from bursting into flame, but they didn¡¯t do enough to make life comfortable. The path took them to the second ring from the Grand Sultan¡¯s palace and around the city¡¯s far side. Before reaching their destination, the darkness Hatim had mentioned stretched across the city from the bowl¡¯s outer rim. Glimpses that Amdirlain caught of the process allowed her to identify the high towers anchoring the effect. ¡°Do they serve the Grand Sultan directly or are they hired for the task?¡± ¡°Hired. The consortium is a cabal of wizards from various species that provide all manner of magical services within the city,¡± explained Sarah as she glanced up at the canopy of darkness. ¡°If they worked directly for the Grand Sultan alone, no one would dare bribe them to alter the hours of darkness.¡± With their path pointing straight through the palace, Sarah steered them along the concourse of the second ring. The externals made of brass limited their appearance to such an extent that the golden structures blended even with the most complicated decorative features. They all flowed into the same gaudy excess, differentiated only by the crests above their main gates and across their guards¡¯ armour. There were no unstructured windows along the street front, but a meshwork of brass within arched window frames allowed those within to observe the street. The wards across each abode they passed seemed suspiciously consistent in both their power and capabilities¡ªdespite their differing creators. Given the extent of Wizard songs Amdirlain heard traversing the street¡ªsome even among the guards¡ªit was likely regulations that capped the wards¡¯ capacity. ¡°Kilometres of McMansions,¡± Amdirlain deadpanned. The Ash Prince¡¯s palace was almost indistinguishable from the rest of the decadent abodes on the street. Amdirlain took in the strength and details of the wards, and it was clear that while their control lay with Hatim, he hadn¡¯t created them. The study she had put in while they¡¯d approached had detected nothing that would constrain a being of her nature from physically entering or departing. Along with hampering magical or psionic attacks, they prevented anyone from teleporting into or within the wards unless they had a ward stone. The pair of Efreeti on duty at the front eyed them assessingly but didn¡¯t object when they approached the gate. ¡°You¡¯re to go around the back, where all deliveries and servants arrive.¡± ¡°Is that your decision or the Ash Prince¡¯s?¡± purred Sarah. ¡°Sounds like a power play you¡¯re not qualified to make to me.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re here with gifts and a petition and aren¡¯t servants, the rear entrance doesn¡¯t seem the correct place. Unless your statement was incorrect,¡± observed Amdirlain, and she almost let one of the new falchions appear in her hand. ¡°Or you could tell the Ash Prince you turned away the gift of masterwork blades he¡¯s currently expecting?¡± ¡°Prove it,¡± snapped the closest guard. ¡°Should I display one here in the street where his rivals would immediately know of it?¡± sneered Amdirlain. ¡°You were alerted to expect us, so why don¡¯t you stop the power games? I¡¯ll walk away and let you explain why your Prince doesn¡¯t have the swords I¡¯ve ready to gift him.¡± ¡°He told us we could bring the gifts after the onset of darkness. However, he didn¡¯t specify which one; perhaps we should return next year,¡± suggested Sarah. Amdirlain looked the guard over like he was a bug to squish, and she let the murderous aura crawl over her skin. ¡°Tell your Prince it might be in a century since you¡¯re so ready to waste my time.¡± ¡°Get out of their way,¡± ordered the other guard, and he tried to force his colleague to step aside. ¡°In the name of the Ash Prince, Hatim Ibn al-Razin, we bid you welcome to his palace.¡± Sarah glanced between the two guards and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯d say we leave; Hatim must not be as strong as we believed if his gate guard will behave this way against his wishes. We should look to meet with another council member or the true head of the assassin¡¯s guild.¡± Raising a hand, Amdirlain flicked her fingers dismissively at the guards, and they both got out of her way. Only once they were completely clear of the gate did Amdirlain walk through, carefully monitoring the wards for any changes. They were halfway to the door when she caught the guards'' hissed exchange. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± The second guard gave a furious hiss. ¡°Imbecile. Fire giants can¡¯t emit such energy; she¡¯s a Dragon or something powerful just using the form of one. Your idiot cousin nearly got us both in trouble with the Prince because of his wounded pride.¡± Three paces from the massive front doors, a Human-sized pair pushed open the doors. Ash grey skin and blazing orange flames in place of hair, Amdirlain recognised them as Ifrit¡ªelemental half-breeds between a Mortal species and Efreeti. Despite being female, they wore only the same style of silken black pants Hatim had worn, though their pants were nearly transparent. The massive doors didn¡¯t move quickly, and the effort highlighted their trained muscularity. The pair stopped and bowed elaborately when the doors had been opened far enough for Amdirlain and Sarah to enter. The gesture contained far more grace than Amdirlain had seen from the guards. ¡°Prince al-Razin awaits; follow us promptly.¡± ¡°Lead the way,¡± commanded Amdirlain, and she waved for them to move ahead. With that, the pair turned on their heels and strode away at a near jog past lines of other similarly clad Ifrit that stood at attention along the foyer¡¯s wall. The pair were obviously experienced guides, used to dealing with individuals far taller than themselves. The pace they set had them at a jog but allowed Amdirlain to stride behind at a relaxed pace without the risk of catching at their heels. Leading the way through a series of elaborately decorated passages and rooms, Amdirlain noticed neither looked back. They did, however, discreetly monitor Sarah and Amdirlain in the multitude of reflective surfaces available. Arriving at a pair of burnished doors, they pushed them open effortlessly and, stepping into the room, held them open long enough for the pair to enter. Beyond was a sizeable receiving room, some eighty by a hundred metres wide. The left side was a solid wall with gem-studded decorative patterns, while the right was a series of horseshoe arches opening into a courtyard. A pair of guards secured each of the ten arches standing back to back, one focused on the empty yard and sky, while the other¡¯s attention stayed within the room. At the far end was a platform with five high-backed chairs arrayed in a semi-circle facing the door. The Ash Prince Hatim occupied the central chair, while another Efreeti sat in a chair to his right. While most of the Efreeti they¡¯d seen so far were clean-shaven, this individual wore a long braided goatee that reached his lower chest. Like Hatim, he was also without horns, making him only the second without them Amdirlain had seen. While most of the guards appeared to ignore their presence, one standing at the front right edge of the platform stared at them. He was the only guard equipped with a falchion, and he already had it drawn with the point directed towards the ceiling. The frost blade sat prominently displayed on a rack perpendicular to the platform with space for three more blades. Amdirlain was more interested in the seated Efreeti and checked with Analysis. [Name: Sufyan Ibn al-Razin Species: Elder Efreeti Class: Pyroclast / Planar Visionary / Greater Oracle / Grand Seer Levels: 92 / 92 / 92 / 91 / 91 Health: 982,074 Defence: 4,280 Magic: 12,280 Mana: 98,645,952 Melee Attack Power: 3,032 Combat Skills: Short Blade [M] (24), Flame-Tyrant [GM] (105) - Various affinities, multiple Spell lists Details: Older brother of the Ash Prince, his brother¡¯s drive to advance dragged him from his studies in the Grand Sultan¡¯s academy. He stays out of the council¡¯s politics unless matters come up that would interfere with his business enterprises.] ¡°The Prince will receive your gifts.¡± When they were still ten metres from the platform, their escort spread out further before they stopped and turned to face each other. Taking her cue from where the pair halted, Amdirlain stopped and disabled the traps the location set them under. Her approach didn¡¯t challenge the creator¡¯s skill but wrapped them up in a Lingering Song that blocked their ability to detect the trigger. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. ¡°Brother, have they explained what purpose brings a Fallen and a Diamond Dragon to work together?¡± asked Sufyan. Amdirlain mentally cursed Sufyan¡¯s delicate touch, not having picked up on any detection spells amid the background hum of the enchantments and more obvious traps. ¡°Fallen?¡± repeated Hatim, not taking his gaze from Amdirlain. ¡°She demonstrated a healing power I took to be Celestial in nature¡ªit had their golden light.¡± ¡°Some Fallen do retain abilities that can appear to be still Celestial in nature,¡± acknowledged Sufyan. ¡°Quite extraordinary concealments, and I get no thoughts broadcast from her mind. Since gem dragons are dangerously skilled at using psionics, that could be her companion¡¯s doing.¡± Hatim looked as if he¡¯d bitten into something sour. ¡°Well, Fallen, what plot brings you to the City of Brass?¡± ¡°Your Highness, what I told you before was true¡ªI¡¯m looking to repay a debt. Does our purpose matter as long as we¡¯re not breaking Efreeti laws or the guild laws on petitions?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I expect you¡¯ll find the individual I¡¯m trying to contact is a foreigner.¡± ¡°You expect?¡± queried Sufan, glancing at Hatim. ¡°They used the guild to contact the broker at The Exchange, but I don¡¯t know how many layers they used to isolate themselves,¡± admitted Amdirlain. She caught a peak of interest in Hatim¡¯s music, though his expression was unchanging. Another precaution came to Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and she quickly composed a variation of the detection music. Hafim nodded. ¡°You are dealing with a careless individual if only the guild and a broker separate him from a deed. Did you forge the blade or just enchant it?¡± ¡°Both,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There was no maker''s mark on the blade. This isn¡¯t a problem, but the absence made me curious. It¡¯s not the best blade I¡¯ve ever possessed, but the strength of the enchantment more than compensates for the balance,¡± critiqued Hatim. ¡°Might I examine a blade you consider better, Prince Hatim?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± Curious to hear the weapon¡¯s song, Amdirlain gave him the truth. ¡°I¡¯ve only made a few falchions. As you said, the enchantment more than compensates, but I prefer to improve, not sit idle. Studying one you consider better would aid my learning to match the expectation of a master of the weapon.¡± ¡°Why should I grant you such a favour?¡± asked Hatim suspiciously, his posture tightening into a ready coil ¡°So if I ever make you more weapons, they are to a higher standard. If you are concerned about tampering, I won¡¯t need to handle the blade. Watching someone perform simple techniques would improve my next sword,¡± allowed Amdirlain. Hatim grunted. ¡°You would not be the first individual that tried to tamper with a sword under the guise of examination. You truly believe that a distant examination would be sufficient?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it worth the chance of a better blade if we¡¯ve reason to do business again?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she motioned to the space before the Prince¡¯s dais. ¡°They don¡¯t even have to come close; just perform where I can see their hands and examine their posture to determine the shifting of its weight.¡± Hatim relaxed slightly and beckoned to their escort. ¡°Have the captain attend. His blade will be a sufficient trial to see if you can tell what you did wrong. We should agree on a penalty for wasting my time if you can¡¯t.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll not pay you a fee for something that will aid you and that I can gain from another for nothing. Especially ?since an evaluation would be subjective, a true masterpiece requires it to be balanced for an individual¡¯s reach and style. If you don¡¯t waste my time, I might enchant future blades¡ªthough not today¡¯s gifts¡ªto allow their wielder to determine their balance,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Though given the lavish view you had of my trinkets, it would depend on the fee we agree to and the success of my petition.¡± Hatim¡¯s bark of laughter froze the escort before they reached the door. ¡°Come back, little ones. It seems we have a bold Fallen. Yet she has no storage device nor sheaths, so tell me, where are the gifts you promised, bold one?¡± ¡°Appearances can deceive,¡± Amdirlain replied, and she retrieved the blades, letting each appear balanced on a fingertip beneath their crosspieces. The enchantment within them still activated, sheathing the swords in white-hot flames. ¡°Should I place them on the rack or leave them on the floor again?¡± Even as he cast one detection Spell after another at the blades, Sufyan murmured to Hatim. ¡°The same again with these, and they¡¯re not a normal fiery blade.¡± ¡°The enchantment¡¯s strength influences its flames,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I was asked for two blades whose enchantment was equal to the ice blade I presented. Did you have a particular question about the blades?¡± ¡°Like the other, there is no maker¡¯s mark or signature within the enchantment,¡± reported Sufyan. ¡°You are interesting, Fallen. These are the first enchanted blades I¡¯ve seen where the maker left no impression. There are no tool marks of any kind, mithril native to this Plane, and the enchantments are all tied to here and set to weaken upon entering the Material Plane.¡± ¡°That limits their usefulness in conquest,¡± critiqued Hatim. ¡°Then you should be careful what you request when you ask for particular gifts; the same restriction is on that blade,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she nodded to the frost blade. ¡°I simply brought those that matched it in fiery power.¡± Hatim hissed. ¡°You should be careful of the games you play.¡± ¡°That is indeed sound advice,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she floated the blades out of her hands and had them spin in the air to either side. ¡°Thank you for your concern; I¡¯m sure all should take such wisdom to heart.¡± ¡°One hundred bars of mithril for your petition,¡± declared Hatim. ¡°One steel bar,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Do you jest?¡± snapped Hatim. ¡°Only as much as you do,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she released the small merchant scales onto the floor at her feet. The gleaming mithril device didn¡¯t even weigh twenty kilograms, including the tiny weights hanging on its holder inlaid with crystals to show their weight. ¡°That is what I want to gift the issuer of the petitions in question. Honestly, a bar of steel is likely overpaying. The petition is simple: hold on to the scales until the same individual who commissioned a series of previous petitions involving the broker Hybris contacts the guild. Then these scales need to be given to them¡ªobviously with the scales intact and without tampering.¡± Amdirlain added the new detection song to the crystal within the scales as she spoke. When it settled into place, she heard everyone in the chamber¡ªexcept Sarah and herself¡ªget tagged, and reports fire off to the targeted memory crystal. Hatim shot Amdirlain a sceptical look. ¡°What purpose does this serve?¡± ¡°It''s a weighing device, and I have a debt that I want to balance with them. Its purpose is entirely symbolic, but you¡¯ll find no tool marks and no signature within the minimal enchantments inside them. Those factors will confirm it is from me, and they¡¯ll know to get in touch,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can see why the gifts themselves might be considered more than sufficient, and indeed extravagant, by many.¡± ¡°We should let the rest of the guild¡¯s council know of his greed; they¡¯ll wonder how sticky his fingers have become,¡± suggested Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged at the possibility. ¡°Your time is valuable, and I can appreciate that should factor into things. For yourself, this matter is indeed trivial, but I didn¡¯t request them to disturb you. The guild leaders escalated this matter to your attention because of the first gift. Success will certainly factor into any further dealing we might have.¡± [Diplomacy [J] (24->25)] ¡°One mithril bar,¡± insisted Hatim. ¡°Agreed,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and she concealed the rapid creation of a mithril slab behind her and shaved off a 24-gram bar before she stored the rest. ¡°After you have someone confirm they can identify the petitioner I seek, I¡¯ll make the payment.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already identified the petitioner, though there were forty-six petitions addressed to The Exchange by the individual,¡± stated Sufyan. Amdirlain let the tiny bar appear on the ground beside the scale. ¡°One bar of mithril; it''s enough to make a ring.¡± Hatim roared with laughter. ¡°You are indeed bold, Fallen.¡± ¡°If I hear from them, I¡¯ll send another gift,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°If it takes too long, it will make me wonder if the guild accepted the petition and intended to break its bond.¡± Her words didn¡¯t stop Hatim¡¯s laughter. As his brother was lost in his laughter, Sufyan motioned to a guard. ¡°See this pair out. I¡¯ll register this petition.¡± Hatim was still laughing when the door of the audience chamber closed behind them. Amdirlain warned Sarah this time, and they¡¯d just stepped out onto the street when the first Planar Shift swept them away. A series of rapid shifts bounced them between locations, sometimes even on the same Plane, before they finally stopped in the Outlands. Sarah let out a relieved sigh. ¡°Paranoia is healthy when it''s not paranoia.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s not always known threats that do the most damage,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll stay away from the City of Brass for now. I¡¯d want to go there mainly to free the slaves, but the collars they use aren¡¯t easily broken.¡± ¡°Plenty of places you already know about that you can find trouble in,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Not that I had a chance to get to know this place,¡± stated Amdirlain. It had been decades since Amdirlain had last seen the town of Xaos, but it hadn¡¯t changed. Built into the side of a hill with expansive terraces leading up to a central keep that hosted the portal to Limbo. The upper floors of most structures gave a clear view of the surrounding fields, unobstructed by any outer walls. The construction incorporated a wide variety of materials and, while wood and stone were common, many appeared grown. Others were far more exotic, having living or automated walls continually in motion. Those showed the most significant variations: bees, tinted water, liquid metals, growing crystals, mists, and stranger materials. The common theme between every building was that there wasn¡¯t a straight line in sight; instead, they were all composed of circles, arcs, waves, and spirals; even the roads and pathways weren¡¯t straight but rather crescents and curves following the topography. The town¡¯s inhabitants varied as wildly as the buildings, and while many appeared Human or Elven, others were far odder. From horse-sized talking insectoids to beast-kin of a hundred furred species and more, living relatively cooperatively. Whoever sponsored the maintenance of the fortifications around the one constant Portal to Limbo left the township to govern itself. With the wind causing the grass around them to sway, Sarah reached down to pluck a long strand and strip its outer layers away as she considered the location. ¡°Are you planning to homestead if they don¡¯t let you within the wards?¡± ¡°I could build an inn a day¡¯s walk out along the road,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°From memory, you¡¯ll find there is already one there, just hidden by a dozen or so kilometres of trees,¡± countered Sarah. She waved to where the barely visible dirt road cut its way through ripe grain fields and disappeared into the thick forest. ¡°Unless it¡¯s been destroyed and not replaced.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try the town, the wards aren¡¯t strong enough to get through my concealments,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯ve no idea what their rules are around buying or building structures. The place doesn¡¯t look to have changed, so I doubt they get many new buildings going up.¡± Sarah sighed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t a local individual strong enough to detect your energies, even if you don¡¯t give yourself away. An entryway into Limbo isn¡¯t the biggest drawcard; they might be suspicious when they find out you plan to settle down.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll play it carefully and try to keep my head down,¡± said Amdirlain with a broad smile. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll get a bartending job to practise my Diplomacy.¡± That suggestion earned a snicker from Sarah. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t get creative with cocktails again.¡± ¡°Since I¡¯ve no idea of the biology of most of the species, I¡¯ll take it softly,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Does Sufyan strike you as a hand behind Hatim¡¯s title?¡± ¡°Gideon¡¯s details made him seem more like a facilitator of his brother¡¯s ambition. Your Hidden state will make it hard for Sufyan to find you, but I¡¯m a bit worried about drawing attention to your projects,¡± commented Sarah, her tone losing amusement. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to keep you away from Sanctuary long; you¡¯re still progressing things with Gaius after all,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gently pulled Sarah into a reassuring hug. ¡°You take care; not like you can¡¯t message me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be so quick to shoo me towards him,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I can¡¯t go near Sanctuary unless you think Sufyan couldn¡¯t bypass the wards there. I¡¯ll have to head to Mechanus and talk to some folks about improving my protections, but I¡¯ll return as soon as possible. You said you wanted some time in the sun, but why here?¡± ¡°Two reasons: it''s the only Outlands town I¡¯ve seen, and I need time listening to the Portal to Limbo; I¡¯ve some projects in mind. I won¡¯t be here all the time, but I wanted somewhere not cut off to live.¡± Sarah hummed but eventually gave a curt nod before she headed off. When Sarah disappeared, Amdirlain headed towards a laneway that divided some of the closest grain fields. 272 - Strange company Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos As she walked towards the town, the stalks within the surrounding grain fields swayed in the breeze, but the orange crop wasn¡¯t anything she recognised. The maturity in their song and the harvesting activity in fields closer to the town told her all she needed to know about the crops'' state. Renewing her aura¡¯s concealments, Amdirlain walked towards the town at a slow, gliding pace. Having returned to her usual Wood Elf form during their transition to the Outlands, Amdirlain endeavoured to maintain a kata-like flow rather than the sexy strut she knew Femme Fatale could add. Those around the harvesting wagons were a mixture of races but primarily a bipedal rodent-like species. They looked like lean grey rats from the tips of their furry ears, sharp muzzled faces, and thin pink tails that protruded from their rugged pants. They ranged in height from 130 to 150 centimetres, but their large pointed ears were at least ten centimetres of that tally. Their feet and hands looked proportionally large for their bodies and ended in clawed digits, callused pads, and chipped claws. Scores of the Ratkin workers moved between those harvesting and the wagons, their quick pace outstripping other workers. The giant reptilian humanoids that worked alongside the rats possessed the blunted snout of a Komodo dragon and greenish-grey scales but, unlike the rats, each wore only a belt around the waist. They''d spread out ahead of the pack and walked the rows wielding large scythes, and the others followed in their wake, dividing the work of bundling and carrying between them. As Amdirlain drew near, a Ratkin with silver fur lining his muzzle and a recurve bow in his hands, came forward to meet her. ¡°Thanks for not walking through the fields, traveller. Are you destined for Xaos or somewhere else?¡± His words were a series of chittering squeaks and clicks, but Polyglot translated the meaning effortlessly. ¡°I thought to stay for a time in Xaos. Who would I speak to about accommodations, to rent or buy?¡± enquired Amdirlain. The Ratkin¡¯s ears came fully upright and his whiskers twitched. ¡°The buildings of Xaos are for those who¡¯ve added to the community. You¡¯ll find that any of the Inns typically have rooms to spare; I couldn¡¯t say what arrangement they might offer for a longer-term patron.¡± ¡°I appreciate the information. Is there a workboard or person to speak to about what things the community needs to be done?¡± persisted Amdirlain. His nostrils flared, and he tilted his head one way and the other in consideration before answering. ¡°Matters get raised on council meeting nights, or the keep¡¯s guards spread the word when things are more urgent. Given all the scents and lack of others you have about you, that¡¯s all I¡¯ll say.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve hopped about a bit recently,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°I hope the rest of your day goes well. Might I keep following this laneway, or should I return to the last junction?¡± ¡°You¡¯re free to pass, Elf-who-is-not-an-Elf,¡± stated the Ratkin. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Might I ask how you can tell?¡± The Ratkin''s muzzle crinkled again as he took another sniff. ¡°Your flesh smells like an Elf, but you¡¯ve no scent of sweat, urine, or shit about you or your clothing that matches your flesh¡¯s scent. No Elf I¡¯ve met grooms well enough to get rid of those completely, but since they¡¯re scent blind, they never notice.¡± ¡°You can call me Am,¡± replied Amdirlain, noting to factor scent markers into future disguises. The Ratkin gave a snorting squeak. ¡°If we need to speak again, I¡¯ll see if I remember it.¡± With that, he stepped aside and motioned for her to pass. Amdirlain gave a respectful nod and continued along the lane; avoiding the loaders, she quickly reached cleared fields. The laneway eventually butted up against an open grazing area before a series of marker stones that curved along the hillside''s base. With the energy of the ward a dome over the town, Amdirlain turned and headed for the larger rocks on either side of the dirt road. Though Mana Sense had displayed the ward¡¯s strength the last time she visited, the song made it clear nothing Mortal had set these protections in place. The positioned stones formed an alternation in the barrier that recognised those who passed between them as guests as long as they made no move against the town. Details that Mana Sense hadn¡¯t revealed became clear, but the restrictions they set in place were few. Their primary concern was preventing large-scale attacks against the keep, the Portal, and their surroundings. Pausing by the market¡¯s edge, Amdirlain took in the trade occurring; the coinage exchanged being weighed and checked at each stall and a value offered on metal purity. Given that she saw very few coins that shared the exact same origin, let alone shape, it made sense though it was one step removed from barter. The stall closest to her had lengths of fabric on display, but all dyed the same bright orange regardless of whether they had a velvet or burlap texture. Within them was a theme that seemed alien to the Plane and salted with Chaos, leading Amdirlain to assume they¡¯d arrived by a caravan from Limbo. Perched on a high stool behind the counter, a mouse the size of a four-year-old Human with fur patterned like a tortoiseshell cat sat back on her haunches, a frilly white shopkeeper¡¯s apron neatly tied around her waist. The moment Amdirlain stepped close, the mouse¡¯s whiskers perked up. ¡°Could you direct me to the inn closest to the keep?¡± asked Amdirlain. Her whiskers slowly sagged, and the mouse waved a paw towards the hill¡¯s peak. ¡°Follow the main road until it brings the keep into direct sight, then take the first left instead of going on to the keep, big white building. You can¡¯t miss it. Are you in need of any cloth?¡± Amdirlain kept a straight face as she looked over the bright array. ¡°Do you normally only have one hue?¡± ¡°The first cloth delivery in months and it''s all Chaos touched, so it won¡¯t dye properly until it fades,¡± grumbled the mouse. ¡°Any colour you¡¯d prefer it to be?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°To thank you for the directions.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t magic it different colours either,¡± explained the mouse, and gave an exasperated chitter. ¡°Pick a colour and a bolt. If I fail, I¡¯ll buy the lot myself,¡± offered Amdirlain. The mouse almost pointed at a rich velvet cloth but gestured towards a cotton-like one instead. ¡°A leaf green that matches your eyes.¡± Chaos Shaping let Amdirlain tap into the residual energy within the cloth; caught within the grasp of her Willpower, the colour was forced to change. The orange disappeared in a rush, but Amdirlain continued pushing until the shaping had consumed the remaining power. ¡°No Mana? How?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent some time in Limbo and received instruction in Chaos Shaping,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It will take a dye now that the energy is consumed.¡± The mouse squealed in delight and danced happily atop the stool. ¡°Thank you kindly. May your day go well.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d only do one; that was just an example,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Pick the colour for each bolt, it won¡¯t take me long.¡± The mouse pointed at the velvet. ¡°Sky blue.¡± ¡°Just go through and tell me all the colours you want, and then I can do it in one go,¡± suggested Amdirlain. The mouse¡¯s gaze went wide, and she tapped her claws together, her whiskers twitching excitedly. Hopping onto the countertop, she skipped between the bolts, rattling off the colours as she pointed or patted each. A minute after the mouse finished naming the last colour, the stall was a rainbow of hues, and Amdirlain gave her a wave before she went to depart. ¡°What should I call you, traveller?¡± asked the mouse before Amdirlain had lowered her hand. ¡°Am will do fine,¡± replied Amdirlain. The mouse patted a bolt of velvet that was now a royal purple. ¡°My name¡¯s Trill. You can take that one with you, one called Am.¡± ¡°I was happy to help, and you gave me directions,¡± declined Amdirlain. ¡°I hope your sales improve.¡± Though the mouse chittered a further protest, Amdirlain set off weaving through the busy market. Following the mouse¡¯s instructions, Amdirlain followed the main road as it curved through the town. When the keep came into sight, she swept Resonance with a narrow focus through the hillside¡¯s depths and caught the Portal¡¯s connection to the chaotic Plane of Limbo. Though they¡¯d wrapped it in numerous wards, it was distinct enough that she¡¯d be able to study it from a distance. Satisfied with what she¡¯d found, Amdirlain proceeded towards the inn. Trill¡¯s description of it as a big white building didn¡¯t do the inn justice, as it stood out among the exotic structures around her. The inn looked like someone had poured a fluffy cloud into a glass box, and the only thing that broke up its appearance was its signboard and an oval wooden door. The signboard hovered above the doorway, unmoving in the day¡¯s breeze, and displayed an archway filled with purple light. While the front door was a simple wooden oval of golden oak laying on its side with no handle or seam in sight, it wasn¡¯t obvious how it opened. Using the excuse of its unusual appearance, Amdirlain stood outside the inn studying its construction while Resonance let her delve into its inner wards. The soft white mist swirled and ebbed within the wall, and Amdirlain¡¯s gaze traced the patterns it formed within the precisely maintained walls of force. Finding nothing threatening within the wards, she pushed on the centre of the door, and it slid a few centimetres inwards before being drawn upwards into the wall. With only the lower crescent of the oval showing, Amdirlain considered the foyer that continued the fluffy, airy theme: solid white ceiling and walls, with a soft, deep pile rug of pure white that looked like an invitation for a child to spill a berry juice or stomp about with dirty feet. Behind an irregularly edged counter, a translucent humanoid figure barely glanced up from the wooden discs splayed across the surface. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. As she stepped inside, her feet sank into the rug, and it felt like stepping on a giant marshmallow. Though her boots had picked up dirt on the trek through fields, the rug¡¯s enchantment repelled the stains on her shoes and clothing back out the door. As Amdirlain closed the door, the figure slid another disc from a box that looked like a casino card dispenser and snorted before balancing the new disc across two already in the pattern. [Name: Wisp Species: Aerial Servant Class: Maid / Merchant Level: 10 / 10 Health: 160 Defence: 30 Melee Attack Power: 20 Combat Skill: Air Strike [B] (5) Details: Currently employed by the owner of the Blazing Portal in Xaos, Wisp was summoned to the Outlands when newly manifested within the Elemental Plane of Air; they¡¯ve been finding the entertainments of fleshy folk addictive.] Amdirlain moved to the counter across from Wisp and looked over the asymmetrical pattern burnt onto the back of each disc. ¡°Would it be possible to get a room?¡± ¡°Please close the door if you intend to stay; there is a handle on the inside at the bottom,¡± stated Wisp, her focus still on the discs when Amdirlain approached. ¡°I already did that.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s response caused the figure¡¯s shoulders to slump, and she received its full attention. ¡°Bother. Well, it''s also apparently possible to get the bottom layer of the tower to a twelve-grid without having to stack, but the best I¡¯ve managed in weeks is this seven-by-eight grid. Do you think the playing guide is incorrect?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never played.¡± Setting the box beside the pattern, Wisp reached beneath the desk and brought out a ledger. ¡°Do you wish for a room to stay in for a time, or was your enquiry purely theoretical?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to rent a room for an extended stay.¡± ¡°How would you be paying for your stay?¡± Amdirlain carved a two-metre strip the width of her palm from the mithril slab she¡¯d stored and set it on the shimmering countertop without a word. The translucent figure¡¯s gaze lingered on the metal. ¡°Would you like that on your account for accommodation only, or do you want us to open a tab for the inn¡¯s food service as well?¡± ¡°I only need a room. Do you have one with plenty of sunlight?¡± ¡°The rooftop suite is available and provides a view in all directions from its windows. Yet even at its price, if that is pure mithril, you¡¯ll have it for hundreds of days.¡± Amdirlain divided the rest of the slab by putting down eight more equally sized strips. Wisp sighed and motioned to her game. ¡°I¡¯ll have to speak to the owner. Please wait, and don¡¯t let anyone advance the tower.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll guard it with their life,¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you, but please don¡¯t kill anyone inside the foyer; there is a limit to the stain resistance.¡± Nothing in Wisp¡¯s appearance gave away if it was simply going along with Amdirlain''s joke. Before Amdirlain could ask if they¡¯d had trouble in the past, it disappeared through an open section in the rear of the foyer¡¯s ceiling. Only a few minutes passed before a rush of air sped through the opening, supporting the descent of a voluptuous female Elf with albino skin, red eyes, and raven-hued hair with silvery motes. Her full curves were constrained within the nearly transparent fabric used in her pants and tight top. Though she had several variations on the Wizard Class theme, none were a Prestige Class despite their strength. The Elemental aspect within their music gave away that she¡¯d earned various specialised Wizard base classes. Seeing the mithril still stacked on the counter, she practically pounced from the lift shaft to the reception desk. Though she carried no visible weapons, Amdirlain could hear defensive enchantments on mithril bands around her upper arms, barely hidden by her long sleeves. At her appearance, Amdirlain shifted professional disinterest to Dominion, which had the Elf¡¯s jaw snap shut. ¡°Hi, I¡¯m the owner¡¯s representative. Feel free to call me Fanya,¡± Fanya offered, and she diplomatically forced herself to ignore the mithril. ¡°Now, what is it that I can help you with?¡± Fanya''s greeting was in an Elven dialect that Amdirlain hadn''t heard before, and she found one aspect of Polyglot translation amusing¡ªFanya meant white cloud. ¡°Call me Am. Your receptionist suggested the rooftop floor but wasn¡¯t sure how long a stay this mithril would cover.¡± [Name: Tinnith ¡°Fanya¡± Shadowglade Species: Mist Elf Class: Wizard / Storm Elementalist / Illusionist / Gravitational Prefect Level: 60 / 40 / 35 / 33 Health: 1,344 Defence: 322 Magic: 201 Mana: 62,496 Melee Attack Power: 87 Combat Skills: Dagger [Ad] (23) - Various affinities and Spell lists. Enhanced affinities: Water, Air, Light, Lightning, and Gravity. Details: A Journeyman to a planar wanderer, Tinnith supervises the inn while her teacher is out exploring. Her people developed rites that heighten affinity levels though the process doesn¡¯t allow for including oppositional affinities.] ¡°Well, that would certainly depend on the purity. The suite allows a full view of the township, but many find the constant sunlight of the Outlands a bit much,¡± cautioned Fanya, clasping her hands behind her back to avoid reaching for the mithril. ¡°The exception is plant-based life forms or those comfortable sleeping in magical darkness.¡± Amdirlain nodded in relaxed appreciation of the warning. ¡°While I¡¯m not a plant, I can meditate in bright light, so resting isn¡¯t a problem. Feel free to examine it; you¡¯ll find it¡¯s pure mithril, though its native attunement is the Elemental Plane of Fire.¡± As Amdirlain finished her invitation, she heard the wards warn Fanya that her mental state was being unexpectedly shifted. The wards had gauged it by monitoring Fanya rather than touching Amdirlain or registering her Power. ¡°The wards are warning of a mental influence; I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d cease it,¡± demanded Fanya. Amdirlain stopped the projection and went utterly still. ¡°My apologies. I was using a Power to counter the effect of a Skill I came to possess. The projection should have helped you focus past its distraction.¡± ¡°Were you using it outside?¡± queried Fanya. ¡°I was, but I¡¯d been projecting different emotions before I entered; I was concerned they¡¯d interfere with your business judgement one on one,¡± clarified Amdirlain, her words conveyed via a magical projection. Fanya¡¯s gaze narrowed, and her lips twisted sourly. ¡°What was the Power you were using?¡± ¡°It was a Power called Dominion projecting professional disinterest,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Never do that to me again. Only after it stopped did I realise someone had taken my sense of humour out and beaten it to death,¡± declared Fanya. ¡°My apologies, that¡¯s the most extreme reaction I¡¯ve gotten from anyone,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Then again, it was the first time I tried disinterest; last time was a more calm reassurance.¡± ¡°Perhaps avoid experimenting on anyone else in town; we¡¯ve enough wizards that¡¯ll do that at the drop of a hat,¡± advised Fanya. ¡°Why did you try that emotion with me?¡± ¡°This is your workplace; I thought keeping a professional focus was suitable,¡± Amdirlain sheepishly admitted. ¡°If being cold and disinterested is what you think suits a workplace, I never want to be employed there,¡± huffed Fanya ¡°I¡¯ll just remain completely still while we discuss things then,¡± said Amdirlain. The admission caused Fanya to give Amdirlain an appraising look. ¡°You¡¯re not alive, are you? At least not biologically alive, more an amalgamation of planar energies that¡¯s developed a personality, as my master puts it.¡± It was a unique way to describe an Outsider''s situation¡ªeven if it didn''t apply to her¡ªand Amdirlain had to suppress a laugh. ¡°That is one way to describe it.¡± ¡°What does the Skill do?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not careful, it causes me to react to another in a fashion that is sexually suggestive,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The owner also owns a dance hall in town,¡± blurted Fanya before she waved at the mithril. ¡°Not that it seems you require funds.¡± ¡°A friend suggested I work behind a bar serving drinks to push the Skill¡¯s evolution in a different direction.¡± Fanya frantically shook her head. ¡°Not behind the bar at the dance hall. Everyone would watch you, and the dancers would want to kill me for hiring you.¡± ¡°I would be more in need of a quiet establishment where I can lend a sympathetic ear,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°While there are many establishments in town, aside from supervising the inn and dance hall, I don¡¯t get out much,¡± replied Fanya, still keeping a wary eye on Amdirlain. ¡°You hold yourself so still it''s eerie; a cross between a temple statue and something about to prey on an unwary victim.¡± ¡°I¡¯d use Charisma to project calmness instead, but your wards might object to that as well,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°A lady of many talents. What¡¯s your Home Plane?¡± asked Fanya. ¡°I¡¯ll admit you have my teacher¡¯s wards a touch confused.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a bit of a personal question, and maybe it''s because I have a few options of places to call home, Acheron among them,¡± ¡°The eternal battlefields. Are you here to pick fights in Limbo?¡± Amdirlain gave a fierce smile. ¡°I plan to deal with many foes in Limbo and the lower planes; I wanted a base where I could return to enjoy the sunlight. My first stop from here would be speaking with friends living in a monastery in Limbo.¡± ¡°Those monks are your friends?¡± enquired Fanya. ¡°Some of them are; others don¡¯t like me very much,¡± offered Amdirlain carefully, trying to be truthful without exposing secrets that weren¡¯t hers. ¡°In general terms, can I ask why they don¡¯t like you?¡± ¡°It was a matter of politics and a death challenge levelled at me that ended up being declared unlawful,¡± admitted Amdirlain with a shrug. ¡°That put more noses out of joint.¡± Her words drew a laugh from Fanya. ¡°Alright, tell me a lie.¡± ¡°Your skin is as dark as your hair,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Despite the blatant lie, the wards told Fanya nothing, and she pursed her lips thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can let you stay.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve truth detection in the wards, and they can¡¯t read me,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°They warned you about the change in your mental state, not because they detected what I was doing. I don¡¯t believe they can even tell I¡¯m standing in the foyer.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s statement caused the pulse in Fanya¡¯s neck to leap, and she carefully licked her lips. ¡°Which means they wouldn¡¯t know if I came back in, which makes you worried. If you¡¯re uncomfortable renting me a room at full rate or more, despite the length of time I¡¯ll need a home base for my work, then I¡¯ll leave,¡± said Amdirlain. Swallowing, Fanya lets out a slow breath. ¡°Just like that?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± intoned Amdirlain, and she took in the rapid shifting tones without Fanya¡¯s song as the Elf whispered prayers to a deity Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise under her breath. ¡°How long do you think you¡¯ll need?¡± enquired Fanya, and her hands twitched out to sit at her sides. ¡°A length of time is very open.¡± ¡°A few centuries or until I wear out my welcome?¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t need a lot of space. I was mostly after a place to sit peacefully, meditate, plan, and enjoy the sunlight between battles. Stating my preference for sunlight had the Aerial Servant suggest the rooftop suite.¡± ¡°The rooftop suite is a central section with four bedrooms, a sitting area, a small library, a private kitchen, and wash facilities that can cater to a few dozen species. The rest of the roof is open to the sky, and the walls are transparent force barriers, so you¡¯ve got that clear view,¡± explained Fanya. ¡°Are you worried about me stealing the books undetected?¡± ¡°No. More you being able to kill everyone in the place and the wards only detecting our cooling bodies,¡± retorted Fanya, and she eyed Amdirlain nervously. ¡°My goal is to help mortals, not have innocent blood on my hands,¡± said Amdirlain, keeping her voice slow and soft. ¡°But you only have my word for that since the wards can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m lying. I see three options: I can leave now, you can contact your plane-wandering master, or you can rent me the room at a rate to make up for the anxiety I¡¯m causing you.¡± ¡°You¡¯d let me price gouge you?¡± ¡°Compensating someone for anxiety and stress isn¡¯t gouging. Would five times the standard single stay rate do?¡± Fanya sputtered at the offer. ¡°That¡¯s outrageous. That¡¯s not letting me price gouge you; it''s more on the level of squeezing marrow from someone¡¯s bones.¡± ¡°If it helps you or your master further your magical studies, that sounds like a good way to use the mithril.¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous; you don¡¯t know me,¡± exclaimed Fanya. ¡°I don¡¯t, but I can tell the state of your Soul, and I find nothing there that warrants violence from me and much to encourage. I don¡¯t know the deity you worship, but I can tell your reverence for them blends well with your intellectual curiosity and sense of adventure. Your four Wizard classes are interesting, as are the rites you¡¯ve undergone to deepen your affinities. I¡¯d never heard of such rites, but the Titan¡¯s realm is a big place,¡± reported Amdirlain. ¡°The sight of the mithril spiked a touch of greed, but likely from all it can enable you and your master to do rather than lusting for material wealth itself.¡± Blinking owlishly at Amdirlain, Fanya clasped her hands to the side of her head. ¡°Fine, you can stay. Likely if I told you to leave and you are murderously inclined, you could enter undetected and kill me.¡± ¡°Luckily for both of us, I¡¯m not,¡± responded Amdirlain. Fanya laughed nervously. ¡°How is it lucky for you?¡± ¡°If I ever became the sort of being inclined to such deeds, I¡¯d be disgusted with myself,¡± explained Amdirlain. The racing pulse in Fanya¡¯s neck eased off significantly, and she took a shuddering breath before she spoke again. ¡°That¡¯s strangely reassuring. After I check their purity, I¡¯ll open a tab. We¡¯ll start with full price on the suite at a full occupancy rate for the first thirty days. If you don¡¯t bring trouble to the inn, we¡¯ll reassess that rate every thirty days after that. If you leave, you don¡¯t get the remains of the tab back; it will be here when you come and stay again.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t work at any of the currently popular drinking places that have any sort of in-house entertainment aside from wandering bards,¡± stated Fanya. ¡°Worried I¡¯ll draw the dance hall¡¯s business away?¡± Fanya gave a sharp nod. ¡°Absolutely, or drive everyone away in fear.¡± ¡°Agreed. If I take that approach, I¡¯ll find work in a simple bar.¡± Fanya breathed a sigh of relief and checked the mithril with a detection Spell. Shaking her head in disbelief, she touched a signet ring to each, and they vanished through a one-way dimensional rift. ¡°Yes, fine. Flame-aligned pure mithril, as you indicated. Now let me show you your suite. You can use Charisma projection when you follow, as long as it''s calm that you¡¯re projecting; I could do with some calm.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stick to that then,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Turning slightly, Fanya motioned towards the hole in the foyer¡¯s ceiling. ¡°This way, please, the lift will take us to the floor below the rooftop; there is a set of stairs from there.¡± 273 - Wonder world Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Blazing Portal Inn in Xaos The rooftop suite was lavishly furnished with deep comfortable chairs, soft beds and thick rugs. It had a ¡®small¡¯ library of only a few thousand books and a kitchen suitable for some larger modern restaurants. The issue Fanya had indicated with the suite wasn''t only because the outer walls were transparent but also the interior walls'' top half. The setup left all the rooms well illuminated by the Outlands¡¯ constant sunlight. Though, unlike the harsh sky of the Elemental Plane of Fire, it was an energy that didn''t push through the building¡¯s material, giving mortals a chance at a regular rest despite its presence. Fortunately for Amdirlain''s sanity, the suite¡¯s furnishings weren¡¯t the constant fluffy white of the foyer or building but a mixture of deep earthen tones. The interior colour scheme mixed well with the abundant rooftop garden, which featured both earth-like and strange fey-style plants. Investigating the wash facilities, she found enchantments capable of delivering everything from sulphuric strength acids, scouring dust-laden winds, molten liquids and, more conservatively, an oversized tub capable of filling with simple hot water even if its size made it seem like a deep wading pool. When Amdirlain accepted the suite, Fanya quickly descended the glass spiral stairs and lowered the door into place. The click as it settled home echoed up the stairwell, and Amdirlain was left standing in the living space, feeling slightly adrift. Amdirlain sent a message she¡¯d long looked forward to dispatching. ¡°Sage, I¡¯m at the Blazing Portal in Xaos. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d like help with your world projects?¡± ¡°Goddess, I can be there shortly or meet you somewhere else.¡± The reverent tone in Sage¡¯s reply caught Amdirlain by surprise, and she carefully considered her response. ¡°Sage. I¡¯m in their rooftop suite, registered under the name of Am, but there isn¡¯t any rush. Please come to see me only when you¡¯re free of prior commitments. I¡¯ve some songs I need to work out that I hope will help your work, so take your time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there as soon as I¡¯ve finished delegating the most immediate tasks,¡± replied Sage. Scrubbing at her face, Amdirlain stepped out into the garden and sat on a shaded bench. Focused on the living plants, she took in their songs and tried to find the intertwined life forms she expected from the bacteria to the earthworms. While she found pollinating insects, earthworms, and other non-microscopic elements, the microbes, soil fungi, and other aspects of soil she¡¯d expected were absent or beyond her ability to detect. From what she could sense, the soil essence seemed to directly supply the plants and animals with energy balanced for their needs. Reaching out to the living beings within the town, she focused on their subtle themes and harmonies. Within them, she caught the aspects of their song that her True Song Architecture matched to what she¡¯d expected for gut microbes and other things. [Resonance [S] (75->76]] The confirmation that her Resonance was not only picking them up correctly but was challenged by doing so, had Amdirlain redouble the efforts of her study. Only receiving word from Sage informing her of his impending arrival broke her focus. Dispatching a Message to Wisp that she expected a visitor, Amdirlain stood and stretched. ¡°I¡¯ll need to study a living world first.¡± Aware she could still hear a large surrounding area, she pulled in Resonance¡¯s reach to avoid eavesdropping on Sage¡¯s emotions. Opening the suite¡¯s front door, Amdirlain started at the sight that awaited her. Before the door, Sage stood front and centre in a dusky-skinned Wood Elf form, but he wasn¡¯t alone. To the left was a very recognisable balding Dwarf, an almost perfect circle of scalp surrounded by a long fringe of hair left to grow across his shoulders. The dull iron-grey of his hair matched the long beard Moradin had tucked inside the shirt of his heavy-duty forge clothes. ¡°Won¡¯t you both come in,¡± chimed Amdirlain, and she stepped out of the way to beckon them inside. She followed them to the living room and sat first at Moradin¡¯s insistence, and Sage quickly perched on the armchair to her left. ¡°It is good to see you again, Goddess,¡± beamed Sage. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Sage, please stop using that term; I¡¯m not a Deity.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, all of your celestials know that Ebusuku is just waiting to hand you back the Mantle. Whatever your current state, you¡¯re the Goddess that gave us our freedom or set events in motion that allowed others to come into existence,¡± insisted Sage, leaning forward to clasp her hand. ¡°We could argue about the critical parts others played in the past, but let¡¯s focus on the now,¡± stated Amdirlain. As Sage went to argue, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow, and he changed his question. ¡°Will you be working with the teams, or do you have something else planned?¡± ¡°At present, I¡¯m marked by two auras whose concealments I need to keep renewing to be in the company of many celestials,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The murderous one that screams of wanton carnage and the twisted one that feels like the death of light,¡± acknowledged Sage. ¡°Erwarth spoke of them.¡± ¡°Those auras aside, I see you¡¯re getting some of your old strength back, Amdirlain,¡± said Moradin. ¡°Have you been to the plinth yet?¡± ¡°Yes. The news wasn¡¯t as good as I¡¯d hoped, but it wasn¡¯t nearly as bad as I feared,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The plinth couldn¡¯t see beneath my Hidden state, so it''s only things I¡¯ve done since first arriving in the Abyss. Yet I wasn¡¯t careful enough in sending mortals home from the Abyss, and they took diseases with them.¡± Moradin grunted in sympathy. ¡°Not good, still, what¡¯s done is done. Any chance you can identify some worlds involved?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know their names but heard their songs while caught up in the plinth¡¯s judgement,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll get some Mortal folk to organise for plague curing. If you can open gates to the worlds, we might head off the spread,¡± stated Moradin. ¡°It''s not guaranteed, as they need to be worlds where a Dwarf can survive.¡± ¡°Thank you; that¡¯s hope they presently don¡¯t have. The plinth showed me Gideon¡¯s projections but only counted me responsible for the deaths of those who¡¯ve already perished,¡± admitted Amdirlain in a whisper, feeling a weight of regret shiting within her. ¡°Whoever you could help would be greatly appreciated; I felt their suffering.¡± ¡°Ah, child, Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s judgemental side did you no favours. When you can, perhaps I¡¯ll get you to help with some of the new projects I¡¯ve in mind; bringing life into existence should help offset some of that weight. The Titan isn¡¯t the only one he lets make worlds in his realm; if you have the strength, you need to follow the rules,¡± replied Moradin, and his expression turned grim. ¡°This brings me to why I¡¯m here: a world Sage has on his list to cleanse was my creation.¡± ¡°Is there anyone left to rescue?¡± asked Amdirlain. Moradin sighed. ¡°Not even a speck of life; it was so long ago the physical undead fell apart. The only thing left are the spirits wandering about, screeching in tormented rage. The sun will last billions of years, but even the deepest and smallest of the world¡¯s sea life is gone. There is no cleansing daylight within the ocean depths, and the spirits hunt freely.¡± Amdirlain looked across at Sage. ¡°I take it no work has started on it yet?¡± ¡°Our efforts have focused on the worlds that still have some mortals left to save,¡± admitted Sage. ¡°I¡¯ll take care of this world. It gives me a place to experiment with songs that might restore life,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯ll need to hear a world that¡¯s alive so I can learn the interlocking themes of organisms. I¡¯d considered Cemna, but it has large dead areas.¡± ¡°You need a pristine world?¡± asked Moradin, and he frowned when Amdirlain nodded. ¡°That I can¡¯t immediately help with until I finish my current project. My youngest world has civilisations present that would stop you from entering.¡± ¡°There is a more recent world on the list that¡¯s in better shape than Cemna,¡± offered Sage. ¡°While civilisation has broken down, mortal groups are still fighting for survival. We¡¯ve teams working unseen to protect their communities while others drive back the hordes, and we work to find the gates¡ªit''s been slow going.¡± The admission caused Sage¡¯s good humour to fade. ¡°One reason I came here was to study the connection to Limbo, so I could help locate other planar connections,¡± explained Amdirlain. The news brought out Sage¡¯s smile, and Amdirlain gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll help find them, but I¡¯ll leave the work of closing them to your teams.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about who closes them as long as the worlds are safe,¡± insisted Sage. ¡°The more powerful celestials working with you, the more places we can keep safe,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°While I wouldn¡¯t want to interfere with anyone¡¯s achievements, I can offer a counter to the hordes, though it¡¯s neither discreet nor subtle.¡± ¡°How much time would it take to prepare the counter?¡± ¡°The artefacts are ready now; it¡¯ll only require deployment,¡± advised Amdirlain. Sage eagerly rose to his feet. ¡°Shall we?¡± ¡°I can go to any of the worlds on your list now, so it makes no difference to me where we talk,¡± replied Moradin. ¡°One day, I might get you to explain the rules that govern allowable activities for avatars,¡± commented Amdirlain. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Moradin¡¯s gaze gleamed. ¡°I look forward to the day when you need such advice.¡± ¡°Do you know where the Outlands¡¯ Gate for the world is located?¡± enquired Amdirlain hopefully. Sage raised a cautioning hand. ¡°The world¡¯s connection is only a Portal.¡± ¡°Yeah, and blind jumps aren¡¯t good,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°Alright, if you¡¯d please open a Gate, Sage. Though I¡¯ll bug you to show me the connection point later. The more natural ones I have to study, the quicker I can isolate mechanisms to search for them. While I know it''s possible, I still need to work out the how and test it.¡± Sage¡¯s Gate delivered them to a rugged mountainside with glimmering quartz peeking out of dull tan rock. Stretching out Resonance, Amdirlain caught complex orchestras within the landscape from lichen and crevices filled with windblown soil and nodded in satisfaction. ¡°Were there dwarves on this world, Moradin?¡± ¡°None of my children and the only survivors are a species similar to Veht?¡¯s Stonekin¡ªwhat the humans call gnomes,¡± replied Moradin. ¡°Their ability to slip through stone and bring it to life makes them tough foes for the physical undead to pin down. Likewise, the earthen energies prevent the spectral types from immediately leeching their life away.¡± ¡°So their main losses came from demonic forces?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± acknowledged Sage. ¡°But Orcus favours undead forces and negative energies, even tainting his demonic servants. Did you want to see a settlement?¡± Amdirlain gave him a tight smile. ¡°Take me to wherever the biggest fighting is going on; Moloch¡¯s force will get a break for a little while.¡± Mention of the Demon Lord drew a frown from Sage. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have an unlimited supply of the armaments, so where are things hardest pressed?¡± ¡°An old capital. We think it might be the location of the original gates or at least one hub of the cult¡¯s activity. With how many beings perished in the opening weeks of the assault, they¡¯ve got a lot of accumulated souls to bind into troops,¡± explained Sage. Amdirlain¡¯s smile turned predatory. ¡°Let¡¯s start there. Teleport when ready.¡± Sage shifted them to a ridge overlooking a broad, shallow valley. The city''s original layout was impossible to determine¡ªbesides the destruction, years of neglect and flooding had the city¡¯s roads and laneways awash with mud. Various mounds and hills of shattered stone were all that remained of the city¡¯s buildings, and battlelines shifted back and forth across the debris. The scene before them was a mud-churned landscape, the air filled with the clamour of clashing weapons and battle cries. The celestials driving back the horde had left shattered, bone-covered mounds in their wake. Though days after their destruction, the energies of the Negative Material Plane and their stench still lingered. The hordes of Schir under Orcus¡¯ banners were gaunt compared to those she¡¯d seen in Moloch¡¯s territories. Their chain hauberks hung loose on what should have been muscular frames though their hooked glaives didn¡¯t waver in their grips and repeatedly clashed with those wielded by assorted archons serving dozens of deities. Fighting overhead, flights of skeletal winged succubi possessed bodies spare of flesh, with skin tight across muscle and bone, their pupils the sullen ember pinpricks of the undead. They weren¡¯t the only demonic flyers clashing with the angels, but the degree of their distortion drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention. The energies within them had twisted the unnatural lusts that heated normal succubi towards craving the consumption of life. Opposing them, angels with brilliant white wings sent shattered bodies to add to the mess among the ruins. The decomposing demonic flesh tainted the land, and even lying broken, their black blood fought with the glowing blood from Celestial wounds. Ritual magic crackled in a stalemate that flexed back and forth across the battlefield, wounding contingents whenever it shifted. Celestials that fell were whisked away, many in time to receive healing, but a few to avoid their corpses being claimed by their foes. Though it was clear the celestials were slowly driving the demonic forces back, the more they retreated, the greater the pressure that opposed the heavens. Even now, after a decade of fighting, the battle lines stretched the length of the river valley. Continual reinforcements from the Abyss stopped the Celestial armies from securing the metropolis that had once housed millions. Though Resonance didn¡¯t have enough reach to isolate the gates¡¯ locations, the points within the city with the most defenders were obvious. Though the song to deploy them to a world differed from that used on the local Plane, the outcome was the same. The platform shifted into position beneath the slope, and Amdirlain heard the sensors feeding the embodied Soul details on the demonic forces. The first towers erupted from the earth, with the Gatling guns spinning up to speed. Others, capped with the armaments Sarah had invented from scratch, joined the rising wave and unleashed a torrent of projected blasts that ripped those demons behind the front lines apart. As the first operators gained additional towers, mortar platforms, and cannons, Amdirlain set more in place. Each new cluster expanded at an increasing pace mowing down undead and demons alike; for every tower destroyed, three or more replaced it. At times the tower¡¯s weapons shifted towards moving celestials only to decimate the forces they¡¯d been targeting. Despite not recognising the celestials, the slimes ignored the competition they deemed too slow to steal their food, snatching prizes left, right, and centre. ¡°What did you create these for?¡± asked Moradin. ¡°I can feel the souls seeking demonic foes.¡± ¡°Purging a Plane, so this undertaking is far smaller,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Each group of towers is controlled by previously damned Soul earning its fresh start.¡± Moradin gave a full belly laugh. "You have that alike; in neither of your lives did you think small." ¡°Do you have enough to complete an enclosure of the ruins?¡± asked Sage. ¡°Easily,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve triggered a recall that will bring all units back to their bases. I take it you want the towers to blockade them so you can have battalions focus on cutting the support?¡± Sage pointed to the left. ¡°If you run the towers that way until you hit the lake, there are scores of places we suspect hold gates.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t have to be just me, hold up a minute,¡± Amdirlain advised, and she dumped boxes of needles to the ground and set beacons within them. ¡°Have someone stick them in the ground, and they¡¯ll call in support.¡± ¡°Are you stealing all the experience, Amdirlain?¡± chided Sage brightly. ¡°I don¡¯t get any of the combat experience. That¡¯s claimed by the towers¡¯ controllers and fuels their second chance,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°If this planet weren¡¯t inhabited, I wouldn¡¯t suggest this approach; getting the Celestial forces stronger is more important. Those I¡¯m making earn redemption have more than enough enemies in the Abyss to fight.¡± Following Sage¡¯s instructions, dozens of angels and archons planted the beacons along the battlefront. As more and more towers appeared, Orcus¡¯ forces deployed stronger demons to the battlefront. Finally handing out the last crate of needles, Amdirlain took in a man standing a dozen metres away on the ridgeline. Clad in a set of centurion armour made from golden celestial steel, he held a pilum lightly in his right hand. Absent was the crested centurion helm, letting Amdirlain see the brunette curls of hair that matched his beard. His armour and classic Roman profile made her sure of his identity. ¡°I see you¡¯re still coming up with ways to spare others'' battle wounds, Amdirlain,¡± Mars observed, and he motioned at the expanding towers. ¡°Though they no longer serve you, your former celestials rejoiced at your arrival, and not just for these impressive additions, I¡¯m sure.¡± ¡°You could consider them more a very aggressive fence to protect the fields for mortals,¡± offered Amdirlain, remembering Mars¡¯ role as a God of agriculture and soldiers. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t use them merely to protect. I can sense all the violence those weapons atop the towers have inflicted,¡± countered Mars. ¡°I could witness this through my commanders, but I had to come and see it for myself.¡± ¡°For years, I wasn¡¯t sure why I earned your approval,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Lerina, no, she was still using Ebusuku then, mentioned your uncertainty to Aloysius when your Domain gained its towers in the Outlands. However, I¡¯m more interested in how these towers come about. While I can see the Mana in the weaponry, I can¡¯t see any when the towers grow,¡± remarked Mars. ¡°Lerina still makes use of Ebusuku among her friends. The towers are a True Song creation. It''s not a Spell, but a change to reality to add new stone,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s not to say it can¡¯t produce Mana, but it doesn¡¯t need to for these towers.¡± Mars¡¯ fingers flexed, and he lifted the pilum from the ground; he turned to face her and Moradin. ¡°True Song? I¡¯m finding more and more things in this realm that I¡¯m ignorant of since Ebusuku arranged the lifting of my accorded restrictions. I sense these towers are harvesting a strange crop for you, Amdirlain. What mystery does that involve?¡± His words drew an amused snort from Moradin. ¡°You¡¯re a late comer Mars, I came along early enough, and I still find surprises about the place.¡± ¡°The Titan is eternally busy creating new worlds with thousands of aspects helping him, so I doubt we will ever keep up with all the mysteries he adds,¡± warns Amdirlain, glad to let the conversation flow away from the crop of redeemed souls. Floating within a Celestial Slime, every level they gained increased the energy purifying their Soul¡¯s nature. ¡°Mysteries indeed, but you¡¯ve added enough of them, Amdirlain. I find myself increasingly curious about you. I understand you¡¯re to thank for Ebusuku breaking myself and others free of the accords,¡± notes Mars. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°We¡¯d spoken about freeing several gods before Apollo trapped me.¡± ¡°Trapped and killed you, yet here you are again.¡± ¡°Technically, I killed myself in his trap, and since I died stripping my Mantle away to give it to Ebusuku, I ended up in his Maze where the celestials endure promotion trials.¡± ¡°Would Athena be in there as well?¡± asked Mars, his gaze bright with interest. ¡°Minerva said she died after stripping her Mantle away.¡± ¡°Every deity who dies separating themselves from even part of their Mantle ends up in there,¡± advised Amdirlain, unsure if Hestia and Athena intentionally kept her state a secret from others in the new pantheon. ¡°Though most of the occupants are pseudo-powers whose worshippers die out before they joined the ranks of gods.¡± ¡°And gods who died with them in place?¡± Amdirlain gave a grim smile. ¡°Dead, and their essence gets drawn into the Mantle.¡± ¡°Good, I prefer it when enemies stay dead. But Athena, how can I free her?¡± asked Mars ¡°Why the interest in Athena? Aren¡¯t you married?¡± asked Moradin. ¡°I remained faithful to my wife despite being tricked into that marriage, but since the Gods¡¯ War, she just sits, her attention lost within her Mantle,¡± snapped Mars. His skin became flushed, and his voice hardened. ¡°It¡¯s so very ironic. Anna Perenna, the giver of life and plenty, now sits there almost lifeless, unresponsive to questions. Her solars say they still receive instructions mentally, but she doesn¡¯t speak or move, caught up in whatever she did to survive the Gods¡¯ War. Every time I visit her Domain, I half expect to find she¡¯s no more.¡± Moradin''s gaze didn¡¯t shift from Mars. ¡°So you¡¯re lining up a replacement wife for when she dies?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m after; I¡¯m trying to fix her situation. Athena was a Goddess of wisdom. I tried to get Minerva to help me with Anna, but the vaunted wisdom she shared was worthless.¡± Amdirlain paused and recalled her dad''s advice to Mal before his wedding. ¡°Looking at it from the perspective of trying to fix the situation isn¡¯t the right way. Have you tried only listening? If your attention is always drawn to what you can fix for a woman, it tells her that her problems are more interesting to you than she is. When she talks about things that have happened, she¡¯s not looking for answers but to share.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Suppressing a sigh, Amdirlain gave a rueful smile. ¡°Look, I¡¯ve never had a successful relationship; that was the advice my father gave my brother when he married. What wisdom did Minerva give you?¡± ¡°I needed to stop fighting the foe before me and stop to see the entire battlefield. Which is ridiculous¡ªI wasn¡¯t fighting anything, and Anna just shut me out,¡± growled Mars, and he jabbed his spear towards the battlefield where a group of balors had emerged. ¡°Just thinking about her disappearing after surviving the war makes me furious. Do you want to join this fray with me, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Crushing demons and undead isn¡¯t something I object to, but I don¡¯t normally fight with someone,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, and she saw the slight downturn of Mars¡¯ mouth. ¡°I¡¯d come with Moradin and Sage to discuss other matters; I shouldn¡¯t leave them waiting to have some fun.¡± ¡°If you crave battle, our talk can wait,¡± urged Moradin. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can find you a pristine world another¡¯s made, or one that the Titan has set loose. While I work on that, there are simple lifeforms left upon this world to listen to.¡± Sage nodded. ¡°And I can lead you to Moradin¡¯s world later once you¡¯re ready to experiment.¡± Smiling at Mars, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°It seems they¡¯re both saying your offer is one I can¡¯t refuse.¡± ¡°Show me your Fallen form, Amdirlain,¡± said Mars. ¡°Hidden as you are, I can¡¯t see your form or hear the auras you¡¯ve concealed, but we¡¯re on a battlefield, and I can tell a soldier¡¯s strength.¡± ¡°One of my auras can cause fear in angels, and I¡¯ve grown much stronger since I tested it last,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. Mars waved her concern aside. ¡°Then shoo them away from here, and we¡¯ll have to pick a spot for fighting that no angel treads. Deep among the ruins near a stronghold, perhaps? We can fight together and take a toll of blood from foes. Show me your form so I can see the real face of the one I¡¯d fight beside.¡± At Mars¡¯ words, the closest angels and archons moved away, but Sage remained. ¡°You told Ebusuku it impacts those who are Astral Deva and below.¡± As if his comment was an invitation, a trio of familiar solars appeared, their breastplates marked with the candle and broken chains. Their five-metre height and wings put the four who¡¯d been talking into shadow. N?r¡¯s full lips offered a temptress¡¯ smile. ¡°You¡¯ve come out to play Amdirlain?¡± Fainil bounced eagerly on her toes, her silver braid swaying on her shoulder, and Calithil offered the same melancholy smile that Amdirlain remembered. ¡°We¡¯ll do something about the balors¡¯ stronghold,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she shrugged out into her proper form and let the concealments drop away. ¡°Bloody wrath,¡± growled Mars in appreciation. Though Ilya had kept Amdirlain using the form, she hadn¡¯t truly considered the height changes scores of levels had added until now. The trio of Solars no longer loomed but seemed childlike, only reaching her lower chest, the expanse of her wings, with their gold, black, and blood-red feathers shadowing them instead. Pulling the Yang aspect of Jade Court Mana into Ki Infusion, she started to circulate, and flames glowed beneath her skin, causing the phoenix pattern to dust her gold-bronze skin with a motif of blazing feathers. As she idly flexed her wings, the golden core within her feathers seemed to burn through the black and red that soiled them. Amdirlain¡¯s glow ran from her feet to her hair, and its light shone through the weave of the shadow vines¡¯ clothing. The surrounding air that had stubbornly kept the stench of the nearby undead¡¯s remains became alive with spring¡¯s promise. ¡°You should know I shapeshift a lot; tentacles, claws, and extra mouths, that sort of thing,¡± Amdirlain casually remarked. At Amdirlain¡¯s pronouncement, Mars'' brows lifted in surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve got a beautiful form, yet you¡¯d fight as a monster? Let¡¯s see if this limited avatar can keep up with you. With luck, he¡¯ll tire of sending out fledgling balors and provide us something fun.¡± 274 - Blood and bone Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Grohtan - Ruined city The ringing orchestra from Mars gained a touch of good-humoured impatience¡ªan eagerness to be on his way more than a fit of temper. His form¡¯s song was more substantial than Moradin¡¯s avatar and had Amdirlain wondering at his remark about a limited avatar, but she didn¡¯t intend to risk Analysis with the music¡¯s strength. Amdirlain motioned for Mars to wait. ¡°Sorry, give me a minute for some extra preparations.¡± With all the Skill points Amdirlain had let accumulate over the years¡ªtemptation had reared its head repeatedly¡ªnow she decided to use some. Given the pain she¡¯d experienced with True Song Architecture, she spent the first point warily. It was a relief that, unlike before, there wasn¡¯t an echo effect, but nervous energy ran up her spine and through her limbs. [Devouring Cacophony [S] (52->53)] The following few Skill levels felt equally insignificant and, remembering Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s battle proficiency, she spent points by the score, causing her muscles to flex and tense, wanting to move in half-remembered motions. The last point she dared left Amdirlain feeling tension knot in muscles too long idle, craving the need to move, stretch, and remember. [Devouring Cacophony [S] (140 ->141)] A quick duo of songs manifested a pair of Kopis. The first was wrapped in Primordial power, while the second she wreathed in fierce Destruction. ¡°Now I¡¯m ready to go.¡± ¡°Primordial energy contains the full range of the song and more that we couldn¡¯t touch,¡± murmured N?r, the three Solars frozen at its creation. ¡°That was a very interesting demonstration.¡± ¡°Safer with my Planar Lock released,¡± observed Amdirlain, and she ignored the crafting summary. ¡°That is very true,¡± Fainil acknowledged, and she clasped a hand on N?r¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Perhaps we can talk more about it later, and who should hear of it.¡± ¡°It''s only interesting news to those that understand what you¡¯re talking about,¡± grumbled Mars. ¡°Are you going to kill some demons or not?¡± Amdirlain pointed downriver at the most significant strong point among the ruins. ¡°Is that an acceptable location for us to teleport to?¡± The location she¡¯d picked was a sprawling hill of stone amid which jagged spikes were all that remained of broken support columns, pointing accusing fingers at the sky. Mars nodded. ¡°Can you cast and fight?¡± ¡°I can handle doing several things together,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Giving a fierce smile, Mars grew to match her height. With smooth motions, he pulled a shield onto his left arm and readied his pilum. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± said Mars. ¡°But just the two of us; solars steal too much fun.¡± Amdirlain placed them on the sloping rubble left from massive towers brought low, and Mars locked gazes with the closest Balor, roaring a challenge. Flaring its bat-like wings, it roared back, and a jagged sword of lightning appeared in one hand and a whip of flame in the other. Another Balor, focus fixed on the frontline, died in a blur. A cast of Mars¡¯ now blazing pilum pierced the back of its skull and returned to his hand; the speed of the attack left an afterimage in its wake. Taking in the surrounding songs, Amdirlain spun on her heel, leaving Mars to deal with the balors; she focused on a flight of vrocks who¡¯d started to descend from behind them. Angelic Aura switched on for the first time in decades, and instead of the flames that had previously crawled over her alone, the air around her burned and twisted. The distortion set a shielding effect in place that covered both of them. Ki State turned her wings into a barrier blocking the arrows loosed at Mars. Other hurried attacks bounced off her feathers and skin, leaving them uninjured. More ranged physical and magical attacks followed, only to be shrugged aside by the dual powers that focused her Willpower into defence. Despite their lack of success at a distance, her foes swept in, and the first was soon within melee range. Enfolding Ki Strike around a slicing Kopis obliterated the first Vrock¡¯s head, and before it could fall, an uncoiled kick sent it hurtling into others with bone-breaking force. Another swooped from the flank to snatch at her, and turning between its taloned feet, Amdirlain hooked a sword into its guts and let its momentum disembowel it. As it tumbled, another grabbed at Amdirlain, and she continued her spin to sever its legs at the knees. Her wings turned into a mass of tentacles, and Amdirlain shifted her swords into the grasp of a pair of coils. Returning the favour of a grasping attack, she seized a fourth Vrock and wrenched him from the sky. His attempted fly-by attack gave her plenty of force to redirect, and demonic blood sprayed as he face-planted across the rubble. A stomped foot shattered his back, and keeping his squirming form pinned down, she twisted on that fulcrum to tear him in half. Far Hand flung his still screaming upper body at a flanking Balor, and she brained another Vrock with his legs. As he started to rear back, she hooked the latest foe around the neck, then yanked him into a head butt that drove the vulture-like beak through his head. The blades lashed out, and other tentacles grew serrated claws before she unleashed a flurry of Ki strikes to slaughter another Vrock. His remains fell between the pair, but the only contact with Mars was dousing his back with blood. Despite her speeding motions, Amdirlain listened to the assortment of music she caused, reinforcing or suppressing the themes within her strikes. A dozen attackers in the sky above them turned into hundreds as more teleported close, seeking a chance to get at unprotected foes. Seeing the horde spiral above them, Amdirlain drew mass from the stone beneath her, consuming it until Protean protested. The first wave that dived in received the brunt of her transformation. She discarded any resemblance to Elf or Angel and became an eldritch horror inspired by the thing imprisoned within the Abyss. A central mass extended thousands of clawed tentacles that ripped and tore at her foes. As she extended up the slope, more tentacles unfurled to land ki strikes that carried the cycling fires of Yang energy. Those that circled beyond what they believed her range found themselves being ripped from the sky by a suddenly extended tentacle. Those grasped, she battered into each other or tore apart with Yang flames. Where foes opened Amdirlain¡¯s flesh, the Yang flames ignited her spilled blood into napalm that clung and seared¡ªextracting a price from them both. As the battle raged on, some of the tension that had knotted her muscles flowed away, and her movements started to smooth out. Writhing coils continued to grow, and her reach expanded whenever she pushed Protean past its limits. Among the tentacles dishing out death, Mars flowed and ended those she missed or had ensnared to bring into easy reach. His pilum¡¯s blurred path repeatedly linked him to yet another demonic target. Despite all the foes that fell after hours of fighting, more demonic reinforcements emerged from the ruins or teleported directly into the sky above them. All their foes blindly sought to crush the pair that signalled life¡¯s opposition where their master desired only death. New towers crossed the river, and balls of plasma from artillery platforms dropped closer, obliterating large swaths of the ruins in the course of their advance. Amidst the chaos of the battle, Amdirlain listened to the shifting songs beneath the ruins and worked to identify the Gate Orcus¡¯ cultists had opened in the distant past. A surge of power caught her attention and finally let her recognise one Gate as a powerful entity¡¯s passage strained its framework until it emitted shrill notes. A Balor general larger than Amdirlain¡¯s Fallen form appeared overhead, his skeletal wings holding his mammoth form aloft. Like the others on the field, it was armed with a massive curved sword and blazing cat-o''-nine-tails. Blackness dripped from flesh that appeared more undead than demonic and was echoed by the darkness within its blade. Mars¡¯ throw went straight for its throat, but the Balor¡¯s whip snatched the weapon from its course. Amdirlain braced the shifting rubble beneath Mars¡¯ feet to provide solid footing and changed the terrain. Songs issued from a dozen mouths, fortifying stone and creating a tower one hundred metres across that brought them to its height. Even while she created the platform, Amdirlain reinforced the shrill notes within the Gate he¡¯d used. Manipulating them to build up stronger dimensional eddies in the still strained framework, she added Yin strands into the Gate to consume arriving forces. Reforming into a wingless version of her Fallen form, her swords were firmly grasped in her hands again. A cascade of black flames thrown their way crashed into a Mana Barrier that Mars threw up with a casual flick. Their foe screamed in rage and sent a continuous barrage of attacks. A tsunami of black flames tried to drown the barrier and blocked their view, allowing the Balor to shift position unseen behind the obstruction. Focused on its song Amdirlain shifted position to face it, but Mars had already adjusted the barrier with a vicious grin. When its song vanished in a familiar theme, Amdirlain sent hundreds of needle-tipped tentacles spearing through the air behind her. She drew ichor from scores of tiny wounds when Teleport materialised the Balor standing on the tower behind them. Those that initially missed, she twisted around into obstacles to hamper the Demon¡¯s attempts to strike with whip and blade alike. Mars spun and stabbed through her tentacle meshwork. Pulling back the tentacles¡¯ assault except on her foe¡¯s joints, she unleashed a low leg sweep that smashed hard against the column of muscle within his leg, staggering the surprised goliath. As usual, the Ki within her attack had allowed her to rupture through its unnatural protections. A jab from Mars drove it back, the Divine weapon seeking a wound she¡¯d left between two ribs. Jumping back from a second jab, the Balor rapidly flexed its massive wings to buffet them in a hail of dust and smoke. As he retreated, he lashed out at Amdirlain, his cat-o''-nine-tails¡¯ flaming strands wrapped around her arm, and he yanked her towards him. Rather than fight the motion, Amdirlain went with it; transforming in mid-air, she became a massive slime that enfolded the whip and raced for his hand. With the wavefront of her form attempting to close around his forearm, he released the weapon and swung his massive sword to cleave her in half. The moment it was no longer controlled, she stored the whip and teleported¡ªhis strike found only empty air. Out of sight of the Balor, she transformed and teleported again. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Mars continually jabbed and slid past the Balor¡¯s attempts to counter, keeping him off-balance and dotting his torso with smoking wounds. When Amdirlain stealthily returned to the tower¡¯s platform, Mars¡¯ speartip jammed hard into the Demon¡¯s ribs, blessed enchantments searing flesh and bone alike. Mars sped up his stalking of the retreating Balor, who, having given ground, suddenly lurched sideways, the latest stab cutting along his side and ripping through the lower part of his wing. While enduring more damage from the spear, his dodge mostly avoided the spiked wall that Amdirlain suddenly blossomed into¡ªthough she shredded a third of his wing. Once clear of them both, the Balor teleported, but Mars spun in time to interpose his shield and absorb the blow. The Balor¡¯s raw strength didn''t even sway Mars in his stance. Amdirlain used Analysis and found she¡¯d been mistaken about their foe¡¯s species. [Name: Esinzima Species: Darvakka Class: Jagged Behemoth / Necrotic Colossus / Umbra Colossus / Warlock Levels: 71 / 62 / 62 / 62 / 62 Health: 3,093,946 Defence: 9,897 Magic: 2,976 Mana: 11,286,306 Melee Attack Power: 5,288 Combat Skills: Sword [GM] (315), Whip [GM] (423) - Variety of Spell lists and affinities. Details: Having survived a trio of suboptimal transformations, he became a Balor and rose in the service of the Demon Lord Bael. During a conflict between Bael and Orcus, he was captured by Orcus¡¯ forces. Orcus forced another transformation upon him, polluting his demonic essence with energy from the Negative Material Plane, to advance Orcus¡¯ nihilistic agenda and bind him to Orcus¡¯ service. ] [Darvakka Having been broken down and transformed by the Negative Material Plane, these former demons seek to snuff out all life and light in the realm. Though they retain the memories and powers they gained from the Abyss, they are no longer demonic, and advance similarly in strength to other species from the Negative Material Plane.] As Mars struck lightly at him, Esinzima teleported again, reappearing to unleash a lightning-quick blow, trying to decapitate Amdirlain. Swaying under the strike, Amdirlain¡¯s Kopis reappeared in her hands and deflected his attack further. Shifting his blade between his hands, he spun and opened a line along her arm; the trail of blazing blood, rich with life¡¯s energy, drew a hungry growl from her foe. The energy in the blade¡¯s black metal scrambled for purchase but failed to draw extra health through the wound. Shifting position to keep Esinzima pincered between Mars and herself, Amdirlain struck out with a series of attacks. Though Mars continued to add pressure, Esinzima focused on Amdirlain and the Yang energy cycling beneath her skin. As the battle continued, Amdirlain felt the demanding challenge of this fight speed up the dispersal of tension within her. Esinzima¡¯s greater reach made her work hard to land blows without transforming. Savouring that challenge, Amdirlain pushed hard to breach his skilled defence without enfolding the weapon in Ki. The continuous exchanges left jagged wounds across Amdirlain¡¯s torso whenever Esinzima¡¯s greater skill and strength broke through her defence. Yet together, she and Mars made him pay the price¡ªsmoking wounds crisscrossed his body and he¡¯d lost most of a wing. Amidst the fighting, Esinzima gated in waves of other entities to aid him, but spells or attacks from the pair shattered them upon arrival. With the weapon-capped towers starting to get within range, Esinzima¡¯s predatory gaze narrowed. Amdirlain prepared for another series of attacks, only for him to vanish completely. Her attention on his song let her catch it within the ruins below before he retreated through the Gate. Despite her plan and the strands of Yin that flayed at his theme, there was no rush of experience gained from his death, though others that followed shortly after burst apart. ¡°Back to the ridge?¡± suggested Mars, and Amdirlain moved them both. Sage directed troops from a spot not far from where they¡¯d started. Flights of angels were forcing the flying demons into the range of towers, while ranks of archons held the forward lines against the massed demons and undead. Whenever a new structure emerged, the celestials pressed the advantage the addition provided. [Combat Summary: Assorted undead x 4,986 (50%) Vrocks x 7,602 (50%) Succubi x 2,495 (50%) Darvakka x 483 (50%) Total Experience gained: 50,570,800 Ostim?: +25,285,400 Ont?lin: +25,285,400 Resistance: Negative [I] (16->21) Protean [S] (1 -> 7) Resonance [S] (75->76) True Song Genesis [Ap] (13->14) Devouring Cacophony [S] (141 -> 168)] ¡°I trapped the Gate he used, but he survived the return trip,¡± advised Amdirlain as she checked out the combat summary. The increase in True Song Genesis caught her by surprise, unsure if it was the accumulation of use or manipulating the internal structure of the Gate. ¡°Smart enemies never fight to the bitter end if they¡¯ve got a way to avoid it. I should have dimensionally locked down the platform, but he kept bringing in additional opponents to kill,¡± sighed Mars, and after he cleaned his pilum¡¯s blade, it disappeared. ¡°That fight was fun.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so capable,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Aren¡¯t you levelling to avoid strengthening your Mantle?¡± Mars laughed. ¡°Not on this battlefield. We¡¯ve made it standard practice that at least one of us maintains a strong avatar on these major battlefronts in case the goat-headed one himself turns up¡ªI¡¯d so love to kill Orcus. Get him Planar Locked, and then have some heroes steal and destroy the artefact he uses to transform the demons. We¡¯re sure he¡¯s got so much energy tied up in it that he¡¯d suffer from its destruction.¡± ¡°I wondered about the strength I perceived in you, considering you said you¡¯re using a limited avatar,¡± remarked Amdirlain as she sought to avoid asking questions about Orcus. ¡°All avatars¡¯ limits are below what a full manifestation possesses, which isn¡¯t possible here even if this world has no pantheon and only a few groups of near-tribal gnomes. It''s not a world I¡¯m worshipped on, so there are restrictions to what the planar barrier allows.¡± ¡°You were playing him, weren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Your fighting seemed to smooth out faster from fighting him than the lesser foes,¡± observed Mars. Amdirlain managed not to roll her eyes at the avoidance. ¡°Is there a particular reason you wanted to fight together?¡± ¡°You know, you ask a lot of questions,¡± laughed Mars. ¡°Let me ask some of my own before I answer yours. Why create the platform? And how did you know he would stick around?¡± ¡°The platform was for two reasons: to reduce the number of directions that attacks could come from instead of fighting in mid-air, and to ensure it stuck around. It had a stage to display its power, a challenge was issued, and demons don¡¯t like the lesser beings opposing them,¡± explained Amdirlain. Nodding in satisfaction, Mars motioned to Amdirlain. ¡°I wanted to fight together to learn more about you. Fighting beside someone teaches you more in one battle than by weeks of talking or training with them.¡± ¡°What did fighting beside me tell you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You look gorgeous but don¡¯t care about your appearance. You¡¯re practical, sometimes brutal, and you don¡¯t care about your injuries if it keeps a foe focused on you. Turning the bodies of your enemies into weapons is pretty cold and not normally a good sign. Yet you continually put yourself between me and foes coming at my back whichever way I turned. You fought effectively and cooperatively, not leaving a more proficient foe to me; instead, you embraced the challenge.¡± ¡°I was expecting you to find my Fallen form or shapeshifting offensive,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°The rules of this realm determine the appearance of the beings that serve us regardless of our tastes. Your red and black makes you look deadly. While others seem to find the white-winged angels appealing, I prefer the archons with weapons for arms or clawed hands¡ªthey look ready to fight. Overall, it strikes me as more honest than a flapping bird with a weapon in hand,¡± replied Mars. ¡°Though I noticed at the start you used your wings as a shield to protect my back before you removed them. That, I¡¯ll admit, was an interesting effect that I¡¯ve never seen another Celestial use.¡± ¡°It needs a particular Power development from the Monk Class,¡± advised Amdirlain. Mars nodded thoughtfully. ¡°The Persians had those before the scourge, though I heard your cadre and Tyr¡¯s church have restarted their practices. Something else I heard about was Tyr losing one of his celestials in the Abyss.¡± Amdirlain stiffened but gave a sharp nod. ¡°Rumours are that soldier¡¯s fall is related to you,¡± continued Mars. ¡°Torm was in the Abyss working with a cell of celestials, so he followed the leader¡¯s orders. Yet he wouldn¡¯t have been in there in the first place, except he considered I might emerge there,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Tapping his hand against the gladius sheathed at his side, Mars hummed. ¡°The way you say his name, you sound divided between blaming the leader and yourself. Bad leaders or good leaders, if there is a price in battle, the soldiers normally pay it. Were you there for the fight when Torm fell?¡± ¡°No, the group¡¯s leader didn¡¯t want me around their operations¡ªhe¡¯d decided I was a bad omen,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Omens are the gods'' way of communicating with mortals who might be paying attention. If a Celestial is focused on omens, he needs to get better at his job,¡± scoffed Mars before he gestured towards Sage. ¡°One thing I¡¯ve noticed about your older celestials is they improve at their classes far faster than others. Celestials don¡¯t normally earn a transformation between Archon species, let alone Angel types, within decades. Does that have anything to do with you?¡± Her nod raised Mars¡¯ brows, and Amdirlain continued. ¡°Yes, any of those I¡¯ve teamed with in battle progress at a Mortal pace afterwards.¡± ¡°Yet you teamed with me without real objection, except given in respect to an older God,¡± noted Mars, and he gave a satisfied nod. ¡°It¡¯ll be interesting if I progress faster when deactivating the Mantle. I¡¯d been sure I was right to consider you an ally; it was good to gain a proper confirmation today. I¡¯ll speak to Tyr about this Torm; perhaps I can help him meet Mimir¡¯s price.¡± ¡°You seem to know more than just rumours-¡± Before Amdirlain finished her reply, he vanished. Sage signalled the other commanders and reappeared beside her. ¡°That was quite a display with Mars; he sounded impressed.¡± ¡°Is he always like that?¡± ¡°He always seems high-spirited and passionate whenever I¡¯ve spoken to him,¡± replied Sage. ¡°And eager for a fight.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°At this rate, we might break the nearest fortresses soon,¡± noted Sage. ¡°How do we let the towers know when we¡¯re done?¡± ¡°The crystal needles; a few divination spells should let you recover them quickly enough. Once out of the ground, the beacons will go dormant, and the towers¡¯ operators will return to their staging areas. You¡¯ll be able to use the beacons elsewhere if you like,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°There are a few other spots on this world where we could use the assistance,¡± admitted Sage. ¡°Many of the involved gods only have a small contingent available to help out with any world.¡± ¡°What keeps their other celestials busy?¡± ¡°Where would you like me to start?¡± countered Sage. ¡°I questioned what had kept them busy when I learnt of the memorial to the lost worlds, but Limbo isn¡¯t the only Plane with beings that would overrun civilisations if left unchecked. Many oppose the efforts of the Dao and Efreeti against mortals, demonic forces striking through the Outlands, and more. The celestials can¡¯t be everywhere, but they are kept busy holding many threats in check.¡± ¡°So the heavens let Hell and the Abyss fight it out because they¡¯ve enough on their plate from other matters?¡± ¡°The Planes are infinite. There are so many places to guard and only so many beings available to do so,¡± sighed Sage. ¡°Would you like me to show you the Portal to Grohtan now?¡± ¡°Who named the world that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the name on the memorial,¡± advised Sage. ¡°Interesting, it sounds like the dwarven word for dark stone, yet Moradin said it wasn¡¯t one of his,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Then again, I¡¯m still relying on recalled snippets and translation powers for dwarven dialects.¡± Sage shook his head. ¡°No, he said there hadn¡¯t been dwarves here. Not that I think he lied to you, but I¡¯ve learned to be wary of what some celestials tell me. The agendas of other deities don¡¯t always mesh with yours, so please don¡¯t take it for granted that they¡¯ll always do what is best for you.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze narrowed, and when Sage went to continue, she put a hand reassuringly on his shoulder. ¡°Well that¡¯s a given, since Apollo was supposed to be a God of the Light. Yet assuming that is part of how Torm got in trouble, I¡¯ll try to keep it in mind.¡± Her response drew a nervous smile from Sage. ¡°Did you want me to show you the Portal here or on the Outlands side?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to take a blind jump from either Plane, but studying them from both sides might be best. There might be differences in what I need to scan for, after all,¡± explained Amdirlain. Two quick gates later and Sage had shown her both locations. The Portal from Grohtan was in the midpoint of a massive natural arch at the base of a cliff face, the contours of the surrounding stone influenced by the Portal¡¯s presence. The grains of the rock provided a dramatic border to signal its location. On the Outlands¡¯ side, it was a mild shimmering on a meadow¡¯s edge with only a bare patch to mark where it stood. Hugging Sage, Amdirlain soon shooed him on his way and knelt to listen to the Portal¡¯s song while she basked in the sunlight. 275 - Over my head Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Amdirlain flitted back and forth to Grohtan a few times to study the Portal from both sides before repeating the process with the natural Gate to Cemna. She was working her way through the complexity of their music when Sarah¡¯s draconic voice rumbled in her ear. ¡°I¡¯ll be a couple more days at least; my mentor dearest is experimenting. I¡¯m half tempted to go hassle that nosey Efreeti and see if he spots me a second time when it''s done.¡± ¡°Pretty sure you mean mother dearest. We¡¯ve known each other all these years, and you¡¯re not hinting I should come over to meet your new family. I¡¯m shocked.¡± ¡°Sure, come over. First, it''s in Mechanus, and second, she¡¯ll likely want to tuck you into her collection of unique items.¡± ¡°Pass. I think I¡¯d rather go talk to Azex again, see if anyone from your adamantine lineage has suggestions for endeavours I could undertake,¡± replied Amdirlain. Releasing the message, her words caught her thoughts and plagued her with self-doubt. Is it possible for anything I do to help someone to be utterly free of self-interest now? Pushing the negative thoughts aside, she returned to exploring the link between the Outlands and the two worlds. She reached the Outlands and placed herself on the valley edge above the prison. Listening to the music of the corruption and pain beneath her, Amdirlain exhaled slowly and set Resonance delving within them. She examined the oath links for similarities to the gates¡¯ connections. Though the patterns in the Fallen had some fundamental themes in common, they were wildly different to the other connections she¡¯d examined that day. While each achieved a connection between planes, the natural and artificial gates, portals, and oath links handled the linking and transfers differently. Segments within their themes hinted at behaviours she hadn¡¯t yet discovered through True Song Architecture. Amdirlain worked to separate the elements from each song related to the Outlands and the respective planets. * * * ¡°Amdirlain, are you able to speak to us now?¡± The Gate on Cemna was located in a high mountain cave, Amdirlain could picture Isa sliding along its walls, battling to stay airborne against Ilya¡¯s Gale. Amdirlain was hovering there listening to the world when N?r''s voice manifested within an orb at her shoulder. Trying out a different approach, Amdirlain altered the message within the Spell and returned it to her. ¡°Come to where my meeting platform used to be located.¡± Stepping through the Gate into the shadowed glade it connected to, Amdirlain immediately teleported to the meeting spot. Despite coming directly, she found N?r already in a Wood Elf form, clad in a sturdy leather top and pants. Instead of her standard sensual curves, N?r was a lean Elf with dusky skin and amber eyes. The hints of green that showed across her exposed flesh highlighted delicate cheekbones and the muscles along her neck, its hue matching streaks through her black shoulder-length hair. ¡°The others will be here shortly,¡± N?r said ¡°Who else did you invite?¡± ¡°Fainil, Calithil and Erwarth,¡± admitted N?r. ¡°Ebusuku said you already talked to her about it.¡± The others turned up together, entering the Plane through a Gate that appeared near the tree line. They all used the same Wood Elf forms they¡¯d taken on for Gail¡¯s gathering. Fainil dashed towards Amdirlain excitedly and went to enfold her in a hug before awkwardly clasping her shoulders. ¡°What? Don¡¯t rate a hug anymore?¡± asked Amdirlain dryly. ¡°Is it safe to talk here?¡± asked N?r. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°Might be best to go to a Demi-Plane I¡¯ve made.¡± ¡°Gail pulls that same expression when she doesn¡¯t want to talk about something,¡± noted Erwarth. ¡°If I didn¡¯t, I wouldn¡¯t have dropped a hint by making that sword,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Opening a Gate to the central platform, she waved them through. When they were through, Fainil scratched her head sheepishly. ¡°But you¡¯re the songbird?¡± Amdirlain waved them to the seats within the pavilion and only spoke once they were all settled. ¡°Yes. Though please remember I¡¯m in the same state as any reborn¡ªbits and pieces of memories, and I most certainly don¡¯t have all the answers. It¡¯s only through the Ki cycling I¡¯ve recovered any of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories.¡± Erwarth smiled. ¡°I thought I heard something strange when you healed Gail; no matter how many times I contemplated the memory, it didn¡¯t make sense.¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d given myself away, but you said nothing, so I left it alone,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Is that the reason you gave yourself away now?¡± enquired Calithil. She leant forward in her seat so fast her dark braid slipped over her shoulder, and her amber gaze came alight with curiosity instead of the accusation Amdirlain had feared. ¡°You¡¯re the Titan¡¯s Songbird,¡± repeated N?r in a whisper ¡°It¡¯s not a title, N?r. It was his nickname for Orh¨ºthurin since she was a little girl, a father¡¯s nickname for his only daughter,¡± informed Amdirlain. The revelation caused N?r to freeze. Erwarth exhaled sharply. ¡°Did you create us, or were our souls purified from another species like Gails was?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, but they were created from scratch. While it was a joint effort between the Titan and Orh¨ºthurin, he mainly purified the energy for the souls'' creation. The details and capability of the souls were all Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s concept,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Why did she split the True Song between the species?¡± ¡°Balance, and she didn¡¯t even want the Power she had herself. Her idea was each species keeping the other in check because the most important creations could only be done cooperatively,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You endured keeping this a secret with everything going on?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°How long have you known?¡± ¡°I recovered some fragments in the monastery and more while in the Maze. With the vines now gone, I¡¯ve remembered bits and pieces without even cycling,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d planned to tell at least Torm and Ebusuku after I was released from the Planar Lock, and I¡¯ve recently told her. My situation, I¡¯m sure, is why a certain Fey queen was trying to ¡®help¡¯ when I was at the monastery.¡± Before Calithil could ask another question, Fainil blurted out one. ¡°How does the curse still bind you? Can¡¯t you break out?¡± ¡°No, for many reasons, but the two big ones are: Orh¨ºthurin crippled herself by extracting much of her natural power before the incident with the vines, and the Titan is bound by his promises. The Titan''s token was created for Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s older brother, who stayed in their original realm and passed it to his descendants with the promise of answering requested aid.¡± ¡°But he offered us options to become celestials,¡± protested Fainil. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t he have done that for his daughter?¡± ¡°The Anar¡¯s appearance was modelled on Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s appearance, but she wasn¡¯t an Anar; me turning into a Celestial wouldn¡¯t go well,¡± explained Amdirlain. Holding up a hand for their patience, she created a wine glass on the table nearly filled to the brim with dark red wine. ¡°Think of this as my Soul¡¯s current state; let''s add the Celestial energy.¡± Creating a decanter of water she filled the glass slowly, and when it overflowed, Amdirlain continued pouring. By the time she was finished, the contents barely counted as pale pink. ¡°That¡¯s how I took the explanation I received when Nicholaus told me it was an option upon leaving the Maze. What would be left of the person I am, or who I¡¯d become, is completely impossible to determine if I¡¯d taken that route. The safest options to get free of the curse were to be cast from his realm and be reborn somewhere else¡ªagain, losing who I am now¡ªor walk the Redemption¡¯s Path to strip the Fallen status.¡± ¡°I always thought something had happened to the Songbird, and that¡¯s why we were created,¡± stated Calithil. ¡°Loneliness and worry happened to her. She¡¯d been creating a realm for her father and felt she wasn¡¯t strong enough to keep it in balance¡ªshe had to handle an increasing number of things at once. It''s partly why she split the True Song between the species, so there''d be a balancing effect between them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even sure what else I dare ask,¡± admitted Erwarth. ¡°Our questioning of the Titan¡¯s goals caused a rift that never healed.¡± ¡°Ask away, but I can¡¯t promise I have the answers,¡± advised Amdirlain. Calithil tapped Erwarth''s leg. ¡°I¡¯ll ask two questions. What was it all about? Why is every world trapped?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°The worlds aren¡¯t the traps¡ªthey''re the anchor for the trap within the mantles.¡± ¡°Then why did they trap the mantles at all?¡± asked Erwarth. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was young when her mother and younger siblings died in the act of divine destruction that cost thousands of other Mortal lives. The gods targeting her father caused a volcanic island to explode, sending a tidal wave to hammer the coastal village they were living in,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯d survived only because she¡¯d argued with her mother about going to select fish from the first catch. She wasn¡¯t perfect: I remember that guilt, anger, and self-doubt drove many of her decisions.¡± Erwarth grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m surprised she¡¯d allow any divine beings to exist.¡± ¡°There was that nice goddess Hestia after all, but she wanted the gods to be held accountable. Strong enough beings are able to function as gods independently, they couldn¡¯t chastise them if they followed the rules. However, they designed the realms'' rules with a mechanism to weed out weaker beings looking to become gods that weren''t true to their standards. I recovered the memory of that and thought the Titan planned this realm as revenge against them, but mostly, they were hiding at first.¡± ¡°The Greeks?¡± asked Erwarth. Amdirlain nodded sharply as the discussion stirred emotions amidst her memories. ¡°How did he know they¡¯d ever come here? Or need mantles?¡± enquired N?r, her soft voice almost a purr. ¡°Kronos was the Titan that controlled Time in their original realm and Nicholaus¡¯s father. I don¡¯t know how he managed it, but he died hundreds of years before Nicholaus''s birth. He also left a message that led to Nicholaus and Orh¨ºthurin creating this realm. Originally, Nicholaus planned to move between realms to avoid the Greek gods, but the message was waiting at their first stop and gave them a starting point.¡± ¡°So we wouldn¡¯t even exist if it wasn¡¯t for that message?¡± whispered Fainil. ¡°Unlikely, but most beings¡¯ existence is a fragile chain of events,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°It makes me wonder if the message wasn¡¯t partly his revenge from beyond the grave, sent to those he foresaw could deliver it.¡± Erwarth appeared divided by the observation but shrugged it off. ¡°We can''t do anything about the past; we can only work on our future state. Moradin was going to get mortals to help with the diseases that were spread. If it would help, I can save you time by checking the worlds and finding those they¡¯ll survive on.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that help,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she organised the songs into a memory crystal and held it out to Erwarth. ¡°The memories from the plinth already gave me some idea about which worlds they could likely help on, and I¡¯ve grouped them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start working through these with Roher and others,¡± acknowledged Erwarth. ¡°You can¡¯t open the gates yourself?¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°I managed it with the conduit.¡± ¡°Normally, only mortals can open gates to restricted worlds on the Material Plane; I¡¯d say your Hidden state lets you cheat there,¡± commented Erwarth. ¡°I still can¡¯t pass through without permission,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°It''s still more than others can do,¡± observed N?r. ¡°But that¡¯s not something we can change. Anyway, after Roher opens them, I¡¯ll check if we can send celestials through to help,¡± remarked Erwarth before she stood and hugged Amdirlain. As soon as she released her, Erwarth shifted planes. ¡°Will it count that as you helping mortals?¡± asked Calithil. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but that¡¯s beside the point; it''s a chance to get them aid faster,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The plinth¡¯s insights featured various faiths struggling against the diseases, so I doubt what Erwarth suggested will work. Still, things might have blended, and it''s easy for Erwarth to check after opening a Gate, so there''s no point stopping her.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. * * * N?r lazily pointed at the closest platform. ¡°What did you set this place up for?¡± ¡°Training,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she waved a hand out at the pathways and platforms. ¡°I want an obstacle course of hazards, so I can challenge myself to undo or avoid them.¡± Calithil blanched. ¡°Something strong enough to challenge you-¡± ¡°Might kill me?¡± interrupted Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe. I¡¯ll have Moradin¡¯s celestials take care of it, and if I get my arse killed by one of their traps, they can send me a message.¡± ¡°Better than hiring a Mortal who might have died before you slip up,¡± remarked N?r. ¡°Right, so I''ll label the side of areas with the traps¡¯ creator,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Call them up if you find blood splatter because I¡¯ll be sheepishly laying low.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not funny,¡± grumbled Calithil. Fainil grimaced. ¡°It would be one way to train resistances and Trap Handling simultaneously. Do you want all the traps rigged with an elemental effect you need to gain resistance against?¡± ¡°It is an idea. I can give you a list of what I need, plus optional extras,¡± Amdirlain answered with a grin. ¡°Fine, but I¡¯d been joking,¡± groaned Fainil. Not letting her smile fade, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve still not gotten that hug, so I¡¯ll take gag gifts. Jokes aside, I do need to push my resistance for some energies into the greater ranks to handle being on Ijmti without additional protections.¡± ¡°What do you need, and how do other Fallen in the cloister develop them?¡± When Amdirlain explained what she¡¯d learned about the trial and her experience with the plinth, Fainil and Calithil exchanged looks. Ignoring them, N?r traced a finger across the table. ¡°Your problem is going to be your strength. Unless the trial can judge that well enough, it might send you to places that barely challenge you. Considering the plinth couldn¡¯t learn your details, there might have been other things Orh¨ºthurin created for them that don¡¯t properly handle your situation.¡± ¡°Also, since whatever she set up will send you into hazardous areas to wander around, it''s going to have two, no three, downsides. The randomness, other threats because the Abyss is so predictable, and no safety net,¡± stated Fainil. ¡°While I meant it as a warped joke, I think setting up trap and combat challenges here might be the safest move.¡± ¡°Combat challenges?¡± asked N?r. ¡°Summoned elementals to beat her arse,¡± laughed Fainil. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure they¡¯d hurt Amdirlain if she used Ki Armour. Most mindless elementals don¡¯t get powerful enough to pose that much of a challenge.¡± ¡°Ki State,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°It evolved while I was at the monastery. What will you need to set up the traps?¡± ¡°Leave it off then, if we go that route,¡± remarked Fainel. ¡°Moradin would likely set his crafters to help you out with traps. Are you okay with us bringing them here? Best if you don¡¯t do the installation work yourself after all. Also, plenty of materials might speed up the crafters making the enchanted traps.¡± ¡°The Darvakka¡¯s blade pushed my Negative energy resistance higher,¡± noted Amdirlain, and she smiled at the trio. ¡°What are your plans now?¡± ¡°Why?¡± A blade at a time, Amdirlain created weapons of Chaos, Decay, and Primordial that matched the swords they generally used. ¡°Up for some sparring?¡± ¡°If I kill you, I¡¯m going to make you wait in the naughty corner after I release you,¡± huffed Calithil. ¡°She is choosing to spend quality playtime with us,¡± quipped Fainil. ¡°I mean, you can¡¯t be mad that she chooses to play a little rough when it''s three-on-one.¡± N?r picked up the scimitar Amdirlain had set on the table and gave it an experimental swing. ¡°Sarah would likely ask if you¡¯ve picked a safeword?¡± Ignoring the crafting summary, Amdirlain teleported to the midpoint of the closest platform and brought out the dwarven blades. ¡°Playtime?¡± The three attacked as one, and their speed far outstripped any opponents from the most recent battlefield. Their extraordinary Skill levels and the variety in their weapons kept Amdirlain continually on the back foot; even listening to the shifting intention within their songs to anticipate their attack provided nothing to counter their advantages. Amdirlain found herself on the receiving end of the battle of attrition Mars and she had inflicted on Esinzima. [Resistance: Chaos [L](6->7)] The first notification chimed in time to blood splattering from a gaping wound Fainil opened in her side. Amdirlain centred deeper into the combat¡¯s flow and fought on as Protean worked on healing her. Repeatedly, she found herself disarmed or badly wounded, but the trio started again as soon as she signalled ready. Coping with their continual brutal pressure gained her two surprising increases within Devouring Cacophony. Hours later, it was N?r who called a halt. ¡°We should get you some opponents closer to your Skill level.¡± ¡°Same problem that Ilya complained about when she was training; the difference in our Skill levels is too great to allow you to improve,¡± offered Fainil. ¡°I got two increases and jumped all three resistances,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°That might be, but I don¡¯t enjoy stabbing you when I can easily see the opening in your defences,¡± rebuffed Fainil. ¡°If you¡¯re going to endure this, we must maximise your benefit.¡± ¡°The way you don¡¯t even flinch when I can see the energy eating at your muscles twists a knot in me,¡± admitted Calithil with a shudder. ¡°It makes me remember other times. I¡¯m sorry, but I¡¯m not sure I can keep helping you this way. What else can I do for you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry. I wasn¡¯t expecting to defend properly, especially since even one of you outclasses my skills,¡± apologised Amdirlain. ¡°I could feel the injuries you inflicted, but Pain Eater removes the need to flinch from the pain.¡± N?r sighed. ¡°Unless Amdirlain lets someone inflict the wounds without resisting, a lesser opponent won¡¯t do. The wounds inflicted must be great enough to push her resistance to grow; otherwise, it¡¯s a pointless exercise. Early in the sparring, I believed I was about to cleave Amdirlain¡¯s arm off and barely broke her collarbone.¡± ¡°It¡¯s Calithil''s choice and not something to push anyone towards,¡± interjected Amdirlain before Calithil could respond. ¡°I know I seem to ignore injuries and, although Protean heals me rapidly, it''s something many find uncomfortable. I admit I should find it uncomfortable, but I broke that reflex long ago. How about we call this session complete, and we can all think about the best way to proceed? All three resistances did go from Lesser to Minor if that¡¯s of any comfort.¡± ¡°Considering how much of your blood we spilt, I¡¯d have hoped so,¡± stated Fainil before she approached Amdirlain and offered the sword back. ¡°Lesser to Minor rank is the easiest part; I¡¯d have been happier if we¡¯d progressed you into a higher rank.¡± ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t have taken it so easy on me. The bigger Darvakka jumped Negative resistance through multiple levels into the Improved Rank,¡± advised Amdirlain. Creating a sword rack near the pavilion, Amdirlain collected the blades and left them hanging on it together. ¡°But the difference is he was genuinely trying to kill you. You are tougher than I expected, but I was still afraid to push too hard,¡± replied Calithil while Amdirlain worked. Fainil nodded. ¡°What¡¯s your health rated at Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Nearing two point eight million,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss your training and see what approaches we can come up with and who is comfortable assisting with each one,¡± stated N?r. ¡°Then you can choose from them which ones you want to try.¡± ¡°Are you sure you want to trap this place?¡± asked Calithil. ¡°You could use its weird staircases and pathways for an awkward battleground. Anyone getting knocked off is out.¡± ¡°Erwarth once warned me about relying on one ability set. While True Song is versatile, isn¡¯t it better to keep the suspect pool broad if I need to break in somewhere? I can use the traps to drive my Disable Device¡ªamong other skills¡ªhigher, plus my resistances if I mess up.¡± ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll get you your traps. What did you call this Demi-Plane in any case?¡± ¡°Foundry,¡± replied Amdirlain. Calithil shot her a suspicious look. ¡°And let me guess; you¡¯re what it''s intended to help craft?¡± ¡°Whatever makes you think that?¡± gushed Amdirlain. ¡°The outer shell I¡¯ve got set up for dozens of different workshops in case I wanted to pick up more crafts.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s playful rebuttal earned a snort from Calithil. ¡°Yeah, sure, sure.¡± ¡°Will the wards let us bring workers without you present?¡± asked Calithil. Creating five ward stones, Amdirlain distributed them, giving the extras to Calithil. ¡°Pass those onto Erwarth and Ebusuku¡ªit¡¯ll save Ebusuku from breaking the wards if I¡¯m not present. Before you head off, can you cast a Blessing for me? I need a purification song for clearing disease.¡± N?r smiled broadly. ¡°Gail has asked Runa for examples of blessings over the last few years. While I know she prefers to heal others using the regenerative song within Protean, she¡¯s found a range of blessings that help.¡± ¡°If you know what ones she¡¯s found useful, I¡¯d appreciate a demonstration,¡± said Amdirlain. After bidding her farewell and each claiming hugs, Calithil and Fainil left them to it. ¡°Gail affected our habits; she¡¯s a fan of hugs,¡± noted N?r. ¡°Genuine hugs are good value.¡± Nur stepped in to claim a hug and kissed Amdirlain¡¯s cheek. ¡°Thank you for making us, and giving us so many chances. I¡¯m sorry we let you down,¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin made the Anar and L¨®m?, not me,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s might be true, but you have her Soul; somewhere inside you, a part of her might hear the words,¡± argued N?r. ¡°I¡¯ll start with the minor purification blessings that Gail¡¯s not bothered with. Since she¡¯s had Ipy and Runa around to help, she focused on blessings for issues requiring immediate attention. Sometimes I¡¯ve found a need to clean up silos and water supplies to prevent recurrences." ¡°How do the blessings avoid eliminating healthy organisms?¡± ¡°The blessings target harmful organisms to a chosen life form nearby,¡± informed Nur, and she gave Amdirlain a grin. ¡°Maybe Gideon provides hints.¡± N?r started simple, and Amdirlain caught the components within the theme for removing impurities from liquids. The demonstration recalled elements she¡¯d gained from True Song Architecture, and the practical demonstration connected aspects she hadn¡¯t yet explored. As soon as the Blessing finished, Amdirlain nodded appreciatively. It was a simple matter to create materials for further demonstrations, the songs from the Abyss having provided her with plenty of examples of foulness to purge. Amdirlain almost opened a Gate when N?r finally left, but the reminder of pushing her current capabilities had her lean on Planar Shift instead. [Planar Shift (Self) [Ap] (1 -> 2)] The forest around her wasn¡¯t where she¡¯d been aiming, but Amdirlain took in the myriad of fauna and flora that blended into an orchestra of life. Though it was missing the tiniest components that created the life cycle on planets, it was still a complex blend of themes. Cleaning up, she teleported onto Xaos¡¯ main road a few hundred metres from the wards. The closest fields were all stubble from the harvested crops, and the crews had moved further out. Planar Beacon hooked into the surrounding Plane, and another notification chimed. [Planar Beacon (6 -> 7)] Amdirlain heard the fragile energy within the tenuous link it had set into place. Listening to how it had become anchored, she tried to push the Power¡¯s energy through the link again, only for the connection to shatter. A third attempt reset it, but the notification didn¡¯t ping again. Leaving the link alone to see how long it took to fade, Amdirlain headed inside the wards. Choosing the minimalist option, she walked into town projecting calmness with Charisma alone. An Elven figure whose silvery hair fluttered into the breeze followed her for a while before becoming distracted by a stall. Tracing the route she¡¯d taken to the Blazing Portal the first time, Amdirlain found Trill''s stall occupied by a different seller. Moving with delicate precision, other gazes followed her but grew distracted whenever she increased the drifting calm projected outwards. Spotting someone swaying half asleep on their feet, she eased off the sleepy peace and tapped into her memories from the monastery. The drifting relaxation from meditation practice replaced the sleepiness, and Amdirlain saw those around her shake off their torpor. ¡°Do you dance?¡± asked a purple-scaled Lizardman in a series of rasping clicks. His crest, which stretched from behind his ear-holes, draped across his shoulders and reminded her of a frill-neck lizard, while the only apparel he wore was a bandolier with attached pouches. ¡°You do dance with the way you walk. But do you dance professionally?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain quietly. Her soft tone seemed to beckon him forward, and he took a tentative step towards her. ¡°Would you dance for me?¡± ¡°In some cultures, asking an individual to dance is a combat challenge,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Best be careful what you request when your language is being magically translated.¡± As he gave a choked hiss of concern, Amdirlain moved past him and continued. She was only a few steps away when she heard the projected relaxation wash his surge of anxiety away. Turning it off, Amdirlain switched to the holiday relaxation she¡¯d used the first time she¡¯d passed through the town, and uncertainty suddenly niggled at him. Amdirlain forced her stride into a powerful martial kata, each step sharp and forceful as if ready to fight, and the Lizardman moved on his way. When she opened the front door of the blazing portal, Wisp was behind the irregular counter again. To the mundane perceptions, a hundred-sided die the size of Amdirlain¡¯s fist rolled across the unattended desk, pieces rapidly flipping themselves into numbered egg cups whenever it stopped. ¡°Are you winning, Wisp?¡± ¡°You jinxed me,¡± sighed Wisp. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Yes, you did; every time I play this game, and someone asks, it falls apart. If no one comes in, I can sometimes get a win,¡± grumbled Wisp. Amdirlain looked over the cups containing assorted tokens, but hundreds of pieces still sat on the counter. ¡°What¡¯s the goal?¡± ¡°To get all the pieces into cups with none overflowing first,¡± explained Wisp and tossed the die again. ¡°You should play it with others, and the person who overflows a cup first loses,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°That might be me,¡± protested Wisps. ¡°That is true, but then you have someone around to commiserate with,¡± responded Amdirlain before she headed for the lift shaft. "Can I laugh at them instead?" asked Wisp as Amdirlain headed upwards. Reaching her suite, Amdirlain prepared herself a decadent bath, the floral oils stirred into the water generating mounds of frothy bubbles. Settling into it, she flipped a memory crystal between her fingers, adding notes about the tiny life forms she¡¯d heard. She¡¯d held off on sending a particular Message for days, but given the effects of Femme Fatale, she could only hope she wasn¡¯t making a mistake. ¡°Lezekus, I hope you¡¯ve been doing well. I¡¯m staying at the Blazing Portal in Xaos, under the name Am; I¡¯ve got the rooftop suite. Have you travelled to the Outlands before?¡± The reply Amdirlain received was such a blurted rush of excitement that she was surprised Lezekus could focus enough to cast. ¡°Amdirlain! Yes, I know of it, but I don¡¯t know anyone who''s been there. Can you send me an image, and I¡¯ll be right there as soon as we can get excused from the patrol roster.¡± Amdirlain sent her an image from the exterior of the town to aid teleporting, along with directions and received a quick thanks. Since she¡¯d surprised Lezekus, Amdirlain kept her curiosity about the reference to ¡®we¡¯ in check. 276 - Reunion Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Amdirlain had barely started to relax in the bath when a combination of ideas made her sit upright so fast, she sent water sloshing over the bath¡¯s edge. Cursing the time spent sparring with the trio, she dispatched a Message. Designs around the orbital scanning of infected planets and purification units bubbled through her mind. ¡°Erwarth, how are things progressing? I think I¡¯ve come up with a way to help them.¡± ¡°Relax, Amdirlain. The songs you provided accurately targeted locations, and we¡¯re doing clean up even now.¡± ¡°What approach did you use?¡± ¡°Roher and the others have used purifications through gates to clean up any lingering diseases. Also, constructs enchanted with invisibility and carrying purification orbs have been dispatched. They divided the work up and so far dealt with thousands of locations. I¡¯ve already informed Moradin we¡¯re unlikely to need many dwarves.¡± ¡°Thanks. Do you think you¡¯ll need more flexible minds checking places?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she restrained her impatience as she waited for a reply. ¡°Exactly, constructs are only good at following orders, so I¡¯ll still get some help from Moradin. You don¡¯t have to come up with all the answers, Amdirlain,¡± reassured Erwarth. ¡°Though we might end up using up most of your constructs.¡± ¡°Glad they came in handy. I didn¡¯t have any plans for them now that I don¡¯t have Sisterhood fortresses to break,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Your approach is a lot more subtle than my idea.¡± The Message exchange had Amdirlain scrubbing fingers through her hair, and she relaxed back into the bath, determined to enjoy it. She tried to push away the overkill approach her mind had cooked up. A few hours passed before she received word from Lezekus that they¡¯d arrived in Xaos. Cleaning up and dressing, Amdirlain waited patiently near the top of the suite¡¯s staircase and heard the trio of orderly songs rising through the lift shaft. Another piece rose from an ancient memory, and the tautness in their music suddenly highlighted for Amdirlain the distortion within their songs. A series of brutal adjustments inflicted on that melody was the only way it could match the central theme within all three of them. The unshielded mental chatter between them quickly identified them, and Amdirlain switched to lightly projecting the disciplined focus of the monastery. As they reached the top of the shaft, Amdirlain opened the door in time to see them step from the open lift shaft across the corridor. The young ladies Amdirlain had trained with had grown into seasoned combatants that moved with poise and flowing grace. Yet now, to Amdirlain¡¯s perception, they seemed so slow. The strength in their base classes, all well beyond the cusp of obtaining a Tier 6, didn¡¯t ring with the compression of a Prestige Class and tempted Amdirlain to peek. Gail¡¯s remarks about living a life that she enjoyed restrained Amdirlain¡¯s curiosity to peek with Analysis. It was one thing to be curious about a stranger or enemy, but she had to admit it would be a temptation to meddle with her younger friends. Away from the purplish lighting of Limbo, their yellowish skin tone had shifted to a healthier colour¡ªa rich olive hue. Their angular features, sharp ears, and upturned noses had lost the softness of youth. It was an angularity that tied back to an ancient elven theme that genetic engineering had mauled to produce their ancestors. The damaged strands had compressed the Githz¨¦rai¡¯s maturation and shortened their lifespans, though she had no clue why they¡¯d taken that approach. The first two wore the yellow and black half-robe of Githz¨¦rai monks. The last to step from the shaft wore the same loose pants and top Amdirlain had seen Ellniya and other healers wear during her stay. Lezekus¡¯ corn-row braids reached past her shoulders, and she brushed their greying lengths from her face to fix her attention on Amdirlain. Her faint smile, among humans, would be a barely noticeable shift, but for a Githz¨¦rai, it was a broad grin. Her gaze gleamed with that same badly suppressed delight and warmed her solid brown irises. ¡°Amdirlain,¡± breathed Lezekus. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Lezekus.¡± Amdirlain held herself still when Lezekus launched across the corridor and wrapped her in a hug that, by Githz¨¦rai standards, was an unheard-of breach of etiquette. Gently rubbing the young lady¡¯s back, Amdirlain had to force a mental correction. They were all in their late forties now. Gemiya stood in the centre of the corridor with her hands clasped behind her back as if waiting for an instructor¡¯s order. The final softness of childhood she¡¯d possessed was gone completely, but her short, jet-black hair didn¡¯t yet show the grey that salted Lazekus¡¯ brunette locks. Of the three, Sarith showed the most significant change. Her constant tension and anger had been replaced by a calm that promised to grow into the confidence Ellniya had possessed in all their sessions. Her hazel eyes looked relaxed compared to the tense alertness of her twin¡¯s gaze. The length of braided blackness that reached past her shoulders showed she had long ago released her obsession with maintaining an identical appearance. ¡°Come through,¡± Amdirlain said upon releasing Lezekus and exchanging bows with Gemiya and Sarith. The three of them took in the open living room at the top of the stairs and the abundant garden through the clear panels. ¡°Know when you said the rooftop suite, I was expecting connected rooms like one of the masters, not this,¡± said Gemiya, and she spun about with one hand waving idly at the living room¡¯s contents. ¡°Know there are many distractions from one¡¯s focus.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just different,¡± countered Lezekus. ¡°Know that hearing from you caused her to regress into unstructured speech instantly,¡± advised Sarith. ¡°What have you been up to?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she motioned them to sit before picking the armchair furthest from the stairs. ¡°Know that for the last decade it has been mainly inner city patrols¡ªthe commanders took a dim view of us insisting on trying for a Tier 7 Prestige Class,¡± allowed Gemiya. ¡°Did you know the word unprecedented frequently gets brandished whenever some folks wish to force another¡¯s choice?¡± ¡°Know that he likely wouldn¡¯t have given you trouble if you¡¯d cut your ties with me,¡± observed Sarith, and she gave Amdirlain a resigned shrug. ¡°Know that my former father has blocked her advancement until Gemiya falls into line.¡± Amdirlain held back caustic words and looked between the trio. ¡°But you''re on leave now? Would you like to take on some challenges?¡± ¡°Know we¡¯re not exactly on leave,¡± admitted Lezekus Gemiya quickly interjected. ¡°What sort of challenges did you have in mind?¡± ¡°Give Lezekus a chance to explain, and I¡¯ll share,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Know they resigned from the guard,¡± explained Sarith, as she perched on the edge of a couch. ¡°Know I had nothing to resign from; my pariah state affected who would hire me and those who associate with me.¡± Suppressing a wince, Amdirlain nodded thoughtfully. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate; I wondered why none of you had a Prestige Class when life in Limbo is so hard. What I had in mind was your choice of demons, demodands, undead, or something else.¡± ¡°Do you ever stop offering people choices?¡± asked Sarith curiously, without a touch of the angry criticism that had once been a constant. ¡°Know I¡¯m aware you arranged for the two best choices I was presented with after I got myself in trouble.¡± ¡°I like helping people out. While you did yourself no favours, you got yourself in trouble partly because I lacked the Skill to get through to you properly. Every time you came back at me, I sparked your anger further instead of de-escalating the situation.¡± ¡°Know that your speech is still unstructured,¡± critiqued Sarith. ¡°Know my anger drove my conflict with you, an anger which existed before our meeting. You remember our family background, yes?¡± ¡°Long history of service in the city guard and expectation to graduate from the monastery,¡± recalled Amdirlain. ¡°Know that Ellniya helped me to admit I didn¡¯t truly wish to follow my family¡¯s path, but it had been impressed upon me that it was how it would be. Know that is why I lashed out at you since I saw your presence as interference in what I had been indoctrinated to expect from life,¡± explained Sarith, and she shifted position to relax deeper into the couch. ¡°Isn¡¯t it odd that I find this both comfortable and uncomfortable, perhaps because it is so unfamiliar?¡± ¡°Not meshing with your expectation of how a chair should feel causes the discomfort?¡± ¡°Know that is something only my perception and consideration can determine,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Know that it might even be the correct answer, but many things can only be learnt from an individual''s perspective, which takes time and exposure.¡± ¡°Is that your way of telling me it wouldn¡¯t have mattered what I said?¡± ¡°Know it was doubtful,¡± confirmed Sarith. ¡°Know that the choices you arranged¡ªwithout rubbing my nose in it¡ªallowed me time to move past that anger. Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome; I¡¯m glad things worked out for you in the end,¡± replied Amdirlain. "What classes did you end up gaining?¡± ¡°Know I gained Monk, Psion, and Wizard, but also this second strange Monk Class that isn¡¯t a proper Monk, since it doesn¡¯t use Psi energy techniques,¡± stated Sarith, her deadpan tone conflicting with the deepening creases at the corner of her eyes. Amdirlain snorted at Sarith''s light-hearted dig. ¡°Who helped you gain that?¡± ¡°Know that it was an accidental acquiescence. After all, who would help an expelled student gain even a faux-Monk Class?¡± questioned Sarith primly. ¡°Of course, my mistake,¡± Amdirlain said, and she dramatically put a hand to her chest. When their trio¡¯s gaze snapped her way, Amdirlain reinforced the projection of discipline and caught Sarith''s gaze narrow. ¡°Know that Master ?daka needed a test subject to see how others might gain it,¡± stated Lezekus. ¡°The experiment didn¡¯t expect an expelled student to gain it, especially since they already had Monk.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Sarith¡¯s mouth hardened, and she nodded. ¡°Is it safe for us to be around you after what you¡¯ve gone through?¡± ¡°I hope I¡¯m not disturbing you,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Know you draw attention even more than you did before, and there is a palpable force coming from you,¡± advised Sarith. ¡°I evolved a Skill, and am now adjusting to the tendencies it possesses, which is causing me some issues. Presently, I¡¯m working to channel it to evolve again along safer routes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Which takes time, being in the presence of others, as how else can you tell the impact you have on them?¡± enquired Sarith. ¡°Correct. It''s another¡¯s perceptions that determine what they do or don¡¯t feel comfortable in the presence of, and the Skill makes some things seem far too comfortable,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Would you be open to me requesting a Celestial¡¯s help to guide you to places you could progress your classes?¡± ¡°The offer is appreciated, but are you sure it''s suitable?¡± asked Gemiya. ¡°You put up with my interference in your schooling for five years, can¡¯t I show my thanks?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°After all, it''s your choice to accept my offer or even whatever other help they can provide.¡± Lezekus laughed lightly and looked between the others before she nodded. ¡°Know I believe we¡¯d undoubtedly accept the offer, Amdirlain. Know that some obstructions in our paths have grown more apparent over the years.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought they¡¯d impede potential anarchs,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Know it¡¯s only those who¡¯ve not followed the Anarch¡¯s well-trod path outside the monastery that have had issues,¡± explained Lezekus, and she winked at Amdirlain. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you think pointing out I had two extra classes and advice from a Goddess might allow for an exception?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Goddess now,¡± corrected Amdirlain gently. The exchange caused Sarith to shift about nervously, but she remained quiet. ¡°Lerina made it clear how that came about,¡± Lezekus whispered. ¡°And after I got word that you were merely lost, I still couldn¡¯t shake my grief.¡± ¡°Know that you should remember that valid emotions take the most work progressing through,¡± Sarith said, focusing on Lezekus. Amdirlain shifted position to sit beside Lezekus on the couch and lightly held her hand. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not reminding you of painful days.¡± Wiping her eyes, Lezekus let out a sharp exhalation. ¡°The sixth year was rough. Some instructors didn¡¯t quite believe we¡¯d had a Goddess among us, despite Liran?''s ascension to the Goddess of messengers, travellers, gateways, and crossroads.¡± Janus fell to Liran? as well? Or did someone else kill him, and Liran? acquire the mantle afterwards? ¡°Know that compared to Liran?¡¯s progress to becoming a champion, we¡¯ve lost a decade,¡± offered Gemiya, though her attention stayed fixed on Lezekus. ¡°Know that assignments that would challenge us simply ceased to be available after it became clear we weren¡¯t taking the Tier 5 Prestige classes.¡± ¡°We hit level eighty anyway by supplementing it with work outside hours, then they increased our roster rotation and kept us tending safe areas of the inner city and council chambers,¡± grumbled Lezekus. Amdirlain felt anger towards the rules lawyers flare. ¡°Has it been this way for all those in our group?¡± ¡°Know that most were content on the accepted routes even if others promise greater strength, as not everyone survives their travels even on known routes,¡± answered Lezekus carefully. ¡°Know that Nomein was also in that situation before she returned to her family in the City of Glass.¡± The grey in Lezekus¡¯ braids made Amdirlain aware of how many years had passed. ¡°Would you like me to reverse your ageing to give you more time?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We should contact Nomein and see if she also wants that option.¡± ¡°I know you did that with Ellniya, but how does it work?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Ageing is a type of natural damage, so it''s a matter of returning an individual¡¯s physical energy to a particular state,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯d use a different approach to what I used for Ellniya.¡± Even before it had evolved into True Song Architecture, her True Song Composition made it clear how her Ki energy had previously de-aged individuals. Then there were the three she knew Gail had restored to their youth by over-regenerating their flesh while tending to issues with organs. ¡°If it''s a different approach, I¡¯ll go first,¡± declared Lezekus enthusiastically. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Do you think I¡¯d use something on any of you I didn¡¯t know would work? I¡¯ll spend time fine-tuning it first to get the maximum benefit.¡± Giving the barest twitch of a head shake, Lezekus motioned at Sarith. ¡°Know she¡¯d be nervous but offer to go first. What do I have to do?¡± ¡°Who says there is a need for one at a time?¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Why would you offer such to me?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°I held no ill-will towards you, Sarith; that I couldn¡¯t reach you I took as my failing, not yours,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she gestured across the circle of chairs to where Gemiya sat. ¡°I''m certaintly not going to offer something to Gemiya that she¡¯d regret when you died of old age before her. Will one of you send a Message to Nomein? Then you can catch me up on the old dormitory¡¯s gossip.¡± * * * * * Even the highlights of two decades took a while for Amdirlain to get caught up. As she listened to their tales, she practised controlling the strength of her True Song. Starting with more swords at full force, she slowly reduced the energy within the music, creating assorted weapons and equipment containing a reduction in their enchantments¡¯ strength. After hours of work, the continual exercises in restraining the rush of energy now available within True Song Genesis caused it to progress. [True Song Genesis [Ap] (14->15)] Amdirlain kept going even after the increase, not even pausing when she sent off a request for Ebusuku to provide someone to back up her friends. Lezekus¡¯ reference to those not surviving known paths hadn¡¯t been an idle comment but referred to those from their dormitory who¡¯d perished. That Zenya was among that number was an unpleasant shock, one barely lessened for Lezekus having confirmed Zenya¡¯s Soul was in Liran?¡¯s domain. Her transition to the afterlife had compressed so many memories into mere seeds of wisdom within her Soul that she¡¯d barely stirred when Lezekus called her name. Amdirlain recalled the young girl she¡¯d first spoken to after their morning physical training, Grey eyes bright with runner¡¯s rush, and so soaked in sweat that her short black hair had clung to her scalp like a cap. ¡°I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll have to accept other advantages from me besides having your physical age reduced to twenty,¡± muttered Amdirlain after receiving that news. ¡°I gave another friend a Power called Protean that contains a powerful regeneration capacity; I''d like to give you that as well.¡± Gemiya looked up curiously with her spoon paused over a bowl of familiar vegetarian stew. ¡°You don¡¯t have to give us anything?¡± ¡°Yes, I do; for completely selfish reasons, I¡¯d prefer to give you the biggest survival advantages I can,¡± Amdirlain began gravely, but after pausing, she continued and deliberately tried to lighten her tone. ¡°I annoyed you for years while I was at the monastery.¡± ¡°Do you intend to return and scrub all the hallways in restitution?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°No, someone might try to spill the water while I work,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Why, do you think I might make a good janitor? Continually sweeping up around the training arenas?¡± Sarith sighed. ¡°Then what proper punishment duties would the hard-headed novices get assigned?¡± ¡°Though with that Power, I¡¯ll have to get you instructions for safely improving it as a Mortal,¡± mused Amdirlain. Torm¡¯s words about friendships with mortals being difficult came to mind and cut hard with his absence. ¡°Should I have not told you?¡± asked Lezekus. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°You should always try to remember absent friends.¡± As Amdirlain spoke, a reply to the query Lezekus had sent Nomein appeared and buzzed away. ¡°Nomein will be here in an hour¡ªshe just woke up,¡± announced Lezekus. ¡°I¡¯ll ask for some Celestial advice after we¡¯ve had time to catch up further.¡± Upon her arrival, Lezekus went down to meet Nomein outside the Blazing Portal, having avoided providing any hint as to why to meet them. So it was that Amdirlain ended up waving casually across the room at a gobsmacked Nomein. Nomein had shed the pragmatic garments of the monastery and instead dressed in a dark blue, rune-stitched shirt, pants, and grey shark-skin boots. A shark-skin belt with a mother-of-pearl buckle and assorted tasteful jewellery rounded out her outfit. Despite her wealthy appearance, nothing had faded in her combat capacity. Not only did Nomein move with fluid striking grace, but Amdirlain could hear her Class themes resonated with greater strength than the others. ¡°You¡¯re looking well off, Nomein,¡± said Amdirlain, as she could see Nomein finally gather her wits. ¡°Amdirlain,¡± yelled Nomein. From where she¡¯d frozen at the top of the stairs, Nomein raced over and dropped into Amdirlain¡¯s lap to enfold her in a hug. ¡°I thought for sure we¡¯d never see you again.¡± Amdirlain chuckled and gently patted her back. ¡°What have you been doing? By the way, your grammar has become awful.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich from you! I¡¯ve been keeping busy gathering materials for an auction house, which sends me all over, and I get to fight heaps of powerful foes,¡± admitted Nomein, her hands clasping Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Where were you for so long?¡± ¡°No, little Nomein¡¯s become a mercenary,¡± gasped Amdirlain in mock horror. ¡°Acquisition specialist, thank you. I got home to my parents and found they only wanted me to help run the shop. Boring!¡± proclaimed Nomein. ¡°Give us some details.¡± ¡°She wouldn¡¯t answer us when we asked,¡± noted Gemiya. ¡°No, I said I¡¯d tell you later. We were catching up on the dormitory gossip when you asked,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want me to get into details of gods and what risks the early stages of divinity contain?¡± ¡°Know you seem a lot stronger than before,¡± declared Nomein, unbothered by the question. ¡°Know you should have been here earlier; she¡¯s been adjusting what she projects for hours now,¡± advised Gemiya. ¡°Know it''s far easier to relax in her presence than it was initially.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to know I¡¯m making it easier,¡± said Amdirlain, having paid close attention to the tension within their expressions and song. ¡°Would you at least tell us how you came to perish?¡± persisted Nomein. ¡°In summary: I wasn¡¯t yet very strong divinity-wise while at the monastery. A stronger God had his worshippers summon me and tried to strip what is called a Mantle from me, so he could gain power from my worshippers'' faith. The action I took to prevent it led to my demise, but rather than destruction, the Titan¡¯s rules around Mantles and developing gods stuck me in his Maze. It took me time to get free, though I lost the Mantle. Lerina needs to take care of it for me until I¡¯m strong enough to regain it. End Story.¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s rules? Who¡¯s this Titan?¡± asked Nomein, not having shifted off Amdirlain¡¯s lap. ¡°Though there are various strengths of divine beings, the Titan¡¯s rules apply to them all,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Know I believe you¡¯re leaving an epic tale sitting untold,¡± huffed Gemiya. ¡°Stuff happened, but I spent a lot of time just waiting, studying, doing repetitive exercises, and occasionally taking some risks to push things along,¡± explained Amdirlain. Nomein twisted to look at the others, and as if they¡¯d practised it, they rolled their eyes in sync. Ignoring that she was sitting on Amdirlain¡¯s lap Nomein spun back around and tapped her nose. ¡°Share some information.¡± Nomein¡¯s unconcerned behaviour drew a snort from Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t I get a choice? Who taught you that eye roll? I¡¯d expect none of you to make such an exaggerated expression.¡± ¡°Sarah,¡± Gemiya admitted, and the others nodded. ¡°Know that she¡¯s been in touch with us all while you were ¡®locked up¡¯ as she put up.¡± ¡°I knew she visited the monastery, but you¡¯d returned to your home city. I didn¡¯t know she¡¯d tracked you down.¡± ¡°Know she kept in touch with us all regularly since your disappearance,¡± advised Nomein, waving a hand at the others. ¡°Despite the reassurances we received, it was sometimes hard to focus. You¡¯d always been there to help us, but we had done nothing for you. I would like to know more about what happened.¡± ¡°No, you had done a lot. Being around all of you helped me overcome the pain I¡¯d been dealing with, which helped me heal. Even now, remembering the peace of those years training with all of you helps me hold things together.¡± insisted Amdirlain, and she gave Nomein a gentle poke in the ribs. ¡°Will you sit in a chair and not my lap, please?¡± ¡°Spoilsport, I wanted to see if I could get you to blush,¡± grumbled Nomein, but she got up and dropped onto the chair beside Amdirlain. Amdirlain raised a brow. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°What, you¡¯re not a goddess anymore, are you? Come on, share some stories, or I¡¯ll keep flirting.¡± ¡°You¡¯re unbelievable,¡± laughed Amdirlain, ¡°And you''re gorgeous, so I¡¯ll happily flirt until you tell me to stop.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Stop, please. You¡¯ve become very metropolitan, but I¡¯m having an issue with a Skill¡¯s evolution, and I don¡¯t want to think I¡¯m leading you on.¡± ¡°Living places where I¡¯m the only Githz¨¦rai broadens one¡¯s perspective,¡± offered Nomein. ¡°I¡¯ll behave, but you¡¯ve been sitting there calm and focused.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a relief; my background had twisted a bunch of skills into an evolution I¡¯m not happy with possessing. It has a continual seduction aspect I''ve got to keep under tight control,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Why would you end up with something like that?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°I''ve come a long way from where I started, but it still affects some things I accomplish. I used to be Mortal, but I got cursed and became a Succubus. That¡¯s part of why my title included Lady of the Accursed,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d evolved my species to Fallen before I came to the monastery, and though I''ve found a way to get free, it''s a long path.¡± ¡°A Succubus? Cursed?¡± gasped Lezekus, sitting forward, eyes blazing in anger. ¡°Who did that to you?¡± ¡°He¡¯s trapped in the Abyss himself at present, in a far worse state than I¡¯m in; by cursing me, and others, he abused an artefact of the Titan,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she gave Lezekus a reassuring smile. ¡°The others are free, but the wording in cursing me means I need to take a different route. It¡¯s been a long road already, but I know my end goal now; it¡¯ll be alright. Now let me start at my arrival.¡± The four listened intently as Amdirlain explained the Maze¡¯s layout and purpose, going into the details of freeing deserving entities and destroying others to trigger the guardians to fight her. The vines and the recovered memories she left well alone. A Message orb, buzzing with a voice she¡¯d not heard in some time, appeared mid-story, and Amdirlain halted to listen. ¡°Ebusuku said you wanted a guide. I¡¯ve arrived at the Blazing Portal and am on my way up.¡± Signalling the others to wait, Amdirlain moved to the door in a blur and hauled it open to find Rasha stepping into the corridor. True Sight revealed a heavily muscular Hound Archon compressed into a lean Catfolk, similar in height to her, with black and dark-green spotted fur. He wore the same style of loose shirts, and pants that reached his extended ankle joint, though the short swords and daggers had been replaced with far stronger enchantments. ¡°It is good that our breaths mingle again, Am; many in your tribe miss you.¡± Amdirlain stepped forward and momentarily touched her forehead to his. ¡°Ras, it is good that your breath mingles with mine again. Gail has shared much of your journey. Did you enjoy teaching her?¡± ¡°It was good to take care of her. I taught, and I learnt. Given that she has found others to hunt with, it is time to move on. Ebusuku says you have some you wish me to guide on the hunt so they can grow stronger.¡± said Rasha. ¡°I do indeed. Come through and let me introduce you to the four of them,¡± said Amdirlain, ushering him inside. 277 - Pay the piper Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Amdirlain introduced Rasha simply with the shortened Ras that Gail had bestowed on him when she was a child. Nomein took his appearance in stride, but the others at times looked at him curiously while Amdirlain finished her tale about the Maze. ¡°Amdirlain requested a guide, but what type of challenges do you seek?¡± asked Rasha. Gemiya gave the barest shoulder twitch. ¡°Know that anything to push our limits is the only thing I seek.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯d like to be away from Limbo for a while and to see new places,¡± Lezekus added. ¡°I ask because there are some celestials well past the level where they could take a Tier 7 Prestige Class but have not gained a suitable achievement to do so,¡± advised Rasha. ¡°Seeking to have lots of levels combined into a Tier 5 is different to achieving a Tier 7.¡± ¡°But the way Amdirlain explained it, the achievement required is relative to the person¡¯s power,¡± protested Nomein, and she glanced over at Amdirlain. ¡°Or did I misunderstand the explanation in the monastery?¡± ¡°It is indeed relative to the person,¡± admitted Rasha. ¡°Well, we¡¯re not celestials with all the extra powers and other factors that go into it,¡± argued Nomein. ¡°We¡¯ve only got what our classes and dedication provided.¡± ¡°Very well. We¡¯ve been clearing the ruins of undead and demons on a world called Cemna,¡± offered Rasha. ¡°There are some ruins we¡¯ve located but not cleared yet, and its atmosphere would be breathable to you without spells.¡± ¡°Know I hadn¡¯t considered that; Limbo generates the air around a person,¡± Lezekus commented. ¡°That¡¯s my first suggestion, since most ruins have areas that challenge those not yet possessing Prestige classes. I¡¯ve been to other worlds where you¡¯d need to use magical protections constantly. Otherwise, I¡¯m happy to accompany you anywhere in Limbo and watch your backs,¡± continued Rasha. ¡°Know I¡¯d like to see what it''s like to travel on a world, even if only once,¡± offered Sarith. ¡°Do we need to rush off?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°I¡¯m going to use this suite as a base of operation for a few years. You¡¯re welcome to use the bedrooms since I¡¯ve no use for them. I just wanted a sunlit place to meditate and relax occasionally,¡± stated Amdirlain. Sarith looked around. ¡°Know that you have a modest little place here; I can see how it suits that requirement. Know this suite is a bit bright to sleep in.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll set an enchantment around the beds to dim the light when you lay down. It wouldn¡¯t even take a few minutes to set up something like that for you. Nomein, the others told me about the obstructiveness that the city elders resorted to, and I offered to physically restore you all to your twenties. Would you be interested?¡± ¡°Goodness, yes; more years to see if I can gain Immortal Spirit,¡± exclaimed Nomein. ¡°I can¡¯t help you with that one, but I know where you can get advice,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Master Cyrus visited a few times after your disappearance; I¡¯ve recorded all he had to say on the subject, but it was cryptic,¡± said Nomein. ¡°So his boss isn¡¯t the only one that tends to offer riddles instead of instructions,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Let me handle the age reversal.¡± The energy ran through them, rejuvenating them from head to toe. While Lezekus¡¯ grey hair needed to grow out, Amdirlain washed them clean of healed scars and carefully controlled the energy to set them in their early twenties. To force the power to dilute among the healing, two powers clicked into place with each of them¡ªProtean and Inventory. Gemiya inhaled sharply. ¡°That felt-¡± ¡°Invigorating,¡± interjected Nomein, stretching her arms overhead and twisting about. ¡°Know my right shoulder doesn¡¯t pop anymore.¡± ¡°Oh, were you feeling your age?¡± Sarith quipped. ¡°I¡¯m not that much older than you,¡± huffed Nomein. ¡°Know for a moment I thought you¡¯d regain your capacity for grammar,¡± noted Gemiya. Nomein presented her a palm and turned back to Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a reason why you¡¯re in this town?¡± ¡°Plenty of lovely sunlight, and it''s the one town in the Outlands I¡¯ve been to,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I just need to empty the one bedroom I¡¯ve used as a storeroom, but otherwise, you can take your pick.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not here for anything we can help you with?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Part of the reason I picked a town is to redirect a Skill evolution. Hiding away won¡¯t help me with that, but interacting with others might. Did any of you need equipment before I emptied that bedroom?¡± ¡°What have you got stored?¡± enquired Nomein, leaning closer to Amdirlain. ¡°Enchanted items that I¡¯ve made,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You can have any of them that catch your fancy. Though be warned, some of the enchantments'' strength might mean they¡¯re uncomfortable to use until you¡¯re stronger.¡± Nomein clapped excitedly. ¡°What sort of items?¡± The exuberance of Nomein¡¯s behaviour compared to the others again caught Amdirlain by surprise. ¡°Weapons, various protective items, flying carpets, scrying mirrors, and a few hundred other things,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve provided Protean, and Inventory to each of you, to help you out.¡± ¡°You explained Protean, but what¡¯s Inventory?¡± asked Gemiya, and her lips gave the barest twitch. ¡°Know that I don¡¯t look like I¡¯ve suddenly become a shop.¡± ¡°Hold up. If Amdirlain explained Protean, it was before I got here,¡± countered Nomein. ¡°It¡¯s a Power that allows you to shapeshift, and the primary reason I gave it is that it''s a strong regeneration Power. You¡¯ll need to be careful how you develop the shapeshifting aspect. As for Inventory, here is a quick demonstration.¡± Mentally projecting the process to them, Amdirlain retrieved a crystal and displayed it on her palm before storing it again. ¡°Presently, you¡¯ll be able to store about ten kilograms, but it will increase the more you push its limits and find ways to use it.¡± ¡°How does it work?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°The Power connects to a personal pocket dimension, and in some circumstances, it can be blocked from use. By adding the Power to you, I created it at the initial size I mentioned,¡± advised Amdirlain. She presented them with another mental projection cataloguing how she¡¯d used Inventory to force its growth. Amdirlain continued the sharing while she used the Power to shift a collection of enchanted jewellery from the bedroom and placed it on the living room¡¯s low table. ¡°All those offer various elemental resistances, the colour of the gems indicates the element. These are protective bracers that maintain deflection fields.¡± This time, an assortment of matching bracers appeared on the table, each set decorated with a unique pattern to simplify identifying them. ¡°Fuck,¡± breathed Nomein, and she ran her fingers across bracers that showed the pattern of a crashing wave. Setting them aside, she checked others and pushed more aside. ¡°Most of these are making my hands buzz.¡± ¡°I see I was a corrupting influence,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Absolutely,¡± joked Nomein. Rasha picked up the first set of bracers Nomein had set aside and examined the pattern curiously. ¡°Is this meant to be an ocean¡¯s waves?¡± ¡°Yes. If you like them, you can have them,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°They feel like there is a storm approaching,¡± observed Rasha, and he exchanged them for the bracers he was already wearing. ¡°But they aren¡¯t uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Most of the things I¡¯ve made might be too strong still; I¡¯ll need to work harder on restraining myself to minor enchantments,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Rasha¡¯s whiskers twitched upwards. ¡°You have problems creating weaker things?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve had a few issues with Power evolutions lifting the limits of what I can do,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°We can test them for you,¡± offered Nomein, and after she ran her fingers across each, pointing to a pair that looked woven. ¡°Those are the least uncomfortable, but I wouldn¡¯t want to wear them constantly.¡± Amdirlain checked them with Analysis and sighed. ¡°Defensive rating is twelve hundred on those.¡± ¡°And these?¡± asked Rasha, lifting his arm to let the sleeve fall away from the bracers he¡¯d donned. ¡°Three thousand,¡± advised Amdirlain. Rasha snorted in surprise before he gave a chuffing laugh. ¡°It is, again, such hardship dealing with you. When I met Amdirlain in the Maze, she wouldn¡¯t let me fight in case I had too much fun to want to leave.¡± ¡°Please, you were playing with a Hill Giant when I first met you,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°For those in trials, dying in the Maze is the end; I wasn¡¯t going to risk you.¡± ¡°Exactly, you don¡¯t like risking those under your protection, so you create defensive items of such strength and offer them freely,¡± stated Rasha, and he switched the bracers for the weaker set Amdirlain had identified. ¡°These are still stronger protections, and I¡¯m not relying on the item.¡± ¡°Take both, then you have an upgrade, or if you are fighting something that can easily hit you,¡± argued Amdirlain. Though his lips curled in amusement, Rasha tucked the pair he set down into a belt pouch. ¡°You don¡¯t have Inventory. May I?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Are you planning to give that Power to everyone?¡± chuffed Rasha. ¡°Not everyone, but Gail¡¯s shared it with some people who impressed her,¡± replied Amdirlain. When Rasha nodded, Amdirlain quickly mingled the Power¡¯s theme into his music. Finishing the song, Amdirlain waved at the bracers and repeated the example for him. Effortlessly following her instructions, Rasha playfully stored and retrieved the bracers. ¡°I¡¯ll let Wisp know that you¡¯re to be registered as guests. Please make yourself at home,¡± said Amdiralin. Using Inventory, Amdirlain reached out and stored all the equipment from the bedroom before she headed for the suite¡¯s door. ¡°I¡¯ve cleared the bedroom.¡± Dropping downstairs, Amdirlain found Wisp playing the same game with the die and cups. ¡°Can you also register my visitors as guests in the suite?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°The four Githz¨¦rai and the cat?¡± asked Wisp. ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she provided each of their names once Wisp was ready to write them down¡ªthough she stuck with using Rasha¡¯s alias. Wisp spun on the spot momentarily when the last name was added. ¡°That means there are six of you upstairs and only four bedrooms.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Oh, decadent,¡± buzzed Wisp. ¡°I¡¯ll let Fanya know that the suite has nearly full occupancy.¡± Keeping her laughter in check, Amdirlain nodded politely. ¡°Thank you. I won¡¯t expect her to review the suite¡¯s fee while the additional guests remain.¡± Five new guest tokens appeared on the counter. ¡°Please feel free to do many things that I can¡¯t do, but remember: too messy, and there is an extra laundry service fee.¡± Not sure what to say, Amdirlain retrieved the tokens and hurriedly retreated. When she reached the suite¡¯s living room, Amdirlain found Rasha had a map of a circular city projected over the table. ¡°Planning the city¡¯s clearance?¡± ¡°I was going over the approach we normally take before we adjust it to suit their tactics and abilities,¡± advised Rasha. ¡°Mind if I listen in?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I only worked clearing out canyons, not fought house to house in a city.¡± Nomein perked up and patted her lap. ¡°The view is fine from here.¡± Amdirlain rolled her eyes and returned to her chair. ¡°Behave.¡± ¡°Badly?¡± Snorting, Amdirlain considered what to do with the items she¡¯d created and deposited them in the suite¡¯s library. ¡°Know Amdirlain asked you not to flirt,¡± reminded Lezekus. ¡°Sorry Amdirlain, but I¡¯m not good at not flirting. I¡¯ll try to follow your request, but I learnt that sometimes you need to seize life by the throat and live,¡± said Nomein. Amdirlain used Far Hand to deliver an entry token to each of them. ¡°Entry token for the suite¡¯s main door.¡± * * * * * Amdirlain paused mid-conversation with Rasha when a Message created by True Song whispered in her ear. It contained a summary and a burst of critical notes that was enough to find any being. ¡°The scales have been provided to a Mortal. Their name is K¨®ri H¨¢lfrormr, and they possess the classes High Priest / Trickster / Fighter / Thief. Detected affiliation is Loki.¡± The latest news shocked her into stillness, and with her lips parted to speak, Ras looked at her curiously. ¡°I need to tend to something urgently,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she motioned towards the darkened bedrooms. ¡°Take care of them, please; I¡¯m not sure how long I¡¯ll be.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll continue the planning tomorrow at least. I might spar with them a bit before we venture out to get a feel for their capabilities.¡± ¡°Sounds wise,¡± said Amdirlain, and she teleported far away from Xaos and appeared beneath the canopy of a large tree. Concentrating on the music the Message had provided Analysis, Amdirlain tried to focus on his history rather than statistics. [Name: K¨®ri H¨¢lfrormr Species: Human (Norse Ancestary) Class: High Priest / Trickster / Fighter / Thief Level: 52 / 52 / 52 /52 Details: High Priest of Loki. K¨®ri¡¯s family was killed during the Gods¡¯ War. His ambitions for the Temple of Loki have been repeatedly curtailed¡ªboth before and after the war¡ªby the influence of Tyr and Amdirlain¡¯s Cadre. Though he tried to manipulate Jarl Ti¨²emundr¡¯s eldest son (did you ever bother to learn his name?) into activities to counter them, that puppet was put down by the cadre¡¯s leadership. He has since been working on various plots to distract the leadership of both groups while gaining influence over the township to cast off their ¡®tightening¡¯ rule. Note: Still using Analysis to look at the microdetails?] Releasing the Message, Amdirlain considered options and pulled out a crystal to prepare a few enchantments. Using the song that had accompanied the Message, Amdiralin confirmed he was still present on the Elemental Plane of Fire. Her song reached across planes and ejected him from the Elemental Plane of Fire, and planar shifted him straight to her. The song''s focus had the wards believing he was leaving rather than being dragged away. The man wasn¡¯t what Amdirlain had expected; instead of a rat face individual, she was faced with a well-muscled and square-jawed man whose wavey red hair reached his shoulders. He was clad in sturdy cloth garments and rugged boots, topped over with a chain shirt and glowing with enchantments; to Amdirlain¡¯s True Sight, one of the strongest of those was to protect him from fire. He looked like someone central casting might provide for a heroic individual or the cover of a romance novel. The sudden light shift had him grab the longsword at his waist while a Blessing formed on his lips. Yet the first word had barely begun when Amdirlain broke his jaw. Lightning-fast strikes shattered both his wrists, and she seized him by the throat. Despite the urge to kill him and tear the information from his Soul, she deliberately and carefully pinned him against a nearby tree trunk. ¡°Torm. Tell me everything, now!¡± A gurgled shrieking protest was all he managed past his broken jaw. Yet the name lifted a thread of thoughts to the surface of K¨®ri¡¯s mind, and Amdirlain yanked hard. She found neither Torm¡¯s ally nor puppet but the manipulator Analysis shown within his details. Loose lips in Tyr¡¯s church had shared Livia¡¯s pain about Torm¡¯s situation, and eventually, it had reached K¨®ri¡¯s unfriendly ears. He hadn¡¯t even waited to see what would follow that Message before he started work on creating a distraction of his own. Others caught by the Cadre¡¯s divination magics had provided him with multiple examples that he¡¯d best thoroughly cover his tracks. Images of various cities flashed through his mind, a blood-stained blade was pulled from the chest of a confused man before a treasured book was ripped from his dying grasp. That had just been the beginning of his ¡®research¡¯. Taking planar excursions had provided him with more pieces confirming the details from the book, and eventually, the deception had been kicked off. ¡°I don¡¯t care about the murderers you organised to have killed; normally, I¡¯d cheer on the result if not the means. But your little plot hurt Livia and stained Torm¡¯s name. I¡¯m not sure you can understand how much trouble you¡¯re in now,¡± snarled Amdirlain. Despite carefully shifting to her True Form, her anger caused her aura to blaze across her outstretched wings. His eyes bulged as a wave of panic ran through K¨®ri¡¯s mind, and his bowels cut loose. ¡°I know your boss doesn¡¯t care about what pieces he uses in his games. However, I object to this game; you¡¯re not your God, so don¡¯t expect me to laugh it off. I want to tear your Soul from your body and flush everything you¡¯ve ever dreamt of away for eternity. You should be thankful that wouldn¡¯t ease the pain you caused Livia with this charade,¡± Amdirlain snapped, fighting to contain her fury. Ignoring the gurgled response, Amdirlain cleaned away the waste and stench before sending a message. ¡°Livia, it wasn¡¯t Torm that hired the cultists; it was a High Priest named K¨®ri H¨¢lfrormr, resident of Eyrarh¨¢ls. Do you want me to hold him for trial, or should I deal with him?¡± Livia¡¯s sleepy response buzzed into existence a few minutes later. ¡°M¨®eir? What¡¯s happened?¡± ¡°Sorry for waking you. K¨®ri H¨¢lfrormr organised the killing, not Torm. He heard of Torm¡¯s situation and eventually made the arrangements with the cultists via The Exchange,¡± Amdirlain replied, and she added a mental image of their location. ¡°I¡¯ll come to you shortly.¡± A Gate opened ten minutes later its structure focused on Amdirlain¡¯s name, and Livia stepped through; she was neatly dressed, but her hair was still sleep tossed. K¨®ri¡¯s pain-filled eyes flicked between them; Amdirlain caught his preparation to shapeshift and suppressed it. [Suppress Target [J] (20->21)] Amdirlain smiled at him coldly. ¡°Feel free to attempt that as much as you like; I need to practice that Power.¡± ¡°What did you learn from him?¡± asked Livia. Rather than inflict first-hand images and his twisted thoughts on Livia, Amdirlain gave her a concise summary of K¨®ri¡¯s schemes. Both his plans to fracture the influence of Tyr¡¯s church over Eyrarh¨¢ls and the cadre¡¯s control over the three kingdoms. ¡°Why make it so complex?¡± ¡°Two reasons: to prove to his boss he could pull off a grand trick, and the Cadre had helped you catch others,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she returned to her Wood Elf form. ¡°He killed the Sage that gave him the information about the planar groups. He believed he¡¯d covered his tracks between that and using the cultists, but wanted to be sure.¡± Livia drew a set of chains out of a storage pouch but stopped when she saw K¨®ri¡¯s broken wrists. ¡°Hard to shackle him for trial.¡± ¡°Mana suppressing chains?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Livia said, and she hefted them as if weighing their use as a weapon. ¡°He has a Shapeshift Power as well,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Of course he does, but one thing at a time,¡± sighed Livia. ¡°It¡¯s not the first time we¡¯ve had to secure one of L¡¯s priests for trial.¡± ¡°L¡¯s priests, playing it safe,¡± huffed Amdirlain, before she glared at K¨®ri anew. ¡°Open your mouth to chant a single syllable, and I¡¯ll shatter your arms completely, then geld you.¡± With that, she ran Ki through her hand and healed the injuries she¡¯d inflicted, heedless of the bones straightening with a snap. Amdirlain stripped K¨®ri of all his magical items and dumped them on the ground. ¡°Where does this leave you with finding Torm?¡± asked Livia once she¡¯d finished securing K¨®ri with the chains and other items. Checking each of the items, Livia stored them in the pouch from which she¡¯d withdrawn the chains. Eyeing the now-gagged K¨®ri suspiciously, Amdirlain set barriers to block his hearing and blindfold him. ¡°Not taking a chance that he can read lips. This was the only lead I was following,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Mars and Tyr are seeking information from Mimir, and he¡¯s set a price for that information. Mars told me he would speak to Tyr about helping meet the price, but I don¡¯t know why it would take them both. Perhaps it''s outside Tyr¡¯s influence as a God of justice.¡± Amdirlain felt the attention of both the gods settle upon their conversation, but had no way to determine if it was simply their background awareness listening in. ¡°What if they can¡¯t meet his price and he¡¯s just playing them?¡± asked Livia. ¡°I know enough Norse legends to know some can be deliberately obstructive.¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get information from the others that fell at the same time as to where they emerged. After this long, it''s unlikely that I¡¯ll be able to learn anything from the site.¡± ¡°How are you going to do that?¡± ¡°I caught them. There had been two weak Fallen hanging around Moloch¡¯s palace. After I got free from the lock, I captured them and found they were from Torm¡¯s group. I¡¯m trying to purify their corruption,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she raised a hand at the excited glow that suddenly shone in Livia¡¯s gaze. ¡°The only method I¡¯ve had work on Mortal souls was to strip their memories away and then clean out the corruption. The corruption seems secured to the memories and won¡¯t shift while they remain.¡± Livia gripped Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°There has to be another way.¡± Hugging Livia reassuringly, Amdirlain murmured. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve found so far, but I¡¯ve still got experiments to do; the damned provide me plenty of chances. My priority is to find him before he makes his recovery harder.¡± After exchanging goodbyes, Amdirlain shooed Livia back through her Gate with K¨®ri in tow. ¡°Tyr, would it help you to find Torm if I showed one of your celestials the other two victims of Moloch¡¯s crime? If so, they¡¯re welcome to come along while I check in on the prisoners I¡¯ve got.¡± The sudden appearance of the avatar under the canopy with her wasn¡¯t the response Amdirlain had expected. He stood at least two and a half metres tall, clad in a gleaming mithril chain hauberk atop dark green clothing and grey leather boots. His left arm terminating below his elbow reminded her of the differences in the tale she¡¯d heard in this realm compared to the Norse legends she¡¯d learnt at home. The russet hair that fell to his shoulders likewise wasn¡¯t the image of a Viking she¡¯d grown up with, but she¡¯d yet to meet a blond full-blooded Norse. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I wasn¡¯t expecting you to show up yourself,¡± said Amdirlain, and she stepped forward to offer her right hand. Tyr gave Amdirlain a respectful nod and carefully clasped her forearm. ¡°You did invite me to send someone along. Since you freed me from being bound to a single world, sending another when I could come along wouldn¡¯t be honourable. It was good you handed K¨®ri over for trial; it will help undo more of whatever schemes he had going on.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for that reason, only because it would help heal some of Livia¡¯s distress over the bodies,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Shall I open a Gate to the prisoners¡¯ location so you can see them across the threshold? Would that be sufficient for you?¡± ¡°More than enough,¡± agreed Tyr. When the Gate connected to the other corridor, Tyr motioned to the closest cell despite the solid stone. ¡°She shows signs of her original celestial state but twisted into a foul mirror.¡± ¡°You can see through the stone?¡± ¡°Not so much see through it; I¡¯m simply aware of everything around me for kilometres, regardless of what lies in between,¡± explained Tyr. ¡°I take it you know of her oath link to Moloch?¡± ¡°The oath link relies on her strength, and we¡¯ve set up the crystals to block communication via it and other means. I¡¯m hoping to send the corruption across it since it likes to cling to memories; perhaps I can shift its grip onto his instead,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Forcing his assistance in such a fashion is likely the only weregild they¡¯ll get,¡± offered Tyr. ¡°It''s not going to be the only weregild. I¡¯m free from Culerzic, but his little fiefdom isn¡¯t free from me. I¡¯ll collect more destroyed goods and demons on their behalf yet,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°With Mimir¡¯s request, can I contribute in any way?¡± Tyr gave a kind smile. ¡°His request isn¡¯t problematic, simply time-consuming and, given my part in Torm¡¯s loss, I¡¯ll be fulfilling that fee. I should have told Torm to stop assisting their operations unless they allowed you to work with them. You said to Livia you¡¯re going to be experimenting. What is it that you hear from your prisoners?¡± His redirection of their conversation got a nod from Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like an example? Though the closest I can get is an interpretation of the details I hear.¡± The offer had Tyr¡¯s brows lift. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m curious to understand what it is you hear.¡± ¡°Well, this isn¡¯t a pleasant introduction to True Song; I¡¯ll let you listen to something nicer afterwards,¡± said Amdirlain. Amdirlain focused Resonance on the former Astra Deva and projected the music past the protections of her Hidden state. The oily notes slithered across jagged edges of emotion that constantly ripped at the entrapped Fallen¡¯s harboured rage burning within her chest. Spiteful slapping beats struck from within the orchestra; they grasped for attention, continually at war with other self-interested themes. A horde of twisted and negative emotions roared, lashing out in discordant strikes within the orchestra, proclaiming the details of her powers and capabilities. Amdirlain let the spiteful composition play through her projected thoughts only briefly before she switched to projecting the surrounding forest''s song. The combined orchestra should have been white noise, but her intelligence and Power picked out the individual components and presented them carefully, from the lilting notes of the breeze dancing through the canopy teasing at the leaves to the steady tempo of the roots growing through the soil. She compartmentalised the information and mapped the world around them in a tapestry of interwoven sounds. Birds hopping between branches with twigs clutched in their beaks a half kilometre away showed enough detail to make out the shift of individual feathers. Amdirlain focused on a single bird, and the music told the story of the energy of its motions, the interplay of friction and gravity countered by the force of flexing muscles. The effort it expended showed in a steady slowing of tapping beats within its form while counterbalancing notes proclaimed its growing hunger that was niggling for attention. Skipping about, Amdirlain presented him with details of growing trees and the other animals hiding in the forest. She shifted focus and went across the details of one creature with long-healed injuries whose attention was on the strange scents nearby. When Amdirlain stopped the projection, Tyr hummed thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯m aware of all the items, but only as if I had a clear line of sight on everything. The amount of information you can learn about each is amazing¡ªthe history and the current state. Is it just the current song that tells you all of it, or do you hear the impressions from the past?¡± ¡°Just their current flesh; regrowth of bones and scarred flesh tell the story of an injury,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°These songs were how you could kill the other Astral Deva that had been trapped?¡± enquired Tyr. ¡°Everything about someone is contained within the music.¡± ¡°This is how you could threaten the group¡¯s leader with such confidence. You¡¯d know their strength compared to yours and have a link,¡± stated Tyr thoughtfully. ¡°You¡¯ve been free days, and I¡¯ve not heard anything about you chastising them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m still of two minds as to what to do, but part of me wants to hurt them so very badly.¡± ¡°To you, they behaved spitefully after you identified two dangers. To them, they were keeping a strange rogue element from influencing operations that had gone relatively smoothly for centuries,¡± replied Tyr. ¡°Revenge isn¡¯t justice, though many see it as the same thing.¡± ¡°Things are constantly changing in the Abyss, and they wanted to pin all that on me. They were in denial then, and if they stay in denial, someone else might pay the price if they return to that work,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got lots of experience in repeating a mistake and then paying a higher price later.¡± ¡°You were both understandably keeping secrets from each other. You had contributed to their safety, and after the other Celestial issue was confirmed, they should have extended you some trust. Have you confirmed they¡¯re in denial now, or are you assuming their mindset to provide an outlet for your grief?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Isn¡¯t it a starting point to confirm a situation before planning how to deal with it?¡± asked Tyr. ¡°Would you like someone to treat you for how you used to be, or how you are now?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Until I hear them acknowledge they screwed up, I¡¯m unsure what to do. So far, they seem to have gotten off very easily, and everyone on their team paid the price for their paranoia.¡± ¡°I heard the path wasn¡¯t as kind as we¡¯d hope, and don¡¯t want it to weigh you down with more debt,¡± said Tyr. ¡°Shall I ask if they¡¯ll speak to you peacefully to resolve this?¡± ¡°Why are you offering to mediate between us?¡± Tyr gently rested a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I count you as more than just an ally of convenience or one whose interests coincide. You help me without seeking repayment in turn. I¡¯d help a friend put a burden of pain behind her or decide how to extract a weregild from a stubborn fool¡ªwhich she won¡¯t need to do alone. Though I¡¯m hoping they¡¯ve already recognised the error they made. Shall I see if their Liege will let us talk to them?¡± ¡°I can likely open a Gate to them if they¡¯re outside or near the Domain¡¯s border,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯d have to stand well back from the energies.¡± ¡°How about you close the one to the prison, and we¡¯ll talk while we wait to see if we hear from their Liege,¡± suggested Tyr. ¡°If we don¡¯t hear from them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Then we figure out how to secure a Celestial for a hearing without their Liege¡¯s cooperation.¡± 278 - Make waves Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Amdirlain didn¡¯t hear any Message, but when Tyr moved to sit with his back propped against a nearby tree, she closed the Gate. ¡°What did you want to talk about?¡± asked Amdirlain before she perched on a branch jutting out at waist height. ¡°My neighbour seems fascinated with you; any idea why?¡± ¡°If you are talking about the Platinum Dragon who offered you a real estate deal, he and Orh¨ºthurin certainly have a lot of history between them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°She was involved in organising some worlds later inhabited by various draconic species. Did you have any particular reason you didn¡¯t say his name?¡± ¡°Only in case you wanted to keep the discussion from him,¡± admitted Tyr. ¡°I like Bahamut from what I¡¯ve remembered of him. He was always friendly to Orh¨ºthurin and on occasion had helped her,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she waved playfully at the sensation of being watched. ¡°They shared a mutual respect, even if they didn¡¯t always agree. While I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin, I¡¯ve liked the memories of Bahamut I¡¯ve recalled.¡± ¡°You seem very relaxed to have some of his attention your way; even some beings from the heavenly planes would be concerned,¡± remarked Tyr. ¡°The memories I recover contain emotions at times; Orh¨ºthurin frequently visited Bahamut, and those meetings left happy impressions,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Would you answer a question?¡± ¡°It depends on the question.¡± ¡°Why did Fen let Odinn injure her?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°She would have been able to see him approaching and didn¡¯t need Runa to warn her. She played it up instead, even holding back instead of instantly obliterating Raivo.¡± ¡°She was playing with him but still somewhat underestimated his spear¡¯s strength. Fen was amused by Runa''s panicked reaction to the scratch she took. I believe she might have grown a soft spot for your little Celestial. But how did you know?¡± ¡°Fen confessed to being a Primordial being, and the Norse gods were terrified by Fen¡¯s strength; thus, they continually tried to chain her. Her strength didn¡¯t fade in your old realm, did it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It did not,¡± admits Tyr ¡°The Titan doesn¡¯t care about Primordial beings entering as long as they follow his rules, so she still has her old strength. The Gods¡¯ War rules deactivated mantles; it can¡¯t strip powers from true gods or primordials,¡± Amdirlain said, and she raised an eyebrow. ¡°Why didn''t she tear the rest apart?¡± ¡°I picked a den,¡± Tyr replied, and he emphasised the last word. ¡°Wolf instincts, she came to the den and stayed to protect it and her mate instead of hunting when there wasn¡¯t need?¡± asked Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°Fen is very much a creature of her instincts and temper,¡± admitted Tyr. ¡°The mantles she gained, what did she end up doing with them?¡± Tyr gave a relaxed shrug. ¡°In the end, she gave all of them away to individuals she felt helped keep Eyrarh¨¢ls safe, a far better outcome than it might have been.¡± ¡°You were worried about what would happen if she ended up with a host of mantles?¡± ¡°It would have changed her for the worse. The mantles come with certain perceptions and can influence the natures of individuals,¡± cautioned Tyr. ¡°I sometimes wonder how different Ebusuku will be when you reclaim your Mantle.¡± ¡°She¡¯s told me about some of her capabilities, but given your explanation of how you perceive around yourself, I wonder what she¡¯s skipped over, assuming I already knew it,¡± mused Amdirlain. Tyr sat up with a puzzled smile. ¡°They have acknowledged your request to speak to them. They¡¯ll be on the edge of their Liege¡¯s Domain shortly. I hadn¡¯t expected their Liege to respond so quickly, or wish to be included in the discussion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to reopen that prison Gate and make the stone cells transparent from our side so they can see what they let happen to their allies,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°It''s one way to be on the front foot,¡± agreed Tyr. Moving out to a nearby clearing, Amdirlain reopened the Gate and altered the stone cells so they could observe the prisoners. The corruption steam still wafted from both prisoners, the same as when she had last seen them. When Amdirlain opened the Gate to the Seven Heavens, she¡¯d kept it well away from herself but ensured it had a clear line of sight through the other Gate. Despite her planning, the strength of the orderly Celestial energies still prompted her to step back as Pain Eater catalogued the burn a brief exposure had caused. As it washed across her, it forced her True Form to emerge, but she reverted to Wood Elf form once clear of its influence. Through the Gate was the unconcealed figure of Caltzan, a tiny version of the fallen eldest¡¯s original shape. They had the same multi-limbed form that matched Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s recovered memory of the fallen solars in the Titan¡¯s forge room. Overall, they seemed like a strange mutated lizard holding the front of its green-scaled body arched up from the ground. Their eyeless head connected directly to their shoulders, with a handful of finger-length tendrils nested in the middle, tasting the surrounding energies. Of the six pairs of limbs, the first set were pincers that began at shoulder height and projected upwards at a slight angle. Level with the middle of their ribs, and in line with a trio of mouths, was a pair of boneless cables of muscle the length of her forearm that ended in a blunt stump ringed with eight thin fingers. Only a hand span beneath their ribs, their body ran parallel to the ground, and four sets of clawed reptilian legs were spaced along its lower body before a blunted tail. A pair of translucent white membrane wings extended from its back, a delicate material that looked utterly out of place with the rest of its form. Beyond the Celestial lay a grassy plain, and a dozen kilometres away was the leading edge of a giant artificial mountain covered in thousands of openings. Even without its song, the regularity of its shape and the path encircling it proclaimed its constructed nature. Amdirlain started to speak when beside Caltzan appeared their Liege; the Deity was similar in form but with watery blue scales. Resonance traced the lines of energy that spun off from them in the trillions across the planes, and Amdirlain felt them woven into bridges connecting to thousands of worlds. The vibrance of Tyr¡¯s harmonics was meek compared to their racket, and Amdirlain had to hold back the other Deity¡¯s music¡ªits force earned her a notification. [Resonance [S] (76->77)] With the pressure continuing against Resonance, Amdirlain focused Analysis on Caltzan to see his details. [Name: Rhithri Species: Astral Deva Class: Planar Scout / Nest Guardian / Vanguard / Shrine Shield Level: 65 / 65 / 65 / 65 / 65 Health: 342,400 Defence: 2,128 Magic: 1,260 Mana: 900,900 Melee Attack Power: 1,625 Combat Skills: Claws [GM] (223), Short Blades [GM] (210) - Assorted Spell lists and blessings Details: A relatively new servant of the Formithian Deity, Aogruco, of nests, growth, and purity, formed when they lived upon the Formithian¡¯s original home world. Rhithri has undertaken many dangerous duties to further Aogruco¡¯s goals. Their highest priority is always Aogruco''s teachings and principles, regardless of other considerations. Note: Ain¡¯t they such a good little drone?] The link between Rhithri and the Divine being beside them made it clear they were in Aogruco¡¯s presence. The notation in Analysis caused Amdirlain¡¯s gaze to narrow, but she motioned to the prisoners. ¡°I thought you might like to see what came from your paranoia.¡± ¡°They fell to corruption. Why should I wish to view them? They knew the risks of venturing into the Abyss before the mission began,¡± replied Rhithri. ¡°The one you knew as Oitrix getting entangled in the Balor¡¯s whip distracted the other two to its aid; they should have charged the Balor as I did. Better death than corruption.¡± ¡°If I¡¯d been along, I would have been able to tell you it was a trap. None of them would have fallen, and you wouldn¡¯t be subject to a Planar Lock right now.¡± ¡°You were a bad omen-¡± The words lit a molten rage inside Amdirlain, and she interrupted. ¡°What, you can¡¯t listen to your liege? Do you need omens to tell you your duty?¡± ¡°You are ignorant of the purpose of omens. They do not give us instructions; they tell us if our course will achieve the best result for our Liege¡¯s mission, not what my Liege needs to be handled,¡± retorted Rhithri. ¡°Your presence with my team sat under a bad omen; lesser results would come from your continued involvement in our missions.¡± ¡°How can you say that when this is the result?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she pointed at the two prisoners, still oblivious to being under observation. ¡°I could have stopped this from happening, along with Torm¡¯s loss and N¨¢rendil¡¯s suffering.¡± ¡°Would you have set up the crystal detectors to find the mortals without being motivated by Torm''s loss? I doubt it; you are too self-interested, and even now, you frame your concerns about what you could have done rather than speak of what a group can achieve together,¡± mocked Rhithri, and they waved their shorter arms dismissively in Amdirlain¡¯s direction. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Twist this however you want, but you didn¡¯t talk about doing anything together¡ªyou told me to stay away. Since I mistakenly respected your efforts and viewpoint, I followed your request. If you think I couldn¡¯t have snuck around and helped regardless, you¡¯re mistaken.¡± ¡°That cuts to the heart of it, doesn¡¯t it? You feel guilt, so you lash out at me. It is not enough for good beings to be good; we need to turn the actions of evil beings, such as yourself, to serve a higher purpose. The sacrifice of Torm brought about far more good than it could accomplish alone,¡± declared Rhithri haughtily. ¡°You don¡¯t know me, and he was not yours to sacrifice,¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°It agreed to abide by my decisions while working in my group,¡± countered Rhithri. ¡°He, not it,¡± insisted Tyr, even though he rested a hand warningly on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I also agree that your initial protest about Amdirlain¡¯s involvement was deceptive. You put your personal goals ahead of your command¡¯s safety.¡± Rhithri¡¯s pincers clinked and flicked outwards. ¡°Your fascination with the dual genders of the mortals you imitate is unimportant. Torm submitted to my command; my decisions are all that mattered.¡± ¡°So your purpose was to manipulate me into aggressive actions that killed thousands?¡± Rhithri¡¯s snort was a sharp exhalation from his central mouth alone. ¡°I did no such thing; any deaths you caused were from your unseemly anger. The crystal network you designed following Torm¡¯s loss has caused no deaths and contributed to removing many mortals from the Abyss. A significant achievement to have turned evil beings such as yourself and the L¨®m? to that end.¡± Mention of the L¨®m? had Amdirlain suppress a curse, aware that their Deity had access to potentially billions of years of interaction with the Anar and L¨®m?. ¡°The L¨®m? and I aren¡¯t evil, and your species wouldn¡¯t even exist without us,¡± Aogruco hummed and stepped closer to the Gate, and Rhithri scuttled to get out from underfoot. ¡°There is the Anar arrogance I remember; we do not exist because of you. We existed on worlds the Songbird created alone, when you and your kind were still unknown. When the first of us ascended to the heavenly planes, we found the Titan¡¯s servants and Bahamut alone waiting to greet us. We came before you, Anar, and we will be here long after you fall again through your arrogance.¡± The mention of Bahamut brought the force of his awareness sweeping across their meeting, and while at first distant, his focus quickly sharpened. ¡°Those original planets have long ago been consumed by their stars. Whatever worlds you are on now likely exist only because of Anar and L¨®m?, which makes me wonder what species you stole them from,¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°Wrong again. Only some of those worlds were created by your kind; another¡ªthe highest of our divine¡ªcreated prime worlds for us. Those worlds that you lesser children of the Songbird created are riddled with monstrous things that frequently threaten nests.¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s rules reward those challenged,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Can¡¯t you handle a little challenge? Are you so sure you know everything right and good?¡± ¡°We know what is good for our species and how they can obtain the heavens. Fallen that you are, you are not in a position to tell us we are wrong,¡± insisted Aogruco. ¡°You wear the form of evil, and I¡¯m aware of the Anar called Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°Your minion took the opportunity for informed choice from Torm, lying by implication that a bad outcome, not lesser results would come from my involvement,¡± snapped Amdirlain, reassured by Aogruco''s apparent ignorance of Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°The individual is not important, only the continuance and strength of the nests. But who are you to speak of individuals suffering? I know you, Orh¨ºthurin, and the evils you¡¯ve brought into existence. The monsters you created roam many of the lesser worlds and have caused much suffering. When you combine your creations with your kin¡¯s work, the communities destroyed by your creations are without number,¡± retorted Aogruco. ¡°No wonder the Titan¡¯s Songbird left this realm after she created your kind; no doubt that choice was in sorrow at the prideful beings she created.¡± ¡°The first Deity that left the heavens was from your species, and they took a heavenly host with them¡ªmillions of celestials dragged into the Abyss by their Deity¡¯s lust for war and enjoyment of carnage. So I¡¯m sure you know a lot about the price of pride,¡± retorted Amdirlain, aware of Tyr¡¯s grip pressing on her shoulder. ¡°Blasphemous wretch,¡± snapped Rhithri, but they cut off when Aogruco waved a pincer their way. Bahamut¡¯s focused awareness had sharpened further the moment Rhithri spoke in anger. Amdirlain ignored Rhithri and kept her attention on Aogruco. ¡°You¡¯re such a hypocrite; I wonder how many of those monsters were species fighting back against the invaders of their world. Or species that might have grown into a greater state, except you took their world in your growth. Yet you take shots at us for making worlds challenging?¡± ¡°We are not hypocrites,¡± snorted Aogruco. ¡°I tolerate your insolence only because of the purification work you managed against the forces of the Abyss and your crystals. Be warned, my tolerance for you is not endless, and we can fight the war against the Abyss with other tools.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just a tool to you. Did any of those monsters live in communities?¡± probed Amdirlain. ¡°That is unimportant; they did not possess nests, and they threatened ours,¡± rebuffed Aogruco. ¡°There are other species we have grown cooperatively with; those that threaten our nests are to be wiped out for the good of our communities.¡± ¡°You yourself said that your faithful spread to those worlds. Does that make the monsters the native species that didn¡¯t match your standards?¡± Aogruco deliberately turned their attention away from Amdirlain. ¡°Is flaunting these corrupted and this one¡¯s pointless taunts really what you wanted to speak of, Tyr?¡± ¡°Your minion decided matters outside the mission¡¯s purview and kept facts from my servant. Such deception led to an incorrect judgement being made; there will be a weregild for this,¡± advised Tyr; having taken his hand from Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder, he stood beside her with it clenched tight. ¡°We care nothing for your need for weregild or your yapping. You made your request in ignorance. Consider my words carefully, and you and this sinner might yet gain some enlightenment,¡± declared Aogruco, and a push of their power shattered the Gate. Clenching her teeth, Amdiralin restored the prisoners¡¯ cells and closed the Gate to the holding area. ¡°So no, they weren¡¯t in denial; they don¡¯t care,¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°Their perspective of what is good is different to ours; their perspective has no place for the individual, and she doesn¡¯t care for justice,¡± observed Tyr, his hand slowly relaxing from a fist. ¡°Yet, would you apply your standards to every species? What does their song tell you about them?¡± ¡°They look like strange reptiles, but they and the petitioners I could hear are more ant-like in mindset than reptilian. The nest matters, not the individuals; as long as they helped the nest get stronger, they¡¯re likely happy and believe the ideal good has been fulfilled,¡± replied Amdirlain, though her tone remained heated. ¡°Would lashing out at Caltzan change anything besides making things worse for yourself in the short term?¡± Amdirlain almost spat an angry reply but exhaled sharply and let the balanced music of the Outlands sweep through her. ¡°I¡¯ll try to avoid tantrums. Caltzan¡¯s real name is Rhithri, and I¡¯ll deal with them later.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± replied Tyr, and he patted her shoulder reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯ll admit, with their attitude, I wanted to rip their claws off and see if they cook up as good as crab.¡± ¡°That¡¯s vaguely disturbing,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°I mean, eating an intelligent creature''s body part.¡± ¡°Cows are intelligent, and I remember you and Torm talking about cuts of steak you preferred,¡± countered Tyr. ¡°Eavesdropper,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s all a matter of perspective, isn¡¯t it.¡± Tyr nodded. ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s just as well I didn¡¯t ask Fen to come along with that yapping remark. She would have wanted to give Aogruco a new perspective on pain.¡± ¡°Every species has its perspective on what¡¯s good; the appearance of the Formithian is just more alien than the humanoids I¡¯ve dealt with so far,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Though I want to smack her for the crack about the Songbird leaving in sorrow.¡± Clicking his tongue, Tyr looked tempted to ask but shook his head. ¡°To change the subject: What was your comment about a God leaving the heavens?¡± ¡°The first fallen that petitioned for the path¡¯s creation were a trio of solars in the service of a war Deity of the Formithian,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The trio proclaimed they were doing their duty to their Liege. Their Liege had started to enjoy war for the killing, and they also took too much enjoyment in the bloodshed and tipped over the edge with their Deity. ¡°Many of Hell''s first devils came from them before the Hierarchy of Sin existed. Redemption¡¯s Path was set in the Abyss because it was salt in the wound of the trio that requested it¡ªthey were orderly in mindset. Orh¨ºthurin could be a bitch at times when it came to making people pay for misdeeds.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was involved in the path¡¯s creation?¡± ¡°Yeah, she designed Redemption¡¯s Path for the Titan. I¡¯m very much reaping what she sowed.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s the case, but certainly it can¡¯t sit comfortably. I believe I¡¯ll withdraw from all alliances that include that Deity. Though it had seemed otherwise, they have no true respect for another¡¯s concerns. No matter how long they¡¯ve been a good Deity, they focus merely on their species¡¯ perspective.¡± ¡°Nests, growth, and purity are their provinces. Purity can have some ugly connotations if you¡¯re deemed one of the unworthy,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not unworthy, Amdirlain, and neither is Torm. Have patience. Completing Mimir¡¯s request won¡¯t take me much longer. I had asked Ebusuku not to tell you, as I hadn¡¯t wanted to get your hopes up. There was also the distinct possibility you¡¯d devise a way to track him down first,¡± explained Tyr. Rubbing a hand across her face, Amdirlain licked her lips while she considered her choice of words. ¡°She mentioned you were seeking oracles, but not who. How did Mimir survive the Gods¡¯ War; isn¡¯t he just a head? ¡°Yes; at times, Odinn used to hang him from his belt. But he wasn¡¯t a true member of the Norse Pantheon, more a remnant of a Primordial, so he didn¡¯t appear on Veht?. Indeed, in this realm I believe he¡¯s become a minor aspect of the Concept of Knowledge,¡± asserted Tyr. ¡°Though he¡¯s not confirmed or denied my belief.¡± Amdirlain shook off the mental image of a decapitated head and a spinning gem conversing. Clearing her throat, she waved towards the spire, many of Gideon¡¯s vague comments coming to mind. ¡°Even if he gives you information, that doesn¡¯t mean it''s going to be useful for finding Torm. Cryptic responses understandable only in hindsight aren¡¯t unknown from oracles.¡± Her warning drew a smile from Tyr. ¡°Have a bit more trust in me, Amdirlain. The deal I struck was payment provided after Mimir¡¯s information led to Torm¡¯s capture. Once I have their payment ready, I get the information. Unlike some of our kin, he knows I¡¯ll keep my word and pay him.¡± ¡°Gideon took some digs at me about Torm, in it was indications of trips down memory lane and various innuendos. Most of my memories in this life are in the Abyss, so if you need backup in the Abyss, let me know,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Most, not all. Whatever this corrupted version of him is up to, I¡¯m not sure you should have to see it,¡± Tyr countered; with that, he gave her another friendly pat on the shoulder and vanished. In case Gideon had been literal and not merely playing on words about hot rivers, Amdirlain shifted to the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma. Teleport positioned her in the first tunnel she and Torm had travelled together. As she became accustomed to the music, Amdirlain started along slowly, listening for songs that didn¡¯t blend in with the magma theme. Once used to the plane¡¯s tempo, she picked up the pace; Ki Movement and Quickness blurred her along the near-molten tunnels. Once moving at speed, Amdirlain quickly reached the massive cavern with the lava pools, passing the first so rapidly and silently the elementals didn¡¯t even react to her presence. A half kilometre along the cavern, she added in line of sight teleports and, within an hour, she¡¯d reached the far end of the cavern without hearing anything besides elementals. The sight of the molten river at its end reminded her of the weeks they spent fighting when they first arrived here. Leaning into Planar Shift again, Amdirlain arrived in the pitch darkness of Pandemonium, the howling wind that was enough to drive mortals insane, cackling and screaming about her. The oppressive darkness of the place weighed down True Sight and blocked her vision beyond thirty metres. The sound and unfettered Chaos of the place made her grimace, and Teleport placed her in another tunnel. It was similar to the first with its wind-swept debris and abrasive-sanded stone. Keeping part of her attention on the predatory music within the inky blackness around her, Amdirlain confirmed the presence of the collapsed chamber beneath her. The remnants of the first bolt hole she¡¯d ever made brought back memories of time spent talking to Torm about Sarah and Rachel. Remembering her enactment of Rachel¡¯s little ceremony of burning issues to let them go, she snorted, and admitted how badly she¡¯d done. She didn¡¯t smother the pain that arose with the reminders of Torm, but acknowledged it as she considered her options. An element of her past plans reminded her of a current need, and Planar Attunement rang through her. She set it as a secondary Plane, and the notification prompted her to tweak her Profile¡¯s format to track all her home planes. ¡°The last one, for now, will be?¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she shifted planes again [Planar Shift (Self) [Ap] (2->3)] The Power deposited her mid-air, but Amdirlain only plunged a handful of metres through the canopy before she landed on a broad branch. Around her, a riot of noise greeted the sound of her landing, with a cacophony that echoed within Resonance. [Planar Attunement Success Primary Home Plane: Culerzic Secondary Home Plane(s): Carceri, Pandemonium Attunement Target: ?buthan Override Primary Home Plane, or accept the target as a secondary Home Plane?] Given how long the Mortal jungle giants had survived this Plane, it seemed like it had the potential for her to safely hide at need. Standing on the branch, Amdilrlain felt a great cat¡¯s attention fixed on her, and she flared predatory menace through Charisma, and the jungle around her went instantly silent. With her guests waiting, and her immediate needs taken care of, Amdirlain returned to the Outlands and Xaos. As she walked towards the town¡¯s wards, Amdirlain pushed aside Aogruco¡¯s accusations and replayed the memory of the Deity¡¯s song. Picking through it, she tried to identify the worlds to which their bridges were the weakest. Amdirlain almost discarded the possibility, but the need for information dug at her. The idea Erwarth¡¯s quick progress had set aside returned, and Amdirlain started considering how to place a crystal spire in orbit around a planet. With only the vaguest idea of anything approaching orbital mechanics, she knew she¡¯d need a lot of experimentation over a barren world. I spy with my little eye; maybe I¡¯ll put satellites in your skies. As she continued, the problem had untouched elements from True Song Architecture rouse themselves for her consideration. A memory of accelerating megatons of mass into a stable Earth-like orbit around a sun ironically bombarded her with an overwhelming number of songs. The memory continued through the process of shaping raw mass into worlds, and Amdirlain had to pull free from the memory and focus on the issue at hand. The tendency for any species to expand and push into every niche it could use fitted too closely with Aogruco¡¯s attitude. While she could understand her perspective, it wasn¡¯t an approach she wanted to encourage or agree with in practice. Aogruco¡¯s comment about leaving those that hadn¡¯t threatened the nests alone left Amdirlain with even more questions. Her words hadn¡¯t been the malicious xenophobic attitude of the gold elves that Orh¨ºthurin had put down. They were a survival perspective focused on their community that disregarded the cost to the individual or other species. Still, the cost they could inflict on other species had Amdirlain wondering if there were hard-pressed locals in need of rescue. Her purposeful focus on her way back to the Blazing Portal added a zest that stirred Xaos¡¯ locals to speed through their labours. 279 - Crocodile rock Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Amdirlain had made it past the market square when she spotted Trill. The mouse had a tiny wagon in tow, loaded with a box twice her size, and a folding scaffolding perched atop. ¡°Hello Trill, off to tend the stall?¡± Trill released a surprised squeak and snapped her head back to look up at Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, the Chaos Shaper. Hello¡ªAm, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Amdirlain ¡°I¡¯m glad I remembered your name correctly, especially since it¡¯s so simple. I don¡¯t normally have a stall, only when I¡¯ve got lots of excess stock. Normally I¡¯m tending my seamstress business; I¡¯ve just returned from measuring the keep¡¯s commander,¡± explained Trill. ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t give you something for your help?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure. Glad it worked out so well for you. Do you have a shop or work out of your home?¡± ¡°My shop near the burrows,¡± chittered Trill as she excitedly waved up the slope from the market, away from the main road. Looking Amdirlain over, she patted her front paws together, and her words gushed out a deluge. ¡°Do you always wear the same garments? You wore the same clothing yesterday. I could make you some outfits if you are short on clothing¡ªat a discount. I¡¯m told it¡¯s unhealthy for tall folks such as yourself to wear the same clothing constantly, and the cloth lasts longer if you allow it time to breathe. Though they don¡¯t smell like any cloth I¡¯ve handled before-¡± ¡°Burrows? How big is your community here?¡± asked Amdirlain, the question popping out in self-defence against the rush of words. Trill shrugs. ¡°A few hundred or so under the hill.¡± ¡°Under the hill; isn¡¯t it risky being close to the Portal?¡± Amdirlain enquired quickly before Trill could start up again. ¡°Somewhat, but it¡¯s manageable. We¡¯ve got to avoid getting too close to the Portal¡¯s wards; even with them in place, the Chaos sometimes leaks. Our records say that caused all sorts of strangeness in the past, but those passages have long since been filled in,¡± advised Trill. ¡°I¡¯d offer to show you around, but you¡¯re far too tall for any of our tunnels. Which is a shame since many have carvings that are so beautiful to see.¡± Though tempted to shift forms, Amdirlain nodded regretfully. ¡°I¡¯ll let you be on your way, but I¡¯ll come by your shop if my friends or I need clothing.¡± ¡°Oh! I sent you to the inn. Are you staying in town with someone?¡± enquired Trill, her paws frozen in mid-motion and her whiskers twitching higher. ¡°My friends and I are staying at the Blazing Portal for a while,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you for the directions the other day; I had no trouble finding it.¡± ¡°Good, good, I hope to see you about then,¡± chittered Trill, and she gave Amdirlain a wave before scurrying away, her little wagon skipping along behind her. Amdirlain¡¯s focus returned to the songs she¡¯d been considering, but this time she noticed the increased pace of those around her. Paying attention to her stride, Amdirlain flowed along, keeping her pace relaxed, seeking to ensure she projected a calm to match. Despite the calmness and the deliberate stalking stride she used, Amdirlain still felt far too many interested gazes following her motions. Opening the Blazing Portal¡¯s front door, Amdirlain found the counter stacked with a pile of tokens. Wisp¡¯s invisible form hovered behind the counter, but True Sight revealed the tendrils of energy that waved above the stack. ¡°Another game Wisp?¡± ¡°No, this is the result of every game token I have dumped into one box,¡± Wisp grumbled. ¡°One of the others is a moron and thought it would be tidier and save space.¡± ¡°You could always turn sorting them into a game,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she moved closer to look over the stack. ¡°Why would I do that?¡± ¡°To remove some of the frustration. I try to find a game aspect to anything I find tiresome,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Why do flesh folk play games like these?¡± ¡°To have fun, relax, or socialise with a shared experience. Why do you play them?¡± ¡°Initially, I was trying to understand flesh folk and thought they might make more sense if I played their games. But they¡¯re always coming up with new shapes and things to move,¡± critiqued Wisp. Amdirlain considered the tokens with dozens of completely different marks blazoned across them. ¡°Different cultures find different games interesting?¡± ¡°You mean there is more than one type of flesh folk?¡± gasped Wisp, and their tendrils of energies waved about in a pantomime of confusion. ¡°Can¡¯t you tell from looking at us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean. You¡¯re all solid, and I bump into you instead of intermingling energies as I do with my kin. Doesn¡¯t that make you all the same?¡± enquired Wisp, their flat tone bleeding out any hint of emotion. ¡°Now I think you¡¯re the one playing a game, Wisp,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Are word games the only games beings from the Elemental Plane of Air play?¡± ¡°Not like we have anywhere to put playing pieces down,¡± observed Wisp. Amdirlain picked out two matching tokens and set them at one end of the pile. ¡°That¡¯s one match. You can only pick up pieces that aren¡¯t obstructed. If you run out of matches, you must mix up the pile and stack it back on the counter. The goal is the least number of remixes.¡± Wisp ducked below the counter and returned with a series of wood boards with rules burnt onto them. Spreading them out at the end of the counter, the match set got placed upon a board whose script matched. ¡°The enchantment in the inn¡¯s counter lets you read the instructions?¡± ¡°Mostly, though sometimes the meaning isn¡¯t clear,¡± admitted Wisp. With a wave, Amdirlain headed for the lift, and Wisp started to hum happily behind her. In the suite, Amdirlain found Rasha looking through the library, but the others were still fast asleep. ¡°Did things go well?¡± asked Rasha, looking up from the book he¡¯d been examining. A detailed full-page drawing showed a tree she didn¡¯t recognise on one page, and the text on the other was written in Celestial. ¡°Not as well as I¡¯d hoped.¡± ¡°Would you like to talk about it?¡± ¡°The lead for finding Torm dried up. It was set up by a priest of a rival God enjoying both tormenting Livia and causing waves. Caltzan is in service to an ancient Greater Power, and neither cared one bit what their stunt had cost Torm. They claim they¡¯re good, but I¡¯d say that¡¯s relative to their culture alone. They only care about what is best for their nests,¡± shared Amdirlain. ¡°To be blind to the pain your actions cause another doesn¡¯t seem to be good to me,¡± critiqued Rasha. ¡°Their belief is that the individual isn¡¯t important; it¡¯s the strength of the community that matters, and the individuals can be lost without regret,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she projected the memory of the conversation for Rasha. ¡°That is what their species look like?¡± questioned Rasha, his muzzle twitching. Amdirlain nodded sharply and acknowledged the rage she still felt at their arrogant callousness. ¡°They look like monsters from old campfire tales,¡± observed Rasha. ¡°Something to tell on a stormy night when troublesome cubs are particularly unsettled; it would ensure they¡¯d scream loud and stick close to camp for many weeks afterwards.¡± Snorting with laughter, Amdirlain settled into a chair across the library from him. ¡°Are you alright with watching over my four little cubs?¡± ¡°It will be a chance to learn about another culture,¡± replied Rasha. ¡°It¡¯s odd the Githz¨¦rai challenge themselves by living in Limbo but seem to suppress the potential of their people by obstructing those that chase Tier 7.¡± ¡°We only know they were having their opportunities blocked; who knows if others were being supported in seeking a Tier 7. The monastery was out of favour with the Grand Master and potentially others in the hierarchy; I¡¯m sure the answer won¡¯t be clear cut,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Politics,¡± hissed Rasha. ¡°I¡¯ll guard their back then, and step in only at dire need.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set up some items to protect them from Negative energies and diseases without any defensive protections. That should alleviate some of the undead¡¯s general dangers while still retaining the challenge of fighting them. The largest Darvakka I fought was dangerous enough without being able to syphon my health right out of me.¡± Rasha tsked. ¡°Why not let them stand on their own feet? They¡¯re already stronger than many that have taken Tier 5 Prestige classes. Ilya started towards her Tier 7 fighting foes among similar ruins; they¡¯re already a large part of the way there.¡± ¡°Fine, just¡ªafter Zenya¡¯s death,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she stopped to fidget with one book he¡¯d set on the table. ¡°You¡¯re understandably protective of them. I¡¯ll keep alert for trouble and let you know if anything beyond what I can handle shows up. Cemna is a world you can easily reach,¡± noted Rasha. ¡°I promise to contact you first if the opposition seems beyond us.¡± ¡°Thank you, Rasha,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I know you have things that only you can deal with, but at least I can guard your friends,¡± said Rasha. ¡°What are your immediate plans?¡± ¡°Besides evolving skills and experimenting with cleansing fallen of corruption?¡± Rasha winked. ¡°Besides those. Ebusuku said you always have a long to-do list.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I need to push my combat skills and resistances, and I want to check in on the Formithian worlds to see if they¡¯re pushing other species to the brink of extinction,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°They are happy to consume all a world¡¯s opportunities solely for their use?¡± frowned Rasha. ¡°I find it strange that the rules allow it, yet they are still considered good.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t act from malice but are doing what they see as necessary to ensure their species prospers,¡± admitted Amdirlain begrudgingly. ¡°Still, I¡¯m inclined to help the odds in favour of those they¡¯ll overrun. They shouldn¡¯t take over worlds from other species when they have members of their Pantheon able to create new ones.¡± Rasha¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°Are you able to find these worlds?¡± ¡°I could hear various worlds¡¯ music within the faith bridges extending from the deity. I¡¯ll see if the shakiest ones provide connections to worlds with a controlling pantheon,¡± explained Amdirlain as she rose. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your reading.¡± Letting herself out of a suite¡¯s upper door, Amdirlain walked around the rooftop. Sticking to a measured pace, she walked the garden¡¯s pathways and meditated on the songs she¡¯d heard. Filtering through the racket within the memory, it took several hours to separate the weakest of the divine bridges. Those she found seemed almost lost among the background noise of the other planar links. Compared to the vast connections Aogruco possessed to their older worlds, the weakest she found were barely fraying rope bridges against a continent¡¯s expanse. Analysis of the first half-dozen weakest connections provided information on worlds awash with various species and proclaimed different controlling pantheons. Though she could potentially send something through to study the Formithian¡¯s behaviour, they weren¡¯t worlds where Amdirlain could provide much help. She could hear the various worlds¡¯ songs but couldn¡¯t reach across the Gate¡¯s threshold. Trying Analysis on the seventh world link had Amdirlain stop and review the details, a smile dancing on her lips. [World: Votari Age: 3.9 billion years Sun: G-Type (yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Pangea, with an archipelago of volcanic islands in the northern hemisphere Average diameter: 14.2 thousand kilometres (Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 382.4 days Tilt: 24.7% Environmental range: Deserts to permanent ice packs Status: Young, developing Local civilisation advancement levels: Cultural: Hunter and Gatherer Tribes / Pastoral Communities Technology achieved: Copper age Magical advancement: Cantrips & poor quality potions Local primary species (averaged population percentage of total sapient species): Cat-folk, local variants (10%) Dwarven, local variants (12%) Elven, local variants (9%) Giants, local variants (2%) Hobgoblin, local variants (29%) Orc, local variant (25%) Sahuagin, local variant (11%) Other groups (< 1.5%) Intruder species: Formithian (<0.5%) Population: 320 million Incursion Status: Minor (Formithian celestials and natural elementals) Local Pantheon Status:- Classification: Unstructured Priest Types: Shamans only Worship Types: nature spirits, ancestral spirits, no Mantle holders. Foreign Pantheon Status: Formithian Pantheon: Organised. Insufficient worshipers to assert dominance. ] So many species without pantheons at work. How do they set them up to evolve if they¡¯re just planting seeds of potential life, as Gail remembered from the forge room? How many more didn¡¯t get this far? [Analysis [S] (27->28)] Trying other songs, Amdirlain received the same range of information on a dozen worlds that all showed local pantheons contesting their homes. Returning to her consideration of Votari, Amdirlain used its name to open a Gate and look out across a swollen river into a thick forest. Though it wasn¡¯t raining, thick thunderclouds blocked most of the sunlight. The Gate¡¯s threshold kept the atmosphere from crossing, but Amdirlain still imagined the clean smell left behind by the rain. The Gate was at the top of a steep embankment that dropped to a muddy, swift-flowing river. The water licked at the top of the river bank on the far side, and streamlets wound through the forest beyond. Though there was a low ground cover of broad-leafed bushes about a metre in height, most trees didn¡¯t have a branch below two metres, letting her see deep into the forest between the trunks. The trees were all of one species¡ªstraight trunks with rough steel-grey bark and greenish-blue needle leaves. A sharp crack split the post-storm quiet and drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention away from examining the trees ahead of her. Movement at the forest¡¯s edge caught her eye as a groaning sound announced a toppling tree. Two massive brown ants¡ªthe size of ponies¡ªhurriedly backed away from the path of its fall; the largest of the duo flicked its head about, and its pincers shed sap and wood. Once the tree¡¯s fall was complete, it stretched across the river¡ªthe last three metres of the tree dug into the embankment¡¯s hard-pack soil. Though the current caused the tree to shift somewhat, it quickly settled. Even before its movement stopped, the same Giant Ant started work on another slightly upstream of the first stump. While it weakened the trunk, the other stood on the riverbank, its antennas waving about, seeking scent trails. There was no obstruction to Amdirlain¡¯s Telepathy reaching through the Gate and studying the ants¡¯ minds. Their focus was on finding a higher location for their colony; the need to get above the recent watery peril was the dominant concern in their minds. Masking her auras and scent, Amdirlain stepped across the threshold and took in the fresh aroma of the world. A smell similar to cut pine wafted to her from downriver, mingling with the rich loam and the clean air. [Achievement: Lower regions cherry popper Details: You are Votari¡¯s first Abyssal incursion. Congratulations! Note: It doesn¡¯t make it any easier for others to find or access the world.] Closing the Gate, Amdirlain flew straight up to get a clear view. The dark clouds overhead prompted her to cast a barrier against potential lightning strikes. Hovering a hundred metres in the air, she turned slowly and swept Resonance ahead of her in a narrow band to reach out as far as possible. Examining the landscape, Amdirlain found the ants¡¯ path was towards forested hills whose highest peaks were four hundred metres above the river¡¯s water line. Hundreds of minor tributaries thickened the river as it curved into the pine forest that stretched beyond her vision¡¯s range. The treetops slowly ebbed lower the further the river ran, confirming the landscape¡¯s general downward trend. The subtle themes that Amdirlain had found in the soil on Grohtan were abundant within the ground. The research opportunity it afforded Amdirlain brought forth a smile, but she took a poke at Gideon. ¡°Gideon, I think your glitter ball shape has you sex obsessed.¡± Amdirlain considered some possibilities but decided not to shoulder the work herself. ¡°Moradin, if you come to a world, does that mean your pantheon automatically comes with you? Because I¡¯ve found a world that the Formithian species are colonising despite a primitive local populace, including some local dwarves. The world¡¯s name is Votari.¡± She¡¯d felt Moradin¡¯s attention on her from the start of the explanation, and upon providing the world¡¯s name, he appeared beside her. The soot-stained forge apron tied around his waist fluttered in the wind. ¡°I was trying to find you a pristine world; instead, you rush off and find one yourself,¡± Moradin said, taking in the forest beneath them. ¡°What¡¯s this about the Formithian?¡± Amdirlain kept her emotions from the record she stuck into a memory crystal and passed it to Moradin. ¡°Eyeless offal grazer,¡± growled Moradin, and he jammed the crystal into his apron¡¯s pocket with a dissatisfied grunt. ¡°If you ever speak to that scale-arse bastard again, do me a favour and mention my name. I¡¯d like to know to stop in and have a word or twenty. At the very least, I¡¯ll put them in their place where you can witness the show. The nerve of them, speaking on behalf of a certain songbird. Now, what¡¯s this about wondering if my family would come with me? If we took over, you¡¯d have as much trouble accessing here as Veht?.¡± ¡°If they¡¯re driving other species to extinction, I¡¯d prefer getting the locals some help; the priority is getting them to the point they can stand up for themselves,¡± replied Amdirlain. Retrieving another memory crystal, she recorded details of the other worlds she¡¯d checked on with Analysis and passed it to Moradin. ¡°They must have exploration teams looking for world gates in the Outlands,¡± grumbled Moradin. ¡°Not exactly things you¡¯ll stumble on accidentally in this number. Have you got Allegiance Bond still?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ll have to be careful using it.¡± ¡°The whole de-aging I heard about? Pick the right Mortal, and that¡¯s a benefit, not a problem. Let¡¯s find some mortals and have a friendly chat,¡± stated Moradin. ¡°Are you going to insist on meeting the elves, or can I talk you into some nice dwarven company?¡± ¡°Elves ?live longer,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, I learnt about the bet you and Ebusuku have going about getting me to take on a form with a beard.¡± Moradin rubbed his nose in a futile attempt to hide his broad grin. ¡°Bah, you¡¯re no fun at all. Though we don¡¯t know what the locals are like, they might be a piece of work, like the gold elves.¡± ¡°We could be in the same situation with the dwarves. After all, they¡¯re local variants, cut off from your guiding influence,¡± teased Amdirlain, amusement lighting up her gaze. Stroking his moustache to hide another smile, Moradin shrugged. ¡°Care to place a bet?¡± ¡°No betting, I''m just putting forward a possibility.¡± countered Amdirlain, holding back her laughter. ¡°Gail takes on dwarven form frequently enough for both of us.¡± ¡°Weak sauce,¡± huffed Moradin. ¡°With small communities and tribes spread worldwide, do you have any suggestions for finding them?¡± Moradin smirked, and a host of celestials appeared fanned around them. The cloudy day became bright with the light from thousands of blazing lantern archons and the angels¡¯ gleaming wings. ¡°Start surveying for Mortal tribes and settlements. Be wary of the Formithian¡¯s presence on this world¡ªwork unseen.¡± His instructions had the host turn invisible and scatter. As he turned back to her, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Delegation has advantages.¡± ¡°It will take them a few weeks to complete the first stage of the survey. Did you want to know when they¡¯ve found the first group or wait for the full result?¡± ¡°The full result. I want to learn as much as possible before contacting any mortals. I¡¯ll flit about and collect songs from different environments,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks for your help.¡± Moradin nodded. ¡°Not getting back to your prisoners?¡± ¡°Not yet. I¡¯m trying to avoid rushing the purification field, and the next experiments involve passing energy through the oath link to Moloch,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°When I get that working, we¡¯ll see what the corruption makes of his memories.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit hard to coat a Demon Lord in more filth,¡± grunted Moradin, and with a wave, he vanished. The host¡¯s illumination of the sky had caused the ants to briefly skitter away into the forest, but with the dullness restored, the pair returned to work felling another tree. ¡°Rasha, I¡¯ll be gone a while. If you go ahead with the trip to Cemna after they wake up, contact me when you return to the suite.¡± With the Message dispatched, Amdirlain considered the surrounding forest. Not bothering to descend, she began to study the delicate interlocking themes of the region¡¯s micro lifeforms. Her focus on its music caused thin wisps of sensation to brush across her perception. Their fragile strength was a thin spiderweb of coexistence through the terrain¡ªtheir massive numbers were easily overwhelmed by weather changes. The magnitude of the world¡¯s orchestra had her straining with Resonance to take in all the music within her range. Rather than back off and make it more manageable, Amdirlain pushed to reach further still. Having only recently improved the Skill, a notification took her by surprise. [Resonance [S] (77->78)] Despite having developed Resonance filtering in the Abyss, the variety of microfauna caused the Power to strain. Amdirlain moved to hover within arm¡¯s reach of the ground and the Power''s area included more organisms. Taking a steadying breath, she turned the filtering off, and the intricate strands flooded her mind. She pushed to take it all in; from the various organisms living off cleaning the ants¡¯ shells, to the bacteria in the soil. The tsunami of details caused an automatic retraction of Resonance¡¯s reach, and Amdirlain cursed and groaned. The din¡¯s saving grace was that its wild beauty was far different from the Abyss¡¯s harshness. With Resonance withdrawn to a few kilometres of terrain, Amdirlain¡¯s mind swept through the details and strove to learn more. Half an hour in, another notification came, and she extended the Power out. [Resonance [S] (78->79)] After the buffeting was under control, she started towards the hills. Scouting through the region provided Amdirlain with increasing research material for True Song Architecture. Following the path of the sun led her across hundreds of kilometres of hills, their abundant lifeforms pushing Resonance into steady increases. Eventually, she reached the edge of a broad grassland. Dozens of species of grazing animals ignored each other while crossing flooded waterways. The behaviour of multiple groups and the weather hinted at a seasonal migration. Unlike the pine forest she¡¯d travelled over, the grasslands had a broader diversity of plant life. A few dozen types of grasses mingled with wild grains, clover, and other herbs, while the streams hosted mosses, lichen, and a few varieties of fish and amphibious creatures. The great prowling cats that followed the migration treaded warily around the massive predators of the waters. The stream of animals risked death, and Amdirlain saw hundreds perish to the two-headed lizards that filled the same niche on Votari as crocodiles on Earth. They didn¡¯t move with the same explosive speed as crocodiles, but their ability to project a Water Bolt strong enough to shatter bone meant they had no need. Headshots stunning or killing those crossing upstream had their prey swept into their jaws. The animals¡¯ natural Spell forms appeared in the air before them, and Amdirlain had to resist the temptation to practice Spell Disruption. Studying them with True Sight showed the Mana coalescing along their spine, gaining its watery aspect before each bolt was cast. At one crossing, Amdirlain found their counter. On the shore, a gazelle-like beast tossed electrical strikes from its horns as it leapt between rocks downstream of the herd, avoiding the lizards¡¯ return shots. Each leap triggered another pull of energy and caused bursts to bloom within the water. Lizards and fish near the strikes went belly up, and those lizards downstream? indulged in cannibalism. While the river turned red and frothed with lizards fighting over the mass of food, the herds surged across the river. Not all had turned from the lightning caster, and a lizard¡¯s shot brushed his flank mid-leap; injured and deflected from his course, the male almost landed in the water. Scrambling upon landing, though wounded, it gathered itself and leapt higher still; the beast¡¯s horns blazed blue and unleashed a bolt that fried its attacker¡¯s eyes in their sockets. It landed on three feet and took awkward hops towards the crossing. Its defence of its herd mates and others inspired Amdirlain to brush it with a temporary regenerative song. The limp it had shown was gone by the time it made the crossing point and raced into muddy waters. ¡±Just don¡¯t go killing any mortals, okay? I¡¯m sure that will get me in more trouble,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve likely disappointed any documentary folks by healing you.¡± Amdirlain turned back to the lizards and felt more bolts being fired. The formation of the rough spells drove her to narrow Resonance¡¯s focus and single out an individual lizard. When its next bolt formed, she tracked the Mana¡¯s course from its lower torso and the rush along its spine. Each vertebra added an element of the Spell into the raw Mana, and when the bolt formed between the beast¡¯s heads, they twisted together to compress the Mana into the Spell form. The deliberate design of the beast rang clear, and Resonance presented the beast¡¯s DNA floating in her mind and interlinked its music against the strand¡¯s pairs and the characteristics she could sense. [Resonance [S] (90->91) True Song Architecture [S] (94->95)] Her progress from letting the world¡¯s music inundate her mind brought forth a pleased smile from Amdirlain. Still floating above the blood-stained river, Amdirlain took the beast¡¯s song apart. Halfway through the exercise, memories started to bubble up¡ªshe remembered what each element did and the reason for their design. The creature was one that Ori had created, and the visibility of their Spell¡¯s completion was deliberate to allow sapient species to study it. ¡°I remember when rock was young Me and Sarah had so much fun Holding hands and shaping worlds Had an old gold skin and a place of my own.¡± Her concealments stopped the animals from enduring the butchered classic and Amdirlain¡¯s laughter. ¡°Talk about having lost my marbles. So does lots of species on a world mean Ori was here?¡± 280 - Better off Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Despite having told Rasha to contact her upon their return, Amdirlain beat them back to the suite. The front door clicked shut while Amdirlain was soaking in the bath, singing old melodies that the mauling of a song had bubbled up. ¡°It seems there is no need to let you know we¡¯ve returned,¡± observed Rasha as he let the front door close. Amdirlain had noticed their approach through the town, but she hadn''t bothered to tone down her singing until Rasha¡¯s pronouncement. ¡°Welcome back.¡± Nomein burst through the door and grinned upon seeing the steaming bath. ¡°Plenty of room for all of us.¡± ¡°Know you didn¡¯t even knock,¡± scolded Gemiya. ¡°We all bathed together at the monastery,¡± objected Nomein. ¡°Amdirlain didn¡¯t join us in the baths,¡± rebutted Lezekus. Nomein shot a look at Amdirlain. ¡°Not once?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t think it appropriate when you were younger, and -¡± ¡°Not appropriate?¡± ¡°Young girls I knew got fixated on comparing themselves to adult females, and it generally wasn¡¯t healthy,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then I just continued on my habit of magical cleaning when you were adults.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s not an issue now, or am I intruding?¡± asked Nomein ¡°Pick a spot to soak, but clean off the dust first,¡± replied Amdirlain, though she noted they weren¡¯t particularly dust-coated. ¡°I¡¯m planning to soak and think for a bit.¡± ¡°Who doesn¡¯t do that?¡± asked Lezekus, ¡°Know if you¡¯d joined us, you would have known it''s proper to wash outside the bath.¡± ¡°There you go. I didn¡¯t pick up enough about Githz¨¦rai culture,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°In my homeland, a bath was for cleaning, not relaxing.¡± ¡°Know that it seems strange to get into water that you¡¯ll make dirty and expect to get clean,¡± commented Gemiya, and she released a Spell that washed the little dust coating them away. ¡°Know we¡¯d cleaned before leaving Cemna, but you are correct; we walked by fields they¡¯ve begun to plough.¡± ¡°Interesting, they only harvested a few days ago; I wonder how quickly they cycle crops,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going into farming?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°No, that isn¡¯t on my to-do list,¡± started Amdirlain before she stopped herself with a snort. ¡°Though now you mention it, I should likely pick up some farming basics at least; some groups might need advice.¡± As she replied, the four shucked their clothing and, despite the magic clean, rinsed themselves off before joining her in the bath. ¡°Did everything go alright with your errands?¡± asked Gemiya. ¡°Know that Rasha only told us some things had come up you needed to handle them.¡± ¡°A few things at least were resolved, but not as I had hoped. I also did a bit of exploration on a young world with some celestials,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Even though you are marked as a Fallen, celestials will still work with you?¡± asked Lezekus, her tone lifting in pleased surprise. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Greater powers can see through my curse. I had some allies before Apollo¡¯s Priest pulled his stunt, among those was Moradin, and I was working with his celestials. How did your initial explorations go?¡± ¡°Know that we only cleared a few arcs along the outer edge of the city; there was far more walking involved than fighting,¡± answered Sarith. ¡°Know we took the time to clear each building thoroughly, though many rushed to attack us when the fighting started. Isn¡¯t it annoying how the undead have no minds to read?¡± ¡°Perhaps that is just as well,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Their behaviour is one of ravaging hunger, and their song is filled with hate and rage. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re all unharmed.¡± ¡°The honourable healer monitored all of us and ensured we remained cohesive,¡± Nomein commented, waving a bubble-covered hand at Sarith. ¡°Know that it was hardly necessary, save for Nomein wishing to push faster,¡± critiqued Sarith. Nomein shrugged, and her telekinesis formed white foam skeletons. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve been working alone, but your pace was timid. Rasha wasn¡¯t plodding because we needed to clear buildings slower; he told us the pace was ours to set.¡± At Nomein¡¯s assessment, Gemiya shook her head. ¡°Know that the four of us haven¡¯t worked together as a single team; it''s best to set a slower pace while we work on coordination.¡± ¡°Aged skeletons come apart quickly with the right applications of Telekinesis,¡± countered Nomein. ¡°Know that it was not the skeletons I was concerned about, but establishing safe habits for the more dangerous interior,¡± argued Gemiya. ¡°We¡¯re not going to get a Tier 7 Achievement by playing it safe,¡± countered Nomein. ¡°Know that playing it continually safe is not my point, rather the establishment of a rapport in our coordination so that we don¡¯t require a Gestalt to act as one,¡± asserted Gemiya. ¡°Know we should relax for now; best to debate our points after the energy of the battle has settled from our flesh.¡± ¡°How are you ladies for clothing?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°There is a seamstress here in Xoas in case you want to replace anything or have something different.¡± ¡°Know we can mend the clothing magically,¡± Lezekus observed. ¡°Hush you, don¡¯t you get that she wants to take us clothes shopping?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Know that it could have been she was offering us a choice,¡± interjected Sarith; closing her eyes, she relaxed further against the bath¡¯s edge. Gemiya smiled at her twin and gave her a subtle mental nudge. ¡°Know we¡¯d better take her up on it then; look what happened to you.¡± Sarith¡¯s snort of laughter wasn¡¯t the reaction that Amdirlain expected. ¡°Gifts of clothes are very forward of you,¡± Nomein remarked, giving Amdirlain a coy smile. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d pay for them, just that I know where a seamstress is in Xaos.¡± ¡°Know you¡¯ve cruelly crushed my dream,¡± gasped Nomein. ¡°You¡¯re a big girl; I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get over it,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she caught the subtle tics of amusement from the others that grew with Nomein¡¯s protests. * * * * * Spaced along the garden path was a series of four spires that Amdirlin had produced. She had embedded melodies within the spires so that, when exposed to vacuum, they¡¯d spread out in geosynchronous orbits above the nearest planet and continually scan it. The effect within them drove through the planet''s core to form overlapping zones that between them covered the planet from pole to pole. Shielded cases large enough to protect thousands of memory crystals wrapped around their midsections, providing enough capacity to record years of information about the dead planet that was her first target. Each spire would transfer filled crystals to a separate bolt-hole or the spire itself in the event of orbital decay. If the orbits didn¡¯t fail, Amdirlain had further plans for the spires, but she had to ensure her surveying system was working first. Opening a Gate above one of Sage¡¯s dead worlds, Amdirlain took a moment to watch the planet¡¯s cloud formations from an orbital position. Mentally crossing her fingers, she pushed the first spire. Its tumble stopped when it was entirely through the Gate, and it re-orientated even as it shot away. Watching the world spin beneath her, Amdirlain quickly lost connection to the spire¡¯s song in its higher orbit. The other spires followed in an orderly procession, the last going out the Gate just in time for the first to signal her that its orbit was established. Closing the Gate, she relaxed on a nearby bench to enjoy the sun; tapping her foot, she resumed studying Votari¡¯s songs. Like the world¡¯s song, Amdirlain had merely listened to the debate of points between the ladies. Given what they knew of her background, she¡¯d been careful not to offer support in any direction. They needed to come to their own choices about the best way forward as a group. Lezekus found Amdirlain there hours later, still humming away, and settled on the bench across from her. ¡°Did you have a pleasant rest, Lezekus?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know I did, thank you,¡± replied Lezekus. ¡°How did you know it was me without opening your eyes or a mental touch?¡± ¡°A Power called Resonance lets me hear the songs of forms and energies. People are distinctive, but I can distinguish even between crafted objects. I realised last night that I¡¯d never asked if any of you had experience with the undead,¡± noted Amdirlain, and she sat up to face Lezekus. ¡°Know that between us, only Nomein had any experience with them. Know that she had Rasha brief us sufficiently that they weren¡¯t a surprise,¡± remarked Lezekus. ¡°Not as bad to deal with as Limbo¡¯s locals?¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I didn¡¯t think you found Githz¨¦rai that unpleasant,¡± quipped Lezekus. ¡°I was talking about your frog-faced neighbours and Chaos elementals,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Lezekus flicked her fingers towards the bedrooms. ¡°Not Nomein¡¯s tendency to talk while she eats?¡± ¡°I seem to recall that wasn¡¯t only Nomein,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know I¡¯m told that memory in the elders of some species can be an issue,¡± Lezekus dryly remarked. * * * * * Trill¡¯s shop was easy to find, even with the minimal directions she¡¯d provided. At the end of the lane, a cluster of tunnels¡ªknee height on Amdirlain¡ªdisappeared into the hill. Just before them was a building set partly into the hillside, its wide window showing wooden mannequin representations of a half dozen species draped with colourful outfits. Through the windows were dozens of the Mousekin until Nomein headed for the front door. They vanished into the back and under cabinets, leaving Trill to mind the front. Trill squeaked in surprise and looked between the four Githz¨¦rai, who arrayed themselves between the mannequins and the counter she was perched on. The drab attire of three of them started her whiskers to droop, but they twitched higher when her gaze returned to Nomein''s brighter apparel. The shop felt like something from the Victorian era, with dresses in all shapes and colours, from tiny doll-like ones too small even for Trill, to one that would fit an Ogre. ¡°Good day, Am. I had heard an exotic Elf was hosting a Githz¨¦rai platoon at the Blazing Portal,¡± chittered Trill, and she clasped her paws to steady her shaking hands. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected them to be your friends. Will others come shopping here?¡± ¡°There are only four staying with me, so the number is exaggerated,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and she resisted the urge to groan at Trill¡¯s wording. ¡°Friends from a species with a fearsome reputation,¡± said Trill, her wide-eyed gaze not leaving the monks. ¡°Do we truly have such a reputation?¡± asked Lezekus. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°You¡¯re not exactly open to visitors, and I was warned off even trying to make contact with the monastery.¡± ¡°Know that in Limbo, appearances are often deceptive, and our enemies are many,¡± said Lezekus. ¡°Know we will seek to act only in self-defence within Xaos.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°That might not be so easy; the gossip has it that many among the garrison¡¯s training hall were boasting they could defeat you. The shopkeepers are worried about violence occurring in the street,¡± said Trill. ¡°Yet, no one has even attempted to accost us,¡± said Nomein, and she glanced at the others. Trill¡¯s nails tapped against each other, and her gaze fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°They are likely watching her tail swish when Am walks with you. The chatter has many males announcing their interest, regardless of their species; you might need to watch out for some wives.¡± Nomein snickered and bumped against Amdirlain. ¡°Hush Nomein, I¡¯ve not always been with you. They might be braggarts and all talk since the ladies returned the other night without me present,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Know that I believe that might be because of Ras¡¯ killing intent,¡± Gemiya said. ¡°Know that while I detected some suspicion and hostility, he projected a protective violence that quashed it.¡± ¡°Where is this training hall?¡± asked Nomein, with a broad smile that showed far too many teeth. Trill swallowed and started to speak, but Amdirlain interrupted. ¡°We came here so you could get measured for some clothing,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, clothing first, and then playtime afterwards,¡± huffed Nomein. ¡°What did you need?¡± asked Trill. Lezekus gave Trill the barely noticeable smile that was standard among Githz¨¦rai. ¡°Know that we¡¯re after sleeping apparel and some clothing to relax in; we¡¯ve only combat garb with us.¡± Waving towards a scaffolding obscured by a curtain behind the shop¡¯s counter, Trill looked between them. ¡°I¡¯ll need to measure each of you.¡± Nomein moved before the others. ¡°Strip down to undergarments, I gather?¡± ¡°Unless you would prefer ill-fitting garments,¡± said Trill. As the curtain was drawn, Gemiya nodded. ¡°Know I¡¯ll go to the training hall after this; it''s best to practice against many foes.¡± ¡°Know you won¡¯t be going alone,¡± replied Lezekus. Sarith looked at Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think their opponents will mind me practising healing techniques on them afterwards?¡± ¡°I believe that might depend on how you offer it,¡± replied Amdirlain. Trill worked even faster than she talked. After each of them stood in the scaffolding crescent, she raced over it to take all the required measurements. The selection of cloth was a prolonged process, with Trill trying to entice them into softer, more colourful fabrics. She had initially shown Nomein drab browns and greys, only for Nomein to enquire after silky blues and bright hues. Her tastes seemed to spur Trill to challenge the stubbornness of the others against adopting a new look. Though they didn¡¯t follow her suggestions, their steady calm reassured Trill that they weren¡¯t the brutal executioners some tales made them out to be. That she¡¯d talked Lezekus and Sarith into some colourful accessories had the tiny seamstress hopping excitedly across a bench to fetch down the ribbons they''d picked. That the pair only gave in due to Nomein¡¯s mental badgering added to Trill¡¯s insistence. Amdirlain had gone for a pale green linen dress cut above the knees, which had turbocharged Trill¡¯s excitement and had her talking about lace embroidery and ribbon straps. The sight of a palm-sized, old gold coin that the group set down for their outfits had Trill scrambling for enough change in silver. Nomein had laughed and told her to keep the change, a generosity that had some of Trill¡¯s assistants finally peek out from their hiding places. ¡°Shall we examine this training hall now or after lunch?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°Know I hadn¡¯t expected our selection of attire to take so long.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only because you three wanted to argue with Trill¡¯s good taste; you should have been bolder like Am or submitted to Trill¡¯s suggestions,¡± said Nomein, tossing Amdirlain a questioning look. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve worn the same thing for years now, it doesn¡¯t hurt to change things up occasionally; the dress design I picked from Trill¡¯s book is similar to ones I used to wear in summer in my youth." She looked over at Lezekus and replied, "Trill said it''s mainly the garrison that uses the training hall. Unless you¡¯re hungry, we might as well stop in and see what it''s like. From what I¡¯ve observed of the town so far, there are some places near it to eat, not just where Trill recommended.¡± ¡°Know that a tavern with large bowls of good food might be a subjective recommendation given its source; she¡¯s so tiny,¡± noted Sarith. ¡°Know you should perhaps project less calm, Am, then we can see if those wishing to deal with us will come forth.¡± ¡°Going to try and cure them, Sarith?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Know that aversion therapy might help them,¡± replied Sarith. Despite Sarith¡¯s suggestion, Amdirlain maintained the projection strength of the calm she¡¯d tested with the four of them. Leading the way up the hill, she received more attention than she had the first day, but no one interrupted them before they arrived at the orange stone building. The training hall¡¯s front was a regular trapezoid, with the walls slanting inwards towards a roof far smaller than the base; the whole thing looked ready to collapse if any force pushed out the walls¡¯ base. The thought of tonnes of stone roofing and walls dropping on you might cool hotter heads, who would otherwise be tempted to push beyond the bounds of mere training¡ªif they bothered to stop and think. The entry was a shimmering green energy barrier designed to contain explosive force rather than prevent anything physical from entering or leaving. The ease with which they could detect the public thoughts of a score of minds within made it clear the building¡¯s wards included no psionic restraints. Among other individual themes was a source of wild music that roused Amdirlain¡¯s curiosity ¡°Are you going to prove you¡¯re not left-handed to someone?¡± asked Lezekus. Amdirlain restrained a snort of laughter. ¡°Did Master ?daka tell on me?¡± ¡°Know we shared some stories during the initial years after you left,¡± explained Lezekus. ¡°Know Master ?daka has been off ¡®adventuring¡¯ for a few years now, though I believe she has the full support of her father in striving for a Tier 7.¡± ¡°You folks can talk later; let¡¯s introduce ourselves,¡± prompted Nomein, and she strode past them through the barrier. Stepping through, they found the interior wasn¡¯t as delicately balanced as it looked outside. The corridor behind it ran some six metres through the middle of a massive stone block. The wards within the structure ran through the stone, reinforcing it against physical blows and explosive spells, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t detect anything to prevent dimensional travel in either direction. The corridor opened into an oval chamber some thirty metres long and fourteen across. A strong railing was placed two metres in from the outer walls, delimiting an area occupied by clashing figures. This drew another snort from Amdirlain¡ªclashing combatants in an oval arena was just like roller derby. Globes of light hovered in an irregular pattern about the chamber but ensured it was fully illuminated. As they neared the end of the corridor, a brown-furred Rat-kin wearing the hardened leather armour common to the keep¡¯s guards looked their way. His nostrils flared, and his whiskers twitched as he reached for a metal-studded club leaning against the railing next to him. ¡°Is the training hall open to others or just the guard?¡± Nomein asked. ¡°Anyone able to follow the rules,¡± the guard replied. Sarith caught sight of a few individuals limping along the chamber¡¯s outer pathway. ¡°Do you not have a healer available to tend to injuries? Shall I see to the wounded?¡± When Amdirlain caught up to them, she used Analysis to catch his name since introductions weren''t forthcoming. [Name: Enrig Species: Rat-kin Class: Fighter / Ranger Level: 34 / 34 Health: 1,102 Defence: 75 Melee Attack Power: 90 Combat Skills: Polearm [ Ad ] (12), Longbow [M] (2) - Various blessings Note: A native to the Outlands, Enrig is a worshiper of the nature God Lakith.] ¡°If they¡¯ve broken something, they should have asked for help, and we¡¯d fetch someone,¡± stated Enrig. ¡°What are you all doing here?¡± ¡°Looking for a space where we can practise occasionally,¡± replied Nomein. ¡°Hence my question.¡± ¡°I¡¯d happily teach or help someone in need of a sparing partner,¡± added Amdirlain. Enrig looked them over. ¡°I can see problems happening no matter what answer I give you.¡± ¡°What are the training hall¡¯s rules then?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°No sharp weapons, pull your strikes, confirm and avoid your partner''s vulnerable spots. You can hit most insectoids in the throat and not cause problems with their breathing, but it could kill most soft-skinned species,¡± explained Enrig. As Enrig went to say something more, Sarith motioned to one figure still limping along. ¡°Know he¡¯s not seriously injured but suffering from muscle damage that will take weeks to heal fully. Is it going to offend if I offer them help? Know that I can feel his pain from here.¡± Enrig turned to Sarith, and his lips twisted as he contemplated her. ¡°What God do you follow for healing?¡± ¡°Know that I¡¯m not a Priest; I¡¯ve taken a healer¡¯s oath and can help his body¡¯s natural recovery,¡± explained Sarith. At Enrig¡¯s nod, Sarith headed along the outer path. ¡°We¡¯ll spar with each other unless someone asks, and then we¡¯ll take it easy on them,¡± offered Nomein. ¡°Do you mind if we get practice in now?¡± ¡°None of you has weapons,¡± noted Enrig. ¡°We are weapons,¡± laughed Nomein. ¡°I¡¯ve heard that of your kind,¡± admitted Enrig. ¡°I doubt any will want to take you up on that offer. Though I¡¯m sure plenty will offer to spar with your elven friend, I doubt any guards need a dance teacher. Perhaps horizontal dancing and exchanging blows in that arena would be more your speed.¡± Mental howls of laughter came from the ladies, and Amdirlain nodded in mock understanding. ¡°Maybe someone can teach me how to throw a punch properly. I sometimes end up flailing about; its so embarrassing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that can be arranged,¡± Enrig responded. ¡°I hope there is someone that can be gentle and teach me the proper execution,¡± purred Amdirlain. [Femme Fatale [S] (10->11)] Nomein gave the game away with a snicker, and Enrig¡¯s lips curled briefly. ¡°Since you think you are tough,¡± grunted Enrig, and he turned towards the arena. ¡°Captain, do you have time to spar with someone?¡± A broad-shouldered and armoured figure in gleaming bronze who had been supervising a clash between two pairs of Rat-kin turned at the call. Though a plumed helm wholly concealed his face, the general shape of his body gave the impression of an Elf. It was just another layer of deception, as he was the source of the wild music Amdirlain had heard. True Sight showed Amdirlain that his lean elven body was a mask for a Giant¡¯s compressed form and Fey blood. [Name: Bedevere Species: Fomorian Fey Class: Farstrider / Spellblade Level: 92 / 62 / 54 Health: 17,946 Defence: 616 Magic: 387 Mana: 33,586 Melee Attack Power: 592 Combat Skills: Sword [GM] (12), Spear [GM] (129) - Assorted affinities, various blessings, and spell lists. Details: One of four watch captains that report to the keep¡¯s commander, Bedevere has been assigned here for the last six hundred years. ] Bedevere looked over the four still standing near Enrig and strode towards them. ¡°Enrig, who are you requesting sparring for?¡± ¡°This dancer,¡± replied Enrig, and he gestured towards Amdirlain. ¡°Have you any weapons to use?¡± asked Bedevere. ¡°Bare hands?¡± replied Amdirlain. At her reply, Bedevere''s gaze flicked to the trio still standing with Amdirlain and paused. ¡°You¡¯re here with the Githz¨¦rai. Do you know their fighting style?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve my own,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I heard part of your discussion with Enrig. Let¡¯s see you spar with him first; I¡¯m sure it will be educational for someone,¡± said Bedevere. ¡°Captain-¡± started Enrig. Bedevere reached across the railing and grabbed Enrig¡¯s muzzle, clamping it shut. ¡°You¡¯re allowed to dig a hole, Enrig, but don¡¯t expect me to step in it for you. I can feel the calm energy coming off her. Has she calmed you so much that you¡¯re being cocky? Nod if you think you can take her on in a spar.¡± Enrig¡¯s whiskers tweaked in frustration, and with the captain still holding his muzzle shut, he nodded. Bedevere gave a disappointed sigh, and Enrig tried to squeal in protest. ¡°Hush, Enrig,¡± continued Bedevere, his hand still clamped on Enrig''s muzzle, he looked at Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s if you even want to spar with him. Despite your offer to spar or train others, I won¡¯t hold you to it after an idiot has offended you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to educate him if you believe he¡¯s in need,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°He is certainly in need. Crotch, throat, and base of the tail are all sensitive with his species, plus the head when they¡¯ve got half a brain,¡± advised Bedevere, and he let Enrig go and turned his attention back to him. ¡°Now, Enrig. Do two things, take a deep breath, and listen for heartbeats. Do you smell another Elf beside Callen? How many heartbeats do you hear near you?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± squeaked Enrig after he did as instructed. ¡°Since she didn¡¯t immediately gut you for implying she¡¯s a whore, I don¡¯t think you¡¯re in grave danger, but get better at recognising outsiders, Enrig. You stuck your foot in your mouth, so I¡¯ll let her kick your arse,¡± said Bedevere, and he gave Enrig a sad headshake. ¡°I¡¯m Captain Bedevere. Might I know your names?¡± ¡°Am,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she got permission through their mental link before continuing with the introductions, gesturing to each in turn. ¡°Nomein, Gemiya, Lezekus, and Sarith. Sarith¡¯s a healer; the rest of us have various capabilities. Now, shall we spar, Enrig?¡± Without gathering herself, Amdirlain leapt to the other side of the barrier. ¡°Enrig, remember to roll when you get knocked down,¡± Bedevere helpfully offered. Snatching up his weapon, Enrig ducked under the railing and kept a wary eye on Amdirlain. Some of those nearby stopped sparring to watch on as Enrig moved into position to face Amdirlain. Smoothly bowing, Amdirlain moved into a relaxed stance, one foot forward to angle her body slightly towards Enrig. He immediately stabbed the pole¡¯s spiked end straight towards her face. Whirling along the weapon¡¯s length, Amdirlain stopped with one hand on his shoulder, the other on his elbow; she gave him a heartbeat to register how much trouble he was in and pushed. As he skidded a few metres along the stone, Far Hand delivered the weapon into his grasp. ¡°I guess getting pushed over like a Centaur shoved you aside counts as getting knocked down,¡± muttered Bedevere, and he looked Enrig over critically. ¡°You didn¡¯t even try to roll with that, Corporal. Now stand up. Would you help him learn to roll properly, Am?¡± ¡°Happy to help. He¡¯s tough enough to take it, and I can heal him if anything breaks,¡± remarked Amdirlain, drawing a dry laugh from Bedevere. ¡°I heard there is a Catfolk around as well, keeping the five of you company,¡± commented Bedevere. ¡°He¡¯s back at the suite reading,¡¯ replied Nomein. ¡°Captain, would you care to spar with me while Am plays teacher?¡± ¡°It would be an honour,¡± replied Bedevere. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about Githz¨¦rai monks but never fought one of you.¡± ¡°Now you have four of us around to give you trouble,¡± laughed Nomein. Bedevere frowned and nodded towards Sarith. ¡°I thought Sarith was a healer.¡± ¡°Know that while my sister is under a healer¡¯s oath, if you attack her or her patients, she¡¯s free to return the favour,¡± explained Gemiya. The quick stop turned into three hours of sparring and training before they left to find food. As Amdirlain headed for the door, Enrig and the others Bedevere had her teaching how to roll gave her hesitant bows. ¡°I¡¯ll see you tomorrow,¡± Amdirlain said, and she nodded politely in return. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure they¡¯re all here then, Am,¡± replied Bedevere. ¡°I believe it was most educational. Perhaps you¡¯ll spar with me tomorrow; Nomein indicated you¡¯re the more experienced combatant.¡± ¡°Very well.¡± 281 - Caught up Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos When the ladies turned indecisive about what eatery to try, Amdirlain left them to sort out a post-training meal and returned to the suite. As she sat opposite Rasha in the library, he gave an ear twitch towards the front door. ¡°Have they gone back to Cemna without me?¡± ¡°No, they trained with the local guards and are now getting lunch,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°While I can tell Nomein¡¯s used to managing her time, I think the others aren¡¯t used to setting their own schedules.¡± Rasha nodded. ¡°I could tell from their clearance of the city that they expected me to prompt them. I¡¯ll continue letting them progress at a pace of their choice. Should I ask about your plans?¡± ¡°Some are more advanced than I had expected since my first attempt at surveyors seems to be working. I¡¯ll keep my fingers crossed that they¡¯ll stay in orbit long enough to isolate the undead¡¯s songs. While they work, I¡¯ll study Votari and prepare for Torm¡¯s capture,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I hope that happens sooner rather than later,¡± offered Rasha, and they exchanged grim nods. ¡°Hopefully, before he makes things worse for himself,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°How do you plan to restore them from their distorted perspective?¡± Amdirlain made the path¡¯s amulet appear and twirled it between her fingers. ¡°I¡¯m going to repurpose the link to the plinth. It has a connection to Gideon, so I thought I might use that to get them to replay their existence. The corruption distorted their perspective, replaying on a loop repeatedly might make them see their choices the way they originally had, but I¡¯ll have to see if it doesn¡¯t make things worse. Ebusuku said she gained from seeing her younger self from an older perspective, but their present is twisted beyond recognition.¡± A slow wide-eyed blink greeted that news. ¡°You¡¯re going to get the aspect of Knowledge to help?¡± ¡°Not exactly. That''s against their rules; but something like the corridor of choices in the trial should be possible. It¡¯s not a magic fix, but corruption currently distorts all the memories of the pair I¡¯ve captured. I need to get an opposing point of view into their minds,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°When I touched the plinth, I experienced the deaths of mortals and the lives they would have had. I¡¯m hoping that Gideon will share the knowledge of the lives as they originally lived them, or at least the key choices as the corridor presents.¡± ¡°Hope?¡± Rasha asked, his lips curling into a decidedly Cheshire smile. ¡°Hope and sheer bloody-mindedness is the only thing that has kept me going, ?Ras,¡± said Amdirlain. "How did the corridor feel to you?" "You warned me about its difficulty, and it lived up to that warning," admitted Rasha. "It showed me the choices I regretted or had worried about but also happy choices. Sometimes seeing those was the hardest because it showed me those the tribe had lost over the years." Amdirlain smiled sadly. ¡°I can remember my previous life perfectly now and regret that I left so much unsaid. Let¡¯s talk about something happier; why don¡¯t you tell me about Gail growing up?¡± His ears gave a brief twitch. ¡°Do you need another¡¯s perspective of her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just, I bet she got up to a lot of amusing antics, the way Ebusuku and she were when visiting,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got songs from Votari and the desolate worlds alike to study. I could use a buffer of laughter before I start.¡± ¡°Where do you want me to start?¡± asked Rasha. "At the beginning." Huffing in amusement, Rasha began with the first time he¡¯d met Gail after leaving the maze and followed up with the type of embarrassing tales typically told at twenty-first birthday parties. The antics she¡¯d expected were there, and more, a strange blend of childlike innocence with far too much awareness of herself and others. Amdirlain¡¯s laughter drew the others into the library when they finally returned. ¡°Know that I didn¡¯t think Ras told such wonderful jokes,¡± commented Gemiya from the doorway. ¡°Oh, tales of a mutual acquaintance when she was a child. How was lunch?¡± ¡°Trill understated the size of the bowls at that tavern¡ªtheir servings were huge. We split one between the four of us, and I¡¯m still full,¡± replied Nomein, still out in the corridor. ¡°I¡¯m just going to meditate while this meal digests.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t snore too loudly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Meditate, not sleep,¡± countered Nomein, waving before she headed towards her bedroom. Amdirlain returned the wave and focused on the others. ¡°What are your plans for the afternoon?¡± ¡°Know we intend a bit of light training, and we¡¯ll ask Ras to assist us in reviewing the buildings we covered,¡± advised Gemiya. ¡°Know that Nomein pointed out that if we don¡¯t improve our speed and efficiency, the extra years you¡¯ve provided will disappear before we know it.¡± * * * * * Their plans left Amdirlain with most of the afternoon and night free to study. Rather than delve into the dead world, she focused on understanding the living network of organisms needed to ensure a balanced ecology. While it was time-consuming work, a night of study triggered another progress notification for True Song Architecture. The subtle songs interlinking elements and themes Amdirlain hadn¡¯t expected allowed her insights into other possibilities rather than cramming new knowledge into her head. After the others departed, Amdirlain headed to the training hall; there, she found Enrig and the others she¡¯d practised with sparring close to the arena¡¯s entrance when she arrived. With a flare of his nostrils, Enrig flicked his ears towards the barrier. ¡°The others not accompanying you today, Am?¡± ¡°Nope, you¡¯ll have to endure my terrible presence by itself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ll frequently be off exploring with Ras.¡± Callen, the only Elf among the guardsmen Amdirlain had met, headed towards them and joined the line of Rat-kin. His skin, hair, and eyes were all shades of pale green, making him a strange sight, even without contrasting to the earthen tones of the rat-kins¡¯ fur or his hide armour. ¡°Your fighting style is interesting. Are you open to teaching others?¡± asked Callen. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I taught anyone an unarmed style and never in its current form,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It would be an experiment that might not pay off.¡± Callen shrugged. ¡°Individual styles develop from learning at all opportunities and incorporating what works. The Rat-kin have a traditional spear fighting style that I¡¯ve adopted elements of into my people¡¯s style.¡± ¡°Alright, let me start with basic techniques, and we can find out what works for different folks,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. Bedevere had split off from his supervising group and moved up alongside Callen. ¡°Did you plan to go over bare-handed styles or weapons?¡± The emphasis on weapons had Amdirlain bite the inside of her mouth to delay her immediate response. ¡°I¡¯ll stick with bare-handed for now; less chance for accidents while I learn people¡¯s capabilities. Line up, and I¡¯ll first review what I consider basic strikes. The kicks I use, we¡¯ll need to approach carefully, given the extended ankles of the Rat-kin.¡± Enrig laughed and waggled his foot. ¡°The leg sweeps and unbalancing attacks you used work well. Could we try that?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see, but let¡¯s work up to that,¡± replied Amdirlain. The Rat-kin¡¯s long fingers and nails would impede forming a fist for standard punches. That aside, she could picture their advantage to techniques like spear hand strikes and Farhad¡¯s eagle claw style. With that in mind, Amdirlain started with the most straightforward techniques and worked upwards, not knowing what they might find helpful. The routine of practice with the guards starkly contrasted with the sense of isolation within her bolt holes. Even when others had visited, the oppressive confinement had never really lifted. Despite the enclosed training hall, the music from beyond gave the experience a drifting relaxation. When she wandered back towards the inn after the lesson, she listened to those about her¡ªnot their songs, but their everyday interactions. As the sunlight¡¯s warmth washed across her face, the sound of mundane conversations and playing children lifted her spirits. Whenever she wanted to take a break from her study, further use of Analysis of Aogruco¡¯s connections to worlds spurred her determination. Picking a spot towards the rooftop¡¯s edge, she didn¡¯t dig into the desolate music the orbital surveyors had captured and focused on studying the lifeform¡¯s songs instead. Each new world she found where they¡¯d either wiped out the original species¡ªor had them under siege¡ªgot added to a memory crystal. The growing numbers she isolated from among Aogruco¡¯s song tightened Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders, and she had to let the anger wash by her. ¡°How to get them help,¡± sighed Amdirlain as she rolled the crystal between her fingers. The established Pantheon¡¯s control over the worlds she¡¯d found made her little more than a powerless observer, a limited one at that, with her surveyors still being tested. [World: Umbas Age: 4.7 billion years Sun: G-Type (yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Assorted small continental land masses and archipelagos Average diameter: 13.8 thousand kilometres (Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 362.7 days Tilt: 23.2% Environmental range: Temperate, Continental, Dry, and Polar. The southern polar region is a permanent ice pack with no land mass beneath it. Status: Developed Local civilisation advancement levels: Cultural: Cities Technology achieved: High-Quality Metals Magical advancement: Full Spell lists, embedded enchantments Local primary species (averaged population percentage of total sapient species): Elven, single variant (2.7%) Other (1%) Intruder species: Formithian (96.3%) Population: 2.1 Trillion Incursion Status: Frequent (Broad range of Elemental and Outsider visitors throughout history) Local Pantheon Status:- Classification: Organised Priest Types: Priests Worship Types: Organised religion Foreign Pantheon Status: Formithian Pantheon: Organised. Dominant control of the planet. ] Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Twisting Analysis around, Amdirlain focused on using it to learn what had died out since the Formithian had intruded. The hum of Analysis¡¯ song dipped into tones similar to the plinth¡¯s connection to Gideon and, even as a result returned, the music confirmed the need to seek other plans. [World: Umbas Recent extinct species: Elves, four variants Orc, two variants Various ecosystems of non-sapient creatures. Note: The flawed lens of the present will still influence even perfect knowledge of the past.] [Analysis [S] (28->29)] Gideon, are you slipping? That hint was almost direct feedback on what I felt. The process of the plinth works for those already seeking redemption. [Formithian intrusion: 317,934 local years Discovered by: Yambul (Astral Deva) Note: A certain Pantheon has conducted so many intrusions since Ori¡¯s departure. Just as well there are millions of habitable worlds out there now.] Ori was obstructing them? No wonder they were so scathing talking to me. Gideon¡¯s words provoked a memory of a glowing Gate reaching between worlds. A savage theme shattered the magic and spilled thousands into the void of space. Amdirlain pushed the memory aside and focused solely on the Formithian. A shift in memories brought up metre-long specimens methodically constructing a nest in the hillside above a river. The night sky was a blackness empty of stars, and the day¡¯s lingering heat emanated from the stones about them. ¡°The light from other stars hadn¡¯t reached their system yet. That was very early, or on the initial galaxy¡¯s edge. So their approach then was a slow but steady growth,¡± murmured Amdirlain to herself. ¡°Has that changed?¡± Standing, Amdirlain paced along the path while she considered modifications to the surveyor¡¯s current design. She was still working on additional safety measures when the others returned home, dusty but relatively unscathed. ¡°You look out of sorts,¡± noted Rasha. ¡°Keep pacing like that, and you¡¯ll wear a hole in the floor.¡± ¡°Did you explore the town today or just return after training?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°I think I¡¯ll limit myself to venturing out to the training hall for the next few weeks,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few preparations to make and a lot of research.¡± ¡°Know that we purchased some warm food on the way to the inn. Inventory is handy for keeping meals warm; come join us,¡± offered Lezekus, beckoning Amdirlain to come inside. * * * * * Spurred on by Tyr¡¯s information on Mimir, Amdirlain spent most of the following week reviewing the preparations for her prisoners. Experiments with corruption in Culerzic¡¯s bolt holes had confirmed ways to bait its behaviour, and she fine-tuned the controlling songs. Injecting constructed memories into muddied souls had given her mechanisms to bait the corruption and shield untainted memories from its grasp. Trips to her new home planes had seen bolt holes set up, though she¡¯d kept them to a bare minimum. Small groups of connected chambers, with True Song wards in place to prevent anything determining their location through any Mana present. A safe spot to jump into if she found herself banished to any of them. After another few weeks, she¡¯d settled into a daily routine. Conversing with the ladies daily was her only form of relaxation. Besides attending the training hall for a few hours each day, she focused on studying the living songs to progress in True Song Architecture and Resonance. Having braced herself for the potential years before Torm¡¯s recovery, a Message appearing beside her one afternoon took Amdirlain by complete surprise. ¡°He¡¯s secured, and they¡¯ve arrived at the last place we spoke.¡± Tyr¡¯s voice buzzing in the Message orb had Amdirlain sitting upright in a rush, spilling the memory crystals she¡¯d been examining onto the library¡¯s floor. Storing them with a thought, she teleported to the clearing where they¡¯d confronted the Formithian and found four beings present. Tyr stood talking to two solars in their full golden armour with their white wings half-furled. Like a shadow struggling to live in the radiance from the solars¡¯ wings, the blackened figure of a wolf-headed man stood between them in chains. Spiked remnants of shattered wings extended from his back, tattered fragments stained with ichor were all that remained of his clothing. The blackness of his flesh wasn¡¯t stone but the roughness of charcoal; fresh wounds oozed a tar-like fluid, and a cut that bled freely had shortened an ear. Amdirlain checked the figure with Analysis, and grimaced at the details. [Name: V¨¢nagandr Species: Fallen Class: Ravager / Abyssal Hunter / Wizard / Assassin Level: 52 / 52 / 52 / 52 / 48 Health: 1,120,478 Defence: 5,450 Magic: 582 Mana: 3,228,788 Melee Attack Power: 5,385 Combat Skills: Sword-Lord [GM] (23), Long Axe [GM] (56), Throwing Weapons [GM] (6), Unarmed [M] (98); Assorted Affinities, blessings, and lower tier Spell lists. Details: Formerly known as Torm. In service to Tyr, he rose to the species rank of Planatar after a bunch of freeloading and a smidge of actual effort. He should have considered his seniority before continually following an idiot¡¯s instructions. Since his fall, he¡¯s been killing demons for fun and profit and enjoying copious quantities of succubi¡¯s hot passages after taking over Viper¡¯s Hollow. Oath Linked: 8239 assorted demons. Note: The wolf pup doesn¡¯t look so cute anymore.] Amdirlain sighed and severed the links, their destruction unleashing a discordant screech. The Solar on his left nodded respectfully to Amdirlain. ¡°His flesh, even undamaged, has this charcoal appearance. He tried to fight free even when we had him locked down. I think he¡¯d been trying to buy time for other powers to react to our presence where he¡¯d holed up.¡± ¡°Torm,¡± intoned Amdirlain, and she ripped the adopted name away and restored his original. ¡°You aren¡¯t who you once were, but we''ll see about helping you heal.¡± ¡°Will you just shut up?¡± jeered Torm. ¡°I didn¡¯t believe even you could be stubborn or stupid enough to send solars into the Abyss. It¡¯s always the same with you, placing others in danger that you won¡¯t undertake yourself.¡± Starting a song, she silently weakened his grip on discretion and nudged at the new arrogance and rage within him. Amdirlain glanced at the Solar, who¡¯d spoken earlier and got a smug smile. ¡°Erwarth and Isa masked our auras.¡± ¡°After your message to Livia, it¡¯s interesting to learn you were building up a group of toadies in the Abyss instead,¡± commented Amdirlain. The curl of his split lips didn¡¯t detract from the sadistic gleam in his gaze. ¡°Did a love note from an apparent stalker get your attention? How much effort did you waste running around chasing your tail? I thought that was only fair after you wasted so much of my time waiting around for you.¡± His voice, so close in timbre to Torm¡¯s yet filled with malice, dug at Amdirlain, but she acknowledged the spike of grief and let it pass. ¡°Why did you get so many demons oath-linked to you?¡± ¡°Are you the only one allowed to accumulate disposable lackeys?¡± questioned Torm. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I want allies more trustworthy than you to back me up? You, with all your secrets and hollow promises, to¡ªeventually¡ªshare them. Did you risk using others to chase me down out of guilt? That seems to be the only thing that motivates you¡ªcertainly not affection. It¡¯s always about you, your guilt, and your pain, isn¡¯t it?¡± The temptation to shut him up flared higher, but Amdirlain forced herself to wait and see if he gave anything away. Some of his edged taunts would have once had Amdirlain second-guessing herself, but now they slid away, and she let him spew his venom-laden tirade. Minutes into the rant, he caught the lack of effect and changed tactics. ¡°Are you even concerned about me, or masturbating with your guilt? Should I stir your fears with bitter truths? Fear and guilt are the only things you truly care about. You wouldn¡¯t believe how much I made selling even scraps from among the knowledge you¡¯d so freely shared. The demons will be far more formidable now that I¡¯ve sold the details of how to gain the Tier 5 and higher Prestige classes.¡± The news wasn¡¯t unexpected, though Amdirlain doubted many demons would care to tell rivals how to get stronger. ¡°If you¡¯re so interested in profit, I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t sell me out to Moloch,¡± observed Amdirlain after she let another flurry of spiteful words flow past her. ¡°Go near another Hidden after being stupid enough to waste time on you? Why would I bother?¡± scoffed Torm. ¡°I wanted a power base of my own not to return to pathetically waiting for another¡¯s shallow attentions.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe you didn¡¯t at least attempt to get out to the Material Plane?¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°With all the time wasted playing Verdandi¡¯s friendly puppy and looking out for your pathetic friends, it was the last place I wanted to be. Did I keep your foolish friends looking in the wrong places?¡± sneered Torm. ¡°Good little lackeys running around while I had fun and enjoyed myself for the first time.¡± ¡°Someone used your game to stir up trouble, so congratulations, you look like a gimp who couldn¡¯t even follow up on his bragging,¡± retorted Amdirlain, and she nodded at the snarl her provocation gained. ¡°The corruption has scarred the foundation of who you were; you think you can give it out, but can¡¯t take it.¡± ¡°Spare me your rubbish and just destroy me. I¡¯d rather that than spend one minute listening to your whining and platitudes,¡± mocked Torm, and he shot a look at Tyr. ¡°Are you and the cripple getting it on now?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s the corruption talking; let¡¯s work on sorting that out. You can tell that destroying you would still hurt, and you want to inflict a lasting injury.¡± As he started to respond, Amdirlain wrapped a sound barrier around him. ¡°Apologies. If I¡¯d checked more places after Gideon¡¯s dig about memory lane, I¡¯d have saved you Mimir¡¯s fee,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gave Tyr a respectful nod. ¡°I hope it wasn¡¯t something that will cause you problems in the future.¡± ¡°Fen and I have been preparing to restore Mimir¡¯s body,¡± advised Tyr. ¡°Right now, he¡¯s eagerly awaiting my payment. Mimir has a celebration planned for outlasting Odinn.¡± ¡°Will you listen to my thoughts on Rhithri and Weregild?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d value a second opinion.¡± Tyr nodded. ¡°I said I¡¯d assist you in getting them to pay their debt.¡± ¡°The corruption can¡¯t stand the heavenly planes, but the Fallen can¡¯t go near it in person. My purification field is mild compared to being close to a connection to a heavenly Plane like the Gate I opened here. I¡¯m going to set an oath link between Torm and Rhithri. Once it¡¯s in place, the uncorrupted memories will lure the corruption away to its destruction,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°What will that do to Rhithri?¡± Amdirlain gave a hard smile. ¡°They¡¯ll experience a lot of pain. I¡¯ve got a shield developed, but the worst case is that they might lose some memories if the corruption latches on fully before it burns away. If I detect the shield will collapse, I¡¯ll sever the link and let them recover.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve already said they won¡¯t cooperate,¡± critiqued Tyr. ¡°Does any unrepentant criminal agree with the punishment they¡¯ve earned?¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°The cell was a nest within the Abyss, yet Rhithri was the only one from that nest that didn¡¯t suffer because they put their own goals above the nest. Rhithri betrayed the greater good of the nest for his personal goals and brought corruption to three pure beings. Regardless of how it¡¯s justified after the fact, they had no absolute certainty of how things would work out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re planning to twist them on the hook of their Liege¡¯s nature and principals,¡± observed Tyr. ¡°But it¡¯s their principles viewed from your perspective. Even if you achieve this goal, that doesn¡¯t mean their Liege won¡¯t come after you. Their views are not your own. Your True Song leaves nothing I can see, marking you as the source of unexplained agony.¡± ¡°If it had just been a clash of views, after I cooled down I¡¯d have let it slide, but there is far more going on with this species. They need to learn that understanding goes both ways and that others, especially those not of their species, aren¡¯t theirs to utilise without a fully informed agreement,¡± disagreed Amdirlain. Tyr gently clasped her shoulder. ¡°I understand your point, but why take this chance, Amdirlain? Is there something else that drives your decision?¡± Amdirlain gave him the exact details she¡¯d shared with Moradin and handed over the memory crystals she¡¯d prepared. ¡°There are billions of current and future lives who are having their home worlds stolen away,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she retrieved a memory crystal she¡¯d prepared with details of worlds. ¡°The Formithian pantheon can make their own worlds but see themselves as more worthy, so simply take from others. I won¡¯t step aside when I could help the natives of those worlds, regardless of what it costs me.¡± ¡°Won¡¯t the Formithian face judgement under the Titan¡¯s rules?¡± asked Tyr. Amdirlain sighed sadly and shook her head. ¡°The plinth judged me based on enjoyment and anger involved in the activities that harmed mortals, even inadvertently¡ªit didn¡¯t care I¡¯d killed the Astral Deva to free her while angry at Moloch. The Formithian pantheon isn¡¯t harming the mortals directly, just passing on details to their followers. From what Analysis told me, their celestials have been finding the worlds. The Formithian deities only cared about their nests, so it¡¯s possible the rules cannot understand the formithians¡¯ current complete and utter apathy towards other lifeforms.¡± ¡°If you are going to war with the formithians, I¡¯d suggest you give no warning,¡± advised Tyr. ¡°Might I propose an alternative?¡± offered the Solar, who¡¯d remained silent. ¡°What did you have in mind, Snorri?¡± asked Tyr. ¡°I¡¯ll accept the risk for Torm¡¯s restoration,¡± said Snorri. ¡°Rather than link to this Rhithri and let him know your intent to fight their ways before you¡¯re ready.¡± Tyr looked at him inquiringly. ¡°Are you sure, Snorri?¡± ¡°Torm was our shield brother, and this is twice those serving another Deity have used him for their own goals. We should all be wary that such doesn¡¯t continue, and we should start with how we help him up. Let¡¯s save the knife work for when the war horns sound,¡± proposed Snorri. He nodded respectfully to Amdirlain before motioning to the memory crystal. ¡°If they are stealing worlds on such a scale, it will certainly become necessary, but you should ensure your strength first, Lady Amdirlain. While it is right to recover Weregild, these are not beings that understand our concept of honour or justice. If they care nothing but for their species¡¯ nests, they will not see the Abyss group as a nest but as one of their own risking themselves among the unworthy.¡± Snorri had spoken without a hint of reproach, and Tyr nodded thoughtfully at him. ¡°Is there anything we can do to ensure his safety?¡± asked Tyr. ¡°I don¡¯t want to risk it, Snorri,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a risk I¡¯d take to prevent my Liege and you from fighting a war before you have the need,¡± countered Snorri. ¡°I know the choice isn¡¯t mine alone, Lady Amdirlain, but please know that I¡¯d happily endure agony to ensure a brother the opportunity to heal and return to himself.¡± ¡°I as well, if involving the two of us can lessen the risk,¡± offered the first Solar. Amdirlain swallowed and blew out a sharp breath. ¡°I had hoped Rhithri would ask what he could do; instead, he disregarded their fate.¡± Though his helm hid much of Snorri¡¯s features, Amdirlain caught his mouth twisting in distaste. ¡°I am not this Rhithri.¡± His partner gave a curt nod. ¡°You had no part in the Formithian theft of worlds, but you would stand up for the mortals you don¡¯t know. Please allow us to stand for our brother and help him.¡± Letting out a slow breath at the conviction in their words, Amdirlain caught the pride in Tyr¡¯s gaze. ¡°Transformation sites gather the corruption of the Abyss. Do you know of locations that gather the energy of the heavenly planes?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No, but there are those I can ask,¡± replied Tyr. ¡°If nothing is like them, what is the optimum condition we¡¯re looking for?¡± ¡°A Transformation Site is a location of concentrated corruption and allows a Demon to shift into a more powerful species combining its classes. Do you know of a place on the heavenly planes that allows celestials to do something similar?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Tyr shook his head. ¡°There is no need. Celestials can transform on their own when they become strong enough. There are the celestial wellsprings, but they don¡¯t draw in the Domain or even the Plane¡¯s energy; rather, they send energy out into the Plane.¡± ¡°If their surroundings have higher concentrations of celestial energies, the corruption will burn up faster as it crosses the planes and enters them. The quicker the purging occurs, the less pain and the longer the shielding I¡¯ve developed will hold,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s see to securing him in your prison then and start the process,¡± replied Tyr. Remembering the agony she suffered through multiple ascensions, Amdirlain¡¯s mind raced with a way to repay them for their sacrifice. ¡°After we get this done, would you like them and others among your forces to accompany me for some fighting?¡± Tyr smiled. ¡°Mars guessed the difference fighting beside you makes, but I haven¡¯t shared that information with others. If you would take the time to do so, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d find honour in your company.¡± ¡°Fighting in a party with me leaves outsiders able to progress at a Mortal¡¯s pace afterwards,¡± Amdirlain said, and the solars wings flared in shock. ¡°I don¡¯t know if this will even work to restore Torm,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°Given how he speaks to you, do you think he has a chance otherwise?¡± asked Snorri. Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯d say it¡¯s unlikely.¡± After opening a Gate to the prison, securing him took moments. Once within the confirmation of the True Song barriers, the energy of the purification field caused the ichor leaking from his wounds to steam. The theme that set the oath link between Torm and Snorri felt to Amdirlain like she seized a protesting kitten. With it locked in place, a song to shield Snorri¡¯s memories against the corruption quickly followed. ¡°It¡¯s done. I can¡¯t say how much I appreciate your help and the risk you are taking.¡± ¡°We both have reasons to be thankful for the other,¡± replied Snorri, momentarily pausing before he continued. ¡°I had expected to feel discomfort from the link alone, yet it doesn¡¯t feel like anything is present. I¡¯ll go directly to a wellspring.¡± True to his word, Snorri immediately vanished. 282 - Pay for it Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands After Snorri vanished, Amdirlain tracked the link¡¯s shifting sensation between planes, and Tyr nodded after a brief wait. ¡°I¡¯ll monitor from within the prison,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Might we join you?¡± asked Tyr. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The cell¡¯s interiors have some decoration to prevent boredom, but the rest is just dull stone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we can handle that,¡± Tyr responded. Leading the way, Amdirlain ignored the pressure of the purification field across her skin and moved off to one side. Once they¡¯d both entered the prison¡¯s outer corridor, she closed the Gate behind them. ¡°Can they hear us?¡± enquired Tyr. ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain, but she doubled checked all the barriers were still tight. Just in case. ¡°What will you do with the other two?¡± asked the Solar. ¡°They have a link to Moloch. I¡¯m considering possibilities for saturating him with corruption,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Torm discussed Moloch being a Hidden with me. Since he has a Mortal Soul, how do you think the path will react if the corruption stirs him to greater violence?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll avoid that approach if possible. My chief concern with it is him being about to trace the corruption flows back to the prisoners before they¡¯ve recovered enough to sever the link,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s see how it goes with Torm first.¡± Baiting the corruption into the link was a matter of a few notes, but Amdirlain¡¯s focus stayed in place, monitoring the strain on Snorri through it. The first burst of purged corruption caused pain to echo through the link. Under the influence of Snorri¡¯s pain, Torm smashed himself against the circle¡¯s barrier, but the protections prevented him from hurting himself. Yet, rather than discouraging the corruption, a mass of energy surged down the link towards that echo. The waves of agony that followed caused Torm to escalate in his efforts to escape the confinement. Despite the flow she could hear shifting through the link, the corruption within him seemed undiminished, and Amdirlain settled in for a wait. Though the shield around Snorri¡¯s thoughts felt unshaken, Amdirlain repeatedly reinforced it as the hours stretched on and the corruption¡¯s density faded. With the fading static of its presence, she finally understood the corruption¡¯s hold, and Amdirlain severed the link. [Resonance [S] (105->106) True Song Architecture [S] (95->96)] ¡°Was there a problem? Snorri said the pain has stopped, but he¡¯s feeling fine,¡± offered Tyr. With her attention still saturated by intertwining music swirling through her mind, the simplicity of words felt strange to Amdirlain. ¡°There isn¡¯t a need to continue risking him,¡± replied Amdirlain. She paused and raked her fingers through her hair, mentally organising her insights. As Tyr watched her expression ripple between hope and concern, he remained silent and allowed her to compose herself. ¡°I know how to remove the corruption now; the way it locks into place has always been the key I¡¯d been missing. When I destroyed the memories, the corruption didn¡¯t stay linked to the souls because it needed mental energy to maintain the link. This corruption wasn¡¯t theirs, but it¡¯s twisted their memories and flawed their energies through that distortion of events,¡± explained Amdirlain. Tyr nodded. ¡°Has this given you extra insight into how to undo the damage?¡± ¡°The corruption has introduced flaws in his celestial energy,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re going to need to form fresh memories, free of the corruption¡¯s influence, to work on smoothing out the flaws. However, I can get the corruption to release the memories now without causing further pain to Snorri.¡± ¡°Then we need to motivate them to follow Redemption¡¯s Path,¡± stated Tyr. Amdirlain sighed again. ¡°Yes; you can¡¯t change a person, they have to change themselves. I¡¯m not sure how the plinth will judge them. If it says they¡¯ve nothing to make up for, they¡¯re just going to fall again the way they are now. I¡¯ll get working on the clean-up.¡± She set an invisible physical barrier above his head and set to work. The soaring ethereal notes sprang to life and manifested an orb of white energy three metres above Torm. As he bellowed in pain and rage, black sludge ripped through the skin and reopened half-healed wounds, forming tendrils that undulated upwards. The torrent ignited in the primordial inferno her voice had wrought. The energy conversion Sarah had devised seized the burning corruption, added it to the song¡¯s force, and the sludge gushed forth from Torm in arterial pulses. Focused on the song alone, Amdirlain ignored the blood dripping from the vicious half-moons her nails had ripped into her palms and her streaming tears. A hollow ache twisted within her guts, and she pushed it back with every breath. Fighting through the agony she was inflicting, Amdirlain forced the song to encompass more corruption. The decibels within the chamber ratcheted past a jet engine¡¯s roar, punching hard at the protective magics the L¨®m? had set to nullify audible detections. The release of corruption¡¯s grip flayed at her with Resonance translating twisted memories into a bitter mockery of a life well lived, with a focus on his family and Tyr¡¯s service. Though it savaged at her sorrow, Amdirlain didn¡¯t shut out their music and endured it; seizing her incandescent rage, she fueled the song to greater heights. The streams of corruption became fire hoses that yanked Torm from side to side; her unyielding grip emptying the corruption from his twisted form. Only when no more sludge came forth did a sudden silence slap across her battered senses, and a notification stabbed at her mind. [True Song Genesis [Ap] (15->16) Note: Noisy cricket] The ball of energy vanished across the planes striking at the heart of a town, and another notification appeared. [Planar Gate Shattered Culerzic to Hrz¡¯Styrn Total Experience gained: 1,000,000 Ostim?: +500,000 Ont?lin: +500,000 Note: You¡¯ve got cleansed primordial matter spraying from both ends. The town¡¯s ruins were still a glowing landscape, is that not enough for you?] ¡°Moloch, I¡¯m going to take everything from you before I¡¯m done,¡± Amdirlain whispered, scrubbing at her face. The lack of combat notification¡ªas much as Gideon¡¯s snark¡ªtold Amdirlain the first town she¡¯d obliterated on Culerzic hadn¡¯t recovered. ¡°Amdirlain?¡± Tyr questioned, and he rested a hand against her back to steady her as she swayed in her grief. Her name drew her attention back to the moment, and she realised only Tyr and herself were present with the prisoners. With dust-filled air swirling between them, Amdirlain considered how much force she¡¯d unleashed. Blinking away tears, she forced words past the ache that had settled in her chest. ¡°Sorry, that got wild. Are they okay?¡± ¡°I sent Haskell off when you threw yourself into your singing. You spared Snorri the pain, and instead, you shouldered it yourself? Are you okay? You were working at that for nearly a day,¡± advised Tyr. ¡°I should have asked Haskell¡¯s name; please give him my apologies. Purging corruption from over a thousand years of memories took a while,¡± Amdirlain observed, her voice cracked and ruined her attempted casualness. Tyr huffed. ¡°You¡¯re worse than Fen, at least she admits when a battle was fierce. Are you going to rest before you tend to the others?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already missed attending training today; I might as well keep going,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯ve only got one other Portal I¡¯ve seen that¡¯s relatively sure to be clear of activity. Oh! I can target the gates between Carceri and the Abyss.¡± ¡°You used that inferno to break a Portal?¡± enquired Tyr. Amdirlain gave a sharp nod. ¡°A natural Gate between Culerzic and Hrz¡¯Styrn. The other connection I know about on Culerzic is a Portal through a whirlpool.¡± ¡°I¡¯d avoid the connections with Carceri and the Abyss; I understand that Hell¡¯s armies invade by some of those routes,¡± cautioned Tyr. ¡°Even if they don¡¯t, you could have other demon lords searching for answers about who was involved.¡± ¡°Point. I should limit myself to three wars at a time,¡± huffed Amdirlain mock playfully. Tyr sighed. ¡°You¡¯re limiting yourself to three by your accounting? I¡¯m not sure that your tally is correct. You won''t make significant progress if you stretch yourself too thin.¡± Not wanting to get into her list, Amdirlain changed the subject. ¡°I¡¯m not sure my idea of playing memories will matter. I could sense the distortion in their memories, but during that I got flashes of memories from Torm. He loved his memories of family, and now those same memories have spite and contempt lacing them.¡± Tyr half raised a hand toward Torm¡¯s cell but lowered it. ¡°I should have told him to abandon the cell¡¯s operations after Rhithri ignored your concerns.¡± ¡°We both left the choice in others¡¯ hands, but I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m trying to convince myself this isn¡¯t my fault,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°He wanted to keep making a difference while we waited out my Planar Lock. There were so many opportunities I let slip by where I could have headed it off.¡± ¡°Trusting another is a choice that takes other choices away,¡± observed Tyr. ¡°Not unless we want to betray their trust in turn,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know about you making observations in my language. Should I have referred to his memories as lying witnesses or something?¡± Tyr gave her a concerned smile. ¡°You could keep them contained until you¡¯ve got a way forward.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus said there are two ways to heal flaws in a Soul, and it also applies to celestial energies. You need to work on living a good life or cycling Ki while meditating on one¡¯s flaws. The trio are not in a place where they¡¯ll care about meditating on mistakes they didn¡¯t even make. That means I need to get them out working towards living a good life, not standing in a cell.¡± ¡°Which brings us back to motivating them to even want to walk Redemption¡¯s Path,¡± noted Tyr. The corruption still hissed from the others with the same dreadful heat, niggling at her the same way Viper¡¯s tone had dug. A thought occurred to Amdirlain, but she held her tongue, glad that her Hidden state shielded her mind even with a Greater Power within reach. Amdirlain kept herself from groaning and succeeded in a casual tone. ¡°Want to gather a few regiments?¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°I figured your troops could use a boost in capabilities. Mind if I take them to destroy some undead chewing at a dead world?¡± Tyr looked surprised by her announcement. ¡°I thought you just meant working with Snorri and Haskell.¡± ¡°After the sacrifice they willingly offered to undertake? Like I¡¯d only help two of your commanders,¡± scoffed Amdirlain. ¡°Though we should let Snorri determine the process for selecting the regiments since he endured the pain.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be his choice then,¡± agreed Tyr. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when the troops are ready, but I¡¯m going to insist on that being at least a few weeks from now. Please rest. I could see the torment you endured for him. Be kind to yourself for a change.¡± ¡°There is always a price to be paid, and mine won¡¯t be the biggest one. I couldn¡¯t ignore the blighted mess his memories had become,¡± answered Amdirlain. With a grave head shake, Tyr frowned. ¡°Best to ignore lies unless you can use them against the liar. How can you fight the Abyss with corruption¡¯s lies? Rest so that you can do your best for the next. Is there a rush?¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll send some messages and listen to a living world,¡± replied Amdirlain. Dispatching messages to Rasha and the others, Amdirlain wrapped concealments around herself before she gated away to Votari. Her arrival set her at the peak of a hill she¡¯d flown over on her first visit. The cloud-filled sky and rain hammering through the trees¡¯ canopy perfectly matched her mood. Tilting her head back, she closed her eyes to let the torrential rain wash over her, and the scent of the local pines scrubbed at her sorrow. ¡°They only really understand negative emotions now,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Pushing the temptation to scream aside, she started to plan the manipulation of a trio of individuals like Viper. Word choices and actions emerged from the Femme Fatale Skill as her planning advanced. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Amdirlain hadn¡¯t planned on talking to them for some time, but focusing on the path¡¯s pendant, she thought of the Eldest. She could feel the connection establish, making them aware of the individual seeking to speak with them and their acknowledgment in return. ¡°I wondered if you¡¯d ever be in touch,¡± said the Eldest. ¡°I need some advice.¡± ¡°Is this about your search for the last Fallen or your progress on the path?¡± ¡°My search. We found all three, and I¡¯ve purged the corruption from one so far,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she heard a grunt of surprise in response. ¡°I need to talk to you about their cleansed state and the Formithian pantheon.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll answer your second part first. The Formithians are vastly different to when I served my Liege; I doubt I¡¯d recognise them,¡± replied the Eldest. ¡°Why did you need the advice?¡± ¡°Alright, it was a long shot. I¡¯ve found they steal worlds from other less developed species and hoped you could advise me about peacefully discouraging them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I can only advise you on how they used to be; I¡¯ve had no dealings with them in thousands of aeons,¡± cautioned the Eldest. ¡°My advice on them might be so misleading as to be dangerous.¡± Amdirlain plucked soft needles from a nearby tree and inhaled the aroma. ¡°Do Fallen ever come to the path looking to gain revenge on those they believe caused their fall?¡± A hum of understanding came through the link before the Eldest spoke. ¡°It is not unknown for them to seek the heavens to cast others down. What is your concern?¡± ¡°Not a concern so much as seeking a way to motivate them to start the path,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The corruption from the Transformation Site has twisted their memories and perception of their prior existence.¡± There was only silence over the link for a long while before the Eldest spoke again. ¡°If they are going to be secure, I¡¯d ask you to come to the cloister so we can discuss this in person.¡± ¡°I need to remove the corruption from the other two first,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°My only purpose is to ensure all those that start the path have the best chance to complete it. I¡¯ve seen many successes but far more failures,¡± said the Eldest, reading into her hesitation. ¡°I want to ensure we both avoid disappointment.¡± ¡°I need to take a break; dealing with the first¡¯s corruption was painful. As soon as I complete the clean-up of the other two, I¡¯ll come to the valley,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you.¡± The words surprised Amdirlain, and she froze, reaching for more needles. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°You barely know me, but you¡¯ve shown trust in my position by speaking to me about these matters. That is not a trust I take lightly,¡± explained the Eldest. Amdirlain let the link between them fade away. She exhaled hard and scrubbed the fresh tears that had mingled with the rain. After deciding her course, Teleport took her out above the grasslands and she continued with line-of-sight teleports until she stood under a clear sky. Her trip had taken her to the far side of a massive lake that bordered the grasslands¡ªan expanse of fresh water on the scale of the Black Sea from her quick scouting. The far side was mountainous terrain, and Amdirlain landed on a ridge to get a majestic view of the deep blue waters. The sun hanging low above the mountain line showed the lateness of the day. Most of the nearby animal life she could sense were assorted aquatic life within the water, but short-horned goats perched precariously along a cliff face to her north. As Amdirlain watched, they descended to drink and feed on grasses growing along the waterfront. An hour spent watching their fearlessness restored her calm and, as the sun sank below the horizon, Amdirlain returned to the prison. Tempted to use the plinth¡¯s song against Torm, Amdirlain tried a different approach and felt Analysis strain within her, and she pictured the billions of permutations Gideon was checking. [Guilty regarding:
  • Mass murder, responsible for triggering an event that led to the death of over a thousand mortals in the abyssal city of Ravager¡¯s junction.
  • Fathering demonic children, unleashing dangers against mortals while engaging in pleasure-seeking.
  • Extended emotional torment of Mortal Soul.
Note: Thank me later. Note: I¡¯m not the one sex obsessed. He had so many happy endings with succubi. Note: The last one is from me planning to tell tales in class. ] [Analysis [S] (29->31)] For once, Ori being a bitch comes in handy. He became corrupted, I went on a rampage. So does my changing the local portals into gates count as what killed them? Checking on the others, Analysis reported their work for Moloch had already included a share of vile deeds. It apportioned them some blame for the mortals¡¯ deaths in the city she¡¯d destroyed. Torm was happy I was safe, but they were glad the rogue element wasn¡¯t on their team. It doesn¡¯t feel like a first-degree separation. The ''thank me later'' note? Is that Gideon telling me he¡¯s got some leeway in the information he gives to the plinth? Scrying out locations, Amdirlain found one unexpectedly crawling with tens of thousands of demons without a Mortal on site. Amdirlain set crystals to monitor her chosen targets for changes and began her work. Cleaning the corruption from them was more complex and more manageable. While both of the others were older than Torm, Amdirlain had no compunction about blocking out the echoes of their memories. The first inferno shattered the Portal above the whirlpool she¡¯d scouted with Torm, getting a similar message to the first. The second was more dramatic: targeted to smash apart a reconstruction project on the Ravager¡¯s river. [Combat Summary Dretch, Least: x9,345 Dretch, Lesser: x3,142 Sk?ll, Lesser: x2,976 Sk?ll: x178 Fraz-g¨°n: x153 Total Experience gained: 18,409,291 Ostim?: +9,204,645 Ont?lin: +9,204,645] [Achievement: Home Wrecker Note: First you trash his wine collection, and now his new palace¡¯s construction site. Better luck next time?] Amdirlain howled with laughter at Gideon¡¯s note and teleported to the valley¡¯s mouth to refresh herself in the sunlight. After the strain of the day¡¯s effort had faded, Amdirlain set protections in place and, after a couple of Planar hops, ended up where she¡¯d first seen the cloister¡¯s fortress with Dagrast?r. As those on the battlements looked her way, Amdirlain retrieved the pendant and let it rest atop her clothing. ¡°Are you a newcomer on the path?¡± The voice whispered through the pendant¡¯s link. ¡°I¡¯ve been here only once with Dagrast?r for judgement by the path.¡± ¡°If you can, proceed forward at the speed Dagrast?r used. If you are unsure of the speed to use, wave a claw.¡± Amdirlain stepped off and restricted herself to the same pace Dagrast?r had walked. Just before she reached the distance Dagrast?r had taken to the air, the voice came again. ¡°Fly to the third weapon station on the upper tier.¡± Following the instruction, Amdirlain lifted into the air and headed for the station. The attendant¡¯s outward appearance was a grey spider twice the size of her Wood Elf form. Two rows of four jet-black eyes ran among the grey fur that covered its head. They were reared up on their hindmost legs, holding the ballista¡¯s controls with the front two pairs of legs. Its multiple eyes were fixed on her elven form, and Amdirlain could hear its confusion, but no one obstructed her from landing beside its station. Attached directly to its bristly skin, its pendant had adhered to its skull in the centre point of its eight eyes. ¡°Greetings,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Greetings, traveller. How has your path progressed?¡± The clicks its mandibles emitted were translated by Polyglot from a language she¡¯d never heard. ¡°There have been several temptations since I was last here. I can only hope I¡¯ve progressed rather than slipped,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The Eldest asked me to come to speak to them on a matter I was investigating. Should I go to them, or will I need a guide again?¡± ¡°Your pendant is all you need. Follow the main path of the tunnel at the end of this tier. Though it winds about, don¡¯t take any side passages; eventually, it connects to the way down.¡± Giving a polite nod, Amdirlain stepped around its thorax and walked along the upper battlements. Those stationed around her arrival point ignored her, apparently focusing their attention outward, but Amdirlain could hear their pendants transmitting questions as she passed. The passage ran triple the length into the valley¡¯s wall than the passage she¡¯d taken last time. It did indeed wind about and, like the other, ran through a hardened security point, with multiple layers of defences along every stretch of corridor. Beyond the hardened security point, someone had elaborately engraved the passage. It ran past halls where Amdirlain could hear the clash of weapons and spells striking targets. Eventually, it connected to the shaft, but beneath its upper layer. During her descent, the wards recognised the pendant she carried and cautiously let her pass. Echoing upwards, she heard a sharp tapping from far below. Upon her arrival at the point of the massive tear-drop-shaped cavern, it seemed far more enormous than last time as the Eldest wasn¡¯t looming overhead. Instead, it was in a small Formithian form¡ªbarely a metre long¡ªwith its legs folded underneath near an alcove within the teardrop point of the chamber. Its stubby middle arms held a chisel and mallet, which it wielded to add more detail to the alcove¡¯s engraving. ¡°I¡¯m glad you returned so promptly. I¡¯ll admit I wondered if you would seek our advice on any matter,¡± the Eldest stated as Amdirlain approached. Silently, Amdirlain put concealments in place to stop their conversation from being overheard by someone up the shaft. ¡°I can be stubborn, but not without reason,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got far more knowledge of those that have travelled the path than I do. Wouldn¡¯t it be stupid not to seek more information?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve encountered beings quite willing to believe they alone know the truth,¡± replied the Eldest with wistful sadness. ¡°Are all three now cleansed of the corruption, or did you return earlier than you suggested?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve removed the sludge from their essence and incinerated it,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Their memories and attitudes are still twisted.¡± The Eldest set the tools onto a length of hide and carefully wrapped them back up. ¡°Once we¡¯ve got them some help, I hope you¡¯ll share more details about how this came to pass. You asked about those having the motivation of revenge succeeding on the path.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have that in common yet. The problem is they have no motivation to seek the path or change,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Then what was the purpose of your enquiry?¡± ¡°The motivation for revenge is one I¡¯m sure I can inspire in them,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Who are they going desire to seek revenge against?¡± ¡°Against me¡ªthe cleansing process alone wasn¡¯t fun. They hate me right now. I can give them a firm reason to succeed on the path.¡± The Eldest''s head tendrils waved about. ¡°How will you avoid bringing conflict into the cloister?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to rip the memories out, and they won¡¯t even remember what I look or sound like. I¡¯ll leave them with the certainty that if they redeem themselves, they¡¯ll learn what they need for revenge against me.¡± ¡°Could you have prevented their fall?¡± ¡°It was within my capabilities, but only if I¡¯d broken trust with one of them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If I had gone along on their operations, I would have detected the trap before it could have sprung.¡± ¡°Having such surety about playing with a Fallen¡¯s mind. You¡¯re skilled in psionics, I take it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d rather not go into everything, but I can ensure they remember the truth after being redeemed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good that the promise of information isn¡¯t a lie, though I¡¯d worry about the danger to you. Do you expect them to view your efforts differently afterwards?¡± the Eldest asked. ¡°Yes. I also plan to put safeguards in place that if they leave the Abyss while not on the path, I¡¯ll imprison them.¡± ¡°How will they start the trial?¡± ¡°I know where one of the trial stones is located. I¡¯m going to insert that information into their minds,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The path could hold you responsible if they harm any mortals in the Abyss.¡± ¡°I know it¡¯s a risk, but I¡¯m not happy or angry about this course¡ªI¡¯m scared for them,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Admittedly, I¡¯m also planning to put other safeguards in place besides monitoring them in the Abyss, so they won¡¯t have as much freedom as they believe my choices will give them. If they go to break my guidelines, I¡¯ll lock them away.¡± ¡°If I advised you to avoid that risk and just destroy them?¡± asked the Eldest, and they held up both their stubby hands. ¡°These aren¡¯t in the same situation that others find themselves.¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°The others fell but still remember being good.¡± ¡°Yes, they remember, even if the motivation for travelling the path is grey for some of them. You said the corruption had twisted all their memories.¡± ¡°The three believe they were being used all along by their respective lieges, and the site opened their eyes,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t give up on them without fighting to give them a chance. They were celestials, and because of the arrogance of their cell leader, their operation became compromised and they were led into a trap.¡± ¡°And you¡¯d rescue this cell leader as well?¡± ¡°Oh, they got themselves killed, not dragged into the site. I¡¯ve already shown them my prisoners. They cared absolutely nothing about the others¡¯ fate and said the individual is unimportant; all that matters is the nest,¡± explained Amdirlain, her voice cold. ¡°A nest that will eat its members with no regard for their loss isn¡¯t a nest, but a place to await death. A grub is a drain on the nest now, a sick artisan is a drain now, an injured warrior, and countless other situations may never offer a return for the nest. But if the immediate need disregards them with no concern, then the nest itself is sick and dying no matter how healthy it seems,¡± asserted the Eldest. ¡°That certainly wasn¡¯t their viewpoint. If that¡¯s how the formithians used to be, they¡¯ve changed,¡± reported Amdirlain. ¡°Within the cloister we are all broken in different ways and on our individual journeys; our wrongs and insights are different, but that individuality gives us strength, not weakness. Anyone that starts on the path, we do our best to support their journey and help them see the truth,¡± stated the Eldest. ¡°A suitable mentor,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly. Some have wanted to regain the heavens to burn them down, so they won¡¯t be the first arriving here still consumed with rage. You may keep the ¡®how¡¯ close to your chest, but tell me of these Fallen, and what contingencies you¡¯ve planned for so far. Perhaps I can provide insights to ease this burden you seem intent on carrying alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not alone, but I feel responsible,¡± confessed Amdirlain. ¡°Sorrow can often apportion blame that isn¡¯t yours to bear. I will listen if you wish to speak about anything,¡± replied the Eldest, and they motioned towards the shaft. ¡°Is it psionics you are using to dampen our words? I noticed they aren¡¯t echoing.¡± Amdirlain opted to play it safe. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few tricks available to me.¡± Moloch¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The molten mess that had been the bones of his new palace were still burning when he arrived. A white-hot mass, whose eruption had annihilated workers, had spread through the foundations. It had caved in the pit¡¯s edge, ignited stonework, and ruined most of the site. Standing at the top of the overseer¡¯s tower, Moloch reached through a Gate and yanked the fleeing architect back to the site. With an iron grasp around the fly-headed Demon¡¯s throat, he held it off the tower¡¯s edge. Staring at the wreckage, he sought more information, but the golden script that returned made him grind his teeth. [Primordial Phlegm: Details: Corruption ignited by the Titan¡¯s Songbird and absently spat across planes at meaningless swarming demons.] Though ?the architect wasn¡¯t to blame, the bug-eyed Demon had already hidden other setbacks from him. Moloch slowly squeezed until he¡¯d powdered the Demon¡¯s spine, and continued until the flesh burst apart. Bliss delicately cleared her throat as the corpse plummeted from the observation tower. ¡°Did someone fuck up with ritual magic?¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s Songbird again. Increase the bounty for information; I want to know how they found it and what demon lords might have cut a deal.¡± ¡°The duo from The Exchange said it died before when some mythical elves worked for the Titan,¡± sighed Bliss. ¡°I¡¯ve not yet heard from your other information sellers.¡± ¡°Clearly it didn¡¯t, and someone¡¯s met its price,¡± instructed Moloch. ¡°In the meantime, find me a new architect; ensure they know not to hide problems from me.¡± ¡°Where do you want it built? Here?¡± asked Bliss, her full lips twisted as she jabbed a finger at the burning mass. ¡°Somewhere away from any current or past city, have the architect draw up plans for multiple sites, and I¡¯ll pick what I like,¡± replied Moloch. ¡°Find multiple architects; I¡¯ll pick a plan from each as soon as they have them ready for my approval.¡± Bliss pouted and crossed her arms to lift her breasts for display. ¡°Do I look like an overseer?¡± ¡°I know exactly what you are, Bliss. Be your deceitful self, but remember, you¡¯re one of my spiteful bitches. Have someone organise the architects, but keep yourself informed and tell me when you discover any lies. That way, you won¡¯t be the one I kill,¡± replied Moloch. ¡°Deal with this mess. The Sisterhood is coming apart, and there are profitable territories to seize.¡± A dramatic huff blew a strand of black hair away from her face before Bliss teleported. Moloch glanced over the workers moving equipment clear before returning to the Sisterhood¡¯s ruined fortress on Jinamizi. 283 - Frame of mind Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Amdirlain walked around the dome covering the plinth and studied the alcoves along the wall. The crystal barrier muffled the songs of the divine death memories, but walking so close to them felt strange, and she carefully kept Resonance clear of their screams. ¡°Did you carve all of these?¡± ¡°Not all,¡± admitted the Eldest. ¡°My fallen brethren liked to work stone. They carved the lower levels with tools rather than magic, including the largest library. I continued the tradition in their memory.¡± ¡°What became of your brethren that slipped from the path?¡± ¡°Transformation sites will normally turn angels into demons; a strong enough Fallen will become a Demon Lord; the one that slipped made use of such a site,¡± advised the Eldest. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected the wish of a chaotic concept such as Luck to allow an Angel to avoid such a fate.¡± Amdirlain laughed bitterly. ¡°My friend is strange. She wished for a chance that Torm could find his way back. Just because there is a way, it doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m doing what¡¯s necessary for it to come about; I¡¯m worried my plan won¡¯t be enough.¡± The Eldest nodded and set the roll of tools they¡¯d been carrying at the base of an alcove. ¡°Hatred is a strange soil from which to expect good deeds to bloom. Though, what other options do you have besides their destruction?¡± ¡°Eternal imprisonment or sending them through the trial sponsored by a good Deity,¡± replied Amdirlain, keeping the most drastic option she had to herself. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have to be a good Deity, just because that is what they used to serve. If he is so warlike and aggressive, you could seek a neutral war god to sponsor him. I believe there are thousands of deities with troops across the eternal battlefield of Acheron. Many of those serve war gods whose only interest is in the long-term strategy of conflicts.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have expected that suggestion from you,¡± confessed Amdirlain, and she gestured about them. ¡°If you see that as a path, why are there any Fallen here?¡± ¡°It is not a course I would take, but an individual¡¯s journey is for them to decide. Those following Redemption¡¯s Path are here because they don¡¯t wish to return to a Deity¡¯s service,¡± explained the Eldest. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you seek a good patron if one helped you capture Torm?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been told that the results of going through the trial would render me unrecognisable,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Curious,¡± said the Eldest. ¡°We¡¯ve gone over your plan, and you¡¯ve tolerated my questions about your safeguards. Might I ask a question from a different viewpoint?¡± ¡°You can always ask questions; if I will answer them is another matter,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You said you purged their corruption, and the pain gives them a reason to hate you. Yet you can also remove and provide them with memories. So my question is, why is it necessary for them to hate you?¡± enquired the Eldest. ¡°I can control how I react to their hatred, and it¡¯s not pointing them at a target that will squash them like Moloch,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got options that would let me overpower all three of them, even if they work together.¡± ¡°Are you deserving of their hatred?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°To me, that is a sign you want them to hate you,¡± said the Eldest, their tone gentle. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°I meant that from their perspective?¡± ¡°You being concerned for their viewpoint shows the answer to my questions is no,¡± declared the Eldest. ¡°Hatred is never necessary. It brings no light into anyone¡¯s existence. Are you deserving of their hatred? No. Someone that wants to help others onto Redemption¡¯s Path isn¡¯t a villain. I would suggest looking for another way.¡± ¡°What should I do, then? How do I get them motivated to even try for Redemption?¡± ¡°Those that walk Redemption¡¯s Path because of hatred might well be able to succeed. However, we have to work harder to steer them to success than we do for those that undertake the journey for better reasons,¡± explained the Eldest. ¡°You have them confined. You¡¯ve purged the corruption. Why do you rush towards the goal via uncertain means?¡± ¡°Life is uncertain,¡± countered Amdirlain. The Eldest clicked their claws softly. ¡°Then we should ensure the footing on our path is as stable as possible.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been waiting for years to rescue him.¡± ¡°You rounded the bend of a passage and realised the end was still not in sight. Rather than stoke the fires of your patience, you seek to set hate burning within them,¡± observed the Eldest. ¡°Is it possible? Yes. Is it the best option for any of you? No.¡± ¡°Why did you want to speak in person?¡± ¡°To learn more about you,¡± admitted the Eldest, pointing towards the dome. ¡°The path itself is an example that hatred makes things harder.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Its creator hated us, and perhaps herself. While she never made the path easier on us, she made other changes?,¡± advised the Eldest, and he started walking around the dome. ¡°When she created the start of the path, she said it would be our responsibility to determine if others found it.¡± ¡°Then the trial stones appeared?¡± The Eldest moved to stand before another alcove. ¡°Yes.¡± Within the alcove, the engraved image showed three formithians with a twisted humanoid figure at the top of the alcove¡¯s arc. Centred in the alcove was a picture-quality engraving of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s face, her attention fixed on the dome¡¯s doorway as she sang. Images of marker stones in various locations: woodlands, swamps, desolate landscapes, and strange cities; were arrayed in sections around her. ¡°The only difference in your appearance is your elven species, but your face looks identical to hers,¡± observed the Eldest. ¡°Truly, if not for your dusky skin tone and darker hair, I¡¯d be able to mistake you for her; even the timbre of your voice is similar.¡± ¡°When did the event depicted here occur?¡± Despite her evasion, the Eldest gave a soft, almost curious hum and pointed towards the figures at the top of the alcove. ¡°We¡¯d been progressing with just the three of us for a millennium. We¡¯d return here occasionally to check the dome was still here and gradually make improvements.¡± They paused with their crest of tendrils pointed towards the three figures, and their claws clicked once. ¡°Then we encountered another Fallen and informed them of the path. A short time after they joined us, I found her here singing. I thought she might say something, but she left without a word. Days later, another Fallen arrived to join the path guided by the stone. Then, a third and fourth became a stream in the weeks afterwards. They¡¯d all encountered a stone on their wanderings around the same time, from which they heard the female Elf speaking directly into their minds.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin died with all the Anar,¡± replied Amdirlain. The Eldest¡¯s claws clicked a dozen times rapidly, but they made no move towards Amdirlain. ¡°You know the one I speak of then, without mention of a name.¡± Hoping she wasn¡¯t about to land herself in trouble, Amdirlain nodded towards the alcove. ¡°Yes, I know of her, and I expect you are right about her hatred for any Fallen and herself. Though I look like her, I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin. Did she only visit this cavern and not talk to any of you?¡± ¡°No, her touch was felt throughout the cloister, our libraries and armouries, amongst other things,¡± informed the Eldest. ¡°The few times she spoke, those she addressed said her tone was curt and dismissive. We don¡¯t know everything she might have altered on her visits. I won¡¯t pry into your knowledge of her unless you¡¯re willing to talk about it, but a word of warning: others who remember her might be more insistent on answers. Let me know if they cause you trouble.¡± ¡°I think I might keep my visits to a minimum until word gets around that the Fallen that looks like Orh¨ºthurin isn¡¯t Orh¨ºthurin,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that you would be in danger,¡± corrected the Eldest, and they gestured to the crystal dome. ¡°Hating us or not, this allows us to regain our previous state, without becoming beholden to any Deity. I¡¯m unsure if you realise how precious a gift many consider that to be.¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s even worse. I don¡¯t want to get any consideration for Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s efforts,¡± insisted Amdirlain. The Eldest gave a strange rumbling huff, and it took Amdirlain a moment to realise they were laughing. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure all are aware. Though your initial contact with us is already among the most unusual.¡± Amdirlain raised her hands and shrugged helplessly. ¡°Unusual, that I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve got down in all shapes and sizes. I appreciate your guidance with the trio, and I¡¯ll see what I can do to find a way that doesn¡¯t involve invoking their hatred.¡± ¡°That would be for the best,¡± agreed the Eldest. Heading back to the surface, Amdirlain only passed a few of the cloister¡¯s members. From them, she caught the same confusion she¡¯d sensed from the Fallen she¡¯d spoken to upon her arrival. Though her protections weren¡¯t under any strain, Amdirlain gated away as soon as the wards allowed. Hopping across various planes, Amdirlain cleaned herself of lingering energies from Ijmti before she emerged into the Outlands. Sitting on the valley¡¯s clifftop, Amdirlain listened to the trio¡¯s songs and considered options for proceeding. ¡°Master Cyrus, I was wondering if we could speak again; I¡¯m currently in the Outlands.¡± Dispatching the Message with an accompanying image, Amdirlain considered her options. Not knowing when or even if she¡¯d receive a reply, Amdirlain followed it with another to Rasha, keeping him apprised she might be away some time. The insights of the Eldest had extended Amdirlain¡¯s plans so much that by the time she got back to the prison, she had dozens more songs to compose. Along with those she¡¯d scoured from the plinth¡¯s music, she¡¯d determined how to retrieve their original memories. Memories of the creation of Anar souls provided the means to bury them within the depths of their essence until their nature became attuned to their personal memories. It promised to offer them flashbacks during quiet times, similar to what she¡¯d experienced herself through meditation. ¡°You¡¯re out there, aren¡¯t you?¡± Torm asked, his fingertips brushing across the circle¡¯s barrier. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you just did, but this is more than a little ironic. I avenged your confinement, and look what you¡¯re doing to me.¡± Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°It¡¯s far from the same thing. Being in a tube shouldn¡¯t be unusual for you after the last few years¡ªyou¡¯ve been in many tight places. Or were they loose because you couldn¡¯t touch the sides?¡± taunted Amdirlain, wanting to see how he reacted without the corruption in play. ¡°What¡¯s one more?¡± Even though Amdirlain had remained perched atop the cliff, sending her voice into his cell was simple. Torm¡¯s muzzle curled into a smile. ¡°Jealous?¡± ¡°Curious. I wondered if you manifested with a wolf¡¯s muzzle because of my reluctance to acknowledge my attraction when the furry was underneath. Self-loathing perhaps?¡± prodded Amdirlain. She was unsure if the lack of rage in his voice was from his regenerated state or the purged corruption. What flesh his torn clothing exposed looked like someone had rolled a burn victim in coal dust. There wasn¡¯t a square centimetre of skin that wasn¡¯t a charred scar-crusted mess. ¡°Narcissistic much? I¡¯d have to defer to the local expert if it were self-loathing. I''d only need to look at how easily Viper pressed your buttons to change your appearance. Looking to swap and become the psychologist, or is Sarah out there whispering in your ear? You were a gorgeous Succubus,¡± remarked Torm, his choice of subject and reminders digging at her. ¡°I would have fucked you for weeks and not bothered to leave the room once.¡± ¡°If I did anything with you, it would be a pity fuck. Charm attempt: fail,¡± Amdirlain replied and stopped listening. Returning to her studies of Votari¡¯s music, Amdirlain settled in to wait. A shimmering manifested midair a hundred metres from the cliff¡¯s edge, and seven dragons'' eyes blinked at her from around the edges of a pair of white jade doors. The dragons that had seemed part of the door came alive, and their serpentine bodies moved as if swimming through the jade. As their bodies shifted further, their efforts allowed the doors to unseal, and beyond them, a set of black stone stairs appeared within a stairwell of white clouds. Though he hadn¡¯t been visible, Master Cyrus suddenly stepped off them to stand in midair, and the dragons sealed the doors in a sudden rush. When Amdirlain flowed to her feet and bowed, a smile erased the tension from his hawk-like features. His gaze didn¡¯t leave her, and he strolled towards her as if stepping on solid ground. The loose silk robes he wore looked like he¡¯d come directly from a fancy event, with a blue silk over robe with mithril thread embroidery that showed a charging tiger. A broad white belt cinched the robes at his waist, supporting a black sheath for a thin sabre. ¡°Perhaps I should ensure the White Tiger and you remain unacquainted,¡± said Cyrus when he stepped onto the grass near Amdirlain. ¡°Why is that?¡± asked Amdirlain, amused by his strange pronouncement. ¡°He tries to woo beautiful females into becoming wives or concubines; even the thought of you among them would turn the palace on its ear. With a thousand upset females within the palace, I¡¯d want to be on continual field manoeuvres.¡± Amdirlain restrained her laughter. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°Likewise, Amdirlain. I can feel the strength coming off you and the Willpower in your killing intent. Perhaps one day I¡¯ll be the student seeking greater enlightenment from you,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Your former teacher is? currently at the Jade Emperor¡¯s Court.¡± Amdirlain reestablished the concealments of her aura, and Cyrus¡¯ brows lifted. ¡°Is it because of what I did in the Abyss?¡± enquired Amdirlain, but she sighed when all Cyrus could offer her was a shrug. ¡°Hopefully, I¡¯ve not caused either of you trouble.¡± ¡°I understand you sent up quite a shockwave, but not one that threatens us,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ve caught hints that they have summoned him for a different reason.¡± ¡°No puzzle from the Jade Emperor to sort out?¡± asked Amdirlain, keeping herself composed. Cyrus laughed. ¡°Not so far. Have you spoken to Livia since you regained your freedom?¡± Fighting off the temptation to grill him about their relationship to see if it had progressed after Sarah¡¯s teasing, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I handed over a criminal to her but haven¡¯t told her about capturing Torm yet.¡± The amusement drained from Cyrus, and he sat in the air near Amdirlain, taking his time to arrange the folds of his robes. ¡°Do you plan to bind him?¡± ¡°While I can guess what you mean, I¡¯d hate to assume,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°We spoke in the past of the eastern traditions similar to your Redemption¡¯s Path, but I¡¯m not sure if Demon binding would be effective on yourself or Torm,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°An Immortal or Shen can bind a Demon, taming them to their will. Through service, hard work, and trials, they can lift themselves into a sufficient state to reincarnate as a Mortal. For those originally Shen, they can regain their heavenly state; such was the case with Xuanwu and seven of the Jade Emperor¡¯s generals.¡± ¡°I hoped there was something I could do with Ki cycling to repair damage from the Transformation Site,¡± admitted Amdirlain. At her admission, Cyrus looked like he¡¯d bitten into a lemon. ¡°How often have you been cycling?¡± Amdirlain gave him a sheepish smile. ¡°I need to get back into the habit. It would have drawn attention to my hiding spot.¡± ¡°The source of Ki is your life and spirit; to gain the best results in healing flaws requires the individual to cycle their Ki,¡± explained Cyrus. Having remembered the explanation, Amdirlain readily nodded. ¡°I had hoped I could do something similar to what I¡¯d undertaken with Livia to lessen the damage. The corruption twisted them and distorted their perspective of their existence before going into the Transformation Site.¡± ¡°A Mortal child¡¯s Soul is far more malleable to life¡¯s stimuli,¡± stated Cyrus. ¡°You sent pure energy into Livia and drew away the Abyss¡¯s heat; it was as if cool water washed away her fever. She responded by instinctively healing within your saturating energy. Sending your Ki into a mature being¡¯s essence is highly inefficient¡ªespecially when forcing their Ki to cycle it within them. Or do you believe they¡¯d cooperate and try cycling themselves?¡± Amdirlain sighed and looked across the valley. ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯d even want to attempt it.¡± ¡°There is no guarantee the outcome will be as you desire,¡± cautioned Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ve been in the presence of your Ki when you were overfull. It could harm them rather than heal.¡± ¡°But healing is possible?¡± enquired Amdirlain with a hopeful smile. Cyrus frowned; his expression was a sudden thundercloud. ¡°You and my Liege must never meet; that smile would have him striving to woo you. How many hours of cycling have you done to heal your flaws? Even if it works, it¡¯s limited in its usefulness. Normally, similar techniques are only useful to instruct those having trouble with initial cycling.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve suffered a hideous mauling, even if all I can do is provide some seeds of guidance and mercy within them, that¡¯s far more than they have now,¡± asserted Amdirlain. His frown didn¡¯t waver, but Cyrus grunted. ¡°May your work find favour with Quan Yin. How are you even going to get your Ki into them? Universal Life heals only the flesh. You don¡¯t have a connection between souls as you did with Livia.¡± ¡°I can create oath links to them, and energy can pass across those,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It would be far easier to bind them,¡± grumbled Cyrus. ¡°It will not be a matter of flooding them with energy, or the Demon will consume whatever life you give it.¡± ¡°Fallen, not Demon,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°We do not distinguish between the Shen who have slipped from their way and those demons bred by the Yomi King,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°How does your Hell fit on the planar wheel?¡± ¡°It is not on the same axis as Outlands or Limbo,¡± Cyrus said, extending a hand flat before turning it to a steep angle. ¡°Outlands sits flat here to you, but its axis is tilted relative to that joining the Celestial Court, the Middle Kingdom, and the Eastern Hell. The guardians of the Celestial stairs had to work hard to allow me to meet you. Do you seek to change the subject because you¡¯re nervous?¡± Amdirlain stopped to consider her leaping thoughts and nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could handle enforcing servitude on them even to give them a better chance of recovery.¡± ¡°So your thoughts wish to leap away from all the advice I can offer?¡± ¡°More seeking information to try and find a more palatable chance for them.¡± ¡°Life is frequently unpleasant. You are a strange mixture, Amdirlain: kind-hearted yet capable of being vicious,¡± observed Cyrus. ¡°Did you have any compunction about obliterating your enemies in the Abyss, even if it was just the destruction of their physical forms?¡± ¡°We attuned them to the local Plane first, so it destroyed those without the capacity for multiple Home Planes,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Eliminating them quickly is a cruel kindness. The wheel of your life has dwelt much in the realm of death; you should seek more life to balance it,¡± advised Cyrus. Amdirlain gave a tight smile. ¡°I¡¯ve got some plans for that.¡± ¡°Good, now with the Ki cycling. You¡¯ll need to get back to where your pattern is effortless. You can¡¯t spare it any attention while trying to leverage your Ki to cause their own to move,¡± instructed Cyrus. ¡°This will not be easy.¡± ¡°Where is the fun in taking the straightforward route?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°You can be lighthearted if you wish, but you¡¯ll need to be completely comfortable cycling your pattern before we try this. The technique will require a constant flow of Ki being renewed, as you¡¯ll be sending your reserves into them to control the Ki within them.¡± ¡°Before we try this?¡± probed Amdirlain. ¡°Have you become foolish? Do you think I¡¯d leave you to try this alone?¡± Cyrus asked haughtily. Before Amdirlain could object, he folded his arms and looked at her so imperiously that Amdirlain had to stifle her laughter. ¡°My mistake, Master Cyrus,¡± apologised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve created a place to practice cycling; it lets me drain off my accumulated Ki Energy. I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve not used it as frequently as I would like.¡± ¡°At least you¡¯ve made preparations to practice, even if you¡¯ve been slack in the execution itself,¡± chided Cyrus. ¡°How long ago did you create your practice site?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not been free long,¡± reminded Amdirlain, and she didn¡¯t waver when she locked her gaze on Cyrus¡¯ reproving stare. ¡°There has been a lot going on and things that needed to be tended to before I could take time to meditate.¡± ¡°Life is a constant distraction; discipline comes from making the time to practice. Will you show me this site you¡¯ve prepared?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°You don¡¯t want to see the prisoners first?¡± ¡°They can wait. Seeing them won¡¯t change what needs to be done,¡± asserted Cyrus. The Gate opened to the glowing pavilion at the Demi-Plane¡¯s heart, and Amdirlain found some of Moradin¡¯s celestials had covered the nearest platform with work tables. Each table had plans or tools covering every square centimetre, and Erwarth was deep in conversation with a score of dwarven celestials. Cyrus followed her through and looked over the hundreds of workers measuring sections of the walkways and stairs. ¡°Do you need to speak to them?¡± ¡°No, I think I¡¯ll leave them to it,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of micromanaging them.¡± ¡°At least all the noise will provide a useful distraction.¡± ¡°There is one thing I should mention: my combat Skill absorbed my meditation technique,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°How this realm can restructure the efforts of one¡¯s learning is still strange to me. Did you intend to use katas for cycling?¡± enquired Cyrus, and without waiting for a response, he started towards one of the vacant platforms. ¡°That was one of my plans,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Cyrus flowed forward, and his robes shifted from the court garb into the earthen-toned layered garb he usually wore. ¡°Good, then let us get you back into practice so we might exchange pointers. I¡¯m interested to see how your new strength holds up against my Skill.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say I¡¯m in for a painful experience. If you break me, please send me a message releasing me from the Planar Lock,¡± requested Amdirlain, and she was only partly joking. Laughing, Cyrus nodded. ¡°That sounds like a fair request.¡± 284 - Ashes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry Demi-Plane The Ki caught in the pavilion¡¯s crystal provided plenty of illumination, and Amdirlain and Cyrus cast long shadows across the platform¡¯s brown granite. ¡°When you said you¡¯d set up a place to practise, this wasn¡¯t what I was picturing,¡± remarked Cyrus. Landing on the platform, he tapped his foot against the stone. ¡°How strong are these?¡± ¡°Granite, but even if you shatter them, the rubble will stay in place,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I could coat it with something if you¡¯d prefer something stronger.¡± ¡°Are we somewhere in Limbo or somewhere else?¡± Amdirlain gave a curt shake of her head. ¡°Foundry is a warded Demi-Plane of my creation.¡± Cyrus paused in his consideration of the platform. ¡°Start cycling while undertaking the easiest of the monastery¡¯s training drills.¡± The first cycle through the phoenix pattern again felt awkward, but she settled into the rhythm, repeating the same drill. Whenever she grew comfortable, Master Cyrus altered the exercise until the lines of the phoenix feathers and flames showed clearly through her clothing. ¡°How does this place contain it for you?¡± ¡°The crystal pavilion can hold my Ki,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she teleported across to it feeling like her skin might ignite. Her hand against an upright, Amdirlain pushed the Ki into the crystal and listened to the structure¡¯s theme as the energy flow continued. Cyrus joined her on the platform and watched Amdirlain until she had only a minimal amount of Ki to manage an initial cycle of her phoenix pattern. ¡°It seems unchanged,¡± Cyrus said, circling the pavilion to examine it. ¡°It started as a transparent crystal structure,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°May I?¡± asked Cyrus, waving at the upright Amdirlain touched. ¡°I want to ensure you¡¯re not leaving your life force where others may grasp it.¡± ¡°Go ahead. It shouldn¡¯t allow anyone but me to access it,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus tapped a nail against the crystal before he rested his palm against the upright she¡¯d used. Amdirlain heard his Ki try to interact with the energy within, but the difference in their energies prevented interaction. ¡°It is as if the energy is on the other side of a canyon. There are few I know that might have a better chance of interacting with it¡ªyou¡¯ve done well,¡± allowed Cyrus. ¡°I cannot tell how much you have stored; what do you intend to use it for?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Storing it was the fastest way to clear it out of my system so I could cycle more.¡± Cyrus grunted. ¡°I had wondered if you¡¯d somehow become a Tao Alchemist or a Spirit Wu Jen; they use stockpiles to craft things such as spirit pearls, inks, potions, and infused materials. While others might utilise Ki from external storage, those two classes are the most common practitioners.¡± ¡°You wanted to be sure it was secure. Are there risks associated with another accessing your Ki?¡± asked Amdirlain, quickly clarifying. ¡°As in ritual magics.¡± ¡°No, but given how brightly you blazed combined with your affinities, store enough, and you¡¯d beggar many noble houses if you sold it to their crafters,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Why do my affinities matter with the Ki?¡± ¡°Since it''s your life energy, it impacts the potential capabilities of the item¡¯s enchantments,¡± explained Cyrus. Amdirlain cut herself off before she asked about classes and focused on the problem at hand instead. ¡°Will having a large stockpile allow me to speed up working with the prisoners?¡± Naughty gamer girl, you don¡¯t need a Class wiki. I¡¯ve spread my skill set too broadly as it is; I don¡¯t need to add in Eastern magical traditions. ¡°Their energies will still limit the technique. Though, given they aren¡¯t mortals, they¡¯ll recover faster if you don¡¯t blow them up,¡± Cyrus offered. ¡°What?¡± breathed Amdirlain, images of the prisoners splattered across the cells flashing through her mind. Cyrus fixed her with a dry smile. ¡°Do you have them imprisoned on their Home Plane?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then what does it matter if you blow them up while you practice?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Since you¡¯re the one that kills them, you can summon them again. Correct?¡± Amdirlain blinked. ¡°And you called me ruthless.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I couldn¡¯t be the same way. Have you seen any redeemable traits in them so far?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to ensure they can¡¯t alert potential threats while not in a cell,¡± murmured Amdirlain ¡°Indeed, and which do you plan to start with?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°Not Torm.¡± ¡°And why not Torm?¡± ¡°I met the others only once, and they were happy for me not to be involved. If I blow them up learning, they can consider that part repayment for their debt to Torm and me,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Part of the reason Torm didn¡¯t kick up a fuss about their leader''s attitude was their support.¡± ¡°You can be very Yin indeed when you need to be, but I¡¯ve seen your Yang side at the monastery,¡± assessed Cyrus, unbothered by her logic. ¡°You were more emotional in encouraging the students than anyone purely Yin focused would allow themselves.¡± ¡°Some of the former students from the monastery are staying with me at Xaos. Would you care to come to visit them?¡± Amdirlain asked, looking to change the subject. ¡°You had quite the following there; which of them sought you out?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Gemiya, Sarith, Lezekus, and Nomein,¡± replied Amdirlain, and when Cyrus motioned for her to continue, Amdirlain explained the situation and answered questions about the town. ¡°Gathering potential disciples? Do you plan to become a teacher?¡± ¡°Teaching makes you rethink the basics and, in going over how to explain them, you find flaws hidden in your techniques,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That isn¡¯t a no,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it''s something I¡¯ll do long-term,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone would want me teaching them for the right reasons, especially considering how distracting my presence can be now.¡± ¡°Your movements flow like some courtesan dancers now. Perhaps you should seek advice to determine how to moderate your influence when it''s undesired.¡± ¡°Know any that would come from the Middle Kingdom?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll have to find someone robust enough from higher planes you¡¯re aligned with to advise you,¡± rebutted Cyrus. ¡°A Mortal trying to teach you will fight an uphill battle to assess your progress properly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, but none of my allies have that focus,¡± countered Amdirlain. Cyrus shrugged. ¡°Then you need to expand your circle.¡± Leaping back to the platform, Cyrus cleared the thirty-metre gap and landed silently. Smiling at Amdirlain, he beckoned her to join him. When she appeared on the platform, Cyrus nodded and raised a single hand. ¡°Show me what bad habits you¡¯ve fallen into, youngling.¡± ¡°Sparring?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she moved to square off against him at his nod. The shift in his song was one with the Ki-energised kick that sent her spinning off the platform. When she teleported back into position, Cyrus nodded again. ¡°Show, not speak.¡± Her ribs healed in a rush of energy, and Amdirlain started to circle him. Giving her some side-eyes, Cyrus sighed before tucking both hands behind his back but didn¡¯t bother shifting to face her. Amdirlain enabled Ki State, and Angelic Aura pressed down on her surroundings. As she moved again, Cyrus spun on his heel and lashed out with a simple kick that easily smashed through both defences. The bone-breaking impact skipped her across the platform until Amdirlain arrested herself with Flight. Yeah, this is going to be fun. I¡¯ll keep to an elven form, not that I think changing into an eldritch¡¯s horror would help against him. ¡°You know I heal faster than Farhad.¡± Amdirlain caught the Metal affinity infusing itself within his Ki. Cyrus smiled, and a metallic tone rippled within his flesh. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d take weapon requests with resistances I need?¡± chirped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to kill you accidentally until I¡¯ve determined your capabilities,¡± said Cyrus, and he beckoned her to approach. Amdirlain moved in again, settling Harmony around herself as she did so. Emptying herself of distractions, Amdirlain partly deflected the next kick, only for it to smash her hip downwards instead of sending her flying. Bent in two by the blow''s impact, Cyrus only partly withdrew before, with the same foot, he catapulted her off the platform¡¯s side. But at least a notification bloomed to reward the impact. [Resistance: Metal Unlocked! Metal [L] (1 -> 10)] Slowly, Cyrus reined in his attacks and ceased blurring past her defences, instead he hit hard enough to provide a difficult challenge keeping up. Battered flesh and fractured bones repeatedly healed. Initially, Amdirlain received further notifications of the resistances improving until she reached the Improved rank. Amdirlain kept herself in her elven form to increase the challenge through it all. Though physically faster, Amdirlain still found her blows and ripostes trapped by his blocks or counters. Those touches she managed slid effortlessly off his Ki State. When they eventually stopped, Cyrus gave a satisfied nod. ¡°Better than you used to be. I can tell you¡¯ve progressed against multiple foes. You are also too accepting of being injured and healing through the results; you must focus on sliding blows, not blocking them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± promised Amdirlain. ¡°Good, but I¡¯ll come up with exercises to reinforce it. I expect to see you progress in the years ahead. We¡¯ll spar at least two hours every day from here on,¡± asserted Cyrus. That news brought forth a grin. ¡°I¡¯m honoured.¡± ¡°You seem far too happy; it seems I should have hit you harder,¡± grunted Cyrus. ¡°Your Ki strikes seemed to push against me, catapulting me with more force than I expected at the start,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Have you gotten your Ki Blast or, even better, Ki Projection working?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Neither.¡± ¡°Then we need to work on that Power as well. Ki Blast progresses into Ki Projection and combines with Ki Strike,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°It will give us a variety of training to cover; improving one Power involved with Ki assists with others.¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Wiping the grin away, Amdirlain gave him a deep bow. ¡°I appreciate your time, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°Are you sure you wouldn¡¯t prefer to seek enlightenment within the Jade Court, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°While I appreciate the offer, I¡¯d prefer not to be bound,¡± declined Amdirlain. His lopsided shrug had Amdirlain lifting an eyebrow until he explained. ¡°I¡¯m not sure such an attempt would work, given you¡¯ve got an uncorrupted Soul.¡± ¡°Exposure to Celestial energies hurts my form,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Yet the binding is against the being¡¯s inner nature, so I don¡¯t believe you need to concern yourself in that respect. It might still cause your form to explode,¡± warned Cyrus. ¡°You mention exploding a lot,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°It''s common for an Eastern Demon to explode, and it''s fairly dramatic; lots of black fluid everywhere,¡± explained Cyrus, but his beaming smile turned glum. ¡°You must clean up properly to prevent the metal it contacts from corroding, and it also ruins clothing.¡± ¡°If we¡¯re going to be training regularly, do you need a place to stay, or are you jumping back and forth?¡± ¡°Part of the reason for my delay was getting the stair guardians to assist. You mentioned staying in Xaos?¡± Amdirlain frowned in consideration of the housing logistics. ¡°The ladies have taken up all the bedrooms of my suite. We could ask one of them to share or get another room?¡± ¡°Got a tree I can sit under?¡± asked Cyrus with a wink. The reference to his old advice to avoid becoming a shrub drew a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°As long as you aren¡¯t expecting me to feed you pine nuts and spring water.¡± Cyrus snorted. ¡°What is the local food like?¡± ¡°It seems to be tasty, but I¡¯ve not been worrying about it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t need to either, yet that doesn¡¯t stop me from enjoying simple things. Social connections come from sharing food, even among the Celestial courts,¡± replied Cyrus, and his expression turned serious. ¡°Cycle until you feel restored, and then show me your prisoners.¡± Approaching her, Cyrus threw a slow punch, and Amdirlain made sure she slid it aside. The slow motion turned the sparring into a lazy dance, and Amdirlain started cycling. As she completed the first pattern, she focused more on the energy¡¯s song. Her attention split three ways between movement, cycling, and music, adding to the challenge. The energy swirling through her form caused her flesh¡¯s theme to echo, and Amdirlain memorised the interconnection of body position, energy, and notes. Tension in a hand¡¯s ligaments moved towards a familiar note, and Amdirlain added severing energy to the note caused by the pressure of a deflected blow. Cyrus¡¯ Ki State deflected a blow that gouged a finger¡¯s length into the stone. [Devouring Cacophony [S] (170->171) True Song Genesis [Ap] (15->16)] Startled, Amdirlain abandoned the rest to focus on cycling while she continued the exercise. ¡°Explain later. Keep going,¡± instructed Cyrus, and he continued to press the attack. When the feather pattern started to glow through her flesh, Cyrus stopped and crouched near the gouge to examine it before looking up at Amdirlain. ¡°Would you explain what you did?¡± Her usual explanation of True Song failed to shift the look of confusion from him, and Amdirlain finally shrugged. ¡°Explaining it is harder than explaining colour to a blind man. I¡¯m still learning how to separate elements of the surrounding songs. When there are a lot of lifeforms near me, it limits the range to which I can extend the Power.¡± ¡°I shall take your word for it,¡± accepted Cyrus. ¡°There are heavenly planes that exist which only the greatest of Shen can reach, and it is said the beings there are incomprehensible to lesser beings. Those that venture there and come back can only speak of their experience in koans because the experience is so transcendent.¡± ¡°The Jade Emperor isn¡¯t your highest authority?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No, he is the greatest among us that can still interact with and understand the dealings of the Mortal realm. Those in the higher planes have as much trouble understanding mortals'' concerns as we do theirs,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°He extended a facet of his being to this realm and, given the continued reports about their presence, I can only assume the greater beings supported his choice and did likewise.¡± Amdirlain restrained all the questions that the statement raised and opened a Gate to the prison. Once Cyrus followed her, Amdirlain closed the Gate and shifted the cell walls into a two-way state. Cyrus reached out to tap his fingers against the stone that now appeared like glass to them. As Cyrus stared at Gondren¡¯s dwarven form, a gleaming white light appeared beneath his forehead. For a moment, despite the dwarven Fallen¡¯s inability to see Cyrus beyond the barrier, he froze like a deer in headlights, then threw back his head and screamed. Shifting focus, Cyrus quickly looked over Cuiniel and Torm before the Power vanished. Though the others didn¡¯t have the same severe reaction as Gondren, they appeared battered when the Power stopped. ¡°What was that?¡± enquired Amdirlain, having kept clear of the light streaming from his forehead. ¡°Third Eye,¡± stated Cyrus, and he looked at Amdirlain with concern. ¡°It is like a wildfire has swept through an area and left even the dirt baked into ash and lifeless dust within them.¡± ¡°I still want to try,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°You can mix things into ash and dust to create a garden.¡± ¡°You would be better off destroying them. One will be hard enough to redeem; all together will only bring you heartache.¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I won¡¯t. I could, but I won¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then you best prepare so they can¡¯t inform others about you or their captivity when they explode. What we need to do will take a delicate touch, and you¡¯ll likely destroy their flesh repeatedly,¡± warned Cyrus. Amdirlain caused the cell walls to regain their former state and wiped all the engraving from them so the image couldn¡¯t be used to target teleportation. A masking song added to the crystal pillar at the prison¡¯s centre hid the summoning circles from their perception, both mundane and True Sight. Once that was done, she started on a whispered melody targeted at the memories she¡¯d identified. The piece shifted memories into a summer heat haze that transformed into fragments of imagination before disappearing completely. The three looked around in confusion, with even the length of their captivity obliterated from their minds. ¡°They don¡¯t remember being captured or even me at all,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she kept her attention towards Cyrus and away from Torm. ¡°It is clear you unsettled your spirit. Perhaps we should start this another time,¡± offered Cyrus. Amdirlain scrubbed at her face before she answered. ¡°He doesn¡¯t remember Livia or me now at all. I can restore his original memories to his essence, but he might never recover them unless he¡¯s attuned his nature more towards who he was before the site.¡± ¡°Ahhh,¡± murmured Cyrus. ¡°You put their chances and this endeavour above your happiness.¡± ¡°He would have been better off if I¡¯d had nothing to do with him.¡± ¡°Perhaps that might be the case now, but will his road end here, or will he become something more?¡± asked Cyrus. Another song added to the prison¡¯s crystals caused the inner walls to provide a view of random locations, shifting through the Outlands. With each wall''s image continually shifting, it would be impossible to get a static reference to teleport back¡ªeven without the L¨®m?¡¯s barrier. As soon as her song ended, Cyrus tapped her shoulder. ¡°Come along, you are unsettled, and unless you wish to destroy them fruitlessly, we¡¯d best practice another way.¡± ¡°You said the technique is normally used to teach Ki cycling?¡± asked Amdirlain thoughtfully. Cyrus nodded. ¡°Do you think you can find mortals interested in learning Eastern fighting techniques?¡± ¡°There are a number from the Xaos garrison that I started training with what I could offer.¡± ¡°I might underestimate the delicacy of your touch, given those you helped at the monastery, but these three will be vulnerable to your Ki,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll shift us to outside Xaos,¡± warned Amdirlain. When she set them by the road, Cyrus looked around and plucked a long grass stem. Rolling it between his fingers, he looked at her curiously. ¡°It seems like grass I¡¯d find in most provinces.¡± ¡°Some things are like my home world, and others are quite different,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The Blazing Portal Inn is close to the keep.¡± Cyrus hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Have you met the keep¡¯s ruler?¡± ¡°I know there is a commander, but no one has mentioned who employs the guards,¡± advised Amdirlain. They strolled along in silence, Amdirlain letting Cyrus study Xaos without interruption. When he spotted the first Rat-kin, Cyrus glanced at Amdirlain. ¡°Are there cats and mice about walking on two legs too?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never met a Catfolk?¡± laughed Amdirlain, wondering how he¡¯d react to Rasha. Giving her a suspicious look, Cyrus huffed. ¡°Are you teasing me now?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll meet Ras soon; he¡¯s been guiding the quartet on Cemna,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Are they like H¨²li J¨©ng?¡± enquired Cyrus, still regarding Amdirlain sceptically. ¡°No, they¡¯re flesh and blood, not spirits like that,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°There are stranger species about than those, from a Human-centric viewpoint. Most challenging for you might be those that look close to Human but have a completely different mindset.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°Be very careful of Fey, some look close to elves, but others have a Human-like appearance,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. Her warning brought to mind that she¡¯d yet to deal with Lorrella, but it was an issue Amdirlain set to one side for now. As they progressed through the town, Cyrus occasionally looked about curiously but reserved his commentary for other matters. ¡°You have lots of admirers watching you walk.¡± ¡°I had noticed,¡± drawled Amdirlain, careful not to look back towards a group of three Rat-kin that had stopped after passing her. ¡°Well, if they¡¯ve noticed you noticing, they¡¯re not bothered,¡± countered Cyrus. Amdirlain grumbled and motioned up the slope. ¡°Thanks. I can hear the fellows I normally help train within the hall.¡± Cyrus waved her onwards. ¡°Let¡¯s go see them; perhaps some might be potential martial disciples.¡± ¡°I prefer it to be wholly their choice, and I¡¯m not sure¡ªgiven how I am now¡ªif that¡¯s going to be true,¡± explained Amdirlain and, stepping out of the way of a wagon, she paused at the mouth of an alleyway. ¡°Do you plan to shortcut their training, or will you teach them as best you can?¡± asked Cyrus. The question got an offended snort from Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d teach them to the best of my ability.¡± ¡°Then that is all you need to worry about,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Since I know you¡¯re not a weakling and are proficient, it seems a fair arrangement. They gain help from you in unlocking a Class that offers a means to self-perfection, and you get to practice Ki Cycling with them. I¡¯ll stay around to teach you, so I¡¯ll oversee your teaching of them. That way, I can advise you if I have particular insights for any of them.¡± ¡°I appreciate your help, Master Cyrus,¡± stated Amdirlain. Cyrus started walking again, his swift pace leaving Amdirlain to catch up. ¡°I enjoyed teaching your daughter, especially after having to take a back seat to your teachers at the monastery.¡± ¡°It''s sad to be deprived of your fun,¡± quipped Amdirlain, giving Cyrus a sly smile. ¡°It is enjoyable merely because polishing rough gems always provides insights into one¡¯s flaws,¡± Cyrus countered. When they got to the training hall, Cyrus looked it over curiously before he headed towards the barrier. ¡°They should have an open space to allow proper airflow.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t ask why they set up the hall this way, but they¡¯ve got spells for light and airflow,¡± replied Amdirlain. Moving down the corridor, they found that all the hall¡¯s occupants were busily exercising or sparring. A few minutes after they approached the railing, Captain Bedevere stepped away from his sparring partner and moved over to speak to them. ¡°Am, we were wondering if someone had annoyed you too much,¡± said Bedevere. Though his helm¡¯s solid visor hid his eyes, Bedevere looked Cyrus up and down. ¡°Who is your latest companion?¡± ¡°Captain Bedevere, this is Master Cyrus. Master Cyrus, this is Captain Bedevere, one of the town¡¯s four captains,¡± responded Amdirlain, wanting to get the introductions in place. ¡°A pleasure, Captain, though I¡¯m unsure who organises the garrison here,¡± added Cyrus. ¡°Most of us serve a nature Deity whose Domain is on this Plane. They provide us supplies and resources to recruit, though they don¡¯t want their non-Mortal servants too close to the Portal to Limbo because of its unnatural Chaos,¡± explained Bedevere. ¡°Thank you for the explanation Captain. I¡¯m just here to observe Am teach and give her some pointers,¡± replied Cyrus calmly. ¡°Though I understand she has only been sharing the physical aspects of techniques, not their true strength.¡± ¡°Physical aspects? There is more to your unarmed combat, Am?¡± asked Bedevere. ¡°Is it like some feats I¡¯ve heard the Githz¨¦rai are capable of?¡± ¡°A similar outcome but different methods, and one doesn¡¯t need mind powers to learn them,¡± offered Cyrus. Amdirlain didn¡¯t catch a hint of curiosity from Bedevere until Cyrus continued. ¡°Years ago, Am repeatedly fought one of their champions to a stalemate and has improved since.¡± That caused Bedevere¡¯s posture to tighten, and a smile showed beneath the bottom of his helm. ¡°Now that sounds like something I¡¯d pay to learn. What¡¯s your price?¡± ¡°Land to build a proper training hall,¡± stated Cyrus before Amdirlain could get in first. ¡°This hall is all closed in and would hinder some techniques¡¯ training.¡± ¡°It¡¯s set up this way to prevent noise from distracting the neighbours, especially when noisy techniques are being practised,¡± argued Bedevere ¡°Hard to teach the flight techniques without being able to get a bit of height,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°The noise won¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¡°Flight?¡± breathed Bedevere. ¡°That would be a wonder, but I find it hard to believe.¡± ¡°I can do lots of things that are hard to believe. The techniques also teach ways to infuse your body with Mana. If you have any who are interested in learning and have two classes available, they¡¯ll see the best results,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Why two?¡± ¡°The Ki techniques I¡¯ll teach will gain you a Class called Monk, but I¡¯ll also unlock an Affinity for each student who has two classes available, which will add Wizard,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°How long will that take?¡± asked Bedevere. ¡°The Ratkin don¡¯t have years to sit around meditating on an energy form.¡± ¡°Minutes,¡± replied Amdirlain. Bedevere gawked at her and started to object. ¡°And I¡¯m willing to prove that with one person before you agree,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯ll only continue to teach someone who I see putting in the effort, and I reserve the right to refuse anyone at any point in time.¡± ¡°Many would ask a fortune for such an opportunity if you aren¡¯t lying,¡± cautioned Bedevere. ¡°If you can turn even several from the garrison into wizards, that alone would be worth a gift of land.¡± ¡°The garrison can foot the bill for my suite at the Blazing Portal then,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Done. I¡¯ll pay for it myself while I remain garrisoned here,¡± declared Bedevere. ¡°Though I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve got a tab, I¡¯ll add to it for each day you¡¯re in town teaching for at least a half watch.¡± Cyrus interjected, ¡°And how long will that be, so there is no confusion?¡± ¡°I expect to be a few more centuries at least,¡± replied Bedevere. ¡°There are three watches in a cycle, so at least four hours a day.¡± ¡°There might be days I¡¯ll have to miss because of other commitments, so that¡¯s fair. Though once we get started, I¡¯ll teach you some basic drills people can repeat on any day I¡¯m not present,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll cover days you¡¯re not here,¡± advised Cyrus, and Amdirlain gave him a nod of thanks. ¡°Start with your claim regarding affinities, but let''s make things challenging. Enrig, get over here,¡± ordered Bedevere. ¡°Why Enrig?¡± asked Amdirlain, glancing over to the familiar Ratkin training nearby. His ears had twitched at the mention of his name, and he broke off from his sparring partner. ¡°He¡¯s not the sharpest knife in any sheath. If you can teach him to understand an affinity, you can teach anyone,¡± clarified Bedevere. ¡°Captain,¡± Enrig squeaked in protest, despite immediately coming forward, his whiskers twitching in excitement. ¡°What do I have to do?¡± ¡°Pick a basic element, Enrig,¡± stated Amdirlain, and went on when his ears swivelled in confusion. ¡°Air, earth, Water, or fire.¡± ¡°Earth?¡± ¡°Close your eyes and focus on the ground beneath your feet,¡± started Amdirlain. Her telepathy touched his public thoughts, and Amdirlain enfolded his focus on the ground with Harmony and her understanding. She let him feel the energy in the earth and, within a minute, Amdirlain felt the connection form. Enrig squeaked in surprise, and for the first time, Amdirlain caught someone¡¯s Class vision. Its music rang with elements of the plinth¡¯s connection to Gideon, and she felt him nudge them both. Unlike Gail¡¯s description of her Class vision, Enrig found himself within cozy tunnels, and a shift along one wall caught his attention. A tunnel that had been solid stone cracked open, and Enrig¡¯s scrambling paws happily churned the loosened rock in the vision away. Within the soft earth beyond the stone, Enrig snatched up a raw gemstone that gleamed with a vague promise of potential. The moment he did so, the Class wrapped around his Soul and powers and skills¡ªimmediate and potential¡ªjoined him. Some of those Amdirlain knew, but others were potential capabilities she hadn¡¯t explored. Despite the breadth of her Spell lists, it made her conscious of how shallow her education had been in many areas of being a Wizard. When the Class snapped into place, the Class vision released him. ¡°I¡¯m a Wizard,¡± squeaked Enrig, smacking his paws together in delight. "Relax for a moment longer and follow along; I''ll teach you a cantrip to practise with," instructed Amdirlain. Amdirlain took Enrig through the shaping of an Earth cantrip. He followed the Spell form¡¯s shape almost instinctively, seeing the glowing glyph within his mind as a tunnel running through the earth. It took a few repeats before sufficient Mana pooled within him. Once it had enough to fill the small pattern, a glowing pebble appeared in mid-air and shot forward to clink off Bedevere¡¯s armour. ¡°I¡¯d say that¡¯s proof of a few things,¡± drawled Bedevere. ¡°And his name isn¡¯t even Harry,¡± murmured Amdirlain, only to get blank looks for her lapse into English. Bedevere looked where the stone pebble had dissolved before it even came to a complete rest and nodded. ¡°Ten students to start with?¡± ¡°That sounds sensible,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°As long as I¡¯m allowed to pick the next nine.¡± ¡°You have the right of refusal?,¡± agreed Bedevere. Amdirlain listened to the songs of those she was most familiar with and picked out those whose songs she liked the most. Some grumbled about not being picked in the first set, the good-natured ribbing didn¡¯t concern her, but others were resentful. Amdirlain noted to avoid teaching the latter group unless their attitudes changed. ¡°I don¡¯t know many of you yet. I¡¯ll look to correct that before we expand the lessons. However, I will be selective and only teach those with a suitable mindset; those being nasty now are only harming their chances,¡± stated Amdirlain, and the noise cut off. Bedevere nodded, reinforcing the sudden caution from those grumbling the most. ¡°How did you want to start?¡± ¡°If you and Master Cyrus want to sort out the land, I¡¯ll unlock the base affinities and teach them some cantrips to practice with before we start on the Monk Class,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask if any of them only have one class available,¡± observed Bedevere. ¡°I know they all have two, except for Enrig,¡± countered Amdirlain with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ll leave them in your hands then,¡± said Bedevere, and after issuing instructions to his aide about continuing the interrupted training, he motioned for Cyrus to lead the way. ¡°If you¡¯d show me what you had in mind?¡± As they left, Amdirlain looked over her soon-to-be students. ¡°As you might have heard me tell Enrig, relax, and I¡¯ll take you through gaining an affinity.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t we get to pick an element?¡± asked Callen, showing that he¡¯d been listening in. ¡°I¡¯ll be teaching you all four of the base elements to start,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Now, focus on the ground between your feet. Some find it helpful to close their eyes, but whatever you find comfortable.¡± In minutes, they all had gained their first Affinity and added the Wizard Class. After she wrapped Enrig in the mental link, she continued to help them all unlock Air, Water, and Fire. They were still working through the cantrips when she caught Cyrus¡¯ song returning to the training hall. 285 - Hearts a fire Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos When Cyrus returned by himself to the training hall, he waited patiently until Amdirlain turned her attention to him. ¡°Captain Bedevere is going to talk to the garrison¡¯s commander about my location preferences,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Though Bedevere doesn¡¯t think the commander will agree to a spot towards the hill¡¯s peak.¡± ¡°Did you want to wait for the training site before I help them unlock Monk?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No. This technique for Ki cycling differs from how you helped the Githz¨¦rai students gain the Class. I¡¯ll show you and then get you to follow my example on the next student,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll let you ask for a volunteer.¡± Amdirlain shot the group, all discretely listening, an amused look. ¡°Should we at least give them a demonstration?¡± ¡°If this Class lets us fight like you and your Githz¨¦rai friends, I¡¯m all for learning,¡± Callen stated, and the others murmured or nodded in agreement. ¡°You¡¯re inspiring faith in others wherever you go,¡± noted Cyrus, ignoring the unamused look he got from Amdirlain. ¡°Callen. Come here where the others can see.¡± The others laughed good-naturedly at Callen¡¯s sigh for volunteering himself. Once Callen stood facing the others, Cyrus motioned for them to spread out so all could see, an important factor given their disparate heights from the lanky Ratkin to a couple of tiny Mousekin. ¡°Inside every living being, there is a well of life energy. For most it¡¯s unfocused and simply serves to keep them alive. Monks learn to harness that energy, thus empowering their bodies so a bare hand is a deadly weapon and their flesh is armoured. It is a path that requires discipline and practice to get the most from the Class,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Not the explanation I expected you to give,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Its spiritual benefits are greater, but these are soldiers, and it¡¯s best to explain what this will give them from their perspective,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°How armoured?¡± Enrig asked. Amdirlain snorted at how he proved Cyrus¡¯ point. ¡°That depends on your Willpower and how much effort you put into practising. It¡¯s possible to keep yourself protected better than a suit of enchanted mithril full plate could,¡± explained Cyrus. His skin glowed before Ki State projected above his clothing, resulting in him being enclosed in hardened plates stylised after Chinese Ming-era armour. The tiger mask, however, Amdirlain didn¡¯t remember as being standard. The energy rising out of his flesh drew noises of appreciation from the selected students and drew attention from the others who had returned to their own training. Callen put his hand to a dagger hilt and gave him an enquiring look. When he drew it, Cyrus let him tap the dagger against the plates covering his forearm, even trying to stab them without objection. ¡°I think that counts as a demonstration,¡± commented Callen. ¡°Good, now put your dagger away. I¡¯ll get you to hold a hand out and help you find your internal energy,¡± instructed Cyrus, and he clasped Callen¡¯s forearm when he did so. ¡°Am, place your hand atop mine and try to extend your Ki to touch us both. Given your use of Harmony, that should let you sense the energy flow, though I know this differs from how you¡¯ve assisted others in the past.¡± ¡°How much Ki should I use?¡± ¡°About half what a Ki Strike would consume,¡± advised Cyrus, and with his free hand, motioned up Callen¡¯s arm and traced a path to the centre of his chest. ¡°My energy will move along the path from his arm to his heart chakra to stir its energy awake. This way, even before the others awaken, it can start to learn to travel his limbs for Ki strikes.¡± Amdirlain nodded and followed his instructions. The excess energy she prepared via her cycling rushed forth, and she had to restrain it before it could spill from her hand. Focusing its motion, Amdirlain allowed a mere wisp to mingle with Cyrus¡¯s Ki and unfurl it like a kite string. As Cyrus started, Amdirlain could feel the energy sink into Callen¡¯s arm and race along with the blood rushing through the artery. When it reached his heart, Cyrus'' energy circled Callen¡¯s heart before it left the circulatory system behind and looped downwards. Her awareness, drawn within his flesh, felt granules of Callen¡¯s energy start to follow the path Cyrus and she led. More power followed their example, with each orbit in a loop between the heart and the solar plexus chakras. ¡°Can you feel the warmth move from the centre to the base of your chest?¡± asked Cyrus, and Callen nodded. ¡°Focus on the energy pattern and maintain it at this pace. When I release your arm, walk to the pattern¡¯s rhythm and sit or stand quietly by the railing.¡± Despite his instruction, Cyrus didn¡¯t immediately release Callen¡¯s arm, but he reduced the help he provided. A few times, the pattern almost faltered, and Cyrus nudged it back on track. Only once Callen managed ten loops unaided did Cyrus detach his energy from the loop and trace the route along his arm. Amdirlain followed his example and lifted her hand from Cyrus when they had withdrawn above Callen¡¯s skin. Stepping back, they gave Callen plenty of space to move to the railing. Only once he¡¯d settled cross-legged on the ground did Cyrus motion the next student forward. ¡°Amdirlain, you take the lead this time, and I¡¯ll monitor you both.¡± Though her pattern cycling was a far more complex version of what she followed with Cyrus, Amdirlain still ensured she paid attention to the student¡¯s Ki reaction. She didn¡¯t force it to move but applied subtle adjustments to her path to stir through stagnant spots she noticed on the following loops. After she¡¯d enabled the student to stir the energy, Amdirlain brought her energy movement to the same pace. Rather than trying to stir any extra Ki, she stayed alert to ensure their control didn¡¯t falter. One by one, the students joined Callen along the railing. It didn¡¯t all go smoothly, and a few had false starts after they¡¯d settled into solo practice. Ultimately, it took nearly two hours before all ten could consistently keep their energy flowing. ¡°I want you each to spend at least an hour each day cycling energy in this fashion. Eventually, we¡¯ll show you a pattern that will shift energy between the seven loci or chakra in the body,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Over the next few days¡ªor, if you are haphazard in your training, weeks¡ªyou should be offered Monk or other classes that can use Ki.¡± ¡°What if we can¡¯t get the energy to start by ourselves?¡± asked Enrig, his voice almost a soft breath of noise with his focus still on the warmth shifting in his chest. ¡°One of us will assist until it becomes a simple matter. If you¡¯re concerned, keep your cycling going as long as possible. The longer you continue this first session, the easier you¡¯ll find it is to get your Ki moving again,¡± instructed Cyrus. ¡°What if we¡¯re not offered Monk?¡± asked Killi, a tawny-furred Mousekin with brilliant blue eyes who was the group¡¯s smallest member. Cyrus gave her a pleased smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about needing to take a particular Class¡ªtake what appeals most to you. No one can truly tell you the best way to achieve enlightenment, and being false to yourself is a sure path to failure. If you get presented with something other than Monk from this training, I can still teach you the fundamentals. Then we¡¯ll see about getting you more information on how to train your new Class¡ªI know many Ki scholars.¡± Though her ears flickered almost nervously, Killi didn¡¯t blink and gave a firm nod of acknowledgement. Throughout Cyrus¡¯ explanation, she hadn¡¯t paused her Ki cycling. The whole group had continued cycling for nearly half an hour before Bedevere reappeared. ¡°Keep going as long as possible, and eat a solid meal before sleeping. It might seem like you¡¯ve done nothing, but your body has been worked harder than you might believe,¡± ordered Cyrus. With that said, Cyrus turned towards Bedevere. ¡°Did the commander agree to your counter proposal?¡± ¡°They had another in mind for your building,¡± informed Bedevere. ¡°Though it is exempt from any fees.¡± ¡°Fees that the town was going to cover for training the guards,¡± observed Cyrus. ¡°Fees that the town couldn¡¯t collect from another tenant using the land you wanted,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Very true. If you¡¯re staying here long term, as Am previously indicated, it will be centuries of potential lost land fees,¡± clarified Bedevere. Though Cyrus didn¡¯t look mollified entirely, he let Bedevere lead the way without further objection. Amdirlain just walked along, examining the variety of shops and stalls along the road that didn¡¯t have a 90-degree angle in sight; even laneways split off it like a stream branching off. They¡¯d passed the market square and continued along its course, undulating in long serpentine curves down the hillside. When they passed the second curve without Bedevere giving any sign of slowing, Cyrus issued a dissatisfied huff. Bedevere turned off the main road at the limit of the third curve from the market square. The laneway he led them down took them between a building of flowing water and another with toddler-sized bees, their wings continually thrumming away, covering its three stories. At the end of a lane, he pointed slightly downslope to a broken-fenced meadow. Among the long grass, a few white goats stood about chewing their cud and eying them suspiciously as the trio approached. ¡°Is one factor that the commander doesn¡¯t want us close to the keep?¡± enquired Amdirlain looking over the weather-worn fence. ¡°Many residents will pay more for land closer to the keep. Which is ironic if they think it makes them safe. While the garrison spends most of its time within its walls, trouble normally originates from the Portal in the hill¡¯s depth.¡± ¡°Which means if there is enough danger to overwhelm the garrison, they¡¯ll be next to have something trying to eat them,¡± finished Amdirlain. ¡°Precisely,¡± agreed Bedevere. ¡°If your training facility is here, a secondary group will frequently gather a distance from the keep. If such an event occurs, they can support an evacuation.¡± That context brought a thoughtful look to Cyrus¡¯ face. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered the unusual situation you have here.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°They¡¯d prefer to take a measured approach to your offer,¡± admitted Bedevere. ¡°Though the wards down here have more space.¡± ¡°That puts a different perspective on the location,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Though, why did you hold off explaining it?¡± Bedevere smiled. ¡°You can tell a lot from how someone handles unexpected news. You¡¯re used to having your requests fulfilled, Cyrus, whereas Am was pleased to get any land.¡± Cyrus gave Amdirlain an enquiring look, and she shrugged. ¡°The town¡¯s wards don¡¯t stop teleporting inside them, so why stress?¡± ¡°Every school I¡¯ve been to, the more important locations are in higher locations or central to the site,¡± interjected Cyrus. ¡°I also prefer the stronger breezes found higher on the hill.¡± ¡°This town isn¡¯t a school; we¡¯re just establishing a place to train within it,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe you need to travel to different locations and see how more mortals live for a bit.¡± Her advice had Cyrus open his mouth to protest, but he closed it with a snap and took a slow breath before he replied. ¡°It has been a while since I¡¯ve done so; most of the mortals in the Middle Kingdom are aware of what to watch out for to identify immortals and Shen.¡± ¡°That brings up something I¡¯ll want to talk to you about later,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°But for now, do you have a design in mind for a suitable training space?¡± Cyrus concentrated hard on an image of a Chinese courtyard surrounded by red walls and peaked green slate roofs. The grey slate stones of the courtyard¡¯s floor bracket wooden posts of various heights with small platforms atop. Opposite the courtyard¡¯s gated entrance were multiple sets of wide sliding doors that opened into a hall with a hard wooden floor; numerous windows on the far side of the chamber promised good airflow. ¡°Are the posts to train acrobatics or Ki Flight?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Initially acrobatics and the platforms are just wide enough to fight those standing on others near you,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Interesting training,¡± murmured Amdirlain before she turned to address Bedevere. ¡°Can I start construction now, or do we need to wait for someone to relocate the goats?¡± ¡°They do need to be moved,¡± confirmed Bedevere. ¡°I can add a pen off to one side and put them in that for now. Let the owner collect them later,¡± said Amdirlain. Bedevere nodded. ¡°If you can do that, I¡¯ll have someone track down their owner.¡± The music ripped down the worn fence and cleaned up those posts and railings that were still serviceable. A short piece scythed all the grass in the meadow down to ankle height before drying and baling it into stacks for the goats. Driving the posts deep into the ground at their new location, she followed it with the addition of the salvaged railings to form a gated pen near the bee-covered building. The nimble goats had already scattered through the now open meadow, but they were contained within the new fence line mid-stride. Their bleating and clanging bells momentarily filled the air until Amdirlain¡¯s mind calmed their protests. With the demolition completed, Amdirlain switched tempo and started a sturdy tune that expanded the bedrock upwards to form the training site¡¯s outer wall. Though there was no need for the decorative roofing atop solid walls, her intent followed Cyrus¡¯ image to add the gates and windows before setting the roofing in place. A low whistle came from Bedevere as she closed off the second song only minutes after it had begun. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was expecting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not done yet. So far, most of the stonework is complete, but I need to take care of the flagstones, interior walls, flooring, and windows trims,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°So far,¡± scoffed Bedevere. ¡°Done in minutes instead of months of manual labour.¡± Amdirlain gave him a wink and stepped off to one side. When her song made the ground from the laneway¡¯s end to the courtyard¡¯s gate start to shimmer, they quickly joined her. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a Spellsinger finish even one ritual that fast,¡± muttered Bedevere, eyeing Amdirlain with increasing curiosity. ¡°Do you add that golden glow to construction rituals so people can see their boundary?¡± The muddy churned-up ground was transformed into a slate walkway with a neatly edged border. The flagstones Amdirlain set in place continued to grow through the courtyard until only the locations for the posts to be placed were exposed ground. Though the construction could have been completed in a single song, Amdirlain¡¯s current issue wasn¡¯t power but control. Handling each piece of the structure separately made it a better challenge for her control. While growing the outer wall from the bedrock had been a significant enough working, mere flagstones weren¡¯t much of a challenge. As Amdirlain wrapped a border around the compound¡¯s outer wall to buy a moment, she bled off more energy by adding enchantments of self-repair and maintenance to consume extra fuel. ¡°I believe we¡¯ll likely need some enchantments to keep the wooden flooring intact against certain clawed feet and another to muffle the sounds of any sparring from within,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps keyed so any calls for help aren¡¯t also muffled. What about self-repairing training constructs so that the students can practice without worrying about holding back?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a lot of wealth to be pouring into a training hall,¡± disagreed Bedevere. ¡°I¡¯m glad enough you¡¯re willing to offer, considering it¡¯s my troops you¡¯re seeking to train, but I dislike debt I feel I owe you. Already I have ten soldiers with four affinities and a Wizard Class that should have taken years to gain. Now you¡¯re talking about adding multiple enchantments and constructs to a building to benefit the same troops.¡± ¡°Not just them; there will be others I might train here as well,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°If any townsfolk ask for training, I¡¯ll see about helping them as well.¡± ¡°Do you often wander into a town and spread wealth about Am?¡± ¡°No, this is the first town I¡¯ve done this for, but I¡¯m not helping you; you¡¯re helping me,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve not done a lot of teaching in the past, and I¡¯m hoping you¡¯ll all be patient with me if I stumble in my approach at times.¡± ¡°And it seems I¡¯ve got a few things to learn about other mortals after so long among my people¡¯s celestials,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Are you both exiles or something?¡± enquired Bedevere. ¡°Not that it¡¯s my business, but I¡¯d like to know if we¡¯re buying trouble.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in good standing,¡± declared Cyrus, motioning to Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m here to finish some teaching that I started a few decades back since Am has more to learn.¡± ¡°Whereas I have enemies like anyone, but I don¡¯t know anyone currently hunting me. On the other side, I have Celestial allies that could come to help if the town direly needed aid and if such aid was allowed by the pantheons that the garrison here serves.¡± [Diplomacy [J] (25->26)] ¡°I¡¯ll make an inquiry with the commander and let you know their viewpoint on such aid,¡± said Bedevere. ¡°Then let¡¯s go into the courtyard, and I¡¯ll finish the incidentals along with those,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she led the way towards the courtyard¡¯s open archway. The open hall at the other end was an empty stone framework with gaps in the outer stonework that allowed for the windows Cyrus¡¯ image had included. The hall''s entrance was set back beyond wide stone steps and the deep awning that Amdirlain had intended, but she carefully pictured the construction¡¯s progression before she began. When she started, her voice drifted into dozens of lilting melodies interwoven to spread her power. A half-dozen wooden versions of the Maze¡¯s constructs grew from the open spots she¡¯d left for the pillars, soaking up the first rush of power in the song. When they stepped off the dirt patches they¡¯d grown up from, the constructs already had padded quarterstaves and training spears clasped in loose grips and a complex set of conditional orders to aid in training. As they moved to stand before the hall¡¯s stone steps, a single slab of wood had already bridged the hall¡¯s subfloor bearers and joists. From the skirting board, decorative traces grew and, upon reaching the openings, expanded into window frames and flexible louvre slats. As the rest of the hall finished, the front edge rose into a latticework of wood and paper stylised after the Japanese Shoji-style doors rather than those Cyrus had envisaged. When the shape of the sliding doors was complete, Amdirlain left them still connected and continued with the work. Tendrils of wood grew around the courtyard, settling in place as a trim along the awning, and turned open gaps in the wall into decorative windows and a hinged gate. A cutting note ended the song, and it disconnected hundreds of sections of wood at once, allowing the doors to slide and louvres to turn. ¡°Not quite the style I imagined,¡± prodded Cyrus. ¡°I like this style. It softens the light but doesn¡¯t cause a hard disconnect between exterior and interior,¡± countered Amdirlain, but her lighthearted tone caused Cyrus¡¯ brows to lift. ¡°You sound like you¡¯re quoting some fancy architect,¡± observed Cyrus. Ignoring the notification of the little crafting experience that appeared, Amdirlain grinned. ¡°No, just a write-up of them I remember reading. I picked them because I like this style of doors even if I¡¯m mixing architectural eras and national standards.¡± ¡°Not like anyone else will notice that,¡± observed Cyrus before pointing to the twenty-odd empty squares where Amdirlain hadn¡¯t included the posts from the image. ¡°Are you planning to add the posts now or later?¡± ¡°I was considering growing more training constructs,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°For training Ki Flight, they can always lift themselves to the rooftops to start.¡± ¡°How skilled are the constructs?¡± asked Bedevere. ¡°They should be around a twentieth-level fighter,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°And importantly.¡± Amdirlain blurred across the courtyard, a single kick pulverising a construct. The splinters froze in mid-air after they¡¯d travelled only a few metres. Momentarily spinning about, they reversed course and began to reassemble as Amdirlain stepped away. ¡°No experience from that, likely because I crafted them. They won¡¯t infinitely rebuild. I¡¯ll need to recharge them if they suffer that fate too often. They¡¯re set up to follow my and Cyrus¡¯ instructions for sparring matches, but I can add extra people. They¡¯ve also got some basic rules in place, such as they won¡¯t keep attacking if someone drops to the ground.¡± ¡°Very interesting,¡± commented Bedevere. ¡°I¡¯m heading back to the suite. Shall we meet you at the training hall tomorrow, Bedevere?¡± Bedevere nodded. ¡°It would be good if we can continue this and show consistent growth to the commander.¡± ¡°Your judgement on the line?¡± ¡°A Captain¡¯s judgement is always on the line,¡± replied Bedevere, and he looked over the courtyard again before he gave them a nod and headed off. When Bedevere let the courtyard¡¯s gate close behind him, Amdirlain pointed up the hill towards the Blazing Portal¡¯s rooftop. Upon receiving a nod from Cyrus, she teleported them to the rooftop garden. Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably for a moment as she settled on a bench close to the rooftop¡¯s edge. Seeking a safe topic, she quickly settled on one she wanted to know about. ¡°I hadn¡¯t known Ki State could manifest external armour.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t trying to control its appearance during your rematches?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°The flame effect was theatrical.¡± ¡°I¡¯d been trying to get the Angelic Aura and Ki State to combine in the ones you attended. I didn¡¯t realise you could control Ki State into manifesting above clothing,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Technically, it wasn¡¯t,¡± countered Cyrus. ¡°The Power¡¯s foundation is within the body, but if you push extra Ki into the effect, you can cause its field to extend since it¡¯s spiritual¡ªyour clothing doesn¡¯t stop it.¡± Pursing her lips thoughtfully, Amdirlain pushed more energy into Ki State. Golden overlapping feathers started to swell out of the skin of her hand. As more Ki filled the Power, the outline of more feathers rose about the folds of her clothing. ¡°You look like you¡¯re wearing Aztec feathered clothing now,¡± commented Cyrus, and he drew his fingers together in front of his nose. ¡°And you¡¯re gaining a beak and crest like your sigil is coming to life.¡± Amdirlain snorted and let the Power revert to its neutral state hidden beneath her skin. ¡°You did well guiding their Ki, a far gentler touch than I expected you to possess,¡± admitted Cyrus. The subject change caused Amdirlain to pause. ¡°I could tell you wanted to avoid it, so I thought I¡¯d get to the point,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Gee, thanks,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Since I possess a gentler touch than you expected, do you still expect me to blow them up?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not about how gentle you are or aren¡¯t. It¡¯s about how your nature is presently an anathema to theirs,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°I expect your gentler touch to make the explosions less common, not eliminate them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not looking forward to inflicting pain on them,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded. ¡°But you¡¯ll still do what you need to do to restore them?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Yet, if you were one of them, you¡¯d put your self-interest and preferences first,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°They might torture you for fun, but they¡¯d never suffer to the slightest degree for you.¡± Amdirlain slumped back against the rooftop¡¯s wall. ¡°So what do I do?¡± ¡°Blow them up.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± replied Cyrus, and he looked curiously towards the kitchen visible through the suite¡¯s door. ¡°Do you have any tea?¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t need food.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t, but that doesn¡¯t mean I don¡¯t like to eat or drink,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°The social aspect alone is reassuring.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go get you registered as a guest so you can come and go then,¡± replied Amdirlain, moving towards the door. 286 - Broken Ones Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos After introducing Cyrus to Wisp, Amdirlain discovered the inn listed eight as the suite¡¯s full occupancy. With Cyrus issued a ward stone, Amdirlain returned to the rooftop and wandered through the garden, checking the plants¡¯ health. When she finally settled on a bench, Amdirlain closed her eyes and enjoyed the sunlight washing over her skin. The pleasant warmth contrasted with the oath links she held with the prisoners. Severing them from Moloch had seemed the safest course; while a possible means to injure him in the future, she would have left them open to being seized again. Yet, the very bond itself twisted her guts with distaste, despite its crystalline texture in her mind¡¯s eye. One of the prison¡¯s crystals transmitted a clear image of the prisoners for Amdirlain to monitor their physical condition. Centring herself, she sent a tendril of Ki through an oath link and felt Cuiniel¡¯s pained reaction in response. With a feather pattern fixed in her mind, she kept the energy drifting on the former Astral Deva¡¯s energies in a chaotic state of flux. The song through the link warned when pressures grew too great, and she had to withdraw repeatedly to avoid the Fallen¡¯s death. One at a time, she sought the energy nodes within Cuiniel¡¯s form and tested them for a pattern. The breeze Amdirlain stirred up caused the ash and dust of Cuiniel¡¯s nature to rise into choking clouds within her energies. ¡°I¡¯ll make you pay for this pain,¡± snarled Cuiniel, and the words echoed through the link to Amdirlain despite the vast distances separating them. Amdirlain withdrew the Ki through the link. ¡°Who caused you the first agony you remember, me, or the Abyss?¡± ¡°I¡¯m missing memories, I¡¯m sure of it. How do I know you¡¯ve not tortured me for fun and made me forget?¡± accused Cuiniel. ¡°I¡¯d never met you face to face before I captured you. Do you feel you have memories missing from before your fall? Torturing you isn¡¯t my idea of fun, but plenty of demons would enjoy that, Cuiniel,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you heal.¡± ¡°Trying to turn me back into a good lapdog,¡± sneered Cuiniel. ¡°Did you previously think yourself a lapdog?¡± Cuiniel scratched her taloned fingers across the circle¡¯s barrier, searching for a weakness. ¡°No, because I was blind.¡± ¡°Were you blind, or has the Abyss blinded you? I¡¯ve removed corruption from your body, but I wasn¡¯t the one that put it in you,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°The pain from my attempts to heal you is because the Abyss left you wounded.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be your puppet,¡± screamed Cuiniel, and she went back to futilely hammering the cell¡¯s barrier. Amdirlain gave a mocking laugh. ¡°I hate puppets; I think they¡¯re a touch creepy. Do you remember the site? Do you remember who dragged you into it? Why do you believe a Balor would help you? If It hadn¡¯t been for a timely wish, you would have emerged a Demon, not a Fallen. That¡¯s what they dragged you into¡ªyou didn¡¯t go willingly. You¡¯ve seen how Moloch treats them. Would you have enjoyed being a Greater Succubus?¡± Cuiniel growled as rage mottled her skin. [Seed Doubts (5->8) Note: Faith isn¡¯t a factor solely related to conviction and worship¡ªbelief in one¡¯s memory is a foundation of identity.] This is not a Power I ever wanted to improve. As the notification bloomed, a flaw within Cuiniel¡¯s energies let out a discordant screech. A memory of Moloch mentioning the same echoed up from within the flaw. ¡°Why would you help me?¡± snapped Cuiniel. ¡°You¡¯re all test subjects for helping someone I care about,¡± retorted Amdirlain, looking to obscure that it was Torm she sought to help. ¡°I¡¯ll help you to learn how to help them more efficiently.¡± ¡°So you don¡¯t care if you brainwash me to return to my former Liege,¡± accused Cuiniel. ¡°My discussion with Moloch is a haze after that memory.¡± ¡°Your talk with Moloch I obliterated, since he manipulated you while you were drunk with pain. As for sending you back to your Liege, if that was my intention, I have a way to do that right now,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. ¡°There would be nothing of you left, but they¡¯d have their servant back.¡± Amdirlain sent a memory through the link of purging memories and corruption from a Soul. She didn¡¯t share the education process, nor the effort it had ahead of it, but the result was clear enough. Within that projection, she tried to get Seed Doubts to push against the flaws but got no further response. Why didn¡¯t it work against Rhithri? Was their faith too solid for my current capabilities? Does it work only when I¡¯m verbally digging at someone¡¯s beliefs? Not that I¡¯d expect to need this Power against a Celestial to sway them to see another¡¯s pain, or the source of their own. ¡°That was one of the damned?¡± gasped Cuiniel. Her hand froze against the barrier, and shock rolled through the link. ¡°Stripping a Soul¡ªor a former Celestial¡ªof memories and sealing the flaws into a blank slate, there isn¡¯t much difference,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°To be blunt, in less time than I¡¯ve already spent on you, I could clean up the energies you¡¯re composed of and return them to their planar origin. No matter how you batter and claw at the cell¡¯s barrier, I¡¯ve got the time to let you rest, recover, and think.¡± Cuiniel paced about, looking around to determine if she was being scried upon. ¡°Why don¡¯t you then?¡± ¡°If you choose that option, I¡¯ll do so now or ?whenever you wish,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°The choice is yours, but I¡¯ve no intention of sending you as a blank slate back to your former Liege against your will. I¡¯m trying to help you find a path to self-determination instead of being a puppet of the Abyss.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent my entire existence slaving for another¡¯s benefit; I want to hold what I earn for a change,¡± snarled Cuiniel. ¡°Why should I believe your words?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy the pain I cause you. The corruption had to be done fast. Yet today, have I drowned you in pain until you couldn¡¯t think? I¡¯ve been conscientious not to push beyond your limits. It might be easier to saturate you with positive energy until you explode. Then I could re-summon you into that circle and do the same again,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Like I believe that,¡± scoffed Cuiniel. Gritting her teeth, Amdirlain kept her concern from the link and flooded it with a wave of Ki. The energy drove down into Cuiniel''s internal flaws, and her body came apart; ash, blood, and bone splattered the cell¡¯s barrier. Teleport positioned Amdirlain in the prison¡¯s outer passage, and she started the summoning. In short order, Cuiniel was back within the cell, the haze of Ijmti lingering around her. Cuiniel¡¯s flesh echoed from the trio of cataclysmic events: the rush of Ki rupturing her form, reformation on her Home Plane, and the shattered Planar Lock. ¡°I didn¡¯t ask for that!¡± screamed Cuiniel. Amdirlain avoided the oath link this time and projected words directly into Cuiniel¡¯s mind. ¡°Weren¡¯t you asking for it? You said you didn¡¯t believe it was possible, and I told you previously I didn¡¯t expect you to believe my words. What better proof than experience? Is there any further proof you¡¯d like today?¡± ¡°Only mortals can conduct a summoning, and they can¡¯t hold oath links. Who are you working with?¡± ¡°Guess you don¡¯t know as much as you believe. Could other beliefs be wrong, like the situation with your former Liege?¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, her words deliberately chosen to touch on faith. This time Amdirlain caught the echo of the empowered words; they didn¡¯t strike at Cuiniel directly but caused a spike of self-talk within her that sprouted doubts and insecurities. That did the work, and for those without fertile ground for doubt, the Power might be next to useless. [Seed Doubts (8->9)] Amdirlain waited for the mental turmoil to slow before she reached out again. ¡°Your choice¡ª do you want me to keep filling you with such energy or take a gentler approach?¡± Cuiniel grunted. ¡°No more explosions. Why were you poking at me with that energy earlier? How can it be healing and not just torture?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to find the sigil within your essence that defines you. Cycling energy through the pattern lets you see memories associated with flaws and the pain they introduced to your essence.¡± ¡°Sounds like you''re hunting for a True Name, and you said you wouldn¡¯t bind me,¡± accused Cuiniel. ¡°It¡¯s not useful for binding, and it''s a symbol with no use in a Spell,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Ever heard of self-reflection? It¡¯ll aid you in discovering who you are as a being and getting past what others expected of you.¡± ¡°Say I believe you''re not looking for a way to make me obey my former Liege again. Isn¡¯t there a less painful way to go about this?¡± probed Cuiniel. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know once I believe you might undertake it,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, and she changed the subject. ¡°I know you remember the anger you possessed with corruption in your being. Do you still feel that anger?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m in too much pain to feel anything else,¡± grumbled Cuiniel. ¡°Think about when that anger started. I¡¯ll leave you be for now; we can talk once you¡¯ve recovered,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she broke the mental link. Their proximity allowed the turmoil she¡¯d evoked within to broadcast through the oath link. True to her word, Amdirlain left her to it. Rather than return to Xaos, she opened a Gate to leave and stepped through to a nightmare sunlit landscape. Foul mud squealed beneath her feet, and a sulphurous stench dug at her nose. There wasn¡¯t a single living song to be heard. Instead, the only music was that of material: dirt, rocks, acidic mud, chemically heavy groundwater, and a polluted atmosphere that no life Amdirlain was familiar with could survive. Overhead drifting clouds bore no water vapour; their composition was a chemical cocktail that had evaporated from the planet¡¯s lifeless oceans. With her high resistance to acid and poison, the toxic environment couldn¡¯t dent her protections, but a Human would die fast and painfully. Amdirlain drew out a crystal spike and added a song to relay details from the orbital system she¡¯d set in place nearly a week ago. The orbiting spire reported her position, and with its connection to the other satellites, they provided a world map and marked her location. A map with hundreds of glowing planar links manifested from the crystal, and Amdirlain looked it over as it slowly turned for her consideration. To the north was a tropical sea and a chain of volcanic isles that had contributed to the atmosphere¡¯s destruction; with no plant life to counter the volcanic gases, chemical reactions and time did the rest. Taking in her proximity to the closest found planar connection, Amdirlain raced towards the sunset. Resonance stayed focused on the ground as she travelled, hunting for incorporeal undead hidden from the daylight¡¯s purging capabilities. Though she¡¯d need to tend to them eventually, the first step she had planned was to seal the world from new arrivals. [World: Age: 4.6 billion years Sun: G-Type (white-yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Large continents and tropical archipelagos. Average diameter: 14.3 thousand kilometres (Deceased Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 367.4 days Tilt: 27.8% Environmental range: Desert to permanent ice packs Status: Dead Local civilisation advancement levels: N/A Local primary species: N/A Incursion Status: Major (Demonic and natural elementals) Local Pantheon Status:- Classification: Deceased ] An attempt with Analysis to gather information on planar connections provided no pushback, and Amdirlain soon had a tally to cross-check against her scanners. [Planar Connections: 292 Gates:- Major: 12 Intermediate: 37 Minor: 94 The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Portals:- Major: 6 Intermediate: 47 Minor: 96 ] Given her scanner had provided the exact numbers, the ease seemed to correlate with the lack of new information. Just mindless undead left, and they can¡¯t reproduce without a source, so there is no species status for them. A count would have been handy. The massive pit of ooze she¡¯d found had created a natural attunement to the Para Elemental Plane of Ooze, the region of interaction between the elemental forces of Earth and Water. The Portal¡¯s song was clear from where she hovered, so Amdirlain didn¡¯t have to plunge into the muck to find it. Without the inferno of corruption available, Amdirlain took a more surgical approach, the blade of a sustained note sliced across its harmonics, allowing the Portal¡¯s forces to destabilise the connection. Despite the different approach, its detonation came with a notification similar to the others she¡¯d destroyed. [Planar Portal Shattered (Minor) Material Plane to Para Elemental Plane of Ooze. Total Experience gained: 200,000 Ostim?: +100,000 Ont?lin: +100,000 ] ¡°Cyrus, I¡¯ll be away for a few hours.¡± With the Message dispatched and knowing she¡¯d only bought time before the mass of material re-attuned the landscape to the Plane, Amdirlain started teleporting. The next Gate was an intermediate one and netted her four hundred thousand. After that, the locations became a blur of shattered gates and portals, with no pause before leaping to the next. A cavern filled with undead feeding off the energy from Orcus¡¯ realm erupted in screams when a temporary Gate¡ªthat ran the cavern¡¯s length¡ªallowed sunlight to crush against them with purifying force. Thousands disintegrated, and the wounded scattered even as Amdirlain moved on. From kilometres away her song targeted the Gate, and more perished in the explosion. Though she¡¯d hoped to hear all the songs in person, Teleport returned her to her arrival point on this world. From there, Amdirlain took a safer approach for the rest, targeting the music her orbital surveyors had isolated for her. When the last Gate disappeared from the projected map, she dismissed the experience notification only for one she hadn¡¯t expected to appear. [Achievement: Planar Isolationist Details: Completely isolated a world from the outside influence of planar energies. The lack of existing planar connections prevents the occurrence of natural planar attunement for a century. The planet will transform any elemental creatures into local entities or absorb them into its ambient energy. Undead and other elemental abominations can no longer draw on their respective Elemental Plane to sustain themselves, so they¡¯ll fade in hours unless they find a food source. Reward: 20,000,000 experience points] Focused on the World¡¯s Profile, Amdirlain pushed on True Song to override the theme. [Achievement: World Namer Details: You know what you did, princess! Reward: Naming a world is prize enough, little one. Note: You are the only individual who can open a Gate to this world until its new name is discovered. True Song Genesis [Ap] (15->16)] ¡°Get with the program, Gideon. I¡¯m not taking your Imperial Princess transformation, even if it takes me hundreds of years longer.¡± Amdirlain tallied up the experience that she¡¯d netted. Combined with the achievement and undead entities she¡¯d directly killed, the effort had netted over one hundred and eleven million for a few hours of work. ¡°Broken worlds and broken celestials, I snaffle up all the fun projects,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she focused on shifting back to the clean air and sunshine of the Outlands. [Planar Shift (Self) [Ap] (3->4)] To a certain degree, the undeveloped Power made her landing site random. Her targeting of any location made it accurate to plus or minus five hundred kilometres in any direction on a horizontal plane. She could appear anywhere in that area as long as her arrival point wasn¡¯t in the middle of something. What it didn¡¯t prevent was her appearing between objects. The Dryad¡¯s long dark green hair swayed in the slight breeze caused by Amdirlain¡¯s displacement. Her lush lips, close enough to touch Amdirlain¡¯s own, drew into a frown as Amdirlain waited. Her red eyes matched the colour of her lips and the inconspicuous flowers hidden in the oak tree¡¯s foliage behind her. Amdirlain would have expected the Oak tree to have female and male flowers. Instead, the tree bloomed solely female, entwined with the Dryad''s song, as energy flowed both ways to influence each other. ¡°Is the male yours?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± asked Amdirlain, taking in the heated music of the grove about her. Wrapped up in their enticing allure, a male Lizardfolk swayed behind Amdirlain. Positioned in the hollow between them, one of his outstretched arms jutted past her side while his snout protruded above her head. ¡°We only wanted to borrow him for a short time,¡± sighed the Dryad, and she smiled whimsically at Amdirlain. The Charm effect her words contained slid off Amdirlain without catching in the slightest, yet the Dryad persisted. ¡°Surely you can spare him for a year or five?¡± The figure was like many Lizardfolk she¡¯d seen about Xaos, but his heavily armoured form loomed over her elven one by forty centimetres or more. She could hear the Fighter and Priest Class themes within his song barely in their twenties. In the centre of his steel breastplate was the emblem of the Platinum Dragon, emblazoned in an ornate style. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure his Liege needs his services,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°We just want to borrow him. We¡¯ve not had a male pass close in so long; none of us has sprouted for scores of years,¡± complained the Dryad. ¡°I could point some males knowing what to expect your way,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she silently shattered the Charm to clear his mind. When the Spell broke, the reptilian started and backed away from them. Hissing in confusion and surprise, he readied his shield but didn¡¯t draw the hooked sword at his waist or unsheathe his long claws. The Dryad¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°But he¡¯s here now; others might not come.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Bahamut has something he needs to handle,¡± countered Amdirlain. While Amdirlain felt the pressure of Bahamut¡¯s awareness, the Dryad remained oblivious to the attention. Within the fragment of Bahamut¡¯s consciousness that focused on them, Amdirlain caught a hint of dry amusement. ¡°He made some muttering about wanting Bahamut to aid him. I thought he meant ensuring his vigour,¡± pouted the Dryad. ¡°You don¡¯t need intercourse, do you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s the life energy you need. The act unleashes that energy for you to absorb, but it''s the energy that helps you sprout.¡± ¡°Of course, but it''s more fun when the seedlings get to take root in a spot properly dug up,¡± laughed the Dryad. Around the grove, other dryads emerged from oaks, though only the closest Dryad had a link to these trees. Like the first, they all had mint green skin and red eyes too large for their face, with hair that ranged from dark mahogany to deep crimson. None of them wore any clothing, and they had crafted their few pieces of jewellery from polished wood and woven tendrils. The Dryad was still uncomfortably close, but with the reptilian fellow no longer at her back, Amdirlain had space to move. Before she could protest, Amdirlain touched a fingertip against the Dryad¡¯s sternum and pushed a surge of Ki energy into her. The Dryad¡¯s deep red gaze suddenly had blazing golden pupils before she blinked, and they returned to black. ¡°Oh,¡± gasped the Dryad. As she swayed on her feet, the energy flared life into existence within her, and the excess bloomed through her pleasure centres from her feet to the top of her head. Her species¡¯ unique biology sought to utilise and store as much as possible, causing the Dryad to grow a hand span taller. ¡°Sister?¡± enquired another Dryad, looking at the first in amused concern. The Dryad undulated against Amdirlain¡¯s touch, and Amdirlain retreated to arm¡¯s length. Only to have to put a hand against the Dryad¡¯s sternum to keep her from pursuing. ¡°Oh, that was sunshine through my mind. You should stay,¡± stated the first Dryad, nodding enthusiastically though she was wobbling on her feet. ¡°The male can go, but you should ?stay. Please stay; we¡¯ll all make you happy.¡± ¡°One push of energy for each in need, and then we¡¯ll leave without protest or trouble from you,¡± declared Amdirlain, hoping she wasn¡¯t making a mistake with the offer. The foetus'' song was a tiny copy of her mother¡¯s, and Amdirlain almost breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn¡¯t provided an Anar with a parent. The second Dryad who¡¯d spoken stepped back into her tree and emerged closer to Amdirlain with her hand timidly extended. ¡°Me next.¡± Another stepped out of the same tree and clasped her hand on the other¡¯s shoulder. ¡°No, me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve energy for you both. How many in your grove?¡± asked Amdirlain. The pair''s songs were so similar that with their near-identical features, Amdirlain took them to be twins. ¡°Six, of course,¡± breathed the first, a light flora aroma flooding the grove from her. ¡°It¡¯s not of course to one who doesn¡¯t know our ways,¡± countered a new arrival with scarlet hair that nearly touched the ground despite the braid that lifted it above her head. ¡°Yes, Mother,¡± the others chorused. ¡°Your gift is welcome, old one. We thank you for your generosity,¡± said their Mother. Analysis returned names for each of them that Amdirlain didn¡¯t know how to pronounce. Each impressed a concept of seasons and a tree¡¯s growth experiences that would have taken a full minute or more each to sound out. Not wanting to share her name, Amdirlain just nodded politely and reached out to clasp the forearms of both protesting sisters at once. The rush of energy raced through each and tried to complete the circuit where they touched before it fed back on itself, leaving them wide-eyed and up on tippy toes. ¡°Old one?¡± asked the first. Their Mother gave her a sad head shake. ¡°Daughter, if you can¡¯t sense her age from the life force that runs through you, you are lust-blind.¡± The pair had recovered during the exchange and retreated through the tree they¡¯d used before to avoid being drawn into the discussion. Amdirlain could hear another tree a kilometre away spill them forth and stopped tracing them. The older Dryad stepped back into the tree she had emerged from and reappeared to rest a hand on her daughter¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Go get your sister; she¡¯s spire wards monitoring the chaotic ones. Keep yourself well clear.¡± When her daughter disappeared, she turned to regard Amdirlain. ¡°While there are six of us, only four are enduring the drive to sprout. What might we do for you in return, old one?¡± Amdirlain considered the younger Dryad¡¯s song leaping towards the Outland¡¯s central spire while briefly considering her answer. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything I need, but I could resolve your situation and release your guest. I count that a fair exchange,¡± demurred Amdirlain. Keeping composed, she looked back at the fellow she¡¯d rescued. ¡°Though I¡¯d prefer you not Charm your guests in the future.¡± ¡°Some males are initially hostile or reluctant to leave; charming them is for our safety.¡± ¡°Your safety?¡± The Dryad gestured at herself and then pointed at her daughter¡¯s guest. ¡°If they might become hostile later, we need to know if we can influence them to leave.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, if you weren¡¯t also using it to force a choice,¡± stated Amdirlain. Looking between them in confusion, the Dryad clicked her tongue. ¡°Why would they not stay?¡± Damn, I should have held off on the bribes. ¡°There are a lot of males out there that I¡¯m sure wouldn¡¯t mind staying for a time. I¡¯d like you to consider that forcing them could harm them or someone counting on them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to agree with me, but consider it and try to find a better way. You¡¯re looking to propagate your species, but keeping someone here could cost a life.¡± Amdirlain left it at that and waited for the last Dryad to appear. After she provided their Ki burst, she turned her back on the dryads and headed to where he¡¯d waited, calmly watching them. Standing fully upright, his hulking form loomed at two hundred and seventy centimetres. A narrow, dull-grey and scaled snout jutted from under the helm¡¯s lower edge, guiding her attention to the alligator gaze fixed on her. His muzzle was where the most scales were visible in one place with steel plate armour enclosing most of his body, the only exceptions being his long-fingered hands and velociraptor-style feet. Since she¡¯d broken him free of the Charm, he¡¯d kept his shield ready but only rested a hand on the thick hilt of his jagged-tooth sword. A blade sat in an arrangement more like a v-shaped holder than a proper sheath. [Name: Goxashru Species: Dracoychrus Class: Fighter / Priest Level: 22 / 22 Health: 704 Defence: 97 Faith: 38 Magic: 32 Mana: 1,590 Melee Attack Power: 104 Combat Skills: Long Blades [Ad] (19), Claws [Ad] (23), Tail [Ad] (17) - Various blessings Details: Having achieved sufficient progress towards the threshold of the first Tier of Prestige classes, he followed the old custom of a vision quest. After gathering the materials for the meditation hide, he spent a week buried under the scorching sands outside his home city to determine his life''s course. Emerging with an easily translated vision, he got equipped and dispatched the same day, out among the planes. Fortunately for him, events aligned, and Nexus nearly dropped Amdirlain in his lap before the sexual congress began. Note: It could have been worse. At least you didn¡¯t get to invoke coitus interruptus. Well, not this time.] [Entity Name: Nexus Details: Primary Aspect of the Concept of Dimensions, responsible for administering gates, portals, teleports, planar shifts, etc. Note: Who do you think shifted your Home Plane during your first ascension? Or nudged your course to Claughuthruuazex? I¡¯m not actually in charge of that stuff, just knowledge and classes, since they involve learning. The shifty lady that Nexus is, she¡¯s far less rule-bound than you made me.] Goxashru released his sword and tapped his claws against his chest. ¡°I thank you for the rescue. My name is Goxashru. My clan would have been very disappointed with me if they found I had mate-bonded to a Dryad.¡± ¡°I perhaps arrived completely accidentally, but one can never tell when prayers to primordials are involved,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she indulged her curiosity. ¡°Do your people mate for life?¡± ¡°Yes, do yours not?¡± enquired Goxashru, his tongue jutting slightly over the front of his fang-toothed snout. ¡°There are many beings in the realm; I try not to assume customs,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she resisted the urge to point out that the potential for harm came in many forms to the dryads. ¡°Where are you headed?¡± ¡°Lord Bahamut sent me a dream; my mentor believes the place I seek is Xaos,¡± explained Goxashru. ¡°I can help you get there, but might I ask what you seek in Xaos?¡± ¡°The golden Elf who sits in the sunshine atop a building of clouds,¡± declared Goxashru. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how they would stay atop it, but that¡¯s all I know.¡± Amdirlain coughed. ¡°The Blazing Portal is an inn that looks built of clouds, and I¡¯ve currently got the rooftop suite to meditate in the sunlight. It seems someone, or perhaps your boss, took the opportunity to shortcut your search. Did he refer to me as the golden one?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear any words. It was all a soundless vision. I described the town to my mentor, and she recognised Xaos from the script above the inverted keep.¡± ¡°Alright, so any idea why he sent you my way?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Goxashru clicked his snout before he spoke. ¡°I felt I was supposed to offer my services as your talon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a cultural reference you¡¯ll need to explain, I¡¯m afraid,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Upon my world, our greater kin have talon servants to go where they cannot go without using magic to shapeshift. Do you need a talon to reach places you can¡¯t?¡± enquired Goxashru. ¡°Potentially; what is the name of your home world?¡± ¡°The ancient ones proclaim its name to be Vrantvrak,¡± advised Goxashru. Analysis quickly returned details of the world, and the incursion section wasn¡¯t a surprise. ¡°Can you tell me about the formithians?¡± ¡°Why are you interested in them?¡± asked Goxashru. ¡°Travellers first sighted their nests in the great desert years before I hatched; the maggots are annoying but hardly interesting.¡± ¡°Have they caused any trouble?¡± ¡°Aside from being so ugly, they give some hatchlings nightmares?¡± jested Goxashru. ¡°Have they intruded into anyone¡¯s territory?¡± ¡°Those desert grubs would not dare. Traders can meet them at markers upon the dunes but dislike their betters coming near their nests. According to the tales, they trade with minerals and treasures recovered from far beneath the sands.¡± ¡°There have been no reports of fighting with them at all?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°They are such a small foe I doubt anyone would want to lose face by hunting them,¡± replied Goxashru. ¡°After all, they are but the length of my arm and not even worth drawing a sword to cleave in two.¡± Amdirlain froze in surprise. ¡°They¡¯re how small?¡± ¡°The length of my arm. What size had you expected them to be?¡± ¡°Given all the trouble they¡¯ve caused on other worlds, I had expected them to be larger,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Goxashru flexed his claws in an oddly feline gesture. ¡°Trouble on other worlds?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain more about them when we¡¯re in Xaos. Are you ready to go?¡± ¡°I have a magic trinket that can point us to the Portal beneath its hill,¡± offered Goxashru, reaching for a pouch on his belt. No sooner had he spoken than Amdirlain had them standing on the dirt road just outside the wards. ¡°Or not,¡± huffed Goxashru, and he flicked his fingers off to one side dismissively. ¡°Oh well, at least my mentor''s enchantment led me in the right direction for a day.¡± 287 - Rise Up Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos As Goxashru strode beside Amdirlain, he didn¡¯t stop looking over the local inhabitants. While they mostly paid him little attention, a few of the Mousekin kept well clear, and a female Lizardfolk almost preened when his gaze lingered on her. When they entered the inn, Fanya was adjusting a ledger¡¯s entries at the counter while Wisp stacked blocks into a Jenga tower. ¡°Do you have another guest for your suite?¡± asked Wisp. ¡°Not quite. Do you have a room on the floor below?¡± enquired Amdirlain, noticing that Fanya had stopped writing. Her pulse beat slightly faster in her neck, but nothing like the frantic pace from the first day they¡¯d met. ¡°We have two,¡± replied Wisp, though she didn¡¯t stop stacking the blocks. ¡°Would you prefer a corner room or one mid-way along the wall?¡± When Amdirlain looked to Goxashru to decide, he snorted in surprise. ¡°A talon lives with their elder.¡± ¡°Do they take the same room when travelling?¡± ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t own the building?¡± grunted Goxashru. ¡°I¡¯d prefer a room that provides the most view.¡± ¡°Corner room it is then,¡± acknowledged Wisp, and they quickly sorted out a separate ward stone and provided directions. ¡°Fanya will be happy you¡¯re drawing down faster on your tab.¡± ¡°Hush Wisp, spend more time practising your calligraphy,¡± admonished Fanya. ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t have to come to check what your entries mean.¡± ¡°Calligraphy is as boring as standing at the counter with nothing to do,¡± argued Wisp. Fanya grumbled. ¡°I can set you back to cleaning rooms.¡± ¡°Pass. Dust and I have agreed to let each other be,¡± retorted Wisp. ¡°It was a long and philosophical debate, so I¡¯d hate to go back on our agreement. Maybe you should hire a Dust Elemental to absorb it all.¡± Fanya snorted in frustration and, giving up, she forced her gaze to rise and meet Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°How are you finding the suite, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°It¡¯s certainly exceeding my expectations; I appreciate you allowing me to guest here,¡± replied Amdirlain, ensuring she kept the same projection of calm that had worked within the town, despite Fanya¡¯s nervousness. ¡±How have your studies progressed in your master¡¯s absence?¡± ¡°They are going well. It¡¯s come to my attention that you¡¯ve added some extra enchantments to the suite,¡± commented Fanya, and her pulse sped up further. ¡°I¡¯ll remove them when I leave unless you¡¯d like me to leave them in place,¡± ¡°The aerial servants handling the cleaning noticed they were there, but I¡¯ve not had time to follow up with you as to their nature,¡± said Fanya. ¡°It¡¯s just a simple dimming barrier around the bed. My friends aren¡¯t so unaffected by the continual light as myself; anyone laying on a bed can adjust the intensity of light reaching them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I heard a rumour you¡¯d taught a dozen affinities to thirty guardsmen in minutes,¡± ¡°The demonstration only involved ten, and it was four affinities,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Are there affinities you¡¯re interested in learning? I¡¯d be happy to help you out.¡± Fanya¡¯s pale skin flushed, and her gaze dropped to the ledger. ¡°Just like that?¡± ¡°Yes, just like that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Come up when you¡¯ve free time or meet me at my new building. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of rumours surrounding it as well.¡± ¡°What God of magic do you serve?¡± enquired Fanya as she lifted her gaze from the ledger. Amdirlain noticed that Fanya carefully fixed her red-eyed gaze on Amdirlain¡¯s mouth. Her similarity to albinism was as striking as Fanya¡¯s appearance, but Amdirlain couldn¡¯t feel any health issues within her theme. ¡°I¡¯m not in service to any Deity, though I get along with a few from the higher planes and there are likely a few from neutral planes I¡¯d be able to find common ground with,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°What do you charge?¡± queried Fanya. The shrug Amdirlain gave drew a frown, so she clarified her position. ¡°The garrison will foot some of my rent here for turning troopers into wizards. I¡¯ll help you or your teacher for free, but I keep the right of refusal on any Affinity. After all, I¡¯ve not met your teacher, and some affinities are unpleasant and tempting.¡± ¡°Why learn them then?¡± The unexpected question caused Amdirlain to pause. ¡°Some classes are unavailable unless you know all the affinities.¡± ¡°How can you learn all the affinities?¡± asked Fanya. ¡°Some are in opposition, which would prevent you from doing so.¡± Unsure if Fanya was talking about her reinforced affinities, Amdirlain changed the topic, wanting to get Goxashru settled first. ¡°Come by for a chat later today, or drop by the courtyard when I¡¯m training people.¡± ¡°The courtyard? Is that what you''re calling your new building?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I meant, but I¡¯ve not come up with a name for it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you figure that out before people name it for you,¡± cautioned Fanya, her tone turned wary. ¡°We had a hard time getting people to accept the name for the festivals hall after we waited too long to name it. I still hear some call the place ¡®long rut¡¯.¡± Giving her a smile of appreciation, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll come up with something soon.¡± Fanya collected the ward stone from Wisp and handed it over to Goxashru, along with directions to his room. The shaft between floors easily handles Goxashru, as does the suite¡¯s main entrance, but the doorways out onto its rooftop garden are a bit of a squeeze. Aware that Goxashru¡¯s hulking form was too big for the smaller path near the rooftop¡¯s edge, Amdirlain moved along the garden¡¯s main track. The first junction was a covered circular space with curved benches along the border, and Amdirlain settled on one. Goxashru didn¡¯t sit on a bench but crouched near the entryway. ¡°Just to warn you, I¡¯ve got a bunch of questions, so I hope this doesn¡¯t come across as an interrogation,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I can tell you feel the vision came from Bahamut, and I respect him. The reason for my questions is to avoid assumptions.¡± ¡°Understandable, and I¡¯m sure over time I¡¯ll have questions of my own,¡± said Goxashru. ¡°Like how so many clans exist in this place without conflict.¡± ¡°Clans don¡¯t exist among all species,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she smiled inwardly when Goxashru reared back as if she¡¯d punched him. ¡°What!?¡± gasped Goxashru. ¡°That is just incomprehensible, such strangeness.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s incomprehensible, you¡¯ve got a lot of learning ahead of you, but let¡¯s focus on one subject first: talons. You mentioned they serve elder kin and go places they can¡¯t. Should I assume by elder kin you¡¯re referring to dragons?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Goxashru. ¡°Why did you get the impression Bahamut wished you to be my talon?¡± Goxashru swished his tail out to encompass the garden. ¡°This is where I found myself in the vision, with the golden Elf glowing with a strange light. There was a tunnel in the air before the figure, and her light couldn¡¯t enter the tunnel.¡± Amdirlain caught the unguarded image from his mind of herself in Anar form, with the Ki pattern blazing from her skin like flames reaching towards the sky. ¡°Let me address that concern, and you can determine if that golden Elf is me,¡± replied Amdirlain. Shifting from Wood Elf form, her skin turned from its dusky mint-dusted hue to the bronze-gold with golden light shining from her irises. Brushing back the electric blue fringe from her eyes, Amdirlain fixed Goxashru with a questioning look. ¡°There was also a strange golden pattern,¡± noted Goxashru, and he wiggled a claw toward Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°Ki¡ªlife energy¡ªcirculation causes that to appear; it starts as just lines beneath my skin and grows greater,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°While I can show it to you here to a lesser extent, to reach the point it''s blazing, I¡¯ll need to go somewhere I can safely store it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it''s you, as the same pressure surrounds you. Though I should request evidence so my mentor doesn¡¯t think I¡¯m a foolish hatchling,¡± advised Goxashru. A single cycle through her pattern didn¡¯t take long, and the flames flared beneath her skin, even showing through her clothing. Goxashru lowered his head to Amdirlain; the tip of his snout dipped beneath the bench level before he straightened again. ¡°This supplicant greets you elder, and seeks to be allowed to serve.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a Dragon,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Needless, the vision instructed that I should treat you as if they had deemed me worthy of serving the greatest of their number,¡± announced Goxashru. ¡°I will not go against the will of Bahamut. Your energy felt the same as the vision just then, so you are the one whose service my vision said I should seek. I give my oath of service if you will have me.¡± The fragment of Bahamut¡¯s awareness following the conversation since the first mention of his name gave off a smug satisfaction, and Amdirlain contained her sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll need some information first, since I don¡¯t understand what a talon role entails for an elder or how it would translate to helping me.¡± ¡°They go places either to deliver or retrieve things for them, ensuring that whatever they want to be worked on is done. Whether it be in the deepest mines or just among the fields,¡± explained Goxashru. ¡°They act to extend the physical presence and authority of the elder.¡± ¡°Sounds a bit like a voice,¡± observed Amdirlain, and her words made her consider visiting Claughuthruuazex in Limbo. ¡°That is a greater honour; the talons serve the voices,¡± advised Goxashru. ¡°Have you ever met any dragons yourself?¡± asked Amdirlain. Goxashru issued a hissing gurgle, and the inner membrane covered his eyes, turning them white. ¡°I have only seen our clan patron from a distance. Her golden scales glow like your gaze, and her wingspan can grant shade to the whole of my hometown and have spare to cover the closest fields.¡± The amusement in his boasting was a greater reassurance than his words to Amdirlain; still, she wanted to check. ¡°Would she object to you serving me?¡± ¡°She is also a Priest of Bahamut. Why would she take exception to his instructions?¡± asked Goxashru. ¡°It is also not unknown for one raised in one clan to become a talon to the patron of another clan.¡± ¡°In return for their service, what does a talon typically receive?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°I want to make sure I¡¯m not under-compensating you.¡± ¡°Housing, equipment, training for themselves but also their mate and offspring,¡± advised Goxashru. ¡°That all sounds fine at a high level, but what are you most interested in?¡± persisted Amdirlain, remembering why she¡¯d avoided any team leader roles. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Learning the arcane and spiritual arts,¡± said Goxashru. ¡°Many of those who¡¯ve served the elder kin in the past are the clans¡¯ wizards and artificers.¡± ¡°You referred to the Gold Dragon as your clan patron. Do the dragons rule your clans?¡± ¡°They do, and don¡¯t. They are patrons for regions, not rulers. While many would listen to their request and treat them as commands, they only involve themselves to keep the most dangerous threats at bay. They do not meddle in the day-to-day affairs of the clans,¡± explained Goxashru. ¡°Alright, that makes things clearer. I¡¯m teaching a group here to gain access to Mana and Ki,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she considered flickers of memories of draconic worlds where they kept their distance but still interacted with the short-lived species. ¡°Have you heard of Ki?¡± ¡°Access to life?¡± queried Goxashru. ¡°I already have life; what do you mean by that?¡± If a picture paints a thousand words, a memory would be millions. Amdirlain shared the memory of the sparring with Cyrus and the clash of their attacks. The first Metal infused punch caused the inner membrane Goxashru had drawn over his eyes to snap open. As the sparring¡¯s pace increased, Goxashru bobbed from side to side. The way he got caught up in the pattern of her motions made Amdirlain glad she¡¯d pick an example where she¡¯d remained bipedal. When she stopped projecting the memory, Goxashru groaned in disappointment. ¡°Might I learn this? That was Mana you held within your strikes, was it not?¡± ¡°It was indeed,¡± said Amdirlain, and she rose to move next to Goxashru, motioning for him to stay put. Remembering Gail¡¯s issue with oath links and mortals, she could only hope Gideon had made all the adjustments to prevent those from occurring again. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t take a Class without discussing it with me first. Is that clear?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°As a cloudless sky,¡± agreed Goxashru. The deep snort and head bob Goxashru gave would have left Amdirlain puzzled without the excited mental noise she caught, but she didn¡¯t push for further acknowledgement. Body language and social constructs will be a problem interacting with any new world. ¡°Then I accept your oath of service.¡± declared Amdirlain. [Allegiance Bond [B] (2->3)] True Sight showed the crystalline conduit running from her to Goxashru appearing momentarily before fading completely. The link¡¯s theme differed from the bond she maintained with the fallen, which she¡¯d put in place with True Song instead of asking for their permission. Within Goxashru, she could hear the same chakra points they¡¯d used in the other students, though their relative locations within his body differed. The heart chakra point was at a midpoint between the two hearts down the sternum line of his chest. ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can awaken your Ki,¡± stated Amdirlain. After giving him the same explanation Cyrus had provided the others, she lightly clasped his hand. When the others arrived, Amdirlain caught Sarah¡¯s partially concealed song among them. Nomein led Sarah out into the garden, and they headed straight for Amdirlain, who was monitoring Goxashru cycling Ki between his heart and throat chakra¡ªa combination he found easier than heart and solar plexus. ¡°Hello there,¡± said Amdirlain. Her words broke Goxashru¡¯s focus, and his dual lids snapped open, the pattern of the Ki broken; noticing Nomein looking at him curiously, he motioned to the suite. ¡°Should I go?¡± ¡°Only if you think you can restart cycling between two chakras without help,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I believe so,¡± advised Goxashru, and he stopped to look at Sarah. His nostrils flared once before he bowed to her. ¡°Elder, I¡¯ve never scented scales like yours; even my egg memories provide nothing similar.¡± Sarah smiled at the proper intonations of the draconic words. ¡°No need to be so formal, Goxashru.¡± Though Amdirlain knew Sarah had cheated with Analysis, a Dragon immediately knowing his name caused Goxashru to deepen his bow. When Sarah nodded in reply, Goxashru headed inside. ¡°Did your mentor come up with some improvements?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed, protections upgraded. It is all runes I could have completed myself, but her magical strength empowers them to greater heights,¡± confirmed Sarah before she sat next to Amdirlain. ¡°I got word of your latest prisoner. Are you going to be based out of here for a while?¡± Amdirlain grinned, pleased she could finally ask everyone''s favourite question of her. ¡°I am. What have you got planned?¡± The question earned an eye roll from Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll bounce between here and Sanctuary¡¯s Cove. Gaius has his forge set up there, and Gail is setting up a search pattern for the gnarls¡¯ dens¡ªshe¡¯s repurposing those crystals that were set up to monitor for Torm.¡± ¡°Wiping out those abominations will keep her busy for a little while,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°Is her team helping her?¡± ¡°None of them has said anything about settling down soon,¡± replied Sarah, and she nodded towards Nomein, who¡¯d sat down nearby. ¡°You¡¯ve got some monastery students with you now, I see.¡± ¡°They¡¯re far from being students anymore. I thought you must have been talking to Ras since you arrived together,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Nope, just coincidence,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°I spotted them on the road when Planar Shift dropped me near the wards.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t recognise her form, but the mental touch was unmistakable,¡± commented Nomein. ¡°How has the city clearing been going?¡± asked Amdirlain. Nomein mentally projected the city and reviewed the threats they¡¯d encountered, including undead casters and champions found among the outer reaches. * * * * * When the others retired for the night, Amdirlain got to work. One after another, copies of the first four orbital surveyors appeared standing along the garden pathways. The third time she heard Fanya¡¯s song linger by the suite¡¯s entry, she stored all the crystal pillars and headed for the front door. The pale Elf started when the door swung up, and Amdirlain tried for a reassuring smile. ¡°Hello, Fanya,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I was just about to take a walk to the Nolmar.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to call your new building ¡®school¡¯?¡± enquired Fanya. ¡°School or academy, depending on the dialect you¡¯re using,¡± replied Amdirlain with a shrug. ¡°Did you have affinities you want to see if you can learn?¡± Fanya touched her tongue to her lips, and her pulse jumped briefly. ¡°Are you sure there is no cost?¡± ¡°Would it make you more comfortable if I set one?¡± ¡°Yes, I believe it would,¡± admitted Fanya. Nodding sympathetically, Amdirlain stepped through the doorway and secured it behind her. ¡°I can sense you have four strong affinities. Would it be permissible to discuss the process used to gain them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see why not, but it seems you don¡¯t know as much about affinities as you believe,¡± chided Fanya. ¡°I¡¯ve helped beings gain them all at a normal intensity, but you¡¯re the first individual I¡¯ve encountered with your reinforced connections,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Would you also explain the benefit of gaining them?¡± ¡°Anything else you want to add to the exchange?¡± Fanya asked hesitantly. ¡°Only what information you¡¯re comfortable trading,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°My apologies if it seems I¡¯m requesting something unreasonable.¡± ¡°To my knowledge, there are twelve affinities that I don¡¯t possess. I¡¯m more concerned the trade will seem unacceptable to you later,¡± advised Fanya. Amdirlain resisted laughing. ¡°I¡¯ve taught plenty of people without charge.¡± She froze momentarily, looking at Amdirlain in disbelief. ¡°People that you¡¯ve seen later?¡± ¡°Some I saw daily for years afterwards,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d prefer you to charge me more,¡± argued Fanya. ¡°You know that isn¡¯t how haggling works,¡± observed Amdirlain, giving into her urge to smile. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about haggling. I don¡¯t want you to get irritated and decide that I scammed you later,¡± remarked Fanya. Amdirlain touched her fingers to Fanya¡¯s forearm before she could flinch away, and the Elf froze. ¡°Now I insist that the training will be free. If you¡¯d care to enjoy some conversation about magic later, that¡¯s entirely your choice. It''s also your choice if you accept the training. I won¡¯t insist, but you have a nice presence, and I¡¯d like to help you achieve your goals. Think about it.¡± With that, Amdirlain stepped around her and headed down the inn¡¯s central shaft. * * * * * No one was present at Amdirlain¡¯s training building when she arrived, and the wards had registered no entries by anyone except curious animals. The constructs in place before the steps to the hall hadn¡¯t shifted position, but she checked each was in its standby mode. After she¡¯d tapped the last one¡¯s face plate to confirm it wasn¡¯t going to react, Amdirlain turned her focus to the bare earth squares in the courtyard. Ultimately, she decided on a construction project that diverged from Cyrus''s image. The song she decided on caused twenty crystal towers sheathed in oak to rise five metres from the ground. A single insubstantial platform connected their tops and seemed to dissipate the further it got from them. Eighteen metres square, the platform filled most of the space above the courtyard, but that was only the immediate visible limits of its presence. The lowest region gave the impression the pillars were projecting steam upwards, and a breeze was sweeping it away. A circular set of stairs ran from the ground level up through the platform, connected to a chamber above the platform. She hadn¡¯t dimensionally synchronised the room with the surrounding Plane, and Amdirlain had constructed the rest of the tower beyond it in the same fashion. With all the pieces and powers involved, the song''s overall complexity challenged her use of True Song. Instilling each construct with rudimentary intelligence to handle complex combat and even fight cooperatively when their chamber contained multiple constructs. The thirty-three floors she¡¯d managed to establish started to fill with increasingly complex training constructs tied back to her. The connection was an altered version of the Profaner species trait she¡¯d heard among the cloister¡¯s members. Instead of only getting experience from those the constructs defeated, she¡¯d gain a tithe of experience for each construct beaten. Enchantments set in place would Teleport anyone subdued to the courtyard. To awaken at their own pace if knocked out, or in the worst case, to be resurrected. [Crafting Summary (Category: Dimensional building): Training Tower of the Mists: 320,000,000 Assorted Enchanted Weapons: 4,800,000 Total Experience Gained: Ostim?: +162,400,000 Ont?lin: +162,400,000 True Song Genesis [Ap] (16->18) Note: Auto-creating low-powered Maze guardians¡ªthat¡¯s cute. If you fight them, they won¡¯t give you experience directly, but that levy you¡¯ve set up is adorable.] Besides supporting the tower, the crystals'' enchantments bolstered the building''s self-repair capabilities and handled the purification of the washrooms facilities. Facilities she¡¯d modelled off those available within her suite to ensure she covered all the species that could reasonably expect to show. The initial days at the training hall had shown Amdirlain some challenges ahead, and Goxashru¡¯s form had added to those. Amdirlain shifted into a grey-furred Ratkin form and checked the grip of their footpads on the polished wooden flooring. A few deliberate slips had claws digging into the flooring, but the enchantments correctly sealed the damage when her nails lifted free. She¡¯d continued to work out adjustments to the monastery¡¯s martial techniques until Goxashru arrived. He¡¯d left his armour behind, though the grey and tanned scales that covered most of his body gave him an armoured appearance. Still attired in only loose pants, a belt, a sword, and a medallion of Bahamut, he looked rather relaxed. He quietly watched her move while he cheerfully munched at a meat skewer holding three creatures the size of suckling pigs. Sarah arrived shortly after with Cyrus in tow, and Amdirlain stopped to greet them both. ¡°What¡¯s with the steaming kettle effect?¡± asked Sarah, and she jerked her chin towards the platform. ¡°Thirty-three floors of fun, dimensionally unaligned to this Plane. The first floor¡¯s training constructs are level twenty fighters, the last floor, level eighty-four,¡± informed Amdirlain smugly. ¡°It won¡¯t let you onto any floor unless your levels at least match the constructs. They¡¯ll aim to subdue you, but accidents can happen. You''ll get teleported to the courtyard if you¡¯re knocked out or pinned. Worse case, you¡¯ll get teleported back and resurrected but then have to deal with the levels lost to that Spell. If you surrender, the tower will take that as having been subdued.¡± ¡°Did you set up a door prize as well?¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°Good point. Should I have it award a weapon or a defensive item for the first time you get there solo?¡± Amdirlain retorted, and she clapped her hands with mock gleefulness. ¡°The interior of the floors is three kilometres across, and there are multiple paths with puzzles to the level above.¡± Cyrus motioned to the wooden training constructs in front of the stairs. ¡°Are they all like those?¡± ¡°No, it will make the ones at the top from mithril,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Goxashru and Cyrus both snorted in surprise. ¡°Why?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The garrison here doesn¡¯t have much opportunity to get stronger; now they do,¡± said Amdirlain matter-of-factly ¡°What about when people turn up in force wanting to use it?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Word will eventually get out.¡± ¡°There is a barrier at the top of the stairs. Only those we¡¯re training or are part of the garrison can enter,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Of course, I might change that for a suitable fee.¡± Cyrus¡¯ brows lifted. ¡°You need money?¡± ¡°Not what I was looking for; a suitable fee would be them training others,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she motioned Cyrus to the entrance. ¡°Care to give it a test run? I¡¯d appreciate feedback on adjustments I need to make.¡± He didn¡¯t need a second invitation. Cyrus raced up the stairs and disappeared inside. Though no sound echoed down to them, Amdirlain felt a trickle of experience from the first construct¡¯s destruction. Resonance allowed her to track Cyrus moving away, and only once he was clear of the chamber was the construct reassembled. ¡°What else did you do?¡± asked Sarah in English. ¡°Just a small administration fee of one percent as experience tithe,¡± admitted Amdirlain, replying in the same language. The reply set Sarah laughing. ¡°Credit card girl. At least the net gain is still to those climbing the tower, but maybe add a small treasure chest at every five levels and a boss room at the top.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make some adjustments,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she resumed speaking with Polyglot and motioned to Goxashru. ¡°While we¡¯re waiting for others to arrive, let me help you gain the affinities Earth, Air, Fire and Water.¡± Goxashru bowed. ¡°I¡¯m honoured, Elder.¡± ¡°Focus on the ground beneath your feet, its hardness, the way your weight bears down on it,¡± instructed Amdirlain. Soon enough, Goxashru had caught up to the others in affinities and learning a few elemental spells, though they had a day of practice on him. As his training progressed, Amdirlain gained a steady influx of experience from Cyrus working through the tower. Though each of the constructs on the lower floor was only seven experience points, Cyrus went through nearly five hundred constructs before he lucked out and found the stairs up. He continued to send thousands of experience points Amdirlain¡¯s way; as the others arrived and started on the unarmed drills. Demonstrating the fundamentals, Amdirlain listened to the notes within her movements and planned what songs each attack allowed. 288 - Here we stand Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos The tower initially proved a little distracting to her students, but they settled down after Amdirlain admonished them to focus. The four-hour training session with Enrig and the others had just wrapped up when Cyrus stepped out of a glowing doorway in the courtyard. Ten soldiers still present bowed to him before they headed on their way. ¡°Did you get lost?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Your maze towards the top has moving metal walls and doesn¡¯t allow teleporting out from,¡± observed Cyrus. ¡°How remarkable,¡± gasped Amdirlain, and she winked at Cyrus. ¡°I told you surrendering would get you out.¡± Snorting, Cyrus came over and sat down cross-legged in the training hall. ¡°Many of your constructs have magical weapons, but they teleport back to the remains.¡± Amdirlain sat seiza-style nearby and waved at the stairs. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to have to keep making them. What are your thoughts on the progression?¡± Cyrus shrugged. ¡°They were simplistic for me to overcome, so judging was difficult. I would ask: Did you intend them to team up?¡± ¡°Yes, how many joined in at once?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It should only be the ones in a room that join together.¡± ¡°It is unless you send one flying into another room, then those will also attack even if the construct that entered their area was in pieces,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I managed to get fifty trying to herd me at one time by getting them to pursue me through multiple chambers. Also, some of the larger rooms have ten or more together. Overall, I can see it being good training for weaker individuals. What do you get out of this tower?¡± Amdirlain checked her profile and gave a happy nod. ¡°Experience. Your trip through it netted me just over two hundred thousand experience points. I need trillions of experience to reach my goal, so I set it to get one percent of the experience each disabled construct is worth. Or if they disable someone, I should get the lot released by their victor. Once I reach my immediate goals, I¡¯ll make some adjustments, maybe add experience orbs in secret rooms in the tower.¡± ¡°Set up some harder fights every few levels. You could make them release some treasure and give away the energy orb tuned to the victor later if you felt like it,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°Gideon needs people earning stuff.¡± ¡°I would make the secret rooms need puzzles solved to get into them, not something people could randomly find,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Or I can do both, but either of those options will be a long way off. What do you think of a harder group at the base of the stairs, Cyrus? Say four levels higher than the current level.¡± ¡°If you are going to do that, add an exit point before the group so people can leave if they¡¯re already too battered to continue. It¡¯s likely needed anyway as it seemed like the only quick exit was in place of the stairs on level thirty-three,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°People can surrender to any construct, and they¡¯re sent to the courtyard,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°The prouder species won¡¯t surrender,¡± cautioned Cryus. Goxashru snorted. ¡°I would not want to surrender unless forced. Only in the hardest of battles can one temper themselves.¡± ¡°Seed each level with ways to leave,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°Set them in the wall with an image of the courtyard; touch one and you get sent out.¡± Amdirlain nodded and added a fresh enchantment to the crystal pillars that maintained the tower. Throughout the levels, sections of wall panels changed into polished steel mirrors. Once that was done, Amdirlain added more formidable foes at the base of every third staircase. At those locations, she set up a box on the chamber¡¯s wall to issue a ranking token once all constructs were defeated. She set the token so they could choose to teleport to that level¡¯s start upon entering the tower. The only drop of real value would be at the original exit. It gained a construct of level one hundred to protect it, and its drop was a half-kilogram mithril ingot. ¡°Done,¡± Amdirlain announced after a few minutes, and Cyrus shook his head in amusement. An amusement that grew when Amdirlain outlined the changes she¡¯d made. His reaction set Sarah laughing. ¡°I¡¯d rather have one percent of a hundred people¡¯s effort than one hundred percent of my own.¡± ¡°Something like that, but I¡¯ll build up to one percent from thousands of people¡¯s efforts while focusing on my skills,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Laodice has hurt Baln¨¦rith¡¯s plans, but by now Baln¨¦rith is in the wind, so I¡¯ll need to be a lot stronger to find and destroy her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother might be doing some of that hunting for you,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Perhaps, but I don¡¯t want to let her have all that fun herself,¡± objected Amdirlain as she added to the tower¡¯s enchantment. ¡°Going to be upfront about it, anyone stepping onto the stairs will know I¡¯ll claim part of their combat experience. I don¡¯t want a misunderstanding arising or people not being told later.¡± Cyrus looked at the top of the staircase. ¡°How are you able to set that up?¡± ¡°The message, the tithe, or the whole tower?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Considering you set up your Demi Plane in days, the tithe is the only thing that surprises me about the tower,¡± admitted Cyrus. ¡°A few species can tithe experience from those that agree to serve them. The levy isn¡¯t applying to the people entering the tower; it¡¯s operating off the energy released by the constructs¡¯ temporary destruction. Instead of all that energy going into the person via the realm¡¯s rules, I¡¯m tapping part of it. If the realm¡¯s rules didn¡¯t allow for it in other circumstances, then I wouldn¡¯t be able to manage this via the constructs.¡± Amdirlain rose and moved out onto the flagstones. A set of crystal pillars, each a metre tall and fifteen centimetres across, stood upright in a line, and she placed a case of memory crystals around each. Dispatching a Message to Sage, she got a quick response with the list of world names she sought. ¡°Adding to the tower or something else?¡± asked Cyrus. Aware that Cyrus¡¯ original realm combined technology and spiritual energies, Amdirlain gave him the modern answer. ¡°I¡¯m putting surveying satellites in orbit above some dead worlds so I can work towards cleansing them of undead,¡± explained Amdirlain. Opening the first Gate in high orbit, she pushed four pillars through at intervals. With the planet spinning by beneath the Gate, she soon had the surveyors spread out in orbit around the world¡¯s equator. Goxashru came close enough to look out the Gate carefully. ¡°It is like a massive ball hanging in a starry background.¡± When he leant closer, Amdirlain rested a warning hand on his shoulder. ¡°That world is the same size as yours, but nothing is living on it now. The undead consumed everything, and now they haunt it. Whenever I open any gates, be very careful of them. If you stepped through this one without any protection, you¡¯d die,¡± Amdirlain explained before she closed the Gate and connected another to Goxashru¡¯s world, using his song to get close to his birthplace. ¡°How far away are the formithians from your hometown?¡± As Amdirlain asked, the Gate opened to show a perspective from high on a hillside that offered fields of brown grass and a wide river further down a valley. Near the river was a walled town with a triple layer of grey stone walls that even ran between the buildings and the river¡¯s edge. ¡°It would take a month on foot from my room to reach the desert the merchants talked about,¡± advised Goxashru, and he looked between Amdirlain and the buildings in the distance. ¡°That looks like the walls of my home.¡± ¡°It should be, its songs align with your own, but it could just be one close by,¡± said Amdirlain. Taking out another crystal pillar, she set it on the ground and quickly added a dozen songs. Retrieving a memory crystal holder, she clamped it around the crystal pillar and motioned Goxashru''s attention to the Gate. ¡°Which direction is the desert in?¡± Goxashru pointed towards a hilltop on the far side of the river. ¡°The desert sands start just on the far side of those hills and follow the river towards the sea. The sightings I heard about put them near the coast.¡± Adding some additional songs, Amdirlain motioned to the pillar. ¡°Face the hills, set it upright on the ground, and step away; it will fly off in that direction looking for them. Once it finds the first of them, it will try to get a full survey of their underground presence.¡± Asking no questions, Goxashru followed her instruction, and when he stepped clear, the crystal shot off, arching high into the air. Goxashru spread his arms out, and Amdirlain heard him inhaling deeply before making a rumbling sound, and a content feeling came from his mind. Amdirlain smiled at the almost feline sound. ¡°Good to smell home again?¡± ¡°It is. I¡¯m sure there is nothing like the scent of it anywhere else,¡± asserted Goxashru, though he didn¡¯t turn from the town. When a half hour passed, the pillar still hadn¡¯t returned and Goxashru had crouched in place to wait. Cyrus excused himself and ventured into the tower again to review her changes. ¡°How fast did you have it flying?¡± asked Sarah after another ten minutes of waiting. ¡°Just under the speed of sound,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Either we got the directions wrong, or there are loads of them at that site; otherwise, I would have expected it to return by now.¡± ¡°Or something snatched the pillar,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Wait, that site?¡± ¡°I included a linked alert to advise me if it¡¯s grounded or stopped,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she switched to English. ¡°Analysis on the world name reported millions.¡± Sarah¡¯s lips tightened, and she began to pace with whip-tight motions. ¡°I do not mind waiting for it alone,¡± Goxashru called through the Gate. ¡°If it is unsafe for you to leave a Gate open.¡± Amdirlain gave a hopefully reassuring smile. ¡°We can wait, but next time you go through somewhere, I¡¯ll make sure you go through with some gear to keep you safe and let you return by yourself if necessary.¡± ¡°We could see where Wisp gets their games from?¡± asked Sarah as she tried to set her irritation aside. ¡°Can you extend your psionics out into the Material Plane?¡± ¡°Nope, why?¡± ¡°It''s just that the range of your Telepathy is greater than mine and I wanted to know if you could hear any fuss being made about the Gate,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s because you focused on Metacreativity techniques,¡± chided Amdirlain good-naturedly and sought to change the subject to distract Sarah. ¡°Did Gaius end up taking any combat classes while you were apart?¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s a pure crafter. After his first Prestige Class, he took evolved Artificer classes,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°He¡¯s even beyond chicken scratching runes on gear now. Are you asking for any particular reason or pure small talk?¡± ¡°How would you like a tonne of materials for him so he doesn¡¯t have to worry about sourcing stuff?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s not going to go for that,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°He either knows the price in full in advance, or he¡¯s not interested.¡± ¡°You were going to craft me a bunch of items so I could challenge my singing to duplicate their delicate enchantments,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Ask him to provide a list of all the materials he¡¯d need to craft everything he can craft solo. Then ask him what he¡¯d charge to craft them all. I¡¯ll provide the materials plus extras of his choice. Though he¡¯s free to get someone else to craft them for him, this way it¡¯ll help him level.¡± ¡°I can do that crafting for you,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°You can craft stronger things than he can, that I¡¯m sure of,¡± rebutted Amdirlain, and she gave her a challenging look. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Sarah sighed and gave Amdirlain an exaggerated pout. ¡°I¡¯ll ask.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± said Amdirlain, and she caught Bedevere¡¯s approach, his thoughts preoccupied with Enrig¡¯s tale that he believed a fanciful exaggeration. ¡°Company incoming; you¡¯re about to meet Bedevere.¡± ¡°A Fey in service to a non-Fey is unusual,¡± replied Sarah, though she still looked like Amdirlain had raised a sour topic. ¡°You don¡¯t have to hover around me; I can tell your attention is split,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Would you prefer to be spending time with Gaius?¡± ¡°I just don¡¯t know which way things will go,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°We¡¯re both in the same boat in that respect; the difference is Gaius is currently in a healthier place than Torm¡ªgo spend time with him and see if there is something between you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve both got the Artificer Class in common and enjoy it; go see what fun you can cook up together. If there are any materials you need that you can¡¯t access easily, just let me know. The normal sale price of the finished good against the normal material cost.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°Okay, he should agree if he¡¯s got any sense.¡± ¡°You could always drag him through, and I could bend his ear in person,¡± Amdirlain said, and she tilted her head meaningfully towards the door just before Bedevere reached for it. When the door opened, Bedevere froze in the courtyard¡¯s entrance, his gaze having locked upen the Gate. ¡°How exactly do you have a Gate open inside the wards?¡± asked Bedevere, his hand preventing the courtyard¡¯s inner door from closing on him. ¡°Good afternoon. I wondered when the trainee¡¯s tales would bring you here. The Gate isn¡¯t opened with a Spell or Blessing, so it¡¯s not obstructed. You might want to look into that,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know anyone with knowledge of psionics. Is that connected to a world or a Plane?¡± asked Bedevere. ¡°Goxashru¡¯s home world,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she motioned between them. ¡°We¡¯re just waiting for a test to complete. Goxashru¡¯s world has a problem with intruders; I¡¯m seeing how bad that situation has become.¡± ¡°Extraplanar intruders?¡± ¡°No, they planet hop, and I know a few planets that I believe they¡¯ve exterminated other species on,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re not close to Goxashru¡¯s home, so gathering the information I need is taking a while.¡± ¡°In the future, open gates outside the wards,¡± instructed Bedevere. ¡°I had not advised you on that restriction, and the wards themselves would have blocked your attempt if you¡¯d used magic.¡± ¡°As you say,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she motioned to the platform overhead. ¡°I wondered if none of my pupils even told you about the tower.¡± ¡°The training just ended,¡± replied Bedevere, and he stepped almost gingerly into the courtyard. He tilted his head back to look over the steaming platform. ¡°It¡¯s not visible from outside, and I wondered if Enrig had exaggerated.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to disturb the neighbours with any weird-looking buildings,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Looking back down, Bedevere examined the pillars extending from the ground into the cloudbank of steam and frowned. He continued to look the construction over for a few minutes before he stepped forward far enough to see past the top of the stairs. ¡°What¡¯s up there?¡± ¡°Step onto the stairs, and it will give you all the details,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a training tower, with constructs to challenge weapon skills.¡± When Bedevere looked hesitantly at them, Sarah snorted and slipped past him to race up the stairs. ¡°She just wants the Mithril,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Mithril?¡± asked Bedevere, his tone lifting slightly in pitch. ¡°The tower will provide a Mithril reward for defeating the last major opponent, but I¡¯m not sure you¡¯re strong enough to make it that far,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Every three levels will give you something, and getting out is easy. I¡¯ve told others, so feel free to either step on the stairs to learn more or don¡¯t; I¡¯m not worried. A fee is involved, but the stairs¡¯ briefing fully covers the details.¡± Bedevere almost stopped but braced himself and put a foot onto the lowest tread. ¡°Can this be undertaken by teams?¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I imagine they¡¯ll get you the life energy tithe from the combat faster,¡± noted Bedevere. ¡°Quite,¡± nodded Amdirlain. ¡°Should I be concerned we¡¯d be helping an unknown being get stronger?¡± asked Bedevere, though despite the words he used, his tone was calm. ¡°I devised it to help the garrison grow stronger, or do you have other options for them to avoid stagnating in level?¡± ¡°None with this level of convenience if the briefing is correct,¡± said Bedevere, motioning towards the stairs. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°If you don¡¯t want it here, I could move it somewhere else, but your soldiers won¡¯t have access to it. This is the updated version; I¡¯ll make more modifications based on feedback.¡± ¡°What was the first version?¡± ¡°There wasn¡¯t a harder group at the base of every third staircase, and there were no rewards other than a chance to grow stronger,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I might add elemental weaponry to some of the constructs later to make them a greater challenge. If I do that, I¡¯d likely increase the reward for those tower sections.¡± Bedevere frowned thoughtfully. ¡°If the garrison pushes themselves hard getting through it, they might not be fit for their shifts.¡± Amdirlain raised a hand for him to wait. A quick melody created another pillar that displaced a flagstone as it rose to head height. From it, a wash of regenerative energy rippled through the courtyard. ¡°I¡¯ve added a healing aura effect to the courtyard to ensure they can be in full health before they leave. It will be useful if anyone overdoes it sparring or stretching.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± questioned Bedevere, and he looked between the new pillar and Amdirlain. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t recognise my name, even if I were inclined to share it in full, and I¡¯m not doing that,¡± advised Amdirlain. Bedevere looked the stairs over again and warily took a step back. ¡°I¡¯ll need to discuss the situation with the Commander.¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The barrier will stop anyone not one of my students or in the garrison from using it. Aside from my friends, I intend to keep that restriction in place, though if others come seeking it, I¡¯ll discuss a suitable fee structure with you.¡± ¡°The property is yours while you fulfil the agreement with Xaos,¡± countered Bedevere. "The fee I intended to charge was asking those using it to assist in training the garrison''s soldiers in whatever skills they might possess," explained Amdirlain. "So we''d need to figure out how many hours of training you''d like and what sort of skills you''d prefer. Perhaps also set some guidelines as to the sort of tasks they could undertake for the town, in case they don''t possess relevant skills." Bedevere gave a thoughtful nod. ¡°Am,¡± called Goxashru unnecessarily, as Amdirlain had already spotted the pillar¡¯s gleam in the sky. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your investigation; best I speak to the Commander about your new addition,¡± stated Bedevere, and he headed for the courtyard¡¯s entrance. Amdirlain nodded politely despite his back already being turned. ¡°If I¡¯m not here when you come back, feel free to try it out.¡± Mentally reaching out to Sarah, Amdirlain gave her mind a nudge. ¡°Did you do that to push him along?¡± ¡°No, I figured one run through here and I''d at least help you with some experience,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Please pass the pillar back through the Gate, Goxashru,¡± requested Amdirlain. Once its end had breached the Gate¡¯s threshold, Amdirlain took the crystal in hand and set it on the ground. ¡°To inspect what it¡¯s found, you make the following gesture while focusing on seeing its map, Goxashru.¡± Amdirlain pressed both hands to the top of the pillar and, lifting her hands, she turned them palms up. As soon as the gesture was complete, a three-dimensional wireframe appeared above it. At the top of the image was a wavering line representing the desert sands. From the side, it looked like a sugar ants¡¯ nest, a warren of tunnels reaching deep into the earth, far past the bedrock. The formithians near the surface were represented by tiny dots, while six near the bottom of the nest were finger-length. While most of the nest¡¯s inhabitants remained on the smaller size, the bottom third was composed entirely by markers of increasing size. Making a twisting motion with one hand, Amdirlain turned the wireframe in various directions. The side-section of tunnels displayed in every direction, with only the nest¡¯s tip above the sands, the place spread downwards in every direction¡ªa proverbial iceberg. From the look of the nest beneath the desert, there were already millions of them. ¡°You said the traders reported they were arm¡¯s length?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Correct,¡± replied Goxashru. ¡°How long do you believe it would take for you to get to see your town¡¯s patron?¡± asked Amdirlain as she listened to the echoes of the formithians¡¯ song. The study of genetic patterns she¡¯d undertaken to assist And¨²n? made their six-gender breeding split clear. ¡°Weeks or months,¡± admitted Goxashru, his attention still fixed on the image. ¡°I have little standing in the region. This nest will get larger in that time, will it not? There are already so many.¡± ¡°Pretty sure the expansion of this one I can halt,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she set another pillar on the ground. After adding a new function to the original pillar, she rolled the original one back through the Gate. ¡°I want you to seek the patron to show her the map I just presented you. You might want to practice opening the map while I fix a few things for you. It also has a new capability that I¡¯ll explain shortly.¡± Teleporting Goxashru¡¯s equipment to her, she duplicated all its pieces in steel grey True Song Crystal and set both sets close to the Gate. [Crafting Experience (Legendary Item) True Song Full Plate of Planar Survival, Defence Rating: 4,566
  • Embedded enchantments: Environmental Adaptation, Targeted Planar Shift (Xaos), Soul Bound (Goxashru)
Total Experience gained: 142,640 Ostim?: +71,320 Ont?lin: +71,320 ] ¡°One enchantment I included will keep you comfortable and provide fresh air, even in space. It won¡¯t give you any way to manoeuvre, so I¡¯d suggest you still be careful of the gates. However, it lets you Planar Shift to where we arrived outside Xaos¡¯ wards; if I relocate, I¡¯ll have to adjust the enchantment,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°At least I will not have to worry about travelling through Dryad lands again seeking Xaos,¡± chuckled Goxashru. ¡°How does one repair it after a battle?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to repair it, but I doubt much of anything will harm it. You¡¯ll mostly have to worry about concussion injuries and foes stabbing between the plates,¡± explained Amdirlain. With that, she turned her attention to the pillar she¡¯d retrieved earlier and started to sing. While she worked, Goxashru donned his original armour¡¯s padded undercoat and strapped the crystal armour over the top. The first song was a slow, lethargic dirge that seemed fitting for the primary enchantment she was implanting. After that, the bright dancing themes she used earlier placed a series of seeking and flight themes before Amdirlain rolled it through the Gate. ¡°That music sounded sad,¡± commented Goxashru. ¡°Its purpose isn¡¯t the happiest one. It needs to be set down with you facing in the same direction as before,¡± instructed Amdirlain. A mind approaching the courtyard caught her attention, but she stayed focused on Goxashru. Goxashru picked it up eagerly. ¡°Is it going to kill them?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s going to render them all sterile,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Even if they leave this world, none of the eggs for any of that colony¡¯s breeders will fertilise. The pillar will continue to hover invisibly above the site and do the same to any new arrivals. If they return to other worlds, they¡¯ll still be infertile.¡± ¡°Why not just kill them?¡± asked Goxashru, and he suddenly handled the pillar gingerly. ¡°Though won¡¯t their gods be able to cure them?¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t necessarily choose to come here¡ªtheir ancestors did¡ªbut I¡¯m not going to let them take this world as they have others. They¡¯ll live out their lives and wither on the vine here,¡± explained Amdirlain gently. ¡°Cure blessings restore you to your healthy state. They won¡¯t be unhealthy, just different enough to be infertile once the change is applied.¡± Orientating himself on the same hillside across the river, Goxashru placed the pillar down and stepped back from it. ¡°It seems harsh.¡± ¡°I know that, Goxashru,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she strove to keep her internal conflict about the approach from sharpening her tone. ¡°If they leave and seek assistance and provide assurances they¡¯ll stop invading worlds, I can reverse this; it¡¯s hard to bring millions back to life.¡± Creating a dimensional storage bag, Amdirlain tossed it through the Gate, ignoring the minor experience notification. ¡°Now, about the original pillar, it¡¯s set up so anyone can trigger its search for formithians. If they place that pillar upright and state a distance in Draconic, it will fly out in the direction the speaker is facing. When it returns, they can access a map showing any formithians present.¡± ¡°What about the old map?¡± ¡°They¡¯ll still be able to recall it,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Now, do you want to run through opening the map again?¡± Goxashru nodded and set the pillar upright, repeating the motions he¡¯d practised before. The original cross-section of the nest appeared, and Goxashru demonstrated rotating the image. ¡°Why did you make the armour?¡± asked Goxashru as he secured the pillar in the storage bag. ¡°You could say it¡¯s proof of my credentials. The map can¡¯t speak for itself, and I want them to take you seriously. When your town¡¯s patron hears of it, they¡¯ll hopefully want to see you sooner,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s bound to you, so don¡¯t offer it as tribute or something.¡± ¡°I would not,¡± huffed Goxashru. ¡°I shall return.¡± Amdirlain motioned for him to wait before she created a score of small bars of silver, gold, and platinum and tossed them through the Gate. ¡°For expenses. Make sure you practice the cantrips and moving Ki between at least two chakras daily.¡± Goxashru nodded before he gave her an amused chuff and gathered the ingots. ¡°Do you expect me to be waiting years?¡± ¡°I wanted to make sure you¡¯re not left empty-handed,¡± replied Amdirlain. When Goxashru gave her a bow and headed towards the town, Amdirlain closed the Gate. From the courtyard¡¯s entrance, a little cough sounded. ¡°Excuse me, mistress. Would you be open to training an apprentice Wizard?¡± A snowy white Mousekin with a crystal blue gaze was standing just within the entrance at maybe thirty centimetres tall. ¡°We can discuss it, but first, who are you?¡± asked Amdirlain, taking in the young male¡¯s lightning-quick mind racing excitedly at the world he¡¯d seen through the Gate and even the Gate itself. ¡°My name is Malnir. My mother, Trill, is making you a dress.¡± Amdirlain knelt on the flagstones and motioned him to come closer. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me why you¡¯d like to become a Wizard?¡± His gaze brightened at her invitation, and Malnir skipped closer. Whiskers twitching, he timidly swiped his right hand across his ear. ¡°I want to travel and learn about everything.¡± ¡°Who told you I was helping people gain Wizard?¡± ¡°I¡¯d heard rumours, of course, but I came because I heard Fanya talking with Phixa¡ªnot sure if you know her¡ªat the tavern; she didn¡¯t understand why you¡¯d teach free of charge. I don¡¯t have any money of my own,¡± cautioned Malnir. ¡°How old are you, Malnir?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to want to talk to my mum, right?¡± Malnir asked, and his whiskers drooped dramatically. Amdirlain gave him a grave nod. ¡°I think I am. Why don¡¯t we go do that now?¡± The question split Malnir between excitement and dismay, but he finally nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Want to ride on my shoulder?¡± asked Amdirlain, having seen Mousekin among the soldiers get such lifts from their larger fellows. With his tiny size, she wasn¡¯t sure how long it had taken him to get here from the burrow. Malnir¡¯s whiskers jumped up, and he clapped rapidly. ¡°Oh, can I? Seeing everything from so high up would be grand!¡± 289 - Arrival Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos After Malnir scrambled up her arm and settled himself, Amdirlain proceeded steadily towards the burrow, ready to catch him at any moment. Her caution was unnecessary¡ªhe¡¯d spent the entire trip effortlessly crouched on her shoulder. His tail draped across the back of her neck, and a hand rested atop her head with a child¡¯s innocent familiarity. His flurry of observations was only a subset of his racing thoughts. When they entered Trill¡¯s shop, she squeaked in surprise at seeing her son perched on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Malnir, are you causing trouble?¡± ¡°No!¡± Malnir objected indignantly, and Amdirlain barely quashed her laughter. ¡°He asked if I¡¯d teach him to be a Wizard, but I said we needed to talk to you first,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I hope he didn¡¯t bother you,¡± groaned Trill, and her left ear gave a couple of rapid twitches. When Malnir¡¯s gaze caught the motion, his posture slumped. ¡°It was no bother, but I wanted to ensure it was alright with you and what people¡¯s expectations around agreeing to teach him would be. After all, I¡¯ve not taken an apprentice on before, let alone one here,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I have many things going on, so I wanted to ensure it won¡¯t result in disappointed expectations.¡± ¡°How many apprentices will you take on?¡± asked Trill. The question had Amdirlain pause. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°It¡¯s said you¡¯re teaching the garrison, and it disappointed some in the burrow they couldn¡¯t join in. The garrison is very strict about what Mousekin it allows to enlist,¡± shared Trill, and her left ear twitched some more. ¡°Who wants to join the garrison? They don¡¯t have time to learn much,¡± grumbled Malnir, and he hopped from Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder to the countertop. ¡°I would offer him a general education in Wizard spells and affinities, not a formal apprenticeship. How many among your people have you heard talking about the offer to the garrison?¡± asked Amdirlain, amused by Malnir¡¯s focus on learning. ¡°Dozens,¡± replied Trill, giving a helpless shrug. ¡°But something is always catching someone¡¯s fancy. They¡¯ll talk about it a while and move on.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking them as apprentices, simply expanding their classes and skills,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What does a normal apprenticeship entail?¡± ¡°An Apprentice lives with their Master and takes care of menial tasks while being taught their craft. As their skills improve, they take on harder duties until they¡¯ve learnt the profession¡¯s core skills and abilities. Normally they¡¯ll remain an apprentice until they show they¡¯ve reached Adept rank in those,¡± explained Trill. ¡°Then I don¡¯t think an apprenticeship with me would be fair to Malnir. He wants to learn everything he can, whereas I only learnt things useful towards my goals. There are things like potion brewing and inscribing that I never took beyond the basics,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If you agree, I¡¯ll teach your son the basics and get him a proper teacher.¡± ¡°But-¡± Malnir began to protest, only to cut off when Trill¡¯s tail tapped the floor sharply. ¡°You¡¯re teaching the garrison, aren¡¯t you?¡± asks Trill. ¡°For them, Wizard is a supplementary Class. For your son, it¡¯s all he seems to want,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°He is old enough to be looking for a profession, but nothing has suited him,¡± explained Trill. ¡°I know Wizard is a hard Class to get, no matter what the rumours say about you; even helping with that is doing a lot for him.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine to help him get the Class, and I will ensure he gets a suitable teacher; I¡¯m not just going to leave someone in the lurch,¡± repeated Amdirlain reassuringly. ¡°In the meantime, the lessons might be erratic, as I¡¯m not always going to be in town. I know several wizards who can tell me the range of skills he''ll need to make a living.¡± ¡°It¡¯s better than having no teacher at all,¡± offered Malnir, and his gaze darted between his mother and Amdirlain. ¡°There is that,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she motioned through the shop¡¯s front window to a grassy spot on the hillside. ¡±Why don¡¯t we sit on the hillside over there so your mum can check in on you occasionally?¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t overheat, either of you,¡± instructed Trill, and her left ear¡¯s twitch finally settled down. ¡°Thank you. Are you sure I shouldn¡¯t make your dress before I finish all the other outfits?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with waiting until the others have their clothing, Trill. There isn¡¯t a rush, and teaching your son doesn¡¯t have a cost involved,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she rested her hand on the counter near where Malnir had landed. ¡°Come on, Malnir; let¡¯s get you started, shall we?¡± ¡°Thank you, Mistress Am!¡± exclaimed Malnir, and he rushed back onto Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. Once they settled onto the spot Trill had pointed out, Malnir picked up the Air Affinity in a few quick breaths. His blue eyes glowed, and his paws beat rapidly against the ground when the Class Vision ended. ¡°Wizard!¡± ¡°Are there any other classes you were interested in?¡± ¡°No, that was the only one that offered magic,¡± grumbled Malnir. ¡°I¡¯m not taking Scout, even if it boosts my smarts.¡± ¡°For now, you only got offered Wizard,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and made a note to talk to Fanya to see if she¡¯d help him gain the reinforced affinities. The difference in their theme was clear, but she needed to hear one transition. ¡°Learn enough, and more might open up.¡± Malnir nodded. ¡°There were others near Wizard, but their scent was too faint to make them out. I want to learn everything magical.¡± ¡°There are other ways to use your mind than arcane means,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Like the Githz¨¦rai mind tricks?¡± asked Malnir. ¡°I heard people talking about those staying with you.¡± ¡°No wonder you got offered Scout,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant, especially since psionics can be difficult to pick up unless your species has a natural talent for it. Some classes¡ªlike Sage for knowledge¡ªfocus on different arcane areas, all rely primarily on Intelligence. But let¡¯s move on and teach you the Water Affinity as well. Then I can teach you a cantrip for both of them so you can practice Mana Manipulation.¡± She took the easy way to teach him a cantrip for each Affinity, and they stayed sitting in the long grass near the burrow¡¯s entrance while she monitored his practice. After each casting, she mentally showed him the parts of the formation he had done well in and reviewed those he needed to smooth out. ¡°Doesn¡¯t an apprentice live with their teacher?¡± asked Malnir as he mopped sweat from his brow. The motion prompted Amdirlain to cause an umbrella of shadow to grow from the grass. Catching the beginning of his sunburn, she briefly brushed him with a regenerative song. ¡°Yep, but you¡¯re my student, not an apprentice. Are you trying to move out of home?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little crowded?,¡± admitted Malnir, and he perked up as he thought of something. ¡°And it absolutely won¡¯t have enough space for books.¡± ¡°A memory crystal won¡¯t take up much room,¡± countered Amdirlain. Malnir¡¯s whiskers twitched. ¡°I¡¯ll keep trying.¡± ¡°Enjoy your family while they¡¯re around; become a powerful enough Wizard, and you might outlive them,¡± advised Amdirlain, amused that he¡¯d warn her about his intent to persist. ¡°Why might?¡± Not wanting to discuss how grim reality can be with a teenager, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°You''ll find life is filled with surprises; hopefully, yours has more good than bad.¡± ¡°Like one of my sisters eating my lunch?¡± huffed Malnir. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°One?¡± ¡°No food is safe near them,¡± proclaimed Malnir morosely. ¡°That¡¯s certainly an unwelcome surprise,¡± agreed Amdirlain. I¡¯m not telling any teenager that being powerful might make them a target. Life is not a spectator sport. When she finally called a halt to the initial lesson, Amdirlain smiled at Malnir. ¡°That was well done, but you¡¯ll need to let your Mana recover. In the meantime, what languages can you read?¡± ¡°We only use the Planar Trade tongue; I¡¯ve not learnt any others,¡± replied Malnir. Creating a memory crystal with the Draconic script in it, Amdirlain presented it to Malnir. ¡°Many safer Wizard texts on the planes are in Draconic, so let¡¯s start you with this crystal.¡± ¡°How do you learn from a crystal?¡± enquired Malnir, his whisker twitching in time to his swishing tail. ¡°I¡¯ve never even held one.¡± ¡°Hold it and focus on it; you¡¯ll see images of Draconic runes in your mind,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Concentrate further on each one, you¡¯ll get an impression of their meaning. You should practice writing at least twenty runes before your next lesson. Just scratching them into bare earth with your nails or a stick is fine¡ªthe script originates from them carving into rock with their talons.¡± Her explanation completed, Amdirlain extended her hand close enough to almost tap his nose with it since he still hadn¡¯t moved to take it. ¡°Only twenty?¡± asked Malnir. Blinking at the light reflecting from the crystal, he took it carefully from Amdirlain and clutched it in both hands. ¡°Twenty will do for a start. It¡¯s fine to pick out some simple-looking ones; that gives you more time to investigate the meanings of others,¡± allowed Amdirlain. Rising, she gave him a wink. ¡°I¡¯ll find you tomorrow after the garrison¡¯s lesson.¡± ¡°Bye, Mistress Am. I¡¯ll come to you there,¡± insisted Malnir. Not wanting to offend his young pride, Amdirlain nodded. Giving another wave, she teleported away to cycle Ki with her prisoners. An hour later, a notification almost had Amdirlain explode Cuiniel by accident. As she screamed in rage and pain, Amdirlain stopped cycling and reviewed the message again. [Achievement: Incursion Blocker (Intruder: minor) Details: Have brought the expansion of a species incursion on a planet to a halt. Whether this halt is permanent or temporary remains to be seen. Reward: 300,000,000 experience points Note: That experience is based on the current incursion range (3+ million) and potential impact. Full experience provided since they¡¯re now effectively neutered drones.] The experience ratio had Amdirlain momentarily considering the world where trillions were involved. Given their nest¡¯s structure, the under half a percent on Votari no longer seemed insignificant. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. The Anar and L¨®m? planet hopped, and I can¡¯t see Orh¨ºthurin being happy about getting classified as a menace to a world. Are there classifications other than local or intruder? Or sub-categories to being considered an intruder? Trying Analysis to learn more about the first option drew only blanks, but three questions in Amdirlain got a different perspective on the incursion classification. [Incursion Species Classifications: Symbiotic Neutral Intruder (default category until long-term interaction with locals maintained) Parasitic Invader Note: Only one is a static classification. Most species interactions cause them to move among the categories.] [Incursion Classification: Symbiotic While not local to a planet, these are sapient species that provide greater benefits to the local living species than their residency on the world consumes. This can be through resources, knowledge, or other contributions the species makes that improves the local civilised species¡¯ quality of life.] [Incursion Classification: Neutral This designation shows a species that adds as much to the planetary civilisations as their presence on the planet consumes. They have displayed a general lack of hostility towards the original inhabitants and have negotiated at least some strategic alliances with other sapient species to support against resident planetary challenges. ] [Incursion Classification: Intruder These species don¡¯t involve themselves with other species unless the net benefit favours their species. While they don¡¯t take proactive action to harm the other species, they might react aggressively if hostility is directed against them. ] [Incursion Classification: Parasitic While not looking to wipe out other life forms, these incursions typically show a motivated drive to subjugate other species that differ from theirs. They look to use other species purely for their own benefit, and any gains experienced by another species are unintentional or a deliberate trap to increase dependency.] [Incursion Classification: Invader These incursions actively seek to exterminate all other species that stand in the way of gaining access to the territories and resources they desire. They only let live the species they find helpful to enslave, or can force into ?submissive arrangements. This survival extends only into the medium term unless they can inhabit areas of the planet that aren¡¯t suitable for invaders.] Considering the situation of the invaded worlds brought others to mind, and Amdirlain thought on the list she¡¯d received from Sage. The extent of planets with their species snuffed out by Orcus was lengthy¡ªone hundred and twenty-eight names, with only the last eight having some species remaining. Amdirlain tried an assortment of questions with Analysis until the strain of her information-seeking earned her a couple of increases. Besides a throbbing headache, she cut the list down to seventy-two worlds where the physical forms of the undead had already broken down. Rather than recycle the orbital surveyors, Amdirlain created a set of four for each world; those for the planets with physical undead still present were a lot more complex in their scanning. The setup of the orbital surveyors provided nearly seventy-two million experience but was barely a drop compared to what she required. How much experience will I get from restoring life to a world? Or does it depend on whether I let the life forms spread or sing more into existence? Do I go hunting for a primordial world or try to design the songs from the information within True Song Architecture? ¡°Decisions?,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Moving away from the prison to avoid the risk of a trail back to it, Amdirlain stood in the shade of a tree and opened gates to the worlds. With practice, her deployment of the surveyors sped up. Within an hour, she¡¯d finished seeding them around the worlds where she didn¡¯t already have some in place. With those orbital surveyors off her to-do list, Amdirlain sent a Message she¡¯d held off on for a few days. ¡°Roher, how is everyone?¡± ¡°Amdirlain, it¡¯s good to hear from you. Everyone¡¯s spirits are quite high, and the research is proceeding apace. We might need your help soon, along with Isa¡¯s, but we¡¯ve had improved results with recent tests we¡¯ve tried. Hopefully, if things proceed as planned, we expect to be ready to relocate the Royal Tower in a few months.¡± ¡°Let me know as soon as you¡¯ve got the songs settled, and I¡¯ll plan a time to practice with your choirs,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. As Roher¡¯s acknowledgement sounded in her ear, Amdirlain considered again if she should have set one of her home planes as Tern¨°x. The potential for the L¨®m? to depart had been one of the deciding factors in not setting it. Another was that in most planes, any underground travel was a rarity, yet, within Tern¨°x, everything was underground. Who knew what would burrow into her bolt holes when tunnelling was standard? Amdirlain started to lean against a tree¡¯s bole to consider her next move when she realised how much time had passed. Teleport placed her back at Xaos¡¯ border, and she started along the road. Many locals travelling the road with her politely nodded and got out of her way with concerning haste. The reason was evident, as despite being calmed by her projected energies, their minds still vividly showed their expectation of offending a powerful unknown Outsider. Her selected students weren¡¯t present in the hall when she arrived at the courtyard. Slipping in unnoticed, Amdirlain found eighteen unfamiliar soldiers lounging on the flagstones, their attention fixed on the tower¡¯s exit point. Among them were a mix of Ratkin, Lizardfolk, and a scattering of elves Amdirlain hadn¡¯t yet met. A few soldiers were still recovering from wounds, but most seemed intent on relaxing in the regeneration field¡ªinjuries they¡¯d sustained having long since healed. If I put it in a day spa and charge admission, I could be a true isekai MC. Six more soldiers, all Lizardfolk, emerged from a glowing door bearing fresh wounds, with a pair holding one of their number on his feet. Their hardened leather armour showed signs of some recent hard fighting. I¡¯ll have to check if the garrison always operates in teams of six. Before the first drops of blood reached the ground, Amdirlain moved around the original group that hadn¡¯t yet noticed her. ¡°Let me help.¡± The closest soldier went wide-eyed and started to draw his injured companion away, only to be hampered when his fellow tried to move him towards her. ¡°Lady Am?¡± ¡°Calling me Am is fine,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m just going to speed up the healing the courtyard provides.¡± ¡°Thanks, just need this panic merchant to stop shitting himself,¡± the second soldier stated. He shot a dirty look at the other soldier¡ªwho was still trying to draw the wounded soldier away. ¡°Don¡¯t trouble yourself with this fellow. He¡¯ll be fine in a bit,¡± said the first soldier who¡¯d tried to keep the wounded companion clear. ¡°I¡¯ve healing powers I need to keep in practice, and his heartbeat is erratic,¡± countered Amdirlain. As the pair kept still, Amdirlain reached out and held her hand above a head wound that was bleeding freely¡ªthe blow seemed to have landed on the helm¡¯s edge. The difference in his physiology compared to others she¡¯d healed took a bit of focus to get the Power to apply. [Universal Life [S] (2->3)] ¡°How are you feeling now?¡± asked Amdirlain once she sealed the first wound, and she¡¯d spread her attention to seal other wounds. The previously unfocused gaze had slowly sharpened while she¡¯d healed him, though he only spoke after Amdirlain lowered her hand. ¡°Aren¡¯t you Lady Am?¡± Amdirlain laughed lightly. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m putting a sign on the door. Please refer to me as Am, not Lady Am, and let your captains and commander know formality isn¡¯t required. Would you all introduce yourselves?¡± Though she could have used Analysis to grab their name, the social interaction of introductions seemed to reassure most, though a few stayed wide-eyed. ¡°Have any of you earned a floor token yet?¡± asked Amdirlain. The response was a mixture of groans and whimpers that Amdirlain considered a denial. ¡°Keep trying, and then you can shortcut to a more challenging area.¡± Amdirlain stopped and looked towards a quartet of songs that appeared on the road outside town. A few soldiers caught her surprise and rose, hands dropping to their weapons, and the closest of them spoke up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± An orb that appeared by her shoulder buzzed away. ¡°Amdirlain, are you in Xaos at present?¡± Though she knew who was speaking, the timbre of Yngvarr¡¯s voice was quite different. ¡°Merely the arrival of some friends took me by surprise,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she accelerated their healing with a burst of True Song before shooing them on their way. ¡°Why don¡¯t you folks head off? I¡¯ll teach anyone who wants Wizard another day.¡± Acknowledging Yngvarr¡¯s message, Amdirlain provided a mental map of the town with the courtyard¡¯s location marked out. The soldiers gathered their gear without a word of complaint and headed off. After the soldiers had departed, Amdirlain forced herself to wait calmly and reinforced the concealment of her auras. Alfarr held the gate open for the others following him when he walked into the courtyard. ¡°What brings you four here?¡± Next was a lithe elven female¡ªnearly one hundred and eighty centimetres¡ªbut she appeared small next to Alfarr. When she stepped around Alfarr, she cupped her hands across her abdomen and briefly leaned into him. The gesture was all the clue Amdirlain needed to catch a developing theme hidden within Yngvarr¡¯s own. ¡°Sarah said you were setting up a school here for the garrison. Given our various classes, we thought we could come to add to Cyrus¡¯ help and see you regularly.¡± The angularity of Yngvarr¡¯s features had gained an effeminate air. While she hadn¡¯t regrown her hair beyond shoulder length, the shades of sunset woven into her darker red locks stood out in the Outlands sunshine. ¡°You¡¯re looking well. I had wondered why you and Alfarr weren¡¯t at Gail¡¯s gathering,¡± remarked Amdirlain, trying futilely to keep a grin in check. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Alfarr still the Guild Master there?¡± ¡°A job I was tired of handling, and I¡¯d already trained a replacement,¡± explained Alfarr. ¡°We only stayed away from the gathering to be sure of the pregnancy before you caught onto it. The midwives and healers tell enough tales about the children not making it to term. This town is such a mixed place. Do you think they¡¯ll allow another four misfits in?¡± ¡°The town lets anyone in as long as they behave,¡± replied Amdirlain dryly, letting the subject change lie. When Pitnari rounded the corner. Amdirlain found it amusing that his black-furred Catfolk form would almost fit in among Xaos¡¯ residents. Striding forward, he started to bow respectfully before Amdirlain, and she stepped in and hugged him instead. ¡°Good to see you, Pitnari,¡± declared Amdirlain, and she smiled when Pit returned her embrace. ¡°Did spending time on Veht? agree with you better than fighting undead?¡± ¡°For the most part, although there were some mildly disruptive years,¡± Pit replied placidly. ¡°Mildly?¡± snorted Aggie. Trailing the others in, the tiny Grecian woman had halted within the entry. Her now unscarred skin was a healthy tanned-olive hue, and she''d tied her black hair up in a ponytail clear of her face, allowing her kind smile to show unobscured. When Amdirlain grinned back, amusement twinkled in Aggie¡¯s dark gaze. When Amdirlain finally stepped free of Pit¡¯s hug, she gave him a friendly pat on the shoulder before she beckoned for the four to follow her. ¡°How much space would you like?¡± ¡°Last time I heard of you providing someone with a little space Gail ended up with a Demi-Plane,¡± observed Yngvarr. ¡°Not that much space, but I need to expand this place. I was thinking of additional courtyards and classrooms, so why not space for the teaching staff?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah mentioned you¡¯d rented an enormous suite,¡± Yngvarr noted. ¡°Yeah, and since I won¡¯t get that refunded, the living space I create here will be just for you four, at least for the time being,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah also said something about you gathering in some faithful and acquiring a helper,¡± offered Pitnari. ¡°Where are they sleeping?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The four ladies from the monastery and Ras are staying in my suite, and I¡¯ve rented another room for Goxashru. Hopefully, the mission on his world doesn¡¯t take too long.¡± ¡°Do you already have a to-do list for him?¡± enquired Pitnari, rumbling curiously. ¡°Maybe,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she spread her hands innocently. ¡°There are a few dozen worlds that I¡¯ll get him to help me investigate. Bahamut sent him my way, and who knows, maybe he¡¯ll drop by and fill me in on why. Any preference for living space?¡± ¡°Whatever works for you,¡± replied Yngvarr innocently, but Amdirlain caught the intense curiosity. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve heard Gail undertake plenty of songs in the last four years,¡± commented Amdirlain. The silent melody stretched out and unfolded the line of windows on the hall¡¯s side wall like a fan. The panels twisted into more dimensions and imposed pressure on reality within each. As each dimensional space started to fill with air, Amdirlain created an acapella effect¡ªblending dozens of harmonies into a single whole. The windows had run along the top half of the wall, and as the music stretched them out, they expanded to start at ground level and turned into corridors whose length and branching courtyards impossibly overlapped. The ten expansive windows that had looked out onto the hillside had become passages that forked off into at least twenty additional yards. She carefully but deliberately pushed with the Power and felt the space enfolded with the song grow. As it expanded further, buildings rose, and she flooded effort into creating an atmosphere to prevent the expansion from causing a gale. Some of the new courtyards ended up surrounded by the multi-level building while others stood within open-sided spaces, more like a giant stonehenge. Three had the poles for agility training, with their differences being the starting height and the instability of the platforms. The largest had poles resembling bamboo stems, and the platforms atop those swayed in an unfelt breeze. Two of the courtyards had targets lining the far walls, and the wards that came alive within those had considerable strength to contain explosive spells¡ªmassive Spell chambers set up to keep training safe. She''d left those spaces between the themed spaces purposely generic so future needs could drive their usage instead of half-considered plans. She shrugged off the millions of experience points creating the place granted. ¡°With a place like this, you''re showing your plans go beyond helping the garrison here train,¡± declared Yngvarr. ¡°Maybe I want to make sure they have room to stretch out,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gave him a conspiratorial wink. ¡°I¡¯ve called the place Nolmar.¡± ¡°Did you mean it as school or academy?¡± asked Yngvarr. ¡°Academy,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Which brings to mind a sprawling campus covering kilometres, so this is just the start.¡± Amdirlain gestured, encompassing the newly created corridors. Pitnari whistled softly. ¡°Lots of fancy space.¡± ¡°Indeed, let¡¯s look around and decide the suites you want. I¡¯ll furnish them and add some facilities,¡± Amdirlain said, and she picked the passage towards the first multi-level building. 290 - The setup Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Once the four of them had picked suites within one of the residential buildings, Amdirlain worked out adjustments. With one song, she added furnishings, enchanted bathrooms, incorporated luxurious amenities, and created an extensive library. The array of elements distributed the force sufficiently to keep it under control. ¡°What¡¯s the rental fee?¡± asked Alfarr, smiling at Yngvarr¡¯s slack-jawed expression while she considered the packed shelves. ¡°It¡¯s all part of the teacher¡¯s package, though I have an immediate favour to ask,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°There is an albino Mousekin named Malnir, and I promised I¡¯d find a Wizard to teach him. Spellcasting in various forms is one thing, but I don¡¯t know enough about potions, inscriptions, or other aspects of the Wizard Class.¡± ¡°Sarah didn¡¯t mention a Mousekin other than a seamstress. How far along are his lessons?¡± enquired Yngvarr. ¡°Trill is Malnir¡¯s mother. I¡¯ve only helped him gain the Air and Water affinities and taught a pair of cantrips for each,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°He was hoping to get an apprenticeship, but I didn¡¯t think that was fair since I didn¡¯t know all the skills he would need.¡± Yngvarr delicately coughed into a hand. ¡°Amdirlain, I know more than a few wizards whose only interest is in spells. Considering you laid waste to a demonic army with one ritual circle, I¡¯m pretty sure most of those would give up their right arm and an eye to match that feat.¡± ¡°That might be true for them, but he wants to learn everything, and I didn¡¯t feel I would be the right teacher,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s got a bright mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak with him, and if I think we¡¯ll get along I¡¯ll teach him,¡± promised Yngvarr. ¡°I¡¯ll have time to teach him properly instead of the rushed lessons I gave you.¡± Amdirlain gave an understanding nod. ¡°He was going to come down here after the lesson for the garrison.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll watch the lesson, and if he shows up early, I¡¯ll take him aside so we can chat,¡± said Yngvarr, and she took another look at the library¡¯s shelves. ¡°You know you¡¯ve made it very hard for me to focus on anything else; there are more than a few texts in here I¡¯ve never read. Where did you get them all?¡± ¡°Ebusuku went shopping, and I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve not read even a fraction of them,¡± said Amdirlain ruefully, and she motioned down the shelves. ¡°These are recreations of the library still on Culerzic.¡± ¡°Are you going to take time to broaden your knowledge?¡± asked Yngvarr, waving along the packed shelves. ¡°There might be information in these that can make your work easier.¡± ¡°It¡¯s all on magic. My highest priorities aren¡¯t things I¡¯ll find in these books,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°What else do you have going on at present?¡± Amdirlain thought for a moment and ticked her list off on her fingers. ¡°Torm and the other fallen, I need to get them to a point they¡¯ll care to seek redemption. There is an invader species I want to stop from taking over more worlds from other species. Helping Sage to clean up undead and restore life to over a hundred worlds that Orcus has been consuming. Setting up this academy is about training mortals in magic and exploring my Ki powers.¡± The list had the four of them glancing between themselves, and Aggie spoke up first. ¡°Yngvarr, Pitnari, and I can all help with training wizards. We¡¯ve all progressed in the Monk Class if you want assistants for teaching unarmed combat.¡± ¡°Some of Livia and Cyrus¡¯ teachings helped me, but Farhad provided the insights I needed for a breakthrough in Immortal Spirit,¡± noted Alfarr. ¡°Not that you need that one, but I mean that different people¡¯s perspectives can provide useful insights.¡± ¡°Speaking of Cyrus, he¡¯s approaching the outer courtyard with some students,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Ten initial students. With us, Cyrus and yourself, we have six teachers,¡± observed Aggie. Yngvarr wrinkled her nose. ¡°I¡¯m going to avoid sparring for a bit, so how about you divide the students between the five of you? Amdirlain, would you contact Malnir and ask if he can come down earlier?¡± Briefly focusing on Malnir¡¯s song, Amdirlain detected he was awake and dispatched a Message. ¡°I¡¯ve told Malnir. The soldiers aren¡¯t up to unarmed sparring yet, but I understand your point,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the lessons for Enrig and Callen; they¡¯re very different in mindset and I¡¯ve seen them spur each other on. Yngvarr, would you manage the general theory lessons?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Yngvarr agreed readily, and a smile danced on her lips. Alfarr gave an amused snort. ¡°Please don¡¯t torture her like that. Yngvarr will have to scour all the books here to ensure she has the best information.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hardship, but one I¡¯ll shoulder with a heavy heart,¡± Yngvarr sighed dramatically, and she clasped her hands before her chest. ¡°You¡¯re a bad influence, Amdirlain,¡± Pitnari noted. ¡°Either that or your teasing is contagious.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not teasing,¡± corrected Yngvarr. ¡°It¡¯s just having a bit of light-hearted fun. After all the headaches Gail stirred up while getting the And¨²n? to pull their heads out of their arses, educating and studying will be a nice change of pace.¡± ¡°You¡¯re one of those And¨²n?,¡± observed Alfarr. ¡°I know, but Sarah arranged my extraction with a minor operation compared to others,¡± huffed Yngvarr, and she gave him a mischievous smile. ¡°I¡¯d been living with your corrupting influence long enough for other viewpoints to rub off. Should I teach the magic side to your two students since we don¡¯t want them corrupted with your Sorcerer Class magic?¡± When Alfarr rolled his eyes, Yngvarr tweaked his beard in exchange. Suppressing a snort, Amdirlain headed towards the front courtyard with the others in tow. When they arrived, they found Cyrus had started the soldiers off with the basic Ki cycling. Sensing they already had their energy moving, Amdirlain smiled at Cyrus. Cyrus exchanged bows with the others before he focused on Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve something in mind?¡± ¡°What gave me away?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You always seem happier when you¡¯ve got a course of action rather than struggling for a way forward,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you about the progress with the trio later. Yngvarr suggested we split the training group into five. You, Alfarr, Aggie, Pitnari, and I will teach them Monk powers and skills. Yngvarr can handle the practical magic training for Alfarr and the general Wizard theory.¡± ¡°That would allow them to progress faster, and then we can get them to help teach others,¡± agreed Cyrus. ¡°Having someone else train the general Wizard theory would be good, as that frees up time for me to train you, which is my priority for this endeavour.¡± ¡°Yeah, this started by seeking a means to help me train others in Ki cycling,¡± ¡°No, we needed a way for me to teach you. We could have hired individuals or even charged them for medical treatment. Instead, we¡¯re taking a path you chose that allows others to find enlightenment,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Cycling someone¡¯s Ki for them would have helped them boost their health. Now you¡¯re spending time away from your projects to teach others.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°But I couldn¡¯t do something simply to benefit myself.¡± Cyrus huffed in amusement. ¡°Adding years of vigorous health to someone¡¯s life isn¡¯t enough of a benefit?¡± ¡°This way, they have more of a chance to survive those years,¡± said Amdirlain. Another group approaching the courtyard¡¯s entryway had Amdirlain pause. Cyrus turned to follow her gaze. ¡°Bedevere brought everyone else normally in the training hall ?down here.¡± ¡°Yes, and it sounds like Malnir has caught a lift with someone,¡± advised Amdirlain. Yngvarr chuckled. ¡°I¡¯ll look for the Mousekin out of uniform then.¡± As the soldiers trooped in, the first six split off and started up the tower¡¯s stairs. The last soldier to enter the courtyard was a large male Lizardfolk with Malnir perched on one shoulder and Killi on the other. When he halted and crouched, they both quickly alighted. The tawny-furred Mousekin patted Malnir before he moved down the line to join other mousekins descending from various soldiers¡¯ shoulders. Malnir looked at the others uncertainly and hopped over to stand close to the courtyard¡¯s wall. Yngvarr excused herself and headed over to sit on the ground beside him. Among the ninety-odd soldiers organising themselves in the courtyard, Bedevere left his junior officer conducting equipment checks and moved over to them. He considered the long corridors when he reached the top of the steps. ¡°Am, the Commander wants to meet with you in the next few days if you can spare them the time. What is your preference for such a meeting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m open to coming to see them, or they can come to my suite at the Blazing Portal. Which would work best?¡± ¡°The Commander infrequently leaves the keep, if you wouldn¡¯t take offence at being invited there,¡± advised Bedevere. Amdirlain gave a relaxed shrug. ¡°That works for me.¡± Cyrus stroked his chin and gave Amdirlain an enigmatic smile. ¡°They¡¯re an interesting individual.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow at Cyrus and turned to Bedevere. ¡°Are they on duty if I drop by after this lesson?¡± ¡°The Commander doesn¡¯t sleep like most Mortal species,¡± advised Bedevere. ¡°I¡¯ll let them know you¡¯ll come to meet them.¡± Keeping her curiosity in check, Amdirlain nodded politely and motioned towards the stairs. ¡°Thank you. Have you tried my tower yet, Bedevere?¡± [Femme Fatale [S] (11->12) Note: Going to ask him if he wants to see your etchings or offer to polish his bronze?] Gideon! You are so saving up for a spanking some days. Catching the replay of her motion from Bedevere¡¯s mind, Amdirlain almost cursed. The grace of her movement and the mention of his fighting in the tower had Bedevere considering her deadliness, which had triggered a predatory warning. The Skill had picked up Bedevere¡¯s subconscious cues and used them. Who knew that fight or flight for Fey was more like fight or fuck? Was I exciting him during the other training sessions? Bedevere barely choked out a tsk. ¡°I didn¡¯t get as far as I expected. It wasn¡¯t the individual fights but the size of the levels and the continual combat that wore me down. Did you make this yourself, or is it an artefact you found somewhere?¡± ¡°I made it,¡± replied Amdirlain coolly, and she caught the slightest nervous twitch of Bedevere¡¯s eyelids. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to improve my capability for creation. I¡¯ll leave you to get your soldiers organised.¡± Moving away, she gave Enrig and Callen a tap on the shoulder and beckoned them to follow. The veiled looks of suspicion they sent each other wasn¡¯t the first she¡¯d seen between them. That they¡¯d exchanged this one when they thought she¡¯d turned her back made it amusing¡ªkids blaming each other for mum towing them away. Amdirlain ignored it and led them into another courtyard, one she¡¯d ringed with the first set of wooden training constructs. Moving to stand near a construct, Amdirlain turned to face them. ¡°You¡¯ve both taken Monk since the last lesson.¡± Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°How-¡± started Enrig, only to fall silent at Amdirlain¡¯s crooked smile. Callen snorted at how Enrig chopped off and got a dose of hostile side-eye. ¡°You¡¯re not the only ones, but since you two have a mutual dislike for each other, you get to work together,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a particular need for us to dislike each other to study?¡± asked Callen. ¡°If you can¡¯t focus past the fact you¡¯re working with someone you dislike, you¡¯ll never gain enough focus to use Ki properly in combat,¡± replied Amdirlain. The partial truth mollified Callen, and Amdirlain set her palm against a construct¡¯s chest. ¡°Ki is part of the body¡¯s energy, so it wants to flow with your movements and, with the right focus, it will move along your limbs and add power to your strikes,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Today, you¡¯ll begin learning a Power called Ki Strike. It will empower your blows so you can hit harder and even affect beings normally only harmed by magic. Watch while I demonstrate.¡± As she sent Ki into her palm, Amdirlain flexed her wrist less than a millimetre in the barest whisper of a palm-hand strike. The energy drove through the construct, and it crumpled in on itself; a breath later, the self-repair enchantment pulled the material back together. ¡°You didn¡¯t even move,¡± gasped Enrig. Amdirlain held up her hand so they could see her palm when she flexed her wrist. ¡°The slightest flex of my wrist; I wanted to make it clear it was the Ki doing the work and not my strength. The exercise for today is about getting the Ki to move from your solar plexus, or heart chakra, into your hand as you strike. Slowly draw back a strike, letting it flow into your elbow, then move forward to your palm to arrive as you make contact.¡± At the pace of the drifting mist exercises she¡¯d conducted at the monastery, Amdirlain let her arm drift back. Mindful of them observing her technique, she let her palm drift forward to touch the construct. Her skin¡¯s touch smacked the construct into the wall behind it and scattered pieces away in a spray. ¡°Step forward and check your distance; ensure your palm just touches the construct. Later you¡¯ll be able to tap into it without having it consciously moving in advance. However, for now, start the Ki moving around the chakras you feel most comfortable with and we¡¯ll begin.¡± The pair followed her instructions, and Amdirlain listened to the Ki stirring within them. It took nearly two hours filled with regular breaks before Callen managed a touch against the construct that contained more than just physical force. His success spurred Enrig to try harder, but attempting to force the Ki to flow hampered his efforts, and his frustration grew when Callen succeeded for a second time. ¡°Take a break, sit under the awning and cycle the Ki between two chakras, heart and throat or heart and solar plexus,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m close,¡± insisted Enrig. Callen snorted. ¡°No one wants to hear that.¡± Enrig¡¯s whiskers flared back along his muzzle, and his tail thumped against the ground as a low hiss rumbled in the back of his throat. ¡°There is a saying: the strength of a chain is determined by its weakest link. Do you have that one?¡± Enrig and Callen both froze. Amdirlain smiled as Polyglot found a meaning for them both. ¡°Oh, both of you recognise it? The Monk Class focuses on overcoming physical limits and striving for self-perfection. I hope you¡¯ll see it as an opportunity to improve yourselves, not aggravate another¡¯s flaws, or your own,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Callen, what did you sense when you succeeded?¡± ¡°My arms were getting tired from the strikes, and I could hear my pulse in my ears and felt the Ki echo along my arm in time with it,¡± replied Callen. ¡°Does that make sense to you, Enrig?¡± Enrig let out a grumble. ¡°Because the Elf-¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to like each other, but you¡¯ll both be my students, so I¡¯m going to make things a little exciting with a competition between you,¡± interrupted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll win,¡± declared Enrig. ¡°You don¡¯t know the terms of the competition,¡± critiqued Callen. Enrig crossed his arms and gave Callen a toothy grin. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter the terms¡ªI¡¯ll still win.¡± ¡°The one that learns the most from the other in the next year wins a prize,¡± advised Amdirlain, but she kept the rest of her intentions to herself. Enrig¡¯s grin vanished. ¡°I¡¯m not sure any prize could be worth enduring Callen.¡± Rolling his eyes, Callen pointed in the tower¡¯s direction. ¡°Am made this place, Enrig. Stop and think before jumping in with both feet.¡± ¡°A mind needs to be open before it can absorb any lesson, but that applies to both of you,¡± Amdirlain chided, and both froze again. ¡°Rest the fingers of one hand against the opposite wrist and find your pulse.¡± When they both had their fingers on their pulse, Amdirlain continued. ¡°That is your blood moving from your heart down your limb before it loops back. Moving the Ki along your limbs isn¡¯t unnatural¡ªminuscule amounts exist in your blood, muscles, and organs. With your focus on your pulse, start moving your Ki, and with each beat, imagine it is getting closer to your wrist.¡± Without the limb¡¯s movement to prompt them, they both returned to struggling to move the Ki. After an hour, Amdirlain wrapped up the lesson early and sent them on their way with instructions to practice until they could feel the Ki under their fingertips with every pulse. Teleporting to the upper slope of the town¡¯s main road, Amdirlain approached the guards at the keep¡¯s portcullis. Among those on duty at its entrance, many could be mistaken for humans, but their themes varied in incompatible ways from those she¡¯d met at Gail¡¯s party. Checking them with Analysis, she found they were from a half-dozen species and none were Human despite their outward appearances. Amdirlain had to wonder how many of those species had been about the first time she travelled to Limbo and she¡¯d thought humans had been among Xaos¡¯ populace. A broad-faced guard looked her over while she waited in line. Her arrival put her third behind a pack-line of camel-like creatures covered with iridescent scales and a trio of notably squat dwarves loaded with gadget packs bigger than her. Frowning, the guard walked down the line to address her. ¡°Are you the one called Am?¡± ¡°That¡¯s me. Captain Bedevere sent word ahead a few hours ago to the Commander that I¡¯d be coming to meet with him,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°We were told to expect you, but you don¡¯t need to go through this gate,¡± explained the guard, and he motioned towards a ramp along the left side of the keep. ¡°The Commander¡¯s chamber is on the outer ring of the keep. Go along that path until you reach the door at the end; his offices are on the crest of the hill that way.¡± ¡°I went through the Portal this way once, and there are offices in the interior. I assumed the Commander would be there,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That would be the trade and inspection station, along with the duty Captain¡¯s office,¡± advised the guard with a lime-hued grin. Following his directions, Amdirlain left the queue and took the ramp below the lowest arrow slit. The path he¡¯d directed her to was level with the base of the keep¡¯s outer wall. Around the path¡¯s curve, she found a quarter of a massive sphere wedged between the keep¡¯s wall and the hill¡¯s turf. Though it matched the grey colouration of the stonework, the material was hardened calcium and more rigid than steel. The organic mass made for an interesting song, along with the dozen Mortal entities within the partial dome¡¯s protections. While the internal chambers had significant Mana invested in protection wards, none were containment focused. The entry was an organic-looking door along the sphere¡¯s surface that, to Amdirlain, resembled a heart valve. When the guard at the entrance caused it to unfurl, beyond it she found a corridor that followed the sphere¡¯s curve until it opened into a round chamber at the centre. It¡¯s like a snail¡¯s shell. The being in the chamber¡¯s centre looked like a sea anemone grown to six metres across its central disc. Its cylindrical body was a patchwork of black and white that swam in the air some twenty centimetres off the ground. Atop the cylinder was a purple segmented disc with deep orange tentacles up to three metres long growing around a central mouth. Its theme stirred memories of a world wholly enveloped in water, and Amdirlain could see the extensive Mana expenditure allowing it to move and thrive here. The oddest aspect of its presence wasn¡¯t the being itself but the tasselled, metre-wide ring of royal purple satin tastefully embroidered with seashell patterns around the being¡¯s base. Trill mentioned measuring the Commander for a dress. Besides the prominent individual, a few dozen smaller versions of the being adhered themselves at various heights to the chamber¡¯s wall; though none exceeded a half metre in total body size. Their tentacles brushed across runic patterns, and Amdirlain could hear each recording their impression of her presence within the room¡¯s air currents. ¡°Commander, you wished to see me?¡± ¡°We did, and thank you for coming by so promptly. Your presence in the town has caused some interesting events. The town¡¯s patrons have questions they¡¯ve requested we seek the answer to,¡± replied the Commander, its voice coming from the central mouths of all the room¡¯s anemones at once. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll listen, but I reserve the right not to answer.¡± ¡°Understandable. First, do you wish to take over the guardianship of Limbo¡¯s Portal?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t. Though I¡¯m happy to help the defenders keep Limbo¡¯s denizens from spreading,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That is unfortunate,¡± responded the Commander. ¡°Though that removes dozens of questions they requested us to ask.¡± ¡°Why did your patrons believe I¡¯d be looking to take it over?¡± The tentacles waved lazily about, and Amdirlain got the impression of a shrug. ¡°Not believed, perhaps, though given the questions about alliance opportunities, we think at least one hoped it was your intent.¡± ¡°Alliances wouldn¡¯t be impossible, but I¡¯d need to speak to their representatives directly and determine the scope. I intended to seek out a few nature deities to discuss an issue elsewhere with,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You told Captain Bedevere that the garrison, your students, and, we take it, your friends could use your tower. Would you allow the patron¡¯s servants from other stations to utilise it?¡± I need to get my powers and skills higher before I seek too much of an experience surge. ¡°Does that mean garrisons guarding paths to the lower planes?¡± ¡°We believe that to be the case,¡± acknowledged the Commander. ¡°The current tower is an experiment. Once I¡¯ve fine-tuned it, I¡¯d be open to creating more for other garrisons to use in their training. That would be subject to getting a suitable agreement on similar terms to our agreement, and I¡¯d need information on where they¡¯d be located before I agree to any specific spots.¡± ¡°That is good news; we¡¯ll let them know. Do you have an expected time scale for fine-tuning the tower?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s too early to say, but hopefully not over a century.¡± ¡°That soon!¡± exclaimed the Commander, and they tapped tentacles together to a quick beat. ¡°Hopefully,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you apprised if that expectation changes.¡± A couple of tentacles drew lazy circles in the air, and the Commander hummed. ¡°We¡¯ll inform them it¡¯s a possibility and to expect confirmation in a century¡ªotherwise, some will think us both hasty. Among our patrons are those that have an issue understanding time frames under a millennium, and we¡¯re obligated to provide the same reports to them all. Whether or not they pay attention is another thing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised they even registered my presence,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed, we hadn¡¯t even submitted the standard reports about significant changes when the request came from Mielikki¡¯s local custodians,¡± replied the Commander. The mention of the deity¡¯s name brought a presence that brushed against Amdirlain¡¯s mind¡ª millions of leaves rustling on a gentle breeze. With a metallic ping, a cleanly snapped golden arrow appeared on the chamber¡¯s floor. [Item: Arrow of Artemis (broken) Details: The breaking of this arrow and the missed shot caused Artemis to abandon a hunting expedition. Left behind, Mielikki claimed the arrow and ensured it continued to contain a sliver of the might from Artemis¡¯ former mantle. ] What could I use that for? I¡¯ve got more than a few foes I need to hunt, but this was involved in a failed hunt. ¡°I thought Mielikki to be part of the Summer Court?¡± asked Amdirlain as she regarded the arrow cautiously. Despite its dramatic arrival and the divine energy within, the Commander didn¡¯t register or react to it at all. Hoping she wasn¡¯t making a mistake, Amdirlain stored it in Inventory and almost groaned at the heft of it. [Inventory [Ad] (39->40) ] With the only reaction being an increase in Inventory¡¯s capacity, Amdirlain returned her focus to the Commander. ¡°Mielikki¡¯s Domain is on the heavenly planes, but the Outlands possess vast swaths of forest. Many nature deities are part of the alliance maintaining the Outlands¡¯ garrisons at the major Planar routes,¡± advised the Commander. ¡°Regardless of whether their Domain is in the Outlands, the higher planes, or the Elemental Plane of Earth, they wish to maintain its environments.¡± ¡°Did Mielikki say why she thought I¡¯d want to control Xaos?¡± ¡°Divine beings seldom give explanations for their reasoning. We¡¯re told sometimes they merely ask questions to ensure others think about what they truly want.¡± ¡°What else can I help you with, Commander?¡± ¡°Most of my questions are regarding the Wizard training of the garrison¡¯s members and how far you plan to push them,¡± explained the Commander. ¡°I¡¯ll not push any of them. How far they take their training is up to them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡±Do you have concerns?¡± ¡°Not in regards to the training, though I¡¯ll certainly need to find the budget to pay some for their increased levels and capabilities,¡± explained the Commander. ¡°I also expect your tower to require an increase in the equipment maintenance budget.¡± ¡°That¡¯s part of the fine-tuning I was expecting to be needed. I¡¯ll add to the regeneration effect and restore some of the equipment wear and tear,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Would they be happy with consumable items instead of higher pay?¡± ¡°Potions and inscriptions?¡± enquired the Commander, and they hummed at Amdirlain¡¯s nod. ¡°What do you get from this arrangement?¡± ¡°The Outlands is a special place for many reasons, and I¡¯d also hate for it to be despoiled.¡± The Commander¡¯s tentacles coiled inwards briefly as if protecting its central mouth. ¡°The garrison has hundreds of soldiers.¡± ¡°Soldiers often appreciate those concerned with their well-being. Do you believe items of healing or temporary protection would be better received?¡± ¡°Such a contribution is most unexpected,¡± reiterated the Commander. ¡°I doubt it will be in the next few months, but I¡¯ll see to delivering chests with various useful potions,¡± stated Amdirlain ¡°It is not an immediate issue; they¡¯ll need to make a lot more progress to warrant a pay rise,¡± reassured the Commander. ¡°How many wizards do you believe you can train at once?¡± ¡°That¡¯s also something it will take time to determine. Let¡¯s see how we train the first set; if we get enough proficient wizards among the garrison, they can help train others,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Would you be able to ensure their training includes detection magics?¡± requested the Commander. ¡°That would be more useful day to day than combat magic.¡± ¡°What do you need them checking for?¡± The pair spoke of the guard¡¯s needs, logistics, training options, and required resources for a time before Amdirlain headed off to her suite. Once there, she heard Nomein and Ras in the living room. The investigation of Artemis¡¯ arrow would have to wait and, not wanting to keep it in Inventory, Amdirlain opened a Gate to a niche in the Demi-Plane Foundry. Releasing Artemis¡¯ broken arrow through the opening into the hiding place, Amdirlain closed it and headed up the stairs to find how things had been going. 291 - Deep inside Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos When Amdirlain entered the suite, she found Nomein and Ras looking over a collection of items on the dining table. Most were gold coins of assorted sizes and mundane artwork, but there were also a few objects with faded enchantments. ¡°Looting and pillaging going well?¡± asked Amdirlain. Nomein snorted. ¡°Acquisition and undead purging, thank you! It¡¯s been fine for combat, not so much for acquisition. The outskirts haven¡¯t been the simple hunting grounds Ras expected; we¡¯ve run into strong undead casters.¡± ¡°The city might have been a centre for magical learning or something for there to have been so many of them,¡± commented Rasha. ¡°Whatever the reason, it¡¯s making the clearing take longer and we¡¯re provoking intelligent responses. So we¡¯re being extra careful to keep detection spells in place so they don¡¯t manage to ambush us or block our exit. Undead have a distinct advantage against detection through Telepathy.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Sticking to the plan of keeping the outskirts as your path of retreat?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan, but plans don¡¯t always work out,¡± responded Nomein as she mentally flipped a few coins across the table. ¡°We had one horde swarm the building we were clearing. A Lich tried to use them to keep us busy while it hammered us with spells. Things got a little exciting until Gemiya spotted him and exploded all his bones. No shield against Psionics, but we¡¯re sure he¡¯ll be back since we had no way to track him.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if I should offer it, but I¡¯d like to put in place a safety net. It won¡¯t stop you from getting killed, but it means you won¡¯t stay dead,¡± suggested Amdirlain. Nomein¡¯s brows lifted, and her spine went ramrod straight. ¡°What? Reversing our age, plus giving us Protean and Inventory, wasn¡¯t enough?¡± ¡°I provided a resurrection beacon for Gail to use with her team. I want to link you all to one,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡±I know your culture tends to be restrictive on bringing someone back from the dead, but you''re not facing the challenges of Limbo. Permanently dying against these foes might mean you¡¯ll never move on to your next life.¡± Nomein¡¯s lips pursed sourly. ¡°Soul traps?¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s nod, Nomein pushed two coins together with a sharp clink. ¡°Not continuing the wheel of life isn¡¯t normal, but I¡¯d prefer your option than being trapped among the undead. Resurrection spells extract a price, don¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Lost levels,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°It puts you at the start of the previous level in all current classes. If you run out of Class levels, it damages your natural health.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to ensure we don¡¯t need it, but to me, it¡¯s still better than being undead,¡± declared Nomein. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if the others will take the same view.¡± ¡°Where are the others, anyway?¡± asked Amdirlain, having already taken in the suite''s quiet. ¡°They wanted to explore this suspicious-looking alley in town to check out the tale of a strange new building,¡± replied Nomein, her expression utterly still. ¡°Yeah, they need to be careful of the owner; I hear she¡¯s trouble,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Utterly, but I wouldn¡¯t say that to her face; she might take offence. Then you¡¯d end up fighting rematches every year,¡± remarked Nomein. Amdirlain blew a raspberry. ¡°Now you¡¯re picking on me; Liran? and I both had fun.¡± ¡°All the torment poor Liran? had to endure for those draws. Your mental protections didn¡¯t let her use a fraction of her abilities,¡± laughed Nomein. ¡°I was restricting myself as well, thank you. I didn¡¯t make use of any spells,¡± countered Amdirlain. Nomein snickered. ¡°Tragic. Are you planning to set up a monastery?¡± ¡°Just a little academy. I¡¯ll have to keep it smaller than a dormitory for the foreseeable future,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t want it becoming unmanageable,¡± quipped Ras, and he set aside a few pieces of armour with frayed enchantments. ¡°It¡¯ll be a fine line. I enjoyed teaching when I was Mortal, so I¡¯d like to teach, but I¡¯ve got heaps on my plate,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s your next piece of fun?¡± asked Ras. ¡°The next big piece is isolating all of Sage¡¯s older worlds. Once I isolate the planet from the planes, the incorporeal undead will wither away,¡± replied Amdirlain. Nomein paused with her fingers atop a coin and blinked at Amdirlain. ¡°You can isolate a world, and you¡¯re not currently a Deity?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not a Deity, and I won¡¯t allow that to happen again until I get rid of my Fallen status.¡± There was only a brief silence before Ras changed the subject. ¡°Why only the older worlds?¡± ¡°It stops the undead from tapping into the Negative Plane, but they only wither if there is no life left to feed off,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Also, I¡¯m unsure if the physical undead will decay as fast, so I¡¯m scanning the planet for them first. I may have to see to their destruction first and harvest the experience¡ªI¡¯m greedy.¡± ¡°Some of the physical undead will include casters,¡± cautioned Ras. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s why I have to destroy them first,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°If they were strong enough in life to retain casting abilities, they might be able to open personal gates or know spells to identify the Planet¡¯s new name¡ªI¡¯ll have to time it carefully.¡± Nomein tilted her head and frowned at Amdirlain. ¡°New name? Wait, you¡¯re cutting it off and renaming the planet? How do you rename a planet?¡± ¡°I have my ways,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, don¡¯t give a straight answer,¡± grumbled Nomein, and she pinched the air. ¡°I''m sure it''s something like how you gave us those powers, but not even a little clue? Or a layman¡¯s explanation?¡± ¡°I can hear the planet¡¯s song, part of that is the name, and I override that name,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s the simple explanation.¡± ¡°See, was that so hard? I understood that¡ªit¡¯s magic¡ªenough said,¡± retorted Nomein playfully. ¡°Well, if you steal all the experience from the physical undead, do we get to play in your tower?¡± Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ¡°Who told you about that?¡± ¡°Lots of loud minds,¡± explained Nomein. ¡°You can train in it if you want, but the only threat the constructs will pose is the weight of numbers,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It won¡¯t be enough to get you an achievement.¡± Nomein shook her head. ¡°They don¡¯t have minds, which limits some of the techniques we can use as you did to Liran?.¡± ¡°Go right ahead if you want to,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°But you¡¯ll have to teach magic lessons in exchange.¡± ¡°What!¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a bunch of garrison members to teach, and I was going to offer magic lessons to the mousekin in the burrow,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll teach the Mousekin; they¡¯re cute,¡± squeed Nomein, and she gave an excited clap of her hands. ¡°You are so not the reserved young lady I remember,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Nomein gave her a haughty look. ¡°Know that I do not know what you mean.¡± Amdirlain smiled and reached out to tap her chin. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tease Lezekus about her grammar slipping?¡± Playfully pushing Amdirlain¡¯s hand away, Nomein gave a grin. ¡°That was because my parents were paranoid about my grammar growing up. After I left the monastery, I realised there are more important things in life than sticking to formal sentence structure.¡± ¡°So, what¡¯s important to you right now?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Right now, a good clean fight with constructs sounds nice after all today¡¯s undead. I¡¯m going to drag the others into your tower,¡± laughed Nomein. Sweeping coins from the table, she had barely straightened before teleporting away. ¡°You rushing off as well?¡± asked Rasha. ¡°Not straight away; I¡¯ve got a bunch of people I¡¯m going to contact to see how they¡¯re going,¡± replied Amdirlain. * * * * * After an hour of talking with Gail, Isa, and others, Amdirlain opened a Gate to the world she¡¯d isolated. She had to admit the name she¡¯d chosen wasn¡¯t the best¡ªTerra Nidus, or earth nest. That got her thinking about all the other worlds she¡¯d need to rename. Where¡¯s a planet name book when you need one? Should I use a bunch of elvish or dwarven words, or do I go with the style of ¡®new new new earth¡¯ or ¡®Earth XXIV¡¯? The Gate¡¯s threshold framed a broken and battered landscape that made pictures of the no man¡¯s land between trenches in World War I look enticing. The deaths she knew lay hidden beneath the surface drew an eerie parallel that made her wonder at the desperation of those species that had died defending their home. The planet¡¯s dirige prompted Amdirlain to brace herself even before she crossed the threshold. The system¡¯s yellow sun hung high in the sky, filtered in places behind greenish-tinged clouds. The smell and sludge of the environment were horrible, yet it was an honest, natural state compared to the Abyss¡¯ foulness. Taking flight, Amdirlain picked a direction and flew until she encountered a large body of liquid. The chemical sludge might have once been an inland sea, but now its crusted surface bubbled with a sulfuric stench. Memories of documentaries about the lifeforms found clustered around volcanic vents in the ocean''s depths stirred her imagination. Threads of those memories dragged up chords from within True Song Architecture. Amdirlain tried one theme after another to create them from scratch, but each time too much Power flowed into the music, the elements burst apart. Scouring the barren landscape for landmarks to aid in targeting Teleport, Amdirlain laughed and opted to make her own. When she¡¯d finished, an obelisk of True Song Crystal, tinted black, stood rooted in the mud, casting a long shadow across the blighted landscape. Presently it had no purpose but to help focus her teleporting, but ideas and memories started to bubble up faster than the sea¡¯s sulfuric stench. An idle thought had Resonance and True Song Architecture assemble pieces from the world¡¯s environment. Amdirlain hesitated, since she expected to need True Song under tight control to achieve success below a cellular level; yet, this world was devastated without a living thing to risk. The tune was short¡ªbarely a dozen bars¡ªand, within the song¡¯s reach, countless molecules shifted and stirred only to burst apart, sending a wave of steam from the lake. Even having stretched the transformation effect across a score of square kilometres of the sea, the energy in her voice had disrupted the effect. With Gideon¡¯s teasing words in mind¡ªit''s easier to destroy than create¡ªAmdirlain persisted. The simple rearrangements into amino chains kept failing even after tweaking the song for eight hours straight. Making what seemed the millionth subtle adjustment in pressure, Amdirlain finally received a notification. [Achievement: Primordial Chef Details: You made some soup! Note: If only the hygiene of your cooking site wasn¡¯t so bad. I suggest a gas mask. Note: You¡¯re a messy girl, but trying to clean up someone elses mud pie is a bonus challenge. True Song Genesis [Ap] (18->20) True Song Architecture [S] (97->98)] Amdirlain rolled her eyes at Gideon¡¯s notification. The simple material had provided no experience¡ªunlike the tower or the academy¡¯s other buildings¡ªbut it had given Amdirlain progress that she considered more important. Teleport skipped her along the desolate shoreline, and Amdirlain repeated the exercise of seeding the world with the chemical chains. On each repeat, she drew in the expanse that the song covered, straining her control to create the delicate material. After another hour of mixed success, another notification showed. True Song Genesis [Ap] (20->21) The countless chemical chains she¡¯d created hadn¡¯t come close to the microflora saturation she¡¯d examined on Votari¡ªa world whose Formithian incursion she wanted to block before it got out of hand. The thought was a reminder, and she checked on the orbital surveyors above this world, glad all four seemed to still be in stable orbits. If they stayed in place another week, creating a temporary set for Votari to locate the Formithian seemed safe enough to Amdirlain. I should experiment and see if I can cause them to Planar Shift and keep their momentum. The kinetic strike from hitting Moloch might cause some damage since True Song Crystal isn¡¯t a mundane material. Setting the idle thought aside, Amdirlain got back to work. * * * * Amdirlain appeared in the prison¡¯s outer corridor, and the prisoners¡¯ minds flared into alertness from the pressure of her auras. Hours of work trying to create simple life had let slip the concealments, and they readily made their presence known through the protections designed to keep them contained. Amdirlain considered leaving them alone today, yet she hadn¡¯t checked on Cuiniel since the close call. After resetting her concealments, Amdirlain turned the walls of Cuiniel''s cell into a two-way mirror. Cuiniel¡¯s teal skin no longer showed any sign of injury from the close call in Amdirlain''s last session of cycling her energy. Unexpectedly, her once solid black eyes showed tiny veins of white running out from their shattered ruby starburst pupils. ¡°My apologies for the energy surge last session,¡± Amdirlain said, allowing Cuiniel alone to hear the words. ¡°Odd words from a torturer,¡± retorted Cuiniel. ¡°Are you back to have more fun pouring fire beneath my skin?¡± Amdirlain shook her head, wanting to be out in the sunshine, not in this prison. ¡°This isn¡¯t my idea of fun.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Whatever, just get it over with already, so I can go back to watching all the pretty pictures you show on the walls. When I get out of here, I¡¯m going to go to every spot you¡¯ve shown me and destroy everything in sight,¡± advised Cuiniel. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll start showing you images of the Abyss instead,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m joking?¡± ¡°It''s quite likely how you feel now, but I¡¯m not going to tell you what to do or feel,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Hopefully, by the time I¡¯ve treated what I can of your wounds, you¡¯ll at least be over that urge.¡± Cuiniel scratched her nails along the circle¡¯s interior. ¡°Not going to tell us what to do? Other than telling us to stay put and beg?¡± ¡°Unfortunately, medical restraints are sometimes needed to stop patients from hurting themselves and others. If this makes sense, consider it like flushing toxins from a Mortal¡¯s body. I¡¯m sorry this is needed at all, and there are thousands of things I¡¯d prefer to be doing,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It''s about to begin, and I¡¯ll do my best not to let the energy surge the way it did last time. I don¡¯t expect forgiveness, and I¡¯m sure you hate me for all I¡¯m putting you through.¡± Without further warning, Amdirlain started cycling and sent a filament of Ki down Cuiniel¡¯s Oath Link. The Ki skimming across the surface of Cuiniel¡¯s essence stirred up ash and dust in its wake. Cuiniel flinched as if hit by a live wire and smashed her fists ineffectively against the barrier. Flares of flame showed where the force of impacts squeezed flesh tight between the wall and bone. The light roiled around, fading in and out but peaking brighter as the cycling continued. An hour into the process, a flare of light beneath the surface of Cuiniel¡¯s skin caught Amdirlain¡¯s gaze; within it, two flames flickered momentarily like beating wings, and its symbolism staggered her. Rather than lose control again, she hurriedly brought the cycling to a halt and pulled back her energy. As she withdrew her Ki from Cuiniel¡¯s essence, the ash and dust settled, obscuring the last traces of the flames behind dust clouds. Released from the energy¡¯s pressure, Cuiniel slumped to the ground and drew her blood-red wings around her naked form. Amdirlain¡¯s skin showed hints of burning feathers and, after hopping planes, Amdirlain ended up in Foundry¡¯s central pavilion. Ignoring the dwarven work crews, she perched upon a bench and poured the accumulated Ki and other energy into the crystal until the hollowness made her ache. With her awareness adrift on the empty feeling, Amdirlain realised Erwarth had sat down across from her with a quizzical expression. Just as Erwarth''s presence threatened to pull her free from the looming wave, the former Succubus¡¯ gaze tipped her towards an unseen edge. Lifting a finger to ask her to wait, Amdirlain teetered on the edge of the nearly empty pools of energy within her and started cycling again. Rather than cycle Ki alone, Amdirlain twisted Ki, Mana, and Psi as one through the nodes of her Phoenix sigil. The pattern flared to life upon completion, but it wasn¡¯t Erwarth¡¯s gaze that came to mind but Livia¡¯s instead. Not grasping for meaning, she left the image to drift around in her mind¡¯s eye and continued to cycle. As the Phoenix¡¯s body neared completion, Klipyl¡¯s gaze joined Livia¡¯s floating in that emptiness. The Phoenix flared again when she completed the nodes among the sigil¡¯s flames. A man¡¯s face with white eyes shone in her mind before a rush of faces joined them¡ªthe initial women of the Cadre appeared. Each woman rising from their darkened state towards healing and a new life. Holding to the strange state, Amdirlain didn¡¯t reach for any meaning but let the revelation cascade. Harmony linked her to the energy looping within herself as the faces spun through her mind. Dozens of faces became hundreds and then thousands. Ebusuku floated in the darkness, her wings transitioning from the leather membrane to bright white feathers. The L¨®m? Succubus S¨ªrdhem appeared, then Fainil in slow procession to N?r, then the sigil flared again. More gazes were revealed when they rose to join the healed Cadre¡¯s faces. The cloud of them was obscured by the flash of light, only for more to rise from the darkness when the flare ebbed. Again the bright light drowned them out and swept them away, the ashes of their demonic existence giving birth to solars. As the sigil cycled towards another completion, Sidero¡¯s chain-wrapped form appeared. Their sulphur-yellow gaze shifted in the sigil''s flare, and her draconic red eyes took their place. The ash of another realm rushed through the rift in the darkness of space, and compressed by that passage, matter¡¯s strained bonds ruptured into pure energy that raced to fill the framework they¡¯d laid. The sigil flared again, and Amdirlain felt the flames burning through her, breaching through the obscuring curse even without her intervention. The force loomed higher, and her grip on the entwined energies that surged within her threatened to fray. Unforced words bubbled up in her thoughts as Amdirlain¡¯s relaxed mind drifted. Obscured ¡ªthe word was close, yet it twisted apart, fractured under the ongoing revelation. Hidden ¡ªanother word that taunted her with its closeness and drove the insight on. A Phoenix cry became a woman¡¯s shout. Her Soul pulled up a memory of ashes drifting around her and the agony of her immolation in her car seat. The Phoenix¡¯s funeral pyre sending her Soul onto a new life. As she died, the ashes ¡®shrouded¡¯ her gaze. The tidal wave broke and smashed against her. The flames that burned in her mind and her Soul emitted a blazing light when she opened her eyes. Two words echoed at first, pressed into her mind, but that feeling quickly fled as she realised the truth. The revelation and cycling had burned their covering away; it hadn¡¯t imposed them. Shrouded Phoenix seems odd, yet right. [Achievement: True Calling Details: Soul¡¯s True Name detected! Note: It¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t give you a hint. Of course, naming something doesn¡¯t mean you possess complete knowledge of it; that takes work.] Part of me remains hidden, given whatever Orh¨ºthurin did to herself. Why did she rip herself apart after so long? So many truths are hidden in time, the same as I am. Erwarth sat frozen; her gaze fixated on the flames crawling under Amdirlain¡¯s skin. Before she could say anything, Pain Eater warned Amdirlain of the growing agony within her flesh and the need to lessen the pressure. The flames¡¯ light was so bright the dark cloth of Amdirlain¡¯s outfit had turned transparent as she shed light in all directions. The internal illumination had turned her into a silhouetted figure of golden light. With all the energy pools within her overflowing, Amdirlain hurried to vent the energy into the crystal before she ruptured like the matter seized from the other realm. [Pain Eater [M] (94->98) Harmony [S] (80->82) ] The light dimmed so fast it was as if she¡¯d plunged them all into darkness. dwarven mutters of confusion had Amdirlain¡¯s gaze flicking between Erwarth and the Celestial crafters. The dwarves¡ªdespite all celestials possessing True Sight¡ªpeered about as if blind. Amdirlain cleared her throat and attempted a casual tone. ¡°You know, you¡¯re not supposed to look at bright lights.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t bring myself to look away; it felt like something too important was going on,¡± answered Erwarth, and she glanced at the dwarves. ¡°My eyesight¡¯s healed, so I¡¯m sure theirs will be soon, but I¡¯ll speed things up as you collect yourself.¡± Erwarth teleported to the closest platform, and the theme of a Mass Heal Blessing rang out. Guess my casual tone wasn¡¯t so calm. What else remains hidden? What other concealments do I need to strip away? Amdirlain sighed and shook herself; the rapid changes in her energy levels had her feeling impossibly fuzzy-headed. As she opened her eyes, she found Moradin sitting next to her. ¡°You frightened my lot, but I kept them from panicking. When I arrived, you were staring into space,¡± commented Moradin. Blinking, Amdirlain realised Erwarth had already moved onto a third platform. ¡°Sorry for ignoring you.¡± Moradin gently patted her shoulder. ¡°Did you gain a useful insight?¡± ¡°Useful? Potentially, but maybe only in helping me understand myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°True names for mortals are important things. They let them know the lens, path, or perspective that will let them find the most joy in life,¡± stated Moradin. ¡°Some people struggle against them, for others it brings a lot into focus.¡± ¡°Did you know my True Name?¡± asked Amdirlain, unsure which applied to her. ¡°Greater powers like myself can see some details beneath that Hidden status you bear, but not everything. We know you¡¯re marked, and there is a Mortal Soul beneath the surface, but many of the details we could tell, even from a non-faithful, remain obscured from us. The Titan¡¯s protections keep the whole story from being revealed,¡± explained Moradin. ¡°I knew Orh¨ºthurin well enough to sense her energy within your Soul, but you¡¯re not her now. Others that didn¡¯t bother to get to know her might not even see that much.¡± ¡°How could you tell I found my True Name?¡± Moradin waved a hand at the pavilion about them. ¡°You left impressions of it carved here for those strong enough to see. Nothing long-term to worry about; it¡¯s not something that gives anyone control over you. Though you¡¯ll have to be wary of the type to use such insights to manipulate in different ways.¡± At least not yet. Letting out a slow breath Amdirlain risked a question. ¡°Does a Mortal¡¯s True Name change over time?¡± Giving a smile, Moradin nodded. ¡°It does, with a significant enough life event.¡± Stretching out a hand, he set a litre-sized silver stein in front of her, smelling of apple blossoms and honey. When he sat back, another appeared in his hand, and he raised it in a toast. ¡°Here''s to your naming day, Amdirlain.¡± Picking up the stein, she clinked it against his before she took a mouthful of the mead and savoured its taste. ¡°It''s got a nice subtle apple flavour.¡± Moradin took a few gulps before he placed his stein on the table. ¡°I believe they make this brew with honey gathered from hives near apple groves and then add a touch of pulped apple in the initial vats. I could know the exact process, but some things are best enjoyed rather than known.¡± ¡°For a moment, I thought you¡¯d given me a cyser,¡± said Amdirlain, cradling the stein in her lap. ¡°I don¡¯t like the stronger apple taste from brewing apple cider with honey,¡± replied Moradin. ¡°Are you planning to relax a little bit, or are you getting right back to work?¡± Amdirlain shrugged sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯ve got a school to run; the next lesson isn¡¯t long from now.¡± ¡°A school?¡± ¡°At Xaos; training some members of the garrison and town to be wizards and monks,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Would you care to tell me more, or should I share what we¡¯ve learnt about the Formithian presence on Votari so far?¡± asked Moradin. Amdirlain took another sip as she collected her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for the full planetary survey. As for the school, I¡¯d planned to teach martial arts to reinforce my Skill, but things changed.¡± As Amdirlain got into the details, Moradin nodded his approval but listened without interruption until she reached the end. ¡°You hid Artemis¡¯ arrow here? What do you intend to do with it?¡± asked Moradin. The energy of the Mantle¡¯s shard drew a grimace from Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure why the Lady of the Forest even sent it to me.¡± ¡°You could use the shard in that arrow to gain a Mantle,¡± observed Moradin. ¡°She doesn¡¯t know that isn¡¯t in your plans. Bestowing the shard of a Mantle on someone is a safer way to elevate someone worthy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking of using it to inflict a curse on Moloch,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The broken arrow can be made to represent failure and misfortune on a divine level. I doubt I¡¯ll be able to hurt Moloch using only my own powers anytime soon. However, the shard left in that arrow is on a different scale, a force multiplier that needs to be delivered the right way.¡± Moradin took another gulp and tapped his stein thoughtfully. ¡°Or you could save it until your power levels are close. You¡¯ll also need to see about reforging the arrow first.¡± Taking a small sip, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I won¡¯t need to reforge the arrow; I¡¯ve got a few ideas for funnelling the energy of both the form and shard into a strike. After blowing up his palace and the construction site for his next palace, I¡¯ll have to track him down first. It''s quite ironic, given the arrow, that I¡¯ll have to hunt down two of those I want to hurt the most.¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s casual announcement, Moradin let out a snicker. ¡°I thought they were rebuilding the destroyed city,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Moradin¡¯s snicker turned into a roar of laughter, and he set his stein aside as he clutched at his sides. Moloch¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The impaled figure stood on the precipice of the still-filling chasm that had replaced the Cliffs of Lust. The once-muck-covered ground was bare rock, the sludge had drained into the pit. Only the fluid that ran down from this spike continued to lead down the canyon¡¯s edge. An unexpected find when he¡¯d just been allowing his generals time to decide who¡¯d win the chance for the next assault. As Moloch listened to the Succubus¡¯ report, his gaze traced the maze sigil branded into the damned¡¯s chest. Reaching out, Moloch yanked its mouth open; the force tore the lower mandible from its face and peeled open its throat. A cough ejected genitalia jammed so deep into its throat that its continued screaming hadn¡¯t dislodged them past its teeth. Taking in the Soul¡¯s memory of the Succubus that had jammed them in place, Moloch shook his head and waved dismissively to his Succubus, who¡¯d continued to prattle a report. He might not have found this unusual Soul if she¡¯d found him earlier in exploring the pit¡¯s edge. Sensing his displeasure, she vanished, leaving him alone. Moloch traced a fingertip along the Titan¡¯s sigil. ¡°Why are you awake but unable to feel the pain of your impalement? There are growing acres of the damned that are immune to the pain of their torture; asleep, yet your mind registers my presence and words.¡± The damned¡¯s wound melted at the edges, its flesh flowed back into place as the Soul¡¯s memory of its past physical form restored its appearance. ¡°You were of the Titan¡¯s bloodline, yet you got sent here for cursing three whores. How ironic,¡± stated Moloch, after a time spent listening to the thoughts of the damned that the Titan¡¯s seal kept sane. ¡°Two likely got sent to hell from your curses'' wording.¡± Moloch stopped to nudge the expelled mass into the pit. ¡°But it seems one became a Culerzic Succubus. Julia Amanda Diane Earnst.¡± Analysis. [Name: Julia Amanda Diane Earnst Original Species: Least Succubus Sub-Species: Culerzic Abyssal Use Name: Viper Earliest Affiliation: Sisterhood of the Blood. Status Events: First Ascension: Cliffs of Lust - Ascension Exit: Hrz¡¯Styrn Allegiance: Sisterhood of the Blood Acquired Mantle Second Ascension: Pandemonium - Ascension Exit: Hrz¡¯Styrn Killed by D?s L¨ºdhins Fy Third Ascension: Necropolis - Ascension Exit: Hrz¡¯Styrn Destroyed during Mantle separation. ] The list ended with lines of undulating dots with irregular circles placed around them. The same strange scrawls that Moloch had seen his profile initially present after every transformation. As the extra marks faded, Moloch focused on the last line of the analysis. I¡¯ve not heard from L¨ºdhins in centuries. Mantle separation? What in darkness¡¯ name is that? [Mantle Details: A mechanism by which a powerful being can function as a Deity of mortals.] Powerful being? Maybe they were here longer than this damned realises. He doesn¡¯t seem to have a good grasp of time. Yet I¡¯ve never heard of this Julia or her ¡®Use Name¡¯? Still, destroyed, that takes her off the playing board. It would have been useful to have another Hidden to tempt into an alliance since there may not be more. The continued use of the Anglo-Saxon lettering in place of Abyssal script confused Moloch, but he brushed it off and continued his investigation. [Mantle separation Details: A Mantle may be separated from a being, in part or whole, to give its Divine authority to another. Besides willing transfers, a Mantle can be usurped by a more powerful being using various arcane means if restrained outside their Domain. When a Mantle is removed, either unwillingly or if it¡¯s too integrated with the being¡¯s identity, the act can destroy the being who relinquishes the divine authority.] [Greater Analysis [GM] (491->492)] That the snippet of information had caused Analysis¡¯ first progress in millennia caused Moloch to let out a thoughtful hum. Gods are fools reliant upon mortals to maintain their strength. Why was the Titan so upset that it cursed those three? The first whore didn¡¯t get the Titan¡¯s attention, but the other two did. Maybe one of them has a relative''s bloodline since he was so upset by the ¡®decay¡¯ of his own. ¡°Your mind shows a world very different from where I came from; I think I¡¯ll need to learn more. The Titan secured you in the Abyss, but that still gives me plenty of options about where to stash you.¡± Crouching, Moloch yanked the stake from the ground and teleported away with the impaled Soul. 292 - Details Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Upon arriving outside Xaos, Amdirlain detected Goxashru¡¯s presence within Nolmar¡¯s walls. Having expected him to be gone for weeks, Amdirlain hoped his premature return signalled a successful trip. As she started forward, the grey-furred Ratkin she¡¯d first greeted in the fields outside of town rounded the closest house with a group of other workers. Though she¡¯d scrubbed since leaving the desolation of Tidus Nidias, the sight of him reminded Amdirlain about his comments on her scent. An attempt to draw in the dirt and gaseous molecules from her clothing received a strange push-back, and a notification chimed. [Inventory [Ad] (40 -> 41) Note: Way to go avoiding being stagnant. Look at you trying something new!] The notification prompted her to use the attribute points she¡¯d let sit unused. On the first pass, Amdirlain evened out her Strength, Endurance, and Intelligence before considering the rest. She immediately rejected doing the same with Charisma and briefly considered putting the remaining points in Willpower. Yet after tossing the options around, True Song¡¯s stress on her body won out, and Amdirlain opted to boost Endurance further. The farmers walked steadily along as if not to attract predators, an impression heightened by their wary expressions. Their primary concern in their surface thoughts is to avoid the powerful''s attention. When they drew level, Amdirlain gave them a polite nod of recognition that just startled them all the more. When her route drew her close to a shop front under the drooping branches of a willow tree, it reminded Amdirlain of her recent discussion with the Commander. Prompted by their comments on logistics, Amdirlain headed inside. The shop¡¯s exterior wall was a simple air barrier with anti-theft wards. Within its opaque limits, glass display cases filled with vials of liquid hovered among the willow¡¯s roots. Around one side, a lanky Elf with lime-green skin stood behind a hovering slab of ice, grinding up a large satchel containing hundreds of dried mushrooms with a very ordinary-looking white-on-tan mortar and pestle. The Elf wore his dark blue hair styled up in scores of spikes with mushroom cap tassels at the end. His hairdo was an odd punk look made stranger by his clothing being composed of multi-coloured patches, which looked like a community quilting project gone into flamboyant overdrive; vivid pinks, oranges, and yellows aplenty. Though Analysis provided his name and trifecta of classes, Amdirlain didn¡¯t tip her hand. ¡°Are you Galasser or his assistant?¡± The Elf stopped and glanced at Amdirlain through a pair of silver-rimmed glasses. Pausing, he frowned. As he reached up to adjust them, Amdirlain caught the struggles of their enchantment to handle her presence. ¡°I¡¯m the owner, and you are?¡± ¡°Please call me Am. The Commander said you have ongoing issues getting materials for various potions and medicines. Could you show me dried samples to confirm what you need most frequently? I might know them by different names.¡± Galasser¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of your addition to the town. Surely you¡¯re not interested in peddling materials to this lowly Apothecary.¡± Wizard, Alchemist, and Apothecary in the mid-50s isn¡¯t exactly lowly. ¡°I¡¯m planning to reward materials to those making it through stages in my tower. Giving out coins or completed equipment would cause problems, so I wanted to provide materials useful to the town¡¯s crafters.¡± ¡°Some frequently needed materials wouldn¡¯t earn them more than coppers,¡± cautioned Galasser. Amdirlain gave an unconcerned shrug. ¡°Then those can be rewards for victors in the lower levels.¡± Briefly lifting his hand caused a hexagonal cabinet to descend from among the branches. ¡°Don¡¯t flood me with goods, as I have a limit to what I can buy.¡± ¡°Understandable. Tell me when they¡¯ve fully stocked your shelves, and I¡¯ll change the rewards,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°For your own planning, be aware that I¡¯ll purchase some of the stronger healing potions you can make. Someone will check in daily and adjust the rewards. You¡¯ll benefit, and so will the town.¡± ¡°Why?¡± sputtered Galasser. ¡°Alchemists gain experience from making potions, don¡¯t they? You¡¯d gain levels, and I can sell the potions or save them as rewards in further tower expansions,¡± explained Amdirlain. Galasser shook his head. ¡°I know how I get experience, but why are you handing out rewards?¡± ¡°The town¡¯s supplies are erratic, and I want to encourage those training in my towers with the occasional useful reward,¡± advised Amdirlain. Galasser paused with a question on his lips before he shook himself and moved to where the cabinet had settled. Unlocking it, Galasser pulled out a large glass jar with only a sparse scattering of dried stems. ¡°Nira is a seagrass, the stems are usable in several healing potions and elixirs. The traders that carry it don¡¯t come by often enough. Frequently, I have to use substitutes to eke out my supply.¡± Amdirlain focused on each container that Galasser presented and memorised their songs. * * * * * On the last curve towards the laneway, Amdirlain spotted Malnir catching a ride on a Ratkin¡¯s shoulder. The young Mousekin had one hand atop their head, and his tail swished back and forth excitedly. The little fellow wore dark blue pants and a tiny vest of matching hue; there was no sign of fading or wear on the fabric. Striding silently to catch up to them, Amdirlain slipped alongside a long-eared zebra and passed between others on the road. The breeze caused by her movements set their whiskers twitching as she matched pace with the pair mid-way along the lane. With a hand resting on the soldier¡¯s back, Amdirlain blocked his reflex turn. ¡°Good morning to you both. Malnir, how did your first lesson with Yngvarr go?¡± ¡°Mistress Am, thank you so much!¡± squeaked Malnir as the soldier stammered a hello. ¡°I learned a lot. Yngvarr told me to keep studying the memory stone you gave me, but I didn¡¯t get to show you all the runes I¡¯d practised.¡± He¡¯d rattled off his report excitedly and jumped to her shoulder. Having read his leap, Amdirlain kept the pace steady, so he landed easily. His long nails snagged into the cloth of her shirt for stability, and he ended up almost nose-to-ear with her. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be excited to see me,¡± remarked Amdirlain. Malnir brushed his face into her hair, gave a bashful chirp, and curiously sniffed her hair. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that was rude. I never spoke to you yesterday and wanted to show you my rune practice. Why does your fur smell so clean?¡± ¡°My apologies for running off. I should have checked on how you¡¯d done since I¡¯d set a study assignment,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I magically cleaned my hair, as I¡¯d been visiting some foul-smelling places.¡± Malnir turned side-on to Amdirlain¡¯s face to perch on her shoulder properly, and he gave the top of her head a reassuring pat. ¡°It¡¯s alright, I forgive you for running off. I know you went to see the Commander, but I¡¯m sure most of the town knows that by now. Did they wiggle tentacles at you and try to pull your brain from your body?¡± A bark of laughter from the soldier had Malnir snap his head around. ¡°The Commander doesn¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°We discussed the types of spells that would help the guards in their duties and some supply issues,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°What progress have you made with the runes?¡± ¡°I got up to a hundred runes before bedtime. With Ygnvarr teaching me, does that mean you won¡¯t be anymore?¡± ¡°You can learn a wider range of skills from Yngvarr, and I thought you might find me a little intimidating, Malnir,¡± explained Amdirlain. Malnir¡¯s ears twitched, and his tail swished across Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°Most species are twice the size of Mousekin, if not more. We get used to intimidating folks and, in the end, it¡¯s hard to get deader than dead. Someone not trying to squash us is always good news, and you were nice to my mum, so you¡¯ve excellent taste.¡± His flurry of words had Amdirlain restraining a smile. ¡°Well, your mum is nice, so why wouldn¡¯t I be nice to her?¡± ¡°It would be nice if all her customers behaved that way; some of the town¡¯s ladies are rude to her,¡± huffed Malnir. Amdirlain tucked her hands behind her back to quash the temptation to rub Malnir¡¯s ears. ¡°I try to be nice to people unless they¡¯re rude.¡± ¡°That makes sense, I guess, but then you likely shouldn¡¯t meet my sisters; they¡¯re generally ?rude,¡± declared Malnir. The familiar sibling grumbling had Amdirlain holding back another smile. ¡°Would they say the same about you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t laugh at their new clothing,¡± huffed Malnir, and his tail patted energetically against Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°In celebration of an apprenticeship?¡± Malnir stuck out his chest proudly, and his free hand tugged at the vest¡¯s hem. ¡°Mum gave them to me yesterday. It made her happy that Yngvarr also came to talk to her; mum couldn¡¯t believe you got me an apprenticeship in a day.¡± ¡°There is a bit of good fortune in that; I hadn¡¯t expected Yngvarr¡¯s arrival,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Yngvarr said she needed to ask you about furnishings if I was to be a live-in apprentice soon,¡± reported Malnir. While Amdirlain was tempted to let it pass after the months spent meticulously engraving circles with Erwarth, she took it as a teaching opportunity instead. ¡°Think about what you just told me, and identify the problem with what you said. I¡¯ll give you a hint: a single word can matter.¡± Giving a worried squeak, Malnir scratched at his ear. ¡°I¡¯m not¡­ oh, Yngvarr said she needed to ask you.¡± ¡°As a Wizard, details matter. When you have time, always consider instructions fully before you act,¡± advised Amdirlain. "When you''re rushed, it''s even more important to know you''re taking due care because then it might be a matter of life and death." ¡°What if you have no time left?¡± asked Malnir. ¡°Then you¡¯ll be hoping all your practice has made all the fine details automatic, so you miss nothing vital,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°As a Wizard, advanced preparation can ensure your survival. Whether learning extra spells, gaining more knowledge, or triple-checking runes in a circle before using it, it¡¯s important to pay attention to details.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± declared Malnir earnestly. Entering the courtyard, Amdirlain found Yngvarr meditating cross-legged in the outer hall. She wasn¡¯t alone and had several trainees following her example; among the group knelt Goxashru. He was still wearing the crystal armour Amdirlain had equipped him with for his trip, though his helm was resting beside him. Amdirlain crouched and let Malnir hop down, and he scurried across the flagstones to sit beside Yngvarr. Focused on the crystals hidden in the tower¡¯s foundations, Amdirlain added hundreds of keyed songs to create the various mundane and magical herbs. Once they were in place, she added the decision criteria for their random creation and connected them to constructs on different levels. When done, Amdirlain updated the information within the telepathic message on the stairs. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. She had barely finished when Cyrus entered the courtyard with the rest of the students in tow. Enrig and Callen headed directly towards Amdirlain and halted before her. ¡°Sifu.¡± As they bowed awkwardly, Cyrus¡¯ face composed into a bland, expressionless mask. A raised eyebrow from Amdirlain caused the pair to twitch nervously. ¡°I see Master Cyrus has been teaching people his regional style of address.¡± ¡°We were asking how we should address the instructors since they''re normally our officers. Is Sifu not right?¡± asked Enrig. ¡°It means teacher or Master,¡± advised Amdirlain. Callen gave a satisfied nod. ¡°That was what Master Cyrus told us. You¡¯re our teacher, are you not?¡± Giving Cyrus a suspicious look, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you trying to find a title I¡¯ll accept someone using?¡± ¡°You might be a baby Sifu still, but you are their teacher,¡± commented Cyrus. Giving Cyrus a sour look, Amdirlain sent Goxashru a mental nudge to join them and led the three towards the same courtyard she used for the last lesson. Once they were in the courtyard, Amdirlain motioned between them. ¡°Since you all have different etiquette for proper introductions compared to me, why don¡¯t you introduce yourselves?¡± Goxashru immediately stated in Draconic. ¡°Goxashru, Talon of the Elder Am.¡± At their blank expressions, Amdirlain caught that neither Enrig nor Callen had understood his words. ¡°I take it neither of you speaks Draconic?¡± Enrig gave a sharp tail flick. ¡°Never had a need.¡± ¡°There is a translation effect near the keep¡¯s portcullis,¡± advised Callen. Amdirlain frowned and considered adding a field to Nolmar, only to realise she¡¯d never cast the Spell since learning it. ¡°Goxashru, do you mind if I cast a Tongues Spell on you so you can communicate with the locals?¡± ¡°That sounds wise, Elder,¡± agreed Goxashru, spreading his fingers wide though his claws stayed sheathed. Once she finished casting the Spell, Amdirlain considered the stability of its effect and hummed thoughtfully. With the Spell¡¯s duration likely measured in days, Amdirlain made a mental note to add a translation field to Nolmar at some point. ¡°Done.¡± ¡°I am Goxashru, Talon of the Elder Am. It is sad when beings do not speak the tongue of the Elder kin,¡± lamented Goxashru. Enrig bit off a response when Callen nudged his foot. ¡°Callen, sergeant of the local garrison,¡± offered Callen, and he gave Enrig another nudge. His whiskers twitched, but Enrig¡¯s voice was calm. ¡°Enrig, corporal of the local garrison, born in Xaos.¡± Callen outranks him. Is that the source of their rivalry? Or the fact Enrig¡¯s a local? Don''t be nosey, Amdirlain. ¡°Goxashru, did you get time to practice moving your Ki between chakras?¡± ¡°I managed a few hours, but the servants of the local Elder responded quicker to your request than I expected. I received an offer to take the Monk Class while dreaming in the evening,¡± advised Goxashru. ¡°There were also other classes offered, though none involved Ki.¡± His dry tone had Amdirlain curious about what the Class vision had offered. ¡°If you¡¯d prefer to take one of those, let¡¯s discuss them after this training session.¡± ¡°I would accept the Monk Class if you would permit it. You had requested I take no Class without consulting you,¡± noted Goxashru. Amdirlain gave a pleased nod. ¡°Monk is fine. Some other classes might have caused you trouble, and I wanted to be around to help.¡± ¡°Then I will meditate on it and see if the Class will respond while awake or if I need to sleep again,¡± agreed Goxashru, and he moved to crouch out of the way under the courtyard¡¯s awning. Once Goxashru had stepped away, Amdirlain turned to the duo. ¡°How did practice go for you two?¡± ¡°I managed a few more strikes,¡± responded Callen. Enrig grumbled. ¡°The Ki doesn¡¯t want to move beyond my wrist, but I can move it there easily now.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s start with controlling the flow of Ki down your arms and legs,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°I want you to alternate between each limb. While you practice, I¡¯ll observe your Ki flows.¡± The lesson lasted four hours, and by the time the training was over, Callen and Enrig could consistently include Ki in their strikes. Despite their successes, the two were exhausted by continually refilling their reserves and staggered away when she called an end to the training. As they headed off, Amdirlain considered Goxashru¡¯s armour-clad form still crouched by the courtyard''s entry. ¡°What did the town¡¯s patron say about the Formithian presence?¡± ¡°She and her mate were furious. They used your map as a reference and independently confirmed the existence of the deep chambers that no one had suspected,¡± advised Goxashru. ¡°They¡¯ve sent memory crystals with all the details to the senior conclave. Since the nest isn¡¯t in their territory, it will be for the conclave to decide if they root out the formithians or leave them to wither.¡± ¡°Goxashru, are you still trying to get the Monk Class to respond?¡± ¡°It is eluding me,¡± admitted Goxashru. ¡°Monks don¡¯t wear armour, Goxashru,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Though you can cycle the life energy that the Class utilises, perhaps you¡¯re too attached to your armour.¡± ¡°But you made this for me, Elder,¡± protested Goxashru. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I did, and though I showed you how to recognise and move your Ki, you don¡¯t have to take Monk now or ever. You¡¯ve got your Fighter and Priest classes that work fine with armour. Consider if you take Monk or something that combines with your armour-wearing classes.¡± ¡°As you say, Elder,¡± acknowledged Goxashru. ¡°Should I tell you of the other classes I perceived in my vision?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start there, but I¡¯m only going to check that they¡¯re not risky for you. Whatever Class you select has to be something you want to dedicate yourself to pursuing,¡± advised Amdirlain. The new options the Class vision provided him were a variety of Knight classes common among those serving as talons to elders. Some focused more on protecting their oath holder¡¯s properties, while others ventured into the wilderness variants of a Knight-errant working beyond their Elder''s borders. When Amdirlain heard Cyrus approaching, she instructed Goxashru to meditate between taking one of three Knight classes that interested him or Monk. He¡¯s got three knight classes, and he can¡¯t choose between them or rule them out. That reluctance tells me he shouldn¡¯t be forcing himself to take Monk. Is it a cultural thing to follow your Elder¡¯s preferences? Goxashru bowed politely as he passed Cyrus in the corridor, and while Amdirlain was tempted to troll Cyrus by teleporting away, she stayed put. ¡°Good morning, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°Morning for your trainees was over twelve hours ago,¡± advised Cyrus as he sat on the ground nearby. Amdirlain knelt a couple of metres away, facing him. ¡°It¡¯s a nice bright day, so good morning.¡± Cyrus¡¯ lips quirked into a smile. ¡°I take it you were a morning person?¡± Shrugging helplessly, Amdirlain returned his smile. ¡°I cycled Ki with one of my patients and got an insight that helped me find my True Name. To me, that qualifies as a good morning.¡± ¡°Interesting that you found your revelation helping another; most look inwards,¡± remarked Cyrus. Amdirlain smiled sheepishly. ¡°Do you remember when I focused on the destruction aspect of the Phoenix¡¯s cycle?¡± ¡°You had an odd perspective. Should I take it that has changed?¡± ¡°I saw the flames of my Ki hidden within their ash and dust, and it led me to a cascade of insights. I hadn¡¯t stopped to consider how many I¡¯d helped come back from dark places,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like some tea?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t need refreshments.¡± Cyrus laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve told you before that neither do I, but the ritual of tea making is relaxing.¡± He retrieved a low table from a storage ring and set it between them. C-shaped legs supported the square table, whose glazed surface displayed a scene of eight snow-capped mountain peaks around a broad valley. A tea service appeared in his hands, and he set it on the table before him with slow, deliberate motions and set a stone water heater to one side. The porcelain service¡¯s white and blue pattern was an eastern dragon coiling around each piece. The artist who¡¯d created them had included tiny scales along the dragon¡¯s body and long whiskers, to the point they looked like they could swim free at any moment. As Cyrus prepared the tea, he mirrored the precision that had gone into the artistry of the cups. The stately motions had Amdirlain slowing her normally racing mind to relax in the moment¡¯s harmony. The aroma of the oolong tea Cyrus finally set before Amdirlain drew forth a smile. Amdirlain cradled the cup and inhaled the soothing scent, enjoying its old familiarity. ¡°Thank you, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°Few are knowledgeable enough to have some appreciation for this tea,¡± observed Cyrus before he took a sip from his cup. ¡°I enjoy tea more when it¡¯s a shared pleasure.¡± ¡°I''m not a connoisseur, so it''s only a tiny appreciation,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It is better not to gift things to those who have no appreciation of their meaning or the effort involved,¡± observed Cyrus before he took a sip. ¡°Are you speaking about the ladies or the material the soldiers have likely gained from the constructs?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t mentioned either of them,¡± remarked Cyrus innocently. ¡°Do you have a concern?¡± Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow and gave an amused snort. ¡°I hope both will provide only a foundation for additional growth, not hamper development. The ladies will need to train their powers, and the town needs to turn raw materials from the drops into useful products. When did the ladies mention their powers?¡± ¡°They were speaking to Yngvarr the other day about training Protean,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°She is another whose life you¡¯ve changed.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a bad influence,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Cyrus tsked. ¡°An influence, yes; bad, I disagree with. Though it is best to ensure you continue to provide tools and not eliminate effort, we¡¯ve discussed how the effort one spends in life can polish away a Soul¡¯s flaws. Many years ago, I made the mistake of trying to provide shortcuts to my students; it didn¡¯t end well for them and that unsettled my own Tao.¡± Though his voice was calm, Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to dig into old pain. ¡°I can¡¯t eliminate the effort, and I can only set them upon the start of a path that I¡¯ve spent some time walking myself.¡± ¡°Good,¡± stated Cyrus, and he motioned to the courtyard. ¡°You seem intent on setting up quite the school here.¡± Not inclined to push back against the subject change, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°If I¡¯m going to do something, I like to do it properly. Getting enough teachers will take some time; hopefully enough of those we train are interested in training others.¡± ¡°Patience and time make many things possible,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Many schools have started with a single teacher and an interested pupil. My only question is: why here?¡± ¡°The Outlands is a balance point of the realm; it seems right to help strengthen that balance,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°There are many things that are out of balance or that I find concerning on planes and worlds alike. I have a question that might seem odd.¡± Her abrupt subject change had Cyrus pause with his cup before his mouth. ¡°Odder than the quick construction of this school and training tower?¡± ¡°Way odder,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Setting his cup down, Cyrus motioned for her to continue. Not wanting to risk being overhead, Amdirlain put sound barriers around them before she spoke. ¡°You said the eastern heaven and hell are aligned differently to the Material Plane. Would the Jade Emperor like a connection to another world? It¡¯s just a stinking mud ball, and I need to get it habitable again. Or I can provide the details to a blank world after I clean it of the undead populating it. I¡¯m sure the Jade Court could easily make it liveable themselves.¡± ¡°You make it sound so straightforward,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°The Jade Court likely could do such a thing, but how would you do it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not straightforward, but I don¡¯t want to bore you with the details, and it might take me a few centuries to achieve,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Would you explain how it¡¯s conceivable?¡± ¡°For billions of years, the Titan had two powerful Elven species, the Anar and L¨®m?, working to create systems and worlds. The Titan''s Songbird gave them access to a Power called True Song, which let them create worlds and solar systems. Though the bigger the work, the bigger the choirs they needed to accomplish them. I¡¯ve got an ancient Soul, and I was one of the Titan¡¯s workforce making the realm in that lifetime. I¡¯ve regained access to True Song, but I¡¯m still growing my capabilities.¡± Cyrus picked up his cup and held it cradled in his hands. ¡°I do not believe I¡¯m the right one to speak on the Jade Emperor¡¯s behalf or even take a message to his court with your offer. I would have to contact the White Tiger¡¯s court and see if a suitable individual can pass it along.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a rush. It could be centuries before any of them are ready to proceed. Though you can help and pick out some world names; otherwise, who knows what ill-omened name I might give them,¡± confided Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re concerned about naming worlds?¡± ¡°I have to rename them when I isolate them; otherwise, the demons that laid waste to them could get access again,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to rescue over a hundred worlds from a Demon Lord, but the oldest are in bad states.¡± Taking a sip of tea, Cyrus thoughtfully ran his fingers along the side of the cup. ¡°Given your current nature is like our demons, others will want to know if I asked: are there strings attached to this gift?¡± ¡°The Jade Emperor sent you my way, and your guidance helped me immensely. If he wants a world that is still mud, all I¡¯d ask is that I be allowed to listen to new life being added to it. I¡¯d like to hear the stages of the process to expand my current knowledge,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Because you¡¯ve got the other worlds to repair?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I need to stretch my capabilities, but listening to another¡¯s work might help.¡± ¡°Do you have a way forward without me doing this for you?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Some would see you as another Demon, and thus contacting the court is not without danger.¡± His warning prompted Amdirlain to try Precognition, but she only got a faint sense of danger and reward with nothing discernible. ¡°I believe in repaying my debts.¡± ¡°Debts can weigh on a Soul¡¯s progress towards perfection, but it would be ideal to have recovered from your Fallen state before coming into contact with many from the Jade Court.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how long getting rid of my Fallen state will take. I agree there is danger in getting in touch with the Jade Court, but there is also value, as your help has shown.¡± Cyrus nodded and sent off a series of messages. ¡°Given your unusual offer, you might hear from someone tomorrow or a thousand years from now. The wheels of the Celestial Bureaucracy can turn extremely slowly. Enjoy your tea, and then we¡¯ll spar.¡± ¡°That will make it three gifts from you today,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°But I need to talk to Malnir first. He wanted to show me his progress with Draconic script the other day, but I slipped away.¡± "Such a truly horrible person. Drink your tea and see to the youngster," chided Cyrus. When she finished her tea, Amdirlain cleaned her cup and headed off to find Malnir. Focusing on his song, she caught it in the residential courtyard and wondered if he had parked himself in a room or the library. 293 - Come along Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos The sound of chalk on a slate board signalled Malnir¡¯s location, and Amdirlain found him atop a writing desk in the library, working on Draconic runes. Towering over Malnir, the slate board he was writing on was positioned on a stand atop the table and nearly filled with tightly packed runes. There was clear progress from the first of the columns, with the wavy or broken lines within the first examples slowly straightening. As Amdirlain watched, Malnir finished a column, wiggled sideways and reached up to start another. Amdirlain could hear Yngvarr and the Githz¨¦rai leafing through books among the closest bookshelves. Amdirlain waited until Malnir finished the new column and gently tapped on a nearby desk. ¡°Mind if I interrupt?¡± Malnir¡¯s ears perked right up, and he hopped away from the chalkboard before he turned around. ¡°Mistress Am, or should I call you Sifu as well?¡± ¡°Am is fine since I¡¯m not your teacher,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll teach him bad habits. Addressing seniors properly is an important part of Diplomacy to practice,¡± corrected Yngvarr, her stern tone poorly concealing her amusement. ¡°Oops, your Master has spoken; I don¡¯t want to land us both in trouble,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Setting his chalk carefully aside, Malnir scrubbed chalkdust from his hands, his dark blue outfit having gained patches of white all over. ¡°What title should I use then, to be polite?¡± ¡°Delinquent,¡± called Nomein. Lezekus¡¯ laughter earned a hush from Gemiya, and Malnir gave Amdirlain a confused head tilt. Sarith moved around the end of a bookcase, carefully holding a thick grimoire. ¡°Drop out? Know that you still achieved more than my kicked-out status.¡± Amdirlain inhaled dramatically and gave Malnir a wink before she protested. ¡°Where did I get you four from? Malnir asked about being polite.¡± ¡°Know we come from your disreputable past,¡± declared Gemiya. ¡°Know, however, that past gets you no closer to selecting a title.¡± ¡°Caretaker,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°That sounds like you¡¯re wandering around with a mop or broom,¡± objected Yngvarr. ¡°Just use Sifu, then all these teachers can use that as a standard.¡± ¡°Fine, Sifu. Though the only instructor title I¡¯m used to anyone using was Sensei, and those classes seem so long ago now,¡± complained Amdirlain. ¡°Then have a new beginning for yourself,¡± Yngvarr replied. Merry laughter came from the Githz¨¦rai, and Amdirlain shook her head glumly. ¡°They all think they¡¯re so funny, Malnir. Would you show me your progress with the runes you¡¯ve memorised after you¡¯ve finished your current columns?¡± ¡°Yes, Sifu Am,¡± replied Malnir, and he turned back to start on the second-to-last column. ¡°It¡¯s great to have this much space to practice.¡± Yngvarr exited the stacks and placed a bookmark in the text she¡¯d been reading before gently setting it on a table. ¡°Yngvarr, have you enlisted some more magic teachers?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she waved a hand casually at the stacks. Nodding, Yngvarr smiled. ¡°They came through yesterday, played in your tower, and then volunteered.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you all doing city clearing?¡± asked Amdirlain. Lezekus came out of the stacks and leaned against the end of a row. ¡°Know that we chose to assist in getting your project started. Know the monastery¡¯s council decided long ago¡ªwith its surplus of anarchs and wizards¡ªthat it had a debt to repay, yet you seemed in favour of paying such forward.¡± ¡°And?¡± Giving a wink, Lezekus broke from her formal tone. ¡°We¡¯ve been in touch with them. Since you¡¯ve decided that setting up a school here is worthwhile, here is where we¡¯ll start to pay it forward. While the monastery¡¯s schedule is being determined, we will help teach. After that, others will be here teaching each day; since you hold classes in four hour shifts, they can spread out the duty.¡± ¡°But you had just started city clearing,¡± protested Amdirlain, trying to get through to them. ¡°We can do additional remote reconnaissance and planning each day. We¡¯ll use this brief delay productively and have your constructs to keep ourselves sharp against. Do the constructs we fight in there truly help you get stronger?¡± probed Lezekus. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll stay until we¡¯ve helped more of the garrison get towards the tower¡¯s heights,¡± declared Lezekus. ¡°There are things we can do together, but others only you can do. Setting up this school isn¡¯t something you need to shoulder alone. Teach those you wish to teach, but we will help teach those waiting so you do not feel you¡¯re not achieving enough.¡± ¡°Then I insist on helping more students at the monastery gain affinities,¡± declared Amdirlain. Rolling her eyes, Lezekus moved over to Amdirlain and hugged her. ¡°You add yet more debt to the scale. Please, let us help your goals.¡± ¡°Fine, but many of your people are isolationists,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, and she gently returned Lezekus¡¯ hug. ¡°The pride of the monastery means they will all do their utmost to abide by this community¡¯s objectives,¡± declared Lezekus. ¡°Malnir has spoken with us about some of his kin that would like lessons.¡± ¡°Malnir also mentioned he jumped ahead by asking you about the furnishings,¡± offered Yngvarr. ¡°If we are going to teach more mousekin, perhaps a burrow arrangement in place of a suite?¡± Not wanting to think about containing the song in a single room, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll join a few suites together after Malnir¡¯s demonstration. Yngvarr, do you know any area effect versions of the Tongues Spell?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re all for individuals in the Spell lists I¡¯ve learnt,¡± advised Yngvarr, and Amdirlain nodded in understanding. ¡°I¡¯ll apply it regularly to those who need one while I research a zone version of the Spell. There might be one among these grimoires, or we can look to purchase one at The Exchange.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you figure that out with Ebusuku or the others,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and she caught Malnir finishing up the last rune. As she continued, she took a seat opposite the slate board. ¡°If we can find a zone version, I can have it across the facility.¡± Having finished the columns of runes, Malnir cleaned the board and meticulously drew out the hundred and sixty runes he¡¯d now memorised. Before he wrote out each one, he informed Amdirlain of the rune name and its meaning. ¡°You¡¯re making good progress, but I¡¯ve been told I reward success with more work,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Excellent!¡± squeaked Malnir, and he cheerfully clapped his dusty hands, sending up a cloud of chalk dust. ¡°You could have taken him on as an Apprentice, no jogging the elbow of my teaching,¡± chided Yngvarr. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m only helping with his languages; you get to set his overall schedule. I¡¯ll create a burrow in the empty suites near the entrance. Then Cyrus and I will head off for some sparring, and leave you to your library explorations. Though you should know, it¡¯s a collection that Ebusuku expected me to take a century to get through.¡± Giving them a wave, Amdirlain teleported to the ground level, already humming a song. The merry tune she¡¯d started with took on a life of its own, the music flexing the dimensional boundaries outwards as a lace-like latticework of True Song Crystal grew alongside the initial corridors. With the seed of the idea blooming quickly, Amdirlain pushed the Power and added subtle themes to strain her capabilities. It took nearly an hour before Amdirlain was done, and kilometres of tunnels now existed in far-reaching dimensional spaces. The new burrow and all its facilities were within the town¡¯s wards. The burrow contained thousands of softly lit versions of her suite¡¯s facilities, panelled in warm wood. Along with community facilities were hundreds of scaled-down workrooms that Amdirlain hoped would be useful for many crafts. She placed larger chambers to allow them to establish small farms to allow the burrow to supplement the town¡¯s fields. A spider¡¯s web of corridors interlinked the chambers. Among them, fancy doors with ornate borders marked the location of dimensional slipways. Setup to allow instant transportation within the burrow and significant points of the school and Xaos. With a final few notes, she connected one slipway to the lane beside Trill¡¯s shop. Malnir has no excuse not to visit his mum if she doesn¡¯t move in. The only issue with it was the extent of the place. [Crafting Experience: (Town Planner) Species Haven (Mousekin) Total Experience gained: 150,000,000 Ostim?: +75,000,000 Ont?lin: +75,000,000 Note: Yeah, because why outfit a few rooms? True Song Genesis [Ap] (21->22)] I might have gone overboard, but at least I progressed the Power. After informing Cyrus she¡¯d be just a little longer, Amdirlain returned to the library. ¡°Malnir, I need to give you a quick tour.¡± ¡°Which room is it, Sifu?¡± asked Malnir eagerly. Spotting the entry door where she¡¯d expected it beside the main entrance of the library, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°The tour can start from here.¡± With that, she pointed towards the tiny door in the wood panelling and shrunk into a tawny-furred Mousekin, her clothing readily adapting to the change. Hopping to the door, she pushed it open and waited for Malnir to catch up. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. The dimensional slipway just beyond the entry dropped them down onto the main concourse of the haven. The walls and ceiling panelling were the warm reddish-brown wood Amdirlain had envisaged, and she¡¯d covered the floors in soft moss. Here and there, among the rich rosewood grains, True Song Crystal peeked through both as nightlights and controls of the suites. Giving a whole body shake at the strangeness of his first slip-way travel, Malnir¡¯s eyes went wide. His whiskers and ears stood out as his nose absorbed the unfamiliar scents that drifted past him on the air currents. ¡°Pick a suite and touch the translucent crystal by the door; you¡¯ll become the suite owner,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s to stop someone from grabbing lots of them?¡± ¡°The Enchantment will only let you own one, though it does key the suite¡¯s wards to you. Then you can designate guests and secondary owners. Though the rights can be transferred, the burrow won¡¯t allow even subtle coercion.¡± ¡°What does the place do if that happens?¡± ¡°It will eject the individual attempting it from the haven without the right of return, and any quarters they¡¯ve already claimed will be relinquished. That goes the same whether someone intentionally guilt-tripped their target despite their objections or strong-armed them.¡± Malnir touched the crystal beside the suite directly across the corridor from the slipway; its translucent surface turned jade-green to signify it was claimed. ¡°Go, check it out,¡± encouraged Amdirlain. As Malnir hurried inside, Amdirlain settled down to wait, enjoying the series of excited squeaks from Malnir. She restrained a smile as he scampered about exploring his fancy six-room suite. After a quick exploration, Malnir scurried back out, waving frantically at the suite behind him. ¡°This is too big for me.¡± ¡°You can let guests or fellow students stay, but do you think that is the only one that size?¡± ¡°What?¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Most of them are at least that big, if not larger; I could sense the size of the families.¡± Malnir flung his arms out wide, and even his tail was caught up in the motion. ¡°Why build this?¡± ¡°Two reasons: you needed some quarters, and Trill told me your community has to be careful how you extend the burrow,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Your community can either relocate away from the Portal¡¯s influence or expand in here as it grows.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not worried about someone stealing from the library?¡± ¡°The contents, on Nolmar property, are well protected,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and she motioned to the door they¡¯d used.¡± Also, that slipway can only be used by someone accepted as a student or Apprentice.¡± ¡°Why do you call it a slipway?¡± asked Malnir. Amdirlain waved her tail about casually. ¡°I know it¡¯s not for boats, but they let you slip through other dimensions from one spot to another. Some are fixed, and others let you concentrate on a location and jump to the closest slipway at the other end.¡± ¡°Boats?¡± ¡°Oh, never mind, something to learn about later,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There are spots for community farms throughout the tunnels, but it¡¯s up to your community if they¡¯re used that way or for something else. The Commander says growing food isn¡¯t a problem since the Outlands causes crops to ripen fast after planting. But those farming spaces can be used as open places for children to play or market squares if people don¡¯t want them for crops.¡± Malnir nervously shifted on his feet. ¡°I think I¡¯ll have to tell Mum or one of the burrow elders.¡± Amdirlain jabbed a thumb at the fancy door they¡¯d arrived in front of. Within a border that looked like a ripple from a skipped stone, it showed an embossed pattern of a bookcase. ¡°Look for a door with a similar border but no picture. Open it thinking about your mum¡¯s shop; you¡¯ll find yourself in the laneway downslope from the burrow.¡± ¡°How big is this place?¡± ¡°Big. The unattuned slipways are spread along the main concourses, so getting around won¡¯t be a problem. Feel free to pick a direction and start walking.¡± ¡°And I can use any of them to get back to the library door here?¡± enquired Malnir. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Correct.¡± Malnir looked uncertainly along the concourse that extended beyond his sight in both directions. Taking mercy on him, Amdirlain pointed toward the closest unsecured slipway, and Malnir nodded his thanks before he headed off. * * * * * The air filled with the smell of cooking flesh, and Amdirlain glided out of reach of another kick. As she flexed her hand, the broken bones in her right arm made their abused state clear to Pain Eater. With her body on the mend from many other injuries, the accumulated damage slowed the speed at which the latest breaks were healing. ¡°Done,¡± grunted Amdirlain. Grunting his approval, Cyrus bowed. ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d call it. You don¡¯t feel the pain in the same way anymore, do you?¡± Moving carefully, Amdirlain responded to his bow. ¡°Nope. I know I¡¯m injured, but Pain Eater takes the urgency from it. If you get stabbed, you feel a cold sensation before the pain hits; it¡¯s a cold pressure increasing or fading as I¡¯m injured or healed, but it¡¯s present until the wound completely heals. If the Skill gets overwhelmed, I feel the full force of all the pain at once.¡± ¡°After you,¡± said Cyrus, motioning towards the pavilion. The sparring session with Cyrus had been a continual lesson in technique execution from the receiving side. Nursing burnt flesh and broken bones, Amdirlain teleported to the crystal pavilion and almost staggered before she dropped onto her intended seat. Protean, Pain Eater, and her resistances had shown solid gains during the fighting, and she could feel them still at work. [Pain Eater [M] (100) -> [S] (1)] And there we go again! Pushing back her sleeve Amdirlain considered the lightning-charred flesh the action revealed. ¡°As I mentioned, Electricity Resistance isn¡¯t one of my immediate needs.¡± Stepping around one of the crystal pillars, Cyrus sat down across from her. ¡°Yes, but Ras told me it¡¯s more commonly needed against Western demons than Metal,¡± stated Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll hold off making the tea until you¡¯ve recovered enough to enjoy it.¡± His phrasing had Amdirlain snort in amusement. ¡°The pair of us are strange. We both remember variations of Earth from different realms and use Eastern vs Western as reference points.¡± ¡°But of course, there is the East, where things are done properly according to the Jade Emperor¡¯s will, and everywhere else,¡± Cyrus replied matter of factly, laying out his tea set upon the pavilion¡¯s table. ¡°Since you say the Titan¡¯s origins are Greek, it still works; there are far more Western barbarians.¡± Amdirlain wrapped her arms around her healing ribs when Pain Eater registered that her resultant laughter was straining the healing fractures. ¡°Let me know when your Electricity Resistance achieves the Greater rank,¡± instructed Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll change to something else I can infuse. Once you¡¯re more capable of defending yourself, I¡¯ll switch to weapons to increase your other resistances,¡± ¡°Yes, Sifu,¡± Amdirlain said, and she bowed from the waist. Cyrus smiled. ¡°That is fair, and I¡¯ll make a proper Master of you yet.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any Skill related to teaching or instruction,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Likely because you possess such a high Charisma along with two versions of Diplomacy,¡± suggested Cyrus. ¡°Teaching is a matter of clear communication that gets your message across in a way that your students will take in as such; it¡¯s a subset of what the Diplomacy Skill encapsulates. A Skill that directs your Charisma along socially acceptable mannerisms allows for efficient communication.¡± ¡°So the drill sergeant types end up with an Instructor Skill or something similar. However, a Diplomat could make people want to pay attention, and so doesn¡¯t?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°And a naturally charismatic individual reads the room and adjusts their approach to suit the audience with no Skill. Since there is no communication challenge, no Skill acquisition or progress occurs,¡± confirmed Cyrus. ¡°There is such a thing as preparing lesson plans and other material like that,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I laid out memory crystals for Gail to learn skills.¡± ¡°Or it might just relate to the Skill involved and how far beneath your level you are teaching,¡± proposed Cyrus. ¡°It¡¯s all theory?. Let me know when you plan to teach classroom lessons; then we¡¯ll see how that goes with gaining a related Skill.¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Pass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re asking me when you have that Analysis Skill,¡± commented Cyrus. ¡°With Analysis, the key to getting the most out of it is what questions you ask,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Getting input from other people has led to me asking the questions differently and getting answers I previously hadn¡¯t received.¡± ¡°Knowing enough to ask the right questions is important,¡± agreed Cyrus, and he turned to watch the labouring celestials. ¡°When you¡¯ve got the obstacles in place, can I run your gauntlet?¡± ¡°Use it as often as you like,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Between cycling Ki for my patients, teaching, and fixing worlds, I¡¯m glad the gauntlet isn¡¯t ready yet. I¡¯m going to do some experimenting before the next training session.¡± ¡°Experimenting with?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a variation approach to using True Song,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve other things to experiment with as well. Tell me of your attempts to use Ki Blast,¡± instructed Cyrus. "You¡¯ll need to gain mastery in either it or Ki Projection to evolve your Ki Strike and Infusion.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got time while I heal,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Moderation; just because I can send you a Message to release your Planar Lock doesn¡¯t mean you should court a death during training,¡± chided Cyrus. Amdirain bowed in apology. ¡°Yes, Sifu.¡± Cyrus gave a sceptical huff and tapped the table for attention. ¡°Have you gotten close to using Ki Blast at all?¡± Nodding, Amdirlain provided an account of the one fight in the Maze she¡¯d unleashed an unfocused burst and the attempts she¡¯d made afterwards. As she healed, Cyrus taught her how to harness her sigil¡¯s cycling to project her Ki. When he finally started to prepare the tea, Cyrus gave her a considering look. ¡°Ki Blast and Flight I would recommend you seek to master. Developing Ki Blast to master rank will let you combine Ki Strike and Ki Infusion. While combining Ki Flight and Ki Movement is a required step towards being able to execute Sword Light.¡± ¡°Sword Light?¡± ¡°After we have tea, then we¡¯ll go back to the Outlands. Your Foundry lacks enough room to make any demonstration of the Power meaningful.¡± After she¡¯d healed and had tea Amdirlain opened a Gate to set them on a hilltop covered in shoulder-high grass far from her prison and Xaos. Looking around, Cyrus got his bearings on the Outland¡¯s central spire, and a Chinese sabre appeared in his hand. The music of its manifestation sounded like an item being pulled from Inventory. ¡°Where did that come from?¡± enquired Amdirlain, tilting her head as she replayed the memory of the music that had been close to, but not quite, Inventory. Cyrus unsheathed the sword, and the sheath disappeared; the same theme played again. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t sound like it came out of a normal storage device,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It did not; I keep my Jian and other prized possession in my Soul Space,¡± explained Cyrus before he lifted the double-edge sword to show off the pattern along the middle of the blade. A warrior ran along the top of a cloud bank, lightning flickered about him as he followed in the wake of a giant tiger, its passage had split wild clouds like a ship¡¯s prow parting waves. ¡°Your tea set isn¡¯t a prized possession?¡± enquired Amdirlain as she examined the blade. Shaking his head, Cyrus gave her a wry look. ¡°It is an object of comfort but not prized enough to take up valuable space. Once you have stored an object in your Soul Space, they are dragged with you even through death until they are given away.¡± ¡°Should I tell you it sounded similar to Inventory when the Jian appeared in your hand?¡± Exhaling a calming breath, Cyrus frowned. ¡°The special ability you gifted your friends is like Soul Space?¡± ¡°I think so; I¡¯ve never lost anything I¡¯ve previously stored in it despite having died while wearing a few items I later found on me,¡± confessed Amdirlain. ¡°Never mention it to Ki masters; they¡¯ll want to vent their ire with a lengthy exchange of pointers,¡± warned Cyrus emphatically. The firmness of his tone had Amdirlain lift a brow. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Consider how long it takes to get to Grand Master in Ki State. You¡¯ve still not done so, but consider it an exercise in decades. Then take that time and double it; that is how long it might take one studying to open Soul Space enough to store significant volumes of material. While the Soul Space doesn¡¯t lead to anything, you¡¯ve given them a convenience many have worked hard to achieve.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah, I think I¡¯ll keep that to myself then,¡± agreed Amdirlain. [Soul Space: Details: Allows objects to be converted from physical to energy states, permitting storage within a being¡¯s Soul. At early levels, this Power allows storing grams of weight and can progress towards holding kilograms with rigorous practice and training. Once objects have been stored in an individual¡¯s Soul Space, they are linked to that individual until willingly given away or sold. Linked objects will return to the Soul Space if separated from their owner by a large distance. Note: Souls are infinite, so don¡¯t worry about stretch marks. This Power is the baby version of Inventory. Doesn¡¯t lead to anything. Yeah, right. Note: Just because their Ki powers, skills, and planar patterns got incorporated doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re limited to their old realm¡¯s rules.] ¡°How much can your Inventory hold?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain reviewed the details of Analysis on Soul Space and gave an innocent smile. ¡°No comment. However, Gideon indicates that Soul Space does lead to more. Perhaps it didn¡¯t lead to anything in your old realm, but Gideon says this realm isn¡¯t limited by your old realm¡¯s rules.¡± ¡°Hmm, I¡¯m not sure if I should reward or chastise you further for giving Inventory out,¡± muttered Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll let you see Sword Light from an exterior perspective.¡± Before Amdirlain could object, Cyrus¡¯ form shimmered into an ethereal light that shrouded the still-hovering jian. As his energy wrapped around it, the blade became a white light and blurred away, a mere dot of light that disappeared into the distance as it merged with the daylight. ¡°Okay, so not just riding atop a blade. Travelling as living light, that¡¯s cool,¡± gushed Amdirlain before she sighed. ¡°Bet he¡¯s leaving me here to see how long I wait.¡± Since Amdirlain had hours before her next teaching session, she followed Cyrus¡¯ instructions on Ki Blast. Standing with her feet shoulder-width apart, she started to punch from the hip at increasing speeds. As her arms began to feel like pistons, her cycling speed increased to match the pace of her punches. As excess Ki accumulated, her sigil¡¯s wings flared with light in time to a punch exploding from her hip. A burst of gold lept from her fist and slapped against the long grass, barely causing it to sway, as if pushed by a light breeze. Unlike the accident in the Maze, this time, the system acknowledged her deliberate effort. [Ki Blast Unlocked Ki Blast (1)] No synergies with anything? Maybe that¡¯s why it was tough to unlock. Halting, Amdirlain stretched her arms above her head and interlaced her fingers while considering the feeling of Ki Blast. The Power had thrown her life energy outwards, effectively expended¡ªeven willfully discarded. Unlike Universal Life, where the Ki used remained connected, and under her direction, Ki Blast was a focused abandonment of her life¡¯s energy wrapped up around intent to harm. It was also different from Ki Strike since that Power¡¯s application allowed her physical body to impact another¡¯s body with devastating force. Her life force remained within her and diffused throughout her flesh before gradually returning to her Ki Pool. Ki Infusion allowed for the projection of Mana, but it had originated outside the body. Whether or not it was holding spells ready, the foreign energy went beyond the flesh, but not her life force. With a long slow breath, Amdirlain focused on the Power¡¯s feeling. Executing a slow drifting punch, Amdirlain concentrated on the Ki flowing up her arm and aimed at a grass stem a half metre beyond her reach. As the punch reached full extension, she kept the Ki moving, and it leapt outwards but still administered little more than a light shove against the grass stem. [Ki Blast (1->2)] Nodding in satisfaction, Amdirlain got to work. The early levels started to flatten out stretches of grass, starting with a narrow section an arm¡¯s length beyond the limit of her reach. It slowly and steadily progressed onwards, flattening out small increases in length and width each time. It had been a steady increase that gave Amdirlain no warning after it had advanced to Beginner. The rush of Ki tore through twelve metres before it came to a stop leaving a path wider than her shoulders of shattered and burning grass in its wake. [Ki Blast [B] (1->2) Note: You¡¯re now up to infusing a tiny fraction of your Strength and Willpower into it.] ¡°Note to self. Practice away from breakable things like townships, bank vaults, and city blocks,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Feeling unsettled by the discarding of life force, Amdirlain dug at the discomfort and found her thoughts tracing a familiar argument. Ki was life energy generated through the interaction of her Soul and flesh. Amdirlain had long discomforted various people by making items with Protean and separating them from her flesh. The discarded objects took a price in health, yet after what she¡¯d endured, she hadn¡¯t batted an eyelid at it. Casting away the Ki was almost equivalent and yet made her nervous. ¡°Universal Life exposes my Soul¡¯s Song to those who can hear it. Am I worried about tipping my hand to more people or something else?¡± Amdirlain asked herself. As she started to pace around, the scent of burning grass caught her attention. Not pausing in her consideration, she tossed out some water-based spells to snuff out the flames. Extinguishing the last of them, Amdirlain stopped and caught the source of her worry: a memory of Yang flames consuming corrupted flesh after her first visit to Ijmti. The violent reaction it and later uses had evoked from the Abyss and its residents wasn¡¯t something to take lightly. ¡°Certainly not a Power I should use in the Abyss. Throwing around golden Ki would be as attention-grabbing as Yang flames.¡± Appearing outside Xaos, Amdirlain checked in with the Apothecary before returning to Nolmar. Within the burrow, hundreds of mousekin shifted about, settling into new homes and placing equipment in workshops. 294 - Untouched Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Upon her return to Xaos, Amdirlain found Cyrus meditating calmly in the entry hall while a group of soldiers recovered in the courtyard. At a glance, it was obvious their injuries were the outcome of sparring with Cyrus rather than daring the tower. Dejected expressions and injuries suggested a story of humbled egos. ¡°Helping them find enlightenment?¡± enquired Amdirlain lightly. ¡°No, I simply allowed them to trip over their misunderstandings,¡± replied Cyrus. Amdirlain took in the state of the healing wounds and nodded. ¡°Seems some of them needed quite the trip. I got Ki Blast working.¡± Cyrus gave a pleased smile. ¡°Good, though that took you a while. Or did you stay and experiment?¡± ¡°I thought I¡¯d wait to see if you¡¯d return, so I progressed it out of the early levels.¡± ¡°How much damage did you end up doing?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Lots of flattened grass, a bit of fire that was easily controlled. The surrounding animals moved away or hid as my practice progressed.¡± Rising, Cyrus motioned towards the inner courtyard where Amdirlain had placed a collection of bamboo trees. ¡°Let us work on your Ki Flight then; show me your control.¡± When they reached the grove, Cyrus pointed her to the closest tree. ¡°Control your Ki Flight as if walking up the tree, but move as quickly as possible. Given how agile I¡¯ve seen you using your other Flight Power, this should push Ki Flight more than it will progress your Agile Skill.¡± The mismatch between Flight and Ki Flight caused some initial frustration. Amdirlain found herself hung up by branches she would have passed with Flight while she adjusted to the difference in their speed. Having seen the speed Cyrus had flown with Sword Light, Amdirlain regretted not having pushed Ki Flight previously. [Ki Flight [Ad] (14->15)] The first notification came after an hour of dodging through the bamboo. Cyrus added difficulty by first throwing rocks before progressing onto knives. When those throws started to grow predictable, he manifested ghostly hands with Ki Projection. The manifestations didn¡¯t stay in one place, skipping about intercepting the knives mid-flight and redirecting them. Before the usual lesson time, Amdirlain heard Captain Bedevere arrive unaccompanied by other soldiers. Having expected an official reaction to her creation, Amdirlain teleported to ground level to avoid the latest barrage. ¡°Bedevere has arrived; I should speak with him.¡± Nodding, Cyrus brought his knives in and started to examine their edges. ¡°Think he''s come to scold you?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t go prying; that makes it too easy for my Diplomacy to pick up cues,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I got told some tales about your relationship with that Skill,¡± noted Cyrus. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°It still concerns me, especially after my Skill evolution.¡± Heading to the outer courtyard, Amdirlain spotted Bedevere waiting by the tower stairs, turning a steel vial in his hand. The pleased feedback Amdirlain had gotten from Galasser on her brief stop had foreshadowed no issues. ¡°Captain Bedevere, what can I help you with?¡± ¡°Elder Am,¡± replied Bedevere. Amdirlain gave him a relaxed smile. ¡°Please, Am will do. The only person who uses that title is Goxashru, and that¡¯s because he is in my service.¡± ¡°Among some cultures, not attributing a title to an individual more powerful than you is considered a grievous insult,¡± explained Bedevere. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an issue when I believed your influence was temporary, but you''ve certainly settled into Xaos." ¡°You can use Elder or Sifu, but unless your customs find it offensive or overly familiar, Am is sufficient,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Elder is certainly the title that is most easily understood. The next item is an inquiry about these vials,¡± said Bedevere, and he bounced the vial he¡¯d held on his palm. ¡°Galasser has been purchasing the herbs, but he¡¯s got ample potion vials in stock presently, and I heard some mention of selling them to the smiths as scrap metal.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. The main purpose of the vials was to stop the herbs from being contaminated. I thought they might be useful to Galasser but hadn¡¯t considered his existing arrangements,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Bedevere put the vial away and cleared his throat. ¡°The next matter is that the Commander appreciates your creation of a quarter for the mousekin further from the Portal; there have been past problems. Its creation makes them wonder if you¡¯ve changed your mind about taking control of the town?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not taking up that offer,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°In which case, could you please advise them before making further changes to the town? While the Commander is sure we cannot stop you, unauthorised changes occurring within the town involve more reports.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll endeavour to keep that in mind,¡± replied Amdirlain, keeping her expression composed. ¡°My apologies for the extra work required of them.¡± ¡°Are you expecting to embark on other such works soon?¡± Amdirlain tapped her chin as if considering the matter before she shook her head. ¡°No, I think I¡¯m done for now, but I¡¯ll let the Commander or yourself know when that changes.¡± ¡°Dimensional slipways is your name for the short-distance portals around town, correct? They¡ªand the burrow itself¡ªare all confined within the town¡¯s wards?¡± inquired Bedevere. ¡°Yes. I remembered your concern about the Gate and didn¡¯t want to cause any issues,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Good, I appreciate the confirmation. I won¡¯t take up any more of your time then,¡± said Bedevere, and with a nod, he went to head off. Amdirlain called after him. ¡°Captain.¡± Bedevere stopped and turned back. ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°One thing I should mention is that additional magic teachers will arrive soon. I hope it won¡¯t be an issue that they are Githz¨¦rai.¡± Bedevere blinked. ¡°How many are you expecting, and for how long?¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be permanently staying in Xaos, and I doubt the arrangement will be long-term. They¡¯ll be coming and going for the lessons each day, but I don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll start,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°What enticement did you give them to assist us?¡± ¡°The monastery they studied at is looking to repay a debt they feel they owe me,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Why would a monastery feel it owes you?¡± Amdirlain gave a lopsided smile. ¡°It¡¯s only a small monastery, but I taught a few thousand of them multiple affinities while studying there.¡± Bedevere blanched. ¡°A few thousand owe you debts?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t owe me anything?. It¡¯s more a matter of pride for them, the way Nomein explained it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll go update the Commander,¡± coughed Bedevere before he hurried off. Of her students, Goxashru arrived first, and Amdirlain could hear the theme of the new Class he¡¯d selected. The entwining theme was overall stronger than his other classes and provided arcane energies and sturdiness. Focusing on the theme, Amdirlain triggered Analysis to confirm its details. [Arcane Knight Attribute Adjustments: +14 Health per Level +1 Endurance per Level +1 Intelligence per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels above Level 22 +1 Melee Attack Power per Level +1 Defence per Level +1 Magic per Level +6 Mana per Level Increased frequency of minor insights into combat skills Increased frequency of minor insights into the following:
  • Athletic skills
  • Fortitude
  • Armour skills
  • Mana Manipulation
Requirements:
  • Accepted into service as a Talon.
  • Fighter or better Combat Class over Level 20.
  • Second Class of any type over Level 20.
  • Wizard Class at any Level (This may be their second Class).
  • Adept or better in two combat skills.
  • Four or more affinities. ]
Not quite stacking a Wizard¡¯s Class gains atop a Fighter, but still a noticeable step up from either. It will be interesting to see how it combines into a Prestige Class later. He barely snuck into the last two requirements. While it might have been an idea to hold off to see if he got something better, it was his choice. ¡°Good morning, Goxashru,¡± greeted Amdirlain. Goxashru bowed. ¡°Good morning to you, Elder.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you to focus on some Spell casting practice today to progress your Mana Manipulation,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll adjust your amulet to let you record some Gate locations for future travel. After we get your Spell casting to a suitable level, there are a few other worlds I¡¯ll need you to contact the dragons on.¡± ¡°Do they also have those intruders?¡± enquired Goxashru. ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been examining a variety of worlds, but there aren¡¯t dragons on all the worlds I¡¯m concerned about,¡± advised Amdirlain. Bowing deeply, Goxashru slapped a hand against his sternum. ¡°I shall work hard to prove my worth, Elder.¡± ¡°Just do your best, Goxashru, and let me know if you have questions,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯d start going through basic sword drills, I¡¯d like to learn more about your blade style. Likely, I¡¯ll get someone focused on blades to come and help you improve on it.¡± When Callen and Enrig arrived, Amdirlain beckoned them to join her where she¡¯d been watching Goxashru¡¯s drill. ¡°How has your practice been going?¡± Enrig flexed his fingers. ¡°I can keep the Ki in my hands now. Though I run out of reserves quickly.¡± ¡°Initially, it¡¯s very much a tactical decision when to use Ki Strike,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Today, we¡¯ll split the lesson between unarmed techniques and casting practice. I''ll be focusing these lessons on foundational techniques for the next week. I expect you to practise them under Master Cyrus'' supervision while I''m away for a short period at that time¡± ¡°How long will you be gone, Sifu Am?¡± asked Callen curiously. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Having only closed off one world, Amdirlain gave a helpless shrug. ¡°It will be at least three days, but the specifics could change. In the next week, I want to get you comfortable with some drills to practice under Master Cyrus¡¯ supervision. Let¡¯s start with blocks since we¡¯ve been focused on your understanding of Ki Strike the last couple of days.¡± Once the lesson was over, Amdirlain guided another fifteen soldiers through gaining the basic affinities. * * * * * The week Amdirlain wanted to give the orbital surveyors passed in a blur. A mix of teaching, training, experimenting, and cycling Ki within her patients filled her schedule. The Ki Cycling had been limited by the time each could endure her Ki stirring across their ashen essence. After making inroads with Cuiniel, Amdirlain had included Gondren in Ki cycling halfway through the week. Though she¡¯d been nervous about touching the former Astral Deva with her Ki, the process had gone well. She avoided detonating him with the energy stirring through his essence, though his tolerance was almost negligible. It had filled much of the initial session with close calls. His screams echoed within his confinement, leaving an unpleasant mark in Amdirlain¡¯s memory. She could not induce torpor, as the cycling wasn¡¯t causing only physical, but also emotional pain. The exercise also needed them to be fully awake, while the Ki cycling challenged their perceptions. A similar host of accusations that Cuiniel had thrown at her came from Gondren¡ªthough his words had varied. The accusations increased Amdirlain¡¯s nerves about starting with Torm. It was one thing to have the words thrown at her by a stranger, yet the allegations had some justification from him. As the first touch of Amdirlain¡¯s Ki started cycling across his desolated state, Torm ground his teeth. ¡°Not only a gaoler but a torturer,¡± snarled Torm after the initial rush of pain had stabilised. ¡°Stirring lies through my mind and fire beneath my skin.¡± ¡°Trying to get you to question your existing conceptions isn¡¯t a lie; the corruption twisted your recollections. I¡¯m stirring your energy to aid self-reflection, not torture you. Unfortunately, the process digs into wounds that the Transformation Site caused,¡± replied Amdirlain. [Spirit Passage [Ad] (24->25)] The notification accompanied a slight easing of the difficulty in sending Ki through the oath link, and Amdirlain eased the pressure of her cycling. The increased force was enough to stir the ashen surface of his essence and drew a gasp from Torm. ¡°You expect me to believe this is something I want? This is all about what you desire.¡± Amdirlain let the sound of the corruption she¡¯d torn from him ring through the oath link, and Torm¡¯s rant stopped cold. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°That was the corruption I removed from you,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I know how it sounds to me, but how does your mind perceive it?¡± Torm looked around at the surrounding walls as the displays shifted again. ¡°Greedy and contemptuous, like you.¡± ¡°Your memories? and entire former state were its meal. Could you tell what lured it away?¡± asked Amdirlain, keeping the Ki cycling smoothly through the link. ¡°It was done with me,¡± snapped Torm. ¡°How do I know that isn¡¯t just your lie? Or that you won¡¯t be done with me after you have fun torturing me?¡± Amdirlain ignored the accusation and focused on facts. ¡°I lured it away by letting it believe it was getting a meal; instead, I destroyed it. I destroyed it after it had let go of your memories so you could reexamine them without its influence. I could have taken another road to destroy it, but that would have left you without memories.¡± As she spoke, the rage in Torm¡¯s posture grew, and he unleashed a flurry of punches into the barrier. ¡°You¡¯ve already stolen memories from me! Why should I do anything you desire?¡± ¡°And I told you why and left you the memory of that,¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯d also taken that recollection, you wouldn¡¯t have known.¡± Torm drawled. ¡°You¡¯re so good with your self-justifications. That doesn¡¯t make you any less of a thief and sadist.¡± ¡°Do you remember using Ki, Torm?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s such a weak power. I don¡¯t know what possessed me to pick such a pathetic Class as Monk,¡± scuffed Torm. ¡°Weak? So you think you¡¯re stronger than Ki can account for?¡± ¡°Life is a pathetic force,¡± declared Torm, flickering his fingers dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s so easily broken and shattered.¡± ¡°The pain you¡¯re feeling is from my Ki circulating across your essence,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she watched his suddenly frozen expression. ¡°Lies,¡± breathed Torm. [Seed Doubts [Ap] (8->9)] Laughing bitterly at the familiar refrain from the other two having spilled from Torm¡¯s lips, Amdirlain bit back her initial response. ¡°You and the other two are fond of that word, yet you can¡¯t look at the lies you tell yourselves,¡± observed Amdirlain as she decided how to guide the conversation. ¡°Do you remember Fenrir, Torm?¡± The Goddess¡¯ name, invoked through the Oath Link she held with Torm, didn¡¯t draw the attention of the Goddess. The mention of Fenrir¡¯s name had Torm step back from the barrier. His gaze skipped frantically across the displayed scenes, almost like he expected her to appear at any moment. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Among other things, she embodies Destruction. Why didn¡¯t you worship her instead of the Concept itself?¡± asked Amdirlain. It wasn¡¯t a sure fix, but Fenrir could send him to the trial. ¡°You¡¯re asking why I didn¡¯t follow my former Liege¡¯s mate?¡± laughed Torm. ¡°From one puppet to another?¡± Amdirlain brushed the wall between them with her fingertips and sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be a puppet? What makes you think Destruction isn¡¯t influencing you?¡± Torm froze again, and his gaze narrowed. ¡°I know two individuals that worship concepts, and they behaved differently the longer they strengthened the related Class,¡± recounted Amdirlain. ¡°You picked classes whose power comes from Destruction, and you think you¡¯re not a puppet?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit late for that news, even if it is true,¡± snapped Torm. ¡°And if I had ways to get rid of classes and restore your levels in new ones unrelated to Destruction?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°More lies,¡± replied Torm, and he exaggerated the word scornfully. ¡°Care to bet?¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re so dismissive. What if you¡¯re wrong about that and other things?¡± ¡°What would I get if it proved a lie?¡± demanded Torm. ¡°Or is there any point even asking? You could steal the memory of your failure or even this entire conversation.¡± Amdirlain smiled at the opening. ¡°Why should you get anything?¡± ¡°You won¡¯t back your words, torturer,¡± accused Torm. ¡°Fine, if I fail, I¡¯ll put you back where you came from and never bother you again,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re just seeking to weaken me,¡± accused Torm. Amdirlain laughed, and the mocking tone echoed through the link. ¡°Decide if I¡¯m lying or not. If my goal was to weaken you, I don¡¯t need your cooperation to make that happen. I could strip you of every memory and break you back into pure energy.¡± Torm huffed and turned a circle along the cell¡¯s barrier. ¡°Yet more lies.¡± ¡°How about I prove some things you say are lies?¡± proposed Amdirlain, growing frustrated with his tired refrain. ¡°As if you could prove anything except your ability to deceive,¡± sneered Torm. ¡°Have you read the mind of one of the damned?¡± Torm frown in confusion. ¡°Why would I bother?¡± ¡°But you at least know they have thoughts and memories?¡± probed Amdirlain, hoping for an opening. ¡°I¡¯ve heard their mental screams and begging,¡± admitted Torm. Amdirlain pulled a damned from the storage area, still thick with corruption, and secured it in the fourth cell¡¯s confinements. Wrapping an outer concealment around the pair of cells, she adjusted them to allow him to physically see and hear the Soul as well as perceive its thoughts. ¡°One of the damned, its Soul ripped free from the abyssal shell that confined it. I could leave it here as long as you want, but tell me, can you hear its thoughts?¡± Torm nodded, but his gaze was busy scanning for flaws to exploit. With a quick, broadly targeted song, Amdirlain dissolved all its memories. When she was done, the corruption roiled across the muddy Soul looking for memories to cling to. ¡°Its memories are gone. Can you hear any thoughts?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, the pathetic thing is hurting and doesn¡¯t understand why it¡¯s in pain.¡± sneered Torm. The contemptuous tone was so unlike the person Amdirlain remembered that she had to fight off the desire to cut the connection. ¡°Now I¡¯m removing the corruption.¡± The blackness lifted, leaving the once humanoid Soul, a pale white, confused, ghostly figure, floating inside the circle. With the corruption removed, the figure appeared pitted with scars and gaping wounds. ¡°Most of its pain is gone now, isn¡¯t it?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°The corruption aggravates everything. What did it do to you? What gaping wounds in your essence am I cleaning with Ki that you don¡¯t even sense? Would Destruction help you heal injuries like that, or revel in them?¡± [Seed Doubts [Ap] (9->15)] Why didn''t I show this to the others? An effort I didn''t want to go to, or have I been avoiding thinking about how they''re effectively wounded the same way? The ash and dust sensation is terrible enough. Suddenly wary, Torm turned slowly and looked about the cell again as if he could determine Amdirlain¡¯s location. When he spoke, the growling tone was begrudging?. ¡°Its thoughts are of four images, like the surrounding panels, but it doesn¡¯t know what anything in the images means.¡± ¡°It¡¯s in a cell beside yours, but it doesn¡¯t know you¡¯re here. Just as I can see you, you can see it. Watch,¡± ordered Amdirlain. Under the ministration of her song, the Soul¡¯s energy rolled and reshaped¡ªlike kneading bread. Flaws came to the surface, only to be eased and smoothed out with minimal energy injections. Despite the time it took to handle manually, Amdirlain kept at it until the Soul¡¯s song was smooth and calm. Once the Soul was a blank slate, she sent it to join the others that drifted in a slumbering state, waiting for a slime¡¯s core to inhabit. ¡°What deity are you, to turn souls into playthings?¡± spat Torm, his bluster hiding a hefty dose of fear. ¡°You can choose to cooperate and have me prove that I¡¯m not lying about my ability to purge classes, stay here, or choose oblivion.¡± ¡°You offered me the option to return to the Abyss and never leave before,¡± stated Torm. ¡°That offer got upgraded to complete freedom as part of the bet. Or do you worry that I¡¯m not lying?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯m telling the truth about that, what other facts are you dismissing?¡± ¡°Why are you playing this game?¡± ¡°Forget my reasons. Let me ask you something. The Abyss mauled you the same way that Soul was mauled. Did that look healthy to you? Do you want the Abyss to win? Do you want the Demon Lord that forced you into that Transformation Site to win?¡± interrogated Amdirlain. ¡°Your memories of me are gone, but lacking those memories makes your choice less influenced. I¡¯m not adding memories to you. I¡¯d prefer you to question everything: what you think you know now and what your self-reflection brings forth.¡± When Torm shifted uneasily, Amdirlain spoke again. ¡°You¡¯ll get to keep Wizard and Assassin since, unlike the other classes you picked, they don¡¯t draw strength from worshipping Destruction. Think it over.¡± Though Amdirlain continued the Ki cycling, Torm made no further attempt to communicate with her. When she felt she was getting close to injury, Amdirlain stopped and returned to Xaos. There were still hours before her next lesson and, after crossing the ward¡¯s barrier, Amdirlain teleported to the suite. Cyrus moved back and forth along a garden path, practising a sword kata designed to defend a narrow approach. The Jian¡¯s swift movements caught the sunlight and teased Amdirlain with thoughts about Cyrus¡¯ demonstration of Sword Light. Though Cyrus had confirmed he¡¯d be able to transport her without issue, he¡¯d yet to offer her a trip anywhere. They¡¯d both diplomatically avoided any discussion about Inventory. Amdirlain didn¡¯t know his reasons, but she hadn¡¯t wanted to insult his work to gain Soul Space by offering it unprompted. Moving out to the end of the garden path, Amdirlain waited for the kata¡¯s completion. The sheath appeared in Cyrus¡¯ spare hand, and the blade blurred home within it. When the blade disappeared away, Amdirlain bowed to Cyrus. ¡°Good morning, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°Morning peace, Am. I take it you¡¯ve recovered from the last practice.¡± ¡°I have. The Resistance progress is slowing, but I¡¯m still seeing gains,¡± advised Amdirlain. Giving her a nod, Cyrus turned towards the garden¡¯s central junction. ¡°Tea?¡± ¡°Please.¡± Moving to join him, Amdirlain knelt as he made the table appear perfectly positioned. Looking at the polished edge within easy reach, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You domesticate quickly,¡± observed Cyrus. ¡°That goes for you too. It seems a wife won¡¯t have much work to train you,¡± teased Amdirlain. Cyrus didn¡¯t rise to her bait. ¡°Or she will have far more headaches than you expect.¡± ¡°Livia¡¯s coming to visit soon,¡± commented Amdirlain, and she noted a minuscule overfilling of the pot compared to his usual precise measure. Swirling the water around in the teapot to give it an unnecessary rinse, he tipped the lot onto a garden bed and began again. ¡°Your Talon was called away to pick up a package for you.¡± ¡°Dragons and their formalities,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she set aside curiosity about the summons¡¯ source. ¡°Is the lack of response from the White Tiger¡¯s court a good thing or bad?¡± ¡°It is a thing of itself, and preempting it with wondering won¡¯t change the outcome,¡± admonished Cyrus. Setting the water to heat, he measured the tea in precise scoops, and Amdirlain enjoyed the stately tones in his motions. Amdirlain waited out the rest of his preparations until he set a cup on her side of the table. The difference in the aroma made her nose twitch. ¡°Thank you, Master Cyrus. How many blends do you have access to?¡± ¡°I thought one slightly more acidic might suit your taste this morning,¡± noted Cyrus. Keeping her smile restrained, Amdirlain bowed deeply before collecting the cup with both hands. Taking a sip, she savoured the taste before lowering the cup. ¡°It is cleansing.¡± ¡°Not enough to ease the tension from your eyes,¡± observed Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯d have to be swimming in tea before that happened,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded. ¡°Why do you not use Harmony for meditation unless you are Ki cycling?¡± ¡°That question came out of the blue. Harmony makes me feel too much a part of the energy involved,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Besides Ki Cycling, I use it when helping someone attune to an Affinity, but it¡¯s not something I want all the time.¡± ¡°Have you considered why you avoid oneness with the realm?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Occasionally, and I think it comes down to wanting too much control,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Harmony makes me drift too much for comfort? when I don¡¯t have specific goals.¡± ¡°Control is an illusion.¡± Nodding, Amdirlain sipped from her tea again and briefly watched the leaves dancing in the water before she replied. ¡°Control is an illusion, which is hard for a control freak like me to admit. While I can¡¯t control their decisions, I think I scared the heck out of Torm today.¡± ¡°You progressed to him already?¡± questioned Cyrus. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I pushed ahead because of fear or if fear had me holding off in the first place,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s the strongest of them, so the least likely to have exploded from the cycling while I was learning the tolerances.¡± ¡°Going to work up to treating all three at once?¡± ¡°Alternating days to give them time to recover,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t have time for sparring over the next few days, I¡¯ll be busy closing off Orcus¡¯ playgrounds¡ªat least those with no physical undead.¡± ¡°Will three days be enough?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I¡¯ll snatch away his oldest worlds first and keep working until I get a reaction,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If he sends casters capable of gates to any of the worlds, closing those off cleanly will be problematic.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll check in with the Alchemist each morning. I¡¯m looking forward to playing with the gadget you¡¯ve given me for changing the drop rate of items.¡± After enjoying the tea, Amdirlain headed inside, pulling the surveyors'' filled crystals from the storage site before she even got in the door. 295 - Sunlight or demise Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos The memory crystals provided by the surveyors sat in orderly rows along the suite¡¯s dining table. Methodically checking each, ?Amdirlain combined the gathered information she needed into one crystal. Organising data was an old habit, even if her perfect memory now made this task potentially unnecessary. Having seen the consequences of missing seemingly insignificant items, however, Amdirlain took her time. Before setting each crystal aside, Amdirlain ensured she¡¯d prepared songs for all the gates recorded within. The worlds¡¯ diameters ranged from eleven thousand to fifty-four thousand kilometres. The gravity alone on the largest ensured that nothing Human would live on it. Strangely, there had been one nearly twice the size of Earth whose gravity was close to it. However, there had been nothing that Amdirlain could use to explain why its gravity was lower than she¡¯d expected. Once the initial preparations for the next seventy-one worlds were complete, she expanded her examination. This time she focused Analysis on different information and gained some appalling details. One world with a massive death toll had her pause in her considerations before she forced herself to continue. [World: Vail? Age: 6.1 billion years Sun: G-Type (white-yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Large continents and scattered islands. Average diameter: 19.8 thousand kilometres. (Original state: Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 358.2 days Tilt: 21.8% Status: Dead Peak local civilisation: Formithian Peak civilisation advancement levels: Artificer-based technology Incursion Status:
  • Demonic Invader conquest completed 178,912 years ago
  • Sentient Death Toll: 218,034,247,313
Local Pantheon Status: Driven off.] Despite her issues with the formithians, the death toll was staggering. Amdirlain reviewed the memory crystals from the surveyors and found scores of skyscraper-sized gates. Those enormous gates, and thousands of lesser ones, served as distribution points for a planetary metropolis. A shell in the form of a massive demonic city covered the world, with demons and undead coexisting in a mockery of life¡ªan eternal chokehold. The density of their presence made it one that Amdirlain had no hope of resolving soon. Among her surveyors'' reports, nothing showed why the demons were still present in such numbers, and Amdirlain set the mystery aside for now. It wasn¡¯t one of her initial targets, but she sent Sage a message with the details and suggested avoiding it for now. The next world Amdirlain checked caused her to pause with its crystal in hand for a very different reason. The mental impression of the species'' name was a lingering musical chime that slithered through a range of octaves. Okay, I¡¯ve seen some weird lifeforms in The Exchange, but this is the first world reporting one of them. [World: Silivren Age: 5.7 billion years Sun: B-Type (blue-white dwarf) Landmass Type: Large continents and scattered islands. Average diameter: 49.8 thousand kilometres. (Original state: methane atmosphere, no free oxygen, once supported various silicon-based life.) Planetary Orbit: 972.2 days Tilt: 30.2% Status: Dead Peak local civilisation: Crillillathian Peak civilisation advancement levels: Non-magical society with quantum technology Incursion Status:
  • Demonic Invader conquest completed 324,753 years ago
  • Sentient Death Toll: 18,137,491,714
Local Pantheon Status: None.] Did they open a Gate to the Abyss using technology, or were there cultists playing around? Whatever structures their destroyed civilisations had left behind had been lost to the decay of time or were so alien as to be beyond recognition by the songs she¡¯d established. The world¡¯s elven name and uniquely alien species spurred Amdirlain¡¯s imagination. Though it wasn¡¯t quite the oldest, curiosity brought the world to the top of her list. Amdirlain teleported away from Xaos and arrived under the shadowy canopy of some thick woods. Upon opening the Gate to her destination, its sun¡¯s harsh blue-white light lashed through the Gate and banished the woods¡¯ shadows. Peering through the glare, Amdirlain looked over a landscape that wasn¡¯t the desolate wasteland she¡¯d expected. Thousands of multi-hued, glittering, natural crystal spires jutted from the planet¡¯s surface. They provided a strange musical instrument for the wind. The spires emitted shifting xylophone tones that competed with whistling flutes as the wind raced across openings. A step took her across the threshold, and gravity grabbed at her, quadrupling her weight. Amdirlain briefly considered closing the Gate but, with a long queue of work ahead, kept it open. Though the atmosphere left a strange taste in her mouth, Amdirlain sang aloud. She challenged her Power to control the songs, pushing her body to its limits. The first targeted gates unwound in a rush, and Amdirlain pushed on as the effort sipped at her health. The surrounding spires hummed an odd counterpoint, making it harder to keep her singing on pitch. Sound resonating through her body from every direction challenged her use of True Song, and she had to lock her focus on her music. When she completed the songs, Amdirlain was rewarded with three notifications. [Planar Isolationist Note: You¡¯ve seen the details, but it¡¯s a repeatable achievement, so enjoy the experience. Reward: 20,000,000 experience points. True Song Genesis [Ap] (23->24) Perception [M] (78->79]] Twenty million experience points for each world I isolate. Looking around at the beautiful landscape, Amdirlain promised herself a more extended return trip. After altering the name of the sun and all its planets, Amdirlain returned through the Gate. The woods about her were unnaturally still, and after a moment¡¯s consideration, Amdirlain face-palmed. It was the combination of her singing and the spires¡¯ sounds had driven the Outlands¡¯ wildlife away. ¡°Sorry folks,¡± murmured Amdirlain. After she set a sound barrier, Amdirlain opened the next Gate within it. The oldest world from the list matched her expectation; the once Earth-like planet was now a foul mess with a toxic atmosphere. A quartet of red moons in different phases illuminated the wind-smoothed mounds around her. Though varied in size, the largest moon looked to be the size of the others combined. Catching a hint of malicious spirits, Amdirlain opted to eliminate them and allow herself time to recover from her efforts on the last planet. The moonlit terrain didn¡¯t hold the oppressive darkness of the tunnels beneath the Cliffs of Lust, but still concealed hundreds of ravenous undead. Below the mud, she could hear the shattered remnants of a long-destroyed city. The fragments now lay deep beneath the surface, covered in sedimentary layers. Conflict and time had returned the materials to the earth. Various undead swam through the long-buried ruins, looking for a sliver of life to consume. A smile crossed Amdirlain¡¯s lips, and she spun energy through her sigil before she stepped through the Gate. Immediately airborne, Amdirlain lifted higher before she unleashed a Ki Blast to skip across the muddy landscape. The concentrated force would have stood out even in a world rich with life; here, it erupted into a near vacuum. While not on the scale of Abyss¡¯ reaction to Yang flames, the shockwave was a dinner bell resounding through the stillness. As the first Ghost breached the terrain¡¯s surface, Amdirlain had a different Power ready to greet it. Daylight flared outwards from her, painting everything in its purifying energy. The undead''s essence frayed, and its momentum staggered; but¡ªmad with hunger¡ªit ignored the pain and moved forward again. Amdirlain lashed out with a double tap of Daylight to smite through it and into its fellows, already swarming from the ground behind it. The unleashed energy blasted through them, exploiting their intolerance for Radiant energy. Waves of spectres, wraiths, and nearly a dozen more ghosts came to feed. When the last of those charging her were fading wisps, Amdirlain stretched Resonance through the murk to see if anything lay close enough for her songs to disturb. [Combat Summary Ghosts: 12 Spectres (various types): 234 Wraiths (various types): 723 Total Experience Gained: 397,290 Ostim?: +198,645 Ont?lin: +198,645 Daylight [Ap] (30) -> [J] (3)] The time spent on obliterating the undead had allowed Amdirlain to recover from the last flurry of songs. To avoid attracting anything while she severed the gates, Amdirlain set a sound barrier around her before she began. The amount of natural and artificial connections each world possessed stretched the time longer than she¡¯d hoped. Though Amdirlain had needed to deal with hungry locals in her vicinity on a few planets, mostly her entry on worlds went unnoticed. Amdirlain checked her experience totals at the end, and the numbers showed nearly thirty million extra between the two classes. The tower? But that¡¯s over seventy per cent of last week¡¯s total in three days. Did the monks from the monastery show up? The Gate she re-opened to the crystalline world formerly known as Silivren looked out upon a wave-tossed sea. A ferocious windstorm came off a shining hillside behind her. Though its typhoon strength raced through the forest of crystal spires that jutted from the hillside, they didn¡¯t so much as sway. With the wind rushing across flute-like openings, glass-shattering notes split the air. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. Hurriedly shutting that Gate, Amdirlain briefly considered her options. Having been gone longer than expected, she put off continuing for the moment. Amdirlain cleaned the various worlds¡¯ refuse from herself and established her concealments. Once satisfied that no local would complain about her presence, she teleported to Xaos¡¯ boundary. Within Nolmar, she heard the presence of Livia and two celestials. Livia told me she was coming but didn¡¯t mention other guests. Heading along Xaos¡¯ main road, Amdirlain saw a short queue of soldiers outside the Alchemist¡¯s store. Galasser and another green-skinned Elf were behind the counter checking the contents of vials and efficiently storing the contents. They mainly distributed copper and silver slivers in payment, though they handed over a gold piece for the contents of one large bag. The Human-looking soldier exiting the shop gave her a brisk salute and, taken by surprise, Amdirlain gave a relaxed wave in return. Nodding to the bag he had hefted in his off-hand, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°A good run?¡± Though he was a few centimetres shorter than Amdirlain, his broad-shouldered form supported a solid muscularity. Pale-skinned, he had the same lime-hued teeth she¡¯d seen among other humanoid species at the keep. His irises sparked with a dozen different colours instead of a single hue. ¡°I made it onto the fifth level before I had to use an exit mirror,¡± boasted the soldier. Giving a pleased smile, he unfurled the handles and slung the rucksack onto his back. ¡°Are the drops random, Elder?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°If Galasser gets too many of some materials, I¡¯ll stop providing them.¡± ¡°The run was both good and bad. I got so many I had to leave behind some that fell earlier. Are they meant to vanish after they¡¯re left on the floor too long?¡± ¡°They should vanish if you get a couple of rooms from them, but dropped gear won¡¯t,¡± advised Amdirlain as she considered ?the bulky rucksack. ¡°Can I see your token?¡± He quickly nodded and pulled a leather necklace out from under his armour. Amdirlain wove a dimensional hole and tied it to the token. As she finished, the soldier¡¯s eyes widened his attunement with the token having advised him of its new capability. ¡°Ten kilograms of storage? How?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t grow in capacity until you beat the tower, but it should mean you don¡¯t have to worry about lugging a bag in soon,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°It will also mean you don¡¯t have to go digging around for potions if you have any stored in it. The one you want will appear if you have a free hand to hold it. You can let the others know I¡¯ll set up the tower to adjust their tokens next time they go through.¡± ¡°Do we touch the token to items to store them?¡± ¡°No, just touch the object you want to store and imagine it is going into the token,¡± explained Amdirlain. After her conversation with Cyrus about the Soul Space, it felt almost mischievous to hand out storage items to the garrison. ¡°How do you just do such magics?¡± Ignoring the question, Amdirlain smiled and tweaked the token further. ¡°Just don¡¯t use it to try and steal something; the token won¡¯t like it.¡± With that warning provided, she nodded and walked away. The soldier remained on the side of the road staring at the token. Amdirlain found both the celestials in the initial courtyard and immediately recognised them. Klipyl had her hands tucked demurely behind her back, but her posture pulled the low cut of her silk blouse tight across her breasts. When the soldier she¡¯d been talking to leaned slightly forward to take advantage of the view, she smiled brightly. Cocking her head invitingly, Klipyl shifted her balance and tilted one hip towards the soldier. The skin-tight fit of the leather pants accented the full swell of her hips and butt. Beyond her on the stairs to the hall, Solveiga sat deep in discussion with Master Cyrus. While she appeared to be a petite brunette lady, True Sight showed the angelic wings contained within her adopted appearance. The vibrant energy in Klipyl''s playful melody made it clear her deeds in Sarah¡¯s company had pushed her far ahead of Solveiga¡¯s progress. [Name: Solveiga Species: Angel, Erelim Class: Monk / Wizard / Priest / Ranger Level: 76 / 76 / 76 / 76/ 76 Health: 33,896 Defence: 299 Magic: 276 Mana: 144,372 Melee Attack Power: 435 Combat Skills: Unarmed [M] (23), Spear [Ad] (55), Short Blades [Ad] (42) - Various affinities, multiple Spell lists, and native powers of species. Details: One of the original members of Amdirlain¡¯s Cadre, she died during the Green Tide War. Retrieved from Judgement by Amdirlain, she was also the first she promoted from Petitioner to Angel. She¡¯s spent decades wandering across Veht? in the company of Frey, a Priestess of Lerina. Together, they helped protect people and set them on new ventures. Solveiga contributed to the defence of hundreds of communities during her travels. However, she hasn¡¯t played a significant part in any major conflict, despite helping the slave revolt in the Kingdom of Nova Roma. After learning of Livia''s travel plans, she recently parted ways with Frey in Eyrarh¨¢ls.] Klipyl had Sarah dragging her around into danger which power-levelled her, whereas Solveiga focused on protecting people rather than merely racking up experience. Being an Angel hasn¡¯t changed her; Solveiga always kept a sharp eye out for her platoon mates. ¡°Hello, what brings you pair to Xaos?¡± called Amdirlain. Her words had both angels abandon their conversations, and practically leap across the courtyard. While Solveiga stopped nearby to bow, Klipyl ran straight into Amdirlain, throwing her arms around her in a full-body hug. ¡°Boss! You had us so worried,¡± squealed Klipyl, and she showered Amdirlain¡¯s face with kisses. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re all solid; that feels good.¡± The way Klipyl rubbed her breasts against Amdirlain¡¯s made it clear precisely what Klipyl meant. Klipyl''s mischievous, good-natured energy was far from the ravenous lust of the Succubus she¡¯d first met. The difference took the heat out of Amdirlain¡¯s automatic response, and she caught the point of Klipyl¡¯s chin, bringing the shower of kisses to a halt. ¡°Kli, I don¡¯t know what name is safe for me to use for you. Please stop showering me with kisses.¡± ¡°Lovers shorten names,¡± observed Klipyl with a giggle, but she stepped back out of Amdirlain¡¯s personal space. ¡°What name do you normally use where anyone can hear it?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Kli is fine with me,¡± offered Klipyl. ¡°It rhymes with some interesting words, plus you¡¯re my first using it.¡± The last words came out in a breathy purr. ¡°Likely, it rhymes only in your imagination,¡± disagreed Solveiga. ¡°Clit,¡± countered Klipyl. ¡°That¡¯s a stretch,¡± replied Solveiga. Before Solveiga registered her words, Klipyl howled in amusement. ¡°Only on good days.¡± Solveiga sighed and rubbed her forehead. ¡°I hope the soldiers that get you as an instructor have patience.¡± ¡°Patience, or a healthy libido. Though magic is different, that I take seriously,¡± advised Klipyl, giving an unconcerned shrug. ¡°Am, do the others know you are setting up a school? Ras is here, so Eby certainly does, but I¡¯m just surprised the sister squad isn¡¯t here.¡± ¡°I had been trying to start small and see what I could handle myself, but others have already decided to help,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Like when we set up that brothel, it had a tavern area and dance stage in the blink of an eye; popular things always grow,¡± crowed Klipyl. A nearby soldier blushed and blurted out a question. ¡°You ran a brothel?¡± Though Klipyl had spilled the beans, his gaze directed the question at Amdirlain. ¡°I seized the building from raiders; Kli handled the operations,¡± clarified Amdirlain, not letting the interjection ruffle her. ¡°If you¡¯re not setting us to work straight away, can I take another run at the tower?¡± asked Klipyl excitedly. Amdirlain smiled at her enthusiasm. ¡°Yngvarr is coordinating the magic lessons. I need to change the tower, but you can start.¡± ¡°What are you changing?¡± enquired Klipyl, excitedly shifting from foot to foot. ¡°I¡¯m adding a storage capacity to the tokens, and defeating the final construct will expand it,¡± explained Amdirlain. Klipyl gave an excited clap. ¡°Excellent, I¡¯ll lay waste to them again. Can we start on floor thirty and keep clearing rooms and corridors?¡± Amdirlain gave an unconcerned shrug. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t steal groups. If others are on that level, they¡¯ll need the practice to get strong enough to win the last fight.¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s a bit of a jump in strength for that construct,¡± agreed Klipyl. ¡°But it''s not like any of them are close to getting onto that level.¡± Amdirlain adjusted the tower¡¯s token dispensing facility and the reward for the final construct. ¡°Have fun playing.¡± Klipyl leant forward and planted a single kiss on Amdirlain''s cheek. She whispered as tears glistened in her eyes. ¡°Thank you; it''s so different being me now. It¡¯s fun, instead of continual hunger.¡± ¡°Your choices made the difference. If you¡¯d still been the being I first met, he would have let you perish,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she gently bopped Klipyl¡¯s nose. As Klipyl turned away, Livia came out of the residential courtyard. Looking between them, Klipyl laughed and raced for the stairs. ¡°I got told I could circle the tip.¡± Livia lifted a hand to rub her nose, but it didn¡¯t entirely hide her smile. Orcus¡¯ Overseer PoV - Palace of Skulls - Uligor The centre point of the command chamber''s cavernous expanse was a black basalt slab that floated some forty metres off the ground. Across its black surface, Orcus¡¯ minions had filled thousands of precisely etched runes with mithril. The runes'' serpentine path ran along the serrated edge of the slab before turning spirals within the outer boundary. The massive stone was roughly hewn, averaging five hundred metres from one serrated edge to another. Though it gave plenty of space for the overhead display, it crowded the air above it in spots. Gemstones whirled in the formation of the galaxies they represented. They were sparse compared to the living universe since the collection only showed those where Orcus¡¯ forces had touched the system. Skeleton-winged imps navigated the galaxies; their wizened faces shrouded in zombified flesh. Most were there to deliver additional markers into orbit around various stars. The black pearls were to show where his cultists had established a substantial religion, and Elemental shards of Fire for those worlds where the consumption of life had begun. But dozens of others showed resources and progress in developing his cult. Those demons who¡¯d had the honour of setting the markers for new stars didn¡¯t fly about so freely. Upon reaching their destinations, the table¡¯s enchantments snuffed the demons out. Their gemstone and the table''s combined enchantments used the demons¡¯ essence to tie the markers in place. Bound by their target¡¯s name, they¡¯d be in place until the planet ceased to exist. Until the current spate of plunging gems, there had been only one recent abnormality: a diamond had plunged out of its orbit and bounced across the table. After its initial impact, the sharp spike of noise from every bounce echoed through the stilled chamber. The room¡¯s overseer had sent that diamond away for examination. She¡¯d expected to hear one of the rare but usual events consumed the planet wholesale. Though, with only a planet¡¯s gem having fallen, the possibilities for it narrowed. Now, the oddity of that single planet had paled into insignificance among extensive losses. Gemstones representing entire systems had plunged from the display. The pace and scattered origins of the fallen markers had ruled out a Super Nova cascade eliminating neighbouring systems. The first few systems had plunged before they¡¯d noticed the regularity of the failures. A few dozen of them had fallen hourly for a time, and then there had been a pause where she dared hope the event was over. Even now, two hours after the last had plunged from the table¡¯s constellations, she was still concerned it would resume. Casting a shadow across the slab, a massive red-skinned Demon watched them work. Despite looming high above the table, his form was nearly humanoid. The most visible exception was the goat-head with ridged horns sweeping back to protect his skull, and bat-like wings. His face was bare of flesh, and only exposed ligaments and threads of energy stopped his lower jaw from falling away. The bat-like wings seemed to have no substance, merely blackness moulded into the memory of a form. Orcus¡¯ gaze rested on the Succubus¡¯ assistants as they tried to open gates to the worlds the markers represented. The occasional teeth click from the liches¡¯ skeletal visages was the only sign of their nerves. Having found five entries among the codex of oblivion, the overseer turned and bowed to the towering figure of her dreadful Liege. The mummified membrane across her wings creaked as her wings spread wide to either side as she bowed low. ¡°You have information?¡± asked Orcus coldly. The glowing red motes in his otherwise empty eye sockets turned towards her and latched on with grinding force. The overseer¡¯s voice was a bare whisper that concealed the pain she was enjoying. ¡°I¡¯ve found five of the dislodged markers in the codex. Only a single world in each of these solar systems possessed life. Your forces had stripped them, their only remaining function was to harbour decaying forces.¡± ¡°Do I still need such harbours for my reserves?¡± ¡°Perhaps not, Dread One, given the Necropolis no longer diverts energy or forces from your realm. Reports show increased legions and abominations on the fringes,¡± advised the Overseer. Orcus reappeared atop the hovering slab, standing right before the Succubus, his vast height shrunk to barely reach her shoulders. His cloven feet cracked hard against the stone as he stepped close enough to snatch a gem from the Succubus¡¯ grasp and shove her away with his portly gut. Lifting the gem briefly to his eye, he dismissively cast it upon his rising subordinate. ¡°The link broke because the Songbird has isolated this world from the Planar Wheel.¡± ¡°How did you determine this, Dread One? Can we check the others?¡± enquired the overseer, having scrambled to recover the gem. ¡°It is a Skill none of you possess, and I¡¯m not of a mind to teach it,¡± dismissed Orcus. ¡°Identify the gems related to harvested worlds, and have someone deliver them. It seems the Songbird has awakened to struggle against the inevitable.¡± The overseer growled. ¡°What do you want us to do about this Songbird?¡± ¡°Have all our agents listen among the dead for news; we shall have to encourage the Songbird to return to wherever it¡¯s been hiding,¡± declared Orcus. ¡°What do they need to listen for? How would we kill it?¡± enquired the overseer carefully. ¡°Buildings and life forms appearing out of nowhere? with unexplainable magic effects where no Mana is present. Especially anything where unbreakable crystals are involved. As for killing it, baiting it to a location and causing the sun to enter its death throes is one option; there are others,¡± instructed Orcus. The overseer nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll spread the word to the interrogators,¡± ¡°Any other matters for my attention?¡± Frowning slightly, she scrambled through some memory crystals to find what she sought. ¡°The fighting has renewed on a few worlds where civilisation no longer exists. The resistance comes from Celestial factions that have deployed troops and some strange towers-¡± ¡°Towers?¡± ¡°They rise from the ground and, after a time, there are explosions of Celestial energy around them. The towers pause when that occurs, but the ground is too dangerous to assault the towers before they resume throwing spells at the troops. There wasn¡¯t a Spell detected in the towers'' construction. However, the weaponry atop the towers shows normal enchantment activity,¡± informed the overseer. ¡°Spectral troops sent at them underground don''t return. ¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± Shaking her head, the overseer handed over the memory crystal containing the report she¡¯d received. ¡°I¡¯ll get the involved generals to brief you, Dread One.¡± Orcus vanished, and the overseer¡¯s shoulders slumped in relief. Looking up to spot the affected locations, she hissed in frustration. Spotting the prior locations of the fallen gems amid the busy display was impossible. 296 - Tell me why Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos As Klipyl disappeared into the tower, Livia joined Amdirlain and Solveiga. ¡°M¨®eir,¡± said Livia, and Amdirlain immediately wrapped her up in a carefully restrained hug. ¡°How is everyone?¡± asked Amdirlain. Livia glanced at the soldier who¡¯d interjected earlier after Klipyl¡¯s comment, and he had the good sense to look shamefaced. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it at your suite.¡± ¡°Point. Did you three claim suites here, or are you at the Inn?¡± Solveiga nodded towards the tower. ¡°Kli and I don¡¯t need a room.¡± ¡°Nomein and the others insisted on moving out to give yourself, Cyrus, and I privacy to catch up,¡± advised Livia, giving a slight eye-roll. ¡°I tried to tell them it wasn¡¯t necessary, but they insisted. Ras is currently scouting the city they were removing undead from, seeing if he can find some Lich¡¯s den.¡± ¡°Where did they move to?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ve taken over two suites here and used Fabricate to set up basic furnishing,¡± advised Livia. ¡°Though they¡¯re commissioning other pieces.¡± Solveiga nodded. ¡°I think they found ordering furniture strange. It was odd listening to them talk to the woodworker and being surprised it would take weeks to have the first pieces ready.¡± ¡°Chaos Shaping provides a weird perspective regarding crafting on other planes,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Ordering furniture will help other areas of the town¡¯s economy, but I was told the wood crafters were busy.¡± ¡°Nomein paid a fee to the crafters to jump the queue. As for the town¡¯s economy, I¡¯m sure the tower¡¯s materials will turn this place into a hub for alchemists,¡± commented Solveiga. ¡¯paid a fee¡¯, is perhaps a nice way to say bribed. Amdirlain gave a cautious smile. ¡°Hopefully, I don¡¯t overdo it and cause the current residents issues. I¡¯m a bit worried about impacts on the local economy, so I¡¯ll have to keep an eye on things.¡± Take an MMO approach; non-transferable money sinks. Should I put a dispenser in the tower to charge for adding other functionality to the tokens? The first taste of storage is free, a 10-kilogram gateway drug for loot whores. I used to be like that until it became my reality, only now my Inventory spends most of its time nearly empty. A memory of all the excessive storage space she¡¯d used in every game almost had Amdirlain snorting, but she kept a straight face. ¡°It¡¯s only the guards earning extra coin,¡± Solveiga asserted. ¡°Galasser will sell to travelling merchants or via the Commander to other garrisons. That will allow him to inject more money into the town¡¯s economy. I¡¯ll go into the issue of inflation later.¡± Though the noise wasn¡¯t audible to others, Amdirlain felt a thunderous blast shake the tower¡¯s upper levels. ¡°Kli is still a Trumpet Archon?¡± Solveiga nodded. ¡°She says it matches her nature to have a horn ready to blow.¡± Amdirlain face palmed at the joke and sighed. ¡°She just wiped out some constructs with a shockwave.¡± ¡°Trumpet archons do tend to do that,¡± noted Solveiga. With the increase in experience from this week explained, Amdirlain turned to Livia. ¡°Shall we go to my suite to talk?¡± Livia gestured towards the corridor she¡¯d arrived through. ¡°Cyrus also wants to talk to you about a few things.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go collect him then. Want to bet he serves tea?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking that bet,¡± laughed Livia. ¡°I think we had tea three or four times a day when he was training me on Cemna.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it; I might play in your tower as well, my Lady,¡± said Solveiga. ¡°No title for me, thank you,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Solveiga wrinkled her nose and fled towards the steps, calling over her shoulder. ¡°Isn¡¯t that my choice?¡± ¡°She¡¯s agreed to Elder or Sifu,¡± called Livia, and Solveiga burst into laughter. ¡°Children,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been told the school rules and your objections,¡± teased Livia. ¡°Though Caretaker does sound suitable, given how many you¡¯ve cared for and rescued, M¨®eir.¡± ¡°You know you¡¯re old enough to call me by name,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Why, I do believe you¡¯re right, M¨®eir. I wouldn¡¯t have the life I¡¯ve lived without you; Gail and I very much have that in common,¡± asserted Livia. Amdirlain gave her a worried frown. ¡°There is no debt.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a debt,¡± reassured Livia. ¡°We¡¯re both grateful.¡± ¡°No. Gail¡¯s feelings aren¡¯t just gratitude, and I¡¯m worried about how much she lets that burden her,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Livia patted Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder reassuringly. ¡°Given how bright and cheery she is, I doubt she is being worn down by it. Let¡¯s go find Cyrus; he was overseeing some students.¡± Looping her arm through Amdirlain¡¯s, Livia led the way into Nolmar¡¯s depths. They found Cyrus sitting beneath the awning of an inner courtyard. Spread across the flagstones, a few dozen young students from various races were practising strikes. A small gong resting on the floor near Cyrus directed their practice¡¯s tempo. A hammer hovered in the air next to it and struck once every two seconds, causing it to emit a soft metallic rumble. Cyrus looked from the group and gave Amdirlain a polite nod. ¡°Your students will be relieved at your return.¡± ¡°I go too easy on them, do I?¡± asked Amdirlain, hiding her surprise at the expansion of the student body. Looking over the students, none looked old enough to be from the garrison. Listening, she found the teenagers didn¡¯t have a single Class between them. An Elf with deep crimson skin and purple hair; her colouration and solid black eyes lent her features a villainous appearance far different from her harmonies, drew her eye. ¡°We merely have different methods,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Did some locals ask for training?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°There is one non-local. I told all that they¡¯d need to prove their discipline before being taught any affinities,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°One youngster left a caravan that came through while you were away. She has potential, so I issued her a camp bed in a spare room here.¡± ¡°If that¡¯s what you agreed, that¡¯s fine,¡± approved Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m surprised her parents agreed for her to leave the caravan.¡± ¡°She was on the caravan to get away from her parents,¡± corrected Cyrus, and he nodded towards the crimson-skinned Elf. ¡°Magic is rare among her people, so after hearing how easily you taught the garrison here...¡± Amdirlain finished his sentence. ¡°She thought to try her luck?¡± ¡°Exactly; she was determined enough to approach me directly. I thought I¡¯d punish her courage by saying yes,¡± quipped Cyrus. ¡°Be careful what you wish for¡ªyou might just get it,¡± proposed Amdirlain, and Cyrus gave her a curt nod. ¡°Lezekus can teach individuals quickly if I¡¯m not around when you think she¡¯s earned it.¡± With the lack of dissonance from the young female Elf, she kept her curiosity about why she¡¯d left home without having acquired even a single Class to herself. Livia filled her in on the changes at Eyrarh¨¢ls while they waited for Cyrus¡¯ training session to finish. After he dismissed the students, Amdirlain teleported them back to the suite at the Blazing Portal. The sudden shift from the awning¡¯s shadow to the suite¡¯s bright light left Livia blinking. ¡°Wasn¡¯t thinking about how bright this suite is,¡± muttered Livia. ¡°It might be why the others opted to take up suites at Nolmar instead.¡± ¡°If you prefer one there let me know and I¡¯ll outfit it,¡± offered Amdirlain. Livia¡¯s smirk added a sparkle to her crystalline blue gaze. ¡°I don¡¯t need a township created for me.¡± ¡°The song got out of hand. I was thinking about the sizing of the burrow further up the hill,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°When I felt I put too much force in the start, I just went with the flow.¡± ¡°Is that why Gail ended up with a Demi-plane far larger than she needs?¡± asked Livia, waving her arms expansively. ¡°She ended up with that because I didn¡¯t know how many guests she¡¯d have to host, and partly as a test,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°While I know the theory of Demi-Plane creation, I didn¡¯t know exactly how much energy to put into it. Seeing I wasn¡¯t there to correct the process, I went bigger than I expected to need.¡± ¡°Your ¡®Foundry¡¯ is the second Demi-Plane you created? How long did it take you to create Gail¡¯s?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°An hour of singing to create the seed, but it would have spent a week growing to full size,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°It looks like you¡¯re in the middle of a series of deep forest glades. With the Radiant globe always overhead, managing only to provide an enfolding twilight in most glades,¡± detailed Livia. Cyrus hummed thoughtfully and moved to sit at the dinner table. Without a word of invitation, his tea set appeared beside him, and Livia gave Amdirlain an amused smile. Exchanging a shrug, they sat down across from him and waited for his preparations to complete. As Cyrus methodically prepared the tea, Amdirlain relaxed into the melodies running through them. Taking the offered tea with a nod of thanks, she enjoyed the comfortable silence, with no expectation of conversation between them. After Amdirlain and Livia had set their cups aside, Cyrus collected them, cleaned the service, and put everything away. ¡°I take it your companions are not with you, Livia?¡± ¡°They went back to the Middle Kingdom years ago; it became more difficult for them to manifest beyond my chakras as time passed,¡± explained Livia. ¡°I had mentioned to Amdirlain that small Shen do have trouble manifesting outside the kingdom¡¯s boundary,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Your bond with them must have been strong to support them for even a few years. Perhaps they might venture out again when they grow in strength, but too soon will strain their energies.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a shame. I would have liked M¨®eir to meet them,¡± sighed Livia. ¡°We should see if your mother can access the Middle Kingdom on the day of the dead,¡± proposed Cyrus. ¡°M¨®eir,¡± corrected Livia casually. ¡°While it is the Norse word for mother, Amdirlain would feel guilty about stealing me from her. Though, in honesty, my birth mother didn¡¯t care what became of a daughter beyond the gain for my father; sons were the only offspring that were important to her.¡± ¡°I stand corrected,¡± Cyrus said with a solemn nod. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°What do you mean by ''day of the dead''?¡± asked Amdirlain to change the subject, despite the lack of tension from Livia. ¡°It¡¯s also referred to as ''Ghost Day''. The spirits and eastern demons can access the kingdom one day of the year. There are still rules that bind their behaviour, and the mortals know how to keep themselves safe,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Zhi Ming or Xu¨¢nw¨³¡ªdepending on the name you favour¡ªstands guard on the Emperor¡¯s bargain. He ensures even the smallest Demon returns to the Eastern Hell at the dawn of the new day.¡± ¡°Given the risks that you believe I¡¯d run in the East, I¡¯d like to know more about the rules before I try that approach. I do, however, have some experiments I want to run with summoning,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she grinned at Livia. ¡°Perhaps you can help me.¡± Livia lifted a brow. ¡°Summoning you wouldn¡¯t be easy.¡± Amdirlain gave a sad shake of her head. ¡°I can create an object to both create the circle and summon me. The strength would come from it, but the object requires activation by a Mortal.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t give something like that to anyone you don¡¯t trust completely,¡± breathed Livia. ¡°That¡¯s where my second device comes in, plus something else I want to test,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Second device?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°It will be set up to teleport close to me and set off an earthquake strong enough to damage any summoning circles. After all, even misaligning a rune by shifting the ground would be enough to break loose,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d need a Mortal present on the world to activate it. It¡¯s also a safeguard in case someone manages to summon me.¡± ¡°You let us know, and one of us comes to the world and uses it?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°I thought you were confident that True Song could prevent you from being summoned?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Where would the fun be if I didn¡¯t take full advantage of offered openings? Though the device might not be needed, as Resonance will let me identify the smallest flaw in a summoning circle. If I can¡¯t break free, that¡¯s where the device comes in; pass someone information on the world and have them travel to and trigger it. Wouldn¡¯t even need to fully cross that Gate¡¯s threshold; extending the device over it would suffice.¡± ¡°That¡¯s some loophole,¡± stated Cyrus after a moment¡¯s consideration. ¡°That is the danger of any summoning, being able to hold and control whatever is called up if you¡¯re not its friend.¡± ¡°You intend for your device to create the circle and invoke the summoning in the name of whoever uses it?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°What about the circle it creates? If someone breaks your trust or someone else gets an impression of the design?¡± ¡°That¡¯s where designing the circle with deliberate flaws comes in. Both against betrayal and a safeguard in case they¡¯re interrupted. Also, after I¡¯m released from the circle, I¡¯ll destroy it,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Why take the risk?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Am has found a species that takes over worlds their deities didn¡¯t create,¡± Cyrus advised. ¡°She sees herself as responsible.¡± Amdirlain gave a tight smile. ¡°There are other places I need to get to, and it doesn¡¯t matter if the Mortal is local to the planet for summoning. If they¡¯re a Mortal, they can evoke a summoning and bring in any Outsider whose name they know.¡± ¡°A literal invitation through the front doors,¡± murmured Cyrus. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s why Goxashru was sent to you.¡± ¡°Yes, Goxashru¡¯s explanation about talons going where the Elder they serve can¡¯t go got me thinking,¡± admitted Amdirlain. At Livia¡¯s confused expression, Amdirlain explained Bahamut sending Goxashru to swear to her service. ¡°Well, between myself and Goxashru, you have two people around here to support you,¡± remarked Livia. ¡°Though last time you were worried about people coming to you.¡± ¡°That adds to the reason for the second device. It will teleport close to me but outside the summoning circle, avoiding risk to anyone else,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The devices are just for emergencies; I hope I don¡¯t need to use them.¡± ¡°And here I was worried you might have been carelessly aggravating foes,¡± quipped Livia. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re not looking to provoke someone deliberately?¡± ¡°Not deliberately,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Cyrus¡¯s snort caused Livia to lift an eyebrow. ¡°Maybe I should say I¡¯m not advertising my actions,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Also, if I can create the device to summon me if there are serious issues on the Material Plane, I can come to help.¡± Livia frowned. ¡°I¡¯m surprised gods don¡¯t pull this sort of trick.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not saying they can¡¯t, but they run risks doing it. Look what happened to Ra; the Pharaoh or his family must have had something to draw forward a Divine avatar,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°But yeah, turn up in a restricted avatar, get killed by a group of paragons, and trigger a Gods¡¯ War. I don¡¯t know if he was arrogant or suicidal.¡± ¡°Given he let the situation with the Greeks progress so far, let¡¯s go with arrogant,¡± suggested Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some Shen with the same level of self-belief that such a deed requires.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a common theme, isn¡¯t it? Two winds and numerous heavenly generals all had to redeem themselves, didn¡¯t they?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°The Black Tortoise, the White Tiger, the Great Sage and seven heavenly generals, none of the other winds devolved into demons,¡± corrected Cyrus. ¡°There were other lesser Shen beneath those ranks that gave into temptations and had to make amends.¡± ¡°Anyway, worst case I get killed, but I¡¯m not dragging kingdoms into an insane war,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°Worst case you¡¯re trapped and destroyed for good, M¨®eir. You¡¯ve no Mantle to cause you to get sent to the Maze if Apollo¡¯s trap happens again,¡± asserted Livia, and she gave Amdirlain a worried frown. ¡°I¡¯m being careful, potentially too careful; I¡¯ll need to take risks if I¡¯m to progress,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus huffed. ¡°Is our training not risky enough for you?¡± ¡°Our training is tame, even if I take a while to recover from some wounds,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Cyrus mentioned he was helping you to train, but was evasive about the details,¡± stated Livia. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two show me what you¡¯ve been up to?¡± ¡°A demonstration would save the explanations,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re going to get us both in trouble,¡± commented Cyrus. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Where is the fun in playing it safe all the time?¡± Creating a Gate directly in the suite, Amdirlain led the way. Even before she crossed the threshold, she¡¯d refreshed the atmosphere within the Foundry to ensure it was safe for Livia. Livia bowed politely to the nearest celestials and started to look around. Only once Livia caught sight of the cratered platform that had hosted their sparring sessions did she offer a frown. ¡°I see you two have been playing rough.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been restricting my blows,¡± objected Cyrus. Giving Livia a wink, Amdirlain nodded in agreement. ¡°Love taps, the worst have only broken a few bones at a time.¡± ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll allow you¡¯re a lot harder to hurt than I might suspect,¡± admitted Livia before gesturing to a massive crater. ¡°Either that or the training has involved head-butting the ground.¡± ¡°Harsh,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled. ¡°But fair. Your M¨®eir is a touch stubborn.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say which of you I¡¯d thought had done the head-butting,¡± countered Livia. Laughing, Amdirlain lept across to the platform, and before she reached the halfway point, Cyrus was following. His skin was already crackling with Lightning, and the first kick that swept past Amdirlain¡¯s face caused the hair on her scalp to lift. * * * * * Amdirlain called a halt to their sparring in time to return to Xaos before the regular training time. She arrived in the courtyard to find Enrig dodging attacks from a training construct. Its padded quarterstaff whistled through the air; the speed forced the Ratkin to stay light on his feet. Letting her feet scuff the ground, Amdirlain saw Enrig¡¯s ears swivel in her direction. Leaping back, he lifted his hands in surrender until the training construct had returned to its position and resumed an idle pose. ¡°Did Master Cyrus add to the training drill, or was this something of your own initiative?¡± enquired Amdirlain innocently. She¡¯d been too busy playing tag with Cyrus and asking for an update had slipped her mind. Perfect long-term memory doesn¡¯t prevent me from missing short-term stuff. ¡°He said we were unused to properly moving around our opponents,¡± explained Enrig. ¡°He wanted to ensure we didn¡¯t get run over by anything faster than a slow turtle.¡± ¡°True. You need to at least get up to keep out of reach of an elderly Ratkin,¡± prodded Amdirlain. Enrig let his whiskers droop exaggeratedly, which didn¡¯t match the sparkle in his gaze. ¡°At least I¡¯m faster than Callen; he¡¯s too used to fighting in shield formations.¡± His comment allowed a better conversational opening than she had previously been given. ¡°Is there a local versus non-local rivalry within the garrison?¡± The question had Enrig¡¯s tail swishing across the ground, and he scratched the back of his head. ¡°Not exactly, more a sectional rivalry. Callen applied for promotion across sections and beat a friend for his spot.¡± ¡°Is there a reason for the different races being split between sections?¡± ¡°The lizardfolk can¡¯t tell furred races apart. Most of the elves and other furless people can¡¯t tell groups of the furry or lizardfolk apart. The lizardfolk¡¯s tendency to scrub with communal hot sands makes a mess of their scents, preventing us from telling the difference in their scale scents,¡± admitted Enrig. ¡°In the end, it¡¯s a matter of practicality.¡± ¡°Most of the elves,¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°That doesn¡¯t seem to include Callen.¡± ¡°Yeah, but it was still my friend¡¯s slot to try for, and Callen stole the spot from him,¡± insisted Enrig. ¡°Because he was better at the rating, or because you think Captain Bedevere favoured him?¡± Enrig¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°No, he outfought him and did better in the exams for the position.¡± ¡°Did your friend take it hard?¡± ¡°Yes, he applied for a transfer and shifted outposts, even took his extended family with him,¡± grumbled Enrig. ¡°Uprooted his whole family out of pride?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Did Callen force him to do that?¡± ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have happened if Callen hadn¡¯t applied across sections. He¡¯s an Elf, he¡¯s got plenty of years to move up the ranks,¡± argued Enrig. ¡°Potentially it wouldn¡¯t have happened if your friend had applied himself harder. You said it was his turn; who else from the section applied for the position?¡± ¡°No one, of course; it was his turn,¡± insisted Enrig, his tail thrashing across the flagstones. Amdirlain suppressed her frown. ¡°Would it be better for the garrison to have the best or the most senior people in positions? What happens if the most senior is an idiot?¡± ¡°Idiots are distracted from applying,¡± advised Enrig. ¡°Him getting the spot wouldn¡¯t have caused an issue with the section morale.¡± ¡°Are you related to his wife?¡± ¡°No, my sister married his brother, and they went with him,¡± hissed Enrig in frustration. ¡°Did someone force them to move?¡± asked Amdirlain. Enrig¡¯s ears lifted sharply, and Amdirlain caught the feel of Callen¡¯s mind approaching. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s something to think about in your spare time.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± muttered Enrig. When Callen entered the courtyard and started to remove his armour, Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Have either of you been in the tower as yet?¡± ¡°Between training and work shifts, we¡¯ve not had time,¡± advised Callen, and Enrig reluctantly nodded his agreement. ¡°This training session involves going in,¡± advised Amdirlain. Enrig¡¯s gaze shifted about. ¡°I left my gear in the barracks.¡± ¡°Good, because you wouldn¡¯t have gone in with it. You¡¯ve got your belt knife, as does Callen. You each have that, your Ki training, normal clothing, and teamwork to see how many constructs you can get past.¡± ¡°This might be painful,¡± commented Callen. ¡°I¡¯m sure if you can¡¯t learn to work together, it will be,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Each week, you¡¯ll be doing the same thing. You¡¯ll be venturing in there daily if you do badly enough.¡± Callen tilted his head but held his tongue at Amdirlain¡¯s response. ¡°That makes no sense,¡± protested Enrig. ¡°Or it makes complete sense, but our perspective is different,¡± argued Callen. ¡°It will be as you say, Sifu.¡± ¡°Ki, either circulating through your skin or encouraged to form a mist within your flesh, helps deflect blows. After a time, you¡¯ll find it might even start to armour you more fully,¡± advised Amdirlain and waved back down the corridor. ¡°By the way, their weapons will teleport back into each construct¡¯s initial room after you defeat them. Now get started.¡± ¡°Sifu, can we ask why?¡± enquired Enrig. ¡°You can ask,¡± replied Amdirlain before she teleported away. Landing atop the outer training hall, Amdirlain blended in with the slate tiles. It didn¡¯t take long for the pair to reach the outer courtyard. Once there, Callen stacked his armour and sword near the steps and started with their warm-up exercises. Shooting a nervous look at the stairs, Enrig at first ignored him but joined in after a few minutes. ¡°Sifu said the weapons teleport back after the constructs are defeated,¡± noted Enrig. ¡°Ki Strike against their limbs and utilise their weapons?¡± ¡°The room at the top of the stairs is empty. We can throw a knife to bait one to us,¡± suggested Callen. ¡°They¡¯ll come in groups,¡± cautioned Enrig. Callen nodded. ¡°Yeah, keep the first in the archway.¡± ¡°We might lose a knife,¡± warned Enrig. ¡°There are only two in the first room; I¡¯m sure we can defeat both,¡± responded Callen. ¡°But fine, we might do better than two; give me a minute.¡± Once he finished stretching, Callen left the courtyard and returned with a pouch weighed down with pebbles from the ground outside. ¡°Think Sifu will count them against us?¡± asked Enrig. ¡°Only one way to find out. In some places, having a pouch of rocks is normal clothing¡ªnever know when a stone on hand will be useful for taking down a bird for supper.¡± Enrig sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll take the left-hand side of the door.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll alternate. Whoever is on that side will look to damage their sword arm.¡± ¡°The Ki Strike will let my claws dig in deeper than your punches,¡± advised Enrig. ¡°I¡¯m not planning to attempt ripping it apart, Enrig. We should each take turns to spread the effort. I¡¯d suggest that once one of us takes a serious wound, we surrender to avoid losing levels. We don¡¯t have shields to keep a blade out of our throats.¡± The pair nodded and headed up the stairs, Enrig still dragging his tail. Children. They¡¯ve both got over forty levels to each construct¡¯s twenty! It¡¯ll be painful, but they¡¯ll be fine working together. The simple-minded construct fell into their trap, its focus split between them. Enrig struck when it turned towards Callen, Ki Strike gave his raking claws armour-splitting force that Enrig directed against the construct¡¯s wrist. Callen¡¯s Ki-ladened kick smashed against its shield as the sword clattered to the ground and drove the construct back through the doorway. The second construct stepped into the gap before the first hit the ground. Armed with the sword, they quickly liberated a shield from the second construct, and the pair took the constructs down with only minor injuries. Callen¡¯s turn to take the weapon, he took a different approach. Without Enrig¡¯s claws, he stepped in as the construct stabbed towards Enrig. Grasping under its wrist, he spun in and braced his back against its side. His levels gave him the strength to turn its attack into a brutal over-shoulder throw that smashed it to the ground. They pounced on the gear Callen had jarred loose from the construct¡¯s grip and scrambled away before it could rise. As it rose, it scrambled for the shield and sword they¡¯d already claimed. The fourth joined its fellow and, before it could herd them, they raced past it into the now-empty room. Callen used the shield to smash down the constructs¡¯ attacks, and Enrig took them apart. With the weapons in their original chamber, they didn¡¯t disappear from their hands when the constructs fell. Armed with their temporary equipment, they pulled the foes from the third room and made quick work of them. Behind them, the tower reconstructed the constructs in the first room. It will split the experience between all their melee classes since they¡¯re not only using Ki strikes. That¡¯s just as well since it will give them time to grow their skills without gaining as many levels in Monk. At least they¡¯re both professional when it comes down to being on the business end of weapons. Things went wrong in the sixth room¡ªa missed strike allowed the construct¡¯s return swing to open Enrig¡¯s arm from shoulder to elbow. While Enrig needed Callen¡¯s prompting, they both surrendered and were teleported from the tower. Amdirlain teleported beside them and looked over Enrig¡¯s bone-deep wound. ¡°Nasty.¡± ¡°No armour made things tough,¡± Enrig commented. ¡°Maybe you could make the constructs softer when we do this again.¡± Keeping him still with one hand on his back, she held the other palm just above his wound, and Amdirlain allowed Universal Life to bathe the injury in her Ki. The rush of energy outstripped the healing effect of the regenerative field, which was already causing the flesh to merge. A wide-eyed Enrig flexed his long fingers when, a moment later, it left only the bloody cloth as evidence he was wounded. ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°Universal Life is its name, but some refer to it as Ki Healing, Reiki, or other names. It uses Ki energy and is a Power you can learn as Monk. The body wants to heal, and your Soul remembers its flesh. The Power offers the Ki to the injury, and the flesh uses it to restore its original state,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You can do this for yourself if you can concentrate past the pain. I want you to spend the rest of your lesson time meditating and focusing on moving your Ki along your skin. Consider how vulnerable you felt and how it made your pulse race; what was your Ki doing?¡± ¡°Is that what you wanted us to learn?¡± asked Enrig. ¡°Because we¡¯ve both been in fights before; admittedly, we¡¯ve normally had armour. Even armoured, having something trying to gut you makes you pay attention to the fight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hoping you learnt more than how being unarmoured against a foe feels,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she dismissed them towards the usual courtyard. ¡°Meditate on the tower¡¯s lessons if the Ki won¡¯t behave. The pouch of stones was a nice trick.¡± ¡°How come you¡¯re not annoyed by it?¡± asked Enrig. ¡°Or by us bailing fast?¡± ¡°Never go into a fight for your life by restricting yourself to fight on someone else¡¯s terms. Whether it be terrain, weapons, or just dirty tricks, look for whatever advantage you can seize. When sparring with each other, it''s one thing, but part of the purpose of the constructs is so people get used to not holding back,¡± explained Amdirlain. Patting Enrig¡¯s formerly wounded arm, she continued. ¡°Also, sometimes getting out of the situation with the people you''re protecting is the best move.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sifu,¡± said Callen before he headed off with Enrig in tow, only stopping long enough to collect his gear. They were entering the corridor when Amdirlain caught Callen¡¯s murmured words to Enrig. ¡°Do you think the armouring extends the exercise of following the Ki flowing through our blood to our skin?¡± Callen¡¯s diplomatic approach to handling Enrig made Amdirlain smile. Tossing a mending Spell at Enrig¡¯s shirt, Amdirlain teleported to her suite. 297 - Visiting hours Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos When Amdirlain returned, Livia was already in the suite, sitting cross-legged on a couch, quietly meditating. ¡°Having an extended training session isn¡¯t a very subtle way to avoid speaking about Uncle Torm.¡± ¡°We were trying to make up for three missed days,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Yet you also missed three days Ki cycling with them,¡± observed Livia. ¡°Why don¡¯t you start by telling me how bad things are?¡± Amdirlain sighed and sat on the couch across from Livia, only to fiddle with an ornate figurine on the low table between them. Pushing the distraction aside, she relaxed back in the seat and caught Livia¡¯s tight smile. ¡°I reapplied his name, but he¡¯s nothing like Torm. Cyrus¡¯ assessment is that only ash and dust remain within him¡ªwithin them.¡± ¡°Does the Ki Cycling do anything?¡± asked Livia, her voice tight with concern. ¡°It stirs up the ash and dust within their essence and obscures the Ki I¡¯m cycling through,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°While it gave me some insights into my Phoenix sigil, it doesn¡¯t seem to do much except torment them.¡± Livia started to speak, only to shake her head and start again. ¡°What¡¯s the next step?¡± ¡°Continue with the Ki Cycling and see if it provokes any detectable change.¡± ¡°How long does a session last?¡± ¡°It depends, at least two hours, but I don¡¯t go above three,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia winced. ¡°Oh, M¨®eir. Are there other options?¡± ¡°Cyrus¡¯s suggestion was to bind them like an Eastern Demon and then let them redeem themselves via deeds of service,¡± Amdirlain explained glumly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s an option for them; they will probably need the Redemption¡¯s Path. But even if I get them wanting to redeem themselves, it¡¯s not a simple outcome.¡± ¡°What would it even hold them responsible for?¡± enquired Livia cautiously. ¡°They didn¡¯t perform acts of evil to fall.¡± ¡°Gideon gave me a note that showed the plinth would hold Torm responsible for thousands of deaths,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°Making amends isn¡¯t a one-for-one process, and it also doesn¡¯t help that it judges your motivations for the ¡®good¡¯ deeds that count towards the amends.¡± ¡°An apology that you don¡¯t mean isn¡¯t a genuine apology, and a weregild must balance the loss you¡¯ve caused another,¡± acknowledged Livia. ¡°It¡¯s more like repaying the loss sevenfold,¡± stated Amdirlain. Leaning forward, she collected a polished wooden figure of an elven archer from the table; despite the lacquer, her sensitive touch let her feel the grains under the smoothness of the finish. Livia smiled slightly at the fidgeting, but her gaze dulled. ¡°You don¡¯t normally fidget, M¨®eir.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know. I don¡¯t enjoy talking about what I¡¯m doing to them. I wasn¡¯t expecting the process to be easy, but I didn¡¯t expect it to be so tortuous. Oddly, I can endure my pain fine, spend hours plunging a hand into acid and walk it off. Nice and easy, right?¡± quipped Amdirlain. Livia moved around to sit beside Amdirlain and hold her free hand. ¡°You¡¯re trying to undo a trip through the Abyss¡¯ corruption. I can understand that it is causing them pain. Can I help you with the Ki cycling?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t put you at risk. The Oath link could feed their malice to you like a summoner¡¯s Demonic Pact,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What about you, though?¡± enquired Livia softly. ¡°How are you coping? I know putting them through such pain can¡¯t be easy.¡± ¡°It¡¯s part of the reason for restricting to a single session per day: trying to find a balance between their treatment and creation,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Oh? So is that the real reason the town¡¯s mousekin acquired such a massive new burrow?¡± asked Livia, trying for a smile that didn¡¯t quite reach her eyes. ¡°Sorry, but I can¡¯t build you a temple complex,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°At least not here, though if you want to draw up a fancy one, I can create a gadget to construct it for you.¡± Livia snorted in amusement. ¡°I¡¯ll let the craftsmen get their experience.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to set up something to inspire their future creations?¡± enquired Amdirlain innocently. ¡°Inspire or frustrate them trying to match?¡± poked Livia knowingly. Amdirlain winked. ¡°Maybe a bit of both. However, I have one more serious request. Would you help with my summoning experiment?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Livia. ¡°Is there any location in Veht? I should set it up?¡± ¡°No. Where I need to get to isn¡¯t on Veht?,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°For one of my projects, I need to get to a world I¡¯ve never visited.¡± ¡°To do what?¡± asked Livia with a confused frown. ¡°To prepare for a species relocation, a group currently living on a world their pantheon didn¡¯t create. If it was an exception I wouldn''t worry, but Analysis has shown me details of dozens of worlds this species has taken over from others, wiping out their rivals in the process. Since they¡¯re stealing worlds from others, I¡¯m going to shift them to planets their gods created,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia blinked. ¡°You don¡¯t get involved in minor projects.¡± Especially not with their gods involved in the theft. ¡°If that one worries you, I won¡¯t tell you about the others I just spent three days on, then,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, you will! Cyrus said you were off helping Sage. What did you get up to?¡± demanded Livia drily. ¡°I don¡¯t know, if a small species relocation surprised you-¡± ¡°M¨®eir, don¡¯t be a tease,¡± grumbled Livia. Giving her a cheeky smile, Amdirlain shrugged expansively. ¡°I isolated seventy-one worlds, so Orcus¡¯ forces couldn¡¯t regain access for at least a hundred years. Then they need to find them again.¡± ¡°I know Sage¡¯s list has over a hundred. Why only seventy-one?¡± asked Livia, her tone matter-of-fact. Amdirlain sighed dramatically. ¡°That¡¯s the only reaction I get? You didn¡¯t even ask me how.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the only reaction you deserve when I know you¡¯re teasing,¡± Livia retorted glibly. ¡°It will be with True Song, so the ¡®how¡¯ isn¡¯t likely to be something I¡¯ll ever duplicate.¡± ¡°Woe is me. My daughter has no interest in her poor M¨®eir,¡± moaned Amdirlain, and she slumped dramatically. ¡°Goof,¡± said Livia, and she patted Amdirlain atop the head. ¡°Does being silly help your nerves that much?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nice to be with people I can lower my guard around,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not lowering your guard M¨®eir; you¡¯re playing up being a goof because you¡¯re worried. I¡¯d like to see Torm¡¯s condition before starting this project,¡± requested Livia. The request drew a deep sigh from Amdirlain before she flowed upright and drew Livia to her feet. ¡°No time like the present.¡± ¡°Not planning to argue the point?¡± asked Liva in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re a grown woman; you can make your own decisions,¡± responded Amdirlain, and she opened a Gate to a location near the spire. ¡°Plus, I need to prepare both the beacon and a mass of the relocators before there is any point going to the planet.¡± Livia eyed the Gate that appeared inside the sitting room¡¯s entrance suspiciously. ¡°You¡¯re pretty free with opening gates out of Xaos. Are you allowed to use them inside the wards? Some places get sensitive about those inside the township.¡± ¡°No,¡± snickered Amdirlain. Ignoring Livia¡¯s slight frown of disapproval, Amdirlain stepped through the Gate with her in tow. Once Livia was clear of the Gate, Amdirlain closed it. After double-checking that nothing sentient was nearby, she opened another Gate to the prison to renew the stale air inside the chamber. Ushering Livia inside, Amdirlain set a song to keep the air safe, never having intended any Mortal to be within the place. ¡°I think you should behave yourself with gates in Xaos,¡± stated Livia. ¡°Towns have rules for a reason, M¨®eir.¡± ¡°Then isn¡¯t it good that you¡¯re not the local judge?¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°M¨®eir, are your being deliberately rebellious to let off steam?¡± Amdirlain stepped into the prison¡¯s outer corridor and turned Torm¡¯s cell wall into a two-way mirror. The wounds from his capture had long since healed, but his clothing remained torn, showing rough, charcoaled skin. The lips of his wolf-like muzzle curled upwards in contempt as he scanned the image about him. A flicker of animals moving in a distant location of the Outlands drew his attention, and he fixated on them with rabid intensity. The sight of him cut off Livia¡¯s enquiry. ¡°Oh!¡± Livia sniffed and cleared her throat several times before managing a strangled question. ¡°His aura is all shattered and spikey. Is his song the same way?¡± Her lips twisting with distaste, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Angry dissonance and sharp notes play a major part in their themes now. I¡¯m not sure what I¡¯m doing is even helping. They sound better while I¡¯m Ki cycling, but if they''ve progressed during sessions, they¡¯ve returned to their former state when it''s time for the next session. They all have a variation of the Hunter Class, so I¡¯m trying to get them to relinquish it.¡± ¡°He used to have such a solid, comforting aura. Oh, M¨®eir, he¡¯s an empty shell now of who he used to be,¡± cried Livia, and she pressed her hands against the cell¡¯s barrier. Amdirlain wrapped an arm around her in support, and Livia leaned into her. ¡°Can I watch his aura while you conduct the Ki cycling?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve set up the air here so it will refresh. I¡¯ll key you into the wards so you can teleport out if it gets unpleasant,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia nodded, and Amdirlain adjusted the wards before she sent a thread of Ki through the Oath link. Harmony let her extend her perception through the Ki, and she brushed his essence with a feathery touch. Torm snarled in pain at the first touch and launched himself bodily against the cell¡¯s barrier. Ashen dust storms raged across the battered landscape of his essence. She sought a seed of something more among the bitter hatred and contempt. The Ki swept across barbed callousness and ground against jagged spite, but the edges she flaked off gave birth to renewed sharpness. Every good deed she tried to stir for consideration got slapped down by a hundred that recalled the flaws of the humans he wasted time helping. Bitterness countered moments of enjoyment at the disasters created by others'' flaws. The ash she shifted through gave no foundation for a positive attitude to flourish. Instead, she fought against a hurricane and a surging tide; their forces united to destroy all the viewpoints that she raised. When his essence reached a point of dissolution, Amdirlain stopped and took in the steam rising from his flesh. Livia¡¯s crystal gaze wasn¡¯t watching Torm and had at some point affixed to Amdirlain. Her tears had long since dried as concern competed with grief. ¡°Shall we go back to your suite or the school?¡± Livia asked, her voice choked and ragged. ¡°It¡¯s a while before the next lesson time.¡± Amdirlain shifted them to Xaos in a double hop to avoid a direct track to the prison. Where they appeared was a distance from the field workers closest to the town. Wrapping an arm around Livia, Amdirlain gave her a careful hug. ¡°When are you holding your teaching sessions?¡± Livia wiped her face and gave a tired smile. ¡°I thought I¡¯d conduct my training sessions around the same time as yours. I wanted to leave the most time available to talk with you.¡± ¡°I do need to pick your brain about a few things,¡± admitted Amdirlain, strolling towards town. ¡°Like setting up proper lessons instead of throwing students in the deep end and making them swim?¡± enquired Livia lightly. ¡°I heard you sent Enrig and Callen in without weapons.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve got enough Class levels to know how to handle themselves in combat; I just put them under a bit of pressure with restrictions,¡± laughed Amdirlain before she grew more serious. ¡°They both have issues with each other, but Callen has a better poker face. I might not get them to like each other, but fighting side by side might teach them respect.¡± ¡°It¡¯s possible,¡± allowed Livia. ¡°If you knew they had issues, why did you pick them as your students?¡± ¡°They spark off each other in a competitive fashion. I want to see if I can keep that competitiveness so they strive to progress faster but settle their conflicts,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve spoken to them both; best of luck,¡± drawled Livia. ¡°Hopefully, it will work,¡± grinned Amdirlain. Livia groaned. * * * * * Amdirlain spent the afternoon catching up with Livia and Cyrus. Picking their brains about training approaches was the most time Amdirlain had allowed herself to relax in years. While she¡¯d trained at the monastery, neither of her students had much in common with the Githz¨¦rai attitude nor their self-discipline. Also, Amdirlain¡¯s progression through the fires of combat was far different from what mortals could survive. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. When the pair retired for the evening, Amdirlain considered the songs of Orcus¡¯ planetary strongholds. The strangeness of him wanting to maintain a hold over a limited planet compared to territory within an infinite Plane of the Abyss niggled at her. Figuring it wouldn¡¯t hurt to enquire, Amdirlain took a moment to send a Message. ¡°Roher, why would demons want to keep a planet as a stronghold?¡± Her work had progressed only a few minutes before she received Roher¡¯s response. ¡°In the past, they¡¯ve used such strongholds to gain access to planets without civilisations. They cast demons immune to the pressures of space through the void between stars as scouts.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll try monitoring to see if I can detect any such occurrences.¡± Retrieving the stronghold planet¡¯s orbital surveyors, Amdirlain made adjustments before she returned them. Taking an hour, she added more in orbits far from its sun. After exchanging more messages with Gail and Goxashru, she returned to her studies. Delving into the planet¡¯s overall theme, she looked for a way to remove the demons or destroy the planet and seal the breach. The first sound of stirring from the bedrooms cut her studies short; her Time Sense showed only three hours had passed since Cyrus and Livia had retired. ¡°Your rest is as short as an elven reverie,¡± commented Amdirlain. Cyrus shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m told the meditations of an Immortal have some similarity to the elven meditations.¡± ¡°Not an Immortal yet, just picked up some bad habits,¡± joked Livia. ¡°Or possibly another influence of your M¨®eir¡¯s Ki,¡± suggested Cyrus. ¡°Has Goxashru returned yet?¡± ¡°I heard from him while you were sleeping. There are some ceremonies required due to his new status. He hadn¡¯t expected them to apply since I¡¯m not the usual Elder,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Goxashru should be back in a few days; meanwhile, his town patron is taking advantage of the time to make additional preparations.¡± ¡°Hearing that from a Dragon, I hope it¡¯s nothing dangerous,¡± said Livia. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°She is a priestess of Bahamut, so I doubt it.¡± ¡°Will you have time for sparring after the training today?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°If you want to beat me up, I¡¯ll make time for that before the Ki cycling,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she gave them both a casual wave. ¡°I¡¯ll head down early.¡± ¡°Maybe some time spent pushing your skills instead of your resistances today. I¡¯ll also head to Nolmar shortly, but I¡¯ll check with Galasser if the tower¡¯s drops need changing,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°I might play in the tower before my students arrive,¡± said Livia, and she gave Amdirlain a smile. Returning the smile, Amdirlain teleported straight to the courtyard. After considering options, she dedicated time to practising strikes Cyrus had used against her. * * * * * When Enrig and Callen approached the courtyard, they paused well back from the edge of the sunlit flagstones. Catching a pulse of fear, Amdirlain didn¡¯t immediately acknowledge their presence, but she slowed her pace. The blur of strikes and blocks that cracked the air changed into recognisable motions. When she stopped, the pair offered a recognisably Chinese bow instead of their more casual greeting. ¡°Sifu.¡± Amdirlain returned their bows and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Very formal.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus was insistent we follow the etiquette when we¡¯re here for lessons,¡± explained Enrig. ¡°Most insistent,¡± echoed Callen. ¡°He gave us a reminder after you left.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try not to encourage bad habits then,¡± said Amdirlain, inviting them to join her. ¡°Today, we¡¯ll work on basic techniques. Don¡¯t try for speed; I want you to focus and direct your Ki to run beneath your skin.¡± Enrig stopped the question on his lips and moved out to stand before her. ¡°You can ask a question, Enrig,¡± prompted Amdirlain. ¡°What did you expect us to learn in the tower?¡± enquired Enrig. Callen shifted quietly but didn¡¯t protest. Amdirlain waved a reproving finger. ¡°If I tell you, I¡¯ll be doing you a disservice. I don¡¯t want you focused on my expectations rather than more suitable insights.¡± Enrig tilted his head in confusion. ¡°You want us to find out what works best for us? Were you watching us fighting?¡± ¡°I need to assess your progress,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°How would I know if I needed to adjust my lessons if I hadn¡¯t? You might easily miss a problem or vulnerability I spotted.¡± Callen cleared his throat. ¡°Might I ask your assessment?¡± ¡°You made use of your new training in different ways. Enrig sought to force openings where you used the openings offered. However, both of you applied force differently instead of using your opponent¡¯s force against them,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Now start with claw hand strikes at half speed.¡± The moves she focused on throughout the lesson were the attacks they¡¯d used in battle. Working through the techniques, Amdirlain spent additional time on the throws she¡¯d taught them. * * * * When they headed off, Cyrus and Livia came to join her. ¡°Your students seem chastened,¡± observed Cyrus. ¡°Did they find your review humbling?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mention specifics of their performance,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°We merely went over the correct approach to their techniques. Also, I tried to get them to progress to Ki Armour.¡± ¡°But you ensured they knew where they¡¯d missed seizing opportunities?¡± interrogated Cyrus. ¡°I pointed out the disadvantages to their use of techniques,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled. ¡°At least you did it without breaking bones.¡± Wrinkling her nose, Amdirlain grinned. ¡°They can¡¯t heal like me, so your approach in our sessions isn¡¯t useable.¡± Ignoring the town¡¯s preference, she opened a Gate to Foundry and waved them through. After Amdirlain repaired the battered platform, she and Livia took turns sparring with Cyrus. During Amdirlain''s turn, he focused more on pressuring her techniques than blasting past her defences. Amdirlain gained a notification part way through the session. Amdirlain opened a Gate to let them through to the Outlands when they wrapped up. ¡°Who are you going to Ki cycle with?¡± enquired Livia carefully. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Cuiniel. I¡¯ll reset the rotation after the days I missed.¡± ¡°Can I check on Torm?¡± asked Livia softly. ¡°Of course, but I wouldn¡¯t expect any change from yesterday,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, and she opened a new Gate and led the way. Shrugging off her hesitation Livia followed Amdirlain through. When the Gate closed, Livia gently touched Amdirlain¡¯s arm. ¡°Can I have a moment before you start?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Amdirlain replied, and she held off turning Torm¡¯s cell into a two-way mirror for Livia. Livia licked her lips and blew out a calming breath. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to ask in front of Cyrus. Given his recommendation to try binding, I didn¡¯t want to put extra pressure on you with Torm involved. But I need to ask, what if this doesn¡¯t work?¡± The question was an unexpected blow to her grief, and as tears blurred her vision, Amdirlain looked back at where the Gate had been. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I thought I¡¯d accepted he might be gone for good, but seeing him this way-¡± ¡°He¡¯s not the only one wounded by this; his state wounds you, and what you¡¯re undertaking aggravates that pain. Isn¡¯t there someone else that could help?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Tyr hoped this would help restore him. Given Torm¡¯s condition, he didn¡¯t have immediate options to help,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The Eldest suggested finding something like a neutral war Deity to send him through the trial, but I¡¯m sure Torm isn¡¯t presently open to serving anyone.¡± Livia nodded. ¡°Yet you¡¯ve told me there are older and more powerful beings. The Titan purified Gail¡¯s Soul, more than purified it, given she was Human. Isn¡¯t there some way you can appeal to him to help with Torm?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s early consideration about returning the celestials to a Mortal state seemed particularly apt given her True Name. ¡°I¡¯d considered restoring him to a Soul instead of the scarred essence he is now. Though if I do, he might never remember us. I¡¯ve got fragmented memories of my former life; how much do you recall about your former lives?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°How much emotional damage are you doing to yourself pursuing this course?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°I¡¯m not saying abandon him. You have a plan, and it may well work. Without knowing if it will, please keep the cost to yourself in mind. Does Pain Eater distance your emotional pain the same way it does physical and mental pain?¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Livia nodded. ¡°Then who will you be if you start to feel numb to that pain?¡± ¡°I have to try,¡± breathed Amdirlain, a spike of grief added a raggedness to her tone. ¡°I know, and I¡¯ll be praying it works, but there are limits to what we can do. Maybe you¡¯ll be strong enough in the future, but how long will you need to hold them? Is it going to be aeons? Might they not have regained their status after being reborn a Mortal?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°Can we get more information from a higher power rather than only Gideon¡¯s hints? You¡¯ve spoken to the Titan¡¯s servants before; can you try to do so again or speak to someone else? Look into what others can do.¡± ¡°They still show up at Judgement when I take souls there,¡± informed Amdirlain. ¡°Give me a few months. If I¡¯m making no sustainable progress, I¡¯ll see if I can get them to answer questions. I¡¯ll admit I feel like I¡¯ve been jumping about handling them, but the final plan I used for the Cliffs of Lust wasn¡¯t even close to my initial idea.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not jumping about when learning more changes your perspective,¡± consoled Livia. ¡°You worked with Roher to come up with the songs there. Look at how complete a result you achieve between you.¡± Amdirlain gave a tight smile. ¡°I¡¯ll try to stay open-minded then.¡± Blowing out a breath, she teleported them both away from the prison. Livia laughed and shook her head. ¡°We just got there, lack of warning much.¡± ¡°I needed to get out of there,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°So much for my resolve to help them.¡± A quip died on Livia¡¯s lips, and she rested a hand on Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°This is not how I¡¯d imagined things turning out the day Torm met up with me in the Abyss,¡± sighed Amdirlain, her voice tight. ¡°I¡¯m not in a calm state to Ki Cycle at present, so I¡¯ll use the time to make some of my gadgets. After I get them ready, I¡¯ll see if Moradin¡¯s celestials have completed their survey of the planet I found.¡± Amdirlain had felt a fleeting focus from Tyr earlier, but upon mentioning Moradin¡¯s name, she knew they had the Deity¡¯s attention. Releasing dozens of crystal rods to hover in the air around her, Amdirlain quickly applied a variation of the Mortal detection and tagging. Customised purely for the formithians, the tag would stay in place¡ªdespite being on the Material Plane¡ªuntil she removed it. While enchanting the rods, she created another crystal obelisk under concealment to avoid explaining it to Livia. Livia knew enough from conversing with Gail and Amdirlain that creating any True Song Crystal by herself would raise questions. ¡°How many of those did you stockpile while working with the L¨®m??¡± Livia asked ¡°I¡¯ve got access to more crystal than I¡¯ll need anytime soon,¡± advised Amdirlain. Guilt prickled at her momentarily, but she didn¡¯t want Tyr to know her entire history yet. Ebusuku says she¡¯s at least subconsciously aware of what her senior priests learn, even if they don¡¯t pray for guidance. The last object she enchanted was a crystal pendant that floated over to Livia. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± asked Livia, and she caught the pendant as it fell. ¡°A pendant for adaptation, but it also prevents you from leaving trace material on a world,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Diseases that are nothing to you might wipe out species without protection. Those not advanced enough to travel to other planes might not have advanced enough magic to handle foreign diseases.¡± Livia removed a plain silver necklace from beneath her Persian-styled shirt. Unlatching it, she added the pendant to the chain, slipped it back around her neck and tucked both out of sight again. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready, Moradin,¡± announced Amdirlain and Livia¡¯s brows lifted at her M¨®eir¡¯s casual tone. The grizzled Dwarf Primordial appeared standing in the grass nearby, an amused gleam in his gaze. ¡°It is good to meet you at last, Livia.¡± After bowing respectfully to the Deity, Livia straightened and looked sternly at Amdirlain. ¡°Are you trying to give your daughter a conniption, Amdirlain?¡± enquired Moradin before Livia could chastise her. ¡°M¨®eir, you mentioned Moradin¡¯s celestials, not Moradin himself.¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have the authority to ask them to undertake a survey,¡± observed Amdirlain innocently before she grinned at Moradin. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one looking to give her a conniption or you would have sent a messenger.¡± Below Livia¡¯s petite height, Moradin had to reach up to lightly scruff her hair. At the Deity¡¯s touch, Livia¡¯s gaze widened. ¡°Your boss is a good fellow; otherwise I¡¯d need to poach you, even if you¡¯re not a Dwarf,¡± joked Moradin. Livia¡¯s brow furrowed in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m proud to be Tyr¡¯s Priest, but might I ask why?¡± ¡°Your M¨®eir helped me with a few things in her former life. Anyone she cares for, I¡¯ll help where I can, and it¡¯s easiest for deities to provide such aid to those who follow us,¡± explained Moradin. ¡°Can¡¯t you help M¨®eir directly?¡± Moradin gave a broad grin and looked at Amdirlain. ¡°Care to swear an Oath of service to me?¡± I can¡¯t take the trial¡¯s path, so there isn¡¯t a point. ¡°Not even to you, Moradin,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain gently. Giving a forlorn sigh, Moradin turned back to Livia. ¡°You see how things are?¡± ¡°Are you being stubborn, M¨®eir?¡± huffed Livia. ¡°Aside from the plinth, it would mean taking the trial, and my Anar life is simply too long for the trial¡¯s path. Even trying to enter it was an unpleasant experience,¡± admitted Amdirlain. There is only one way I can get rid of my Fallen status, and I don¡¯t know what will happen to my Soul when I do. At the moment, I¡¯m stuck in this shell of a Fallen. What happens when the plinth removes it? ¡°Now you know where things stand, young lady,¡± stated Moradin. ¡°As for the survey of Votari...¡± Amdirlain heard Moradin¡¯s will manifesting, and a sphere of dirt and rock larger than his torso appeared in the air. It spun at his shoulder height, compressed further, and took on the contours of a world with a single continent and various isles. Here and there, speckles of different gemstones formed and spread lightly across tracts of land. Most were merely motes of colour across the stone. Only two showed any concentration: one stretch of the great ocean, and a plain on the continent¡¯s northwest close to the isles. That second cluster was formed from a single emerald nearly two carats in size, matching the formithians¡¯ green scales. Amdirlain memorised the spread of motes across the land mass before tapping the emerald. ¡°I take it that one is the formithians? ¡° Moradin nodded. ¡°All set up in one nest. The scouts have learned that many eggs are in the lower chambers. The scouts also located the Portal to the Outlands nearby, but from its energies, there hasn¡¯t been anyone using it in at least a year. ¡°So, a planet is located, a colony is sent out, and then it¡¯s sink or swim?¡± ¡°Perhaps. What are you thinking of doing?¡± enquired Moradin. ¡°I plan to tag them and then relocate the nest to one of their pantheon¡¯s worlds,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Are they all inside at night?¡± Moradin frowned before giving a noncommittal shrug. ¡°That¡¯s what the scouts have observed so far, but they¡¯ve only had a few days.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll need to find out more information. Which gives me time useful for my preparations,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°How are you going to find a world with space?¡± Amdirlain grinned smugly. ¡°A certain deity¡¯s song let me find a few planets with a low populace, and Analysis confirmed which had native formithians. If I handle this right, as far as they¡¯ll know, they¡¯ll settle down for the night and wake up in a new location.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll open a Gate for you in these hills to the south, well outside even an elder Nest Mother¡¯s detection range,¡± advised Moradin. Amdirlain gave a smile of appreciation. ¡°I¡¯ll put the detectors in place, and we can experiment with the summoning crystals afterwards.¡± ¡°Alright, M¨®eir,¡± replied Livia. ¡°Should I meet you back at your suite or check on your abandoned students?¡± ¡°Hardly abandoned. I set them their study assignment, and they have issues they need to sort out between themselves,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°The suite it is then, unless you don¡¯t return before my teaching session,¡± stated Livia, and after giving Moradin another respectful bow, she vanished. The Gate opened to display a night sky with only one of the moons present. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your reconnaissance,¡± said Moradin. ¡°There are some dwarves present here. Would you like me to mention you to some of them?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Or are your celestials already at work?¡± Moradin gave an absent shrug. ¡°They¡¯ve not made contact with them. I was leaving them to the Titan¡¯s plans.¡± ¡°After I get the invaders dealt with, I might check on them. They¡¯re one of the two species in the more mountainous regions?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°They were the ones marked with blue diamonds,¡± clarified Moradin, though his tone revealed nothing about his preference. ¡°The situation with Torm; can you help him?¡± ¡°I wondered if you¡¯d ask. Know he¡¯s not one of mine, Amdirlain. If he had been, there are options I might choose to guide him towards recovery. However, he isn¡¯t from my Domain, and his former Liege lacks the strength and a knack for souls or healing to repair his essence,¡± advised Moradin. ¡°Cyrus showed me how to circulate my Ki through him to stir his own,¡± responded Amdirlain. Moradin shook his head. ¡°Unfortunately, I know nothing about the spiritual ways you follow now. Is that the energy you had stored in your crystals?¡± Amdirlain gave a sharp nod. Humming, Moradin tugged thoughtfully at his beard. ¡°I¡¯m not sure such would help a Fallen. You might scour away the damaged areas, but you aren¡¯t necessarily bringing back what was there before.¡± Sighing, Amdirlain nodded again and stepped across the Gate¡¯s threshold. Moradin¡¯s worried gaze followed her north until she was high in the air¡ªonly then did he close the Gate. * * * * * When Amdirlain started to pick up the formithians, she landed and created a more sensitive version of the scanning crystal used by Goxashru. While it was off surveying the nest, she began orbital units for later emplacement above the least populated Formithian planets. Though the design had proven they wouldn¡¯t crash in the short term, she still configured them to Plane Shift to a Foundry storage area after their sweep of the planet was complete. The work didn¡¯t take her long enough for the scanner to return, so Amdirlain knelt in place to avoid pacing. Livia¡¯s point about seeking help resonated with her previous plans. While she¡¯d sought help from the Elder, she had to acknowledge there was much she¡¯d still shouldered alone. The crystal rod at last swept in and twirled on its axis before her. Activating its map, Amdirlain took in the reverse tree delving deep into the bedrock beneath the plains. She zoomed in and saw the fungus farms tended by younger formithians. From their harvest, cavernous chambers deeper underground were continually topped up. I¡¯ll need to recreate the whole nest, shift their supplies and farms, or exchange millions of tonnes of material between worlds. Rather than teleport away, Amdirlain used a different transport Power she¡¯d avoided since the near miss of her arrival on Cemna. Focusing on it, she tried to get it to set her by the river she¡¯d first seen weeks ago. [World Step (6->7)] Space twisted around her, but at the end of the blurred motion, Amdirlain found herself standing on a wooded hillside without a river nearby. ¡°I wonder how inaccurate it is,¡± murmured Amdirlain checking over the nearby trees. They were the same type that the giant ants had felled to cross the swollen river. Whether that put her in the nearby foothills or thousands of kilometres away, she didn¡¯t know. Wanting to understand the Power better, she used Greater Teleport to set herself where she¡¯d originally intended. The swollen river had subsided, and a loose stack of felled trees bridged the river where she¡¯d seen the ants working. The scarred bark showed signs that sixty or more giant ants had used it to cross over. [Planar Beacon (7-> 8)] Let¡¯s see if this works. Teleporting to the cliff¡¯s on the west edge of the lakeside, Amdirlain focused on the beacon¡¯s sensation at the back of her mind. As the energy of it settled in her mental grasp, she tried to have World Step position her beside it. [World Step (7->8)] Though the Power progressed, and Amdirlain was again on a wooded hillside, the beacon still felt hundreds of kilometres away. Setting protections in place, Amdirlain took a steadying breath and focused on the memory of a barren canyon cliff top. Cemna. The Power struck like a hammer blow, Amdirlain felt a hard floor under her feet, and an afterimage of stars rushed through her. The passage across the galaxies played through her mind, overlaying the desolate scenery around her. A replay of the race through the stars saturated her senses, making it hard to take in her surroundings, but Amdirlain forced herself to review both in detail. Fortunately, the sensation faded after about ten minutes, and the pain didn¡¯t knock her out. [World Step (8->14) Note: Dive off the high tower instead of wading in the pool for toddlers. Stretch your brain before the Power is ready to buffer you¡ªway more fun! ] When Pain Eater signalled the pressure had ebbed entirely, a notification appeared. [Pain Eater [S] (1->2) Note: At least you see some pretty lights instead of smelling acid-charred flesh.] With a grin, Amdirlain focused on the Planar Beacon she¡¯d set on Votari and triggered the jump in reverse. This time, though the stars still flood her perception in a beautiful overlay, she could move more easily. It was an acceptable result that her targeting the Planar Beacon had put her close enough to hear the water and the trees making up the ant¡¯s bridge. [Planar Beacon (8->9) World Step (14)-> [B] (1) Note: Are you going to do this all day?] ¡°I could,¡± crowed Amdirlain. 298 - Break me down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Votari After her return trip to Cemna, Amdirlain progressed through a series of random jumps between Cemna, Votari, and the desolated worlds. The leaps initially battered her mind and caused Pain Eater¡¯s capacity to grow. World Step dampened the impact, and a Journeyman breakthrough strengthened it. It was an outcome that was a long time coming since its progression through the Apprentice ranks had taken hundreds of jumps. The varying trips had crisscrossed the universe leaving a strange star map of songs within her mind. Enraptured by the music, Amdirlain began deciphering them, only to be interrupted by a message from Cyrus asking if he needed to fill in with her students. Okay, I got caught up in increasing World Step. I¡¯ll likely need to evolve it to shift the formithians between worlds, even with cheating and setting it in crystals. Planar Shift was far different from the rapid-fire world leaps, making her pay particular attention to the Power. Whether it was the care she took or simply an accumulation of use, the notification was another reminder that World Step wasn¡¯t the only thing she needed to push. [Planar Shift (Self) [Ap] (4->5)] When she returned to Xaos, Amdirlain sensed Goxashru approaching Nolmar, with Enrig and Callen close behind. She crossed the town¡¯s boundary and teleported directly to Nolmar. In the outer courtyard, Cyrus was present with a frown of concentration, staring at the tower¡¯s control device. ¡°Galasser needed the drops changed, I take it?¡± enquired Amdirlain after they¡¯d exchanged greetings. ¡°Yes, but not because of oversupply. The Commander has requested some specific potions in bulk, so he¡¯ll need heaps of certain materials,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°You¡¯ve got your production lines of experience, materials, and potions all intermingled.¡± ¡°The closest I got to being an industrialist was factory simulators. He¡¯s going to be one rich Alchemist, though I wonder how long before this attracts some competition,¡± pondered Amdirlain. Cyrus shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll leave worrying about the economy¡¯s inflation and market pressures up to you. What¡¯s on your agenda for the day?¡± ¡°I need to spend some time working with them on spells and Mana Manipulation. Though they don¡¯t have enough Mana to do more than an hour of those exercises daily, I¡¯m looking to ensure they consistently push those skills. The training has so far focused more on martial arts,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll use that split of one hour Mana and three unarmed as the daily routine going forward; at least on those days they don¡¯t do tower runs.¡± ¡°As Livia and I said the other night, most teachers don¡¯t throw their students into battle so early,¡± remarked Cyrus. ¡°I know, but you also talked about exchanging pointers. Against the constructs, they don¡¯t have to hold back and there are no hard feelings,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°And it''s better to determine those that might develop such early,¡± critiqued Cyrus. ¡°It''s not the only training they¡¯re going to be doing, and we can do regular tournaments,¡± advised Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled at that suggestion. ¡±You didn¡¯t comment on those during the other night''s discussion.¡± ¡°I was looking to learn all the options,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll discuss a tournament when they¡¯re further along,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Try not to give your students too much of a level advantage.¡± ¡°Skill can overcome levels, and the garrison has a wide range of levels even now,¡± argued Amdirlain. She gave him a smug smile and headed towards the training courtyard she¡¯d been using. When the trio arrived, they bowed in unison to greet her, ¡°Elder,¡± said Goxashru. ¡°Sifu,¡± intoned Enrig and Callen. ¡°I hope you all are feeling good today,¡± said Amdirlain after she¡¯d returned their greetings. ¡°Goxashru, I¡¯m glad they finally let you loose.¡± ¡°The rituals were as much for my Clan¡¯s honour as my own; I couldn¡¯t insult them by ignoring their request,¡± explained Goxashru. Amdirlain gave an understanding nod. ¡°When you have time later, I¡¯d like to learn more about them.¡± ¡°Whenever you have time, Elder,¡± agreed Goxashru. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get down to the lesson. To ensure you each grow your magical skills, from now on, I¡¯ll be starting with an hour of practical sessions with spells or Mana,¡± said Amdirlain, her gaze sweeping across the trio, making it clear she meant all of them. Goxashru nodded and then lowered his head. ¡°Alfarr has offered to assist my weapon skills.¡± ¡°Thanks for letting me know; that''s fine with me. I leave it to you to arrange a suitable time with Alfarr,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I told him I¡¯d let him know when my duties allowed,¡± said Goxashru, his posture straightening in relief. ¡°Today, we will conduct an exercise with your Mana Pool. Wherever you sense the energy within you, mentally pinch the pool''s surface and draw a thread out,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°This might need some experimentation, as both the Mana Pool and your manipulation of it are very dependant upon the individual.¡± ¡°Is drawing it out more efficient than just letting the Mana fill the Spell Form?¡± asked Goxashru. ¡°If you practice pulling threads of Mana, you¡¯ll find it naturally thins itself. Once you get this occurring, you can visualise the Spell Form with tighter conduits,¡± clarified Amdirlain, and she motioned to the courtyard edge. ¡°Take a seat; there isn¡¯t a need to stand while practising this initially.¡± ¡°Initially? Does casting on the move need us to get used to this?¡± asked Callen. ¡°Initially, because there isn¡¯t a need to overload the challenge,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The key to casting while moving is to improve the speed of visualising the Spell forms.¡± Enrig perched on the upper step and wrapped his tail around his legs. His posture made Amdirlain consider the logistical challenge of having a tail and the various furnishings she¡¯d created in the rooms. ¡°Before you start, I¡¯ll show you the importance of finding a mental image that works for you,¡± stated Amdirlain. Gently touching their minds, she replayed aspects of her psionic lessons. Amdirlain shared the mental images that resulted in crushed objects and stone weights hurtling about uncontrolled. After Amdirlain got snorts of amusement and surprise, she showed them what had worked for each. Only then did she walk them through the process she¡¯d suggested for the exercise; imagining a finger brushing the pool''s edge, she drew a glistering thread upwards. ¡°So part of today is finding what works for you. Then I¡¯ll go through it with you to ensure you won¡¯t cause yourself future trouble. If you have difficulty finding an approach, let me know, and we can try some things together,¡± reassured Amdirlain. As they got into their practice, Amdirlain listened to their public minds and the stirring of their Mana pools. She only provided gentle mental commentary between attempts to let them know what had caused the most reaction from their Mana. When they all had achieved drawing out a thread of Mana, she had them work on casting their cantrips. When the lesson moved on to unarmed combat techniques, Goxashru excused himself and moved to one side to practice with his sword and shield. * * * * * When the lesson ended, Amdirlain perched on the upper step and motioned Goxashru to sit beside her. ¡°How was your family?¡± ¡°Pleased, but concerned I would be so far away,¡± admitted Goxashru. ¡°You don¡¯t have to live here if that would reassure your family. I can easily maintain the Gate device I gave you to get back and forth,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°That would not be suitable. Even if you are not always here, a Talon¡¯s place¡ªwhen not conducting their business¡ªis where their Elder lives,¡± insisted Goxashru. ¡°If I were always appearing at home, it would cast shade on my family''s honour as others might believe I¡¯d abandoned my duty.¡± Untying a storage bag from his waist that Amdirlain hadn¡¯t provided him, Goxashru laid out lots of items; various goods of precious metals, a casket filled with potions, and the last object which caught her attention: a True Song Crystal lap harp with energy strings that resonated with Life Mana. ¡°This harp came from the hoard of the grandmother of my town¡¯s patron,¡± explained Goxashru. ¡°They asked for it to be given to you to repay your efforts in halting the formithians. They hoped you could come visit but accepted it was unlikely given your status as an Outsider.¡± Amdirlain ran her fingers across the lap harp, the gentle energy in the string¡¯s perfect notes far below what she could control. Yet, that it was a child¡¯s instrument for a Skill Amdirlain didn¡¯t possess, brought forth a smile. ¡°Your baring of teeth shows pleasure, yes?¡± enquired Goxashru. ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain, though she had to refrain from commenting on his ¡®crocodile¡¯ smile. ¡°Many soft-skinned folk are strange. My mentor advised me to exercise care showing my teeth, but you do so when pleased,¡± stated Goxashru. ¡°What caused your mentor to give such advice?¡± This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Goxashru gave a forceful tail flick. ¡°I asked why the furred ones here might shy away from me.¡± ¡°Some species possess instinctive reactions developed on their original world. Especially when species bigger than them possess sharp teeth,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The Elder kin are both, and we don¡¯t shy from them,¡± refuted Goxashru, and he quickly continued. ¡°Though we make sure to show proper respect, that is because they are so much greater, not because we expect retribution.¡± The force of his tail motions was a distressed metronome to Amdirlain. ¡°How do the species that your people hunt react to your presence?¡± Goxashru clicked his tongue, and his tail movements slowed. ¡°They aren¡¯t intelligent beings. I would not hunt anyone here, no more than I hunt the desert foxes.¡± ¡°Most species'' instinctive reaction is to be wary about beings who possess natural weaponry superior to their own,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°It''s not about retribution; it''s about being eaten and the idea of how much damage teeth or claws could cause to them.¡± Goxashru tapped his claws against an armoured thigh and looked down at the sound they made on the crystal. ¡°Oh.¡± At his sudden note of melancholy, Amdirlain opted to change the subject. ¡°Cheer up, they just need to get used to you; you¡¯re larger than the local lizardfolk. Was it your town¡¯s patron or their grandmother who hoped to meet me?¡± ¡°Their grandmother. My town¡¯s patron invited her to meet me after one look at the armour you provided,¡± advised Goxashru. ¡°Shall we experiment then and see if I can meet them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Experiment?¡± ¡°Let me create a device, and we¡¯ll go find Livia,¡± stated Amdirlain. Utilising a set of crystal blocks, Amdirlain added enchantments to create the gadgets she¡¯d proposed to Livia. After she explained their purpose, she handed a set over to Goxashru, and his tail jerked about erratically. ¡°I would not dishonour you by enacting such a summoning?¡± ¡°Not if you did so only at my request and ensured I was promptly freed,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Of course,¡± exclaimed Goxashru. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°It will only work for you and Livia if you use it willingly, and the keys to it aren¡¯t something anyone but an Anar can change or detect. Do you believe the invitation to visit empty diplomacy or genuine hospitality?¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t have expressed regrets at its unlikelihood if it wasn¡¯t true. Such an Elder does not need to give hollow invitations or express empty desires,¡± declared Goxashru. ¡°Though we should still follow the formalities and send an acceptance of the Elder¡¯s invitation through her voice or kin.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s follow proper formalities,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Now, the other gadget can be used regardless of who has summoned me, and I¡¯ll upgrade your pendant so you can travel to any world using it.¡± ¡°Gadget,¡± Goxashru sounded out the English word, the syllables rolling awkwardly on his tongue. ¡°Earthquake crystal,¡± offered Amdirlain in Draconic, and Goxashru nodded happily. Amdirlain messaged Livia about her plans, only for Livia to appear in the courtyard, her gaze gleaming with curiosity. ¡°Would it be alright if I came to meet your Elder kin, Goxashru?¡± ¡°You are family to Am. For you both to come, well, among my people it is a display of great trust and respect for their honour,¡± replied Goxashru. ¡°Well, let''s hope the experiment goes well,¡± stated Amdirlain. Teleport shifted them to a wooded hillside in the Outlands, with the Spire filling the view through gaps in the canopy. ¡°You didn¡¯t just open a Gate this time,¡± huffed Livia in mock surprise. ¡°There are formalities to follow, so I¡¯m trying to get into the proper mindset,¡± replied Amdirlain before she handed over a pair of the crystals to Livia. ¡°Maybe you could just choose to be formal,¡± quipped Livia. Amdirlain raised a single eyebrow. ¡°You¡¯re having far too much fun with that, young lady.¡± ¡°Just like you have fun being a goof, M¨®eir,¡± replied Livia. Opening a Gate, Amdirlain targetted the same hill overlooking Goxashru¡¯s hometown. Goxashru led the way through the Gate, and Livia followed him without hesitation. ¡°Is here okay?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Normally, it should be created on stone to avoid natural shifting, but it will work,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That can be experiment number two,¡± offered Livia. Giving them the go-ahead, Amdirlain closed the Gate. It had barely shut when she received a summoning notification featuring Livia¡¯s name. The rainbow wall conduit between planes was narrower than last time but didn''t obstruct her passage. Not fighting against the summoning¡¯s draw, Amdirlain soon stood on the hillside with her Fallen form revealed. Though the circle¡¯s barrier appeared perfect to her True Sight, Resonance allowed her to detect the flaws and hear beyond the circle. In the initial moments that Amdirlain was present, new ones developed from the metal¡¯s weight compacting the soil. Despite towering over both of them, at twice their height, the circle¡¯s size restrained her size, and there was no space for her wings to unfurl. The pair looked up and blinked, dumbfounded, giving Amdirlain time to confirm the concealment of her auras was still in place. It allowed for some interesting possibilities that the Power had been nullified, but the True Song effects remained. A quick test of a melody had a tiny zephyr spinning toward the distant river without forcing a breach in the circle. Is that because of the flaws or because True Song is sound and the circle allows communication? When Livia shook off her surprise, she put her foot across the circle, breaking its constraints. ¡°We should try the earthquake gadget away from the homes.¡± ¡°I provided you both so you have the option,¡± advised Amdirlain after she took her Wood Elf form. ¡°You¡¯re a little on the tall side now, M¨®eir. I mean, lots of the Norse want to grow up big and strong, but you kinda took it to an extreme,¡± critiqued Livia. Amdirlain bopped her nose. ¡°Yet compared to many beings, I¡¯m a small fish in a big pond.¡± ¡°Not comforting,¡± advised Livia. ¡°Perhaps don¡¯t readily share those comparisons.¡± Clearing his throat, Goxashru bowed far lower than he had in the past. ¡°Elder.¡± Amdirlain stepped forward and drew him back up. ¡°Knowing and seeing are different, aren¡¯t they, Goxashru?¡± ¡°Yes, but it seemed wrong that we constrained you, even willingly,¡± explained Goxashru. ¡°Such an act shamed me.¡± Amdirlain absorbed the mithril from the ground and churned the dry soil to maul the outline of the runes'' impression. ¡°I¡¯ll need you to endure it for a few more tests but, hopefully, no emergencies arise that require either of them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°My honour in your service Elder,¡± intoned Goxashru. ¡°How should we proceed, Goxashru?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°If we approach the river gate on this side, we can use the visitor''s entrance there. The guards will have a notice taken to the town¡¯s council and the patron,¡± informed Goxashru. ¡°Normally, a visiting Elder in lesser form would have a voice to speak for them. The guard will beat their shield and lead us in procession to the town¡¯s senior guardians.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you deal with the formalities while I listen in,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re in your hands.¡± Goxashru gave a bow and led the way. ¡°Livia¡¯s eyes will have people thinking she is an Elder, despite her strange form.¡± Amdirlain shifted into Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s original elven form with its electric blue hair instead of the Anar¡¯s typical platinum blond. ¡°Did you choose to keep that hair colour, or was that your old form?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°I like the blue.¡± ¡°It¡¯s bright, though not as bright as your eyes,¡± critiqued Livia. Looking back over his shoulder, Goxashru gave a nod. ¡°Now they will not know what to believe. The sun shows from your eyes, perhaps the avatar of an Elven Goddess.¡± ¡°Not a Goddess,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Not at present,¡± muttered Livia, and Goxashru grunted in confusion. ¡°Nevermind her, it seems it''s Livia¡¯s turn to be a goof,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she poked out her tongue at Livia¡¯s protest. Amid the town¡¯s thick stone walls, its entrance was a double-layered stone gatehouse. The outer gates were wide open as they approached, while the inner ones were only ajar enough for a handcart to pass between them. A half dozen guards stood ready in the kill zone between the double gates, and more were arrayed across the battlements. Each wore solid-looking brown leather armour over the top of their green scales. The chest pieces displayed a Gold Dragon with its wings flared out. Beneath it was the town¡¯s name in Draconic runes. Though the guards at the town¡¯s entrance didn¡¯t close the gates, the nearest looked at Livia and Amdirlain warily. ¡°I recognise you, Talon Goxashru. What brings you so back so quickly?¡± asked the first guard. Goxashru stepped to one side, bowing to Amdirlain before returning his attention to the guard. ¡°My Elder wishes to accept an invitation extended to her by your Patron¡¯s ancestor.¡± The guards looked like they¡¯d unexpectedly found themselves flailing in deepwater, both sets of their eyelids fully closed before springing open again. ¡°Please accompany us, Elder. We will see you to a comfortable place to await acknowledgement from our Patron.¡± Amdirlain gave Goxashru the mental go-ahead, and Goxashru nodded politely to the guards. ¡°The Elder agrees to indulge the offered comforts.¡± The guards didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately turned on their heels to lead the way, letting loose loud clicks and chuffs. After they passed beyond the outer battlement¡¯s shadow, they drew their swords and slapped them against their shields with every step. The other four guards rushed to the inner gates and opened them in a rush of movement. The racket and hurried activity grabbed the attention of those on the battlements who drew themselves straight. Beyond the thrown-open gates, the town¡¯s foot traffic stopped at the sound the guards made. Though the streets weren¡¯t populated enough to obstruct them, the pedestrians parted before them, allowing the guard¡¯s procession to move straight down the middle. Amdirlain focused on keeping her pace to the same tempo as the guards and holding back Femme Fatale¡¯s prompts. Don¡¯t cringe. The minds around them were curious about the strange-looking elders, and a few recognised Goxashru from his pronouncement ceremony. Others that didn¡¯t recognise him connected the dots with his crystalline armour. Though the gates were pulled nearly closed behind them, the guards leading them didn¡¯t pause. The display continued through the wide streets flanked by heavy stone buildings that radiated the heat of the afternoon sun. Though Livia didn¡¯t share Amdirlain¡¯s immunity to fire, the heat that could fry an egg in under a minute didn¡¯t faze her. When they reached a three-story building in the town¡¯s centre, a trio of Dracoychrus wearing heavily enchanted mithril armour were awaiting their arrival. Amdirlain detected a mix of melee and arcane melodies within them, ranging up into Tier 5 Prestige classes. ¡°Greeting to your Elder from our Patron, Talon Goxashru. Her Voice has dispatched word that she will be here momentarily. What is your Elder¡¯s desire: to retire within, or await her arrival?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll wait,¡± Amdirlain mentally informed Goxashru. ¡°The town¡¯s walls provide a gift of welcome heat, and the Elder is pleased to enjoy it while she waits. Within the sun, we might have the pleasure of witnessing the glory of your Patron¡¯s arrival.¡± ¡°Then it shall be as you say. Might we stay to ensure our Patron is properly greeted, or does she wish for privacy.¡± ¡°It is only fitting that you might witness your Patron¡¯s glorious arrival and their friendship exchanged,¡± replied Goxashru. ¡°What do I need to have ready?¡± enquired Amdirlain into Goxashru¡¯s mind. ¡°A gift of any kind, though she¡¯ll return it in kind when she has the chance. Since this is the first time you¡¯ve met, something metallic, be it ingots or finished goods. Bars would indicate you wish to entrust the town to prepare a proper gift in your name. The closer a friendship becomes, the more insignificant the gifts exchanged.¡± ¡°Would it help your family if I provide ingots?¡± ¡°There are crafters among them,¡± admitted Goxashru. Underneath concealments, Amdirlain created thirty kilograms of mithril ingots and stored them away. They were only waiting ten minutes before a shadow swept across the town. A Western Dragon appeared, some three-hundred-metres from snout to tail with scales of liquid gold that flawlessly reflected the sunlight. It had a blunt snout, wide wings, and upswept horns. As she turned, Amdirlain caught the lack of spikes beneath the Dragon¡¯s chin that revealed her gender; the lack of the ¡®beard¡¯ despite clearly being an older adult was a clear sign. The strength within her Class songs left the town¡¯s guardians in the dust. The leading edge of her wings was a curtain of shade drawn across the town before she passed over it completely. The Gold Dragon vanished, and sunlight returned, a gleaming Dracoychrus appearing in the square. The Teleport made it clear she could have arrived that way immediately, but the wait hadn¡¯t bothered Amdirlain. ¡°Covering the town in darkness has a particular meaning?¡± enquired Amdirlain, having retained the link to Goxashru¡¯s mind. ¡°It is under the guardianship of her scales, and those that haven¡¯t heard the news of the procession now know there is Elder¡¯s business being conducted,¡± advised Goxashru mentally, though his tail twitched slightly. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected her to appear without her Voice; you¡¯ll need to address her directly.¡± ¡°Do I present the gift now?¡± ¡°If you wish, though if you¡¯ve chosen a personal gift, you would bestow that away from public eyes.¡± Analysis provided the Dragon¡¯s name, and Amdirlain inclined her head politely before she followed Goxashru¡¯s prompts. ¡°Greetings Phrinhralith. I¡¯m honoured that you¡¯d greet me without the company of your Voice. May the lustre of your scales continue to rival the sun, and your children and territory know only prosperity.¡± As she addressed Phrinhralith, Amdirlain heard a rush of memories surge to life inside the Dragon¡¯s bloodline memories. Her voice and features tied into that connection and added to the choices and references from Bahamut; taken together, it shocked Phrinhralith to her core. A whispered prayer turned suspicion into certainty with Bahamut¡¯s acknowledgement. The Dragon bowed so low her body was almost prone, causing the guardians and Goxashru to click in shock. After they shrugged off their shock, the guardians threw themselves prone to match Phrinhralith''s posture. ¡°We thank you for your words and humbly greet the one who was once Orh¨ºthurin. Forgive me that I do not at this time utter the short name you use now, I would not wish to appear to give insult. You are the creator of stars and worlds, provider of nesting places, and protector of hatchlings. It brings honour to me and my bloodline that we will always have this memory of your return.¡± Goxashru¡¯s tail froze, and his body went almost rigid at the reverence in the Patron¡¯s greeting. Amdirlain felt the thrum of faith in those witnesses within the square and surrounding buildings. The formation of a new Mantle rushed Amdirlain, but her Willpower¡ªfunnelled through a few instinctive notes¡ªsplit it apart. ¡°There is no need for such between us; one of your townsfolk was chosen by Bahamut to serve as my Talon. You should all give your thanks to Bahamut for my presence here.¡± Rising from her near prone position, Phrinhralith kept her eyes below the level of Amdirlain¡¯s and nodded again respectfully. ¡°I bring a small gift for you. I would entrust the town¡¯s crafters with preparing something fitting from it,¡± continued Amdirlain. With that, Amdirlain made the mithril bars appear within arm¡¯s reach of Phrinhralith. Phrinhralith¡¯s forked tongue scented the air, and her inner eyelid flickered in surprise. ¡°A generous gift indeed.¡± ¡°Its worth is only a tiny fraction of my respect for your people. I would be very grateful if I might impose upon you to contact your grandmother on my behalf,¡± declared Amdirlain. [Diplomacy [J] (25->26) Note: A for effort. Well, it''s not, but you know what I mean.] ¡°I will take you to her directly,¡± proclaimed Phrinhralith. 299 - Side effects Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Prison Amdirlain sat outside the cells and procrastinated by considering the visit with Phrinhralith¡¯s grandparents. The lengthy protocols of the dragons of Vrantvrak had consumed hours of back and forth; their displays of overflowing reverence throughout had made it an uncomfortable experience for Amdirlain. While she had missed the events, she gathered details in bits and pieces about their moderate course¡ªfor dragons¡ªand actions to date. The conclave¡¯s envoy had chastised the formithians about their invasion of the dragons'' world. It compared them to egg stealers and hoard thieves, pilfering metals from underneath their noses. That they were materials hidden beneath the sands was beside the point once the dragons learnt the species were invaders. That great wyrm''s presence and his carefully worded claims about the nest¡¯s sterilisation had stopped the formithians'' protests. The latest eggs¡¯ infertile state, which the formithians themselves had only begun to suspect, gave the advantage to the envoy. He¡¯d coldly demanded that the formithians leave the world or suffer the wrath of the conclave. To illustrate the next step, the envoy¡¯s breath weapon turned kilometres of sand near the formithians¡¯ nest into molten glass. That dramatic demonstration had signalled the end of their discussions. The scanner¡¯s most recent map now showed the number of formithians in the nest was already decreasing. Not satisfied that they were peacefully following the order, the dragons had been scrying within the nests for the means of their escape. They found multiple planar gates had begun the exodus shortly after the envoy¡¯s ultimatum. Before they¡¯d left Vrantvrak, Amdirlain had sent out a new device to tag those remaining formithians. After repeated checks, all those tagged and shifted through a Gate were still in the Outlands. After an hour of waiting, Amdirlain had to accept that she didn''t know when they would arrive at their ultimate destination. She hoped they wouldn¡¯t end up as labourers on another world being invaded or at a new spot on Vrantvrak. If the evacuated formithians are helping a new colony, do I restore them? What course do I take if they don¡¯t follow the conclave¡¯s instructions? Setting aside her concerns that the formithians were conducting a false operation, Amdirlain started the Ki cycling. As Amdirlain¡¯s Ki touched the surface of Cuiniel¡¯s essence, she let out an enraged scream that was heard only by Amdirlain. When she¡¯d reached the limits of Cuiniel¡¯s tolerance, Amdirlain opened a Gate to a desolate world and stepped through. Though the time spent visiting Goxashru¡¯s home world had cut into the day, Amdirlain continued her training routine. As World Step continued to advance, Amdirlain increased the frequency of the jumps between worlds. With each leap, she strained the Power, forcing it to deliver her closer to that world¡¯s beacon. I need to progress World Step into something like Isa¡¯s World Step (Group) and then push it harder. * * * * When Amdirlain arrived in her training courtyard in Nolmar, Klipyl was waiting for her with a broad grin. ¡°Hey, Boss!¡± ¡°Kli, that''s not my current position,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Pouting, Klipyl tucked her hands behind her back. ¡°But you¡¯re my boss here at Nolmar, even if we¡¯ve not had any meetings about teaching. Sarah says to remind you that parent-teacher meetings are yearly events.¡± ¡°Do you need help with teaching?¡± asked Amdirlain ¡°No idea. I¡¯m just teaching the same way Miss Wrath and Sad Girl handled things,¡± announced Klipyl. ¡°Those are the only formal Wizard lessons I¡¯ve had. They¡¯d be here themselves, but something about the treaty for this town made that out of the question.¡± Her play on Erwarth¡¯s and N?r¡¯s names teased out a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°Well, check in with Yngvarr and Aggie if you have questions about teaching mortals; I won¡¯t be here often enough. You¡¯ve been playing in the tower?, haven¡¯t you?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Giving a coy smile, Klipyl put her hands to her cheeks. ¡°Just a tinnie-bit; it¡¯s helping you out, and I get stronger, so we both win. Do you want to put a barrier up so we can talk without worrying? I could put one up, but I¡¯m sure yours are much stronger.¡± Amdirlain sang aloud and set a sound barrier in place. ¡°That was weird, but pretty,¡± commented Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯m sure there is more to it than I heard.¡± ¡°A lot of the song is background energy only audible to certain folks. What have you been up to, Kli?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Teaching and running my hands all over the tower¡¯s tip not enough?¡± panted Klipyl with a wink. Amdirlain raised a brow before she clarified her interest. ¡°The experience I¡¯m getting here has jumped since your arrival. Are you finding a use for the drops?¡± Pouting, Klipyl gave a deep sigh. ¡°I¡¯m limited for other playmates at present, if it¡¯s jumped, that¡¯s extra wins. The townfolk hold everyone close to you in awe. As for the drops, I¡¯m sending those to Laurelin. Plenty of folks training in Alchemy have a use for them. We''ll give out the healing potions and other elixirs they make to mortals we¡¯re looking to help. Even a smidge of help can go a long way, like your advice about setting up a business and becoming more than someone¡¯s toy.¡± ¡°What do you do if you can¡¯t give the right help?¡± enquired Amdirlain, keeping her tone light. ¡°Ammy!!! Why do you ask me those sorts of questions? I¡¯m just supposed to announce stuff and deliver messages,¡± objected Klipyl, but her tone quickly changed into a purr. ¡°Oh, and blow stuff up. I love blowing things up.¡± ¡°It was a hypothetical question,¡± deflected Amdirlain. Klipyl put her hands on her hips and huffed. ¡°Don¡¯t do that to me! Give me questions I can deal with, like: he doesn¡¯t seem to pay attention to me anymore, what do I do? What do you do if they¡¯re not interested in foreplay? I can¡¯t seem to find how to get her to cum. Stuff like that, okay?¡± Amdirlain patted Klipyl on top of the head and gave her a crooked smile. ¡°I¡¯m sorry; it¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Yeah, sure you are,¡± grumbled Klipyl. ¡°For that, you¡¯re coming with me for a drink after your lessons today.¡± ¡°Sorry, no can do. I¡¯ve got a tonne of things to get through,¡± rejected Amdirlain. Klipyl frowned. ¡°I heard about your brutal regimen, but you¡¯ve got a Skill whose course you want to shift. Sometimes the shifts you need only come from introducing different things into your life. When was the last time you sat down and were just there to take in the scenery?¡± ¡°A while,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she had to keep her mind from dwelling on a quiet day with Torm. ¡°You know, I¡¯m one of a kind among all the celestials in Laurelin. I¡¯ve not heard of any other born Demon becoming a Celestial. I mean, I was a brat of a whore, who¡¯d become another whore, and then I met you, and you changed me three times,¡± commented Klipyl. ¡°Three?¡± Klipyl wiggled her fingers and started to tick them off. ¡°Street whore to the manager of a brothel slash tavern. Then you stuck your fingers in me and crushed all the shards together. Finally, when the Titan gave me a choice because of you, I knew you¡¯d come back. We might have learnt more if Miss Wrath hadn¡¯t been a scared rage monster with the Titan. Everyone else was down or trying to distract themselves, but I knew, so I cracked jokes no one appreciated.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think the Titan is used to talking to others or keeping secrets from them. He gave blunt facts and then fidgeted with his hammer. Not like he wanted to smash the Lome, or me, more that he wanted to be away from us or focusing on something important,¡± Klipyl explained and gave a broad shrug. ¡°Then there was what he said about you.¡± ¡°That I¡¯d need to recover myself?¡± ¡°Yeah, his words worried everyone because they ignored the confidence, hope, and frustration there. I know about that frustration. I¡¯ll never be the strongest Celestial in your service, and I don¡¯t have aeons of memories, but I¡¯ll do what I can,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°You¡¯re not in my service presently,¡± advised Amdirlain. Klipyl waved her off and gave Amdirlain a cheeky grin. ¡°I¡¯ll always be in your service, even if doing that is serving Ebby. No idea if someone else would have been able to kick off my change, or would have bothered. All that is beside the point because you were the right person to point the way for me. You need lots of experience to get strong enough for your next steps?¡± ¡°Yes, but I also need to push some powers and skills to get a decent Prestige Class,¡± advised Amdirlain. Her smile vanished as Klipyl frowned in concern. ¡°I¡¯m not overdoing things on you, am I?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m still trillions of experience from the next level, and I¡¯ve got hundreds of levels to get,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks for your help.¡± ¡°Anytime, boss lady,¡± responded Klipyl. ¡°Now, if you want a hand with other things, just let me know. You¡¯re so gorgeous!¡± ¡°Klipyl,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°What? You should relax and take a leaf from my book. I have sex now because I treasure the happiness that intimacy brings others,¡± explained Klipyl, and she looked Amdirlain up and down with heat in her gaze. ¡°Good sex is hot, vigorous, and involves snuggling afterwards, though a lot of snuggling before slow, languorous sex is sweet as well.¡± ¡°Shoo,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Did I make you blush?¡± teased Klipyl before she ran off giggling. ¡°Don¡¯t forget I offered.¡± To distract herself from Klipyl¡¯s teasing, Amdirlain ran over her plans and considered the options for scheduling. Repeatedly, though, she came back to one thought. Am I the right person to be helping my patients? A Celestial¡¯s song approaching along the corridor drew Amdirlain from her deliberations. Looking up, she spotted a familiar elven figure and rose from her perch atop the steps. His caramel skin looked accented with a dusting of mint green and sat taught across flawless elven features. It was hard to push past her first memory of him with those same features contorted in pain, but she set it aside. When Amdirlain stood, Rana nodded respectfully, and a smile lit up his rich amber gaze. ¡°I¡¯m told you¡¯re using the name Am. I hope it is alright for me to be so familiar.¡± ¡°Welcome, Rana; using Am is fine. What brings you to visit?¡± Rana moved across the courtyard with liquid grace that barely caused a ripple across the rich green silks he wore. When he got within arm¡¯s reach, he knelt in front of Amdirlain, laying a bejewelled sword on the ground between them. ¡°I¡¯m here on duty for the Lady of the Forest. After she sent you a gift, she learned of your new servant; a Talon, I believe was the term. Will you accept my time to teach Goxashru the use of blades?¡± ¡°Of course, I would. That¡¯s very generous of you, Rana,¡± replied Amdirlain. Smiling shyly, Rana met her gaze. ¡°Since I was coming to offer to teach your Talon, our lady asked me to confirm that others attending your school to teach wouldn''t interfere with your plans.¡± Tilting her head, Amdirlain paused in consideration of the offer before she spoke. ¡°Everyone is swamping me with offers of help.¡± ¡°You have helped others in the past. Is it not right they help in your endeavours?¡± questioned Rana. ¡°The Lady¡¯s servants already provided help with the initial teaching of the Cadre,¡± objected Amdirlain. Rana shrugged. ¡°And they helped keep an army of hobgoblins from overrunning a forest region. That is one example of how our gift of time to your projects has provided greater benefits to the forest. Here it aids a garrison that keeps the Outlands secure.¡± ¡°There is that. The Commander referred to your lady as Mielikki. Is that the right name for your lady?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°On Veht?, I mostly heard the title Lady of the Forest, though some humans and half-elves worship her as Mielikki.¡± ¡°On Veht?, the elves refer to her as the Lady of the Forest as her avatar sits at the heart of the Taur? forest. That manifestation is associated with Danu, her name in the Summer Court. The Taur? worry that using that name will distract the Avatar from her meditations that help maintain the forest¡¯s balance; thus, their use of her title¡ªor rarely¡ªMielikki,¡± explained Rana. The Divine awareness that Amdirlain¡¯s use of Mielikki had invoked strengthened. The courtyard filled with the scent of the deep forest, cool shadows, rich mulch, and a gentle fluttering of leaves. ¡°The mother of the Tuatha d¨¦ Danann?¡± asked Amdirlain. Smiling brightly, Rana tilted his head as if listening before he returned his attention to Amdirlain again. ¡°Indeed, in another realm. My lady hoped you¡¯d use the arrow to join them within the Summer Court so they might assist your redemption. Given your current nature, it might be an ominous start, but one possible to alter through time and care.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°A Mantle is a generous offer but a dangerous path. I¡¯ve found my course of rebirth and the truth of my name amidst flames. We both know that isn¡¯t something I should bring among the Summer Court¡¯s forested ways,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I appreciate Danu passing along the arrow, and I believe there are ways I can use it to end, or at least hurt, Moloch.¡± ¡°You learnt your True Name?¡± whispered Rana. Amdirlain only smiled. ¡°An important step for Celestial and Mortal alike. I hope you find redemption through the path your name shows you,¡± continued Rana, and he nodded again respectfully. Retrieving his sword as he rose, Rana affixed it to his belt. ¡°My Talon is approaching if you¡¯d care to meet him today,¡± advised Amdirlain. Rana gave a simple nod. ¡°It would be my honour. I¡¯ve also undergone Wizard training and started progressing towards Spellblade, so I can assist him in theory or practical lessons.¡± ¡°Would you give him one-on-one training in both?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she gestured to the approaching trio. ¡°He¡¯s got an evolved base Class called Arcane Knight, besides Wizard.¡± ¡°Consider me at your service as his personal trainer,¡± confirmed Rana immediately. Not waiting for an introduction, Rana headed down the corridor to intercept Goxashru, leaving her with two students to tend. * * * * * The day¡¯s lesson had been a repetition of their last practice, though Rana had taken Goxashru off to another courtyard to teach. Throughout the lesson, she helped them to refine their control of Mana and Ki. When the lesson was over, Enrig bowed and staggered away sweat having slicked his fur down. Though Callen bowed out at the end, he plopped down on the closest step, taking long, controlled breaths. Amdirlain waited for him to regain his composure before passing him a large mug of water. ¡°Drink plenty of fluids after these sessions.¡± ¡°It''s somewhat depressing that we¡¯re both soaked with sweat and you still look pristine,¡± complained Callen. Kli¡¯s earlier comment prompted Amdirlain to pour herself a mug and sit on a nearby step. ¡°The further you push your limits, the better you¡¯ll get.¡± ¡°Pushing limits doesn¡¯t always work out,¡± critiqued Callen. ¡°Like taking a job in a different section?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Callen shrugged. ¡°That I¡¯m still determined to turn around; some are more open to it than others.¡± ¡°Well, I detected little in the way of hostility towards you, more along the lines of reservation,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Captain Bedevere won their respect, so I¡¯ll just have to do so as well,¡± muttered Callen. ¡°They take their cue from their seniors, so if I can win over any of them, that will help. Your burrow here has shifted the dynamics of the section.¡± ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°Since Enrig and I are both your pupils, it brought Enrig¡¯s and my opinion into greater focus for the mousekin members.¡± Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°And there, your key is Enrig?¡± ¡°Yeah, and he has a bit of a grudge on the matter,¡± admitted Callen. ¡°He had mentioned he was friends with the alternate candidate,¡± advised Amdirlain. Draining the mug, Callen set it on the upper step. ¡°The only other candidate I know about rested on his laurels, and his duty assignments tended to be favour-based. Do him a favour or be on his good side and he¡¯d delegate work to someone else instead of you. He made himself lots of friends that way. I was after Captain Bedevere¡¯s role and needed to have held rank long enough to be taken seriously once he leaves.¡± ¡°Still after his job?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°At present, it''s a long-term possibility, but something better might come up,¡± admitted Callen. ¡°What we¡¯re learning here might lead to that.¡± ¡°Why the focus on rank?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°I thought that for an Elf this would be short-term employment.¡± ¡°Many of my ancestors have been soldiers in one or another of these garrisons. As a Sergeant, I already hold the highest rank any of them achieved. I want to prove that the past doesn¡¯t show the limit of what we can aim for,¡± said Callen earnestly, his knuckles turning white gripping the edge of the stairs. ¡°Is there a particular reason?¡± The mocking laugh Callen let loose with wasn¡¯t the response she expected. ¡°Pride and my tribe¡¯s ways. It sounds stupid, but I¡¯ll admit it''s mainly pride. Different elves have their customs for determining seniority within a tribe. For my people, it''s about military service, either in the tribes¡¯ forces or those of allies. It''s assessed based on a mixture of years of service and rank achieved. My family has never achieved high enough to warrant a place in the tribe''s council.¡± ¡°Are there problems in your homeland because of that?¡± Callen fidgeted as he sought the right words to explain the situation. ¡°Take your time, and I¡¯ll ask questions if I¡¯m in any way confused,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Problems start while training; the youngsters of council families take precedence in gear and opportunities. We get our chances later if they come around again, and I got so sick of some brat lording it over those without elders in their families,¡± explained Callen. ¡°I want to achieve so much that when my future family members enter or graduate training, they¡¯re given the first chance to prove themselves. They might fall on their arses, but that means they¡¯ll have more reason to try harder themselves.¡± ¡°A high tide lifts all boats,¡± commented Amdirlain. Callen nodded. ¡°Yeah, I want to be that high tide for my family.¡± Giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder, Amdirlain headed to the Blazing Portal. Taking Klipyl¡¯s advice to mix things up, she walked instead of teleporting. Though she could hear the song concealing her auras was still in place, she reinforced it as she went along. The temporary goat pen Amdirlain had made creating the first phase of the courtyard had been emptied, both of the livestock and the masses of dried grass. Improvements to the initial fencing she¡¯d built were in progress, so it seemed someone intended to use it. As she headed for the main road, the bee-covered building thrummed. Multiple layers beat their wings excitedly, and she could hear the air circulating through the interior. The town¡¯s main road and side lanes were busier with foot traffic than she had witnessed since her arrival. The locals made room for a caravan of three-metre tall, obsidian-skinned visitors and their bulky beasts, their granite and silica flesh ringing with a strange life force. When she arrived at the Blazing Portal, no guests were waiting before Wisp¡¯s empty counter, and the Aerial Servant spun about before she spoke up. ¡°Well, if it isn¡¯t the fleshy guest who comes and goes most of the time without me any wiser.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just extra sneaky,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Or the wards are still having trouble getting a grip on you,¡± countered Wisp. ¡°Do you blow past the town¡¯s wards as well?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what the town¡¯s wards have been registering about my movements,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a yes,¡± declared Wisp. ¡°A maybe.¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°No game on the counter today?¡± Wisp let out a disappointed sigh. ¡°Some doofus hid them, and I¡¯ve not had time to find them.¡± Amdirlain filtered Resonance to focus on the assorted pieces she¡¯d heard Wisp using. It didn¡¯t take her long to locate them tucked away in the backroom of a tavern further along the street; traces of Wisp¡¯s energy an explicit confirmation. Pointing to a spot next to the desk¡¯s rear wall, Amdirlain shifted the entire box into place. ¡°All the pieces I¡¯ve seen you use are in there. They were hidden next door. Speak to the owner if whoever hid them sold them and didn¡¯t just stash them there as a prank.¡± A loud buzz filled the room as Wisp swirled along the walls twice before ripping open the box, and pieces streamed into the air. ¡°My games!¡± thrilled Wisp. ¡°Oh, thank you so much. Gosh, I hope they¡¯re all here.¡± Leaving an excited Wisp to check on the contents, Amdirlain retired to her suite. Setting the bath to fill, Amdirlain nosed through the library for a book, only to be interrupted by a chime from the suite¡¯s outer door. Fanya stood on the threshold with a male albino-white Elf who shared the set of Fanya¡¯s red gaze, along with her black and silver-flecked hair. The intensity in the other Elf¡¯s eye and theme proclaimed his age as Amdirlain considered the pair of them. With the various similarities in their compositions, they were closely related. He dressed differently from Fanya¡¯s usual¡ªnearly transparent¡ªoutfit. The deep blue tones of his silk shirt matched the leather hue of his pants and boots. His garments held a lingering trace of the Elemental Plane of Water, proclaiming a recent long-term stay on the Plane. [Name: Nillendur ¡°Lendur¡± Shadowglade Species: Mist Elf Class: Dimensional Master / Dimensional Arch-Wizard / Spatial Champion / Temporal Adept Level: 93 / 93 / 83 / 83 Health: 102,664 Defence: 960 Magic: 2,110 Mana: 15,226,094 Melee Attack Power: 1,214 Combat Skills: Staff [GM] (59), Dagger [GM] (4) - Various affinities and Spell lists. Enhanced affinities: Water, Air, Light, Lightning, Gravity, Spatial, and Time Details: A long-term resident of Xaos, he frequently travels around the elemental planes. Though he has travelled to some lower and upper planes, he has kept his ventures into those limited. He gained the Burning Portal betting on a Wizard Duel two hundred seventy-five years ago. Uncle of Tinnith ¡°Fanya¡± Shadowglade.] ¡°Lady Am, I¡¯m Lendur, the owner of the Blazing Portal and Fanya¡¯s teacher. Might we come in to speak with you?¡± asked Nillendur. ¡°Am is fine. I don¡¯t need any title; it''s enough to endure it from those with the garrison and the students,¡± demurred Amdirlain. Stepping back from the door¡¯s threshold, she invited them to ascend the stairs to the suite¡¯s central area. ¡°Would you like some tea, water, or something else?¡± I could create something to dispense food, but controlling my songs to only feed a few people might be risky. Once they were both on the stairs, Amdirlain secured the door and followed them up. ¡°The offer is appreciated, but I wouldn¡¯t want to put you to any effort,¡± Nillendur replied diplomatically once Amdirlain joined them. ¡°That¡¯s good because I realised other refreshment options are minimal,¡± admitted Amdirlain sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯d have to go get something.¡± Reaching out telekinetically, Amdirlain disabled the mechanism filling the bath. With a water overflow averted, she took a spot on a couch. The pair sat across from her, and Amdirlain caught Fanya¡¯s fingers nervously playing with the stitching along the couch¡¯s edge. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll pardon my ignorance, but is the custom among Mist Elves to make small talk first or jump straight to the matter for discussion?¡± asked Amdirlain. Lendur waggled a hand. ¡°It depends on how long you¡¯ve known the other person. The longer the association, the more small talk occurs before serious matters.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯ve just met, getting down to the reason for your visit is fine with me,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I mean, if the hesitation was for that reason, it''s not an approach that I¡¯ll find offensive.¡± ¡°Given the displays of power and your friendly association with the Commander, offending you was a concern,¡± admitted Lendur. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate your time to discuss two matters: the spatial techniques you used to construct Nolmar, and its library. How much to learn the first, and would I be able to get access to the second?¡± ¡°I like that your first questions are about learning. How much do you know about the library''s contents?¡± enquired Amdirlain, deliberately skipping past the first item. ¡°Captain Bedevere mentioned a few books he¡¯d browsed while talking to one of your staff: Yngvarr,¡± Lendur admitted and gave a wary smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure if you have those, you have others of interest to me.¡± ¡°It depends if you want access to it via an hourly agreement with a fixed time limit, or among the ongoing benefits of a teaching position; I plan to expand the library, but someone coming in simply to copy grimoires whenever we¡¯ve sourced hard-to-come-by ones isn¡¯t appealing.¡± ¡°What would ongoing access cost me?¡± ¡°How many students would you like to teach?¡± enquired Amdirlain ¡°Bedevere said you¡¯ve got at least ten teachers already,¡± protested Lendur. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The school is presently a bit on the small side. Should I take that to mean you¡¯re more interested in an hourly rate?¡± ¡°Not necessarily. What else does teaching at your school get me?¡± ¡°Access to the library, the tower, and an ongoing stipend dependent on your students'' progress,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Progress determined by independent evaluation.¡± ¡°What are you planning to charge students?¡± enquired Lendur. ¡°Nothing, but we¡¯ll be selective in those we take in. We¡¯ll also assess those studying to ensure they¡¯ve continued to put in a legitimate effort. If not, they¡¯ll be shown the door,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll request students who achieve a certain degree of proficiency to teach students on behalf of the school if they wish to further their studies beyond that level.¡± Lendur¡¯s eyes went wide. ¡°How deep are your pockets to fund something like this?¡± ¡°Deep.¡± Amdirlain said nothing further, despite it being clear from Lendur¡¯s expression that he¡¯d hoped for clarification. ¡°How great a proficiency are you expecting from your teachers?¡± asked Fanya. ¡°At least one Tier 5 Prestige Class with Wizard involved and ten Spell lists mastered,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That is another benefit. We¡¯ll help teachers to expand their affinities.¡± Fanya gave a disappointed sigh that drew a snort from Lendur. ¡°I¡¯ve told you to apply yourself more.¡± ¡°When you achieve at least that, we can discuss a job,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°If we¡¯re not poaching you from your uncle.¡± The pair hesitated at Amdirlain¡¯s revelation, but she waited for them to comment. Does limitless count as deep? The biggest concern again will be inflation. I might need to use portals to distant locations in the Outlands and other planes to spread the impact and increase the school¡¯s student base. Lendur cleared his throat and moved on. ¡°Surely you can¡¯t just grow it indefinitely.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eventually put a cap on hiring more teachers and limit the intake of new students. Initially, it will be members of the garrison and a few locals until we establish the routine of Nolmar¡¯s lessons. My idea of a decent-sized academy and that of others diverge.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been making gaining affinities simple,¡± observed Lendur. Giving a lopsided smile, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Normally, it is straightforward for me to teach people affinities. Though I¡¯ve assisted no one with your enhanced affinities; that would be interesting. Care to try it?¡± ¡°If you can teach me Earth, I¡¯ll teach at your school free for a year,¡± offered Lendur. ¡°And if I can teach you all your missing affinities except those associated with the lower planes?¡± ¡°A century if your school lasts that long,¡± offered Lendur with a confident smile. ¡°Say a decade,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Even if you have a business to cover your cost of living, research is expensive, so a century feels unfair.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to touch your public mind,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°Captain Bedevere mentioned you had psionics and four Githz¨¦rai teachers,¡± commented Lendur. ¡°I¡¯d be worried about that, but I can feel how much Mana you¡¯re holding.¡± ¡°No point worrying about yet another threat?¡± enquired Amdirlain lightly. Lendur nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve been in places where a single mistake can cost lives. Worrying about it too much can force a mistake, so you do what you can and go from there.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t be grabbing your mind. Mentally picture yourself standing in a doorway and opening it to greet me,¡± instructed Amdirlain, and she didn¡¯t mention the mental spells she could hear safeguarding his inner thoughts. Rather than jump straight into teaching about Earth, Amdirlain used Harmony to connect them both to Air. She escorted him across the surface of the garden¡¯s soil and toured the tunnels left by the earthworms on foreign planets. Memories of the Elemental Plane of Earth became their guide, how even in opposition to Air, spaces developed within the ground as Air and Earth touched. Slowly she explored the boundary between the two, but his deep understanding of Air posed a significant challenge. Switching between awarenesses, she took him through the interactions each Affinity he possessed had with Earth. Water saturating it, changing soil or eroding rock, Lightning grounding into it and being neutralised. The mass of different soil and rock bridged meaning with Gravity and snapped meaning into place. A connection finally bridged, and the Affinity with Earth settled within him, a ripple of understanding following. ¡°Impossible,¡± breathed Lendur. ¡°I¡¯m not fond of that word, but I¡¯ll admit it was far more difficult because of your other deep connections,¡± advised Amdirlain. Lendur swallowed and then coughed to clear his throat. ¡°Shall we get on with the rest? I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll owe you a decade of teaching students.¡± ¡°Students will be yours to pick, and I won¡¯t expect you to teach students you find issues with as long as you''ve tried to help them. Many things can cause problems like students refusing to learn and expecting everything handed to them.¡± Amdirlain extended the mental touch to him again, and this time, she mentally nudged Fanya. ¡°Fanya, care to benefit as well? If you''re interested, you can help with paid tutoring, ?but consider this a family discount since your uncle¡¯s joining the teaching staff.¡± Fanya gave her a wide-eyed look, and fear shone in her red gaze before Amdirlain felt her mind open. * * * * * Their enhanced affinities had turned a task that generally took a few minutes into nearly two hours of actual effort. Ultimately, she had provided them with everything except Infernal, Abyssal, and Jade Court. When the two staggered out of the suite feeling mentally drained, Amdirlain emptied the unused bath and teleported to the outer corridor of the prison. Once there, she tweaked the wards before she spoke. ¡°Moradin, about what we discussed the other day. I know you said you can¡¯t fix them yourself, but would you have time to give me your perspective on the trio?¡± The dwarven patriarch took advantage of her adjusted wards to appear beside Amdirlain. Without saying a word, Moradin rested a hand reassuringly on her back for a few minutes before he turned his attention to the prisoners. As Moradin studied the three within the cells, his expression turned grim, and his sturdy fingers tapped a beat against the thick leather of his apron. ¡°There is only ash to polish. The only worthwhile essence within them is your Ki''s residue, which is not theirs to do anything with. Traces of gold mixed with a pan¡¯s sediment.¡± Amdirlain released a pained grunt and leaned her forehead against the outside of Torm¡¯s cell. ¡°If they¡¯d been your celestials, could you have restored them?¡± ¡°They¡¯re worse than I thought; its doubtful even if they were mine,¡± sighed Moradin. ¡°As they are now, I¡¯d only be using their essence as fuel to make a new creature without a trace of the old.¡± Not looking up at Moradin, Amdirlain muttered. ¡°Livia asked me: ¡®what if it doesn¡¯t work?¡¯¡± Moradin nodded. ¡°A valid question?. If you possessed Orh¨ºthurinn¡¯s strength, their state wouldn¡¯t matter, but it won¡¯t happen as you are. You could release them and hope they eventually change their ways, but I doubt it with Destruction so thoroughly in the mix. Do you think they¡¯ll eventually listen and let you remove those classes?¡± ¡°I doubt it. Does the Titan ?accept petitions?¡± whispered Amdirlain, wrapping her arms around herself and trying to get past the pain she¡¯d inflicted for no purpose. ¡°You know he takes requests to rebalance issues,¡± returned Moradin, nodding slowly. ¡°That¡¯s how the Redemption¡¯s Path started, as one of those requests. Talk to one of his servants in Judgement and see what they have to say. He¡¯ll help in the way he decides, and there is always a price.¡± ¡°Things need to be balanced,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Otherwise, people would expect him to solve all their problems.¡± ¡°And he has an odd perspective of what makes up a balance,¡± cautioned Moradin. ¡°The bill would have been less if you hadn¡¯t informed him you don¡¯t consider yourself his daughter. Then again, for most, he wouldn¡¯t even consider this something needing rebalance.¡± ¡°Who told you?¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°You think I don¡¯t still have ways to communicate with him?¡± enquired Moradin. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one, but we can¡¯t act or request on your behalf.¡± ¡°Lying about that wouldn¡¯t have been fair to him or me,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°It would have been less only because of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s work, and I¡¯ve not earned any of that. And I know what you mean, Moradin. They took the chance to oppose evil but lost; sometimes people fail at challenges.¡± Amdirlain let out a sigh and continued before Moradin could respond. ¡°Should I take them with me?¡± ¡°Are you planning to take some of your purified souls to get their attention?¡± enquired Moradin. ¡°If I can¡¯t find more L¨®m? to rescue,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Moradin nodded towards the trio. ¡°You¡¯ll need to hand them over in a transportable state; his servants won¡¯t come to get them.¡± Releasing a long sigh, Amdirlain formed a modified Imprisonment Spell, and the notes wrapped around the trio without warning. One moment they were standing there, and the following, perfect spheres dropped to the floor of each cell and bounced across the stone. ¡°I tortured them for nothing,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°What you did was intended to help them,¡± refuted Moradin. ¡°I should pack up this place so it doesn¡¯t get improperly used,¡± muttered Amdirlain, ignoring Moradin¡¯s reassurance. ¡°I should have asked you in advance; I thought I had a path, but it was one of ignorance.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be hard on yourself. It''s not as if many of us have experienced redeeming celestials. I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re not going into the prison business,¡± probed Moradin gently to change the subject. Turning, Amdirlain looked down at him with her cheek still pressed to the stone of Torm¡¯s cell. ¡°Life is frequently enough of a prison, and I¡¯ve no intention of continuing to keep others locked up.¡± Moradin grunted. ¡°It would be odd if you¡¯d continued being a gaoler given your old Mantle.¡± 300 - With her Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Prison Cells Amdirlain collected the enchanted crystals around the prison and stored them in Inventory. She took apart the four cells before gathering up the spheres that now contained her patients. Considering her options, Amdirlain created the smallest storage ring she could manage and stowed them. As she slipped it on, Moradin raised his brows. ¡°I¡¯ve heard tales about you using ?a trick called Inventory. I hadn¡¯t expected you to need a storage ring.¡± ¡°While I¡¯m not sure it''s completely the same, Inventory seems a progression of a Power called Soul Space, which has concerning implications.¡± Moradin hummed. ¡°I don¡¯t know the Power, but with that name I can understand your concern, especially since you were carving out chunks of the Abyss with Inventory.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t remind me,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°You can¡¯t undo the past, Amdirlain, which goes for far more than that Power. Still, I agree it¡¯s best to avoid the chance of further damage¡ªif you¡¯ve done any,¡± advised Moradin. ¡°I should tell his boss,¡± Amdirlain stated, and Moradin nodded in agreement. After taking apart the last of the protections, Amdirlain spoke again. ¡°Tyr, I¡¯m sorry for providing you false hope. I¡¯ve had Moradin look at Torm and the others.¡± Tyr¡¯s awareness washed over them briefly before he appeared and nodded to each?. ¡°Moradin. Amdirlain. How bad is the situation?¡± Moradin beat Amdirlain to reply. ¡°There is only malice and spite within, and I don¡¯t see that changing. With all three tied to Destruction, Amdirlain¡¯s healing attempts cause them to cling to the Concept. We¡¯re left with naught but hard choices.¡± Blinking at his words, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Was Gondren in service to one of your Pantheon?¡± ¡°A close ally, but not family; they¡¯ll mourn his loss twice over now,¡± replied Moradin. Catching the sorrow in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze, Tyr rested a hand on her shoulder. ¡°I know the pain you would have gladly endured if there¡¯d been a chance. What are the choices?¡± ¡°I wish I¡¯d asked Moradin earlier; I tortured them for no purpose,¡± breathed Amdirlain as she scrubbed her face clear. ¡°Our options are destruction or eternal imprisonment, so they can¡¯t hurt others. We want to see if the Titan will respond to a request to purify their essence, or at least tell us if the Jade Court¡¯s approach will work.¡± At that last, Tyr looked between them in disbelief. ¡°You believe this is a possibility?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to his servants in Judgement previously. I would take along some souls, an approach that has attracted their notice previously. If they reject the request, I will try Cyrus¡¯ option with the Jade Court, but there is no certainty it is even viable,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Livia prayed for guidance, but I had no information to share. If the Titan¡¯s Servant speaks to you, I agree we should enquire about the Jade Court¡¯s approach,¡± offered Tyr sadly. ¡°It might save you later worry about what might have been if you rule the option out yourself. I want to accompany you if you¡¯d allow it. I can sense he¡¯s already imprisoned in the ring you wear, but I would like to bear witness.¡± Putting aside her plan to hunt for further L¨®m? souls, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll need to retrieve some souls that are directing the towers.¡± ¡°Are you cutting short their labours to earn rebirth?¡± Tyr inquired curiously. ¡°Their presence will aid us, so it¡¯s only fair.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll wait on the cliff above,¡± offered Moradin. ¡°I¡¯ll repair this place so that none can use it to find a trace of you. I know it''s not likely, but best to close off loose threads. You¡¯ve removed all the protections; who knows what traces an oracle might find.¡± ¡°Thank you for all your help; I¡¯m not sure I can ever repay you,¡± offered Amdirlain. Moradin frowned, and his bushy eyebrows drew downwards. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you¡¯re obsessing about debts again, youngling. With Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s life behind you, I had hoped you¡¯d avoid letting guilt over matters not in your control drive you.¡± Amdirlain sighed and tried stabilising her racing thoughts. ¡°I think I am. There is a lot of guilt regarding Gail and Livia. I don¡¯t want them caught up in my problems.¡± ¡°A few words of advice?¡± asked Tyr. ¡°Please stop me if you feel I¡¯m speaking out of turn, as we''ve spoken only infrequently. With my knowledge of you from various sources, I feel like I know you and I¡¯ve plenty of reasons to want to help you.¡± Aware of how much knowledge he¡¯d have about her and her abilities from his faithful¡¯s and Torm¡¯s, experiences, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± ¡°If someone feels they owe you, let them. Rejecting it cheapens their emotions, and it''s up to you to decide if you collect any debt or ignore it forever. We can see many social interactions as debts if you obsess over them.¡± Amdirlain winced. ¡°My Charisma worries me; it affects people in ways I can¡¯t control properly, and I¡¯ve had people trying to repay me for things I did out of guilt.¡± Moradin tapped his fingers. ¡°To have control over Charisma, you must first know its extent. Find a way you are comfortable with the emotions you inspire in people.¡± ¡°That''s nice, but how?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°To borrow a phrase that I¡¯ve heard Gail uses: sing for your supper; or something similar,¡± suggested Tyr. ¡°Bards always inspire people with emotions, sometimes emotions besides the urge to punch them in the face.¡± Amdirlain laughed, only to stop and bite her lip thoughtfully. ¡°I stopped increasing my Singing Skill, even before it got absorbed into a True Song evolution.¡± ¡°Have you sung normal songs?¡± enquired Tyr. ¡°Only when I was in the Maze and doing some initial practice,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe sing something normal,¡± proposed Tyr. ¡°It¡¯s only a suggestion, but learn the songs about local heroes or historic events, and inspire their emotions towards figures of the past. Then your Charisma doesn¡¯t draw them to you but their legends and tales of daring.¡± Moradin nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve focused on avoiding dark results, so you refused to proceed down paths. Both with Charisma and your concern over people feeling indebted to you. The only people to watch out for are those that can ignore what others have done for them.¡± ¡°Yeah, those I keep on a different list,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to know the best way I¡¯ve found to handle someone being persistent about a debt you don¡¯t want them repaying?¡± asked Moradin. ¡°Advice is welcome, though I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve gotten annoyed when people have tried to push me into doing what they see as being for the best,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Well, this one is optional and just a guideline: ask for specific repayment and get them to do something that helps someone else. For some people, you can¡¯t just tell them to help someone in the future. They have to see it as helping you. Find something you¡¯d like improved¡ªsetting up an orphanage, educating youngsters¡ªanything that appeals to you. Tell them your desired outcome, and leave them to it.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have issues with people protesting that ¡®it didn¡¯t help you¡¯?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Usually, telling them it saved me the time of handling it myself is enough. They feel good because they''ve paid me back, and they stop making a fuss,¡± shrugged Moradin. ¡°Though I know what you mean about debts, I prefer leaving the ledgers to other deities. Do work you¡¯re proud of, and then don¡¯t sweat the rest.¡± ¡°Is Livia one of those you feel shouldn¡¯t be in your debt?¡± enquired Tyr. ¡°Yes, and I was sharp with her about it,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Tyr patted her shoulder. ¡°You also mentioned guilt about her. If it helps, it doesn¡¯t bother Livia; she¡¯s far happier with her life now than she was following Janus. You saved her from the service of a now-dead God. It wasn¡¯t your acceptance of the summons that killed her or started the corruption. B¡ªor Viper¡ªflushed that abyssal heat through the initial Soul link you had from the summoning. Perhaps pin the blame there if you need to apportion guilt.¡± ¡°Viper¡¯s somewhere dealing with a Planar Lock of her own. Though Isa ensured she has no memories, she¡¯s likely a loose end I should tie off,¡± mused Amdirlain, nodding to Tyr. ¡°Best not to leave that Demon to roam free when you don¡¯t know how strong she might be,¡± agreed Tyr. ¡°That aside, I still wish to address your influence on Livia. While your Ki certainly affected Livia¡¯s life, I feel it¡¯s safe to consider it improved. Strangely, I¡¯ve even more insights into her than you do. If you want to ease your guilt over that outcome, you could always help me.¡± ¡°With what?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Tyr grinned. ¡°With Livia¡¯s dual situation as a senior Priest and her progression towards becoming an Immortal in the Jade Court.¡± ¡°Oh? What trouble did I cause?¡± laughed Amdirlain, trying to let him lighten the mood, despite the weight of the ring she wore. ¡°Indeed, endless rounds of negotiation aren¡¯t to be laughed about,¡± Tyr huffed, but Amdirlain caught the slight gleam in his gaze. Giving her a comforting smile, he extended his hand to Amdirlain. ¡°Between friends, what others see as debts are mutual exchanges given out of respect. My thanks for this work you took on. Though it didn¡¯t come to the result we hoped for, I still appreciate your efforts and regret the pain you endured.¡± Amdirlain blinked back tears. ¡°Did you both take the time simply to distract me?¡± Moradin smiled. ¡°Not distract, but console. And it''s what you do for those you see as friends. You¡¯ll always be a friend even if you don¡¯t remember those times. What you took on was extremely unpleasant, and it can aggravate other pains. You¡¯ve issues weighing you down, and it¡¯s only right we take the time to help lessen the burden.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯ll meet you above with the souls,¡± stated Amdirlain, and, struggling to decide how she should feel about the advice, she used a song to shift herself across planes. The accuracy of the theme delivered her into a bolt hole. The slimes she¡¯d expected to find ripe with energy were nowhere to be found; instead, only newbies sat within the holding bays. Checking the crystals that handled the overall control of the towers, she found the battlefront against Orcus¡¯ forces hadn¡¯t returned any veterans to the holding bays. So far, the fighting had seen the manifested towers switch between over a hundred thousand controllers from this facility alone. Well, I didn¡¯t give Sage a time limit on returning them. Controlling weaponry able to destroy demons and undead and the constant fighting will keep their turnover high. Amdirlain triggered a staggered exchange, and the holding bay¡¯s atmosphere began to change. The first few that returned did little to it, but then a rush of halogen bright slimes appeared. When the slimes finished being switched out, the chamber was brighter than stadium night game lighting. Some of the glowing veterans provided the intensity of spotlights by themselves. Behind the barrier, the chamber¡¯s air roiled with the Celestial energy emitted by the slimes. The song that ripped the souls from the slimes¡¯ cores netted her a few thousand experience points, and Amdirlain frowned in consideration. The masses of slime usually ejected by the towers sat within the tanks, and before the cycle could set new slimes in place, they would have to be cleaned. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Taking a risk, Amdirlain absorbed a tiny amount within Inventory. With no discomfort experienced, she cleared tank after tank until they¡¯d all been emptied. Though Inventory showed nearly a tonne of the material, Pain Eater didn¡¯t show a sliver of discomfort. Unsure if the test told her more about the Power or the state of her Soul, Amdirlain briefly contemplated how to dispose of the infused slime. A possibility occurred before she could send it off to purify a random patch of abyssal soil; it was such a sweet idea she wanted to pursue it at once; if only she didn¡¯t have two deities waiting. Planar Shift returned her to the Outlands, and she cleaned off the abyssal residue before teleporting to meet them. Moradin and Tyr halted mid-exchange to greet her, and then Moradin gestured to the spire¡¯s peak. ¡°You¡¯ll need to open a Gate; travelling independently, we¡¯ll not end up in the same region of Judgement.¡± ¡°I hope this works,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m terrified it will end with him resurrected, with no memories of us.¡± ¡°Even if that is the case, it will give him a fresh start, unburdened by corruption or malice,¡± consoled Tyr. The Gate opened to reveal a mist-covered cloud bank, and Amdirlain nervously stepped through. Within the surrounding mists there wasn¡¯t a figure to be seen, a pre-dawn stillness weighed the atmosphere. Once the others joined her, Amdirlain allowed the Gate to close. ¡°None of the regions I¡¯ve visited has been so quiet and gloomy,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived in a nascent world¡¯s region,¡± advised Moradin. ¡°It¡¯s likely because of either the variety or the cleansed state of the souls you carry. How someone sees a living world¡¯s region depends on the nature of the person visiting.¡± Remembering how L¨ºdhins had perceived it on their first visit, Amdirlain nodded and released the souls she¡¯d collected. Their crystallised forms were stacked into a natural pyramid before her. As the wait stretched, they could only endure it with patience and hope a Servant would appear. When the form of one emerged from the mist, they¡¯d been kept waiting nearly two hours. As it approached, the Servant¡¯s gears shifted and spun within its transparent humanoid shell; each gear¡¯s motion melded into other dimensions as they churned. Taking in its song, Amdirlain listened to how they functioned, its connection to the sealed spire, and the concepts in play. Even the outside layers that Amdirlain could make out went far beyond what she¡¯d handled with Nolmar¡¯s creation. Drawing out the spheres containing the trio, she presented them to the Servant. Without a word of prompting, the Servant shook its head. ¡°They entered the Abyss knowing it posed an extreme risk to them. Why should these three receive aid when others who fell not of their own doing did not?¡± ¡°It was only through challenges, luck, and our efforts we captured them and cleansed them of corruption. I didn¡¯t tell the fellows of those others not to strive harder to recover them,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°They have Redemption¡¯s Path or a Deity¡¯s Trial,¡± countered the Servant. ¡°You mentioned only two options. Is the Jade Court¡¯s path to enlightenment not viable?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°No, it is not. The demons under the purview of the Jade Court¡¯s Hell are neither devils nor demons as you know them,¡± the Servant advised, and it crouched to collect the redeemed souls. ¡°Is that all of your enquiries answered now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m willing to make restitution for these three to be purified by the Titan,¡± declared Amdirlain. The Servant''s hands jerked back. ¡°You¡¯re surrendering your control over Redemption¡¯s Path for these three?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze narrowed at the wording. ¡°Yes. Is it possible to surrender it for more?¡± ¡°Some he doesn¡¯t believe should even have a chance on the path as it is,¡± rebuffed the Servant. ¡°Can I surrender it for celestials that were forced or tricked into a Transformation Site?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Those that have met such a fate are demons¡ªnot Fallen¡ªand beyond reclamation. Your friend¡¯s intercession with Luck was timely, though all it did was avert the worst of his failure and yours. You should have held him to that initial promise not to venture through the Abyss except together.¡± Amdirlain winced and gave a sharp nod. ¡°A promise that we made because he was concerned for my safety.¡± ¡°While it was a mutual failure, his was greater for ignoring your repeated warnings. The work required for these three will be substantial. If you wish to change the current path for others, you¡¯ll need to regain a substantial part of your former strength,¡± reproved the Servant. ¡°Can I surrender it for me?¡± Amdirlain enquired. ¡°No,¡± sighed the Servant. ¡°If that were possible, he would have told you when you left the Maze. You are accountable by these rules, despite your denial of her past. All are accountable.¡± ¡°Even the Titan is accountable to the rules of the realm,¡± nodded Amdirlain. ¡°What can I offer to balance these three?¡± ¡°Gideon has told me you should focus Analysis on Amdirlain¡¯s Cheques to see what your arse needs to cash,¡± advised the Servant. ¡°I don¡¯t know what they mean by that vulgarity.¡± ¡°Of all the musical references they could have picked,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Analysis showed a list that started with killing three unspecified demon lords and spun on through thousands of tasks. It included eliminating some demonic species, changing Mortal ones, and creating new environmental conditions. The musical notations below each showed the melodies of the target planets or planes and the songs involved in the work. It was a lot to take in, as the list continued to blur past in her mind. One thing she picked up was that none of the work touched any of the seventy-one planets she¡¯d reclaimed from Orcus. When the list finally halted, she used Analysis again, and as far as she could tell, the same list presented itself again, except for a note at the end. [Note: Do you want me to add to it straight away? I had to dumb down the interface already, simple minds and all that.] Yeah, but you¡¯re the interface. ¡°All of that list?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I do not know what is on the list,¡± the Servant advised. ¡°How long do I have?¡± ¡°Less than a year, and then the work will begin, in one fashion or another,¡± warned the Servant. ¡°Be advised, Torm might never recall you, and you may never see him again. Do you still wish to proceed?¡± ¡°What are the chances we¡¯ll see them again?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Too many factors are involved for any firm prediction,¡± advised the Servant. ¡°If requesting this for only one of them would change the odds, what would you do?¡± Amdirlain sighed and held out the three spheres. ¡°No, I won¡¯t do that. It¡¯s an equal chance for all three.¡± The Servant took the spheres from her. ¡°Tyr, one of these was formerly your servant. Do you release it from any obligation to you?¡± ¡°Yes, I just want for him the best chance for a fresh start,¡± agreed Tyr. ¡°We will contact the other lieges, but organising payment is in Amdirlain¡¯s hands now,¡± advised the Servant. In a rush of energy, the Servant and the souls vanished, its charade of needing to gather them exposed. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of work to do,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she mentally ran through the list again. ¡°And I still need to remove the formithians from Votari. Thank you both. I best get back to Xaos and analyse this list to see what I can clear the fastest.¡± ¡°I noticed it said organising payment is in your hands, not that you must fulfil it yourself. If there is anything on that list that doesn¡¯t require True Song, please advise me,¡± requested Tyr. Amdirlain reluctantly nodded. ¡°There is some, but I want to sort it out first. Gideon has told me it¡¯s easier to destroy than create, so I believe the acts of creation will provide them with the best chance. Even some destruction will require True Song, as I don¡¯t know another way to get the Abyss to cease spawning certain demons.¡± ¡°Changing the site''s conditions sufficiently so its emotional weight changes,¡± advised Moradin. ¡°It''s challenging but not unheard of to achieve. One last thing, just because some items can be done with True Song, doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t do it without it.¡± After exchanging farewells, Amdirlain let Planar Shift take her to the outskirts of Xaos. Titan¡¯s Forge Room The Servant¡¯s approach with the souls weighed on Nicholaus but not as much as the trio of former celestials it carried. ¡°She released these three from her redemption requirements but wished no favouritism between them.¡± Gideon moved to hover above the forge, and its flames sent rainbows reflecting off their facets. The knowledge they shared allowed Nicholaus to use his father¡¯s gift to seek a moment in time, and he caught them in the instant before the site took hold. Among the three, Nicholaus focused on Torm first. ¡°Know that I¡¯m speaking to a manifestation of your past nature. Your current self became mauled by corruption and scarred by distorted beliefs. Your time in this state is short. This is not a denial of doom but a chance to contribute to your restoration.¡± ¡°May I ask a question?¡± Torm immediately asked. Nicholaus¡¯ gaze bored into Torm. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy talking to many, so it depends on the question.¡± The Planetar didn¡¯t back down, but he nodded in respect. ¡°Is Amdirlain well?¡± Torm¡¯s question caused Nicholaus¡¯ expression to tighten. ¡°She is strong, yet hurt, whole and torn. She pushed to help you and your allies, but it was beyond her strength.¡± Torm bodily flinched, but it didn¡¯t stop his immediate reply. ¡°I choose whatever route will help Amdirlain the most. Will I remember her?¡± ¡°She removed those memories from your future self because he¡¯d twisted them beyond recognition,¡± advised Nicholaus reluctantly. He¡¯d been furious with Torm¡¯s choice but found himself unwilling to inflict harm on the shade of the Celestial his daughter loved. ¡°The purification will be of your future self who no longer has those memories.¡± Torm flinched. ¡°Is there a way I- he can get them back?¡± ¡°Even if you¡¯d never see her again and never leave this forge?¡± enquired Nicholaus. Nicholaus allowed Torm to understand the room he was in, not from malice but from a need to gauge his conviction. Across the forge room, aspects and other beings were busy forging the conceptual details for thousands of worlds. ¡°To aid her, I would,¡± declared Torm. Nicholaus released Torm from his focus, and the past self vanished before he moved on to interrogate the other two. When Nicholaus was done, he set the final sphere aside and considered the golden Anar souls on the nearby shelves. ¡°Are you going to make him do the grunt work?¡± asked Gideon. ¡°He would never have been close to her equal climbing the Celestial routes,¡± muttered Nicholaus. ¡°True.¡± Nicholaus considered the tiny sphere form Gideon had taken on to hover above the forge. ¡°Why did you set a healing price I don¡¯t need? She might not consider herself Orh¨ºthurin, but that¡¯s beside the point. All you had to do was advise her to relinquish control over their path, Gideon. She bears too much of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s guilt and grief over how this realm turned out.¡± ¡°Amdirlain asked for the price, so I gave her a list of tasks to match her expectation,¡± advised Gideon. ¡°It¡¯s something for her to focus on and take the edge off her grief. Otherwise, things might go astray, not to mention take aeons. Also, everything on that list will help her towards being able to create a living world from scratch, though I bet it will take her time to figure it out. Details being missed under the weight of impending doom and all that.¡± ¡°She takes on more than is hers to correct,¡± grumbled Nicholaus. ¡°Maybe, but I set it because I know her, and she needs sharp-cut goals. Whenever I¡¯ve taken a jab at her, she''s bled rage and motivation,¡± argued Gideon. ¡°Amdirlain thrives most off fighting against obstacles, not taking the gentle route she¡¯s convinced herself to take.¡± ¡°She was catching her breath,¡± chided Nicholaus. ¡°Please, she had over two decades of that,¡± retorted Gideon. ¡°Yeah, she worked persistently, but she wasn¡¯t in significant danger most of the time. There was plenty of space to run and hide on that Plane, and she¡¯s protected by her Hidden status when not jabbing herself with daggers.¡± Nicholaus¡¯ gaze drifted past some figures at the end of a shelf, and they disappeared. ¡°You¡¯re having L¨®m? give birth to Anar?¡± ¡°Only the re-born Soul and the power of the mother matter for my daughter¡¯s singers,¡± reminded Nicholaus, and he turned his head to one side. ¡°Why are you asking questions you already know the answer to?¡± ¡°I know the answers to everything once it has occurred, including that you¡¯ve been too quiet of late,¡± explained Gideon. ¡°Alkibiades,¡± intoned Nicholaus, ignoring Gideon¡¯s dig. A figure composed of swirling black sand, surrounded by auras of lightning, blackness, and blistering winds, appeared beside him. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Will you cast these Fallen free from among your servants?¡± Alkibiades glanced at the sphere that imprisoned Torm. ¡°Even for Orh¨ºthurin, there would need to be redress.¡± ¡°Your price?¡± enquired Nicholaus. ¡°I can claim the energy from all the classes he progressed, and you release six minor entities of my choosing,¡± offered Alkibiades. ¡°You can claim the energy from all the classes that the trio progressed and use one tool,¡± countered Nicholaus. ¡°The energy and four,¡± haggled Alkibiades. Nicholaus shook his head, and his horns caused shadows to dance about, ¡°Two.¡± ¡°The energy and three,¡± probed Alkibiades. ¡°There is symmetry in that, so yes, but nothing above a new Demon Lord¡¯s strength,¡± replied Nicholaus, his gaze narrowing. ¡°And nothing close to Moloch¡¯s initial transformation.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± accepted Alkibiades. Alkibiades vanished with a huff, and Nicholaus started the work. Dipping into Torm¡¯s essence, he found the moment of corruption and started to invigorate what was there before. With Gideon¡¯s guidance, Nicholaus delicately separated the mauled existence that came after the site. Once that was done, he sliced all the classes and species growth from both parts free, the acts of removal allowing Alkibiades to claim the energies. ¡°You have a path of evolution for the Anar planned?¡± enquired Nicholaus, purely to make conversation as he worked. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve got dozens I can dust off; none of them ever earned one,¡± reminded Gideon unnecessarily. ¡°The chances are remote for Gail or the formerly Torm unless Amdirlain can grow enough to restore the original True Song¡¯s pathways.¡± Nicholaus hummed off-key as he heated the Celestial-essence-turned-Soul within the forge. Aware that he¡¯d been considering a fate for Torm that he¡¯d feared would be his daughter¡¯s in the Maze, he subtly altered the approach. Instead of the memories becoming seeds of wisdom, they formed hidden layers within the Soul. The chance was remote, but if the reborn Soul managed the right deeds and achievements, he''d unlock them and in time reclaim all his untainted memories. Torm¡¯s former progression in skills and levels was gone, but the Soul could excel or not on the merits of its future life. Letting energy in through the forge, Nicholaus slowly turned the white Human Soul towards Gold. ¡°I bet he takes multiple lives,¡± grumbled Nicholaus. Gideon chimed. ¡°Why did you decide to do the work before Amdirlain pays up?¡± ¡°There was no need to charge her,¡± growled Nicholaus, and he had to moderate the energy he was passing through the forge. ¡°She doesn¡¯t consider herself my daughter, but Ori- Amdirlain is all I¡¯ve left of her mother; my feelings do not end with Amdirlain¡¯s decision to stand on her own.¡± Gideon hovered closer to the flames. ¡°You know that artistic layering you did will make him recovering memories hard?¡± ¡°There will be hints to let him know there is more if he works hard, but I¡¯ve hidden it from all others. The chance is slim, but he can earn his original memories,¡± huffed Nicholaus. Gideon hummed. ¡°He¡¯s not likely to get even a hint of his old memories until he¡¯s got a hundred or more levels with the conditions you¡¯ve put in place.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be enough experience under his belt so he¡¯ll have the self-confidence to walk his own path. It would not do for Amdirlain to know he is reborn; he must earn his memories of Amdirlain by himself and decide a course,¡± Nicholaus said, carefully adjusting the mingling energy. ¡°He¡¯ll be a blank slate, not a typical Anar,¡± observed Gideon. ¡°Some Anar will never return, and we¡¯ve lost many L¨®m? forever through Baln¨¦rith¡¯s plotting. I¡¯ll need to rebalance their numbers?, but I¡¯ll release other new Anar souls before him,¡± advised Nicholaus. ¡°Figure out a time to let Amdirlain know which primordials he releases from their shackles. They¡¯ll be something to sharpen her edge against, and others shouldn¡¯t profit from my daughter¡¯s pain.¡± ¡°In a way, we are,¡± noted Gideon. Nicholaus sighed. ¡°I had let her go, Gideon. Now she¡¯s back, it¡¯s also a danger to her, and there aren¡¯t aeons available.¡± Gideon bobbed in place and then vanished, leaving Nicholaus to focus on the tasks at hand. 301 - Dark Signal Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos Hours later, Livia found Amdirlain in her suite, rolling a memory crystal between her hands. As Livia entered, Amdirlain looked up and patted the couch beside her. ¡°Come sit with me?¡± ¡°You know I do the same thing when delivering bad news to friends,¡± commented Livia, but she still sat beside Amdirlain. ¡°Moradin looked over Torm and confirmed the only one likely to help any of them was the Titan. He, Tyr, and I took the three of them to Judgement.¡± Livia let out a series of slow breaths and stared off towards the Spire before she spoke, her voice barely a whisper. ¡°Will we see Torm again?¡± ¡°Gideon¡¯s given me a shopping list of tasks that stretches a few kilometres for the trio to be purified. They made it clear it wouldn¡¯t be likely for him to remember us; it was the fee to have the purification completed,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Are any of them things other people can do, or did they dump the lot on you?¡± enquired Livia. Amdirlain almost denied it but gave a quick nod. ¡°There is a requirement to kill a few demon lords and a bunch of other lower-plane entities.¡± ¡°Any particular Demon Lord?¡± ¡°Nope, and it''s a requirement to kill, not destroy,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Killing them once will be hard enough. We¡¯ll need to get them to do something like Raivo and stick their neck out where we can get them,¡± stated Livia lightly, and she squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°What does he get out of it?¡± ¡°Maybe there is a misalignment in the balance, and he wants to weaken evil temporarily,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°There are other types of tasks on the list, but before we talk more about it, I¡¯ve something else to say. I¡¯m sorry for making a fuss about debts the other day; it was wrong to speak so sharply.¡± Livia gave her a concerned look. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to apologise for, and you were blunt but not sharp. You¡¯re focused on the list but not Torm?¡± Licking her lips, Amdirlain bounced the crystal on her palm. ¡°The more of the list I organise to be cleared, the more effort the Titan will put into Torm¡¯s healing.¡± ¡°I can see you driving yourself into the ground to complete it, but that doesn¡¯t explain the sense I get from you. Has Gideon¡¯s list got you upset or something else?¡± ¡°Your boss and Moradin told me to get my head on straight,¡± confessed Amdirlain. ¡°About my obsession with debts and my Charisma, and they also had some insights.¡± ¡°Hopefully, their insights give you the breakthrough you seek,¡± said Livia. Amdirlain smiled sadly. ¡°Their advice about Charisma and debts extended to what I¡¯d gotten so far.¡± ¡°Why are you so stubborn about debts?¡± asked Livia, slicing straight to a sensitive point. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin and I seem to have it in common. I¡¯ll try to work out my issues and handle them better,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t promise it will change soon, but I¡¯ll try.¡± Livia nodded firmly. ¡°I¡¯ll hold you to that. Now tell me about this list.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t specify the demon lords or even say why. There is also a list of demonic species and spawn sites to destroy. Moradin says there is a way to handle those outside True Song, however, most of the tasks are modifications to species or worlds which would need True Song, and he even provided the music,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Isa could help with some of that work. When was the last time you spoke to her?¡± ¡°I spoke to her and Roher the other day about their progress retrieving the royal tower,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Which I¡¯ll translate to: you¡¯ll avoid disturbing her until it¡¯s done,¡± critiqued Livia. ¡°There is a pattern in the songs that I¡¯m not seeing yet. I want to figure that out first,¡± countered Amdirlain, not wanting to mention that some would need a combination of Anar and L¨®m? singers if she didn¡¯t handle them directly. ¡°I¡¯ll get Erwarth to help me with some songs within the L¨®m? range.¡± Despite Livia¡¯s anguish, she put her hands to her cheeks dramatically and gave Amdirlain a wide-eyed look. ¡°Don¡¯t start,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I love you, M¨®eir,¡± laughed Livia thinly, and she patted her knee. ¡°Asking Erwarth to contribute is a healthy start. Cyrus and I will organise the hunt for the demon lords.¡± ¡°Are you volunteering him?¡± ¡°Please. If I told Cyrus I planned to hunt something like that without him, he¡¯d feel left out,¡± replied Livia. ¡°Demon hunting is fun for the Jade Court. Bet he tries binding one to see if it explodes.¡± ¡°I will see which listed planets I can get to without cheating. Then I¡¯ll take care of whatever songs are on them I can handle without help,¡± stated Amdirlain. As Amdirlain considered the impact shifting between the thousands of planets would cause World Step, she stopped. Suspicions tweaked, Amdirlain focused on the memory crystal she¡¯d created to organise the work. Shifting through it, Amdirlain isolated the information to display the songs by length. Running down the list, she considered only the songs for the changes, and the nature of the work became evident. The themes'' interlinking purposes gave Amdirlain a moment of pause. As she took each apart, Amdirlain got caught in the connections between melodies, and as an epiphany hit, she rode the wave of understanding. It didn¡¯t cause the crush that spending Skill points on True Song Architecture had. There wasn¡¯t a gain of new knowledge, but her mind twisted existing knowledge into a new perspective. Millions of connections caused a 3D star chart of links to bloom in her mind, even the jumps between worlds and their orchestra became enfolded. [True Song Architecture [S] (100->102) Note: Darn, that didn¡¯t take as long as I thought. You might warn the L¨®m? to work faster; six returned Anar souls just got placed with them. I¡¯d tell you how, but you might blush.] The melodies'' differing complexity promised Amdirlain challenges restraining True Song. Thank you, Gideon. Wherever he ends up, please help him if you can. ¡°Sometimes, I don¡¯t know if I should thank Gideon or curse them. This list shows they¡¯re a cheeky bugger,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°Gideon?¡± asked Livia, noting Amdirlain¡¯s focus on the crystal. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying to devise an approach for the worlds I planned to restore. In his list are foundation pieces for various environment and species alterations,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°When I put the pieces together just then, I got a Skill progression, and he made a crack about some L¨®m? getting pregnant. Teasing me that if he told me how I might blush.¡± ¡°But you already knew that the L¨®m? had been conceiving,¡± remarked Livia. ¡°Some children with Anar souls,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Looks like the Titan decided they could come back.¡± ¡±What¡¯s your first step?¡± Amdirlain offered Livia a different memory crystal. ¡°Here is everything that doesn¡¯t explicitly mention needing True Song to achieve.¡± ¡°And here I hadn¡¯t even used a Miracle,¡± quipped Livia. ¡°When you said you¡¯d try, I didn¡¯t expect to see such a swift change.¡± ¡°Moradin pointed out I had avoided stepping on some paths simply because I feared a dark end,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know how often I¡¯ll need to repeat particular mistakes, but I¡¯ll try to improve.¡± Livia looked at the crystal thoughtfully. ¡°Yet you¡¯ve still not told me what you¡¯ll be doing.¡± ¡°Stretching my True Song and World Step, and tying off loose ends before setting fire to parts of the Abyss,¡± listed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in time for the lessons.¡± As Livia started to protest, Amdirlain kissed her cheek and promptly disappeared. A few hops had her standing on a desolate world, and Amdirlain stopped to consider what she¡¯d tackle first. Picking the most complex song from the list, she used the location¡¯s melody as a target and briefly staggered under World Step¡¯s impact. The rush of images that battered her showed the vastness of that leap had outstripped her original trip to Cemna. [World Step [J] (30->31)] When Amdirlain blinked the after-effects away, she was atop a shattered island. In the distance was a volcano venting millions of tonnes of debris into the sky. From the ash layers around her, it was one of a series of eruptions that had been happening for months. The song for the location strained her Power to the limit, stripping ash and vapours from a vast expanse of the atmosphere. The material combined and was drawn down outside ?mundane dimensions to avoid disturbing the air currents. When the sediment reemerged to settle on the ocean floor, it started the formation of a breakwater that linked shattered islands together. Is this just to speed up the formation of an island chain, or to prevent other environmental impacts? Analysis showed her no sentient lifeforms upon the world, so Amdirlain¡¯s first guess why Gideon wanted the work undertaken had missed the mark. With no hints provided, Amdirlain set the matter aside and concentrated on the song. The range and multiple facets of the melody pushed back against her control; a delicate tightrope walk within the Power. A notification appeared as the sky overhead started to show a blue background through the haze. [True Song Genesis [Ap] (24->25) Note: A few hours a day for the next week should do it. You¡¯ll need to hop around to other spots on the planet and clear the upper air currents from earlier eruptions. I¡¯ll let you work out the adjustments to the main song needed for each location.] If there are many of these, the timeline for completing all these songs will be tight. Amdirlain wasn¡¯t the clean-up crew on the next planet; instead, she created a volcano. The first resulted in a massive detonation that sent shockwaves through the bedrock, and she could feel the tectonic plates slip. The earthquakes had trees swaying, and Amdirlain activated World Step to escape it. [Planetary alterations: Volcano, Major x1 Planetary, Major mantle change x1 Total Experience gained: 34,500,000 Ostim?: +17,250,000 Ont?lin: +17,250,000 True Song Genesis [Ap] (25->26)] The next few were undersea eruptions that promised to be the start of landmasses, and their strain provided increases in True Song. They weren¡¯t brute-force exercises but surgical adjustments that used a cascade of pressure to achieve the result. The distance and scale of planetary adjustments continuously stretched her capabilities; the three of them required nearly seven hours of effort. This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. When she¡¯d completed triggering the fifth eruption at a safe distance, Amdirlain stopped to examine the outcome. Hovering above the shoreline of a greenish-blue sea, she sang on as a new island bubbled up out of the water in the distance. As the eruption continued, her song shifted the magma chamber¡¯s pressure ensuring the eruption would last for weeks. Eventually, the song finished, and the latest experience notification appeared. [Planetary alterations: Volcano, Major x1 Planetary, Minor mantle change x1 Island chain creation x1 Total Experience gained: 27,400,000 Ostim?: +13,700,000 Ont?lin: +13,700,000 Resonance [S] (112->113) True Song Genesis [Ap] (27->28)] City editor, eat your heart out. Five off the list today, and a sixth that I¡¯ll need to take time to repeat. I¡¯ll need to get well ahead of the list in case there are a lot of tasks that aren¡¯t a single performance, and I¡¯ve barely scratched the surface. More planet hops followed, and quicker songs had Amdirlain splicing partial changes into millions of plants. A shift in one melody had her examining the new themes within their orchestras, and she recognised it from Galasser¡¯s alchemical materials. The plants¡¯ changes went down to their seeds, making them hardier stock than the unadjusted ones. The multitude of changes covered various properties within the plants. Each would require a different preparation method or part of the plant to draw them out. The Mana strands involved in the alterations had posed a delicate challenge to her Power. A rush of experience accompanied the changes, and Amdirlain moved on to the next. So who is volunteering to see if this is poisonous raw versus boiled? I hope the locals making a mistake in their trial and error won¡¯t get pinned on me. So far all worlds are empty of sentient life but have plenty of local fauna. When the last song she planned to handle for the day ended, Life Mana twisted within the berries of the low shrubs that covered hundreds of hectares of a hillside. Local rabbit-like creatures emerged from hiding, drawn by the scent, and started to nibble. The first berry set off a tiny ember of change within a metre-long steel-grey male that was brave¡ªor reckless¡ªenough to try it despite the changed scent. After thumping his back foot, he made chuffing noises to call out to others before starting on a second. Don¡¯t get indigestion, Mr Bunny. Ripple effects. Did I start changes that will bring monsters into existence, or a local sentient species? [Planetary alterations: Flora Bioengineering (Mana Insertion) x2 Fauna Bioengineering x12 Total Experience gained: 9,250,000 Ostim?: +4,625,000 Ont?lin: +4,625,000 Resonance [S] (113->114) True Song Genesis [J] (11->12)] The notification drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to bugs and other animals hidden in the undergrowth feeding on the plants. ¡°More than just the planets get changed, and I get the flow on credited. Here I thought I understood the songs. Individually I did, but I¡¯ll need to study the themes of the recipients and their ecosystem to get the full picture,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Aware that her softly spoken words had caused dozens of animals to freeze in place, Amdirlain fell silent. Do I get the loose ends out of the way? A single use of Analysis confirmed that her first loose end was bound on Culerzic, which decided her course. [Name: Bliss / This Space Intentionally left Blank Species: Greater Succubus Class: Queen of Planes / Assassin / Hunter / Dominator Level: 15 / 52 / 104 / 52 / 54 Health: 35,868 Defence: 790 Magic: 506 Mana: 382,679 Melee Attack Power: 310 Combat Skills: Claws [M] (23), Dagger [M] (1), Short Sword [Ad] (12), Energy Drain [M] (3), assorted affinities, and Spell lists Planar Lock: Culerzic Details: After getting kicked to the curb and then renamed, the now ex-Viper attracted the attention of Moloch¡¯s forces with a display of violence on the Cliffs of Lust. Though she led them on a merry chase, lacking a specific Hidden¡¯s scrying protection, they eventually captured her. After being caught, facets of her Analysis presentation attracted Moloch¡¯s attention. She has become one of his aide de camps, a favoured pet, and an ¡®up and coming¡¯ torturer. ] Dispatching a Message to ask Cyrus to handle her upcoming lessons, Amdirlain triggered Planar Shift and headed into the Abyss. Avoiding Inventory, Amdirlain prepared an additional bolt-hole with True Song and set up the containment field at its centre. No magical circle was in place; the crystals the L¨®m? had enchanted for the prison created and maintained the barrier. After listening fruitlessly for flaws after their reactivation, Amdirlain moved to the next step. The image that a scrying Spell brought up had Amdirlain clenching her fists. The angularity of the Succubus¡¯ features, ivory skin, hourglass figure, and black hair was just as Amdirlain remembered; even the tiara of curved bone horns was still in place. Bliss wore a provocatively styled outfit like many of the Abyss¡¯ dominators. Thin silver chains ran from a Mithril pectoral necklace, looping across her breasts and around her back. Spurs and barbs protruded from each link of the silver chains and traced harmlessly across her skin. Heavily enchanted bracers of Mithril with a torture scene motif covered her arms from wrist to elbow. The rest of her attire comprised a pair of jewelled rings and a belt of linked Mithril discs that hung low on her hips. With Bliss licking a victim''s blood from her fingers in a blood-splattered chamber, Amdirlain transported her and the torture victims'' remains into the circle. The song she¡¯d used left Bliss with an impression of being summoned, but it had effectively been a group Teleport. ¡°Elf!¡± spat Bliss, her expression shifting in a predatory leer at the lack of inscribed circle on the floor. ¡°You don¡¯t know who you¡¯re dealing with. I¡¯ll take you to my Liege and teach you the meaning of suffering.¡± Amdirlain faked a distracted yawn at the boast, and Bliss dashed forward only to smash face-first into the containment field. Bliss staggered back briefly from the circle¡¯s edge. Shaking her head, the undeterred demoness lashed out at the circle¡¯s barrier, her claws trying futilely to gain purchase. ¡°Bash the barrier and get it out of your system. It¡¯s been a while. Moloch treating you well? What are you going by now: ¡®This Space Intentionally left Blank¡¯, or Bliss?¡± asked Amdirlain in a conversational tone. Amdirlain¡¯s enquiry provoked questions in Bliss¡¯ mind about their prior association, but her gaze only narrowed. As Amdirlain listened to her thoughts, Bliss searched Amdirlain¡¯s face to memorise it even as she failed to recall when she¡¯d seen her. Amdirlain detected Bliss¡¯ repeated attempts to use her Oath link to contact Moloch to no avail. Dozens of Message spells went off as Bliss slid her hands along the barrier, which she couldn¡¯t understand her inability to detect. There was no response to any messages as the containment field quashed each one. At last, in the prolonged silence, Biss turned on her heel to regard Amdirlain imperiously. ¡°Have you called me here to take a message to Moloch? You invite his wrath by treating me this way.¡± ¡°You¡¯re only one of his little pets,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Yet high enough up the food chain that you¡¯d dare to use your Oath link to reach out to him. Isn¡¯t it a shame none of those attempts went anywhere? To clarify, neither did the spells; the containment field snuffed them out.¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± snarled Bliss. ¡°The ¡®Use Name¡¯ of every Demon Lord in service to Moloch,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she dragged out the threads of thoughts that rose within Bliss¡¯ mind at the question. ¡°Thanks, that was easy, though it seems you don¡¯t know as much as I¡¯d hoped. I mean, sure, you know a bit over a hundred, only there are far more reporting to him. Territory maps make my estimates range from seven hundred to a thousand.¡± Pointing out gaps in her knowledge set Bliss to snarling in helpless fury. She was so blind with rage that when Amdirlain¡¯s telekinesis floated the bodies through the barrier, Bliss threw herself bodily after them expecting a gap. It only resulted in her propelling the floating remains forward and breaking her nose on the barrier. ¡°That was so funny to see, Bliss. You told me repeatedly that the body was meant to be yours. How is that working out for you now?¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± snarled Bliss as she scrubbed the blood away; her nose had already straightened. ¡°This feels too much like a villain¡¯s monologue, so I¡¯ll keep it short. Moloch took someone from me, and I will take everything from him, including you. I considered turning you into my unwitting cat¡¯s paw, a source of inside information,¡± said Amdirlain and pausing, she gestured to Bliss¡¯ victims. ¡°They changed that, and not to your benefit. I can see their souls clinging to the remains, terrified to leave the decaying flesh lest the Abyss claim them. Not perfect, but decent; they didn¡¯t deserve to end up here or with you.¡± Amdirlain filled the chamber with an atmosphere suitable for the oldest victim. Setting an illumination in the room, she turned the barrier opaque and soundproof. One at a time, she followed the same pattern; preparing an atmosphere, she resurrected, cleansed them, and removed the memory of their final days. Only once they were healthy did Amdirlain send the victim to safety with suitable valuables to establish a new life and start saving the next. When Amdirlain had provided what she could for each one, she restored the barrier to its transparent state. Bliss froze in mid-rant at the sight of Amdirlain¡¯s calm expression, eerily frightening Bliss more than a raging Balor. ¡°They¡¯re all alive and mostly headed home, though I needed to send one elsewhere. If it weren¡¯t for your bloody hands, I''m sure it would have been another of Moloch¡¯s lackeys that killed those people. So, logically, I¡¯m not making a difference with this, and I¡¯m not likely to even if I could kill Moloch right now. However, I¡¯m not dealing with a hypothetical situation; I¡¯m dealing with you,¡± stated Amdirlain dispassionately, and she stepped through the containment barrier. Immediately Bliss rushed her, claws sheathed in the blackness of Energy Drain outstretched. Amdirlain flowed under the rending attack and¡ªside-on to her¡ªretaliated with a light jab across her jaw. The impact sent Bliss bouncing off the barrier to the ground, spraying blood and splintered teeth. A flurry of spells from Bliss streaked toward Amdirlain, only to impact harmlessly against her magical protections. As the last Spell snuffed out, Bliss turned her bat-like wings into tentacled maws that struck on the fading spells¡¯ heels. The motions would have once been a blur, but Amdirlain had ample time to flick her hand and reinforce a single note. Neither Bliss¡¯ bracers nor innate strength stopped the note¡¯s energy; Bliss screamed and clutched at her back but missed seizing the severed mass of tentacles that dropped free. Though the experiment was a success, Amdirlain didn¡¯t play further. A restrained kick to the ribs lifted Bliss off the ground, lining her up for a spearhead strike that plunged into her heart. The impact and sudden air pressure in her chest cavity caused Bliss to cough helplessly, her claws skipping over Amdirlain¡¯s Ki State. Having struck her target, Amdirlain took advantage of the symbolism and flooded energy from her flesh. Music slammed into Bliss and redirected the Mana starting to consume her body towards the Oath link. Amdirlain released the communication block, preventing the Yang flames from flaring back through Bliss. The energy raced down the connection and carried a simple message from Amdirlain. The link quickly ruptured from the strain, but Amdirlain caught a few notes of pain and confusion at the other end. There was nowhere else for the Mana to go when the link broke, and the energy grounded fully into Bliss. Amdirlain avoided being burnt by her Ki Infused flesh, holding yet more Yang flames. The energy that consumed Bliss rang against the containment barrier only to be stopped cold, avoiding the Plane¡¯s protests. Amdirlain was back beyond the containment barrier before the remains could collapse. Relief and a vague sense of closure nipped at her grief over Torm, and Amdirlain watched in silence until the remains were ash and dust. [Combat Summary Greater Succubus x1 Total experience gained: 46,706 Ostim?: +23,353 Ont?lin: +23,353 Death Strike [S] (17->18)] Once nothing was left to consume, the yang flames died out. Only then did Amdirlain pack up the cell and return to the surface. She sang the stone back in place, hiding any traces she may have left. Shifting to the Outlands, Amdirlain set up another underground chamber and adjusted her concealments before activating the summons. This time, a buxom Succubus in grease-covered overalls appeared, with a rune-encrusted wrench in one hand and a magical flame in the other. The transfer tunnel must have been swift as she was still prone as if she¡¯d been working stretched out flat. Her appearance in the chamber stripped away the form she¡¯d been using, pinning her wings awkwardly beneath her. Eyeing Amdirlain nervously, Lorrella¡¯s True Sight pierced the Wood Elf form Amdirlain currently wore. At the sight of her, Amdirlain opted to change her approach. ¡°Hello, Lorrella. How are things going with the siege engines?¡± Licking her lips, Lorrella snuffed out the flame and carefully sat up. When Amdirlain didn¡¯t move from the chamber¡¯s side, Lorrella tucked her wrench into a side pocket before she stood. ¡°This is an odd way to go about things. Summoning me with no circle and the Mortal summoner hiding. Anyway, I want to return to my babies, so let''s cut to the chase.¡± ¡°Fine, let¡¯s make a deal. How would you like to be full-Fey?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Lorrella started to laugh, but as she caught Amdirlain¡¯s gaze in disbelief, the amusement died on her lips. ¡°You¡¯re not kidding?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m not kidding.¡± ¡°What do you want if I say yes?¡± asked Lorrella nervously. ¡°One option is to set up an Artificer¡¯s shop in The Exchange and feed me the gossip on subjects of interest,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s it? Wait! Can it be somewhere else? I doubt anyone there needs any transport units, so I¡¯d miss working on my babies,¡± grumbled Lorrella. ¡°Your project¡¯s kept me from them long enough, but at least I¡¯ve been working on big machines.¡± ¡°Then tell me what you¡¯d dream of doing if you could be free of Hell,¡± requested Amdirlain. Lorrella eyed Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡± ¡°Your presence in the Abyss is a loose end I want to remove,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she gestured to the pocket that now held Lorrella¡¯s wrench. ¡°You tried to trace me, likely to get in with your bosses so you could stay out of Hell. However, you¡¯re more interested in making your ¡®transport babies¡¯ and prefer those to war machines. This way, we both get what we want, and you especially get a fresh start.¡± ¡°What will you do with all the siege engines I built?¡± enquired Lorrella. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m going to use them as bait for a trap and get a bunch of demon lords fighting each other.¡± ¡°Are you planning to kill lots of demons?¡± Lorrella asked, and she clasped her hands excitedly. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to kill some of those lords in the process,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°This isn¡¯t what I expected from my next meeting with you,¡± remarked Lorrella. ¡°The situation has changed dramatically recently,¡± Amdirlain said. Lorrella eyed Amdirlain with confusion that rapidly cleared. ¡°I thought you were after the Sisterhood as part of a power grab. This only makes sense if you¡¯re one of those Redemption¡¯s Path followers, right? Do-gooders in the Abyss and all that.¡± ¡°Yes, and you¡¯re a half-Fey rejected by her father¡¯s people. Would you join them if you become a full Fey?¡± ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯ve no idea how they¡¯d take me approaching them. Any metal-working Fey is an outlier, especially those that can handle iron. Given their communities, I don¡¯t think they need anything like my babies,¡± huffed Lorrella. ¡°Let me just handle the change, and then we can figure out a place for you to call home,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll supply materials for you to craft goods for me occasionally if it''s not somewhere I need information collected.¡± Lorrella¡¯s curves remained the same, but the theme of her hungers shifted with wild, passionate strains. A wave began at her wingtips and swept through her, leaving changes in its wake. Her wings gleamed and transformed into luminous butterfly wings of silver and gold. The shift in her form dove across her body and changed her ivory skin into shiny black that showed rainbows in the Outlands sunlight; and her irises gleamed like polished fire opals. The song to transform Lorrella''s race was challenging, but her half-blooded nature made the process possible. When Amdirlain was done, a notification pinged. [Achievement: Bat Out of Hell Details: Cleanse a mixed Planar entity of an inherited Infernal aspect. True Song Genesis [J] (12->13) Note: Be careful what you signal to come after you. Note: So about that gaoler job. There are primordials that have existed in True Song Crystal shackles for such an extremely long time. Some are way worse than the primordials you¡¯ve seen. Would you consider substituting in more risky tasks than I originally listed?] Add them to the bill if it can give Torm a better outcome. Before Amdirlain could reassure Lorrella that her classes were intact, Lorrella patted her side and retrieved the wrench. She hadn¡¯t even pulled it full from her pocket when she gained a broad grin. The natural playfulness of her theme, wilder and more fun-loving than before, bloomed with glee and relief. ¡°I retained the Metal Affinity of my father¡¯s bloodline,¡± reported Lorrella. ¡°It wasn¡¯t an evolution or transformation, so your classes are still intact, not absorbed by the shift,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of the promotions within Hell absorbing classes,¡± acknowledged Lorrella. ¡°How did you do that?¡± Amdirlain collected the chamber¡¯s crystals into Inventory and teleported Lorrella with her to the surface. Standing in the open air, Lorrella turned to take in the rugged hills that hosted them. As she breathed in deeply, her delicate wings moved in a blur, leaving after images of colour. ¡°The Outlands; it feels so different now.¡± ¡°I enjoy the Outlands. I¡¯d appreciate it if you avoid harming mortals, or even dealing with them,¡± advised Amdirlain. Lorrella tilted her head curiously. ¡°Mortals are a pain, so that¡¯s fine with me.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re not interested in The Exchange, I¡¯ll contact you in a year or two. If you¡¯ve settled down we can discuss repayment or if my help remains a future favour,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Fey repay all that is owed, yet this is not a favour I¡¯ll ever clear. Whatever help I can give is yours,¡± stated Lorrella, and she tapped her chin thoughtfully. ¡°I¡¯ve heard there are mobile cities in the Beastlands, I might start there. If nothing else, I can gather herbs and other alchemical materials to set myself up a new workshop.¡±¡¯ When Lorrella vanished, her Planar Shift rang with the Beastlands tones. Alone, Amdirlain finally breathed a sigh of relief that the transformation hadn¡¯t killed Lorrella. With two loose ends settled, she teleported to Xaos to discuss baiting demon lords. 302 - Rainmaker Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos When Amdirlain arrived at Xaos, she appeared beside a teenage Ratkin with honey-hued fur. Before he started to react, Amdirlain projected calmness to moderate his reaction. The young male still pulled the satchel closer, his nose twitching and fur rippling with the air displaced by Amdirlain¡¯s arrival. Instinctively, he gave an outraged squeak and jumped away. The Power stops me from appearing inside someone, but not giving them a heart attack is another matter. ¡°My apologies,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Were you hiding to jump out at me?¡± gasped the youngster. ¡°I could have sworn you weren¡¯t there.¡± Amdirlain gave an embarrassed smile. ¡°This road is so quiet you¡¯re the first person I¡¯ve startled by teleporting here.¡± Flustered, he pulled one hand from the satchel and scratched the back of his head. ¡°Yeah, it is mostly quiet, I guess. Though you should be careful, a caravan animal might trample you if you startle one of them, or one of their guards might run you through. We see all kinds of jumpy guards with those caravans.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. Have a good day,¡± said Amdirlain, and she nodded before walking off. Catching a range of thoughts in his public mind, she called over her shoulder. ¡°We¡¯ll teach others besides the guards; just come by the entrance and ask for Yngvarr or Aggie.¡± The teenager gulped and fled towards the fieldworkers. At least I didn¡¯t point out he was also admiring my ¡®tail¡¯s sway¡¯. Femme Fatale didn¡¯t even cause it; horny teenagers are all alike. Getting across the wards, Amdirlain teleported to her suite and found a gathering out in the garden. Cyrus had just finished serving tea to Yngvarr, Alfarr, Aggie, and Livia. After Amdirlain finished exchanging greetings with them, Livia gave a concerned smile. ¡°Goxashru has been jumpy since we returned. I think he might need some reassurance.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he presently feels in over his head,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Jumpy? More like going frantic and getting Rana to push him to his limits,¡± added Yngvarr. ¡°And perhaps beyond; he¡¯s just one of many in training who abuse the tower¡¯s healing field.¡± Cyrus shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s common for students to sustain injuries while exchanging pointers.¡± ¡°Maybe common at your training halls,¡± Alfarr argued. ¡°Where we come from it¡¯s considered sloppy. Though I¡¯ve heard of some places where it¡¯s considered stylish to have duelling scars.¡± ¡°Healing with Ki is readily available and leaves fewer marks, though the tower¡¯s field is something else,¡± conceded Cyrus. ¡°It¡¯s the regeneration effect from Protean,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If he wants to push himself, I¡¯ll let him; it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t do the same.¡± ¡°You might do the same, but we shouldn¡¯t let them become dependent on it,¡± advised Yngvarr. ¡°Livia informed us there is a fee for Torm¡¯s restoration?¡± ¡°You should think of it as a reincarnation. He may never remember us; it¡¯s likely only a new start,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. Alfarr gave a grim nod. ¡°Then we shall undertake worthy deeds in his name. We¡¯ve been discussing how to kill some demon lords.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gained the use names of slightly over a hundred,¡± said Amdirlain, her matter-of-fact tone causing all aside from Cyrus to sit up. ¡°I was going to check through them with Analysis and share what I learnt.¡± ¡°How did you gain the names of so many demon lords?¡± gasped Yngvarr as she clamped a hand atop her sloshing cup. Amdirlain considered shading the truth but stuck to the facts. ¡°I trapped what Isa had left of Viper and ripped the names from her. She¡¯d become one of Moloch¡¯s pets; he¡¯d named her Bliss.¡± ¡°What did you do with ¡®Bliss¡¯ afterwards?¡± enquired Yngvarr, and she carefully set her cup aside. ¡°What did she tell Moloch about her time with you?¡± ¡°There was nothing she could share, Isa did a thorough job of stripping her memories of me away. After learning what I wanted, I destroyed her; she still had her Planar Lock in place,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I also took advantage of her Oath link with him to wound Moloch and send him a message.¡± The others were quiet, but after savouring his latest sip, Cyrus spoke up. ¡°Isn¡¯t that sending him two messages?¡± ¡°True. It might make him afraid of his Oath links if he figures out that I sent Yang energy through it,¡± Amdirlain said with a predatory grin. ¡°Given their nature, I¡¯m sure he uses them to enforce his control. He¡¯ll have to choose between keeping them, and thus leaving himself vulnerable, or breaking them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being liberal with using Jade Court Mana in the Abyss,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°What was the second message?¡± ¡°I sent a count of one through the link,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t hurt him head-on. Perhaps I¡¯ll get close to inflicting a thousand wounds before he realises the strikes are coming through the Oath links.¡± ¡°Death by a thousand cuts?¡± mused Cyrus. ¡°Only as a reference; I doubt a thousand of those wounds will kill him. I¡¯m certainly not trying to play games with him,¡± said Amdirlain, and she considered her statement. ¡°Though I guess wanting him to know his pain is coming from the same source is a game of sorts.¡± ¡°It will be safer if you keep aware of that and don¡¯t let it cloud your judgement,¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. Do you have time to spar after your tea?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to come to watch, even if your speed makes the techniques hard to follow; sometimes glimpses can give insight,¡± said Livia. ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± replied Amdirlain. Giving Livia a nod, Cyrus hummed. ¡°Will you leave your disciples¡¯ training in my hands until you¡¯ve paid the fee?¡± ¡°More often than I would prefer, and I¡¯ll need you to push me hard during our sessions,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°What are you trying to achieve?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Progressing my combat abilities, using True Song instinctive within my attacks, getting all my resistances higher,¡± listed Amdirlain. ¡°Like the motion that gouged the stone,¡± stated Cyrus. ¡°That¡¯s from a single reinforced note. I want to get to the point I can control hundreds of notes with movements,¡± explained Amdirlain. Cyrus frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how that works, but I imagine there isn¡¯t much point in explaining a path I¡¯ll never walk. Did you want to switch to another energy type yet?¡± ¡°No, I need to increase my Electricity Resistance. Another loose end that I want to tie off is Naz¡¯rilca, and she is on a Plane where an unceasing lightning storm is raging,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The one that captured you for the Sisterhood?¡± enquired Livia. Amdirlain gave a tight nod. ¡°I¡¯ll need the Resistance anyway, so tidying up sounds right.¡± * * * * * After Amdirlain¡¯s sparring session with Cyrus ended, he used a Gate to return to Xaos. Jumping to the platform, she sat across from where Livia had been watching in Foundry¡¯s pavilion. As Amdirlain¡¯s wounds healed, a comfortable silence stretched between them. Cycling Ki while she waited, Amdirlain eventually reached the point where she was glowing. Putting her hand on a nearby crystal post, she emptied most of the energy into the crystal. While the Ki flowed from her touch, Livia¡¯s gaze fixed on Amdirlain¡¯s contact point with the crystal. ¡°What planet from the list are you taking care of next?¡± ¡°I¡¯m setting up something in the Abyss first and checking on prisoners that Gideon added to my list,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Haven¡¯t you already set a Plane of the Abyss on fire?¡± queried Livia. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°The first songs took longer than expected, so I tied off two loose ends instead.¡± ¡°Two? You only spoke about Bliss,¡± Livia pointed out. ¡°Bliss and Lorrella,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she continued without prompting. ¡°I cleansed Lorrella of her Infernal nature, which changed her into a full Fey.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she try to betray you?¡± enquired Liva. ¡°She was doing what staying out of Hell required and, unlike Bliss, her only interest is her machines, not torturing people,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°I brought eight people Bliss had recently killed back to life and sent seven of them home. I gave the last a device to take them to safety since their home wasn¡¯t an option.¡± Livia winced. ¡°I hope the plinth won¡¯t hold you responsible for whatever Bliss did.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised it hasn¡¯t since I kicked her free; maybe because of my Hidden nature it couldn¡¯t make the connection. Gideon said he¡¯d protected me because it would judge some of what Orh¨ºthurin had done, but I wonder if that protection also applied to Bliss¡¯ deeds. Will it increase my debt since I now know what she was doing? I kicked her free instead of risking her harming me.¡± ¡°Is the plinth that harsh in its judgements?¡± asked Livia, her tone concerned. ¡°Yes. Orh¨ºthurin could be ruthless in holding everyone to account, and she set it up for beings she felt should be beyond reproach,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Since they slipped, she didn¡¯t pull her punches?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°You mentioned Gideon adding prisoners to your list?¡± ¡°Yeah, I just got through telling Moradin the other day I didn¡¯t want to be a gaoler, and then Gideon dropped this one in my lap,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I would have thought they raised it deliberately after my conversation if I hadn¡¯t already encountered one of them. Some entities that didn¡¯t want to follow the rules broke into the realm and ended up imprisoned. True Song Crystal is strong but not eternal, and Orh¨ºthurin was likely repairing the shackles regularly.¡± ¡°What sort of beings?¡± ¡°Some that would make dark deities look mild,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Though not all of them were that powerful, many they simply destroyed. The ones they shackled? could challenge demon lords for strength. Destruction wasn¡¯t an option because of their nature, though Orh¨ºthurin potentially wanted to teach them a lesson.¡± ¡°How many are you talking about?¡± Analysis spun the list through Amdirlain¡¯s awareness, and she flinched as it extended far past the previous stopping point. ¡°Gideon added one hundred and seventy-three locations, but there is no certainty there is only one at each spot.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That brings up so many questions,¡± said Livia. ¡°Taking care of these items is possibly the fastest way to get Torm the best chance of recovery. Gideon offered to substitute in riskier tasks, and I told them to add them all to the list.¡± ¡°If it¡¯s just repairing crystal, how is it riskier? Wait, you¡¯d have to take Erwarth with you or open a Gate to the L¨®m?,¡± realised Livia. ¡°Maybe doing that wherever they¡¯re imprisoned is riskier.¡± ¡°True,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°If I opened a Gate in line of sight of the one I saw, it would be visible to demons since it was within a mining settlement¡¯s wards. I¡¯ll check the details of the demon lords whose names I learnt. I might have to track down others if these aren¡¯t usable.¡± Amdirlain considered the first of the names she¡¯d stolen from Bliss. With the agony beating against Pain Eater, she hurried on to the next. Fortunately, the rest ranged in strength, though nearly a score were beyond her ability to assess. Some surpassed the Darvakka, who Amdirlain had fought alongside Mars; yet many, despite their title, possessed strength far beneath Amdirlain¡¯s own. One thing was common: none of them had gained their title from nascent mantles given by cults but through transformation sites. ¡°Many of his lords and ladies only went through a Transformation Site once,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she provided the details to Livia in a memory crystal. ¡°They lost the advantages of multiple transformations because their first species was a powerful demonic form such as a Balor or Marilith.¡± ¡°The vilest souls lose out in the end because they were so corrupted that they became powerful demons initially,¡± murmured Livia. A smile twitched on her lips before she shook her head sadly. ¡°If only they didn¡¯t gain that much power; the Eastern Hell approach of setting souls trials to endure for their deeds in life is fairer. A Soul evil enough to become a Balor would work through trials for millennia before they might be reborn.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you get yourself back. I¡¯m going to take care of some work items in the Abyss, so I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. Livia rose and hugged Amdirlain before she left. * * * * * Amdirlain¡¯s song set her down in the storeroom, and she collected Sarah¡¯s map of Culerzic. Carefully she examined the continent-sized mountain where the Ravager¡¯s River started. Further along the slope, she isolated a series of river caves that led to other waterways. Like the other rivers she¡¯d examined while Planar Locked on Culerzic, the wellspring she found in the first wasn¡¯t a natural water source. Rather, a core of primordial energy had turned the possibility of water on the mountain into reality in a self-reinforcing loop. After changing it to ensure it continued to spew water, Amdirlain tagged it and continued on. Teleporting about¡ªonce Amdirlain had located seventeen of them¡ªthe work finally started. She created a shielded dimensional pocket deep in the mountain to provide it additional protection from being found. At the top of it, Amdirlain created a relatively tiny chamber for the infused slime from her Inventory. Amdirlain moved to the midpoint of the main dimensional pocket and made seventeen crystals hovering around herself. Their purpose was to hold the primordial energy sources and regulate a series of one-way venting portals along the chamber¡¯s sides. After leaving the chamber, Amdirlain teleported the wellsprings to the main compartment, where the nearest crystal kept it anchored. From each, a torrent of water plunged towards the chamber¡¯s base. As they gushed water out into the vast expanse she¡¯d created, Amdirlain began another song. In theory, it had been simple, but the number of sources she¡¯d grabbed turned it into an uphill struggle. The energy cores steadily filled the chamber with mega-litres of water before she got the subtle song right. Like a river changing course, the song built up barriers and turned the energy¡¯s potential in the direction Amdirlain needed. Finally, the wellsprings twisted and churned before jumping tracks. [True Song Genesis [J] (13->15) True Song Architecture [S] (101->102)] As the harmonics synchronised the water and wellsprings with the slime, the chamber thrummed with Celestial energy. As the dimensional pocket shivered, she added extra crystals to reinforce its barrier and conceal the Celestial Mana involved. While the wellsprings themselves didn¡¯t change, they started to gush water that wouldn¡¯t have been out of place on the heavenly planes. The river they¡¯d once fed would soon show their absence; however, it would be days before the cores filled her reservoir with the pressure she wanted to send jets of water to shower demonic towns; ones previously seeded with crystals to ensure there weren¡¯t mortals within. Scrying out the first primordial prison, Amdirlain frowned in concern. There wasn¡¯t anyone in sight, but hundreds of ice-covered sarcophagi lay in neat rows. Ten to a row, the Human-sized sarcophagi were divided by an aisle that ran the length of the storage chamber, nearly three hundred metres long. A low static hiss rumbled through her song''s viewing window; with so many prisoners together, the interplay of their leaked energies was likely the source. A short melody delivered her across planes to Gideon''s first coordinates, setting Amdirlain down at the end of the central aisle. Before she could move, the razor blades of inaudible sounds clawed at her senses. In comparison, the lingering death whispers that guarded the plinth were sweet orchestral music. These discordant noises etched into her eardrums and ran blades of primal Chaos across her flesh. True Sight and Resonance both provided a perspective beneath the ice. She could make out the material of each sarcophagus as True Song Crystal¡ªbadly cracked crystal. The ice that enclosed them was from the energy leaking through the cracks. That thick blue-white ice and the fracture-laden crystal made it hard to see the figure within the closest sarcophagus. An obstruction that was fortunate since the first glimpse drove needles of agony into Amdirlain¡¯s eyes. The agony from that fleeting glimpse came atop the chamber¡¯s dissonance. It drove through Resonance to unleash a blizzard of suffering that pulled warmth from her mind even as it smashed Pain Eater¡¯s control aside. Whistling dissonance slithered through Resonance and staggered Amdirlain until she hurriedly turned it off. The projected alien sensations squelched through her experiences and failed to inflict even a partial translation. Even with the Power off, the restrained force of the imprisoned primordials caused her flesh to warp. Her nerves melted with an inferno of agony as Protean sought to shift her flesh into dimensions she¡¯d barely made out within Resonance and couldn¡¯t try to explain. Desperately grabbing at the memories of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s body within her Soul, Amdirlain let them rise to full force. Billions of years of existence obliterated her Wood Elf form and stamped her body into their mould with dreadful inertia. Even with that weight of history, Protean fought to hold it against the changes that the twisted reality of the outsiders¡¯ nature tried to afflict upon her. [Mental Hardening [S] (30->32) Pain Eater [S] (2->5) Protean [S] (9->10) Note: Remember that mention of riskier?] Her frustration with that partial information gave Amdirlain a fleeting sea anchor against the storm of pain. Knowing that forming a coherent image for leaving was beyond her, Amdirlain deliberately fell to the ground in that instant of fragmented clarity. The desperate move was to keep from reeling into the nearest sarcophagus. It was a move that almost came too late. Her body crashed to the stone and lay atop the icy overflow at its base. Time Sense skipped about in protest, leaving Amdirlain unsure if the fall had taken an instant or an hour. Eventually, a notification peeked through the pain that the mere presence of the restrained entities inflicted. [Resistance: Cold [I] (60->61) Resistance: Eldritch Unlocked! Resistance: Eldritch [L] (1->5) Mental Hardening [S] (43->44) Protean [S] (10->11)] The momentary pressure of awareness the notification had brought allowed her to retrieve a crystal block. Its weight atop her hand gave Amdirlain a focal point, and she used Harmony to concentrate on its stability and creation. She swooped through thousands of memorised loops of the four-part song to buttress herself against the pain. Though she tried to block it out, the agonising distortion continued to echo within her mind, and another notification came. [Resistance: Cold [I](61->62) Resistance: Eldritch [L] (5->7) Resistance: Chaos [M](3) absorbed into Resistance: Eldritch Resistance: Eldritch [L] (7->10) Harmony [S] (82->83) Mental Hardening [S] (44->46) Pain Eater [S] (5->6) Protean [S] (11->13)] Frozen flesh cracked and burst as she flexed her fingers around the block. She felt the digits fall away, and her strained Protean slowly regrew more to match Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory. The block sitting atop Amdirlain¡¯s palm seemed to shift in weight, but the lack of damage exposed the perception as a lie. As her awareness churned, grappling against the assault, she struggled to keep her sanity. Through the battering, Amdirlain fell back on the lessons from the monastery and disassembled the chaotic, alien pain of the energy that tore at her. Notifications came and went until one finally made her aware of her progress. [Resistance: Cold [I](64->65) Resistance: Eldritch [L] (20) -> [M](1) Harmony [S] (85->86) Protean [S] (19->20) Mental Hardening [S] (75->76) Pain Eater [S] (35->66)] Protean¡¯s struggle to keep her intact eased off at the increase of the Resistance¡¯s rank, but the forces continued to assault her mind and flesh. Amdirlain resumed focusing on her memory of creating the block and allowed more notifications to come and go. Only after a shower of Mana popped over Amdirlain from a Message Spell shattering did she get a firm grip within her mind. [Resistance: Cold [I](80) -> [G] (1) Resistance: Eldritch [M] (20) -> (1) Harmony [S] (90->91) Mental Hardening [S] (125->126) Pain Eater [S] (67->68)] Amdirlain turned on Resonance again, tuned to True Song Crystal, and took in the damage to the surrounding cells. Turning her attention to the closest, she used Analysis to grab for details. [True Song Crystal - Containment Vessel of Eldritch Dreadnaught Creator: Orh¨ºthurin Lifespan: 983,987 remaining of 40,000,000,000+ years Note: If you kill their bodies, the realm will eject them. However, they know what it tastes like among the Far Chaos and learned how to wiggle through the rules of its barrier. At first, there were only two of them. They¡¯ve returned multiple times with more kinfolk to consume worlds before the discovery of True Song Crystal.] Still effectively blind and deaf, Amdirlain unleashed the transport melody. It didn¡¯t shift her far, simply positioning her back at the co-ordinations where she entered the chamber. Once there, she knelt without risk of bumping into a sarcophagus. Her skin groaned and bled through the cracks movements opened in frozen flesh. The Resistance¡¯s progression into the Greater rank stopped the cold from chewing on her further. Yet it wasn¡¯t the only energy in the chamber. As the Eldritch energies continued to chew at her, Amdirlain sang through the surrounding distortion that fought every note. With the original lifespan of the crystal vastly beyond anything she¡¯d ever created, it was an hour of careful singing before the first sarcophagus was whole. Cut off from the prisoner within it, the encasing ice dissolved, and Amdirlain felt the energy wash across her legs without opening her eyes. When the song ended, Amdirlain considered her brutalised state and the struggling Protean. She started Ki cycling through her pattern to calm and ease her pain. As the faintest phoenix feathers lit up through her flesh, she used Universal Life to draw on her existing pool and restore her shredded body. The first flare of the pattern drew more of the prisoners¡¯ awareness towards Amdirlain¡¯s existence. The previously stable miasma of their presence rippled and stretched towards her. Hungry to consume, their whispers grew frenzied. [Resistance: Eldritch (1->2) Protean [S] (29->30) True Song Genesis [J] (16->19) Mental Hardening [S] (138->139) Pain Eater [S] (87->89) Note: Wow, look at your health finally creeping upward. FYI: neither suicide nor a dumb death will put you in control of your Planar Lock. While the rules supply a hierarchy of winners, those are always a loss.] ¡°You could have hinted at why this work was riskier, Gideon,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she used Analysis on the new Resistance to see if they¡¯d reply. Analysis [Resistance: Eldritch Details: Acquisition of this Resistance is risky in the extreme. Means vary from the unlikely¡ªfor most beings¡ªsurvival of raw exposure, Eldritch rites, a Sorcerer Class, or similar attunement. It is essential for unprotected physical travel within Far Chaos. Note: Not my fault you ignored the Geiger counter-like reaction from your scrying. Anyway, get to it. Fixing these containers will count for a lot, but you¡¯ve already lost a day. However, you could use them to up your Mental Hardening and Pain Eater. Note: You two cheated while travelling. Your father created pockets to maintain sane rules and shape the Far Chaos¡¯ energies into a stable form.] When she¡¯d restored herself to full health, Amdirlain started singing. The twisted presences fought against her melody and strained her control with every note. The first piece was short and jumped a Message away to reassure Livia before she turned her attention back to the crystal containers. With the first having taken far too long, she braced herself to drive hard. Healing had restored Amdirlain¡¯s hearing, allowing the whispers to ooze into her awareness again and seek to breach her hardening. Despite being buffered by her Willpower, Mental Hardening¡ªunder stress from the entities¡¯ assaults¡ªincreased faster. With the tempo of the notifications unabated, Amdirlain used their pace to challenge herself further. It took nearly thirty songs before she managed to complete the repair of a single sarcophagus between increases. Aiding the Skill, each flare of Ki through her pattern washed peace through her battered form and mind, allowing her to maintain her strength. Protean remained under pressure as it tried to keep her flesh hale, so Amdirlain fully activated Ki State and Angelic Aura. The armouring effect helped combat the invasive energies and the Ki it consumed made space for the renewals cycling brought. They also invited flailing from within the haze itself, and almost immediately, a notification popped. [Angelic Aura [M] (20->24) Ki State [S] (66->67)] Having restored the three closest rows of sarcophagi, Amdirlain floated upwards. Braced, she orientated on the crystal prisons and pushed aside the temptation to listen to the greedy noise. Resonance painted out the lines of sarcophagi; some flickered in and out of focus within her mind. She concentrated Analysis on the closest of those and found their lifespans were down to centuries. In the brief time she¡¯d spent orientating herself, she was treated to another update of various powers and skills. Pushing the distraction aside, she started down the central aisle, and the work continued. Gradually she progressed from repairing a single sarcophagus at a time to handling pairs before trying to fix larger groups together. It wasn¡¯t until the fourth day of effort that she reached a tipping point where their unnerving presence started to retreat. Despite the marathon of struggle to get there, Amdirlain didn¡¯t relent. Having lost nearly a day adjusting to the chamber¡¯s environment, it was five more before Amdirlain completed the repairs. [True Song Genesis [Ad] (50) -> [M](1) Tier 7 Prestige Class: Hatchling Songbird Unlocked!] Though tempted to take a break to see what it provided, Amdirlain continued. Despite the toll of sightless days, once she sealed the last fractures in the final sarcophagus, she still didn¡¯t dare open her eyes. Fully repaired, every cell provided an unobstructed view of the eldritch horrors within. Her skin crawled at the loathsome hatred within the glares of those able to look in her direction. While the cells now kept their miasma to a minimum, there was still a palpable presence. [Resistance: Eldritch [I](25->26) Angelic Aura [S] (44->45) Ki State [S] (99->100)] Protean [S] (67->68) True Song Genesis [M] (4->5) Mental Hardening [S] (171->172) Pain Eater [S] (108->109)] [Achievement: Eldritch Dreadnought Gaoler Details: Sealed eternal horrors away for billions of years. Their depredations stripped planets of recognisable life and left them contaminated. In the early years of the realm, it required Orh¨ºthurin to eject the planets into the Far Chaos and lose the work she¡¯d undertaken; otherwise, the energy would have spread across planes and disrupted the internal framework of the realm. Reward: 250,000,000 experience Note: Certain individuals wisely bet upon you persisting to seal everything in one go. Those that predicted you''d become Planar Locked in the attempt shall go unmentioned. Note: Yes, I know the name of this will annoy you. Enjoy! Not a Tier 6 or 7 since they weren¡¯t roaming free.] [Achievement: Celestial Rainmaker Details: You have targeted thousands of square kilometres within abyssal settlements with Celestial-infused water. Reward: You¡¯ve annoyed millions of demons and given them burn scars to remember you affectionately. Congratulations! Note: Thought you¡¯d like to know the results of your sprinkler project now that you¡¯re not distracted. Note: Pity that some rain and mist aren¡¯t enough to kill anything but the weakest hordelings. However, it has ruined crops near many towns and caused demons to flee some previously popular cities. Goodness, what the smell of Celestial rain does to a demonic constitution.] Amdirlain¡¯s song skipped her through the Elemental Plane of Earth before leaping to the Outlands. Her final hop delivered her to a hilltop outside of Xaos¡¯ wards, not wanting to risk scaring someone again. Having spent days maintaining her form against the Eldritch attacks, Protean was initially reluctant to let her change. [Hatchling Songbird This Prestige Class builds on the strength of the Ostim? and Ont?lin classes Increased insights into True Song Genesis Increased insights into True Song Architecture Increased insights into Resonance +6 Intelligence per Level +6 Charisma per Level +6 Endurance per Level +8 Free Attribute Points every level +8 Magic per Level Requires:
  • Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Soul.
  • Tier 7 Achievement
  • True Song Genesis in Master Rank.
  • Resonance in Master Rank.
  • True Song Architecture in Master Rank.
  • A dance Skill (or subskill) in Master Rank.
  • A combat Skill in Master Rank.
Powers available for acquisition:
  • True Song Genesis evolutions unlocked.
  • True Song Architecture evolutions unlocked.
  • Resonance evolutions unlocked.
  • World Step evolutions unlocked.]
Amdirlain considered the power gains it offered, but lacking an Elven name made it clear it wasn¡¯t a Prestige Class Orh¨ºthurin had designed. Noticing the slightest tremble in her hands, she sat in the long grass instead of continuing to Xaos. Turning off all the filters she¡¯d set into Resonance, she let the Plane¡¯s melodies wash across her strained awareness. Within Nolmar, she heard celestials and fey-beings running the gauntlet of her tower. Though curious about how many staff she¡¯d gained, Amdirlain stayed put. Retrieving the lap harp, precise notes smoothed away the wear age had placed in its frame, and she gently tried each string. After confirming each still held a perfect pitch, Amdirlain tried to pluck out a simple unpowered tune, one note at a time. [Lap Harp Unlocked! Lap Harp (1) Note: Okay, that bet I lost. I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d risk going there. ] A vision of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s daughter learning to play a similar harp rose from her Soul, bringing tears of pride and pain to cloud her gaze. 303 - Somethings off Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos At first, toying with the harp, Amdirlain only felt a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu until an expected rush of memories showed her ¨®lneth¡¯s harp instruction from Hirindo. Orh¨ºthurin''s recollections of her family were powerful; ironically, they left Amdirlain feeling like she had intruded, despite them overtaking her. After a few hours of struggling with the memories and harp, Amdirlain¡¯s Skill gained a few more levels. Settling her auras¡¯ concealments, Amdirlain rose and started towards Xaos. In the first steps, she recognised her stride contained a dancer¡¯s gliding steps mixed with Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s combative grace. Aware of the change, Amdirlain glanced at her hands and found the bronze-gold of the Anar had replaced the dusky Wood Elf skin tone. Protean restored Amdirlain¡¯s usual Wood Elf appearance, but only with a struggle. Afterwards, the sensation that she¡¯d contorted herself into an uncomfortable yoga position lingered. [Eldritch Dreadnought Details: This is a category for Elder beings that engage in close combat and seek to consume or twist the reality around beings they encounter. Those within this category of entities range in strength and resilience but always fit between Tier 4 and Tier 6 primordials. This strength and their usual pack tactics allow even the weakest to kill demigods. Swarms have destroyed pantheons in this and other realms.] Why did you have that site first on the list? Having asked her question, Amdirlain crossed her fingers and used Analysis again. [Primordial Tiers Details: The exact names of these tiers vary between pantheons and realms of existence. For example, the dwarven pantheons use references to metal and gems, whereas elves use different trees. Despite their disparate names, the strength of tiers generally align. Tier 1 range in strength between weaker succubi to balors. Tier 2 match with balors and their ilk through to weak or midrange demon lords. Once you hit Tier 3, you¡¯ve progressed towards Demi-god strength, resilience, or power. Tiers 4 and 5 equate with the power ranges of ¡®Lesser¡¯ ranked deities. Tiers 6 and 7 can match the ¡®Intermediate¡¯ ranked deities¡¯ strength. Tiers 8 and beyond can match themselves against the greatest gods of a realm and win. A Primordial reaching Tier 11 is in the highest-known category and marks those with the strength to create realms unassisted. Note: Moradin is a Tier 9, being able to create a planetary system solo. Note: You had a 52% chance of avoiding death from the chamber. Worst case, you¡¯d be Planar Locked and would have to create some crystal gadgets to deliver on the rest of the list. Or, you know, get someone else to do the work? Shock! Note: Make sure you¡¯re using your time effectively.] ¡°You¡¯re weird, Gideon. Maybe Orh¨ºthurin didn¡¯t pay you enough attention before creating the realm,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and she picked up the pace towards Xaos. ¡°Childhood traumas can scar you for life.¡± Her stride evened out once she hit the dirt road and, though it was tempting to wander around the forest, she headed for town. As she passed farmers clearing weeds from the fields, a few of those closest to the road acknowledged Am with a brisk nod before fixing their gaze on their work. On the way through town, several inhabitants gave her a wide berth, and Amdirlain picked out an unsettled air from a few minds. Alerted, she glimpsed a hard, unsmiling face in the thoughts of the next person crossing the road. Great, at least it¡¯s not an Eldritch Miasma or something worse; I¡¯m just wearing Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s expression. Forcing a smile felt like a grimace, so Amdirlain teleported directly to her courtyard in Nolmar. The yard Amdirlain had been using was empty, even of training constructs. She could hear dozens of groups training in the complex¡¯s courtyards and buildings; Klipyl and a half dozen celestials were rampaging through the constructs within the tower¡¯s upper levels. Their pace had Amdirlain wondering how much experience she¡¯d accumulated. ¡°Maybe I can impose upon Laodice or another to make the constructs less predictable,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Though it¡¯s fine for now, they¡¯ll need harder challenges.¡± Putting it aside, she picked out Goxashru¡¯s theme and headed to a deeper area where trees surrounded a stone henge. There she found him sparring with Rana, and she stopped in the shadows of an archway to watch. Though the two fought with similar weapons, their styles were vastly different. Rana was constantly on the move, an unpredictable leaf dancing about on an unseen breeze. Goxashru, however, repositioned himself in a slow flow of movements or struck with a burst of speed. The surge of motion reminded Amdirlain of a crocodile exploding from the water to take prey from the riverbank. Rana stopped after disarming Goxashru and spotted Amdirlain in the corridor. Signalling Goxashru to take a break, Rana walked towards her, a slight frown appearing as he approached. Goxashru strode ahead of him and bowed low when he came within arm¡¯s reach of Amdirlain. ¡°Elder. Your daughter shared the word that you faced delays.¡± ¡°Sorry we¡¯ve not had time to catch up since visiting your Patron¡¯s family,¡± offered Amdirlain. Waggling his head, Goxashru tapped his chest. ¡°I am your Talon, ready to serve whenever you have need. Though I admit to believing I¡¯m unworthy of my selection.¡± Amdirlain moved forward and clasped his forearm. ¡°I know how that can feel, Goxashru. As long as you¡¯re doing the best you can, that¡¯s all I can ask. How are your lessons going with Rana? I heard you¡¯ve needed the regenerative field.¡± ¡°Thank you for the tower to sharpen my skills, Elder,¡± replied Goxashru, and he dipped his muzzle and continued ruefully. ¡°Though I¡¯ve perhaps tried to push higher through it than has been wise at times; I have, on occasion, needed to surrender.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve not also needed the field to recover from training sessions?¡± Goxashru looked taken aback, and Rana laughed. ¡°He¡¯s often used it to recover from strained muscles due to excessive training. I¡¯ve had to remind him I don¡¯t remember Mortal limits, nor have your sense of another¡¯s internals.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hardly in the position to scold about overdoing things,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I had thought it was more from weapon wounds the way others spoke.¡± ¡°There have been minor injuries when fatigue causes a mistake?,¡± explained Goxashru. ¡°The fields let me recover instead of losing days or weeks.¡± Aware of the coiled tightness of her muscles, Amdirlain tried her best to avoid seeming curt and gave a gracious nod of acknowledgement. Rana picked up on Amdirlain¡¯s tension despite her efforts. ¡°You look tense. Has something gone wrong, Am? Livia said you¡¯ve been busy with tasks for the Titan.¡± ¡°I spent too much time around Eldritch beings,¡± admitted Andirlain. ¡°My Protean feels overstressed from the experience, and my body is still tight from the impact of being around them.¡± Rana¡¯s gaze flashed shock and fear, and his words came in a whisper. ¡°Outsiders? Are they loose on a world or Plane? What did they do to your Protean?¡± The fear had Amdirlain moving close to clasp his arm reassuringly. ¡°They¡¯re contained. Gideon gave me some locations of cages, and I repaired them. However, the fractures had let their presence leak into the chamber. That alone was enough to twist my flesh to obey their alien rules. I didn¡¯t stop going until all the seals were back in place.¡± ¡°How many cells did you seal, and what?¡± enquired Rana in a strained whisper. ¡°Slightly over four hundred containing eldritch dreadnoughts,¡± clarified Amdirlain. The connection between Rana and his Goddess strengthened, and memories of meeting Danu before the realm was forged struck from Amdirlain¡¯s Soul. Riding with them, Protean tried to shift her form, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t let her memories or Power run wild. ¡°My Lady expresses gratitude for your efforts; such beings have destroyed special places in this realm and others. She asks if there is anything that might assist you with your projects?¡± enquired Rana, and he tilted his head as if listening further. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t have thought that the Titan would put such a hefty price for aid upon you.¡± ¡°Livia gave you the details of what happened?¡± asked Amdirlain, avoiding the implicit question. Rana looked at her compassionately. ¡°I grieve for your loss. I spoke with Torm several times in the years since you rescued me. While we had a different outlook overall, we had found common ground in many places.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ¡°Thank you. I''d be grateful if Danu could ask the Summer Court to persuade the formithians to withdraw from the worlds they haven''t created. Especially if she can avoid using my name,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They will seize unclaimed territory on any world, regardless of future need,¡± replied Rana after he¡¯d communed momentarily. ¡°She will bring it up with the Summer Court and also encourage the Winter Court. Though my Lady can¡¯t host you in her Domain, she has allies whose domains in the Outlands might help you renew yourself. With your permission, she¡¯ll approach some of those that might host you.¡± ¡°If they¡¯re among those helping Xaos, I¡¯d be open to at least meeting with them,¡± replied Amdirlain. Rana greeted her reserved agreement with an understanding smile before he bid them both farewell. ¡°What time in the ¡®day¡¯ is it for you, Goxashru?¡± asked Amdirlain. Goxashru shrugged. ¡°I was going to stop for lunch shortly. What do you need me to help with?¡± ¡°I need to check on that nest on Votari and then gain access to another world. Why don¡¯t you have food and rest first,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°As you wish, Elder. Shall I meet you at your suite?¡± asked Goxashru, not showing a trace of his previous reluctance to be involved in summoning Amdirlain. ¡°Can you meet me there in two hours?¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If you need longer, that¡¯s fine. There is more preparation work I can do in advance.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more than enough time,¡± confirmed Goxashru. ¡°I might need you to stay on the target world with me while the work is in progress. Make sure you pick up some travel supplies for a few days. Just in case I¡¯m busy singing when you get hungry,¡± instructed Amdirlain. With that, Amdirlain teleported to the suite¡¯s garden and set to work. Though she already knew where she was moving Votari¡¯s nest, she didn¡¯t count on that planet having enough space for long. Amdirlain created some new orbital surveyors, but not for detailed scans. These she cast into fast, low orbits around a score of Formithian worlds for tracts of vacant land. I wonder how long it will be before they figure it out? World Step doesn¡¯t leave Mana traces, so I should add some to the song. Let¡¯s make them think it was a cross-world Teleport that occurred. Deciphering the music of World Step, she found the targeting and transport mechanisms and reconsidered part of her original plan. The Power¡¯s song made it clear even an imposed natural sleep wouldn¡¯t last against it, so a flurry of additional work followed. Not only to design the piece, but to create extra crystals to ensure it affected the whole nest at once and left suitable traces of Mana. Scrying the nest, she found it had swollen since she¡¯d last checked it. Investigating the depths, she discovered two more sets of breeding formithians. Though one group was significantly smaller, all three were pumping out eggs. Other plans were in play, with stockpiles of material accumulating in surface chambers, and a road being constructed headed south. Touching the guards¡¯ thoughts, she caught their anticipation of the return of far-ranging scouts. When Amdirlain distributed the stasis crystals through the nest, silence enveloped the formithians¡¯ conscious thoughts. Amdirlain collected the monitoring crystal she left in the sky to determine the scouts'' exploration path. Following it, she found a few hundred had dug tunnels into the foothills 180 kilometres south of the nest. Hoping that was all the scouts, Amdirlain teleported them back to the nest. Their arrival deposited them within range of the crystals applying the mental stasis. With them all gathered in one place, she sent out a pulse to ensure the formithians and their latest crops were tagged. She created a spire to protect the entrance and to serve as a reference and relay for their relocation. When Goxashru arrived, he found dozens of spires floating around Amdirlain. The low-orbit surveyors delivered streams of memory crystals into her hands. He stood nearby, patiently waiting while she worked, but Amdirlain could feel curiosity weighing on him. Though he¡¯d tried to take the dragons¡¯ reverence in stride, their behaviour and words still had his thoughts in a whirl. ¡°You¡¯re allowed to ask questions, Goxashru,¡± Amdirlain said, and she stored the spires in Inventory. ¡°I won¡¯t snap, I promise. How I answer them and how much I share is in my control; unless Bahamut goes interjecting on questions again.¡± ¡°Elder, I was not expecting anything like the greeting you received from the town¡¯s patron,¡± admitted Goxashru. ¡°A Dragon¡¯s bloodline memories will do you in every time in that respect. If I wanted to stay incognito, I shouldn¡¯t have gone near a Gold Dragon in my old form. Yet, it felt right to do so, which likely comes from old memories I¡¯m not even aware of having,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I wanted to ensure you don¡¯t regret swearing to my service as a Talon.¡± ¡°Bahamut sent me to you. He must have a reason to place us together,¡± stated Goxashru, and he settled into a relaxed crouch. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°From what I remember, he enjoys it when hatchlings grow up and learn from each other through shared struggles.¡± A clicking noise came from Goxashru, and he swished his tail back and forth in amusement. ¡°I would not consider you a hatchling.¡± ¡°Not to you perhaps, but to Bahamut, it¡¯s a whole other story.¡± ¡°If you are a clutch mate, what happened to all your scales?¡± asked Goxashru, his tongue flicking across his front teeth in amusement. ¡°Guess I scrubbed a little hard,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically, trying her best to play along. His inner eyelids partly closed; Goxashru¡¯s nostrils flared. ¡°You need to be more careful when shedding, Elder. You are not supposed to scratch the new scales away as well.¡± ¡°I guess no one has trained me properly in moulting techniques,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she opened a Gate and listened to the world beyond. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything close by that¡¯s dangerous. I¡¯ll need you to summon me for this next stage.¡± ¡°Of course, and I will not tell Livia you used a Gate in town,¡± said Goxashru. ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Amdirlain. Goxashru looked across the brown grassed hillside under an orange sun and wrinkled his nose. ¡°This world¡¯s sun looks sullen and cold.¡± ¡°It just looks colder, but it is bigger in the sky. It¡¯s an orange dwarf star that lasts longer than the one your home world orbits. The temperature is about the same as in the Outlands.¡± Readying his sword and the summoning crystal Goxashru stepped through. As soon he was clear of the Gate, Amdirlain felt the summoning call and let the Gate close. The rush of the passage between planes was the same as before, and when she appeared in the circle, Amdirlain took in its song. Despite the runes being set in the harder ground, the same flaws were present in the music, though its barrier was flawless Mana. Before Goxashru could break the circle, Amdirlain motioned for him to step back. Resonance gave her a precise perspective of the terrain, with no sense of obstruction from the circle¡¯s barrier. Tracking down some discordant notes idling through it, she filled her hand with Ki and struck hard. Though the blow didn¡¯t impact the barrier, she heard the pitch of the notes shift. ¡°Breaking out that way seems possible, but let me quickly try something else,¡± said Amdirlain. The note was sharp, a chisel blade aimed at the inner circle¡¯s mithril. Days of struggle against the Eldritch distortion lent it a precision she¡¯d previously lacked. The impact cut a hair-thin line through the metal without touching the ground below, and the barrier collapsed. ¡°It would seem no one will contain you again,¡± chuffed Goxashru happily. ¡°I¡¯ll need to run more tests before I feel comfortable with that statement,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, and she motioned him to hand over the crystal. ¡°This circle had intentional flaws; I¡¯ll have to see how I go against a perfect containment. The summons caused minimal wear on the crystal, but I¡¯ll set an enchantment to create a better circle to test later. Let me do that while I get some bearings for a suitable spot.¡± After sending one surveyor straight up for a wide area view, Amdirlain enchanted a second summoning option within the same crystal. When she returned the crystal to Goxashru, he immediately stored it away. ¡°What sort of spot are you after?¡± Amdirlain absorbed the remains of the circle and considered her explanation. ¡°They¡¯ve got their nest positioned on a flat plain at present, and I plan to duplicate its song,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she motioned to the surrounding hills. ¡°I could adjust it, but it¡¯s easier if I¡¯ve got a flat spot to do a straight duplication.¡± ¡°Do you think they will understand that they are plainly not welcome?¡± enquired Goxashru. Amdirlain groaned and felt a slight smile twitch her lips, though it felt strangely uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯m getting the feeling that I know why Bahamut sent you my way.¡± ¡°To provide you an education in proper scale care?¡± quipped Goxashru. ¡°More like we both have an odd sense of humour,¡± countered Amdirlain. Her statement received a huffed protest. Pulling the surveyor back, Amdirlain checked the images it had collected. ¡°These hills are a spur from the end of mountains to the west, with plains in all other directions. There¡¯s water to the east and no nest in sight, so that¡¯s where we¡¯ll go.¡± Teleport carried them out of the foothills. Amdirlain considered the nest¡¯s song and compared it to the layers of soil and bedrock beneath her. With the differences in the bedrock and soil composition, she rapidly adjusted it to keep their tunnels and chambers intact. Starting the song from the literal top, the ground trembled while tunnels formed, and Amdirlain¡¯s theme applied the formithians¡¯ sealants. Despite the size of the nest, it was an alteration of mundane matter on a minuscule scale compared to the adjustments she¡¯d made for volcanoes. Within half an hour, she¡¯d completed the tunnel complex. Amdirlain started transporting the formithians from Votari, straining her limits with thousands of songs. As the work progressed, she began to hear growing hunger in the latest arrivals and pushed the pace. [Achievement: Have song, will travel Details: Earned for moving a species from one habitable planet to another. Reward: 200,000,000 experience points Note: Normally, the experience reward would get shared between choirs. Greedy guts! Note: While it''s not on your list, it was good to have it resolved. We¡¯ve had to make additional worlds because of all those they¡¯ve occupied.] Amdirlain sighed in relief at the note, aware she¡¯d taken too much time from her work. [Achievement: Incursion Blocker (Intruder: minor) Details: Have brought a species¡¯ incursion on a planet to a halt. Whether this halt is permanent or temporary remains to be seen. Reward: 300,000,000 experience points Note: That experience is based on the current incursion range (3+ million) and potential impact. They were preparing to create another nest and would have made a third shortly after. You could have earned a few trillion if you¡¯d left them for a century. Note: They were approaching 6.5 million in the nest, a regular metropolis.] Unleashing a song to let the mental stasis fade, Amdirlain took them back to the Outlands. ¡°Hold on.¡± Leading the way through another Gate back to Votari, Amdirlain quickly transported them to the Outlands Gate Moradin¡¯s celestials had found. In rapid succession, she severed it from the Outlands and changed the planet¡¯s name. The confusion in Goxashru¡¯s gaze earned him a grin. ¡°Had to make sure they couldn¡¯t come back. I broke their route from the Outlands and changed the planet¡¯s name so they can¡¯t just open a Gate.¡± ¡°If egg thieves have snuck through tunnels once, it is best to seal them off,¡± agreed Goxashru. ¡°You should head back to Xaos and get some rest,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°If you can, let Livia know that I¡¯ll be taking care of other things on Gideon¡¯s list, not raiding nests.¡± Resting in the sunlight far from Xaos, Amdirlain started scrying each location Gideon had included with the risker tasks. The sites repeatedly contained only a single entity, some shackled while others inside full enclosures. Analysis of the remaining lifespan of the True Song Crystal holding them in place let her prioritise the list. Amdirlain opened the scrying window to the fifty-seventh site when the sight of open shackles and a dome-like helmet stopped her cold. Within the shackles¡¯ song of containment, a spiral device caught her attention. Laying near the discarded restraints, it contained an activation melody that matched a tune lingering on the shackles. She could hear fading spatial energy within the chamber, but the Eldritch miasma had degraded it. How did someone have a key? [True Song Crystal - Shackles and muzzle for an Eldritch Whisperer Creator: Orh¨ºthurin Lifespan: 19,720,503,123 remaining of 40,000,000,000+ years.] [Eldritch Whisperer Details: These Tier 2 entities feed off mental anguish and confusion emitted by tormented beings¡ªMortal or otherwise. They seek tormented beings to infect and provoke them into acts that will inflict mental torment on others and thus infect them. Each being infected, directly or indirectly, links them to the Whisperer. This connection of horror allows it to project thoughts to manipulate their actions. At first, such an influence is subtle, but eventually, madness makes such subtlety unnecessary. They build influence over newly infected individuals until it can propel them into acts of mindless destruction. Whether that destruction is inflicted on themselves or others is beside the point. Their goal for any infected individual is to manipulate them into events that will ¡®touch¡¯ the most and spread the infection.] Great, a psychic Typhoid Mary is on the loose, and who knows where it¡¯s gone? Amdirlain shifted to the discarded shackles and found herself battered by hunger and frustrated desire. It was the first time anything from the Eldritch beings had made sense. She might never know how its nature fed off these particular energies, however, the long-term imprisonment had caused the target of its appetite to seep into the rock. Beyond that stain, Amdirlain could hear the chords of an abyssal melody. Storing the shackles and key into the ring of storage she¡¯d constructed, Amdirlain hopped back to the Outlands, cleaning herself up as she went. Once there, she continued scrying through Gideon¡¯s list and found the locations scattered across different planes within the Abyss. Though she didn''t find another site containing empty shackles, not knowing the full list, it felt more like a matter of not yet, than never. Trying to design a containment field and clean-up approach to deal with the Eldritch distortion pushed beyond what Amdirlain had learnt. [Activation Crystal Details: This tool was created to engage or disable shackles and muzzle for the Eldritch Whisperer that you found it discarded beside.] I didn¡¯t see any keys in the first chamber, so where did it come from? Using Analysis on the key again only got her the same information. Still, Amdirlain persisted and altered the intention for every attempt. [Eldritch Containment Key Storage: Details: A single chamber holds all the Activation crystals related to the Eldritch beings secured within the Abyss. Access to them is restricted to authorised individuals.] Below the details, a string of planar coordinates in True Song notation froze Amdirlain. The reference in the coordinates made it clear the location was somewhere high on the Titan¡¯s Spire in the Outlands. 304 - The key, the secret Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Opening a scrying window to the coordinates of the key storage, Amdirlain saw an irregular corridor that curved out of sight. The walls appeared rough-hewn but of the same light grey stone as the Spire. Turning the window¡¯s focus, she found the entrance from the Outlands was around a sharp turn. Anyone looking at it from a distance would see a shallow depression in the Spire. From the window it required a sidestep to peer out into the open sky. A few metres above the corridor¡¯s ceiling were the clouds that marked the boundary to Judgement. With the sound of security measures and more keys further down the corridor, Amdirlain teleported to the ledge. In the far distance, Amdirlain felt a chamber filled by columns with niches carved into them. The rough passage split into a maze of varying-width corridors ahead of her. There wasn''t a speck of dust that might show the path others had taken, leaving Amdirlain indecisive about teleporting to the chamber or going on foot. Figuring there was a reason Gideon hadn¡¯t given her the coordinates to the room directly, Amdirlain started inwards. At a fast walk, Amdirlain followed the path she sensed through the maze. Here and there were subtle dimensional shifts, but her memory nudged her through the dance steps to navigate them. After a time, the walls narrowed in until they brushed against her arms. Though she knew it wasn¡¯t the stone itself shrinking, the prickling of the dimensional energy made it unnerving. As she became hemmed in, Amdirlain shrank to match. Repeatedly, the trail through the maze twisted about. The route took erratic turns, needing exact angles and heights to activate dimensional shifts along the path. Amid the maze of passages, the ever-shrinking space provided by the route she took was a signpost that she had followed it correctly. As she moved along, she listened to the security precautions in the chamber ahead and how they worked. The music within the controls hummed a welcome the closer she got to the chamber and chimed out options for her selection. When Amdirlain finally reached the chamber, she¡¯d had to shrink to barely thirty centimetres tall to proceed. With her height, the chamber¡¯s ceiling towered far overhead, and rows of mountainous columns stretched into the distance. Adjusting back to her one hundred and eighty centimetre height barely eased their looming presence. Orh¨ºthurin set up so many alcoves. How many Eldritch monstrosities did she expect to end up securing? Above the closest alcove, Amdirlain could see the engraving changed, the number reduced as she watched. While the maze¡¯s floor had been spotless, in the chamber, thick dust coated nearly the entire place. The exception was a trail that followed the outer wall and appeared as if someone had cast Zephyr to sweep up. Faint lingering energy within the material made it clear it wasn¡¯t the result of a Spell but an entity attuned to Destruction that had pushed the dust aside. Unsure what to make of it, Amdirlain concentrated on the notes alone, and a feeling of uncomfortable familiarity prickled up the back of her neck. A whirling cloud of dust and lightning brought a name to mind: Alkibiades, the primary Aspect of Destruction. The memory of Orh¨ºthurin crying from the spike piercing the darkness of the realm¡¯s barrier rose again. Two entities¡ªAlkibiades of Destruction and Theano of Creation¡ªemerged from the event. ¡°Alkibiades, Aspect of Destruction, what are you doing amongst the keys?¡± asked Amdirlain, unsure what prompted the words. At the mention of their name, the cloud of dust and lightning that her memory had provided appeared ahead of her amid the columns. A mini-cyclone of power whose very existence should have rent stone, but the music in the column shrugged the energy aside. A voice came from within, erratically changing pitch as the lightning crackled. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin. My apologies, I hear you use Amdirlain now. I¡¯m surprised you remember me, Mother.¡± Amdirlain licked her lips as all the humidity seemed to disappear from the chamber. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin unleashed you when she and Nicholaus tapped into the dying realm¡± ¡°Indeed. A very thin side of a coin separates creation and destruction,¡± said Alkibiades. ¡°Destruction has always been more your thing between the two of you. Nicholaus might be Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s father, but he likes to build too much to truly appreciate destruction. Yet, without my forces, where would life be?¡± ¡°The simplest chemical reaction is the breaking down of materials to form something else; the digestion of food is destruction,¡± admitted Amdirlain ¡°There you go. I knew you¡¯d see it,¡± sighed Alkibiades. ¡°Is that the science of that other realm you came from?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Are all your memories sealed away behind the barrier of reincarnation?¡± asked Alkibiades. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I remembered your name. How could that be the case if all my memories were gone?¡± ¡°I wondered if Gideon might have told you that as well,¡± replied Alkibiades. ¡°You asked me what I¡¯m doing among the keys. What are you doing here?¡± ¡°Checking timers. It seems like many are close to their release,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she nodded towards a timer that was a few decades away. Alkibiades¡¯s form moved closer to the timer before it swayed back towards Amdirlain. ¡°I can sense the crystals in your possession, the shackles and the key. Everything moves towards Destruction, though you certainly slow much from that fate. What did Gideon tell you?¡± ¡°What should he have told me? I¡¯ve checked on Eldritch prisons and found someone had released an Eldritch Whisperer. One that should have remained sealed for billions of years,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°What shouldn¡¯t you be telling me?¡± ¡°You know Torm¡¯s never going to remember who he was, right? No matter what you do, returning him to a state where he regains his memories and loves you again isn¡¯t possible. I appreciated the irony of your destroying everything you¡¯d once treasured in him. Twice over.¡± ¡°You work with Nicholaus because the more he makes, the more you have access to destroy,¡± returned Amdirlain. ¡°And isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± countered Alkibiades. ¡°So whatever you want to talk about won¡¯t be for me; it¡¯s just to further your goals,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°You want to press my buttons?¡± Alkibiades hissed. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m lying to you?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Ebusuku taught Gail how to lie with the truth. You¡¯re likely skilled enough at destructive manipulation that talking to you about anything is a bad idea. Taking your word for any of it is likely worse.¡± A discordant snigger broke free from Alkibiades¡¯ whirlwind form. ¡°I set it free, and I¡¯ve still two more I can release. The three were my payment for freeing Torm and the others from my service.¡± ¡°You gained from their pain. I tried to get them to renounce their faith in you, but your attitude appealed to their wretched state, trapping them in a mire,¡± said Amdirlain coldly. Her gaze narrowed in rage, and she pressed her fists against her legs. ¡°It brought you here where I could cut some of Gideon¡¯s strings,¡± answered Alkibiades. ¡°Releasing three Eldritch beings will be just a drop in the bucket to what¡¯s already loose in the realm. Since Gideon immediately knows everything anyone is planning or doing, what question must you ask yourself?¡± ¡°I can think of dozens, but there is one thing you should think about,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What is that?¡± Amdirlain sang some quick twinned notes before she spoke again. ¡°I¡¯ve revoked all authorisation for the keys. It didn¡¯t need strength, just both sides of True Song and me.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°You already took so much from me, I will not pay you more. No more keys for you. Since you could sense the decay of the crystals in the storage device, you should be able to tell I wiped the chamber¡¯s authorisation links. Now that you can¡¯t retrieve any more keys, you¡¯ve got no legitimate business to be away from the Titan¡¯s Forge,¡± snapped Amdirlain. Alkibiades vanished, but Amdirlain got the impression someone had yanked them away. Letting out a sharp breath, Amdirlain considered what Alkibiades had said. Pulling the key from her storage device, she spun it in her hand, only to freeze. A crystal sphere the size of a basketball had appeared, hovering among the columns. The tiny facets along its curvature had her believing it was Gideon until she caught the protective theme of the outer layer of its song. ¡°Hello,¡± said Amdirlain. The chiming she¡¯d heard before with Resonance greeted her. ¡°Hello. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t remember me.¡± ¡°Sorry, no, I don¡¯t. What should I call you?¡± asked Amdirlain, her gaze trying to trace the facets of the sphere. ¡°Usually just Custodian, though that¡¯s more my role. If an Aspect shackles an Outsider, they bring the key here for safekeeping. My focus is protecting treasures, so I¡¯m here and elsewhere,¡± Custodian advised. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°How can they shackle them?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin made tonnes of shackles after the Anar and L¨®m? quit contributing. They¡¯re kept in a temporal vault to stop the crystals from decaying and only issued upon need,¡± chimed Custodian. ¡°How can aspects come and go from the forge?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Only concepts and things like souls and Essence can enter and exit the forge. Torm and the others you handed over got reduced to their Essence, then an aspect of Order brought them to the Titan,¡± explained Custodian. ¡°Gailneth saw a world being made when she was in the forge,¡± objected Amdirlain. A giggling chime echoed in the chamber from Custodian. ¡°They make the worlds at a conceptual level, and bringing them out of the Spire causes the concept to attract all it needs to create the matter it represents. Since an Aspect is part of a Concept, we extend our awareness¡ªwhich is us¡ªto the location in the realm we need to manifest. Which is fine until we get pinned like the two you rescued, and we can¡¯t get back or manifest.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t let Alkibiades get to you, Amdirlain. For an entity that doesn¡¯t have a true physical body, they can be a bit of a dick.¡± ¡°Destruction personified, after all. Why are they playing games with Eldritch creatures?¡± ¡°Alkibiades doesn¡¯t care about your goals; they¡¯re interested in the Eldritch contamination on various worlds. You mentioned that the more the Titan makes, the more Alkibiades has to destroy. That¡¯s not the case if Eldritch entities suck up all the energy from the realm first,¡± explained Custodian. ¡°Alkibiades doesn¡¯t care if you¡¯re ready; they likely wanted you stomping them into little pieces.¡± ¡°How many worlds?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re a worrywart, or maybe just greedy. Hundreds of worlds out of billions isn¡¯t that much of an issue. Even if you look at those with cults present, it¡¯s still not that big a number. In most places, the local pantheons know the issue and have servants holding the lid on,¡± offered Custodian. ¡°But yeah, if you want to practice fighting with something weaker than Moloch, you can punch some of them in the nose.¡± ¡°Gideon said some are stronger,¡± noted Amdirlain. Custodian floated down to Amdirlain and hovered at eye level. ¡°Judging by the counters that reverted, you¡¯ve repaired containment facilities for some that rivalled Demi-gods. That makes sense since it feels like you took a battering.¡± ¡°You can tell?¡± A flash of pink washed across some of their facets. ¡°I¡¯m a minor Aspect of the Concept of Protection. Hard to protect something or someone properly if you can¡¯t tell its state. Those who love you treasure you, which lets me know your state.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d give me a clue about how I can learn about the Eldritch issue?¡± asked Amdirlain, trying to avoid the topic change. A flicker of light showed on Custodian¡¯s surface. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Paying for Torm and the others,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Do you really think your father needs you to pay him?¡± queried Custodian. ¡°I¡¯m not his daughter,¡± said Amdirlain, her voice softening to a near whisper remembering the notes of pain she¡¯d heard from him. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°He knows that¡¯s how you feel, and you still have the place reserved for your Human parents. Do you think that invalidates how his heart feels? Until every realm dies a final heat death and perhaps beyond, he¡¯ll consider you his daughter,¡± advised Custodian. Amdirlain bit off the urge to reject the news. ¡°Why tell me?¡± ¡°I can be protective of his heart as well as yours,¡± explained Custodian, and they gave a soft chime. ¡°You¡¯ve already endured a battering, and I think the truth is better than games. Thinking about the situation, it¡¯s likely why Alkibiades lured you here¡ªso I¡¯d spill the beans.¡± ¡°Seems an odd approach, for an Aspect of Destruction to want the truth revealed,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Because Alkibiades is likely counting on the truth to destroy some of Gideon¡¯s plans. Which doesn¡¯t gain anyone much since Gideon has more plans than planets have atoms. Then again, maybe they¡¯re counting on you being in the mood to squish the Eldritch to bits.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going into protective mode and wrapping me up in ignorance?¡± asked Amdirlain with a smile. ¡°Please!¡± scoffed Custodian in disgust. ¡°The only thing ignorance does is keep you blind until your throat gets cut. Isn¡¯t it healthier to want strength to create and protect rather than being driven by anger and pain? Orh¨ºthurin did that, and it didn¡¯t work well. The anger she had inside her stopped her from opening up to others that didn¡¯t already know her secrets.¡± ¡°Until, in the end, there were only one or two she could talk to,¡± stated Amdirlain, and Custodian bobbed in the air. ¡°What truth was Alkibiades counting on you exposing?¡± ¡°I can think of a few, so how about I tell you the ones I know about? First, Nicholaus is already working on Torm¡¯s purification. He¡¯s taking his time to ensure the best result. Second-¡± ¡°Where will Torm end up?¡± interrupted Amdirlain. ¡°That I can¡¯t tell you. I heard his Soul is going to have to settle a while,¡± advised Custodian, and they floated close enough to give Amdirlain a reassuring bump. ¡°Your treasuring of Torm let me learn more than I normally would.¡± The gesture reminded Amdirlain of a cat, but she resisted the temptation to comment. ¡°Soul, not essence; you¡¯re talking reincarnation then?¡± ¡°Yep. But I don¡¯t have all the information, so I can¡¯t share what I don¡¯t know. Two, Baln¨¦rith thinks the route to her old realm is through the wound in the Abyss. Her whole thing with the Sisterhood was getting lackeys strong enough to resist the Primordial and Eldritch energy around the wound,¡± grumbled Custodian. ¡°Training to keep a specific form protected them from the distortion effect, so they can endure time down there working to open it.¡± That news caused Amdirlain¡¯s eyebrows to lift. ¡°So she wasn¡¯t just an authoritarian control freak. What happens if that wound opens?¡± ¡°Picture sticking a sharp dagger into someone that keeps spinning on the spot?¡± suggested Custodian. The mental image of a giant gaping wound made Amdirlain wince. ¡°That wince sums it up pretty well. The original wound is now seeping from the scab being picked at, but it¡¯s manageable. The situation has been creating concern within the Protection concepts,¡± explained Custodian. ¡°A Primordial on that Plane might take an interest and seal it; though the possibility is slim, if it''s opened, the Far Chaos would flood in and put their territories at risk. Self-interest is a prime drive for anything living in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Until eventually the realm gets flooded or bursts apart?¡± asked Amdirlain, remembering the icy feeling she got from learning Baln¨¦rith was hunting for something in the depths. ¡°Spot on,¡± agreed Custodian. ¡°You cost her a workforce, but the damage isn¡¯t healing. It will get messy once she regains a following and can resume work on her project. She spent millennia searching for what she thought was the route home; now she believes she knows its location.¡± ¡°Once she regains a following?¡± ¡°Demons commonly seek to shelter behind the strength of those stronger until they can stab them in the back,¡± stated Custodian. ¡°She¡¯s down but not out.¡± Amdirlain scowled. ¡°Why can¡¯t the aspects patch up the wound?¡± ¡°The ones that can do healing can¡¯t handle the Abyss at those depths, while those that can handle those depths cannot heal anything,¡± explained Custodian. Sure that the wound wasn¡¯t something she could handle with her present strength. Amdirlain sighed. The thought of hidden things resonated with Custodian¡¯s nature, causing her to brighten. ¡°Oh. I don¡¯t suppose you know where Orh¨ºthurin left the strength she discarded?¡± ¡°She put aside something she didn¡¯t treasure, so I have no knowledge of it. Only one entity knows for sure, maybe two if Gideon told Nicholaus,¡± answered Custodian, and it buzzed merrily upon continuing. ¡°Gideon¡¯s telling me off for running my mouth, but I don¡¯t have one.¡± ¡°Why are they telling you off?¡± Custodian chimed in amusement. ¡°Something about spoiling your goals. Oh, now they¡¯re annoyed about that as well. Too bad, so sad, Gideon.¡± ¡°Hush, Gideon, you gave me a list, and I already figured out it was a roadmap. Between it and the Eldritch issue, I¡¯ll push to improve. You better give me more information on their incursions.¡± [Eldritch Incursion Status Current Infected Worlds: 496 Worlds with Eldritch Cults: 17,296 Note: To get you in over your head? Note: The whisperer is currently experimenting with some demons.] [Eldritch Cults Details: Certain forms of insanity open dreaming Mortal minds to the Far Chaos and the entities there exploit it. Promises of untold power lead them into madness-infusing worship that provides the Eldritch entities with a path into the realm. Their Eldritch master¡¯s nature is only partly translatable. They aren¡¯t beings native to our planar wheel, nor was the framework set to contain them, and it only extends so far towards including them. Once within, they aren¡¯t bound by the rules that control Outsiders. These are being brought forth by dark offerings and rites dreamed up in insane minds. Madness allows these Eldritch abominations a channel to manifest directly on the Material Plane. If they choose not to manifest fully, they usually inhabit dimensions that most mortals can''t perceive and use tendrils of madness to possess or influence mortals to gain further victims. Note: Most of the infections are currently being driven out. Various pantheons, including the Formithian, try to keep a lid on it. Then again, even Tiamat¡¯s priests and the chromatics work to oppose their presence in the realm.] ¡°You said the wound was only seeping; how do the Eldritch beings get in?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a bit like scaling up a massive wall instead of the front door being open. It didn¡¯t matter so much when it was first done¡ªthere was nothing to attract them to steal or feed off,¡± explained Custodian. ¡°Laodice told me Ori got her work list from Gideon. If any worlds have infections without pantheons, put them at the top of my list,¡± Amdirlain instructed. When Amdirlain used Analysis again, two names appeared at the top of her list. They had also removed the work that she had already completed from it. ¡°My thanks to both of you.¡± ¡°Anytime. Please come back and visit when you can,¡± replied Custodian. Amdirlain teleported to an Outlands glade and considered her conversation with Custodian. Their concerns about protection and anger had reminded Amdirlain of speaking with Mars and his struggle with his wife¡¯s current state. Unsure if she was even the right person to give any advice, Amdirlain still considered the issue with the insights talking to Custodian had provided. While Amdirlain¡¯s thoughts churned over Mars and Anna¡¯s situation, she worked on something easier: gathering information on Eldritch incursions. Analysis showed the first world was a developing planet similar to Votari. Though only a single sentient species occupied it: elven variants in tribal hunter-gatherer groups. The second world was more complex, and further prodding painted a picture that surprised Amdirlain. [World: Qil Tris Age: 4.7 billion years Sun: G-Type (yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Assorted-sized continents Average diameter: 12.9 thousand kilometres (Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 391.4 days Tilt: 15.7% Environmental range: Semi-temperate to permanent ice packs Status: Stable Local civilisation advancement levels: Cultural: Assorted City States, Kingdoms, and Alliances Technology achieved: Steam and Airships Magical advancement: Advanced magical metals & materials. Multiple Spell lists. Local primary species (averaged population percentage of total sapient species): Catfolk, local variants (89%) Sahuagin, local variant (7%) Dwarf, local variant (2%) Other groups < 2% Population: 1.17 billion Incursion Status: Outsider & Minor (Eldritch entities and natural elementals) Local Pantheon Status:- Classification: Rejected Priest Types: None Worship Types: None (Eldritch sorcerers)] No pantheon or priests at all. What caused them to reject the deities? What¡¯s under other? [Qil Tris - Other species groups: Frost giants (0.01%) Orc (<2%) Note: After an era of heated philosophical issues, the survivors ¡¯cut out¡¯ all religious activities.] Alternating two sets of surveyors to seek Eldritch distortions, Amdirlain sent them through gates into low orbit above each planet. While she gave them time to complete a few rotations, Amdirlain began designing songs for the next phase of her efforts against Moloch. Should I store enough water to flood his entire territory? Putting the idle thought aside, she returned to the song to gather details on Oath-linked demons en-mass. Pulling the surveyors back, she checked over the primitive world first. On it she found a desolate forest with a single intense distortion centred where a weird meteor strike had happened. In the middle of a vast forest of giant redwood-sized trees was an area where an explosion had obliterated a circle nearly one hundred and fifty metres across. From the flattened trees around it, a shockwave had radiated outwards from that point. In the decaying debris of those trees was an undergrowth of strange orange and black plants that were absent elsewhere. The populated world presented a different incursion type with weak distortion points in dozens of cities. Undecided about which to tackle first, Amdirlain remembered Mars¡¯ comment about fighting by her side. ¡°Mars, I¡¯d like to speak about your struggle to communicate with your wife,¡± stated Amdirlain. A few minutes passed without a response before Mars appeared beside her in gleaming centurion armour. ¡°Have you figured out how I can fix her? Or have you learnt where Athena is?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like you to think about something and decide if you¡¯re willing to put some time in,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll try anything if it will help fix her situation,¡± replied Mars. Amdirlain barely stopped her eye roll in time. ¡°First, I want to check a few things. Your early worshippers were the precursors of soldiers, weren¡¯t they? They¡¯d guard the fields day and night to prevent animals and bandits from taking the crops.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± agreed Mars. ¡°If you are on the night watch, what do you do? Walk around with a flaming torch that ruins your night vision, or listen to the evening¡¯s sounds?¡± ¡°Novices patrol with a torch. Better guards keep still and listen for anything out of place. What has this got to do with fixing Anna?¡± ¡°How does a scout gather information in the wilds?¡± asked Amdirlain, and Mars blinked in surprise. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°When you visit Anna¡¯s Domain, do you just sit quietly and listen, or ask her what needs to be done?¡± ¡°She won¡¯t talk to me about anything,¡± protested Mars. Amdirlain nodded understandingly. ¡°Anna¡¯s Domain isn¡¯t yours, is it?¡± ¡°No, though I¡¯ve still got guest rights,¡± insisted Mars, and he snorted angrily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if the questions are annoying. I¡¯m trying to frame the advice in a fashion that suits the focus of your faith,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I just spoke to an Aspect of Protection and could see their concept¡¯s involvement.¡± ¡°Aspects are strange entities,¡± noted Mars, as his frustration ebbed from his features as quickly as it had appeared. Passionate fellow ¡°Let me run through this plan and see if you feel it¡¯s worth your time,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t start on anything until we¡¯re done planning the mission.¡± Mars grounded his pilum and rested the spear haft against his shoulder. ¡°The situation with Anna is unknown, correct?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± grunted Mars. ¡°So the first thing to do is gather information, but since she¡¯s not talking, I¡¯d suggest you treat it as night watch on a scouting mission. What the scout needs to achieve is information gathering. Send a weak Avatar in, sit near her, pour her a drink, and blend into what is occurring around her. Just as the scout in the field needs to report back to command, it shouldn¡¯t act on anything it learns.¡± ¡°Why a weak avatar?¡± Amdirlain held back a sigh. ¡°Are scouts heavily armoured?¡± ¡°No, they need to move quickly and avoid attention,¡± replied Mars. ¡°If you send a strong Avatar near her, Anna is going to suspect that at any moment it¡¯s going to leap up and take care of whatever she talks about,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to let you in on a secret, and you can figure out an approach to take.¡± ¡°What secret?¡± asked Mars eagerly. ¡°Sometimes, when a woman is ready to talk, it¡¯s not about what they want fixed; they want to talk about what they went through or have already decided. They want someone who listens and pays attention to them, not the problem, especially if they¡¯ve already dealt with it. It¡¯s more about seeking commiseration with their struggle. If you¡¯re there but give the vibe that you¡¯re ready to run off and ¡®fix things¡¯, she knows that won¡¯t be you,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Humans are very different to elves in their way of thinking,¡± objected Mars. Amdirlain gave a brilliant smile. ¡°In my last life, I was Human and a woman.¡± Silence initially greeted her pronouncement. ¡°You were what?¡± gawked Mars. ¡°I thought you were a weird demoness who¡¯d got converted from her ways somehow,¡± sputtered Mars. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t become a demoness from my deeds. I got cursed by a jealous guy and had to hold off a demonic entity taking me over,¡± summarised Amdirlain. ¡°I still remember being Human, and I only mention it to reassure you I know this from a Human viewpoint.¡± Mars frowned. ¡°I¡¯d like to learn more later, but continue, please.¡± ¡°Imagine you¡¯re telling a post-battle story, and someone kept getting up every time you mentioned taking a wound. Then you find they intend to slay the foe you¡¯ve already killed and have interrupted your story. Would you feel they¡¯re listening to you at all or wanting glory for themselves?¡± ¡°Oh,¡± grunted Mars. ¡°You¡¯ve already tried getting her to tell you what¡¯s wrong a few times. So does it help to think of this as long-term reconnaissance? It will take a while before Anna talks; if she starts, she¡¯ll likely talk about other things first. Even if she brings up what seem like issues, you are there to gather information, nothing more. She might mention them to test that you¡¯re there to support her and not your glory. Don¡¯t look to fix anything unless Anna explicitly asks for your help, okay?¡± ¡°I just sit there in silence?¡± Amdirlain tried her best to give him a reassuring smile. ¡°You could talk about things you have in common. Agriculture is about life and growth. Talk about the people and places that have had a good harvest of late,¡± suggest Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe in a few weeks, ask what she¡¯d suggest to improve harvests in places that haven¡¯t done so well.¡± ¡°What if she¡¯s wrong?¡± His question had Amdirlain laughing, and she felt the laughter ease her physical tensions. ¡°Mars, you¡¯re not asking for orders or the best solution. Remember, if she answers, what you asked for were her suggestions. They might not be the best for you, but they¡¯re hers and might contain aspects that would improve your tactics, even if you don¡¯t like the entire approach.¡± ¡°How does that help me get her to tell me what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re building up trust and lines of communication,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If she¡¯s not talking, we¡¯re setting the cart before the horse.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when we¡¯ll speak again. What if Anna starts to talk tomorrow, and you¡¯re off in the Abyss or on a different battlefront?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t rush her, Mars. The most important thing is to be there for her if she talks; letting her pick her pace for years will not hurt. Be someone she can rely on to be there for her, guarding her back and listening. She doesn¡¯t need you running off to deal with her already-resolved problems. You leave her alone, and it¡¯s telling her other things are more important than her well-being.¡± Mars froze and spoke in a whisper. ¡°Oh, like Torm did with you? Your shield brother wandered off and left your back exposed, and his fall was a blade in your heart. He should have had your back, not been across the battlefield, flailing around for someone to save that might not be there.¡± The words punched at the hollow feeling in her chest. With tears blurring her vision, Amdirlain gasped out a single word. ¡°Yes.¡± Mars¡¯ gaze softened. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be sorry; just listen to Anna. Torm¡¯s loss hurts because I refuse to block it down. I¡¯ll mourn him, extract a debt from those that hurt him, but that isn¡¯t what we¡¯re talking about now,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°And for crying out loud, don¡¯t do that with Anna.¡± ¡°Any last advice for someone trying to care for his love?¡± ¡°It¡¯s likely she¡¯s survived something painful. She¡¯s a goddess of life, and death was all around. So pretend her thoughts and words are timid animals. If you startle them, they¡¯ll take fright and alert more important confidences to stay away,¡± warned Amdirlain as she blotted her tears away. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have said this before?¡± grunted Mars, and he tugged at the end of his beard. ¡°When last we spoke, I wasn¡¯t in a place to give an example of protection,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You already had issues with Minerva¡¯s battlefield analogy, and mine wouldn¡¯t have been anything useful for you to help Anna. My track record with relationships isn¡¯t good. All the advice I can give you is how I felt in pain and what I needed?.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve sent an Avatar to her Domain; it will stay with her always,¡± stated Mars, and he raked his fingers through the edge of his beard. ¡°Do you want to smash some more undead or demons to release some of your pain and anger?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the other thing I had to talk about. I¡¯m going to investigate an Eldritch threat,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The beat of Mars¡¯ song picked up, and his nostrils flared. ¡°I¡¯ve heard tales of them from other pantheons. Is that why you were fighting like one, so you could go head to head with them?¡± ¡°I knew little about them, but I¡¯ve recently learnt they¡¯ve infected two worlds without pantheons,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°They? Are we talking about dozens or hundreds?¡± ¡°Scans of the more primitive world of the two returned a lot of centralised distortion. However, I¡¯ve no way to tell how many are present,¡± Amdirlain admitted before shrugging helplessly. Mars gave her a wolfish smile. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± 305 - Light it up Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands The Gate opened to the edge of the flattened forest, and the distortion caused the fine hairs on the back of Amdirlain¡¯s neck to lift. With an eager laugh, Mars jumped through, his pilum already ready to throw. ¡°I¡¯ve only heard of these! World maggot, come up and fight us.¡± As Mars raced forward, he jumped between the decaying tree trunks to avoid the strange-coloured undergrowth. Amdirlain heard him drawing more strength, unobstructed by another pantheon¡¯s claim, and the Avatar grew in power. A Divine aura flexed tight across his form with a thrumming melody of strength held fast in reserve. Though the aura was worrying, given how Celestial energies felt against her flesh, Amdirlain followed. Letting the Gate close behind her, she pushed Ki Movement and sped across the broken landscape, a wall of distortion keeping her unsure of what Mars¡¯ divine senses could see. The surveyors¡¯ orbital view had the distortion source focused in this area, but its rasping hiss was ahead and beneath her. They were within a hundred metres when the rocky terrain that filled the desolate ground at the centre rose straight up. Thousands of what looked to be maw-capped tentacles snaked out from under that stone shell. The gaps between them hosted countless silvery eyes burning in the shadows beneath the rim. [Species: Eldritch Drifter Equivalent Primordial Tier: 2 Stage: Larvae {Lots of translation errors. Its alien physiology rejects the realm¡¯s rules and sanity, preventing proper knowledge. This thing¡¯s flesh is hard for me to read since it was outside Ori¡¯s understanding when she created me; rough approximations follow.} Health: 15,780,349 Defence: 7,598 Magic: 3,786 Mana: 29,345,564 Combats Skills: Untranslatable. Affinities: Gravity, {Translation Errors} Details: After they breach the outer layer of a realm, these entities can drift along for aeons in space until they find a planet that appeals to their tastes. Once they descend, they settle in and slowly feed from the planet¡¯s life force. A byproduct of the process attunes the soil to the energies of the Far Chaos, and eventually, other entities breach where it has weakened reality.] Tier 2, so up to mid-tier Demon Lord. It feeds off life force, so not a time to experiment with Ki Blast. Let¡¯s go for protection that will consume life as well. Gideon can¡¯t understand it, so his knowledge is forever incomplete, and he can¡¯t adjust the rules to match. Placing the shadow vines bracelet into storage, Amdirlain activated Ki State and filled it with Yin Mana. The plumage under her skin expanded outwards and drank up the daylight. Angelic Aura followed and had black flames flailing within the aurora of light surrounding her Ki State. Amdirlain was setting Spell barriers around herself when the energy caught its attention. The shell lifted further, and more mawed tentacles and twitching antennae emerged before the surrounding ground shattered. What Amdirlain had believed to be tentacles showed themselves as little more than feelers when giant tentacles speared upwards through the earth, flinging aside debris as they struck at Mars and herself. As he leapt away from the closest black tentacle, Mars cast his pilum towards the gap beneath the shell, exploding a nest of silvery eyes. Other tentacles grazed past Amdirlain, deflected by her combined defences, and she suddenly held a Kopis in each hand. The limbs coiled towards her, and Amdirlain spun free from the grasping attack, unleashing a series of strikes while she moved. Each Kopis'' strike gouged through rubbery flesh or severed sucker-like protrusions from the limbs. While the Primordial Kopis left oozing wounds in its wake, those made by her Destruction Kopis started to seal up. Though Amdirlain tried to keep track amid the flurry of churning limbs, the damage quickly disappeared from view. As she slipped past a telegraphed blow, a severing note sliced the end from a tentacle, only for the wound to seal over immediately. The severed section thrashed as it plunged, and a dozen scuttling claws burst from its cut end, showing it possessed a life of its own. ¡°It heals well,¡± laughed Mars as he dodged earth-shattering blows. With the mass of the withering tentacles about her obstructing each other, Amdirlain tested it further. A Flame Blast Spell filled with Primordial Mana streaked between a gap to explode just out of range of the tentacles Amdirlain could see. The explosion caused chunks of flesh to melt and turned the waving limbs into a forest fire around her. As tentacles collapsed from the damage, Amdirlain got a clear view of blazing eyes suddenly fixed her way. Ignoring Mars, the tentacles lashed out solely towards Amdirlain. Teleport put her atop the creature¡¯s shell, and Amdirlain snapped a Spell together. A forked Lightning Bolt of Primordial Mana had Amdirlain blinking away dots of light. As her vision cleared, she found that the cover over the entity had evaporated just before her feet. Luckily I didn¡¯t screw up my aim. The capstone blunted much of the force, but Amdirlain could see its rubbery flesh and what looked like charred organs through the tunnel cut by the Spell. Enraged by pain, a return blast of Gravity squeezed around her; bones creaked, and flesh threatened to strip free. The attack crumpled the magical protections Amdirlain had put in place, and the pressure crushed the air from her lungs. As her breath rushed out, Amdirlain used it to unleash a song that mimicked her last Spell and dug deeper into the shell. In response, black gravitational bolts coiled in the air from the tentacles and hammered into Amdirlain from every side. While Angelic Aura deflected some, Ki State only provided a physical defence. Each Gravitational Bolt compressed an area around its impact point, sheering away circles of skin and flesh, sometimes bone. As hundreds of bolts came in, Amdirlain teleported beyond the outer ring of fallen trees. The unleashed assault deprived of a target caused the bolts to patter harmlessly against the creature¡¯s shell and exposed flesh. As Protean restored her flesh and bones, she determined her next move. Mars had raced among the tentacles, jumping from limb to limb ahead of attempts to grasp or strike him. Yet another throw sent his pilum through the loop of a coiling limb and blasted into the torso, causing a gush of orange and purple blood to jet out. Though the tentacle he stood on flinched erratically about, Mars dodged smoothly forward out of the path of another that tried to swat him. Despite the limb bucking about, he stood easily balanced as if on steady ground, and his pilum reappeared in his hand. Another throw blasted through a gap among the limbs. As more tentacles sped towards him, a pair of glowing swords appeared; their enchantments set them hovering protectively beside his shoulders. He smoothly avoided most of the strikes, only having to position his raised shield to deflect one. Each attempt brought the drifter more pain, each limb that came close allowed the swords to open wounds. Amdirlain unleashed a Lightning Storm burning with Primordial Mana on the creature¡¯s far side while Mars¡¯ pilum severed tentacles and stabbed deep into the torso with every throw. As the Spell Amdirlain unleashed ripped into the entity, a high-pitched keening was released from hundreds of maws. She felt a Spell pulse across the area; reaching out among the toppled trees, it compacted soil and cracked the rotting tree trunks. Even as the Spell multiplied his weight, Mars didn¡¯t stop moving. He continued with effortless throws that sent the pilum glowing with Celestial energy deep into its central body. More swords appeared to dance around him, and they rent open wounds in the rubbery flesh with varying degrees of effectiveness. The ground gave way beneath his feet, but Mars leapt atop a writhing tentacle and raced along its thrashing surface before hopping to another. Staring down into the collapsing pit, Amdirlain saw holes burrowed into its sides beyond the radius of the entity¡¯s Gravity Spell. The Spell crushed the galleries of its mining operation together with devastating force. It was an odd sight as gravitational pressures didn¡¯t allow the dust to billow as Amdirlain expected. Even as the collapse continued, two hundred metres of its tubular body wreathed with eyes and tentacles had been exposed. The latter ranged in size from arm-length ones capped with fanged maws to more of the rubbery black fleshed tentacles that would shame a Kraken. As those pulled out of the crushed rubble, their ends withdrew from a honeycomb of tunnels dug into the growing pit¡¯s side. The closest midnight-hued tentacles grasped at Amdirlain, but she glided past their erratic efforts. Staying clear of the gravity field surrounding it, Amdirlain threw one precisely crafted Spell after another. Though she had to work to affect it, failures were few, and most impacted it with varying degrees of success. Spinning away from another tentacle, she felt her Wood Elf form fall away, and a golden light blazed from her gaze across the sucker that skimmed just past her face. A growing feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu hit as a Kopis desiccated its flesh, and a notification pinged within her awareness. [Partial memory synergy achieved <0.001% Note: You¡¯ve got a long way before you get a total of 0.001%.] Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Before the notification had vanished, the memory of a song arose, and Amdirlain let the melody spill from her lips. The themes straining her control sent ribbons of Mana spiralling into existence, and blades of Primordial energy rained across the Pit. The white-hot force severed dozens of tentacles and consumed scattering fragments. As the flesh burnt, the Eldritch Drifter screamed in rage. Stumps started to flail before the scream¡¯s shockwave staggered Mars, though a badly thrown pilum still left gouged flesh in its wake. More gravity bolts struck towards her, humming with the Eldritch energy. Amdirlain sought to race away, but their path turned with her, and she raised her voice. Warping notes burst the spells across nearby tentacles, but the rubbery flesh was unaffected, and more bolts shot her way. As the entity¡¯s distortion increased, Amdirlain destroyed waves of bolts but three purple lances of energy behind them pierced her defences. She flinched aside and avoided two, but the third impacted high on her breast. The impact spun Amdirlain around, and the motion flung her right arm into the undergrowth. Where the blow had sheered through her, blackened flesh, lung nodes, and stubs of bones showed. Teleporting clear, Amdirlain severed distortion-corrupted flesh from her body and let it fall free. As Protean sealed the cleaned wound, the entity cast more spells her way. ¡°Get clear,¡± Mars warned, and Amdirlain felt his Avatar inhale a tidal wave of power across the planes. His Divine Aura, previously under tight control, rolled out from his body. It caused a white light to project around him, shrugging aside the creature¡¯s tentacles and spells. Even at a distance, her skin smoked and burned, prompting Amdirlain to flee before the rush of power. Amdirlain repositioned herself beneath the clouds kilometres above, but as Mars changed, she worried she was still too close. As she prepared to move again, he went from a man racing across the tentacles, inflicting wounds at will, to a mountain at the pit¡¯s edge. The aura¡¯s light banished all the shadows. His pilum burned with Celestial fury, and he gripped it in both hands to plunge through the Eldritch Drifter. The spear pinned it against the pit¡¯s floor like a moth on display. Yet that blow wasn¡¯t enough to kill it, and the being thrashed about flinging bolts of energy at the pair. Amdirlain had intended to use Universal Life to repair the injury, but the eruption of energy almost atop her cast that plan aside. She teleported clear of the new wave of spells, drawing on Protean¡¯s stored mass to replace her arm. Even with her body whole, Amdirlain could feel the ache throughout her being with the health loss from her severed arm. Taking a wide stance, Mars yanked the pilum from its body, and the spear¡¯s tip broadened. Though the pilum was still shifting form, Mars stabbed down, opening a massive wound in its side that continued through its body. The impact collapsed the pit¡¯s side, sending dirt cascading into the gravity well that was still compressing the soil. As Mars twisted the spear and yanked it free, its outer points ripped hunks of flesh away. Gouts of purple and orange blood gushed from the savage wound, and an unearthly shriek smashed against them. The entity thrashed and futilely pressed against the Divine aura seeking to grab at Mars¡¯ body. Lifting it high, Mars ignited the spear and struck at a new angle; the blow drove through raised tentacles and crushed the drifter downwards. The impact rang through the bedrock, and trees standing kilometres away shook from the force. A brilliant burst of Celestial flame erupted from the burning spear cauterising the wound and incinerating flesh. The strike¡¯s success didn¡¯t slow Mars, and he kept pulverising the entity with a frenzy of blows that sent shockwaves through the ground. The drifter¡¯s Eldritch-infused screams hammered at his aura and tried to twist Amdirlain¡¯s flesh, but Mars¡¯ pace didn¡¯t slacken. Amdirlain caught sight of severed tentacles from her vantage point, starting to grow claws to scuttle away. Before they could burrow into cover, she unleashed the burning song again. Shards of white energy seared the scuttling pieces to ash, turning tentacles still attached to the torso into wicks that intensified the screams. As it struggled to defend itself against Mars¡¯ assault, Amdirlain saw untouched tentacles fall away. Prompted by their earlier transformations, she tried to destroy each one and set fire to their stumps. With the charred protrusions showing no sign of regrowth, Amdirlain flailed at the central torso with the scorching theme. More limbs dropped away, and though the complexity of the melody abraded her health away, Amdirlain persisted. Through the Primordial flames, Mars¡¯ spear continued to open scores of wounds across the creature. Eventually, it stopped moving, but their assault persisted until they destroyed the remnants of tentacles that tried to flee. Between Mars¡¯ Divine ability to see clearly and Amdirlain¡¯s Resonance, none of them successfully hid. Only once they were all dealt with did Mars finally step back and resume a Human-sized form, his aura shutting down. A set of notifications appeared when they stopped. [Combat Summary: Eldritch Drifter (x50%): x1 Tentacle fragments (x50%): x3,472 Total Experience gained: 8,410,844 Ostim?:+4,205,422 Ont?lin: +4,205,422 Resistance: Eldritch [I] (26->27) Angelic Aura [S] (45->46) Protean [S] (68->69) Resonance [S] (114->116) True Song Genesis [M] (5->7)] [Achievement: Incursion Blocker (Intruder: Eldritch parasite foothold - minor) Details: Have contained the potential for a serious Eldritch foothold. Reward: 500,000,000 experience points Note: That¡¯s for each of you, even though he spoiled your fun.] ¡°Gideon notified me; we¡¯ve dealt with the incursion,¡± coughed Amdirlain, her throat hoarse from the demands of the song. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to go all out on it.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Mars, his gaze directed at her shoulder to show what he meant. Amdirlain swivelled her arm about and waved. ¡°It works. I still have some cleaning to do.¡± She let the Ki State fall and retrieved the shadow vines from inventory; the silken garments quickly settled back across her body. Amdirlain found the remains of her arm, and the stench of Eldritch energy corrupting it had her nose wrinkling. Cleansing it with Primordial flames, she did the same thing to the places where Eldritch lances and blood had struck the ground. When all the distortion had gone, Amdirlain returned to Mars and gave a good-natured huff. ¡°Bad boy, that was my toy. See if I bring you along to the next play time.¡± ¡°I could see the inside of your chest, Amdirlain,¡± noted Mars. ¡°And your voice sounds like you swallowed briars.¡± ¡°It was but a flesh wound,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Mars frowned. ¡°I could see ribs and the top of a lung. You don¡¯t need your lungs to function, but it was still a substantial injury.¡± ¡°I guess that was a needless joke then,¡± riposted Amdirlain. ¡°Ahh, you¡¯re the type that indulges in awful jokes after dangerous situations,¡± noted Mars. ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep my vomiting in check.¡± Amdirlain pouted. ¡°Gee, thanks, but it was only dangerous until you squished the Eldritch Drifter. How can I challenge myself if you squash a foe?¡± ¡°You see such foes as a challenge and not an abomination?¡± enquired Mars. ¡°They¡¯re alien, but fighting them is a challenge and I need to push to improve,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Not like you weren¡¯t treating it lightly as well, since you started Human-sized.¡± ¡°The more I draw on my Mantle, the less my strength grows from battle; this one gained me nothing in the end. Have you considered the possibility you¡¯re addicted to danger, Amdirlain?¡± enquired Mars. ¡°I¡¯ve seen soldiers like you. Never able to stop or retire, continually enlisting for another term until death claims them.¡± ¡°I¡¯m on a time limit and don¡¯t know how long I have, so going slow isn¡¯t an option,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, and she nodded towards the pit. ¡°I want to repair the damage it¡¯s done before I head off.¡± ¡°What species calls this world home?¡± enquired Mars. ¡°Some elven variants are the only occupants,¡± advised Amdirlain. Mars frowned in confusion. ¡°I thought elves had their pantheons. Shouldn¡¯t they have blocked our arrival?¡± ¡°This world hasn¡¯t yet contacted the courts or gained a pantheon of its own,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to introduce the elves to agriculture?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think elves were into farming,¡± replied Mars. Amdirlain snorted in amusement. ¡°Do you think they just dance among the trees picking fruit? They plant and tend groves of trees and seed mushrooms in the undergrowth, among other things. While it¡¯s not how humans set up fields, they still have their form of agriculture.¡± ¡°Admittedly, I¡¯ve not thought much about elves; I might go look around,¡± Mars said, taking in the nearby trees that still stood. ¡°A disguise, perhaps?¡± Mars¡¯ arms and weapons disappeared, and he suddenly looked like a Wood Elf with an iron-tipped spear, dressed in rawhide leather. ¡°Think I¡¯ll be believable?¡± The faint hints of mint among the chocolate hue of his skin drew a snort of amusement from Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t know if that colouration matches them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll adjust it when I get close enough to observe them,¡± shrugged Mars, and he reached up to tug up a crimson lock among the mix of hues that made up his hair. ¡°Speaking of colouration shifts, you went through a dramatic change mid-battle. Is there a particular reason?¡± ¡°A memory from my first life; I used it to hold off the Eldritch energies trying to twist my flesh,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Other memories from that life stirred during the fight and brought the form to the surface.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± grunted Mars. ¡°Take care. Yell if you have something else to destroy. Hopefully, it will be like the battlefront next time and won¡¯t need me to draw on my Mantle.¡± ¡°You could have avoided using it,¡± critiqued Amdirlain. ¡°Not when I see a single strike ripping through your ribs,¡± rebuffed Mars, and he teleported away. Amdirlain heard him reappear kilometres away before he disappeared again. Standing alone on the pit¡¯s edge, the earlier memory niggled warningly at Amdirlain. There wasn¡¯t a hint of distortion left, so Amdirlain looped around the hole, examining the surviving tunnels for any clue about what had set her nerves on edge. The upper tunnels, though hardened, had collapsed completely, so Amdirlain persisted into the bedrock. There she found tentacles had scoured the stone away, leaving undulating patterns where the limbs¡¯ movements had cut into the rock. The curvature of the designs caught her gaze, and she had to push away their hypnotic effect. [Mental Hardening [S] (172->173)] Oh, you shit. Artificer runes are draconic characters empowered with Mana. Do you freaks have something similar? Working inwards from the side, Amdirlain cleared the ash, collapsed dirt and rock from the base of the pit. As she neared where the drifter had stood, Amdirlain found more of the swirling patterns cut into the bedrock. Rock fragments from the collapsed tunnels revealed more patterns that tried to catch her awareness. Not sure how they managed it without a hint of dissonance, Amdirlain drew on Mental Hardening to keep her mind clear. As other patterns emerged, it required more concentration to keep her focus, and Amdirlain stopped pushing her luck. Listening to the themes within the local rock, she fashioned a piece to liquefy it. Having recovered during her extensive search, Amdirlain obliterated the patterns in every tunnel. The softening of the rock caused the ground level to sink, but ensuring the pattern''s destruction shifted a tension from her shoulders. [Achievement: Eldritch cleanser Details: Rewarded for removing madness-inducing patterns and traces before Mortal exposure. Note: They¡¯re not Artificer runes but patterns that twist mental structures towards madness. Though the forms of insanity it can cause vary, they help attune Mortal minds to dreams that leave them vulnerable to the influence of Eldritch beings. Note: Is it lucky you¡¯re already crazy?] ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Amdirlain. Lifting into the air, Amdirlain took the repairs a layer at a time until the fertile soil within the devastated area was finally level. Taking in the trees and undergrowth, she continued to sing until it wasn¡¯t readily discernible where the devastation had been. Exhaling sharply, she considered Gideon¡¯s question and opted for reinforcement. [Mental Hardening [S] (173) -> [G] (1)] Having spent so many points, it was anticlimactic for Amdirlain that her first Grandmaster Skill caused nothing to merge. Snorting in amusement at her disappointment, Amdirlain turned off her Angelic Aura and shifted back to the Outlands. Standing in the Plane¡¯s refreshing sunlight, Amdirlain grew aware of the mental pains and stresses that lingered in the back of her mind. Yet even as she paid attention to them, Amdirlain felt the tension ease. While the grief and loss were still tender, they didn¡¯t dig the way she¡¯d refused to admit. Mental Hardening absorbed the resilience version. It¡¯s not about suppressing anything but treating myself properly. Parallel processing on steroids, applying the mental health exercises I learnt. Morbidly curious about what would happen if it hadn¡¯t been destroyed, Amdirlain tried some Analysis options before Gideon finally coughed up the information she sought. [Eldritch Drifter Outcome: Once the planet gets drained to a husk by themselves or others, they tip through the breach formed. Then, riding the Material Plane¡¯s outwards pressure, they return to the Far Chaos. A Super Nova event is required to cauterise the wound. Analysis [S] (33->34)] 306 - One step closer Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Though Amdirlain was pretty sure what would happen, she opened a Gate to Qil Tris and faced a nighttime scene. The view was of a snow-covered hillside with weather-worn boulders and trees covered in long, needle-like leaves. Though she could hear the landscape¡¯s music, the threshold didn¡¯t allow her to cross. Amdirlain wondered if the Titan¡¯s world construction was often based on Earth-type norms or if evolution caused it. If not for the array of life she¡¯d seen in The Exchange, the small samplings of worlds she¡¯d seen so far would steer her to believe the former. The music beyond the barrier was crisp and sharp, with the cold themes dominating the landscape. Amdirlain was concerned about the pervading cold and its impact on Goxashru''s metabolism. While the world¡¯s details had shown Qil Tris overall to be a colder place than Goxashru¡¯s homeworld, seeing the mass of snow close up had driven it home. ¡°That is going to be a problem if I need some days or weeks to track everything down,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she let the Gate close. ¡°Foes to the left and foes to the right, yet I¡¯d prefer to be teaching.¡± Her concern split between tracking down Eldritch beings on the loose and keeping the ones already contained from busting free. Finishing the review of chambers she¡¯d been checking, Amdirlain sent an update to Livia about the primarily Catfolk world of Qil Tris. When she didn¡¯t hear back, she shifted to the first location whose prisoner would have broken free within a few centuries. The alcove she appeared in was the furthest spot from the prisoner, yet still, the Eldritch energies tried to warp her form. Having scanned the chamber before, the single figure within it wasn¡¯t a surprise, but its nearly humanoid figure was still repulsive. Its maggot-white skin heaved as the limbs strained against the manacles and boots attached to the cracked crystal frame that held it mid-air. The headless form¡¯s well-defined muscularity was twisted and subtly off. Instead of a head atop the shoulders of the body, fern-like fronds set atop waved about, tasting the air. Curled nodules along their lengths flexed in irregular patterns, and waves of distorted energy came off them. The purple energy was a wave of static in True Sight and Resonance, and it licked the walls before bouncing back to be absorbed by the entity¡¯s skin. As Amdirlain began to sing, the being¡¯s attention focused towards her. Two of the lowest fronds beat a pattern against its collarbones, and long barbed tongues extended from the figure¡¯s palms. The entity thrashed harder, its defined muscularity bulged and heaved in its struggles against the restraints. Its body arched like a tightly drawn bowstring and then relaxed, the body splitting apart as it did. The cables under its skin that she¡¯d thought defined muscles slithered through bloodless seams and lashed outwards. Blows rained against the wall near Amdirlain, but only a single attacking tendril had enough reach to strike into her alcove. Precognition and Danger Sense had chimed at the being''s suddenly relaxing posture. Hyped by their warning, the attack that launched towards her came as if in slow motion; Amdirlain activated Ki State even as she slid aside. Continuing with the repairs, Amdirlain danced before the efforts of the solo tendril that remained the only one to threaten her location. Amdirlain attacked with a melody while keeping most of her attention on fixing the damaged crystal. Though the dual efforts of the Primordial flames and continuing the repairs strained her throat, she persisted in the work. Set ablaze, the burning tendrils beat a panicked tempo against the floor to snuff out the flames. When she¡¯d nearly charred them back to the entity¡¯s body, Amdirlain released the fire and returned solely to the repairs. The blackened ends withdrew through the seams, leaving the formerly muscular form emaciated. Amdirlain worked relentlessly through the list until she fully repaired the last crystal. Even with some containing multiple prisoners, she finished the repairs in a day. Planar Shift returned her to the Outlands and, away from the Eldritch energies, Amdirlain checked the last notification. [Resistance: Eldritch [I](42->43) Protean [S] (69->81) True Song Genesis [M] (7->19) Mental Hardening [G] (1->2) Pain Eater [S] (109->130)] Upon reverting to her Wood Elf form, Amdirlain found the previous tension considerably eased. Mental Hardening allowed Amdirlain to feel the conflict between the self-image from her Soul that she¡¯d tapped to avoid the Eldritch distortion and her preferences. While she still hadn¡¯t resolved it, awareness at least lessened the influence on Protean, which had been the source of her discomfort. ¡°Livia, I¡¯ll return to the suite in a few hours. I¡¯ve got some better news and a logistical problem to discuss. I may have to stay for an extended period on a colder world, with the primary species being Catfolk. Though there are also about two percent Dwarf and Orc variants among the populace,¡± Amdirlain stated, and she released the Message Spell. With a slow breath, Amdirlain took out the lap harp to work through the memories it brought to the surface. As she copied the exercises, it brought forth Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s bittersweet feelings. Drawing on Mental Hardening, she felt the changes within the Skill chipping away at the strength of regrets in the background as she worked. When she wrapped up the session, remembering the hours Gail had put into her harp practice, Amdirlain had to snort. Is it more my attributes influencing my progress, or Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories? [Lap Harp [B] (16->17)] Tucking the harp away, Amdirlain confirmed her concealments were in place, and she started for Xaos. Teleport put her on the forest edge, and she saw only a few farmers moving slowly among the fields, weeding. Passing through the wards, Amdirlain took in the uncluttered road and compared it to the focused air within those training in Nolmar. After the pressure of the Eldritch energies, the town¡¯s laid-back atmosphere brought a sigh of relief from Amdirlain. She teleported to the suite¡¯s garden and paused in consideration. Listening, she found Cyrus discussing Ki techniques with Alfarr in the living room. From what she gathered, Ki Infusion''s ability to work with Mana affinities wasn¡¯t playing nicely with Alfarr¡¯s sorcery. Rather than interrupt them, Amdirlain perched on a bench in the gazebo¡¯s shade. Having already retrieved the low-orbit surveyors above Qil Tris, Amdirlain adjusted their songs before placing them into a higher orbit. With that task completed, she settled down to wait for Livia¡¯s arrival. When Livia showed up with Goxashru and Rana in tow, she seemed braced for an argument. As Livia approached the gazebo, her defensive posture faded, and she frowned in concern. ¡°M¨®eir, it¡¯s good to see you¡¯re intact. Though ?you¡¯re looking physically worn down.¡± Rana nodded. ¡°You look better than last I spoke to you, Amdirlain, but Livia¡¯s right; it¡¯s still noticeable. There is a tension around your eyes and the set of your shoulders.¡± ¡°Some of Gideon¡¯s challenges were harder than I had expected,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she beckoned them to join her in the garden¡¯s airy gazebo. ¡°You mentioned good news. Does it relate to the efforts you¡¯ve undertaken?¡± enquired Livia. Unsure what to say, Amdirlain stuck to the briefest of facts. ¡°What¡¯s important is the outcome. The Titan is purifying Torm¡¯s Soul, but Torm will need time to settle after that¡¯s completed. I¡¯ve got no information on where or what species he¡¯ll be when he reincarnates.¡± ¡°No longer Celestial, but he¡¯s not a Fallen; that¡¯s an improvement, so there is hope to be had,¡± Livia pointed out, and she continued with a brightening mood. ¡°You said you had a logistical challenge?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to figure out an issue with a world being influenced by beings outside the realm. The world has an advanced civilisation but no Pantheon whose servants could help fight them back,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What do these beings want, and how do they even get in?¡± asked Livia. As she considered how to explain the Eldritch beings, Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°The one I fought seemed to want to consume a planet¡¯s life force and allow others of its kind into the realm. I have little information about how they get in, but some use the minds of insane mortals as a bridge.¡± ¡°That¡¯s hardly promising,¡± muttered Livia. ¡°Eldritch beings, their energies twist reality around them; it pushed Protean and Mental Hardening to keep me from crumpling in their presence. That caused the strain you¡¯re seeing,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia winced. ¡°How did those helping you fare?¡± ¡°Mars helped me destroy one that had gained access to a world. He grumbled that he¡¯d had to draw on his Mantle too much to benefit,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Nothing else I handled has needed anyone¡¯s help.¡± ¡°You said the Eldritch beings were imprisoned in fracturing True Song Crystal. How can you repair it unaided?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°I¡¯ve gained an evolution of the Power that is outside the list of what Roher is aware of,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Without it, I¡¯d still be singing to repair the first chamber, but I¡¯ve completed all the prisoners on the list.¡± Livia gave a low whistle. ¡°Is that what Gail meant about your voice being loud?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t mention it to Gail or any of the L¨®m?. I¡¯m still trying to determine how or if they can gain it. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s status with the Titan gave me access to evolved base classes and Power options.¡± ¡°A reward for her former status? She was the only one that didn¡¯t abandon their role, wasn¡¯t she?¡± queried Livia. Orh¨ºthurin ripped up their ability to get better Power evolutions in True Song at that point. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Aware she¡¯d lead Livia into an assumption didn¡¯t stop Amdirlain from nodding. ¡°From my fragments of memory, them ceasing work for the Titan was the tipping point. However, other things are at play. I¡¯m far from regaining all the knowledge or strength I need. Let¡¯s talk about things we can do.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come with you,¡± Livia offered and laughed at the surprised look from Amdirlain. ¡°A Shapeshift Spell will easily give me the appearance of a Catfolk, and I¡¯ve never visited a new world with living beings.¡± ¡°I think that would be a bad idea,¡± protested Amdirlain. Livia¡¯s frown of dissatisfaction spoke volumes. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°From reading between the lines of what Gideon said: they had a war between religions, and then the secular forces stamped out the worship of every god. I don¡¯t know how they did it. Religious persecution normally drives worshippers underground,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe they looked for the holy symbols as you did with Set¡¯s followers,¡± proposed Livia. ¡°That¡¯s possible. I can¡¯t be the first person to have that idea. Or maybe they developed a Spell to determine those with significant faith or something else,¡± countered Amdirlain. Livia clicked her tongue thoughtfully. ¡°You need a Mortal to summon you and stay on the world while you investigate. How about Goxashru accompanies me, and we summon you and Rana? We¡¯ll camp somewhere away from the cities and train while you investigate?¡± ¡°Why Rana as well?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been training Goxashru,¡± stated Livia matter-of-factly. ¡°Or are you planning to disrupt his training while you search?¡± Rana got in before Amdirlain could protest. ¡°I¡¯m happy to come along to train Goxashru.¡± ¡°How many more options did I give you time to plan?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°A few. Is this one doable, or do you see a problem?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain took in the hopeful air from Goxashru and regarded him directly. ¡°What are your thoughts, Goxashru?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a poor Talon for you at present, Elder. Given the words spoken by the Elder kin, I¡¯m not sure why Bahamut considered me worthy to serve you. Whatever I can do to serve your goals is a small price for the honour,¡± replied Goxashru. ¡°There are some locations that should be a comfortable temperature even without the armour I gave you,¡± stated Amdirlain. The tip of Goxashru¡¯s tail started tapping the ground, and Amdirlain resisted the urge to comment. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure they are safe,¡± reassured Rana. ¡°Or at least watch over them while they sleep. Livia can likely outfight me.¡± ¡°I¡¯d best upgrade your equipment before we head off,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°And I¡¯ll construct some defences once we pick a spot.¡± Livia smiled. ¡°You could let us challenge ourselves against the local wildlife.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Of which we know nothing about, but I¡¯ll put the defences under your control. The question is, when can you be ready to go?¡± Livia paused in thought. ¡°Can you give me a week to transition my students?¡± ¡°Do we have enough teachers?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°My Lady sent a contingent of celestials and Fey wizards to assist,¡± said Rana. ¡°How are they finding Xaos?¡± ¡°Xaos itself isn¡¯t an issue. They¡¯re still familiarising themselves with mortals, so Yngvarr has them teaching one-on-one,¡± offered Rana. ¡°I appreciate such help as they can provide,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she caught that she¡¯d automatically avoided saying thank you to a Fey. ¡°A week of lighter duties would likely do me good. With my progress, I might be acceptable on the harp by then.¡± Goxashru¡¯s attention perked up, and his tail tapping turned into a quick swishing. ¡°You have found the gift useful?¡± ¡°It brings up some bittersweet memories, but overall, playing it is relaxing,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re memories I hadn¡¯t previously recalled from my past life, and they offer useful insights.¡± ¡°Not going to give us a demonstration?¡± questioned Livia with a wry smile. ¡°Maybe after I hit Master rank in my Skill with it,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Livia joined in the laughter. ¡°Perfectionist.¡± ¡°Guilty.¡± Lifting an eyebrow, Livia fixed her with a critical look and leaned in to hug her. ¡°No, you¡¯re not.¡± ¡°Everyone is guilty of some misjudgements in life,¡± said Amdirlain as she gently returned the hug. ¡°Now you don¡¯t have to figure out how to kill three demon lords.¡± ¡°Cyrus will be disappointed; maybe we¡¯ll go through with our plans regardless,¡± huffed Livia. * * * * * Amdirlain spent three days resting and singing to restore or adjust plant life on multiple worlds before she went near Nolmar. Though Gideon¡¯s work list wasn¡¯t needed for Torm, Amdirlain found her efforts stirring valuable memories. During each activity, she pushed herself to fine-tune the control she¡¯d gained through the Eldritch opposition. Sitting in one courtyard that was bordered by looming trees, Amdirlain enjoyed the feel of the cool shade. Nearby, Malnir focused on a Zephyr Spell cutting loops through the central space. He frantically wiggled his fingers whenever it threatened to slip out of his control. The twitch of his whiskers sped up whenever it slipped free of his control and sprayed apart the leaves he¡¯d been carefully herding into piles. When the practice grew more routine, Amdirlain settled her harp in her lap and started to play in time to the hurried music of the spinning air. The jumping notes elicited by her light touch had Malnir¡¯s ears flicking her way, but he still focused on the Spell. When the magic¡¯s duration at last elapsed, Malnir sighed in relief and skipped Amdirlain¡¯s way threading between the piles. ¡°Sifu Am, I¡¯ve not seen you for a while,¡± said Malnir as he sat nearby, his posture straight and shoulders back. Amdirlain smiled at the solemn dignity she could see him copying from Yngvarr; her amusement brightened her tone. ¡°I was busy sealing terrors away.¡± ¡°Oh? How scary are they? Would they win a competition for the scariest story?¡± questioned Malnir. Abandoning his controlled posture, he leaned forward, his whiskers twitching. ¡°Not that you have to tell me a tale; I was more trying to start a polite conversation than expecting entertainment.¡± ¡°Has Yngvarr been teaching you Diplomacy amid the magic?¡± questioned Amdirlain, not correcting his assumption that she hadn¡¯t told the truth. ¡°Your library doesn¡¯t have a lot of basic magical texts, so Sifu Yngvarr is filling out lessons while she organises getting enough,¡± informed Malnir. ¡°It has some, doesn¡¯t it?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°But not enough copies to share among all the wizards in training,¡± advised Malnir sadly. Creating scores of memory crystals, Amdirlain loaded each one with her perfect recollection of the introductory texts she¡¯d studied. ¡°If you have Yngvarr check these, she can tell me if other books need to be added.¡± Malnir carefully put them in his belt pouch and studied one intently with a half-lidded gaze. ¡°It has the books I¡¯m waiting to read in it.¡± Wiggling on the spot, Malnir seemed split between talking to her and diving into his reading. Forcing himself to sit still, Malnir carefully put the last crystal into a pouch around his neck instead of at his waist with the others. His solemn attempt to be patient widened Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°You can read it if you want.¡± ¡°That would be ill-mannered,¡± sighed Malnir. ¡°Have you been playing the harp long, Sifu Am?¡± Amdirlain stroked the harp¡¯s frame and considered its glistening energy strings. ¡°I¡¯m trying to refresh myself on how to play it.¡± ¡°You sound better than some bards I¡¯ve heard playing at the inns,¡± informed Malnir. ¡°I¡¯m only in the Journeyman rank for the Skill at present, but I¡¯m progressing fast,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps those bards were simply playing styles of music you didn¡¯t like, but they might have been to the patrons¡¯ tastes.¡± ¡°Maybe. Some Lizardfolk enjoy music that hurts my ears,¡± advised Malnir mournfully, his ears tight across his head. ¡°How are you finding the Water and Air affinities?¡± enquired Amdirlain. His eyes lifting, Malnir sat up straight. ¡°They are very different even in the basic spells I¡¯ve learnt. Water wants to spread out, while Air spells want to keep going in the last direction. Will you teach me more?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m not around when Yngvarr says you¡¯re ready to progress, Aggie has a knack for it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Okay,¡± sighed Malnir. ¡°I¡¯ll let you in on a secret,¡± said Amdirlain. Malnir¡¯s whiskers tweaked, and an eager gleam showed in his eyes. ¡°What?¡± Amdirlain winked and lowered her voice to barely a whisper. ¡°It¡¯s possible to cast Spell lists intended for other Mana affinities.¡± ¡°How?¡± gasped Malnir excitedly. ¡°Consider it that an Affinity allows you to add a particular dye to Mana, but it doesn¡¯t change the Mana itself,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°So it¡¯s more that the colour might make someone look ugly than the garment not fitting,¡± offered Malni. ¡°That¡¯s certainly one way to look at it,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Though you¡¯ll need to get it working in your visualisation of the Spell.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± ¡°Your crystal, please,¡± said Amdirlain, holding her hand. Malnir scrambled to get his crystal back out of the pouch and plopped it on her palm. After adding the Fire Law Spell List to the crystal, Amdirlain returned it with a wink. ¡°The effects will vary, but sometimes in a good way. Either Fire Dart or Fire Bolt with Air Mana delivers differing strength punches that, if aimed right, can knock someone out instead of setting them on fire.¡± Malnir¡¯s eyes widened, and his ears stood upright, quivering with tension. ¡°Good speaking to you, Malnir; enjoy your studies.¡± Looking between the crystal and Amdirlain, Malnir finally squeaked, ¡°Bye, Sifu.¡± As he scampered away, Amdirlain called softly after him. ¡°Just don¡¯t tell Yngvarr I told you.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t!¡± promised Malnir, his whiskers energetically twitching. Only two days later, Amdirlain spotted Malnir smacking Air Dart spells into a target construct. The repurposed Fire Law cantrip wasn¡¯t causing Malnir any trouble as he filled the mental construct with Mana and set it loose. While Malnir¡¯s aim still needed a little work, he¡¯d overcome the mental block of affinities that had hampered Yngvarr. Malnir saw her and gave a wave. ¡°Sifu Yngvarr only had two other books to add to those crystals..¡± ¡°I hope she didn¡¯t spot the extra content in your crystal,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got the physical copies of the books she put into them,¡± replied Malnir softly. ¡°I told her I find reading books more grounding than seeing the images in my mind.¡± ¡°What sort of response did that net you?¡± Malnir smiled. ¡°She said it¡¯s best to be used to both, as the resources sometimes aren¡¯t available in a state we¡¯re used to using. Sifu Yngvarr said she¡¯d once studied a Spell List etched into a stone wall. This isn¡¯t a secret that will get me in trouble with her, right?¡± ¡°Now that you¡¯ve got it working, why don¡¯t we see if Yngvarr has time to watch your demonstration,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d feel better about it; I don¡¯t enjoy keeping secrets from her,¡± admitted Malnir. Amdirlain sent a Message to Yngvarr asking her to spare them time in the practice courtyard Malnir was using. When Yngvarr turned up, she fixed Amdirlain with a suspicious look. ¡°I wondered who had Malnir acting shifty.¡± Malnir squeaked in alarm but settled down at Amdirlain¡¯s ready laugher. ¡°Malnir, would you please demonstrate the Air Dart Spell you were casting?¡± requested Amdirlain. Peering up at Yngvarr, he gave her a shy smile. Listening to his public thoughts, Amdirlain shared Malnir¡¯s setup of the Spell Form with Yngvarr. Instead of a breeze filling the formation, Malnir imagined the energy as a Mousekin slipping through a complicated pattern in a burrow¡¯s passages. As it raced through the tunnels, it took on the metaphysical air pressure rubbing through its fur and surged forward to strike the target once Malnir completed the Spell. ¡°Mana as a living being,¡± murmured Yngvarr. ¡°Not sure you¡¯d be able to do the same with water.¡± ¡°Tunnels flood, and you have to push the water out,¡± offered Malnir. ¡°Sifu Am says that Affinity is an aspect the Mana takes on, like a garment or someone being wet when they hop from a pool.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t hurt to experiment and find out what works best for you,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Not giving up hope on me?¡± questioned Yngvarr. ¡°I¡¯ll get you casting spells with different affinities to the Spell List one day,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Yngvarr snorted. ¡°Just having my apprentice show me up in the meantime.¡± ¡°Different people find different things motivating,¡± Amdirlain teased. ¡°Like your list,¡± quipped Yngvarr. ¡°It almost had people hunting demon lords,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she caught Malnir¡¯s bug-eyed gaze. ¡°What do you mean, almost?¡± retorted Yngvarr. ¡°Cyrus is still planning it with Livia.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave your apprentice to teach you how to cast spells with the wrong Mana type,¡± said Amdirlain and placing the harp away, she rose. ¡°I¡¯m going to hassle Enrig and Callen for their next lesson instead of always leaving them in Cyrus¡¯ care.¡± 307 - Used to know me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Amdirlain paused with her mind outstretched to turn the time-lapse image of Quil Tris. The city''s ruins sat far from other occupied lands, cracked stonework peeking up beneath the layers of snow. The surveyor''s perspective had drawn Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the regular formation beneath the snow. Yet it had only been at the end of the recording loop that a gust had cleared snow from a broken turret. Isolating the song within the crystal took some effort to tweak; the music of old worked stone blended in almost seamlessly with the bedrock. Finally, the slain corpse of a metropolis showed within the hologram before them. The death notes of thousands of phantasms presented the progression of door-to-door street fighting. Amdirlain remembered such battles were supposed to be difficult and often bogged down. Yet this battle had swept across the expansive city in hours, showing the overwhelming strength of the attackers. Livia¡¯s gaze hadn¡¯t left the images, and she raised a puzzled brow when Amdirlain cursed. Amdirlain gestured to the lights among the collapsed buildings. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of people dying with enough rage to leave an undead behind. Who knows how many more died but couldn¡¯t muster emotion besides resignation?¡± ¡°I thought you were looking for hospitable locations for the three of us to camp while waiting for you?¡± enquired Livia. Shaking her head, Amdirlain smiled at Livia. ¡°I retrieved the surveyors after I started back at Nolmar and found a range of camping regions the same night.¡± ¡°That was four days ago; why didn¡¯t you show me them sooner?¡± protested Livia. ¡°You said you needed a week to transition students,¡± noted Amdirlain. Livia nodded. ¡°You could still have shown me the spots you¡¯d found.¡± ¡°Not spots, regions,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°The main reason I hadn¡¯t shown you was because I was looking to narrow the possibilities further. I also had other things I was working on. Among them, I added more surveyors to watch the regions I picked as possibilities.¡± ¡°Did you find anything interesting?¡± Livia asked, leaning forward curiously. ¡°No, these new ones are more like sentries; they¡¯ll send alerts, not just watch. Though I do need to test them more, I want a reliable lookout for your campsite,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The area I¡¯m considering is remote, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to be careful. I got them working to transmit images¡ªeven across planes, so I don¡¯t have to retrieve them¡ªbut also to watch for certain activities. Particular creatures or anything moving towards a specific location, that sort of stuff, lots of control layers to test.¡± Amdirlain brought out the crystal plates connected to each surveyor and displayed images of the planet¡¯s surface. Have to see how fast the spy satellite upgrade decays the surveyors. Tapping one image, Amdirlain caused it to zoom in and smiled at Livia¡¯s look of complete surprise. ¡°This is happening right now?¡± gasped Livia. Her gaze danced between the five high-definition images displayed above the plates. When Amdirlain zoomed in on moving dots on an image, they became a goat-like beast grazing on a hillside. ¡°Two regions are along coastal zones, and three are inland on the continents,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got a river, lake, or hill region to choose from inland.¡± Amdirlain was about to go into more details when a Message orb from Roher appeared beside her. ¡°We have the song ready and have tested moving a smaller structure with the same protections. Isa would feel more comfortable if you and Gail assisted her with the Anar parts.¡± Banishing the orb, Amdirlain gave a dissatisfied grunt and frowned at the blade of emotions that twisted inside of her. Fighting with excitement at the news, anger and jealousy spat a molten venom through her being. ¡±Is something wrong, M¨®eir?¡± asked Livia, and she rested a hand on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. Exhaling slowly, Amdirlain smoothed her expression back into calm lines. ¡°Roher thinks they¡¯re ready to move the royal tower.¡± ¡°Then why were you scowling?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°It seems I have undealt-with emotions on the matter,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know if the jealousy is mine or Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories coming to the fore. When I recall things from her past, it''s like I¡¯m there, yet it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve felt emotions that might be hers related to current events.¡± ¡°Are you sure they''re hers? You looked angry, and that¡¯s not completely out of character for you. The royal couple committed to an agreement with Baln¨¦rith and won¡¯t have experienced time¡¯s passage. Their people were stuck slowly decaying in the Abyss because of the agreement, yet they got off easy,¡± proposed Livia. ¡°Not to mention that once they¡¯re released, the Abyss will still have its hold on you. How is that fair?¡± Amdirlain started to protest but stopped at Livia¡¯s understanding nod. ¡°Make them earn it,¡± advised Livia sternly. ¡°You¡¯re helping them get off lightly; make them earn it.¡± The steel in Livia¡¯s tone took Amdirlain aback. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Weregild is about restoring balance. Someone doesn¡¯t knowingly have to have contributed to the suffering of others to need to make restitution. They, however, agreed to Baln¨¦rith¡¯s arrangement, and everyone else suffered. Yet they will be free of their stasis and then free of the Abyss. Correct?¡± ¡°If all goes well,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she placed hands atop the plates. ¡°I¡¯ll leave these crystals with you to check at different times. They¡¯ll work for you, Rana, or Goxashru.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject,¡± objected Livia. ¡°Gail found the And¨²n? to be arrogant. Where would they have gotten that arrogance from?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°They didn¡¯t get it just from the L¨®m?.¡± ¡°Yes, but right now you¡¯re talking about royalty from what you called a decaying culture, having gone to seed from the heights of its power,¡± repeated Livia. ¡°If you don¡¯t make them earn it, do you think good will come?¡± Livia reached out and meaningfully tapped beside the closest plate. ¡°They¡¯ll need to move to a planet with a large enough civilisation that Baln¨¦rith can¡¯t just go after them,¡± noted Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°Perhaps a shielded world under threat from Eldritch beings? They can at least isolate their locations for you?¡± ¡°They¡¯d be able to hear the dissonance and construct barriers to restrain them without getting close,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°And save you searching among the billion Catfolk yourself,¡± suggested Livia. ¡°How do you know I wasn¡¯t interested in playing detective?¡± asked Amdirlain. Livia shrugged. ¡°In that case, it doesn¡¯t stop you from participating in the search.¡± ¡°When moving worlds, the L¨®m? and Anar normally migrated to warmer worlds. Moving them back to where they came from on Veht? will likely be easier since they grew the buildings there, and the crystal might retain some harmonics with the world.¡± ¡°The ancestral lands of the Roma and other cultures?¡± asked Livia. ¡°I don¡¯t have enough memories to know exactly what region, but somewhere in what I¡¯d call Europe,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Grinning, Amdirlain retrieved surveyors from one of the Formithian planets she¡¯d been investigating and rapidly deployed them over Veht?. ¡°Oops, I used gates.¡± As the last Gate closed, Livia rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re an unrepentant reprobate.¡± ¡°Gates created with True Song; the wards don¡¯t even ripple when they activate,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia¡¯s brow furrowed. ¡°It''s the principle of the thing, M¨®eir.¡± ¡°I know, I¡¯m breaking all the rules and it gets your judge¡¯s hat bent,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Judges don¡¯t wear hats,¡± corrected Livia. ¡°I know. Anyway, have fun studying the regions of Qil Tris,¡± stated Amdirlain before a location¡¯s theme took her to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Opening gates above planets was one thing, but Amdirlain had no intention of targeting anywhere in the Abyss from Xaos. Her next Gate targeted the edge of the Grotto they¡¯d used for decades, and the familiar cavern¡¯s edge appeared. When Amdirlain stepped through, the purification field settled across her. This far from the Grotto¡¯s centre, it was an easily ignored itch and Amdirlain advised Roher of her arrival. When Roher appeared, he had Isa in tow. True Sight showed her angelic body compressed inside her Anar form. Before Amdirlain had a chance to greet them, Isa skipped forward to wrap Amdirlain in a hug. ¡°Howdy, stranger. Sarah not with you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s been spending time with Gaius, seeing if they can work things out between them,¡± advised Amdirlain, carefully returning Isa¡¯s hug. Isa grimaced. ¡°I wish her luck with making that relationship functional.¡± ¡°Some people¡¯s spice is another person¡¯s vanilla,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Gaius has been speaking to Sarah since she went to help Gail, and they have time to figure it out. I¡¯ve been trying to stay out of it, so let''s move on to the plan with the tower. How did the testing go?¡± ¡°Straightforward, we were all keyed up and ready for things to go wrong,¡± advised Roher. ¡°None of us had moved materials both in stasis and out of phase before, but our only issues were early on.¡± Curious about what they¡¯d done, Amdirlain motioned for them to tell her more. Isa nodded. ¡°We tested the songs with some fractured walls I still had to replace, first out of phase, and then with both states applied. At that point, it needed some fine-tuning, but once that got resolved, we progressed to food supplies without additional issues. The latest step was using structures around a tree, and we moved both without issue.¡± ¡°Some caves have fairly large trees. We moved more biological material than represented by those in the tower,¡± stated Roher. ¡°Do you have a place to move it to?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We expanded a cavern, laid out structures along the edge to ensure it would count as part of the settlement, and put in purification repeaters,¡± advised Roher. ¡°How has your Power¡¯s progression been going?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be able to contribute more than I could before,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve gained a Power evolution.¡± Roher gave her a brilliant smile. ¡°Congratulations! Will you tell me which of the paths you earned?¡± ¡°None of the ones you told me about,¡± replied Amdirlain, and Roher blinked in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it after we free everyone from the Abyss.¡± ¡°Everyone, including yourself?¡± enquired Roher softly. Amdirlain nodded slowly. ¡°Yes. Until then, knowledge of it might risk me. Do you have a crystal with the song on you?¡± Roher returned her nod, his expression turning solemn. ¡°I¡¯ll keep any word of your evolution between us then.¡± ¡°Your species'' evolution will be interesting,¡± gushed Isa, and she gave Amdirlain a broad wink. ¡°That¡¯s what we¡¯re talking about, right? The Power of your species evolution.¡± ¡°Yes, the Power of my species'' evolution will be substantial. I don¡¯t think I mentioned the details Gideon provided me once I reached the original cap of levels he discussed,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Roher presented her with a crystal, and Amdirlain quickly scanned through the song''s main parts before returning to review it? in full. ¡°We thought it would be good to get practice with a choir and shift some things about before we try to move the tower.¡± clarified Roher. ¡°We¡¯ll add wards like those we can sense from within the phased tower to the test structures.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Alright, let''s get started,¡± said Amdirlain. Roher hesitated at her proclamation. ¡°I know you can¡¯t come too close, so we¡¯ve created a location that enables the choir to position near you while keeping you safe. I¡¯ll do a last check and start gathering the others.¡± Roher teleported away, leaving Isa with Amdirlain. ¡°How are you and Ilya doing?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯ll be happier once we¡¯re not always underground. Ilya¡¯s sparring at present, so good timing for this conversation,¡± replied Isa before a Message buzzed from Roher. ¡°How about I take us to the cavern where we¡¯ll get the tower to appear?¡± ¡°As long as the purification song is only as strong as here,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Isa¡¯s usual smile disappeared. ¡°Yeah, no way I¡¯m risking hurting you with the purification field. I¡¯m unsure why Roher wanted to do a last check; we¡¯d been over it half a dozen times.¡± ¡°Life for us got weird,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she let Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s form come forth and noticed Isa¡¯s gaze catch on her electric blue hair. Her bright smile returned, and Isa reached out to tug a strand of hair. ¡°Indeed it did little miss electric hippy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m hardly a hippy,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°Your hair colour reminded me of that album name but, except for the colouration, you look like Mori¡¯s memories of Orh¨ºthurin,¡± replied Isa. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in your hands,¡± agreed Amdirlain, consciously lowering her resistance as she felt Isa¡¯s Teleport enfold them. They reappeared on a ledge far up the side of a domed cavern nearly a kilometre high, and Amdirlain felt a light touch from a purification field buzz across her skin. ¡°We set this up so we¡¯d be practising all our test runs in a chamber fit to recover the tower,¡± explained Isa. ¡°The song ensures only the out-of-phase material is transported.¡± ¡°A few hundred demons appearing in the purification field would be a fireworks display,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Once the L¨®m? settlements are out of the Abyss, I might use purification fields across Moloch¡¯s towns. I¡¯ve still got to see if I can track down other transformation sites under his control.¡± Isa hesitated and brushed a hand across Amdirlain¡¯s cheek before surprising her with another embrace. ¡°I got the news about Torm. I¡¯m so sorry. Can you forgive me?¡± ¡°Forgive you for what?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not wording the wish better; I know you¡¯ve got to be mad at me,¡± insisted Isa. ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you,¡± protested Amdirlain sincerely. ¡°They would have become demons if you hadn¡¯t intervened. What did you hear? I told Livia and Sarah that Torm would get reincarnated.¡± Pushing Amdirlain back to arm¡¯s length, Isa fixed her with a serious look. ¡°It¡¯s not what I heard, it''s that you¡¯ve barely spoken to me since you got free of the Planar Lock. I miss talking daily like we used to after work.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not mad at you,¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not a Hidden anymore, so if I share the weird things I¡¯ve learnt, someone can read your mind.¡± The serious look on Isa¡¯s face transformed into an amusing frown of confusion. ¡°What sort of weird things?¡± Amdirlain kept herself composed and tried not to laugh at the emotions shifting across Isa¡¯s expression. ¡°I also can¡¯t tell you that because someone can now read your mind. You¡¯ve been busy shoring up the L¨®m? settlements and working with Roher to rescue their royalty.¡± ¡°Paranoid much,¡± grumbled Isa. ¡°It''s only paranoia if someone isn¡¯t out to get you,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re not paranoid by now, you¡¯re not paying attention.¡± ¡°Fine, then moving the tower is going to be a pain in the butt and not go smoothly,¡± huffed Isa. Amdirlain smirked. ¡°That¡¯s not paranoia, you¡¯re just trying to do a reverse jinx.¡± ¡°Critic,¡± retorted Isa, and she snorted in mock disdain. ¡°Have you retrieved more memories?¡± Lifting an eyebrow at another sudden topic shift, Amdirlain waited for Isa to continue. ¡°Some of Mori¡¯s memories are weird; I¡¯ve used meditation techniques that Roher recommended for recovering memories. Some memories were day-to-day life with a weird perspective of time, but I¡¯ve gotten flashbacks of fancy court gatherings.¡± ¡°Remembering parties, that¡¯s about right for you, Isa,¡± commented Amdirlain. Isa frowned. ¡°Except Mori was always assessing openings in people¡¯s postures to use against them if it came to a fight. I felt she was doing it to keep her mind sharp instead of being bored out of her skull.¡± ¡°To see an opening through their eyes,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, all the way to scoop out your brain,¡± snorted Isa. ¡°Then there was you, or Orh¨ºthurin, moving among the gatherings. A hunting cat with claws only restrained through her desire, not any respect for those present.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin feels like she was angry a lot,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure her restraint at the gathering would have felt thin to those assembled.¡± ¡°I remembered that she killed her daughter at a court gathering,¡± blurted Isa. ¡°¨®lneth had this haughty expression, and I remember she was speaking to the new King and Queen. I don¡¯t know how many other kings and queens had been elected since Mori¡¯s mother left the throne.¡± ¡°What?!¡± gasped Amdirlain. Suddenly the bittersweet memories of ¨®lneth¡¯s laughter sent a chill up her spine. ¡°I can¡¯t even remember why; I¡¯ve only recalled a fragment. ¨®lneth¡¯s lips are moving, but I can¡¯t remember the words. Then Orh¨ºthurin was suddenly there, and it stands out in the memory that her song was silent; even the wind caused by her motion. She¡¯d stepped past two knights, cleaved her daughter in two, and then killed all ¨®lneth¡¯s knights before her body hit the ground.¡± ¡°Something must have made her furious,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°No, she looked disappointed and resigned,¡± Isa reported sadly. ¡°Mori¡¯s feelings were faint, but she only seemed to be relieved. We need to discuss a few things while waiting for Roher.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°Stalker boy didn¡¯t get collected by the effect I helped the choirs prepare in the crystals; Moloch¡¯s picked him up.¡± ¡°Fuck! Guess he was going to stand out with no other damned around him,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I did what I could to stop him from suffering further, but the Titan¡¯s curse made it so that I couldn¡¯t put him to sleep completely or collect his Soul.¡± ¡°Moloch¡¯s got him stored in some sort of treasure house,¡± advised Isa. ¡°The choirs¡¯ songs have detected him rooting around in his awareness for information on Sarah and myself.¡± ¡°I messed up and didn''t keep it simple; I didn¡¯t even try to move him physically. Why only you two?¡± Isa shrugged helplessly. ¡°No idea. Moloch said a few things to him, but he doesn¡¯t speak Abyssal, so it was meaningless, harsh sounds. Moloch has been using images of the two of us that the stalker boy recognises as being from his memories. Each time Moloch visits, he¡¯s been provoking more memories to the forefront. Besides digging up information on us, he¡¯s also been probing our stalker¡¯s brain about modern culture and technology.¡± ¡°Roher and the others can get through the wards?¡± ¡°Like a hot knife through butter, since he¡¯s there to serve as an anchor point for the songs,¡± confirmed Isa. ¡°Then we¡¯ll do something about Moloch¡¯s trophy after we get through with the tower,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°How long has he had him for? ¡°Not sure,¡± admitted Isa. Erwarth and Gail appeared through a Gate at the cavern¡¯s base, and Gail immediately looked their way and waved. ¡°Munchkin alert,¡± murmured Isa, and Gail¡¯s wave turned into a raised middle finger. ¡°You still have big ears,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and the pair appeared on the ledge nearby. ¡°I take it we¡¯re all singing from up here?¡± asked Gail, and she exchanged hugs with them. ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and a few more figures appeared in the cavern. ¡°Looks like Roher is still gathering people up.¡± ¡°Herding cats. I bet some are arguing if we¡¯re ready,¡± acknowledged Isa. ¡°Since we have time to talk, I¡¯ve some news. Gail, you won¡¯t be the only living Anar shortly,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re going to be a mum,¡± gasped Gail excitedly. ¡°When? Who? I can¡¯t wait to tell Mother.¡± Amdirlain sputtered and burst out laughing. A moment later, her arms wrapped around her sides as if to keep herself together against the force of the laughter growing louder by the second. Gail pouted, but a glint of mischief showed in her gaze. ¡°You could have just said no.¡± Snorting back the laughter, Amdirlain shook her head, her eyes gleaming with glee. ¡°Brat! The Titan has released six Anar souls to be reborn to L¨®m?.¡± ¡°What?¡± gasped Erwarth, her expression flicking through a range of emotions. While Erwarth started to look faintly appalled, Gail clapped excitedly. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s going to pour salt in the wounds,¡± whispered Isa. ¡°If the L¨®m? hadn¡¯t gotten themselves trapped in the Abyss, the Anar souls might have been reborn sooner.¡± Foreign grief rose and shoved past Pain Eater¡¯s control darkening Amdirlain¡¯s vision. ¡°Yeah, the Anar souls in the Titan¡¯s care knew the L¨®m? had given up on them. After being abandoned on the battlefield, they felt no obligation to stay and risk rebirth among their betrayers.¡± Erwarth grimaced at Amdirlain¡¯s phrasing, but then reluctantly nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± ¡°None of it is fair,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. ¡°We were all pawns in another¡¯s game.¡± Isa nudged Amdirlain. ¡°Going to get big and strong so you can crush anyone that tries it again?¡± ¡°On that note, I¡¯ve figured out a way to get to the Material Plane, and the device worked for summoning me. I can set one up for Ilya and yourself if she wants to visit where her family¡¯s village was located.¡± ¡°You remembered?¡± breathed Isa. ¡°Of course I did,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Forgetting is the problem now.¡± Isa squealed and clasped Amdirlain¡¯s hands. ¡°Yeah, fine. Perfect memories are fine, but you thought about what I said.¡± ¡°Ilya¡¯s important to you; that makes her important to me,¡± stated Amdirlain. Stepping closer, Isa squeezed Amdirlain into another hug, making her aware of how much physically weaker Isa was in comparison. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Isa. ¡°You¡¯re being particularly clingy today,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Not getting enough cuddle time with Ilya?¡± ¡°Rude much? I¡¯m happy to see you, that¡¯s all,¡± protested Isa. ¡°Why are you being mean to me?¡± ¡°Maybe because I¡¯m a meanie?¡± ¡°No, no, that¡¯s Ilya, not you,¡± laughed Isa, and she turned to Gail. ¡°Is Nano? still being mean to you, Gail?¡± ¡°He¡¯s a surly bear,¡± agreed Gail, and her eyes narrowed at Isa¡¯s suddenly smug smile. ¡°Hardly the same thing as Ilya beating you half to oblivion to get you to train harder.¡± ¡°How are things with the village?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Usual fun with the council, though the new Guild Master will take some getting used to,¡± advised Gail. ¡°Did you have to steal Alfarr away?¡± ¡°I thought Alfarr had trained a replacement?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°He did, but it''s not the same as working with Alfarr. While he¡¯s not obstructive, he doesn¡¯t argue when I can tell he disagrees; it''s frustrating,¡± huffed Gail. ¡°I don¡¯t know everything, and Alfarr used to catch things I¡¯d missed or suggest improvements.¡± ¡°It can be awkward when a team dynamic shifts. Have someone drop some hints,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Gail nodded. ¡°Nikias has tried a few times. I¡¯ll ask Phile if she¡¯s got any ideas on how to get his attention.¡± Roher appeared near them on the ledge and signalled the others at ground level to join them. Once everybody had shifted location to the deep ledge, he turned to address those gathered. ¡°We¡¯ll run through the tests we conducted previously to ensure everyone is on the same page and to allow Amdirlain to run through the songs with us a few times. If everything goes smoothly with those, we¡¯ll discuss whether we proceed today, or conduct further testing,¡± stated Roher. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t, we¡¯ll have some repeated tests and discussions before we continue. Questions?¡± After some initial timing hiccups in the first song that were easily managed, one test after another proceeded smoothly. The anticipation was high when they returned a looming tree to its starting point without a single out-of-phase leaf left behind. Looking between them, Roher opened an elevated scrying window and displayed the interior of the out-of-phase tower to aid their focus. ¡°From the top.¡± As the L¨®m? choir began, the energy of their sturdy notes ran up Amdirlain¡¯s spine. Gail tapped her foot to the tempo of their audible notes and nervously interlaced her fingers with Amdirlain¡¯s. One moment, the domed chamber was empty, and as the last round pressed itself into the Plane''s reality, the royal tower was there. Its state created the slightest speckling of haze in the air, but Resonance allowed Amdirlain to hear the crystal walls and temporal confinement¡ªalong with the key. ¡°Do you hear that?¡± asked Amdirlain as she passed her insights to Gail¡¯s mind. ¡°I had made out parts of it; thanks for the rest,¡± replied Gail. ¡°By my Royal Authority as Anar Queen, ¡®Unseal¡¯¡± The others had been holding their breath at their success, so the words echoed within the silent chamber. Fractures of energy and space rippled through the haze. The words and authority of Gail¡¯s Class bounced through the long-activated protections, setting off a chain reaction. When it at last came to a halt, a pristine tower of midnight blue and silver trim stood revealed, its peak just below the dome¡¯s arch. The air thrummed with the slowly ebbing forces that had held it locked outside the touch of time¡¯s decay. [Achievement: Royal Vault Cracker Details: You have contributed to retrieving the L¨®m? royalty from where Baln¨¦rith stashed them. Note: Loyalists and traitors alike can now roam the tower¡¯s halls.] Despite only a hundred L¨®m? having gathered, the cheering of those on the ledge with them was a deafening roar. With Gideon¡¯s warning, Amdirlain¡¯s attention wasn¡¯t on the celebrations. Seeking confirmation, Amdirlain tuned Resonance and listened for what she hoped wasn¡¯t there. She quickly caught a multitude of sour notes from pride turned bitter within the tower. ¡°Will you wait for us to talk to them so they might express their thanks?¡± asked Roher. ¡°Aren¡¯t you assuming they¡¯ll have thanks for me at all? They don¡¯t know what has passed, nor do they know me now. The protections were activated during the tower¡¯s original Planar Shift, so they¡¯re unaware of Baln¨¦rith''s betrayal. Please explain the situation to them and get them to annul the agreement with her,¡± said Amdirlain, with her attention fixed on Roher. ¡°Amdirlain, please stay,¡± requested Gail. ¡°They know who you used to be, but they¡¯ve never met me in any lifetime.¡± ¡°You should also leave, since we don¡¯t know the loyalties of all those inside. We should let Roher or someone else talk to their royalty for now,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°This part isn¡¯t for us to sort out.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Roher. ¡°I know it''s not normally good manners to listen to another''s song, but Gideon says: ¡®Those loyal and traitors alike can roam the tower¡¯s halls¡¯. These are not kinfolk that have shared your struggles and sorrows. What were you all like half a million years ago?¡± Her words had troubled glances exchanged between the L¨®m? close enough to hear, and dozens of messages went out. In moments, the chamber¡¯s floor was awash with armoured knights. ¡°Our thanks for your help. We¡¯ll investigate and be in touch,¡± advised Roher. Gail''s gaze fixed on the tower, and her expression twisted in dismay. ¡°So many sour notes could be from the losing battle, Auntie Am.¡± ¡°There are too many notes of long-soured pride among them,¡± disagreed Amdirlain, and her statement caused Roher¡¯s brows to furrow in concern. There wasn¡¯t a further objection before Gail transported herself away, and the song¡¯s echo signalled the Elemental Plane of Earth. Amdirlain gave Roher a respectful nod. ¡°I¡¯ll be dealing with an issue on a planet for a bit, but let me know when you¡¯re ready to move the settlements.¡± ¡°We¡¯re thinking of leaving them behind and only taking our possessions. The buildings have been in the Abyss too long, their foundations are rooted in its soil. We might get you to help on another matter if Isa¡¯s aid isn¡¯t enough,¡± advised Roher. ¡°I¡¯ll need your help to deal with the stalker at some point. Just let me know when you need my help, and we can do that afterwards,¡± replied Amdirlain before Planar Shift moved her to Limbo. The eerie maelstrom of its sky was a suitable dark backdrop for her mood. 308 - New in town Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Xaos When Amdirlain arrived in the suite¡¯s living area, she found Livia, Rana, and Goxashru looking over the surveyor¡¯s images. After exchanging their greetings, Livia jumped straight in. ¡°Did things go well?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve retrieved and opened the royal tower. Gideon gave an achievement for it, but I think the main reason was to let us know not everyone in it was trustworthy. Gail, Isa, and I left the L¨®m? to sort out their mess,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Are they going to be okay?¡± asked Livia. The smile Amdirlain had given her became tinged with uncertainty. ¡°The L¨®m? currently living in the Abyss are much stronger than they used to be, but nothing is certain. I passed on Gideon¡¯s warning, and they called knights to secure the tower. Now the important thing for us is, have you three picked a campsite?¡± Goxashru tapped an extended claw against the river area¡¯s display. ¡°This place seems preferable. Their water vessels seem to go in straight lines between cities, but we can¡¯t assume that is always the case, and some might follow coastlines. The hills and lakes are higher locations and could get colder if I understand what you mean by the planet¡¯s tilt not changing general seasons.¡± Amdirlain clapped. ¡°Alright, riverside it is. Are you folks ready to head out?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got items and spells that can provide Goxashru and me with food and water if the local resources aren¡¯t palatable,¡± replied Livia. ¡°There is nothing further I need,¡± Goxashru answered. ¡°I¡¯m ready anytime you are,¡± advised Rana. ¡°I¡¯m not strong enough to require a summoning; an open Gate and an invitation by a Mortal is enough.¡± ¡°First, we need to move out of town,¡± said Livia firmly. Fixing her with an innocent smile, Amdirlain offered her a new crystal device. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll do it that way. This device should summon me into a ritual circle without intentional flaws¡ªI won¡¯t be sure if it''s perfect until I see it properly. I¡¯d like to ensure I can get out of them with True Song.¡± Looking at the crystal like a poisonous snake, Livia still took it from her. ¡°Very well. A perfect circle is too much like that Artificer¡¯s goal.¡± Amdirlain gave Livia a reassuring hug. ¡°I¡¯m learning if I can safeguard myself; we can wipe it out afterwards. I should have offered Enrig and Callen a chance to come along, but I don¡¯t want to disrupt the garrison.¡± ¡°Cyrus has them under control, though he¡¯s more here to teach you than anyone else,¡± Livia commented. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°And here I am, running around the realm. How terrible of me!¡± ¡°Sharing a route to enlightenment still brings him enjoyment,¡± advised Livia. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll miss his practice target.¡± Amdirlain laughed, and when the others rose, she teleported them to a meadow within the outlands. Listening to the crystal device that displayed the river, Amdirlain opened a Gate on the outer curve of a developing oxbow lake. The greenish-blue water was clean enough to see assorted fishes swimming within it. Though the spot Amdirlain picked was among the long grasses that spread out from this spot of the riverbank, a thick woodland showed downstream. ¡°Rana, would you extend me an Allegiance Bond so I can invite you through the Gate?¡± Livia asked. ¡°Of course. I¡¯m sure neither your Liege nor my Lady will object,¡± replied Rana, and Amdirlain heard a connection form between them. Livia stalked across the threshold, poised to respond to danger. Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop her but focused on extending Resonance. It picked out some predatory creatures¡ªsimple beasts among the fields and woods. Their strengths weren¡¯t a danger to Livia, or even Goxashru, unless they completely let their guard down. Which was a habit that Amdirlain was sure they weren¡¯t about to start. The others followed when Livia cleared the Gate, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t let it close until she heard the summoning device activate. The strength of the circle translated into a wider passage across planes, but the rainbow-hued surface of the tube and final transfer were still the same. When Amdirlain emerged within the circle, its mirrored barrier reflected her Fallen form. Her electric blue hair and bronze-gold skin almost glowed in the illumination shed from the flames that enfolded her wings. True Sight showed a smooth barrier of Mana along the summoning circle¡¯s inner edge. Examining it intently, Amdirlain didn¡¯t detect any of the ripples that her previous version had possessed. [Perception [M] (79->80)] Rather than try the barrier at all, Amdirlain let out a cutting note aimed across the surface of the winding runes and watched the barrier wink out. As the energy faded, she took in the scents of wildflowers, tree sap, river, and moist earth. The microfauna and flora¡ªabsent from the Outlands¡ªwere in abundance. Their melodies possessed greater resilience to the long cold periods than she¡¯d heard on other worlds. ¡°Was that your last idea for testing?¡± asked Livia hopefully. ¡°For now. I might have to try another circle that prevents sounds from crossing its barrier. At present, it seems even a flawless barrier of a normal summoning circle is vulnerable to True Song,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia nodded happily. ¡°Then I¡¯m less worried about you venturing near the locals; most containment spells I know let you communicate with those caught.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stay with you for a few days while we assess the local area in person. Where did you want your base camp?¡± ¡°Towards the top of a rise in case there is any flooding,¡± replied Livia, pointing directly away from the riverbank ¡°Once I get a compound built to your liking, you guys can explore, and I¡¯ll pick out a local form,¡± decided Amdirlain. It ended up being five days before Amdirlain was out of excuses to linger further. Their compound was a single-story version of Nolmar with a courtyard, enclosed training hall, and rooms beyond. The structure¡¯s outer wards had dealt with assorted threats, from small venomous insects to a metallic-scaled bull. The latter¡¯s rage-filled assaults had finally triggered a lethal response. Goxashru had quickly determined that the meat beneath its scales was tough but edible. While they settled in, Amdirlain had taken time to scry on some Catfolk settlements and pick out a body and clothing to help blend in. Checking on individuals mentally held in a deep slumber might be morally dubious, but it had allowed her to read their forms and clothing with Protean. The Catfolk variant was more Human-like in their stance, not possessing extended ankles, but each sported a tail long enough to curl about their ankles. Opting for a typical dark blue fur, Amdirlain had found it provided excellent nighttime camouflage. She created a worn, dark red leather top laced along the sides, accompanying dark grey pants, and a travel pack. The locals'' open-toed boots protected the soles of their feet while allowing their clawed toes to bite into the ground. Moving in the new form wasn¡¯t an issue but control of its automated responses was different. Unlike the adults Amdirlain had observed, her long tufted ears still twitched like a child¡¯s at any noise. Likewise, the whiskers of her adopted form flexed at the slightest shift in air pressure. Still, their high sensitivity was both helpful and a challenge. Rana had failed to creep up on Amdirlain without her trying to listen to his song or mind; a pace even a fraction too quick was all it took to carry a detectable breeze. Amdirlain had eventually opted for a slightly taller form than Livia, causing a narrow-eyed reaction. ¡°Rub it in. You¡¯re going to be short for one of the Catfolk.¡± ¡°I plan to pass as a teenager looking for an apprenticeship. There are nomadic aspects to many of their cultures,¡± explained Amdirlain. She flipped her tail up, clasped it in both hands and blinked shyly at Livia. ¡°Plus, don¡¯t I look adorable?¡± ¡°Shoo, you!¡± proclaimed Livia, laughing even as she reached to rub Amdirlain¡¯s tufted ears. Teleport placed Amdirlain on the edge of an orchard. The dawn was lightening the sky, and she could hear workers beginning to move among the trees closer to the farmhouse. Beyond the last line of trees, she had a clear view of a busy dual-lane highway that ran out of the foothills behind her and sliced through fields of strange grains. The surveyor¡¯s view showed its path included fields, a few towns, and a large metropolis nearly two hundred kilometres away. Though she was likelier to go unnoticed in the metropolis, Amdirlain wanted a small test run of mingling with the locals first. Slipping past the last row of trees to the orchard¡¯s fence line, Amdirlain enjoyed the early morning ripe fruit scents. Here and there among the fields before the town stood various strange hexagonal buildings. Farmhouses, barns, and storage sheds only varied by size, doors, and window placements. The structures were made from identically sized hexagonal blocks of silvery grey stone. Amdirlain nodded, pleased with the variety of interior tastes hidden beneath the consistent exteriors. The alchemical nature of the building material was clear from their Resonance and how their energy interacted with the building¡¯s Radiant wards. Undead issue? As she moved towards the sealed edge of the highway that the orchard bunted against, Amdirlain watched rune-powered vehicles pass. Each vehicle appeared unique, from elongated tear drops to solid blocky trucks. Even those that were similarly shaped bore different imagery along their sides. Some seemed like artistic touches, but others were pictures of individuals or products. The metal shell of each concealed a host of individually etched runes, not just to power the vehicle but to protect those within. The smallest she saw was about the size of a family sedan, while the biggest was a fourteen-wheeler. Some machines were ¡®steam-powered¡¯ but still travelled eighty kilometres or more an hour. Others had cores of elemental energy powering them directly, and the mechanisms varied as wildly as their means of propulsion. Some floated on cushions of air, water, or enchanted metal plates, while others still had pistons and gears at work to power wheels. Amdirlain had only been walking along the sealed shoulder of the highway for a few minutes when attention came her way. A sedan-sized vehicle riding an air cushion pulled off the highway ahead of her. As it came to a halt, a strip of yellow lights appeared atop its roof and boot, and a brown and black-furred male Catfolk slid from the shoulder side of the vehicle. Amdirlain took in the enchanted baton-like energy projector already in his hand. His light blue outfit had a matched silver marking on his sleeves at both cuffs and shoulders. A pattern that looked like a trio of claws had dug into a tree¡¯s bark and wasn¡¯t anything Amdirlain had noted in her observations. A similarly uniformed tawny female Catfolk observed Amdirlain through the vehicle¡¯s rear window. Though she acted casual, she had an immobilising Spell already formed and ready to send at Amdirlain. The strength of the different Tier 6 Prestige classes each possessed almost had Amdirlain swearing in surprise, prompting her to extend a touch against their public minds. What the heck is going on with this world? It might not be a good place to draw the attention of the law. This could be more trouble than expected if this is their highway patrol. ¡°Young miss, how did you get alongside this bypass?¡± asked the law keeper that had stepped out, his body language losing its sternness as he looked her over. ¡°I¡¯ve been coming north cross-country, and this ended up being the first road I found with traffic,¡± explained Amdirlain. Tucking her hands behind the small pack she wore, she bowed her head. Amdirlain caught his assessment of her body language rapidly dropping her age to a point he found concerning and placed her as a runaway teen. Kicking himself for thinking a kid was a night lady fishing for a transporter, he gruffly cleared his throat in embarrassment. Stupid Femme Fatale. ¡°Do your parents or pride know you¡¯re out and about?¡± ¡°My parents are deceased. My pride was arguing about who would take me in. I¡¯m heading to the city to try for work there,¡± whispered Amdirlain. The officer sighed, and Amdirlain caught a hint of dissatisfaction with her pride; it offended him they¡¯d left a youngster to wander alone through a dangerous countryside. ¡°While it¡¯s not a problem in other places, the local council made it illegal to walk along the bypass. Hop in the back, and then you¡¯re not walking. Our patrol limit is two towns further along. You got a preference for which we drop you at?¡± ¡°Either, sir,¡± chirped Amdirlain, letting her tail flick happily, a momentary break from her tight control. The officer huffed and opened the back door. ¡°Did you break camp at first light?¡± His surface thoughts made it clear he intended to fish an elder¡¯s name from her so he could chew their ear. Wise to his plan, Amdirlain extended her telepathy to both of them for the safest answers. After shifting her weight between her feet, Amdirlain nodded and waved back towards the orchard. ¡°I only encountered the road after following that orchard¡¯s fence line. Been travelling awhile; my kin are beyond the territories¡¯ southern borders.¡± ¡°Where is the rest of your kit to come that far?¡± exclaimed the officer, his thoughts making it clear she¡¯d have to have crossed at least two hundred kilometres on foot. The male¡¯s mental map came up with a clarity that made it clear it was a Class Power. Only a few gaps blotched the vast tracts of his personal map that showed where he¡¯d travelled and fought. Doh! Misjudged that nearby border reference. Fast cars, of course close isn''t a standard walking distance. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°Lost it in a river crossing. I¡¯ve got the essentials still,¡± proclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°Must be a bunch of bloody short-eared idiots to let a youngster come this far,¡± grumbled the officer. ¡°Your camp stones holding up?¡± His words accompanied an image of an energy dome holding back incorporeal undead and rows of Catfolk unloading energy bolts from larger versions of his baton. Screams coming from a nearby fading dome had them redirecting fire against infected comrades. ¡°They¡¯re okay, and I¡¯ve got throwing blades for protection,¡± protested Amdirlain. The officer lightly thumped on the vehicle¡¯s roof in frustration. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that. I can see you aren¡¯t carrying anything beyond some unenchanted fur trimmers. I¡¯m not mad about what you did, ?but your pride¡¯s disregard for your life. You made it through safely, so let''s get you somewhere safer. Hop in, I need to get myself some breakfast.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she carefully projected innocence and meekness. ¡°How old are you, anyway?¡± Having started approaching, Amdirlain paused and straightened¡ªthe picture of an offended teenager. ¡°I¡¯m over sixteen. I¡¯m allowed to seek an apprenticeship.¡± ¡°You got papers?¡± ¡°Papers?¡± Amdirlain questioned nervously, forcing her ears to droop. The officer straightened and loomed over Amdirlain, who swished her tail about copying Malnir¡¯s innocence. ¡°No form of identification? Get in. We¡¯ll take you to the second town and talk to the station¡¯s supervisor. They can sort out a visitor¡¯s chit. I can¡¯t send you back, but I ain¡¯t leaving a kid running around with no way to call for help.¡± ¡°Yes, sir,¡± repeated Amdirlain, and she glided forward and slid into the backseat. The officer mentally kicked himself for misjudging her age as he hopped back into the vehicle. ¡°Make sure you give the door a good pull; otherwise, the latch might not secure properly,¡± warned the female officer sitting behind a set of controls that wouldn¡¯t be out of place in a cockpit. Having already broken down the offensive Spell she¡¯d held, she extended a hand over the seat to Amdirlain. Amdirlain exchanged a quick handshake with the female officer and took in the detection Spell returning the information she¡¯d allowed. Upon releasing the officer¡¯s hand, Amdirlain carefully but firmly closed the door, keeping her strength in check. As the male grumbled, the female officer turned back towards the front, her gaze scanning around the car. Only when she¡¯d confirmed it was clear did she look up into the mirrored strip across the front window and wink at Amdirlain. ¡°Got a name?¡± ¡°Am.¡± ¡°Welcome to the territories, Am. We¡¯re both law keepers of the Blackclaw pride; the charming one is Pharal, and I¡¯m Yilsten. You had anything to eat today?¡± ¡°I ate earlier, and I need to change some nuggets for coins,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Nuggets? What sort of hairball place do you come from?¡± huffed Yilsten. Amdirlain swallowed. ¡°I found them panning and kept them as an emergency fund.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need to speak to a jeweller about nuggets, but we can treat you to a bite to eat before we hit the station. Food in comfort is always better than trail rations,¡± advised Yilsten as she put the vehicle in gear. Beneath the vehicle''s hood, Amdirlain heard funnels extend into a whirlwind in the vehicle¡¯s core. The vehicle lept forward with a jolt going from nothing to sixty kilometres an hour in a scattering of breaths. ¡°Do you need to speak to a tuner? Either the engager is getting worse, or you¡¯ve got your heavy shoes on today,¡± rumbled Pharal. ¡°Bite your tail,¡± huffed Yilsten good-naturedly. ¡°Do you get many newcomers to the territories?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It varies. Why? Are you looking for someone that came ahead of you?¡± enquired Yilsten. ¡°No one I know took this route. Just, you both seemed relaxed about me being here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not an undead or some other monster. Long as you don¡¯t go breaking the law, I ain¡¯t going to spank you for living,¡± advised Yilsten. ¡°You looking for any work in particular?¡± ¡°I can sense a rune¡¯s energy. I thought I¡¯d seek an inscriber to learn from,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re called artificers in the territories. Unless you¡¯ve got a sponsor or are from the families, that¡¯s a costly craft to break into,¡± informed Yilsten. ¡°Since you can sense Mana in a rune, gaining an Affinity is easy; the military or law keepers would sponsor your education.¡± ¡°Whatever route you choose, you¡¯d best stop copying the strut of that elder. The way you walk, you¡¯re going to attract unwelcome attention, and someone¡¯s bound to end up pressuring you,¡± declared Pharal gruffly. ¡°You made a heck of a trip through rough terrain; I''d hate to see you end up as someone¡¯s tail.¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s tail?¡± squeaked Amdirlain. Pharal turned to look over the seat. ¡°Get caught up in debt and you''ll become a puppet when they say jump.¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°So not happening.¡± ¡°I told you she was younger than you thought,¡± laughed Yilsten, and she glanced in the mirrored strip again. ¡°You move like a hyped-up teenager; far too much energy in your bounce at this hour to be an adult.¡± As other vehicles around them slipped off to join the first town¡¯s roads, Yilsten kept them going straight ahead. While she drove, Pharal focused on his planned verbal fishing, but Amdirlain stayed twelve steps ahead. Her telepathy allowed her to skirt subjects, and she gave Pharal nothing concrete to work on while still believing she was merely a runaway teen. [Diplomacy [J] (26->27) Note: You¡¯re so not grounded, young lady!] Amdirlain studied the layout she had only seen from overhead when they turned into the second town. The hexagon structure of the buildings continued within the town¡¯s limits. Rather than creating zig-zag streets, the hexagon forms prompted them to leave gaps along the shop fronts. They used each for a nature space with benches, trees, or grassy spots. With all the sights she¡¯s seen, the architecture is far from the most unusual. As they turned a bend with the promise of the station and food just ahead, Amdirlain caught sight of a raised platform at the end of the street. A pair of stone rails extended onwards in the city¡¯s direction, and Amdirlain noticed its course ran out to follow the bypass. From above, the imagery would have just blended them in. Need to do something about side perspectives. Pharal waved ahead, though his gaze remained on her. ¡°The law keeper station is just before the terminus. Have you ever heard of the skyline where you¡¯re from?¡± ¡°The what?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re heading to the city, I¡¯d advise you to get a ticket. The sales counter is at the base of the stairs up to the platform. Less risk than a lift from a stranger and not only fewer stops than most transporters, but faster,¡± advised Pharal, pointing ahead towards the upper platform. ¡°The rails overhead guide the carriages¡¯ direction and elevation while the carriages¡¯ runes handle movement. Far cheaper than an airship¡ªnot that one docks here more than twice a week.¡± ¡°The skyline¡¯s new and makes two daily trips to Osaphis,¡± added Yilsten. ¡°I rode on it the first week it opened¡ªcomfortable seats with room to stretch. If you buy passage, make sure not to wander off; they don¡¯t refund tickets and give a minimal warning about departures.¡± ¡°You said I can get a chit at the law bringer station?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°But what even is a chit?¡± ¡°It¡¯s an Artificer gadget that came out of the university after some kids went missing a few decades back. The owner can set off a yell that lets matching gadgets law bringers carry know their physical state and direction,¡± ordered Pharal. ¡°They ever find the kids?¡± asked Amdirlain softly. Pharal turned forward. ¡°Not alive. They turned up in a Vampire¡¯s lair. The chits have saved many lives since, and I¡¯ve not heard any pride arguing about the budget for them. You can¡¯t prank using them, and you¡¯ll get a fine if you try.¡± Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Because they send out your physical state?¡± ¡°Yeah. If you send a yell and aren¡¯t in distress, it¡¯s going to say as much, and the law keeper will fine you on the spot,¡± confirmed Pharal. ¡°Not that it stops some folks who should know better from trying. That¡¯s not to say you must wait for someone to hurt you. If you¡¯ve got reason to fear for your life, it''s valid to use it even if someone hasn¡¯t yet hurt you.¡± Amdirlain listened to a couple of patrol stories the pair shared as the vehicle moved past an assortment of storefronts. The place felt like a large country town that a big chain or megastores hadn¡¯t invaded. Despite the early hour, the sidewalks were already busy with people coming and going. Behind the hexagon block facades, food and hardware stores lay alongside cafes and clothing. Yilsten pointed Amdirlain to a jeweller¡¯s shop positioned beside the station. It had discrete frontage¡ªjust a sign above the door¡ªand, like every other shop, there were no enormous windows filled with displays. ¡°Is it right beside the station for safety?¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Playing it safe; just because it¡¯s a new and smallish town doesn¡¯t mean someone will not get itchy paws,¡± agreed Yilsten. ¡°It¡¯s worse in the city. You could find employment here, you know. The town is growing, lots of jobs being advertised.¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°You said the city has a university, right?¡± ¡°You were listening to her ramble? Yes, it has the triumvirate campus, but the semester fees aren¡¯t cheap. Plenty will tell you tales about dropping out because of the cost,¡± interjected Pharal. ¡°Easier to blame that than admit they¡¯re lazy,¡± rebutted Yilsten. ¡°Why is it called the triumvirate campus?¡± asked Amdirlain. Yilsten straightened behind the steering controls and grinned in the mirror. ¡°Started as three competing arcane schools: wizards, artificers and alchemists. But it combined before the modern era. It still teaches arcane subjects, and everything else you can imagine.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t tell that she¡¯s got a fancy degree from it, can you?¡± mock-whispered Pharal. ¡°Hush you,¡± Yilsten brought the vehicle to a halt near a building marked with the same symbol emblazoned on their sleeves. ¡°You want to get the chit first or sell your materials?¡± ¡°We¡¯re getting breakfast first, or are you forgetting?¡± interrupted Pharal, and he tapped the tip of Yilsten¡¯s ear. ¡°Whatever. Come on, let''s feed the little stray. Though if you skip writing your report, I¡¯ll feed you to the supervisor,¡± retorted Yilsten, and she slid out of the vehicle, slamming the door behind her. ¡°You¡¯re going to break the door,¡± protested Pharal. Yilsten jabbed a finger back at the door. ¡°Then get someone to fix the latches.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, baby,¡± murmured Pharal, and he pretended to pat the dash while opening his door. ¡°Wizards have no respect for your superior runes.¡± The interior of the Eatery they led Amdirlain to was lit by soft white light from the hexagonal blocks that weren¡¯t covered with artwork. Everything hung on the walls was a mix of sports images and military-looking banners. In the centre of the cafe was an oval service counter lined with stools. The staff were busy handling a nearly full store, cooking orders on an array of enchanted stoves and grills. Scattered about were free-standing tables, and along the sides were booths with cushioned seats shaped to allow for uncurled tails. Breakfast itself was familiar yet strange, fried eggs with yolks of red, surrounded by green ¡®whites¡¯, and slices of medium rare roast. The herbal scent of a local tea was strong but brightened the pair like a caffeine jolt before they were halfway through. Despite the smell, the tea had no aftertaste, which was more than the clumpy bread accompanying the meal could claim. As they stood, Pharal left an assortment of coins on the table made from the same cheap alloy, regardless of their varying denominations. ¡°What was up with that bread? Is it always like that?¡± asked Amdirlain as she noticed Yilsten¡¯s muzzle curl when they got outside. ¡°The cook has been trying to bake his own. He needs to give it up before he poisons someone,¡± reported Yilsten. Approaching the station¡¯s double doors, Amdirlain saw a well-lit interior with all the hexagon blocks projecting a soft, white light. Besides the same wards as other buildings, she could sense restraint wards in a basement area only accessible by a fortified elevator. The runes that maintained the wards were being fed energy from stores in the building walls, which seemed to be recharged by the environment. Beyond the front doors was a simple room with a deep counter, tended by a small silvery-furred female just slightly taller than Amdirlain¡¯s form. Her uniform was the same, even down to the emblems. Wondering about comparative authority, Amdirlain fished in the trio¡¯s minds to see if they even had the concept of rank. From Pharal, she only caught ideas that seemed to indicate an almost flat hierarchy with only the duty roles varying. ¡°What can I do for you three?¡± purred the clerk, her gaze fixed on Pharal. Pharal waved at Amdirlain. ¡°Am¡¯s a newcomer to the territories, Rystral. She needs a chit and the usual list of dos and don¡¯ts so she doesn¡¯t get in trouble. Planning to head into the city when she¡¯s sorted out.¡± The introduction caused Rystral¡¯s ears to twitch. ¡°Weren¡¯t you on bypass patrol last night?¡± ¡°Well, she ?didn¡¯t walk along the bypass, or we¡¯d have to be getting you to write her up,¡± replied Pharal. ¡°She ?didn¡¯t walk along the bypass to get here,¡± huffed Yilsten, and she clasped Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder before her voice dropped to a concerned murmur. ¡°Good luck, kiddo; stay safe. Drop a note to us here if you need any advice or when you find a place.¡± Amdirlain nodded her thanks and approached the counter. As she moved, the pair slipped through a blank door to the right, leaving her alone with Rystral. The disappointment and concern for her safety that Amdirlain felt from both made her feel bad about the cover story she¡¯d used. Rystral set a binder on the counter with a written language Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise. The shortfall of Polyglot covering spoken but not written communications coming back to bite. Faced with an extended stay, Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to keep a translation Spell continually going. Checking her list of exposed languages, Amdirlain spent a knowledge point and felt the working of their language and script flood in. [Lurmorne Language Unlocked] ¡°Yeah, right, fine,¡± grumbled Rystral, and she retrieved a metal box from under the counter. ¡°Come over here. You¡¯ll need to place a paw on the box shortly. Before that, I¡¯ll need your details for the chit. I hope you can read.¡± ¡°I manage,¡± squeaked Amdirlain, and she checked the box¡¯s purpose while waiting for Rystral¡¯s instructions. The device was an advanced version of Yngvarr''s imprint plate, connecting to a remote source with a link that involved Mental Mana. Rystral handed her a dummy¡¯s guide to the territories laws booklet from the binder and started asking rapid-fire questions. Their pace made Amdirlain glad she¡¯d prepared her backstory in advance to avoid having to tamper with Rystral¡¯s thoughts. As the short inquiry continued, Amdirlain re-checked the box¡¯s enchantments and examined the chit Rystral had on a necklace. When it at last came time to touch its surface, Amdirlain faked up a Profile and helped it out since it usually drew a drop of blood. Rystral nodded in satisfaction when a round pendant dropped out of its side. ¡°Slip the loop through something so you don¡¯t lose it. If you lose the chit, replacing it incurs a fee, and this box sends information to a central store that each checks against. If you lie that you¡¯ve not gotten one before, there is a fine. There are lots of idiot taxes about the place because there are lots of ways to get caught in stupid lies. Ensuring you¡¯re truthful will avoid fines for wasting people¡¯s time.¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± chirped Amdirlain, and she touched the chit into a pouch under her tunic. Glancing at a display on the box, Rystral frowned and started to flip through the binder. ¡°You¡¯re a fifth-level Bard?¡± Her tone was enough to know that wasn¡¯t what had drawn her frown. The symbols that had caught Rystral attention matched an entry she hadn¡¯t seen since the training: the detection of a high Faith rating. It¡¯s just as well Livia didn¡¯t come in. My fake Profile shows Faith as twenty, twice what Rystral¡¯s binder says is normal. ¡°I live hoping for a better Class than Bard, ma¡¯am,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her brows lifted at Amdirlain¡¯s respectful tone. ¡°You¡¯ve got an archaic Class, and I can''t say I''ve ever met a Bard. What do you perform?¡± ¡°Singing and dancing, plus I¡¯ve got practice on a stringed instrument, but I don¡¯t have one I can use,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What do you plan to do in the city?¡± enquired Rystral. ¡°Look for an apprenticeship and maybe pick up new classes.¡± ¡°Have you got funds to live off while you look for work?¡± asked Rystral, and she went on when Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t go sleeping on the streets. There are nomad shelters if you¡¯re tight for the coin, but sleeping rough will get you picked up as a vagrant.¡± "What happens then?" "Should have figured a southern wouldn''t know. Caught sleeping on the street means work camp; we don¡¯t need you turned. Unless they can find you a job with your classes, they''ll tell you the next Class to pick based on job shortages. After that, they¡¯ll train you in its skills until you get it. Even if they avoid getting turned, too many vagrants turn to crime in one fashion or another,¡± explained Rystral. They''ve got a big problem with the undead; still, that¡¯s pretty extreme industrial control. But not like I can¡¯t just blend into a wall. ¡°Thank you, ma¡¯am,¡± answered Amdirlain. Taking in Rystral¡¯s continued alarm from Amdirlain¡¯s Faith rating, she nodded politely and meekly, ¡°Thank you for your guidance.¡± When Amdirlain left the law keeper¡¯s station, she heard Rystral go to find the others. The service in the jeweller¡¯s shop was efficient, and selling the rough nuggets of silver and mithril didn¡¯t take long. The speed with which the jeweller had recognised the mithril amongst the silver spoke well of them. Though they¡¯d haggled sharply enough that Amdirlain netted another diplomacy increase. As Amdirlain headed for the skyline¡¯s terminus, she caught the rush of energy along with carriages of metal and glass. The speed it was approaching made it feel like someone had mixed a monorail with a bullet train, and Amdirlain picked up her pace. Behind her in the law keeper¡¯s station, she noticed Rystral was still arguing with Pharal and Yilsten about the mystery kid. 309 - Bright lights bigger city Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Though the cashier at the steps tried to talk Amdirlain into a more expensive option, she took the cheapest ticket for the next trip and headed up. Taking the stairs to the platform on the ticket, she found herself on a stone platform of more hexagonal blocks. They¡¯d marked carriage numbers along the platform¡¯s edge, and Amdirlain followed her ticket. As the skyline carriages glided towards the platform, Amdirlain took in the Catfolk around her. People with different attire and fur colouration stretched the platform¡¯s length. Some with neat attire had the air of those travelling on business, and larger groups with luggage appeared to be travelling families. Although the dark blue fur Amdirlain had picked was common, there were various oranges and tawny-furred individuals as well. Their clothes ranged from well-worn garments to a female in shimmering-cloth robes with silver thread runes. As she arrived at the spot shown on her ticket, Amdirlain joined a group at the furthest end from the well-dressed folk. When the carriage pulled to a stop, a few dozen people arose from the tightly packed seats within, and proceed to the only door at the carriage¡¯s rear. As they moved to the end with the doors, they stretched out stiffness while waiting for a male attendee to pass their luggage from a rack against the back wall. Whatever carriage Yilsten had been in, it hadn¡¯t been the cheap seats. Once the arrivals departed, he unlocked a cover to press a rune near the rack, and the seats reversed their facing. Only after he relocked it did he signal the waiting passengers to enter. ¡°All luggage needs to be stored in racks. Any entertainment materials for the trip, please keep with you.¡± Amdirlain handed over her travel pack to the attendee and moved into the main carriage area. A glance at the seat numbers and she identified her place in the now lead row of the carriage. The carriage door¡¯s support took up a chuck of foot space from the window seat, but her ticket was the aisle. As she moved to sit in the aisle seat allocated by her ticket, a male Catfolk moved up behind her and sighed. ¡°Hey, miss. Can I get the aisle?¡± Amdirlain played her part, looked over her shoulder, and cranked her head back. Though the Catfolk wasn¡¯t bulky, he was lean and forty centimetres taller, with dark blue fur and a honey-gold gaze. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t fit in the window seat,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Giving his height another glance, she slipped into the problem seat and, though cramped, at least it had a comfortable cushion. ¡°Heck, I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ll fit in my seat.¡± I thought Sydney¡¯s old red rattler trains were bad for awkward seats. Wonder if they made all the frames the same, and management said to add another row in the cheap one? It¡¯d fit. ¡°I was told each seat allowed plenty of legroom,¡± grumbled the male. ¡°That¡¯s what I heard as well. Do you think maybe they were talking about the more expensive seats? I think maybe they get food served on the trip.¡± Upon hearing Amdirlain¡¯s comment, the attendee wrote a note and tucked it away. The male glanced along the length of the aisle. ¡°Looks like most seats vary between yours and mine for allowed space. Must be a different layout in the other carriages. Do you see the fancy types putting up with being cramped?¡± Amdirlain shook her head, and the male sat down beside her. Before she could say anything further, he put his head back against the headrest. Within a breath he was asleep. As everyone else settled into their seats, Amdirlain closed her eyes and pretended to do the same. The countryside passed by in a blur, with the skyline only halting at two stops along the way. Despite the minimal stops, they¡¯d filled her carriage before they got to the second. The attendant eventually announced they were coming to Osaphis¡¯ station, requesting all to stay seated until advised. The window seat allowed Amdirlain to see the hexagonal towers they were moving towards and, in the distance, she felt a hum of distortion. Beneath them, she could see vehicles and pedestrians moving along the city streets in an almost earth-like scene. The forced gaps between the building fronts eased the gloom from the consistent grey stone. At street level, she could see some shop fronts had filigree decorations showing their street number and shop name. As with the bypass, the vehicles that moved along the streets varied, and it seemed mass production wasn¡¯t a thing. Amdirlain heard a hiss of distortion to the northwest as they got deeper into the city. Between the source and her were thousands of wards, some stronger than many she¡¯d encountered in the Abyss. If I tell Ebusuku or Erwarth about this, they¡¯ll tease me about needing subtlety. The first step is getting as close as possible to the distortion. The male stirred at the next announcement, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t have to prompt him to stand. ¡°Thanks again.¡± Alighting was simple, and the attendee claimed Amdirlain¡¯s ticket after handing over her pack. The exit from the platform took them into a skyscraper, and from there, they were ushered out through one-way barriers. Beyond the station¡¯s perimeter they spilled onto a mezzanine level of a shopping centre. A steel railing guided them towards the stairs and provided a view of three levels of shops that wrapped around the skyscraper¡¯s exterior. The shop fronts inside the tower were wide arches, with display tables within showing various goods. Slipping through a crowd of people hurrying to the skyline¡¯s entry, Amdirlain descended a spiral case that ran to ground level. On the final turn, some unpleasant songs warned her of dubious individuals ahead. When she stepped off at the base, the sleazy smile on the male¡¯s face was all the warning Amdirlain needed. His gaze flickered across her attire, not lingering on the partly concealed throwing knives Amdirlain carried before he focused on her bag. ¡°New to the city, miss? Would you like a guide to a nomad shelter or your accommodation?¡± ¡°No,¡± snapped Amdirlain, and she faked going one way, only to step right past him on the other side. Cradling her travel pack off in front of her, Amdirlain picked up the pace and deliberately let her sturdy boots clack on the lobby floor. She spotted a revolving door through the crowd and let him see her heading for it. A step took her behind a couple of burly Catfolk carrying their purchases slung over their shoulders. With his view of her obstructed, she had hunched slightly lower as if unwell and moved alongside a group of ladies. Circling past them, she slipped out a side entrance before them. [Stealth [M] (41->42)] Seized by a mental grip, the Con Artist straightened, and all thoughts of his target disappeared. The urge to confess all his crimes and start anew had him wandering away to seek a law keeper. With him dealt with, Amdirlain moved on and took in the Class levels among those she passed. While some had barely a dozen levels to their name, a few could have been levelling a Tier 4 or 5 Prestige Class¡ªexcept they hadn¡¯t taken them. None of them had Class names she¡¯d seen in other places; rather, they were modern themed like Soldier, Persuader, Geomancer, Arcane Chemist, and more. Holding off taking Prestige Classes at Tier 5? Are the Tier 6 common? Do they have people with Tier 7? Even those with classes like Clerk or Sales Representative possessed a combat Class. There was nothing like the Warrior or Thug she¡¯d seen on Veht? and in the Abyss. Rather, classes like Sharpshooter and the evolved base Class Undead Slayer were the most frequent combat classes. The person with the highest level she¡¯d seen so far had a Solider Class and an assortment of others. Despite the modern setting, being armed and carrying weapons in plain sight was common. The lowest-level Clerk Amdirlain saw had an energy projector on their hip, yet melee weapons weren¡¯t uncommon. Despite checking the situation with the Catfolk, Amdirlain remained focused on locating the distortion. As she crossed city blocks, there were lesser hisses of static coming and going from the location that had attracted her attention. She caught some hosts of the distortion heading roughly towards her and shifted blocks to intercept the first. A group of vehicles stopped down the street from her in front of a large building decorated with the emblem the law keepers had worn. Their stop matched the timing of the closest presence coming to a halt. Amdirlain walked forward and casually studied the individuals exiting the vehicles. When the individual hosting the unsettling energies slipped from their vehicle, the effect Resonance showed still wasn¡¯t apparent in True Sight. Having used Analysis directly on songs before, Amdirlain tried it on the distortion. [Eldritch Manipulator {Translation errors galore. I can¡¯t tell you much about this Eldritch; its pure thought and madness. Available approximations follow:} Primordial Tier: 1 Health: 3,950 Psi: 72,924 Note: A cute little mite, this parasitic entity feeds off the emotional distress of its host and those around it. Its psionic abilities allowed it to increase stressed states to the point of inflicting mental injury. They are drawn into realms by greater Eldritch beings to spread Far Chaos-attuned madnesses among the populace. Analysis [S] (34->35)] It had been a long time since she¡¯d struck at the training targets at the monastery, but guided by the entity¡¯s song, Amdirlain sought to turn the tables. A Mental Disruption technique staggered the male Catfolk it was hooked into, buying her time with him and his passenger unprotected by wards. As the uniformed male slumped to his knees, those closest to him caught him and the entity fed from the confusion and spike of worry. Given the alien mindset of the Eldritch critter, Amdirlain ignored options that would twist a mind into madness and tried psychic brute force instead. The Psychic Crush technique slipped into its feeding mind and, feeling it catch, Amdirlain unloaded with a surge of mental energy. Her mental attack closed a vice-like grip around its being. Though she didn¡¯t understand its mental pathways, the twisting chaos within it exploded like shattered glass. With the entity¡¯s capacity far overloaded, death was something the Far Chaos and the realm¡¯s rules had in common. Its hiss snapped out, and Amdirlain heard the entity¡¯s remains enfolded and shunted from the realm. On the heels of its disappearance, the afflicted male started to convulse, eliciting a yowl of surprise from the pair that had supported him. Orders from another vehicle caught their attention. One of the other passengers raced inside for medical aid, and the pair quickly braced and lowered the stricken individual to the ground. When a grizzled-looking Catfolk in a law keeper¡¯s uniform hopped from another vehicle, he snapped more orders and looked around from reflex. His glance let Amdirlain glimpse the metal orbs in his eye sockets. Those weren¡¯t his only arcane prosthesis¡ªhis legs and right forearm were articulated pieces of Artificer artistry. When his gaze lingered on her, Amdirlain reinforced her auras¡¯ concealment and projected a concerned innocent vibe that satisfied him enough to turn to the downed individual. Despite his artificial limbs, he moved gracefully towards the trio, and Amdirlain checked him with Analysis. He possessed a Tier 7 Prestige Class that seemed morbidly named, and Amdirlain checked it from curiosity. Its presence confirmed her growing suspicion with the number of people avoiding Tier 5. [Grave Delver: Details: Getting any variant of this Tier 7 Prestige Class requires the following deeds: reaching the lowest chambers of the Gods¡¯ Grave while resisting the areas¡¯ miasma and contributing significantly to a Spawning Abomination¡¯s destruction.] [Spawning Abomination: Details: These entities form from the rage and hate left behind by one of the rejected pantheons. They form in subterranean regions erroneously called the Gods¡¯ Grave by the locals. Once the energy reaches a critical mass, it unleashes thousands of incorporeal beings capable of causing an undead state. Note: The vindictive pantheon¡¯s dying blight causes these to form close to population centres. The larger the centre, the greater the likelihood it will trigger a formation. Souls crossing out of the Material Plane on their way to Judgement empower the remnants¡¯ propagation.] With gods that would leave something like that behind, no wonder they killed off their worshipers. That explains all the wards within the buildings¡¯ frameworks. How bad is it that the Tier 6 and 7 classes all seem to relate to battling undead? With more law keepers coming from the building they were in front of, Amdirlain considered her options. The split between pedestrians minding their business and those gawking allowed her to mingle and move along. [Combat Summary Eldritch Manipulator x1 Total Experience gained: 11,850 Ostim?: +5,925 Ont?lin: +5,925 ] Though she¡¯d intercepted one minor Eldritch, the others were more elusive, and Amdirlain focused on the unmoving source. After she¡¯d covered nearly nine kilometres through the city towards the distortion, Amdirlain noticed a shift in the foot traffic. Casual travel packs had replaced shopping bags and business attire. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Ahead, she noticed that the city blocks were composed of mere high rises and multi-story buildings instead of skyscrapers. Soon after the transition started, the city gave way to a broad expanse of greenery surrounded by a warded iron fence. A sign beside the first gate she spotted proclaimed it the Triumvirate Campus. Further signage beneath it provided a campus map, with various clusters of buildings marked as different faculties. High rises rose from the centre of the three most significant clusters, and Amdirlain checked them against the map. The Wizard, Artificer, and Alchemist buildings were the tallest, but there were many other faculties too. Even from the campus edge, Amdirlain had no trouble determining the large distortion she¡¯d been tracing lay directly beneath the Wizard¡¯s building. Between it and her lay multiple barriers of impressive wards that Amdirlain was certain she couldn¡¯t freely cross to investigate. Amdirlain turned left to circle the campus and noted buildings that hosted eateries, bookshops, and various material supplies as she walked. Passersby flicked their gaze over her worn attire, and Amdirlain copied the stride of the female students closest to her apparent age. Though warded, Resonance let her map out the massive campus, large enough to be a city in itself. The layout of the campus fence line was yet another hexagon and ran for four kilometres along each side. Against the background of the distortion near its centre, making out details was painful. Pushing Resonance through the distortion radiating from beneath the Wizard tower took work. After a few minutes of trying to map the tower¡¯s interior, Amdirlain gained an increase in Resonance, but she wasn¡¯t satisfied with the details it provided. Challenging Resonance to grow, Amdirlain tallied the Catfolk on campus, hitting sixty thousand before another increase sounded. [Resonance [S] (117->118) Mental Hardening [G] (2->3)] Using Analysis on the distortion sent a rasping numbness scratching across the surface of her mind. A glacial pressure slid across the back of her mind, and frost crackled behind her eyes. [Delirium of Darkness Primordial Tier: 3 Details: It is a thought, an idea of darkness compressed into reality by the possibilities within the Far Chaos. Its presence draws in light and sound around it, leaving mortals with a never-ending scratching sensation at the back of their minds. Once exposed to it, the darkness persistently tries to drink in the light of their rational thoughts. Note: Do I need to tell you about translation errors with these fellows anymore? Note: I think it¡¯s asleep and still spreading madness.] Sitting on a bench to consider the situation, Amdirlain watched the people around her while probing at its history with Analysis. After getting nothing, she stopped to review the information she¡¯d been provided on the planet and the reference to Eldritch Sorcerers. [Cult of the Delirium of Darkness Details: The Wizard who found the ¡®pool¡¯ brought it to the original campus to study it. In their madness, they thought their wards could contain it. It didn¡¯t take long before its influence had the finder''s disciples worshipping it. This practise continued over generations of cultists spreading the incursion¡¯s influence. Fortunately, its mere presence frequently destroys the minds of those deemed worthy of viewing it directly, rather than in effigy. Beware the liquid night that feeds on the silence between stars.] The song fragment she¡¯d caught upon killing the other creature pointed Amdirlain to a ludicrous idea. Still, the entity tier didn¡¯t seem like it would be countered any other way, if she could even get strong enough to affect it. Wanting an excuse to linger nearby that didn¡¯t rely on using powers or spells, Amdirlain turned her attention to the buildings outside the campus. When she heard a shop filled with musical instruments ahead, Amdirlain picked up the pace but kept the careful mimicry of stride. Within the shop were various instruments, some that provided octaves outside the range of Human hearing. String and wind instruments were standard, though there was nothing like a piano or keyboard, and the drums were all for a rumbling bass sound. Aside from musical instruments whose function Amdirlain easily recognised, there were rune-inscribed discs and crystalline spirals. They¡¯d grouped the various categories of instruments on shelves and racks around the shop. As Amdirlain paused on the doorstep, a whistling chime sounded from above her, drawing the attention of a male clerk with tortoiseshell fur and grey eyes. He wore only a short-sleeved shirt and loose pants; his clawed toes tapped impatiently as Amdirlain lingered in the doorway. Spotting a shelf containing instruments analogous to lap harps, Amdirlain bypassed racks of multiple-necked guitars closest to the door. Signs against the back wall indicated three recording rooms that were currently unused. ¡°There are used ones in the store room that will save you funds,¡± the clerk called as Amdirlain carefully traced her fingertips along a frame. ¡°If you need to clear storage space, I suppose I can take one off your hands if you drop the price far enough,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I said it would save you some coins, not that I¡¯ve got instruments to gift,¡± rejected the clerk. ¡°Used ones are discounted thirty percent off the brand; we only buy them if they¡¯re in good condition.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t let one go for forty per cent?¡± enquired Amdirlain. The clerk rolled his eyes. ¡°We¡¯re not a charity. If you need something cheaper, you¡¯ll need to look elsewhere.¡± Amdirlain turned towards him with her arms crossed. ¡°I supposed thirty is fine if it includes some spare strings.¡± ¡°Look. Like I tell everyone else that tries that, I don¡¯t set the price, so attempting to haggle won¡¯t help you,¡± rebuffed the clerk. ¡°You look fresh from the country, so I¡¯ll tell you that haggling for finished goods isn¡¯t a thing here.¡± Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Amdirlain flicked a hand towards the marked door. ¡°Fine, can I at least try the used ones to check their sound?¡± ¡°Yep, but you break it, you buy it; that includes strings if you rough handle them,¡± declared the clerk. ¡°What you after it for?¡± ¡°Public performances,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Do they let you do busking here?¡± ¡°Kid, you¡¯ve got a music faculty right across the road. Hang out in its public areas, and you¡¯ll hear all sorts of musicians playing for free. If you need to make some coin, head to the business district, but competition can be fierce.¡± ¡°Musical students just sit around campus playing?¡± ¡°You¡¯d hope they¡¯d also attend classes, but the best way to get the confidence to perform in public is to do exactly that,¡± advised the clerk. ¡°Better to freeze up in a quad and rush off pretending you forgot the time than do it mid-recital.¡± Amdirlain flicked the tip of her tail in his direction and curled it into a question mark. ¡°Voice of experience?¡± The clerk¡¯s ears flicked, and his nose wrinkled in amusement. ¡°That excuse is traditional for nervous students and is completely acceptable.¡± Keeping a straight face, Amdirlain nodded thoughtfully. ¡°How long have you been studying there?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve completed two years, currently taking a study break to save funds,¡± reported the clerk, and Amdirlain caught the burr of a lie in his answer. ¡°Are there any group residences near campus?¡± The clerk¡¯s eyes gleamed with curiosity. ¡°It¡¯s nowhere near either intake, and you seem a little young.¡± ¡°I¡¯m new to the territories, hoping to apply the first chance I get,¡± explained Amdirlain. As he glanced towards the campus, the clerk¡¯s whiskers twitched dismissively. ¡°The only accommodation near campus is for those on scholarships with rich parents. Though sometimes, you have someone following one of the arcane tracks that somehow don¡¯t fall into one of the first two camps. I subscribe to the theory that they started to teach other subjects so the arcane student¡¯s retinue would save their energy for outside threats.¡± ¡°Oh!?¡± The clerk waved towards a display board with various posters. ¡°Never mind me, just a bit annoyed at some unlucky breaks. Some clubs give stage time, and you can keep any gratuities. How old are you?¡± ¡°Sixteen,¡± reported Amdirlain. The clerk coughed in surprise. ¡°You here by yourself?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain, drawing herself up tight. ¡°Alright, sorry, none of my business. How good are you with a harp?¡± enquired the clerk. ¡°I¡¯m a far better singer than an instrumentalist, but I don¡¯t know the local songs.¡± ¡°Yeah, good instrumental playing crosses boundaries. Still, what does your record rank your skills at?¡± ¡°That¡¯s personal,¡± objected Amdirlain, and she flicked her tail derisively. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll let you buy your instrument and be on your way,¡± dismissed the clerk. Amdirlain narrowed her gaze. ¡°Why are you wanting to know?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got confidence about you, and I think you¡¯d do well on stage,¡± advised the clerk, and he offered his hand. ¡°My name¡¯s Jal¡¯krin, of the Silverstring pride and current black burr on the family name.¡± ¡°Why would I want to associate with someone on the outs with their family?¡± ¡°Because, unlike others, I won¡¯t yank you around for pride politics. There is money to be had in music contests and betting on them. You need local advice, and I need to get enough money to recommence my studies to have any hope of my parents¡¯ forgiveness,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Heck, they won¡¯t talk to me again unless I do more than that. There are musical competitions where you can make as much money in side bets as the first prize if you¡¯ve got someone to place bets for you. I can get you in, help you nail the prize money, and help advise you on the less dickish among patron offers.¡± A quick touch against his thoughts showed there was more to it than that, but also that her Charisma had been leaking. Pulling the rest of the details from his mind, Amdirlain¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°Did you blow your study fund betting, or someone else¡¯s as well?¡± Jal¡¯krin winced and eyed her suspiciously. ¡°My sister¡¯s.¡± ¡°And now you¡¯re grabbing at straws. Did your bet annoy someone outside your family?¡± ¡°That I¡¯m not sharing, as it is no business of yours, and you¡¯ve not told me your ranks,¡± rebuffed Jal¡¯krin, his voice filled with nettled pride. ¡°Do Power and Skill ranks show up with the device they use to set up a chit?¡± Biting at his top lip thoughtful, Jal¡¯krin eventually replied. ¡°Nah, that just checks your classes, levels, and attributes. The law keepers don¡¯t take a full record unless you¡¯re brought up on charges.¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t sound certain.¡± ¡°Civil studies was a few years back,¡± grumbled Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Why did you want to know?¡± ¡°Because I recently got a chit, and if Skill information is accessible, its check might ruin the advantage of surprise,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve Senior Master rank with singing, Journeyman with the harp.¡± Her pronouncement had Jal¡¯krin spluttering in disbelief. ¡°What?! You said you¡¯re sixteen!¡± ¡°Play me something,¡± demanded Amdirlain, and her tail lashed the air as she delicately projected affronted outrage. ¡°You said you don¡¯t know the local songs,¡± reminded Jal¡¯krin, stepping back from the chill menace Amdirlain had accidentally hit him with. Amdirlain crossed her arms and smiled mockingly. ¡°I¡¯ll duplicate the sounds of the instrument itself. Play however long a song you feel capable of playing.¡± ¡°What do I get when you fail?¡± heckled Jal¡¯krin, though his voice cracked with anxiety. Pretending to reach into her pack, Amdirlain placed a high-denomination coin on the counter. ¡°If I win, I¡¯ll tell you when and how much you can bet. You break our arrangement, and I¡¯ll stop working with you. You also tell me who you offended with whatever you were betting on. Also, I can use an unbooked sound room in the back each day.¡± Though the last wasn¡¯t his to agree to, Jal¡¯krin exhaled sharply to brace himself and moved to a set of the arcane disks. His fingers danced across them with light, rhythmic movements, producing a swooping series of sounds. A thin trickle of Mana slipped from his fingers, and the discs sang like a rapidly bubbling brook. His control continually shifted the runes the Mana ran across. The lively music cascaded between high notes and deep, and had Amdirlain tapping her foot. Amdirlain neither interrupted nor joined in until he finished fifteen minutes later. When his hands lifted from the discs, Amdirlain duplicated the music and projected a touch of challenging derision as she did. Before she was even through the first minute, Jal¡¯krin had dropped to sit on the carpeted floor, his muzzle cupped in his hands. ¡°That was my composition, my song, but you made it sound like a river would drag me under. Roll me in grave rot. How did you do that?¡± gasped Jal¡¯krin when she was done. Amdirlain strode forward and tapped him on the nose. ¡°By not putting my foot in my mouth. Who did you offend?¡± Jal¡¯krin licked his lips. ¡°A faculty dean¡¯s second son, you¡¯ll likely never meet him. The fact I, a patron-less individual, challenged his musician he apparently found insulting and that I came close to winning made it worse. What sort of evolved Class do you have?¡± ¡°My imprint shows level five Bard,¡± reported Amdirlain, and Jal¡¯krin mewled in confusion. ¡°Bard; what sort of bygone backwater do you come from?!¡± spluttered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°After that performance, I expected a rare evolved Class like Diva, Auroralist, or Virtuoso; you¡¯re not even a focused Singer. How did you do that as a BARD?!¡± ¡°Talent, try it,¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re going to keep putting down my Class, I¡¯ll find the locations of the competitions myself.¡± Jal¡¯krin flung up his hands in apology. ¡°My bad, you shocked me, sorry. I worked for years to get my two evolved classes, and you did that with an ancient Class. You asked about group homes. You got a place to stay?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°There is an open stage night at Clearstrike¡¯s tonight, which isn¡¯t far from my place. You can have the couch free,¡± offered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Safe zones run between it and my apartment block.¡± ¡°You just don¡¯t want to let me out of your sight,¡± accused Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin nodded. ¡°Too right.¡± ¡°How do I know you won¡¯t try anything?¡± ¡°You¡¯re a kid. The amount we¡¯ll bring in with bets, I¡¯ll soon be swimming in trouble-free offers of company,¡± dismissed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you when to bet,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°Of course,¡± Jal¡¯krin readily agreed. Amdirlain frowned sceptically. ¡°What are your evolved Classes?¡± ¡°Instrumentalist, Arcane Composer, and Sharpshooter,¡± offered Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain nodded, pleased he hadn¡¯t lied. ¡°Alright. Should I wear something else?¡± Jal¡¯krin looked over her worn armour critically. ¡°It gives you an authentic, fresh off the plains look.¡± ¡°I¡¯m from the mountains, born on a cliff face,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Even better,¡± declared Jal¡¯krin Opting to poke a problem, Amdirlain jerked her thumb towards a sound booth door. ¡°Can I use a sound booth now?¡± ¡°Ahh yeah, about that,¡± Jal¡¯krin winced. ¡°Sitting in one is fine, but you can¡¯t turn anything on. The moment you do, the charge runs up in quarter-hour slots.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I need the soundproofing, or does that require a rune activated?¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t leave a mess behind,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin nervously. ¡°Are you the only person who handles the store?¡± Jal¡¯krin nodded to the door. ¡°The shop gets busier in the afternoon, but it¡¯s not even lunchtime yet.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s likely I can only use a booth in the morning?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t say that,¡± hedged Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Then what would you say? That you make bets in bad faith when you can¡¯t pay up?¡± interrogated Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°Would you expect someone to be able to reproduce that instrument with their voice?¡± ¡°Do you know the most important thing for a meeting or a bet?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Always be certain of the outcome before conducting either,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The mornings will be enough.¡± ¡°The store doesn¡¯t have a singing tutor,¡± proposed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I might talk to your boss about that idea,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Though, if you don¡¯t mind, I¡¯ll use a sound booth until they show up.¡± Jal¡¯krin motioned for her to go through and sat back behind the counter. ¡°Also, can you sell me this harp?¡± asked Amdirlain, pointing to one of the better harps. ¡°And a hard case that¡¯s taken a bit of a beating so that people won¡¯t expect a decent instrument.¡± As Jal¡¯krin rang up the sale, she noticed more distortions, similar in strength to the Eldritch Manipulator, approaching the campus. Unleashing songs silently, she tagged each possessed and sent the details to the surveyor overhead, ordering it to map their movements. Hold on, whoever you are, I need to find where all the Eldritch sites are located first. 310 - Show business Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris The door with the sign for the sound booths let her into a corridor with doors marked to indicate three sound booths, the lavatories, and a flight of stairs to the roof. Letting herself into the first booth, Amdirlain found the area split into two sections, similar to a recording studio in miniature. Despite the soundproof panelling, it was still lit with the same soft white illumination she¡¯d seen elsewhere. Amdirlain examined the sound technician''s enchantments and entered the performer''s chamber. Scanning the walls with True Sight, she compared the information it provided on the enchantments to Resonance. Having confirmed nothing was being recorded, Amdirlain pulled a stool out from the wall and perched on it. Setting the new harp case on another chair, she strung and tuned the harp while she sent another update to Livia, advising the situation with the Gods¡¯ Grave. Listening to the distortion within the campus, Amdirlain stretched towards the alien presence. Trying to isolate details of its location with Resonance resulted in her being rebuffed. As she pushed Resonance to show her more, she worked through each note of the new instrument to familiarise herself with its octave range. An hour into her training, Amdirlain finally caught the songs of new individuals entering the store. She ignored Jal¡¯krin talking to the manager and an older Catfolk. Finally, the older Catfolk came to sit in the technician area; Amdirlain paused when a speaker overhead buzzed. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idiot nephew out front that says you can dig him out of a hole he jumped in. How likely do you think that is?¡± Amdirlain sat up straight and took in the similarity of his tortoiseshell fur and grey eyes. ¡°He didn¡¯t mention the manager was a relative. It depends if Jal¡¯krin can stop making stupid bets and follow instructions.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the manager, I¡¯m the owner. Pal¡¯tran of the Silverstring Pride. Would you sing something for me?¡± asked Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain rested the harp in its case. ¡°Do you think we should dig him out of the hole he got himself into?¡± ¡°We?¡± huffed Pal¡¯tran. Twitching her tail towards the front of the store, Amdirlain tilted her head. ¡°He likely spoke to you and told you about yet another poor bet he made. Well, I hope he confessed to exercising poor judgement.¡± ¡°He did; says your voice is incredible,¡± reported Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Then it is we. My voice and your decision whether I can utilise a sound booth when a paying customer isn¡¯t using it.¡± ¡°If you can¡¯t?¡± enquired Pal¡¯tran carefully. Amdirlain gave a dismissive ear twitch. ¡°Then Jal¡¯krin doesn¡¯t have a deal, and I find out where the competitions are myself. Though he talked it up, I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be that hard to get included among the competitors. Now, should we dig him and his sister out or not?¡± Pal¡¯tran sighed. ¡°I¡¯d prefer he work for it, but the fact is his family can¡¯t easily replace the money for either him or his sister to study. He made a rash bet and got held to the letter rather than the spirit. The dean¡¯s son insisted that since Jal¡¯krin¡¯s sister was already auditing courses, he¡¯d also put her future at the campus on the line.¡± ¡°He sounds as pleasant as a rotting cock,¡± snorted Amdirlain, but she caught the importance they placed in honouring agreements. Her terminology caused Pal¡¯tran to smother a laugh. ¡°Grudges between old prides don¡¯t settle easily, and Jal¡¯krin had been stirring the pot to get the bet accepted.¡± Amdirlain frowned when suspicion flared. ¡°How did he come to lose?¡± ¡°Nothing underhanded, just an unlucky combination of conditions,¡± Pal¡¯tran replied. ¡°They could have easily afforded the loss; us, not so much these days.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°I don¡¯t like trusting luck. Betting more than he can afford is a lesson Jal¡¯krin still hasn¡¯t learnt. My bet with him today included access to a booth, and now I find out he had no right to give it out.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing exactly that in the territories?¡± enquired Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Trusting to your luck, that is.¡± ¡°I have multiple plans for my time in the territories. The bet was an opportunity to speed things up,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have hurt me if I¡¯d lost the coin I put up in our wager.¡± ¡°Speed what up?¡± ¡°Progressing to getting my next Class and becoming a hero,¡± Amdirlain replied, and she gave him an exaggerated wink. ¡°If it¡¯s none of my business, just say so,¡± grumbled Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t be true since Jal¡¯krin benefits from me competing.¡± ¡°Are you going to stop for lunch soon?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eat later. I want to use the booth while I can,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°Your choice if you trust Jal¡¯krin¡¯s judgement about my voice or if you need me to sing.¡± ¡°And if I insist you sing?¡± ¡°Such would suggest I run from this arrangement,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Then I¡¯ll wait to hear you sing at Clearstrike¡¯s this evening,¡± deflated Pal¡¯tran. ¡°And after that, I¡¯ll let you know if I can find work for you tutoring singers.¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m performing, not tutoring, unless the competitions don¡¯t offer as much opportunity as Jal¡¯krin said.¡± I don¡¯t need the money; I need access through the wards. A student¡¯s ward stone might be enough, but we¡¯ll see. I¡¯ll need to see if getting a patron to study on campus is possible, given I¡¯ve no pride backing me up. ¡°They do, and some draw competitors from across the territories. I¡¯ll leave you be. Jal¡¯krin will let you know whenever a booking for this booth is approaching,¡± advised Pal¡¯tran. ¡°The facilities are at the end of the hallway.¡± Pal¡¯tran started to rise, only for Amdirlain to hold up a hand. The low, sustained note that had rumbled across her lips set his fur prickling along his spine. The rumbling bass that built to the crescendo of an avalanche held Pal''tran frozen in place. Amdirlain stopped with a crash of boulders cracking and resumed with the bass notes of a cello intro of In the Hall of the Mountain King. As she continued with the song, layering in a few of each instrument, Pal¡¯tran slowly sat down, his ears upright from his head. Amdirlain smirked at his shocked expression. With her voice alone, she performed the instrumental version of her favourite songs, laying in basses, keyboards, drums, and guitar riffs. One piece after another flowed out, and Amdirlain danced to them all. As she drew the eighth song to a close, Amdirlain considered the trembling Pal¡¯tran and tried to project smug self-assurance. ¡°Too much?¡± Before he could answer, she sang the chords of the Outlands, energy shifting across her skin. She projected the sunshine through warm bass notes and used lilting soprano chords to convey a gentle breeze dancing through her hair. Prickling notes tweaked their ears and carried the sharp scents of pine sap and flowers. ¡°What did you sing for Jal¡¯krin?¡± breathed Pal¡¯tran. Giving a wink, Amdirlain started performing the composition and quickly had Pal¡¯tran gasping in surprise. ¡°He said you sang it, but you sang all the layers of his composition!¡± ¡°Which did you like the most?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°They were all so joyous, but perhaps best not to dance on stage. Your moves are too mature for your age, and a venue like Clearstrike¡¯s,¡± coughed Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain had to laugh since all she¡¯d been doing were dance moves suitable for a Sydney nightclub. The afternoon passed quickly, and when the first customer showed up to use the booth, Amdirlain moved up to the shop¡¯s rooftop. From there, she watched the students moving across the campus grounds and continued to strain her Resonance. As the shop started closing, Jal¡¯krin came onto the rooftop and found her sitting near the edge. ¡°Did you eat at all?¡± ¡°I still had trail rations,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I know they don¡¯t go bad quickly, but letting them sit around is still silly.¡± Jabbing a thumb towards the rooftop door, Jal''krin replied, ¡°Pal¡¯tran said he¡¯d buy us dinner and come along to Clearstrike¡¯s.¡± ¡°Does he want to ensure you¡¯re safe in my company?¡± asked Amdirlain, picking up her pack and harp case and slinging them over her shoulder. ¡°He said you think I¡¯m an idiot,¡± stated Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s go inside the stairwell,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m not having this discussion on a rooftop where sound carries. Are any of the sound booths open?¡± asked Amdirlain, keeping her knowledge to herself. ¡°All of them are, it¡¯s closing time,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Only us, and my uncle, are in the building.¡± ¡°Then the stairs will do,¡± said Amdirlain. With that, she stalked inside and waited for him at the first landing of the stairwell. When Jal¡¯krin followed her downstairs, he stopped further up the stairs with his arms crossed. ¡°I said you displayed poor judgement and are prepared to risk more than you can afford to lose,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Also, I put him on the spot to see if he trusts your judgement and he rose to the challenge, or fell for it. I guess it all depends on how you look at it. For his faith in you, I rewarded him with some songs. The question becomes, is his faith in you warranted?¡± Jal¡¯krin frowned. ¡°Most people avoid using that word; you should mind your language.¡± ¡°Faith?¡± queried Amdirlain curiously. ¡°Yes,¡± acknowledged Jal¡¯krin, and he shifted uncomfortably on the spot. ¡°I¡¯m not most people. Are you worthy of his faith and commitment to you? Does your sister deserve your reckless disregard?¡± Jal¡¯krin grunted unhappily. ¡°That¡¯s a low blow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. You screwed up and then didn¡¯t learn from it,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°You didn¡¯t stop and listen to my conditions and agreed to something that wasn¡¯t yours to provide. Did you?¡± ¡°No, but how was I to know that your vocal skills are so abnormal?¡± ¡°But? That¡¯s just it. There is a time when you need to act, but when you¡¯re not in danger, you need to start by considering whether the risk is acceptable.¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°Next time you place a bet, ask yourself if you can afford to lose what you¡¯re putting up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll manage,¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Will your sister?¡± questioned Amdirlain, and she caught his pained gaze. ¡°Maybe, for you, that is the better question. Don¡¯t focus on the potential rewards! Ask yourself only if she can afford to lose it.¡± ¡°With your voice-¡± ¡°I intend to lose some competitions,¡± interjected Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin let out a strangled gasp. ¡°What?!¡± Crossing her arms, Amdirlain gave him a stiff smile. ¡°And I won¡¯t tell you which I¡¯m going to throw. Something might come up, and I¡¯ll need to withdraw from the ones I intend to win.¡± ¡°What is more important than these competitions if you want into a course?¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Maybe you should consider that you don¡¯t know everything?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I certainly know that I don¡¯t. I will look to do just enough to win each time. But what if I misjudge my competition, or someone following me does a better job, or I see a reason to throw it?¡± ¡°Why would you throw a competition?¡± ¡°Because I might believe someone deserves it more,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Or maybe to get long odds in the next competition. Or if I want to discourage someone from sponsoring me that I don¡¯t like without saying no directly? For all those reasons, if I catch so much as a hint that you¡¯ve bet more than I¡¯ve told you to, I will lose in one fashion or another.¡± ¡°You¡¯d risk not being allowed to enter the next competition if people think you¡¯re doing it on purpose. You could end up with a reputation that you can''t sustain your performance quality under pressure,¡± warned Jal¡¯krin. ¡°That would make a patron shy away from extending an opportunity.¡± ¡°I¡¯m young. I need a few more years to mature,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she swooned dramatically. ¡°How about you? Where will you be in a few more years if this doesn¡¯t work out?¡± ¡°You bloody don¡¯t sound young coming up with all that,¡± growled Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain raised a warning finger. ¡°And you need to learn that nothing in life is certain and to have contingencies in place. Betting what you can¡¯t afford to lose is stupid. So yeah, I guess I told your uncle you¡¯re an idiot. The question is, are you going to stay one?¡± ¡°No,¡± grumbled Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Good, then show me some music and words for local songs,¡± ordered Amdirlain. ¡°Tonight, I will perform enough to stand out without showing my hand.¡± The sheet music that Jal¡¯krin retrieved looked almost like a plastic film. Their musical notation differed from anything Amdirlain had seen, but it made sense after Jal¡¯krin performed two songs for her. Rapidly leafing through the shop¡¯s sheet music, Amdirlain spotted a few appealing songs. Humming one as she waited for the pair to finish their final tasks before they headed out the door, she drew Jal¡¯krin¡¯s attention. ¡°That¡¯s a country song,¡± noted Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Do you know what happens if you sing a country song backwards?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin warily. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°It stops raining, your spouse stops cheating, your pet comes home, and the law keepers find your vehicle intact.¡± Jal¡¯krin snorted in disbelief, but it earned a bark of amusement from Pal¡¯tran. ¡°If only life were that simple.¡± Leading them around the corner, Pal¡¯tran unlocked a well-maintained but aged vehicle. As they set off, Amdirlain softly sang and played with inflections to accent the emotions in the words. ¡°You just skimmed them once,¡± muttered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Leave Am be; you don¡¯t like people talking when you¡¯re composing,¡± reprimanded Pal¡¯tran, his attention not shifting from the road. In the congested roads of late afternoon traffic it took nearly forty minutes before they pulled into the parking station close to the club. The nearby eatery Pal¡¯tran took them to wasn¡¯t fancy, but it was a clean cafe with good size portions. Since Jal¡¯krin had questioned her about eating, Amdirlain ordered enough to keep her teenage cover intact. Daylight had dimmed before they exited the cafe, and Amdirlain found a change waiting. Along the building facades, thin horizontal panels had extended from the buildings. Each one radiated the usual soft white light found indoors across the sidewalk. ¡°It looks effective, but I don¡¯t quite understand why the builders took this approach,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Something about casting minimal shadows for any undead to use for refuge,¡± offered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Orbs along the street means you cast a shadow behind or in front of you, especially if any go out.¡± Pal¡¯tran nodded. ¡°The original proposal was for emergency responders, but they¡¯ve changed the city¡¯s nightlife. People used to ensure they were inside before dark. The changes have brought the city alive at night. Now, tonight is to get your name out, so don¡¯t go full blast yet.¡± His confidence that a single club performance would do that seemed out of place to Amdirlain. ¡°Do the performers here really get well known?¡± ¡°Clearstrike¡¯s has presence casters. You never know who might be watching,¡± advised Jal¡¯krin. ¡°That¡¯s why I suggested it.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s ears twitched, reacting to her confusion. ¡°Presence casters?¡± ¡°They send pictures, sounds, even the feel of the stage presence. Those with a receiver at home, tuned to the right signal, can watch on as if they were in the audience,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Part of the Mana draw of the receivers gets credited to the signal they¡¯re set to while operating.¡± ¡°Should I sit apart from you, or do you think that won¡¯t matter for competition betting?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not an adult, you¡¯ll need to be accompanied to get in,¡± replied Pal¡¯tran, and he motioned her to stay close. As they followed another group of customers past the parking garage they¡¯d used, everyone else had their hands near their holsters. ¡°What weapons are you carrying?¡± asked Pal¡¯tran, his eyes scanning the shadows. She could hear the Radiant Mana within the surrounding light, pooling within the ground and only gradually diffusing. The effect was like a charged capacitor, making it a self-destructive path for an incorporeal foe to attempt passage through. ¡°Throwing knives and fast feet,¡± replied Amdirlain, having already checked there was nothing close. Pal¡¯tran frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t count on speed. Some spectres that manifest in the city can fly faster than anyone, but the most experienced combatants can run. If they hit the light, its energy vaporises them.¡± ¡°Is everyone jumpy about getting ambushed despite the lights, or hoping to shoot an undead?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°If one shows its face, why not take the chance to destroy it?¡± inquired Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain took in his keyed-up state, ears upright, and hand on his holster. ¡°I agree, but if you feel it¡¯s so dangerous to come out at night, why do so?¡± ¡°Living life restrained by fear is no life at all,¡± answered Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Nice sentiment,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. Amdirlain saw Clearstrike¡¯s for the first time as they neared the next block''s end. It was a four-story building, and its street side was some twenty metres long. The building¡¯s frontage bore a detailed image of a stage. Across it, an enchantment created an illusion of life, making the figures of a band upon it appear to play. The signage beside the door displayed notes rising from a big kettle drum forming into the name. Despite what Amdirlain considered the relatively early hour for a club, a line of thirty people were ahead of them. ¡°When I was getting my start, the lunchtime crowd was the big thing. Getting relegated to an afternoon slot lit the fire under many a performer,¡± advised Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Now everyone wants the late evening slots to show their courage by staying out late.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take whatever spot is open,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and she brightened her tone innocently. ¡°Hey, is it possible to record the presence caster signal for later?¡± ¡°How would you do that?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain shrugged and motioned to herself. ¡°Do I look like an Artificer? I hadn¡¯t heard of a presence caster before, so I was curious about the possibility. If the Artificer can send information between devices, maybe there is a way to store the memory of it. I mean, you have audio recording options in the sound booth. What if I wanted to see a performer but wouldn¡¯t be near a receiver? Or wanted to see myself to know what to improve?¡± ¡°Interesting idea,¡± commented Pal¡¯tran. ¡°I¡¯m not an Artificer either, but I know some. With the questions you asked, I¡¯m curious what they¡¯d say.¡± The line of customers quickly moved between the two large male Catfolk on the door that exuded the familiar vibe of bouncers. Near them on a stand was a lockbox but also a silver panel set flush with the top of the podium; a cable ran from the stand¡¯s base through the doors. ¡°Coin or Mana?¡± asked a bouncer to each customer. As the line proceeded, a few touched their hand to the plate instead of handing over coins. Pal¡¯tran offered a stack of low-denomination coins and gestured between the three of them. Only once the bouncer had checked and dropped the cash in the lockbox did he usher them inside. Looking Amdirlain over, his eyes narrowed in consideration, and he raised a hand to halt her. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Sixteen.¡± ¡°She¡¯s here to perform,¡± advised Pal¡¯tran. With a grunt, the bouncer retrieved a woven cord from his pocket and got Amdirlain to fasten it around her left wrist. ¡°Don¡¯t think about asking for booze or spices.¡± With that, he stepped aside again and let her pass. Through the doorway was a short corridor with a check-in counter on one side and double doors at the end. As Pal¡¯tran handed over his energy projector, Amdirlain set her throwing knives atop the counter and received a token in return. Following the pair through the double doors, Amdirlain found she was on a raised step with the club laid out before her. The ground floor took up most of the space within the building. Finely carved tables interspaced the bronze-sheathed pillars supporting a partial second floor. Its crescent formation provided a prime view of the wooden dance floor and the curtained stage beyond. To the right of the entrance, a long bar wrapped around the wall. Pal¡¯tran leant close to speak and pointed across the top of those already lined up at the bar. ¡°Beyond the end of the bar, you¡¯ll find a staff member organising performance slots. You should get as late a spot as you can manage, let the crowd warm up first.¡± Jal¡¯krin pointed at a small table close to the stage as they skirted the few patrons waiting at the bar. Without a word, he headed off, and Pal¡¯tran shrugged at Amdirlain. Where Pal¡¯tran had pointed, she found a male Catfolk whose fur blended with the reddish-brown of the wooden tables. He had a film sheet in front of him with many names already marked with an oil pen and a small stack of counters. ¡°I¡¯d like a spot later in the evening. Is that possible?¡± asked Amdirlain. The staff member looked her up and said, ¡°I don¡¯t recognise you. Name?¡± ¡°Am, sir.¡± ¡°Am of? ¡°Blackcliff pride, far south of the territories,¡± advised Amdirlain. The male¡¯s muzzle curled up on one side, and he pushed a token forward and marked her down a quarter of the way down the sheet. ¡°You¡¯ve got a five-minute time slot in an hour and a half. Two minutes of prep time to get on stage. If you¡¯re up quickly, you¡¯ll have longer to sing. Take longer than four minutes to get on stage, and we call the next slot. Using that token, you can collect any gratuity given to the staff or from receivers half an hour after your act. Understood?¡± Amdirlain had nodded several times during the rapid-fire instructions. ¡°Yes, sir.¡± Getting out of the next person¡¯s path, Amdirlain moved away with Pal¡¯tran. He detoured to the bar to buy drinks for the three of them. When Amdirlain shrugged helplessly at the options, she got handed a fancy mocktail with sugar granules coating the rim; it was such a deep red, it looked like blood but tasted of wild berries. The running of the evening reminded Amdirlain of a few open mic nights she¡¯d seen. Some acts were surprisingly good after nervous starts, but a couple never got on stage, bringing Amdirlain¡¯s time slot forward. Listening to the performers, Amdirlain took in the audience¡¯s reactions, working to develop a gauge of the social norms of their culture. So many songs she considered from her past had phrasing that meant she couldn¡¯t use straight translations even when they¡¯d match the beat. Amdirlain would have been happy to pay to hear the singer who performed right before her slot, but she restrained her curiosity to dig. Amusingly, he¡¯d picked the same heartbreak melody Amdirlain had worked through on the way over, so she threw that plan away. The emotional rawness in the male¡¯s voice during the verse carried the theme of knowing loss, and she tapped the beat out in sympathy. Amdirlain beat the previous singer to the stage stairs when the announcer called her name. Standing out of the way at the base of the stairs, she gave him a nod of appreciation for his rendition and a soft ''well done''. ¡°Thanks, good luck.¡± Striding out to the centre stage, she smiled at the audience and started with the same low bass rumble that had caused Pal¡¯tran¡¯s fur to stand on end. It built steadily to a volume audible at the back of the club, despite the clink of drinks and murmur of conversation. Her use of the fear frequency had heartbeats racing and adrenaline surging throughout the audience. As the audience¡¯s eyes widened in that subconscious fear reaction, she broke out of the rumble with the sound of thunder and crashing stones. Silence weighed on the club, and Amdirlain expanded on the performance of ¡®In the Hall of the Mountain King¡¯ she¡¯d given Pal¡¯tran. As she split her voice to add multiples of each instrument after the cellos, the sixty-piece orchestra effect drew murmurs of curiosity and wonder. The memory of a conductor almost dancing as he directed an orchestra performing the song helped her project a bright, buoyant mood¡ªthe overall effect contrasted with the wash of fear she invoked, helping to lift spirits further. When the song ended, the audience froze, unsure if there would be more, and with plenty of time left, Amdirlain had to suppress a mischievous urge. Instead of using Darth Vader¡¯s theme¡ªImperial March¡ªher voice shifted pitched and swooped into the opening trill of Grieg¡¯s Morning Mood. The audience¡¯s mood was already bright, and some swayed in time to the music. As Amdirlain sang, carefully conveying her emotions, recalling winter days and the temptation to stay snuggled in bed. When it came to a close, she found many of the audience leaning forward in their seats. Giving them an abbreviated bow that she¡¯d seen other performers use, Amdirlain turned for the stage exit. Her movement caused the floodgates to open, and the club erupted in loud applause. ¡°Just as well I told you not to go full blast,¡± murmured Pal¡¯tran. ¡°I¡¯ve heard nothing like the instruments you imitated in that piece.¡± ¡°They might be ones just from my imagination,¡± replied Amdirlain. "And that wasn''t full blast." ¡°Did you perform multiple pieces?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin. ¡°The feel changed dramatically halfway through.¡± ¡°Yes, the first is called In the Hall of the Mountain King and the second was Morning Mood,¡± replied Amdirlain, wishing she could credit the composer. ¡°The second did have a sleepy, ¡®I¡¯m too warm to get out of bed¡¯ feel to it,¡± observed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I half expected to see some of the audience start to nap, and then the high notes returned and woke them up.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I might have been trying to convey that through the music.¡± Nodding towards Jal¡¯krin, Pal¡¯tran¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°He used to need a tail tug to get out of bed.¡± The next performer got up on stage, and the lyrics spoke of the pain of friends left on a battlefield and the pieces of the writer it left behind with them. Amdirlain listened in silence, and her focus cut the conversation off. A few more of the mocktail she¡¯d been nursing got delivered to their table by the serving staff. It gave her something to cover that the lyrics dug at the grief that occasionally left her feeling hollow and aching inside. Catching Pal¡¯tran¡¯s concerned expression, she realised her ears had lain back in pain as her tail smacked her leg. She forced the unfamiliar appendages to behave and turned her attention to her drinks. On the way out the door later, Amdirlain received nods of appreciation and congratulations. Stopping at the bar, she collected far more than the cover charge when handing in her token. On the way back to his vehicle in the well-lit garage, Pal¡¯tran waved his tail towards the club. ¡°Next time, I suggest having a few songs ready so you can switch between them. Best avoid being a novelty act no matter how impressive your vocalisation is,¡± advised Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Or make Jal¡¯krin earn his way and compose some songs for you.¡± ¡°None of my compositions would fit in the time slots they allow performers,¡± objected Jal¡¯krin. Pal¡¯tran snorted. ¡°Then you need to be more flexible and concise in conveying emotions.¡± The trip to Jal¡¯krin¡¯s place wasn¡¯t far, but they saw two misshapen spectres on the five-minute journey. Each came to the same end, ruptured into a mist against the wards woven into the vehicle it attacked. ¡°There have been more of late,¡± murmured Pal¡¯tran as he pulled into the driveway before a three-story townhouse. He carefully stopped underneath a light panel that gave them cover to the front door. ¡°I expect the military to warn of another large abomination forming soon.¡± ¡°I thought the spectres formed if they didn¡¯t clear one in time?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s what they teach in school," Pal''tran said. "Frequently, smaller abominations happen before a big one; it¡¯s an inconvenient truth that large-scale events aren¡¯t the only danger.¡± ¡°Goodness, who¡¯d have thought?¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Surely it''s not a problem until it threatens me directly.¡± Pal¡¯tran laughed as Amdirlain slipped out of the vehicle and ensured the door was secured. Jal¡¯krin moved carefully down the lit path and motioned her to enter the front door first. Beyond the doorway was a narrow passage that ran through a crossroad at the building¡¯s centre and then continued to a flight of stairs at the end. Each section had four doors present, but the marked numbers on the far side of the crossroads only showed a gap of two. As Amdirlain moved forward, Jal¡¯krin pointed to the first door on her right. ¡°That¡¯s my place.¡± His door opened into a narrow apartment that ran along the corridor. Amdirlain detected a larger apartment through the far wall connected to the crossroad¡¯s right side. Narrow apartments down the middle and multi-bedroom places take up the sides. ¡°Do they have these panels where you came from?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin, and he gave the closest hexagon a tap. ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The building¡¯s wards keep everything out, but if a room¡¯s light turns yellow, there is a breach,¡± advised Jal¡¯krin, and he stepped into the apartment ahead of her. ¡°Okay.¡± After Jal¡¯krin let her into his apartment, Amdirlain took in the one-bedroom place. There were only a few pieces of simple furnishing in the main room, and at its far end lay two doors. The place contained little in the way of material possessions. A deep, backless bench server sat against the wall across from the entry. A waist-high bookcase was placed between the door and a flat kitchenette along the left wall. The shelves were packed with textbooks and scores of notebooks. More notebooks nearly covered a small square table that sat against the wall opposite the kitchenette¡¯s sink. Beside the table was an ice chest with visible exterior cold runes, leaving a clear path to the doors. After he closed the door, Jal¡¯krin rested his hand on a silver plate previously hidden behind it, and Amdirlain felt him run a trickle of Mana into it. ¡°I¡¯ll let you use the washroom first. It¡¯s the left door, hard to miss in this massive place, I know.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that panel?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Mana charging. I get credited for feeding energy into the grid. It¡¯s the only reason I can afford a place of my own,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin before he sighed. ¡°Moving home wasn¡¯t an option.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve got a bit of Mana, but I only know the basics of a sound Spell List. Would it help if I contribute?¡± ¡°Every bit helps at the moment,¡± said Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I didn¡¯t know bards could learn spells.¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, I forgive you,¡± allowed Amdirlain with a grin. ¡°After all, it is an archaic Class.¡± Jal¡¯krin shooed her towards the washroom as fatigue started to hit from sending gulps of Mana into the plate. While Amdirlain pretended long enough to maintain her cover, she heard him considerately fit the couch with sheets and blankets. When Jal¡¯krin took over the washroom, she examined the panel and the chain of Mana conductive blocks behind it. Finding a connection that led towards the street, Amdirlain sent the barest trickle of Mana into the silver and listened to how it recorded the details. Amdirlain settled on the couch before he came out and pretended to be asleep. Seeing her flaked out, Jal¡¯krin crept around, preparing for bed and trying not to disturb her. Only when Amdirlain heard his breathing slow into a sound sleep did she weave an illusion about the couch and sit upright. Bringing out a crystal cube, she linked it to the surveyor overhead and had it project the paths of all the possessed she¡¯d tagged throughout the day. At first, their paths appeared random, but they all connected with a few properties on the city¡¯s edge by day¡¯s end. With the surveyors¡¯ gathering of real-time information so new, and the distortion in play, Amdirlain opted for an in-person visit to each. 311 - Whispers in the mist Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Wrapping herself in more concealments, Teleport placed her near the wooded edge of the first estate. Searching for distortions wasn¡¯t a problem as she immediately heard the fractured notes within the main building. The owners had laid out four hexagonal structures in a lopsided Y-shape with an open mouth towards the driveway. The smaller wings and tail were each a modest two stories and fifteen metres across. Positioned against sides one, three and five of a middle hexagon, fifty metres across and six stories tall. Forming a thin line of focus with Resonance, Amdirlain swept the place for barriers and traps the overhead surveyor might have missed. Aside from the wards the surveyor had shown her, she found minimal extra. Her efforts isolated the decaying energies of scrying spells at the estate¡¯s front entrances and numerous deaths in the rear wing. Setting a crystal into the ground to tag any infected who entered the grounds, Amdirlain moved to her next location. She appeared at the back corner of the property¡¯s solid fence, hovering above the black gravel that covered the ground around the sole building. Catching a series of glimmers among the gravel, Amdirlain noticed a feature that hadn¡¯t been visible from overhead. White starburst markers divided the whole ground up into parking spaces. The markers were tipped far over on their side to make them only visible by an approaching vehicle. Weird line markers aside, Amdirlain wouldn¡¯t have found anything odd about the parking facilities before her excursion to the club. Unlike those around the club, there was no overhead lighting, and the gravel material didn¡¯t feel like it would allow Radiant Mana to pool. The surrounding properties were part of an industrial complex, with all the warehouses and factory units shut down for the night. Amdirlain turned her attention to the central structure. The structure was a loop formed from six linked hexagonal structures, the lone entry was on the side closest to the street. The other hexagonal structures lacked an outer door, but each had a door to the inner courtyard. She heard more lingering traces of scrying spells focused on the property¡¯s entrance over the last day. The considerable but bearable distortion within the structure made it hard to perceive the interior. Looking to isolate the effect again, Amdirlain formed Resonance into a narrow path and started a full circle sweep. Even before she finished examining the structure, she found more than a few oddities. The hexagonal walls were 33 metres long and made of black stone that hummed with distortion. Though it looked like a single structure, the only connection between the six buildings were the doorways between structures. There were subtle things off about its angles and joins. The walls'' corners didn¡¯t line up in equal lengths; the difference wasn¡¯t much, but each was off by multiples of thirty-three millimetres. Everywhere she started to look, more occurrences of thirty-three, or just three, were common. The front structure had a wide reception counter sitting three metres and thirty-three centimetres inside the entrance. Beyond were three cloakrooms filled with cloth hooded robes and mostly wooden masks. The exception was a set of thirty-three robes that hung beside stone masks enchanted to assist the mental resilience of the wearer. Amdirlain wondered what was happening since they were apparently aware of the distortion''s dangers. The structures were linked internally counter-clockwise, and the central area was set up with thirty-three metal waves running southwest to northeast. Their formation allowed someone easy passage from any of the structures in the chain back to the second, but not in the opposite direction. Only the last two in the structures within the loop possessed any warding, and it was only against scrying, nothing against the undead. As Resonance¡¯s path moved over a warehouse five hundred metres up the street, she found a warded room with two wizards inside. The song of one matched the caster of the most recent scrying spells that had examined the building. Picking up their thoughts, Amdirlain found the observers weren¡¯t security for the cult but rather spying on the building. Their need to keep a low profile meant they were stuck in a chamber with nothing to do but play games until they detected a visitor''s arrival. The female wizard wanted to know more about the structure and group that had taken her brother from her. The strange circumstances she and others had seen among the foundation¡¯s members made her hesitate to break the observers¡¯ rules. Despite being assigned to a low-level meeting centre, she daydreamed about finding things at bigger sites during the easy game they played to pass the time. As she skipped a piece forward to claim more of her partner¡¯s markers, a nudge from Amdirlain provoked idle speculation. Among the images that arose, other properties Amdirlain had intended to investigate were included. However, the images of a large lakefront property in the observer¡¯s mind grabbed Amdirlain¡¯s attention. Details that included images of medical beds and lists of the dead had her hackles rising. It seemed the secretive cult bases weren¡¯t so secret. Near each property that Amdirlain had traced the infected to was an observation post manned by a pair of wizards. However, they weren¡¯t spying for the law keepers; they were private citizens, some volunteers and others employed full time. They''d all been approached by Professor Mor¡¯lmes after the law keepers rejected requests for help with a loved one''s strange behaviour. Delving into her thoughts, Amdirlain finally found the reason they were close enough for her to find. Although Amdirlain''s Resonance could detect their scrying spells, they were purposely designed by a divination specialist to be almost undetectable. A large downside, however, is that they were equally limited in range. The closer they were positioned, the clearer the images returned, making it a real problem for some isolated sites. Amdirlain sliced open the structure¡¯s strongest wards and moved. As the contained energies spilled out, the wards¡¯ fraying triggered alerts within the observation post. Teleporting into the structure, Amdirlain started cursing at what she found. Along the walls were mind-twisting patterns that offered hints of greater secrets if they were studied. Though different to those the Eldritch Drifter had left etched in stone, they were no less damaging. Amdirlain hastily broke into the structure¡¯s inner sanctum. She only spared it a glance before unleashing songs that caused the stone¡¯s surface to soften and blur, ruining the effect of the images before the observers peered in. The central chamber was an irregularly shaped room, like an inkblot represented in 3D. Positioned off-centre in the chamber was a pool large enough for a tall Catfolk to lie in that looked like it had been moulded off a car melted by nuclear fire. The thick sludge that filled it was the source of the distortion and had Amdirlain¡¯s fur standing on end. As the pool¡¯s exterior melted under the blurring from Amdirlain¡¯s song, the material promised emptiness and screaming distortion. The material had no resistance other than the energy that had twisted its existence. Enfolding the boundaries where its nature touched the realm, Amdirlain applied the death theme of the Eldritch and worked to eject it. Though the materials resisted her efforts, she used its similarity to the Far Chaos to send it from the realm. As the observers¡¯ scrying started through the building, Amdirlain confirmed her concealments had stayed intact and left them to the mess. Teleport placed Amdirlain on the road outside the lakefront property she¡¯d learnt of from the observer. Far below it, through a hiss of static, were thousands of screeching sources of distortion, with fifteen of them significant in strength. Locating the observation team, Amdirlain looked into their minds as they reviewed medical files and autopsy reports. What hadn''t been clear from the other observer was that this place was for palliative care. The outer fence of the property had a large sign above the front gate: The Lakeside Retreat. A small plaque beyond the reach of the gate¡¯s wings read: Constructed by The Remembrance Foundation. Maybe I¡¯ll leave a Sunnydale sign out the front later. The sprawling estate was dozens of square kilometres of lakefront on the city¡¯s northwest edge. On the rolling grounds, the property¡¯s only building was near a few piers extending into the water. It was a single hexagon that, while only three-storied, provided plenty of space, with edges over a kilometre long. The institution¡¯s front door led into rooms filled with desks and chairs, but a single Catfolk was present. He was close to the central lift lobby and had his attention on an array of Artificer panels secured to brackets on a nearby wall. Among the other lifts, a concealed one plunged into the earth through the centre of what appeared to be a foundation pylon. Four of the building¡¯s segments held wards of private rooms containing elderly and gravely ill adults. The rooms within the sixth segment hosted children. In each ward, some adults tended to the patients, and she heard one softy reading a small child a story of a cub adventuring on a lake. The surface seemed peaceful and sedate except for two adults transferring a drugged child to a gurney with less care than a bag of flour. Within a bag at the gurney''s end were arcane implements, heavily contaminated with Eldritch energy and traces of death. Amdirlain had intended to learn more first, but that plan had just crashed and burned. Confirming the only warding around the upper floors was for privacy and protection against the undead, Amdirlain appeared in the room. Mentally eviscerating the eldritch manipulators that controlled them, Amdirlain caught the convulsing adults. Extended tentacles slowed their fall and muffled their screams before she put them to sleep. Amdirlain winced as she listened to their neural pathways and found old and new memories tainted by the Eldritch insanity. Shielding the memories that weren¡¯t twisted, Amdirlain quickly dissolved the rest. When they were clean of distortion, she reached into their minds and sighed unhappily at having returned adults to their teenage years. A lullaby pressured the security guard to sleep and rolled across the hospital. It was deliberately not fast acting allowing staff and patients to avoid injury. Once everyone was asleep, Amdirlain set to work. Mentally crushing hundreds of eldritch manipulators, she repeatedly caught at their death knell¡¯s song. Her experience with ejecting the effigy provided new insights into the interlocking themes that cast the residue from the realm. [Combat Summary Eldritch Manipulator x320 Total Experience gained: 3,792,000 Ostim?: +1,896,000 Ont?lin: +1,896,000 Advanced Telepathy [M] (80->82) True Song Architecture [S] (101->102)] Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. With the parasites gone, she carefully dissolved memories from healers and nurses, taking out only what had been infected. The teenage state of many of the minds had Amdirlain deciding to give them a second chance. Their minds held in her grasp, she forced their agreement and stripped the few eldritch sorcerers of their classes. Then she reverted their physical ages to match the minds that now inhabited their bodies. Though she knew it wasn¡¯t the optimal solution for all their families, the staff had no hope of recovering from their ¡®amnesia¡¯ with what she¡¯d done. A fresh start was their only hope to redeem the damage in their souls; a teenager¡¯s body was the best way for others to accept it as fact. Having handled the staff, Amdirlain turned her attention to the patients. The melodies of healthy Catfolk let Amdirlain deal with the cancerous growths and magical aliments she found in young and old alike. There were a few whose themes Amdirlain considered repugnant, but she left them alone with their natural deaths not far away. Knowing they still might harm others, she added their hidden crimes to the medical records attached to their beds. Not wanting to leave the staff and patients where more Eldritch infected could easily claim them, Amdirlain teleported them away. The corridors of distant shopping centres became packed with patients in their beds and slumbering teenagers in medical garb. Before they¡¯d been there a few seconds, the first guards tending those locations had tripped alarms. Moving to the lift lobby, Amdirlain bodily ripped apart the false facade that hid the deep lift. Masked by her concealments, the receivers in the security station didn¡¯t show Amdirlain present. But they displayed both the destruction and the words she set into the wall beside the exposed lift. Inventory placed the stone shards metres away, formed into the same words. ¡®Insanity and monsters lie beneath. Incomprehensible beings led the staff and others into madness and enslavement, sacrificing lives to gain more power.¡¯ Her swift demolition hadn¡¯t damaged the lift platform, so Amdirlain stepped onto it, triggering its descent. Above her, though, shorting Mana conduits started to set off blaring alarms. The lift was past the foundations when the native grey stone of the area showed a seeping black discolouration. Looking at the lift platform, she considered the self-contained Artificer mechanism and started to sing. Amdirlain breathed a sigh of relief as the platform continued to descend smoothly despite the white granite plug she created to fill the shaft above her. The local symbol for hazardous material appeared etched into the granite''s upper layer. Reaching out, she touched the observers¡¯ minds and sent a message. ¡®Your targets worship beings that make the darkest gods appear benevolent. I cleaned up the mental infestation in the staff and evacuated everyone. The chambers and tunnels beneath the retreat are populated with monsters beyond Mortal limits. The mat-black stones contain hazardous energies.¡¯ Ensuring they wouldn¡¯t forget a fragment of the message, she broke the connection and swept Resonance through the static below. The lift shaft descended directly into one of the largest chambers and a distortion source. Dozens of pathways radiated from that point, twisting paths to other chambers and Eldritch beings, big and small. Having descended nearly seven hundred metres, the shaft opened up around her, and the hovering platform continued to descend. The top of a thick mist rippled beneath her, but it wasn¡¯t the nearest source of distortion. As the platform descended further, the pea-soup thick fog blocked her True Sight, and the hiss of distortion squealed all around her. [Species: Loathsome Void Spawn Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 1,723,912 Melee Attack Power: 9,923 Details: Whether birthed in the Far Chaos or the void between stars, they all share the hunger for the essence of life. Sometimes they can be bound to protect effigies of greater beings if regularly provided energy from sacrifices. Note: They can feed off the essence of the living and the undead alike; just got to throw food their way. Note: Stupid cultists think the Eldritch are tools to cast off the eternal threat of the undead. Note: I thought you planned to be subtle on Qil Tris. Review the definition of subtle; perhaps reading it might help?] Ouch, burn! Fine, but there was a child to save. Her descent halted atop a dais surrounded by undulating ramps that ran to the chamber¡¯s floor in serpentine paths. An altar surrounded by bloody troughs sat on the chamber¡¯s floor. When she stepped off the lift platform, a trio of giant ten-metre-tall pillars suddenly loomed at the ends of the gutters. The outline of a pillar shrouded in the chamber¡¯s congealing mist suddenly changed. Its motion filled her mind with broken jigsaw pieces while she attempted to study its form. A flared crest around its head dissolved into a ridge of spiked horns that gained, yet somehow always had, oozing feelers. Focusing on one part of its body gave the rest free rein to swirl unchecked into something else. With every transformation, True Sight tried to perceive the reality of the being but caught only incomplete analogies of pieces. With the Power blocked by the being¡¯s incompatibility with the realm¡¯s rules, Amdirlain turned it off, and darkness swallowed her. A wave of rushing wind assaulted her senses with the stench of a rotting sea. Spinning away, Amdirlain empowered the tensed ligaments in an out-flung arm to unleash a spray of ordered shards. Light flashing from the energy release showed the trio charging, and Amdirlain leapt clear. By reflex, Ki State and Angelic Aura snapped to full strength and shunted aside a flurry of blows. With her experience on the other world, Amdirlain drew on Primordial Mana and filled the armour that covered her flesh with its flames. The illumination let her see more incoming assaults that warped in form and direction. Behind stabbing tentacles, the second one advanced, and a paw bigger than her torso slapped down on the stone. As its form rippled in her senses, Amdirlain struck out. Her form exploded outwards, fighting fire with fire, and her tentacles closed on the beasts, squeezing with brutal strength. Her expanded mass and contact with them prevented them from teleporting away. The sound of shattered rock transformed into pulping flesh as their exteriors crumpled. Their undulating multi-dimensional sounds had Polyglot confused between translating anger and pleasure. As blows battered against her armour, and spells seized upon their connection to rip into her, the creatures tried to pull away. Pain Eater issued a spike of notifications, but Amdirlain ignored it and stopped trying to hold her ground. The force of their retreat catapulted her forward, and Amdirlain grew further in mid-air. Instantly a mass twenty metres across, the power of her momentum rocketed but, before impact, she drew on more of her Protean-absorbed mass and quadrupled her size. She engulfed them, pulling them into a tight embrace before her impact with the far wall shook the chamber to its foundations. Eldritch energies broke her resistance, and Amdirlain saw the danger in her approach as Protean struggled to fight their influence. Still, she pushed for victory with the trio already pinned by her unexpected move. Amdirlain sang on as she weathered their increasingly frantic blows. She reflected the chaotic songs of their parts into perfectly ordered crystal translations. As they fought and clawed, she endured the pain and added bits and pieces of what she sensed to the theme while other aspects fought for translation in her mind. Angelic Aura helped turn aside the worst magical assaults while its energy fought the eldritch natures. When Amdirlain finally rose, three crystal sarcophagi sat on the chamber¡¯s floor amid the blood and gore ripped from her form. The mist that had filled the chamber was no more, compressed in with the entities whose nightmarish existence had spawned it. The sarcophagi differed from those within the Abyss¡ªthese had no key. [Achievement: Pet groomer Details: You¡¯ve wrangled your first strays and got them to sit, not just shooed them out of the yard. Note: You might qualify as a wildlife handler yet!] [Combat Summary: Loathsome Void Spawn x 3 (Imprisoned) Total experience gained: 10,343,472 Ostim?: +5,171,736 Ont?lin: +5,171,736 Resistance: Eldritch [I](43->44) Angelic Aura [S] (46->47) Protean [S] (81->82)] Forcing her body to shift set her flesh aching in protest, but Amdirlain returned to her Elven form. Amdirlain got a clear view of the chamber¡¯s engraved walls with the mist gone. Black stonework tried to drink up the golden glow from her gaze and smoother it with an oppressive gloom. Each block showed twisting patterns similar to what the Eldritch Drifter had impressed into its resting spot. Sigils and carvings covered the wall and tried to entice her to stare closer and seek the mysteries hidden within the alien swirls. Though these patterns seemed incapable of influencing her, she didn¡¯t want to risk the observers exposing themselves. Adjusting the melody she¡¯d used at the last site, Amdirlain¡¯s song softened the stone¡¯s surface. As the walls glistened with tears of black ink, the pull of gravity ruined the patterns. A confusing catacomb of passages spread out in all directions, but the nearest distortion was impossible to hide. Her awareness stretched through the contaminating energies, and Amdirlain teleported to its chamber. Though the screams spiked in Resonance, a physical silence and thick mist blanketed her. Not wanting to engage in hand-to-hand combat so soon, she turned to option ¡®burn.¡¯ A maelstrom of music struck out through the muffling fog sending Primordial blades searing through Eldritch flesh and bone. [Combat Summary: Loathsome Void Spawn x 1 Total experience gained: 2,147,824 Ostim?: +1,073,912 Ont?lin: +1,073,912] The distortion was of equal strength, so imprisoning them nets me more per void spawn. Gideon said they can come back, so they¡¯re rewarding me for keeping them on ice for a few billion years. Maybe? The last notes of her songs echoed through the surrounding corridors, and distortions started her way. Looking at the gaping wounds she¡¯d left in the stone, and already decaying mound of flesh, Amdirlain whistled and called out. ¡°Here, boy!¡± Come on, baby, be my bonfire. The things that approached were waist height on Amdirlain and flitted from one side of the tunnels to the other in erratic movements. She couldn''t see much of their bodies because hundreds of tendrils thrashed about them. The ten of them grouped up and dropped closer to the ground when they spotted Amdirlain. They only waited a beat before charging her in a rush of tendrils. With the form she chose challenging her control of Primordial flames, the song twisted in Amdirlain¡¯s throat. Forcing it to completion, a boulder of flames barrelled forward to melt stone and incinerate the group. [Combat Summary: Loathsome Void Spawn Larvae x10 Total experience gained: 845,960 Ostim?: +422,980 Ont?lin: +422,980] As Amdirlain moved through the tunnels, more died in isolated strikes. The rush of a pack saw the Primordial flames again flood the tunnels and melt stone in its wake. The destruction of that first large pack provoked others to rush in. Increasing waves of the weaker ones fell to the flames. Though larger ones mixed in with them, she heard a stronger pair in a distant location that hadn¡¯t shifted position. As the last of the latest attack died to the flames, Amdirlain skipped to them. Two looming figures stood on either side of a massive door that dwarfed them. Without pause, the figures charged towards her, and Amdirlain¡¯s glowing gaze gave her all the light she needed to fight back. Arcing backwards beneath a cable-like tentacle that morphed into a spiked beam, Amdirlain drove her foot up. Unable to stop its attack in time, the Primordial flames sheathed within her flesh carved a path along the passing beam. Smashing down to stomp on a separate attack aimed at her back leg, she felt the solid limb squeeze and ooze before the heat of her flesh sent it up in flames. As tentacles swept in, Amdirlain danced between them and unleashed blows of flesh and song. A close call from one shifting form snagged at her clothing, but Amdirlain absorbed the shadow vines and spun with the motion. A wet drumbeat sounded on alien flesh from fist, elbow, and shoulder strikes, all leaving charred wounds in her wake. The flesh of her side and thigh opened under alien strikes, but she neither flinched nor fell into the spikes waiting for her stumble. Spinning back the other way, she dropped and rolled beneath a scything limb and came up behind it. Eyes and antennae fixed on her, and the spawn¡¯s attack slowed to reverse direction. The Primordial Kopis appeared, and the weapon¡¯s white flames momentarily drowned her gaze¡¯s golden light. A sucking noise sounded as the blade severed the limb, and the weapon vanished again. The charred stump of the limb flopped about, and Amdirlain flowed away from it. As the alien grasped for the severed flesh, Amdirlain¡¯s mind seized it and drove the limb into the closest maw. That provoked them to use purplish-black Eldritch bolts and lances that Amdirlain slipped past or let Angelic Aura dampen. Ki Flight lifted her off the ground and skipped her from limb to limb, missteps in the fray marked by her blood and body parts. Along her path, the charred footprints highlighted her passage with cauterised wounds. When Amdirlain¡¯s foes were at last nothing but blood-splattered flesh, the surrounding mist faded into the stone, the energy staining it darker. Amdirlain listened to the realm¡¯s songs that sent their true energies home before she turned to consider the now fully visible vault door. With the distortion of the guardians gone, she could hear summoning circles and containers of imprisoned spectres. [Combat Summary: Loathsome Void Spawn x 12 Loathsome Void Spawn Larvae x3,923 Total experience gained: 357,643,996 Ostim?: +178,821,998 Ont?lin: +178,821,998 Angelic Aura [S] (47->48) Protean [S] (82->83) Ki State [S] (100->101) Ki Flight [Ad] (32->34) True Song Genesis [M] (19->21)] Pulling the imprisoned Eldritch critters to her, Amdirlain sent them through a Gate to one of the existing storage locations in the Abyss. With them dispatched, she took in the growing activity above and the energy-soaked stone about her. The tunnels were a problem, though the priority was the patterns; she¡¯d need to deal with the Eldritch energy contaminating the stone eventually. Setting a barrier before the door, Amdirlain took the next song slowly to husband her strength. She set it loose only after it had built towards a loud crescendo that rattled her bones with restrained power. The power burst forward and continued to race out as she sang on. Lava mixed with Primordial Mana and flooded the tunnels, melting everything in its path, including the remains of the battle. The difficulty in using the same energy that filled the Titan¡¯s forge kept trying to pull the song from her control. Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop until all the tunnels were filled, ignoring another rush of experience and a further increase in her True Song that appeared along the way. With a glowing wall of white lava restrained a few metres away, she turned towards the vault door. 312 - Black Ice Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris With the surrounding distortion dramatically lessened, Amdirlain reactivated True Sight. Examining the vault¡¯s controls, she heard the residue of four people operating the controls spread across its surface. The knobs and curved impression seemed more suitable for tentacled beings than any Catfolk, but traces of those who¡¯d used them were present. The interactions left impressions and energies that advised Amdirlain what they¡¯d touched. Despite the vastness of the door, neither True Sight nor Resonance found runes or lingering magical energies, only the Eldritch hiss. With the lack of security measures attached, Amdirlain would have pulled the vault door into Inventory. Faced with the Eldritch saturation, she gradually disintegrated a path instead. The echoing space beyond wasn''t a place for riches, but a large summoning chamber with a 40-metre circle at its centre. Warped cuneiform runes within its boundary seemed to blur in True Sight and spoke volumes of its connection to Eldritch beings. Amdirlain found the items racked around the space¡¯s edges fascinating and macabre. Hundreds of silvered-glass jars held incorporeal undead, from ghosts to wraith lords. Yet regardless of their strength or placement, every one of them avoided looking towards the circle. The presence of so many undead, even secured as they were, had sucked the heat from the room and painted the walls in black ice. None of the undead looked fully Catfolk but were instead misshapen and twisted into a mockery of the lives they might have represented. However, there wasn¡¯t a Soul among them, only fragments of personas providing a framework for their hate and hunger. Secondary circles around the chamber seemed designed to feed energy to the primary summoning, and all the jars were the right size to sit within them. Amdirlain confirmed the cultists used undead for summoning rituals by analysing the residue. Drawing on the Power of Daylight, Amdirlain repeatedly flooded the chamber. Though the silvered glass held them in, it gave the undead nowhere to hide. [Combat Summary: Ghosts: x36 Spectres x92 Wraith x15 Wraith-Lord x3 Total Experience gained: 459,400 Ostim?: +229,700 Ont?lin: +229,700 Daylight [J] (3->4) Note: Stooping to kill fish in a barrel with hand grenades?] The twisted summoning circle likely represented thousands of hours of work. Amdirlain disintegrated it in seconds, not wanting to leave metals soaked in Eldritch energies about the place. As she turned to leave, she spotted a few dozen aged texts magically preserved on a shelf at the end of one rack, and Amdirlain flipped through them by age. The first was an arcane archeologist¡¯s journal in an antique form of their tongue. It covered years of expeditions to ancient sites. The entries sometimes skipped months, with it clear that what had held their interest were in other works. The author detailed the highlights of moving between places. He spent years searching for knowledge but, in a dramatic change, lusted for a power he was sure would undo the gods'' scourge. The first doodle in the margins appeared at the end of that entry. The author had attempted to scribble it out, but the edges were those of mind-warping imagery. In the next journal, other nightmarish images appeared until, towards the end, they were on every second page. Journal by journal, they occurred more frequently until they filled margins instead of a single image. In the last journals, they even started mid-page, the flow of words interrupted by a scribbled sigil, only for the entry to continue as if nothing had occurred. Excitement and concern arose when they talked about lost days and spells they couldn¡¯t recall creating, yet they persisted. The third to last journal ended with an ecstatic entry: ¡®The glacier¡¯s shadow contained the pool, as the ruins said. I¡¯ve looked into its depths and know theirs were the warnings of the jealous worshipers. All because they were jealous of others gaining powers their gods couldn¡¯t understand and weren¡¯t indebted to them. Power to let us seal away the scourge is in my grasp. The path here has been hard, but it¡¯s all worth it now. The return will be easy; preparations begin tomorrow to return us all to Osaphis.¡¯ From there, the last journals changed from personal thoughts to nonsensical calculations. Their focus was a summoning circle to bring the children from the void, all to wake the darkness to consume the scourge. Amdirlain found the schematic of the destroyed summoning circle in the last journal amidst complaints of failing health. Even within those careful notes, they¡¯d marked every page with doodles that caught the eye. The doodles were but the songs of ink and parchment to Resonance. Yet each of them tried to twist at her awareness to varying degrees. Doodles left in old or new texts could start the cycle again. Amdirlain hadn¡¯t come to Quil Tris just to kill the existing Eldritch. She¡¯d been planning to find records of the sites where Eldritch creatures had first appeared and clean up the stone of their resting places. But now it was clear it wasn¡¯t just all the sites where the Eldritch had rested she needed to find. The writing of involved mortals from centuries past could contain the seeds of contamination. It will take more than me to resolve the current mess. I¡¯ll need to equip others to root this out. As she considered options for the rest of the evening and her worn state, she caught a sense of new arrivals on the grounds above. Reaching out to touch a sentry¡¯s mind, she found things had progressed. The law keepers had secured the outside of the building, put up portable Radiant lighting, and begun exploring the building. Now stronger teams had arrived to breach the stone plug in the deep lift shaft. The Primordial lava filling the tunnels was still white hot and would be for days. It was an energy those above could likely detect, but if so, it hadn¡¯t discouraged their preparations. Rather than dig through more minds, she opted for a different approach to avoid them harming themselves. Playing Poltergeist might buy me time to alter the song. Fairly certain experimenting with the undead under a hospital wasn¡¯t legal, Amdirlain tried for a delay. The jars filled with smouldering ectoplasm started to appear in the entry, blocking the progress of those nearest the lift shaft. When the team backed off, Amdirlain continued until she emptied the racks. Scrying out a target across the planes, Amdirlain altered the song to suit. While she sang to move the lava, she scoured all traces of the Eldritch from the summoning chamber. An hour of the team clearing the foyer of traps and examining the jars gave Amdirlain all the time she needed. With preparation complete, Amdirlain sent the mega-tonnes of lava across the planes and plunging into Culerzic¡¯s Umbra Sea. With the last traces of Eldritch influence removed from the summoning chamber, Amdirlain started towards her ¡®home¡¯ for the night. Away from the tunnels and lingering energies, Amdirlain stopped off to resume her Catfolk form and restore concealments. Only once she felt comfortable did she return to Jal¡¯krin¡¯s apartment. As Amdirlain sat on the bench, she took in Jal¡¯krin¡¯s slumbering song and checked the crystal that maintained the illusion. With no record of anyone approaching it, she slid back under the blankets and closed her eyes to meditate. Her Ki energies allowed her to heal the last of her injuries and the strain of challenging songs, giving Protean time to recover from the evening¡¯s efforts. Jal¡¯krin blinked in surprise when he awoke to a well-cooked meal that Amdirlain had duplicated from the first eatery. Even the sink¡¯s sideboard showed evidence of the preparations, mimicked from the same venue. ¡°You don¡¯t have any bread, and your ice chest is nearly empty,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Want to clear space at the table?¡± Jal¡¯krin blinked sleepily at her before taking a plate and fork from her. ¡°I normally don¡¯t eat here. Where did you get this from?¡± ¡°It¡¯s all I¡¯d had left in my travel pack,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Eating at home is better on the budget unless you¡¯re freeloading.¡± ¡°Eggs as well?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin as he cut one with the edge of his fork, plainly ignoring her dig. ¡°There is a trick to it,¡± Amdirlain answered evasively. ¡°How do you normally get to the store?¡± Jal¡¯krin swallowed a mouthful of food and waved his fork towards the front door. ¡°Transporter route to the campus goes along this street.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you there at opening time. What¡¯s the transporter¡¯s details?¡¯ ¡°Look out for the green signage. Any transporter with that will get you there; the higher numbers stop more frequently,¡± advised Jal¡¯krin, and he nodded towards her. ¡°Don¡¯t you have any other clothes?¡± Inhaling the last of her breakfast, Amdirlain left the plate beside the sink and scooped up her gear. ¡°I¡¯ll go shopping this morning. I cooked; you can wash.¡± At a yawn that she took for agreement, despite it being more of a protest, Amdirlain headed out. The thoughts she¡¯d caught from Jal¡¯krin had a point. She¡¯d chosen to ¡®cook¡¯ without asking, and apparently, he wasn¡¯t a fan of eggs and the meat she¡¯d picked. Only a gap-year student¡¯s ¡®beggars can¡¯t be choosers¡¯ attitude had kept him from rejecting the food. Hopping off the transporter, still a ten-minute walk from the store, Amdirlain wandered through the shops and ducked into a female facility. After a quick appearance change, she exited taller and silvery-furred wearing a grey leather top and pants. After weighing up how things might go, she topped it off with an eye-drawing yellow bag and hat. She returned to a large cafe where each booth was equipped with an Artificer analogy of a telephone, though there were some differences. Injecting a tendril of Mana, she picked the cheapest option for her first use. Tracing a quick note onto the unit''s metal plate, she dispatched it to the law keeper station, letting the patrollers know she¡¯d arrived safely. She somewhat fudged the truth, saying she had a place to stay and employment. The second place she contacted was riskier since she picked their contact details from an observer¡¯s brain. As her fingers danced across the activation sequence for their direct unit, Amdirlain rechecked their details. [Name: Mor¡¯lmes, Silverspring Pride Species: Catfolk (variant) Class: Grave Delver / Arcane Scholar / Arcane Investigator / Radiant Purifier Level: 39 / 38 / 38 / 38 Health: 19,496 Defence: 473 Magic: 616 Mana: 2,199,808 Melee Attack Power: 492 Combat Skills: Energy Projector [S] (12), Staff [M] (54), Club [Ad] (15), Various affinities and multiple spell lists. Details: One of the youngest military personnel to gain a Grave Delver Prestige Class. After the debriefing was completed, Mor¡¯lmes received medical retirement. He went into teaching and earned a tenured professor spot at the triumvirate campus. The odd behaviour of a pair of professors he¡¯d known while studying there started him investigating their new associates. Since then, his initial hired investigators have expanded into a substantial group. Their work has got a portion of the cultist¡¯s network under surveillance, but so far haven¡¯t discovered what they¡¯re looking at. They have uncovered many others with similar concerns to Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ in the years since. His family¡¯s money now supports many undertaking full-time investigations.] [Radiant Purifier Details: This evolved base Class is available to those who have combined Undead Slayer into at least a Tier 4 Prestige Class. Its major requirements are access to three affinities: Radiant, Positive, and Death.] While waiting for the unit to connect, Amdirlain put a sound barrier around her booth. The link¡¯s chime finally announced a successful connection, but there was only silence at the other end. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Did your observers get any images of the tunnels beneath The Lakeside Retreat?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Who is this?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, his voice rasped and crackled. Even expecting it, Amdirlain wondered if there wasn¡¯t a better magical prosthetic option he could use. ¡°The chambers and tunnels beneath the plug with the warning symbol. Did they get images, or did your observation spells not have the reach?¡± Mor¡¯lmes clicked his tongue, and for a moment, she was sure he wouldn¡¯t answer. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in playing games.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good, because neither am I, but neither of us has anyone we trust in common,¡± advised Amdirlain. A customer ogling her caught a baneful glare that had him fix his attention on his drink. I need to get some longer performance slots to play with my Charisma. ¡°Let¡¯s establish trust. Start by answering the question, who are you?¡± persisted Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I¡¯m sitting in a link cafe a few kilometres from the campus,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she gave him the location and described herself. ¡°I know what happened to the professors you admired, why they changed. So either come for answers or don¡¯t, Professor Grave Delver.¡± Mor¡¯lmes growled. "How did you get that information?" ¡°You¡¯ve thirty minutes to be here,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she hung up. After ordering a drink from a passing server, she settled in for the wait. Pretending to dial another connection, Amdirlain set up a concealment on the seat beside her. Drawing on the experiments they''d conducted to protect Gail¡¯s thoughts, Amdirlain created some crystal medallions with enchantments of mental resilience. Songs linked to the enchantment would cause it to warm if an Eldritch disturbance was nearby. Throughout the wait, she went through a refill and a large breakfast to stop the server from asking her to leave. Five minutes before her time limit Amdirlain saw results. In addition to observing spells appearing in the cafe, a tired-looking couple wandered in the door. Unlike the rest of the crowd, they had matching attire of grey pants and shirts, perfect for nighttime stalking. Their eyes fixed straight ahead as they came in and sat in another booth with a line of sight on her. Though they pretended not to see her, Amdirlain gave the observers a merry wave, her ears twitching happily. Mor¡¯lmes entered the busy cafe after them with a thumping step, leaning heavily on the gnarled staff in his right hand. The veteran¡¯s right ear was barely a stub, his muzzle and scalp were heavily scarred, and a white scarf encircled his neck. The end draped across the shoulders of his muted green half robes. His outer robe ended mid-thigh, revealing his matching pants, mithril leg brace, and practical black ankle-high boots that framed neatly groomed claws. He started towards Amdirlain without his hazel gaze even flickering towards the observers. Amdirlain took in his thoughts of what he¡¯d considered ordering as a cover for randomly sitting with an alluring young female. ¡°Do you mind if I join you?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, his voice harsher in person than over the link¡¯s connection. ¡°Not at all, Professor Mor¡¯lmes. I believe you take your drink with one sugar,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she moved the link unit she¡¯d faked using towards the wall. ¡°Are you going to bother ordering, or do you want people to talk?¡± ¡°What do I call you?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, his wary tone showing he didn¡¯t expect an answer. Setting the sound barrier back in place, Amdirlain¡¯s whiskers curled up, but she made sure not to display teeth. ¡°J will do fine.¡± ¡°After your evasions on the call, I shouldn¡¯t have expected an honest answer,¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Names have power, and you like mysteries. Why should I tell you about myself so easily?¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she slid a medallion across the table to him. ¡°A gesture of goodwill.¡± Scooping another score of medallions from the seat, she set them on the table next to her cup. Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ eyes flared wide at the enchantment''s strength, pulling scars across his nose tight. ¡°What is it you want?¡± ¡°I need help. You need help. I figured we could help each other,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re not interested, I¡¯ll hopefully find someone else who has gotten at least as far as your group. It''s that or setting up one from scratch, which is frankly time I¡¯d rather not spend.¡± ¡°You look like a child playing dress up and imitating a disreputable aunt,¡± observed Mor¡¯lmes. Giggling, Amdirlain tapped the table, and her tail thumped against her leg. As quickly as it began, her amusement cut off, and a fraction of Amdirlain¡¯s willpower turned her gaze to steel. ¡°More like I¡¯m playing dress up as a child and not doing a good enough job. The Life Affinity is wonderful to keep one looking young; you should learn it.¡± Mor¡¯lmes grunted. ¡°A sound barrier won¡¯t stop someone from reading our lips.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had that much trouble?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Yes.¡± Nodding, Amdirlain added a True Song illusion of them chatting about ritual circles. ¡°Ask your observers what we¡¯re chatting about now.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t changed the Spell,¡± declared Mor¡¯lmes without sending a Message. Amdirlain twitched an ear questioningly. ¡°Oh?¡± His surviving ear flattened out as the stub of the other twisted, but he sent the Message, only to straighten at the response. ¡°Did you overlay an illusion about the sound barrier¡¯s Mana so it hides your new Spell from me?¡± ¡°Not what I did, but we could play this game all day. Why don¡¯t you cast the detection spells you know on the medallion?¡± requested Amdirlain, catching his plans from his mind. ¡°Or even just the ones you learnt in the military. You¡¯re what, in your early thirties? I¡¯d mistake you for a Catfolk in their sixties, at least with how worn you look.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the miasma in the grave; it wears at one,¡± explained Mor¡¯lmes, and his gaze narrowed. ¡°You know much about our group, but not about that? Interesting.¡± ¡°We all have our specialities in life,¡± replied Amdirlain. Amdirlain flagged a server down and ordered for him while Mor¡¯lmes was still casting. He progressed rapidly through increasingly advanced spells on the medallion. ¡°What do you think influenced the odd behaviour in your former teachers?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°How do I know there isn¡¯t an illusion about these interfering with the results of my spells?¡± interrogated Mor¡¯lmes, jabbing a claw at the medallion. Tilting her head towards the couple, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°They¡¯ve been up all night; you could have them take it to someone after finishing their drinks. Get it to the teams in the vehicles outside or someone else to inspect it. We can meet another time or discuss things you feel aren¡¯t too sensitive.¡± ¡°What would be the purpose of talking now?¡± ¡°Laying the groundwork for future trust, and I¡¯ve information that will help your people stay safe,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Regardless of whether we cooperate long term, I¡¯ll give you that information freely. So I¡¯ll ask again, what do you think is the problem with your professors and the others?¡± ¡°There are many theories, we¡¯re still gathering information to determine their validity,¡± hedged Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°If you had to propose a theory based on currently available data, what would it be?¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°I want to know how far off the path you are.¡± ¡°A magical mental illness because of a contagion brought back from a dig or a cursed object. Worse case, someone is seeking to revive gods the ancients cast out and has brainwashed them into helping,¡± proposed Mor¡¯lmes, his jaw clenched at the last, but his gaze showed disbelief. Amdirlain plucked out all the other theories his consideration brought up, but none touched on beings like the Eldritch. ¡°Your worst case isn¡¯t worst case enough,¡± critiqued Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes titled his head curiously. ¡°Are you involved with whoever dug the message into the wall at the retreat?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I cut the warning in the wall, laid out the pieces on the floor and made the plug. Then I killed the host of monsters in the tunnels, including some imprisoned undead, and destroyed a summoning circle. And yes, I also healed all the worthy patients and reversed the age of the staff to match the oldest of their untainted memories. Their exposure and Class selection badly crippled some to resisting the Eldritch influence. Oh, and I shouldn¡¯t forget, I listed the crimes of the dying monsters only pretending to be people and removed some classes.¡± Mor¡¯lmes blinked at the term Eldritch, and his gaze widened at Amdirlain¡¯s list. ¡°What are you?¡± ¡°I wondered if you¡¯d jump straight there. I¡¯m not Mortal and not looking for worship. However, I want to save your world from the infestation that¡¯s started on it,¡± advised Amdirlain, projecting calm reassurance. ¡°Beings that shouldn¡¯t be here are the source of your issue. They eat up life and damage the realm, changing it to fit their incomprehensible mindset. Once they consume your world, if not before, they¡¯ll try to move on to others. Let¡¯s stop them from destroying your city as our first step and worry about the rest later.¡± ¡°You lied to me. You¡¯re not young because of Life Affinity,¡± accused Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I said the Life Affinity is wonderful to keep one looking young,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°And suggested you try to gain it. How you took that was your own business.¡± Mor¡¯lmes exhaled slowly and ground out a question between clenched teeth. ¡°Why does the stone in all the tunnels look melted?¡± ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll continue with the interrogation,¡± quipped Amdirlain, causing Mor¡¯lmes to shift nervously before he firmed his resolve and locked gazes with her. Amdirlain caught his suspicion that she brought him here to have hostages or at least to keep him from using his strongest spells. His hands tightened around his cup, and when he spoke, the metallic tone of his voice hardened. ¡°Do I have to ask you six times or something?¡± ¡°I filled them with lava to melt the mind-altering patterns on the walls. Then, despite my warning, the law keepers started work to break through the plug. Since I infused the lava with Primordial Mana, it would take weeks to cool, so I emptied the tunnels. Even with the patterns gone, the entities have infused the stone with their energies, which is why it is grey near the surface and black further down. While not immediately harmful, spending much time down there isn¡¯t safe,¡± reported Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll peel out more of it later, but I¡¯ll likely have to eject it further than the lava. At least one site I must destroy is six linked hexagonal buildings made from black stone. I¡¯d like to know if there are others.¡± Mor¡¯lmes nodded. ¡°You melted stone there last night as well?¡± With a grin, Amdirlain returned his nod. ¡°They have similar outreach centres in other cities. What are they?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I¡¯d like pictures of each of those locations. Pictures of all their locations, actually, particularly those made from black stone so that I can check them. Hopefully, my being so forthcoming will be taken favourably in any decision by your group to work with me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The problem with talking about these entities is that I don¡¯t know how much planar theory you know.¡± ¡°Are they from the fabled Abyss?¡± interrogated Mor¡¯lmes. His racing thoughts caught her by surprise. With them having Tier 7 classes, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t expecting so minimal awareness of the planar landscape. ¡°Wow, fabled. That right there is, wow,¡± snorted Amdirlain. Her reaction raised Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ hackles. ¡°The elemental planes have been confirmed. We have enough strife here without dying exploring other places.¡± ¡°Think of reality like a ritual circle,¡± started Amdirlain. Plotting out her explanation, Amdirlain started tracing expanding circles above her empty breakfast plate. ¡°Now think of the Material Plane as the inside of that ritual circle. There is the space this world takes up, that used by the stars, other planets, etc. The elemental plane is within the first circle boundary, with multiple touchpoints to the Material Plane. They are in harmony with the weaker forms of energy, the easiest effects a ritual can change. The runes between the circles are pathways that link to the outer circle or, in this analogy, the outer planes, the energies out there can be dangerous. Beyond the outer planes and the limits of our reality is the Far Chaos. These beings come from there, and in the Far Chaos, our reality¡¯s rules are meaningless and ignored.¡± ¡°Then how do they even exist here?¡± huffed Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Through particular forms of madness attuning a mind to them, they can gain a bridge. Those influenced by these entities have nightmare dreams filled with visions and sigils. If these sigils are accurately rendered, it can invoke the same madness in others, creating more bridges,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not saying I believe you. But how would one stop them?¡± ¡°With a lot of work. Killing or imprisoning all the summoned Eldritch beings and cleaning up all their sigils,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Fortunately, the madness isn¡¯t common; those unfortunate souls most susceptible frequently shatter rather than gain enough power to summon them. However, once the Eldritch beings have a beachhead, it¡¯s hard to drive them out. Why? Because seeing them is more likely to induce attuned madness in those ignorant or unprotected, and thus providing another bridge.¡± At her last statement, Amdirlain slid the rest of the medallions across to him. ¡°We¡¯ve not checked the other yet,¡± demurred Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Already told you I¡¯m looking to keep your people safe. Since you¡¯ve already listened to more than I¡¯d hoped, here is the first set,¡± replied Amdirlain. "I¡¯ll call you tomorrow, but make sure you avoid their literature and warded structures. They are building on the Arch-Wizard Naq¡¯ral¡¯s work. I think that¡¯s how you¡¯d pronounce his name now. I only read his texts last night.¡± ¡°He¡¯s one of the reformation era wizards that led the campus into its modern format,¡± protested Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°What rubbish are you trying to claim?¡± ¡°The Eldritch gained influence over him during his expeditions. After dedicating years to knowledge, he suddenly started to seek power to consume the scourge. Odd, isn''t it? I¡¯d suggest the Eldritch influence sunk hooks into him at that point,¡± explained Amdirlain. She caught Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ plan to dig into the campus archives and shook her head. ¡°If you look at his later writings, be careful of doodles. Before looking into them, please wear something else to bolster your mental resilience. Their influence leaks into older memories the longer you¡¯re exposed. Read too much, and we''ll have to have this conversation again.¡± ¡°Are you reading my mind or something?¡± accused Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°How could I do that? You¡¯ve spells to protect your mind,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she slipped past their gaps again. ¡°Though your spells are more to prevent mental assault or alert you to the use of Detect Thought spells. Hint: tripwires aren¡¯t walls. Use a solid image or thoughts slip through, leaving you with false confidence. His journals, when he started looking into stopping the scourge, as he called it, had one doodle here and there. However, they were a constant in the later ones, even interrupting his writing.¡± ¡°What do you do if you see one? Can they be disenchanted?¡± ¡°No, and at one level, it¡¯s just scribbling, so you can¡¯t detect any Mana either. Think of it like music, art, or how the voice of an enemy can invoke thoughts and feelings. Consider these like artwork conveying terrible times; they send the mind into dark moods attuning it to unsettling places. So when investigating those writings or the cults'' possessions, look away if something draws at your gaze. Pretend every glance can kill you, because it can destroy your sanity. Hopefully, that helps you avoid the dangers they represent.¡± ¡°Helps?¡± ¡°Nothing is certain, Mor¡¯lmes. I¡¯m just doing what I can for you,¡± warned Amdirlain, and fishing in his mind for comparison, almost sighed at the apparent loss of knowledge. ¡°Jumping in front of something you know nothing about can get you dead. None of us truly understand the Eldritch; if we could, we''d likely be one of them. Would you advise someone to summon an Elemental before they know how to control it or send it home?¡± Sensing she¡¯d started to get towards how much he could accept, Amdirlain rose. ¡°Absolutely not. That¡¯s far too complex for novices to meddle in,¡± muttered Mor¡¯lmes begrudgingly. ¡°I¡¯ll need a list of known associates for the medical staff,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to-¡± Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ thoughts raced off, wondering what she intended to harvest from the friends and family and if they could use it to trap her. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I normally ask someone if they want me to teach them affinities, but with you, enjoy the ride,¡± stated Amdirlain as she seized his mind. A whirlwind of sensation took him through the process of gaining the Life Affinity and spat him out the other end. While he was gasping for breath, Amdirlain wrapped him in song and peeled back his scarf to rip the prosthetic from his throat under the cover of her glamour. She healed his throat, lungs, and knee before he could breathe to scream. Meanwhile, the silver Artificer contraption was nowhere to be seen, and even the booth was pristine. ¡°What did you do?¡± gasped Mor¡¯lmes, his trembling hand clutching his throat. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Because you were considering how to imprison me. I thought I¡¯d show you the upside of what I can offer and clarify that I can break you. I killed the last people that imprisoned me from within the binding of their summoning circle. How would you treat a pride from outside the territories you considered dangerous yet honourable if you needed something from their lands?¡± [Diplomacy [J] (29->30) Note: Sometimes Diplomacy involves explaining how big a stick you possess before the naughty children need a solid whack.] Mor¡¯lmes swallowed. ¡°I¡¯d ensure we kept the agreements to the letter and not insult them.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t insult me with plots against me. I hear thoughts the way you hear people speaking in a crowd. You¡¯re merely an option to resolve your species¡¯ danger swiftly. Impede that, and I¡¯ll let you tally how many extra individuals suffer your professors'' fate, knowing they¡¯re your fault.¡± ¡°We have no agreement yet,¡± declared Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I know. Yet I¡¯ve given you gifts, knowledge, expanded your ability with magic, and improved your health. I¡¯d get no strength from their friends, no sustenance, and I¡¯m not a parasite. What I need to do is ensure their friends aren¡¯t infested. The longer they are, the more memories I have to destroy to keep your world safe, and the worse it is for them and their families,¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°Even your healers cut off limbs if there isn¡¯t another choice to save the patient.¡± ¡°Destroy their minds,¡± swallowed Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I¡¯ve heard reports of some of the former staff.¡± ¡°Memories, not minds, and I¡¯d prefer not to, but some had worked with the Eldritch so long, it had touched memories earned decades earlier. It would have been easier and safer to kill them, but I gave them a second chance at life. The longer finding infested takes, the more memories they¡¯ll need to lose to save the rest. I had to purge four decades of memories from some staff,¡± Amdirlain explained. ¡°I hoped to talk longer, but you need time to digest this information. Enjoy your drink and my gifts. You can also remove the leg brace, though it has some nice defensive and mobility enchantments. Nice fake limp.¡± Mor¡¯lmes swallowed again and looked up to meet her gaze. ¡°Why do any of this?" ¡°Your world is a weak link, the straggler of the herd vulnerable to predators. Saving your world saves other worlds. Since you¡¯ve no gods, I¡¯ll equip a group with the tools to prevent future beachheads. But to be blunt, I¡¯ve other places to be, and while I¡¯ll fix the current issues, I can¡¯t keep coming back forever,¡± declared Amdirlain flatly. Smiling at him, she gently refastened his scarf, his attempt to avoid her ministration as futile as a toddler in a swing seat trying to avoid his mum. "We''ll speak again." ¡°I¡¯ve no way to contact you,¡± protested Mor¡¯lmes trembling even after she¡¯d straightened. ¡°I¡¯ll certainly call tomorrow. I¡¯m going to drop the illusion spells, so put one over yourself to hide your shocked state,¡± warned Amdirlain. Once his illusion was in place, she dropped her illusions and gave a cheerful wave. ¡°Sorry to bend your ear before you got your order, professor. I¡¯ll pay for it on the way out.¡± 313 - Chase the Ace Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Amdirlain paid, left the cafe, and caught the waiting observers slip in among those who fixated on her flowing steps. Slipping through the still very early morning crowds, she made the observers work to keep track of her, shifting in and out of shops. She made purchases, sold mithril to a jeweller, and moved amidst groups to obstruct their view. Her hat and bag gave them a constant reference, and she kept them following for an hour to increase the challenge for herself. At last, when their confidence was up from having recovered her multiple times, she turned a corner and dropped them both in a bin. A few blocks moving south through the morning crowds, she turned down an alleyway between high rises. Out of sight of anyone else, her fur and clothing returned to their previous appearance. [Stealth [M] (42->43)] Turning more corners, Amdirlain double-backed to walk past her pursuers unnoticed. The crowds thickened as more shops opened, and Amdirlain turned down a quiet laneway. At the end was an open plaza with a quiet solemnity weighing the air. The plaza¡¯s centrepiece was a five-metre-tall hexagonal pylon, with rows of benches radiating outwards, aligned with each side. Two lines, ¡®Graves Expedition Force¡¯ and ¡®Year 4329¡¯, stood out at the top of each side. On display beneath those banners were name plates with thousands of names. From what she¡¯d seen, the date was by their calendar some three decades past. How many do they lose to the Gods¡¯ Graves each time? For an eternal instant, Amdirlain froze, the recognition of shared grief for a lost loved one digging in. The mellow sobriety in this place had played a subtle siren song. It was a memorial to soldiers who gave their life for their city, or loved ones, or for reasons no one might ever know. Shifting in place, thoughts raced, throwing options and risk assessments out, and the memorial to their lost soldiers turned a knife in her heart. Even I got a service to remember me; I did nothing for Torm. At last, Amdirlain tossed it all aside and settled down on a bench, fumbling with the catches of her harp case as she did. When the first clacked open and broke, Amdirlain forced herself to slow her motions. Once the harp settled on her thigh, she breathed rhythmically, checking each string¡¯s tuning. She played only when she was sure her shaking wouldn¡¯t break the instrument. The strings produced a mournful cry, shedding their tears of sound, strings capable of bright liquid music wailed loud. Despite all the tears she¡¯d cried, Amdirlain had given barely a few words to her grief. Distant hope seemed a hollow promise ?amidst her emptiness, the good news she¡¯d offered Livia now twisting like a knife within herself. For all the processing of her grief, it remained barely faded. The music of one song after another flowed, Earth songs of heartbreak and pain, even more mellow songs played in as deep an octave as her harp allowed. Skill progressions were ignored while grim melodies, and those of mourning, rose from within her Soul. Resonance reported the arrival of others, but their tunes let her know she wasn¡¯t alone in her grief, and she gave life to their themes of pain with hers. How many do the Gods¡¯ Grave sites eat each year? Orh¨ºthurin had kept pain and grief bottled up with rage and anger; now, it slipped its leash and overflowed in a rush. Ghostly hands of memory merged with her own, and the touch of her fingers dancing on the strings turned masterful. Emotions that mingled seamlessly with Amdirlain¡¯s own spilled forth as sound. Many of those drawn by the performance stayed to listen, enthralled by Amdirlain¡¯s unfurled Charisma. Her songs cried for what might have been and still might come again. It spoke of the ache of the pain within, even while needing to move on. They told of the conflict between desire and grief that sparked directionless motion, seeking to release the pain. Somehow, somewhere, seeking a place she might feel whole again. Eventually, overstrained strings broke with a clash, yet Amdirlain blended it into the expression of her pain. At the thought of needing to replace them, her voice substituted for their notes and added hope, an emptiness that sought a light to feel real again. She carried on as her voice melded with the sound of the harp. Having vented a gush of her pain, the strings¡¯ breaking signalled the shift from darkness to light. The dawn¡¯s themes from hundreds of worlds and the Outlands combined into a melody. It promised that the darkness was behind, and things might right themselves again if one braved the pain and moved on. When she finally stopped, the sun was past noon, and the crowd her playing had gathered hadn¡¯t left. Tears streaked Amdirlain¡¯s fur, and she didn¡¯t know how long she¡¯d been crying. As she blinked them away, a middle-aged female on the bench before her offered a fresh handkerchief with a trembling hand. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ve pride listed here.¡± Though tears had also streaked the female¡¯s fur, and the handkerchief in her other hand was sodden, she still pressed the fresh one into Amdirlain¡¯s hand. She took the cloth that matched the female¡¯s tawny fur and wiped her face before gathering the female into a gentle hug. As Amdirlain held her, she caught sight of a group hovering above the packed crowd on the plaza¡¯s far side. Among the group, some had portable casters pointed her way¡ªcamera operators and reporters. [Achievement: Muse of Sorrow and Hope Details: You enthralled over a hundred thousand individuals in an expression of grief. Then you turned it around and stopped them from offing themselves. Reward: +10 levels with the involved instrument Note: A healthier way to sync memories than butchering everything in sight. Note: You made a mess of their daytime caster scheduling. The city¡¯s news only had you transmitting for two hours or so, but they can extend a caster unit¡¯s reach. With the entire stage presence from five thousand Charisma, it doesn¡¯t matter how modest your Skill is, Amdirlain. Lap Harp [M] (50->60)] Ebusuku will laugh so hard when I tell her I¡¯d planned to try being subtle on this trip. With Ori¡¯s memories moving with my hands, I jumped that much in Skill, heck. Lost amid her thoughts, Amdirlain hadn¡¯t noticed the crowd gathering. Now she took in the law keepers controlling the press and ensuring things didn¡¯t get dangerous. A black-furred male officer, his eyes a bright feline yellow, stepped closer and knelt beside her. ¡°Can you do us a favour, and play something quiet, while we disperse the crowd?¡± ¡°If I play anything more, will they want to leave?¡± asked Amdirlain in a whisper. ¡°A tired and calm song that might imply your need to rest,¡± the officer suggested, his words a clear hint. ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she blinked when another close to her gently nuzzled the other side of her face comfortingly before they stepped away. A man beyond the woman held out a blank sheet of film for her to sign. ¡°I hadn¡¯t intended or expected this to happen,¡± mewled Amdirlain, and she lifted a hand from the woman¡¯s back to sign it with a simple Am, at an angle across the centre. The male stepped away happy, and others took over his spot. ¡°What inspired you?¡± asked the woman as she released Amdirlain and touched her nose to hers. ¡°Seeing them reminded me of my pain and loss, and I had to get it out. I hope no one was hurt or will get in trouble with their employer,¡± whispered Amdirlain, and she lifted her other hand away. The officer gave a rueful smile. ¡°You¡¯d have to be dead inside not to want to listen, and a decent boss will understand. If you plan to play in public again, please organise it through a law keeper station. Or a venue with enough crowd control. To answer your question, there are no reports of injuries, only some business and traffic disruption.¡± Amdirlain breathed a sigh of relief and, trusting her voice more than her admittedly surging harp proficiency, went to secure her harp. However, a thick layer of coins covered the bottom of the case, and more sat around it on the bench and the ground. Not sure what to do without giving away her ring or Inventory, Amdirlain looked up at the officer. ¡°Is there a fund for the memorial¡¯s upkeep? Could you have someone add this to it?¡± Another officer with deep red fur retrieved a heavy-duty folded bag from his gear belt and started to help her gather the coins. ¡°If you¡¯d start performing to keep things calm, I¡¯ll tidy up, but the fund doesn¡¯t need the coins people wanted you to have. The priority now is keeping the crowd calm and dispersing them smoothly.¡± She racked her brain momentarily and started singing the instrumentals of Enya¡¯s The Humming. By the time the coins were all in the bag, she¡¯d carried on with the instrumentals of a few of the singer¡¯s other relaxing melodies. She¡¯d also signed too many slips of film, had someone leave a pen, and the first female left behind her hanky. The second officer took the harp from her and locked it away. The case¡¯s broken latch came off in his hands, but there were others to keep it closed. Taking her harp from him, Amdirlain cradled it while continuing to sing. Pointing towards an alleyway, she shooed those still in her path on their way. Still singing, she started meandering their way. The law keeper kept pace alongside, sending messages to coordinate until the crowd fully dispersed. ¡°Can I see some identification?, miss?¡± asked the officer when they finally reached the street. Fishing the chit from the pouch under her top, Amdirlain shyly handed it over and bowed her head. When he presented the chit to the side of his link unit, its metal surface morphed to display her details. ¡°Bard?¡± huffed the surprised officer. ¡°How are you only fifth level?¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a reincarnated Soul,¡± proposed Amdirlain, and she offered him a confused shrug, glad they had that concept in their language. ¡°I¡¯ll add your details to the report, but remember what I said. Has this happened in your homeland?¡± questioned the officer. As her ears twitched to relieve her distress, Amdirlain shook her head, ¡°Nope, today was certainly a first for me.¡± ¡°Alright, that may be, but it¡¯s happened now, so don¡¯t take the chance of it happening again without preparation. Maybe you had a weird Skill or Power Evolution in the heat of your emotions. You might want to go to a college. Not sure what you call them at home, but you can pay a fee to see what your full record looks like there,¡± advised the officer. ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± replied Amdirlain brightly. ¡°Your scent was ripe with pain when I arrived on the scene, miss. It still is; you got someone to speak with?¡± ¡°No one nearby,¡± admitted Amdirlain shyly, her tail twitching up to loop over her forearm. Giving an unhappy huff, the officer pulled a notepad from his belt and wrote a link sequence on the top sheet of a transparent film before handing it to Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a grief sharer that works with the law keepers in this zone, though she handles others with troubles as well. I¡¯ll tell her to expect a call,¡± stated the officer. ¡°I don¡¯t have the coin for that,¡± protested Amdirlain. The officer laughed lightly and waved his tail back towards the plaza. ¡°I¡¯m sure you will in time.¡± ¡°Thanks for your concern.¡± He rubbed a hand reassuringly across her ears before he patted her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve got a good heart in you, kitten. That wasn¡¯t a yes to calling her, I noticed. Be good, you hear.¡± They seem to have no issues about proximity, just like house cats in some ways. ¡°Yes, sir,¡± replied Amdirlain, carefully folding the page in half and tucking it away. The officer started to turn away, but stopped and continued gently. ¡°You got somewhere to be?¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°I should have been at the music shop hours ago,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is it far?¡± ¡°Just up near the campus,¡± Amdirlain said, and she pretended to orientate herself before she waved vaguely in its direction. ¡°I¡¯ll walk you,¡± declared the officer. Amdirlain frantically waved her hands before herself, and her whiskers sprung up. ¡°No, that¡¯s alright. You were on the scene, I mean at the plaza, for a while, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got lots to do.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not far. I¡¯ll see you there safe and get a late lunch,¡± advised the officer, and stuck out a hand to Amdirlain. ¡°Mal¡¯lyn.¡± Hesitantly taking his hand, Amdirlain shook it gently. ¡°Am, Blackcliff Pride.¡± ¡°Your pride wasn¡¯t on your chit,¡± noted Mal¡¯lyn. ¡°I didn¡¯t want the patrol to take me back,¡± mumbled Amdirlain. Mal¡¯lyn rumbled in amusement. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t have done that, and we¡¯ve no jurisdiction outside the territories. I¡¯ve not heard of your pride. Are they far away?¡± Her tail came to twine around Amdirlain¡¯s fingers as she grimaced. ¡°Far to the south, but the law keepers weren¡¯t happy that I didn¡¯t have an escort.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see you travel to the shop escorted so you don¡¯t get in the habit of getting abandoned,¡± Mal¡¯lyn said and started towards the campus. ¡°I won¡¯t drill you with questions, though we should stop by a reserve so you can deposit some of those coins.¡± ¡°Reserve?¡± ¡°A central facility that holds wealth in trust for the various prides. The territories guarantee the money, which can be linked to your chit. It¡¯s safer than the merchant groups to the east; you don¡¯t have to invest in specific ventures.¡± Amdirlain went to ask some questions and found they had no words for the concept of interest. ¡°Are there fees charged?¡± ¡°None, but the coins are only accessible in the territories,¡± replied Mal¡¯lyn. ¡°I know the cities benefit from having the reserves running, but you¡¯d have to ask a finance person how.¡± ¡°Okay, lead the way.¡± The reserve looked like an open shop front with staff uniformed in black tunics that stood out because of the silver and gold plated clasps at their throat. Though there was no apparent security, the wards around the place were tight and interacted with the runes on the coins within the site. Mal¡¯lyn¡¯s presence with a bag of coins that Amdirlain saw had an evidence tag initially caused a stir. Once things settled, the staff quickly linked Amdirlain¡¯s chit to a new account, and she deposited most of the coins. True to his word, he escorted her quietly to the store and left her outside with nothing more than a casual conversation about how her stay had been. As he headed away, Amdirlain took in the silent reports he started to send when she stepped inside. Again, a query about her Faith rating came up, except this time it was to refer the topic to a specialist in emotional projection and influence. Great! Maybe I¡¯ll need an alternative identity before I¡¯m through. Jal¡¯krin was at the counter inside the shop, with his attention fixed on an inscribed box projecting an image into the air. She caught from his mind the hosts had been talking about the event at the plaza that had recently finished. As the door¡¯s chime finished sounding, he glanced her way, and his expression shifted like she¡¯d grown a second head. ¡°Did you get away from the plaza without any patronage offers? Or did the law keeper escort keep them off you?¡± Giving him a pained grin, Amdirlain muttered. ¡°The plaza?¡± Jal¡¯krin stabbed two claws at the box. ¡°I saw you on the receiver, Am. I¡¯ve got hundreds of link notes from friends telling me to tune in. Pal¡¯tran sent me five notes since it ended, asking me to let him know when you get in.¡± Pulling a link unit from under the counter, he keyed in a sequence and set it down on the counter; only then did he bother turning off the receiver. ¡°Ahh, why?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°And link notes is a mouthful; you should call them something shorter.¡± ¡°Never mind link notes. Pal¡¯tran wants to talk to you about audio traces,¡± exclaimed Jal¡¯krin, and his excitement evaporated. ¡°Guess our deal isn¡¯t on any longer.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°There is no chance of getting anyone to bet against you now. And forget competitions, maybe special guest spots or the principal attraction on shows, but you don¡¯t need me because they¡¯ll be looking for you. Heck, you can try for private party appearances if you want smaller shows,¡± blurted Jal¡¯krin. Pal¡¯tran''s voice from the link interrupted him. ¡°Any word yet?¡± ¡°Am just arrived at the shop,¡± reported Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain advanced to the counter and shyly cleared her throat. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the competition plans.¡± ¡°Nonsense. Competitions are a great way to get one¡¯s name known,¡± Pal¡¯tran interjected before Jal¡¯krin could reply. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I could have named one where you could have created as big a splash as you did today. I¡¯ll be in the store shortly. I hope you¡¯ll stay so I can speak with you?¡± ¡°I should get some lunch,¡± hedged Amdirlain, feigning nervousness. ¡°I¡¯ll pick something up,¡± insisted Pal¡¯tran. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re hungry. Please make use of a sound booth. I¡¯ll be there soon.¡± ¡°Ahh, okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and Pal¡¯tran immediately hung up. Jal¡¯krin gestured to the case cradled in Amdirlain¡¯s arm. ¡°The casters showed a broken latch; we should have gone with one with less wear. I¡¯ll swap it out.¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s fine; maybe it¡¯s good luck,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she held it possessively. ¡°I¡¯ll get it repaired later.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that performance resulted only from good luck; I thought you said your harp was only Journeyman,¡± said Jal¡¯krin. ¡°It is, or at least was, the last time I looked at my record,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Getting used to the local terms, I see; not calling it an imprint now?¡± questioned Jal¡¯krin. Shrugging, Amdirlain smiled warily. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m trying to adapt. I just had to play today at the memorial.¡± Jal¡¯krin swallowed. ¡°Our instructors always said the key to the best performance was emotion. I didn¡¯t think anyone could express grief that way.¡± ¡°Guess you came in before I got the emotions turned around,¡± murmured Amdirlain. "How did it speak to you?¡± ¡°Hollow, it made me think about how I¡¯ve been that way since I screwed up,¡± whispered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Even my compositions bring little happiness. When you sang it the other day, I told you it sounded like a river trying to-¡± The door behind Amdirlain opened, and Jal¡¯krin coughed. ¡°Be with you in a moment.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s talk later, okay?¡± Only when Jal¡¯krin returned her nod did Amdirlain head for a sound booth and leave him to greet the customer. Sitting in the booth, Amdirlain set aside the battered harp case and placed the now smaller bag of coins atop. The evidence tag on the handle caused Amdirlain to snicker again, but then the amusement cut off. ¡°If that string hadn¡¯t broken, would someone have killed themselves? I need songs that¡¯ll inspire me to project safe emotions.¡± Creating a notepad required only a short theme, but Amdirlain''s emotions were still churning, making her hands shake as she set it on a ledge. Staring at it blankly, she started writing the local words to songs she knew. The shift in language made it impossible to set them to the same music even when the words rhymed, but still, she put the lyrics down. Song after song she scrawled out, not wanting to take what another had created for herself. Light novels made it seem so easy to reproduce another¡¯s creation with no sense of shame. It¡¯s weird. I can produce the instrumentals without hesitation. Is it because I feel able to share their beauty as intended? Yet the words of the songs I like have references that don¡¯t work in this world, so their meaning gets lost, and they¡¯re no longer the songs I love. As Jal¡¯krin said, a proper instrumental crosses boundaries, as long as the aesthetics of beauty are close enough. Disintegration turned the notepad to dust, and Amdirlain folded her arms on the ledge and put her head down. Ignoring the shop, she listened to the hiss of distortion on campus and picked out Professor Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ presence high above it. Whatever building he was currently in, the Delirium of Darkness was at least a kilometre underneath it and slightly out of tune. Not a pocket dimension¡ªmore like Nolmar, where I expanded the limits between locations. The scare she gave him amid her pain made Amdirlain feel a bit shame-faced. Only the fact she might not catch him at the exact location for a while decided the issue. Amdirlain used the melody from the link unit, and when he answered, she kept her tone polite. ¡°Hello, Professor.¡± ¡°J. I thought you¡¯d be calling tomorrow,¡± muttered Mor¡¯lmes unhappily, and he tapped a claw atop a wooden surface. At his tone, Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Hope I¡¯m not interrupting anything.¡± Mor¡¯lmes growled softly. ¡°You are.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying for politeness even though something about you sets my teeth on edge. Can you please do the same, or are you choosing that I should ignore your people¡¯s danger and recruit others?¡± ¡°I need a moment. Hold, please,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes, though the last word was strained. He might be the wrong person if he won¡¯t be polite even after I ripped his throat open. The void spawns would have eaten dozens of him alive. Amdirlain heard his hand brush across the unit¡¯s pickup, and then there were a few minutes of silence. Taking in the songs about him starting to leave the room he sat in, Amdirlain waited. Only a few of them were left in the room when he spoke again. ¡°I was in the middle of some unpleasant disciplinary business.¡± ¡°If I call at a bad time in the future, just let me know when to call back. I can be a pain in the arse, but I¡¯m not unreasonable. Do you need me to call back so you can deal with this?¡± Mor¡¯lmes let out a slow breath. ¡°No, it¡¯s a situation I¡¯ll have to go assess, and it could take days, but I doubt the results will change. I asked others to interview those in the area.¡± ¡°My apologies; I¡¯ll make this quick then. Where exactly are you located right now?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°What, you don¡¯t know everything?¡± snapped Mor¡¯lmes, and his tone banished Amdirlain¡¯s regrets at disturbing him and her rough treatment. ¡°I thought you had something important to ask.¡± ¡°Close your mouth and start counting to a thousand until you calm down. If you answer my questions, I¡¯ll tell you why it¡¯s important,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m in my office, and I have people present. Why do you ask?¡± interjected Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Which is located where?¡± interrogated Amdirlain. ¡°Level 22, office B, of the main Wizard tower on campus,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Precision. At your desk, making a drink, writing on a particular board-¡± Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ tone went flat. ¡°I¡¯m sitting behind my desk. You proved I should take you seriously, but I don¡¯t have time for your games right now; a student is dead.¡± ¡°How long ago?¡± ¡°A teacher discovered the body in an unbooked spell-casting chamber, maybe an hour after they died. The traces found are of spells they shouldn¡¯t know how to cast,¡± reported Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°You believe them a good person?¡± ¡°She was a promising scholarship student; it¡¯s a waste,¡± growled Mor¡¯lmes, his voice rumbling in the back of his throat. ¡°Hold your hands up before you, level and shoulder-width apart, don¡¯t react to the glow,¡± instructed Amdirlain. She turned Resonance into a narrow beam concentrated on him alone to cut through the distortion. ¡°What glow?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, his voice distant from the unit. When his hands were in position, Amdirlain started singing and heard Mor¡¯lmes shocked inhalation. Using his location as a reference, a crystal rod just over a metre long came into existence, resting on his hands. ¡°It¡¯s up to you what you tell people. You now possess an item that will let you, and only you, restore someone to life once a day¡ªeven if something disintegrated them. If you do it for greedy reasons, it will swap your life for theirs.¡± Mor¡¯lmes chuffed in disbelief. ¡°How could I explain this?¡± ¡°I taught you the Life Affinity. There are spells in its field that can restore life,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do your best to learn them¡ªthe rod won¡¯t last forever. Would you prefer I take it back, or do you want this chance for her?¡± ¡°Damn it. This won''t be easy to hide,¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes before he huffed. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to triangulate the location of an Eldritch creature; you¡¯re a reference point. I needed precision to track against later. As for a cover story, you could shoo everyone from the room and tell them it was the work of another. An annoying Life Wizard you met recently, going only by J. She even helped you gain the Affinity and healed some old wounds,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she ended the call. He gets on my nerves, and I don¡¯t know why. Maybe because he works amid that hum? Then again, he started considering plans to capture me, the arse. Singing more of Enya¡¯s lilting tunes, Amdirlain rose and let the melodies guide her feet. Partway through a piece, she realised it had shifted to an Anar song, and the music halted on her lips. ¡°They used True Song¡¯s melodies without the empowerment for entertainment,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s why I used combined dawn music today.¡± Working through melodies that she remembered Ori composing, Amdirlain stopped when Pal¡¯tran arrived. He set a container on the ledge made from a thicker version of the material that made up transparent music sheets and the pages in Jal¡¯krin''s notebooks. ¡°Sliced roast with whole grain stuffing and some local herbs,¡± announced Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Thanks, you didn¡¯t have to,¡± Amdirlain said, twitching her ears towards the bag of coins. ¡°How much? I can pay.¡± ¡°Never mind that, my treat. I only caught part of it, but that was a heck of a performance at the memorial plaza today. Are you feeling tired?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and her whiskers twitched as she sniffed the food. ¡°Can I ask why that particular expedition force had a memorial? I thought the abomination occurred more regularly, and I¡¯ve only seen one memorial.¡± ¡°That expedition ended up dealing with three abominations because of games among the leadership. A lot of soldiers lost their lives unnecessarily,¡± sighed Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Did the leadership think the memorial would be an acceptable apology, or did someone else erect it?¡± ¡°The leaders that wasted lives weren¡¯t in power when it was built,¡± answered Pal¡¯tran. ¡°The expedition survivors spoke up and let everyone know that glory-mongering among the leadership cost a lot of troops at no risk to themselves. In the next elections, their prides replaced them and saw them charged with neglect and wrongful deaths. I think some are still in the work camps. Expeditions since have suffered nothing close to the same casualties.¡± ¡°So they were commanding from the rear while extolling how great they were?¡± ¡°Not how I¡¯d put it, but yes. They were also getting in each other¡¯s way with petty actions that sabotaged advances. It resulted in caverns lost and lives wasted. Jal¡¯krin studied it in school. I was young, but I remember the mess on the receivers in those days,¡± sighed Pal¡¯tran grimly, his ears flattening against his skull. ¡°Then we discovered even that wasn¡¯t the worst of it. I won¡¯t get into the details. Enough history books take it apart, and I might have the order of events wrong.¡± ¡°Where are the Gods¡¯ Grave entrances in this area?¡± ¡°The tunnels into the upper ghost caverns are on the city¡¯s southwest edge. The main military base encircles them now. That¡¯s another change that was made following the change of leadership; a company used to control it for the mineral rights between surges,¡± explained Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain caught they had access to mithril veins and rare resources through the same caverns and gave a sharp nod. Weird; I¡¯ll have to look into if there is a correlation. Do the caverns form around magical materials? Or does the energy drawn into the abominations also cause magical materials to appear? ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s pretty far off topic from what I wanted to discuss,¡± coughed Pal¡¯tran. ¡°We¡¯ve got sound booths here, but some of our relatives have professional quality booths. Would you be interested in recording some audio traces?¡± ¡°How much for the booth, and what¡¯s your take?¡± Pal¡¯tran blinked. ¡°That was where the discussion was headed. Getting down to agreements, distribution rights, marketing, and slices of the roast?¡± ¡°Eventually,¡± admitted Pal¡¯tran warily. ¡°Then let¡¯s chase down the straggler and cut its throat. You tell me what you think is a suitable arrangement, and list all the people who¡¯ll need to be paid,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Once you¡¯re through making your sales pitch, if I don¡¯t like the details, I¡¯ll go somewhere else and hear what they have to say. However, if I like the details, I¡¯ll still go somewhere else and hear what they say, but I might come back.¡± ¡°You¡¯d shop around?¡± questioned Pal¡¯tran glumly. ¡°Pal¡¯tran, we¡¯ve known each other less than a full day. I will not assume you¡¯re trying to rob me, however, I will also not assume you¡¯re seeking anything but the best deal for your pride. You¡¯ve already told me your pride isn¡¯t as financially secure as it used to be. I¡¯ll hear you out and then check the competition with that in mind,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°If you get a better offer, please let me know.¡± ¡°I like you, so potentially I¡¯ll take your offer even if it isn¡¯t the best. Since I met someone who sets my teeth on edge today, I¡¯d prefer to avoid that experience with music, and I want to do things properly.¡± [Diplomacy [J] (30->31)] ¡°Right, I¡¯ll need to introduce you to my cousin. She knows more about how it works, and I might leave details out,¡± admitted Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you line that up for tomorrow? I¡¯ll eat some of this great-smelling roast, pick some things up, and return before Jal¡¯krin heads off,¡± stated Amdirlain firmly. ¡°I also won¡¯t shop for any other offers until I hear yours.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± And that gives me time to clean up the bedrock under the retreat. 314 - Rock the house Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Amdirlain polished off the roast before she headed off. Though she intended to pick some things up, it wasn¡¯t from any store. Out among the alleyways, new concealments wrapped around her, cloaking her auras, and blocking her presence to sight, hearing, and smell. Creating a few changes of clothing that would fit into her travel pack, Amdirlain placed it in Inventory and moved to the boundary of the retreat. Down among the tunnels, she could hear law keepers and others investigating. Other teams were combing through the place¡¯s records and had already hauled most of them away. The buzz from the depths and the noxious feeling of the building had her contemplating her decisions about the facility¡¯s former staff. I should have removed all the staff¡¯s classes. It¡¯s not a genuine fresh start since the decisions and dreams of their last life still bind them. The law keepers had set up a command post at the start of the driveway where a group clustered about a table embossed with mithril runes. The device presented a display of the tunnels with teams? located. Beside the muted blue uniforms of the law keepers were a pair wearing black and purple armour fashioned from a scaled hide. Analysis proclaimed the crafter had made the armour from Basilisk hide, and the pair were a couple of recon captains on loan, along with the gear. With the ghost caverns and gods¡¯ graves, it¡¯s only sensible to have something to track teams underground. Not wanting to give away information to anyone that might leak it to the cultists, Amdirlain cut a warning into the fence near the command post. She used Primordial Mana to power bright yellow lights that matched the patrollers'' lights. ¡®Evacuate the tunnels. Leave all extracted black stone samples near the building. Evacuate nearby water vessels at least four kilometres from the retreat¡¯s docks. In an hour, I¡¯ll be excavating and recreating everything within four kilometres of the retreat¡¯s lift shaft.¡¯ The lights immediately caught nearby attention. A recon captain¡¯s proclamation on the light¡¯s nature and strength shut their immediate reaction to it being a prank down. With the Primordial Mana identified, the command post scrambled to send orders. While they were still issuing orders and contacting officials, Amdirlain set to work. Identifying the deepest points of contaminated stone, Amdirlain sang a frame of mithril into existence beneath it. Using it as a guidepost, she formed a series of mithril hexagonal pylons ten-centimetre across along its outer edge and extended them upwards. Topped with gravitational shear extending along the sides, they cut and pushed through the rock and soil above them as if it was open air. The gravitational force leading the advance caused the topsoil to rupture and spray upwards. Nearing the surface, Amdirlain slowed their movement and stopped them a centimetre short. The now churned surface hid her creation while Amdirlain double-checked everything within its limits. Empty boathouses and buildings in the zone got transplanted further along the shoreline. While the last of them rose, Amdirlain set a crystal spire with linked songs at the centre of the section she planned to destroy. Though the teams withdrew from the tunnels, a lingering group on the surface prompted Amdirlain to step things up. A low note caused wildlife, and particularly birds, to flee from the area as Amdirlain began preparing for launch. Watching them fleeing, the law keepers drew their ground forces back and escorted others from the site. As soon as they cleared the limits, Amdirlain pushed the mithril upwards, breaching the ground and the lake¡¯s surface. The shiny line rising a metre above the ground had those still too close regarding it in shock. With the rock and soil sheared through, she emptied the fish life within the markers beyond the boundary and set safeguards in place. With the last stage complete, a growling siren split the air, and the catfolks¡¯ ears perked up at the voice that followed. ¡°Withdraw. This is your one-minute warning.¡± Amdirlain isolated the mass from the world¡¯s gravity and boosted it. With some guidance, the world¡¯s rotation and orbital velocity did the rest. The air displacement dragged those nearby towards it, only for them to impact unpleasantly with an invisible force. Thunderbirds Are Go. Amdirlain kept silently singing. After the mass had lifted entirely clear, those pressed against the barrier could see layers of bedrock created while the golden glow of creation rose. As the landscape returned to normal¡ªwater, plants, grass, and even Mana conduits grew to replace what she¡¯d sent into space¡ªthe last glow faded. Though she was tempted to let their minor injuries remain, a regenerative song enfolded those who had hit the outer barrier before she released them. Only once she¡¯d completed everything and restored the buildings to their original positions did another sign appear. As she heard some mutterings, she added a third line. ¡®It¡¯s now safe to extract the mithril. Thank you for your cooperation with this clean-up.¡¯ The extracted mass, far out in space, would head in a decaying orbit towards the sun. Once well clear of the planet and moons, more songs were set to activate. In a flare of light easily visible from the planet, the crystal spire at the heart of the mass would obliterate the lot. Before those at the scene could start examining the mithril, Amdirlain had already skipped away. Her next stop had members of an outreach centre drop a knee-jarring distance. Shakily, they rose from where the disappearance of the matte-black stone floor from beneath their feet had sprawled them. With shaky hands, they dusted themselves off and found things missing. Robes, masks, buildings, gravel, and even lop-sided markers. Their vehicles now sat atop a parking lot of hard-packed ground. When the first turned towards where the front entrance had once been, they found a sign hovering mid-air. ¡®Closed for revelations. Please check the state of your mind.¡¯ Before they could move far, Amdirlain added more songs to the hidden crystal block that held it aloft. A tuning fork sounded through their minds, and another linked song followed to dissolve everything off-key. When they came to, days, months, or sometimes years of memories were gone. Looking at the haze of distortions in parts of the city, Amdirlain tucked the crystal plate away and started to plan her next steps. She teleported closer to Pal¡¯tran¡¯s shop with her latest endeavours complete. Leaving the alleyway that had served as her arrival point, she¡¯d only been walking a minute when two chimes came from an amulet around her neck. It was a sound only audible to Resonance and signalled the crystal block she¡¯d left behind had detected and acted against two eldritch sorcerers. It had already added them to those with purged memories and tagged souls. Okay, I missed you by that much, but at least I know the alerts work. I¡¯ll clear the other staff of classes tonight, investigate the new finds, and tackle the murder manor. Now for some socialising and learning the cues of Catfolk body language. Amdirlain was only half a block from the store when two female auburn-furred Catfolk spotted her and crossed from the campus side. Each mewed excitedly upon seeing her harp case with its broken catch and worn red-leather top. ¡°It¡¯s Am of Blackcliff Pride, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked the closest. At the strangers¡¯ reaction, Amdirlain¡¯s ears stood straight up. Seeing Amdirlain had excited them about whom to tell but didn¡¯t give any immediate clues about how they knew her name. ¡°How do you know my name?¡± The first female grabbed the other¡¯s forearm. ¡°It is you! We saw the memorial transmission, and a viewer afterwards said you¡¯d performed at Clearstrike¡¯s. You were amazing! Can we get a trace of the three of us, please?¡± Catching it was the equivalent of a photo, Amdirlain shyly nodded. They both swept in for hugs, and she caught them rubbing against the side of her muzzle. Holding her reaction to their overt friendliness down, she looked between them as one brought out a link unit with a fancy case. Once they were all lined up, Mana flared in the device the female held by her side. Even with it not extended out, Amdirlain heard it record their appearance and scents. ¡°Are you going to be performing somewhere soon? Do you have hundreds of link notes with prospects?¡± asked the second. ¡°You were magnificent. I thought you would make the stones cry. Then the strings broke, and without a pause, you turned the themes around, and all the world came alive.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad the music touched you. As for performances, I¡¯ve got a meeting tomorrow, and then I¡¯ll need to work out a few things,¡± said Amdirlain, trying to keep the shy persona of ¡®Am¡¯ in place. ¡°I don¡¯t have a link unit yet. I should get one.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be looking out for performance locations!¡± the pair gushed, introducing themselves before heading off. They didn¡¯t get more than a few metres before one started calling someone to brag about their encounter. Amdirlain entered the shop and found an earthen-hued stranger behind the counter. He read a magazine about vehicle customisation with full-colour pictures while untended customers checked out instruments. It seems some things never change. ¡°Ahh, is Pal¡¯tran or Jal¡¯krin about?¡± ¡°They¡¯re upstairs moving stuff about,¡± the clerk replied, not looking up. ¡°You looking for anything in particular? Any filled orders I can sort out for you?¡± ¡°Not an order. Do you mind if I go through to talk to them?¡± The clerk shrugged, and an ear flicked towards the door in the back. ¡°Yeah, whatever, the door¡¯s on the second landing. All the sound booths are full, so don¡¯t mess around with the doors.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Amdirlain said and slipped past the customers. The door he mentioned was unlocked, and after Amdirlain pulled it open, she knocked to get their attention. Inside they were shifting through racks of musical equipment. Clouds of dust from some of the older frames wafted as Pal¡¯tran looked her way. ¡°Having fun?¡± Amdirlain asked. Jal¡¯krin came out from behind a rack wearing a multi-hued shirt, close to a tied-dyed t-shirt in appearance, and yet another pair of shorts. ¡°I was looking for some listed stock that wasn¡¯t where it should have been. Don¡¯t know why uncle is lending a hand.¡± ¡°I wanted to wait and inform Am of the meeting time. Aren¡¯t I allowed to lend a hand?¡± questioned Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Yep, I see how it is,¡± huffed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Wanting to make a good impression on Am.¡± Pal¡¯tran¡¯s snort in response was a mistake as it set him sneezing on the dust. Jal¡¯krin gave a tight smile as Pal¡¯tran waved more dust away from his face. ¡°Get the cleaning unit charged and clean this place up tomorrow.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± grumbled Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I was going to ask Jal¡¯krin if he could spare some time to compose a few songs. I don¡¯t want to be copying others,¡± Amdirlain interjected. ¡°Me?¡± ¡°I liked the feel of your composition¡ªit was fun. I want to figure out something fun with words,¡± explained Amdirlain. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone else to do the cleaning,¡± stated Pal¡¯tran. Jal¡¯krin gave his uncle a surprised look and clapped the dust from his hands. Setting the box he¡¯d been looking through back on the rack, Pal¡¯tran came out to the stairwell. ¡°Tomorrow morning alright for a meeting?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°I might even wear something new if I can finish altering them.¡± ¡°A southern female knowing how to stitch? That is rare. I thought most females outside the territories left that to the homebodies,¡± remarked Pal¡¯tran. An antique image of a leather-clad female hunting pack running down a kill showed in Pal¡¯tran''s thoughts. The exotic feel meant Amdirlain had difficulty keeping her tail and ears from twitching in amusement. ¡°Yeah, but being able to show them up works out.¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s a different hunt altogether,¡± remarked Pal¡¯tran. ¡°I¡¯ll pick you up at Jal¡¯krin¡¯s at, say, eight?¡± ¡°Okay, I guess I can have a late breakfast,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I told you Am fed me at six today,¡± said Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain looked past Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Are you closing up today? We should go food shopping.¡± Pal¡¯tran cleared his throat again. ¡°I could take you to grab some dinner.¡± ¡°There is nothing at Jal¡¯krin¡¯s place, so we should pick up some food on the way home before everything closes. What¡¯s the closest store to your apartment, Jal¡¯krin?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Something with fresh food, not just quick eats.¡± ¡°There is a mixed-food shop around the corner from the transporter stop. They have fresh stuff in there¡ªhot food, snacks and drinks,¡± advised Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Eating breakfast in and asking for fresh food as well; what are you, my Mum?¡± ¡°Healthy body, healthy mind. Someone told me that it also applies in reverse. In your case, your body needs all the help it can get,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Oh funny, yes, so funny,¡± Jal¡¯krin groaned, and he slapped a hand to his chest and gripped his t-shirt dramatically. ¡°I¡¯m so wounded. Let¡¯s get out of here before we only have standing room the whole trip.¡± Amdirlain waved for him to lead the way. ¡°Yes, oh mighty guide and mentor.¡± ¡°I see how it is. You want me around to mock,¡± Jal¡¯krin laughed drily. The transporter they caught was a double-decker caterpillar-like vehicle with clusters of legs along its length. There was no internal floor separating the levels that contained plenty of places to perch or sit, but others already controlled the high ground. Despite Jal¡¯krin¡¯s complaints about standing, he and the others caught in the press emitted rumbling purrs. The proximity triggered a primitive communal comfort; she saw tension easing from more than a few. Though it returned every time a grill near the driver started to repeat news announcements of last night and today¡¯s lakeside events¡ªmurmurs and whispers between groups concerned other events, including the half-day congestion in the city. Though the transporter ride was standing room for half the trip, being mingled with the crowd meant no one looked her way. When passengers up top started to descend, they went out windows or hatches in the roof and bounced down holds along the side. As Jal¡¯krin eyed a prime seat, Amdirlain got in first. Dumping her harp case on him to keep him busy, she bounced between wall-mounted footholds to ¡®fling¡¯ herself high enough. His only reaction was a grumble about having another brat pulling his tail. Later, when he got a spot nearby, Jal¡¯krin pretended to bop her with her case. The mixed-food place was nearly the size of Jal¡¯krin¡¯s apartment block. Behind the store¡¯s front counter were lines of rotisserie grills awash with options like the stuffed roasts she¡¯d had. As they walked through the shop, the smell of the meat drew grumbles from Jal¡¯krin¡¯s stomach while Amdirlain rubber-necked. She hadn¡¯t seen the spiky-shelled fruit and leathery vegetables on the central displays served yet. A situation that made faking preparing them problematic. Fishing in the clerk¡¯s mind for info on each one gave Amdirlain an excuse, with most of the contents shipped from the north. ¡°It seems two things I need on my list are local music and local cookbooks. The only food in here I recognise are the roasts behind the counter,¡± said Amdirlain, pointing at a northern fruit. ¡°What sort of vegetable is that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a fruit, not a vegetable. Ahh, southern cuisine, more meat on the hoof. Fruit of the mountain only comes in the ridge hopping variety,¡± grinned Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Or do you need to conquer a box of grain cakes?¡± Amdirlain stuck her nose in the air at his tone. ¡°Whatever.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m in trouble. I¡¯ve evoked a dread word,¡± gasped Jal¡¯krin, his attempt at humour frail. ¡°See if you can find dread words for songs then, and I¡¯ll howl them out,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Roast?¡± ¡°You wanted fresh stuff, so we¡¯re not just buying pre-cooked roast; otherwise, I¡¯ll tell uncle you¡¯re big on boasting and low on delivery,¡± retorted Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain perked her ears dramatically, and a finger stabbed towards different sections. ¡°Wait, I recognise the eggs and the roast cold cuts in the cooler section.¡± ¡°Go you,¡± cheered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Though maybe get something else to cook; I¡¯ve been told it is cheaper to eat at home.¡± ¡°You grab some of the fresh stuff you know how to prepare. I shall tend the hunt,¡± proclaimed Amdirlain as she headed for a row of waist-high cabinets radiating Ice Mana. Over Jal¡¯krin¡¯s protests, she paid with her surplus coins and quickly covered the cost of what could be four days¡¯ meals. Stuffing some supplies in her travel pack atop her clothing, they split the rest between them and returned to his place. The closer they got, the more tension Amdirlain picked up from Jal¡¯krin as he walked beside her, careful never to lag. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± asked Amdirlain after she handed him the last of the ice to put in his ice chest. Jal¡¯krin settled on the chair at the kitchen table and sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should give me your pity jobs.¡± ¡°How do you figure composing is a pity job?¡± ¡°I already said I prefer instrumental work, and longer ones at that, where the theme has time to play and build,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin. ¡°You need a proper lyrical composer.¡± ¡°First, I¡¯m happy to sing instrumental pieces. You will see how much you can challenge my voice. Second, songs with words don¡¯t have to be short. Words are sounds, just the same as music. And don¡¯t forget that whole ¡®you can pronounce words differently to give them completely different meanings and emotions¡¯.¡± Jal¡¯krin huffed in dissatisfaction. ¡°Music speaks deeper than words.¡± Amdirlain eyed his sceptical reaction. Putting up a sound barrier along the walls, she sighed briefly, emitting placid heartbreak. ¡°I hate him.¡± ¡°What?¡± grunted Jal¡¯krin. As Amdirlain considered tearing Moloch apart, with the demon lord¡¯s face squeezed between her fingers, rage flared. For less than a heartbeat, she let the fury build and let out a snarl of words. ¡±I HATE HIM.¡± The intensity clawed and ripped its way up Jal¡¯krin¡¯s spine, his fur stood on end, and fear squeezed blood through his veins. With his back pressed against the wall, Jal¡¯krin blinked at her carefully, not wanting to take his gaze from her. His eyes bulged when Amdirlain clapped her hands and gave him a merry smile. ¡°The same words, completely different emotions. Consider words not a liability but a way to accent the message with passion and meaning.¡± ¡°How did you do that? I thought I was going to piss myself. How did you get so angry?¡± breathed Jal¡¯krin from where he was still pressed tight against the wall. Trembling, he pressed a hand on his chest like he needed to stop his heart from leaping out of his ribs. ¡°Anger, that¡¯s one emotion I¡¯ve got lots of stored up, though I¡¯m trying to get better at letting it out in healthy ways. Sometimes letting it out helps me think, and other times it just makes me remember the pain,¡± said Amdirlain, concerned that her minor demonstration might have gone too far. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve never¡­ I¡¯m not going to hit you.¡± I did hurt innocents. His fur still standing on end, Jal¡¯krin licked his lips. ¡°That scared the living daylights out of me.¡± ¡°Sorry, it was more intense than I had intended,¡± admitted Amdirlain ruefully. ¡°So, about composing-¡± Panting, Jal¡¯krin waved her off. ¡°Give me a minute; I need to check my heart won¡¯t give out.¡± Eventually, after some long and slow breaths, Jal¡¯krin exhaled. ¡°What sort of song did you want?¡± ¡°Giving into anger or rage is easy. If I want something that challenges me, it needs to be joyful,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Heck, given how you reacted, I¡¯ll need joyous songs to prevent the audience from needing to bring a change of pants.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to use my admission against me,¡± complained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I can compose a joyful song.¡± Amdirlain pouted. ¡°You composed that instrumental piece, which was plenty joyful.¡± ¡°That song predates my screw-up,¡± clarified Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain tapped her chin and paced restlessly before the bench, considering how to motivate and not break him. As Amdirlain swayed in her pacing, a more robust projection of calm radiated from her, and Jal¡¯krin¡¯s heart finally stopped racing. ¡°Please stop moving that way,¡± grumbled Jal¡¯krin when his pulse had eventually slowed, but his ears were still twitching nervously. ¡°What?¡± asked Amdirlain, wondering if she should have kept a mental ear out. ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what is wrong with me. You keep drawing my eyes, and you¡¯re sixteen. Why couldn¡¯t I have met you two years from now? Then I wouldn¡¯t feel like such a creep,¡± confessed Ja¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯d still be a creep to want you to watch you so much, but not this klaxon level creep. You move like a stream flows, feeling calm and serene, and I can¡¯t take my eyes off you. We should likely find you somewhere else to stay so you don¡¯t have to endure me.¡± With my Charisma and Quickness, what he says is fair; if I were a typical female, I¡¯d be pissed at getting constantly ogled by a guy I wasn¡¯t into. Yet, in my situation, being annoyed at him is victim blaming. He¡¯s the victim of my lack of self-control over my attributes. Should I even be around mortals at all? Other beings manage it. I need to practice my Charisma, and they need the Eldritch cleared up, but is that an even trade for those where I mess up? Amdirlain had halted even as her thoughts kept going. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, that was bad of me.¡± ¡°How? It¡¯s weird, and I¡¯m likely sick in the head. You can¡¯t control what I think or feel. Your body language is like a cub¡¯s, and it¡¯s just wrong for me to be watching you.¡± Amdirlain hummed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry because Bard improves Charisma, so don¡¯t be so hard on yourself. How about you help me fix my body language? Please tell me what I¡¯m doing wrong. I¡¯ve not been around many Catfolk, I had a small pride. Maybe it has oddities that aren¡¯t normal elsewhere.¡± ¡°If you need a performance coach, then that¡¯s not me. I¡¯m a composer,¡± rebuffed Jal¡¯krin. Huffing, Amdirlain¡¯s tail tapped the air in her frustration. ¡°Pretend it¡¯s a composition, and my movements are part of the expression.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way; that¡¯s choreography. I¡¯ve never studied that,¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Dial it back a notch on the formality. You know when someone¡¯s being childish in their body language, yes?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin¡¯s whiskers curled in tightly. ¡°Yes.¡± Catching his wariness, Amdirlain nodded reassuringly and pointed both hands at herself. ¡°I just need you to monitor me and tell me what signals I¡¯m sending with my tail, ears, whiskers, or whatever.¡± Jal¡¯krin grumbled. ¡°And I just told you I feel like a creep watching you so much. Now you want me to watch you more?¡± ¡°Asking you to critique me, not creep on me. If someone calls you out, tell them I asked for your advice to fit in properly with the locals. You need a fresh start, and I know what it¡¯s like to need a fresh start. You¡¯re barely an adult yourself. I want to meet her, by the way,¡± said Amdirlain, skipping about to distract his thoughts from her. ¡°You¡¯re younger than me,¡± pointed out Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain huffed in frustration, and Jal¡¯krin raised his hands protectively. ¡°That¡¯s all you picked up from what I just said?¡± ¡°It¡¯s still true,¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Pretend I¡¯ve had a different life experience, and it multiplies my effective age even if my body language is a cub¡¯s,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°But fine, I¡¯ll drop it. Let¡¯s change the subject, and I¡¯m sorry if this is a sore point. How much do you need to replace the study funds you lost? I¡¯ve no idea what things cost and will have to get campus fees myself.¡± Jal¡¯krin mumbled a figure, and Amdirlain had seen enough prices to give a low whistle. Here I thought my university fees had sucked. And he wants to be a composer, not a doctor, for crying out loud. ¡°Many people would look at me like a money train they could follow, taking their share and more. You¡¯re not focused on profiteering. You¡¯re trying to shoo me on my way because you¡¯re worried you¡¯re behaving like a creep. So why shouldn''t I give you a chance?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Did you slip on a mountainside and hit your head too hard?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin, rolling his eyes in disbelief. Amdirlain nodded happily, and her tail swished about. ¡°That could well be true. Since you raised the point earlier, do you know someone studying choreography? I want to work on improving my dancing.¡± ¡°My sister studies dance; she or mum might know people. Mum hasn¡¯t performed in a while, so I don¡¯t know who she keeps in touch with,¡± answered Jal¡¯krin, and his tone turned tight. ¡°Not that either wants to talk to me right now.¡± ¡°Your sister and mum are dancers?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, the whole pride is involved in entertainment somehow,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°What¡¯s your sister¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Jul¡¯iane,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain blinked. Yeah, maybe an aspect of Luck is playing games with me. That sounded too much like it started with Julia. I wish I could remember the aspects¡¯ names so we could chat. Either that or learning my True Name leads me to people who need to turn their lives around. ¡°What¡¯s that face for?¡± muttered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Just her name sounded similar to someone I once knew,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Why doesn¡¯t your mum perform? Your tone didn¡¯t make it sound like a planned retirement.¡± ¡°She shattered her leg in an accident. Healers did what they could, and mum can sort of walk, but she can¡¯t dance, and it hurts if she stands too long,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin, his voice still tight. ¡°It cut her performing years way short.¡± ¡°That¡¯s terrible,¡± murmured Amdirlain sympathetically. Jal¡¯krin was silent, and Amdirlain moved to the door plate to send a trickle of Mana into the grid. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that,¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I kinda killed the conversation again, so I thought I¡¯d do something useful with my time,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°This afternoon, you started to talk about how I sang today and yesterday, and then the customer interrupted.¡± ¡°Never mind,¡± muttered Jal¡¯krin. Walking over, Amdirlain delicately tapped the tip of his nose and made Jal¡¯krin sit back. ¡°Come on, I¡¯m listening. I¡¯m not the best at it, but I¡¯m here. It sounded like I¡¯ve brought you pain twice now.¡± ¡°Today, you sounded like you¡¯d been hollowed out by pain,¡± observed Jal¡¯krin softly. ¡°Yeah, I pretty much was letting my pain out,¡± admitted Amdirlain, hoping no one unreported had come to harm. ¡°I destroyed everything that started going right with that stupid bet¡ªtrying for more ruined things for my sister and me. I hollowed out our opportunities and the joy I find in composing music. That¡¯s why you¡¯re better off finding someone else to compose. You¡¯re right; I am an idiot. Sometimes the thought of never making things right for her makes me sick. It¡¯s been over half a year, and I can¡¯t let myself think of it. When I do, it grabs me by the throat and drags me under, the way your singing did, like a river¡¯s undertow,¡± whispered Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain almost backed off, but she considered the reactions of the Catfolk on the transporter to physical proximity. With them in mind, she tried to set her awkward feelings aside and stepped close to hug him. The low chair put his head against her stomach, and Amdirlain patted his ears as the law keeper had hers. ¡°It¡¯s okay to cry.¡± Jal¡¯krin¡¯s shoulders started trembling, and he scratched at his thighs, his claws catching in the cloth. ¡°I know about bottling things up, hiding the pain from others with humour, or pretending it doesn¡¯t exist, even to myself. It¡¯s better to let it out, Jal¡¯krin,¡± whispered Amdirlain, and she gently stroked his ears and hair. ¡°You can learn from your mistakes and work to improve things. Goodness knows, I screwed things up and misjudged you. Can I get a do-over on that?¡± The first tears sounded like a grunt of pain, but Amdirlain heard the whirl of emotions in his mind. All the doubts, self-recrimination, and misery he hadn''t let suffer the other day came through, but still, he held them in. Amdirlain gave him a little nudge. ¡°Cry.¡± The tears came forth as snarls and howls while Jal¡¯krin¡¯s shoulders shook, and Amdirlain cushioned him while he cried. The care that Amdirlain had used to drive home a point with Mor¡¯lmes, for this youngster wasn¡¯t a mockery. After a while, instead of clawing at himself, Jal¡¯krin clung to her and let out body-wracking sobs. A long time later, he released her, sat up to scrub at his face, and gave an exhausted exhalation, not lifting his gaze from the ground. ¡°That was embarrassing.¡± Amdirlain clasped his shoulder gently. ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone. Sometimes It¡¯s easier to admit pain to a stranger than to friends or family. Wash; you¡¯ll feel better. Then we can try to figure out how to avoid ruining dinner.¡± Her words earned a low chuff of tired amusement, and Amdirlain stepped out of the way to allow him to stagger to the washroom. Digging around in his cupboards, she found the utensils his exhausted mind told her they¡¯d need for the preparations. I judged him and didn¡¯t listen that first day. Too caught up in my pain, I ignored that of others. 315 - Baptism by Fire Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Dinner had proved easy to prepare between them, and afterwards, a still emotionally exhausted Jal¡¯krin had gone to bed early. Once he fell into a deep slumber, Amdirlain set up the crystal to project an illusion of her sleeping on the living room bench and headed out. Tracking some songs gathered from among the retreat¡¯s staff, Amdirlain slipped into a city hospital¡¯s side entrance. Wandering along the corridors, she listened to the enchanted devices that checked mundane vitals and Mana levels. The pulse of their pieces provided a strange echo of medical monitors and stirred memories of her teenage hospital visits. Amdirlain drifted among the patients with that ancient history needling her. Though they weren¡¯t those she sought, she used Universal Life to leave a wave of recoveries and confused medical staff in her wake. The assortment of their issues and unfamiliar physiology stretched her advancement in the Power. Though she skipped some, most Amdirlain simply ignored the flaws in their melodies. The healing saw Universal Life progress twice through a hospital wing, and the second notification halted Amdirlain in her tracks. With healing easier and more immediately satisfying than dealing with her problems, she admitted its temptation was unlikely to fade. Amdirlain made a beeline for the unit that held those staff from the Lakeside Retreat present in this hospital. Outside, a temporary sign with a hazard symbol hung from its doors, and security had it cordoned off. The magical wards around the medical unit were layered out from their rooms to stop diseases but not entities. Still, having only come this close to ensure there wasn¡¯t the faintest residue of distortion, Amdirlain stayed outside. Touching their minds, she drew them into variations of a mindscape, each sitting in loose garments on their hospital bed. In those visions, each blinked at Amdirlain in confusion, drawn from dreams or into a stupor while talking with officials. ¡°Who are you?¡± It was the first or second question from the many ¡®teenagers¡¯, and Amdirlain answered each of them the same. ¡°I¡¯m with those trying to resolve this situation. I¡¯ve just come to ask: do you wish to choose your classes again?¡± There were many common questions, but some made her ache for their future. ¡®I made Class selections? How can someone take classes away? They haven¡¯t even told me what¡¯s going on. I only know I got woken up by a security guard. How did I get there? What are my Classes? Who are you really with? They won¡¯t tell me where my pride is or why they¡¯ve not come to see me. Will you tell me what¡¯s going on?¡¯ The long conversations they wouldn¡¯t remember seemed to go on for hours but lasted seconds in the mindscape. Though Amdirlain didn¡¯t directly answer many questions, she provided enough information that most decided to purge their classes. Amdirlain waited long enough to hear them gasping in pain from years or decades of Class progression stripped away, and their attribute increases splitting off. [Profile Mastery [M] (49->61)] Amid the Forty-six songs that had painfully shifted and rung in her mind, the notification had appeared almost spitefully. After bearing witness, she moved to the next location. Amdirlain continued through each isolation ward until all two hundred and thirty medical staff and one security guard had been given the same choice. [Profile Mastery [M] (93->95) Note: Current unpleasantness aside, their adult choices caused lots of suffering. You let them off easy, whether they were pulled into it or did the pulling.] Amdirlain stopped to look at the last notification and sighed. Taking in the ringing song and the patients in the nearby hospital rooms, Amdirlain realised what about Professor Mor¡¯lmes had her grinding her teeth. I felt he was playing puppet master with his network of people. He doesn¡¯t know enough about the danger he¡¯s sending them into to keep them safe and only followed afterwards. The same could be said about me regarding Torm; I allowed him to face unknown dangers without me, despite our earlier promise, and came in later. Sighing, Amdirlain scrubbed her fingers through her hair, contemplating the last days. I took my pain out on him and Jal¡¯krin, chewed Jal¡¯krin out about screwing up. I could have been less confrontational with the kid since I set him up for the second bad bet. ¡°Valid or not, I was still a bitch, and added my pain and failures into the judgemental attitude,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Scrying on the professor¡¯s song, Amdirlain found him setting a dining table in a skyscraper near the city¡¯s centre. A long table with enough space for fourteen or more bordered an open area. The rest of the room was filled with six large and soft backless couches set in a circle with throw rugs of bright hues covering the tiled floor between them. The suite had several bedrooms and other rooms branching off the area. The professor was barefoot, wearing loose pants and a sleeveless shirt of a burnt amber hue that showed his scarred arms. Beside him in the domestic scene was a muscular dark blue female wearing a law keeper uniform, her left arm was a silver prosthetic that started high on her shoulder. Interestingly, the protection about their apartment contained a combination of their songs, though her theme wasn¡¯t as strong in its contributions. Along one wall were dozens of pictures, and a small table stood at their mid-point with a clean drinking glass in its centre. Most of the pictures were of individuals in various styles of black and purple military armour, some wore civilian clothing, and all were wreathed in ribbons of muted red. When Mor¡¯lmes finished setting their places, he filled the glass on the small table before the wall. Spotting their dinner was already away from the cooktops, Amdirlain called Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ direct unit. Their ears flattened when a unit on a couch across the circle started chirping, and the female sighed. ¡°At least it''s not mine this time.¡± ¡°My poor love, not looking forward to running herd on your investigation teams?¡± laughed Mor¡¯lmes as he weaved around the coaches to collect the offending unit. ¡°You weren¡¯t there. You don¡¯t get to laugh about that much rock imitating a bird,¡± the female grumbled. ¡°I can¡¯t even tell them what you shared about J.¡± When Mor¡¯lmes looked at the unit¡¯s metal display plate, he frowned and pressed a button, but the unit kept chirping. ¡°No unit signal code, and the call didn¡¯t deny.¡± ¡°It might be from J,¡± suggested the female, not having moved from the table. ¡°You don¡¯t know what she is, but try to have manners and ensure you thank her for restoring Tulne¡¯s life.¡± Mor¡¯lmes grumbled and touched fingertips to his throat before he pressed a rune. ¡°Hello.¡± Amdirlain cut the sound from the scrying before she replied. ¡°Hello, Mor¡¯lmes. Apologies for disturbing your dinner preparations. There is another gift for you at your front door¡ªwarded so only you can collect it. I didn¡¯t want it accidentally picked up by someone while you interrogated me.¡± The female still at the table laughed reflexively and moved to collect their dinner from the kitchen. ¡°What sort of gift?¡± huffed Mor¡¯lmes curiously. ¡°I already owe the girl¡¯s life and my healing. Our tales warn of the prices extracted by beings of power.¡± ¡°Though we got off to a rocky start, I¡¯m not looking to harm you. If I need payment for something, I¡¯ll inform you in advance, and you can decline,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°But I¡¯ve already told you what I¡¯m after, and that¡¯s to get help to stop the beachheads. The rest is either goodwill gestures or needful things. The staff is a gift and one of the tools I promised to provide to protect your world.¡± ¡°You¡¯d rather fight on someone else¡¯s lands?¡± questioned Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Such a cynical view. They¡¯re already here. I didn¡¯t lure them onto your world, nor did I tell the Arch-Wizard to bring what he did into your city,¡± reminded Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes went to the front door and hauled it open. In the empty corridor, a gnarled staff matching the one he brought to the cafe hovered upright before him, the breeze generated by the door causing it to rotate slowly. His nose twitched as he lifted the unit back to his ear and caught the gleam of crystal peeking from within the wood at the staff¡¯s top. He set a sound barrier and illusion in place before he spoke. ¡°What am I looking at?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°It''s a close duplicate of your staff, though I made some upgrades. While it endures, anyone in an area you direct will have any Eldritch-infested memories cleansed. Mind you don¡¯t use a bubble; keep it to flat circles or lines. You don¡¯t want it impacting people on floors above or below you that you can¡¯t see,¡± explained Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes reached out for it only to halt. ¡°Why are you sending it to me?¡± ¡°While I know you had no infested memories, I¡¯ve not met many of your observers. You can warn them about memory loss, but if others haven¡¯t noticed odd behaviours, it''s likely minimal,¡± explained Amdirlain. With a tightening grip on the unit, Mor¡¯lmes took the staff from the air with his free hand and stepped back to close the door. Setting the staff in a rack beside the door before he spoke again. ¡°Why should they risk it?¡± ¡°Do your species have any degenerative illnesses? One that causes muscular strength to decay while leaving the mind hale, or vice versa?¡± asked Amdirlain, though she already knew the answer from her hospital visits. ¡°Yes, some can be costly or impossible to treat,¡± admitted Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Once someone¡¯s mind has given in to the Eldritch influence, it''s like the early onset of one of those diseases. If your people had seen the sigils or doodles, but the infestation didn¡¯t get its hooks into their minds, they¡¯ll lose nothing. Those infected whose state becomes advanced enough could compromise the rest of your observers.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got no operational security. Every observer whose mind I¡¯ve listened to knows others, and they frequently meet,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Worse, the link unit can send visual traces. It would be easy for a compromised individual to spread their affliction.¡± ¡°Grave rot,¡± cursed Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°We never approach them, and we all know of their weirdness. We hadn¡¯t considered one of us joining them. What will the effect be? Any obvious signs if they¡¯re affected by purging memories?¡± ¡°Depending on how many memories someone loses, they might pass out; lesser infected become lightheaded within the area,¡± advised Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ posture tensed up. ¡°Is there a problem on campus?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain tomorrow. Enjoy your dinner, and maybe invite some friends over early to check on them,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she let the songs lapse to end the connection and scrying. Amdirlain started to plan her next step when she heard a child nearby having trouble getting comfortable because of a badly broken leg. She took time to heal more patients while she thought about the rest of the evening. Tracking the two eldritch sorcerers her crystal at the outreach centre had dealt with, Amdirlain found them in another hospital¡¯s quarantine area. There she purged their classes, and while a staff member updated their records, she snaffled their home addresses from the gleaming metal displays. Slicing apart the alarm wards on the first¡¯s home, she flowed under the door and took in the disorderly couches and the packed bookcases. All their spines were pristine, and a faint layer of dust lay across the front of the shelves without interruption. The place was a four-room suite, fully furnished from the front door to the polished stones and trim around the washroom¡¯s sink. A full-height ice chest was laden with drinks and runes whose crafter was skilled enough to impress them rather than needing to engrave. Cupboards filled with cookware that showed as much dust as the shelves, only the utensils and plates had seen use. Nosing through his bedroom, she found the first evidence of reading habits. Dog-eared copies of texts stamped in the corners of the front and back cover with an inward-facing three, the local symbol looking like ridged teeth. Within the well-thumbed stack that advised on ¡®fortifying one¡¯s inner self¡¯ was one that was still new. Flicking through its pages, Amdirlain found a chapter on the Arch-Wizard, which started with an illustration of a broken wall and an eye-catching sigil atop it. The twisted shape looked like a weather-worn engraving of a polar worm eating itself, with serrated teeth digging into the edges. Nothing in the chapter remotely sounded like the individual in the early journals. Destroying the book, Amdirlain flicked through the others but found nothing remotely the same. That mass reproduction of the sigils left a foul taste in Amdirlain''s mouth, and it hadn¡¯t faded by the time she finished tossing his bedroom for more. She only gained a few items of interest: well-creased, handwritten notes about attuning one¡¯s inner heart to the stars and a palm-sized metal plate¡ªthe local version of an address book. Within it, she found the printing company¡¯s details. Checking on the second Sorcerer¡¯s home, Amdirlin found a hazy two-bedroom apartment with a young family¡ªa calico mother and three cubs under five. The littlest was asleep on a fuzzy rug, rolled blankets bracing him in place, while the other two pestered the mother for news between munching on cereal cakes. Their mother had a battered cookbook folded in two and the kitchen''s ice chest open wide. As she rifled through the labelled parcels inside, repeatedly inscribed runes gleamed dully along its handle. ¡°Daddy never burns anything!¡± exclaimed the eldest. Sighing, the mother scrubbed her hand with oil-stained fur across her muzzle and grit her teeth, determined to ignore her cub¡¯s new mantra for the evening. ¡°When will he be home? Can I have something else? I hate cereal cakes,¡± the other child asked as they moved to put the half-chewed cake back in the box. Catching the motion out of the corner of her eye, the mother protested in a stressed hiss. ¡°You¡¯ve slobbered all over it. Don¡¯t put it back in there; leave it on your plate for now.¡± Teleporting silently into the parents'' bedroom, Amdirlain found a similar stack of books to the first Sorcerer, including the one with the sigil. Destroying them, Amdirlain left a cluster of nuggets composed of precious metals and moved on. It was full night when Amdirlain appeared again on the estate grounds. The lop-sided Y with its maw towards the driveway seemed more ominous tonight. The building¡¯s exterior had no lighting, and moonlight had the tree pointing accusing fingers towards the manor. The two strongest sources of distortion were in the upper three stories of the core structure, and another close to their strength was positioned two levels below ground level. In addition, there were lesser sources on the lower floors and in the adjoining buildings. Amdirlain began to check the wards with a narrow focus to avoid the distortion¡¯s interference. Through the hissing static, she confirmed they were the wards she¡¯d seen in other places to prevent observation and undead intrusion. While stronger than she¡¯d seen in other places, Amdirlain couldn¡¯t find hidden tricks within them that would restrain her from leaving. The main problem was that, if they detected someone unauthorised inside, they¡¯d kick up a racket. She kept working around the two distortions that sometimes shifted location while her search progressed. Amdirlain checked most of the premises and found chambers of various types that seemed more suitable for larger gatherings than the number of bedrooms within. Among them, the basement had a large chamber of black stone with the third source of distortion. A secured room outside that chamber had more of the robes with masks that aided mental resilience she¡¯d found at the outreach centre. In that vestment room, on either side of the door toward the distortion, was a metal plate set with two runes. The jagged symbol they used for three faced a mirror of itself to present a vicious maw. Unlike the wards on the upper floors, those in the lowest level of the basement were rigged to kill. Is there another sludge pool in there, or something else? Returning her attention above ground, she recounted and confirmed just over forty-eight individuals within the building. Eldritch manipulators possessed thirty-one, so she focused on the song of the two stronger distortions and tried Analysis. [Name: Alyolhe, Spellclash pride Species: Eldritch Skinwalker Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 874,124 Defence: 728 Magic: 4,297 Details: The current head of the inner circle dedicated to the Delirium of Darkness is an Eldritch that now wears the face of Alyolhe, of the Spellclash pride. Alyolhe was born into riches, a member of the main line of the Spellclash pride. Among its other ventures, it controls the manufacturing rights of the highest-rated energy projector in the allied territories. Military and security contracts have continued to bolster the family¡¯s fortunes. They are patrons of note among the Triumvirate Campus and hold great influence within its halls due to ancestral ties. She served in the military and survived an expedition. Afterwards, she mated the much poorer Cen¡¯ki, which caused conflict with her immediate pride. Chosen to take her mentor¡¯s place on the inner council, Alyolhe looked forward to the control she¡¯d gain. Yet the ¡®ascension¡¯ ceremony was also the last moment she as a person existed. The predecessors entered with the slumbering entity, and the ¡®deaths¡¯ were covered up as natural causes slowly revealed over months. Note: What big teeth and eyes grandmother has today, positively brimming with energy. It¡¯s what happens when a being focuses on channelling energy.] I didn¡¯t focus on classes to up my Magic rating, so I do not want to get into a Spell battle with her. She might slip mine aside while her spells or powers could hit home, and I¡¯ve no idea the depth of her Mana pool. [Name: Cen¡¯ki, Spellclash pride Species: Eldritch Skinwalker Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 436,950 Defence: 596 Magic: 2,914 Details: Though talented, he opted to join Alyolhe¡¯s pride for their greater wealth. Two years after their mating rites, he joined her in the cult to push for a promised greater strength. After enduring decades of mental trials and progressing through the cult¡¯s circles, he was always a fraction behind his mate. Only at the last step did Cen¡¯ki advance to the next council simultaneously. They were both privileged to ¡®ascend¡¯ their ranks during the same inner council transition. Just to get his face taken by a weaker summoning than his wife, and most of the ¡®food¡¯ since has gone to her growth. Note: Even the fake him can¡¯t catch a break.] Checking beyond the property, Amdirlain found two observers within a forested estate down the road. The small building they were staying in felt like a groundskeeper cottage to her, positioned on the forward edge of the grounds but out of sight from the road. The building they were monitoring was Alyolhe¡¯s private estate. ¡®Things might get loud tonight. Stay clear.¡¯ The words in their mind caused both of the observers to grab for their link units. Hoping they¡¯d stay out of it, Amdirlain set to work. Tagging the infested but unpossessed mortals, Amdirlain set up a linked crystal to purge memories and teleport them away from any fighting. Creating groups of crystals to burst the eldritch manipulators'' psychic energies netted her millions in experience, far more than killing these alone would reap. Amdirlain was still working out if she could breach the basement¡¯s wards when a trio of young adults arrived in a vehicle. From the straight course of the driveway, the vehicle¡¯s path headed around the building¡¯s far side and caused a covered area away from the building to light up. As their vehicle turned off, a glowing walkway came to life from the covered space and ran to the side building. Under an illusion, a pair exited the vehicle''s front seats and lifted a female from the backseat, ignoring her drugged protests about needing to get home. Though Amdirlain was tempted to take direct action, with the pair¡¯s songs relatively clear, she tagged all three to handle with the infected. When they opened the front door of the side building, Amdirlain was an unseen wind that rushed past the trio, and she cleared the drugs from the female and triggered the prepared crystals. As she moved along the entry¡¯s tile floor, Amdirlain took in the elaborate banners carefully spaced to maximise the illumination of the hexagon¡¯s soft white light. Down the middle of the foyer was a polished table with mithril filigree. In an orderly line atop were racks that held holsters, an assortment of bags, and the short rune rods that acted as vehicle keys. Before the new arrivals and other infected vanished away to hospitals, Amdirlain¡¯s songs had already enfolded the possessed in silence. An effect that started just in time as a barrage of psionic assaults ripped the eldritch manipulators apart. Only Amdirlain should have heard the screams of distress from their hosts, but still, Alyolhe and Cen¡¯ki acted. As the first Eldritch Manipulator died, Alyolhe and Cen¡¯ki moved, the pair in full stride before the Eldritch remains were whisked from the realm. With the shielding useless, Amdirlain dropped the barrier she¡¯d held around the hosts and tracked the pair¡¯s course. From their first turn, it was clear the pair¡¯s rush was heading towards each other. With Cen¡¯ki being weaker, Amdirlain went after him. His path had started him into a multi-room library, giving Amdirlain plenty of room for her assault. Teleporting beside Cen¡¯ki, Amdirlain¡¯s kick spun the black-furred male with silver age speckles into a bookcase. The shelving shattered with the impact and rained tomes down on them both. Amdirlain¡¯s kick felt like it struck bone, but his burned body squelched and deformed around the edge of the shelves, only to expand again. As he scrambled to his feet, tendrils of inky blackness stabbed out through the fine red silken robes he wore and into the ground to support him. With Alyolhe approaching fast, Amdirlain¡¯s songs pressed hard to enclose his form in a crystal translation. He twisted through a spine-cracking turn and leapt towards the space books bouncing off Amdirlain had left. The golden energies slipped tighter to meet him without a sound of protest, he impacted hard into the thin crystal the glow had created all around him. Thickening layers ground inwards, pressing his stolen form into a tight column, more blackness oozing from skin and fur. His claws and spells scrambled for purchase until the crystal casket was completed, and its temporal lock snapped into place. Before Amdirlain could send it away, Eldritch lances ripped through the ceiling at an angle she dropped to avoid. The spells tore onward through the wall and floor beside her. The casket and nearby bookshelves the projectiles hadn¡¯t consumed groaned and plunged into the pit that the attack had torn through the multiple floors. Even before the destruction finished, Alyolhe had leapt away, and her trail of distortion fled towards the nearest screaming infected. Not wanting her to have anything she sought, Amdirlain teleported them into a side building. Their movement caused Alyolhe to pause and turn for the nearest stairs down. Unsure if Alyolhe was detecting the energy of their lives or the distortion, Amdirlain set multiple phantasms loose. Each of them she wrapped in a song that echoed life¡¯s energy and set them chasing Alyolhe. Amdirlain didn¡¯t shift the fallen Catfolk again but adjusted her own concealments to blend better with the stones. Even though they hadn¡¯t attacked, Alyolhe unleashed spells towards the closest phantasm blowing through a wall to crush it. Making other phantasms move as if they were desperately chasing Alyolhe, Amdirlain repositioned herself to ambush her from above. Blasts from Alyolhe ripped through one chasing phantasm after another, and in response, Amdirlain used songs to cause Primordial spells to strike, Alyolhe shielding in return. Flames destroyed corridors and rooms as the ¡®casters¡¯ tried to herd Alyolhe away from the former possessed, but Alyolhe persisted, and the barrier around her held strong. With the functional bait luring her in, Amdirlain didn¡¯t activate the next link to send the manipulators¡¯ victims away. More turns and attempted attacks confirmed that the Eldritch Skinwalker was sticking to her course. Static surged and hissed from Alyolhe as she entered Amdirlain¡¯s ambush corridor, intent on the door ahead. Its reflective surface only showed a bare ceiling instead of Amdirlain¡¯s braced position. Black, oily tendrils extending from the yellows of Alyolhe''s eyes, they stabbed erratically at the air. Despite the barrages Amdirlain had unleashed, the only damage Alyolhe showed was a light peppering of burns that marked her soaking-wet amber fur. The purple barrier that had shrugged off Amdirlain¡¯s spells and songs still rose from her skin, aggravating the strong distortion Amdirlain had first heard. As Alyolhe passed under her without reaction, Amdirlain attacked. Keeping Angelic Aura and Ki State''s ignition to the last moment, she gave Alyolhe no chance to dodge. The barrier¡¯s Eldritch energy ripped against the aura, Ki, and Primordial Mana alike, and savaged Amdirlain¡¯s flesh, but the kick landed hard, splashing the walls with ichor. Smashed from behind, Alyolhe¡¯s charred and broken body catapulted towards the ground. Yet before Alyolhe landed, she unleashed an expanding Eldritch blast towards the ceiling. The reaction had come with a speed matching her own, and caught in its path, Amdirlain teleported along the corridor too late. The energy consumed her legs and flayed the flesh from her lower torso, and only Flight kept her upright. As the blast tore through the ceilings and rooms above, Alyolhe snapped upright, smoke climbing from her back. Her broken neck straightened, and her gaze fixed on Amdirlain¡¯s Eldritch charred flesh despite the songs of concealment. Registering growing pain and Protean¡¯s regeneration not grabbing hold, Amdirlain ejected the corrupted flesh around the wound to one side. Despite Amdirlain executing a twitch of movement before the flesh splattered on the wall, Alyolhe¡¯s attention adjusted to Amdirlain¡¯s position shift. A rolling wave rushed towards Amdirlain, and starting an attack, she skipped to the other side of its approach. Hidden behind the Spell¡¯s front, a purple flame wall filled the corridor at Alyolhe¡¯s back. Before Alyolhe could react to Amdirlain''s appearance, the attack she¡¯d started before teleporting landed. With a sound like burning jelly, a Primordial Kopis severed Alyolhe¡®s head while one laced with Destruction scooped across her chest to pull out bellow-like lungs and black gunk. As Pain Eater¡¯s threshold was breached, Amdirlain fought against her mauled body¡¯s strange drowning pain. Decapitated and savaged, her foe staggered about, wavering on the spot, and the Primordial Kopis struck again. The blow¡¯s force took the curved blade from crown to crotch, and the halves bowed outwards. Only gravity guided Alyolhe downwards as her corpse split further, already ablaze from the Primordial heat. [Combat Summary: Eldritch Skinwalker x1 (Imprisoned) Eldritch Skinwalker x1 Total Experience gained: 2,743,896 Ostim?: +1,371,948 Ont?lin: +1,371,948 Death Strike [S] (18->20) Protean [S] (83->84) Note: That¡¯s more than a flesh wound.] Despite the ejection of the corrupted flesh, pain climbed higher, already having bypassed Pain Eater, and Protean groaned when Amdirlain tried to repeat the expulsion from the wound. Amid the pain and against the backdrop of the dead skinwalker on the ground, Amdirlain couldn¡¯t make out the sounds of her flesh and teleported into the dark. In the still night, distortion twisted in the air where her legs and hips should be, moving higher like a slow fuse. The blast had warped inner strands of her body¡¯s fibres beyond the normal dimensions, and along its incorporeal connection, the Eldritch rot crept. 316 - Caught with your pants down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris True Song shifted Amdirlain¡¯s body into an incorporeal state similar to the spectres she¡¯d seen. It was also a condition that put her uncomfortably close to the warped dimensional shift the Eldritch attack had caused. In it, Amdirlain could see the infestation of alien energy drawing close to her torso. The upper wounds on her torso showed no signs of infection, but the ghostly outlines of veins and unsheathed nerves darkened as she watched. She could see her sigil¡¯s nodes glowing brightly out of incorporeal flesh in this state. As the rot approached the lowest node included in Amdirlain¡¯s sigil, agony tore through her, almost disrupting the song. Precognitive dread raced through her body, warning her to flee the effect. Contorting herself and drawing her body thin, Amdirlain struck down with the Primordial Kopis she brought into this state. The blade went through her like an incense stick wafted about, leaving a clean cut below her belly button and a misty trail of ash. While the pain it brought was a sharp fire in ethereal flesh, the node¡¯s agony stopped, and the severed part drifted clear. Amdirlain flared Primordial flames across the Eldritch-infested remnants and ignited its essence. With it burning out of phase, she set a lingering song to keep it here and released the main incorporeal song to revert to a solid physical form. The grass crackled under her body, and Amdirlain went to flow upright, only to almost sprawl face first. Her arms pushed to keep her upper body from the grass brushing against the still bleeding stub of her torso, where her legs hadn¡¯t regrown. While Protean had filled out the wounds higher to match her Anar form, its reformation stopped where she¡¯d severed her body in the incorporeal state. The music in Resonance believed her current form was complete, its concept simply had no legs. Other forms she tried to assume all failed to manifest their legs, though the wound¡¯s blood loss slowed to a seep. ¡°Okay, not good,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and she took in the fires within the manor. Alyolhe''s blast had carried through the building¡¯s wing and vaporised some of the infected. In the distance, she could hear law keeper vehicles approaching at high speed. Wincing, Amdirlain triggered the crystal to cleanse the memories from the rest and teleported them to safety. With them gone, she sent the crystal sarcophagus to the Abyss. The distortion in the basement worried her but it wasn¡¯t something she could handle. Hoping it would be enough, she detonated a series of Primordial explosions, collapsing the building into the basement. Amdirlain started to sing to correct her body, only for something different to Precognition prickle down her spine. The sense of worry that arose killed the notes on her lips. Recognising the sudden wariness to force a change in herself came from old memories, she decided to seek out advice instead. More spells destroyed the blood covering the grass and the remains in the corridor before Amdirlain teleported away. Arriving at the base camp, the time difference meant it was early morning. Livia and Rana were vigorously sparring within the courtyard, but Goxashru was fast asleep. At her arrival, the pair stopped mid-strike and turned to where Amdirlain hovered mid-air. ¡°Tell me this is a prank; where are your legs?¡± gasped Livia, and she dashed to Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re naked, cut in half and still bleeding, M¨®eir! What happened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a touch more than a flesh wound,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Even Gideon says so.¡± As Livia lightly touched one of the freshly healed wounds on Amdirlain¡¯s stomach, she heard a Power activate. A mist of silvery light appeared around Livia¡¯s hands, and Amdirlain felt healing energy seep into her body. ¡°You¡¯ve severed a complete section of yourself, and you¡¯ve more injuries you''re not showing.¡± ¡°I turn up naked, and you¡¯re worried about my misplaced legs? ?Shocking, young lady. Let¡¯s contact Cyrus¡ªit¡¯ll save me from repeating the tale. The main points are I had to cut through the network of nodes within my flesh because of Eldritch damage, and he might have some advice,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°The rot it left was getting close to a node of my sigil, and I knew I couldn¡¯t let them touch.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll expect more details than that when you share the tale with him,¡± grumbled Livia, and she fired off a Spell. ¡°I¡¯ll help you heal, though I feel your body recovering. Those nodes are part of the spiritual net that binds your Soul to your flesh, or a Shen¡¯s essence to whatever form they¡¯ve taken, M¨®eir. I¡¯ve healed others with lost limbs, and I could still feel those limbs within their net, but I can''t feel yours.¡± It was a piece of information that Amdirlain remembered from Cyrus¡¯ lectures, but she nodded calmly. ¡°Protean is normally wonderful, but it¡¯s not happy with these injuries,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps we should get Amdirlain settled,¡± suggested Rana, motioning to the furniture in the covered hall. ¡°I¡¯ll take myself to one, I can do more than just hover,¡± Amdirlain replied, and she teleported over to lie on a Roman-style couch. ¡°Been busy with the Fabricate Spell?¡± ¡°I found I wanted a few different things after you¡¯d already left,¡± replied Livia, and she sat on the edge of a table near Amdirlain¡¯s seat. ¡°Are we going to chat like nothing has occurred while you bleed on the furniture?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a situation of nothing having occurred, just one that can¡¯t yet be changed, so it¡¯s not time to act. I¡¯ll tell you all the events in as much detail as possible once Cyrus arrives. How have things been here?¡± Livia sighed. ¡°No sign of any undead. Rana¡¯s skilled with a blade beyond his levels, so we train whenever Goxashru is resting. Some local wildlife have provided some actual combat experience for all three of us.¡± ¡°What¡¯s around?¡± ¡°Various giant burrowing insects and a small pack of water trolls so far,¡± explained Rana. ¡°No undead, and nothing too dangerous.¡± A Message Spell buzzed near Livia, acknowledging Cyrus was ready for a Gate. As Amdirlain opened her mouth to ask if she should handle it, Livia opened a Gate at the top of the hall¡¯s steps. Through it, Amdirlain could see the dirt road outside of Xaos though only Cyrus was in view. Cyrus gingerly crossed the threshold and sniffed the air as he approached. Kneeling, he gestured to her torso. ¡°This world feels strange, empty and thin. I can smell burnt flesh, but you¡¯ve no evidence of other burns. What is it that occurred?¡± ¡°The cliff notes are a foe had a higher magic rating than I did; it overpowered my internal defences,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve healed people that have lost an arm to a monster¡¯s bite, M¨®eir,¡± advised Livia again, her frown deepened even as she kept pouring Ki into Universal Life. ¡°You can normally sense where the body has a memory of it, and I learnt how to restore them. I can feel your net, but your legs are just gone.¡± ¡°Yeah, it''s weird,¡± admitted Amdirlain, waving to where her legs should be. ¡°Not even any phantom pain, and my form¡¯s song says I shouldn¡¯t have legs, and the same in other forms. I went to fix myself with True Song and got warning bells ringing from old memories. I don¡¯t know if it was the delicacy it would require or something else, it just felt extremely risky for me to do it myself.¡± After Amdirlain went through the details of the battle with the Eldritch, Cyrus¡¯ gaze went bleak. ¡°This isn¡¯t something I can directly advise you on. While I¡¯ve heard of battles where immortals have lost limbs in such a fashion, I¡¯ll need to speak to a specialised healer. You should rest for a few days while I seek them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a deadline and have little time,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°One of your own making?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I agreed to meet with someone in about seven hours, and likely someone else will be awake to see I¡¯m missing in six. Can¡¯t show up without legs.¡± ¡°Brace yourself,¡± instructed Cyrus, and when Amdirlain nodded, the glowing Third Eye appeared in the middle of his forehead. Amdirlain grunted when the pressure sidestepped Pain Eater, and the pain of it dug hard into her. ¡°I can see the severed strands that used to connect to nodes beyond your sigil. I know this is distracting, but run Ki through your sigil.¡± With a nod, Amdirlain sent Ki spiralling through it. Upon completing the path, the Sigil flared to show its pattern was intact. Yet the expanding flames from the Phoenix¡¯s base battered against a dark wall that leaked a few fragmented wisps beyond the end of her torso. ¡°You came close,¡± commented Cyrus, and he poked a spot just below her belly button. ¡°Any higher and you would have crippled your sigil; take greater care when fighting these things. Maybe avoid putting your legs into their energy in the future.¡± ¡°In the future?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I believe the spiritual damage you did is repairable, but ?we¡¯ll need an expert to confirm it and advise us on the approach,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°The trip back and forth is what will take time. Can you make them believe you¡¯re unwell and resting?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to tamper with their minds if I don''t have to,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°I could try a psychic projection, but it won¡¯t include scent, so I¡¯d have to adjust the surrounding air on the fly.¡± ¡°You might have to do that or disappear. I don¡¯t know how long getting you a healer who¡¯ll be willing to examine you will take. If I can even get someone to come to you here,¡± cautioned Cyrus. ¡°I know a couple of strong Phoenix healers in the South Wind¡¯s court, but you might have to go to them.¡± ¡°You think ?they¡¯ll respond promptly?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ve heard nothing from the Jade Court.¡± Cyrus lifted his hands helplessly. ¡°The court and its functionaries operate in their own time. I¡¯ll speak directly with the healers among the South Wind¡¯s descendants. I suggest them because of your Phoenix sigil, they would best suit your care.¡± ¡°I can open a Gate from the Outlands to the Middle Kingdom¡¯s border, and the Dragon Gate could bring them to it,¡± suggested Livia. ¡°I¡¯ve got an option to help speed your travel. You said you¡¯ve heard of this type of injury?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Both heard and seen some of our demons inflict similar wounds, but nothing this severe. That could be because you used your Primordial blade. The fires of creation can be an unforgiving thing,¡± stated Cyrus. Amdirlain gave a nod of understanding. ¡°So don¡¯t get my hopes up. I¡¯ll send you straight to Sanctuary if that would speed things up.¡± ¡°It would,¡± allowed Cyrus. ¡°It''s far from the Middle Kingdom, but I can go directly to the Heavenly Plane from there.¡± Taking out a crystal, Amdirlain embedded it with the song of the clearing. ¡°To save double hopping, this will bring you here. Hold it and focus on being here; you can use it from any Plane, but the Material Plane is better. It will bring anyone in contact with you along.¡± Placing him in the chamber was easy with all her practice and having spoken to Gail in Sanctuary¡¯s hall. Sensing tension from Livia, she opened a scrying window and showed his safe arrival, though the office''s current occupant was confused. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Apologising, Cyrus took some time to blink away the trip''s impact before he vanished, and Amdirlain heard him shifting between planes. The music of the Power he used was in a different octave range to the planes she knew. ¡°Bad assumption on my part. I thought Gail had kept that room to use for summoning circles,¡± coughed Amdirlain. Livia''s laugh was thin, and she came over to sit beside Amdirlain and grasped a hand. ¡°Gail has expanded Sanctuary a few times, so maybe she¡¯s using a different room now. I¡¯m pretty sure that fellow was a Mechanus in Human form.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Livia, we¡¯ll figure something out,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°What else will the fight with these things cost you?¡± asked Livia, squeezing Amdirlain¡¯s hand tight. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°You heard Cyrus, he¡¯s heard of similar injuries before, so relax for now. I¡¯m honestly worried about the thing on the campus grounds. I could get in there, but then security would activate, and I¡¯d have to deal with it and the campus wards. In the meantime, I¡¯m pretending to be a Bard and making a splash.¡± ¡°Going to romance your way onto campus in a traditional Bard fashion?¡± questioned Livia blithely, though it stretched her attempt at humour thin. Snorting, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Not a hope. I¡¯m too prickly for anyone to put up with me for long.¡± ¡°You going to put some clothing on? Never know what type of healer might show up,¡± cautioned Livia. ¡°If they¡¯re an experienced healer, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve seen everything,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll have to recreate the shadow vines. The Eldritch energy was eating into them, so I tossed them with the flesh I cast away.¡± Rolling her eyes, Livia stood, pulled a blanket from a storage ring, and laid it across Amdirlain, tucking it securely under her arms and wrapping it around her. ¡°Fuss pot,¡± grumbled Amdirlain as Livia patted her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll tell Sarah you¡¯ve gotten badly hurt, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be here instantly,¡± threatened Livia. ¡°I¡¯d love to see how she reacts.¡± ¡°Let''s not go there. Sarah¡¯s another I¡¯ll have to keep clear of them for now. With all her hunter levels, her Faith rating is likely higher than mine if I didn¡¯t hide it,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°She also has Profile Mastery, which you¡¯ve conveniently pretended to forget. I¡¯m sure she could fake low faith for the reader you told me about,¡± argued Livia. ¡°Plus, it would be good if you had some backup for the problems you¡¯re handling.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°I¡¯m lining up local support.¡± At that, Livia gave her a flat look and raised a questioning eyebrow. ¡°Local support, but not the cloister?¡± ¡°They have to be summoned by someone,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re able to summon demons, and I¡¯m sure you can handle willing Fallen,¡± observed Livia. ¡°But you¡¯ve never taken the time to get to know anyone else caught by the plinth¡¯s injustice. You said they act to support each other on the path, but you won¡¯t let them support you? What¡¯s up with that? ¡± ¡°Fine, I might tell Sarah once more things are under control. They¡¯ve got a lot of interesting Artificer gadgets I think she might like to study,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she paused. ¡°I think Gaius would love to see them as well. From what Sarah¡¯s said, he has little in the way of Faith for all his prior affiliations. Just have to see if he¡¯s fine pretending to be a Catfolk.¡± Amdirlain checked on Jal¡¯krin¡¯s place and found the youngster still asleep and the illusion undisturbed. Livia didn¡¯t comment on the topic change, she simply sighed and moved on. ¡°Besides your fight tonight, how are things going? You only warned me about a few things and confirmed you¡¯d be awhile.¡± ¡°I made quite the public spectacle, bullied a kid, and scared a Wizard who started to speculate about capturing me,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Someone wants to record my playing or singing so others can hear it. It won''t be as good without my Charisma''s influence.¡± ¡°You casually drop a few important points,¡± grumbled Livia. ¡°Why did you bully him?¡± ¡°He made a bet that ruined his chance at higher education, and that of his sister. I didn¡¯t dig enough into how much he regretted it and chewed his ear,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Criminals can regret crimes, but they should still be judged for their inappropriate behaviour,¡± replied Livia. Amdirlain sighed and awkwardly shifted position. ¡°What he did wasn¡¯t illegal despite its consequences to him and other family members. It was for them to deal with it as a family, not for me to get in his face about it.¡± ¡°Planning to make it up to him?¡± ¡°If I get back in time to not blow my secret, I¡¯ll be helping him get his life back together,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she waved at the flat blanket where her legs should be. ¡°If I can¡¯t fix this in time, things will get awkward with details to manage. Illusions are an option, but they¡¯re riskier to maintain moving around with people and not get discovered. I¡¯m supposed to be sleeping on the couch at his place.¡± ¡°How many of his family are there?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°One of them might wake up first.¡± ¡°His family lives elsewhere; seems they¡¯re not on speaking terms because of his mistake,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°M¨®eir, keeping a male company and staying at his place, tsk?,¡± Livia gently chided. ¡°What will the neighbours say?¡± Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°Oh, stop giving me grief. The only thing I¡¯ve done is hug him when he cried. He was holding in his pain, and I know the mistakes that can cause. Not that I haven¡¯t still made them?, but I can at least see them sooner.¡± Livia stopped healing, moved to sit on the couch¡¯s edge, and leaned down to hug Amdirlain. ¡°M¨®eir, what else is wrong?¡± ¡°I found a memorial to soldiers, and it made me realise I¡¯d performed no service or act of remembrance for Torm beyond hurting Moloch,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°We all remember others in our way,¡± advised Livia. ¡°He¡¯d regret every moment of misery he caused you.¡± Swallowing, Amdirlain shifted over and motioned to Livia to relax beside her. ¡°Will you tell me about growing up around him?¡± Livia nodded and lay down beside her. ¡°Remembering a loved one is good. I¡¯ve told you before, but I¡¯ll tell you again. I met him when I was released from the Temple of Eir.¡± * * * * * Two hours later saw Goxashru awake and, shocked at the damage she¡¯d taken, he fussed over Amdirlain and Livia. Making more tea than Amdirlain wanted to drink and offering to hunt down powerful foes to help replenish her strength. With no words, Amdirlain started to plan what influences she could inject into Pal¡¯tran and Jal¡¯krin¡¯s memories. She didn¡¯t know what option would be the simplest, as how they¡¯d react to any proposal or excuse was an unknown. Livia looked down at Amdirlain¡¯s frown and poked her nose. ¡°Are you enjoying looming over me?¡± asked Amdirlain, not looking up. ¡°You¡¯re the one that shifted position to put your head on my shoulder,¡± grumbled Livia. ¡°Why not ask Gail to stand in? You could mentally fill her in on the details of your ¡®Am¡¯ identity.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want her near the Eldritch dissonance, and strong wizards might see through her Protean,¡± objected Amdirlain, and she continued with a sigh. ¡°All the bleeding has stopped. I could either have a framework I can control with telekinetic techniques, or just hover around and create illusions of my legs.¡± ¡°Yep, risk yourself in a city with Eldritch beings but not others,¡± observed Livia. ¡°You could put concealments around her, couldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°As you did for yourself, you could put concealments around Gail and ask her to keep her Resonance at short range,¡± suggested Livia. ¡°Have her attend the meeting. You can mentally listen in and provide prompts. Then get her to go shopping afterwards, and instead return here, buying you some time.¡± ¡°Her knight wouldn¡¯t be thrilled with her plunging into danger,¡± noted Amdirlain. Livia lifted an eyebrow again. ¡°Like that would stop her. I feel sorry for him. Gail does pretty much as she pleases and often leaves him behind when she pokes her nose into trouble. He only gets to bodyguard her when she allows it.¡± ¡°What is the importance of this meeting you mentioned?¡± enquired Rana, shifting the topic away. ¡°Perhaps we might contribute a different perspective with more information.¡± As Amdirlain explained the cover identity she¡¯d established and the day¡¯s event, Rana nodded calmly and asked for details as she went. ¡°Now you need an excuse why you¡¯re laid up for some time?¡± ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Level sickness from rapid progression,¡± proposed Rana. ¡°If you were a level five Bard, as you said, and had given a moderately successful performance for a hundred thousand beings, you¡¯d have gone up multiple levels. How you described the crowd¡¯s reception could be worth nine or ten levels at the very least. A Mortal can make themselves gravely ill by levelling too much in one go, I understand it''s from the strain of their body adjusting.¡± Amdirlain worried at her lip at his proposal. ¡°I don¡¯t want them to attempt dragging the illusion off to a hospital.¡± ¡°Provide them memories of you being bleary-eyed and complaining about bone-aching fatigue,¡± advised Rana. ¡°Perhaps a touch of nausea, but nothing too severe, and of course, make sure they remember the exhaustion in your scent.¡± ¡°I had said I was fine when Pal¡¯tran asked,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t always set in straight away,¡± clarified Rana. ¡°They are unlikely to have experience with it unless they force their young to advance. Can you reach Pal¡¯tran¡¯s dreaming mind from here or one of the medical staff from a hospital?¡± They were still reviewing options and gathering information half an hour later when Cyrus appeared. Beside him was a lean youth with light brown skin, braided flame-red hair, and bright red and yellow robes that reminded Amdirlain of a Buddhist monk. After they shook off the impact of the World Step, the youth shivered and rubbed his arms vigorously before he froze, staring at Amdirlain. True Sight presented his form as a heat mirage; within was a glowing red Phoenix with bright silver eyes pressed into a Human body. ¡°Kadaklan,¡± said Cyrus, and getting no response, he slapped a hand over the young man¡¯s eyes. ¡°Stop staring at Am.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus, there was no need for that. I was composing a poem,¡± objected Kadaklan. ¡°Ode to the Dawn,¡± quipped Livia, only for Amdirlain to growl. Her growl caused Kadaklan to pause in surprise, but he continued when Livia showed no alarm. ¡°Am¡¯s eyes do indeed glow like the dawn come into full strength, golden light above the horizon. The South Wind¡¯s flames sometimes aren¡¯t half as grand.¡± ¡°I am right here, you know,¡± interjected Amdirlain as he drew breath to carry on. ¡°My apologies, but your eyes are so gorgeous. Like baking beneath a warm midday sun while pride fills you at seeing your hatchlings free themselves from their eggs,¡± gushed Kadaklan. ?¡±Glorious, combined with the elegant bronze of your skin and the curve of your shoulders, which is far too alluring not to want to compose verses to do you justice.¡± ¡°I told you to cool your flames, Kadaklan,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°What? I am composed,¡± protested Kadaklan, and he gestured dramatically towards Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re the one that rudely interrupted the inspiration of this muse.¡± ¡°I¡¯m flattered, but we¡¯re also running short of time,¡± prompted Amdirlain, and she tugged on the edge of the blanket that extended below her torso. ¡°Indeed, I was advised, but I lost my composure after experiencing that blaze of stars,¡± explained Kadaklan. Giving Amdirlain a nod, he walked around the couch to approach Amdirlain¡¯s side, only to hesitate beyond her reach. ¡°Ahh, I¡¯ll need to examine you with my Third Eye. While I understand you''re trapped in a form close to one of our demons, you are not one of ours. You also possess a Phoenix sigil that presents as blazing from a pyre. Is that all accurate?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± agreed Amdirlain, as she took in Kadaklan¡¯s thoughts and the way they jumped around excitedly at the unique challenge healing her represented. ¡°I''ll try to be gentle, but I¡¯m afraid you¡¯re likely to feel a bit of discomfort, if not actual pain,¡± warned Kadaklan. ¡°I promise to hold still and not wiggle around too much,¡± drawled Amdirlain. Kadaklan sighed. ¡°It''s a gentleman¡¯s job to inspire a lady to wiggle, but perhaps not in this case.¡± Amdirlain drew breath to comment when a golden-yellow light scorched her from Kadaklan¡¯s forehead. The primal blaze spread heat from just below her ribs and played out along the severed edges. Letting out the inhalation slowly, Amdirlain felt Protean work to heal her from the Power¡¯s touch. The light cut off as suddenly as it had started, and Kadaklan frowned in concern. ¡°That wasn¡¯t as pleasant as I¡¯d hoped for the first time. Or was that good for you?¡± ¡°Are you deliberately making innuendos?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It was that or nip your earlobe, and I¡¯ve never found that to work,¡± quipped Kadaklan. ¡°All your bleeding has stopped, I take it?¡± Amdirlain straightened and nodded. ¡°Yes. I can¡¯t just have someone kill me and release me again?¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve anything in common, and your net indicates you do, you¡¯ll keep the severed form. If you could lie completely flat on the couch, I¡¯ll have to access the severed location directly,¡± advised Kadaklan, and a jar of unguent appeared in his hands. ¡°This stuff smells horrendous, but it''s very effective.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Effective at what?¡± ¡°Smelling horrendous,¡± stated Kadaklan blandly, and as Amdirlain started to repeat her question, he smiled. ¡°And drawing one''s spiritual net towards the skin to which it''s applied, at least in normal cases.¡± ¡°Is that going to let me heal?¡± ¡°It''s one step of many we might have to try. Let''s see if it can get a reaction from your spiritual net first,¡± countered Kadaklan. ¡°Your situation is unique. I¡¯d like to try some methods that are less invasive first.¡± The familiar vibe of a doctor wanting to get on with his work needled at Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s the most invasive?¡± ¡°Opening you up, sticking my fists inside you, and stretching your net,¡± sighed Kadaklan unhappily. A scalpel made of a bronze-like material appeared in his hands, and he waved it like a conductor¡¯s baton. ¡°Then using a bunch of tools to secure it until we can stimulate it to expand, and weaving it to form the nodes as it grows.¡± Despite the situation, Amdirlain snickered. ¡°Do you have much experience in fisting?¡± ¡°To be accurate, I should have said hands, but I was trying to convey the extent of the unpleasantness. It would feel like a ham-fisted fool is fumbling around inside you. I¡¯ll leave the actual fisting to those like Master Cyrus,¡± retorted Kadaklan, and he started to cut off layers of the wax seal holding the jar closed. ¡°My classes are variants of Tao Healer and Tao Alchemist, so no punching from me.¡± ¡°Not even a little fisting?¡± quipped Amdirlain. Kadaklan set the scalpel atop the jar and, holding up his free hand, wiggled his long fingers. ¡°Now you¡¯re twisting my own word games against me. Woe is me. Healers¡¯ hands. I might dislocate a knuckle if I punch someone, which could hamper their flexibility. You wouldn¡¯t enjoy me punching you since I¡¯m aspected to Yang energies.¡± ¡°That sounds like an excuse,¡± critiqued Amdirlain. ¡°My Ki State can hold Jade Court Mana, if that can speed the healing up.¡± Kadaklan stopped and frowned. ¡°You''re a not-a-demon, and you have Jade Court Mana and Ki. I assumed you were a Wizard; I believe that is the term outside the Middle Kingdom.¡± ¡°I told you Am is unusual,¡± observed Cyrus before he turned his attention to Amdirlain. ¡°Sorry it took me so long to get back. I spent most of my time getting to see him. I only got some details through to him before it was like trying to hold on to a whirlwind. Once he told me to bring him to you, I figured we could sort the rest out here.¡± Putting the scalpel and unguent back away, Kadaklan casually straddled the couch and looked along at Amdirlain. ¡°Tell me what I should know?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve many secrets and enemies, and I don¡¯t enjoy sharing more than essential information,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m your healer, and you¡¯ve had the fires of creation cleave you in twain,¡± rebutted Kadaklan with a serious smile. ¡°Knowing some information could be the difference between having working legs or not.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the fishing attempt. ¡°Master Cyrus said he¡¯d heard of other injuries like this being regrown.¡± ¡°Primordial weapons don¡¯t normally inflict them. While many factors influence the results, good results occur when the patient has or can gain the Affinity that inflicted the wound. The best results are when the patient¡¯s Ki Infusion or Ki State can hold it, but given your injury-¡± ¡°I¡¯ve Ki State Ranked at Senior Master, level one hundred and nine. Jade Court Mana, Spatial, Destruction, and Primordial Mana can be held within it.¡± Kadaklan gasped and turned to stare wide-eyed at Cyrus. ¡°What sort of freak have you found?¡± Snorting in disbelief, Cyrus nodded to Amdirlain. ¡°Am is right here.¡± Kadaklan looked back at Amdirlain and blurted. ¡°How freaky are you?¡± ¡°Very, and not at all,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Now you have to tell me more,¡± laughed Kadaklan. 317 - Burning alive Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Kadaklan¡¯s gaze twinkled in amusement, but Amdirlain had had enough of the games. ¡°I know there is a lot you¡¯d like to know about me, but really I¡¯m just not going to share it unless it''s needed. So please ask questions directly related to restoring my legs, and you¡¯ll get information. You seem on a fishing expedition at the moment,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m procrastinating. My Third Eye caused you actual injury and a lot more pain than I expected. This will not be pleasant for either of us,¡± warned Kadaklan. ¡°You will be in continual pain.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Not having legs is beyond unpleasant for me, so my discomfort is beside the point. Please explain the process and what we need to do. I¡¯ll volunteer anything I see related. Anything relevant I don¡¯t address you can ask me questions about, fair?¡± Hissing in sympathy, Kadaklan shook his head. ¡°Warrior types. You could have a productive existence as you are right now without risking your Soul.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an option. Start with the basics, please,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°The ends of your spiritual lines have a lingering energy from the severing. We need to get them clear of your flesh and cause them to expand by running Ki and Mana with the same energy that severed them through your sigil. Primordial energy isn¡¯t for the faint of heart; one slip and you could explode.¡± ¡°I still need my legs back,¡± shrugged Amdirlain. ¡°Do you plan to rush off and get into more fights with Primordial-wielding foes?¡± ¡°I cut myself in two while in an incorporeal state to prevent the rot from a wound from spreading. The energy in the wound was from outside the realm. However, you¡¯re fishing again. Whatever I run off to fight isn¡¯t related to the procedure,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe I need a reason to steel myself to do this other than it being an interesting experiment,¡± proposed Kadaklan. ¡°Really?¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she gave him a look of frustration. Kadaklan shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t enjoy the suffering of others, yet I will know your agony. If you explode and I¡¯m weaving the strands of your spiritual net, I¡¯ll suffer injury or worse. Convince me this is important, or Master Cyrus can look for another Tao Healer to take on the challenge.¡± His revelation caused Amdirlain to wince, and she nodded in apology. ¡°My apologies. I hadn¡¯t realised you were exposed to risk. There are virulent entities here that put this world at risk.¡± ¡°Eldritch foes, from out of the Primal Chaos that births the realms,¡± interjected Cyrus. ¡°Far Chaos,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Cyrus waved a reproving finger. ¡°It¡¯s not the term used in the Middle Kingdom, and not all realms have a place like Limbo.¡± ¡°There are over a billion living beings on this world. They have no deities, and a slumbering Eldritch Demigod is beneath a city whose population seems a couple of million at least. Other Eldritch beings are running a cult dedicated to it in that city, and potentially others. If the Demigod gets woken up, it might not stick around to eat the rest, but the lives and souls of those in the city will probably be forfeit,¡± explained Amdirlain. Kadaklan blanched. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s a fairly sizeable reason. Now, to the injury, was their rot spreading through your spiritual net?¡± ¡°It had twisted strands of my form into a different dimensional state. As the rot advanced, it caused pain in my sigil¡¯s lowest node, which bypassed my Pain Eater Skill,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I had very little time to act. I would have tried to isolate the strands but didn¡¯t have time to play around if I was going to stop it from reaching any nodes.¡± ¡°Most skills that I¡¯m aware of relating to physical pain management can stretch to mental pain, but not spiritual,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°Alright, let''s start with the basics. Is that the form you need for the foreseeable future?¡± Frowning, Amdirlain stared at him in concern. ¡°How long will I need to stay in one form?¡± ¡°Your spiritual net is going to be very fragile for anything up to a couple of years after this,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯ll want to start the process in whatever form you intend to hold on to for a while. The less you stretch or compress it in the early stages, the faster it will heal.¡± Amdirlain nodded and shifted into the dark blue Catfolk form she used for Am, the absence of her tail feeling odd. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re a fur lover,¡± laughed Kadaklan, and he gave Cyrus a wink. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s another freaky one.¡± Cyrus frowned. ¡°Really?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m not in a position to judge,¡± Kadaklan said, lifting his hands defensively. ¡°I¡¯m a bird brain, so you can enjoy your fur. I was referring to an old tale those following the White Tiger find embarrassing.¡± Livia tried not to snicker, and she gently patted Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡°How long will healing M¨®eir take?¡± Kadaklan tapped his chin. ¡°A few months.¡± ¡°Is there any way to speed it up?¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll conduct healing sessions daily, but most beings surrender to the pain after half an hour. It''s enough time to weave the strands into place for one frame, but not two,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°Given you severed your torso just below your belly button, you¡¯ll need a load of sessions.¡± ¡°Any other factors limiting the session length besides the pain?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Well, it''s impossible to cycle continuously; you¡¯ll need to use up the Ki and Mana you generate. Also, I¡¯ll need to gather more materials to guide the spiritual net as things progress.¡± ¡°That won¡¯t be a problem,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Is it just normal cycling, or do I have to do anything extra while activating the sigil nodes?¡± Kadaklan raised a questioning hand. ¡°Hold up. Why won¡¯t it be a problem?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got the means available to store massive amounts of Ki and Mana,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Get me fully functional legs, and I¡¯ll give you all the excess Ki I produce during it.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus already paid my bill,¡± advised Kadaklan. Cyrus shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t teach my interesting pupil if she doesn¡¯t have legs. I¡¯m looking forward to when you return to Nolmar.¡± ¡°Then consider it a bonus, or if that¡¯s frowned upon, take it as a payment to help those in need,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled. ¡°Considering the danger, let¡¯s go with it as a bonus. No healer, least of all me, will object to a bonus from a happy patient. To address your question: You¡¯ll have to cycle with Ki and Mana already aligned with the Primordial aspect.¡± ¡°How does it matter with it contained in my sigil?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not completely contained, is it? Otherwise, those cycling to their limits wouldn¡¯t see their flesh start to glow,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°Wisps of Ki and Mana will run through your net when your sigil flares. Ki State prevents it from injuring you normally, but when they hit the severed ends, they¡¯ll likely feel like heated razors.¡± ¡°Likely?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s the experience when the Mana is Yang or Fire attuned. I¡¯ve never done this with someone who had their net severed by Primordial energy,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°Now, the severed ends of a spiritual net are elastic to the energy that severed them. As the wisps reach the ends, I can stretch them, and the Ki in the strand will make it permanent. My fun is ensuring the strands don¡¯t fuse improperly or get entangled outside the proper nodes.¡± Amdirlain started to interrupt with another question, and Kadaklan raised a hand. ¡°Hold up. I¡¯ll need my Third Eye turned on to see the strands, which neither of us will enjoy. I use various exotic materials to form a scaffold to guide and infuse into the strands. It provides resources for them to form the nodes, and being out of alignment can cause later issues,¡± finished Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ll have to endure the pain from Primordial Mana wisps and the injury your Third Eye inflicts. You get a front-row seat throughout the unpleasantness,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got a Power called Harmony that helps me meditate and understand the energy flow. It''s a more spiritual experience, so hopefully it mentally lets me handle this pain. What materials do you need?¡± ¡°Lots of exotic stuff, some of it keeps for years, and I¡¯ve got those with me, but others only maintain their energy for a few months or weeks. I¡¯ve got enough of everything for the first few sessions, but I¡¯ll need to gather each day,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°There are limited windows of time throughout the day so that they¡¯ll have maximum efficiency.¡± ¡°No, if you¡¯ve got a sample of everything you need, I can likely provide the lot,¡± corrected Amdirlain softly. ¡°Can you show me the materials?¡± Kadaklan snorted in disbelief and laid a series of glass jars from a storage bag. They were each infused with Ki and a combination of Wood and Water Mana. ¡°Distilled essence of Phase Spider silk, dewdrops from the Jade Emperor¡¯s peach trees, moonlight distilled in a pool inhabited by a water Shen.¡± As he continued listing strange materials, Amdirlain silently duplicated their music. Shelves filled with matching glass jars appeared behind him. Rows of them filled with the essence and dewdrops, and after confirming their songs matched, Amdirlain progressed onwards. Kadaklan looked at her enquiringly in the short time it took her to set up the supplies, and Amdirlain finally pointed behind him. Fixing a sceptical look at her, Kadaklan glanced over his shoulder and froze. ¡°No!¡± Turning back to Amdirlain, he mouthed the word again, and Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Oh yes! Check them for yourself?¡± ¡°How?¡± gasped Kadaklan when he got through examining each of the containers. ¡°I can deal with pain and provide materials,¡± evaded Amdirlain. ¡°If you wish to continue, then so do I. When do we start? And do you need breaks?¡± Kadaklan huffed, and it seemed like his inner Phoenix had his feathers ruffled. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get your strands set up to expand first.¡± Amdirlain shifted to lie flat on the couch and pulled the blanket up to expose her stomach. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then.¡± Shaking his head at her impatience, Kadaklan drew the unguent jar back out, along with the bronze-hued knife. ¡°Why do you use bronze?¡± asked Livia. ¡°It¡¯s not bronze; it¡¯s orichalcum,¡± corrected Kadaklan, and he looked across the gathering. ¡°No one besides me or Am needs to be here.¡± Livia started to protest, and Kadaklan raised a reproving finger to silence her. ¡°If we take a lengthy break, you can keep her company, but Am can¡¯t afford me to be distracted during this work. If you want her to have functional legs, kill anything that tries to interrupt this process,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Save your unguent, I¡¯m sure it''s expensive,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°It takes some Ki to purify the materials, but it¡¯s not prohibitively expensive,¡± hedged Kadaklan. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Just cut me open, and let¡¯s get this done.¡± ¡°And there is your freakiness on full display,¡± chortled Kadaklan morbidly. ¡°Guilty,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°My Profile has my Willpower rated at six thousand, four hundred and eighty.¡± ¡°Okay, you might not explode on me,¡± blurted Kadaklan. ¡°Your unique situation is turning out to be a little insane.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°No more insane than other situations I¡¯ve found myself in,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°My flesh is a false thing. I need this malfunction fixed.¡± ¡°All of you shoo,¡± ordered Kadaklan. As the group moved, he got out various medical instruments, many of which wouldn¡¯t look out of place in an Earth operating theatre except for being made of orichalcum. Amdirlain adjusted the compound¡¯s shape to add a side entrance to the living quarters and attuned them to unlock for the group. As he looked over the arrayed tools, Kadaklan spoke softly. ¡°Wherever you are in life, strive to find happiness in yourself. It doesn¡¯t mean you don¡¯t want to improve, but disliking yourself is toxic.¡± Amdirlain exhaled. ¡°You¡¯re about to be cutting into me. I¡¯m trying to distance myself from my flesh as much as possible. Would it make it easier if I was on a higher surface?¡± Kadaklan gave her a dissatisfied look and sighed. ¡°A practical subject change at least, instead of cursing me for a fool. If you can magic up a proper operating table, I won¡¯t say no,¡± agreed Kadaklan, waving his hands towards the open space in the hall. ¡°I¡¯ve worked in worse conditions than this couch.¡± Amdirlain created a truncated operating table with side gullies to remove blood she couldn¡¯t control. Rising to the ceiling on either side were two three-metre-tall crystal spires to store Mana and Ki. With the first stage setup, Amdirlain floated atop it. ¡°I heal rapidly, so you might have to work faster than you normally do. Tell me whatever changes I need to make.¡± Standing at the table¡¯s end, Kadaklan requested various adjustments to the length and height. When satisfied, he clamped the blanket¡¯s folds to the table to keep it out of the way and placed what looked like a frame of hooks above her. ¡°I believe my Third Eye will help keep the wounds open. Start cycling with Ki alone. It will help me locate any that have receded. Ready?¡± Laying back fully, Amdirlain nodded and felt the metal rub against the back of her head. She cycled a lap of her sigil only for Kadaklan to squawk. ¡°Seriously! That is not what I was expecting at all. How do you have so many nodes involved in your sigil!¡± yelped Kadaklan. ¡°This is normal for me. What did you expect? You said you knew it looks like a phoenix rising from a flaming pyre.¡± ¡°Maybe a dozen points like a star sign, not this,¡± Kadaklan said, waving a hand at the afterglow illustrating her upper torso. ¡°It''s my normal sigil,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Master Cyrus didn¡¯t make the amount of fuss you did about it.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± responded Kadaklan dryly and, as he made the first incision, he turned on his Third Eye. It took an hour before Kadaklan had all the ends of the strands located and forceps attached to each. He carefully hung each long implement from a specific location on the hook-lined plate he¡¯d set up. Pain Eater barely noted the operation, but Mental Hardening and Protean had repeatedly increased from his Third Eye. ¡°We¡¯re all set, miss monster,¡± noted Kadaklan as he put the last forceps into place. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when I need the table extended, and we can take breaks at that point.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make some sections that you can slide into place to keep my legs from dangling over,¡± breathed Amdirlain as the pain eased down. ¡°Also, I¡¯ve got a tail in this form.¡± ¡°Sectional tables with locking rollers sounds like the go-to. I might need to form your tail and not just your tailbone. We¡¯ll see if the flesh expands when the nodes nearby form.¡± ¡°There are a few things I need to set up to disguise my absence,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll just need a few minutes before we push on.¡± ¡°Do whatever you need to do for this cover story of yours, and let me know when you¡¯re ready to begin,¡± instructed Kadaklan. Amdirlain added a host of linked songs to the crystal that maintained the illusion of her sleeping form at Jal¡¯krin. Some were to insert set memories or reactions to situational shifts, while others would alert her to problems that needed attention. As she worked, Kadaklan used the materials she¡¯d provided to set up frames for the first sections extending the net of her torso. Each looked like a cross between a cat¡¯s cradle game and a glistening spider¡¯s web, measured to match up with her form. His fingers blurred as his hands danced between the now-open jars, materials mingled in dishes before him and the resultant strands wrapped through notches. ¡°Ready,¡± advised Amdirlain at last. ¡°Any time you want to take a break, just stop cycling. We¡¯ll have to take a break eventually when I need to prepare more frames,¡± informed Kadaklan, and he tapped on the polished rectangle before him. ¡°Now, I just need a few minutes to finish the initial set, and we¡¯ll begin. You can start cycling to warm things up, so to speak.¡± The first wisps of Primordial Mana hitting the severed ends sent an inferno of pain through her awareness. The agony made enduring the timeless state of ascension in the Abyss seem like good practice. Though her cycling momentarily wavered in her surprise, her Mental Hardening supported her Willpower, and it was a river of lava that was a familiar theme. Harmony with the Primordial flames helped her swim in the inferno that waxed and waned through the repetition of the sigil¡¯s pattern. Yet, of all the things she¡¯d endured, thinking past pain was what years of straining against the Abyss, and the wear of True Song, had taught her. Under the battering of his Third Eye, healing required Universal Life to supplement Protean. Despite his earlier joking, Kadaklan¡¯s theme grounded Amdirlain in his dispassionate and meticulous precision. As he completed the nodes, Protean extended her flesh a centimetre at a time. Kadaklan¡¯s grounded emotions helped Amdirlain ignore the discomfort when he worked in intimate places. Breaks had come and gone over the first twenty hours of work each time Kadaklan had stopped to build frames. On another routine stop, this time at mid-thigh, Kadaklan¡¯s gaze tracked back over the completed work. As he considered a spot high on her inner thigh, he tilted his head like a curious pigeon and poked at it with clear dissatisfaction showing on his face. ¡°Problem?¡± gasped Amdirlain in surprise, now able to speak past the pain of his Third Eye being active. ¡°The node there doesn¡¯t seem to have sealed together properly. It¡¯s more just overlapping strands than a proper junction,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°You might lack sensitivity or even find spontaneous wounds occurring if it doesn¡¯t resolve itself.¡± ¡°Will it impact my combat ability?¡± Humming unhappily, Kadaklan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not a fighter, a possible weak point in your Ki State, maybe?¡± ¡°Do we prune my leg back and start above it again?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan grunted in disgust. ¡°I mentioned your spiritual net being fragile. Do I look like a butcher to want to do you additional harm on that scale?¡± ¡°Then can you stop poking me? Your fingers are a little high right there,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Oh,¡± blurted Kadaklan, and he quickly yanked his hand away. ¡°Lucky I had the higher points buttoned down properly.¡± Buying into the embarrassed laugh Kadaklan gave as his Third Eye turned off, Amdirlain went with the flow. ¡°Are you trying to push my button?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even have to buy you any alcohol, and you¡¯re legless,¡± huffed Kadaklan. Amdirlain groaned. ¡°That joke¡¯s too soon and so wrong.¡± ¡°Too soon or torso?¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t rhyme,¡± complained Amdirlain, and she groaned again. ¡°Can I kill you now?¡± ¡°Only if you want me to put your knees on backwards when I return from Judge Po,¡± Kadaklan playfully threatened. ¡°Meow,¡± hissed Amdirlain. Snorting back a laugh, Kadaklan moved to gather new jars from the shelves. ¡°Are you practising being a cat, or was that a comment on my choice for revenge?¡± Amdirlain waved a hand at the spires she¡¯d been almost continually charging since she¡¯d first approached the overflow. ¡°Consider the jokes part of what the hazard pay covers.¡± ¡°I¡¯d expected you to blow us sky-high by now, so there is no need to be catty,¡± grumbled Kadaklan. ¡°Are you going to milk that for all it''s worth?¡± Kadaklan turned back and gave her a haughty look. ¡°Please, you¡¯re just lapping up the attention.¡± ¡°Well, at least I have a lap now,¡± joked Amdirlain. ¡°True,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°You know, you have a very warped sense of humour.¡± With no need to cycle presently, Amdirlain took in the feathery pattern¡¯s afterglow shining through the fur along her arms. Kadaklan glanced across at her movement and laughed lightly. ¡°You¡¯ve got a bit of vanity, but your plumage is clearly showing through your skin and fur.¡± ¡°I¡¯m concerned about what that will mean later,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, something good for you,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°We phoenixes are a good omen for many people. As for the node in your leg, once your net has recovered, we can operate to fix it. I¡¯m pleased that it seems to be the only one with issues. Given the pace we¡¯re moving at, it''s remarkable that you¡¯ve only ended up with one trouble spot; clearly, you came to the right healer, recommend him to your friends. Meanwhile, I recommend doing lots of Ki Cycling with Ki alone until the net stabilises.¡± Nodding her understanding, Amdirlain let him focus on his measuring and preparation work. After finishing the next setup, Kadaklan turned back towards her and froze. With a discrete cough, he moved around to the side of the table and unclamped the blanket. After unfolding it down over her hips, he secured it again. ¡°My apologies. I got caught up in the work and didn¡¯t consider adjusting the blanket earlier.¡± ¡°We were both caught up in everything else. It was the last thing on my mind until you started poking my leg,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Have we exchanged enough diplomatic reassurances now?¡± enquired Kadaklan awkwardly. ¡°I think so, but don¡¯t be a sleaze again, or you can talk to Judge Po,¡± grumbled Amdirlain with mock menace. Kadaklan returned to his operating position and gave her a grin. ¡°I¡¯m the sleaze? That¡¯s so nice after I said nice things upon seeing your beauty. You were the one that started talking about fisting of all things. You''d be in trouble if he kept me there a few years.¡± ¡°Tell him I¡¯ll foot the punishment bill,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. Kadaklan groaned and dramatically shielded his face with his forearm. ¡°Our jokes are getting worse.¡± ¡°Truly terrible. I understand why I¡¯m resorting to humour, but why are you?¡± ¡°I get an impression of relaxation from you at the inappropriate humour,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ll have to slow down so you don¡¯t have more problem spots. Ready, baby?¡± Grinning at the ceiling, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Be gentle.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t feel a thing,¡± Kadaklan replied, and he reactivated his Third Eye. ¡°That¡¯s my line,¡± laughed Amdirlain. As the Yang heat felt like it was scorching through her skin, Amdirlain resumed cycling. Lava licked at the end of her stumps and tried to snatch her attention from cycling. ¡°Except it would be a lie.¡± ¡°Tell me, was it good for you,¡± breathed Kadaklan. Amdirlain growled. ¡°Oh yes!¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t make me laugh,¡± replied Kadaklan, his hands moving steadily. When Kadaklan unlatched the next frame, the insubstantial material snuck into the raw ends of Amdirlain¡¯s flesh, and she signalled for a break. ¡°I¡¯ve got to keep another of my cover identities intact; need to call my fan club.¡± Kadaklan frowned in confusion. ¡°Fan club?¡± ¡°I¡¯m an expert in getting people to have feelings about me: loathing, fear, and hatred, the usual. Pretty sure he¡¯d enjoy knowing I got cut in two, but I won¡¯t tell him that,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Also love,¡± corrected Kadaklan. ¡°I saw the emotion in the woman with the exotic crystal blue eyes. It''s one reason I helped.¡± Clearing her throat, Amdirlain adjusted the song to connect to Mor¡¯lmes¡¯s link unit to make her sound like J instead of Am. When the grouchy professor answered the link unit, he sounded wrung out. ¡°J,¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Thanks for the student¡¯s life. My mate said I acknowledged the debt but pointed out I didn¡¯t explicitly say thanks.¡± ¡°Did the student tell you who killed her?¡± Mor¡¯lmes growled in frustration. ¡°No, which means it''s likely someone from a patron¡¯s pride. I wish she¡¯d believe her word alone is enough. Can we talk about that in person?¡± ¡°Alright, but that won¡¯t be for a bit. I¡¯m busy cleaning up after Alyolhe and Cen¡¯ki Spellclash. They were already dead. Eldritch beings took them and thirty-one others over when they ¡®ascended¡¯ to seats on the cult¡¯s inner circle.¡± ¡°Will any of the missing be turning up? There has been a lot of fuss about the lakeside and this manor explosion. They¡¯re connecting the events since law keepers found a basement with black stone and illegal wards,¡± reported Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Alyolhe¡¯s replacement dissolved them. The basement is on my clean-up list, but a pair of powerful beings possessed them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Even I wouldn¡¯t take that basement lightly.¡± ¡°Going to throw it at the sky again?¡± questioned Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°You got a lot of groups very nervous, wondering if parts of the city will be next. Though you also have interesting ways to distract them¡ªtonnes of mithril and people leaving hospitals with impossibly healed wounds. I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s your work as well?¡± ¡°I healed a few people,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The accounts on the caster put it at nearly a thousand,¡± corrected Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I wasn¡¯t keeping track, as I was busy with their injuries and diseases. I can¡¯t give you reassurances that you can share with anyone,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Most of the stuff I¡¯ve detected is more isolated, so I can clean it up without the drama. Who¡¯d believe the entity responsible for such devastation won¡¯t hurt them?¡± ¡°Most wouldn¡¯t believe me, but the teams would,¡± said Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°What are the exceptions to your ¡®most¡¯? You mentioned something you¡¯d tell me about the campus the other day.¡± ¡°The worst Eldritch danger is from under your campus. Would you follow advice about it?¡± enquired Amdirlain, and she tried to keep her voice calm. ¡°Depends if I thought it justified,¡± admitted Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There is a sleeping Demigod hidden on your campus that I think is the cult¡¯s focus,¡± answered Amdirlain, opting to rip the band-aid off. ¡°How do we kill it?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes immediately, and Amdirlain banged her head against the table beneath her. Amdirlain growled in frustration. ¡°Your world didn¡¯t kill the last gods in a confrontation. Your ancestors starved them of worshipers, and they created the effect you call the Gods¡¯ Grave while they were fading. Relatively, they were puny gods. That sleeping being is from beyond reality¡¯s edge. It¡¯s not a weak Avatar, it doesn¡¯t follow the rules, and it doesn¡¯t need your worship. If the cult or someone attacking it wakes it up, millions will die.¡± Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ breathing went quiet, and Amdirlain could picture him with his ears laid back flat. ¡°How do we stop them?¡± His words were a breathy, concerned whisper that eased Amdirlain¡¯s fear. ¡°If you trust the medallions are wearable, have at least one team member in each group wear them. They will warm when near Eldritch energies. Have your people keep track of any time they warm up. Where they are, who or what¡¯s around. Avoid confronting any of the people. The warmth is to let you know who not to trust. Don¡¯t go digging until I get back, okay?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You said the Arch-Wizard was involved. Did he bring it to the city?¡± Mor¡¯lmes asked, his tone ranging from respect to disgust. ¡°Please don¡¯t keep us ignorant. It''s in our city.¡± His point was valid and tipped Amdirlain¡¯s decision. ¡°Yeah, he brought it. There was a journal entry about bringing them all back to the city. We need to talk and plan more first. Unfortunately, as mentioned, it will have to wait a few days. I need to undertake some more legwork and cleanup. I¡¯ll call you in a few days. Please get me that list of the medical staff¡¯s associates I asked you about. Also, there is a printing press making books with a sigil in an illustration. Perhaps investigate them for cult connections or if it''s just a paying job.¡± Amdirlain gave him the details and teleported the address book she¡¯d taken to him. When Amdirlain ended the call, Kadaklan looked at her in amusement. ¡°Legwork, seriously?¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about my play on words and not a sleeping entity?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯d already told me the stakes,¡± pointed out Kadaklan. ¡°Time to get back to my leg day,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Setting a new frame on the table, Kadaklan aligned it. ¡°Are you doing exercise references now?¡± ¡°Would you prefer I stick to gumshoe metaphors?¡± Kadaklan frowned in confusion and tapped just about her raw stump. ¡°Gum would be one way to keep your shoes attached.¡± * * * * There were a few interruptions during the second day of their labour. Am¡¯s continued ¡®illness¡¯ prompted increased concern from Jal¡¯krin in the morning and evening. Amdirlain had to provide unscripted responses when Pal¡¯tran dropped him home to check on her in person. A tale of vague dreams of dozens of evolved classes connected to crowds pointed Pal¡¯tran in the right direction. It caused Am to get dosed with extra food she needed to make disappear and tweak memories. Kadaklan¡¯s operation kept her under continual stress that caused a key group of skills and a Power to progress. They¡¯d passed the fifty-hour mark, and Kadaklan was working on her feet when Amdirlain got notified that Protean had advanced to Grand Master. No sooner had she pushed it aside than a new announcement appeared. [Power Evolution Options available: Immortal¡¯s Endurance
  • Evolution combines Protean, Mental Hardening, and Pain Eater.
Primordial Malleability
  • Evolution of Protean
Phoenix¡¯s Immolation
  • Evolution combines Protean, Mental Hardening, Pain Eater, and Angelic Aura
Note: You can¡¯t have all of them. Options 1 and 2 conflict.] They were a distraction that Amdirlain pushed aside to continue her cycling. It was less than an hour later before Kadaklan declared everything complete. Disabling his Third Eye brought relief from the constant barrage. As he started to tap parts of her feet to check her reactions, her body recovered from the damage. ¡°I appreciate your efforts, Kadaklan,¡± breathed Amdirlain. Kadaklan moved up the table and unclamped the blanket. ¡°Do me one favour.¡± ¡°What might that be?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t lose your legs again,¡± pleaded Kadaklan. Amdirlain laughed and slowly sat up, extracting her tail from the gaps Kadaklan had left in the sections supporting her hips. ¡°I¡¯ll try to avoid it.¡± ¡°You had such a fierce expression that it was frightening. I thought you would come after me, even if you had to crawl across worlds,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°Figured it was part of your focus, so I didn¡¯t say a thing earlier.¡± Hopping carefully off the table, Amdirlain drew out Am¡¯s clothing from Inventory and donned it directly. After nearly emptying her entire Ki Pool into the first spire, her skin stopped glowing through the fur. ¡°I was harmonising with Primordial Mana, which is pretty fierce. These are yours now,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she pointed out a rune on the side of one spire. ¡°This will store Ki, the other can store various types of Mana, and you can pick the type to draw on. You¡¯re the only one who¡¯ll be able to draw on the contents.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what use I¡¯ll have for Primordial Mana,¡± admitted Kadaklan, scratching his head. ¡°The affinities you listed before will make the Ki useful.¡± ¡°I have all the affinities, I only told you the Mana types I can infuse within Ki State,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Except for the Eldritch energies, not sure if that is Mana or something else.¡± ¡°All,¡± muttered Kadaklan, and he gingerly touched the side of the Ki Spire. ¡°That is a mass of Ki in there. You remember me asking Cyrus if you were a freak, miss monster?¡± ¡°I do, and it''s quite understandable,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°As for the Primordial Mana, perhaps you can figure out an elixir that will benefit from the Mana boost during its creation.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no way to transport them, not them and the excess materials we¡¯ve left,¡± laughed Kadaklan, looking up at the three-metre-tall crystal spires. Rolling her eyes, Amdirlain created a storage ring and stored each before she handed it over. ¡°Now you do.¡± ¡°I had thought you were joking about paying extra,¡± breathed Kadaklan. Singing again, she created a crystal rod the length of her forearm and interwove all the songs for the materials he¡¯d used to help her. ¡°This one will create jars of the materials as you need them. If someone steals it, the rod will return to you. It won¡¯t last forever, but while it lasts, I hope you¡¯ll use it well.¡± Kadaklan took the rod from her almost reverently. ¡°For someone so particularly freaky, you give delightful gifts. Remember, gently cycle with Ki alone. It will help your net stabilise.¡± Realising how close it was to morning in the city¡¯s time zone, Amdirlain cursed under her breath. ¡°I wish we could talk more. The crystal Cyrus has can get you both back. I¡¯m running very short of time.¡± ¡°My name is Kadaklan, send a Message if you have any issues, I¡¯ve ways to reply to one whose Ki I¡¯ve touched so much.¡± Sending her apologies to the others and a promise to return soon, Amdirlain teleported to Jal¡¯krin¡¯s apartment. 318 - Wild reputation Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris With Jal¡¯krin starting to stir, Amdirlain used the washroom and changed into clothes she¡¯d made a few days prior. The bright green summer dress swirled around her knees as she tested her legs'' responses swaying before the stove filling pans with thin slices of steak and eggs. Not finding a toaster or anything like it, she threw the local butter in a third pan and added halved rolls but held off trying to duplicate French toast. When Jal¡¯krin woke up, he bounced out of bed and found a wobbly-looking Am cooking breakfast. At the noise of him yanking open his bedroom door, Amdirlain¡¯s ear perked up, and she turned to find him framed in the doorway, staring at her in disbelief, wearing yet another sleeveless t-shirt, this time muted yellow, that clashed with his tortoiseshell fur and black sleep pants that reached his knees. ¡°You smell of pain,¡± hissed Jal¡¯krin in alarmed concern. ¡°When did that start?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I think it''s just the aftereffects. I¡¯ll be fine, but I¡¯m ravenous.¡± Blinking at him innocently, she took a big bite from a roll she¡¯d toasted, and he wrinkled his nose. With a continued look of distaste, Jal¡¯krin moved to take the tined fork from her hand. ¡°Burnt bread¡ªyuck¡ªit makes the yeast stink. You told uncle you were fine the first day as well. Two days later, still trying to tell me you¡¯re ¡®fine¡¯. Sorry, but I¡¯m not chasing that decoy. Sit down, I¡¯ll finish cooking breakfast.¡± ¡°Bossy,¡± muttered Amdirlain, glad the time zone shift meant the operation hadn¡¯t bitten into a third lot of light here. With his free hand, he rubbed her muzzle and then pointed her towards the closest seat. ¡°You look rough. Sit down before you fall, and take your ruined bread with you.¡± Amdirlain mock nipped at his fingers but relinquished the utensils. ¡°You¡¯re still being bossy.¡± As she settled down, her tail moved to wrap protectively around her stomach, earning another concerned look from Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I can take you to a clinic.¡± ¡°Maybe we should go to a college and pay the fee to get my record read,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to take you to where there is medical staff,¡± responded Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± whined Amdirlain as she played into his expectations from her earlier protests. Jal¡¯krin¡¯s ears flattened out as his whiskers flared. ¡°You and I have very different understandings of the word. I don¡¯t know how I let you talk me into going to work and leaving you alone with the pain I smell now.¡± ¡°I woke up aching, but it eased after a wash,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a place to wash clothing near here? I¡¯m wearing the last of the new clothing I got the other day.¡± ¡°There is a laundry hub nearby,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin. ¡°But I don¡¯t want you walking there by yourself. You don¡¯t look steady.¡± ¡°Gasp, you know where the washing of clothing can occur,¡± rumbled Amdirlain lightly, and she clasped her face. ¡°Brat! I¡¯m worried about you,¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry,¡± Amdirlain replied, her whiskers drooping as she clutched her tail¡¯s tip. ¡°Yeah, so not believing you,¡± muttered Jal¡¯krin, and he turned his attention to the pans. ¡°Should I tell you that your body language is childish, or are you intentionally trying for hyper cute? Where do you hurt?¡± ¡°My legs feel funny,¡± admitted Amdirlain as her leg muscles near the problem spot spasmed, but she fortunately avoided destroying the floor. ¡°I must have slept funny.¡± Jal¡¯krin turned back at the sound of her foot tapping the floor. ¡°I¡¯ll call Pal¡¯tran and tell him you¡¯re staying in again today.¡± Amdirlain pouted. ¡°I want to go out!¡± Grumbling under his breath, Jal¡¯krin checked the time and resumed cooking. ¡°Uncle will probably be here in an hour or two. Why not have some more rest after food?¡± ¡°My fresh clothing will get crumpled,¡± rumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Being in your bag for three days hasn¡¯t done it any favours,¡± stated Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain reached down and massaged the inside muscle of her thigh to get her body to behave. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The apology drew Jal¡¯krin¡¯s attention from the pans. ¡°For what? I haven¡¯t got a lot of spare space for hanging clothing.¡± ¡°I meant setting you up with my arsehole bet and chewing you out the way I did,¡± said Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin shrugged. ¡°Forget about it. It was good advice but a shocking delivery. I saw pure profit and a confident kid and didn¡¯t even think I had any chance of losing. Does being an arsehole to each other even things out?¡± ¡°Maybe, as long as you don¡¯t burn breakfast like you are,¡± answered Amdirlain. His attention snapped back to the pan, but nothing was burnt. Shaking his head, Jal¡¯krin¡¯s muzzle curled up, and he flipped her eggs over. ¡°No! My poor yolks,¡± protested Amdirlain, waving her hands dramatically. ¡°I had to make sure the underside wasn¡¯t burnt,¡± rebuffed Jal¡¯krin, and he ignored the rest of her grumbling until he dished out the food a minute later. Amdirlain regarded him with a quivering chin, deliberately making her eyes tear up and whiskers and ears droop. ¡°You burnt my yolks, meanie.¡± ¡°You already burnt the bread. Consider it part of that ¡®see food¡¯ diet you mentioned,¡± retorted Jal¡¯krin, though he struggled to ignore the act and set her plate before her. ¡°Anyway, I cooked the eggs, I didn¡¯t burn them.¡± Giving a playful huff, Amdirlain dug into the food. ¡°You¡¯re going to burn your mouth,¡± warned Jal¡¯krin, waving a hand back and forth across his plate. Amdirlain acted like she¡¯d spit the food back onto the plate before she continued to chew. ¡°Gross, girl, you¡¯re destroying all possibility of future cuteness,¡± declared Jal¡¯krin. ¡°That food is straight from the pan. Is your mouth fireproof?¡± Looking at the plate, she considered what it would do to a Catfolk¡¯s soft palate and gave a nonchalant shrug before dramatically swallowing. ¡°It¡¯s not as hot as something cooked in a hot spring.¡± ¡°Fine, eat at your own pace. You¡¯ll get no sympathy from me if you burn the roof of your mouth or throat,¡± huffed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°They¡¯re tough enough for it,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, and she dug in. After breakfast and cleaning up, Amdirlain refused to rest again. Jal¡¯krin dressed and offered to take her through the rough lyrics he¡¯d strung together. Glimpsing earlier pages of notes, Amdirlain playfully pounced to snatch the notebook away. ¡°Can I see the early notes?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t peek. They¡¯re lyrics for different songs, not early drafts,¡± muttered Jal¡¯krin. Patting his shoulder reassuringly, Amdirlain didn¡¯t turn to the earlier pages. ¡°Are you going to sit beside me, or do I have to read upside down?¡± ¡°You still have pain lingering in your scent,¡± observed Jal¡¯krin with a frown. ¡°Maybe we should sit on the rooftop and let a breeze scatter it away?¡± proposed Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin nodded. ¡°So you¡¯re not just a pretty voice.¡± ¡°Oh, you are going to pay for being rude,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Chuffing in amusement, Jal¡¯krin grabbed his bag and headed for the door, giving her a tail swat as he passed. ¡°I¡¯ll pounce,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Leaving her travel pack where it lay near the bench, she took her harp case. Jal¡¯krin snorted in amusement. ¡°Careful, or I¡¯ll buy you some cub toys to chase.¡± The climb up via the inner staircase found them on a flat rooftop with a waist-high wall along the ends. On one side were a barbeque, a couple of large tables, and horseshoe-shaped seating amid ferns and other potted greenery. The other side was an open space painted with bright hexagons, some connected with a mix of overlapping lines. It looked like it was for a cross between hopscotch, Snakes and Ladders, and Monopoly. ¡°Never seen Graves¡¯ Chase?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin when Amdirlain looked at it curiously. ¡®Ring around the Rosie¡¯ is a nursery rhyme about the Black Death. Are games and songs about terrible events common between species? ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain, taking in all the lines and the energy children had left. Jal¡¯krin¡¯s ears twitched rapidly, but he didn¡¯t make an issue. ¡°The apartment cubs are regularly up here ?on the weekend playing.¡± ¡°Is this common to find on apartment roofs?¡± enquired Amdirlain as she followed him to a seat. ¡°Nah, some parents stencilled it out since their kids kept going through chalk,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Given the crowd up here some weekends, the neighbouring buildings¡¯ cubs must join in.¡± ¡°Not enough play spaces?¡± ¡°Not at all, but most around here have grass, trees, and climbing sets. Makes it hard to set up the game¡¯s layout,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. Setting down at the first covered table, he sent Pal¡¯tran a note to let them know to come to the roof. ¡°So you want bright music?¡± ¡°Blinding earworms,¡± gushed Amdirlain, wiggling in excitement. Jal¡¯krin huffed, ¡°Don¡¯t mix metaphors.¡± A deep growl rumbled from Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll teach you.¡± The sung instrumentals of the first Eurobeat song made his ears prick up. Jal¡¯krin¡¯s attention was divided between working on his lyrics and listening to her. In between songs, Amdirlain restrung her harp before she continued the vocalisation of the electronic instrumentals when Pal¡¯tran arrived. Standing at the end of the table, he looked her over with his tail and ears twitching in concern. ¡°You sound good, but what was that?¡± ¡°Just playing with some sounds while Jal¡¯krin scrambles for lyrics,¡± chirped Amdirlain. Pal¡¯tran chuffed softly. ¡°More instruments from your imagination. I assume you¡¯re feeling better, but please don¡¯t wear yourself out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still feeling fragile, but I seem intact,¡± replied Amdirlain honestly. ¡°Singing this helps lift my spirits after the last couple of days.¡± ¡°At least she didn¡¯t say she¡¯s fine to you as well,¡± huffed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°How about I introduce you to my cousin, and she can show you her studio without discussing offers?¡± proposed Pal¡¯tran. ¡°We can even meet her for breakfast.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already cooked breakfast,¡± advised Amdirlain. Pal¡¯tran turned to glare at Jal¡¯krin, who flattened his ears defensively. ¡°I woke up to the smell of cooking eggs, steak, and burnt bread. I finished cooking for her.¡± ¡°The bread was toasted,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Toasted. That¡¯s when you brown the meat, not burn the bread. Burnt bread smells bad, and doing so intentionally is weird,¡± muttered Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Words can have multiple meanings or apply to other foods,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, playing up teenage stubbornness. The knowledge she¡¯d gained of the language having misled her in context made Amdirlain even more wary of translating songs. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Pal¡¯tran''s whiskers twitched upwards, and his gaze gleamed, but he kept his composure. ¡°Cubs. Morning traffic means it''s a bit of a drive to the studio. If you¡¯re hungry again when we get there, I¡¯ll get you another breakfast. Your body might need more food.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ve eaten plenty,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°Says the girl that kept telling me she was fine when the pain scent was scraping out my nose,¡± complained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Hush, it¡¯s faded. While I had a rough night, I''ve been looking forward to seeing the studio,¡± said Amdirlain, and her tail twitched and twisted around her legs. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I got you worried.¡± ¡°Nonsense, there was nothing you could do about it,¡± reassured Pal¡¯tran. ¡°I spoke to some people yesterday, and it seems it could have been far worse. Since you¡¯re up and about, you¡¯re over the worst. I got told to take you to a hospital if you weren¡¯t active today.¡± Amdirlain made her ears stand straight up and scoffed. ¡°What would you do that for?¡± ¡°I found out some people have, in the past, killed themselves by advancing levels too quickly,¡± explained Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Their bodies broke under the strain when they paid high-level individuals to slaughter powerful monsters while they were along to ¡®help out.''¡± ¡°Killed?¡± squeaked Amdirlain, and she let her gaze widen and tail fluff up. ¡°The rush of life experience they gained progressed them so fast, their body broke trying to adjust,¡± Pal¡¯tran explained. ¡°Wow,¡± huffed Amdirlain before she relaxed her posture. ¡°Maybe we should drop by a college after the studio.¡± ¡°Or a clinic and get checks done,¡± proposed Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain poked out her tongue. ¡°No, they might detect my warped sense of humour and ask for an explanation.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pretty lame excuse,¡± huffed Jal¡¯krin, giving her an unhappy look. ¡°You had us worried.¡± With her harp case in hand, Amdirlain started towards the stairs. ¡°Race you to the parking lot.¡± Amdirlain heard Pal¡¯tran calling ahead to advise his cousin they were coming over, but she continued to his vehicle. Letting Jal¡¯krin ride shotgun, Amdirlain settled into the backseat with an exaggerated sigh and checked the new Power options. [Immortal¡¯s Endurance Details: Provides immunity to all outside effects attempting to alter a being¡¯s form or mind from their condition upon gaining this power. Dramatically increases health recovery previously provided by Protean. Enables recovery and shedding of foreign objects and/or energies. The shape-shifting upper limit is the mass of the being¡¯s True Form, and the Power¡¯s Rank determines how fast an alteration of form occurs.] [Primordial Malleability Details: This evolution of Protean increases the flexibility of the possessor¡¯s form and mental limits. It increases the mass previously able to be absorbed by Protean and blurs the lines on a being''s True Form. Any living connected tissue remains under the being¡¯s control. Note: Can¡¯t chop the spiritual presentation of legs off something with no set form. Like above, you¡¯d still need to heal your spiritual net first.] [Phoenix¡¯s Immolation Details: Encapsulates an Immortal Phoenix''s endless primal cycle of death and rebirth. Activation of Phoenix''s flame aura increases the regeneration provided by Protean. This Power reduces the being¡¯s shapeshifting capability to True Form and living species with static forms. Once per thousand years, the possessor may opt for physical rebirth when badly injured or in failing health. This causes an explosion of Primordial flame to rush out from their body, consuming matter and individuals around them to fuel their rebirth. The extent of matter consumed is based on the individual''s lost health. This rebirth leaves the possessor¡¯s memory, species, and Class related aspects intact. The possessor''s species determines circumstances related to physical death outside this activation. Note: Won¡¯t body shame you, but you¡¯d leave a crater. It''s meant for a pretty bird.] The ability to recover with a bang but lose most of my form-changing. Still, some beings have massive forms beyond anything I¡¯ve used. Nice and explosive, but pass. Gideon seems to hint at Primordial Malleability, but Immortal¡¯s Endurance also looks useful. The condition I¡¯m in when gaining the Power, so my crippled net would stay crippled. So heal before I take it. Immortal¡¯s Endurance will limit my size and tricks, but I don¡¯t know the eventual mass of my True Form. Either sound like they¡¯re possibilities. Do I take them or see what happens if I increase other powers or skills? A distortion off to one side of their path snapped Amdirlain out of her thoughts. With the individual possessed by an Eldritch Manipulator in the backseat of a stopped car, Amdirlain killed it. After teleporting the person¡ªcleansed of corrupted memories¡ªto a hospital, she dropped a card with their location on the seat. The drive through the morning traffic was just over an hour and a half. The audio receiver in the car let Amdirlain hear more local tunes and gave it the feel of a drive to work. And work it was, with Pal¡¯tran unknowingly chauffeuring Amdirlain past hundreds of eldritch manipulators. They were nearing the studio when the vehicle¡¯s receiver shared the news of more people collapsing. The announcer referred to all the events Amdirlain had acted on, including the manor. Common factors of black mat stone, missing memories, and individuals sent to safety had the announcer grouping them into the actions of a single party or parties unknown. Pal¡¯tran¡¯s mouth tightened in concern. ¡°It''s been quiet for two days, and now more people collapsing? It''s all so bizarre, some of it random, other parts like a Sharpshooter taking down a target, and others destructive.¡± ¡°Or it''s all sharpshooting, and some targets are bigger than others,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Sharpshooters don¡¯t leave buildings in rubble,¡± argued Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ve got a big gun,¡± proposed Amdirlain, and she shifted the conversation. ¡°Jal¡¯krin, you mentioned having Sharpshooter?¡± ¡°After lots of hours supervised by mum at the range,¡± confirmed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Your mother¡¯s a Sharpshooter as well?¡± ¡°Sniper. She works in the ghost caverns¡¯ entry area, doing shifts in one of the lookout nests,¡± advised Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Laying in a sniper¡¯s nest doesn¡¯t strain her leg.¡± ¡°How did you get levels in Sharpshooter?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Hunting in the southern hills, but it¡¯s hard to get levels amid all the other competition for monster kills. Dad used to take us on a hunting trip each year, but the borders shifted and the military restricted permits. They use the spawning grounds of monsters to gain initial levels for troops,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Weak troops in the ghost caverns is just asking for dead soldiers,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I can understand, even if things are harder for others. Maybe someone will figure out a solution.¡± The situation with the gods¡¯ graves started ideas bubbling for Amdirlain, and she hummed thoughtfully. The fragments of music she composed had Pal¡¯tran occasionally glancing at her in the review. As Pal¡¯tran pulled into a nearly empty parking lot behind a three-story building, Jal¡¯krin looked around. ¡°You want food first?¡± ¡°No, must see the shiny studio,¡± insisted Amdirlain, and she waved her hands dramatically towards the building. ¡°Really? Not hungry at all?¡± persisted Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Yes, because I¡¯m fine,¡± gushed Amdirlain, and she fluttered her eyelids. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid.¡± ¡°Then don¡¯t act like one. If you collapse and I murder you, you¡¯ll know why,¡± grumbled Jal¡¯krin ominously. ¡°I¡¯ll take the knowledge to my grave,¡± chirped Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin growled in frustration. As he shook his head, Pal¡¯tran tapped the tip of Jal¡¯krin¡¯s ear. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you tease others. You need to learn when someone is teasing you.¡± ¡°Not hungry,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°I cooked too much meat for breakfast. I¡¯ve got a food baby still going on.¡± Pal¡¯tran led the way inside via what was the back entrance. Boxes of metal discs in which Amdirlain could hear thousands of audio traces sat in an alcove by the outer door. The corridor led them to the side of a reception area with a wider set of doors to the street. ¡°It seems Jan¡¯era and the others have been busy,¡± Pal¡¯tran commented. ¡°I think that¡¯s all the samples they¡¯ve received lately.¡± Ouch, I hadn¡¯t intended to be stealing someone else¡¯s chance. Will just have to ensure they can give more people chances. A pale auburn male already had a link unit to his ear and was shifting raised panels around on the metal display. The enchantments had the metal flowing like mercury beneath his touch. ¡°No, they¡¯re here. Should I send them through, or will you handle that call?¡± The muffled reply had the receptionist dragging another panel side before pointing to the staircase. ¡°Boss lady¡¯s calendar is free for the day. She¡¯s in studio 1.¡± ¡°Thanks, Kril,¡± replied Pal¡¯tran, and he immediately headed up the stairs. Amdirlain felt like a duckling in tow. She listened to the layout and while there were four large sound booths on the lower floor, upstairs was one massive, two-story sound booth, along with a few offices. She could feel the quality but aged state of the room before Pal¡¯tran opened the door. The room spoke of the care that had gone into its maintenance. Determined hands had scrubbed the thick rugs, cleaned a few times too many, and wood trim in various places reflected scattered images despite their fractured lacquer. Within the recording station, the audio mixers were all functional, but the runes¡¯ energy was a little dimmed and gave her a blues feel. The walls had plaques recognising various artists'' grand successes, but the most recent Amdirlain spotted was twenty years ago with a ¡®signing-off¡¯ tour. The female was visible through the glass door to the recording section. She was maybe early thirties or late twenties, far younger than Pal¡¯tran¡¯s fifties. Her fur was a deep red colouration except for a pale pink nose and left ear, which gave the impression the printer had run out of ink. She wore a loose purple cloth blouse, pants, and matching boots, hints of silver notes through the fabric matching the buckles on her belt and boots. The silver-capped ties down the front of the blouse worked well to hint rather than show her generous cleavage. With a collection of three non-combat classes¡ªSound Virtuoso, Business Manager, Promotion Artist¡ªand again, a Sharpshooter Class at far lower level, analysis shared the name of Jan¡¯era and that she¡¯d graduated from a college rather than the campus. ¡°She¡¯s a younger cousin, right? Because otherwise, you¡¯ve aged so badly, Pal¡¯tran,¡± commented Amdirlain. He snorted as he pushed the inner door open and stepped to the side. ¡°Am of the Blackcliff pride. Jan¡¯era of Silverstring pride,¡± announced Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain headed straight up to Jan¡¯era, taking in their well-formed figure that loomed over her at one hundred and ninety centimetres. ¡°Pleasure to meet you, Am,¡± Jan¡¯era said, as she graciously extended her hand despite the tension and anger in her song. ¡°Unfortunately, I only heard a trace of your performance after it had ended. It misses the zest the casters provide artists like yourself. I hope you¡¯re feeling better now?¡± ¡®Far too adult for her age. Her glide¡¯s like a professional companion. What sort of training has someone put her through? Peered at me as if she knew every curve, and my Mental Clarity is having fits. Not felt that impact since¡­¡¯ Amdirlain broke away from Jan¡¯era''s thoughts as they conveyed a flash of intimate images. I should have told the law keepers I¡¯m eighteen, I¡¯m giving people complexes. [Mental Clarity Details: This Power is provided by classes such as Business Manager and Promotion Artist. It allows possessors to deal with high Charisma individuals and not cave into their demands or sign ridiculous contracts. It only buffers them against Charisma effects, raw or supported by Skill sets like Femme Fatale. Note: Poor girl. Is it her fault your furled Charisma still hits at over two hundred? So many people want to help and watch you.] And I wasn¡¯t even trying. Maybe I can help her progress. ¡°Thank you for asking. I¡¯m feeling fatigued still, but overall I''m fine,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she heard Pal¡¯tran step on Jal¡¯krin¡¯s foot when he grumbled. Amdirlain didn¡¯t catch more than the barest twitch of annoyance at the display from Jan¡¯era. ¡°Why don¡¯t you two go get us drinks or something?¡± The wording made it sound like it might be a question. They both left. Jan¡¯era pulled out a chair from the closest recording console and offered it to Amdirlain. ¡°Family can be good, and a headache. We¡¯ll not talk about offers of any kind until you feel completely recovered, but I¡¯d like to hear about what you¡¯d like to achieve.¡± Sitting down, Am gave her a beaming smile. ¡°That¡¯s an excellent negotiating tactic to get the inside scope to frame your offers. Do you find it often lets you propose situations where the artist feels like even an average offer is a win for them?¡± There was only the briefest hesitation in Jan¡¯era grabbing a chair of her own. ¡°I guess you could take its purpose that way. Pal¡¯tran said you went right for the kill the other day. If this is you fatigued, I see exactly what he meant.¡± ¡°Then perhaps you could explain how you see it?¡± ¡°You obviously don¡¯t like people wasting time. So, if I know more about you, I can avoid wasting yours. If you want to perform in cosy clubs, and recording traces isn¡¯t a priority, then I¡¯d work to line up club appearances for you. If you want your music to be known far and wide quickly, then working out the details for a string of minor club appearances to spread your name by word of mouth wastes our time,¡± explained Jan¡¯era. ¡°However, if you want to get straight to cutting traces and selling them, we would put together a proposal around building up from that preference.¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Other studios wouldn¡¯t let me do that?¡± ¡°Most studios have a prepared plan for new artists, starting with promotional programs through a series of steps incrementing the scales as your sales progress,¡± explained Jan¡¯era and her extended claws repeatedly stabbed into the air, gouging out an imaginary checklist. ¡°Given your performance, they¡¯d let you pick some details, but most will be by the patterns of hunting profits they know. Big studios, they¡¯ve seen artists come and go¡ªsome well before their time¡ªso they control you by doing what they know works to maximise their profits, both at each step, and long term. To them, you¡¯re a resource to mine, not an individual. I got sick of how they handle talent.¡± ¡°Did you buy out the previous owner, or inherit this place?¡± ¡°Do you want to trade off questions after this one?¡± asked Jan¡¯era, her pink ear cocking at her invitingly until Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Neither pride picked me to run it, but I have a personal stake to encourage me. So, small gigs and slow growth, traces and fast publicity, or something like the mix of Clearstrike¡¯s smallish setting but still reaching wider audience through their caster?¡± ¡°I want to perform before a large audience,¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, focused on the need to stretch her Charisma ¡°You certainly can get there, but I suggest we, or you, build up to that,¡± responded Jan¡¯era. ¡°I know someone could line up a cascaded caster gig across all the territories with the bootleg traces I heard. However, the day after, you¡¯d die from what Pal¡¯tran¡¯s learnt. You know where that would leave someone nasty enough to do that to you?¡± ¡°Rich,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era looked like she¡¯d bitten into something sour. ¡°Too right, and some of them would do it. No one has heard of your pride. I¡¯ve already checked city records, so have thirty other studio reps according to the archivist. Looking in the city records and finding nothing would let your business partner take the lot.¡± ¡°Why were you checking for my pride?¡± ¡°Kitten, seriously, a fifth-level Bard able to pull off that performance? Don¡¯t humble brag to me. That was no normal performance. Word spread wide after people heard you talking to the law keeper. If there is another virtuoso out there who taught you how to play and sing, they¡¯re another gold mine waiting to be tapped.¡± ¡°I¡¯m self-taught,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I taught myself on an old harp, so old it''s not usable for any performance,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°My turn to ask a question again.¡± There was the briefest frown from Jan¡¯era. ¡°You¡¯re distracting. I¡¯ve now wasted two questions. Too sharp for your own good, miss¡ªyou might cut yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯m humourous when I''m legless,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be drinking at your age. It¡¯ll hurt your brain and your throat,¡± responded Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°I¡¯m already insane. There isn¡¯t much left to hurt.¡± ¡°Self-deprecating, are we? Forget I asked. It¡¯s not a question. I heard the part where you asked to give away the gratuity. Check your reserve account. I hear the law keeper that got yours organised made sure the caster stations paid you contributions.¡± ¡°Law keeper Mal¡¯lyn,¡± replied Amdirlain, surprised at his initiative. ¡°Remembering the male in uniform, was he cute?¡± hummed Jan¡¯era. ¡°Tall,¡± Amdirlain said, waving well above her head. ¡°I¡¯m tall compared to you,¡± rebutted Jan¡¯era, her gaze narrowing. ¡°That¡¯s true, and it''s my turn to ask a question,¡± stated Amdirlain, again. ¡°That sort of talk between females shouldn¡¯t be a question,¡± protested Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain sighed deeply. ¡°You needed to state any conditions around questions up front.¡± [Interrogation [J] (17->18) Diplomacy [J] (31->32)] ¡°Ask your question then,¡± muttered Jan¡¯era, her eyes twinkling. ¡°What is the biggest benefit you¡¯ll get from me working with you?¡± ¡°Given how you¡¯re talking, practice in negotiating,¡± chuffed Jan¡¯era before she pointed at the plaques and memorabilia on the wall. ¡°Jokes aside, attracting other acts while you¡¯re with us. This studio has seen little success lately. Being known as the studio and promoter handling even the initial years of your career would be a jumpstart.¡± ¡°Where did you work before this?¡± ¡°Hey, my turn to ask a question,¡± rebutted Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain gave her an innocent smile, and Jan¡¯era¡¯s ears tilted sharply towards her, not buying it. ¡°Why ask Jal¡¯krin to compose for you? Any studio has got better connections than an ex-campus student.¡± ¡°For the same reason I¡¯m planning to sign with you if you give me anything close to a decent deal,¡± replied Amdirlain. Coughing, Jan¡¯era gazed at her in disbelief, waiting for the other shoe to drop. ¡°What? Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my turn to ask a question,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you leave wherever you worked last?¡± ¡°They fired me for improper conduct and breaching my employment agreement when I put an artist¡¯s interests first,¡± grumbled Jan¡¯era. ¡°My question remains the same.¡± A thread of thoughts let Amdirlain pull out the details of the studio-induced debt spiral Jan¡¯era''s ¡®client¡¯ had been in. ¡°Your studio, him, and your pride have something in common,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re the runts of the litter, and I don¡¯t mind working to build. We can climb together. I want lots of opportunities to work on perfecting my powers and skills. Is that okay with you?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± nodded Jan¡¯era. ¡°You¡¯re very eye-catching in the way you project your presence. You¡¯d do well on caster programming, but we can¡¯t often control how many people tune in. Which is the health risk if there is a viewer surge until you¡¯re higher level.¡± ¡°Must be my Bard Class,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I heard about the instrument pieces you performed at Clearstrike¡¯s. Would I be able to hear a sample?¡± Amdirlain awarded Jan¡¯era a bright smile, and she felt it impact on her Mental Clarity. ¡°Would you record them for me?¡± ¡°But we don¡¯t have any agreement,¡± protested Jan¡¯era. ¡°Can I see your standard agreement?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I agreed with Pal¡¯tran, I won¡¯t make you an offer until you are feeling better,¡± rebutted Jan¡¯era. ¡°You¡¯re not making me an offer. We¡¯re going to work out an agreement together.¡± ¡°Semantics,¡± huffed Jan¡¯era. ¡°Just get a copy, and we can review them and work out a proposed understanding,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll use it for a haggling position if I go shopping.¡± ¡°If!¡± exclaimed Jan¡¯era. She fetched a copy from her office, and Amdirlain looked it over, crossing out sections about preferred suppliers and merchandise manufacturing. Jan¡¯era dropped the studio¡¯s percentage by a full point but added notes about a yearly collection release for the first five years with some minimum sales. Each signed next to the alterations as they went but left the final signatory spots blank. Amdirlain did not know where she¡¯d be in five years but shrugged it off. The purpose was to learn about managing her Charisma and evolving Femme Fatale. ¡°This isn¡¯t formal until it¡¯s witnessed and lodged,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. ¡°Yes, just a proposed understanding,¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°We can both think it over and agree on adjustments until it''s signed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make three copies, and I want you to take one to a law keeper advocate for an independent review and filing. Since you¡¯re a minor, they won¡¯t charge you anything to put a copy of a commercial contract in the secure archives. Which you certainly want to do when¡ªif¡ªwe come to a final agreement and sign.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Jan¡¯era angrily flipped pages to check more clauses. ¡°Protection from a patron pride being a rut humper after you¡¯re making money and complaining about illegal contracts. It would cause both our incomes to get suspended until the review got completed, and they¡¯d try to get it dragged out. Yet we¡¯d be on the hook for any outlays we¡¯d agreed to for performances,¡± ¡°We¡¯d still have to pay sound crew and other support?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, but we¡¯d also get hit with commercial penalties for non-performance if you didn¡¯t perform,¡± continued Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain growled. ¡°Oh, I want to smack them just thinking about it.¡± ¡°Welcome to the territories, but at least you¡¯re not in the Oligarchy¡¯s northern protectorates.¡± Not liking the sound of that, Amdirlain avoided dipping into Jan¡¯era¡¯s mind and simply gave her a helpless shrug. ¡°I want some of the profits in a scholarship fund for musicians.¡± Jan¡¯era fixed Amdirlain with a sceptical look. ¡°Wait until you¡¯re not sleeping on someone¡¯s couch before worrying about others.¡± ¡°Sleeping on a couch is a step up from a ground sheet and camp stones to ward off the undead,¡± laughed Amdirlain, only to get a horrified look from Jan¡¯era. ¡°Tell me you didn¡¯t,¡± gasped Jan¡¯era. ¡°Not by yourself, surely?¡± ¡°Ask me no questions, I¡¯ll tell you no lies,¡± sang Amdirlain as her tail swished about happily. Jan¡¯era shook her head. ¡°Kitten, you¡¯re a wild child.¡± 319 - Some sin for nothing Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris When Pal¡¯tran and Jal¡¯krin returned loaded with drinks and food, they found Amdirlain still reviewing the contract options with Jan¡¯era. Throughout the discussion, Amdirlain followed the threads in Jan¡¯era¡¯s thoughts. They were a flurry of mental calculations and projections that balanced the need to cover overheads with her desire to give Amdirlain an arrangement to ensure she¡¯d stay on as long as possible. As Jan¡¯era said from the start, a draw card to bring in other high-quality performers lured by Amdirlain¡¯s successes. Pal¡¯tran offloaded his containers on a table away from the consoles, the tempting smells of foods that would be good cold as well. ¡°If you¡¯re hungry, I got a variety.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not hungry yet, so how do we get impartial witnesses for our signing these?¡± asked Amdirlain, tapping the contract¡¯s pages. ¡°You¡¯re not getting rushed into signing it,¡± objected Jan¡¯era. ¡°I already told you it¡¯s best to have everything lined up and checked off.¡± ¡°But you won¡¯t let me record anything until I do,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Gives you more time to compose local songs you like,¡± reassured Jan¡¯era. ¡°The pride has places down this way you can stay in, better than sleeping on a couch.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring my travel pack, only my harp case.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to be the one to go back and forth getting it,¡± noted Pal¡¯tran. ¡°We can do that for you.¡± ¡°Abandoning my composer? I don¡¯t know,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Yours?¡± huffed Jan¡¯era unhappily, and she fixed Jal¡¯krin with a hard, suspicious look. ¡°Are you going to release the place you¡¯re using to someone else? She deserves a better place to live.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t go back home,¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°And I think you¡¯re misunderstanding.¡± Amdirlain kept clear of their thoughts, not wanting to intrude into their pride¡¯s situation more than she already had. Jan¡¯era¡¯s claws came out and tapped hard on the console¡¯s edge. ¡°You could; you just don¡¯t want to. Alright, I¡¯d volunteer someone else if it was only Am. Since it is both of you, I¡¯m the only one in the four-bedroom place I use now. You could move in and grab a bedroom; at least you¡¯ll have far more living space.¡± Amdirlain''s ears perked up. ¡°The place you¡¯re using?¡± ¡°It belongs to the pride,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. ¡°Just because you¡¯ve not signed yet, doesn¡¯t mean we don¡¯t want to offer incentives to do so. A big law keeper station is just down the way, so you can stop in and make an appointment to have someone review the contract.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she looked at Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Are you coming along, or will you commute? I might have money from the plaza to pay you for composing¡­¡± His tail twitched nervously about for a bit before his shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°My proximity is such a hardship?¡± asked Amdirlain neutrally. ¡°You lie around and snore, but mostly it¡¯s because I¡¯m nearer my parents down this way,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain huffed and fidgeted with a warm cup Pal¡¯tran pressed upon her. ¡°I don¡¯t snore.¡± ¡°You do a good impersonation of it then,¡± critiqued Jal¡¯krin Giving him a tail flick, she grinned at Jan¡¯era. ¡°You¡¯re going to have to put up with two house guests. Hope we don¡¯t cramp your style.¡± ¡°It¡¯s work or meeting people for work which will increase if you sign on. With you two loitering in the place it will feel less of a waste than me staying there alone,¡± explained Jan¡¯era, twitching her ears towards the food. ¡°Relax and enjoy. I¡¯ll take care of some calls and drive you over.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take Jal¡¯krin back to his place and help him shift his gear,¡± advised Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Some sandwiches and food that can reheat; I was expecting us to be here all morning giving you a tour.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a good instinct for people when I listen to them properly,¡± said Amdirlain, and she peaked into one container and found steaming squares similar to sponge cake. ¡°These look fluffy.¡± As Amdirlain considered the other containers, Jan¡¯era moved over to the table, reached past her, and snagged one of the fluffy cakes. ¡°I won¡¯t be long.¡± With Jal¡¯krin¡¯s embarrassed scent filling the booth, they ate in uncomfortable silence, but Amdirlain restrained herself from questioning. Ten minutes later, Jan¡¯era returned from her phone call and shooed the others on their way. Taking Amdirlain and some food containers under her wing, she led her into the parking lot. Jan¡¯era¡¯s vehicle was a low-slung red two-seater with a lightning core within its engine. ¡°Do all territories¡¯ prides operate so communally with their property?¡± asked Amdirlain as she hopped into the car. Jan¡¯era settled into her seat, slid an ignition rod into the middle console, and dropped her link unit in the holder between the seats. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You live in a place owned by the pride and run a business for them? But where are the limits in how that operates?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Jal¡¯krin screwed up their savings, but his family didn¡¯t have the capital to replace that.¡± Giving a confused chuff, Jan¡¯era turned slightly in her seat with the car¡¯s engine idling with a crackling whirlwind. ¡°He told you about that, and you¡¯re still satisfied to have him by your side?¡± ¡°He messed up and regrets it, though I admit he still needs to learn more. But we¡¯re talking about how your pride operates.¡± ¡°Your pride doesn¡¯t handle living spaces communally? I always figured everyone would operate this way, from the nomads¡¯ tents up.¡± ¡°No. Housing is a matter for the parents of the household rather than extended pride without specific arrangements,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her puzzled expression didn¡¯t fade, but Jan¡¯era put the vehicle into gear and pulled out of the parking spot. ¡°Odd. Safe housing and the means to keep it secure are too important to leave in the hands of one family unit. It¡¯s a lot harder to get a new property if there is an emergency than it is to shrink the holding. And it¡¯s important the pride always have extra space in case it expands, or one or more properties are unusable for a time.¡± ¡°How does it operate then?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°You said you¡¯re using a house.¡± ¡°Each family or individual has their savings. They use places and contribute fees into the pride¡¯s account relative to what property they¡¯re in; they don¡¯t own it themselves,¡± clarified Jan¡¯era. ¡°If there was an emergency, and we had to house twenty people suddenly, they¡¯d get spread between the properties.¡± ¡°Has that happened before?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era wobbled her head, thinking. ¡°Maybe eight times in the last twenty years there have been issues with the Mana grid that made blocks unlivable that I¡¯ve been staying at. The pride has properties spread out to avoid too many getting caught in one outage.¡± ¡°So some of the pride have more personal reserves than others, but you¡¯re not allowed to drag the pride down?¡± probed Amdirlain. ¡°Jal¡¯krin¡¯s situation wasn¡¯t about him dragging the pride down. It was about what the money was for, balanced against maintaining the pride¡¯s safety net. Since it wasn¡¯t essential and his family didn¡¯t have the personal reserves, he had to drop out of learning at the campus. He could apply for a college degree instead, which would have been possible,¡± hissed Jan¡¯era. ¡°I hope you know what you¡¯re getting yourself into, taking him on.¡± ¡°But when it¡¯s essential?¡± persisted Amdirlain. ¡°If he¡¯d messed up and lost money for an essential reason, we¡¯d have pooled and sorted things out; pride looks after pride during hard times. We just would have ensured he couldn¡¯t lose the money again. A composer¡¯s degree from the campus is nice but not essential. If he or his sister had an ability that made it essential to be at the campus studying, we¡¯d have arranged things,¡± confirmed Jan¡¯era with a firm certainty in her tone. The link unit in the holder chimed twice in quick succession, and Jan¡¯era groaned. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡±Just all the joys of taking over a neglected business to recover our debt from the previous owner. We¡¯ve got a few too many of these business recoveries going on because of bad debts from other prides. That also contributed to why Jal¡¯krin and his sister didn¡¯t get bailed out; I¡¯m more disappointed about her situation than his,¡± replied Jan¡¯era. She quickly peeked at the displayed note when they stopped at a traffic intersection. ¡°We can go back if there is something you need to tend to?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s split the difference. Are you okay if I take you to the apartment and return to the studio? I¡¯ll call the law keepers¡¯ station to book a meeting for you,¡± offered Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain nodded happily. ¡°Yeah, I can put the food in the ice chest and nap on a proper bed,¡± ¡°Fittings for the beds are in the room cupboards. Just pick one without blankets spread out,¡± instructed Jan¡¯era. ¡°This is part of why I would have volunteered someone else for you to live with; I¡¯m frequently out. I¡¯m more a caretaker for this apartment than a full-time resident.¡± Jan¡¯era parked on the street before a hexagonal high-rise and showed Amdirlain to a place on the fourteenth floor. A small entry area opened into an open living space, with scattered couches blending into a kitchen. An eight-seater dining table and a stone benchtop marked their boundary. Beyond the kitchen, Amdirlain picked out a corridor that led to four different-sized bedrooms, a couple of washrooms and laundry. Unlike Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ apartment, no decorations obstructed the soft white light from the walls and there was almost nothing beyond functional furniture. A long metal panel in the living area stood out among the soft light of the hexagon panels. Catching Amdirlain looking at it curiously, Jan¡¯era grinned. ¡°Try not to use the receiver too much unless you¡¯re paying the Mana costs or bill.¡± ¡°I can contribute Mana,¡± volunteered Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era paused. ¡°I didn¡¯t know that a Bard got Mana. It¡¯s such an archaic Class that I¡¯ll have to read up on it. I think the contribution panel is behind the front door. I won¡¯t say no if you¡¯re willing to pour in spare Mana before bed each night.¡± ¡°Your classes don¡¯t give you any Mana?¡± asked Amdirlain, playing clueless to see what Jan¡¯era would offer. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°No, I¡¯m purely business and performance crafting; even my energy projector I just buy charge packs for,¡± clarified Jan¡¯era, offloading some of the food they¡¯d brought from the studio onto the kitchen bench. ¡°If you¡¯d put this stuff in the ice chest, please. I had better get back to the studio. Pick whichever unused room you want. The link unit in the kitchen has the studio¡¯s number set on recall. If there is an alarm, follow the path of the yellow stripes that will appear mid-air. Okay?¡± ¡°Yellow stripes, got it,¡± nodded Amdirlain. ¡°Sorry to drop you and run,¡± apologised Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain gave a reassuring smile. ¡°No worries, I¡¯m going to enjoy sleeping in a proper bed.¡± Finding space in the echoing ice chest wasn¡¯t an issue. She picked the smallest bedroom and discovered its mattress was slightly bigger than a double, with a strange woven interior she¡¯d heard from other dwellings. Making up the bed, she set a complex illusion of herself beneath the blankets. Though Jal¡¯krin should be at least another two hours before arriving, Amdirlain added a notification alert if anyone entered the bedroom. With time to herself, Amdirlain scried ahead to check out the remains of the estate. Two vehicles blocked the entrance to the estate, and four law keepers patrolled the boundary in pairs. Blinking warning markers around the partially collapsed building¡¯s perimeter warned of magical and material hazards. They had excavated an entry into the first level of the basement through the rubble already fallen from the upper stories. Enfolded in her concealment songs, Amdirlain reappeared at the Spellclash manor and growled in surprise. Pain erupted from her legs, and the way it slipped past Pain Eater in time with the distortion rising from the basement made its nature clear. She could feel Protean working to keep her form intact; despite its massive increases, the strain pushed it harder than close exposure to strong Eldritch sources had. Teleport took her away from the estate, but her legs still ached deeper than mere muscle and bones, though the worst eased. While the distortion didn¡¯t feel like it was biting any longer, Amdirlain returned to Jan¡¯era¡¯s apartment via a roundabout route and, once there, started to cycle. She watched the wisps working down through her legs on the first flare. With a grimace, she took in the net running through her legs, revealing microscopic fractures, splinters, and extra swelling in the problem node. Collecting the crystal that supported the illusion on the bed, Amdirlain dismissed her concealment and lay on the bed to continue cycling Ki. It was a couple of hours before Resonance caught Jal¡¯krin and Pal¡¯tran¡¯s songs coming towards the apartment block. The cycling had merged the net¡¯s splinters into its strands and sealed fractures. The problem node¡¯s aggravation only eased slightly however, leaving her thigh throbbing with spiritual discomfort that bypassed Pain Eater. Continuing until she heard the pair reach the apartment foyer, she poured the excess Ki into a crystal and let loose with a string of profanities. My net is more like tissue paper than fragile. I¡¯ll have to accept I can¡¯t deal with the Eldritch up close until my legs heal properly. The priority becomes enabling the locals to defend themselves and deal with their foes. Meanwhile, I can still kill or clean from a distance. Moving out into the kitchen, she registered the continued discomfort from her spiritual net that echoed into bone and muscle. When the pair entered the front door, each carrying boxes, they found Amdirlain perched on a kitchen stool with her back to the door. Tail swishing happily about, she dug into a container from the morning. ¡°You¡¯re looking more rumpled,¡± noted Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I will admit I napped,¡± offered Amdirlain, spinning about to face them. Jal¡¯krin was carrying a couple of boxes stuffed with clothing and notebooks with Amdirlain¡¯s travel pack balanced on top. ¡°Oh, I can do my laundry,¡± cheered Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin snorted. ¡°You can keep whether it¡¯s vanity or necessity that is your highest priority to yourself.¡± ¡°I have minimal clothing, so we¡¯ll go with necessity,¡± drawled Amdirlain, and she moved to claim it from him. ¡°Can one of you gents show me how to use the machine in this place because I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not something I¡¯ve used?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that,¡± offered Pal¡¯tran immediately, and he headed down the corridor. ¡°Jal¡¯krin, grab the rest of the boxes from the backseat. I¡¯ll have someone pick you up this afternoon with a bigger vehicle and more boxes to move out the rest of your things.¡± Patting Jal¡¯krin on the upper arm to thank him, Amdirlain hurried after Pal¡¯tran. He took her through the ¡®washer¡¯ that wasn¡¯t anything like Amdirlain expected. An Artificer had taken the simple Mending Spell, figured out the runes, and streamlined it to clean stains. ¡°So I don¡¯t need to soak clothing?¡± rumbled Amdirlain in mock confusion after Pal¡¯tran explained its workings. ¡°Not unless you¡¯ve let the stains set hard. If you¡¯ve dyed or marked clothing intentionally, you must hand wash for the first couple of weeks.¡± The stuff I must do to maintain a disguise. Oh, how I suffer for my art. Hopefully, once this is over, I don¡¯t have to adopt a disguise like this again. ¡°Is there a reserve nearby so I can check how much they put in my account for the plaza?¡± Pal¡¯tran huffed. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Jan¡¯era said the law keeper officer got the caster stations that broadcasted me to pay up,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°There is one at the end of the road just by the law keeper station.¡± ¡°Cool, I¡¯ll check later and see if I can pay Jal¡¯krin for his time composing before I sell recordings,¡± chirped Amdirlain eagerly. ¡°A word of advice, since it seems our customs differ: be careful who you claim as yours without being clear on the criteria, Am. Some might try to use that to say you proposed a mating regardless of your age,¡± rumbled Pal¡¯tran. Amdirlain stared up at him with ice in her veins. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± ¡°You claimed Jal¡¯krin as ¡®my composer¡¯; among the territories, speaking of another in such a way means you intend to absorb them into your pride. For young females, that normally implies a marriage offer,¡± Pal¡¯tran advised. ¡°Always be sure to put limiters on such claims.¡± Her eyes widened, and her ears stood on end. ¡°What sort of limiters¡ªtime or criteria¡ªis safe?¡± ¡°Not time. That means you¡¯re offering a limited or trial mating to see if you¡¯re fertile together,¡± clarified Pal¡¯tran. ¡°Or best yet, avoid the word ¡®my¡¯ referring to any individual.¡± Jan¡¯era was trying to warn me of ¡®involvement¡¯ with Jal¡¯krin. That¡¯s what I get for stopping the mind-reading. ¡°Maybe I should just not speak,¡± mumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Our language is the same, but my knowledge of your customs is way off.¡± ¡°Jal¡¯krin tried to correct Jan¡¯era, but I thought you perhaps needed an insight,¡± said Pal¡¯tran. ¡°He was too embarrassed to warn you after Jan¡¯era shut him down. I¡¯ve already spoken to Jan¡¯era and clarified that we doubted you meant marriage. Given your talent, some might argue it was a verbal offer and seek compensation for lost honour if you didn¡¯t follow up. Again, referring to someone by name is safest to avoid possessive implications unless you¡¯re part of their pride.¡± ¡°Scat. No wonder Jan¡¯era asked if I was sure I knew what I was getting into with him,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Pal¡¯tran patted her shoulder reassuringly. ¡°Jal¡¯krin didn¡¯t take it that way. He said he figured it was a regional issue since you use unbecoming words casually.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had lunch. I¡¯m going to do my laundry and hide in my room until dinner so I don¡¯t die of embarrassment,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to it then,¡± replied Pal¡¯tran before he headed back towards the living room. Laundry didn¡¯t take long and, ¡®hiding¡¯ in her bedroom, Amdirlain hung up all her spare clothing and settled down to plan. Scrying on the military base found a well-lit facility with multiple expansive barracks. Though a few thousand troops lived on site, there was parking for thousands more to come from elsewhere in individual vehicles alone. Amdirlain examined where the world¡¯s Mana started combining with dimensional energies within the tunnels leading to the ghost caverns. The regions of their intersection caused minerals to be drawn from across the planes. Yet it was just a symptom of a deeper working, and Amdirlain moved her scrying further along the ghost caverns¡¯ course and continued to study their music. Her explorations had continued for an hour until Jal¡¯krin called through the door to advise he would pack up his apartment. The crystal rod she¡¯d provided to Mor¡¯lmes not only restored life with the efficiency of Resurrection, it also tagged the Soul. Amdirlain hadn¡¯t intended it for more than checking on those Mor¡¯lmes raised, but given she needed to rethink how she dealt with the Eldritch, she decided to check on the student whose Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ mate had referred to as Tulne. Cloaked in an illusion of J¡¯s form and scent, Amdirlain went to find her. The house Amdirlain tracked Tulne to was on the city¡¯s outskirts. While a pair of observers were present, their minds revealed they were only there to protect against Tulne¡¯s undisclosed attacker. Mor¡¯lmes hadn¡¯t given up hope Tulne might tell him, but he wasn¡¯t leaving her unprotected while she decided what to do. Amdirlain slipped past their protective wards and set a concealment illusion around Tulnes¡¯ room and the corridor. Teleport placed her outside the girl¡¯s door, and she waited to ensure the observers didn¡¯t react. After they remained oblivious, Amdirlain gently tapped on the door, waiting for Tulnes to respond before she opened it. The room was closer to a suite, a large bedroom with a bed against one wall and a couch opposite. Positioned on the wall between the couch and bed, a door opened into a fancy washroom that even had an enchanted massage table. The black and silver female was tiny, barely a hundred and fifty centimetres¡ªnot an unexpected size for a teenager¡ªand her position made her seem smaller still. Tulne sat on the couch with her back into the corner of the room and her knees under her chin. Scents of fear and loneliness filled the air. Still caught up in her thoughts, a distracted Tulne hadn¡¯t even looked up after answering Amdirlain¡¯s knock. The wear and fatigue in her melody showed the strain of being raised from the dead still lay on her. [Name: Tulne, Windstray pride Species: Catfolk (variant) Class: Wizard Level: 5 Health: 55 Defence: 14 Magic: 15 Mana: 300 Melee Attack Power: 13 Combat Skills: Energy Projector [Ap] (5). Affinities: Air and Gravity. Spell Lists: Gravity Manipulation, Wind Law, and Shielding Ways (at Tier I), Detection Ways (at Tier II). Details: After gaining the Gravity Affinity¡ªunassisted¡ªduring an arcane potential examination at fifteen, Tulne earned a scholarship at the Triumvirate Campus (despite being from a Nomad pride). Refusing offers of patronage throughout her first year of study brought her the ire of several patron scions. Among them was Cas¡¯pan of the Whiteshield pride, who eventually manipulated Tulne into accepting what she believed would be a supervised practice duel. Despite his level advantage, her Gravity Affinity allowed her to bypass his shielding and embarrass him. Furious, he lashed out with a Lightning Bolt that crushed her duelling barrier. ] I might have to talk to Cas¡¯pan if no one else deals with him. Not wanting to crowd Tulne¡¯s space immediately, Amdirlain stayed in the corridor. ¡°Tulne, we¡¯ve not met yet. How are you doing this afternoon?¡± asked Amdirlain gently. ¡°You¡¯re one of Professor Mor¡¯lmes associates?¡± enquired Tulne nervously. Her gaze remained fixed on the floor, and her tail and arms wrapped around her body. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve interests in common.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell you who it was; it¡¯s not safe,¡± mumbled Tulne, and she turned her face towards the wall. Moving inside the room, Amdirlain gently closed the door before she sat down at the furthest end of the couch. ¡°I¡¯m not here to speak to you about what happened. I was curious if you¡¯re still interested in learning magic.¡± Tulne regarded Amdirlain bleakly, unbothered by her proximity. ¡°I love magic, but where am I going to learn? I can¡¯t go back, and I¡¯m unsure when my pride will even be near a town next to get in touch.¡± Leaning forward, Amdirlain offered her hands to Tulne. ¡°You¡¯ve been through a lot. Is it correct that you¡¯ve only got the Wizard Class at level five after being brought back to life?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± murmured Tulne, grasping tightly to Amdirlain¡¯s hands. ¡°Though my Skill and Knowledge progression were higher than my Class¡¯ even before losing a level.¡± Amdirlain waited for Tulne to continue, but she only shifted on the couch nervously, so Amdirlain continued for her. ¡°So you were holding out, hoping to get a specialised Wizard Class to add?¡± ¡°That had been my plan,¡± replied Tulne, her voice trailing away. Amdirlain nodded understandingly. ¡°What elements are your favourite?¡± ¡°I only have an Affinity for one element. Gravity isn¡¯t an element. I¡¯ve been trying to earn course awards to learn other affinities,¡± whispered Tulne. Tears forming in the corners of her eyes, Tulne snatched her hands back to scrub them away. ¡°True, some people equate all affinities with elements,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Only idiots. Gravity is a curvature of spacetime, allowing its more powerful spells to mimic some Spatial and Time Affinity effects,¡± corrected Tulne softly. ¡°Yeah, some affinities have aspects I didn¡¯t expect,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What is the highest priority on your list to learn?¡± ¡°Spatial,¡± shot Tulne. ¡°You didn¡¯t even need time to consider,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°What attracts you to it?¡± ¡°I want to work out how the ghost caverns change. I don¡¯t think there has been enough research into how the passages open up and how the caverns grow. If we could learn what is involved, even if we can¡¯t stop them, we could predict or restrict their changes and that will save lives,¡± exclaimed Tulne. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°And it¡¯s cool to Teleport.¡± Tulne ducked her head, and her ears swivelled about. ¡°I love teleporting. You¡¯ve got some time to fill. Would you like me to teach you Spatial Affinity now?¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯ll take months or longer,¡± protested Tulne. ¡°However long it takes, isn¡¯t it something worthwhile to do while you plan?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Tulne gave her a timid smile. ¡°Yeah, I guess it is.¡± ¡°Now, take my hands and close your eyes. I¡¯ll be right here, and we¡¯ll step through it together,¡± instructed Amdirlain, determined to make the child invaluable to others. A few minutes later, as an understanding of the layers of physical reality and the spaces beyond them clicked into place, Tulne gasped. Yet Amdirlain didn¡¯t stop, slowly taking her through the base elements until all the first tier of affinities had clicked into place. When Amdirlain gently released her, Tulne gazed at her in shock. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s usually a wise question to start with. You can call me J,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I could feel you in my mind, yet so many of your thoughts blazed about except the connection to each aspect of Mana,¡± breathed Tule. ¡°How were you able to teach me affinities so quickly?¡± ¡°Through powers that I gained from my classes,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°How can I pay you for so many affinities?¡± protested Tulne. ¡°While I request you don¡¯t tell the name to the law keepers, please share the name of the one who attacked you with Mor¡¯lmes,¡± said Amdirlain, and she cocked her head when Tulne went to interrupt. ¡°I know Cas¡¯pan of the Whiteshield pride killed you in what was supposed to be a monitored practice duel, but I won¡¯t share that with Mor¡¯lmes. You¡¯ll need to find the courage to do so, or his people can¡¯t properly protect you.¡± Tulne¡¯s mind churned with details about her killer, but Amdirlain resisted the temptation to learn more and act herself. ¡°They¡¯ll get in trouble with his law keepers,¡± warned Tulne, her racing thoughts churned with so many wild tales that Amdirlain was unsure if any contained truth. ¡°Wait, why didn¡¯t you tell him?¡± ¡°Because I won¡¯t be the one keeping you safe, nor is it my secret to tell. You need to find the courage to speak up to protect yourself,¡± replied Amdirlain. She silently created a finger-length memory crystal filled with magical lore and turned it over in her fingers before Tulne. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how much of what¡¯s in here you¡¯ve already studied, but it¡¯s something to keep your mind busy.¡± Tulne took the offered crystal and frowned in confusion. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a memory crystal, or at least the arcane version of them. Their enchantments involve Mental Affinity; maybe one day I¡¯ll return to teach you that and some other affinities. Focus on the crystal. It will present you with information on various subjects, and you¡¯ll have to pass exams to access the deeper layers,¡± remarked Amdirlain as she tuned the crystal¡¯s access to Tulne alone. As her eyes danced between the crystal and Amdirlain, Tules¡¯ ears frantically twitched. ¡°How many layers?¡± ¡°Thousands.¡± Tules¡¯ gaze lost focus briefly as the crystal¡¯s contents touched her mind; when she broke free, Amdirlain was gone. 320 - Say what you mean Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Amdirlain crafted a bag of protective amulets and a grimoire with healing spells for Mor¡¯lmes upon returning to the silent apartment. The text was part of the library Ebusuku had picked up for her, yet True Song¡¯s flexibility meant she''d only reviewed its contents. Scrying for Mor¡¯lmes, what she saw caused her to stop the theme that would connect to his link unit. Still disguised as the silver-furred J and hoping the illusion would cover all the differences in height and reach, Amdirlain went in person. Her arrival point was a recess that the hexagonal buildings created in the street frontage. The large buildings on either side had allowed them to make a spot of greenery containing a few trees and shrubs. Their old-growth gave her plenty of coverage to disguise her arrival from afternoon pedestrians. The light afternoon traffic in this part of the city allowed Amdirlain to cross between cars. As her flowing steps took her to the curb, vehicles approaching from both directions stopped. Their slowing drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the unfurling of her Charisma, and she tried to yank it back in. When Amdirlain walked through the door, recalling Jan¡¯era¡¯s mental commentary made her aware of the sway of her hips and how she scanned the room. Her gliding stride drew the gaze of more than just most of the males inside the cafe. Amdirlain¡¯s arrival caused the dark blue fur of Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ mate to bristle briefly but settled as she exhaled and set down her drink. As Amdirlain walked straight up to them, she took in the extent of scarring within the female law keeper¡¯s body. Among her melodies, the enchantments in her left arm extended into her side, down her ribs, and deep into her abdomen. Stopping at the end of their booth, Amdirlain nodded politely and set her bright yellow pack on the table. The heft of the grimoire and the sound of a hundred crystal medallions rubbing against each other caused Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ brows to lift. ¡°Lovely to see you again, professor Mor¡¯lmes,¡± purred Amdirlain as she dropped an illusion into place. Gesturing to their drinks and afternoon snacks, she continued. ¡°Sorry for interrupting your afternoon catch-up.¡± ¡°J, you turn up in many unexpected places,¡± said Mor¡¯lmes tightly, and he glanced past Amdirlain at the people staring her way. ¡°This is my mate Wha¡¯sin.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°It''s an honour to meet you, Wha¡¯sin. We¡¯re already covered with an illusion of social chit-chat. Are the law keeper investigation teams having fun with the mithril?¡± ¡°It seems pure and without residual Mana despite how it carved through the ground,¡± coughed Wha¡¯sin. ¡°They¡¯re still working out how deep the pylons go.¡± Amdirlain sketched a glowing outline in the air. ¡°The outer pylons extend shy of three kilometres deep, but a framework of mithril links their bases.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an extravagant amount of metal to leave behind,¡± noted Wha¡¯sin. ¡°I don¡¯t want to even start with the questions about how and what you did to throw that much mass into the sky.¡± ¡°Technically beyond the sky since it made it into the void of space. The amount of mithril isn¡¯t an issue since I made it,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she smiled at Wha¡¯sin. ¡°Hopefully, your people will put it to good use.¡± Amdirlain heard a melody within Wha¡¯sin calm her thoughts, and it shrugged aside the effect of Amdirlain¡¯s Charisma. ¡°You¡¯re able to make magical metal?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, and he blinked at the mental calculations on the volumes. ¡°And that much of it?¡± As he tensed, Wha¡¯sin tapped Mor¡¯lmes¡¯s leg under the table, and he stopped; It had such an air of a common interaction between them that Amdirlain had to stop herself from laughing. ¡°We might get into that another time,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she tapped the grimoire in the bag. ¡°A hundred more of the medallions. The grimoire has a Life Affinity Spell List that might be useful to both of you; they¡¯re more efficient than the spells I¡¯ve heard at hospitals. Wha¡¯sin, would you like to learn it as well?¡± ¡°Mor¡¯lmes said it was quite a heady experience learning an Affinity from you,¡± replied Wha¡¯sin diplomatically. Amdirlain smiled ruefully. ¡°He started considering how to trap me, and I reacted aggressively. For most affinities, people find it a wondrous experience; unfortunately, there are learnable affinities that decent people find unpleasant. I hate teaching them, but at least some Prestige classes require too many affinities to skip them. Knowing your enemies is the only reason I can see to learn them.¡± ¡°So, normally, your teaching doesn¡¯t involve removing body parts?¡± asked Wha¡¯sin, giving Mor¡¯lmes a grin to make it clear her dig was at him. ¡°I could have replaced his voice box more gently. In your case, I can repair the organ damage or, if you¡¯d prefer, teach you spells or techniques that would let you do so,¡± replied Amdirlain, and her voice softened in sympathy. ¡°That¡¯s if you¡¯d like cubs. Even if you don¡¯t, I¡¯m unsure how all the metal isn¡¯t uncomfortable.¡± ¡°How can you tell?¡± asked Wha¡¯sin curiously. ¡°I¡¯m not limited by line of sight to detect the enchanted objects within you. Some of them are holding your insides together in key points that make it obvious,¡± observed Amdirlain softly. ¡°Some people aren¡¯t interested in having children so I wouldn¡¯t push that on you. I came to speak to you both about Tulne.¡± ¡°I never told you her name,¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes. Wha¡¯sin rolled her eyes. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about Tulne, but what do you need for that healing?¡± ¡°Nothing. Consider it a thank you for the continued dangerous investigations. I¡¯m doing neither of you a favour by telling you about the cult. While ignorance doesn¡¯t make you safe, knowledge about these ?can get you into dangerous situations,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to keep your enchanted arm, or have it healed as well?¡± ¡°You don''t owe us anything for looking into our problems,¡± insisted Wha¡¯sin, and she nodded to the bag containing the grimoire. ¡°Is healing me something that the spells in that grimoire can do?¡± ¡°There is a difference between investigating because of suspected mental interference and what I told you. Yes, the spells in the grimoire can repair your injuries,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Though casting them on yourself would be challenging, so it''s lucky that Mor¡¯lmes can also learn them.¡± Wha¡¯sin¡¯s whiskers twitched. ¡°If you¡¯d be kind enough to teach me the Life Affinity, I¡¯ll look to master the spells and heal myself and others I know. If I¡¯m seen to cast them on others, we can claim its recovered knowledge unconnected to other events.¡± The first touch of Amdirlain¡¯s mind against hers had Wha¡¯sin¡¯s eyes widening. Harmony reached out to touch the life surrounding them, not just in the cafe but the nearby buildings and greenery. When the Affinity clicked into place within Wha¡¯sin¡¯s understanding, Amdirlain gently released her awareness. ¡°Thank you,¡± breathed Wha¡¯sin, with an awed smile on her lips. ¡°What would you like to discuss regarding Tulne?¡± Even with Wha¡¯sin¡¯s leg reassuringly pressed against his, Mor¡¯lmes still grumbled. ¡°I¡¯d like to know how you even knew about her first.¡± ¡°You brought someone back from the dead with an item I created. Of course, I will have a way to check on them. If you make a mistake and bring a raging nut job back, I¡¯d like a way to find them before they kill anyone,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Tulne believes people will get in trouble with her killer¡¯s law keepers if she provides the name.¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what she¡¯s told us,¡± stated Mor¡¯lmes impatiently. ¡°Would you giving the name to the law keepers be enough, or is it her word?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Tulne¡¯s heard wild tales about what a patron pride¡¯s law keepers might do.¡± ¡°If I can find where her death occurred, there¡¯d be ways to gather evidence, but they moved her. As it stands, I¡¯ve not got any evidence. She¡¯d have to give the name, and they¡¯d truth read her and then investigate further,¡± sighed Mor¡¯lmes, frustration tightening his posture. ¡°She thought they¡¯d bury the event and anyone knowing about it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The system isn¡¯t perfect, and there have been abuses of the process in the past. Unfortunately, tales of them exist far longer than the actual problem, so some groups remain paranoid about it,¡± explained Wha¡¯sin. ¡°You¡¯re confirming there is a patron family member involved?¡± ¡°There is, but she needs to find the courage to tell Mor¡¯lmes or the law keepers,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°At least it confirms that I don¡¯t have to look at my other suspects to find evidence. What did you do to get the confirmation from her?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Or did you read her mind?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°There was no need to read her mind, as I¡¯d confirmed it before speaking to her. I spoke to her and hopefully gave her a reason to find the courage to tell you. I also provided her with a few things. She now possesses all the first tier of affinities, Spatial and Gravity, and a vast library of magical knowledge. I resisted the temptation to give her more.¡± The confused look from Mor¡¯lmes wasn¡¯t the reaction she expected. ¡°You group them in tiers?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s ears flicked back in confusion. ¡°Of course. How do you arrange them?¡± Mor¡¯lmes frowned. ¡°By rarity. What do you count as the first three tiers?¡± Amdirlain shrugged and rattled off the list. ¡°Tier one are Earth, Fire, Air, and Water. Tier two comprises Dark, Light, Nature, Decay, Ice, Ooze, Smoke and Magma. While tier three comprises Spatial, Gravity, Life, Death, Lightning, Metal, Radiance, Steam, Void, Dust, Ash and Salt.¡± Wha¡¯sin whistled softly. ¡°Any reason you taught her five affinities?¡± ¡°She already had Air,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she got an amused snort from Wha¡¯sin. ¡°I thought it might provide her some measure of protection. Perhaps I should have also taught her Life? Maybe another time.¡± Rubbing his muzzle, Mor¡¯lmes hummed. ¡°I was working on getting her a working apprenticeship. She can always take exams later for certification. Gravity is rare among those who take on apprentices; having Spatial as well will be next to impossible.¡± ¡°Make them an offer they can¡¯t refuse,¡± quipped Amdirlain. The look of confusion from Mor¡¯lmes was priceless. ¡°What would that be? The magical library you gave Tulne might tempt them, but what''s to ensure they¡¯d keep her on after they¡¯ve looked through it?¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose mischievously. ¡°The library is a funny thing, a puzzle attuned to her alone. She must pass the examinations at each level to access the next texts. Anyone trying to unravel the enchantments to gain access sooner will destroy the contents.¡± Mor¡¯lmes gave an amused snort. ¡°Ensuring she can¡¯t hurt herself by delving into difficult texts too fast, and others can¡¯t get her to transcribe all the information and rip her off.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°That was my intent. If you get her a teacher you trust between you, I¡¯ll give them the same affinities. I said I¡¯d provide you with tools to help against the Eldritch, but I didn¡¯t say that¡¯s all I¡¯d be doing.¡± ¡°No one would believe me,¡± protested Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Please arrange a meeting time here in a few days with the person you think is best suited to taking Tulne as an apprentice. I¡¯ll assess if I¡¯m happy to teach them the same affinities,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Tell them you want to discuss a potential apprentice and reimbursement. I¡¯ll call tomorrow afternoon to get the time from you.¡± ¡°Why did you help her?¡± asked Wha¡¯sin. ¡°She¡¯s a frightened girl who¡¯s had her dreams shattered when one of her goals is to learn more to help others. Some might ask why I didn¡¯t do more, having done so much,¡± replied Amdirlain. Tapping the table, Wha¡¯sin smiled. ¡°You gave Mor¡¯lmes the tool to help even before you knew what she was like, didn¡¯t you?¡± Amdirlain returned the smile with a rueful shrug. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I wasn¡¯t expecting a campus student to be fifteen. Once I saw her, I wanted to do more.¡± Wha¡¯sin moved along in the booth, motioning Amdirlain to the seat beside her. ¡°Would you sit down?¡± ¡°Thank you, though I don¡¯t plan to keep you long,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Are you the peacemaker of the two of you?¡± As Amdirlain sat across from him, Mor¡¯lmes tensed, but Wha¡¯sin pressed her foot against his shin. The tension eased from Mor¡¯lmes, and Amdirlain caught it was a reassurance rather than reprimand being conveyed. ¡°I simply have a different approach and perspective to things,¡± replied Wha¡¯sin. ¡°It''s going to be hard to order you something if an illusion stops the server from hearing us.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m fine, thanks. Would you enlighten me on why you¡¯re calm?¡± Wha¡¯sin motioned between Amdirlain and Mor¡¯lmes with a relaxed wave. ¡°Given how easily you dealt with my mate, if you wanted us dead, we¡¯d already be dead. That means you¡¯re here to talk to us, not kill us. Isn¡¯t that the case?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Once I realised that, a Class ability I have let me set aside the distractions of your Charisma, whereas Mor¡¯lmes gets his hackles up when others try to dominate a room he¡¯s in,¡± explained Wha¡¯sin. ¡°Interesting, is that from a Power or a Skill?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Wha¡¯sin smiled mysteriously. ¡°His reaction is pure grumpiness, whereas for mine, how about a trade? How do you grant affinities?¡± ¡°I teach, not grant, through a combination of two powers and my experience with them,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I resist the effect of your Charisma through a Power common to the Custodian Class variations that many law keepers train,¡± explained Wha¡¯sin. ¡°Its name is Clear Focus. You can¡¯t keep the law if a high Charisma individual can get their crimes excused or convince you another is the perpetrator. Whatever provides people classes seems to understand changes in society.¡± I wonder if Gideon has named other classes after aspects? ¡°Advanced Telepathy and Harmony, the second is an evolution of Meditation,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The first from species evolutions, the second from a Class learnable by mortals. It¡¯s possible arcane forms of telepathy could substitute.¡± ¡°If a Mortal had that second Class, could they learn by themselves?¡± Wha¡¯sin asked. ¡°Yes,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°But we might speak of it another time; it''s a Class that takes lots of dedication and isn¡¯t as showy as Wizard. Have you had time to get someone to investigate the printing company, Mor¡¯lmes?¡± ¡°I asked an observer team to work on it. According to the business directory, they¡¯re a printing house specialising in custom printing, training manuals, and materials for educational courses?, that sort of work,¡± advised Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°You¡¯re sure these sigils work when printed, and someone didn¡¯t draw over the top of it?¡± ¡°Yes, it''s honestly a nightmare situation,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes''s mouth twisted into a sour expression. ¡°We¡¯ll get information on their customers and where they shipped the books. The cult must have them custom printed; the books you found, they¡¯re not listed for retail sale. We¡¯ve already checked the titles you gave me with a few major bookstores. They¡¯ve not heard of them.¡± ¡°Thanks for looking into it so promptly. During my clean-up of the Spellclash situation, I learnt I''m not able to help you as much as I¡¯d hoped,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she spotted a suspicious gleam in Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ gaze. ¡°Go ahead, say what you¡¯re thinking.¡± ¡°Going back on your word to resolve this mess?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°It¡¯s not my mess. However, I intend to stay and assist until it''s resolved. The problem is my approaching some cult locations will be problematic, especially the site beneath the campus. I¡¯m not breaking my word, and I¡¯ll provide tools for use now and in the future,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Do you need a reminder of what my not helping will cost?¡± ¡°You already told me the cost if we didn¡¯t contribute. You don¡¯t need to tell me about those strangers; people I know have already effectively vanished before my eyes,¡± responded Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°My mentors walk around like they¡¯re them, but they¡¯re not.¡± The possibility that they were also skinwalkers drew a sigh from Amdirlain. ¡°Your mentors might have been involved in the cult when you were studying on the campus. The cult seems to have a progressive membership path, stepping up through membership levels and councils, indoctrinating them as they go. How noticeable was the change in them?¡± ¡°A degenerative disease, isn¡¯t that what you compared it to? Well, it has a savage tipping point along its course. One day, they were still people I knew and respected, and then they weren¡¯t. They knew the answers to questions I asked in passing, but the way they speak isn¡¯t them,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Like someone or something else is wearing their skin?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not quite, but their answers about favourite topics lost their zeal. That¡¯s when I started to ask about matters debated in the past, and their attitudes were dismissive. More drained of interest, and sometimes there is a blackness in their gaze that doesn¡¯t belong,¡± acknowledged Mor¡¯lmes grimly, and his facial scars drew tight. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°What are their names?¡± When Mor¡¯lmes shared their names, Analysis advised her their problem was ¡®mere¡¯ corruption, though both were highly involved in the cult. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°They are part of the cult and have been for a while, given they¡¯re in the third council. When I purge the Eldritch corruption, I don¡¯t know if anything will remain of the people you know.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d do that, then at least they¡¯re not spreading this sickness to others,¡± offered Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I¡¯ll give you their home addresses.¡± ¡°That¡¯ll be handy, but I¡¯m not a local. An image suitable for a Greater Teleport would be preferable,¡± she countered. ¡°Would you cast a divination Spell to scry an area near their homes for me?¡± Mor¡¯lmes nodded and presented images of two apartment high rises. The filigree patterns on their exteriors looked like some she¡¯d seen decorating shops downtown. Within the pattern were the addresses and names of each building. After he gave their apartment details, Amdirlain nodded sympathetically. ¡°Appreciated. I¡¯m sorry for your loss. I¡¯ll let you get back to your afternoon. Oh, and since I can¡¯t help as much with the Eldritch, I¡¯ll do something about making your Gods¡¯ Grave easier to deal with. It at least follows the rules.¡± ¡°Wait! You can¡¯t just blow it up. They reform and send stretches of ghost caverns towards the surface in unexpected places,¡± announced Wha¡¯sin hurriedly. Shaking her head, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Blowing it up isn¡¯t on my list. It''s a dimensional construct created by a pantheon, inserted into the boundary between the Material and Astral planes. Even if I was strong enough, the place is both a menace to your people and a whetstone strengthening you and providing materials. Its destruction, without planning for a transition, would hamstring your industry.¡± ¡°Are you trying to credit them for that?¡± snapped Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°No, they left a curse behind to destroy those who¡¯d rejected them. You adapted to it and let it strengthen you. Your people gain levels and achievements, controlling the Gods'' Grave manifestations. Also, where would your industries be without the metals and magical materials from the caverns? Destroying it without planning for the repercussions would hurt many in the short and long term,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she vanished. Stepping around the corner of the base camp¡¯s entryway, Amdirlain found Livia by herself, working through a kata. ¡°Sorry I had to rush off,¡± said Amdirlain to announce herself. ¡°You missed dinner,¡± quipped Livia, only after she completed the kata. ¡°We ate early, young lady. What time do you call this?¡± ¡°Sun¡¯s still in the sky; I¡¯m being stuffed full of food by concerned individuals every time I turn around,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Not like I need it. Did Cyrus and Kadaklan head off?¡± ¡°Yep, Cyrus took Kadaklan home and then came back. I sent him to the Outlands so he didn¡¯t have to annoy the dragons tending the stairs,¡± advised Livia. ¡°Kadaklan said you had one trouble spot on your leg.¡± ¡°Yeah, and I found I can¡¯t go near certain Eldritch materials,¡± advised Amdirlain. Livia strode over and hugged Amdirlain. When she released her, Livia ran her fingers across Amdirlain¡¯s ears, patting them gently. ¡°So cute!¡± ¡°Really?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°What! None of the other Catfolk would let me squee at their cuteness and pat their ears,¡± protested Livia. ¡°You¡¯ll not deny your daughter the opportunity, will you?¡± Amdirlain groaned and growled, but Livia kept petting. ¡°Besides the Eldritch materials, how did things go today?¡± Livia asked after she finally stopped. ¡°I need to be careful of my figures of speech, but otherwise fine,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Such as?¡± questioned Livia. Amdirlain snorted, and her ears twitched as she shared a safe issue. ¡°They consider faith an unsuitable word for polite conversation. Hopefully, we have a couple of hours to talk, but I don¡¯t know how long before people show up at the apartment.¡± ¡°Oh? What was that guilty twitch about?¡± ¡°I had another less offensive but embarrassing run-in with the social implications of certain words.¡± ¡°I¡¯m ever more curious now,¡± announced Livia. ¡°Come, sit down and tell me what happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m never going to speak of it,¡± insisted Amdirlain. Livia pouted. ¡°Alright, fine. Still, sit down and tell me about your issue with Eldritch materials.¡± Amdirlain followed Livia and sat on a reclining couch opposite her. ¡°A picture¡¯s worth a thousand words. Getting close to them did this to the network in my legs.¡± The glowing illusion hung in the air between them, and Livia winced. Gritting her teeth, she fixed Amdirlain with a serious look. ¡°Let me guess, despite that, we¡¯re still staying?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯m going to handle things a bit differently. I¡¯ll handle everything at arm¡¯s length until my leg¡¯s net is recovered,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°Arm¡¯s length is as close as they need to be for you to punch and kick them,¡± critiqued Livia. Dramatically sighing, Amdirlain made her shoulders and ears droop. ¡°I¡¯ll resist temptation until my legs are better.¡± Livia gave a disapproving hum, but the sparkle in her gaze gave away her amusement. ¡°Make sure you cycle regularly while you¡¯re playing musician. I¡¯m so going to tell Moke you told people you were a Bard.¡± ¡°I¡¯m considering teaching some of them how to unlock their Ki,¡± announced Amdirlain quickly to change the subject. ¡°Don¡¯t you have enough to do between the Eldritch and mastering your Charisma?¡± ¡°There is that, but Ki can heal much better than the arcane spells I saw their healers using,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°I gave them a better Spell List, which should improve things as it''s distributed.¡± Livia raised a brow. ¡°And if they hoard it?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll give out a million copies and set crystals to give people the Affinity,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Moloch¡¯s PoV - Culerzic His human form grew to five metres tall, grinding the finger bones and rotting flesh underfoot into the marble floor. The target of his experiment started to beg but hadn¡¯t even finished a coherent sentence when his fist closed. Moloch released the Balor¡¯s heart and retracted his hand to examine the black blood coating it, but the pain within his flesh didn¡¯t bode well. It was as well he didn¡¯t get his hopes up as smoke erupted from the blood, and soon, a red feather with a golden core showed on the back of his hand. When the last of the smoke faded, every line of the feather was again visible, along with the runes along the core. Every delicate line etched his flesh with pain that seemed Celestial in origin but was not. [Songbird¡¯s Mark Details: The Titan¡¯s Songbird has left a mark on you. If they spend the energy, this mark will enable them to find you, regardless of concealments used by those who might steal you away. It''s a true blessing to have the eye of the realm¡¯s creator upon you eternally.] Unsupported, the body flopped onto a pile of hands, showing a blank feather burn mark, causing more rotting flesh and bone to spray across the floor. Moloch hissed in dissatisfaction. ¡°Any other ideas?¡± In the silence came the flipping of pages and memory crystals being thrown about before one of the knowledge demons squeaked in reply. ¡°We¡¯ll cross off blood from a Planar Locked Balor. Not yet, your mightiness. However, coating it in Balor''s blood to disrupt the blessing was a long shot. The research points towards needing one of the legendary triumvirate of dragons to get useful information. None of them is the type to be approachable by yourself. Unless you are on favourable terms with a Draconic deity that might contact their primal mother here in the Abyss.¡± ¡°There is an Abyssal Red I¡¯m on speaking terms with, though I don¡¯t know who she worships,¡± said Moloch, and he turned to issue an order to Bliss only to freeze. ¡°The word ''er?a,'' did you find out what it means?¡± A squeaking Gil?glp Demon stuck its ferret-like face above a book stack. ¡°It means ¡®one¡¯ your mightiness. It''s from the High Elven tongue, taught by the Anar and the L¨®m? to every elven species they created.¡± ¡°I know that! But why is it along the shaft and every fibre of the feather¡¯s web?¡± questioned Moloch. ¡°Well, it doesn¡¯t mean precisely one; its accenting implies ¡®one of¡¯ rather than ¡®one¡¯ alone,¡± announced another Gil?glp, but he didn¡¯t show himself from within the stacks. ¡°One of you said the L¨®m? are trapped in Tern¨°x. Have you found someone to bring one of them to me?¡± ¡°They¡¯re no longer trapped and potentially deceased. The caverns they lived in seem to have all exploded. Pressure waves rolled through tunnels for millions of kilometres. Their caverns all collapsed, buildings and vegetation splintered into dust. The devastation wiped out demonic towns and cities that were too close.¡± Clenching his marked hand, Moloch growled. ¡°When?!¡± The Gil?glp lowered himself so only the top of his eyes were above the book stack. ¡°Yesterday, your mightiness. We were examining some known locations from a distance when the explosion occurred. It even destroyed the focal point of the scrying spells. We¡¯re still gaining all the information and trying to determine the full extent of the devastation.¡± ¡°Knowledge isn¡¯t useful unless delivered promptly,¡± snarled Moloch, his Human features twisting in anger. ¡°None of us can return the dead to life; inaccurate information might be even worse.¡± Moloch''s expression calmed. ¡°I need advice on events immediately and to be informed if more time is required for a full report.¡± The Gil?glp catapulted into the cavern wall behind it, and the pressure held it there and squeezed it into a pulp. ¡°I hope the rest of you now know better?¡± They hurriedly provided a dozen affirmative squeaks. ¡°Now, find me a way to sever this mark from my flesh,¡± said Moloch; his sudden calm, conversational tone sent chills up the listeners'' spines. Stalking off, he went to find an assistant to arrange a tribute caravan already mentally composing a suitable letter. The Yang fires that formed the feather under his skin kept his regeneration at bay. 321 -Devious Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris Livia asked questions for an hour until Amdirlain received a warning about Jan¡¯era¡¯s return. ¡°Back to managing my disguise.¡± ¡°Enjoy,¡± drawled Livia, her concern clear. Amdirlain reappeared in the bedroom and deactivated the illusion before she changed into a clean blouse and loose pants. Sitting cross-legged on the bed, Amdirlain emptied some Ki into a crystal and started cycling. After days of practising under pressure, it was simple for Amdirlain to complete a few hundred loops before Jan¡¯era entered the building. When Jan¡¯era arrived at the apartment, she called out and followed Amdirlain''s response to the closed bedroom door. ¡°Afternoon; got a moment?¡± ¡°Come in,¡± replied Amdirlain, taking in the absence of tension in the red-furred female¡¯s form. ¡°I should apologise for misunderstanding your claim of Jal¡¯krin as your composer,¡± said Jan¡¯era as she leaned against the door frame. Amdirlain shook her head, her whiskers lifting at the remembered embarrassment. ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll remember to choose the words I use more carefully. If I say anything you find strange or inappropriate, can you do me a favour and clarify the situation?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll certainly be doing that,¡± confirmed Jan¡¯era. ¡°Law keepers said you could have someone look at the contract this afternoon or in three days. Otherwise, we can call around to other stations.¡± ¡°Is this how most people handle contracts?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Most people have the Class skills or can pay accredited advocates. The law keepers provide a common service for those without contacts or funds. If the contract review doesn¡¯t take too long, we can likely catch Jal¡¯krin¡¯s mum and sister at the dance studio. He mentioned you wanted to meet them, and they or someone they know might guide you to adjust your movements.¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Is it safer for you to introduce me?¡± ¡°Much safer. To forewarn you, while his parents are calm, Jul¡¯iane is presently unhappy with Jal¡¯krin. His playing keep-away has only made it worse, and she¡¯s likely to blow up the first time she sees him,¡± cautioned Jan¡¯era. Wincing, Amdirlain nodded in understanding, her ears drooping against her skull. ¡°So much for my idea of working with them.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see if they even feel they can help. If nothing else, you''ll get introduced on neutral ground.¡± Amdirlain gave a surprised snort. ¡°Really? If I were them, I wouldn¡¯t see a place I go to train regularly as neutral ground.¡± ¡°Non-pride ground is always neutral ground,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. ¡°Plus, you could be the conduit for them to ease back into talking with each other. If Jul¡¯iane catches any regret or distress in his scent, it might flatten the bristles between them.¡± ¡°When will they be there?¡± ¡°Jul¡¯iane¡¯s out of school in a couple of hours,¡± Jan¡¯era replied, and she motioned for Amdirlain to follow. ¡°Let¡¯s get going. While we¡¯re likely to be there early, if the appointment before yours finishes up quickly, perhaps we¡¯ll get in to see a contract reviewer early.¡± Though more extensive, the law keepers¡¯ station followed the same pattern as the town¡¯s to Amdirlain¡¯s senses. The entry was a reception area with groups waiting for the six blue-clad law keepers handling inquiries and paperwork. Beyond the wall behind them, Amdirlain¡¯s mind found a space that was an open area of desks with a fortified lift that led to secured cells below ground. Following Jan¡¯era¡¯s cue, Amdirlain stepped to the side and waited, but she remained the focus of many, even when they were at the counter. Noting the source of their continued distraction, one of the law keepers motioned Jan¡¯era and Amdirlain forward and got the reason for their visit. The male law keeper who came out to collect them for the contract review took them up a flight of stairs opposite the inner exit from the reception area. The path initially followed the building¡¯s outer wall before it doubled back to reach the next floor where a row of interview rooms ran above reception. Sitting them down in the first open room, he brought up some standard entertainment contracts and started through the clauses. After reading each clause, he asked Jan¡¯era about its financial impact or other third parties interested in the contract. As he checked through another clause and started the same questions, Jan¡¯era gave him a broad smile. ¡°Law keeper, I thank you for your concern and diligence. Have you heard of the recent memorial plaza event?¡± asked Jan¡¯era as her frustration at the number of questions grew. "The contract view is for Am''s benefit, not mine. Please ensure there isn''t anything that would disadvantage her." He took another look at Am, who smiled innocently, and got on with the processing. ¡°If you¡¯re happy with the review, sir, can we sign it now?¡± asked Amdirlain at the end. ¡°Why the rush? I thought you¡¯d have many offers to review,¡± asked the law keeper. ¡°As you pointed out, the terms are generous, and I like her and the rest of her pride that I¡¯ve met. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s fair to keep Jan¡¯era''s studio waiting overly long,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she tested the effect of turning her Charisma up slightly. His attention didn¡¯t waver, and Amdirlain heard the same Power at work that Wha¡¯sin had displayed during their meeting and nodded happily. Her apparent cheerful eagerness had the law keeper sitting back in his chair. ¡°We can provide witnesses if you want to sign it here. Has your advocate reviewed it?¡± ¡°He has and understands my reasoning,¡± acknowledged Jan¡¯era. The law keeper nodded and tapped the document on the table. ¡°Then I¡¯ll focus on advising Am about these commercial terms.¡± When they left the building, they had two signed contracts and a receipt from the law keepers for lodging a copy with the city¡¯s archives on Am¡¯s behalf. ¡°Make sure you call the archives in three days and confirm it has arrived,¡± Jan¡¯era said while walking along the street to the apartment. ¡°Yep, because it¡¯s our safety net,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era¡¯s tail swished momentarily, and she gave Amdirlain a relaxed smile. ¡°I won¡¯t lie. I didn¡¯t expect you to sign with us. Considering your talent, I thought a bigger studio would sweep you up before you even reviewed the contract with someone.¡± Giving her a mischievous smile, Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Thought they¡¯d blind me with flashing numbers?¡± ¡°Something like that,¡± agreed Jan¡¯era. ¡°The bigger studios can line up more locations in a performance chain than we can. They have the deep pockets to pay all the booking fees and performance insurance and not blink.¡± ¡°I figured that. The checklist you described made their lack of flexibility obvious, so I figured the repeat part would scale quickly,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It is standard negotiation¡ªmaximise discussion about your benefit and their problems while you also minimise mention of your problems and their benefits. Don¡¯t let the customer think about who they like better or if your downsides are a bigger problem to them.¡± ¡°Yes, well,¡± coughed Jan¡¯era. ¡°You also gave me a very generous offer, so I¡¯m not put out,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we go meet with Jal¡¯krin¡¯s sister?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± agreed Jan¡¯era. Most of the trip through the late afternoon traffic, their side of the road was lightly populated, allowing them to make good time. The variation in the vehicles continually surprised Amdirlain, and Jan¡¯era occasionally snickered when Amdirlain rubbernecked to check another vehicle they¡¯d passed. The shop fronts in the areas they moved through started to change from decorative signage to simple names stencilled about the door, and panels that displayed promotions sat on the sidewalk. Finally, Jan¡¯era pulled into a three-story parking structure in the middle of a group of shops and a building with a group of leaping Catfolk painted on the side. The painted building was the one Jan¡¯era led her to, and before they moved past the entryway, Amdirlain reviewed the themes of the dancers within. They ranged from young children to those in their later teenage years. The only non-dancers were all adults, a scattering of instructors, other staff, and some parents watching lessons. Following Jan¡¯era¡¯s lead, she headed along a corridor past doors on either side that opened into two halls catering to different age groups. At the top of a broad flight of stairs, Jan¡¯era entered a large dance hall that ran the length of the building. Along its length was padded matting that looked like a gymnastics routine floor. Only a few dancers clad in crop tops and pants that blended with their fur flowed through leaps and rolls. The grace and speed of their movements were eye-catching, even though the expressions of many seemed dissatisfied, with stops and starts as they practised sections. As Amdirlain slipped into the hall, Jan¡¯era nodded to a tortoiseshell-furred female at the far end, who was mid-way through enacting a vicious leap. Claws extended from her toes to rake the air, and she retracted them a moment before landing and using her momentum to transition into a fluid shoulder roll. The motion of her hands leading her rise let Amdirlain picture shadowy foes getting hamstrung. Amdirlain caught gestures that spoke to her of blocks and attacks among the flurry of other artistic motions. Each move tapped into an anger that thrummed through her muscles. ¡°Del¡¯krin¡¯s here, but she looks tense,¡± murmured Jan¡¯era. ¡°Her leg might be painful today, so keep that in mind if she growls about anything.¡± Moving quietly along the mat¡¯s edge, Jan¡¯era ignored the teachers and parents going quiet behind them. She finally sat beside an older brown-furred female who hadn¡¯t taken her gaze from Jul¡¯iane. Her only acknowledgement of their presence was an instinctive ear twitch at the sound of the pair sitting down. Amdirlain watched in silence. Though Amdirlain caught flaws in Jul¡¯iane¡¯s balance on some landings, she didn¡¯t stop moving aggressively. The final backflip would have cleared at least two metres and, as she landed, Jul¡¯iane lashed her claws out to either side, an expression of unfaked rage in place as she froze facing them. ¡°Cool down, have a drink and a break, and we¡¯ll go over individual sections; that quality won¡¯t get you a scholarship,¡± Del¡¯krin said, her tone clipped. ¡°You¡¯ve got the hand motions down, but you need to ensure you use the momentum from every leap, not choke it out.¡± Following her mother¡¯s instruction, Jul¡¯iane rose from the crouch, and a mask of calm slipped into place while she started some light stretches. ¡°Del¡¯krin, I¡¯m glad you are here today. Jul¡¯iane¡¯s moves have improved,¡± Jan¡¯era offered. Del¡¯krin nodded. ¡°She is good, but she needs to aim higher than good. Are you going to introduce the girl that smells faintly of Jal¡¯krin?¡± ¡°This is Am. She¡¯s been guesting with Jal¡¯krin, but I¡¯ve moved them both into the place I¡¯m using,¡± explained Jan¡¯era. ¡°We just registered Am¡¯s studio contract with the law keepers.¡± ¡°If you registered her contract, why is Jal¡¯krin also at your place?¡± interrogated Del¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯ve hired him to do freelancing composing for some of Am¡¯s initial songs,¡± explained Jan¡¯era, softening her voice to avoid it carrying in the hall. ¡°It was Am¡¯s idea so he could make amends.¡± Her words caused some of the tightness in Jul¡¯iane¡¯s shoulders to ease as she paced about, stretching out her arms and legs. ¡°Del¡¯krin, mother of Jal¡¯krin and Jul¡¯iane,¡± replied Del¡¯krin, her gaze now fixed on Amdirlain and her ears tilted forward. ¡°Am is a concise name.¡± Amdirlain smiled and chose a reason from among the theories in Jan¡¯era¡¯s thoughts. ¡°I left home before I earned a deed name.¡± Jul¡¯iane approached and took a water bottle from her mother, eyeing Amdirlain curiously. ¡°Your pride are nomads?¡± enquired Jul¡¯iane quietly, and her hesitation warned Amdirlain to project calm to further mitigate her Charisma. ¡°No, just not local,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Blackcliff pride is far to the south.¡± ¡°Odd pride to take their name from a landmark,¡± remarked Del¡¯krin. ¡°My pride is very odd indeed,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain, and she smiled at the strange mix in her life. A dragon, two immortals, immortals in training, ex-demons, former deities from the maze, angels, and one Anar. ¡°You were projecting your Charisma strongly just then. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll need to worry about my son taking advantage of you. From what I felt, it¡¯s more likely you¡¯d take advantage of him. Did you talk him into offering the couch?¡± questioned Del¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯ve been having issues with my Charisma of late,¡± confessed Amdirlain. ¡°Originally, Jal¡¯krin intended to advise me on entering various musical competitions. He thought my stage presence and voice would make me a sure thing; then Pal¡¯tran introduced me to Jan¡¯era.¡± ¡°After Am blew up the caster ratings with her performance at the Expedition 4329 memorial,¡± added Jan¡¯era. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Del¡¯krin looked at Jan¡¯era blankly and then clicked her fingers. ¡°I heard something about that. Then it got buried in all the commentary on the lakefront and the Spellclash manor being destroyed. Most folks on the base are more interested in sources of trouble than singers, no matter why they sing.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable. It sounded unimaginable from what the news readers on the audio receiver were saying,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I find it strange that most everyone seems so calm about it.¡± ¡°The undead lurk below us, and death is a conduit failure away,¡± Del¡¯krin replied casually. ¡°Yet whatever acted at the lake and the manor seems to take care to keep most involved parties alive. What brings you to see us today? I take it this isn¡¯t a social visit.¡± ¡°Jal¡¯krin suggested I speak to you and Jul¡¯iane. It came up in a discussion about choreography and movement coaching,¡° replied Amdirlain. ¡°Amdirlain could do with general movement advice,¡± Jan¡¯era said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure who to send her to speak to. The best ones I know are on contract, and she needs more advice than the others can provide.¡± Del¡¯krin, not having watched Amdirlain¡¯s approach, frowned. ¡°What¡¯s the issue?¡± ¡°Since Jul¡¯iane is having a break, Amdirlain, could you walk to the far wall of the hall and back again?¡± asked Jan¡¯era. ¡°Please?¡± Giving a clueless shrug, Amdirlain got up and carefully did what Jan¡¯era had requested, keeping out of everyone¡¯s thoughts. ¡°Moonless night,¡± hissed Del¡¯krin in a whisper to Jan¡¯era before Amdirlain was halfway across. ¡°How old is Am?¡± ¡°Sixteen,¡± reported Jan¡¯era. ¡°Find them and put a bolt between their eyes; no teenager should walk that way,¡± growled Del¡¯krin. Yeah, I needed to go with at least eighteen. I didn¡¯t think to check my cover story, but it wouldn¡¯t have mattered. My lack of control around the Catfolk ears and tail means I couldn¡¯t pass for an adult. When Amdirlain turned back to them, she saw Jul¡¯iane¡¯s gaze on her, memorising how she moved. Her mother tapped her shoulder and told her to tend to her stretching to avoid cooling down too much. When Amdirlain returned to a conversational distance, Del¡¯krin nodded thoughtfully. ¡°What movement Skill do you have, Am?¡± ¡°My record had a few, and then they combined into Agile,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I also had a Skill for dancing, but it also got absorbed with some others. I¡¯ve started to learn the plain Dance Skill separately.¡± ¡°Why are you looking to learn it separately?¡± ¡°My old Skill was good for dancing in a freestyle, improvisational fashion. I was glad to get it combined, but the new Skill gives me more trouble. I wanted a Skill to let me plan out particular dances and repeat them precisely, and I gained a plain Dance Skill,¡± answered Amdirlain, hunching her shoulders meekly. ¡°What was the original version of your Skill? What did it combine into?¡± asked Del¡¯krin, and she stared at Amdirlain¡¯s hunched shoulders and continued. ¡°I¡¯ll need to know if I¡¯m to give you useful advice.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a cross look already,¡± noted Amdirlain, glancing at Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Can I whisper just to you?¡± When Del¡¯krin nodded, Amdirlain moved close and whispered her original Skill name to her, and Del¡¯krin¡¯s fingers dug into the chair. I didn''t want Jul¡¯iane to hear that I had Erotic Dance. Sue me. ¡°How did you get that first Skill?¡± asked Del¡¯krin, practically chewing off her words. ¡°I was trying to distract a few people, and then no matter what I did, it kept improving,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Rounding out your skills as a performer can be important,¡± allowed Del¡¯krin, and she dropped the subject. ¡°Though at sixteen, how did you combine not one set of skills but two?¡± It touched on a cover story Amdirlain had already figured out and even contained part of the truth. Amdirlain looked glum. ¡°I wish I knew more about skills to know for sure; as it is, I¡¯ve got myself into a bind. I really need to get my Charisma and that Skill under better control.¡± Del¡¯krin¡¯s ears flicked. ¡°You¡¯ve got it under some control?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve got my Charisma furled in, and I tried to walk normally, but it''s still an issue.¡± As she was about to say more, two distinctive songs appeared nearby and started up the stairs towards the hall. Sarah¡¯s partial song was one thing, but Amdirlain would never have expected her to be accompanied by the fiery music of Kadaklan. Amdirlain caught at Sarah¡¯s outer thoughts and found a giggling chant of three blind mice playing there. ¡®What are you doing here?¡¯ projected Amdirlain. Sarah returned images of the expanded Sanctuary, Gaius busy teaching Artificer students, and speaking with Livia in the base camp. ¡®You¡¯re so busted, young lady. Livia also spoke with your healer, so we¡¯re both here to look out for you. We even dropped by that law keepers¡¯ office you told Livia about in the first town and got chits.¡¯ ¡®How did you disguise him?¡¯ ¡®I still had a few leftover plates for disguising celestials from imprint stones. They worked fine to bypass their chit gadget. We¡¯re not at risk of being summoned later, so we¡¯ll use our names. We trekked after our dear friend, fearing for her safety. Lucky Ka¡¯s healed you in the past and can track you perfectly.¡¯ Amdirlain had to keep her expression composed. ¡®You could have warned me,¡¯ protested Amdirlain. ¡®Why is he coming here?¡¯ Sarah¡¯s laughter rang through her mind. ¡®And you¡¯d have argued. We¡¯re here now, and there are so many toys to take apart! Kadaklan is here because Livia sent him an image of the damage you¡¯d done to your legs.¡¯ ¡°Why don¡¯t you relax your Charisma so I know what I¡¯m dealing with?¡± Del¡¯krin requested. Amdirlain glanced meaningfully at the others in the hall and winced. ¡°Can we do that in another room or somewhere else?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± allowed Del¡¯krin. ¡°What classes do you have?¡± ¡°Only Bard; the chit the law keepers made showed me as level five. That was before the memorial performance,¡± advised Amdirlain. Del¡¯krin coughed. ¡°You¡¯re a seducer?¡± The name had Amdirlain¡¯s tail fluffing up, and her ears jerked straight up. ¡°I¡¯m sure that¡¯s completely exaggerated. There was nothing about that in my Class vision; it was about travelling and performing for crowds.¡± ¡°She had over a hundred thousand people watching her sing and play the harp for a couple of hours,¡± offered Jan¡¯era. ¡°Not to mention the crowd gathered in the plaza and adjoining laneways before the casters arrived.¡± Jan¡¯era received a wary look from Del¡¯krin before she shook herself. ¡°It might be best to seek help from an adept.¡± ¡°An adept?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°It''s not a Class; they¡¯re assistants to companions, serving as intermediaries to avoid the issues their employer¡¯s high Charisma might cause. Though I understand it¡¯s more about avoiding possible accusations of undue influence than actual issues. I know two that used to be dancers; their career took another path after I stopped,¡± advised Del¡¯krin. Two red-furred Catfolk slipped into the dance hall. Sarah¡¯s fur was a solid red that matched the colour of her Dragon form, while Kadaklan¡¯s fur looked like someone had poured the dawn across his coat, with shades of red, orange, and bronze. They were both clad in sleeveless tunics of dark leather and pants with solid boots, and Amdirlain could hear that Sarah¡¯s psionic abilities had created their clothing. ¡°Oh, scat!¡± Amdirlain hissed, playing up her teenager role. Jan¡¯era looked between Amdirlain and the newcomers. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Two of my pride,¡± groaned Amdirlain, her tail coiling around her legs. Jan¡¯era echoed her reaction. ¡°They the type to drag you back?¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t do that,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Though being overly protective is another matter.¡± ¡°I want to speak to them about whoever taught you that Skill,¡± hissed Del¡¯krin. ¡°It was honestly self-inflicted, Del¡¯krin. A few of my pride tried to help me deal with it, and we made things worse,¡± said Amdirlain. They waited while the pair drifted down the hall, which took longer than expected as Kadaklan stopped and exchanged hellos with every parent. Sarah was rolling her eyes when they finally reached Amdirlain, and she made the introductions. Jan¡¯era looked the taller but youthful appearing pair over curiously. ¡°Is it a custom among your pride to let teenagers wander?¡± Amdirlain gave Sarah a quick mental heads-up as she responded. ¡°The area we¡¯re from is pretty hard; some grow up faster than others. We¡¯re both slightly older than our wandering miss and have earned our deed names,¡± responded Sarah calmly. ¡°I¡¯m a skilled Artificer and Fighter, while Kadaklan is a decent healer. Between us, we can travel safely, even going afoot.¡± Kadaklan huffed. ¡°I¡¯m a great healer, not merely decent.¡± ¡°He is. I¡¯ve got the working legs to prove it. They were both completely severed, and he regrew them; that¡¯s how good he is,¡± chirped Amdirlain, and she smiled excitedly. ¡°Kadaklan, how come you came with Sarah?¡± Kadaklan gave her a mischievous smile. ¡°You trying to wiggle out of trouble?¡± ¡°Kadaklan,¡± yelped Amdirlain. ¡°Do you two have an understanding?¡± Del¡¯krin asked suspiciously. ¡°No,¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± purred an amused Kadaklan. Amdirlain turned to Sarah and let out a huff. ¡°Did you have to bring him along? Kadaklan, we don¡¯t have an understanding.¡± ¡°Yes, we do. A simple one, you hurt your legs, I fixed them, and you left home without doing a follow-up to ensure there wouldn¡¯t be more issues,¡± grumbled Kadaklan dramatically, clasping his hand to his chest. ¡°I¡¯m not even a couple of years older than you, and you treat me as if you need to flee from an adult trying to ground you.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°He was worried you might require further treatment, and I was worried about your safety.¡± ¡°We¡¯re disturbing Jul¡¯iane¡¯s practice time,¡± interjected Amdirlain. Jul¡¯iane lifted her hands and tail defensively. ¡°No offence, but I shouldn¡¯t get involved in your pride trouble.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant. We¡¯re interrupting. Shouldn¡¯t we have our discussion another time?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll second that; we showed up unexpectedly, and we are taking up your time,¡± agreed Sarah before she fixed Amdirlain with a firm look. ¡°Haven¡¯t you got into enough trouble in dance halls?¡± ¡°Am says her original Dance Skill was self-inflicted?¡± questioned Del¡¯krin, leaning forward as she spoke. ¡°I get the impression there is much more to that story.¡± Sarah groaned. ¡°Oh, there is, but it''s also true. Am is pretty wild and frequently goes off plan with ¡®interesting¡¯ results.¡± ¡°I admit to being inspired by the moment?,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically. ¡°You have your plans, and I have mine. Where you like things by the numbers, I plan to be flexible, but they¡¯re both valid approaches.¡± Jan¡¯era coughed and looked at Del¡¯krin. ¡°That said, could we impose today? You¡¯ve got the background to point us in the right direction, and I¡¯ll need to get things moving with Am.¡± ¡°We have lots to discuss, ?and Sarah can reimburse you for the hall¡¯s fees since they butted in,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I can?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°They have a Mana grid, and you¡¯re a strong Artificer, so you can contribute more than enough Mana to compensate for the hire fee,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You could surely outdo a humble Bard like me, especially since you¡¯re being possessive by tracking me down.¡± Sarah stepped close and gave her a tail swat before hugging Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, have it your way, brat. However, I¡¯m not letting you out of my sight again if I can help it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a bully, sis,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I expected you to remain at Nolmar for years except for quick trips, not run off to explore the world long-term,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I needed to find someone to help with my Charisma and the other Skill,¡± objected Amdirlain. Sarah nodded begrudgingly. ¡°Fine, I can understand your needs. However, I¡¯d have appreciated being told in advance so I could offer relevant advice, not finding out from someone else after you left.¡± ¡°Sounds like you two at least need space to talk,¡± Del¡¯krin said. ¡°Let¡¯s take this gathering elsewhere so we don¡¯t disturb those practising, and Amdirlain can unfurl her Charisma.¡± ¡°Be careful what you ask for in that respect. It packs a punch,¡± cautioned Sarah. Jul¡¯iane moved about and gathered their bags for her mother and got a light swat on the arm when she went to help Del¡¯krin stand. ¡±You carry your things, I can manage,¡± grumbled Del¡¯krin. Kadaklan cocked his head curiously at the hesitation in Del¡¯krin¡¯s gait. ¡°Please don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but what options do they offer for pain management in this city? It¡¯s a matter of professional curiosity and all that.¡± ¡°The usual tonics, elixirs, rubs, and¡ªmum''s favourite¡ªgrinding the teeth,¡± Jul¡¯iane quipped. ¡°I¡¯m not interested in buying folk medicine from distant lands,¡± dismissed Del¡¯krin, and she strode towards the door. ¡°Grinding the teeth can dull them. If you¡¯re helping Am, I wouldn¡¯t be selling you medicine, but we¡¯ve also just met each other,¡± replied Kadaklan, and he gave her a charming smile. ¡°I¡¯ll walk beside you, if that¡¯s alright; in case you need a shoulder along the way, the option is there.¡± His only response was a grunt as Del¡¯krin kept walking. Sarah reached the reception desk first, where she spoke to a russet-furred female behind the counter. ¡°Do you run a credit arrangement for customers? I¡¯d like to prepay some hall fees.¡± ¡°We can take prepayments,¡± acknowledged the female. ¡°Mana or coin.¡± ¡°Mana,¡± advised Sarah, and the receptionist directed her towards the silver plate on the counter. Shortly after Sarah touched her hand to it, the building lights perked higher, the female¡¯s whiskers shot up, and her ears twitched wildly. ¡°That¡¯s far more than we should accept.¡± Amdirlain monitored the stress in the grid while Sarah¡¯s Mana rushed in, but she soon stopped, either realising the same or just hadn¡¯t wanted to push her luck. Sarah jerked a thumb towards Del¡¯krin. ¡°Put it all against Del¡¯krin¡¯s account or whatever you do to determine hiring days.¡± ¡°But that¡¯s worth months of the full hall,¡± objected the receptionist. ¡°It was only a few thousand Mana,¡± rebuffed Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s between Del¡¯krin and the hall now.¡± The female took a wide-eyed look at her screen. ¡°That was far more than a few.¡± ¡°A few to me,¡± rejoined Sarah, and she smiled at the stunned Del¡¯krin standing nearby. ¡°Del¡¯krin, why don¡¯t you chat with this lady and discuss how you want to handle it? Whether you use it solely for Jul¡¯iane or share it with others in your pride is your business.¡± ¡°My bigshot sister,¡± teased Amdirlain. Moving off to one side, Sarah huffed at Amdirlain. ¡°Any reason you didn¡¯t contact me about important events?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± surrendered Amdirlain. Sarah wrapped an arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. ¡°Please learn to accept more help.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like I have much choice.¡± ¡°You have a choice, but I have choices as well,¡± Sarah countered, giving her a sharp nod before stroking Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡®You¡¯ll keep buster,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s gaze firmed again. ¡®How will I know if you¡¯re in need when you don¡¯t contact me? Your legs got cut off¡ªconceptually severed, not just amputated¡ªand not a peep before, during, or after getting them healed!¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll try to do better when there is a problem.¡¯ The mental contact with Sarah became laced with steel intent that didn¡¯t soften with Amdirlain¡¯s reassurance. ¡®You didn¡¯t tell me about Torm¡¯s fate or hunting Eldritch. I could have given you advice about the Eldritch. While I was Ori¡¯s secret keeper and won¡¯t spill some things early, if you¡¯ve started to mess with them, I can tell you what I know. Like ways they use to contain corrupted materials in other worlds.¡¯ A flurry of images raced across the surface of Sarah¡¯s mind of buildings distorted in space and time that looked like a cluster of fallen rocks and organic doorways. ¡®I wanted you to have time to sort out things with Gaius, not come chasing after me again.¡¯ objected Amdirlain. The fierceness in her mental voice received a reassuring warmth from Sarah. ¡®I¡¯ve plenty of comforting memories of mates, some for a century or two and others for life spans, but I only have one oath sister, and I want to always be there for you. Livia told me enough that I understand why you came to help, but we can provide backup. How did that one tag you?¡¯ ¡®The bitch was fast. I connected to the back of her head, clean ambush, and my kick hadn¡¯t even finished properly when she blasted me.¡¯ An image of a rat trap with rodents covered with tendrils contained inside came from Sarah. ¡®You build traps for these things, baited with things of interest, not yourself. Ori didn¡¯t hunt them down. She lured them from their contaminated lairs and obliterated those afterwards.¡¯ ¡®What would they be interested in?¡¯ Amdirlain sent an image of a kindergarten with a sign Cthulhu¡¯s daycare and a squid-faced monster herding little squids inside for storytime. In response, visions of grimoires and shining armouries of magical items came from Sarah¡¯s mind. ¡®Power calls to power in all forms. The realm¡¯s rules do not bind them, but they or their minions can still use things within the rules here.¡¯ Amdirlain shared some quick concepts for baited traps, including modifications to her practice tower. ¡®You¡¯ll need to refine those more. Once the active entities are all trapped, you¡¯ve more time to find the sigils without them being spread. Or leave that to the private investigation squad that you¡¯ve found.¡¯ The exchange hadn¡¯t even taken a second, and Sarah softly leant to press her forehead against Am¡¯s. ¡°Going to work with me, short stuff? Or should I head off?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try. Be careful of the Mana contributions. It goes through their grid, which powers wards to keep people safe,¡± recommended Amdirlain aloud, with the mental conversation having closed off. ¡°I was well within material tolerances. I can feel how their artificers monitor things; very interesting,¡± hummed Sarah. ¡°At least two Mana generators feed energy into the grid from the current flow.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°People accumulate Mana from the environment.¡± ¡°People aren¡¯t the principal contributor to this grid, sweetie,¡± insisted Sarah. ¡°The Whiteshield family developed the stones and the Mana grid,¡± offered Jan¡¯era. ¡°It¡¯s all knowledge under their family¡¯s patron rights. If your pride wants to know how it works, that¡¯s who you¡¯ll need to negotiate with. They¡¯ve sold the usage rights to other places that have grown into cities.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want the answer from them. It¡¯s far more fun to work it out myself,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°Or devise ten ways to do it first and see which is more efficient. The alignment of minerals they used to pass Mana through the stones and cables is interesting; I¡¯ll give them that.¡± ¡°Jan¡¯era¡¯s vanity ride only fits two. Sarah and Kadaklan, why don¡¯t you travel with us?¡± offered Del¡¯krin as she stepped away from the counter. 322 - Strong for someone else Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris When Jan¡¯era let Amdirlain into her car, she didn¡¯t immediately ignite the core and instead sat in the driver¡¯s seat, looking at Amdirlain. ¡°How powerful is your ¡®sister¡¯?¡± ¡°Why do you say sister that way?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°From the colouration and scent of the two of you, it¡¯s obvious you¡¯re not remotely related,¡± replied Jan¡¯era. ¡°We¡¯re related by oath. My parents aren¡¯t around,¡± replied Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era paused and gave a sharp nod. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I won¡¯t pry further, but what she did for Del¡¯krin was incredibly generous, even if you prompted her to contribute.¡± ¡°Sarah can be stern, but she¡¯s also not stingy. It¡¯s not like the Mana is doing anyone good just being held by her,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s not how many of the strong view it. What they can gather gets husbanded for the benefit of their pride,¡± responded Jan¡¯era, and she got the vehicle started. Del¡¯krin¡¯s place was an apartment in a low-rise building a few minutes from the dance hall. Despite the short drive, as they headed inside, Amdirlain caught Del¡¯krin providing Kadaklan details about the operations and therapy her injury had required. The building¡¯s internal layout resembled the apartment building where Jal¡¯krin had his one-bedroom place. The family had a multi-room apartment off the side corridor of the building¡¯s internal junction. A low partition broke up the main room into a lounge with a dining area at the left end, closest to the kitchen. Through an arch on the lounge¡¯s far side was a corridor that linked assorted rooms along its curve. The lounge space had four leather backless couches, for sprawling as much as sitting, and a metal panel display smaller than the one at Jan¡¯era¡¯s place. ¡°Make yourself comfortable anywhere,¡± instructed Del¡¯krin, gesturing to the couches as she led the way inside. ¡°No windows at all,¡± murmured Kadaklan. Sarah shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re harder to ward; the stone smells like an alchemist created it. The inner layer is reactive to even the faintest Mana flow. Does it change colour at all?¡± ¡°I know it goes yellow if the wards get compromised,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The walls change to other hues for different emergencies. I¡¯ll take you over those and the response protocols at the apartment,¡± Jan¡¯era stated. Kadaklan looked at the silver panel by the door and poked it with a finger. ¡°Does this accept Mana as well?¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a way to offset bills?. Also, if the grid has an outage, a resident with Mana can still put Mana into the local grid to shore up the wards,¡± explained Del¡¯krin. ¡°This is interesting. I think I will learn many new things,¡± chirped Kadaklan. ¡°This is all to handle the local ghosts, yes?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Del¡¯krin. ¡°Would you like a drink, or something?¡± ¡°Only if it¡¯s no trouble,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°I appreciate you putting up with my questions about your injury. I¡¯ll have to look into the therapy you undertook to regain motion.¡± Del¡¯krin waved them towards the couches. ¡°All of you, please sit down. It¡¯s not any trouble.¡± Sarah took Amdirlain¡¯s hand and dragged her along, only relaxing when she¡¯d settled on the couch beside her. ¡°Bully,¡± muttered Amdirlain playfully. The others distributed themselves among the couches, and Del¡¯krin got Jul¡¯iane to distribute drinks to everyone before sending her to wash up. ¡°You mentioned possessing Prestige classes on the way over. How are you a powerful healer, so young?¡± asked Del¡¯krin. Kadaklan¡¯s gaze darkened momentarily, and he gave a lop-sided shrug. ¡°Lack of choice. Life is tough in the South. Where I was born, there isn¡¯t time to wait. You grab life and run hard or die. I had the knack and interest in healing and alchemy, so I learnt.¡± ¡°With your strength, surely you two can¡¯t spend long from your pride then,¡± Jan¡¯era observed. ¡°There are other healers, so we¡¯ll see. If they need me urgently, they know how to contact me. Just the same as we got here, I can return quickly,¡± countered Kadaklan. ¡°Am is my sister, and if she has a need, I¡¯ll be there,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to cause a bother,¡± apologised Amdirlain. Sarah gently pressed a finger to her nose. ¡°Share information and plans, thank you. Don¡¯t leave messages with others.¡± ¡°Sarah, do you need time to chew on Am¡¯s ears?¡± enquired Kadaklan, setting his drink carefully on the lounge room table. ¡°Do the stairs lead up to an accessible roof?¡± questioned Sarah before she fixed Amdirlain with a dire look. ¡°I might need to throw her off a few times to let light into her skull.¡± Del¡¯krin smiled. ¡°Yes, they do, but try not to have her yell too much. Who knows what the neighbours might say?¡± Sarah¡¯s tail rose and looped lightly around Am¡¯s neck. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll make sure she doesn¡¯t scream.¡± ¡°Eek!¡± squeaked Amdirlain, and she pretended to struggle to free herself from Sarah¡¯s tail. ¡°Just as long as she can still sing afterwards,¡± muttered Jan¡¯era, her lips curling upwards as she watched the byplay between them. ¡°I am in so much trouble,¡± lisped Amdirlain, and she set the cold drink Jul¡¯iane had given her on the table as they left. ¡°Trying to be cute isn¡¯t helping,¡± declared Sarah firmly. Amdirlain pouted at Sarah with a pleading, innocent expression, and crocodile tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. ¡°Only trying?¡± ¡°Talk to the hand,¡± retorted Sarah, and she grabbed the end of Amdirlain¡¯s muzzle and waggled her head back and forth gently. ¡°Don¡¯t you love me anymore?¡± whimpered Amdirlain. Sarah snorted. ¡°Should we see if you can sing underground? I¡¯m sure I can find a shovel.¡± Lifting her hands in surrender, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll be good.¡± Waving Amdirlain out of the apartment, Sarah followed her to the rooftop and looked over the scattered chairs and some battered tables that had seen better days. ¡®You doing the illusion?¡¯ asked Sarah mentally. ¡°Already got it spun,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Why are we up here?¡± ¡°Were you staying out of Kadaklan¡¯s thoughts?¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°If I was prying like you are, would I need to ask?¡± ¡°We¡¯re buying time for Kadaklan to finish talking to Del¡¯krin about her injury. It seems, like you, he can¡¯t just leave someone in pain. He was handling it delicately on the way here but didn¡¯t have enough time,¡± explained Sarah, and she huffed and stepped close to scratch Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡°Your tufted ears are so cute.¡± With a yelp, Amdirlain gently swatted her hands away. ¡°Don¡¯t do that.¡± ¡°Maybe at some point we can get you to turn into a Dragon hatchling,¡± proposed Sarah and stroked under Amdirlain¡¯s chin. ¡°Or a Dwarf.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to play mummy Dragon with me,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, ignoring the reference to Ebusuku¡¯s bet. ¡°No, because I¡¯m not at adult growth yet. Though I could carry you around if you are small enough; you could pretend you¡¯re a dragon doll,¡± advised Sarah. Amdirlain crossed her arms and gave her a sad head shake. ¡°Did Livia fill you in on all the Eldritch fun?¡± ¡°All the details you told her. She let me vacuum them out of her mind. You don¡¯t have to fight the Eldritch yourself,¡± insisted Sarah. ¡°Have you considered ritual magic teams?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want them turning those on me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t want to prompt thoughts in that direction.¡± ¡°Who says they don¡¯t already have them? Ensure they have nothing to trace back to you and never meet them at an agreed location and time,¡± instructed Sarah. ¡°Are the Eldritch inhabiting people or latching onto them?¡± ¡°Both, but some had manifested independently,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Tell me more, and I¡¯ll see what I can suggest,¡± Sarah said, beckoning Amdirlain to spill. Amdirlain mentally projected events but obscured the details of the entities and sigils she¡¯d seen. ¡°Clues left in old temple ruins might be more trouble. That Arch-Wizard fellow might have gone to the easiest location,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°If Mor¡¯lmes can find any expedition maps, I¡¯ll investigate while my legs heal,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You know you¡¯re a bad influence. I hadn¡¯t intended to indulge my curiosity about their old ruins until after I¡¯d gotten the Eldritch and my Charisma contained.¡± ¡°Yes, because you¡¯re an equally unknowable horror,¡± laughed Sarah, and she danced away from Amdirlain¡¯s half-hearted attempt to tail swat. ¡°Wait until I¡¯m back in Dragon form; you¡¯ll get yours.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not scared of you. While your arse is big, it still needs to grow,¡± teased Amdirlain. Showing her teeth, Sarah grumbled. ¡°Are you saying my arse looks big with scales?¡± ¡°The scales never lie,¡± chirped Amdirlain. ¡°Once you¡¯re looming over a house, toboggans are involved.¡± ¡°Bitch,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s the last time I let you ride this Dragon.¡± ¡°Oh baby,¡± snickered Amdirlain. Stepping closer to Amdirlain, Sarah proceeded to scritch her ears. ¡°Careful, or I¡¯ll pick Phoenix and burn your butt,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she tried to wiggle free from Sarah¡¯s hands. ¡°Whatever that means,¡± hummed Sarah as she kept scratching the wiggling Amdirlain. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Amdirlain finally wiggled free and snorted. ¡°Just because shapeshifting isn¡¯t safe for me doesn¡¯t mean you can just do that, Sarah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so fuzzy. I want to use you for a fluffy body pillow,¡± gushed Sarah. ¡°Hello? You are also in a Catfolk form. I¡¯m not laying down anywhere close to you,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair. There were so many times you tickled or cuddled me in baby Dragon form, I deserve compensation,¡± objected Sarah. Poking out her tongue, Amdirlain huffed. ¡°I don¡¯t remember all those times, so you can¡¯t claim repayment on them.¡± ¡°Did your enduring spiritual vivisection and hammering for over two days help anything besides getting your legs back?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°No transcending pain and sprouting memories?¡± ¡°Not so much sprouting memories, but it¡¯s what I meant when I referred to picking Phoenix earlier. The process advanced Protean a lot, along with other skills. Protean ticked into Grand Master and got me three evolution options.¡± explained Amdirlain, and she shared the details. Sarah released Amdirlain and clicked her nails thoughtfully. ¡°Interesting. Going to share your thoughts on the powers you got offered?¡± Folding her arms, Amdirlain shot her a sullen look. ¡°Now you¡¯re taking advantage of my theory crafting.¡± ¡°Too right,¡± nodded Sarah, and she motioned for Amdirlain to continue. ¡°Fine. Since Primordial Malleability is an evolution of Protean alone, if I¡¯m going to take it, I¡¯m sure it would need to be second. Otherwise, getting Protean again for Phoenix¡¯s Immolation might be impossible,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe. I guess the question is, with a massively high regeneration and combat aura, would you need to use Protean in the same way?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°All the form shifting is useful for fighting,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°You just discovered the danger of being close to the Eldritch when fighting them. Maybe take the aura option and use weapons? Having an aura of Primordial energy and Ki State might help prevent Eldritch power from latching on. That aside, what else you got?¡± ¡°The mind protection effect of Immortal¡¯s Endurance is tempting,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°However, there is also the fact that just because I got offered these three doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t another option I¡¯m currently short on obtaining.¡± ¡°If you push Protean too much higher, it might evolve to Primordial Malleability on its own,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Mental Hardening ranked up, but Pain Eater and Angelic Aura are nowhere close, and those might not even be what I need to improve.¡± Sarah pulled a face, and her ears flicked about briefly. ¡°One thing I¡¯ll volunteer is that I¡¯m sure Ori had something like Immortal¡¯s Endurance. Though maybe it was a higher version. I¡¯d seen her fighting Eldritch that could warp aspects, and her body didn¡¯t even develop a haze.¡± ¡°Okay, that¡¯s interesting,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I might have to see if I can retrieve any details while meditating. I¡¯m holding off on choices of Power for a bit.¡± ¡°That Power discussion is interesting, but I¡¯d like to know when you became a bottom?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°What?!¡± yowled Amdirlain. Sarah beamed. ¡°Do you have a safe word picked out? Normally I avoided taking friends as clients, but I could help you with little roleplay sessions. Have you been a naughty kitten?¡± Amdirlain growled. ¡°Sarah! Please, don¡¯t go there.¡± ¡°What did you do to get Pain Eater, young lady?¡± asked Sarah, and she stepped in and grabbed Amdirlain by the back of the neck. Instead of scritching Amdirlain again, Sarah¡¯s strong fingers started massaging the muscles along the sides of her neck. ¡°Spill buster.¡± ¡°It was an evolution of Pain Tolerance. Anything else you would like to know?¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I was theory crafting the current powers, not going into my old skills.¡± Nodding slowly, Sarah¡¯s smile didn¡¯t fade, and she pressed the side of her muzzle against Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°What, don¡¯t you want my insights into options? How high had you gotten Pain Tolerance before this evolution, and how?¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to insist on dragging out all the details?¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Not all, but are you sure you don¡¯t want me helping you level Pain Eater? I certainly wouldn¡¯t say no to spanking you for the worry you caused,¡± purred Sarah as she oozed a silken satisfaction. ¡°How about buttercup for a safe word? Just rolls right off the tongue and goes with your silliness of enduring stuff instead of asking for help.¡± ¡°Could you give me the massage without the lecture?¡± rumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Feels good.¡± Sarah stopped immediately and tweaked Amdirlain¡¯s ear. ¡°Well, now I have a carrot. Tell me more, or I might have to find the stick. Though potentially, tell me more and I will find the stick.¡± When Amdirlain huffed, Sarah¡¯s smile transformed into a hard gaze. ¡°I¡¯m serious. What the hell were you doing to yourself? What Analysis says about that Skill makes me worry about you. Just to jog your perfect memory, I quote: Only those who have deliberately sought and endured pain in various forms come to possess this Skill. I was the Kyton, and I never gained Pain Eater. I think my question about being a bottom is valid.¡± ¡°Unfair, Kyton¡¯s don¡¯t feel the pain; they just feel pleasure,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°When did you get Pain Eater?¡± Amdirlain smiled sheepishly, remembering the fun of the maze. ¡°When I was battling the constructs in the Maze.¡± ¡°We spent years lying low together, and you didn¡¯t mention this. I find it an interesting secret to be keeping. Now I know battle gets your freak on; I see how it goes,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m not enough for you.¡± ¡°Are you trolling me?¡± huffed Amdirlain as she rolled her eyes in frustration, her ears twitching erratically. ¡°Only a little, sweetie,¡± said Sarah, and she stepped close to Amdirlain and tilted her head to rest against Sarah¡¯s chest while she rubbed the back of her neck. ¡°I remember lifetimes of us together, and you remember snippets of Ori¡¯s life but no one else, which is such a strange reversal since you always knew me as Ori. You made me, asked nothing from me, and protected not only me, but my children. There are so many lifetimes that I so adored and loved you, but you were the unapproachable eternal mother figure or the big sister who knew best. All those memories are mine, and you can¡¯t know exactly how odd this is, to be the one who knows but shouldn¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t you say?¡± Sarah tenderly stroked Amdirlain¡¯s ears and down along her head before she resumed massaging her neck. ¡°Because I want my friend Julia, who has grown into the beautiful Amdirlain, to remain. A swan turned into a different, stronger swan.¡± ¡°Who else should I be remembering that you mention other lifetimes?¡± enquired Amdirlain, catching at Sarah¡¯s earlier comment and steering away from others. ¡°That¡¯s not important right now, but I also remember the lives in between. It¡¯s a little odd you don¡¯t recall anything but instants from them. Maybe they drowned in Ori¡¯s memory, an opportunity lost when they were individual faces in the lake.¡± Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ¡°The Soul memories said that Ori is just part of the whole now.¡± ¡°I believe, from my perspective, Ori wanted it to end. Won¡¯t the primary contributor of your gestalt influence what it tells you? What would happen if you got back that many memories, dreams, hopes, and griefs too quickly? Feeling what she felt and knowing what she knew, how would that not drown you?¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Maybe you wouldn¡¯t be Ori, but would you be Amdirlain still?¡± Licking her lips, Amdirlain let out a slow breath and set it aside. ¡°Do your memories have details you¡¯d offered about the conflict with the Eldritch?¡± Sarah opened her mouth to object to the subject change but stopped and, with a sad smile, nodded. Massaging Amdirlain¡¯s neck gently one last time, Sarah stepped back so they could look each other in the eye. ¡°From my memories, I know several cultures have successfully imprisoned Eldritch beings. Though each building¡¯s construction followed their deities¡¯ instructions, some used arcane rites, not divine intervention,¡± replied Sarah, a note of hesitation in her voice. ¡°What¡¯s the but?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. Her lips curled into a pained smile, and Sarah coughed. ¡°It was knowledge gained from the species that followed them, since no one discovered what became of the builders. In becoming able to stop the Eldritch, they also seem to have vanished.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather the current civilisation not be contenders for one of the great mysteries of the realm,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°I am glad you came along, but I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve distracted you from Gaius.¡± Sarah smiled in response and hugged her. They¡¯d been holding each other for a bit when Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Kadaklan¡¯s tending to Del¡¯krin¡¯s leg.¡± ¡°The energetic lad¡¯s got a married lady out of her pants,¡± agreed Sarah, and her gaze gleamed in amusement. ¡°He¡¯s as bad as a Bard.¡± ¡°Did you pick up information on where her mate is?¡± asked Amdirlain, ignoring Sarah¡¯s teasing. ¡°He could barge in with a projector drawn.¡± ¡°He¡¯s full-time in the military, currently in a deep cavern expedition. Del¡¯krin doesn¡¯t expect him back for a few months,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Let me guess, it pays well?¡± Sarah nodded and rested her chin back atop Amdirlain¡¯s head. ¡°Hazard pay.¡± ¡°Did you both pick forms taller than me at Livia¡¯s prompting?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°How could you think such a thing? Neither of us wanted to be a squirt, that¡¯s all,¡± rebuffed Sarah lightly. ¡°What else do you plan to do besides Charisma training while waiting for your legs to recover?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Investigate the issues with the Gods¡¯ Grave and make some changes.¡± ¡°You say ''investigate'', and I hear, ¡®I¡¯m planning changes¡¯,¡± noted Sarah. Smiling sheepishly, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°There may indeed be some of that occurring in the future.¡± ¡°If you shift a Gods¡¯ Grave around, will it impact the others?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Not going to shift it around or alter its general behaviour, more fine-tune and streamline it. Imposing a framework around its manifestation and how they access it could reduce casualties,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°However, I¡¯m going to get more information first. Currently, it seems like they¡¯ve got two issues.¡± ¡°Besides caverns that vomit out undead around their cities?¡± asked Sarah dryly. ¡°Yes, besides that one. First, there aren¡¯t enough local critters to level outside the ghost caverns. Second, the caverns randomly open and close pathways to where the spawning abominations form,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I can see how that second would make planning hard if your path of advancement and retreat is always changing,¡± allowed Sarah. ¡°Mana getting consumed isn¡¯t something you can just correct.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the shifts in Mana flows, not the lack of Mana, causing issues,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Wanting to put a framework in place so it always uses the Mana the same way; we¡¯ll make an Artificer of you yet,¡± snickered Sarah. Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Spell formations do it the same way.¡± Sarah shooed her off with playful little finger flicks. ¡°Spells are temporary constructs; since you¡¯re talking about a permanent construction, it¡¯s in Artificer-land, sweetie. But importantly, how do you know your changes won¡¯t screw it up?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I¡¯m not trying to change what the curse is doing. I¡¯m going to streamline its energy flows so the ghost caverns stop shifting about,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Part of the problem is it gathers the energy inefficiently. I¡¯ll streamline and throttle the energy feeding into it and use the excess to maintain training areas to strengthen their defenders. Since I¡¯ll be here for a while, I¡¯ll have time to monitor it.¡± ¡°You¡¯re planning to build a dungeon like one from your computer games or novels?¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°Yes. But with the curse, it won¡¯t be safe like Xaos¡¯ tower.¡± ¡°The biggest rewards come from the greatest challenges. I¡¯d avoid a complete safety net in your training areas as well. You¡¯d end up with people dying or getting others killed when the stakes get real because of bad habits,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°Even the regenerative fields?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. ¡°Put them in the entrances, ?but make them work to get back to them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to design the levels differently then, to keep the degrees of separation the plinth looks for,¡± complained Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not forcing them to go into the room. Make it clear there is a risk involved; then it¡¯s not you attacking them with whatever critter you put in place. Their choice to take the risk is another degree of separation.¡± ¡°Live fire exercises,¡± murmured Amdirlain, shaking off the thought, she projected details of the stacked caverns stretching out across each other. ¡°I was thinking of making safe zones as well. Maybe around where they do the mining and gathering operations.¡± ¡°How deep are you planning to make these things?¡± grunted Sarah. ¡°This isn¡¯t me adjusting things,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°The ghost caverns already go deep. If the passages are open, reaching the deepest caverns can take weeks or months. From what I can tell, between all the graves, they likely pull tonnes of materials out of them every month; if not for the resources and materials spent inside, they¡¯d be having issues.¡± ¡°Have you figured out how they did it?¡± ¡°To some extent, the gods that constructed the curse didn¡¯t come into the Material Plane. Its focus is on the edge of the Astral Plane, anchored to extend a conduit where their enemy¡¯s souls transition across the planar threshold, feeding off their transition. The more people that have died in a region, the stronger and larger the conduit becomes,¡± explained Amdirlain. Sarah hissed and clicked her tongue. ¡°Wizards like to stay put and study. Civilisations need stability for advancements to occur,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°They tried to sucker punch them right where it would hurt. Anything anchoring it from this side?¡± ¡°Sympathetic magic to the bloodlines of those enemies, from what I can tell, though I don¡¯t know if an enchanted object or relic is helping with that aspect,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°The noise of the curse is pretty loud.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t handle opposing divine might just yet?¡± quipped Sarah. Amdirlain gave an exaggerated sigh. ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°How about a division of labour?¡± proposed Sarah, her smile unfaded. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± Sarah held out a hand. ¡°You can provide a gadget to isolate and wipe the infested memories, and I¡¯ll kill the Eldritch Manipulators. That will free your time for Charisma training, music, the graves, and planning for stronger Eldritch.¡± Crossing her arms, Amdirlain grinned. ¡°I think you can do better than just that. I know you were a Wizard in other lives. Do you remember any Spell lists that would help?¡± ¡°I can prepare the grimoires,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°But you learn them first before handing them over. Some aspects might endanger you since, technically, you¡¯re not from this realm originally.¡± ¡°Speaking of endangering me: what did Kadaklan tell you about his ability to track me?¡± ¡°I wondered when you¡¯d ask. It''s not as bad as it sounds. He can track you because of the amount of Ki you¡¯ve got contained. An impossible life hot-spot that was only useful because we knew the world and city you were in,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°He mentioned he had a way to get in touch with me. I worried it had allowed him to do more,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Still, if I¡¯ve missed that aspect, I¡¯ll need to improve my concealments.¡± Sensing Jul¡¯iane exit the apartment, Amdirlain tilted her head towards the stairs and let the illusion drop. While Jul¡¯iane was climbing the stairs, Amdirlain implanted songs into a crystal block to handle the purge of corrupted memories and de-aging, and then she set it for Sarah¡¯s use. After handing it over with instructions, Amdirlain sat down on one of the battered chairs. It vanished from Sarah¡¯s hand, and she smiled. ¡°So they want to get you to meet a companion. That sounds saucy.¡± ¡°No idea what Class is involved, but it makes me wonder if they gain experience from entertaining higher-levelled people,¡± Amdirlain responded. ¡°Some classes like that are more confidantes and psychologists, not sexual, but others are more rock-you-all-night-long types. Want to bet which their companions are?¡± ¡°Not with how my luck has been with skills,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Jul¡¯iane appeared at the entrance to the stairs and waved. ¡°Hi. Mum asked if you could wait longer as Kadaklan offered to examine her leg. She also said she¡¯d heard enough to warrant sending off a note to her friends. Hopefully, she¡¯ll hear from them or their employers soon.¡± ¡°Thanks for letting us know,¡± said Amdirlain, and she waved Jul¡¯iane over. ¡°Care to join us?¡± ¡°As long as I¡¯m not intruding,¡± replied Jul¡¯iane. ¡°The way you walked across the hall was a boneless glide. Do you think that¡¯s whatever skills you and Mum were referring to?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what factors contribute the most,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Your moves were incredibly athletic and aggressive. Do you have combat skills you draw on to contribute to that dancing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. That was just a classical Dance routine,¡± replied Jul¡¯iane. ¡°I know enough hand-to-hand fighting that you would have seriously hurt foes if those moves landed. Some were too showy to be practical in a fight except to finish an incapacitated opponent, but others were direct attacks or blocks,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she mentally nudged Sarah. ¡°Like a training kata?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°A difficult and dramatic kata,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Can you show me some moves?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. ¡°How about I take you through the moves you did first and consider their purpose? Knowing the reason behind something can lend emotional weight to a performance,¡± suggested Amdirlain. Jul¡¯iane nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Amdirlain grinned and moved over to Jul¡¯iane. ¡°I¡¯ll go over the small moves I recognised first. How about we go through the different moves your mum called ''hand accents''?¡± The move Jul¡¯iane started with went from hip to her opposite shoulder. ¡°That could gut someone if your claws were out,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯d need to draw your arm back further so you¡¯ve got enough momentum before making contact; otherwise, your claws would scratch along their skin.¡± ¡°No way,¡± protested Jul¡¯iane. Sarah chuffed. ¡°Does everyone in the city only use energy projectors for fighting?¡± ¡°Unless they¡¯re wizards. After all, it¡¯s not like biting and clawing will hurt a spectre or other undead,¡± dismissed Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Dad and the other soldiers learn what works against serious threats. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re hunting for our supper.¡± They¡¯ve neglected their natural weaponry, but I guess what Jul¡¯iane said makes sense without something like Ki. ¡°If you could use Ki like Kadaklan and others, you¡¯d be ripping apart spectres with your bare hands,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Not to mention being able to heal people better than Life Mana spells. Jul¡¯iane scoffed. ¡°You¡¯re kidding, right?¡± ¡°No, you can ask Kadaklan. If you¡¯ve not got any classes yet, maybe he can show you options you never dreamed of before,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I will, but will you show me some of your moves?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. ¡®She¡¯s not only meaning attacks, you know.¡¯ Sarah broadcast. ¡®Hush you. She is a real teenager.¡¯ 323 - Keep me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris They continued going through moves for an hour before Jan¡¯era came to fetch them, her scent faintly disturbed. ¡°Something wrong, Jan¡¯era?¡± Jul¡¯iane asked upon seeing her. ¡°Kadaklan¡¯s abilities are both impressive and stomach-churning,¡± allowed Jan¡¯era. Jul¡¯iane¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°What did he do to Mum?¡± ¡°Fixed some of her old scar tissue and problems,¡± replied Jan¡¯era calmly. Amdirlain studied how Jan¡¯era kept her ears and tail relaxed while she lied and tried to mimic their placement. ¡°What¡¯s stomach-churning about that?¡± demanded Jul¡¯iane. ¡°He broke his leg first and healed it to show his capability,¡± replied Jan¡¯era. ¡°Which frankly was the most disturbing part.¡± It wasn¡¯t the only disturbing part, given how many pins and plates are now in a sealed bag. ¡°Is her leg all better?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era shook her head. ¡°No, a call from one of Del¡¯krin¡¯s friends interrupted. Are you interested in speaking with her?¡± Nodding, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°If they believe their employer can help. I¡¯m happy to chat with them.¡± ¡°The offer comes directly from their employer. It seems your name got her attention since she viewed your plaza performance.¡± clarified Jan¡¯era. ¡°Are they still on the link unit?¡± asked Amdirlain, playing ignorant. Jan¡¯era nodded. ¡°Lady Cla¡¯nes is speaking to Del¡¯krin.¡± ¡°On the link unit, you talk like my grandmother,¡± laughed Jul¡¯iane. ¡°What do you say?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously. Jul¡¯iane¡¯s whiskers continued to twitch with contained amusement. ¡°Are they linked? Or are they still linked? What you said was so old-fashioned.¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± said Amdirlain as she headed downstairs. When Amdirlain pushed open the front door, an awed-looking Del¡¯krin pointed to the link unit in her hand. At Amdirlain¡¯s responding nod, Del¡¯krin interrupted the female on the other end. ¡°She just came in the door. Shall I pass you over, Lady Cla¡¯nes, or put you on speaker?¡± Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s response wasn¡¯t audible to most, but Del¡¯krin pressing a rune on the unit made her response clear. A rich alto voice poured from the unit¡¯s speaker. ¡°Are you and your studio representative, Jan¡¯era, both present, Am?¡± ¡°Yes, your ladyship,¡± replied Amdirlain, curious at her discretion. ¡°Are others present I shouldn¡¯t discuss your request in front of?¡± ¡°Potentially, depending on what your adept told you,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Del¡¯krin told my assistant you are seeking advice on controlling your Charisma and gaining a notorious Skill. Might I ask why you are trying to gain such a Skill?¡± enquired Cla¡¯nes. Having just closed the front door, Jul¡¯iane huffed in confusion. ¡°There is a slight misunderstanding, Lady Cla¡¯nes. I already have that Skill. I¡¯m looking to get it to evolve into something less problematic,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Amdirlain heard claws tapping on wood near the other end of the link before a response came. ¡°What skills combined for you to gain it?¡± Wanting to groan, Amdirlain cheerfully countered. ¡°Now that we¡¯ll need to discuss privately.¡± ¡°I was going to propose a business arrangement with your studio. If you wish to discuss it privately, I¡¯ll need to meet you alone.¡± Is she aware of the Assassin Class requirement for the Skill? Or is it something else for them? ¡°That¡¯s fine by me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Will there still be potential for the business arrangement after meeting you?¡± ¡°If we remain on speaking terms,¡± allowed Cla¡¯nes, her tone having turned wary. ¡°I¡¯ll have someone come to collect you shortly. I trust you don¡¯t have any objections to that?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s ears twitched in amusement despite her attempt to still them. ¡°No objections. I hope I¡¯m not interrupting your afternoon plans.¡± ¡°If you were, we wouldn¡¯t yet be talking. I already have Del¡¯krin¡¯s address. My driver will be there in an hour,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes, and the connection ended. ¡°What do we want to speak about in the meantime?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she moved to sit on the couch and retrieve her drink. Jul¡¯iane took position on a couch facing Amdirlain and spoke up as others settled. ¡°Am mentioned you could use Ki to fight spectres?¡± Directing a sad glance at Amdirlain, Kadaklan dramatically slumped his shoulders. ¡°Not another warrior type.¡± ¡°That light from your hands can harm spectres?¡± asked Del¡¯krin in surprise. ¡°You explained it as life reserves. How can it be used to fight them? I mean, wouldn¡¯t they feed off it?¡± ¡°No, when used properly, it is devastating against them. Since they drink unprotected life, they are vulnerable to the same energy honed for use against them. If they tried to build up resistance to it, they¡¯d also starve. I know how to use it for healing, protection, and creation. Others use it for battle, but I can instruct in the fundamentals at least, and provide guidance.¡± His explanation relaxed the tension within Del¡¯krin¡¯s frame, and Amdirlain caught her worry about them fading. ¡°What classes does it involve?¡± ¡°The Ki is within the flesh but can unify the Soul, spirit, and flesh. Even those who don¡¯t follow classes can gain health benefits from exercising greater control over their Ki reserves.¡± ¡°But you can fight with it?¡± interrogated Jul¡¯iane. Kadaklan sighed dramatically and playfully pouted at Amdirlain. ¡°This is your doing, young lady.¡± Throwing both hands up, Amdirlain grinned. ¡°Guilty, but it¡¯s still your choice. The path you walk is yours, healer boy.¡± ¡°Since miss monster has told you about a use for it that draws you, let us start with a simple exercise to sense your Ki. Unlike others though, I don¡¯t believe in shortcuts,¡± cautioned Kadaklan. ¡°Miss monster?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. ¡°She is monstrously talented,¡± laughed Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ve done things I thought impossible to aid her, but that is neither here nor there. If you wish, I shall teach of the Ki, but it is up to you if you¡¯ll dedicate enough time to master it.¡± Jan¡¯era turned towards Amdirlain. ¡°Have you learned this as well?¡± ¡°I know how to cycle my Ki, but I¡¯m not sure how long it would take me to master it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you all wish to try?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°If nothing else, it can help you recover from hard nights faster, Jan¡¯era.¡± When Del¡¯krin and Jul¡¯iane fixed their attention on Jan¡¯era, she shrugged and agreed to join in. Avoiding shortcuts or not, Kadaklan still had all three of them sensing their Ki in short order even if two couldn¡¯t move it. Del¡¯krin, perhaps because of her exposure to Kadaklan¡¯s healing, got wisps of it hesitantly moving. The driver didn¡¯t just call Del¡¯krin¡¯s link unit to announce himself, but came to the door with a gilded folder. He didn¡¯t blink at the simple outfit Amdirlain wore, presenting her with credentials that Del¡¯krin verified and a fancy written invitation. The vehicle that waited at the curb for Amdirlain was a solid metallic black, which made the decorative floral theme that overlay it pop. Its back compartment was like something from a mini-stretch limo, with room to fit six comfortably and a wet bar. ¡°There are a range of drinks within, Am. Please ?enjoy,¡± said the driver, offering her a hand to slide into the backseat. Without waiting for a response, he closed the rear door and entered the front. ¡°Would you care to listen to any caster channel?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know the local options, but go ahead if you like to drive with music,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she relaxed into the well-appointed leather seating. The driver glanced in the rearview and turned it to a channel playing complex orchestral-style music, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise the instruments. When she nodded her appreciation, he pulled out from the curb. It took nearly forty minutes in the city traffic to reach their destination, and the vehicle pulled into a curved driveway before a skyscraper set some distance back from the street. A delicate filigree covered the skyscraper¡¯s facade, framing a trio of doorways and the well-tended landscape around the building. When the vehicle halted, a white-furred valet in a royal purple uniform opened the rear door on Amdirlain¡¯s side. ¡°Welcome to the Tilrista, Miss Am,¡± said the valet. ¡°Would you like anything before you¡¯re shown up to see Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s floors?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you,¡± replied Amdirlain with a smile. ¡°Then please follow me,¡± requested the valet. Stepping aside, he directed her attention to the rightmost of the trio of doors. ¡°Access to the private floors is only through that entrance.¡± Amdirlain took in the lobby¡¯s interior before the door opened. A reception desk sat in the middle before two banks of elevators, and on the left-hand side was a restaurant that occupied space on the ground and first floor. The area the valet directed her to had only three lifts that ran up the full height of the building. The enchantments in the lobby and the lift contained nothing that concerned Amdirlain¡ªsecurity features linked between the elevators, a few panels, and a security enchantment her guide and another valet nearby carried. When the valet escorted her to the first elevator, he waved her inside. ¡°Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s maid will need to escort you to her. Please don¡¯t step outside the lift if she¡¯s not present.¡± ¡°Hopefully, she¡¯s not had an emergency,¡± quipped Amdirlain as she stepped inside. The valet smiled politely and pressed a control on the exterior that caused the doors to close. Observing the lift¡¯s enchantment interacting with an engraved key in the valet¡¯s possession, Amdirlain spent the ride considering alternative security options for similar devices. The lift stopped seventy-seven floors later and opened into a double-story living space. The polished metal and stone layout provided space for people to mingle or dance in the middle with groupings of chairs and couches around the exterior. Wide railings that were more rib height tables cordoned off sections of the area. An auburn-furred female with a white muzzle and tufted ears stood waiting for her in a dress that clung to her muscular body and whose colour perfectly matched her coat. Thin steel-hued ribbons kept her long hair in complex braids tight against her head. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to see you in person, Am. If you¡¯d accompany me?¡± asked the maid, and she turned gracefully to direct Amdirlain to her left, revealing her dress was slit nearly to the hip. Analysis gave Amdirlain the details of the ¡®maid¡¯s¡¯ full complement of combat classes, and she had to resist the temptation to greet her by name in return. Ssa¡¯time had an interesting collection of military-type classes: Soldier, Gunner, Marauder, and Matriarch¡¯s Guard in their mid-40s. Unlike the silvery metallic finish of the main room, the corridor they now travelled down had dark red wood panelling. The familiar stone lighting peeked through sections cut to resemble the outlines of a mountain scene. The only doorway was at the end¡ªa pair of matching wooden doors with lacquered gold inlay. ¡°I¡¯m feeling like a parcel being passed between caretakers,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s unfortunate. I hope no one made you feel uncomfortable. I had organised everything to make your arrival here as smooth as possible,¡± Ssa¡¯time said. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose in thought. ¡°Not uncomfortable, but an unfamiliar experience is perhaps the best description.¡± The maid gave Amdirlain a personable smile. ¡°Perhaps it¡¯s care that will grow far too familiar in time, given your incredible performance at the plaza. Lady Cla¡¯nes received word early in the transmission and was riveted by your playing and voice.¡± Ssa¡¯time opened the door and directed a bow within, keeping a downcast gaze. Security wards were laid throughout the room, and implanted weaponry linked to a bracelet on the maid¡¯s wrist and a broach worn by Cla¡¯nes. In Ssa¡¯time¡¯s thoughts, Amdirlain caught images of the room from multiple perspectives, interacting with the powers of her Gunner Class. This room was nearly eight metres across and richly appointed in sombre hues with thick rugs, lacquered inlaid wooden furnishings from the wall-mounted cabinets, side tables and couches with deep cushions that promised luxurious comfort. The soft light panels only shone between slim gaps between the room¡¯s wall decorations and cabinets. The waiting female had white fur flecked with silver that looked like she walked through an ice storm. She sat reclined on a couch across the room. A loose dress of teasingly sheer material of vivid red, blue, and green hues covered her well-formed body from the neck to below the knees. With the room¡¯s colour theme and the minimal soft lighting, she was the spark amid the coals. ¡°Lady Cla¡¯nes, your guest Am is here to see you,¡± announced the maid, and she stepped aside to allow Amdirlain to enter. [Name: Cla¡¯nes, daughter of Mon¡¯tai Class: Pleasure Chancellor / Silk Blade / Councillor / Mistress of the Web Level: 97 / 42 / 42 / 42 Health: 15,076 Defence 989 Melee Attack Power: 532 Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Combat Skills: Throwing [S] (12), Short Blade [S] (3), Energy Projector [M] (32). Details: Initially worked as an Escort and greet in the turbulent crossroads city of Quesplian. A functionary talking in his sleep caught her in a series of political events involving the neighbouring countries. After a decade and a half of prospering in the chaos of the challenging political landscape¡ªand accumulating bounties on her alternative identities¡ªshe and her associates wisely moved.] No mention of any pride. [Pleasure Chancellor Details: This Tier 5 Prestige Class combines evolved Escort and Diplomat base classes.] [Silk Blade: Details: This Tier 6 Prestige Class combines evolved base classes from Escort, Assassin and Spy paths.] [Councillor Details: Those possessing this evolved base class from Diplomat are the power behind the throne. They play out the silk cable steering moves in the halls of power without entering it themselves.] [Mistress of the Web Details: This is an evolved base class that progresses from Spymaster available to those with an experience in the silk trade.] ¡°Do come in and relax, Am,¡± invited Cla¡¯nes, and she swished her tail tip towards the nearby couches. There was a relaxed air within the room, a subtle invitation to relax and unwind; it shifted across the tension in Amdirlain¡¯s form and nudged against her comfortingly. There wasn¡¯t a prickle of Danger Sense, so Amdirlain moved forward, taking in the visual aspects of the room, while Cla¡¯nes¡¯s attention remained fixed on her. Four steps inside the room, the door closed behind her, and Amdirlain knew she¡¯d screwed up. ¡°You¡¯ve got your Charisma unfurled,¡± noted Amdirlain as she caught Cla¡¯nes¡¯s curiosity as to her lack of reaction. Cla¡¯nes laughed. ¡°Well, I slipped up. Did someone send you to kill me?¡± Snorting, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve no intention of hurting you. I need a hand to get my Charisma and Femme Fatale under control, and I hope you can help. What sort of favour could I do for you?¡± It wasn¡¯t until Amdirlain offered payment that Cla¡¯nes¡¯s theme relaxed. ¡°That¡¯s not normally how favours work,¡± remarked Cla¡¯nes. ¡°They¡¯re best held for future need. Plus, it¡¯s too soon to determine if I¡¯ll help you, let alone the extent of favour I¡¯d later look to collect. Please sit.¡± This time, Cla¡¯nes patted the couch beside her and smiled warmly. The friendly, relaxed atmosphere of the room became charged with an invitation. ¡°You¡¯re very forward with a sixteen-year-old,¡± noted Amdirlain, not having moved from where she¡¯d stopped. Snickering, Cla¡¯nes waved a reproving finger. ¡°You do the innocent, na?ve body language so well. However, if you¡¯re sixteen, I¡¯m a nomad prostitute trying to scrape together ward costs. Sit, relax. This is when we get to know each other, as much as either of us will allow anyway, so let¡¯s set that lie aside.¡± ¡°Why do you insist I¡¯m not sixteen?¡± ¡°Your Skill sounds saucy, but there is far more to it than feminine charms and naughty dancing. High levels in the Assassin Class, mastery of Diplomacy, Acting, Haggling, Intimidation, Sense Motive, and Danger Sense are the core requirements, plus some other optional aspects I¡¯ve heard theorised.¡± ¡°You know a bit about it,¡± allowed Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes¡¯s smile didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°I had to move it along myself. You¡¯re lucky all the friends Del¡¯krin called work for me, directly or indirectly. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t need to pass on word of your Skill.¡± ¡°Is there a particular problem with it?¡± enquired Amdirlain, ignoring the implied threat. ¡°It depends on who starts looking at you. At the very least, it¡¯d have you on the watch list among some patrons and have others block you from their events,¡± explained Cla¡¯nes. ¡°The law keepers might not make a fuss unless a crime is involved, but given you¡¯re listed only as a Bard, they¡¯d have some questions.¡± ¡°Like?¡± ¡°At the very least, how you¡¯ve hidden your other classes,¡± advised Cla¡¯nes. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°How did you hide yours?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve hidden nothing,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes. ¡°I¡¯ve never been in legal trouble, so they¡¯ve never gained a full record. You, however, volunteered the information by asking about that Skill.¡± Amdirlain noted that the maid¡¯s thoughts didn¡¯t include spoken words, only the room¡¯s visuals. ¡°Guess I shouldn¡¯t update my chit again,¡± said Amdirlain. A twitch of Cla¡¯nes¡¯s left ear and a slight lift of her whiskers conveyed her amusement. ¡°Would you be willing to sell the means to alter what your record shows?¡± asked Cla¡¯nes, and she patted the well-padded cushion of the couch beside her again. Amdirlain tilted her head and weaved her way through the couches before sitting at an angle on a couch across from Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Perhaps.¡± Her choice received an unfazed smile from Cla¡¯nes. ¡°I feel I might need to cancel my evening plans.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in a rush, so there isn¡¯t a need for that,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Cancelling on them occasionally helps keep them eager,¡± observed Cla¡¯nes matter-of-factly. ¡°What options do you know for shooing Femme Fatale on its way?¡± ¡°Now, why would I tell you that so early?¡± asked Cla¡¯nes as she traced fingers idly across a spot on the cushion. ¡°Especially when we¡¯re not even close?¡± ¡°Because if you don¡¯t know an option I¡¯m interested in, we can at least focus on negotiating training for controlling my Charisma,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Well, given we¡¯ve potential for business, there are three options I know the methods for, one of which I¡¯ve used myself,¡± stated Cla¡¯nes. It tempted Amdirlain to pull the details from her thoughts, but ?Cla¡¯nes¡¯ Mistress of the Web Class promised longer-term benefits. ¡°Are there others you¡¯ve heard hints about?¡± Getting her to work with Mor¡¯lmes without someone connecting J and Am will be challenging. Maybe tell her upfront and make Cla¡¯nes handle it. ¡°Given its extensive requirements, Femme Fatale isn¡¯t the most common Skill to develop,¡± responded ?Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Not even among those with high levels in silken trade professions?¡± Cla¡¯nes¡¯s gaze gleamed with genuine amusement, brightening her projected Charisma. ¡°Similar skills, yes, but not this specific one. Indeed, if we¡¯d met even a few years ago, I¡¯d still be working to transition it onward.¡± ¡°Might I ask the version of the Skill transition you decided to progress to?¡± ¡°The name won¡¯t help you much: Sensual Confidante,¡± informed Cla¡¯nes. [Sensual Confidante Details: While retaining its capability to influence a large group of people, possessors of this Skill can quickly develop intimate personal connections to further their ends. The combination allows the possessor to leave their contacts feeling like they¡¯ve gained the most from their interactions. Requirements
  • Femme Fatale [S]
  • Counsellor [M]
  • Sensualist [M]]
That¡¯s two firsts, or three since I''ve not encountered the evolved Skill nor two of its required skills. Do Counsellor and Sensualist skills give her Charisma that mellow, comfortable feel by default or is she having to work to project that feeling? ¡°It tells me enough. I¡¯m not looking for a Skill that involves intimacy. I¡¯m looking for something that doesn¡¯t constantly invite people to regard me with sexual desire,¡± advised Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes paused with the tip of her tongue against her lip and blinked. ¡°If you don¡¯t like people paying attention to you that way, how did you end up with Femme Fatale in the first place?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a long, ugly story, not something I¡¯ll discuss. With my Charisma, I know people will pay attention to me. I want to get it to a point where seeing me doesn¡¯t feature in wet dreams later,¡± responded Amdirlain. Snorting, Cla¡¯nes threw her head back and began to laugh. The sound mingled in Cla¡¯nes¡¯s Charisma and projected a caressing sensation. It was an effect that Amdirlain easily ignored, and she waited for Cla¡¯nes to finish. ¡°Honey, if you didn¡¯t want things to get hot, you shouldn¡¯t have been playing in the fire,¡± laughed Cla¡¯nes, and she looked Amdirlain over. ¡°Look at you sitting there all prim and unbothered. I felt your stage presence through the receiver and wouldn¡¯t believe you to be the same person now. How tight do you have yourself locked down?¡± ¡°As tight as I can manage. It¡¯s not tight enough,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her muzzle wrinkled, and Cla¡¯nes¡¯s ears perked up. ¡°You¡¯ll need to let it out so I know the challenge.¡± ¡°The bigger the challenge, the bigger the favour you¡¯ll want me to pay,¡± countered Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you understand.¡± ¡°Do you have a Power like Mental Clarity?¡± ¡°I do,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Don¡¯t project any emotions; just relax your control.¡± ¡°As long as you tell your maid not to kill me if you behave weird,¡± said Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes gave a guileless laugh that Amdirlain didn¡¯t believe for an instant. ¡°Whatever do you mean?¡± Not that she could hurt me with the strength of these projectors, but still. ¡°I¡¯m unsure how to proceed. You have people you must need protection from, or you wouldn¡¯t have her on staff. I doubt she has a single social Class. Sure, she moves gracefully, but it¡¯s a combat veteran¡¯s grace,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s got the eyes of a Gunner, at the very least. Do you want me to guess at her other classes?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re so confident you could overwhelm us-¡± ¡°How about I slowly unfurl my Charisma?¡± proposed Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes gave a confident smile. ¡°I deal with some very high-level commanders and officials frequently. Indeed, I¡¯m sure some have more Charisma than I do.¡± ¡°Does associating with them help you level?¡± ¡°Various levels are certainly involved,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes playfully. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, no emotions; relax whatever control you use.¡± I might have to introduce her to Sarah. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll have a blast. Amdirlain didn¡¯t roll her eyes, but she could see Cla¡¯nes¡¯s expectations of being caught up with charismatic individuals didn¡¯t go far enough. ¡°I¡¯m concerned about the aftereffects if I do that,¡± explained Amdirlain, worrying Cla¡¯nes wasn¡¯t taking it seriously enough. ¡°If I can¡¯t feel the extent of the presence you¡¯re able to project I can¡¯t determine if I can even help,¡± countered Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Fine,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Amdirlain put a song barrier in place to stop her Charisma from extending beyond the maid¡¯s position outside the room. Mentally exhaling, she felt the energy within her unfurl and flood through the room. Mental Clarity and another Power within Cla¡¯nes crashed and burnt without a whimper of protest. As the maid scrambled for the handle to yank the door open, Cla¡¯nes leapt towards Amdirlain with a heated moan. Far Hand restrained her in mid-air, and Amdirlain pulled her Charisma back in. [Femme Fatale [S] (12->13) Note: For most this Skill is a matter of subtlety and delicacy. What do you plan to do next, knock them over the head?] ¡°Oh, pleasurable night, that can¡¯t be your Charisma,¡± panted Cla¡¯nes. The maid stood in the doorway, one hand on the throat clasp of her dress and the other clung to the door¡¯s handle. Ignoring the musky wetness between her legs, the combat veteran tried to clear her thoughts to reacquire control of the room¡¯s weaponry. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s what my Charisma defaults to if I¡¯m not projecting any specific emotions,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Sexual heat.¡± When Amdirlain set her down on the ground, still panting, Cla¡¯nes shivered and licked her lips. ¡°You drowned me.¡± Frowning, Amdirlain considered dissolving their newly formed memories, but it had too much similarity to what she¡¯d done to the infested. Also, the endorphin afterglow wasn¡¯t something she¡¯d touched previously. ¡°I don¡¯t think unfurling my Charisma completely is a good idea in a small group; a crowd at least dilutes the effect.¡± Ssa''time regarded Cla¡¯nes with concern, but Cla¡¯nes gave a curt negation. ¡°No. It¡¯s my fault¡ªI got arrogant. This isn¡¯t to be talked about, Ssa¡¯time.¡± ¡°Of course not, Lady Cla¡¯nes. My apologies for the intrusion. I seem to have blanked out,¡± replied Ssa¡¯time. Cla¡¯nes coughed. ¡°Am¡¯s Charisma spiked, but at least my body tells me I had a good time. I hope we didn¡¯t disturb the building¡¯s other occupants.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ll excuse me,¡± Ssa¡¯time said, giving Cla¡¯nes a bow; she exited the room and retook her position outside the door. Cla¡¯nes returned to her seat and squirmed as her pulse continued to race. She wrapped her arms around her stomach and struggled to resist the temptation to curl up in a ball. ¡°Are you going to tell me you¡¯re sixteen still?¡± ¡°It¡¯s what¡¯s on my identification,¡± persisted Amdirlain, watching Cla¡¯nes with concern. ¡°There are various enchantments that can erase memories. Fresh memories are comparatively easy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen a recent discussion on the caster about such matters, but I¡¯d prefer not to lose memories. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be interested in withdrawing to my bedroom for a time?¡± enquired Cla¡¯nes, waving upwards. ¡°If you¡¯re feeling indisposed, I can return another time,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Right now, I want to keep you by my side,¡± said Cla¡¯nes, and she shifted position on the couch again. ¡°Do you have a proper place to stay?¡± Suppressing a sigh, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°How did you hold me in the air?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you even noticed.¡± ¡°I did, and my wards aren¡¯t reporting any Mana usage,¡± noted Cla¡¯nes. ¡°How curious,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Your broach does more than interaction with the emplacements.¡± Closing her eyes, Cla¡¯nes rubbed at her temples. ¡°I¡¯ve experienced being drowned by charismatic individuals when I was younger, but nothing so strong or recent. What do you normally project if your Charisma isn¡¯t furled.¡± ¡°I keep it furled; I¡¯m normally projecting calm even while furled,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Calm? I could do with some calm right now,¡± huffed Cla¡¯nes. Amdirlain shrugged, slowly unfurled her Charisma, and brushed both of them with calm. Ssa¡¯time standing just outside the door, relaxed far sooner than Cla¡¯nes, whose Mental Clarity initially resisted the effect. Eventually, Cla¡¯nes exhaled sharply and shook her head to clear it. ¡°Moonless night. Alright, here is the deal. You help me train my Mental Clarity and Resilience, and I¡¯ll work with you to control your Charisma.¡± ¡°You just want to keep me around,¡± noted Amdirlain, taking in the moment Cla¡¯nes¡¯s abilities failed to keep the imposed calmness at bay. ¡°That too. One day you might say yes,¡± laughed Cla¡¯nes. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I can agree to that as long as you keep our arrangement private. Though I reserve the right to stop if I think exposure to my Charisma is causing you problems. I think we¡¯re going to have one problem, though.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Getting up, Amdirlain opened the door and returned, easily carrying a staggered Ssa¡¯time and laid her out on the couch nearest the door. ¡°Your maid doesn¡¯t have your capabilities.¡± ¡°Scat, the people on other floors,¡± groaned Cla¡¯nes. ¡°You¡¯ve got me making bad choices.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a complete novice. I¡¯ve ensured it¡¯s contained just to your apartment, but I wanted to clarify the extent of the issue. She¡¯s very loyal to you¡ªshe didn¡¯t shift from her position,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she took the security control bracelet from Ssa¡¯time¡¯s wrist and tossed it to Cla¡¯nes. ¡°That¡¯s her story,¡± Cla¡¯nes rebuffed gently, her mind still fixed on Amdirlain¡¯s age. ¡°Would you give me something to work with?¡± ¡°You¡¯re fixated on my age, aren''t you? We don¡¯t know each other well enough for me to share confidences. I¡¯m debating replacing this afternoon¡¯s memories of you and your staff and calling this a bad idea.¡± ¡°If you can wipe my memories, it doesn¡¯t hurt to tell me,¡± proposed Cla¡¯nes cheerfully. Amdirlain took in her recovering grace and tilted her head. ¡°You¡¯re recovering quickly.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a combat veteran.¡± ¡°Yet you¡¯ve also got high levels in Assassin.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve lived through some turbulent times, plus, there are many kill bounties in some parts of the territories.¡± ¡°Including high-level officials from opposing groups,¡± noted Amdirlain, and she changed the subject as Cla¡¯nes¡¯s gaze dug into her. ¡°And you won¡¯t be getting me into bed.¡± ¡°Not into females?¡± questioned Cla¡¯nes, her ears drooping exaggeratedly. ¡°Is your ego that sensitive?¡± asked Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes shrugged. ¡°If it was never on the cards, then it was never on the cards.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°You know I progress levels by listening to people discuss their issues,¡± offered Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Not happening, but I¡¯ll help you progress whatever powers and skills you¡¯ve got so you can properly help train my Charisma,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°I might have to buy a device from the college to keep it under wraps,¡± laughed Cla¡¯nes. Does it hurt to have a Plan B? ¡°Do I have your oath that you¡¯ll keep my secrets until I tell you it¡¯s alright to share them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I can agree to that,¡± responded Cla¡¯nes, and Amdirlain caught the lack of deception in the promise. [Allegiance Bond [B] (3->5)] At the energy of the connection, Cla¡¯nes¡¯s gaze widened, and her whiskers stood straight out. Amdirlain sang, and Cla¡¯nes meowed in surprise as more power ran through her. ¡°Try thinking Profile,¡± instructed Amdirlain. Amdirlain caught her use of it by the recent memories chiming through Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Moonless night,¡± breathed Cla¡¯nes. ¡°How? I¡¯ve never heard of anyone just being able to see their record. Are you involved in the weird stuff at the lake?¡± Amdirlain gave a mysterious smile. ¡°What¡¯s your Mental Clarity?¡± ¡°Senior Master rank, thirty-nine,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Mental Resilience, Senior Master rank, fifty-two.¡± ¡°Let me know when you¡¯ve pushed twenty or thirty levels in them, and then we¡¯ll call it a night. In the meantime, let me tell you about the Eldritch threat to your world,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°After that, you can decide if you want to remember anything but an interesting evening.¡± ¡°Threat to the world sounds like something beyond my capabilities,¡± commented Cla¡¯nes. Giving her an understanding nod and a reassuring smile, Amdirlain continued. ¡°It¡¯s not a matter of taking on the whole thing. I¡¯m looking for people to take on pieces and to set up a long-term organisation.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what these Eldritch are. Let¡¯s make this simple, what¡¯s in that for me?¡± ¡°Survival, wealth, and potentially lots of levelling from information gathering,¡± answered Amdirlain. A cascade of gemstones and slim Adamantine ingots appeared on the couch beside Cla¡¯nes before a crystal pendant attached to a white ribbon choker appeared. Lifting some of the cut gemstones to the light, Cla¡¯nes nodded. ¡°I can work with that offer. What¡¯s the necklace?¡± ¡°Protects your thoughts from being corrupted or read and lets you present a false front so no one knows,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Also grows warm in the presence of those infected by the Eldritch or places with their energy.¡± ¡°Is your Bard class a completely false front?¡± enquired Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Yes, like the ones you used while working against the Matriarchy and the Oligarchy in Quesplian,¡± replied Amdirlain. About to pick up another gem, Cla¡¯nes froze. ¡°How do you know about that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s enough I know about them and the bounties on twelve of them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°So I keep your secrets, and you keep mine?¡± asked Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Considering you¡¯ve told me enough that I know all the weird stuff lately is you, I could earn enough protection from them.¡± Amdirlain took in the calculations within Cla¡¯nes'' song and snorted in amusement. ¡°There are many ways you can come out ahead in arrangements with me or, at the very least, keep all you have. Betraying me isn¡¯t one of them; cause me issues, and I¡¯ll give you a fresh start.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an interesting euphemism,¡± noted Cla¡¯nes, trying to find her mental balance as Amdirlain¡¯s projected calmness suddenly stopped. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about killing you. Who would become your guardian if you were suddenly sixteen and classless again?¡± Cla¡¯nes swallowed. ¡°No thanks. What are my other options?¡± ¡°Option one, say no; I leave you, you keep the trinkets, and if you keep your mouth shut, all good. Option two, I tell you about the Eldritch; you say no, and follow the same rules, and it¡¯s the same result.¡± ¡°I can follow the progression. Option three, I say yes and get the shiny things you promised, whereas if I betray you at any point, I lose everything,¡± observed Cla¡¯nes. ¡°There are variations of option three with suitable rewards,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°From working with me to help my Charisma and your capability progression, to actively working to gather information,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Let me tell you about the Eldritch, and you can decide.¡± A glowing multi-layered sphere appeared between them, and its centre was a section of the night sky above the city. ¡°This world and others circle the realm¡¯s stars. Consider outside the sphere hostile territory. Its inhabitants don¡¯t obey our reality¡¯s laws and are happy to ravage its resources.¡± ¡°Realm?¡± ¡°The reality as you know it includes your planet and more, but its scope has a defined boundary.¡± ¡°Sounds like something the old gods were supposed to have claimed,¡± growled Cla¡¯nes, and Amdirlain caught the contempt and loathing in her tone. I wonder how well history and reality match in this situation. ¡°Whatever gods your world had ?didn¡¯t make this world or the realm, no matter their claims,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know the history of your world. I didn¡¯t believe it necessary to learn more. My purpose is to ensure its future safety.¡± ¡°You can speak with authority about the claims of gods-¡± Cla¡¯nes cut off and closed her eyes briefly. ¡°Alright, I got us off track. So they¡¯re invaders that would strip our lands and kill everyone? What has this got to do with people losing memories and masses of ground being thrown into the sky?¡± ¡°Some of their forces are here already and either implanted into people¡¯s minds or have replaced them. The task I¡¯m undertaking is to locate all the agents working for them and the mechanism that would convert more to their side,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The foundation, outreach centres, and the Spellclash couple were all elements of their operations that I¡¯ve identified to act against so far.¡± ¡°You want help to pull all the strands of association together?¡± exclaimed Cla¡¯nes in relief. ¡°Not all strands, but as much as you can. Let me give you the full details so you know the risks and can consider if you want to be involved,¡± reiterated Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes gave a steely smile. ¡°I know how to gather hidden information.¡± 324 - Nobody sees Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4363 (Local calendar) After hearing the full details of the Eldritch, Cla¡¯nes looked almost ill but drew her shoulders back and lifted her chin. ¡°I¡¯ve been out of my depth many times, but the water in this is even deeper. Is there anyone else looking into these things?¡± ¡°Professor Mor¡¯lmes from the Triumvirate Campus already has teams collecting information. If you need to talk to him, he only knows me as J, and I¡¯d like to keep it that way.¡± ¡°Siloed information, got it,¡± breathed Cla¡¯nes, and she picked up the choker to look at the motif on the pendant. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen a bird like this before.¡± Amdirlain smiled as the pendant swung in Cla¡¯nes¡¯s hand; the facets of the bird caught the light, making it appear to fly. ¡°It¡¯s from my home world. It¡¯s a songbird.¡± ¡°Beings from outside our realm, from other planets and planes. I think I¡¯ll need time for it all to digest. You were singing notes that buzzed in my hearing before this appeared. You can sing things into existence?¡± enquired Cla¡¯nes. The mental cataloguing of opportunities made Amdirlain¡¯s smile twitch. ¡°Yes.¡± Cla¡¯nes twitched an ear westward. ¡°The weird effects no one can find any Mana involved with. Were you doing things the same way?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a range of abilities; some are normal Wizard spells, but not all,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes looked at the still befuddled Ssa¡¯time. ¡°How much am I allowed to tell others?¡± ¡°If you are considering working with Mor¡¯lmes and Wha¡¯sin, perhaps contact them and come to a consensus on what you share with your contacts,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°As long as you¡¯re not sharing information about me, you¡¯re welcome to share any information about the Eldritch you think they can handle.¡± ¡°No particular preference?¡± asked Cla¡¯nes. ¡°As long there is no mention of J and Am, and I don¡¯t point anyone towards you in another fashion, I¡¯m safe from my memory being wiped.¡± ¡®Yes,¡¯ Amdirlain said directly into Cla¡¯nes¡¯s mind. A shiver went up Cla¡¯nes¡¯ spine. ¡°Okay, that will take getting used to.¡± ¡°I wanted it to be clear I can touch your mind in other ways than wiping memories,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Though if a little mind touch is disturbing, perhaps becoming involved in the investigation is too much.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll speak to Mor¡¯lmes and see what help my contacts can offer,¡± said Cla¡¯nes. ¡°If you¡¯d ease your presence off Ssa¡¯time, I suggest we have some food, and I¡¯ll reschedule some visitors.¡± Tossing Cla¡¯nes a storage ring, Amdirlain caught the look of appreciation in Cla¡¯nes¡¯s gaze when she swept the items in it. ¡°You give interesting gifts. Are you sure you¡¯re not interested?¡± ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m sure,¡± replied Amdirlain. Furling in her Charisma, Amdirlain gave Ssa¡¯time plenty of space as she slowly roused. ¡°Lady Cla¡¯nes, what happened?¡± asked Ssa¡¯time, and as she sat up, Cla¡¯nes offered the security bracelet back to her. ¡°I took that off to avoid accidents in your confused state.¡± Ssa¡¯time glanced at the odd placement of Cla¡¯nes¡¯s fingers gripping the bracelet and gave a relieved nod. Security signals for all occasions. ¡°Am is quite the strong prodigy. We had to bring you to the couch when her Charisma got out of control,¡± explained Cla¡¯nes. ¡°I think I¡¯ll cancel my plans for this evening. Could you order in the usual for us? Would you join us for dinner, Am, and we¡¯ll continue training afterwards?¡± ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be delighted,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Ssa¡¯time please show Am to the garden room. We¡¯ll eat there this evening. I¡¯ll join you as soon as I finish my calls,¡± instructed Cla¡¯nes. Returning the bracelet to her wrist, Ssa¡¯time rose and gestured towards the door. ¡°If you¡¯d follow me, the garden room is on the upper floor.¡± Their path went via a spiral staircase tucked away at the far end of the main room. Before they reached the top, the faint scent of flowers wafted down to greet them. Though the garden ¡®room¡¯ was only half the width of Cla¡¯nes¡¯s apartment, it had a floor space that could swallow Jan¡¯era¡¯s entire apartment several times over. So this is how the other half lives, though Cla¡¯nes is unlikely to be at the top of the food chain. Curved pathways moved between islands of chairs among the greenery. Various hued flowers among the plants were blooming, but the scent wasn¡¯t overpowering. While Ssa¡¯time was ordering dinner, Amdirlain advised Sarah not to wait for her. The indoor garden had a relaxing atmosphere for dinner from the downstairs restaurant. Ssa''time watched them from downstairs through the garden''s security wards instead of joining them. ¡°Does Ssa¡¯time have a hard time gaining levels, or do you have a way around the military permit restrictions?¡± asked Amdirlain as she finished eating. ¡°The only people that can bypass the restrictions are the patron families,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Leave the plates; the restaurant staff will come up to collect them.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t take a moment to stack them,¡± Amdirlain said, and once she finished putting everything into a neat pile, continued. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to training your abilities, shall we?¡± Amdirlain left Cla''nes to rest after four hours of trying to increase her abilities by twenty points. Looking between them, Ssa¡¯time fairly hummed with suspicion when she saw Amdirlain off. The same driver from the afternoon delivered Amdirlain to Jan¡¯era¡¯s place and waited until she was inside the front door before he drove off. ¡°How did things go?¡± murmured Sarah, sitting beside Jan¡¯era on the living room couch, watching a broadcast from a club. ¡°Thanks for the updates on your ETA.¡± ¡°It was clear her Femme Fatale options aren¡¯t what I want. She¡¯s going to talk to some contacts, but we did some ability training this evening,¡± replied Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era¡¯s pink ear twitched even though she kept her confusion from her face. ¡°Your Charisma still has quite the impact.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get the hang of it eventually, I¡¯m sure,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m glad Cla¡¯nes is so patient with me. Who¡¯s sleeping where?¡± ¡°Kadaklan¡¯s got the fourth bedroom. I¡¯m bunking with you,¡± advised Sarah. Amdirlain gave an exaggerated huff and folded her arms. ¡°As long you keep to your side of the bed.¡± ¡°I must cuddle my little sister,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re being goofy,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah laughed. ¡°Too right. It¡¯s far safer to sleep on the floor than risk being kicked.¡± Their joking tone had Jan¡¯era give the pair a long look, and she turned to Sarah. ¡°Am said she¡¯d slept out in the wilds with only camp stones as wards?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a crazy kitten, and she¡¯s gone more dangerous places than I want to consider,¡± replied Sarah, losing her joking tone. ¡°Thanks for putting us up.¡± ¡°At this rate, we¡¯re going to need to repay you,¡± argued Jan¡¯era. Jan¡¯era¡¯s disbelieving tone had Amdirlain lift an eyebrow. ¡°Who did what now?¡± ¡°Kadaklan wanted to see if he could show me up,¡± replied Sarah, waving toward the silver charge plate by the door. ¡°Not sure how much Mana he dropped in.¡± ¡°Far too much,¡± reported Jan¡¯era. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone will ask why the city is paying us to live here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a good problem to have, right?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan¡¯s bedroom door opened, and he came out wearing a bright yellow yukata, cloth emblazoned with blue phoenixes in full flight. Jan¡¯era winced and held a hand up to her face. ¡°That¡¯s bright enough to make someone¡¯s eyes bleed.¡± Spreading his hands helplessly, Kadaklan grinned. ¡°He is colourful,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Kadaklan waved to her bedroom. ¡°If you¡¯d lay down, I¡¯d like to confirm there isn¡¯t a lingering issue with your legs.¡± ¡°Going to run off as soon as you do?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Not immediately,¡± responded Kadaklan. ¡°Del¡¯krin is interested in learning more about Ki healing methods. I can''t help Jul''iane directly, but I know who to ask for information. Now come along.¡± ¡°Why is it you protested you were barely older than me before, and now you¡¯re bossing me around?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re the patient that keeps running away; are you now complaining?¡± countered Kadaklan with a mock huff as he stuck his nose in the air. ¡°No, just curious,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Did you get the rest of Del¡¯krin¡¯s problems sorted out?¡± Kadaklan nodded happily. ¡°I did; it was relief that she was no longer in such pain.¡± Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°Alright, I suppose I can lay down for you then,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Not like you¡¯ve not seen my legs before when you put them back together.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re not bleeding at present, so today¡¯s an improvement already,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a few minutes to get changed.¡± Amdirlain headed into her bedroom, stripped down to briefs and a shirt and wrapped an illusion song in place. She¡¯d settled herself on the bed well before he followed. When he opened the door, Amdirlain caught his hesitation and fired off a question. ¡°Did Jul¡¯iane or Jan¡¯era get their Ki to move before you came back here?¡± ¡°Not yet. We will see if they can persist in attempting to do so,¡± said Kadaklan before he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Clearing his throat, his voice lowered. ¡°You know you didn¡¯t need to change into underwear. I was giving you time for appearance¡¯s sake.¡± ¡°Not the worst state you¡¯ve seen me in,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll brace myself, and you can look me over.¡± Kadaklan snorted. ¡°I¡¯ll look but not touch.¡± ¡°You make it sound like I¡¯m a stripper,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Should I ask if you¡¯ve put a sound barrier illusion on the door?¡± enquired Kadaklan. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Before you even stepped inside. I have some questions to ask that I didn¡¯t want Jan¡¯era overhearing.¡± ¡°Well, I shouldn¡¯t take too long,¡± Kadaklan replied. ¡°Prepare yourself, please. I doubt you want to rip the bed apart.¡± ¡°Can you at least make sure I finish?¡± quipped Amdirlain. Kadaklan groaned. ¡°I see your sense of humour is intact.¡± His Third Eye lit up with the yellow-golden flames, and Amdirlain cycled through her sigil. She''d only completed three loops when he stopped. ¡°You could keep it going. I didn¡¯t progress Mental Hardening,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°As much as I¡¯m sure you¡¯d enjoyed reaching greater heights, that might be an ordeal you need to enlist someone else to help with,¡± advised Kadaklan calmly. ¡°So what¡¯s the verdict, doctor? Will I be able to tap dance?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°You did great work then, because I didn¡¯t know how,¡± snickered Amdirlain. As Amdirlain burst into laughter, Kadaklan closed his eyes and counted to ten. ¡°What are you nervous about?¡± ¡°The strange man in my room,¡± squeaked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m more entitled to be nervous; it¡¯s like I¡¯m caged with a tigress,¡± rejoined Kadaklan. ¡°Put your pants back on, will you?¡± Amdirlain hopped up and pulled on a pair from the cupboard. ¡°Okay, what¡¯s the verdict for real?¡± ¡°Most of the splinters haven¡¯t left a mark. I¡¯m glad you took the time to cycle Ki soon after the injury. There is a thickening in areas of your leg¡¯s net at some locations,¡± reported Kadaklan. ¡°I want you cycling at least a few hours daily to seal them properly and promote regrowth. The node that didn¡¯t form properly isn¡¯t looking good, and it¡¯s a matter of when I can operate to fix it rather than if I¡¯ll need to operate.¡± ¡°Ouch, okay. I¡¯ll admit I didn¡¯t like the junction¡¯s appearance,¡± said Amdirlain. Kadaklan frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d leave the Eldritch alone and take the time to let your legs heal rather than stay?¡± ¡°Leave the world completely? No,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she continued before Kadaklan could protest. ¡°I plan to take what Eldritch I can kill or imprison out at a distance until my legs recover properly. I¡¯ve got a plan to kill two birds with one stone. How long will I need for the net in my legs to heal properly?¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t overstrain it again?¡± asked Kadaklan, not hiding his concern. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s a given. I know I¡¯ll need to avoid that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°As I told you before, it can vary from months to years. How many hours have you allowed yourself for Ki Cycling since the operation?¡± probed Kadaklan. Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°Likely not enough.¡± ¡°Your cover identity didn¡¯t get ruined. Please don¡¯t be careless and ruin your legs¡¯ healing. The sooner you begin regular gentle Ki cycling, the better,¡± advised Kadaklan reprovingly. ¡°And don¡¯t be overstraining your body or try to take shortcuts in your healing.¡± ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t take shortcuts, but Del¡¯krin was moving wisps of Ki about when I left,¡± teased Amdirlain. Kadaklan fixed Amdirlain with a pointed look. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised at Del¡¯krin¡¯s ability to do so with the amount of Ki her old injuries required. If she can keep the wisps moving after the aftereffects settle remains to be seen. She, however, didn¡¯t have her legs completely severed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make time to cycle each night,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Please do,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Why are you trying to improve your Mental Hardening?¡± ¡°I got offered three variations of powers around my shapeshifting and regeneration ability; one of them is called Phoenix¡¯s Immolation,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she explained what each of them did. ¡°You simply see these ¡®notifications¡¯ in your mind?¡± asked Kadaklan, and he sat on the foot of the bed. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°If this Power relates to the South Wind, the greater Phoenix Shen can erupt into flames more frequently than you''ve been told,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you could get me information on their prerequisites?¡± enquired Amdirlain excitedly, her ears twitching at his words. ¡°Others don¡¯t simply receive a notification,¡± chided Kadaklan gently. ¡°However, I¡¯ll send some messages and see if there are insights they can provide. Do you believe you¡¯d more likely need your powers and skills stronger or new capabilities?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, but for an experiment, I was going to try to bring the other three powers up to match Protean,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I have been able to make out more details in my Third Eye since the healing,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°You said your Mental Hardening is already in Grand Mastery. It¡¯s possible you need its evolution to get the next Power. Perhaps I was too quick to reject continuing.¡± ¡°OH!?¡± grinned Amdirlain in barely restrained excitement. Her eagerness had Kadaklan glaring at her sternly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean I seek or desire to cause you pain.¡± ¡°Think of it as rehabilitation therapy,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Should I lay down for you, baby?¡± ¡°Amdirlain,¡± laughed Kadaklan. ¡°Now I know you just want me for my eye.¡± Cupping her face in her hands, Amdirlain battered her eyelids coyly. Kadaklan groaned and shook his head, muttering briefly before he continued. ¡°Del¡¯krin told me some of what she went through to walk again. It is not an idea with which I¡¯m familiar.¡± ¡°Maybe you could visit some hospitals and volunteer; you might see it firsthand,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Kadaklan huffed. ¡°If I saw their suffering, do you think I could resist tampering and healing them?¡± ¡°You could take that approach. Del¡¯krin¡¯s situation would give you credibility that your abilities work. Maybe you could get their healers to supervise and study your patients. If you can encourage more to use Ki healing techniques, it might help their souls find enlightenment,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Just ensure they know no gods are involved; that¡¯s a sensitive subject.¡± ¡°I already discovered that firsthand when-¡± said Kadaklan, and he paused mid-sentence. ¡°If it hadn¡¯t been for us pursuing you without warning, I¡¯d wonder if you and Livia hadn¡¯t manipulated me into coming.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d messaged me, I would have lined up a time to return to the base camp,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call?¡± ¡°Your Sarah was there and already going to go find you,¡± informed Kadaklan. ¡°It seemed logical to aid her search and come with her.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not my Sarah; she¡¯s her own person,¡± corrected Amdirlain lightly. Kadaklan considered her kindly. ¡°Often, the longer you avoid dealing with a wound, the worse the consequences of a wound will get, as it is with issues between people. Those issues don¡¯t have to be arguments, just misunderstandings about mutual interests or desired goals.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°There are many factors involved in our situation, but I''m pretty sure I won¡¯t ever be what she hopes.¡± Kadaklan nodded. ¡°Now, onto your issue, which doesn¡¯t seem like a small matter given the efforts likely involved. Angelic Aura, I doubt I can do anything to help you since my abilities are not that of a Wu Jen. However, some elixirs can cause great pain, even to immortal flesh.¡± ¡°You know immortal poisons?¡± questioned Amdirlain, her tail tip raised in anticipation. Kadaklan fixed her with a suspicious look. ¡°Why so eager?¡± ¡°I might need to develop some specific resistances,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Taking small doses of a poison to build tolerance is a well-known approach,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Though I think in your case, I¡¯d have to provide bucket loads to do significant enough damage for your body to adjust to it.¡± ¡°Or, you know, provide one small vial of different strength poisons,¡± snickered Amdirlain. ¡°Such poisons are no laughing matter. Though your ability to create shocked me, I¡¯ll now assume it¡¯s not limited to the materials required for the operations you underwent,¡± said Kadaklan, and he continued after Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You¡¯ll need to get your spiritual net repaired before risking any of those.¡± ¡°So they would be for more than progressing Protean?¡± ¡°Some injure painlessly, but some are agonising, both to flesh and spirit,¡± corrected Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯d expect those to allow you to progress your Protean, Pain Eater, and Mental Hardening together. Though I would suggest being more selective, it¡¯s far too easy to overload yourself, and you won¡¯t be seeing Judge Po.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though you could look to develop a poison to kill me and contact me after to release me. I¡¯m sure I¡¯d be worth a tonne of experience to progress your Tao Alchemist Class.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tempt me,¡± grumbled Kadaklan unhappily. ¡°I could try to add certain elemental aspects to the poisons, but even the base version is difficult.¡± ¡°That means in the meantime, we could work on my Mental Hardening and your Third Eye,¡± proposed Amdirlain excitedly. ¡°It¡¯s in Grand Master, but, even if it¡¯s only getting folded into another Power, having it stronger would be good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure that my Third Eye isn¡¯t the only thing that progressed for me, given the look you fixed me with required firming my spine,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°Win-win,¡± cheered Amdirlain, and she smiled reassuringly when Kadaklan sighed. ¡°Cheer up, keep in mind it is more like physical therapy. You¡¯re helping me overcome the limits of this flesh I¡¯m trapped in and moving me towards being able to get free.¡± Kadaklan stopped. ¡°That truly is a possibility for you?¡± ¡°It is,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Then you shall have my best efforts to assist you,¡± declared Kadaklan. Standing, he motioned to the door. ¡°After you, Am.¡± ¡°No, I insist, after you,¡± grinned Amdirlain, remembering one of her father¡¯s jokes. Though he fixed her with a suspicious look for her cheery mood, Kadaklan led the way to the living room. The receiver was off, and Sarah was picking Jan¡¯era¡¯s brain about the equipment in the studio. ¡°How¡¯s the patient looking, Kadaklan? Do you think you¡¯ll have to amputate the head to save the body?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°There is no question she has a few screws loose,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Her legs have suffered some strain but should recover from her exertions.¡± ¡°What sort of strain?¡± Jan¡¯era asked. ¡°Anything we need her to avoid performance-wise for any shows?¡± ¡°There shouldn''t be any issues unless you plan to have her cross hundreds of kilometres of rugged terrain,¡± reassured Kadaklan. ¡°The shortcut I used got me closer than that, Kadaklan,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era nodded. ¡°Right, no taking part in any weird athletic competitions. Fortunately, that wasn¡¯t on my list of promotional activities.¡± ¡°Phew,¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, and she let her shoulders drop in mock relief. ¡°What first regarding performances, boss?¡± ¡°Unless you plan to keep conducting the wordless performances you undertake, you''ll need lyrics. The studio has some songs, or you can compose with Jal¡¯krin or source from someone else. The initial goal is getting together enough music you like for an initial set,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. ¡°Once you¡¯ve enough planned for even a short, repeatable set, we can get you bookings at places like Clearstrike¡¯s.¡± ¡°Would you mind if I look at your studio gear tomorrow?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°If it would help Am, I¡¯m happy to refresh the runes or build replacement sections. I could set them up so you can test elements independently before swapping them in.¡± Jan¡¯era paused in surprise. ¡°Everything in the studio is custom work. While I¡¯d have to check, I don¡¯t believe the same Artificer has ever handled the gear¡¯s maintenance.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll look to build fresh sections,¡± declared Sarah. Though she looked tempted to protest, Jan¡¯era nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the tour tomorrow. I didn¡¯t know signing Am on came with additional medical and technical support.¡± Sarah grinned. ¡°We¡¯re a group full of surprises. Help one of us, and you get the rest of us helping you in return. You opened your home to us, which is completely unexpected. We want to ensure we show our appreciation for your hospitality.¡± ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a business arrangement,¡± Jan¡¯era tried to object. ¡°It is business. The better her traces sound, the more they¡¯ll sell,¡± responded Sarah. ¡°That helps both of you.¡± Surrendering to Sarah¡¯s logic, Jan¡¯era stood, bid them goodnight, and headed for her bedroom. ¡°I¡¯m going to retire myself,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Good night to you both.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll try out the washroom¡¯s enchantments,¡± advised Sarah. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Was I keeping you all awake?¡± ¡°Absolutely, waiting up to make sure you got home safe, young lady,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°A shocking lack of consideration, woe is me,¡± gushed Amdirlain, and she retreated to her bedroom. Turning over plans in her mind, she lay on the bed and created a concealed crystal for storing Ki before she began to croon. When Sarah entered the room, she sat beside Amdirlain and listened to her humming. ¡°A penny for your thoughts?¡± Amdirlain turned on her side and looked up at Sarah. ¡°Bait.¡± ¡°You might need to expand on that one?¡± replied Sarah. ¡°What you talked about, Ori baiting the Eldritch to come to her,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I need to set up bait that is tempting, alluring, and accessible.¡± ¡°I was going to roam through the city tomorrow and see about purging as many of the eldritch manipulators as possible,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Any idea how many there are? Many people with memories wiped will strain the hospitals, since they¡¯re quarantining them.¡± ¡°Kadaklan wants me to avoid straining my form, so I¡¯ll have to hold off on big singing projects,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯ve got another helper for Mor¡¯lmes, so while he investigates and you clean up the manipulators, I¡¯ll take time for other things.¡± ¡°It gives you more time to plan,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Why don¡¯t you cycle? Though you should extend a bond to me, the energies will likely impact me less than Livia. Given you¡¯ve signed up for years with Jan¡¯era, you¡¯d likely have her an Immortal from your Ki alone.¡± ¡°Whether we¡¯re here for that long remains to be seen,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I can always come and go for studio work and performances.¡± ¡°The plaza stuck you with the performing bug, did it?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Maybe,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and she frowned as she extended a bond to Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m not a better friend.¡± Sarah sighed. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have hinted about anything. You¡¯re the best of friends, even if you continually underestimate your contributions, and above all, you¡¯re my oath sister. Now work on fixing your legs so we can kill these fuckers.¡± [Allegiance Bond [B] (5->6)] ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Nearly emptying her Ki pool into the crystal, Amdirlain began to cycle. 325 - Feeling right Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4363 (Local calendar) Amdirlain had cycled her Ki thousands of times before morning rolled around. The illusion around the storage crystal held back a glaring bright glow of golden Ki, and Amdirlain stored it to pass to Kadaklan for the healing potions. As the others stirred, Amdirlain pretended to use the washroom before heading to the kitchen to sort out breakfast. With dawn¡¯s transition approaching, Amdirlain sent a warning note to Livia. ¡°Sarah¡¯s told me to give her a bond so I can use her as an anchor. Not sure if you want to keep sticking around or if you want to pack up and head back for now.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as if we can¡¯t come back easily, now that we¡¯ve been here,¡± acknowledged Livia. ¡°I¡¯ll venture to Nolmar with the others and see what that tower of yours is like.¡± ¡°The amount of experience others are sending my way through it, well, let¡¯s say you might have to compete with them for playtime,¡± laughed Amdirlain before she started to eat. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can convince Klipyl to share her toys,¡± replied Livia. Amdirlain had nearly finished breakfast when Sarah appeared and settled at the table between the kitchen and living area with a grunt. ¡°Any ideas what your routine¡¯s going to look like?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see how things go for now before I look to set any schedule,¡± answered Amdirlain. Sarah nodded, and her gaze flicked downwards as if she could see Amdirlain¡¯s legs through the table. ¡°You might end up pulling late-nighters with club performances. Have to make sure you get a proper sleep cycle.¡± ¡°True. I will also have training sessions with Cla¡¯nes regularly,¡± replied Amdirlain. Claws clicking on the tiles made them look towards the corridor, and Jan¡¯era emerged with sleep-tousled hair. Her morning attire was a baggy black shirt with a dangerously low neckline and matching pants that pooled across the top of her feet. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, did we wake you?¡± asked Amdirlain, amused by Jan¡¯era jumping straight into business. An unbothered Jan¡¯era waved her off casually. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a busy day finding our footing and getting you started; best to get an early start.¡± ¡°What¡¯s on the agenda for today?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era swept her long, red fringe back up and secured it behind her pink ear. ¡°Yesterday, when you were meeting with Cla¡¯nes, I had my staff pull the catalogue of songs the studio has the rights to so you can look through them. Between them and working with Jal¡¯krin, hopefully you can organise material for a solid set for release in short order." Sarah tilted her head curiously. ¡°You just have the rights to songs floating around?¡± Jan¡¯era shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s one aspect of the business. Sometimes you¡¯ll talk to songwriters that aren¡¯t inclined to perform. If you like it, you might buy the rights even if you don¡¯t immediately have a performer for them. The composers get a payday, and the studio has an unhindered asset for future use.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s ears flicked at her curiosity. ¡°Is it a once-off payment?¡± "Depends on whether they want more money upfront, or later," said Jan''era while preparing her food. As Jal¡¯krin and Kadaklan emerged from their rooms, the morning preparation got off to a somewhat awkward start. Having five strangers with no idea of the others¡¯ usual routines, there was a bit of getting in each other¡¯s way, even in the large apartment. When everyone was ready, Jan¡¯era frowned, and Amdirlain caught her considering the transport logistics. ¡°You¡¯ve only got the two-seater Jan¡¯era, and we¡¯ll have to change the transport route to get to the studio, right?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Correct,¡± sighed Jan¡¯era. ¡°Just send a note to the unit when you get there. I¡¯ll transport Jal¡¯krin, Kadaklan, and myself over,¡± proposed Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged and let Jan¡¯era lead the way. ¡°I¡¯ve got some of my regular sound technicians lined up to work with you. They¡¯re not the best in the industry, but they are competent and professional. Given your presence, I wouldn¡¯t expect much from the conversation; they¡¯re likely to get shy and focus on the work,¡± advised Jan¡¯era as she got the vehicle in motion. ¡°I¡¯ll look through the catalogue and see if there are songs whose lyrics I like,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If I find enough around a particular theme, it¡¯ll give Jal¡¯krin a topic to work with to have a consistent feel for the set.¡± ¡°Did I hear you correctly about Lady Cla¡¯nes wanting to have regular training sessions with you?¡± asked Jan¡¯era once she had the vehicle in traffic. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to discuss it with Sarah present since you said she¡¯s overly protective, but Cla¡¯nes has a bit of a reputation.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sure she does, but don¡¯t worry¡ªI think Sarah and Cla¡¯nes will get on well. I¡¯m not sure when the first session will be, but she wants to have me over regularly for training.¡± The day passed in a whirlwind of activity. Skimming through the lyrics on file at the studio, Amdirlain found dozens of songs to try out. Femme Fatale and her enjoyment of innuendos and wordplay added tonnes of extra meaning to lyrics. By the time they finished for the day, Amdirlain could almost see embarrassment steaming out of Jal¡¯krin¡¯s ears. ¡°No one¡¯s going to believe you¡¯re sixteen the way you sing,¡± stated Jal¡¯krin after the sound technician had left the booth. ¡°I¡¯m mature for my age; must have been issued a pre-aged Soul,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin coughed. ¡°I think I¡¯ve gained enough ideas today about the songs you have the most fun performing. You like wordplay, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± agreed Amdirlain, giving him a beaming smile. ¡°I can work with that,¡± Jal¡¯krin said. ¡°Goodie, let¡¯s screw with people¡¯s brains and let them figure out all the hidden meanings,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I think they¡¯ll guess from how you dance,¡± grumbled Jal¡¯krin. Amdirlain blinked innocently. ¡°I barely moved.¡± ¡°Yeah, that was all you needed.¡± * * * Sarah closed the door with an ominous click when they retired that night. ¡°Set a crystal to disguise our absence,¡± instructed Sarah. Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. ¡°What are you up to?¡± The cunning in Sarah¡¯s gaze wasn¡¯t comforting. ¡°You¡¯ve been training Cla¡¯nes, and I spoke to Kadaklan about training you. He said you were talking about pushing your resistances up, so that¡¯s what we¡¯ll do.¡± Once the crystal was in place, Amdirlain teleported them to the deserted base camp. ¡°I''m going to ignore the implications of your eagerness to train me, Ms Dominatrix. I feel like I¡¯m neglecting Goxashru,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Sarah snickered. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The hatchling is so young, plenty of years to help you get in trouble. I hope there is plenty of space for you to run around.¡± ¡°Why?¡± An array of enchanted cannons, bolt casters, and mortars appeared, floating around Sarah. An unrepentant grin curled Sarah¡¯s lips. ¡°Resistance training! I¡¯ve got weapons for every Affinity, you -.¡± ¡°Holy shot!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. Her response gained a pained groan from Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ll pay for that one. Weapons for every Affinity you can gain resistance against, so no Celestial energies of any type. Kadaklan says to use Universal Life to take care of the healing. Good for your net¡¯s recovery.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you cleared it with the doc, I wouldn¡¯t have wanted him to poison me,¡± joked Amdirlain, looking at some of the weaponry that started to track towards her. Sarah coughed and presented Amdirlain with a glass vial. ¡°He said to duplicate and drink this while training to increase the difficulty.¡± ¡°What does it do?¡± enquired Amdirlain, listening to the bubbling energy within the container. ¡°It¡¯s used for interrogating some types of demons; think of it as liquid pain,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Eek!¡± squeaked Amdirlain, and she soon had hundreds of duplicates resting on the courtyard¡¯s stones. As Amdirlain chugged the one still in her hand, the other vials disappeared into Sarah¡¯s Inventory. As Amdirlain¡¯s muscles spasmed uncertainly, Pain Eater twitched and registered hundreds of spikes in sensation. A dust mote touching her skin felt like a sword driven through bone. ¡°Oh, joy! Afternoons with Cla¡¯nes and free evenings playing torture dodge,¡± drawled Amdirlain as her sensitive flesh started objecting to the shift of every hair follicle. ¡°You wanted to get tougher, but you can choose to run?,¡± replied Sarah smugly, and she bounced the summoning gadget on her palm. ¡°Better add me to this, so if I kill you, I can summon you, and strip, unless you want to replace your clothing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a hentai.¡± A sizzling green bolt smacked into Amdirlain¡¯s arm even as the first notification showed. [Resistance: Poison [M] (3->4)] ¡°Your fuzzy arse doesn¡¯t even count as a spice,¡± retorted Sarah with forced lightness. ¡°Thanks, Sarah,¡± said Amdirlain apologetically. Sarah smiled. ¡°Anything for you, sweetie.¡± * * * * Three days later, sitting in a cafe booth, Mor¡¯lmes checked his watch impatiently. A lashing tail accented his already twitching ears, which was fair since Amdirlain was twenty minutes late. Across from him, a female with faded blue and white fur regarded him curiously. Her casual white blouse and dark grey skirt were neat, but nothing about them spoke of an arcane background. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ve no way to contact them?¡± asked the female. ¡°I don¡¯t have a link code for her. J was insistent about meeting you and discussing the matter with you herself,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. The lady sipped her drink and returned it to the coaster¡¯s centre. ¡°The child is a prodigy, but I don¡¯t have the Gravity Affinity to assist her.¡± ¡°Which is manageable, but J was going to offer you some incentives in that space,¡± responded Mor¡¯lmes. Mor¡¯lmes glanced towards the door, and when he looked back, the female before him was staring off into space with an astonished expression that matched Wha¡¯sin while J had been teaching her. ¡°She doesn¡¯t even show up and pretend to be normal. How am I going to explain this?¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes. A few minutes later, the lady licked her lips and stood. ¡°Have someone bring the child by my house. She¡¯ll be staying with me as a live-in apprentice. I don¡¯t want to know who or what your J is, or how you came to meet her, but she has a mental presence that is far from normal.¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I don¡¯t know either, but she¡¯s helped resolve some problems,¡± admitted Mor¡¯lmes. The female placed a hand on Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ shoulder. ¡°You never had much interest in the Mental Affinity, but how she touched my mind wasn¡¯t a Spell. I was helpless in her grasp, and she slipped through my mental walls like they were cobwebs. You can be a real prick, Mor¡¯lmes, but I¡¯d hate to see you a mindless vegetable.¡± Mor¡¯lmes grumbled. ¡°Thanks for your concern.¡± ¡°Give my best to Wha¡¯sin and tell her to attend the next pride gathering; she¡¯s been missing too many with all her work.¡± ¡°I will,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes, and he rose to follow her out the door. He dropped some coins on the table to cover their drinks. When he looked up, she was already outside and moving at a pace he hadn¡¯t seen her possess for a decade. Amdirlain, physically a few kilometres away, handed over the microphone to the spirited cheers of the club¡¯s lunchtime crowd. The cheerful song she¡¯d picked out of the studio¡¯s collection had sounded innocent enough, but from how the crowd reacted, context combined with Femme Fatale had caught her again. Jan¡¯era waited near the stage steps, and moved in time with her. As they passed through the crowd, Jan¡¯era bent down so she could speak in her ear. ¡°You could have given them an encore.¡± ¡°Better to leave them thirsty for next time, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Speaking of thirsty, Al¡¯stri wants you on his show in three months,¡± said Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain smiled and played up her honest ignorance. ¡°You¡¯ll need to explain that one; that seems like a lot of advance notice.¡± ¡°Not even close to a normal lead time. I¡¯ll tell you on the way to your appointment with Lady Cla¡¯nes,¡± advised Jan¡¯era, and she detoured through the crowd to head for the club¡¯s side exit. It still took them a little while to get free of the club patrons, and Amdirlain felt a few of the powerful ones try to press her to linger with them. After recording more than a few visual traces for guests, she and Jan¡¯era slipped free and into the parking bay beside the club. ¡°You certainly leave an impression,¡± laughed Jan¡¯era when they finally got settled in her vehicle, her ears twitching excitedly. ¡°I kept it furled,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°You enjoy the rush of the energy in the crowd, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Rush of energy from the crowd, or levelling. I don¡¯t know how the world determines these things, but successful shows always give me a buzz,¡± replied Jan¡¯era, and she checked her link unit, which had buzzed at a series of incoming messages. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Why?¡± ¡°Jal¡¯krin warned me about you and that word. What level did the college reader show for your Bard this morning?¡± asked Jan¡¯era. I should have researched how a Bard levels before taking this approach. The experience per person per hour of entertainment isn¡¯t much for a regular act, but I¡¯m so abnormal. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Oh, so ''fine'' and ''why'' are two words you like to play with,¡± huffed Jan¡¯era, and she fixed Amdirlain with a concerned look. ¡°The club¡¯s manager just messaged me. He didn¡¯t give anyone advance notice, but your song still got recast by one station with a bigger reach. He wanted to know if you¡¯re feeling alright.¡± Given Jan¡¯era¡¯s concern, Amdirlain repressed her mischief. ¡°Level nineteen. I¡¯ve got a good tingle, but nothing like the plaza. It was also only one song, but I¡¯ll tell you if I feel funny. How big was the audience?¡± ¡°That one caster has numbers in the thousands. He said he¡¯ll see your share deposited into the reserve today as an apology instead of waiting the usual account period,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. Her eyes narrowed protectively at the messages that followed. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to feel like I¡¯m isolating you, but maybe we should hold off getting you that link unit today.¡± ¡°What was that note about?¡± Amdirlain asked curiously, wondering about Jan¡¯era¡¯s concern. ¡°Notes. They asked to express their admiration directly, and I don¡¯t like the subtext,¡± replied Jan¡¯era. ¡°Kitten, maybe you should just stand still on stage. Your moves are too adult for your age to put the sleazoids off.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the law keepers go after them?¡± ¡°You¡¯re of legal age, so not if they convinced you to say yes,¡± sighed Jan¡¯era. ¡°But there is legal, and then there is decent conduct.¡± I¡¯m feeling horrible worrying her about risks of me levelling too much. Amdirlain forced out a laugh. ¡°Okay, so that¡¯s why a few tried to give me the ''come-hither'' on the way out when you weren¡¯t looking. Maybe I should set Sarah on them; she¡¯d eat them alive.¡± Jan¡¯era¡¯s concerned look grew more potent, and she reached over to rub Amdirlain¡¯s ears reassuringly. ¡°Sorry for underestimating your Charisma. In the future, I¡¯ll only secure venues with an exit through the back. I don¡¯t want to cramp you, but I might have to get you a bodyguard or an assistant with Mental Clarity to watch your back.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an extra cost, so you should hit up Sarah to bleed out the Mana to cover it,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s not go there,¡± Jan¡¯era insisted, and Amdirlain caught that Jan¡¯era was expecting a fuss over Kadaklan¡¯s Mana contribution. ¡°Okay, well, tell me about Al¡¯stri¡¯s show while you drive,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, let¡¯s not be late,¡± agreed Jan¡¯era, and she got the vehicle into gear. ¡°Now, safety issue, are you prepared to do enough shows to get at least eleven or twelve levels between now and then?¡± I¡¯ll pretend I took other classes so she can relax; it still feels like I¡¯m doubling down on a lie. ¡°Bard gives me some combat capability, so I took Virtuoso, Diva, and ?Prima Donna,¡± advised Amdirlain, glad Jal¡¯krin had given her the lead on two evolved performer classes. ¡°You have four performance classes that all boost your Charisma; heck, kitten, now I know I need a bodyguard for you,¡± gasped Jan¡¯era, but she didn¡¯t look away from the road. ¡°It¡¯s late news, but it means this show¡¯s offer is far more manageable.¡± ¡°Would you tell me about this show?¡± prompted Amdirlain. ¡°Al¡¯stri¡¯s show is the city¡¯s most popular variety show and is re-cast in dozens of cities. He or Kal¡¯strum must have removed someone. She¡¯s normally got his guests scheduled a year or more in advance,¡± advised Jan¡¯era, her muzzle curled into a smug grin. ¡°If they like you, then you¡¯ll get regular exposure, and we can line that up for whenever you¡¯ve got a new set of traces to release.¡± ¡°Will you take me through what to expect?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era nodded. ¡°Of course, but it won¡¯t be a problem; being argumentative will fit his viewership and your age.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not argumentative,¡± objected Amdirlain playfully. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you and your sister argue and have already noticed you switch sides for the fun of it,¡± huffed Jan¡¯era. Those illusionary conversations came in handy for setting an impression. Amdirlain forced a worried expression. ¡°If he¡¯s that popular, isn¡¯t it too early for me to go on? I was expecting to level more first.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just it, Kal''strum''s connections can help you get the club performances you want before your appearance on their show," Jan''era explained. "This isn¡¯t an opportunity I was expecting so early. This club slot was supposed to be just to keep your name active.¡± ¡°No other option besides being argumentative?" asked Amdirlain. ¡°If you were older, the other option would be flirty. He doesn¡¯t make a play, but it will drive Kal¡¯strum into a frenzy, which Al¡¯stri and his audience appreciate,¡± laughed Jan¡¯era as she stopped at an intersection. ¡°Why?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s a native of the Matriarch¡¯s dominion. I¡¯ve not met a female from there that isn¡¯t very status focused. Any dominance plays around her mate set her off faster than a projector bolt. Since that sort of raging pheromone is rating gold, Kal¡¯strum¡¯s always close enough to the stage for the caster to pick her up,¡± explained Jan¡¯era. ¡°Kal¡¯strum gets off on guests making a play for her mate?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s the only reason I can think of for it to remain purely amusing.¡± ¡°I heard Sarah say one person¡¯s spice is another¡¯s vanilla,¡± noted Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Yeah, she likes that saying.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯ve had this spice going for years, and it¡¯s not grown stale. Their audience eats it up,¡± clarified Jan¡¯era. ¡°We¡¯ll get you a nice modest dress to downplay your Skill¡¯s sex vibe. See if you can find a relaxing melody for the show. You''ll be the opening act before the principal guests, and they want you to help people unwind and stay focused.¡± ¡°If I go for relaxing, it will put the audience to sleep unless my Charisma behaves,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe I should go for something bright to bring them in.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get them to make the call so the outcome is in the producer¡¯s hands,¡± proposed Jan¡¯era. ¡°Drop by the college tomorrow to see if any of your new classes levelled from today. I doubt it, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to check.¡± The silver filigree of Tilrista shone in the sunlight and looked impressive when Amdirlain arrived. Approaching the car, the valet detoured when Jan¡¯era signalled towards Amdirlain. However, before he¡¯d got two steps around the vehicle, Amdirlain had already hopped out. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m running late to see Lady Cla¡¯nes.¡± ¡°Welcome to the Tilrista, Am,¡± replied the valet. His genuine smile added crease lines through the dark blue fur around his eyes. ¡°Ssa¡¯time sent down your image earlier. Please follow me.¡± * * * * * The snug-fitting black crop top and slacks Ssa¡¯time wore made the colour of her auburn fur pop. The steel-hued ribbons styled her hair in a braided pillar with a ponytail descending from its top across her right shoulder rather than held in complex braids tight against her head. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to see you again, Am. If you¡¯d accompany me?¡± Ssa¡¯time¡¯s concern was held away from her expression, but Amdirlain still probed. ¡°Is it a pleasure, Ssa¡¯time?¡± ¡°You are Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s guest. It¡¯s always a pleasure for me to receive her guests,¡± informed Ssa¡¯time. ¡°You realise that just told me no?¡± asked Amdirlain. Ssa¡¯time flicked her ears nervously. ¡°Am, I¡¯d ask you to take no offence from this correction.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± prompted Amdirlain. Motioning towards the dark-wood lined corridor from the last visit, Ssa¡¯time started walking. ¡°It is not my place to comment on who Lady Cla¡¯nes does or doesn¡¯t entertain. While there were unusual events while you were present, Lady Cla¡¯nes is looking forward to seeing you again, and that is all I need to know. You also have not been the most disruptive of guests that have graced Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s company.¡± For a combat veteran, she must have a high level of Diplomacy, maybe from the Matriarch¡¯s Guard Class. When Ssa¡¯time announced her with another precise bow, Cla¡¯nes rose from her couch and came forward to greet Amdirlain with a hug. When she released Amdirlain, Cla¡¯nes addressed Ssa¡¯time. ¡°I¡¯ll ring through if there is anything we need, but there is no need to secure this door.¡± ¡°Of course, Lady Cla¡¯nes,¡± acknowledged Ssa¡¯time. Looping her arm through Amdirlain¡¯s, Cla¡¯nes escorted Amdirlain to the couch she had picked last time before returning to hers. As Amdirlain settled down, she smiled at Cla¡¯nes. ¡°How much time do you have free this afternoon?¡± ¡°Only four hours. Unfortunately, I¡¯ll need some time to recover before dinner this evening,¡± sighed Cla¡¯nes. ¡°The other night was the fastest progress my record has shown for Mental Clarity, Mental Resilience, and Composure.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t even know that was a Skill. I¡¯d thought something like that would be part of Diplomacy,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Diplomacy helps not make a faux pas during conversation or react properly in social situations. Composure helps one not to blink when staring at the business end of a projector,¡± advised Cla¡¯nes. I think I might have looked at this the wrong way. Ilya had made that point, but I hadn¡¯t been in the mind space to consider it. ¡°What about instead of known paths to alter Femme Fatale, we consider additional skills?,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes whiskers twitched. ¡°What do you object most to about Femme Fatale?¡± ¡°The hypersexuality,¡± Amdirlain immediately replied. ¡°So, not that people are looking at you, but how the Skill has you entice their interest?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Correct.¡± ¡°Let me consider it with some contacts and get back to you,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Even if they only have theories, I¡¯d appreciate their thoughts. That said, let¡¯s train your abilities,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she put a barrier in place before she let her presence unfurl. Two hours later, training Cla¡¯nes¡¯s abilities had been going well until the link unit in the room chimed. ¡°Lady Cla¡¯nes, a law keeper is here to see you and Am. Her name is Wha¡¯sin of the Silverspring pride.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know her,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes groggily, and she rapidly straightened when Amdirlain ultimately drew in her Charisma. ¡°I do,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°Please allow her to come upstairs, Lady Cla¡¯nes. She¡¯s Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ mate.¡± Cla¡¯nes''s ears flickered. ¡°You told me not to connect you and J, and I haven¡¯t. Why is she here to see both of us?¡± ¡°I can think of a couple of ways I might have called attention,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Or it could be about the plaza,¡± proposed Cla¡¯nes, and she touched a rune on the unit. ¡°I¡¯ll receive her in this room, though I don¡¯t believe there is a need to prepare refreshments.¡± Though the elevator ride from the foyer was high-speed, it was a few minutes before the elevator door chimed open. Amdirlain had already picked out the nervous thoughts from Wha¡¯sin¡¯s mind, along with her intended proposals. We might as well have used signal flares between the Mana donations in the grid and Kadaklan healing at the hospital. The last straw was her catching the club¡¯s broadcast today. ¡°Wha¡¯sin made several connections that linked back to me, not from anything you did,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s see how things work out.¡± ¡°Good afternoon, Wha¡¯sin. Did you have to step on Mor¡¯lmes'' foot to get him to not accompany you?¡± asked Amdirlain, ensuring her tone was light and friendly. Wha¡¯sin¡¯s tensed frame relaxed. ¡°He doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m here to speak with you, nor that you¡¯re here. I had hoped we might have a longer conversation.¡± Cla¡¯nes smiled invitingly and patted the couch beside herself. She¡¯d used the same gesture to beckon Amdirlain closer at their first meeting. ¡°Please, come in and relax, law keeper Wha¡¯sin.¡± Wha¡¯sin¡¯s silver hand smoothed her hair back around her left ear before she walked over and sat on the couch beside Amdirlain. Amdirlain wrapped an illusion around the three of them before she spoke again. ¡°What can I help you with?¡± ¡°What became of my mate¡¯s mentors?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find them in the natal unit of the Osaphis¡¯ military district hospital. I¡¯m sorry, but there wasn¡¯t a lot left that the Eldritch hadn¡¯t corrupted. The hospital believes they¡¯re abandoned,¡± advised Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes blinked in surprise, but Wha¡¯sin nodded. ¡°You warned us that their corruption can spread. I didn¡¯t consider it could pollute everything. Lady Cla¡¯nes, might I ask what your involvement in these matter are?¡± ¡°Only what Am had told me a few nights ago. I¡¯ve been preparing to get in touch with your mate to offer my help,¡± explained Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Are you here to charge someone?¡± ¡°I believe that would be more disruptive than is within my authority,¡± replied Wha¡¯sin. Amdirlain used her Charisma to calm and bolster Wha''sin''s racing thoughts. ¡°Yet you¡¯ve come seeking me. What is it you truly desire?¡± [Inspire unlocked! Inspire (1) Achievement in force: Muse of Sorrow and Hope Significant synergy with Muse achievement. Inspire (1) -> [Ap] (1) Note: You¡¯re not just pretty fur and a nice tail.] ¡°I wanted to speak to you about the Class to help with affinities and the hospital reports from those you cured. The Life Mana spells I¡¯ve read through say not to try them if someone suffers from any diseases,¡± observed Wha''sin. ¡°That¡¯s because the Life energies can amplify the disease¡¯s growth faster than the body¡¯s recovery,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Always use something like Diagnose from Analysing Ways to ensure it¡¯s safe first.¡± ¡°Yet you and a Kadaklan from your pride have cured patients with exactly those sorts of illnesses,¡± continued Wha¡¯sin. ¡°We¡¯re not using the Spell List I provided you. Kadaklan and I access the same Power but through different classes,¡± advised Amdirlain. Wha¡¯sin¡¯s muzzle twisted in distaste. ¡°Is this healing given by gods?¡± Snorting, Amdirlain vigorously shook her head. ¡°No, let me explain to you about Ki. It is a reserve of Life energies within every individual. It¡¯s simply a matter of harnessing it.¡± Wha''sin nodded decisively. ¡°I don¡¯t have a free Class spot, and I¡¯m unlikely to Prestige again. Can you teach some of our observer teams as a starting point?¡± ¡°We can do that, but I¡¯ll need something in return,¡± replied Amdirlain. Wha¡¯sin tensed with suspicion but quickly pushed it aside. ¡°What is it you¡¯re after?¡± ¡°Advice.¡± ¡°About what?¡± echoed Wha''sin and Cla''nes. ¡°The Gods¡¯ Grave draws in Mana and uses it inefficiently. I can tap into that to provide challenges that let people level without fighting the undead. However, I need local insights to ensure it¡¯s as accessible as possible, and some won¡¯t simply monopolise it,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Would this lessen the graves?¡± asked Wha¡¯sin. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Not lessen, but I can reduce their unpredictability by stabilising the flow of Mana into them. Let me explain what I had in mind. You can talk to your mate and give me suggestions.¡± Once Amdirlain got through repeating what she¡¯d told Sarah, she created a pair of palm-sized crystal discs. The first crystal contained the explanation and instructions for providing feedback. Wha¡¯sin looked at the golden glow fading from the crystals. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Have people answer the crystal''s questions, and the messages will get recorded to this one,¡± explained Amdirlain. Picking up the second crystal, she bounced it on her palm before it disappeared. ¡°They won¡¯t be traceable via Mana, but you can try. This way, you can tell Mor¡¯lmes it just showed up and not point a finger at me.¡± Still looking taken aback, Wha¡¯sin picked up the crystal, and her smile brightened. ¡°Some people might report it and lock it away.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll seed thousands of them throughout the city and take input from those that don¡¯t ignore it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though this city will be the first I help, it won¡¯t be the only one. Entering the training grounds will be dangerous still, but it¡¯s people¡¯s choice, and there will be rewards.¡± I am becoming a bloody dungeon master. I''ll use approaches like the Planar conduit leading through to the Gods¡¯ Grave to avoid extensive use of True Song crystal, so I don¡¯t have to keep repairing it. At least I can manage that subtle touch. It will need them to drop materials back into the Demi-planes in return so the mass on the planet doesn¡¯t keep increasing, though that¡¯s a long-term issue. Wha¡¯sin nodded. ¡°Best we know ahead of time, so the law keepers or another organisation is there to support them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll update that crystal with the access methods and rules I decide,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I thought that entrances might spread through the city, but the exit is near the military base for central medical and loot administration.¡± ¡°Loot?¡± grunted Wha¡¯sin in confusion. Amdirlain gave an embarrassed smile. ¡°Materials from the monsters within the training levels, slimes¡¯ cores, beast hides, or items manifested within their dens. The creatures won¡¯t just magically disappear and leave objects behind. I intend people to learn to harvest to profit the most from their battles.¡± Plus, setting up something like that would be a completely inefficient use of Mana. ¡°Patron families might try to hi-jack anyone or set a permit rule from bringing materials out,¡± cautioned Wha¡¯sin. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Your local advice is proving helpful already. How about an allowed marketplace for selling goods, and people pay transaction fees to the city coffers? Get ahead, and then if a particular patron family objects, you can point out to the rest they¡¯re trying to steal from them.¡± [Diplomacy [J] (32->33)] 326 - Attention Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4369 (Local calendar) Jan¡¯era¡¯s skill promoting her gave Amdirlain plenty of opportunities to practice Cla¡¯nes''s lessons over the next five and a half years. The long healing period required by her legs gave Amdirlain plenty of time to deal with other matters. Her recent set of songs was likely to be her last, with the initial promotions already having her close to her goals. As the last notes faded away, Amdirlain lowered the microphone and tapped the rune to turn it off. Even before she¡¯d finished the movement, the signal flipped to the host¡¯s stage across the studio from her. With the primary caster now fixed on Al¡¯stri, the sound technician came forward, and Amdirlain quickly handed the microphone over. Tossing his head to get his fringe out of his eyes, the technician set the larger mic aside to avoid enchantment interference and took a discrete pick-up mic from his assistant. Picking the outrage from the assistant¡¯s mind, Amdirlain let the sound technician have the rope to hang himself, curious to see what the assistant would do. The assistant¡¯s gaze flicked to the overhead boom, getting the nearby audience''s reaction, and her lips pressed tight. Jul¡¯iane started forward and only halted when Amdirlain gestured to the clock. As the audience''s applause faded, the host started, unaware of the drama out of sight from his stage location. ¡°That was the artist ¡®Am¡¯ in our studio with her latest in a five-year string of hits. Titled ''Honeycomb'', it''s the first trace released from her upcoming set called ''Ice Spire'',¡± Al¡¯stri¡¯s familiar voice crooned. ¡°We''ll be back with Am after this. Now, over to one of today¡¯s sponsors.¡± Amdirlain picked up the sound technician''s thoughts of success with less-protected guests and decided not to leave it to his assistant alone. Her back already partly to the audience, Amdirlain turned and gestured to the female assistant forward as she shifted the neckline of her silver tasselled blouse. Ignoring Amdirlain¡¯s hint of her continual focus on his assistant, the senior technician still stepped in with the small mic, its rune already aglow. Amdirlain¡¯s hand blurred, and she turned off the mic before she pulled it from his stunned grasp. Her smile was purely professional, and she handed it to the female assistant to get it set up inside Amdirlain¡¯s blouse. The screens off to the side showed the broadcast smoothly transitioned between sponsor side stages, where actors and a narrator handled live advertising. They broadcast everything live, like an old radio show where golden-voiced announcers spruiked the latest goods between songs. When the sound technician signalled Al¡¯stri that Amdirlain was good to go, he started to amp up the live audience for the switch back from the advertising. When Amdirlain strode onto the main stage, giving a wave to the audience, a roar greeted her. Their excitement grew louder when stage fans stretched the fabric of her silvery blouse and pants tight against her gliding form. [Femme Fatale [S] (136->137) Note: Sex sells baby!] ¡°Welcome again to the show, Am,¡± said Al¡¯stri, and he gave Amdirlain a slow smile that caused Kal¡¯strum¡¯s scent to warm. As Amdirlain crossed the distance to the crescent of chairs, she greeted the other guests, and, finally, Al¡¯stri rose to clasp her hand. ¡°You¡¯ve grown so much; I can¡¯t believe it¡¯s been five years since you first performed for us.¡± ¡°Thank you for having me, Al¡¯stri,¡± replied Amdirlain as she took the seat closest to him under the bright lights. ¡°Though I¡¯m not much taller than when I was sixteen.¡± ¡°Perhaps not height-wise, but you¡¯ve grown in so many talented ways,¡± observed Al¡¯stri. Amdirlain caught the slightest of whisker twitches and wondered if Al¡¯stri expected all his mates, not just Kal¡¯strum, to peel his fur for his wordplay. After all these years, the antics between Al¡¯stri and Kal¡¯strum were still part of the show''s draw. Amdirlain gave him an innocent smile. ¡°I¡¯m always trying to extend my flexibility.¡± ¡°Indeed, that¡¯s been a delight to experience first-hand. Having you regularly is a joy, Am,¡± purred Al¡¯stri. He must be looking to get her fired up. Grinning, Amdirlain caressed the arm of Al¡¯stri¡¯s chair just next to his wrist. Though Amdirlain didn¡¯t touch Al¡¯stri, Kal¡¯strum¡¯s position didn¡¯t give her a clear view. At the sudden spike in sexual tension from her, Amdirlain half expected Kal¡¯strum to run across the stage and vigorously mark her mate. Amdirlain gave the show¡¯s russet-furred producer standing off stage a teasing glance and felt the audience''s anticipation rise at the ¡®challenge¡¯. ¡°Would you tell us where the inspiration for the name of your latest set comes from?¡± asked Al¡¯stri, jumping straight to the interview with no preamble. ¡°Wow, Al¡¯stri, not even going to warm me up first,¡± gasped Amdirlain, and she playfully brought the hand that had ¡®touched¡¯ him to her mouth. Though Al¡¯stri¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t shift from Amdirlain¡¯s, the heated scent of his mate practically roared. ¡°After your performance tonight, I¡¯m sure the audience would agree you¡¯re already scorching,¡± riposted Al¡¯stri. ¡°In that case, maybe I should stop for a drink before something catches on fire,¡± said Amdirlain, and she directed her attention to Kal¡¯strum, blinked shyly, and trailed a finger down the side of her throat. ¡°Kal¡¯strum, having the crew get me something long and wet would be nice.¡± Amdirlain''s implication that she could give an instruction directly to Kal¡¯strum caused her eyes to flare wide with outrage and excitement. The producer¡¯s musk hit the stage and casters like an explosion. [Inspire [M](100) -> [S](1) Power / Skill evolution options detected Inspiration''s Herald - Skills combines: Femme Fatale [S], Inspire [S], Diplomacy [Ad], Dance [Ad] Muse''s Insight - Skills combines: Femme Fatale [S], Inspire [S], Diplomacy [M] Desire''s Companion - Skills combines: Femme Fatale [S], Inspire [S], Dance [S]] Lust''s Archon - Power combines: Dominion [S], Harmony [S], Femme Fatale [S], Inspire [S], Dance [S], Stimulation [Ad] Doubt''s Blight - Power combines: Dominion [S], Rebuke [Ad], Femme Fatale [S], Inspire [S], Seed doubts [Ap] (Note: All the involved aspects decided that your baggage bypasses the Master rank requirement on Seed doubts.)] Amdirlain almost grunted in surprise but let it slide. The notification jump caused her to wonder how big the show''s re-cast links were for tonight¡¯s performance. She¡¯d intended to tease Kal¡¯strum, not send the caster network up in flames. Al¡¯stri kept a straight face, but Amdirlain could hear his Composure working under the strain. ¡°The critics have debated whether you named your set after the mysterious artefacts and training areas that appeared three years ago or just another of your innuendos.¡± No, just some wordplay. Jal¡¯krin and I got people paranoid about triple meanings in everything. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not in control of what anyone wants to take from my lyrics, Al¡¯stri.¡± ¡°Even with lines like: ''Why does your attention continue to roam?'' ''Do your intentions for me only live within my honeycomb?'' Are you claiming there aren¡¯t any innuendos involved?¡± asked Al¡¯stri. ¡°I had an adorable fan excited that my latest song addressed bees. We both think they¡¯re an entirely underrated part of our ecosystem,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Surely you¡¯re not trying to tell me it¡¯s actually about bees,¡± protested Al¡¯stri. Laughing, Amdirlain gave him a playful smile. ¡°Life in a hive is complex, but its members put the hive first.¡± ¡°Some could say you¡¯re using it to draw an analogy between their bees¡¯ commitment to their hive and roaming partners?¡± ¡°I¡¯d hope anyone in a committed relationship would take it seriously,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What about the reports that you were in a compromising position with the famous Kadaklan? Reports place you entering his lab the other night, yet only returning to your pride¡¯s apartment at dawn?¡± ¡°Do they say how many times we were in and out?" asked Amdirlain, and she let her laughter out, running it caressingly through the audience¡¯s fur. "If spreading rumours brings someone joy, I doubt the truth will get them to relinquish it.¡± * * * * * Amdirlain left the mic on her seat when the show wrapped up. After running her hand up Al¡¯stri¡¯s forearm, she wiggled her fingers and headed towards Kal¡¯strum with a mischievous smile. ¡°Do you want to smell your mate¡¯s scent mingled with mine?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve turned into a complete tease,¡± muttered Kal¡¯strum before she hugged Amdirlain. ¡°Are you coming over this next rest day?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°We have to talk about some things tonight.¡± Kal¡¯strum gave a mock grumble. ¡°How will I convince you to take that marriage spot if you don¡¯t socialise with us enough?¡± ¡°Fourth mate isn¡¯t my style, or are you planning to step down as first?¡± asked Amdirlain with a wide-eyed gasp. ¡°Maybe I should toss him in and run away with you,¡± laughed Kal¡¯strum, and her hand brushed Amdirlain¡¯s arm. ¡°Oh Kal,¡± breathed Amdirlain, and she added a burst of Charisma. This time, Kal¡¯strum went wide-eyed, and Amdirlain winked before escaping. The sound technician from before started to head her way, but Jul¡¯iane swooped in and waved him away. The dark section of turquoise fur around her eyes accented the fire in her gaze. ¡°Am left it on her seat. You try to put your hand in Am¡¯s shirt again, and I¡¯ll feed it to you.¡± The energetic dancer Amdirlain had first met had turned herself into a honed weapon focused on pushing her limits. Rippling muscles showed under her grey shirt and black pants, even down to the claws poking from her boots being tipped with enchanted silver caps. ¡°I was just doing my job,¡± protested the technician. His assistant stalked over, already glaring at him. ¡°I told you three times it was on the write-up for a female technician. You stepped in only where I couldn¡¯t protest without it being picked up by the stage microphone. Fortunately, she didn¡¯t put up with you. I¡¯m sorry, Am; I¡¯ve already informed our supervisor.¡± Jul¡¯iane growled, and Ki, with ice entwined, wrapped around her hands. ¡°You wanted to catch a feel-¡± Amdirlain touched a reassuring hand to Jul¡¯iane¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Write it up for Kal¡¯strum; let her deal with him. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s pulled it before successfully; he¡¯s still too confident and smug. I can understand someone being distracted, but that wasn¡¯t your issue.¡± ¡°Kal¡¯strum¡¯s going to serve you your balls,¡± hissed Jul¡¯iane, and she strode after Amdirlain, who was already heading for the sound stage door. When Jul¡¯iane caught up, Amdirlain gave her a concerned look. ¡°You¡¯re on edge; everything okay?¡± ¡°I¡¯m annoyed I wasn¡¯t close enough. It looks better if I stop incidents,¡± replied Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Is that the only issue? Or is your training team causing more problems?¡± ¡°Too much success; they¡¯ve stopped taking the risk seriously enough,¡± sighed Jul¡¯iane. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve put your enrollment off for two years now. You could get a formal magic education and form a new team later. Or heck, do the dance major you originally planned.¡± ¡°Then who¡¯d be your bodyguard slash assistant slash bird chaser,¡± protested Jul¡¯iane lightly. ¡°You¡¯ve fired enough of them.¡± ¡°Only with cause, and those simply better off away from my Charisma,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she forced herself not to dwell on what others had bribed some to do. That they didn¡¯t know the drugs wouldn¡¯t affect her didn¡¯t make it any better. Moving through the door, Amdirlain held it open for Jul¡¯iane. Jul¡¯iane huffed. ¡°The others have the corridor¡¯s ends, but I should go first. You¡¯ve got invites to a few parties tonight if you want to socialise.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice,¡± sighed Amdirlain before she tapped Jul¡¯iane¡¯s hand. ¡°When did you get that ice effect on your hands?¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°You have sharp eyes,¡± laughed Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Yesterday¡¯s run, a beast¡¯s lair contained a memory shard that showed me how to hold Mana in my Ki.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that need the Ice Affinity?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Theory crafter,¡± grumbled Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Those of us who can¡¯t have to live vicariously through those who can. Well, I think holding Mana inside Ki is neat. Come to think of it, I¡¯ve not heard anything like it on the market site,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°You and your market fetish,¡± laughed Jul¡¯iane as she took the lead towards Am¡¯s dressing room. ¡°You¡¯ll never go through the complex, yet I swear you know everything ever sold.¡± ¡°Maybe to the nearest hundred thousand units. I¡¯ve only got the official market to go on,¡± disagreed Amdirlain, and she waved to a stage crew looking at her in awe before she ducked inside her changing room. ¡°You¡¯re too nice to people, Am; I swear it encourages them,¡± grumbled Jul¡¯iane after she¡¯d followed her inside and shut the door. ¡°It only takes a moment to acknowledge them, and it can mean a lot to brighten someone¡¯s day,¡± replied Amdirlain, pointing to the signed films at the end of the dressing table. ¡°Knowing that someone ¡®sees¡¯ you can ease so much pain. Do me a favour and tell them there is some merchandise here if they want some.¡± Jul¡¯iane shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll take some out to them, but I¡¯m not letting anyone in your room until you¡¯re clear.¡± ¡°Fine, can I use the washroom?¡± asked Amdirlain questioningly, even as she stepped towards it. Proximity pulsed out from Jul¡¯iane, stronger than Amdirlain had previously heard the Power in her theme. ¡°No heartbeats, body heat, or unexpected gadgets.¡± ¡°You ranked it up if you¡¯re getting devices as well,¡± gushed Amdirlain. ¡°Geek. Wash, let''s get going. Your stagehand has already moved,¡± huffed Jul¡¯iane. Amdirlain laughed, delighted as always by Jul¡¯iane¡¯s mother-hen routine. ¡°I saw their name on their lanyard. I¡¯ll make sure Kal¡¯strum gets them something.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll take care of that,¡± corrected Jul¡¯iane in frustration. ¡°Just give me their name and change.¡± ¡°Stop channelling your mum, Jul¡¯iane,¡± said Amdirlain, and she waved toward the sound stage. ¡°It''s not like they¡¯ll charge me if I don¡¯t get out in an hour.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more the number of people and your security exposure,¡± replied Jul¡¯iane. After getting changed and cleared, it was another hour and a half before her vehicle got within Resonance¡¯s range of the Triumvirate Campus. With the thing beneath it causing reality to screech, Amdirlain pretended to nap while she listened past it to take in the buildings¡¯ details. The vehicle had turned onto the last row of skyscrapers when Resonance¡¯s clarity skyrocketed. The curtain of the static finally parted to show a multi-level maze of underground passages beneath the campus. Far beneath the Wizard¡¯s tower was a central chamber. Within it were hundreds of loathsome void spawns at various maturation levels, circling a silence that aggressively smothered even their songs that approached. [Resonance [S] (200) -> [G] (1) Tier 7 Prestige Class: Youngling Songbird Unlocked!] Well, shit, I had hoped it was just going to be the stronger skinwalkers left. Amdirlain grunted unhappily and sat up. ¡°You get a crick in your neck, old lady?¡± enquired Jul¡¯iane. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to old war cats like you,¡± retorted Amdirlain. Jul¡¯iane let loose with a snickering laugh that grew louder when Amdirlain poked out her tongue. ¡°Such a sexy look.¡± ¡°Some dream of my tongue, I¡¯m told,¡± purred Amdirlain, carefully keeping Charisma contained. The entrance to the underground parking garage unfolded as the driver swung the long vehicle wide and smoothly took them down the ramp. ¡°I¡¯d never make that turn,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s because you don¡¯t know how to drive properly,¡± chided Jul¡¯iane. ¡°I keep offering to take you out for lessons, but no.¡± Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°Like any of my security would let me drive in the city, you¡¯d have a driver up front and me in back with at least one person.¡± ¡°You know you could get a bigger place further from the Triumvirate Campus,¡± continued Jul¡¯iane. Then I wouldn¡¯t have been able to grind my Resonance so readily. ¡°I believe you might have mentioned that a few times,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and the other two members of her security detail that night kept straight faces. ¡°Not that I¡¯ll complain about providing paying work, but why the extra protection tonight?¡± ¡°Just some notes that Jan¡¯era¡¯s been receiving,¡± Jul¡¯iane replied vaguely. Sitting up properly, Amdirlain''s ears twitched, and she gave a sly grin. ¡°More heated marriage proposals? Bad limerick? Oh, were there more nudes? Jan¡¯era seemed to appreciate that last set. You¡¯d have to admit the fellow¡¯s muscles were at least attractive.¡± Jul¡¯iane coughed. ¡°No, more like accusing you of being a deity¡¯s avatar. Doomsayer nonsense.¡± As Amdirlain giggled, her tail squirmed across the leather of the seat. ¡°Who knows where someone would get ideas like that. Do you think it would increase interest in my shows?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already sold out your tour. These guys were pretty incendiary and threatening, not just the usual rambling of doomsday nuts. They were twisting the security issues we¡¯ve encountered as proof. Said that all the kidnapping attempts you evaded last year were proof of it,¡± explained Jul¡¯iane. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°More like proof Cla¡¯nes¡¯ contacts in the Matriarch¡¯s Dominion are on the ball. Alright, note to self, don¡¯t take naked walks back from Kadaklan¡¯s lab before dawn.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am, I don¡¯t believe the rumours mentioned anything about being naked,¡± rumbled one of the security, not taking his gaze from the surrounding garage. ¡°Now we know they¡¯re a lie,¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, throwing up her arms. Jul¡¯iane rolled her eyes. ¡°You like messing with people¡¯s heads.¡± Swivelling on the seat to fix her gaze on Jul¡¯iane, Amdirlain pouted. ¡°Delivery not convincing enough? I¡¯ll work on it before I¡¯m asked again.¡± Giving Amdirlain an exasperated look, Jul¡¯iane rubbed an ear. ¡°Please don¡¯t; Jan¡¯era will have kittens.¡± Amdirlain folded her arms. ¡°Not likely. She needs to find a mate first. I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s even stayed over in years.¡± ¡°Are you going to play matchmaker?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane, her whiskers twitching. ¡°Al¡¯stri has a fourth mate spot still open,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Jul¡¯iane growled. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell her you said that.¡± ¡°What, I didn¡¯t suggest her to Kal¡¯strum!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, and her gaze twinkled in amusement at some nearby thoughts. She implanted memories of problems and ominous security personnel, then teleported them near their homes. Their vehicle stopped directly in front of the lift, and her security detail didn¡¯t have her linger in the garage but got her upstairs and into her apartment. ¡°I hope this won¡¯t be my life for the foreseeable future,¡± said Amdirlain as she listened to Sarah rummaging in the kitchen. Despite Sarah''s presence and the wards, security quickly swept the apartment before they headed off. Jul¡¯iane shrugged helplessly and waved as she headed out the door. ¡°We¡¯ll pick you up an hour earlier for tomorrow night¡¯s show.¡± ¡°Joy!¡± cheered Amdirlain. Ignoring the comfortable couches and detailed artwork in the living room, Amdirlain headed through the door into the kitchen. With its expansive stone counters, polished steel fittings and small dining table, it was easy to pretend it was a fancy Australian kitchen. ¡°How was your evening?¡± asked Amdirlain as she perched on a chair at the kitchen table. Sarah looked away from the ice chest and nodded towards the crystal block near the kitchen¡¯s stovetop. ¡°The low-level static is clear in the last three cities. How did the show go?¡± Sitting up straight, Amdirlain punched her hands into the air. ¡°It was fun, and I finally got Femme Fatale upgrades offered. Then to top it off, I¡¯ve pushed Resonance over into Grand Master. We really did fine-tune my advancement in different areas to match up.¡± Sarah gave her thumbs up as she stepped back from the ice chest with beer bottles in her hands. ¡°Feel up to more target practice? Maybe we can round out your night with more of your resistance types setting higher.¡± ¡°Gee, hours of being your clay pigeon is such a tempting offer,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she motioned to herself. ¡°Now, back to what ¡®I¡¯ wanted to talk about before you interrupted. I got through the distortion under the campus Wizard¡¯s tower.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll bite. What¡¯s there besides the big bad?¡± asked Sarah as she set the bottles on the kitchen table. Amdirlain gently turned one of the glazed clay bottles, her eyes intent on the emblazoned logo. ¡°Among hundreds of void spawns is a deep silence that stops the song behind it from being audible. When focusing directly on it, there is something like an event horizon for the songs that approach.¡± Sarah gave a sly smile. ¡°Think you¡¯re strong enough to go up against a Demi-god yet?¡± Laughing at the very idea, Amdirlain emphatically shook her head. ¡°Heck no. I was certain it was there, but there is a difference between knowing and hearing it. It''s eerie, even with my Mental Hardening. I hear the energy escaping it but can¡¯t hear anything about it directly.¡± ¡°We still have the skinwalkers to deal with,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Because they don¡¯t like my bait,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she twisted the bottle¡¯s lid off. ¡±Not one of them has come near any of the entrances. They¡¯ve even avoided the tempting goods I¡¯ve let the delve teams find; all those traps wasted.¡± Taking a swig from her drink, Sarah shrugged. ¡°It''s hardly a surprise. They¡¯re smart enough to know the potential for a trap, and we¡¯ve taken out so many others.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll imprison the weaker ones and start to adjust more of the graves,¡± announced Amdirlain. ¡°Explosions where big and nasty is napping aren¡¯t a good idea.¡± Sarah pursed her lips thoughtfully. ¡°Are you going to increase the experience tithe you pull in? You¡¯ve gained levels but still have a long way to go.¡± ¡°No, so many people are going through those demi-planes; even a tenth of a percent feels greedy,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You are going to have to come back here to repair them,¡± Sarah said, fixing her with a pointed look. Amdirlain gave her a beaming smile. ¡°Nope, I¡¯m not. I found an answer to that issue based on what the graves are doing. I¡¯ve figured out a conversion for the Mana and experience energy to reinforce the few crystals I needed,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Once I flip my Prestige Class, I¡¯ll shift the experience tithe into maintenance mode. Speaking of Prestige classes, I got offered a new one with Resonance, so-¡± ¡°Focusing on True Song comes next,¡± interjected Sarah. Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m predictable, but not quite. I¡¯ll push Pain Eater higher and then focus on True Song.¡± ¡°So I have a reason to use you for target practice,¡± cheered Sarah, and her beer floated as she clapped excitedly. ¡°That is good news.¡± ¡°You¡¯re so mean to me,¡± Amdirlain playfully sobbed. Spinning her Teleport disc in her hands, Sarah snickered. ¡°That¡¯s rich after what you confessed to doing to yourself. Come on, just one more thin mint.¡± Grumbling, Amdirlain headed for the door. ¡°Let me put these clothes in the wash basket first.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve developed such mundane habits,¡± teased Sarah. ¡°The housekeeper might get suspicious if I don¡¯t have dirty clothes,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re already upset you don¡¯t trust them to do your laundry.¡± Amdirlain took her time finishing her drink before she headed off to drop her clothing in the hamper. Aware of what was coming, Amdirlain padded back to the kitchen naked. Rolling her eyes, Sarah teleported them both to the abandoned base camp. The ground of the nearby field showed no sign of all the live fire exercises. ¡°Protean disabled, ready to go,¡± declared Amdirlain. As white Primordial flames sheathed three cannon barrels, Amdirlain blurred away. Running an erratic course across the grassland, Amdirlain monitored Sarah''s control as it tracked her movements. The first bolt missed, leaving a thin, metre-long ditch drilled into the bedrock. Amdirlain tumbled further out of the way, but the next two smacked hard against her shoulder and arm. It didn¡¯t sever her arm this time, but charred flesh. Dodging through the hail of bolts that followed earned her an unsought notification. [Agile [S] (164->165) As Amdirlain continued to evade her, Sarah added another cannon to the mix. Close calls and solid hits steadily accumulated damage that pulverised and cooked flesh. Pain Eater calmly kept a tally of the beating she endured. Ki Movement blazed her from the target zone when her health dipped too low, and Sarah eased off. As Amdirlain restored flesh with Universal Life, her Ki Movement enabled her to outrace Sarah¡¯s shots. Once Amdirlain restored her health, she dropped back to a speed that merely challenged Sarah. Returning to the target zone, Amdirlain kept moving through erratic dodges. Her evasions had Sarah add more weapons until Amdirlain started taking hits again. A few hours later, Amdirlain got not one, but a few notifications that she was after. [Primordial [I] (100) -> [GR](1) Pain Eater [S] (200) -> [G](1) Immortal¡¯s Fortitude:
  • Protean [G], Mental Hardening [G], and Pain Eater [G].
Phoenix¡¯s Rapture:
  • Protean [G], Mental Hardening [G], Pain Eater [G], and Angelic Aura [G].]
When Amdirlain teleported beside Sarah, the weaponry wound down. ¡°Two new power options,¡± announced Amdirlain as she set to restoring herself with Universal Life. ¡°Though re-levelling them all won¡¯t be fun.¡± Sarah nodded grimly. ¡°Whatever it takes to increase your survivability.¡± Amdirlain gave a pleased chuff. ¡°Primordial resistance is now in Greater rank,¡± As Amdirlain¡¯s Power progressed with restoring her flesh, another notification came. [Universal Life [S] (110->111)] ¡°Oh!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°That sounded like a good outcome,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Universal Life went up; most of its increases come from helping others now,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What about the evolution powers? What are they offering?¡± enquired Sarah. [Immortal¡¯s Fortitude Details: This evolution increases the Immortal¡¯s Endurance capability and boosts a being''s resistance when active.] That¡¯s interesting; boosting resistance is nice. [Phoenix¡¯s Rapture: Details: Passive healing continues to follow the capacity of Phoenix¡¯s Immolation. Activation of the flame aura enhances physical and magical defences and increases the being¡¯s regeneration rate. The flames no longer harm allies within the aura or the rebirth effect. Rebirth activation is now accessible once every five hundred years and will cause three times missing health damage to all material and non-allied individuals within the area of effect.] Moonless night, that¡¯s an upgrade! ¡°Immortal¡¯s Fortitude and Phoenix¡¯s Rapture,¡± reported Amdirlain, and she projected the details of the powers. Sarah frowned. ¡°All these upgrades and experience from the towers is fine but-¡± ¡°I know raw power and protection won¡¯t be enough. The skinwalker ripped through the Ki State and Angelic Aura,¡± accepted Amdirlain, and she gave a helpless shrug. ¡°But it''s the only place I¡¯ve got to start, and I won¡¯t just let them keep recruiting and corrupting. You got the last three cities currently calmed down, but we¡¯ve had cities experience a re-emergence of hosts.¡± ¡°Yeah, we need to shut them down,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Since the other distortion is gone, we can finish tracking them cleanly. Let¡¯s prepare a murder board and decide when to strike.¡± ¡°You know that murder boards are for solving murders, not committing them,¡± quipped Sarah. Amdirlain waggled the tip of her tail. ¡°I¡¯m solving the murders of all the individuals they consumed.¡± ¡°Point,¡± accepted Sarah, and she looked at Amdirlain grimly. ¡°Will you put some clothes on?¡± Amdirlain blinked in surprise at Sarah and drew out her shadow vines, the dark green fabric settling around her form. ¡°Sorry.¡± Sarah¡¯s lips twitched, and when Amdirlain huffed, she fixed her with a prim expression. ¡°You¡¯re such a troll,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Will you decide your Skill upgrade already?¡± laughed Sarah, and she stroked Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡°Still so fuzzy.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s ominous growl rumbled in the back of her throat. Sarah leant forward and bumped her forehead to Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°Oh, baby.¡± The next moment, Sarah was facing empty air, Amdirlain having teleported away. 327 - Burning up Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris- Year 4369 (Local calendar) Appearing directly in her bedroom, Amdirlain considered the modest setup within the spacious room. Unlike the living room, a small mirror was the only thing adorning the walls. Open clothing racks ran along the longest wall packed with bagged clothing and shoes, each tagged with upcoming performance dates. They butted against an old-fashioned wardrobe in the corner that contained her clothing for chilling. The dark wooden bed across from it was maybe a single king, and Jul¡¯iane delighted in teasing her about the latest stresses media rumours said it had endured. Storing the shadow vines, Amdirlain slid into the fresh bedding and relaxed while she was thinking. Her thoughts were wildly different from what some of her fans likely expected her nighttime activities to be. Skimming through the latest growths of the eldritch skinwalkers, Amdirlain turned her attention to her offered choices. The names of the five options narrowed the selection down to only two for Amdirlain. [Inspiration¡¯s Herald Details: This Skill inspires the possessor¡¯s desired emotions or intentions in others. The effect becomes maximised if the audience has a line of sight, but the sound of their voice is sufficient.] It provides a broader scope than Femme Fatale, but at least I can choose. [Muse¡¯s Insight Details: This Skill focuses on buoying and drawing out others¡¯ beliefs and inspirations, giving them the confidence to pursue them. While it works best in smaller groups, it can still work on larger audiences in a more limited capacity. Charisma¡¯s regular effects still apply but cannot force emotions or goals onto people who don¡¯t share them.] I don¡¯t mind helping people find inspiration or understanding what inspires them. Do I hold off until after the concerts? I want to maximise the funds I leave to the scholarship program, without just creating tonnes. While dealing with her Charisma would have to wait, Amdirlain wanted some practise time with Protean¡¯s change. The Power¡¯s description had shown a restriction of living creatures but didn¡¯t apply to size. Reviewing Sarah¡¯s memories of millions of lifeforms had provided her with options. Thoughts of the aggressive aura that now let her avoid risk to allies were icing on the cake. The possibility of stacking the benefits of Mental Hardening was just a nice bonus. [Phoenix¡¯s Rapture selected Protean [G] (6) evolved into Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (1) Mental Hardening [G] (10) merged into Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (1 -> 2) Pain Eater [G] (1) merged into Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (2 -> 3) Angelic Aura [G] (42) merged into Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (3 -> 24)] When the notification vanished, she felt energies compressing, and a searing heat rushed through her spiritual net. A horrible-smelling sludge that echoed the Abyss started to ooze from her pores. Pinpricks of light stopped her from teleporting away as her sigil lit up and light blazed through the bedding. The sigil¡¯s nodes ignited into miniature suns fueled by her Ki pool. The change prompted Amdirlain to teleport to the hazardous materials chamber in Kadaklan¡¯s lab. The lab wasn¡¯t some rustic Alchemist brewing station but an Earth-style research lab overlaid with arcane trappings. Long metal benches held retorts, evaporators, filtration rigs, and hundreds of other items. Test tubes, beakers, Petri dishes, and other glassware items were in glass-fronted cabinets. Refrigerated cabinets and open racks alike held thousands of material samples. Her arrival point was a four-metre cube walled with mithril-infused glass panels and an incineration rig in the ceiling. A double airlock chamber on the side allowed equipment to be moved in and out, with only the bare minimum kept within it. Amdirlain didn¡¯t even get to call out to Kadaklan. Yellow lights flickered above the chamber and a siren squawk yanked Kadaklan¡¯s gaze toward her. Frowning in confusion, he activated his Third Eye, and the first flicker of its flames was enough for him to leap into action. ¡°Start cycling; pull any stored Ki into you,¡± he screamed, not bothering with the chamber¡¯s intercom. His panicked tone had Amdirlain withdrawing the latest crystal storage block she had intended for Kadaklan. She didn¡¯t even take the time to get comfortable, letting Harmony connect her to the Ki remaining in her pool and the block in her hand. Battling against the swirling Ki, Amdirlain struggled to complete the first loop in her sigil. Amdirlain held onto the Ki¡¯s flare rather than let it gush into her slowly emptying pool. She managed a second loop before the airlock door to the chamber opened, and Kadaklan stepped inside. He set down the crystal spire containing the Ki Amdirlain had first paid him, and two barely glowing blocks cascaded from his Soul Space onto the room¡¯s table. ¡°Cycle faster. Watch for growth from your sigil¡¯s starting node. Twist them gently but firmly around the net¡¯s lines towards your second node. Don¡¯t break the line or growths.¡± Kadaklan quickly cycled through the airlocks to get materials from storage racks in his workspace. A burner ignited with a flicker of Yang flames, and he dumped a flask of pre-measured water into a large beaker. His song lost all amusement and shifted into the methodical rhythm Amdirlain recognised from her operation. He blurred along the lab¡¯s long bench and secured the outer door¡¯s security lock. He didn¡¯t waste time closing its shutters and activating the energy containment wards. Turning, he ran back to the beaker, blurred hands snatching up component vials. Her progress felt too slow, and Amdirlain closed her eyes to focus on the sigil. Filaments of shiny gold extruded from the starting node¡¯s miniature sun. The energy remained connected to her, and Amdirlain coiled them like living serpents around the guideline. The struggle to connect nodes didn¡¯t ease when the first pair joined; instead, it increased, and her pool emptied further. Repeated loops caused the cable¡¯s reach to grow, and when she connected the third node, the pressure shifted. The cables entwined between the first nodes sank into the delicate strand, leaving it looking the same. When the loop restarted, the Ki raced between the first nodes at a blistering speed that had Amdirlain lose the rhythm. The rush spilled the Ki from the route she¡¯d found between nodes. As the Ki launched down the wrong path, Amdirlain cut her losses and focused on restraining the Ki she could control. The cables lost significant ground before she could resume. Foul fluid pooled beneath her eyelids, and Amdirlain felt it saturating her fur. The abyssal stench was thickening when Kadaklan¡¯s voice came through the intercom. ¡°Ki State. Yang Mana.¡± Balancing everything else, Amdirlain dug mental fingers in and dragged the Ki through a sharp turn. Enabling Ki State caused her Mana to fill her outer flesh, saturating it with an energy that slowed but didn¡¯t still the Ki drain. When the leaking sludge caught fire, the chamber¡¯s metal fittings melted. The stone tiles beneath her feet cracked, and liquid flames dripped from the tips of her fur and whiskers. Amdirlain could hear Kadaklan outside the chamber through the flames cascading off her. His flesh sang of racing Ki. A constellation of an outstretched hand shone through his skin, but his entire focus was fixed on the potion he was brewing. The cables were only a third through the nodes before Amdirlain had emptied the crystal in her hands. The trickle in the two dull blocks soon followed, and Amdirlain turned on the remnants in the spire before she was halfway done. The inner airlock door squealed a complaint as Kadaklan forced it to move. Stepping through the surrounding flames, Kadaklan clasped a burning hand above hers on the spire. As blue-white Yang flames blazed in his agonised gaze, the burning abyssal material peeled his flesh away. ¡°Complete the cables,¡± said Kadaklan, his voice an eerie echo of crackling flames. Ki rushed from him into the spire, and Amdirlain heard his theme change. As his pooled Ki emptied, his flesh released its inherent Ki, gushing from him to fill the spire. His body shone with an iridescent light before he crumpled, breaking apart in Yang flames that slid off Amdirlain¡¯s Ki state. Spilling flames, his skin, flesh, and bones collapsed inwards, ash scattered across the floor. Amdirlain heard his essence twist into alignment with the dragon stairs and vanish. Seeing him dissolve caused a shock to ring against her Mental Hardening, and Amdirlain grasped her Ki just in time to prevent another spill. The process continued to grow more challenging. Ki racing through the early stages would gain speed and have to be forced along the correct route. [Sigil Purification complete. Sigil reinforcement stage 1 complete.
  • Capacity for stage 2 unlocked through successful completion!
Spiritual net reinforcement at five per cent. Ki benefits kept from sigil improvement:
  • Increased Ki Pool
  • Increased Ki Cycling speed
Note: Fallen condition overrides any Shen transformation.] A note in the Power description warning me about picking it would have been nice, Gideon. When Amdirlain finally finished, the chamber¡¯s containment was on the brink of failure. The fittings had melted and disappeared into the liquified stonework. With the floor hardening around her feet, Amdirlain lifted herself and the spire free as it cooled. The blackened glass cracked inwards, and Sarah looked at her in concern. ¡°Are you finished breaking my toys? Where¡¯s Kadaklan?¡± Amdirlain clothed herself in the shadow vines again and teleported beside her. The orb floating beside Sarah had prevented the fire from spreading beyond the ruined chamber. ¡°I didn¡¯t even notice your arrival. He gave me a boost of Ki, but it cost him his physical form,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she turned to the brewing station Kadaklan had been using. The flame at Kadaklan''s brewing station was still burning, but he¡¯d shattered the beaker on the floor. The only evidence of his work were a few droplets staining its pieces and the components scattered about his workstation. [Elixir of Consuming Flame Details: This elixir speeds up cycling rates and draws all the life force from the consumer¡¯s body into their Ki pool. It allows for a singularly explosive surge of Ki in the last moments of life. Though it has beneficial uses, the formula for this elixir originated from demonic practitioners looking to harvest others¡¯ Ki.] Sarah crouched by the broken breaker for a moment before the debris vanished. ¡°He harvested his life energy, an interesting twist to sacrificial offerings. So what set this all off?¡± Amdirlain mentally shared the details with Sarah. Once Amdirlain had disposed of all the melted materials, she re-created the chamber and enchantments. Sarah replaced the component vials and their matching racks. ¡°Any ideas where he presently leaves notes for his assistants and students?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah nodded and motioned to the other room. ¡°He¡¯s got a team board in the break room; I¡¯ll mark him absent. If anyone asks, our pride¡¯s needs unexpectedly called him away.¡± ¡°I hope Judge Po doesn¡¯t chew him out for spending his life to help me,¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°His decision, I know, but I¡­¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Sarah shrugged. ¡°Not in our control. I¡¯ll be interested to know why he deemed your esoteric sigil thing worth the price of admission.¡± ¡°Sorry I didn¡¯t share that part; Gideon said completing it unlocked my capacity for stage 2 reinforcement of the sigil,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°That explains what you got out of it, not why he thought it was worth dying over,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t reading his mind. How long until dawn?¡± ¡°Just over an hour. Why?¡± ¡°Just, I know some of his assistants get in very early,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder if Kadaklan would even hear me if I sent him news.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the worst that can happen?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain bit her lip before she sighed. ¡°Judge Po getting annoyed that an outsider dared speak to one held for review and keeps him for years. I¡¯ll send the details to Cyrus and see what he thinks.¡± After Amdirlain dispatched the details to Cyrus, they returned to the apartment. They¡¯d both snagged drinks and sprawled out on the living room couches when Cyrus¡¯s reply appeared. Amdirlain tapped the hovering Mana orb, and they both listened to his response. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to Kadaklan directly. Enquiries and appeals have to go through Judge Po¡¯s clerks. Normally, completing the sigil in such a state would move you from Immortal to Shen. Failing to complete the sigil reinforcement prevents you from increasing it further. If you damage your sigil, it can hamper Ki cycling and future improvements to Ki powers.¡± His words echoed in the silence between them until Sarah coughed and flicked her tail towards one piece of artwork on the closest wall. ¡°Have you considered getting drawing lessons from this fellow?¡± The one she pointed at was a pencil sketch of a sheltered valley surrounded by hills capped with snow. The broken stonework of a fallen city rose through the valley¡¯s snow fields, decaying gravestones of the thousands that had died during the city¡¯s fall. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°You critique me for blatant subject changes.¡± ¡°The drawing seemed suitable,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°You hide your feelings of guilt or grief under work. The same way the snow hides the destroyed buildings and scattered remnants of the dead.¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll prepare him a nice thank-you gift,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she took a swig of her drink. ¡°Going to wrap a bow around yourself?¡± asked Sarah drily. Putting a hand to her mouth, Amdirlain barely stopped spraying the room. ¡°Really?¡± spluttered Amdirlain. Sarah gave her a broad shrug. ¡°Whoever can make you happy, sweetie.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s like that at all.¡± ¡°Yeah, because he needed to stick around for five and a half years. He fixed that last node in your leg eight months ago. Why exactly did he stay?¡± ¡°To teach people,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°He could load his knowledge up into memory crystals, and you could duplicate them,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Instead, he stays far from the Middle Kingdom¡¯s centre; since he¡¯s an Immortal, it¡¯s ¡®mildly¡¯ unpleasant, not impossible. Why did he even start to teach people? An idle proposition from you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s-¡± ¡°He spent most of two days watching you with his Third Eye while you were cycling Ki and using Universal Life. You using Universal Life for a moment allowed Isa to hear your Soul¡¯s song and realise you were Julia,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°I think he might know the sort of person you are better than anyone else. Aside from appalling jokes you find funny, he¡¯s never made a move on you. He¡¯s provided plenty of what I¡¯d consider gifts of interest, and he¡¯s not your doctor anymore.¡± ¡°Are you trying to set me up?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°A bit of romance might be good for your heart. Dragons rarely do lifelong marriages, but a few hundred years of happiness is good for you.¡± ¡°I-¡± ¡°Got strapped to a table within minutes of meeting him,¡± interjected Sarah, and she wiggled her eyebrows. ¡°I mean, if I¡¯d known restraint bondage was your thing-¡± Amdirlain blew a raspberry. ¡°He clipped a blanket in place to prevent it slipping.¡± ¡°Okay, stick to your story,¡± joked Sarah, and her snickers had Amdirlain lifting an eyebrow. ¡°What have you got planned for the day?¡± ¡°Check in on Tulne, see how she¡¯s going with the last set of affinities I taught her, then more show preparation,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°For now, I¡¯m going to cycle Ki and refill the spire.¡± ¡°Enjoy,¡± replied Sarah, taking a mouthful of her drink before relaxing on the couch. ¡°You going to stop giving her affinities at some point?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to provide any of the tier 4 or 5s to her,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah nodded. ¡°I could see an understanding of the heavenly planes going down like a lead balloon.¡± * * * * * Amdirlain meditated until it was late enough to check on Tulne without interrupting her morning routine. When Amdirlain activated the scrying window, it surprised her to find Tulne sitting on a rooftop vantage point. The roof had multiple levels of chairs to provide any watcher with an unobstructed view of the training complex and its surrounding park. While the building was the site of Tulne¡¯s apartment, what surprised Amdirlain was that Tulne wasn¡¯t preparing to join her team. The five and a half years since they''d first met had treated Tulne well. A growth spurt in her late teens had added thirty centimetres of height to the previously tiny female. Her lean form had gained little muscle, leaving her with a delicate air that belied her magical strength. The sunlight washing across her picked out the silver in her primarily black fur, making it appear like Tulne was dusted with sparkling frost. At the centre of the training complex was a stubby hexagonal tower sheathed in muted yellow stone not used in any other construction. It was a colour that matched the law keepers¡¯ hazard lights and wasn¡¯t a comforting one for the local Catfolk. Within the spectrum of colours they could see, it popped out and grabbed their attention, putting them on edge like hair prickling up the back of their neck. Amdirlain didn¡¯t want anyone coming to the building to feel safe entering it and the demi-planes it granted access to. The tower itself was only a placeholder for the demi-planes to exist. The park has fifty, four-meter-tall white Laen spires that shine like ice spread out in concentric circles; their enchantments teleporting those touching them to a chosen access point within the demi-planes. ¡°How goes the Lightning and Metal?¡± asked Amdirlain as she plopped on a chair beside Tulne, causing her to jump. ¡°Blast it, J! Are you trying to stop my heart?¡± yowled Tulne. ¡°You¡¯re all keyed up; just thought I¡¯d have some fun,¡± replied Amdirlain, glad for the feisty spirit that Wha¡¯sin¡¯s kin had fostered in Tulne. Tulne grumbled. ¡°I have certifications to study for, and you¡¯re making fun of me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve passed the halfway mark of your memory crystal,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Really?¡± chirped Tulne before she reined in her excitement. ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but how is it relevant to certification?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve looked at the certification exams; nothing in there will fool you if you keep your cool,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Why do you keep returning to teach me more affinities?¡± blurted Tulne. ¡°It¡¯s not that I¡¯m not grateful for the opportunity. I¡¯m simply at a loss why you would.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Because I said I would, and each time I have, you¡¯ve kept your desire to learn and not become expectant to be handed anything.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t I be faking that?¡± asked Tulne. ¡°Please,¡± scoffed Amdirlain. ¡°Now, let me give you my congratulations. I see you got three enhanced affinities working since we talked last year.¡± Tule nodded. ¡°Once I worked out the process for Gravity, it was simple to repeat it for Spatial and Life.¡± ¡°Why pick Life as your third enhanced Affinity?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It means I can cast healing spells more efficiently, which could make the difference between life and death,¡± explained Tulne. ¡°Mor¡¯lmes shared the grimoire with me that''s been making waves.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve come a long way from the terrified young girl recovering from being raised from the dead, but you¡¯re still the same in some ways.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Tulne. ¡°Your interest in magic then was to keep others safe in the ghost caverns; now you¡¯ve gained magic to heal,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Not like that¡¯s needed now,¡± laughed Tulne. ¡°Whatever entity created the training complex and its zones seems to have done something to the Gods¡¯ Grave as well. All the reports they release show none of the pathways have shifted so much as a metre.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the report. Did they do you out of a dream?¡± ¡°A bit, but I¡¯d rather the soldiers be safer,¡± replied Tulne. ¡°Now I can start figuring out how to get rid of the graves completely. If the pathways stay open, what lies beyond the spawning abominations?¡± ¡°This is the only city to have a stable Gods¡¯ Grave; all the others are still erratic,¡± noted Amdirlain. Tulne frowned. ¡°Do you think this is the only city they¡¯ll change? It seems a little egotistical to think we¡¯re the only city deserving help.¡± ¡°Time will tell; some people believe this city is the prototype, or at least the precursor of the others shifting. Yet even if they change them all, it could be crucial when a new location grows into a city. After thousands of years of the graves existing, do you think whoever or whatever made the changes will stick around?¡± ¡°Those crystals and their questions made it clear someone cares enough to ask,¡± countered Tulne. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Yet not enough to get rid of the graves themselves.¡± ¡°Mor¡¯lmes says we¡¯re in an adversarial relationship with the graves that has strengthened us,¡± advised Tulne. Amdirlain lifted her eyebrows. ¡°Where does he get that idea?¡± ¡°He said it was a theory someone put to him,¡± replied Tulne. ¡°Though he wouldn¡¯t say who, he sounded annoyed by them, or at least the theory. Which means it¡¯s potentially right, but he doesn¡¯t want to admit it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a frustrating theory, especially if true,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Does he often sound annoyed to you? He does to me, but I wanted to know if he behaves the same around others.¡± Tulne laughed. ¡°Frequently, he¡¯s the grumpiest fellow I¡¯ve ever met unless he¡¯s with his mate. Though he sounded like he had extra prickly burrs in his fur on this occasion.¡± ¡°Phew, it¡¯s not just me then. Anyway, why are you sitting up here? Doesn¡¯t your team normally go into the complex shortly?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I thought I¡¯d find you preparing.¡± ¡°They got a certified replacement,¡± huffed Tulne. ¡°Likely it¡¯s my fault, I¡¯ve only been levelling Wizard while trying to get these enhanced affinities working. Now I¡¯ve gained them, I¡¯m without a team.¡± ¡°Never know what might turn up,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°In the meantime, it gives you time to ace your certification exams. Did your team get past the latest stage challenge?¡± ¡°They did, but they left me out, so I¡¯ll need to find a team at that point or willing to work through those three levels again with me,¡± declared Tulne. ¡°I¡¯ll post something on the board. The problem is finding a part-time team so I can keep studying.¡± Amdirlain almost teased her about over-preparing for the exams but nodded. ¡°How long until your certifications? They¡¯re quarterly, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Yep, I just missed the last ones; the next exam slot is in two months,¡± sighed Tulne. ¡°I¡¯ve got to pass the first time.¡± Amdirlain got to her feet and motioned for her to stand. ¡°Then let¡¯s ensure your level is way over minimum for the practical.¡± ¡°I¡¯m level twenty-five,¡± protested Tulne. ¡°Twenty-five in one out of four; the others are still level one,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she passed her a pair of bracers. ¡°Loaners; you kill the beasties, and I¡¯ll keep them off you only if I have to.¡± ¡°We¡¯re going into the complex?¡± asked Tulne as she clicked the bracers around her wrists. Bad habit. She needs to learn to check things, no matter the source. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°Nope, a real-life scenario.¡± ¡°What are we fighting?¡± asked Tulne. ¡°Not us, you. Giant bugs, they got out of a Wizard¡¯s lab from what I can tell,¡± explains Amdirlain. ¡°The abominations are causing the locals issues by eating everything in sight.¡± ¡°Wait-¡± Suddenly, they were standing on the stubble-covered ground. Nearby, hundreds of roaches nearly three metres long were grazing on the remains of a few thousand head of cattle they¡¯d cornered against a cliff. Tulne hissed in surprise, and the antennae of the nearest monsters flickered towards her. [Species: Giant Dermestids Level: 17 Health: 221 Defence: 42 Combat Attack Power: 39 Details: The experiment was to create a predatory sentry animal from a local beetle that handled decaying corpses. A mistake in the laboratory controls allowed a few to escape into the wild. Instead of laying thirty to forty eggs, these magical bugs lay a few hundred.] ¡°Fireball?¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she casually waved towards the closest roach pack. That wasn¡¯t the approach Tulne opted to take. Tulne¡¯s first Spell was a half-centimetre-wide wall of gravitational force that encircled them. As fifteen gravities bore down, soil and debris crackled, and the sudden pressure cut five bugs along its course in two. ¡°I hate bugs!¡± screamed Tulne. Spinning dimensional rifts sliced through the closest group, scattering their chitin and guts across the ground. Amdirlain watched the black ¡®blades¡¯ of the rifts sail through the other side and into the next pack. ¡°Tell me how you really feel.¡± One of the bugs that scuttled forward to feed on its former brood mate had its antennae sheered off as they touched the barrier. ¡°Right. It seems you¡¯ve got this under control,¡± noted Amdirlain. Tulne¡¯s fur fizzed as she rapidly blasted off spells to herd, crush, and rend the insects. Once Tulne¡¯s new classes had chimed for the third time, Amdirlain took them back. ¡°Why did it have to be bugs?¡± grumbled Tulne, her fur still bristled up. ¡°Fireball? Seriously? I won¡¯t use a fire Spell on a bug! I¡¯d never get the roasted smell out of my nose.¡± ¡°Rest, meditate, recharge your Mana, and take time to adjust to the additional levels. The specialist Wizard Class levels pack a punch,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she rubbed Tulne¡¯s ears before she reclaimed the bracers. Tulne¡¯s ears flicked rapidly, and she nodded. ¡°I can feel my mind racing, seeing meaning I hadn¡¯t seen before. Are you ever going to stop popping in and turning my life upside down?¡± ¡°Sooner than you might like,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she disappeared. 328 - Ignite Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris- Year 4370 (Local calendar) Months of interviews and performances quickly passed for Amdirlain without news of Kadaklan¡¯s return. The only comfort was Cyrus confirming that his situation awaited review at Judge Po¡¯s court. The constantly repeated questions from different interviewers were something she¡¯d grown used to over the years. Heading off stage after the last encore, she walked through the venue¡¯s back corridors, and Jan¡¯era kept pace beside her. ¡°I¡¯ve not booked any more venues, but when are you thinking you¡¯ll need a sound booth available?¡± asked Jan¡¯era, her dark red tail patting Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t need one, Jan¡¯era,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she stopped to hand over a data plate. Jan¡¯era looked at it warily. ¡°What¡¯s this about?¡± ¡°Investment instruments. This is your copy; after taxes and advocate expenses, the profits get split evenly between a few causes. Some involve your studio,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re kidding. What are you doing?¡± protested Jan¡¯era. ¡°One split is sponsoring new artists at your pride¡¯s studio, at least while you¡¯re the manager,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll treat them well; this is so neither of you have upfront cost exposures. I hope you¡¯ll give artists with smaller or niche appeal chances.¡± ¡°Is there something going on with Kadaklan¡¯s disappearance?¡± asked Jan¡¯era. ¡°I thought the law keepers had dismissed all the inquires.¡± ¡°No, he¡¯s at home. The senior officials have been keeping him busy,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s not a Wizard, so he can¡¯t reply to Message spells. It''s an extra mess since the Elders of his area don¡¯t allow outsiders to visit. The law keepers truth read all that and stopped hassling for more.¡± Likely some attempts to contact him have extended his absence. ¡°It¡¯s been four months,¡± observed Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°The elders have a different perspective on time than us youngsters.¡± Time to get rid of this Skill so I don¡¯t get into an argument about what I¡¯m about to say. [Muse¡¯s Insight selected Femme Fatale [S] (152) evolved into Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (97) Inspire [S] (10) merged into Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (97 -> 101) Diplomacy [M] (8) merged into Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (101 -> 102)] The pressure vanishing from her Mental Clarity caused Jan¡¯era to blink in surprise. ¡°What happened to your Charisma?¡± ¡°A Skill evolution that I¡¯ve been keeping at bay,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I wanted to stop being sex on two legs, and thanks to you and Cla¡¯nes, a way was offered.¡± ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± asked Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain smiled sadly. ¡°I¡¯ve got some things to wrap up, and then we¡¯re considering heading home as well.¡± ¡°You better not just be dumping this on me and leaving. Give us time to organise you a proper farewell,¡± protested Jan¡¯era. ¡°Or preferably a party to celebrate you staying around.¡± After taking out the Eldritch threat, I still have hundreds of cities for which I need to finish demi planes. ¡°That I can promise you,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she hugged Jan¡¯era. ¡°You could have given me a bit more advance notice,¡± grumbled Jan¡¯era good-naturedly. Giving into temptation, Amdirlain reached up and rubbed Jan¡¯era¡¯s pink ear. ¡°Then you would have wasted energy trying to talk me out of it.¡± Mock snapping at Amdirlain¡¯s hand, Jan¡¯era huffed. ¡°Did this change of Skill ruin your ability to perform?¡± ¡°No, but my purpose in coming here was partly to learn control over my Charisma,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she momentarily tried to extend her Charisma. The precision of the response brought out a smile. For the first time, her presence felt like a limb rather than an affliction. ¡°Until you leave, I¡¯ll keep one of the sound booths open,¡± said Jan¡¯era. ¡°I¡¯m not a bad sound technician. If you feel like recording anything, let me know.¡± Laughing, Amdirlain released Jan¡¯era from the hug and hooked arms with her. ¡°Let¡¯s go have some fun at the afterparty.¡± ¡°Are you going to stay for the whole thing?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I just might.¡± * * * * * Sarah looked up when Amdirlain appeared in the living room. ¡°I was going to ask if you¡¯d extended the tour, but I can tell from your Charisma you¡¯ve not.¡± ¡°No, four months is more than enough,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If I need time to recover after fights, it won¡¯t be near civilisation. My Tier 6 achievement got downgraded tonight; pesky background experience feed. Once we contain the Eldritch, I¡¯ll focus on True Song again.¡± ¡°Are you going to cut off the experience feed shortly?¡± ¡°Yeah, and for all the new cities, I¡¯ve already put the energy feed in maintenance mode for the crystals,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got Mor¡¯lmes planning a containment ritual in a few days.¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t like your plans in that regard,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°What will you do if you¡¯re corrupted by the Eldritch energies again?¡± ¡°Not planning to hold still at any point, so we¡¯ll see how it goes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You''re right with the backup plan?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve identified them. Now you won¡¯t let others get the achievement out of it?¡± ¡°Nope, mine, all mine,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°And not even that since I¡¯m already letting them help. Who knows what credit Gideon will give the locals.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡± ¡°The tougher ones, you can take the first shot,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°A bunch are weaker than the first fellow I took out.¡± ¡°Let me guess, you don¡¯t plan to let anyone help with them?¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I thought you might want to take them out. You¡¯ve got enough weaponry to leave them a smear on the landscape.¡± ¡°Not worrying about them coming back later?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not the priority,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s gaze brightened as she gave a predatory grin. ¡°You give the nicest gifts.¡± ¡°I made a gift for myself, don¡¯t worry,¡± grinned Amdirlain, and she twirled a pair of new blades. She¡¯d crafted each Kopis from True Song Crystal, with enchantments to sheathe it in her choice of Mana and resize it to match her form or intent while held. ¡°I¡¯ve got some toys of my own,¡± huffed Sarah. Lifting an eyebrow, Amdirlain¡¯s ears twitched curiously. ¡°Things that make them go boom?¡± ¡°Bits of magical tech from here and there. The local vehicle reactors have been fun to play with. They give weaponry some extra punch.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to show me your toy?¡± protested Amdirlain, and she pouted and blinked sadly at Sarah. Sarah laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the results first.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ll be hunting on your own,¡± pouted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure there will be observer teams whose memories you can dredge up,¡± responded Sarah primly. * * * * * Amdirlain tracked down the location of the observer teams to a farm close to the first target¡¯s manor. Though ritual magic didn¡¯t require proximity, the closer to the target, the more power one had to spare. The lean, black-furred fellow leaning beside the exterior door and pretending to sip his drink occasionally, didn¡¯t look like much of a guard. Attired in his garish purple shirt and burnt amber pants, he looked like a farm kid who wanted to run off to the city. He had protective armbands and detection spells active while he acted indifferent. He didn¡¯t even stiffen when Amdirlain strolled through the tree line towards the barn. Hooking a thumb into her necklace, Amdirlain lifted the crystal medallion from her dark green shirt¡¯s neckline. Her medallion showed the same songbird motif that the guard possessed and glittered in the sunlight, but he didn¡¯t react. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen you working on nearby farms,¡± the guard yawned; his gaze stayed disinterested as he took in the medallion. ¡°That¡¯s because I don¡¯t; Mor¡¯lmes knows me by J,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°He didn¡¯t say you¡¯d be showing up here.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Not like I¡¯ve ever asked him for permission. I¡¯ve always been giving him timelines.¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°Two hours to get to the first meeting,¡± huffed the guard as he silently used the link unit hidden under his shirt. ¡°Thirty minutes,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Nodding slowly, the guard smiled. ¡°Right, okay. He said you can come inside to play.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I¡¯m sure that wasn¡¯t how he put it.¡± The guard¡¯s whiskers twitched up. ¡°¡®Moonless night. Why is she here?¡¯ takes familiarity with him to translate properly.¡± Stepping further from the door, he let Amdirlain approach and open it herself. Mor¡¯lmes spared only a single over-the-shoulder glance before fixing his hazel gaze on the three-metre display secured to the far wall. Around the barn¡¯s open floor, the twenty-three members of the observer teams weren¡¯t so relaxed about the stranger¡¯s intrusion. Hands dropped to the hilts of energy projectors, and Amdirlain could hear their minds racing through potential combat options. ¡°You¡¯re still such an unsocial bastard, Mor¡¯lmes. Would it kill you to introduce me before someone has a fit?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got everyone keyed up for a mystical struggle and didn¡¯t tell them a visitor had arrived.¡± ¡°Everyone, this is J. J, this is everyone that¡¯s learnt both the spell lists you gave me last year,¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes. While walking around the circle, Amdirlain checked for mistakes and listened for off-key notes. ¡°Some of you need to level more. Do you need more time in the training zones?¡± Memories of the continent-sized demi planes she¡¯d set up spun through their minds. Amdirlain learned that all of them were familiar with the most challenging zones, providing greater elementals to fight. ¡°All those taking part have at least Senior Master in Ritual Casting,¡± declared Mor¡¯lmes, not taking his attention from the display again. ¡°I trust them.¡± Fun sub-text, ¡®trust them¡¯ but not me. That¡¯s fair. ¡°That¡¯s high praise from you, grumpy,¡± responded Amdirlain, and she headed towards him as the others relaxed. The enchantments in Mor''lmes'' display had the surface gleaming, but the received signals were floating mid-air a hand span before it. His lack of concern for her approach further settled the observers¡¯ tense reactions to the stranger. ¡°Good afternoon, everyone,¡± Amdirlain added as people''s eyes stayed fixed on her. ¡°J, please stop distracting people,¡± grunted Mor¡¯lmes, not taking his gaze from the display. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you to show up here before starting your assault.¡± Not so bristly today, but still not overly friendly. ¡°It¡¯s not my assault; it¡¯s ours, as everyone here contributes. What¡¯s wrong? Did Wha¡¯sin kick you out of bed early this morning?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I hope you¡¯re at least not sullen around your pregnant mate. Smile, it shouldn¡¯t break your muzzle.¡± Mor¡¯lmes grunted again, but he looked up at Amdirlain in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re not so ¡®pushy¡¯ today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learnt how to moderate my Charisma to Mortal levels. I¡¯ll admit it took me a time,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Jokes aside, I hope everything is alright with Wha¡¯sin.¡± ¡°A bit of morning sickness,¡± admitted Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain nodded sympathetically. ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t get her down. My brother¡¯s mate had awful morning sickness.¡± He frowned at her words and tilted his head curiously. ¡°I had the impression you weren¡¯t Mortal.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, but I didn¡¯t start that way. Anyway, to business. It¡¯s a bit before time, but it sounds like they¡¯re in residence alone,¡± Amdirlain reported. ¡°Are you waiting for anyone else?¡± ¡°No, but someone must have changed their schedule. Normally there¡¯d be three in the manor at this time of day,¡± noted Mor¡¯lmes, and he sent a message to hamper anyone approaching. ¡°Give us ten minutes.¡± ¡°Take all the time you need. If someone shows up unexpectedly, we can use it as a dry run and target a different location,¡± replied Amdirlain. The complex containment formation shivered along the edge of the three-story Manor property. Its pattern mirrored chaos back on itself, ordering it through the repetition of its energy alone. As the ritual Mana surged into its structure, Amdirlain heard the Skinwalker try to teleport away. The Spell''s energy clashed with a barrier that prevented the creature from going beyond the property''s edge. When it appeared, it immediately tried to race across the boundary, only for the Spell to redirect its motion and push it back. So some of them can teleport. Their intel was correct. [Name: Qui¡¯tes, Ghosttrail pride Species: Eldritch Skinwalker Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 1,174,124 Defence: 678 Magic: 3,797 Details: A junior member of the inner circle dedicated to the Delirium of Darkness is an Eldritch who now wears the face of Qui¡¯tes. Former military, after her career stalled out she received an honourable discharge following the destruction of her cycle¡¯s Spawning Abomination. Seeking a spot in civilian life didn¡¯t go well until she joined the cult; it opened doors and provided opportunities she couldn¡¯t secure on her own.] As the creature attempted to breach the barrier, Amdirlain stepped through it some distance away. The containment field added energy to her momentum, and she raced towards the manor. Amdirlain¡¯s arrival attracted the Eldritch¡¯s attention and turned it towards her. Its teleport brought it into reach, but Amdirlain had already blurred away and pulled her shadow vines into inventory. It teleported to attempt an intercept and lunged at her only to run face-first into the aura of Phoenix¡¯s Rapture; Primordial energy turned the air between them into a white-hot inferno. An inferno that boiled its fake flesh away while the oily substance that made up its true form steamed. Ki Movement pulled against the anchor points in her sigil, and Amdirlain spun like a top despite teleporting around its flailing form. Each teleport caused the flaming aura to stutter in and out of existence, hampering the Skinwalker''s ability to orientate on Amdirlain. A cut from a crystal Kopis whistled and smoothly severed an outstretched hand at the wrist. The severed alien flesh turned to ash before it reached the ground. Amdirlain had moved away when a blast of Eldritch flames exploded towards her face, only to sail above the mite suddenly hidden in the melting dirt. The creature spun to locate her, and Amdirlain exploded upwards again. Her swords resized flawlessly between shapes and flayed open the charred flesh across its back to allow the aura to dig deeper. Empowered notes rang through Amdirlain¡¯s shifting tendons and gouged along its burning skin. The erratic motions she spent years using to avoid Sarah¡¯s weapons danced her away from the next blast. A trio of lances pursued and struck through her aura and cut gullies along Primordial-infused flesh. Amdirlain reappeared behind it in Mousekin form, blades ripping flesh open along their calves. Reacting to the rapid strikes that cleaved flesh, the thing unleashed a wall of flames behind it, but Amdirlain had already moved. Her course took her between its legs, trailing blades behind her. She grew again, and the shift in her form¡¯s song and blades struck together. The curved blade of one Kopis and then the other filleted the oily thighs from knee to crotch. A burst of Eldritch flames erupted toward her back, but Amdirlain vanished, and a stutter in the flames signalled another teleport. When the flames reappeared, Amdirlain was nowhere in sight. As her aura raged, melting grass, soil, and flesh alike, Amdirlain maintained the form of a microscopic bug overhead. She raced around the creature, destroying trees and ornaments across the front lawn; the barrier had already contracted to prevent it from taking cover in the house. Trying to escape, it vanished from beneath her, and the barrier deflected its attempt to teleport again. Amdirlain¡¯s forelimb blurred, and she shifted position before the cuts crossed each other. Flames exploded around it, and her expansion to her True Form added force to her strikes that exploded through flesh. The three parts of its corpse incinerated into ash, and a beat of her flame-shrouded wings scattered its remains far and wide. The lack of Eldritch distortion from her healed wounds gained a satisfied nod from Amdirlain. Switching off her aura, Amdirlain turned her glowing gaze directly at a scrying focal point; Amdirlain smiled. ¡°That¡¯s one down. Do you still wish to work together, or can you take one alone?¡± [Combat Summary: Eldritch Skinwalker x1 (4%) Total Experience gained: 47,468 Ostim?: +23,734 Ont?lin: +23,734 Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (24->25) Note: You were a mite pesky.] How droll, Gideon. Experience seems fair since I was the one that said it was a team effort. Still, I won¡¯t complain about gaining a level in my new Power. Folding her wings of scarlet, black and gold in tight, she headed towards the barrier and nodded politely to another scrying focal point as the barrier dropped. Between one step and the next, she was in her silvery-furred form, and the dark green fabric clothed her again. Beyond the closest edge of the smoking, blackened ground, Mor¡¯lmes appeared along her path, The wariness in his body language seemed to come from the burning ground Amdirlain crossed. Amdirlain sang silently, and by the time she reached them, the flames were out and the grass regrowing. ¡°You¡¯re a furless bird?¡± questioned Mor¡¯lmes in his usual grumble. His perspective had Amdirlain laughing so hard that she ended up holding sides. Her mind still translating that in Australian slang, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not a furless bird, but I normally don¡¯t have fur, that much is true.¡± ¡°With the sharp features and those wings, you looked like a raptor,¡± noted Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The Eldritch are among the dangers I hunt, so I guess that makes me a predator. I hope no one had any backlash from the ritual?¡± ¡°It hit the barrier harder the second time, but no one was overstressed,¡± supplied Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain gave a pleased nod. ¡°That¡¯s good. Do we have time to search the manor, or are the law keepers on the way?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve received no sign of activity at the closest station,¡± reported Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Though that¡¯s no clear sign, since you didn¡¯t drag the fight out, but as far as we can tell, nearby residences don¡¯t have anyone home at present.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take the wards apart then, and whoever wishes to can join me,¡± replied Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes motioned to the building. ¡°It might be safer to destroy it.¡± ¡°Does the deceased have relatives?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°There could be personal belongings of importance that pre-date their conversion.¡± ¡°Their things aren¡¯t as important as the risk of others being corrupted,¡± countered Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain agreed reluctantly, having found enough evidence of the risk in the Arch-Wizard''s journals. ¡°How much would the place be worth?¡± ¡°You that worried about depriving them out of their valuables?¡± ¡°I intended to create a few items to compensate them,¡± replied Amdirlain. "I''ve no keepsakes of my family, so I''m sensitive about taking such from others." A message buzzed in Mor¡¯lmes ear, and he frowned in confusion. ¡°Another team reports a target under observation was hit.¡± ¡°A friend is handling some of the weaker targets,¡± explained Amdirlain. His frown deepened, but Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ tone didn¡¯t shift. ¡°How many of you hunters are there on our world?¡± ¡°Two that I¡¯m aware of, but my friend isn¡¯t like me; they¡¯re Mortal,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Was there much left standing?¡± ¡°Standing?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes as he fidgeted slightly. ¡°With the Eldritch, overkill isn¡¯t a thing; they¡¯re either dead or not,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°While I don¡¯t expect them to go too far, blasting its location down to the bedrock might be in the cards.¡± It didn¡¯t take Mor¡¯lmes long to get an answer. ¡°A strike from above slagged their vehicle as they left their home,¡± reported Mor¡¯lmes. What gadget did Sarah put together? Putting the question aside for now, Amdirlain disintegrated not only the building and its contents, but continued drilling down to the bedrock. Before the massive pit, a chest anchored to the ground appeared inscribed with ¡®for the next of kin¡¯. Mor¡¯lmes twitched an ear towards the chest. ¡°How much are you giving them?¡± ¡°Ten kilograms of adamantine,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, that¡¯s enough. The pride¡¯s ward key will let them open its protections. Shall we get going?¡± ¡°At least you didn¡¯t give them mithril; the market for that has been down a bit,¡± noted Mor¡¯lmes drily. ¡°I thought your industry would go through the mithril much faster. Back to today¡¯s business. Shall we see how many more we can take out before they panic?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°We¡¯ve already got other sites prepared, so we should be able to manage the ritual enough times to clear out all the weaker ones today,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°At least if we continue with the ones you¡¯ve identified as being of similar strength and still have a margin for error.¡± ¡°Agreed, but let¡¯s not cut it too fine. While I can learn their magic rating, that only gives us the raw power they can channel; individual proficiency in using that strength is a different matter,¡± responded Amdirlain. Titan¡¯s Forge - Nicholaus¡¯ PoV The shelves hung from his wall were currently filled with millions of golden figures. Some had their eyes closed in quiet repose after aeons imprisoned in demonic forms while others watched the workings of the aspects. Standing in the middle was the former L¨®m? royal couple; their hold on the lineage oaths had dissolved with their deaths. Their demise had then released others from the agreements and the effects cascaded. Those imprisoned shattered the demonic shells about their souls and, no longer bound to Baln¨¦rith¡¯s command, returned to him. Retrieving one whose endurance had been challenged, he gently smoothed the pain from her flaws. Another, who had become a willing Succubus, was almost tossed straight into his forge, but he carefully set her into a storage box instead. ¡°I¡¯ll consider what you endured before you broke at another time,¡± rumbled Nicholaus, and he resumed sorting. Roher¡¯s PoV - Vehte - North-East region of pre-scourge Persia Through the allegiance bonds, Roher felt Isa and Ilya¡¯s return. Turning toward the bond¡¯s music, Roher looked over the L¨®m?¡¯s growing settlement. The pair were racing above the forest that was taking over the hills. They were dramatically different. Isa appeared like an idolised version of an Anar converted into a Celestial. She had their golden-bronze skin, gold eyes, hair of shining silver, and four long translucent wings. Each feather was an aurora of erratically shifting colours, an energy field rather than a physical manifestation. Gone was her reinforced leather armour; she wore a silken blue shirt and leather pants. Ilya still wore dark leather armour that made her alabaster skin vivid; her four wings possessed feathers that each seemed like a glowing air current. ¡°Did folks decide who the new rulers will be?¡± chirped Isa as she landed beside him. Coming in to land nearby, Ilya laughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to say hello first?¡± ¡°Hi Roher, we missed you,¡± squealed Isa, throwing her arms out wide as she pretended to lunge at him for a hug. Her antics brought a glimmer of glee into his emerald gaze, and as Roher shook his head in amusement, his silver hair danced on the breeze caused by her wings. Ilya shrinking to a human form prompted Isa to assume her Anar form. After exchanging greetings with them, Roher returned to Isa¡¯s original question. ¡°There won¡¯t be a central authority. We¡¯re going to continue with community councils, with your addition of limited terms, and consecutive holding of office disallowed,¡± replied Roher. ¡°Where¡¯s your better half?¡± asked Isa. Roher smiled. ¡°Laergul is meeting with the visitors from the western monastery. I think she¡¯s hoping to get one of them to spar with her.¡± ¡°A test of skill, I heartily approve, though doesn¡¯t Farhad call it getting to know someone?¡± asked Isa. ¡°In that case, Laergul might get her wish,¡± said Roher. Isa looked over the forest and spotted the balconies assembled around the central trees. ¡°It¡¯s strange that the L¨®m? aren¡¯t going to live in crystal buildings and towers.¡± ¡°We need to remember that life might endure, but it¡¯s always changing, and so should we,¡± replied Roher. ¡°Taking the Taur? example in this won¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re being so modest in creating an impossible forest half a world away from their goddess,¡± quipped Ilya. Roher shrugged. ¡°We¡¯ve still a touch of pride left, but better to be proud of bringing new life to a desolate area than merely about our species. Admittedly, it will impact the area¡¯s ecology but provide far more niches for life to thrive.¡± ¡°Oh! If your wife¡¯s hosting, that means the babies are with their aunties,¡± squealed Isa, and she disappeared. Ilya sighed and reassuringly patted Roher¡¯s shoulder, being careful of his stump. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure Isa doesn¡¯t spoil them too much.¡± ¡°But who will stop you?¡± asked Roher. Ilya grinned and vanished. Singing softly, he planted another seed from the satchel at his hip before he moved on, leaving random trees and bushes growing in his wake. 329 - Broke Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Even with Sarah working on the weakest, it took five days to catch twenty Eldritch isolated enough to take them out without risking others. The last nine proved more elusive, and Amdirlain spent weeks clearing out hundreds of sites of black stone to remove their bolt holes. Sarah¡¯s insistence on care had Amdirlain continually keeping mental tabs on the team she worked with, listening for signs of betrayal. Mor''lmes hadn''t entirely removed their vulnerability to psionics despite making some mental defence improvements. Amdirlain arrived early at a meeting point and found three observers in the monitoring station. They had adorned the walls of the converted apartment with maps and images of their current and past targets. A few desks with metal displays sat in the middle of the living room floor, and the adjoining kitchen had packages of ready-to-eat meals stacked on the bench. The observers wore their usual grey-on-grey attire, providing good camouflage and a typical business casual look. There was a female with russet fur, a male with a blend of brown and turquoise, and a male with a dark bluish-purple colour. Images of her True Form¡¯s appearance ran through their minds, and she caught the circulation of image traces that had occurred. The russet-furred female had white splotches visible along her throat when she looked up at Amdirlain¡¯s entrance. ¡°Afternoon, J; Mor¡¯lmes won¡¯t be here for another forty minutes at least.¡± The off-balance strength of the lady''s classes roused Amdirlain¡¯s curiosity. [Name: Mar¡¯gold, Whiteshield pride Species: Catfolk (variant) Class: Wizard / Alchemist / Soldier / Synergist Level: 45 / 69 / 41 / 57 Health: 2,120 Defence: 320 Magic: 172 Mana: 19,494 Combat Attack Power: 126 Combat Skills: Short Blades [Ad] (2), Various affinities and spell lists. Details: A graduate of the Triumvirate Campus, after a half-decade in the military she retired to work in her pride¡¯s alchemical processing facility. Attracted by the odd behaviour of a relative, her investigation had her cross paths with Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ observers. ] Whiteshield, I never intruded further into the situation with Tulne¡¯s killer. Maybe that¡¯s for the best. [Synergist This Class uses a combination of wizardry and alchemy to create tools that can be used in situations from combat to everyday life.] ¡°I¡¯m aware of that, Mar¡¯gold. Thanks, but I thought I¡¯d get here with plenty of time to spare,¡± replied Amdirlain. The males tensed at Amdirlain¡¯s use of her name, but Mar¡¯gold only twitched. ¡°I didn¡¯t know Mor¡¯lmes had shared our names, or that those who can teleport needed to worry about arriving late.¡± ¡°Please. Mor¡¯lmes share anything with me besides grumbles? That''s not happening,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°It gives me time to share my latest recon and clean up information for someone to put into the mix.¡± Feeling like being a troll, Amdirlain activated a crystal disc and set it on the closest desk. An image of the planet appeared a half metre above it, and she zoomed in on the local region of the allied territories. Bright red dots appeared at all the bolt holes she¡¯d cleared up, and yellow ones showed the remaining distortion sites. ¡°Was the first image of our world from above?¡± gasped Mar¡¯gold. ¡°Yes, though it¡¯s the same image, just focused on the problem spots like a magnifying glass. We had to clean up spots in neighbouring countries, but the remaining infections are all in the territories,¡± explained Amdirlain. "It means we''ll have to watch for sigils further afield." ¡°Aren¡¯t we lucky,¡± groaned the turquoise male. ¡°Dav¡¯rik, Goldtrail pride, nomads.¡± The dark-furred male looked at the other two as if they were slightly insane before he shrugged. ¡°Pallas, my pride isn¡¯t from the territories, not that I expect our lineages interest you.¡± Amdirlain caught the theme of a Class she recognised from him. ¡°I like to know who I¡¯m working with. I¡¯ve only talked to one other person with the Matriarch¡¯s Guard. What about their training warrants a Class separate from Soldier?¡± Blinking at her question, Pallas gave a helpless shrug. ¡°Maybe the rigorous training to work independently behind enemy lines? Who knows what even gives us classes? According to legends, the enchantment to see someone¡¯s record got stolen from a God¡¯s temple. Yet the gods are dead, and the classes live on.¡± Interesting. I¡¯ll have to see if I can learn more. I wonder if the God¡¯s followers created an imprint stone. ¡°Your world¡¯s gods never controlled the classes. At most, they would have influenced them through local conditions,¡± responded Amdirlain. Her bluntness took Pallas aback, and as his gaze narrowed, his tail thumped against the side of his desk. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to think about you. Part of me wants to laugh in disbelief, but I¡¯ve been in the training complexes, looked up at their alien skies, and fought creatures there we¡¯ve never heard of previously. Mor¡¯lmes has said he saw you create at least some content in one. However, since you can read minds, how do we know you can¡¯t just insert memories?¡± Amdirlain grinned at the memory. A patron family had seized the crystal from Wha¡¯sin, so Amdirlain hadn¡¯t just followed up on her warning. She¡¯d upped the ante. She¡¯d overridden every receiver in the city and provided a calm notification of what would happen. The same day, friendly coloured crystal spheres had floated about the city, asking questions and giving prizes. From children¡¯s stuffed toys, clothing, drinks, and groceries to alchemical components and metal ingots. Amid the confusing days of those little ¡®seeker¡¯ orbs floating about asking questions and randomly giving prizes for responses, she¡¯d interrupted a meeting. This time, the meeting had been between him and some observers, and he¡¯d snapped at her, demanding answers. Before he could blink, Mor¡¯lmes sprawled to the dusty ground of one of the demi-plane frames she¡¯d set up. The only light was the glowing depiction of a starry sky overhead. However, it was kilometres away, with a diversion barrier to prevent any flyer from reaching it. As Amdirlain had silently sung them into existence, he got to his feet amid sprouting flora and saw a nearby lake bed filled with water. He¡¯d seen giant crabs glow as they came into existence and burrow themselves in newly created sand. His Mana Sense had seen nothing until some of the largest crabs started to fight each other with shell-cracking water bolts. It had been a lesson learnt for Amdirlain to create the predators'' food first. She¡¯d hopped them from place to place across a demi-plane whose terrain, at least, she¡¯d modelled roughly on mainland Australia. Amdirlain had let him get an experience rush from killing a hundred feral harpies and dumped him in a lake. Spluttering and soaking wet, she¡¯d sent him home. Sarah having to re-summon her to Quil Tris had been a minor inconvenience. ¡°In case you¡¯ve forgotten, I can erase memories,¡± responded Amdirlain, and she grinned. ¡°I can insert them with equal ease. I¡¯m happy for you to take whatever I share with you as an intellectual exercise. Hear me out and then figure out how to prove me wrong or what I¡¯m leaving out. Ask your questions.¡± As Pallas shook his head sceptically, Dav¡¯rik took her challenge and chimed in. ¡°Who even sent you here? You destroy and create with equal ease, but what are you? Who sent you to deal with the Eldritch?¡± ¡°What questions do you want answered? I¡¯ve been avoiding religious inferences out of respect for your people¡¯s struggles,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°A God sent you,¡± accused Pallas, though his mind contained no connection between her True Form and celestials. Consequences of lost knowledge shielding me? They didn¡¯t know about the outer planes. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°No. That doesn¡¯t stop people from misunderstanding the situation, hence my silence.¡± ¡°Then how do you speak about our former gods with such certainty?¡± persisted Pallas with unrelenting suspicion. Her smile disappeared as she waved a reproving finger. ¡°Jumping into assumptions. I don''t know about them. I know the entity that manages the classes across every habitable world. They don¡¯t need worship to exist, and they certainly wouldn¡¯t give complete control of classes to local entities. However, they recognise unique local situations and add or change classes to suit so that individuals can progress.¡± Dav¡¯rik spoke up, his soft words still cutting off Pallas¡¯s angry response. ¡°What is the purpose of classes?¡± His question wasn¡¯t because he believed her; he¡¯d simply taken her words about treating it as an intellectual exercise to heart and sought fallacies. ¡°They have various purposes. Overall? To recognise someone¡¯s efforts and allow them to exceed their starting point,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Our ancestors killed the gods that had prides slaughtering each other, and you¡¯re telling us there is something more powerful out there,¡± Pallas growled in frustration. ¡°You''re assuming all the greater beings are like the gods your people formed,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. "Or are you annoyed something didn''t come in and take them out first?" Pallas spluttered. ¡°People form gods?¡± ¡°Some gods, and it can happen instantly or take generations,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Others are self-actualising.¡± ¡°But how?¡± whispered Dav¡¯rik, leaning forward on his chair. ¡°Are you sure you want to know?¡± asked Amdirlain, lifting her brows sceptically. Dav¡¯rik¡¯s whiskers twitched about before he finally nodded. ¡°It''s an intellectual exercise, right? I¡¯ll always wonder what story you might have told if I don¡¯t continue with it.¡± ¡°Story is right,¡± grumbled Pallas. "There is a difference between wondering and knowing," warned Amdirlain. "Please," persisted Dav¡¯rik. Amdirlain looked at the others. "Anyone not want to know?" Mar¡¯gold shrugged. ¡°We won¡¯t know for sure, and we¡¯re all wizards. Whatever you share will give us a topic for debate when things are slow. Your mental abilities make it hard to take anything you say or do at face value.¡± It wasn¡¯t a clear objection, so Amdirlain gave them a minute to speak up. When their attention simply remained on her, Amdirlain started. ¡°Mana flows let power accumulate in nexus or loci points. They can cause weird effects, morph creatures, let minor spirits manifest, or open natural breaches to elemental planes. Faith allows individuals to channel energy from and to the being they worship, enabling them to cause a Divine Mantle to form if exercised at the right place or time." ¡°Someone just prayed to a spirit or place, and a God came about?¡± asked Dav¡¯rik. Amdirlain considered how to explain, and a particular example came to mind. ¡°Let''s go with a simple example. One of these individuals with high natural Faith capacity stumbles on a loci point, dying of thirst, so their focus is on the need for water. It¡¯s a rough Spell formation that, if formed by yourself alone, wouldn¡¯t do a thing, but the loci¡¯s connection to the world causes water to bubble up from the ground. They¡¯re saved and wonder what gracious entity took mercy on them.¡± Pallas scoffed, but Dav¡¯rik¡¯s focus didn¡¯t relent. ¡°How is that a God? It¡¯s just a conflux of Mana, reaching to a mental pattern.¡± ¡°Not if you don¡¯t have the Mana Sense that the Wizard Class provides,¡± countered Amdirlain. "People often wonder why, and if they don''t have an answer, their imagination is powerful." ¡°Still, it can¡¯t be that simple,¡± persisted Pallas. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°I''m simplifying it, with no spirit or basic entity involved. The person prays some more, maybe even aloud, while focused on more water for their dying family or cattle. Their Faith channels Mana in the area into the effect, and more water appears.¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°You end up with an entity revered as the God of an oasis, mercy, plenty, or something else.¡± Dav¡¯rik frowned. ¡°That seems like a bit of a jump.¡± ¡°I jumped many steps. But that first event, with the person having strong Faith, is enough to reinforce their simple belief. This event might be a once-in-a-thousand-year event with people continually travelling through the area. That night, when they dream, maybe they gain a primitive Shaman Class or something else and decide to accept. The Class¡¯s nature lets them feel the place¡¯s power, and things go from there. Their people stay and maybe give the place a name, and in a few generations, a proto-god comes about and starts to reply to them.¡± Pallas frowned, and his ears lay flat. ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain other gods.¡± Amdirlain waggled a finger. ¡°I said it was a simple example. Given all the required factors, it¡¯s also the least likely to come about. It gets more likely if a spirit is involved that can encourage things. Something aware enough to respond and give signs that reinforce the belief, or maybe cause the water to erupt from the ground or air.¡± ¡°The name lets their prayers be heard elsewhere?¡± questioned Mar¡¯gold. ¡°And gives their belief an agreed focus for others to use, making it more likely to transform,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Rituals get created because people are trying to please their benefactor. Things become formalised, and future generations get the Priest Class instead. The example can get dark if they¡¯re trying to kill something or someone instead of dying of thirst.¡± ¡°In the middle of a hunt,¡± murmured Pallas thoughtfully. ¡°Visualising your strike landing true.¡± ¡°Or a battle for your life, standing on a nexus point putting your all into the blow,¡± offered Dav¡¯rik. Mar¡¯gold winced, and her ears lay flat. ¡°Or in a fit of jealous rage.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Anyway, that¡¯s where it can get dark, especially if a spirit is involved and it gets fascinated by the death energy released. It might want more blood or the violence that went along with it. You could end up with a God of hunting, war, or murder.¡± ¡°So, ours had gained a taste for blood sport?¡± asked Pallas. ¡°Are you assuming that¡¯s what it was? I can think of other options, but it was nearly five thousand years ago, and I¡¯ve not looked into your history,¡± replied Amdirlain. Pallas frowned. ¡°What other options?¡± ¡°Your people are very pride-focused; what if the gods had picked up territorial aspects from your ancient people?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Gods from different regions with the same purpose clashing?¡± enquired Pallas, looking discomforted. ¡°A possibility, but regardless of the reason, if your gods did continually pursue a bloody conflict over mortals, they got what they deserved. One reason the classes exist is to aid mortals getting killed off in the games of gods. In some realms, mortals stand no chance against evil gods or those that have outlived their time. Here, mortals can grow strong enough to overthrow their gods.¡± Dav¡¯rik¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°They tried to take us with them.¡± ¡°Your people used the mechanism of their revenge as a whetstone to grow stronger; very admirable,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°The same entity that provides classes added acknowledgement of people¡¯s efforts in the gods¡¯ graves. To my knowledge, the Grave Delver Class only exists upon this world.¡± ¡°Would you expand on that?¡± enquired Dav¡¯rik, his curiosity winning over the shock of her revelations. ¡°Grave Delver? Its variations are granted to those that contribute directly to destroying one of those abominations. It¡¯s a pretty specific situation that the Gods¡¯ Grave curse created, so I doubt it shows up anywhere else,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°For the sake of the exercise. How do you know all this?¡± asked Dav¡¯rik. ¡°The entity that controls the classes gives me work lists of problems to look into, including the Eldritch,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They also provide me limited insight into other matters.¡± ¡°An interesting claim. If all this is true, you¡¯re being very informative,¡± Dav¡¯rik remarked dryly. ¡°You either asked the right questions or caught me when I felt chatty,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though maybe I¡¯ve already given you too much to think about for now, even if it''s only an intellectual exercise.¡± Pallas snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t normally stick around for anyone to ask questions.¡± ¡°Well, maybe today isn¡¯t your lucky day,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and she took in Pallas¡¯s unsettled state. ¡°I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t help you sleep any better. Can I ask a personal question, Mar¡¯gold?¡± Mar¡¯gold grinned, and her tail swished in amusement. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about some of your personal questions.¡± ¡°I hope this one isn¡¯t too invasive, but would you explain how your Alchemist Class is so much stronger than your others and what you use your Synergist Class for? If it¡¯s a subject you don¡¯t feel like discussing, it¡¯s not an issue,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°So you don¡¯t know everything?¡± Mar¡¯gold asked lightly. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I never claimed to, but I know different things. As far as I know, only one being knows everything about the realm, but they also can¡¯t do anything directly.¡± ¡°Another tidbit to make us feel uncomfortable?¡± rumbled Pallas. ¡°If you want to take it that way, I find it reassuring that even powerful beings have limits,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she playfully clasped her hands together. ¡°Please, Mar¡¯gold, would you tell me about your classes? I¡¯m being polite and asking nicely.¡± Mar¡¯gold frowned slightly. ¡°Will you dig it up, anyway?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m curious, but it¡¯s not essential,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If you don¡¯t want me prying, I won¡¯t.¡± Ears twitching, Mar¡¯gold nodded. ¡°The Whiteshield pride invented the process for making the blocks we use in all our construction. Completing the material is a family secret; anyone with a talent for it works in the alchemical plants for part of their careers, hence my Alchemist levels. After commencing that work, we gain the Synergist Class; I¡¯ve not heard of members from any other pride having it.¡± ¡°I assume something in the material¡¯s completion involves alchemy and spells,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°That part is the secret,¡± admitted Mar¡¯gold reluctantly. Amdirlain resisted the temptation to peek and instead shared what she knew. ¡°Did you know it also has combat applications?¡± Mar¡¯gold¡¯s ears perked straight up as she jerked upright in her chair. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she smiled when Mar¡¯gold rapidly shook her head. ¡°Now that¡¯s interesting. Something to ask senior members of your pride. If they aren¡¯t aware, it might be a field to investigate. Maybe combining spells with alchemical potions or elixirs on the fly.¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± responded Mar¡¯gold. ¡°As I''ve said, I can learn tidbits about classes, but I don¡¯t get told everything about them unless I dig,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Does this entity you claim to work for have a name?¡± asked Pallas. His wording brought forth Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°''Work for'' isn¡¯t quite the situation. As for a name, they have one, but that¡¯s one thing I¡¯m not sharing.¡± Pallas licked his lips nervously. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Out of respect for your ancestors casting off their gods. Why would I tell you the name of an entity you can pray to for blessings?¡± asked Amdirlain. Dav¡¯rik frowned. ¡°I thought you said they were above such things?¡± ¡°They are, but a Mortal¡¯s belief would still allow drawing energy from them. To that entity, it wouldn¡¯t even be a drop in an ocean,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Now, who wants to update maps? I can present mine in greater detail.¡± Dav¡¯rik motioned to his display. ¡°I¡¯ll handle it.¡± They hadn¡¯t finished going through each location when Mor¡¯lmes arrived, and Amdirlain established a mental link with Sarah so she could listen to the briefing. He¡¯d changed over the years, with Life Mana spells having cleared his scars and restored the severed ear. Mor''lmes pointed to a picture of the Spellclash manor surrounded by hazard signs going over the cleared areas. ¡°We think at least four are in the ruin¡¯s lower basement. Someone breached the law keepers¡¯ barriers without setting off an alarm. Plus, there are vehicles owned by our targets'' relatives abandoned within trekking distance. What information do you have about the basement? Besides what you shared after you fought the Spellclash couple?¡± ¡°There is at least an effigy down there, but it could be something that would wake up if I¡¯d attempted to destroy the place. I¡¯ll try to investigate it again, but I left it alone since the ones we were monitoring haven¡¯t gone near it,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and her whiskers twitched in frustration. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have left that until last, but this Eldritch had some nasty wards.¡± Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ whiskers twitched. ¡°There have been many attempts by the Triumvirate Campus¡¯ staff to crack the wards; the law keepers sealed the entrances into the basements.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you found powerful beings having limits reassuring?¡± asked Pallas. ¡°Oh, burn,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she clutched a hand to her chest. ¡°It could be worse. At least they didn¡¯t go to the tunnels under your campus. Those are still sealed, aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my campus,¡± protested Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°More yours than mine,¡± countered Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes paused, and his ears twitched erratically. ¡°After you resolved my mentors¡¯ memories and those of the other professors, we set extra wards around the entry points we¡¯d found. We have given no keys out to the wards.¡± ¡®You¡¯re such a credit thief, I dealt with the other professors,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡°Do you have suggestions for the basement?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she looked between the four of them. Mor¡¯lmes huffed. ¡°We¡¯ve tried to crack it with ritual magic a few times.¡± ¡®I could just kick in the front door,¡¯ offered Sarah, and she sent Amdirlain an image of an arcane mech churning the ground open with salvos of missiles. ¡®You built a mech?¡¯ Amdirlain mentally squealed. A picture of a child-like Amdirlain restrained by Sarah¡¯s palm to the top of her head came back through the mental link. ¡®Maybe.¡¯ ¡®Come on, tell me. It would be cool to be a mech pilot,¡¯ protested Amdirlain sulkily. Sarah grumbled and presented the image of a closed mech bay. ¡®You¡¯ve got enough toys of your own. There are options you¡¯re avoiding.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m not approaching the L¨®m?, and any Dragon would feel helping gave them the right to create a lair.¡¯ An image of Sarah crying and packing up a cave appeared through their connection. ¡®What about Mechanus? And by the way, a recently absent individual arrived at the apartment. Should we pluck him to cover the back rent?¡¯ ¡®Avoid anything related to the outer planes. How¡¯s Kadaklan look?¡¯ ''Besides being slightly embarrassed when he came in the door, he looks fine.¡¯ The exchange with Sarah ended in a second, and Amdirlain returned her focus to the surrounding group. ¡°I¡¯ll check out the basement¡¯s remains and let you know what I can make out,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s your closest location to set up a ritual circle?¡± Mor¡¯lmes frowned. ¡°Since we don¡¯t know how long they¡¯ll stay there, we might as well use one of the already prepared locations in the city¡¯s south.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she vanished. Her destination was a kilometre from the ruin, tucked away among trees on another manor¡¯s property. Amdirlain¡¯s improved Resonance cut through the distortion and showed her the interior of the chamber. Off centre in the chamber was an irregular plinth set upon a dais, with four figures erratically spaced around it, while a fifth stood near the jagged plinth. The plinth¡¯s hiss reminded her of the effigy from the outreach centre. She discovered anchors in the black stone linked to the basement''s lethal wards. Amdirlain inspected the damaged property and observed how the law keepers had fused the debris into one solid mass. The basement occupants hadn¡¯t been subtle or haphazard in accessing their bolt hole¡ªthey¡¯d sliced through the monitoring wards and disintegrated the sealed rubble that had blocked the stairs. While she waited, Amdirlain used Analysis on each Skinwalker and found only one with a magic rating above four thousand. The others ranged from mid-three thousand upwards, but that wasn¡¯t a guarantee of being able to resist their spells. As she surveyed them, the plinth, dais, and the strongest skinwalker vanished in a surge of Eldritch distortion. ¡®One just disappeared, still four present.¡¯ Amdirlain formed a connection to Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ personal link unit. ¡°Mor¡¯lmes, five targets were in the basement, but one just disappeared; no idea where it went.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let the teams know the hunt continues,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. Disconnecting, Amdirlain¡¯s concentration stayed fixed on the distortion in the basement. Frustrated by the wards¡¯ magical strength, Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°If I can¡¯t get in, can I get them to come out?¡± ¡®Not all of them have shown capacity to Teleport, and if they could, why use vehicles to come to this ruin of all places?¡¯ asked Sarah. Amdirlain broadcast a translation of the event. ¡®I think one disappeared with the effigy in the chamber.¡¯ ¡®You can¡¯t crack the ward with magic, but what about cracking the stone with natural forces?¡¯ asked Sarah. ¡®Ideally, before more of them get away. Send me an image of where you¡¯re hiding out.¡¯ After Amdirlain dispatched an image across their link, Sarah appeared beside her. ¡°You want to sing something up, or do I get to play?¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°How deeply buried is this chamber?¡± asked Sarah Amdirlain gave her the dimensions, and Sarah grinned gleefully. ¡°Why do I feel sorry for them?¡± Sarah pulled out an enchanted plate and waved towards the ruin. ¡°Only the skinwalkers left, no sleeping entity or creepy effigy?¡± ¡°Just the four of them now,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Do me a favour and get rid of the stuff on top. I¡¯ll also need a force screen or dimensional barrier for the neighbours,¡± instructed Sarah. ¡°Why?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You used your toy to eliminate the ones in their vehicles surgically.¡± ¡°Different toy. On this occasion, we need a bit more oomph,¡± countered Sarah. Amdirlain brought up a scrying window, and it appeared like a giant hand scraped the sealed debris away before scooping out the soil above the black stone. When Amdirlain signalled all was ready, she felt Sarah¡¯s mind reach above them. ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± whispered Amdirlain. She strengthened the barrier, added a one-way top, and stabilised the ground for Sarah''s attack. The pointed metallic drum blazed downward, breaking the sound barrier. The release of kinetic energy produced a burst of light and made the ground buck inside the barrier. A cloud of dust billowed up, but nothing escaped. ¡°You threw all that rock up; are you going to begrudge me a few things coming back down?¡± quipped Sarah, as the barrier kept the sound and the explosion¡¯s mushroom cloud contained. ¡°Kinetic energy is a bitch. Their resistance to mundane materials means needing a bigger hammer to hurt them. Your barrier just looks like a block of dust now. Better keep the barrier up.¡± Amdirlain looked at her aghast. ¡°How many of those do you have incoming?¡± ¡°Five, I¡¯m not looking to crack this egg; I want to obliterate it,¡± laughed Sarah. After the second drove deeper into the bedrock, the combat notification appeared, and Sarah pouted. ¡°What a waste. I guess I¡¯ll see if I can reload those LO units as planned. I take it you also set the barrier to absorb the ground shock?¡± [Combat Summary: Eldritch Skinwalker x4 (50%) Total Experience gained: 1,920,727 Ostim?: +960,363 Ont?lin: +960,363] Amdirlain teleported the remaining projectiles out into space. ¡°I¡¯m sure the shock waves from them breaking the sound barrier on approach were bad enough. You put up low-orbit weapon platforms?¡± Sarah grinned slyly. ¡°You mean I forgot to tell you something? Oh, gosh! This girl had to have some fun while you swept fans off their feet.¡± Her attack had lessened the distortion¡¯s strength but didn''t remove it. With the stone¡¯s dust particles floating within the cloud that still billowed about, Amdirlain closed the barrier¡¯s top completely. Once she confirmed the barrier''s seal, Amdirlain opened a Gate towards the sun beneath the most prominent pieces; only once the traces were vented into space did she end the Spell. ¡°My goodness, you used a normal Spell for once,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°What will the natives think?¡± Rolling her eyes, Amdirlain recreated the atmosphere inside the barrier and evened out the ground. ¡°I hope they enjoy the idea. Without knowing the effigy¡¯s nature, I wouldn¡¯t have risked putting it into space. The other Skinwalker taking it away, and you splattering the rest, simplified the clean up; putting a living Eldritch into space seems like bad news.¡± ¡°For some, it would be like going home, but there are times it¡¯s a risk you must take,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I¡¯d like to know where it took the effigy,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m running out of hidey-holes visible to the surveyors outside the large chamber and tunnels beneath the campus.¡± ¡°You just red-flagged yourself,¡± noted Sarah dryly. ¡°But always expect the worst, especially with the Eldritch.¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the apartment. I wanted to talk with Kadaklan, and I can check the tunnels from there.¡± 330 - There for you Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Kadaklan was by the apartment¡¯s link unit when the pair appeared in the living room. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Am and Sarah, I¡¯m sure, passed my messages along. It was sudden, but I promise I¡¯ll catch up with you later.¡± As Amdirlain waved, he disconnected and crossed a name off a list. Turning to her, Kadaklan put his palms together before his chest. ¡°I would like to apologise.¡± ¡°For what?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been worried for months that Judge Po was mad at you for helping me.¡± ¡°But I didn¡¯t help you. I failed you, and I¡¯ll make sure not to make this mistake again,¡± insisted Kadaklan. ¡°You can stay. We¡¯ll disappear suddenly this time and leave you to answer the questions,¡± replied Sarah. Kadaklan frowned incredulously, and Amdirlain¡¯s True Sight showed his feathers rustling within his form. ¡°I¡¯m not sure we¡¯re talking about the same thing. Master Cyrus said he told you the importance of the sigil, and you¡¯re not mad at me?¡± ¡°Why would I be mad at you? You burned yourself alive solely to provide me so much Ki in a rush,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°My hurried words and Ki were not enough, or you¡¯d have reached the steps of enlightenment, not be here still,¡± blurted Kadaklan, and he bowed his head over his raised hands. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for my grievous failure. I should have harboured more of the Ki you provided me and not squandered it making potions and elixirs. Since I had neither the spare Ki nor preparation in place, I had to hurry to make an elixir instead of imparting useful knowledge.¡± Amdirlain stepped forward and put her hand reassuringly on his shoulder. ¡°I completed my sigil solely because of the Ki you gave me and your instructions.¡± Exhaling sharply, Kadaklan froze and took a ragged breath. ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Jumped to conclusions with her,¡± quipped Sarah, and she headed for the kitchen. ¡°Drink?¡± Amdirlain nodded to Sarah. ¡°What Sarah said, I finished the sigil. There was no failure on your part.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s left ear ticked rapidly. ¡°What?! If that happened, you should have appeared on the steps of enlightenment, not stayed here.¡± ¡°You burnt yourself into ash to give me a chance at becoming a Shen?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°How could I not? It was your chance to become a Shen and free yourself of whatever bound you in your false form,¡± insisted Kadaklan. ¡°My Way, my Dao, is about healing. I would not ignore the chance to help someone who has proved themselves worthy of sacrifice.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not go that route again,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she lay the currently blazing spire on the living room floor. ¡°I¡¯ve got a curse keeping me in this state, and I learnt I¡¯m blocked from becoming a Shen.¡± Could it cause the same issue as becoming a Celestial? Kadaklan¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°You have so many scars covering your Soul, yet it has a beauty that would have graced any of the courts.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an ethereal beauty,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°You are a well-crafted weapon, yet can sing finely enough to make a soured cynic weep,¡± countered Kadaklan. ¡°That¡¯s the first time you¡¯ve mentioned seeing my Soul,¡± noted Amdirlain as she steered the subject. ¡°What else did you see?¡± ¡°You¡¯re older than I can fathom. There are puckered scars like thorns and serrated edges cut into your Soul,¡± replied Kadaklan, and his ears twitched nervously before he continued. ¡°Should I speak of more in front of anyone?¡± ¡°Sarah likely knows all of whatever you¡¯ve seen. I¡¯m curious about what your Third Eye showed you while I was cycling for so long in front of you,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°It was a long time to avoid even thinking about it.¡± ¡°It was your secrets and not mine to dwell upon. The way it shone contrasted with the gaping depressions with scar tissue following the injuries. The brutality of the old wounds highlighted its beauty, and I realised I wasn¡¯t looking at a complete Soul but a piece torn from something greater. Do you wish me to cease speaking of it?¡± ¡°Sarah pointed out you¡¯d likely got an eyeful, so what you saw doesn¡¯t surprise me,¡± quipped Amdirlain as Sarah handed out bottles of drink. ¡°Even with your spiritual net requiring most of my attention, I did indeed see much,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°Anyone say anything about your run-in?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°What do you mean by anything?¡± ¡°Did Judge Po say why he kept you so long?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she created a medallion to protect his thoughts with his constellation sigil emblazoned on it. When she tossed it to him, Kadaklan smiled and offered her a seated bow. ¡°Initially, I was told I¡¯d have to wait a week to speak with him, which is not a good sign,¡± sighed Kadaklan. ¡°Then the messages started coming in, and the disturbances didn¡¯t impress him, so he kept putting off my court date.¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°That will teach you not to share your real name with the locals.¡± ¡°Just because your real name is some unpronounceable thing,¡± grumbled Kadaklan. ¡°It''s pronounceable just fine, thank you very much,¡± retorted Sarah. ¡°As long as your jaw can dislocate, and you¡¯ve got a forked tongue for the extended hard sound of the consonants,¡± countered Kadaklan. ¡°Aside from Judge Po, the Jade Emperor¡¯s courier gave me a message upon my release, though I¡¯ve not yet any insight into its meaning. Hopefully, I can start to decipher it by working with you. Might I ask how you got your sigil to activate?¡± More riddles from the Jade Emperor to someone I know. Why don¡¯t you tell us how you feel? At the change in topic, Amdirlain simply smiled. ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Immolation got upgraded to an offer of Phoenix¡¯s Rapture. When I took it, abyssal sludge started to leak out of me. I was going to move a distance from any population centre, but then my sigil lit up.¡± ¡°Your Soul¡¯s nature gives you access to powers within the reach of Shen,¡± groaned Kadaklan. ¡°Might I ask a question?¡± ¡°Of course, bird boy,¡± chirped Amdirlain. Rubbing an ear, Kadaklan sighed. ¡°Why do you have to be so impossible?¡± Amdirlail''s lips curled, and she gave an exaggerated shrug. ¡°A natural talent. I wouldn¡¯t have thought you needed a question to figure that out.¡± ¡°Judge Po said releasing me would be a harsher punishment; now I truly know what he means,¡± muttered Kadaklan. Sarah started laughing, and the look of mock frustration Kadaklan sent her way set off Amdirlain''s laughter as well. Kadaklan''s ears drooped, and his tail tapped the couch slowly. ¡°Poor Kadaklan, did you think he meant the thin environment here?¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Nevermind us, Kadaklan, ?ask your question,¡± prompted Amdirlain, and she sipped from her drink. Kadaklan tapped on the bottle¡¯s seal as he considered his words. ¡°You¡¯ve told me why you are here, but never why you took on the work.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m selfish,¡± replied Amdirlain. Grunting in exasperation, Sarah reached over and tugged on her ear. ¡°Brat!¡± ¡°Why did you teach the use of Ki to so many alchemists and healers?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m nurturing the early stages of a bamboo forest, and the roots will spread worldwide,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Just like me; I wanted to do something that would make a difference,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°I keep planting seeds of change, hoping it will bring people happiness and that I can know I made a difference. I¡¯m completely selfish because of my insecurities; while I can be nice, I can also be a bitch.¡± ¡°You are a Phoenix. Our flames can give warmth, but they can also burn. The key is to burn the right people,¡± proposed Kadaklan. ¡°I try to do that, though sometimes I fry people that don¡¯t deserve it.¡± ¡°We are all works in progress towards reaching the Dao,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°Speaking of works in progress. What will you do if we no longer maintain these identities?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah said you likely had another twenty or thirty years'' worth of work with all the training complexes,¡± responded Kadaklan, fixing Sarah with a confused look. ¡°Did I misunderstand?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to do them all from the Material Plane, and you wouldn¡¯t have to hang around,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I considered setting up the first levels in each location and extending their reach from within the demi-planes.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been enjoying teaching alchemists and healers without preconceptions of Ki,¡± commented Kadaklan sadly. ¡°You could stick around and continue to teach them,¡± proposed Amdirlain. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. Kadaklan shrugged. ¡°Where you find problems to tend to, I find people who need healing. I¡¯ll contact all the people concerned about me and ensure they have advance notice before we leave.¡± Amdirlain waved her tail towards the list. ¡°Sarah gave you all the names?¡± ¡°Yes, I started with those who would be easiest to reassure. I haven¡¯t contacted the law keepers, since I intend to talk with them in person,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I won¡¯t always be going to places it''s safe for you to travel,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°At those times, I can help teach the use of Ki at Nolmar,¡± proposed Kadaklan. Amdirlain held back her sigh. ¡°Why?¡± Kadaklan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not your warrior of justice. I¡¯m a healer, a creator of potions and elixirs. At home, I¡¯m one healer among many, regardless of my talent. My challenges involve illnesses, pus, and seeping wounds when not concocting brews with strange materials. I cannot kill your enemies for you, but I can support you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not necessary,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps it is not, but still, it is my choice and my time that I offer,¡± responded Kadaklan. ¡°The challenge of working with you might help me find a breakthrough to the next step of enlightenment. There, perhaps, is what Judge Po meant.¡± ¡°Care to fill us in?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°What worse punishment can I have? If I move from Immortal to Shen, I cannot assist you in your travels. The very thing I seek might shorten the time I¡¯ll be in your company,¡± replied Kadaklan, and he gave a helpless shrug before continuing. ¡°How did the projects at the lab go without me?¡± As Sarah started to brief Kadaklan on the state of his lab projects, Amdirlain turned her attention towards the campus to the north. Scanning through the tunnels, the void spawns had grown in number, and she found not one but two effigies that hadn¡¯t been present previously. The silence in the centre remained impervious to any attempt to determine what was happening, the Eldritch presence smothering anything in its proximity. A large burst of void spawns racing out of the silence caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention; their distortion''s aggravation helped Resonance to increase. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I know where they are,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Still updating Kadaklan about his student¡¯s work, Sarah stopped mid-sentence. ¡°Did you find your missing skinwalkers?¡± ¡°No, but I found two new effigies in the tunnels, and one is the plinth from earlier today that disappeared,¡± reported Amdirlain. ¡°A group of void spawn just came out from under the umbrella of its presence.¡± ¡°You planning something crazy?¡± asked Sarah warily. Amdirlain gave a tight smile. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to go in and see if they¡¯ve got a summoning circle near it.¡± ¡°You''re kidding,¡± hissed Sarah. ¡°What if you wake it up?¡± Shrugging helplessly, Amdirlain continued with what she¡¯d learnt. ¡°There are tonnes more void spawns in the tunnels. I¡¯ll try to keep out of the main chamber and see about whittling them away. They might have spent their lives summoning them, or already-¡± A blocky canister that vaguely resembled a quad rocket launcher appeared on the table, Gravity and Primordial energy seethed inside it. ¡°You¡¯ve been feeling nostalgic about action movies?¡± ¡°The skinwalkers have a minimal physical defence. I used the appearance of the M202 Flash, but where each tube would be a single rocket, you have 50 canisters of flechette swarms. You focus it on a target and touch the trigger rune. It throws the next canister forward, which fragments, and then the flechettes ignite with Primordial fire and home in on the target from different angles,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°I know you can duplicate it, so enjoy.¡± ¡°I brought some elixirs from home,¡± offered Kadaklan, and he started to set clay pots on the table, each with a different colour seal. ¡°Don¡¯t break any of these close to you. Each has a different effect, so pay attention to the colour of the seal.¡± ¡°Welcome to Q Division,¡± quipped Sarah, and she raised her bottle to toast Kadaklan. ¡°What?¡± asked Kadaklan, frowning in confusion. Sarah grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll explain later.¡± ¡°Quartermaster, aka supplies,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Spoilsport, I was going to have a movie night,¡± grumbled Sarah, her ears flattening out, and she gave Amdirlain a mock glare. ¡°You can still do that,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°We can have another movie night, but no popcorn this time. I said I¡¯d support you. I know you can duplicate all these, but if we make them, it lets you save your physical reserves for other endeavours.¡± ¡°What do these bad boys do?¡± enquired Amdirlain. The closest pot to her had an orange seal with a volcano impressed into the wax, while the blue sealed one beside it had a cloud shape. ¡°The first one will spray pellets of Yang-infused white phosphorus when ruptured, while the blue cloud is an incendiary fog bank that will drift with the prevailing wind,¡± explained Kadaklan before he went over the rest; flash-melting stone, persistent puddles of acid, and bursts of lightning. ¡°That¡¯s quite a variety,¡± commented Amdirlain, and she stored them all in inventory. Kadaklan¡¯s whiskers lifted. ¡°The materials they can source are the only limit an Alchemist faces.¡± ¡°Hence the variety of plants, animals, and fungi you wanted to be added to the training environments?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Creating duplicates of the ones she expected to be most useful, she stored them as well. ¡°You made them so vast it seemed only sensible to set up a useful ecosystem,¡± responded Kadaklan, his gaze taking in the pots that flickered in and out of existence. ¡°How many are you creating?¡± ¡°There were hundreds of void spawns. There are easily over a thousand that I can detect now, and full-grown ones have millions in health,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, the fuckers heal fast.¡± When Amdirlain finished, the crafting summary offered her just over twenty thousand experience. ¡°I¡¯m going to get the ward keys and see how many I can cull from the herd.¡± Amdirlain scried Mor¡¯lmes, still at the observer base, and reappeared outside the building. Waiting until a scrying focal point had moved across her, Amdirlain headed inside. While the trio she¡¯d met earlier were updating reports and taking calls, Mor¡¯lmes was reviewing an A0 film sheet with the updated details Amdirlain had provided. As she cleared the inner door, he used a pen to make some notes and then looked her way. ¡°You created the explosions out at the former manor?¡± ¡°An associate, she was playing with some toys she built to take out larger Eldritch if they came into the open. I¡¯ve been avoiding asking for them, but I¡¯ll need ward keys for the campus and the inner barrier,¡± said Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes nodded. ¡°What did you find?¡± Amdirlain shared the same details she¡¯d given to the others, and Mor¡¯lmes winced. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll provide the keys. While I can likely bypass the wards directly into the tunnels, it would be better to conserve my energy to cull their numbers.¡± ¡°The device to attune a key to you is within the public wards,¡± explained Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Are you happy to accompany me onto the campus?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to trust you,¡± replied Amdirlain, having already confirmed it was the truth from his thoughts. Putting the pen aside, Mor¡¯lmes motioned her to the door. ¡°Should I drive? Or simply Teleport?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get us near the campus¡¯ southern gates,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t trust me to do so?¡± enquired Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I prefer being in control,¡± responded Amdirlain. Touching two fingers to his throat, Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ ears twitched. ¡°So I had noticed.¡± The pair reappeared on the sidewalk outside the campus¡¯ iron fence line. Six Catfolk in rugged gear approached a clear Laen spire within a nearby grove of trees. When they touched it together, Amdirlain heard the spire¡¯s enchantment send them to the training complex¡¯s third stage. ¡°I wonder how many training levels there are,¡± murmured Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Guess someone will have to get past the latest stage boss and see if there are more.¡± Mor¡¯lmes rolled his eyes. ¡°The waypoint beacons might help navigation, but they don¡¯t speed up travel times.¡± ¡°That¡¯s only because teams like to kill everything they come across and harvest,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Nothing is blocking people from teleporting from the entrance to stage points.¡± ¡°Not all of us can safely teleport whole groups,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Get good. I know of four Spell lists with fast transport options for entire groups. You think whoever is setting them up should let you hop from point A to B?¡± ¡°It would make things easier,¡± commented Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°You might know them, but I don¡¯t.¡± ¡°Earn it,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, but she tapped his nose with a memory crystal a few moments later. ¡°One of the spell lists in here contains the means to set up a permanent Teleport Circle that only needs to be fed Mana. Where you set them is up to you, but I¡¯d worry about people trying to jump ahead.¡± Huffing in amusement, Mor¡¯lmes headed for the entrance, and Amdirlain walked beside him. Though she¡¯d never been inside even the outer wards that allowed anyone to pass, Amdirlain had observed the campus frequently enough to be unsurprised at the winding path they took towards their destination. The warm weather had students out sitting in scattered pockets across the campus¡¯s parkland studying and talking; the topics of conversation reminded Amdirlain of her time at university. The well-marked paths frequently took them through courtyards, some were nature spots while they¡¯d fully paved others, with a stage off to the side that allowed various performers to put on a show. Appreciative claps and whistles greeted one singer as she wrapped up a cover of one of the more explicit pieces Jal¡¯krin had written for Am. Though the performer wasn¡¯t there to busk, Amdirlain flicked a high denomination coin into the harp case beside her chair. ¡°Scandalous lyrics,¡± grumbled Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Only if you have a dirty mind.¡± ¡°It¡¯s clear enough what the ¡®friend¡¯ needs to compensate for,¡± argued Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Sparring with a small blade?¡± asked Amdirlain, blinking innocently. Mor¡¯lmes huffed. ¡°I don¡¯t think that''s the type of exercise it means.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one with first-hand knowledge, I¡¯ll give you that,¡± rejoined Amdirlain, and she picked up the pace. Eventually, they entered a low administration building between the wizards'' skyscraper and the shorter mathematics facility building. Over the top of the administration building, regularly spaced skywalks joined the two larger buildings between the fourth and tenth floors. From beneath the ground, the distortion screeched across Amdirlain¡¯s senses and she restricted Resonance to barely an arm¡¯s length. While she could handle the sound, Amdirlain wanted to save her energy for when she entered the tunnels. ¡°The mathematics facility has many large lecture halls,¡± noted Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a subject that most other facilities on the campus need their students to receive at least some training in.¡± The entrance area of the administration building was an open-plan office that occupied the front segment of the building. Among the wooden desks, columns supported the ceiling of the wedge that ran to the building¡¯s centre. Though there was space for dozens of people to tend to the counters, only one had a clerk present and a line of students. Meanwhile, thirty-odd clerks were ¡®busy¡¯ focused on the displays, and Amdirlain caught that few of them related to their work. The clerk at the front counter had a bandit¡¯s mask in white fur around her eyes, and ¡®tear drops¡¯ of white fur splashed down her cheeks and throat among her dark brown fur. She gave Mor¡¯lmes a polite nod of recognition and didn¡¯t object when he moved through a gate in the counter with Amdirlain in tow. Once the gate closed behind Amdirlain, he directed her to a blocky device sitting on a desk behind the clerk. ¡°If you¡¯d put your hand atop it,¡± directed Mor¡¯lmes as he retrieved two discs from a storage device. It blends the person¡¯s aura with the ward key so they can¡¯t be shared; very interesting. A step up from a wardstone that can be handed out. Amdirlain followed his instructions, adjusting her concealments so the device would have a usable aura to read. Despite having read his mind, the detection Spell she cast before putting her hand on the device ignited Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ Mana Sight with its strength. Though the runes along it flashed repeatedly, it eventually spat out two discs without a complaint or anything strange. Mor¡¯lmes handed the new discs to Amdirlain and led her to the Wizard tower¡¯s closest entrance. Beyond the entryway was a two-story foyer. From the ceiling hung aged banners of the original six patron families, now sealed inside stasis spells. A display against one wall listed the remaining twenty-seven families that had earned patron status in this city and others. Instead of heading towards the lift shafts that ran up an outer wall, Mor¡¯lmes directed Amdirlain¡¯s attention to a door marked archives. The set of stairs beyond went down three landings before the first door showed, and they¡¯d already crossed six sets of wards. Though each seemed breakable to Amdirlain, some would take longer to slice through, potentially alerting the staff to a breach. After reaching the fourth landing with a door, Mor¡¯lmes unlocked it. Detection spells registered their presence, and lighting flickered on. Segmented shelving, similar to a modern library, ran off in both directions. However, instead of each shelf being packed with books or boxes, only a single grimoire rested on each. The distance between each prevented the protective energies around each from interfering. ¡°This way,¡± offered Mor¡¯lmes as he stepped off to the left. ¡°Are the upper levels all magical text?¡± asked Amdirlain, taking in the thousands of books she could hear above them as she stretched Resonance out. ¡°Texts related directly or at least mostly to wizardry. The upper levels are historical magical texts; some of them contain theories that have since been disproven or at least been refined; others are journals,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°We¡¯ve been spending much time scouring the archives'' contents. On the upside, sometimes revisiting old theoretical texts whose contents seem no longer applicable reveals pearls of wisdom buried in the chaff.¡± He led the way to the end for a good eighty metres before he opened a door to their left that led into a smaller room. The glass window in the door let her see more shelving and the illusion of a narrow stone pillar between shelving that tried to obscure an arcane shadow on the wall. Amdirlain spoke up once the door closed behind her. ¡°Did the cultist have the illusion in place?¡± ¡°No, an observer team was just in time to see one of the cultists step between the shelving and vanish,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°The second ward key lets you step through the illusion.¡± Stepping around Mor¡¯lmes, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The shadow on the wall isn¡¯t keyed to anything.¡± Mor¡¯lmes exhaled. ¡°Shadow?¡± I might need all the help I can get. ¡°Don¡¯t come through; I¡¯ll see myself out if I get back,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Are you strong enough to take on what¡¯s down there?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s blades appeared in her hands. ¡°The lesser ones, yep, multiple skinwalkers together could be a problem. The one that disappeared from the basement was as tough as Alyolhe, and I had to take time to heal from fighting her.¡± ¡°Do you have a plan?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, and his voice gained an edge of concern. ¡°Cull the void spawn along the edges and see if I can isolate the skinwalkers. I¡¯ll see where this entry delivers me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If things go especially wrong, a friend will contact you, she has a way to evacuate the city. Don¡¯t argue, don¡¯t let others argue. She will give orders and expect them to be followed. Don¡¯t cross her, or she¡¯ll make you regret it, especially if I¡¯m dead.¡± ¡°What sort of regret?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes cautiously, his body going still. ¡°She has no loyalty to any of you, aside from a few that I¡¯m sure would take her word and act. If you want to be left behind, then annoy her,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she nervously pulled all her clothing into Inventory and stilled the sympathetic twitch in her legs. ¡°I had hoped we could leave these tunnels alone for another five hundred years. As the worst case is that the thing your revered Arch Wizard brought back wakes up.¡± The dimensional energies in the shadow-marked space headed downwards via a twisting route. Walking towards it, Amdirlain tried to spend two skill points to see if she could stack the original skills. [Mental Hardening Unlocked! Mental Hardening (1) Pain Eater Unlocked! Pain Eater (1)] With no way to purchase a Power, Amdirlain started to sing, only for the first notes of Protean¡¯s song to freeze on her lips. Fear spiked through her Willpower and the Mental Hardening she¡¯d developed. That reaction was worse than I felt about re-creating my spiritual net, but my Mental Hardening is higher. Powers connect to the Soul. Does the fear come up because of Ori''s damage to our Soul, or is there a risk I don¡¯t know? I¡¯ll have to keep trying to meditate on it. A shadow shifted and engulfed her when Amdirlain was fully between the shelving units. The whirlwind of spinning shadows passed her through dimensional limits and back again before depositing her in a dimly lit chamber of black stone. Around Amdirlain was a churning mist flowing from a wide tunnel straight ahead, and there was no way out behind her. The only upside was that the main chamber and the oppressive silence at its core were over three hundred metres away. Have any students just stumbled in here with no way back? Resonance showed her the void spawn in the mist. Igniting her aura, Amdirlain blurred forward. Though the Eldritch energies in the stone didn¡¯t threaten to warp her body, she still shifted into Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s form between steps. Before she reached the first enemy, a notification hinted at the pressure growing against her Willpower. [Mental Hardening (1 -> 10)] 331 - Take control Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) With the ignition of her aura, seven looming figures in the tunnel shifted and moved. Analysis protested with static, but Amdirlain grabbed the details of the closest of the void spawns. As she pushed Ki and Primordial Mana into it, Ki State¡¯s armouring rose to cover her suddenly furless flesh. The glowing gaze of her Anar form reflected in the mist. [Species: Loathsome Void Spawn Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 1,423,898 Melee Attack Power: 8,923] The closest trio fired cables towards her. Lifting a blade to slide aside the first, a note empowered within the motion pushed through the churning aura around her. A thin wisp of her aura lashed across the Eldritch¡¯s twisting form. The incoming attacks drove through three metres of aura in a blink and, though the tentacles charred, they didn¡¯t incinerate. A shower of Eldritch bolts clawed at her aura and, as they continued to rain down, Amdirlain teleported forward. The flames stuttered into existence around the pair at the group¡¯s rear, but the Eldritch didn¡¯t flinch away. Her reappearance had barbed spikes and dozens of claws seeking to rend her constantly moving form. Amdirlain¡¯s movements and sudden position shifts avoided scores of attacks, and her aura and Ki State deflected more. Amid the fighting, blood ran from a growing collection of minor wounds, but others that would have struck true, Amdirlain assaulted directly¡ªthe ash of severed limbs stirred within the entities¡¯ mist. Leaving a pair of flasks at one¡¯s base, Amdirlain teleported further along the tunnel. Its crushing weight raced forward, and an explosion of Yang flames lit up the tunnel. The flames ripped into the group¡¯s centre, illuminating the figures too well. The sight of their flesh rippling into and out of existence added to the mental pressure from Resonance. Spinning towards her, their strange undulating forms created loathsome silhouettes in the backdrop of the flames. They charged her position, and their tentacles whipped forward only to turn into solid blades, or maws slavering for flesh. More void spawns drifted towards her from surrounding tunnels, beckoned by the flame¡¯s energy. Yang is life energy; it hurts them yet tempts them as moths to a flame. Amdirlain reformed into a spiked sea anemone beneath their attacks. Her blades, held in tentacles, rent flesh in a pair of strikes before she left elixirs behind and shifted position again. More flames erupted, and the approaching void spawns quickened their pace. Clear of the attacks and searing Yang flames, a constellation of seven pinpoints of white flame leapt from her hand, and Amdirlain ran. The flames burnt their way into one of her foes, staggering it. Its momentum was slow, but still, it carried on. Then flames erupted from the wound and its shifting orifices as a section of the thing exploded. Even as fire cooked deeper into their charred flesh, body parts and fire showered across its allies. Badly wounded, the thing still unrelentingly pressed forward, but the Primordial flame left an ash-covered wound that didn¡¯t seal. Amdirlain took the first route away from the oppressive silence in the main chamber. Catapulting another Yang elixir at the group behind her, its explosions ate into flesh, and the nearby void spawns approach turned into a sprint. Ki Movement boosted her speed further to keep ahead of them. As she raced through the mist-filled passages, Amdirlain tossed minor spells with Yang Mana to bait them into following. A pack of void spawn larvae raced towards the approaching corner, and Amdirlain tested the Phoenix¡¯s Rapture ability to hold form. As her body compressed, Ki Flight held her falcon form aloft, its lesser speed causing her to linger over the pack beneath. They had enough time to swing their tentacles before bursting into ashes, and their momentum carried them forward to spread along the passage. Rather than use more of the elixirs immediately, Amdirlain cast a Flame Armour around herself using Yang Mana. The Spell¡¯s strength drew attention from further afield, and Amdirlain resumed her Anar form. Racing towards a group of stronger void spawns, she slid around a corner and hooked the blades into an older entity. Bolts of purple Eldritch flame sank deep into her aura, and as more foes focused on her, Amdirlain¡¯s flames stuttered. Appearing amidst the group, she jumped atop a lashing tentacle and tried to outrace its incineration. Two themes exiting the main chamber¡¯s smothering field confirmed the effigies weren¡¯t the only things that had shifted into the tunnels. Teleport took Amdirlain to the next turn, and as the void spawns pursued, she used Analysis on the skinwalkers that had joined the chase. [Name: Pa¡¯rick, Manareins pride Species: Eldritch Skinwalker Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 476,298 Defence: 696 Magic: 3,914 Details: Pa¡¯rick was a full-time arcane researcher working out of the Triumvirate Campus. He received an invitation to the cult from respected mentors. His focus on delving into mysteries pushed him through the ranks, and he gained a greater status and eventually progressed to the inner council.] The second was the Skinwalker from the ruins; their magic rating had jumped. [Name: Hal¡¯tra, Whiteshield pride Species: Eldritch Skinwalker Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 874,124 Defence: 828 Magic: 4,997 Details: A member of a lesser branch of the Whiteshield pride, his ambition led him into the orbit of various professors seeking to master powers beyond the known arcane. Hal¡¯tra had a last moment of clarity before the summoned Skinwalker devoured him. Yet, he didn¡¯t regret the path, only that he hadn¡¯t grown strong enough to consume it instead.] Its magic rating is now higher than Alyolhe¡¯s. Best to not stand still. Rounding another bend, Amdirlain heard the void spawns massing ahead of her. Dozens were coming into a large chamber through side tunnels and up a ramp from below. All drawn together by the roaring life energy around her. Charging through them, she teleported about¡ªthe stutter of flames turning the mass of foes into hideous shadows. The white Primordial fire changed the mists into opaque walls that obscured those furthest away. It was a small mercy as the twisting visages of those nearby had her mind struggling to translate flashes of their forms. Shattered pots left puddles of acid chewing into barbequed flesh and lightning mists that illuminated distant corners. Her rapid position shifts among the horde didn¡¯t prevent all injury, and flames would often enfold transforming limbs and provoke a strike. While blows lost momentum, chewed upon by the full breadth of her aura, it didn¡¯t provide the same protection when the limb was already dangerously close. The Eldritch¡¯s whip-like limb would transform into dozens of thrusting blades, and with hundreds coming in from unexpected directions, attacks got through. She shifted between forms and snatched a blade into Inventory before it could plunge from an almost severed hand. The first few minutes had seen dozens of Eldritch fall, but her form was slick with blood. While most injuries sealed quickly, she continued to bleed from a few deeper wounds. The weakest Skinwalker finally entering the chamber prompted her to change up her attacks. A Fire Storm Spell cooked the surrounding air, and Amdirlain teleported to a spot above its focal point to use its cover to snuff out her aura and armour. Teleport shifted her again, and Amdirlain brought Sarah¡¯s boxy contraption to her shoulder, glad she¡¯d idiot-proofed it so someone could only comfortably fire it one way. Amdirlain fired not one canister but four at once. A pulse of isolated gravity pulled forward four tubes barely three centimetres long. The pressure overstressed pre-made fracture lines and the tubes turned into metal clouds. Their outer shell became shrapnel, still moving at subsonic speeds, and the flechette rounds within started to move erratically. What the fuck did Sarah do? Gravity Mana flared within the four compact masses, leaving the shell material behind. As thousands of needles jumped to Mach 6, multiple shock waves rolled through the tunnels. Primordial runes had barely ignited before the still bunched mass punched through the Skinwalker and at least seventeen void spawns before driving onward into the chamber¡¯s far wall. With its chest half obliterated, the Skinwalker started to turn, and Amdirlain lifted the device¡¯s aiming reticle higher and fired again. As its head sprayed through the chamber, she stored the launcher and ignited her aura. The body staggered and straightened, only to catch the first and then the second cloud of Gravity-imbued metal. As it collapsed again, Amdirlain teleported forward to cleave it apart while her aura cremated its flesh. With the Spell¡¯s flames raging, she teleported into another passage and started to gather more. As her wounds sealed, some of the badly burnt void spawns from the chamber gave chase. Three hundred void spawns had perished before Amdirlain finally got into position to fire on the second Skinwalker. However, when she appeared behind it an armour of Eldritch flames ignited, and Amdirlain hastened away. Racing back through the tunnels towards the main chamber, she incinerated more void spawns and took every ramp she could find leading down. Coming out into the main chamber, she found herself in a five-metre-tall gallery that afforded the mature void spawns plenty of clearance. In the central area, ramps spiralled between levels but the smaller, hound-sized void spawns ignored gravity to flit between them. The irregularly formed central shaft was at its widest point, thirty-three metres across. Sprinting along the lip, Amdirlain glanced down and found three skinwalkers arrayed around a summoning circle that matched the one from beneath the lakeside retreat. They had their eyes closed, lips moved in an unsynchronised chant. However, the sound of their words got buried under the weight of the oppressive entity scarcely five metres from the circle¡¯s outer edge. With foes still chasing her, Amdirlain hadn¡¯t received a combat summary since the fun began, but her stacked Mental Hardening still hadn¡¯t progressed far enough. The glance she¡¯d gotten of it had blood running from her nose and eyes, and Amdirlain made herself tumble further away. The formless being drank in all the meagre light and sound from around it while whispers tempted her to cast herself in and let oblivion claim her. Agony drove past Pain Eater and sucked at her Soul¡¯s bindings. Her mind swam, and Amdirlain dragged herself further from the edge. Does the insanity shield them? As slithering sounds came from the last passage she¡¯d exited, Amdirlain shakily teleported away. Stumbling to her feet, her blurred pace had turned into a drunken lurch, but Amdirlain kept moving, trying to buy more seconds of recovery. A fresh group of void spawns exited the silence and a still battered Amdirlain teleported higher in the tunnels. Sources of distortion pursued her, racing up the ramps and through the air of the main shaft. Plotting a path, she left delayed spells in her wake, and more baited Eldritch died. Hundreds of eruptions of Primordial flames and elixirs catapulted into her pursers. More Eldritch crackled and burned while Amdirlain maneuvered about, seeking an opportunity. Whenever she deactivated her Phoenix¡¯s Rapture, the whispers returned. Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. The Skinwalker met her repeated attempts to gain a line-of-sight with defences snapping into place. An unnoticed pattern in her behaviour had it meeting her arrival with a Spell that clawed through her aura. Amdirlain teleported away, but the blast left her Ki State stinging from the close call. At the spots of steaming flesh on her arms, Amdirlain stopped to confirm nothing had seeded itself in her flesh. As it turned, seeking her, Amdirlain teleported again and killed off some wounded pursuers. I need to get in a better position and have something it can¡¯t shrug off with its magic rating against mine. Rock and hard place option? But I can¡¯t trap every tunnel. While she recovered from her close calls, Amdirlain culled more of the growing herd of void spawns, aware more entered the tunnels as time passed. Once she¡¯d recovered from her close call, Amdirlain started to build a song, mimicking the flux of her twin shielding and flesh. Racing through corridors, she slipped between forms, dodging around tentacles and grasping claws. She burnt holes to join choice passages and continued to run. As pursuit closed in, she teleported to let her flames stutter. Between one teleport and the next, she shut down her aura and spell and cloned them further away to lure them on the route she needed it to take. Teleport placed her behind it along the longest stretch of the corridors she''d created, and she unleashed a set of canisters. Ki Flight drifted her sideways, and with the aiming dot focused on its back, she rapidly triggered four more. The distance allowed each canister¡¯s flechette to bloom out further from its shell and, before the shockwave hit her, the first set had raced through the Eldritch. It fell and rolled, but a dome of Eldritch flame melted the following needles that pursued it. As it rode out more flechettes arriving, Amdirlain teleported into a passage she¡¯d seen on the lowest level and kept her gaze at waist height. The corridor¡¯s angle didn¡¯t allow her to see the Delirium of Darkness on its platform, but it gave her line of sight on two of the summoners. Even as Amdirlain pressed the runes to fire, another set of void spawns appeared in the circle. The closest summoner came apart when fragments bearing Primordial flames ripped through it, and a second and third set followed, blasting through him into the void spawns that now blocked the view. The theme of the strongest skinwalker raced for the central shaft, and Amdirlain shifted position. Leaping to choice spots its route should take it through, she set traps and moved on. A length of stone ceiling wall collapsed when the Skinwalker entered a passage and quickly melted into Primordial essence under the impact of Amdirlain''s song. An Eldritch burst ripped the skinwalker free of the first trap, and charred, it ran on. Rounding a corner triggered a linked song, and Amdirlain¡¯s True Song blades catapulted through a dimensional opening, spinning as they burned. Staggered, it stumbled and, for a microsecond, a Gate flicked on, severing its legs at the ankles when it plunged partly through. With it slowed but recovering, Amdirlain cast again and rapidly dismissed the Spell; the Gate blinking out decapitated it. A flurry of gates followed, leaving it in wafer-thin pieces along the passage¡¯s length. Not risking it might ooze together, Amdirlain raced forward, her aura flaring to life, leaving nothing but ash behind. Snatching up her blades, she moved on. Teleport placed her back on the lowest level, and blasts of Primordial flame hurled the last two skinwalkers clear of the silence. As they skidded to a halt, cubes of True Song Crystal enfolded them. She lingered long enough to finish the outer seals before racing away to deal with the remaining Void Spawn. Empowering notes within her movements, she began turning wisps from her aura into directed gouts of Primordial flame. It took hours of attrition by the time they were dead; she¡¯d used up all the elixir pots and emptied Sarah¡¯s launcher. With the tunnels cleared, she risked returning to the silence¡¯s edge. Against the temptations that prickled along her skin, she pushed to complete the crystal coffins of the two skinwalkers. Once they were shunted into the Abyss, a notification appeared. [Combat Summary: Loathsome Void Spawn Larvae x56 Loathsome Void Spawn Immature x246 Loathsome Void Spawn x1487 Eldritch Skinwalker x2 (Imprisoned) Eldritch Skinwalker x3 Total Experience gained: 3,515,570,388 Ostim?: +1,757,785,194 Ont?lin: +1,757,785,194 Resistance: Eldritch [I] (43->54) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (25->27) True Song Genesis [M] (60->61) Devouring Cacophony [S] (174->175) Mana Finesse [S] (77->78) Pain Eater (1) -> [Ap] (12) Mental Hardening (1) -> [J] (29) Note: That takes the cake for bad neighbourhoods, be careful about what makes the cut.] No reward for stopping the Eldritch incursion because it¡¯s not stopped. Ignoring the emptiness beckoning her to drink from its oblivion to end her pain, Amdirlain teleported close to her entry point and let the aura and Flame Armour stop. Pulling her gear back out, she returned to the archives'' storage room. A song disrupted the portal that led below and, while listening around her, Amdirlain found twelve more to break. Fortunately, most were sitting behind more of Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ wards. Cleansing herself of the distortion as best she could, Amdirlain restored J¡¯s silver-furred form and headed upstairs. Taking her time, she listened to each ward recognising the key on her person, almost expecting one to sound an alarm. It was anticlimactic when she stepped out into the foyer with no alarm activating. A dark brown-furred student, attired in leather pants and a dark red cloth shirt, stopped and looked her up and down. ¡°Are you okay? Your pupils look funny, and you¡¯re shaking.¡± Amdirlain smiled happily, glad for her Charisma¡¯s reduced effect. ¡°I¡¯m currently regretting not stopping for breakfast or lunch.¡± It¡¯s not letting me be a wallflower, but it''s no longer doing ''come hither''. ¡°Food crash is not a good thing to hit down in the archives. Do you need a guide to get to the nearest cafeteria?¡± enquired the student, shifting the battered rucksack he¡¯d been carrying in one hand onto his back. ¡°Thanks for your concern, but I¡¯ll be fine. I don¡¯t live far,¡± declined Amdirlain, and she headed for the exit. Once clear of the tower¡¯s inner ward, Amdirlain teleported home. Sarah let out a shout of glee and surged off the couch to embrace her. ¡°You okay?¡± ¡°Recovering from a brush with stupidity, but I¡¯ll be okay,¡± reassured Amdirlain, returning the hug. ¡°Tell me all about it,¡± insisted Sarah, nudging Amdirlain towards her usual couch. ¡°Where¡¯s Kadaklan?¡± asked Amdirlain as she sat down. Sarah smiled reassuringly and sat down beside her. ¡°After the first hour, he said he couldn¡¯t stand simply waiting and headed down to the law keepers to put things to rest. Said to contact him at the lab where he¡¯d be making sure they hadn¡¯t gone off the rails.¡± ¡°Well, cliff notes,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she mentally sent the combat summary to Sarah. ¡°Your mental touch feels shaky,¡± critiqued Sarah. ¡°Maybe let Mor¡¯lmes know you mopped up his bad guys and take a few days off.¡± ¡°I looked into the main chamber¡¯s shaft and glimpsed the Delirium of Darkness. That was enough to feel like it was trying to suck out my Soul,¡± breathed Amdirlain. Sarah winced. ¡°Yeah, you need to level your Phoenix¡¯s Rapture higher to get better Mental Hardening.¡± ¡°I retook it before I went in; it''s now back up to Journeyman twenty-nine on top of Phoenix¡¯s Rapture,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Might seem like a waste, but how about you put points into it?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°How about I drink a bunch of Kadaklan¡¯s tonics?¡± ¡°That would be fine if you¡¯d wanted to level it before going in,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°How about spending enough points to get Mental Hardening into Adept? It might settle the shakiness, as I don¡¯t like how your mental touch felt.¡± Amdirlain started to object but nodded and spent the twelve points. [Mental Hardening [J] (29) -> [Ad] (1)] Tipped over the threshold, she felt the temptation of oblivion retreat. ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll need to get that higher,¡± said Amdirlain, and she clasped Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°Pushing to Adept rank took the pressure off.¡± ¡°You going to take a couple of days for yourself?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°A few days. I need to see what Jan¡¯era is cooking up for my ¡®farewell¡¯ party.¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°Or we could stay ¡®retired¡¯ for a bit. You can focus on setting up their demi-planes, smoothing out gods¡¯ graves and not jumping back and forth between projects. You¡¯re getting a lot of song practice out of those.¡± ¡°We are running on saved funds at present, and those won¡¯t cover twenty to thirty years,¡± said Amdirlain with a frown. ¡°Public persona remember? It won''t go well if I whistle up money that I can¡¯t explain.¡± ¡°Please,¡± scoffed Sarah. ¡°Your sales might have covered everything in the last few years, but we have other options. We¡¯ll return to paying everything with Mana¡ªhigh-level Bard and Artificer; no one will question it. That¡¯s if Kadaklan doesn¡¯t volunteer to be your sugar daddy.¡± Frowning in concern, Amdirlain muttered. ¡°What about your levelling, though? Is enchanting providing enough experience?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you a materials list. Oh! Make me a demi-plane, please,¡± squealed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve got a list of things I¡¯d like to eat.¡± ¡°Dragons!¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll set up dinner for you, but you better be ready for my kaiju knockoffs.¡± Sarah laughed tightly. ¡°I wasn¡¯t just talking about food.¡± Amdirlain face-palmed. ¡°I¡¯m going to go cycle.¡± ¡°Stay a little longer,¡± Sarah said, holding onto her hand. ¡°Sorry I had you worried,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she settled back on the couch. ¡°Who said I was worried? I need a headrest,¡± retorted Sarah, and she promptly leant against Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m about to tell you something, and I don¡¯t want you jumping up.¡± Amdirlain chewed her lip in concern and nodded. ¡°Okay,¡± ¡°Roher dropped by Xaos with Isa,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You needed to hide the crystal a bit better.¡± ¡°Well, that cat is out of the bag,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°Why did they even go there?¡± ¡°Wanting to help with your project. Yeah, Isa messaged me and said she¡¯ll listen whenever you want to talk about it,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°They also repaired the crystal supports of your training tower there before they left.¡± ¡°What happened with the royals?¡± ¡°They took a stand between Roher and some unfriendly fire; they didn¡¯t make it,¡± explained Sarah, and she looped an arm around Amdirlain. ¡°The mess cost Roher an arm, and attempts to regenerate it haven¡¯t yet taken hold.¡± ¡°But it shattered the oaths?¡± asked Amdirlain, pushing aside her concern over Roher¡¯s injury. Others with more medical experience will be looking at it. ¡°Yep, they had no living children after the dust settled, so the oaths went pop. The L¨®m? have sworn off centralised authority,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°I also learnt what they wanted Isa, and potentially you, to help with. They unleashed all the stored energy from the crystals. It''s a nice little twist on their barriers. It used the reserves to send out a pressure wave, obliterated millions of demons, and compressed enough rock to cause a Saturn-sized cavern in Tern¨°x. ¡± ¡°Fuck, I would have paid to see that,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, please,¡± squeed Sarah. ¡°I promise to respect you in the morning.¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Not now, dear, I¡¯ve got a headache.¡± Ignoring Sarah''s gales of laughter, Amdirlain messaged Mor¡¯lmes with details of the tunnel clearance and a promise to contact him ¡®soon¡¯. * * * * * When Amdirlain appeared outside Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ apartment door three days later, she felt much better. Even if it hadn''t been the rest Sarah would have preferred, it had been what Amdirlain needed. Completely disabling Phoenix¡¯s Rapture had caused the first swallow of the potion she¡¯d taken to hit like an express train, and enduring hours of agony searing through her spiritual net had boosted her Mental Hardening up forty levels. When Phoenix¡¯s Rapture was enabled in passive mode, she''d isolated and cleansed the stray temptations before the mental infection spread. Removing it from her mind and the synchronised memories in her Soul hadn¡¯t triggered a single objection. Yet attempts to regain Protean still caused a spike of fear that rang against Mental Hardening. Pressing the signal rune beside the door, Amdirlain waited and distractedly listened to the quick conversation inside. Wha¡¯sin opened the door, wearing a loose pale cream shirt and dark pants that made her dark blue fur pop. The shirt didn¡¯t entirely hide her fourth-month bulge from the triplets. ¡°J, this is a first.¡± Her body was now all flesh and blood, the prosthetic arm dealt with before her pregnancy. ¡°You seem to like taking three days after events to contact us,¡± noted Mor¡¯lmes from further down the corridor. That he was standing by their weapons rack was a coincidence, Amdirlain was sure. ¡°May I come in?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not stopping you,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes, and Wha¡¯sin rolled her eyes. And not inviting me in either is a good idea against some nasties that don¡¯t like thresholds. Wha¡¯sin had already stepped back, and Amdirlain followed her inside and closed the door. ¡°After holding off, you committed to parenthood in a big way.¡± ¡°That better not be a comment about my weight,¡± grumbled Wha¡¯sin light-heartedly. ¡°The triplets are all healthy,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me their genders,¡± blurted Wha¡¯sin. Amdirlain raised her hands. ¡°Sorry for being intrusive, and I wasn¡¯t offering a gender reveal.¡± ¡°You¡¯re allowed to be a little nosey,¡± reassured Wha¡¯sin as she led the way to the living room. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t have them without your grimoire. Can Mor¡¯lmes get you a drink or snack?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to eat, but thanks for the offer,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°How¡¯s progress?¡± ¡°You turn up without warning, and you want to cover the small stuff first?¡± grumped Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to trade him in for a happier mate?¡± Wha¡¯sin¡¯s ears twitched, and her whiskers lifted. ¡°He¡¯s my grumpy cub.¡± ¡°Your choice. Well, you both already have the highlights,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like to know how things have been with the observers since we last exchanged information.¡± Wha¡¯sin motioned Amdirlain towards the couches before settling on one closest to the dining table. It had an energy projector hidden down the side and let her cover the front door, kitchen, and the stairs to the apartment¡¯s second level. After Amdirlain picked a couch, Mor¡¯lmes sat at the dining table guarding Wha¡¯sin¡¯s back. ¡°We¡¯ve finished accounting for all the print runs of three of the seven cult texts that had Eldritch glyphs in them,¡± advised Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Two of the books we¡¯re missing a small number of texts, but it''s possible they were in destroyed vehicles or libraries. We¡¯re sure the Spellclash manor would have had some of them, but -¡± ¡°Yeah, hard to sign off on ash,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Some of the remaining texts were shipped into the Matriarch¡¯s dominion,¡± added Wha¡¯sin. ¡°They''re not responsive to official or civilian enquiries about matters in their lands. Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s contacts are trying to track the deliveries through their channels.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose at the thought of dealing with that stuffy lot. Especially after the lengths they''d taken to silence Am¡¯s music¡ªeven trying to seize her for ''re-education''. ¡°Maybe I can pry some information loose. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d like me to fix one of their gods¡¯ graves next.¡± ¡°The velvet guild in the oligarchy has been helpful. They handed over some copies that ended up with their members and, via Lady Cla¡¯nes, they¡¯ve agreed to give access to scour their library,¡± continued Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I¡¯m sure someone will have fun with all the sex magic texts, lots of diagrams to check,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Remind those who take that assignment that just because it challenges their tastes and mind doesn¡¯t mean it is an Eldritch glyph. I would hate for them to burn all the diagrams of fun sex positions.¡± Wha¡¯sin suppressed a snort of laughter. ¡°What¡¯s the situation beneath the campus grounds? Besides all the things you killed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve detected no further movements in the tunnel and added proximity sensors around the sleeping entity,¡± advised Amdirlain. Creating an illusion of the tunnels and the campus buildings, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose it''s possible to evacuate the Triumvirate Campus completely?¡± Looking over Amdirlain¡¯s diagram, Mor¡¯lmes huffed in dissatisfaction. ¡°What does that gain you, and how much panic do you want to spread? There are some dormitory buildings on campus grounds, and while few tunnels are close to them, that isn¡¯t the case with the corrupted stone.¡± ¡°The whole thing is an infection that will continue to spread corruption,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°What about putting layers of dimensional barriers around the current corruption?¡± ¡°The ground above could sink,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes drew a line through the illusion with his fingertip above the highest point of the corrupted stone. ¡°Not if there was a Gate that was, say, face down on the rock surface of a demi-plane or one filled with stone completely.¡± Adjusting the illusion, Amdirlain incorporated his line and continued it to complete a cube around the corrupted stone. ¡°That is a far more extensive Gate than I¡¯d intended to propose,¡± observed Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°A one-way Gate, and if there is solid matter on the other side, nothing can pass through,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°There are more than a few problems. One, it''s a permanent connection; two, we¡¯d need another demi-plane for the corruption to expand into, and three, something might find either of those demi-planes.¡± ¡°What if it''s not permanent?¡± asked Wha¡¯sin. ¡°You said you vented the dust into space. Is it possible to set up this cube to cut it off, then let the corrupted stone slide through a Gate into space?¡± ¡°Ejecting it into space is a bad idea, same with a demi-plane, because of their nature,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she beamed. ¡°However, I know a few dead worlds. I¡¯ll park this thing on one of them, and then once I¡¯m stronger, I can see about dealing with it permanently. I¡¯ll let you know as soon as it''s off your world.¡± ¡°So you didn¡¯t need the campus evacuated,¡± commented Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain huffed. ¡°I prefer not to risk lives when I don¡¯t have to, and plans can often go astray. However, panic could cause injuries, so I¡¯ll take extreme precautions before construction.¡± Rising, Amdirlain winked and gave Wha¡¯sin a mental warning before she teleported through the wards Mor¡¯lmes had set up to prevent it. 332 - Animal Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Arriving in her bedroom, Amdirlain spared the now empty clothes racks a glance before she flopped down on the bed. Turning her attention towards the campus, the height of their apartment made it uncomfortable to isolate the zone for the barriers. The biggest challenge was the distortion¡¯s distraction as she identified reference points from the front to the back of the campus. I need to do this without screwing the foundations. After isolating enough reference points, Amdirlain carefully composed the song before she started. The theme was a spiderweb of sound, easing through the solid bedrock. With a complex version of the orchestral piece she¡¯d used for the Mousekin burrow, she set an initial meshwork of crystal. Back and forth, she weaved the pattern until it was a solid plate on every side. Besides isolating a boundary beyond the corrupted stone, it would support the stone around it while the pieces shifted. With other aspects to get ready, Amdirlain opened a Gate into chaos between the realm¡¯s planes. She continuously sang spires into the black and purple substance, causing it to ripple like an ocean. Each demi-plane seed soon disappeared from view on the chaotic tides. The repulsion fields within them were all set to steer them away from planar barriers. After hours of work creating and scattering hundreds of seeds, a long pause caused the notification to appear. Fifty-nine levels for eight cities, or I use them as the first eight levels for fifty-nine cities. [Crafting Summary (Category: Planar fundamentals) Planar seeds x472 Total Experience gained: 26,432,000,000 Ostim?:+13,216,000,000 Ostim? Level Up! Ont?lin: +13,216,000,000 Ont?lin Level Up!] [Achievement: Junior Planar Architect badge unlocked! Details: It''s a pity you can¡¯t manage something slightly more complex from the get-go. Note: Get Good!] You bastard! Laughing, Amdirlain shook her head at the repeat of the quip she¡¯d delivered to Mor¡¯lmes. Scrying inside the first seed confirmed the rocky plain had already spread for hundreds of kilometres and was continuing to grow. Yeah, they¡¯re all smaller on the outside. Slicing her way through stone and setting up the required gates didn¡¯t take long. With the outer cube of crystal holding everything in place, gravitational fields eased the corrupted stone onto the surface of a desolate world and added fresh stone from the demi-plane. [Achievement: Incursion Blocker (Intruder: Eldritch parasite foothold - medium) Details: The potential for an Eldritch foothold is now contained. Reward: 7,936,507 experience points Note: Sarah, Kadaklan, Mor¡¯lmes, and his teams get a share. While none were low-level, a few got rushed through the lower levels of new classes. Note: Technically, you created an Incursion in another world, but there isn¡¯t life to risk. Just take your trash out later.] I don¡¯t know how many of Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ observers have classes below level thirty-five. If it''s split four ways, one point nine million sits about that level from memory. Amdirlain sent a warning to Mor¡¯lmes, sure he¡¯d know who to check on; she barely finished when she heard Kadaklan¡¯s theme teleport into the living room. ¡°Anyone here?¡± called Kadaklan. ¡°Why? Are you bringing a sweetheart over?¡± called Amdirlain. Kadaklan approached her bedroom door. ¡°I would not. Do you have a moment to talk? I got a gold and black message about an Eldritch parasite.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a pleasant introduction to Gideon. Congratulations!¡± quipped Amdirlain, and she hopped up to open her door. ¡°Gideon being. . .?¡± asked Kadaklan with a confused frown. ¡°They are the primary Aspect of Knowledge in this realm,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What did the message say to you?¡± Kadaklan repeated the first part of the notification without the note section before continuing. ¡°The personification of an ideal? How-¡± He cut himself off sheepishly, and Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve been good for years, and now that I called you about seeing my Soul the other day, you¡¯re asking questions?¡± ¡°I apologise for my slipping up. I¡¯ll refrain from asking anything further,¡± offered Kadaklan, and he bowed his head apologetically. ¡°That won¡¯t get you much reassurance about the notification,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to have many people asking uncomfortable questions soon. What did you want to know?¡± ¡°Gideon?¡± enquired Kadaklan. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin created them before this realm came about, or at least before the realm was more than a pocket of darkness,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin?¡± ¡°The name from my original life,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°You created the Aspect of Knowledge,¡± blurted Kadaklan, in his surprise. ¡°No, Orh¨ºthurin did. I¡¯m not her,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Blinking, Kadaklan tilted his head. ¡°But all her experiences are part of your Soul?¡± Growing restless, Amdirlain glanced away. ¡°I don¡¯t agree with how Orh¨ºthurin handled some key issues.¡± ¡°Do you agree with the way you handled everything since you were reborn in this lifetime?¡± asked Kadaklan, and he leaned against the doorframe. ¡°No,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re curious about things, we might as well sit. Since you know so much already, even what I am comfortable discussing would take weeks to cover.¡± Stepping away from the door, Kadaklan gestured towards the living room. ¡°Would you like something to drink?¡± ¡°Feel free,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve no need either, but unless you cancelled the grocery service, we need to keep up appearance or give it away,¡± advised Kadaklan. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Precognition is saying those options will attract attention. Too many people are still paying attention to details about Am, so they¡¯ll know I¡¯m not eating out. I¡¯d take it down to the nomads'' shelters if they¡¯d accept food from any city dweller.¡± ¡°They do have their self-reliance down to a fine art,¡± agreed Kadaklan. Heading out to the living room, Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°People going through my trash is the biggest pain; otherwise, I¡¯d just give it to a family that¡¯s hard up. Leave the food; I¡¯ll just disintegrate the contents.¡± ¡°The housekeeping service?¡± Letting her shoulders slump, Amdirlain gave in. ¡°Whatever is cold.¡± Kadaklan returned a glass of water each and set one within Amdirlain¡¯s reach. ¡°You were the realm¡¯s creator.¡± ¡°No, Orh¨ºthurin created the realm with her father, Nicholaus, referred to as the Titan.¡± ¡°Perhaps this insistence contributes to why you cannot become a Shen,¡± suggested Kadaklan as he sat across from her. Amdirlain froze, reaching for the drink. ¡°Not quite the issue, but burn!¡± ¡°It is not an insult, merely an observation,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯ve rejected or are at least uncomfortable with your former life, whereas a Shen accepts all their past lives. It is part of the road they¡¯ve walked to reach the steps of enlightenment. Likely, this holds me back since I¡¯ve found unpleasantness to dwell upon in my past lives.¡± ¡°Hideous crimes?¡± enquired Amdirlain lightly. His nose wrinkled, and his ears flattened. ¡°I was a soldier in some lifetimes. With the Dao I follow now, remembering how I took joy in victories that cost others their lives, I find it hard to accept. Yet, in those lives, I can still find worthwhile endeavours. Should I reject it all?¡± Amdirlain started to object, only to stop. ¡°How old is the realm?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Well over forty billion Earth years. I¡¯m not sure exactly how much more, ten to twenty, maybe more,¡± replied Amdirlain. Kadaklan whistled softly. ¡°Your original life. Was it a short one?¡± At least he¡¯s not hitting me with riddles, but he¡¯s making me think about things. Though she wasn''t sure where he was taking the conversation, Amdirlain still answered. ¡°No, Orh¨ºthurin lived from before its inception to about half a million years ago.¡± ¡°And in all that time, she achieved nothing worthy of respect?¡± enquired Kadaklan, and he raised a hand to wait. ¡°I¡¯m enquiring about your life, but it is only fair I share some of mine.¡± She leaned forward to get her drink and found her tail wrapped around her forearm. ¡°In this lifetime I was born an animal, a magical animal, but still an animal,¡± continued Kadaklan. ¡°I was born in a nest on the side of a volcano. My parents would take turns to bring us food. Fish mostly. We hadn¡¯t yet learnt to fly when a mated pair of shadow tigers found us. In the aftermath of that attack, my siblings were dead along with my mother, and my father gravely injured.¡± This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°That¡¯s terrible,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°If you weren¡¯t flying from the nest yet, how did you survive?¡± Kadaklan went distant, and he raised a hand and swooped it down. ¡°My father had returned just before they killed me, and his flames burned the surrounding air. The male tiger spun and struck out, pulling my father down before he could dodge. However, his flames flared far higher than my mother had managed, and he finished the injured pair.¡± ¡°You lost your whole family?¡± ¡°I thought he was dead among the thrashing tigers, but they¡¯d thrown him clear. That breed of tiger is Yin-aspected. When they stilled, I saw him approaching, his wing broken and bleeding badly,¡± continued Kadaklan as his gaze refocused on Amdirlain. ¡°I was a fledgling. I didn¡¯t know my father would heal with the dawn, nor that my mother would be reborn in flame. My siblings weren¡¯t so lucky; they were too young to be reborn that way. Anyway, I saw him struggling and didn¡¯t wish him to die.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°A moment of crises?¡± ¡°Exactly. It fueled my awakening. Amid all that death, I remembered fragments, ironically, from one of those soldier lifetimes, where I¡¯d mainly used Ki to take lives. As in that life, I still knew about treating wounds and occasionally used Ki to heal. It was a flash of light in my mind, and I chose a way to heal. The next thing I knew, I was kneeling by his side as a Human boy. Guided by the memory fragments of that moment of enlightenment, the Ki I could muster was enough to seal his wounds.¡± ¡°How did your father react?¡± ¡°That is a longer tale, perhaps best kept for another time,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I shared this part simply to show the memories from previous lifetimes are the pearls of wisdom within our Soul. It is up to us how we use them now, but we gained them through that lifetime¡¯s struggles, a part of our journey towards enlightenment. Even if it is hard work to accept what we don¡¯t agree with, we cannot change it.¡± ¡°Are you looking to be my therapist now?¡± Kadaklan snorted. ¡°You no longer need me as a doctor, hopefully as a friend. I¡¯m just sharing the insights of my experience. However, I¡¯m only young and perhaps not doing so correctly. I should give you riddles and let you think about it yourself.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the sound of one hand clapping?¡± ¡°A good question. Let me know when you find the answer,¡± replied Kadaklan. Her tail swished around, and Amdirlain forced a grin. ¡°Contemplation depends on the frame of reference. I can hear one hand clapping.¡± ¡°Then you have not heard it; you have heard your mind,¡± Kadaklan rebuffed. ¡°And you are trying to change the subject, but it has already gone far afield.¡± The fragile smile vanished, and Amdirlain whispered. ¡°I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin.¡± Smiling, Kadaklan¡¯s gaze lit up. ¡°You do not control something by rejecting it. You do not accept something to control it.¡± ¡°That makes sense,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Then I¡¯m not a good teacher; just as well we¡¯re simply speaking as friends,¡± countered Kadaklan. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin is a piece of the foundations of your life. Given the length of life she lived, it is a sizeable piece. Is there nothing from her memories you see value in?¡± ¡°She loved to create and sing. She¡¯d work hard pushing herself but could get angry at anyone who didn¡¯t meet her standards,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What should I do then?¡± ¡°How can I say? It is not my Way you follow, and if you followed my Way, you¡¯d be me, not yourself,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°What to you is the worst part? Is there anything in particular that makes you reject her so firmly?¡± Letting out a deep sigh, Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°She let rage and pain control so much of her life.¡± ¡°If that is part of it, should you not face it? If not, aren¡¯t you letting her rage and pain control you too? It is in the past; why carry it?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°I don¡¯t know-¡± Amdirlain cut off her reply to his string of questions. Kadaklan waited for her to continue, watching as Amdirlain played with her glass. ¡°I hope I haven¡¯t intruded.¡± ¡°You offered a different perspective, and you¡¯re not telling me what to do,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I have gotten annoyed at people giving me instructions that I didn¡¯t agree with.¡± ¡°I am only proposing questions for your consideration,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Thanks for the clarification,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°My rejection of my past life isn¡¯t what is blocking me from becoming a Shen. My Fallen state blocks me from becoming a Shen, and it''s a long story, but my curse meant I became Fallen. I¡¯ve been told I must follow the Fallen¡¯s Redemption Path to escape that state.¡± ¡°Your journey to the west?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll not comment on that allegory.¡± ¡°Well, you have a Dragon with you,¡± offered Kadaklan. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re in the role of the boy priest Tripitaka, seeking the scrolls?¡± Dragon is the horse. Yeah, and just no. I¡¯m sure Sarah would¡­. no. Kadaklan¡¯s tail thumped against the couch in amusement, and he smiled gently. ¡°You seem flustered. Should I continue?¡± Amdirlain snatched her hand away from her ear. ¡°What role do you see yourself in?¡± Her suddenly firm tone made Kadaklan perk up. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m certain, wait, perhaps not. I have the aspect of a few. In past lives I¡¯ve been the fool the monkey king started as and the glutton.¡± ¡°Never been the general?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°My achievements as a soldier were all modest,¡± allowed Kadaklan. ¡°How old is the first life you remember?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Did you come to this realm with the Jade Emperor?¡± Snickering, Kadaklan held up his hands. ¡°Hold up. I¡¯m young compared to a fossil like Cyrus. All of my lifetimes occurred within this realm. I¡¯ve only been an Immortal for a hundred years. You¡¯ve changed the subject again, so I¡¯ll stop offering my questions.¡± ¡°No, go on. It gives me something to meditate on, if nothing else,¡± said Amdirlain. "Is that why you find appalling jokes and wordplay relaxing? It is easier than answering questions." Amdirlain immediately nodded. "Absolutely." ¡°Do you reject being her because of that rage and pain?¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Yes, but not just that.¡± ¡°Was she always that way?¡± The joy she''d possessed in fragmented memories of creating the planar framework and initial solar systems came to mind. ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Taking a sip from his drink, Kadaklan set it down again and ran a finger around the glass¡¯s rim. ¡°There are so many Kuon, not to mention Zen riddles and parables that seem suitable, but I don¡¯t want to flood you with them.¡± ¡°Share one,¡± prompted Amdirlain. Kadaklan grumbled. ¡°I¡¯m not a proper teacher since you''re setting me terms. I should be the one to burst you from the habit of logic.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with logic?¡± ¡°It¡¯s used as a justification or rationalisation rather than achieving acceptance and understanding,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Fine. There was a master who held up his staff to his assembled monks. If you call this a staff, you deny its eternal life. If you do not call this a staff, you deny its present fact. Tell me, just what do you propose to call it?" ¡°The material of the staff has been many things over its existence, and will not remain a staff. Eventually, decay will take it, and it will rejoin the soil to feed another plant,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a staff only at this point in its journey.¡± ¡°Your Soul shows signs of a hard journey,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°Did it travel other roads than those you might label as Orh¨ºthurin or Amdirlain?¡± Amdirlain blew out a slow breath. ¡°Yes, but part of the damage you saw was because Orh¨ºthurin mauled herself before she died; she wanted to be less than she¡¯d been.¡± ¡°Do you think you can be kinder to yourself than she was?¡± enquired Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯m Amdirlain,¡± persisted Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°That is indeed where you are in your journey. I didn¡¯t say you were not, but have you learnt nothing from your old lives?¡± Sighing, Amdirlain closed her eyes. ¡°Memories and understandings have come up that have helped me make sense of things.¡± ¡°Then perhaps it is something to consider,¡± said Kadaklan, ¡°Is a person only their memories? Is not a person changed by new events?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have all of her memories,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Too many years are involved, and I worry they¡¯d drown me.¡± Kadaklan looked at her enquiringly. ¡°Have you sought wisdom in them deliberately, or have they come to you randomly?¡± ¡°Sometimes, when I¡¯m meditating, memories come up without looking.¡± ¡°Emptiness and lack of expectation leave us open to hearing without clutter,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°I believe I¡¯ve given you plenty to digest, as you both like to put it. Are you going out tonight?¡± ¡°Dragons think with their stomachs, and Sarah¡¯s a bad influence,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I planned to start work on some demi-planes tonight.¡± ¡°Are you going to duplicate what you did here exactly?¡± enquired Kadaklan, the tip of his tail twitching with curiosity. ¡°Not exactly. I thought I¡¯d give regions reasons to trade with each other,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There were some materials the teams were experimenting with in my absence that seem promising,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°If you¡¯ve got samples and details of where we can find them, I¡¯ll see what I can do,¡± allowed Amdirlain. Tail twitching, Kadaklan grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose I can watch?¡± ¡°Really?!¡± drawled Amdirlain. Kadaklan briefly frowned in confusion before he sputtered. ¡°That is not at all what I meant! Though I deserve that for pandering to your awful sense of humour.¡± As Amdirlain started laughing, he continued. ¡°I won¡¯t tell Sarah you thought you needed to put on a show.¡± Groaning, Amdirlain covered her face with both hands. ¡°You¡¯re both mean to me!¡± ¡°Turn about is fair play,¡± argued Kadaklan. Crossing her arms, Amdirlain huffed at him. ¡°You should remember the entire saying if you want to play that game, buster.¡± * * * * * The demi-planes may have possessed the same boundary, but the way she used the interior varied. The bone-dry heart of Australia was supposed to have possessed an inland sea between forty and sixty thousand BC. Since the demi-plane¡¯s shape matched mainland Australia, Amdirlain gave her local godzillas a wading pool. As her fingers danced along the energy¡¯s string, Amdirlain held the lap harp lightly, letting voice and instrument entwine. The harp''s soft sound added to her singing without being too powerful. Her primary purpose was practising what was useful to reinforce with an instrument. The harp¡¯s Life Affinity added zest to the sea grass sweeping out hundreds of kilometres ahead of her. The sea was already teeming with plankton and micro-organisms, and she added smaller fish species to the mix. Though the wind coming off the water swept her electric blue locks back, the sound still carried in all directions. Seated on a nearby rock, Kadaklan hadn¡¯t taken his gaze from the glowing waters that only half an hour ago had risen to lap at Amdirlain¡¯s toes. While only the part of the theme reinforced by the instrument was audible, he still nodded in time to the beat. Amdirlain stopped singing and stored the harp while the dinosaur-like beasts explored the coastline and sea. ¡°Thank you for allowing my presence. I should note that you¡¯re rather skilled with your fingering,¡± Kadaklan said dryly. Amdirlain turned her glowing gaze his way. ¡°You want to keep it up?¡± ¡°Might I point out that you started it?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°And you don¡¯t have Jal¡¯krin around to compose all your wordplay.¡± ¡°You think I need Jal¡¯krin¡¯s words to needle you?¡± Kadaklan shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get my foot in my beak enough. What training stage do you intend this plane to be used for? The beasts seem rather impressive.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a playpen for Sarah¡¯s opponents. The bigger critters are just food supply for them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve had to load this place up with more challenging foes than found elsewhere, Sarah might want to wait for some to gain levels in order to squeeze out the most experience gain hunting.¡± A few kilometres inland, she heard the first kaiju egg start to hatch; its instincts kicked in, and it was fighting a young carnivore in minutes. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Grouped by type Self-sustaining continent-sized biome (small) x1 Inland sea biome (small) x1 Bonus elements:
  • Narrow band of megafauna x1
  • Narrow band of Jurassic period fauna x1
  • Colossus magical creature breeds x2
Total Experience gained: 10,205,910,025 Ostim?: +5,102,955,012 Ont?lin: +5,102,955,012 Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (27->28) True Song Genesis [M] (61->62) True Song Architecture [S] (104->105) Lap Harp [S] (126-127) Note: You¡¯ll have to get it bigger to pack more in. Unless you want a short-term killing jar.] That strained my passive healing capacity. Even with that, I need a wider diversity of the large fauna, though it was worth more experience than the simpler demi-planes. ¡°What section are you doing next?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Since I know the planar limits and the landscape I had planned, I don¡¯t need to move from one spot. At least, not given the size of the demi-plane. I¡¯d need to move around if I was creating a full-sized planet.¡± ¡°That¡¯s in your plan?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Eventually, but not soon. The advantage of the demi-planes is I can set their base rules. Creating a sustainable planet-wide environment is tough due to weather patterns and atmospheric changes.¡± ¡°That makes these training demi-planes your training grounds as well,¡± commented Kadaklan. ¡°Yeah, and I need to scale up.¡± ¡°Can I make a suggestion?¡± ¡°A request or a suggestion?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she raised an eyebrow. Kadaklan grinned boyishly. ¡°Sarah and you have talked about your foundry demi-plane. What about a hollow planet?¡± ¡°The internal sun would be an issue, but I¡¯ll consider it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°My first thought would be a slowly rotating lighthouse of positive energy, but I¡¯ve used something similar here, so it''s not a challenge.¡± ¡°A ring world?¡± ¡°That''s even bigger, and the size is well beyond my capacity if you¡¯re talking about orbiting a sun,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Creating a new planet would be easier than a ring world; since I could take it a layer of crust at a time.¡± ¡°Yet isn¡¯t it easier if you tried it as a demi-plane first?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain stopped. ¡°Ok, that would be doable, but an enormous stretch. I¡¯d have to handle it in sections. The first version would be the same false sky as these possess¡ªa seed like this place, I can do hundreds in a few hours. What I¡¯d end up doing then is more like the inner tube of a tire. Going from seed to a full-size planet would take time, months or years of initial work designing the songs.¡± ¡°What about creating it?¡± ¡°At present, years of work. The complexity scale from a demi-plane to a full-size planet is like a mite believing a twig is its entire world when there is a branch beyond, let alone the tree.¡± Kadaklan hummed thoughtfully. ¡°What about when you were journeying through life as Orh¨ºthurin?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t recovered a memory of completing a planet, but she could create a sun in minutes. Besides the size and pressure, the nature of a sun is a lot simpler,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she lifted into the air. ¡°Give me a little while; I''ll utilise my aura to recover from creating this place faster. I¡¯ve got a concealment centred on you, so don¡¯t wander.¡± Opening his mouth to protest, Kadaklan stopped. ¡°Right, Primordial flames, not Yang.¡± Amdirlain lifted higher, giving Kadaklan plenty of clearance before she ignited. The two increases in the Power¡¯s level made only a marginal difference to its ten-metre radius. Even concealed, the energy made nearby animals flee. 333 - Move your body Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Amdirlain emerged after completing her energy calculation for an iron planetary core the next day. The result was problematic, and the years she told Kadaklan was more likely decades at this point for the planetary core alone. A couple of decades is still years. The hollow earth option in a demi-plane will ?be an earlier stage. One the size of Africa next? The ideas were still going around in her mind when she padded out towards the kitchen, passing Jan¡¯era as she went. ¡°Interesting apparel,¡± noted Jan¡¯era from a couch near the kitchen door. The studio boss¡¯s pink ear ticked in amusement. Amdirlain glanced down at her shorts and crop top. ¡°Kadaklan has already left for the lab, and you¡¯ve got your own set of everything. What brings you over so early?¡± ¡°Lady Cla¡¯nes offered to host a party, and while we¡¯ve made some initial plans, we¡¯ve reached the point in planning where we need to know if it would be a farewell or not,¡± replied Jan¡¯era. ¡°If you¡¯re not yet decided, we¡¯ll need to shift the date around.¡± ¡°Ahh, you¡¯ve come to talk me into the staying around option,¡± guessed Amdirlain, and she headed into the kitchen. ¡°Better come through so I don¡¯t have to yell.¡± Sarah grumbled from the kitchen. ¡°You¡¯ve not got clothes on again?¡± ¡°I¡¯m wearing shorts and a top; I¡¯m not letting you troll me today,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you offer Jan¡¯era a drink?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a big girl and been over often enough to know where they are,¡± rebuffed Sarah. Jan¡¯era rose to follow Amdirlain into the kitchen. ¡°You¡¯re putting so little pressure on my Mental Clarity now; you used to be too enticing fully dressed.¡± ¡°My arse is no longer cute enough?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°I never understood Jul¡¯iane telling me you were deadly with that bare hand style you taught her. It¡¯s believable now that you¡¯re moving like a huntress instead of a companion,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. ¡°Cool, I¡¯ll be able to hide in plain sight then,¡± cheered Amdirlain. ¡°No one will believe I¡¯m me.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so quick at taking that approach. The party isn¡¯t the only thing I need to talk to you about,¡± cautioned Jan¡¯era. ¡°I think we should keep your security increased.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°Doomsayers?¡± ¡°They are an issue, and the Matriarch is back to making noises about wanting you as an example for her propaganda machine,¡± advised Jan¡¯era. ¡°I¡¯ve got her covered,¡± insisted Sarah. Enchanted discs rose until they cleared the tops of the kitchen cabinets, each with an energy projector rigged beneath it. Amdirlain rolled her eyes at the overt display, having heard Sarah release them from her Inventory. ¡°The Matriarch just likes to tell people how to live their lives.¡± Jan¡¯era sighed. ¡°Please be careful. They¡¯re not joking this time; her morality enforcers have declared you a moral enemy.¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯ve fallen far,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Honestly, I didn¡¯t expect them to react to your last release set this way,¡± admitted Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain glumly nodded. ¡°I told you we should have tried for even more innuendo than the previous releases. Maybe she took us toning it back as a sign of me weakening.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Jan¡¯era begrudgingly admitted. ¡°I told you not to give the dictator a cookie. Her thought goon squad will want to parade you around as their re-education star,¡± chided Sarah. Taking a leathery fruit from the bowl, Amdirlain sliced open its husk. As its sweet interior filled the air with a pleasant aroma, she diced its flesh and offered Jan¡¯era a piece. ¡°You¡¯re back to eating dessert for breakfast,¡± critiqued Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain grinned and held the fruit closer. ¡°Don¡¯t you want some of my sweetness?¡± ¡°I think all those years of Femme Fatale have taken a toll,¡± rebuffed Jan¡¯era before she plucked a cube up. Sarah went to take a cube for herself and got a tail swat across her arm. ¡°What was that for?¡± ¡°Mine,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, and she slid away from Sarah with the remains of both fruit halves. ¡°The Matriarch sure picked the wrong time to make more noise. Didn¡¯t she get the message the tour was over?¡± I won¡¯t do anything about the doomsayers, but I¡¯m getting annoyed by the Matriarch. Jan¡¯era sat at the kitchen table. ¡°It was your most successful tour; it makes you a bigger prize.¡± Juggling the fruit, Amdirlain got a plate from the cupboard and joined her at the table. ¡°Maybe someone heard I was retiring? If she makes noise about needing me re-educated and I don¡¯t show up again, she¡¯s won.¡± ¡°You dripped everywhere,¡± noted Sarah. Amdirlain blew a raspberry before digging into her ¡®breakfast¡¯. ¡°The pair of you are strange oath sisters,¡± chuffed Jan¡¯era. Fetching some cold fruit juice from the fridge, Sarah placed one in front of Jan¡¯era. ¡°I blame Am for that impression.¡± Pouting, Amdirlain pretended to ignore Sarah and focused on the fruit. ¡°Okay, quit showing off that you¡¯re no longer as flirty as you used to be,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to,¡± lisped Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era rubbed a hand across her face and sighed. ¡°Should I give you two some time to figure things out?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be staying for a few years. I¡¯m going to annoy Jul¡¯iane this morning and then maybe tell Jal¡¯krin that I need riskier lyrics,¡± announced Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era¡¯s ears had perked up at the pronouncement, only for them to flatten before Amdirlain finished, and she quickly protested. ¡°I just told you the Matriarch is already after you.¡± ¡°I might not possess Femme Fatale anymore, but I bet the Matriarch doesn¡¯t like my lyrics simply because she¡¯s sexually repressed,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s the pot calling the kettle black,¡± muttered Sarah. Ignoring Sarah, Amdirlain continued. ¡°Since I won¡¯t be doing concerts, only releasing traces, I want my security support ended.¡± ¡°What? Why?¡± spluttered Jan¡¯era. ¡°I took a Prestige Class last night. I plan to blow stuff up with my new options,¡± lied Amdirlain. ¡°What did you take?¡± asked Jan¡¯era suspiciously. Amdirlain¡¯s smile was vicious. ¡°War Bard. My voice is now a weapon in more ways than one.¡± ¡®War Bard exists, so it¡¯s a cute lie. You¡¯re going to get them worried,¡¯ projected Sarah. An image of an anime cat-girl grinning at a gleaming pink dragon appeared. ¡®And I keep worrying one of them will get hurt when neither of us are close.¡¯ Sarah gave a mental growl. ¡®I¡¯m not pink.¡¯ ¡®Who said that was you? Maybe it was the Matriarch.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of any Class like that,¡± huffed Jan¡¯era. ¡°It¡¯s likely another weird throw back, just like Am,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Meanie,¡± sniffed Amdirlain, and she shovelled the fruit pieces into her mouth. ¡°I¡¯ll be late for Jul¡¯iane¡¯s lesson time.¡± ¡°Will you please talk some sense into her?¡± pleaded Jan¡¯era. ¡°What? I want to kill them; she¡¯s fine with chastisement,¡± rumbled Sarah. ¡°Should I convince her to let me take body parts?¡± * * * * * Amdirlain walked through the training complex¡¯s outer grounds that same morning. Around her, she could hear teams going over last-minute reviews of their plans. Most of that chatter concerned handling the entry levels, which held wild beasts of various strengths and low-level magical creatures like slimes. Lines of fresh groups without a token to use the beacons were slowly worming their way inside the complex doors. Her appearance had many looking her way, but Amdirlain¡¯s predatory glide, simple black pants, and white shirt had them dismissing her similarity. Around the side of the complex, Jul¡¯iane and the trainee monks moved across one of the park¡¯s grassed areas and into another kata. A few groups of onlookers watched them move, some curious but most scornful. As Amdirlain stopped near one such group, a tan-furred female onlooker snorted. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty dance but hardly useful inside. Unless they plan to get someone to carry them in exchange for their gyrations.¡± Ignoring the comment, Amdirlain continued to watch and filed away more suggestions to provide Jul¡¯iane for her students later. ¡°Someone low-level like you should stay away from their foolishness,¡± the same voice added, and she tried to tap Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Amdirlain gently but firmly caught the onlooker¡¯s finger between her thumb and forefinger before it made contact. ¡°Appearances can be deceiving. You¡¯re in your twenties in all four classes, so it¡¯s a lesson you should have learnt by now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just guessing,¡± accused the female. ¡°Nope, I gained a Skill that lets me tell at a glance,¡± retorted Am. ¡°Your level doesn¡¯t make you an expert in everything. There are some creatures in the higher levels of the complex that ranged attacks don¡¯t work on.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± scoffed the female as she tried to draw her finger free with growing urgency. ¡°Check the information boards; the first team encountering them came back with two serious casualties from dealing with the critter,¡± advised Amdirlain, unbothered by the female¡¯s attempts to get free. ¡°It seems teams are getting to areas that require more diversity in a team¡¯s skillset.¡± Lashing her tail, the female growled. ¡°Like a creature could resist energy projectors.¡± ¡°It didn¡¯t have to resist them; an aura deflected the bolts,¡± clarified Amdirlain, and she let the female¡¯s hand go. The sudden release had the female thrown off balance, and Amdirlain gave her a cheerful smile. ¡°Maybe you should spend more time doing diligent research and less being critical about someone else¡¯s Class.¡± The female backed off, and Amdirlain gave her a cheerful smile. ¡°Your death is your own business,¡± the female huffed and walked away. The disturbance drew Jul¡¯iane¡¯s attention, and she stalked over to Amdirlain, glancing meaningfully past her. ¡°Where are the others?¡± ¡°At home. Want to spar?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she motioned to the group. ¡°Plenty of people around to lend a hand if something goes wrong.¡± Jul¡¯iane started to object but stopped at Amdirlain¡¯s grin. ¡°I¡¯m going to catch up to your Skill lead.¡± ¡°Come by later, and I¡¯ll get your confidence back under control,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she stopped to pat her pockets. ¡°I¡¯ve got some link codes for you.¡¯ ¡°Why?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. Pulling a folded sheet from her pocket, Amdirlain held it out. ¡°You were going to set up a new team. Kadaklan has a few alchemists and healers from his programs looking to gain some levels. He gave me their codes so you can line up interviews. Also, Wha¡¯sin gave me the code of a dedicated Wizard named Tulne, plus some mixed combat types.¡± Huffing, Jul¡¯iane took the folded film and eyed those nearby warily. The mention of Kadaklan¡¯s unusual name had caught the attention of most of the onlookers; a few of them looked between Jul¡¯iane and Amdirlain with growing suspicion. ¡°Way to namedrop,¡± grumbled Jul¡¯iane. ¡°You standing near me already had them suspicious. Sarah gave me a getaway card,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she spun an enchanted disc across her fingers and raised her voice. ¡°Sorry I can¡¯t stay, folks; got things to do.¡± Reappearing outside Jal¡¯krin¡¯s apartment, Amdirlain listened to the enchanted disc chiming away inside. When he paused, she pressed the rune on the door frame to alert him she was at the door. Amdirlain was about to press the rune again when she heard Jal¡¯krin start towards the door. He opened it dressed in one of his usual short-sleeved shirts and shorts. However, searing bright yellow and blue flowers covered nearly all the black fabric. Damn Sarah and her Hawaiian prints. ¡°You¡¯re going to make someone¡¯s eyes bleed,¡± protested Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin shrugged. ¡°Sarah gave me boxes of them. I wear them at home.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know Sarah was propagating war crimes,¡± groaned Amdirlain, and she pretended to shield her eyes. ¡°I was going to come and talk to you about some lyrics, but maybe I¡¯ll come back another time.¡± Smiling at Amdirlain¡¯s antics, Jal¡¯krin stepped aside to let her into the living room. ¡°Make yourself comfortable. I¡¯ll get changed.¡± Amdirlain stepped inside and noticed the lack of changes Jal¡¯krin had made since moving in months earlier. With no artwork or even furniture beyond a few couches in the living room, the soft white glow of the walls was unblocked illumination. ¡°Are you ever going to decorate?¡± ¡°I spend little time in the living room; I¡¯m writing, sleeping, or out,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin. He returned wearing a black merchandise t-shirt from her first tour with the cities and dates in mute blue. Clothing merchandise hadn¡¯t been done previously, and Jan¡¯era had underestimated their sales. ¡°I have a new project in mind,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin, his suspicion drawing the word out. Amdirlain¡¯s amused grin showed too many teeth. ¡°I want to make the Matriarch¡¯s head explode.¡± ¡°Are you kidding me?¡± ¡°Would I joke about a thing like that?¡± responded Amdirlain, and she touched a hand innocently to the side of her face. ¡°I want lyrics that will make her people question her hold. I want them to ask: Why is it not their choice what they want from life?¡± And when they¡¯re ready, I¡¯ll give them a new world to move to, even if only a temporary refuge. Jal¡¯krin frowned. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t even hear them, Am.¡± ¡°You let me worry about them hearing the songs. First, I need the lyrics,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°How would you even do it?¡± ¡°I expect it to take a while. The worst case is underground clubs, while the best case depends on how quickly one of Sarah¡¯s projects works out. She¡¯s been trying to figure out how the training complex¡¯s creator managed that broadcast,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°If she can work out the magic, I¡¯ll pay her to help.¡± I¡¯ll need to spread a few more seeds for that rumour to make the rounds. Scratching his head, Jal¡¯krin fixed her with a look of pure disbelief. ¡°When you came in here, I noticed your Charisma was easier to handle, and I figured things would be calmer. Are you looking to prove me wrong?¡± ¡°I figured you¡¯d like a bigger challenge after nearly six years of innuendo wordplay,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Are you looking to prove me wrong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re still impossible to argue with,¡± huffed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Fine. What do you have in mind?¡± ¡°I want us to create music that, in a hundred years, if things are wrong, people will use it as a rallying cry for change,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You know the Allied Territories has its share of problems,¡± said Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I¡¯m well aware of that, and the oligarchy has its share of problems. It''s interesting what you did with your writing royalties. Buying places to increase your pride¡¯s safety net instead of returning to school,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°What professor would want a multi-hit writer in their class?¡± questioned Jal¡¯krin as he avoided Amdirlain''s dig. ¡°Even if the hits are more from your talent than my songwriting skills.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t sell your talent short. You¡¯ve gotten over forty levels in your Composer Class, so you were most certainly doing something right,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°Can we still toss in some frisky wordplay?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin with a cheeky smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t say all the songs had to inspire revolutionary fever. Getting people hot is fine as well,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin gave a smug grin. ¡°You said you wanted to make her head explode. Let¡¯s see if we can make the stuck-up despot blow her top. I take it Jan¡¯era told you about the moral enemy pronouncement?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± popped Amdirlain. ¡°How did you hear about it?¡± ¡°Okay, no wonder you¡¯re particularly fired up,¡± said Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I was over at Jan¡¯era¡¯s last night talking about projects for some of the studio¡¯s other acts. Lady Cla¡¯nes called her to give the news.¡± ¡°Shall I leave you to it?¡± Jal¡¯krin shrugged and motioned to her. ¡°What happened to your Femme Fatale?¡± ¡°I turned it into Muse¡¯s Insight and Bard into War Bard,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Entering the arena of cultural warfare, are we?¡± The moment Jan¡¯era gave me the news. ¡°Why, yes!¡± Shaking his head in amusement, Jal¡¯krin motioned to the spare bedroom. ¡°I¡¯ve got my composition gear and instruments set up there. Want to brainstorm?¡± By the time she left Jal¡¯krin to it, Muse¡¯s Insight had worked overtime on his imagination, and together, they had the concepts for not one, but three sets worked out. One set promised to be distinctly raunchier than anything Amdirlain had performed before. The lyrical seeds of sexually suggestive references had fired things up. The others contrasted the cost of the safety the Matriarch¡¯s rule promised with the price paid by the common citizen. Pointing to the Matriarch''s demand for blind obedience to her personality cult and comparing out to the worshippers of gods was sure to go well. Adding fuel to the fire were others with a subtle wordplay about ¡®cultural¡¯ genocide. The religious wars, having led to countless genocides, were tales the locals kept alive and well. * * * * * It was mid-afternoon when the lift doors opened on Lady Cla¡¯nes¡¯s floor, and Ssa¡¯time was waiting for Amdirlain. She had seen her dozens of times over nearly six years, and rarely with the same style braids. This time was again something new; the steel-hued ribbons secured her auburn hair in a bow of braids atop her head. Her only jewellery was the enchanted bracelets on her wrists and bright emerald clasps in her hair. The gemstones precisely matched the colour of the form-fitting dress that sheathed her muscular form. It was cut away high on her left thigh and came down at an angle that ended just above her right ankle. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Good afternoon, Ssa¡¯time.¡± Nodding politely, Ssa¡¯time returned the smile before stepping aside. ¡°Good afternoon, Am. Congratulations on the tour; the reviews from all your shows were very complementary.¡± Exiting the lift, Amdirlain took in the new artwork that floated above the double-story living space. ¡°We kept the various hiccups from the audience¡¯s attention.¡± ¡°No abduction attempts this time?¡± ¡°None that got close to me,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Your cousin is great; Jul¡¯iane said she learnt a lot from him.¡± Ssa¡¯time beamed. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to hear it. Lady Cla¡¯nes is waiting in the theatre room; if you would follow me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised he didn¡¯t mention it; he was the principal on scene for two attempts.¡± ¡°Your business isn¡¯t mine, Am,¡± replied Ssa¡¯time as she led the way through the gleaming metal and stone space laid out to allow guests to mingle freely. As she headed towards the back of the space, two staff members brought another painting out through a concealed door along the side. It swung silently shut behind them to sit flush with the stonework and disguise the passage entry perfectly. ¡°I¡¯ve heard bits and pieces about your homeland. I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d give me your insights some time?¡± ¡°The Matriarch¡¯s enforcers have taken a hard line with you, likely because of how much you can amplify your Charisma,¡± replied Ssa¡¯time. ¡°You¡¯re not a normal performer, and you turned down the Matriarch¡¯s request to give her a personal concert on your second tour.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to have to break out,¡± shrugged Amdirlain. ¡°I hope your security detail is downstairs. A group of her agents are watching the front of the building,¡± cautioned Ssa¡¯time. ¡°Sarah made me a gadget to let me jump about the place; not using a vehicle at all is much more secure,¡± replied Amdirlain. Ssa¡¯time touched the mithril bracelet on her wrist. ¡°Your oath sister does good work; her security upgrades are high quality indeed.¡± ¡°Has she shown you her latest toys yet?¡± Opening the panel at the back of the room, Ssa¡¯time allowed her into a passage with an aquatic motif. The soft white light of the stones shone through stained glass panels bringing to life an underwater scene; highly detailed fish and coral abounded. ¡°I¡¯ve not spoken to her in a few months.¡± ¡°Miniature aerial weapons platform, capable of melting an armoured vehicle in seconds,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, others capable of holding off the same strength barrage.¡± Her ears twitched rapidly as Ssa¡¯time blinked. ¡°I¡¯ll send her a note.¡± The theatre had enough space for fifty guests on luxuriously comfortable couches. Its entrance lined up with the centre aisle and looked down to the stage nearly three metres below. Instead of performers, a large receiver on the back wall showed a military parade in progress. The crisp grey and black uniforms showed the Matriarch¡¯s trident crest on their collar. ¡°Afternoon Cla¡¯nes. Who is she showing off for this time?¡± Amdirlain asked as she drew closer to Cla¡¯nes¡¯s position on a couch at the theatre¡¯s mid-point. Cla¡¯nes rose and hugged Amdirlain. ¡°Afternoon, Am. The parade¡¯s location is outside Stelish in her domain¡¯s northwest.¡± ¡°Looking for anything in particular among the propaganda?¡± ¡°Some particular military units, and I wanted to see the crowd¡¯s vibe for myself,¡± replied Cla¡¯nes. ¡°It¡¯s the first parade since she took the city from the Ulna Alliance. While they don¡¯t have a lot of presence on this continent, I¡¯m disappointed they didn¡¯t put more effort into holding onto the seaport.¡± ¡°Maybe they figured it was easier to let her have it and trade through the oligarchy¡¯s ports further north,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°They didn¡¯t blow up the drydocks or do anything to the harbour, so I think she bribed their military commanders,¡± offered Ssa¡¯time. ¡°It¡¯s the deepest port on the west coast, so they¡¯ll be able to construct some serious vessels.¡± Cla¡¯nes nodded in agreement, and after turning the receiver off, she sat. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve thoroughly resolved your Femme Fatale issue. I barely sense anything¡ªeven when hugging you¡ªthough you¡¯re still gorgeous.¡± ¡°Now she just flows like a close-quarter Assassin,¡± noted Ssa¡¯time. Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Jan¡¯era compared me to a huntress.¡± ¡°But what are you hunting?¡± responded Ssa¡¯time, and she gave Amdirlain a wink before she withdrew. With her departure, Amdirlain moved to the couch on the other side of Cla¡¯nes. ¡°I¡¯m going to annoy her.¡± ¡°Ssa¡¯time or the Matriarch?¡± ¡°Ssa¡¯time has more sense,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Now that the Matriarch has a solid border with the oligarchy, what expansion do you think she¡¯ll target next?¡± Cla¡¯nes frowned. ¡°You were intent on staying out of politics.¡± ¡°Getting labelled a moral enemy simply because of my songs and shows I feel deserves a lesson in manners,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What about the ongoing issue with the Eldritch?¡± It seems not everyone got a ''the coast is clear'' notification. Amdirlain tilted her head and smiled reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯ve received confirmation that we closed off the active entities. However, the teams still need to keep looking for the sigils.¡± ¡°Are you going to continue with more training complexes?¡± ¡°That is the plan. I¡¯m divided about setting any up in the Matriarch¡¯s Domain,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°There were no ongoing conflicts when I started executing the plan. How will she react to training complexes in any of the domain¡¯s cities?¡± Cla¡¯nes refreshed her drink and filled a cup for Amdirlain. ¡°Likely, they¡¯d just use them to season troops. They¡¯ve not come off their war footing since taking the coastal cities from the Ulna Alliance. No other country could take on millions of new citizens.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set up a refuge similar to one of the training levels. My information-gathering orbs could ask people if they wanted to be taken somewhere safe,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I had been thinking about causing a revolution, but the likelihood of casualties is too high with her control over the military.¡± ¡°Regardless of who else also has them, their military is going to get stronger,¡± cautioned Cla¡¯nes. ¡°What happens if the military members pretend to take the option to leave and try to round up the refugees?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll put them in a different location, and they¡¯d best hope they¡¯ve got their weapons with them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯d think they¡¯d have better things to do with the gods¡¯ graves. Deaths in an area just make the local Gods¡¯ Grave stronger. I haven¡¯t wanted to know before, but how does she even have control?¡± ¡°The Matriarch¡¯s family has controlled their territory for over a thousand years. All the local wizards go through their ¡®school¡¯, and come out very loyal. Her father was a Wizard possessing the Life Affinity or another means of extending his life. He started the Domain by warding a large town, and slowly progressed to having one city and then others,¡± explained Cla¡¯nes. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°How long ago did he die?¡± ¡°Tales say he¡¯s still alive. He handed her control nearly three hundred and fifty years ago after she killed a spawning abomination solo.¡± ¡°Did she?¡± asked Amdirlain sceptically. ¡°Who knows? That¡¯s the official report; anything to the contrary is just lies of horrible and disloyal people.¡± ¡°Alright, why don¡¯t you give me a rundown,¡± invited Amdirlain. Cla¡¯nes called back Ssa¡¯time, and Amdirlain picked up the drink Cla¡¯nes had poured. Taking a sip, she settled down to listen, drawing clarification from Cla¡¯nes and Ssa¡¯time¡¯s thoughts. Exiting the lift foyer, Amdirlain caught the individuals with different agendas monitoring foot traffic out front. Dipping into their minds, she discovered both groups had paid off building staff to contact them by pretending to be newscasters. Unconcerned, Amdirlain headed up the street towards a large mall. I make all the best friends¡ªdoomsayers and magical jackboot specialists. Amdirlain sent Sarah the details and asked if she also wanted to play. 334 - Hide and seek Sarah¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) With Amdirlain¡¯s laughter dancing in her mind, Sarah headed to the stairs. She¡¯d already changed her normal red fur to dark brown so those pursuing Amdirlain shouldn¡¯t recognise her. That¡¯s if they even bothered to look behind them. Amdirlain¡¯s security staff usually had at least one near her; instead, she was walking about alone. Still, in the name of precautions, Sarah set a mental dissonance to scrub away her importance. It was a mind trick that various gem dragons used to blend into the background of their normal crystal lairs. Though its purpose was to let intruders pass so the Dragon could ensure dinner didn¡¯t get away, now it just made her another person on the busy sidewalk. The Matriarch¡¯s agents spread a wide net as they followed the doomsayers tailing Amdirlain. They made for a cute procession of ducklings when Amdirlain turned into the mall she¡¯d pretended to be focused on. The decorative metal of the building¡¯s facade allowed Sarah to catch the casual glances Amdirlain used to track those tailing her. The closest of her stalkers were too far away to catch the motion. Most of those tailing her were already inside when Sarah reached the mall¡¯s entrance. From somewhere within, a string quartet were playing for the shopping crowd. A gleeful amusement surged through the mental link, and the music halted. It took a few minutes before the playing resumed, but it was upbeat and cheerful instead of relaxing and mellow. The intro of a familiar song finished, and Amdirlain¡¯s voice lifted above the hum of the shopping mall¡¯s crowd. ¡°My petals flutter, and my pollen stirs. You¡¯re the sun I turn to, and your warmth makes me yearn.¡± Sarah almost snorted, holding back laughter at the choice of song. The innuendo-laden lyrics had shoppers dispatching notes and raising units to make calls. Others excitedly buzzed and picked up the pace towards the mall¡¯s central chamber. The galleries around its perimeter became packed as Amdirlain¡¯s presence embraced those within the mall. Sarah got ahead of the curve and sent a note to the local law keepers to let them know an impromptu ¡®Am¡¯ performance was underway. ¡®Subtlety check failed.¡¯ ¡®No, you sank that ship. I¡¯m going to work on spotting them out among the crowd.¡¯ Laughter rolled down the mental link, and Sarah had to grind her teeth to keep it contained. Quickly taking the stairs to the third-floor gallery, Sarah figured out Amdirlain¡¯s game. Among the sudden press of the crowd, the doomsayers and enforcers alike were having trouble. Shoppers continued to flock out of shops, and their whistles and cheers fought the music. Despite the competition, Amdirlain¡¯s voice lifted effortlessly above the clamour of their excitement. As the chorus began again, voices in the crowd lifted to chase Amdirlain¡¯s and sang along. Her Charisma had swept out, but it wasn¡¯t a tease or explicit sexual undertone, but pure joy and Amdirlain¡¯s gaze glowed with life and fun. Her energy wrapped around the professional band, and the timbre of their playing changed. Before, they¡¯d been four musicians playing competently but not quite meshing; now, they built off each other and played as one. The little fumbles were still there, but they became something special that set their music apart. The glee in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze became delight, and she turned back to them to give them an approving nod. It was a token of appreciation that Orh¨ºthurin would have never given to a stranger and rarely to those closer, to whom she could be especially wary. The difference in their behaviour made Sarah aware of how freely Orh¨ºthurin bestowed that approval on Sarah throughout her reincarnations. For a moment, jealousy rose through her that these strangers could possess a treasured symbol of their closeness, but Sarah took it apart, and logic prevailed. Yet it wasn¡¯t logic alone, but happiness for Amdirlain as she let her music include others rather than accompany them. As the chorus came around again, the crowd again started to sing along¡ªmostly off-key¡ªbut Amdirlain was unbothered by the noise. No longer burdened by Femme Fatale¡¯s influence, her joy wasn¡¯t simply part of the show. Sarah felt a calm relief grow inside her as Amdirlain belted out one song and then a second before she turned the third into a full-on sing-along. The fourth song started like a fan favourite, but the words immediately diverged over the familiar tune. Instead of a sexually laced innuendo, it was an accusation that stabbed at the Matriarch in her ivory tower, using the worship of personality, a religion of might, and the expectation of unquestioned obedience. The crowd hushed and listened as scorn and derision soared through her words. Razor blades of passionate contempt had the Matriarch''s agents seeking confirmation of their orders to take her quietly. Despite how it stirred them, it wasn¡¯t the most comfortable song for the crowd, and Amdirlain left it behind with another pair of playful melodies. When Amdirlain finally wrapped up, she stopped and introduced each quartet member to the crowd to receive their share of cheers. She passed them some coins for their trouble and slid off the back of the stage. The audience swirled around her, and Sarah could spot the pursuers trying to get closer in the press. When the quartet started playing again, it was back to their mellow set piece, and Amdirlain initially sang with them from among the crowd. Her wordless vocalisation inspired a gentle calm and care in the crowd, and they suddenly stopped trying to push forward. Though reined in, their excitement still bubbled beneath the surface, but it was a satisfied happiness instead of craving for more. Among the doomsayers, one pushed through the crowd, and Amdirlain spotted his motion. She slipped away among shoppers and went upstairs to glimpse her stalkers from the floor above. Sarah noticed her wink, and the roar from some fans briefly drowned out the music. ¡®What floor are you on at present?¡¯ Along with Amdirlain''s question, a map of the mall¡¯s first two floors came through the link, with glowing tags to show the ones she¡¯d spotted in the crowd. ¡®I¡¯m now on the fourth floor. There are at least three more on the second floor; you¡¯ll need to be higher to see them. Two doomsayers, one enforcer.¡¯ ¡®Challenge accepted.¡¯ Amdirlain sent an anime-cat girl in a maid¡¯s outfit to run through the link, with a pink Dragon in pursuit. ¡®You¡¯re going to get in trouble.¡¯ Moving towards the shop fronts got Sarah free of the crowd, and she released eight cloaked drones. The enchanted discs wafted above the shoppers and into the central courtyard. Splitting them two to a floor, Sarah studied her suddenly multi-faceted viewpoint. The music¡¯s calming effect enticed the shoppers to return to their errands. Instead of making it easier for her pursers, those following Amdirlain had to cross the chaotic crowd of shoppers. As Amdirlain got on the next set of stairs, she exchanged hugs and handshakes with fans. The interaction with the crowd gave her an excuse to look about, and she sent the positions of five pursuers to Sarah. ¡®You¡¯re still missing at least one on the second floor. More moved up to follow you. Get good?¡¯ Amdirlain¡¯s merriment strengthened in the link. ¡®I should have never told you that Gideon used that to troll me.¡¯ ¡®Which way out are you aiming for?¡¯ ¡®A side alley currently, might let them think they can corner me. I¡¯ll go up one more floor to get them to commit and then go down through one of the multi-level department stores.¡¯ ¡®Are we doing catch and release, or are you just playing with your food?¡¯ Gleeful snorting echoed in the link. ¡®I¡¯m a kitty; I must play with my food.¡¯ Not responding to the bait, Sarah headed for the mall¡¯s midpoint. Her proximity didn¡¯t matter for drone response times, but it made it easier for her to link up with Amdirlain if needed. Slipping between the shoppers, Sarah heard a few fans arguing with others about the unsuitable lyrics. While a few of the adults were oblivious to the fuss, Am¡¯s reputation meant most were aware of what they were supposed to mean. The flowery-themed songs had drawn on suggestive prose to get their meaning across. Sarah was amused by their discussions but remained focused on monitoring today¡¯s participants. Her focus let her pick up two more that had joined the pursuit. Amdirlain¡¯s passage through the department store didn¡¯t go as smoothly as she¡¯d hoped. She was barely three steps inside when a gushing manager came forward to welcome her and offer to help her with her selections. Sarah watched Amdirlain loop her arm through the lady¡¯s and steer her towards the store¡¯s rear. The manager¡¯s tail flickered back and forth smoothly, and she gave Amdirlain a beaming smile. ¡®Change of plans. I¡¯ll keep spotting them while I make this lady¡¯s day.¡¯ Sarah scoffed. ¡®You had a plan?¡¯ ¡®Fine, a vague idea. We¡¯re just playing. I can leave any time.¡¯ Grumbling, Sarah replied with an image of Amdirlain playing poker, showing her hand off to everyone while playing blindfolded. ¡®That doesn¡¯t matter since they don¡¯t know the game I¡¯m playing. Just like the Patron families thinking they could keep control by seizing the first interface.¡¯ Amdirlain ran the mostly male observers through the shopping trip from hell. They lingered in areas with staff quick to question the reason for their presence or trying to entice them to purchase something for the special lady in their lives. Amdirlain had deliberately sampled dozens of perfumes in their faces, obliterating their chance to track her by scent alone. Learning to keep their distance had turned it into the game she¡¯d preferred¡ªspotting them among the crowd or in sheltered hideaways. After hours of tormenting them, Amdirlain slipped into a deserted stairwell and, out of sight, teleported into a quiet corridor on the first floor where Sarah joined her. After changing their appearance, the pair slipped away. ¡®You got upgrades?¡¯ questioned Sarah. A kitten with their gaze fixed on a blade of grass came back. ¡®Only one in Perception.¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re a senior master in that, so you can¡¯t complain,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®I can complain; it just won¡¯t do me any good.¡¯ Outside the mall, fading sunlight glinted from something in a ¡®nature spot¡¯ between buildings and caught Sarah¡¯s gaze. She wondered momentarily if Amdirlain had unleashed the enchanted orbs to gather information again. Amdirlain¡¯s early comment, and the accuracy of draconic memories, rushed the day¡¯s events through her in a detailed, lightning-fast recall. Amdirlain had tried to allow the patrons to coordinate with her, but their seizure of Amdirlain¡¯s device had quickly spelled their doom. After the first attempt to stonewall Wha¡¯sin, Amdirlain had turned on full transparency mode to bypass authorities and any Eldritch influence. Concerned about people being harmed through panic, she¡¯d wanted to minimise rumours and ensure people would get all the same information. This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. The original Laen orb had been of Sarah¡¯s devising, and Amdirlain had duplicated its song to ensure the enchantments were detectable. It had sent all responses to a psi-crystal for the data to get sorted. The broadcast targeted the common enchantment elements they¡¯d found in all receivers; its strength had overwhelmed everything else that morning. ¡°Good morning to everyone listening. I represent a group of people trying to strengthen the city¡¯s citizens against the plague of the Gods¡¯ Grave. Shortly, a training complex will open to allow all those with combat, scouting, or gathering classes to progress without the hindrance of Patron-regulated hunting permits. "We tried coordinating this with the patrons, but they¡¯ve ignored our attempts and won¡¯t communicate. Hence, we are announcing this to everyone directly, so you might benefit before they try to restrict it to themselves again. So cheer up; it¡¯s not just you. They ignore stronger people as well. "To facilitate the organisation of this complex, special link units will appear around the city. Look for the crystal orbs in the green zones along major roads. Anyone answering a series of questions through these link units will receive a suitable gift. This will be based on the number of questions you answer about training scenarios and your levelling requirements. There is a limit of one gift per individual responding, but we don¡¯t intend to place a time limit on the responses. Once we collect sufficient information, the entry points to the training facility will open, but we¡¯ll still accept your input. We will provide information about challenges within the facility. Risks are involved like any hunt, so they should be taken seriously. Thank you.¡± ¡°How would the Matriarch react if something like the training complex appeared there?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain snorted, and her tail expressively thrashed in frustration. ¡°I think they¡¯d look to lock it down for their military alone under pain of death for anyone daring to use it.¡± ¡°The creators bypassed all the patrons here; what¡¯s to say they won¡¯t do it there?¡± questioned Sarah carefully as she followed Amdirlain towards a transporter stop. ¡°The patrons don¡¯t see themselves as near-divine immortal kings,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Eww, really?¡± questioned Sarah, as Amdirlain¡¯s words drew the attention of those around them. ¡°The Matriarch is likely a puppet on her father¡¯s throne,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Their family control all the Wizard education, and only those deemed loyal survive it.¡± ¡°Why are we using a transporter?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°Is that what we¡¯re doing? Though perching in the high seats is fun,¡± countered Amdirlain. Only to walk past the stop to wave at some agents in a vehicle beyond it before she teleported away. When they got to their apartment building, the light panels had come on to illuminate the sidewalk and front entrances, even though it wasn''t completely dark yet. Amdirlain took Sarah¡¯s hand and grinned as they headed for the door. ¡°That was fun.¡± The gentle squeeze of her fingers made Sarah ache for more, but she huffed instead. ¡°You were trolling what, for many, is dangerous prey.¡± ¡°I know,¡± growled Amdirlain, and she sent an image of a bully getting a thrashing. ¡°I learnt too much I didn¡¯t like today.¡± As they headed inside, Sarah didn¡¯t let go of her hand. It might not be what she wanted most, but the joy Amdirlain radiated today was enough. They found Kadaklan upstairs in the apartment watching an entertainment report about Am''s foray into politics. ¡°The Matriarch declared you an enemy of the state and moral people everywhere,¡± advised Kadaklan. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°A moral enemy. I think I¡¯ll make your hollow world idea and give all the residents in her country a chance to run.¡± ¡°What would they do there?¡± ¡°I can still give them access to training complexes. That would supply them meat and materials; maybe I¡¯ll add some plant-based enemies they can harvest grains from,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Ebusuku if she can supply some magical instructors.¡± Sarah huffed. ¡°That¡¯s why you need to learn to fly beneath the radar. When someone takes a poke at you, you punch back.¡± ¡°You disapprove?¡± ¡°No, take down the despot, just be careful not to add to the plinth¡¯s bill,¡± said Sarah, and she squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s hand, expecting her to release it. Instead, Amdirlain turned to her and hugged her tight. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°For what?¡± questioned Sarah, wondering if she¡¯d given herself away. ¡°Everything, Sarah, everything.¡± Baln¨¦rith''s PoV - Ijmti Where one of her oldest fortresses had once stood, was a deep chasm that radiated out like fractures through the destroyed forest. Laodice¡¯s spear had shattered the ground, but that hadn¡¯t been the limit of the destruction. It had carried on to rupture the sealed chambers of prisoners thousands of kilometres beyond its deepest point. Her footwork destroyed hundreds of kilometres of forest, proving her dedication to the strike. Where Laodice had laid waste, Naamah¡¯s death aura ensured it wouldn¡¯t regrow. An identical, full-breasted Succubus in black leather armour and the Sisterhood of the Blood¡¯s crest stood just out of arm¡¯s reach. The distance was not from fear, but their partly unfurled wings would otherwise clash. Though she appeared to be a Succubus, beneath the surface Baln¨¦rith could make out their once-Celestial figure. Their journey so far had not been kind to the Castellan. Glowing eyes looked mould-infested and, beneath the Succubus¡¯ angular features, her skin peeled and rotted from the bone. Her beauty was long faded, only bones and scraps of sinew remained of her once-brilliant white wings. ¡°Why return here?¡± asked Castellan. Though the familiar name she¡¯d used for aeons now rubbed Baln¨¦rith wrong, since they had no fortresses, castles, or even keeps left for Baln¨¦rith to claim. They didn¡¯t even have an order left to rebuild or the means to ensure those who joined were truly bound to follow her instructions. Baln¨¦rith¡¯s top lip curled with barely contained fury, and she stabbed a talon at the chasm. ¡°Laodice wasn¡¯t bound in this place. The Leviathan¡¯s blood was in the chamber of bone in Hrz¡¯Styrn. Why did she strike here first upon her release?¡± ¡°The battle-hungry slut,¡± proposed Castellan. The words hissed with her frustration, drawing the steel in her tone across a whetstone. ¡°Of all the aspects, she¡¯s mentioned no association with them besides her father,¡± countered Baln¨¦rith, her anger unmollified. ¡°I think there is something else going on.¡± Castellan shrugged, and her wings flexed to rip the air. ¡°She also mentioned her father had advised her how the bond could weaken.¡± ¡°Weakening with each of her deaths¡ªI would have known if she died again,¡± said Baln¨¦rith. ¡°This place digs at me; I¡¯m sure there is more to it than either of them.¡± ¡°Does it matter? The traces are too old now to find out how they met, and going near your former prisoners will get us killed. Do we continue establishing a new order or work to open the path between us?¡± questioned Castellan. Castellan¡¯s commitment prevented her from proposing another option. Hers was an unswerving dedication to Baln¨¦rith that had existed longer than this realm. A dedication that now lent Baln¨¦rith the confidence that they could rebuild. Not acknowledging the importance of her loyalty, Baln¨¦rith waved at the forest. ¡°There are some things that would linger.¡± ¡°Do you see something new, my lady?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what new things I see here, but what old thing makes sense, especially with what was missing from Hrz¡¯Styrn¡¯s fortress,¡± replied Baln¨¦rith. ¡°Hrz¡¯Styrn¡¯s destruction was because of strikes from one side. Also, we received reports of the irregulars attacking within the fortress. No reports of anything showing Laodice had broken free of the blood on Hrz¡¯Styrn.¡± Castellan waited for Baln¨¦rith to continue explaining, but she pointed at some nearby stone blocks instead. Turning, she pointed to more before teleporting them to the far side of the chasm and picked up a piece of shattered stonework. Her assistant¡¯s gaze narrowed in suspicion, and she teleported into the forest. Ten minutes later, she returned and dropped hundreds of rock fragments at Baln¨¦rith¡¯s feet. ¡°All around the perimeter are pieces of stonework,¡± reported Castellan. ¡°Hrz¡¯Styrn¡¯s fragments sprayed in one direction across the plain.¡± ¡°Almost like a giant had burst up through the middle of the fortress here and sent pieces flying before the strike,¡± proposed Baln¨¦rith. Castellan, swearing, ran through dozens of languages, each vile-sounding even with the most common enquiry. While she worked it out of her system, Baln¨¦rith used an array of detection spells before she pointed towards a distant ridgeline and then teleported them to it. Striding along it, Baln¨¦rith led the way to a pockmarked ledge on the far side. Despite the roughness of its surface, someone had cut a precise stone ramp into the ledge¡¯s lip as if to slide something free of it and into the forest beyond. Another Spell lifted dust from the pitted marks etched into the stone, and black dust swirled before Baln¨¦rith. ¡°The remains of some of Levithan¡¯s blood, ripe with Death Mana, but no lingering Spell.¡± ¡°You believe this is where the slut broke free?¡± asked Castellan. ¡°Or got broken free. Potentially, letting her out of the fortress was a mistake; we should have kept her confined and thrown fodder to her to chip away at her aura¡¯s build-up,¡± replied Baln¨¦rith. Castellan frowned. ¡°She would have kept her aura from acting until she could push it beyond the boundaries of any prison.¡± ¡°It¡¯s done now,¡± hissed Baln¨¦rith, and she drew a crystal pendant from a storage device. Another detection Spell had the pendant and a pane before the carved ramp aglow. "J," spat Castellan. "J," growled Baln¨¦rith, squeezing her hand around the crystal until blood dripped from her palm. ¡°Which Anar could she be?¡± grumbled Castellan. Baln¨¦rith looked at Castellan in disbelief. ¡°Only one continued to associate with the aspects after my pawns found and enlightened the rest about the Titan¡¯s traps on their precious worlds. It points to her, especially with Death and his daughter¡¯s efforts.¡± Shaking her head, Castellan spat. ¡°You believe such a pitiful creature was Orh¨ºthurin?¡± ¡°You propose another name,¡± snapped Baln¨¦rith. ¡°I¡¯ve spent years considering it and keep returning to the impossible. His favoured lackey somehow was bound into the form of a Succubus, the same as I¡¯d bound many L¨®m?.¡± ¡°With Orh¨ºthurin back and the L¨®m? being free, you¡¯d best be careful of your name, my Lady,¡± advised Castellan. ¡°The L¨®m? free is another question to be answered. How did they find them? How did they unseal the tower? Orh¨ºthurin was never Anar royalty.¡± Castellan frowned. ¡°We only know what you were told of the protections. Orh¨ºthurin was around for its original creation. Regarding security, have you been close enough to any of them to hear your song since you changed your name?¡± A chill ran through her bones, and Baln¨¦rith nodded jerkily. ¡°If J heard my song, I would have expected them to act against me before now. I¡¯ll change my use name, but continue to call me Baln¨¦rith. Ensure you don¡¯t use any of my old use names. We¡¯ll meet at the pre-arranged locations, no messaging each other; who knows if I¡¯ve left a pattern Orh¨ºthurin might see or what they might detect.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll scout the next planes and gather more of those who remain loyal,¡± offered Castellan before she disappeared across planes. The fading glow of the pane near the ledge¡¯s lip hid the shimmer in the air. Catapulting through it, a body blow smashed Baln¨¦rith into the rock face, and Naamah purred in her ear. ¡°Hello.¡± Baln¨¦rith twisted about, lashing out her raking wings and elbows, but Naamah blocked each attempt. Energy exploded around them, devastating the ridgeline, as Baln¨¦rith lashed out with spells blindly, trying to drive Naamah off. The spells that ripped through Naamah raged on undiminished, and beyond her, the explosions lit up the forest, turning kilometres to ash. Yet the Succubus¡¯s assault didn¡¯t relent. Castellan returned and unleashed a targeted assault to aid Baln¨¦rith, only to have spiked chains driven through her and reel her groundwards. A pair of burning wings erupted amongst the trees just before a barbed lance drove upwards from their position to pierce Castellan¡¯s shoulder and anchor in her wing bones. The Fallen¡¯s concealment among the tree evaporated further as hundreds of magical daggers erupted towards Castellan. More explosions and weapons cleaving flesh echoed in the forest, driving the inhabitants away. Castellan¡¯s battle fell silent first, but she didn¡¯t come to Baln¨¦rith¡¯s aid. A popping sound came from Baln¨¦rith¡¯s back and, a moment later, a wing came free in a spray of blood. The rasp of it rubbing across the stone had barely started when Naamah drove her nails into the empty socket. Using her bones for leverage, Naamah violently smashed Baln¨¦rith against the ground, destroying anything in the way. Naamah clamped a hand onto Baln¨¦rith¡¯s shoulder and anchored it with extended talons before she released her hold on the wing socket. Twisting her around, a hooked dagger glowing with a golden Celestial light appeared in Naamah¡¯s freed hand, plunged in hard, and yanking back, pulling guts free. Blood sprayed far and wide as she punched the dagger into Baln¨¦rith dozens of times a second for long minutes. Baln¨¦rith¡¯s flesh squelched beneath the blows as the torment continued, and ribbons of intestines looped around her feet. The black ichor from her wounds splashed across Naamah''s naked form, and her grin widened. ¡°You¡¯re next,¡± Naamah laughed, and the dagger disappeared from her lightly smoking hand. ¡°J says hi.¡± Naamah and the flaming winged Fallen vanished, taking Castellan with them and leaving Baln¨¦rith entirely alone. Despite the torture of the Celestial energies lingering in the wounds, she stood up after pushing her guts back in. ¡°How does she dare use a Celestial dagger?¡± gasped Baln¨¦rith, and she staggered against the shattered boulder. "J!" Icy fury ran through her veins at the continued devastation of her plans and schemes. The ineffectual rage she¡¯d contained to keep Castellan¡¯s respect found an outlet in the earthquake her next Spell released. The rumbling sound of shattering rock drowned out her enraged scream. 335 - Alien Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Amdirlain let the media speculation build and focused on the demi-plane project while Jal¡¯krin prepared more songs. A few weeks spent crafting demi-planes saw Amdirlain¡¯s levels and True Song rise further. As she considered the latest notification, the amount of experience she¡¯d been pulling in from the work made her question what level Orh¨ºthurin had achieved. While not as high as the experience from Sarah¡¯s demi-plane, this one should be challenging for level twenty teams. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Grouped by type Self-sustaining continent-sized biome (small) x1 Bonus elements - Training Challenges:
  • Low-tier gathering challenges x715
  • Low-tier combat challenges x2146
  • Tier twenty monster zone biome x1
Total Experience gained: 1,007,500,000 Ostim?: +503,750,000 Ont?lin: +503,750,000 True Song Genesis [M] (98->99) Note: You¡¯re going to spoil the dwarves with those mining challenges.] Yes, Gideon. Compressing the time I take pushes the power but increases my recovery time. Getting close! Now that she¡¯d stopped to consider her progress, Amdirlain had to admit to avoidance, having not even contacted Gail of late. Since Sarah had shared the news of Roher and Isa¡¯s discovery, Amdirlain had worked with growing intensity. Standing atop a mesa modelled after her old office block, Amdirlain sent the demi-plane¡¯s details to Isa. Breathing slowly, she tried to acknowledge the nervous tension twisting inside herself without smothering it. Isa didn¡¯t leave her to wonder, appearing barely five seconds later in her Anar form with a cheerful. ¡°Hey, stranger.¡± Though there wasn¡¯t a hint of accusation, Amdirlain still winced at the choice of wording. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°Hush, my friend,¡± Isa said gently, and she stepped closer to hold out a hand to Amdirlain. ¡±This has got to be a head trip for you. How long have you known?¡± Amdirlain took the offered hand and gave a lopsided smile. ¡°A while.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t make me reference that movie,¡± groaned Isa dramatically. ¡°That would be your fault,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah pointing out Edward was gaslighting Bella completely ruined it for me,¡± grumbled Isa with strained playfulness. ¡°Come on, how long did you know?¡± Amdirlain fixed her with a concerned look. ¡°Does it matter? The L¨®m? were in too dangerous a place to share, and you¡¯d lost your Hidden protection soon after we reunited.¡± Isa paused and nodded sheepishly. ¡°Very true. What is Sarah¡¯s situation then?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin took some precautions. I will say Sarah knows things I don¡¯t; however, the rest is her choice to share,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Songbird reincarnated?¡± questioned Isa. ¡°A fragment of her-¡± Isa interjected with a reproving scowl. ¡°Stop right there. You might be a reincarnation, but you¡¯re Amdirlain. You¡¯re not a fragment of anyone, miss. That sounds like putting yourself down.¡± ¡°I possess a fragment of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s peak strength and might never recover it all. She mauled herself, pulled parts of her Soul away,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°If she hadn¡¯t, that Anar King would have never gotten the vines in place.¡± Isa swallowed and paced about before peering over the mesa¡¯s edge. ¡°Okay, that clears up many questions I had immediately.¡± ¡°Now you just need a silly mid-off,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Cricket? Blah,¡± blurted Isa. ¡°How un-Australian,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Isa rolled her eyes. ¡°Mori wondered if Orh¨ºthurin had more up her sleeves than simple age.¡± ¡°I remembered a set of cups Orh¨ºthurin had created for herself, and Mori commenting on not hearing another¡¯s song in them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Sounds like she wanted to give herself away,¡± noted Isa, and she gave Amdirlain an enquiring glance. ¡°Did you?¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°I had put some things in place to conceal the crystal I used at Nolmar.¡± ¡°That was a weird visit. We intended to ensure your project was okay and give the others any help they needed. Then when we approached the town, Roher heard the crystal.¡± ¡°It was a bit hard to check if someone else could hear them, I guess I¡¯ll need better concealments,¡± commented Amdirlain lightly. ¡°What you did blocked me. Even knowing the crystal is there, I still can¡¯t get past the concealments without his help,¡± admitted Isa, and she grinned brightly at Amdirlain. ¡°Though the crystals in the Mousekin burrow are more of a giveaway. Unbreakable crystals that behave as if they¡¯re enchanted without Mana being present isn¡¯t a thing you know.¡± ¡°How many people would test if those crystals by the doors will break? Or even assume the enchantment isn¡¯t elsewhere using the crystals as a focal point?¡± ¡°People that are looking for answers,¡± replied Isa. Amdirlain coughed. ¡°Yeah, I need to learn to moderate my generosity?.¡± Snorting in disbelief, Isa looked at her sceptically. ¡°Like that will happen. Do you have many of her memories?¡± Blinking at the sudden topic change, Amdirlain hedged while considering what to say. ¡°I¡¯ll at least stop using crystals that are approachable. As for Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories, barely more than a fragment. The bits and pieces I¡¯ve regained are enough to know some of her pain and heartbreak. I¡¯ve recovered years of her life, but they¡¯re all hours or days scattered across billions of years.¡± Isa nodded understandingly. ¡°Yeah, that was my worry with Mori and the others. Losing myself amid all that history. I don¡¯t know how Sarah keeps herself together.¡± ¡°Natural Dragon capacity, for them, it''s like a history archive, with emotionally impactful movie footage,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Does anyone else know besides Sarah, Roher, and myself?¡± enquired Isa. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Erwarth, and so Ebusuku, and a few primordials, along with the aspects.¡± ¡°Shit, with that many knowing, I¡¯m surprised you kept it a secret this long,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°Luck must be on your side.¡± ¡°Kismet,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Isa frowned. ¡°What?¡± ¡°The name of the principal Aspect of Luck,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Except her paying attention to you isn¡¯t always good. She represents blind luck?, from the most likely events to the improbable.¡± Isa waved a reproving finger. ¡°Now you¡¯re just trying to distract me.¡± ¡°Guilty,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Nibbling on her top lip, Isa looked out over the landscape. Amdirlain waited her out nervously and avoided listening to her song or public mind. ¡°How many of these places are you creating?¡± Isa asked, spreading her arms wide. Giving her a sheepish smile, Amdirlain dodged the question. ¡°Some of them are more complex than others.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t answer the question of the number you need, and are they all the same size?¡± ¡°Most; between nineteen and thirty-one thousand. I created thirty demi-planes to act as a training complex for one city, but I might extend it to fifty-two. Each environment generates creatures, and most give the teams harvestable materials, meat, etc. I¡¯ve been churning out a bunch of standard seeds and then altering details in each.¡± Nodding thoughtfully, Isa smiled. ¡°What¡¯s the biggest monster you¡¯ve created?¡± ¡°Sarah got me to make some godzillas,¡± advised Amdirlain. Isa blinked slowly and started to snicker. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°I gave it a plasma breath weapon, so she has to take it seriously,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What did you mean by standard seeds?¡± ¡°These are the standard planes, modelled off mainland Australia as a memory exercise.¡± ¡°I imagine two thousand kilometres, coast to coast, gives plenty of space to throw in challenges,¡± observed Isa. ¡°But it''s not just the size, is it? This area¡¯s layout seems like a petrified version of buildings near Darling Harbour.¡± ¡°All the capital cities are mesa-like regions like this one, but all the suburbs I visited have the houses I remember as rocky outcroppings. I¡¯m considering creating some hollow earth and ring planes,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Is that so you have more space for the critters?¡± asked Isa. ¡°I need to build up to creating a world¡¯s atmosphere and weather patterns,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°So I need bigger challenges to stretch my capacity.¡± A frown line appeared on Isa¡¯s brow as she considered Amdirlain¡¯s explanation. ¡°Don¡¯t weather patterns occur naturally because of the planet¡¯s rotation and the effects of solar radiation warming it?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°In part, but that¡¯s what makes it a challenge. On a Plane you can set rules within the seed, like an Anarch controlling an area of Limbo but without having to maintain it. With a world you need all the components to maintain the atmosphere, ecology, and weather patterns, or it will all collapse.¡± Isa wrinkled her nose. ¡°Yeah, because we¡¯re just casually talking about building worlds now. What happened to the three girls from western Sydney?¡± Laughing, Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Isa stepped forward to wrap her arms lightly around Amdirlain and pressed her nose against hers. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Shifting position to press her cheek against Isa¡¯s, Amdirlain wiggled an arm free and held her properly. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Then, I¡¯m just going to hold you for a bit, and I¡¯ll listen to whatever you want to talk about,¡± Isa whispered. ¡°I¡¯d rather talk about my project than how I am,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°If that¡¯s all you want to discuss, I¡¯ll still listen,¡± Isa said reassuringly. ¡°These demi-planes? Or something else?¡± ¡°What I¡¯d like to do is a long way off,¡± hedged Amdirlain. Rolling her eyes, Isa motioned for her to spill. ¡°Of course it is, but I said I¡¯d listen. Did you want to talk about your long-term goals? I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°It might change before I have the power to do it. The lower planes were created because Orh¨ºthurin had only witnessed realms like ours during the Greek era. For her, the Plane of Hades was normal, but why should a Soul be damned for eternity?¡± asked Amdirlain. Isa tilted her head. ¡°You believe the souls transformed into demons don¡¯t deserve it? Why did you blow up Viper then?¡± ¡°Viper got formed from the corruption of the Abyss that mirrored my flaws. Some of them are ending where they belong, but some could do with a second chance. Certainly some born demons have proven they do,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she stopped to consider the examples she¡¯d seen. ¡°There was the first gestating Succubus I saw. She¡¯d lived a screwed-up life partly because adults broke her in childhood. Still, she made her choices, so no getting off scot-free. In the same measure, her Soul¡¯s route to a better state gets forever sealed off. That should also be a no. The Soul should face punishment but get to try the wheel again.¡± ¡°If Nic and Ori set up the lower planes that way,¡± said Isa. ¡°Didn¡¯t they have a plan? ¡°It didn¡¯t start that way; primordials in the Abyss experimenting with souls caused the Abyss to start transforming souls into demons. Orh¨ºthurin believed in utter accountability, and so she left it. Anyway, fixing that is long-term. I must deal with Baln¨¦rith, a wound to the Far Chaos in the Abyss¡¯s depths, then handle Moloch and rein in Orcus before I¡¯ve even got a hope of doing that. Not to mention the stronger Eldritch that are trapped in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Just a few things?¡± ¡°I know it sounds arrogant,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Isa smiled. ¡°It¡¯s Julia all over, wanting to sort out problems and leave things in a better state. I¡¯m worried that nowhere on your list does it talk about getting rid of your Fallen state.¡± ¡°I¡¯m afraid,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°Of what?¡± Isa asked, and she shifted her hands to rub Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°What if I just die? My Soul got stuck in a shell formed by a curse, and I got placed in this Fallen state. But without the shell, do I stay alive? You and Sarah transformed from your species. The plinth will remove the Fallen state from my Soul. That¡¯s not a transformation or evolution. What will happen?¡± Isa¡¯s smile turned strained. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll get properly isekai¡¯d and get born with all your memories?¡± Grumbling under her breath, Amdirlain glared at her. ¡°Are you mocking me for my light novel collection?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have that anymore,¡± countered Isa. ¡°We¡¯d find you and help you remember everything. Plus, you¡¯ve got that Phoenix¡¯s thingy now; trigger it as you get cleared for duty, right? Wouldn¡¯t he have warned you if it wouldn¡¯t let you stay alive? He told you one option was to leave and get reincarnated, I don¡¯t believe he wouldn¡¯t have warned you about dying here.¡± Smirking, Amdirlain started. ¡°If you¡¯re-¡± ¡®¡°Not paranoid by now, you obviously haven¡¯t been paying attention'',¡± finished Isa. ¡°Besides being worried, do you have another reason to hold off returning to the plinth?¡± ¡°Isa, I¡¯ve destroyed lives on Qil Tris. I don¡¯t know how the plinth will judge all the families disrupted by the memories I¡¯ve wiped; fathers, mothers, and children whose age I reversed,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Please, and also saved a billion lives,¡± argued Isa. ¡°Are you going to min-max the benefit of being a Fallen?¡± ¡°What?¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I just told you I¡¯m afraid of what will happen.¡± Isa glared at her suspiciously. ¡°Don¡¯t play innocent with me, miss. You were already talking about getting the best Class improvement.¡± ¡°I am trying to get the best Prestige Class I can for my True Song evolution, but that¡¯s my main focus. If I get a good combination for them unlocked, I¡¯m not worried about what Fallen transformation I take,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°See, still talking about taking a Fallen transformation. So you can clear the decks and gain more levels. I see how it is,¡± huffed Isa. This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it Smirking, Amdirlain opted to change the subject. ¡°So they went to Veht?.¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re living in a forest city now; it¡¯s such a head trip to my memories from life as Mori,¡± said Isa. ¡°What happened to Roher¡¯s arm?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A temporal destruction effect; it was splintered forward in time, so he might not be able to regenerate it until he lives past the time of the furthest temporal piece,¡± explained Isa. ¡°Gail and I can hear part of the theme, but our True Song isn¡¯t strong enough to touch the Spell.¡± ¡°Ouch, that sounds bizarre,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Isa shrugged. ¡°Any less than the three of us ending up back here?¡± ¡°Perhaps karmic ties drew us home,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah said she has memories that we¡¯d been in each others¡¯ lives after dying when the cities fell.¡± ¡°One thing I do find amusing,¡± said Isa. ¡°is that both of you used to give me grief for believing in reincarnation.¡± Amdirlain disdainfully snorted. ¡°Don¡¯t get me started; you also loved every conspiracy theory that sounded good.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t because I believed them; it was the mental exercise of, what if this were true,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°Reincarnation, on the other hand, I believe in, even if some people were frauds. Are you done working on this place, or have you got some details to finish?¡± ¡°The song work here is all done. Why?¡± asked Amdirlain. Isa grinned. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d show me a freshly grown one and let me listen to your singing?¡± Amdirlain opened a Gate to a barren mountaintop and waved Isa through. Rather than rush the work, Amdirlain sang each piece from the foundational sections while Isa nodded along to the main theme¡¯s beat. She didn¡¯t speak until Amdirlain had finished singing the entire plane¡¯s elements into place. Isa frowned. ¡°The number of voices you manage now is insane, and I¡¯m sure I was only hearing part of them.¡± ¡°You were; a bunch of it was on the L¨®m? frequencies,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Do me a favour and bring Roher for a visit. I¡¯d like to see if Kadaklan or I can help his arm. We can discuss other matters and clear the air there as well. Okay?¡± Isa nodded. ¡°Will do.¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Can I listen to you work for a while, or should I run off home?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Fine, you can stay for a bit.¡± * * * * * Isa lingered for a few hours, listening to Amdirlain setting up the challenges in the demi-planes she¡¯d made. When Isa left, Amdirlain heard Roher¡¯s summons draw her back to Veht?. Left alone, Amdirlain quaffed more poison, and as the agony ground in her spiritual net, she sped up her efforts. Moving from seed to seed, she created dozens of training grounds with the new biomes she¡¯d worked out. The last insight into Senior Master rank remained elusive. It finally came with creating the most complex self-sustaining training area she¡¯d designed for the cities. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Grouped by type Self-sustaining continent-sized biome, with day-night cycle (small) x1 Bonus elements - Training Challenges:
  • Mid-tier magical gathering challenges x570
  • Tier fifty search and evasion challenges x1090
  • Tier fifty monster spawn zone biome x1
Total Experience gained: 6,221,640,000 Ostim?: +3,110,820,000 Ostim? Level Up! Ont?lin: +3,110,820,000 Ont?lin Level Up! True Song Genesis [M] (100) -> [S] (1) Tier 7 Prestige Class: Alind? unlocked!] Breathing out slowly, Amdirlain reactivated Phoenix¡¯s Rapture to its passive state and considered the meaning of the Prestige Class. The Power flushed the poison from her system and restored the health True Song had drained. Depending on the elven tongue, it could be a complete song or complete singing. I didn¡¯t expect anything until hitting Grand Master in it. Well, I¡¯m only level two-hundred-eleven; I¡¯ll have a look at it when I get home. Do I keep pushing? Rest, review, and think it over. With the details of the last demi-plane finished, Amdirlain still waited until she was in full health before she signalled Sarah to summon her when ready. A summons beckoned to her only a few minutes later, and Amdirlain allowed it to draw her between planes. ¡°Your three special guests are at the apartment,¡± stated Sarah, pulling the circle¡¯s mithril into her Inventory. ¡°Three?¡± queried Amdirlain. ¡°I was expecting two. Did Ilya come with Isa?¡± Sarah chuckled. ¡°You¡¯ll see.¡± Amdirlain took on her regular form, teleported them outside the apartment, and heard the themes within; Isa, Roher, and Gail. I¡¯ll keep my Class offer to myself for now. ¡°Too chicken to appear in the place?¡± teased Sarah. ¡°Depending on who it was, I might have wanted to run,¡± said Amdirlain dryly. When Amdirlain came in the door, a black-furred Gail looked her way. As the door closed behind Sarah, Gail bounced towards Amdirlain, trailing gold and green silk. ¡°Auntie Am. You¡¯re so busted, superstar! Nano? rightly pointed out that I didn¡¯t blend in, but you took ¡®subtle¡¯ out the back and beat it to death.¡± ¡°I blame my Charisma for being out of control,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m so going to tell Mother about this! I¡¯ll have to listen to every trace of yours and give her memory crystals,¡± laughed Gail, and she grinned at Amdirlain. Gail had picked a form that matched her standard height, causing her to loom over Amdirlain. Clasping Amdirlain¡¯s cheeks, Gail leaned in and rubbed noses with her. ¡°You¡¯re so adorable!¡± Slipping past the pair, Sarah moved to a couch close to the kitchen. ¡°Brat,¡± grumbled Amdirlain after Gail continued to fuss. Nodding happily, Gail released Amdirlain¡¯s cheeks and started to scratch her ears, gushing happily. ¡°Your tufted ears are so cute!¡± ¡°Change your ears then,¡± advised Amdirlain. Gail sniffed in mock disdain. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be as cute.¡± ¡°Why did you copy the local style of clothing to blend in for a quick trip?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Stepping back, Gail spun about and flared out the sides of her dress. ¡°They make some sweet outfits here. I went shopping since we got here while you were out. Anyway, who says we are leaving quickly?¡± Layers of songs hid Roher¡¯s elven form behind dark blue fur and black-on-black apparel. He had risen to his feet at Amdirlain¡¯s entrance, but hesitated in the wake of Gail¡¯s exuberance. Beneath his calm mask, sadness, suspicion, frustration, and awe roiled and churned, and a word slipped free. ¡°Why were you always with us, yet never told us?¡± asked Roher, his gaze tearing with sorrow. ¡°Were we a mistake from the very start?¡± His words relaxed the tension from Amdirlain, and she stepped close and put a hand on his cheek. ¡°That wasn¡¯t anything to do with the Anar or L¨®m?. Ori was unhappy. She¡¯d felt alone and isolated and wanted to blend in and be one among many.¡± ¡°And we failed her,¡± whispered Roher. Amdirlain tsked. ¡°No! That wasn¡¯t on any of you. She didn¡¯t handle it well from her end; she already had too many aeons of established habits. I wasn¡¯t expecting that to be your first concern.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve considered our conversations since the revelation of your identity. You were trying to be gentle in the information you provided. Did she not want our respect?¡± ¡°Respect wasn¡¯t her concern. Orh¨ºthurin didn¡¯t want anyone worshipping her,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she gently clasped his good shoulder, listening to his wound as she spoke. ¡°I remember when Orh¨ºthurin was young, and her mother and thousands of others had died at the hands of the Greek gods. She asked Nicholaus to take the divine spark from her because she didn¡¯t want to grow into something as evil as them. He said he would, but the problem was that she wasn¡¯t a God; she was a Primordial, and it was a promise he couldn¡¯t fulfil.¡± Roher frowned in confusion. ¡°The same Greek gods that died on Veht??¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°They were the reason all the planets contained traps. Nicholaus¡¯ father left him a message telling him that the Greek gods would eventually weaken and need refuge one day. That would be their opportunity if they wanted to hold them to account. Between them, they created a place with rules that meant they and mortals could hold the weakened Greek gods and others accountable.¡± ¡°So many people died because of a grudge?¡± questioned Roher. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°They had a grudge against how the Greek gods had treated them, but still set it up so they could have avoided it. The Greeks just had to show that they¡¯d changed their ways. If they¡¯d become kinder to others and treated beings fairly, other gods would have assisted them to get free of their mantles. Instead, they kept to their vicious backstabbing ways and paid the price.¡± ¡°As Amdirlain said, they set it up to hold them accountable, not to destroy them without justification. It was unkind to the mortals, but powerful gods and primordials with access to a planet keep the realm safe from the Eldritch,¡± added Sarah. ¡°Isa explained the work you were doing here,¡± stated Roher. ¡°I¡¯ve not told anyone except Isa about your identity, not even Laergul.¡± ¡°How did Gail learn?¡± asked Amdirlain. Even as Isa coughed and raised her hand, Gail smiled at her. ¡°She already has mental protections.¡± ¡°No wonder your previous dad helped me,¡± giggled Gail. ¡°It truly is who you know?.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t roll her eyes but moved to sit on the closest couch to Roher. ¡°I was nervous about you finding out, Roher. I¡¯m not sure if all the L¨®m? would take it so well,¡± said Amdirlain. Roher bit the inside of his cheek and nodded after a moment. ¡°Some would be ecstatic, but I¡¯m not sure it would be everyone; I can see some reacting badly. You freed our daughter from her torment, Laergul and I will always be in your debt even without this news.¡± ¡°You¡¯re-¡± cutting herself off from refusing the debt, Amdirlain bowed her head politely. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I hated my cursed state, but I¡¯m glad I returned in time to set some things right.¡± ¡°Hated it?¡± asked Roher. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The plinth discounted those I¡¯d helped from its tally, but it still made me aware of the difference I¡¯ve made. I don¡¯t know if it was meant to be a clue or not for going forward. Isa¡¯s messages mentioned that the reaction to the Anar births had not been comfortable.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°It took some adjusting. It was part of why we forsook the cities of crystal even though Isa and Gail offered their help to build accommodations.¡± ¡°I was after the experience,¡± Gail said, earning a disbelieving snort from Roher. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you have enough infrastructure projects in the kingdoms,¡± critiqued Isa. Gail firmly shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m ensuring people can support themselves, not doing everything for them.¡± ¡°Except where certain species are concerned,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°The Gnarls are an entirely different matter, but they¡¯re hard to track down. They¡¯re all up and down the two continents, mostly deep underground. I¡¯m worried some have trekked across the polar ice,¡± huffed Gail. ¡°Given their breeding capabilities, if I don¡¯t wipe out all of them, they¡¯ll return to being a threat.¡± ¡°True, with the Gnarls, it¡¯s not a breeding pair that is of concern; a single specimen can repopulate the species,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll need the details of the song you used to detect the Gnarls, and I can make you some orbital surveyors.¡± ¡°Thank you kindly. Livia told me about those and how you used them here,¡± said Gail. Isa spoke up quickly. ¡°There is one thing we¡¯d like you to do for us?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Whatever else you need to do to progress the Redemption¡¯s Path, you make that your priority,¡± replied Isa, her tone softening. ¡°We want you free of that curse, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to help people, Isa. I don¡¯t know if the plinth will count anything that¡¯s happened on Qil Tris towards achieving redemption. My reason for being here is about stopping the Eldritch, and they aren¡¯t beings within the realm¡¯s rules,¡± explained Amdirlain. Sarah nodded. ¡°But they were around when the Redemption¡¯s Path was created, so it¡¯s not like the Hidden situation.¡± ¡°There is another factor,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± Amdirlain bit her lip and glanced between them. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll even be able to handle the Abyss or its depths after I get free. I¡¯ll need to ensure that Baln¨¦rith and the wound are dealt with first.¡± Isa and Gail both drooped at her words, but Roher frowned. ¡°What wound?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t get that either. You dumped a lot on me, so I didn¡¯t think to ask about it,¡± added Isa. Repeating the information Custodian had shared with her had the trio bristling in concern. ¡°You¡¯re shitting me,¡± hissed Isa. ¡°Can you just tell her she¡¯s got it wrong?¡± ¡°This is Baln¨¦rith. Do you think she¡¯d even believe me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve already set someone to slow her down.¡± Grumbling in frustration, Isa shook her head. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°I sent some toys to Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother. She¡¯s currently hunting Baln¨¦rith for her enslavement,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Please stay away from Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother,¡± requested Isa. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°My main concern is what Baln¨¦rith might get up to before I¡¯m strong enough to take her out. That¡¯s why I sent her a few things to help hunt Baln¨¦rith.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get so focused on one threat you leave yourself open to another,¡± cautioned Isa. ¡°What can hurt Baln¨¦rith is also viable against you.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve got so many threats looming that I don¡¯t have time to deal with them all.¡± Her thoughts caught her in a loop, but Roher¡¯s reverent gaze disturbed her enough to break her loose. ¡°Please don¡¯t look at me that way, Roher.¡± ¡°You¡¯re the Songbird, the Titan¡¯s equal in the realm¡¯s creation,¡± declared Roher. ¡°How else am I supposed to look at you?¡± ¡°That¡¯s exactly why Orh¨ºthurin was never comfortable sharing the information. Her husband didn¡¯t react well to the knowledge; he lashed out at her and threw around accusations.¡± Isa blanched. ¡°Oh Amdirlain. What happened after that?¡± ¡°It''s why they divorced. Then he asked Orh¨ºthurin to make him forget she¡¯d ever told him and to erase his love. That broke something inside her and she eventually mauled herself. I don¡¯t know how much his reaction and later request played a part, but being rejected by one she¡¯d loved didn¡¯t help,¡± said Amdirlain. Sadness rose in Roher¡¯s gaze, and he nodded in understanding. ¡°I sometimes have nightmares about losing my wife. Too many close calls over the years trapped. Did she still love him when they parted originally?¡± ¡°She¡¯d never stopped loving him, making his requests even more painful. He asked to forget, but also to stop loving her. She had hoped that he might see things differently after he cooled down. While Orh¨ºthurin understood he didn¡¯t want to go back to living a lie, removing his love for her was a knife wound that lingered and sickened.¡± Isa tilted her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think she managed it completely; I remember him talking about her. But it makes her reluctance to talk about him understandable,¡± observed Isa. ¡°It was another thing that Mori found out of place and strange about Orh¨ºthurin. Other Anar would move between relationships, and Orh¨ºthurin, to her knowledge, had never had a second, not even a fling.¡± ¡°No, she had flings, but with aspects who had no concern for her power and who didn¡¯t expect her to stop what she was doing,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She took after her father in more ways than one.¡± ¡°Both workaholics?¡± quipped Isa. ¡°Very much so,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she smiled at Isa. ¡°How did you guess that?¡± ¡°Memories of Orh¨ºthurin and the number of stars out there. I doubt very few of them are single-planet systems,¡± Isa said. ¡°There are a few, even some with just stars alone,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and she pushed back the urge to get up and pace. The ongoing discussion pricked under her skin and stirred up discomfort. ¡°That seems odd,¡± commented Roher. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I can¡¯t remember all the reasons. It involves balancing out certain forces and experiments; sometimes the reason is a burr at the back of my mind.¡± ¡°How strong will you need to be to patch the wound?¡± asked Roher, drawing them back to Amdirlain¡¯s goals. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Your guess is as good as mine. It needs a supernova to cauterise a wound to the Far Chaos on the Material Plane. Any method of me sealing a wound in the conceptual layer of the realm will need something approaching that power.¡± ¡°Not necessarily; the supernova unleashes some of its energy across the breach,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°Try a delicate spot welding approach rather than simply fireballing the cracked bank vault until molten metal seals the fractures.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°Precision removes the necessity for brute force. Livia said Gideon had given you a list of songs. Have you been working on them further?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wound, not an object to repair. The realm is alive, so planes like the Abyss act on major events and adjust. As for Gideon¡¯s songs, some I¡¯ve used but others not directly. I¡¯ve been using lots of them in the demi-planes to implement things,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What can we do to help you?¡± asked Roher, motioning to Isa and Gail as he asked. ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly what Roher said. Is there anything we can do to help you?¡± asked Isa. Amdirlain huffed. ¡°That¡¯s not why I asked you here. I was worried and wanted to clear the air.¡± Roher smiled. ¡°If we¡¯re out of our depths let us know, but is there anything we can do to speed things up for you? If our helping wouldn¡¯t work, that¡¯s fine, but we wanted to check.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re the junior leagues, we get it,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°But is there any piece of work the plebeians can do?¡± Rolling her eyes, Amdirlain created a memory crystal and handed it to Isa. ¡°Fine, you asked. Now consider yourselves drafted; this should keep you out of trouble.¡± Isa clutched it to her chest and squealed. ¡°Do I get to make worldlings?¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t an actual word,¡± Sarah huffed. ¡°Where is Ilya? I feel that¡¯s her line.¡± ¡°She¡¯s playing guardian angel to the kids,¡± Isa advised. ¡°I told her we had secret squirrel business to discuss, and she told me to stay out of trouble. What¡¯s on the crystal, boss? There is a lot of music in here.¡± ¡°You get to make worldlings,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°It''s the songs to create the demi-plane seeds, split between Anar and L¨®m?. Send me the details of the seed¡¯s signature after you create them, and I¡¯ll work on them and link them to a training complex.¡± Isa nodded in appreciation. ¡°After you created the demi-plane for Gail, I¡¯d looked through the L¨®m? libraries and found nothing.¡± Amdirlain created a second copy and handed it to Roher. ¡°The Anar and L¨®m? were drifting apart; they only stuck together because of the extensive use of True Song Crystal. I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ll ever know how much got lost over the aeons.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°Far too much. Personal libraries would have contained many things, and she scattered many in the Abyss. Erwarth and I will work with Gail and Isa. We won¡¯t involve any others. How many cities do they have with these gods¡¯ graves?¡± ¡°Slightly over six hundred major cities whose population exceeds a half million, plus a few thousand with populations over a hundred thousand.¡± ¡°How many demi-planes will you need? Isa said you had considered creating out to fifty-odd for this city. Given the city count you mentioned, that¡¯s nearly two hundred thousand demi-planes?¡± ¡°Around that,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°The benefit of the demi-plane setup is I can extend them without having to get re-summoned to the world. So if we start with even ten or twelve per city, that creates viable training complexes. Then I can monitor them and extend those when people reach the last demi-plane.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll work towards forty-three thousand then,¡± declared Roher. Amdirlain gave him a smile of appreciation. ¡°We can¡¯t just beam them all up?¡± asked Isa. ¡°There are nearly one point two billion people on this planet,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°You want to go alien abductor on the lot?¡± Isa grinned. ¡°I just thought of something; Amdirlain¡¯s the alien in the room as far as the realm is concerned.¡± ¡°Wrong,¡± chirped Gail, and she pointed at herself. Sarah snorted. ¡°We¡¯re all alien to this world. Little Miss I¡¯m-going-to-stay-out-of-politics has taken swings at a despot; ?I¡¯d suggest the creation of the demi-planes take place elsewhere.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I am glad you all came through. And Roher, would you like me to fix your arm?¡± ¡°You can? Is it like what happened to you?¡± asked Roher. ¡°Not even close. You¡¯re Mortal, so you don¡¯t have a spiritual net. You have the chakras and meridian points to handle your body¡¯s Ki,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I destroyed my body¡¯s concept of having legs, whereas the Spell tied the temporal effect to you, so it¡¯s just a little snip.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°What do you need to do?¡± ¡°Are you going to be subtle?¡± heckled Sarah, and she set Gail giggling. ¡°Subtle? Let¡¯s not go there, but precision is a different matter,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll sever the rest and heal you up; some of it has a dimensional aspect outside of the Time Affinity.¡± ¡°Dimensional aspect?¡± asked Roher. ¡°Yep, they¡¯re related, but not quite. If you¡¯d severed it, the Anar side would have come apart. I¡¯m surprised one of you can¡¯t hear it, even if Isa¡¯s True Song wasn¡¯t strong enough to deal with it,¡± noted Amdirlain. Isa smiled. ¡°Seems you have access to some of Ori¡¯s range. We¡¯ve already dealt with all the themes I and Roher can hear.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I guess pieces of the dimensional framework were foundational parts Ori didn¡¯t want to risk sharing. While I compose the song to break it, will you tell me what happened in the tower?¡± Giving her a nod, Roher gathered his thoughts, and Amdirlain caught at his memories. 336 - For you Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Roher smiled at Amdirlain¡¯s mental touch. ¡°You can follow the memory if you¡¯d prefer.¡± Coughing, Amdirlain gave a bashful smile. ¡°Sorry, your public mind was projecting the scene as you composed yourself.¡± ¡°You spent too much time at the monastery,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°It is easier,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Roher nodded. ¡°If you would, share the memory with the others as well.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It was rude to touch your thoughts without your permission.¡± Sarah snickered. ¡°Don¡¯t give in, Roher. She¡¯s been exploiting the poor natives who can¡¯t catch her.¡± ¡°It was an unpleasant day. Not having to put it into words would do me a kind service,¡± said Roher. ¡°After all, you all deserve to know the full truth.¡± Amdirlain nodded when she felt Roher open his mind wider and freely offer the memories. * * * * * The chamber had been within the purification field for weeks, yet the lingering corruption in the stone scratched the inside of his nose. The stagnant mildew within the abyssal rot tore at the knot in Roher¡¯s stomach, and he had to push down the nausea spike. With Amdirlain¡¯s advice niggling in his mind, for the first time in aeons he stopped filtering out his brethren. The complex themes of the hundreds before the tower erupted in his mind. As he took in the mixture of their strengths and flaws, the thousands within the building added to the burden within his developed Resonance. Those within were free from stasis, but its effects still lingered on their minds and made them groggy, and already sour notes sang from some. Suspicion and concern were spiking in many, but some of that Roher attributed to them hearing the abyssal stone. Avoiding further delay, Roher teleported to where Erwarth stood before the tower door. His daughter loomed over him in full Solar form, wearing her golden armour with Amdirlain¡¯s symbol. The lit candle surrounded by the shattered chains felt significant today, yet a candle¡¯s flame is so fragile, and Roher had to take a steadying breath. For aeons he had filtered out the songs of others with all their shaded complexity; releasing the filter made them press unexpectedly. ¡°Everyone be on your guard. It seems there might be traitors within,¡± Roher repeated, despite being sure all had received the message. Erwarth sighed. ¡°I always thought my choir were the fools.¡± ¡°If there were already traitors, then all you did was deliver the instrument of oath, not set the stage,¡± Roher noted. ¡°Shall we begin? Let¡¯s take it calmly and keep an eye out for trouble. The priority is to get their majesties to destroy the instrument. We can¡¯t risk it being removed from the tower.¡± Stepping forward, Erwarth grasped the tower¡¯s outer door handles and pulled on them. They didn¡¯t shift for a moment, but with a flex of her wings showing the effort she applied, the massive doors started to move. ¡°Protected from songs and magic but not muscles,¡± murmured Erwarth as she continued to pull. Roher nodded. ¡°Be thankful the inner locks weren¡¯t in place.¡± When the doors unsealed far enough for Roher to see inside, the view matched what Resonance had shown him. The inner foyer was some thirty metres deep, with two large side doors and two doors at the chamber¡¯s rear that led to a guard station. A dozen guards were in the inner foyer; some slumped on the ground in a daze while others leaned against walls. At the door¡¯s opening, a guard pushed himself to his feet using his sheathed sword as a cane. ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± ¡°Choir Master Roher to see their majesties. We were betrayed; they need to hear what has occurred at once,¡± announced Roher. The guard worked his head from side to side, the slightest cracking easing pressure in his neck. Silent notes carried a message away even as the guard raised a hand. ¡°Wait.¡± ¡°Whoever you sent the message to might not be coherent enough to understand it,¡± cautioned Roher. ¡°Time is important.¡± Erwarth stepped into the gap and, with a burst of strength, added to the momentum of the shifting door. ¡°Listen to where you are, Amathanar. This is not normal times, and we can¡¯t wait on your chain of command.¡± ¡°How do you know who I am, Celestial?¡± ¡°I used to be Ewdil. We argued over many arcane matters,¡± stated Erwarth. ¡°Consider the folly of a Celestial in the Abyss if it wasn¡¯t vital.¡± Amathanar looked at her in confusion, his befuddled mind working to identify her old features in the giantess before him. ¡°How can you be Ewdil? I saw you leave scarcely an hour ago.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been aeons, Amathanar,¡± Erwath said gently. ¡°The tower¡¯s strongest defences were activated by it being shifted to the Abyss. Listen, and you¡¯ll hear their fading notes.¡± Amathanar tilted his head and closed his eyes to focus, the lingering effects still playing havoc on his mind. Erwarth¡¯s Angelic Aura activated, and Roher heard its energies bolster his body and mind. ¡°I¡¯ll likely get a thrashing, but if you can prove you''re Ewdil, I¡¯ll escort you through.¡± ¡°I know you enough to know we¡¯d argued in the past,¡± retorted Erwarth. ¡°All the guards have at least one Wizard Class, and wizards tend to argue,¡± countered Amathanar. ¡°And I¡¯m not at my best right now. You might have picked my name and yours from my mind.¡± ¡°If you were that vulnerable, we wouldn¡¯t need to convince you at all,¡± argued Erwarth. ¡°My name wouldn¡¯t have been on your surface thoughts despite my¡ªto you¡ªrecent visit. My visits to the tower were infrequent, and our arguments were thousands of years ago. If I could get deep enough to read rarer associations, I¡¯d be deep enough to implant instructions.¡± Amathanar inhaled to refute her statement. ¡°I want to find a hole in that logic, but-¡± ¡°The Solar Tarlangeth betrayed us and fell; the situation needs their majesties to resolve it,¡± interjected Erwarth, her tone growing firm. ¡°We were made to suffer while those in the royal tower drifted forward in time. Orh¨ºthurin reincarnated and rescued us. She didn¡¯t intrude now to avoid trouble and being overbearing. Please escort us through, Amathanar. Time could be critical.¡± Amathanar¡¯s mouth dropped, and nodding, he stepped off to one side and waved us towards the left-hand side. ¡°We¡¯ll need to go that way. The direct route is blocked, and I don¡¯t have enough access to unseal it. I can hear where we are, and the purification songs.¡± ¡°It will still likely be faster than waiting for those who can,¡± said Roher. ¡°Many minds will be suffering after being released from stasis.¡± As Amathanar guided Roher and Erwarth towards the side door, knights and choirs swept into the tower, taking the foyer¡¯s guards and those within the station into their care. The column of knights and singers marched with Amathanar, Roher, and Erwarth at its forefront through wide, curving corridors of gleaming crystal. As they passed elaborately furnished rooms, they began to evacuate the tower¡¯s inhabitants. Three double doors, slightly smaller than the outer gates, eventually let them through to the throne room. The elaborate motif of the inner door split along the curving lines of the embossed grove landscape upon it. The canopy of trees and the curvature of the ground made for jagged interlocking edges that supported the door¡¯s seal. The high vaulted ceiling of the throne room stretched out for two hundred metres, ending at a three-tiered dais upon which the royal thrones sat. Along the sides a decorative facade of columns rose between three recessed galleries. The front lip of each was in line with the outer walls of the throne room itself to allow a relatively unobstructed view of proceedings. The angle let Roher see the galleries were all empty, unlike the main floor. Even without counting the royal guards and their majesties, hundreds of people making up various choirs were spread along the main floor of the throne room. Many were dressed in attire suitable for battle, but others had dressed as if they were attending an elaborate social event despite days of battle being waged above the cities. The time it had taken them to reach the throne room had allowed many within to recover and, while the royal guards had taken up their positions, the rest were milling about like colourful flowers that had ignored the tightening grip of the Leviathan and the accompanying dragons. Around the monarchs stood a ring of knights clad head to toe in crystal armour of various hues. The royal couple wore more flexible armour¡ªcrystal plates backed with enchanted hides. The King¡¯s helm sat upon his throne, leaving his silver hair free to spill across the black shoulder guards he wore atop his crystal scale mail. When the throne room doors had opened, his emerald eyes had taken in those entering and, while he dismissed Erwarth, his gaze had fixed on Roher. Beside him Queen Sailatar, clad in green scale mail of similar make, had been sitting on a playing stool. The red floor harp before her hummed with the lingering strain of the recently supported barriers and she looked ready to recommence play. Her pale green hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, her cold, piercing blue eyes locked onto Erwarth¡¯s symbol. King Cunnion came down from the dais before the throne and raised his voice, his very tone pressing chattering groups into silence. ¡°Choir Master Roher, would you explain how the Royal Tower and we came to be in the Abyss?¡± ¡°The agreement for help from the heavens was a trap, your majesties,¡± stated Roher. ¡°I would explain further, but I would request you first annul the agreement and destroy the instrument of oath.¡± Queen Sailatar kept her fingers from the strings, but the tension humming in her wrists showed her readiness to pluck sharp notes. ¡°Given the tower¡¯s location and your entrance with a contingent of followers, we will need more information.¡± Cunnion beckoned them to come closer, and the guards about the dais stiffened. A lady with electric blue hair elaborately coiffed and wearing a matching shimmering gown stepped forward from among those closest to the dais. Roher recognised her; Lady Maelben, a city architect and a fellow Choir Master. ¡°Indeed, how are we to know that it is not your devising that has brought us here?¡± asked Lady Maelben. As she voiced her question, Erwarth strode down the throne room and radiated calming energy, clearing befuddled minds. Despite her help, many sour notes remained echoing within the room. ¡°The Solar Tarlangeth, after the agreement was activated, moved us away from the conflict. She cast the entire L¨®m? city into the Abyss; those who didn¡¯t arrive within places of familial sanctum were bound to serve her purpose per the agreement.¡± Many about the chamber hissed in disbelief, but Erwarth carried on. Roher fought through the unfiltered static to listen for those whose anger might betray a traitor but found only dismay and wounded pride amongst them. ¡°She fell for the deed, but the damage was done. Her purpose wasn¡¯t to advance an agenda of good but to advance her power. Those she caught in the oath of service, she bound into demonic shells and slowly broke, making us undertake horrendous things to corrupt our souls.¡± ¡°That¡¯s preposterous; who even is this being?¡± asked Maelben, and she waved dismissively at Erwarth as Roher took in the prideful, arrogant tone ringing through her. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°If you¡¯d truly listened to me, you¡¯d know. You once knew me as Choir Leader Ewdil, though I¡¯ve had several names inflicted on me since, and one I am now willing to use. The supposed offer of alliance was an elaborate trap to remove the L¨®m? from the realm. The agreement currently binds any L¨®m? leaving familial sanctum into the service of the Fallen Tarlangeth, who is known in present times as Lady Baln¨¦rith. She used us as pawns in a greater plan, Lady Maelben,¡± advised Erwarth. Roher motioned to Erwarth and bowed again to their majesties. ¡°My daughter and others endured much. It is from this Demon Lady¡¯s service we beg you to free our people.¡± ¡°Chancellor, bring the instrument of accord from the vault,¡± ordered King Cunnion. ¡°While it is brought, tell us more. I remember an hour of battle, and now, beyond a complex barrier, I can hear the sour horrors of the Abyss.¡± Chancellor Tanwetamo had been leaning against a pillar on the left side of the throne room not far from the dais¡¯ outer steps. He straightened and bowed at the King¡¯s instruction but wobbled and had to lean against the wall. The slowness of his movements, a burbling brook iced over by the lingering temporal stamp. ¡°My apologies, Your Majesty; I¡¯ll need more time to recover myself.¡± ¡°Might some of our guards accompany the Chancellor?¡± asked Roher. ¡°For what purpose?¡± asked Cunnion with sudden suspicion. Roher inclined his head respectfully. ¡°We believe Baln¨¦rith, or Tarlangeth as you know her, might have duped pawns still in the tower. While they might take the foulness of the surrounding Abyss to review their allegiance, I¡¯d rather be cautious.¡± Scoffing, Maelben gave a sour laugh. ¡°A likely story. Do you seek to steal something from the royal vaults? The council followed their majesties instructions to send away most of the contents, but some of the strongest artefacts of our people remain.¡± As she went to continue, Queen Sailatar raised a hand and cut Maelben off. ¡°Quiet, we will ask the initial questions. This is not a time for debate. How did you come by this information, Roher?¡± When Roher hesitated, she frowned at the lack of an immediate response. Searching for a way to cut down the complexity of the situation to speed them along, inspiration struck. Roher crossed his fingers and released O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand? from his storage device. ¡°O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?, would you speak about the direness of the situation? I need a witness against Tarlangeth, known as Baln¨¦rith.¡± O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?''s strings ran, and the thrum of his voice filled the air. ¡°Sailatar, my darling girl, it is true. The false-faced bitch betrayed the L¨®m?. Queen Gailneth and the reincarnated Orh¨ºthurin and Morivanesse have worked to rescue your people and you.¡° A gong of tension struck the royal guards as Sailatar inhaled sharply, and the harp before her on the dais disappeared into a storage stone. ¡°Oh Nand?, your melody tells me you¡¯ve aged and suffered. Was I right to send you away with the servants?¡± ¡°You were, though not all the fleet made the distant lands; the vessel I departed on was sunk by Dragon fire. Queen Gailneth retrieved me from where I¡¯d lain. I waited for aeons beneath the murk that enfolded the wreck,¡± Nand? sang. ¡°The link between us let her and Orh¨ºthurin locate where you¡¯d been hidden.¡± Sailatar stood to approach, and her knights formed a surrounding wall. Giving her another bow, Roher stepped back from Nand? to avoid obstructing the Queen or the knights. ¡°Wait, Roher, please attend us,¡± said Sailatar, and she walked towards him directly; the surrounding knights shifted their pattern, and their wave broke around Roher to shield them both. ¡°What else might I do to convince you?¡± asked Roher. Cunnion came forward from the dais to stand beside Sailatar, and his guards joined the formation of the Queen¡¯s. ¡°What is our people¡¯s plight at present?¡± ¡°We had been slowly slipping towards annihilation,¡± Roher said, the memory of the slow decay cracking his resolute tone. ¡°I thought we¡¯d be lost. We remain trapped in this foul place until your majesties could annul the agreement. Tarlangeth fulfilled the barest letter of the deal, but it was all a trap. She moved us all right onto a stage set for our destruction, which worked to torture and corrupt millions of our souls.¡° ¡°You have our thanks for your service to the people, Roher,¡± said Sailatar gently, kissing both cheeks. ¡°We shall reward your endurance.¡± ¡°All the reward I need is for our families to reach the Material Plane again,¡± replied Roher. ¡°Many did more; I speak to you today on their behalf.¡± Explosions rang out from high above, and the crystal tower rang like a bell as the wards within collapsed. ¡°Traitors?¡± hissed Cunnion. ¡°None of the new arrivals have ascended beyond this level,¡± the Captain by his side reported. His theme was flush with fury, and he stabbed fingers towards groups of guards. ¡°Seal the galleries. Let no one access them.¡± Maelben glanced up and frowned. ¡°There may be no need for such unseemly panic. The ward¡¯s keystone collapsed. If we were drifting through time, it would have been under constant stress and not repaired.¡± Guards who had stood along the pillars ignored her and teleported to the viewing galleries; once there, they immediately set to closing the doors. The first attempts at songs were murky, but they steeled themselves and began putting barriers into place, and the doorways sealed. Cunnion nodded. ¡°Thank you, Captain Thannion. Roher! Will your choirs lend the Captain aid to secure the tower?¡± ¡°Of course, your majesty. Today¡¯s events took turns we didn¡¯t expect, but more are on the way,¡± replied Roher. Violent notes screamed from the tower¡¯s heights and on the floors below, the sharp notes of sudden deaths enfolding scores. Sailatar shot a tired look at Maelben. ¡°I don¡¯t believe those songs are from the wards; they don¡¯t put barriers through people.¡± More notes clamoured, and arcane blasts joined protective songs in the heights and depths; klaxon songs of arcane formations filled with Primordial Mana ripped lives apart. ¡°More than a few traitors,¡± whispered Sailatar, her gaze growing colder with contained fury. ¡°What songs to use? My thoughts move like thickened tree sap.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Cunnion breathed. Roher listened, and his stomach twisted at the fragments that made it through the murky noise he battled. ¡°Pride, slighted pride.¡± Cunnion flinched, and his mouth twisted in disbelief. ¡°Would any undertake such action for failed ambition?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin believes Baln¨¦rith¡ªsorry, I¡¯ll try to use Tarlangeth¡ªspent aeons seeding arrogance and pride in the fertile soil of our species,¡± replied Erwarth. ¡°She¡¯s profited much during her time in the Abyss using others¡¯ pride against them.¡± Mocking laughter erupted from Maelben. ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from that murderous bitch.¡± ¡°Do not speak about the Lady of Dawn in such a fashion again. I don¡¯t care if you believe the tales,¡± growled Erwarth warningly. ¡°We¡¯d all be lost, and she¡¯s suffered so much since she¡¯s been reincarnated.¡± ¡°I can hear your pitiful strength, Ewdil,¡± warned Maelben. ¡°I will crush you like a bug if you try to chastise me again; you¡¯re only a fledgling Solar now.¡± ¡°Be quiet!¡± snarled Sailatar as more explosions echoed through the tower. ¡°The next person to speak without our permission or to disregard the Captain¡¯s orders, I¡¯ll assume is a traitor.¡± ¡°Captain, have trusted knights secure the Chancellor¡¯s route to the vault. Let them know trusted guests are escorting him,¡± instructed Cunnion. The King rounded on the Chancellor. ¡°Retrieve the instrument of the accord at once. You may send who you wish to be beside him, Roher.¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± said Sailatar. "I''m sorry, Tanwetamo, we need to act. If you¡¯re still unsteady; we¡¯ll need someone to carry you.¡± Tanwetamo shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I feel so off, Your Majesty. I¡¯m the only other senior member of the royal council here. The vault wards are separate from the tower¡¯s protections. Carry me if you must, Erwarth; I remember you as Ewdil and would trust your arms.¡± Erwarth moved beside the Chancellor and ushered him towards the side door with a dozen knights in tow, her aura reacting to his flesh. ¡°Sorry, Your Majesty, Tanwetamo¡¯s been poisoned. May I clear the injury?¡± Tanwetamo nodded his permission, and Sailatar, her eyes widening, swallowed. ¡°Please!¡± Against the background of the Abyss, Roher caught a delicate sourness of a strange poison tearing into his mind. The words of liquid Blessing spilling from Erwarth¡¯s lips were in the Celestial tongue, but their meaning evaporated in the listener¡¯s mind as they carried the energy into Tanwetamo. Before the Blessing had finished, the colour had returned to his cheeks, and Tanwetamo straightened, but his gaze still seemed worse for wear. Erwarth shrank to her elven shape and, slipping his arm about her shoulder, started him towards the door. Knights accompanying them had already moved through with their weapons drawn and protective songs rippling about them. Thannion motioned to guards on the boundary when they were through the door, a pair sealed the side door tight while others started warding the chamber. ¡°She waited until the oath instrument was sealed away,¡± murmured Roher. ¡°Word came that rescue would take time to achieve, and the ritual would need agreement in advance,¡± said Cunnion. Roher caught the edge of the silent songs building within the King. ¡°I thought you only signed the instrument once Orh¨ºthurin fell to Levitahan the first time,¡± replied Roher. Cunnion shook his head. ¡°Our enemies had already shown they were more powerful than expected. We had thought we were gaining allies to keep our peoples safe.¡± An explosion detonated floors above the throne room, and the peals of dozens of deaths responded. Sailatar screamed. ¡°C¨ªraglar!¡± Roher flinched at the sorrow in her voice, having also caught her son¡¯s death. Cunnion unleashed a score of barriers, copying earlier attacks to slay his son¡¯s murderers. He immediately started building a new set of silent songs. Songs from Thannion sent dozens of messages out, and ten figures in the armour of royal knights appeared upon the room''s boundary. A second group arrived, comprised of fifty palace soldiers filled with soured pride notes and malicious themes, and Roher sang as danger scuttled across his skin. Three of the closest soldiers slapped their shields as the Spell they triggered blasted along the lines of knights who had begun securing the room. The blast didn¡¯t kill them, but it slammed them from their feet, breaking their focus and the wards they¡¯d barely started collapsed. An eruption of Spell and themes struck against Roher¡¯s barrier, but his long practice shrugged off what had flattened other knights and sent it into the air. Sailatar turned towards the harp on the dais, but Roher pointed her towards O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?. The threads of thousands of themes tried to tear down his barrier. ¡°They¡¯re a harp of life,¡± countered Sailatar. ¡°You¡¯d have to exit my barrier; heal the injured,¡± instructed Roher as more explosions filled the chamber. The others that had accompanied Roher struck with quick themes that shackled the palace soldiers and started to quell the fighting. A fractured theme came from beyond the throne room¡¯s wall, and a section of indestructible crystal was cast forward in time. The blast cut a diagonal through the hall, leaving the dais untouched; it swept past groups that the royal knights had sheltered on the dais, only to strike others still moving to safety. Roher saw the side of Maelben¡¯s dress evaporate into dust before she burst apart, large swaths of skin, flesh, and bone disappearing in bursts of light, their song just vanishing like the crystal¡¯s tune. Behind the flash of light, two figures pointed staves and a fresh wave unleashed towards Roher as Primordial explosions battered his barrier. Squinting against the barrage of brilliance, Sailatar grabbed O¨ªr? Coivi? Nand?, and a liquid run of sound invoked a melody of twisted life that shrugged aside an attacker¡¯s protections. Spurs of bone from breaks and long-finished growth erupted in all directions, piercing organs and squashing their brain as their skulls¡¯ plates shifted and experienced destructive stresses. Stepping forward, Cunnion raised a hand to shield his eyes and sent panes of force through the dispersing dust cloud of the dead in a battering ram of destruction. The staff wielders and soldiers in the room beyond were pulped against the back wall. Activating Mana Sense showed Roher the energies lingering in the air. ¡°A temporal Spell, we need an Anar to counter it fully,¡± gasped Cunnion. ¡°I caught part of the theme. I hope I can block another occurrence without breaking our side,¡± Roher said. As Roher spoke, new melodies arrived, and he turned towards the opposite wall, adjusting his protective melody to attempt to shed all Mana, regardless of Affinity, upwards. Then Cunnion jumped forward between the Queen and the wall. He had a fresh tune of force upon his lips even as the Queen started a song aimed towards the new arrivals. In a burst of light, they died together. The Spell left enough to create dust but sprayed pieces of them forward with different velocities. The swathes of Roher¡¯s barrier that had shed Primordial forces were shifted into the future, and he flinched away from the light. Agony ripped up his arm as he turned to dive away; a pulse of blood from the stump burst into dust, the lingering effect cast ahead its water molecules. Before he hit the ground, a knight swept them both to safety as singers unleashed crushing force. The knight''s melody to seal the wound failed, and he clamped a band of force higher up Roher¡¯s arm as the Spell¡¯s effect ended. They looked at each other in shock when they heard their oath of loyalty to the royal family cracking and failing. * * * * * Amdirlain, sensing the pain that lay beyond that moment, stopped sharing the memory. ¡°The rest of what I have is hearsay,¡± advised Roher. ¡°Don¡¯t blame yourself. The King was trying to protect his wife, not you,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯d been even centimetres closer to the wall, the Spell would have carved into your side, and you¡¯d have died as well.¡± ¡°He got between me and that Spell. While it might have a set range, it might have operated off a mass limit instead. If it was the latter, he saved my life. I don¡¯t know, as we never found the grimoire.¡± ¡°They must have thought the King and Queen were still on the dais,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Or the traitors didn¡¯t know their son had died minutes before,¡± countered Roher. ¡°Or not counted on it breaking the oath to Baln¨¦rith. We didn¡¯t grant any of them mercy to ask.¡± ¡°That was one heck of a barrier breaker,¡± murmured Sarah. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°If the traitors didn¡¯t intervene, the oath would likely have been broken without the death of the royal line. The royal line had endured unbroken through direct children since its formation. We''re lucky in that their deaths might have prevented the oath to Baln¨¦rith from ever being annulled. After all, some oaths keep their power beyond death and are why some undead rise even when the swearer and focus are dead. However, it tells us nothing about what the traitors thought they stood to gain by serving Baln¨¦rith.¡± ¡°Perhaps to regain their former strength outside the realm?¡± suggested Roher. Amdirlain winced. 337 - Dream girl Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Ultimately, Amdirlain had to break the curse and trim Roher¡¯s arm to the shoulder socket. Having already blocked his sense of pain before they started, she started regrowing his arm using Universal Life. The gold light shining through her flesh had Roher looking at her with an uncomfortable mix of reverent awe and compassion. ¡°Please stop,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to pry,¡± apologised Roher. Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Pry about what?¡± Roher blinked. ¡°Your Soul¡¯s song.¡± Laughing, Amdirlain continued healing his arm. ¡°I told you to listen to other people¡¯s songs. I can hardly blame you for that.¡± Roher¡¯s brow furrowed in confusion. ¡°Then why did you tell me to stop?¡± ¡°The look in your eyes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Relax, Roher. I¡¯m confident Auntie Am will find a way to heal herself, though her being bashful is cute,¡± declared Gail, as her tail swished happily. Sarah snorted. ¡°You should have seen her with her early fans.¡± ¡°Hush,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°No, I must know more,¡± protested Gail, and she clutched at Sarah¡¯s hand, her eyes wide with playful excitement. ¡°Please tell me more. I¡¯ll sing you up a hundred ingots of mithril for some Aunt Am stories.¡± Her attempts to lighten the room¡¯s mood had Amdirlain growling playfully. ¡°Three hundred to not.¡± ¡°One hundred a year,¡± countered Gail. ¡°I like this bidding, even if you¡¯re both being cheap,¡± laughed Sarah as she sent Gail dozens of images of Am posing awkwardly for admirers at a signing. Despite keeping Universal Life active, Amdirlain yelped. ¡°SARAH!¡± Sarah and Gail both burst out laughing. ¡°You looked so flustered and cute,¡± squealed Gail, and she clapped excitedly. ¡°That¡¯s because of how Femme Fatale made some of those fans react,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°No, it¡¯s just because you make such a cute cat girl,¡± reported Sarah. ¡°Your ears are still so expressive, and your tail swishing in those early days was more adorable than a new hatchling.¡± Gail gave a cheerful nod of approval. ¡°So cute. It is a challenge taking on the form of some species, to adjust to their body language. I''ve found Aquatic species to be difficult. Visiting the Merfolk along the peninsula was something else.¡± Turning to Isa, Gail smiled at her distracted gaze. ¡°Do you want a copy?¡± asked Amdirlain, though she didn¡¯t take her attention from Roher¡¯s arm. ¡°Of course,¡± replied Gail, and she beat Amdirlain to singing a duplicate crystal and bounced it on her palm. ¡°You¡¯re too used to doing things for others; some of us can do things for ourselves.¡± Sarah¡¯s tail thumped against the couch. ¡°It will be less hair-raising for the people of Sanctuary¡¯s Cove for you to be here for a time.¡± ¡°Gaius is still there teaching,¡± Gail advised softly. ¡°And?¡± asked Sarah, her ears twitching in confusion. ¡°I know you¡¯ve gone your separate ways, but I thought you should know. You know, in case you dropped by,¡± advised Gail. Sarah patted her hand reassuringly. ¡°You repaid a lot of the debt I felt I owed him. We¡¯re friends, and we had fun. Guilt and longing for what might have been isn¡¯t a healthy starting point for a relationship. Plus, he¡¯s far too attached to life as a Human. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll find more than a few ladies who will happily get involved with your Master Artificer.¡± ¡°Not like I can tell where you¡¯re at; your theme¡¯s impossible to grasp properly,¡± huffed Gail, and her ears dropped dramatically. ¡°At least that is explained fully now.¡± ¡°Not quite in full. I still don¡¯t know how Ori did it,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, poor baby,¡± laughed Sarah. Glancing between them, Gail smiled. ¡°At least you have each other¡¯s backs.¡± ¡°I think we need to show you on your way,¡± grumbled Sarah. Pouting, Gail¡¯s shoulders slumped, and she sniffled theatrically. ¡°I wasn¡¯t poking my nose into your business. Don¡¯t be mean to me.¡± ¡°We can¡¯t let you always have your way,¡± Sarah retorted and waved a reproving finger. ¡°You might get-¡± Gail sniffed and raised her hands in surrender. ¡°Okay, sorry.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t intending to embarrass you, even if I have plenty of ammunition,¡± stated Sarah, and she patted Gail¡¯s ears reassuringly. ¡°Did you want to stick around for long? Look at what you¡¯ll have to endure,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°For at least a little while. Can we sing at a club or something with you, Auntie Am?¡± asked Gail, perking straight up. Amdirlain blinked in surprise at her sudden reversal. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve done some performances at town festivals, but never at something like the clubs here. It looks like fun,¡± enthused Gail. ¡°Any reason?¡± asked Amdirlain. Gail shrugged. ¡°Does there have to be a reason besides entertaining others?¡± ¡°Bringing enjoyment to others has an attraction of its own,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Spreading her arms wide, Gail grinned. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to get the Matriarch worried? More of those from that sinner''s pride around; oh the pain.¡± A growl rumbled in the back of Amdirlain¡¯s throat. ¡°Poking that despot is going to be extending my public time here. Ssa¡¯time filled me in on how controlling she is of others¡¯ lives.¡± ¡°How about the three of us drive them crazy?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Four,¡± corrected Roher. The ladies all looked at Roher, and he gave a crooked smile. ¡°It has been a while since I sang purely for pleasure.¡± ¡°Jan¡¯era will have a fit,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Maybe give her advance notice and let her sort out the venue?¡± ¡°Where is the spontaneous fun in that?¡± huffed Gail. Amdirlain nodded towards Sarah. ¡°Sarah¡¯s right, we should do it properly. A short impromptu performance is one thing; a planned event is different, so I¡¯ll let Jan¡¯era know and see what she can arrange.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine since I¡¯m not hearing a no,¡± cheered Gail. ¡°You are indeed not hearing a no,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps review the songs for the demi-planes. I¡¯ll drop Jan¡¯era a note and see what she can line up for a chance to have fun.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to decide what we sing,¡± noted Roher. ¡°Why decide?¡± asked Isa. ¡°One of us pick a starting point and see what vocalisations we can weave.¡± ¡°Going to decide who starts randomly?¡± asked Sarah. Isa smiled. ¡°It¡¯s Amdirlain¡¯s playing field; the rest of us are guests. Is it alright if we decide the order we join in randomly?¡± Wiggling with excitement, Gail nodded. ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.¡± With the nails of Roher¡¯s fingers restored, the last of the glow faded from Amdirlain¡¯s hands. ¡°All done. I¡¯ll contact Jan¡¯era, and then we can experiment before tonight.¡± [Universal Life [S] (111->112)] Gail perked up further. ¡°I¡¯m so excited.¡± * * * * * A couple of hours later, the studio they arrived at was the same one Al¡¯stri typically used, but Amdirlain was well aware it wasn¡¯t his standard show time. Their afternoon arrival would have the show air immediately after the news rather than in the later entertainment slot. That was if it were the usual preparation time, not something fast-tracked like the whole arrangement. Introducing themselves with aliases, one of Kal¡¯strum¡¯s assistants showed the four of them through to dressing rooms and, in hers, Amdirlain found one of her more sedate outfits. The dark blue body suit was nearly the colour of her fur, with silver threads shot through it. Kal¡¯strum and Jan¡¯era were waiting in the corridor when Amdirlain emerged. After exchanging greetings, Jan¡¯era smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°I thought you told me you¡¯d retired.¡± ¡°I might have been a little premature in that declaration to you; however, there won¡¯t be any tours. I¡¯ll just be recording traces and smaller shows,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You made that clear on the link,¡± nodded Jan¡¯era. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter the size of the shows you want to put on. Being around will help us support the smaller acts you want to sponsor.¡± ¡°You said it¡¯s a special show. What¡¯s on the agenda tonight?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kal¡¯strum motioned them to move along as she explained. ¡°A panel for public reassurance. We¡¯ve got military talking heads, patron interests, and various folks wanting to discuss the training complexes and impacts on expeditions.¡± ¡°I doubt they¡¯re going away,¡± commented Amdirlain, and she took in some familiar tunes in other dressing rooms. Kal¡¯strum smiled. ¡°Some people like to air their theories. I understand that a few of the cities where complexes recently appeared are a little jittery, so the patrons sponsored this panel. Some of it will be a friendly debate while we try to entice people to think and then insert a few facts.¡± ¡°So we¡¯re to draw the audience in and keep them for the panel?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jan¡¯era nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the goal.¡± ¡°You could have just told me that in advance,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°This isn¡¯t Al¡¯stri¡¯s usual light-heartedness.¡± ¡°Special show for him as well. We¡¯re looking to branch out,¡± explained Kal¡¯strum. ¡°I only got the full details after you arrived,¡± grumbled Jan¡¯era. ¡°We were still confirming guests. I¡¯m just glad you were available; it let us get others into the studio that were fence-sitting,¡± grumbled Kal¡¯strum. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll tell the others not to get too wild then,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Are you sure they¡¯re up to the challenge?¡± asked Kal¡¯strum. ¡°Gail looks a little too excitable with big city eyes going on.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be fine. She¡¯s just having fun,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going to pull any more surprises in your not-retirement?¡± asked Jan¡¯era. ¡°Absolutely,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Just vocalisations tonight, right? We¡¯re not igniting a political battlefront?¡± asked Jan¡¯era. ¡°We¡¯re just going to have a little fun,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°After the mall, that¡¯s what I¡¯m afraid of,¡± huffed Jan¡¯era. ¡°Feel free to let loose with the salvos; it would be great for ratings after word of mouth about the mall,¡± laughed Kal¡¯strum. Amdirlain caught the signal from the stagehand waiting with the others, and she practically skipped down the corridor and gave Roher a wink. ¡°Fancy seeing you here.¡± ¡°So, what theme are we going for?¡± asked Roher. ¡°There is a panel after us. Let¡¯s go with battling the undead; make people consider the stakes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Then cheer them up afterwards.¡± ¡°Break a leg,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°The show must go on,¡± cheered Gail, and she moved to follow Amdirlain through the door. Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! The stagehand just inside provided last-minute direction. With the four of them singing, the producer had opted for boom microphones instead of clipping anything to their clothing or having them hold them in their hands. The overhead lighting washed across her outfit, sparkling off the silver threads. Gail and Isa followed together, and Roher brought up the rear, his blond-furred disguise coping with the lights and the caster¡¯s attention. A Fallen enters a bar, followed by an Angel and two ageless elves. What¡¯s the punchline? Amdirlain let out the eerie undertone of the ghost caverns and almost had the audience¡¯s fur standing on end. As the audiences'' heart rates spiked, Isa brought in the sharp cutting notes of a flurry of projector bolts, and quickly, their themes entwined, depicting a battle wholly joined. Gail added a more menacing tone, interweaving melodies of fire wraiths, among other undead. The battle raged in ebbs and flows before Roher brought the dawn¡¯s principal theme. His choice of interplay left Amdirlain having to restrain her twitches of amusement. Within the dawn¡¯s theme came uplifting strains full of determination and endurance, pushing the grim music back. Slowly Gail and then Amdirlain let their grim tones fade. The ebb of their music became eerie notes that signalled danger chased beneath the earth, sealed away but potentially to come again. The next song started with bright, merry notes, switching between Amdirlain and Isa to convey playfulness. Their interchange wrestled and squirmed in a give-and-take between the singers. The contrast with the early grim battle made the cheerfulness that much brighter. Gail added giggling notes among the playful cheer, with Roher¡¯s theme of safety carrying his love for his children and the value of family. The performance lasted almost an hour and when it ended, the rune lights on the microphones faded and the studio switched to the first advertisement. Kal¡¯strum came striding onto the sound stage, shaking hands and brushing cheeks. ¡°I could almost see a tale being told before my eyes,¡± gushed Kal¡¯strum, and she turned her gaze on Roher with the acquisitive gleam of a collector. ¡°Rohmistra, will you be staying in Osaphis long? I¡¯d love to have you appear on our regular shows; your pride must have some interesting talents amongst them.¡± She likes to collect male guests to turn the playbook around on Al¡¯stri. Roher carefully shook his head. ¡°I only came to visit Am and celebrate her success after all the news others had shared. Gail wanted to have fun singing together, but this was a once-off event. I¡¯ve got a mate and children waiting at home.¡± Kal¡¯strum huffed sadly, but she nodded her understanding. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll all be staying to listen to the panel on the training complexes and recent events.¡± ¡°So you want us to wrap up the show?¡± ¡°A small encore?¡± proposed Kal¡¯strum. ¡°This has been hastily arranged.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ve got a few new songs to sing. Do we get seats or stand in the wings?¡± Her eyes lit with glee, and Kal¡¯strum¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°More of those political songs, I hope. We¡¯ve got seats for you, just not on the stage this time, Am.¡± The seating Kal¡¯strum escorted them to was in the front row but off to one side, where they found Sarah waiting with studio security stationed nearby. ¡°You might have told Jan¡¯era to dial back your security, but I¡¯ve got our reputation to consider if you¡¯re hurt,¡± said Kal¡¯strum. ¡°Fine, I can understand the concern,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and she greeted those in the nearby seats and took her place. * * * * * The first panel members were high-ranking in the city¡¯s hierarchy, so the last would have been a surprise if Amdirlain hadn¡¯t heard her arrive. Wha¡¯sin looked relaxed as she came on stage to take her place on the panel. ¡°Thank you for joining us, Commander Wha¡¯sin,¡± offered Al¡¯stri, and he offered her his trademark flirting smile. Nodding, Wha¡¯sin¡¯s smile was more diplomatic and reserved. ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to be here.¡± ¡°For those unfamiliar with the Commander¡¯s reputation, she¡¯s a decorated military officer, having survived participation in two strikes against spawning abominations. During her time with the law keepers she handled a range of multi-city investigations and led cooperative task forces to track down undead and investigate magical events. She also has first-hand insights into the lakefront incident,¡± announced Al¡¯stri. ¡°That perhaps drew the creator of the training complexes¡¯ attention to her, as she was provided the original version of the question spheres by the mysterious cabal.¡± ¡®They¡¯re making that the official line. Do I regain my subtle points?¡¯ Amdirlain enquired mentally, giving Sarah pleading kitten eyes. Sarah snorted. ¡®They get diplomatic points, you get zip.¡¯ As soon as she was done acknowledging the studio¡¯s welcome, Al¡¯stri turned his attention to the four other guests on stage. Tal¡¯noc of Manarein pride was the current Commander of the military base. Though mostly covered in dark blue fur, his lower muzzle looked nearly black in direct sunlight when it was an earthen brown. He was lean with whipcord muscles and in a neatly pressed grey military uniform. He was recently promoted, and despite his high levels, he had yet to take any Prestige Class. Though Amdirlain noted his Class levels were all getting towards a certain height, he¡¯d likely be well past ninety before the next spawning abomination arose. The patron council representative was Ea¡¯riln of Spellclash pride, his family¡¯s involvement in the strange matters had temporarily dropped a cloud over his political plans. He wore customary Wizard half robes in red and metallic silver, cinched at the waist with a grey belt that showed his battalion¡¯s military service. The city¡¯s chief economist and head of the reserve was Mon¡¯tra of Goldgrain pride. She was a delicate and precise individual with amber-honey fur and an upper muzzle dusted with dark spots that reached just beneath her eyes, making it look like she had freckles. Her attire was rather severe, with a black-on-black layered suit with three gold threads at the collar curled in the shape of the local grain. Head of the vehicle manufacturing conglomerate was Ril¡¯tres of Brightsteel pride. His tuxedo-fur coat was a reverse of black on white. It had provided him with a black pirate patch around his left eye, that added to his roguish air. His muscular shoulders were barely constrained by the tan and grey shirt he wore, but the tailoring avoided any bunching despite the difficulty. ¡°Commander Wha¡¯sin, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve been asked this too many times to count, but what brought you back into the cavern as part of the third battalion to be sent in? You were second in charge of the first battalion, and your people had already paid a heavy price. Hadn¡¯t you done enough for the city?¡± ¡°Can we ever do enough for the city? Many units take the same approach as the battalion I was part of¡ªif we can fight a bit longer, maybe we can save dozens of others,¡± countered Wha¡¯sin. Wha¡¯sin''s gaze darkened, and Tal¡¯noc, seeing it, stepped in. ¡°Switching between strike battalions takes time, and with the route changing, having members from the prior strike force returning speeds up the process. It is purely voluntary given the miasma in the place, and no one can tell how much exposure will injure an individual.¡± ¡°The mortality rate of the first battalion was over ninety per cent; there weren¡¯t many fit to volunteer. With twelve hundred soldiers needing a guide, I offered to help, and after five days of constant fighting, just under five hundred wounded returned.¡± ¡°Was that when you lost your left arm?¡± asked Al¡¯stri. ¡°I had already lost an arm and later suffered extensive organ damage, yet I was still one of the lucky ones,¡± replied Wha¡¯sin. Al¡¯stri frowned to play his part. ¡°Did the medical area come under attack?¡± Wha¡¯sin smiled. ¡°No, Al¡¯stri. Why would I stay in the medical area when I can cast spells without an arm? The organ damage came after I returned to the fighting.¡± ¡°I believe your pride paid a steep price during those expeditions,¡± said Al¡¯stri. ¡°We lost four members in the fighting. My mate returned to guide the third battalion, and they finished it off. The civilian price was worse in the twenty days before confirming manifestation; it had released fourteen million spectres that collapsed a section of the city¡¯s grid.¡± ¡°The service of prides such as Commander Wha¡¯sin¡¯s is the backbone of the military,¡± Tal¡¯noc said. ¡°The most recent strike battalions endured similar casualties five years ago. Whatever group is responsible for the training complexes, their availability has put us ahead of the curve for training new personnel. We¡¯ve been rotating troops from other cities that expect to see a manifestation soon.¡± ¡°Was it lessons from the previous fighting that allowed us to avoid any grid collapses during the most recent appearance?¡± asked Al¡¯stri. ¡°If I may,¡± Mon¡¯tra interjected. ¡°The city determined there were slightly over eighty trillion Mana credits injected into the grid at the peak strain of the assault. We¡¯ve not determined who provided all the Mana.¡± Ea¡¯riln coughed. ¡°That¡¯s pure speculation. Some areas had malfunctions in their tracking mechanisms.¡± ¡°Some of their tracking mechanisms,¡± corrected Mon¡¯tra sternly. ¡°They don¡¯t show full energy costs. However, stress counters were in the range that we should have seen cascading spikes in mana consumption through primary and second nodes.¡± Al¡¯stri smoothly interjected. ¡°It¡¯s a fascinating topic, and I¡¯ll see if we can host a technical forum to review it. Commander Tal¡¯noc, aside from the troop preparations, have the training facilities provided any other assistance to the city?¡± Tal¡¯noc laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure where to start. Since my list is rather extensive, what would you like to cover first?¡± ¡°What about equipment? While certainly there is a surplus of mithril, I¡¯m knowledgeable enough to know you need more than metal,¡± offered Al¡¯stri. ¡°The military and civilian gathering teams have brought in more materials than the local artificers and alchemists can currently use to replace our gear,¡± Tal¡¯noc said, and his undertone had Mon¡¯tra and Ril¡¯tres twitching their ears sharply. Mon¡¯tra cut in. ¡°I think the key word there is ¡®local¡¯, and there is plenty of time for them to restore the complete complement of military equipment before it is needed.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been asking the Triumvirate Campus to explain the reduction of student positions in those fields,¡± replied Ril¡¯tres. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt to stockpile the materials, as we¡¯ll have all the required armaments produced in time.¡± ¡°The campus facilities have suffered from the disappearance of several professors,¡± replied Ea¡¯riln. ¡°At present, we believe they were among those drawn into the foundation cult whose members the cabal purged.¡± Al¡¯stri nodded, though Amdirlain caught he¡¯d have preferred to tackle the topic later. ¡°Many rumours have spread about the age-reversed individuals with wiped memories. Even an explosion that damaged printing equipment has been credited to the cabal that opened the training centre. What¡¯s the law keepers¡¯ view on this matter?¡± ¡®They¡¯re pushing the cabal theory,¡¯ noted Sarah, and she sent an image of dozens of Amdirlain¡¯s pacing around a circle chanting for kitty treats. ¡°It is concerning that people have been attacked and altered, but investigation into known associates and shifts in patterns of behaviour have turned up a cult that has hidden itself in the city for over three centuries. The age of the illegal wards, ritual sacrifice circles, and religious indoctrination show decades of covert activity. The tribunal¡¯s position is that we would have suffered far greater city disruption if the group had continued to grow,¡± stated Wha¡¯sin. ¡°With all the chaos, how does the tribunal see it in that light?" asked Mon¡¯tra, her words slightly stilted as if reading a question someone had forced on her. ¡°The official law keepers¡¯ investigation concluded that the cabal shut down the restoration of worship involving a particularly foul dark power. They referred to it¡ªbefore their dramatic display¡ªas an infection. What greater danger could they be talking about than the return of the gods?¡± asked Wha¡¯sin. Ea¡¯riln nodded. ¡°Indeed, the cult was trying to restore the worship of old powers; it¡¯s no wonder the cabal called the memories they purged an infection.¡± Mirroring his body language, Al¡¯stri nodded. ¡°Rumours have come thick and fast about the state of the religion involved. Is there anything else in that space that the patron council would like shared with the viewers?¡± ¡°Official investigations continue, and the outcome will be made public. My pride was appalled by the early revelations of those we believed to be upstanding community members involved in such a sickening endeavour,¡± replied Ea¡¯riln. Mon¡¯tra nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not sure any of us will ever get all the answers, but it¡¯s clear to my pride that whatever Wizard cabal has been working behind the scenes has done us a service.¡± ¡°We¡¯d have to agree wholeheartedly,¡± said Ea¡¯riln. ¡°Are we sure they¡¯re wizards?¡± asked Al¡¯stri. ¡°Many say their displays are impossible for our magic to perform.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got the latest information on their biggest displays to share. Recently, researchers have figured out how to move such a large mass into the sky. The mithril put in place likely had been enchanted, and the effort burnt out the enchantments,¡± said Ril¡¯tres. ¡®Where and when did they get that idea?¡¯ queried Sarah. ¡®He¡¯s got all happy vibes about spreading the news but no details.¡¯ ¡®I caught them using a temporal detection Spell last month. No big deal, it picked up the gravity sheer effects I had on the leading end of the mithril,¡¯ replied Amdirlain. ¡®That leap of logic let them stumble onto a comfortable theory they¡¯re researching. They¡¯re trying to figure out how to improve airships. If it comes your way, try to help them stay inside the atmosphere.¡¯ ¡°But where would they have gotten that amount of mithril?¡± asked Al¡¯stri. ¡°There are two working theories for that,¡± replied Ea¡¯riln. ¡°The first is that the mythical dwarves might be the parties behind this. Second, the group has accessed the Elemental Plane of Earth or somewhere further afield. The second theory has the strongest support among those investigating, given the planar regions making up the training complexes to which they¡¯ve provided access.¡± ¡°Not just wizards; we¡¯ve evidence there are skilled artificers involved as well,¡± Ril¡¯tres declared, warming to the subject, he rushed on. ¡°We continually turn up enchanted elements within the training complexes, showing high arcane sophistication, but nothing has shown traces of divine energies. Many are variations on what we have done, but with clear efficiencies we can learn. It¡¯s clear they think in similar ways with similar issues.¡± ¡°What sort of issues?¡± asked Al¡¯stri, getting him to pause for a breath. Ril¡¯tres coughed as he realised he¡¯d gone off the scripted topics. ¡°A portable toilet and washroom for camping was found recently; it expands from a plate the size of my hand to a washroom you¡¯d find in a luxury hotel. Pretty sure only a Mortal being worries about scat.¡± The audience laughed, and Al¡¯stri tilted his head, twitching his tail to mirror the live audience¡¯s curiosity. ¡°But there are so many items showing up; can we be sure?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve found no traces of the divine energies like those within old relics,¡± confirmed Ril¡¯tres. ¡°We¡¯ve been learning how the aspects that were unclear at first work.¡± With the topic back under control, Al¡¯stri perked up, mirroring the audience¡¯s interest. ¡°Do you have an example that you can share?¡± ¡°Take the clear faux-glass spires many teams used to access the training complex. At first, we didn¡¯t know how they worked. Only last month, researchers found a dimensional rift enchantment embedded in them. Our researchers took the time to learn how the runes were so deeply inserted, leaving only mana impressions. Tests show the approach will increase equipment durability,¡± Ril¡¯tres gushed. ¡®A deep insertion.¡¯ snickered Sarah mentally. ¡®Next thing, they¡¯ll be offering you fan service.¡¯ ¡®Hush you or I¡¯ll put you deep in a dangerous demi-plane,¡¯ grumbled Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s mental laughter warmed the link. ¡®Tsk, rewarding bad behaviour.¡¯ ¡°It uses runes found in ancient Artificer writings but whose purpose and empowerment weren¡¯t known. It¡¯s clearly the work of a society that knows things we¡¯ve lost during either one of the fallen cities, or even before gods¡¯ graves.¡± As the panel discussion went on, Amdirlain warned Sarah about the teams approaching the studio. ¡°I¡¯m going to the washroom,¡± whispered Sarah, and she slipped from her chair towards the studio¡¯s side door. ¡®What, you want to stop being subtle as well?¡¯ ¡®Pfft,¡¯ retorted Sarah. Sarah didn¡¯t go to the lobby; she waited in the lady¡¯s washroom on the floor above. The vehicles that pulled into the studio¡¯s parking lot disgorged multiple contingents of enforcers. When those securing the sides and rear were in position, the main attackers headed in. The security guards at the front desk were mainly there to keep things orderly when the audience and guests arrived, but they were still armed. Seeing the energy projectors already in the hands of the ten enforcers that swept into the building, they went for their own. One guard fired first and drove a pair of enforcers into cover as the rest opened fire. Sarah¡¯s drones dropped from the ceiling and raised a shimmering barrier. The projector bolts crossing through it had most of their strength quashed. ¡°Enforcers; sit, stay, beg, or be dead.¡± As the drones snuffed more weapon fire from the Matriarch¡¯s enforcers, a flurry of bolts struck the ground beside them, but they continued attacking. Sarah¡¯s disguised voice growled again. ¡°You choosing to die?¡± Positioned on the floor above, her Dragon Fear rampaged downwards into the foyer and smashed into the enforcers. Two attackers dropped to their knees, their weapons falling from their hands as they clutched at their heads. Their leader started an Acid Storm Spell, only for a drone to spin forward at near-supersonic speeds. His energy wards and other protections were set up to block magical effects, not excessive brute force. Others turned to run and, fleeing from their cover, were struck by the guards¡¯ return fire. Their high levels allowed them to soak up the damage until more drones thinned into discs, firing themselves at hypervelocity, severing limbs and decapitating those who hadn¡¯t dropped their weapons. The enforcers alongside the building died before all the drones vanished. ¡®Hello? How was that subtle?¡¯ asked Amdirlain. ¡®Who me? I didn¡¯t do a thing. Tasty experience; they had their chance,¡¯ Sarah offered through the mental link. ¡®Really?¡¯ Sarah sent her a Chesire grin. ¡®My choice.¡¯ ¡®You know, with all the exits currently crime scenes, I¡¯m going to have to perform a longer encore.¡¯ ¡®I can tell how much that pains you,¡¯ replied Sarah. ¡®You going to beam up fifty-eight million people from the Matriarch¡¯s domain?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll get started on planning a hollow earth demi-plane and how to steal those that don¡¯t want to be there. What you do is up to you.¡¯ replied Amdirlain as she considered the research work ahead. ¡®That Wizard¡¯s Spell was going to fill the corridors.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, they don¡¯t care who dies.¡¯ growled Amdirlain. 338 - Truth Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Amdirlain sang multiple encores to entertain the audience caught up in the law keepers¡¯ investigation, which kept them there for hours. When they returned to the apartment, Gail gave Amdirlain an edged smile. ¡°Can I help you smack that bitch into the wall? Seriously, she sent kill teams?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to take care of the situation,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Sarah gave a predatory smile that had Gail¡¯s ears twitching. ¡°Just like the Kraken?¡± grumbled Gail. ¡°Is Sarah going to steal all the fun?¡± ¡°What Kraken?¡± asked Amdirlain. Gail gave Amdirlain an innocent smile; her public mind immediately focused on reviewing the evening¡¯s singing. ¡°It was nothing, not even worth mentioning,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Everyone¡¯s story doesn¡¯t revolve around you, Auntie Am,¡± Gail said, giving a cheeky wink. ¡°Brat, why mention it then? Hey, are you planning a family yet? I mean, getting towards your thirties, and at the rate you grew, that¡¯s in your hundreds easily,¡± teased Amdirlain. Gail pouted. ¡°Mother teases me about that, so please don¡¯t start. I told her she¡¯s more than welcome to have a few thousand children to keep herself busy and repopulate the Anar, but she refused.¡± ¡°I think the realm has enough on its plate with you, Your Majesty,¡± offered Roher. ¡°After I gain my Prestige Class maybe I¡¯ll renounce the throne. Let the Anar use choir councils as well,¡± proposed Gail. Isa frowned. ¡°I think you¡¯ll need to keep the job for a bit; after all, you¡¯ll be the guiding Elder and need the authority, or they¡¯ll run over you.¡± ¡°If I need the authority of a title alone, they should run over me,¡± replied Gail. ¡°While I don¡¯t want to mess up my prestige options, I also don¡¯t want them growing up and believing that ¡®there has always been an Anar Queen, so it must continue''. I claimed the title to open the tower, not to rule for an aeon.¡± Smiling at her, Amdirlain reached up to rub her ears. ¡°You took the job on; do it properly. Who knows, do a good enough job and Gideon might give you something extra special.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a while off; it¡¯ll be years before the first Anar is an adult ready to leave home,¡± replied Gail, and she tilted her head so Amdirlain could stroke her ears easier. ¡°I need to push myself. By helping create these demi-plane seeds, I wonder if my Solar Emissary will consider it a good deed. Otherwise, I¡¯m just levelling two classes.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Keeping classes lined up can be a headache; if only you had Profile Mastery.¡± Shaking her head vigorously, Gail grumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t. I don¡¯t want to know the numbers. I only want a good Prestige Class so I can do my best to help others.¡± ¡°I think your idea about living how you¡¯re happy is the most important one,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, but you¡¯re pushing yourself to help others. How can I ignore all of that responsibility?¡± questioned Gail. ¡°If you¡¯d had a few strong Anar and L¨®m? choirs, would you have needed to park that Eldritch upon that dead world?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. "We could have sealed it up and stuck it in the Abyss.¡± Gail nodded. ¡°I¡¯m still not wanting to know the numbers because I feel they¡¯d take some of my joy away. When I earn some Prestige classes, and if I like several of them, I¡¯ll get you to tell me which is the strongest.¡± ¡°I can do that for you,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Leaning down, Gail hugged Amdirlain. When Gail stepped back, Isa took her place and quickly enfolded Amdirlain in a warm hug. ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to apply some arse kicking to the Matriarch.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°It will be subtle; she might not even notice.¡± Shaking her head, Isa laughed. ¡°Oh brother, I¡¯d almost feel sorry for her, except she sent a hit squad. Take it easy, and don¡¯t get too many caught in the explosions.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t blow anything up, and what will happen is your idea,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Isa clapped. ¡°You going to do an alien abduction? No wonder it might be subtle; you¡¯re following my idea.¡± ¡°Shoo you,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve still got many things to sort out, so I¡¯ll take credit for those parts of the cunning plan.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get working on these crystals immediately,¡± Isa advised and stepped back. ¡°Those will press my abilities forward.¡± Having shed his Catfolk disguise, Roher gave her a smile and bow of respect. ¡°Thank you for everything you¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m glad I returned to set things right,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I wish you all the best on Redemption¡¯s Path, and if there are any other projects on this world or another that you need a hand with, let me know,¡± offered Roher. Returning his bow, Amdirlain stepped closer and touched his shoulder reassuringly. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m likely going to be in touch. I¡¯ve been trying to let friends help.¡± ¡°I¡¯m honoured to have such a title. Though I have one question,¡± Roher said, and he grinned. ¡°Nothing relating to Orh¨ºthurin.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°What would you like to know?¡± ¡°What will you do with so much True Song Crystal to the north of here?¡± asked Roher. ¡°It¡¯ll have to stay there. If I shift it away, the foundation of the campus might drop slightly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡±I wanted to ensure no one got injured during the extraction. I went a little overboard. Why?¡± Roher laughed. ¡°I wondered if you had anything planned, given how much energy you have stored in it.¡± Opening her mouth to protest, Amdirlain quickly shut it. Sarah snickered. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you how little time it took her to put it in place.¡± ¡°We could have done something nastier to Moloch with it,¡± said Roher. ¡°Nasty, besides taking his toys away from him?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We didn¡¯t take the stalker from Moloch. As Isa informed you, we shielded the soul¡¯s memories and put a sympathetic effect in place,¡± Roher said. ¡°If Moloch has a memory in mind that he wants more information about, it and everything related to it will get sequestered when he touches him mentally. He¡¯ll return to square one in no time, thinking he hasn¡¯t seen the damned¡¯s memories yet.¡± ¡°Only works because he opens his mind to them?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°It makes it a lot easier,¡± acknowledged Roher. ¡°Take care.¡± When Amdirlain returned the farewell, the three of them vanished, and Amdirlain breathed a sigh of relief as an edge of tension lifted. ¡°That went better than I had expected.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such a pessimist. You were looking like the world might end. I was ready to kill him if he hurt you,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°I hope you¡¯re joking,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Holding up two fingers, Sarah held them slightly apart. ¡°Only partly because I know he¡¯s likely got a bunch of protections in place.¡± ¡°He does,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she checked the Class she intended to review before being distracted by their arrival. [Alind? This Tier Seven Prestige Class merges Ostim? and Ont?lin It is one of the stepping stones towards gaining the legacy of your power. Requires: - Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Soul - Senior Master in True Song Genesis - Senior Master in Resonance - Senior Master in True Song Architecture - Senior Master in a Dance Skill, or a Power or Skill where it is a subset - Senior Master in a combat Skill Powers unlocked for acquisition: - True Song Genesis evolutions - Resonance evolutions - World Step (Group) - Realm Step (Locked due to Fallen State) Skills unlocked for acquisition: - True Song Architecture evolutions +10 Melee Attack Power per level +10 Defence per level +10 Intelligence per level +10 Charisma per level +30 Endurance per level +30 Magic per level Note: Torm¡¯s Soul is still settling post-purification, but it¡¯s looking promising. Note: I thought you should know since Custodian chimed in. Note: I¡¯d say you¡¯re doing well, but that would be a lie.] Sharing the details with Sarah brought a low whistle. ¡°What¡¯s on offer if you get to Grand Master rank in all those?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was thinking I¡¯ll need to push the lot to Grand Master to get whatever is better,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin wouldn¡¯t have had this one. I think Gideon keeps playing me. He knows I was expecting to see an elven name. Two things she went gooey over: elves and dragons.¡± ¡°Good taste in half of her preferences isn¡¯t too bad,¡± chuffed Sarah. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Yeah, true. She put up with dragons. I bet he held off naming any Prestige Class with an elven name until I got closer to the strength I needed. She would have had something else that translated the equivalence of four True Song classes.¡± Sarah frowned. ¡°Or was he trying to set it up to give you that Realm Step option?¡± ¡°Fallen state,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Won¡¯t be getting that.¡± ¡°Isa gave me the heads up about your concern. You numbskull,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°Worrying about whether you¡¯ll die and not telling me.¡± ¡°After being in Hell, you¡¯d think she¡¯d have learnt to keep a few secrets,¡± Amdirlain huffed. Sarah scowled. ¡°Communication is a thing. I¡¯ll leave it at that. Anyway, I¡¯m pretty sure Gideon just told you that won¡¯t be happening.¡± ¡°He¡¯s told me the situation with Torm. He confirmed nothing about mine. If I end up in the Titan¡¯s forge after shedding my Fallen state, it would be nice if he could reincarnate us somewhere close.¡± ¡°Yeah, good luck finding a parent for the weight of your Soul according to the realm¡¯s rules,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to go get Ebusuku into the Primordial leagues so Farhad can get her knocked up again. Torm¡¯s likely coming back as a Human, so that won¡¯t work well. Maybe Gideon can drop me some clues, and I¡¯ll set Cyrus on him to indoctrinate him as a Monk. You know, while you¡¯re getting out of the diaper stage as an Anar of whatever species they fake you resurrecting in, he can become an Immortal.¡± Amdirlain reached out and rubbed Sarah¡¯s ears. ¡°Hasn¡¯t happened yet. Let¡¯s see what we can do in the meantime.¡± ¡°Right, what you got planned?¡± agreed Sarah. Amdirlain moved to her usual couch and sprawled out. Staring at the ceiling, she tapped her tail against the cushion. ¡°The Matriarch¡¯s got a country of around fifty-six million. She keeps a larger percentage of the population in the military than neighbouring countries. That¡¯s what allows her to secure gods¡¯ graves and handle the conquests she did in the last four years.¡± ¡°You know you can¡¯t just offer them a way out. They¡¯ll likely expect it to be a trap looking for dissidents,¡± said Sarah. Nodding, Amdirlain huffed. ¡°We need to know if it¡¯s just indoctrination that lets her hold on to the country or full-on mind control. Ssa¡¯time said enough that I think it¡¯s all North Korea-style propaganda. Though it could be mind control of a key group and propaganda for the rest.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy to figure out if they suck at psionic protections as much as the Allied Territories do,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll go peek under a few hoods and let you know. If I help free that many people from an arsehole, do you think that will count as a Tier 7? I mean, I could do with one.¡± ¡°Do you need to get busy with your levelling?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. ¡°Let me make more stuff for the new training complexes instead of duplicating it all, and I¡¯ll be fine.¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Tilting her head, Amdirlain almost asked about Sarah¡¯s other classes. ¡°Profile Mastery for the win?¡± ¡°It lets me tip Artificer experience into other classes,¡± grinned Sarah. ¡°My experience is racing upwards because the amount from the new biome demi-planes is massively higher. Yet I had to set up one that included a level fifty monster spawn zone to get True Song Genesis to tip into Senior Master.¡° Sarah huffed. ¡°How much higher?¡± ¡°Factor of ten,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe you should run through Gideon¡¯s hit list instead of creating those biomes? Just go back to creating the simple ones where the Plane¡¯s rules control the habitat,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Then use Gideon¡¯s work orders to push the Power to Grand Master. What are you going to do about Resonance? You were levelling it with the Eldritch migraine to the north. Have you progressed it since?¡± ¡°It¡¯s already in Grand Master,¡± noted Amdirlain. Sarah frowned. ¡°Roher has an evolution of it, and that Prestige Class mentions them. The higher you get it, the more likely you¡¯ll be able to tell when you¡¯ve got things properly concealed.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll give you that. I¡¯ll try pushing out the range and keeping it under strain,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Now, to see about getting Dance to Grand Master because I¡¯ll bet that is needed since it¡¯s on the list for this one.¡± ¡°Sell dance hall tickets?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m sure some people would love to try to spin you around a dance floor.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°I would appreciate some real tips.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t just be about the precision of your dancing. It might seem like repeating the exact motion precisely every time to the same music would be the route to mastery, but it¡¯s not. You need to embrace the music and let it flow through you while you¡¯re dancing, enjoying its beauty,¡± advised Sarah. * * * * * Amdirlain appeared outside the Matriarch¡¯s capital and extended Resonance to sweep across its boundary. The fear and mistrust that Ssa¡¯time had spoken about was rampant, but significant areas of the capital were also content with their lot. The fact they suffered none of the fear couldn¡¯t have been because they were members of a specific bloodline. Right? Listening to the songs, Amdirlain found a low-level Wizard whose song wasn¡¯t from the bloodline and slipped delicately into their mind. Within their dreaming recollections, she traced their thoughts. Years of going without were replaced by¡ªto them¡ªan unparalleled luxury when their Affinity had been achieved. Taken from their family in their impressionable teenage years, the Matriarch¡¯s commander provided them with a new name and their pride affiliation was set aside as the source of their suffering. Communication with their family was blocked entirely, and all contact with even the Matriarch¡¯s news services was carefully controlled. They entered the Academy grounds where the first ¡®available¡¯ spot was made for them, far from home. The training in the Academy required absolute obedience to the methods being taught. While ¡®deviant¡¯ behaviour was crushed out through deprivation¡ªfood, sleep, and even social contact with their classmates. Those adhering to the ¡®proper¡¯ process were love bombed, as praise and energetic displays of affection were lavished upon them by the class assistants whose sole purpose was tending to those who were compliant. The social nature of the Catfolk amplified the effectiveness of the tactics Amdirlain recognised from Human cults. They combined the bombardment of their new entitlement with an insidious belittlement of those outside their new circle. Combined with the implication that while others wanted to steal their rights away, the Matriarch knew they were worthy. What they had suffered in their younger years was placed squarely at the feet of others who could not accept their own clear unworthiness. They used many tricks, one of which was presenting fake evidence that the parents were preventing the new student from taking the test. The authorities had to intervene to rescue them, and give them the treatment they deserved. Cult indoctrination 101, check. Her investigations found that artificers, alchemists and other magical professions received similar indoctrination processes. All the critical components of protecting the people from the undead were in the hands of those broken by the brainwashing. The improvements in their Intelligence was guided into rigorous and unyielding mental patterns that upheld the infallibility of their leaders. Going straight to the top was difficult because of the sprawling size of the palace grounds and the vast layers of wards around them. The amount of resources dedicated in isolation were spectacular, with not one but two Mana generators within the palace wards without outbound connections to the nearest city. The city of Osaphis, with over two million people, was maintained with four generators and payment injections from citizens able to accumulate Mana. Decisions, decisions. Setting up my dungeon challenges is one thing; time to talk to a city architect, town planner, and some community planners. They¡¯ll need access to all the various infrastructure elements, but also all the social components. Out from under the thumb of an authoritarian leadership, some arsehats might try to seize control. With the magical training checked, she started sampling from further parts of the community. When Amdirlain returned to the apartment in the morning, she found Kadaklan puttering around in the kitchen. He was humming an off-key version of one of Amdirlain¡¯s songs while cheerfully enduring Sarah¡¯s heckling. ¡°Keep up that torment, and I¡¯ll have to get Jal¡¯krin to compose something about a burning bird getting plucked,¡± grumbled Sarah. Kadaklan snorted. ¡°That would equally apply to Am, who has now returned. Good morning, Am.¡± ¡°Are you children squabbling?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she headed into the kitchen. Giving Amdirlain a haughty look, Sarah lifted her chin imperiously. ¡°I¡¯ll remind you I was reincarnated before you this time.¡± ¡°Not if I count it from when you gained your Dragon species,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Technically, I still had a Dragon bloodline in me since I came from her egg,¡± argued Sarah. Wrinkling her nose, Amdirlain plucked a cup from the tray and poured herself some of the local tea Kadaklan had finished serving himself. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve bitten into something sour,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°Did the investigations not go well?¡± ¡°I would have preferred a very different situation, and I don¡¯t want to uproot a whole country,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Many of the military, like Ssa¡¯time told me, are just trying to live a life, but even they¡¯re brainwashed to a certain extent as part of their military training. Those that keep their individuality are the rare exception.¡± ¡°You would have preferred,¡± repeated Kadaklan. ¡°Meaning that uprooting them will occur.¡± ¡°I¡¯m thinking I¡¯ll set up places and just take some things wholesale, leave the Matriarch with massive empty stretches where there was once farmland.¡± ¡°Would not the military attack something in desperation?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Sometimes, instead of moving the flock, it is best to move the wolf.¡± ¡°The problem is their key magical personnel have been brainwashed on the infallibility of their leadership. They¡¯re not people that can easily be replaced; they¡¯re needed to maintain the defences against the undead.¡± Sarah hummed. ¡°What came first, the Phoenix or the egg?¡± ¡°The South Wind breathed life into rocks from a volcano, and the first Mortal phoenixes were birthed from those eggs.¡± ¡°Okay, so much for that attempt to maul a philosophical argument,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°And you know the Dragon also came before the egg,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°More of the desert fruit was delivered yesterday afternoon, Am. Though I put it in the ice chest, it¡¯s the last for the season.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll get her dripping on the floor again,¡± quipped Sarah, with a suggestive lilt in her tone. Kadaklan gave a forlorn sigh. ¡°I¡¯m so misunderstood.¡± Snorting, Sarah waved to the ice chest. ¡°You know she can hear the fruit is there, right?¡± ¡°Am can hear the fruit in every building for kilometres, why does that matter? Manners and small talk help bind people together,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°Hatchlings,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she teleported the ripest fruit to her hand. Kadaklan and Sarah looked at each other and shrugged. ¡°We both at least once resembled that remark,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°You have two problems, both with possibly destructive consequences. You can rescue the innocent civilians and likely cause the military to launch a full scale attack against whatever target the Matriarch points them at. . .¡± ¡°Or you can sweep the wizards away, but they¡¯re likely to be back if they can get past the Dem¡¯-planes locks,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Or I can remove them both and put the Matriarch, wizards, and the strongly obedient military in a demi-plane that doesn¡¯t allow exit gates,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°But with a self-sufficient biome, so if they starve, it¡¯s because they didn¡¯t play nice with each other. Then sort out the society issues with the civilians and get them self-sufficient with magical training before returning them.¡± ¡°Leaving a massive swathe of countryside empty in the meantime,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°Also, how long do you expect getting them back to being self-sufficient to take? It might just be safer to send them somewhere else.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°At which point we should likely leave because her vanishing after you started taking swings at her will raise all sorts of red flags.¡± ¡°Yeah, but planning this isn¡¯t going to happen overnight,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°So Am can keep taking musical swings at her; we¡¯ll just start overriding some of their news stations with the truth. Also, I¡¯ll steal all the recent wizards she¡¯s started to brainwash before their machinery screws their minds completely. I could retrieve their separated families as well.¡± ¡°From one rescue mission to the next,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯m not that bad,¡± protested Amdirlain. Sarah and Kadaklan looked at each other and laughed. ¡°Who said it¡¯s a bad thing?¡± asked Kadaklan. "It just seems part of your Way.¡± Nodding, Sarah reached out and rubbed Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡°Now eat your fruit; you''re dripping in front of me.¡± ¡°You wish,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Depends on what and where you¡¯re dripping,¡± riposted Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ll corrupt innocent minds,¡± noted Kadaklan. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us qualify.¡± Kadaklan went back to drinking his tea. Hooking a chair from the table, Amdirlain sat to enjoy her snack, and Sarah floated a plate to her spot. ¡°The retired military personnel,¡± Sarah said after a few moments. ¡°Lots of planning.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do some baby steps just to mess with her and then see how it goes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But yes, I¡¯ll talk to someone specialised and figure out all the logistics and options.¡± ¡°Time to unleash the J.¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯re not cooperating with Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ inquiries about the books,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°And Mor¡¯lmes has been trying to get information about them for months.¡± * * * * * It was late morning when a silver-furred Catfolk carrying a bright yellow backpack walked into Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ office. A student had just departed and Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ attention was fixed on some paperwork before him. ¡°Professor, I have a problem; maybe you can help me review it?¡± Mor¡¯lmes started to answer without looking up. ¡°My office hours-¡± Cutting off, Mor¡¯lmes looked up at Amdirlain. ¡°J.¡± ¡°Mor¡¯lmes,¡± chirped Amdirlain. ¡°How are your other projects going?" ¡°Pretty good. I¡¯ll be opening more complexes shortly. I saw a discussion panel about them yesterday, speaking nicely and everything,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But this morning, I heard about the fatalities at the studio. Is Wha¡¯sin okay?¡± ¡°No one inside was seriously injured; a security guard received some burns, but he¡¯s been healed.¡± ¡°I think you mean no one inside who was welcome. Some are pretty dead Matriarch agents,¡± replied Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes shrugged. ¡°Do they count?¡± ¡°If you were related to them, they¡¯d count,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°They cut their families off, I¡¯ve been told, as part of the conditions for receiving training. Only those that swear to the Matriarch get the chance to try,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Their magical academies make that arrangement; the kids are never allowed to talk to their families again after they arrive. Told all sorts of lies, kept isolated and alone except among a group that follows the rules, it makes feeding them the story the Matriarch wants them to believe easier.¡± Closing the book he¡¯d been reviewing, Mor¡¯lmes set it aside. ¡°What can I help you with?¡± ¡°With the Matriarch¡¯s agents not providing information about the shipping, have we gotten anywhere further?¡± Sighing, Mor¡¯lmes shook his head. ¡°No. Complete blackout, and we¡¯ve not established unofficial channels that have proven helpful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to take the Matriarch¡¯s rulership apart,¡± said Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes blinked. ¡°Just like that?¡± ¡°No, but I figured I¡¯d pull the dressing off and let you get over the mental barrier before we got into details,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°How very kind of you,¡± drawled Mor¡¯lmes, brushing his fingers across his voice box. ¡°At least this time, the dressing isn¡¯t coming out of me with other things.¡± ¡°Well, if you¡¯ve missed your prosthetic that much. . .¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s fine; you can keep it,¡± reassured Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I assume you need something.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not expecting you to help. I¡¯ll run you through the big picture and have you point me towards suitable people for the pieces, and I¡¯ll work with them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Did you close the outer office door?¡± ¡°Your assistant shut it on her way out,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll listen, but I¡¯m more academic,¡± cautioned Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I¡¯d been planning the Matriarch¡¯s training complexes and was already concerned. After last night''s events, my investigations have led me to believe I can¡¯t safely put a complex in place for them with their current government in charge. I will give the people she effectively holds captive a place to live in a demi-plane if they want it. I''ve got some ideas, but I need city and social planners to guide me. Things like housing density, roads, law keepers stations, hospitals, schools, and the rest they need to let their society function.¡± ¡°Just that?¡± ¡°Well, for the military folks, I might have to spread them out into small tribal-sized groups with plentiful food and leave them to it. It¡¯s the civilians that I¡¯m more worried about; also, I¡¯ll need to find placements for a few hundred novice wizards, some potentially already traumatised.¡° Coughing, Mor¡¯lmes sat back. ¡°You come in and drop a lot on someone. I can likely plan for the placements, but I don¡¯t know who to speak to about the rest or how to approach them.¡± ¡°Got a faculty index of professors?¡± asked Amdirlain. Mor¡¯lmes pulled up a display on a nearby screen. ¡°I don¡¯t keep it printed.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ve got a spare data plate, I¡¯ll make you a replacement. I¡¯ll have someone contact them about a hypothetical paper to write.¡± Mor¡¯lmes frowned at her. ¡°How would you even propose such a problem?¡± ¡°In a massive disaster, what infrastructure and social elements would be required to get a city operational again from scratch? A purely abstract concept won¡¯t get me an entirely practical answer, but it might be a usable start,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°Now, about the placements,¡± started Amdirlain. * * * * * After sorting out the initial arrangements, Amdirlain shifted to one of the empty demi-planes for her next recruitment drive. ¡°Lerina, I thought I¡¯d come through official channels. Got an Avatar available to come and chat?¡± When Ebusuku appeared, she was in a Catfolk form with calico fur, and she smiled down at Amdirlain from her two-metre height. ¡°You look cute as a Catfolk.¡± Clad in leather armour, she had dozens of dimensional sheaths about her person. ¡°Is everyone having fun with the height?¡± ¡°Livia might have mentioned you picked a form with a height just slightly taller than her,¡± reported Ebusuku. ¡°It wasn¡¯t intentional, I just went for a teenage form,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Leaning down, Eubusku touched her forehead to Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°We miss you.¡± ¡°Are you doing okay?¡± Ebusuku laughed. ¡°Pretty sure that¡¯s my question to ask you. I¡¯m the one who ended up being the caretaker for your Mantle. While your Mantle isn¡¯t a dreadful burden, I¡¯ll happily return the Mantle when you¡¯re no longer a Fallen.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see how things play out,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Bit worried about that at present.¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t a rush,¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°Though, so you know, the official channel involves going to a Temple, making offerings to a Priest, and having them pray.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°You want me to do that now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m here now, so I¡¯ll cut you some slack,¡± replied Ebusuku with a smile. ¡°Just this once, mind you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need some resources to keep the peace among civilians while their society gets off to a fresh start,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°However, we can¡¯t let them figure out there are any divine forces at work.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me more?¡± Ebusuku listened through all the details and smugly nodded. ¡°Alright, but I¡¯ll need help with something as well.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be checking in on the Qil Tris dwarves and doing so discretely?¡± questioned Ebusuku, her tail swishing happily. ¡°You just want to win that bet,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Absolutely.¡± Letting out a prolonged groan, Amdirlain gave in. ¡°Fine.¡± Ebusuku chuffed. ¡°Excellent. Now, he¡¯ll owe me a favour. Will you use this demi-plane to host the civilians?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know.¡± ¡°Get more details through to me when you have them. I¡¯ll make sure anyone involved in the civilian peacekeeping can be subtle,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Gail¡¯s spoken to you already?¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± Ebusuku laughed, and she rubbed Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡°She¡¯s right; your ears are so cute.¡± ¡°I sent your grandmother a toy to isolate if Baln¨¦rith¡¯s on a Plane and a way to contact me,¡± reported Amdirlain, blatantly avoiding that topic. The amusement drained from Ebusuku¡¯s face. ¡°Amdirlain, she is not to be taken lightly.¡± Amdirlain nodded earnestly. ¡°Very wary of her; I took a message-drop approach. She now has a crystal that can send messages to a memory crystal I keep on a small demi-plane that I don¡¯t enter. Just wanted to let you know I got a message the other day that was for you.¡± ¡°Never act on anything she sends you directly or indirectly. She loves fighting, but she¡¯s also a huntress. She¡¯ll be looking to get you to react to track you as well.¡± ¡°She loves anything that sends things to her father. She said to pass you a message that your mother is on ice until she grows up. Also, to thank you for your efforts during her captivity.¡± Ebusuku paused. ¡°I thought for sure she¡¯d destroy her.¡± ¡°She left a lingering wound in Baln¨¦rith before taking her pal captive. Do you know why someone in charge of Hell would want Castellan over Baln¨¦rith delivered?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Try to keep your curiosity in check, kitty cat,¡± said Ebusuku, touching a finger to the end of Amdirlain¡¯s nose. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll save it. I¡¯m never going to know everything.¡± ¡°Now, about your visit to the dwarves. . .¡± ¡°I¡¯ve let Sarah take the research lead on them previously. We¡¯ll take a trip, and I¡¯ll hold her toolbox.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s lip twitched. ¡°Not that toolbox, thank you,¡± huffed Amdirlain. 339 - Rabbit Hole Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Upon being resummoned back to Qil Tris, Amdiralin advised Sarah about Ebusuku''s request. Sarah clapped and gave Amdirlain a grin. "Since the demand notices are in for the magical tuition, we could go to one of their cities. Time to get that beard out." Amdirlain''s shoulders dropped, and her tail circled her legs just under her knees. "All so mean to me." "Getting you to branch out," declared Sarah. Reappearing back at their place, Amdirlain heard Kadaklan chilling in the living room, listening to the receiver playing an orchestral production. Quickly arrayed across Amdirlain''s bed were the rugged clothing and a collection of equipment Sarah had put together to match the local dwarves. "I still should have let you lead this," said Sarah. "Nope, it''s your turn to have the fun," rebuffed Amdirlain. "They''re likely going to look at me like I''m a simple-minded child." ¡°Among most dwarves, yes, because you have zero crafting skills,¡± agreed Sarah. "I have leatherworking," protested Amdirlain. "Basic leatherworking, which puts you on the level of bad finger painting," observed Sarah. Amdirlain spread her hands helplessly. "Can I help it? It''s not like I don''t have lots of other options?" "Maybe when you have more time, you can learn what it is to work with your hands," suggested Sarah. "What''s the fascination? You sound like Mal talking about a DIY project." Sarah gave her a look of disbelief. "It''s about overcoming the limits of your skills and the materials you''re working with." "My material range is broader," objected Amdirlain. "I think that is part of your problem with subtlety. You don¡¯t have to resolve an issue without magic or even a single element. Since you can now whip up things, you go for that option," noted Sarah. Amdirlain twitched her ears. "Oh, I''m the only one with that issue?" "You''re not, but..." Her words trailing off had Amdirlain scowling. "I don''t have to resolve their issues. I have to handle my own." Spreading her hands, Sarah shrugged. "I didn''t say that you have to handle anything for them. We''re information gathering. Now, are you going to get changed or what?" Looking between Sarah and the stack of gear on the bed, Amdirlain shooed her from the room. "I''m worried you won''t know where all the equipment goes," protested Sarah. Amdirlain muttered. "I''m pretty sure I can figure it out." Sarah laughed and headed for the door. "Okay, I''ll leave you to your bedroom fumbling. Though I wouldn¡¯t be too worried, the peak of the dwarves in this world has long passed. The places I¡¯ve checked so far have been in decline, with many old enchantments holding things together." When the bedroom door shut, Amdirlain groaned. "Did Ori have a thing about not being short? Or do I have an issue with facial hair? Unlikely, I''ve just spent years as a Catfolk." "Fur isn''t a beard," called Sarah. "Big ears," groused Amdirlain, and she envisaged the form to take. As her flesh shifted, the shadow vines adjusted smoothly. Losing thirty-four centimetres in height changed the room''s perspective. Her build broadened, gaining solid muscles and heavy bones. Amdirlain retracted the shadow vines and started to get dressed, only to stop and stare in surprise at the battered and scarred arm she''d extended. The heavy scars showed where manacles had cut into her wrist for decades and were simply the most prominent among thousands of nicks, cuts, and whip marks present. The generic dwarven form she''d envisaged warped under the pressure of soul memories, ones that promised a flood on the edge of exploding forth, already leaking enough to add scars. The time she''d spent mining Adamantine in the Abyss echoed a shining link between her awareness and the buried memories, and she turned the key to beckon it. Her gender changed, and her posture stooped, giving her a body broken by centuries of toil and abuse. With the first memory that struck, a battered pickaxe swung in their hands while other nearby kin worked to clear the kilograms of oreless rock every strike brought forth. The surrounding kinfolk worked desperately to earn food for their imprisoned loved ones; shortfalls in meeting the quota reduced the hostages'' food, not the workers''. The smaller number of hostages meant that even a few kilograms short in the day''s work meant the hostage group would receive no food at all. The continuing elusive shift in the vein promised starvation to the current group. The traces of the mithril in the rock they dug mocked and teased at them, but they hadn¡¯t recovered the vein when their shift ended. Trudging back through the tunnel, eyes traced over the braces work crews had put in behind them, and memories of the centuries of tunnels they''d constructed raced through their awareness. The illusion at the end of the food hall showed the hostages lined up around an empty table, their features drawn and their eyes hollow after what would be the sixteenth day without food. Even their hardy dwarven bodies were failing; tonight, the water was also missing. "New hostages will shortly be isolated. If your reduced output continues, we will bring in another clan to assist, increasing the quota. Your clan will be added to the list of those who caused others to suffer this fate." They knew the last threat was hollow as the other clans would respect the centuries they''d laboured to keep others free. Yet for another clan to endure this further darkened the distress caused by recent days. The Elf''s arrogant tone and the smell of their food being brought out stirred rage within the youngest waiting in line. It had been too long since the last outburst, and the clan''s younger workers thought they could do better and turned on a supervisor. The security wards reacted and punished everyone, magical whips beating them bloody until everyone was on the ground. The magical servitors then force-fed them food to restore their bodies and seal the injuries. The pain Amdirlain had experienced and put herself through attuned her awareness to the dormant memories within her soul. Centuries of experience in the mine and the refinery bubbled and foamed to the fore, engineering details of massive blast furnaces and fans to ensure airflow, clearing tunnel seeps, and refining purification issues among thousands of other details that arose. Memories of a family were there but laden with even more pain, fragments of a shattered wedding day for someone amongst the thousands dying when their clan was seized, working in the mines and furnaces, or starved to death. The years of agony she''d endured formed a highway for memories to sync from the lifetime of slavery she now remembered. The vein had been found again the next day, and decades of labour continued, only for chaos to finally shatter the mines. They never knew what events led to the rebellion that freed them after centuries. During the escape, death came calling, lying on a war-torn hillside, watching the sun rise through a gaze covered by heavy cataracts with a grandson''s mauled body held in their arms. Amdirlain¡¯s Willpower and Mental Hardening strained, but the centuries of lifetime flashing before her eyes didn''t sweep her under, though not all stayed with her. "Years of trying to get anything unrelated to Ori to surface, and I get that by switching form," breathed Amdirlain as her mind raced about, considering what had stuck. [Memory sync outcome: Mining [Ap] (5) -> Mining [M] (77) Mental Hardening [M] (6->20) Knowledge: Engineering unlocked Engineering (1) -> [M] (6) Knowledge: Metallurgy unlocked Metallurgy (1) -> [M] (1)] Yeah, thanks for the quantification, Gideon. Numbers mean little against that foulness. Anyone who thinks slavery is a good idea should endure it first. Sarah tapped on the door. "Amdirlain, what happened?" "Just an ugly lifetime," grumbled Amdirlain, changing her form from the age-worn patriarch to the young maiden she''d intended to take on and started to get dressed. "There are lifetimes that aren''t unpleasant in your Soul," offered Sarah. "You may need to attune yourself to happier places." Amdirlain grunted. "Well, I now know how much some dwarves would laugh at the mining gathering challenges I''ve set up in my demi-planes. Do you remember Clan Mithrilblood?" "Fuck,¡± spat Sarah. ¡°Why did you get that one? You''ve experienced better lifetimes as a Dwarf. I worry about you trending towards pain so much, Amdirlain. You should stop drinking those potions and at least try to put your feet on a different path." "Were you in the mines?" whispered Amdirlain. Clearing her throat, Sarah grunted. "I died early during your lifetime and was reborn within the mine. If you didn''t get enough to recognise me, that''s for the best. Isa was there as well." "You died early?" "During the clan''s selection," replied Sarah, her gaze dark with anger before her lips twisted in an enigmatic smile. "I missed by this much." "I''m sorry you went through that nightmare," said Amdirlain. "I''m sorry either of us went through that nightmare, bloody elves," grumbled Sarah. Amdirlain huffed. "They weren''t a good example of elves, I''ll give you that. Bastards on the scale of the gold elves Ori put down." "No, they weren''t quite that bad," allows Sarah. "The gold elves were far worse from the details Ori gave me. They were on a sadist binge during all-out genocide conquests from their xenophobic urges. Are you going to get dressed or not?" "Be with you in a minute," replied Amdirlain, and she focused on getting equipment harnesses sorted out. When she stomped out into the living room, she adjusted the tool belts Sarah had provided, the layout and contents of her kit now reflecting a Miner instead of an apprentice crafter. Her black beard had the suitable braids for a maiden, and a long braid ran down her back beneath her coat. "You can ask them their approach for dealing with wet shafts," quipped Sarah. Her auburn beard and hair scratched against the lingering pain from the memories. "I''m not touching that," muttered Amdirlain. "Plus, I won''t be asking questions; I''ll listen. We''re only going physically to get this bet settled." Sarah smiled sceptically. "Yeah, because we won''t be doing anything to help them." "I didn''t say I wouldn''t be adding training complexes eventually, just that I wasn''t planning to wander about the place at this point." Kadaklan looked her over and nodded. "You look very sturdy, but I''m not sure why you''re going as males." "We¡¯re both maidens," laughed Sarah. "But you''ve got beards?" questioned Kadaklan, looking between them as his ears twitched in confusion. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Sarah nodded. "Yet we had fur." Kadaklan opened his mouth to protest but stopped to shrug helplessly instead. "I still have too much to do here establishing the teachers before we leave. I won''t be able to open a location to help dwarves as well." "It''ll spread to them, or it won''t," replied Amdirlain, and they teleported away. The mountain entrance they picked was located in a steep ravine, far from any of the Catfolk cities. What trail marks the surveyors had found pointed off in the direction of a smaller dwarven settlement. When they appeared a distance away to trudge to their destination, the wind from the northern polar circle had them frost-coated in seconds. A notification soon after had Amdirlain chuckling. [Cold [GR] (1->2)] Bowing her head into the wind, Amdirlain pulled her jacket tighter. "Seems I should have dressed warmer." Sarah looked at her in disbelief before she snorted in surprise. "You don''t have enough cold resistance?" "I have more now," muttered Amdirlain. "Let''s pick up the pace before anything freezes off," instructed Sarah. ¡°We need to broaden out your resistance work.¡± "I¡¯ll just put a resistance Spell on," said Amdirlain. Sarah grunted. "A song. The local dwarves might wonder." Putting it in place, she kept walking, and her body restored the layers of skin the cold had so quickly blackened. Resonance made the sixteen-metre-wide door clear, but visually, it blended seamlessly with the ravine''s face. Following the clues, Sarah pulled a hammer from her pack and raised it to the ancient ward''s keystone. The enchantments reacted to the runes within the hammer. As the door cracked, it yawned wider by the moment. Slipping through the gap as soon as it was wide enough, the pair pulled the door closed behind them against the wind''s suction. As they worked, a gong echoed within the sizeable chamber they had been allowed into¡ªa space for a pair of well-armed platoons to muster. When the gate''s locks clicked back into place, a smooth baritone came from a murder hole above. "What is a pair of lasses doing traipsing the over ways amid a storm?" "We got lost through a magic rift and stumbled on your way signs," rumbled Sarah, her eyes twinkling in amusement. "The walk was brisk." "A brisk walk indeed; you''ll be freezing bits off. I¡¯m Darlran of Clan Silvermount. What clan are you from, lasses?" "Clan Mithrilblood," Sarah replied, varying from the name they''d planned to use. "We''re sure we''re a long way from home. I barely recognised your script and was unsure of the underway around these parts." "That''s not a name I''ve heard before. I''ll get the Captain to meet you at the inner gate," replied the guard. "We won''t keep you waiting long." "That''s fine; being out of the wind is good," reassured Sarah. The room''s enchantments checked them repeatedly before a hatch opened in the door, and a rumbling baritone echoed in. "Captain Dalphan of Clan Silvermount." "Sarlan and Amdain of Clan Mithrilblood," replied Sarah. "Well, we know no clan by that name. You could be telling the truth or a pair of runaways that have cooked up a wild tale. In either case, we reserve the issuing of guest rights for now. If you wish to come in, it''ll be under the accords and standards of merchants. Know that you''ll be accountable for any trespass, knowingly or unknowingly, made," declared Dalphan. "Is that agreeable?" Sarah pretended to scowl for a moment. "Might we read the local rules by which the standards apply? Hard to give proper agreement to something I''ve never heard of before now." "A sensible request, and you''ll be allowed into the guard area to do so. You''ll need to give an agreement before going further unless I find a good reason to grant you guest right. You presented your hammer to the ward key. Has your companion anything to prove her craft?" ¡°I never claimed one, but still,¡± said Amdirlain, and she drew the pickaxe from her pack and presented it to the ward¡¯s keystone by the inner door. "A Master Miner?! I intend no offence, lass, but that is a surprise. You don''t look like you''ve got the years under your belt. You can both come in, but I''ll need you to provide proof before we can recognise your presence even under the merchant''s accords." "No offence taken; I''ll answer whatever questions I can to your guild. Hopefully, our teachings are similar enough to find common ground," replied Amdirlain. "If nothing else, I''m not afraid of hard work if you need willing hands while we plan our travels home." "I''ve no idea how the keystones would have recognised either of you if our ways weren''t similar enough," replied Dalphan. "Good crafts always carry true," replied Sarah. Dalphan grunted. "Ain''t that true, Sarlan Mithrilblood. Your hammer is fine Artificer work; you must be quite proud that your family entrusted you with such a legacy." Sarah and Amdirlain glanced at each other. ¡®Legacy?¡¯ questioned Amdirlain. ¡®The insides of this place sound empty for being the edge of their city.¡¯ ¡®Everything smells old and faded,¡¯ replied Sarah. He slid the hatch back in place, and the door opened with a clacking of bolts sliding back. The door that opened was intended only for foot traffic or a loaded mule. Amdirlain allowed Sarah to go in first and followed on her heels. The chamber beyond was a split-level space, a wide upper section sitting above the gate and a lower area some twenty metres across and the same deep. Doors off to one side held bunk rooms currently occupied by sleeping guards. Including the Captain, the guards were a group thirty strong, all clad in ancient mithril chainmail, surcoats with a frost-coated mountain icon, and a mix of sturdy cloth and leather. They¡¯d spread between tables and chairs in a circle around an aged brazier. They were all stocky with broad shoulders and armed with axes or hammers close at hand, through a selection of heavy crossbows sat in racks in the room''s upper section. Various earth-hued hair tones poked out from between helms, and their eyes ranged from muddy brown to bright agates. None of them carried the modern-sounding classes she''d heard among the Catfolk. Instead, fighters, scouts, and similar were the norm, with a dozen low-level artificers between those awake and those in the barracks. Okay, on a different tech scale. Sarah''s been keeping her discoveries close to her chest. "Why don''t you lasses join me by the fire?" said Dalphan, his dark gaze gleaming with curiosity. "The post''s Loremaster was off shift but will join us soon. I''ll get the manual of rules and accords." Sarah and Amdirlain set their heavy packs down near a pair of vacant stools by the battered, unenchanted brazier, its warmth an isolated puddle in the room''s coldness. The other guards gave them nods in greeting but didn''t offer nor enquire about their names. When Dalphan returned, he sat a heavy text with parchment pages and a stone cover on a stool beside Sarah. "How long were you lasses walking?" "A few hours, that''s all," replied Sarah. "The wind through the ravine kept some script stones along the path clear; otherwise, I might have missed them." "Were you travelling somewhere?" Sarah gave their prepared story of new masters looking to travel between clans before deciding where to settle. Her references to other clan names and settlements had the Captain''s brows climbing. While Sarah spoke, Amdirlain leafed through the rules with a translation Spell in effect so she didn''t have to learn their tongue as well. "I''ve not heard of any of those names; not knowing one clan is strange enough," said Dalphan as Sarah''s tale progressed. "As I told Darlran when he asked, we came through a magical rift. We''d not even seen a clear sky to tell if our stars looked close to the same as yours. We could be from a far distant part of the world." "I might have to get you to repeat some of those clan names; I only heard the last clearly," said an approaching dwarven female. Though dressed in the same uniform as the rest, her theme carried the hum of Wizard, Alchemist, Sage, and Fighter. Like the other guards, she didn''t possess a Prestige Class, and her levels weren''t even in the thirties. "Loremaster Eileen, this is Sarlan and Amdain Mithrilblood," said Dalphan. "Sar and Am are fine to use," offered Sarah after they''d exchanged greetings. The Loremaster was a middle-aged dwarf without a trace of white in her beard. She considered the pair with a smug, self-assured attitude rather than the captain''s curiosity. That she didn¡¯t possess the Prestige Class that Amdirlain had expected from the title was a cause for concern given what Amdirlain had already read of their protocols. "I think I can remember your name, Sarlan of Clan Mithrilblood," replied Eileen reprovingly. "If that is your name. Now, why don''t you tell me this tale of yours." "It is a name birth earnt me, and I''m happy to repeat the account of our journey," replied Sarah, her tone firm. "Calling it a tale implies it''s a pure invention." "It would, wouldn''t it," agreed Eileen. "As the duty Loremaster, it''s my responsibility to determine the credentials of anyone unknown passing through. I¡¯ve not recognised any name you¡¯ve mentioned so far." Sarah huffed. "If we''re so far from home that you don''t recognise our names, what is the process?" "You carry the master hammer of a weaponsmith and an artificer''s hammer. Why don''t we start with some simple questions about those crafts?" "Fine," huffed Sarah. "But first, to correct the Captain¡¯s assumption, it¡¯s not a legacy hammer; I made it. Also, I''ll need to ask a few of mine before you ask your questions. I need to determine more about this situation since you don''t have the markings of either craft about you. You could be looking to dig out craft secrets. What''s the local punishment for that?" "It isn''t permitted," noted Amdirlain, and she turned back to an early page she''d read. "All craft accreditation must be by a guild member of the correct rank or higher." "You want us to agree to your accord in ways your Loremaster won''t adhere to?" Sarah growled, and she looked at Dalphan. ¡°We also did not claim any qualifications. Your ward¡¯s keystones recognised them. We would have talked to the guild if we needed a job.¡± "You''re not in the city proper yet," countered Eileen."We can hold you under suspicion of being imposters and thieves trying to steal." Dalphan looked like he''d bitten into something sour but held his tongue, his gaze fixed on Eileen. "Steal what? Mithril armour whose enchantments feel thousands of years old and fading? Why would we be imposters to a clan you don''t know about if we were not born to it? Be right stupid to claim it," snapped Sarah. Eileen smiled. "From your mouth comes some truth, at least." "I can prove my Skill with an anvil. Can you prove your title is more than a proclamation? I''ll not answer any questions that your rules don''t even allow between yourselves," stated Sarah. ¡°You¡¯d dare insult me in our halls?¡± huffed Eileen. ¡°You¡¯re coming in like a pair of thieving tramps.¡± Sarah pointed in the direction of the ravine¡¯s mouth."Your script stones said your lands start ten kilometres down that path. Either your rules hold to both of us, or my rules alone bind me. If it¡¯s the second, I''m becoming inclined to take payment for your insults. Every clan and place I named is known to Clan Mithrilblood, and your ignorance doesn¡¯t brush that aside. Decide the side of trouble you want to stand on because you''re in the wrong to ask by both our laws." The other guards sat up and listened to the conversation, but none reached for weapons. Amdirlain wanted to groan, recognising the button that Eileen had pushed. Huffing at her response, Eileen growled. "I can ask simple questions about your craft that any Dwarf would know." "Nope," snapped Sarah. "You can¡¯t even decide what hole of trouble you¡¯re standing in. That isn''t happening, given the wording of your law. I''m an accredited Master Smith, and you¡¯ve not the smell of any sort of smith about you. Someone who might not pass the apprentice test won''t get to ask me questions. Bring a guild smith here or ask questions outside my crafts." "But-" Sarah held up a hand and turned to the Captain. "Is she a smith within any guild?" "Not to my knowledge," replied Dalphan. "Then I won''t even tell her the name of a hammer or a technique since I don''t know what your guilds consider secrets," rebuffed Sara. "I¡¯ll not have them consider me in violation of local guild law." "I can''t answer any mining questions either after seeing that law in your books," added Amdirlain. Sarah nodded and gave Eileen a vicious smile. "Does your city maintain guilds of our crafts?" Eileen spat. "We do. I can send for ranking members, but we''ll arrest you if you cannot pass their examination. The charge will be attempting to impersonate or as an accomplice to an imposter." ''Why do you get to be greeted by the nice people, and I get the arse hats?'' questioned Sarah mentally. Amdirlain mentally gave Eileen the middle finger. ''No, the first time at Duskstone the guard was an arse hat to me.'' ''True,'' acknowledged Sarah, ''But you were a Succubus.'' With a dismissive snort directed to Eileen, Sarah turned to the Captain and moderated her tone. "Everything here is old, Captain. Do you have no new artificer work that comes your way?" Dalphan jumped at the offered conversation gambit. "The guild members are normally busy maintaining the inner city. We''re just an outer gate that sees little traffic. The garrison''s primary duty is to keep the critters clear of the primary passage to the city." Drawing a stylus from her belt, Sarah traced draconic runes on the brazier¡¯s rim, undeterred by the heat from the charcoal. Each rune she completed sank into the metal, and its glow soon faded from sight. Finishing up, Sarah tucked the stylus away and activated the series. The activation obliterated the cold''s grip on the chamber as the brazier¡¯s warmth stretched into the barracks on either side. Sarah gave the brazier¡¯s rim a comforting pat. "It''s old steel, but it''ll still support a heat amplification for decades." "You can sink them into metal?" gasped a nearby guard, who¡¯d watched her work with wide-eyed interest. "There''s a trick to it; I''ll speak to the Artificers'' Guild," replied Sarah. ¡°You seem far too surprised for that to be a good thing.¡± Dalphan was already on his feet. "I''ll send you through to the inner city." Eileen spluttered, but Dalphan cut her off and returned his attention to Sarah. "I''ve seen evidence of your qualifications. Master Sarlan of Clan Mithrilblood. Do you speak for your kin¡¯s qualification?" "I do," replied Sarah. "Then I''ll assign two escorts to get you to the Guildhall. Your rank far exceeds mine or the Loremaster''s," declared Dalphan. "I protest," growled Eileen. ¡°Loremaster Eileen. Whatever complaint you want to file can go to the clan elders. I declare the Master Artificer has satisfied me of her proficiency and vouched for her kin. As such, I¡¯ve no reason not to accept her word and grant full guest rights within," said Dalphan, and he moved over to the table to write them a letter. With Sarah still wanting to swat Eileen down, Amdirlain rose and swept up her pack. Patting Sarah''s shoulder, she moved closer to Dalphan, and Sarah moved to follow her, leaving Eileen behind. "I''ll not stand for this," protested Eileen. Sarah turned and gave her a toothy smile. "If you''d like, I could help you sit for it. The speed at which that occurs is entirely up to you." While she was trying to provoke Eileen, the Captain detailed two guards who collected packs and went ahead through the rear doors. They were brothers with a fifty-year age difference. Both had black hair, beards poking under their helmets, and heavy leathers underneath their mithril chainmail. As the pair led them in silence, Amdirlain tried to ignore the hissing fury they''d left behind. 340 - Urban decay Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) "How long does it take to get to the inner city?" asked Amdirlain after an hour of walking through deserted halls without a break in the silence. The route they''d chosen crossed by many shafts, but none were operational lifts. The walls were heavily eroded, and the passages they passed through were heavy with dust swirling in icy winds. "If we keep a steady pace, a week," replied the elder. ¡°We¡¯ve rations enough for us all.¡± "None of the shafts are elevators?" asked Sarah. The same guard coughed. "Not anymore. The last stopped working centuries ago. The city sealed the shafts because we couldn''t keep them clear of things without the lifts working." Sarah clicked her tongue. "Could I get your names if we''re going to travel that long?" "I''m Darrag, and my brother''s name is Govruth," replied the younger of the two, without slowing from their march''s steady, ambling rhythm. "Why don''t I fix one lift at least?" proposed Sarah. "Clearing it out won''t be hard." Stopping, the pair looked at each other, and Govruth''s beard crinkled as he gnawed at his bottom lip. "The city elders haven''t allowed the work." "It''s disorderly to leave monsters lurking between your outpost and the inner city," countered Sarah, and she winked at Amdirlain. "What''re your Miner''s senses telling you?" "Lots of spiders and other pests. Some of the tougher ones sound like phase spiders," replied Amdirlain, playing along. "The sealed shaft three hundred metres ahead goes close to the mountain''s peak and down half a kilometre. It doesn''t sound like it reaches the inner city; not enough echoes from the base. Wide enough for five to stand abreast, or a small wagon." "We can reseal it after we descend and clear out the vermin," proposed Sarah. Govruth huffed. "As long as we can clear the shaft completely and reseal it." Walking faster, Sarah opened a wall section before the other three caught up. Dropping a series of glowing orbs into the lift shaft, she listened to the hissing clicks that arose. "Phase spiders." "Above and below," agreed Amdirlain. Sarah nodded and stepped back, motioning for the others to follow her example. Far below, thumps and flames rose repeatedly until the chittering stopped. Even as they faded, Sarah released a swarm of fist-sized orbs and started measuring the shaft''s entrance as the spheres raced inside. The hissing sound of plasma lasers burning through flesh and webs descended from above. "It won''t be long," said Sarah to the brothers. "I''ll get a temporary platform ready for descending." Without waiting, she started drawing steel strips and, lying them on the floor away from the shaft, working them into a latticework. ''You could have done that without measuring,'' projected Amdirlain. Sarah huffed in amusement. ''People find little gestures they can understand reassuring. The towns I visited were rustic, but they weren''t this old. I thought they might still be developing.'' "Let''s get the entrance fully open," proposed Amdirlain. "That way, we''re ready to go." Once it was ready, they stood on the levitating platform and sealed the opening behind them before they descended to the ashes at the bottom of the shaft. With still a distance to travel through the deserted outer city, they used other shafts to avoid a winding path and descended almost two kilometres in an hour. Sarah had left a constructed platform in each new shaft and ensured the brothers knew how to operate them. When they finally reached the inner city, they found a solid metal wall formed the gate, and the ward''s keystone had long since failed. Beyond the gate were tunnels and chambers that rang with a worn lethargic theme. The wall was the inner section of a massive cog that rolled sideways, the teeth along its edges turning in the geared tracks along the floor. Teams of dire boars instead of a drive shaft powered its mechanism. Amdirlain could see Sarah''s shoulders tense as they each took in the off-balance pressure the makeshift harness put on the door. Sarah muttered when the door''s trailing edge became visible after long minutes. "How long has the drive shaft been in for repair?" "How do you know about that?" asked Darrag. Sarah snorted. "I can hear the strain on the door. It''s not meant to be opened by whatever is giving it a good tug." "Two years; they''re having issues getting it back into place," replied Govruth. Amdirlain smiled at Sarah. ¡°You can put everything back in order.¡± The dose of stink-eye Sarah threw her way had Amdirlain smiling and stroking her braided beard. The guards presented letters of introduction from Captain Dalphan to the officer beyond the gate. Amdirlain listened to their hushed conversation within the officer''s chamber. As the pair shared their arrival and journey, the Captain tried to restrain his excitement. This Captain didn''t bother to consult with anyone and soon had the brothers guide them to the Artificer''s guildhall. The city''s passages were clean, but the carvings on the walls were old and blurry, to where their meaning took time to determine. What scaffolding was in place around stonework seemed intended to support what was in place rather than for planned repairs. The booted footsteps they heard in side passages echoed through empty chambers and sparsely furnished homes. The city had sealed up one storefront in four along the principal thoroughfare their escorts led them down. The Artificer''s Guild was covered in a cog motif, and its old wards were fading and damaged. Sarah glanced at Amdirlain as she pushed the door open. Within the lobby was a pristine, well-cared for space, with carved stone chairs lining the wall and a counter tended by a white-bearded dwarf. Though it had a wide staircase leading up to the second floor, its low-hung ceiling and cleanliness gave it a snug feel. As the door bumped against its back plate, he looked up and straightened from his stooped position. "Who''ve you brought with you, Darrag?" "These are Salarn and Amdain, of Clan Mithrilblood," replied Darrag, raising his voice slightly. "Distant travellers from beyond a rift, Master Darlin." "Rift? I''ve not heard tale of a rift in years. Come in and put your feet up. When my clerk returns, I''ll have him fetch us something to drink so we can talk." ¡°But you no longer-" Darrag stated only for Govruth to step on his foot. Govruth coughed. "I''ll pop down the pub and grab a few mugs, shall I?" Without waiting, Govruth was back out the door and, after a moment, Darlin chuckled and began to limp around the end of the counter. "He must think I''m going senile. I hired a new clerk last week, doofus. Still, he volunteered to fetch the booze, so he''ll need to cover the first round. Sit, relax, tell me more about this rift of yours." Darrag muttered under his breath and waited until the three of them were seated before he took up a spot a polite distance away. "To be blunt, why is the city so run down, Master Darlin?" asked Sarah. Darlin snorted. "It''s an old tale of woe, greed, and perhaps not an uncommon amount of stupidity. Though that could be the way the tales got passed down. Isn''t your home suffering the effects of the calamity?" "What calamity?" "The Gods¡¯ War? The Gods¡¯ death? Whatever you want to call it?" Sarah shook her head. "When did this happen?" "Not long and an eternity ago. It''s been a hundred-odd generations since the Catfolk¡¯s gods killed ours," explained Darlin. "We¡¯re further afield from home than distant lands," replied Sarah. "In the lands I call home, the dwarven gods are still alive." "Oh, you''re like a child out of legend, perhaps from a distant world. If I were you, I''d look to find a way home, perhaps drag a few of my kinfolk with you so they stop littering up this place." "What happened?¡± asked Sarah. "Well, I''m not a Chanter, but I''ve been around long enough to hear the tale a few hundred times. As the tales say, one of our cities to the south used to trade with the Catfolk, a race of felines that walked on their hind legs. Which, to my mind, is a curious thing indeed, like asking a spider to make your clothes for you. Who''d believe a cat could walk upright? What would they need us for then? Certainly not to open the door or give them food. Then again, my cat would likely still expect me to hop up and feed her. Word of advice: if any kin-folk want to give you a pet to keep you company, make sure it''s not a cat unless you seek to be a servant," warned Darlin. Sarah snorted. "I''ll keep that in mind." "Disregard that advice at your peril. I almost fell in the privy the other night. I was half asleep when the beast meowed in my ear from atop the washbasin. The smug wretch wanted food, so she urgently needed my attention. Yet before I was done with my business, she plopped down atop my britches. Then the wretch wouldn''t shift to let me up, no matter what I said," grumbled Darlin, his hand absently rubbing against the chair as if to pet it. When Darlin stayed quiet, Amdirlain prompted him. "So what happened with the trade with the cat city?" "Oh yeah. There was trade between us and a group of their cities. Then, a mess of a religious war had gods appearing in the flesh. When the dust settled, the cities we''d traded with had been shattered into rubble, and our gods and those the city''s cats worshipped had perished. Explorers bring back wild tales that the other cities that attacked died since only rubble hidden beneath the snow was ever found, along with spectres and other undead stalking the ruins. Fortunately, only one dwarven city has fallen to the foul things; to my knowledge at least," muttered Darlin, and he thumped a fist against the chair. "Yeah, if you ain''t from here, get ye home. That''s the best advice this white beard can give you." ''Dwarven generations are around forty years, so that puts it around five thousand years ago if the count is close to right,'' noted Amdirlain. Sarah huffed. ''Just before the wizards killed the followers, or did they also kill the de-powered dwarven gods during a Gods'' War?'' ''Then they''d have been able to claim mantles; so, were the mantles left unclaimed by the winners, or did the dwarves just refuse to worship them? It could be the Catfolk gods got territorial, as a pantheon once did among the elven gods. Post that is when the wizards hit, maybe?'' This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "If you think your people''s decline is linked to missing your gods, I can tell you about Moradin," said Sarah, and Amdirlain felt his awareness settle on the room. ''Really?'' ''Their dwarven fertility could use a boost from a deity, this place is emptying, and Eileen didn''t know about dragons. This means their gods somehow gained the draconic runes to teach them artifice, but they couldn''t have regained them from local dragons if things went missing. Lost knowledge plus declining numbers means civilisations come apart,'' replied Sarah. "Who is this Moradin?" asked Darlin, and he leant forward on his seat. ''Yeah, and I''m not subtle,'' snorted Amdirlain. ''The dwarven pantheon can have full credit,'' rebuffed Sarah. "The patriarch is a dwarven deity known, I''m told, on a few worlds and planes. I''m not the most religious type, however, I¡¯m strong enough magically to call one of his angels from the heavens. They can answer your questions," replied Sarah, her presence leaking certainty and conviction into her words. "If I need information to head home, talking to an Angel wouldn''t hurt." ''Again, I ask: subtle? How?'' Amdirlain projected along with the sound of fireworks through the link. ''This way, we don''t have to stick around to do the work,'' retorted Sarah. ''They''ll handle the rehab and come to arrangements with the locals. You could offer Moradin a deal on some demi-plane challenges to stir them along, pick up some future favours.'' Darrag cleared his throat. "Don''t you think we should ask the Elders?" Blowing a raspberry, Darlin got to his feet. "I''ll be dead in a few years, Darrag, and I''ve nowhere for my Soul to go. The elders will still be arguing when I''m in the grave. I want to hear what this Angel has to say. Come through; I assume you¡¯ll need space for a circle like an elemental?" "That would be good," replied Sarah. ¡°Though it requires some adjustments to reach the higher planes.¡± Amdirlain waved. "Have fun. I''m going to wait here for the booze." Darrag stalked after them, trying to talk Darlin down. Amdirlain murmured under her breath as the trio headed upstairs. "Morradin, chat with Ebusuku and let her know if you''d like any demi-plane challenges set up for them. For some favours, of course¡ªthey''re far behind the local Catfolk." "Ebusuku wins the bet and gets a favour, yet we get a bunch of new-old dwarves on a new world. That''s a fair balance," Moradin whispered in her ear from an orb of Mana. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to her about these ¡®challenge¡¯ things you mentioned.¡± Sarah snorted and glanced back at Amdirlain. A ruffle of amusement from Moradin stirred across her awareness before his presence faded out. Govruth returned with a stone box repurposed into a tray ladened with five lid-capped beer mugs, a pot of stew and some bowls. "Where are the others?" "Gone upstairs for Darlin to show Sarlan a room they use for elementals," replied Amdirlain, absently following Sarah''s tweaks to the summoning circle. "Already getting into the work, I thought he''d be twisting your ear for longer," replied Govruth, setting the box on top of a low table in the foyer. "Thought he¡¯d hang on and not go senile, like some others." "He hired a new clerk. Darlin didn''t interrupt your retreat, so you''d buy the first round," advised Amdirlain after taking a mug from Gorvruth. Govruth snorted. "That right bugger!" "Old folks, they can be sneaky," noted Amdirlain. Dishing out some stew, Govruth sat down across from Amdirlain. "Is your sister married?" "I think you''d be better looking for someone else," replied Amdirlain. "She has a bit of a bite when she gets annoyed, though I''m not sure how long we''re staying." Sighing, Govruth slurped at the steaming stew and shook his head. "No one stays. They move from place to place, trying to find somewhere that feels hopeful. We''ve seen so many come and go. My brother had his heart set on a lass, and she seemed to feel the same, but the moment she was an adult..." He flicked his hand southwards. "Went searching for somewhere better." "Do any of them come back?" "Sometimes, and then tell tales about places they''ve seen worse than here," replied Govruth. "Some believe them, and others think they''ve looked in the wrong places. The clan is bleeding out, thousands of cuts from departed souls given up." "What do you want to do?" asked Amdirlain, and she felt her Charisma gently boost his confidence to speak. Govruth stabbed the spoon back into the stew. "I want the clan and our home to be a place that makes everyone proud to be a part of it." "How do you see that working?" asked Amdirlain. "What do you mean?" Amdirlain motioned out to the quiet streets with their battered carvings. "What would you improve? Is being a guard what you want to do? Keeping people safe is important, but is that what you''re doing? None of you were even training¡ªthere wasn''t space to train. There was your barracks, the watch room, sealed shafts and chambers? You''re ready to protect or go out on patrol, but where do you train?" "Training is something you do before you become a guard," huffed Govruth. "No, the best soldiers frequently train, looking to learn more that could be the difference in saving someone''s life or their own. Constant small improvements over years can add up," corrected Amdirlain. "It''s better than learning when your life is flashing before your eyes that others will die because you''re not good enough. That still might happen, but at least you know you did your best." "On the way down, you asked about devices to learn one''s levels. It took me a while to work out what you meant. Those are just legends for us, praying in the temples to learn how you''ve progressed," stated Govruth. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. "You just have Class visions?" Govruth blew on his stew and pushed the contents of his bowl around some more. "Those the dreams when you think you''re awake but see a place with statues of yourself?" "Yep," replied Amdirlain, remembering Gail¡¯s talk about her own. "That''s what we have," replied Govruth. "Then, ?you feel surges of strength, especially after battles. Crafters don''t seem to have that happen, just little surges from making things. Nothing to tell how far we''ve gone, just silence for years or more. Then you¡¯re supposed to get some more of them." "Depending on the Class, we refine life energy or experience in different ways that translate into levels, enough levels in different classes earn prestige classes," offered Amdirlain. "That''s a different Class vision. The strength in the statues you see will tell you''re being offered a Prestige Class or gaining access to a new or stronger base Class." "Really?" asked Govruth. "What else does your clan know about them? It''s not a guild secret, is it?" Amdirlain smiled. "No, it''s not a guild secret. I''ll tell you what I remember while we wait for the others." "You should eat first and talk after," advised Govruth. "It''s okay, I''ll wait for the others to return. You eat, I''ll run my mouth," encouraged Amdirlain. She answered many very familiar questions while Govruth ate his meal until the summoning circle being breached on the floor above them almost had him spilling his drink. "What was that?" The Solar¡¯s melody carried a solid, dependable tone and rang out, carrying the pulse of a smith¡¯s hammer working steel. "An Angel''s aura and help arriving to improve things," replied Amdirlain, taking in the Solar and the local introduction upstairs. "What''s an Angel?" "A servant of a good deity. I don''t always agree with their perspective, but they do try to help. It seemed like your clan could do with some help," replied Amdirlain. "A God''s servant? Our gods are dead," protested Govruth. Amdirlain nodded. "Salarn was seeing if we could intercede on behalf of your people with other dwarven deities." A voice called from upstairs as the groups came down. "Am, I''ve heard good things about you. I hope it''s alright, me sticking around to help them out?" "It seems they need it," replied Amdirlain. A Dwarf with a braided reddish beard and dark gaze that carried the warm glow of a forge started down the stairs. She was wearing the heavy-duty clothing of a smith, with Moradin''s symbol on her apron. As the Solar approached, she drew in her aura to avoid touching it against Amdirlain''s skin, but when it brushed Govruth, he inhaled in surprise. "Call me Eazmor; you''re Govruth, correct?" asked Eazmor, and her attention fixing on Govruth made the young Dwarf''s gaze widen. "Govruth was telling me he wanted to make his clan and home a place to be proud of," advised Amdirlain. Eazmor nodded. "A worthy ambition, one we can work to accomplish together. Darlin said there is a Council of Elders to talk with before work can commence. Will you accompany us there, Govruth?" "I will," breathed Govruth. Licking his lips, he turned to Amdirlain. "Did you come here by accident?" "We''ve travelled through a rift before. We came to see if there were people worth helping and if there was a need to assist. Some people need more help than others, but the dwarven people here seem to need a lot," replied Amdirlain before she and Sarah vanished. The pair eventually arrived back in the apartment after a series of hops to obscure their route. Kadaklan frowned in confusion when they appeared in the living room. "I expected you to be gone for a week or more." Amdirlain waved at Sarah. "She decided to play the deity card. So not subtle." "They needed lots of rehab. It was the pragmatic approach to put them in the care of Moradin and his family. Will you worry about them?" asked Sarah. "No," admitted Amdirlain. Sarah nodded in satisfaction. "And it''ll be far more orderly since they were a failing society that needed more TLC than we could provide without taking time away from other projects. I should have done more digging in the smaller communities. Lesson learnt. This way also gets the Catfolk backup in case of an Eldritch re-occurrence." "Alright, I''ll leave it in the pantheon''s hands," agreed Amdiralin. ¡°Though I can see things getting tense if the Catfolk learn there are other gods about.¡± "They just need to learn that not all gods are cut from the same cloth. Let¡¯s get back to focusing on the Matriarch," declared Sarah. Giving a nod, Amdirlain relaxed on her couch. "First stage: information gathering. I''d also like to sort out a way to break through the cultist indoctrination that the wizards go through." "That''s going to be tough. Most cult breakers kidnap victims to isolate them and reverse the process. Bombard them with truths to counter the brainwashing," replied Sarah. "You''ll get better returns for time in simply breaking their propaganda machine. Getting the non-indoctrinated civilians into a state where they''ll act when offered a way out will likely take a lot of work. A big regime can¡¯t operate if the peons are all gone, and they only have officials left." "Most cult breakers don''t have access to psionic techniques or isolation dreamscapes," proposed Amdirlain. "Which needs to be monitored," rebutted Sarah. "It can also be done after we rescue their pipeline of recruits and have the current authorities isolated." Looking between them, Kadaklan smiled. "Most people don''t try to stop regimes from interfering with others'' daos." "This is a small battlefield for souls," replied Amdirlain. "I''ll have to sort out the countless hordes of souls bound in undead on Orcus'' Plane eventually." "The Demon Lord you''ve spoken of?" asked Kadaklan. "That''s the one. But let''s not get into that discussion yet; I''ve got a splash planned," quipped Amdirlain. Her joke earned a groan from Sarah. "Do you need me to speak to any of those professors?" "Do you want to discuss the power grid with the engineering professors?" replied Amdirlain. "If you do, I¡¯ll also need to figure out if the power generators they use on the Material Plane will work in the mana flows of a demi-plane. I''ll do some construction work and think about how I''d like to start making waves." "Before you go," interjected Kadaklan. "What Sarah said before you left, are you still using that poison?" Amdirlain clicked her tongue and nodded. "I''ve been taking it to increase my Mental Hardening, and it causes the singing to be more challenging." Kadaklan winced. "Would you please consider stopping? I provided that to you for growing your mental protection against the Eldritch, not for continual use." "I''m likely to run into more in the future," argued Amdirlain. "But that is not the sole reason you are using it; you are using it as a crutch to develop your power faster," noted Kadaklan. "Some people use poisons to temper their bodies in the short term, yet they don''t use it for the hours you sing. There are also others whose way features poisons, but they can grow to contaminate the surrounding environment. Before they reach that stage, their Ki loses the ability to heal; it can only harm." [Knowledge: Eastern Paths unlocked Eastern Paths (1)] "I''ll look for a different way," sighed Amdirlain. ¡°It was working so well.¡± ¡°A cliff is a fast way down, even for those that can¡¯t fly,¡± noted Kadaklan. Sarah huffed. "Thanks. So the roads to enlightenment don''t always produce pleasant folks." "Those following a poison Dao are unpleasant individuals," explained Kadaklan. "Generally, they are followed by those seeking power in the fall, not something followed by those seeking higher paths." "Seeking to become eastern demons?" "Some do seek power in Hell as their road to Immortality. For others, the path of poison is chosen from seeing it as an aspect of nature," advised Kadaklan. "How many paths are there?" asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled. "As many as there are people, only the heavens truly know the limits. Many of the paths have main themes that could be seen to mirror the affinities you are familiar with, yet even those variations are caused by an individual''s nature." "Many but not all?" asked Amdirlain as she leaned forward. "There are paths around blood, pleasure, pain, justice, public service, hospitality, every weapon known, and many other things," replied Kadaklan. "Those are simply a few of those I know of, and I''m not a scholar." [Eastern Paths (1->2)] 341 - Commotion Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) Two days later, news of a slaughter escalated their timeline. While Sarah dealt with broadcast preparations, Amdirlain wandered through a mall far different to those she''d grown familiar with. The hexagonal towers'' exteriors were stark, without a single decoration anywhere to be seen. In this middle-class area, the shops were bland and practical; even the clothing stores were drab in the colours of cloth available. Where Osaphis stores had at least put out colourful temporary sign boards, here they were strictly black and white. The badly faded writing barely warranted a glance from the locals, as if the signage rarely changed. About the place, she saw more than a few signs making it clear coupons were required and limits per customer applied. No eateries, boutique stores, dance studios, or music shops existed. The bookstores had hundreds of books about the Matriarch, her father, heroes of the dominion and technical literature. She had to keep her steps slow to match the trudging steps of those around her. Thin mothers carried children and pulled homemade carts with little food besides the necessities. Many goods bore logos with the Matriarch''s likeness or the Patriarch''s seal of approval. She ventured into a grocery store''s interior, where too-loud receivers burbled news of the latest victories to keep their community safe. Following a family of six, Amdirlain spotted the mother doing the sums from the first item. As she wandered the aisle behind her, Amdirlain picked items to round out the mother''s choices. Amdirlain didn''t pick out the items she returned from the children''s grabbing hands, her selections were essentials the mother regretted skipping and larger bags of food staples that would keep for months. After Amdirlain cleared the registers, she caught up to the mother and watched as she kept the children in tow. One escapee had Amdiralin step forward. She herded the eldest back to their mother and casually gestured with the bags. "Some things to help you," Amdirlain said. The mother''s eyes went wide, and she stopped in shock. "I don''t have coupons for those." "None of these items need them or are on limits. My mate won''t be returning, and I have funds I''m unlikely to need past today," reassured Amdirlain before she nodded to the children. "Please let me help you and them." "Is it because of the draft?" whispered the mother, even as her mind brought up other unpleasant options. The graphic images in the female mind showed suicides seen first-hand. "The Matriarch¡¯s service wants what it wants. I won''t be in the city after today," agreed Amdirlain softly. "Just tell me where you¡¯d like me to take them." The mother started forward, and the children, curious about Amdirlain and the bags, kept pace. The trip wasn''t far, and the children relaxed under the calmness Amdirlain projected and didn''t fuss at their mother. It was a trip that went in silence between them, and Amdirlain felt bad whenever the mother glanced at the bags with guilt and need. "What of your pride?" asked the mother as Amdirlain handed her the supplies through the door. Amdirlain gave her a sad smile. "They also no longer need food." "Is there anything I can do?" "Have hope things will get better," replied Amdirlain. "Maybe you''ll hear my voice again one day. The grey bag has some extra to hold aside." Amdirlain was out of sight before the mother could check the bag and find the coins. As Amdirlain headed towards the city''s core, she went between shopping centres and similarly helped a few more families. Along her route, she found where the highrises started was a demarcation line. The clothing was more colourful, and the choices were wider. Yet there was a catch: restrictions applied unless one paid with Mana. It''s a naturally selective elitism, and every shop has a separate counter for those paying that way. From a shop owner''s mind, Amdirlain plucked out the reason: a requirement of the local zoning laws. She adjusted her clothing to blend in with groups that lay ahead and moved on. Amidst the propaganda''s continuous announcements of the Matriarch''s greatness, she finally heard some music. But even in that, she caught hints about the Patriarch''s sacrifices and the heroics of the Matriarch. ''You should see this; they¡¯re so special. Look at the treatment you deserve for having Mana.'' Sarah snorted, taking in the view Amdirlain shared. ''Oh honey, you say the sweetest things.'' ''You want a smack?'' ''Not a switch, sweetie. Then again, if it''s the only way, you''ll come to play...'' ''Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly,'' laughed Amdirlain, trying to counter the hollowness within herself. ''Give me more, sweetie, give it,'' heckled Sarah with a sultry huff. After she let out a mental raspberry, Amdirlain swept her Resonance out as far as she could and sent the details she collected from every receiver. As she went along, she fed the information into Sarah''s psi-crystal to be sorted. As her research progressed, Amdirlain could feel the edge of tension in Sarah from the news that had prompted them to act early. ''I''d prefer you be clear of the zone before I smack the Matriarch''s nose.'' ''I¡¯m not in a form related to Am or J,'' responded Amdirlain, and she sent her an image of the calico form she wore. ''You should be in a tuxedo cat form for the service of arse whooping,'' huffed Sarah. ''It depends on how the civilians here take it,'' replied Amdirlain. ''Is the rest of Astent''s populace out as yet?'' ''They are; the surveyor shows no living left among the buildings,'' murmured Sarah. ''But it''s a tent city. I''m hassling the profs to give us the list of essential services.'' ''I''ll be back there to redistribute more supplies and refurbish the facilities shortly.'' replied Amdirlain. ''Connection established to multiple receivers, and the broadcast activated,'' announced Sarah. A propaganda announcement ended mid-word, and a dark-furred newscaster appeared; their neatly pressed suit contrasted with the other''s military uniform. The male was seated before the logo of one of the Oligarchy''s largest caster stations. It was a detail that would hopefully cause the Matriarch''s information police headaches later. His well-spoken voice was a bass rumble that cut through the shopper''s noise. ¡°The Matriarch threw a hundred and fifty thousand infantry and armoured units into the latest assault on Astent. The size of the surge after the quiet siege the city has endured for months caught the defenders off guard. The Matriarch¡¯s units killed almost 100,000 civilians equipped with only personal small arms and all the remaining Astent military units.¡± Smoothing the film sheet on the desk to compose himself, he nodded gravely to reinforce the news. ¡°It''s predicted that to hold on to the city, the Matriarch''s forces will have to ride out the formation of a large Spawning Abomination within the week. It could also doom neighbouring cities within the spectre''s reach if they don''t. Like previous events of this nature, the callous calculated actions put none of her cities at risk.¡± The newscaster''s grim expression turned sad as he switched his attention between cameras. ¡°Currently, the city is under full lockdown, and they''ve summarily executed civilians who¡¯ve attempted to surrender. They''ve left families with young children to rot in the street for anyone who dares peek outside to see what fate awaits them. This has some experts believing the military will starve the remaining populace of the city. An outcome that hails back to the Matriarch''s early conquests and her responses to cities that put up any prolonged resistance.¡± ¡°If they take this approach, we could see a return to her conquest doctrine from three hundred years ago. While the exact reason for this latest territory grab is unknown, her forces now possess a land route to attack all her south-west neighbours. That¡¯s if a cascade of spectres doesn¡¯t completely wipe them from the map. Such is possible given the spectres'' flight speed and willingness to hide in ghost caverns during the day. This attack has placed up to eighty million spread between three nations in peril.¡± ¡°After recent ineffectual personal attacks by the Matriarch''s enforcers, the performer Am asked a question in a song: does the Matriarch consider herself a new genocidal God? The answer appears to be an undoubted yes. This massacre came just days later, but sources say it would have taken months to implement the required troop movements and even longer to plan.¡± That question had the already stunned people gasping in shock. The program looped, which only added to the confusion. Though Am had proposed the question to Pal''tran years ago, there hadn¡¯t been anyone who¡¯d gotten recordings of video caster broadcasts to work. The memory crystal¡¯s enchantment was a trick they hadn¡¯t shared as yet. Amdirlain joined shoppers and gawked between the multiple screens as the unauthorised transmission looped. The truth started being broadcast in other random spots kilometres away, including the death toll among the Matriarch''s troops. Troops were strangely always reported as unbeatable within her lands unless the Matriarch needed to save the day. As others started to scamper away to avoid being caught up in the information police''s arrival, Amdirlain walked calmly onwards. Behind her, a recording Sarah had constructed from the military planning committee¡¯s memories started to play on the screen. It confirmed the newscaster''s report and the systematic nature of the genocide from the voices and faces they recognised. To create an event to season their troops without risk to the Matriarch''s lands. ''I''ll move on and see if they use the same runes within other receivers.'' ''I could override them all at once. I bounced it off short-range re-repeaters to mix up the confusion. They''re drawing Mana from government offices.'' ''They might purge the office staff,'' cautioned Amdirlain. ''Mana draws are jumping between offices. I could drain their grid spare capacity into batteries.'' ''Let''s not go there,'' replied Amdirlain. ''Is Cla''nes on the Demi-plane still?'' Her location among the tent city came through, and as Amdirlain turned into a quiet corridor in the mall away from prying eyes, she jumped to the Demi-plane. Changing to her J form, she appeared within the tent city. The hundred thousand ten-man tents were laid out along wide boulevards with ''facilities'' and food distribution centres staggered out along the lines. Amdirlain had hastily thrown it up to have a place to evacuate the surviving people of Astent. Lady Cla''nes and other companions were moving among the distressed civilians. Their Charisma, normally used to entertain, ensured panicked people remained calm instead. Moving beside her boss, Ssa''time was in a ''uniform'' similar to the cut of the Allied Territories'' law keepers; the mute blue was attention-catching in the Catfolk''s vision. Ssa''time noticed Amdirlain''s arrival and touched Cla''nes''s elbow to point her towards Amdirlain''s position. "How are things holding?" asked Amdirlain. "We''re keeping people calm. I''ve noticed some food areas emptying. I''m not sure if people are hoarding or if we have a problem with too many people visiting some of them," replied Cla''nes. "This is a different exertion than I''m used to, J." Filtering Resonance to take in food supplies, Amdirlain nodded in satisfaction. "Option three: people have prepared a feast after so long being hungry, but that could cause other problems. They''ve been on short rations too long. I''ll restock and set up so the shelves stay full. Might stop people feeling the need to binge." "Food is a comfort," replied Cla''nes. "We can speak of the hourly gifts expected by some companions and how to explain this to them later." "If they want to get some payment, I''ll pay them. I''m just a representative of that cabal swinging into action," whispered Amdirlain theatrically. "I''m going to restock food, and then I''m going to see if I can get a city plan layout." "I''ve got a payment option I''d like fulfilled," purred Cla''nes, her heated gaze roamed over Amdirlain and received a snort. As Cla''nes started linking to her colleagues, Amdirlain set to work. Food for the evacuated civilians reappeared in the distribution centres. Once that was done, Amdirlain created a series of linked songs to restock them automatically; not good for long-term independence, but they were still in the emergency phase. That she already had a few dozen people held in stasis for lashing out at others wasn''t happy fuel for her mood. After she repaired the crystal fueling the regeneration fields in the ''medical centres'', Amdirlain moved out of sight of the evacuees and opened a Gate. Her possession of the wardstone let her cut right to Sarah''s meeting location within the campus¡¯s faculty hall. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Eight professors looked at her wide-eyed when the bird song from the Demi-plane interrupted their discussion. "Afternoon all, do you have a city plan for me yet?" "We don''t have a breakdown of the professionals you''ll need, J," replied a silvery-furred professor. "What can you give me?" asked Amdirlain. "Do you have any broad city zoning layouts for the evacuees?" An amber-furred professor raised her hand uncertainly. "We have a survey of information we need collected. I suggested smaller, modular townships; it keeps the problems on a smaller scale, preventing a cascade if a group panics." "We lose the economies of scale around the limited numbers of core professionals we''re likely to have," a dark blue male retorted. "Some of it I''ll brute force through until we properly distribute skilled personnel. Each town can access medical centres, for example, through portals," interjected Amdirlain. "I''ve already got people on lockdown for violence, some of which comes just from situational anxiety. Do you have existing township plans we can use for groups of up to twenty thousand people?" The group looked at each other. Picking the thoughts up, Sarah rolled her eyes. "Town plans are with government branches, not academics." "I have some plans," offered one professor, and he twitched a white ear that was the only dash of colour amid his black fur. "But they''re purely theoretical, modelling around transport efficiencies related to housing density. They don''t extend to crop fields or food distribution; they''re just housing." "Do you have any recent graduates in the city¡¯s offices that would have plans for the farming townships?" asked Sarah. "Yes," replied the professor. Sarah nodded. "Let''s start with real life; we don''t care about excess capacity. We don''t know how long we''ll need to house them, but we can seal up unused buildings." "I''ll be back in touch," replied Amdirlain, and she closed the Gate. I want to smear the Matriarch¡¯s face slowly across a rough brick wall, and I''m sure the plinth would hold it against me. Keeping dozens of moving parts in the air kept her busy. When people settled in to rest, Amdirlain ventured to the broken city of Astent. The military camp''s wards were set to react to the undead and alert to non-authorised Catfolk, but they rolled right over Amdirlain''s Fallen form without so much as a twitch. Invisible, she drifted through the wards and moved to the armoured military transports. Inventory wasn''t something she''d stretched for a long time. Tonight, she reached through the ground to not one mass, but hundreds and gutted engine components and equipment. The dramatically lightened vehicles shifted position, and a notification burped. [Inventory [Ad] (41->42)] Checking the capacity increase, Amdirlain gave a pleased smirk. Without pausing, she snatched a tonne of backup weaponry from the armoury and exited the wards. Teleporting away, she eventually appeared in Sarah''s workshop. Among the Artificer gear, she deposited the components into racks or stacked them on the floor for Sarah to sort out. In quick raids on a dozen other military camps, she stripped what she could without alerting the night watch to what was going on. Near neighbouring countries'' military compounds, equipment mounds grew under concealment. Sarah winked and pointed to the Mana generator she''d claimed. ''Is that all the gear you''ve stolen so far?'' ''There are supplies near other compounds. Where did you steal that from?'' ''Southern staging base; it is, I mean was, their backup generator; the base still connects to the city''s grid.'' Amdirlain huffed. ''I''ve got some Inventory increases from tonight, but it hit Master and stopped.'' ''I guess ninety thousand kilograms is acceptable, newbie,'' teased Sarah. Flipping her the bird, Amdirlain teleported away, but their mental link remained in place. ''This isn''t how I wanted to disable the Matriarch''s control; there is too much chance for someone to get hurt. I wasn''t expecting her to go for a genocide push.'' ''We just need to break her military momentum and, while she regroups, we can be more orderly about our dismantling,'' reassured Sarah. ''The academics crew have their TAs taking the classes tomorrow; they''re reviewing the town plans from the archives, based on the professional survey Cla''nes and company gathered up. With the amount of stuff you''re waving under the professors'' noses, I expect them to keep their yaps shut for a few days at least.'' ''Though they''re chomping at the bit, eager to share details about the mysterious cabal that consulted with them. If they run their mouths, it could see people targeting them for information,'' grumbled Amdirlain. ''So, I got an orderly misconduct achievement today,'' laughed Sarah. ''Along with one for introducing a Pantheon to a world. Stripping their military gear back might have some spectres running free.'' ''No, that won''t be an issue. I want to ensure the Matriarch isn''t able to harvest this achievement to strengthen her troops. I''ve got a plan to keep a lid on it,'' replied Amdirlain. ¡®Worst case, I¡¯ll seal the abomination off into a Demi-plane if necessary.¡¯ She reappeared in the abandoned military base and headed into the ghost caverns. The place thrummed with the energy from the transition of souls to the Astral Plane on their way to Judgement. She listened to the trapped military teams still being evacuated through their nation''s portals; the withdrawal took them to military bases soon to be threatened within their borders. When she was deep enough that the place''s energies shifted into a conduit state, Amdirlain reached out through her cloister pendant. "I had wondered if we would ever hear from you again," murmured Dagrast?r, his voice the barest whisper through the pendant''s connection. "What happened to your hunt for the Fallen?" "It didn''t go well; they weren¡¯t interested in redemption," admitted Amdirlain, wanting to keep the details to herself. Dagrast?r groaned. "I''m sorry to hear that; I''d hoped the three celestials would want to recover. Concerning your request for help, given your lack of reputation among us, many will be dubious about risking the undertaking. I''m not sure what help we''ll be able to offer." "It¡¯s a Spawning Abomination that generates hordes of spectres. They don''t have to commit to destroying the entity without seeing it first. Do you have any that would at least be open to purging spectres and other undead? That¡¯s if they deem combating the creature too risky." "I know many that would regard the destruction of any undead as worthwhile. It''s whether they would be concerned about walking into what might be a trap that will make them hesitate. Between your silence and the resemblance of your True Form to the carvings showing the plinth¡¯s creator, it leaves some wary of giving aid." "That''s understandable," admitted Amdirlain. ¡±But they¡¯ve never met one individual that looked like another?¡± "It¡¯s mostly the silence, but some like wild speculations more than sense. Give me a short time. I''ll be in touch again," advised Dagrast?r. Listening to spectres rising from below, Amdirlain waited, ready to kill any that approached. "What proof can you offer?" asked Dagrast?r through the link a half hour later. "If you nominate a location for me to open a Gate, I can show you some proof. There is a horde of spectres nearby you¡¯ll be able to see," replied Amdirlain. "If you would, open a Gate to where we first arrived outside the cloister in a few minutes. I and at least another will investigate your claims," Dagrast?r replied. Amdirlain smiled. "I''ll open the Gate when you¡¯re ready." Shifting into the best position to see the milling horde, Amdirlain double-checked Dagrast?r was ready before she opened the Gate. The Abyssal energies radiated from the Plane of Ijmti as the Gate formed and shifted the spectres excitedly, but none came closer. Beyond its threshold, Amdirlain could see Dagrast?r waiting there. He nodded upon seeing her present in her Wood Elf form and took in the unmarked ground and the undead in the cavern beyond her. Though he constrained himself to one hundred eighty centimetres, he was in a semblance of his True Form. Clotted blood swirled around in his featureless form, the bat-like wings with metallic spurs unfurled as if ready to take flight. The light from Ijmti¡¯s nebulas reflected off the metallic spurs, spraying red-shifted rainbows through the Gate. Amdirlain stepped aside so Dagrast?r could get an unobstructed view of the spectres milling about the vast cavern. With no circle present around the Gate, it only took a glimpse at the spectres for him to decide. "It''s fine to come through," stated Dagrast?r, and he moved through the Gate and stepped clear. The Fallen that followed him stood five metres tall and had to duck through in her True Form. She was another former Elven Celestial with silvery hair and six wings, covered almost entirely in black soot that let through hints of luminous white. That stained appearance had merged into her eyes, which looked like dull, muddy quartz with thousands of flaws. The vast tracts of bare skin she showed were a forge-heated reddish-brown. Neither the metallic bandage top that strained to keep her full breasts constrained nor her torn, skin-tight metallic pants did much for her modesty. A set of feathery bracers around her wrists and a ring on her finger were the only magical possessions she displayed. Nodding solemnly at Amdirlain, she put a hand to her chest. "Please call me Te." "Am," replied Amdirlain, and she received a nod from Dagrast?r as well. When she was through, Dagrast?r motioned to the Gate. "You can close it, Am. Another, older member might join us in the reconnaissance, but she is busy with a troublesome evil. I''ll open a Gate for her once she sends word." Amdirlain nodded and let the Gate close while she checked ''Te''. [Name: Tinco Species: Fallen Class: Knight / Battle Wizard Level: 5 / 5 / 5 Health: 485,329 Defence: 2,645 Magic: 1,238 Mana: 12,466,110 Melee Attack Power: 2,393 Combat Skills: Sword-Lord [G] (3), Bow [G] (73). A wide range of affinities and spell lists. Details: She had progressed well for aeons as a Solar among the hosts, fighting to keep the gates and passages to Judgement clear of demonic raids. However, her first solo assignment beyond those heavenly hosts couldn¡¯t have gone worse. Baited and tempted by a manipulative Devil, she unleashed her wrath; in the battle that killed that Devil, she burst a dam, killing thousands. Though her Patron offered to send her through the trial, Tinco desired a chance to re-earn her place through harder endeavours. Her Patron, grieving for her fall, advised her where to find the cloister. She has recently arrived and taken on the elven word for metal as her ''Use'' name to represent her need to be reforged in the service of the heavens. Analysis [S] (35->36)] Finally tipped Analysis over, I need to remember to use it more. She¡¯s an almost blank slate of Species and Class levels, very new, even at one-fifth experience gain. Once clear of the gate, Tinco pulled a face at the sight of the horde of spectres in the three-kilometre chamber. Lifting her hand, she caused a silvery single-edged blade¡ªa metre long¡ªto appear in her grasp from the ring on her finger. "There are so many of them." "This is just the first chamber, and we''re only in the fourth cavern in a series. The route to the Spawning Abomination can take weeks or months for mortals to traverse." Tinco gave Amdirlain a severe smile. "I hope we can work together to regain the Heavens¡¯ blessings." Amdirlain''s bright smile was unreserved, and Tinco tilted her head in surprise. "I hope so as well, Te." She''s far older than me, but I feel I¡¯m recruiting a kindergartner. "The mortals come here to fight these foes regularly?" asked Dagrast?r. "It''s the result of a curse. A series of these caverns form near every major city," explained Amdirlain. "We need to clear through these to get at the Spawning Abomination that you advised Dagrast?r about?" asked Tinco. "The path to it lies somewhere through these caverns. Whether you fight them or skip past the groups the best you can, I''ll not dictate to you," replied Amdirlain. She frowned, but Tinco hadn''t shifted her attention from the closest spectres. "Might I try their strength, Dagrast?r?¡± A pair of slender swords appeared in Dagrast?r''s hands. "You may. Will you be joining us, Am?" "I can certainly remain with you for a time. However, I¡¯ll have to step away upon occasion to deal with other matters for the local mortals. I also didn''t want to take your chance for an achievement away. The locals gain Tier 7 classes from defeating the spawning abominations, and they fight them in battalions." "Such is possible?" asked Tinco. Amdirlain nodded. "I''m unsure if that will be the case this time, as a military conflict has left the city above nearly deserted, but the curse feeds off death. The achievement for those classes requires a significant impact upon the struggles. With Dagrast?r here, I¡¯m not sure what sort of struggle it will be to contain it. If it''s too simple, there won¡¯t be a reward.¡± Dagrast?r gave a grim sigh. ¡°Such a Class is of little import; the safety of mortals matters. You said they release hordes of undead if left unchecked. How many are we speaking of?¡± ¡°I''m sure you''re tapped out for class slots; it will matter to Te''s strength and who she can help. The abominations release millions of spectres in weeks once fully formed. They can also reach the surface fast, and though the Mortal cities have magical protections, the numbers can overwhelm them.¡± Tinco partly turned toward her in surprise. "You''ve been out on their world?" "For a few years now, I''ve been helping with some issues on their world," explained Amdirlain. "We''re mid-way through settling the evacuees from the city, hence why I requested help. I don''t have enough hands to do everything, and it''s frankly greedy to prevent others from helping." ¡°I¡¯ll gladly stay to purify these caverns of the undead scourge. You¡¯re welcome to stay and assist or go. I can understand the work you are doing to aid the mortals being a priority as their physical needs can¡¯t be ignored,¡± declared Te. Dagrast?r nodded. ¡°My thoughts align with Te¡¯s.¡± ¡°Then we agree. I¡¯ll start with Radiant Cascade, if that suits you both?¡± enquired Te. "As long as we''re not near the target zone of anything, there isn''t a need to ask, Te," advised Dagrast?r. "If anyone has particular vulnerabilities to spells you use, hopefully, they''ll advise you after seeing any of your spells in action." A hum of energy started on Te''s blade, and a hundred needles erupted towards the closest spectres. The Spell ripped through them, and each burst into a fireworks display that tore into others in a chain reaction. The light in the chamber flared, and when the Spell effect ended, thousands of burning wisps of ectoplasm drifted towards the ground. "That''s the way of it?" huffed Dagrast?r. "Perhaps we''ll need to take turns." Tinco frowned. "Is this something we should compete over?" If we work together, it will have them levelling faster than other celestials. If it''s a competition, then they won''t. Listening to Tinco and Dagrast?r¡¯s themes made the choice a straightforward decision. "Let''s work together for a time," suggested Amdirlain. "I have a flame aura that won''t hurt allies but will destroy the undead close to us unless they become massively stronger." Dagrast?r''s wing flexed as he turned back to Amdirlain. "Then I''d suggest you have your aura going. I''ll teleport us in line-of-sight hops, and Te can lay waste to those in between for a time. If we accumulate more undead than Te''s Spell can handle or she wishes a break, we''ll cast our spells." A test of trust of his own, to let him teleport me. I could move all three of us to the edge of Resonance. "Agreed," echoed Amdirlain and Te. The white-hot Primordial flames erupted around the pair, and Te''s severe composure broke into a gleeful laugh. "We¡¯re bathing within the fires of creation!" They reappeared at the start of the passage to the next area, and Dagrast?r immediately hopped them forward. Within hours, the trio had covered thousands of kilometres through the caverns and tunnels. Behind them, they left burning ectoplasm and the incinerated bodies of greater physical undead. 342 - Death Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) They had slaughtered the undead without pause for hours since the first chamber. But the trio finally halted as the latest massive colossus of merged corpses burst apart. Tinco sighed. ¡°I have only read of such monstrosities.¡± ¡°Mass graves,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I saw some of them in the Necropolis.¡± Dagrast?r growled and searched for a vampire who¡¯d fled; he caught a trace and leapt towards the cavern wall. ¡°An ill-omened place. I¡¯ve not heard mention of it in years. The foul thing fled into here.¡± Amdirlain crushed down on the urge to tell him its fate. Digging into an aperture in the cavern wall, Dagrast?r exposed the vampire¡¯s coffin, and Amdirlain¡¯s aura incinerated it. ¡°Did you expect this many undead, Am?¡± asked Te. ¡°The conflict on the surface must have had their military neglecting the ghost caverns these last months,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to leave this to you shortly.¡± ¡°There will be many kicking themselves; they should have taken this chance. I¡¯ll see what keeps the one I expected to join us,¡± said Dagrast?r. [Combat Summary: Spectres x342,952 (x33%) Vampires x12 (x33%) Vampiric Thralls x2,740 (x33%) Zombies x623,904 (x33%) Burning bones x12,873 (x33%) Mass graves x9 (x33%) Total experience gained: 125,104,259 Ostim?: +62,552,129 Ont?lin: +62,552,129] As the combat summary appeared, Tinco shivered. ¡°I¡¯ve never felt such a rush of experience before.¡± Amdirlain caught the draw of Mana swirling inwards towards Tinco, drawn by her increased Mana pool. ¡°There were only three of us,¡± noted Dagrast?r. ¡°Though I¡¯ll grant you, it was a considerable amount.¡± ¡°More than considerable. Can¡¯t you feel the Mana swirling about me?¡± gasped Tinco. ¡°I¡¯ve never experienced or expected such progress. I feel ashamed it comes from mortals being at risk and so many dead.¡± [Name: Tinco Species: Fallen Class: Knight / Battle Wizard Level: 62 / 62 / 62 Health: 646,684 Defence: 2,987 Magic: 1,580 Mana: 14,789,460 Melee Attack Power: 2,903 Combat Skills: Sword-Lord [G] (3), Bow [G] (73). A wide range of affinities and spell lists.] ¡°Yeah. If you can take any classes, perhaps now is the time to meditate and do so. There are still more caverns,¡± advised Amdirlain. Jumping a Mana pool capacity by millions makes an impression. ¡°I regained two evolved classes after I fell, but I¡¯m unsure about some options the flames in my vision showed me. I was leaving the decision until later,¡± replied Tinco. Dagrast?r grunted. ¡°She is done with the questioning for now and is ready to join us. I shall open a Gate for her.¡± The Fallen who emerged from Dagrast?r¡¯s Gate had rough green and black scales from head to toe and didn¡¯t wear a scrap of clothing. Her lizard-like head had a broad maw of needle teeth and seven tri-pupil eyes on either side of her head. From her back rose six wings of rippling flame, and she carried a barbed harpoon with a length of chain extending from its haft to her dominant hand. A carved notch showed in the middle of her chest scales, and the regeneration pressure kept the cloister¡¯s crystal pendant in place. It showed an ominous, pitch-black colouration, matched by her theme¡¯s seething anger. Age thrummed within her theme, and Amdirlain held off trying to get information with Analysis. I need to withdraw from this team; I think speeding up Tinco and Dagrast?r¡¯s progress is okay, but not so for this newcomer. ¡°You look like her, you know,¡± declared the Fallen in the Celestial tongue, her words uttered without moving her maw. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The Eldest had mentioned that, if you are referring to the likeness carved in the chamber¡¯s stonework.¡± Raising a clawed finger, she poked it towards Amdirlain. ¡°It is a likeness carved into more than just the plinth¡¯s chamber. You¡¯d know if you had bothered to do more than come and go as you please.¡± Dagrast?r held up a hand. ¡°Am was in the middle of tasks to help others. Just like the endeavour we¡¯re undertaking here. Perhaps introduce yourself and not judge another of the cloister.¡± The eyes on either side of the maw blinked in a rippled motion, and the Fallen tilted her head. ¡°Is she of the cloister? Summons us to do her bidding without having helped another first. She even holds herself like Orh¨ºthurin as well. Poised and balanced, ready to kill.¡± I offered the opportunity to help; you didn¡¯t have to fucking take it. How did Dagrast?r present my offer? ¡°Name a Fallen that doesn¡¯t carry themselves that way; even Te, the youngest of us, stays ready for battle. Introduce yourself or depart. Bring no hostility when we¡¯re working to help mortals,¡± chided Dagrast?r. ¡°I am known as Rahka,¡± stated Rahka flatly, and a sense of impatience rose from Dagrast?r. ¡°You met her?¡± asked Amdirlain. "Orh¨ºthurin, I mean." ¡°More often than I wanted. The air about Orh¨ºthurin always tasted of misery to me; before, it was never clear if it was hers or that of others she had wallowed in. Now we bathe daily in the misery she created for us; she was a plague looking for hosts to infect.¡± ¡°Misery we earned, and misery you can rise from if you put in the effort. Orh¨ºthurin is deceased and left the realm with the rest of the Anar,¡± corrected Dagrast?r. ¡°Is she?¡± questioned Rahka. ¡°That is just what the whispers from the divine say, but the Titan doesn¡¯t make his will known to the likes of us.¡± ¡°Does Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s semblance in the cloister stir your guilt? If the facial resemblance between Am¡¯s True Form and Orh¨ºthurin brought you along, I suggest you depart,¡± stated Dagrast?r. Rahka growled. ¡°You had no right to air my history.¡± ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t be bringing your anger into cloister activity. Am didn¡¯t ¡®summon you¡¯ or any of us. I enquired if you¡¯d like to take part in clearing out undead hordes that place mortals¡¯ lives at risk,¡± said Dagrast?r firmly. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin is back, I¡¯m sure of it,¡± snapped Rahka. Well, shit! I have a fan base already. Lucky me!!! Does she know Naamah? Then again, Naamah¡¯s predatory vibe isn¡¯t so rage-filled. Though still not good company for a Fallen to keep if they want to escape their state. Dagrast?r tsked. ¡°You are deliberately ignoring my point. And who has spread such rumours? And what does it change?¡± ¡°That is for me to know.¡± Dagrast?r shook his head. ¡°Leave, Rahka. I¡¯d not have opened the Gate if you¡¯d been open about your anger. You need to stop poisoning yourself with it; its real focus is your guilt, yet you¡¯ll lash out at others.¡± ¡°I wish to hunt the undead,¡± muttered Rahka. Dagrast?r reopened the Gate to Ijmti and pointed at it. ¡°The Eldest will wish to speak with you. You should leave.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if she stays to hunt. I need to take care of the mortals¡¯ concerns. I wouldn¡¯t want to deny her the opportunity to progress,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You said you would need to tend to them, but that doesn¡¯t change the fact that the Eldest will wish to speak to Rahka immediately. She won¡¯t be staying even if you go; it is known there is no progress with such rage within,¡± advised Dagrast?r. Rahka snarled when she stepped through and Dagrast?r closed the Gate. ¡°I¡¯m surprised she listened to you; she feels older.¡± Dagrast?r shook his head. ¡°It is the Eldest¡¯s authority that I borrowed. It is improper that I had to do so. Once I called Rahka¡¯s attention to the issue, she should have calmed herself and apologised, or withdrawn if she couldn¡¯t. There should never be a need for a senior cloister member to issue such an order.¡± ¡°Okay, thanks for the explanation. I had better get going, or the mortals will be short on proper places to sleep, among other issues,¡± said Amdirlain, and she turned to a concerned-looking Te. ¡°Te, I¡¯d suggest you ensure you have four evolved or base classes and hold out before taking a Prestige Class. I¡¯d recommend trying to get over a hundred at the very least. I¡¯ve learnt there is a single Fallen transformation allowed, and it¡¯s level-gated from when you transformed into a Fallen. While it might seem strange to want such, its strength will let you help others now and when you regain the heavens. I hope the rest of your hunt goes well. Let me know if you need help with the Spawning Abomination, and I¡¯ll return.¡± Leaving a confused Te behind, Amdirlain shifted between planes to hover in Limbo¡¯s chaos, only once it had washed all traces of her Power away did she move on. Sarah was waiting near the refugees¡¯ camp with a Mana generator humming with energy. ¡°Did you have to alter it at all?¡± ¡°I had to tune down its intake,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°It was going to burn itself out with the demi-plane¡¯s flows; the thin boundary to the chaos between planes is likely the cause. I¡¯ve also got a present for you.¡± With the last, Sarah pulled out a memory crystal and waved it at her. Giving her a merry smile, Amdirlain beckoned for her to hand it over. ¡°I¡¯ll take all the presents I can get today.¡± ¡°Hunting undead didn¡¯t go well?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°A mixture of the good with the bad,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I met a baby Fallen; she was so cute and at such a low level I thought I was kidnapping a kindergartner.¡± ¡°How low a level?¡± ¡°Level five in species, and two evolved base classes. Analysis showed she¡¯d been a Solar, and stats were high enough that she¡¯d certainly had some prestige classes before her fall. Sword-Lord at Grandmaster rank and a bow Skill in that rank as well. I think she was using the Spellblade Power that creates a Mana reservoir in her blade,¡± explained Amdirlain. The details Amdirlain shared had Sarah¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°That¡¯s an awfully low level to have gotten to the cloister.¡± ¡°Her ex-boss told her how to get there, and Dagrast?r seems to be her mentor,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°She didn¡¯t have protections going when she came through the Gate, so it seems she had strong enough resistances to handle their Plane.¡± ¡°Wonder if he let her take a short-cut the way he did you.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Did I start a fashion trend?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not all sunshine and lollipops,¡± warned Sarah. ¡°Yeah, that was the bad. I also met someone who wasn¡¯t a fan of Ori, and I¡¯m a little concerned about the company she might be keeping.¡± Sarah frowned. ¡°I hope you plan to tell me more.¡± ¡°Dagrast?r asked her if Ori¡¯s semblance in the carving stirred her guilt,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°She said she was convinced Ori was back, though she didn¡¯t say why.¡± ¡°She could have gotten sucked into Baln¨¦rith¡¯s plan and fell with her,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Maybe she was an unwitting pawn, but I wouldn¡¯t give her free passes if she¡¯s pissed and not guilty. Don¡¯t go assuming all the Fallen will be on your side. Some of them are clinging to a way to fix themselves, but others could be clinging to those people and hurting rather than helping.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard their songs, and I know most are flawed. This ¡®Rahka¡¯ that Dagrast?r introduced me to was an enormous ball of hate,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Crystal was black, which relates to her fall damaging souls from what the Eldest told me.¡± ¡°That fits in with having something to do with the L¨®m?¡¯s imprisonment. Didn¡¯t have to kill any of them, but did something that damaged and risked their souls,¡± stated Sarah. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯m going to steer well clear of her,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°She said she¡¯d met Ori more times than she¡¯d liked and claimed Ori tasted of misery, and it wasn¡¯t clear to her if Ori wallowed in it or not.¡± Sarah chuffed angrily. ¡°Judgemental fucking cunt. I know Ori was lonely, sad, and too frequently ?angry, but she only smelt of misery when she had to clean up someone¡¯s else¡¯s clusterfuck. More often, towards the end, she smelled resigned unless I could get her to let down her guard and dance for the joy of it.¡± ¡°Is that why you suggested my path to Grandmaster in dance was feeling this music?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That and to get you to relax yourself,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Dance is about expression, not only perfection.¡± Amdirlain nodded and bounced the memory crystal on her palm. ¡°Shall I get busy making them more familiar places to live?¡± Huffing, Sarah waved her towards the camp. ¡°Since you¡¯re suddenly uncomfortable with this conversation, go on, get to work.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not it,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Sweetie, don¡¯t be trying to slip that innocent act through with me,¡± dismissed Sarah, and she waved a reproving finger. ¡°You¡¯re happy to talk about someone who was all judgemental on Ori, however, when I talk about expressing yourself, you want to run off to take care of work.¡± ¡°I was concerned about the danger she represented; sounded like an ancient former Celestial from her melody,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Sarah fixed her with a sceptical look. ¡°Then, as you planned, stay away from her and anyone like her. If they figure out who you are or feel like being malicious, there is no telling what trouble they¡¯ll drag you into before you can react. You don¡¯t have the Skill ranks or magic rating yet to obliterate them.¡± ¡°Can I get on with this now?¡± asked Amdirlain, waggling the crystal. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re just proving my point,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll gather information on the Matriarch and be in touch when we¡¯ve got things to act on. I¡¯ll be disrupting their propaganda while I do that.¡± Ignoring her chiding, Amdirlain drew in the crystal¡¯s information and composed the townships¡¯ themes. She considered the balance between self-sufficiency and trade as she worked on the needed compositions. When she was done, four townships had risen beyond the tent city¡¯s limits, with fields and co-opt factories around them. A hill had grown near one, and she set a host of mining challenges within it, each giving a chance to gather mundane and magical metals for their crafting. Near-ripe fields and orchards promised to provide crops and materials for clothing in the days ahead. Further beyond the network of towns, a vast forest rich with a variety of local fauna and flora grew in case they neglected to utilise the crops to their fullest. Those with crafting or gathering skills would find plenty to work inside its boundaries. Crystal spires had grown between the towns to provide the opportunity to gain a selection of affinities: Earth, Water, Nature, Life, and Metal. Unlike her tuition, success wasn¡¯t a certainty and would require meeting gruelling mental challenges for even a chance to gain any. Each spire merely provided a safe saturation of its particular energy to make it possible with hard work and effort to have a decent chance to gain them. Near each of them grew school halls to undertake lessons similar to what Amdirlain had provided Tulne for her studies. She incorporated a memory crystal Sarah provided to educate those who wanted Artificer or Alchemist classes instead. Amdirlain¡¯s memories had allowed her to give details for potential miners, and the survivors had enough farmers amongst them to pass on those skills. With those changes to the refugees¡¯ demi-plane complete, she moved on to other seeds. The numbers Roher had called out meant she¡¯d vastly overshoot her target of level two hundred and forty-nine with her new designs. Whether she got True Song Genesis to Grandmaster in the process wasn¡¯t sure. Reverting to the simple ones she¡¯d first made for Osaphis¡¯s training complex, she pushed herself to compress the creation time of each demi-plane. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture turned the surrounding air into a furnace and kept her health topped up. She was on her second day of work when a message came from Dagrast?r. ¡°Am, we believe we have found the Spawning Abomination; at least, it has emerging spectres. Did a God create this foul thing?¡± ¡°The curse originated from a pantheon. The locals had problems with genocidal wars. Their legends say they rejected their local pantheons because of their continual bloodshed. Those abominations resulted from a curse set by at least one fading pantheon.¡± ¡°Thank you for the information. I wondered how a curse would gain such power. We are gathering some of the newer members for the opportunity you presented,¡± replied Dagrast?r. ¡°How do you know about those Tier 7 classes you spoke of?¡± Amdirlain hedged her bets. ¡°The locals have them. They¡¯ve got a way to see their Class record. They get variants of Grave Delver, a class towards fighting the undead.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t explain how you know about the evolution of the Fallen,¡± observed Dagrast?r. ¡°I¡¯ve got a crazy number of levels since I became a Fallen; some options have been offered to me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Dagrast?r hummed. ¡°I¡¯ll leave it at that. As long as your secrets don¡¯t hurt mortals, they are not my business. Will you be coming to fight this thing?¡± ¡°My presence would lessen the chance of others getting an achievement from it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There is an element of decay to its miasma; our resistance will lessen the challenge already.¡± Amdirlain heard the offer but resisted temptation. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to spoil the opportunity for anyone feeling similar to Rahka.¡± ¡°Ahh, I understand. A trap can go both ways, and we have shown you little trust,¡± replied Dagrast?r before breaking the connection. That¡¯s not how I meant it, but okay, take it that way; it¡¯s also a valid point. Returning her focus to the current demi-plane¡¯s song, Amdirlain tried to move with it only to feel self-conscious. The lyrics of a song came to mind, and Amdirlain focused on the theme until its completion. Then she let the memory of hearing Meg Myers ¡®Sorry¡¯ run through her mind, and Amdirlain had to stand quietly and let it run its course. Lyrics might translate differently across various worlds and cultures, but I¡¯ve got enough songs that mean things to me. ¡°I need to kick the crap out of something and vent a little,¡± announced Amdirlain. A quick casting had her update to Sarah on its way. ¡°Sarah, I¡¯ve created a few scores of demi-planes. Dagrast?r and company are assaulting the Spawning Abomination. Got any actionable information on the Matriarch so far?¡± A few minutes later, Amdirlain felt the summoning from Sarah and allowed it to draw her in. When she appeared, she found herself on a mountainside overlooking a steep valley instead of the base camp¡¯s lake. Sarah was standing nearby and looking down on the ruins nestled within it. ¡°What¡¯s here?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Recharge this; your arse is straining it more recently,¡± Sarah said and tossed her the summoning crystal. Amdirlain sealed the fractures up and returned the crystal. ¡°I¡¯ll make you a better one shortly.¡± ¡°Welcome to the resting place of the Patriarch,¡± advised Sarah, motioning to the ruined town. ¡°The tales about him being off meditating on life are overrated, but he¡¯s pretty lively for a dead guy.¡± Turning her attention to the ruins below, Amdirlain listened to the single undead within it. ¡°He¡¯s a Lich with Life Affinity and not death?¡± ¡°His daughter has the Death Affinity and life,¡± advised Sarah. "I got a glimpse of her. The Matriarch hasn¡¯t helped for Analysis, but Matriarch Toliana of Lifespring pride or a variation of it does. It was certainly good for a chuckle.¡± [Name: Toliana, Lifespring pride Species: Catfolk (Variant) Classes: Grave Commander / Grave Conqueror / Pale Necromancer / Life Bane Level: 102 / 101 / 100 / 100 Health: 688,926 Defence: 808 Magic: 2,680 Mana: 3,159,000 Melee Attack Power: 789 Combat Skills: Sword [Ad] (12), Mana Finesse [G] (329) - Enhanced Affinities: Death, Life and Decay, various other affinities. Multiple spell lists. Details: Having taken over from her father, Toliana has ruled her nation for so long that it has become known as the Matriarch¡¯s Dominion to most. It rose from the town of Lifespring under her father Malcineas¡¯s rule and became known as the Community of Spring before its name lost meaning upon her rise to power. On her first god¡¯s grave expedition, she used the life force of the battalions to fuel a sacrificial Spell to destroy it. This strike occurred only after spending weeks harvesting the spectres. Fearing exposure, when her father started to move against her, she killed him and raised him as a Lich. Her possession of his phylactery enables her to maintain control. Various aspects of her nation¡¯s infrastructure need his cooperation to maintain.] [Grave Commander Details: This variant of the Graver Delver Tier 7 Prestige Class combines Wizard, Commander, Soldier, and Necromancer.] [Necromancer Details: While its progression is identical to the Wizard Class, instead of gaining the Mana Sense Power, this evolved base Class provides Death Sight. This evolved Wizard Class is unlocked by earning the Death Affinity and learning multiple Wizard Spell lists to create undead then deepening their ¡®understanding¡¯ of Death by making at least two hundred levels of undead creatures.] [Death Sight: Details: The possessor gains the ability to see what event or item is binding the undead to the Material Plane. They can ¡®consume¡¯ that link at high ranks to control the undead.] [Grave Conqueror Details: This variant of the Graver Delver Tier 7 Prestige Class combines three variations of the Necromancer Class.] [Pale Necromancer Details: This Tier 6 Prestige Class combines two evolved Necromancer classes: ¡®Undead Master¡¯ and ¡®True Necromancer¡¯.] [Life Bane Details: This evolved base Class is a perversion of the Life Affinity. It requires the possessor to have either created or learnt high-level Life spells to extend their lifespan by drinking it from others. Then, they must have repeatedly used those spells on those slain at their command to extend their lifespan. While it provides Power, it also marks the individual as one the living shouldn¡¯t trust. Note: Unless you have brainwashed minions who think a weird appearance and killing anything that gets too close is a sign of your enlightened state.] Sarah shrugged. ¡°I guess beating a Spawning Abomination would be easy if you could turn its minions back on itself.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that it¡¯s so simple. It would be immune to the drain attacks that comprise a spectre¡¯s attacks. Though potentially, she could tap the energy in the undead and smack it in a few different ways,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is Undead Lore proving useful to you after all?¡± quipped Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The Necropolis gave me a few years of hands-on practice with the undead. What do we do with daddy dearest? His soul might be bound to that corpse, but he doesn¡¯t sound sane. Do you think Gideon is upset that the lackeys couldn¡¯t get a clue?¡± ¡°The Life Bane Class is likely why her soldiers just butcher a bunch of people now and then,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°She needs the juice to keep living,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Toss her in a demi-plane and throw away the key?¡± ¡°If I can get her outside her wards? Easy. But if she stays inside them, I¡¯m going to have to scoop it up, wards and all, which would take a bunch of nearby people,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯d likely eat everyone I put in a demi-plane prison with her.¡± ¡°These guys came up aces without their gods around, Tier 7 classes and enhanced affinities,¡± quipped Sarah. Amdirlain smiled grimly. ¡°Is it a case that life will find a way? There is one thing I¡¯ve learnt today.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°While it¡¯s not precise, she¡¯s only two classes away from being a pure Wizard type. So, she¡¯s nearly maxed out with her magic rating for her combined levels. Most mortals should be beneath a three thousand magic rating at that peak,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Most non-Dragon mortals,¡± countered Sarah. Amdirlain grinned mischievously. ¡°First creations, they¡¯re so spoilt for the toys.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve had to put up with everything else making a mess since then,¡± grumped Sarah. ¡°Options for this mess?¡± ¡°The link to the phylactery connects the animated body to his Soul and goes straight through the wards. I¡¯m not going to complain when the bad guys leave firewalls open. Let¡¯s talk about the phylactery. Even with her magic strength now, she wasn¡¯t likely to be that strong three hundred years ago, and it would be slowly decaying. Given how insane he is, we¡¯re lucky he hasn¡¯t decayed completely.¡± ¡°What is our first choice with it?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°A Resurrection Blessing would yank his Soul out of the phylactery,¡± noted Amdirlain, motioning toward the distant Silvermount. ¡°Think we can ask a nice Solar for a solid? She¡¯s even close at hand, planetary speaking.¡± ¡°We just allowed her boss to gain worshippers here,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Also, the Patriarch might not react well to an agent of a Deity asking if he wants to be restored to life. A Reincarnation Spell could do it, which you could mimic.¡± ¡°A Reincarnation Spell would put him into a random living body with his memories and insanity intact. He doesn¡¯t have the Eldritch corruption markers to clean up the memories,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°And? Listen to the memory¡¯s age and ¡®un-sing¡¯ them. It might help your Resonance¡¯s progress to go into that detail,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°I could just yank his Soul out of the phylactery, take him to Judgement, and ask him there,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°The effect of it would calm him down and likely restore his sanity to before he began to fade.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer you avoid their area of Judgement, just in case it¡¯s a total cluster fuck,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain winced. ¡°I haven¡¯t been wanting to think about that, the spawning abominations form by coalescing energy from the departed souls. It won¡¯t be the case with all of them, only ones where they¡¯ve reached the threshold to start one forming.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s smack her directly right now,¡± proposed Sarah, eagerly bobbing her head as Amdirlain glared. ¡°I know you¡¯re joking, plus I¡¯m pretty sure the country would tear itself apart if she went up in smoke,¡± scolded Amdirlain, and she caused a little mushroom cloud to appear between them. Sarah reached out and swatted the smoke cloud. ¡°Very cute, baby dragons learn not to blow smoke signals.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s technically possible. But her magic rating is pretty high. Anything I aim at her directly will first get reduced by the wards, and then her magic capacity will overwhelm the remainder,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s stick with the Patriarch situation. Do I take him out now? Or bring him to life and find out what the deal is?¡± ¡°You bring him back, and then what? I guess wiping his memory far enough, so he knows what was done, but is still sane?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose in disgust. ¡°He¡¯s in a pretty bad state; it might not be enough.¡± ¡°It''s a chance to find out what legacies are involved and potentially save many lives,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Another option, besides tossing him into a random new body through Reincarnation, would be to make him one and transfer his Soul, like how the Soul Trap would have sucked him into the phylactery. Clean out most of his memories of being a Lich, which should resolve the insanity. Analysis shows he wasn¡¯t nuts before being a Lich, just reluctant to attack a family member.¡± ¡°Fratricide is an overrated crime,¡± stated Amdirlain, and she winced. ¡°Isa shouldn¡¯t have told you about Ori killing her daughter; that bitch had it coming for aeons.¡± ¡°Why did she kill her?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If she killed her sooner, the Anar might not have devolved so far,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Let''s not get off topic. You were going to say something about the problem?¡± Amdirlain paused and chewed her lip, her fingers tapping to the lich¡¯s erratic theme. ¡°The last choice in our phylactery debate is to destroy it and let him go on. If I bring him back to life, I don''t want to be turning around and kill him.¡± Sarah huffed and gave her a sly smile. ¡°Who says you have to? We¡¯ve not got any information about what he was like, but he got killed when he went to stop her. The daughter could have fallen far from the tree. If she hasn¡¯t fallen far from the tree, I¡¯ll eat him myself.¡± ¡°Gross, let¡¯s talk about something else while I think,¡± said Amdirlain, and she sat on the sparse grass to consider the valley. Sarah smiled. ¡°How many demi-planes did you populate?¡± ¡°Such a subtle change of subject. Two hundred eighty-eight for just short of fifty-two billion experience and twelve True Song increases.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been at it two days. That¡¯s one every ten minutes,¡± Sarah said, and she frowned at Amdirlain. ¡°How much stress does that put on your Power and body?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not an answer,¡± grumbled Sarah. Amdirlain exhaled and stretched her hands to either side, raking her nails across the dirt. ¡°What do you want me to say? I¡¯ve stopped using the poison.¡± ¡°How much physical injury did you endure?¡± interrogated Sarah. ¡°Having Phoenix¡¯s Rapture active keeps me ahead of the damage curve, so all good. Pain Eater is just a background mutter and isn¡¯t progressing. I want to reduce the creation time to five minutes each,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The problem comes down to the point that if I just end his tormented existence, I don¡¯t know what might implode.¡± ¡°True, we won¡¯t know unless we ask him, or her,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just going to bring a person back to life outside his time,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t see this going painlessly.¡± Walking over, Sarah bent and tapped her nose. ¡°How many million people? He went to act too late against his daughter. While it is something Ori and him have in common, that is not the issue. You and I know it will eat at you. Go with your gut and decide within seven seconds.¡± ¡°Fine, new body it is,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡±But I won¡¯t speak to you for a week if you yell ''it''s alive!''¡± ¡°I can take naps longer than a week,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°And I said within seven seconds, you blurted that out straight away.¡± 343 - Madness Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) As she tracked Malcineas moving about his laboratory, Amdirlain ignored the mess he was making. His insane mind was continually distracted, and he jumped between potion stations and inscribing workbenches. Cutting through the clatter of his madness and classes, she focused on his preserved flesh alone. She constructed a platform on the mountainside, and a stretcher soon secured the body of a male Catfolk in his mid-twenties. The brain was near vegetative, but its automatic processes had the breathing going and the heart pumping. She¡¯d clad him in their traditional Wizard half robes, with the deep purple and red trim of those focused on Life and Nature. The colours didn¡¯t do the russet colouration of his fur any favours, but it was a minor matter. The Lich¡¯s Soul link stretched off towards the capital. Its binding supported his consciousness and existence, linked to magically preserved flesh. It was a gap in the enchantment that Amdirlain¡¯s song exposed and used. Her notes ran down the link, bypassing wards that couldn¡¯t constrain the link without cutting off the Lich¡¯s ability to exist. Within the gemstone that harboured the ancient wizard¡¯s Soul, she set a new link, one of life and tied it to his new body. Imposing a slumber on the body, she yanked the Soul from the gemstone and guided it to the body she¡¯d prepared. Its absence from the binding caused the diamond that had held his Soul to crack and shatter, setting off a klaxon of alarms in the Matriarch¡¯s estates. ¡°Someone¡¯s upset,¡± Sarah said. Amdirlain¡¯s focus was on the new closer song of madness as the undead¡¯s consciousness settled within the flesh, writing synapses as it went. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Wrapping the Patriarch in a bubble to ensure his safety, she shifted him and the stretcher from the platform to a demi-plane. ¡°My monitoring of her primary estate shows lots of energy in use and people running about,¡± Sarah hummed happily and clicked her fingers. ¡°The Adam¡¯s family theme?¡± groaned Amdirlain. Sarah snorted and clicked her fingers again. ¡°They¡¯ve had an undead Patriarch and still got a ghoulish Matriarch. That¡¯s pretty spooky.¡± Setting lingering songs to form traps within the lab, she had them keyed to create temporal bubbles if anyone related to the Patriarch showed up. Amdirlain shifted them to the same demi-plane, popping them beside the Patriarch¡¯s stretcher. ¡°I could just end up killing him,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Huffing in displeasure, Sarah tapped her fingers against her leg. ¡°It¡¯s a risk. On the upside, he was already dead. What you do might give him a chance at life.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the chaos within his mind as the process continued. ¡°I¡¯ll let the consciousness settle into its new flesh before I take the lich memories away.¡± Retrieving hundreds of crystals from memory, Sarah motioned Amdirlain to them. ¡°No need to be nervous. I¡¯ve got plenty of backup capacity.¡± Snorting in disbelief, Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°We could wait for his brain to settle and then upload the lot into one of the larger psi-crystals if you want,¡± proposed Sarah. Her ears twitched as Amdirlain considered the option. ¡°Memories restored from memory crystals can have a dissociative effect.¡± ¡°Only if you don¡¯t know what you¡¯re doing,¡± huffed Sarah. Sitting beside him, Amdirlain listened to the consciousness impressing itself into the flesh and marked some of the chaotic, enraged themes of his insanity as they went. When his sleeping awareness had settled, she checked him with analysis to ensure it had taken and set to work. [Name: Malcineas, Lifespring pride Classes: Arcane Synergist / Grand Synergist / Arch Synergist / Life Steward Level: 145 / 144 / 143 / 143 Health: 189,532 Defence: 111 Magic: 1,463 Mana: 59,898,868 Melee Attack Power: 797 Combat Skills: Staff [M] (71), Mana-Lord [G] (23), Various Spell affinities and multiple spell lists. Details: The founder of the Kingdom of Spring which came about after proving the viability of a static community after the growth and defence of the initial Lifespring community extended through their previous nomadic path. His principles were betrayed by a daughter able to twist the forces of Death and Life. He tried to contain her too late, but neither he nor his trusted apprentice were strong enough combatants compared to his daughter¡¯s faction. Note: I could tell you more, but I figured you might like to talk to him. If not, try again.] [Analysis [S] (35->36)] Still a smart alec! [Arcane Synergist Details: This Tier 5 class comes from combining Wizard and Alchemist at level 70 or higher.] [Grand Synergist Details: This Tier 5 class combines evolved Wizard Class Synergist and Alchemist classes at level 70 or higher. Having previously gained the Arcane Synergist Prestige Class.] They didn¡¯t have Tier 7 achievements when he gained prestige classes. The last one is likely more of the same. It only feels strong enough to be a Tier 5. [Life Steward Details: This evolved Wizard class requires knowledge of multiple Life Affinity Spell lists and mundane medical knowledge and experience to gain.] The landscape of his mind was filled with wild connections, and with them nearly written to his flesh, Amdirlain had to search his mind for memory chains and listen for their stimulations. The process was slow at first, but with practice, she started recognising his memories from their feel. Though it didn¡¯t stress True Song, the billions of neurons making up the mind pushed Resonance into progressing repeatedly. Another notice appeared as she considered if she should trim more from his early Lich memories. [Resonance [G] (4->5)] ¡°I think there are still about twenty-odd years of memories from his early Lich years.¡± Sarah gagged. ¡°That will be unpleasant for him, but at least he¡¯s alive.¡± The closeness of the phrasing earned a growl from Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t say what you told me not to say,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the memories?¡± ¡°Some of them are heavily linked; if I trim them back, they¡¯ll come apart into an incoherent mess,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I might have to wake him up as is; otherwise, I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll believe he was a Lich for a time.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s wake him up,¡± Sarah said firmly from where she lounged on the grass. ¡°Worst case, if he freaks, make him forget the conversation even happened.¡± ¡°Time for disguises then,¡± prompted Amdirlain, and she shifted into her appearance as the silver-furred J. Sighing, Amdirlain let her Charisma unfurl, hoping she could inspire enough hope and calm from within him. Sarah wrinkled her nose before her red fur turned black. ¡°Might as well use Sar; the name got such extensive use among the dwarves.¡± Jerking upright, Malcineas looked between them and scurried to his feet. His breathing sped up, and he raised his hands to warn them away. As if he had just noticed the feel of the air, Malcineas stopped and lifted shaking hands to turn them over before his eyes, trying to calm his breathing. ¡°How is this possible? I¡¯m no longer bones and mummified flesh.¡± ¡°You¡¯re alive again. Have you ever heard of cloning?¡± asked Amdirlain. His hands still trembling, Malcineas frowned and lowered them to regard Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with that word.¡± ¡°It¡¯s creating a duplicate of a living being¡¯s body,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m a copy?¡± questioned Malcineas, his voice lifting anxiously. Pushing her Charisma more towards him, she projected Ki¡¯s stillness, and his panic choked off. Amdirlain gestured for him to settle and stepped close, resting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. ¡°No. This is you. You¡¯re alive again. I created a duplicate of your body but reverted to your early twenties. Then, I reversed the Soul Trap process to shift your consciousness and Soul from the phylactery to this new body. Your mind had slipped from the horror you went through, so I had to remove many of your most recent memories.¡± ¡°How many memories did you erase?¡± asked Malcineas, his voice quivering. ¡°I remember years.¡± ¡°Nearly three centuries,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she gently gripped his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I left as much as I did. I wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d be crucial information to resolve things with your daughter. I was also concerned you might not believe me at all.¡± Malcineas looked at Amdirlain, eyes widening in disbelief; his thoughts jumped to a path Amdirlain had hoped he wouldn¡¯t take. ¡°If you don¡¯t know the spell lists that allow raw flesh crafting, I¡¯m sure we can arrange a copy,¡± offered Sarah casually, and her words caused Malcineas¡¯s concern to crash to a halt. ¡°Most of it is from the Life Affinity, but some require Mental Affinity. Memory wipes, for example, you¡¯ll need Mental. The Soul transfer is Death affinity, which we know you don¡¯t have, so that¡¯s more problematic.¡± His muzzle dropped open slightly before Malcineas¡¯ ears twitched, and he started on arcane energy calculations. His jittering thoughts worked on options to extend healing spells to create a whole body and the quantity of Mana it would involve. ¡°That makes sense,¡± murmured Malcineas. He lowered his hands, rubbed them across the front of his robe, and pressed them together above his heart. ¡°What has become of my... my murderer?¡± Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°We¡¯re working to take apart her grip on your former kingdom,¡± advised Amdirlain. Malcineas groaned and bowed his head; lifting both hands, he covered his face. ¡°What have I done? How did I fail so badly?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not responsible for her. She¡¯s made her own choices,¡± consoled Amdirlain. Malcineas turned his head and spat as if trying to clear a vile taste from his mouth. ¡°No, I knew she¡¯d started delving into Necromancy. I should have executed her when I found her hidden laboratory.¡± Grunting, Sarah kept her attention fixed on Malcineas. ¡°Unpleasant experiments?¡± ¡°Her purpose wasn¡¯t to destroy the undead. She¡¯d filled it with skeletons, flesh golems, screaming spectres, and more. They weren¡¯t ones we¡¯d captured from the ghost caverns to research how to defend against. I could sense her Mana signature about them; it was clear she¡¯d crafted them all with magic,¡± cried Malcineas, his voice lifting in pitch with pain. ¡°She might have made her own choices, but I made mine. In doing so, I failed to protect them when I¡¯d seen the evidence. I knew in my heart she wouldn¡¯t stop. I knew what she¡¯d become when she emerged from the ghost caverns with no one else. I tried to isolate her influence and cut her off, but after such a victory, it was too late.¡± Malcineas stopped and pulled at his hair. ¡°Hindsight is such a painful torment. Her fist has been around my thoughts and Soul for so many years. She¡¯s not allowed me to chastise myself and bemoan my failing. I¡¯d labour day and night, making more shielding stones to keep people safe. Isn¡¯t it strange now that I¡¯m free of that vileness that these emotions flood me?¡± ¡°Shielding stone?¡± asked Sarah. Waving a hand dismissively, Malcineas frowned. ¡°It¡¯s not important now. I remember her new apprentices listening for months as her will made me share the process she couldn¡¯t master. She and her spawn killed me and my old apprentices before we could stop her.¡± That¡¯s the legacy she needed. Let¡¯s figure that out; it might distract him. Amdirlain huffed. ¡°Is it something you copied from Whiteshield pride? Or did you get it from them?¡± ¡°Why do you ask after Whiteshield¡¯s pride? Have they smeared my name since my death?¡± asked Malcineas, and then he waved his hands dismissively. ¡°Forget, I ask. There is plenty of ammunition to use for smearing, given Toliana¡¯s nature.¡± Amdirlain caught his thoughts spiralling and spread her hands in curiosity. ¡°Given your age, I wondered if you knew how the hexagonal stones came about; did you and the Whiteshield pride find the process somewhere? They were in the old ruin where we found you as well.¡± Malcineas closed his eyes and took some time to calm his thoughts, aiding Amdirlain¡¯s support. ¡°We worked it out, but it wasn¡¯t just the two of us. Our coven worked to research and perfect it. We each brought different viewpoints to the project.¡± Catching his words'' hints of pride and bitter joy, she focused on inspiring the satisfaction to bring it to the fore. The subject change had eased his shaking, and though still breathy, his tears ceased flowing. ¡°Would you tell us more?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s ancient history,¡± dismissed Malcineas, his shoulders slumping. ¡°Not a history I¡¯ve heard,¡± countered Amdirlain. Groaning, Malcineas huffed. ¡°Does it matter, after how I failed?¡± Amdirlain smiled reassuringly as she caught his fractured pain and eased it down. ¡°Perhaps you need to think about what you built.¡± Malcineas tossed his head from side to side, and his tail slapped the ground with painful force. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the two of us alone. There were twelve of us, apprentices to different masters. Our groups would frequently meet through the years. The ancestors planned our routes and pride sizes to pass by so bloodlines could interchange and trade without stirring trouble. Some of us met from our masters sending us on journeys to exchange information with other wizards they¡¯d heard about on the winds.¡± ¡°How did it start?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°A night of wild arguments,¡± laughed Malcineas thinly. ¡°Five of us had gathered, talking while our masters debated. We were in our cups that night and throwing out wild ideas. There are two reasons not to let wizards drink. One is because of unreliable spellcasting, but the second is if they survive drinking together, the impossible ideas they might fuel between them.¡± ¡°A drunken boast?¡± Waving his hands before his face, Malcineas smirked bitterly, but the humour slowly became real under Amdirlain¡¯s nurturing. ¡°No, worse. A drunken collaboration that none of us could remember fully except for the notes scribbled on the tent wall. None of our handwriting matched, so obviously, we must have been exceedingly drunk when one of us made the record. After a few spells had cleared the morning¡¯s pain away, we decided the initial proposition of the scrawl wasn¡¯t achievable. Yet something else greater might be possible.¡± Malcineas paused with a snort, his thoughts filled with the loud, excited argument of the following day. ¡°We recruited seven others, and it took two centuries of research to get it working. Perhaps it would have been impossible without mine and Clearwater¡¯s magic helping keep the others young.¡± ¡°Travelling couldn¡¯t have made research easy,¡± commented Sarah. Malcineas tilted his head, and his whiskers twitched. ¡°We moved away from the nomadic paths our ancestors had divined. Our community was barely fifty; it was too small to attract attention from the curse, but it was hard work to keep things calm. Fiery personalities could ?clash. Sometimes, births would raise the number for a time before the children left to try their skills and win accolades. Occasionally prides would send messengers or stray from their path to trade. As a group, we always had elixirs and enchanted objects available for research materials. They spread the word to others about what we sought, and in the end, the goods we needed made their way to us if we didn¡¯t hunt it down ourselves.¡± He paused, and silence settled between the three, but Amdirlain and Sarah waited him out. Eventually shaking off thoughts of days past, Malcineas continued. ¡°Ultimately, we got it working before we killed each other. An alchemical material to carry the Mana needed to maintain wards set once into the individual stones. Within the coven of twelve, eight of us could create it solo; the others didn¡¯t have the classes to do it alone, but we all had the research. Whiteshield left first to seek an opportunity within his pride. I¡¯ll admit I left next to return to a spot I¡¯d fallen in love with along my pride¡¯s path, one I hadn¡¯t seen in years. The pride was still wandering through the traditional routes and found my waystation. I¡¯d planted fields and started to recruit, then nervously, it grew to a town and more.¡± ¡°The first ghost caverns forming must have frazzled their nerve,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, it did,¡± agreed Malcineas. ¡°The spectres had hit the barrier in the night and woken me up. In the morning, we found a pit where a good paddock had been. The spectres had ignored the livestock outside the pens; they just wanted us. The eerie smoke rising from it in the morning light unsettled some, but others applied themselves more fiercely to their lessons. It was a relief when they could add more mana to the stores. We finally got real proof when we killed that first abomination; others started settling with us, and we began establishing new communities.¡± Sarah hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Are the other researchers still around, or were they-?¡± ¡°They passed on before my murderer was born. I heard from them from time to time. Some would meet me when age had burdened them again but, eventually, they all disappeared into history¡¯s pages. I was seven hundred when the last of them shed their Mortal coil. Centuries weighing you down can be a burden. Look at me; I was foolish enough to stay alive and become a failure. It took making it over a millennia, but it happened.¡± ¡°You¡¯re older than we¡¯d heard,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Accounts said you recently turned a thousand.¡± Flicking an eye curiously, Malcineas frowned. ¡°What is the year now?¡± ¡°4370,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Fourteen hundred; I¡¯d have been fourteen hundred and some odds and ends,¡± advised Malcineas, and he shivered violently. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want this life you¡¯ve returned to me.¡± Amdirlain could sense the guilt and disgust twisting within him. ¡°We could use your help to set things right with the nation you¡¯d been building, repair what she twisted. Restore your reputation away from the figure she framed you to be.¡± ¡°Hers is a tainted thing that should be exposed, and if she¡¯s built herself up atop me, I¡¯ll be tainted along with her,¡± countered Malcineas. ¡°It¡¯s not a decision you must make at once,¡± consoled Amdirlain. ¡°A foundation is not to blame for the use to which it was used.¡± Malcineas¡¯ hands started trembling, and he scrubbed them together. ¡°You said you removed some of my memories. Could you remove more? I remember the horrible feel of undead flesh, the dry, cold malice that ate at me.¡± Gesturing to the stretcher, Amdirlain smiled reassuringly. ¡°If you¡¯d lie down, I¡¯ll take it back to her attack on you. I wasn¡¯t sure how much to remove. I¡¯ll leave this conversation, so there may be some discomfort from within it.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Malcineas said, and he stopped and blinked. ¡°I never asked your names.¡± Amdirlain motioned to Sarah. ¡°You can call me J; the black-furred one is Sar.¡± ¡°Not names to use for a Spell then,¡± observed Malcineas. ¡°No, for various reasons,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. Malcineas squeezed his hands tightly together. ¡°Perhaps for the best.¡± Amdirlain put him to sleep when he lay down, and listening to the elements within his mind, slowly worked to remove most of the memories from his years as a lich. She sometimes dipped into his sleeping mind, testing it for memory chains, and then continued unwinding the memories restored from within the phylactery. Sitting beside him, Sarah set her hands on his forehead, and her mind brushed his and helped highlight more memories to erase. ¡°You¡¯re not the only psionic.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a Shaper,¡± huffed Admirlain. ¡°My species trumps your training for psionic gifts,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°I was trying to push my Resonance, but his sanity is more important, so thanks,¡± responded Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. ¡°Anytime you need me.¡± The careful trimming took an hour, and the pair scoured over his memories before they risked waking him again. ¡°The divination of the ancestors is interesting magic,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Sounds like some pretty sneaky use of temporal magic.¡± ¡°Or a desperate one; I wonder how much warning they had between the first ghost caverns opening and the spawning abomination showing up.¡± ¡°Given it feeds off the dead, a battle site might have opened it up like in Astent,¡± proposed Sarah. * * * * * When Malcineas woke the second time, he nervously looked up at them and uncertainly licked his lips. ¡°Thank you, J and Sar, whichever of you helped me. I remember recalling unpleasant things when we spoke but not the details.¡± Amdirlain breathed a soft sigh of relief. ¡°It was a collaborative effort, wizards doing impossible things.¡± Sitting up, Malcineas¡¯s tail twitched with growing confidence. ¡°Were you drunk as well when you decided to bring me back to life?¡± Sarah clapped. ¡°I wish. That would make the story much more fun.¡± Malcineas¡¯ expression turned confused, and Amdirlain interjected. ¡°Sar had been monitoring the Matriarch¡¯s estates and found it quite boring.¡± ¡°She has an estate? Wait, estates?¡± asked Malcineas. ¡°Four,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°How wasteful. We used to live in one of the original high rises,¡± scoffed Malcineas, his lips curling with distaste. ¡°Okay, that means you¡¯re unlikely to have access to her wards,¡± nodded Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s unlikely I could help you with that even if I had lived in the same location. She learnt her lesson from the first laboratory I destroyed,¡± said Malcineas. ¡°I don¡¯t know how I can help. All my accumulated knowledge is likely outdated. Even the fairly constant process for the shielding stones has likely moved on somewhat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ve plans to progress that and don¡¯t need assistance,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m just glad you¡¯re feeling more yourself. What would you do if you were to live a life from scratch?¡± ¡°Not let myself get pushed into being in charge,¡± laughed Malcineas bitterly. ¡°For so many years I missed my wild collaborators. It gets rather repetitive, making the same things for centuries regardless of how the experience allows one to perfect things. The process hasn¡¯t changed much despite the improvements over the years.¡± ¡°We know some teachers. Would you care to share your knowledge with students?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The teaching staff also do research.¡± Malcineas¡¯ ears stood up. ¡°Share knowledge? Like the centre of learning Whiteshield and some other prides established?¡± ¡°I know some individuals that work at its expanded form; I could introduce you,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure you¡¯d want to hold off taking on teaching until you¡¯ve had time to adjust to being alive again. We¡¯re currently over three hundred-odd years after your last memories.¡± ¡°I think that might take some adjusting,¡± murmured Malcineas. Sarah nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll get some books for you to study. Perhaps take reading the history books a year at a time and no faster, let it sink in.¡± ¡°That will take me years,¡± protested Malcineas. ¡°I¡¯d like to be helping you. Will you tell me what she¡¯s done since she seized power?¡± ¡°Some things are better to take your time with,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m worried a year at a time might be too fast.¡± Malcineas stopped and nodded. ¡°Your recommendation shall guide me. Where should I live in the meantime? I¡¯m sure the sun hasn¡¯t moved since I first awakened. Where are we now?¡± Tilting her head, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°What do you know about dimensional magic and planes?¡± Her amusement drew a wary look from Malcineas. ¡°What do you know about the alchemical properties of fungi?¡± ¡°Fine, we¡¯re each knowledgeable in our fields,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain, and she extended a hand to help him to his feet. ¡°I¡¯ll introduce you to an acquaintance of ours in the allied Territories. His name is Mor¡¯lmes; he¡¯s been helping get some new wizards resettled outside the Matriarch¡¯s control. Hopefully, he¡¯ll be able to find you some housing and someone from the history faculty to bring you up to speed.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± said Malcineas, and he firmly clasped her hand. Amdirlain took in the grief and confusion within his theme and scratched off plans to use his presence to fracture away the Matriarch¡¯s supporters. 344 - Flatline Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) While Amdirlain created a series of towns and facilities in some of the newest demi-planes, Sarah went to Osaphis with Malcineas. Sarah summoned Amdirlain under psionic concealment, and they quietly joined Malcineas. They found him puzzling over the base camp¡¯s architecture, ¡°Why are we in the wilds? And why would you build this way? There are no wards but no creatures or even dust.¡± ¡°Pretty sure you¡¯ve had enough shocks for the day,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she double-checked the concealments on her aura. Malcineas shook himself, and his ears twitched. ¡°Forgive me. This place and situation is quite intimidating, even after you removed those memories.¡± ¡°Nothing to forgive,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Your situation isn¡¯t a comfortable one. Have you talked over options?¡± He wants to be calm so I can inspire him to find it, but it still feels like mind control. ¡°I thought to tell this ''Mor¡¯lmes'', part of the truth. You rescued me from one of the Matriarch¡¯s facilities, and I¡¯ll need help to catch up with the world outside her lies,¡± replied Malcineas. ¡°That way, I can help teach and research sooner rather than sitting on my hands for a year.¡± Rolling her eyes, Sarah smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°Isn¡¯t it great to meet people you share common interests with?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who can¡¯t stop working,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some of the toys you¡¯ve been using lately.¡± Giving a slightly embarrassed smile, Malcineas scratched at his ear. ¡°I¡¯m calmer when I have things to keep busy with. I find the activity absorbs some of my energy so I can make clearer decisions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s daytime in Osaphis, so Mor¡¯lmes will probably be at the campus,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to handle the introductions. I¡¯m going to check a few of the Matriarch¡¯s cities,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Malcineas, I won¡¯t ask you to address anyone, but if it¡¯s alright, I¡¯d like to share my memory of our conversation from when you woke up.¡± ¡°About her lab?¡± sighed Malcineas. ¡°Yes, do you need me to share it with you,¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°so you know what they¡¯ll see?¡± Malcineas rubbed the side of his muzzle slowly, his expression bleak. ¡°The offer¡¯s appreciated, but I¡¯ll leave the details in your hands for all the good it might do.¡± Putting a reassuring hand on his back, Sarah smiled. ¡°Your image is in her propaganda; it will be a punch in the guts.¡± ¡°But the violence,¡± murmured Malcineas. ¡°I will move people to safety after I give them the information. I¡¯ll also handle cities in sections so I can head off the chance of rioting,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she looked at Sarah. ¡°Let me know when you¡¯re ready to catch up, and I¡¯ll send you my location.¡± Appearing atop a high rise in the southernmost of the Matriarch¡¯s cities, she took in the ongoing chaos in the city¡¯s military base. The generator Sarah had stolen hadn¡¯t been the only piece of missing equipment, it had simply been the biggest. While overriding of the propaganda broadcasts had the impact she¡¯d hoped, it had influenced some military personnel. With several companies on lockdown by the base commander, she sent out invitations for those troubled companies to move. A surprising percentage took the offer of shifting from the military machine with minimal information. Amdirlain dispatched a message to Ebusuku with the details of the target demi-plane and got a confirmation that helpers to settle them were on the way. In messages to Gail and Isa, she gave them themes of the demi-planes for relocation, along with where to find the required construction music and plans. Transporting a memory crystal with the composition to the spot she gave them, Amdirlain pushed ahead. Relocation orbs swept through the outer suburbs and the work factories. Amdirlain had updated them with the Patriarch¡¯s reincarnation and his words about his daughter. Their presence was invisible except the person they¡¯d locked onto for the cycle. The core of each orb contained a psi-crystal that gave information and a way to activate it when they were ready to depart. Using the events with Malcineas might not have been necessary, but it was effective. Though some individuals accepted relocation immediately, most waited until the rest of their family members returned home in time for curfew. It was early evening when Sarah announced she¡¯d settled things, and Amdirlain sent her the view from her latest perch. Sarah appeared next to where Amdirlain was standing on the high rise¡¯s rim. ¡°We were going to plan this properly.¡± ¡°It¡¯s going great,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re on the edge of large-scale violence, and dozens of cities are currently under military lockdown. I¡¯d have moved them earlier. You said things were percolating.¡± ¡°No deaths, just some arrests,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°Maybe next world you can just work in that pub you discussed. Take everything easy.¡± Giving her a side eye, Amdirlain huffed. "I no longer have Femme Fatale. I¡¯ll be skipping the control lessons.¡± ¡°Yeah, you can skip those. Maybe you might achieve the elusive subtleness,¡± ribbed Sarah, and she frowned at Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s got you so upset?¡± Amdirlain motioned towards a military convoy splitting up to patrol the street below. ¡°Folks remembered the military units passing through, so they had first-hand truths to go with our news. We missed the preparation for Astent; we could miss people being executed. Opening the truth bucket isn¡¯t calm when an authoritarian regime is involved.¡± Sarah¡¯s gaze narrowed at the military vehicles Amdirlain had her gaze set on. ¡°Military curfews. I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re going to work. The question is, do you wait?¡± ¡°No, I didn''t. I¡¯ve already sent out updated relocation orbs,¡± said Amdirlain. People started disappearing from the high rise beneath them, and Sarah caught the sudden absence of minds. ¡°Curfews make people more inclined to flee to safety. Who would have thought it? Her use of his image in her propaganda backfiring?¡± ¡°Big time. The conversation about restoring him settled people¡¯s minds about how it is possible,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t involve him directly.¡± ¡°If you empty all her cities, what happens if people don¡¯t want to return?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°One bridge at a time,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m already questioning the sanity of this, but I¡¯m trying to get people out of the way of her thugs. Despite knowing that a military strike was heading for Astent, the Wizard in charge of that convey is business as usual. He thinks all the new casts are illusions.¡± As more relocation orbs triggered, Amdirlain provided them new targets and heard them skip to another high rise. ¡°You need to do this wholesale,¡± muttered Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Astent was quick, I just moved everyone within the city limits; this is time-consuming.¡± Around them, more high rises started to empty as thousands of families left. Sarah eyed Amdirlain. ¡°How many orbs did you make?¡± ¡°Only twenty thousand so far. They¡¯re transporting people¡ªthose touching them¡ªand some personal possessions,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Gail and Laleither are making more towns.¡± ¡°You dragged Roher¡¯s wife from her children?¡± gasped Sarah in mock surprise. ¡°I didn¡¯t! Gail told her she needed exercise. I¡¯m sure that didn¡¯t go as well as Gail¡¯s update implied,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve sent Dagrast?r details to reach the planar conduit of other ghost caverns. While none of them are ready to pop abominations, with the city¡¯s populations dropping, it¡¯ll tie things off.¡± ¡°Have they finished the first one yet?¡± enquired Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The spawning abominations are big flesh-like orbs with hundreds of mouths that vomit spectres and spit magical curses to inflict damage. How he described it sounded like a giant putrid cyst popping with foulness.¡± Sighing dramatically, Sarah gave Amdirlain a pout. ¡°Don¡¯t I get to play with one?¡± ¡°Do what you like, you insane git,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Eyes widening in mock outrage, Sarah straightened and looked down at Amdirlain imperiously. ¡°I¡¯m the insane git? Me?¡± Laughing, Amdirlain started to get back to work. ¡°I have an idea,¡± offered Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Go on, I¡¯m listening.¡± * * * * The morning saw five of the Matriarch¡¯s cities turn into proverbial ghost towns. Only sections of the military, some government personnel, and elite families remained. The psi-crystal had filtered out those trying to accept the offer for any reason other than a genuine desire to be away from the Matriarch. Shifting outside the Matriarch''s compound, Amdirlain scanned through it. Guided by the music of her father¡¯s flesh, she found the Matriarch¡¯s lab beneath the building. Sarah offered her the gadget, and Amdirlain listened to its melody and that of the laboratory; as soon as the theme was complete, she nodded. ¡°We should have enough time to put fixes in place on the receivers,¡± advised Sarah as she considered the still-dark night sky. ¡°They¡¯ve cut power to them.¡± A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°You repair one, and I¡¯ll fix the rest,¡± replied Amdirlain. Two hours later, the pair sat on a bench opposite the government¡¯s central administration building. Those who passed them on their way to work didn¡¯t notice how their attention slid away. ¡°I wonder if any of them will play buzzword bingo in today¡¯s meetings,¡± Sarah said. Looking at all those moving about in government uniform, Amdirlain snorted. ¡°That¡¯s if they end up having their morning meetings. Does this city have any purpose but government administration?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it does. Malcineas says it wasn¡¯t the capital when he was alive, and one of the Matriarch¡¯s estates isn¡¯t far from here,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°They¡¯d still need support infrastructure for the bureaucracy. An evil dictator version of Canberra?¡± mused Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. ¡°Really? Poor Canberra.¡± ¡°It was just an idle thought,¡± replied Amdirlain. She waved an arm at the pristine buildings, their manicured spaces separating them. ¡°Do you think she impressed anyone with all this?¡± ¡°Her minions,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Though they¡¯re terrified or brainwashed¡ªor both¡ªso I don¡¯t think they needed to be impressed.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s song recreated the Matriarch¡¯s likeness based on images provided by the drones in her lab. They caught the perfect moment of bone-white fur and a red gleam in her gaze eerily similar to the undead. The last Amdirlain could only guess was an effect from her Life Bane Class. The change ran through the city, and every face of every building had her staring at those below. ¡°I think you¡¯re going to scare the children,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°They¡¯ve every right to be scared,¡± replied Amdirlain. The disabled receiver screens around the city came back to life, showing the Matriarch experimenting in her lab. Everyone could hear her live reaction to the news of her visage being displayed, all while she stood over a giant skeleton created by fusing hundreds of bones. In other cities, they broadcast the morning¡¯s events before relocation orbs appeared, and people fled. While many took the relocation orbs¡¯ offer, some in cities close to the Oligarchy and Allied Territories¡¯ border took more standard routes. When the military used violence to break up a gathering, Amdirlain noticed none of the nearby civilians carried weapons. As the soldiers started to cut people down, Amdirlain stopped asking people and moved them. Violence broke out in more cities, and Amdirlain tried to maintain her distance, working to snuff out the violence. She¡¯d moved onto the fifth when Sarah¡¯s monitoring units in border towns signalled trouble. A location with troops firing on fleeing civilians had Sarah appear nearby, and kinetic strikes obliterated the attacking troops. ¡®Fanatics,¡¯ growled Sarah, and she reappeared near the injured civilians to dispense healing drones. Their mental link shared her every action with Amdirlain. Yet it was then the purpose of the initial command to attack showed its hand. With Sarah in the open, wizards teleported more troops into the nearby streets and opened fire on her. The energy projector¡¯s blasts were stopped by shielding drones in a flare along their force barriers. Other drones replied in kind to spit a hurricane of energy and obliterate dozens. While his fellows died, a trooper appeared close to Sarah, and she brushed him aside absently and nearly decapitated him with that lazy motion. Above Sarah, the sky filled with hundreds of drones; from them, groups split off and escorted the evacuees to the border station while others dealt with fresh troops. Within moments of teleporting on site, hundreds following the Matriarch¡¯s kill order were dead. ¡°Subtle?¡± questioned Amdirlain as she appeared amid the carnage. ¡°You could have just assisted from the shadows.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t have to come out here to let them see you. You were having all the fun,¡± countered Sarah, her eyes still ablaze with anger as she eyed the soldiers. ¡°Your drones match the ones at the studio,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°And you said things about me running in to save kids.¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°Weren¡¯t we nearly done with the public fun? The long-term play against the Matriarch got tossed already. I¡¯m tired of the bitch. Her military being ordered to fire on people says the bonfire is already burning. I think it¡¯s time we cracked the egg and separated the yolk. Or cut the head off the snake, whatever term you want.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°Break her ward or door number two,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°Door number two,¡± picked Amdirlain. Catching distant observers, she ominously pointed a finger at each of them? despite their vantages kilometres away. Sarah looked past the dead troops to glare where Amdirlain pointed. ¡°Time to move.¡± While she pointed out the last observers, Amdirlain¡¯s song reached out to the civilians. The latest she¡¯d restored to life sat up, shuddering from the cold of death being torn away and the toll their bodies had paid; their tears of relief showed the border guards they weren¡¯t undead. Amdirlain waited for the observers to finish broadcasting the news, then teleported them to the military command post. ¡°I think it¡¯s better they report in person,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s go deal with the Necromancer.¡± ¡°Sorry to rush you folks, but we¡¯ll get you to safety before we move on,¡± said Sarah. Larger humanoid drones appeared to lift the nearby revived carefully, and Sarah turned to the shocked guards at the border station. ¡°Will you let them through or keep standing around with your dick in your hands while people get gunned down?¡± ¡°We were told not to start a war,¡± called back a guard. ¡°We¡¯re letting them through without papers, but they¡¯ve got to get here first.¡± Amdirlain touched Sarah¡¯s arm. ¡°Let¡¯s go with door number two. Do you want to detail some of your drones to help the guards keep arriving civilians safe? Let¡¯s stop this now.¡± Some of Sarah¡¯s drones scattered about before they appeared a few kilometres from the estate. Still tense with rage at the troops, Sarah looked at Amdirlain. ¡°You want to minimise casualties among the elite soldiers as well?¡± Amdirlain set up a barrier around the estate ward that prevented teleporting and phylactery links. ¡°I do, but I¡¯m more worried about the people they¡¯d kill if they join up with another lackey.¡± ¡°Want to give the locals a proper show?¡± hissed Sarah. ¡°No, let¡¯s stick with your idea; the pieces are still in place. Either way, I¡¯m sure the plinth will have a field day, but I won¡¯t gloat about tearing her dominion apart. She¡¯s hurt other people, but not me,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah lifted a finger and pulled out a link unit. ¡°I¡¯ve got a message to pass along.¡± ¡°Who is this?¡± snarled the Matriarch as she answered the call. ¡°Malcineas said to tell you that you were always loved and that he wished you¡¯d learnt to love others instead of your power,¡± said Sarah. The sheer anger in her voice made the words a mockery. ¡°I¡¯m going to take satisfaction in the fact that, despite you not believing in any God, Hell believes in you. I hope you enjoy the molten river.¡± There was a pause before the Matriarch hissed a reply. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°A messenger. We restored your father from the dead; he wanted me to pass his words along before your end,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Tell your troops to surrender and leave the estate. You can save the lives of the troops in your command.¡± ¡°If you could touch me in here, you already would have. Those soldiers are mine; I will live eternally, and they¡¯ll live with me.¡± Amdirlain clenched her teeth. ¡®Even if there is a phylactery inside the barrier, it won¡¯t activate.¡¯ ¡°Enjoy your long walk off a short pier,¡± replied Sarah, and she disconnected. From multiple points around the estate, Amdirlain¡¯s voice could be heard telling them to leave their weapons and walk away from the estate, only for none of the military units to move. ¡°Time to see if the big gun will work,¡± muttered Sarah, and she made another call. ¡°This is Malcineas,¡± said Malcineas, his voice coming from Sarah¡¯s unit. ¡°Have you considered what we spoke about?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s got the soldiers killing people. We¡¯ve been working to stop things, but more have suffered; it¡¯s time to make a choice.¡± ¡°Yes, you are right. I can¡¯t just walk away. What do you need me to do?¡± asked Malcineas, his voice cracking. ¡°I passed your words on to your daughter. Consider what you want to say and look into the caster I left with you. Speak up and think about all the lives you¡¯ll save. You can get the government into other people¡¯s hands later, but it has to be out of her hands first.¡± ¡°Years that I can give myself back with life extensions, yes,¡± agreed Malcineas, and the call cut off. A few minutes later, drones Sarah had sent closer to the estate started to project Malcineas¡¯s image. ¡°Every functional receiver in the country will see this, and the link units will hear it as well,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I was going to leave him out of it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s his price to pay. Stop forking out for other people¡¯s messes,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°We¡¯re cutting the head off the snake; let¡¯s give them a hopefully saner leader to settle things down. I¡¯ll return in a decade or two to ensure it¡¯s transitioning to sanity.¡± Malcineas'' voice echoed from the drones; having introduced himself, he kept going, and his voice firmed. ¡°Three hundred years ago, my daughter struck against me. I was trapped, unable to prevent the path she took our country down. But I¡¯m no longer trapped, and you should also free yourselves. Lay down the weapons you¡¯ve raised against each other¡ªfocus on defending others from what comes from the ghost caverns. Once, she claimed to have the nation¡¯s interests at heart. But if that was ever the case, those times have gone, and only her lust for power remains. Disregard my daughter''s orders and fulfil your duty of caring for all citizens, regardless of their magical abilities or pride.¡± Malcineas continued for a short time to echo from the drone¡¯s projections, and as some guards tried to leave the estates, others shot them down. Those at the wards¡¯ edges were whisked to safety, and Sarah huffed in disbelief before directing her healing drones to restore them. ¡°Just in case, harden the barrier. I don¡¯t like the Mana generators here,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Her delivery will arrive shortly.¡± Amdirlain changed the barrier and watched the end arrive. Sarah¡¯s custom link unit showed the camera views from the stealth units Amdirlain had created around the Matriarch¡¯s lab. Blue light flashed at the end of the camera; a combination of magnetic coils and gravity pulses sent rounds the length of Amdirlain¡¯s forefinger out at nearly Mach 12. With four drones alternating between solid and flechettes, the Matriarch¡¯s body rapidly transformed into a gory mist. Despite that, the drones repeatedly adjusted and fired at whatever pieces their sensor detected until their guns ran dry. They were still shooting when the wards tied to her life sign pulsed and rang. Her failsafe triggered, and the estate¡¯s Mana generators exploded. The activation of the phylactery fought and clawed against the spherical barrier Amdirlain had put in place, but ultimately failed. ¡°I¡¯m astonished Gideon doesn¡¯t have rules against that,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting a self-destruct. And objects moving at speed is impossible to prevent since any orbiting object needs to move faster than those rounds,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°She was a soft target, and I went overkill with four. It wouldn¡¯t work against someone like Moloch, his flesh would shrug them off even if you made them from adamantine. A gun equipped with magical rounds he¡¯d sense or they¡¯d be subject to protection spells to deflect them.¡± Sarah nodded, but her expression was resolved. ¡°I think we¡¯ve saved far more lives making a clean cut than not.¡± ¡°You get the experience?¡± asked Amdirlain, as she tried to change the subject. ¡°For her and the military units on the estate,¡± agreed Sarah. Huffing, Amdirlain waved at the message behind the dome. ¡°Complete favouritism. I blow things up and don¡¯t get any experience; you signal drones I created, and get experience.¡± ¡°Duplicated,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°I designed them and made the first. It was also my idea. Though you¡¯re deflecting.¡± ¡°Yeah, but I wish I had killed her this morning instead of attempting to fracture people away from her,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Or at least gotten her to flee her estates so we could catch her exposed.¡± ¡°And I was hoping your approach would get them to back off and let you continue the evacuations, but that wasn¡¯t working out,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°How many wounded and dead have you had to restore today alone?¡± ¡°Too many, and it won¡¯t end here,¡± murmured Amdirlain unhappily. Sarah frowned. ¡°It should for us. It¡¯s not our mess to fix. If you want to buy them time, get the details of the other conduits and let the cloister patrol them.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already got the songs of all the ghost caverns,¡± advised Amdirlain, not taking her eyes from the visible dome. Water manifested inside the dome to snare the dust and drive it to the ground, resulting in a mud-filled lake in the hollow that existed now. ¡°We still should get the refugees settled. I don¡¯t think sending them home is safe until the situation is calmer.¡± ¡°Ebusuku has people in disguise sorting that out. There are more than enough housing and Mana generators for the population I¡¯ve shifted,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to check on other cities to see how they¡¯ve taken Malcineas¡¯ speech.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start on the eastern border,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go to the capital and work westward,¡± responded Amdirlain, and she promptly vanished. 345 - Curtain Call Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane - Qil Tris - Year 4370 (Local calendar) The capital was a sea of confusion but, detecting no troops firing on civilians, Amdirlain left them to sort out their mess. Five cities of confusion with no bloodshed later, she came on a scene that dashed her growing hopes. Finding troops firing on a crowd that included children hemmed in with nowhere to run, she put a dome over the civilians. While their projector bolts splattered harmlessly against it, Amdirlain put another barrier behind the troops. With them secured, she transported the living civilians away, only to be confronted by the sight of the ground littered with the charred bodies of the slain and children beneath those of sheltering adults. Amdirlain clenched her fists and sent a crystal to create a receiving station with regeneration fields. The sight of the hundreds of dead had her intent snap to the soldier¡¯s commander before she forced herself to stop. Methodically, she put barriers along the building¡¯s facades to ensure they were penned in from all sides. A mass version of Raise Dead restored the fallen to life; some screamed or cried in fear, and hands frantically clutched at now sealed wounds. Some troops fired at the confused civilians as the worst injuries were undone, and they returned from the dead, but their follow-up shots deflected off the barrier. Done with their behaviour, she shared with those who had fired the memories of pain she took from the slain. Their screams provoked more tears from the children, and Amdirlain sent them and the adults to join their families. After she double-checked all the barriers, she grabbed the details from their minds about the orders issued. With it traced back to their local headquarters, she put them in an open-ended Time Stop. She appeared nearby and scoured minds until she found the commanding officer. A dominating song had him issue orders to cancel all the attacks and then walk outside. As he stepped out for fresh air, the Major was suddenly standing on the lip of a skyrise before Amdirlain. His hand darted to the energy projector holster at his waist to encounter only leather and air. The projector¡¯s remains were a cascade of dust down his leg. ¡°You wanted to have control of the city?¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± screamed the major, and Amdirlain swatted aside a hurriedly cast Spell. Amdirlain''s gaze bore into him, and her voice was a rasp of steel and ice. ¡°I know no one ordered you to attack the civilians since the Patriarch¡¯s announcement. So I want you to tell me how you can justify it?¡± The major drew himself up and growled at her. ¡°The Matriarch¡¯s orders remain in place.¡± ¡°You want to attempt to justify your kill orders? What about the Patriarch¡¯s broadcast?¡± ¡°The Matriarch¡¯s will is all important. That imposter will not survive,¡± sneered the Major. ¡°I killed the Matriarch and stopped her from becoming undead,¡± whispered Amdirlain, and she showed him how the Matriarch had died. As the major let loose a tirade, Amdirlain grabbed his jacket by the front seam and lifted him effortlessly. Dangling like a helpless child, she emptied his Mana pool and sealed his body to prevent it from ever absorbing Mana again. With that done, she threw him off the skyscraper, but he teleported level with its top just before he hit the ground. He repeatedly fell, blurring past floors, screaming the whole time. As friction tore at his clothing, Amdirlain put him slightly out of phase to make rescue extremely difficult and set a sound barrier around the loop. To avoid making things predictable for him, the end of the loop shifted randomly between five metres and two millimetres off ground level. The Major¡¯s screams grew more frantic when she added the death pains of the slain civilians to his mind. The rest of the day, she jumped between the local military facilities and checked each one to find and head off any similar orders. Fortunately, the groups she had to send to safety steadily reduced throughout the day and night. Morning found her standing beside Malcineas in a room adjoining a conference room with commanders and regime bureaucrats. ¡°Dragged them out of the military command posts?¡± asked Amdirlain. Malcineas jumped and spun towards her, only to exhale in relief. ¡°Some warning, perhaps?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a young heart,¡± replied Amdirlain as she took in Sarah¡¯s protective equipment on him. ¡°Seems like quite the conference.¡± ¡°Yes. I want to get them out of their comfortable zones and thinking,¡± explained Malcineas. ¡°I heard only snippets of your activities.¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°You¡¯ve got some officers stuck in falling loops and a few cities I¡¯ve done clean-ups in.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had some reports, but not what caused them to appear falling off skyscrapers suddenly,¡± admitted Malcineas. ¡°Issuing orders to fire on civilians after your broadcast,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°While they¡¯re slightly out of phase with the world, they¡¯re not impossible to rescue. Likewise, a spectre could reach them first. Do you want them?¡± ¡°I figured they were involved in the mess you handled for us. My major concern is the well-being of those from empty cities and the other disappearances. Have they got ample food and supplies? Is there anything we should gather for them?¡± enquired Malcineas, his theme still seeming too frail for the role he¡¯d taken on. ¡°They¡¯ve been fed, sheltered, and sometimes clothed. The other disappearances only occurred because the military directly threatened or had already attacked. I¡¯ve provided the civilians with mechanisms to return to this world if they want, but I won¡¯t force them. Their havens have resources enough that they can live a comfortable yet challenging life away from the ghost caverns and the threat of spectres.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad they are safe, thank you. Will the officers continue to fall?¡± asked Malcineas, his tail coiled in curiosity. ¡°You said they were in a loop.¡± Amdirlain explained what she¡¯d done before she showed Malcineas images of her falling captives and the scenes of death they¡¯d caused. Malcineas¡¯ gaze blazed momentarily, but his lips thinned, and he nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s not feed the undead; they should stand trial.¡± A short melody had eleven messy individuals suspended in the room, and Amdirlain cleaned them up before she turned them solid again. Their wailing and gibbering filled the air, and the door to the conference room quickly burst open. As the military staff clamoured for an answer, Amdirlain handed Malcineas a token to release them from the barrier. ¡°You just have to focus on freeing them. That¡¯ll also remove the Time Stop and barrier from around the troops, but you might want to have a senior officer on hand.¡± Taking in the arrogant melodies of the bureaucrats and military personnel, she used the plinth¡¯s judgemental song. She stopped before their themes could fray¡ªthe barest millisecond of insight. It was enough to let them experience a brief taste of the pain and misery they¡¯d inflicted on the nation¡¯s people. ¡°What happened to them?¡± breathed Malcineas, looking at the now sobbing officials. ¡°I let them experience a fraction of the pain they¡¯ve caused others. If they¡¯d been innocent, nothing would have happened to them," replied Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, you find them eager to help now; some were convinced they could control you. Let them know I will check back on them, and I¡¯ll see they pay in other ways if they misbehave.¡± Amdirlain vanished and, in her usual paranoia, left an erratic trail of hops behind her. When she appeared in the apartment, Kadaklan and Sarah were both there, though Kadaklan was in his room. Sarah sat watching a newscaster reporting on the chaos along the border. Before she could move, Amdirlain sat beside her and put her head on Sarah¡¯s lap to watch the receiver. Looking down in surprise, Sarah set the remote aside and stroked Amdirlain¡¯s hair. ¡°We could just leave,¡± proposed Kadaklan when he came out and found them still watching the news. Sarah tapped her nose and pointed to Kadaklan. ¡°I think we should as well. Just leave it as one of the world¡¯s great mysteries.¡± ¡°They¡¯d hike to the south pole trying to find the Blackcliff pride,¡± objected Amdirlain, but she didn¡¯t shift position. ¡°And?¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Venturing into the unknown might be good for them.¡± ¡°Leave a big pillar and inscribe it to say Blackcliff pride has gone beyond the stars,¡± suggested Kadaklan. Snorting, Sarah nodded happily. ¡°We can¡¯t just vanish,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m okay with heading off, but only if we tidy things properly. I can imagine the confusion and interviews people would endure if we did. Not to mention the uncertainty they¡¯d endure since, with all the drama, they might think a surviving Matriarch hit team killed us.¡± Kadaklan sat across from them but didn¡¯t obstruct Amdirlain¡¯s view of the receiver. ¡°We can, but you¡¯d prefer us not to and your reasons are valid. If we¡¯re being polite, we should tell the law keepers and your advocates for your investment funds. I¡¯ll tell my staff and distribute the shares in the lab¡¯s business.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a few Artificer workshops I should update on projects,¡± added Sarah. ¡°How long do you need to finish preparations?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°A few days or weeks to put the anchor points in for all the training facilities. I¡¯ve got melodies to modify surveyors to scan for new ghost caverns and implant new training complex anchor points near them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯ll alert me through a memory crystal, but I might leave that with Roher in case I¡¯m busy. I¡¯ll set the initial demi-planes up so any singer can link them.¡± ¡°That includes some cities whose political systems you¡¯re not in favour of,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°After the mess with the Matriarch, the locals need to clean up their own messes. I don¡¯t think I made anything better; I just escalated things and changed the goal posts,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°The country is still filled with brain-washed fanatics in a barely restrained state.¡± ¡°Each person must find their own Dao. Hopefully, the afflicted will find a way to clear their thoughts,¡± argued Kadaklan. Sarah tweaked Amdirlain¡¯s ear. ¡°Plan for two weeks?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be ready to go before then,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Might record a partial set depending on how many songs Jal¡¯krin has lined up. Let him have the royalties.¡± ¡°Generous,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°Depending on what we say before we leave, he might need compensation for the headaches,¡± replied Amdirlain. Kadaklan chuckled. ¡°At least it would be compensation for the years he considered you ''gaol bait'', as Sarah says.¡± ¡°All those poor adult males who thought they were pining over a female who was not yet of a decent age,¡± Sarah said with a smirk. Amdirlain sat up to a grumble of protest from Sarah, and her tail swished around into her hands before she pouted up at Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re so mean to me.¡± ¡°Call your little composer and see what he¡¯s got lined up, then figure out how to close everything you can off,¡± instructed Sarah. A note to Jal¡¯krin and a quick reply produced a mutter from Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s got twenty ready for me to look at already; he mustn¡¯t have slept.¡± ¡°You¡¯re his muse,¡± chirped Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll pick the lyrics up and think about them while I set up more demi-planes,¡± announced Amdirlain before she vanished. Appearing outside Jal¡¯krin¡¯s apartment, she pressed the rune beside the door and heard the chimes echo. ¡°That was quick,¡± said Jal¡¯krin, and he frowned. ¡°What¡¯s with the upscale military look?¡± Amdirlain looked down at the dark green of the shadow vines¡¯ clothing and shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to blend in.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Ha, ha; come on in,¡± said Jal¡¯krin, waving her inside the echoing apartment. ¡°You need to get more furnishings,¡± commented Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin closed the door and waved her forward. ¡°You said that last time, never mind this place. Listen to the sample beats and have a run-through of the lyrics. I¡¯m not sure we need some of the ones attacking the Matriarch now. I can adjust them to suit political parasites in general.¡± The door to his workroom was open, and she could feel the lingering energy in the arcane discs he usually used for composition. ¡°Did you rest at all lately?¡± ¡°Yes. You know me well enough that you¡¯d be telling me to sleep, not asking, if I hadn¡¯t,¡± argued Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Yeah, but twenty songs,¡± protested Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin grumbled. ¡°It¡¯s your influence. My brain¡¯s been running on overdrive since you left. I haven¡¯t needed to work all hours; things have just flowed. When you do retire, I will miss your brainstorming sessions.¡± Exhaling slowly, Amdirlain gave him a nod. ¡°Don¡¯t tell Jan¡¯era yet, but I will head home shortly. I¡¯ll record a set of these and leave you the royalties.¡± Jal¡¯krin¡¯s eye bugged out. ¡°Hold up, repeat yourself, please? Why are you leaving me the royalties? Don¡¯t they go into that investment thing you set up? I know Jan¡¯era was on about some scholarship and artist sponsorship fund.¡± ¡°This is my thank you. You can do what you like with it, but invest it just in case you need the money in years to come,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll get a feel for these while I sort out other things. I¡¯ll ask Jan¡¯era for a studio day next week.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going?¡± murmured Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Yeah,¡± nodded Amdirlain. Jal¡¯krin stood up and, looming over her, wrapped his arms around her. ¡°Thanks for nearly everything.¡± ¡°Nearly?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she gently hugged him back. ¡°Nearly,¡± confirmed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Jul¡¯iane will drive everyone crazy not having you to spar with; she¡¯s been climbing the walls this week.¡± ¡°She¡¯ll just have to get her students to improve enough that they can provide a better challenge,¡± rebutted Amdirlain, and she dug her fingers gently into his ribs, getting him to jump. ¡°So, maestro, what music do you have?¡± ¡°Never anything perfect enough for you, but I hope you¡¯ll find them fun,¡± replied Jal¡¯krin with a sad smile. ¡°No time for sadness. Play your music, and let¡¯s have fun poking at bad people,¡± insisted Amdirlain. She¡¯d originally intended to be there an hour, but it was nearly ten before she made it to the first demi-plane. ¡°He warned me maintaining relationships with mortals was tough,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Should I even go back to Xaos?¡± When she sang, the undertones of sadness in her voice painted the demi-plane¡¯s sky a deep, sad red and the clouds that appeared bled the colour into the distant hills. Seeing the shade, she sent forth music silently but slower than earlier, not wanting to tint the memory of the day¡¯s musical fun with sorrow. Burning off the energy that wanted to bubble through her voice, Amdirlain let her body move and danced to Jal¡¯krin''s music running through her mind. One demi-plane after another, the rush of experience from their creation pushed her onwards. The deadline she¡¯d set advanced with an unforgiving pace, and her only break was a brief stint of studio time. Having planned each song, Amdirlain recorded twelve in half a day. With Jan¡¯era muttering about release dates and promotions, Amdirlain slipped away without fanfare. Two weeks after the Matriarch¡¯s death, the trio stood on a rocky field and watched the gleam of an approaching vehicle. Cla¡¯nes''s limo drove slowly along the gravel road and stopped not far from them. Ssa¡¯time hopped out from the driver¡¯s seat wearing snug, ankle-length purple pants tucked in black boots and an off-the-shoulder top that blended with her auburn fur. The customary steel-hued ribbons secured her hair in scores of loose braids; some fell well past the middle of her back while others swayed back and forth across her chest. The vehicle¡¯s external security devices were already in sync with the bodyguard¡¯s bracelet. Time spent in the training complexes had pushed her classes into the early 50s; Amdirlain had never peeked into the details of her team. The back door opened before Ssa¡¯time got to it, and Amdirlain heard her huff in frustration. ¡°It might not have been clear.¡± Sliding out of the back door, Cla¡¯nes gave a lithe stretch that exhibited her well-formed body. It was the first time Amdirlain had seen her out in the planet¡¯s yellow sunlight; it caused silver highlights to sparkle among her white fur. Her white off-the-shoulder top and pants mirrored Ssa¡¯time''s attire, except it matched Cla¡¯nes¡¯s fur so well she appeared naked. An outcome Amdirlain imagined was likely intentional as Cla¡¯nes had selected the apparel for them both. Next to Ssa¡¯time¡¯s muscular figure, Cla¡¯nes¡¯s well-formed body seemed illicitly enticing. Jan¡¯era had already hopped out the opposite side and held a hand up to shade her eyes from the afternoon sunlight. She was dressed in her practice business attire, a loose cream blouse tucked into black business pants and flats that let her claws grip. As the wind stirred, she rested the hand atop her head. Her pink ear twitched in time to the dancing breeze¡¯s attention, which caused the deep red fur coating her muzzle and arms to ruffle. ¡°All three of you, in the same place. Are we safe? The last time this occurred, the Matriarch¡¯s goons attacked the studio,¡± noted Jan¡¯era before she motioned to Cla¡¯nes and Ssa¡¯time. ¡°Though maybe I should ask why only the three of us? And in the middle of nowhere?¡± ¡°A twenty-minute trip out of the city is hardly the middle of nowhere. You came via the bypass to get here, so it¡¯s easy to get back to the city,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Might as well be nowhere,¡± replied Ssa¡¯time. Sarah smiled. ¡°Technically, anywhere is always somewhere, and this somewhere is just a distance from any town. We need you to take some equipment with you when we¡¯re done.¡± Before they could ask, she waved to a nearby tripod with a caster and a metallic cube beside it, spitting memory crystals into a rapidly filling crate. Sarah set down carry cases for them nearby. ¡°Jan¡¯era, since you know how to use a caster, would you look it over?¡± asked Amdirlain. Her pink ear went still in one of the tells Amdirlain had learnt to signal her curiosity, and Jan¡¯era stalked towards the device. After a brief examination, she frowned at the controls. ¡°You¡¯ve got runes for trace and transmit? Those aren¡¯t typical on any caster. Trace is just for audio gear, and when you turn a caster on, it immediately starts transmitting.¡± ¡°The trace rune starts the unit recording. When you do that, and the unit¡¯s turned on, everything visual and audio is recorded. Recording media go into the side slot,¡± explained Sarah, and she tapped the hatch on the caster¡¯s side. ¡°You can¡¯t get a visual trace to work with data plates,¡± objected Jan¡¯era. ¡°Sarah worked it out,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and she motioned to the memory crystals cascading from the cube. ¡°Though memory crystals hold far more than metal data plates.¡± Cla¡¯nes moved over and picked up a thumb-sized crystal. ¡°Memory crystals?¡± ¡°If you have Mana, you can attune to them and inject memories directly. Or use them in a device like this,¡± Sarah said, tapping the caster. ¡°Currently, that cube is creating crystals with sets of information pre-loaded. They have all the details of creating them and technical details for various uses. Examples would be visual and audio traces and the various arcane technologies that data plates fill. It also details the adjustments needed to record and retrieve more things from the existing data plates.¡± ¡°Why tell us?¡± asked Cla¡¯nes. ¡°Not that I don¡¯t mind the chance to corner the market, but it¡¯s not my usual avenue of influence.¡± Jan¡¯era nodded and motioned to Cla¡¯nes. ¡°You¡¯d be more likely to know the people to seize the most from it, but it¡¯s certainly not my area.¡± ¡°None of you are artificers, so you¡¯ll have to involve someone. If you do something shady, I¡¯m sure whoever you team up with will happily screw you over,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Sarah¡¯s a touch paranoid. We¡¯re heading off. We hoped you would record a farewell for us,¡± explained Amdirlain. Her ears twitching, Jan¡¯era tilted her head. ¡°Never mind the how. Another retirement? And heading off from here, why?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°This time, I had better get going, especially since I¡¯ve had to escalate things with the Matriarch the last couple of days.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t want Am involved in more political situations,¡± laughed Sarah, and she patted Amdirlain. ¡°Not that she wanted to clean it up.¡± ¡°I need to let people work out how to clean up their messes instead of overly meddling,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I get into a mother-hen mode and then find I¡¯m fighting off the urge to fix things.¡± ¡°You sang some songs. What did you have to do with the coup?¡± asked Ssa¡¯time, holding back her braids from her face as the wind gusted harder. Sarah smirked. ¡°She started with the songs before she brought the Patriarch back to life, shifted people to safety, killed the Matriarch, and raised people from the dead along the way.¡± ¡°I put the gadgets in place to kill the Matriarch, but they were Sarah¡¯s. Just as she stopped troops from opening fire on people with others, then used more to heal the civilians she¡¯d saved,¡± added Amdirlain, motioning to Sarah. Jan¡¯era¡¯s jaw had dropped before Sarah was through, and she finally gasped. ¡°What?¡± While Cla¡¯nes nodded understandingly, Ssa¡¯time still looked taken aback. ¡°The first evening she visited,¡± prompted Cla¡¯nes. ¡°But...¡± Cla¡¯nes continued. ¡°A few things more than you remember went on, but I know you remember lunging at Am when she flared her Charisma.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair, to put that solely on Ssa¡¯time; you did as well,¡± objected Amdirlain. Rolling her eyes, Cla¡¯nes huffed. ¡°Yes, I did as well. Fortunately, you were older than sixteen.¡± Jan¡¯era¡¯s gaze locked on Amdirlain. ¡°What? You tricked us?¡± Grimacing, Amdirlain spread her hands helplessly. ¡°I had no experience with your species¡¯ body language. I figured coming in as a late teen wouldn¡¯t be too problematic. My apologies that things didn¡¯t quite go according to plan, but some things went far better than I had hoped¡ªand for more than just me. Hopefully you¡¯ll find someone to sing the rest of the songs I commissioned Jal¡¯krin to write; they¡¯ve got more political commentary in them.¡± ¡°Species?¡° gasped Jan''era. Sarah laughed, and Amdirlain shooed her away. ¡°I was having problems with Femme Fatale. No one I knew had evolved it to something non-sexual, so I appreciated the help, Cla¡¯nes,¡± said Amdirlain, and she handed Jan¡¯era a few sheets of folded film. ¡°Start the recording. It¡¯s all set up,¡± prompted Amdirlain, ¡°Last of the legal stuff; I told the advocates I was heading off.¡± Kadaklan smiled at Jan¡¯era reassuringly. ¡°We also dropped in to sign things with the law keepers so there wouldn¡¯t be a missing person¡¯s fuss this time.¡± ¡°Anyway, this will be your choice. The three of you can decide never to show this recording to anyone,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°You can even ignore the memory crystals.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t ignore the memory crystals,¡± grumbled Sarah, and she walked over to her position. ¡°But given what we plan to say, disappearing the trace might be an idea. Also, I want the random sightings of Am to go on forever.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll get labelled a conspiracy cover-up by some fans,¡± reassured Kadaklan, and he waved to the caster and started walking a distance from Sarah. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything you need to do for me. The staff now own the lab and have a solid foundation they can build on by refining the abilities I taught them.¡± Amdirlain looked over Jan¡¯era¡¯s shoulder to confirm the display plate on the unit showed Sarah and Kadaklan in focus on either side of the screen. ¡°Don¡¯t zoom in,¡± warned Amdirlain, and she reappeared at the midpoint between them. ¡°I hope we¡¯ve improved things between us.¡± ¡°The Ki comes from the life force within you. It¡¯s not divine; it¡¯s your own to help you find enlightenment or ruin depending on your life¡¯s path,¡± stated Kadaklan. He transformed into his Phoenix form, nearly three metres tall, and his long tail feathers extended five. His feathers ranged from deep reds, oranges, and yellows with hints of blue before the yang flames licked across the rocky ground. ¡°And me exchanging Artificer knowledge,¡± added Sarah. Then she transformed into her Dragon form, though she kept her aura constrained. The caster screen still had her head in view, but the right side of her body was well out of scope. ¡°And me providing some entertainment between creating the training complexes,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°The training complexes were yours?¡± gasped Jan¡¯era. Amdirlain nodded and smiled sadly. ¡°I wish people would treat them with more caution. I¡¯ve heard of too many injuries and some fatalities despite the warnings. More will appear around other cities in the weeks and months ahead; that¡¯s all in motion and doesn¡¯t need me present anymore. If new ghost caverns open, I set it up so that training complexes will open near them; just a few stages until they grow. I couldn¡¯t set them up to help combat classes progress without danger, so please don¡¯t treat them lightly.¡± Cla¡¯nes stepped forward, looking over Kadaklan¡¯s plumage. ¡°You said you were from the south?¡± ¡°Between us, our homes are far to the south, beyond visible stars and, for me, on different planes completely. We came because that cult was trying to gain power from beings worse than your old gods. It was a problem that your past had left you with no means to address. I came to help, and then my oath-sister and friend came to help me after fighting some of the more serious threats left me with wounds to heal.¡± Amdirlain shifted briefly into J¡¯s form before she changed into her Fallen form and grew until she was nearly six metres tall; the shadow vines shifted to keep her clad in dark green cloth. Her feathers had a blazing golden core and flickering red flames that seemed to add more soot to layer them. Even in the daylight, the golden glow from her eyes painted the ground before her in a bright light. Brushing her azure blue hair from her eyes, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t entirely invent my fur colour.¡± ¡°What are you?¡± breathed Ssa¡¯time as Amdirlain pulled her Charisma back into control. ¡°I¡¯m a singer, though I fibbed in that¡ªI¡¯m not a bard. Sorry.¡± ¡°Ha,¡± choked out Jan¡¯era. ¡°You were driving theorists nuts.¡± Jan¡¯era put her hand over her muzzle as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she¡¯d said. Smiling, Amdirlain continued. ¡°Nor did I start at the fifth level. So, sorry for that worry as well. My total levels are in the thousands, so let¡¯s leave it at that. I sustained wounds at the Spellclash manor that night, and needed a few days'' rest. I hope you¡¯ll continue to enjoy my music, as I enjoyed bringing a bit of joy with it, and while wordplay is involved, it¡¯s all about Mortal concerns.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not some deity?¡± asked Cla¡¯nes, a question she already knew the answer to, having spoken of it before. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not. However, just as people can be good or bad, so can gods. If your people ever run into beings in the service of gods on other planes, please keep that in mind. Judge them by their actions, their teachings, and what they ask of those who serve them.¡± ¡°My people don¡¯t have gods as yours did,¡± advised Kadaklan, and he smiled ruefully at the trio¡¯s sudden tension. ¡°I¡¯m not sharing anything about them other than to confirm their differences. They give examples and lessons but never ask anyone to wage wars.¡± ¡°Your gods didn¡¯t just have your people killing each other. They also killed other species¡¯ gods, which hurt those species badly,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°The dwarves are still around, but I¡¯ve found evidence that others died completely. If you contact those who survive, you might want to remember that in case there are grudges. We done?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already said more than perhaps I should have,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah huffed. ¡°Your choice to tell them, their choice to share.¡± Amdirlain opened a massive Gate to the Outlands far away from Xaos. Sarah turned and launched herself through it while Jan¡¯era re-orientated the caster to show the valley site Amdirlain had focused it on. Kadaklan flew through next before Amdirlain waved and followed, closing the gate once she was clear. Not bothering to land, she transformed back to her Wood Elf form in mid-air. 346 - Lonely Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Landing on the valley¡¯s lip, Amdirlain waited for Sarah and Kadaklan to land nearby and transform back into a human shape. Running her fingers through the Wood Elf form¡¯s autumn-hued locks, Amdirlain found it odd to be furless after so long in either Am¡¯s or J¡¯s appearance. Sarah seemed to agree when she grunted after taking her first step in her lithe human form. ¡°No claws; at least the Catfolk got those right.¡± ¡°Should I even go near Xaos?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Where does that come from?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°Changing plans at the last minute, are we?¡± Amdirlain huffed and spread her arms wide. ¡°I guess I¡¯m feeling the hit from saying the goodbyes.¡± ¡°Livia and the others have been waiting for us patiently back there,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything stopping us from just setting up a place in a random location while you finish off the demi-planes. Do you have enough for all the different cities?¡± ¡°The current ones each have at least a trio of levels. I didn¡¯t make the ¡®boss location¡¯ for the next stage so easy to find this time, so they¡¯ll have to explore,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Each of them is in a unique spot, so if they share intel, it won¡¯t help.¡± ¡°Except, once they realise that, they can share where the boss won¡¯t be,¡± proposed Kadaklan. ¡°A continent-sized land mass with cave systems provides plenty of space to hide them,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°The only thing they¡¯re guided towards is the nearest exit point.¡± Kadaklan looked at her curiously. ¡°You¡¯re riding Sarah¡¯s deflection well, so what¡¯s on your mind?¡± ¡°What if I screwed Xaos up? Livia and the others have been vague in their messages, and I¡¯ve stayed away to avoid sticking my nose in and disrupting Cyrus¡¯s lessons,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Shaking her head in disbelief, Sarah stepped close and looped her arm through Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯re worrying over nothing, though I¡¯ll teleport us since the view has changed.¡± The trio appeared on a stone road that seemed to be made by dwarves, but Amdirlain could hear Gail¡¯s voice lingering in the blocks. The road led between the rolling hills still covered in fields, but Xaos¡¯s appearance drew her gaze away from the crops. Before, the town had occupied a narrow slice of the tall hillside; now, it covered it completely from all angles. Near Nolmar, she could hear multiple garrison buildings of a uniform design. Fortunately, they were a rare block of conformity, as the rest were as eccentric in construction as Xaos¡¯s original buildings. ¡°It sounds like I had better change out the tower for demi-planes,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Looks like the Commander went overboard. Though it''s fine now, they could overstress the crystal.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been getting checked regularly by Isa and Roher,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°They say it¡¯s only needed touch-ups, but that is helping reduce your imprint upon it.¡± ¡°If I get rid of the tower and flip it to demi-planes, I can pull those pillars out completely,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she adjusted the crystals so that the energy from the tithe went into repairing it instead of her. ¡°Let¡¯s catch up with Livia and Cyrus, but I might leave the rest to whatever they¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°Depends where they are, I guess,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°In the suite¡¯s rooftop garden,¡± said Amdirlain, and she started towards the town. A road that encircled the hill had replaced the marker stones for the town¡¯s wards. Within the limits of that boundary road, eight winding roads now climbed the slope to meet at the fort. The gazes that Amdirlain used to draw were nowhere to be seen, even without her projecting calm. The few beings she recognised only gave her enquiring glances drawn by the dim familiarity of her features and clothing. She still drew some attention higher up the hill when she passed a few male elves, but it was proportional to her appearance. As they passed the laneway to Nolmar, Amdirlain paid closer attention to the other paths providing access and caught the lack of certain melodies she expected to hear. Upon entering the Blazing Portal, Amdirlain found Wisp behind the counter, pulling pieces from a block tower. The Aerial Servant looked back and forth between Amdirlain and the puzzle and then started to extract an extra part. ¡°Is that one a solo game or meant to be played with others?¡± asked Amdirlain. Wisp halted with the piece half extracted and hurriedly pulled it clear before they focused on her. ¡°You¡¯ve been gone a while, fleshy. Are you back to stay?¡± Smiling at the term, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Perhaps for a while. Are the others still using my tab?¡± Spinning in place, Wisp brought up a ledger from beneath the counter and flipped pages. ¡°Currently, two guests are staying in your suite. Livia and Cyrus.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yes, but I won¡¯t run out of prepayment soon?¡± ¡°Not likely, especially since the cleaners are only tidying up a single bed, so there isn¡¯t any excess charge for cleaning services,¡± replied Wisp. ¡°Are they doing fleshy-breeding things?¡± ¡°Not sure that¡¯s something to ask a guest. It could be because only one of them sleeps,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Sleep? Is that what you call it?¡± asked Wisp, their voice fading in and out as they continued to spin. ¡°Most elves call it reverie.¡± ¡°Neither of them are elves,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Fleshies. It¡¯s hard to notice. The master and apprentice are elves; I use them as a baseline,¡± explained Wisp. ¡°I¡¯d like to get a suite key for Kadaklan,¡± requested Amdirlain. Wisp quickly set a token on the counter, and Amdirlain passed it off to Kadaklan before she led the way up. The enchantment in the lift shaft set them on the top floor, and Kadaklan looked down at it in amusement. ¡°Very interesting.¡± Tilting open the door, Amdirlain waved the others up the glass spiral stairs to the suite¡¯s living room. The suite¡¯s glass walls gave an unobstructed view of the buildings that rose from the surrounding segments of the hill. Their appearance prompted Livia to race inside, and she nearly barrelled straight into Amdirlain. ¡°No warning,¡± protested Livia as she wrapped her arms around Amdirlain. Amdirlain caught her gently, surprised by the energetic reception. ¡°We thought we¡¯d see if people had been up to no good.¡± ¡°Really? Not a matter of sneaking in so you can run off again?¡± asked Livia. Suppressing a snort, Sarah smiled at Livia. ¡°You know her too well.¡± ¡°M¨®eir?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°Let¡¯s sit down and talk,¡± suggested Amdirlain, and she moved over to the cluster of chairs around a low table. ¡°I have things I¡¯ve already procrastinated over investigating, and I need to push myself harder.¡± Rising from where he¡¯d been meditating in the gazebo, Cyrus came inside at a sedate pace. His movements were his usual relaxed and well-balanced stride, but his shoulders had a set of tension to them. The others had already settled in their seats before he reached the door. Closing the door behind him, Cyrus gave Kadaklan an amused glance and selected a seat before he spoke. ¡°They had mentioned you in their updates, Kadaklan. I hope the South Wind¡¯s court doesn¡¯t accuse me of kidnapping.¡± Lifting his chin with a mock haughtiness, Kadaklan huffed. ¡°Let your actions speak for themselves.¡± ¡°Yes, you intellectually kidnapped him by introducing him to a strange individual,¡± asserted Sarah. ¡°Should fall under general criminal charges.¡± ¡°Is everything on Qil Tris dealt with? From what Isa said, I thought you¡¯d be years yet,¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just passing through. I¡¯ve completed the main framework that needed me to be on the planet. There are still thousands of demi-planes that I expect I¡¯ll need to create even if I completed nearly eleven hundred in the last two weeks.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about keeping me waiting to teach you; it¡¯s just as well that I have a few other challenges to keep me occupied,¡± grumbled Cyrus. His tone had Livia shooting him an amused look. ¡°They¡¯re going to build a monastery nearby; he¡¯s so short on things to do.¡± ¡°We can speak of that later. It¡¯s not something Amdirlain needs to help with,¡± stated Cyrus. His preference to handle it traditionally was clear, and Amdirlain waved a hand at the surrounding suite. ¡°And it¡¯s not like you have to sit under a tree pretending to be a shrub.¡± Snorting in amusement, Livia leant forward in her seat. ¡°If you¡¯re just passing through, where are you heading?¡± ¡°I need to check a few things in the Abyss and adjust some projects,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°What sort of checking are you talking about?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m going to see if I can get my eyes on a few demon lords and break a few of those supporting Moloch,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I also need to check how far into its depths I can travel.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not getting back to Gideon¡¯s list?¡± asked Livia. ¡°No, I will. He updated it the other day, so I need to figure out the easiest tasks to complete. I¡¯ll split my time between it and dealing with my own concerns in the Abyss.¡± Livia lifted an eyebrow enquiringly. ¡°What about matters with the cloister? I would have considered those more important than revenge on Moloch.¡± ¡°Moloch¡¯s lackeys just provide convenient targets for experiments,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve no burning need to destroy them, and I know they¡¯re evil, self-serving tools he can likely replace.¡± ¡°So why?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°Killing them will temporarily weaken Moloch. I also need to practice against those with multiple home planes,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I haven¡¯t had to destroy an entity that required killing it on multiple planes. If I summon them even on their Home Plane, does that count as releasing them? I never got to try that on Naz; she¡¯s the only demoness I knew who was Planar locked.¡± ¡°It would,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°The summoning brings them to you through the conduit into your circle. If they¡¯re still planar locked, access to a summoning conduit would be impossible since it exists between planes. Since the Hag killed Naz, you wouldn¡¯t have been able to call her anyway.¡° Nodding, Amdirlain gave Sarah a thumbs up. ¡°Cool. I know not to try that with any of the named demons or demon lords I kill. They¡¯re my whetstone to sharpen my edge and work out tactics. It¡¯s also a motivation to turn the more self-serving against Moloch. Would they want to keep serving someone whose subordinates get killed? Maybe they can¡¯t or won¡¯t leave, but if I kill enough of them, word will get out.¡± Livia turned thoughtful. ¡°You¡¯re hoping to block his recruitment of replacements.¡± Sarah¡¯s lips pursed sourly. ¡°I¡¯d still like you to be stronger before you try it; their Skill levels are effective multipliers if you get up close and personal.¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°I¡¯ve checked some of the demons I¡¯ll start with; their stats and Skill levels are lower than mine. I¡¯ll deal with some of their troops to lure them out, but I¡¯m trying to work smarter, not harder,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Subtle?¡± teased Sarah. ¡°Hardly. I was thinking more surgical,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll meet Cyrus at the foundry to spar between taking down demons.¡± ¡°Not here?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain smiled sadly. ¡°Too much temptation to be distracted. I needed the last few years to shed some stress and grief, but now I need to get stronger. I had a notice that gave me good guidance for what I need for a better Prestige Class. While learning in peace is nice, I¡¯ve found combat more effective in forcing me to progress in some areas.¡± ¡°Temper yourself in battle, and I¡¯ll help you hone your edge,¡± promised Cyrus. ¡°We each need to find our Dao.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be doing some tempering,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I noticed a lack of guests from Limbo at Nolmar.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t quite work out, though your four friends are still working with Ras to clear the undead from Cemna,¡± explained Livia. Wincing, Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I likely should have stuck around to smooth the initial stage over.¡± ¡°Some worked fine, but enough issues arose that the monastery¡¯s council suspended things,¡± explained Livia gently. ¡°Or at least that is what they said. Though, I believe they¡¯re hoping you¡¯ll come for a visit rather than them having to deal with the strange ones in this place.¡± ¡°Not all experiments work out,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Livia nodded. ¡°Not that you¡¯re short of teachers. Most of the faiths involved in garrisoning this location contribute teachers. The sole exception, the Commander says, may understand there is a place of learning here in a century.¡± ¡°He said some didn¡¯t see time the same way. I¡¯m surprised there is only one not contributing,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What about Goxashru and Rana? I don¡¯t hear them in town.¡± ¡°Goxashru and Rana are currently hunting down some rumours,¡± Cyrus advised. ¡°Rumours?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe about Dryad children with golden skin,¡± quipped Livia. ¡°Well,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Look what you did, miss!¡± Amdirlain poked out her tongue. ¡°I know Livia¡¯s kidding. I already knew about the Dryad children, and they won¡¯t be Anar or L¨®m?.¡± ¡°Only partly; we¡¯ve seen the dryads. They¡¯re cute,¡± argued Livia, and she shot Amdirlain a cheeky smile. ¡°They have golden veins through the normal Dryad dusky skin and are much stronger than most dryads.¡± ¡°Only Amdirlain could get a Dryad pregnant without any fun bits going on,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Let me guess, you gave them a rush of Ki?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve grown used to the Catfolk¡¯s body language. I¡¯ll miss being able to flip you off with a tail twitch.¡± Sarah snorted. Livia fixed them with a look of disbelief. ¡°Are you two children?¡± Chuckling, Kadaklan raised a hand. ¡°I can answer that one.¡± Amdirlain readied a cushion to throw at him. ¡°Hush you. Livia was talking about Goxashru and Rana. What are they looking into?¡± When Kadaklan zipped his lip, Cyrus¡¯s brows lifted at the byplay between them, but neither acknowledged his curiosity. ¡°A matter for Mielikki; Goxashru wanted to thank Rana for all the training. It could be some time before they return,¡± advised Livia. Sarah grunted. ¡°You should still let him know you were in Xaos and give him your approval to continue; otherwise, your Talon might feel he¡¯s offended you.¡± ¡°Thanks for the advice,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The joys of draconic diplomacy: got to watch for the offended pride.¡± Amdirlain dispatched a quick message to Goxashru to compliment his initiative in helping Rana, and she approved the continuation of his efforts. ¡°I considered supplementing Nolmar¡¯s tower with access to a training complex. It would reduce the immediate danger of the foes but provide the weaker members of the garrison and school an opportunity to grow,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia hummed. ¡°You considered?¡± ¡°The town has grown a lot already. If I put a whole training complex in place, or even a small one, it would have a real population explosion,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s something I¡¯ll have to think about. Any other news of interest?¡± ¡°Yngvarr and Alfarr are still here, along with their little girl, Orillia,¡± offered Livia. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°That¡¯s one reason to drop into Nolmar, but I¡¯d spoil her.¡± ¡°They can come up here, so you don¡¯t steal students from me again,¡± rebuffed Cyrus. The little sniff Amdirlain gave in response didn¡¯t merit so much as a twitch from Cyrus. Livia started to provide updates on other things she¡¯d sent in various messages. When Cyrus headed off to teach at Nolmar, it broke up the conversation, and Admirlain excused herself to work on Gideon¡¯s list. ¡°Are you going to send Roher the memory crystal for the training complexes?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain tossed Sarah the crystal with a grin. ¡°The melodies for linking them are in there as well.¡± Quick notes created a stack of mithril ingots on the floor, and Amdirlain motioned to them. ¡°To get a new lab and workshop set up.¡± ¡°Alright, go and think things out. You¡¯ve spent two weeks making demi-planes and pushing levels. Might be time to focus on True Song progress,¡± proposed Sarah. Kadaklan¡¯s nose twitched as he eyed the ingots. ¡°Do you think we can¡¯t fend for ourselves?¡± Giving the top bar of the stack of Mithril a pat, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m allowed to spoil people.¡± Her smile didn¡¯t fade as she opened a Gate and stepped through, giggling mischievously at Livia¡¯s protest. Perched on a valley rim, she studied the details in Gideon¡¯s list. For the most part, the complexity of the work involved was more significant, but a quick scan of the themes showed a few were on planets in the original list. The planet with the ongoing volcanic eruptions was among them, though the songs had changed in complexity, with multiple sites. When Amdiralin arrived, she looked up to see a grey haze where there¡¯d once been a blue sky interrupted by ash clouds. Lifting off to get above the dying brown grass, Amdirlain looked over the ash-choked shoreline. Her mouth set itself into a grim line as she took in the kilometres of death about her. As far as her enhanced eyesight could perceive, all the plants looked grey and lifeless. Resonance indicated many had gone to seed, so there was still hope of restoration. However, the brutal winters with minimal food in the growing months had killed thousands of animals in her detection range alone. The week of work she¡¯d done wouldn¡¯t have been enough; the planet had needed ongoing attention. The result would have been the same if I hadn¡¯t worked on this planet. I hope whoever Mor¡¯lmes and Cla¡¯nes pass the job onto doesn¡¯t drop the ball. ¡°I¡¯ve got some planetary clean-up work to do. I¡¯m not sure how long it will keep me busy.¡± After she¡¯d dispatched the simple message to a few people and received their acknowledgements, Amdirlain skipped between the song locations on the planet and found multiple volcanoes spewing ash into the air. Concentration speared Resonance down into the mantle, and she traced the volcanic occurrences along the link of a tectonic plate. While the first eruption had been caused by seawater getting into the volcano¡¯s magma chamber, not all the pressures on the tectonic plate were so natural. Multiple rifts among the first volcano she checked led to the Elemental Plane of Fire and the Para-Elemental Plane of Ash. Mindless exertions of entities from those planes had caused the first volcano¡¯s eruption to cascade into a chain. She shifted the elemental energy about the first rift, and Amdirlain listened to how it weakened the natural attunement. Targeted pressure waves caused magma within the chamber to push against a rift¡¯s attunement. After repeated attempts, the magma¡¯s proximity fractured the natural rift to the Plane of Fire. Molten metals were drawn together to cap rifts into the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma and wrap protections around the metal before she stripped the heat away. Without having to attack any of the rifts directly, one after another, they failed. With no more elementals incoming to the first volcano, Amdirlain banished the greater elementals home. A few hours later and hundreds of rifts closed, Amdirlain hadn¡¯t even started on the clean-up. While Gideon¡¯s list provided melodies to adjust the atmosphere, she¡¯d have to compose the changes to the mantle and the tectonic plates alone, yet she only had a song to create a volcano. Creating more volcanic islands at the sites should ease the pressure, and then I can clean up. The music speared through the crust and hollowed out a magma chamber for runoff from the first two to fill. When the melody ran to completion, a small island was spraying ash and magma. Using the theme Gideon had provided, she set out to clean the sky and bind up the released chemicals¡ªthe megatonnes of airborne ash and debris she used to quicken the volcanic island¡¯s growth. She repeated the process at each site and tweaked the melody whenever it threatened to run off true. Resonance let her listen for problems and visualise the changes as they progressed. Slowly, the grey murk showed hints of blue, and the last volcano brought more than just an experience notification. [Planetary alterations: Volcano, Major x1 Planetary, Minor mantle change x1 Planetary, Tectonic change x1 Total Experience gained: 39,500,000 Ostim?: +19,750,000 Ont?lin: +19,750,000 Knowledge: Physical Geography unlocked Physical Geography (1) Physical Geography synergy with Skill True Song Architecture detected Physical Geography (1) -> [B] (1) Note: It helps to pay attention instead of just singing the notes.] Gideon, stop being a jerk. I paid attention to the changing animals, or do they come under Planar Biology? [Physical Geography Details: This knowledge encapsulates numerous branches and related fields. While studying Geomorphology, Hydrology, and any associated fields in a narrow context is possible, this knowledge covers overall knowledge in the interrelated fields of study.] Okay, so I unlocked the big picture one because Ori focused on that or because I was also tracking changes in the water and air? True Song Architecture gives me the details of how to create them all, increasing my understanding by knowing the songs that interconnect and what they¡¯d do. In comparison, gaining the field¡¯s Knowledge Skill lets me know why the parts are essential with less experimenting. With her other projects for restoring dead planets, the knowledge points sitting in her profile beckoned temptingly to invest in the Knowledge Skill. Amdirlain pushed it aside, positive that there were more broad fields she¡¯d need to learn. Taking in the warming land around her, Amdirlain surveyed the state of the grasslands that ran from the ocean¡¯s edge. While her Analysis Skill provided her with the names of various grasses and low shrubs, it didn¡¯t tell her enough to know what she needed to revitalise the place into a stable ecology. Elements within their slumbering themes matched the savanna that Amdirlain had watched the animals migrate across and used in some of her demi-planes. I could let it recover on its own or meddle. I¡¯ll keep getting the murk cleared and see what life recovers. Flight and teleporting let her rapidly chase the sun, and she collected the tonnes of material that made up the murk into hills and islands to allow more sunlight through. Here and there, patches of life remained in various niches and reassured Amdirlain they could be left to recover independently. The continuation of the work stretched True Song¡¯s reach over an expanse beyond what she¡¯d tried before, a fact that was acknowledged after days of work. [True Song Genesis [S] (30->31)] Putting the rest of the songs into a memory crystal to share with others, she organised them by location, difficulty and purpose. After she¡¯d shifted through them again, she cleaned herself of the local organisms and moved to the place that required the most manageable melody. The rush of starscapes across her awareness was almost leisurely, and she appeared on a muddy flat with storm clouds overhead flickering with lightning. [World Step [J] (31->32)] The atmosphere around her was a thick haze, though the gravity seemed slightly lighter than on Earth. The music from Gideon¡¯s list created hundreds of different amino acids from the chemicals in the pools and a unicellular organism. She stretched the melody across the planet¡¯s primordial ooze, leaving more materials and organisms behind. With it expanded for over three thousand kilometres in a circle across the planet¡¯s surface, even the simple songs strained at her limits. Okay, you want to teach me the lessons for my projects and stretch True Song? I¡¯ll cooperate. As she worked from planet to planet, Amdirlain ensured she didn¡¯t transport materials from one to the next to avoid contamination. Amdirlain moved from early-stage worlds to increasingly more complex ones, splicing genetic changes into fauna and flora at different steps. The delicate touch of the songs needed to affect lifeforms over kilometres provided fierce challenges that strained her True Song Genesis through multiple increases. The clean resolution of multiple tasks allowed Amdirlain to ground herself after the mess in the Matriarch¡¯s Dominion. Scores of planets later, she appeared on a ledge perch above an ocean¡¯s waves to the latest notification. [World Step [Ad] (6->7)] A sense of deja vu struck her, and Amdirlain paused, only for the sensation to grow sharper. Her gaze searched her surroundings, but there wasn¡¯t a single thing that stood out. A brilliant blue ocean stretched into the distance, and the hillside rose at an eighty-degree angle behind her two hundred metres above the rough surf. The morning¡¯s golden yellow sunlight glistened off the ocean, and the sound of seabirds competed with the surf. Frowning, Amdirlain sat on the ledge¡¯s lip and tried to determine what had struck a chord with her. A teardrop splashed off her leg and surprised, Amdirlain raised a trembling hand to her cheek. The emotion that rushed inside her wasn¡¯t grief or pain but joy. The sounds and scents lifted an ache away despite Amdirlain not knowing what had eased it. Closing her eyes, Amdirlain shut down Resonance and listened to what her normal senses told her. She took in the breeze¡¯s gentle gusts that brushed her cheeks and played with her hair. The salty air tickled her nostrils and then waves that broke against the rocks caught her attention. The regular rhyme was a drum carrying the sea¡¯s message out to whoever would listen. A faint memory of a woman¡¯s dancing teased at the back of her mind, and a song rose with it. Not the liquid beauty of words in Celestial or Elven, but an ancient Greek dialect and an image hit. A tiny child¡¯s hand pressed against the sun-warmed Mediterranean skin of a face. As the memory came into focus, the smile that lit the woman¡¯s deep brown eyes caught the child¡¯s focus before she leaned sideways to gaze at the plants and houses behind the woman. Their surroundings blurred in the child¡¯s eyes as the woman held the child in her arms and danced. Despite the landscape¡¯s blur, the world¡¯s music painted her movements and their surroundings clearly in the child¡¯s mind. Joy filled the laughter that bubbled out of her throat, and when the woman repeated her melody, Orh¨ºthurin stopped laughing. She was only a baby in her mother¡¯s arms but joined the music. Her wordless child soprano was a bird trill that flitted around the words with the same light-footed grace with which the woman danced. The woman¡¯s warm smile and words held Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s focus when the dance stopped. ¡®Will you sing for your father when we get to the forge, or will you go quiet? I promise your father would love to have a little songbird perform for him. Singing before you can talk, what other talents will you show?¡¯ The memory ended with Orh¨ºthurin burying her face against her mother¡¯s shoulder. Resonance had already shown Ori her father¡¯s broad smile hundreds of metres away and out of her line of sight. ¡°Where did you and the twins end up? Did Hades have you somewhere in his realm, or did the Greek gods never bring your souls along? That song I heard wasn¡¯t enough to trace, I need an older memory when she might have heard enough details.¡± 347 - Calling for you Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane The sun was hours above the horizon before Amdirlain moved from her mountainside perch. The happiness had shone in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s childhood memory. It was the first from her childhood Amdirlain had recovered since regaining Resonance. That Orh¨ºthurin could already see through the world¡¯s music shouldn¡¯t have been a surprise, yet it was all the same. Did she witness the wave take her mother, or was her attention on the forge? Is that part of the guilt she felt? With a casual push, she dropped from the perch and drifted towards the rocky cove. The target of Gideon¡¯s list here was beneath the waves, so it didn¡¯t matter where she stood. A form sprang from the water and twisted in the air before it plunged again. Others followed its acrobatic example and allowed Amdirlain glimpses of their silver-scaled sides. The Merfolk variant that played beneath the waves was a mix of genders, but it seemed like only the females intended to put on a show. When her feet settled on the rocks, Amdirlain began to sing. Rather than use Silent Song, Amdirlain let them hear as much of the melody that would change their futures as possible. The sound drew some of them close to the surface, and Amdirlain took in their enormous eyes, peeking out through the wave¡¯s foam. Theirs wasn¡¯t a humanoid face. Noseless, their eyes sat above a mouth of razor teeth, and their evolution had positioned gills on the sides of their chests. None of them were currently aware enough to understand much beyond the presence of a strange figure on the shore. The music that changed them moved on and extended into the deep to affect their colony. With the ability to gain access to Mana now a dominant trait, Amdirlain considered another jump between stars. An orb of light appeared nearby, and Sarah¡¯s voice buzzed in her ear. ¡°Hope your progress is going well. Kadaklan and I have set our places up in the three weeks you¡¯ve been gone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be gone a while. I¡¯m going to head to Ijmti and check in with the Eldest. After that, I¡¯ll see if I can track down the entry to the primordial planes from there,¡± advised Amdirlain, and her Spell¡¯s energy vanished. ¡°Try to stay safe,¡± replied Sarah. The first Plane Shift took her to the Elemental Plane of Earth, where she donned the path¡¯s pendant and opened a Gate. The view through it looked down the valley to the fortress, and Amdirlain gingerly stepped through in her Wood Elf form and waited. The Plane''s energies prickled at her resistances, but nothing caught hold of her flesh. A connection through the pendant buzzed with a stranger¡¯s voice. ¡®Security check, since I don¡¯t recognise you. Take a step back and one to your left.¡¯ ¡®Dagrast?r first brought me to the cloister. I¡¯m called Am,¡¯ replied Amdirlain. ¡®Welcome home again, Am. Come forward steadily towards the furthest point from the valley¡¯s wall. The second tier of defences. I¡¯ll lift some of my right limbs when you get close enough to take flight safely.¡¯ The Fallen along the tiers were a bizarre mix of species and body shapes similar to her first two visits. Though there were near-humanoids, they also ranged to multi-limbed creatures that would fit a prime-time horror show. There were two very exotic-looking Fallen on the outmost point of the second tier who had their attention fixed on her. One was a spider-like entity with too many limbs and orange and grey chitin. The other looked like a floating octopus, its semi-translucent skin sporting thousands of softly glowing black rings. Some ballistae along the tiers moved to track her until Amdirlain was within a hundred metres. When the spidery Fallen flexed three of its right limbs upwards, Amdirlain flew forward and landed without fuss on the tier beside it. The Fallen had its pendant attached to a band sealed to the chitin above its eight eyes. ¡®If you announce your arrival in advance, you might put fewer beings on edge.¡¯ Amdirlain nodded in apology. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡± Polyglot¡¯s influence turned Amdirlain¡¯s reply into a series of clicks and chirps. The Fallen¡¯s mandibles clicked in surprise, but its reply came through the pendant¡¯s link again. ¡®No others here know my original language.¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s a Power I possess that handles the translation,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯d prefer me to avoid using it, I¡¯ll do so.¡± ¡°Hearing the language again was a surprise but, I find, not an unwelcome one,¡± clicked the Fallen. ¡°You may call me Kres if you wish, Am. The Eldest awaits you¡ªyour arrival also surprised them.¡± With no clue how they¡¯d translate her body language, Amdirlain held herself still. ¡°Thank you, Kres. Should I go through the tunnel at the end of this tier?¡± ¡°The safe route goes through the lower tier of the fortresses currently,¡± advised Kres, and they waved a claw along the parapet. ¡°The entry at the mid-point of this tier is currently open. Take the stairs to the left first.¡± Without further delay, Amdirlain headed along the walkway behind the ballistae and kept well back from the members tending to the weapons. As she moved along, Fallen after Fallen turned to her and nodded or signalled a respectful acknowledgement of her presence. Four had clear pendants on display, but only one spoke. His appearance was that of a blue-skinned Troll with black eyes and long, spindly limbs that were deceptively strong from the song resounding in his flesh, his bloody, tattered wings hidden within his form. He only wore breeches of black cloth, and when she went to pass him, he touched a clawed hand to his clear pendant. With a toothy smile, he motioned to her. ¡°My thanks, Am. I¡¯m called Xarlon.¡± ¡°The result is a credit to your efforts. You stayed on?¡± Waggling a finger, Xarlon smiled. ¡°We walk the path together. I stand guard to keep the path safe for my friends who aren¡¯t yet so fortunate.¡± Amdirlain bowed respectfully. ¡°Hopefully, I find other opportunities to save mortals that I might share.¡± His smile widened, but nothing was ominous about him despite the teeth on display. ¡°May the creators bless you and those mortals whose rescue you led.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to see,¡± replied Amdirlain, waving towards the door she sought. ¡°The Eldest is waiting on me.¡± Xarlon gave her another fearsome grin, and Amdirlain moved on. The polite greetings made the angry song of Rahka stand out even more. The curdled rage signalled her presence on the other side of the fortress on the lower tier in an internal chamber working at a forge. Her sharp motions made her state of mind clear to those around her. Amdirlain could still hear her harpoon and chain weapon through a storage device about her person. Amdirlain passed through the ward in the doorway and followed Kres¡¯s instructions, noticing the traps on the other stairway. Another Fallen entered the forge where Rahka was working, and Amdirlain listened while she walked along. ¡°It has turned up,¡± hissed a stranger, and Amdirlain memorised their angry song. Rahka slammed the hammer down on the part she¡¯d been forging, bending it off true. ¡°Then you should watch her, not run to me.¡± You should both tend to your redemption and not worry about me. Amdirlain listened to the argument continue, but she reached the downward shaft before it concluded. The training halls inside the mountain were busy with easily a hundred more Fallen than she¡¯d heard on the previous visit. Among them were Tinco and Dagrast?r, and the melody of Tinco¡¯s four classes were all in the low nineties. Amdirlain continued to check others but heard the matching clear melody in Tinco¡¯s pendant and Dagrast?r¡¯s crystal. Free already? I didn¡¯t tell them exactly how many mortals they¡¯d be saving. Is she looking to get stronger to help more people later? Four classes as well. Should I be happy or worried that she took my advice? ¡®Te and Dagrast?r, I¡¯m at the fortress if you¡¯d meet me later,¡¯ transmitted Amdirlain. Tinco¡¯s touch was a happy warmth through the pendant despite the typical quietness of the words. ¡®Heaven¡¯s blessing upon you, Am. I¡¯ve good news to share. I and the others have been hoping you might arrive to celebrate with us.¡¯ The touch of the link hinted that her words had also gone out to Dagrast?r, and Amdirlain made a note to figure out all the elements of the link¡¯s song. ¡®I¡¯m in the training hall past the largest library,¡¯ advised Tinco. ¡®I¡¯ll find you in the training hall after I speak to the Eldest.¡¯ ¡®What do you normally do to celebrate?¡¯ ¡®Mount expeditions to destroy demons,¡¯ replied Dagrast?r. Amdirlain heard others approaching the shaft during her descent, but none entered it before she reached the end. The Eldest was currently only twelve metres tall, from the front clawed feet to the curve of the tentacle-covered crest. They stood quietly in a strange crouch positioned between the point of the cavern¡¯s teardrop end and the crystal dome. Beyond the Eldest, the mournful rage of the deities¡¯ fading energies filled the chamber with an unpleasant static. Her improvement with Resonance helped the anguish spear into her thoughts, and Amdirlain pulled in Resonance. Sarah and Kadaklan would likely scold me, but I have a new training location for Resonance. ¡°Eldest, you wanted to see me?¡± asked Amdirlain. They noted the effect of the sound barrier last time. I¡¯ll leave it off unless I want to talk to him about something I don¡¯t want anyone overhearing. The Eldest''s claws clicked, and the central mouth on its chest flexed in speech. ¡°Welcome Am. Yes, I wanted to see you; in part because I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m not sure what to make of you.¡± Amdirlain sighed and gave a genuine shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve hardly given you the time to get to know me.¡± ¡°Do you seek the path¡¯s judgement?¡± Giving a tense head shake, Amdirlain forced her tone to calm. ¡°That¡¯s not why I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°You do not wish to see how your travels have progressed your redemption? Or is it you fear what you¡¯ve done?¡± The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Both. Yet it¡¯s beside the point; there are things I need to achieve before seeking its judgement again. Until I complete those, I can¡¯t risk its forgiveness being unavoidable.¡± One of the Eldest¡¯s tubular limbs curved inwards, and the tentacles that ringed it brushed its abdomen. ¡°You believe it would impose forgiveness on you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it would or wouldn¡¯t. My situation is different from the rest of the cloister,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she tucked her hands behind her back. ¡°How many lives did the work against that Spawning Abomination save?¡± The newscaster¡¯s projected death toll still curdled in her mouth, and Amdirlain¡¯s nose wrinkled. ¡°I only have the projected worst-case estimates. I take it the path treated those who helped decently?¡± ¡°The cloister now has a contingent of fifty Fallen with their pendants clear enough to free themselves of their state in one unprecedented event,¡± advised the Eldest, its tone crisp. ¡°I spoke briefly to Xarlon. He said he was assuming guard duty for his friends who weren¡¯t so fortunate, but surely they¡¯re not all waiting?¡± enquired Amdirlain. The Eldest huffed from its side mouths, and the crest of tentacles waggled about sampling the air. ¡°But they are. None of them feel as if they should move on. Each gives me different reasons, but the result is a group who feels they owe their speedy redemption to you instead of the cloister¡¯s methods.¡± ¡°But they do owe it to the cloister¡¯s methods. Without me learning about your existence and meeting Dagrast?r, none of them would have gained the opportunity,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Those that came through, I¡¯m sure, didn¡¯t hold the same anger as Rahka. Maybe we should have let her stay, and when she failed and the others passed, I wonder if they¡¯d take that as confirmation or find another excuse.¡± ¡°No, Dagrast?r was right to send her back. We¡¯ve experienced failure when one such was allowed to remain,¡± advised the Eldest. ¡°The desires of one can¡¯t be allowed to endanger mortals.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Rahka has some among the cloister that believe she was ill-done by,¡± replied Amdirlain, and her lips twitched into a sarcastic smile as she caught onto those above listening to the conversation. ¡°Would Rahka ever believe she was in the wrong? I¡¯d never met or spoken with her, but she started with angry accusations upon her arrival. It was quite the contrast to Dagrast?r and Te coming through willing to keep an open mind for the sake of the mortals. Rahka was more interested in verbally attacking me and hunting the undead. She made no mention of mortals in danger.¡± The Eldest flexed the claws on his upper limbs. ¡°No doubt. Some believe they can find redemption by proving they weren¡¯t in the wrong, no matter how we try to convince them. Many of those we lose from the path come from such members. How many were believed to be imperilled by the worst-case scenario?¡± ¡°The figure I heard was eighty million spread between three nations,¡± replied Amdirlain. Tilting his head, the Eldest huffed in surprise. ¡°That explains why all those who answered your call benefited so greatly. I appreciate you merely telling Dagrast?r that the undead imperilled mortals. It ensured those who took the chance on your information had good intentions. The cause of this Spawning Abomination was a divine curse?¡± ¡°That¡¯s my understanding, based upon the local knowledge and what investigation I managed into it. The mortals have managed the situation in such a way it both affords them strength and allows them to gather resources.¡± ¡°The veins of magical metals and materials in the caverns?¡± questioned the Eldest. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I believe it would have serious implications for their society if the caverns simply vanished.¡± ¡°Dagrast?r mentioned that their society has become built upon the suffering inflicted upon them. I can see their parallels with us, except their forebears brought the curse upon themselves.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll say the fault is still undetermined. Though the Catfolk might have painted themselves as the victim, the legends among the dwarves partially corroborate the situation. Their pantheons and another Catfolk one was attacked by other pantheons and cities wiped out,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure there are some among the cloister who can tell you the damage taking delight in following the wrong deity¡¯s orders could bring.¡± ¡°You are sure of that?¡± ¡°Yes, Eldest,¡± said Amdirlain firmly. The upper limbs that supported the Eldest''s crab-like claws flexed towards her. ¡°Those that sought our help for you said you were a cursed Soul, not a former Angel. Are you Orh¨ºthurin?¡± "No, I''m not Orh¨ºthurin," asserted Amdirlain. ¡°Your words taste of truth,¡± allowed Eldest. ¡°Who were you then?¡± ¡°Does that matter?¡± Waggling a claw thoughtfully, the Eldest answered after a pause. ¡°I would appreciate some context on your situation?¡± ¡°I was a Human woman before a curse turned me into a Succubus, but I kept my sense of self from my previous life. They used an artefact made by the Titan to do it. I was a Mortal Soul inside a demonic shell that tried to manipulate and corrupt me. I grew strong enough to earn an evolution that changed me to a Fallen. If I follow the Redemption¡¯s Path, I¡¯m told I¡¯ll be freed of the curse. It judged me for everyone I¡¯d harmed since the curse but gave me no credit for thousands I¡¯d helped while both a Succubus and a Fallen.¡± ¡°More truth, though I¡¯ll admit I¡¯ve not heard of that species,¡± admitted the Eldest, the claws of his front feet tapping against the stone. ¡°Would you tell me of this species?¡± ¡°They¡¯ve existed upon a world called Veht? for maybe five or six thousand years,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°My understanding is the Human deities were allowed into the realm as refugees, but not everything I¡¯ve been told has turned out to be the truth. I¡¯ve no idea if the first humans came with them or were willed into existence. They once had ten pantheons, but a Gods¡¯ War reduced that to one composed of the survivors and new gods that arose. The death toll that caused among the mortals was horrendous.¡± ¡°A Gods¡¯ War. Unpleasant. I can see how that would also incline you to believe the Catfolk,¡± allowed the Eldest. ¡°I believe we¡¯ll need to investigate the Catfolk further.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Amdirlain with a frown. ¡°The current mortals are the victims of a curse.¡± The Eldest¡¯s crest rippled. ¡°Not to harm them. The goal would be to determine if we should seek to break the curse, or stay away. It might impact their material lives, but the abominations¡¯ presence certainly impacts their souls.¡± If they can, having the demi-planes provide more materials would avoid the economic impacts. Then, the only loss would be the Tier 6 and 7 classes. I hope most of those with Tier 7s would prefer people to be safer than personal power. ¡°If you can figure out how to break the curse, I¡¯d appreciate being involved,¡± replied Amdirlain. The Eldest¡¯s claws clicked softly. ¡°Might I ask how you managed to spend time in an inhabited world on the Material Plane?¡± ¡°A friend from when I was alive summoned me to the world,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°We were investigating reports of Eldritch incursions when we found the world.¡± ¡°The Diamond Dragon who contacted Dagrast?r?¡± enquired the Eldest. The thought of Sarah¡¯s reaction to being called a mere Diamond Dragon got a grin from Amdirlain. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Were there Eldritch present?¡± Amdirlain nodded, and her fingers twitched against the sides of her legs. ¡°Thousands, but fortunately most were mental parasites that proved easy to kill, though healing the afflicted was harder.¡± The Eldest waved a tubular arm upwards. ¡°Healing is always harder. I¡¯m surprised your psionics could interact with their thoughts.¡± Yeah, the cloister is where the wounded celestials come. ¡°Our psionic capability couldn¡¯t understand their minds, but we were able to overload their mental frameworks with a surge. They weren¡¯t the only problem; we broke up a cult formed around Eldritch. While investigating, we found a Mortal group doing the same and provided them with tools to detect the mental instabilities that cause mortals to attune to the Eldritch.¡± ¡°You seem to involve yourself in unusual situations, Am,¡± noted the Eldest. ¡°I¡¯ve had very few conversations with any Celestial about the Eldritch.¡± Their dry tone pulled a bark of laughter from Amdirlain. ¡°Unusual situations are very subjective. I¡¯m not sure I know what normal is any more. When I was alive, I wouldn¡¯t have believed my life could take the route it¡¯s gone down. Standing here and talking to you would have been way out of my normal range.¡± ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t try the path again?¡± enquired the Eldest. ¡°Quite sure, I¡¯m not ready to die. I don¡¯t know if it will happen, but I¡¯m not taking the chance until I finish some of the unusual situations I¡¯m involved with,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t die, some of what I need to finish involves freeing mortals trapped in the Abyss. I¡¯m better positioned to help them by staying as I am.¡± The Eldest nodded. ¡°We do what we can for the sake of others.¡± ¡°I hope it¡¯s them I¡¯m putting first, not my fears driving me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If it does cause you to die, we will ensure your Soul gets free from the Abyss,¡± promised the Eldest. Tears prickled in her eyes, and Amdirlain wiped them away. ¡°I appreciate the offer, but my Soul would need to get out of the darkness within the dome. While I hope I¡¯d make it out if I am to risk oblivion with whatever lies in that pit, I want it to be without regrets.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve felt the edge of the platform?¡± ¡°It sounds like quite a drop if one goes off it,¡± allowed Amdirlain. One of their claws pointed up. ¡°I believe you have some waiting for you.¡± Amdirlain motioned upwards. ¡°Te said she¡¯d be in the training hall past the largest library.¡± ¡°Take the third passageway when ascending the shaft, then just follow the sounds of weapons.¡± instructed the Eldest. Likely best to avoid making use of Kopis. ¡°Thank you for your time, Eldest.¡± Amdirlain gave them a polite bow and flew up the shaft at a pace that let those who loitered above disperse. The library she passed connected multiple levels and was nearly a kilometre from end to end. Even without Resonance showing her the passage¡¯s length, the hall at the end was easy to find. The corridor had been a straight run along the side of the library¡¯s lowest floor. After two sets of double doors to muffle the noise, she entered a foyer adjoining the hall with equipment racks lining the wall. They had decorated its length with images of various Fallen, a mind-blowing mix of alien species, only some of whom Amdirlain had seen at The Exchange. Here and there, decorative columns featured full-sized representatives of Orh¨ºthurin; the set of her gaze conveyed a certain judgemental coldness of demeanour. Yes, even if I used a different form, since they all possess True Sight, they¡¯d expect to see my True Form underneath it. With all the wards, maybe they¡¯d like a Mana generator to help keep them in place? But that is another complicated thing to offer. The training hall was a large domed chamber with Fallen sparring in various sized forms; some were airborne while others kept their fights strictly at ground level and in sparring circles that soaked up the released energies. Tinco¡¯s theme painted her presence on the hall¡¯s far side, but she¡¯d otherwise have been hard to spot among the grotesque and exotic beings. Even those whose species seemed similar manifested in ways that set them apart. Two reptilian Fallen sparring nearby were a prime example, the scales of one appeared to ooze a yellow sludge while the other seemed formed from a black dust. The themes within both were far older than many of those at the cloister. As Amdirlain took in their appearance, the Fallen formed of the black dust won the point and spotted her looking their way. Nodding politely, Amdirlain teleported to the hall¡¯s far side and found Tinco checking swords within a rack. She wore the same tight, silvery bandage top and pants with her feathery wings furled tight. ¡°Looking for a replacement, Te?¡± ¡°I was considering what blade to train with next,¡± corrected Tinco, but her smile when she looked toward Amdirlain was relaxed. ¡°It is good to see you again, Am. I had expected the Eldest to keep you longer.¡± ¡°Does it help to mix up the swords you use in training?¡± asked Amdirlain. Tinco nodded. ¡°I find it does, though not all take the same approach as I do. You fought with your bare hands and spells. Do you use a sword at all?¡± ¡°A shorter blade than yours, spears, staffs, and a few other weapon types,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Should we spar or go celebrate?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got the progress to celebrate. When are you moving on, Te?¡± Tinco frowned and twitched a hand towards others training. ¡°I¡¯m mostly celebrating for the others who have been at their endeavours for millennia. I feel as if I should remain for a time. While I gain strength, I can lend help to others. The path may have forgiven and offered to release me, but I¡¯m not sure I have forgiven myself. I cost thousands of mortals their lives, and I¡¯ve not been a Fallen for even five years. Shouldn¡¯t my endeavours take thousands of years, not be over in a blink?¡± That Celestial eternal mindset. Is that part of why Ori made it so hard, so those worthy would accept they¡¯d earned it? Or is it just her being reluctant to help them, also aligned with some mindsets that they deserved a hard punishment? ¡°You took a risk accepting my offer at face value and fighting the abomination,¡± disagreed Amdirlain. ¡°That said, take the option you feel is right for you.¡± She should have seen that destroying that abomination potentially saved millions. With that point? Why did the Eldest need to ask? Glancing down, Tinco noticed Amdirlain¡¯s pendant. ¡°Did the path not recognise your deeds?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll eventually check with it, but I¡¯ve reasons to hold off,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Being a Fallen, I can more readily strike at the home planes of my foes.¡± ¡°Then we should spar and develop our strengths,¡± said Tinco, and she pointed Amdirlain to a rack of spears and took up a pair of thin blades. Amdirlain smiled in anticipation. ¡°I¡¯m likely to learn far more than you.¡± ¡°Every opponent teaches something new,¡± countered Tinco. Beckoning to Amdirlain with her blades, Tinco headed towards a vacant space near the hall¡¯s edge. A metal staff in another rack caught Amdirlain¡¯s gaze, and she claimed it instead. Spinning it hand over hand to test its weight and balance, her speed created a buzzsaw impersonation. The differences in their weapons and physical speed gave Amdirlain an edge, but Tinco¡¯s greater weapon mastery would press her hard. 348 - New Perspective Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Ijmti - Cloister Fortress As Amdirlain stepped off the sparring platform after their session, Tinco smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve fought demons using polearms more often than something like a staff. That was interesting.¡± ¡°This training hall is an interesting setup. The weapon parries alone should cause a racket, yet it¡¯s relatively quiet. Are these sparring circles tied into the wards directly?¡± asked Amdirlain as she dismissed the notification that had appeared after clearing the circle. [Devouring Cacophony [S] (175->177)] ¡°I believe they redirect absorbed energy into the wards,¡± allowed Tinco, and she examined the blades recovering edge. ¡°The enchantments upon these save many hours with a whetstone, or even having to reforge them.¡± Unprompted, Amdirlain returned the staff to the rack. When the metal clicked against the rack¡¯s stone, Dagrast?r appeared nearby. ¡°Am, I need to head back to The Exchange shortly, but I¡¯m glad I was here for your arrival,¡± said Dagrast?r, and he motioned towards the training hall¡¯s entrance. ¡°Do you have some time to talk?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she gave Tinco an apologetic smile. ¡°Can we talk again later?¡± ¡°I''ll look forward to it,¡± agreed Tinco. ¡°Perhaps some more sparring as well?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that merely a different type of conversation?¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she moved to follow Dagrast?r. Tinco took up fresh weapons and moved on to another sparring partner before Amdirlain got more than a few paces away with Dagrast?r. Among those who were between partners, she noticed the reptilian Fallen, whose attention she¡¯d drawn upon entering the hall. When the hall¡¯s outer door closed behind them, Dagrast?r spoke. ¡°The details of your conversation with the Eldest are already spreading through the cloister.¡± Amdirlain continued to walk along the corridor, aware that the closed doors didn¡¯t prevent anyone within from hearing. ¡°Is it possible to even keep rumours from spreading? As Rahka showed, if I had shielded the conversation with the Eldest again, another set of rumours would be spreading. Hopefully, those with at least a sliver of the truth might make the rounds instead.¡± ¡°Will you be staying to train and help here for a time?¡± ¡°I plan to for a little while. I thought not being a stranger might help establish trust so others are more open to opportunities I find for them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll see how well that goes.¡± Dagrast?r¡¯s hand twitched towards her pendant. ¡°Opportunities you won¡¯t take for yourself?¡± ¡°I¡¯m hoping I¡¯ve already done enough, but I¡¯ve likely also done things that might worsen my situation. Either way, I¡¯ll tend to other matters before I risk it.¡± ¡°It seems some rumours spread true,¡± said Dagrast?r. ¡°Is it anything you wish to ask about?¡± ¡°Does the cloister have information on the planes deeper within the Abyss?¡± Though, if Rahka has had dealings with Naamah, even mentioning the sisterhood¡¯s work could tip my hand. ¡°Those are the territories of primordial entities,¡± cautioned Dagrast?r, and he walked past the first door into the library. ¡°Might I know what you seek?¡± ¡°Nothing that will harm any more mortals,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Among other things, I hope to gain enough strength to end some demon lords.¡± ¡°Any in particular?¡± ¡°Multiple. One is Moloch, another is Orcus. There is a list of a few hundred demon lords and ladies that I¡¯ll also look to obliterate.¡± Dagrast?r twitched. ¡°You set yourself goals that would hold you a Fallen for aeons?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to leave things half done. I might die and want to leave the realm a better place,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°If the scale of my enemies would draw too much anger at the cloister, I¡¯ll keep myself separate from it.¡± ¡°Many cultures have sayings about being able to determine the worth of an individual by the enemies they make. I don¡¯t believe anyone from the cloister would expect you to oppose such individuals alone nor be upset at your opposition to them,¡± reassured Dagrast?r. ¡°I hope I don¡¯t face them alone. If nothing else, I¡¯m sure many celestials are also working to undermine them,¡± replied Amdirlain. A familiar angry melody started to descend the shaft from the upper levels, but Amdirlain continued to stroll towards the shaft. ¡°Might I ask why those two demon lords in particular? I¡¯m unaware of Moloch and Orcus having any connection,¡± ¡°One of Moloch¡¯s lackeys was involved in dragging the three celestials I knew into the Transformation Site. As for Orcus, I¡¯ve seen what state his agents leave worlds in,¡± explained Amdirlain. Having told Dagrast?r that I¡¯m interested in those two, I¡¯ll have to work out a method to mess with them that doesn¡¯t involve True Song. Either that or be comfortable providing angry Miss Rahka with at least circumstantial evidence. ¡°Te said hunting demons formed part of the cloister¡¯s celebrations. Is that the only activity undertaken?¡± Dagrast?r shrugged. ¡°We are a very diverse group. Music may be an enjoyable past time to some, but for others, it holds no sway. That is just one of the many past times that elven courts use for celebrations that aren¡¯t of interest to those here.¡± ¡°Where lessening the number of demons in existence is something everyone here can see eye to eye on?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°At least as far as demons seeking to escape the Abyss. Though we¡¯ll settle for disrupting any Demon Lord¡¯s army, we look for armies heading to Carceri or Pandemonium,¡± advised Dagrast?r. ¡°The library has texts on every Plane of the Abyss, though many are outdated. With the Abyss changing so quickly, only the most powerful beings remain consistent over the aeons. The texts we keep mostly cover fields of knowledge applicable to multiple worlds.¡± ¡°Fauna and flora?¡± ¡°More forms of agriculture, animal husbandry, mining, subjects along those lines. The sort of knowledge that is widely applicable to improve mortals¡¯ quality of life,¡± clarified Dagrast?r. Dagrast?r caught sight of Rahka approaching and stepped between her and Amdirlain. Rahka looked past him and spat a greeting. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learnt that Orh¨ºthurin was among the Anar that the Demon Lady Baln¨¦rith killed. If you¡¯ve got an issue with how those events turned out, I suggest you take it up with her,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I know you are Orh¨ºthurin,¡± snarled Rahka, and she jabbed a taloned finger at a column bearing her likeness. ¡°I could show you many images of different people who appear like me but aren¡¯t. My oldest memory from my first life belongs to that of a little girl in a Greek fishing village. A conflict recently destroyed the Greek Gods, who only existed in this realm for five or six thousand years,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware the realm allowed anyone, or any Soul, to venture backwards in time?¡± [Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (102->103) Note: Such an excellent presentation of truths to deceive. You¡¯re already inspiring guilt within her. Why not a bit more?] Gideon, I don¡¯t need your distractions. Dagrast?r snorted. ¡°A way to be destroyed is to try.¡± Amdirlain stared at Rahka. ¡°Then it seems your claims are impossible.¡± The lips of Rahka¡¯s reptilian snout curled back. "You are Orh¨ºthurin." ¡°I am not Orh¨ºthurin,¡± countered Amdirlain, and she caught Dagrast?r¡¯s frustration with Rahka. ¡°Though having her strength would make fighting Eldritch foes easier.¡± ¡°You expect me to believe one like you fought against Eldritch and won?¡± sneered Rahka. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Those beings come in many degrees of power. Some need a Divine Avatar to kill, while others require the right psionic techniques. I was badly injured fighting some of the Eldritch but easily killed others.¡± Rahka glared at her with increased suspicion. ¡°You use mind powers?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Amdirlain warily. ¡°Then open your mind to us, trickster,¡± demanded Rahka. At the temptation to give her the middle finger, Amdirlain clenched her fists. ¡°Why should I open my mind to a being as rabidly hostile as you? I¡¯ve asked nothing of you. Dagrast?r gave you an opportunity, and you threw it away because you wouldn¡¯t let go of your anger. Whatever your history with Orh¨ºthurin, I¡¯m not interested. It gives you no rights to make demands of me, and if you did something to Orh¨ºthurin, it would give you even fewer rights to demand anything of her.¡± ¡°You will-¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do nothing for you, and beings stronger than you have tried to break me. To maintain the peace that is supposed to be found in this fortress, I suggest you stay as far from me as possible, and I¡¯ll do the same for you. You came seeking me, not the other way around; demand less and earn more,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Says the one that summoned us,¡± snapped Rahka. Dagrast?r shook his head slowly. ¡°Again, Am did not summon. I offered you an opportunity, and I wasted my time.¡± The Eldest appeared at the end of the corridor, and Dagrast?r and Rahka froze. Rahka glanced over her shoulder, and the Eldest motioned to her with their tubular limbs. ¡°Let us speak again, Rahka. Since Am is here in the fortress, and you sought her out without an apology, perhaps it is best you leave us to search for peace inside yourself for a time.¡± ¡°She is-¡± A sharp ringing sound smashed along the hallway at the Eldest¡¯s claws snapping shut. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who she was, Rahka. Your behaviour is uncalled for, even against someone only facing the same challenge as yourself. Yet her challenge is worse. We were once celestials and know what lies ahead of us if we can follow the path, for Am lies only uncertainty.¡± ¡°She made this torment,¡± snarled Rahka. The Eldest swayed from side to side, and their tentacle crest waved with the motion. ¡°We made our torment, through our choices and actions. Your arrogance blinded you to Tarlangeth¡¯s purpose. The anger you¡¯re giving in to shows how little you¡¯ve changed, Rahka.¡± Baln¨¦rith¡¯s original name. So, she had something to do with the Anar deaths and the L¨®m? imprisonment. Rahka¡¯s talons unsheathed from her fingers. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin is in your grasp to squeeze and improve our situation, yet you¡¯re too blind to see it.¡± The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Does it occur to you that if I could improve the Redemption¡¯s Path, I wouldn¡¯t fear my situation?¡± asked Amdirlain. Rahka snarled. ¡°If that isn¡¯t a lie.¡± ¡°How you behave leads me to believe your desire to gain redemption is a lie,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she locked gazes with Rahka. Her reptilian pupils narrowed further, but Amdirlain felt no compulsion to back down from the other Fallen; their fiery Charisma washed over her ineffectually. ¡°Was that meant to impress me? You want redemption on your terms, an instant prize because you stamp your feet. You had the heavens, and your actions brought you here. I got cursed by someone I barely said four words to in any month. Which of us deserves to be here more?¡± ¡°Mortals defile themselves constantly. Undoubtedly, you earned it in other ways,¡± snapped Rahka, her lips curled, and her tone dripped contempt. ¡°How many demons did you pleasure as a Succubus?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s voice turned flat and cold. ¡°None.¡± ¡°Enough, Rahka. You make her journey harder with your anger and accusations. I¡¯ve heard you speak to others above and stir them to take sides in your dispute. There should be no sides here, only the cloister, for we have enough enemies without our walls,¡± declared the Eldest. ¡°She was not a Celestial. She is a cursed Mortal who has no place among us. Eldest, drive her away,¡± demanded Rahka. The Eldest was suddenly between them. ¡°You do not order me or any of the cloister, Rahka. Am has aided multiple members along Redemption¡¯s Path. Even if I consider one of those that progressed the least, she has provided a hundred times more progress to them than you¡¯ve given to everyone you¡¯ve helped.¡± "This demonic slut and the foulness of Orh¨ºthurin go hand in hand. She deserves worse-" ¡°Where is your proof that Am is Orh¨ºthurin? Even if she was, Orh¨ºthurin obeyed the Titan¡¯s orders, and he entrusted her with setting the path. Did you not find one of her guide stones?¡± asked the Eldest. When Rahka grunted in agreement, the Eldest continued. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin didn¡¯t have to provide those, but they have led many here over the aeons. If you would reject everything about her because of your anger, leave and find another way.¡± ¡°She deserves to suffer-¡± ¡°Why do I deserve that? Because you say so?¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re pretty quick to assign blame, throw accusations, and demand someone suffer. But what about you? You didn¡¯t like it when Dagrast?r even hinted at what you¡¯d done. The path judges everyone by its rules, and it¡¯s an unforgiving mongrel. Yet, how are you different? You didn¡¯t even know my situation and judged me.¡± ¡°A Mortal Demon-tainted filth in our halls,¡± Rahka growled, and the Eldest blocked them from stepping closer. Moving forward, they slowly herded Rahka further away from Amdirlain. ¡°Just like the misery Orh¨ºthurin wallowed in, I¡¯ve no doubt you delighted in being a Succubus.¡± Amdirlain unfurled her Charisma and sought to inspire calm, but there was none in Rahka to find. ¡°Then you should be doubting yourself because I¡¯ve not had sex with anyone, even as a Human. You keep returning to Orh¨ºthurin, so your rant is due to your history with her, a dead person, not the path and certainly not with me.¡± ¡°I learnt of a Succubus who broke Baln¨¦rith¡¯s book of names and a Succubus whose mind couldn¡¯t be read, like yours can¡¯t be. The energy of True Song was involved in its destruction,¡± spat Rahka. ¡°An energy that matched the Redemption Path¡¯s pendants.¡± ¡°The Sisterhood captured me, and Baln¨¦rith marked me with a sigil and applied a True Name to the demonic shell the curse placed my Soul in. I picked an evolution Class in the Abyss¡¯s ascension fires that would have made my form a Greater Succubus. The evolution is like a Celestial''s transformation between species. It wasn''t my doing but the Titan''s mechanisms at work,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she tapped her sternum where the sigil used to be. ¡°It had had four effects. First, it stripped away the demonic shell. Second, when I exited on Hrz¡¯Styrn, a shockwave of Abyssal Mana destroyed a city. Third, the process also stripped away the True Name that Baln¨¦rith forced on me¡ªa name she¡¯d recorded into that book of names. Do you want to know the last one? "What?" growled Rahka. ¡°I later learned the book that held that True Name was destroyed simultaneously with the city. Do you see a tie-in between items three and four? I had over a hundred levels in each of four classes: Monk, Assassin, Wizard, and Succubus. Yet I had no ability with True Song to destroy Baln¨¦rith¡¯s book and had never even seen it. Does True Song give off the same energies as the Titan''s works?¡± ¡°Did the evolution change to Fallen require you to use the demon¡¯s ascension approach?¡± enquired Dagrast?r, cutting off Rahka¡¯s reply. ¡°I activated the ascension to get away from a Demon Lady with a grip on my throat,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°While I was in the fire, I made the Class selection. I didn¡¯t know it would turn me into a Fallen. I hoped to escape the curse and cast the demonic shell off. It only partly worked in that it got me out of the shell. I¡¯ve since destroyed the Succubus formed from the corruption I escaped.¡± ¡°She speaks the truth again,¡± advised the Eldest. ¡°No, that can¡¯t be,¡± protested Rahka. Amdirlain looked around the Eldest at Rahka and raised an eyebrow. ¡°Going to stamp your feet some more? You complain I didn¡¯t come around to get to know anyone or help, and now I¡¯m here you want me gone? Do you want to change your mind some more or only where it suits you?¡± The Eldest spread their claws wide. ¡°You¡¯ve pressured Am, and she has shared the truth with you, but you¡¯ve told her nothing of yourself. There is no balance in the scales between you, and this is unfitting behaviour you''ve undertaken within the cloister''s halls. We''re here to support each other, not accuse or judge. The path provided her a pendant that also says it is for her.¡± ¡°Her declaration that she isn¡¯t Orh¨ºthurin means nothing. She¡¯s undoubtedly taken on a new name,¡± huffed Rahka. ¡°I already told you, even if she had been Orh¨ºthurin, I would still expect you to treat her with the same respect you would give any other member. I will provide you a list of materials to gather for the forges. Make your way to Furnace or another Plane,¡± instructed the Eldest. ¡°You need to learn acceptance in all matters, not just what you desire.¡± Dagrast?r motioned Amdirlain toward the nearest door to the library they¡¯d passed. ¡°I¡¯ll show you the areas that cover the planes of the Abyss.¡± Pushing the stone door open, Amdirlain stepped through and looked the place over as Dagrast?r followed. The vaulted chamber was massive, 400 meters tall, 900 meters long, and a width of 300 meters, including an 80-metre open zone that hosted reading tables. Each level, supported by sturdy columns, was nearly ten meters tall and filled with packed shelves. The columns featured decorative engravings depicting scenes of the Fallen and Orh¨ºthurin''s likeness. A white illumination throughout the library washed away all shadows but Amdirlain couldn¡¯t determine the source. Amidst the library¡¯s reading tables, some were Fallen with numerous texts spread out while others stood among the racks merely reading in place. This place has gallons of salt for Rahka¡¯s guilt over Orh¨ºthurin. The contents of the shelves varied from stone tablets and metal plates to flimsy paper, which the library¡¯s wards kept from decaying. Stepping clear of the long racks closest to the door, Amdirlain found a flawless True Song Crystal spire jutting up twenty metres at the training hall end of the library. Neither the glow nor its presence had registered to Amdirlain¡¯s Resonance. Behind the spire was a free-standing statue of Orh¨ºthurin nearly three metres tall. The statue was facing the spire with hands slightly raised as if she were a conductor sketching a song¡¯s beat to a chorus. Though Amdirlain was sure Orh¨ºthurin had made the spire, its likely age and lack of flaws had her trying Analysis, and nothing came back. Nothing at all. She knew how to apply some serious masking. That¡¯s what I need to keep a crystal''s presence concealed. ¡°Don¡¯t take any of the materials that can decay beyond the library without putting protections over them,¡± instructed Dagrast?r. Amdirlain didn¡¯t take her eyes from the spire but nodded. ¡°Is that one of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s creations?¡± ¡°The spire, not the statue. It maintains the wards and illuminates the library,¡± replied Dagrast?r after he glanced at what had Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°There are a few volumes written by some past Fallen about their studies of it. Many words that amount to not much; even spells that normally detect True Song return nothing from it. Its purpose appears known, as before its creation, the cloister members had to maintain the inner wards, including those in the training hall.¡± ¡°There is a Spell List for detection of True Song effects?¡± Dagrast?r tilted his head. ¡°I¡¯m told they¡¯re not as useful as they used to be, but there are a few detection Spell lists related to True Song. I¡¯ve never had a reason to learn them.¡± ¡°How are things organised? I¡¯ve got a bunch of subjects I need to expand my knowledge of,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I hope you have some detection spells that will scour texts,¡± replied Dagrast?r. ¡°Attempts have been made over the aeons, but the best we¡¯ve been able to do is keep them grouped by subject category.¡± The volume of material in the place had Amdirlain holding back a whistle. ¡°None of you are real knowledge lovers, are you?¡± "Beings who quietly gather information don''t seem to get into trouble," Dagrast?r replied. ¡°Or worse, if there are any who become Fallen, they couldn¡¯t survive to join us here.¡± Amdirlain grimaced and then shook her head. ¡°They might sit somewhere, happily sorting information for others, as long as there are books, scrolls, or crystals. Where should I start?¡± ¡°The sections where the materials on the planes should be are on the top level,¡± advised Dagrast?r. He led her into the central area, flying straight towards the end of the library closest to the shaft, and landed on an upper ledge. Once there, he drew her attention to the markers at the end of the different columns showing the category¡¯s start and endpoints. ¡°While the wards preserve the materials, enchantments on objects aren¡¯t preserved. That¡¯s why you¡¯ll mainly find physical copies rather than memory crystals or devices.¡± A carved polyptych stretched across the ceiling between two shelves. The five-part image showed sections of the planar wheel. ¡°it''s not fully organised, but one should return texts to the shelves in the right area?¡± questioned Amdirlain as she eyed artworks above the floor-to-ceiling shelves and racks. Maybe I¡¯ll need to find a guide instead. Dagrast?r twitched a shoulder. ¡°Try to return them to roughly where you found them.¡± ¡°Am I keeping you from something?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I mean, I had thought you¡¯d be at The Exchange when I contacted Te.¡± ¡°I will return to The Exchange, but others are still deciding on your mentor,¡± admitted Dagrast?r. Amdirlain waved at the extended shelves on planes. ¡°Let them know I¡¯ll be here a while.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that would be safe,¡± replied Dagrast?r. ¡°Given Rahka¡¯s behaviour, perhaps meet with your mentor whenever at the cloister.¡± In the next section, Amdirlain found another multi-panel artwork; this time, it depicted only the elemental planes. ¡°I take it the attempt to show the subject through artwork didn¡¯t pan out?¡± ¡°No,¡± huffed Dagrast?r. ¡°They were there before I arrived, and nothing matched them even then.¡± ¡°Would it be okay if I sought help to make copies of all these?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got options for psionic crystals to group the information.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not all in Celestial,¡± cautioned Dagrast?r. ¡°They¡¯re in hundreds of tongues.¡± Holding back a groan, Amdirlain gritted her teeth. ¡°That makes it more difficult.¡± Revealing Ways has a few translation spells, but I don¡¯t think there is a psionic technique with that capability. ¡°Are you in a rush?¡± asked Dagrast?r. It¡¯s hard to explain why I¡¯m in a rush without giving everything away. ¡°I don¡¯t know how many planes I¡¯ll need to travel through,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d rather be progressing the powers and skills I need than spending years reading.¡± ¡°Neither Moloch nor Orcus has control of anything deeper in the Abyss, so why are you searching there?¡± enquired Dagrast?r, his fingers tapping lightly against the column at the shelf¡¯s end. ¡°Baln¨¦rith was up to something in the deep planes. The sisterhood is no more, but I¡¯d like to ensure whatever she was working on down there is destroyed,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If I can overcome what¡¯s in the lower planes, I¡¯ll get stronger as I go.¡± ¡°Baln¨¦rith is one of the other demon lords on your list?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Part truths,¡± noted Dagrast?r. ¡°Do you blame me, given Rahka¡¯s desire to vent her rage at me? Especially since I know she¡¯s not alone in her scheming. The question I have is: why should I share everything?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she snorted. "Or anything? This isn''t exactly what I envisaged for a supposedly supportive environment." Dagrast?r titled his head sadly. ¡°You caught that.¡± ¡°I knew before the Eldest mentioned it; I¡¯ve excellent hearing. I heard Rahka talking to another Fallen when I arrived. She was working in the forge area in the outer fortifications.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m surprised you said so much to the Eldest or Rahka,¡± noted Dagrast?r. ¡°I wanted to clarify my position, and it would be evident soon enough that I was never a Celestial. Human lifespans rarely go over a century unless powers or Mana are involved. My focus is what I can do now and how to reduce the time involved in fulfilling my goals,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll likely seem in a rush and impatient.¡± ¡°You said you were in the ascension fire to become a Greater Succubus,¡± commented Dagrast?r. ¡°Haven¡¯t you had centuries to overcome that perspective?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not even a century into my curse.¡± ¡°But there is such strength about you,¡± protested Dagrast?r. ¡°Your demonstration of Charisma certainly wasn¡¯t a Mortal¡¯s strength.¡± ¡°I still gain levels at a Mortal pace,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she gave a stiff smile. ¡°Something my enemies are going to regret is that I¡¯m a bit of an addict when it comes to getting stronger. When I¡¯m strong enough, I will end them for all the misery they¡¯ve spread.¡± ¡°Let me lend you a hand. I¡¯ll also get some others in here searching for the texts you¡¯ll need,¡± offered Dagrast?r. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do that.¡± The featureless expanse of Dagrast?r¡¯s face rippled. ¡°Cloister members help each other. Plus, you said a Mortal Soul is still within you. Perhaps the path will count it as assisting a Mortal.¡± ¡°That sounds like an excuse, but I won¡¯t complain. Thank you,¡± Amdirlain said, and she gave him a polite bow. Dagrast?r nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll find the useful texts and let you focus on strengthening skills while others search. We¡¯ll let you know when we¡¯ve got a quantity gathered.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I gained a bit of progress from sparring with Te,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°How can you tell?¡± Amdirlain gave a half-smile. ¡°I picked up some tricks while sparring with her.¡± Let¡¯s not go into notifications and profiles. ¡°When did you last use an imprint stone or a soul forge?¡± asked Dagrast?r. ¡°I won¡¯t ask about everything, but I am curious about how advanced your fighting style is rated.¡± ¡°The Catfolk have magical technology they referred to as a record,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m still working on getting to Grand Master in my fighting style.¡± ¡°Most demons I¡¯ve fought never make it that far. Let¡¯s make advancing that a priority to keep you safe whenever you have time to train,¡± said Dagrast?r. 349 - Insider Amdirlain''s PoV - Ijmti - Cloister Fortress From where she landed, Amdirlain looked along the top level of the cloister¡¯s library, eyeing the packed shelves and the stonework. The columns at the end of each row echoed those below, being carved with such lifelike details, she half expected some to move. A step took her past a carving of Ori, and Amdirlain started examining the shelves but encountered only a few texts in languages she knew. The rest of her translation spell muddled through, but Amdirlain held off using knowledge points on extra languages. Despite using Analysis to narrow options, she spent hours checking a quarter-metre section without finding a helpful text. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there are any experts about who I can talk with?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how long it will take me to find even a single text on the subjects I need.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent the request for help. Hopefully, I receive a better response than the ghost caverns request,¡± said Dagrast?r. Shortly after Dagrast?r dispatched his request, twenty Fallen entered the library and made a beeline for their location. The first to land was one of the reptilian Fallen Amdirlain had seen in the training hall, his black dust appearance even more disconcerting in close quarters. His long tail enforced his hunched posture and hid the fact he''d be nearly three metres tall if he stood fully upright. He met Amdirlain''s gaze and, unbothered by her scrutiny, tapped his chest where a nearly clear pendant lay with a faint red haze within. "I''m called Silpar. I know something of the deeper planes, and I¡¯d offer my aid in this and other matters. Shall we see if I''m a suitable mentor?" Unlike most celestials she''d heard speaking, his words were in Draconic. "Do you want to mentor me?" asked Amdirlain, replying in the same tongue. ¡°If someone else volunteered you for it, I won¡¯t hold you to it.¡± I wonder what Goxashru would make of him. Silpar''s nostrils flared in approval, and he gave a slow nod. "Since you speak fluent Draconic, you are off to a fine start. Hopefully, we''ll work well together. Otherwise, I''ll help you find someone suitable to your temperament and outlook." More Fallen landed at the end of the rows, and one spoke up in Celestial with a lilting tenor. "You need information on the deep planes?" "Yes," replied Amdirlain. "How deep are you looking to reach?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain frowned, but with Baln¨¦rith''s name already in play, it seemed more pro than con. "Baln¨¦rith had the sisterhood working on a project to get to her original realm or something, so wherever layer I might find the conceptual skin." The others froze and looked at her like she''d taken leave of her senses, but Silpar and Dagrast?r grunted. "The deeper planes indeed. Nothing written will help navigate them, though I know somewhat of them," advised Silpar. "Have you picked up Planar Sense at all?" "Years ago, but it''s still the same Skill," replied Amdirlain. "That''s all most need. I''ll help you strengthen it. It helps you find safer routes, which is essential after you get a Plane or two deeper," Silpar grunted, and he jabbed an extended talon towards the shelves. "We should still find you everything written about the primordials that lair deeper. I hope you''ve got a sturdy mind and plenty of patience because those texts are in the primordial tongue." Amdirlain gave a reserved smile. "I''ve already learnt it by accident." Silpar''s inner lids closed, turning his eyes milky. "You''re a strange one. I have no trust in Rahka or those who hold similar views. I go where you go until I''m convinced you are safe from her." Some others voiced their agreement, and Amdirlain''s brows lifted at the protective themes from all of them. They find out I''m not a normal Fallen, and those that don''t hate me go into protective parent mode? "That makes you sound like a doting Dragon parent," remarked Amdirlain before she sent a separate message through the pendant''s link to Silpar. ''Even to the outlands?'' ''You spend time there?'' ''The sunshine helps clear my mind.'' "We''ll push your strength and get you ready to moult," Silpar hissed in amusement as his reply came through the pendant. ''Laying on a hot rock in the sun is a good way to relax.'' "What would you suggest working on first?" enquired Amdirlain. "Being able to kill your enemies is always handy," replied Silpar, gesturing to the training hall. "If you''d leave these helpers to search the shelves, we''ll get you back in the sparring circles. Hatchlings should be able to fight with any weapon that comes to hand." "I can already use a variety of weapons in my fighting style." Silpar lifted into the air and beckoned for her to follow. "Then let''s set to it that your fighting style grows to at least counter them. What do you normally fight with?" "Most frequently with no weapon," admitted Amdirlain, and she followed his lead back to the training hall. "Taking down a foe with claws and fangs alone is a worthy challenge, especially given how weak those are within an Elven form," declared Silpar. "We''ll start with that and then see where the sands lead us." The training hall was less crowded, and more circles were available. Silpar led her to the first circle and signalled to two elven-looking Fallen sparring with maces and shields. A quick Analysis showed they both had lord versions of their weapon skills, with raw numbers slightly below where Tinco had started when Amdirlain first met her. "Come and try her mettle." The pair laughed good-naturedly, and the taller of the two approached the circle Silpar had selected. "Not one. I meant both of you," corrected Silpar. At Silpar''s statement, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. "Only if I''m allowed to shift form." Silpar shrugged. "Whatever approach you want to try, as long as it''s without weapons for you. I want to see how you fight under pressure." "If you''re looking to see what I can do, I never go all out against training partners," cautioned Amdirlain. "Best to keep it semi-civil," agreed Silpar. "By whose definition?" asked Amdirlain. "What definition do you normally use?" asked the taller Elf. "I usually spar with an Immortal, and the only limit is that he''s agreed to release me from the Planar Lock if he kills me," replied Amdirlain. Silpar chuffed in amusement. "Perhaps not to that degree. If something happens to anyone, contact Dagrast?r, and we''ll figure it out." The elven Fallen moved to opposite sides of the circle and looked wary when Amdirlain moved right to the mid-point between them. They took the high-low approach when they struck, but Amdirlain wasn''t there. One mace passed through where her head should have been, and the second at hip level. Amdirlain turned back from the fly she''d become, already moving in time with their motions. Grabbing each haft behind the mace¡¯s head, she spun, and a restrained knee strike shoved the taller towards the circle''s edge. Caught in their opposing grasps, the force snapped the weapon and left Amdirlain holding a metal spike with the flanged head. Tossing the mass at the off-balance opponent, she rushed him and slid under his attempt to stab with the shattered haft. Her motion went from a slide into a roll before her kip-up became a double thrust kick that tossed him out of the circle. The other had moved to follow her, but he backed up and struck when Amdirlain transformed into a flying insect. The wave of air caused by the weapon''s motion allowed her to spread tiny wings and utilise the lift to waft out of the way. Dropping back into Elven form, she grabbed the weapon, only for him to release it and step forward with a shield slam. The shield''s bottom edge passed above the beetle form she''d adopted at the spike of aggressive music. Expanding back again, she tucked her chin down and came back up underneath his chin. The impact snapped his head back, and she crowded in, frustrating his attempt to gain space. Sliding aside an attempted headbutt, she hustled him about with knees and elbows, keeping him from getting into a stable stance. He darted back, and an elbow from Amdirlain kept his shield wide before a flurry of palm-hand strikes drove him from the circle. "You transform fast," noted Silpar and nodded to the others. "Thank you both. I''ll take things from here. You both need to train more against those who use other weapons." The taller of the two nodded. ¡°Am has an interesting style, unpredictable but not animalistic like weaponless demons.¡± After Amdirlain thanked the pair, she swept up the pieces of the broken weapon and handed them off. When the courtesies were finished, Silpar motioned for her to move to the circle''s centre. "You''ve used your ability to change your form extensively?" Amdirlain nodded. Silpar huffed happily. ''Thank you for proving my point to them. Too many are selective in who they''ll fight against.'' At the discrete use of the pendant, Amdirlain titled her head curiously. ''High levels in perception. I bet you all live in each other''s skin.'' ''Scale mites,'' agreed Silpar. "You''re faster than many, but your strength seems low-range. Let''s see about getting you to make use of that speed." "My classes channel my willpower more than strength," advised Amdirlain. "Its techniques let me bypass armour and magical defence enhancements if my will is strong enough to overcome them." Silpar glanced at the two Fallen who''d moved off to talk to others in the hall. "Here I thought they were overreacting to your blows." "I''ve tricks hidden in the deep sands," replied Amdirlain. "Let''s see what tricks you have to deflect my blows, and then we''ll get you sparring with Te again," said Silpar. "If you were watching, how many others were?" Silpar chuffed. "Anyone with a line-of-sight on your circle." He noticed, so others likely did as well; how few secrets those here must be able to keep. Silpar''s talons extended from his fingers and toes as he squared across from her. He started faster than either elven Fallen had managed, but Amdirlain deflected the raking strike to the side. He attempted to rake a taloned foot down her leg only for Amdirlain to block with a shin against his, and then the pace started to accelerate. A bite she countered with a fist to the side of his head, and then things got frantic, and they stopped standing still. After a few minutes of slipping each other''s blows, Amdirlain evaded a tail hooking for her right leg and snapped a kick into his chest as he lunged. Taking the blow, he scoured her thigh with teeth and claws. Amdirlain drove fingers into his nostrils, and the other hand seized the back of his neck before she flipped them over and slammed him to the ground. With the leverage utilised, she rapidly shifted to a bug, then Wood Elf and felt the wound was already sealed. "What did I say about shapeshifting?" asked Silpar. "I didn''t use it to evade your attack just to disengage," observed Amdirlain. Silpar grumbled. "Semantics." "Oh well," laughed Amdirlain. "You could have used Flight to avoid hitting the ground." Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. "Where is the fun in that?" asked Silpar. "Again?" "I never get bored of sparring," advised Amdirlain. "I will eventually need to go tend to some things." How do I explain the demi-planes or get Gail and Isa to stretch their powers? "You have a different perspective of things. I''ll try to keep that in mind. A Fallen spending a few centuries advancing skills must seem odd to you, given you were a short-lived species." "Gosh, don''t all the details just spread about this place," laughed Amdirlain. Silpar extended a talon towards the circle nearer the door. "I was just there, and I know you saw me when you passed both times. Easy to overhear conversations in the hallway even while fighting." Amdirlain gave a cynical snort. "I am amused about the differences in your perceptions. To Rahka, I''m defiled, while to you, it makes you aware that I might not see things as you do." "Amused?" "I''ve got a dark sense of humour?," clarified Amdirlain. "Another Mortal thing to consider along with my tendency to push ahead." "You don''t see the benefit in training?" "No, I do. I don''t normally sit around, but I''ve been known to spend a decade perfecting skills," replied Amdirlain. "Standing watch on the ballistae would drive me crazier. Fighting demons is a more preferable use of time." "Unless you go near major towns or cities, vast regions of the Abyss are empty of demons. We can find plenty of other life forms. They''re not things that try to get to the Material Plane to threaten mortals, so we leave them be unless attacked," replied Silpar. "It is a factor that''s going to make finding some demons I want to kill challenging," sighed Amdirlain. Silpar motioned her to start and kept up the pressure for hours before handing Amdirlain to Tinco for sword practice. Tinco took her through dozens of swords, and while some felt almost natural, most felt off. At last, Tinco extended a hand and reclaimed the latest sword from Amdirlain. "You move like that blade is part of your arm, but you''ve mastered none of what it can do for you. You must learn they''re not just an extension of your limb. Different blades provide different strengths and weaknesses." "True," replied Amdirlain. "The ones I''m used to using match how I''ve adapted my martial arts. Maybe if we stick with blades that slice for now instead of those meant for stabbing?" "Perhaps those will at least allow you to find a starting point. Let''s see if we can get you to pick up some techniques for different slashing blades," proposed Tinco. I wonder how Cyrus will react if I spring a surge in my combat skills on him. Amdirlain shrugged. "I''d rather learn how to improve my Mana Finesse." "How far have you progressed with it?" "Not quite halfway through senior master," admitted Amdirlain. "My ritual lore and magic circles are just in master rank, though I''ve got a knack for picking up when they''re flawed." "That''s another thing we can work on together then," agreed Tinco. "My years have given me a lot of practice in all of them. Maybe we can get you to grow Mana Finesse to Mana-Lord in a few decades." Silpar rose from where he''d been crouched, watching, and motioned for Amdirlain to follow him. "What''s up?" asked Amdirlain as she caught up to him. "Let''s get you some of that sunshine you occasionally need," proposed Silpar. After leaving the fortifications, Amdirlain opted to head down the valley towards the sickly forest. Once clear of the wards, she guided them through the first Gate and multiple hops until they reached the Outlands. When the last Gate closed behind Silpar, she frowned momentarily but pressed on. "Might I ask what deity you served?" "She isn''t alive any longer. The mortals turned away from the path she represented. When she faded, I let my anger get the better of me," admitted Silpar. "I was told you''d be coming." "Oh?" Silpar nodded. "One of Bahamut''s servants advised me." "He seems to enjoy sticking his nose in on things, but I''ve not met him," observed Amdirlain. "I can feel him watching now, but it could be a background awareness tracking us among all the other mentions since you said his name." "Not met him in this lifetime," corrected Silpar. "You can sense his mind?" How much did he blab? "It''s like a pressure about us," advised Amdirlain. "What exactly did Bahamut''s servant advise you of?" "Enough to know that while Rahka¡¯s understanding is deeply flawed, she also isn¡¯t completely wrong regarding your past life," replied Silpar. Amdirlain huffed and shook her head. "Bahamut, really, can you not keep a secret?" Silpar snickered at her tone. The sound was a long, stuttering hiss of amusement. "His opposite passed a message to him. She said Moloch hunts the Songbird, and you should seek to find her first before he finds either of you. One of her Dragon priests ate the representative and his convoy that requested the information." That is a nice subtle message, implying we''re not the same individual. Why is Tiamat even taking an interest? Besides, the wound is closer to her domain than the heavens. "He''s another problem," muttered Amdirlain. "Any idea how long that crystal in the library has been there?" "What does that have to do with anything?" Amdirlain smiled. "I''m sure you''ll get used to my unsubtle topic changes when I don''t want to talk about something." "Billions of years," replied Silpar, giving a helpless shrug. "It pre-dates my arrival, so you''d have to ask one of the cloister¡¯s elders." "Orh¨ºthurin dropped in, gave a gift and wandered off," commented Amdirlain. "What did you do to earn your punishment?" Silpar frowned. "You do jump between topics. What did you do?" "It judged me from when my curse went into effect and held me to a Celestial''s standards. I¡¯ve killed many unpleasant mortals, but while malicious to others, their deaths caused suffering to their families. The benefit of their deaths was ignored, but since I took satisfaction in ridding the world of the scum that would enslave, kill, and rape, you know the rest," explained Amdirlain, and she tapped her dark red and black pendant before she stored it away. "I convinced a Wizard to summon me and then wiped out the last city that turned its back on my Goddess to worship foreign gods. After that, I killed all the priests that had broken their vows in other places," offered Silpar. "They had let my Goddess''s light fade from the heavens and, even though she had accepted her end, I felt only rage. When I wandered the streets to look at the devastation I had wrought, my eyes opened to the evil I had done. That''s when I noticed the change set in. My flesh transformed into the ash I had condemned their flesh to become." "Had her powers faded over the years?" asked Amdirlain. Silpar¡¯s hands clenched, and he nodded sharply. "Yes." I wonder if that was a Mantle death like Sage and the others endured or one the Greek gods sought to avoid in their original realm? "What was it about her path that stopped attracting followers?" "She was a Goddess of their ancestors when they were nomads. As city dwellers, they felt no need for her care, and even the farmers had turned to foreign gods, Bahamut amongst them. It is so long ago I''m not even sure the planet still exists," replied Silpar. "I am not Orh¨ºthurin," replied Amdirlain. "I''ve not got all the memories from that life, and I certainly don''t have close to the peak of her capabilities. Honestly, I think I''ve barely started to get close to what she was capable of in her youth." "You should remain merely Am, as your history would cause friction. Likely, some would seek to serve you above others, but as you saw with Rahka, many new to the path don¡¯t have that viewpoint. Were the Greek gods from her original world outside the realm, and then she re-incarnated here?" asked Silpar. Okay, he doesn''t know all the truth. "It doesn''t matter. I''ve snippets of her memories, but our views are very different," advised Amdirlain. "I don''t have the power to change the plinth that controls Redemption''s Path, at least not yet. I didn''t have access to True Song when I returned to this realm, and I couldn''t hear the melodies of the objects around us." "Do you have it now?" asked Silpar. "Yes, but regaining it was a messy tale I won''t get into," replied Amdirlain. Silpar nodded with a restrained, nervous energy. "That''s understandable, and I wouldn''t ask. I don''t know why Bahamut''s servant contacted me, but I''ll keep your secret. I merely hoped I might see it used. I heard tales of the wonders it could perform, but never saw it creating life." Amdirlain blinked. Okay, that''s not the reaction I was expecting. "Let''s go somewhere else for a demonstration. I''ll Plane Shift us with it first," said Amdirlain. When they appeared in the darkness of a demi-plane, Silpar looked about. "Where are we?" "A demi-plane project of mine," said Amdirlain, and she lifted into the air. "You''ll want to stay airborne a bit of a distance from me." "You''re able to make demi-planes? The wizards I¡¯ve known are limited to dimensional pockets," stated Silpar. "It''s sizeable, just under four thousand kilometres across from a nominal east to west. The two longest sections on the north and south axis are around three and a half thousand, but that''s only at the widest points," advised Amdirlain. "What are you doing with these?" "I''m setting them up to help the Catfolk with combat and gathering training grounds. Eventually, they''ll replace the ghost caverns for providing resources to their cities if the curse is broken," replied Amdirlain. "I can make these come alive pretty quickly, but I''ll take my time on this first one." Phoenix''s Rapture ignited around her, but Amdirlain took her time setting in place an artificial sun. The ground beneath them took on a golden glow, and layers of rich topsoil rippled out from where they hovered mid-air. As the songs progressed, trees, shrubs, and thousands of other plants reached up from the soil towards the sunlight. When the music stopped, Silpar inhaled deeply, savouring the newborn scents. He looked on in amusement as a blue slime slithered out of a hole in a nearby lakeshore and dipped beneath the water. "How many creatures are now here?" "It''s more of lots of locations that will cause more to germinate, you could say, when their numbers in a region are depleted," replied Amdirlain. "I''m hoping the locals get more benefit out of them to offset the injuries and casualties." "You''d risk setting back your progress for them?" Amdirlain frowned. "I''m hoping since I don''t enjoy them getting hurt, it won''t count. However, I''m sure it will since I enjoy singing. I hope these do far more good than harm so it balances. I''d rather take the chance and give millions of people a chance of having a safer life than sit on my hands because a few might get hurt." "Teaching some to forge steel can have the same outcome. Tools of civilisation, planting crops, and protection versus weapons of war raised against each other," admitted Silpar. "You''re welcome to watch me work, ?or I can advise you before I plan to return to the cloister. I''ve got thousands of these to make." Silpar tilted his head. "How many cities need one of these?" "I set up a chain of them for each city with increasingly dangerous threats so they can easily grow to level fifty and beyond in multiple classes. Though the interior landscape varies, I make them all in the same rough pattern. The training complexes that anchor them have space for thousands of teams to be spread out and not get in each other''s way, even when able to cover vast tracts," explained Amdirlain. "Also, the different demi-planes are progressive. I¡¯ll let you explore a full chain if you¡¯d like." "Might I watch you make more?" asked Silpar with a barely contained wonder in his tone. "Let me line up a few," replied Amdirlain, and she opened a series of thirty gates, each connecting the next demi-plane to the one after in the chain. "Ready for a speed run? Just follow me through the gates to see what is going on." Amdirlain started and pushed the themes through the first two gates before she moved into the next demi-plane. Focusing on the life blooming from the music, she ignored Pain Eater''s steady notifications. In fifty minutes, she was through the first set of thirty and had gates lined up for the next set without missing a beat in the themes. Silpar followed along patiently, watching with an unwavering fascination as different creatures and plants came alive before his eyes. When Amdirlain finally stopped ten hours later, she''d completed hundreds and gained a level in two classes. Silpar put a hand against his chest and lowered his head. "I appreciate you sharing that with me, Am." Giving him a lively grin, Amdirlain shrugged. "I''ve been used to performing for an audience after six years on Qil Tris pretending to be a Bard." "This work progresses your classes?" "Two of my classes and the True Song Power. I used to take an experience tithe from the adventurers coming into these demi-planes from the first city, but I turned that off when I left their planet. The levy is still in place, but the energy goes towards maintenance," advised Amdirlain. "I won''t ask how many levels you must have to do such work," said Silpar, his gaze on a stone colossus sitting up and stretching. Amdirlain waggled a hand. "My Wizard Class and first Prestige Class help with the amount of power I can channel through True Song. Then, on top of my improvement in the Power, they let me optimise its use." "You''ve been bleeding," noted Silpar. "The songs for these are too simple now. I''ve got to push my limits to get progress in the Power from them," explained Amdirlain. "I''ll admit I was showing off a bit. I''ve only ever had one person want to see me create them, and you had such a clear sense of wonder about you." Silpar scratched the side of his snout. "You make these so quickly, so I assume you can make a place even grander. Why not just make yourself somewhere to live and ignore the curse that marks you? The Anar didn''t live in the heavens, and you''ve proven you can get to the Material Plane for years at a time." The tip of her tongue touched her top lip, and Amdirlain froze, weighing her desire for allies in the cloister against her concern about lack of knowledge. While the wonder and concern that hummed within Silpar reassured her, Amdirlain didn''t know if everyone he might trust would be the same after Rahka''s behaviour. The amount that was revealed by Rahka''s knowledge of Baln¨¦rith was already too much in that regard. "Sorry if I''ve asked too many questions-" She lifted a finger to ask for a moment, and Silpar stopped. Putting her thoughts in order, Amdirlain went to the core of her situation without the details she didn''t want to share. "I promised myself I''d get out, and being still marked as a Fallen isn''t out. At one point, I was offered the opportunity to reincarnate outside the realm free of the curse, but then my Soul would be free, not me. I would be lost amid the memories within my Soul. I, as the person I am now, would cease to exist. Whoever I became wouldn''t be me, and I will not give up on my friends in this realm or myself so easily. Maybe I''ll die by seeing this path through to the end, but it will be me who will have made that choice, not the person who cursed me." "Promises are important, especially those that involve being true to yourself and friends," acknowledged Silpar. "Thank you for sharing. I''ll show you where the entrance to the next Plane lies. While I''ve never been to the depths you need, I can guide you through eight planes and help you gain the strength you need to go deeper." "What took you that far down?" asked Amdirlain. "Trailing the sisterhood, but that was the furthest I followed some of them. The distortions in the planes stop you from using Plane Shift and restrict the range of any Teleport to line-of-sight." "Why did you do that?" Silpar gave a broad smile that showed many long, sharp teeth; the sparkle of amusement in his gaze stole all the threat from it. ¡°Bahamut¡¯s servant asked me to investigate them thirty-five years ago. He didn''t say why." "That''s after I met a Dragon who spoke of Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°Did you wish to make more demi-planes, or should I show you the entrance to the depths?¡± ¡°There is a particular route the sisters took?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Silpar. ¡°Would you mind if I attempt to verify your story with Bahamut?¡± Silpar spread his hands. ¡°I fully understand.¡± 350 - One way or another Amdirlain''s PoV - Training ground Demi-Plane "I''m unsure how quickly I can get confirmation from Bahamut. I''ll have to send a message through a friend as Moradin has spoken to me a few times, but I''ve not met him outside memories," said Amdirlain. Bahamut¡¯s focus on them increased, and an Avatar came into existence. The Elf had silvery hair, liquid metal eyes and porcelain white skin with blue veins, while his silken shirt and pants were the pale blue of a clear early morning sky. Seven songbirds burst into existence, and one landed on Bahamut''s shoulder, her trills a scolding reprimand. Compressed within their forms, Amdirlain could see the celestials with true forms of adamantine, gold, and silver dragons. Silpar immediately snapped his gaze to the ground and bowed his head. ¡°Hello Bahamut. I certainly wasn¡¯t expecting you to show up. You¡¯ve been keeping your distance,¡± said Amdirlain. "That is because it would be too tempting to do too much to assist you," said Bahamut, ignoring the ongoing scolding. "Silpar, you''ve done much to earn my forgiveness in the openness you¡¯ve shown to Am." "Lord Bahamut, it is not your forgiveness I seek," demurred Silpar, his eyes still directed towards the ground. "Perhaps not, but mine might be easier to earn than yours," replied Bahamut. Silpar shook his head without raising it a millimetre. "I failed my Goddess'' ways, and she is not alive to forgive me." "There are ways to speak to the essence of deceased deities. Fortunately, you''re aiding one who might eventually be strong enough," replied Bahamut with a calm smile before he turned his attention to Amdirlain. "I cannot help you in those depths, and one who could isn''t inclined to do so." "If she continues to have her dragons eat Moloch''s representatives, that''s aid enough," replied Amdirlain. Bahamut smiled. "You need not worry about helpful information reaching him through the chromatic dragons. Some truths never carried beyond the individual Dragon. Ori ensured that was the case." The memories of Orh¨ºthurin''s closed-off state had Amdirlain wrinkling her nose. "She was a touch paranoid and untrusting." "Later on, yes, but not when she was young," said Bahamut, and he motioned Amdirlain to walk with him. The songbirds landed on nearby rocks, the one that had scolded him the last to leave his side. Amdirlain could sense a barrier around them, holding in sound and vision from even sensitive Draconic perception. "I know, but later I could just imagine her tracking down everyone and removing their recollections regardless of their minimal details," replied Amdirlain. "After all, Claughuthruuazex knew of her as an Anar. Despite being Sarah¡¯s child, she¡¯d kept the truth from him. Given that, I thought it likely she did so from a host of other dragons." After glancing at Silpar again, Bahamut frowned at Amdirlain in concern. "You think your death is a likelihood of being freed from the curse?" "You peeked," accused Amdirlain. Bahamut tilted his head towards Silpar. Okay, but listening to minds is still peeking. However, I''m hardly one to point fingers in that regard. "Gideon''s hinted at some things that make me think I''ll be alright, but I don''t know. He can predict how things might turn out but doesn''t know. Also, his perspective on what is alright and mine might differ." "I could take you from this realm and place your consciousness fully intact in the body of a young Dragon or an Elf," offered Bahamut. "You''re free of the vines now. Your Soul would have access to your True Song in other realms." Amdirlain gave him a wry smile. "There is that ¡®too much¡¯ of an offer. I wouldn''t take it without trying to fix the wound." "And after that, you''ll find a different reason," observed Bahamut, and he gave her a fond smile. "I''ve got dozens of reasons. I wouldn''t leave my friends behind, nor ask them to leave their friends and loved ones to come with me," agreed Amdirlain firmly. Bahamut huffed happily. "You''re still a stubborn and lovely child, even in this incarnation. You''ve honed the Willpower that Ori used to possess into a fine blade. Finding your own path is a good thing." "I don''t suppose you''ve got any advice about regaining memories without drowning in them?" asked Amdirlain. "Finding your own path is a good thing," repeated Bahamut. "That''s what I figured, but I thought I''d try," laughed Amdirlain. "Since Ms. T isn''t inclined to help, is there any other place we might find aid in the depths?" At Amdirlain¡¯s reference to Tiamat, Bahamut¡¯s mouth twitched with suppressed laughter. "My understanding is that those in the depths are very territorial. Wherever the wound is located, Baln¨¦rith wouldn''t have been able to work on it if it was in another''s territory." Amdirlain nodded. "At least not without offering something of great value to them. I''ll start by searching outside whatever territories I can sense. That cuts down the areas I''ll need to search once I¡¯m deep enough. I''ll also put monitors in place to tag any Succubus coming through if Baln¨¦rith manages to get them to return to the wound." "Ori used to travel to any place directly when she wished. I don''t know if you¡¯ll already be able to do so with the deeper planes or how much stronger in True Song you''d need to get to accomplish that," advised Bahamut. "Another goal to work towards," said Amdirlain, giving Bahamut a nod of appreciation. "Since it''s been made clear Gideon and the Titan don''t know what Ori did with her power, I assume you don''t know either." "That would be a correct assumption." Amdirlain stopped and leaned against a boulder sticking out of the rocky terrain. "Is Silpar trustworthy??" "He wouldn''t still be sitting there if I didn''t believe him worthy of a chance," replied Bahamut with an edged smile. "I hoped you wouldn¡¯t spray him across the countryside," said Amdirlain. ¡°You stuck your nose in to recruit him after all.¡± Bahamut''s expression turned stony. "That would lock him to a few planes for a hundred years and be free to communicate. You''ve shared enough that I''d seal him away until you were free of the curse." You shared the core. I just showed him some of what I can do. "I''m thinking of giving Roher two songs to see if they might do the same," admitted Amdirlain. "Enemies can either hone you or break you, but removing them without cause can turn others against you," warned Bahamut. "It''s important to pick your time carefully, especially if they might yet be redeemed." The sense of Bahamut''s focusing on her fully caught Amdirlain''s attention. "Trying to peek to see how I am?¡± "Just a little worried after the Eldritch. How are you?" Amdirlain grinned. "I managed, given it was my first extended run in with them. Very curious about why you sent Goxashru my way." "You''ve not used Goxashru''s aid as much as I thought you might. Though you did resolve the situation on his world cleaner than I had hoped," replied Bahamut. "Are there other worlds where the formithians are giving your locals grief?" asked Amdirlain. Bahamut frowned. "They''re not as they were aeons in the past, but my worlds aren¡¯t normally where they intrude. Though with the Eldritch, you''ve taken on the greater threat to the realm." Amdirlain caught his concern concealed behind the calm expression. "Are there worlds that the Eldritch issue could use more help?" "There are," admitted Bahamut with a slight nod. "Despite priesthoods in place, certain threats are better sealed away than merely killed." "If you''d provide the worlds'' names, I''ll line up things with Goxashru when I''ve time," replied Amdirlain, and she motioned towards Silpar. "After all, you helped and recruited a guide to save me exploration time." "Thank you, Amdirlain. Though it would make things easier, there is no urgency as the summoned celestials and dragons have them in check,¡± said Bahamut. Plucking a memory crystal from the air, he handed it over as the spatial energies faded. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll line up trips to visit in between investigations in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Ensure you take your investigations into the depths carefully. There are at least sixty planes, so it''s not as if you''re in the last few metres of a race. A few centuries or millennia of steady progress would be better than a decade of rushing that ends in destruction," said Bahamut. That''s if we have that time. Nodding, Amdirlain turned the crystal over in her fingers. "I''ll push my abilities higher so I don''t get in over my head." ¡°I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve made much progress with True Song. Silpar can help you with combat skills,¡± said Bahamut, and he and the songbirds vanished. Amdirlain stored the crystal in Inventory before smiling at Silpar. "Lead the way to the depths if you would, Silpar." ¡°Impatience. I¡¯d suggest you wait, but perhaps seeing the easiest issues you¡¯ll face might give you perspective,¡± replied Silpar. Silpar also used the approach of opening a Gate to the Elemental Plane of Earth first, but soon they were back on Ijmti. Ahead lay a barren expanse with the typical lush overgrowth of the Plane nowhere to be seen. The expanse¡¯s sandy soil trickled along in a rough whirlpool that kicked up a haze of dust. A kilometre ahead, it started at a gentle five-degree slope but had changed to a thirty-degree angle after another kilometre before plunging downwards. Resonance showed that beyond the lip, the hole descended at eighty-five degrees towards the rift''s event horizon some two kilometres below the ground. Despite its appearance, the hole felt like a spike had been driven through the Plane. Amdirlain sighed. "I''m guessing the holes from one Plane to the next don''t line up?" "You wouldn''t need a guide if they did," replied Silpar. "For most, it is best to take on whatever form you intend to keep past that point." The planes have shifted relative position since the hole was punched through. "Does possessing Protean change that?" Silpar''s tail twitched. "That is the cause of your rapid shapeshifting?" "An evolution from it," clarified Amdirlain. "I''ve not been on speaking terms with any being that possessed it," replied Silpar. "Let''s go," said Amdirlain. Though she remained in her Wood Elf form she took to the air and flew above the haze. Without changing his form, Silpar followed. Descending into the pit, Amdirlain took in the massive root systems that extended into the space and drooped towards the rift. Quick melodies created crystals and drove them into the pit''s side at an equal distance around its circumference. She set two to record the songs of whatever beings passed through, while the third would try to tag the essence of any Fallen or Succubus. It wasn''t until they were within a hundred metres of the rift''s horizon that the landscape beyond it became visible. Brightly coloured mists of shifting hues provided the only illumination of the next Plane. Their overhead perspective allowed them an uninterrupted view of the wind-tossed ocean that awaited them. Waves the size of skyscrapers seemed poised to crash down at the slightest provocation. Against an endless black sky, the rift showed as a swirling tornado of mist, but it didn''t try to draw Amdirlain in. "Was this Leviathan''s Home Plane?" "My understanding is that the War of the Four finished on the fifth Plane that I''ll be able to guide you to," replied Silpar as he drew a spear from storage. "I never found a surface to the waters of that Plane, but I also didn''t explore it extensively. The presence of Primordial Mana starts to increase from here, and with no way to retreat quickly, you mustn''t overextend yourself. Each planar transition causes an injury until you''ve got enough Primordial Resistance. Are you sure you don''t want to work or train on Ijmti for a time instead?" Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "No, let''s get moving. I''ll keep the recovery issue in mind," replied Amdirlain, and she took in the energies upon the rift''s farside and then flew into it. The transition across planes was a brutal pressure that invoked images of being caught between the Abyss''s molars as it tried to grind her apart and stretch her out. [Resistance: Primordial [GR] (1->2)] Amdirlain felt her regeneration repairing the ruptures that the transition had caused and kept alert for dangers. As she started to take in the Plane''s wild song, Silpar appeared beside her. He scanned the skies about the rift before focusing on the waters and pointed off at a roughly thirty degrees angle to their left. "There is an underwater mountain that way, and the next rift can be found on its side. The trench beneath us can be seen by observing the darker water at the base of the waves. It will lead us directly to the base of the mountain we seek, but don''t go beneath the waves here." Amdirlain listened and felt a Dragon''s essence mingled in the waves. "A Great Wyrm claims them, but I can''t tell the type." "Hopefully we don''t meet it. Many of the primordial entities in the Abyss are easier to fight than a Great Wyrm," replied Silpar. "I followed the odour of the succubi through the mists of this Plane, so I never had to delve into the waters until reaching the next rift. How fast can you fly?" "Likely nowhere near as fast as you. I''m used to operating on the ground," admitted Amdirlain. "My two powers that can keep me aloft are only Master rank." "I''ll show you to the next Plane, but I suggest we return at that point. The next Plane we need to transverse, it will be important to have your capability with Flight much higher to avoid trouble." Silpar flew down until he appeared to be body surfacing the wave¡¯s crest, but Amdirlain could see his attention was on the depths, gaze tracing the trench wall. Amdirlain tested out Teleport to appear beside him and felt the Plane disrupt the Power. "The Primordial energy is the problem. Teleport is trying to relocate us into a changing environment, so it strains the Power," said Amdirlain. Silpar merely huffed thoughtfully and jabbed a talon ahead. "Fly faster." "Yes, senpai," drawled Amdirlain. I''ll keep using Ki Flight to stretch it even if my other Flight Power is higher. "I don''t know that term, but I can hear the sarcasm in your tone," noted Silpar. "My apologies. I couldn''t resist, but I warned you I''ve got a dark sense of humour. I guess I should also include weird in there," replied Amdirlain as she tried to push her Ki Flight power to propel her faster. Despite Amdirlain flying at nearly seventy kilometres an hour, the wave''s lip quickly pulled ahead. Silpar effortlessly kept pace with the wave, and when he glanced back to check her status, Amdirlain told him she''d catch up. Amdirlain teleported to join him when he got far ahead and felt the strain within the Power against the Plane''s innate energy. Beneath the leading edge of the giant wave, she detected massive schools of fish plunging into the depths. [Greater Teleport [M] (81->82) Note: Are you trying to evolve that Power to help down there? Interesting choice.] Amdirlain kept flying, and Silpar quickly regained his lead. World Step set her nearby. While it didn''t place her as accurately as she''d hoped, it didn''t receive the same backlash. [Ki Flight [M] (6->7) World Step [Ad] (7->9) Note: Nice that you remembered it, but are you sure that''s the one I was talking about?] Gideon, stop being a tosser. When they''d been flying for an hour without Silpar indicating progress, Amdirlain started silently creating demi-plane seeds. The multi-tasking slowed her further, but Amdirlain persisted. Being consistently left in his wake gave Amdirlain plenty of time to push hard with Flight and World Step. A full day of flying passed before Silpar halted, and as soon as the latest set of seeds was completed, she absorbed them and joined him. [World Step [Ad] (38->39)] "How are you feeling?" asked Silpar after he''d considered her for a moment. Amdirlain smiled. "It''s slowly improving my speed." "You seemed to get slower initially," observed Silpar. "I''m doing a few things in tandem," admitted Amdirlain, and she took the concealment away from the host of demi-plane seeds floating in the air around her. A set she''d started to create after the last World Step. "What is the purpose of the crystals? Are you preparing weapons?" Amdirlain shook her head and finished off the latest songs so she could absorb them into Inventory. "Seeds of demi-planes." Silpar''s nostrils twitched; otherwise, he might have been carved from stone. "How many of those things have you made since we started flying?" "Seventy-four thousand seven hundred twenty," replied Amdirlain, and she winked at Silpar. "The distraction added strain on Ki Flight, and the frequency of use helped World Step, so those feel easier." "I''ve not heard of either of those powers, though from their names I can guess their effects," said Silpar. "Why use World Step instead of Greater Teleport?" "There is less disruption from the Plane. I''m hoping I''ll be able to use it beyond line-of-sight eventually. Time will tell. It''s nowhere near advanced enough yet to risk that," replied Amdirlain. "At this pace, we''re going to be days flying to reach the next rift," advised Silpar. Humming thoughtfully, Amdirlain took in Silpar''s unbothered melody. "Do you have obligations I''m keeping you from?" "No, but before we get deeper into the Abyss, I thought I should give some warning," replied Silpar. "The sisterhood might be dissolved, but we don''t know if any might come along this route for personal reasons or to continue their old work." "I''ve also been setting crystals into the submerged peaks to monitor for their approach," advised Amdirlain. "I need to evolve World Step and push Ki Flight into Senior Master, so I''m happy to keep flying. Making the crystals will give me enough experience to gain a few levels, though it will soon be far more demi-plane seeds than I need. Let me try something." Amdirlain stabilised the Plane''s local shifting energy and opened a Gate directly to the Chaos between Planes. The Plane about her bucked and hammered at the stable pocket of energy she''d created and, though blood flowed from her nose, the Gate remained open. [True Song Genesis [S] (60->61) True Song Architecture [S] (120->121) Note: Fine, do it that way.] "Want to leave?" asked Amdirlain. Silpar slowly shook his head. Amdirlain dispatched a message to Gail to advise her about the count of demi-plane seeds she created and sent a memory crystal with their details to Livia. Then, she used the open Gate to eject all the seeds from Inventory into the currents between planes and sealed it closed. With the break in the Plane gone, the surrounding energies settled down and stopped hammering at the barrier she''d formed. Wiping the blood from her nose, Amdirlain smiled. "That was fun. A nice challenge for my True Song." "How did you do that?" breathed Silpar. "Primordial energy is the potential for anything, and that flux causes the issues for gates and teleporting. I convinced the energy that it should exist in a temporarily stable state. With two stable planar points, I could open a Gate." "The tides of Chaos are more stable than these planes?" "Yes," laughed Amdirlain. "Here we''re swimming in potential disaster. The closer we get to the realm''s skin, the closer the natural state of Eldritch energies. It¡¯s only the realm''s rules translating it to Primordial energy and matter instead." "I''d heard a few theories about that," admitted Silpar. "Fragmented memories. When it comes to planar manipulation, True Song has more options, so wizards aren''t going to be able to manage it," advised Amdirlain. "Shall we continue onwards?" Silpar''s tongue tasted the air briefly before he nodded. "It strained you, but at least it''s a way out." "It''ll get harder to do the deeper we go, and the song will change. I''ll test it on each Plane," said Amdirlain. With Amdirlain''s Ki Flight continually improving, the travel time wasn''t as long as Silpar estimated. A peak that felt larger than Mount Everest slowly drew closer in the waters. The trench ran along the course of one spur and butted up against the mountain¡¯s side. Coming to a stop, Silpar pointed to the outer side of the spur whose path the trench had paralleled. The rift lay between two spurs that jutted from the underwater mountain. They were yet another example of the scale of the Abyss extending off far enough that they disappeared from Resonance''s twenty-kilometre reach without flattening out. The rift''s event horizon followed the curve of the spurs for great distances, going from barely a metre across to kilometres. Beyond the threshold, Amdirlain could see a sea of shifting sands without even an oasis in sight. "I¡¯ll assume you have a high resistance to fire," said Silpar. "This transition will hurt, and each will only get worse. We had a good trip to get here. Normally, I''d expect to fight a few creatures to reach this rift. Enter at the narrow point to save us from risking being in something''s sight for too long." "It''s a bit of a swim down," noted Amdirlain. "An eight-kilometre descent to reach the peak and another eight to reach the area where the rift starts," agreed Silpar. Amdirlain nodded and speared down through the water, fish larger than herself fleeing from her approach. Not trying to create crystals as she went, her speed jumped by nearly a third. As she descended, the cold grew, and the depths squeezed around her, both biting harder before she hit the rift''s threshold. She experienced a greater crushing pressure of primordial energy when she flew through the barrier. Reaching the other side, the damage had dramatically dropped her health. Though she''d entered at the narrow point, she was positioned atop a large dune, and blood ran from her eyes and nose. Behind her, a solid wall of black water formed a wedge that rose high into the sky. Amdirlain cleared up all traces of her blood loss before the sands could drink it. [Resistance: Cold [GR] (2->4) Resistance: Mundane Materials [GR] (12->13) Resistance: Primordial [GR] (2->4)] Silpar came through and appeared in the air and his gaze took in the expanse of dunes before he landed. "No rippling sands or storms to be seen," observed Silpar. "Am I still flying too slow to avoid trouble on this Plane?" "Yes," replied Silpar. "There are living primordial dust storms on this Plane that can strip my unprotected flesh away, among other issues." "Suggestions?" "Try and open up a Gate here, and we''ll go get you flying practice somewhere else," replied Silpar without hesitation. Amdirlain took in the different themes around her and frowned. "I''ll need time to learn this Plane''s song to work out how to stabilise a pocket." "Right by the rift isn''t the place to do that," declared Silpar. "Return through the rift and head for the surface as soon as you feel restored." Her health took longer to recover against the Plane''s background pressure, but eventually, her health returned to full. When Amdirlain stepped through, the damage of the transition was only slightly reduced. Blood leaking from her mouth, nose and ears stained the water, and another notification showed. [Resistance: Primordial [GR] (4->5) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (33->34)] Heading straight for the surface, Amdirlain was soon joined by Silpar. Before she reached the halfway point to the surface, multiple schools of fish the size of megalodons came into Resonance''s range, moving at a pace that far outstripped Amdirlain''s ascent powered by Ki Flight. When she got a response from analysis on one''s song, she could feel its primordial name being translated into something more pronounceable. The giant fish''s blocky jawline and predatory nature influenced the translated name Gideon provided her. [Dread Barracuda Level: 117 Health: 22,581 Defence: 740 Magic: 237 Melee Attack Power: 727 Combat Skills: Bite [S] (15) - Various innate powers Immunities: Primordial, Cold, Mundane Materials. Note: School Snappy wanted to say Hi. Analysis [S] (36->37)] It¡¯s showing me immunities as well now. That¡¯s a new feature in Analysis. The poor Skill needs more exercise. Amdirlain let loose with severing notes, and multiple barracuda exploded. The blood and flesh diverted the schools of fish towards the closer meals. As they started to feed, a bigger fish engulfed one school, and it triggered a distant feeding frenzy that distracted more. [Combat Summary Dread Barracuda x25 Total Experience gained: 623,025 Ostim?: +311,512 Ont?lin: +311,512 Resistance: Cold [GR] (4->5)] Frigid waters, is it the waves that prevent ice from forming? When they finally hovered above the water''s surface, Silpar took in the blood-tinged water beneath Amdirlain. "That will attract predators. I''m surprised nothing caught up to us." "I distracted them so I wouldn''t have to swat them all myself," noted Amdirlain. "Give me a few minutes, and I''ll open up a Gate to somewhere safer." "If we get your Ki Flight to Grand Master, we should be able to make that trip in a day or less," said Silpar. "Which means it''s over a week to get to the last location you know about," murmured Amdirlain. Silpar gave a dry laugh. "Longer. The third Plane will take you a few days at that speed and the seventh at least a week." "How did you lose them on the eighth Plane?" asked Amdirlain. "It''s a massive underground maze. They vanished at one point, and when I caught up to where they''d been, I couldn''t trace where they''d gone," advised Silpar. Once her health was fully recovered, Amdirlain opened a Gate and the pair stepped through into the Chaos tides between planes. Amdirlain cast the newest demi-plane seeds loose in a giant rush of crystalline seeds that appeared like a hailstorm. They sped away, gaining energy and bouncing off each other in the swirling tides. As their separation grew, a few began to expand, and Amdirlain took Silpar with her to an already prepared Demi-Plane. "What resistances do you believe I should grow?" asked Amdirlain. "You''ve someone you trust to help?" "Yes." "All of them," declared Silpar. "Every single resistance you can acquire is worth growing." Amdirlain pulled out the memory crystal that Bahmut had provided and turned it over in her fingers. "Want to help some mortals against the Eldritch?" "Another multi-year expedition?" enquired Silpar. "Shouldn''t you be tending to your training so you can free yourself?" "I''d like you to show me how the cloister would handle the matter," replied Amdirlain. Silpar''s nostrils flared in amusement. "We don''t normally get involved with the Eldritch. The places where they''re a threat tend to be more civilised. Primitive cultures don''t tolerate members who display such insanities. The safety of the tribe comes first." "Oh," replied Amdirlain. "That makes a grim kind of sense. So what worlds do the cloister normally get involved with?" "Developing worlds, where pantheons aren''t yet present," replied Silpar. "Occasionally, we''ll get out onto civilised realms, but not frequently enough to spend time searching for Eldritch threats." Amdirlain frowned. "The cloister never tried to gain mantles and get the worshippers to help them transform away?" "Some have tried it in the past, but those so inclined to use mortals for their own ends instead of serving mortals in the hope of redemption became dark powers." Clicking her tongue for a bit, Amdirlain finally nodded. "Likely because they were inclined to gain power for selfish reasons so that carried through into their endeavours." "People will eventually see through deception," agreed Silpar. "One can only hope it doesn''t occur too late for their souls. Why do you want to know how the cloister normally handles matters?" "Information. I need to know how things are now, to assess change properly. I got the impression the path was made harsh partly through distaste," clarified Amdirlain. Silpar''s eye ridges lifted. "Is it not warranted? We were supposed to embody goodness in different forms and left destruction among mortals instead. Such distaste is more than deserved. From my perspective, the path hasn¡¯t punished me nearly harshly enough for the progress it''s attributed to me." Amdirlain clarified. "Rahka''s anger aside, I had already intended to try to and improve the path''s assessment." "You already have improvements in mind?" asked Silpar, amusement rippling in his voice. "It should at least consider good deeds between one''s fall and starting the path," replied Amdirlain. "Some might say those good deeds are how we earn access to finding the path," proposed Silpar. "They put the Fallen into a mindset to seek an improvement in their situation. Those most open to redemption are often pointed our way by those who don''t fear associating with them. Luck seems to guide others to us before they¡¯re ready." 351 - Walls came tumbling down Amdirlain''s PoV - Undeveloped Demi-Plane "Are you setting up this place as another training ground?" Silpar asked. "This is one I didn''t include in the list for others to use. I want to test something to annoy Orcus before we go anywhere," replied Amdirlain. The song dug into the demi-plane''s boundary and inflated it further until it was an empty sphere with a thirty-thousand-kilometre radius. While she worked, Silpar hovered in the air nearby, beyond her aura''s reach. When the open expanse was complete, the next song retrieved the contents from the dimensional pocket on Culerzic. Megaliters of celestial-infused water fell towards the bottom of the demi-plane, but the crystals remained hovering at the mid-point. With its support and content ripped away, the space on Culerzic imploded and triggered a collapse and avalanche across part of the mountain. A mass of water burst into existence below their feet. While at the limit of the demi-plane, the celestial energy of the slime''s ooze provided a radiant light. In a wide ring around them, the crystals and the primordial energy hovered in the air and continued to release celestial waters. Amdirlain linked the primordial energy sources to the demi-plane and prevented their collapse. Silpar tilted his head and watched the water that fell from the closest energy source. "How do you have celestial springs?!" "They started as water sources in the Abyss that feed the Ravager''s River tributaries on Culerzic. I repurposed them and tuned them to a celestial energy source," replied Amdirlain with a smug smile. "They''ve provided a source of annoyance to Moloch''s demons, but I wanted to put them to better use." "A better use?" Silpar asked curiously. Amdirlain motioned to the cascading water, and her smile turned mischievous. "I''m going to flood a world occupied by Orcus'' demons and undead. The flood might also wash into his domain since they''ve got multiple open gates to the world. It will take a few years to accumulate enough water at this rate, so I''ll have to steal some more energy sources. I wonder if Culerzic''s rivers will get new wellsprings if I remove all the primordial sources." Silpar gave an amused tail swish. "Do you take on anything that doesn''t involve enormous effort?" "Now, how would that be interesting?" asked Amdirlain. Silpar snorted. "I think you''re just making light of it. You mentioned developing Mana Finesse to Te, but why did you need it with an ability like this?" "I thought I needed to avoid using it for all my solutions, especially if I''m going to avoid Rahka''s attention. However, at least one other individual knows of my situation than I had expected," replied Amdirlain, motioning casually to Silpar. "You suspect others might know?" Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. "I was listening to the energies of those around me, and a number seemed intent on helping, like yourself. A bunch more seemed pleased that I had arrived." "That must take the guesswork out of much," noted Silpar. "People can have many reasons for particular feelings," replied Amdirlain. "The feelings changing when situations change are a cue for the source. Everyone had a warning about my arrival, so it was hard to tell if they were helpful towards me just because I was a new member or for other reasons." "Your possession of a Soul inspired many to offer help," advised Silpar. "I had to argue with a few for the first chance to become your mentor." "I''ll have to thank those sorting the texts in the library for me," said Amdirlain. Silpar twitched the end of his tail upwards. "You''ll need that information; I''ve only seen a fraction of what the deeper planes'' inhabitants are like. Besides your ability with True Song, Mana Finesse, Flight, and resistances, are there other things you need to develop for your plans?" "I need to get my combat skill to Grandmaster and, oddly enough, Dance," advised Amdirlain. "Dance?" huffed Silpar "There are a few ways to evoke True Song, and dancing was one Ori liked to use," said Amdirlain. "I learnt some details of a Prestige Class, and there was firm evidence I will need a Dance Skill into Grandmaster rank." "For that Skill, you likely should go to The Exchange with Dagrast?r," proposed Silpar. The Dryad dancer who had copied her sway came to mind, and Amdirlain nodded. "A melting pot of cultures would be an ideal place to learn many dances, but I¡¯m not sure if variety is enough of a challenge for the Skill." "It''s not an activity that I ever expected a member to investigate," laughed Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. "Teaching people to dance can serve multiple purposes." "In what way?" "They can tell a story, raise someone''s emotions, and it''s a pleasant form of exercise for mortals," explained Amdirlain. "They can use it for courting or intimidation." "Intimidation?" asked Silpar sceptically. "I''ve heard tales but never seen a dance I found intimidating." A memory of the New Zealand all-blacks haka brought forward a smile from Amdirlain. "You''re not Mortal. A dance can show the power in someone''s motions and, with strong Charisma, undermine an opponent''s confidence. There is also an Elven Bladedancer Class I remember." Silpar grunted and continued a moment later. "Then you might wish to speak to Fallen from the elven courts. How had you planned to increase your combat skills?" "I was going to kill some of Moloch''s direct lackeys," replied Amdirlain. "You know that demon lords don''t just lounge around in the open?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain smiled. "Digging them out was going to be part of the challenge." Silpar''s lips curled in anticipation. "I¡¯d prefer you spent time training first, but I know not everyone is the same. Might I assist you?" "You''re welcome to come along if you''d like, but let me know if my journey takes you places you don¡¯t wish to venture. I''ve identified two demon lords I feel confident to take on. They didn¡¯t transform between species but used a Transformation Site only once to become demon lords," advised Amdirlain. "I was going to mess up towns and cities until I baited them out into the open or found where they live." "That you could determine their strength shouldn''t be a surprise. Might I suggest we openly attack them as Fallen?" asked Silpar. "That should get their senior ranks taking the issue seriously." "I don¡¯t need them to take it seriously. I only need to find one whose mind contains their Demon Lord¡¯s location. Let¡¯s go for disguises first and escalate as needed. I normally do recon first and prepare based on the gathered information. If it doesn¡¯t work, I am happy to bloody their noses openly," replied Amdirlain. "Alright, so we start with the small towns and work our way up," agreed Silpar. "How far away can you tell how strong they are?" "Twenty kilometres at present," answered Amdirlain. "I''ll have to make some preparations in case there are any Mortal slaves in the towns." Opening a Gate to another demi-plane, Amdirlain led the way. Once the Gate closed, she rapidly established thousands of quarantine chambers with crystals to cleanse and heal. She adjusted the atmosphere of the demi-plane to match that of Limbo, where a being unknowingly controlled the content of its breathable air. A series of hops placed them on a hillside with a riverside town at Resonance''s edge. At least twenty thousand demons were present; fortunately, no Mortal soul was among them. "There isn''t anything above their species'' greater tier in the town," reported Amdirlain, motioning in the town''s direction. "I''m not sure what goods come through here. There are docks but no riverboats present." "If you were attacking it solo, how would you handle it?" asked Silpar "Last time I did that, I''d wander through in disguise and set a series of linked songs to simulate various spells. Once I had planted enough, I retreated and triggered them." Silpar tilted his head, and his tail sketched a curious motion. "Would you need to go into the town to do that?" "Not now, but previously I would have," replied Amdirlain. "Also, my ability to listen to songs wasn''t as strong, so I wanted to make sure there weren''t any mortals in harm''s way." Creating an illusion of the town''s layout, Amdirlain added lights for the concentrations of the strongest demons. Pointing out the features she''d included, Amdirlain explained the various coloured lights to Silpar. "I can barely see the town''s walls from here," noted Silpar, and his spear appeared in his hands. "We should let those demons who want to run do so. If they''re in motion away from us, they''re easier to take out. Since there isn''t anything old enough to provide a challenge to you, let''s strike them and move on before the dust even starts to settle." Amdirlain nodded. "Besides some detection wards around the perimeter, there are a few flimsy ones over individual buildings. The most dangerous Demon is a Greater Balor, with high levels in three classes." "Bet he runs if we hit them hard enough. Stay airborne when we arrive. I''ll make the ground jump," instructed Silpar. "Four sets of spells or five?" "When was the last time you pushed yourself against lesser demons?" asked Silpar. ¡°You might be able to manage as many as fifty if they¡¯re taken by complete surprise.¡± "A while," admitted Amdirlain, and she smiled in embarrassment. "How many do you suggest?" "I suggest we appear near some weaker ones so you can watch how slowly they react to your presence. Some of them will barely have raised their Quickness into the twenties, while the speed you showed against Te was at least a hundred times that," said Silpar. "You were with mortals recently. Did any of those possess classes that focused on Quickness?" "Many of them had combat classes that focused on hand-eye coordination over brute strength, and they moved quickly," replied Amdirlain. "But I get what you mean. There is a big difference in the speed of their reactions between those with a few levels and fifty." Silpar smiled. "I''m going to assume your intellect is at least double your body''s speed since you invested in developing your Willpower." Amdirlain nodded. "Yes." "Then let us blanket the town in spells," replied Silpar. "If you hear foes beyond your strength approach, we''ll depart earlier. If you Teleport out, I''ll know it''s time to leave. Do you have an image for the next target?" "That works," agreed Amdirlain, and she caused an image of famine groves beyond another town to appear. "Wide area spells unless a strong target approaches." The pair teleported to the town''s outermost building, the erratically placed structures obscuring their view of the training fields further from the river. Keyed up for a fight as she was, the few demons close to them seemed to move in exaggeratedly slow motions, despite their alarmed state. Silpar unleashed an Earthquake Spell. This caused the ground to ripple as if it was a rug he''d flicked. Cracks moved through the closest stone at a drifting pace faster than the demons could react. Before the first building began to topple, they were already casting other spells. Amdirlain sent a tidal wave of flames along the town''s main road. The white primordial flames stretched for a kilometre towards the town centre and incinerated hundreds of demons. The strength of the foes she''d fought of late sank in, dropping the threat level of the average Demon dramatically. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Silpar''s next Spell was a Lightning Storm, raining down a torrent of electricity that melted demonic flesh. Amdirlain caused a waterspout to erupt from the river and twisted the water it carried into acid as it grew. Between them, nearly a score of spells blackened the sky before their impact was felt. As the shaking ground finally flattened kilometres of buildings, the town''s fastest inhabitants reacted. Hundreds of demons appeared in the sky beyond the spells'' scope. Those looking in the right direction saw the Mana erupting from the pair and started to flee. The ones looking in the wrong direction turned into ash first, while those fleeing survived a half second longer. Amdirlain duplicated hundreds of spells of primordial flames with True Song and obliterated them. Amdirlain teleported away to appear beside a twisted grove of trees growing up out of drought-cracked soil. Silpar appeared almost instantly next to her and gave a nod of satisfaction. "Your acid spout was just gaining speed. Did you aim it somewhere in particular?" "The training field''s armoury, so it should cross most of the town to get there," replied Amdirlain. "I think it will be a while before the dying stops. There could be thousands of demons trapped by falling debris that won''t get clear of the spells we unleashed," observed Silpar. "The primordial flames you used will catch their attention. They''re the sorts of strikes the entities in the deeper planes tend to use." Get strong enough in magic, and you''re a walking cluster bomb. "Give it a few minutes for the dying to stop and news to potentially reach the demons in charge. Will anyone even take word? I¡¯m sure messengers in the Abyss can regret delivering bad news. If we don''t get some reaction, I might have to trigger a town¡¯s wards with the sisterhood sigil." Amdirlain put concealments in place and gave Silpar advance notice before she brought up an image of the nearby town. This one had a central fort surrounded by a market square that could serve as a kill zone for those on the parapets. An outer wall lay two kilometres from the square''s edge, and the space between was filled with thousands of tightly packed buildings. Many of the stone buildings looked to be of heavier construction, and their walls butted against each other for support. Silpar had just pointed to a barrack beside the main gate when Amdirlain got a notification with a relatively pitiful experience amount. [Combat Summary Demons by tier Least x 3,923 (50%) Lesser x 412 (50%) Standard x 57 (50%) Total experience gained: 7,928,984 Ostim?: +3,964,492 Ont?lin: +3,964,492] "There is a named Balor called Salgan controlling this fort," advised Amdirlain, and she checked the Analysis details from his song. "He''s certainly in charge and reports to the Demon Lord Zozzuth, my first target to destroy. Unfortunately, he doesn''t have an Oath Link, or it would make tracking his commander simple. He¡¯s gotten immunities to Air, Earth, Fire, and Lightning but is maybe half Te¡¯s strength." ¡°I wonder what deeds netted him a trade town to squeeze for profits,¡± muttered Silpar. ¡°Could have been part of his recruitment price, or he seized it from another Demon,¡± replied Amdirlain. "As you have a Soul, can you summon entities?" enquired Silpar. Amdirlain nodded. "I don''t want to summon him out of his fort, as that will tip my hand." "Good point. He''d likely alert the Demon Lord he reports to unless you secure the circle properly, or once we killed him," agreed Silpar. "Do you want the most practice in your spellcraft or melee combat?" "I can fake spells with True Song, but I need my combat proficiency higher for a Prestige Class," explained Amdirlain. "I am interested in improving my Mana Finesse eventually, as otherwise I''m only using part of the resources available to me, which seems wasteful." Silpar''s tail idly twitched back and forth. "Wandering into a town of demons and just starting a fight isn''t something I''d normally suggest." "But in this case?" asked Amdirlain. "Let''s go chop them up," grinned Silpar. "The quickest way to get better at combat is through surviving the experience." "The wards on this place aren''t protecting against anything. They''re set to look for factions like the sisterhood. What do you think if I put True Song protections around us and layer defensive spells underneath them before we attack," proposed Amdirlain. "I''ll handle the protection spells," offered Silpar. "That way we have the best of the combination." "When I have the flames activated, my aura increases my magical resistance," advised Amdirlain. "I can prevent it from injuring specific individuals." "I think you''d have demons running instead of looking to fight you," laughed Silpar. "You could save it as a surprise if they''re going to swarm us." "Start among the side streets?" asked Amdirlain. Silpar gave a sharp nod, and a barbed spear appeared in his hand. Considering her options, Amdirlain retrieved the mithril Kopis of Shattering and rolled her wrist to adjust to its balance before retrieving the second. "These are my lowest enchanted swords, but even these will make it too easy." "Relying on enchantments when unneeded doesn''t push your skills," agreed Silpar. "If he comes out to attack, I''ll make an opening for you to capture him." Frowning at their heft, Amdirlain returned the blades and created a new pair with only a size transformation enchantment and pushed away the meagre experience notification that showed up. "Understood." Silpar glanced at the new blades meaningfully as the glow of creation faded. "Those other ones were rated at two thousand, and these are only fifty, enough to let them hold a size transformation enchantment," explained Amdirlain. "If I can''t break the Balor''s skin with them, I''ll switch out. No mortals in this town either, or at least not with salvageable souls¡ªa single Demonologist and a couple of priests in service to dark powers." "We have to succeed in drawing his attention first," replied Silpar. "A fight breaking out among demons isn''t exactly unusual." "Do we go in disguise or just as we are now?" asked Amdirlain. "The former might get you more practice. Instead of low-level demons fleeing. it would likely invite more immediate pressure," stated Silpar. Nodding, Amdirlain merely shortened her hair to prevent anything from grabbing it. "I think we can pick an interesting location, and if need be, I can fall back on True Song. Let''s get going." After they prepared the additional protections against spells, Amdirlain changed the illusion to present a crowded street. It was lined with shop fronts and demons lounging around the place passing flasks and assorted items around. Near some shops, Dretch labourers were unloading stone wagons, prompted by shouts and the prodding of stronger demons. After looking over the crowd, Silpar chuffed in amusement. "You wish to start with them pressed close?" "It''ll save me chasing these down, and we''re close to the market square but not in direct sight of the fort," replied Amdirlain. "We should be able to attract attention from the fort pretty easily." "I''ll make an opening among the demons this way and then destroy a few of the buildings so the explosions attract notice," stated Silpar, tracing along the street toward the closest main road. Silpar''s form changed, the black dust became dark green scales, and he straightened into a tailless Lizardfolk form, closer to Human than others Amdirlain had seen. There was a gap in the foot traffic, and Silpar jabbed a finger towards it. When Amdirlain gave a pleased nod, he shifted their position. The illusion and concealments faded out behind them. Amdirlain appeared before a massive Dretch clad in hardened leather armour, and she didn''t hesitate. Her blade blurred, cut him in two, and sprayed blood towards various seated demons before they could blink. A nearby Quasit''s eyes had barely started to widen in reflex, but continuing the blow, Amdirlain also decapitated it. The Dretch''s body toppled along the line of her cut, and Amdirlain continued her spin. She swirled around the other side using unchecked momentum and kicked a goat-headed Schir under the chin. His head snapped back so hard from the blow that his skull''s pulped remains went along the street and left his cartwheeling body behind. Lightning blazed from Silpar''s spear, and a row of demons died behind her. With the crowd motionless around them, Amdirlain stepped through the spray of gore from her last target and pivoted. A heel drove into the side of a stone wagon, and she sent the mass into the packed crowd. A slight flinch from one Demon had her next strike cleave through the front of its ribs from shoulder to hip; instead of the two halves going their separate ways, they wobbled in the air, connected by a flap of skin and a shattered spine. Cleft ribs and organs poked out through the mess but, before it could collapse, a turning kick sent it in through the front door of a shop. Gliding beneath a Demon''s already outstretched arm, Amdirlain kept turning and severed it high along the bicep as her other blade took out another Demon''s throat. Another crack of lightning from Silpar''s spear sent a blast of energy through the front of one shop to shatter its back wall. The burnt and broken bodies of the demonic customers and staff were sent flying along the blast''s path. Amdirlain continued along the same course and left corpses in her wake while Silpar blasted anything that moved behind them. True Song piggybacked on the notes that tension caused in her arm''s ligaments to create a Spell that sent a ripple of temporary earthen blades stabbing from the ground. Demons were cleft in twain before another motion sent a rolling wave of fire along the street to incinerate those who weren''t immune. Those not caught up in the strikes saw the surges of Mana that accompanied the apparent spells, and crowds of demons exploded from their force. As the pair continued to cut down swathes of demons and destroy structures, incoming spells arrived, and their combined defences brushed them aside. Amdirlain continually adjusted her path but flowed flawlessly from one Demon to another. Impacted by a series of spells, the wards on an enchanter''s shop shattered before its contents followed suit. The energy bound in various wands and staves for providing elemental effects erupted. As flames and lightning surged, Amdirlain drove a wedge of force into the explosion, a temporary breakwater that diverted the energy into buildings on either side of them. Before the structures between their street and the market could collapse, the pair had already moved to new cover. One building after another turned into dust clouds mixed with the ashes of the dead. Wizards and sorcerers among the demons caught up with the assault and struck from afar; their spells sliding ineffectually off the pair''s protections and rolled onwards through their supposed allies. As Amdirlain''s dance of death continued, stronger demons moved to attack and were brushed aside. A four-metre-tall Sk?ll suddenly loomed in front of Amdirlain with black-scaled talons already in motion. Amdirlain met the strike with the flat of her blade and spun along the outside of his arm. As he turned to try to follow her, the blade in Amdirlain''s other hand disappeared, and she shoved a palm against his massive side. The energy in the blow was amplified, and he was blasted through a shop towards the outer wall. His body punched through hundreds more buildings until he hit the outer wall, which cracked but stood firm. Once he pulled himself from the impression in the outer wall, the Sk?ll''s Mana Sense showed him the residue of the Spell: a coil of force patterned after a Dragon''s physical might. Ice dampened the fires of his anger, and he promptly left¡ªothers weren''t so wise. The wrecking ball''s departure added a sidenote to Amdirlain''s view of the battlefield as the primary target arrived. Despite all the destruction unleashed within minutes of the assault commencing, when Salgan''s flame-shrouded form appeared in the skies above the slain, arrogance rang within his theme. The Balor''s reptilian form was massive compared to Amdirlain''s Wood Elf form or the Lizardfolk one Silpar was using. At least four and a quarter metres, the density of his flesh''s music promised he weighed at least two tonnes. With a wingspan of ten metres from tip to tip, he cast a large shadow over the pair, but it was insufficient to keep him aloft without his species'' innate magic. In one hand he held a giant falchion, and in the other, a flaming whip; their enchantments showed a master craftsman¡¯s work. Swarms of fist-sized globes of fire raced down from him to burst around Amdirlain, and the flames rolled out across Silpar. Before the flames died, a blast of lightning leapt from them and washed harmlessly over Salgan. The Mana of that first Spell hid the second Silpar had cast on its heels, and dimensional shears snipped the Balor''s wings from his back. The sudden pain and weight released from his back startled the Balor into jerking a look over his shoulder, and he missed Amdirlain''s strike. Manacles modelled off the collars Moloch''s people clamped around every succubus¡¯ throat locked in place around his wrists and disabled his powers. His impact only injured his dignity, but the shattered stone made a thunderous racket. Salgan''s weapons had fallen from his hands during the plunge, and the enchantments on the giant blade pierced it into the ground like water until its cross piece smacked into the rock, while the flaming whip sputtered out and flopped impotently to the ground. He tried to yank the bonds from his wrists and found something to ease his boredom¡ªpain. The enchantment that tormented trillions of succubi had him writhing on the ground as phantasmal agony cooked inside his mind. Amdirlain set a protective dome to prevent someone else from killing her incapacitated prisoner before she could get an answer. Teleport placed her near his head, and she grabbed a horn to serve as leverage and smashed his face into the ground. The blow, though light to his demonic flesh, was amplified by the manacles and added a thousandfold to his agony. Pinning him easily, she stopped the agony and slapped his hand aside when Salgan managed to lash out. The agony resumed again. "I''m considered the owner of those manacles. Attack me, and the pain will start again," advised Amdirlain, and she stopped the pain again. "Where do I find the Demon Lord Zozzuth?" The question was merely to direct his thoughts, and she yanked all the memories to the surface as soon as the first image appeared. With the fortress'' location in hand, she nodded in satisfaction. "And your home planes are?" asked Amdirlain, and she again snatched the information from his mind and let him know she had it. "Elf, do you think I''ll be so easy to find?" Amdirlain snorted and looked down her nose at him. As she continued, Amdirlain switched to flawless Draconic. "Elf? Can''t you see my maternal Dragon side beneath this visage? I''ve had enough of Zozzuth, so I have a choice to offer: don''t tell Zozzuth we''re hunting for him, and I won''t come hunting you while your Planar Lock is active. If I get from his mind you¡¯ve been in touch, we¡¯ll meet again soon. Thanks." She drove a blazing white fist into his chest and let her primordial aura erupt. Salgan didn''t manage even a snarl as he erupted in a fiery explosion that didn''t mark either Silpar or Amdirlain. When the flames snuffed out, they and the manacles were nowhere to be seen. The pair appeared on a flat plain with nothing around for hundreds of kilometres aside from lurking abyssal lifeforms that didn''t surface. Amdirlain tossed the manacles she recovered aside and melted them with a few notes. Silpar''s eye ridges lifted. "Dragon side?" "Well, I''m oath sister to a Dragon, so if nothing else, I''m an honorary one," laughed Amdirlain, dismissing the minimal experience notification, though it did have one amusing aspect. A point increase in Dance? That fight felt similar to the memory of Orh¨ºthurin''s obstacle course, was that how she practised her dancing? I''ll have to dig for that memory again and see if I hear the True Song within it now. 352 - One on one Amdirlain''s PoV - Culerzic - Ashen Plains "I''ll assume you learnt the location of Zozzuth," smiled Silpar. Amdirlain smiled ruefully. "Psionic techniques work well with the evolution of Advanced Telepathy and my Willpower. Perhaps too well. I''ve not stretched the Power for a while. I''ve got a broad range of powers and skills that I''ve let languish because the combinations between them provide solutions." "Instead of becoming a Grandmaster in a few things, you''ve used a broad range of abilities to support your endeavours," observed Silpar. "While it isn''t a bad approach while young, it leaves you vulnerable when you need that greater capability in a time of dire need." "When I''ve got more time, I''ll seek more training. I''m hoping my faking spells worked," said Amdirlain. "You left impressions of multiple spells in True Sight. The flurry of spells we tossed about should provide enough confusion that any slip will go unnoticed before the impression fades," said Silpar. "Zozzuth''s fortress is in the middle of a city that spans two valleys. They¡¯re each nearly a hundred kilometres across, so I''ll have to enter the city to get close enough to hear Zozzuth''s song," advised Amdirlain. Silpar grimaced. "I''ve never gone into a demonic city." "I''ve spent more time in them than I cared for myself," replied Amdirlain. "I''m hard to trace because of my state, so Rahka is unlikely to find me if you''d prefer to return to the fortress. We can meet again in another location when I''m done." "You''d go in alone?" questioned Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. "It won''t be for the first time that I''ve disguised myself as a Demon. Since Zozzuth should know more about Moloch''s other demon lords, I hope to avoid going from town to town again." "I said I''d accompany you until you can take care of yourself without worrying about Rahka," said Silpar. "You offered that before you knew all my plans," said Amdirlain. "I''ll not hold you to it or put you in danger." "Danger isn''t the concern," reassured Silpar. "I simply find demonic pastimes unpleasant to be around." "Yet slipping inside quietly isn''t easier if it''s two of us instead of one," said Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t have to come along.¡± "What details did you get from him?" "Enough images and impressions that I''ll be able to navigate the city without an issue. It should be a pretty straightforward trip," replied Amdirlain. Silpar still looked uncertain, and Amdirlain continued. ¡°After I deal with Zozzuth, I''ll contact you before I return to the cloister. Hopefully, they''ve found useful texts on the deeper planes by then.¡± Silpar''s mouth tightened. "What demonic species was he?" "A Fraz-g¨°n, one of Moloch''s failures through the Transformation Site. Immediately became a Demon Lord instead of transforming into a stronger demonic species," explained Amdirlain. "The furred Gargoyle-looking demons?" enquired Silpar. Amdirlain nodded. "They''ve got a reputation as durable combatants," cautioned Silpar. "If you run into any trouble, I suggest you retreat. The more populace in a city, the greater the chance powerful demons are looking for entertainment to combat their boredom." "I''ll keep an ear on the music around me and avoid the areas with stronger demons until I reach the fortress," agreed Amdirlain, and she rechecked his Analysis. ¡°He is physically stronger than Te, but his weapon skills show only to Grandmaster, and I¡¯ll look to destroy his weapons first.¡± [Name: Zozzuth Species: Demon Lord (unique) Class: Abyssal Commander / Flame Blade / Bulwark Knight / Elementalist Level: 17 / 42 / 42 / 42 / 42 Health: 821,860 Defence: 3,260 Magic: 767 Mana: 824,115 Melee Attack Power: 3,429 Combat Skills: Body Weaponry [SM] (125), Axe [GM] (412); Various affinities and spell lists. Immunities: Mundane Materials, Fire, Cold, Acid, Poison. Details: A native of Jinamizi, he worked his way up through various armies and had command of a legion before being recruited by Moloch. He was given the opportunity for advancement after ten thousand years of service but couldn''t remain in the Transformation Site long enough to overcome his racial limits. Moloch relegated him to running a region to supply materials for manufacturing weapons and armour for his mercenaries. After millennia of seeing other demon lords profit from making the equipment, he finally got a foothold after hiring a band of grey dwarves to teach some of his demons to craft. Though there were some fatalities on both sides, Zozzuth ended up with a core of demonic crafters that eventually expanded his operations by turning out masterclass weaponry and armour.] No Mantle to boost him? Te could take him on. [Flame Blade Details: This Tier 4 Prestige Class combines Fighter and Wizard and is accessible from level 60 onwards. While not up to the standard of Spellblade or other variants of that Class, it provides frontline magical combat options for a being with limited affinities.] [Bulwark Knight Details: This evolved base Class focuses on withstanding damage from its use of armour and the high health boost it provides for each level.] Amdirlain appeared on a ridgeline distant from the city''s outer zones and took in the areas high on the valley''s slope. The grey buildings were nearly all made from locally quarried stone with any variation in the style or materials used being a rare exception. Unlike the haphazard structures in other cities, the city''s master prized function and everything was driven towards manufacturing and moving goods about. With it a constant theme throughout the city, Amdirlain assumed the Demon Lord Zozzuth''s authority held it that way. It was only in the back alleys and cluttered laneways any idle demons lingered. Though there were nearly thirty kilometres of manufacturing plants billowing smoke into the air and warehouses outside the city''s wall, they maintained a clear kill zone between the buildings and the wall along the valley''s rim. The city¡¯s interior buildings were more diverse, but they¡¯d still laid the streets out for the ease of transport wagons. Thousands of them swarmed along the city''s roads loaded high with ore or crates of finished goods, and the drivers were quick to attack anything that got in their way. Rather than the usual melting pot of other abyssal cities, most demons within the city were of the Fraz-g¨°n species. Tossing around options for a disguise, Amdirlain focused on the red-and-black scaled Sk?ll form she''d used previously, only for nothing to happen. Concerned, she teleported back to the plains and tried again, but it still didn''t work. Multiple attempts with other demonic forms failed. Though when various types of Elf, Catfolk and her True form all worked fine, concern turned to confusion, and she checked the details on the Phoenix¡¯s Immolation and Phoenix''s Rapture powers. A line from the initial power caught her attention, and the second power merely referred to the first for shapeshifting limits. This Power reduces the being¡¯s shapeshifting capability to True Form and living species with static forms. Living species. Technically, demons aren''t alive; they''re planar entities. An attempt to take on the form Silpar had used turned her into the same tailless Lizardfolk without an issue, and she added a song to provide a false demonic heat. Given Moloch''s attitude towards females, Amdirlain kept to a male form and stripped the concealments from her auras. As Lady of Butchery and Angel Killer stretched out, she teleported close to the road leading up the valley''s slope towards the wall on the ridgeline. Nearby demons glanced her way, and while some swallowed nervously, many seemed envious or intrigued. Rising into the air, Amdirlain flew above the road until it approached the kill zone before the walls. She landed beside a cargo wagon drawn by the abyssal-scaled oxen she had first seen on Hrz¡¯Styrn towing cargos of the damned dragged from The River of the Drowned. Like many wagoneers, the Fraz-g¨°n handled chains that led to spiked bits in the strange beasts'' mouths. Ignoring its looks of surprise, Amdirlain stomped forward and passed wagons in the slow procession. As she crossed the gap, she focused on the relaxed guards stationed atop the walls and gates. Though there were other demons, such as the goat-headed Schir, the Fraz-g¨°n made up eight of ten nearby guards. Those she checked had between mid-twenties and thirty levels in two classes, few had a third, and all were imports from the Jinamizi Plane. The wards along the soot-stained walls looked for the same collection of factions sought in other places. It didn''t stop anyone from teleporting out but suppressed Mana used in the city by anyone without a wardstone. Beyond the city wall, she could sense thousands of airborne demons while more jumped about using various dimensional spells and powers. As her auras touched the nearest Fraz-g¨°n guard, he looked her way and thumped a taloned hand to his black-furred chest. "Might I help you, Great One?" "I''ve come seeking to buy weaponry for troops," said Amdirlain. "Who sells the best in the city?" "Lord Zozzuth''s command restricts those, and you¡¯ll need his permission to buy them." Amdirlain''s eye ridges lowered in a scowl. "Does your Lord receive petitioners?" The guard shrugged helplessly. "You''d have to speak to his dreadness'' adviser." "Let me guess, I''ll have to speak to someone else to speak to them?" asked Amdirlain, and waved off the guard before he could respond. "Do I start that game at the fortress or somewhere else?" "The guards at the fortress would be the ones to advise you," confirmed the guard. "And I can approach the gatehouse there without me having to disembowel someone so they scream out my name to give advance notice?" asked Amdirlain, and she looked him up and down and let her fangs show as if considering him for the role. Her Charisma stirred to inspire fear and self-preservation within the Demon. The guard''s ears lay back along his skull. "There is a smaller gate where visitors go. The guards there can tell you more. The fortress is up on the middle ridgeline." "Fine. Step out of my way," growled Amdirlain. Thumping his chest again, the Fraz-g¨°n guard hurried to escape Amdirlain''s path. This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She was ten metres through the wall''s gatehouse when she heard a whisper behind her. "You didn''t charge him the gate fee," noted another guard. The guard she''d spoken to scoffed. "I''d like to see you having the nerve to do that, loudmouth. I bet he''d have gutted you the same way he did the Angel whose death glorifies his presence. Have you never met an Angel Killer before?" "No," grumbled the other guard. "And you have?¡± The first guard groaned in pleasure. "Twice now, but I didn¡¯t know what it was the first time. That aura of exquisite pain and bloodshed he carries with him, I want that." Satisfied she''d made the right impression, Amdirlain kept walking and fixed her gaze on the city Resonance had painted for her once clear of the gatehouse''s inner gates. More blocky buildings stretched everywhere, the factories covering the flat grey monochrome stonework in soot and chemical stains. Wide roads provided plenty of space for wagons to travel, and she saw only a few shops along the main road ahead of her. Instead, across the wide valley that could swallow Greater Sydney, were countless rows of manufacturing plants. Only the details she''d ripped from Salgan''s mind before she killed the Balor gave her immediate confidence about which route to take. I''ll refine the songs I put in that toy I left for Naamah and see if I can track him after I get close enough to hear Zozzuth''s song. Despite the thick black smoke clogging the air, Amdirlain joined the other flyers above the city and traced Salgan''s route on his first trip to the fortress. Cutting across the city, she had to practice patience when Salgan''s journey seemed shorter than her own, unsure if it was her airspeed or a trick of memory. Eventually, she crossed over a heavily polluted river that gave her a reference to determine it was her speed that was the problem. The Balor''s millennia of airborne experience made that concern easy to set aside, but it was another reminder of her need to improve. That was a concern for another time, when her attention wasn¡¯t on other matters. Along her path she caused hundreds of Mortal slaves to disappear to her medical facilities, and a few demonologists suffered fatal rejections of the demonic organs they spliced into themselves. When the fortress came into Resonance range, Amdirlain considered the massive walls and the wards that crawled over them. Contained within its wards were protections to stop everything from pests and catapults to heavy-duty magics. It seemed odd at first that there wasn''t anything to prevent shapeshifting with so many demons possessing that ability, but considering the uses that succubi put that Power to, it made more sense. The mammoth size of the fortress''s multi-spired structure required Amdirlain to land almost at the edge of its kilometre-wide cleared perimeter to cover it all with Resonance. The fortress''s interior was more expansive than the outside, but with the dimensional spaces entirely within Resonance, she found she could hear their contents. From within the structure¡¯s music, the mortals she had detected vanished. The wards that prevented arcane teleporting couldn''t stop her from shifting them to freedom. More songs followed them across the planes; the first for each removed sigils and healed branded flesh, a second then bounced them from their original stop in Limbo to the demi-plane to prevent them from being easily traced. Each received the same mental reassurance as they arrived in their clean quarantine room, and suitable food appeared on a low table. ''I''ll have you somewhere safe soon after I ensure your health. My apologies for the delay.'' Amdirlain took in Zozzuth''s cruel and prideful song, and a smile twisted her reptilian features. High above the fortress, thousands of the energy lenses she''d used to obliterate the Cliffs of Lust took minutes, rather than the hours required previously, to form. A staggered disintegration of thousands of cubic kilometres of rock beneath the fortress dropped it and fractured the wards. While the energy lenses started to gather energy to redirect, Amdirlain teleported back to the ashen plains and activated a barrier. With it in place and additional songs held ready, Amdirlain teleported Zozzuth to her. Unlike his demonic kin, the Demon Lord had a furless, fire-blackened body with veins of lava glowing beneath his skin, and his parted fangs showed flames within his maw. At nearly five metres tall, and massing three times that of the named Balor Salgan, he was a gigantic figure compared to her one hundred and ninety centimetres. He was clad in deep blue wyvern-hide pants secured by a wide belt, a set of black adamantine bracers of protection around his wrists, and wore rings and other magical toys. The confused Demon Lord speared a taloned hand towards her that caught only air. Faster than he could manage, Amdirlain had leaned to one side of the strike that had blurred towards her face. Zozzuth threw himself forward, and Amdirlain slipped low and smashed a turning kick into his ankle with wall-shattering force. The blow turned his lunge into a stumble, and rather than fight it, Zozzuth rolled forward. As he rose to face her, a hand slapped fruitlessly at the harness to his side. Damaged by one of her songs, the dimensional sheath didn''t eject the long axe he was expecting into his hand, but instead fell apart at his grasp. No axe. No Grandmaster attacks are coming from you, and I¡¯ve crippled your attack power. In the distance, beneath the burning sky, a pitch-black beam drove into the hills. At its touch, the Plane rang like a stadium-sized gong smashed by an angry Primordial. As the ground jumped under his feet, surprise again caught at Zozzuth, but this time, he stumbled and fell while Amdirlain merely rode the wave with a flexing of her knees. Content to ride out the Plane¡¯s reaction, she remained facing Zozzuth with her hands at the ready and began other preparations. Her Ki State activated with Yang Mana drawn beneath her skin, and red flames churned through a feathery pattern that blazed under her scaled form. In response, an inferno erupted around her from Zozzuth, and the brilliant flames hid him from sight as claws lashed out. With a song that spoke of might being concentrated into physical strength, Amdirlain danced around him. For each blow that tore at the air or bounced from her willpower-hardened flesh, two claw strikes sliced open his skin and rent organs and bone across his abdomen and legs. Yang flames dug into his flesh and ran down his Oath Link to Moloch, and her thoughts carried a count of the blows. Her senses showed the wounds leaking burning blood before the flames of Zozzuth''s spells faded. He whirled to face her and finally snarled in pain and rage. The act was a mask as he tried to cast another Spell and Teleport away. Yet his Message Spell shattered on the unseen barrier, and his attempt to Teleport was smashed apart the same way. The feedback from the failed Teleport had him back up a step, and Amdirlain used the opening. Her Charisma expanded with gentle precision and inspired the kernel of fear and doubt within the surprised Demon Lord to grow. That surge of caution and fear had him stepping back again, and his strategic thoughts finally came to the fore. Yet before he could move on any of them, his situation worsened. The enchanted bracers around his wrists crumpled into dust before the rings and his thick belt with hundreds of dimensional pockets followed. Zozzuth backed up further. Under the pressure of her Charisma, the surge of fear grew towards panic. "Toys," rasped Amdirlain. Zozzuth opened his mouth to reply, and Amdirlain appeared behind him. Moving with his desperate turn, her claws ripped open his hamstrings, and more Yang flames travelled down Moloch''s Oath Link before she returned to where she''d been. His legs crippled, Zozzuth''s strength proved useless and he sprawled to the ground. Zozzuth''s claws dug effortlessly into the rocky ground, and he tried to straighten his legs. The raw wounds bled molten demonic blood and didn''t heal how he expected his regeneration to handle them¡ªthe Eastern Heaven''s flames were as deadly to his demonic flesh as Celestial wrath. "I surrender," said Zozzuth, pushing himself up to a kneeling position. He held one hand out from his side and leaned the other way so the other arm could support his balance. Amdirlain appeared beside the grounded hand, and a primordial blade severed his forearm as she spun towards his rear. Her blades disappeared again amid her dancing steps. Molten blood gushed across the barren plain, and Amdirlain''s spin took her across his crippled legs. Thrashing about to follow her, Zozzuth toppled to one side. Death Strike highlighted more vulnerable spots to her, and Amdirlain''s claws opened deep wounds across his back without a break in her stride. Amdirlain had expected their location to be scried at any moment, and with every empowered strike, the certainty grew. Though Precognition didn''t so much tickle a warning, Amdirlain chose caution, and her aura erupted around her. Massively overpowered by the magical forces at her command, Zozzuth''s body started to burn before a spinning kick decapitated him. [Combat Summary: Demons by tier: Least x 3,478 Lesser x 19,828 Standard x 1,239 Greater x17 Demon Lord x 1 Total Experience gained: 65,836,172 Ostim?: +32,918,086 Ont?lin: +32,918,086] His song disappeared across the planes, and she caught a harmonic piece indicating a familiar Plane. Plane Shift set her near a trade camp, and she stepped across its marker points. The black tents were unchanged since she''d last been there to meet Ebusuku. Then, Ebusuku had been a Succubus and Amdirlain a fresh Fallen, but her perspective was quite different now. Then, it had been a place of unknown danger, but now she could hear all the relatively weak and exceedingly corrupt songs within. However, the trade hub wasn''t her concern, and she scried for Zozzuth''s song. She waited until he¡¯d reformed and arrived in a lavishly appointed chamber, where he started to absorb Mana from his surroundings. Quickly scrying the location from above, she found it was beneath a ruin and teleported closer. Taking in the hide-out''s defences, she set restrictive barriers beyond his wards to prevent him from teleporting, sending messages, or even being able to open the doors. "Hello, Zozzuth," purred Amdirlain, and she projected her voice into the Demon Lord''s ear without the reptilian rasp of her physical form. Zozzuth leapt up from his chair. His gaze jumped across the shadows among the gem-encrusted furnishing about him. "Who is there?" "You weren''t expecting anyone to find your bolt hole, I take it?" "What is it you want?" "I planned to have you deliver a message to Moloch for me, but you''re stuck here. Are any of your home planes Culerzic?" asked Amdirlain. Amdirlain caught the rest of them from his thoughts but avoided being detected. "Yes," snapped Zozzuth. "Liar," laughed Amdirlain. Zozzuth tried to Teleport away, but his capability with magic again failed to overwhelm hers, and the barriers she¡¯d set held him in place. "I can get Moloch a message for you," offered Zozzuth as he took in the backlash. "I''ll tell you in a couple more home planes," replied Amdirlain, and a Celestial-based inferno erupted around his recovering body, and fine ashes dropped to the ground. Again, she heard his song disappear across the planes. This time, the theme wasn''t for a Plane she''d visited since regaining True Song, and she didn''t intend to risk a blind Planar Shift. However, she sent a rush of music after his theme to seal his body from absorbing Mana and apply a dimensional lock to stop him from shifting between his home planes. [Combat Summary: Demon Lord x1 Total Experience gained: 856,260 Ostim?: +428,130 Ont?lin: +428,130] She winced when Analysis of the planar theme provided her with the details and brushed aside the combat summary. Great, Naamah''s hometown. [The Hunting Grounds Details: Despite Naamah''s prolonged absence, this Plane remains loyal to her as its ruler. The many demon ladies descended from the abyssal Succubus primogen have worked to keep the Plane in check for her eventual return. ] Analysis giving me a translation from its abyssal name now. Plane Shift took her to the first layer of the Abyss, the Plane of Portals. She scried for the Portal containing The Hunting Grounds'' theme among the barren, pit-filled landscape. Teleport set her at the Portal''s event horizon, and she could dimly make out a cavern sealed by a basalt gate at the far end, a company of ebony-skinned Succubi guarding it. The guards mostly carried enchanted bows and swords, though a dozen had long spears with broad points and cross pieces to prevent foes from pushing along their shafts. Their themes had classes in the sixties, the commander having the components of three Tier 5 Prestige classes mixed in with hers. Amdirlain debated sending another song to obliterate Zozzuth, but needing to be on hand to hear his next destination held her back. Retaining the male Lizardfolk form, Amdirlain pulled in her Charisma and stepped through the Portal. The obsidian pupils of the Named Succubus in charge of the guards fixed on her. "Reason for your visit." "I''m hunting one of Moloch''s demon lords here," advised Amdirlain. The guards smiled appreciatively at her words, the eagerness for battle showing in their gazes; their gleaming white smiles lit their eyes aflame with passion. "Really? One of them is here?" laughed the commander. "I''ve killed him on one of his Home Planes, and I''ve learnt this is another," explained Amdirlain. The commander pursed her lips thoughtfully; the alluring expression brushed Charisma across Amdirlain ineffectively. "His name?" Amdirlain frowned cautiously. "Why do you wish to know?" "I''ll see if he has protected status," advised the Succubus, and she gave a relaxed shrug. "If he does, you''ll have to return the way you came unless you wish to fight a challenge to the protection. If he doesn''t have protection paid up, it''s good hunting." The truth in her words rang true, and Amdirlain nodded. "His name is Zozzuth." "Wait." A Message Spell flicked away with Spatial Mana, and a few minutes later, a reply returned. The Succubus gave a welcoming nod and waved Amdirlain towards the solid granite gates; with their business concluded, her voice became a sultry purr. "You''ve such a lovely vicious aura. Welcome. May you find pleasure in your hunt, and pleasure find you." "Who would I have needed to challenge if he had been protected?" asked Amdirlain out of curiosity. The commander touched the tips of her forked tongue against her top lip before she shrugged. "Depends on how much he paid. If you plan to take down more demon lords, we''ve currently several regiments available for hire, or assassins if you want them dealt with more quietly." I wonder how much it would cost for them to kill Moloch once a century for a few millennia. "I thought you''d have troops tied up destroying the sisterhood," stated Amdirlain. Her eyes gleamed brightly. "They didn''t see us coming, even if we had to outrace the Aspect of War to kill them in their fortresses. With them no longer requiring our forces, we must source targets to keep entertained or test ourselves against our infernal cousins." The commander signalled the basalt gate, and a side door large enough for an ordinary wagon to pass through opened. "Enjoy your stay." The purr in her voice brushed along Amdirlain''s skin and provided an uncomfortable reminder of Viper. Yet this Succubus¡¯ demeanour contained more playfulness with a high degree of predatory hunger. 353 - Snap Amdirlain''s PoV - The Hunting Grounds A guarded passage beyond the first cavern led to the surface, with powerful wards to prevent teleportation and plane shifting. Three times she passed through defensive structures where goods were being ferried over walls to the warehouses beyond. Besides the Dretch and Schir performing that manual labour, she didn¡¯t sense any non-succubi. She constantly ignored the hungry glances from succubi, intrigued by her unconcealed auras. The closer Amdirlain got to the surface, the more life she sensed ahead of her: a forest rich in fruits and lifeforms that seemed out of place against her expectation of another twisted Plane of the Abyss. Beyond those stationed at the fortress guarding the tunnel mouth, there wasn''t anyone close. A Succubus who could have once been Ebusuku''s twin but without the ridge of horns down the centre of her skull waved Amdirlain through the last secured doorway. In front of her was a clear sky, white sun, fluffy clouds, and the scent and sights of rich, green, uncorrupted nature. Among the thick undergrowth and trees, both predators and prey lurked. There wasn''t so much as a foot trail to show where the nearest settlement lay. "If you''ve not been here before, fly straight along the valley ahead. You''ll hit a town in half a day," advised the guard. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re here for, but we do not have many cities. We prefer places that don¡¯t drive away the prey.¡± "Thanks for the information," replied Amdirlain. "I was simply looking to get clear of the wards." Stepping across their edge, Amdirlain teleported into the sky five kilometres ahead and brought up an image of Zozzuth. His surroundings weren''t the lavish retreat of the last plane but a rough stone hollow with no exit far underground. Concealments shut down her auras and turned her invisible before Amdirlain teleported close to where he was clawing at the wall towards the ceiling in an attempt to dig a tunnel. Between his frustrated strikes, she sealed him inside a skin-tight barrier that would let her reach through it. "Did I interrupt your trip to your next bolt hole?" asked Amdirlain as she let the invisibility drop. "Getting there must be difficult when you''re dimensionally locked and have no Mana, am I right?¡± Squeezed tight inside the form-fitting barrier, Zozzuth could only grunt, but his mind raged. Amdirlain moved him away from the wall and transformed into her Anar form. ¡°It¡¯s interesting how a Plane just spits you out in a random location when you¡¯ve been killed. So much space above ground, and you appear in a remote underground location with no way out. Do you think Kismet or Nexus is annoyed at you? I mean, annoying the aspects of luck or gateways and portals seems like a way for this to occur. Or perhaps the Abyss itself?¡± ¡®What do you want?¡¯ Zozzuth mentally broadcast, and though his mind couldn¡¯t touch hers, Amdirlain picked up his thoughts without issue. Amdirlain smiled coldly. "Your boss took someone I love from me, so I''m going to hurt you, and hopefully also him. I¡¯m going to keep hurting him until he wishes he was dead. The reason for your selection isn''t even personal, rather, you''re simply the weakest link that will hurt him. Those servants slightly stronger than you are next on my list." ¡®Titan¡¯s Songbird.¡¯ Aside from that reference, Zozzuth¡¯s mind brought up a dozen names of other demon lords, and not all of them were known to Amdirlain. She seized the memory chains related to them and reeled in all the information he possessed. And there was Gideon, spilling details with that hole in the ground. ¡°I¡¯m glad he got so upset about his palace being blown up. I did the same to your fortress,¡± said Amdirlain. Putting a barrier around them both to stop the Abyss from objecting, yang flames rippled out from beneath her flesh again. Amdirlain let loose with a flurry of spear hand strikes, the nails on her fingers barely breaking the skin. Each time, the Ki in the blow carried the yang energies into the Oath Link bearing a new number and battered and burnt more of her target''s flesh. Amdirlain made it slightly past six hundred before Zozzuth exploded, and she got a repeat of the experience from the first time. Amdirlain listened until his theme faded across the planes and sent him a song to infuse his flesh with Celestial Mana. She dismissed another repeat notification a moment later and stopped at the achievement. [Achievement: Demonic Destroyer Details: You''ve destroyed a Demon of Named rank or higher. Reward: This Tier 5 achievement unlocks the Prestige Class: Demonbane. Note: Not that I expected you¡¯d care about the Class, but I wanted to make it official. This isn¡¯t an achievement that scales due to difficulty.] Not sure what to make of that news, Amdirlain considered the thick forest stretched across the ground above her. From tiny bugs, spiders and rodents to large wolf-like creatures, it possessed a natural feel to its orchestra. Amdirlain could hear the balance of life and death in its wilderness and, given all she''d seen in the Abyss, it didn''t fit in. Did Naamah influence the Abyss to keep the Plane this way? A hunting ground? Her father might be the principal Aspect of Death, but he knew he was part of life¡¯s cycle, so it''s possible. Knowing that it wasn''t something she would get an answer to soon, Amdirlain opted for what she could do. Planar Shift took her first to Limbo and then to the demi-plane with the freed slaves and prisoners. The crystals had already purified their flesh and healed wounds, but their experiences had traumatised most and broken others. She sent a crystal spire to hop between planar sites to a location high above the abyssal city. It evacuated the remaining slaves while demons reacted to the fortress¡¯ destruction. As the facility filled, Amdirlain created more rooms. Her mental touch was as the gentlest brush against each and offered a choice. ''Would you prefer to forget what you endured or for me to find someone to help you move forward?'' Those who chose the first option or were too broke to make the choice fell asleep. Amdirlain sealed those who opted for the second into a stasis supported by the crystal in their rooms. Changing back to her Wood Elf form, she scrubbed her fingers through her hair as she considered possibilities. I''ll only send them home once I¡¯ve got someone to accompany them and ensure it''s safe. "Sarah, I need a hand. Do you know some gem dragons I can bribe to help deal with some traumatised mortals I''ve freed from the Abyss?" asked Amdirlain. Dispatching the Message, she included the name of the demi-plane and an image of the building for opening a Gate. Sarah''s confirmation came quickly, and Amdirlain reached out to Silpar through the pendant. ''Silpar, I''ve got some freed slaves I rescued who''ll need escorts. They ended up in the Abyss through various means, but I want it checked if they¡¯re safe, not just punt them home. Where is the best place to pass them along to someone with information about their home worlds?'' ''Am, is there much left of that Demon Lord''s city?'' returned Silpar. ''It''s only got a hole where the fortress used to be, and I rescued a thousand-odd mortals while passing by. While lots want to forget, others need help, and about fifty-odd want to get home to stand independently. I need an escort for them as they come from different worlds.'' ''You wish to avoid others seeing the demi-plane,'' responded Silpar. ''However, if you''ve made a hole in a city, I''d suggest you don''t share this with anyone from the cloister. The people you''ve freed tie you back to a release of slaves around the same time as the event if they learn of it later. Though Moloch¡¯s holdings are vast, looking for dramatic events is manageable if you pay the right sources.'' ''You¡¯re right, I¡¯ll get them help through other channels,'' projected Amdirlain. Silpar appeared where he''d waited while Amdirlain had made the facility. Waving to Amdirlain, he walked over. "If they live upon worlds we don''t need a summoner to reach, I could help take them back and investigate their situation." "The ones we''d need a summoner for aren''t among those wanting to move forward alone," replied Amdirlain. "I better prepare some payment for my other helpers." Mounds of mithril bars started growing across the ground before the buildings. "Why do you need a dragon''s hoard?" asked Silpar, and he huffed. "I thought you were oath sworn to your Dragon ally." Amdirlain smiled. "She''s going to bring some friends who are skilled at psionics. I figured I could at least prepare a humble payment. I¡¯ve got the option to see if they¡¯ll hire on to get them home, and that should come with extra thanks." Silpar eyed one of the many mounds of ingots. "Humble?" "Depends on who she brings, but regardless, none of the mortals I rescued are their concern," clarified Amdirlain. "I''d prefer to inspire the dragons to resolve their nightmares and get them home safely rather than pick up new servants." "Where will she be bringing help from?" Sarah appeared nearby in a slender Human form dressed in a black top that matched her hair, red leather pants and mid-calf boots. Taking in the mounds of mithril, she snorted. "Are you expecting you''ll need to bribe the dragons not to eat them?" As she approached, Amdirlain gave a helpless shrug. "Silpar, this is Sarah, Sarah, this is Silpar. My cloister mentor. Bahamut recruited him and over-shared." "He didn''t tell me who you used to be until after I''d made various promises," advised Silpar. The muscles in Sarah''s jawline bunched briefly. "That makes it only slightly better." "Going to tell him off?" asked Amdirlain. "Yes," hissed Sarah. "I don''t mind recruiting someone to help. I object to his over-sharing since you do so much of it yourself. You don¡¯t need him seeding the ground ahead of you." "I''ve been getting better. Though Rahka had heard about Baln¨¦rith''s book of names and tied it to me from the information I did share and my mental defences," admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I used the truth about my evolution to kill accusations that I¡¯d used True Song to destroy it.¡± ¡°The angry Fallen from the ghost caverns?¡± asked Sarah, and she continued when Amdirlain nodded. "What''s her full name?" "I didn''t risk learning it. Her song sounds old," replied Amdirlain. Sarah frowned. "Record her song in a crystal for Roher. If something happens to you, I want to know who to grab and pull pieces off." Amdirlain smiled and gently touched Sarah¡¯s face. Sarah¡¯s frown deepened, and she snatched Amdirlain¡¯s hand from her face but didn¡¯t immediately let it go. "I agree," said Silpar with a sharp nod, and his ready agreement matched his melody. "Not all the members of the cloister keep to the path. Rahka has been trying to follow it since the Anar were destroyed. You''ve experienced how little progress she''s made in letting go of her anger. Also, give them my song so they can get in touch if they expect to hear from you but don''t." The offer had Sarah regard him with a stern gaze. "A Song can do much more to identify you than a Use Name. Use names you can change. Someone''s song means they have to change dramatically as a being to escape the melody''s reach." "Why did you warn me?" asked Silpar. "Informed consent," replied Sarah. "You don''t know Roher, and you''ve barely started to get to know Am, even if Bahamut vouched for her." Silpar gave a satisfied nod. "I''m fine with my song being available to Roher. Perhaps I might be the one in need of rescue one day." That gave Sarah pause, and she nodded. "Help Am get free, and I¡¯ll be eternally grateful.¡± ¡°I require no reward,¡± demurred Silpar. ¡°That doesn¡¯t change how I¡¯ll feel,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain created a crystal and put the melody of Rahka, her conspirator, and Silpar inside then handed it to Sarah. "What else happened on your first day at the school of naughty children?" asked Sarah, and she motioned to Silpar. "Besides finding a local to show you the ropes?" This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. "Naughty children?" laughed Silpar. "Dragon bloodlines mean lots of accumulated memories," replied Sarah. ¡®I see Bahamut didn¡¯t completely spill the beans.¡¯ In a quick mental exchange, Amdirlain filled her in on the details, and Sarah grunted. "Thoughts?" "Don''t have any sympathy for Rahka. She made her bed," huffed Sarah. "I think I might know the bitch, and she can just fuck off. You should read those texts if they''ve gathered any for you yet." Silpar''s tail swished energetically. "About forty so far, but there should be a few hundred valuable resources in that section." "I can ensure all your stray cats get home," offered Sarah. "Or did you want to collect them all?" "Ha," barked Amdirlain. "Very funny, Buster." From Silpar''s expression, he was lost, but Amdirlain could see him mentally shrug it off. "Though am I stealing your opportunity to get some brownie points for the path?" asked Sarah, directing the question at Silpar. "My progress will come when it does," responded Silpar calmly. "That''s very relaxed and philosophical of you," said Sarah, and she looked at Amdirlain. "You should introduce Silpar to Cyrus. Maybe the pair of them could beat you in the training demi-plane you made. However, there is a question: will you use that place now? After all the work the dwarves put into it, I certainly hope so." "Yes," grumbled Amdirlain. "They''ve loaded it up with traps so I can use it for Perception training and developing other skills." "It, and the options you found at the cloister," agreed Sarah. "You might be able to figure out how to hide your crystal from other people." I might get there in time if I practise listening to the dying whispers of those deities inside the dome. Sarah stored the memory crystal away and shooed the pair off. "Go on, you''ve made enough mithril for me to hire an army of dragons to heal them. You''ve got reading and combat training to take care of, and I won''t tell Cyrus you''re seeing someone behind his back." "Gee, thanks," grumbled Amdirlain before she opened a Gate to Limbo. Silpar followed her through the gate, but he opened the next in the series, and they were soon high up the valley from the fortress. The view had the cloister¡¯s fortress a mere line in the distance. From here, the sheer cliff face looming high above looked like a mere child''s step compared to the mountain range beyond. They were positioned so that some distant nebula framed the mountains'' peaks. "Any reason we''re so far away?" asked Amdirlain. "Perspective," said Silpar, and he waved towards the fortress. "I come here sometimes to remind myself of the enormity of the Abyss." "I try to focus on the short targets in front of me so I don''t lose my sense of urgency," replied Amdirlain. "Having a long perspective on time can be a trap, letting you think you have aeons available only to learn there is none left." "An insight most celestials don''t understand," agreed Silpar. "You said you might be considered impatient, always rushing into things, which I¡¯ve found true." "I shared that with Dagrast?r. People really can hear everything said there," observed Amdirlain. "Now I know why so many were just chatting through their pendants." "Most have evolved Perception," admitted Silpar. "As to your question, I don''t consider the time available. I take the first task I need to accomplish and push towards it, as I would rather resolve everything before I need to than regret not having acted," explained Amdirlain. "Are you forever finding more work for yourself?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain laughed. "And then some. I''ve gotten better at handing tasks off to others." Silpar lifted into the air. "I''ve let them know we''re returning. Try to push your speed and keep up." Though she set out to do that, Silpar stayed ahead the whole way down. Every time Amdirlain''s speed picked up, he flew faster. They landed well beyond the wards, and Amdirlain heard Xarlon''s voice through her pendant, giving them directions to come in. The blue troll-like Fallen was standing on the mid-point of the fortress wall at the same ballistae, making Amdirlain wonder if he''d even taken a break since she''d left. ''Have you been on duty all this time?'' projected Amdirlain. Amusement came through the pendant from Xarlon. ''Indeed. I''ll ask someone to take over when I wish a change.'' Standing around looking at the countryside; celestials are more patient than I am. As Silpar led the way, Amdirlain focused on listening to those about the complex. The Fallen she''d heard talking to Rahka wasn''t in range, and those hostile melodies she heard made Amdirlain wonder whether it was directed at her or just the individual''s usual state of mind. When they got to the library, they flew up to the top ledge and found a table had been placed at the end of the planar section. Stacks of texts had been laid out on it, and beside it was a container the size of a 10-gallon drum with a seam running end to end. Opening the latch, Amdirlain peeked inside and confirmed what Resonance had shown to be tens of thousands of metal sheets. Slipping one of them free, Amdirlain took in the primordial script that tried to twist her gaze away from its complexity. "Does this count as one of the forty?" asked Amdirlain, and she scanned over the engravings. Silpar nodded. "It''s all one text, the metal sheets you could consider pages." "I''ll keep them in order," replied Amdirlain. "What do you plan to do while I am reading?" "I''ll be nearby reading as well," replied Silpar. "Among other reasons, I can make sure you take breaks to get in weapon training as well." "That works for me," agreed Amdirlain. "Though I don''t think I''m up to your level for sparring." Silpar smiled. "I have billions of years of practice teaching those younger than I am to develop their skills. As I can restrain myself enough to challenge mortals, I can also pace myself with you. A mentor''s role is to challenge and provide guidance and support. I would hardly be a good fit if I could only handle one." "I hadn''t considered that," admitted Amdirlain, and she gave him a nod of appreciation. Looking at the markings on the drum, she turned it on its side and opened it so the two halves rested on the ground. Taking the first sheet from the series, she flipped it over in her hand to consider the tiny, tightly spaced characters that covered both sides and found it listed the species of The Endless Ocean. The conceptual implications inherent in each complex character would have been impossible to follow when she''d accidentally learned the language. Now, however, her eyes raced along the tiny markings even as she pushed Resonance to reach through the noise within the dome. Not trusting the text at face value, Amdirlain used Analysis on every species and region name as she went. She ignored the first progression notifications and the spike of pain that pierced her layered mental hardening. After observing her steady progress, Silpar took a scroll from a nearby shelf and started to review it for useful material. * * * * * [Abyssal Lore [M] (97->98) Planar Biology [M] (53->54)] Even Gideon''s Analysis came through conceptually most times instead of in English. There are sixty layers beneath this Plane from the regions named in this series; Bahamut''s information was correct. Pity it was just a discussion about the creatures and their strengths and weaknesses. Amdirlain pushed the last notification aside, returned the last sheet to the case, and closed it. Once she''d secured it, Amdirlain brushed her fingers across the metal surface. "Are there any more texts by the Fallen that wrote these?" "I didn''t know there was an author attributed to that work," replied Silpar. "You didn''t take long to read through those records." No name, and if I ask for them by name, it gives away I know. "They seem written from the perspective of a Fallen exploring to determine if anything from beneath might pose a risk," replied Amdirlain as she provided the complex name to Silpar through the pendant. "When you put it that way, that does sound like some other texts I''ve read. Did they write in primordial to practice the language or because of the nature of the entities they were observing?" mused Silpar. "I''d say the second," proposed Amdirlain. "The nature of some crosses too many dimensions to use most languages." "More reading, or time to give your brain a break after reading that much primordial?" Amdirlain nodded and rose. "Time for some sparring, but I''ve not heard Te about the place." "She''s off clearing out demons causing problems for a Mortal settlement in Pandemonium," replied Silpar. "You''ll have to handle my claws for a few weeks." I¡¯m not sure I want to know why mortals would live in that place. I found the wind and darkness bad enough for the short time I was there. As they flew down to the library''s lowest level, Amdirlain found the reading tables that ran the library''s length nearly entirely in use, some with five or six members clustered around in silent conversation that had their pendants abuzz. Amdirlain heard five Fallen arrive in the valley, and among them was the individual Rahka had spoken to in the forge. Silent notes brought the valley into view, and Amdirlain took in the male elven form of Rahka''s ally. Their dull slate-grey hair draped across their face, hiding their once fine features in shadow. Thick white ridges of scar tissue crisscrossed their face and continued down their throat into the neckline of their full plate armour the hue of dried blood. In one hand he carried a spear with a wavy blade like a Kris at its tip, the blade and haft made of black adamantine. Despite the age of his song, she focused on Analysis to give her select information on the potential enemy with two Tier 5 prestige classes. [Name: Gurgarachon Species: Fallen, Arch Profaner Class: Chaos Reaper / Siege Striker / Battle Wizard / Chaos Knight Combat Skills: Blade-Lord [G] (423), Spear-King [G] (12); Various spell lists and affinities. Immunities: Death, Fire, Lightning, Magma, and Negative. Details: Having worked his way up through celestial ranks, he was once a Solar in service to a local Pantheon. He fell when his deity perished in a Gods'' War they started over a border dispute. Unlike Silpar, he didn''t stop at laying waste to one city; he destroyed the war-ravaged ''winning'' nation utterly. Though not involved in the situation with the Anar and L¨®m?, he''s spent much time listening to Rahka talk about the puppet master she perceives Orh¨ºthurin to have been. He has replaced his prior allegiance with worshipping the concept of Chaos. Analysis [S] (64->65) Mental Hardening [M] (31->32)] Transformed Fallen explains why his song feels so strong. I think his age impacts Analysis heavier than his classes. [Blade-Lord Details: This Skill is an evolved version of Short Blades.] So watch out for his use of daggers, short swords and the like. [Spear of Slaying Attack Power: +3,500 Details: Foes struck by the weapon must resist Death Mana to avoid perishing when any critical injury is inflicted.] If he comes at me, destroy his spear as the priority. Rahka calling Orh¨ºthurin a puppet Master is a bit rich, given that she should see Baln¨¦rith''s influence. And Gurgarachon, all his Pantheon had to do was not go to war and work things out between their worshippers. His name is Death''s red brother if I use the High Elf tongue, and his armour looks like a Red Cap has been at work. Cutting off the scrying melody, Amdirlain gritted her teeth and suppressed a frustrated head shake. When they arrived, the vast training hall was nearly empty, with most of those present in the library or busy in workshops on the higher levels. Silpar moved along and tapped the edge of four platforms in proximity, and the stone platforms merged to provide one larger sparring area. Amdirlain caught a compressed note of True Song from the library''s direction that adjusted the stone. She made some quality-of-life improvements but kept the path the same. "You hoping to avoid me punting you from the circle?" "I figured you might like some room to run," countered Silpar. "No shapeshifting. Focus on using your combat techniques alone. I will push you to the brink since I''ve seen how fast you can heal." Amdirlain nodded eagerly. "Bring it on." Silpar contemplated her, and Amdirlain heard a projection through the pendant. ''I propose we alternate your training between sparring, reading to acquire more knowledge, and whatever work you need to undertake for those training facilities.'' ''For how long?'' enquired Amdirlain. There was an amused twitch of Silpar''s tail. ''I''d say for a few centuries, but I doubt you''ll wait that long.'' Amdirlain kept her face straight and considered the others busy training. ''I can learn fast when under pressure. I''ve also got to make time to push my resistances.'' Silpar''s hand blurred and, though Amdirlain blocked it, the force carried through her raised arms and knocked her across the area. "Don''t stand still," instructed Silpar, not moving to pursue her. "I''ve seen enough to know your strength is in your speed, not brute force. You have your Willpower hardening your flesh and blows, but being knocked off balance will still disadvantage you." Giving a wary smile, Amdirlain moved towards him. "I''ll try. You''re pretty fast yourself." "You''re a dancer; think of the fight as a dance. Try to move around your partner''s motions, not get run over by them. Dancing with partners relies on moving in time with them, does it not?" asked Silpar. Ori moved to the tempo of the obstacles in that training room. This is a reversal. I taught Jul¡¯iane to turn her dancing into a fighting style, and now Silpar wants to turn my fighting into a dance. "I''ve done most of my dancing solo," admitted Amdirlain, and she raised her hands. "Time to branch out then," laughed Silpar, and he flexed his talons before he struck. Amdirlain moved with the strike the first time, but his follow-up still knocked her to the ground. Moloch''s PoV - Culerzic Moloch glared at the Gil?glp Demon, who had peaked his thin snout above the top book in the stack. "What did you say?" "There is no trace of arcane energies in your wounds. It is a divine energy I''ve never seen before," repeated the Demon. "You can kill us all, but it won''t get you different answers. If you annoyed a divine being of such power to get through your defences without a trace, you¡¯ve little choice left. You can await the time of your destruction or try to gain enough raw strength to block them." "How do I go about gaining that strength?" demanded Moloch. The Demon raised his hand helplessly. "You''d have to become a deity, but unlike other demon lords, you don''t even have a cult to use as a starting point." "Others have done so in the past," snapped Moloch. "True. They gained divine rights after being viewed by mortals as a being of such strength that they deserved worship. You don''t have that connection to any Mortal species," repeated the Gil?glp. Moloch''s lips twisted into a snarl, and he felt the burn marks that crossed his mouth split the skin. "What are the words on the brands?" asked Moloch. "There are some that are obscured by overlapping feathers, but it appears they''ve tallied a court to six hundred thirty-seven," replied the Demon. Moloch spat. "Find out how it struck through my defences without leaving a trace and find me a divinity starting point. I''m not waiting for a God to kill me if I can kill them instead." The Demon peeked around the side of the books, his obsidian eyes glinting in the chamber¡¯s light. "You''re talking about a being billions of years old. Given the name you provided, they might be only the Titan''s pet, but the Titan sealed himself and all his servants away before demons even existed. It isn''t an Aspect if it can attack without a major breach against the Titan''s rules.¡± "There were no breaches of his laws by me," snapped Moloch.¡±They are so few they¡¯re easy to work around.¡± "Then that means it wasn''t sealed with him, and this songbird predates that event, Lord Moloch," replied the Gil?glp, his words muffled by the stack of books as he hid. "Fragments of legends I''ve found recorded by the hags say a songbird guided the devils into the realm to balance the demons." "Given my representatives never returned, the dragons aren''t willing to sell any information. What contacts do we have among Hell''s legions?" asked Moloch. ¡°Why would they deal with you?¡± Moloch gave a shrewd smile. ¡°That is for me to determine, isn¡¯t it?¡± 354 - Hazards Amdirlain''s PoV - Ijmti - Cloister of the Fallen Though his blows repeatedly knocked her down, he pushed at her capabilities without being overtly damaging. What injuries he inflicted, Phoenix''s Rapture healed before she even reached her feet. He used different forms, techniques, and weapons to keep her on the back foot and force her to adjust. She endured nearly a half day of Silpar''s surgically precise combat instruction before the hall became crowded again. As more members appeared in the hall, Silpar called a halt. Silpar motioned for her to exit the area they''d been using and started to split the circle back into its original four platforms. While he moved between the points that would cause it to break apart, Xarlon approached Amdirlain. "A few have been trying to return the materials found for you to the shelves. Someone will watch over them now," advised Xarlon. A rise in hostility emerged from a few themes in the corridor alongside the library. Amdirlain noted them even as she nodded thanks to Xarlon. "I''ll try to get through the material quickly so I''m not cluttering the place. I finished the barrel chest with the primordial bestiary." "Take the time you need. They''re being petty," stated Xarlon, and he gave her a wide grin and raised his voice above an average conversation level. "If they could decide worthwhile goals to undertake themselves, they''d find others also helping them." "I''ve learnt of some more worlds that might need help against the Eldritch, so I''ll see if I can find a way for others to help in those battles," said Amdirlain. Her admission made her the focus of dozens of the Fallen. "I''ve contacted some pantheons, and one of them provided me names where there is an ongoing battle. While my allies can summon me, getting older Fallen out onto the civilised worlds will be more problematic." Because I''m certainly not going to risk letting anyone besides Silpar know that it''s done through crystals. "Let''s not mention the leeriness that most celestials have about working with some of us," added Silpar. "Perhaps they can point us to isolated battle fronts." "They are an ongoing issue, so I expect opportunities to arise," replied Amdirlain. "I''ll put that to them in any discussions I have in the future." "Might I join your training?" asked Xarlon. "The others are scouring the shelves at present, and I don¡¯t have the same inclination towards learning as them." "Who do you mean?" Xarlon tapped his clear pendant. "Though not all those who benefited from your aid are present, all but me are currently searching the shelves. However, we don''t all speak primordial, so you might end up with some primordial texts that don''t cover the areas you need." "Translation spells don''t handle primordial well?" asked Amdirlain. "At all, is more to the point," replied Xarlon. "I take it you''ve never tried it." "I had that primordial language poured into my brain, you could say, so I never needed to try translation spells on it," admitted Amdirlain ruefully. "Though the simplest translation spells can handle basic texts and casual conversations, you need high-level ones to deal with complex, sophisticated, technical or specialised cultural jargon," stated Xarlon. ¡°The concepts included within the primordial tongue aren¡¯t translatable by any Spell I know.¡± "The Spell List I know that has translation spells caps out at an affluent education level. I''ve got a few tricks, psionics amongst them, for learning to communicate quickly," advised Amdirlain. Xarlon grimaced. "I need to learn more communication powers to access native tongues. While my powers let me talk to anyone, I''ve put people off previously when my mouth hasn''t moved in sync with the words I''ve been speaking. That aside, since the primordial language is so complex, it causes even the best translation spells to curl up in a ball and whimper." Silpar, who had just been standing quietly while the platforms changed, motioned Xarlon to move into the newly re-configured circle. "Am''s made progress, but try your skills against her, Xarlon. Not being her opponent will allow me to assess her objectively." "Happy to help," said Xarlon, and he moved into the area with a grace that looked strange given his long, gangly limbs and elongated torso and snout. Amdirlain eyed the reach of his limbs, spindly taloned fingers and deceptively slow movements. When they started, Xarlon''s strike blurred in but lacked the force to deliver damage. As his gaze narrowed, Amdirlain grabbed him by the wrist and flipped him towards the edge, only for Xarlon to twist his motion in midair and land beside her. Ignoring his awkward leverage, Xarlon hooked a leg behind her knee and tumbled towards the ring''s centre. Moving with him, Amdirlain pinned his wrist to the ground and lashed out with an elbow strike, only to clash against a forearm block. The advantage went back and forth, and Xarlon''s theme bubbled with his enjoyment. As they continued to spin each other through tumbles and exchanged pins, Amdirlain began to understand the rhythms within his movements. * * * * * When Amdirlain returned to her study spot high in the library, she found a second table beside the first. Both tables had stacks of books piled high, giving the impression of being balanced precariously. Among the shelves, thirty Fallen from a wide range of species were scouring through the works in the planar section. The closest of them was a raspberry-skinned Elf with grey eyes and stark white hair. Like the others nearby, his pendant was clear of any blemish. He gave her an assessing look before he continued to review a stone cylinder the length of her forearm covered in ideograms. As Amdirlain picked up the top book from those stacked on the table, she noticed Silpar collect the next along the shelf where he had last been reading. Though she had expected him to remain close, the malicious themes nearby had her tilt her head towards a lower level. "Are you going to play bodyguard even here?" "Especially here," replied Silpar as he checked which direction the book''s text ran. "You''re focused on learning, not in an alert training mode." The elven Fallen nodded in agreement. "Even if some disagree with Rahka''s beliefs about you, sometimes frustration can lead to heated and hurtful actions. You may call me Helch, Am. I was in the Summer Court until my path led me to call this place home. A few of us will stay nearby while you study and guard the table to prevent spite from robbing you of information you might find useful." "Xarlon mentioned it. Thank you all," acknowledged Amdirlain. Are they helping simply because I helped them? What sort of reception would I have received if I had asked them to deal with one of those abominations? "Helch, like Dagrast?r, could have returned to the heavens millennia ago," offered Silpar. "He argued the longest to be allowed to mentor you." Did I give myself away? Amdirlain paused with her hand on a thick-scaled hide cover. The roughness of it felt similar to some of the primordial fish she''d caught up in the feeding frenzy. "You spoke so passionately, Silpar, I had to give way," said Helch, and she heard his voice through the pendant. ''It is likely just as well Rahka is too angry to think, given that True Song made the enchanted clothing you wear and conceals not one but two auras. Though I don''t know if she even took the time to learn the spell lists that detect True Song energies.'' ''Thank you for advising me, Helch,'' responded Amdirlain, schooling all emotion from her face. ¡®I¡¯ve benefited from my association with the L¨®m?.¡¯ Helch nodded politely. ''You might want to abandon whatever gifts they¡¯ve equipped you with. Rahka is rash and doesn¡¯t need provocation. Even if you were once Orh¨ºthurin, a petitioner who returns to the wheel of life is never the person who they were. Only fools believe it so.'' ''Sarah, I''ll need to plan a time to drive my primordial, cold, and mundane materials resistances higher. I''ll also need to replace my shadow vines and get something to restrain my auras unrelated to True Song.'' Amdirlain attempted to send the thought through the Allegiance Bond and received a delighted response. I didn''t expect that to work across so many planes. With the others focusing on their examination of works before them, Amdirlain focused on the book she¡¯d picked up. The author had penned it in the high elven script, a constant language across aeons. One after another, she consumed more texts with barely more than a glance needed for each page. When she stopped eight hours later, the mound of texts that had awaited her return was a single small stack of untouched books. Unfortunately, the materials she covered in her most recent study stint had repeated the work she''d undertaken to read first. While some of it had been new observations and assessments, it was unfortunately also content that Analysis had provided her. It resulted in minimal notifications of recent growth in her knowledge. "What should I do about putting these back?" asked Amdirlain softly. "If I return them to the shelves, someone coming to help might put them back among my to-do pile." "Good point, we''ll need to organise something," replied Silpar, gently closing the book he''d been reading. "I''ve also got a few other matters I''ll need to tend to, along with seeing how Sarah managed without me," advised Amdirlain. As Silpar moved towards the table, Helch motioned to him. "I''ll sort out storing the works Am''s read through. I''ll set up a dimensional vault to hold them in so they don''t get mingled." Thanking Helch for his assistance, the pair departed. Exiting the fortress, they headed down the valley until they were beyond the wards. Once there, Silpar''s Gate took them directly to Limbo, and they hovered in the strange blackness, watching the swirling sky overhead as the Gate''s energy faded. "To the medical facility?" "A training spot of my own. I don''t want to meddle or show myself to any dragons that might still be present," replied Amdirlain, and she plane-shifted them to Foundry. They appeared on the walkway around the central pavilion. The crystals'' golden glow provided a peaceful, warm illumination that pressed the darkness into the distance. "Sarah, we''re in Foundry." With that, Amdirlain released the Message Spell and watched Silpar consider the golden glow from the crystals that formed the central pavilion. "I''ve only seen a few True Song crystals. Is it usual for them to shine this way?" asked Silpar. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Amdirlain smiled. "That''s because it''s not been done before, at least according to my old fragmented memories and the L¨®m?." Silpar looked around at the hovering platforms and the heavily trapped paths connected to zig-zagging staircases. "A strange and dangerous place," noted Silpar, and he flicked his tail towards the nearest trap Amdirlain had spotted. Amdirlain took in the millions of traps along the pathways with a smile. "It''s been set up to train my Perception and Disarm Device skills. Along with my resistances if I fail to handle the traps." "You could just sing them out of existence," noted Silpar. "Since there are spell lists to detect True Song, I''ve got reasons to develop other skills," observed Amdirlain. Moving over to the path''s junction, she created a set of the tools Erwarth had taught her to use when they were invading the Dao settlement. Closing off Resonance, she took in the slope they had added between the central pavilion and all the connected paths. "Who set this up for you?" "Some of Moradin''s celestials," explained Amdirlain as she let her gaze roam over the engraving worked into the stone''s grain. "The last time I visited, they were having fun." "You asked them to set up traps in a dimensional pocket?" muttered Silpar in disbelief. Did he just think it was Bahamut that I¡¯d dealt with? I mentioned others. Amdirlain smiled. "It''s small, but it''s my second demi-plane, the first I made for someone else." Kneeling on the walkway, she peeked over the side and found every ten-metre stretch had a different name carved into the side in celestial. When she snickered, Silpar huffed questionly. "Amused?" "It was suggested that in case their traps kill me, they should leave their name in a spot where it could be determined who was responsible," laughed Amdirlain. "They''ve got marks along the side and names in tiny script." "How many traps to a section?" Amdirlain shrugged. "I heard many mechanisms and magical runes, but I deliberately didn''t pay too close attention. I told them to start with traps that a new apprentice could handle disarming. I hope they stuck to that, or this could get unpleasant." Spotting a deeper shadow in the pattern, she slipped a thin tool inside only to hear a click, and a blade exploded upwards at a slight angle that fortunately missed her. As she pulled the tool back, the blade retracted. "This could prove amusing," observed Silpar, and he sat down in the pavilion to watch. "I wonder if they were considering elven reach when they laid these out," murmured Amdirlain. Half an hour of work later, the trap''s panel lifted upwards without being triggered again, as Amdirlain managed to deactivate the trap. [Disable Device [Ap] (2->3)] She was working on a spike trap beyond it when Sarah arrived, accompanied by Cyrus. He paused to look over Silpar. "Are you her mentor within the cloister?" "I have that honour and duty," admitted Silpar. "Though for me, it is more to ensure she remains safe among the more hazardous of our members. Her care to ensure that mortals were rescued and returned home speaks to her progress." "Would you care to get to know each other while Amdirlain plays with some traps?" asked Cyrus hopefully. Silpar glanced at Amdirlain enquiringly. "It''s a custom to spar to learn of a person''s nature. Cyrus is the Immortal I told you about who has been helping me," clarified Amdirlain. "I''d be delighted," said Silpar. Cyrus motioned to the platform he and Amdirlain had used in the past for sparring, and she saw someone had built up the stonework and added reinforcement. Big deal if it got a little damaged. Spotting another gap in the paving ahead, Amdirlain crouched and looked it over carefully. Catching a glimpse of what looked like a keyhole inside it, she drew out a different set of tools. "Having fun playing with their toys?" asked Sarah. "I got a Skill level up. Go me," laughed Amdirlain. Sarah''s brows lifted. "Training at the cloister, I would have thought you''d have gotten a few of them." Amdirlain nodded energetically and drew her hands back. "I did, and then one of them detected that True Song had made my clothing and concealed my auras." Sarah huffed. "That''s annoying. I''ll need to experiment a bit. The shadow vines are easy enough to duplicate. It''s the aura suppression that will be more challenging." "They are meant to be a warning," called Silpar as he and Cyrus squared off against each other. ¡°Though there is a way to control them, it has consequences.¡± Do I want to know what those are? Maybe I¡¯ll let them feel the auras when I¡¯m in the cloister¡¯s fortress. "Or attraction," grumbled Amdirlain. "Though letting them out, I did manage to avoid anyone wondering why I didn''t look like a demonic species they recognised." "Big-eared celestials, are they all like that?" asked Sarah. "Yep, so they tend to use the pendants for conversations." Sarah tilted her head towards Silpar. ''I hope you can hear their conversations.'' ''Yep,'' reassured Amdirlain. ''But I can''t hear a crystal spire in the library.'' "Let''s sit down while the boys play and I''ll tell you about the rehabilitation work and bodyguards I''ve arranged for their trips home," proposed Sarah. By the time Sarah had gone over all the dragons she''d invited to help and their progress with the patients, Silpar and Cyrus had made a mess of the reinforced platform. Silpar''s speed and strength were noticeably higher than Cyrus''s, but the blows that struck did not impact the Immortal. The barrier formed by Cyrus''s Willpower shed them like water off Teflon, and he continued to twist loose from Silpar''s attempts to grapple him. Nevertheless, Silpar appeared to be enjoying the exchange of pointers. Cyrus gave Silpar a respectful bow when the session ended, and the Fallen returned the gesture. "Most interesting," said Silpar. "I believe if you used weapons, I wouldn''t fare so well," observed Cyrus. Silpar chuffed. "But we weren''t using weapons, and seeing where Am''s skills might take her is interesting." "Her style is very different from mine," countered Cyrus. "She uses powers like yours, correct?" asked Silpar. Cyrus nodded in concession. "How do you believe we should progress her skills?" "Am flows like water tossed about in a storm," commented Silpar. "Never quite landing where I expect her once she gets moving, but getting her to start moving sometimes appears an issue. I suggested she consider her opponents as dance partners, which seemed to have worked somewhat." "There are performers that use martial arts for dramatic effect," allowed Cyrus, and he waved Amdirlain over. "You''re in trouble now," laughed Sarah. "Have you been telling tales out of class?" asked Amdirlain as she rose. Sarah snickered harder. "Absolutely." Amdirlain reappeared on the platform, and Cyrus drew out a pair of quarterstaffs. She expected him to toss her one, but he handed the spare to Silpar instead. "She will move freely when outnumbered, but she likes to stand still one-on-one, even against Eldritch creatures. It''s a bad habit." "Or she likes to shapeshift instead of pushing her skills," said Silpar. "Your goal is to avoid contact," advised Cyrus, and he lashed out towards her head. Amdirlain leaned under the blow and spun her body sideways when Silpar swept a blow for her legs. The two split up and flanked her. They didn''t take turns going high and low but mixed in strikes and thrusts as they constantly increased the pressure on her ability to avoid them. Though there wasn''t the slightest cue in coordination between them, their sparring put them on the same page as they never once clashed despite the increasing pace of the attacks they launched at Amdirlain. Blows knocked her out of the air and shoved her along the ground, and Amdirlain rolled with them and sought to match the timing in her motions. With Resonance promising an edge to regain her balance, she kept it tightly restrained and tried to read their intentions through shifts in their balance and focused intent. It was Cyrus who eventually called a halt. "I''ve other students to teach. I trust there won''t be a gap of years before we train again?" [Agile [S] (165->167) Dance [S] (9->15) Devouring Cacophony [S] (179->180)] "I''ve some demi-planes to populate, and then we can proceed again," proposed Amdirlain. "That will give the others time to scour through the racks and have more for you to ingest," agreed Silpar. "Make her sing up demi-planes while you''re attacking her," suggested Sarah. "Whose side are you on?" grumbled Amdirlain. "Yours," laughed Sarah. "Challenge yourself." Amdirlain wrinkled her nose at Sarah before she let out a disgruntled huff. "I could create a circle of gates to demi-planes and target the songs through them." Sarah laughed harder still. Amdirlain opened a Gate for Cyrus in the proximity of Xaos, and he stepped through with a wave. As Amdirlain closed up the Gate, Silpar hummed thoughtfully. "You create the demi-planes so fast you''d need a lot of gates." A framework of tiny gates formed a dome around the training platform, each barely palm-sized. Silpar''s eye ridges lifted. "How many can you do at a time?" "I''ll handle them individually," clarified Amdirlain, and she waved towards the far end of the hundred-metre platform. "But if I''m down that end, I''ll target one nearby." Silpar spun the staff in his hands that Cyrus had left behind and struck a whistling blow at Amdirlain that she barely avoided. She ducked beneath the blow and felt it tug at her hair''s ends, only to quickly collapse ahead of it as Silpar brought the weapon''s end towards her shoulder. A tumble across the ground took her out of its path, and Amdirlain began to sing. The effort of the music made it paradoxically easier for her to focus on flowing around him, and she turned Resonance back on. Rolling from another strike, she instinctively pushed with an additional note to block its path and flowed behind him. Silpar swatted at her with his tail to sweep her legs, but the gathered note warned her to hop. Flight anchored a midair flip that turned into a long dive an instant before Silpar attempted to pull her from the air. With her eyes closed, Amdirlain focused on the music around her and repeatedly slipped beyond his reach. Whenever he managed to make contact, Amdirlain rolled with the blow and spun about like a leaf riding a brutal gust of wind. As Amdirlain acrobatically evaded or recovered from Silpar''s attacks, Sarah''s smile widened As she completed each demi-plane, Amdirlain closed that Gate. Despite the eight-hour training session, Amdirlain still had thousands of gates available in the framework when new guests arrived. Gail came through the Gate first, accompanied by Roher, Isa, and Ilya. Despite their elven appearances, it was the last two whose presence caused Silpar to halt his pursuit of Amdirlain and, frozen, he eyed the two planetars warily. "Don''t mind us, Silpar. Sarah already filled us in," called Ilya. "Do you want someone else to help chase her around?" "You have me at a disadvantage, Celestial," replied Silpar. Amdirlain rolled her eyes at Sarah''s surprise. "Silpar, the last blond who came through the Gate, answers to Isa and the ebony-haired one you can call Ilya. Gail and Roher are Anar and L¨®m?, respectively." Silpar''s eye ridges lifted. "After Bahamut having come to see you, I''m not sure why I find celestials visiting strange." Roher brushed his fingers along the crystal support of the pavilion before he took a seat near Sarah. "You should become accustomed to the unexpected around Am. As she said, my name is Roher." "I''m honoured, Roher. You are the first L¨®m? I''ve met," said Silpar, and he glanced towards Gail. "I had believed the Anar all deceased." "They were. My reincarnation was a bit unusual," offered Gail. "I''m Gail, or Gailneth if you need to contact me." "They? But you are an Anar, correct?" asked Silpar. "I''m one of the new batches the Titan has allowed out to play," laughed Gail. "Just needed a Goddess to mother me." Silpar tilted his head in surprise before he nodded happily. "I''m glad you have divine protection. I''m sure some would wish you gone." "I''ve got save points," quipped Gail. "What brings you four this way?" asked Amdirlain. Gail plopped down next to where Sarah had been working at the pavilion''s table and put her head on her shoulder. "Auntie Sarah said you were singing, so we thought we''d come to listen. You completely blew past the number of demi-plane seeds you needed." "We can make the chains of demi-planes longer," proposed Amdirlain. "Fine, you blew past the number you needed anytime soon," countered Gail. Amdirlain smiled ruefully. "I didn''t have much else to do for a week." "Except for trying to keep up with me while flying, and you wanted to challenge both powers at once." corrected Silpar. "A minor detail, and I was challenging three powers, not two," said Amdirlain. Silpar snorted and turned to Ilya. "How are your sword skills?" "I hope to get them to evolve, but only Grandmaster ranked," replied Ilya. "I''m a very young Celestial. I have a few swords that won''t break her skin or yours." "Then, if you''d join us while the others listen to the singing that I assume Am has still been undertaking," invited Silpar, pointing to the gaps in the framework. Gail, Isa, and Roher listened to the complex melodies Amdirlain sang while she avoided the pair''s weapons. The challenge only increased after Cyrus returned and joined the fray. When the three finally took a break from sparring, Sarah brought out her combat drones, and Amdirlain sought to keep ahead of them. 355 - The Pact Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry Dancing over the broken ground, Amdirlain¡¯s swords blocked Silpar¡¯s strike and sent Cyrus¡¯s staff above her head. Across the platform, Ilya recovered her sword and teleported back to attempt to pincer her. It was a familiar scene to Sarah and Isa, who had both stayed to watch the weeks of gruelling practice Amdirlain had endured to date. Gail and Roher were currently absent, having taken on the creation and population of an individual demi-plane. ¡°Time to switch,¡± called Sarah, and her combat drones appeared above the platform. The three who had been keeping pressure on Amdirlain scattered before the drones¡¯ incoming fire. Amdirlain spun horizontally as twenty drones¡¯ fire ripped through where her calves and torso had been. [Agile [S] (178->179) Dance [S] (60->61)] Isa giggled. ¡°Are you ever going to wait for them to get clear?¡± ¡°As soon as I speak, they should know to move,¡± rebuffed Sarah. ¡°What are you expecting to come of this?¡± asked Isa. Sarah¡¯s drones trailed Amdirlain¡¯s movement and ripped apart the platform¡¯s stonework. ¡°If nothing else, increasing her survivability. However, she occasionally gets memory synchronisations, which jumps her skills. It¡¯s only happened a few times, but three weeks of constant effort has shown a change.¡± Isa noticed Sarah¡¯s clenched fist resting on the bench beside her and set her hand atop it. ¡°When was the last time you went pushing yourself for levels?¡± ¡°I could ask the same of you,¡± retorted Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m not racing against an upcoming age threshold,¡± countered Isa. ¡°I can count the years even if you¡¯ve held off levelling your species.¡± Sarah snorted. ¡°I killed a bunch of Eldritch. They were worth a lot of levels.¡± ¡°Enough levels? Did you get back your achievement?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Don¡¯t be a pest. Am already asked the same thing,¡± grumbled Sarah. Smiling, Isa lightly squeezed her hand. ¡°But did you tell her the truth or use your disguised song to lie?¡± Amdirlain reappeared behind the bench with a hand on Sarah¡¯s shoulder, gaze fixed on Isa. ¡°What did I miss?¡± The drones spun about to re-target her before Sarah shut them down. ¡°If you want to help her max things out, she¡¯s running out of time to get levels,¡± stated Isa. ¡°I¡¯m ahead of the curve,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°I got a Tier 7 for working against the Eldritch.¡± ¡°Do you have enough levels to use it before your moult?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah frowned. ¡°Not yet, but Isa¡¯s maths is off. Planar dragons don¡¯t run the same age threshold.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve had one transition moult, so that would have absorbed your first Tier 7 Prestige Class,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you have to bring this up?¡± asked Sarah, glaring at Isa. Isa smiled. ¡°It just occurred to me you had been sitting around a lot waiting for Amdirlain since you moulted. She always pushes herself harder, yet you¡¯re prepared to wait for others to agree to terms.¡± Sarah said. ¡°I¡¯ve been making a lot of things.¡± ¡°Good for crafting classes, but what about your combat ones? Which I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got at least two of,¡± said Isa. ¡°I¡¯ve got the Skill to balance the experience out,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°It balances out the levels but not the Skill progression,¡± countered Isa. ¡°I could power level you,¡± offered Amdirlain. Isa shook her head. ¡°Same problem. Sarah¡¯s got to grow her skills as well.¡± ¡°No to power levelling,¡± growled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve got the demi-plane you set for me, and I¡¯ll need to get used to my abilities.¡± Isa clapped happily. ¡°That demi-plane got mentioned on our visit, but have you used it recently? How often have you used your playpen, kitten?¡± A growl rumbled in Sarah¡¯s throat, but Isa¡¯s smile brightened. ¡°She¡¯s in manic mode. You might as well go with the flow,¡± observed Ilya critically. ¡°Why?¡± demanded Sarah. ¡°I just feel a spreading of wings is required to ensure a better balance,¡± replied Isa. ¡°Sometimes distractions around the gambling table help a player focus, but their absence makes things more relaxed. Ilya should come with us.¡± Sarah looked at Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to go back to sparring with Silpar alone?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with that. You¡¯ve pushed my cold and mundane materials resistances along a bit,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she gave Sarah a wink. ¡°Take care of those toys in your playpen. I¡¯d hate to resurrect you.¡± Opening a Gate, Sarah waved Isa and Ilya through and followed on their heels. ¡°What was that about?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I wager not what it appeared on the surface. Isa is a High Priest of the concept of Luck without even an Aspect in between. She¡¯s done things on apparent impulse that have had far-reaching effects later. It could just be because of Isa¡¯s particular focus on skills and luck going hand in hand.¡± ¡°Everything we do has ripple effects further than we can see,¡± stated Silpar. ¡°Training with your swords or back to barehanded?¡± ¡°Swords,¡± decided Amdirlain, and she repaired the platform before they appeared at its centre. Twirling the blades briefly, she squared off against Silpar and closed her eyes. ¡°Why do you fight with your eyes closed?¡± Amdirlain''s lips quirked in a half-smile. ¡°I can hear your song. It¡¯s different to when you go for a feint versus an attack.¡± Drawing out a pair of short swords, Silpar nodded. ¡°Ready?¡± A quick stab followed the question, and more attacks came in a flurry. Amdirlain retreated, readily giving ground as she moved to his tempo. She slipped a blade alongside his next attack and twisted with it to force it away and block his other arm. He was faster to recover than she could take advantage of, and their blades rang against each other. The clash sparked the blade¡¯s music to sound like battle cries, and Amdirlain flowed onwards. When she had finished the latest demi-plane songs, Amdirlain shattered the remaining gates and focused on Silpar¡¯s theme alone. The balance of the fight went back and forth, but Amdirlain could always feel his cooperation in losing ground and it unsettled her. Disengaging, she teleported back a dozen paces and raised her blades. ¡°Please don¡¯t surrender ground if I can¡¯t make you back up,¡± requested Amdirlain. ¡°You need to practice your attacks as well as defence,¡± said Silpar. Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°I can practice strikes in many positions solo, but I need to earn my opening.¡± ¡°Much of a battle between those of similar skills is an ebb and flow,¡± replied Silpar. ¡°But I can hear it¡¯s not earned. There is a falseness to it,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Every blow I strike when you¡¯re falsely retreating feels like a trap and puts me on edge. If you want to extend the sparring, push me to the brink of overwhelming me and hold me there. I need to learn to position myself so I¡¯ve space to retreat.¡± When Silpar¡¯s attacks started, they were fierce strikes and stabs that were just beyond the limit of Amdirlain¡¯s strength and speed. She bled freely from shallow wounds with increasing frequency and had to give ground steadily. She¡¯d sway aside from one stab and find Silpar¡¯s foot kicking towards her shin with claws flexing to rake flesh. He¡¯d followed her retreat and hounded her to the platform¡¯s edge. A last-minute roll stopped her from plummeting off and, barely on her knees, Amdirlain caught his sword between her blades. Before she could twist it from his grip, she had to tumble backwards to avoid the other sword that lanced towards her face. After three more exchanges, he¡¯d forced her off a different side, and Amdirlain teleported back to the middle. With a nod from her, they began again. Their motions blurred with eye-watering speed and, in under a minute, Amdirlain had teleported back to the start. Without even waiting for her nod, Silpar attacked. Blades frequently shattered only to be replaced, and the battle recommenced. Yet another deflection within thousands broke her blade at the hilt, and Amdirlain spun inwards instead of away. Her surviving blade rammed into his gut before Silpar¡¯s other hand could come around. A moment later, his blade¡¯s edge pressed against her throat, but it didn¡¯t break the skin. ¡°A sacrificial move,¡± observed Silpar. ¡°Sometimes they¡¯re needed,¡± replied Amdirlain. Silpar frowned. ¡°Best not to be in that position.¡± Amdirlain moved back to the start and pulled another blade from her Inventory. She refreshed the demi-plane¡¯s atmosphere and listened to the surrounding music. However, the issue getting on her nerves wasn¡¯t external. A Stormfront of pressure hovered in her mind, and Amdirlain flowed with it before Silpar got back in position. The memory that rose was Ori surrounded by exquisitely beautiful Fey in a shadow-filled glade. Nicholaus¡¯ song had disappeared beyond her range, so she obeyed his instructions and refused all of the continual offers of food and drink, no matter how it stirred fits of hunger within her. When a Fey servant, looming head and shoulders above her, presented yet another dish, she fixed her gaze on him and listened to the trickery of his song. ¡°I will not incur any debt to you or anyone else.¡± The music within the glade shifted with amusement, but beyond its boundary, deadly songs beckoned her for attention. Danger and a sense of impending death crawled along her skin and trilled from beyond him. Her blades appeared in her hands, though their silvery hue wasn¡¯t the iron the fey scorned; the coldness in her gaze at death¡¯s incoming song had the servant open his mouth to yell. The attack that came wasn¡¯t from her, and a gurgled cry exploded from his mouth, driven by the impact of the Fey spear that bloomed out through his chest. Gravely wounded and in terrible pain, the fey¡¯s immortality prevented him from dying. She could hear the cable of life that held his essence within his body. The spear was yanked out of his back, and she darted around him and slashed up. Even as her blade rose, the shift in tension through her legs and torso sent out thousands of barbed darts. Her targets weren¡¯t the Fey warriors close by but the ones that appeared and leapt inwards from the suddenly darkened forest¡ªthey carried songs whose malicious melodies spoke of rain-soaked autumns and scouring spring winds. She duplicated the muscle memory and knowledge within herself that a defender used to execute a perfect decapitating cut. Despite the wound¡¯s severity, the fey who¡¯d been cut down by them still lived, unlike her foe. When the next attacker neared her, the girl who would become Orh¨ºthurin sent him into the oblivion of true death by severing the connection to their flesh. Amdirlain executed the same cut, and seeing her start, Silpar stayed back and witnessed her rapid attacks against unseen foes. Music hummed in her throat and became shadows of the past that fought and died. A battle from aeons ago played out on the platform¡¯s stage; hundreds of foes and allies fought and died around her. In Amdirlain¡¯s mind, four Fey courts fought around the girl who wanted only to be Human in their midst. An obviously foolish and meaningless Mortal who quickly became a dangerous obstacle to be removed. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Their weapon experience surpassed hers, but thousands of strikes from phantasmal blades, flame, ice, and dimensional shears lashed out with every motion she made. Fey magic fought back, but those who sought to tear her down found themselves battered and broken before they even touched blades. As she duplicated more of their capabilities within her flesh, she crossed blades with those close at hand while more melodies massacred those further away. A horde of Fey warriors followed the first attackers to the treaty site, and the death that Ori remembered welcomed them close. The battle songs of those around her soaked in through her skin, and her power made each one¡¯s might her own. Repeatedly, new themes within their muscle memory blended into her flesh, and she duplicated the experience they sought to apply within her mind. Throughout the battle, her movement and grace changed from a youngster still reaching towards her full growth into a mature, elven warrior. Hours later, she was soaked to the skin by the blood splattered from a mound of dead Fey. Their immortal blood, combined with her power, had effected considerable change. Not the least, the name she found for herself. With the battle over, she possessed bronze-gold skin, and her rich loam eyes had, at some point, become sapphire blue. The meadow¡¯s ground was mounded up with those whom death had taken. The dead had fed millions of years of experience with violence into a young, still heartbroken sixteen-year-old. While further afield, those who¡¯d wisely crossed blades with their kin survived, though gravely injured. Titania, Mab, and their kings smiled at the mauled wounded from the Autumn and Spring courts. However, they howled with delight when they saw the dead around Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Is this your protection and hospitality?¡± questioned Nicholaus, having arrived back on the heels of the Fey royalty. Mab smiled. ¡°I told you nothing here would bring her harm while we spoke. Perhaps our invaders should complain? Your daughter has drunk deeply from the aeons of life ahead of the treaty breakers.¡± ¡°That was not all that was promised. You said your winter shadows would shelter and hide me while you five spoke. The shadows did not,¡± insisted Orh¨ºthurin. The fear that had clung to her through the fighting fought to be heard, and Orh¨ºthurin gritted her teeth when her voice quivered. Mab snorted. ¡°You attacked from the shadows. Perhaps you should have merely watched.¡± ¡°They still failed,¡± insisted Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Are you alright, little songbird?¡± asked Nicholaus. "From today I am Orh¨ºthurin," Orh¨ºthurin stated. Nicholaus merely nodded in agreement. ¡°You are old enough to need a new name.¡± ¡°An interesting name to choose,¡± purred Mab, her wintery gaze avoided Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s burning eyes. ¡°It was your shadows that should have hidden me while my father heard your request. Instead, I was repeatedly attacked. You are in my debt, Mab. All the Summer and Winter Court royals are, since you insisted I couldn¡¯t be at my father¡¯s side,¡± declared Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°You will each send a shard to our realm when we call.¡± ¡°And if I don¡¯t?¡± asked Mab. ¡°You sought to waste my father¡¯s time. Worse, to make him another humble petitioner to your might when you want his skills. Now you are in my debt, and nothing is stopping me from singing all your precious secrets into common knowledge through this realm and others,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin, her tone heated as her father¡¯s forge. ¡°I know now how a Fey can die. Let my choice of name remind you of your failing this day.¡± Mab frowned, and a wintery hoarfrost rose in her gaze. ¡°And if I come, you will wipe them from your memory?¡± ¡°No, because you¡¯ve proven we can¡¯t trust your word or the cold games you like to play,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°If you do not come, all the realms will learn that you don¡¯t make the unbreakable pacts as you claim. I can hear the loose threads from severed deals about you.¡± ¡°You will learn the value of what you see as cold games in time,¡± declared Mab. As Orh¨ºthurin gritted her teeth, she glanced down at the grove¡¯s polluted waters and saw the stranger gazing back at her. Her start let Amdirlain break free of the memory. She changed herself, but that wasn¡¯t how I imagined it. Is that why she didn¡¯t question her father about him not having removed her divinity earlier? She wanted to believe that her years were those stolen from the Fey. Is that why I¡¯m paranoid about debts at times? Is that why Mab was after me to get the secrets Orh¨ºthurin heard from Mab¡¯s mind back then? [Partial memory synergy achieved < 0.001% Magic +10 Death Strike [S] (20->52) Energy Drain [S] (44->96) Resonance [G] (8->16) True Song Genesis [S] (61->80) Agile [S] (179) -> [G] (22) Kopis [G] (75) Kopis [G] (75) absorbed into Devouring Cacophony. Devouring Cacophony [S] (184->199) Dance [S] (61->88)] That¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve improved my magic rating from a memory event, but I could faintly feel the remembered song touching me. She learnt how to refine her channelling of power from the Fey life she ended. ¡°Debts, Fey hate debts,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Silpar nodded. ¡°That they do. What was that?¡± ¡°I just remembered a battle,¡± replied Amdirlain, unsure what she wanted to go into from the memory. ¡°You sang the shadows of foes and allies into existence around you,¡± advised Silpar. Amdirlain¡¯s eyes snapped open in concern, and she looked towards him. ¡°Undead?¡± Silpar shook his head. ¡°No, just illusionary shadows.¡± ¡°Shall we try again?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Push me hard, please. I want to see if I can force another memory event.¡± It was hours before the others returned, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t achieve a further breakthrough in Devouring Cacophony. Indeed, it took longer for the memories she¡¯d regained to fully settle into her flesh. Yet the way the Grandmaster rank with Kopis hadn¡¯t caused it to break through to its Grandmaster rank gave Amdirlain some promise of its potential. Cyrus was the first to reappear near the pavilion, and he sat to watch her spar with Silpar. His calm gaze took in the change in her motions, but he didn¡¯t interrupt their training. When Gail and Roher reappeared, a Gate to a music-rich demi-plane had closed behind them, and Amdirlain noted some tweaks they¡¯d made to the themes she¡¯d provided. Sarah, Isa, and Ilya¡¯s return came with a heavy odour of blood surrounding Sarah, but none of it was hers. With the last of them back, Amdirlain retreated from Silpar¡¯s latest effort to herd her over an edge. Her blades disappeared away, and Amdirlain gestured towards the pavilion before she teleported over. ¡°Everyone having fun?¡± Gail directed an exhausted stare her way. ¡°I¡¯m done in. Those songs are almost too much for me, even spread over a week.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°The challenge of your demi-planes is beyond what our duet could easily manage without your power evolution. Though it was an interesting challenge and stretched my True Song.¡± ¡°You wanted to try the self-sustaining biome. The Mana-supported ones are far easier,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Crossing her arms on the table, Gail rested her head on her forearms. ¡°Time to nap now.¡± Moving around behind Gail, Amdirlain gently rubbed her shoulders. ¡°All worn out?¡± ¡°You wanted a challenge,¡± observed Sarah. Gail gave a tired laugh. ¡°Ha. Be careful what I wish for. Is that what you¡¯re saying, Auntie Sarah?¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°I said what I said. How you translate that is up to you.¡± The odour of blood evaporated with a few notes from Amdirlain, and Isa smiled. ¡°She wants you all tidy, Sarah.¡± ¡°She¡¯s just got a delicate nose,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve been in enough awful-smelling places,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re back earlier than I expected.¡± Sarah rolled her eyes and pointed at Isa. ¡°Isa said we weren¡¯t going to be treading on your toes any more.¡± ¡°And we got what you needed,¡± added Isa, and she lay a bracelet of shadow vines upon the table. ¡°Rana put me in touch with someone who had one available.¡± ¡°Ahh,¡± breathed Amdirlain, and she looked at Isa. ¡°You might have picked the concept of Luck and Skill combined, but sometimes I still wonder if there aren¡¯t a couple of aspects in the forge nudging your actions.¡± Isa blew a raspberry. ¡°I believe what I believe. You can worry about the mechanics and who whispers in my hindbrain.¡± Leaning over, Ilya kissed her on the lips. ¡°You¡¯re my crazy cat lady.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± huffed Isa, and Gail smiled at the pair. Amdirlain checked the new one with Analysis before she swapped it over for the one she¡¯d created. Cyrus had kept his attention studiously fixed on the platform and gestured towards it when she was clothed again. ¡°You had some insights while I was gone?¡± ¡°A memory of Ori fighting some Fey court warriors. I didn¡¯t get all she gained from the battle, but I got snippets.¡± ¡°Pressure often brings to the surface what is inside a person,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°What did she gain from the battle?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Lots of combat experience and improvements to her use of the Kopis. I also got a clear indication that my combat style is higher ranked than a single weapon. The notification showed I gained Grandmaster rank in it, but it was absorbed into my fighting style without breaking it through to that rank,¡± explained Amdirlain. Silpar grunted. ¡°That makes sense since you can use a range of weaponry and your bare hands at an equal proficiency.¡± ¡°We should mix up your weaponry more and see if others bring you insights,¡± proposed Cryus. ¡°Ori tended to fight with Kopis, so it¡¯s a balancing act between provoking the memories that might get Amdirlain accelerated growth and getting comfortable with other weapons,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain beckoned to Cyrus. ¡°Pick another weapon.¡± ¡°Silpar uses the spear. Let¡¯s train with that for a time,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°The three of us are going to find some more trouble,¡± said Sarah, motioning to Isa and Ilya. ¡°The playpen is fine in Dragon form, but I want to fight foes in a humanoid shape as well. We¡¯re going to go mess up some Dao mines.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Kick a few of them for me as well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave the kicking to you, but I¡¯ll stab a few,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Anyone need extra weapons?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah set a box on the table. ¡°I¡¯ve got enough to supply a small army. This will help you improve your primordial resistance even if I don¡¯t like the thought of you sticking your arm into it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just doing what¡¯s needed,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, well, I hope you can take a few centuries to balance out all the pain you¡¯re putting yourself through,¡± replied Sarah, and she fixed Silpar and Cyrus with a stern look in turn. ¡°Make sure she doesn¡¯t overdo it with this while we¡¯re away.¡± Cyrus nodded. ¡°I¡¯m aware of the risk with dark paths.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be good,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah gazed at her sceptically. ¡°Sure you will, and I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t push Silpar to move into the deep planes ahead of schedule.¡± ¡°Seems like you have some predictable tendencies,¡± observed Silpar. ¡°Right, we¡¯re going to break up some Dao and steal some loot,¡± said Sarah and she rose. ¡°If you head back to the cloister before we¡¯ve returned, send us a heads-up.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Gail patted Amdirlain¡¯s hand, still rubbing her shoulders and rose. ¡°I¡¯m going to get some rest, tend to some political matters, and then try the easier demi-plane setup out.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll come with you. Let me know when you¡¯re ready to try the easier songs.¡± Ilya waved at Cyrus and Silpar. ¡°Enjoy pushing Amdirlain for a while.¡± When the others had departed, Cyrus fixed Amdirlain with an enquiring look. ¡°All your framework of gates are closed.¡± ¡°I needed to focus on the feeling of the memory that was coming up, and their songs provided unneeded distractions,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then let¡¯s focus purely on the spear for a time. Have you used one recently?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Not for a few years,¡± replied Amdirlain. Silpar waved his tail tip at Cyrus. ¡°Let¡¯s take turns initially. Do you have some long spears?¡± The three of them moved to the central platform, and Cyrus passed Amdirlain a long spear with a sword-like blade. She tried out its heft and balance before she faced off against Silpar. Silpar looked it over and retrieved a trident from a dimensional storage ring. ¡°Let¡¯s mix things up.¡± Cyrus drew out a spear for himself and watched Amdirlain¡¯s movements as the two of them started; the initial slow pace sped up sharply. The pair pushed her hard for week after week, and despite their persistence, Grandmaster stayed teasingly out of reach. The memories that had come forth hindered and helped; while they¡¯d provided a surge of insights, they took time to settle and truly become hers. Though her ability to dance around their attacks continued to grow, evasion alone wasn¡¯t what Amdirlain desired. With her sitting a distance from them while primordial flames cooked flesh from her bones, Amdirlain growled. ¡°I can¡¯t get the insight I need.¡± ¡°You need more time in the forge of battle before we can temper you,¡± proclaimed Cyrus. ¡°Fights where the stakes are real clear the mind of distractions,¡± agreed Silpar. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Fighting against demons or undead?¡± ¡°There are more opponents that threaten mortals than just those,¡± argued Silpar. ¡°I know, but the ones I can deal with easily fall into those camps. Though there are also the Dao, among others, that favour slavery,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Cyrus glanced between the white flames, turning her arm to ash and Amdirlain¡¯s unflinching expression. ¡°Take a break while you decide and tackle some of Gideon¡¯s songs. You¡¯ve been pushing your combat ability for a while now. You should soak yourself in life¡¯s needs instead of the pain you ignore.¡± Analysis brought up a long list of work items for her to handle, having expanded well beyond the thousands she had seen last time. ¡°I¡¯ve got the texts at the cloister to read,¡± objected Amdirlain. Silpar motioned her to relax. ¡°Helch will keep them aside for you. What is this list of songs?¡± ¡°Some developing worlds have issues that the Anar and L¨®m? used to take care of,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got a Skill that lets me see a list of work that will help the realm. It presents similarly to how I see notifications about experience and Skills growth. It¡¯s usually work that pushes the growth of my True Song.¡± ¡°You said you need to push that Power, and you¡¯ve focused on your weapon skills lately,¡± noted Silpar. Amdirlain pulled the remains of her arm from the flames and shut the device off. As her bones and flesh reformed, Cyrus shook his head slowly. ¡°Does that help you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve gained a dozen points in Primordial Resistance with it so far,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll need to organise Gideon¡¯s worklist first, as there are thousands of items on it.¡± Silpar¡¯s gaze stayed glued to her healing arm. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen another Fallen willing to destroy their limbs like you do.¡± Amdirlain gave him a rueful nod. ¡°I¡¯ll open a Gate for you, Cyrus. Save some wear and tear on the gadget Sarah gave you.¡± ¡°My thanks,¡± acknowledged Cyrus as he flowed to his feet. When he had gone on his way, Amdirlain dumped the work list into a memory crystal and quickly organised it. ¡°Some are on moons and asteroids, correcting their orbital decay. Useful places if they increase my resistance to mundane materials and cold. There are also some habitable planets with sapient lifeforms. Maybe we can direct the Fallen to help them.¡± ¡°Is this Gideon looking to help us as well?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°I don¡¯t know, maybe he¡¯s just giving me work where I¡¯ll feel it¡¯s making a difference,¡± replied Amdirlain. 356 - Life Amdirlain''s PoV - Foundry When she opened a Gate to the most straightforward song, the view beyond its threshold was of an inky void from atop an icy rock. "What must you do to this asteroid?" asked Silpar. "I need to set up changes to adjust its orbital speed only when it reaches a specific location relative to its sun," replied Amdirlain. "There are few like this to handle." Amdirlain crossed the threshold with no decompression damage, unlike her brief stint on Veht?''s innermost planet. The system''s sun was far away, and the icy mass beneath her feet stole warmth from her body. Frost rimed her limbs, and the cold sunk its teeth in and gnawed at her flesh. Let''s finish these items quickly and see if accumulated injuries can increase my resistance. Embedding a crystal with a linked song in the asteroid¡¯s depth, she tied its effect to the meteor''s orbital position and returned through the Gate. Amdirlain quickly completed one song after another before they took her to a new planet. They could see a beautiful rose-coloured sky through the Gate, and Amdirlain could sense a populated harbour in the distance. Mentioning it to Silpar, she got a surprised grunt. "This planet has a developing species?" "They certainly sound native to the world. Tribal Orcs," reported Amdirlain. Analysis reported the primary species of the planet were orcs, with a smattering of giants, below one percent each. The change Gideon needed looked like it was to tweak the fertility rate in their food supply. Stepping out, she found the air possessed the crisp taste she associated with the dawn, a sensation never present in the Outlands'' eternal sunshine. Songs adjusted the sea grasses for kilometres and brushed past various fish with varying degrees of effect. Those lowest in the food chain received the most extensive amplification to their fertility, while those higher would only benefit from the increase in food. The change made her notice the gaps in the ecosystem caused by volcanic eruptions. Once Amdirlain was done, she motioned to the village far across the harbour. "Do you want to go check on them?" Silpar shook his head. "The priority is working through your list. There isn''t time to check into their situation and see if they need help the cloister would normally provide." "Not even wanting to stop and teach them a few commonly beneficial tricks?" asked Amdirlain. "They''ve had some lean years of late." "It''s not our way to share knowledge casually. If we teach a warlike group animal husbandry, the next thing you know, they can muster larger forces," explained Silpar. "Later on, I''ll advise someone about this world, and we can investigate to see who to help and provide guidance." "I''ll have to see if I can find the portal to the Outlands. Then we can report an understandable discovery and give them a way to access it," said Amdirlain. "They could need help. Why don''t you start the survey while I handle my list?" "Does my presence by your side worry you?" asked Silpar. "If they need help, it''s better to be prepared to offer it than jump through the hoops later," replied Amdirlain. Retrieving a set of surveyors, she configured them to survey the natural gates and portals and then to plane shift to Foundry once the work was done. Silpar watched the surveyors appear and vanish without saying a word; only once they were gone did he speak again. "How about you complete your list and return here? Or if I find they''ll be trouble, we''ll link up again." Amdirlain gave a sharp nod. "Agreed." "The Cloister¡¯s assessment might direct our help to another tribe completely. Will your change spread?" asked Silpar. "To all the connected waterways that the plants and fish can survive in," said Amdirlain. "I''m loath to part from you so easily, but your argument about timely help is reasonable," stated Silpar. "Put it this way, if you couldn''t investigate for me. I''d have two choices: stop dealing with the other items on the list, or ignore them; so it''s a big help," replied Amdirlain. Silpar frowned. "I''m supposed to be on hand to protect you." "I won''t return to the cloister without you," confirmed Amdirlain. Turning invisible, Silpar flew towards the harbour. Once the surveyors were in stable orbits, Amdirlain proceeded to the following site on the list. Will Bahamut grumble about me using people he recruited to help me the wrong way? The Gate deposited Amdirlain onto a barren stretch of rock-strewn ground, and Amdirlain considered the music for this site. The music was a complex orchestral work with thousands of individual pieces entwined to support a primary theme. Amdirlain ran through the music in her mind without empowering it and moved in time to the primary theme to find the steps and motions to embrace it. The rapid shifts of muscles and tendons served as fretboards, with Orh¨ºthurin''s example in mind. Amdirlain realised what she''d been missing when she started to empower the song. The dance itself emphasised the creation''s music when played as a whole through flesh and not merely individual notes. She felt her spiritual net resonate with the tune, and, with each stretched limb that empowered thousands of notes along its path, the music rang within her Soul. By the time Amdirlain completed the song, a forest had grown around her. It was a place silent of animal life but with the potential to shelter hundreds of thousands within. The swaying leaves upon trees and bushes seemed to linger within her, a connection that ended as the last notes faded from her flesh. When Ori demonstrated the creation of a star to her husband, she didn''t dance. No, she didn''t forget to dance; she chose not to. The realm held good and evil, but the more she invested herself in the work, the more she felt from it. When the evil entities entered the realm through the rift to the faded realm, it was then she truly understood what they''d need to make. While it wasn''t enough to stop her, Orh¨ºthurin didn''t want to experience evil to the depth of her Soul, so she became selective in her use of dance. This song stretched out from shore to shore on a continent-sized land mass. Why did Gideon want a forest here? And one with no animals at that? Amdirlain felt a presence appear within Resonance and slowly turned to regard the female figure. Her form shifted from one moment to the next, and around her feet, bugs large and small launched outwards to find niches within the forest. Mating flights of bees, ants and other insects filled the sky above, gently sent in different directions. "Cuineth," said Amdirlain, and she blinked in surprise, unsure why she''d picked that elven name. It was the first time she¡¯d seen the principal Aspect of Life in the flesh or memory, but her recognition had been instant. The female''s form stabilised into that of an elven lady with light green skin, sapphire eyes, and hair resembling fern fronds cascading past her shoulders. Cuineth smiled, and a warmth of life radiated outwards. "You remembered my name immediately, which will make someone so jealous. Do you think he¡¯ll make a Law against that? Are you done with this planet Amdirlain, or will you also bring life to the other continents?" "Gideon only gave me a single song for this world," replied Amdirlain. "You know, as the Aspect of Life, you should coordinate work assignments with him properly." "Figures," huffed Cuineth. "Maybe we should invite your wounded one to ensure life extends its hold. The oceans still survive enough to provide a breathable atmosphere, but issues occurred in a worldwide domino effect, and the lands'' ecosystems collapsed. No worshippers for her though. Should I promote her?" "Promote?" enquired Amdirlain. I wonder if Mars managed to take my advice with Anna Perenna. I have yet to hear from him again. Is he waiting or off looking for an answer he likes? "I can invest enough energy in her to turn her into a true Goddess, let her find her way with this world and see what life she can raise," clarified Cuineth. "She is wounded," observed Amdirlain. "Are you sure it''s wise to entrust her with it before she''s recovered?" "She just needs a big garden to tend for a while and a reminder that life is part of a cycle. She killed another God during the little tiff," said Cuineth. "It hurt her to do so, but life is also about growing stronger from the pains it brings. I mean, look at you, hasn''t that worked for you?" Amdirlain shrugged casually. "I''ve had help along the way." "You could have had a lot more if you''d held still a time or two," replied Cuineth. Amdirlain heard the Aspect''s song shift, and trillions of lifeforms, microfauna and flora, suddenly existed within the forest. "What was the problem here?" Cuineth''s nose wrinkled. "Solar flares. Another star going supernova aggravated this system''s star. At least this time it wasn''t from a miscalculation by one of us, but that''s happened before." "Technically, the other sun going supernova is a miscalculation," noted Amdirlain. "That wasn''t an avoidable situation. Rather, it was a wound cauterisation," grumbled Cuineth. "I''m so glad you''re back." Her phrasing had Amdirlain open her mouth to protest, and Cuineth raised her hands. "Yes, I know you''re not Orh¨ºthurin. Unlike other idiots, you don''t have to explain that to me. The Eldritch can make an awful mess, especially when the ones that drift between stars find a developing world," continued Cuineth, and she gave Amdirlain a beaming smile. "As such, I''m glad you''re back on deck and available to shut down those occurrences." Skipping forward, Cuineth transformed into a child and dashed around Amdirlain, giggling ecstatically. Amdirlain fought to keep a smile in check. "What''s got you so excited?" Cuineth stopped and planted her fists on her hips. "This place is so fresh, and you danced it. I always loved the danced worlds the most. They''ve got the most energy to them. The purely sung worlds always needed a few millennia for the precise edges to smooth themselves off. You''d best keep that in mind, mother-who-was." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. "When did you come into existence?" asked Amdirlain. "Ahh, so you remember my name but not all the details yet," said Cuineth. Amdirlain sighed. "All the details would likely be more memories than the years I''ve already had." "The more you recall or live, the less the new-old memories will burden you," advised Cuineth. Transforming back into the adult elf from earlier, she drew Amdirlain into a familiar hug with a gentle but overwhelming strength. "I missed the heart you added to the realm." "She felt so much pain in my memories," said Amdirlain. Cuineth smiled sadly. "Hearts feel pain. Well, technically, not hearts, since that''s just another muscle, but metaphysical hearts are the foundation for emotions. Not that all species possess the ability to feel or perceive the emotions of others. Orh¨ºthurin did and sometimes felt them too strongly. It''s what made her angry or sad beyond what others considered reasonable. That might have been why she was always tidying up and putting things back in order. Even when she knew the effect of the vines, it didn''t stop her from pushing her limits and paying for it later." "Hopefully, nothing like them ever exists again," said Amdirlain. "You didn''t obliterate them. The first cutting you ripped from it has been repurposed," advised Cuineth. Amdirlain''s gaze narrowed suspiciously. "Repurposed to do what?" "Let''s say if you ever see Anar children with vine tattoos and unable to hear True Song, it will be a certain Anar king or his choirs," explained Cuineth. "They''ll be so isolated from the community around them," breathed Amdirlain. Biting her lip, Cuineth shook her head slowly. The muscles in her neck tightened with each movement. "And you weren''t isolated? No one asked them to make those wretched things. They should play garden bed for a hundred lifetimes as you did." "Nicholaus passed judgment on them?" asked Amdirlain. "Yes," spat Cuineth. "He passed judgment on another Soul whose existence Moloch now has a grasp on," said Amdirlain. Cuineth frowned and crossed her arms. "I hope you''re not proposing I help you do something merciful to them." "Life doesn''t do mercy," said Amdirlain. "Glad you understand; its something the other one needs to remember," "Her portfolio is life and plenty," said Amdirlain. "There is plenty of death to go around during the life cycle of most species," retorted Cuineth. "Even vegans will eat so many bugs in their lifetime, bet they don''t want to consider what they inhale in their sleep." "The other matter is I think she''ll be better off if she and her husband can learn to communicate," offered Amdirlain. A smile flitted across Cuineth''s lips. "Not trying to shortcut another''s struggles?" "Not when they have the means to take care of it themselves. After all, neither of them are children," replied Amdirlain. "When Torm¡¯s Soul is reborn, will you try to shortcut its struggles?" enquired Cuineth. The question didn''t even bring a stab of pain, but Amdirlain exhaled slowly in surprise. "He''d likely be better off if I stayed out of his life." "Some plants grow best when not within another''s shadow," said Cuineth. Amdirlain paused with the tip of her tongue against her lip, unsure which way Cuineth meant the statement. "Has he been reborn yet?" "No, but I believe your father in this realm has some parents in mind," replied Cuineth. Gritting her teeth, Amdirlain slowly shook her head. "Making that distinction doesn''t make the regrets about my parents and family any less." Cuineth smiled. "Their souls won''t come here, worshippers of another God and all that. That life is in the past. Maybe you need to learn to move on." "There are loose ends still associated with it here." "What do you want to do with your stalker?" "Like I did to the other souls, strip him of memories and break him down to the Soul''s essence. In part, the Titan''s verdict would remain intact, and he''d no longer be a risk to leak knowledge about me or my friends," explained Amdirlain. Cuineth tilted her head curiously. "You know that he would consider that an even worse fate than the one Nicholaus inflicted on him." "That his beloved rejected him so thoroughly as to dismantle who he was?" questioned Amdirlain. "Like I should care. I don''t even know how our paths crossed in all the realms I could have ended up in." "Souls entangled in major events draw themselves back to each other in time," said Cuineth. "A sort of gravitational attraction, one might say. Some can''t make it from one lifetime to the next without bumping into each other, even if only in flitting interactions. I''ll speak to Nicholaus about what you want to do. He''s not omniscient, you know. That''s Gideon''s role, and they only share what they need to." "Yeah, that annoys the living daylights out of me frequently." Cuineth smiled mischievously. "You think they don''t know that?" "I''m sure they know it does, but it still gets on my nerves regardless," replied Amdirlain. "Take care, mother-who-was. It would help if you danced to the creation songs more often. After all, it will be good for your Soul to let it feel the creation of life," said Cuineth and with that, she vanished. But what do you gain from that advice? Pushing aside her paranoia, Amdirlain moved on to the next task. As the complexity of songs increased, some stops took far longer to resolve. A few planets with destructive mutations in plant life required weeks of constant singing to settle things back on track. Throughout her work, Amdirlain started to receive details about the orcs'' lifestyle from Silpar. They weren''t the violent tribal orcs from games, or even like those on Veht?. The tribe''s prosperity depended on their success in fishing, which was central to their way of life. Their belief system was as yet primitive, and there wasn''t any sign of ancestral spirits. Indeed, ghosts of ancestors were the subject of scary fireside tales, which made that worship system unlikely to develop among this tribe. Silpar advised her a few members of a tribe of hundreds had access to primitive cantrips that were grossly ineffective. Daily reports of their tribal lifestyle came in from Silpar with increasing interest in his tone. Your pendant feels like you''re so close to clearing your debt, Silpar. I wonder, when was the last time you even checked the path''s judgement? Hundreds of items on the list were the delicate seeding of new life and, taking Cuineth''s advice, she danced to the simple melodies. Each time she needed to implement a planetary effect, she took it as an opportunity to stretch the reach of her songs further. Despite her range''s gradual increases, it took days of effort and constant teleporting to set in place some planetary effects. Have I given Salgan enough time to spread the rumours yet? I''m not sure Moloch will even believe that the Titan''s Songbird is an ancient Dragon, but it could be fun. Analysis of the song she remembered Salgan heading towards provided a name. [Furnace Details: This infinite Plane of the Abyss is overrun with continual volcanic activity that brings a never-ending supply of metals and minerals to the surface with the lava. Despite the volcanic activity, it has no direct link to the Para-Elemental Plane of Magma or the Elemental Plane of Fire.] I said I wouldn''t hunt for him if he didn''t tell Zozzuth. Too bad I lied. Once I finish these songs for Gideon, Salgan and I will chat further. That thought focused her attention, and Amdirlain applied herself to the tasks, but even with extra effort, the list took nearly a year. Yet, with the end of the work nearing, another set of notifications appeared and showed its worth. [True Song Genesis [S] (116->117) Dance [S] (101->102)] The effort had given her a focus to push her True Song to its limits to get the work done in months instead of years. Only the regeneration provided by an active Phoenix''s Rapture kept her health topped up and let her maintain the blistering pace. When the last song was finally performed, she stopped herself before she used Analysis to seek the updated list. Stopping off at Foundry, Amdirlain retrieved the details of the surveyors'' work to detect the planar connections to the orcs'' world and send a Message to Silpar. "I''ve got the location for the Outlands Portal to that world. Did you want to come with me to Furnace before we take the information to the cloister? I''m currently in Foundry, and you can join me here if you''d like." Silpar appeared in the middle of the training platform. "Rahka is currently still assigned to gathering resources from Furnace. Why did you plan to go there?" "Salgan. I told him I wouldn''t hunt him, but he''s a Balor; living malice and spite given form. So I thought I''d end him," explained Amdirlain. "It shouldn''t be a long trip. If he doesn''t have another Home Plane he''s jumped to, I can scry him out." "If he''s not under enough protection," countered Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. "No, I''ll be able to scry him regardless, but getting to him will be another matter." "I''ll come with you. How did your tasks go?" enquired Silpar. "I got all the last lot of work Gideon had for me. I''m sure more is waiting now, but I''ve not looked. That last lot was enough to get my Dance and True Song over one hundred," advised Amdirlain. "They''re both starting to slow down, so it will be a lot of work to get them into the grandmaster ranks, or I''ll need to find a different tack." "Do you just plan to eliminate this Balor and then go to the cloister?" Amdirlain clasped her hands together innocently. "Why? Do you think I''ll go picking fights?" Snorting, Silpar closed his eyes. "I hadn''t before, but now I believe that will occur." Laughing, Amdirlain waved a finger reprovingly. "What kind of girl do you take me for?" "One that likes to destroy demons," proposed Silpar. "I''ve met some demons that were better than mortals. Rahka would likely have a fit to know that I''ve helped some demons prove themselves worthy of becoming celestials," said Amdirlain. Silpar spluttered in surprise. "What?" Amdirlain nodded. "Two born succubi, and a bunch of L¨®m? whose souls were trapped in demonic shells." "The second I can understand, but the first I find impossible to believe," declared Silpar. "I''ll introduce you to them later if you''d like," said Amdirlain. His eye ridges drew down as Silpar''s brow furrowed. "Demons becoming celestials," he muttered. Amdirlain gave him a broad grin. "Yep. Hold onto the scepticism until you meet them. I''ll hop us to Limbo and let you open a Gate there to Furnace." "I can do it directly from there," agreed Silpar. When the pair appeared in the sky above Furnace, Amdirlain took in the erupting volcano within reach of her Resonance. Far underground, the magma chamber was a self-contained location, disconnected from any planetary mantle. The Abyss and something else seemed to influence how the primordial energy in the plane¡¯s depth expressed itself. Amdirlain hopped them closer to the volcano''s summit, and she tried to understand the connection that the Abyss itself had created. It was a mirror image of how the damned were drawn to a place that fit their crimes. The Abyss used the nature of the Plane''s primary Demon Lord to determine how the primordial energy created the environment. Naamah is a huntress, so her Plane is a forest fit for the hunt rather than a torture ground. Though she still knew too little of the Abyss, it was a theory at least. Setting aside the mystery to investigate later, Amdirlain sought out Salgan. The Balor was holed up in an industrial city, but its wards didn''t protect against teleporting. "Do you want the kill?" asked Amdirlain. Silpar gave an unconcerned shrug. "Pretty much how I feel," said Amdirlain, and she landed on the nearby slope. Putting a barrier in place, she pulled Salgan to them. Salgan snarled and lunged toward her, only to end up impaled on Silpar''s spear. Despite the Demon looming over them, Silpar twisted the weapon around and drove Salgan to the ground. The speed and force shattered Salgan''s wings through sheer pressure and Silpar pinned him against the ground. "Any questions to ask him?" enquired Silpar as he took apart Salgan''s every attempt to blast them with spells. "Did you tell anyone?" Salgan snarled. "No!" The lie was evident in his mind, and Amdirlain laughed. "Thanks for spreading the story. I guess you being killed by a Dragon isn''t embarrassing." Silpar crushed the Demon''s skull underfoot, and flames devoured the corpse and filled the already heated air around them. [Combat Summary Named Demon x1 (50%) Total Experience gained: 188,454 Ostim?: +94,227 Ont?lin: +94,227] I did yank him to us, which counts as part of the battle. The dissolution of his theme matched Zozzuth''s destruction, and Amdirlain gave a satisfied nod. "That flame effect on their death doesn''t always seem to happen." "It depends on the Balor''s strength. Most of the weaker ones don''t explode," confirmed Silpar. Amdirlain tilted her head towards the closest township at the volcano''s base. "Shall we see to destroying some demonic towns?" "It is tempting. Any single Demon might be a speck against the amount of evil present, but it''s a speck that threatens no one once destroyed," said Silpar. "Though, we should take the world''s details to the others so the orcs can receive help." "Then, once you''re there, you''ll be looking to progress my skills some more," commented Amdirlain. Silpar smiled. "Helch has a lot of works set aside for you to read." "Fine, I''ll let you keep me on the path to progress," said Amdirlain. Planar Shift carried them away from the oppressive heat. 357 - One shot Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Ijmti This time, Silpar''s arrival point set them a few hundred metres from the fortifications. "Just to mix things up," said Amdirlain as they waited for instructions to approach. "I only go there when I feel I need a reminder. Though I try not to arrive outside the wards at the same location twice, just in case someone has placed a trap for one of us." Amdirlain winced. "Being so close to the ward''s edge, I hadn''t considered that risk." "It''s a remote risk, but all it takes is someone better at concealment than I am at detection to cause an issue," clarified Silpar. The directions they received split them up to approach from different angles, and Amdirlain could see Silpar''s gaze narrow. Amdirlain was directed towards a four-armed, grey-skinned humanoid standing on the fortress'' lowest tier. Despite his reservations, Silpar followed the instructions, and his theme remained on a razor''s edge during their slow approach. Before they got to where they needed to fly up to the parapet, Helch tapped the back of the Fallen, who waited for her and motioned for him to step aside. Both their gazes widened as Amdirlain''s aura touched the battlements. A sour edge of frustration sounded in the Fallen''s song, but they stepped clear to allow Helch to greet her with a casual nod. "Am." "Helch," returned Amdirlain, nodding in reply. "I understand you''ve got a lot of books gathered. I appreciate all the help you''ve given me." "While we''re not sure we''ve found all of them, we''ve gathered over three hundred texts. About half of those are in primordial script, so you might find it takes some time to get through them," cautioned Helch. "Also, Te has gathered some general arcane texts since you told her you were still developing your Mana Finesse." "Plenty to read," agreed Amdirlain, and she gave the other Fallen a smile. "We found a world needing help while we were out." It is an excuse to spend time in the library and work on stressing Resonance. "Silpar''s work," grumbled the multi-armed Fallen. "You''re disgusting. What have you been up to?" Amdirlain bit her tongue and fixed the distorted humanoid figure with a smile. "Indeed, he spent months monitoring them, seeing if their tribal groups were suitable to assist. I''ve insufficient experience to assess any group according to the cloister rules. My auras have gotten out of hand lately, so I can''t keep them contained." "You murdered an Angel," spat the Fallen. "I killed her so she could escape imprisonment and the Abyss," corrected Amdirlain. "If you''d like, we could meet up with her to talk. I released her from her Planar Lock within an hour of her death." "And the thousands of innocents whose blood is on your hands," spat the Fallen. "You didn''t have that massacre aura about you before." Amdirlain raised an eyebrow and tapped the red and black pendant that hung from her necklace. "I didn''t know they were there, but it freed them from the Abyss. Unfortunately, the path doesn''t judge the positive before assessment. As I just told you, I increased my strength since I was last here, and the auras are no longer containable as they once were." ''Well played,'' projected Helch, and he turned to the Fallen. "As the Eldest reminded Rahka, it is not our place to judge. Perhaps you should spend some time contemplating your journey on the path. Am is not the only one you''ve tried to cause trouble for lately." "Yes, Elder," huffed the Fallen. Helch fixed him with a disappointed look before addressing Amdirlain. "Am, why don''t you accompany me? I''ll ensure you meet up with Silpar without further bother." Amdirlain nodded and followed Helch along the battlement. ''It has been getting ridiculous of late. I''m glad the two of you were absent these months,'' shared Helch through the pendant. ''Am, please don''t journey anywhere here without at least one senior escort.'' ''I seem to be a trouble magnet,'' sighed Amdirlain. Helch shrugged. ''It is easier to blame someone else than look within ourselves. It''s not the first unsettled time, and we shall face them again. Will you be here for long?'' ''I had intended to read the collection works and train,'' replied Amdirlain. ''If you wish, I can teach you how to control your auras while you are here,'' offered Helch. Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ''Silpar said there were consequences to it.'' ''There are,'' admitted Helch. ''I suppose it depends if you plan to work with any of the cloister''s members on Mortal worlds. If that is not in your plans, it is easy enough to contain them as you did previously.'' ''I''ll consider the offer, but unexpected consequences have burnt me previously. For now, I''ll hold off on exploring that option,'' said Amdirlain. Helch gave her an understanding nod. ''Look to push your Angelic Aura Power. If you wish to control them later, strengthening it will be key.'' ''I don''t have that Power any longer. It merged into another one,'' explained Amdirlain. ''That puts paid to that option then unless it kept the capability,'' said Helch. Helch continued walking with Amdirlain until they found Silpar waiting in the main shaft. "Silpar," greeted Helch. "If someone''s security instructions split the pair of you again, withdraw and contact me or another Elder. I''m glad you promptly contacted me. You should know I spoke to the party involved, so there hopefully won''t be need to chastise them yourself." "Appreciated, Elder," replied Silpar. With a last nod, Helch turned and returned to the surface. The trip to the library was uneventful, but they found the tables that had been present on her last visit were absent. Xarlon gave them a wide grin that would have seemed menacing with his fanged maw but for his enthusiastic excitement. He beckoned to them repeatedly from where he stood before an archway at the outer edge of the library that hadn''t existed previously. "Helch set up a storage and study room here for what we''ve gathered." "I hope someone uses it beside me," said Amdirlain, and she took note of the contents in one of the rooms beyond. There were hundreds of works, and at least half of them seemed recently scribed. "Eldest is going to carve a second section of the library, made up of rooms for specific subjects," clarified Xarlon. "They''ve already created some other rooms to go along with the one for the primordial planes." Amdirlain nodded at the open archway. "Is the lack of a door a safety measure?" "Without a door, the library''s wards extend into newly opened spaces. Eldest expected it since they originally had a much smaller library," said Xarlon. "I hope you''ll use it well." "Since I''m finally back, I''d best get busy studying," replied Amdirlain, hiding the surprise she felt from the packed shelves she could hear beyond. "You''ve hardly been away long," snickered Xarlon softly. Silpar patted Xarlon on the shoulder. "I''ll keep watch if you''ve other things to do." "I''ll be nearby," reassured Xarlon. "I can help the others gather materials for the other rooms. Works that we thought might be particularly useful we put immediately to the left of the entrance." Through the archway, there wasn''t a single room but a corridor that provided an archway into a room on either side. Each was twenty metres long and eight metres wide, though only the one on the left had racks in place. The furnishings seemed magically fashioned, unlike the carefully carved shelves in the library. Scrolls, various tablets, and books made up most of the collection, but there were a few of the stone cylinders covered in ideograms. Those were like the one Helch had been examining when Amdirlain had first met him, but none of them had the same styling of inscription. They''d positioned a long table in the middle of the chamber, with just enough room to move around to get at all the racks. Xarlon led the way down the corridor and waved Amdirlain inside. When Amdirlain took in the regularity of many books packed onto the shelves, she looked at Xarlon. "Many smell recently scribed. Did someone go on a spending spree?" "Dagrast?r contacted servants of a God of Knowledge that dwells on Mechanus," explained Xarlon. "Given its source, it should be as accurate as anything written in the Abyss. However, I¡¯d want you to expect some bias about the subject matter, given their orderly nature and the chaos of the Abyss." Amdirlain nodded. "I''ll keep that in consideration." If nothing else, it gives me fodder to try Analysis against. Checking a dozen books among the new works, Amdirlain found that no two were written in the same language. Even worse, she didn''t have any familiarity with them, so she returned them to the shelves. How many languages will I need to learn? I have plenty of knowledge points to ensure there isn''t a misunderstanding from translation spells. Claiming a scroll from the shelf beside the entry, Amdirlain found the author had scribed it in abyssal. It didn''t take long for the potential usefulness of the scroll to show itself, as it detailed navigating a Plane deeper than where Silpar had lost the sisterhood members. Settling in to read, she focused Resonance on the crystal dome that held the plinth and studied the whispers in the pit beneath. Though she''d gotten beneath the first layer of them last time, Amdirlain concentrated on the upper melodies and tried to make out more of the songs'' nuances. Orh¨ºthurin''s memory of the plinth''s creation had indicated her awareness of the entity whose death cries lingered here, but she hadn''t dwelt on them in that memory. Looking to force Resonance''s growth, Amdirlain sought to draw out all the details she could. Its theme might have been drowned in the cries of other residue within the pit, but that made it a challenge rather than a deterrent. Four hours into her studies, the strain of her efforts gave some results. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. [Resonance [G] (16->17) Perception [S] (26->27)] I wonder if I''d find its remains on the Astral Plane? Or if it would even be worth it. What weapons might a Grandmaster make from the ligaments and bones taken from a God''s corpse? The idle thought drew forth a memory of wandering a dead god''s body in a computer game and got a snort from Amdirlain. If someone else hadn''t claimed them, she had a way to find who knows how many remains. It was a dreadful thought, but one her arcane knowledge applauded. The potential materials within them should vary by the nature of the deity whose petrified essence the ''corpses'' represented. I can imagine how Silpar and the others would react. Yeah, I''m just going to mine the bodies of fallen gods. Analysis let Amdirlain determine the languages of the various works without even opening them. In her initial studies, she stuck with working through those written in the languages she knew. She''d been at it for ten hours before Silpar prompted Amdirlain to leave the room and escorted her to the training hall. The progression of Devouring Cacophony was tantalisingly close but stayed elusive during that training session and more that followed. The more Silpar and the others pushed, the further it seemed away. Fortunately, Agile and Dance continued to progress, challenged as they were through Amdirlain''s efforts to flow in time to those who sparred with her. The only outside contacts she risked were the occasional messages to Sarah in case someone had a way to trace them. When not sparring with her, Silpar never moved from the side of the chamber, keeping alert for those around them. However, he wasn''t the only one, as Tinco, Xarlon, and other Fallen with clear pendants frequently seemed to have a reason to be close at hand. In comparison, some Fallen made a point to introduce themselves and then keep their distance, loathe to converse about more than the most idle topics. It was an alienness and isolation that showed up in more than just their approach to her. More than once, Amdirlain was sure that Helch didn''t even flex a muscle while standing outside the archway that led into the study room. He wasn''t alone in that regard, as often those standing watch on the fortress'' parapets might as well have been statues, even when there were arrivals. While Amdirlain caught stray thoughts that made it clear that Rahka wasn''t the only one who thought she might be Ori, that common ground didn''t translate to the same hostility. Some stayed as far from her as possible or merely allowed their gazes to weigh on her when their paths crossed. Unlike her confrontation with Rahka, the interaction among the Fallen was usually a delicate dance. A glance that stayed a moment too long or hurrying off to tasks elsewhere. Rage seethed beneath the surface of many of them, but more often than not the target was themselves. When she ran out of books whose languages she knew, Amdirlain slowly added one language at a time and worked through all the books in each as she did. A notice took her by surprise during the addition of the sixth language. [Polyglot has evolved to Universal Communication.] What? [Universal Communication Details: This allows the possessor to communicate through any means their form provides them access to: spoken, written, thermal, visual, pheromone, etc. While the initial exchanges will be flawed, the possessor will quickly assimilate the new language and adapt. Perfect fluency in a new language is achievable after an hour of practice. Note: You finally unlocked that part of your brain again. *golf clap*] It''s not like you even hinted about a large variety of languages helping with anything, Gideon. Amdirlain grunted in frustration and started on the text she''d selected. It was the first in a series of works written in a dwarven dialect. It chronicled the endeavours of a group of planar explorers who''d sought a fabled entity in the Abyss''s depths. The biggest surprise after reading it wasn''t that it cut off mid-way through an entry but that it had gotten to be seen by anyone. The expedition had gone from thirty high-level wizards and combatants to a mere six by the third Plane. The Mortal perspective in the journal provided her with valuable context that let her put pieces she hadn''t considered into place. Partway through reading it, she received yet another notice of progress in her studies. [Abyssal Lore [S] (94->95) Arcane [S] (8->9)] As she returned the book to the shelf, she acknowledged her restlessness had grown towards the need for a bit of exploring of her own. "Silpar, I think I will get out of here for a bit and apply my combat skills," said Amdirlain. Not even looking into the room, Silpar snorted in amusement. "You''re still short on the insight to break into Grandmaster." "I''ve been at this months. While I''ve pushed my academic knowledge, I need a break from study and training," argued Amdirlain. "I''ve put too much expectation on progress and hit a roadblock instead." "I''ve seen you progress," countered Silpar. "Perhaps when your ability to move with others matches your fighting skill, you''ll get the insight you need." "Alright. Well, I''m going out to punch some demons. Are you going to come with me, or should I contact you before I return?" asked Amdirlain. Silpar nodded. "I''ll come with you." As they descended towards the library''s exit, Amdirlain felt a few gazes weigh on her; the silent judgement carried a sense of scorn rather than hostility. The only figures nearby were a pair of elven Fallen who¡ªthough their pendants were transparent¡ªhad opted to keep their distance and hadn''t even introduced themselves when she''d seen them about. ''Impatience won''t help you improve, child. You should keep your routine and not ask Silpar to indulge you.'' ''He decided I needed a bodyguard. You might consider the possibility I learn differently from you. Or do you think an oak should grow like a willow?'' responded Amdirlain. Though she projected towards the contact she felt through the pendant, there was no verbal response, just a sense of disdain. They''re so oblivious to time''s passage. Is that part of why the outsiders level slower? Is my mindset as alien to them as they are to me? After they passed the lower valley wards, Amdirlain opened a Gate to Jinamizi to avoid a direct trail to Culerzic. Silpar looked over the desolate mist-shrouded plain they arrived on and waited for the Gate to close. ''I was planning to destroy another town or three and then get some sunshine,'' advised Amdirlain. Her plans drew a smile from Silpar before his expression turned puzzled. ''I had expected you to hit another Demon Lord. Didn''t you gain more names from Zozzuth?'' Amdirlain shrugged. ''I have some names of weaker demon lords, but I wanted to hurt Moloch''s trade routes to other planes along with them. He makes a lot of funds and favours through hiring mercenary armies. Hence why I thought I''d destroy some of those as well.'' ''I think your former Mortal perspective is showing,'' advised Silpar. ''The scope of the Abyss is so vast his military isn''t like a nation. Rather, he has untold trillions at his command. Hurting his lower-ranked troops is like yelling into a hurricane. To hurt him, you must destroy the leadership as they''ll take far longer to replace.'' ''That gives me a direction to work towards,'' acknowledged Amdirlain. Silpar''s talons flexed eagerly out from his fingers. ''That sounds like a good hunt. You might find more mortals to save going between their towns and cities. Though my inexperience with the latter might hamper you.'' Amdirlain sighed and stretched Resonance out through the mist and into the ground. The barren plains had concealed thousands of living creatures tunnelling beneath its surface, but there was nothing within reach above ground. ''There were thousands of slaves in Zozzuth''s city, so I need to expand my net, scanning for mortals to rescue. The L¨®m? have taken over expanding it, but it''s like pushing the tide back with a shovel.'' ''Improving sometimes requires a constant effort with no perceptible gains in sight. Yet if you look back at where you''ve come from and compare it to where you stand now, then the difference is obvious,'' replied Silpar. ''You have a mechanism that has allowed both the Celestial and Fallen forces to rescue many mortals safely. To hear you talk of it, you see only what you''ve not yet achieved.'' Amdirlain tilted her head. ¡®How do you view something like the detection net or getting into Grandmaster?'' Silpar smiled slightly. ''These planes are infinite, and what you¡¯ve achieved isn¡¯t something to simply ignore. As for your Grandmaster rank, when was the last time you taught another? You should stabilise what you¡¯ve achieved by reviewing it. Teaching another helps with that as you find a way to explain what you¡¯ve learnt.¡¯ ''I spent some time doing so while I was chasing after the Eldritch horrors on Qil Tris,'' replied Amdirlain, and she grimaced. ''The plan to teach regularly for a while was distracted by hunting them. Though I can''t say I was teaching my style, it was more turning their people''s dances back into their fighting style.'' ''Had your students reached the point of challenging you?'' questioned Silpar. Amdirlain shook her head. ''Regardless of rank in the ability, true mastery comes when you''re able to show someone far different to yourself how to master the lessons you''ve learnt,'' offered Silpar. ''Then I''m out of luck. The only things I seem capable of mastering aren''t powers or skills I can easily teach another without years I don''t have, or at all,'' replied Amdirlain. She confirmed the last residue of the Gate Silpar had used had faded before she opened a Gate to Culerzic. ''Let''s get on with killing Moloch''s demons.'' They arrived atop a mountain-sized slag heap near an industrial town whose size was limited only due to the few buildings that demons needed. Beyond the town, hundreds of thousands of low-level demons formed lines that ran down into a growing strip mine that already plunged kilometres into the ground. While most common were the Dretch, there were also Schir, Skell, and other demons passing materials up from the depths. Spaced out among the masses, Amdirlain sensed hundreds of demons with the Dominator Class, only their growth exceeding level ten. Amdirlain set a concealed spire over the mines to scan for mortals, but it didn''t find any present in the mine or township. They didn''t even set up a simple rail system to haul large loads out wholesale. ''No mortals here,'' projected Amdirlain. Silpar stepped through and stood next to her. ''If you find many places with mortals, you might have to put the dragons on retainer. The effort before you is to keep a foot on the necks of potential rivals. Once conscripted into such tedious labour, they cannot grow stronger.'' ''Fly upwards,'' instructed Amdirlain, and she flew a hundred metres above the peak. Pulling the Plane''s energy into the years of ore processing, Amdirlain energised the slag heap''s contents and threw her hands forward. The suddenly glowing mountain rushed over the town, crushing the buildings and demons beneath millions of tonnes that didn''t just smother, but burned. No Demon had the chance to draw breath for a scream or blink away before the mass impacted the pit''s depths. Silpar blinked. ''No wonder legends compared the powers of the Anar and L¨®m? to gods. There was a mountain beneath us, and now there isn''t a sign it was ever there.'' ''Why is it more impressive to move a few million tonnes of excavated material than create a demi-plane?'' huffed Amdirlain. Silpar waved his hands at the flattened ground where the mountain had been. ''That was far more than a few. The demi-plane was a wave of golden light flowing out further than I can see, but this-'' Beneath the energised slag, Amdirlain could hear the struggles of demons, and she caused it to erupt into primordial flames. [Combat Summary Demons by Tier: Least x 291,467 Lesser x 86,743 Standard x 2,376 Total experience gained: 404,764,055 Ostim?: +202,382,027 Ont?lin: +202,382,027] ''Destruction is easier than creation, but I didn''t need to destroy anything. I just energised and shifted,'' replied Amdirlain. ''Despite the volume of material involved, it didn''t earn a single power increase. There weren''t any named demons in town, so let''s go somewhere more important.'' Silpar gestured to the flattened earth. ''If you can do this, why progress any combat style?'' Amdirlain smiled. ''This depends upon the energy I can channel, and it can be resisted. Also, not every place has tonnes of easily moved soil just laying about.'' ''Easily?'' questioned Silpar. ''I''ve come far after all,'' replied Amdirlain. Despite the lightness in her tone, Amdirlain''s smile didn''t reach her eyes. Amdirlain''s memories of her family weren''t the fragmented pieces of Ori''s life, and regret persisted. 358 - Crashing down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Culerzic Amdirlain moved between a few scores of towns whose locations she¡¯d learned while travelling through Zozzuth¡¯s city. She left devastation in her wake at each mining town that supplied the city with ore. The town wards cracked and shattered when the ground gave way beneath their anchors. Buildings were scooped up and crammed into mine shafts, open pits, or occasionally stuffed full of demons, and she filled the stone with primordial flame. She¡¯d destroyed millions of demons when she appeared on the rim of an open-cut mine and caught a theme within a pair of succubi that showed potential messengers. ¡°I¡¯ll need to conceal your appearance,¡± warned Amdirlain. ¡°There are a couple of demonesses whose presence I¡¯ll use to my advantage.¡± Silpar frowned but didn¡¯t object, so she concealed both his presence and her auras with True Song. She almost teleported the two succubi to her but stopped to transform into an Anar with white-blond hair and set up barriers to prevent escape or communication. ¡°That form certainly wouldn¡¯t still Rahka¡¯s accusations,¡± observed Silpar drily. Amdirlain¡¯s lips twitched. ¡°Good thing I intend for her never to see it. I am bringing them to me. Attacking will break the concealment. Otherwise, you¡¯ll sit in a mental blindspot. I expect to arrange mercenaries to maul Moloch¡¯s forces deployed away from this Plane. Also, to see if their primogen can provide a former sisterhood member who might have been into the depths.¡± His chin lifted, and Silpar paused with a question on his lips. ¡°You can ask,¡± reassured Amdirlain as she kept her smile constrained. ¡°How would you pay them?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s smile bloomed fully. ¡°I¡¯ve got stockpiles of energy I harvested from the damned. That¡¯s all I need to create abyssal coinage, and that won¡¯t get them anything they can¡¯t already buy.¡± Silpar''s frown from earlier hadn¡¯t faded. ¡°You harvest energy from the damned?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the facility later,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s likely easier to explain after I show you.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m curious,¡± admitted Silpar. ¡°Right, I¡¯ll show you those after we deal with a Demon Lord. In the meantime, it¡¯s time to handle these two succubi,¡± stated Amdirlain. The dimensional restraints locked around the necks of two succubi fell from their ebony-skinned throats. She allowed them time to rip apart the demons they were with before Amdirlain yanked the pair to stand before her. Neither waited to ask a question; they lashed out at her, and Amdirlain swayed just beyond their reach. One tried to reposition and flank her, but Amdirlain slipped sideways and stonewalled the attempt. The other tried to flee with Teleport only to find her Power suppressed. ¡°Stop,¡± snapped Amdirlain, lacing her words with Dominion¡¯s control. She hadn¡¯t used the Power in years, but with her increased Charisma and Willpower, she froze their bodies with sheer intent. ¡°I will give you instructions for a mercenary contract and return you to your Home Plane. Ensure it gets to your primogen or someone who can contact her. Clear?¡± As she delivered her orders, they stiffened further at the snap in her tone. The elder of the pair looked at her with dark bedroom eyes and gave a nearly imperceptible nod. ¡°Get word to your primogen that I¡¯d like to hire her huntresses to make Moloch¡¯s life miserable. I¡¯ll also pay a bounty for a senior Sister who has been into the primordial depths with Baln¨¦rith,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°She can leave the Sister and the details of the hiring cost where she picked up the toys I gave her to help hunt Baln¨¦rith. After a time, I¡¯ll send a gift to remind you of the cost of your current freedom. I will make you regret it if she doesn¡¯t leave anything at the drop point I arranged with her. Do you understand?¡± The same Succubus nodded again, and Amdirlain immediately used a Dismissal Spell to send the pair back to The Hunting Grounds. ¡°What do you plan to give them?¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about what I¡¯ll give two succubi?¡± asked Amdirlain with a spark of amusement in her gaze. Silpar remained motionless. ¡°I was considering sending them adamantine weapons of Demon slaying,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°However, if I don¡¯t hear from them, they will gain an aura that makes it impossible for them to hunt stealthily¡ªa bright pink glow or something that can¡¯t be masked.¡± Initially, it was a startled hiss before Silpar¡¯s laughter erupted to echo within the barrier. Once he stopped, Silpar still regarded Amdirlain with amusement. ¡°Providing demons with weapons to slay other demons is interesting. It normally takes Celestial weapons to bear such an enchantment.¡± ¡°To make it even more confusing for them, I¡¯m going to make it so only they can activate the weapon¡¯s enchantment, and it¡¯ll only help them against weaker demons,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°That will give them a better chance to avoid being taken captive again.¡± ¡°You have a strange attitude towards succubi,¡± observed Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve had a wide variety of interactions with them, though I¡¯ve wanted to destroy many, like any other Demon.¡± ¡°I can think of only one Succubus primogen you wouldn¡¯t want to name,¡± stated Silpar. ¡°One of her granddaughters, named Ebusuku, and I got on. She hated the Abyss and spent time as a mercenary out of it, and she¡¯d been working to ruin the sisterhood,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Some of what happened is a bit complicated.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t pry further,¡± replied Silpar. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s not just my history to share,¡± advised Amdirlain before she relocated them to the next target. More towns were destroyed before they arrived at her first important target. With the walls just a line on the horizon, Amdirlain created a crystal spire to hover far out of sight above an enormous city. The modified version of her normal surveyors projected an illusion of the city¡¯s interior to a crystal plate Amdirlain passed to Silpar. Silpar frowned at the distant city walls. ¡°I¡¯ve kept the concealments around us,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Just in case you find the pendant too restrictive. The next Demon Lord likes to keep his palace on the low side.¡± Showing him how to operate the device, Amdirlain brought up the city¡¯s layout. She adjusted the image to centre on a palace with tall, irregularly placed towers that jutted up from four-story structures. In contrast, the city¡¯s buildings around it featured densely packed high rises and cast the palace grounds into shadows. ¡°Are you going into the city to fetch him?¡± enquired Silpar. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to try a bit of distant landscaping,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she caught his confusion. ¡°I¡¯ll undermine the structures anchoring the palace wards and then bring him to us.¡± ¡°How far can True Song reach?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Across the planes if I need to, as long as I know the theme to target. That illusion is just a visual one to you, but I can hear enough details of the place¡¯s melody from the crystal plate.¡± ¡°It has been some time since I last saw an illusion used in such a fashion, and it was to present a place from memory,¡± mused Silpar. Giving him a helpless shrug, Amdirlain could only offer him a theory. ¡°Given that every Celestial and Fallen possesses True Sight, perhaps the usefulness of illusions doesn¡¯t get explored.¡± Silpar tapped a clawed finger against the crystal plate. ¡°How strong is the Demon Lord you¡¯re targeting here?¡± ¡°Stronger than the first one. He¡¯s been through a Transformation Site twice, but he¡¯s not that much stronger,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°He must have gone through the first time without having three prestige classes, or they were far less than Tier 5.¡± [Name: Kirnith Species: Demon Lord (unique) Class: Overseer / Slaver Lord / High Corrupter / Hexist Lord Level: 32 / 62 / 62 / 43 / 42 Health: 1,823,430 Defence: 2,409 (Incorporeal) Magic: 1,890 Mana: 4,213,848 Melee Attack Power: 1,582 Combat Skills: Body Weaponry [GM] (247); Various powers and spell lists. Details: Kirnith started his existence as Hezrou, warping dretch and manes into other lesser species at the command of balors. His first trip through a Transformation Site altered his species into a Feargast. He learned to manipulate minds instead, pushing them to bend them to his will. Moloch seized his services when he destroyed Kirnith¡¯s previous employer.] [High Corruptor: Details: This Tier 5 Prestige Class comes from combining Sorcerer and Hexist, having already combined them in a previous Prestige Class.] [Hexist Details: These corrupt casters are a variation of sorcerers but channel abyssal energies to inflict physical degradations on foes, from opening wounds to inflicting hereditary injuries and afflictions.] Amdirlain projected the details to Silpar, and his gaze widened momentarily before he blinked. ¡°You can see a foe¡¯s imprint.¡± ¡°As long as they¡¯re not appreciably stronger than I am,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Though the reaction I get when I attempt that is enough to let me know that being elsewhere is a good idea.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to handle him unless you look hard-pressed,¡± advised Silpar. Nodding happily, Amdirlain activated Ki State, and feathery armour formed from white primordial flames emerged from her flesh to sit atop her clothing. Silpar grunted. ¡°Yet more tricks up your sleeve.¡± ¡°Same again. The concealment will prevent all perception but sound,¡± said Amdirlain. With what she had planned, Amdirlain decided to err on the side of caution and moved them a few thousand kilometres away. Though Silpar backed up to give her space, Amdirlain¡¯s songs had already surged beneath the city. Vast voids opened beneath the outer walls before follow-up melodies added hundreds of gravities of pressure. When the first wards fractured, the songs that swept across the city removed the few slaves across the planes and into a temporal safehold. The targeted themes cut wards with surgical precision one region at a time. When all that was left were demons at the bottom of the rubble-filled spaces, Amdirlain set portals that reached deep into a volcano on Furnace. The pressure within the massive magma chamber burst upwards, driving the rubble skywards. The spire signalled the palace wards breaking, and Amdirlain yanked Kirnith into her containment barriers. Kirnith was an incorporeal entity, but his ghostly presence appeared composed of smoke and bone fragments swirling in a looming cloud. His futile mental assaults couldn¡¯t break through her protections, but he relentlessly continued stabbing at her with various mental powers. As his presence washed over the environment, it further warped the already sickening abyssal atmosphere. A tendril of the cloud struck at Amdirlain, and though she swayed out of its way, its motion bonelessly followed hers, and she had to spin away before it. The attack power reported by Analysis didn¡¯t seem like it should be a threat, but Amdirlain avoided contact all the same. While spells began to take shape within its interior, scores of tendrils erupted from its formlessness and lanced towards her. The energy within them hissed and screeched to her senses, but she rode the tempo of their songs and slipped ahead of them. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Gusts of ash and obscene curses ran over Amdirlain¡¯s body, but couldn¡¯t get a hold of her flesh through Ki State and the primordial energy it carried. Amdirlain didn¡¯t pause even momentarily as she spun and swayed. She¡¯d started to duck low only to spin or tumble in one direction or another¡ªTeleport repeatedly kept her a fraction out of Kirnith¡¯s reach. Spells ripped at the ground and altered it to pull her beneath, but Free Movement slipped her from the magic¡¯s grasp. As she adjusted to his attacks, she changed the challenge to avoid his touch by the slimmest of margins. The rage-filled Demon Lord didn¡¯t consider her continued avoidance a threat but rather an opponent slowly being worn down by attacks getting ever closer. Through it all, Amdirlain kept her Wood Elf form, just another addition to the difficulty against the erratically moving tendrils under Kirnith¡¯s control. After twenty minutes of the frantic dance, Kirnith¡¯s pace slowed, and Amdirlain caught his sudden spike of wariness. When Kirnith fell back instead of pressing the attack, Amdirlain sensed him trying to overwhelm the smooth mental protections she had in place. As his approach shifted again, Amdirlain unfurled her Charisma in a tidal wave and drowned him beneath her presence, and he knew the fear he¡¯d loved to inflict on others. When she pulled in her Charisma, a groan emitted from his incorporeal form; the sound was a ghostly murmur from bone scratching against bone. ¡°You¡¯re playing.¡± Striking out with a Spell of her own, Amdirlain hit Kirnith with a Planar Attunement and listened as the Spell ran like a tuning fork through his essence. Taking in the change the Spell had applied to her foe, Amdirlain struck with multiple songs until one caught hold. The melody strained to fracture the link between the Demon Lord and one of his home planes, but despite the impact, the Demon¡¯s essence shrugged it off. It might be something in the fundamental rules related to its species. At least I cut down one trip Even if I¡¯ll have to track it to eight more home planes. From its age? Maybe the trips through the Transformation Site, retaining the ones from its old species? ¡°You seem to have caught on. Being so used to controlling others, I had expected you to figure it out sooner,¡± noted Amdirlain, and she channelled memories of Naz¡¯rilica to give an insanely malicious smile. Her willingness to talk gave Kirnith further pause, and his focus split between her and the distant flames and clouds of pyroclastic flow now visible on the horizon. His attention wouldn¡¯t have changed what came next; multiple songs flayed his essence from the inside, and Kirnith exploded. [Combat Summary: Demons by Tier Least x 17,210,726 Lesser x 4,917,350 Standard x 2,950,410 Greater x 602 Named x 5 Demon Lord x1 Total Experience gained: 47,662,571,364 Ostim?: +23,831,285,682 Ont?lin: +23,831,285,682 Dance [S] (168->169) Free Movement [M] (14->16) Note: It¡¯s hard to catch the strongest demons in one place. They tend to have options to Teleport away when the ground starts to melt and explode.] [Achievement: Demonic Metropolis Crusher Details: Single-handedly destroy a city with a population over twenty million and catch at least ninety percent of its population in the event. Reward:
  • 200,000,000 experience
  • Multiple siege warfare classes are now unlocked.
Note: Destroying all these demons isn¡¯t even a drop compared to the untold trillions that spawn each minute.] Yeah, I know. ¡°Or did he finally notice the eruptions coming from what remains of the city?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°Just a bit over twenty-five million demons dead,¡± cheered Amdirlain. She sent a set of songs after Kirnith to apply a dimensional lock and stop the absorption of Mana, though his strange essence would make its effectiveness questionable. ¡°How?¡± rasped Silpar. ¡°I used portals that reached into the depths of one of Furnace¡¯s volcanoes. I had to modify them slightly so that material moving through them was charged with Primordial Mana. Because otherwise, all the succubi would have just had a warm bath,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Experience-wise, it gave me a bit of a jump over the same time spent making demi-planes, and I gained progress in Dance.¡± Silpar smiled, which gave his face a distinctly predatory edge. ¡°Only because you were using him as a whetstone.¡± I¡¯ve got them close enough to cheat and spend the points. I can get Dance and Devouring Cacophony across that threshold now at any time, so I need to push my True Song higher. True Song Architecture is going to be the challenge again. ¡°Do you think he¡¯ll want to play again on his next Home Plane?¡± Snorting, Silpar emphatically shook his head. ¡°No.¡± Amdirlain sighed and let her shoulders slump dramatically. ¡°It¡¯s not fair. Are you sure you want to continue keeping me company? I feel like I¡¯m wasting your time.¡± ¡°Rest assured that I don¡¯t see this as a waste of my time,¡± replied Silpar. ¡°It only takes one mistake when you¡¯re alone for things to go very wrong. What is this fellow like?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to stick my hands into this fellow. Intentionally doing that might have lingering effects I don¡¯t want to deal with.¡± Silpar motioned for Amdirlain to proceed, and she opened a Gate to their next stop. With the example provided by Zozzuth¡¯s last arrival point, she took them right to where Kirnith would manifest. Around them was a forest filled with ash-covered trees where the bodies of millions of dammed swung like macabre wind chimes in the breeze. With necks or other extremities caught in the forks of branches, insects crawled into orifices and along their skin; the workers, in a frenzy, sought to strip the damned¡¯s continually healing flesh down to the bone. Melodies from Amdirlain stretched out and tagged the damned here for retrieval, and she set up crystal relays to tag future arrivals. ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± asked Silpar. Amdirlain pointed to an empty spot between the trees ahead of them. ¡°The Plane is still putting him together.¡± ¡°The music you hear tells you so much,¡± commented Silpar. ¡°If it had been a hard fight, I wouldn¡¯t risk appearing so close to his arrival point,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯ll manifest without Mana, and I can block his powers. Once here, I¡¯ll crush him and we¡¯ll move along to his next stop.¡± Amdirlain set a barrier to prevent any attempt by Kirnith to use his Oath Link or dimensional abilities to flee. ¡°Then onto another Demon Lord,¡± chuffed Silpar. Checking the list with Analysis, Amdirlain found Gideon had thousands more songs waiting for her. ¡°Not yet. I need some time in the sunshine. Would you care to see a few planets?¡± asked Amdirlain. Silpar blinked. ¡°More work from Gideon?¡± ¡°Yeah, those have been helping me steadily improve, and they help the worlds he directs me to,¡± replied Amdirlain. Silpar nodded approvingly. ¡°Your Oath sister and friends worry about you. It is good to see you have such friends to keep you grounded, though it sounds like you hold even them at arms¡¯ length in some ways.¡± ¡°Sarah was very involved in the project on Qil Tris,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°At your invitation or did she invite herself? And the others? Because it seemed like they were aware that you don¡¯t tell them much of your plans,¡± observed Silpar. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to be better about sharing, but there are still things I¡¯m learning myself, which puts things in question,¡± advised Amdirlain, glaring impatiently at the point where she could hear Kirnith¡¯s song coalesce. ¡°Ahh,¡± murmured Silpar, his tone understanding. ¡°Are you experiencing the same effect Cyrus mentioned about how Immortals regain memories of past lives?¡± ¡°Something like that but more fragmented from what he and another have explained to me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Including this one, he has seven more home planes.¡± ¡°He must be old for a Demon Lord,¡± said Silpar. ¡°He¡¯s been through a Transformation Site twice; it might be through reaching Named Tier in two different species,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Silpar nodded. ¡°That would take time in itself.¡± When Kirnith finally manifested, Amdirlain sealed him inside a tight barrier. The Demon Lord¡¯s body of smoke and bone fragments swirled and churned about, fighting to find a way out. Amdirlain took in the melody of his Oath Link and hummed thoughtfully. ¡°I wish I knew if what I¡¯ve been doing is even making an impression on Moloch. Won¡¯t experiment with this fellow and risk anything since there are plenty more demon lords in Moloch¡¯s service to destroy.¡± Kirnith exploded under a burst of melodies carrying primordial flames, and Amdirlain nodded in satisfaction. One Plane after another, they were atop his location or nearby when he arrived, and she sealed him away to kill him cleanly. Ignoring Kirnith¡¯s pleas to stay her hand, Amdirlain followed through on his destruction. The best accomplishment from the trip was it let her find more damned to tag and locations to set crystals to monitor for more. Six planes later, when she received the last notification, Amdirlain gave a disgruntled huff. ¡°If Orh¨ºthurin is even stronger than you, why didn¡¯t the Anar and L¨®m? just destroy the demons as they formed?¡± enquired Silpar. Amdirlain grunted in disbelief. ¡°The primordial¡¯s experiments had already inspired the Abyss. Trillions of them came into existence every second until the Abyss had drowned the lesser primordials in them and caused the stronger ones to retreat.¡± ¡°Those legends are true?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°That it was the Abyss that created them, not the action of a greater primordial seeking to humble those lesser?¡± ¡°Yes, the Abyss did it directly. Once the primordials¡¯ experiments showed it the potential of the damned, it made use of them all on its own,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Ori took other actions to block the demonic expansion, but I¡¯ll not comment on those to anyone. Opening a Gate to Limbo, she ushered Silpar through, and they proceeded to another demi-plane facility. This one wasn¡¯t for providing medical care. Rows of crystal tanks show damned souls being stripped of their memories. When the flawed and damaged souls had been stripped back down to their foundations, they were renewed to a clean state and queued for Sarah¡¯s training through the psi-crystals. Silpar walked in silence as Amdirlain proceeded down the hallways. At first, his theme rang with confusion, but then understanding took hold. ¡°You are turning putrid souls into the most basic of Celestial creatures,¡± stated Silpar, looking at the rows of thousands of slimes infused with Celestial Mana. ¡°Do they evolve into other creatures later?¡± ¡°No, this is just the processing of the souls. The weaponry is prepared somewhere else,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Weaponry?¡± asked Silpar after a pause to consider the tanks again. ¡°I don¡¯t do this for free. Each soul is now innocent of its past crimes, but it still added to the evil in the realm, so I make them earn their new start,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The slimes are taught to react to the presence of demonic and undead forces. Sarah built a control matrix for them to interact with weaponry like an extended pseudopod. Once they reach a certain level, the Soul is released from the slime and transported to the heavens. I¡¯ll show you a battlefield. Hold on a minute.¡± After exchanging a series of messages, Amdirlain had a location for the final piece of the explanation. Hopping through Limbo, they emerged on a ravaged world. Nested lines composed of thousands of towers blasted away or blocked the strikes from Orcus¡¯ arrayed forces. More towers rose from the front ranks and pushed back the legions that stretched out of sight across the plain. Interspaced among the towers were hosts of celestials who¡ªfreed from the need to defend by the towers¡ªfreely added their spells and blessings to rip the undead apart. Silpar¡¯s gaze roamed the towers and mortars, watching their unrelenting attacks upon the undead that bore Orcus¡¯s sigil. ¡°Weaponry indeed. You said you opposed him. Is this another of your projects?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in charge. At most, I¡¯m supplying a helping hand,¡± denied Amdirlain. In a flare of brilliant white wings, a Planetar landed near them, their four wings disappearing as the familiar Celestial shrank in height to match them. Once he finished shapeshifting, Amdirlain fixed him with a beaming smile. ¡°Sage. I didn¡¯t expect you to meet us in person. Silpar, Sage is a Planetar serving Lerina. Sage, Silpar is my mentor from the Cloister of the Fallen.¡± Sage coughed and started to object, but Amdirlain raised a finger to halt his words. ¡°No. Let¡¯s leave it at that explanation.¡± ¡°Very well. It¡¯s just Lerina received word from Bahamut that Silpar was trustworthy,¡± replied Sage. Amdirlain felt like face-palming but kept her expression composed. ¡°Operational security, let¡¯s discuss that later.¡± ¡°My apologies. I¡¯m not used to having to conceal your name,¡± offered Sage. Silpar displayed his empty hands. ¡°I¡¯ve already inferred much that I¡¯ll avoid enquiring into as I already hold enough of your secrets, Am. It¡¯s not a concern to hold secret this Angel¡¯s respect for you.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Before she lost her divine Mantle, I and many celestials served her in the Outlands,¡± explained Sage eagerly. ¡°I, like many of her initial celestials, was rescued from the Titan¡¯s Maze because she offered Ebusuku, who became Lerina, the chance to undergo the trial within it. I emerged from it an Astral Deva, and the others were hound or lantern archons.¡± ¡°No half measures,¡± murmured Silpar in amazement. ¡°Ebusuku was the name of the Succubus you found to differ from others?¡± ¡°Yes. I had gained a Mantle through my interactions with mortals,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°When she swore to my service, I had the opportunity to send her through the trial to free herself from the Abyss. Later, I had to give up my Mantle to keep those who had entrusted me with their faith safe, so let¡¯s leave it there.¡± Blinking, Silpar tilted his head and considered Sage. ¡°Would you object to help from Fallen in this battle?¡± Amdirlain gestured to the hordes. ¡°There aren¡¯t any mortals left alive on this world. It¡¯s just a way station for Orcus to keep troops outside the Abyss.¡± Silpar shrugged. ¡°If we help destroy them, then he doesn¡¯t have these troops for other invasions, and it might free souls if they aren¡¯t just animated flesh.¡± ¡°Some are just malicious constructs, but many do contain imprisoned souls,¡± confirmed Sage. ¡°The Redemption¡¯s Path might not count such a deed as helping a Mortal, but I know some that would help all the same,¡± stated Silpar. Sage smiled. ¡°We could assign them an area to strike from, the same as celestials from other deities that help here.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s arrange that without me being in the picture. I get enough questions as it is,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Silpar, why don¡¯t you look around a bit? I¡¯ve got to organise the next worklist.¡± Leaving the two to talk and tour the battlefront, Amdirlain created a memory crystal and prepared the list for the next piece of work. Among the pieces she organised, she found music that wasn¡¯t for a place but instead for someone she recognised from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories. While she considered the implications of the discovery, she held off organising the rest and created billions of abyssal coins. The stacks of them were shunted off to the dead drop location where she¡¯d left Naamah¡¯s toy. It was hours later before Silpar returned, Amdirlain having listened to a distant Gate release a thousand Fallen against Orcus¡¯s horde. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t involve my name,¡± said Amdirlain. Silpar nodded towards the distant Gate. ¡°Does it sound to you like I did?¡± ¡°No,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°It sounds like they¡¯re glad for foes where they can safely vent some rage.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± responded Silpar. Amdirlain shook her head, and the pair vanished. 359 - Pass this on Amdirlain''s PoV - Limbo The Plane Shift had placed them under the purplish-black sky of Limbo; the vast whirlpool of material and surging chaos overhead was an eerie sight despite all she''d seen. Amdirlain closed her eyes and took in the rippling tones before exhaling a long, sustained note that pressed her will against the Plane. The Plane responded to the sound, and a dimensional eddy formed before them, a racing whirlpool that had Silpar regard her curiously. "Normally, one has to move through the Plane for a time before it will form a shortcut," noted Silpar. Amdirlain nodded. "Limbo is such fun, responding to the force of will. There wasn''t even True Song involved, just Chaos Shaping. Shall we go?" "You''ve not said where we''re going," noted Silpar. Grinning, Amdirlain stepped into the vortex, and Silpar followed, finding himself at the base of a mountain range. She saw the plateau''s edge, high up the shale-covered mountainside immediately ahead. "I thought you were going to attend to Gideon''s list?" questioned Silpar. "One piece of music referred to an old friend. I thought I''d prioritise him," replied Amdirlain, hoping the Adamantine Dragon wouldn''t clash with Silpar. Silpar looked at her curiously. "Gideon would send you to a specific person?" Amdirlain nodded. "Apparently. They always have reasons for what they do, even if I don''t always like their messages. Anyway, we''re on a mountain range formed by his intent. I''m sure the old Dragon already knows we''re here. Don''t you, Claughuthruuazex?" Not waiting for a response, Amdirlain started up the mountain, the inverted wards that secured the plateau''s edge clear to her Resonance. The soaring fortress that had marked the entrance to his lair last time was, this time, only a single reduced level. At first, Amdirlain assumed Claughuthruuazex had chosen not to recreate it upon his return to the Plane, then she caught the heavy fatigue in his song and knew it wasn''t choice but necessity. Imagining a generic mountain range is more manageable than all the intricate details of his many carvings in the stronghold. If the mountain range is a recreation of the land around an old lair, he''d know every detail without effort. The inverted ward only appeared within True Sight once they had landed on the plateau. A dome of energy stretched above the fort¡¯s exterior walls, looming thirty metres above the plateau, but the interior building no longer rose above them. Before they¡¯d taken more than a few steps forward, two figures moved behind the gate, and both sides swung open. One was a nearly seven-metre tall armoured figure wearing an open-faced helm, whose massive features were clean-shaven. The armour plates he wore looked almost knightly with their silver gleam. Slightly behind him stood a hooded female Fomorian clad in grey robes with golden runes. Morgana waited with an air of casual relaxation, with one hand resting on a mithril and jewel-inlaid staff, but she didn''t place any weight on it. After her gaze flickered over Silpar, she fixed her attention on Amdirlain. Two male guards in full plate armour appeared atop the wall, focusing on Silpar alone. When they were close, Amdirlain nodded politely. "Morgana, it is good to see you again. I appreciate all the time you took instructing celestials in magic while Azex was at the conclave." "If they hadn''t been your celestials, I would have left them to learn from their mistakes," replied Morgana. "It is good you come now." "He is presently awake and awaiting us impatiently," noted Amdirlain. "Indeed, he is. Your companion can come inside the gates," offered Morgana. Amdirlain motioned to Silpar. "Silpar, this is Morgana. She is Voice to Claughuthruuazex. Morgana, Silpar is my mentor among the Cloister of the Fallen." "You walk Redemption''s Path?" questioned Morgana. Silpar nodded. "I endeavour to provide restitution for the evil deeds I committed." Morgana grunted and beckoned them forward. The building beyond the gate was a flat-roofed structure with a parapet that provided cover from anything that had gained the walls or was airborne. An eight-metre-tall doorway allowed entrance to the building; its stone doors, heavily reinforced with mithril, were currently ajar. As Morgana led them through the foyer, Amdirlain took in the simple patterns of the ornamentation. They contrasted poorly with the elaborate mosaics of her first visit and worried her more than the smaller structure. Morgana stopped when they reached the top of the shaft that led into the plateau with a ramp spiralling around its side. "Though he''s your companion, Silpar must remain here with me. Claughuthruuazex wishes to speak with you alone." Rather than continue to lead the way, Morgana motioned Amdirlain towards the lower levels. "How unusual to receive a guest alone," said Amdirlain. Morgana smiled drily. "I believe you speak Draconic." Stepping off the ledge, Amdirlain floated downwards for six hundred metres before she reached the bottom. There was a passage that would dwarf any Fomorian, yet it still did not cater to Claughuthruuazex''s full size. The corridor slowly brightened and gained a silvery hue, but the colouration wasn''t intentional despite his species; it came from the cavern''s lights reflecting off Claughuthruuazex''s hide. Amdirlain kept to a sedate pace throughout her approach to avoid any aggravation of the ancient Dragon''s instincts. Eventually, she rounded the corner into the lair''s entryway. The cavern could have contained a modern American battle fleet, but the colossus Dragon lounging within made it seem barely reasonable. His snout was broad and almost snub compared to the rest of his Godzilla-dwarfing form. Spikes rose from his muzzle and blended into a broad sweep that ran past house-sized eyes to a crest larger than some stadium grandstands. His hide had the smooth finish of a perfect casting without the visible scales standard to lesser dragons. The silvery hide sat tight across giant strands of muscle that stretched from wing bones to clawed forehands and along the shovel-tipped tail. The cavern''s floor was a great lake of precious metals, jewelled objects, and prized artworks from thousands of species. Mounds of treasure rose around him and contoured to his body, where he¡¯d wiggled down into them to get comfortable. To dragons, memories linked to the objects¡ªdown to the smallest copper coin¡ªwere even more valuable than their vast fortunes. Claughuthruuazex opened one eye and fixed his gaze on Amdirlain. "Lady of the Dawn. I hoped you''d stop in before my life ended." "I wondered why you''d attended a conclave since you live in Limbo to avoid the pressure of gravity," said Amdirlain. "You''ve got the last few centuries ahead of you?" A light huff from his nostrils caused coins on a mound across from Claughuthruuazex to spill in a great cascade. "Decades. I''ve been holding off those centuries for millennia by living here. My weight and size now strain my heart regardless of the gravity I set; the sheer effort to circulate my blood drains me daily. I had to attend the conclave in an elven form to avoid it giving out." The frustrated edge to his tone carried a hint of insulted dignity. Amdirlain glanced down at herself meaningfully before she waved a reproving finger. "That''s truly terrible. Did you risk it once to show off your scales'' lustre?" "No. A form like yours is so small and binding; I could not live that way," grumbled Claughuthruuazex. "You were there when I hatched. Will you do some things for me when my life leaves?" "Just tell me what you need," replied Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex''s nostrils flared in amusement. "You offer your aid so readily. I''ve got a list, and while some may be things you can do now, others will probably have to wait. The one who was my mother has not told me everything about the changes since your return from the Maze. Still, I''ve something of yours I should return now that you''ve regained True Song." "Of mine?" A three-metre cube appeared near Claughuthruuazex''s right forehand, latched on the side facing her. The protective enchantments wrapped around it flared in True Sight. "Some objects of Orh¨ºthurin''s, if you would be particular about it," allowed Claughuthruuazex. "You aren''t ready to wield them, but it will be for you to determine the correct time. When you knew nothing of True Song on your last visit, I believed I would have to pass this container to another to care for until you were reborn again. They were spares, if you will. I don''t know what happened to the equipment she had with her when she perished." Claughuthruuazex started to unravel the wards. For a moment, Amdirlain considered requesting him to leave them with his heir. Feeling as if she should at least know what was inside, she forced herself to approach cautiously, sensing the fading power surrounding the chest. "She left this with you?" Claughuthruuazex huffed. "No, they were in my mother''s lair, but when I found them, I heard her voice asking me to take them into my care." Resonance registered only the outer container and gave her no indication that anything was inside. "Have you opened it before?" "There is an elven harp, a few weapons, and an orrery," replied Claughuthruuazex. A model of a solar system? The container unlatched easily, and bracing herself, Amdirlain swung the front door open. It moved effortlessly, and the lid lifted upwards simultaneously until it clicked securely into a locked position. The container''s bottom plate had recessed segments for a weapons stand, a large floor harp made of True Song Crystal in a soothing Mediterranean blue, and a black crystal table with ornate pieces set around its rim and a crystal orrery atop it. It had a glowing white orb in its middle, with twelve planets and their moons positioned in orbits around it. As she watched, each slowly turned, and phantasms showing meteors in their orbits appeared. Though each piece was composed of crystal, to her perception through Resonance, nothing was present. The planets were supported at varying heights on thin tubes that moved in channels cut into the semi-transparent base plate. Thousands of removable crystals sat around the table¡¯s edge in recessed niches. Are they a type of memory crystal? How are they concealed as well? Amdirlain crouched to examine the model base plate, and transparent gears were barely visible beneath the tinted crystal. "Do you know what solar system the model represents?" "No. Perhaps you might remember in time, but I''ve no idea," replied Claughuthruuazex. "Orh¨ºthurin had so many secrets, and she lived for so long, I doubt I''ll ever retrieve more than a fragment of her memories," replied Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex sighed sadly, and his wings shifted with a metallic rustle. "What is lost can never be fully restored to the same state. One can only move on, learn from past mistakes, mourn losses, and hope for something close to what was lost." Holding tight to her emotions, Amdirlain nodded calmly. "Thank you, Claughuthruuazex, for keeping this safe." "Thank you for helping my mother''s Soul break free of her curse," offered Claughuthruuazex. "You were always there for us, I wish we could have done more for you. I hope that your journey also finds a happy end." Carefully closing the container and relatching it, Amdirlain absorbed it. Though she could have easily thrown the container with all its contents about, it weighed heavily within Inventory. "What can I do for you?" asked Amdirlain. "I''ve got a memory crystal with a list of what possessions need to get delivered to whom after my passing. I had hoped you might take care of it," said Claughuthruuazex. He wants me to be the executor of his will? That isn''t something I had expected. Did Gideon send me here because of the container or this? This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Also, my servants have been with me a long time, and while they will be reluctant to admit it, it''s time for them to move on," explained Claughuthruuazex. "I hoped you might be so kind as to guide them and their clan to a place of relative safety." "A planet or a demi-plane?" asked Amdirlain. "I know of some worlds that would support them that aren''t inhabited by anything but animals and monsters." Claughuthruuazex tapped a claw twice before he nodded. "A world. It has been many millennia since their clan lived upon a world." "If your possessions are still in Limbo when you perish, they''ll dissolve. I could move your mountain range into a demi-plane with light gravity, requiring only the same physical strain as Limbo. I''ll add a connection from it to an uninhabited world for them." "That would be appreciated," replied Claughuthruuazex. Amdirlain picked one of the demi-planes she''d held aside for her projects and opened a Gate into it. The minimal gravitational field would play havoc with any of the typical biomes she''d designed for the training grounds. Expanding the demi-plane to a larger sphere with a ten thousand kilometre radius, she changed its gravitational rules to mimic the aerial behaviour of the Elemental Plane of Air. Moisture-laden air currents circulated through the sphere, carrying floating plants that absorbed the moisture around them into pod-like growths seen on some seaweed. This was the first step, and her feet and body moved to the tune, a delicate symphony that lightened her feet to flow across the coins. Amdirlain composed on the fly as she moved, finding the balance of life within the music and dance. The intended limits of the demi-plane let her calculate True Song references and target locations from afar. As Amdirlain picked the needed life forms, the pace of her dancing increased, and her movement supported thousands of songs. More variations of plant life followed from individual growths to large mats. After that, millions of birds and other aerial creatures joined her creation, and floating islands made from nests and other plants grew. Modifications to the thousands of songs she performed at Gideon''s request¡ªand those she had in her current work list¡ªfollowed. Even with so much space allowed for air, the sheer volume of the life and the complexity of the songs strained her body. The interwoven orchestra of sound extended through the Gate and filled the niches in more unusual ways. It took hours of work for Amdirlain to form a complete biome, from the micro fauna and flora up, without any challenges beyond normal animals. When the last notes faded from her blood-stained lips, Amdirlain exhaled softly. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome intermediate) Self-sustaining aerial biome (planetary-sized) x1 Total Experience gained: 45,000,000,000 Ostim?: +22,500,000,000 Ostim? Levelled Up! Ont?lin: +22,500,000,000 Ont?lin Levelled Up! True Song Genesis [S] (117->120) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (34->35) Dance [S] (170->171) Pain Eater [J] (33->34) True Song Architecture [S] (121->125) Note: Sure, skip a few dozen progression steps. Note: Also, most planets have multiple biomes.] The single biome stretched across that volume was hard enough in itself. Sorry, not sorry. That''s only four times what I got for Sarah''s playpen. Still, you gave me a clue to get more experience from each demi-plane or planet. The key to the experience of biomes will be diversity on the planet. Though the songs differed, they were only as complex as Sarah''s demi-plane without her giant playmates. Claughuthruuazex regarded her blood-stained clothing, and once her flesh was sealed, he removed all traces. "I didn''t intend for you to extend yourself to such an extent, although your dance was wild and beautiful." "I enjoyed that more than destroying millions of demons," admitted Amdirlain. "Though don''t tell Sarah. She''ll think I''ve lost the plot." "Why?" "Why will she think I''ve lost the plot, or why did I enjoy it more?" Claughuthruuazex''s gaze darkened, and Amdirlain opted to skip the word games. "I enjoyed it more as I know it''s the start of something. Killing demons is cleaning up accumulated corruption while creating a biome is bringing fresh life into the realm," explained Amdirlain. "While the demons need to be thinned, at present, I''m destroying them because of my losses rather than the hope of improving anything long-term." A stone chest appeared, and vials floated from it to hover before Amdirlain under Claughuthruuazex''s control. "Healing and regenerative elixirs. You smell like you''re recovering, but they''ll speed the process." Memorising their songs, Amdirlain quaffed them and felt vitality surge in her flesh. "Thank you." Claughuthruuazex shifted position slightly and tilted his head to peer through the Gate with one eye. "I wish I could have heard the music you used, but at least I got to see you dance for myself." His motion was like a child attempting to peer through a keyhole, and Amdirlain restrained her laughter. "Hold the extent of your home mountain range in your mind and show it to me if you would," requested Amdirlain. "If you could, let your servants know not to resist the feeling of shifting between planes." Warning Silpar herself, Amdirlain picked the mental details from Claughuthruuazex''s thoughts. A melody wrapped around the hundreds of kilometres of mountain range and positioned it to float in the demi-plane''s centre. When she''d finished the relocation, Amdirlain continued to work and helped the biome bloom with more life. The mountain range was a focal point for the air currents, and vast lakes sprang into existence along its shale-covered slopes to serve as reservoirs to supply the air currents. "Perhaps I will fly for a time, at least one last time," said Claughuthruuazex. "Better to perish in flight than meekly underground. When I die, would you deliver my Soul to the Seven Heavens'' entrance?" "I''ll set up an open Gate here. The only issue is I can''t stand too close myself," advised Amdirlain. Emotional pain trembled beneath her skin as the memory of acid-searing her flesh came from her Soul''s depths with the most bitter of regrets. "I¡¯m sorry your mother perished with Orh¨ºthurin. She didn''t want any of them to spend their lives for her. Your mother and the others who died to Leviathan should have left after the Anar and L¨®m? settled on Veht?." "They came to support you knowing the risk any relocation would bring," replied Claughuthruuazex. "Do not regret their passing. They died in battle against many a dread foe. It would have stirred their blood and given them much to rejoice in when they reached the heavens." Claughuthruuazex transformed into a silver-haired male Elf wearing a simple shirt and pants of grey silk. His skin was pale white but with an ashen hue that matched the strain in his theme. His silver gaze locked on Amdirlain''s, and he wobbled closer to rest a hand upon her shoulder. "You''d trade a decade or two for a flight?" asked Amdirlain. "Is that sunlight out there?" Amdirlain shrugged. "Radiant energy coming from the demi-plane''s skin. Should I let Sarah know of your plans?" "We''ve said what goodbyes we need. She''s not my mother, you know," stated Claughuthruuazex. "She has access to her memories, but her perspective is very different. Consider it like an Anar¡¯s rebirth, having gained memories of their former life after coming of age. Would you expect them to renew their relationship with their former family?" "That wasn''t done. The memories were to help your progress in your next life, not to take up where you left off," said Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex nodded. "I''m not knowledgeable about your relationship with Sarah, but there is pain. I hope it doesn''t taint your friendship. Would you lend me your stable legs, or should I use a Spell to navigate my keepsakes?" "I could just Teleport us," proposed Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex shook his head. "I could have done that if I had wished to exit quickly, but there are some things I need to do here. My body aches from the transformation, and I''ll need time to adjust before I change back." Amdirlain frowned. "Shapeshift shouldn¡¯t cause physical pain." "I know it shouldn''t, but it feels how it feels. Perhaps it is more that my body aches, and the smaller form concentrates the pain," proposed Claughuthruuazex. "You could just sit in the light for a time before you change. You don''t look well," observed Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex shrugged, and his fingers dug into her shoulder slightly. "I''m not getting younger and wouldn''t want to." He held the other in the offer of a hug. "Really?" "When I was a hatchling, you used to let me lay down with my head in your lap and give me hugs," smiled Claughuthruuazex. "One last hug for my old-time¡¯s sake, if not yours. Then, I''ll show you the things I want you to have that aren''t on the list. There are a few crystal tools in the mounds along the way. Not your things per se, but you should have them all the same. I visited Veht? after the seal faded and retrieved them from the lairs of those who had scavenged the ruins the great wyrms left behind." "Orh¨ºthurin used to," corrected Amdirlain. "You just commented that Sarah isn''t your mother. I''m also not Orh¨ºthurin." Claughuthruuazex tilted his head in confusion. "You''re more like her than you''ll admit. Whereas Sarah now looks for what is orderly rather than what is necessarily good, my mother wouldn''t have followed rules that involved bringing harm that could be avoided. Orh¨ºthurin was always looking to repair and improve things, to help those who couldn''t help themselves. She had no tolerance for those who ignored or rejected the better options they had been given, but she was a friend to those who didn''t have options in the first place. I believe the kind individual I knew is still a part of how you treat people." Is that why she was harsh on the Fallen, Anar, and L¨®m?? The Fallen had rejected the duty of celestials to symbolise and embody goodness. The Anar and L¨®m? had rejected the gifts to create worlds and life, choosing to cast it aside and maintain themselves in comfort. The Anar King ignored the Titan''s plans and made a mess with the Gold Elves; others still supported his actions, and both species rejected the work that needed doing. Aware that he still possessed the strength in his elven form to squeeze her into a pulp, Amdirlain hugged him carefully. After holding her for a while, Claughuthruuazex sighed regretfully. "Yes, we can''t restore things to how they were before." He leaned on her arm and guided Amdirlain with pressure on her forearm rather than leading the way. One chest or loose object after another was lifted forth from the treasure piles; he handed her numerous harps, weapons, and crystalline sculptures. Each object came with a story of the monster den from which it had been retrieved and even tales of who he''d shown them to over the years. Claughuthruuazex stopped with a hollow expression when he drew one sword of True Song Crystal from a pile. "My first mate retrieved this from the lair of a Black Dragon. I miss her greatly." "What happened to her?" asked Amdirlain. "We were together for eleven mating flights before she fell to a demonic incursion in the Outlands. Our last clutch was fully grown, and she talked me into assisting. The incursion was repulsed, but she didn''t survive to return home. I gave the base of her name to a little cutie from my next clutch. That was a short-lived mating. She never forgave me for naming our first daughter after so significant a female in my life." Amdirlain held back a grimace. "Some people can be like that. She might not have been so wounded if it had been a living relative¡ªit''s hard to compete against a ghost." It took nearly five hours of wandering across the mounds to retrieve them all, and he leaned on her shoulder longer after each stop until they reached the annex on the chamber''s side. "Thank you for your patience," murmured Claughuthruuazex as he started along the corridor. "I know you''ve likely got a lot to do." "Time isn''t always our friend, but helping you has gained me valuable insights into my endeavours," reassured Amdirlain. "The strain you put into singing this place was to push your Power, not just for my sake?" Amdirlain nodded. "Yes, I push my abilities every chance I get. It takes up more time then I¡¯d like at times. I hope distributing the items from your list won¡¯t be time-consuming." "I know you''ll have to delegate some of it, but if you''re around to serve as an arbiter, it will go more smoothly," said Claughuthruuazex. He allowed Amdirlain to waft them upwards when they finally reached the shaft. Silpar and Morgana were both waiting patiently at the top in their different ways. While Silpar just stood in place, Morgana had settled herself on a chair to read. "My Liege," greeted Morgana. "My time is nearly done, Morgana. Amdirlain has a world she knows you can move your clan to instead of returning to wandering the planes. Though this place will remain a time," announced Claughuthruuazex. Morgana shot Amdirlain a questioning look, and she nodded. "It will be here for them to return to whenever they wish until the energy from the heavens saturates it. Then, it will likely meld into the heavenly planes. Though if you''d humour me, I''ll restore the fortress to how I first saw it. I chose my name in your fortress, so its old appearance has sentimental value." "Yes, I heard you discuss it with Torm between training sessions," noted Claughuthruuazex. "Very well, if you''d be so kind." "If you or Morgana would, could you share memories of the furnishings and the layout of the other rooms?" requested Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex ordered the others to assemble out front, and once they were clear, Amdirlain set the fortress to rights. The four stories loomed above the wall again, and scrying within the corridors, Amdirlain confirmed she got the carving correct. "You did well," remarked Claughuthruuazex. "Not perfect?" asked Amdirlain. Claughuthruuazex gave her a sly smile. "Only a Dragon would have gotten all the details correct. Thank you for the two gates." "Gates?" asked Morgana. "As Amdirlain promised me, she created one entry to the Seven Heavens so my Soul might find safety in the afterlife quickly, and another to a world for your Clan." Claughuthruuazex motioned for Amdirlain to be on her way. ¡°I don¡¯t wish any of you here when I perish. I¡¯d not inflict that on you.¡± The pride in his tone drew a frown from Morgana, but she and Amdirlain held their tongues. "I''ll let you say your goodbyes to the clan," said Amdirlain, and she changed the demi-plane''s song. "When you perish, the demi-plane will absorb your remains so no scavengers will prey upon it, now or in aeons. It will also tell me so I can start tending to your wishes." "My thanks, Amdirlain," said Claughuthruuazex, and he shook her hand carefully. "Goodbye, Claughuthruuazex. Thank you for not killing a Fallen with the sisterhood¡¯s sigil upon her those decades ago," replied Amdirlain, and she headed out the front gates. When they reached the plateau''s edge, Amdirlain sighed and looked back at the now-closed gates. "You are more concerned than sad," observed Silpar. ¡°I knew Claughuthruuazex was getting on, but I didn¡¯t expect it this soon. Dragons like to go out how they will. I¡¯m almost surprised he isn¡¯t looking to rid the realm of an enemy as a last hurrah.¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°My concern is for the clan. Technically, I''m allowing an incursion to an uninhabited world. Their species tend towards small communities, so I hope they don''t cause future problems.¡± "They might leave the ruins of the ancients common on many worlds whose inscriptions teach future generations magic," proposed Silpar. Amdirlain opened a Gate to Foundry and led Silpar through to the pavilion. Once there, she offloaded Orh¨ºthurin''s container and the thousands of objects Claughuthruuazex had recovered. "Sarah, Claughuthruuazex will pass away shortly. He said you''d already said your necessary goodbyes. If you disagree, here is where to find him." The Message departed with all the details Sarah would need, and Amdirlain sighed. "How long does he have?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain gave a pained shrug. "Depends on how much flying he decides to do. If he stays in the air too long, his heart will give out. I learnt a few things from creating that demi-plane, so I need to work on some compositions before we go anywhere." "I''ll sit in your pavilion since so many other places are trapped," replied Silpar. 360 - Pushing ahead Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry Despite her uncertainty, Amdirlain recorded the melodies for Claughuthruuazex¡¯s demi-plane. She contemplated pushing True Song Architecture when the Alliegiance Bond she still held with Sarah hummed. An image came from Sarah of her working hard to keep up with a gliding Claughuthruuazex, who looked far more at peace than when he¡¯d been resting in his lair. ¡®I¡¯ll tend to his list and let you know if there are idiots that warrant a smack. Idiot kid thinks I didn¡¯t remember how much I loved him.¡¯ Amdirlain created stacks of paper near the pavilion table, which caught Silpar¡¯s curiosity. ¡°Writing the compositions helps me stabilise this Skill¡¯s insights and sometimes gets me new ones.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let me distract you,¡± replied Silpar as he settled on the bench across the table from her. Amdirlain created variations of the biome she¡¯d composed on the fly for aerial and aquatic environments. Altering the songs of species she¡¯d heard on various worlds and in the Abyss, they ranged from serene to brutally hostile. Though a day of work netted her only a single increase, possibilities that had teased at her while composing the biome for Claughuthruuazex made more sense when she was done. After she added the final symphonies into the same crystal that held the first aerial biome, Amdirlain disposed of her work notes. ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± said Amdirlain as she rose and opened a Gate to an arid landscape. Silpar flowed upright and joined her without question. Gideon¡¯s list took them through hundreds of planets, and though Amdirlain sometimes worked out improvements, she stuck to the list. The only improvisations she put into effect were to allow the music to guide her dancing and to stretch out True Song¡¯s reach. The notification of Claughuthruuazex¡¯s death came in the third week, and a spike of sadness added fuel to the fire that drove her. ¡°I¡¯m going to do this faster and challenge myself more,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s return to Foundry.¡± Jumping them back to Foundry, she opened gates to three worlds on her list and simultaneously performed the compositions for them. Even as their pieces wound down, she opened more gates. The complexity of the work and the scope promised considerable strain for her, so Amdirlain lifted into the air and ignited Phoenix¡¯s Rapture. Halfway through the melodies, blood leaked from her skin only to vaporise in her aura as she pushed ahead with the performances for twelve worlds at once. Despite the damage to her health, she forged ahead and threatened her stacked Pain Eater¡¯s limits. She danced mid-air as if on solid ground, and every motion of her taut limbs cast music across a world to which she¡¯d opened windows. More gates opened, and months of continual effort without rest followed. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture was almost continually on to keep the work¡¯s toll from eroding her health to dangerous lows. When at last Amdirlain stopped, Silpar raised a finger in enquiry. ¡°Your aura being on helps you restore yourself? Were those songs causing you that much injury that you needed it continually?¡± [True Song Genesis [S] (157->158) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (49->50) Dance [S] (197->198) True Song Architecture [S] (135->136)] The Dance Skill is so close. Do I push it over with points or continue to challenge it? No, True Song Architecture is what is lagging. It needs points. Do I risk it with my new Mental Hardening? Was that what he was implying when he spoke about shortcuts? How many years of work will it take to get True Song Architecture to Grandmaster if the insights become more challenging to gain? Amdirlain dismissed the notification and considered what to share. ¡°The more I compress my performance of a composition, and the wider the net I cast with each, the greater the toll it takes from my health. That doesn¡¯t matter to me in this work since I can allow myself time to recover from it if I get too low. The important part is to challenge my abilities as much as possible.¡± ¡°How much danger was that putting you in?¡± enquired Silpar, his brow still furrowed. Amdirlain gave a nonchalant shrug. ¡°I never got below half health.¡± ¡°To you, health is just another resource like your Mana?¡± questioned Silpar curiously. ¡°My health is a renewable resource that I¡¯ll abuse, but I¡¯ll not treat anyone else that way,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps not intentionally, but you¡¯ve got the potential to serve as a good or awful example,¡± observed Silpar. ¡°It looked like Gailneth had pushed herself hard. I¡¯d suggest it is something to consider around others who can hear your songs and might see how neglectfully you treat yourself to achieve your goals.¡± Amdirlain frowned and clicked her tongue thoughtfully. ¡°Yet you don¡¯t seem bothered by wounds received in sparring.¡± ¡°They are momentary lessons to teach you to do better. Your injuries while singing drag on for days,¡± said Silpar. ¡°True Song is more powerful, but it comes with a price. However, the better I get, the less damage I¡¯ll endure from the same work,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Is your sense of wonder outweighed by your concern now?¡± Silpar shook his head. ¡°No, but I have concerns about whether it¡¯s good for you as an individual to undertake it at such a pace.¡± ¡°Advice you¡¯d give to a Mortal?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Silpar. ¡°Well, if you think what I¡¯ve been doing is risky, I¡¯m sure you¡¯d find those I¡¯ve already taken appalling,¡± remarked Amdirlain. Her glance flickered over the mana-rich lichen now visible through one Gate, and Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Or the ones I¡¯m getting closer to taking.¡± ¡°Do I even want to know what that is?¡± Feeling her health restored, Amdirlain shut down her aura and appeared near the pavilion table. ¡°Lots of writing while I feel like my brains are trying to leak out my ears.¡± Her glib reply drew a sigh of concern from Silpar. ¡°Do you hate yourself?¡± The question gained a surprised blink, and Amdirlain tilted her head. ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ¡°Many people will push their limits to improve, but you don¡¯t merely push your limits,¡± observed Silpar, and he floundered momentarily as he sought the right words. ¡°You brutalise your limits, torturing yourself with how far you can go.¡± ¡°If you knew why I pushed myself, you¡¯d understand,¡± stated Amdirlain emphatically, and she created a dimensional pocket with millions of sheets of paper within it. Silpar huffed. ¡°Then help me understand so that I might better support you.¡± ¡°True Song Architecture is the worst Skill to push,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Why change the subject?¡± Amdirlain almost told him the truth but held herself back from discussing the realm¡¯s wound. ¡°For now, I¡¯ll ask you to take it on faith that Bahamut lined you up to help me for an important reason. My current problem involves getting True Song Architecture to increase. Each point it goes up pours knowledge into my head like molten metal from a blast furnace. It¡¯s one thing when I receive that knowledge through insights, but the last time I forced it, the experience was brutal.¡± As Amdirlain dropped two points at once into the Skill, Pain Eater flared to life, warning her of the impact she¡¯d inflicted on Mental Hardening. Though she didn¡¯t expect it, the double echo of information that had risen from within her Soul was both agonising and welcome. [True Song Architecture [S] (136->140) Mental Hardening [M] (32->38)] It seems that things are still echoing up from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s life. If it keeps up, I¡¯ll have Skill points left over. That¡¯s if I can handle the process. As principles she hadn¡¯t yet encountered rampaged within her mind, Amdirlain started composing as fast as her pencil would move. The sheer pace of her efforts at times set the paper ablaze. As the sheets filled with compositions mounded around her, it seemed like a million sheets wouldn¡¯t be sufficient to settle the influx of new information and connections that had hit her. With it feeling like the inner secrets of the realm were unfolding razors inside her brain, Amdirlain pushed on, even ignoring Roher and Isa¡¯s arrival. Roher trawled through the discarded sheets and additional notation to a sheet and crossed out others. Moving across the table from Amdirlain, he set it in her peripheral vision, and more insights bloomed behind her eyes. Roher brought up a flurry of illusions to display the notes of various symphonies. Amdirlain altered the ones he¡¯d displayed and threw out a dozen on related tangents. The air came alive with glowing symbols as they bounced music between them, and the insights Amdirlain had sought to stabilise continued to flow. Whenever Roher needed a break, Amdirlain returned to the table to write more compositions. When, at last, her frenzy of activity died down, Roher looked haggard. ¡°Did you consider perhaps asking for help?¡± Picking up a sheet that had fallen to the floor during Amdirlain¡¯s last round of solo composition, Isa giggled. ¡°No, please, this is Am. Classic Julia; must be in control and find the answers.¡± ¡°I need to get the Skill to Grandmaster for the next Prestige Class option,¡± huffed Amdirlain. She closed her eyes and listened to the musical concepts still humming in her skull. ¡°The Class, Sarah says, is only theoretical. It¡¯s just the progression of the other rude Class names finally settled into something you found appealing and offered an insight,¡± corrected Isa lightly. ¡°Why are you here and not with Sarah?¡± Isa snorted. ¡°I¡¯ve been here a month, and you finally think to ask that question? You and Roher were off in la la land, writing beautiful music. You could have let him go home occasionally for more than a quick reverie. Ilya and Sarah are tracking down a bunch of Dao encampments on a world. How far did you two composing maniacs get?¡± Shaking his head, Roher huffed. ¡°We¡¯re the maniacs? That is very rich coming from you. I know some of the outrageous bets you¡¯ve made.¡± Isa spread her arms wide and smiled innocently. The exaggeration had Amdiralin regard her suspiciously. ¡°Who have you been shocking?¡± ¡°Just getting some L¨®m? to relax and live life a little,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°Now I¡¯m torn between curiosity and being mortified on their behalf,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Isa guffawed. ¡°Little miss walking around naked.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Minor detail.¡± Roher stood and stretched with an exhausted yawn. ¡°Can we continue this in our settlement?¡± Precognition clawed along Amdirlain¡¯s spine, and she reluctantly shook her head. ¡°Not at this time. I kept my distance because I didn¡¯t know what I might give away.¡± ¡°If you want to contribute to any singing, just match me instead of flexing your strength,¡± suggested Isa. ¡°Though most of it is already done.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already got enough issues dealing with the Fallen at the cloister and their perspective of me. I don¡¯t want to slip up at either location because I find your settlement too comfortable,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We can reduce the amount of time you spend here helping me. You¡¯ve already saved a lot of time and provided insights I¡¯d not have achieved without investing more effort.¡± ¡°Very well, I can understand your wanting to keep your talents hidden,¡± agreed Roher. ¡°Perhaps when you¡¯re free of the Fallen state.¡± ¡°Speaking of things hidden,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she teleported the container to the nearby training platform. ¡°Claughuthruuazex gave me these before his passing.¡± Isa winced. ¡°I remembered meeting him as Mori.¡± Moving to the platform, she opened the container, and Roher joined her with his hands firmly clasped behind his back. He examined the contents awhile before he spoke. ¡°I sense nothing from the objects. It¡¯s as if they don¡¯t exist. I¡¯ve never seen an orrery made of True Song Crystal displaying a solar system like this. Ours normally project an illusion accompanying an echo of the system¡¯s song, and one using gears is strange. The harp detailing is ancient, and the crystal ornaments around the table look like they detach.¡± Isa poked the edge of one and caused it to pop up atop the orrery. ¡°Yep, they do.¡± Before Amdirlain could gather the crystal, the central orb representing the sun flared, and the loose crystal floated upwards. It hung above the white sun, and the crystal structure of the model ran like wax and regrew to show a system with four planets and a large asteroid belt. Once the change was complete, the loose crystal floated back to settle in its slot. ¡°True Song Crystal shouldn¡¯t do that,¡± murmured Roher. Amdirlain bit her lip, and Roher glanced at her suspiciously. Isa shrugged. ¡°It is just looping energy. Why can¡¯t that energy shift between forms? It looks like Ori was a skilled and tricky girl. I approve.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hide the crystal as she did, but I set up a transformation effect so weapons adjust their size,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Isa laughed and clapped loudly. Roher rubbed a hand across his forehead before he turned his attention back to the orrery. ¡°I wonder if that¡¯s all they do. Have you tried to attune to any of them?¡± ¡°This is the second time I¡¯ve looked at the contents, and I¡¯ve not even risked touching any of it,¡± said Amdirlain, and she looked at Isa. ¡°Sorry, not sorry,¡± laughed Isa. Having recently directed those exact words at Gideon, Amdirlain slowly shook her head. ¡°Perhaps it is best to put it away for now,¡± suggested Roher. ¡°I¡¯m sorely tempted to try to play that harp.¡± After she sealed the container, Amdirlain teleported it back to the concealed storeroom. ¡°You learnt one thing today: the crystals hold some sort of information or a key to the model,¡± said Isa. Roher snorted. ¡°Hopefully, you¡¯ll recover memories to discover its potential. There are far easier ways to set up a reconfigurable solar system presentation than True Song Crystal and gears. Whatever it can do, I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not limited to what we saw today.¡± ¡°Ask Sarah when she¡¯s done with the Dao,¡± proposed Isa. ¡°She might share that secret since you¡¯ve gotten your mitts upon the goodies.¡± Stepping close, Amdirlain rested a hand on Roher¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Are you still okay keeping my situation a secret from your wife?¡± ¡°I know her well enough that being unable to discuss it with others would drive her crazy. It would be like a puzzle she couldn¡¯t solve, irritating her to the point others would notice,¡± explained Roher. ¡°I¡¯ll be back after rest and spending some time tending to my duties. I assume you will continue with this deluge of information that Gideon provides?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain. Roher smiled and held out a hand to her. ¡°Do you have a memory crystal on you?¡± Amdirlain frowned and created one straight onto his palm. ¡°You tormented poor Gail with a puzzle box, so now let me return the favour,¡± said Roher, and he focused on the crystal. Though Amdirlain was tempted to read the rush of thoughts he pushed into it, she behaved until Roher handed it over. ¡°A few thousand layers including some elements to provoke insights and challenge your mastery of the material. It will hopefully keep you busy for a few days while I recover and plan a schedule to assist.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think there are enough layers in the crystal,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Snorting, Roher disappeared, and Isa was still laughing when the music of a summoning enfolded her. ¡°Bye-bye.¡± When Isa vanished, Amdirlain settled at the table with the memory crystal. ¡°I take it there is more to your situation than simply being an Anar¡¯s Soul inside your Fallen state,¡± said Silpar. "Yes," murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was the only one capable of True Song who didn¡¯t abandon the Titan¡¯s work. She retained capabilities stripped from others, and I seem to be growing towards them.¡± Silpar sat down across from her. ¡°Is it related to why Bahamut recruited me to help you?¡± ¡°Only vaguely,¡± said Amdirlain, and she waggled the memory crystal. ¡°I¡¯m going to get started on this now.¡± After expanding her paper supplies, Amdirlain got busy and blazed her way through Roher¡¯s puzzle. He still hadn¡¯t returned when she spent the next set of points and frantically began composing. The pressure increased with each point she spent on the Skill, but it couldn¡¯t overcome the stacked effects of Phoenix¡¯s Rapture and Mental Hardening. As promised, Roher visited regularly in the months it took her to push True Song Architecture to Grandmaster. His notes on her work provoked repeated insights and, more than once, a cascade of memories containing songs Ori had used flooded forth along with the related knowledge. One memory chain featured Ori creating a world, and the mass of information breached Amdirlain¡¯s Mental Hardening. In her agony, Amdirlain wished she would pass out. Instead, she continued to write, grasping only fragments of the world¡¯s formation. Musical notation filled millions of pages, her hand a blur while she strove to get her thoughts, Gideon¡¯s shared knowledge, and Ori¡¯s memories in order. The understanding she gained in the process moved Resonance along as well. Her greater understanding of the pieces let Amdirlain see how more things worked about her beneath the layers of what others saw as reality. [Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (66->67) Mental Hardening [M] (75->76) ] True Song Architecture needs twenty-one more points, but each is taking longer to stabilise. Still, that will only cost me maybe seven more points between Roher¡¯s help and Ori¡¯s memories wanting to bubble up. I¡¯ve only spent seventeen points, not the fifty-two I expected to get this far. ¡°You should take a break,¡± proposed Roher. ¡°Though I can see it in your eyes you want to push ahead. At the rate the last few increases have taken you this way, you¡¯re going to be another five or six years doing this, if not longer.¡± ¡°What?¡± gasped Amdirlain. ¡°How can you tell?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been murmuring them aloud. Do you want to know how many years it¡¯s been since you left Qil Tris? Between your various training sessions and Gideon¡¯s work,¡± enquired Roher. Amdirlain blinked. ¡°Years?¡± "Yes, years, nearly six," murmured Sarah, and Amdirlain snapped her gaze around. Hovering on the opposite side of the pavilion to the training platform, a massive stone bowl a half kilometre across had been added to the demi-plane. The expanse was filled with coins of gold and platinum and items of mithril and adamantine that Sarah was lounging upon, nearly taking up the entire space. "Isa made a bed for me while you fried your brain. Why is the passing of years a surprise? You spent eleven months on Gideon''s list the first time, another six before this exercise started, and months studying texts in the Abyss. Though most of the time spent was pushing this Skill," finished Sarah. "Claughuthruuazex¡¯s hoard has been sorted out. I cheated and hired some well-ordered individuals to help with the distribution. No complaints left to arbitrate¡ªan advantage of outsourcing those to an entity everyone knows will follow the rules precisely." ¡°You moulted?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she scrubbed her fingers across her scalp to refocus her mind. ¡°The Dao¡¯s towns and cities gave lots of experience, one Tier 7 and two Tier 6 classes before my moult,¡± reported Sarah. With her attention drawn to Sarah, Amdirlain realised Sarah wasn¡¯t the only one whose presence she hadn¡¯t responded to¡ªIsa and Ilya were both present. Amdirlain laced her fingers behind her neck and cracked it from side to side. ¡°When did you get back?¡± Sarah yawned. ¡°I¡¯ve been coming and going the last month. There is a lot involved with that Skill, and your brain has been busy. You¡¯re trying to punch through hundreds of doctoral courses in a few years of study. What provoked this sudden rush?¡± ¡°Gideon made a crack about me having short-cut a dozen steps after I made the biome for Claughuthruuazex¡¯s demi-plane,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then, after months of singing and composing extra variations of the songs he provided, I only made three increases. I decided to take the chance he was dropping hints about another shortcut since I¡¯d gained all the Mental Hardening from dealing with the Eldritch.¡± ¡°They certainly knew where your thoughts would go,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°Why are you no longer pissed at their apparent manipulation of you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like the Koans. Gideon doesn¡¯t want to tell me and have me deny it. They want me to think about things and accept what¡¯s around me,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah laughed. ¡°Instead of telling you what to do, he pokes fun at you for not seeing things, and you think that is better?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve ignored them when I disagreed or had other plans,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was a good relationship. They¡¯ve certainly worked hard to push my buttons. The flip side is I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve frustrated them, as they can see the answers I¡¯m looking for, but they¡¯re not allowed to tell me.¡± Silpar looked back and forth between them, his confusion growing, and Isa laughed. ¡°You¡¯ve left your mentor in the dark?¡± ¡°Isa, you¡¯ve become far too relaxed about secrets since you got free from your curse,¡± said Amdirlain. Isa grinned as surprise bloomed on Silpar¡¯s face. ¡°We were friends in our Mortal lives.¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°And there you go. Sharing more.¡± ¡°You were all cursed?¡± gasped Silpar. Amdirlain motioned to herself, Isa and Sarah in turn. ¡°The same sick individual cursed each of us individually. However, the wording of their curses was different, so while Isa and Sarah are free, mine is more complicated to resolve.¡± ¡°Might I know what you endured?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°I got cursed to endure the wrath of the Erinys¡¯ arrows or something,¡± offered Isa. Sarah grunted. ¡°Don¡¯t talk about mine.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± grumbled Isa. Amdirlain rose and stretched from habit rather than any need. The detailed knowledge inherent to True Song Architecture amplified the effects of Resonance and made it hard to concentrate. ¡°I¡¯ll cycle for a time and then handle some more of Gideon¡¯s list.¡± Roher nodded. ¡°It would be good to take a break. You¡¯ve crammed the progress of centuries into too short a time.¡± ¡°Ori seemed to have an innate talent for it. When her memories rise, I feel like I miss more than I understand,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Sitting cross-legged with her back against one of the pavilion pillars, she started to cycle. The golden feathers soon blazed beneath her skin, and Roher tilted his head in contemplation at whatever song he heard. Only Sarah and Silpar were still present when Amdirlain stopped cycling and opened her eyes. Emptying her accumulated Ki into the crystal, she turned her attention to their current discussion of enchantments and wards. ¡°Hey, sleeping beauty,¡± quipped Sarah. Amdirlain snorted. "People''s arrival didn''t even register while I was pushing True Song Architecture. That''s dangerous." "The same thing happened last time you pushed it too hard. The flood of information and possibilities drowns out what''s around you," reminded Sarah. Amdirlain sighed in admission and gave a sheepish smile. "It''s why I pushed it here, not even in Xaos." "Sarah explained your Skill points and profiles while you were progressing. Do you think this is Gideon''s way of helping you regain the status from your former life?" asked Silpar. "No, there are other ''Hidden'' around and who have access to them as well," explained Amdirlain. "There was at least one Named Demon who had been a Hidden for far longer than I''d been in the realm. He later lost his battle against his demonic shell. After Ebusuku became a Solar, she and the others that entered my service also gained access to profiles and Skill points." Silpar''s tail slowly swayed and rasped along the pavilion''s stone floor. "How, as a Fallen, did you manage to have angels serving you?" "I''d prefer not to go into what was involved," grumbled Admirlain. Sarah laughed. "Ebusuku already told me you had to push through an agonising resistance to get the option allowed." "You have a strange relationship with pain," observed Silpar. "No, it''s easy to understand when you know her," interjected Sarah. Amdirlain glared at her. "Hush you." Sarah raised her head from the treasure pile she''d been using as a pillow, and the motion caused the light to shift wildly off her faceted scales. "I wasn''t going to say anything strange, and it just goes to the basics of pain itself." "Really?" muttered Amdirlain. "Pain is the body''s warning signal to tell you something is wrong and that perhaps you should not do whatever you''re doing. Amdirlain doesn''t let anything tell her what to do once she''s made up her mind," stated Sarah. "She has her goals. If pain wants to get in the way, it can forget it." Scratching at her ear, Amdirlain turned to Silpar. "That''s far too accurate. Would you spar with me for a time, Silpar? After that, I likely should handle whatever work has been added to Gideon''s list." Silpar rose, and the pair moved to the platform while Sarah looked on. As the music within Silpar shifted tempo, Amdirlain felt herself smoothly adjusting. 361 - Monsters Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry The pair sparred for nearly six hours, and Amdirlain¡¯s mind steadily regained a clear focus. When the last fuzziness had cleared, Amdirlain called a halt and used Analysis to retrieve Gideon¡¯s work list. There was no sign that the work would end, with just as many items on the list as previously. Yet the work required the performance of increasingly complex melodies that stretched her limits. For a few of them, Gideon provided the details of the problem but no song to resolve it. Scrying on the drop point with Naamah, Amdirlain found the funds had been taken since she last checked and a message inscribed in Celestial on the hidey-hole¡¯s wall. ¡®That pays for me to hear your requests, but you¡¯ll need to discuss them in person. Mother gave me her fondest well wishes to pass along and expressed a strong desire to talk to you.¡¯ Silpar snorted at the message. ¡°Ori dealt with both of them?¡± ¡°She also dealt with thousands of divine beings¡ªfair and foul¡ªon all the worlds she repaired,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Nam¡¯s mother isn¡¯t quite the villain many believe her to be. However, she finds Hell convenient and is too ruthless by far.¡± ¡°I should send my messengers their reward,¡± murmured Amdirlain, not wanting to get into the topic. ¡°That will surprise them,¡± said Silpar as he put away the training weapons they¡¯d used. Amdirlain created two sets of swords and daggers enchanted for slaying demons with a crystal in each to tag any mortals they encountered in the Abyss. After checking each blade¡¯s balance, she dispatched them to the succubi. ¡°That was an interesting styling for the blades,¡± observed Silpar. ¡°Vines with roses and thorns have a special meaning to me,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she opened a Gate to begin work. Amdirlain was only on the thirtieth stop along Gideon¡¯s latest list when an orb of greenish Mana appeared beside her and echoed an elven Celestial¡¯s song. His theme having already given him away, Rana¡¯s voice didn¡¯t surprise her. ¡°Amdirlain, there is a world that could use your help. The local celestials can¡¯t presently contain an Eldritch incursion. The Pantheon is a young elven one and, even if they had the celestials with sufficient strength, their priests couldn¡¯t summon them.¡± Amdirlain looked at Silpar thoughtfully. ¡°Would you care to help a world against some Eldritch?¡± Silpar nodded eagerly, and his claws unsheathed slightly from his fingers. ¡°Get Livia to bring you and Goxashru to Foundry. I¡¯ll meet you there and make some fresh devices,¡± said Amdirlain, and she released a Message Spell. Another Message orb appeared with a single word. ¡°Some?¡± Amdirlain grinned at Silpar as she replied. ¡°My Fallen mentor has agreed to help as well. We¡¯ll be there shortly, so don¡¯t drag your feet.¡± Not giving Rana time to reply, Amdirlain shifted Silpar with her to Foundry. Sarah snorted at the pair¡¯s reappearance at Foundry. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Eldritch,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Rana, Livia, and Goxashru will be here shortly to provide the details.¡± The trio took about an hour to arrive, and Livia¡¯s sleep-tousled hair told the tale of why. Though her hair was dishevelled, she wore tidy, loose cotton pants and a multi-layered shirt and jacket atop it in a Persian style in earthen tones. Goxashru¡¯s hulking form looked sturdier, having put on extra height and muscle. He now topped at three metres tall despite his slightly hunched posture. He wore mithril plate armour that shone a polished, gleaming silver instead of the True Song Crystal armour she¡¯d made for him, and Amdirlain realised her mistake in making it. I hadn¡¯t worked out the theme to cause items to adjust in size; I¡¯ll need to apply that to his armour. Amdirlain took in the sharp increase in Goxashru¡¯s strength and gave him a nod, prompting Goxashru to give a happy bow in return. Rana wanted to repay me for freeing him from Set¡¯s altar, but whatever task Goxashru helped him with might have increased the perceived debt. Goxashru took in the pavilion and the pathways without comment, but he bowed low when he spotted Sarah on her treasure bed. The nod he received in return had him straightening proudly. Rana was dressed in his usual silken green outfit and wore various items with protective enchantments. His caramel skin looked accented with a dusting of mint green and sat taut across flawless elven features. Amdirlain smiled at Livia. ¡°Did they wake you up?¡± ¡°You couldn¡¯t have just drawn them here?¡± asked Livia as she suppressed a yawn. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect them to drag you out of bed,¡± apologised Amdirlain. Livia gave a relaxed shrug. ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t. Did they disturb your plans, so you decided to pass the joy along?¡± Amdirlain lifted her nose haughtily. ¡°I can¡¯t have my plans being the only ones disturbed, can I?¡± Livia snorted, stepping close to kiss Amdirlain and hug her. ¡°You went silent on me, M¨®eir. It¡¯s a good thing Sarah told me you¡¯ve been occupied with scrubbing your brain with new knowledge. Cyrus said it¡¯s interesting how much closed-door meditation you can manage with a place filled with people coming and going.¡± ¡°Roher at least came in handy. The rest of them were curious bystanders,¡± said Amdirlain. Snorting, Livia turned and fixed Silpar with a raised eyebrow before she extended a hand. ¡°From the description I¡¯ve received, you must be Silpar.¡± ¡°White hair and skin, blue eyes that look like faceted crystals. You can only be Am¡¯s daughter, Livia,¡± replied Silpar. ¡°I¡¯ve never met another of any species that appears as you do. Your aura is remarkable.¡± Livia laughed. ¡°M¨®eir had a unique influence on me.¡± ¡°And your journeys increased your uniqueness, from what Master Cyrus said,¡± countered Silpar. ¡°He also speaks well of you.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Who has been sharing out of turn again?¡± ¡°Your friend Isa is quite the talker,¡± agreed Silpar. ¡°Unlike you, she changes the topic based on random thoughts, not discomfort with the subject.¡± Sarah grunted. ¡°So far, she¡¯s kept her lips zipped about some matters around the L¨®m?.¡± ¡°You might want to consider that you both go off and have many adventures without her. Her helping Sarah was the most time she¡¯d spent with either of you in years when you three used to be almost inseparable,¡± commented Livia. ¡°Life sent you down different paths. However, when she misses you both, she talks about you and those in your lives. You worked on your skills, but your mind was distant even while she was here with you.¡± I haven¡¯t been a good friend to either of them since they got free. ¡°I¡¯ll look to be better about it after we get this Eldritch issue sorted out,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia patted her shoulder. ¡°And not to mention your poor Talon.¡± Goxashru¡¯s sickle-like claws scratched at the pathway¡¯s stones as he bowed. ¡°Elder.¡± ¡°Goxashru and Rana, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve both prospered,¡± offered Amdirlain. Rana smiled. ¡°Likewise Am. We were informed your training efforts were strenuous. I¡¯m glad the news we bring didn¡¯t disturb them.¡± Amdirlain conducted introductions with Silpar and then gave Goxashru an embarrassed smile. ¡°I¡¯ll adjust the armour I made for you.¡± Livia laughed and thumped Goxashru on the shoulder good-naturedly. ¡°He was worried you¡¯d be upset, M¨®eir.¡± ¡°You were still coming into your full growth, Goxashru. I should have considered that when I made your armour. I¡¯ll add enchantments to adjust it going forward to any sort of change in shape,¡± consoled Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll take care of that before we go anywhere.¡± ¡°My thanks, Elder,¡± rumbled Goxashru. ¡°Next time, tell me if you have trouble with weapons or armour,¡± instructed Amdirlain gently. Goxashru dipped his snout bashfully. ¡°Yes, Elder. I wanted to prove myself worthy of any further efforts.¡± ¡°It¡¯s my duty as Elder to ensure you¡¯re properly equipped, Talon Goxashru. You¡¯ve done well to progress to four classes into their sixties,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°How much trouble did Rana get you into?¡± Rana laughed. ¡°Perhaps you inspired me to find trouble for us to learn from, Am. It has been over twelve years since Goxashru entered your service. You got four classes over a hundred in how many?¡± ¡°That¡¯s beside the point,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°What information do you have on this problem?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s question cut off the amusement in Rana¡¯s gaze. ¡°They¡¯ve encountered entities that include immature Void Spawn among them. While they held their own initially, things have taken a turn for the worse, and dozens of celestials died. Two of those were corrupted and destroyed.¡± ¡°How strong are these celestials?¡± asked Sarah from her bed of treasure. ¡°The Pantheon, as a collective, is less than two thousand years old. Among their oldest servants are entities of nature that aren¡¯t able to combat the Eldritch and their distortions,¡± clarified Rana. ¡°Who wants to handle summoning Silpar and myself?¡± Goxashru immediately twitched his head upwards and motioned with his tail. At his contained excitement, Sarah huffed in amusement. ¡°You should let your Talon lead the way.¡± ¡°It might be best if I get summoned first. While there are some Lizardfolk, they are nothing like Goxashru; if someone spots him, they might react badly,¡± proposed Rana. ¡°While I missed you, M¨®eir, I do have duties at the monastery¡¯s construction site,¡± advised Livia. ¡°Cyrus roped you into helping with that?¡± asked Amdirlain. Livia smiled. ¡°It was my idea since he and Kadaklan are the ones who primarily teach classes. Add Rana into the wards for this demi-plane so he can come back and forth with your Talon. Not that I believe Goxashru needs anyone to hold his hand opening a Gate anymore.¡± With that, Livia hugged her again. ¡°I know something important has your attention, and I¡¯ve time, but I hope you¡¯ll visit, not just send me messages or ask me to help someone else.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to set aside a stack of time,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Good, I¡¯ll hold you to that and expect you around for a few years¡ªmaybe even centuries¡ªonce you¡¯re free of your curse,¡± said Livia, and she gave Amdirlain another smile before she vanished. Rana¡¯s expression turned serious. ¡°Is there anything you¡¯ll need to do to prepare?¡± ¡°I still need to make the summoning devices and adjust Goxashru¡¯s armour,¡± replied Amdirlain. Silpar gave Amdirlain a curious look. ¡°Are you sure you can get me onto this world? I wouldn¡¯t want to put anyone at risk.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll either work, or the crystal will just break,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°The idea wasn¡¯t an original one of mine; Ori used to give them to individuals to summon help against the Eldritch. It¡¯s far more reassuring when you can call on a Deity¡¯s strongest solars for aid.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Amdirlain considered Silpar¡¯s theme and sang three crystal devices for Goxashru. The differing hues in the crystals made determining who they related to simple. Goxashru looked at one ash-coloured crystal prism, and his gaze flicked to Silpar. ¡°Please ensure no one is close by, as the summoning strips the concealments from my aura,¡± advised Amdirlain. The forked tips of Goxashru¡¯s tongue flicked across the end of his snout as he nodded. ¡°Yes, Elder. I remember the presence you had in the first summoning circle.¡± ¡°Now it¡¯s time to see to your armour,¡± instructed Amdirlain. Goxashru retrieved the armour from a storage bag and laid it on the pavilion table. Though the material wasn¡¯t worn, Amdirlain tweaked the enchantment to match his new strength and added the transformation effect to allow it to resize to the wearer. When Goxashru hesitantly collected it, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°There is a space you can use to have privacy to change if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± replied Goxashru. While Goxashru got changed into the armour, Rana briefed them on the local deities. Upon Goxashru¡¯s return, the Gate he opened provided a view of a plain covered in thigh-high grass. In the distance, herds of shaggy-looking bison grazed, picking out the greenest grasses among the mixed foliage. Stepping through, Goxashru paused just beyond the threshold and let the Gate close only once he had finished scanning for dangers. Rana and then Silpar disappeared, but Amdirlain only had a moment to wonder about Goxashru¡¯s choice. When the summoning notice appeared, she activated it without hesitation and found herself in the rainbow-walled tube between planes that reflected her True Form. The black and red in her wings were more ominous than before, yet Amdirlain didn¡¯t feel any different. She rushed towards the light at the far end, hoping to arrive before Silpar, but in the trio of summoning circles that had formed, Silpar occupied a larger circle to her right. At twelve metres tall, the older Fallen towered over everything in their surroundings. The ash of his form manifested as a haze around him, as if someone had set fire to the grasslands. In the grass at Goxashru¡¯s feet lay the shattered remnants of the device Amdirlain had created to let him summon Silpar. ¡°You¡¯ve got a hefty weight there, Silpar,¡± noted Amdirlain. Silpar huffed in response but didn¡¯t dignify her remark with anything further. Amdirlain absently took in the greenish-blue sky dotted with fluffy white clouds and the cheerful yellow sun overhead. ¡°What are the local elves like?¡± ¡°They possess a reverse of the skin tones to the Wood Elf form you commonly use, mint green skin with a dusting of other hues,¡± advised Rana. ¡°Most commonly dark to caramel brown, though some have dull amber tints across their skin instead. Their hair and eye colours are like spring to late summer leaves, though your usual reddish-brown hair would fit among them from the petitioners I saw.¡± ¡°I can work with that,¡± said Amdirlain. With a nod, she took on her usual Wood Elf form and adjusted her dusky skin to a spearmint tone, keeping her normal auburn-hued hair. Silpar adjusted to a bipedal Lizardfolk form, with greenish-black scales. Rana offered him an unbothered shrug. ¡°You look more like the local Lizardfolk than Goxashru does.¡± ¡°Because I¡¯m Dragonkin, not a Lizardfolk,¡± corrected Goxashru. ¡°We¡¯ll likely only be dealing with the summoned celestials,¡± stated Rana. Amdirlain tilted her head back to enjoy the feel of the sunlight and the wind through her hair. ¡°How many locations are we dealing with?¡± I need a beach day. Lay somewhere, soak up the sun, read a book or do something fun. ¡°The Eldritch all seem concentrated in a single site,¡± replied Rana. Amdirlain gave a satisfied grunt. ¡°Hopefully, it means we¡¯ve got an isolated issue and not a lot of undetected trouble.¡± A set of surveyors appeared before them, and Silpar regarded Amdirlain curiously. ¡°Are you going to scan the site like you did the Demon Lord¡¯s city?¡± A smile quirked into place briefly before Amdirlain motioned to the spires. ¡°Once I adjust them, they can scan the planet for Eldritch distortions. It¡¯s not an instant result, so I¡¯ll set them up now. Rana, would you please Teleport us to the site once I finish the changes?¡± Then we¡¯ll be ahead in the search if Gideon doesn¡¯t say something about ending the incursion. ¡°Of course,¡± replied Rana, with a bright smile. When the spires vanished, Rana waited for her nod and moved the four of them to high on a mountainside at the top of a long slope. Stretched out before them for over a hundred kilometres was a dead forest. Amdirlain could make out the screeching distortion of thousands of Eldritch within the blighted area. Among them were five mature Void Spawn and a range of immature ones, but with potentially a dozen on the edge of maturity. ¡°How many do they think are responsible?¡± Rana¡¯s gaze hadn¡¯t left the dead forest as he answered quietly, ¡°They believe there are a few hundred left, but they¡¯ve lost their best fighters able to be summoned.¡± Amdirlain swept Resonance through the mountain in a narrow beam until she found what she sought. Taking in the shrill and distorted music rising from the tunnels, Amdirlain focused on the strongest. [Species: Loathsome Void Spawn Primordial Tier: 2 Health: 1,923,882 Melee Attack Power: 8,123 Details: One of a trio that had drifted between stars in an inert state for a few aeons before arriving here. The passage of time has covered the impact crater left by their arrival. It was long forgotten about even by local tribes until accidentally awakened a hundred and thirty-five years ago. Since then, their matings have given birth to thousands of young who carved a honeycomb within the mountain¡¯s rock.] ¡°You three should meet up with the celestials,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°The void spawns the celestials have been fighting aren¡¯t intruders. They¡¯re the local offspring, and they number in the thousands.¡± Silpar hissed in disbelief. ¡°I¡¯ll stay and fight them with you.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Not like I¡¯m going to order you to leave or something fruitless. Rana and Goxashru, please make sure they know to keep their distance.¡± Rana nodded, and a chime sounded through him as the pair vanished in a shimmer of energy. Then Amdirlain could feel Goxashru¡¯s presence over 700 kilometres to the southeast through the summoning bond. ¡°Is there an entry point nearby?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°There is, but they¡¯re sized for the immature ones. They look like bundles of churning tentacles that extend from a central mass and come up to about knee height on me,¡± explained Amdirlain. Nodding slowly, Silpar gained a thoughtful expression. ¡°I believe I¡¯ve seen such a creature before, though no one named them.¡± ¡°They didn¡¯t get summoned into this realm. They arrived on this planet like a shooting star and have been sleeping,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°There are other entities in there as well, some more focused on energy use, so be careful of Eldritch energy being thrown your way.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just seal them away from up here?¡± enquired Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°And here I wanted to use them as a whetstone to hone my skills. I could seal all the ones I hear, but I then wouldn¡¯t have any dance partners. Do you know if you have any Eldritch Resistance?¡± ¡°Lead the way,¡± instructed Silpar. ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Silpar scowled, but Amdirlain determinedly folded her arms and scowled back. ¡°Celestials have risked themselves while not possessing such protections previously,¡± chided Silpar. He retrieved a pair of hooked swords from a storage ring and motioned at the ground. ¡°Every battle holds some measure of unknown risk. You can hear the tunnels. Is there room enough to manoeuvre and fight within?¡± ¡°There is sufficient space in the deeper tunnels, but it¡¯s also a hiss of Eldritch energy against my senses,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Have you experienced the agony of Eldritch energies trying to twist your flesh previously?¡± ¡°I have not,¡± admitted Silpar. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I experienced that agony and almost paid the price for it. You don¡¯t have Protean. Do you?¡± Silpar glared in frustration. ¡°I do not.¡± ¡°If you work down this slope, there are plenty of immature specimens to slay near the surface, and a few spells will provoke them to attack you. That will still allow you the option to retreat if your body starts to feel wrong,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she disappeared without him. Black rock hissed with a familiar distortion, and the slightest breeze of displaced air from her arrival caused the mists in the tunnel to swirl around her. They had turned the mountain¡¯s interior into a chaotic rat warren of warped tunnels that spread out as it approached the molten mantle. Resonance reached through the planet¡¯s crust beneath her, but Amdirlain couldn¡¯t detect corruption in the molten regions. They¡¯ve corrupted a few hundred kilometres along the mantle¡¯s edge but not into it; it goes further than I had expected from the forest. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture flared to life, and as the primordial flames ravaged the chill mists around her, Amdirlain ran. Ahead of her lay a quintet of Eldritch, whose strength promised a suitable challenge. Yet, rather than charge at them directly, she raced through the surrounding tunnels. The notes generated by her graceful strides turned hound-sized entities to ash or trapped them in crystals. The mature Eldritch sensed the rocks turned molten by her passage, and they pursued along adjoining tunnels. Hundreds of their offspring were dead before the lead purser caught sight of the white flames within their mist-choked tunnels. As it raced forward, its form shifted in and out of indescribable dimensions, and she mirrored the part of its chaotic presence that she could sense in song. Layers of reflection clamped around that fragment to prescribe its reality and the limits of its motion. That restriction became a vice and a coffin that allowed it nowhere to run or twist beyond the prison¡¯s boundaries. As another smashed vainly against the strange material it could only partly perceive, the prison vanished across the planes. It forced itself to echo that passage in pursuit of the prisoner but found that, in transversing the planes, it had set limits upon itself. Limits that were perfectly mirrored by the energy it had followed. When the duo arrived at the other end, there wasn¡¯t one coffin but two. The compression continued until they couldn¡¯t shrink further and ended with each constrained to a metre-long tube; they had nowhere to move. The three left shrieked and raged, and Amdirlain heard hundreds of immature void spawns charge upwards from the depths; she plunged through the tunnels to meet them. Horde after horde surged into detection range and sought to smother her flames with a mass of bodies. Amdirlain continued to race along, sliding and dancing through the tentacles that sought to choke her path. Her continual song manipulated her aura, lanced it down tunnels, and speared thousands of needles into neighbouring dimensions to sear foes that tried to evade her. The underground pressure and heat continued to grow without a lessening in the distortion. Once her flames had laid waste to their swarming young and no more approached, Amdirlain warned Silpar to fall back towards the forest¡¯s edge. Her path turned back along passages that allowed the trailing Eldritch to switch routes to intercept. As its limb morphed between tentacles and blades, she spun through the gap and let it strike only the tail feathers formed of flames. Amdirlain flared the fires of creation across its flesh, and notes rose to drill furiously through its essence. She converted its body to pure energy, and the blast speared upwards in a faint mimicry of a solar flare that vaporised stone to burst skyward. The cone-shaped path it cut destroyed scores of its fleeing children and brought sunlight into the dark tunnels where the beings lurked. The last two turned to run together and found Amdirlain ahead of them in passages she¡¯d already travelled and marked. An extrusion of flesh shot towards her face, and Amdirlain¡¯s sprint became a dance. She spun inwards along her partner¡¯s outstretched arm; the touch of her hands left ash in their wake. Guided by the Eldritch¡¯s motion, she took in a fleeting expression of its theme and turned its energy upon itself. Rather than encasing it in a crystal coffin, it became the beginning and end of its prison rather than the crystal being worn down by holding it; being contained consumed the Eldritch. Where one in the past had tried to corrupt her, she turned it into an ouroboros swallowing its own tail. The song¡¯s difficulty made it something she couldn¡¯t try en masse, but it held promise for later if the prison held. A slide took her under the last foe¡¯s thrust. Her aura enfolded it completely, and the aura¡¯s internal gap highlighted the Eldritch¡¯s flesh. With it defined by the gap within her aura¡¯s flames, Amdirlain found it easier to seal the Eldritch away. A tumble took her clear as tonnes of crystal crashed to the ground and quickly contracted. Bait, set, and match. Poised deep in the tunnels, Resonance could feel the limits of the tunnels and sensed the moving distortions within. Thousands of melodies reached out to cage swathes of void spawns. [Combat Summary Immature Void Spawn Larvae x 2,047 Loathsome Void Spawn x 4 (Imprisoned) Loathsome Void Spawn x 1 Total Experience gained: 182,727,360 Ostim?: +91,363,680 Ont?lin: +91,363,680 Dance [S] (198->199) Mental Hardening [M] (76->77) Perception [S] (26->27)] Amdirlain waited a dozen beats before she exhaled in frustration. Or not? No incursion completed notice. ¡°Silpar, are more still near you?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she released the Message Spell. ¡°They retreated into the tunnels a moment ago,¡± advised Silpar. Amdirlain moved all the cages into an empty demi-plane and teleported back to the mountain slope. She found Silpar among some toppled trees, bloodied blade in hand, and the ground littered with nearly seventy dead void spawns. Catching hundreds more plunging deeper into the mountain, Amdirlain growled in frustration. Fortunately, weaker than the ones she¡¯d already sealed away, she quickly secured them. The experience notification she brushed aside, noting in passing that it shared that success with Silpar, but there was no message about the incursion being ended. ¡°I had hoped they¡¯d all join the chase when I led their parents around, but we¡¯ve still got some on the loose,¡± advised Amdirlain. Silpar pointed his sword at the open hole. ¡°I hadn¡¯t needed your warning to get to the edge, as I hadn¡¯t gotten past it. When you left, I teleported to the first of the dead trees, and they came bubbling up out of that hole. The tunnel made killing them easy until they emerged from other places.¡± Amdirlain brought out a plate and tuned it to the surveyor directly overhead to display an image of the dead forest. ¡°Do you want to handle teleporting us to the locations I show?¡± Silpar nodded, and the pair bounced between a dozen spots over the next twenty minutes, and at each, Amdirlain secured more void spawns. She also found old and new traces of Eldritch distortion passing through numerous caves. ¡°The celestials have been tending to the surface¡¯s sore while the cancer spread deeper underground,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she put the plate away. ¡°How many did you deal with?¡± ¡°Thousands but not enough. I tried different songs with the strongest of them. While they were all effective, a couple took more effort than they were worth or required getting too close to them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What is the immediate risk from those that escaped?¡± She tapped her fingers against the crystal plate and gave a helpless shrug. ¡°None of the energy traces felt like the mature ones. I don¡¯t know how many they need to reproduce, and I think some left this area weeks or even months ago.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can tell at all,¡± admitted Silpar. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I wish I could do better, but the Eldritch¡¯s nature makes nearly everything about them unpredictable, and their energies don¡¯t fade consistently.¡± ¡°They could have returned to the lair,¡± offered Silpar. ¡°What you¡¯re detecting could be the hunting trails.¡± ¡°In that case, some of them could be out hunting away from here,¡± argued Amdirlain, and she clenched her teeth. Silpar put his sword away. ¡°A condition that could have occurred whenever you chose to attack. You¡¯ve removed this many and got your surveyors in place. We should advise the celestials of your progress and see what knowledge they can add while your surveyors gather information.¡± Amdirlain projected a spot near Rana and Goxashru to him, and they teleported to join them. 362 - Take a hint They arrived at the encampment''s edge, just beyond wards so fragile, they seemed like cotton thread. A patrolling Astral Deva, his wings compressed within a green-skinned elven form, walked along the warded perimeter. He wore no visible armour, and from what Amdirlain could tell, he relied on his Angelic Aura and reflexes to keep him safe, as the earthen-hued cloth had no protective enchantments. His clothing had a pattern of horns crossed with a broken bow impressed into the cloth itself. When he spotted them, he started to string a bow made of glistening silver wood. While Amdirlain stretched her hands to either side, Silpar remained motionless. "Might we approach the encampment? A colleague of ours is within, an emissary from the Summer Court," said Amdirlain. Her words in the standard Celestial dialect relaxed him fractionally. "I''ll have to contact the commander first. You are?" "Of course," agreed Amdirlain. "Please call me Am." Silpar tapped his sternum. "Silpar." The Astral Deva didn''t take his gaze from Amdirlain but he still motioned towards the distant mountain. "Weren''t you investigating the Eldritch? Word came from the commander of your name and presence there." "That''s what I''m here to talk about. We have some information and some questions," said Amdirlain. My name? Why is he cutting out Silpar? Rana said they had local Lizardfolk, is there a problem between them and the elves? The Astral Deva''s mouth twisted in disappointment and concern. "Is the problem worse than you could resolve as well?" Amdirlain dropped her hands to her sides. "While I''ve secured all those near the mountain where Rana took us, it wasn''t a situation I could resolve completely in my limited time here. I believe there are others we''ll need to hunt down. Also, I wanted to check on some matters before I clean up the site¡¯s distortion." "At least you have some good news. My apologies if my doubts about your effectiveness offended you. I''m Tirindo," said Tirindo. "There was an explosion and a cloud of dust from the mountain a little while back. I thought your efforts might have gone wrong and been abandoned." Oops, I only meant to vaporise to the surface. I should have set up a containment barrier. It¡¯s still a bit of an assumption; there was an explosion therefore they didn¡¯t succeed. Resonance confirmed the connection between the name and the Angel, drawing a frown from Amdirlain. "You should be more careful about freely giving out your name," advised Amdirlain. "Especially in an un-warded place where anyone might hear it." Tirindo twitched in confusion. "But I thought you''re aligned with the heavens." "I''m friends with many deities that live in the heavenly planes, and I know from experience that it''s best to be more careful," cautioned Amdirlain. "I''m not the only person who might be listening. Sometimes, sharing a name is necessary, but casual conversation doesn''t require one that can summon. Your full ¡®use name¡¯ written down somewhere is bad enough. When you speak it, it gives more power to the listener." "You can tell that just from hearing my name?" asked Tirindo. Amdirlain nodded. "I can." A flicker of concern deepened into a frown from Tirindo. "Your name isn''t Am?" Her head shake deepened the Celestial''s frown, and Amdirlain smiled reassuringly. "I''ve been called Am by many people, but it''s only part of my name." "As I''m called Silpar, it is also not my full name," advised Silpar. "Your honesty does you credit but also leaves you exposed if you encounter those with ill intentions. You seem very young to us both, and I''m sure my companion speaks with concern. I''ve seen a few billion years, but I know my companion has existed longer than me." "Ahh," breathed Tirindo. "I''d suggest you branch out your classes further. Also, learn something about arcane matters even if you don''t actively study magic," suggested Amdirlain. Tirindo appeared between distaste and curiosity, but Amdirlain didn''t press the matter. He doesn''t find magic appealing. How do the local elves view the use of non-divine magic? "If you''d wait here," requested Tirindo. "I''ll return shortly, but I''m told the ward is sensitive to intruders." I don''t know about its sensitivity, but it is delicate in a fragile fashion. It''s also established through blessings, not an arcane barrier. "We''ll wait here while you contact your commander," confirmed Amdirlain. Tirindo disappeared, and Amdirlain huffed in disbelief. "There weren¡¯t any protective enchantments in his equipment." "It seems they are ill-prepared for the battle they''ve been fighting," commented Silpar. "I wonder if they even consider it a battle and not merely a problematic hunt." Amdirlain frowned. "More questions to ask." True to his word, Tirindo didn''t take long, and he reappeared accompanied by another Astral Deva. Though they sounded of a similar age, the second Angel possessed four classes in place of Tirindo''s two. The themes for Priest and Ranger were present in his melodies, along with the Fighter and Skirmisher classes Tirindo possessed. Upon the clothing he wore was the symbol of a crescent moon, a sun within its points. With a hand flat upon his chest, the other nodded respectfully to Silpar and Amdirlain. "I''m called Daechir." "You''ve adopted the same practice as these strangers?" questioned Tirindo. "How can hospitality be genuine if we conceal our names?" "Hospitality comes from the heart. Names are simply sounds uttered by the lips. If one acts with a genuine heart, does it matter what you say, or even if you say nothing?" questioned Daechir. "Likewise, if your heart is empty, you might as well stay silent than be a spider preparing a web." At the mention of spiders, Tirindo looked flustered, and he took a step back. "That wasn''t what I meant. I intended no trap for them nor temptation." "I never said you had, kin. It would be best to look deeper at things," instructed Daechir. "Wisdom and knowledge is the best source of illumination." "You lay a trail that might lead to your ruin. The game sign is a better guide," replied Tirindo. "And game signs rely on words?" asked Daechir with a firm smile, and he turned to Silpar. "Rana is present within the encampment. Please walk with me. I pledge you''ll be safe among us." Silpar and Amdirlain moved forward through the gap his invitation opened in the wards. The encampment was more of a loose gathering spot of celestials among the trees than a secure location. The links to their summoners stretched away across the horizon in assorted directions. All the celestials wore what Amdirlain considered hunting clothes rather than armour, sturdy clothing with thick leather boots. While some of them had knives, most carried only bows and spears. Here and there among the celestials and their weapons, Amdirlain caught a lingering taint of distortion. The only solid fixture of the place was a forge in the middle of a clearing near the centre of the tables. Amdirlain found their companions by the forge conversing with a fascinated Celestial. The soot-stained smith wore only pants that showed his muscular torso, and was split in his examination of Goxashru''s armour and Rana''s sword. As they drew within sight, the Celestial tapped the flat of a blade against Goxashru''s breastplate. Poor bastard, I''ve set him an unachievable challenge if he wants to match its strength and durability. Daechir let out a bird trill, and the encampment''s celestials surrounded the clearing. Once they had stopped moving, it was Rana who spoke up. "Am and Silpar are here in response to your Pantheon''s request for help." "My apologies for disturbing your preparations. While we''ve killed and secured many of the Eldritch, more are still on the loose, and we''ve some questions," said Amdirlain. "Ask them, and we will see what light we can shed for you between us," replied Daechir. Amdirlain waved towards the mountain. "How did you become aware of them? This location seems rather remote." "The death of the mountain''s forest drew the Pantheon''s attention," explained Daechir. "And when was that? A hundred, fifty, or twenty years ago? Less?" Daechir glanced towards the smith, and Amdirlain heard their mental exchange but waited for his answer. "If my count is correct, it was just over a hundred when the scouts encountered a strange beast. It killed two of them before it succumbed to its injuries. They found no sign of tracks to trace it to its den. Though they investigated the dead trees, they were a patch some two hundred metres across. Blight can kill trees, and they found no sign to determine what drew their Goddess''s attention." "They assumed the dead growth was caused by the creature they killed and left it at that?" asked Amdirlain. A Celestial female with dark blue shoulder-length hair and an eye-catching white streak that lay along her scarred right cheek coughed. "Yes, to our regret. It had been a fierce fight, and we''d never seen anything like it. We assumed wrongly that it was a planar creature that had come through a natural rift." "Is that when you got your scar?" asked Amdirlain. "Yes. It does not heal no matter my form," she replied. "I got off lightly, and I''ve been careful while hunting them since." "To my knowledge, the scar will fade with time, though faster if you spend time on the heavenly plane," advised Silpar. "It isn''t personal experience, merely what I''ve been told by others who have fought the Eldritch." ''I did some research for you while you were composing. Some among the cloister have fought them while in the heavens, but not since,'' projected Silpar. The female inclined her head slightly in thanks, one of the few to acknowledge Silpar. Another male Celestial wearing the same horns and bow symbol as Tirindo spoke up. "They are mindless beasts, poisonous, but there is no reason for their actions. They''re as inclined to attack as flee no matter how many or few they face." His words prompted a soft murmur of agreement among the other celestials. Amdirlain lifted a hand, and the group stilled. "Their mindset is alien to yours. I wouldn''t say they are mindless. Rather, they are unpredictable and act for their reasons, not what you see as logic. Shall we agree to that and leave it be?" Most of the celestials lapsed into silence, but a few folded their thumb across their palm, and Amdirlain felt it was the equivalent of a nod. Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Subtle hand gestures rather than more significant body movements. It says the elves are hunters and gatherers. Am I effectively shouting by moving my hands so much? "What is the closest community to this mountain?" The scarred female twitched her chin slightly and spoke after Amdirlain motioned to her. "There was a band of stone giants here centuries past, but there was no sign of them when we saw the dead trees. Since they weren''t on the mountain''s slope, we had no reason to bother them. Their species tend to prefer being left alone." [World: Poica Age: 3.1 billion years Sun: G-Type (yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Assorted-sized continents and a large archipelago Average diameter: 13.2 thousand kilometres (Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 345.2 days Tilt: 19.2% Environmental range: Desert to arctic and sub-arctic tundra. Status: Stable Local civilisation advancement levels: Cultural: Agricultural communities Technology achieved: Early Iron Age Magical advancement: Divine blessings and relics Local primary species (averaged population percentage of total sapient species): Elves, local variants (89%) Lizardfolk (10%) Giants (1%) Population: 496 million Incursion Status: Outsider & Minor (Eldritch entities and natural elementals) Local Pantheon Status:- Classification: Nascent Priest Types: Priests, shamans, and spiritualists. Worship Types: Unstructured ] "Closest community of elves or Lizardfolk then?" questioned Amdirlain. The mention of the second received a look of distaste from a few celestials, and they continued to avoid looking at Silpar. "About a thousand kilometres," replied Daechir. "Have there been any events to your knowledge here around one hundred thirty to a hundred and fifty years ago?" enquired Amdirlain. Daechir''s gaze grew distracted for a moment. "The Treant Elder indicates that the only significant event was a shooting star that exploded in the air some distance from here. It destroyed a section of the forest, but that was further from the mountain than we are now." "It might have taken a while for them to wake up if they''d been in deep enough slumber. I was concerned that someone contacted them, as they can leave a mental stain that person can transmit onto others," explained Amdirlain. "Do you know their numbers?" enquired Daechir. "No, and that''s what concerns me. I dealt with nearly two and a half thousand," admitted Amdirlain. The gathered celestials were frozen in shock, and Daechir''s lips tightened. "How many?" Amdirlain caught images of fights where a dozen of them had struggled to kill one at a time, and the frustration in a few was an ugly buzz of jealousy within their themes. Keeping a calm expression, Amdirlain tilted her head towards the mountain. "Most of them were well underground, and they were burrowing towards the planet''s core." Silpar frowned. "Might I ask how many you thought there were? I managed to attract seventy up to the surface." The group exchanged various hand signs, and Amdirlain picked up the meanings from their thoughts to speed up her new translation ability. By the time the group''s discussion had been completed, she barely needed to eavesdrop on the meaning of the hand signs. While the progress satisfied Amdirlain, what didn''t was the exclusion that the celestials using hand signs intended. From their minds, she caught the discomfort of Silpar''s adopted form, as it put him close in appearance to their local species. In contrast, Goxashru had the advantage of being far different from the local humanoid Lizardfolk. Local Elf tribes don''t get on with the Lizardfolk tribes. "Somewhere between sixty and eighty, but they seemed to be getting stronger recently," admitted Daechir. "What did you do with them?" "Most of them I killed, but a few hundred I sealed away on a demi-plane. The corruption they left behind in the rock has saturated kilometres of tunnels along the molten layers beneath the planet''s outer crust. Besides seeking information about what woke them, I wanted to discuss the cleanup." "Tell us what work needs to be done, and we''ll begin," said Daechir. "What about those still out there?" asked Tirindo. "I''ve got some enchanted items looking for them," explained Amdirlain. The mention of enchantments caused a spike in tension among the group. "What sorts of enchantments?" questioned Daechir. "You wouldn''t recognise them, though I notice your weapons and gear only use divine blessings," noted Amdirlain. "Wizards and artificers have repeatedly caused problems among the communities," explained Daechir. Amdirlain shrugged. "That''s the fault of the individual, not the tool itself. Also, my tools aren''t the enchanted objects you''ll have experienced." Are they magical Luddites? Daechir looked among the group. "You''ll remove these tools when you leave?" "I hadn''t intended to leave them behind," replied Amdirlain. "I won''t need you to help. I came to talk because I wanted to ensure that nothing in the affected area is considered sacred, as I''ll have to destroy the contaminated ground and regrow it." They don''t like that we speak the same tongue. Their issue with wizards'' magic isn''t something I should stick my nose into; they need to develop their ethics. "How do you intend to destroy it?" "Lift it and cast it out beyond the planet''s atmosphere. I''ll destroy it out in the void of space so the tainted dust doesn''t spread. Consider it like an infected wound, but there isn''t any real point in cleaning it up until the other void spawns are killed or sealed away." "I don''t see how you killed so many by yourself in such a short space of time. You don''t even have implements to hunt," observed a rail-thin Celestial with greenish-blue hair. Amdirlain smiled. "If there is anything in the mountain¡¯s vicinity, I could demonstrate why I was asked to help you. However, the corruption has spread wider than the dead forest on the surface. Perhaps I should set some markers and have you confirm everything inside the boundary is fine to destroy and regrow." "There are still more you''ve not killed. Unless this cleanup cannot wait, I''d propose we do that after they are slain," said Daechir. "The distortion worsens from the Eldritch presence until they''re all destroyed. The distortion will affect wildlife in the area but doesn''t seem to spread through stone by itself," advised Amdirlain. Daechir winced and gave a resigned sigh. "As long as everyone is within thirty-odd kilometres of Silpar and me, I''ll know if they are near an Eldritch." Amdirlain caught the tension her deliberately mentioning Silpar raised in some of them. Their reaction drew a wary stillness from Rana, though his gaze narrowed disapprovingly. ''Something is certainly wrong here,'' projected Silpar. Amdirlain refrained from rolling her eyes. ''Yeah, I''m also curious about their attitude regarding wizards. I thought elves and magic go hand in hand.'' ''Not all the time,'' advised Silpar, not having moved a muscle since he last spoke to the celestials. Analysis showed those who''d reacted to Silpar with tension as promoted petitioners, and Amdirlain passed the information along. Tirindo twitched a finger for attention, and Daechir signalled him to speak. "My Lady indicates there is nothing near the mountain worth preserving. The spirit and nature folk who inhabited this area all became twisted by the Eldritch''s presence or left. We have already ended the former." "Then the two problems are: the corruption''s lowest area is wider across than its top, and it reaches down to the molten regions," advised Amdirlain. The gathered celestials looked at each other before Daechir spoke. "I''m not sure we can help you in either case. What do you propose?" "I will need to excise it in sections," replied Amdirlain. "Is there any deity among your peoples'' Pantheon that has dominion over the planet''s inner layers?" "Why would we wish to delve so deep?" asked Daechir. Amdirlain smiled. "Rarer materials like the mithril used to forge Rana''s sword don''t occur close to the surface like iron deposits. Such materials can support an enchantment placed by a Divine Blessing for longer." The smith sitting near the forge had mostly ignored the conversation; now he snapped upright, and interest sparked in his gaze. Maybe that will get one of them more interested in the arcane. "Would you tell me more after this situation is resolved?" asked the smith. "Afterwards," agreed Amdirlain, with a polite nod. "It is your patron''s choice if they release you to your duties and leave me to clean this up, or if some or all of you stay to monitor the process." The group didn''t converse among themselves, but the strongest astral devas wearing particular sigils signalled Daechir. Daechir turned his attention to Amdirlain. "We would like to witness how you secured the Eldritch and what you mean by excising sections of the corrupted ground." Amdirlain nodded and projected an image of the mountain slope where Rana had teleported them. "We''ll meet you here." When Amdirlain relocated to the mountainside, she caught Eldritch moving within distant surface tunnels. True Song enfolded them in crystals, and she brought them to rest on the slope as the other celestials began to appear. Arriving in time to see scores of crystal cubes with tentacled forms compressed within appear, the celestials flinched away. "I wasn''t boasting," stated Amdirlain. "These had either fled from my attacks or weren''t close by when I dealt with the rest. Fortunately, they made the mistake of returning while we conversed." Daechir and the scarred female Celestial stepped close and looked over the cubes. "They appeared to be trapped as if within ice. How long will this hold them for?" asked Daechir. "Without repairs, those crystals will constrain them longer than this planet has existed," replied Amdirlain. "And you know how long that is?" asked Tirindo. "The details I have are according to the record of the Titan''s servant, Gideon. Your world''s name is Poica, and it is over three billion, seven hundred million years old," stated Amdirlain. "Unless you''d like to argue with the Aspect of Knowledge for the realm." "It is not them we argue with, but your ability to offer accurate information on their behalf," replied Tirindo. His gaze quickly flickered to Silpar before fixing back on Amdirlain. "We know very little about you other than the Summer Court recommended you to our respective deities." "She doesn''t answer to you, Tirindo," declared Rana. "She is here because the people of this world are in peril. Your Goddess, among the others, asked the Summer Court for help." "Beware of jealousy, Tirindo. As it can lead to paths you would not wish to travel," rumbled Silpar. Tirindo''s gaze flashed with anger momentarily, but he held his tongue. It''s not jealousy. He doesn''t like the company I keep for a supposed helper of the elven interests. "Let me demonstrate how the excising of the corrupted dirt and stone will occur, then," said Amdirlain, her voice serenely composed. I will need something to block the planet''s core from expanding into a volcano and catch the chunks of corrupted earth I send upwards. It won''t be a solid mass like beneath that medical facility, so I can''t implant a single crystal to vaporise it and control its orbit towards the sun. A Gate to a high orbital position opened, and the celestials'' reactions varied. Some focused on the planet before them, while others had their attention held by the blackness beyond the threshold. "Nothing like the view from above your world to put things into perspective." Tirindo eyed her warily. "What perspective does it provide you?" "That life is fragile and should be treasured," replied Amdirlain. "Most creatures can''t survive in the space between stars without magical assistance." It''s time for my orbital catch and destroy platform. A set of golden glows came into existence. The first to complete was a thin crystal loop that oriented itself to draw in materials rising towards it and throw them in a decaying orbit towards the sun. The second was a six-metre-tall spire whose enchantments would target primordial flames onto the corrupt materials after it had been ejected towards the sun. Within each were enchantments to hold them in a geostationary orbit relative to the mountain. Ignoring the crafting experience, Amdirlain kept the Gate open to let her monitor their effectiveness. With all amusement kept from her expression, Amdirlain sang a one-way Gate into existence beneath the deepest layer of the corruption and used the material of the Element Plane of Earth to hold back the planet''s mantle. The ground shook briefly as she sliced a hexagonal pattern downward until it connected to the Gate''s event horizon. The maze of tunnels kept them from being clean pillars, and the ground subsided as they collapsed. Even as she carved more pillars, Amdirlain removed all gravitational attraction from the dead trees and topsoil and flung it upwards. The view allowed her to determine that her initial calculations needed some tweaks. With the gravitational forces removed, the hunks of material she''d flung upwards still strained the orbital relay more than she''d anticipated. Partly because even offset relative to the mountain the relay wasn''t close enough to the path she set the initial sections along. As she worked, Amdirlain adjusted the force she applied to throw the mass free of the planet and got closer to the device with every shot. On the other hand, the spire had no issues, and its inferno incinerated the material without impacting its trajectory. "Will the material''s remains cause harm to anything out there?" asked Daechir. Amdirlain gave a slight headshake but didn''t pause to explain. "We can''t detect it with True Sight, but she''s handling many pieces at once not to be able to talk freely," offered Silpar, and he motioned towards the churning ground where the corrupted stone had now been exposed. "I''ll stand guard to ensure her safety. It''s up to you if you go or stay to guard as well." That''s fine. I don''t need him to do that, but let them think I''m vulnerable doing this and see if anyone wants to misbehave. I might have to come back and clean some of this up again, but the Eldritch will have to dig fresh tunnels. As sections of the extraction were completed, Amdirlain extended the healthy ground and slowly walked the chasm forward. Those few celestials who stayed silently watched the creation''s glow as the vast gulf she¡¯d created filled in. Their gazes darted curiously between Amdirlain and Silpar, who silently stood vigil with an ominous spear lightly held in his grasp. 363 - Reveal While she cleaned the first mountain site of the Eldritch distortion, Amdirlain¡¯s surveyors discovered another contaminated site a thousand kilometres north. The crystal plate display showed the stray entities in enough detail to allow her to capture them at a distance. As she imprisoned each, Amdirlain presented them to those celestials who had lingered to observe the cleanup. Their appearance by the score, especially another mature pair, drew hisses and gasps of shock from the celestials who¡¯d stayed to observe her work. "The ground where they were seems only mildly infected. I''ll take care of it after I''m through here," decided Amdirlain. The wind tousled the elven Celestial¡¯s dark green hair, and Daechir sighed. "You seem so matter-of-fact about this situation." "It doesn''t help to get nervous. They''re contained, and this infestation is resolvable in the short term," replied Amdirlain. "We''ll discuss the issues to look out for after I''ve completed the cleanup." Amdirlain returned her attention to the massive pit where the forest had been, and Daechir was left with his question unasked. Four days into the task, the local celestials started to leave. While a few had returned to the heavenly planes, most had dispersed to help the communities whose priests had summoned them. Daechir kept Silpar, Rana, and Goxashru company while Amdirlain methodically extracted the contaminated columns of dirt and stone. Though Rana and Goxashru had sparred and conversed, Silpar remained motionless except when directly addressed. When Amdirlain had restored the last strip of bare ground at the second site a week after she''d begun, Daechir spoke up. "You said there were other things to watch out for?" Amdirlain clicked her tongue and considered what explanation to give. "There are engravings the Eldritch leave behind. As they''re just carvings, I''ve not determined a way to detect their presence. They blend into wood grains and normal rock formations, that sort of thing. The symbols can leave impressions in the mind of those viewing them and attune their thoughts towards the Eldritch," explained Amdirlain. "What happens to those so afflicted?" enquired Daechir, his mouth tightened with the question. "They can become drawn to the Eldritch in their nightmares and eventually waking thoughts," said Amdirlain. "They can then serve as a medium for similar entities to gain entry into the realm. One needs spells to remove the memories of the sigils while avoiding being infected themselves. I¡¯ve not heard of a Blessing path that can cleanse them." Daechir groaned. "Will we ever be completely rid of them?" And you don¡¯t ask how to help anybody the sigils infested? If you don¡¯t trust mortals with the Wizard Class, maybe you need to give them better examples. "The problem you have is they didn''t stay in just this site. Since they travelled through the cave system to the other location, they could have left an impression anywhere between. Or, being honest, somewhere else completely if it took them lots of exploration before they decided on the second spot," clarified Amdirlain. "What would you advise?" asked Daechir, and he glanced at the others to see if they¡¯d offer recommendations when Amdirlain hesitated. Amdirlain sighed and had to bite her tongue over how some of the celestials had viewed Silpar¡¯s Lizardfolk appearance. "I can''t give you answers, and I''m trying not to interfere with your world''s choices. I have my preferences, and I try to remember that''s all they are, as I don''t know your local situation or history. My only suggestions are that your celestials should learn not to judge by appearances and that the arcane is merely a tool." I could give them tools similar to what we Ieft on Qil Tris, but they¡¯re ignoring options they already have available. "The Elf and Lizardfolk communities have clashed many times, and tales have spread. Those petitioners that become celestials keep some ideas from life," replied Daechir. "That''s rather harmful in the long run. I¡¯d point out that Silpar isn''t from here, yet they chose to believe his association with me was problematic and so doubted my help," said Amdirlain. Daechir grimaced. "I¡¯d hoped you hadn¡¯t caught their attitude. Those who transition from mortals don¡¯t always leave their biases behind. Will you not aid us if we have need again?" "I didn''t say I wouldn''t, so why make that assumption? I''m talking about a problem your Pantheon will have in the future if you react based solely on appearances," replied Amdirlain. "If there is more trouble with the Eldritch, you can get word to me through the Summer Court." With the last contaminated material incinerated and on a path towards their sun, she sent all the orbital gear to a demi-plane and closed the Gate. Planar Shift took Rana, Goxashru, and Silpar with her to the Outlands, and Goxashru grunted at the slight drop in temperature. "Do you need anything further from me, Elder?" asked Goxashru. "Not presently, Goxashru. Thank you for supporting the bond with Silpar and me this last week," replied Amdirlain. "Whatever you require, Elder. The bond with you is most pleasant, and the energy that comes through it is like a warm desert sun," reassured Goxashru. "Then I''m sure mine doesn''t fare so well in contrast," said Silpar. Goxashru''s tongue flicked out to taste the air. "It is like smelling ash on the wind and not knowing in which direction the fire comes. While it set my heart racing initially, it didn''t feel like it harmed me." "It didn''t. Otherwise, I would have brought it up," said Amdirlain. "Your theme shifted momentarily each dawn and then returned to normal. I had thought it was my energy that distracted you." "Then perhaps I don''t have as far to go as I still fear some days," said Silpar. "As you say, Elder. Shall I await your call at Xaos, or should I continue to help Rana with the forest Goddess''s work?" asked Goxashru. "If you''re enjoying helping Rana, please, by all means, continue," replied Amdirlain. Rana nodded. "Plenty of worlds where communities need aid." "If your lady would like my help with the Taur? forest on Veht?, just let me know," offered Amdirlain. "Do you believe you could stabilise the forest¡¯s environment enough that her Avatar¡¯s presence there would no longer be required?" asked Rana after a brief hesitation. Amdirlain winked. "I believe I could, and we¡¯ve ways to reinforce it with True Crystals, after all. Then it wouldn''t depend on her singular presence and, if nothing else, it would ease her effort to hold the forest stable." "I''ll leave the decision up to my Lady," replied Rana. "We''ll let you return to your other work." "Of course," acknowledged Amdirlain, and she gave them a nod before Rana and Goxashru disappeared. "Let''s go back to my hidey-hole," said Amdirlain, and she shifted herself and Silpar to Foundry and placed them precisely on its central platform. Sarah, sprawled on her treasure pile, lifted one eyelid to consider the pair¡¯s arrival. Silpar regarded Amdirlain when they reappeared near Foundry''s pavilion. "Despite all that work, you appear relaxed." "It was delicate more than a strain," explained Amdirlain. "Throwing that much material skywards was delicate?" asked Silpar, his talon tapping against his thigh. ¡°You caused some interesting reactions in the clouds.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. "I already had the song to handle it that way and didn''t have to do much. The carving towards the planet''s core was harder. Getting rid of it only required me to isolate the material from the planet''s gravity and give it a push to set things in motion. It might have been more efficient to put a Gate towards the core with a threshold closer to the sun and drop them. I could have eliminated the atmospheric disruption by placing a seal at ground level, so that¡¯s an approach to try next time." "I think we each have very different beliefs about what delicate involves," offered Silpar. Sarah lifted her head slightly and laughed. "Am has her unique definition for many terms." "Precision work then?" proposed Amdirlain before she poked her tongue out at Sarah, who snorted in response. Silpar nodded politely to the lounging Sarah before he sat on one of the pavilion''s benches. "I noticed the material approached closer to the device you created in orbit as time passed." "Practice makes perfect," quipped Amdirlain. "Their world is all better, I take it?" enquired Sarah. "I left them some devices to detect Eldritch contaminants and explained the dangers of the sigils they can leave. Unfortunately, some had spread from the initial site, so I don''t know if they left traces anywhere in between." Sarah transformed into her willowy brunette Human form, wearing a nearly sheer red silk dress, and joined them at the pavilion¡¯s table. "Did you do any exploring after cleaning up?" "There were too many things I wanted to poke my nose into, so I went with the avoid temptation route," replied Amdirlain. The mock gasp Sarah gave earned her a flat look from Amdirlain. "Wow, they must have annoyed you," commented Sarah. "I have some good news to cheer you up regarding those mortals rescued from the Abyss. The last of them has finished treatment and returned home." "That is good news," agreed Amdirlain. "I don''t suppose they''d be open to future arrangements?" "What did you want to offer them?" enquired Sarah curiously. "I''m sure that is the wrong way to bargain with gem dragons. What would they like for a retainer to be available to help mortals I rescue?" asked Amdirlain. Sarah grinned. "I might have enquired with them about the possibility of future healing being required. Would you be against supplying some demi-planes?" "That''s such a hardship," laughed Amdirlain. "Just because it helps you to create them doesn''t devalue the uniqueness of your abilities," said Sarah. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. "I''ll make them a playpen each as my top offer." "I would be curious to see these giant creatures you created to oppose Sarah," remarked Silpar. "You can tour her playpen any time you¡¯d like,¡± replied Amdirlain. Silpar shook his head sharply. ¡°I said I¡¯d stay close unless my presence posed a greater danger. I had more meant that if you intended to create some more, can you manifest them in sight of us.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don''t have something better to do besides guard me?" asked Amdirlain. "I could let you practise your fighting skills in a playpen." Silpar shook his head again, but his gaze never left Amdirlain. "Your safety is my priority. The only reason I didn''t accompany you into that demonic city is I likely would have increased your danger by doing so." Persistent fellow. "Someone else putting you first, I approve," declared Sarah. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. "It''s going to get boring," warned Amdirlain. "Why are you intent on pushing yourself so fast and hard?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain shifted and rolled her shoulders. "I constantly feel like I''ve got problems looming that I''ve not even got a hint about yet and need to be stronger." "That¡¯s because you¡¯re justifiably paranoid," offered Sarah. ¡°Since it is justified, I¡¯d best get to work,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she lifted into the air. As Amdirlain considered all the gates she needed to open, she moved into the open air, away from all the obstacles. However, before opening the gates, she placed four points into skills. [Dance [S] (199) -> [G] (1) Devouring Cacophony [S] (199) -> [G] (1)] The change was almost minuscule, easing tension in some muscles and ligaments while tightening others. The minute changes in her melody drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to her posture''s increased power and flexibility. However, the adjustments being so small made it clear the last insights had been nearly within her grasp. The sharp notes vented a touch of her frustration, and the gates to thousands of worlds snapped open to form a large sphere around her. When the thresholds stabilised, Amdirlain spun through a blistering combative dance. One after another, the complex symphonies Gideon had requested soared from her flesh. As the first hints of fatigue bit in, Phoenix''s Rapture caused flames to rage from her body, casting massive shadows over the pathways and platforms near and far. Amid the primordial flames, Ki Flight held Amdirlain aloft as she danced to bring new life and resolve issues upon thousands of worlds simultaneously. The pulse of the Ki within her form added a carrying strength to the ongoing songs. Though Amdirlain was enraptured in delivering multiple performances, she heard the others come and go throughout her performance. Amdirlain sought to improve with every song, adding emphasising motions into every melody. With her mind racing in review of each song at first, they were a calculated and precise choreography, like the stage performance during concert tours on Qil Tris. As she ramped up the pace, they became wild, spontaneous performances, the effort consumed by Pain Eater, leaving them to contain only her wonder of the music running through her. The list had been longer than Gideon¡¯s original one, yet Amdirlain completed it on the first day. As notifications of improvement came and went, the renewing flames of her aura knitted her flesh together. On tens of thousands of worlds, new plants bloomed, species evolved, forests rose from the ground, seas swarmed with new species that might seek out niches upon the land, and other dying species found a new footing as adaptions took hold. More than one melody caused a spark of evolution that gave a new direction to a species at a dead end or sealed the fate of problematic species that had not yet developed sentience. The climb through the Power''s Senior Master levels became a torturous cliff climb, with each progression taking double or even triple the effort required by the one prior. Each time the capacity of True Song Genesis increased, Amdirlain stretched her control over additional songs or pushed more energy into those she supported to hold herself at the limits of physical dissolution. When she was on the cusp of Grandmaster rank, Gideon''s list came out with a single location and a challenge. Amdirlain opened the Gate to view a yellow star and a mostly water-covered planet in orbit around it. The sheer magnitude of the effort involved in the task finally gave her reason to pause. She grumbled at Gideon and rechecked the worklist, only to get the same result. [Start at the beginning and create an entire oceanic ecosystem with at least thirty biomes to provide the cradle of future planetary life. Note: Since you''ve ignored another source of help, you''ll need to plan it properly so you can do it in one go and avoid die-offs.] I worked with Roher. With no need for its renewal effect, Amdirlain turned her aura off. Sarah appeared beside her in Human form and bumped shoulders with Amdirlain. "You finally came up for air." "I''m at level 200," explained Amdirlain, waving a hand towards the open Gate; she repeated Gideon''s request. "That''s progress, right? They''re trusting you with the lot and not holding your hand. Your dance moves looked pretty hot too," added Sarah. Amdirlain slowly shook her head while regarding Sarah reproachfully. "That''s such a bad pun." "Well, you did have that aura burning like a star for a full year now," laughed Sarah, and she bumped Amdirlain''s shoulder again. "Take a break, maybe kill some demons, and think about it. You''ve got plenty of planetary songs to copy. Though Gideon is crazy¡ªhow much energy would it take to create the foundations of life?" "Too much, since they want it done all in one go. Gideon''s note said they''ve ensured I''ve got plenty of templates to use," said Amdirlain, and she double-checked that only Silpar was present with them in the demi-plane. "Do you know what''s in that container I got from Claughuthruuazex?" "I''m pretty sure I do," admitted Sarah. "Are you sure you want me to tell you? I don''t know if I know everything about them, and they''ll likely be useless until you can get past the concealments." "Yes, please," said Amdirlain. Sarah folded her arms beneath her breasts as if she were hugging herself. ''The harp is Ori''s world harp. Her name is Gilorn, from an elven dialect where it meant Star Tree.'' The unusual nervous gesture gave Amdirlain pause. ''I don''t remember her using a harp to create worlds.'' ''Ori used it when she created multiple systems, not just a world,'' advised Sarah. ''She didn''t take it easy when the Anar and L¨®m? went off in a huff. Ori spent years frantically continuing the project they''d abandoned. She relaxed only when she was sure the aspects were up to continuing.'' ''How long would it take her to create a star system?'' asked Amdirlain. ''Minutes,'' murmured Sarah. ''Why so secretive about it?'' asked Amdirlain. ''I remember the scent of all the anger and pain. I hope you''ll not use that as a challenge to push yourself harder,'' projected Sarah. Amdirlain snorted in disbelief. "I was pleased that Gideon''s challenge would only take me decades of planning." "Never mind, you''re still a little hatchling," quipped Sarah. "Meow," grumbled Amdirlain, only for Sarah to laugh. "What about the orrery?" "Each crystal contains a galaxy''s worth of melodies, and you can let the orrery display a random solar system or specify," clarified Sarah before she retrieved a crystal from its niche. "Going to demonstrate?" asked Amdirlain. "I''ve already seen Isa do it by accident." The corner of Sarah''s mouth twitched in a suppressed smirk before she put the crystal by the outer planet in the current display. When the crystal was set atop the device''s plate, it reconfigured itself to display a new star system. Sarah repeated the exercise twelve times in rapid succession without a single system being shown twice. Then she spoke a name in draconic before she placed the crystal, and it displayed a system with eight worlds; Sarah continued the exercise but alternated random star systems with the same eight-planet system by naming it. I thought I knew how much of a workaholic Ori was. Even with the Anar and L¨®m? helping, it''s hard to envisage they had created so many galaxies. Amdirlain frowned. "As long as you know the system''s name, you can recall its details. I don''t understand; Ori had a perfect memory, so why would she need a record to remember them? Sarah winked. "Guess the record wasn''t for her lifetime or maybe not even for her. However, I''ve no idea how she locked them down." "She wouldn''t want anyone else to have them," breathed Amdirlain. "There is so much I don''t know yet." "Your True Song Architecture is lagging, for one thing," noted Sarah. "I need to push harder," agreed Amdirlain. Sarah narrowed her gaze suspiciously. "Do you think it''ll be good for anyone if you fry your brain? You''ve been pushing hard, but you''ll still need to work on various resistances and get more levels." "No," muttered Amdirlain. "The levels are easy. Once I qualify for the Prestige Class, I still need more demi-planes to set up the Qil Tris training facilities, could do some for other places." "By getting your True Song Architecture higher, you might figure out a more efficient approach to creating life throughout a planet''s oceans," proposed Sarah. "You''re going to need it in the Grandmaster ranks anyway. Just because a song is efficient doesn''t mean you can''t stretch your ability to support it over a wider area or compress its performance to challenge yourself." "You have a point," admitted Amdirlain. Sarah grunted. "I didn''t want to disturb you, but how hard did you push Phoenix''s Rapture?" "What can I say? Burn, baby, burn," laughed Amdirlain. "It''s by far my most advanced Power or Skill." "Because you rip yourself up so much, or the sigil?" asked Sarah. "Both, maybe," replied Amdirlain with a shrug. "What if instead of only the challenge Gideon set me, I plan it out and handle continents'' biomes as well?" "You just fell right into Gideon''s trap by thinking about it. You''re such an overachiever," jeered Sarah, her tension tightening the skin around her eyes. Amdirlain nodded glumly. "They likely set that trap knowing it would push me back to developing my compositions, either from opting for it myself or because of you heckling me." "Are you going to schedule time with Roher?" asked Sarah. "I should unless you think I should put all my points into it at once," replied Amdirlain. "No!" exclaimed Sarah sharply. Amdirlain smirked. "That will teach you to heckle me. I''ll contact him, but I worry about taking time from his children." "Isn''t it good I spoke to Roher while you were singing and got him to prepare more crystals," said Sarah, releasing a dozen memory crystals on the pavilion''s table. Amdirlain reached for the closest one and got her hand promptly smacked. "Naughty girl," huffed Sarah. "We''re talking. You can consume those shortly." "Meep!" squeaked Amdirlain, her gaze lit up with amusement. Sarah''s firm glare fixed on Amdirlain, who suddenly transformed into a Catfolk cub barely tall enough to peer over the table in return. "And you called me a brat," huffed Sarah. "Rawr," lisped Amdirlain. "That''s not going to save you," growled Sarah, keeping amusement from her gaze. "We also need to push your primordial and cold resistances higher." "Don''t forget mundane materials," interjected Silpar, and he extended his claws to tap them on the pavilion''s table. "With that demonstration of creativity, are you sure the Magic rating of a being like that Demon Lord is a risk to you? Possessing skills from Mana Manipulation onwards increases the effectiveness of someone''s Magic rating, and I would have thought you''d have obliterated him." "I could and did do that. Yet my Analysis Skill doesn''t tell me every Power and Skill someone possesses, and an unrecognised threat could be my undoing. If I don''t need to take the risk, I''ll play it safe," replied Amdirlain, and she changed back into her Wood Elf form and brushed auburn locks away from her face. "I don''t want to get locked to my home planes with everything else I need to do now." "With training, someone can punch through a glass window, but they still risk opening up their arm on the shards left behind if they¡¯re not careful," said Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. "And Moloch''s got hundreds of demon lords. Why risk it on that one?" Sarah smiled viciously. "Are you going to destroy more of his lackeys soon?" "If Roher''s estimate of how long it will take me to push True Song Architecture to Grandmaster is right, I''ll go on a killing spree once it''s done," said Amdirlain. Amdirlain''s hand hovered above the memory crystals Roher had provided, and she glanced back at the orrery in the still-open container. Far Hand delivered the crystal Isa had popped free into Amdirlain''s grasp. "What are you thinking?" asked Sarah. "It might not be able to recognise me because of my Hidden state," replied Amdirlain. "Isa could hear me when I used a suitable Power." With the crystal in the palm of her hand, Amdirlain activated Universal Life. As the golden energy wrapped around the crystal, its concealment vanished. Countless songs were suddenly audible in the crystal''s interior. Still, each was arrayed in precise layers of exquisite sound, becoming increasingly more complex the deeper within the crystal they were set. Amdirlain strained Resonance unsuccessfully to make out any details of the item''s depths. "It''s not a teaching tool. It''s a record. I can make out the edges of the more complex melodies, but they''re behind so many layers of simpler ones they naturally obscure the details," murmured Amdirlain as she lowered her hand to the table. Sarah picked the crystal from Amdirlain''s palm, and the songs vanished when separated from the golden light. "And now?" "Its concealment is back in place," advised Amdirlain, and she deactivated the Power. "I didn''t know she''d set them up that way, so many secrets," grumbled Sarah. "Why keep a record like those?" asked Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. "In case the worst happened. What made you try that?" "Hidden are protected from scrying, even against greater deities. It was a hunch it would know me without that protection. Ori must have expected to die," replied Amdirlain. "Ori always knew it was a risk. She had other contingencies in place. I know you remembered the conversation with her husband about her daughter''s coming of age," reminded Sarah. "Ahh, I hadn''t thought about that for a while," admitted Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. "Perfect memory, but you still have to want to remember things. It was an unpleasant conversation to bring up, so I''m not surprised you''ve not dwelt on it. It looks like Roher''s present got outbid. I''ll admit I wasn''t expecting that at all." "Roher''s crystals are still useful. The record crystals will take lots of investigation and an improvement in my Resonance, plus they''re not set up to teach," said Amdirlain, and she turned her attention back to the container. "There is one thing: the harp also might react to my Ki." "It has a personality," cautioned Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know why it didn¡¯t speak before.¡± "Will it tell me to improve my harp playing first?" laughed Amdirlain, and she moved to the harp. When she activated Universal Life, golden Ki poured across the harp. The Mediterranean blue of the harp''s crystal became saturated with a sea of stars, and a rapid run of notes sounded from the strings, only for it to twitch back into a musical yawn. "Oh? Lady Orh¨ºthurin, you broke the stasis. Wait, what have you done to yourself?" The last words came out in a clash of strings that affected a matron¡¯s reproving tones. "Gilorn, unfortunately, the Lady Orh¨ºthurin you knew died," advised Amdirlain. "You can call me Am." Gilorn¡¯s deepest strings thrummed in a tenor range, and its words came out sharp with grief. "Reincarnated; no wonder your Soul feels so wounded. So you require me as a teacher. I never thought that would come about, despite your words. Well, let''s get you back in tune at once. Tell me the status of all your True Song-related powers and skills." Amdirlain tilted her head at the shift in the harp''s tone from matron to drill instructor. The mental presence within the crystal had a strength that rivalled Claughuthruuazex. Why am I surprised at the strength? Gilorn aided Ori in making solar systems. "Don''t delay. You¡¯d best be prepared to push yourself hard." 364 - Get through Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry. Gilorn¡¯s strings rang and strummed thoughtfully after Amdirlain provided her list. ¡°We¡¯ll go back to the fundamentals. How many centuries did this take you to achieve?¡± ¡°Decades,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s something. At least you¡¯re not a slow learner,¡± replied Gilorn primly. ¡°Your Soul is once again concealed from me. How do you manage that?¡± ¡°Have you heard of the Hidden?¡± The light within the harp¡¯s base blazed. ¡°How could you be one of them?¡± ¡°Since you recognise the term, I won¡¯t go into details. Let¡¯s focus on my skills. I need to get my True Song Architecture into Grandmaster,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn¡¯s strings twanged discordantly before it continued. ¡°Do you prefer theoretical composition lessons or practical ones?¡± ¡°Are you aware of profiles and skill points?¡± Gilorn clanged cautiously. ¡°Yes. Why?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve accumulated skill points and have spent them into the Skill, but it then required me to do a rush of composition work to get the new learning to assimilate.¡± ¡°Have you gained improvement in the Skill at other times?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°What situations provided you with the biggest jumps?¡± ¡°The times when I¡¯ve gained the most involved me making melodies up on the fly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though that could be from putting things together differently.¡± A bright run of high notes sounded from Gilorn. ¡°That could be because your conscious mind isn¡¯t getting in the way of old abilities resurfacing. Who performed your song of attunement?¡± ¡°No one,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°There isn¡¯t an Anar left who knows their song, and I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d risk it.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get started then. Know any barren locations we can make flourish?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been making demi-planes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°We made billions of those while Orh¨ºthurin worked on my tuning,¡± said Gilorn, and their stings shivered merrily. ¡°That was such a wonderful time. I got played so much.¡± What level was Ori? Not as if that matters, she was likely far beyond my levels even before they created the realm. ¡°What became of them afterwards?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Most Orh¨ºthurin merged into various planes, though some were too dangerous, so those she took apart,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°Open a Gate to one, please.¡± As Amdirlain opened a Gate, Silpar rose, and Gilorn issued a run of alarmed notes. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I meant for us to work alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to protect Am. Sometimes, she¡¯s been unaware of those coming and going around her,¡± advised Silpar. ¡°Fallen, I can hear your melody and know you intend well, but there are things I would discuss with Am alone,¡± retorted Gilorn. ¡°You can call me Silpar,¡± interjected Silpar calmly. ¡°If you don¡¯t wish me to overhear, that¡¯s fine. Am can conceal your conversation, but I promised Bahamut to watch over her wherever my presence didn¡¯t bring more danger.¡± The presence of Bahamut¡¯s awareness was a subtle sensation, and Gilorn¡¯s melody jumped about. ¡°Oh?¡± Gilorn chimed. ¡°Hello, Lord Bahamut. Thanks for looking in on us.¡± Amdirlain caught a shift of chiming themes within Gilorn, but they continued. ¡°Very well, Silpar, Lord Bahamut has explained some of the situation. I agree you can accompany us. Ensure you do not disrupt the lessons. They aren¡¯t likely anything you can understand, so hold your questions until another time.¡± Silpar nodded. ¡°Of course, I¡¯ve already witnessed Am¡¯s creations through True Song and been unable to perceive anything other than their glow.¡± ¡°Will your Oath sister be coming along as well?¡± enquired Gilorn. ¡°You recognised me?¡± huffed Sara. Gilorn¡¯s glow embedded low. ¡°I know of only one being whose song she disguised as yours has been.¡± Sarah snickered. ¡°You have a point, but if you¡¯re taking Am for training, I¡¯ll attend to my own advancement.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you won¡¯t leave things to the last minute again,¡± said Amdirlain, and she sadly shook her head. ¡°Such a shame you had to settle for Tier 6s.¡± ¡°Bite me,¡± grumbled Sarah, and her glare became hooded. ¡°Pass, your hide¡¯s too tough,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she collected Gilorn from the container and stepped through the Gate with Silpar in tow. The surrounding terrain was the barren bedrock she¡¯d added to most of the demi-plane¡¯s seeds. Amdirlain created a large platform a hundred metres up and settled Gilorn upon it. Silpar landed on the platform¡¯s edge and settled in to wait. ¡°Did you want a barrier in place now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll converse after you train for a while. I¡¯ll need to assess your basics,¡± clarified Gilorn. ¡°What¡¯s the starting point?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Expand this Demi-Plane to the maximum sphere you can manage,¡± instructed Gilorn. ¡°Then place regional barriers to isolate ten-metre cubes throughout it. I¡¯ll tell you each property to contain in them to test what songs you already know.¡± ¡°I take it that¡¯s just the starting point since you didn¡¯t want Silpar along?¡± asked Amdirlain. Amdirlain expanded the Demi-Plane to thirty thousand kilometres across and felt the strain of pushing the song further. Gilorn thrummed a low, disappointed sound. ¡°Can your Resonance Power reach the edges?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°No? What have you been doing?¡± gasped Gilorn. ¡°Tell me you¡¯ve at least combined Perception into the power?¡± ¡°No, I just have base Resonance,¡± admitted Amdirlain flatly, unsure what to make of Gilorn¡¯s tone. "Oh my," groaned Gilorn. ¡°We have our work cut out for us. I hope you expect little in the way of rest for the next millennia.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how much time is available, so we need to push faster than that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Let¡¯s not mention the existing wound. Amdirlain considered what to share and went for the concise details. ¡°A Demon Lady is trying to open a hole into the Far Chaos.¡± ¡°Then we need one of the dimensional harps to ensure you¡¯ve got the strength to seal her away,¡± replied Gilorn. Amdirlain smiled tightly. ¡°Which are where?¡± ¡°Your treasury, of course,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Which is where?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Gilorn¡¯s strings went still, and all the stars with the crystal snuffed out. ¡°You don¡¯t remember?¡± ¡°No,¡± Amdirlain said with a shake of her head. ¡°Well, it¡¯s all on your capabilities alone then because I don¡¯t know, she moved it frequently,¡± responded Gilorn grimly. ¡°You had best be ready to work hard. She focused my abilities to amplify True Song within the Material Plane so that I wouldn''t be as much help with a Demon Lady in the Abyss. The best case is blowing her up if she comes out on a world.¡± I¡¯ll talk to them about Orcus¡¯ stronghold world later. ¡°I just spent years acclimatising to the rush of increasing my True Song Architecture,¡± replied Amdirlain. Gilorn hummed. ¡°But that was adjusting to a rush of information imposed from without. That approach always has an uncomfortable impact requiring adjustment since it doesn¡¯t come from an internal truth. I¡¯ll tell you an effect and the location to place it, and the songs you don¡¯t know you¡¯ll need to compose in your mind alone. Since I don¡¯t know what songs you know, I¡¯ll work through a list she gave me for such an eventuality.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± A section of stars along the harp¡¯s neck blurred into True Song chords that marked out a nearby location paired with the elven word for fire. ¡°You can choose the form that any of my simple requests take.¡± ¡°I take it your capabilities are much better than basic Resonance,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, I can also amplify the True Song another provides and hear both sides,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ve got the equivalent of Resonance-King. I hoped to achieve the Emperor evolution, but I¡¯ve not managed it. Now, with the list I give you, ensure you don¡¯t miss any.¡± Okay, that tells me the evolution chain for Resonance follows the weaponry pattern. ¡°Is there a time limit?¡± ¡°Of course, I want you to perform the music without thinking. After all, we¡¯re trying to stir the memories from your Soul and get spontaneous reactions. That doesn¡¯t happen when your conscious mind is obstructing you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the penalty in this challenge?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only display them so long before I reset your progress. Depending on how far along the list you are, I¡¯ll reset your progress by either a few hundred or thousands,¡± explained Gilorn. The first song caused a campfire, and another two requests replaced it. It was an easy start, but with each series Amdirlain completed, the number of requests doubled. Within a minute, Amdirlain was dealing with thousands at once, and Gilorn spoke. ¡°This is far too easy. Silpar, please provide Am with a sparring partner. Try to block her line of sight to the list as much as possible. She needs to work off reflex when the harder items appear.¡± Silpar¡¯s spear appeared in his hand even as he lunged. Amdirlain spun to the tempo of his song, deflecting the spear¡¯s tip, then haft. The third palm strike caused Silpar to dodge back, and she drove him further away with a burst of Ki that swept out from her palm. It allowed Amdirlain to glimpse the following instructions¡ªmost were even right-side up. The pair piled the pressure on week after week until Amdirlain missed completing an item before it disappeared from Gilorn¡¯s frame. Gilorn twanged in dissatisfaction and started again at three times the pace. The instructions appeared upside down or back to front, and Amdirlain still had to deliver the performance on time. When she did too well with that, it started to provide the location¡¯s coordinates within puzzles that Amdirlain had to decipher. The increases to Perception she gained made the puzzles¡¯ purpose clear. The requests became increasingly complicated orders for self-sustaining environments with miniature life forms. As the complexity of the requests continued to increase, Amdirlain started to find it hard to determine if she recalled songs rather than composing them anew. Caught within the pressure, bursts of knowledge and insights flowed in fits and starts, and True Song Architecture increased. As she and Silpar fought, Gilorn played enticing pieces that fought to distract Amdirlain¡¯s singing. After Gilorn had played for a few days, they unleashed a slow, sorrowful composition that seized Amdirlain¡¯s attention. Within a run of notes, the crest of a memory wave rose, and Amdirlain had enough presence of mind to signal Silpar to halt. Swept under by the surge, a familiar room formed around Amdirlain, and she stood regarding an inky blackness enclosed by a crystal dome. Below the crystal dome¡¯s theme, she could hear the screams and cries of the deities¡¯ regrets and wrath mingled together. Having experienced the chaotic clashing of noises within that pit, Amdirlain noticed Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s tricks to isolate them, and understanding bloomed. Orh¨ºthurin sang and adjusted the crystal¡¯s song to better absorb and change the Mana around it to sustain its nature. Though its tie to Gideon should have maintained the plinth without issue, she had returned to ensure its continuance and found only four had used it. The cavern in the cloister¡¯s depths showed only a few carved panels near the shaft¡¯s entryway and sections of the once irregular walls were smoothed. The Fallen who would be the Eldest in time, appeared, his song weaker and unsure. It was filled with a solid grief that Amdirlain had never heard, and she realised Orh¨ºthurin had never bothered to learn their name. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin, I never expected you to come here again.¡± ¡°Are you finding this place unpleasant?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Most planes within the Abyss are unpleasant, but this plane is noxious,¡± replied Eldest. ¡°I tracked down the dead you left behind,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°In accordance to their people¡¯s beliefs, they¡¯re not enjoying their existence either.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Isn¡¯t that the Titan¡¯s doing? Not ours,¡± argued Eldest. ¡°Individual pantheons have influence over the passage of souls on their world, or the region within their control at least,¡± corrected Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°You three butchered them, obliterated their bodies to such an extent as to make funeral rites impossible.¡± The Eldest''s upper claws clicked sharply. ¡°Are you here to judge us further?¡± Orh¨ºthurin''s lips twisted in distaste. ¡°No, the plinth has already done that job. I¡¯m merely pointing out some facts relevant to your self-pity.¡± ¡°Self-pity?¡± growled Eldest. ¡°You had paradise, you threw it away, and you butchered innocents just because they didn¡¯t follow your former liege¡¯s way. My compassion is reserved for those worthy of it,¡± growled Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Why are you here, Orh¨ºthurin?¡± ¡°To see how the crystal has fared, I noticed it¡¯s been used by another,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. The Eldest sighed unhappily. ¡°They were lucky to have run across us.¡± ¡°Lucky?¡± ¡°They consider themselves lucky after the plinth¡¯s judgement. I¡¯ve not yet reached a decision either way.¡± ¡°Poor child. Maybe you¡¯ll feel better when you¡¯ve been at it a million years,¡± scoffed Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Even that will be too soon, as it won¡¯t even be one year for every life you took.¡± The Eldest''s crest of tentacles thrashed and shook in their rage. ¡°I think you enjoy others'' suffering.¡± Though Orh¨ºthurin was unbothered by the Fallen¡¯s anger, she smiled coldly. ¡°I could end your suffering for you right now, if you¡¯d like. You have a path to redeem yourself. I suggest you put effort into earning it. There are many places you can get to where mortals suffer. Open your mind and consider them.¡± The Eldest backed up, and Orh¨ºthurin vanished across the planes, but her trip didn¡¯t take her far. Though Kismet might lead them to the path, Orh¨ºthurin was determined to make it a surer find, so some might recover from their folly. She created millions of marker points to guide Fallen to it and spread them throughout dozens of planes in the Abyss before she moved to other regions to do the same. She twisted concealments into place within each one and set them to restore themselves through the local Mana. While she worked, Orh¨ºthurin considered revealing the restorative trick to the Anar and L¨®m? only to dismiss the risk of its use as too great. The possibility of someone using it within one of the Eldritch prisons and giving them a foothold into True Song sent a shiver through her. Though she had no intent to share her tricks, Amdirlain took in the thousands of shortcuts and the subtle shading of power that Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s performances contained. The Mana trick was eerily similar to how Amdirlain had utilised the experience tithe to restore the crystal. ¡°Did Orh¨ºthurin provide that piece to you?¡± asked Amdirlain when the memory released its hold. I''ll need to check on that Eldritch whose energy I twisted to sustain its own prison. [Resonance [G] (20->42) True Song Genesis [S] (200) -> [G] (5) True Song Architecture [S] (179->187) Note: It¡¯s not always the knowledge you have but how you apply it. You¡¯ve done that often enough.] The jump in comprehension didn¡¯t burn within her thoughts but shifted the foundations and sent a cascade of understanding upwards. ¡°Don¡¯t you like my composition?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin carried many burdens of regret. When the pleasant pieces got no reaction, I wondered if sadness would connect key memories. I studied how you fought and sang. From my perspective, pain is an old acquaintance that you don¡¯t hesitate to embrace.¡± Amdirlain let out a long, slow breath. ¡°Play some more, please.¡± ¡°Your mind will be on guard now. Let¡¯s return to the exercise until I judge the time right to make another attempt,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°What did Gideon inform you about the improvements?¡± ¡°It jumped architecture by eight points, True Song Genesis by five, but the biggest jump was in Resonance-¡± ¡°Did it evolve?¡± interjected Gilorn eagerly. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t evolve from the True Song-related powers I have until I get my Prestige Class, but it improved by twenty-two points.¡± ¡°Only twenty-two?!¡± exclaimed Gilorn. ¡°Darn it, how hard-headed are you?¡± ¡°Should I test my limits?¡± Gilorn emitted a sour chord. ¡°You¡¯ll do no such thing. How does your mind feel having used my approach? Any pain?¡± ¡°Unstressed,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then save those Skill points of yours for something that doesn¡¯t involve combining the knowledge of the realm¡¯s building blocks and the ability to redesign it,¡± instructed Gilorn, and they gave an indignant flare of light. ¡°There are many safer skills you can rush without risking injury.¡± ¡°Do we start from scratch?¡± asked Amdirlain. A merry giggle of notes came in reply. ¡°Clear out the spaces while I decide.¡± Taking the time to check on the one Eldritch prisoner she¡¯d twisted into the crystal itself, she found its essence being shredded by the force of the song, the music''s energy as alien to Eldritch as its nature was to her. * * * * * It was nearly a year of singing exercises and Gilorn¡¯s third attempt at evoking memories that finally bore fruit. A dual notification appeared as the memories of Orh¨ºthurin designing sections of the planar framework faded from Amdirlain¡¯s grasp. Pieces of it which she¡¯d only understood as high-level concepts fell into place. [True Song Architecture [S] (197) -> [G] (4) Tier 7 Prestige Class: Olind? Unlocked!] It means complete singer, but I don¡¯t have the primordial energy that Orh¨ºthurin removed. [Olind? This Tier Seven Prestige Class merges Ostim? and Ont?lin It is one of the stepping stones towards gaining the legacy of your power. Requires: - Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Soul. - Grand Master in True Song Genesis. - Grand Master in Resonance. - Grand Master in True Song Architecture. - Grand Master in a Dance Skill, or a Power or Skill where it is a subset. - Grand Master in a combat Skill. - Four hundred accumulated levels in True Song-related classes. Power automatically gained: - Resonance evolves to Resonance-Lord. Powers unlocked for acquisition: - True Song Genesis evolutions. - Further Resonance evolutions. - World Step (Group). - Realm Step (Locked due to Fallen State). Skills unlocked for acquisition: - True Song Architecture evolutions. +10 Melee Attack Power per level. +10 Defence per level. +20 Intelligence per level. +20 Charisma per level. +50 Endurance per level. +50 Magic per level. +10 free attribute points per level.] You couldn¡¯t have given me a Willpower option instead, Gideon? Though I know what I¡¯ll do with the free points. Amdirlain cleared out the holding cells, sending the various species to planes able to support the lifeforms Gilorn had her create. ¡°Will you continue with my lessons?¡± asked Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°When time allows, but for now, I need to populate some demi-planes and sort out my levels.¡± ¡°Would you allow me to help?¡± requested Gilorn. ¡°I can¡¯t amplify the songs that create their framework, but I can help with the materials and species.¡± ¡°I only have the Skill to use a Lap Harp,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Gilorn gave a sputtering twang. ¡°WHAT!¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Not forgiven, you barbarian,¡± Gilorn said, and her lights snuffed out. Though her frame was practically indestructible, Amdirlain collected Gilorn carefully. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Am. She would have been heartbroken by what you must have endured to be so careless of yourself,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°It¡¯s let me push through situations that would have gotten me killed,¡± explained Amdirlain. Notes grumbled from Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯ve likely pushed through situations you should have avoided instead.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°She once said that if she perished, she wanted to live a normal life, free of strife and the obligations of power,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°I had some of those but never attuned to their memories,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Ready to go back to Foundry, Silpar?¡± Silpar tapped his claws thoughtfully against his leg, where her last attack had landed. ¡°Whenever you are, Am. If we had stayed to spar longer, you might have gained more levels in your combat style. It has become quite fluid. Are you going to continue your training with your True Song abilities having come along so far?¡± "I will, and I want to seek a Class that will best progress my combat style. With it reliant upon Willpower for a big part of its impact, this new Prestige Class doesn''t provide significant help," said Amdirlain, and she opened a Gate to Foundry. The Demi-Plane was empty of life when they arrived, though there were signs of occupancy. The bowl hosting Sarah''s bed had been expanded, and the mounds of treasure increased. "That crystal feels lovely. You''ve put so much of your energy into it I almost feel jealous," said Gilorn. "It''s a reservoir only, though I''ve not yet decided what I''ll use the energy to achieve," replied Amdirlain. "I undertake a meditation that generates the mix of spiritual and life energy you''re feeling from it." Gilorn hummed. "It strikes me that this is the sort of thing you should embrace more than the pain you''ve soaked in." Everyone wants to point that out lately. "I work best when I have obstacles. That is a downside, as this energy isn''t an obstacle. If anything, it is far too relaxing, and it''s easy to lose hours while cycling the energy in meditation," explained Amdirlain. "Would you prefer to return to stasis, wait here, or for me to introduce you to someone who can play a floor harp properly?" "Who is this other person you''d recommend?" "Gailneth, the child of a friend of mine and the current Anar Queen. They often go by Gail," advised Amdirlain. "Though, as mentioned, the few Anar about the place are mostly children." "They?" asked Gilorn. "Gail is complicated. Most of the time, they use a female form of various species or another, but Gail takes a male form just as easily," explained Amdirlain as she sent messages asking a few people to visit Foundry. "I would prefer not to return to stasis so soon," admitted Gilorn after a moment''s thought. ¡°I should see if her playing skills are acceptable.¡± Amdirlain set Gilorn down beside the pavilion. "I''ve asked her and some others here." The Gate from Veht? opened to reveal a forested clearing; L¨®m? songs echoed through it. Gail was in a male Anar form with glowing eyes and white-blond hair; his lean build rang with tension as muscles bunched along his jawline. Dark blue garments of a Persian cut draped his form, and though the silken material glistened in the sunlight, they were unadorned. Roher''s sapphire gaze sparked with amusement, and he nodded to Amdirlain politely as he stepped across the threshold. His blue and green half robes stirred and settled as they went from the clearing''s breeze to the Foundry''s stillness. Isa followed in a rush of giggling motion as soon as Roher was clear of the Gate. A diamond pendant caught the golden light from the pavilion, the only spark of colour among her black and grey attire. The starkness of her blouse and pants made her white-blond hair and gold-eyed Anar form particularly eye-catching. "Close the Gate before the kids try to come through," gushed Isa. That alone was enough to explain her gushing excitement, and Amdirlain felt Roher do the honours of shutting the threshold down. "Are you okay, Gail?" asked Amdirlain. "Sorry, I''m out of sorts. Had to keep myself from strangling an idiot," explained Gail. "As inexperienced as Gail is, one of my kin felt better suited to act as regent of the Anar," explained Roher. "He suggested Gail should marry him, and then it would be nice and official, and she could focus her pretty little head on popping out babies." Gail snorted. "That won''t be happening." "In those words?" asked Amdirlain. "Not quite, but that was Gail''s translation of the diplomatic terms he used," laughed Roher. "Gail has had a few offers of late." "I should focus on learning to be graceful and elegant as best suits an Anar Queen while overseeing the repopulation of my people," said Gail, his gaze snapping. "I pointed out that if I took on a male form and gained a harem of L¨®m?, the process would go faster. Strangely, he fled when I asked if he wanted to gain Protean to help since he saw himself as a key player." "They don¡¯t learn?" asked Amdirlain. "They''ve been getting more common. However, this was the rudest one I''ve had yet, implying I should be a figurehead not to overstress my mind. At least the others have wanted to serve as sounding boards about the Anar¡¯s historical culture like we would want to return to that stupidity. I think I''ll spend more time among the humans and Veht? elves. They''re not so blatant," grumbled Gail. "You did say you were old enough to go adventuring. For most people, that''s normally when they want to be considered an adult," said Amdirlain. "If I''m old enough to be an adult, I don''t need a daddy figure to change my diapers and take charge," growled Gail. "I was calm with the dipshit, but I needed to vent with Roher slightly and then caught your message. I thought the L¨®m? would have been over being idiots." Gilorn''s strings produced a run of laughter, and Gail''s mood shifted with a spark of interest as he switched back to female in mid-step and looked over the harp. "Gilorn, this is Roher, Isa, and Gail," said Amdirlain. "Conductor Talisai, were you reincarnated as well?" asked Gilorn. "Or did the Titan allow you to become a Celestial instead of leaving the realm?" Who the heck was Talisai? It¡¯s not a name I remember. Isa frowned and tilted her head. "Wow, Talisai is a name I only vaguely remember. Most of my Anar memories are from my last life as Mori, but I hadn¡¯t remembered meeting you in it, Gilorn." "Once the aspects had taken up all the workload of the realm¡¯s creation, I was placed in stasis. Am has filled me in on some details in the few breaks she took, but it seems the details she shared were barebones," said Gilorn. "There is a lot of information Am has had to keep secure," offered Isa. "No, three of us were sent back here by a curse." Gail frowned, and tension coiled in her momentarily. "What did you need us for, Auntie Am?" "I was wondering if the three of you would like to gain experience in your True Song classes?" asked Amdirlain. "We''ve been singing up the interior of demi-planes while you''ve been busy," admitted Gail. "It''s exhausting, but our powers have been improving. Did you get your True Song Prestige Class sorted?" "I did," admitted Amdirlain. "I had hoped to help strengthen you three simultaneously while I pushed ahead." Roher rubbed his forehead. "I believe we''d only slow you down. While it is very tempting, none of us have your healing capacity, and they should stretch their capabilities at their own pace. While I could handle the strain better than Isa or Gail, I also have little to gain. You should advance to the level you aim to take your Prestige Class." "You''re just going to create demi-planes? Do you plan to use the same advancement to get your other two classes and species to match?" asked Gail. "That was my plan," agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯ll assess things after I get to the point of taking the Prestige Class.¡± "I need to progress my Wizard Class at present. It''s well behind my other classes," stated Gail. Silpar frowned. "I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m confused as to why an Anar even has Wizard." Gail grinned. "Partly for my disguises and partly because it''s a Class I can teach to others to help them improve their lives. There are very few individuals I can teach the Anar side of True Song." "That makes sense. It''s hard to take on a disguise as a Wizard without a proper grounding, in which case you need the Class," nodded Silpar. "You work to improve people''s lives?" "Through various projects? and quality of life things; as Auntie Sarah says, better jobs, food, or water supplies," explained Gail. "Sustainable changes that they can use as a foundation for growth." "Those sorts of changes are what we on the Redemption''s Path look to make among communities," noted Silpar. Gail grinned. "Has Auntie Am dragged you into much trouble as yet?" "She seems intent on keeping me out of it," replied Silpar. "She left me on the surface when she delved deep to fight Eldritch and went into a demonic city alone." "Ahhh," breathed Gail, and she gave Amdirlain a questioning glance. "Well, I guess that makes sense." Isa nodded. "I would have left you behind as well. Am knows what it''s like to be injured by them, and you signed up to help her, not run a high-stakes game of winner-takes-all with Eldritch." "Isa?" asked Amdirlain. Isa gave her a bright grin. "Are you going to be in a state to talk while you push? Or are you just going to be running hard?" "Guilty," laughed Amdirlain. Isa nodded knowingly. "How about after you get your Prestige Class, Sarah, you, Ilya, and I go mess up more Dao? We can even let Silpar join us in freeing more mortals." Amdirlain frowned slightly. "Would Ilya be alright spending that much time underground now?" "She''s all over her issues," replied Isa. "Plus, some Dao mines and cities are massive caverns, so they''re hardly tight confines. Now, create a few thousand demi-planes and send us the details as you go. We can get some practice joining them together." "We''ll mess with them once I get to my Fallen transformation. Gail, would you take Gilorn back to Veht? with you? I don''t want to leave them here in Foundry, but you''ll have to prove yourself worthy before Gilorn will let you play them," asked Amdirlain. Gail sat on the bench near Gilorn and released her mithril harp to sit on the ground next to it. "What sort of piece would you like me to play, Gilorn?" "Why don''t you choose?" suggested Gilorn. "You can tell a lot by someone''s favourite music." 365 - Ignition Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry. Much to Gail¡¯s delight, she earned provisional approval from Gilorn after three hours of performing complex melodies and fun folk songs. Amdirlain had closed up the container with the orrery after Gilorn¡¯s first sound of approval but didn¡¯t secure it until the pair had finished their haggling. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when I¡¯m ready to get summoned,¡± Isa told Gail as Gail and Roher prepared to leave. When Gail and Roher stepped across the Gate¡¯s threshold with Gilorn floating between them, Isa grinned at Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll be able to crush Baln¨¦rith if you keep pushing. She might be old, but I bet she spent aeons plotting and passively existing like so many celestials.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rather not assume that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Between her pride and trillions of the sisterhood potentially tithing to her, it¡¯s not a bet I¡¯d take.¡± ¡°Yeah, we¡¯ve kept all our abilities as we progressed, so she might have kept that Fallen ability if she gained it,¡± replied Isa. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°What do you mean ''if she¡¯d gained it?'' Grand Martinet gets an experience tithe.¡± ¡°No,¡± corrected Isa. ¡°I asked Sarah about Gideon¡¯s wording on that Transformation Site. It was ¡®while progressing along the route of Grand Martinet¡¯. Was that what she was aiming for or what she had achieved? I believe that Gideon let you build up the threat in your mind to keep you from going after her too soon.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°Which is fine. Taking her seriously is good, but you¡¯ve got fear glasses fogging your view,¡± said Isa, and she gave Amdirlain a nervous smile. ¡°You need to get strong enough to use Analysis on her or hear her song clearly before you go toe to toe.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the tension still within her friend. ¡°What¡¯s the rest?¡± ¡°You met her when you were this young Succubus. Of course, she scared the absolute stuffing out of you¡ªa rookie in a poker game against a big player. Yet she¡¯s more the rich kid who can afford the table¡¯s buy-in without blinking versus someone who¡¯s had to earn that fee and position at the table.¡± said Isa, and she smiled tightly. ¡°She smashed your hand onto that spike, and it¡¯s justifiable that she¡¯s been this big bad in your brain, but I¡¯d be more afraid of Moloch and certainly Orcus than her. It seems Baln¨¦rith¡¯s chief strength is marshalling the abilities of others to do her dirty work for her.¡± ¡°I was on the same page with Moloch and Orcus¡¯ threat rankings, but I don¡¯t have the same view of Baln¨¦rith. You¡¯d bet on Orcus being the most dangerous?¡± asked Amdirlain. Isa nodded energetically. ¡°He¡¯s toppled multiple pantheons. Let the Celestial battle lines hold him in check. I¡¯ve been getting a bad feeling that your plans might attract his attention soon.¡± ¡°I¡¯m currently collecting a tank of celestial water that I¡¯ll use to flood a world populated by his demons and undead,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It will take a few centuries to fill up at its current rate.¡± Isa spluttered. ¡°What!? You¡¯re such a crazy girl! Are you going to give him a rainbow to top it off?¡± ¡°No,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°If that¡¯s part of your plans, that¡¯s fine,¡± said Isa. ¡°Though my advice is not to settle for one tank. I¡¯d stockpile thousands and build up your stack of chips along the table¡¯s side. Then, when you¡¯re ready to go out against him, don¡¯t just flood his world. Flood his Plane.¡± ¡°Impossible, and I¡¯d need trillions of world-sized tanks for any flood to seem meaningful,¡± replied Amdirlain. Isa grinned and clasped Amdirlain¡¯s face in her hands. ¡°Stop thinking days, weeks, and months. When you get enough, dump all the tanks open on his main stronghold or something. He¡¯s had billions of years to build up his reserves, and you won¡¯t break his bank playing two-up for twenty dollars a pop.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll build some bigger demi-planes to store the water and fill those,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°The first hasn¡¯t reached the halfway point yet, I¡¯ll need to upgrade the process.¡± ¡°Let me know when you¡¯re going to release the floodgates. I want to bring the popcorn and get a good seat high in the grandstand,¡± said Isa. ¡°Best to be up high. You wouldn¡¯t want to get your wings wet,¡± said Amdirlain, gently taking Isa¡¯s hands from her face. ¡°I have missed you.¡± ¡°I know that feeling. I¡¯ll be glad when you feel safe enough to take a breath and stop,¡± said Isa. ¡°I noticed one thing about all three of your enemies.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°All three of them are the kind that use others. Baln¨¦rith manipulates people with their pride, Moloch with their greed and desire for goods, while Orcus¡¯ cultists draw to him because they fear the oblivion of death,¡± observed Isa. ¡°There are plenty of demon lords and ladies out there in their fiefdoms, representing some evil or other, you¡¯ve not bothered with smacking.¡± Where did oblivion end up? ¡°I¡¯ll get to them eventually,¡± said Amdirlain straightfaced, only to earn a snicker from Isa. ¡°Anyway, after we last spoke, I remembered more about Baln¨¦rith from a previous life. My past self learned from Baln¨¦rith¡¯s song that she¡¯d been formed out of Celestial energy directly at the tier she entered this realm possessing. Not sure how my life knew exactly, but there was this mark in her melodies that felt like Gideon¡¯s touch, as if that¡¯s where he¡¯d translated her. So, while she has a lead in age, I remember she would talk and talk. I¡¯m pretty sure Gideon doesn¡¯t give combat specialists experience for how much they flap their mouths,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°No, Gideon is restrictive about only giving experience relative to your Class,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°But Isa, she was old before the Anar were created.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know, but you know firsthand how much experience it takes to climb the higher levels,¡± said Isa. ¡°How many levels do you think a chatterbox will have gained? How far would they have progressed their skills? Not saying she isn¡¯t dangerous, but I believe you might want to finish with Baln¨¦rith before digging more at Moloch and, most certainly, Orcus. Your choice whether you take that suggestion or ignore it.¡± ¡°I asked someone to provide me with one of her senior sisters so I could interrogate them first,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother; are you sure you want to go to that source?¡± asked Isa. ¡°No, but she has the numbers and ability to hurt Baln¨¦rith. My priority between them is to get Baln¨¦rith stopped,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been using Moloch¡¯s forces as punching bags to train approaches for taking her out.¡± Isa clicked her tongue. ¡°Okay, I just had weird ties to the merchant card I¡¯ve seen Moloch get represented by in readings.¡± ¡°What sort of weird ties?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°To the devil card and the chained queen,¡± replied Isa. ¡°I don¡¯t know if that refers to Sidero¡¯s mother or someone else, but it felt infernal.¡± ¡°Then it isn¡¯t Sidero¡¯s mother, but there are plenty of devils and dark powers in Hell that suit that reference,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll just gather information on Moloch¡¯s henchmen for now and punch demons in other locations.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± whispered Isa, and she scratched her ear ruefully. ¡°For listening.¡± ¡°You told me how you felt and weren¡¯t trying to force my hand, so I listened. Your readings sent you and Ilya in my direction on Cemna, so I¡¯d be pretty foolish not to give them at least the benefit of the doubt,¡± said Amdirlain. Isa grinned again and messaged Roher with a few quick notes. ¡°Keep in touch, okay,¡± said Isa. ¡°Don¡¯t make Sarah beat you up too much.¡± Isa vanished, and Amdirlain let out a sigh before she mentally changed her plans around. The shift to Baln¨¦rith as a higher priority brought the need to deal with Naamah forward. ¡°Time to level,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Are you sure you want to rush for those levels?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°Your resistances still need some work.¡± ¡°That might have been what Isa referred to with her last remark.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°And resistances are harder to increase the more health I have.¡± ¡°They are indeed harder,¡± agreed Silpar. Chewing her bottom lip a moment, Amdirlain let out a sigh. ¡°I want to get it done, and people keep telling me not to wallow in pain.¡± Silpar¡¯s lips twisted into a sour frown. ¡°What other options do you have?¡± ¡°Ki State with Primordial Mana will protect me against many environmental effects involving that energy. I didn¡¯t have it running earlier to ensure I¡¯d progress my Primordial Resistance,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But it will only protect me against one elemental effect at a time, even if I could attune it to every Affinity, which I can¡¯t. The other option is protection spells, which the expedition¡¯s journals at least indicate are viable for the early planes.¡± ¡°Or it might be time to contact Sarah and borrow some of her toys for a prolonged period,¡± suggested Silpar. ¡°What do I need to get it rated at?¡± asked Amdirlain. Silpar frowned. ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. I¡¯m not immune to the force there, but at least fifty or sixty levels into greater resistance.¡± ¡°As high as possible before Sarah cries foul on further attempts,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°She wants you to survive beyond your goals, so do you think she¡¯d be the one to stop first?¡± asked Silpar. Amdirlain nodded reluctantly and sent another Message. The Gate that delivered Sarah to Foundry didn¡¯t open from her Demi-Plane but from the Acheron. The Gate¡¯s borders framed a pair of world-sized blocks in the distance, slowly colliding, and an army in the billions was a dark mark on one block that swarmed onto the other. Sarah flew through and closed the Gate before their progress had provided enough information to judge if the transit would be completed in time. ¡°What have you been up to?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°My mentor asked me to contribute to her battleground negotiations,¡± replied Sarah innocently. Amdirlain narrowed her gaze. ¡°What sort of negotiations?¡± Sarah gave a toothy grin. ¡°We carefully negotiated our way through creating a mound of infernal bodies.¡± Letting out a low groan, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°How¡¯s your progress going?¡± asked Sarah, ignoring Amdirlain''s reaction. ¡°I¡¯ve got the Prestige Class unlocked, but it¡¯s going to provide me a ton of Endurance increases,¡± advised Amdirlain. Sarah exhaled and transformed into her Human form, and a red silk shirt and pants appeared around her. ¡°You need me to shoot at you for a while?¡± ¡°I won¡¯t practise my dodging,¡± replied Amdirlain. That comment earned a grim nod, and Sarah set down four human-size crates around the pavilion with a different Affinity humming from each. ¡°Immersion is more efficient.¡± The coffin-like form of the devices was more apparent after Sarah¡¯s comment. ¡°Hop in and wait it out?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, hold on until you¡¯re getting towards the point of dying, and teleport out,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°Each will activate a minute after the doors close when the trigger detects anything inside and deactivate when nothing is present.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to stay around,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°And I was only after Primordial and Cold.¡± ¡°Chaos merged into Eldritch Resistance, so improving it might help you with Eldritch Resistance,¡± advised Sarah, pointing to the third coffin. ¡°You¡¯ve got limited Negative Resistance and been set on hurting Orcus, so improve that before it gets too difficult to increase. I figured four is enough of an example for you to figure out the songs for any others you want to push higher.¡± ¡°Have fun and don¡¯t get into too much trouble,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah huffed. ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. But they¡¯re easy to make, so I¡¯ll work on other enchanting projects while you play zen games with pain.¡± ¡°Might I borrow one?¡± asked Silpar. The question got a grunt from Sarah. ¡°Are you turning into a lunatic as well?¡± ¡°If the resistances are key to accompanying Am deeper, then I should ensure mine at least match hers,¡± replied Silpar. Sarah blinked. ¡°You are serious about being there to guard her back.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Silpar. ¡°At least one Celestial isn¡¯t an idiot,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m not a Celestial,¡± corrected Silpar. ¡°Which makes it even more ironic that you¡¯re doing the right thing by her,¡± retorted Sarah, the muscles along her jaw bunched. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Amdirlain brushed her cheek. ¡°Painful memories, Sarah?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°Even more so with these pain baths being needed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wrap them in concealments so you won¡¯t smell anything,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°My imagination will fill me in on all the details,¡± huffed Sarah, and she placed a set of Artificer tools and some mithril bars onto the pavilion¡¯s table. ¡°Let¡¯s get the unpleasantries over with, shall we?¡± Amdirlain retrieved a crystal to store Ki, lay down in the first device, and started cycling. The onset of pain as her flesh began to cook didn¡¯t budge her mental state. * * * * * Harmony had been the key to acquiring and sharing so many affinities with others. Using it to aid her meditation while immersed in the various forces revealed another use. Over three months, the Power guided her to understand how her flesh resisted the energy that sought to obliterate it. Amdirlain repeatedly sought and failed to gain a measure of control to hasten the process. Improvements came in fits and starts until a rush of progress in the Power and the Resistance signalled her first deliberate success. [Primordial [GR] (90->95) Harmony [G] (10->16) Note: One step closer.] Closer to what, Gideon? Despite the success, her health had dipped below a hundred thousand, and Amdirlain teleported above the pavilion¡¯s roof. On a nearby pathway, she heard the device she¡¯d exited shut itself off, though the copy she¡¯d made for Silpar continued to thrum. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture lit up the surrounding air in white flames, and the activation caused Amdirlain¡¯s health to soar as her flesh knit itself back together over ravaged muscles and shattered bones. ¡°Starting to hit diminishing returns on the time spent roasting,¡± noted Sarah from where she lay sprawled on her treasure bed. ¡°Harmony made the last improvement jump,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Took me from ninety to ninety-five in one go.¡± Sarah craned her neck and looked at Amdirlain; the motion made her eyes a whirl of red-tinted rainbows. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°It let me feel how my body was resisting and smoothed my flesh along the path,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯ll be interesting to see if the improvements it offers taper off or if you can force through to be immune to more powers,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain waited until Phoenix¡¯s Rapture fully restored her health before she shut off her aura and landed on the rim of Sarah¡¯s bed. ¡°Was Ori immune to any energies?¡± ¡°She could protect herself with a few notes, and I¡¯m not sure she ever felt the need,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Then she came down with terminal stupid fighting Levi instead of leaving the others to the fate they¡¯d earned.¡± ¡°Even Mori?¡± Sarah ruffled her wings. ¡°She had been a dummy in previous lives otherwise she¡¯d not have been reborn as Mori. Will you sit and play something?¡± ¡°Gilorn was most unhappy that I couldn¡¯t play anything but a lap harp,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Even Gail only got a provisional acceptance, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯s pushing towards Grandmaster in harp.¡± ¡°A truly shocking disappointment you are,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°At least Gail was an acceptable substitute.¡± ¡°I need to set myself a time limit. Otherwise, I won¡¯t be satisfied with whatever resistances I can push up,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s nostrils flared. ¡°Your flesh smells strange, almost like you¡¯ve become a bizarre Efreeti composed of Primordial Mana.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Harmony is to become one with the world around you.¡± ¡°Most people don¡¯t look to achieve that literally,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect Silpar to take his protective duties so seriously,¡± said Amdirlain, clearly changing the subject. ¡°Figured he¡¯d have sat out once he learnt how far ahead he was compared to my resistances.¡± Sarah¡¯s eye ridges lifted incredulously. ¡°He got picked by a Primordial being who can create worlds at will, and you think he¡¯d do a half-arsed job of it?¡± ¡°Going through this to ensure he can match my resistances is likely above and beyond merely meeting expectations,¡± argued Amdirlain, and she nodded to the device he occupied. ¡°I might balance out some of my lesser resistances. The terrain in the deeper planes isn¡¯t consistent, so who knows what I might find useful.¡± ¡°When you are done with this stuff, I¡¯ll need to toss a few thousand fastballs at you for mundane materials,¡± reminded Sarah. ¡°This isn¡¯t anyone¡¯s usual day at the sauna; you know that, right?¡± With a laugh, Amdirlain rose and headed for the next device in the line. The Negative energy she encountered within it challenged the insights she¡¯d found embracing Primordial Mana. One device after another, she endured the destruction of her flesh and learnt more about the realm¡¯s energy. What awaited her at the end were devices that looked like mechanical pitchers; the round stones they threw broke the sound barrier. A few billion fastballs turned out to be what Sarah came up with to harden Amdirlain¡¯s flesh against normal materials. With Ki State completely disabled, Amdirlain stood firm as their strikes ruptured flesh and broke bones. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture churned away in passive mode, restoring her body through one notification after another. [Mundane [GR] (119->120)] With her target achieved, Amdirlain teleported out of the barrage of stones. ¡°Are you done, or need a break?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Done,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks for keeping us company so much.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a year¡¯s worth of torturing Fallen between friends? I know some folks who¡¯d be jealous of the opportunity,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Oddly enough, on both sides of the fence. Stay away from Lil, alright?¡± Yeah, I¡¯m so not going anywhere near Lilith. I don¡¯t even want to go near Naamah again. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I would contact Nam at all,¡± countered Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s snort caused a cascade of coins from a nearby mound to pool along her bed¡¯s rim. ¡°Don¡¯t bullshit me, it¡¯s not a matter of if but when.¡± ¡°My monitoring devices are still in place, but haven¡¯t spotted Baln¨¦rith or another Succubus heading into the depths, so I¡¯ve got time.¡± ¡°Through the one entry we know about, but it doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s the only one,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°No offence to Silpar, but Ijmti is an infinite Plane. Eventually, I know you¡¯ll get impatient and look for confirmation. Just be extremely careful about whatever agreement you reach with Nam because her price tag might stretch further than you think.¡± ¡°That¡¯s always the case with demons. Even if she¡¯s a Primordial, she has the form of a Succubus most of the time for a reason,¡± replied Amdirlain. Amdirlain stroked a hand along the scales protecting Sarah¡¯s muzzle and gently bumped her head against her jawline. ¡°You take care,¡± instructed Sarah. ¡°I assume you¡¯ll go back to blowing up demons when you¡¯ve got your new Class.¡± ¡°That was the plan,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll see if it''s still the case once I get it.¡± Sitting beside Sarah¡¯s neck, Amdirlain leaned against her scales. ¡°Smooth adamantine scales were more comfortable.¡± ¡°Critic. Rest until Silpar appears.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, but she closed her eyes in meditation. With each cycle, she stored more Ki in the latest crystal. When Silpar teleported free of his device, his ashen scales were fragmented, and his flesh was stripped to the bone in large patches over his frame. ¡°You¡¯ll be pleased to know Amdirlain plans to move things along,¡± announced Sarah. Silpar grunted an acknowledgement, and the trio waited silently for his recovery. ¡°What¡¯s the next step?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°Time to pour some experience into my True Song classes,¡± replied Amdirlain. Amdirlain rose and opened a Gate to a barren Demi-Plane. Waving Silpar ahead of her, Amdirlain followed and closed it behind them, plunging them into darkness. Amdirlain stretched her arms above her head and took in the Demi-Plane¡¯s music. ¡°Well, that was a nice break, but it¡¯s time to return to work.¡± ¡°A year of isolation and testing your body¡¯s limits was a break for you?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°I guess sarcasm doesn¡¯t translate,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Though I wasn¡¯t in isolation, I was meditating and mentally chatting with Sarah when she was present in Foundry.¡± Silpar grunted. ¡°You could hold a mental conversation while enduring such pain?¡± ¡°Phoenix¡¯s Rapture includes Pain Eater. Despite the extent of the damage I endured, the injuries¡¯ regularity made it easy for the Power to handle filtering it,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°And now you¡¯ve thousands of Demi-Plane creations to handle. Do you think that might challenge your Power?¡± asked Silpar. Three thousand gates appeared around them, and their glowing outlines illuminated the rocky ground. Amdirlain sang and danced, a golden light washed through them at once as creation¡¯s glow raced off into the distance beneath each Demi-Plane¡¯s suddenly blazing skies. After an hour, Amdirlain fell silent, and all the gates closed simultaneously. ¡°How?¡± asked Silpar softly. ¡°You took hours to create hundreds previously.¡± ¡°Upgrades,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and she gave him a wide grin before she opened another set of gates. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Self-sustaining continent-sized biome (small) x3,000 Total Experience gained: 2,422,500,000,000 Ostim?: + 1,211,250,000,000 Ostim? Levelled Up! x9 Ont?lin: + 1,211,250,000,000 Ont?lin: Levelled Up! x9 True Song Genesis [G] (5->6)] ¡°Will you tell me more than simply upgrades?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°Preferably, in a way that the explanation makes sense to me.¡± Setting aside the urge to tease him further, Amdirlain considered the effect matter-of-factly. ¡°The jump in True Song Genesis'' rank to Grandmaster allows me to apply the effects more precisely. When I get Resonance¡¯s evolution, I expect I¡¯ll be able to utilise that even more accurately and avoid wasting energy,¡± explained Amdirlain with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯m also able to support more melodies at a time.¡± As Phoenix¡¯s Rapture healed the injuries the stress had caused, Amdirlain created a memory crystal and added the details of the set she¡¯d created. With the administration side done, she made a fresh set of gates. An unpleasant surprise appeared when Amdirlain dismissed the notification for the third Demi-Plane group. [Your achievement ¡®Breaker of Bonds¡¯ now effectively possesses a tier 6 capacity for you. Insufficient capacity to absorb relevant classes into Tier 7 Prestige Class: Olind?] The notification froze Amdirlain, and she considered the current state of Ostim? and Ont?lin sitting at level two hundred and thirty-nine each. I¡¯m lucky I didn¡¯t blow both my Tier 7 achievements. I¡¯m getting too impatient to see things done. Once I get this done, I need to stop for a bit. ¡°Level two hundred forty-two. Do I risk another level or two and chance having to get a new Tier 7? With the stat gains offered from the new Prestige Class, it might be worthwhile to take it now and drive it through whatever extra levels I¡¯ll need,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°How many levels did you need?¡± asked Silpar curiously. ¡°For whatever it is you are doing.¡± I might as well share it with him. He¡¯s got enough other secrets he¡¯s holding. ¡°Empress Malfex is the Fallen transition gained from combining twenty-one hundred levels between classes and species,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°However, I came into Fallen with a Prestige Class at level 1, so I missed the opportunity to include its levels in the equation. Gideon¡¯s notification made it clear it was levels accumulated since becoming Fallen.¡± ¡°I have never heard of anyone gaining such a species. And Gideon, I take it, told you that this applies to you even though you gained the Fallen species from an evolution,¡± said Silpar. ¡°So what will you do?¡± Acquire Prestige Class Olind?. [Class selection: Olind? Note: Tier 7 Achievement (Planar Class Warfare) is no longer available for further use. Ostim? and Ont?lin combined into Prestige Class: Olind? Resonance [G] (42) -> Resonance-Lord [G] (1) Initial level attribute modifications applied. Achievement Tier 7: Planar Class Warfare consumed. Achievement Tier 6: Breaker of Bonds insufficient for future classes.] ¡°One Prestige Class acquired,¡± reported Amdirlain. She felt a surge of vitality as the Endurance boost from the first level caused her health to jump. It was almost enough to distract her from the spike in the details now audible from the Demi-Plane¡¯s foundations. She held back a sigh of relief and frustration by concentrating on the additional details. I¡¯ve come so far, yet I feel like I¡¯ve barely begun to get strong enough. ¡°What will you do with your last base Class?¡± ¡°That is an excellent question,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to Master Cyrus about advanced Monk classes, as I don¡¯t want to ignore that aspect of my abilities. My question is, do I risk slamming hundreds of levels into my new Prestige Class? I¡¯m worried about what the combined amount of Charisma might do to my control.¡± I should stop being afraid of it. Cla¡¯nes would be disappointed after all the lessons with her if I reverted to having such a fearful attitude towards my Charisma. ¡°Since you can control your experience allocation, perhaps level your species to increase your magical strength,¡± proposed Silpar. ¡°You said you needed thousands of these demi-planes, and your species¡¯ strength isn¡¯t dependent on any powers or skills advancing.¡± ¡°I like the way you think. That still gives me a large degree of Charisma but not as bad as Olind?, so that would make it a decent test,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Then I can work on my Mana Finesse and other skills.¡± ¡°So you can teach them to others as Gail intends?¡± asked Silpar. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I can teach affinities easily. Magic is a power equaliser that lets sentient species survive against the monsters that inhabit some worlds.¡± Silpar jabbed a finger off to one side. ¡°Is that why you found those celestials so offensive?¡± ¡°Not just that, they were ready to judge on appearances, and that attitude I find offensive,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°We should regard a person for what¡¯s inside them and how they treat others, not for their skin, race, or species.¡± ¡°I had thought you favoured elves, so how you regarded their behaviour was interesting. Might I ask another question?¡± enquired Silpar. Giving him a grin, Amdirlain casually motioned for him to spill. Silpar¡¯s lips twitched momentarily. ¡°Did you have something to do with the progression of my resistances? I felt the effectiveness of Sarah¡¯s devices diminish far more rapidly than I expected.¡± Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow and hummed thoughtfully before she replied. ¡°Are you aware that celestials, actually all outsiders, progress slower than mortals?¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware,¡± admitted Silpar. ¡°Not that it matters since we exist far longer than any Mortal species. Why is that important?¡± ¡°Celestials I¡¯ve teamed with seem to progress at Mortal rates afterwards,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected it to impact the improvement to your resistances, only your level progression.¡± ¡°Te¡¯s sudden jump in strength,¡± murmured Silpar thoughtfully. ¡°A progression that has continued to surge faster than she expected.¡± ¡°Yeah, that was caused by teaming up with me against the occupants of the ghost caverns,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°In that case, regretfully, there are some with whom you ?should not team,¡± stated Silpar firmly. Changing her experience weighting to favour her Fallen species alone, Amdirlain opened another set of gates. As she hammered out one set after another, the feathery veins of Phoenix¡¯s Rapture intensified beneath her skin, white primordial flames shining through her flesh and clothes. After nearly a full day of construction work, she finally stilled, and Silpar regarded her with concern. ¡°Your feathers of flame are still visible through your skin,¡± warned Silpar. ¡°I think you¡¯ve pushed well beyond safe limits.¡± Amdirlain shivered as the surge of life experience pulsed through her body. Taking in the mass of attribute points she had available, Amdirlain poured them wholesale into Endurance and took in the changes triggered. ¡°Maybe.¡± ¡°What level did you gain?¡± asked Silpar. Do I tell him I smashed Fallen to two-hundred and ninety-two? Does the feeling of weakness ever disappear? ¡°My advancement for Fallen is well and truly slowing now,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d best concentrate on pushing up my powers and skills so I get some decent classes offered.¡± ¡°That mostly matters when taking new ones that utilise them,¡± offered Silpar. ¡°Do you intend to take additional Wizard-type classes?¡± ¡°You make an excellent point,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll likely only develop my skills in that area, not invest in new classes. Most of my classes will probably be True Song-related. Monk is the exception, so I¡¯ll level my other classes while I think things over.¡± With that said, Amdirlain changed the experience allocation to share between Pure Scion of the Sun and Ascetic Triumvirate. ¡°Is it time to talk to Master Cyrus?¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°That¡¯s one thing I¡¯ll need to do. Overall, I need to get to a point where I can safely deal with a certain Goddess. I was going to push my levels up with demi-planes, but feeling the jump in Resonance after its evolution, I need to see about getting other powers to evolve rather than slam in more levels. That won¡¯t happen if I dump painlessly gained experience into classes. I don¡¯t feel strong enough.¡± I need to keep reminding myself that Naamah is far more dangerous than a mere Succubus. Silpar motioned to where the ring of gates had repeatedly formed. ¡°Painlessly? I think Pain Eater is fooling you I saw wounds open in your flesh while you sang. As for overall capacity, you are already well beyond the threshold of what any sane being would consider godly powers.¡± Creating another memory crystal with the latest creations listed, Amdirlain dispatched it to Sarah along with her intention to visit Cyrus. ¡°True in some respects, but I need to be stronger, and that performance with the demi-planes didn¡¯t even overly strain my new capabilities. I¡¯ve sent Sarah a list of the demi-planes so she can take them to Gail and the others. Wonder if she¡¯ll charge me for playing delivery girl. You ready to go?¡± The rush of words earned a frown from Silpar but he nodded. Before he could say anything, Amdirlain shifted them to the Outlands. 366 - Come on now Amdirlain''s PoV - Outlands The thick forest they appeared within comprised silver-barked oak trees, their canopy rustling under a strong wind''s whims. "Do you think Rana''s Goddess will take you up on your offer?" enquired Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. "I don''t know. Danu would have invested a lot of effort to get an Avatar onto the world and in a state it could remain. She might consider it better for her followers to remain present." The forest around them came alive with Danu''s presence when Amdirlain''s use of her name attracted the Goddess'' attention. "True, not a decision to rush then," said Silpar, and he shifted nervously. "You so casually draw the attention of deities." "I''ve got nothing to hide from her. If she waits a few years, the offer might deliver a better result," laughed Amdirlain. "Hopefully, I''ll be able to study the environment she''s maintaining for a time before putting anything in place to reinforce it." As Silpar''s claws extended a fraction, his head swayed from side to side, giving Amdirlain the impression of a hunting lizard. "Do you believe she''d rush you?" "Not so much rush, but I''ve dealt with enough people that would wait and then want things done to their timeline," replied Amdirlain. "Isa''s concerned about me hitting Moloch''s forces. Does the cloister have any particular foes I could push my skills against?" That earned a firm nod, and Silpar''s lips curling back slightly. "There are several demon lords in particular that look to harass our members; one of them you might remember." "Oh?" Silpar''s tongue tasted the air briefly. Amdirlain smiled. "You know you give yourself away. You can stand still for days, and then when you don''t like things, you twitch your claws or your tongue." "I''m sure you have your own share of habits," said Silpar blandly. "You should know that mortals find it disconcerting if you don''t display physical tells while they''re conversing with you." Amdirlain nodded. "I''ll keep that in mind, but hopefully, I don¡¯t lose mine. Though you''re evading the subject: what Demon Lord gives the cloister the most trouble?" "The Eldest''s companion who fell from the path," replied Silpar, and he twitched a claw towards the nearest tree. "Besides, in the Outlands, where are we?" Alright, he''d prefer not to talk about it at present. Another old Solar-turned-Demon Lord isn¡¯t who I want to tackle right now. "A small matter I needed to check up on before we go near the monastery Master Cyrus is working on," replied Amdirlain. "I heard the woodland spirits tell the local Dryad grove they have visitors. So if they don''t decide to ignore us, we should see one or two of them shortly." I can gauge my increased Charisma on them and see if I have it under control. "How far away are they?" asked Silpar. "About eighty kilometres that way," Amdirlain said, and she pointed behind Silpar. "Not that I hear the words themselves it''s a sense of the energy in the conversation, and my Power understands the meaning. I listened for the dryads'' themes, so it was easy to detect amidst everything else." Silpar went utterly still for the briefest of instants before he slowly blinked. "And if you hadn''t been listening for their theme?" "I can tell where there are other woodland spirits, but not all the details of what they''re up to," replied Amdirlain. "At her peak strength, one of my Goddess'' avatars would know everything around her for maybe fifteen kilometres. Double that if it involved one of her worshippers," stated Silpar. "You know the general details of everything inside that sphere?" Amdirlain nodded sharply. Two whose themes Amdirlain hadn''t detected within Resonance''s reach appeared nearby, and two honey-eyed dryads stepped from separate oak trees and looked over Amdirlain and Silpar. Their themes were distinctive, and Amdirlain hadn''t heard either at her last meeting with the dryads. Their skin possessed a tea-green hue, shot through with golden veins all over their bodies, and distinctive azure-blue hair. Who they were didn''t require a guess and, although Livia had said the children she had helped the dryads conceive could move far from their trees, Amdirlain couldn''t hear a link within either. "You appear as the one the groves'' elder described. Are you the Elf called Am?" The second tilted her head and looked Amdirlain over. "And who gave all the grove''s members energy?" [Name: Canna Species: Unbound Dryad Class: Ranger / Priest Level: 5 / 5 / 5 Health: 165 Defence: 24 Faith: 32 Mana: 130 Melee Attack Power: 18 Combat Skills: Daggers [J] (1), Various blessings and racial abilities. Details: Look what you did, young lady! Having provided your Ki to help her mother attempt to fertilise a seed sprout, the Dryad offspring isn''t bound to a tree after reaching maturity. Despite their ability to connect to all the trees in the groves'' territory, they are treated like normal dryads. They all entered Danu''s service six years ago. Don''t little dryads grow up so fast?] Her sister, Leuciphia, had similar details, with a snide aside from Gideon about unneeded paternity tests. "Canna and Leuciphia, it is most unexpected to see you. Where are your sisters?" "They''ve gone travelling," replied Leuciphia. "She didn''t answer our questions," noted Canna. ¡±How do you know our names? We didn¡¯t tell them to the ones at Xaos.¡± "Shouldn''t you be travelling with weapons at least?" asked Amdirlain. "Even if you are close enough to home to arrive in a single step." A golden resin flowed from Canna''s hands and formed into razor-sharp blades. "I have weapons when I need them." "Be polite, Canna," instructed Leuciphia. "Who''s the monster with you? He''s a different lizard than mother described and smells of charred bones." Amdirlain detected neither stress nor deference in their responses to her Charisma and held back a smile of relief. "He''s called Silpar. Not a monster, just different from yourselves. You got here rather quickly." "We asked the spirits to watch out for you and to let us know. We were far away, but they reached us quicker than the winds," reported Leuciphia. "What were you looking to talk to me about?" Canna spun her daggers about and tossed them between her hands. "To find out why we''re different from our mothers." "I provided your mothers with refined life energy to help in your sprouting," replied Amdirlain. "I''d imagine that is the cause." "Can others provide such life energy?" asked Leuciphia. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Not my golden Ki, and I don¡¯t know if another¡¯s Ki will have the same effect.¡± "Ahh," breathed Leuciphia. "Very well then, that is unfortunate. Would you help our mother have more sproutings? The forest is vast, and we who can travel its breadth are few." "Your mothers were in uncomfortable need, and none had come near their groves in decades," replied Amdirlain. "Your unusual state was unintentional, but your normal offspring will inherit it from you as best I can tell." Canna''s daggers melted back into her skin, and she clapped her hands. "Then our mothers were right to use you for our sproutings. Goodbye, strange one." With that, Canna touched the tree behind her and vanished into it. "My grove cousin doesn''t like fleshlings," sighed Leuciphia. "Our mothers were hoping you''d visit again, perhaps even making a habit of it." "Is one of them trying for a new sprout?" asked Amdirlain. "Maybe," hedged Leuciphia, her glance shooting off in the grove''s direction. "What will you give me to answer your question?" "You''re looking to trade me for information? After you told me already what your grove members seek?" The sultry smile from Leuciphia added a sudden heat to her gaze. "I''m sure we can determine an agreeable trade." What exactly did I unleash into the realm? "I''m good, thanks," demurred Amdirlain. Leuciphia''s smile didn''t dim. "I''m still sure we can make you better." "You need to work on your technique," advised Amdirlain. Her smile turned into a pout before Leuciphia touched the tree beside her and vanished. After a prolonged moment of silence, Silpar erupted in a hissing fit of laughter. "Thanks," drawled Amdirlain. "At least your growth in Charisma didn¡¯t beguile them," snorted Silpar. "Isn''t that a good thing? Did it hurt your feelings to be used to bring about a new life?" "I didn''t get used. It was a trade for them to stop trying to charm Goxashru and others for a time," refuted Amdirlain. Silpar snickered. "No, of course not." "It only took thirty points of Ki for the six of them. It wasn''t a massive effort," grumbled Amdirlain. "Over in a moment. I hear such things can be common among mortals," consoled Silpar. "You''ve been listening to Sarah far too much," huffed Amdirlain, and she sent a request for information to Livia. "You dislike the implication that they used you?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain cracked her neck from side to side. "It wouldn''t have been the first time. Let me find out where Master Cyrus¡¯ monastery is located and see if I can gain a starting point for what Monk classes to unlock." Silpar''s lips twitched upwards. "Not a matter that you just want to leave to Analysis?" Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. "You need to have a starting place to ask, and it gives no results if I try an open enquiry for Monk Prestige classes." "You don''t have the details from peeking at his Profile?" asked Silpar. "No, his Prestige classes were all related to being an Immortal," replied Amdirlain, scrubbing her hand bashfully across the side of her neck. Silpar smiled fully, revealing a mouth full of fanged teeth. "And you didn''t prepare the options in advance?" Amdirlain huffed in frustration. "Gilorn''s shortcut cut down my planning time, okay?" "At least I¡¯m not dealing with one who considers themselves infallible," continued Silpar. "No," grumbled Amdirlain. "I''ve never claimed to be perfect. I''ll listen if you can give me a reason for a particular approach. However, I expect people to explain their reasons for something, not just tell me ''that''s how things are done''." Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. "Even when presented logically, what is sufficient justification for one isn''t always enough for another," argued Silpar. "I try to be reasonable," replied Amdirlain. "Shall we spar for a bit while we wait for Livia''s response?" "Obstacles could add to the challenge. Harming a tree or shrub counts as injuring an ally," proposed Silpar. Amdirlain grinned, and her mithril blades appeared in her hand. Silpar''s initial strikes herded her towards uneven ground around the base of a giant oak, and Amdirlain teleported behind him. Silpar spun just in time to block her attack. "Loopholes." Amdirlain shifted position again, and Silpar returned the favour. Their sparring became a flurry of strikes and teleporting among the trees as each sought to find an opening. Hours later, the pair''s exertions had stripped leaves from branches with the sheer speed of strikes. With an innocent smile, Amdirlain restored all the leaves she''d been responsible for damaging. "So many points against you," sighed Amdirlain before she restored the rest of the shrubs. "Are you going to look at the Message Orb that arrived?" asked Silpar, motioning to the Mana orb hovering by her shoulder. "I''ve already checked the contents. With your permission, I''ll also put concealments around your nature before we head off," said Amdirlain. Silpar nodded and transformed his ashen flesh into the same humanoid Lizardfolk he''d used to hide his form each time they''d required disguises. When Amdirlain had the concealment around their Fallen state and auras, she relocated them to the edge of the monastery''s wards. The image Livia had sent made it seem that they''d taken over a hill, but Amdirlain found herself standing on a road at the foot of a mountain just short of five kilometres in height. Unexpectedly, all the residents had the background theme of Veht? within their melodies. Shockingly, Amdirlain found they¡¯d entered a Domain, and the Deity at its source was present on the mountain. Amdirlain stopped herself from cursing and took in the view. At the mountain base, rows of rice paddocks had been established and flooded from a nearby river. The lower terraces had been cut out but left empty except for some storehouses and mills, with only markers showing where construction was planned. Halfway up the slope, construction work was underway on buildings, from small abodes to fancy manors; each manor had a dedicated training hall within its walls. Those sprawling structures had distorted Amdirlain''s initial perspective of the image Livia provided, as she hadn''t expected such expansive structures. A wall encircled the mountain two kilometres below the summit. Within, completed buildings stopped a half-kilometre from the untouched broad peak. Their construction was uniform in material, grey stone with red ceramic tiles and lacquered wood forming the door and window frames. While consistently palace-like, with elaborate decorations in red and gold and expansive windows, the buildings'' sizes and shapes varied. Amdirlain grunted when she made out the scenes on painted silk screens. Though she recognised some scenes from what little she knew of Chinese folklore, those were in the minority. She didn¡¯t even have enough information to know if the scenes originated from Cyrus'' previous realm or this one. A dozen larger training halls contained portals through which she could hear Xaos'' harmony. Eldritch runes won¡¯t be hiding from me now, not sure if that¡¯s a good or a bad thing yet. Should I return and check the areas between those two contaminated sites for sigils? Perhaps an issue for another day. The question now is what is going on here? Aside from the Domain itself, I thought they were building it to have a dedicated training place for the troops. I expected this to be different when they spoke of a monastery; it''s more like a mountainside palace with teaching halls and servants'' quarters. They''ve got portals near a number of the training halls in the upper area that exit near Xaos. I''ll have to ask about their arrangement with the nature deities who control it. Or need I? Ignoring the question for now, Amdirlain studied the buildings. Besides the portals, she could sense wards that involved both Mana and Ki. Numerous men and women were busy training in martial and mystical arts with no separation by gender. The distinction between servants from students seemed to be the presence of a white jade pendant the size of her thumb infused with their Ki. The copper pendants the servants wore had been bound to the wards with Ki that held Livia''s theme. Resonance-Lord showed her the eastern dragon motif set into each copper pendant, and her new ability to make out engravings sent ice up her spine. Though she could sense where Livia, Cyrus, and Kadaklan were located on the heights, she opted to behave herself and not test the Domain''s restrictions. Following the road they''d arrived on, Amdirlain and Silpar joined the line of people loaded with baskets filled with freshly harvested rice trudging up the slope. The workers and students wore similar grey hues trimmed with black, but where the workers wore cotton, the students wore silk that shed stains and dirt. The line of workers proceeded into a storehouse on the first terrace and, out of curiosity, Amdirlain shifted her attention to the offloading and processing of the baskets. While the workers received a chit for each basket, the students presented their pendants to the warehouse''s supervisor, and Amdirlain sensed an interaction similar to a memory crystal. A quick brush against a student''s mind found the pendant''s purpose beyond recognition by the monastery''s wards. Students earn contribution points for chores carried out or goods produced. They can redeem them for goods and services from the masters: manuals, personal training time, clothing, potions, and other things made by support members. Gail mentioned the Adventurers'' Guild started using contribution points to access items and the hunting grounds she had set up; I didn¡¯t ask her who suggested them. When they reached the first of the finished buildings, they passed servants wearing cotton clothing of a finer weave, and their copper pendants had a different motif: a tiger mid-leap. They passed labourers, servants, and students throughout their climb up the steepening road. All looked them over, but it was attention driven by curiosity rather than the magnetic attraction Amdirlain had endured in the past. Non-Human visitors were few but not unknown, and Amdirlain caught some images from senior students that seemed like they''d stood watch on Xaos¡¯ ramparts. Do they take on tasks for Xaos besides guarding or teaching? I¡¯ll ask Livia after I find out what happened. At a gate in the inner wall, a pair of guards in the same layered Persian-style clothing Master Cyrus favoured took one look at them and directed them to a grey-haired man reading behind a desk nearby. While not possessing Immortal Spirit, Amdirlain could hear multiple Monk classes within his melody. "An aligned sect token or letter of recommendation is required to study with the masters here," said the man, not sparing a glance when their shadows covered his desk. Amdirlain bowed and gave the official a polite smile. "I''m here to see Master Cyrus or Livia. I''m not looking to enrol." The owner of the Domain appeared at the Gate; the aura of authority sheathed across Livia''s snow-white skin radiating a divine sheen. "It''s alright, Master Khiabani, I''ll tend to my visitors." Hence, the place''s owner didn''t keep us out. Though unsurprised by the Mantle in place around Livia, Amdirlain still frowned at her in concern. "What did you do to yourself, young lady?" Despite having met Livia previously, Silpar stepped back. "M¨®eir, why don''t you come with me," laughed Livia. "You should know that other people''s choices aren''t ours." "Those bloody things should come with warning labels and a chance to decline," grumbled Amdirlain. "This sounds new, but I didn''t stick my nose in further. How recent is this change?" "I acquired the Mantle last week. Your recollection of what it was like let me figure out how to establish a Domain," replied Livia, and stepping forward, she hugged Amdirlain. Holding her gently, Amdirlain was aware of the deity-boosted strength in her daughter''s frame. "No pseudo-power state, it settled on you so quickly?" "It''s a bit of a tale," replied Livia. "Most people don''t take my appearance as casually as you. Coupled with a bit of a tussle, some tribes decided I was a deity. Let''s walk up, and we''ll have some refreshments." Why did she set up a Domain here? With the school inside it, what about her petitioners later? "It''s the civilised thing to do, right?" quipped Amdirlain. Livia smiled, her amusement lighting the facets in her blue crystal gaze. "It''s not only the civilised thing to do. It''s so we don¡¯t lose touch. I let Kadaklan know you''d messaged, and if he hadn''t been busy teaching alchemy, he''d have rushed to greet you. He¡¯ll join us as soon as the lesson is over." "It''ll be good to catch up with him," said Amdirlain, and she tilted her head toward Kadaklan''s lecture hall. Livia led them on a roundabout route to her manor higher on the slope, pointing out the housing that belonged to masters of various styles and disciplines along the way. One secure building was the tip of a structure that burrowed into the slope with various Ki-infused treasures sealed within. Another hall had disciples coming and going, exchanging products for contribution points. Amdirlain shook her head at how many elements felt like something from one of the many cultivation novels she¡¯d read. Let¡¯s hope I don¡¯t run into someone else that needs to learn I¡¯m not left-handed. Like the other manors, Livia''s home was made from grey stone, red ceramic tiles, and lacquered wood. Its layout was slightly different in that it had a sizeable sparring hall and, at the back, a series of smaller rooms for study and entertaining, the last of which looked out into an open training square. They''d been furnished with a strange mixture of Chinese, Persian, Norse, and Roman elements, but the overall effect balanced each other. Silkscreens stood supported by lacquered wooden frames decorated with Norse knots, while shelves kept Persian vases or Roman statuettes. They found Cyrus there with the shutters wide open to allow in the breeze and a pot boiling on an enchanted hot plate. He rose, greeted Amdirlain and Silpar with a bow, and motioned for them to choose seats around a central table. The round table was made of nearly black wood with a colourful elaborate mosaic set into its top, sealed flat beneath a transparent resin. Amdirlain looked over the painted silk screens that provided a false inner wall around the room. "Pretty fancy place you''ve started to set up here. I''ll admit, it''s not what I pictured." "What did you picture?" asked Livia as she lifted the roiling water from the heat and retrieved a tea set from the shelf. "Something more along the lines of the Shaolin Monastery," offered Amdirlain. Cyrus stroked his chin, the gesture doing nothing to hide his smile. "A very distinguished centre of learning, but that site is more within the purview of The North Wind and follows his standards." "Fine, you''ve got me. Aside from pictures of Tibetan monasteries, the Shaolin Monastery is the only one I''ve seen any images of, and they''re very different," said Amdirlain as she heard Kadaklan appear at the front door and immediately being ushered in by a servant. "Though sightseeing isn''t the main purpose of my visit." Livia placed the tea set at the table''s end and sat beside Cyrus. "You only have to ask. Whatever help we can give is yours. Come through Kadaklan, we¡¯re in the back." ¡°Handy knowing what¡¯s around you, isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Amdirlain. Livia nodded. ¡°It has its benefits.¡± Cyrus was reaching for the tea set when Kadaklan appeared in the doorway, a bright flame of flamboyant clothing after the greys and browns Amdirlain had seen over the mountainside. Within his youthful Human form, the phoenix¡¯s silver gaze flared at seeing Amdirlain. She caught the scent of various herbs and alchemical brews from his red and yellow robes, though no stains showed on the cloth. "Are you sure Am didn''t come simply to see the fancy nest the White Tiger wanted his people to make?" asked Kadaklan. "Then, of course, Livia took it over, and the fuss started, but the storm has yet to reach its full strength." "Monastery," corrected Cyrus. "And it wasn''t just the White Tiger that gave orders for its creation. The Jade Emperor was involved, so we can¡¯t discount that he might have foreseen a possibility." ¡°Then our newest Goddess went and seized it,¡± teased Kadaklan. "I didn¡¯t seize it. It''s simply my home as well," said Livia. "It makes the monastery more secure, so why can''t I have my Domain cover it?" Kadaklan laughed, swept alongside the table, and scooped up an empty cup as he passed the tray. He opened a bottle he drew from a storage device and filled the cup with a familiar brew. As he placed it before her, Amdirlain inhaled the sharp ginger odour. "Ginger beer. It matches Sarah''s memory, but it could be my bias after tasting so many test batches," said Kadaklan with a grin, deliberately ignoring Cyrus¡¯ pointed look. Memories of home and her father¡¯s projects teased at Amdirlain briefly, and a bittersweet smile curved her lips. "I didn''t bring you any gifts." Kadaklan noted the lack of darkening in her gaze and nodded with satisfaction, though his playful tone didn¡¯t change. "I''ll sell you some. Then it''s not a gift, just a test sample from a brewer." Amdirlain took a sip and returned his nod. "It''s great. Thank you, Kadaklan." "Your flesh smells too new. Do I want to know what you''ve been doing lately?" asked Kadaklan. "As a healer, you''d be appalled," admitted Amdirlain. "Kadaklan, this is Silpar, my mentor on the Redemption''s Path." Kadaklan looked Silpar over appraisingly. "I sense you''ve been indulging in her self-conflagrations as well. Am has her sigil to excuse her. What''s your need?" "To be there to guard her back through anything she can endure," replied Silpar. "Good," declared Kadaklan. "Though remember, she wasn''t originally a Celestial and can use a bit of fun occasionally despite her unhealthy obsession with work and pain." "Change back to a Catfolk so I can tug your ear easier," grumbled Amdirlain. Kadaklan grinned. "You could stay here and teach for a few years. We''ve got students as young as ten here. You always had a soft spot for children." "I''m here after advice about gaining a stronger, evolved Monk Class. Gideon''s still only offering me Sora Master and Warrior Monk, plus some others I''ve seen previously." Cyrus hummed thoughtfully. "Likely because you need to develop your Ki powers further. Have you evolved any of them?" "No," huffed Amdirlain. "Just as well you''re not a sect member. We¡¯ve got a set schedule of contribution points to read the texts or for private lessons," noted Cyrus. "Master Cyrus giving away the sect''s secrets to an outsider¡ªI''m shocked," quipped Kadaklan. "There are rules against such things. We set the contribution points up to ensure that all strive in sanctioned fashions on behalf of the monastery." "What would you suggest, Master Kadaklan?" asked Cyrus with the slightest shake of his head. "Am is going to have to sit still for a bit and earn them through the application of physical labour or her Monk abilities, not through singing," said Kadaklan. ¡°We don¡¯t want the rich and influential thinking they can just buy influence or favour with us.¡± Silpar snorted. "She can hear your library. No doubt she could duplicate it." "Such texts contain misleading instructions that require one familiar with the ability to walk a student past the traps left in place," explained Kadaklan, as a playful smile twitched at the corners of his mouth. "Unless the person has an ability like Analysis to tell where the problems are," said Amdirlain. "Though the question would be how many contribution points would Ki attuned to all the affinities be worth?" Livia sighed in frustration. "Kadaklan, stop playing games. M¨®eir, when is the last time you rested?" "I spent most of the last year meditating," replied Amdirlain. Shaking his head, Silpar frowned. "Meditation while laying in enchanted boxes being battered and ravaged by different energies doesn''t count as restful to me." "Can I get a week from you?" pleaded Livia. "Consider it a down payment on the centuries I requested." "Livia, I¡¯m worried about you owning a Mantle. I want to ensure you¡¯re safe from it, so I¡¯m not going anywhere until you¡¯ve got a plan to move forward from being consumed by the false deity state it provides," countered Amdirlain. Kadaklan laughed, the warm amusement ringing the air. "What''s so amusing?" asked Amdirlain. "You''re always rushing into danger to help a child. Now you''re going to have to stand still instead," replied Kadaklan. "Though I''ll place bets that your plan will eventually involve you doing a bunch of extra work you hadn''t intended to do." "It might just be work I''d intended in a different place," replied Amdirlain. "Livia, why don''t you tell us about this world you''re connected with? Silpar wanted me to learn how those on the Redemption''s Path work to improve the lives of mortals. Is the world advanced enough to stop us from accessing it without being summoned?" "No, it''s only got primitive tribes," advised Livia. "That''s how I made an impression. I destroyed a pack of frost giants that had gathered up some tribes and had been eating them alive one by one. They deliberately made a drawn-up show of the process to evoke more fear." "How did you end up finding them?" asked Silpar. "Where would you like me to begin?" Amdirlain frowned contemplatively. "Why not start with how you found your way to their world?" 367 - Within Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands At Amdirlain¡¯s question about her discovery of the world, Livia waved a hand absently to her left. ¡°Its Portal is out in the forest beyond the fields; its manifestation caught me by surprise,¡± admitted Livia. ¡°I stepped around a tree, which had formed an arch with its canopy linking to another, and stepped through it. I could have sworn it wasn¡¯t there until I passed between the trees. There wasn¡¯t any sign of an aura or Mana.¡± Amdirlain isolated the planet¡¯s connection in Livia¡¯s theme and used Analysis on the element. [World: C¨ªrbann Age: 2.1 billion years Sun: G-Type (yellow dwarf) Landmass Type: Large continents connected by land bridges (Ice Age - aggravated by planar connections) Average diameter: 14.2 thousand kilometres (Earth-type) Planetary Orbit: 361.2 days Tilt: 28.2% Environmental range: Semi-temperate to permanent ice packs Status: Stable Local civilisation advancement levels: Cultural: Tribal groups and packs (local), kingdom (invaders) Technology achieved: Stone-age (local), magical metals (invaders) Magical advancement: none (local), multiple spell lists (invaders) Local primary species (averaged population percentage of total sapient species): Giants, planar intruders and local variants (72%) Ogre-kin, local variants (10%) Skrel, local variant (7%) Other groups (< 1%) Population: 3.7 million Incursion Status: Major Elemental Event - Para-Elemental Plane of Ice Local Pantheon Status:- Classification: Isolated individuals Priest Types: Priests, witch-doctors Worship Types: Individual prayers] [C¨ªrbann - Giant groups: Frost giants (86%) (Incursion: Invaders) Ocean giants (7%) Stone giants (4%) Hill giants (3%)] ¡°It just appeared?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously. Is that how they are for young worlds in the Outlands, or was Nexus playing games with Livia? Livia nodded and continued. ¡°Anyway, it left me on a ledge high above a cavern floor, and I heard sobbing and screaming. When I approached the edge, I saw giants snatching prisoners to eat from their penned captives.¡± Kadaklan tilted his head towards Livia. ¡°Livia takes after you, rushing in when children are in danger.¡± ¡°Kadaklan, we share a mutual belief that children are precious,¡± retorted Livia. ¡°That¡¯s why you keep going to check on them, despite your guides keeping an eye on them,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Stepping forward to protect another without expectation of benefit is a good thing,¡± said Amdirlain, and Livia gave a sharp nod. The slight smile that flickered across Kadaklan¡¯s lips didn¡¯t match the satisfaction Amdirlain heard within his theme, and she made a mental note to ask later. ¡°Anyway, when I killed the giants, my use of Ki left an impression, and with my appearance so alien to their own, they dropped to their knees,¡± continued Livia. ¡°That¡¯s when I felt the Mantle settled around me. Gideon even gave me a black and gold note, similar to the Gods¡¯ War notice. They congratulated me on being the strongest entity to gain a Mantle on that world and complimented your peculiar Ki¡¯s effect on me.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°I was wondering how you¡¯d have been able to gain a Mantle outside a Gods¡¯ War. I¡¯d thought possessing the Immortal Spirit Power might have allowed you to receive it.¡± Livia smiled. ¡°Your Ki has given me more than one rebirth since you cleansed my Soul.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a poetic way to put it,¡± commented Kadaklan. ¡°Hush,¡± Livia murmured gently before Kadaklan could continue. ¡±When they got underway, I summoned some hound archons and employed them to monitor the tribe and let me know if danger came close.¡± Silpar restrained his curiosity but sat across the table from Livia; his words turned the room¡¯s focus back to Livia¡¯s tale instead. ¡°You left a lot out of the tale. Shall I assume you used some flashy Ki powers that Master Cyrus didn¡¯t call upon in our sparring?¡± ¡°You¡¯d be correct, plus spells and some healing afterwards,¡± explained Livia. ¡°And no, they had neither tribal adepts nor shamans.¡± ¡°I can see why they immediately believed you to be a divine being,¡± allowed Silpar. ¡°Did you descend from the ledge using Ki Flight or something else?¡± ¡°Not Ki Flight, but Ki Blast is flashy,¡± clarified Livia. ¡°Do they have any spellcasting abilities?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°No, but their invaders do. The skrels¡¯ planet has an incursion ongoing,¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°Fortunately, it is not an Eldritch incursion but from the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice. I guess the question is, do you want to hunt them, or should we?¡± Livia sat ramrod straight, and her gaze tightened in concern. ¡°How many giants are you talking about, M¨®eir?¡± ¡°Just under two million three hundred thousand,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she tapped the side of her cup. ¡°There are three types of giants native to the world, but the frost giants aren¡¯t.¡± ¡°And there you just increased your Cold Resistance. Maybe they can pose a test for you,¡± commented Silpar. ¡°Except they¡¯re mortals.¡± ¡°And?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll hunt them with Sarah if you don¡¯t want to be involved. They¡¯re invaders, and they¡¯re preying on the natives. While I¡¯ll give them a chance to go home, ''no'' won¡¯t be an acceptable answer.¡± ¡°Dismissal spells,¡± countered Silpar. ¡°Which won¡¯t work on any born on C¨ªrbann,¡± argued Amdirlain. A frown had tightened Livia¡¯s lips during their exchange. ¡°C¨ªrbann? That sounds elvish.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°It means ¡®haven¡¯ in at least two dialects, but it could be how the local name translates. Anyway, the world is in an ice age. After we remove the ice giants in one fashion or another, I can close off all the planar links and see if the place warms up.¡± Silpar¡¯s gaze snapped to her. ¡°What? What about the other deities?¡± ¡°The entities with worshippers won¡¯t get cut off from the world,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t even know what the giants are like,¡± cautioned Silpar. ¡°You¡¯re risking your progress on the path.¡± Amdirlain motioned to Livia. ¡°What did their auras look like?¡± ¡°Violent and sadistic, focused purely on themselves,¡± replied Livia. Silpar grunted. ¡°Many species have individuals that possess such a nature.¡± ¡°How many species look to take another¡¯s world? Gideon reports they¡¯ve got an invader status, which means they¡¯re looking to drive out and crush any other species in their way,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If I hear individuals with nice melodies, I¡¯ll handle them through gentler means.¡± ¡°Are there other types of ¡®incursions¡¯, as you called it?¡± asked Silpar. Amdirlain nodded tightly. ¡°Indeed, some can benefit the native populace, like a cloister group visiting. Besides me taking direct action, another option is to recruit some metallic dragons to hunt the frost giants.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer we take that one,¡± stated Livia. ¡°I don¡¯t want you risking your freedom for me.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see what the situation is first, but I can do something else to ensure you don¡¯t fade if that species goes extinct,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia¡¯s mouth tightened in concern. ¡°What?¡± Motioning to Silpar, Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Gideon¡¯s list led me to correct some issues in a world where we found a tribe of orcs. Silpar spent some time observing them and found them fairly peaceful. We could spread the word of your existence to them and cause a few demonstrations of divine majesty. There are also a couple of worlds where there were primitive elven species whose only form of worship was ancestral spirits. Their lives would be improved by a Deity who could grant them proper Blessing paths.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been discussing similar options, but it¡¯s not that simple, is it?¡± observed Livia. ¡°Why don¡¯t I show you the Portal?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Guiding us won¡¯t be necessary, as it¡¯s audible from here.¡± Kadaklan smiled in anticipation. ¡°Another world trip? Livia hasn¡¯t shown us yet.¡± ¡°No, you can come along another time,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We won¡¯t be looking to settle down anywhere until the giants are under control.¡± I wanted Silpar to show me how the cloister would undertake an education effort, but perhaps one where I¡¯ve got too personal an interest isn¡¯t the best starting point. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Kadaklan sighed dramatically. ¡°Fine.¡± ¡°Are you deliberately playing up to get under Master Cyrus¡¯ skin?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Far too much yin calm about this place at times,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Let¡¯s move past that, shall we,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°When you said ¡®primitive tribes¡¯, what did you mean?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°Stone age; the only metal they have is raw nuggets fashioned among their jewellery,¡± replied Livia. Silpar nodded. ¡°We have approaches for introducing suitable forms of agriculture and other things to provide a stable way of life. That is if they are open to it and we find them suitable.¡± Those tribes dying out isn¡¯t an option. I¡¯ll ensure they¡¯re guided if they have social issues the cloister won¡¯t touch. ¡°What teachings do you want them to have?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Putting down a pack of giants in front of them, their view of you could be fairly violent.¡± ¡°The Mantle¡¯s principal focus is protection, but I¡¯ve not yet got an associated title,¡± replied Livia. ¡°Deities of protection are important to tribes and civilised folk alike,¡± offered Silpar. ¡°I hope they do not abandon you as they did to my Liege.¡± Livia winced. ¡°Did they turn completely from worshipping deities as on Qil Tris or pay tribute to another?¡± ¡°They found her purpose irrelevant to their city lifestyle. When the number of her worshippers diminished to a point where their tribute couldn¡¯t support even a meagre shrine, the last of her priests left her service,¡± clarified Silpar. ¡°Might I ask you a question?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Livia. ¡°Did you find the appearance of this species appealing?¡± asked Silpar. Livia set her tea cup aside and grimaced slightly. ¡°Externally, they¡¯re not anything I once would have found attractive, but their auras are another matter. Indeed, I once would have believed the Skrel monsters that come to steal me away. Instead, the monstrous beings in that cavern shared an appearance closer to my species, just on a larger scale with a different hue of skin.¡± ¡°What do the Skrel look like?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re only vaguely humanoid, but their arms are longer and have seven spindly fingers. They have four eyes, one pair high on the forehead and angled outwards,¡± explained Livia, pointing to the inner edge of her temples. ¡°Their skin is an orangish-grey hue that looks sickly to me, and their mouth is sideways in their face with no apparent nose.¡± ¡°Yet, you still went to their aid,¡± murmured Silpar. Livia frowned in confusion. ¡°Of course I did. A malicious group was eating them, so I would never have left them.¡± ¡°And the Portal was still there,¡± enquired Silpar. ¡°And it wasn¡¯t blocked in any way.¡± Amdirlain looked at him sideways, wondering what he was up to. ¡°Its absence wouldn¡¯t have stopped me if I wanted to leave, as I can cast Gate spells,¡± stated Livia. ¡°I take it your Immortal Spirit Power ensures you were at no genuine risk,¡± said Silpar. ¡°It¡¯s not quite that simple. Judge Po presides over when, or even if, I gain a new body; I¡¯d also still experience that death, or worse, if they captured me,¡± corrected Livia. ¡°You can¡¯t assess all of us according to M¨®eir¡¯s ability to disregard pain or danger.¡± Silpar conceded her point with a nod. ¡°You don¡¯t have her ability to assess the strength of others?¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± said Livia. ¡°And against twelve giants whose strength you didn¡¯t know, you still acted against them alone?¡± ¡°People were dying. I¡¯m a strong combatant, and I¡¯ve killed frost giants previously, so I acted,¡± replied Livia with a determined smile. ¡°I¡¯m not saying you were in the wrong. I merely seek to understand your motivation,¡± explained Silpar. ¡°Am displays the same behaviour.¡± Amdirlain tossed about options among the worlds she¡¯d visited. ¡°What did Tyr say about your new situation?¡± The question caused a fraction of Tyr¡¯s attention to focus their way, and when the unfamiliar divine energies touched the room, Silpar stiffened beside Amdirlain. Livia smiled. ¡°He¡¯s been advising me on how to set up my Domain, divide it into regions to keep petitioners safe from visitors?, plus other practical matters. It¡¯s the outer boundary of my Domain that covers it.¡± ¡°Though, why here?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°M¨®eir, if it was anywhere else, I couldn¡¯t provide a place of safety when you needed a rest,¡± said Livia. ¡°Even though Kadaklan¡¯s been eager to ply you with his ginger beer, I hope you¡¯ll try the tea. This blend has a lovely taste.¡± Fine, I¡¯ll shut up and enjoy my drink. Amdirlain sipped at her drink. The ginger brought forth memories of playing in the yard, helping her folks with the gardening or cutting the lawn with a cold drink afterwards, and the bitterness eased from her smile. ¡°Ginger is said to be an excellent remedy for many things, as well as bolstering the body,¡± noted Kadaklan, observing the shift in her smile. ¡°It is indeed, and very effective at that. The monastery has some pretty fancy buildings. Why don¡¯t you tell me about your plans?¡± repeated Amdirlain, determined to move the conversation along. Livia laughed. ¡°Some students need the trappings of success to motivate them initially. They can¡¯t understand the worth of a master¡¯s teachings when they see said master living in a hovel.¡± ¡°Those students who don¡¯t need such luxury to motivate them can easily look past the fancy dwellings. In more practical terms, they all provide the various masters a teaching hall for personal students. It allows them to teach at their own schedule without conflicts over facilities. Though there are common halls and areas laid out for wider lessons,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°For those students that haven¡¯t achieved enough to receive personal lessons?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°There are fundamental lessons and a roster for masters to teach,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°Are you enjoying seeding bamboo forests of knowledge here as well?¡± Kadaklan nodded. ¡°The Western traditions under the White Tiger have some differences in brews, so it¡¯s been a mutually beneficial exchange. When you return, I¡¯ll take you through some meditation exercises I¡¯ve learnt that might help you.¡± ¡°How is monastery life for you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Since their ways are so different.¡± Cyrus, Livia, and Kadaklan spent a few hours explaining the monastery''s plans and daily operations without drawing further attention from divine beings. After saying their goodbyes, Amdirlain teleported herself, Livia, and Silpar out to the Portal; her accuracy caused Livia to smile ruefully. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be surprising that you didn¡¯t need any guidance. Your Resonance¡¯s reach has certainly increased. We¡¯re nearly a hundred kilometres from the monastery here,¡± noted Livia. ¡°Oh ye of little faith,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Very droll, M¨®eir,¡± huffed Livia. ¡°Your apartment on Qil Tris was near the campus to study the Eldritch threat. It was hard to wrap my mind around you hearing something so far away with the vague guidance I provided.¡± ¡°My Resonance evolved, which jumped? the range and detail it reveals,¡± said Amdirlain. Amdirlain opened a Gate that matched the planet¡¯s connection and released a set of surveyors. The planet beyond the threshold showed regions of glaciers and snow with only a narrow band around the planet¡¯s middle with greenery on display. Motioning to the northern polar region, Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°The details Gideon provided indicated an ice age, so I¡¯d expect the polar caps to shrink back in time. Once I remove the elemental connections, I¡¯ll see if he can provide me a timeline for their retreat.¡± ¡°I know you¡¯re worried,¡± said Livia. ¡±But if I end up in the Maze, I know enough to avoid its traps.¡± ¡°Livia, you¡¯re not a pseudo-power. Your Mantle has formed fully. If you lose all your priests, you¡¯ll start to fade, not end up in the Maze,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°How did it manage that?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°I don¡¯t know. If it hadn¡¯t, I could have gotten into the Maze somehow to rescue you.¡± Livia frowned. ¡°You¡¯d need a Deity to sponsor your Trial, which would impact their worshippers when you didn¡¯t complete the Trial. You shouldn¡¯t treat me as a higher priority than others.¡± ¡°That¡¯s pointless to talk about since that won¡¯t be an available fallback plan,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t you complete it?¡± enquired Silpar. ¡°My Soul would have an issue converting to a Celestial essence, apparently,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Ori injured her Soul, then had it mauled, and, putting everything together, it would have trouble converting to a Celestial¡¯s essence. If I went through with completing the trial, I would be unlikely to come out with my memories or personality intact.¡± Silpar¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Who told you this?¡± ¡°The Titan himself,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her answer caused Silpar to squeeze his eyes shut and slowly shake his head in disbelief. ¡°Is this why you believe you might have an issue when you complete the Redemption¡¯s Path?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze flickered to Livia. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Given your former Mantle, M¨®eir, I have to believe there is some hope,¡± said Livia. ¡°Are you sure you should spread the word of my tenets to other worlds? Some might be concerned about your involvement.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I¡¯d have to do it, but gaining connections to multiple groups of faithful is the surest way to ensure nothing happens to you. However, we need to develop a plan so you strengthen your classes and don¡¯t get dependent on the Mantle. When you get a transition that combines classes, make sure not to take any offered classes with names like Goddess of Defenders. You¡¯ll be safer with ones like Divine Protector.¡± Livia lifted an eyebrow. ¡°Some wise advice from old memories?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Why does it matter?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°It might seem like it doesn¡¯t unless you look closely at the attitudes within the classes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s classes where it seems like you¡¯re being rewarded because of what you are versus the ones where you earn more strength if you work for it. The second set lets you deactivate the Mantle and retain more strength, but initially seem weaker.¡± ¡°I can see how they¡¯d attract individuals with different mindsets,¡± acknowledged Livia. A sudden thought crossed her mind, and Amdirlain tilted her head curiously. ¡°What has Ebusuku said about the worlds she¡¯s involved with? I know some of them had very small pantheons.¡± Livia coughed, and a sheepish half-smile replaced her usual composed expression. ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken to her!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to put her under any obligation through our relationship,¡± sighed Livia. ¡°I¡¯m going to strangle you,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°What would have happened if someone had slaughtered those tribes before I visited?¡± ¡°Strangely, strangling me won¡¯t work now,¡± quipped Livia. Amdirlain mock growled. ¡°I should have taken the opportunities I had when you were younger.¡± ¡°Kadaklan mentioned I take after you,¡± riposted Livia. ¡°How often do you still try to do things yourself instead of letting others help? You get to be hard-headed about things. It didn¡¯t feel right to use your relationships.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been trying to do this entirely solo?¡± ¡°I discussed it with Tyr, but the worlds he has connected with all have protection deities,¡± replied Livia. ¡°His tenets haven¡¯t spread to as many worlds.¡± ¡°Bahamut, can you please help Livia out? If one of your worlds has a developing Pantheon and needs a Goddess of Protection, can you pass along some hints that include her name and sigil?¡± Livia huffed. ¡°M¨®eir!¡± ¡°Livia!¡± exclaimed Amdirlain, and she dramatically planted her hands on her hips. ¡°You do too much for me,¡± protested Livia. ¡°Now you¡¯re casually involving a Primordial being in my problem.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not the one that earned your Tier 7 or unlocked Immortal Spirit. Heck, I don¡¯t even know how to do that last one. Asking Bahamut to help is the least embarrassing and dangerous way I could handle it. You certainly don¡¯t want me going in person and inspiring people with how great a being I think you are,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I might leave other deities with a fraction of their worshipers.¡± Livia went wide-eyed and slightly lifted her hand. ¡°Let¡¯s not do that.¡± ¡°It would be rude,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she handed over a crystal plate to Livia. ¡°I¡¯m sure you still remember how to use one of these.¡± Accepting the plate, Livia picked a surveyor¡¯s icon. The selected surveyor caused the display to present an ocean covered in icebergs, and she quickly picked her way through others. Livia stopped once the plate presented a band of greenery and zoomed in. ¡°It is straightforward.¡± ¡°There aren¡¯t many Skrel, so finding them visually with the surveyors would have been hard. Fortunately, or unfortunately, there is enough trace residue to track their species,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Trace residue?¡± ¡°The giants spilled enough of their blood in the cavern,¡± replied Amdirlain. She tapped a symbol on the plate¡¯s corner, and tiny smears of colour appeared in places across the display, bringing out a frown. ¡°Now you can see the migration routes they occupy, and the colour will get more precise the further you zoom.¡± I don¡¯t need to tell her I can put a bloodhound to shame now. ¡°That is helpful,¡± said Livia. "I considered travelling with them, but they were too awestruck by my presence." ¡°Once I¡¯ve met a living one, I¡¯ll be able to fine-tune the surveyors further and let you locate them easily. However, you can use it now to look for habitable regions,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she nodded towards the Portal. ¡°I can hear the songs of the frost giants¡¯ corpses through the Portal. They¡¯re not natives of another world migrating to this one, and their breed doesn¡¯t need food. Mana fuels their bodies, so they ate those prisoners for fun.¡± ¡°Thank you for your help, M¨®eir. It means a lot, especially since I didn¡¯t know what trouble they were in. Come back when you¡¯re done, and we¡¯ll help you work out a path to evolve your Monk abilities,¡± said Livia, gently squeezing Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Bahamut since you¡¯ve involved him in my trouble.¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t help others, I really would be worthy of staying a Fallen forever,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Bahamut might seem fearsome, but he is a nice fellow.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to listen if you want to talk about the path¡¯s outcome,¡± noted Livia. ¡°I¡¯d hoped you¡¯d ignored that. Others have pointed out I could be paranoid about what will happen. In the meantime, there are things to do and getting stronger helps me accomplish them.¡± Amdirlain closed her high-altitude Gate above the planet and stepped through Livia¡¯s Portal. Silpar sighed in concern but followed her nonetheless. 368 - Haze Amdirlain''s PoV - C¨ªrbann The cavern floor was nearly two hundred metres beneath where the Portal released them onto the ledge. The place was vast, with a fenced-off section at the end furthest from a carved passage that led out onto the mountain''s slope. A dozen Frost Giant corpses sprawled across the icy floor, each four and a half metres in height as if they were felled massive trees that were discarded. Flames and impacts had ruined their thick enchanted hide armour, and all the exposed skin was deeply charred. Despite the flames involved in their deaths, the giants'' dense flesh bled Mana and visibly chilled the surrounding air with plumes of frost-laden wisps rising from their remains. "Their themes are native to the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice, and they''re infusing the world''s Mana with a matching Affinity," said Amdirlain. Silpar nodded calmly. "Yet the path still considers them mortals." "Unlike elementals or the various species of genies, they''re not ageless," replied Amdirlain, and she sang a rapid trill of notes that sent adjustments to the orbiting surveyors. "The next step is to find the tribes Livia released and ensure they get south to the warmer lands safely." "That could take them months, and I doubt this is the day in the sun you wanted," said Silpar. Amdirlain waved her hands helplessly. "Livia''s safety is more important to me than a day in the sun. I''m not talking about escorting them every step of the way since they have the hound archons keeping watch. We''ll start by clearing the frost giants nearby and then along the tribes¡¯ route." "Even a small risk to another sets you in motion," observed Silpar. ¡°I asked Livia about her motivations for the risk she took, but how your priorities shift makes me curious about yours. What of the danger in the Abyss¡¯ depths?¡± "There are some people that I wouldn''t leap into danger for," Amdirlain said, and she wrinkled her nose at the thought of the Jarl''s steward from years ago. "There has been no sign of Baln¨¦rith, and neither of us knows the route. The Abyss is a longer-term issue, whereas the Skrel¡¯s situation is an immediate threat to Livia, and it won''t wait a few years, potentially even days. Would I do the same for another? Maybe. Mind you, people that don''t have compassion for others don''t get compassion from me." Silpar tilted his head. "I had no compassion." "When you killed those people, you didn''t. How about now?" asked Amdirlain. "You worry about what being here will do to my progress. Is that because you promised to look out for me or because you don''t want another paying a price you''ve paid?" "One can change," observed Silpar. Amdirlain shrugged. "True change comes from within, and frost giants are devoid of compassion. I''ve seen the souls of fire giants and remember enough of the melodies of frost giants to know they tend towards similarly predatory behaviour. Many Giant species were brought into the realm as monsters for beings to challenge themselves against. Also, they were a threat from without so that, hopefully, civilised beings wouldn''t turn on each other. Unfortunately, that didn''t stop people from fighting among themselves. People and civilisations are always at risk of changing in unpleasant ways." "The capacity to change for the worse also applies to you," countered Silpar. Amdirlain nodded. "I will do horrible things if it prevents others from feeling even some of the road of pain I''ve travelled. If my willingness to do so makes me a horrible person, then so be it." "Why do you have to focus on that? You have so many options. For example, Gail likes to build sustainable change," said Silpar. His change in tack had Amdirlain lifting an eyebrow. "Do you think Gail''s a complete sweetheart? Gail is also quite willing to kill, even if it is just to demonstrate a point and to put an end to someone''s bullshit. Ask her about her demonstration with some wyverns and a Lesser Dragon, it fed the village and stopped some naysayers. We both know that a beneficial society is fragile. All that growth can be torn apart by a predator wanting to claim it or the greed of a few within." Silpar''s gaze locked on the closest corpse. "Is it not better to do kind things?¡± ¡°Kindness is subjective and hard to determine, both the action required and the motivation. Tell well-off people about someone suffering, and many do nothing, show them the face of a starving person and more will react. But is that reaction from kindness or guilt when they¡¯ve seen evidence that they have luxuries when another starves? Just as few react to the description alone, fewer people will do what is necessary for a stranger''s protection if it will put themselves at risk," said Amdirlain. "Livia is not a stranger," critiqued Silpar. Amdirlain smiled. "She isn''t, now. One day, I might tell you the full story of how we met, but that''s not today. We''ve discussed this before, so why bring it up again?" ¡°I¡¯m worried about your motivation in leaping to address this threat to Livia. You¡¯re far too invested,¡± explained Silpar. ¡°Demons are one thing, but are you sure you should seek to use these giants as a whetstone for your skills? I doubt they¡¯re a threat to you, and they¡¯re Mortal." "I wasn¡¯t planning to torture them. I just want them gone and the Skrel¡¯s world to be safe from their species as long as possible.¡± "You want to grow stronger. You could do that through the creation of wonders. Why not create the Skrel something to help? Why, instead, are you looking to kill?" asked Silpar, tapping his claws against the side of his leg. "Are you going to tell me I should focus on building when I have enemies that won¡¯t help against?" asked Amdirlain. ¡°I can make demi-planes to host species that I¡¯ve considered in the design, but I don¡¯t know anything about this species. Small things being off could lead to a cascade of errors and their deaths. The giants invaded. They don¡¯t need the world, it¡¯s just convenient and their species has always been ravenous and greedy.¡± ¡°Creating them another place is a way to do good without risking this confrontation,¡± counselled Silpar. ¡°I won¡¯t move them off their world and leave it to the giants. I won¡¯t ignore people in danger, but don¡¯t mistake yourself; I don¡¯t see myself as the good hero here. I''m simply trying to get stronger, fix some problems, and escape my curse. Depending on your perspective, everything I¡¯ve done can be seen to furnish that end." Silpar snorted in disbelief, but Amdirlain continued before he could interject. "Fine, in the process, I''ve helped others get stronger so they can fight back against monsters. I can''t fix all the realm''s problems, but I enjoyed bringing some people a respite from their suffering and ensuring they can stand up for themselves. Since I get enjoyment from it, isn¡¯t my altruism suspect?" Silpar frowned. "I think you undervalue your contributions. Why does your enjoyment devalue your contribution when you are helping someone? A monster gains enjoyment from inflicting pain and terror. Doesn¡¯t your admission that you enjoy improving their lives speak to your nature? You have power, and it''s good you¡¯ll use it for others, yet why are they even your problems to fix?" Shrugging lightly, Amdirlain''s smile disappeared. "Because they are." "Why you? For example, let''s look at this world''s issues. Why not call upon the dragons?" asked Silpar. "This isn''t the dragons'' fight. This isn''t their world," said Amdirlain. "I considered asking them for help, but what would the path say if I did that and one of them died?" "It''s not their world, so they don¡¯t need to help,¡± said Silpar, and his brow ridges lifted. ¡°How is it yours? Is this a world the Anar and L¨®m? made?" "Livia''s bound to the Skrel people at present. That makes it my daughter''s concern, so I''ll keep her people safe. Are you trying to warn me off driving the giants away?" asked Amdirlain. ¡°Because regardless of what it costs me, I¡¯ll be helping her.¡± Silpar shook his head but was already asking another question. "I don¡¯t think she¡¯d like you paying some of the prices I can imagine. How is it she''s your daughter? I know you can''t be related." "She adopted me," laughed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re jumping our conversation all over the place today.¡± "No, I¡¯m trying to get you to look at yourself properly instead of through the self-criticism and demanding perfectionism you continually possess. Do you hate yourself so much?¡± enquired Silpar gently. ¡°You doubt yourself, but do you know the problem with self-doubt?¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°It comes from you, and you know yourself too well. You know all the places where you are the most vulnerable, all your mistakes that you regret the most. We can always hurt ourselves the most if we¡¯re not blind to our flaws,¡± said Silpar. ¡°Can you see that?¡± Amdirlain cleared her throat. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Even angels fall, yet you have to be perfect and your motivations without reproach for it to count. Why? You need to look at your insidious self-judgement. What we have inside, we project onto others. All that pain you¡¯ve been swallowing is going to go somewhere, and you need to find something to dilute it.¡± His last statement silenced Amdirlain as she swallowed back her retort. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re in a good place Am. Why don¡¯t you consider yourself kind?" asked Silpar softly. Not wanting to get into her history, Amdirlain frowned. "Broad classifications are bad, as many beings contain a shading of emotion and behaviour, plus it''s also a matter of context. I can be kind, but I can also be merciless and sometimes too pragmatic. You''ve been working to make up for those you killed for how long? Do you consider yourself good?" Silpar didn¡¯t flinch away. "That''s a valid point for my meditations, and I¡¯ve spent lots of time looking at my mistakes. Right now, I¡¯m trying to get you to look at yourself." "I think big changes to the Redemption''s Path would be pointless. Those worthy of it are harder critics of themselves than the path is," said Amdirlain. "You¡¯ve seen where we are now, not where we came from. Right now, I''d include you among the harsh critics," replied Silpar. ¡°You''re pointing at my issues to avoid looking at yourself. Are you that merciless to yourself that the path¡¯s judgment wasn¡¯t a surprise?¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose; a deadly northern wind that ruffled at her hair didn''t warrant her attention. "No, it was more brutal in its assessment than I''d hoped it would be in some cases, though not as bad as I had feared in others. Do you expect to talk me out of helping the Skrel by driving off the frost giants?" "No, I wanted to be sure where your desire for this conflict came from," admitted Silpar, carefully not looking at Amdirlain to give her some space. "It is one duty of a mentor. Another is to gauge their mentee¡¯s self-perception, and you have so many issues. Normally, I wouldn''t have touched on some of these subjects again so soon, but you still have a Mortal''s perspective. Now, I notice you said drive off, and I thought you were intent on killing them." "I might need to kill the strongest among them to prevent their return, especially if it''s an effort to dismiss them to their Home Plane. The broken enchantments in the armour tell me that driving them off won''t necessarily keep the giants off this world," replied Amdirlain. "I don''t want to be fighting giants. I''d rather be destroying demons. This world''s conflict is a distraction and gains me little, but it ensures Livia''s safety and the safety of those she put her life on the line to protect. Right now, I¡¯m wondering if an Aspect manipulated this either in whole or in part, but I don¡¯t know why they would. Anything else?" Silpar motioned towards the cavern''s entrance. "I¡¯m concerned about where this will lead, but please consider the questions I asked. Shall we be on our way?" Amdirlain motioned for him to wait and considered the cavern again. Drifting notes brought an illusion of the Skrel tribes packed like sardines within the broken pen into existence. They were as strange as Livia had described, but she''d left out the ragged furs and thin bodies. As a Frost Giant waggled a Skrel female above his mouth, a beam of light shot across the cavern from the ledge they arrived on to decapitate the Giant then transformed into a sword bigger than Livia upon impact. The blade tumbled onwards unmarred despite the impact and shattered through the legs of the female Frost Giant behind. I''m going to have to ask her about that anime blade. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Livia had flipped off the blade and caught the Skrel flung aside by the Giant''s death throes. As her feet hit the floor at the feet of another foe, a flame shot from her hand to burn off the front of his face and drilled its way into the ceiling. The giants opened their mouths to roar and lunged towards her, only for Livia to blur past them and set the female Skrel down near the cavern''s mouth. Turning back, Livia sped towards them, getting a separation between her and the freed prisoner to ensure they didn¡¯t get caught up in the giants¡¯ attacks. A lance of silvery blue Ki wreathed in flames struck the first of them and ate through his armour. He flung himself to the floor and thrashed about, trying to extinguish the fire while the others attacked with spells and blades. Dodging beneath a wild swing, Livia rolled onwards and was battered by a spray of icy rubble when the strike cracked the ground. A snowy globe flung from one Giant sealed her in a hoarfrost dome, only for her to sink into the frozen ground. The giants hesitated in surprise before their leader signalled them to spread out. The flame-shrouded Giant still thrashed without any going to his aid, only for metal spikes to erupt upwards and catch him midroll. Though some harmlessly gouged his armour, others found gaps, including one that drove through his ear. More spikes formed and went through booted feet before a transparent figure of Livia emerged from the ground at the group''s rear. She moved among the lamed foes with blows that took advantage of gaps in their armour or made bloodied openings. Never staying still, she deflected or evaded nearly every attempt to kill her. Those that struck were blocked by Ki State surging upwards to momentarily form a centurion''s armour composed of blazing white light. When she was done, a moment''s meditation caused Livia''s flesh to glow and the wounds she''d suffered to seal over. Opening her eyes, she broke the prisoners free from their cages. They regarded her with trepidation even as they were united with the female Livia had saved. Many stared at Livia in confusion as she moved among them, healing the injured. The energies of the blessings Livia cast filled the air around her figure with a colourful light. When the first flung their spindly limbs wide and bent nearly in two from the waist, others followed suit. Amdirlain saw when the Mantle settled in place about Livia''s body. A divine glow sprang up, and the rest of the tribes followed the first''s example of reverence as the Mantle amplified Livia''s Charisma. "Did you look back into the past or draw the record from the surroundings?" asked Silpar as Amdirlain adjusted the phantasm that filled the cavern. "Peering into the past isn''t easy, but it''s doable," said Amdirlain. "This is only a recent event, so it was simple to find. The music in the wounds gave me a point in time to seek. I think the giants'' behaviour speaks volumes." The images fast-forwarded and showed Livia using various Fabricate spells to create fresh equipment, and blessings to set them up with food. Amdirlain followed the tribes'' exit from the cavern. The wind outside had scoured all traces away, but she took bearings off the landmarks the images headed towards. Bringing out another crystal plate, she linked it to the surveyor overhead and set it to scan for Frost Giant packs in the region. "Sarah, feel like some Frost Giant meals?" Amdirlain released the Message Spell with detailed images of the cavern''s entrance and the world''s name. Sarah didn¡¯t hesitate in opening a Gate to join them, her haste had pieces from her hoard starting to slide across its threshold in the wake of her motions. Partway through the Gate, she transformed into a Human form in red leather armour, and the void she left caused the treasure¡¯s balance to slide the other way. "You won''t involve the gold dragons, but you''ll bring Sarah in?" asked Silpar. Amdirlain gave a forced grin. "She needs to grind experience." "I don''t care about the experience, frost giants taste great," huffed Sarah before she paused thoughtfully. "Though I don''t have a breath weapon to cook them properly now, so no idea if the flavours will be the same. I can use one of my plasma cremators on a lower setting to do the job." Silpar sighed. "Dragons." "How many frost giants are we talking about?" asked Sarah eagerly, and Amdirlain heard her absorb the giants¡¯ corpses into her Inventory. "Over two million," advised Amdirlain. "Cool," gushed Sarah. Amdirlain gazed at her accusingly. "You did that deliberately." "Absolutely! Why let a good pun go to waste?" Sarah asked with a smirk, reaching for the plate in Amdirlain''s hand. "Show me where their closest packs can be found. Are there any big glaciers nearby? If there are that many frost giants, the biggest ones will contain their primary strongholds." Amdirlain kept the crystal plate in her grasp. "It seems I underestimated a Dragon''s desire to hunt giants." "I hope they''re all like those corpses in the cavern behind us. Those smell like big, Mana-filled ice cubes," stated Sarah enthusiastically. "You should haggle with Mr. Silvery Hide and get some concessions for providing a world packed with frost giants for his metallic dragons to hunt." Now that she''s not a metallic dragon, Sarah has a different attitude towards Bahamut. "It''s going to be much easier to kill them now than my last visit to the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice," continued Sarah. "Do we ask Isa along since she wanted to do some work together against the Dao? We can work out our group tactics when there is an open sky for Ilya." "You have a point," agreed Amdirlain. "Though given what Isa can do with her bow, many of the frost giants will just melt." "Oh? Now who is playing at the puns," huffed Sarah. Amdirlain gave Sarah a haughty look and dispatched a Message to Isa with details about the Skrel and the archons escorting them. The energy in the reply''s music had a bubbling quality that fitted the ecstatic message. ''We''ll be right there, just handing over baby daycare.'' Amdirlain repeated the Message''s contents. "It seems we''ve got five for Giant hunting and helping the Skrel." "They''re looking after some of the L¨®m? children?" questioned Silpar. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve heard of celestials minding children before except as bodyguards.¡± "They''re thrilled to babysit. Isa had been keen to have a family before she got cursed, and I think it provides closure," replied Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t think Ilya cares either way, except she gets to be with her.¡± Sarah snorted. "You''re playing at being a psychologist now?" "What do you think it is?" "Isa has a strong sweet tooth, and babies can be cloyingly sweet. She gets to watch children grow up," said Sarah. "That right there is enough, but if you couple it with the fact that Mori is the dominant life that Isa remembers, what good queen wouldn''t want to see her former people restored and prospering? That and the fact she wanted to be a mum. The pair of you were so sugary sweet around kids that it made me gag, I swear." "Yeah, right," huffed Amdirlain, and Sarah laughed. Sarah gave Amdirlain a smug smile and pulled out a device that opened an orbital Gate. A cube the size of Sarah''s fist got tossed through and disappeared into the distance before the Gate closed. "Copycat," grumbled Amdirlain. "What was that?" asked Silpar. "Homing beacon," replied Sarah. "Though it will need a few minutes to ensure it has stabilised itself in orbit first." Silpar shifted on the spot and spared a glance upwards. "A beacon for what?" "My weapons platform to teleport to," explained Sarah. "There is a reason I only needed a few years to farm a bunch of experience. If you think Amdirlain plays loose with the rules, you ain''t seen nothing yet." Silpar looked flustered, so Amdirlain took pity on him and cut in. "Sarah''s only talking about the rules of what many cultures call honourable conflict. Dragons have laws, and she only pays attention to them now." "Let me tell you about the time little Miss Sunshine here used air-fuel bombs and mega tonnes of rock to destroy an artefact of an evil God. She plunged it into an open wound in the chest of the Aspect of Death," countered Sarah. "Not to mention she didn''t get a single experience point from the hordes of Dedicated that he had guarding the shaft they''d dug into the sleeping Aspect." "It was barely a popped blister, and I got my first Tier 7 achievement for it, which was worth far more than that experience in the end," argued Amdirlain. ¡°Then El-¡± Amdirlain cut herself mid-name, not wanting to use Eleftherios¡¯s name aloud and get Death¡¯s attention. "I¡¯ve heard of events that indicate two of the Titan¡¯s missing servants have returned to him," said Silpar. "Yes, I set them both free. Though Oblivion worries me, if he is slumbering as deeply as Death, then I don''t want to think about what the surrounding Plane is like," stated Amdirlain. Silpar tilted his head. "Did you cut yourself off from using the name of one of them earlier?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You know their names but don''t use them?" enquired Silpar with a surprised twitch. "I do, but I have enough trouble with Gideon sticking their nose in, and they are all-knowing. Also, Ori had a complex relationship with at least a few aspects, so I don''t want to draw their attention too often," replied Amdirlain, keeping her expression composed. Silpar took in her sudden stillness and bobbed his head in amusement. "I''m glad you have limits about beings you''ll comfortably deal with." I''ve been in the same room as Death, and I think he was hoping for a booty call, but I''m not Ori. As if Sarah could read Amdirlain''s mind, she started snickering. "Don''t," snapped Amdirlain. Sarah nodded. "I''ll be good." The exchange had Silpar''s gaze narrow in suspicion, and Amdirlain grumbled. "Please don''t speculate. And it wasn''t me, it was Ori who was comfortable with them." Isa and Ilya appeared in mid-air before the cavern''s mouth. Both of them were in the guise of Isil, the whitish-blue skin of the Moon Elf species appropriate with all the snow, their silvery hair reflecting the moonlight. They wore grey tunics belted at the waist over top of black leather pants made from a Lesser Dragon''s hide. Various enchantments were woven through their clothing and gear, like the ones in their black boots that prevented them from sinking into the powdery snow when they landed. "Geez, it is cold here," gasped Ilya. "I thought the highlands near us were bad." "Hi ho, hi ho, it''s off to hunting we go," chirped Isa. "Don''t," grumbled Amdirlain. Isa blinked. "What''s up, grumpy?" "Amdirlain remembered a dwarven life while we were on Qil Tris. Of course, she had to get the worst one," explained Sarah. Wincing, Isa brought out her Soul Bow, and its brilliant silver chased what shadows the two moons caused. "Let''s go kill some giants. Were they the cause of the pain in that life?" "Elves were," replied Amdirlain, and she brought up the crystal plate for Isa to see the night camp of the Skrel on display. "Some packs are about, but the tribe isn¡¯t in immediate danger." "They''ll be in less once we wipe out every Giant," replied Isa. "Little Livia is a Goddess, who''d have thought it." "How do you want to wipe out the packs?" asked Ilya. Silpar gave a displeased grunt, and Ilya just shrugged. "I''ve seen them in Hell on the ninth circle, and those outside it are no different." "I thought I''d practise my fighting techniques," replied Amdirlain before Silpar got a chance. Isa gasped in mock surprise. "Goodness, you''re not just going to blow them all up?" "You look ready for target practice, so it would be rude if I took them all away," replied Amdirlain, and she tapped Isa''s nose. "Have you been having fun minding the children?" "Absolutely. You might enjoy visiting yourself," proposed Isa. Sarah smirked. "Amdirlain might build them something grander than the training complexes." "Do you recognise any of the newborns'' themes?" asked Amdirlain, ignoring Sarah''s chiding. Okay, first, I set up Nolmar, then the training tower, then the Mousekin burrow, and then the training complexes. I have been escalating a bit. If I take the Skrel from their world, there could be other problems, especially if I don¡¯t precisely meet their biological requirements. Isa bit her lip nervously and whispered. "The most recent birth had a blank song within her Soul, no trace of any past life. It has happened with some newborn L¨®m? but not any of the Anar." "You''re overthinking it," said Amdirlain. "They went onto other realms. Who is to say that all of them will return just because there is a way for them to do so?" "They might have earned a promotion as you did," observed Sarah, and she gave a wintry smile. "Or a demotion in whatever realm they ended up in. Or she could even be your replacement. After all, it''s not like you''re a free agent anymore." Isa rolled her eyes and turned to Amdirlain. "Should Ilya and I handle approaching the tribes Livia freed?" "They''ve got some hound archons watching over them. However, if there is any pack we can''t intercept in time, it might be best if you two handle it," said Amdirlain. "The puppies might growl," quipped Isa. "Did you push your Prestige Class up?" "Not yet," admitted Amdirlain. "Why not?" echoed Isa and Ilya. "It gives a lot of Charisma each level," explained Amdirlain. Isa looked Amdirlain over. "You''re not putting out any weird vibes, though you do have a refined air about you." "You''ve got less presence than some of the Taur? we''ve met recently," added Ilya. "Why were you two meeting with wood elves?" Holding the plate, Isa motioned between herself and Ilya with the other hand. "We went to check on the northern part of their forest to see what animals we might look to introduce." "What''s that device?" asked Ilya, pointing at the moving pictures displayed on the crystal. Poking the display to zoom it in, Isa giggled. "She can''t help herself. Amdirlain made the equivalent of a device from our home world." Amdirlain shrugged. "It''s functional, but the crystal provides a real-time display with filtering options, nothing too fancy." Snorting, Isa pretended to swat her with the plate. Stepping smoothly out of the way, Amdirlain smirked. "Spiral around the tribes'' encampment and then head southwards?" "Giants can cover a lot of ground in a day. How far around do you want to keep clear?" asked Ilya. "What would you suggest?" Ilya hummed. "At least two hundred kilometres. I''ll introduce myself to the hound archons so they can contact me if there is an issue." "If any of them are Wizards," noted Silpar. "Livia did recruit them to monitor the tribes and let her know if there was trouble. They''d have to have someone who can get in touch with her since she didn''t remain," said Ilya. "I''ll sort out the communications issue when I speak with them. How close can that thing make images appear?" When Isa brought up a perfect image of an area just south of the encampment, the pair vanished. "Isa took your plate with her," noted Sarah. "I¡¯ll get that one back later, I can attune another for now. Shall we fly west to the closest pack?" asked Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. "That short distance isn''t going to challenge your powers. We might as well wait for them to return and teleport together. Let¡¯s have another look at the local area." Amdirlain drew out another plate. 369 - Looking at me Amdirlain''s PoV - C¨ªrbann Amdirlain attuned a new plate to the local surveyors to replace the one Isa had taken with her to meet the hound archons. Zoomed in on the display with the cavern used for scale, it was clear to the others the closest pack was only forty kilometres away, with their settlement set into the valley wall. Though Amdirlain could hear their melodies, their minds were beyond her telepathic reach, and with the trip insufficient to strain her Ki Flight, they waited for Isa and Ilya''s return. When the pair reappeared, a russet-hued Hound Archon compressed into a Skrel''s form accompanied them. Even through the archon''s Shapeshift, his form was stranger in the flesh than the images of the Skrel she¡¯d retrieve in the cavern. Amdirlain took in the form''s theme and noticed its adaptations came from ocean life. The sideways mouth couldn¡¯t apply pressure to chew his food, and four prehensile tongues had adapted to draw food in and scent the air. His long fingers had sheathed needle-like claws closer to a pufferfish''s spines than a cat or lizard''s talons. A pair of mithril bracers concealed beneath his rawhide clothing supplemented his Celestial protection and strength. [Name: Georg Species: Hound Archon Class: Fighter / Scout / Ranger / Wizard Level: 34 / 34 / 34 / 32 Health: 2,616 Defence: 302 Magic: 68 Mana: 11,008 Melee Attack Power: 324 Combat Skills: Axes [Ad] (21), Long Blades [M] (34), Short Blades [Ad] (23), various affinities, spell lists, and blessing paths. Details: A former servant of Freya, he opted not to take service with her successor. When Livia sought the names of independent celestials to assist her new people, one of Tyr''s valkyries provided his name.] Georg''s gaze widened when he saw Amdirlain, and he dropped to one knee and bowed his head. The Celestial''s thoughts raced around, his public mind churning through the right way to introduce himself and broadcast his name and Amdirlain''s. "Lady Amdirlain." And it''s great you went for that option. "I don''t believe we''ve ever met," replied Amdirlain. "Forgive me, Lady Amdirlain, I''m G-" "Not to be rude, but please don''t speak names useful for summoning," interjected Amdirlain. "One never knows exactly what might be listening." Georg coughed. "My apologies for forgetting myself. What that filth tried is unforgivable." "I meant both our names," reassured Amdirlain, and she drew Georg to his feet before motioning to the others. "My companions are called Sarah, Isa, Ilya, and Silpar. How are you commonly known?" "Oh! My friends call me Whiterine," said Georg, and he touched his throat, where a patch of silvery fur glistened within his True Form. "I had shared my full ''Use Name'' so he could contact us," admitted Ilya. "I take it you had something else planned?" She took the risk in place of Isa. I wonder how that conversation went. "Another device," said Amdirlain. "That¡¯s no longer needed. How are the archons assisting the Skrel placed for equipment?" "We have what your daughter gifted us and our equipment, so we''re over-supplied at present," replied Georg. "I''m going to be nosey, so if I''m out of place, tell me," said Amdirlain. "Are any of you planning to enter her service, or are you just here for the goods to help whatever personal causes you''ll pursue?" "The Lady asked us to consider the work she employed us to undertake before deciding," replied Georg. "I''ll admit I would have once found the Skrel hideous, but they are overall good folks within. That could be the stage of their civilisation and the fragility of their lives, but I see potential in them. So far, I''ve seen them work as a community and resolve issues openly rather than allowing strife to fester. If we continue to see such evidence, I know some of us will probably enter the Lady¡¯s service to aid them further." "Are there other wizards among those escorting the Skrel?" Georg nodded. "Yes, two others." Amdirlain populated three memory crystals with grimoires and handed them to Georg. "Hopefully you find enough useful knowledge here to help you in future endeavours." "That isn''t necessary," protested Georg. "We''ve received ample compensation for the service requested." "You''re presently helping my daughter, but whether you continue to help her or someone else, I still want you to have these. If you''re stronger, I hope it makes a difference to someone in trouble," replied Amdirlain. "How are the tribes for supplies?" "Things will be lean. We''ve helped them by hunting animals they couldn''t usually kill without risk of death," replied Georg. "Their normal prey are some smaller beasts about hip height on them, but the giants herded them away from the packs they''d been following. The beast we hunted for them was gigantic and provided tonnes of meat and materials. With the number of them we have to feed in this cold, one doesn''t take them far." "Do you mind if I get the image from your mind?" asked Amdirlain. Georg spread his hands, and Amdirlain saw the recollection from his thoughts. The creature was as alien in appearance as the Skrel themselves. It had an elongated tubular body three and a half metres at the top of its flank, segmented around sixteen sets of legs and dozens of tentacles around its mouth for foraging items out of the snow and stripping trees bare. Ideas from games mixed in with Ori¡¯s memories of the endless trays of food in the fey''s banquet halls. Amdirlain focused her experience allocation on her new Class before she sang. The leather bags were about the size and shape of a military duffel bag but appeared made from cured hides that the nearby Skrel used. [Crafting experience (Category: Miscellaneous) Provision bags x 3 Total Experience gained: 63,000 Olind?: 63,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x9] As the others looked the items over, Amdirlain allocated the eighty attribute points she''d gained straight to Willpower and checked to confirm the increase in her Defence and Melee Attack Power. The increase in her Magic rating from nine levels increased her temptation to push the Class higher. Setting the urge aside, Amdirlain held out the bags to Georg. "They''ll create suitable food for the person reaching into them. Anyone can draw out food while the bags'' enchantments last. While it''s not infinite, they should provide enough meals to keep the tribes fed for a few years. The bags will last longer if the Skrel supplements them with gathered food." "Do you wish them returned after the tribes reach safety?" asked Georg hesitantly, his hands pausing short of the handles. "You can keep them. A skilled enough Artificer could renew the enchantments." Taking the bags with both hands, Georg gave her a deep bow. "This will raise the tribe¡¯s spirits. I hope no one argues over the right to eat first." "It would be best to roster it unless they have a hierarchy system," suggested Silpar. "I''d make it clear it comes through their Goddess'' favour, and it could easily vanish, but that is up to Livia. The tribal elders might argue about who gets to control them." "Nothing like a treasure to divide people," observed Sarah. ¡°Dragon fever,¡± snorted Isa, and she received a mock glare from Sarah. "There are three tribes, so I made three bags," said Amdirlain. Frowning, she scrubbed a hand through her hair. "I could limit it to one of Livia''s priests being able to retrieve the food, but that would put too much power over the tribes in their hands." "They''re only receiving your help because of her connection to them," said Silpar. "I would suggest there need to be some controls in place as I''ve seen wars between tribes fought over less." Tweaking the bags'' enchantments, Amdirlain sighed. "I''ve changed it so one person can only draw out a limited amount of food daily. Also, if less than three hundred people have drawn food since their last use, they''ll get nothing. What one person can draw out will be enough to feed a few people in case of sickness, but they''ll ?need to let people draw rations for the meal. They''re also interlinked, so taking supplies from one blocks the others." "Each tribe numbers greater than that," confirmed Georg. "Why this particular shape? Most meals don''t require such a volume." "I wasn''t sure how much material they use in a meal, and they can also use them to generate fodder for any beasts of burden. It will create food based on their thoughts, so if they expect raw vegetables or grains, they can tip them out," explained Amdirlain. "Using them to generate the raw materials might be the better idea since it will minimise the strain on the enchantments." "They use a communal cooking approach," advised Georg. "Then maybe they can take turns providing materials to the cook," proposed Amdirlain. "Please contact Ilya if any issues occur, and we''ll sort something out." "Hopefully, you don''t need to get in touch for someone to be smacked in the ear hole," quipped Isa. Georg looked momentarily confused at Isa''s statement but finally nodded. "I''ll ensure they appreciate it. Thank you for these and the memory crystals." When Georg vanished, Amdirlain frowned and considered her companions "Was it Gail or Isa that provided you the Inventory ability, Ilya?" asked Amdirlain absently. "After Gail almost killed herself giving herself the ability, she taught Isa the song she''d learned," replied Ilya. "Isa provided it to me with no problems." As Amdirlain''s thoughts continued to churn, she chewed her lip. "I''d never paid that much attention to the ability, and she was fortunate to manage it trying it so young," Isa declared, dabbing Amdirlain''s chin to break her introspective mood. "Why the long face?" "Just thinking about contingencies," said Amdirlain, retrieving more crystals from her inventory. She created a few devices and tossed one to Ilya, Isa, and Silpar. "Keep these devices on you. If you''re summoned and not released from the circle, these create localised earthquakes outside the circle." Silpar has a storage device, so I won''t give him Inventory, especially since my main concern is the risk to Ilya. "Did you make this because I gave Georg my name, and he''s former Norse?" Ilya asked. Amdirlain gave a sharp nod. Ilya returned her nod. "You don''t trust those that served the pantheon after one of Odinn''s lot tried to screw you?" "Just being paranoid, and I don''t know if someone might have learnt Silpar''s name. Since some among the cloister believe I''m Ori and have a bone to pick, I don''t want him imprisoned for having helped me," explained Amdirlain. "Some among the cloister know my ''Use Name''," admitted Silpar. Ilya frowned. "And you don''t want to change it? This lot convinced me to change my name after a few thousand years, so I know it can feel weird. Especially since Isa continues to use my old name when the one for summoning me has changed." Silpar''s nostrils flared, and he clicked two claws against each other. "I don''t believe changing my name would sit well with me." "You''ve certainly been more careful with it than some," allowed Amdirlain. "Including Georg mentally broadcasting your name as well as his own when he considered how to introduce himself," said Silpar. So tempted to un-sing that memory, but is that a breach of ethics? Amdirlain grimaced. "I hoped you hadn''t heard." "I do my best to be alert when I''m around celestials," said Silpar, and he smiled apologetically at Isa and Ilya before he continued. "They can be more unpredictable than Fallen." "That''s most certainly the case with me," answered Isa slyly. "Shall we get to clearing out the giants?" Silpar frowned again, but he kept silent. Amdirlain nodded and teleported them to just beyond a ridgeline from the pack''s alert sentry. Isa wrinkled her nose at the sharp notes within the giants. Their group totalled thirty members who had dug their accommodations into the valley''s side and left the approach to the settlement''s entry littered with rubble and debris. The sentry had taken up a post beside an enormous upright slab positioned directly before the entrance to serve as a windbreak. Isa shook her head forcefully. "Ilya''s right. These frost giants are as foul as those in Hell. I wonder how many Skrel were on this world before they arrived." Sarah gave a fierce smile. "About half the breeds of giants I''ve known treat anything smaller than them as food." ¡°Dragons don¡¯t?¡± Ilya asked. ¡°Please, there are certain things I¡¯m never putting in my mouth,¡± huffed Sarah. While the pair were talking, Amdirlain sifted through the giants'' thoughts to locate the largest strongholds. She not only found where they''d travelled but witnessed tribes and herds being wiped out. She felt Sarah''s mental touch gathering information within their mind as well. "I''ve found the glacier where the clans'' main leader is located," advised Amdirlain. "I bet you found more than that," said Sarah. "I know I did." There was a mental scream from Sarah directed at the giants'' lair, and Amdirlain heard their songs snuffed out. Isa blinked. "Dead giants." The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "I dislike squatters," drawled Sarah. "Is that, like, a Dragon thing?" asked Ilya. Sarah gave a wide smile. "Disliking squatters or wiping out giants?" Ilya moved up the slope and peered over the ridgeline. She took in the sentry with his ruptured eyeballs and blood leaking from his ears and exhaled sharply. "No, I was referring to killing them that way. Why do you have so many enchanted objects if you can do that?" "Psionic screams don''t work against everything," replied Sarah. "Also, I''m more skilled as a Shaper than a Telepath, so some things are mentally robust enough to soak the damage. None of the giants were above level thirty in their classes, so they were easy kills." "Cheating with Analysis," huffed Ilya. "It''s not cheating. It''s using my abilities," rebuffed Sarah playfully, and with her inventory, she collected the dead from the chambers below. Amdirlain jumped in before they continued their banter. "Is it better to take out their leader on the planet or deal with the smaller groups first?" Sarah shrugged. "This isn''t a threat that''s worth you spending time on. Are you sure I can''t just let some dragons know they''re making a mess and get them to take care of it? I don''t think they''ll be strong enough to challenge your combat abilities. Frost giants don''t tend to be hard workers. Their species gives them a ton of strength and endurance, so tack on thirty or forty levels in one Class alone, and a pack of giants is a disaster for most tribes or towns." "A disaster that dragons can apparently make quick work of," noted Isa. "Do you want to handle the trash removal or something else?" "I said I''d take care of it for Livia," objected Amdirlain. "That I can appreciate," replied Sarah. "And we can certainly deal with this lot, but remember that not everything needs your personal touch. Like when you delegated dealing with the Eldritch parasites to me." "I''ve got no objections to hunting giants while you ensure the safety of the other Skrel tribes," Ilya said. "Doubt I''ll find an interesting fight, but they''re closer to my strength than yours. Pretty sure you''d need to go toe to toe with a Demon Lord or Master Cyrus to get a decent challenge, not have a brawl with a Giant pack or twenty." "The Dao would be a better fight," sighed Isa. Amdirlain clenched her jaw slightly and counted to ten. "It''s not about what is the better fight." I''m being very sensitive about this situation. I''m sure Livia can look after herself and has enough help to sort this out between Bahamut and the other helpers she can get. "What''s up, sweetie?" asked Sarah softly, her amusement gone instantly. "I don''t know. Something about this situation has me on edge, and it''s more than the risk to Livia. Let''s deal with them quickly," said Amdirlain. "If you''re feeling emotional, this is the worst time to work on such endeavours," interjected Silpar. "You''ve got two species of mortals involved here. Even when you make the right choices, the emotions involved also matter. Especially when strong emotions are involved, and the situation leads to battle, it usually causes problems with your path''s progress. We''ve learned what causes problems because of the path''s criticisms, and it''s never made allowances for failings, no matter the cause." "Orh¨ºthurin seems to have expected celestials to find the course with the most overall good provided objectively," agreed Amdirlain. "How about a wager?" proposed Isa. Ilya groaned and covered her face with both hands. "Now it''s on." "Are you being mean to me?" asked Isa. Ilya dropped her hands and gave Isa a saucy smile. "Not unless you want me to be." Isa blushed, and her eyes went wide. "What did you want to bet?" asked Amdirlain. "Silpar is right in that I should at least determine ground rules." "If you can one-shot the head honcho, call in the draconic cavalry," replied Isa and she tried to regain her composure. "If you can''t, I''ll join the hound archons protecting the tribe while you tidy up." There is a loss in both those outcomes. Sarah shot Isa a haughty look. "You think any self-respecting Dragon would let someone put a saddle on them?" "You''re trying to distract the subject. I didn''t say they had to be safety-conscious cavalry," muttered Isa, and she pouted at Sarah. "You mean the shows and books lied to me?!" "Yes," grunted Sarah. Isa pretended to swoon with the back of her hand pressed dramatically to her forehead. Sarah gave her an unimpressed look and turned to Ilya. "Was she like this in Hell?" "Only when it was lucky that someone thought her insane," replied Ilya. Amdirlain watched the exchange silently and merely lifted an eyebrow. Sarah is trying to change the subject. She doesn''t want me getting annoyed with Isa for attempting to steer how I handle things here, nor getting in an argument with Silpar. [Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (103->104) Note: Look at you getting better at reading a room.] "It''s alright, Sarah. You don''t have to play the burr to draw the conversation away," said Amdirlain. "I jumped right into this without a defined plan or goal. So, let''s focus on a primary goal: keep the Skrel safe so the Mantle doesn''t take Livia. I''m afraid for her and don''t want to lose her as well as Torm. How do we achieve that?" Ilya immediately looked like she''d bitten into something sour. "Why put all your eggs into that basket?" "Do you not like something about the Skrel?" enquired Silpar. "There doesn''t seem to be anything wrong with them as a people, but we weren''t there long. It''s more the situation that worries me as I know how fragile life for a small community can be," replied Ilya, motioning to herself. "All it takes is one idiot or an incident that incapacitates the priests first, and then everyone dies from a monster or a plague. The hound archons are here to get them to safe territory, but counting on a small group to remain alive isn''t wise. Does Tyr know a place he can sponsor her?" "Livia was working with Tyr, but the worlds he''s made it to have deities of protection already. I asked Bahamut to help her extend the connections of her faith to another world," explained Amdirlain. ¡°She avoided telling Ebusuku, so I set someone stronger on her.¡± ¡°Naughty Livia,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°Am''s gone all protective, and it¡¯s no wonder she wants to kill everything that threatens her daughter.¡± Ilya clicked her tongue. "I guess leave them to it unless you have other options. That leaves us keeping the tribes alive, at least until they get some success. From a Scout''s perspective, we need to secure a path of withdrawal for the tribes." "At least?" asked Silpar. Ilya shrugged. "Nothing is permanent. Any reason we don''t just open a Gate to get them away to warmer lands?" "It could be dangerous to take them outside the lands they know," replied Amdirlain. "They might not know how to prepare the plants to eat safely or the dangers of the local wildlife." "I guess I''m more used to Hell''s armies in that regard," said Ilya. ¡°No need for supplies.¡± Silpar gave a surprised head twitch that spoke volumes with his quiet tone. "You were both Erinys?" Ilya gave a curt nod. "Stupid teenage me ended up in Hell. My family¡¯s bloodline wasn''t completely Mortal, so the journey along the river Dis transformed me into an Erinys." "Then, much later, she got assigned to mentor me. I was so lucky," gushed Isa. "If you think I''m the odd Celestial," said Ilya, and she regarded Amdirlain and paused with a finger raised. "Wait! What have you told him about your background?" "Silpar knows I¡¯m a reincarnation of Orh¨ºthurin, and I lived in a different realm before getting cursed," clarified Amdirlain. "Alright, I won''t get into the weird stuff you''ve achieved," laughed Ilya. "For yourself and some special celestials." "That''s information I don''t intend to share," replied Amdirlain. "If they want to talk about it, that''s another matter." "Kli''s always happy to talk about it," said Ilya. "You know you could ask her to help wipe out some giants. The upper floors of the training tower have become a little busy. I doubt she gets much play time in there anymore." The memory of Amdirlain''s last encounter with Klipyl had a smile twitching to life. The possibility of how some of the Fallen would react to the news of a former Succubus now being a Trumpet Archon was amusing. "She''s lovely," declared Isa. "And she knows Livia, so I''m sure she will be more than willing to help." Their endorsements of Sarah''s former hunting partner brought a matching gleam of amusement to Sarah''s gaze, and Amdirlain caught its flicker towards Silpar. "I think that''s a grand idea. More hands make light work, and she can fill us in on the changes at Xaos. The question still is, what do you plan to do? Are you looking to do this with a small team to get a Tier 7? While it might be enough for others, I doubt dealing with this incursion will get you one." Isa hummed happily. "You closed the gates on those worlds Orcus had seized. I take it you weren''t going to do that here because of wizards or priests among the giants being able to get back to the world?" Amdirlain nodded sharply. "I think you''re underestimating something," said Isa. "You''re a self-interested and mean-spirited Giant. Something seizes you and punts you back onto the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice without so much as a by your leave. How scared would you be? Would you want to go back and see what it might do to you next time? Punt them home, close the gates and leave a set of surveyors in orbit to see if any frost giants show back up again." "I want to kill them, but that could be my draconic instincts talking. I think part of the reason there are giants is to provide supper for dragons," huffed Sarah. Silpar snorted in amusement. "Do many dragons think everything in the realm relates to them?" "Dragons were the first species created within the realm, in an agreement between four primordials," grumbled Sarah. Silpar frowned and opened his mouth to argue but shut it with a snap. ¡°Really?¡± A predatory grin broadened on Sarah¡¯s face. ¡°You don¡¯t want to know what I remember.¡± "Be that as it may. From my perspective, Amdirlain has three main options around her primary goal: Kill the giants, banish them from the world, or place the Skrel on one of your demi-planes after creating its contents based on this world," said Ilya. I could do that for the whole species, but it feels like it might become permanent and would impact the other Mantle holders through no fault of their own. Isa''s mouth twisted with distaste at the last. "How is it fair to take them from their world?" "As Ilya pointed out, their existence here is fragile. It would be a safe environment while their species increases in numbers," replied Silpar. "I''d also be duplicating all the diseases and animals that might be hazardous to them," observed Amdirlain. "It leaves them in a precarious state, and I''ve taken them from their world. To have enough numbers for the species to be viable, I''d have to move the other tribes as well. The results from the Analysis say there are other beings among the Skrel with mantles." "They likely have their Domain still on the Material Plane until their strength grows," stated Silpar. "If you can identify them, sending a messenger before changing the world would be polite." "It might be good for Livia to know the beings she''ll have to deal with," Ilya noted. "Or to know potential enemies." Part of Amdirlain wanted to end the giants to prevent them from being a danger to someone else instead of passing the buck. The knowledge that untold trillions likely lived on worlds and planes didn''t make it easier to ignore the ones present here. I''m not ignoring them by banishing them back to their Home Plane, and it''ll get them away from the Skrel. Amdirlain retrieved the crystal plate from Isa, called up the surveyors'' scan results for the frost giants, and found it matched Analysis¡¯ tally. They had also discovered multiple natural rifts to the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice but no gates or portals. ¡°But my new toy,¡± Isa protested, fixing her pleading gaze on Amdirlain. "Naughty, no stealing my things. I''ll see how many I can send home, but I expect plenty will be left behind. There are some things to arrange, so I''ll borrow one of Ebusuku''s messengers and get that started first," said Amdirlain. Silpar and Isa exchanged a nod of relief. "The tribe will still need guidance to make it through an Ice Age," said Silpar. "Have you determined if that is artificial?" "There are a few hundred rifts, so it seems the planet had cooled naturally, and they formed through environmental attunement, though the giants¡¯ presence likely accelerated it," replied Amdirlain, and she prepared a Message Spell. "Kli, do you want to help me with a project?" Amdirlain voiced the question aloud before she released the Spell. Klipyl''s response blazed into existence a moment later and echoed across the snow-covered valley. "Yes, please!" Though she grinned, Sarah covered her eyes and slowly shook her head. ¡°Did she bother to learn the discrete versions?¡± ¡°Likely not,¡± giggled Isa. Amdirlain didn''t bother with a circle, just sent the summoning across the planes and felt an enthusiastic acceptance. A patch of white light blazed on the snow, and Klipyl soon manifested. Her appearance confirmed the transition through the tunnel to the Material Plane caused the reversion to True Form. Nearly three metres tall, Klipyl had a single pair of white wings, and her golden metal trumpet was slung casually over one shoulder in a pose that thrust out her chest and made the most of her minimal outfit. Her attire was composed of a single ribbon of luminous white silk that matched her wings'' glowing white feathers and stood out from her bronzed skin. The ribbon''s endpoints were secured in a small bow at her throat and wrapped around Klipyl in a complex pattern, which, while covering all the essentials, left a lot of exposed skin. "Ammie," squealed Klipyl, and she dashed forward. Her trumpet disappeared into a storage ring, and Klipyl transformed. Amdirlain took in the shift of Klipyl''s form from archon to a black-haired Wood Elf that matched Amdirlain''s height but retained Klipyl''s well-endowed figure. The ribbon she wore effortlessly shrunk to fit her adjustments yet kept a tightness that made it appear glued on. Klipyl wrapped her arms around Amdirlain and planted a kiss on her cheek. "It''s so good to see you again. What do you need me to do?" "I need you to deliver messages to local Mantle holders that have been having problems with some giants," advised Amdirlain. Klipyl nodded happily, almost bouncing on the spot with the energy of the gesture and jiggling against Amdirlain. "I''ve had a lot of practice fighting constructs and undead, so fighting giants is fine. What have they done?" "All I know for certain is that they''ve invaded a world. You might not need to fight them," said Amdirlain, and she glanced at Silpar. "Do you want me to go deliver those instructions to whoever is in charge?" asked Klipyl. "Or do we kick them in the rear until they get the idea?" "Out of those options, I vote for kicking," replied Sarah. Klipyl''s gaze snapped towards her, and a broad smile stretched her lips. "Do we tell them it''s not cool to come into other people''s worlds?" "I see holiness doesn¡¯t fill in for a developed sense of humour," quipped Sarah. "Jokes and I are always winging our relationship," laughed Klipyl. Sarah looked Klipyl up and down and sighed. "Maybe you need to feather your humour''s nest more. What''s with the ribbon?" Klipyl pouted. "Don''t you like my special weapon?" "You categorise your boobs as a special weapon?" replied Sarah. "Do you knock people out with them?" Stepping back from Amdirlain, Klipyl gave Sarah a wink and grasped the bow at her throat. The ribbon peeled off her body and turned into a braided whip in a smooth transition that left her completely naked. "It''s a whip of entanglement, and I can turn someone into a well-secured present with it." "If you''d wear something more normal, the messages I want you to deliver are to the other Mantle holders, not the giants," said Amdirlain. "I''m going to send the giants home and then try to seal the paths to the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice." "The locals might walk around naked," countered Klipyl, looking over the snow-covered valley. "Would that lead to bits of them falling off?¡± Despite Klipyl''s words, a white backless dress with a loop to secure it around her neck appeared from her storage ring, and she quickly wiggled into what turned out to be a body-contouring outfit that barely reached below her butt. "Ta-da," said Klipyl, as she threw her arms wide. "Don''t I look pretty?" Silpar¡¯s gaze narrowed, and he stared at Amdirlain in disbelief. ¡®This is your trusted messenger?¡¯ ¡®Absolutely,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. "Are you buying every dress from a paint store?" asked Sarah. Klipyl huffed and crossed her arms beneath her breasts, deliberately accentuating them. "That¡¯s rich from the Dragon who normally wears sheer silk. I''m somewhat disappointed today. What''s with the hunting leathers?" While they bantered, Amdirlain tried to get further information on the Mantle holders and, fortunately, one of the early options yielded results. [World: C¨ªrbann Native Mantle holders: Livia, Mantle of Protection (Original Species: Human, Altered Soul) Nendes, Mantle of Waters (Original Species: Nereid Matron) Erfaron, Mantle of Hunting (Original Species: Redcap Lord) Fuichon, Mantle of Darkness (Original Species: Pixie Elder) Note: While they are only fragments of who they once were, be careful of the rules of hospitality.] I don¡¯t know what to say about Livia''s original species. All three of the others are types of Fey: nereid are water entities, redcaps are vicious fighters that dye their hats in blood, and pixies are usually associated with air, not darkness. Yet they carry neither summer¡¯s heat nor winter¡¯s chill but autumn''s slowing. And they all feel older than this world, yet somehow young. When did one of the dead courts get here? Is this why the world¡¯s name is elvish for haven? The thought of the courts being dead prickled up from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory of slaughtering Fey, but nothing further rose, so Amdirlain focused on the three entities. With the words came the songs of their locations and natures. Despite their Fey origins, all seemed to be deities of balance and nature, and their domains were in the warmer regions. Amdirlain brought up images of locations at the edge of each Domain for Klipyl and provided her with their names. "Would you ask them to come see me?" Klipyl tilted her head. "Is that a diplomatic way of saying: I''m stronger than you?" "They¡¯re Fey, so I might not be. Something is odd here, but ?the entire world except their domains is neutral territory. Let them know I''ll save the Skrel people but request to talk to the Mantle holders alone." "Fey don''t like to deal with Fallen," cautioned Silpar. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yet I feel like I need to meet with them.¡± "Meeting them here or somewhere else?" asked Klipyl. Amdirlain brought up an image on the crystal plate and zoomed in to show Klipyl a large lake. "We''ll meet all three by this lake in a warmer region. While it''s away from Nendes'' Domain, it''s near water, so she shouldn''t be uncomfortable. There are shadows under the trees for Erfaron and Fuichon to manifest in, though only Fuichon seems to need the concealment." ¡°I¡¯ve not dealt with Fey previously. Any special instructions?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°If they ask for something, even something simple, don¡¯t agree,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she handed her three memory crystals. ¡°Don¡¯t say thank you, say it''s appreciated. Don¡¯t say no directly; use wording like not at present, or you¡¯ll think on their offer. Get one of these crystals to a servant from each Domain, but don¡¯t go inside. Meet me at the lake when the deliveries are finished so I know you¡¯re safe.¡± ¡°And if they lure me in?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll make them regret it until they¡¯ve returned you unharmed. No one messes with one of my friends.¡± Klipyl blinked, and her joking was gone. ¡°Friends with an ex-Succubus, you¡¯re gonna make me cry.¡± She blew Amdirlain a kiss and vanished. 370 - Gods Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - C¨ªrbann When Klipyl vanished to deliver the invitation to the Mantle holders, Sarah gave a disappointed huff and shot Amdirlain a knowing look. Yeah, she knows what I¡¯m up to with the invitations. ¡°A Succubus!¡± gasped Silpar. ¡°Kli was a Succubus?¡± ¡°A born Succubus at that,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Sarah growled with laughter. ¡°I have to love how she threw that out so flippantly. I¡¯m sure she knew it would get a reaction from you." ¡°The way she announced it aside, I hope it¡¯ll help you understand why I don¡¯t just take things at face value,¡± said Amdirlain. Silpar opened his mouth to object before his gaze narrowed. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the same potential apply to the frost giants?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to leave monsters alive, but it¡¯s one reason I¡¯ll try to just get them back to their Home Plane,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t want to risk the time required to check each one, which means at least the bulk will get sent home without injury.¡± His theme rang and twisted with sour notes that swept past in a momentary storm, but his usual calm returned, and Silpar nodded. ¡°Thanks for listening to my concerns. Even after Ilya¡¯s revelation, I had expected nothing quite so...¡± ¡°Weird,¡± offered Ilya, and she gave a firm nod. ¡°Yes, anything so weird in Kli¡¯s past. A redeemed Mortal is one thing, but it''s quite another for a Demon to be changed. Yet she isn¡¯t the only oddity about you by your own admission,¡± Silpar said, and he hesitated before he continued. ¡°If you can bring about such change in a Demon, I hope you can achieve even more among our brethren.¡± ¡°I try to help those who deserve it, but talk to Kli about the events that catalysed her change,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°After hearing her tale, you¡¯ll understand that finding another Demon that can travel that path is improbable. I¡¯m inclined to believe that someone had their thumb on the cosmic scale to find who I did.¡± Her wording had Silpar¡¯s gaze narrowing in suspicion. ¡°I¡¯ll speak to her first about not sharing my secrets that are involved in the tale,¡± rumbled Sarah. ¡°And I¡¯ll try to listen to Kli with an open mind along with any other strange creatures you¡¯ve redeemed,¡± said Silpar. ¡°It took a change in your approach. Hopefully, we¡¯ve both learned, and we¡¯ll take that for progress, shall we?¡± Silpar nodded. ¡°You need evidence¡ªor at least facts¡ªto back my concerns.¡± ¡°Yes, telling me facts, even if you can¡¯t immediately prove them, gets my attention better than playing question and answer,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, in the future, I¡¯ll remember to prompt you where needed instead of digging in my heels.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± said Silpar. Amdirlain gave a deep sigh. ¡°When it¡¯s your preference against mine, it can go either way. I¡¯ll tread more carefully, but nothing gets a free pass if I encounter evidence of foul deeds.¡± ¡°No supper,¡± muttered Sarah playfully. ¡°You can go eat the ones you just killed,¡± replied Ilya, waving towards where the sentry had been. ¡°She¡¯s already got them stored away,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°We should get going. There is no way to tell how quickly the Fey will arrive,¡± said Sarah. Silpar nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t care if it¡¯s one Fallen or two at the meeting.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t invite any of their allies. I invited them. To fulfil the rules, I¡¯ll need to go alone except for Livia,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll see if they keep me waiting, but I¡¯ll look to banish the frost giants before they arrive. Could you please monitor the tribes while I¡¯m away? There are other dangers out there.¡± ¡°You put yourself in a position where my presence endangers you,¡± observed Silpar. ¡°You could have had ¡®Kli¡¯ extend an invitation for them to each bring several companions.¡± ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t have been wise,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though their natures differ, they¡¯re all originally from the same court, so their escorts might work as one. Since they¡¯re the equivalent of different Fey nobility, the rules would allow them to bring the numbers to match each other.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t get to fight the giants, and you¡¯re going into danger alone?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Again?! Livia could bring an escort of her own.¡± ¡°Yes, Livia could have brought someone, but I doubt she has ones strong enough to match these Fey. I invited the Mantle holders, of which Livia is one,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°She couldn¡¯t have borrowed someone else to serve as an escort. They¡¯d sense the lack of connection and would take offence.¡± ¡°She wants to limit the number of beings that might offend the Fey. If it comes to a fight, things have already gone wrong,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Yes, the more people on hand, the more that can go wrong,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°A fight generally means things have failed.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t ask us if we¡¯d be okay taking the chance. You just cut us out. How do you even know about the Fey?¡± asked Isa glumly. ¡°Events from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories have left impressions mingled with the skills I possess,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I just hope it doesn¡¯t provide me false confidence since I know it¡¯s only fragmented knowledge. Many details don¡¯t increase the related Skill, but they broaden the range of situations to which I can apply them. Anyway, it¡¯s done.¡± With that, she teleported to the lakeside location she¡¯d shown Klipyl. The lake¡¯s greenish-blue waters were still, without a hint of breeze to tease the slightest ripple. The becalmed air was heavy with a humidity that weighed down the plants¡¯ leaves, and the browned knee-length grass drooped. ¡°Livia, I¡¯ve identified three other Mantle holders; oddly, all are Fey. Did you want to come and meet them with me?¡± Amdirlain accompanied the words with images of the lakeside before them and details of the Fey. A shimmering orb of dimensional energy returned with her reply. ¡°I¡¯ll be there shortly, M¨®eir, and I¡¯ll bring gifts.¡± Is she trying to see if she can place them under obligation? She¡¯s not the only one laying traps. I didn¡¯t tell the Fey there would be another Mantle holder coming along, so let¡¯s see what tricks they have under their glamours. Taking in the details provided by the crystal plate, and having heard the frost giants¡¯ living songs, Amdirlain set about banishing them. She danced and sang on the lakeshore with no witnesses or rush, and, though tempted to kill them, Amdirlain focused on sending them home. Thousands at a time, the frost giants were reeled in by the links to their Home Plane. When the connections thrummed with feedback, she bore down on those who tried to resist, and her Willpower squashed their opposition through a barrage of notes. Wanting the reason for their banishment to be clear, she cycled Ki infused with Primordial Mana and waited until the flames manifested. With her dramatic flare ready, she sliced apart the wards of their leader¡¯s glacial stronghold and tore open a Gate in the throne room. As blistering notes scoured the air, the massive Frost Giant upon the throne of black ice glimpsed eyes of burning white flames fixed on him. Before he could move from the throne, notes formed a phantasmal hand that seized him by the throat. Suppress Target and Energy Drain reached through her connection to the hand¡¯s manifestation and, with deliberate menace, ground his will underfoot. As she inhaled his health to fuel part of his people¡¯s banishment, his cruel, obsidian gaze shone with fear. His deep blue skin and black beard whitened with failing health as a wilting barrage of razor-sharp song cut his and his court¡¯s hold upon the Material Plane. With their planetary connection destabilised, those in the glacier were smashed across the gulf between planes until they rested in their former homes of ice. It''s not at all kind to send them back paupers with no gear, but that''s too bad for them. Amdirlain took the fear she¡¯d inspired in the leader and broadcast it into the minds of all the frost giants she¡¯d banished. Shutting down the Gate, she stored the excess Ki and continued her work. It seems Isa would have won the bet about me one-shotting him. Though, in my defence, that was a few thousand musical chords at work, not one. As the number of giants left dwindled, Amdirlain felt Ebusuku''s awareness, observing her general location with a touch of curiosity. ¡°I told the Fey I was having a meeting for entities who have Skrel worshipers,¡± said Amdirlain, and she felt a spike of amusement from Ebusuku. ¡°Regardless of how they came about it, they¡¯re welcome to my neutral conference.¡± I, of course, didn¡¯t directly tell anyone Livia had avoided contacting. It¡¯s certainly not my fault that what Klipyl knows flows up the chain of command. ¡°Livia told me about your invitation to her. Might I also come along with Hestia and potentially another?¡± enquired Ebusuku, her voice echoing within a Mana orb that appeared nearby. ¡°Hestia knows Fey customs where I don¡¯t. Though I¡¯d appreciate it if you could share what you know before negotiations begin.¡± ¡°All guests will be welcomed as long as they meet the conditions and remain polite,¡± Amdirlain said aloud, and given that Ebusuku still listened, she didn¡¯t bother with a Spell. Ebusuku¡¯s attention withdrew, and Amdirlain continued to dance. During the tail end of Amdirlain¡¯s performance, Livia appeared nearby dressed in white silk robes with a series of single, ice-blue flowers sown along the cuffs. In one hand was a basket of goods and, in the other, the crystal plate tied to the surveyors. She watched the dance silently, taking in the energy in those few audible notes as the danger to her worshippers diminished by the moment. As the last notes echoed across the lake¡¯s still waters, Amdirlain restricted the rifts and set traps targeted on a Frost Giant¡¯s melody. Checking against the surveyors, she found none remained in the world. ¡°All gone,¡± reported Amdirlain, and she glanced at the crystal she¡¯d left at Livia¡¯s home. ¡°You can keep that.¡± [Achievement: Incursion Blocker (Invader: Frost Giant Foothold - Para-Elemental Ice -Minor) Details: The holder has obstructed and reversed a planar species planetary incursion. Reward: 66,666,666 experience points Note: The three involved divided the reward, but you know how I feel about rounding it up. Note: Whether this halt is permanent or temporary remains to be seen. Suppress Target [J] (21->22)] It¡¯s just as well that I reset it back to the scion and triumvirate classes; that would have been a lot of levels in one go. ¡°You killed them all by yourself?¡± asked Livia. ¡°So why did I just get a rush of experience?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°While they¡¯re gone, I didn¡¯t kill them. Rather, I¡¯ve risked a different approach. You took part in shutting down the incursion; Gideon shares it equally, so it¡¯s likely Sarah also got some, as I got a third.¡± Ebusuku appeared mid-sentence, her ebony skin and black leather armour drinking in the afternoon sunlight that glinted off her weapons¡¯ hilts. Beside her were two brunette Mediterranean women. Hestia was easy to recognise in her leather armour, short swords at her hips, and familiar lightning-scarred cheek. Amdirlain almost asked her to provide an introduction to the third lady, but the stranger¡¯s song established her identity. Elements within her theme resonated with Mars¡¯ and, combined with her subdued green gaze, she had to be Anna Perenna, Goddess of Life and Plenty. Within each was a faith connection to the world. Only Ebusuku¡¯s connection wasn¡¯t to a Mantle but the true divinity she now possessed. ¡°I sent them home,¡± finished Amdirlain as she struggled to find the proper wording for a question about what they¡¯d done. ¡°Ebusuku and Hestia, this is pleasant. Though it¡¯s surprising to see you here in such a state.¡± Hestia patted her hilts. ¡°I¡¯ve had to cross blades occasionally to settle points during Fey negotiations.¡± Amdirlain rolled her eyes and got a laugh from Hestia before she turned to the newcomer. ¡°Anna Perenna, is it not? Did your husband¡¯s presence help?¡± The name hummed between Amdirlain and the second woman in confirmation; the energy in its use made it clear the fatal consequences a Mortal would suffer if they tried it within a summoning. Anna straightened her shoulders and lifted her gaze. Despite her braced posture, her fingers twisted in the folds of her white toga. ¡°You can recognise me without introduction, Amdirlain. I feel flattered after what my husband has told me of you. Thank you for the advice you shared with my kind and baffled soldier,¡± whispered Anna. ¡°Did you do anything else to the giants besides send them home?¡± I used her name, so her use of mine is fair, but she can¡¯t be summoned. Amdirlain''s firm smile didn¡¯t reach her eyes. ¡°I left a mental reprimand in place. Might I enquire if you three meet the criteria for this conference?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad it¡¯s done. They¡¯re foul brutes,¡± said Ebusuku, her smile matching Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°And yes, we appear to have made a suitable impression in a few places.¡± ¡®It¡¯s done.¡¯ The same phrase I used to cut the others off. Oh yeah, I got told on. I¡¯ve never heard Ebusuku use that phrasing until now. ¡°Life is hard for the Skrel tribes, but with guidance and care, times of plenty will return,¡± Anna said. ¡°There is potential beneath the ice and snow. It will be pleasing to see them prosper.¡± ¡°I hope you find helping them prosper fulfilling,¡± said Amdirlain, and she focused on Ebusuku. ¡°And what happened to the Mantle?¡± Did all the connections to assorted worlds tip things past being a Mantle? ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°Though no longer possessing a Mantle, I am also a Deity connected to this world. I hope I understood correctly that I¡¯d be included in the discussions?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve worshippers, you¡¯re welcome to contribute,¡± replied Amdirlain. Hestia surprised Amdirlain with a burst of familiarity, bestowing a light hug. ¡°You¡¯ve grown so much since we talked in Duskstone, yet you¡¯re still a headstrong idiot.¡± Her proximity to Hestia¡¯s scar let Amdirlain feel Zeus'' energy within it. Divine lightning continued to linger and churn within the flames of Hestia¡¯s essence, and that residue prevented the wound from healing flawlessly. Could I get rid of it so she can heal fully? ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°You acted like running could have saved you back in Duskstone, and you¡¯ve been diving in crushing Eldritch by yourself. With your daughter at risk, it¡¯s something any of us would help you with,¡± added Hestia.¡±You¡¯ve far more allies than you know.¡± ¡°The next person who catches me might envy Apollo and the rot that consumed him from within. I didn¡¯t expect any of you to come here as it¡¯s not exactly the most stable of situations,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Just as well we volunteered,¡± said Hestia. Anna whispered. ¡°This world is struggling, but I know the weight of the cold within oneself. I need a place to show myself I can stand and grow in different ways. My husband told me of your advice; am I not allowed to return such aid in equal measure? Its value to me, I can only struggle to explain.¡± ¡°He kept watch over you properly?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°His mere presence made me feel safe enough to acknowledge my pain and start to heal from what I had done. I¡¯ve struggled to explain it properly to others. Still, he sat and listened, watching over me even when my words faltered. He waited quietly through my awkward pauses and withstood the storm of my emotions.¡± Amdirlain caught a memory from Anna of her thumbs driven into the eyes of a woman above her. The other woman screamed and cried, but Anna dug her thumbs deeper with a force of will and desire to live. The strange weakness that had grasped her since the Gods¡¯ War began was given form with the other¡¯s attack. She tried to pry the other away, but a scream clawed at her ears, and the steel-like fingers around her throat squeezed tighter. Anna felt the final wisps of breath blocked by the pressure, and her vision narrowed as blackness swam at the edges. Cloying blood splashed against her face, but Anna ignored the metallic odour and gagging taste. The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Pushing harder, her nails ground against the bone behind the ruptured eye sockets, but the grip around her throat was unyielding. The light faded further from her gaze, and her arms seemed heavy. With her hold on life¡¯s light fading, Anna sent what little energy she could muster to germinate a seed inside her right thumb pad. The pain felt muted and distant as the plant burst through her skin and went upwards, seeking a share of the sunlight that faded from Anna¡¯s gaze. A rush of moisture splattered her face, and a weight dropped fully atop her, but the grip around her throat failed. Desperately choking and coughing, it surprised Anna when the other Mantle hit with a surge of life energy. The surge of victory came with an awareness she¡¯d ended a life, an act anathema to her nature, and more. She¡¯d used an innocent life against its nature as a weapon to kill. Her hand twisted awkwardly beneath the corpse¡¯s weight. Ignoring the pain in her throat, Anna took in the seedling extending through the back of the woman¡¯s head, still connected to her hand. With the sapling in danger of cracking under pressure, Anna scrambled for a belt knife that had been just out of reach during her assault. Her fingertip brushed it, and the blade almost tipped away, but over time with tiny jumps and starts, she dragged it close enough to grab. With the small blade, she pried the woman¡¯s head open to free the plant, desperate to save one life. Once the sapling was freed from the corpse¡¯s flesh, she cut off her finger at the base knuckle to avoid damaging any roots. Anna dug a shallow grave with her bare hands and that tiny knife to set the remains within. The plant she¡¯d germinated from her flesh became a grave marker for three goddesses in one body. Rozhanitsy, Sudenitsy, and Narechnitsy, the Slavic goddesses of Life, Fate, and Destiny, had ended their existence in a meadow that had turned barren from their death knell. When Anna left it behind, the only life in that clearing was the sapling of an apple tree that grew atop the grave she¡¯d dug for them. Though fed by the goddesses¡¯ remains, Anna was shocked to find the apple tree fully grown on her Home Plane at the war¡¯s end. The sight of it had tipped Anna into silence, but she couldn¡¯t in clear conscience destroy it or even send it away. The memory faded as the battered Goddess looked down, and the world listened to her will. The surrounding dry grass straightened, and a wave of green spread along the lakeside. Amdirlain heard Anna¡¯s adjustments to the grasses¡¯ evolution to tolerate extreme cold. Ecology pick-me-up 101. ¡°The grass just needed a little helping hand,¡± observed Anna. Her whispered words were in a determined tone. ¡°As did I. My husband doesn¡¯t know I¡¯m taking this risk, and I¡¯d prefer it left that way. Hestia and I ensured we fulfilled your requirements through visits to a few tribes that Livia had found with your device and its delightful moving images.¡± ¡°The absence of the world barrier allowed us to leave a few servants to render them aid,¡± clarified Hestia as Anna¡¯s words faltered. ¡°Depending on how this meeting goes, we¡¯ll potentially coordinate with the Fey to ensure things are civil. Do you have any information about these Fey you might share?¡± Amdirlain held back a sigh of frustration. ¡°They¡¯re old Fey, but they feel fragmented and faded. They¡¯re refugees from another Fey Court from outside the realm. The Autumn Court is different in attitude to the summer or winter courts, though they have customs of hospitality in common.¡± Hestia hummed. ¡°Fey hospitality and repayment of debts can be a tricky thing. We brought some minor tokens of hospitality so they can feel welcomed but not bribed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set a table out after they arrive,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, they don¡¯t find it too fancy.¡± Anna nodded slowly. ¡°Why did you decide to send the giants home?¡± ¡°Since I could send them home, condemning a Mortal species based on its nature seemed overly harsh. Frankly, I wasn¡¯t expecting it to work on all of them. Some tried to resist, but in the end, I shoved them all out the door.¡± ¡°What, you mean you¡¯ve gotten stronger lately?¡± asked Livia with a grin. ¡°How bizarre. I wonder what might have happened. Your evolved Power and new Prestige Class, perhaps? Do you feel ready to sing worlds into existence again?¡± Amdirlain playfully poked out her tongue, and Hestia laughed in delight. After composing herself, Amdirlain continued. ¡°The giants are like many predatory animals. Should I wipe out sharks or tigers because they¡¯ll also have no compassion when it¡¯s time to eat? Some predators don¡¯t kill cleanly. They were put into the realm for a reason, and I don¡¯t think I know enough to eradicate them.¡± ¡°Nature tries to fill all the niches it can. It is risky to remove a predator, as it gives space for something potentially worse to take its place,¡± advised Anna. ¡°Yes, I don¡¯t know what predators the frost giants are acting as a buffer to keep weak,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Life can be a struggle between what we think we know and reality,¡± offered Anna. ¡°When we don¡¯t know enough, then reality has a way of rubbing our face into that fact sooner or later.¡± ¡°I asked Kli to deliver invitations to the three Fey Mantle holders. There wasn¡¯t anything about other deities in the invitation. Still, the Fey would take insult if anyone present was not at least of equal status, as I invited them as Mantle holders. I don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll come, so my apologies in advance if they keep us waiting,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If they are a while, it merely gives us time to talk,¡± said Anna. ¡°I have a modest gift to thank you for your hosting. Might I present it now, or should I wait until their arrival?¡± ¡°Only the Unseelie lords and ladies who wished to make their guests compete hold guests gifts to a time of common presentation.¡± ¡°My husband has said you¡¯ve been healing damaged worlds,¡± said Anna. ¡°But some are scoured of life?¡± Amdirlain nodded glumly. ¡°I know songs for individual pieces but not how to balance the planetary elements with the complexity of weather and species.¡± Anna drew forth a crystal globe fifteen centimetres across. ¡°Then I might add some small progress there. I know this is minor compared to all the places you¡¯ve seen, but it contains my knowledge of how the life of our world fits together and balances. I hope a healthy example might be useful in your other endeavours.¡± [Orb of Nature¡¯s Expanse Crafter: Anna Perenna Grade: Divine Relic Details: With study provides Grand Master insights into knowledge involved in understanding a healthy Earth-like planetary ecosystem.] Small progress? I guess it is just Grand Master insights into one planet¡¯s ecosystem. Hestia set a floor harp carved from golden wood with mithril strings down. The harp¡¯s column and neck showed an elaborate meadow scene. ¡°I heard you were learning other instruments and hope this one might suit your tastes for many years.¡± [Euterpe¡¯s Instrument of Inspiration Crafter: H?phaistos Details: This celestial instrument can become any stringed instrument known to man from any culture or age. Note: To the victor goes the spoils.] ¡°If such a gift of service would help you in some measure, consider Kli your messenger whenever you need one,¡± proposed Ebusuku. ¡°Her help would always be welcome. I appreciate that, Ebusuku.¡± Amdirlain heard Ebusuku¡¯s attention focus on their link. ¡°Kli¡¯s not yet finished with the deliveries,¡± advised Ebusuku. ¡°The guards at the Domain of darkness are being uncooperative. The guard won¡¯t let any servant exit the cave mouth that forms her Domain¡¯s boundary to collect the crystal. Nor is Kli allowed to toss it across the boundary.¡± ¡°Once they realise how stubborn you taught her to be, they might relent. Are they offering her a comfortable place to sit, sup, and wait for a response if only she¡¯d come in and hand the invitation over in person?¡± enquired Amdirlain. The corners of Ebusuku¡¯s mouth curled upwards, but the smile didn¡¯t reach her gaze fixed into the distance. ¡°Of course. She¡¯s flirting and trying to lure the Domain guards outside and away from their shade.¡± ¡°Doesn¡¯t hurt to get in some practice, right?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Tell her to use Fabricate to create a wooden bowl and fill it with milk. A Blessing that creates more complex food should let her manifest some. She¡¯ll need to leave the bowl with the crystal next to it on a shaded ledge near the cave and turn her back to it.¡± ¡°Do you think a Brownie will come for the milk and deliver the crystal to repay the debt?¡± asked Livia. ¡°It¡¯s worth a shot,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Especially if the milk has a dash of honey in it. Normally it¡¯s done as payment for the houses they care for, but they¡¯ve each likely got brownies present in their domains.¡± Ebusuku sent Klipyl the instructions and looked at Amdirlain expectantly. ¡°Sorry,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Sticking you with the role you didn¡¯t want,¡± said Amdirlain. Ebusuku shrugged. ¡°So much for talking about it later. Just because I didn¡¯t want your Mantle doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m not good at caring for those seeking change. Most of the role involves observing, learning, and occasionally providing guidance. I can manage quite well since I¡¯m a trained Scout and Wizard in multiple Prestige classes, though I missed opportunities similar to what you¡¯re maximising. Advancement is a lot harder now that experience is useless.¡± ¡°Role?¡± whispered Anna. ¡°You¡¯d summarise the Divine strength you¡¯ve gained as a role?" ¡°Yes, a role, and it comes with restrictions at that,¡± replied Ebusuku. ¡°I can send avatars to various places, but I¡¯m blocked from some locations now, and others require special preparation or conditions to access. An example is the accords of neutrality protecting The Exchange, which means I can¡¯t go back there. I used to love spending time in the bazaars among all the species filling the place. It¡¯s just as well I gave my apartment to another, so the management didn¡¯t have cause to repossess it.¡± ¡°You get everything back from it, okay?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Everything that was stored there, except for some plants from the rooftop garden. I didn¡¯t think bringing them to any heavenly Plane would be wise,¡± replied Ebusuku. Hestia was about to speak when Klipyl appeared on the water¡¯s edge wearing only her ribbon. She beamed at Amdirlain and Livia before giving Ebusuku a wave. Ebusuku¡¯s lips curved upwards in a quick smile. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting outfit, archon.¡± ¡°I figured you¡¯d like it, boss,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°It shows about as much skin as the weapon harnesses you once wore.¡± ¡°The tip work out okay?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Or did they relent?¡± Klipyl nodded merrily and gave Amdirlain a saucy wink. ¡°I¡¯d barely turned my back when a Brownie took the milk. It was over so fast, whoosh, guzzle, guzzle, burp, and clatter. Then the guards started cursing and told him, her or it to put the crystal down, but they were already gone. Shortly after, a voice whispered from a shadow, ¡®I delivered that pretty crystal to Fuichon¡¯s hand¡¯, so I came here.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re safe.¡± Klipyl skipped up to Amdirlain and gave her a big hug. ¡°You worried about me? That¡¯s so sweet. Did you blow up all the giants, Am?¡± Amdirlain returned the hug as Klipyl gushed but shook her head at the question. ¡°Though it was very tempting to make a demi-plane and secure them all inside for eternity, I sent them all home.¡± Releasing Amdirlain from the hug, Klipyl stood beside her with an arm looped across her shoulder. ¡°Hasn¡¯t she grown, boss?¡± ¡°I think she¡¯s just reserving her wrath for others,¡± replied Ebusuku dryly. Amdirlain ignored the commentary. ¡°Did everything else go okay?¡± Klipyl nodded. ¡°They were persistent in offering to give me things, which I thought was even worse to agree to.¡± ¡°Never be indebted to a Fey. Everything with them needs to be an even exchange, or them owing you with a clear way to repay it,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I know the dangers of deals, so that was easy to avoid,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°Where are the others?¡± Amdirlain motioned to the north. ¡°Monitoring the tribes. If you¡¯d please join them?¡± ¡°Are you going to need more messages delivered?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Potentially, but there may be some things for you to fight. Lots of dangerous local lifeforms, and your boss now has worshippers here as well,¡± said Amdirlain. Ebusuku nodded, and Klipyl squealed with glee. ¡°I¡¯ll help. I wonder if they have any new positions.¡± With that, she vanished, and Amdirlain groaned. At least Klipyl isn¡¯t angry with me. I¡¯m tired of being stalked and monitored by Silpar. It feels creepy; even if he is supposed to be a bodyguard, it¡¯s not like having the security team for my stage shows around. A crackling in the air and the waters made Amdirlain pause, its strength weaker than she¡¯d expected. The three Fey manifested within a short time of each other, but it was only when the last was present that Nendes came to the lake¡¯s shallows. The Nereid looked like an adult elven female, with bluish-white skin and seaweed-green hair, wearing only a translucent shawl that she had wrapped around her body. Her eyes were the brightest of sapphires, shining with an inner glow, the force of her unrestrained Charisma drew a frown from Livia. A buzz of wings among the shadows signalled Fuichon darting forward, but she perched on a branch still among the canopy¡¯s shadow. Barely a half metre tall with dragonfly wings, she had scaled features, a lipless shark-like mouth full of fangs, and solid black eyes set high in a face without a nose. Her wings gleamed with a dusky sombre light, the safety of the day¡¯s light being swallowed by the night. Erfaron was the last to show himself, and he slipped carefully around the trunk of a tree. Balanced, ready to leap away, his glowing red gaze constantly darted between the ladies. As he slipped forward from the shadows, the metallic scent of blood filled the air and droplets of glistening red blood fell from his pointed cap to splash on his stain-covered green tunic. Bloodstains covered his craggy face, his long nose an awning above a twisted mouth filled with serrated teeth. Fuichon¡¯s head twitched one way and then another and Amdirlain felt her taking in memories from the darkness beneath the tree¡¯s canopy. Fuck, now she has my use name. They¡¯re not strong enough to risk Hestia or Anna¡¯s name, but mine is different. Fuichon¡¯s wings vibrated erratically, and their very undulations formed her words. ¡°Who are you to wear that face and sing such melodies?¡± ¡°Her face is familiar, but faces are like clouds, always changing among mortals and us,¡± growled Erfaron. His appearance changed to a fair-skinned elven lad with ruby eyes and a black cap. ¡°What melodies do you speak of?¡± ¡°May we have some music?¡± enquired Fuichon, blatantly ignoring Erfaron¡¯s question. Erfaron grunted and shrank back to his original form with the scent of blood again present. ¡°Time will tell many things, including what you¡¯ll get to experience,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°The darkness recounted the songs you used to dismiss those of Winter away to the ice again,¡± replied Fuichon with another rustle of her wings. Her lips moved out of time with the words, and her tongue flickered with a hummingbird¡¯s speed. ¡°Their shadows vanished from the world when you sang the notes of power that buzz far past our ears. May we have it?¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°No, you may not have it.¡± ¡°So you wear the death singer¡¯s face in more than just a mimicking of flesh. May we not even have a taste of that which you so freely gave our departed kin, Orh¨ºthurin?¡± asked Erfaron. ¡°I¡¯m not Orh¨ºthurin,¡± replied Amdirlain coldly. He¡¯s seeing if he can provoke me so I¡¯ll break the peace first. How many Fey are here from outside the realm? Erfaron leered at her and licked at the blood dripping from his hat. ¡°Nor am I who I once was. We are all less than we once were, and now have refuge from steel and man. I lost my old names after you and your father cut us off and dealt with Summer and Winter alike. Murderer of our kin.¡± ¡°Their attacks would have taken Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s life. She defended herself more ably than your kin¡¯s pathetic skills could match,¡± retorted Amdirlain. Erfaron roared with laughter and slapped both hands upon his stomach. ¡°Oh, I¡¯d sure like to remember enough to match those skills you call pathetic. We¡¯re all less than we were. We stayed too long, faded too far, lost too much to the steel, disbelief, and man¡¯s neglect of the land.¡± ¡°No, some are more than they began with,¡± argued Fuichon, her gaze fixed on Livia meaningfully. ¡°You call yourself Am, but they referred to you as Amdirlain. I can¡¯t hear or see within the glamour of sound that hides so much. But the pale one is swimming in the primordial music you no doubt contain, and she holds a Mantle like us. Did you arrange this for her and the others?¡± ¡°I did not,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They made impressions by themselves, and I guided no one to this world.¡± Erfaron sniffed in Livia¡¯s direction and tasted the air with quick flickers of his tongue. ¡°You taste Winter touched, one who has drowned in music, gold and silver mixed as one until the silver sank. The music mingles with the taste of death about you.¡± Livia was dead when I soaked her Soul in my Ki, and she was swimming in it. ¡°While ice and snow touched me in a place of souls, Winter didn¡¯t have dominion there,¡± said Livia. ¡°Winter has dominion in more places, high and low, than you might believe,¡± sneered Erfaron, his words rasped and crackled like burning leaves. ¡°And her once-puppet now stands before us.¡± ¡°No, you came here at my bidding, so you¡¯re the supplicant,¡± corrected Amdirlain firmly. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was never the Winter Queen¡¯s pawn, just a stray weapon that she fooled your kin into casting themselves against, only to find their immortal flesh undone.¡± The three Fey stilled into complete motionlessness. ¡°You have no Mantle and smell weak,¡± noted Nendes. ¡°What¡¯s stopping us from eating you up?¡± At her question, Fuichon went still and glanced to where Amdirlain had stood when she dealt with the Frost Giant leader. ¡°Firstly, you¡¯re in my debt,¡± said Amdirlain, and she looked at each. "Erfaron, Fuichon, and Nendes." The three hissed in protest before Livia¡¯s ringing laughter shut them down. ¡°Fuichon, by your own admission, you know the frost giants are gone from the world,¡± noted Livia. ¡°If you really knew what the mantles do, you¡¯d understand how far in debt you are right now.¡± ¡°They make us gods,¡± hummed Fuichon in a flurry of metallic wings. ¡°Mortals now worship us as they did in the endless days before the courts formed.¡± ¡°Now it shall be we who determine the rules of this world,¡± growled Erfaron. ¡°That¡¯s not all they do, and not alone you won¡¯t,¡± objected Livia before Amdirlain could say anything. ¡°We can each interfere in the others¡¯ business where it comes within our purview.¡± ¡°You think you can protect your worshipers from what¡¯s in the darkness?¡± asked Fuichon, and the others smiled viciously and murmured their agreement. ¡°While I don¡¯t currently intend to do anything about your people, if you attack mine, do you think the darkness can protect your worshipers from accidents in the day?¡± countered Livia, before she looked to Erfaron and then to Nendes. ¡°Or your hunters from things besides their chosen prey? Or your waters from contamination? When you threatened my worshipers, I knew where your domains and worshipers were.¡± ¡°Fire can breach darkness, but it paradoxically can make people fear it more,¡± noted Hestia. ¡°Would you prefer them to seek the safety of the hearth fires at night or venture out with flames seeking vengeance against the monster who stole from them?¡± Anna sighed sadly. ¡°Peace, all of you. Life needs light and darkness, danger and safety, to grow. I¡¯ve learned life is a cycle. However, conflict is unnecessary as none of us overlap, and mortals need many things.¡± ¡°Are you going to add to their mewling and threats?¡± asked Erfaron, his gaze fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°I heard no threats from Livia, merely speculations,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°As host, it¡¯s sad my guests can¡¯t get along, but they have shed no blood. Now let me set up something so we can be a little more comfortable.¡± A table appeared on the water¡¯s edge positioned so Nendes could sit without her feet leaving the lake¡¯s waters, and a broad canopy provided a heavy shadow between the trees and the far end. Across the table were platters with a mixture of Human and Fey food, the latter Amdirlain had from the memory of the massacre they¡¯d brought up. A dish filled with freshwater pearls and raw oysters appeared before Nendes, and she glanced at Amdirlain in surprise. Erfaron grunted, picked up a stag¡¯s heart, and started eating, ignoring the fresh blood running down his chin. Fuichon hesitated on the tree¡¯s branch, her gaze fixed on a vase filled with night-blooming flowers overflowing with pollen. Her tongue scented the air. Then she reappeared beside the vase, and carelessly seized a deep purple Fey fruit that appeared to be a lush plum with one hand. Absently licking her tongue across her sharp teeth, she picked up a flower with tender care. ¡°The flowers were all gone, a victim of the courts¡¯ fading and abandonment,¡± whispered Fuichon painfully, and tears beaded at the corners of her eyes. ¡°I remember many songs,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she sipped from a cup filled with a Catfolk beer. Taking their cue from her, the other ladies tried a nearby dish. ¡°Are the flowers perhaps a gift?¡± asked Fuichon, carefully not looking along the table. ¡°Those on the table, yes. However, if you seek more, there will need to be an agreement between us to obtain seeds,¡± replied Amdirlain. She caught the glances between the three, and the chimes of concern when none showed gifts. Fuichon grumbled and timidly licked a speck of pollen from the flower; her wings buzzed into a near-invisible blur as she groaned. ¡°I appreciate this gift, kind host.¡± ¡°Let me tell you the danger of the mantles and what we can do to assist each other,¡± said Amdirlain as she took in the euphoric effect of the pollen being quashed by Fuichon¡¯s Mantle. ¡°There are some Pantheon options I was ignorant to not long ago that you should know of. It could influence the formation of any agreement between the seven of you.¡± Erfaron mumbled around a mouthful of bloody meat. ¡°What¡¯s in it for you?¡± ¡°Peacefully ensuring my daughter¡¯s safety. I promise you that you won¡¯t enjoy it if I find the need to be overly protective. Those would be the closing days of Autumn,¡± replied Amdirlain. The three Fey glanced at each other. ¡°We¡¯re listening,¡± said Nendes. ¡°That¡¯s all I ask,¡± confirmed Amdirlain with a smile. Erfaron snorted. ¡°For now.¡± ¡°I¡¯m also not likely to forget anything you¡¯ve said to me,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t bother this child, Erfaron. The shadows have tasted the flames cooking beneath her skin,¡± said Fuichon. ¡°Let¡¯s keep them inside her.¡± 371 - Helping hand Amdirlain''s PoV - C¨ªrbann Fuichon drew a bolt of inky-black cloth from a shadow near her and set it on the table¡¯s edge. ¡°Shadow Fey cloth, enough for several sets of clothes depending on their style. A token from my domain to you as host of this discussion, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°I appreciate your token, Fuichon,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll put it to good use.¡± Nendes presented a horn that produced endless fresh water with equally glowing praise of its virtues and glared at Erfaron when he scoffed and guzzled from a beer stein. Amdirlain accepted the gift politely and studied the Fey enchantment that created the water from Mana wholesale rather than tapping into the elemental Plane. Leaping to his feet, Erfaron came around the table with a grey folded hunter¡¯s hood and presented it with both hands. ¡°A token to aid your hunts. If you know the prey you seek, this will let you follow their steps or their wing beats no matter the lead they have on you. A token of respect to our host in appreciation of her fine banquet.¡± Amdirlain nodded graciously and accepted. ¡°I hope these trifling gifts suit your tastes. Though outwardly the same, within is quite different. A token of appreciation for your attendance today.¡± A keyhole hovered beside each guest and, through the miniature Gate to a demi-plane, Amdirlain spun her creations. The demi-planes for the Fey mirrored their current Domain but were far larger than their bastions on the Material Plane. Those for Ebusuku and Livia contained the challenges she¡¯d have used for advanced levels of the training complexes. The divine senses of Anna and Hestia took in the terrain beyond the tiny gates beside them, and their eyes brightened for different reasons. Inside Anna¡¯s demi-plane were plants and animals from thousands of worlds within isolated sanctums. While Hestia blinked away tears as she listened to the cries of gulls above a Mediterranean blue sea, her divine senses took in the recreated coastline of Greece. When each demi-plane was completed, a crystal key slid forth and floated down to the table. The complex biomes within each gave her two older Prestige classes a jump in experience but didn¡¯t warrant any level increase. ¡°The keys are yours. You alone may determine who you pass them to or who has right of passage within,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°A token is always relative to the giver¡¯s strength,¡± sighed Fuichon with a dramatic flutter of her wings. ¡°It took my brownies far longer to weave that cloth from darkness.¡± ¡°Convey my appreciation to them for their fine crafting,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°We are gathered to discuss the mantles if you could all hold your questions to the end.¡± While Amdirlain provided them with details on the impact and risks of mantles, the Fey shifted between nervous and angry. However, they weren¡¯t the only ones whose expressions changed. Hestia''s gaze narrowed speculatively, and she kept her eyes from Amdirlain. Only after Amdirlain finished reviewing how to shed it or advance beyond the Mantle¡¯s consumption did Erfaron''s enraged glare calm. "Why should you let us slip your trap?" enquired Erfaron. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin transformed through bloodshed on her name day while Nicholaus spoke to our rivals'' queens.¡± The words caused Hestia to flinch, and Amdirlain caught the contrite music that rippled in her theme. ¡°It was a trap only meant for one group in particular and meant as a chance to hold others accountable.¡± Before Amdirlain could continue, Hestia nodded in understanding, and the unsettled notes gained certainty in her theme. "I did warn Nicholaus that my kin would pursue him. He no doubt set this trap for when the pursers came. It killed all but one, though it extracted a price from others." ¡°I don¡¯t think you were on the Titan¡¯s list, Hestia, given you don¡¯t treat people as objects to break when bored. How many lives were saved by you from your family¡¯s ire?¡± ¡°I missed the vital three for Nicholaus,¡± replied Hestia, her gaze fixed on a nearby plate. Fuck, did I misstep recreating the coastline of Greece for her? Yet Hestia''s not afraid or angry; she''s embarrassed and ashamed and doesn¡¯t want to meet my eyes. Erfaron grunted. "A hunt is always risky. Certainly, when alone or in small groups, but in larger gatherings, when beaters scour the underbrush to send the boars fleeing, other things can be spooked. Sometimes it''s to the hunters'' benefit, but other times their woe." "True," admitted Hestia, and she finally met Amdirlain''s eyes. ¡°Are there any more details you would share about the mantles?¡± "Just in closing, remember these elements were implemented as the mantles were intended as a proving ground. On the helpful side, their purpose is to assist entities not yet powerful enough to act as gods so they might protect and aid mortals. The traps within are to drain an arrogant possessor¡¯s strength to cull out those would-be deities by giving mortals a way to remove them. To allow mortals to hold them to account before they grow strong enough to gain a divine spark on their own," stated Amdirlain. "While it''s not perfect, it has removed many who would behave that way before they¡¯ve obtained greater power. Do you believe power is yours by right?" "What right does a hunter have except to risk his life hoping for a meal?" smirked Erfaron. ¡°The more we believe we are the deity and not an office holder, the more it takes from us. We must maintain and strengthen ourselves and not fade into the Mantle that another can acquire.¡± Amdiirlain nodded. Nendes fidgeted with her shawl before deliberately refastening it to settle her twitching fingers. "Mortals are too dangerous to be taken that lightly or ignored. The impact on our last world taught us that valuable lesson." "Is there anything more we should know about the mantles, or will you proceed to the discussion of pantheons?" asked Fuichon, and having carefully consumed the pollen alone, she tossed the flower like a makeshift javelin at Erfaron. Erfaron snatched the flower from the air and used its stem to pick between his serrated teeth, eliciting metallic giggles from a fluttering of Fuichon''s wings. Pulling a scrap of meat free, Erfaron grunted. "Some of it we likely know, but since you said you¡¯d also discuss pantheons, I''d like to know if there are any traps in those." ¡°I¡¯ve already told you what happens to Mantle holders in a Gods¡¯ War. The only traps in a Pantheon¡¯s arrangements are those you make yourselves. Many cultures have different needs in balancing autonomy and individual power, or mutual support and obligations," Amdirlain said. "In the courts, we gained rank by how tightly we bound ourselves to the queens," said Fuichon. "I''ve no desire to be bound to another again, but you can all swear to me." "The courts'' approach wasn''t the nature of obligation I meant. Instead, think of it as arrangements of mutual respect to minimise the potential for fighting over misunderstandings.¡± ¡°Like the rules of hospitality,¡± proposed Fuichon. ¡°Certainly what is owed between each other. There are places and people where you¡¯ll each be effectively the host or guest. It¡¯s up to you seven and those that join you to determine the rules about what¡¯s allowed where it touches other''s areas of influence, places of worship, and so forth." "That ''so forth'' can cover much ground," observed Nendes. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a loophole so much as a wide-open plain.¡± "That''s because I won¡¯t be part of your agreements or negotiations for them. The agreements between you are for the seven of you to decide." Nendes frowned. "The humans at the table outnumber us." "I was never human," replied Ebusuku. "And my worshippers include many species, most of them very inhuman." Hestia''s gaze flickered to Amdirlain curiously and seemed reassured by her calm. Ebusuku has claimed them, and it feels like someone¡¯s lifted a weight from my shoulders. Thank fuck that they¡¯ve someone to look after their souls no matter what happens to me. "Ebusuku is an example of effort allowing one to absorb the Mantle instead of the other way around," offered Amdirlain. ¡°If you grow true strength, it coalesces into a divine spark.¡± Fuichon regarded Ebusuku. "Ebusuku is not your name, is it?" "It is a familiar name that Am uses for me," acknowledged Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯ll share my name if our negotiations go well.¡± Nodding to Amdirlain, Fuichon continued. "The shadows already heard her addressed as Amdirlain. However, the words did not ring with the power of an accurate recount. Anna has heard your name but not from you." Nendes took a precise bite from a pearl, and the crunch interrupted Fuichon. She ground the pieces loudly between her molars, interrupting Fuichon a second time and finally spoke."This gathering is useless-" "With all this information, you must be gaining something besides safety for adopted kin," interjected Erfaron, his gaze fixed on Amdirlain. Nendes hissed, and the still lake frothed with her sudden fury. Amdirlain turned to Nendes. "That''s a nice show." Does she think I can¡¯t destroy something? Some of the greatest creators among the Fey can¡¯t even set a piece of wood on fire; any act speaking of destruction is their bane. The water vanished from the lake, and Nendes'' eyes went wide with fear as her feet sat on bone-dry ground and the partly eaten pearl dropped from her hand. As quickly as Amdirlain had shifted it away, she returned all the lake''s waters, including its fish and microscopic life. "How was mine? Did you want me to do something more musical?" "No," whispered Nendes. Amdirlain locked gazes with Nendes, and the Fey shifted uncomfortably before she reached for another pearl. With Nendes still distracted, Erfaron smirked and licked blood from his fingers. "We''ve no grudge with you and would look to work with you as we''ve other deities," replied Ebusuku. "Would you go into the Pantheon options you know, Am?" Amdirlain spent a few hours explaining those Pantheon arrangements she¡¯d retrieved from Ori¡¯s memories. They ranged from the simplest free form of individual patrons to the most complex hierarchies. Amdirlain caught Ebusuku and Livia''s comfort with the situation, so she rose from her seat when she answered the last question about mantles and pantheons. "I''ll leave you to your negotiations." "What if we''ve more questions?" protested Fuichon. "Save them up, or if they block your discussion completely, just call for me aloud. I¡¯ll be monitoring to ensure all remain safe, but my physical presence might hamper discussions," replied Amdirlain, and she teleported across the lake to the limits of her Telepathy. A gentle nudge had Ebusuku allow her to link thoughts, and Amdirlain gave her a rush of Fey references and customs. When Ebusuku had everything she could provide, Amdirlain took a crystal and stored half her current Ki pool away. Though she''d planned to meditate and monitor the discussions, the twin barbs of Silpar''s questions and Anna''s self-loathing for what she''d done dug at her thoughts. Amdirlain paused and repeated Silpar''s question before she began to cycle pure Ki. "Do I hate myself?" There was no answer to her whispered words, but as her meditations progressed, she tossed that question about and considered the memories that arose. The old dwarven patriarch from whom she''d experienced snippets of slavery''s foulness arose. The death of his bride-to-be the day the clan had been seized led him into a swirl of self-loathing, with only his duty to his claim keeping him going. Her death with her hand just out of reach brought up other memories of loss and regret. The recollection of each aggravated a wound that lay far beneath her soulscape¡¯s surface and frequently strained at the meditative calm. Though she tried to follow the fragmented echoes between various regrets and the hollowness, nothing brought the source of the pained feeling forth. Over and over, Amdirlain''s thoughts returned to the bride''s clouded gaze, and she wondered if their souls had met before or since, as a lifetime seemed too fleeting for the crushing pain her death had inflicted. It had made him easy pickings in the fighting that had ensued, but also, his initial lethargy had avoided early death in the mines. Was she one of the Anar reincarnating between the realms as well? Do I dare ask Sarah? She''d likely tell me or laugh in my face for being blind; I''m not sure which would be worse. Was it Ori''s husband? That would figure, a second chance at life together ended before they had started. Mentally exhausted despite cycling Ki, she set the question aside and turned to mindful meditation on the music around her. It was two days of discussion and haggling before most deities departed. The Fey found Ebusuku and the others capable of twisting their words when the Fey wanted to play games. Ultimately, the seven had reached a loose agreement, though it was more one of mutually respecting boundaries, like a Fey would a special field or brook. It wasn''t a complete failure, but the Fey are wary negotiators with many meanings in their offers and suggestions. When the others said their goodbyes and departed at last, they left Ebusku and Livia alone. Amdirlain reappeared at the table, cancelled its renewing melodies, and cleared it away. Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. "Do you feel things worked out well?" asked Amdirlain. Hestia didn¡¯t stay. I wonder if I¡¯ll hear from her again. "Not as well as I''d like, but we should be able to work together," replied Livia. "Though honestly, it was much better than expected, and hopefully a proper mutual respect will develop." Ebusuku shrugged. "Your device that allowed Livia to find all the Skrel tribal locations was a powerful bargaining piece. We could have withheld the knowledge, but when we didn¡¯t, it seemed to thaw them slightly." ¡°I noticed that as well,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Their harmonies grew less capricious as the discussion continued, though their thoughts continued to jump about.¡± ¡°You read a mantle-holders mind,¡± huffed Ebusuku, in amused disbelief. Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°It was more I listened to what spilled forth.¡± "Is Anna going to be okay?" asked Livia. "You two seemed to have a momentary connection when you spoke to her, yet she was sometimes very quiet." "She shared a memory, and a few things about her situation make more sense now. I''m glad I gave decent advice since I''m not a therapist," sighed Amdirlain. "You weren''t trying to work through her problem but you managed to get him to sit still for her. It sounded like his support was her key to taking matters under her conscious control," commented Livia. What''s my key? Amdirlain pushed the question aside and smiled at Ebusuku. "So you''re the big cheese now. Congratulations on making full divinity." Ebusuku frowned. "We''ll discuss that at the Outlands since the shadows here seem to be skilled informants." "Nothing stopping us going there now is there?" noted Livia. Ebusuku''s Planar Shift delivered them directly to a familiar-looking valley, with the Spire in the distance. I wonder if it makes others feel like helpless kittens when I do that to them without warning. Ebusuku regarded Amdirlain nervously. "I hope I didn¡¯t push you away by getting involved the way I did. I might not be an expert on Fey, but I''ve half a million years of experience in dealing with unpredictable individuals." ¡°It didn¡¯t bother me a bit, and you contacted me in advance. I took it as you helping Livia, not trying to step on my toes. Since the three of you were there to support her, and the Fey had issues with me, I tried to supply some useful knowledge and happily kept out," replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think we should pester the others for a report?¡± Ebusuku smiled grimly. "I know what celestials in my service are up to if I pay attention. Kli and the others have been culling some northern monsters. You might not need her to kill monsters nor deliver things frequently, but I''d like you to keep Kli with you when you can.¡± "Why?" "Silpar''s conversation with Kli was enlightening, especially when he asked Kli if she''d experienced faster resistance growth," said Ebusuku. Sarah tattled on me to Ebusuku about the Fey, but she didn''t about the resistance training? After the unpleasant time spent contemplating Silpar¡¯s words, Amdirlain stiffened defensively. "I needed them higher. He noticed a similar pattern of growth." "I wasn¡¯t asking you to justify yourself, Amdirlain. You¡¯ll need them maximised to improve your chances. Silpar not expecting the growth pattern was a sign of secrets being kept," said Ebusuku, and she raised a hand. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you what to tell him, but I suggest you figure out what he needs to know and what he might take objection to if he learns it from someone. Information shared in advance is a trust that some value and others take insult at when they find out regardless.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°That¡¯s hard. Even if many seem sane, I find it hard to trust the cloister or its members. I don¡¯t have a proper view of Celestial mindsets.¡± ¡°With everything you¡¯ve been through, I can understand trying to relax enough to share any information is hard, even without dealing with a Fallen,¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°It is,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s where my offer of Kli¡¯s company comes in. I figured you could use some more free-spirited company. It might help you find that days don¡¯t need to be consumed with endless training and pain,¡± said Ebusku. ¡°With that being your focus lately, it¡¯s not surprising you¡¯re on guard.¡± "You know I don''t do well when people start pushing me in a particular direction," replied Amdirlain. "I know it''s a flaw, but I instinctively start digging my heels in." "Another thing I noticed is you put people at arm''s length unless you''re getting help from them on your terms," stated Ebusuku. ¡±Which is it with Silpar?¡± Amdirlain nodded. "True, I feel like I¡¯m being graded even though the cloister tenets are not to judge each other. I''m a control freak, and the cloister has their way of doing things." "Besides yanking you off that world because I wanted to talk to you without the Fey overhearing, I''m not telling you what to do. Though I¡¯m hoping I can offer you the right help," said Ebusku. "I appreciate that," said Amdirlain. Ebusuku exhaled in relief, and Amdirlain beamed in response. "I might not be able to give you the Mantle back as it was, but deities can grant others a portion of their divine power and promote them into the divine rank," said Ebusuku. "Depending on how much energy is used, they can skip divine ranks." "No," said Amdirlain. "We can talk about that after I¡¯m no longer a Fallen. What if it makes my link into the Abyss permanent? If it was safe, I can think of at least two other individuals who would have offered it.¡± ¡°More than two. I¡¯ve had scores of deities seeking me to talk about you,¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°Especially after the Mantle condensed into a divine spark. Given what they told me, I thought they were hinting it would be best coming from me.¡± ¡°They came to talk to you about my life as Ori?¡± ¡°No, most seem to have no idea about that. Rather they wanted to talk about Amdirlain, who set thousands of prisoners free from the Maze and suggested help be given,¡± corrected Ebusku. ¡±You made quite the impression on all the deities they entered service with. Word got around about who was responsible from the elven Celestial you spoke to in the trial.¡± ¡°So what happened to progress you from a Mantle to a full Deity?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I''ve got a few guesses, but I''d like to make sure." "I was trying to be just a good custodian but, in growing your faith, it seems things went too far," explained Ebusuku. Amdirlain reassuringly patted her shoulder. "It wasn''t too far for those in your care." "You''re not upset?" "That a friend is doing well for herself? Of course not," insisted Amdirlain. "But the Mantle was yours, and you said you¡¯d take it back," protested Ebusuku. Amdirlain smiled. "I only planned to let you return it because I¡¯d stuck you with it. If I wanted a Mantle, I could get one fairly easily. The last one that tried to form around me I smacked in the face." "Bahamut told me about your first trip with Goxashru and the townsfolk¡¯s reaction to the Dragon¡¯s proclamation," laughed Ebusuku, but she quickly turned sombre. "But I still feel as if I betrayed you." I should have warned her, but I didn''t know she''d progressed the faith¡¯s reach that much. As her mood faded, Amdirlain fixed her with a serious look. "You looked after them when I needed someone to step up and care for them. Neither of us knew there''d be a tipping point when you took it on. Anyway, relax. Now you''re a real Goddess without a Mantle, and you can do some cool things." "I could give you a job," offered Ebusuku. I¡¯ve already told her what would happen if I went to the maze. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow but held back her immediate response. ¡°There was the first option to stay in the same species,¡± reminded Ebusuku. ¡±Serving a heavenly power might let you set a Home Plane away from the lower planes.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to do anything stranger than I already do. That might shift my Redemption¡¯s Path off balance. Also, I''m enough of a hard taskmaster on myself; the last thing I need is to feel like I''m underperforming on someone else''s watch," Amdirlain replied after a long pause. Ebusuku sighed in disappointment. ¡°I was hoping there was some way I could help.¡± ¡°You are, Ebusuku, and you have been. You¡¯re helping far more people than I had ever expected to help in my lifetime,¡± reassured Amdirlain. "With the giants dealt with and an initial agreement with the Fey reached, are you heading back to the Abyss?" asked Ebusuku. "No, I need to push my Monk skills," replied Amdirlain, and she grinned at Livia. "And I made Livia a promise." Livia nodded cheerfully. "We get some proper time?" "Does training together count?" asked Amdirlain. "Somewhat," allowed Livia. "Hopefully that schedule includes some proper rest time," said Ebusuku. Amdirlain shrugged. "It''s training that I need. However, I also need some advice about your grandmother. She is playing games and wants to meet to discuss my request to track down one of Baln¨¦rith''s sisters." "Then there is no guarantee she''d even help if you did meet," sighed Ebusuku. "Given you freed her, it''s likely, but there is always an element of uncertainty until she figures out her motivation for helping. Have you told her why you want one of the sisters you requested?" "No, only that I want one that had worked on the project in the depths," replied Amdirlain. Ebusuku frowned. "I would have thought that would have been enough." "She might know that Baln¨¦rith wants out of the realm but not know or understand what her mechanism of choice would do," said Amdirlain. "I''ll see if I can determine a way to meet her safely. I''d get involved directly but, wherever you meet her, the most I''d likely be able to bring is a weakened Avatar. That would be insufficient and also get a fierce reaction from her," said Ebusuku. "Is going from having a singular focus on resistance training to jumping on Livia''s issue a form of holiday for you?" "Maybe," allowed Amdirlain, blocking a sudden gust of wind from sweeping hair into her face. Ebusuku glanced at the dust hitting the air pocket around Amdirlain. "You¡¯ve grown a lot stronger, and you''re not leaking Charisma at all." "I appreciate the confirmation. I put nine levels into my new Prestige Class to test things out," admitted Amdirlain. "It provides a jump in your strength?" enquired Ebusuku. Amdirlain held up two fingers. "Just a smidge. I might have to reassess my transition goal." "I don''t know if I should hug you or grumble at you. You keep finding detours and setting your goalposts further away. While I can¡¯t complain since you¡¯re an agent of change for the better, I still worry about you," said Ebusuku, and she clasped Amdirlain''s shoulders. "I''d like you to think about what you need for a time instead of the realm." "I tried that the last couple of days, but it was too exhausting," quipped Amdirlain. Her hands were still on Amdirlain''s shoulders, and Ebusuku rocked back and forth, making them both wobble. A dramatic grimace of frustration appeared on her face, and Amdirlain laughed. "You said you needed to strangle Livia when she was younger. Where is your common sense?" asked Ebusuku. "Lost that in my washing the week before I was cursed," replied Amdirlain. Ebusuku pressed her forehead against Amdirlain''s. "If it was exhausting, perhaps it''s because of the emotional debt you''ve not dealt with yet again. Stop accumulating it." "I had plenty of fun while on Qil Tris," argued Amdirlain. "I got so much done." Livia snorted. "But we all know you have a weird sense of fun. Did you want to keep trying to shake sense into my M¨®eir, Ebusuku?" "I''m not sure it would work," sighed Ebusuku. "M¨®eir," said Livia. When she didn''t continue, Amdirlain tilted her head at her. "I am listening." Livia bit the inside of her cheek. "You need to learn how to live properly for yourself instead of merely surviving to help others." "Did someone schedule an intervention when I wasn''t looking?" asked Amdirlain. "Has someone else been asking you hard questions?" asked Ebusuku. Amdirlain twitched an eyebrow upwards. "With your reference to Silpar, I had assumed he had spilled." Releasing Amdirlain, Ebusuku frowned and took a step back. "He talked to Kli about the change he''d experienced in the growth speed of his resistances, but that clarified what you must have been up to. I had thought Sarah would keep me in the loop, but she¡¯s closed mouth about you when it suits her." "It was boring waiting and meditating, nothing special. I tried meditating on a question he had asked me, and it left me mentally exhausted. Let''s go do some interesting training," proposed Amdirlain, endeavouring to keep her tone light. "How many levels do you need for the transition you''d aim to achieve?" asked Livia. "A fraction under six hundred," admitted Amdirlain. Livia nodded. "And you want a better Monk Class option to fill your fourth opening." Shrugging, Amdirlain smiled ruefully. "That will be the holdup. I could retake Sora Master to try and escalate the frequency at which my insights occur, however, that seems like a waste." "Sometimes the fastest way forward is to return to the beginning," said Livia. "What were you thinking of that left you exhausted?" "Bad memories," whispered Amdirlain. "From other lifetimes; besides Ori, I''ve recovered some screwed-up past lives." "Then maybe you need some happier memories to help attunement. I''ve got some ten-year-olds you could assist with training," said Livia. ¡°Kids¡¯ classes at the dojo could be fun,¡± allowed Amdirlain. "Take part in their lessons on Ki Strike and other powers, listen in on the foundational lessons, and find what your experimentation missed." Amdirlain sighed in disbelief. "You''re listening to Kad too much." "Perhaps it''s for my benefit. I can watch you teach and pretend I had that time with you myself," replied Livia. "You''re not the only one with regrets, M¨®eir." "That''s a little bit of cheating," noted Amdirlain. "I''m not insisting you do anything. The monastery is offering you some activities that we believe will benefit you," said Livia. "We also believe our students will benefit and will compensate you with contribution points." "I thought you were offering me whatever help I needed?" teased Amdirlain. Livia nodded. "An opportunity for growth; some of the masters you''ll want to learn from I have no authority over. You get time to review your own techniques and simplify them enough to teach, and earn contribution points to avoid resentment from those masters with specialised skills. You could offer them Ki but, while it''s a treasure, it can be seen as buying your way with a unique resource." "The energy from a show-off looking to leapfrog the monastery''s system?" questioned Amdirlain. "I would never call you a show-off, M¨®eir," Livia said, her serenely composed expression given away by the twinkle of amusement in her gaze. "Yeah, right," drawled Amdirlain. "I suppose, since I''ve gotten the giants out of the way, I should come and train with you now as I promised." "That would be appreciated, M¨®eir," said Livia with a glowing smile. "If I remember right, you''ve Ki State, Ki Infusion, Ki Movement, Ki Strike, Spirit Passage, Ki Flight, and Ki Blast to work upon." "That''s correct," said Amdirlain, a smile twitching at the corner of her mouth. Livia stepped close and lightly touched her hand. "Which one is the lowest, and which is the highest?" "Ki Blast is close to busting out into the Journeyman rank, but there have not been places I''ve been willing to unleash it. It would simply draw too much attention within the Abyss. Ki State is level one hundred and twenty in Senior Master. Devouring Cacophony is just over the line into Grandmaster," replied Amdirlain. "Sounds like you two have some work ahead of you," said Ebusuku. "I hope you''ll let yourself wallow in life for a while, Amdirlain. I''ll see what I can pry loose from my grandmother for you." With that, Ebusuku disappeared. "Shall we head to the monastery now?" asked Livia. Amdirlain messaged Silpar and Sarah to ask them to meet there. "We can head that way, and you can tell me about that big sword you used against the giants." Livia laughed. "It''s the only sword I possess that can handle my Ki being run through it." "Where did you get it from?" asked Amdirlain. "It''s as big as you." "I only use it for travelling via Sword Light. If you must know, I won the sword in a bet with an Eastern Dragon, and it only shrinks to that size." "Sword Light comes after Ki Flight and Ki Movement?" "No, M¨®eir, you need to combine those powers and then evolve the result," corrected Livia. "Let''s get to the monastery. We can talk, and I''ll take you through some technique scrolls." Amdirlain didn''t object to Livia moving them to her Domain. 372 - Better Amdirlain''s PoV - Outlands - Annex of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Livia teleported them into the meeting room overlooking her mansion¡¯s rear yard. The room''s decorations blended objects and styles from four cultures. Amdirlain took in the sounds of the Monastery¡¯s inhabitants, and only when things seemed calm did she move from their arrival point. As Amdirlain put a hand on the back of a chair, she received word from Silpar that they would be clearing out monsters that threatened some tribes. "Are you sure you want me teaching children?" asked Amdirlain. "Yes, but I was joking about one thing: I won''t be watching over your shoulder. If you''d like to be involved in teaching the youngsters, you''ll be my teaching assistant," replied Livia. Amdirlain exhaled in disbelief at the thought of a Goddess and a Fallen teaching the young. "Do I get your tea and help you mark exams? How does being your teaching assistant help progress my abilities?" Temporarily ignoring the question, Livia headed to a side table to fetch an ornate tray laden with the tea set and water heater. When her hands touched the handles, she paused. "Master Cyrus already told you that you''d need to examine your fundamentals through teaching. He didn''t have the time to guide your teaching style and self-examination before you ran off to deal with the Eldritch," said Livia, and she raised a hand as Amdirlain started to protest. "Yes, I agree it was a situation where a world needed your help. My concern is that you''ll always be able to find a critical situation for someone that prevents you from taking time for self-assessment." "I feel selfish if I don''t help where I can," sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t go looking for trouble, but I¡¯d prefer to settle what I can.¡± Livia smiled sadly. "And I feel selfish for pointing this out after you helped me again." Amdirlain grunted and fixed her gaze on the table''s mosaic top. "Are you sure you and Silpar weren''t trading notes?" "Does getting the same advice from multiple sources invalidate it?" asked Livia as she lifted the tray and turned. "I''m not telling you what to do." "Reactions at Xaos repeatedly threw me off. The Qil Tris trip was necessary because of the Eldritch, but I also got Femme Fatale under control and improved my powers," replied Amdirlain. "I didn''t enjoy having that Skill, and getting rid of it was a priority for my peace of mind." Livia brought the tray to the main table and conceded to Amdirlain¡¯s point with a nod. "Understandable, but the world''s problems almost cost you your legs forever. You blew up a lab after taking a Power you didn''t know enough about. Kadaklan recklessly killed himself to help. Which, by the way, he feels is on him, as you could have damaged your sigil permanently. How many times have you charged up to the knife edge of destruction? You should strengthen yourself as much as you can." "Only part of a lab, not to mention..." Amdirlain stopped and smiled ruefully. "Never mind, our stay got a bit interesting on occasion." "Master Cyrus is under the impression that you run away whenever it''s time to stop and take stock. Is that because of all the bad memories you''ve been finding?" asked Livia as she sat down, leaving a seat between her spot and Amdirlain¡¯s. Is she worried about crowding me with her energies? Or do mine make her uncomfortable, even concealed as they are? "There is a hollow of pain inside Ori''s memories," whispered Amdirlain. "Silpar questioned if I hated myself, and meditating on it brought up all these awful memories." Livia winced, "Has Sarah commented about any of your past lives?" "She told me I had some happy ones around, but she wasn''t surprised that I remembered the worst of my dwarven lifetimes," admitted Amdirlain. "If you seek something hard enough, you''ll eventually find it," noted Livia. Amdirlain sighed in dissatisfaction. "I''ve heard that somewhere, but sometimes what you''re seeking isn''t interested in you." "Maybe you need to find something that brings you joy with no side effect of pain, like your singing. Your drive to improve yourself has likely left you little time to do that or review the basics of your powers and skills to improve your fundamentals." The accuracy of Livia''s insights had Amdirlain shifting uncomfortably. "I taught Jul¡¯iane some Ki abilities so she could develop her own Monk Class. Gilorn helped me refine my True Song, and they went from basics up," objected Amdirlain. "And-" Taking her seat, Livia nodded again. "And then you sent Gilorn off with Gail. Why? Because you were planning to torture yourself for a year to throw points into your resistance levels. I agree that it stops you from potentially enduring damage after enemies hit you. How about you spend time evolving your abilities so you don''t get hit?" "Someone will always be able to hit you," argued Amdirlain. "That is a more frequent occurrence if you don''t get better at techniques to prevent it," riposted Livia, her gaze filled with concern. "Though I was ecstatic about your help, I also felt guilty for distracting you. Then you sent the details about the Fey, and I was worried and asked for help." She''s worried about me, and she''s right to be worried. Livia''s just pointing out places I can improve, not trying to control me. Her right hand twitched in remembered pain, and Amdirlain let it wash by rather than burying it. The difference calmed what little frustration she felt. "Livia, I need to go places where the environment will try to kill me. From what Silpar said, it might well actively attack me guided be a semi-sentient aggression." "Do you know what Ki State can do besides armouring your form? You know all the basics of what it allows now. Do you know what its evolution options allow? What does Ki Strike''s evolution do? What do any of the Monk Power evolutions do?" asked Livia. Her voice was calm, but her words came in a brisk flow. "One lets me put energy into a weapon and speed across the sky," quipped Amdirlain. "Are you running to something or from something?" asked Livia. "Because if you''re running from yourself, you''ll always flee those who love you." Amdirlain blinked. "I didn''t know you felt that way." "I wasn''t sure if it was true, but I thought it was a question that needed to be asked," said Livia, and she sighed sadly. "I wanted to make sure you were safe," replied Amdirlain. "And concerned about the world''s people, I didn''t object," Livia sighed and rubbed a hand across her face. "I''d like to ensure your safety, but you''ll never live a safe existence." "Dealing with your problem was likely the safest I''ve been in a while. Last time I stopped, Apollo''s priests summoned me," observed Amdirlain. "You stopped on Qil Tris," responded Livia. "You can''t get summoned again when you''re already on the Material Plane," explained Amdirlain. "Oh!" whispered Livia. "Though I''m not sure that completely explains why you keep running from task to task." "I''ve no idea. Maybe a bit of all your concerns? When I''m stressed, getting things done helps me calm down. I''ve got concerns churning in my mind and many I can''t handle yet. Dealing with a Frost Giant incursion seemed nicely defined and limited. I''m not a very good specialist in myself," replied Amdirlain, her gaze not lifting from the table as it traced the edge of the coloured tile pieces. "What is the chance of someone being able to summon you now?" asked Livia. "Except through those devices you make for yourself." Throwing her arms out, Amdirlain waved her hands. "It''s a big realm. I might already be too late to stop some enemy''s moves. While I have some preparations, who knows what tricks I''ve missed? I can''t assume I''ll be fine if someone pulls me to the Material Plane." "I''ve got news for you: it''s always too late to stop all your enemies'' moves," replied Livia. A shudder went up Amdirlain''s spine. "Yeah, so Precognition just confirmed." Livia stiffened, and lines of tension formed around her eyes. "Are you heading off already?" "There weren''t any details. It was an ominous sensation, like spotting a massive storm on the horizon that''s only flashes of lightning, but so far away that the thunder isn''t reaching me," offered Amdirlain. "I''m sorry for pressuring you to spend time here," sighed Livia. "There is so much going on. I feel like there will always be something dragging you away." "I wanted a day in the sun, and I had promised you a week," said Amdirlain. "You pointed out what I''ve neglected and expressed concerns from your and Master Cryus''s perspectives. I''ll work to correct that, but I often learn best by doing, so I''ll look to split my time between training and breaking demons. Hopefully, I will be more successful this time, but we''ll re-evaluate as I go." "We?" Amdirlain nodded. "Yourself, Master Cyrus, and me. I''m sure I''ll be stubborn occasionally and need a few koans to tip me off balance." A pensive frown crossed Livia''s face. "I''ll see if I can prevent anyone from being summoned from within my Domain. That way, it''s a proper place of rest for you." "I''m sorry I didn''t ask Ebusuku to extend that offer of divine sponsorship to you," said Amdirlain. "I already refused it," said Livia. "The Mantle was unexpected and, just as you told us, the mantles are a test to ensure the quality of the individuals that reach a divine state. I want to prove myself worthy. Also, there is the matter that advancing as a deity isn''t a matter of experience. It requires actions within your purview to distill divine essence, and that''s a lot more involved than merely fighting off monsters." "You think progress requires building up a congregation first to be plausible?" asked Amdirlain. "Yes. Since I can deactivate the Mantle, it still lets me get stronger in the meantime," replied Livia. "You''re not the only one who likes to test her limits." The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. The recount dug at Orh¨ºthurin''s memories, but nothing new came forth beyond singing to an empty sky filled with impenetrable night. "I''ve not dug up any recollections about how gods advance." "I was given some basic advice by Bahamut, who contacted me after you left," said Livia. "Only from a high level. His take on my Mantle is not to see it as a trap but rather a training phase to establish a proper foundation." "One with consequences," said Amdirlain. Livia tapped the table. "There are many ways to look at them, but shouldn''t there be consequences if you abuse your position? We''ll have plenty of time to discuss the Mantle. Do you want to help me teach the kids, or do something else?" "A week to relax first, and then I''ll decide," replied Amdirlain. "You could come along to the lessons and listen in. I normally teach them for a time each day, and I thought it would be something we could do together," explained Livia. Amdirlain looked up to meet her gaze, and Livia smiled. "You ditched your bodyguard," noted Livia. "Yes. Sometimes he''s fine to be around," allowed Amdirlain, and she nodded toward the distant Portal to C¨ªrbann. "Other times, his presence bugs me. I''m not used to someone who seems so disinterested in time." "That''s the only problem? What about the times you thought he might have exchanged notes with us?" asked Livia. "Those too," muttered Amdirlain. "Might I share an observation?" asked Livia. Grimacing, Amdirlain bowed her head and raked her fingers through her hair. "I''m not sure I''m up for more analysis now." "Then I''ll leave it be," said Livia quietly. She reached out and touched Amdirlain''s hand. "Do you think we''ll become oblivious to the passage of time?" Her choice of subject earned a sigh from Amdirlain. "I can already get like that, especially when singing," replied Amdirlain. "That''s likely one reason why Silpar''s presence can annoy me, looking down the road at what I don''t want to be." "Why?" asked Livia curiously. "With a long life ahead of you, wouldn''t it help to have a different perspective on time?" "They can stand just watching for centuries or even millennia if need be, and I''d prefer helping people than waiting," replied Amdirlain. Livia rolled her eyes. "M¨®eir, if something needs to be protected, standing guard over it is helping people." "Actively helping," expanded Amdirlain. "It''s because you like to know you''ve made a difference," replied Livia. "You need to be careful you''re not substituting results for self-value." Is that one of my issues? I''ve got all this power and don''t think I''m worthy of it or have even earned it. Is anyone capable of earning the amount of power True Song gives? I love the creation of life and healing planets. Anna was upset about how she twisted life to use it as a weapon, but I never blinked when I took the lessons I learnt about volcanoes to destroy demons. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow and frowned. "I take it that wasn''t the observation you declined to make earlier?" Livia bit her bottom lip before giving a sheepish grin. "Oops, yes, completely unrelated." "Does it have to do with Kadaklan''s observations on my unhealthy relationship with pain?" probed Amdirlain. "That''s one way to put it, but I can understand why someone might see it that way," said Livia. That doesn¡¯t answer my question. "I believe it''s simply because you value others more than temporary pain. Just as a warrior will put themselves between a monster and a loved one, you ignore the cost to yourself and focus on the gain. It''s been a long-held view of mine, even when your methods made some people squeamish." "Really?" Livia grinned, and the tension smoothed from her face. "I remember when you made thousands of blankets and simple dresses, and then later, I found out you''d done so by becoming the material and ripping a piece from yourself. Those who knew were careful not to let that slip to the ladies you rescued, but I heard Torm and Verdandi talking about it in her chambers. Before you were cursed, how would you have taken someone covering you effectively in their skin?" Did they rub in the lotion? The stray thought had Amdirlain suppressing a smile, and she shook her head. "Such an eavesdropper," grumbled Amdirlain. "Almost literally¡ªI was sitting under her window and had to listen hard," laughed Livia. "How could you do it? I heard that more than a few times from Verdandi, and the answer was obvious. You didn''t see the pain you suffered. Instead, you focused on your ability to help remove what would be prolonged discomfort. I was a disembodied Soul sitting on your lap watching the stars, and you drew all my pain away. You were always enduring pain for others without a second thought." "Much the same attitude as when I needed Kadaklan to fix my spiritual net," replied Amdirlain. "Except perhaps at that time I did hate my flesh." "I think I added to your problems there," said Livia as she arranged the tea cups and water heater on the table between them. "I gave you advice I thought was wise but was, at best, naive. When I told you to balance with Viper, it was because, having started in Janus'' service, you two seemed to embody his busts and masks. One angry or hideous, faced one direction and a handsome one pointed in the other." "You gave advice you thought was right, and so did a group of celestials that Yngvarr and Alfarr contacted for me. The information was right as far as you knew, just as theirs was," clarified Amdirlain. "I don''t hold the advice against you. You were looking to help, and it was your honest perspective. Viper presented herself so well as part of my former subconscious that she sometimes had me questioning myself. Why would I blame you for not seeing through that?" "I was horrified I''d given you that advice after I learned more about demons," admitted Livia. "Sarah told me how her physical sensations impacted her mind and thoughts, yet she didn''t have a malicious intellect behind what she was experiencing. I''ve meant to apologise for that advice repeatedly." There isn''t a reason not to tell her any more unless I want to keep it a secret. "Don''t blame yourself, and I can see how Janus'' imagery would have influenced you," said Amdirlain, and she decided to bite the bullet on her own admission. "Speaking of things left unsaid. Now that you''re no longer a priestess, there is something I''ve desperately wanted to tell you." Livia raised an eyebrow, her hand paused about the teapot. "That sounds ominous. I hope it''s not an issue with my loyalties? I still have good relations with him." "It''s nothing like that. It''s more about Orh¨ºthurin, and I didn''t want the information automatically shared with him," replied Amdirlain. "Orh¨ºthurin was the Titan''s daughter. Her mother and two of her younger siblings died because of some of the Greek gods in another realm. Thousands of others died as well, but the death of her family wounded her badly." "M¨®eir," breathed Livia. "Was Orh¨ºthurin who Roher and Erwarth refer to as the Titan''s Songbird? The one who sang the realm into existence?" "She never let them know who she was, and that was the Titan''s nickname for Orh¨ºthurin," confirmed Amdirlain. "He''d call her his songbird before there was even a realm or she understood her power. When she was a child, there was pretty music always around her, and then she learned its purpose." "No one taught her?" "An entity left her a message that told her what the music could do and what she could create," replied Amdirlain. "It both inspired her and broke her in some ways." Livia winced "Broke her?" Amdirlain glanced towards the window, but her attention was focused on the fleeting memories she''d recalled. "She found out she could have saved her mother and siblings with a few notes instead of merely hearing their deaths. Despite still being a very young girl, she blamed herself and spent aeons questioning her acts from the day they died and earlier. There are many moments of self-recrimination in the memories I retrieved." "I''ve so many questions," murmured Livia. Amdirlain smiled tightly. "Everyone I''ve told does, but I don''t have all the answers." "Did the egg come first?" asked Livia, her tone bright to lighten the mood. A smile twitched on Amdirlain''s lips. "No one''s asked that one. Since Ori sang the first dragons into existence as adults, the dragons came first, and they laid eggs." "But what about the poor chicken?" Livia asked playfully, and Amdirlain smiled at her attempt to lighten the mood. "Far, far later, there were many eggs before things got that fowl," replied Amdirlain. Groaning, Livia covered her eyes with a hand. "M¨®eir, I hope Kli didn''t get her bad taste in puns from you." "I think that''s her experimenting with kinder forms of humour, but who knows the full impact of my meddling in her life," said Amdirlain. "That is a point," admitted Livia, and she sharply shook her head as if to dispel an image. "I hadn''t looked at her eccentricities that way. I''ve noticed you tend to attract the oddest individuals." Amdirlain nodded glumly. "You certainly are a prime example of that." With her mouth parted, Livia halted herself and turned her attention to the tea preparation. She set out a cup for each of them and started heating water. "M¨®eir, never mind my questions. Orh¨ºthurin''s history isn''t something I should dig into for curiosity''s sake. I''m happy for you to discuss whatever recollections you have with me. Whether to lighten their burden or if you want a different perspective. All I want to know is, how are you?" "Some days are easier than others," said Amdirlain, and she gently patted Livia''s hand. "Thank you for asking. You could have sat a bit closer on this table." "I didn''t want to crowd you," replied Livia. "Aura of a Goddess and all." "Mantle holder," corrected Amdirlain with a grin. "I''ll be glad when the harmonics of my auras are gone. I''ve concealed them from others, but they frequently make my teeth ache. I''m surprised Roher didn''t comment on them." "They had aeons of practice filtering out each others'' melodies. It''s likely he still does that around you," proposed Livia. "Never mind that your Hidden state conceals your Soul in any case, so he might not have bothered to listen to the rest. Do you plan to visit them at all?" "I''ll think about it," replied Amdirlain after a prolonged pause. "It depends on if I ever visit Veht?. Roher is presently keeping my nature secret from his wife, and I¡®m trying to avoid being a topic of conversation about the place." "They might be talking about you anyway with Isa," observed Livia. "Just because a particular someone isn''t underfoot doesn''t mean they don¡¯t get talked about." "Underfoot," huffed Amdirlain. "I could show you underfoot. How about I randomly add a few million things to the monastery''s store for others to purchase with contribution points?" "It''s bad enough you were so generous with me. What should I do with this key you made for me?" asked Livia. "It occurred to me when you vanished away that I was a bad guest. I brought presents for the Fey but nothing for you." "Your presence was a present, and it''s just as well you didn''t, as the Fey wouldn''t have considered you my family if I acted like I expected gifts from you. As for the key, it is yours. It''s got suitable challenges for those with four combat classes around level forty, so maybe charge contribution points to enter it," suggested Amdirlain. "If you''d like, I could build this monastery a whole training complex. That would stop the students sneaking into the one at Xaos by hiring on with the guards." "Let me think on that, and I''ll get back to you," said Livia. "No rush," agreed Amdirlain. "Not like I''m looking to push my levels right now." Though I could, it won''t impact what last evolved Base Class I get if I shove them ahead. It''s more about getting the skills and powers to increase. I still need tens of thousands of demi-planes to equalise the training complexes linked to Qil Tris'' existing cities. Livia narrowed her gaze. "How long would it take you to make one?" "How big would you like it to be?" countered Amdirlain. "I''ve not even considered it yet," Livia huffed, and she finally set about boiling the water. Though it was tempting to tease her, Amdirlain waved towards the monastery''s lower tiers and changed the subject. "How many youngsters are in your class anyway? There are eighty or ninety around that age in the outer area." "There are only twenty in the class I teach. I''m strangely sure you won''t have trouble remembering their names. The White Tiger relocated a couple of villages to help with the fields and manual labour, and we''ve some distinguished craftsmasters, their families, journeymen, and apprentices," replied Livia. "Does that mean you''re considering it?" "I was simply indulging in my curiosity without sticking my fingers into brains," replied Amdirlain. Livia snorted. "You mention you''ve got a sparring ground. How do you control the use of that, or do the exchanges remain civil?" asked Amdirlain. "A healer and referee must always be present. If you break it, you fix it. Those students without the magic to do so pay in contribution points for its restoration," replied Livia. "Though I''m sure those matters aren''t an issue for you. Why do you ask?" "Just that those using it at the moment are very energetic. I thought I''d watch and see what moves I can pick up to add to my collection. I can always serve as a healer and earn contribution points," clarified Amdirlain, and she gave Livia a sly grin. "Or would I be taking the work from another student?" Livia briefly wrinkled her nose. "Too many are focused on learning how to use Ki to fight and not learning anything beyond the basics of Universal Life." "Just as well I want to evolve my Universal Life." "Even without your Charisma rampaging, some would like to suffer injuries to be tended by Master Livia''s m¨®eir," suggested Livia. Amdirlain smiled. "Do you think they''d butter me up to try and reduce the expected dower?" "M¨®eir," grumbled Livia. "Yes?" asked Amdirlain innocently. "Shut up while I make the tea," huffed Livia. Amdirlain burst out laughing, and a smile brightened Livia''s face before she joined in. 373 - Thats what it takes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Annex of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Sharing tea and conversation with Livia had been a pleasant change from her meditations upon the pain within her past lives. When another Master¡¯s servant delivered a scroll with matters that needed discussion, Amdirlain left her to the monastery¡¯s business and headed for the training arena. Temporary wooden stands provided ten tiers of seating around a raised stone platform thirty metres across, with the sparring area marked five metres inside the edge. Picking the stairs that let her out at the top row, Amdirlain silently sat to watch the proceedings. Just over a hundred humans in their late teens to early twenties sat around the lower tiers, each attired in the grey and black trimmed silks typical of the Monastery¡¯s students. Though some audience members hadn¡¯t acquired a Class, everyone had a Ki Pool developed to some degree. Their attention had been directed to a pair of middle-aged monks demonstrating a martial art that, to Amdirlain, appeared to be a mix of Judo and Aikido, with a variety of locks, holds, and throws. The presentation occurred under the direction of a grizzly white-haired Master whose bushy eyebrows looked like a pair of furry caterpillars had planted themselves on his face. The pair took turns showing the art¡¯s techniques and counters. Two young Persian-looking men glanced back at Amdirlain curiously when she took a spot in the middle of an empty tier at the top of the stand behind them. While one was clean-shaven, the other had a scraggly goatee. Grim satisfaction and frustration rose in the Master¡¯s theme, and he fixed his faded blue-grey gaze on the distracted students. ¡°The demonstration of techniques is on the arena floor.¡± The goatee-adorned student¡¯s reflex gesture towards Amdirlain proved to be his undoing. ¡°Come here, Novice Ibrahim. You will aid Senior Mubeen in showing the class what happens when they don¡¯t know the counter to his technique.¡± Amdirlain heard the chosen victim suppress a groan, but he didn¡¯t delay in heading to the arena floor. The instructor¡¯s gaze shifted to Amdirlain. ¡°Do you have a purpose here, young Elf?¡± Rising, Amdirlain bowed respectfully to the Master. ¡°I told Master Livia I¡¯d help with any healing here in my free time, Master. I tried to enter quietly since a lesson was in progress.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know there was a new student healer, one so new as to not even be properly attired, I might add,¡± said the master. Though the silken dark green clothing created by the shadow vines was a similar style to the students, their differences were glaring, and Amdirlain smiled apologetically. ¡°Speak to me afterwards, and I¡¯ll provide a class schedule for the upcoming season to see what aligns with your lessons.¡± ¡°Apologies, Master, my lesson schedule is still being determined. Master Livia¡¯s attention was called away by another Master and she directed me here to assist if needed,¡± replied Amdirlain. Putting her hands to her sides, she bowed again. The master grunted in satisfaction at her polite response and pointed at a seat near the front. ¡°Best sit down here in case the novice falls wrong.¡± Amdirlain kept her pace to a young elf¡¯s and descended the stairs one at a time. While none of the other students glanced over their shoulders, their eyes followed her curiously while she approached the arena floor. ¡°I assume you don¡¯t use Universal Life,¡± said the master, his tone doubtful when Amdirlain had taken the position he¡¯d pointed to on the front tier. ¡°What spells or blessings-¡± ¡°Sorry to interrupt, Master, but I use Ki for healing,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°However, I still have much to learn, so I¡¯m here to study.¡± The master¡¯s bushy eyebrows lifted, and he grunted in pleased surprise. ¡°An elven practitioner, this is an interesting day. Let us resume the demonstrations, Senior.¡± Ibrahim spent the next twenty minutes more often in mid-air or on the ground than on his feet, but he appeared to have learned to fall correctly at some point during his training. Though nothing got broken, he suffered multiple deep bruises, so Amdirlain decided to take pity on him when the chime for the session¡¯s end sounded. She stepped forward and held out a hand as he hopped down from the arena¡¯s platform with a pained wince. When he nodded in appreciation, she carefully grasped his upper arm so the light of her Ki wouldn¡¯t be noticeable. It only took her a brief activation of Universal Life to wash all injuries and many aged scars away. Letting out a groan of relief, Ibrahim blinked in surprise. ¡°My thanks, healer.¡± ¡°Am,¡± supplied Amdirlain. Ibrahim nodded politely. ¡°My thanks, Healer Am.¡± ¡°All these techniques Senior Mubeen and Novice Ibrahim have demonstrated for us are from the East Wind¡¯s Kingdom. As you¡¯ve seen, it allows many ways to throw and pin an opponent to remove the threat they place on you or one you¡¯re protecting quicker than dispatching them might require. Speak to one of my seniors if you want to study it further.¡± Is this part of masters looking to attract students interested in the same areas of the martial arts? As the other students departed, a few glanced curiously at Amdirlain, but none came inappropriately close or stopped to engage in conversation. ¡°I should ask a person¡¯s name before I assume things, especially with a youthful-looking Elf,¡± muttered the instructor once the others were out of earshot. Shrugging, Amdirlain fixed him with a smile. ¡°What is your name, Master?¡± ¡°Master Payam, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Am,¡± replied Payam. ¡°Master Livia mentioned your presence a few days ago but said you¡¯d departed on another errand. Having heard nothing further, I didn¡¯t suspect you returned for lessons, let alone as a healer. The tales I¡¯d heard from Master Cyrus had me believe you were more the combative type.¡± ¡°I¡¯m that as well, but I want to develop Universal Life, and it has far to go,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Master Payam¡¯s forehead furrowed so expressively that it made his eyebrows look like they were crawling. ¡°Does it? I heard you were proficient in it and several other Ki powers.¡± ¡°Proficiency for some just means I¡¯m getting started. It¡¯s in the Senior Master Rank, but I seek to get it into Grand Master and beyond.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no class for the next hour. Shall we get to know each other?¡± asked Master Payam, and he stepped towards the arena¡¯s platform. There was no malice, only curiosity in the man¡¯s theme, and Amdirlain¡¯s polite smile turned to delight. ¡°That sounds perfect, Master Payam. Might I put an illusion in place so we don¡¯t attract interest? I¡¯m trying to be discrete.¡± When Master Payam gave his assent, Amdirlain put a concealment barrier around the arena to make it seem unoccupied and quiet between classes. When they faced off from each other, Amdirlain deliberately bowed and purposefully took her gaze from him. The master huffed in disapproval but didn¡¯t attack. Amdirlain lifted her head and showed her eyes were closed, and Payam¡¯s reprimand died on his lips. ¡°You trust a blind fighting style?¡± asked Master Payam. Amdirlain smiled confidently. ¡°I¡¯m never blind to what is around me. I¡¯d appreciate you helping me practise using senses other than sight, Master.¡± Burning music rushed through Payam, and his form sheathed itself in flames that smoothly transitioned into the appearance of ancient Mongolian armour, and beneath it rose a layer of metal concealed from sight by the fire. His Ki State holds layers of fire and metal simultaneously. Did he need to activate it separately? I wonder what the limits are in exchange for the flexibility. Amdirlain infused Spatial Mana into her Ki State, and a shimmering aura of glass-like feathers rose from her flesh to sit atop her clothing. Its appearance earned a happy grunt from Payam, and he struck with a lightning-fast jab. Shifting her weight, Amdirlain swayed fractionally out of the way, her hands casually relaxed at her sides. His jab became a grab; in response, her sway increased, and Amdirlain turned with the motion. A hand rose and brushed his wrist further offline, and with his attention high, she spun low with a kick scything towards his ankles. His graceful knee-lift brought his toes just above the line of the attack, and he stomped with brutal force towards her thigh. Amdirlain continued her sweeping movement rolling out of the way, a spray of shards showering them both when Payam¡¯s attack shattered the platform¡¯s finely fitted stonework. As she turned her momentum into a spinning kick towards his chest, a melody arose within Amdirlain¡¯s dancing motions and repaired the stones. At that moment, Payam¡¯s kick became a knee strike that intercepted her attack, and they both rebounded. Payam flowed close, launched a flurry of strikes that Amdirlain wove between, and used his attacks as props for her dancing evasions. Her fingertips briefly touched his wrist or hand to deflect the attacks and made it seem like he was a dancer spinning his partner around. Each deflection pushed him increasingly further off-balance, and with each attempt at correction he made, Amdirlain sent him further the other way. As he extended his stance, Amdirlain flowed beside him, hooked his moving ankle upwards with her toes and sent an elbow towards his face. Caught between a two-prong attack, Payam collapsed backwards and drunkenly rolled across the stone to smoothly flow to his feet. He found Amdirlain already following him in the seemingly much smaller space with a fast-flowing grace that hounded him, and it was his turn to spin about the platform, desperately evading her kicks and strikes. While his erratic movements were unpredictable for most, Amdirlain read him perfectly through every muscle contraction and used his evasions to herd him to the arena¡¯s edge. On the verge of being pushed out, he committed and let his armour take the brunt of a blow. The impact¡¯s shockwave was a thunderclap within the modest arena that rattled the wooden stands and set them swaying. Payam grabbed her withdrawing fist and found himself pulled into a lifting elbow strike that hammered into his chest. Though his armour prevented bones from breaking, it didn¡¯t stop the strength in it from sending him across the arena¡¯s boundary line. As his back foot touched the platform lip, Payam caught his balance and bowed. ¡°Lady Am.¡± ¡°Master Payam,¡± replied Amdirlain, returning the gesture. ¡°Perhaps next time we should find a bigger arena,¡± said Payam warily. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you¡¯d worry about limiting our conversation to the marked lines.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°I stepped within the circle. It would be dishonourable to change the implicit rules I offered for our conversation because the match took an unexpected turn,¡± said Payam. Amdirlain motioned towards the circle behind her. ¡°We could go again. Best out of five?¡± ¡°Seven,¡± countered Payam primly. ¡°It seems my old body might need time to warm up, you danced gracefully.¡± ¡°Seven,¡± agreed Amdirlain with a grin. ¡°How did you repair the platform so smoothly?¡± enquired Payam, nodding to where his kick had shattered stones. ¡°You undid the damage almost before the shards had landed, yet I sensed no Mana.¡± ¡°I have a few tricks many can¡¯t perceive,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°The psionic abilities?¡± questioned Payam. Amdirlain blinked innocently. ¡°Psionic? Who, me?¡± ¡°Try not to break me into too many pieces. Judge Po would mock my foolishness,¡± said Payam as they faced off against each other in the circle¡¯s centre. ¡°Make sure you give Livia permission to summon me if I¡¯m on the receiving end,¡± replied Amdirlain, aware the old Master had no Wizard Class she recognised among his theme. With Payam now wary of being herded out of the circle, the second exchange better balanced Payam¡¯s experience and refined skills against Amdirlain¡¯s ability to read his intentions and her own physical capabilities. Eventually, Payam stopped and declared a draw as the chime sounded for the next class. ¡°Thank you for your instruction, Master Payam,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you for allowing this one to get to know you,¡± replied Payam cheerfully. ¡°Will you be staying for the next lesson?¡± Amdirlain tilted her head curiously. ¡°I can, though I¡¯m sure you¡¯re more than able to heal your students.¡± Payam¡¯s smile held a grandfatherly warmth that contrasted his earlier stern demeanour. ¡°Who am I to deny an august ally of the monastery her practice?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean, Master Payam. I¡¯m merely here to practise healing at present,¡± replied Amdirlain innocently. ¡°And in another room?¡± questioned Payam sceptically. ¡°That time and place might be a completely different matter,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll let you sit at the back in future classes. I know you could be by their side instantly if needed,¡± said Payam. ¡°They would find I have plenty of time to move to their side and tend them. Do you prefer me to sit higher in the stands and provide a distraction for students?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Then you get to scold them after all.¡± ¡°A pretty female in a room distracts only those who can¡¯t control themselves,¡± replied Payam, and he gave a satisfied nod. ¡°Then I can teach that distractions have consequences while they can still survive them.¡± Amdirlain returned to her original spot high in the stands, and the following two classes provided Payam with a mix of students with different seniorities to view the demonstrations. The day¡¯s lessons were drawing to a close when Amdirlain heard her friends and Silpar come back through the Portal and teleport to the boundary of the monastery¡¯s grounds. Though the concealments she set around Silpar¡¯s nature hadn¡¯t ended, she refreshed them as the group started up the road. When Isa dropped onto the bench beside Amdirlain, Ilya sat on the other side to bookend her. Amdirlain hurriedly placed concealments that she had to expand when Klipyl appeared on the next lower tier of the stands. Though she¡¯d adopted a dusky Taur? Elf form with bluish-green hair and sapphire-hued eyes, her only attire was the white ribbon that clung to her curves. ¡°In the end, you were rude and took the toys away,¡± laughed Isa. ¡°Yeah, so completely rude, but never mind. There are a lot of big-arse monsters about, so we had target practice all the same,¡± said Ilya. ¡°Though Isa found other ways to get into trouble.¡± Amdirlain looked at Isa, who nodded happily. ¡°What did you get up to?¡± ¡°She taught them how to play knucklebones,¡± said Ilya. ¡°And I taught them losing was perfectly fine,¡± added Klipyl, and she sat on the bench in front of Amdirlain and leaned her head back against Amdirlain¡¯s knees to look up at her. ¡°I mean by example, not beating them at the games. Isa kept thrashing my arse, and not in a fun way.¡± Do the three of them think it¡¯s a sleepover and I need comforting? Sarah and Silpar are at Livia¡¯s manor, giving her an update, and I¡¯m so not a sticky beak. ¡°Hey, get your own lover,¡± huffed Ilya good-naturedly. Klipyl gave a mock pout and waved towards the ongoing exchange of points. ¡°Why should I stop at one? I¡¯m sure there are lots of vigorous ones around here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to ensure you get some soundproof accommodations then,¡± said Amdirlain. The growl of pleasure rumbled along Klipyl¡¯s spine and vibrated against Amdirlain¡¯s knees. ¡°Ever since you reached inside me, you¡¯ve been so good to me.¡± ¡°You did what to her, miss?¡± gasped Isa. ¡°Have you been withholding gossip?¡± ¡°She reached deep inside and tugged hard, and I got so hot,¡± breathed Klipyl, her eyes glowing with excitement. Amdirlain rolled her eyes and restrained herself from messing up Klipyl¡¯s hair. ¡°Shards.¡± ¡°Oh, now I understand,¡± said Isa. ¡°Kli¡¯s into deep penetrations.¡± Klipyl giggled mischievously and stroked a hand along her thigh. ¡°Oh, yes.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take you two anywhere,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Isa smiled smugly. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Kli proved you can get inside her.¡± Amdirlain kept a straight face and turned to Ilya. ¡°Afternoon, Ilya. How are you doing?¡± ¡°Isa shared some of those songs you performed, so I know you¡¯re no fainting flower,¡± said Ilya. ¡°They don¡¯t get any less incorrigible if you ignore them.¡± ¡°I can live in hope,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically. ¡°That¡¯s not fair. Don¡¯t ignore me,¡± sniffed Klipyl, and she spun around on the bench to face Amdirlain. ¡°Some others in Ebusuku¡¯s service are divided because while you started the ball rolling, Ebusuku¡¯s done much of the work. You know, in keeping everyone organised and things moving for your projects. Some of us consider that our loyalty should lie with you, as Ebusuku wouldn¡¯t have had anything to keep moving.¡± ¡°It¡¯s understandable,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I hope it doesn¡¯t cause friction in the Domain.¡± Klipyl waved the notion away. ¡°It is always someone¡¯s choice how they feel, and regardless of who they feel is the primary person, the goals are the same. I just thought you should know that many of them want to come to work for you when you clear away this Fallen state.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when that will be,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°One thing celestials have in common is no matter their role, time can stretch on without reflecting in a growth in their capabilities,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°When you¡¯re free, we¡¯ll help you with whatever comes next.¡± ¡°Thank you, Klipyl, but Ebusuku needs help in the meantime,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s got Celestial armies that are growing and training, so I wouldn¡¯t worry about that,¡± reassured Klipyl. ¡°Though many of them haven¡¯t teamed up with one of you three, so they don¡¯t increase in strength as fast.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Isa¡¯s been busy with the L¨®m?, and Sarah has kept me company.¡± ¡°It was a helpful advantage when there were only a few of them, but they¡¯ve got a lot of battle-worthy celestials now,¡± said Isa. ¡°Many of the ones that got the leg up are working with Sage on the battlelines against Orcus.¡± The thought of stealing their advantage left a sour taste in Amdirlain¡¯s mouth, and she groaned in dissatisfaction. ¡°Orcus has a lead on troops. They need something to counter that, and if Sage already has the ones capable of quickly growing to match, he can¡¯t expand the battle fronts.¡± ¡°Are you running off again?¡± asked Isa. ¡°No, I¡¯m going to stage boss event fights on demi-planes,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m becoming a GM to go with my current calling of dungeon master.¡± Isa huffed. ¡°What does that stand for?¡± Amdirlain continued to chuckle. ¡°Game master, one with the power to cause mob spawns just like in an MMO.¡± Groaning, Isa lightly swatted her. ¡°Really? You¡¯re such a geek.¡± Klipyl grunted in confusion and looked between Isa and Amdirlain. ¡°Do one of you want to provide a more meaningful explanation for us locals?¡± Amdirlain held back a groan, thinking of all the times she¡¯d tried to explain the attraction of MMOs to a non-gamer. Yes, I spend eight hours at work on a computer and spend another four plus some nights when I get home on my computer for fun. ¡°You were happy to come to fight the frost giants. How do you think others would feel about taking on an entity for the chance to improve their skills and levels? Not something that would feel pain, but dangerous to them if they mess it up,¡± explained Amdirlain. Klipyl sat upright, her eyes gleaming with excitement. ¡°Like hunting the elementals threatening miners near Duskstone?¡± ¡°I could arrange for massive elementals, but I was more thinking of constructs,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, constructs can be fun,¡± cheered Klipyl. ¡°But we already have the ones in your tower.¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°I was thinking of more formidable constructs, but I¡¯ll need to check to see how dangerous I can make them.¡± Could I set them up so someone could control them, like the ones in the maze? Would they still reward people with experience? ¡°You¡¯ve got this cheerful look on your face,¡± noted Isa. ¡°Would you care to share your thoughts? Or was it something creepy that was giving you happy vibes?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it would count as creepy,¡± hedged Amdirlain. Ilya snorted. ¡°If you don¡¯t know if it counts as creepy or not, I¡¯m going to go with it does.¡± Lifting an eyebrow, Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve survived in the strangest of places. If it falls outside events you know about, my vote is on creepy,¡± clarified Ilya. ¡°It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t know about it, as I¡¯ve faced something similar before, but it''s what¡¯s involved in duplicating them,¡± said Amdirlain, and she hesitated, unsure if she should explain the involvement of the Aspect of Law. ¡°Faced what before?¡± prompted Isa. ¡°They¡¯re constructs that allow someone to control them remotely, making them far more dangerous. Their materials limited what strength of classes they could emulate,¡± explained Amdirlain, partly wishing she¡¯d stuck around longer to delve into the music of their internal workings. ¡°Who exactly was controlling these constructs?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°And where did you fight them?¡± ¡°They were guardians in the Maze,¡± explained Amdirlain, and at Ilya¡¯s frown, she continued. ¡°They objected to me killing predatory beings that had devolved back to their baser instincts. I¡¯m not talking about a natural hunting cat spirit worshipped by tribes, but ones that delighted in cruelty and acts of sadism. Each time I executed one, some constructs would appear in waves to drive me back to my chamber.¡± ¡°I remember you saying you fought things in the Maze, but you didn¡¯t go into details when I was about,¡± said Ilya. Isa clicked her tongue thoughtfully. ¡°The ones controlled by the Aspect of Law?¡± "Yes," said Amdirlain. ¡°There are things to work out. I inserted the song of a Fighter Class into the ones at my first training tower at Nolmar, but this would require a greater effort, and my Resonance Power was still developing when I last fought the ones in the maze.¡± ¡°I guess you were there for more conversations than I was,¡± allowed Ilya. ¡°I think Amdirlain mentioned it when you were present, but all the surrounding stone was a distraction,¡± said Isa, and she leaned into Amdirlain to reach past and pat Ilya¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you just sit next to her?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she reappeared on the other side of Ilya and nudged her. ¡°She thought it would stop you from running away. I¡¯m not sure why she believed that when you can Teleport,¡± laughed Ilya. Lightly grasping Isa¡¯s hand, she winked and drew her in. ¡°Isa said it¡¯s rude to ditch a conversation you¡¯re in the middle of,¡± stated Klipyl. ¡°I followed the logic. What¡¯s the problem with making the tougher constructs? I mean, you make other stuff pretty easily?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t catch all the aspects of their themes, so we¡¯ll have to figure it out and experiment,¡± hummed Isa as she cuddled up to Ilya. ¡°Could Sarah set up psi crystals to help drive them? Then we¡¯ve got reproducible combat droids.¡± ¡°Thinking about complex constructs, there is someone who I should likely take Livia to go see, and they might help me out,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Custodian. They¡¯re an aspect of Protection that looks after objects in a concealed location for the Titan,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°After the lesson finishes, we¡¯ll see Livia and sort things out.¡± There are also a bunch of Eldritch prison keys whose timer I¡¯ll need to check to see if any require urgent repair. ¡°You¡¯ll say their name but not Law¡¯s?¡± queried Iya. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°It¡¯s messy.¡± ¡°Oh, Ori fucked them,¡± declared Klipyl. ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Ohhhh,¡± chorused Isa and Ilya. ¡°Really?¡± drawled Amdirlain. Isa smiled. ¡°You didn¡¯t even blush. You¡¯ve certainly improved.¡± 374 - Champion Amdirlain¡¯s POV - Outlands - Annex of the Monastery of the Western Reaches The concealments made it appear to the students that the four merely sat calmly observing the presentations. Throughout the lesson, none of the students had risked inviting Master Payam''s ire even to glance their way. However, once the chime signalled the lesson''s end, Klipyl attracted open stares from most of the students. The archon hummed happily and exchanged waves with a few admirers, regardless of gender. Master Payam''s sharp reminder sent the students off to their evening meals, and he climbed the stairs to approach Amdirlain. "Discrete?" "I was trying, but these three don''t operate in discrete mode," replied Amdirlain. "That''s rich coming from you, missy," muttered Isa. "Master Payam, this is Isa, Ilya, and Kli," said Amdirlain, motioning to each. "A pleasure to meet you all. I hope you don''t find the monastery''s ways too strange, but I imagine you''re just here to visit Lady Am and not to study," said Payam. Kli giggled. "I like to act, not study." "As friends of Lady Am, so long as you don''t cause problems for those training, you''re welcome within the monastery," replied Payam. "Might I ask, is your attire common among elves, Kli?" Klipyl pouted playfully and slowly shook her head. "It''s not, but I could make it common for you to see me in it. Would you like that?" "I just sought understanding. Some from the South Wind''s court also wear very little, even less than what you''re wearing now," replied Payam. "The contrast between your dusky skin and the white silk is striking." Sitting up straight, Kli''s smile returned, and she fluttered her eyelids. "Are you trying to woo me, Master Payam?" "Just paying you a justified compliment, Lady Elf," corrected Payam, his tone brisk with shock at her forwardness. I handled the introductions by their first names, and they were acting casually with me. Does he think we hold the same rank somewhere? "Drats, no one has wooed me before," pouted Klipyl. "Is there anything I can do to change your mind? Pin you up against the wall at knifepoint and kiss you into insensibility? Or should I let you do that to me? You look old, but you''re a Monk. Are you still vigorous? I mean, we wouldn''t have to have sex all the time. Three or four times a day would do, I''m sure." A jangle of confused and discordant notes rang through Master Payam''s theme, and he blinked rapidly. "Perhaps I should leave you ladies to your discussion. I''d hate to be interrupting." Isa waited until Payam had moved beyond the concealments that deadened their conversation before she started giggling. "I was serious," protested Klipyl. "Don''t laugh." "I''m not laughing at you," reassured Isa. "His reaction was the funny part of your exchange, especially when you suggested pinning him to the wall." "He was into it, but didn''t want to admit the attraction to me?" Klipyl asked innocently, her mischievous melody contradicting her poise. Her guileless act earned a smile from Ilya. "You had his attention, that''s for sure." Grinning cheekily, Klipyl clasped her hands to her breasts. "I enjoy having people''s attention." "That aside," laughed Amdirlain. "Do you feel like being a test subject, Kli?" Klipyl nodded eagerly, and then she paused. "Are we back to talking about constructs, or sexual positions? Not that it matters as I''m up for either." "Testing out the constructs when I make some," clarified Amdirlain. "Your tower''s constructs are fun to play smash with," replied Klipyl. "If the new ones are tougher, I''ll have a blast." Ilya groaned and hid her face in her hands. "Oh, what''s wrong, Ilya?" asked Klipyl, giving her a wide-eyed look. "Did my punny line give you a headache?" "It''s the possibility of heavy metal being involved," quipped Amdirlain. Klipyl snorted and made a mark in the air before she pointed at Amdirlain. "Sarah told me about that music style when we hunted the Thri-Kreen on the Erakk?''s homeworld. There isn''t a drummer archon, but I guess I''ll have to practice different beats." "Beat downs?" asked Isa hopefully. "That''s one up," agreed Klipyl. "Let''s go hassle Livia and see if Ammie can figure out new toys for me." "They''re not just for you," corrected Amdirlain. "That''s not how it works if I''m the test subject," argued Klipyl. "They''re all mine, but I''ll graciously let others share my toys." Isa chortled. "That''s so kind of you." With Silpar and Sarah''s themes still present at Livia''s place, Amdirlain sent Sarah a projection. ''Are you done catching Livia up on the action?'' ''Almost, we won''t be much longer,'' replied Sarah. Amdirlain motioned the others towards the arena exit as she replied. ''We''re walking that way. I''ve got a few other things to talk about with Livia.'' On the walk over, Amdirlain led the way, happily aware that the focus of the attention they attracted was Klipyl and not her. Lapping up their attention, Klipyl cheerfully blew kisses and exchanged names with a few dozen students of varying seniority. "They love my ribbon," purred Klipyl. "It was such a great purchase." At Livia''s mansion, a student in his late teens answered the front door, having risen from a low table set along one side of the training hall in the front section of Livia''s manor. As he ushered them inside and tried to cling to the shattered remains of his fragile decorum after seeing Klipyl, four other students looked on and exchanged whispers. "Master Livia is in the study on the Spire side of the house," directed the student unnecessarily. "Thank you. Livia is aware we''re coming," replied Amdirlain. Her reassuring smile to the flustered youth inspired him to regain his calm. "We''ll see ourselves through. You should get back to your meal before it gets cold." "Master Livia told us previously to give you freedom of the house, Lady Am. Thank you," replied the student, returning to join the other students. As they approached the rear of the hall, Sarah opened a door and stepped out into the corridor to beckon them closer. "What if I want to go somewhere else?" quipped Isa. Sarah pointed towards the front of the mansion. "On your bike then, princess." "I don''t have a bike anymore," pouted Isa before she clapped excitedly. "Can I get a Dragon ride?" "No," huffed Sarah. Isa grumbled. "Do you need to go live by the sea and chill?" "I know what that song is about, smart alec," replied Sarah. "We''ve filled Livia in about the Skrel tribes and the regional monsters." "Did you tell her about all the ogres you snacked on?" teased Isa. Sarah glared at Isa and dramatically licked her lips. "All that lard. They''re likely high in bad cholesterol, so I''m glad dragons break mass down to pure Mana." "That''s your story. My story is you ate Ogre arse," retorted Isa. "And head, bones, smelly feet, the lot," added Ilya. "And?" grunted Sarah. Amdirlain tsked and shooed them inside the room sheltered by Livia''s barrier against eavesdropping. "No arguing where Livia''s students can hear." As they trooped back inside, Amdirlain gave the clutter of canvas bags filled with bundles of papers and scrolls littering Livia''s desk a critical look. The amount of paperwork compared to that in other masters'' mansions had Amdirlain resisting the urge to grind her teeth. "You need a better system." Silpar, standing near the wall, chuckled in amusement when Livia glanced up from a scroll she''d just picked up. "Thank you for your insightful wisdom, M¨®eir." At the crisp tone in Livia''s voice, Amdirlain raised a hand. "Things are being delivered in bags, with no way to tell that something important might be buried at the bottom. Not to mention, I can tell other masters aren''t putting up with this in their personal space." "Sorry to have kept you waiting longer than I intended. It seems being away for two days has led to a mountain of minor things that needed to get sorted out," said Livia, moving past Amdirlain''s remarks. "Was all this waiting for you when you got back, or have you whittled it down some?" asked Isa, her tone rich with disgust. "I''d burn the lot. If it''s important, they''ll write to you again. If it''s not, they shouldn''t have written to you." "It isn''t the first lot I''ve gotten through so far. Some of these will be records of delivered supplies and updated projections of materials we''ll need," advised Livia. "I''ve got a system. Unfortunately, I have to go through them." "No, you need to get a senior here to train in the system," argued Isa. "You''ve got a bundle of examples to work through with them. The longer you put off training someone, the more of your own time you''ll have spent. Work out the issues training one person, and then get them to help you train three more and, after that, have the four of them share the workload or train more people until they are on top of it." Livia frowned. "The seniors have novices to train, and it''s doubtful anyone would be interested." "Award them contribution points above what manual labour or teaching would get them," suggested Isa. "A lot of paperwork was involved in my old life''s work. This looks like a clusterfuck waiting to go sideways if there is this much after you''ve been away for two days." "I agree, you need some people to delegate to," said Amdirlain, and she collected some scrolls from Livia''s hands and put them back in the canvas bag. "Can you arrange for someone to deal with the initial sorting? There is someone I should take you to meet for your more time-critical issue." "M¨®eir," protested Livia, trying to keep hold of the last scrolls. "Other people can read and answer these or at least determine what genuinely needs your attention," urged Amdirlain. "At present, I feel like chewing Master Cyrus out. You''re not just a master of the monastery now. You''ve things you must handle, and your existence is more important than someone''s reports. Paperwork or staying alive? Which should you focus on right now?" "I''ve responsibilities, M¨®eir," insisted Livia. "Haven''t you learned yet that Amdirlain''s focus has two modes: unbendable or flexible as a willow branch?" observed Sarah. "Give you one guess what mode she''s in at present." Ignoring the accurate dig, Amdirlain jabbed a finger at the bag. "You couldn''t have given her a hand here?" Sarah''s shrug was unbothered. "She''s a grown-arse woman, and I limit my interference to matters you involve me with. Livia knows I helped Gail for years as a Steward. We''ve been talking a bit, and she didn''t ask. She likely became spoiled by the clerks who worked for Tyr''s church. Have you ever trained a clerk before, Livia?" "No," admitted Livia slowly. "The senior clerks took care of that job. I knew their filing system but not how they trained others in their work or how they delegated." "This place is too big to manage solo. You''ve got clerks managing the job for contribution points, haven''t you?" questioned Sarah. Livia nodded. "They might prioritise the duty pavilion''s interests over reports from others." "I can sort them. While I don''t know this writing, I''ve learnt good quality translation spells, enough to understand even technical details in each document," offered Ilya. Sarah and Livia both looked at her in surprise. Ilya rolled her eyes at them in disbelief. "Consider the millennium of enslavement I endured." Silpar groaned in disgust, and Ilya nodded sharply in agreement before she continued. "While I kept out of Hell as much as possible, I still have centuries of experience dealing with all sorts of reports and paperwork." Laughing, Livia smiled at Ilya. "Do you want a job?" The weight of that request hung between them, and Ilya blinked first. "That''s strangely tempting." "You protected me for how many decades?" Isa said, nudging her. Ilya bit her lip and sadly shook her head. "I''ll happily work with you, Livia, but accepting your offer permanently wouldn''t be good." "And now you''re trying to protect Livia from your history," said Isa. "Not just my history, Isa. You''ll always be an independent Celestial. If I were going to enter someone''s service, it would risk divided loyalties, as my priority will always be you," explained Ilya. "It''s one thing to be protecting you and those you''re serving up Luck''s challenges. Taking Livia''s offer is something else entirely." "I appreciate your candour," said Livia, and she tried to regain the bag from Amdirlain. Ilya nodded sadly. "Once I understand the system you want, I can also help you train some clerks who aren''t acting on another''s behalf. How about I take that lot off your hands and categorise and record them? After you return you can review them and advise me where I went wrong." "Record them?" asked Livia. "A ledger of what documents you''ve received from whom and when," clarified Ilya. "You should have another for messages you¡¯ve dispatched and the messenger''s receipt. Then you can easily find if something you''re expecting is mis-categorised, and that the outbound message reached the right place." "Arse covering at its finest," quipped Isa. "The ledger of what I''ve received sounds useful if it includes how you categorised it," admitted Livia. "We don''t have anything like messengers being issued receipts." Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "I''ll set a ledger up in a memory crystal. I''ve got a few," said Ilya, and she drew a crystal out and offered it to Livia. "Why don''t you focus on your system and document types and record that information? Then I''ve got a better information base, and you won''t have to sit and explain it." "Alright," agreed Livia. She took the crystal from Ilya and briefly concentrated before returning it. "There is a list of the masters and their roles in there as well." "Even better," replied Ilya, scooping the bag from Amdirlain''s hands. "I''ll work on these now so you two can talk or run." "Thank you, Ilya," said Amdirlain. Shrugging, Ilya paused. "You might want to consider how Livia stumbled through that Portal when a village was in danger with people of sufficient faith to trigger a Mantle''s formation. I think one of your aspects is likely playing games." Her first meeting with Goxashru came to mind, and Amdirlain nodded sharply. "It wouldn''t be the first time, but speaking to Custodian will likely be beneficial." When Ilya left the room, Isa followed her out. As the door shut behind them, Livia addressed Amdirlain. "Who is Custodian?" "A lesser Aspect of Protection, their focus is on treasured and special objects," explained Amdirlain. "Does meeting them sound like something you can delegate?" "No, it doesn''t," agreed Livia. "But are they someone I should meet, given the newness of my status?" "Given your situation with your Mantle has a foundation of quicksand that I want to stabilise, yes," said Amdirlain. Livia frowned. "The connection you have to them is through Orh¨ºthurin." "Yes, and?" huffed Amdirlain. "You told all of us repeatedly that you''re not Orh¨ºthurin," observed Livia. "Aren''t you taking advantage of her relationships?" Amdirlain gave a stiff smile. "Of all the entities I currently know, Custodian is the best positioned to get us some help. Considering their nature as an Aspect of Protection, helping you with your Mantle of Protection would help their role within the realm. Also, they might help us with something for Ebusuku''s celestials." "Mantle of Protection and an opportunity to talk to a sweetie like Custodian, go for the chat," advised Sarah. "You know this Custodian?" asked Livia. "We meet every few lifetimes," admitted Sarah. "There was a certain protective individual we had in common." Livia stood and nodded to Amdirlain. "Okay, let''s get this done then." "Hopefully, we won''t be too long," said Amdirlain, addressing Sarah and Silpar. "Another place I can''t accompany you?" enquired Silpar. Sarah laughed in disbelief. "Don''t ask to go there." "Most certainly not," agreed Amdirlain. "I don''t know exactly what Custodian would do to you, but it wouldn''t be good for your health." Focused on the hall''s music, Amdirlain shifted them directly there, effortlessly matching the dimensional phasing that passage through the maze had previously applied. The columns with their carved niches and timers stretched out ahead of them, but Amdirlain barely had time to check the closest before the faceted orb of Custodian appeared. "Amdirlain, I heard you talking about me," chimed Custodian, and they spun about Livia. "It''s a pleasure to meet you, Livia. Your daughter''s Mantle is very fragile. We really should do something about that post haste. Would you like the options, Livia?" Struck by the similarity to her own crystal gaze, Livia stared at the aspect''s form. "You''re Custodian?" "That I am," confirmed Custodian. "I already know you turned down what would be option one." "Are you referring to Ebusuku''s offer of divine promotion?" enquired Livia. "Yes. I could certainly provide the same result," said Custodian. "But your concerns are valid in missing opportunities to increase your strength and capability to advance once a proper Divine being. However, it would ensure you were protected from rogue misfortune. Truly divine beings can take centuries to fade after losing their last Priest, and I imagine Amdirlain would intervene to resolve the danger to you quickly." Livia shot Amdirlain an amused look. "They know you well. What''s option two?" "I absorb the Mantle from you," said Custodian. "No, thank you. The Mantle is a tool by which I can be of greater service to others," replied Livia. "While I didn''t go looking for it, I won''t abandon the people I saved nor the opportunity to protect others." "I like your daughter, Amdirlain," declared Custodian. "I hope we''ll be friends over the aeons to come, Livia." "M¨®eir said we''ve things in common," allowed Livia. "Hopefully, we find it more than just the desire to protect others." "It would be best, as my focus isn¡¯t on people, it''s on the protection of cherished or special things or places," replied Custodian. "You will need to decide what you stand for going forward.¡± ¡°M¨®eir said as much, but I¡¯ve many responsibilities I can¡¯t just shed,¡± argued Livia. ¡°If you were to die tomorrow, someone would have to take care of them,¡± countered Custodian. ¡°But¡­¡± "While you were looking to protect your independence from your M¨®eir by clinging to paperwork and protecting it from mishandling, you seem unaware of how vulnerable you are,¡± declared Custodian. Livia frowned in puzzlement. ¡°You¡¯re simply aware of what went on?¡± ¡°When Amdirlain first mentioned my name and her intent to have us meet, I continued to pay attention,¡± replied Custodian. ¡°Oh,¡± said Livia. I can hear when observed by gods but not aspects; that is interesting news. ¡°There is a crucial difference between yourself and Amdirlain¡¯s early days upon gaining a Mantle. Amdirlain set an example in her behaviour and had conversations with her followers during an extended visit. That visit is where they get guidance about who she is and her ways. The impression she made was so strong that it stamped through the kingdoms. To be cynical, you have precisely one act of extreme violence and then hiring Celestial mercenaries for them. What will you do when your appearance changes? And that is just the most minor risk you face unless you set your tenets firmly." "What?" gasped Livia. "Amdirlain, did you tell her of the mortals'' influence on those they worship?" asked Custodian. Amdirlain nodded grimly. "I did, but there was a lot to go over." Custodian chimed softly. "Unless you secure worshipers on other worlds, your True Form will start to look like a Skrel over time. I''d suggest Elven worshipers whose body type is closest to yours unless you can get Amdirlain to seed a few worlds with humans to gain worshipers among them. This would prevent the effect on your True Form, but it won''t stop how the Skrel perceive you. Their perception of you will influence your avatars'' manifestation in their world. That is part of the faith connection to a world and is in the mortals'' hands." "I knew I should get worshippers on other worlds, but how does this relate to how you can help me?" asked Livia. "How many worlds?" questioned Custodian. Livia blinked. "What do you mean?" "How many worlds should I assist you in securing connections to?" expanded Custodian. "What threshold would tip the Mantle to a Divine Spark?" asked Livia. Custodian swayed in the air, light from the columns'' numbers reflecting from it. "That would depend on how many of those worlds you can progress to a Greater Power''s rank." "My Mantle had twelve connections before I went to the monastery to heal and train," advised Amdirlain. "How about five worlds where a faith focused on protection would find welcome? Though I¡¯d not want to attract people only to have them hunted by existing faiths," said Livia. ¡°I remember that happened to some of Amdirlain¡¯s converts when they were freed from the Dao.¡± "I can arrange for that. Would you also take on another two where the people have a greater need for protection in many forms, even if the majority do not understand?" enquired Custodian. "What is the issue on those two worlds?" enquired Livia. "Don''t worry. I won''t give you all the problem cases, and it''s an issue on thousands of worlds. I would like to see how you manage when oppression and lies keep the majority of the populace practically enslaved," explained Custodian. "You come from a background of serving justice, but justice is a societal construct, not true protection." That sounds like lessons she''ll need to learn for herself. I''ll stay clear of those worlds. Livia winced. "I saw the legal differences between three kingdoms, and what passed as justice varied. I agree with your proposal." "Best decide on your principal creed or base tenets, Mantle Holder Livia. While you are doing this, I and the other aspects of protection will determine the worlds on which we''ll send visions to those needing a guide," said Custodian. "Please do so before you leave here. I know Amdirlain came to further the protection of the realm in several fashions today. Our discussion will give you time for quiet introspection." "Are you teasing me?" asked Livia with sudden suspicion. "Why would you believe that?¡± responded Custodian. Livia blinked. ¡°Just, it sounded similar to advice I gave Amdirlain recently.¡± ¡°Was it good advice?¡± asked Custodian. ¡°I believe it was,¡± replied Livia. Custodian chimed. ¡°Then it won¡¯t hurt for you to follow it yourself, will it? Shall we speak, Amdirlain?¡± Amdirlain had been considering the keys to the Eldritch shackles while Livia and Custodian spoke. The timer on the columns used a link between the key and the shackles themselves to determine how long they''d endure. While it wasn''t the same as the oath links she''d manipulated on numerous occasions, it was close enough that with Resonance-Lord she could avoid the need to venture to each location in person. "Let me just repair the prisons, and then I''d like to speak about Law''s use of the guardians in the maze," said Amdirlain. "Laodice would like to speak to you about your request, given its purpose is to further Sage''s war against Orcus'' nihilism and desire to see all species in the realm perish," advised Custodian. And yes, I''m getting deeper into the games of aspects now. "What about those aspects that would see him succeed?" "They have their champions," replied Custodian. "Likewise, those interests that I would see Livia oppose have their own." Moloch PoV''s - Gehenna (Two Months Earlier) The black diamonds vomiting from a nearby volcano rolled down the never-ending slope of Gehenna''s first layer and should have made for hazardous footing for most travellers. The gemstones shattered unnoticed beneath his boots as Moloch approached the location the response to his enquiry to Hell had contained. There he waited for days and was nearing the end of his patience when reality shifted with a regimented weight. The change imposed by Tingeth''s will made this spot part of their Domain, and Moloch stifled curses. A chamber manifested around him filled with torture devices and screaming prisoners. Moloch ignored the mewling toys suspended from the walls and ceiling alike. Besides the imprisoned toys, only two other figures were in the chamber. His gaze brushed the twenty-metre-tall Pit Fiend between two pillars against the chamber''s wall, while before them was an occupied throne. Tracing down the tonnes of massive muscles covered in deep red scales whose protective quality some dragons might envy, he felt himself dallying and forced his gaze to fix on the figure sitting on a shadowed throne. Asmodues¡¯ officials redirected his attempts at contacting various Dark Powers within Hell to the individual he''d been told to meet today. Analysis was unresponsive when he tried it on the seated figure, and he wondered if the Domain''s Lord had shut it down. Its use on the Pit Fiend returned his impressive details without issue. That a Devil capable of turning the tides on a battlefield involving millions would stand with his outstretched wings forming a protective canopy over a whore was truly bizarre and made things clear. Despite his hopes otherwise, the Dark Power was revealed to be another upstart female. The throne was occupied by a figure who appeared to be a lithe, chain-adorned Succubus. The chains were purely decorative, with thousands of tiny silver links that each appeared like a screaming face. Though her shadow-shrouded form was hard to see, he knew when she smiled at him, and her presence went from meaningless trash to a body blow that staggered him. Tingeth twitched a slender wing, and Dracas spoke immediately. His tone was the deep rumble of granite being ground to dust by an approaching earthquake. "You have made two enquiries of Hell. You seek knowledge of the Titan''s Songbird?" "Yes." "And you seek a way to purge yourself of unknown celestial energies?" Dracas rumbled before Moloch could expand. "Yes." "Why should her mightiness, Overlord Tingeth, Tyrant of Eternity''s reach, hear your plea?" Moloch paused. "I''ve provided a list to Asmodeus of what I can provide. If your master didn''t wish to hear my request, I''d not have received an invitation." Relaxing back on her throne, Tingeth''s talons dug playfully at the metal arms of her chair, raising a shrill shriek from the Soul embedded within. "Moloch. I see your situation is more dire than your lackey knew. Though that''s not unexpected, I''m sure you hide your condition from most." "Would you not?" "I''m not so foolish as to have left myself so vulnerable," scoffed Tingeth. "Nor to have drawn such ire." "How am I vulnerable?" asked Moloch, and he clenched his teeth in frustration. His desperation had led to voicing a question he would have preferred left unuttered. Tingeth smiled and leant forward on her throne, the light from a hundred eternally immolated prisoners casting a ruby glow across her coppery skin and elven features. The deep amethyst of her slitted gaze seemed to gather the light and crush through the flesh to his heart. "I have an offer for you," said Tingeth. "One that I will make only once. If you leave here without accepting it, the terms will dramatically worsen if you seek it later." "If it is in your ability to answer, then it''s within another¡¯s," rebuffed Moloch. "You still consider yourself a merchant, but I''m not haggling. I know dozens of dark powers in the Abyss have rejected your audience requests," laughed Tingeth, and she flopped back. Moloch heard bones break, and silver blood sprayed across Dracas'' legs as something behind her screamed in agonising despair. "Asmodeus himself sent you to me, and I now hold ultimate authority in the nine circles of Hell as to what occurs with your case. If another agrees to hear your petition, they''ll add their fee to the payment I''ll require." "I''ve only your word for it," replied Moloch. "You want what I can trade for assistance." "Then leave. You''re a convenient option but not essential," sneered Tingeth, and she patted Dracas¡¯ leg with her wing. "Certainly, you''re not as impressive as you might believe, little Hidden." The room started fading as Tingeth withdrew her will. Moloch ground his teeth, and as Tingeth''s gaze grew transparent, he spoke. "I''ve not heard your terms." The room didn''t return. Instead, a darkness impenetrable to his senses enfolded him and blocked everything except Tingeth''s hollow gaze. "I will promote you to the ranks of true divinity, not the pathetic mantles others find impressive. In exchange, you will take on a role that I dictate and work to promote aspects of my tenets in your own way," declared Tingeth. I don''t know her proper title, only that Lord Tingeth is worshipped by tyrants and dictators upon thousands of worlds. Why did this ''Lord'' have to be an unpredictable female? "A Demon serving a Devil?" questioned Moloch. "Your lack of understanding is truly pitiful. Try your best to speak less like an imbecile. You would cease to be a Demon Lord and become a Dark Power, and once past the stage of mantles, the location of one''s residence is meaningless. The game isn''t about Hell against the Abyss¡ªwe''re not demons, devils, or daemons. We''re looking to profit, each in our particular way," replied Tingeth. "Asmodeus doesn''t keep the Blood War going because he wants to eliminate all demons, but because he was paid, and now he wants control of evil in all its forms." "You say his name so casually," noted Moloch. Tingeth shrugged. "This is my Domain. While his rules hold in the circles of Hell outside domains, I''m also a Greater Power. I can prevent him from hearing whatever I don''t wish him hearing inside my Domain." "How much power will I gain?" "I will make you a demi-god. Growth from there is up to you, but growth is possible. You have priests and missionaries to find those to whom your tenets appeal. Convince them to further your goals, and their devotion will flow to you from every world you have worshippers on," replied Tingeth. "My priests will assist you in finding initial recruits upon a few selected worlds." "And if I fail to grow?" "If you don''t make suitable progress, I''ll remove the seed of divinity I bequeathed you long before you fade," replied Tingeth. "That would mean your utter destruction." Moloch kept his face composed and tone calm. "What is this going to cost me?" "I''ve not told you the role you''ll play in the pantheons to which I''ll see you included," noted Tingeth. "The last point to know is that divinity does come with the benefit of me expelling the celestial energy you''ve got burning inside you." "And the role?" "The Abyss collects three types of souls: the damned, the harvested, and those who sold themselves,¡± observed Tingeth casually as she continued to address Moloch¡¯s questions selectively. "You want the last, I take it?" asked Moloch. "At least you¡¯re semi-quick about trade. Your role depends on how many exchangeable souls you''re offering," purred Tingeth. The darkness receded from the path between them, and Moloch found she was still seated upon her throne; the silver blood of whatever she''d crushed earlier dripped off the edge. "Better not bid low. I will only give you one chance since you wanted to see if I was bluffing." "I''ve at least eighteen trillion in my treasury," replied Moloch. Tingeth yawned and tapped a talon against the metal chairs, increasingly higher pitch screams sounding. Each strike caused the fire within his feather-shaped burns to pulse with an agonising intensity that made the Abyss¡¯ inferno seem kind by comparison. A second Soul joined in the screaming, and Tingeth started to fade. "You can have all the souls I own if it will purchase your divine sponsorship," yelled Moloch as the pain in his flesh raged higher, and the burn marks started to grow. "Done." Moloch found glistening white chains wrapped around him and sank without a trace into his skin. Power exploded through him, beyond anything he''d ever conceived, and Moloch beheld the oath links to his servants for the first time and knew what they were. Thousands of thin tubes stretched across the planes, letting him know their state and influence their intentions. Three were withered and ruined, and two of those ruined ones showed burn damage. The Songbird attacked through my oath links? Flames vented out from his wounds as the celestial energy proved unable to retain its grip on deified flesh and the scars vanished from his skin. It wasn''t the only change he felt; his True Form''s flesh and bones were compressed and crushed together, absorbing all his classes as they were altered. He felt his Hidden state stripped away and obliterated by the final determination of his fate. Most of the Oath Link tubes became unbreakable chains tied not to him but to Tingeth, and a chain linked his Soul to her as well. "I''ll take all those that used to be Mortal and those souls from your treasury. Kneel, my Servant, so that I might complete your transformation." Her words were an order beyond his ability to resist. Smarting from the agony of the transformation and her theft, Moloch stayed silent and carefully knelt. "I, Lady Tingeth, Master of Tyrants, Despots, and Hidden Cruelty, declare you, Lord Moloch, my Harbinger of Chaos, Lies, and Repression. May you forever sell mortals the lies that have them believe in my true worshippers'' beneficial rulership." Moloch screamed as her Willpower compressed his Soul into newly deified flesh and set the terms of his existence for eternity. "Fail me, and I''ll stake you out for the Titan''s Songbird and help her kill you slowly." When he came to himself, Moloch registered her words properly and gasped. ¡°Her?" "Based on my research of certain patterns and snide comments from my father, the Songbird is most certainly female," declared Tingeth. "To important matters. First, I expect all your armies to be recalled from the battlefronts against Hell. Second, we must arrange for you to deliver your first payment." Moloch ground his teeth. ¡°First?¡± ¡°You serve me now, and I expect regular tribute,¡± advised Tingeth smugly. 375 - Purpose Amdirlain''s PoV - Outlands - Custodian''s safehold Custodian''s pronouncement about champions caused Livia to frown. "What do you mean by that?" asked Livia. "Aspects are the personification of the concepts, but we''re not allowed to work directly against each other," replied Custodian, and they slowly started turning, sending rays of light from opposite sides of their spherical form. "If we could do that, lesser beings would simply get obliterated when caught in the crossfire between us. However, one fundamental rule of the realm is the need to balance the forces so that souls can have places to strive to better themselves. Of course, you get arguments about what is involved in bettering oneself and, just as some might see me as a positive aspect of protection, there are negative ones." Livia raised an eyebrow. "Do you see people bettering themselves as being able to protect what they care about better, and the aspects of destruction thinks it those with the power to annihilate more?" "Indeed, societies aren''t the only thing limited by their perceptions of what is right or wrong," agreed Custodian. "Your faith needs a strong creed or tenets to cut through some of that noise and provide focus." "Because otherwise, they''d jump around more than Amdirlain''s plans?" asked Livia. "Hey now," protested Amdirlain. A run of chimes that giggled through octaves erupted from Custodian. "To be fair, your M¨®eir is a locus that joins every concept. While most aspects would court her aid to further their ends, the realm''s concepts want their mother''s attention." Livia frowned and tilted her head. "But aren''t you a Concept?" "I''m an Aspect of a Concept, not the Concept itself. Think of aspects as conduits¡ªwith personalities and reasoning¡ªto the primal forces with whom you can''t reason," clarified Custodian. "I had wondered about Isa saying she worships the concept itself, and the same with Sarah," muttered Livia. "They''ve got ties to forces with whom there is no reasoning." Custodian brightened, and a rainbow washed across the nearby columns. "Gideon didn¡¯t give them the option to pick an Aspect to serve. First, because none of us are allowed to have Anar or L¨®m? as worshipers, and second, we wouldn''t dream of having a bond that might challenge Amdirlain and Sarah''s tie." Amdirlain was tempted to curse up a storm but held her tongue. "Can you explain why Amdirlain is a locus?" asked Livia. "I was informed Amdirlain told you about her original lifetime. Gideon announced it a little while ago, and I won several large favours by having picked you would be told next," said Custodian. "Livia didn''t want to ask me any questions," explained Amdirlain, and she smiled reassuringly at Livia. "It''s okay to talk to Custodian about it. They have knowledge that isn''t fragmented like mine." Livia exhaled slowly. "I still don''t want to dig into Orh¨ºthurin''s past, but I''m concerned about the implications of you being a locus for all the concepts." "To assess things correctly, one needs as much information as possible," said Amdirlain. "It''s that judge training of yours showing up." It¡¯s also hard to protect someone when left in the dark, but I¡¯m fine not sharing this with Silpar. "That is likely," admitted Livia. "That aspects bet among themselves aside. From the L¨®m? tales of the Titan¡¯s Songbird, I know that Orh¨ºthurin helped the Titan create the realm. What you¡¯re talking about seems far more than just a helper." "Amdirlain needs to work on improving her explanations," said Custodian. "Orh¨ºthurin was the architect of the planar framework and the realm''s rules, not the Titan''s helper." "What?" gasped Livia. "There is far more hidden behind what M¨®eir called a nickname than I had imagined." "Should I not continue?" asked Custodian. "It''s fine. Go right ahead," reassured Amdirlain, and she reached out to give Custodian a comforting pat. The Aspect trembled excitedly under her touch, and their account sped up. "While her father channelled the raw energy, Orh¨ºthurin''s music gave it form. Though perhaps, given how the designing was done, calling her the principal composer might be the better term. Her music awakened all the aspects of the greater concepts, and from them came the shards that brought awareness to lesser aspects or mingled to form the junction points between several. Nicholaus was and is our father in how he cares for us, but Orh¨ºthurin was our Goddess in every sense of the word. She was our creator, and her music was the lens by which our awareness bloomed and formed our personalities." Note to self: go easy on giving Custodian head pats. I¡¯m not even sure why I did that. "Channeled energy?" asked Livia. "From primordial sources and translated through the barrier he set between the Far Chaos and the realm. He calls himself a crafter, not a visionary, and he only claims credit as his daughter wished to remain concealed. He isn''t the most social, but we can see how deep his emotions run from our efforts to make Orh¨ºthurin''s designs come to life," answered Custodian. ¡°She designed all the stars?¡± ¡°She listened to the night sky in other realms and took in the songs of galaxies,¡± said Custodian. "Amdirlain now has a copy of Orh¨ºthurin''s original plans. There are so many galaxies in her plan that we''ve not yet completed a fraction of it, and some have designed extensions since its inception." The crystals around the orrey''s table aren''t a record of what they had created but rather what she intended to have created. Before Amdirlain could ask a question, Custodian continued. "Amdirlain''s return added billions of new life forms onto the design boards, alien races from sci-fi shows she loved, but even more from lives I''m told she hasn''t remembered." Amdirlain''s thoughts ranged from the black-and-white classics to the various modern aliens. "What lifeforms did he include?" "I''ve said enough, but each represents treasured memories that hopefully provoke nostalgia if you ever come across them," buzzed Custodian merrily. "And you both have things to do, so chop chop, get to work, or should I tell you to suck it up, buttercup?" Hopefully, they''re not the run-screaming types of memories. "Speaking of things from my past life, has Nicholaus said anything about my request to be allowed to dissemble the memories attached to my stalker''s Soul?" asked Amdirlain. "Amdirlain, Nicholaus'' declaration doesn''t allow for his removal from the Abyss until you are free," replied Custodian. "However, his Soul is no longer in Moloch''s possession." "How do I get truly free of the Abyss? What does that mean exactly? Right now, one of my worries is that I''ll die once I''m free of being a Fallen," said Amdirlain. Custodian chimed sourly. "No. If you got rid of it today, your Soul''s essence is already too strong to perish, you''re a nascent Primordial. Once you¡¯re free of the Fallen status though, you''ll need to protect yourself. Its removal will also eradicate the shield of the Hidden about you." "And that means I''ll need to be as strong as possible," finished Amdirlain. "Precisely. However, if you get too strong before selecting your transformation, getting any Tier 7 achievement in your next form will take a truly stellar accomplishment," offered Custodian. Are they making a joke, or is that a reference to Gideon''s request to establish a workable ecosystem on a planet? "How can you tell Amdirlain that information, but Gideon trolls her?" asked Livia. "The two reasons have to do with Gideon being the personification of Knowledge. They troll Amdirlain because they know how she reacts to that treatment. Also, their purpose is to know but, to balance their ability to be all-knowing, they have limits to what can be shared to those outside the Titan''s forge room," explained Custodian. "If they freely gave Amdirlain guidance, they would have to balance that by sharing information with any of her enemies who possessed the right analytical capacity to ask. However, I can share what I need to protect treasured people, places, and objects." "You do get rather heated and push even harder whenever Gideon baits you, M¨®eir," agreed Livia. Moloch had Analysis within that vision. His name died on Amdirlain''s lips, an impenetrable white noise that blocked her intent to name him. "You can''t speak the names of deities in here that I don''t allow," declared Custodian sternly. Amdirlain frowned in confusion. "Deities? I was told he''s a Demon Lord." "He was, but you shouldn''t have continued to hurt a being as strong as him when you couldn''t finish the job," advised Custodian sourly. "I can stop any Deity from seeing in here, but some possess natures I find offensive. Even your intention to voice his name made him aware of the concept he supports and his nature. Hence, I can protect myself from further offence by blocking his name''s utterance." "I only destroyed a few of his demon lords," protested Amdirlain. "And left him branded with feathers formed from Yang Mana that you sent down the Oath Link," corrected Custodian. "Out of fear, he took drastic action to protect the only individual he truly cares about: himself." "Feathers of Yang Mana?" repeated Amdirlain incrediously. "Honestly, I wasn''t sure that had even done anything but speed up each Demon Lord''s destruction and maybe be an annoyance." Custodian chimed. "You created an extreme quantity of excrement up to your chin yet again, Amdirlain. One of Hell''s Dark Powers sponsored him into the divine ranks, and he is currently a Demi-god in their service. He seeks information on the Titan''s Songbird. Yet neither he nor his mistress knows who you are, and while you remain one of the Hidden, it will stay that way even if you were in her presence." "Do the aspects of protection know why he sought Hell¡¯s shelter?" "Nicely phrased. Yes, we do. It was to protect his life after he ran out of options, though it cost him trillions of souls from his treasury," advised Custodian. "They directed him to a Dark Power who would make his existence miserable and ensure they got what they wanted." "Trillions of souls?" groaned Amdirlain, and she felt a knot of tension form within her. "They''d sealed their fates through their choices. The rules don''t require souls of mortals who willingly sold them for power in life to be released to Judgement or the afterlife of their deities," advised Custodian. "They are considered nothing more than trade goods within the Abyss''s expanse. A Demon would have consumed them as an expensive treat, or something like a Balor would have used them to form a Demon. Instead, a Pit Fiend will probably craft them into a Devil unless the Dark Power Moloch sold them to tip the lot into The River Dis or one of its lakes to see what emerges. Should I let Laodice know you will speak with her?" This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. "I do wish to thank her for dismantling the sisterhood''s strongholds so thoroughly," said Amdirlain. "I''ll work on the repairs to the prisons until she arrives." Custodian gave a bass thrumming sound. "I''d keep that in mind until you hear the topics she wants to address." I guess I shouldn''t be surprised Custodian isn''t impressed. Laodice is the principal Aspect of War. "Regardless, until she arrives, repairs would be good. I''d hate to have to draw down the stockpiles of shackles to reseal so many," continued Custodian. The timers on the columns showed the weakest prison among the millions of prisons was still decades away from rupturing. Still, not knowing when she''d return, Amdirlain scanned all the column¡¯s timers before she started on the most endangered prisons. As Amdirlain started to stretch thousands of songs through the links that spanned planes, Custodian chimed in upset tones. "Stop that! You don''t need to fix them all at once, and I can feel the damage you''re doing to yourself." "Custodian, while I appreciate your concern, I need to push my powers to strengthen them. Unfortunately, even repairing the prisons across the planes is too easy," chided Amdirlain. "I''d ask that you handle them at a more sensible pace," requested Custodian, their tones warm with concern. Silently, Amdirlain counted to a thousand and, realising how rapidly she managed it, went onto a hundred thousand before she calmly replied. "I can appreciate your essential need to be protective, but millions of prisons must be repaired. How can I put protecting myself above protecting the realm?" Custodian gave another low off-tone in protest. "Amdirlain." "That''s my name," replied Amdirlain cheerfully. "Have it your way," grumbled Custodian. "Can you at least do me one favour?" "What is that?" Custodian chimed softly. "Do something about that mapping cube in your Soulspace before it wakes up. It would be best if both you and they were clear of the infernal energies used in its creation. I thought you''d have paid more attention after all the gunk came out during your sigil reinforcement.¡± ¡°I thought that was from my time in the Abyss,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°That mess wasn''t just from time spent drawing Mana from the leylines of the Abyss," noted Custodian. Pulling the dimensional bags from inventory, Amdirlain extracted everything but the cube and stored it inside one of the bags before she hung it from her belt. Retrieving the cube, she took in the sharp melody within it that felt like a slumbering Giant. The orchestral pieces involved were similar to her recollection of Gideon''s formation before new knowledge bloomed within the facets and they expanded on their own. "I haven''t thought about this mapping cube in years. Thanks for the tip. I''ll have to check what''s recorded," said Amdirlain, putting the cube in the second bag. "You seem to be your own worst enemy at times, Amdirlain," responded Custodian. "Do at least try to take better care of yourself. You are still precious to Nicholaus, even if you don''t see yourself as-" "I figured that out," interjected Amdirlain, not wanting to get into that discussion. Amdirlain had finished repairing a hundred thousand of the most eroded prisons before Laodice appeared. She was attired in the same full metal armour with its organic pattern of whorls, but stood only one-hundred ninety centimetres tall, her glacier-blue wings absent. "Amdirlain, it''s good you''re sealing those prisoners away," said Laodice. Custodian said I wouldn''t like their request. Will she cut to the chase, or drag it out? "Is that what you wanted to speak to me about?" "No, but it would be good if the prisoners don''t get loose," said Laodice. "Since Nam guided me to kill several trillion of the sisterhood, she wants you to help her kill a few billion demons." "The pair of you have some nerve!" spat Amdirlain. "You both got your personal payback, and now you want me to foot the bill?" Laodice shrugged and, though Amdirlain couldn''t detect anything beneath the sealed helmet, she was sure Laodice was smiling. "You''re not at least considering helping her?" Grumbling, Amdirlain shook her head sharply. "What would I get out of it?" Laodice straightened, placed one hand on her hip, and nodded smugly. "That''s a wise question. The true names of hundreds of the most senior members of the sisterhood." "Why didn''t you tell me that you had that sort of information when-" "I didn''t have it. This isn''t me hiring you to help her. She''s provided me the names to give you if you help her in her war," advised Laodice. "She and a Fallen chatted with the Castellan and pulled the names out of her before passing what was left of her to some infernal enforcers." Was it someone from the cloister that worked with her? "You''re doing a Dark Goddess¡¯s work for her," critiqued Amdirlain. "I''m the Aspect of War, not funny memories and bunny slippers. She''s a Primordial, and at least honest in her cravings, especially compared to so many demons¡ªand you," retorted Laodice. "Her bloodline has brought forth untold trillions of fierce combatants. What''s not to appreciate? You certainly had no compunction dealing with Ebusuku or Nam when it suited you. I''m a little more experienced with the vagaries of war and have seen the strangest of alliances bear fruit in times of need." Despite the validity of Laodice''s observation, Amdirlain still had to restrain herself, knowing she was likely being manipulated. "You manipulated me against Viper," replied Amdirlain. Laodice turned towards a nearby timer and tapped a finger against her leg. "If you were that concerned about those manipulations, why did you bother to set me free?" "I might not have liked the stunt you pulled in not being more forthcoming, but I wasn''t going to let you remain imprisoned," replied Amdirlain. "Yet you had all that time to study my reactions, and I remember a famous writing on War saying that knowing your enemy and yourself brings certain victory." "Maybe you should spend more time learning about yourself instead of being fixated on not being Ori," said Laodice. "Or are you simply insecure about how your insignificant past measures up compared to her?" "Is my need to be my own person annoying to you, or are you trying to yank my chain to get a reaction?" asked Amdirlain calmly. [Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (104->105) Note: They all have motives that don''t follow your own.] That includes you, Gideon. I''ve told you before that I might not hold a grudge for that stunt with the Blood Monk Class, but I''ve not forgotten it. "Gideon believes you want to eradicate demons. What''s a few billion now?" asked Laodice glibly, and she brought her hands out from her sides. Look at my open body language; surely I''ve got nothing to hide. Yeah, pull the other one¡ªit plays jingle bells. "Why are you interested in her request?" demanded Amdirlain. Laodice laughed grimly. "You''ll destroy millions of demons for a bit of petty revenge, yet won''t destroy more on behalf of someone wiser." She''s trying to get under my skin, or at least herd me into reacting. "I''m not sure about wiser; why don''t you try more combative," replied Amdirlain. "War isn''t just about the bloodshed. The strategy that goes into the conflict is just as much a part of it as putting an opponent into the ground. You showed me that with your faux-wiseman act to deflect my focus from Viper''s torments. What else is in the area with these demons you hope might get swept up in the fighting?" "Collateral damage isn''t important," said Laodice. Amdirlain snorted derisively, and her lips twisted into a sneer. "Now I know you''re playing games. What you might call ¡®collateral damage¡¯ cost me quite a bit in the plinth''s appraisal of my position on Redemption''s Path." Waving a hand dismissively, Laodice shook her head. "That''s unlikely. You can hear so much further out that you''ll be able to identify if there are any mortals present." "Then just tell me what it is," insisted Amdirlain, and her mouth hardened. "Maybe I want to see if you''ll spot it and remember," rebuffed Laodice. "If you can''t, then maybe it''s better destroyed." "Being so insistent about playing this game makes me less inclined to get involved in her war," responded Amdirlain acidly. "It''s not her war¡ªit''s her request to see if I can get you to go to war," corrected Laodice. The roundabout logic in that statement narrowed Amdirlain''s gaze. "Someone agreed to something while she was captive with the sisterhood, and now she wants me to break it." "You can think whatever you want," laughed Laodice. "But now that I''ve got you thinking about which end of the string is being pulled, I know you''ll poke your nose into it. You might not be her, but you are like Ori in more ways than you think." "I never said I don''t have some of the same traits. I''ve seen enough of her memories to know I can be just as ruthless and work-obsessed as she was," sighed Amdirlain. "I think you''re forgetting a few dozen other traits you have in common, though you express them differently. For example, she was more selective about displays of compassion," said Laodice. "You want everything to be good, but life doesn''t work like that. In nearly every ecosystem, a mass of life supports fewer life forms above it. Ori understood that she couldn''t save everyone, yet she tried to set up everything so that if beings strived for their goals, they could better themselves." "There is a system, yes, but they''re not told the rules," observed Amdirlain. "Why should they be told the rules?" snapped Laodice. "They didn''t make the realm, and most won''t care a jot for its purpose. They¡¯re told enough to know there are routes of progression available. All that telling people the rules achieves is having people look for loopholes to avoid the effort they should put in. Just like you did with the Assassin Class levelling." What is her game? What good does she think this will do her? A snippet of music came to mind, bringing forth memories that had Amdirlain smile. "Absolutely nothing," murmured Amdirlain, repeating a snippet of the lyrics about war aloud to dig at Laodice. "You won''t be able to get this information from other sources," said Laodice. "You¡¯ve forgotten a few things, Laodice, not that you knew everything about me," replied Amdirlain. "Request denied." "You will eventually need to get those names from her, even if you don''t need them now," argued Laodice. "The longer you keep her waiting, the more she''ll make you pay for them." "Did you make her a promise and find you couldn''t deliver? Guess you better tell her you couldn''t do it. After all, the longer you keep her waiting, the worse her disappointment will be," replied Amdirlain, and she snorted derisively. "But what''s time for you or her, right?" "Amdirlain, I''m trying to help you get the information you''ll need," said Laodice, her tone suddenly reasonable and calm. She¡¯s behaving erratically to provoke me into a spiral of second-guessing myself. I was only after the information from Naamah to save me time. "You forget Laodice, I don''t need their true names, and I know the use names of hundreds of sisters and have sources that can give me millions more," replied Amdirlain. "Will any of them be the ones that went to the depths? No, that''s unlikely, but once I decide to start along that route, I''ll keep pulling names from each of them until I find someone who can point me in the right direction. I think I''m past the point where I can easily break most greater succubi on Willpower alone." Laodice crossed her arms. "Aren''t you forgetting the constructs you needed help with?" "No, the constructs I would have liked help with," corrected Amdirlain. "I''ll find a different way." With Laodice¡¯s disappearance, Custodian giggled; the ringing chimes echoed pleasantly through the columns. "I win two in a row." "You knew what she was going to ask about?" asked Amdirlain. "I had a pretty good guess, but I wouldn''t interfere if you took that route," replied Custodian. "You were just looking to have your inheritor''s celestials benefit from the maze constructs?" Amdirlain nodded. The construct appeared in a rush of orchestral pieces as Amdirlain''s mind translated the Aspect''s will imposed upon reality. It was a sleek humanoid figure that stood two metres tall and was made of gleaming black adamantine, armed with short swords. The figure had no internal mechanisms; instead, the enchantments within the metal lent it a pseudo-life. It was a living metal construct under Custodian''s control, and its materials'' quality allowed it to approximate three Tier 5 classes and an evolved Knight Class, all at level one hundred. "Since I''m supposed to be guarding this place, I can''t allow myself to be distracted by sending it off anywhere," sighed Custodian. "At least, not under your control," quipped Amdirlain. A rude rasping sound emitted from Custodian¡¯s orb. "You''re not taking it with you, and I''m sure you''ve already heard enough to duplicate it for Sarah''s Mineral Control to do the rest." "She''s her own person," replied Amdirlain. "I''m not saying she isn''t. Rather, with her Soul having followed you through so many lifetimes, such love and dedication should at least receive proper acknowledgement," replied Custodian. ¡°It¡¯s not like she didn¡¯t give up a genuine opportunity to become a Deity to keep you company in a hole in the ground.¡± ¡°As did Torm,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°No, he set it aside as he was uncomfortable with the idea. Sarah would have handled it fine,¡± replied Custodian. ¡°You know, even if he regains all his past life memories, he won¡¯t be Torm. They¡¯ll be a new individual with his memories, who views them from a new perspective no matter how close their personality.¡± Amdirlain grumbled. "I¡¯m not waiting around pinning for him. I¡¯ve set any hope of having romance in my life aside; instead, I¡¯ll settle for being the best auntie. Do you have to stick your nose into my business?" "Ah, yes, because it''s obviously a bond she resents. You know your preoccupation with the flesh of a particular form is silly considering everything you''ve already become since you returned," laughed Custodian. ¡°You should learn to deal with what¡¯s on the inside of an individual.¡± "Why don¡¯t you provide Livia with some examples of tenets for deities of protection that you''ve observed stand the test of time? I¡¯m going to focus on handling these repairs," said Amdirlain sourly, and she returned to work. 376 - Happiness Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Between time spent in contemplation and discussions with Custodian, Livia had taken nearly a day composing seven simple tenets. In that time, Amdirlain had restored almost half a million prisons to pristine condition and ensured the rest each had at least twenty million years¡¯ capacity. Amdirlain then returned them to Livia¡¯s study, where they found Silpar still waiting. ¡°Was your conversation with the Aspect fruitful?¡± asked Silpar. ¡°It was,¡± allowed Livia. ¡°Though they set me some challenges for their help.¡± Silpar regarded Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think one of them interceded with Bahamut to request help for you?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m pretty sure Bahamut decided that course on his own,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m likely going to be here for a while if you want to take care of matters for the cloister.¡± ¡°If that is what you plan, I¡¯ll cease annoying you with my presence for a time,¡± replied Silpar before he nodded politely to Livia. ¡°Lady, if you need anyone to help guide the Skrel¡¯s progress, let me know.¡± I should have figured he¡¯d work out I was avoiding him. ¡°I appreciate the offer, Silpar,¡± said Livia. With her acknowledgement, Silpar teleported away. Livia smiled cheerfully. ¡°Do you plan to stay here for a time, M¨®eir?¡± ¡°Mostly here,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°What do you intend?¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°Between lessons, I figured I¡¯d round up some Sisterhood members and see if they¡¯ve got the information I need.¡± ¡°About whatever takes you to the Abyss¡¯ depths?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°Yes.¡± Amdirlain dispatched a message to Ebusuku and the former L¨®m? succubi, requesting what use names they possessed of the Sisterhood members on memory crystal. ¡°I half expected you to take up their offer,¡± admitted Livia. ¡°True Song feels like all my achievements are repeats of Ori''s own. My accomplishments with the Monk Class, I feel are more mine. From the moment I found it was an option here, I wanted the Monk Class, and Psion is another Class that Ori didn¡¯t possess. Together, they remove a problem she couldn¡¯t manage with True Song, so maybe I figured it¡¯s about time they got some more attention,¡± explained Amdirlain. Livia raised an eyebrow sceptically. ¡°I don¡¯t think True Song is all her doing, and I¡¯m pretty sure you put in far more effort than you¡¯ll admit.¡± ¡°Nothing compared to the jumps in progress connecting to her memories has brought,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Jumps in progress that your efforts provided a foundation for?¡± asked Livia, and she sat down at her study desk. ¡°Effectively attuning your capacity to gain from your past life.¡± Giving a reluctant nod, Amdirlain claimed a visitor¡¯s chair. ¡°Do I sense a theme to your question?¡± ¡°I was wondering if there was anything in particular you¡¯d look to attune yourself to during your stay,¡± noted Livia. ¡°I offered to attend some of Master Payam¡¯s lessons as a healer,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Should I show you to the Seamstress to get you proper robes?¡± asked Livia primly. Amdirlain laughed softly. ¡°Do you think people will talk if I make my clothes myself?¡± ¡°And deny the poor Seamstress the opportunity to make clothing for Master Livia¡¯s family? Don¡¯t be cruel,¡± replied Livia. Rolling her eyes, Amdirlain created one of the jade pendants atop Livia¡¯s desk. ¡°I¡¯ll make my first set to fit in and then get a spare made.¡± ¡°The seamstresses won¡¯t take long to get something ready,¡± said Livia, frowning at her desk. ¡°Standing out for a short time won¡¯t hurt. All the students do at first.¡± ¡°Missing something?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I had expected to return to an overflowing desk again,¡± admitted Livia. ¡°Do you think Ilya has them?¡± ¡°Unless Isa got to them first and burnt them,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Livia gave Amdirlain an exasperated look. ¡°Please don¡¯t even joke about that. I¡¯ll find someone to take this over, but someone needs to keep things organised.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t need to be you,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°It just needs to be someone who has the backing of the masters. Likewise, you don¡¯t need to take me to the seamstress, as I¡¯m sure I can find my own way.¡± Picking up the jade pendant Amdirlain had created, Livia sighed. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t duplicate the artist¡¯s mark.¡± ¡°I would have gotten in trouble for forgery, I¡¯m sure,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do I pay her coin or contribution points? What do the novices order?¡± Livia hesitated and groaned softly. ¡°You will not be wearing Novice robes.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Do you intend to swear to uphold all the monastery¡¯s laws?¡± asked Livia. ¡°You couldn¡¯t even follow the Captain¡¯s request not to use gates to leave Xaos.¡± ¡°That was different. He was blindly applying logic for a Wizard¡¯s Gate to one created through True Song,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Then how about following the orders of a student with seniority?¡± asked Livia. Amdirlain smiled sheepishly. ¡°I can follow some laws, but you¡¯re right. I wouldn¡¯t follow them mindlessly, and it would depend on whether the instructions of the senior student made sense. In my defence, I¡¯ll point out that I followed another monastery¡¯s laws just fine.¡± ¡°I heard about you not being left-handed,¡± replied Livia dryly. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not, and that occurred when I was a guest. And she was being rude,¡± laughed Amdirlain, and she clapped happily. ¡°Does that mean someone could challenge me to an exchange of pointers? Maybe I should pose as a Novice.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t make me give you the usual lecture about the need to take sparring seriously,¡± said Livia. Amdirlain cupped her face in her hands and batted her eyelids demurely at Livia. ¡°I always take sparring seriously.¡± ¡°That over-exaggeration of innocence isn¡¯t helping your case,¡± observed Livia. ¡°No, I think it¡¯s far safer for everyone if we treat you as a visiting Master.¡± ¡°That¡¯s no fun at all,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Also, no one has ever technically certified that I¡¯m a Master of anything. Don¡¯t you have rules about that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you can provide insights into your abilities while learning about our methods in exchange,¡± said Livia. ¡°Nope, not a Master, couldn¡¯t claim that,¡± declared Amdirlain, and she crossed her arms in a dramatic huff. ¡°What are you up to, M¨®eir?¡± asked Livia, and she added contribution points to the pendant¡¯s record before she set it back on her desk. Amdirlain smiled slyly. ¡°Since you want me to return to the basics, put me in a Novice group.¡± ¡°I will not destroy the morale of a group of novices by having them try to compete with you,¡± rejected Livia. ¡°Healers don¡¯t compete,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia frowned. ¡°Why do you want to be a healer?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s smile didn¡¯t fade. ¡°Isn¡¯t it better for me to focus on healthier pursuits? Being in classes as a healer in case there¡¯s a need sounds like a good disguise to listen in on various classes. I can contemplate the lessons and practise them on my own time. Anything that I need to ask questions about, I¡¯ll hassle Master Cyrus about after I¡¯ve got contribution points for private lessons.¡± ¡°M¨®eir, I offered to help in any way we could,¡± protested Livia. ¡°Maybe what I need is just the chance to sit and breathe while I gather the names of succubi to question,¡± replied Amdirlain. Livia tilted her head curiously and leaned forward in her seat. ¡°Why are you suddenly ready to slow your pace?¡± ¡°Not permanently, but maybe for a time I will. It¡¯s going to sound stupid,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I was partly expecting to die.¡± ¡°Now that the end of the Redemption¡¯s Path won¡¯t be your demise, that¡¯s what changed things?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°Were you trying to race through what you needed to get done so you wouldn¡¯t shrink away?¡± ¡°Cowardly, I know,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Livia gave a dry laugh. ¡°Most people would have been running the other way, M¨®eir. You have a strange view of cowardice.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s tally that among my many other strange traits. Anyway, I told Master Payam my lesson schedule needed to get sorted out before I could attend the arena regularly,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you point me toward whoever takes care of the healers?¡± ¡°If you want to pursue the Novice route, then you should look through the monastery¡¯s rules first,¡± suggested Livia, and she retrieved a scroll from a nearby shelf. ¡°If there is anything in here you object to, I¡¯d suggest against attending as a Novice. Being here as a guest Master would afford you far more freedom.¡± ¡°Then I might have people approaching me about a suitable dower,¡± teased Amdirlain, and she reached out to take the scroll from Livia. ¡°That¡¯s not funny, M¨®eir,¡± grumbled Livia, pulling the scroll out of her reach. ¡°I don¡¯t think the Novice route is a suitable approach.¡± Amdirlain gave the scroll a look of consideration and felt the ink patterns as she leaned back in her seat. ¡°Maybe I¡¯m tired of standing out so much. If I hadn¡¯t given my name to some novices, I¡¯d be tempted to adopt a Human guise.¡± ¡°M¨®eir, you could adopt the plainest appearance imaginable, and you would still stand out with the confident way you carry yourself,¡± advised Livia. ¡°I managed to play the part while on Qil Tris,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°You did, but do you want to play a part here to blend in? Better to stand out for a reason people find understandable than to provoke jealousy by standing out for reasons they don¡¯t understand.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll be the friendly young Elf about the place,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You already pointed out you¡¯re young for an Elf, and I¡¯ve found you to be friendly with many people,¡± observed Livia. ¡°So that¡¯s two for two with no acting required.¡± Amdirlain scrunched up her nose. ¡°Sometimes I¡¯m friendly, not always. You still haven¡¯t said who I need to check in with.¡± ¡°It¡¯s truly dire. I¡¯m afraid going the route of a Novice healer would put you under Kadaklan¡¯s authority,¡± said Livia. ¡°Let me suggest at most you take on the studies of an auxiliary healer. While they use Universal Life, they don¡¯t get into horticulture and alchemy.¡± Amdirlain stood, and the pendant she¡¯d created leapt to her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll chat with Kadaklan and find something that suits my temperament, but I need to learn more about plants.¡± ¡°I would have thought Anna¡¯s gift would have been more useful for that aspect of your education,¡± said Livia, waving the copy of the rules at Amdirlain. ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to take the scroll?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already read the rules,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she slipped from the room. ¡°After the upgrade of Resonance, nothing is safe from my peeking.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you have your own ethical restraints, M¨®eir,¡± said Livia. Amdirlain deliberately provided no affirmation of Livia¡¯s statement. Following the main road over the mountain¡¯s crest, the stroll to Kadaklan¡¯s place was a relaxed half-hour walk. Though made of the same grey stone and lacquered redwood as the other monastery buildings, it was a raised stilt construction with stairs that led up to a broad, enclosed veranda out the front. The central body of the mansion had two wings and an attached greenhouse that formed its tail. The building¡¯s interior was divided into several large sections, each laid out in an open plan with polished exposed beams. Along the dividing lines were set screens of carved wooden scenes that featured birds hidden among a pattern of flowers, leaves, and vines. The sunlight that came through the gaps in the carving illuminated the areas. A group of servants were at the base of the front steps sorting through bundles of herbs being offloaded from a wagon. A middle-aged lady with a hint of grey through her hair and deep smile lines looked Amdirlain¡¯s way. Shooing some other servants away from the front steps, the woman motioned for Amdirlain to go inside. ¡°Thank you. I¡¯m sorry for interrupting your work.¡± The woman smiled merrily at Amdirlain¡¯s politeness. ¡°No trouble at all.¡± Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. Though the woman¡¯s dialect wasn¡¯t one Amdirlain recognised, she had no trouble translating the words. A male servant with rolled-up sleeves answered the front door, his hands outstretched as if ready to take possession of a bundle of herbs. He started back in surprise at her appearance and glanced past her to the ladies. Amdirlain smiled at the confused servant. ¡°Might I speak to Master Kadaklan? If you could tell him it¡¯s Am.¡± ¡°Master Kadaklan was quite clear in describing you, Lady Am. Please follow me,¡± said the man, beckoning politely for Am to follow. The servant led the way past several curtained alcoves, where some novices were tending to injured patients, each wrapped in a ward to restrain conventional-level sounds. He finally stopped at the last curtained alcove in the line, drew the draped curtain back, and held it aside so Amdirlain could enter. The alcove¡¯s interior was lined with wooden racks loaded with trays of petri dishes and a three-metre-long bench in the middle. Kadaklan was perched on a stool dressed in his usual brightly coloured robes, his nose and mouth covered with a white surgical mask as he peered through a modern-looking microscope. Next to the microscope, the bench was covered with a few thousand more Petri dishes loaded onto trays. ¡°Master Kadaklan, the Lady Am is here to see you,¡± announced the servant. ¡°Am, what brings you by?¡± asked Kadaklan, his attention remaining fixed through the microscope. ¡°Master Livia says you oversee the novices undertaking training as healers,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m here reporting for training, Master Kadaklan.¡± Kadaklan spluttered, looked up from the eyepieces, and gazed at her suspiciously. ¡°Are you pranking me, Am?¡± Giving a tight headshake, Amdirlain stepped over to one side of the entry. ¡°Since I need to improve my Universal Life, and I can avoid an exchange of pointers as a healer, I thought it might be the best approach for my studies.¡± Kadaklan glanced at the servant, who looked ready to blend in with the curtain. ¡°Could you bring us some afternoon refreshments, Su?¡± ¡°Of course, Master Kadaklan,¡± said Su, and he bowed deeply to Kadaklan before he left the alcove. Putting the cover back on the Petri dish he¡¯d examined, Kadaklan returned it to the top of the closest stack. ¡°Come in, Am. There isn¡¯t anything dangerous here. They¡¯re all part of some growth analysis I¡¯m conducting for the Outlands.¡± ¡°Then what¡¯s with the mask?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I just don¡¯t want the moisture from my breath adding additional material to the dish¡¯s culture,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯d prefer not to have to open the dishes, but this glass blurs the image.¡± ¡°The Qil Tris modern scientific approach left a mark,¡± teased Am. Kadaklan huffed. ¡°I knew what a microscope was, thank you.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you¡¯re still using the fancy one from your old lab,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°I simply got comfortable using this one,¡± protested Kadaklan with a note of amusement in his tone. ¡°As long as it¡¯s fed Mana, it works anywhere.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze lit up at his amusement. ¡°If you say so. Would you like me to make you a few million flawless petri dishes?¡± ¡°The dishes are unimportant right now. Why don¡¯t you tell me why you want to be a healer?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°I had some news recently that took me aback, and I need time to think about the implications,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°Is it something you¡¯d be comfortable talking to me about? Or should we hunt down Sarah?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure Sarah knows,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Or, at the very least, she could guess.¡± ¡°Pretty sure isn¡¯t a certainty. Sarah would only tell you big news if she was certain,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Any news big enough to make you want to stop and take a breath isn¡¯t something she would risk being wrong with.¡± Amdirlain sighed and traced a finger along the polished edge of Kadaklan¡¯s wooden bench. ¡°You should have surgical steel or something easier to sterilise.¡± ¡°That would ruin the decor,¡± quipped Kadaklan, and he slipped from the stool and shifted trays from the table into racks along the alcove¡¯s side. ¡°Sit down, and we can talk things over.¡± ¡°Let me help with those,¡± said Amdirlain, and she put a hand atop the tray he¡¯d started to shift. ¡°Do you have an order for these?¡± ¡°The trays are numbered. I just wanted them out of the way, and we need table space for the refreshments,¡± allowed Kadaklan. Amdirlain moved to sit opposite where Kadaklan had been perched and used Far Hand to float all the trays into gaps in the shelving. ¡°You already have a broad range of talents,¡± noted Kadaklan, and he resumed his seat and leaned towards her slightly. ¡°Do you mind if I¡¯m straight up with you?¡± ¡°No, I prefer that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°As a friend, I want you around, but as a Master of the monastery, I wouldn¡¯t want you in lessons with other healers,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°For you, it''s playing at being a healer, but for them, it''s the path they want to dedicate their lives to pursue.¡± ¡°That was razor sharp,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Okay. What would you suggest I do while figuring things out?¡± ¡°You¡¯re taking some time for introspection?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s lips quirked in a mocking smile. ¡°Shocking, I know.¡± ¡°Time given for self-discovery can take many forms. You¡¯re a person who likes to be working, and you can find your truths looking for it in things you enjoy. I¡¯d like to discuss what you need,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°And I don¡¯t mean improving your powers, but you as a person.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kadaklan waved towards the microscope. ¡°When we were on Qil Tris, you had a plan for every occasion. They covered what needed to get done in situations or for someone else, but not for yourself. So, as the first step to this discussion, what do you need for personal growth?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Amdirlain as she rechecked the conversation wards around the nook and casually reinforced them. Drawing a notebook from his robe, Kadaklan sat it on the table. ¡°Then let¡¯s talk and see if we can construct a list of things Amdirlain needs as a person. I will not tell you how to do them or what they mean to you. I¡¯d just like to figure out some core items you can use to create a plan for yourself.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t know where to start,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Using a pencil, Kadaklan started a numbered list and wrote happiness at the top. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty non-specific item,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How do you measure that goal?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a company performance review, thank you,¡± rebutted Kadaklan lightly. ¡°Does happiness offend? You and Sarah are always teasing and joking to cover how you feel, using humour to deflect. What about some honest happiness?¡± ¡°What does that even look like?¡± Kadaklan smiled. ¡°That¡¯s the challenge, as happiness is unique for everyone. You should look at what you enjoy the most. In truth, the core of each person¡¯s Dao resonates with them and gives them true satisfaction and happiness. When was the last time you stopped and did what you wanted without considering advancing a Skill or achieving a plan?¡± ¡°Not for a while,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she felt a shift of tension across her shoulders. ¡°Not for decades.¡± Another item joined the list: time for herself. ¡°You¡¯re just going to write whatever comes to mind?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No, I¡¯m noting things as they come up in conversation, but you¡¯re free to ignore them. Is happiness something you don¡¯t want? The list is even in pencil so we can rub it out,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Or burn the paper and make a fresh list.¡± ¡°Pyromaniac,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s rich. You¡¯re the one that tried to burn down my lab,¡± huffed Kadaklan. ¡°What do you need?¡± ¡°I took Livia to talk to an Aspect of Protection,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Changing the topic. I take it this Aspect has something to do with you feeling unsettled,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Did the trip not go well?¡± Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°I hoped they¡¯d be able to help Livia, and they did, but I didn¡¯t expect them to knock me off balance.¡± Kadaklan smiled and added balance to the list. ¡°Smart arse,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Not rising to the bait, Kadaklan tapped his notebook. ¡°Why did they knock you off balance?¡± Amdirlain sighed, and Kadaklan leaned back and spread his hands. ¡°Or, as I asked, is it something to talk to Sarah about? Or something you need that time to figure out?¡± ¡°They confirmed I wouldn¡¯t die after completing Redemption¡¯s Path,¡± said Amdirlain. Kadaklan cleared his throat. ¡°I¡¯m glad that¡¯s the case. And I know that staring into the pyre¡¯s flames can have a strange effect. How do you feel knowing there might be something more?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something to figure out,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Well, I need time to evolve a bunch of Monk powers,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Would you really count that as a need?¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Not an absolute need, but maybe I can figure it out while I work on them. I¡¯ve always enjoyed sparring, so it¡¯s a bit of relaxation for a change,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°But if I mix in with the normal novices, that is hardly fair to them, so Livia nixed that idea.¡± ¡°Thinking about things you enjoy, that¡¯s good. What else do you enjoy?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Healing damaged worlds and creating the demi-planes when I¡¯m not just grinding out duplicates,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know enough about biomes at present.¡± I could take time to study the orb Anna gave me. ¡°A worthy task that is beyond any studying here. You know you don¡¯t have to be a Novice to train with the masters here,¡± offered Kadaklan. ¡°You are a recognised guest, which lets you earn contribution points to draw on the monastery¡¯s resources, even if Livia hasn¡¯t offered you help.¡± ¡°I was looking to blend in for a time,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve already heard about a healer named Am, and you wouldn¡¯t be blending in using that cover. You¡¯re the only elven Ki practitioner I¡¯ve ever heard of, and I made extensive enquiries after returning from Qil Tris.¡± ¡°There goes that plan,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I know you shot it down, but it didn¡¯t even make it past my first attempt.¡± ¡°Though I hope you don¡¯t leave so soon, you could go live in an elven community,¡± proposed Kadaklan. ¡°If blending in is your highest need, I¡¯d simply wish you the best.¡± ¡°No, I need to advance my Monk abilities, and as you said, there aren¡¯t any elven practitioners,¡± Amdirlain sighed and cracked her neck from side to side. ¡°And yes, I need to work with them to push them, and I enjoy using Ki, whether it''s cycling or using the Monk powers. Femme Fatale was a distraction that I¡¯ve gotten out of the way, and I¡¯m glad Qil Tris benefitted in my evolving it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s your life energy, so it''s good you don¡¯t find it revolting. Perhaps studying them is a starting point to find your route to happiness,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°A word of caution, I¡¯d suggest you keep an open mind. It might not be the powers or even the Ki, but something within them speaking to you. You chose to evolve the Femme Fatale into an ability that provides inspiration. What inspires moments of peace within you?¡± ¡°Creating, and the dawn light, or the freshness of the air after a storm,¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°More elements to investigate among your other studies,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°It seems I¡¯ll be following the guest route. How does a guest earn contribution points? The same way as the novices, or are there restrictions on what the duty pavilion offers them?¡± ¡°There are no restrictions, though the duty pavilion normally doesn¡¯t pay guests as much,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°A student will typically contribute more to the monastery during their years of progress, so rewarding them more for their efforts is an investment in the monastery, while a guest can leave without warning.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°From that perspective, it makes sense why you don¡¯t want someone coming in and just offering wealth.¡± ¡°Something to remember when you find the bureaucracy used to implement it annoying,¡± offered Kadaklan. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s like that is it? Thanks for the warning,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I can see how that will go and will try to keep the focus of it in mind. You want effort put into the monastery to help future students and regulate how much of the masters¡¯ time will get drawn away.¡± ¡°Indeed. Is there a reason you wanted to be a Novice besides to blend in?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Perhaps because you didn¡¯t graduate from the last monastery you studied at?¡± ¡°Oh, burn. That wasn¡¯t my fault,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Kadaklan laughed. ¡°Just checking if it was a lingering regret for you. I¡¯ve heard stories about some things that happened there.¡± ¡°From Master Cyrus?¡± ¡°From him and the four ladies who were novices there with you. They¡¯ve visited a few times so far,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ve heard bits and pieces of news from them, nothing too solid as to their progress,¡± said Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled mysteriously. ¡°The guide you provided them has found them some significant challenges to promote their growth.¡± ¡°Should I be worried about them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The last I heard, they were following a lead on another world after clearing some initial ruins of Cemna. They were very mysterious about what trouble was involved.¡± ¡°You worry for others but rarely for yourself,¡± observed Kadaklan. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I¡¯ve repeatedly shown I¡¯ve got a skewed lack of concern for my well-being. I eventually followed your advice about my legs.¡± ¡°Only after mere proximity to the same energies caused sufficient pain,¡± muttered Kadaklan. ¡°When was the last time you did any gentle cycling?¡± ¡°A while,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I think that taking time for yourself might help you in that respect,¡± observed Kadaklan, and he underlined the point on the list. ¡°Will you be staying at the monastery or coming and going?¡± ¡°Mostly staying here,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But there are a few pieces of work that I need to keep in motion.¡± ¡°Working on the training facilities must still take up a bit of your time,¡± said Kadaklan. Not wanting to give the changes away, Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The others can¡¯t readily handle the demi-planes, and I also want to set up a training facility for some celestials.¡± Kadaklan rubbed the bridge of his nose and let out a slow breath. ¡°I guess only having two other side projects counts as taking things slowly for you.¡± ¡°The rest have to wait until I can figure out how to evolve my Monk powers,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Pushing your other classes higher isn¡¯t going to impact evolving your powers,¡± observed Kadaklan, tapping his pencil against the paper. ¡°Though, stopping to breathe is likely for the best, at least until you restore your balance.¡± ¡°How about you tell me how to earn contribution points?¡± ¡°Do I look like the duty pavilion?¡± laughed Kadaklan. ¡°Though after your conversation with Master Payam the other day, I¡¯m sure more than a few masters would offer contribution points to spar against you.¡± ¡°I might just walk down to the duty pavilion and see what jobs they¡¯ve got available,¡± said Amdirlain. Kadaklan frowned. ¡°After we¡¯ve had some refreshments.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said Amdirlain. Kadaklan took the top sheet from the notepad and passed it to her. ¡°Maybe this is only food for thought, but I hope you¡¯re successful in investing in yourself.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and she looked at the simple list he¡¯d written. ¡°But I¡¯m still unsure what happiness looks like for me.¡± ¡°Figuring that out might be healthy,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Did you enjoy performing, or was it just part of gaining control?¡± ¡°It was fun as a change of pace,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°This isn¡¯t exactly the place to exercise that talent. Why?¡± Kadaklan gave a concerned smile. ¡°You seemed happy, and I feel that¡¯s more important than you understand. Will you think about what happiness means for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± said Amdirlain, and she laughed merrily. ¡°I sound like a broken trace.¡± The refreshments briefly interrupted their conversation, and Amdirlain eventually headed towards the duty pavilion. Amdirlain received word from Ebusuku on the way about her request for the Sisterhood names. Sending her an image of a hillside glade outside Livia¡¯s domain, Amdirlain teleported to meet her. Shielded by a concealment barrier, in case anyone might be scrying, Amdirlain sat and looked back towards the monastery. When Ebusuku appeared, she crouched beside Amdirlain and handed over a memory crystal. ¡°You wanted the names of the Sisterhood we could recall. That¡¯s our combined listing. There are a lot of names, but we don¡¯t know how many of them might have gotten Planar Locked during the chaos.¡± Amdirlain nodded in appreciation and stored the crystal away. ¡°It¡¯s a starting point, and attempting to summon them with True Song might tell me enough about their location.¡± ¡°You look a little distracted,¡± said Ebusuku. ¡°Custodian said the end of my Redemption¡¯s Path wouldn¡¯t be the end for me.¡± Ebusuku¡¯s eyes blazed, and she wrapped Amdirlain up in a hug. ¡°That¡¯s great news.¡± ¡°Yes, but it will also remove my Hidden state, which will allow other powers to learn of me,¡± explained Amdirlain as she returned the hug. ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to get stronger so I can watch your back against anyone that wants to try anything,¡± declared Ebusuku. ¡°What has Rasha done with the girls?¡± Ebusuku tilted her head at the subject change. ¡°I hope you¡¯re not planning to run off and stick your nose in.¡± ¡°Kadaklan brought them up. Though I want to know what¡¯s happening with my friends, I¡¯m trying to let people stand on their own two feet when it¡¯s not immediately life-threatening,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I restrained myself and didn¡¯t even ask them directly.¡± ¡°The ladies needed a world where their activities were more significant than cleaning out a ruin no one needs.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°They needed meaningful work, and I need to figure out what¡¯s important to me.¡± ¡°Are you going to be taking on the easy work here?¡± asked Ebusuku, and she waved a finger at the duty pavilion. ¡°The monastery needs support, and Kadaklan suggested I take some time for myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°True, you have pushed yourself a bit,¡± agreed Ebusuku. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to the whole merely-earning-your-keep business.¡± Before Amdirlain could reply, Ebusuku vanished. Fine, I won¡¯t tell you about the new constructs I should be able to set up. She also took off before I could let her know about Moloch. 377 - Good girl Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches With Ebusuku¡¯s disappearance, Amdirlain returned to the duty pavilion and looked over its eight-story pagoda. The Outlands¡¯ sunlight glistened off the lacquered red tiles that covered the eaves and the polished redwood of the window¡¯s shutters and trim. The fittings inside were all lacquered redwood with golden decorative ornaments that drew on Middle Eastern and Asian influences. The novices about the place were mainly of Persian or Mongolian heritage, though some appeared to be from central China. Those entering the pagoda seemed to mainly visit the counters on the first two floors, where senior students supervising groups of five or six younger novices were registering selected jobs. Those who ventured to the third floor met with clerks in individual offices. Beyond the third floor, the number of offices rapidly decreased from a score to the single office that occupied the topmost floor. As Amdirlain entered, one of the staff at the closest counter commented on her green silk, and the clerk supervising those counters stopped and looked her way. All expression vanished from his face, and with a respectful bow, he signalled Amdirlain towards the stairs that ran along the wall. ¡°Lady Am, the Head Clerk Erhi asked for you to be escorted to her office on the third floor,¡± said the black-haired senior, and he shooed one of his juniors towards the stairs. ¡°Her office is the last in the row on that level.¡± Those students close to her stopped and looked at her in curiosity before they quickly offered polite bows. Amdirlain restrained a laugh and nodded politely. ¡°Thank you. You¡¯re most efficient. Might I have your name in case she enquires?¡± All the efforts Livia and Kadaklan put in to convince me not to play the part of a Novice and a clerk would have undone my disguise at the first step. His smile accented his sturdy cheekbones and added character to his round face. ¡°That¡¯s unnecessary, Lady Am.¡± Amdirlain hummed suspiciously but climbed the stairs behind her escort, having already picked his name from the clerks he was supervising. She had only reached the top of the stairs to the second floor when a Message orb had Erhi rise from her desk and step to one side. She stood a hundred and sixty centimetres tall, her monastery uniform covered a tightly muscled frame. Her office was modest but neatly appointed, with a desk, chairs, and cupboards of a deep brown wood that all featured engravings of wind-swept plains and herds of horses running with the wind streaming through their manes and tails. Atop the desk was a tray of stamps crafted from the familiar redwood with an inlay of golden Chinese symbols. As the student opened the door for Amdirlain, Erhi bowed deeply from the waist. ¡°Lady Am, it is an honour to meet you. The duty pavilion¡¯s overseer, Master Sukh, has shared tales of you,¡± said Erhi. Amdirlain returned the bow but to a shallower degree. ¡°I hope he didn¡¯t share some of my wilder exploits.¡± Erhi blinked and schooled her smile to mere politeness. ¡°He spoke of the combat challenges you conducted in Limbo with a local champion.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad he stuck with the tamer-goings on,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°My apologies for disturbing your workday. I merely came to discuss the possibilities for earning contribution points so that I might purchase some of the masters¡¯ time for private lessons.¡± ¡°You do not need to explain what you wish points for,¡± reassured Erhi. ¡°Though given that is your goal, there are several masters who have ongoing tasks for sparring partners. What are you seeking lessons in?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve various Ki powers that I¡¯m looking to develop,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then it won¡¯t be an even exchange. Such lessons are normally more expensive than what sparring sessions would cover,¡± said Erhi. ¡°You would also need to gain access to the scrolls detailing them from the library.¡± ¡°Is there a librarian fee?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. A faint wince flickered across Erhi¡¯s face. ¡°There is a consulting fee to determine the relevant scrolls for your advancement.¡± Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. ¡°And another for copying the scroll?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Erhi. ¡°I take it accommodation also requires contribution points?¡± enquired Amdirlain, getting a feel for how much throttling the monastery could do for visitors wanting to access resources. ¡°Yes, it does,¡± said Erhi. ¡°If you are looking for accommodations within the inner wall, that¡¯s possible, but they¡¯d be more costly.¡± ¡°What task could I undertake for the monastery that would receive the best remuneration?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like a small place to myself but also to make decent progress towards hiring teachers regularly.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be staying with Master Livia?¡± asked Erhi. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to impose, and she has students and other matters needing her attention. Plus, since all her rooms are currently in use, that would require shuffling around, so it¡¯s far easier to have a small dwelling and visit.¡± Erhi hummed thoughtfully. ¡°From what I understand, you are like an Immortal?¡± ¡°Not quite, but similar if you¡¯re talking about bodily needs,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°There is a general training hall close to Master Livia¡¯s dwelling, with some attached rooms,¡± explained Erhi. ¡°It has no food preparation or storage rooms, hence my question. If you would teach your style, even a single lesson a day, I could allow that to offset the use of the attached rooms.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not asked anyone to determine if my style is acceptable to teach,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°Tales of your sparring with Master Payam have already spread,¡± countered Erhi. ¡°I told him I was looking to be discreet, and I had concealments around our exchange,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Erhi shrugged helplessly. ¡°After you exchanged pointers with Master Payam the other day, I had several masters enquiring if they could get some of your time if you sought contribution points,¡± said Erhi. ¡°While individually, the rate wouldn¡¯t be the highest, there isn¡¯t any of the coming and going that gathering or hunting tasks would require. The lesson to the general students would cancel your accommodation costs, so teaching the masters would allow you to accumulate contribution points.¡± Gathering or hunting¡ªI could cheat outrageously, but that would cut into the senior student¡¯s opportunities to progress. I need something to avoid being blocked that will benefit the monastery over the long term. ¡°I can move about quickly, so hunting wouldn¡¯t require much travel time. I take it the monastery needs materials for alchemy and to feed its members?¡± Erhi motioned to a stack of plaques on the corner of her desk. ¡°Alchemists always need exotic materials, and they pay well.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you select the longest unresolved job from your list, and I¡¯ll take care of it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The monastery is still new, so we¡¯ve not yet had any long-standing jobs sitting on the list,¡± replied Erhi. ¡°The longest-standing gathering task is for a few items that were requested a couple of months ago, but the Alchemist hasn¡¯t increased the reward.¡± So, the fee can increase, which seems like one way to milk the system. However, it might be easy to lose out without warning. ¡°I¡¯ll still take care of it for you if you wish,¡± said Amdirlain, but she caught Erhi¡¯s hesitation. What unspoken rules am I missing? She mentioned they¡¯ve not increased the reward. Are they not offering enough, so she¡¯s holding the job back? ¡°Though I guess I should learn more first. Would you tell me what restrictions apply? For example, can I line up sparring sessions for the different masters and take the gathering job?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Some of the gathering jobs pay the same amount for multiples of the material in question,¡± clarified Erhi, and she motioned Amdirlain towards her visitor¡¯s chair beside her desk instead of the simple stool before it. ¡°Since the masters require scheduling, we should see when you wish to undertake all those jobs. Please sit, and we can review the requests and see what you¡¯d like to undertake.¡± Noting Erhi¡¯s eagerness to move away from the Alchemist¡¯s tasks, Amdirlain sat where Erhi had indicated without further argument. Wait, she said some of the gathering jobs pay for multiples. Is that Alchemist after a single object? That would mean I¡¯d get paid a minimal amount for the time involved. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Does that long-standing job only involve one item?¡± asked Amdirlain. Erhi gave a tight nod. ¡°Perhaps a student who isn¡¯t restricted to the number of tasks they can take on should resolve that one,¡± offered Amdirlain diplomatically. ¡°That is likely for the best, and it would give the enterprising student a beneficial travel experience,¡± said Erhi, and she laid out a sheet of rice paper and a calligraphy set. ¡°Currently, there are four masters, two of whom I know have minimal free time this week. Or at least they¡¯ve told me so in refusing to take on students wishing to study with them.¡± ¡°I would certainly not wish to put pressure on them by arranging a time in conflict with prior commitments,¡± said Amdirlain. Nor reveal them to be liars if they suddenly have time to spar with me. ¡°It is best to be understanding with some of the older masters,¡± agreed Erhi, and her brush danced across the paper, leaving classic Mandarin in its wake. The names of the four masters appeared on the right-hand side, and she put possible times against each, writing the details from right to left. I never did get down to the fine details with Master Cyrus about the realm they came from. It does seem that their language matches my home realm. I wonder if the multiverse is supported by deities causing copies of their realm to spawn along what they deem major event lines. ¡°If any students are still working to sense their Ki, I¡¯d be happy to spend some time assisting them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Or if there are children of servants that aspire to do so but can¡¯t afford lessons.¡± Erhi froze, and her eyes bulged slightly. ¡°You would do that?¡± ¡°Or is that work that novices undertake for points?¡± ¡°Contribution points are paid for success, not attempts,¡± explained Erhi. ¡°How many pending requests for such assistance do you have?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Also, do you have anyone offering contribution points for assistance in gaining affinities?¡± Erhi spluttered and almost ruined her sheet of paper. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Amdirlain kept her expression serene. ¡°How many contribution points could I earn awakening affinities in students? Of course, we¡¯re talking about once their success is verified.¡± ¡°The time such efforts would require might have you working for years before you get any contribution points. I couldn¡¯t recommend you take on such tasks,¡± protested Erhi. ¡°You have a job listing for those?¡± ¡°No, we reach out to students who have expressed interest when a Master has time to assist,¡± said Erhi. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Do you have the oldest of such expressions of interest on hand?¡± Though she frowned, Erhi rose, moved to a cupboard, and started to shift boxes about to dig the details out. ¡°You might want to gather them all up,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I might only be able to take on one at a time, but I¡¯ll turn them around quickly.¡± Erhi froze and turned to her in disbelief. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have any affinities, do you?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°No,¡± admitted Erhi tightly. Perhaps it¡¯s an old dream. Amdirlain smiled reassuringly. ¡°Would you like me to demonstrate by teaching you one?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been told I don¡¯t have any talent along those lines,¡± said Erhi with a grimace of resignation. ¡°Let me see if I can help,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve yet to find anyone I couldn¡¯t help gain an Affinity. I¡¯ll withdraw my suggestion if I can¡¯t give you some glimmer of understanding of an element in the next hour. What would you like to learn?¡± ¡°Air,¡± breathed Erhi, and her gaze darted to one of the engravings of the running horses. ¡°It¡¯s an element that embodies freedom,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯d like to enter a light meditative state, be mindful of the air moving in and out of your lungs. Once you are centred, you¡¯ll feel my mind touch yours, and I want you to imagine stepping forward to meet me.¡± Less than a minute later, Erhi¡¯s theme chimed with the Wizard Class being unlocked and the Air Affinity settling alongside it. Amdirlain didn¡¯t release Erhi¡¯s mind but continued through the base elements. When Erhi finally opened her eyes, her understanding of affinities included Water, Earth, and Fire. ¡°How?¡± gasped Erhi, her eyes glistening. ¡°It¡¯s one of my talents,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gently touched Erhi¡¯s forearm. ¡°I¡¯m glad I could fulfil a dream you thought would never be.¡± Erhi snorted and brought both hands to her face to hide her embarrassment. Amdirlain presented Erhi with a crystal created while her eyes were closed. ¡°This crystal contains the contents of four grimoires and some fundamental texts useful for self-study. I would recommend you find a teacher.¡± ¡°But the value of that,¡± breathed Erhi. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t for me to determine. If you could speak to the head librarian and decide between you? As for guiding you in gaining an Affinity, consider it a gift in recognition of your position.¡± Erhi carefully set the crystal on her desk. ¡°How many can you teach magic to?¡± ¡°This is opening the door, it''s not teaching them. However, I can help them gain any decent Affinity, but I will need to meet the person before I agree to help them,¡± offered Amdirlain. Erhi¡¯s eyes looked like they would pop out of her head, and she started to sputter. ¡°Would you like a few minutes?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The value of what you offer,¡± coughed Erhi, and she reluctantly shook her head. ¡°You¡¯re restricted to a single job at a time, and no jobs have been posted, merely expressions of interest.¡± Amdirlain lightly touched the desk¡¯s edge before she continued. ¡°I know your process needs to be followed, but might I provide a suggestion?¡± ¡°I¡¯m open to hearing what insights you might offer,¡± allowed Erhi warily, and her gaze flicked to the crystal resting not far from Amdirlain¡¯s hand. Yeah, she believes I offered it as a bribe. ¡°Since you don¡¯t know if any still require them, perhaps have a clerk contact the students to verify their interest. After talking to them, a job can be posted, and I¡¯ll handle it. Once the Affinity is verified, the clerk can call the next,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can decide the most efficient way to organise such confirmations and verifications.¡± Erhi¡¯s gaze remained wary. ¡°If we¡¯re looking to confirm their interest, it¡¯s more a matter of the duty pavilion performing its due diligence. We should summon groups of students to ensure we¡¯re utilising the clerk¡¯s time efficiently. The office next to mine is vacant today. Would you like to retire there, and I¡¯ll have someone bring you some tea while I discuss the matter with my Master?¡± Welcome to my parlour. Since I cannot bypass your rules, I¡¯ll use your processes instead. ¡°I¡¯d appreciate the refreshments,¡± replied Amdirlain. The office next door was only slightly less ornately furnished containing redwood desks and chairs with Persian geometric patterns beneath the redwood¡¯s lacquer. A young teenager dressed in servant robes delivered a pot of tea and red bean cakes. Wide-eyed at Amdirlain¡¯s appearance, the young girl fussed about and nervously ensured everything met Amdirlain¡¯s satisfaction before hurrying from the room with repeated bows. A young boy in student robes tapped on the doorframe of the open office. ¡°Lady Am, I¡¯ve got a job that Head Clerk Erhi asked me to have you review.¡± ¡°Is it, by chance, an Affinity request?¡± asked Amdirlain, The Novice nodded and waved a square of paper towards the stairs. ¡°They¡¯re just waiting downstairs. Should I send them up, or would you like the card?¡± ¡°To save time, if there are more of these today, perhaps just send them up with their job card,¡± offered Amdirlain. The student rushed off, and another student in his late twenties took his place. He possessed dark hair and the round face of many with Mongolian heritage. It took only minutes before he repeatedly bowed in thanks and headed off in a daze with the Metal Affinity to assist his Ki Infusion. A steady stream of students followed until Master Cyrus approached Amdirlain with an amused smirk. ¡°I suppose you¡¯ll tell me that meditation is an aspect of being a Monk.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t so many novices possessing additional affinities help the monastery long-term?¡± ¡°That and challenge us to educate all the monks with new affinities,¡± countered Cyrus. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that. I¡¯ve got an idea,¡± said Amdirlain glibly. ¡°At least as far as those that take Wizard. Unfortunately, I can¡¯t help those selecting the Wu Jen Class.¡± Cyrus¡¯ gaze narrowed suspiciously. ¡°Do I want to know?¡± ¡°It involves meditation, so don¡¯t worry about it,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she shooed him on his way. ¡°Please send up the next student with their card.¡± ¡°How many do you intend to do today?¡± Amdirlain shrugged broadly. ¡°As many as I can, but I¡¯ve been limiting myself to helping them with one Affinity each. I¡¯m glad I¡¯ve not encountered anyone I needed to refuse to teach. While a few have been a bit cocky, none have been bullies.¡± ¡°You already have enough contribution points to get the scrolls you should need and arrange enough private lessons to keep you busy for months.¡± ¡°With time between the lessons, I wouldn¡¯t want to tie up a Master for that length of time,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded. ¡°Private practice is always wise to ensure you understand the training properly. I was curious as to why you¡¯re teaching so many today?¡± ¡°Some have been waiting years for an instructor to help. I¡¯m just trying to help them move forward,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Since they¡¯re turning up to verify the request with the clerk, I might as well save them another visit.¡± ¡°Would you care to spar this evening?¡± Amdirlain gasped in mock shock. ¡°Master Cyrus, are you trying to jump the queue? I have a list of four masters offering contribution points to spar against me.¡± ¡°I was offering you a lesson, brat,¡± grumbled Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯d love a lesson for something else besides sparring,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I need to evolve Ki Movement and Ki Flight,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°And getting to Sword Light could be fun.¡± ¡°You can look to evolve each individually or merge them first and then evolve,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Though in your case, I¡¯d recommend the former. The latter technique involves projecting your Ki outside your body.¡± ¡°That might attract a bit of attention where I have to go,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she gave Cyrus an innocent smile. ¡°Do you think I have enough funds to consult with someone to get the scrolls?¡± ¡°It seems the duty pavilion¡¯s processes were explained,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Shall I tell the clerks to hold off further interviews after those currently waiting?¡± ¡°If you would be so kind,¡° replied Amdirlain. ¡°The forty they¡¯ve lined up shouldn¡¯t take too long. If only I could handle multiple jobs at once. Guess some people are going to be waiting a long time.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you help scores at once in Limbo?¡± ¡°Why yes, I believe I did,¡± replied Amdirlain, innocently fluttering her eyelashes. ¡°Such a pity restrictions stop me doing the same here. I¡¯m being slightly rebellious, but I¡¯ll behave, I promise.¡± Shaking his head in exasperation, Cyrus headed downstairs. They could set up a job to help students en masse. I¡¯ll bet on that happening rather than a rule change. By the time Master Cyrus reached the lobby, forty-seven more students were waiting to unlock their affinities. 378 - Still here Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When the clerks verified the last student¡¯s Affinity, Erhi came to the office and added Amdirlain¡¯s payment to her white jade pendant. Though she appeared composed, Amdirlain could hear the confusion and shock that still roiled inside her. ¡°I can tell you¡¯ve got a question,¡± prompted Amdirlain. Erhi shifted uncomfortably. ¡°I don¡¯t wish to appear ungrateful or impertinent, Lady Am.¡± ¡°Seeking clarification when you¡¯re confused isn¡¯t impertinent,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you assist me in learning four affinities when you only helped others with what they requested?¡± asked Erhi. ¡°Someone tried to crush your dream by telling you it could never be,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I once had my dreams taken from me, and it took me but a moment to return yours to you, so I wanted to do more than simply the minimum. Those I spoke to after you had specific purposes in mind for each Affinity, but none had experienced having their hopes crushed.¡± Erhi bowed deeply, and Amdirlain heard her transfer more contribution points into the pendant. She caught the knowing gleam in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze and flushed. ¡°It is but a small token of my appreciation. I hope you will accept them and use them to further your own dreams.¡± After returning the bow, Amdirlain stepped forward and, with a smile, clasped her hands about Erhi¡¯s. ¡°I appreciate your gift and the sentiment with which you offer it.¡± At that, Erhi flushed again and released the pendant into Amdirlain¡¯s hands. With an embarrassed smile, she excused herself and hurried off. With no reason to linger, Amdirlain took the stairs to the reception. Master Cyrus¡¯s presence by the front doors distracted the students from noticing her until she was beside him. ¡°Shall we go?¡± ¡°Unless you have other business?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m done here,¡± replied Amdirlain. Out in the sunlight, he motioned towards the main road. ¡°Have you visited the library yet?¡± ¡°Not as yet. Do you recommend that as a starting point?¡± asked Amdirlain. Cyrus waggled a hand. ¡°It¡¯s a starting point, but not always the right one. There are students where it¡¯s best to get them settled into a routine or properly assess their abilities before throwing them in among all the options the library might present. New students with particular goals are the ones I direct to the library to start.¡± ¡°If they have particular goals, is it easy to find the scrolls they need?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t some need to improve their foundations?¡± ¡°Correct. It is simply where on that road they¡¯ve reached that is the question,¡± clarified Cyrus. ¡°Through conversation about a particular technique, one can judge if they need supplementary material.¡± ¡°Well, we¡¯ve sparred repeatedly, so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve some gauge on my capabilities,¡± said Amdirlain, and she moved to walk alongside him. Cyrus glanced at her and switched to speaking Celestial. ¡°Master Payam believes I had undersold your capabilities to him.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I have perhaps improved a little since we last sparred,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°A little?¡± questioned Cyrus sceptically. ¡°While Master Payam is younger than me, he is still a Grandmaster in Drunken Man Kung Fu, and he could neither touch nor evade you herding him. Are you next going to tell me it was a fluke?¡± ¡°I just danced in time with his rhythm,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus stopped and turned his attention fully to Amdirlain. ¡°I believe I need to offer my apologies to Master Payam. How far does that capability improve your combat performance?¡± ¡°I supplemented a combat style he had no experience against with two powers,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°It was hardly a fair challenge.¡± ¡°We might need to converse so I can appreciate it better,¡± proposed Cyrus. ¡°The scrolls I had planned to collect with you might not be the most suitable.¡± ¡°Some of the scrolls, I¡¯m sure, will be fine,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Though we might need to review any you¡¯ve picked out related to combat techniques.¡± ¡°How much of your capabilities have you left aside when you sparred with me?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I wanted to push my fighting style and healing capabilities, so I avoided using any other powers than those provided by my Monk classes.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should go to your Foundry,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Can you let it go until after I¡¯ve looked into improving my other powers?¡± requested Amdirlain. Cyrus frowned. ¡°Your studies aren¡¯t pieces of a puzzle to mix and match. Rather, they blend as a whole. I need to consider the full scope of your situation to help your education properly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re never going to understand the full scope of it with True Song,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve tried with deities, and they can¡¯t even hear what I could make out years ago, let alone now.¡± ¡°But I can see the implications in your progression with abilities we share,¡± said Cyrus insistently. ¡°Now, where shall we exchange pointers?¡± ¡°That¡¯s up to you, Master Cyrus. Foundry is fine. Alternatively, we could borrow an arena here or a glade at the mountain¡¯s base,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I would suggest far away from prying eyes,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Try to keep up.¡± With that, Cyrus leapt into the air and barely skimmed above the buildings as he sped down the mountain. Though tempted to tweak his goatee by teleporting, Amdirlain used Ki Flight to follow his lead. Cyrus kept a lead on her of a few hundred metres the whole trip and landed at the far side of the rice fields outside of Livia¡¯s Domain. ¡°Do you mind if I enquired about this outpost''s purpose?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It seems like it must be a duplicate of existing facilities, and having to move students and villagers can¡¯t have been simple, given the effort you had to take to reach the Outlands.¡± ¡°It was an effort but a necessary one,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°The answer to why we undertook it is straightforward: metals. While our lands provide plenty of materials from plants and animals, metals and rare earths are scarce in all the kingdoms.¡± ¡°But with the amount of metals that should be available in Asia, why do you need to venture to the planes?¡± protested Amdirlain. Cyrus sighed. ¡°Unfortunately, what is available isn¡¯t as great as you might have expected from your previous life. There is one thing you¡¯ve not likely considered: Human civilisations weren¡¯t the first to inhabit the region resembling Asia on Veht?. The previous holders of the lands depleted the resources that were once present. Where there would have been megatonnes of metals in my original realm, instead we find empty halls of once-great dwarven kingdoms. The metals went to fuel whatever industry the dwarves had, or now serve as a Dragon¡¯s bed.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± breathed Amdirlain, picturing massive chambers like those of Stoneheart under all of the mountains in China. ¡°I could recreate the veins within the earth or provide demi-planes with mining challenges that spawn different metals.¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯d prefer the former as there is more normalcy about it, but I don¡¯t know what others would say. What sort of exchange would you be after?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Let me think about it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But at the very least, copies of the scrolls to help guide my progress.¡± ¡°Hardly a sufficient payment for such aid to assure the five kingdoms¡¯ future. I would suggest you consider it properly before I make such an offer on your behalf,¡± Cyrus advised. ¡°Now, where do you wish to spar?¡± The trip down the mountain had given her time to consider her options, and Amdirlain opened a Gate. ¡°Let¡¯s go to Foundry.¡± She closed the Gate behind them, and the pair soon stood facing each other on the training platform. ¡°I take it Resonance was one of the powers you used to supplement your fighting style,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°But what was the other?¡± ¡°Harmony,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Listening to Master Payam¡¯s music, I moved in time with it.¡± ¡°Ahh,¡± grunted Cyrus. ¡°And you have those two powers at Senior Master rank?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Both are in Grandmaster, and I¡¯ve evolved Resonance.¡± ¡°I had not considered the implications of your True Song with fighting. You can hear the twitch of your opponent¡¯s muscles?¡± ¡°From impulses in nerves, through to the flexing of muscles. Beyond the physical, it lets me read the general shift of someone¡¯s emotions and intent without delving into their mind,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled eagerly. ¡°This could be an interesting challenge to teach you. In combat, it is important to have many layers of options available, but it sounds like you would know any way I could physically move.¡± ¡°And your energy flows for Ki movement abilities,¡± added Amdirlain. Cyrus grunted in surprise. ¡°Well, that makes this even more interesting. Shall we see how I manage?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say you couldn¡¯t out-fight me, just that I¡¯m more aware,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Now I feel like you¡¯re covering your arse to protect your pride,¡± observed Cyrus. Amdirlain smiled and lifted her hands. ¡°Just providing full disclosure.¡± ¡°Would you also fully disclose your intentions with the affinities?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°While it¡¯s beneficial in the long term, it does have the potential to be disruptive in the short term. Things can be managed for now, so we won¡¯t stop students paying you for your help.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Honestly, that started as an effort to help Erhi, and I was surprised it¡¯s considered so unreliable that students can¡¯t even post job requests.¡± ¡°Those favoured students found to be worthy of dedicated attention are helped to gain the required affinities by their masters,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°That annoys me,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Only the favoured get help because the others aren¡¯t worth the effort? That sort of shit is exactly why I randomly teach people affinities. Only people with the right connections getting help infuriates me, which I know is ironic given my connections to deities. After hearing that is how it works, by the time I¡¯m done at the monastery, everyone I feel comfortable teaching will have at least one Affinity.¡± ¡°What is the most efficient approach for you?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Should you handle them in groups like you did in Limbo?" Amdirlain¡¯s expression turned curious. ¡°You¡¯re more concerned for my time, not the disruption to the monastery?¡± Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I¡¯m unaware of any student there with a fraction of your potential. There are better things you can do with your time to face the challenges you have ahead. Also, you have come up with a way to add a distinct value to your presence at the monastery that your leaving won¡¯t remove,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I should support that by making it easier for you.¡± There you go. I had bet on option two, only it got taken for a different reason than I had expected. Amdirlain waved her hand absently. ¡°Groups would work, but I¡¯d need to be able to refuse to teach anyone whose themes I don¡¯t like. If the duty pavilion gives me a job to teach a hundred and I only teach ninety-nine, would it count as the job being incomplete? The clerk sent the student up with the job card rather than registering it to me immediately so I could decide whether I took it on.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Master Sukh, as he runs the duty pavilion. I can convince him to set up jobs for group teaching sessions. Maybe they can have your payment based upon how many gain an Affinity in the session, the same way someone can take a job to gather and get paid on quantity fetched,¡± proposed Cyrus. ¡°Why did you restrict yourself to teaching a single Affinity?¡± ¡°I wanted to see how they¡¯d behave after I taught them and also get them to appreciate the benefit it provided,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I tend to help the underdog gladly, but I¡¯m a bit more reserved for those with privilege.¡± ¡°Underdog; is that an Australian term?¡± ¡°It existed in other cultures where I¡¯m from,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It might seem strange to consider the Head Clerk an underdog, but her dreams were crushed.¡± Cyrus nodded, his face composed into a solemn expression. ¡°You like making restitution even when it¡¯s not your error that caused the problem.¡± ¡°I was helping Erhi get a fresh start and her dream back. I¡¯m not responsible for what was done to her,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Phoenix,¡± muttered Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m not a very good Phoenix,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°You need to visit the South Wind¡¯s Court. Renewal is a constant with them, and while they can focus on their paths, some constantly rebel like you do,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°Phoenixes and rebirth go hand in hand.¡± Amdirlain tapped her chest with her forefinger. ¡°They are reborn whole. Ori mauled herself, and I¡¯m this thing. Sometimes I feel I¡¯m damaged goods rather than anyone whole, holding on through my Willpower alone.¡± Cyrus stiffened and let out a soft sigh. ¡°I¡¯m not the person to have this conversation with you.¡± ¡°What insight did you just have?¡± requested Amdirlain, even as she regretted her explanation. While she¡¯d heard the term directed towards her in the past, it was an issue she thought she¡¯d grown past. Pain Eater also caught at the wording, making her wonder if she¡¯d lanced into an older wound in her Soul. ¡°Please don¡¯t ask or listen to my mind,¡± requested Cyrus. ¡°With your use of the words damaged goods, I feel the issue is too delicate to involve me. I suggest you talk with Sarah about the raw nerve I touched. My insight says that would be best for you, but I won¡¯t force the issue or say a thing to her myself.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± snapped Amdirlain. And she blinked in surprise at the anger in her tone. Exhaling, she moderated her tone. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve got an old wound I¡¯ve not dealt with as thoroughly as I believed. Are we going to spar?¡± ¡°No, let¡¯s sit and cycle,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I touched a raw nerve and we wish to know your potential in calmness, not when anger seethes about in you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve worked on it previously, but maybe it''s something that can¡¯t heal until I¡¯m whole again,¡± groaned Amdirlain, and she kept her thoughts on the moment instead of touching the old pain. ¡°Something to talk about to someone you wholly trust,¡± persisted Cyrus. ¡°I wish there to be no regrets about secrets hastily given out to sour things between us when you have so much to learn.¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re sure it¡¯s not something I need you to understand to improve,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°A teacher is not a confidante or healer, even if occasionally we¡¯re honoured to be considered a mentor.¡± Amdirlain took in the concern within Cyrus'' melody and tried to shrug the tension away. ¡°I know I can be a pain in the arse.¡± ¡°That is not why I cut you off. Sometimes, I¡¯ll need to push you to uncomfortable lengths. The best results aren¡¯t obtained while other matters weigh down the trust you¡¯ll need to have in my instructions.¡± Amdirlain exhaled slowly and finally gave a sharp nod. ¡°Okay. Let¡¯s cycle for a bit before we spar.¡± ¡°If you feel calmer, we¡¯ll spar,¡± countered Cyrus, and he smiled ruefully. ¡°You are always making my plans jump about, young lady.¡± ¡°Sorry, I know the feeling. I¡¯ve found my plans frequently scuttled,¡± said Amdirlain apologetically. ¡°Life has a way of making fools of all of us,¡± replied Cyrus. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°That¡¯s because we fool ourselves that we have control. Our plans going astray is just reality telling us the jokes on us.¡± ¡°You have an odd relationship with those around you and hide your feelings behind humour, quips, and teasing. I¡¯ve noticed this tendency in many of your celestials. Perhaps it¡¯s an effect of all the Ki you poured into your former Domain.¡± ¡°Potentially, corrupting influence that I am,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically. Cyrus¡¯ brows lifted. ¡°Let¡¯s move on with the exercise. Cycle gently.¡± Amdirlain set a crystal before her and poured in Ki before she started igniting her sigil with only Ki. The pattern of the sigil repeatedly flared with golden Ki, and as her Ki pool refilled, the excess illuminated a feathery outline etched beneath her skin. Cyrus¡¯ gaze took in the light shining through her clothing and as it reached her fingers, he frowned in concern. ¡°When was the last time you took on your True Form?¡± ¡°Before the resistance training,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I know how unpleasant it looks.¡± ¡°Were you cycling during that training?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°I know what cycling Ki and Primordial Mana has done to me. However, I¡¯m not sure I care what my True Form looks like,¡± rasped Amdirlain bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s not the truth of me.¡± ¡°May I see?¡± asked Cyrus, and he beckoned for her to stand. Amdirlain set down her storage bags and reappeared a distance away to transform. The fabric of the shadow vines failed to handle the instant expansion to her twelve-metre form. Cyrus glimpsed the feathery scars covering her bronze-gold skin, the now shimmering surface looked ready to split apart. Her azure blue hair flickered in time to the sooty red flames that burnt from the golden wicks that formed the core of her feathers. The sharp angularity of her scarred features and the long talons that extended from her fingers projected a cruel predatory beauty, despite her keeping the aura of slaughter concealed. Cyrus cleared his throat. ¡°Why do you look that way?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I¡¯m a Fallen, Cyrus. It¡¯s part of our state that the stronger we get, the more our True Form displays our wicked nature. It warns those around us to tread lightly and not freely trust us.¡± ¡°Yes, you are genuinely dire to nearby people¡¯s expectations,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°At least, a dire foe to those seeking to hurt your loved ones. That I would believe.¡± ¡°My Hidden state means it doesn¡¯t distinguish me from any of those that fell through their actions,¡± said Amdirlain, and she flexed her fingers and clicked her talons together¡ªthe metallic sound elicited a sigh, and she returned to her Wood Elf form. The dark green silken material dealt flawlessly with her size contraction and settled smoothly around her lithe form. Once her appearance was restored, Cyrus nodded. ¡°You look less likely to cause a scare.¡± Amdirlain brushed an auburn lock from her eyes and smiled at Cyrus. ¡°Such fun, right?¡± Cyrus ignored the comment and motioned to her still-glowing sigil. ¡°Try to make regular time to cycle lightly. Ensure you keep your Ki¡¯s internal pressure beneath where you¡¯d start to glow. Do you believe the change will remain once you are free of it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, I hope not. Perhaps I shouldn¡¯t have dropped so many levels into Fallen in a rush,¡± allowed Amdirlain as she stored more Ki away. ¡°The effect was far more subtle before I did that, but I think my appearance will only worsen before it gets better.¡± ¡°With your transformation?¡± ¡°Empress Malfex,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°It sounds so ominous.¡± ¡°You mentioned Grand Empress is after that, but what else lies beyond?¡± asked Cyrus. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°If I push my luck enough, Gideon might tell me. However, I¡¯m partly tempted to find out after a warning I was given. Shall we spar?¡± How much stronger must I be to be safe from Moloch and others? Likely too much to remain in a Hidden state while gaining strength. Cyrus¡¯ brows lifted questioningly, but he squared off from her after a sharp head shake. ¡°You seem calmer.¡± Amdirlain launched a sharp attack without warning, but Cyrus slipped along her strike. As he lifted his hands, Ki encapsulated his flesh, reinforced by Metal and Lightning. As electricity crackled along his skin, Amdirlain spun away from his flurry of punches. Back and forth, the pair traded strikes or kicks that at first contacted only air. Cyrus met none of her attacks head-on, slipping by them or deflecting them with refined Willpower or Ki State projected from his form. Amdirlain could read his attacks and evasions, but he responded instantly to her adjustments. A telegraphed front kick would morph into a flurry of high kicks or drop into a ground-cracking stomp. Blocks and ripostes that revealed where Cyrus¡¯ Devouring Mist style got its name swallowed her responses. He seamlessly transitioned between eight styles of Kung Fu and a mixture of other martial arts, his defences simply absorbing hundreds of attacks. Slowly but surely, advantage twisted his way as Cyrus used her speed and ability to read him against her. One attack would press her to respond and position her for the next, which led her around the dance floor step by step until the finale seemed his. As the pressure through an arm bar threatened to smash her face down into the stone, Cyrus held only air. Amdirlain morphed from an Elf to a bug and back again, repositioning behind him. Her strike hammered into his back and sent him spinning across the stone. ¡°Mate,¡± said Amdirlain. Flipping back to his feet, Cyrus nodded. ¡°That point is yours. Shall we continue?¡± ¡°For a while, but I would like to get to the library,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll get there in good time. Did you Teleport to do that?¡± asked Cyrus. Amdirlain smiled mysteriously. ¡°No, but I¡¯ll keep the truth of that advantage to myself.¡± ¡°I shall adapt,¡± said Cyrus. Their exchanges continued for hours, and though the first point was hers, it didn¡¯t always go Amdirlain¡¯s way. When they wound down their exchanges, Amdirlain waited until their last injuries had healed before she took them back to the monastery¡¯s edge. ¡°Shall we go to the library now?¡± asked Amdirlain. Cyrus walked on in silence for a minute. ¡°Yes, you have much to learn.¡± The library was a five-story circular building on the opposite side of the mountain to the inner wall¡¯s gatehouse. Its lacquered woodwork gleamed brightly in the golden sunlight of the Outlands. Despite the lateness in the monastery¡¯s day, the library''s foyer had rows of desks with students busy copying scrolls, many with job tokens sitting close to hand. The only Librarian in sight was a prim Chinese gentleman in a Mandarin-style outfit. It was solid black silk, with grey ties, in a reverse of the monastery¡¯s typical colour scheme. He sat behind a long black stone desk with a severe expression guarding the entry to the stacks. Beyond the librarian¡¯s desk was the end of a pair of shelves looping in a serpentine course throughout the building¡¯s lower floor. Mostly they ran in parallel, but sometimes one or both would briefly split off like nodes in a lung. The undulating path formed cubbies and niches that hosted reading tables, benefiting from isolation. However, reaching the far end required travelling forty or more times the distance than a direct path. The shelves that filled the first level ended at a spiral staircase, a new set waited on the next floor. While the library comprised most of the first three floors, the top three were private study and meditation rooms. It was to a room on the fourth floor that Cyrus led her, using a shortcut that bypassed the first three floors entirely. The room''s walls displayed carved eastern dragons; the white overhead light gleamed off their elongated bodies that projected power and grace. In the centre of the room was a deep black granite table surrounded by matching chairs, while against the wall was a simple, three-shelf librarian cart. Its slanted shelves held thirty bundles of scrolls and thin booklets between them. Motioning her to sit, Cyrus selected a set of three scrolls and untied the silk ribbon that held them together. Setting two of them aside, he partly unrolled the third enough to show the diagram of a human body with various symbols set across its limbs and torso. ¡°Since you are not Mortal, the key to the evolution of your capabilities is understanding your sigil¡¯s meaning and appreciating its strengths and weaknesses,¡± advised Cyrus, extending his hand to cover the diagram. ¡°Which can be simple and frustratingly elusive, as it involves a uniquely personal insight. There are many texts pondering sigils among the various monasteries¡¯ libraries. However, accessing them will be more challenging for you than others, so I hope we have materials you find insightful.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Since only immortals possessed the sigils, I take it they¡¯d be disinclined to share such esoteric scriptures with someone unproven.¡± ¡°Correct,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°And scriptures is the correct term for them since members of the Jade Court inspired the sages who wrote many.¡± ¡°The Jade Court¡¯s Shen laid out maps for those seeking the route of enlightenment,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded sharply. ¡°You understand their purpose.¡± ¡°Might I know the name of your Dao?¡± ¡°Heavenly Guide,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°What else would you expect from one whose path focuses on teaching enlightenment?¡± ¡°Pretty impressive title, and yet you ended up with me as a student,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded. ¡°Some students are more challenging than others.¡± ¡°Perhaps after having such a simple time with me, you¡¯ll meet someone more challenging,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t say you were the challenging one,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Compared to some, getting you to progress has been straightforward, and I¡¯ve not even had to wait multiple lifetimes.¡± He tapped the table next to the scroll he had unrolled, and Amdirlain glanced at the central symbol of the diagram where a Yin-Yang seemed to eat the closest symbols around it. ¡°Are we starting with Jade Court Mana?¡± ¡°No, this technique is to advance your Ki State and have it include two affinities within its protection,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°These scrolls cover the mantras used to enter the right mental state to hold multiple affinities active at once. It requires the user to balance the energies, hence the use of the Yin-Yang.¡± ¡°How do we go about this?¡± asked Amdirlain lightly. ¡°I take it we¡¯re not going to study each one in detail given the monastery¡¯s processes.¡± Cyrus nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll review it at a high level first to see if its contents resonate with you. If it doesn¡¯t, we¡¯ll move on to the next.¡± ¡°Then I pay the librarian afterwards?¡± asked Amdirlain. Cyrus shot her an amused smile. ¡°You¡¯re suddenly worried about that? Relax, this is part of your consultation.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Glad to know who is going to give me the bill.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Once we find if any of these technique scrolls or booklets are useful to you, we can determine which you buy to start.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in your capable hands,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she settled in to listen to Cyrus¡¯ explanation, intent on catching undertones that might indicate more than the words. 379 - Other side Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches The first technique scroll for Ki State involved layering the energies to support each other like she¡¯d seen Master Payam use. Being familiar with multiple melody components supporting each other, the technique made perfect sense. Unfortunately, that initial success didn¡¯t continue, and most of the scrolls contained concepts that didn¡¯t mesh with Amdirlain¡¯s perspective. While none of them were completely off-tune, Master Cyrus¡¯ advice was to find one that would mesh with her existing approach and, while they came close, only two others provided the same comfortable feel¡ªone for Ki Flight and the second for Universal Life. Master Cyrus frowned at the three scrolls before Amdirlain and tapped the one for Ki Flight. ¡°That comes from the South Wind¡¯s Court. A similar technique for Ki Movement would likely be found with them. I hadn¡¯t expected you to take to that technique.¡± ¡°My sigil always feels like it¡¯s alive, as much the flames of the Phoenix,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯ll wait here, I¡¯ll fetch another text,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°It was one that I had discounted, but given your preference for that first technique, it¡¯s at least worth consideration.¡± Amdirlain smiled, but it failed to reach her gaze. ¡°Only one scroll? I¡¯ve already rejected so many.¡± ¡°The one I want to show you is a book, but let me decide what to worry about with your consultation, Am,¡± instructed Cyrus. ¡°Given your unique nature, I¡¯m surprised we have three from this first round. If we had found only one, it would have been time well spent, as it has removed many techniques from further consideration.¡± ¡°I guess you know me better than some people to pick so many that worked for me.¡± Cyrus shrugged modestly. ¡°Not as well as I thought for that technique to appeal. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Amdirlain unrolled the Ki Flight scroll as he rose. ¡°Is it alright if I at least look?¡± ¡°Just ignore the instructions for now. We¡¯ll consult with Kadaklan to assess your education for this technique. He knows the South Court and the misdirections they¡¯d include in the works better than I do. He might even know a related Ki Flight technique.¡± With a nod, Amdirlain turned her attention to the first diagram. The ink of the finely detailed art looked fresh, almost as if recently copied, but Amdirlain could hear the years within it. Though the initial illustration showed an individual with a wireframe sigil of an eagle¡¯s head, in each of the subsequent illustrations, the bird expanded and became whole while still contained within the subject¡¯s flesh. The last picture showed the eagle wings barely constrained within their body as they soared past clouds, with slipstream lines to give a sense of speed. When Cyrus reentered the room, Amdirlain was still studying the picture. He put down a leather-bound book with an embossed cover that showed a man with a frost-rimmed tiger leaping from an outstretched hand. ¡°Nice kitty?¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°What does it eat, frosted flakes?¡± ¡°The dramatic illustration aside, this technique might get around one of your issues with Ki Blast,¡± said Cyrus, the reference understandably lost on him. ¡°And it also applies to your situation.¡± ¡°Having an animal sigil?¡± Cyrus nodded but beckoned Amdirlain to wait. ¡°Let¡¯s review it first and see if it even appeals.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the downside?¡± ¡°Unlike other Ki Blast techniques, it doesn¡¯t allow for incorporation into weaponry, nor is there any evolution that combines it with another power. However, options exist to extend Ki Blast for practitioners of this technique,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°The reason will become quite clear once we go through it.¡± They were only a few minutes into the review before Amdirlain started giggling. ¡°I have gotten Ki Blast working, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°The animalistic representation is both a tool for projection, but it also allows for more than that,¡± reassured Cyrus. ¡°Presently, you have an issue that you can¡¯t use Ki Blast without attracting attention in many places you must travel.¡± ¡°The animal is a shell?¡± guessed Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, a shell and, as with Ki Infusion, the shell can incorporate other energies that both mask what¡¯s inside and use that Ki to fuel their manifestation,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Since you have already evolved Ki Infusion into Ki State, I see no reason you couldn¡¯t pick this up. There is one other aspect of this technique that you might find beneficial.¡± He turned the pages towards the middle and presented a multi-part image of the tension draining from a man¡¯s expression as the tiger manifested¡ªthe mantra focused on casting pain forth. Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ¡°Is this for a pain Dao?¡± ¡°No, it can be used by those following any Dao if they have an animal in their sigil. The mantra¡¯s meaning is a guide to let go of pain through projection. It combines the energy and pain into a shell around the Ki Blast to serve as a purification process,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°The mental components of the technique burn negative emotions to fuel its creation. Its creator had many past-life scars and used this technique to ease them as a Mortal and eventually obtain a true understanding of his Dao.¡± ¡°And you didn¡¯t even have it on hand,¡± Amdirlain said nervously. Cyrus shrugged and closed the book. ¡°I had dismissed it. However, I thought I¡¯d offer it after you selected another technique involving animal visualisation.¡± ¡°Did this technique become worthless to him?¡± Cyrus huffed in amusement. ¡°He used the technique for so long that he could manifest a massive beast with the faintest of wisps of pain. Given the length of time your Soul has been around, I don¡¯t imagine you¡¯ll run out of fuel soon. Also, I have some concerns about what your Pain Eater does with all you¡¯ve experienced, and this might let you remove that backlog.¡± Concern flickered in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze, and he started to pull the book away. As he went to place it on the cart, Amdirlain held out her hand. ¡°I¡¯ll try it out. Can you assist me with it, or is there another teacher we must draw on?¡± ¡°I know the author and his codes, so I¡¯ll be fine assisting you with this text,¡± assured Cyrus. ¡°Do I have enough contribution points to cover the consultation fee and the texts?¡± asked Amdirlain. It was Cyrus¡¯ turn to laugh. ¡°I think you can afford these texts.¡± Amdirlain smiled whimsically. ¡°If you know the technique¡¯s creator, can you get me a signed copy? I¡¯ve never owned a book signed by the author.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask him if he¡¯ll indulge you,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if he¡¯d care to travel here, however, so it might take a while before a personalised copy arrives.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gathered the texts. Cyrus took them from her and led her out through the staff shortcut. After retracing their route to the front desk, arranging copies didn¡¯t take long. When the stern-faced Librarian brought them out, Amdirlain could sense the magic used in their creation and restrained herself from making copies for herself. Okay, so it was made by the Librarian with a few spells and not one of the students who are out on display copying texts, but it still helps move points around the monastery¡¯s economy. Out front of the library, Amdirlain motioned questioningly at the path. ¡°The long way or short way to Livia¡¯s?¡± ¡°The long way,¡± said Cyrus, ¡°It goes past the training hall Head Clerk Erhi has arranged as your accommodation, so we might as well stop in there.¡± Despite the light, the streets were quiet as Cyrus escorted her; the building he led her to was very similar to the initial layout of Nolmar. It was effectively a U-shaped building with a gated wall to close off the gap. The training hall was at the far end, but the sides of the U hosted three medium-sized rooms six metres long and seven wide. Instead of matching the exterior grey stone and lacquered redwood, the interior comprised cream-coloured padded floor mats, elaborate ivory inlays in honey gold woodwork, and matching furniture. The areas to either side of the courtyard had furniture suitable for a study, while across from the wide gate was the training hall that Head Clerk Erhi had mentioned. As Amdirlain considered the training hall at the far side of the courtyard, a look of dissatisfaction crept across her face. ¡°Is there a problem, Am?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I agreed to hold teaching sessions, but my style is so fluid I¡¯m not sure where I should start trying to teach it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded understandingly. ¡°That is part of what will help you. By breaking it into teachable pieces, you can consider what each adds to your style. Then, contemplate whether it achieves its goal efficiently or requires changing or discarding. You may have shortcut ranking into Grandmaster, but the further you wish to grow, the more time you¡¯ll spend critiquing your style.¡± ¡°When is the next class you teach?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not long from now. I¡¯ll have to leave you shortly, but I¡¯d like to make sure you¡¯re settled,¡± replied Cyrus. Amdirlain patted the dimensional bags hanging from her belt. ¡°This is all my luggage, and I don¡¯t need hand-holding. I¡¯ll settle in fine. I take it the rooms along the sides are typically used for discussions between seniors and novices?¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they¡¯ll already have made alternative arrangements for the lessons here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll only need one room,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she nodded to the first on the left. ¡°That one will do fine. If I need more space, I¡¯ll ask Livia if increasing the interior dimensions is acceptable.¡± ¡°The whole of the building is yours. The agreed fee is a daily lesson for general novices,¡± said Cyrus. Amdirlain grunted unhappily. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll spy on other classes and figure something out.¡± ¡°Livia suggested you help with her classes. You could do that while you figure out the fundamentals to instruct,¡± proposed Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure that the duty pavilion provides you a couple of weeks to settle in first.¡± Aware it was before the start of the monastery¡¯s day, Amdirlain didn¡¯t raise her voice. ¡°No, I¡¯ll hold a lesson in the afternoon today. It might not be much of a lesson, but I¡¯ll teach some things to anyone brave enough to come along.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d like, I could send one of my seniors along to help keep things orderly,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure you can inspire anyone that comes along to behave and learn.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m someone they don¡¯t yet know, so perhaps it would be wise to have someone direct me on the formalities for at least the first lesson,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The formalities in a session are for the teacher to determine as long as a student doesn¡¯t come to lasting harm,¡± corrected Cyrus. ¡°Did your teaching places have customs?¡± ¡°The Japanese customs for a dojo,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Cyrus shrugged. ¡°Then teach them how you expect them to behave in your dojo. Your style doesn¡¯t belong to the Eastern Court, but started life in a similar land.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll spend some time to think about it,¡± said Amdirlain. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Spend some time considering it,¡± said Cyrus, and his gaze flickered across the sunlit courtyard. ¡°I¡¯ll be off now. I still have time to meditate before the day¡¯s start is signalled.¡± Amdirlain glanced at the golden sun overhead. ¡°It throws things off, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yet it doesn¡¯t have the same oppressive feel that long summers in the extreme north have,¡± said Cyrus. With that, Cyrus headed off, unbothered by what the place looked like. Amdirlain entered the first room and opened the windows to the inner courtyard. The long table in the middle of the room Amdirlain moved against the outer wall, and set the six chairs that were with it along the wall to either side. Laying out the contents of the first, she considered each item and eventually sent the bag and her older swords across the planes to one of Foundry¡¯s empty armouries. The gift from Hestia became a floor harp that Amdirlain tucked beside the table, while Anna¡¯s orb rested between a trio of crystal blocks. When she set the mapping cube on the table, Amdirlain took in the lingering infernal energy that had mingled with her Ki within it to bring something greater into being. With the awareness that had grown within it still dormant, she carefully adjusted the residue but left the precise nature in place. Focused on the cube, she found maps of thousands of worlds but only the places she¡¯d been to on each. Those regions that she had teleported between each seemed laid out with enough space between each other to account for the hops. The maps were split into sections on the planes she¡¯d visited; each area only connected to the plane itself. Curious about the capacity of the intelligence she sensed, Amdirlain created a link that allowed it to draw on the set of surveyors above Qil Tris. From the cube, a merry twinkle arose, like a dozen metallic wind chimes brushed by a gentle breeze. The sound shifted energetically but settled into a cheerful hum that reminded Amdirlain of a purring kitten. Reflexively, Amdirlain touched fingertips to the cube and held back a laugh¡ªthe gesture so like the pat she¡¯d bestowed on Custodian. With it happily digesting the details of the world down to its molten core, Amdirlain knelt in the centre of the room. Though she¡¯d left Anna¡¯s orb sitting in its makeshift stand, she started to absorb its contents. An hour later, having registered multiple increases in Physical Geography, Amdirlain received notice of a new Knowledge Skill unlocked: Planetary Biomes. Her experience with the songs of multiple planets, down to microfauna and flora, let her make great strides in understanding the lessons within the orb. [Planetary Biomes Details: This knowledge covers multiple branches of the physical sciences related to botany and a planet¡¯s Mana impacting its life forms. The continual growth of this Knowledge will include biomes found in a greater diversity of worlds. Note: This is more stuff that Ori picked up before I existed. I don¡¯t know if she learnt it instinctively from her surroundings or absorbed the knowledge the same way she did the Fey combat skills. She did get Tiamat¡¯s memories of life coming into existence upon her body.] The jumps in the Journeyman ranks she¡¯d already experienced felt like simple mental exercises compared to the impact of advancing True Song Architecture, even through the Adept ranks, so Amdirlain settled in and pushed herself harder. Even with her primary focus on the orb, after morning bells had signalled the day¡¯s start, Amdirlain still registered Klipyl¡¯s exit from the dwelling where she¡¯d spent the ¡®night¡¯. Her ribbon sat tight along her whitish-blue skin, and her bluish-green hair had been fashioned into scores of braids and bound together into a single ponytail. After a long, heated kiss with roaming hands, Klipyl started up the mountain while her partner ventured down the slope towards the fields. When she got through the inner gates, playful flirting netted Klipyl a set of directions to Amdirlain¡¯s residence. When Klipyl came in, she regarded Amdirlain kneeling in the centre of the room with a cheeky smile. The archon dropped to the floor with her back to Amdirlain and leant back to lay her head on Amdirlain¡¯s thighs. ¡°Are you looking to get your hair messed up?¡± asked Amdirlain, tugging at the end of one of Klipyl¡¯s braids. Klipyl giggled and brought her hands up to protect her hair. ¡°Don¡¯t mess up my hair, it looks pretty. Your thighs are as comfortable a pillow as they looked. I¡¯ve not been game to attempt it when I¡¯ve seen Master Farhad in this position.¡± Prompted by her familiar demeanour, Amdirlain tapped Klipyl¡¯s nose. ¡°What have you been up to?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been getting to know some students,¡± declared Klipyl smugly. ¡°Every yummy millimetre.¡± ¡°There you were, concerned about celibacy,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°That was a non-issue?¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± grinned Klipyl, waggling her head from side to side. ¡°They¡¯re all so focused on their paths that marriage would be a distraction, but they don¡¯t abstain. They have a cute notion of Dao mates.¡± Amdirlain hummed curiously. ¡°It¡¯s when someone is as focused on their own Dao as you are on yours. So it¡¯s safe to hook up and relieve the tension without concern about their expectations of marriage,¡± continued Klipyl. ¡°Where I came from, people called it friends with benefits,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, I like the sound of that,¡± purred Klipyl. ¡°I now have a few friends with benefits here, since I don¡¯t follow a Dao.¡± ¡°Glad you got to know some people,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, did I ever,¡± sighed Klipyl happily. ¡°Post-sex cuddling is the best.¡± Klipyl clasped her hands before her chest and wiggled ecstatically. Amdirlain held back a snicker. ¡°I believe you¡¯ve mentioned it before.¡± ¡°You knew it was me, didn¡¯t you?¡± asked Klipyl, and she pointed towards the floor. ¡°When I came here, I was quiet, but you knew?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Klipyl pouted and clicked her tongue. ¡°And knew exactly what I was up to without opening your eyes?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Klipyl arched her back slightly to look up at Amdirlain¡¯s face better. ¡°Then why did you let me?¡± ¡°There was no malice in your actions, and my niece sometimes would rest her head on my thighs while watching a show, so your behaviour had a familiar air about it,¡± explained Amdirlain softly. ¡°Though she was a lot younger than you.¡± ¡°A show?¡± questioned Klipyl. ¡°Like a play but viewable in the house through something akin to scrying magic, you could say,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic; wasn¡¯t that what an author proposed? What happens when your technology level involves genuine magic? ¡°Did you not have enough seats in your house?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°It ?occurred only when there was a big gathering at someone¡¯s place. My immediate family was small, but my extended family was much bigger.¡± ¡°How much bigger?¡± ¡°My parents were from a religion with a reputation for large families. My dad had four siblings and my mother eleven,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl hummed curiously. ¡°Your parents¡¯ siblings were all married?¡± ¡°Yes, with children of their own. Dad used to joke we should hire a place for get-togethers so no one would have to clean up their house,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t understand Mortal families. I find them strange.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. I found the pride arrangements on Qil Tris strange. Though once I understood them, I appreciated them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Is that part of why you lived in one of their cities, to get to know them?¡± ¡°Not exactly, but it ended up occurring simply from the time I spent talking with people,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°So if I want to understand families, I should spend time with some?¡± asked Klipyl. Amdirlain glanced down and caught Klipyl¡¯s gaze. ¡°Do you want to understand families?¡± Klipyl paused thoughtfully. ¡°Isa said that growing up, you three were more inseparable than family, even when you argued. I wondered what it would be like to have a life like that. Weird, right?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not weird,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve sometimes wondered about many things I never got to try.¡± ¡°Like sex?¡± chirped Klipyl. Amdirlain roared with laughter and rubbed a hand across Klipyl¡¯s face. ¡°I got called a brat yesterday. I don¡¯t know what that makes you.¡± ¡°Loveable!¡± yelled Klipyl, and she threw her arms out wide and let them flop to the ground, not even attempting to push Amdirlain¡¯s hand away. ¡°I was thinking of a strange and annoying kid sister,¡± countered Amdirlain. Klipyl slapped the floor excitedly. ¡°I¡¯m getting adopted?¡± ¡°More like a stray cat who adopted me,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Just like Livia? I¡¯ll take it,¡± cried Klipyl, and she grabbed Amdirlain¡¯s hand and slipped off to one side to see Amdirlain again. ¡°Hello, big sis boss.¡± ¡°Hello, Kli. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re in a good mood,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°A contemplative one.¡± ¡°About?¡± ¡°Memories from an old life?¡± ¡°What are you thinking about them for?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Don¡¯t you just have them or not, like Isa?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m trying to decide what to do about them. I¡¯m sure I could get many more if I tried.¡± Klipyl returned the shrug. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know who I¡¯d end up,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not doing anything about them because you¡¯re afraid of them?¡± questioned Klipyl, and she lifted an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of who I might become, or at least, how much of myself I¡¯ll lose,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°There are billions of years of memories inside my Soul. Some of those I¡¯ve recovered have been pleasant, but I¡¯ve got far more unpleasant ones out of it.¡± Klipyl wrinkled her nose. ¡°Isn¡¯t who you become in your control? Even if you recover all the memories, they¡¯ll still filter through who you are now. My memories from the Abyss and being on the Material Plane as a Succubus are gross, but they show me how I¡¯ve grown and changed. The cravings and the emptiness make me feel sorry for who I was then, but it also shows me how much brighter the future is now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a glass-full kinda person, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean,¡± replied Klipyl. Amdirlain created a litre stein made from glass so Klipyl could see it was empty. The notification for a single experience point didn¡¯t credit either Class because of Gidoen¡¯s rounding down and, holding back her snort, Amdirlain dismissed it. ¡°That¡¯s a massive glass. Does that come with booze? Don¡¯t go serving mortals hard spirits in that,¡± chirped Klipyl. ¡°Not unless they¡¯re dwarves. Humans are certainly a lot more delicate.¡± ¡°I was going to ask if you saw it as empty or full,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl shrugged and extended a hand to claim the glass. ¡°It¡¯s full of air and can be filled with booze. What¡¯s not to love?¡± Amdirlain released the stein. Klipyl flashed a broad grin and clutched it to her chest. ¡°Mine?¡± ¡°You can have it if you want it,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°There¡¯s nothing extraordinary about it.¡± The stein disappeared into Klipyl¡¯s storage ring. ¡°You made it to show me an example. That makes it special!¡± ¡°I guess that¡¯s one perspective on it,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl¡¯s smile hadn¡¯t faded, and she tweaked Amdirlain¡¯s cheeks. ¡°What are you doing in here brooding?¡± ¡°I was thinking, not brooding,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Your stressed expression makes it brooding,¡± asserted Klipyl. ¡°You get furrow lines when you brood that aren¡¯t there when you¡¯re just planning something.¡± Amdirlain blinked. ¡°I do?¡± ¡°Yep, you had the ¡®boss lady is grumpy with the world heavy furrow lines going on,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°I agreed to something, and now I¡¯m unsure how to approach it,¡± explained Amdirlain, her lips pursing as she considered the issue again. Klipyl beckoned her to continue. ¡°Lay it on me. Wait! Who is it for? Maybe I shouldn¡¯t be told.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not secret, it¡¯s for the monastery,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve agreed to give daily lessons regarding my fighting style.¡± ¡°You fight well, so what¡¯s the problem?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°My major experience as a teacher was for a far simpler style that was as much a sport as a type of combat training,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Do you use any of the attacks from it?¡± ¡°At times,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Klipyl rolled to her feet. ¡°Show me. Maybe show me how you used to teach and then show me the attacks you use now? It¡¯ll still work even though I¡¯m not a Monk, right?¡± ¡°Of course it will,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, and she flowed upright. ¡°You started to teach the folks at Xaos how to fight. What¡¯s wrong with teaching these folks the same lessons?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Is it because they¡¯re monks, and you think they¡¯ll know more?¡± ¡°They do have access to better styles,¡± demurred Amdirlain. Klipyl snickered. ¡°Who says they¡¯re better? They certainly know more, but some styles include lots of kicking, and others pinning people to the ground. Yours is a mix of things, but maybe someone will appreciate its balance compared to the others they¡¯ve learned. Or maybe they¡¯ll take pieces of it and combine them to make something new. How many places have you learned to fight from? You were going to ask me to be your test subject for your constructs, why not have me be your test subject for teaching your hand-to-hand style?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not only different, but it also uses my ability to transform,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then don¡¯t focus on that part. Focus on attacks you can use in a humanoid form,¡± advised Klipyl, and she wiggled her eyebrows. ¡°Are you going to show me the positions you love the most?¡± Amdirlain groaned but moved to stand a double arm¡¯s length in front of Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ll take you through the simple form of each. For elves, humans, and orcs, you¡¯ll find the most delicate spots along or just off the centre line of the body¡ªnose, throat, base of sternum, stomach, and groin.¡± ¡°Mouth?¡± ¡°I normally would say don¡¯t punch someone there as you¡¯d risk splitting your knuckles on their teeth, but that¡¯s not so much an issue for you,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl bobbed her head merrily. ¡°Okay, so we¡¯ll stick with what you¡¯d teach mortals.¡± Amdirlain jabbed two fingers out at eye level. ¡°How hard do I hit their eyes?¡± questioned Klipyl after she repeated the motion. ¡°Depends if you want to discomfort the target or pop their eyeballs. Some people find that unkind, but I don¡¯t play by those rules,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What rules do you play by?¡± ¡°When I¡¯m fighting, there are no rules except to win,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Eye gouging, punches to the throat, whatever it takes.¡± ¡°Because when you¡¯re fighting, it¡¯s life and death, yours or someone else¡¯s,¡± observed Klipyl. ¡°Though not a technique to bother with when facing an undead, loads of demons wouldn¡¯t like their eyes being popped.¡± Klipyl grew an elongated talon from her first two fingers of each hand and pistoned a dozen strikes before Amdirlain nodded. With her hand lifted, Amdirlain showed Klipyl how to form a fist in the required fashion. ¡°When punching, the goal is to drive the force through the first two knuckles of your hand with each punch. Copy me, please.¡± Strikes, punches, and kicks progressed into blocks in a lesson that ran nearly two hours. As the second bell of the morning sounded, Amdirlain called a break. Though neither was tired, she had her own meditations to undertake. 380 - Pull me in Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Though the courtyard awning provided plenty of shade, the golden sunlight in the Outlands still gleamed off the ivory inlays and honey-gold woodwork within Amdirlain¡¯s room. When Amdirlain settled back into a kneeling position, Klipyl returned to laying on the floor with her head on her thighs. Almost absently, Amdirlain¡¯s fingers stroked the archon¡¯s hair, drawing contented sighs that echoed the purring from the mapping cube busily absorbing the input from a set of surveyors. It was short of the midday bell when Kadaklan stepped inside the doorway and bowed. Focused on the orb¡¯s lessons, Amdirlain was still kneeling in the centre of the room and returned the bow without rising or even opening her eyes. Kadaklan¡¯s gaze took in the ribbon-clad archon and Amdirlain¡¯s distracted expression. ¡°Good day to you both,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Kli, this is Kadaklan. Kadaklan, this is Kli. She¡¯s a Trumpet Archon in the service of my big sister,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m also an adopted pussy,¡± declared Klipyl mischievously. ¡°And I get to be Ammie¡¯s little sister.¡± As Amdirlain brought a hand to her face, Klipyl giggled. Sure that Klipyl was trolling her, Amdirlain looked to Kadaklan for a distraction. ¡°What brings you by?¡± ¡°Two things; I understand you¡¯ve agreed to teach after all,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain smiled, and the orb jumped into her hand. ¡°Yes. It¡¯s been a while since I taught anyone, so I have much to re-learn and learn.¡± ¡°Teaching and learning can go hand in hand,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Otherwise, you¡¯re simply going through the motions. I wondered if you¡¯d take on some students from my healing classes.¡± ¡°Any reason you want to send them to me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not an experienced teacher.¡± ¡°You underestimate yourself,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°You turned a young dancer into a very competent fighter and confident adult.¡± Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°All I did was teach her a different perspective. She¡¯s the one that progressed her classes.¡± ¡°A different perspective on fighting is exactly what the students I wish to send to you need,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I suppose I could trade my time for a bit of yours,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I understand you might have some insights into a Ki Flight technique Cyrus found for me in the library.¡± Kadaklan grinned. ¡°If you want to take it as a trade, that¡¯s fine with me. Master Cyrus mentioned it, and I should admit I¡¯m the one who provided the library with the original. Arranging a time to provide some initial pointers was the second matter I wanted to discuss.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have a compatible Ki Movement text?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m a Phoenix, not an ostrich or one of your emus,¡± laughed Kadaklan. ¡°Running around in such a crazy fashion might hurt my feet.¡± ¡°Poor delicate boy,¡± chortled Amdirlain. Kadaklan winked. ¡°Too right.¡± ¡°How would I go about getting access to the text?¡± ¡°I should be able to help with that, but worst case, we¡¯ll have to take a trip together,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯ll have me to vouch for you, so it might be possible to stay out of trouble.¡± ¡°Only might?¡± ¡°We are talking about you here,¡± smirked Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯ve put your foot into trouble in the past.¡± ¡°Oh, hilarious,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Occasionally, I¡¯ve even planted my foot in my mouth.¡± Kadaklan shrugged. ¡°The trouble with your shows wasn¡¯t what I meant. When we met I had to give you a leg up.¡± With an exaggerated sigh, Amdirlain kept her smile hidden away. ¡°Very droll, and it was two legs.¡± ¡°What?¡± protested Kadaklan. ¡°Here, I thought I had a handle on your sense of humour.¡± ¡°That one crashed and burned,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Kadaklan winked. ¡°Not as much as your legs.¡± With another groan, Amdirlain pretended to throw the orb at him; instead, it vanished into Inventory. ¡°Let¡¯s move on to the lessons, shall we? I suppose I can learn something from your non-Monk viewpoint.¡± With her position making it awkward to look between them, Klipyl sat up, confusion clear in her expression. ¡°Sorry, can I interrupt with a question?¡± ¡°For me or Kadaklan?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl waved at Kadaklan. ¡°A question for Kadaklan. You¡¯re not a Monk yet still have Ki powers. Isn¡¯t that the core of being a Monk?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the core of being a Monk, but Ki powers aren¡¯t exclusive to monks. Depending on what arguments you believe, the number of unevolved base classes that provided access to Ki varies. Some say all the classes extend from three, whereas others go as high as fourteen. I¡¯d say, conservatively, at least six different foundation classes use Ki in our kingdoms,¡± explained Kadaklan. Klipyl tsked. ¡°My friend from last night must believe in non-conservative arguments. He said all studying at the monastery are monks.¡± ¡°Given its spiritual aspects, some argue the foundation is the same,¡± allowed Kadaklan. ¡°But so much depends on one¡¯s perspective in life. For example, some have said that seeking immortality is challenging the heavens, which is the peak goal of being a Monk.¡± ¡°They¡¯re going to fight the heavens?¡± laughed Klipyl. ¡°Master Farhad is skilled, but I know some that can kick his arse.¡± Kadaklan sighed. ¡°Challenge, not fight. The Jade Emperor made getting immortality difficult to purify the flaws in the path of the aspirants. Again, it is a matter of perspective, as many things are on the road to true self-discovery. On my journey, becoming Immortal was a side-effect not the target of my endeavours.¡± ¡°What were you seeking?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Knowledge and to be the best individual I could be,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect immortality. When I had my moment of revelation, it was quite a surprise and not one greeted by a heavenly tribulation as others have endured.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ve gone far from Klipyl¡¯s question. Ki is an energy source, not the expression of the energy, which is determined by classes. That is the same with Mana. Priests, wizards, alchemists, and artificers use Mana differently and not all fit the classification of even a caster type,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Okay, that makes sense,¡± huffed Klipyl. ¡°Kadaklan, which of your classes provided you with Ki Flight?¡± ¡°Phoenixes have Ki Flight naturally, though my classes have some powers in common,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°However, I cannot harden my flesh or empower strikes against foes, and those are just two abilities I lack that is customary for monks to gain. I¡¯m not sure my classes would even provide me a means to unlock them, as Am would say.¡± ¡°But your Ki proficiency gives you all more vigour, right?¡± smiled Klipyl and shifted into a suggestive cross-legged position, but Kadaklan¡¯s gaze had already returned to Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on the techniques I need to learn,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They could include being vigorous,¡± laughed Klipyl. Amdirlain planted a hand across Klipyl¡¯s mouth and kept it there despite her giggles. ¡°Are you going to be teaching me? Does that mean I need to arrange a job with the duty pavilion for you?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯m staying out of the bureaucratic fun of this place. I¡¯m just a fellow walker of life¡¯s paths, providing you with friendly pointers. A far better approach for what you want to learn. That technique involves self-study and finding the right personal image. Attempting to learn it in the same way as your teacher is simply dooming yourself to failure.¡± ¡°The images seemed to imply the imagery was within the flesh. I take it that''s in more ways than just Ki State,¡± said Amdirlain, and she let Klipyl wiggle away from her hand. Kadaklan tapped the side of his nose and gave a boyish grin. ¡°Self-identification is the key. You must meditate and find what animal elements of your sigil contain your truth. The truth of that expands through the flesh, lending you its speed. The text takes you through the approaches to find that truth and tap into its capabilities.¡± ¡°When did you want to give me pointers beyond that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s part of why I came by now,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°The other part is to let you know that Nomein and the others should be here today or tomorrow.¡± ¡°Did you prompt them to return?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously. ¡°I might have used one of Sarah¡¯s gadgets to update them about your presence,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°They wanted to give you their news in person.¡± ¡°They got their Tier 7,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not saying,¡± replied Kadaklan innocently. ¡°As it is, you¡¯ll understand when they arrive at the monastery. I don¡¯t believe they understand how much you hear without trying now.¡± The serene calm of Kadaklan¡¯s mind broadcast nothing, and Amdirlain resisted the temptation to peek. ¡°Where is Sarah?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen her since Amdirlain took Livia off to chat with the big Aspect thing.¡± ¡°Her mentor requested her presence again,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Currently, she expects to be back within a week.¡± ¡°I hope she gets back sooner,¡± chirped Klipyl. ¡°Sarah is fulfilling obligations for past help?¡± questioned Kadaklan. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°The relationship is more familial than a formal mentor-mentee.¡± Kadaklan clicked his fingers. ¡°The foster mum she spoke of is also her mentor. She didn¡¯t clarify that.¡± ¡°Where are Isa and Ilya, by the way?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°I got directions to you easily, but they weren¡¯t on the guards¡¯ accommodation list. I didn¡¯t want to disturb them with a Message in case they were occupied.¡± ¡°Isa is winning contribution points off silly students in minor games of chance while Ilya sorts out Livia¡¯s office,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Ilya took Livia through the planned administration changes last night, and now there are boxes of things being reorganised and recorded in memory crystals.¡± ¡°How did she get a pendant to store contribution points?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Guests not here to study normally pay in coinage or trade goods.¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°That was the first thing she won.¡± ¡°Won from who?¡± asked Kadaklan incredulously. ¡°From what I understand, one of the head clerks likes his mahjong,¡± explained Amdirlain. Kadaklan smirked briefly before his amusement vanished. ¡°That makes sense. I wonder how she found out.¡± ¡°Isa would have heard the opening in his melody, or Luck played a part,¡± said Amdirlain, offering a shrug. ¡°What does she plan to do with the contribution points?¡± enquired Kadaklan. ¡°This is Isa. There isn¡¯t a plan, but maybe she¡¯s got a hunch,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The hunch might not even involve me, but Luck breathing in her ear for someone else.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Isa once had a three-day winning streak end when she felt an impulse to stake her massive pot against a few coins of a dwarven crafter. On the flip of a card, she pushed over all her winnings and found he needed funds to establish a workshop,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Sometimes Luck is with her, and other times she¡¯s its agent to deliver good fortune to someone else, or to mess with someone. That aside, shall we go over the scroll, Kadaklan?¡± ¡°Lets,¡± agreed Kadaklan. Klipyl looked at Amdirlain with a pleading expression. ¡°Can I use you as a pillow while you talk?¡± Amdirlain glanced at Klipyl in surprise. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s like cuddling, cozy and reassuring,¡± sighed Klipyl happily. ¡°Cuddling is undoubtedly one thing many Mortal species do well. I¡¯ve even met gruff dwarves that are excellent cuddlers.¡± ¡°I think I should pay attention to the scroll and what Kadaklan is saying,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°If you want to use my legs as a pillow again, that¡¯s fine when things aren¡¯t happening.¡± A wash of family memories came to her, and among the bittersweet recollections, Amdirlain tried to focus on the fun. Kadaklan brought out a copy of the scroll and set it on the table near where the orb had rested. As he repositioned a chair, Klipyl grabbed two others and put them in line before she patted the middle chair to signal Amdirlain to sit. ¡°You don¡¯t have to stick around,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl smiled airily. ¡°I¡¯ve nowhere else to be right now, unless you¡¯ve got constructs for me to beat up?¡± ¡°In a few days I might have some. I¡¯m thinking through the technicalities,¡± replied Amdirlain, taking the middle seat and retrieving her scroll. The logistics weren¡¯t the only issue to resolve but the source of the drivers she had in mind and the ethics involved. ¡°Master Cyrus would have gone through the first diagram to provide a high level of familiarity,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯d like you to articulate his explanation in your own words.¡± Kadaklan didn¡¯t directly correct her repetition of Cyrus¡¯ explanation, but he asked questions that had Amdirlain wondering if her perfect recollection had missed the point. He didn¡¯t provide her with any answers, but left Amdirlain to ponder his questions while he continued through the scroll. Klipyl occasionally leant forward in her chair to get a better view of the unobstructed scrolls and, in doing so, put her well-exposed breasts on full display. Partway through the session, Amdirlain caught Klipyl¡¯s smug satisfaction when Kadaklan¡¯s gaze moved only between Amdirlain and the scrolls. ¡®Please stop,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. A hint of sadness glinted in Klipyl¡¯s gaze. ¡®Sorry, I was just ensuring he¡¯s worthy of you.¡¯ ¡®Please don¡¯t do that, and there isn¡¯t any need to set me up,¡¯ advised Amdirlain. ¡®I don¡¯t need to do anything,¡¯ giggled Klipyl mentally, though her expression remained neutral. ¡®You¡¯ve two people who¡¯d like to cuddle with you heaps. I¡¯m so happy for you I could squeal.¡¯ Amdirlain didn¡¯t ask who Klipyl counted as the second, letting the matter drop, and kept her attention on the scroll. ¡®I¡¯m going to push you harder next lesson.¡¯ ¡®Do you promise?¡¯ The midday break had passed when four melodies on the border of the Domain caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention. Though the texture of their public minds were identical, the ladies bore little resemblance to their prior selves. Delicate elven features covered in a deep copper-hued skin had replaced the gaunt angularity their faces had previously possessed. Yet, the song within each of them sounded as if previously missing components of their melodies had been restored, providing a richer sound resonating from their core. Analysis showed their species as Tamb? Elf, the translation of the elven word copper fit with their skin tones. Each had taken a different Tier 7 Class accompanied by the same species evolution and added thirty levels to that Class and their new base classes. Still, one of Nomein¡¯s classes particularly caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention. [Primal Monk: Details: This evolved Base Class is available to those who have developed a deep mastery in using Psi, Ki, and Mana. Requirements: - Senior Master or higher in all fundamental Psion skills - Senior Master or higher in Mana Finesse - Senior Master or higher in six Ki powers - Have combined Wizard, Psion, and a Monk Class into one or more Prestige classes] It¡¯s unavailable as I¡¯m short on my progression in the Psion skills. Wait, even if I get there, would it need those three classes combined into a single Prestige Class to unlock this base Class? Amdirlain rolled her scroll up and responded to Kadaklan¡¯s questioning look. ¡°The ladies are early.¡± ¡°I said today or tomorrow,¡± corrected Kadaklan. ¡°Early, according to my expectations,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Something is always delaying my plans. I don¡¯t expect early results from others.¡± A quick run of notes sent messages conveying an invitation and images of the house she was using. Acknowledgement came from Nomein. ¡°Should I leave you to prepare to receive your questions?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t go yet. You¡¯ve not said anything about my ribbon or braids,¡± protested Klipyl. ¡°The braids are a well-executed example of a traditional Mongolian style and your ribbon clings. I¡¯ve heard your ribbon quite fascinated Master Payam,¡± offered Kadaklan. Klipyl jerked upright and clapped excitedly. ¡°It did?! Does he think it¡¯s pretty?¡± ¡°He had quite a bit to say about it to the other masters,¡± confirmed Kadaklan. ¡°I believe he thinks you¡¯re older than him.¡± ¡°Am I?¡± asked Klipyl, directing the question to Amdirlain. ¡°A little bit,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though you hadn¡¯t exactly been pushing your progress when we first met.¡± Klipyl rose. ¡°I¡¯ll go escort the ladies here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve sent them details and images.¡± ¡°Still,¡± said Klipyl and, shrugging, she vanished. ¡°How is she going to find them?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°You didn¡¯t exactly tell her where they arrived.¡± ¡°That¡¯s Klipyl¡¯s problem. I know why she left,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Too many people interested in your love life can be a problem,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain winced. ¡°You noticed?¡± ¡°Her testing me was amusing,¡± chuckled Kadaklan. ¡°Klipyl is nice, but I¡¯m not tempted after the years spent handling my reactions to your Femme Fatale.¡± ¡°I tried my best to moderate it,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°You did, but sometimes it showed through more than others. Have the others been like that all the time with you?¡± ¡°They can be a bit nosey, can¡¯t they?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°On and off since I handed what had become of Torm to the Titan.¡± ¡°That can be difficult, people trying to set a timeline for your grief,¡± said Kadaklan, and his gaze became distant and thoughtful. ¡°In some lifetimes, when I lost a partner, I never felt I had moved on, even when I remarried. Others, I did so not because the love was less real but because things occurred that allowed the grief to lessen enough that love could grow. The individual is the only person who can determine when they¡¯re done with their grief.¡± ¡°Have you ever met someone from a past life?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°And known it was that person?¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯ve met people from past lives, but I didn¡¯t realise it then. However, after I achieved Immortality, I understood those I had met repeatedly,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°When regaining our Mortal memories, with them comes a sense of the souls involved. Unsurprisingly, this is the first time we¡¯ve met.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°Yes, I was off gallivanting through other realms.¡± ¡°You¡¯re such an inter-reality traveller. Here I am with a meagre two worlds and one Plane under my belt,¡± huffed Kadaklan. ¡°Master Cyrus focused on technique scrolls for my powers. Are there techniques around for handling and integrating past life memories?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°And not becoming overwhelmed by them?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have that issue. Mine was more accepting of those lives different from my path,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°If there isn¡¯t something in the library, I could inquire. Have you asked Master Cyrus?¡± ¡°Not as yet,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded understandingly. ¡°You mentioned a lake of faces to me once.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t exactly call it a lake,¡± said Amdirlain, shuddering at the memory of its foulness. ¡°There was a sludge more than anything around the faces on display.¡± ¡°A lake¡¯s waters aren¡¯t always drinkable,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°The other occasions when you¡¯ve gained access to memories, when did they occur?¡± A frown flickered across her face. ¡°Mostly when I¡¯ve been training. Sometimes, when I¡¯ve stumbled across a place or object connected to the memory.¡± ¡°Similarity can prompt memories,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Have you tried any exercise to bring forth happy ones?¡± ¡°I have some of Ori¡¯s happy memories,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She spent aeons working with someone she adored beyond anyone else. They were both broken in a way though, so while there were displays of affection, they both harboured a lot of pain that they then sublimated into their work. I¡¯m sure you can tell by that statement alone that Ori and I potentially have too much in common. It terrifies me that my current personality might get swamped and lost by her recollections, despite not becoming her.¡± ¡°Ahh, that makes your rejection of being classified as her make more sense,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain smiled tightly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll admit I worry about the person I am becoming lost in her memories. I had an encounter with something she left behind that told me she was gone for good and that recovering memories wouldn¡¯t mean her return. Yet, who would I become? Would I even recognise myself?¡± ¡°An understandable concern, and one I¡¯ll word carefully when I inquire with the South Wind¡¯s Court librarians,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Thank you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°At least they care about your happiness even if there is the presumption that it requires having an intimate relationship,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°We¡¯re friends, and I value your happiness?. What anyone else believes will bring you happiness doesn¡¯t have precedence over your own emotions. You should seek your happiness in your own time and at your own pace.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t pull your chain about denying me the joy of being a Novice healer,¡± teased Amdirlain. Kadaklan snorted derisively. ¡°We both know you weren¡¯t seeking that role for genuine joy.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Since you saw through that, I might even take your other advice.¡± ¡°The challenge with self-discovery is the principal components require being honest and objective,¡± noted Kadaklan drily. ¡°Ouch, that last will indeed be a challenge,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°This could take me a lot longer than I¡¯d hoped.¡± Kadaklan remained composed until Amdirlain gave him a suspicious look and raised an eyebrow; at that point, his first snickers slipped free and rapidly progressed to laughter. As he held his sides to regain control, Amdirlain joined in. His gaze brightened further when Amdirlain stopped and poked out her tongue with a sniff. ¡°You¡¯re being mean to me.¡± ¡°Simply appreciating the challenge,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Perhaps we should leave it there today. Your guests might arrive soon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. They¡¯re not taking their time climbing the mountain. Will you stick around to say hello?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll stay to greet them.¡± When the five finally turned towards the building, Amdirlain entered the courtyard. Amdirlain caught Klipyl¡¯s reluctance to intrude before she teleported away to Livia¡¯s place. Nomein entered the courtyard and held the gate for Gemiya, Sarith, and Lezekus. All four ladies now wore bluish-black silken half-robes and pants that bore enchantments for blending into the landscape and enduring extreme temperatures. Each now had different gleaming hair tones that matched their eyes and contrasted dramatically with their copper-hued skin. Nomein¡¯s hair had turned into sapphire strands, Lezekus¡¯ corn-row braids gleamed like spun mithril, and the twins Gemiya and Sarith shared a blued steel colouration. ¡°Know that you¡¯re looking well, Am. Kadaklan passed word along that you were asking about us,¡± greeted Gemiya. ¡°He brought you up. I¡¯ve tried to be good and not nudge your elbow,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gave them each a pleased nod in greeting. ¡°What did you folks get up to? You look quite different.¡± Nomein shrugged modestly; wiggling her fingers, she glanced at them meaningfully. ¡°We¡¯ve had a busy few years, but this change was recent. Sage¡¯s war has progressed to many worlds where the living needed help.¡± What has Orcus been up to? Gemiya snorted and sat across from Amdirlain. ¡°Know we were involved in slaying numerous priests of the Demon Lord and the destruction of grand gates they¡¯d worked to establish.¡± ¡°Then we mopped up,¡± finished Nomein. Amdirlain''s eyebrow twitched upward. ¡°And I get accused of understatement.¡± While only the ghost of a smirk curved Sarith¡¯s lips, her theme thrummed with amusement. ¡°Know that a statement of fact is not an accusation.¡± ¡°How long did you spend cleaning up the ruins?¡± ¡°It was only a year after you went to Qil Tris that we asked Rasha if there were any places with living we could help,¡± advised Nomein. ¡°There were several worlds touched by the rumble of war with demons and undead, and using a gestalt to heighten our Precognition, we selected a place to help first.¡± Sarith nodded sharply. ¡°Know that from there, one thing led to another, and we eventually removed the group at the heart of the problem.¡± Lezekus snorted loudly. ¡°I¡¯m never letting either of you tell our stories again.¡± ¡°Know you spent too much time with the elven bards,¡± Sarith stated. ¡°Know that Amdirlain needed the facts, not embellishment.¡± Lezekus waved a finger. ¡°Oh, I prefer to think I spent enough time, not too much. Amdirlain, how about we sit somewhere and I tell you the dread foes we overcame to triumph?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to hear all the details,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like some tea while we talk?¡± ¡°Know I would not refuse some tea,¡± agreed Sarith. ¡°Especially if it comes with some honey,¡± quipped Lezekus. Sarith¡¯s lips curved slightly. ¡°Know that is simply the best way to have tea.¡± ¡°If honey is required to have proper tea, you¡¯ll have to try different types of honey,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Are you at least going to give me a choice?¡± asked Sarith drily before giving a slow wink. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Know the choice has always been yours.¡± As Amdirlain showed them through to the room she was using, Kadaklan excused himself. After they had the room back in order, they settled around the table, and Sarith set a magical tea set on it. Steam rose from the pot, and Sarith laid tea pouches on the table. ¡°You have everything set up, ready to go,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarith shrugged. ¡°Know the rigours of travelling sometimes are less burdensome with a small touch of civilisation, leaving everyone refreshed for the challenges ahead.¡± ¡°She likes her tea,¡± said Gemiya, and she gave her twin an affectionate mental nudge. ¡°What exactly did you get up to that stopping one of his plots got you a Tier 7 evolution achievement?¡± asked Amdirlain. Nomein grinned. ¡°It wasn¡¯t one plot or one world. We shut down his cultists on four worlds. None of them knew any magic that could protect their minds. After the last group was stamped out on each world, we would receive a rush of energy. Upon the most recent world, the surge was the greatest yet, perhaps because the cultists already had hordes of demons loose.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell the tale, thank you. Now, it started with reports of a death cult that kept reoccurring no matter how many times they snuffed it out,¡± explained Lezekus. ¡°Sage has toiled for years spreading the word among pantheons to be on the lookout for particular signs of incursion. There is a pattern of behaviour that his foe has used to infiltrate all the worlds for which Sage has deciphered the records.¡± ¡°Know he worries since not all the pantheons will share information, so many worlds are likely imperilled through ignorance,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know you had your chance to provide a proper account,¡± admonished Lezekus. ¡°Know you¡¯d best hush.¡± Sarith blinked and pretended to button her lips. 381 - On my way Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Once Lezekus had conveyed the details of their adventures¡ªexploring lands and minds between fighting back demonic plots¡ªthe four ventured off to arrange accommodations and left Amdirlain to her thoughts. They¡¯d been careful not to mention Orcus by name; nevertheless, the Outlands felt almost tainted by tales of the undead his followers had created across worlds. Amdirlain had seen them off and walked along the courtyard boundary, the structure¡¯s grey stone and redwood echoing the bleak carnage from Lezekus¡¯ tale. When Cyrus arrived, he silently fell in beside Amdirlain. Four laps of the yard later, she stopped and went to speak, only for Cyrus to raise a finger. ¡°One more lap.¡± Amdirlain, recognising the omens accompanying the number four in some Asian cultures, nodded and continued. The library and the duty pavilion have floors grouped in threes. A quick check through Resonance found all the more prominent structures broken up similarly. ¡°Your warriors and healer shared their news,¡° said Cyrus. ¡°What do you plan to do?¡± ¡°They did, and it¡¯s food for thought, but I¡¯m not rushing off,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°At least not for longer than it takes to do some construction that my plans require. However, even that can wait until after our lesson. I¡¯m putting my plans first and not dealing with the battles others must fight.¡± Cyrus nodded approvingly. ¡°I¡¯ve learned that Kadaklan contributed the Ki Flight technique, as he no doubt informed you, so I¡¯ll leave that to him. Which would you tackle first, Universal Life or Ki Blast ?¡± ¡°The Ki Blast has the furthest to go, and I¡¯ve got an objective now that requires six Ki Powers to be at Senior Master,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Oh?¡± Amdirlain motioned down the slope towards the ladies¡¯ dwelling. ¡°Nomein gained a Class that requires knowledge in psionics, Ki, and Mana.¡± ¡°As much as I¡¯m honoured to teach you, might I make a suggestion?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Your Dao would be best served by a course of action that isn¡¯t motivated by fear,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Monk has given you a foundation of mental strength, but as you said to Livia, there are some things that only you can do. Ask what serves you best in that respect.¡± Amdirlain felt her Mental Hardening hold back a surge of annoyance, the strength of emotion a warning that caused her to pause. ¡°I¡¯ll think about your suggestion, but Monk gave me a foundation that was all mine, not Ori¡¯s.¡± ¡°You see that the stability of a house depends on its foundations?¡± enquired Cyrus. ¡°Yes.¡± Cyrus nodded. ¡°Yet the cap of a roof requires far different material from a foundation.¡± ¡°If you want to use a building analogy, I¡¯m still building my lower floors,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I want a Class that improves the frequency of my insights into a Monk¡¯s abilities. If I decide it will not achieve what I want, I¡¯ll seek something else, but I still want to learn enough to meet its requirements.¡± ¡°Be aware I¡¯m not judging it right or wrong for you. I simply suggest you seek the right step for progress, not the first one that appears. In the meantime, as you said, expanding one¡¯s abilities is the right approach on anyone¡¯s journey,¡± said Cyrus. He sat on nearby bench and brought out a copy of the Ki Blast techniques; the tiger leaping from the man¡¯s hand seemed particularly alive in the sunlight. When he turned to an illustration near the start with an outline of a man standing on an empty riverbed, filled with coiled animals, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m not going to guess.¡± ¡°The author enjoys his cryptic symbolism, so that is for the best,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°The beginning of acquiring this technique focuses on an intense study of how your energy moves within you. Empty your Ki Pool until you have barely enough to ignite the sigil.¡± ¡°The nearly dry riverbed,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she received a nod from Cyrus. ¡°And as you move between the nodes, be mindful of its energy flows. Looking upon it from the outside, the spiritual net seems straight, but it¡¯s curving through your flesh. Consider the path and what it teaches you about the sigil as your life energy travels its course.¡± Amdirlain settled onto the bench beside Cyrus and followed his instructions. The minimal Ki she left within the pool needed to be carefully rationed to make it through the ignition of each of her sigil¡¯s nodes. Her obtaining the sigil reinforcement with Phoenix¡¯s Rapture had left a spiralling helix around the inner core. Yet, following them simultaneously, Amdirlain felt the truth of Cyrus¡¯ description and, in places, started to make out how it curved along the limits of her body. It was an understanding that, at first, she thought might be more suitable to Kadaklan¡¯s technique until she noticed the path allowed Ki Blast the most efficient exit from her flesh. ¡°Just relax and focus on your sigil¡¯s pathways for now. Don¡¯t worry about whatever purpose you believe relates to the exercise,¡± instructed Cyrus mildly. The words prompted Amdirlain to let her curiosity wash away as she sought to become one with the pathway in following its course. As each node ignited, the reserves in her pool grew thinner. Amdirlain brushed away concerns about misjudging the amount needed until she¡¯d completed the final loops to join the flames above the Phoenix¡¯s crest. Ki surged within it and cascaded back through, washing along the pool¡¯s edge. Without prompting, Amdirlain cycled again and drew wisps of energy along the course. Hours later, Cyrus signalled her to stop, and Amdirlain handed him a crystal block she¡¯d concealed within her grip the entire session. Cyrus immediately secured the block into a storage device and frowned. ¡°It is customary to return gifts with items of equal value, yet I¡¯ve never accumulated enough wealth to exchange even a single gift of the type you give so freely.¡± ¡°Your patience in waiting to teach me is a gift, and this is just a token of my thanks for the gift you¡¯ve already given,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she bowed formally. When Amdirlain straightened, she gave him a serious smile. ¡°You didn¡¯t even run screaming from my form, Master Cyrus.¡± The formality caused Cyrus¡¯ brows to lift. ¡°I thought you said your True Form did not bother you.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t, it¡¯s just ugly,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus patted Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder reassuringly. ¡°You should see how monstrous the North Wind is. Your appearance is beauty incarnate compared to that sight.¡± ¡°A snake turtle?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she shook her head in confusion at Cyrus¡¯s nod. ¡°How does that even work?¡± ¡°They are two, yet one, and their intermingled natures overlap,¡± answered Cyrus. ¡°The Emperor of the North is certainly unique.¡± ¡°Does that mean effectively he has four forms: human, snake, turtle, and then the combined form?¡± ¡°He is unique,¡± repeated Cyrus, and he headed off. As the courtyard¡¯s front gate closed, Amdirlain returned to her room. After considering the floor harp that Euterpe¡¯s Instrument had become, Amdirlain put sound barriers in place and settled herself to practice. I am learning the floor harp on an instrument made for gods. There¡¯s nothing to see here, folks; move along. Her thought brought forth a smile of disbelief, and Amdirlain ran her fingers along the strings. Though she failed to achieve the result she wanted, her fumbled run of notes still brought forth a notification as Floor Harp was unlocked. She had barely taken in its synergy with the Lap Harp Skill before the harp that had inspired the Greek pantheon ignited a memory within her Soul. * * * * * While the realm was in its birthing phase, there was no horizon, and the Material Plane¡¯s boundary had already raced outward further than Orh¨ºthurin could hear. Amidst the nearly complete darkness of the void, there were only two sources of light: the white flames of her father¡¯s forge and the prismatic spray that continued to pour forth from a realm on a cascade of collapse. Its doom wasn¡¯t her doing, but listening to its death tones, Orh¨ºthurin blinked back the tears brimming in her eyes. Aeons of hopes and dreams had been dying after its rulers had extinguished themselves and, without their renewing forces, the place had spiralled towards heat death, matter and planes growing stagnant as they compressed. That she profited from their losses stung bitterly; the sorrowful notes twisted knives in her gut, and telling herself their fate had long been sealed made no difference. Orh¨ºthurin forced herself to regard the rift positioned where their universe¡¯s central core would be, an eternal primordial star to cauterise the wound and prevent anything from entering from the collapsed realm. Though she would have preferred only one, the dying realm didn¡¯t possess sufficient energy to go beyond igniting the realm¡¯s growth and establishing the planar framework. They needed far more energy and materials to fulfil their plans. With the weight of the floor harp resting against her shoulder, Orh¨ºthurin tried to relax into the musical flow and consider the distant rift with her eyesight alone. The rift had been vomiting energy for months, and millions of battered and dying beings had come forth with it. Gideon was a multitude of whirling facets absorbing the facts of aeons of their existence and providing a translation to their natures to set them within their rules. As Gideon went about the task, their strength surged. Each being whose knowledge Gideon absorbed and then translated helped the Aspect of Knowledge refine their essence. Not wanting to lessen the Aspect¡¯s growth, she merely provided support with a background melody to implement Gideon¡¯s decisions. It moulded these unexpected arrivals into the closest forms and species allowed by the rules. The translation effect shunted each to a suitable nascent Plane according to their natures and temporally sealed them to avoid injury amidst the growing planes. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Even while conducting that work, one hand danced across the mithril strings of the harp while she plucked a steady harmonic note with the other. Orh¨ºthurin was working her way through her recreation of the music when her inexperience showed, and she plucked too hard on the harmonic string and muddied the other notes. With a dissatisfied huff, she stopped and began playing the song from the top, determined to master the orchestral piece she¡¯d heard in Bahamut¡¯s court. Nicholaus turned his attention just enough to observe her out of the corner of his eye. Despite splitting his attention, the stream of energy that ran from the rift through his forge flames didn¡¯t falter. ¡°You could sing that flawlessly. Why bother with the harp?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I just be enjoying the sound of Moradin¡¯s gift?¡± questioned Orh¨ºthurin. Nicholaus huffed dismissively. ¡°I heard you sigh. It doesn¡¯t sound like you¡¯re enjoying it now, and your voice transcends it in beauty.¡± ¡°You are tone-deaf, Father. Also, not everything has to have a practical purpose,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to make the same music to provide enjoyment, plus not everything has to have an immediate use.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand what use you see any instrument possessing,¡± grumbled Nicholaus. Orh¨ºthurin grinned. ¡°It will be the first Skill I learn here from scratch in our realm. I should see that the framework applies as intended, even to us. As for the harp, it¡¯s allowing me to make a racket without any risk of breaking the planar framework, unlike the arguing of our intended guests.¡± A metallic hiss from Tiamat stressed her side of the argument and shivered along the still-growing spire. Without singing aloud, Orh¨ºthurin squashed the vibrations and restored the framework to a pristine state. ¡°The uninvited ones are less troublesome,¡± agreed Nicholaus. Orh¨ºthurin sighed. ¡°Have you decided when to release them from the temporal lock?¡± At her unhappy tone, Nicholaus huffed. ¡°When I feel like talking to any of them. We were told all the inhabitants had perished.¡± ¡°Please treat them fairly, Father. Consider that they¡¯re not willing intruders, we are absorbing the remains of their home realm, and they were swept here with that tsunami of energy,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. Her words got a pained grunt from Nicholaus, and he had to snip out a section of the adjusted energy to reprocess it. ¡°It¡¯s not their fault they¡¯d been left to perish when the mortals died, and the gods faded,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I feel sorry for them. They faced the horror of a slow annihilation or the choice of ending their own existence. Having survived, I wonder how they¡¯ll feel.¡± ¡°Their fates weren¡¯t your responsibility, little songbird. If their realm had been healthy, we wouldn¡¯t have gone near it. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not still insisting that you speak with them. They are in a new realm, I¡¯ll ensure they don¡¯t have any stupid ideas that the rules of their old home apply here,¡± declared Nicholaus, and he set to work on the cables of power racing through his forge with more vigour. The impact of his will beating it into shape made the rage of a solar storm pale. ¡°Let¡¯s complete the spire, seed all the planar layers, and create a few systems.¡± ¡°Just a short list of work for you to do, Father,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. Despite all the songs she already supported, new melodies raced outwards from Orh¨ºthurin, and Amdirlain followed them. An orb of tremendous forces appeared, glowing the colour of a glorious dawn, prompted by memories of home. When she released the orb from her control, it hurtled along the spire and manifested above; a layer of phantasmal cloud that served as its base faded from view as it shifted out of phase with the Material Plane. ¡°Judgement.¡± Nicholaus turned his full attention to the forge, not commenting on the millions of songs he knew his daughter effortlessly supported to guide the energy streams he controlled. It was a month before Nicholaus spoke again. By then, Orh¨ºthurin had mastered the celestial melody and continued experimenting with it while she spent time creating and expanding thousands of planes. ¡°Are you sure we¡¯ll need so many planes within the Abyss?¡± asked Nicholaus. Orh¨ºthurin nodded. ¡°We want all the materials we can capture in a single attempt, and they¡¯ll give us a buffer in case sealing the hole takes longer than expected. Your forge can handle translating energy through the outer barrier, but this is the largest influx we¡¯ll get. Do it too often, and we¡¯ll leave too many vulnerabilities.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll leave it to the expert,¡± said Nicholaus. ¡°I¡¯m hardly the expert, Father,¡± protested Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°If you¡¯re not the expert, then I¡¯m just a normal smith,¡± rumbled Nicholaus, and he rubbed a hand through his short grey hair. ¡°Feels like we''re about to ruin our new boat. Do you want to ask Bahamut if he¡¯s ready to relinquish his spear, or should I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine, I can do it. We told him he¡¯d needed to contribute to come along,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Do you expect it will take long to make him a new spear? He won¡¯t get that one back once it¡¯s out in the Far Chaos.¡± Nicholaus grinned shyly. ¡°The outer membrane of the realm has expanded enough that there is plenty of energy available, so it¡¯s an easy matter now.¡± ¡°Relatively easy,¡± chimed Gideon, and they floated over to lightly bump against Ori¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The material is so dense it has the gravitational attraction of a white dwarf star.¡± ¡°How are they all?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Do you wish a grossly optimistic and reassuring summary or the truth?¡± Gideon inquired hesitantly. Orh¨ºthurin groaned. ¡°How bad is the truth?¡± ¡°You heard their songs, and I¡¯d recommend you kill them all,¡± said Gideon. ¡°It would put them out of the misery they¡¯ve already suffered and avoid future contaminants within the realm.¡± Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s mouth tightened as she held back a retort. ¡°We¡¯re not doing that.¡± ¡°Then they¡¯re all fine, peachy even,¡± offered Gideon. ¡°If you don¡¯t want the truth, don¡¯t ask me to grade them.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. I had hoped my assessment of them was mistaken,¡± admitted Orh¨ºthurin. * * * * * Amdirlain''s fingers moved in a graceful performance of the song that Orh¨ºthurin had sought to perfect when the memory released its hold. Wide-eyed Amdirlain jerked her hands clear of the strings, and grunted in disbelief. That¡¯s disturbing. Discomfort held at bay by her self-control, Amdirlain resumed the song before turning her attention to a waiting notification. [Floor Harp Unlocked! Floor Harp (1) Major synergy detected: Lap Harp [S] (127) Floor Harp (1) -> (13) Partial memory synergy achieved < 0.001% Floor Harp (13) -> Floor Harp [M] (1) True Song Genesis [G] (6 -> 8) Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (105 -> 109) True Song Architecture [G] (4 -> 14) Note: Ori possessed a natural gift for all things musical. If you¡¯d synchronised with a later memory involving a Floor Harp, you would have far outstripped your Lap Harp skill.] Amdirlain carefully returned the harp to an upright position on its stand and stepped away. The memory felt like she had lived every moment, but the melodies confirmed it had lasted a mere second. Slowly pacing around the room, Amdirlain considered the fragments of the understanding that had remained with her and how much she¡¯d experienced that still lay beyond her grasp. The leap in True Song Architecture hadn¡¯t caused even a mild headache let alone the agony from dropping Skill points into it. That was Amdirlain¡¯s biggest surprise considering she¡¯d gained more associated knowledge than she knew what to do with. Despite that, Amdirlain still had more questions. The sorrow Ori had felt for those she¡¯d inadvertently rescued felt to be the most vital and emotional part of the memory, though she¡¯d averted an otherwise grim fate. Is that the reason Ori didn''t take action against Baln¨¦rith earlier? Did she feel sorry for the abandoned servant of a deity? Not wanting to commit anything to paper or crystal, Amdirlain used an illusion to display a musical score and started to review it methodically. Hours later, temptation gripped her as Amdirlain redesigned the songs Ori had used to spread the pressure of creating a Plane. With the knowledge the memory had given her, it seemed possible. It would take her multiple steps and wouldn¡¯t be as elegant as any of Ori¡¯s creations, but it was an achievable challenge that beckoned her. Rather than simply teleporting away, Amdirlain travelled down the mountain with Ki Flight. Skimming across rooftops, she saw the occasional student and servant glance her way, but none seemed surprised. Beyond the monastery¡¯s boundary, Amdirlain opened a Gate into darkness and stepped out into chaos. Among the chaos streams, she absorbed the bracelet of shadow vines, disinclined to risk the device with the effort that lay ahead. Amdirlain reverted to her True Form, the flames of her wings beat against the darkness and failed to illuminate more than a hundred metres away. It was oppressive darkness, a purer version of that which cloaked Pandemonium, its difference was in that this place obliterated the structure of light that ventured too far from her. The only thing present beside herself was a crystal block she¡¯d set out as a marker buoy for the work ahead. The wild, turbulent music surrounding her waxed and waned, and Amdirlain stopped herself from reconsidering the sanity of what she was about to do. Deep pounding notes struck against the tidal forces, hammering them with repeated body blows. Blood streams floated outwards from ruptured flesh and mingled with the darkness; before they had stretched more than a metre away, Amdirlain ignited Phoenix¡¯s Rapture. The white flames vaporised her blood and drove back the darkness that had battled to contain the Plane¡¯s growing boundary. Pain Eater catalogued the injuries and advised Amdirlain of the spurs of shattered bones protruding from her body with the first impact of the song, and even with Phoenix¡¯s Rapture burning, her health bled away faster than her regeneration. In Ori¡¯s memory, she¡¯d only needed to focus the melody into fifty places for seconds to create a perfect planar seed, but that pressure would have killed Amdirlain. Instead, she broadcast it to thousands of locations in a sphere that orbited the block. The lights blazed in the darkness, burning stars that fed from her health and the chaotic flows around them until they finally began to burn on their own. Strands that reminded Amdirlain of her spiritual net extended from each node and spun outwards with each rotation. It was eight hours of continual singing, bleeding, and healing before the work was done. A pair of extended tendrils from different nodes overlapped and merged. Before the contact could yank the pair off balance, others touched. In seconds, the meshwork glowing in the dark became a fabric of energy that enclosed a sphere that rippled out of phase with the chaos but continued to absorb energy from it to fuel its growth. The shell hardened as a whirlpool of energies was sucked into it from the surrounding chaos, and Amdirlain teleported beyond the edge of the effect. With the songs at last finally finished, Amdirlain¡¯s ripped and shattered body began to heal. [Health: 94,230] Despite all the modifications, I almost had to abort the creation process. Do I need one, two, or more evolutions of True Song? Amdirlain put the continual updates from Pain Eater out of her mind and considered the experience notification. [Crafting summary Planar Seed x 1 Total Experience gained: 2,500,000,000 Pure Scion of the Sun: +1,250,000,000 Ascetic Triumvirate: +1,250,000,000 Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (103->105) Note: You can¡¯t do anything the easy way, can you? Are you planning to hop right into it?] [Achievement: Songbird¡¯s First Step (Tier 7 Achievement) Details: Successfully create your first planar seed designed to slide into place within the planar framework. Reward: 3,500,000,000 Pure Scion of the Sun: +1,750,000,000 Ascetic Triumvirate: +1,750,000,000 Note: You persist in doing things in the wrong order. Compensating much? Note: Are you planning to hop right into it?] No, the forces inside it would rip me apart, and it might take years to stabilise. ¡°I dub thee Atonement,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she felt the name ring through the plane she¡¯d just created. As she considered her next steps, Amdirlain adjusted the vanished plane¡¯s rules, ensuring it would remain isolated and preventing the Astral Plane from creating a connecting pool within its limits. At least for now, it wouldn¡¯t gather souls. 382 - Purpose Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Chaos streams between planes. After the last light from creating the Plane seed vanished, Amdirlain closed her eyes and floated. Nearly an hour later, with her overstressed body healed, Amdirlain turned off Phoenix¡¯s Rapture and remained in utter darkness. Once the experience would have been a sensory deprivation tank, a silent dark location with her body weightless, hair drifting in a halo about her face, limbs relaxed. Yet the darkness was alive with music that squealed and chimed with its possibilities. Overall, the energy possessed a lesser potential than the primordial forces she¡¯d encountered within the Abyss, yet it was still an environment that would break unprotected mortals. Aware that she¡¯d been gone from the monastery most of their evening, Amdirlain resumed her Wood Elf form and donned the bracelet of shadow vines. As the dark green silk sheathed her form, Amdirlain brushed back her azure hair and braced herself before she shifted back to the Outlands. The bright sunlight was a brutal assault on her eyes after being shrouded in darkness while recovering from her exertions. The fields had relatively few early workers scattered throughout, but they were already busy offloading wagons filled with seedling trays and placing them at the ends of rows. Most appeared to be in their late teens, but a few sleepy children also did their best to assist. The workers brought an empty wagon to the first tier and towed it to a warehouse past the grain stores. I wonder what the villagers think of being moved to the Outlands with its eternal sunshine. The temptation niggled at Amdirlain, but she hesitated, knowing their rulers likely hadn¡¯t allowed them a choice. As it was, the themes within the workers seemed content if a little unsettled, and Amdirlain opted to let it be. They¡¯re safer inside Livia¡¯s Domain than in places I can think of on the Material Plane, and while it¡¯s not my responsibility to rescue everyone, I still want to ensure they have options. That thought drew Amdirlain¡¯s pondering back to the memory of Ori¡¯s rescue of the trapped entities and the pain their entry into the realm had caused. A sharp ache surged within, and she winced. The songs of millions of trapped entities just waiting to die wounded her. No, worse than waiting for death, they were waiting for annihilation. They had no options or hope, trapped in a world its maker had abandoned. Is that why she arranged for the dammed souls to be managed the way they are? The worst fate she could imagine she gave to those continually abusive to others in life. What made her strip her strength away, effectively giving up on the realm? Unsure if she wanted an answer, Amdirlain flew to the monastery gate and was waved through without delay. At the hall, Klipyl was busy practising the previous day''s exercises. Though there were errors to be corrected, the former Succubus demonstrated a highly precise execution of the assorted attacks and blocks. When she spotted Amdirlain standing nearby, she finished the latest sequence and stopped. ¡°Hey, boss sis,¡± chirped Klipyl, giving Amdirlain a cheerful wave. ¡°I came to get an early start, but you weren¡¯t around.¡± ¡°You can call me Am,¡± responded Amdirlain, and she came over to hug Klipyl. Klipyl quickly brought her arms up around Amdirlain and sighed happily. ¡°Shucks, a cuddle without even asking.¡± ¡°I used to hug a lot,¡± Amdirlain informed her, enjoying the Archon¡¯s buzz of happiness. ¡°Not anymore. I noticed you¡¯re selective about who gets a hug, so I¡¯ll take it as a compliment,¡± gushed Klipyl. ¡°Can I call you Sis? Oh, since I successfully adopted you, does that mean I also get to claim Sarah as a sister?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to discuss the logistics of that with her,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m fine with it. I often did that to Ebusuku, so I can''t complain without it being hypocrisy.¡± ¡°Ebusuku loves it when you call her sis,¡± advised Klipyl. ¡°She does?¡± asked Amdirlain in surprise as she stepped away from the hug. ¡°Yeah, she misses her Oath Link to you,¡± advised Klipyl. ¡°Having you still call her sis is the last link Ebusuku has if you ask me. Also, I¡¯m pretty sure she treasures you saying it.¡± Amdirlain blinked. ¡°I¡¯ve been careful about not listening to her theme.¡± ¡°If our little talk about adoption was just a joke, I understand, it¡¯s okay,¡± said Klipyl tentatively. Amdirlain frowned in concern at the sudden stab of desperation in Klipyl¡¯s song. ¡°I didn¡¯t say there was an issue, and I certainly didn¡¯t reject you, Klipyl.¡± Klipyl waved her hands out from her sides helplessly. ¡°No, but¡­¡± ¡°But nothing, little sis,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Adoptions have no take-backs. Which adoption do you think you can escape?¡± ¡°Oops,¡± grinned Klipyl, and she tucked her hands behind her back and looked at Amdirlain coyly. ¡°None?¡± ¡°Too right, you won¡¯t get away that easily,¡± huffed Amdirlain playfully, brushing a loose strand of hair behind Klipyl¡¯s ear. ¡°I always wanted a proper little sis. Though, best talk to Sarah when she¡¯s back about whether the adoption includes her.¡± Klipyl nodded. ¡°Okay. My hunting partner liked things done her way, so it¡¯s unsurprising that hasn¡¯t changed.¡± ¡°Sarah¡¯s pretty consistent in her feelings and approach to life,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Especially with you,¡± agreed Klipyl. ¡°She¡¯s the one who pushed me to give sex advice to folks. Said I needed to improve myself to be worthy of your trust and that helping others improve would help me figure out what I wanted instead of quick sex that left me craving more all the time.¡± ¡°And it did,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Though she remembered their prior discussion, Amdirlain didn¡¯t change the topic as there was a sense of anticipation in Klipyl¡¯s posture. Klipyl nodded eagerly. ¡°Yeah, but I thought she was playing me. I hoped it was true and things could change but, for months, I thought it was a con. Yet every time I got Mana through my morning prayers, your energy told me it wasn¡¯t and that I could be more. When I pull in Mana from the environment, it doesn¡¯t have the same acceptance as what I receive during prayers.¡± The wellspring I made in the Domain still conveys self-belief and respect to my priests? ¡°I¡¯m glad it gave you the confidence to continue,¡° said Amdirlain, and she caught the sparks of excitement leaping in Klipyl. ¡°Now you are here instead of caught in the loop of carvings.¡± ¡°Yep, so going to teach me, sis?¡± asked Klipyl, and she motioned to Amdirlain to bring it on. Amdirlain nodded and squared off against Klipyl. ¡°As I returned, I noticed you were trying to push the strikes out fast.¡± ¡°I was just trying to duplicate you,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°I blink, and you¡¯re done.¡± ¡°I should have caught that,¡± apologised Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t try for speed. I want you to focus on getting the motions right. When you don¡¯t have to consider what you¡¯re doing anymore, the speed will come naturally.¡± ¡°No premature speed,¡± quipped Klipyl. ¡°Yes, steady motions,¡± replied Amdirlain, trying to keep her composure against the mischief in the bright notes dancing through Klipyl¡¯s theme. ¡°Oh baby, yes,¡± squealed Klipyl. ¡°Show me what you want me to do with my hands.¡± ¡°I think I need to put sound barriers in place,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Klipyl¡¯s gaze widened, and biting her lip she blinked innocently. ¡°Are you going to make me moan?¡± ¡°How about groaning?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That has possibilities,¡± breathed Klipyl dramatically, and she fluttered a hand at her throat dramatically before he sighed. ¡°But I get the impression you don¡¯t mean from fun exertions.¡± ¡°You attack, and I¡¯ll block at your pace,¡± instructed Amdirlain, holding back her laughter. ¡°Should I accept a transition so I¡¯ve got a Class slot to use for Monk?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°No, you¡¯ve more strength you can gain,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, do you imagine yourself as a Monk?¡± ¡°No, but...¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Then that is the answer: No. I want you to do is what is best for you, and in return, I promise to endeavour to look after myself.¡± ¡°We¡¯re both hunting our best future selves?¡± asked Klipyl eagerly. Amdirlain nodded in agreement. With a confident nod, Klipyl began, and Amdirlain took her through each move again, before switching Klipyl to blocking. After the training wrapped up, Amdirlain raised the subject of the villagers with Klipyl. ¡°You want to know what opportunities they have to escape being peasants?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Is that something you escape? I mean, it¡¯s not like a terminal condition. They¡¯re just born that way. Or did you improve their station in life?¡± ¡°At present, they¡¯re subject to someone else¡¯s orders and their livelihood is very reliant upon manual labour. Doesn¡¯t that seem like something people should have the option to escape?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl giggled. ¡°Yeah, tell that to a Dwarf. Then again, I used to get plenty of orders about what handicrafts to deliver.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Too soon?¡± asked Klipyl innocently before she laughed mischievously. ¡°Or is that a different kinda issue?¡± ¡°Come again?¡± quipped Amdirlain. Klipyl laughed harder before she held up her hands and smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯ll see if the villagers get an education. Knowing more is one of the best moves towards improving your life.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not seen signs of it yet, but I¡¯ve not been here long,¡± allowed Amdirlain. Klipyl clicked her tongue. ¡°You¡¯re not just going to ask Livia?¡± ¡°Our upbringing shapes our perspective. To her, people without an education, doing menial or field work might be normal, as it was in Rome,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°They likely have options within the monastery, but I want to know how hard they are to access and how often someone manages it.¡± ¡°Okay, sis, I shall gather intel,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°After all, I have the Scout Class.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t mention the others you could use to gather information,¡± teased Amdirlain. Klipyl pushed out her bottom lip and batted her eyelashes. ¡°That¡¯s so not working,¡± advised Amdirlain, but her voice was rich with suppressed laughter. ¡°That¡¯s because you like males,¡± huffed Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯d offer to change my shape, but I still don¡¯t think I¡¯d get accepted.¡± ¡°Wise,¡± declared Amdirlain. With a glum nod, Klipyl sighed. ¡°If you found Torm reincarnated somewhere, and he was an established adult. What would you do?¡± The question didn¡¯t stir a ripple from Amdirlain, and she shrugged helplessly. ¡°Nothing. I¡¯d let him live his life and continue mine.¡± Sadly Klipyl brushed her face before she gave her a friendly peck on the cheek and headed off. When her next guests arrived, they found Amdirlain sitting cross-legged on the same bench Cyrus had chosen for his lesson. The warm sunlight failed to compete with her inner glow that obliterated all shadows within the courtyard. As their jaws dropped, the glow vanished in a rush of Ki being drained away into the crystal within her hands. It flared and vanished, leaving them blinking in the aftermath. All four of them had the dark green hoods of their robes pushed back, and their now metallic-hued hair colours were on full display. ¡°You¡¯re back to lighting up a room,¡± observed Nomein. ¡°Heck, you were glowing brighter than the sun here, even though I couldn¡¯t make out your sigil.¡± Sarith shrugged. ¡°Know that I feel it¡¯s much better than coating it in her blood.¡± ¡°That was a thorny situation,¡± said Amdirlain before she greeted them and motioned towards benches in a triangle formation in the corner of the courtyard. ¡°Know that your sense of humour still needs time in the infirmary,¡± declared Sarith after she¡¯d sat across from Amdirlain. ¡°Under full-time monitoring.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help out with that,¡± gushed Nomein, giving Amdirlain an adoring look. ¡°Your Ki¡¯s glow was like watching a sunrise. The Outlands is nice, but after Limbo''s constant sky, the sunlight is just a mirror to it. I already miss watching the sky change colour at dawn. Do you like to watch the sunrise?¡± This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The changes of colour are beautiful on many worlds.¡± ¡°We could...¡± ¡°Know that Amdirlain will never take you up on that offer,¡± interrupted Gemiya. ¡°Know that you should practise some discretion and stop.¡± Nomein laughed. ¡°I can live in hope.¡± ¡°Know that is Lezekus¡¯ line,¡± grumbled Sarith. ¡°I can¡¯t help it that her beauty makes me wish otherwise,¡± huffed Nomein. Femme Fatale is under control. Maybe I should just take on the form of a crone. Sarith tapped her fingers against a thigh and glared at Nomein. ¡°Yes, you can. Know you¡¯re being rude, and Amdirlain isn¡¯t the only one uncomfortable with you not taking instruction.¡± ¡°How are you all this morning?¡± asked Amdirlain, seeking to derail the topic of conversation. Lezekus¡¯ composed expression didn¡¯t match the mirth in her gaze. ¡°We¡¯re well, Amdirlain. Don¡¯t mind these three wild novices.¡± ¡°That¡¯s so rude, Lezekus,¡± protested Nomein. ¡°I¡¯m merely open to new opportunities. One thing is sure: if you don¡¯t ask, you will certainly not get.¡± ¡°If you ask too often, you¡¯re at risk of a three-on-one sparring session focused on you,¡± countered Lezekus. ¡°You caught Amdirlain¡¯s meaning in the bath at Xaos, so don¡¯t be a leech.¡± ¡°Indeed, I don¡¯t float that way,¡± said Amdirlain. Nomein sighed dramatically and put a palm to her forehead. ¡°I¡¯m so heartbroken I¡¯m down with a fever, but I¡¯ll pull through, I promise.¡± ¡°Know if you¡¯d like me to arrange it so that she doesn¡¯t, you¡¯ve only to say,¡± Gemiya hopefully told Amdirlain. ¡°Wow, you four are well-rested and right to go, aren¡¯t you,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Has Nomein gotten under your skin, Gemiya?¡± Gemiya twitched a finger to indicate a negative. ¡°Know that she made some valid points in our discussions last night that I find unsettling. Know it¡¯s more how than what she said that has my hackles up. Have you ever found someone¡¯s conduct particularly irritating after they¡¯ve smugly proven themselves right?¡± ¡°Know that she hasn¡¯t proven herself right yet,¡± argued Sarith. ¡°Know a valid argument alone isn¡¯t proof. However, I believe she¡¯s right after some time to consider the matter.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow, wondering what she¡¯d missed. ¡°Might I know the valid point you made, Nomein?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t one point it was a series of them. If we¡¯re back to being our people¡¯s original species¡ªand according to our legends, all of them were enslaved¡ªthat means no male elves of our species exist, so we¡¯ll never have families to pass our talents onto,¡± said Nomein. ¡°It also means that, potentially, we can¡¯t have children with anyone among our former people.¡± The details that Analysis returned to Amdirlain on their situation knotted her stomach. [Tamb? Elf Realm population: 4 Average life expediency: 2,000 years Note: They were local to one of many worlds where the entire populace of every species was changed at a genetic level.] ¡°I might be able to help,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Only might, and there are risks involved. It would be far safer for others to pursue acquiring an evolution back to your species.¡± ¡°Only one option?¡± enquired Lezekus. ¡°No, there are multiple options,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°I had reason to study elven fertility and to correct it for an impacted species. I don¡¯t claim to be an expert.¡± The words echoed Ori¡¯s denial of that role to Nicholaus, and Amdirlain held in her groan of frustration. Do I follow her pattern of behaviour in denying my proficiency? Amdirlain cleared her throat and went on. ¡°I am familiar with methods to maintain or introduce new traits and bring back missing elements in your species. There also isn¡¯t a rush, as you¡¯ll all live far longer.¡± ¡°Because of your Ki?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Know it was a very kind gift, but we can¡¯t keep expecting you to restore our youth.¡± ¡°No, because your elven species is one of the longer-lived ones,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Gemiya glanced at the others but then gave a quick head twitch. ¡°Know we intend to help you, not see how we might benefit further. To that point, would you like our assistance progressing your psionics?¡± Amdirlain smiled gratefully. ¡°You¡¯d stop your progress to help me?¡± ¡°Why are you so surprised?¡± asked Nomein. Sarith tilted her head slightly. ¡°Know that Amdirlain determines her self-worth in helping others gain choices but doesn¡¯t expect it in return.¡± And getting psychoanalysed doesn¡¯t have me shouting for joy, but at least she¡¯s more qualified for that than most who think they¡¯re helping. Can she be objective, given our history? Should I try? ¡°Are you looking to get employed as my Healer?¡± asked Amdirlain before she could dismiss the thought. ¡°Know we can speak of that later,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know I have no allegiance to the Winter Queen, which I understand hampered things for you previously.¡± ¡°Your teacher mentioned that?¡± ¡°Know her only comment was that it was a point of frustration since it obstructed her from completing a full treatment,¡± advised Sarith. ¡°Know she considered it an unimportant detail that you obsessed over.¡± ¡°Her patron came to see me in the monastery,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It most certainly wasn¡¯t unimportant.¡± Sarith blinked, and her mouth briefly hung open. ¡°The Winter Queen was in the dormitory, or elsewhere on the grounds?¡± ¡°The dormitory,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°And I know some of why she¡¯d love to get her hands on my past life memories, and she is mostly certainly not my friend.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should leave such discussion aside,¡± proposed Nomein nervously. ¡°What techniques have you made the most use of? Have you been breaking demonic balls?¡± The reference to Amdirlain¡¯s initial string of failures with learning Far Hand had the group exchanging shared chuckles that eased the tension. ¡°While I extended some techniques we learned together for Telepathy, in handling thought chains and mental assaults, I¡¯ve had alternative options with other skills,¡± said Amdirlain. Nomein gave a sharp nod of understanding. ¡°Alone, you¡¯d not need any Psychometabolism techniques, and you have alternatives for the Metacreativity and Psychoportation.¡± ¡°The Psychometabolism techniques ensured I made it out of the Titan¡¯s Maze. I don¡¯t just want to abandon my studies in any of them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t say you had to, just that I could understand why you¡¯d have little reason to have progressed them,¡± replied Nomein. ¡°Might I ask what your goals are for your psionics?¡± Amdirlain briefly chewed the inside of her mouth as she considered what to share. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot of past life memories in my Soul, and I need to ensure I¡¯ve got a strong mental stability while I recover them. I¡¯ve reason to believe I¡¯ll also need to sort out mental fortress techniques.¡± Once I¡¯m no longer a Hidden, my thoughts will be accessible by those stronger, I¡¯ll need to figure out how to protect them properly. ¡°The second will be hard to practise with you, and past life memories are more in the realm of the Immortal paths that Master Cyrus teaches,¡± noted Nomein. ¡°Though there are telepathic techniques that cover sifting through someone else¡¯s memories.¡± ¡°We covered those together,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gave a tight smile. ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ve had extensive need of those techniques, but they won¡¯t accomplish what I need.¡± Nomein smirked. ¡°You remember the punishment for using techniques outside the monastery walls before passing your test on them?¡± Amdirlain gasped and pretended to faint. ¡°No, don¡¯t cast me out. Wait, I already left, and I doubt they¡¯d take me back.¡± The four of them snickered faintly before Gemiya nodded. ¡°Know that white marks have been set against your name in the monastery¡¯s rolls for failing to attend the fifth-year exams.¡± Burn, my first ever failed exams and I wasn¡¯t even there for them. ¡°Any other techniques that can help stand between my perceptions and the rising memories?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know that there are others that healers learn that might help,¡± interjected Sarith. ¡°Do these memories intrude upon your understanding or personality?¡± ¡°Yes, but in sometimes beneficial ways. For example, I¡¯ve regained some of my capabilities with particular powers and skills that I also possessed in a past life,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I do not want to block them from coming forward; rather, I want to ensure they don¡¯t alter my current perspective unknowingly.¡± ¡°Know these might remove such benefits,¡± cautioned Sarith. ¡°Know the purpose of them is to stop a patient¡¯s trauma influencing the Healer¡¯s reactions, effectively establishing a selective mental fortress.¡± ¡°Selective? Is that because the Healer is in the patient¡¯s mind rather than their own and you¡¯re continuing the healing process even when there is risk?¡± Sarith nodded tightly. ¡°The technique taps into the patient¡¯s symbolism to constrain their mind away from you, rather than the mental imagery you used to keep an intruder from your thoughts.¡± ¡°Would you take me through them?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°Or are they restricted to those who have taken a Healer¡¯s oath?¡± ¡°Know among our former people, they are bound under such,¡± confirmed Sarith. ¡°Do you detect the keyword in that statement?¡± ¡°Former,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t think they¡¯ll be accepting of your evolution?¡± Nomein snorted and motioned to herself. ¡°Do any of us look like we¡¯re now carrying our family¡¯s lineage? If we¡¯re not careful, we might be attacked or start wars, even among the more relaxed community in the City of Glass.¡± ¡°Why did you accept the evolution then?¡± ¡°It felt right,¡± stated Nomein. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean those who didn¡¯t see the Class vision will agree with my perception of the offer, even though the others felt the same way.¡± ¡°Know we all accepted the offer without consulting each other,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know it felt as if I was seizing what had been stolen from my people, but the more time passes, the more certain I am that the masters will disagree.¡± The other three signalled their agreement with Sarith¡¯s assessment, and Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°If any of you want to start a family, I can ensure that your children will retain the potential for psionic talents.¡± Lines crinkled around Gemiya¡¯s eyes. ¡°Know that I¡¯d put off having children for one reason or another. Do you think all near-death experiences in the last eight years make me concerned about having children? Know I hadn¡¯t any thoughts of them in the decades prior.¡± ¡°People are ready to have a family when they¡¯re ready. It doesn¡¯t mean you valued your life any less than you do now,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°As you said, we¡¯re in no rush now, so we¡¯ll be here helping you with your training for as long as you need us,¡± said Nomein. ¡°I don¡¯t expect you¡¯ll take it any easier on yourself than you have in the past.¡± Amdirlain chuckled ruefully. ¡°I do tend to push myself.¡± ¡°Do you have time for lessons now, or is there something else on your agenda?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lesson with Kadaklan shortly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Would lessons after the monastery¡¯s evening meal time be agreeable? At present, I¡¯ve morning lessons with Kadaklan and afternoons with Cyrus.¡± They all mentally murmured agreement, but only three stood to leave. After Amdirlain saw them out, she returned to where Sarith lingered on a courtyard bench. ¡°Know that I find this oddly ironic,¡± said Sarith. ¡°That my influence got the four of you cut off from your people?¡± asked Amdirlain, deliberately poking at the conflicted emotions she felt in Sarith. Sarith huffed. ¡°Know for an incredibly bright person, you sometimes say stupid things.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an odd admonishment from a Healer,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Is this a particular type of therapy?¡± ¡°Know you¡¯re not my patient at present, so I¡¯ll speak to you like my friends,¡± countered Sarith. ¡°Know you have some particular blind spots.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarith huffed. ¡°Are you aware you can be emotionally dense sometimes?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain, opting to be deliberately provocative. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°You think I¡¯m unaware of your tension about our changed species? Know then you¡¯re being blind,¡± said Sarith firmly. ¡°Know there were options for the same combining of classes without the evolution of species.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take those options then?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It would avoid the upcoming drama.¡± Sarith¡¯s hands twitched. ¡°Know there was a fundamental rightness in the option the Class vision presented and its sense of renewal. How to explain this? Would you not want to feel whole in your skin for the first time? Do you think all four of us chose the same racial evolution by chance with no discussion?¡± Her confidence assured Amdirlain that she could let the matter go. ¡°As long as the choice was yours.¡± Sarith¡¯s gaze narrowed with sudden suspicion before she relaxed and sighed. ¡°Know I truly appreciate the options you arranged for me¡ªall the options.¡± ¡°What do you feel about your situation now?¡± ¡°Know in a way it is fitting. I left behind the path my Father had planned for me, and now I¡¯ve moved from the route my ancestors¡¯ enslavers forced on us,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Know that if you wish I¡¯ll listen to whatever haunted your gaze earlier. Was it one of those memories you wish to stabilise your mind against?¡± ¡°You¡¯re very perceptive,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Is that part of your training?¡± ¡°Know you were always far easier to read if I had taken the time to look instead of judge,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Are these memories worse than what you dealt with at the monastery?¡± ¡°None of the memories I¡¯ve recovered from my past life come close to the worst of those traumas I resolved. The intimidating part is how many billions of years of memories there are involved,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Also, it¡¯s not just one life. It¡¯s multiple.¡± After a long exhalation, Sarith steadied her nerves and nodded repeatedly in acceptance. ¡°Multiple lives that long?¡± ¡°No, the eldest life was that long. Others ranged from short to a few centuries from what bits I¡¯ve stumbled across,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°How many of these lifetimes are there?¡± Not wanting to get into the details, Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°A hundred odd, scattered among dozens of species.¡± Sarith frowned and brushed a thumb along her jawline. ¡°Know then there is another possibility besides the Healer¡¯s techniques.¡± ¡°Another option to explore is good,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know that the larger cities in Limbo have populations exceeding twenty-five million, and there are times when every adult combines into a gestalt. Know the primary challenge for the individual serving as a gestalt focus comes in three parts: form the whole, keep it on track, and then separate cleanly afterwards without their mind remaining awash with another¡¯s thoughts.¡± ¡°Do you know the techniques they¡¯d use to prevent other minds from overwhelming their viewpoint?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know that while I¡¯m aware of their existence, I don¡¯t know the details at present,¡± said Sarith unhappily. ¡°Given my status, who would entrust them to me? Know that neither a failed student nor a Healer is expected to climb the ranks of the Anarchs and maintain a city.¡± ¡°But you know who to ask?¡± ¡°Know that I do, and it¡¯s not my former teacher,¡± reassured Sarith. ¡°And the other technique you mentioned knowing? Are you sure about teaching me this Healer¡¯s technique?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get you in trouble with any oaths you¡¯ve taken.¡± ¡°Do you promise that you¡¯ll only use this technique while handling these past life memories you¡¯ve mentioned?¡± asked Sarith, her gaze gleaming with seriousness. ¡°Know I wouldn¡¯t want to teach you if you¡¯re seeking to implement it with someone, as there can be unpleasant results if you touch another¡¯s mind and cannot safeguard them properly.¡± ¡°I promise,¡± said Amdirlain, and she leaned forward. ¡°Though I would appreciate you explaining the risks?¡± ¡°Did you come across a reference to dissociative identity disorder in your self-studies while at the monastery?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Not while studying at the monastery, but it¡¯s a mental situation I¡¯ve heard of elsewhere,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°How fractured can the other person¡¯s mind become?¡± ¡°Know that the technique is intended to keep memories at an arm¡¯s distance from the Healer,¡± explained Sarith. ¡°Know that it¡¯s possible to cause the patient''s mind to no longer identify with their own memories.¡± ¡°Yet they still have the memories?¡± asks Amdirlain, and she continued when Sarith nodded. ¡°What happens to the memories then?¡± ¡°Know if the fracturing is slight, they might just forget chunks of their life, but if severe, the patient¡¯s subconscious would try to make sense of the memories and form new personalities around whatever grouping of memories they could stitch together through however tenuous a connection.¡± Amdirlain winced. ¡°I noticed you didn¡¯t mention logical groupings.¡± ¡°Do you know how infrequently a traumatised mind ever considers anything logically? Know that emotional state, location, or something as simple as a common fragrance could determine the groupings or all of those options.¡± clarified Sarith, and she motioned Amdirlain to relax. ¡°How long before your lesson with Kadaklan?¡± ¡°He should be here at the next bell,¡± advised Amdirlain. Sarith smiled shyly. ¡°Would you like to begin with the fundamentals now? Know you need to connect with my mind since yours is untouchable.¡± With no tones of betrayal or hostility in Sarith¡¯s theme, Amdirlain reached out mentally. 383 - She knows it Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Beneath Sarith¡¯s public mind, her mental walls reminded Amdirlain of the chaos streams, black and impenetrable. As Amdirlain had extended a mental touch towards her, a white light formed a seam in the wall closest to her and allowed Amdirlain inside. The foyer of Sarith¡¯s mind palace was as bare as the dormitory courtyard in Limbo and matched that space with its stark walls and interior doors spread along its walls. Yet, unlike the isolated direction markers hidden in its grains and colour shifts, the words looped the room and presented details of Sarith¡¯s family. It provided a record of their service in the city guard across the millennia since its founding. ¡°Know I had expected to feel more of a burden when your mind touched against mine,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know your presence in my mind is very ethereal and delicate.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I can manage precision, and I¡¯ve had to touch many Mortal minds over the years.¡± ¡°What image are you using to touch my mind so lightly?¡± enquired Sarith. ¡°We had devices that could send images and video between remote locations without skills being needed,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It was polite not to shout, and one got used to relaxing when presented images.¡± Being vegged out on the couch or watching a computer screen counts as being relaxed. Sarith tilted her head inquiringly, but Amdirlain signalled its unimportance. ¡°Do you think it silly that I¡¯ve kept my mind palace the same?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Never worry about what someone else thinks of that which you treasure,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she turned in a circle to take the legacy in. ¡°That¡¯s a lot of pressure to have carried with you, and it¡¯s no wonder you felt compelled to qualify for the city guard. Does keeping it in your entryway remind you of the pressure you lived with through your childhood?¡± ¡°Know that the negative aspects of my past don¡¯t attract my focus as much as the positive,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Does it hurt to remember that my family maintained the safety of others above their own well-being? Should a Healer not put their patient above the demands of those that don¡¯t have their continued good health in mind?¡± ¡°I benefited from the second point, so I certainly won¡¯t argue,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know that not everyone cares if they¡¯ve benefited in the past,¡± said Sarith, and her mouth briefly tightened. A lance of pain rose through Sarith¡¯s theme, and Amdirlain winced. ¡°Have you had to defend those protected by your oath from any former patient?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± sighed Sarith. ¡°Know healers must be impartial in who they tend to, and we maintain our oaths, no matter how difficult.¡± ¡°I hope I¡¯m not getting you to edge towards the limits of your oaths,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarith motioned reassuringly. ¡°Do you think I would have offered if that were possible?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had people offer things they shouldn''t to me before,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I try to head things off before they get into trouble.¡± ¡°Try?¡± A trace of concern trickled across their connection that was only a fragment of the noise within Sarith¡¯s melody, and Amdirlain projected reassurance. ¡°People have to make their own choices.¡± Sarith twitched and gave a loud snort. ¡°Knowing when to stop digging is the first step to getting out of a hole.¡± Amdirlain barked laughter that earned a smile from Sarith, who took a single step. Her mental image reappeared at the door in the left wall, which she opened and beckoned Amdirlain through. The room expanded when Amdirlain crossed the threshold so she stood in an eight-cubic-metre room furnished with a low grey stone table in its centre and deep cushions on opposite sides. One cushion felt to be the guest spot, and Amdirlain settled herself on it without objection, taking in the details of weave and materials that Sarith had included within her mental construct. Once Sarith sat across the table, her fingers tapped a gentle pattern against her leg; the regular noise was a touch of normalcy in a place controlled by Sarith¡¯s mind. ¡°Know I¡¯ll take you through variations of the technique I¡¯ve used,¡± advised Sarith. ¡°Before we start, why do you think this room would make a bad image to use?¡± ¡°With only one door, the filter would be very selective,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarith frowned tightly. ¡°Do you wish to try again?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been considering it from the perspective of only being able to see a narrow area within the scene playing out,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If it¡¯s not that which is the issue, then I¡¯d have to say the concept of a door itself. Doors allow someone in and out, so the trauma from the person¡¯s memory is practically invited.¡± ¡°Know that is correct and takes us onto why there are so many variations of the construct,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Given what I¡¯ve already said about its use, why might that be?¡± ¡°They¡¯re for use within someone¡¯s mind, so their mind handles the translation of the symbolism you use,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Does that mean you would normally have to observe their thoughts for a time to know what approach to use?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Sarith unhappily. ¡°Know this will prove restrictive with the memory recovery you want.¡± ¡°Yeah, some of them are from a very alien perspective, and others were horrible enough that I¡¯ve been careful about revisiting them,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Is there anything else?¡± Sarith motioned her for patience. ¡°Know that the techniques are still an option, but you should plan for failure so the outer filters can collapse in multiple ways.¡± The surrounding room changed to a layered barrier with the swirling sky of Limbo overhead. The innermost barrier was a hardened cage with gaps that would barely let a canary hop through; beyond it was netting supported by a framework of poles, but the outermost layer was a group of trees whose canopies overlapped their position. The stone floor had transformed into a trapdoor, and Amdirlain resisted the temptation to find out what was beneath it. Sarith¡¯s lips twitched when she caught Amdirlain¡¯s glance. ¡°Know if this were for a patient¡¯s mind, my construct would include a chute to shunt me from their mind if the inner filter was at risk of breach.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re in your mind, a chute would eject me and take you into your fortress?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Excellent,¡± laughed Sarith. ¡°Know my preparations hadn¡¯t gone to that extent since the only purpose was a demonstration of mixed symbolism, and you¡¯re inside the barrier at present.¡± Sarith took the layers apart and peeled back the mental construct of the cage, showing Amdirlain the interior workings with its shunts and redirections of energy sent against it. After having reconstructed it several times while Amdirlain watched, Sarith gave a rueful smile. ¡°Know this would be easier if we had some training tools to emulate neural networks. You recognised what the framework is doing, correct?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a barrier exactly. You¡¯re putting in place redirections to avoid your mind forming emotional connections to the perceived situation,¡± said Amdirlain, ¡°The downside is that it doesn¡¯t let you fully understand what the other person has gone through by using these filters.¡± ¡°Know that is the purpose,¡± agreed Sarith. ¡°Didn¡¯t you have to break down the traumatic things you had seen to become emotionally separated from them?¡± ¡°Yes, but that was in part because I used a Power called Soul Sight on a group of the damned in the Abyss,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That was horrific in itself, and to compound the issue I experienced the damned¡¯s actions as if I had committed the deeds myself.¡± Sarith blanched, and her hands froze, the steady tapping falling silent. ¡°Know I¡¯m unsure I can understand what it would be like to have gone through such horrors. How did you forgive me for lashing out against you?¡± ¡°Sarith, you were a child angry at a situation you felt was unfair and didn¡¯t understand. Would I have been in the right to lash out at you in return when I had no intention of explaining myself to you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Such conduct would have been malicious and cruel.¡± ¡°How do you have such a strong code of conduct? Know that I¡¯ve treated traumatised individuals that have lashed out with physical violence at the slightest provocation,¡± said Sarith. ¡°You would have been not only traumatised and dealing with situations not your own doing but were admittedly dealing with your own challenging situation. What choice did you make that led you along such a path of discipline and control that you could be kind to a nasty child?¡± Amdirlain paused in mid-protest. ¡°You were angry and frustrated, but I never saw you as nasty. My choice was simple: I wanted to be a good person.¡± ¡°Is that not an ideal many people have?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Know from my experience, even those who have such aspirations still lack tolerance when they¡¯re in pain.¡± ¡°No, I want to be a good person, but I feel I¡¯m not,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°If I can see what a good person would do, I take it, but sometimes it¡¯s a struggle.¡± Sarith snorted. ¡°Upon whose classification aren¡¯t you good? By that of your enemies?¡± ¡°Under a Healer¡¯s oath, you can¡¯t share anything I talk to you about?¡± Sarith¡¯s curiosity spiked, yet the mental contact remained composed. ¡°Am I your Healer?¡± ¡°It might seem unimportant, but if I¡¯m going to talk to you about it, you¡¯d have to be,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know if you need to talk to someone, even if I¡¯m only temporarily your Healer, I¡¯ll hold your words under oath,¡± offered Sarith. ¡°Is it an issue you¡¯ve discussed with someone before?¡± Amdirlain grunted, and her hands scratched along her legs. ¡°I haven¡¯t been able to.¡± ¡°No one at all? What could be so bad you wouldn¡¯t entrust someone with the details before now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a really old event, and I¡¯m convinced that any of my friends I could have talked to would have brushed it off,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Know that how we as individuals feel about something is always valid to us,¡± said Sarith. ¡°But knowing they would see it as minor, you are unable to reevaluate it?¡± ¡°But it wasn¡¯t nothing. I always felt it showed I was rotten inside and that anything I did wouldn¡¯t be enough to make up for it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°One of our sayings is a reminder that beauty is only skin deep, but that ugliness can go far deeper. To me that has always been about a person¡¯s behaviour rather than appearance. People behave and look how they want people to see them but, under pressure, whatever ugliness is inside them comes out. I¡¯ve always seen my sentiment from that occasion as ugly, and what I did after that was either me pretending or making up for that event.¡± ¡°Yet you felt your friends would see it as minor?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t physically do anything,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Since there was no action, they¡¯d brush it off. Likely tell me something like: you were under pressure, it¡¯s no big deal, or you must forgive yourself. But I won¡¯t forget it and can¡¯t seem to let go, and I know it still affects me and the judgment calls I make. Heck, I often fail to make judgement calls when a child is in danger, I charge right in.¡± ¡°Know you have my Healer¡¯s oath,¡± repeated Sarith reassuringly. Though only part of her consciousness was linked to Sarith¡¯s mind, Amdirlain still rose and paced about that inner space. Their conversation had lasted fragments of a second within their blindingly fast mental exchange, but an eternity suddenly weighed on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders and icy cold blades twisted in her guts. ¡°When I was a teenager, I was sick. It was the type of sickness where if you didn¡¯t get treatment, you¡¯d die,¡± said Amdirlain, licking her lips. ¡°We had no magic or psionics, just physically demanding medicines to treat it. The healers of my world ran all these tests and discussed the odds of a successful treatment and, percentage-wise, my odds were in the low eighties. All great and cheery, right? But fuck, those numbers were scary to me. A nearly two-in-ten chance I was going to die petrified me, and my mum was putting on a brave face, but I could taste her fear in the air. In the days before I started treatment, I¡¯d walk into a room, and her fear would be suffocating.¡± ¡°And this was unusual for a mother to fear for a daughter in danger?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t normal to me, that wasn¡¯t how my mother normally behaved. To me she was always the bravest woman I knew; she¡¯d assess risks and take precautions but she didn¡¯t give into fear. Yet, I can understand why. My mother had a bunch of miscarriages after my brother and gave up trying to have another child. It took eleven years from his birth for me to come along by surprise, so the fear of losing her miracle baby to cancer¡ªthat was insane. That fear choked her and was palpable to me. Once I started treatment she was back to normal, and focused on ensuring I was as comfortable as possible, while the medicines¡¯ impact made my life miserable.¡± The fatigue and fear of those days uncoiled within Amdirlain, but she held it back, restrained behind her Mental Hardening. Late night muffled crying from her parents bedroom tickled at the back of her mind, and dug at the imagined sorrow her parents had gone through with her later death. ¡°But you survived?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°I mean, that wasn¡¯t how that life ended?¡± ¡°Sorry, I was just giving some background. No, it wasn¡¯t how I died, and I survived another twenty-odd years. But I turned up to the treatment rooms with that probability of a successful treatment running around in my head. It wasn¡¯t the odds of success. In my teenage brain, it meant two in ten of us were going to die, and there was a group already in the treatment room,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°So when I walked into that room with a group of girls and boys, I wanted anyone else in the room to die but me. Two weeks later, a girl I met and liked died. I¡¯d seen her a couple of days earlier and then she was just dead. I never learnt precisely why, people just gave stupid platitudes to the kids. Yet her odds had been better than mine. No one else from that treatment room died before I was in remission.¡± ¡°You carried this sense of being stained because you felt you had ill-wished her?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Did you have the ability to affect such an outcome?¡± Amdirlain shrugged tightly. ¡°Not that I was aware of, but maybe I did. Certainly, I could do it effortlessly now if I wanted to.¡± ¡°But there was no evidence you possessed such ability at that time?¡± persisted Sarith gently. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°No, there wasn¡¯t,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s part of why I think they¡¯d have just brushed it off.¡± ¡°You said you¡¯ve lived other horrible lives? If you had retained that degree of power, wouldn¡¯t others around you have perished?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°I didn¡¯t say it was logical,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain firmly. ¡°Just, after her funeral, I started feeling that nothing I did would ever be enough to make up for it. It¡¯s this itch that I can never reach, just constantly digging at me and saying: look at the ugliness in you, everything you do is pretend.¡± ¡°Does telling me about it make you feel better?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°As you said, logically, you had an emotional reaction while under threat with a life-threatening illness. You didn¡¯t attack her? Or treat her with hostility?¡± ¡°No, we spoke quite a bit as she had the treatment chair next to mine,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯d tell me jokes to cheer me up. I, who¡¯d ill-wished her, was who she spent her time worrying about cheering up.¡± ¡°Know I can understand the guilt you carry; if you¡¯ll remember that I almost killed or at least mentally burnt out other novices by lashing out. Yet, is there more to it than that?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Either in the incident itself or a connected incident that aggravated that feeling of guilt?¡± ¡°Livia,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°When I was trapped as a Succubus, I wanted out of the Abyss more than anything.¡± ¡°Your Tier 7 evolution allowed you to shed that form, correct?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But before that, I was summoned to the Material Plane, and that¡¯s when I met Livia. The Summoner killed her as part of the ritual to draw me out, and corruption washed through her Soul.¡± ¡°Know that I can see how your sense of guilt would draw parallels: another child killed because of something you wished for,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Did you know someone needed to die for that to occur?¡± ¡°No, and technically they didn¡¯t. The sacrifice approach he used was on the advice of another Demon,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I made zero effort to resist the summoning. A Summoner weaker than him could have gotten me out of the Abyss with only a chalk circle, though keeping me contained was a different matter.¡± ¡°Know that Healer¡¯s oath or not I feel you choose to tell me, at least in some part, that I¡¯d revile you for this,¡± said Sarith and she raised a hand to still Amdirlain¡¯s protest. ¡°Know that given our history It would make sense for a person to reject you and give part of you the confirmation you seek.¡± Amdirlain bit her lip and then nodded jerkily. ¡°I didn¡¯t do it for that, but I can see your point.¡± ¡°Know that I don¡¯t revile you for either situation. Do you feel you can achieve an objective state on either of these matters on your own?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried for decades to do that,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Would Sarah brush off your concern about that guilt?¡± asked Sarith. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I feel like she should, but I doubt she will.¡± ¡°Might it be that you feel like she should because part of you hopes she will justify your doubt?¡± ¡°She¡¯s too fiercely protective,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarith laughed. ¡°You do know that is quite rich coming from you?¡± ¡°I know what my issue is, and we had a term for it, but that doesn¡¯t help me shake it,¡± said Amdirlain. Ori had a case which was far worse than mine. ¡°Know the guilt of those who remain is hard,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Those who remain. We call it survivor¡¯s guilt,¡± advised Amdirlain. Sarith smiled. ¡°Do you see my people being satisfied with mere survival?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°If they merely wanted to survive, they wouldn¡¯t have chosen Limbo for their home.¡± ¡°How do you ask forgiveness from a dead girl not even of this realm? Know though, in my view, it¡¯s not her forgiveness you need.¡± ¡°What do I need then?¡± ¡°Know that you must face a greater challenge and determine the answer to a simple question. Why do you feel it¡¯s necessary to be perfect?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Was this something your last parents instilled in you?¡± Amdirlain swallowed down the emotions that churned inside her, and Pain Eater didn¡¯t lessen the unsettled feeling. ¡°They always gave me things I didn¡¯t feel I¡¯d earned.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t want to give your child things?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°When I was little, I took them for granted, but I had older relatives who¡¯d struggled a lot growing up. I don¡¯t know how old I was exactly, but their stories of rationing and hand-me-downs made me feel entitled and uncomfortably privileged, and I didn¡¯t like seeing myself that way,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I know other people that didn¡¯t see things that way, but it¡¯s how I felt about it.¡± ¡°With your potential to recover memories from past lives, do you feel it might have been something from one of those that influenced you?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a theory.¡± Sarith sighed. ¡°Given that you talked about billions of years earlier, what qualifies as prolonged?¡± ¡°It was months here and there, spread out over four centuries or more,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°That life ended with their death following a battle, and the recollection began with an attack on a wedding in his youth.¡± ¡°Is it strange to have experienced a male perspective?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Know concerning your statement to Nomein, it would seem a strange and potentially uncomfortable situation.¡± ¡°During the recollection of the memories, their perspective seems natural, but afterwards, it¡¯s like I read someone¡¯s memories of events rather than lived them myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That seems to remove any sense of strangeness with the situation.¡± ¡°Know my primary concern is whether it will work with these memories as they are both internal and strangely external to your mind,¡± admitted Sarith. ¡°I can experiment on a few easier ones once I¡¯ve learnt it,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Learning the technique and the variations will at least stretch my Telepathy.¡± ¡°Know such experimentation should be avoided unless it is our last option. Would you be able to make some of the constructs used to emulate minds?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Know the programming of those is fairly straightforward and would allow you to try out various imagery to see which you can most efficiently use in constructing the mental shunts.¡± ¡°I can ask Sarah to build us some,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I know she has pseudo-intelligence included in different devices she¡¯s constructed for our projects.¡± ¡°Do you have any memories you¡¯d be willing to share with me so I might evaluate its potential effectiveness?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°What¡¯s your biggest concern?¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Know there are two points that concern me,¡± said Sarith. ¡°How close do these past life memories feel compared to living experiences?¡± ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s as if I¡¯m living through the moments I¡¯m experiencing but, since I don¡¯t have all their background knowledge and skills, I don¡¯t always catch why they¡¯re doing things,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°This effectively limits how much I learn from any of the memories.¡± Sarith sat quietly, but Amdirlain could feel her mind churning busily. ¡°Know that brings me to my second point, that you stumble across them and aren¡¯t taking them in order. Know proper preparation will prove difficult without knowing more about the life.¡± ¡°Surely, when you¡¯re dealing with trauma, you¡¯re not getting everything from the patients in order?¡± protested Amdirlain. Sarith pursed her lips and nodded sharply. ¡°Know often we get their experience in reverse as we work towards the core of the trauma, but we know more about them as individuals first and aren¡¯t trying to learn more from their memories than the progression of their problems.¡± ¡°What sort of memory are you after?¡± ¡°Know if there is a painful memory you¡¯ve retrieved that doesn¡¯t feel personal, I¡¯ll show you the technique in use,¡± offered Sarith. ¡°How would that work?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°This isn¡¯t exactly your standard situation.¡± ¡°Know I¡¯d need to know some details on the life first and your help in determining the most effective symbolism,¡± explained Sarith, indicating the cage about them. ¡°Know I¡¯d then take you through how I¡¯d reconstruct the mental framework and test its suitability before I get you to project the memory at me.¡± ¡°What about the variations you mentioned?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Know what I¡¯ve taken you through so far is considered the foundational level of the technique,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Do you plan to run before you can walk?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I¡¯m always picking fights above my grade.¡± Sarith¡¯s reproving look sealed Amdirlain¡¯s amusement away. ¡°Know my preference is to ensure your safety and your memories must be taken seriously.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been told I tend to use humour to deflect my nervousness,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you consider your emotions properly instead of deflecting them and, in that respect, belittling how you feel?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°It¡¯s not my intention to do that,¡± protested Amdirlain. Sarith¡¯s frown twitched into existence before she smoothed her expression into stillness. ¡°Are you sure? Do you not always work to reduce challenges to manageable parts? How do your subconscious habits deal with intimidating emotions?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Know it is something I wish you to think upon,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know it is important to determine what is a coping mechanism versus what behaviour is being harmful to oneself. Know, I believe I¡¯ve said enough on that point. Shall we progress onto the matter of your concern?¡± Amdirlain nodded hesitantly, and Sarith''s brows raised in surprise. ¡°What memory would you share?¡± ¡°The particular memory happens on the day he was taken prisoner by a group of elves that enslaved his Clan,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°He spent centuries in their mine and refinery, but it¡¯s the events of his capture that I¡¯ve got a niggling feeling about that I want to sort out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re curious?¡± Amdirlain shrugged broadly. ¡°It was his fiancee who was killed right before their wedding ceremony; there is nothing I can do to change that now. Yet something familiar about her has been itching at the back of my mind, and it would be good to get rid of the distraction.¡± ¡°How was she killed?¡± ¡°She was struck in the initial assault when the first troops hit,¡± advised Amdirlain. Sarith¡¯s mouth tightened. ¡°Are you sure that wouldn¡¯t be an intrusion?¡± ¡°Because you¡¯re only potentially temporarily my Healer?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The life didn¡¯t happen in this realm. As such, I can¡¯t see you learning anything from it that even puts me in an uncomfortable position, let alone posing a risk. Would you prefer me to share it from my recollection of events or draw it up from my Soul again?¡± ¡°You can do that?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°But didn¡¯t you say you stumble upon them in erratic moments?¡± ¡°Initially, yes. However, once I¡¯ve recalled memories, I can access them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The Anar refer to it as their life becoming attuned to their Soul¡¯s memories, and that attunement lets them be drawn forth.¡± Amdirlain could feel Sarith¡¯s mind working busily beneath the presented layer of the mind palace again. ¡°Know feelings of familiarity can arise from many causes,¡± said Sarith. ¡°I was wondering if it was one of the Anar or L¨®m? that I¡¯ve seen in other memories,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I think the possibility is why her familiarity has been niggling at me so much.¡± ¡°Why do you believe people you knew in one life were present in that one?¡± ¡°As part of her Dragon heritage, Sarah has access to all her past life memories, and her nature lets her process and access them without issue. Though she has to redevelop the skills again, the knowledge to do so is accessible,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Dragons can do that?¡± gasped Sarith. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Most can¡¯t. The normal bloodline memories that go down to them involve key events, their ancestors¡¯ impressions of species, places, and magic. While alive, many dragons use objects as placeholders to help recall information down the millennia.¡± ¡°Are you talking about a Dragon¡¯s treasure?¡± inquired Sarith. ¡°Is that why they¡¯re such hoarders?¡± ¡°That and all the material gives them something to play with when they¡¯re bored between naps,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d swear, you¡¯d be hard-pressed to tell them apart from felines, just with more power and scales.¡± ¡°Know that all the worlds we visited had elves, and some had domesticated felines living with them,¡± said Sarith. ¡°They¡¯re not on every world, but I think the creator of the realm must have fallen in love with the beauty of the elven people in other realms,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about some elves that were ugly on the inside, but they still possessed an ethereal beauty.¡± The recollections of the dwarven Patriarch skipped backwards through his life as Amdirlain sought the start of his captivity. Finally, an image of a silver and grey-hued stone temple manifested fully between them and caused the room to expand as the memory grew. Amdirlain took in the high arched ceiling of Clan Mithrilblood¡¯s Temple, a pang of bitter regret surging upwards only to be restrained behind Amdirlain¡¯s Mental Hardening, and she avoided sharing it with Sarith. Amdirlain¡¯s original recollection of the choosing day had been vague, shattered fragments of a wedding day, but she¡¯d recalled more since then. Amdirlain stood on the side where her past self had been, looking across the hall¡¯s width to the bride-to-be. There was a fierce look of pride and satisfaction in the Dwarf maid¡¯s gaze when she exited the forge room on the Temple¡¯s far side to stare across at Amdirlain. Soot marked her new leather apron to symbolise the crafting of their new life together, and her newly made wedding day gift was clasped in her hands. Primarily a Miner, he had rehearsed the construction of the piece he¡¯d intended to gift her a hundred times in preparation for today, and yet he wished he¡¯d practised a hundred more to ensure it was worthy of her. His nervousness dissipated when her gaze flickered down at the item she clasped. The sly smile that flitted across her lips told him that her gift would likely appeal to his sense of humour even while it tugged their elders¡¯ beards. An explosion lifted her into the air, and both physical and magical bolts drove through her on the way to join the rest of the strikes that annihilated the officiating Priest and his aides. She skipped across the floor, the twisting momentum imparted by the strikes flinging the wrapped gift from her failing grasp, bouncing it between guests to lie unwrapped beneath a bench. The memory of the temple hall froze when Sarith moved among the images projected within her Mind Palace. ¡°Know it is unfathomable how you can share such a memory so easily,¡± said Sarith, and she motioned to the fallen maid. ¡°How do you not register pain or grief at this sight?¡± ¡°I do, but I¡¯ve kept it behind my mental walls and not inflicted it on you,¡± explained Amdirlain. Sarith tsked, and Amdirlain motioned reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m not compartmentalising. That approach certainly has a long-term cost and isn¡¯t a road I intend to go down again. I meant only what I said: I¡¯m blocking his distress from coming through the mental link.¡± Sarith crouched in front of the fallen bride and touched her blood-stained braids gently, and though she couldn¡¯t adjust the memory, her hand covered the dwarven maid¡¯s eyes. ¡°In how many lifetimes did you and Sarah get married?¡± asked Sarith, not looking up from the fallen lady at her feet. Amdirlain¡¯s presence suddenly hardened against Sarith¡¯s mind; the pain of the memory and their contact suddenly pounded with potency. ¡°We haven¡¯t! What are you talking about?¡± With a pained hiss, Sarith held up a hand, and Amdirlain felt the structure Sarith had demonstrated come into place between them, sliding the intensity of the emotions off along the surface of Sarith¡¯s mind. Sharp notes slapped against Amdirlain¡¯s awareness, and she pulled back. ¡°What makes you say that, Sarith? She looked nothing like her.¡± ¡°Know it was just a question, but there was something about how she looked at you,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°Are you sure that wasn¡¯t a past life for Sarah? Know the image in the memory felt like your mental touch when you referred to her earlier.¡± Amdirlain froze, and she broke mental contact with Sarith. What did Sarah say about that lifetime? She said she¡¯d died on the day that the clan got rounded up and was reborn in the mines. Sarah got dragged into misery twice because of our oath to be sisters pulled her in. A grunt escaped Amdirlain¡¯s lips, and she found herself in the Patriarch¡¯s youthful form, solid fingers well calloused by his time learning his craft at the forge. As Sarith blinked, the youthful Dwarf vanished to be replaced by an aged Patriarch. His snow-white beard had gaps where crisscrossing scars prevented the beard from properly growing. One eye was half closed by scarring, and a thumb and pinkie were gone from his left hand¡ªblood from remembered wounds saturated clothing before Amdirlain¡¯s regenerative abilities sealed the life-threatening injuries. The last memory of a youth dying in his arms tore at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s awareness, and tears flowed into her beard. With a snarl, she snapped free of the memory and back into her Wood Elf form, causing Sarith to blink and jerk ramrod straight on the bench. ¡°Know from my perspective, having witnessed even a fragment of that memory, I have trouble understanding how you still believe there is always a choice,¡± said Sarith. ¡°What was the choice that he had in his life? How is it a choice that his beloved was dead, that he ended up enslaved, to end in a state like that?¡± Amdirlain''s lips parted in a smile that conveyed a snarl. ¡°Giving up is a choice. Lashing out is a choice. Holding on to hope is a choice. There are many choices in life. Some will take us to darker places than others, but hoping to improve your life always starts with a choice. They broke free when the rebels made them the opening, killing thousands of slavers in the process, and got the core of their clan to freedom.¡± Sarith exhaled slowly until every bit of air she could vent had left. ¡°Should I have not offered to help you?¡± ¡°Perhaps not,¡± said Amdirlain, and she reappeared next to Sarith and rested a hand on her shoulder. ¡°But I appreciate you helping me see.¡± ¡°Have I made things worse?¡± ¡°No, you haven¡¯t. It was shocking more than anything,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she laughed bitterly. ¡°I was talking to someone else about being blinded by the perspective of youth. It seems I¡¯ve got more blinkers of my own than I care to admit and, no matter who is involved, I can¡¯t get past them. Sometimes, a shock can help us see things properly.¡± ¡°Know that with such an occurrence, a shock can merely be unsettling rather than enlightening, and it takes time to determine which you¡¯ve experienced,¡± countered Sarith. ¡°You¡¯re pretty ready to dismiss insight,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarith smiled. ¡°Know our definition of what insight entails must vary; while I had an insight into who the individual in your memory was, you...¡± ¡°Experienced a strong emotional reaction and distress,¡± interjected Amdirlain. Sarith patted Amdirlain¡¯s hand and stood. ¡°Know that you being able to acknowledge that it was distressing is a good sign.¡± When Sarith let the front gate close behind her, Amdirlain sighed and cracked her neck from side to side. Should I have chosen that memory to share? In the distance, Amdirlain heard Kadaklan¡¯s bright melody starting in her direction. Not wanting to bother him, she returned to the bench to meditate and still her emotions before his arrival. 384 - More than a friend Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Focused on settling her emotions, Amdirlain sat with her eyes closed and took in the sensation of the Outlands¡¯ warm golden sunlight against her skin. A mindfulness exercise had her cataloguing everything within Resonance-Lord¡¯s reach down to the smallest piece of grey stone and each redwood plank whose glistening lacquer suddenly reminded Amdirlain of freshly spilt blood. Her admission of guilt churned in the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind and pulled at the wounds left by multiple lifetimes. Still, Amdirlain blanketed herself with calm before Kadaklan arrived. Despite this, when Kadaklan stepped into the courtyard, his greeting died on his lips. At a glance, Kadaklan took in Amdirlain¡¯s tight posture and quietly let the courtyard gate close, crossing the courtyard to sit beside her. As Amdirlain dumped more Ki into the crystal before her and continued to cycle gently, Kadaklan did the same. ¡°You saw right through me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You were too calm,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ve only seen you like that when you¡¯re about to kill Eldritch.¡± ¡°I never asked you how you felt about surviving the Shadow Tiger¡¯s attack that killed your siblings,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°You spoke of it openly, so I assumed you were okay, but are you?¡± Kadaklan sighed. ¡°Sarah spoke to me about that during our stay. You have a term, survivor¡¯s guilt, yes?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Amdirlain, her eyes still closed against the sunlight warming her face. ¡°It can be a powerful motivation or an anchor around your neck. I know my siblings¡¯ souls went back upon the wheel of life, so you shouldn¡¯t expect your grief to be the same,¡± said Kadaklan, and he held a hand palm up between them with calm patience. ¡°Is it something from your last lifetime?¡± Amdirlain hesitated but still took his offered hand, and the simple reassurance of physical contact had tears forming behind her eyelids. With a twitch, Amdirlain blinked them away and glanced at Kadaklan. ¡°If only it were a regret from one lifetime.¡± ¡°You spoke with Sarith, I take it?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain nodded sharply and bit her tongue against saying anything further. ¡°What about, instead of a lesson, we just sit here and enjoy the sunshine for a time,¡± proposed Kadaklan. ¡°No, I need to talk. My brain and emotions are churning,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not your Healer, but friends can listen, or they can just sit and provide company,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°How does Pain Eater treat guilt and grief?¡± ¡°The churning of the emotions is behind my Mental Hardening,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s like a surf thudding against the beach. Time will tell if it¡¯s bringing in new materials to strengthen Mental Hardening or chipping away at my control.¡± ¡°I believe it¡¯s bringing you new sand to build that barrier higher,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯re aware of your situation and not denying it or smothering it in work.¡± ¡°Or even joking,¡± observed Amdirlain. Kadaklan smoothly mock gasped. ¡°The world will end.¡± ¡°Are you getting in the quips for me?¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Gently testing the waters of your emotions,¡± said Kadaklan, and he carefully squeezed her hand. ¡°They¡¯re not a rip tide,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I tried to get them to calm before you arrived, but everything I did set my mind along the path back to them.¡± ¡°Perhaps that¡¯s why you appeared overly calm to me, yet you didn¡¯t call off our appointed lesson or simply disappear,¡± said Kadaklan, and he inclined his head respectfully. ¡°I¡¯m honoured by your trust in me, Am.¡± Amdirlain''s smile of acknowledgement didn¡¯t touch her eyes. ¡°I know why Ori was always working. Having a list you can¡¯t reach the end of is easier to deal with than emotions.¡± ¡°Having an endless list can add to the stress and let emotions build until they drown you,¡± said Kadaklan. Maybe that was the reason behind her decision to strip her strength away. Nothing big, just a constant erosion brought on by loneliness. With her Father sealed away in the Spire, was there no one she could be herself with except those times Syl had been reborn? Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°It depends on the person and their reason for working. I feel energised when I tick something off my list. We never know how much time life will allow us, and that sense of satisfaction from completing something is a real driver for me.¡± ¡°That could be just because you¡¯re a workaholic,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I know how to stop and have fun,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I have noticed that most of your fun tends to be related to something else on your list,¡± argued Kadaklan. ¡°Plenty of trips to listen or enjoy a day out suddenly became a new song composed with Jal¡¯krin or time spent teaching combat techniques.¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Not always. Just because I find opportunities to help with my tasks doesn¡¯t mean I undertook them for that purpose. My mind is simply open and looking for answers.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you that,¡± allowed Kadaklan lightly. ¡°Well, thank you so much,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and her attempt at playfulness failed at bitter undertones. ¡°Sorry, that wasn¡¯t about your observation. The emotions are still churning, lots of roiling up from memories that I don¡¯t want to touch.¡± ¡°Once you find your balance, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll find a way to channel it constructively,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°In the meantime, we¡¯ll hold off on today¡¯s lesson as working on a new Ki technique while unsettled can flaw the foundation. Shall we cycle gently or talk?¡± ¡°Talk,¡± Amdirlain said quickly. ¡°Can you tell me about the South Wind¡¯s Court?¡± ¡°Is it from general curiosity or because we might need to take a trip there?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Both,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I am curious about the courts, but learning something new doesn¡¯t hurt, does it?¡± ¡°I suppose talking about the courts from my perspective is better than whatever information Gideon might provide you with Analysis,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask a question, and we¡¯ll see where the conversation takes us?¡± ¡°Would we need to go anywhere special in the South Wind¡¯s territory, or could we just approach an outlying monastery or school that might have the technique in their library?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Kadaklan snorted. ¡°I let myself in for that one, straight to your goal.¡± A smile twitched the corner of her mouth, and Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m trying to understand the scope of what I should ask about. If we have to go somewhere central, I¡¯ll approach my questions differently.¡± ¡°It would be safest to go directly to the court. With the South Wind close at hand, the bureaucracy will forward the decision to her, whereas a local Lord might seize a chance for glory and launch a pre-emptive act against the strange Demon,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Pre-emptive act?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a cute way of saying attempting to cut me down.¡± ¡°A combative Dao can sometimes blind an individual to the peaceful resolution of a situation,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Fortunately, such mindsets in the bureaucracy are restrained by duties to superiors who have a broader view once you get close to any court¡¯s centre.¡± ¡°What lands are in the territory of the South Wind¡¯s Court?¡± ¡°How about I give you an overall layout of the five territories starting with it?¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Big picture stuff works for me,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got some idea from a discussion with Cyrus, but another perspective might bring out questions I missed.¡± ¡°The southernmost region of the South Wind¡¯s territories is a large island that runs along the top of a large dry land mass that contains strange Shen. As the territory advances northwards, it takes in all the islands and extends westward until it hits a range of mountains. Beyond those mountains, there lives a serpentine species that are said to be in the service of dragons that control the lands along the coastline of the great southern ocean. The Dragon stairs for the South Wind¡¯s territory is found in Siam.¡± ¡°Any reason for it to be centred there among the southern nations?¡± ¡°The ley lines'' junctions or Dragon nests, depending on how one wishes to refer to them, are strong in the area,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°From Siam, land and sea trade routes take goods beyond the northernmost mountains and into the lands under the Jade Emperor¡¯s Court.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the perspective from the court¡¯s point of view. Are there Mortal rulers involved as well?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°There are, but they stay out of matters related to the practitioners or the courts,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°While a practitioner still has to pay the road tolls and obey the local ordinances, there are certain limits. When they prove obstructive, a simple demonstration of Ki is usually enough to get the guards to step aside and refer the matter to their local Sect.¡± ¡°And when they don¡¯t?¡± ¡°People die. Unfortunately, combative practitioners don¡¯t hold back if they¡¯re rudely challenged,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Unless the local magistrate has the backing of a strong and independent Wu Jen, who likely doesn¡¯t appreciate having his studies continually disturbed for petty matters.¡± ¡°Each Sect controls how many monasteries?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Or isn¡¯t a logistical or political limit placed on them?¡± ¡°It depends on the number of members the Sect has, but older Sects usually have more monasteries under their authority. However, a few of the oldest sects focus on their presence in a single location, even restricting the number of students they¡¯ll take in. Regardless of the area they hold sway over, all non-heretic sects report to the court that controls the territory they are based in,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°None of the sects operate in multiple territories to prevent conflicting orders from the upper bureaucracy.¡± ¡°Best to ensure I don¡¯t make a terrible impression at any Court I have to visit then,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Getting off on the wrong foot could be bad, since the officials of all five courts tend to communicate frequently,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°However, because of the different attitudes in the courts, offending one doesn¡¯t make it a certainty you¡¯ll have offended another.¡± ¡°How are their attitudes different?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Cultural things typically, though they don¡¯t always align with the current mores of the region,¡± allowed Kadaklan. Amdirlain smirked. ¡°Like the attitude towards clothing in the South Wind¡¯s Court?¡± Kadaklan laughed. ¡°Oh, you mean the brighter colours we wear compared to the North Wind¡¯s Court?¡± ¡°Just brighter colours, or the tendency for skin tones?¡± quipped Amdirlain, trying to lighten her mood. ¡°It¡¯s not so much the heat as the humidity during summer that promotes such fashion choices. At the peak of summer, the weather can be stifling, even for those that grew up there,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Anyway, the Jade Emperor¡¯s Court influenced the southern parts of what you referred to as China. The North Wind¡¯s Court extends from the northern reaches past the Great Wall up through Mongolia and into the ice-shrouded lands beyond.¡± ¡°Does that mean the West Wind¡¯s Court influences everything west of the Great Wall and into Persia?¡± Kadaklan nodded. ¡°Yes, and the East Wind covers the Joseon peninsula, Nippon-koku, and the Shen of the eastern ocean.¡± ¡°The courts seem much more involved with Mortal affairs than other pantheons I¡¯ve encountered,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Their ability to access the Material Plane I find odd.¡± This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°I agree, and I don¡¯t know the cause. The Shen are perhaps more connected to the land and the nature of mortals. Even those who transformed into Shen have restrictions on their ability to travel away from their centre, where each court''s Dragon stairs touch upon the Material Plane," Kadaklan said. ¡°Maybe there is something that balances things within the realm¡¯s rules: easier time reaching the Material Plane, but harder to reach other planes; and for small Shen, it is impossible for them to travel outside a court¡¯s territory without losing strength.¡± ¡°The Fey are like that, able to move from the Shadow Fey and other dimensions where they live into what they see into the Material Plane. So if I get someone angry in a court, run fast?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If it looks to progress beyond an exchange of pointers, Planar Shift immediately before they turn their Third Eye on you,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°Hopefully, travel among the courts won¡¯t be required, too many large egos.¡± Amdirlain groaned and covered her eyes with a hand. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You just doom-flagged me,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°You should never say something like that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s rich coming from you,¡± grumbled Kadaklan playfully. ¡°Such travel will potentially be unnecessary as I¡¯ve sent a request to get copies of techniques sent here so you never have to set foot within the court¡¯s territories.¡± ¡°Are you looking to double down on your bet?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You might be confident, but what if an Aspect or even a Concept is looking to play a game? Also, I used Yang and Yin entwined in the Abyss on multiple occasions; I was told I caught the Jade Emperor¡¯s attention.¡± Kadaklan snapped his mouth shut and mournfully shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare a talisman of safe passage so that any practitioners will know you are vouched for and not to be harassed. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d need to go so far as a first step, making those tokens is delicate work.¡± ¡°You changed your tune pretty severely,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Not so confident the text will get sent to you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯d forgotten about some of your outrageous displays,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°Though I did not say the scrolls were for you, I requested copies to add to this outpost¡¯s library. You¡¯ll have to pay the contribution points to access them.¡± ¡°Yeah? And they don¡¯t know you spent five years already in my company and helped put me back together?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°How unusual would it be for practitioners from the West Wind¡¯s Court to be interested in those techniques in the first place, let alone from the one outpost I have multiple connections to?¡± ¡°We can keep our fingers crossed,¡± said Kadaklan brightly, but his shoulders soon slumped under her sceptical gaze. ¡°You¡¯re right. It is a long shot, but hopefully, they get sent to me.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose there are some texts in the library about the do¡¯s and don¡¯ts of the different courts?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled and pulled out a hefty bundle of scrolls from his storage device. ¡°Some light reading, and they don¡¯t even have any tricks within them.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t refer to other older texts?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I heard that was an issue with translating Chinese works. They expect the reader to be conversant with other texts to understand the full meaning of sections.¡± ¡°That is a different matter,¡± sighed Kadaklan, and he tucked the bundle back away. ¡°I¡¯ll track down copies of the classics first, and we can go over those. In the meantime, shall I go on?¡± Amdirlain motioned him to continue. * * * * * Kadaklan eventually headed off to teach a Healer¡¯s session, leaving Amdirlain alone with her thoughts. The melodies of the monastery provided her with a backdrop against which to balance her emotions. A relaxed shift in the strains of the mapping cube indicated it had finished ingesting the input from the surveyors as it contentedly gurgled away. Amdirlain laughed at its child-like feel and softly brushed against the developing awareness to ensure it hadn¡¯t become over-strained by consuming the details of a world. After Amdirlain considered the robust intelligence still sleeping happily within the cube, she hooked up a new set of surveyors over a primitive world, and it rang happily as more information flowed. Heading into the room Amdirlain had taken as her own, she collected the floor harp she¡¯d left concealed by the side wall. The feeling of its contact evoking the memory of Ori learning the harp still lingered, and Amdirlain considered the potentially double-edged nature of the gift. "Was that intentional on Hestia¡¯s part? Can I use it to inspire memories I want to come forth? I want to find out what was between Orh¨ºthurin and Shindraithra.¡± Amdirlain settled into position and let the polished body of the floor harp rest against her shoulder. Her fingers traced along the carving that currently showed a forest scene, and the wood blurred into the more comfortable appearance of unadorned white birch. As her hand lifted to play, Amdirlain hesitated and considered the sanity of provoking more memories in her unsettled state. The question prompted her into action, setting concealment and protections about herself and the harp, Amdirlain started. A running of notes opened the pieces, and as the music roared forth, the energy within the harp cooperated with Amdirlain¡¯s desire. Ready for it this time, Amdirlain felt the energy delve into her Soul with implicit permission and absorbed the song it used to retrieve the memory that enfolded her. The mountain looked down across a sprawling forest that hummed with life while Mana rushed through a convergence of ley lines. The leaves of trees were awash with a variety of oranges and reds that matched the late autumn season. Their display competed with the dawn sky to be more colourful. Orh¨ºthurin lay with her legs stretched out in the long grass and her head resting against a metallic flank. ¡°You picked a beautiful spot, Syl.¡± ¡®Of course I did. Why would I pick an ugly spot for my Creation Day celebrations? I¡¯m glad you¡¯re relaxing,¡¯ projected Syl, her mental touch a familiar comfort. ¡°There are things to do,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin, and she motioned to the empty swaths of the sky. ¡°There are stars in that area now whose light hasn¡¯t yet reached this world, but they are still too few to balance the expansion properly.¡± ¡®You could at least lay here and sing more into existence while enjoying the view,¡¯ argued Syl. ¡°It¡¯s better if I¡¯m closer so I can make out that the smallest detail is correct,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin, and she patted the silvery hide beside her head. ¡°Why are you fussing?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t take enough time for yourself,¡± huffed Syl; her words rumbled in the stillness of the air and set thousands of birds erupting from the trees and into the dawn sky. The speeding flocks added to the beauty within the scene, but their panic scratched along Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s perceptions. ¡°It¡¯s okay, little ones,¡± Orh¨ºthurin breathed, and birds spiralled about suddenly adrift in purpose with their flight response eased. Already airborne, they started their day early and went out to seek food. ¡®Sorry,¡¯ muttered Syl. ¡®My voice has gotten loud since my moulting. Will that happen again? Each has been more uncomfortable than the last.¡¯ ¡°A few times, and yet each time will give you a chance to coalesce the power you hold inside yourself. That is an ability most Mortal races won¡¯t possess,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡®Doesn¡¯t seem fair, rather unlike you,¡¯ noted Syl. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll explain how they can gain evolutions one day, but they¡¯ll have the benefit of numbers over dragons,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Celestials and daemons have the same capacity as dragons, with the consolidation of their classes as their progression reaches key points. You¡¯ve never previously spoken of the sentient species.¡± ¡®That¡¯s because the others are boring,¡¯ grumbled Syl. ¡®They are nothing like pretty elves within your stories. They dig in the ground with sticks and make messes. Are you going to create any interesting races? Something pretty like the Fey you told me stories of? The grubs with the weird arms are particularly ugly.¡¯ ¡°There is beauty in how they care for each other,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin, and she held back her own reservations. ¡°I am still learning, and their appearance is the result of my mixing their song with their native environment and wanting to give them access to natural tools to survive.¡± ¡®Making more dragons would have been better,¡¯ insisted Syl. ¡°I¡¯m not making any more varieties of dragons, though other breeds will come about eventually,¡± said Ori. Wiggling about, she closed her eyes and focused on Syl¡¯s song alone, interwoven pieces of music down to the orbiting electrons and memories imprinted into Syl¡¯s Soul. The comfort of her oath sister¡¯s affection wrapped around her like a warm blanket, the steady tempo of Syl¡¯s presence felt like arms cradling Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Why do I need more dragons when I¡¯ve got you around?¡± ¡®Haven¡¯t you released the others yet?¡¯ ¡°I have. Do you want to go see them?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I set up a dozen worlds around different stars for dragons and put creatures for them to use as food. Though I¡¯m unsure how long some templates intend to remain on the Material Plane.¡± ¡°Cattle?¡± enquired Syl. Orh¨ºthurin laughed, and the bell-like sound had animals looking their way, but none fled as they had from Syl¡¯s early rumble. ¡°There is more to eat than the water oxen you love to snack on.¡± ¡®I¡¯ve tried other things to eat, but the oxen are the right portion of meat and bones,¡¯ insisted Syl. Sitting up, Orh¨ºthurin twisted about to look over Syl¡¯s adamantine form, the liquid silver of her two-hundred-metre-long body capturing the scene of the sky and forest into one. ¡°Are you saying that I¡¯ve not done a good enough job providing a variety of food?¡± Syl spluttered at Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s teasing words, prompting a hasty erection of a sound barrier to stop a panic among the animals close enough to hear. ¡°I never said that!¡± Syl finally protested in a roar. ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t you?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin interrogatively, her left eyebrow arching high. ¡°What about those giants you were fighting with the other day? Just more snacks?¡± ¡°Are you teasing me?¡± demanded Syl. The stern look vanished, and Orh¨ºthurin smiled warmly before she held up two fingers a hair apart. ¡°Only a little. That is the first time you¡¯ve provided feedback about anything I¡¯ve implemented. Well, other than telling me that the formithians are ugly, which I knew myself.¡± As Syl began to splutter, Orh¨ºthurin raised her hands. ¡°I¡¯ll admit that I made numerous mistakes with them, but I¡¯ll leave them alone to see how they evolve. There is nothing malicious in their melodies, so I¡¯m not playing games with them like a foul God might do.¡± The last words were edged with pain, and Orh¨ºthurin quashed down her sorrow. ¡°If you want feedback, I need something more challenging to munch on,¡± said Syl softly, distracting Orh¨ºthurin to draw her past her lingering grief. ¡°Or can I munch on the formithians?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve put plenty of monsters besides giants in place on the worlds, and you keep calling them snacks. As for the formithians, I¡¯m sure the dragons will clash with them in time over something. I¡¯ve learnt that all living things fight for supremacy, ?but don¡¯t go looking for a fight with them, please. The realm is still young, and we need a solid base of souls to help with the realm¡¯s energy flows.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Syl. ¡°Mana comes from all living things. What is so important about having souls?¡± ¡°More than just Mana is involved in the realm¡¯s energy flows. The presence of souls helps Father with the energy drawn from the Far Chaos. While he can use it directly, souls are an aspect of every realm¡¯s operation. Souls are chaos purified to various degrees, and living helps order the energy into different aspects. Entities with souls help the rotation of the outer planes. As they pass into the afterlife, their actions in life earn them their passage through the Astral Plane, which adds to the planar rotation. The longer a being is alive, the more force they impart during that trip and add to the Plane they arrive on.¡± ¡°Is it the same in every realm?¡± ¡°You are getting more curious, Syl. No, not in every realm,¡± admitted Ori. ¡°Each creator has to decide how the energy the souls accumulate is transferred, or if it is. In some realms we visited, most of that energy focuses inwards and causes a Soul¡¯s transformation no matter what Plane draws the Soul on their first trip.¡± Syl moved her snout closer to Orh¨ºthurin and exhaled softly, her warm breath pressing the silken cloth against Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s skin. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you take that approach?¡± ¡°Now look who is teasing,¡± grumbled Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Do you want an answer or to play games?¡± ¡®Answer please,¡¯ replied Syl, though her gaze shone with more than the morning sunlight. ¡°For every Soul in those realms, they get only a single chance to determine the Plane they reside on for eternity, but it can cause flawed transformations if the direction from that first life doesn¡¯t fully suit the Soul. That¡¯s where the seed of wisdom comes in, allowing the Soul to accumulate weight to aid their transformation,¡± replied Ori. ¡°Now, I¡¯ll admit some particularly vile deeds mark souls, and I don¡¯t want those souls tainting the wheel of life again after they¡¯ve shed their energy into the lower planes. People that have been completely foul to others don¡¯t get second chances.¡± Like father¡¯s relatives won¡¯t. ¡®What about people who haven¡¯t been especially good?¡¯ inquired Sly silently. ¡°Those who have been angelic even in their first life will receive a transformation into a Celestial even if they don¡¯t remember the life that earned them that prize,¡± explained Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°The repeated chances are for those who didn¡¯t live the best of lives but still did the best they could?¡± chuffed Syl questioningly. Orh¨ºthurin nodded and lay back down. ¡°And you. I¡¯m afraid your Oath means your Soul has to keep coming around to keep me company. I should have considered that before agreeing to it and the terms she set for your survival.¡± ¡®I want to keep you company forever, my sweet Ori,¡¯ said Syl, and she curled her neck around to frame Ori¡¯s stretched-out form, and warm notes stirred with her theme. Orh¨ºthurin laughed. ¡°What are you up to, Syl?¡± ¡®I¡¯m cuddling you,¡¯ replied Syl, the touch of her mind nestled against Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯re in the wrong form for proper cuddling,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin as her heart rate and breathing quickened. Syl¡¯s Dragon form vanished, and a petite Elven woman with waist-length, silvery hair gleaming in the sunlight stood straddling Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s feet. ¡°I thought you¡¯d never ask. I¡¯m three hundred today and want lots of kisses from you, my sweet.¡± The husky tones roiled with heat and need, and Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s stomach twitched in sympathy at the warmth that surged downwards. With a smirk, Syl wiggled her pert nose, the motion drawing attention to her alabaster skin and lush ruby-red lips, sending a quiver of anticipation through Orh¨ºthurin. A slow exhale calmed Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s anxious butterflies and stilled the questions and insecurities that whispered in her mind. All her attention became fixed on the new melodies that stirred in Syl¡¯s song, as her love¡¯s tongue flicked across her lips. ¡°Do you want to be on top?¡± breathed Syl before she blurred into an elven male, and the silken clothing he wore clung to well-defined muscle. ¡°Or should I?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll always know your song in every form, Syl, and that¡¯s what matters to me,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin, and she hurriedly rephrased her awkward words with emphatic intensity. ¡°Whatever way you want to be with me is perfection to me. It doesn¡¯t matter the flesh that clothes your Soul.¡± Syl¡¯s lips curled in a bright smile, and passion blazed in her amethyst gaze. ¡°Softness first.¡± With a playful growl, Syl blurred back into the female form and pounced. Fingers entwined in hair, and their lips claimed each other. The long grass beneath Orh¨ºthurin became soft blankets that matched the velvety feel of Syl¡¯s lips claiming Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s. Their clothes didn¡¯t last a heartbeat as Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s will tore them asunder to let skin press against skin, and Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s hands slid downwards, and her arms wrapped around her beloved. Syl''s theme rang with fierce love, and she softly moaned in the back of her throat in time to the movement of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s hands. Minutes later, Syl broke free of her lips, heated kisses were brands of frustration as she teasingly dropped lingering kisses along the slopes of Orh¨ºthurin''s breasts. As a tongue finally brushed across a rock-hard nipple, Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s gasp came with a spike of need. That surge of emotion allowed Amdirlain to break free of the memory''s yearning grasp. Flushed to the tips of her ears and body pulsing in sympathy with the memory, Amdirlain yanked her hands clear of the strings. Holy mackerel, no one has ever kissed me like that; Torm¡¯s kisses were gentle, but Syl kissed like she wanted to savour every millimetre of Ori. Not to mention how Syl¡¯s Soul blazed when she focused on Ori. Amdirlain went to rise, but another memory seething with pain and rage washed over her before she¡¯d finished setting the harp upright. 385 - Dont go Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches As the fresh memory swamped Amdirlain¡¯s awareness, the golden sunlight that gleamed off the ivory inlays of the room blazed blindingly in her vision. The predawn enfolded the same mountainside from the previous memory, yet now countless stars dotted the sky. The near darkness seemed fitting, but it didn¡¯t prevent Orh¨ºthurin from taking in Syl¡¯s bloodied form stretched out over kilometres of flattened forest. Her shredded wings and the wounds gouged into her sides seethed with residual energies from Daemon weapons. Yet despite the injuries the residents of Hades had inflicted, life in the Great Wyrm still lingered. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s knuckles whitened, but she focused on aiding Syl rather than avenging her. Orh¨ºthurin reappeared within arm¡¯s reach and quickly sealed the worst of the wounds. Songs reversed wound after wound that would have slain many an adult Dragon, yet there was still more to heal. Melodies she¡¯d been maintaining were set aside as she began abandoning centuries of efforts to attend to Syl¡¯s healing. Syl inhaled and turned her snout towards Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Stop, my love.¡± ¡°Who did this to you?¡± demanded Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I choose the time of my passing. Please let the rest be and stay with me,¡± responded Syl laboriously, her age more than her remaining wounds extending the effort. ¡°I¡¯ve been dying for centuries and wanted a mighty battle to send me off. I punched through the siege lines between the Outlands and Hades to fell a dozen Daemon queens and a few hundred legions.¡± ¡°Why!¡± cried Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°We could have had centuries more.¡± ¡°Centuries? More like a few years snatched between me sleeping for decades,¡± refuted Syl sadly. ¡°This last millennium, the gaps in my slumber have been few. When was the last time I had the strength to change my form?¡± Orh¨ºthurin thrashed her head in denial, but the answer came perfectly to mind. ¡°We were last here.,..¡± ¡°Nearly twenty thousand years ago, on my Creation day,¡± finished Syl. ¡°Love, let me die.¡± ¡°They are my rules, my creations, and they killed you,¡± cried Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°No, I decided how I wanted to die,¡± corrected Syl. ¡°Soon, I would have passed in my sleep, and you know it. Your agreement with Tia is that I can¡¯t be Immortal, and we¡¯ve discussed how angry she¡¯d be if you even reversed my age. It¡¯s time for me to go. We¡¯ll meet again, my sweet.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be the same person you are now,¡± Orh¨ºthurin sobbed, pressing her forehead against Syl¡¯s still bloodied hide. ¡°You may not even like me, let alone love me.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t be alone. You¡¯ll have your father, and you¡¯ll find others to love,¡± sighed Syl. Orh¨ºthurin scrubbed a hand across her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m making a mess of this. I could die with you and we could reincarnate in another realm.¡± ¡°I doubt you¡¯ll ever die, my love. Your vibrance is so eternal, and this place would be poorer without you,¡± said Syl. ¡°It¡¯ll happen, eventually. Kronos¡¯ shard told me he¡¯d seen my Soul within a human girl in my birth realm far in the future, after the Greek gods had faded. My Soul didn¡¯t remember their arrival or demise, so I won¡¯t even see when father allows them to join the timestream here,¡± reported Ori. ¡°You never told me that,¡± groaned Syl, her talons tore gorges in the mountainside with the surge of energy brought by concern. ¡°It didn¡¯t matter since we were together. I could die now, and we could go together. Father has my plans for thousands of galaxies now, so nothing is stopping us from travelling the realms, meeting anew, drawn together in every life through our bond,¡± proposed Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I could be your beloved through an eternity of lives.¡± ¡°You know not enough has been done,¡± Syl said reprovingly. ¡°You¡¯re not the kind to leave your father with a dual struggle; a realm still early in its forging and you gone from his life would be too much.¡± Orh¨ºthurin held back tears, her shoulders shaking with the effort. ¡°He¡¯s got so much work to do, he wouldn¡¯t even notice I¡¯m gone.¡± ¡°He would,¡± rumbled Syl reassuringly. ¡°This isn¡¯t like you, my sweet.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to say goodbye to you as well, Syl,¡± whispered Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°But you¡¯ll get to say hello again,¡± said Syl. ¡°How could I not love you? You¡¯re everything to me, my sweet, and I doubt my reincarnations could be stupid enough that they wouldn¡¯t love you.¡± ¡°One never knows, we can all be stupid,¡± breathed Orh¨ºthurin, and she shifted location to press her cheek against the side of Syl¡¯s muzzle. ¡°And even if they do, it won¡¯t be the same.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not something changeable. Even if you mend me whole, I¡¯ll still die in time,¡± murmured Syl. ¡°Let me choose this day to pass. Listen to my aged bones and organs, then tell me it¡¯s not the truth that I¡¯ll die soon.¡± The truth of Shindraithra¡¯s state was clear from her themes and, though Orh¨ºthurin wanted to deny it, she closed her eyes and whispered her acceptance as her tears flowed. ¡°I¡¯ll honour your choice.¡± ¡°We were here when you told me the passage of souls helps the realm,¡± recounted Syl. ¡°Will the weight of my Soul¡¯s deeds help?¡± ¡°More than millions of others, Syl,¡± reassured Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°You tempered yourself against the soulless monsters and helped even those races you disliked.¡± Syl paused with a deep grunt and forced the words out. ¡°I want you to promise me you¡¯ll find someone else to love.¡± Orh¨ºthurin choked back another sob. ¡°I don¡¯t want to do that. Please don¡¯t make me promise you.¡± ¡°Promise me, I don¡¯t want you to be alone if future me is dumb,¡± insisted Syl with a groan, and her tone demanded. ¡°Promise me, songbird, say the words. Promise you¡¯ll find someone else to love.¡± ¡°I promise to find someone else to love,¡± croaked Orh¨ºthurin, barely able to manage the words. A triumvirate of forces came into play the moment the final word slipped free. Her heritage, the changes she had drawn from the Fey, and the rules of the realm set around Nicholaus and herself to ensure they remained accountable. As the words of the commitment shackled the intent, she silently screamed, but the change within was complete and rapidly removed even the desire to protest. The first rays of dawn had lightened the sky before Syl spoke again. ¡°Do you remember it still?¡± Orh¨ºthurin licked her lips; the urge to let Syl know was gone as if the promise had been Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s intent all along. Bound and constrained, her mind shied away from older memories that would refute it, not even questioning the gaps. ¡°I remember many things.¡± ¡°Our first time here is something I¡¯ve thought of often,¡± said Syl. ¡°Lately, I¡¯ve spent years here in my dreams, but they¡¯ve grown hollow without you truly with me.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve bled all over our favourite place for aeons,¡± grunted Orh¨ºthurin, trying vainly to manage a light tone. Her tears magnified the dawn light that reflected off Syl¡¯s mauled hide. ¡°Will it be sunrise soon? I really wanted to see the colours here one last time,¡± groaned Syl. Orh¨ºthurin snapped her gaze to the glow of the dawn sky that had lit up while they were talking. ¡°It¡¯ll be cresting in a moment, my silly Syl. You¡¯ll see its brilliance soon.¡± With Syl¡¯s eyes beginning to glaze over in death, Orh¨ºthurin sang the dawn colours into her mind and Soul to enjoy while journeying to Elysium. A last exhaled breath left the air stilled, and when Syl¡¯s Soul phased away, Orh¨ºthurin grunted in pain. Unsure how she could say farewell, Orh¨ºthurin gently stroked Syl¡¯s hide. It was an awkward motion made worse by a hand that trembled and jumped with each shudder from barely suppressed sobs. When she threw her head back in a soundless scream, dozens of stars roared into existence. Though their light would be centuries reaching the mountain slope, she instinctively positioned them so that they¡¯d perfectly form the Draconic rune for ¡®Syl¡¯ on this day each year. Bahamut appeared beside her and rested a hand on Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I felt her passage start. My celestials will ensure her Soul has safe passage on this journey and any other.¡± Orh¨ºthurin nodded, and her training swords appeared in her hands. ¡°Will you take care of her remains? I don¡¯t want scavengers picking at her.¡± ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± asked Bahamut softly. ¡°She chose today to die.¡± ¡°And I chose to get some exercise,¡± snarled Orh¨ºthurin, and she vanished. She reappeared on the field of battle, covered in the disguise of one of her father¡¯s mechanical servitors. The first weapon strike caused the daemons closest to the Outlands to explode into shattered atoms, but the blast washed past her to slay more and scour life from the surrounding ground. As the slaughter progressed, the bramble-covered plains and hills of Hades were bleached into grey, lifeless ash. The battlefield''s memory ruptured, overwhelmed by a cascade of memories. In each one, her discovery of Syl¡®s Soul followed the same pattern down the aeons. Syl wouldn¡¯t make the first move, and Orh¨ºthurin let her move on to find Dragon mates. Eight reincarnations later Orh¨ºthurin finally found an Anar whose kind nature promised to salve the still painful loss, and the promise took hold. Eventually, their love had turned old and stale for him before he¡¯d discovered her nature, but she¡¯d continued to love him, bound by the promise until he was done with her. Though his rejection released her, Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s love for him remained, and the pain drove through her core. Other lovers entered and left her life, each taking more hope for lasting joy with them. Like the reincarnations of Syl, one after another felt too intimidated by the ancient being whose strength loomed so far beyond them. The aspects offered adoration for her role in their existence, others¡¯ friendship and respect, or just a fun time, but never what Orh¨ºthurin felt was genuine acceptance or love. She could see the truth in their body language and reactions even when she stopped listening to the themes that roared within them. Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s growing loneliness tried to eat at Amdirlain, but her abilities hardened her to the pain or consumed it whole to let her stay unaffected. As the memories raced through her awareness, she danced around them, a flexing willow that bent momentarily, gaining enough time to deconstruct her Soul¡¯s pain before it could seed Ori¡¯s grief within Amdirlain¡¯s mind. What she saw of Orh¨ºthurin saddened her, but it wasn¡¯t the millions of horrid acts that Soul Sight had once impressed into Amdirlain¡¯s mind on the Cliff of Lust. Finally, a world that was a replica of that first place with Syl hosted Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s recovery while the wound she¡¯d gutted within herself burned with the agony of blazing galaxies. The hole even included all memories of how she¡¯d achieved the removal and what she¡¯d done with the power and, closing her eyes, Orh¨ºthurin lay on the mountainside she¡¯d copied and savoured the fact she couldn¡¯t hear even the moon, let alone the sun. Orh¨ºthurin asked the empty air. ¡°Will peace come for me now? Will I find the love he promised I¡¯d have?¡± ¡°You hid what you did, and I can only feel the outcome. How can I make accurate modelling with only part of the facts?¡± Gideon¡¯s words startled her, coming without warning from near her head. ¡°You¡¯re not even a Primordial now. Can you recover your strength?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it back. I want Kronos¡¯ vision to be true,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin, not opening her eyes. ¡°I want to roam the realms to find love and happiness.¡± ¡°Nicholaus will not be happy,¡± cautioned Gideon. ¡°Are you going to tell him?¡± ¡°That is not what I meant,¡± snapped Gideon. ¡°If you go, he will be alone, making him unhappy.¡± ¡°If Father has work to do, he is never alone. He lets it consume him,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. Gideon snorted in disgust. ¡°Like you¡¯ve never done the same?¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°He also has you and his other grandchildren to keep him company,¡± continued Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°By concept; we¡¯re related, not by blood.¡± ¡°Ask me if I care, but before you do, the answer is no,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Are you going to tell him?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my role to provide him with knowledge,¡± replied Gideon. ¡°You¡¯ve already prevented me from knowing where and how you¡¯ve wounded yourself. Do you also expect me not to tell him you have a death wish?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the mortality he promised me, that he lied about having given me,¡± snapped Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°For a billion years, he let me think my long life was simply the result of my acts with the Fey. He told me the truth only when we made the Anar and L¨®m?.¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t angry with him then. He let you live the lie you were telling yourself,¡± corrected Gideon. ¡°If you listened to yourself properly, you would have known the truth all along.¡± Orh¨ºthurin whispered. ¡°I want to be loved.¡± ¡°You are,¡± said Gideon. ¡°He will never stop loving you, Orh¨ºthurin. He won¡¯t reject you no matter how you hate him, lash out, or rage. He promised he would always do what you want and need.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean, and it¡¯s not enough without him around to share in my life,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I know he¡¯s working on making my designs, but it¡¯s not enough without him here to hold my hand when I¡¯m in pain. I could handle him working away in silence for years, but his being locked away has become intolerable. It¡¯s another hole in my heart. I can no longer stand being so alone, Gideon. Every time someone leaves, they take another piece of me with them, and it¡¯s become so empty inside me that I have nothing to give.¡± ¡°You know where he is,¡± stated Gideon firmly. ¡°How is that a hole?¡± ¡°Damnation, Gideon. Will you listen to my perspective, understand me, and not focus on the facts you want to dig at me with? To you, knowing is all that matters, but it¡¯s not enough for me. You¡¯re a numskull. I want my FATHER in my life! That blasted spire wasn¡¯t his eternal prison in my design,¡± snapped Orh¨ºthurin, the agony that chewed at her inside, driving her anger into an unreasonableness she once would never have allowed out. ¡°It¡¯s hardly a prison. There is more space within it than some realms,¡° Gideon said, ignoring her emotional protest. Orh¨ºthurin dug her fingers into the moist earth. ¡°Will you stop arguing?! I¡¯m telling you my feelings. My feelings are mine and don¡¯t have to match your factual perspective. That place might as well be another realm after he sealed it up from his side and made me promise to seal this side. Why do the people I love insist that I need to promise them the cruellest things? I can feel it now, those wounds in my Soul that I still can¡¯t fix because my own promises bind me. Now I¡¯m a Mortal. I can feel their bonds, but I can¡¯t break them. No more will I let someone push me into doing anything except what I want to do.¡± Gideon chimed in frustration. ¡°But you needed the surety that he could never leave the realm, never abandon it from boredom as you know other realm creators have. Your pain ensured he would act on that need.¡± Orh¨ºthurin growled at their tone. ¡°You know how much pain I¡¯m in right now, as I¡¯m certainly not up to concealing it. You think I care right now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a self-inflicted pain, that we both know. I¡¯ve no sympathy now or ever for your plight,¡± huffed Gideon. ¡°Especially since, without your former strength to unseal the outside, the interior of the Spire will be forever untouchable. Now you¡¯ve only yourself to blame that you¡¯ll never see him again.¡± ¡°I know you heard me talk to Syl about Kronos¡® account,¡± replied Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I knew my time here would be limited, and that¡¯s part of why the time stream in this realm runs so fast. A fixed time point is a fixed time point, and we¡¯re just squeezing everything we can into the gap before the time stream of this realm reaches a synchronised point with that future.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve let the words of a remnant drive your decision-making,¡± said Gideon. ¡°Was he even telling you the truth? You were a child, and he was after a tool for his own revenge. The best way to drive you to work hard was to let you know your time was limited, and I know you¡¯ve also considered that possibility before now. Why else would he have returned to speak to you alone while Nicholaus was laying a false trail if not to manipulate you?¡± ¡°I could hear his song and know it was the truth,¡± Orh¨ºthurin groaned, not bothering to look at the space where Gideon¡¯s voice originated as she flowed to her feet. ¡°You¡¯re lucky I don¡¯t know where to go to return to my former strength.¡± Gideon¡¯s mocking laughter chimed out. ¡°Yes, because you¡¯re angry enough to unmake me like you did the daemons and Mayhem after Syl¡¯s first death. The wrathful tendencies of the Greek gods didn¡¯t skip your generation.¡± ¡°Stop responding, since you just want to be an arsehole,¡± huffed Orh¨ºthurin, and she retrieved her tailored crystal blades to test how much physical might she¡¯d lost. The density of the compressed matter made her grunt at the strain, but Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s grip remained firm, and she started on the first training pattern. ¡°I¡¯ll remind you that I don¡¯t have to take any instructions from a now-Mortal being, no matter how strong she is,¡± replied Gideon. ¡°Enjoy your long life span, and I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll see you indulge in more stupidity yet.¡± ¡°Go off and report your understanding of the facts to Father. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be a complete idiot and not mention anything about my feelings,¡± growled Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°You¡¯re the grandest mistake I made. You can send notices, but I never want to hear your voice again.¡± ¡°Accountability is all well and good when easy,¡± snorted Gideon. Guilt made Orh¨ºthurin bite her tongue to avoid lashing out further, but Gideon¡¯s contact was gone before she could apologise. ¡°I still don¡¯t know if the parasites are from this realm or another life?¡± murmured Orh¨ºthurin amid the silence. As more pain stirred from the wounds, she groaned. ¡°I¡¯m just so done.¡± A wave of agony spiked within the memory, and Amdirlain broke free of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s grief and wounds. [Memories synchronised Resonance-Lord evolved to Resonance-Prince. Resonance-Lord [G] (1) -> Resonance-Prince [G] (1) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (105->106) Pain Eater [M] (56->81) Mental Hardening [S] (33->45) Note: I hoped she would change her mind or find a way to turn back. Note: I¡¯m not bothering to tease you with the percentages today or even that you¡¯re finally his princess. You know you¡¯ve got a long way to go in many respects.] The trillions of melodies within Resonance bloomed dramatically. Instead of only chemical chains, Amdirlain could suddenly perceive down to the atomic level for nearly a thousand kilometres in every direction. Though she couldn¡¯t hear the individual electrons audible in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory, it still made for an agonising jump. Off. Thankfully, the response was instant, and the only noises she could hear were those purely physical. Amdirlain bowed her head and waited out the blood that dripped from her eyes and ears while Phoenix¡¯s Rapture restored the chunk of health the assault had consumed. With Pain Eater calmly informing her the damage was being managed, Amdirlain¡¯s thoughts turned elsewhere. Orh¨ºthurin endured so much heartache she got to where it broke her. I¡¯ve been way too critical. All I¡¯ve seen ?were the mistakes and how it had impacted me, not the pain she¡¯d endured. She went through all that expecting to die, knowing that she¡¯d never see the results of her work and that her Soul would end up mauled. How did she do it? Despite her intentions, Amdirlain¡¯s mind kept flitting back to the first memory of Syl but, feeling voyeuristic, Amdirlain kept clear of its ending. Seeking a way to control it, Amdirlain focused on the start of the memory and, using Sarith¡¯s pattern of shunting and redirecting emotions to keep herself separate, Amdirlain reviewed Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s approach to Resonance. After a few stumbles, Amdirlain got Resonance tuned to close to the previous level of details and slowly expanded its reach, yet it wasn¡¯t even close to fully unfurled before she hit her mental limits. As she started to consider the options for the Power, Amdirlain halted and forced herself to admit what she¡¯d started to avoid. I¡¯ll have to gain more Intelligence before I can handle all the information it simultaneously provides. As she considered discussing options with Sarah, Amdirlain cut off the first message she¡¯d been going to send and contemplated the situation in the memories again. Do I say anything to Sarah? Is there a point in saying anything? Heck, can I even say anything? I¡¯m aware of the promise and the impact, but with my lack of attraction in that respect, I don¡¯t feel obliged to let her know or, strangely, to not tell her. It changed Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s nature, not mine. What do I do though? ¡°Sarah, I hope your time with your mentor is going well. I got another evolution of Resonance, and it¡¯s a bit of a doozy I could do with someone to talk with about it. Do you remember the only promise Ori made Syl?¡± Pleased and surprised that she managed to get the words out, the shimmering Message orb vanished away, and only then did Amdirlain realise she¡¯d used an actual Spell, instead of True Song to mimic it, for the first time in years. Flustered and unsure of what to do, Amdirlain rose and paced. The time for her lesson with Cyrus seemed too far away, yet nowhere called to her. Amid her uncertainty, more memories roiled and churned, but Amdirlain held them at bay. Determined, she set herself to focus on her current goal. Amdirlain took a standing meditation position, with a balanced stance, her feet shoulder-width apart. With the exercise from the day before in mind, Amdirlain emptied most of her Ki pool into another retrieved crystal and started to repeat Cyrus¡¯ exercise. Out of sorts as she was, the delicate exercise still helped her cut through cluttered thoughts and, one node at a time, she drew a fine mist of Ki through her Sigil. When it finally ignited, the blaze of energy reminded Amdirlain of Syl¡¯s heated gaze, and the calm she¡¯d achieved came undone. Geez Louise, you¡¯re acting like a horny teenager. Even having avoided the worst of it, Ori¡¯s memories have our emotions muddled and churned together. A sharp exhalation and Amdirlain¡¯s calm snapped back into place. More loops of her sigil followed and, retaining her calm, Amdirlain continued until her pool refilled. Though satisfied, she continued cycling and storing Ki until Cyrus arrived. His tap on the front gate came as a surprise and made Amdirlain aware she hadn¡¯t fine-tuned Resonance to the extent she¡¯d believed. With the new delicacy of the Power likely to require acclimatisation, Amdirlain left its current sensitivity alone and ventured to the front gate to welcome him inside. After giving a bow, he stepped into the yard, his layered grey and black robes snapping with the precision of his motions. Cyrus¡¯ dark gaze assessed her contemplatively, and he grunted his satisfaction. ¡°Kadaklan indicated you had been unsettled this morning. From your appearance, I gather that is no longer the case?¡± ¡°I¡¯m indeed feeling more myself this afternoon, Master Cyrus,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That is good. Have you been cycling in the manner we discussed?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°That is what helped restore my calm. The effort of drawing minimal amounts of Ki doesn¡¯t allow for success with a distracted state of mind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you found the technique helpful in that regard, but the purpose of the exercise is not to restore calm. What has it taught you about your sigil?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Or were you looking at it purely as a challenge?¡± ¡°The path between the nodes isn¡¯t a straight line. It undulates and follows the curvature of the flesh,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°And?¡± huffed Cyrus. ¡°Does it only have one thing to teach you?¡± ¡°I noticed with the sigil reinforcement it¡¯s almost like a DNA helix spiral,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Cyrus shook his head. ¡°That isn¡¯t what I was looking for you to find. While the sigil reinforcement will be helpful later, the technique was designed to work for those without such extensions to their spiritual net.¡± ¡°The pathways aren¡¯t consistent,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Good,¡± huffed Cyrus. ¡°I was concerned you would miss the most obvious of points. What effect does that inconsistency have on the sigil?¡± ¡°It¡¯s subtly changing all the time. It¡¯s like my phoenix is getting ready to fly from the nest,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Something a living creature would do, correct?¡± asked Cyrus. Amdirlain nodded hesitantly, unsure of the importance of that point. Cyrus sighed. ¡°What is the technique you are trying to learn?¡± ¡°Ki Blast shaped into the form of an animal,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Ki, the energy of life shaped into the form of an animal, is then projected from the flesh,¡± summarised Cyrus. ¡°Yet what happens when you complete the loop of the sigil at present?¡± ¡°The energy multiples and spills back into my Ki Pool,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do I redirect that energy outwards instead?¡± ¡°Precisely, with your complex sigil, this will be a particular challenge,¡± said Cyrus before he frowned at Amdirlain. ¡°So, no doubt you¡¯ll prove me wrong and throw blazing phoenixes about in no time.¡± ¡°Well, I have more than twelve nodes in my sigil,¡± noted Amdirlain. Cyrus gave a dry chuckle. ¡°You¡¯re not going to let me forget that boast, are you? Though I¡¯ll admit, it taught me a pinch of humility.¡± ¡°Only a pinch?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already so humble, so any gain is impressive,¡± retorted Cyrus wryly. ¡°Master Kad warned me about the ego of practitioners,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus¡¯ expression turned stony. ¡°Did he include his own amongst them?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve yet to find much of an ego involved in Kadaklan¡¯s actions other than his love of extending the healing arts to new places. Seeding the growth of a new bamboo forest, as he puts it.¡± ¡°See, ego. You notice he didn¡¯t say planting a bamboo field. Doesn¡¯t the word forest bring up an image of a vast heritage of bamboo? How is that not egotistical?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s laughter burst forth, and Cyrus gave her a pleased smile. ¡°Are you two playing some sort of game?¡± He fixed her with a grandfatherly smile. ¡°Yes, make Amdirlain laugh.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not even confirmed my list of goals to Kadaklan,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s the one that came up with happiness, balance, and time.¡± ¡°Happiness is a state of mind that helps lead one to serenity. How can that not be a goal?¡± ¡°You seem so serene kicking my arse,¡± snorted Amdirlain. Cyrus¡¯ expression turned inscrutable. ¡°It is a very relaxing experience.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t pose a stressful challenge or anything exciting,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Not yet,¡± replied Cyrus dryly. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get there one day.¡± ¡°Joking about my competency aside, what is the next step?¡± asked Amdirlain. Cyrus¡¯ brows raised in surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve not skipped ahead in your reading?¡± ¡°There are tricks in the writing, remember?¡± ¡°Which means you shouldn¡¯t attempt the stage of the technique ahead of time. I had expected you to enquire about the meanings of passages and diagrams, not wait for me to hold your hand,¡± said Cyrus. Amdirlain sighed and kept her focus on the moment. ¡°There have been a few other things going on.¡± Cyrus brought out the book and turned it to a page with a diagram of a walking man overlaid with the silhouette of a tiger. ¡°Become the animal?¡± ¡°No, you need to learn your Phoenix¡¯s motions. Move while cycling to feel the flex of your spiritual net and how the pathways change.¡± After putting more Ki into the crystal, she tossed it to Cyrus and started to pace the yard. Once she settled into an even rhythm, she drew a fine stream of mist from her Ki Pool. As the lesson progressed, Cyrus placed obstacles in her path, getting her to use overhead bars and move erratically to shift the pathways between nodes. 386 - My heart skips a beat Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches At the end of the lesson, Cyrus stored the objects he¡¯d used as obstacles away and departed without further discussion. Though tempted to inquire about this view of Klipyl¡¯s enquiry about the opportunities for the villagers, Amdirlain had left it alone. Cyrus had stuck to having her cycle while moving through an easy series of obstacles, with his departure, Amdirlain flowed through one ad hoc kata after another. The loops progressed to match the speed of her attacks, blocks and swift evasions. As the gentle breeze that had wafted through the courtyard most of the day picked up, the branches of a nearby tree cast long shadows across the gravelled courtyard. With their erratic motion providing a simple tool, Amdirlain continued cycling and danced in flowing motions on the edge of their shifting positions. The dinner chimes had just sounded when she caught the edge of a muffled song wrapped in concealments. Though it mostly sat below the limits of Amdirlain¡¯s former capacity, the upper limits of it blurred the individual¡¯s presence and drew her attention deeper. The draconic energies immediately beneath the upper layer rang with crystalline orderly tones, and the regularity of their beat made it clear who¡¯d arrived. Sarah¡¯s lack of response made Amdirlain curious, but she continued her exercises rather than delving deeper. She almost drew her attention back when Sarah¡¯s essence shifted focus in Amdirlain¡¯s perception, her body suddenly became a superficial layer over the scarred beauty of the Soul within, and Amdirlain continued to track her progress. The guard post that had provided Klipyl directions earlier quickly sent Sarah her way, and the lack of security care made Amdirlain realise it was more a checkpoint than protection from people. Sarah¡¯s swift, regular stride ate up the distance along the mountain road, yet her pace faltered with a half-step and stopped at the end of the road that led to the courtyard. For four long heartbeats, Sarah¡¯s weight shifted back and forth, and she seemed about to leave. Just as a fifth beat started, Sarah snapped upright, yanked her shoulders back, and came on with crisp marching strides. Without stopping to knock, she pushed the courtyard gate open and found Amdirlain in a backward somersault away from a lashing shadow. ¡°Going to flap your arms and use them as wings?¡± Though she already landed in a long stance, Amdirlain lifted into the air and, with her elbows tight against her sides, flapped her hands erratically. ¡°Tweet!¡± Sarah¡¯s tension exploded in a guffaw of laughter that was far too loud from the lameness of the display. ¡°Goof.¡± Nervously considering Sarah¡¯s willowy form in her figure-hugging red leathers, Amdirlain didn¡¯t pay enough attention to her landing. The gravel crunched underfoot when Amdirlain¡¯s weight dropped the last centimetres, and she gave Sarah a wink to distract her. ¡°Don¡¯t you know birds take to the skies at the littlest noises? Did you get everything sorted out?¡± ¡°I left before we finished everything, but we were at a stopping point,¡± replied Sarah before she braced herself and looked Amdirlain straight in the eye. ¡°That memory of Syl¡¯s death mustn¡¯t have been easy from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s perspective.¡± ¡°Oh, I got a bunch of fun memories to go with that one, and it was neither the worst nor best of them,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she headed for the door to her room. ¡°Would you like to have some tea?¡± ¡°Livia is getting you trained, is she?¡± asked Sarah, nervously licking her lips as she began to follow. Halfway across the courtyard, Sarah picked up Amdirlain''s arousal, but fast upon its heels came Kadaklan''s scent on her skin. Her heel ground hard into the gravel, and she half-turned. Her expression was unreadable as she waved at the gate, and Amdirlain heard her sorrow, pain and Soul deep frustration. ¡°I¡­¡± The love within her burned, but with a sharp, and steely determination, Sarah pushed it to the back of her mind, and kept it hidden beneath the veil Amdirlain couldn¡¯t pierce previously. Some of Ori¡¯s words that had hit earlier flared with importance. You are everything that matters, no matter the flesh you choose to cloak your Soul within. Ori saw more with Resonance than she did with her eyes, and she was a far different person. Amdirlain focused Resonance on Sarah¡¯s form alone, her eyesight twisted and blurred, overlaid by dimensional layers and concealments. Mentally frowning, Amdirlain shut it off and re-considered Ori¡¯s techniques. ¡°Please don¡¯t leave. I know you¡¯ll be smelling recent arousal, but that¡¯s from me alone after I got caught up in one of a past life memory,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m brave enough to tell you about those recollections. Come in, talk, and have some tea. Unlike other people around this place, you could do with nutrition. In Human form your body still requires them, even if your draconic nature would convert Mana to fulfil its needs.¡± Stop bloody rambling. ¡°Not many nutrients in tea,¡± responded Sarah as she entered the room. ¡°Antioxidants and other things, depending on the type of tea,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I can now hear at a molecular level how they benefit the bodies of drinkers.¡± Why can¡¯t I just shut up about tea? ¡°I¡¯ll take your word for it,¡± huffed Sarah nervously. Amdirlain picked a corner spot on the table¡¯s long side and motioned Sarah to sit at the end. ¡°Are we going to keep dancing?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you were doing out there?¡± deflected Sarah quickly ¡°Shadow-boxing mixed with dance,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she sighed. The sound spiked frustration at her inability to broach the subject and Amdirlain blurted out a question. ¡°Did Syl know what restrictions were in place regarding Ori and promises?¡± Both feet inserted into mouth! Way to fuck things up Amdirlain! Sarah¡¯s lips parted questioningly, only to halt and turn into a stern frown. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Do you remember the last conversation between Syl and Ori?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°When she was dying on the mountainside after her last hurrah.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°She was desperate for Ori not to be lonely, wasn¡¯t she?¡± asked Amdirlain. "That is why she was so determined to extract that promise." ¡°You¡¯ve hit the nail on the head with that one,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I wish you hadn¡¯t gotten that memory. Syl was worried Ori would kill herself to follow her into a new life.¡± ¡°I thought so,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I couldn¡¯t imagine why else Syl would be so cruel to her.¡± Sarah flinched. ¡°Cruel?¡± ¡°Ori wasn¡¯t thinking straight. She repeated the promise Syl had asked her to make. A promise that was cruel in the extreme if Syl knew what would happen to Ori,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Knew what about Ori?¡± gasped Sarah. ¡°What should she have known?¡± Band-aid fast. Rip it off for both of us. Please don¡¯t let her run. Amdirlain sighed and reached out to clasp Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°Promises were three-fold binding to Ori: by the rules, the changes she¡¯d drawn from the Fey, and her very nature. There were no limits or qualifications in the wording. Syl got Ori to promise to find someone else to love.¡± ¡°Syl came back,¡± objected Sarah, her eyes wide in disbelief. ¡°There was no condition to say find someone else to love if my reincarnation won¡¯t love you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Plus, the following reincarnations were timid around Ori. Before a more assertive one came along, Ori had gotten married, and she had someone else to love for billions of years¡ªand Ori¡¯s promise held her that way. With each life, she also found someone else, and their first relationship stretched further and further away. Did any reincarnations lose hope in the flame rekindling?¡± ¡°Yes. Fuck,¡± spat Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s usually my go-to curse word. Get your own,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, not able to even jest. Sarah waved her off. ¡°I¡¯m certain it¡¯s public domain. Also, you¡¯ve not said it in my hearing in ages, so its use is fair game now.¡± ¡°Stupid Skill, I¡¯m glad Femme Fatale evolved. I didn¡¯t want to seem like I was ¡®offering¡¯ favour by using that curse word,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she lightly squeezed Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°Anyway, Ori screwed up by making that promise, but neither of them were thinking straight at the time.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t she just say?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The promise changed her nature,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I know we¡¯ve discussed folktales with spirits like Kitsun¨¦ or other spirits. What happens when they make a promise?¡± ¡°Crap!¡± spat Sarah. ¡°Are any of those promises still in effect?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea. Since I can talk about them without issue, maybe not,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You didn¡¯t have any problems at all?¡± Amdirlain shrugged tightly. ¡°There were no barriers other than being nervous about raising the issue with you. Orh¨ºthurin, after she stripped herself of power, remembered what had happened and knew the impact of the promise but was still bound by it. However, when the promise took effect, it was as if she always planned to find someone else to love after Syl¡¯s death.¡± ¡°I release you from all the promises I asked of Orh¨ºthurin in any lifetime,¡± declared Sarah. A weight shifted and lurched deep inside Amdirlain, throwing her so far off balance that she slumped briefly against the table and carefully braced herself upright. ¡°Fuck.¡± ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Sarah, and she quickly shifted, her hands going to Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders to steady her on the seat. ¡°Warn a girl, will you,¡± huffed Amdirlain, as her vertigo settled. ¡°That felt like someone kicked me into free fall with a side order of mega tonnes of off-balance cargo tipping over a freighter.¡± ¡°Are you going to fall off that chair if I let you go?¡± asked Sarah, and she seemed ready to lift Amdirlain off the chair. Amdirlain gently clutched Sarah¡¯s wrists and guided her back to her seat. ¡°I¡¯m fine. It was a momentary thing that caught me by surprise. We still need to talk.¡± Her head tilted forward momentarily and, fighting off the urge to flee, Sarah forced herself upright and sat ramrod straight, as grim-faced as if an execution squad awaited her. Amdirlain caught the terror and despair trying to suffocate the blazing emotions inside Sarah and wanted to groan. I must have been crushing her heart with my grief over Torm, yet I can¡¯t wave a magic wand and make everything just right. ¡°You want the good or bad news?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Bad,¡± replied Sarah, with a casualness that only now Amdirlain could tell was fake. Though the attention of her Resonance remained fixed on Sarah, it kept dipping deeper to take in her Soul and the wonder of it. With a shaky swallow, Amdirlain continued. ¡°I¡¯m not suddenly magically attracted to humanoid females. Good news. I am not angry or anything else you¡¯re afraid of, okay? I can understand why you didn¡¯t tell me about their relationship, and you even said you didn¡¯t want to distort my perspective, so instead, thank you for the time you¡¯ve given me already.¡± Sarah calmly nodded, and her expression masked the whirlwind of emotions inside her. ¡°Okay.¡± Sarah¡¯s flesh is a magical construct with a Dragon¡¯s body dimensionally secured away, tucked between layers of reality. Amdirlain¡¯s Resonance unfurled through the dimensions and brought the perception of Sarah¡¯s Soul to the forefront. The white-gold light blazed with beauty, yet it bore its share of marks and scars, both on the surface and deep within from all the lives it had travelled. She drew back slowly from the deep perception, and her form became a crystalline beauty that had Amdirlain¡¯s gaze widen in surprise. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°The evolution to Resonance-Prince, I¡¯m still working things out, and my sight is strange right now with the Power bleeding images into my visual cortex,¡± Amdirlain explained, and she licked her lips before continuing. ¡°Anyway, the power of control over promises seems to hold between lifetimes, or at least you had some right of revocation.¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Sarah sighed in relief. ¡°You¡¯re free of them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if it was that or something else,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Yet it was certainly impactful.¡± ¡°I remember nothing about promises binding Orh¨ºthurin,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Do you know who else she made promises to?¡± ¡°Likely the three powers present when Syl was created. I know she promised me a few things in different lives, but I can¡¯t remember her making anyone else a promise,¡± said Sarah. ¡°The only time she might have promised something is when she was taken prisoner before the vines were emplaced. Anar prisoners customarily promised to behave peacefully and follow the court¡¯s judgement when they surrender to the royal guards.¡± Me? How deeply does Sarah identify with Syl and the other lives? Amdirlain bit her lip and leaned forward to clasp Sarah¡¯s closest hand. ¡°She was a normal but powerful Anar at that point, and I¡¯m not sure if the promise was what bound her or her desire to die.¡± ¡°What?¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°She hadn¡¯t mentioned dying since Syl¡¯s first death.¡± ¡°When Ori gutted her strength, she was hoping to die straight away. It took her billions of years and the mauling from the vines but eventually she got her wish,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°No, not wish. She knew before the realm was made that she¡¯d die.¡± With the back of her free hand, Sarah wiped tears away, but more continued to flow. ¡°Syl didn¡¯t want Orh¨ºthurin dying, but then, in lifetime after lifetime, Ori was married, or it didn¡¯t seem like the reincarnation had a chance. I remember the life that gave up and decided not to hope of anything rekindling between them.¡± ¡°There is a lot I don¡¯t remember, but she loved Syl fiercely,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to be upfront. I can hear you now. I can hear how passionate and old your love for me is, and I¡¯m sorry I was blind. That seems to be a theme for me, not seeing what¡¯s right before me when it comes to those who love me.¡± ¡°But that doesn¡¯t change how you feel,¡± said Sarah sadly. You are everything that matters, no matter the flesh you choose to cloak your Soul within. I don¡¯t know what my life would be like without her, and my desperation to find them came from that. ¡°Hey, stop jumping to conclusions,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± asked Sarah, and she tentatively held out a trembling, tear-stained hand. Amdirlain stood up, pulled Sarah from the seat, and hugged her warmly. When Sarah burst into tears, Amdirlain held her gently and stroked her hair reassuringly. Amdirlain could hear the unusual emotional outburst was only a tiny vent from a wellspring of pain and unreturned love that stretched back through billions of years within Sarah¡¯s Soul. Sarah¡¯s form felt fragile beneath Amdirlain¡¯s touch, and the flesh wavered between crystalline and white-gold energy to her sight. I¡¯m not the only one a hasty promise fucked over. Neither of us is Human. We weren¡¯t in that first lifetime, and we aren¡¯t now, yet still I let my Human life bind me. As her friend cried, Amdirlain held her and calmly waited out the storm from her usually unflappable friend. It was a half hour before the tears eased off, and Amdirlain helped Sarah clean up. ¡°Gods, I couldn¡¯t stop crying,¡± moaned Sarah as she scrubbed at her face unnecessarily, having already washed all traces away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you got more bad memories.¡± Am I a coward for not explaining what started things off? ¡°There were a bunch of memories chained together. Once the first came loose, the rest spooled out of my Soul,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°A train wreck at high speed?¡± asked Sarah, and she winced and held up a hand to halt Amdirlain¡¯s answer. ¡°Stupid question. Please don¡¯t answer.¡± ¡°No, the first wasn¡¯t a train wreck, and I think it was the one that taught me the most,¡± said Amdirlain, and with her heart in her mouth, she hurried on. ¡°It just took me a bit to see it. Ori¡¯s pain blotted it out for a bit.¡± ¡°See what?¡± Don¡¯t put your foot in your mouth. ¡°I¡¯m still processing that part. Can I hold off until I¡¯ve got the words sorted out in my head?¡± asked Amdirlain, her vision showing her the interlocking layers between the Dragon and her Soul. The melody within the linkages hinted at the safer means Sarah had used to access memories. Still, Amdirlain held off wanting to study them and was wary of her previous reactions upon attempting to regain Protean through True Song. Sarah scrubbed her face with both hands as she nodded. ¡°Not rushing.¡± Gee, I¡¯d chicken out from a few words. She¡¯s been incredibly patient, and I don¡¯t want to hurt her. Is that the truth or an excuse? ¡°How did Shindraithra end up with the nickname of Syl?¡± asked Amdirlain, trying to distract Sarah¡¯s pain. ¡°She was a couple of hundred years old when she told Ori how much she loved her and wanted to be with her. Ori asked if she was being a silly Dragon,¡± said Sarah, and cleared her throat. ¡°Shindraithra said she¡¯d gladly be called silly if it meant she could hold Ori.¡± A fragment of a memory tickled at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind. A pure white-gold Soul blazed in her perception, showing character lines gained from battling the soulless monsters planted upon Ori¡¯s first world. ¡®If you are silly enough to love me, then you can be my Syl.¡¯ The memory of Ori¡¯s softly spoken words sent a pleasurable shiver along Amdirlain¡¯s spine with the aching need they carried. ¡°I¡¯d ask if someone walked over your grave, but that looked like a good shiver,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°It¡¯s a day for memories to drop in for a visit, and yes, it was a good shiver.¡± The intensity of the cheerful light in Sarah¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t match her soft, inviting smile. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can ever be what you want, Sarah,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Let me get my head in order.¡± Neither Sarah¡¯s gaze nor smile faded. ¡°That¡¯s a different tune to the absolute no you gave me last time we spoke. I hadn¡¯t expected you ever to budge your position.¡± ¡°I can hear your Soul,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°And that makes me question many things I thought were absolutes.¡± ¡°Then I can wait,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain exhaled and nervously posed a question. ¡°How long?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not setting you a time limit, silly,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Now tell me about what you¡¯ve got planned for yourself?¡± ¡°No, please don¡¯t change the topic. I don¡¯t care about any plans right now,¡± gasped Amdirlain, and she pressed back a surge of emotions as more vertigo tried to trip her up. ¡°We were discussing Ori and Syl, and I¡¯m trying not to make a mess or hurt you. It¡¯s so tempting to chicken out, but please don¡¯t let me.¡± Sarah swallowed and wiggled her eyebrows at Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t let you chicken out, or don¡¯t let you hurt me? You know I¡¯m not a switch, right?¡± ¡°I¡¯d call you a beast but that¡¯s redundant,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she concentrated on the fierce tones within Sarah¡¯s draconic nature. ¡°I¡¯ve kept denying I¡¯m Ori. Part of that has been the fear of losing myself. But I¡¯ve used her memories like disposable trinkets I inherited and had aimed to regain her powers to ensure I was safe, but today I learnt a fraction of what she¡¯d endured.¡± ¡°Stop right there,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ve got sound concealments in place?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± nodded Amdirlain. ¡°Since you can hear my Soul, I will say this straight up, so there aren¡¯t assumptions about my feelings and why. I fell in love with you as Julia and still love you as Amdirlain. I¡¯ll admit part of me wants to shake you over the situation with Ori or wishes you¡¯d come around, but I also understand your concerns.¡± I¡¯d thought she¡¯d meant after we got here. Torm wasn¡¯t the first person whose love I was too blind to see. ¡°You do?¡± ¡°Yes. While I don¡¯t believe Ori would take over, I understand the fear of losing yourself because I did lose myself and lied about it for years,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Being a Kyton.¡± Sarah shook her head violently and let out a growl. ¡°Damn memories. I don¡¯t have to tell you what it¡¯s like to have your body continually betraying you. You had Viper to fight back against, but there wasn¡¯t a foe for me to struggle with. You saw what you thought was my craving for pain. Yet that wasn¡¯t the situation. For a Kyton, there is no such thing as pain.¡± ¡°I saw you flay yourself using the energy vortex in the Elemental Plane of Earth and you certainly were feeling something,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, but I wasn¡¯t feeling pain and enjoying it. My body and mind were both experiencing pleasure because there was only pleasure, but it wasn¡¯t limited to the physical. Every sort of injury, physical, mental or just emotional distress, whether my own or someone else¡¯s, would trigger a pleasure response. I saw the flames that consumed me in a metal collar I was holding, and spontaneous human combustion generally only happens in stories. Given how you died, it was obvious you must have also been cursed, and there was the potential you ended up in the same place. I even thought I heard Rachel¡¯s voice in the maze.¡± Sarah¡¯s rush of words ended, and she sighed out a question. ¡°Do you know why I avoided even thinking about looking for you?¡± ¡°Emotionally painful, which you couldn¡¯t feel except as pleasure,¡± guessed Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly, I lost myself, Amdirlain. I was an addict, and you should never trust an addict. Certainly, I didn¡¯t trust myself. Honestly, despite my love, if I¡¯d found you helpless somewhere, I don¡¯t know if I would have tortured you, helped you, or left you there suffering so I¡¯d feel more pleasure from my guilt and anguish at your fate,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It took meeting Gaius, who¡¯d been coerced into selling his Soul and was petrified with fear over it before I could start to comprehend how far I was gone. Even though¡ªconceptually¡ªI knew how far over the line it was, I still orgasmed off his fear and provoked more. So no, I will never be angry at you for worrying about losing yourself.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of it like that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Are you okay if I say something about Ori?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve things to talk about in regard to her as well, so go ahead while I muster my courage,¡± prompted Amdirlain, relieved to avoid further revelations after Sarah¡¯s confession. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about using her memories or powers, as they are your inheritance. Please keep in mind she set the same thing in place for the Anar and L¨®m?. They inherit whatever memories they can regain from their former lives. Also, Ori had set up the ability for other species besides those two to recover memories from previous lives. She likely left you a key to inherit them safely. If you don¡¯t find other approaches yourself, try to find clues about what she left,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve had some evidence of that¡ªa Soulscape message when I had tried to pry the vines free and caused the image of her to bleed. Also, in one memory I recalled, she told her husband about a song of attunement in her songbooks,¡± recalled Amdirlain. ¡°She said if she died before she taught it, the songbooks would have revealed it. I don¡¯t know where the songbooks got to.¡± ¡°They might still exist on Veht?,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Something to look into later,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a distraction now.¡± ¡°Exactly, there will be a way, and there will be time to find it. Even if she expected to leave the realm, she couldn¡¯t be sure what her father would do or when she¡¯d leave. I¡¯d advise you to take your time and feel confident you can hold on to yourself,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Building up a buffer of Willpower and mental capacity to process all you¡¯ll learn likely can¡¯t hurt.¡± Amdirlain felt the guilt and sorrow that twisted inside Sarah and raised her hand to kiss her fingertips. A bashful reaction spiked through the links into Sarah¡¯s Soul, but her expression remained calm. ¡°Your Soul and mind are beautiful. You¡¯ve got scars, some of which might come from what you survived, but they add character.¡± Taken aback by the sudden topic change, Sarah whispered. ¡°You say the sweetest things.¡± Guilt at her unintentional voyeurism and Sarah¡¯s misunderstanding of the scents in the room niggled at Amdirlain, and she cleared her throat. ¡°I should admit I feel like an accidental voyeur at present. The reason you smelt arousal? Well, the memory that set things off was Syl¡¯s three hundredth creation day celebration,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she kept her flush to the barest darkening. Sarah¡¯s smile broadened with anticipation, and Amdirlain waggled a reproving finger. ¡°I told you I need to get my head in order, but hearing your Soul is helping give me a different perspective.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°Do you mind if I ask how much you got swept into that memory?¡± Amdirlain¡¯s flush broke loose and burned to the tips of her ears. ¡°Through the offer of her choice of forms and the start of the softness option.¡± ¡°Well,¡± purred Sarah happily. ¡°Did you enjoy the kisses?¡± ¡°Within the memory absolutely,¡± squeaked Amdirlain. "Outside of it, I''m conflicted. I still enjoy the memory for several reasons. I''m glad for Ori that she had experienced that love and passion. It was intoxicating and unexpected. However, it''s also a large part of what I need to figure out. Physically I''m still... I mean, I loathe to use her name, but it was nothing like the sensations Viper would goad me with... it was beautiful." Sarah clasped her hand. ¡°I think I know what you learned.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t tease me I don¡¯t want to guard my emotions with humour today. I know I¡¯m still a work in progress. What I needed was the words from before they got intimate. Ori said: ¡®You are everything that matters, no matter the flesh you choose to cloak your Soul within¡¯,¡± quoted Amdirlain. Startled, Sarah¡¯s lips parted in surprise. ¡°That hit home?¡± ¡°Only after you arrived, my perception still doesn¡¯t match hers, but I can feel you through so many dimensional layers that it makes form meaningless. It¡¯s part of what I¡¯m trying to get my head around. The other was Custodian asking me why, when I can become any creature I want and have been things that don¡¯t even exist, do I get hung up on the shape of flesh,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°So it was a transcendent experience,¡± teased Sarah. Amdirlain scowled at her, only to end up snorting in laughter at her unrepentant grin. ¡°Honestly, I think I evolved Resonance too early to use it properly, certainly my brain doesn¡¯t have enough capacity. That said, being able to perceive your Soul is what let me understand the truth of Ori¡¯s words. Still, it¡¯s difficult and I¡¯m worried that I¡¯ve explained it badly, and I still need time to let my thoughts and emotions, and Ori¡¯s memories, settle. I¡¯ve got to see if it¡¯s a truth I can live by or something we¡¯d regret.¡± ¡°Thank you for explaining, and while you were a bit muddled, I can smell your sincerity,¡± said Sarah. With a warm smile, she lifted Amdirlain¡¯s hand in a copy of her spontaneous gesture. However, instead of kissing only her fingertips, Sarah¡¯s kisses caressed along their lengths until Amdirlain wanted to squirm with unexpected desire. ¡°Stop, please,¡± gasped Amdirlain. Sarah immediately stopped and clasped Amdirlain¡¯s hand between hers but gave a pleased smile whose truth ran deep. ¡°I¡¯ll stop any time you want.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to be better about sharing, especially since the memory of that day also belongs to Syl. Even the bad memories I recovered today taught me much about Ori. They¡¯ve changed my view of her, and what happened, so that¡¯s all mixed in.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to behave and not flirt. Take however long you need to decide what is right for you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a beautiful person, Sarah,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°I just need to see if I can get over my hangups.¡± Her soft tone caused Sarah to blush, and that reaction made Amdirlain¡¯s lips curl in a smile that reached her eyes. Sarah huffed. ¡°Right. You¡¯ve come clean and got me all flustered. Is there more you need to talk about regarding Ori right now?¡± ¡°Not right now,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know when I need to talk more about us.¡± Sarah exhaled softly before she nodded reassuringly. ¡°No rush. What do you have on the agenda while settling your brain?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly but didn¡¯t stop smiling at Sarah¡¯s rare flustered moment. ¡°A few things. Progressing my psionics and working on two Ki techniques, one for Ki Flight and the other for Ki Blast, that use the symbolism of my sigil.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stick around and help you with Metacreativity,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I hoped you wouldn¡¯t leave again. Let me fill you in on what Nomein and the girls have been hiding¡ªand their racial evolution.¡± Sarah mouthed evolution but didn¡¯t interrupt Amdirlain¡¯s recount of Lezekus¡¯ tale. Neither of them moved to let go of the other¡¯s hand. 387 - Anxious Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches As Amdirlain wrapped up her retelling of Lezekus¡¯ tale, the light through the window distracted her. Though it only touched Sarah¡¯s willowy Human form physically, Resonance¡¯s detection flickered between purely physical to the planar energies'' interaction with Sarah¡¯s concealed Dragon form and her Soul. ¡°You look distracted,¡± noted Sarah, and her words hummed through trillions of notes Amdirlain¡¯s mind was processing from Sarah alone. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I am. Sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so tempting to tease you about how many ways I could take that, but I¡¯ll behave,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Why don¡¯t you turn your upgraded toy off?¡± ¡°Because I can hear you!¡± blurted Amdirlain, and she immediately blushed. ¡°Neither of us is running away,¡± said Sarah, her gaze locked on Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°You¡¯ve got time to listen to me when you¡¯re not overloaded with settling feedback from a memory chain.¡± ¡°But it helps,¡± complained Amdirlain. ¡°It helps me see past my baggage and wounds. Understanding you and your love better feels cleansing for all I went through. I¡¯ve had barriers to intimacy in place for so long, and they¡¯ve reinforced my Mortal perception of forms.¡± I must seem like an idiot repeating myself to her that way. Sarah¡¯s gaze softened and, with a smile, she opted to change the subject. ¡°From what I heard, you were looking to move past other historical issues before your doozy of an upgrade.¡± Amdirlain frowned in confusion. ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°Such as adopting Klipyl,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You met her in the Abyss, and she¡¯s tied to your time there while you were both Succubi, but you adopted her. That doesn¡¯t niggle at you?¡± ¡°She¡¯s nothing like what she was then,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If she hadn¡¯t been able to change, I¡¯m sure she¡¯d be dust. You helped her change for the better, even when you were struggling with your Kyton state. Did Klipyl get in touch with you, or was it someone else? I told her she needed to talk to you about whether adopting me included you.¡± Sarah smiled, and amusement rang through her. ¡°I got a very energetic message from her, but I wasn¡¯t sure if she was restraining giggles or tears when she asked if I¡¯d also be her big sister.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad she messaged you,¡± said Amdirlain warmly. ¡°To answer your question, oddly, it did help; but I¡¯ll correct one thing: Klipyl adopted me. I just refused to be a hypocrite and accepted her adoption. Also, I like her and could do far worse than Klipyl as a little sister.¡± ¡°Then maybe I should just let her be your little sister,¡± suggested Sarah light-heartedly. ¡°Then we won¡¯t compete over spoiling her.¡± ¡°You think you could compete with me in the arena of gift-giving?¡± scoffed Amdirlain, and her gleeful smile echoed the bright tones within Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m amusing you.¡± Sarah rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re going to keep cheating, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not cheating. That¡¯s like telling someone good at reading body language to close their eyes or ignore your physical cues,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Except you couldn¡¯t hear me before, and now you¡¯re having fun with the capability,¡± observed Sarah. Amdirlain smirked. ¡°Can you blame me? I¡¯ve uncovered my secret keeper¡¯s beautiful treasure trove.¡± Sarah¡¯s calm expression shifted, and her lips twitched in amusement. Amdirlain realised how the words could be construed, groaned, and covered her face with her free hand. ¡°Surely you¡¯re not blushing from that look? Not after seeing you twist stadium crowds around your little finger with wordplay,¡± laughed Sarah. Not letting go of Sarah¡¯s hand, Amdirlain transformed into her blue-furred Catfolk form, her ears and whiskers drooping and her tail curled tight around a leg. Carefully containing her laughter behind a sad, innocent expression, she fluttered her lashes at Sarah. Sarah quickly reached out and brushed Amdirlain¡¯s electric blue fringe to cover her eyes. ¡°Adorable.¡± Smoothly transforming back into her Wood Elf form, Amdirlain brushed her auburn locks away from her face and whispered. ¡°The shows were an act, whereas I¡¯m not on guard with you.¡± The admission softened Sarah¡¯s expression, and she gently tweaked Amdirlain¡¯s nose. ¡°Saying things like that is unfair when I¡¯ve told you I wouldn¡¯t flirt.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sorry for telling you that,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll translate my earlier comment into safer wording: I like all the complex pieces I can now hear within your Soul¡¯s song.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t think you¡¯d be able to read my memories with Resonance yet,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You are more important than any memories from other lives,¡± responded Amdirlain. She closed her eyes and focused purely on Sarah¡¯s themes, but only the strongest of emotions continued to come through. ¡°No memories, just lots of intense emotions, and I¡¯m not judging you for those. Things are pretty intense for me as well.¡± ¡°Take all the time you need, as long you¡¯re not beating yourself up,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m not guilt-tripping¡ªat least not at the moment¡ªthough I¡¯m sure self-doubt will pay a visit soon. I can¡¯t help that I was blind to this before, and I¡¯m not sure how I would have even explained it to myself.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ve got nothing to complain about, sweetie.¡± ¡°Sweetie,¡± sighed Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°Syl was always calling Ori my sweet. Did you adopt it because of those?¡± ¡°Nah,¡± rebuffed Sarah softly. ¡°Just because I have access to all my reincarnation memories doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯ve reviewed them all. Though if someone prompts me with a question, I¡¯ve got no difficulty recalling the event.¡± ¡°Do the memories feel like yours?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°My Soul links are different to yours,¡± said Sarah, and she winked. ¡°Just a better model for which I can thank my creator. My original life was a prototype for other dragons, so I¡¯ll remain smug that they got downgrades compared to my reincarnated memories. Is your Resonance overlapping your vision now? Ori said she saw thousands of layers of reality presented at once.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s affecting my vision, but I have to focus on what elements I¡¯m seeing, and control is also a work in progress,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Would you do me a favour and shift forms? I think it would help to experience it firsthand with the upgraded Resonance.¡± ¡°If you¡¯ll turn it off before I change,¡± requested Sarah. ¡°You can listen for as long as you want afterwards.¡± Amdirlain shut it down and looked into Sarah¡¯s gaze. With a wink, she transformed into the silvery-haired male Elf from Ori¡¯s memory, and her dark eyes lightened into bright sapphires that caught Amdirlain with their intensity. ¡°You always were a visual person.¡± The purr of the clear tenor made Amdirlain swallow. ¡°Did you pick that form to ease the strain on my brain?¡± asked Amdirlain nervously, tilting her head in surprise at her mouth drying out. That trick isn¡¯t playing fair, and yet I don¡¯t mind. A relaxed shrug drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to the red leathers, now an almost black hue, while its previous figure-hugging fit became suitable for hunting. ¡°Would you turn your Resonance back on and tell me if it matters?¡± Amdirlain enabled the Power and listened intently to the vastness of Sarah¡¯s Soul. Without being prompted, Sarah shifted form repeatedly. Against her Soul¡¯s music, particularly the love it held, the importance of form faded further. Fragments of lives tickled at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind where male and female weren¡¯t the limit of the genders involved, and other reincarnated species reproduced by splitting when their growth peak was reached. In particular, an existence as a partly incorporeal energy cloud that skimmed the upper layers of a strange atmosphere had Amdirlain shaking her head to re-centre herself in the physical present. At once, Sarah shifted back to her willowy Human form, and her brunette hair draped forward when she leant towards Amdirlain. ¡°Did I upset you?¡± ¡°No, I remembered being non-physical for a moment,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she projected the details she¡¯d recalled to Sarah. ¡°I remember nothing like that,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°But that begs a question: how does Resonance perceive flesh as you create any creature?¡± Amdirlain bit her lip slightly and considered the answer. ¡°Its energy is in a different dimensional state, and then True Song binds it into place in the first three dimensions.¡± ¡°Shall I leave my form shifting at that for today, or would you like more eye candy?¡± asked Sarah, and she smiled pertly. ¡°I won¡¯t complain about you watching me.¡± ¡°I must seem so shallow,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Hey, I¡¯d say your self-doubt is visiting,¡± admonished Sarah. ¡°What did I say about beating yourself up? You¡¯re reconsidering your position because you can now hear my Soul.¡± ¡°Not just your Soul, the shifting of layers makes form mean less,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°That is hardly the definition of shallow. If anything, it¡¯s the opposite. You¡¯re no longer wading in the shallow end of reality, and you¡¯re open to changing your viewpoint.¡± ¡°Yet I still have hangups, sorry,¡± groaned Amdirlain, and she smiled apologetically, frustrated with herself. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m stuck in a rambling emotional loop.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not uncommon with big changes. You asked for time while you sort yourself out. Once you do, you¡¯ll move forward. How about you take some instead of pushing yourself further to sort it out now?¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ve got your steely-eyed, goal-focused vibe starting to poke through now. Step back and let yourself find the right answer for who you are, don¡¯t try making up for your past misunderstanding of Ori.¡± Amdirlain sighed nervously. ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± ¡°Any other big news I should know about?¡± ¡°My True Form is mutating,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°And I created a Planar Seed.¡± Sarah gave a surprised grunt. ¡°Those are two pieces of news you don¡¯t just throw out there as if they don¡¯t warrant individual discussion, girlfriend. Your True Form, what is going on? Is that some joke about growing taller?¡± ¡°No, all the cycling I¡¯ve done with Primordial Mana in the Ki has left scars and melted patches of skin all over that form,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I look crueller than I used to.¡± ¡°Ahh,¡± exclaimed Sarah in relief. ¡°You worried me; so your Fallen species is growing more apparent?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what I figured, but the cycling has influenced its presentation,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Who else knows?¡± ¡°Only Cyrus. I was cycling, and he saw its effect on my hands even in elven form,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°My Ki was creating a lingering effect that appeared like talons.¡± ¡°Okay. So in the future, we should be careful about where we summon you with your gadget and who is around,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m not concerned, but I¡¯m aware others might be more sensitive to appearances.¡± A carefully targeted Planar Shift delivered a dozen crystal blocks to the table. When they appeared beside the mapping cube, Sarah looked at the collection curiously before she glanced around the room. ¡°Though speaking of appearances, is this the extent of your furnishings? One table, a half dozen chairs, a harp, and some nicknacks?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like I need any,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she tuned the first crystal block to the surveyors over Veht?. Though Gail had been using the orbital devices to hunt down every trace of the Gnarls, repurposing them to collect more details wouldn¡¯t prevent that, and Amdirlain made some quick tweaks. I won¡¯t tell Gail that what took her years of exploration and fighting is now achievable in a few hours. Worse, I¡¯ll have the locations of all the True Song crystals left on Veht? in less than a day. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. Sarah picked up the smallest crystal, a ten-centimetre cube, and bounced it on her palm. ¡°You require nothing, but you should do some decorating to make a proper impression if you¡¯re going to be teaching. You live a very frugal life and don¡¯t care what you have, but to some people, having nothing can be a turnoff. While you don¡¯t have to go over the top, adding a few personal touches to this place would provide a more suitable first impression.¡± ¡°First impressions can be a type of situational control. I hadn¡¯t worried about it as effectively I¡¯m renting this place daily. What do you suggest?¡± Sarah smiled brightly. ¡°Nothing too ornate, but this place still has an empty dojo feel. You should put up a few wall decorations, even if it¡¯s something suitably martial, and a few elements like wind chimes or plants to put a stamp on the place¡¯s energy flow. I¡¯ll make a list of suggestions and you can decide what you¡¯d like, or it might inspire other ideas.¡± ¡°Darn, you mean I didn¡¯t distract you?¡± asked Amdirlain lightly. ¡°Were you trying to?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°Are you setting up something in your baby Plane during the evenings here?¡± ¡°Hardly, it will be years before it¡¯s stabilised enough for even limited use,¡± advised Amdirlain, and her lips twitched as she fought her amusement. ¡°It¡¯ll be a pilot program, you could say. Previously, we needed souls to control the towers, but I¡¯m expanding that and moving into establishing pilots for training constructs.¡± ¡°Training constructs for who?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Celestial armies,¡± said Amdirlain, and she quickly continued. ¡°Klipyl advised me that most of Ebusuku¡¯s growing armies don¡¯t have the increased experience gain that teaming with one of us provided.¡± ¡°Teaming with me no longer provides it,¡± interjected Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know when Isa last paid attention to it.¡± ¡°It might be an aspect of being Hidden that fades afterwards,¡± said Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°Still, it doesn¡¯t change what I want to do. If anything, it increases the importance of the secondary gain.¡± ¡°Your primary goal is rehabilitating the souls?¡± inquired Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Secondary is my concern with Celestial armies. They spend aeons guarding locations against incursion from the lower planes, and some rarely see combat outside of sparring. So not all, but most, remain fairly static beyond increasing their skills once they reach a plateau of strength.¡± ¡°Standing watch on a disused portal or rift for aeons isn¡¯t exactly a way to gain more strength,¡± allowed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of Celestial armies in the fray on Acheron, and they¡¯d been getting experience, though diluted among their armies. The forces of the heavens have worked out ways to strengthen themselves down the aeons, however, I¡¯ll grant you that they tend to be armies belonging to war-related deities.¡± ¡°I¡¯d believe that, but I¡¯m not talking about strengthening all heavenly forces. Sage especially needs stronger help to expand the battle lines against the undead,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°And as I said, strengthening the celestials is secondary, in any case. It¡¯s about giving the souls a fresh start and something more. It¡¯s resetting their trip to the outer planes to order the energy drawn from the Far Chaos. Damned souls were never going to contribute to that again.¡± ¡°Once I open it up, souls bound for the Abyss that realise they screwed up in life and want to make amends will get drawn to this Plane instead. I named it Atonement.¡± ¡°To have their memories removed?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°That¡¯ll depend on the nature of the Soul,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know why Ori never took this approach?¡± asked Sarah softly. ¡°I remember her firm line on corrupted souls.¡± ¡°Two things: the thought of removing the impressions from the Soul never occurred to her, and the second thing was that they¡¯d made their choice and chosen a vile life. She believed they had to pay the price for those evils, and she didn¡¯t want them sullying more lives,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°True, she said repeatedly they had done deeds that stained the Soul,¡± recalled Sarah. ¡°There was truth in that,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Even with the memories removed, it left them grey with accumulated corruption. I¡¯m also inclined to ensure they pay for their acts of evil in life, but I hate they¡¯re held for eternity. Also, this approach achieves the whole renew, reuse, recycle.¡± ¡°You spent too much time with Mal¡¯s kids watching that show,¡± laughed Sarah. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°They enjoyed it, so there was never too much, and my watching them let Sally get a break.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just a Phoenix at heart,¡± said Sarah, and she squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m feeling restless. Do you want to walk around the mountain and see more of the monastery?¡± ¡°A stroll and spending time with you sounds nice,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Do you want me to walk with you as is, or do you want a dashing male Elf on your arm?¡± ¡°I want my friend with me,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she rose, not letting go of Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°Good answer,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain strode for the door. ¡°Though you didn¡¯t give me the option of flying over the place on the back of a Dragon. For shame!¡± Sarah burst out laughing and hurried along to keep from being dragged. As they walked the roadways, the evening activities of the monastery saw various students and a few masters calmly move about the place. While she caught a few themes of disapproval from those who glanced at their clasped hands, none were so rude as to voice their opinion, and the majority seemed to either feel it was none of their business or didn¡¯t even register a reaction. A broadcast thought from Sarah had Amdirlain holding in a snort. ¡®You don¡¯t get to give your left-handed demonstration?¡¯ ¡®I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about. I¡¯m not left-handed,¡¯ returned Amdirlain. ¡®Shall we stop in at the duty pavilion?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯m just along for the company. Where you want to visit is up to you,¡¯ replied Sarah, gently nudging Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡®It¡¯s something I¡¯ll need to do at some point, and it¡¯s far enough away that it¡¯s a decent walk,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. Sarah hummed in the back of her throat. ¡®You¡¯re actually working the system and earning contribution points properly? Are you planning to be here long?'' ¡®If nothing else, sticking around for a few years to work on my Monk abilities will also give me time to get my head in order about other matters,¡¯ said Amdirlain. ¡®My abilities with Ki and Jade Court Mana have helped in many ways, and it can¡¯t hurt to learn more.¡¯ Sarah nodded approvingly. ¡®More years spent in one place out in the sunshine might do you some good. Did you find out why they chose to come here?¡¯ Amdirlain reiterated Master Cyrus¡¯ explanation about the scarcity of accessible minerals and metals in the kingdoms as they walked along. When they arrived at the eight-story pagoda, it had almost emptied for the evening, and only four clerks were stationed to mind the counters on the ground floor. Given what Amdirlain wanted to know, Head Clerk Erhi was probably the best choice and hadn¡¯t left yet. She was still in her office on the third floor with the remains of a food tray sitting on one side of her desk, and her eyes were unfocused. The memory crystal Amdirlain had provided her was clasped loosely in her hands, and most of her focus was on examining its contents. With all the personal touches in the office, does it also serve as her private study, or is she a workaholic? Aware that she was hardly one to point fingers in that regard, Amdirlain headed for the front steps. As they entered the building, the clerk closest to the stairs perked up in his seat. Meanwhile, the other three remained focused on the ledgers and assorted paperwork piled in their spaces at the counter. ¡°How may I assist you, Lady Am?¡± asked the clerk loudly. As he spoke, he tucked his hands into the loose sleeves of his grey robes and gave a sharp bow. At his greeting, the others started upright and snapped their gazes straight ahead like some odd military inspection. The one at the far end almost spilled ink across a sheet of careful calligraphy that, given its explicit content, was clearly not official paperwork. Amdirlain froze the spreading ink and reversed its course before it could stain the edge of the book he¡¯d been copying. ¡°I¡¯d like to see Head Clerk Erhi if she is still in,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Head Clerk Erhi doesn¡¯t normally receive individuals at this time, Lady Am. Please allow me to inquire if she¡¯ll make an exception on your behalf,¡± replied the Clerk. ¡°We¡¯re mainly still open to receive deliveries from gatherers who have ventured far afield.¡± Amdirlain nodded politely. ¡°If you¡¯d check with her, that would be appreciated, and I¡¯ll keep the pavilion¡¯s schedule in mind in the future. I¡¯m aware I keep odd hours compared to most in the monastery.¡± The clerk gave her a thankful smile. After executing another sharp bow, he hurried around the end of the counter and flowed up the stairs two at a time. Once the curve of the stairs blocked him from sight, he raced away on silent feet. It would seem she left some orders in place. Amdirlain released Sarah¡¯s hand and walked to the clerk at the end to inquire softly. ¡°Does it cost much in contribution points to arrange copying?¡± ¡°It depends if you already have the paper and ink or if that needs to be supplied as well, Lady Am,¡± explained the suddenly blushing clerk. ¡°Is it an interesting work?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she nodded towards the open volume. ¡°It is a classic drama. The writer has a talent for very detailed descriptions regarding, ahh-¡± The clerk paused before suddenly continuing in a prim tone. ¡°Flower arranging.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°In certain interactions, the proper alignment of stems and petals is very important. What is this volume called?¡± The clerk swallowed. ¡°Romance of the western chamber, Lady Am.¡± The illustrations she sensed further in the book tempted Amdirlain to turn some pages, but as she touched the counter¡¯s edge, a panic surge in the clerk¡¯s public mind brought mental snickers from Sarah. ¡®You¡¯re terrible.¡¯ Amdirlain tapped the counter with a single finger and gave him a pleased smile. ¡°I believe I know something about that drama. Do you handle copying the illustrations as well? They¡¯re very detailed in their celebration of life.¡± The clerk¡¯s complexion deepened, and he vigorously shook his head. ¡°Another will handle that, as I can¡¯t do them justice, Lady Am.¡± Amdirlain was about to say more when the Clerk who¡¯d departed blurred to the top of the stairs in a rush of Ki Movement. He stopped just out of sight of the foyer, took a calm step forward and snapped another bow towards Amdirlain. ¡°Lady Am, it¡¯s my pleasure to convey Head Clerk Erhi¡¯s invitation to her study. Do you wish me to escort you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I can find my way,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I know I¡¯m keeping you all from your work.¡± As they started up the stairs, Sarah reclaimed Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°What is the play about?¡± ¡°Two lovers. The woman¡¯s mother creates obstacles and excuses to block her from marrying the man. Eventually, a housemaid helps them get together, and they vigorously enjoy each other¡¯s company out of wedlock. The mother finds out and is furious but agrees to let them marry as long as the man passes the civil service examination. Which he does and proves to be a formidable scholar, and they even survive to live happily afterwards,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°No tragic ending?¡± asked Sarah dryly. ¡°Now that¡¯s a surprise.¡± ¡°Some people find happiness,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. ¡°You have before, and I believe you can manage it again. No matter what course your brain settles you on.¡± ¡®I feel your patience is more than I deserve,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. ¡®You¡¯re too important to me, no matter your decision. Your happiness is my priority,¡¯ replied Sarah, before she continued aloud. ¡°It seems you have a fan with the Head Clerk Erhi. What did you get up to?¡± Her priority, but that still doesn¡¯t mean it won¡¯t hurt her. Am I really worth that heartache? Amdirlain''s posture stiffened momentarily at the familiar niggling. Stop! Don¡¯t go there. Stupid self-doubt. If I respect Sarah¡¯s view, then doubting it is calling her a liar. The voice of self-doubt is part of me; it has the cheat codes to access what hurts the worst. It knows what to bring up and what will cause misery. What matters is simple: can I be an equal partner with Sarah in a relationship? Can I? I got lonely when she was away helping Gail. ¡°I had to come up with a way to get contribution points without wasting time, so I helped some people gain a single Affinity,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Some people have a hard time helping others gain them.¡± ¡°My goodness, you were discrete in teaching only a single Affinity,¡± huffed Sarah playfully. ¡°Except for Head Clerk Erhi, I taught her all the Tier 1 affinities,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Master Cyrus was sorting out a change to the process so I didn¡¯t have to teach them an individual at a time. I wanted to give them a prod to prevent it spiralling in the bureaucracy.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyebrows lifted. ¡°The exception for Erhi, did someone do something to her that pissed you off?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a bright lady, and someone crushed her dream,¡± explained Amdirlain calmly. ¡°I got a touch miffed.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± accepted Sarah. ¡°I take it you arranged some educational materials, or does she have access to a teacher?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°A memory crystal with some starting advice and base spell lists. Since there are other wizards at the monastery, Erhi should be able to arrange lessons.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t take on extra obligations,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I can learn eventually,¡± said Amdirlain, smiling ruefully. ¡°I already had too many other things on my mind, and now I¡¯ve got more important things to consider.¡± Not pausing again until they reached the third floor, Amdirlain led the way to Erhi¡¯s office at the end of the corridor. As she had the first time Amdirlain met her, Erhi was standing and positioned beside her desk, the remains of her meal having been cleared away. Her thinly braided hair was loose across her shoulders today, decorated with bright blue and red beads. Sarah looked over her and the carved furniture with the running horse motifs and nodded in understanding. Amdirlain caught Erhi¡¯s uncertain glance at Sarah and smiled confidently. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Erhi. Head Clerk Erhi, this is Grandmaster Sarah, skilled as both a Psionic Shaper and an Artificer.¡± ¡°Lady Am and Grandmaster Sarah, it is an honour to have you both come by,¡± said Erhi. ¡°We were out for a walk, but I wasn¡¯t sure you¡¯d be available at this hour,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Head Clerk Erhi, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I like the style you¡¯ve used for your furnishing. They give the room a good energy.¡± Erhi gave a flustered smile and motioned to the padded visitor¡¯s seats beside her desk. ¡°Please take a seat. Would you like some refreshments?¡± ¡°That¡¯s alright, it¡¯s only just past the evening meal. You work a long day,¡± said Amdirlain. Erhi¡¯s smile widened and crinkled the corners of her eyes. ¡°There is always much to do. Thanks to yourself, I¡¯ve more studies to fit in around my duties until I can train someone to take over some of them.¡± After they were settled, Erhi shifted her third visitor¡¯s chair about and sat facing them. ¡°What might I assist you with?¡± ¡°Lady Am has matters to discuss with you about teaching more students an Affinity. I¡¯ve got an inquiry of my own,¡± said Sarah. ¡®Lady Am?¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re the one calling me Grandmaster,¡¯ retorted Sarah. ¡®That made me feel so old.¡¯ ¡®Only made you feel old? You said Syl¡¯s memories are yours, so that makes you old,¡¯ observed Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s warm mental laughter brushed through their link. ¡®Fine, if I¡¯m old, I¡¯ll just be your sugar mommy.¡¯ ¡°What considerations would you offer for me to teach the local artificers? Given the runes I¡¯ve seen around here, I assume they¡¯d like help from a Grandmaster who knows the secrets of embedding runes inside objects,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It prevents the decay of the enchantments through general day-to-day use, but also wear and tear in battle.¡± Amdirlain tilted her head and looked at Sarah in surprise. ¡®You¡¯re going to stay around and teach?¡¯ Erhi froze in place and had to try repeatedly to respond. ¡°What would you need to provide education in such a priceless art?¡± ¡°Contribution points, of course,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I understand that is the preferred means of exchange inside the monastery, and I¡¯ll be here for some time.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you a jade pendant at once,¡± exclaimed Erhi. Sarah motioned her to wait. ¡°There is no need for such haste, as I¡¯d like payments to be provided to Lady Am.¡± ¡°That can certainly be arranged,¡± said Erhi. ¡°What else would you require?¡± Sarah¡¯s poise became all business. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d like to get some paper. I have a list of conditions you can present to the duty pavilion¡¯s Master.¡± 388 - By my side Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches After ten minutes of writing Sarah¡¯s requirements, Erhi put aside her brush and recited the list back. In the end, she received a simple, emotionless nod from Sarah. ¡°I shall go speak to Master Sukh this evening about these matters,¡± declared Erhi, and a sharp nod sent her beaded braids swaying. Sarah motioned reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯ll be here with Am, so there isn¡¯t any rush.¡± ¡°While I believe Lady Am would have interjected if your claims weren¡¯t valid, the masters of the artists¡¯ pavilion will probably wish to speak with you before agreeing to these,¡± advised Erhi, as her gaze flittered nervously over the sheets. ¡°It will be up to Master Sukh to present the offer and requirements to them.¡± Sarah took out a plain gold band and a stylus, and traced minuscule runes along its outside. When she lifted the stylus away, the runes glowed and sunk into the metal, leaving the surface unblemished. ¡°Once anyone attunes to this ring, it¡¯ll let them copy a document they¡¯re holding onto another surface, be it a single sheet or a whole scroll. The Mana must accumulate between uses, so it won¡¯t allow you to copy more text than a hundred pages in a week. Why don¡¯t you present that to Master Sukh as well? I¡¯m sure any competent Artificer could determine its properties and limits.¡± Erhi took the offered ring from Sarah and nodded in appreciation. ¡°Thank you, Grandmaster Sarah. That will certainly silence any doubters quickly and let things proceed.¡± ¡°It was in the interest of both our time, Head Clerk Erhi,¡± replied Sarah. Erhi carefully put the list on her desk and set the ring atop it. ¡°I am concerned about one thing,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°An issue that I¡¯ve run into in the past.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± asked Erhi. Sarah glanced at Amdirlain and smiled. ¡°A problem that crops up occasionally in some crafting halls. You might have no one here that fits the criteria, but are you familiar with individuals who get awarded positions they aren¡¯t qualified to hold?¡± Erhi laughed with a grim delight. ¡°Oh, those people don¡¯t fare too well inside the monasteries, but I¡¯ve heard of them among the civil services of the Mortal emperors and nobility. Some in the monasteries receive special training due to their familial connection to a Master, but there are no shortcuts to learning how to cycle or channel Ki better. If someone doesn¡¯t work hard, they¡¯ll get nowhere, and the masters have zero tolerance for time wasters.¡± ¡°Someone can¡¯t just share contribution points like I intend to with Amdirlain?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine how offended a Master would feel if a lazy student continued to abuse his time believing that it would magically bring about success,¡± declared Erhi. ¡°A Master can put forward a student for expulsion, and that would be the kindest thing they might do to them for inviting their ire in such a way.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± asked Sarah. After witnessing Master Payam¡¯s use of a student as an exercise dummy, Amdirlain snorted. ¡°I can think of many ways instruction can get through a hard skull if someone tries to pay their way to success. I gather they don¡¯t bother banning particular students from paying for their time?¡± ¡°The masters allow students to learn the hard way if they so choose to insult them,¡± replied Erhi diplomatically. ¡°Not that we don¡¯t have to guide some who border on the insulting. A few students seem unable to book a lesson except as part of a group.¡± ¡°Group activities involving vigorous activities with seniors and an expensive trip to a healer afterwards?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps even at the student¡¯s expense because the injury was a result of their lack of attention?¡± Erhi covered her mouth as she coughed. ¡°I believe you see the situation, Lady Am, but perhaps your outsider viewpoint has missed a key element. Please forgive me if it is above my station to advise you.¡± ¡°You are right, I do have an outsider¡¯s perspective. Would you share with me what I¡¯ve missed?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll likely need to look out for it while teaching.¡± ¡°There is a lack of respect implicit in such conduct that would cause them to lose much honour. Laziness after requesting a Master¡¯s instruction implicitly shows disrespect, even if the proper etiquettes are followed.¡± ¡®Proper etiquettes. I¡¯m going to get titled to death, aren¡¯t I?¡¯ projected Amdirlain. Sarah mentally huffed. ¡®You had to go and call me Grandmaster. I¡¯m never going to hear the end of that one.¡¯ ¡°I appreciate your advice and will look out for the differences in displaying respect. My visit was mainly because Master Cyrus indicated he spoke to Master Sukh. I understand he has agreed to take a different approach to the job requests for Affinity training,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Would you fill me in on where you are with that?¡± ¡°There will be a bit of a delay while we sort out groups based on the age of requests. There are over two thousand students with requests focused on the base elemental affinities and several hundred more related to more exotic affinities,¡± advised Erhi. ¡°We¡¯re determining when they placed their requests to prioritise them, and then we¡¯ll prepare them into groups of fifty students.¡± Erhi paused when Amdirlain frowned slightly. ¡°Is there something wrong, Lady Am?¡± ¡°I can see how much work will cause the duty pavilion staff. If Master Sukh agrees, let¡¯s make it easier. Rather than when they placed their requests, simply split those needing a base Affinity into one of four groups depending on the element and I¡¯ll teach each in turn,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t it be five, Lady Am?¡± asked Erhi. ¡°Water, Metal, Earth, Fire and Wood?¡± How do you tell someone their perspective is wrong? ¡°There is a difference in our perspectives. Metal and Wood are more exotic affinities. If your standards consider them base affinities, split that two thousand into five groups. I¡¯ll be able to unlock an Affinity for all acceptable students in a single lesson. Just gather them up in one area.¡± Erhi¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°But...¡± ¡°If finding a time when they can be gathered at once is problematic, just prepare them into the largest groups possible when they have free time,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll likely spend more effort determining the priority than it¡¯ll take for me to teach them. I could have them all taught in a single session if you have them gathered.¡± ¡°Logistically, they don¡¯t even have to be close together. If they¡¯re in locations where Am¡¯s mental touch will reach, and she knows everyone there needs a particular Affinity, that¡¯s enough,¡± suggested Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°It would be best if we gathered each group in one location. It will ensure we can properly determine your payment and deal with any protests by those left out,¡± countered Erhi, but she nodded thoughtfully. ¡°There are ample sites where we can gather large numbers. If we do it that way, we can indicate we¡¯re organising based on student availability. I should have details for you in the next couple of days.¡± Amdirlain smiled happily and rose. ¡°I appreciate all your efforts, Head Clerk Erhi. Let me know if there are any changes, and I¡¯ll drop by to discuss.¡± Erhi snapped to her feet. ¡°You are too kind, Lady Am. I¡¯ll send word about Grandmaster Sarah¡¯s offer as soon as I know.¡± After an exchange of bows, Erhi hurried to open the study door for them. Amdirlain looped her arm through Sarah¡¯s as they proceeded to the second floor. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since you were so physical in public,¡± said Sarah with a soft smile as notes jangled inside her. The words came in High Elven and nudged at recently disturbed memories from Ori. ¡°Klipyl and I had a conversation about that and, when I felt unsettled, Kadaklan just sat beside me and offered me his hand,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Between them, it made me realise how much I¡¯d started to avoid anyone¡¯s physical touch, unless I was in a secure location.¡± ¡°Like in our apartment resting your head on my shoulder?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°That was secure in more ways than one,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I have good taste in the company I keep.¡± ¡°Trying to tip the balance back? There are gentler ways to go about it if this is stretching your comfort zone too far,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain smiled sadly. ¡°I¡¯m enjoying holding hands and linking arms. Hopefully, I don¡¯t come across as weird or possessive.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t complaining,¡± advised Sarah quickly. ¡°Just worried I pressured you to touch me. You walked all the way here holding my hand, which was more than nice.¡± ¡°Given I¡¯m still getting my issues sorted out, I¡¯m glad I don¡¯t make you uncomfortable,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah stopped and briefly cupped Amdirlain¡¯s cheek. ¡°Touch me as much or as little as you feel comfortable with, sweetie. I hope you¡¯ll let me know if I cross your own limits.¡± Amdirlain caught Sarah¡¯s hand and smiled shyly. ¡°Kadaklan gave me three general suggestions I should put on my to-do list and figure out how to achieve.¡± ¡°Oh? Do tell?¡± ¡°Happiness, time for myself, and balance,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though I feel thrown further off-balance by all this, I¡¯m happy you took the chance to come see me and stayed to listen to what I had to say. You worried me a few times on your way up the mountain.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Sarah flushed. ¡°You heard my approach.¡± ¡°It gave me time to start working on understanding your Soul''s cloaking,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Anytime you want me to change-¡± ¡°I know, but let''s keep that to a minimum. If you did just adopt a male form all the time, I¡¯d wonder if I was lying to myself,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we talk to Livia? At some point, I¡¯ll introduce you to Master Payam. We have some exchanges of pointers to complete, and so far, I¡¯m up one nothing on the scorecard.¡± At Sarah¡¯s nod, Amdirlain released her hand, but as they moved towards the steps to the foyer level, they linked arms again. Amdirlain nodded politely to the clerks as they passed through the foyer, but Sarah kept an aloof demeanour. ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll deliver on the payment?¡± asked Sarah after they¡¯d cleared the square before the duty pavilion. ¡°The main reasons she was nervous were convincing the masters the offer was real and the work involved. I could see Erhi¡¯s brain churning to figure out all the job orders the duty pavilion will have to issue to get what you¡¯re after,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s not her problem. The monastery will issue contribution points to whoever fills them,¡± rebuffed Sarah. ¡°I wanted to ensure they value what I¡¯ll teach. Unlike someone else, I don¡¯t undervalue what I can provide.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that bad, it¡¯s simply that I don¡¯t value things,¡± said Amdirlain, and she laughed lightly. ¡°You didn¡¯t have to get them to give me the hall. I was supposed to teach students for its use.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not stopping you from teaching anyone, but if the place is yours, you can change it how you want. I¡¯d suggest reconstructing it to something a bit more useful for your training and with space for my teaching.¡± Amdirlain hummed happily. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Livia before stretching dimensions within her Domain, but rebuilding it to be our home would be nice.¡± Setting up a home in a goddess¡¯ Domain feels weird to even think about, let alone with it being Livia¡¯s. Amdirlain¡¯s cheerfulness paled compared to the whirlwind of emotion that tore through Sarah¡¯s theme, in contrast to her calm smile and nod. When Amdirlain raised an eyebrow, Sarah sighed. ¡°All those years of learning to keep a straight face and you¡¯re calling me out?¡± ¡°You¡¯re so busted,¡± chirped Amdirlain. Sarah gave a disappointed huff, but the vibrancy within didn¡¯t fade. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I won¡¯t expose the stern demeanour you go for in front of anyone else,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°I never liked letting people know how I felt.¡± ¡°The more things change, the more they stay the same,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Seems that¡¯s true even now.¡± Sarah snorted. ¡°You¡¯re going to resort to that old warhorse of a saying?¡± ¡°What? We push ourselves to get better at things and then find there is still more we must learn,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Which is better than knowing so much that life becomes predictable.¡± ¡°Speaking of knowing things, are you still hoarding your knowledge points?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Yes, but not for much longer. Once I figure out how to get my knowledge around biomes and planets to evolve, I intend to dump a lot of points into them, and then I¡¯ll do the same thing with Planar Lore. I was considering getting Abyssal Lore into the upper ranks and focusing on it to see how much more knowledge of the deeper planes I could dredge up.¡± ¡°Dredge is about right,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°Though I¡¯m loath to direct you to her, Tia might have the information. I know at least one of the Dragon templates lives in the deeper planes.¡± ¡°The one¡ªfortunately fleeting¡ªencounter I had with Tia, she seemed scornful,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°A golden Soul delivering Dragon souls to her area of Judgement? I¡¯d wager she didn¡¯t even bother looking too closely,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°But I¡¯m happy for you to avoid going near her.¡± ¡°I¡¯m worried about what promises Ori might have made her,¡± admitted Amdirlain. They¡¯d covered a third of the distance to Livia¡¯s when, higher on the mountain, a vast awareness slid effortlessly into the Domain. Its touch was a caress against Isa¡¯s presence and, for the first time, Amdirlain caught the notes of revelation that spurred her on. ¡°Luck has touched Isa,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Think she¡¯ll head our way?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Good question,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll have to wait long to find out. She jumped like a scalded cat.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the shiver of religious fervour that ran through Isa as she dashed from the building she¡¯d been in. Her pace shifted erratically with bursts of motion and, after a few direction shifts, her path turned to cross their own. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s coming our way,¡± advised Amdirlain as soon as Isa¡¯s path settled. Sarah gave an understanding nod. ¡°Okay, I won¡¯t smack her nose if she butts in.¡± They were only a few hundred metres from their destination when Isa turned a corner and froze in surprise. A blink cleared her muddled gaze, and Isa glanced between them before she nodded meaningfully at their linked arms. ¡°You two look cosy.¡± ¡°How is the gambling going, Isa?¡± asked Amdirlain. Deliberately ignoring the observation, she didn¡¯t release Sarah¡¯s arm but lightly shoulder-bumped her. ¡°It¡¯s going fine, but I¡¯m going to be socially blind and not read the room,¡± quipped Isa, and she pointed back and forth between them. ¡°That¡¯s not your normal look. Want to spill?¡± That¡¯s what I figured might happen. Amdirlain lifted her chin defiantly and caught the awareness¡¯ continued link with Isa. ¡°Memories from Ori¡¯s life and Resonance¡¯s evolution shifted my perception, and I need to get my head around what that means. It¡¯s no one¡¯s business but mine and Sarah¡¯s, so I¡¯d appreciate you leaving it at that, okay?¡± ¡°Good, I just-¡± Isa halted as the awareness retreated and sighed sadly. ¡°You could say I needed to check, but I can leave it be now. The touch left me when you didn¡¯t flinch from my question. Sorry.¡± ¡°Nosey concepts,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°No harm, no foul. With a renewed gleeful laugh, Isa skipped to Amdirlain¡¯s other side and claimed her arm. ¡°Yes, Luck on your side is fortunate, but they¡¯re still nosey. I¡¯ve known how Sarah felt about you before we shared a place, but I promise to contain my inner squeeing.¡± Yes, I¡¯m blind. Amdirlain flinched at Isa¡¯s promise. ¡°Did Ori make Mori any promises?¡± The reaction caused Isa to pause with her hand resting on Amdirlain¡¯s forearm. ¡°What did I mess up?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t anything you did,¡± reassured Amdirlain, shifting her arm to sling it around Isa¡¯s shoulders. ¡°I found out some restrictions that applied to Ori concerning promises. Which is why I want to know if she made Mori any.¡± ¡°Only one that I¡¯m aware of, and that one has already come true,¡± replied Isa happily. ¡°When Ori left to delay Leviathan, she promised Mori that regardless of what happened, they¡¯d meet again in another lifetime.¡± Amdirlain bit her lip as memories of the pair came to the fore. I wonder if her great-granddaughter eased the emptiness in Ori¡¯s heart. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s an important promise, but not exactly the sort that caused her problems,¡± said Amdirlain. With a happy giggle, Isa squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s arm before she deliberately changed the subject. ¡°Kli told me you adopted her. You¡¯d better adopt me, so I have a sister.¡± ¡°I think I have enough strays,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°And you¡¯re poking fun at me.¡± Isa gasped and clutched at her chest dramatically. ¡°I¡¯m wounded. How could you say such a thing? Don¡¯t you love me anymore?¡± ¡°Not tonight, dear, I¡¯ve got a headache,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Smug notes rose from Sarah. ¡®Was it just with me that Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to guard her emotions?¡¯ The thoughts were beneath the layer of Sarah¡¯s public mind that Amdirlain had previously touched, and she tried to restrain Resonance¡¯s touch. ¡°Where are you heading to this fine evening?¡± asked Isa playfully. With both arms occupied, Amdirlain nodded toward Livia¡¯s manor. ¡°Thought we¡¯d check in with the local head honcho and ensure we¡¯re not going to get frowned at after I redecorate.¡± ¡°Redecorate?¡± asked Isa. ¡°The training hall or the whole mountainside? Did the grey and red get old?¡± ¡°I put in an offer to teach some simple Artificer abilities, but the requirements for my services include the site of Amdirlain¡¯s training hall,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°No! She¡¯s going to kick you out of your temporary home and make you rebuild it?¡± gasped Isa, playfully clutching at Amdirlain''s arm. ¡°The audacity, the horror, the typical homelessness you¡¯ll suffer.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being a loonie,¡± snorted Amdirlain. Isa shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°I¡¯ve been accused of worse things. Jokes aside, I think it¡¯s a great idea. Did it feel nice having a place to call your own on Qil Tris?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ve exactly got a place yourself, or did you think I don¡¯t know you move between games when you¡¯re not with Ilya?¡± ¡°Ahh, true,¡± said Isa. ¡°So...¡± ¡°No, Isa. I love you like family, but you don¡¯t get to move back home at your age,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain before Isa could finish. ¡°Plus, you both need your own space for the safety of my sanity. My hearing has gotten a lot better and I¡¯m still adjusting.¡± Isa gave Amdirlain a lip-trembling pout. ¡°But great-grandma!¡± ¡°You know what I¡¯m going to say to that?¡± ¡°Talk to the hand?¡± laughed Isa. ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Pick out some land on any Plane and, if it¡¯s yours, I¡¯ll sort out a fancy house, or I¡¯ll make you a Demi-Plane and furnish it with all the trimmings.¡± ¡°But...¡± Amdirlain sternly shook her head and looked away from Isa. ¡°You¡¯re definitely not getting to move in.¡± ¡°Okay, be that way then,¡± sniffed Isa. Sarah¡¯s expression turned haughty, but her theme was hiccuping with giggles. ¡°Too much loud sex through the walls of the apartment?¡± ¡°Absolutely, and I don¡¯t have headphones or a sweet gaming rig to keep me distracted,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°We weren¡¯t that bad,¡± protested Isa. ¡°No, not both of you were,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and then she dropped the other shoe. ¡°Only you were a screamer.¡± Isa was still laughing as they turned towards the front door of Livia¡¯s manor. Now close, Amdirlain could hear two additional worlds linked to Livia¡¯s Mantle chiming away as she underwent her monastery duties. A group of students were in the front hall listening to Livia as she guided them through a technique for Ki Armour. In a study at the manor¡¯s rear, Ilya reviewed documents with a trio of students and an official from the warehouses. The aspects of Protection worked fast. I hope Cyrus finds some suitable techniques for extending Ki State. I should ask whether not learning techniques before evolving will cause stagnation. Kadaklan could have told me about them back on Qil Tris. He¡¯ll likely have a response about not paving another¡¯s path for them. The student closest to the door didn¡¯t wait for Livia¡¯s instruction or for them to knock; the noise prompted him to open it when they were still ten metres away to investigate. ¡°I¡¯d apologise for her, but that implies she isn¡¯t going to behave the same way again,¡± said Amdirlain as Isa¡¯s laughter turned into snickers. ¡°Might we see Master Livia, please? I assure you we¡¯ll keep Isa to semi-decent behaviour.¡± Isa sputtered with mock outrage, but the student merely nodded. ¡°Priestess Isa has visited previously and left with more contribution points than expected. We¡¯re aware of her eccentric behaviour.¡± ¡°I might resemble that remark,¡± said Isa. Amdirlain eyed her flatly. ¡°Get your own lines.¡± Isa snorted. ¡°You won¡¯t let me move in, so all your lines belong to me.¡± ¡°No, they don¡¯t,¡± huffed Sarah. Isa started, and her jaw momentarily dropped. ¡°Oh, yes, true. We won¡¯t poach Am, I promise.¡± The student looked between them and tried desperately to keep his composure. ¡°Can we see Master Livia before these two get even more out of hand?¡± pleaded Amdirlain. ¡°Ladies, please come inside and stop confusing my students?¡± Livia asked from beyond the doorway. ¡°The first doesn¡¯t prevent the second,¡± observed Sarah dryly. ¡°But I want to confuse them from out here,¡± sniffed Isa. Amdirlain released Isa¡¯s arm and playfully patted her on the head. ¡°No cookie for you.¡± As Amdirlain stepped through the open door with her arm still looped through Sarah¡¯s, they heard Isa mutter. ¡°No rationing my cookie munching.¡± At Sarah and Amdirlain¡¯s laughter, Livia¡¯s left eyebrow lifted questioningly. 389 - Think of me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Livia gave concise instructions to a senior student to supervise and led the three of them through to the back garden. A servant shifted supporting bamboo poles and stretched out a collapsible awning across the back porch to put a circle of chairs in the shade. Amdirlain let Sarah pick a seat first and moved to sit beside her. When she sat down and reclaimed Sarah¡¯s hand, giggling chimes rang through Isa¡¯s essence that almost matched Sarah¡¯s satisfaction. ¡°Are you going to offer me tea, too?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Too?¡± questioned Livia, and a thread of energy set a sound barrier about them. Sarah smiled, and her gaze flickered to Amdirlain. ¡°I can learn,¡± Amdirlain mock grumbled. Though Livia kept a straight face, her gaze lit up. ¡°She offered delicacies and drinks to all the attendees at the gathering of Mantle holders. I found how M¨®eir handled the Fey surprising. Her threats of violence were both explicit yet subtle, and while not diplomacy as I understand it, they took it as such.¡± ¡°Fey are a violent lot. All their rules and customs are in place to restrain them from continual bloodshed,¡± said Sarah. ¡°What threats were required?¡± ¡°Merely demonstrations,¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°One of them started to kick up a fuss. They¡¯d asked me for music earlier, so I entertained her with a short song. She found her feet on bone dry land and the lake empty around her.¡± Sarah snorted. ¡°You didn¡¯t take off any limbs, so it hardly counts as a threat. Fey will restore themselves from the land endlessly if their bodies are slain. Blowing up their world or killing everything living on it is the only way to make sure they stay dead. Honestly, they¡¯re harder to wipe out than cockroaches.¡± There is one way that doesn¡¯t involve a cataclysm. ¡°Those are extreme measures to have tested,¡± said Isa. ¡°Not tested. It''s simply with aeons you see things. An annoying irritation of a Fey stopped bugging me after their sun went supernova,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Before that, they¡¯d played tricks across the planes. Devastated worlds have their Shadowfey shattered, and even the most hardy of the fey plants perish. As for their general hardiness, I once saw a Fey turned inside out, and they were still alive with their heart and organs out in the open air.¡± Images of seared treants and dead dryads flashed in Amdirlain¡¯s mind. ¡°Who did they annoy?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Did Ori-¡± asked Amdirlain almost at the same time. Sarah snorted. ¡°Not Ori, one of my lives. They might still be in mid-air in their lord¡¯s banquet hall. We¡¯re only talking about eight or nine billion years, and the world it occurred on was young.¡± ¡°What did they do to earn the punishment?¡± asked Livia curiously. ¡°They enjoyed sitting outside villages and making the parents listen to the screams of kidnapped children,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°The children¡¯s screams weren¡¯t just from being kidnapped. I arrived in time for one of their bloodthirsty playtimes and repaid their past acts.¡± Livia gave a satisfied nod. ¡°Good.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d like, I can give you the names of a few beings to help educate you about the Fey,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°They could provide details of customs, rules of hospitality, and other things, along with their common tricks.¡± ¡°Likely without the possibility of gaps I possess,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯d at least be more certain in the grounding they can provide,¡± said Sarah thoughtfully, her thumb idly caressed across Amdirlain¡¯s wrist. The idle gesture sent a pleasant tingle running along Amdirlain¡¯s skin and caught Livia¡¯s attention. Relief chimed in Livia, but she quickly tempered it with caution. ¡°Would it take you long to get in touch with them?¡± asked Livia, restraining her smile. Sarah tapped the fingers of her free hand. ¡°I¡¯ll have to figure out how to contact them. I¡¯ve not made their acquaintance in this lifetime, and some can be stand-offish until you¡¯ve established a relationship.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not leaving it for me to figure out alone?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°With paperwork for the monastery, you can sink or swim. That won¡¯t kill you or anyone else,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Do a good enough job annoying a world¡¯s Fey, and you won¡¯t be their only target.¡± ¡°I would appreciate the help,¡± replied Livia. ¡°M¨®eir provided some details, but I wouldn¡¯t feel confident to visit them without causing some fuss. Would you trust them to give me advice without extracting an unreasonable fee?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make some enquiries and handle the introductions,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what they expect and what loopholes I see in their offers, but the rest will be up to you.¡± Livia nodded her understanding as Ilya came out from the back of the house. ¡°Mind if I join you?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°Feel free. We¡¯re not talking about anything super secretive,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gestured to the free spots near Isa. ¡°We even left you a choice of seats.¡± ¡°You mean there is a merely secretive meeting I get to join in on?¡± asked Ilya as she slipped between chairs and plopped down on Isa¡¯s lap. The smile that lit up Isa¡¯s gaze drew a laugh from Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve invited you to a few of those and my secret lair.¡± Isa giggled. ¡°The Song Cave! It needs its own theme song.¡± ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Anyway, it no longer exists.¡± ¡°You could make another,¡± chirped Isa, and she gave a cheeky smile. ¡°I can imagine flying out through a waterfall to dramatic music.¡± Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°On your way to fleece the students?¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t fleecing them,¡± sniffed Isa. ¡°I¡¯ve been redistributing their wealth to other parties. Overall, I¡¯ve lost a lot since I got here.¡± ¡°Oh, Luck¡¯s evening out the playing field?¡± asked Ilya. ¡°It would seem that is the case,¡± said Isa. She practically bounced Ilya off her lap, twitching about upon her seat. ¡°I can get up,¡± offered Ilya. ¡°No,¡± protested Isa, and she wrapped her arms around Ilya¡¯s middle. ¡°My teddy bear. Just restless, sorry. I can practically hear the dice games in my head, and my bones shiver in time to them.¡± Amdirlain frowned at the vibrations along Ilya¡¯s essence, each pulse thrumming in time with her classes involving a Priest variation. Can I get her free of the impulses from the Concept? Would she even thank me for it? ¡°You look distracted today,¡± observed Ilya. ¡°Revelations, good and bad, from memories,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°They taught me some lessons about Resonance, and the change in perspective means I¡¯m still finding my balance.¡± ¡°Maybe you should get out and dance a bit,¡± proposed Ilya light-heartedly. ¡°You had fun dancing even when your Femme Fatale proved frustrating, and a bit of fun helps me find my balance.¡± The Aspect of Life complimented that world where I mingled in dance. I''d like to see what I can do now with a better understanding of biomes added into the mix. ¡°I might look to do something fun once the initial adjustments settle down,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°How is the reorganisation and teaching going?¡± Ilya looked at Livia. ¡°That¡¯s your call. I¡¯m not the one who has to be pleased with the results.¡± The satisfied smile didn¡¯t need any support, but Livia gave a pleased double clap. ¡°It works a lot better. I can find the documents I want, and I¡¯ve not had to sort them out myself.¡± ¡°Freeing your time from tedium is good,¡± stated Isa. ¡°Though I bet you¡¯re just filling the spare time you¡¯ve gained with other things.¡± ¡°There are things that only I can do,¡± Livia said, smiling at Amdirlain. ¡°Custodian has been adding to my responsibilities.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been avoiding anything that smacks of additional responsibility,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Try to ensure Custodian or the other aspects related to Protection don¡¯t overload you.¡± ¡°If you put that advice into practice, I¡¯ll adhere to it as well,¡± replied Livia. ¡°I¡¯ve had a bad habit of taking on too much work since I was very young.¡± ¡°No doubt my terrible influence,¡± quipped Amdirlain. The words skittered an off-key tone across Livia¡¯s essence, and she frowned in concern. ¡°You know, talking down about yourself even in jest isn¡¯t healthy,¡± said Livia. ¡°Master Cyrus said you¡¯ve felt off-kilter: It¡¯s best to be aware of what you¡¯re adding to your mind and how it might distort your balance.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being extra protective,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps you can blame Custodian, but it doesn¡¯t make it any less true,¡± replied Livia. ¡°I¡¯m glad for the signs I see, and I just want you to find happiness after the hard road this existence has been for you.¡± ¡°I told Sarah that I¡¯ll get my head around things. I¡¯ll add that to the list,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Can we agree that self-reflection isn¡¯t considered overloading myself?¡± Livia smiled apologetically. ¡°Yes, we can most certainly agree to that, so I won¡¯t use it as an excuse to take on more work.¡± ¡°Good,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m now going to have to find time for it, in between my training, of course.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Livia. ¡°Why do I feel like I¡¯m missing half this conversation?¡± asked Isa, glancing between them. Ilya twisted about within Isa¡¯s arms to catch her confused gaze with a warm look. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯ve been pretty busy at the gaming tables of late,¡± observed Ilya. ¡°Most people follow the monastery¡¯s day schedule, but you seem to have found enough willing to stay up late.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make it up to you later,¡± said Isa. ¡°It¡¯s already later, and I¡¯ll hold you to it,¡± Ilya purred, and she leaned down to nip Isa¡¯s earlobe. Isa blinked and bit her lip. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really.¡± ¡°Right,¡± declared Isa, and she stood up with Ilya cradled. ¡°Sorry to run, but we¡¯re off to have sex, and I might even scream.¡± Sarah groaned and rubbed a hand across her mouth to hide a tight smile. ¡°We are?¡± gasped Ilya, her eyes wide in mock shock. ¡°Don¡¯t I get a say?¡± ¡°Of course, you can pick the first position,¡± gushed Isa. Ilya¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Oh, goodie.¡± The pair vanished, leaving an echoing trail across the planes to an elven forest upon Arborea. I wonder if Isa set up a home for them there. Other options occurred to Amdirlain, and she mentally kicked herself off the trail of thoughts. ¡°Where did they get off to?¡± ¡°Arborea,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Many elven pantheons have forests on that Plane.¡± Sarah snorted, and her eyes gleamed with kind amusement. ¡°Guess there are all sorts of ways to look at getting lucky. I bet they don¡¯t bother with walls to muffle the noise.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll use some concealments,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Are you sure about that?¡± asked Sarah glibly. ¡°Isa never mentioned using them when they took breaks from scouting to enjoy the sun on Cemna. In fact, I believe she mentioned scaring the local wildlife.¡± A memory of daylight spilled over Ori¡¯s naked body and glistened off Syl¡¯s hair in a brilliant reflection that burned in Amdirlain¡¯s mind. The texture of soft earth through the silken blanket and Ori¡¯s reaction to Syl¡¯s passionate ministrations had butterflies of pleasure quivering low in Amdirlain¡¯s stomach, and she pressed her legs tight to suppress their trembling. The Planar Shift residue faded, and the last echo of Arborea¡¯s energy stirred other memories. Fragments of soft grass glades and birds in the trees singing their encouragement to Syl and Ori caused Amdirlain¡¯s nostrils to flare, but she kept a polite smile. ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Livia. Sarah looked at Amdirlain with a carefully neutral expression to conceal the Dragon mating beat that pulsed deep within her being. Sarah has had her adult moulting, and I am doing a number on her. Dragons don¡¯t get that way for just anyone whose scent gets excited, only those they consider their mate. Just a smidge of pressure there. ¡°I think we¡¯re getting way off topic,¡± blurted Amdirlain, as she felt more memories stirring and a warm pleasure slip effortlessly through her defences. ¡°I¡¯m having issues with memories at present. Would you take the lead, Sarah?¡± Mental Hardening isn¡¯t helping me keep this under control, but its focus is against injury. ¡°We could wait,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°No idea how long,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re very distracting. I can hear far more of the songs she¡¯s using now.¡± This is dangerous. I won¡¯t be able to put off an increase to my levels long; I need a large Intelligence increase to handle all the details I¡¯m hearing. Sarah grunted in surprise and nodded. ¡°Isa leaves planned topics in chaos. Am¡¯s training hall was what we came to talk about with you.¡± ¡°The one being rented or Nolmar?¡± asked Livia. As the pair spoke, scattered images of worlds and moments of joy swam through Amdirlain¡¯s awareness. Snippets of songs cascaded through her mind as Ori danced across hundreds of plains and under skies with few, isolated stars. Solid stone and dry ground became fertile soil rich with nutrients, and life sprang up around her. Ori¡¯s energy especially soared on those worlds when, high in the sky, Syl glided through the atmosphere that had been pre-prepared to support life. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°The one here, but maybe not renting for much longer,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I offered to teach the local artificers some Dragon techniques for impressing runes within objects.¡± Livia¡¯s jaw dropped, and she leaned forward eagerly. ¡°Is it similar to the dwarven techniques?¡± ¡°Who do you think taught them?¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Metallic dragons have helped educate younger species in the arcane and runes since before the Anar existed.¡± ¡°The dwarves have repeatedly refused to teach those techniques to humans,¡± said Livia. Are we breaking some sort of accord? Oh well, too bad. ¡°That¡¯s not my concern. I gave the Head Clerk Erhi a list of conditions and a minor trinket as evidence to show I could fulfil my offer,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Among my conditions was that the monastery give the training hall and its site to Amdirlain. After we left the duty pavilion, Amdirlain suggested that reconstructing a place in your Domain with some of her gifts would require your permission.¡± ¡°If they sell you the site, then it¡¯s yours to do what you want,¡± Livia said. ¡°Unless I¡¯m missing something?¡± Amdirlain licked her upper lip and nodded once. ¡°We came to ask permission to play some dimensional games with the training hall.¡± Sarah looked at her questioningly and gently squeezed her hand. ¡®I¡¯ll tell you later,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. ¡°Like you did with Nolmar?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Sarah will need a space for a workshop, and I was considering constructing an obstacle course to stretch the difficulty of cycling Ki more than just a larger training space,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°An obstacle course that would cause you difficulty?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Or just one that would be more challenging than objects placed in a courtyard to manoeuvre around?¡± ¡°The course will be designed to challenge me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I want to get to where I can cycle in the middle of battle, as Ki Blast can use up a flood of Ki. I don¡¯t want to burn through it if I don¡¯t have a way to replenish it.¡± ¡°How big a space will you be expanding the hall to contain?¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest a thousand kilometres,¡± offered Sarah before Amdirlain could reply. The elements of the song she¡¯d need popped into her head, and Amdirlain blinked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t build anything that big.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°You could.¡± ¡°I might as well build it on a demi-plane if I was going to do that,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°No, then it¡¯s not within Livia¡¯s Domain,¡± said Sarah. ¡°And two points: you said you would make a home here, and being inside the Domain affords you protection.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a home here?¡± asked Livia; her eyes shone, but she kept her smile contained. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Making a home has a far different meaning from saying you¡¯d live here for a time,¡± replied Livia. ¡°I used to dream of having a home with you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to move in either,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I already told Isa no.¡± ¡°You need your personal space, but making a home in my Domain is exactly like moving in with me,¡± advised Livia. Amdirlain pursed her lips and considered the imagery and feeling she¡¯d used in creating her Domain; the warmth of home that had spurred that successful formation of the wellspring drew a nod of understanding from her. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that aspect. Please let me play some dimensional games and expand the gaps between matter?¡± With a winsome smile, she fluttered her lashes and clasped hands together pleadingly. Livia instinctively crossed her arms, her judge¡¯s instincts not buckling into the playfulness that rose from Amdirlain. A snort of amusement from Sarah had Livia looking between them. ¡°What is going on?¡± ¡°Am¡¯s a little giddy at present,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°She¡¯ll calm down when self-doubt gets its claws back into her. For now, she¡¯s erratic from having regained some memories and breaking through the outer layer of protection that Ori put in place around my Soul.¡± That is fair. Mental Hardening and Pain Eater significantly help dealing with the unpleasant, but I feel almost bubbly. ¡°However much extra space you believe you can safely squeeze in the training hall¡¯s site, you have my permission to do so,¡± said Livia. Sarah gave Amdirlain a satisfied nod. ¡°See, I told you it wouldn¡¯t be an issue.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t go digging in another Dragon¡¯s territory, would you?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Even if you were after something you knew they wouldn¡¯t give a talon scraping about?¡± ¡°Fine,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Shall we head back and leave Livia to her evening teaching?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain and as they stood, she reclaimed Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°Can I have a moment, M¨®eir?¡± pleaded Livia, and she looked at Sarah apologetically. ¡°Alone?¡± Amdirlain tilted her head at Livia¡¯s tone¡ªan intermingling of nerves, happiness, and regret coiled within her essence. ¡°Of course.¡± Sarah released her hand and briefly squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at the training hall.¡± ¡°What did you want to speak about?¡± asked Amdirlain, her gaze almost challenging. Though she could hear the happiness within Livia, she didn¡¯t want to just let her off the hook for intruding. Everyone wants to stick their nose in when I want time to work out my own feelings and thoughts. Livia hesitated, ¡°Several matters, but first, is there something between you and Sarah?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too early to tell from my side, but if there was?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m just glad there is the possibility of happiness for you, M¨®eir,¡± said Livia. ¡°It was just after your conversation with Custodian. Well, I was unsure if it was just hopeful imagination, and I didn¡¯t want to put you on the spot in front of her.¡± ¡°A Judge¡¯s instinct to get at the facts?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I would like to support you however you need,¡± explained Livia. ¡°That¡¯s something I could not do as a child.¡± The strains of regret brought a sad smile, and Amdirlain stepped close and hugged Livia. ¡°Being protective of family goes both ways, which I must remember. There are hurts and self-doubts from my past life that I¡¯ve let linger for too long and, because of them, I have trouble seeing my own value. I¡¯m just a normal girl, right?¡± Livia laughed with rib-shaking force and clung to Amdirlain. ¡°Since when?¡± ¡°Once, I would have said since forever. Anyway, my past hurts left me feeling unworthy of being loved, and that¡¯s likely what made me blind to it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I had a Power upgrade of Resonance that let me see Sarah¡¯s Soul and her love, but it does more than that. I¡¯m sorry I wasn¡¯t there for you more when you were growing up. I can hear the pain of that now. We both miss him, and his absence hurts, but the pain has eased enough that I can move on. I don¡¯t know if Sarah will be that person or if I¡¯ve yet to find them. Time will tell.¡± ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t interested in the female form?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°But it''s not Sarah¡¯s body I¡¯m attracted to. And we both can shapeshift, so what is it about a form¡¯s gender that is so important? I need to figure out if my emotions about her Soul are mine or those from memories now swaying me.¡± ¡°She¡¯s ferocious and passionate about anything for you,¡± observed Livia. ¡°I hope you find so much love and happiness that it makes all the pain you¡¯ve gone through seem like a tiny dot in the distance.¡± The aching loneliness that the aeons had inflicted on Ori niggled at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind. Though it was simply an awareness of the situation she¡¯d endured, it was an uncomfortable warning. I¡¯ll need to ensure I don¡¯t lose Sarah again. Isa has a Celestial¡¯s immortality, but Sarah is still long-lived Mortal flesh. The thought of Sarah being gone caused a spike of pain that breached through her protections and Amdirlain went rigid to avoid squeezing Livia. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Is it more unpleasant memories?¡± whispered Livia. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten some memories since I used the harp to inspire recollection,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she considered keeping the truth of her reaction to herself. I¡¯ll tell Sarah, not Livia. Livia sighed in exasperation. ¡°When you were given that harp, I didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d actually ever use it.¡± ¡°The enchantments within it were obvious, and there weren¡¯t any traps. I think it¡¯s my nature, my Skill, and one Aspect might have conspired or provided a unique synergy,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then again, that could just be my paranoia, and it was simply a matter of an attunement with my Soul¡¯s memories that did the work. The first memory it helped recall was of Ori learning to play the harp, and I had just gotten a notification for unlocking the Skill when it surfaced.¡± ¡°Is that why you said you need to get your thoughts and feelings straightened?¡± asked Livia. ¡°No, that was about more private matters and my feelings there,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Ahh,¡± breathed Livia. ¡°If you can hear souls, why don¡¯t you contemplate your own and see if an outside influence is at work? If nothing else, I¡¯m sure it would be beautiful to look at, but it might provide insights into those long-term issues you felt you needed to address.¡± Do I have the courage to do that again? My examination of my Soul without the Soulscape translation wasn¡¯t fun. ¡°I¡¯ve examined it in the past, and it¡¯s not a pleasant sight,¡± explained Amdirlain. The pitted moonscape surface resonated with memories of the thorns that had covered Ori¡¯s figure in the lake of sludge. ¡°M¨®eir, I¡¯m going to say this straight up: I¡¯ve felt the beauty of your Soul when I was a child, so don¡¯t be a numbskull,¡± said Livia. ¡°I know you¡¯ve said it¡¯s scarred, but try to look at what¡¯s there instead of the injuries. Also, I¡¯d advise you to spend more time cycling. It will help to ease the scars. But do your emotions feel wrong to you? Imposed?¡± ¡°No, they don¡¯t. However, the recollections are intense, and there¡¯s a risk of influence that has me proceeding carefully so I don¡¯t cause either of us regrets,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she carefully patted Livia¡¯s back before releasing her. Livia scratched her ear sheepishly. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t come across as sticking my nose into your and Sarah¡¯s business.¡± ¡°You were sticking your nose in, but it was discretely done, and you only sought clarification, so I¡¯ll give you a pass,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s when people want to tell me what I must do or feel that I get my back up.¡± Knowing more about Ori, I can see so many of her traits in me. Will gaining more of her memories change that, or just reinforce my nature? ¡°I can understand that, especially when accompanied by emotional manipulation,¡± acknowledged Livia. ¡°What else did you want to discuss?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re going to be teaching more people affinities, the monastery is likely to end up with a shortage of magic instructors,¡± said Livia. ¡°Some may simply make use of the Affinity for powers like Ki Infusion, but most are likely to either take on Wizard or Wu Jen classes. To arrange their training, I¡¯ll either need to reach out to Yngvarr and the teachers he¡¯s gathered at Nolmar or talk to my contacts in the kingdoms.¡± ¡°The issue with the latter being?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The ones I¡¯m more comfortable requesting help from are all residents of Eyrarh¨¢ls and are among the old veterans you taught,¡± explained Livia. ¡°They¡¯d likely recognise you, and there is the situation with your Mantle and Ebusuku, so I don¡¯t want to cause discomfort.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°There is another option, Livia. However, the situation with Xaos is more delicate as a neutral divine alliance is involved with the township, so asking for other heavenly help was a no-no.¡± ¡°You¡¯re proposing I seek Celestial help?¡± asked Livia. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m inclined to hit up a particular individual since he stuck his nose in and shared some of my secrets with Silpar without asking,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Especially fitting, considering Sarah has already pointed out dragons have been teaching younger species magic for some time.¡± ¡°You¡¯re suggesting I contact the Platinum Dragon?¡± At least his title didn¡¯t grab his attention. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ll do that for you. I¡¯ve got some questions to ask him about Ori and promises. How do you think the students would handle dragons for instructors?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be able to handle it. The East Wind is the Blue Dragon,¡± said Livia. ¡°It might be confusing for some. The eastern dragons use colour references but differ from those found in the west and don¡¯t follow their abyssal progenitor. That¡¯s if they¡¯re even aware their instructors are dragons. Sarah advised me the moneychanger at Sanctuary¡¯s Cove is a Gold Dragon, and I couldn¡¯t tell.¡± ¡°Metallic dragons can blend into Mortal societies well when they bother to try,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Would you object to him visiting your Domain? I could bring him by and introduce him.¡± Livia smiled wryly. ¡°Meeting him would be an honour and intimidating, but I noticed you¡¯ve still not mentioned his name.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want him sticking his nose in if you didn¡¯t want his help,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Should I?¡± ¡°Please extend a polite invitation to him,¡± requested Livia. ¡°You have a habit of casualness with certain deities, and how you invite him might impact any dealings I have with him as well.¡± ¡°I can be extremely polite,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia fixed Amdirlain with a sceptical look. ¡°You can when you choose to be polite, but you also tell people to pull rats out of their arse.¡± Hopefully, he¡¯ll let me know about any promises Ori made to him or those he knows about with others. ¡°I need to speak to Bahamut about several matters related to Orh¨ºthurin. Would it be acceptable to host him in your Domain after I rebuild my training hall?¡± requested Amdirlain. Livia went rigid with surprise when Bahamut¡¯s awareness swept over them. Amdirlain was more aware of the force within his attention and could feel its brilliant metallic tones. ¡°Ori had a long-term relationship with Bahamut, and our discussion could take some time. Should I bring him around before or after our meeting for introductions?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t impose on him to visit me, M¨®eir,¡± replied Livia demurely. ¡°It would be an honour to host though I¡¯ll leave it to you two to decide if I meet with him or you act as my proxy to arrange for magical instructors.¡± Curiosity and amusement coloured through Bahamut¡¯s focus on them. ¡°Thank you for looking in, Bahamut,¡± said Amdirlain. ?¡±Are you open to stopping in and having a chat with me at some future point in time?¡± A pulse of laughter rang out, though it didn¡¯t break the sound barrier Livia¡¯s control over her Domain had held around their conversation. ¡°Let me know when you have time for a lengthy chat, and I¡¯ll drop by to meet with you and your daughter,¡± said Bahamut before his focus on them cut off. ¡°Primordials,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°He didn¡¯t even use a Spell for that demonstration. Speaking to us across planes was as simple as wanting to be heard.¡± ¡°Is there a Power involved in that, or are they beyond powers and the rules that bind mortals?¡± inquired Livia curiously. ¡°They most certainly aren¡¯t beyond the rules. The memory I had of Ori learning the harp, she commented she wanted to ensure the rules worked properly for them as well,¡± advised Amdirlain, but the question niggled with a familiar itch at the back of her mind. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine they bound themselves by the rules and let other primordials play fast and loose. Let me see if I can find something.¡± It only took a few attempts before a straightforward name received a response from Analysis. [Primoridial Will: Details: This special ability allows a being to impose their will to implement effects for which weaker beings require magic, psionics, and other aids, including True Song. The manifestations of this vary for each Primordial able to access it. Only those primordial beings able to advance their species¡¯ tier gain it. An individual¡¯s strength and the advancement of this ability determine the manifestations they can cause within rules. Note: True Song is a simplified version of Ori¡¯s manifestation of this Power, created to enable the Anar and L¨®m? to alter reality. Note: For the Titan, his forge and hammer direct the manifestation of his will; for Ori, it was music. Note: Yes, the general evolution tiers apply.] Amdirlain repeated the details to Livia, and she whistled softly. ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m surprised Ori let them keep any form of True Song when they walked away from the Titan. If a steward quits, he doesn¡¯t get to keep the keys to his Jarl¡¯s residence. I know the example is simplistic, yet it strikes me as similar to True Song, and they walked away. To protect the realm, I would have stripped the Power from them regardless if it left them adrift. They quit after second-guessing the Titan''s plans. Why did they deserve to keep that Power? He didn¡¯t dismiss them, and they didn¡¯t consider he had valid reasons to keep things secret.¡± True, or keeping administration-level passwords to the system after no longer being employed. If they lost that Power, would Baln¨¦rith have even targeted them? [Evolution Tiers: Details: For individuals that have advanced their powers or skills beyond the boundaries of Grandmaster for the highest named evolution of a progression tree, the evolution tiers follow these patterns: Lord Prince King Emperor Legend Saint Divine Titan Note: True Song Genesis would gain these suffixes.] Well, I have a new set of goals. Can I get True Song Genesis into these tiers before taking on Baln¨¦rith? Amdirlain tapped a finger against her lips, and Livia raised an eyebrow. ¡°You look thoughtful,¡± commented Livia. ¡°Just got something new to aim for,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I found out the name of my next evolutions in True Song, wondering how high I can reach before I crush Baln¨¦rith.¡± ¡°Are you planning to go for overkill?¡± asked Livia. ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve told you before...¡± ¡°There is no such thing as overkill. The enemy is either dead or not,¡± interjected Livia. ¡°Yes, I know, but using more strength than you need could leave you vulnerable if someone attacks you afterwards.¡± ¡°The stronger I am, the less capacity I¡¯ll need to spend to end her,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Ori felt such compassion for those brought into this realm from theirs. Yet Baln¨¦rith must have plotted the corruption of the Anar and L¨®m? for such a long time to gain their trust. Aeons without tipping her hand, nor taking any action of outright evil so she didn¡¯t lose her Celestial status in the process.¡± ¡°How could she?¡± ¡°Testing the convictions of a Mortal isn¡¯t an act of evil, nor is getting them to question their beliefs,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If it were, then every Celestial involved in a philosophical debate anywhere within Mortal hearing would fall. Some of them are quite convincing speakers, and they¡¯re not held responsible for someone else¡¯s decision to change deities or their path in life. There are exceptions to that, and it¡¯s a simplistic example, but Baln¨¦rith must have found loopholes in Ori¡¯s rules.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you could convince someone that water isn¡¯t wet,¡± said Livia. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Might be fun to try, but that¡¯s pretty simple since water itself isn¡¯t wet. Wetness is a sensation. Your body translates contact with it as wet, but water is a fluid, not a sensation. Aquatic lifeforms don¡¯t feel wet. Rather, they feel shifts in pressure.¡± Livia giggled. ¡°You just proved my point. No wonder you passed as a Bard!¡± ¡°That¡¯s just rude,¡± Amdirlain sniffed dramatically. ¡°Is there anything else you want to discuss?¡± ¡°Just one last thing. Since you might arrange teachers, has the duty pavilion spoken to you about issuing a job to teach further students affinities?¡± ¡°We cleared up an approach with Erhi before we came over,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, we save them some time as they were trying to determine a priority for grouping them up.¡± ¡°Let me guess, you told Erhi to pull them together in one group?¡± laughed Livia. ¡°Close. We suggested grouping them up by the elemental Affinity they¡¯re after,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re going to see how big a group they can efficiently gather at once with lesson schedules and such. If there isn¡¯t anything else?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you go, but thank you for dropping by,¡± said Livia, and she gave Amdirlain another hug. ¡°You can drop in more often just to talk. That will give us both a break from our work and training.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try, but I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m too used to just pushing on,¡± replied Amdirlain and, with a broadening smile, she disappeared. 390 - Scars Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When Amdirlain returned to the training hall, Sarah sat at the table drawing out plans for a building. Though she was drawing it freehand, every line was mechanically precise. ¡°Is that the first time memories have had you distracted?¡± enquired Sarah as she put the pen aside. Amdirlain nodded, and the intensity of her frown tightened her jawline. ¡°I will have to push my classes and maybe species along. I¡¯m going to need to bolster my Intelligence.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to ride it out and see if the memories settle?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I had intended to do just that,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she waggled a finger toward Livia¡¯s manor. ¡°That is until that batch occurred when we started to speak with Livia, and it wasn¡¯t a single memory but a cascade of them. They each were a microsecond to experience, but thousands in a row. I heard fragments of millions of songs, and I don¡¯t know if I would have caught more of them...¡± ¡°If your capacity had been further developed,¡± finished Sarah. ¡°Though it wasn¡¯t just songs you were experiencing.¡± The flush turned Amdirlain¡¯s face a deep bronze. ¡°Hush! Now you know why I feel like a voyeur. It¡¯s as if I¡¯m in her skin while Ori is experiencing every sensation.¡± ¡°Yet you smelt embarrassed and aroused but not revolted,¡± observed Sarah. Amdirlain nervously twitched her head. ¡°I told you I felt it was beautiful. I¡¯d never be dismissive of another¡¯s love.¡± ¡°Is that part of why you need to get your head in order?¡± asked Sarah cautiously. ¡°Do you feel you don¡¯t deserve something beautiful?¡± The admission of the old guilt she¡¯d discussed with Sarith dug at Amdirlain. After finally admitting the incident, spilling the beans to Sarah was tempting. Yet old habits had the words dying on her tongue. Compared to everything we¡¯ve endured that is so minor, it¡¯s like an annoying cut when she¡¯s lived in Hell. ¡°Yes and no,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°More like their love is such an intense experience that who wouldn¡¯t get swept away? Yet that makes me cautious to ensure I know where my head is.¡± ¡°Not simply craving the physical sensation and the ¡®in love¡¯ experience?¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Exactly, I don¡¯t want to be using you to fulfil a longing,¡± said Amdirlain, her fingers curled from nervous tension. ¡°I need to ensure that I would genuinely take part in a relationship.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± said Sarah, and rose from the table. She intercepted Amdirlain¡¯s pacing with long strides to catch her in a reassuring hug. Keyed up as Amdirlain was, the reaction Sarah got surprised her. Rather than twitch or hesitate to accept the gesture, Amdirlain relaxed into it with a soft sigh and rested her head against Sarah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s not the empty hunger I had to fight before, that I can tell you, but the memories are a riptide that sweeps me along.¡± ¡°Is it a riptide that scares you?¡± whispered Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s not a riptide that threatens to drag me under,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°There is this warm, comforting familiarity to it, but strange at the same time. It''s like entering a place I don¡¯t remember and feeling home. So part of me says it can¡¯t be mine, and another part wonders if the change is too sudden to originate from me?¡± ¡°That sounds like a combination of self-doubt and the fear of getting lost. Good news, there is no need to rush towards an answer,¡± said Sarah softly, carefully motionless despite the desires that Amdirlain could feel. ¡°Take your time. Are you still listening to my song?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she sighed, caught up in the enfolding warmth of Sarah¡¯s Soul and its complex orchestra. ¡°Your song makes this so comforting.¡± ¡°You know, that gives you a bit of an advantage,¡± protested Sarah lightly. Amdirlain gave a boneless shrug, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t want to stop listening to you. I¡¯m sorry if it¡¯s embarrassing.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not embarrassing,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°But I¡¯ll admit that knowing you are aware of my feelings will take some getting used to.¡± ¡°Hey, I am fully displaying my feelings to your Dragon perceptions,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Especially with that second memory surge, you smelt enough to trigger your instincts.¡± ¡°You got the first-person view, but I had a front-row seat of its effect on you,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°You were right next to me, and I thought your scent would ignite my brain.¡± ¡°Syl had more than a front-row seat in that memory,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and she raked her fingers through her hair, though she didn¡¯t pull away. ¡°I need to know it¡¯s the right decision and not just be swept in the rush of emotions.¡± Sarah sighed. ¡°You used to scrub at your scalp like that after chemo. If this situation has you that on edge-¡± ¡°I know I haven¡¯t done it for ages, but I¡¯ve noticed myself doing it in the last few years,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she opted to minimise the concern she¡¯d aired to Sarith. ¡°I think it¡¯s just an old emotional wound bugging me.¡± ¡°Do you need someone to help work through them?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Or are you using the exercises you learnt in the past?¡± ¡°I spoke to Sarith,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°That meant I had to explain some of the background to her, but I kept it general.¡± Sarah¡¯s brows lifted in surprise. ¡°Sarith?! How did she react to you painting yourself badly?¡± ¡°Who says I painted myself badly?¡± protested Amdirlain. The sceptical gaze Sarah fixed Amdirlain with had her squirming. ¡°You said it was an old wound? To me, that smacks of pre-curse. Scrubbing at your scalp. What happened during chemo that I missed?¡± ¡°Please leave it, Sarah,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Sharp notes rang from Sarah, and Amdirlain felt a telepathic enquiry stretch out and chime against Sarith. It was a struggle not to listen between Resonance''s increased sensitivity and her own curiosity. Still, Amdirlain restrained herself despite the doubts and concerns that prickled at her. She went straight to Sarith. The conversation paused, and Sarah smiled at her reassuringly. ¡°You know I¡¯m not asking her for details about you as I don¡¯t want your Healer¡¯s brain exploding. My concern is about her state and whether Sarith believes that she¡¯s been truly able to move past the background you share. I needed to know that before I asked her about something for myself.¡± Sarah wants the rules followed; I should have guessed, but what about herself? Amdirlain grumbled. ¡°Don¡¯t go fishing for hints. You know me well enough she wouldn¡¯t have to give you many details.¡± ¡°I¡¯m never going to ask for details or hints you¡¯re unwilling to share voluntarily,¡± said Sarah. Frustration spiked a blade in Amdirlain, warring with the happiness that had soaked within her. ¡°You could have asked before you started chatting with her.¡± Would her checking on Sarith have mattered if I had just told her? ¡°You would have said no,¡± pointed out Sarah, and she hugged Amdirlain tighter. ¡°And you are always seeking forgiveness rather than permission.¡± ¡°You know that¡¯s not playing fair,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°What, using your own playbook against you?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Or the hug?¡± ¡°Both,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re talking to Sarith, as I¡¯ve heard enough to know she¡¯s a very changed person,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°Can I give my ten cents¡¯ worth and shut up?¡± ¡°Do you have to?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s lip pursed as if she¡¯d bitten into some bitter. ¡°You have stuff to work through with Sarith, but I¡¯ve something to tell you. So this is a general observation, no advice, no judgment of you, but it¡¯s a lead-up to my admission.¡° ¡°Okay!¡± gasped Amdirlain. ¡°Sorry.¡± ¡°I reached out to her without telling you first, and that annoyed you?¡± guessed Sarah. Amdirlain huffed in frustration and tried to get her body to relax. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°The second thing I asked her about was to ensure my admission wouldn¡¯t rub on whatever you¡¯re discussing with her,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°I told her the topic and embarrassed her, but no details.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m too used to multi-tasking and having you unable to hear it,¡± conceded Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll have to get out of that habit.¡± ¡°Naughty Dragon,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she rested her head on Sarah¡¯s shoulder again. ¡°You¡¯re fined a prolonged hug before being allowed to speak further about your topic.¡± Her proclamation warranted a gentle kiss on the cheek from Sarah, and the pair remained in place. With Sarah¡¯s arms enfolding her, sweet tones of content chimed around Amdirlain. As the minutes passed, knots of tension released in her muscles and posture, each so minor that Pain Eater ignored them, but their combined absence was a relief. More snippets of memories teased against her awareness; while scores bloomed fully to life, hundreds more remained just out of reach. Sometimes, Ori and Syl would snatch moments in the middle of Ori constructing whole systems, but other times, they¡¯d enjoyed decades of quiet while a new galactic core settled. Through them all, the age of Syl¡¯s song provided a precise chronicle of the time they had left. Their love was a fiery young passion fit for a blast furnace that, as they aged, tempered into the constant heat of a forge, and a life without Syl never crossed Ori¡¯s mind. The longer Amdirlain stood enjoying Sarah¡¯s embrace, the more memories emerged. After a memory that was too explicit for comfort held her tight, Amdirlain cleared her throat with an embarrassed cough. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d best talk, or maybe let me go?¡± ¡°I want to see if keeping your mind busy helps before I take the dire step of letting you go,¡± replied Sarah dryly, her arms securely around Amdirlain. Though Amdirlain snorted in amusement, she didn¡¯t protest the decision. ¡°However, that would be taking advantage of your confusion, so I¡¯d best stop,¡± Sarah said, reluctantly stepping back to arm''s distance. ¡°I guess I can stand on my own two feet,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Alright, spill.¡± ¡°We talked about the different spam messages we both got after being cursed, and one of yours was Gideon giving you a Karma score, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°No explanation as to what actions had contributed.¡± Sarah tapped the side of her nose. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re feeling bad about, consider that score. Gideon can be an arsehole, but they¡¯ll call a spade a spade. The dissection of our lives was pretty intrusive. Do you think he would have given you a break?¡± ¡°They deal in facts, not feelings,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Really?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°Not sure where you got that impression, as they¡¯re the Aspect of knowledge. It¡¯s pretty hard to know everything and be blind to feelings. They know your feelings and motives well enough to take very effective digs at you.¡± When they want to manipulate me. ¡°Just something that Ori said to them in a memory,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°Was she hurting at the time?¡± asked Sarah, and she groaned when Amdirlain nodded tightly. ¡°Was she lashing out?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Considering what Gideon said in a note, they were both lashing out at each other, but it doesn¡¯t change what happened. They were a tactless arsehole to Ori while she was in pain from maiming herself and showed zero compassion. Gideon¡¯s note effectively confessed they chose to be an arsehole as a strategy to provoke her into a desired action.¡± Sarah swallowed and nervously licked her lips. ¡°You found out why she maimed herself?¡± ¡°Yes. It wasn¡¯t one thing specifically that triggered it, but an accumulation of pain and regrets,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Can we speak about it later?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°We can,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But I¡¯m not sure it¡¯s healthy.¡± ¡°Maybe not, but we both have pain to go into. Let me deal with my admission first,¡± said Sarah; her fingers twitched nervously against the laces that ran up the outside of her leather pants. ¡°Okay,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she quashed an unexpected mental image of peeling Syl out of similar pants. That felt weird. At least I can easily put that one to Ori¡¯s influence. Are other things less easily discerned? ¡°Anyway, with the spam messages that flew by in my awareness, it was a karma score of zero,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°I¡¯d rate that as Gideon being an arsehole. They had less compassion handling Ori in pain than an internet troll,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They do seem to specialise in a particular way of getting under someone¡¯s skin.¡± ¡°Am, I wasn¡¯t objecting to it, rather supplying the background,¡± said Sarah. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Look at it this way, I looked after myself and didn¡¯t use my psychology degree outside of understanding my clients better and being a more effective Dom. Heck, the only person I ever looked after was Mum when Dad moved out,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You did stuff for me and Rach,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°You two didn¡¯t need significant help. If I take a cynical view, masses of self-interest were involved in the time I did spend helping either of you. You and Rach were my friends and remained that way even after I decided to be a professional dominatrix. I didn¡¯t even need to try to hide that from either of you,¡± rebuffed Sarah softly. Though tension screeched from her; there wasn¡¯t even a twitch of her lips. ¡°What sort of idiot would I have been to let the last of my social circle outside BDSM completely evaporate?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not false friends to toss you aside,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Unlike other idiots. Did any of your university friends ever get back in touch with you?¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to change the subject, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Sarah, and she gave Amdirlain a slow headshake. ¡°I can hear the scars on your Soul and your pain,¡± replied Amdirlain; even as she savoured the reassurance Sarah¡¯s embrace had provided her, her arms felt achingly empty. ¡°You already said you¡¯re not judging me, and I¡¯m certainly going to do that to you.¡± The gap between them suddenly loomed, and Amdirlain, spurred by the sensation, stepped close. Sarah drew her into a hug when Amdirlain put her hands out. ¡°It¡¯s not about judging me, Am, it¡¯s about me being open,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t do the whole being open thing well. Communication is essential in a healthy relationship, but I¡¯m not expecting you to reciprocate about your wounds. This is me getting something off my chest, so please listen.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± whispered Amdirlain, and Sarah partly released Amdirlain and put a finger to Amdirlain¡¯s lips. With her other hand still on Amdirlain¡¯s back, Sarah leaned into her as if afraid to let go, and sour, anxious notes rippled across Sarah¡¯s Soul to be drowned by the warmth. ¡°I gave zero to charities and spent no time helping community projects. Zip. I didn¡¯t go out doing anything nasty to anyone who hadn¡¯t paid for it, but I wasn¡¯t helping community groups or charities like you,¡± said Sarah. ¡°To me, getting a zero karma balance was understandable. Then, I broke out of an egg under the sulphurous gaze of the Great Mother. There was this overload of pressure in my mind from her voice, and then they dropped the chains over me, and I was crushed into the ground. Yet, instead of being terrified and what should have been the agony of being crushed and face-planted into the ground, I¡¯m dealing with a full-body orgasm.¡± The hand on Amdirlain¡¯s back trembled, and Sarah exhaled sharply before she continued. Her expression tightened, and her gaze became shuttered and withdrawn. ¡°Touching those memories is weird. While I can feel the pleasure, the experience is terrifying now, a bizarre juxtaposition,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°I had no alien presence affecting my body, and I didn¡¯t fight that I was a Kyton. I justified that by going with the flow; I could control its expression and keep my sanity, but that was rot. Since my evolution, my mentor has helped me with many memories, but lingering things can take a while to break down and look at rationally. I take it the emotional wound you spoke to Sarith about is something you¡¯ve never mentioned while at the monastery?¡± Amdirlain glanced cross-eyed at Sarah¡¯s finger that was still absently resting on her lips. With an embarrassed laugh, Sarah pulled it away. ¡°I¡¯m not done, but I¡¯ll let you answer.¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t want to give the Winter Queen personal ammunition when she learned of it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I can understand that, and I¡¯ll admit to a bit of nervousness in broaching this subject. The background was to remind you I know about lingering wounds, and there are more than a few experiences I had in Hell that I¡¯m sure would have you revolted.¡± ¡°Extreme experiences?¡± murmured Amdirlain, but she didn¡¯t twitch to break away. ¡°You took control by saying no, but I took control in different ways,¡± confessed Sarah, swallowing the nerves that threatened to choke her voice. Amdirlain nodded against Sarah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I¡¯d already figured that out, and I¡¯m not judging you for it.¡± A long exhale from Sarah prompted Amdirlain to return the hug properly instead of merely resting contently in her arms. ¡°You¡¯re really not?¡± questioned Sarah, frowning in confusion and surprise; with it, a glimmer of vulnerability shone in her gaze. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°I have odd double standards. I know. And I¡¯m hopeless in trying to shed them. Everything I do that can be looked at two ways is vile, and things others do for survival are acceptable as long as innocents weren¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°Even fucking devils and torturing demons?¡± rasped Sarah. ¡°Are you expecting me to turn my nose up?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I bet you picked the ugly devils to screw or the ones that would let you beat them bloody in the process.¡± Sarah grimaced and swallowed nervously. ¡°Not always. Some of the charming devils are the foulest. The more they revolted and hurt me, the bigger the fix I got.¡± ¡°Sarah,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine life without you as part of it. That isn¡¯t a possibilityy, even with everything else happening in my head.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a matter of what part of your life I am,¡± finished Sarah. ¡°Yes, and that¡¯s part of why I feel shallow,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Now, if you¡¯d gone off and caused permanent harm to an innocent, we¡¯d need to talk regarding how you could make amends. Things like that would have shown up as more than simple scars on your Soul. Do I need to point out you took a massive risk to break Gaius¡¯ contract?¡± Sarah¡¯s gaze flared briefly. ¡°I¡¯m sure my involvement with that expedition still left scars on my Soul.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it did, but I won¡¯t poke at each one to find out. Nor am I going to see which ones relate to activities involving any Devil or Demon,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe you should gain a Monk class, so you can cycle Ki and work on cleaning them up.¡± Sarah rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll leave that to you.¡± ¡°With what you did to the demons, we both know some of them likely enjoyed it. Ori thought of them as soulless monsters of corruption, like other ¡®things¡¯ she¡¯d created for people to forge themselves against. Klipyl was different from other succubi I met, and on top of that, I think my compressing her shards had a relatively weird lingering effect on her.¡± ¡°You never asked anything about my pregnancy,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Or talked about how to rescue her.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m not an idiot, and I got some memories about the kytons before I found out. They always breed true, no matter the species that fathered the child. In your Sidero form, your flesh was Kyton, so your daughter is one. The Kyton Great Mother has her under her wing?¡± ¡°Yes, she was very pleased by her,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°Then enough said unless you need to talk further,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Sarith asked me if I had chosen to share my issue with her instead of others, hoping she¡¯d revile me. If you¡¯re trying for that, it¡¯s not the reaction you¡¯ll get from me. I heard the responses raising the topic drew from the minor marks and flaws in your Soul. The damage you inflicted on yourself is minor amidst the other memories, but I¡¯m sure it doesn¡¯t feel that way.¡± ¡°I do abhorrent things that you can¡¯t possibly have matched in your life as Julia without going to prison, yet I¡¯m forgiven?¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°How about you forgive yourself?¡± The pain and sorrow that sprang from the Soul scars drove sour notes across Amdirlain¡¯s awareness and killed the heat in her response. ¡°Sarah, I¡¯ve already admitted my terrible double standards, so that¡¯s going to take some work,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain gently. ¡°And at the moment, I¡¯m being saturated by memories of Ori''s and Syl¡¯s interactions, so I¡¯ll get back to you when they¡¯ve calmed. I could use something to distract me from the inspiration of the harp while I figure out approaches to try or who to ask for help.¡± Sarah blinked. ¡°You¡¯re going to ask for help?¡± ¡°I said at Livia¡¯s that I can learn,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got to get in touch with someone to help the monastery with the magical training of their students. I contacted that uniquely shiny Dragon for help since I figured I should talk to him about any promises between him and Ori. Do you think he¡¯d help with the harp?¡± Hopefully, Bahamut can and will help, but we¡¯ll see. ¡°It depends on how much of a problem you¡¯ve stuck your paw in,¡± said Sarah. ¡°He¡¯d help, but he¡¯d also likely ask for you to return the assistance to someone else.¡± ¡°As long as I get a veto on the favour delivered and the timing, that would be fine,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you stretch out and relax without me holding you?¡± proposed Sarah, reluctantly releasing Amdirlain. ¡°Give yourself time to see if the memories settle without physical contact. They seem to have gotten stronger the longer I held you.¡± One of the deep couches from their apartment on Qil Tris appeared braced against the room¡¯s side wall. The thick plush cushions with their modern fabric appeared out of place against the golden wood and the antique style of the carved ivory. ¡°No wonder you left the apartment last,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°What else did you take with you?¡± ¡°We purchased the furnishing and my bed was comfortable, so I didn¡¯t want to leave it behind. I don¡¯t always feel like sleeping in Dragon form on coins, so a modern bed was too good to pass up,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain went to stretch out and stopped to consider the harp. ¡°I think I might have made a mistake.¡± Hurt flared in Sarah¡¯s theme, and Amdirlain jabbed a finger towards the harp. ¡°Jumping to conclusions much! I meant I had intentionally used it to inspire knowledge of Ori and Syl, but I broke off mid-song. I wonder if there are elements to it I can¡¯t hear because of its divine construction.¡± ¡°You think you put it in cruise control or something?¡± asked Sarah hesitantly. ¡°Potentially. I¡¯ve no objection to the insights it provided even if I need a membership card to voyeurs r us,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and she gave a tight smile. ¡°With all Resonance leaves me open to, you¡¯d think I¡¯d be used to that by now, yet I¡¯ve learned to filter certain things out.¡± ¡°Does the upgrade make it uncomfortable or is it more the memories?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The memories. They¡¯re unfortunately far too personal and Ori isn¡¯t filtering anything,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Resonance still lets me filter the fact that many people in my range are currently involved in intimate activity to just data.¡± Sarah nodded to the harp. ¡°So what were you thinking about it?¡± ¡°Right. Maybe I should finish the incomplete song?¡± proposed Amdirlain. Sarah raised a cautioning hand before Amdirlain could move to the harp. ¡°I was asking, not saying to act. Let¡¯s walk it through first. Are you just going to finish the song?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Do you know what triggered the effect?¡± ¡°What else can I do?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Should I play a new song instead? Maybe try to inspire a different effect? I don¡¯t exactly have an instruction manual for this thing. I could try my upgraded Resonance on it and see if I can detect what you learned, but it¡¯ll likely only tell me what energies are within it, not necessarily how to interact with them.¡± ¡°Resonance is a starting point, and it might give you a clue,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°You already jumped head first into playing the harp once.¡± ¡°In my defence, it was supposed to be a training instrument, but you got me on the second time,¡± said Amdirlain, raising her hands in mock surrender. ¡°My instincts tell me to finish the song, but we can take baby steps. Or I can talk to him.¡± ¡°Are you sure he¡¯ll be able to help with this divine harp?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°He got to come to the realm for a few reasons. One is he supplied Ori with the details of how to implement the realm¡¯s magical system in the first place. If anyone alive can tell me about the harp, it¡¯s him.¡± ¡°That actually sounds the safest route,¡± said Sarah, and tension eased from her form. ¡°Bahamut, would you care to visit now and meet Livia? I¡¯d also appreciate some help with a divine artefact.¡± ¡°If you would meet me at the mountain¡¯s base?¡± requested Bahamut. ¡°I¡¯m not rude enough to appear directly in another¡¯s Domain. Perhaps we can talk on the way to her manor, or afterwards.¡± ¡°Thanks, I appreciate it. I¡¯ll wait at the end of the central road between the fields,¡± replied Amdirlain. Bahamut¡¯s attention withdrew, and Sarah sheepishly shook her head. ¡°You speak to him so casually, and I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s you being a gamer girl or an informality you inherited. Syl heard Ori scold him once, and I¡¯m unsure who was more surprised, Syl or him.¡± ¡°What did she scold him about?¡± ¡°The creation of space dragons,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Ori was so put out that she didn¡¯t get to contribute more, so she one-upped him and made star dragons.¡± Amdirlain let out a low whistle. ¡°They sound like a cool species. Are they awesome? I haven¡¯t seen anything related to those in the surfaced memories yet. Do I want to know how big they get?¡± ¡°Star dragons?¡± enquired Sarah, and she smiled at Amdirlain¡¯s eager nod. ¡°If they curled into a ball, a Great Wyrm would be bigger than Earth¡¯s Moon. At that age, they can kill the eldritch drifters like the one Mars pulverised. Their breath weapon carries the intensity of a solar flare in a kilometres-wide beam.¡± ¡°Cool,¡± breathed Amdirlain, grinning at the thought of a Dragon that large. The wide-eyed look of glee on Amdirlain¡¯s face drew a chuckle from Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re such a Dragon fangirl.¡± ¡°Dragon posters are far better than unicorn posters,¡± asserted Amdirlain. ¡°He said shortly, but I¡¯ve no idea what that would be on his scale. Do we go down now and wait, or should I listen out for him?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s aware you¡¯re still planning based on Mortal timescales,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t mean it will be minutes before he arrives.¡± Amdirlain shyly extended a hand to Sarah, and when she clasped it, they reappeared at the end of the road. The fields were empty of workers, a gentle breeze causing the long grass beyond the fields to sway slowly. Though there was no sign of Bahamut, Amdirlain sent Livia a tentative advisory, saying she expected him to drop in at some point. ¡°You seem to have relaxed about Livia¡¯s Mantle,¡± noted Sarah after they¡¯d stood quietly for a few minutes; neither had moved to release the other¡¯s hand. ¡°Custodian has come through already. Livia¡¯s got connections to other worlds, one of which feels like another entity is supporting it,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°A divine sponsor?¡± Amdirlain shrugged uncertainly. ¡°It could just be a stronger Mantle holder, but there is a dim secondary echo like someone was bracing the link.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t ask,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s because it¡¯s not my business,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve made sure she¡¯s not going to die suddenly, and now she¡¯s able to stand on her own two feet.¡± Silence returned, and neither felt compelled to indulge in small talk, enjoying the other¡¯s presence while they soaked in the sunshine. Despite Bahamut having said ¡®soon¡¯ their wait ran past the hour and continued with no word. In the comfortable silence that enveloped them, more memories niggled at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind, like half-remembered tunes or a missing filling annoying her tongue. Yet despite their background hiss, none came flooding forth. Like server lag, you raise a ticket to the support staff, and things behave again. At least waiting in the sunshine is a better experience than listening to ¡®hold music¡¯. It feels nice to hold Sarah¡¯s hand. I hope I¡¯m not being clingy. Is it because I¡¯ve starved myself of physical contact? Or simply the newness of things with the bandage off my eyes? Or am I subconsciously trying to cause problems? Are there too many emotions from memories and Sarah? ¡°I feel like we¡¯re the naughty children waiting for the headmaster to show up,¡± muttered Sarah. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°He¡¯s not the messiah, he¡¯s just a very naughty boy.¡± Their mutual laughter sent nearby birds flying away. Did she mean I¡¯m holding her hand too much? ¡°Should I let go of your hand?¡± asked Amdirlain nervously. ¡°I¡¯m enjoying it, so only if you want to,¡± replied Sarah, and she transformed into the silvery-haired male Elf again. ¡°Does this help you relax?¡± The light tenor shivered up Amdirlain¡¯s spine. ¡°Yes,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t be hard on yourself,¡± said Sarah, and she shoulder-bumped Amdirlain and let the silence between them return. I¡¯m being an idiot and risking crushing my friend¡¯s heart. Stop! Stop! Stop! Negative thoughts are bad, especially when all these emotions are going on. I¡¯ll wait for these emotional waves to ease before deciding. What could go wrong? No! Why did I ask myself that? When another blade of self-doubt rose, Amdirlain drew her attention away from the forest and listened to Sarah¡¯s emotions. Their warmth washed through Amdirlain and made the sunlight feel cold in comparison, despite the sharpness and hard edges present within Sarah¡¯s tones. We both have scars. Why can I accept hers and flinch from my own? 391 - Larger than life Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches The seedlings in the surrounding rice paddies grew nearly a half metre as they waited, showing the same surge of growth Amdirlain had observed in the fields outside of Xaos. Amdirlain pushed Resonance forward through the wilderness to the limits she could handle and then further still. The information that saturated her mind kept Ori¡¯s memories to a distant niggle. Preoccupied by that mass of songs, a couple of hours rolled by with the pair standing in the Outlands¡¯ warm sunshine before Amdirlain realised it. ¡°He¡¯s taken much longer than I had expected,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Sarah smiled at Amdirlain, and the disconnect between expectation and the male form sent Amdirlain¡¯s thoughts skittering sideways before she sent Resonance delving to the Soul level again. Among other details, the strong fingers of Sarah¡¯s elven male form holding her hand caught Amdirlain¡¯s focus. ¡°Guess I should have brought the couch with us,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You looked like you were napping upright.¡± ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve been distracted. Listening to the forest has helped quiet the memories,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, there won¡¯t be a need to mess with the harp again,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Still going to ask for help with it?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Amdirlain, and she waved her free hand towards the trees beyond the end of the road. ¡°I wish I knew what he¡¯d meant by soon. I don¡¯t know how to judge what time means to a Primordial.¡± ¡°He¡¯s not normally the type to dawdle,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°When you contacted him on the demi-plane after Silpar admitted he¡¯d been recruited to help you, did he take long to show up?¡± ¡°He was there almost immediately,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve been promising yourself some time to soak up the sun for a while,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Why not take the chance to relax? At least you¡¯ll be waiting where you told him. You could poke him if the wait looks to run into your lesson times.¡± ¡°Now look who is suggesting being casual with a Primordial,¡± said Amdirlain before she hummed thoughtfully. ¡°I kinda wish I didn¡¯t let Livia know in advance.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°Is Livia fussing about getting things ready for her guest?¡± No sooner had Sarah asked than a white-haired old man with craggy features appeared just beyond the Domain¡¯s boundary, a half dozen metres away. Unlike the neat attire worn in his elven form, this time, Bahamut wore travel-worn robes that were hemmed long enough to brush across the ground, which accounted for their frayed edges. The peak of his brown, wide-brimmed hat flopped about as Bahamut ruefully shook his head. The movement caused the seven songbirds perched on it to issue vehement protests, their shrill calls strange given Amdirlain¡¯s ability to hear the concealed dragons¡¯ bugling cries. Those accompanying him were a mix of female silver and gold dragons today. Amdirlain easily locked down a blush of embarrassment and wondered at the difference in controlling her reactions. With a pulse of amusement running within her, Sarah shrugged casually and returned to the form of a willowy brunette Human, ¡°Or he could just pop in randomly.¡± I didn¡¯t notice his attention was on us. Did he only let me know earlier to be polite? I wonder how his escort is determined? ¡°My apologies. I was foolishly waiting on someone else,¡± offered Bahamut. ¡°Still, I should have advised you that things were taking longer than I had hoped.¡± His awareness brushed across the mountain and greeted Livia. As she acknowledged Bahamut¡¯s reassurance he¡¯d been met, she hurried to send her late-evening students and visitors on their way. With her acknowledgement, Bahamut crossed the threshold of her Domain and strode towards them. ¡°And you got tired of waiting for them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Your conversation ticked against my awareness and made me realise how much time had passed,¡± said Bahamut, waving towards the clouds. ¡°She¡¯s still fussing about other things, so I¡¯ll leave arranging a separate visit to her without my introduction.¡± His will alone set a concealment that included the barrier Amdirlain already had in place. The Primordial¡¯s crystal blue gaze settled on their clasped hands, and he smiled sadly. ¡°Amdirlain and Shindraithra, I¡¯m glad you found each other again.¡± Of course, he¡¯d use her draconic name. Sarah¡¯s adoption of it should have told me how she saw the old memories. ¡°We¡¯re still working things out,¡± interjected Sarah, cutting short Bahamut¡¯s congratulations, and his bushy eyebrows lifted in surprise at her abruptness. ¡°Bahamut, thank you for coming. Sarah¡¯s just being protective. Other people have made the same assumption, but I¡¯m working out where my brain is concerning physical forms and dozens of other things,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah¡¯s being very patient with me, but I know I¡¯m worrying her.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll not intrude and hope you both find the happiness you deserve, together or separately. Given your state, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve got much going on,¡± said Bahamut, and he warmly grasped Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re practically bursting at the seams, young lady. How have you grown so fast since last we met?¡± ¡°A bit of construction work,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It provides excellent returns on time invested.¡± Bahamut huffed curiously. ¡°Are you constructing more of those demi-planes?¡± ¡°Lots of demi-planes and a few other things,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Just minor projects, you know, nothing much.¡± ¡°I see. In that case, how many more levels will you constrain in that form before you take the transformation? It has to be getting uncomfortable.¡± Uncomfortable how? Aware of the escort of dragons, Amdirlain kept her reply vague. ¡°I need at least twenty-one hundred total levels since gaining Fallen, but I¡¯m still deciding if I¡¯ll cram in more strength.¡± ¡°Did Gideon provide you some guidance about the transformations?¡± enquired Bahamut. ¡°And told me there isn¡¯t an upper limit,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ll just make new thresholds for me to reach since no Fallen has taken the transformation option I¡¯ve already passed.¡± ¡°Perhaps not an absolute limit, but one reaches a point where the growth of a single level becomes exponentially harder than it is now,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°The only reason I¡¯m considering going higher is the experience growth I can access with True Song. My main hold-up is figuring out the best option for a fourth Class. Custodian warned me to ensure I¡¯m as strong as possible before freeing myself from the Hidden state.¡± Bahamut smiled. ¡°Why might that be?¡± ¡°The phrase they used was ¡®I¡¯m already as strong as a nascent Primordial¡¯,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But the main warning was that I¡¯d draw attention once I can be found.¡± The news got a pleased chortle from Bahamut, and he released Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°A nascent Primordial, that is good news, though I noticed you said as strong as. Such details are key. I hope you manage the breakthrough required to return to a Primordial state. One thing to know is that acquiring experience will be meaningless at that point. Refining your essence to progress is a far more complex challenge.¡± I¡¯ll need to find out more about that later. A grin lit his gaze, and he offered a hand to Sarah. ¡°It is good to meet you again, Shindraithra. Though your evolution didn¡¯t give you a form attuned to my heavenly Plane, you¡¯re welcome to visit anytime.¡± Though Sarah had been abrupt before, at his greeting, Sarah clasped his arm and, after releasing his forearm, bowed respectfully. ¡°Lord Bahamut.¡± We¡¯re fully capable of getting things in altogether the wrong order, but we¡¯ve recovered. ¡°I had expected Silpar to be with you,¡± noted Bahamut. ¡°Has he caused problems for you, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Not any problem per se, just that I¡¯m staying here for a time, and his presence was chafing,¡± said Amdirlain, holding back a comment at Livia¡¯s reaction to Bahamut¡¯s arrival. ¡°While I appreciate you meant well, others being advised of my secrets without permission wasn¡¯t sitting well.¡± ¡°I can give you a list of all I told him. The details were relatively minor in the bigger scheme of things,¡± responded Bahamut apologetically. ¡°I wanted to ensure he understood the importance of the task I was setting him.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I should have thought to ask for that list before I let my guard down. Some of my deeds surprised him, and my issue with him is partly being irked with myself for showing my hand.¡± ¡°Hopefully, you can sort things out between you. He¡¯ll be useful to you unless you risk seeking other individuals for help in the deep planes,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°I had, in part, set him the hard task of assisting your endeavour so he would feel like he had properly atoned.¡± ¡°If I cut off his involvement, do you expect it will set him back?¡± Amdirlain enquired. I¡¯ve still got to figure out where things stand. Bahamut waved dismissively, as if she shouldn¡¯t concern herself with it. ¡°If he doesn¡¯t gain sufficient progress to reach the end of his Path from helping you, he¡¯ll have to get it another way, which is not your responsibility.¡± Harsh notes soured Sarah¡¯s theme, but she kept her expression composed. What was that about? ¡°Shall we head up the mountain while you inform me of the help you need along the way, or should we hold that conversation in Livia¡¯s presence?¡± enquired Bahamut. ¡°Some of the help I sought relates to the monastery, but there are personal matters related to Ori,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°We can talk along the way or Teleport to Livia and speak of Ori afterwards.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure whatever requests you¡¯ve suggested to Livia will be the quickest to resolve,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°Why don¡¯t we see her immediately and then relax somewhere to discuss your questions?¡± ¡°Should we rejoin you at the monastery¡¯s front gate?¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°At Livia¡¯s front door,¡± countered Bahamut, and he vanished along with the songbirds. Amdirlain shifted herself and Sarah, arriving as Bahamut knocked almost delicately on the door. The premises were empty except for Livia, who pulled the front door open in a dress that matched her flawless white skin and crystal blue eyes. The dominant blue of the layered dress was a whirling ice storm with the individual flakes silhouetted in white. ¡°Lord Bahamut, it¡¯s an honour that you came to visit. Please come inside,¡± invited Livia. ¡°I hope my modest dwelling isn¡¯t offensive.¡± ¡°Grand palaces have their place, as do training halls and offices, Lady Livia. There is no offence in a dwelling that fulfils the needs of its inhabitants without gaudy trappings,¡± said Bahamut as he made a show of examining the hall¡¯s decorations for the mortals. ¡°I like the cultural mix involved in your decorations. What criteria did you use for their selection?¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Livia stepped off to one side of the doors and ushered them inside. ¡°I merely picked decorations I found pleasing or whose meaning I found restful.¡± ¡°A home arranged to please the eye and ease the mind is for the best,¡± agreed Bahamut. ¡°Many of the decorations around my palaces are gifts I wouldn¡¯t have necessarily chosen myself. While many of them were crafted with skill to suit my tastes, I don¡¯t always like all of them.¡± ¡°Some days you do appreciate them?¡± ¡°Certain artworks require a particular mood to appreciate properly,¡± clarified Bahamut. ¡°Especially pieces that aren¡¯t quite aligned with one¡¯s focus.¡± ¡°A Jarl once gave me a tapestry displaying a bloody battlefield. While the craftsmanship was masterful, the subject matter left a sour taste whenever I viewed it,¡± commented Livia. Bahamut nodded. ¡°Exactly, even the grandest artistic efforts wane if the subject isn¡¯t to one¡¯s taste.¡± ¡°Will your escort join us in something other than songbird form?¡± asked Livia as she closed the door behind Amdirlain and Sarah. The stressed word drew a snort of amusement from Sarah. ¡°They¡¯re prone to fussing in any form,¡± replied Bahamut. ¡°Since they insisted on coming along, perhaps it might be best if they remained in their feathered shapes to avoid cluttering your home.¡± ¡°I could whip up some birdseed for them,¡± offered Amdirlain. Most of the escort stuck their beaks in the air in a mock huff, but one jumped from Bahamut¡¯s hat to land on Sarah¡¯s shoulder and tweeted away in a scolding tone a string of complaints about her species. Sarah huffed. ¡°I didn¡¯t exactly pick the species of Dragon I got offered in my evolution. Now, don¡¯t be a jerk, or I¡¯ll track down embarrassing stories from when you were a hatchling and spread them far and wide.¡± ¡°I wonder if I could disrupt the dimensional effect that allows you to shapeshift,¡± pondered Amdirlain. ¡°That might stop you from being a species snob.¡± With a snap of her wings, the Dragon returned to Bahamut¡¯s hat and stayed on the far side of its peak from Amdirlain. Tales of the powers of the Anar went ramping through the Dragon¡¯s public mind. Being out of the line of sight wouldn¡¯t help you if I could pull that off. Though, are they safe? Maybe I can manage it with the right fulcrum, even if I can¡¯t overcome you with brute force. A tweak contracted Resonance¡¯s range to a few hundred metres, and Amdirlain dipped it through the dimensional layers. As Livia led the way to the backroom, Amdirlain catalogued the dimensional linkages maintaining the forms of Bahamut¡¯s escorts. When she started considering the options for locking forms, she grew aware of Bahamut observing her patiently. ¡®Intending a practical joke, perhaps?¡¯ projected Bahamut. ¡®Research. I might run into a Red Dragon or another chromatic species that can shapeshift,¡¯ replied Amdirlain, restraining her surprise. ¡®Figuring out how to lock them in a more vulnerable form would be useful. That and they insisted on coming along to someone else¡¯s lair. With such trips, one never knows what might happen if you don¡¯t behave yourself. I didn¡¯t appreciate the old snob telling Sarah off for her new species.¡¯ With a mental chortle, his awareness withdrew from her mind. Livia led them to the backroom with its shutters open wide to provide an unobstructed view of the back courtyard and the picturesque view of the monastery, fields, and forest. Bahamut politely declined Livia¡¯s offer of refreshments, and she immediately moved on without a pause. With a fluid gesture, she motioned to the table and stood waiting for everyone to choose seats, but Bahamut stopped. ¡°I¡¯m a visitor; as this is your Domain, it¡¯s only right you sit first. I¡¯d be uncomfortable if I found I claimed your normal spot.¡± Livia sat down across from the door, and the others distributed themselves around the table. When Bahamut settled on a seat with a view out the back windows and started to remove his hat, the birds took flight and landed on the shelves holding assorted decorations about the room. ¡°What can I assist your Domain with, Livia?¡± asked Bahamut. Livia¡¯s gaze flicked to Amdirlain. ¡°This isn¡¯t a request for my Domain, but rather for the students of the monastery. Am will potentially help over two thousand students gain affinities, and we don¡¯t have magical instructors to handle their education.¡± ¡°Ahh and you¡¯re seeking dragons to assist,¡± said Bahamut, and he looked at Amdirlain. ¡°Are you paying them, or is the monastery?¡± ¡°What sort of payment is required?¡± inquired Livia. ¡°It depends, typically on the Dragon. Some teach because they want to improve their region or world. Still, many teach various students seeking to find a prodigy suitable to serve as their Voice,¡± replied Bahamut. ¡°While the one selected has a position for life if they wish it, the rest still receive training in the magical arts preferred by that Dragon and are free to teach others. Finally, some are more pragmatic and set teaching fees as a simple way to increase their hoard. However, since the monastery is not located near any instructors, those that teach for the first two reasons will probably be uninterested.¡± ¡°Except the students already have obligations to the monastery for other training, so they¡¯re not free to accept the position of Voice anyway,¡± said Livia. ¡°Given that Sarah had given a hefty list of conditions to teach the artificers advanced techniques, I hoped you¡¯d either suggest celestials or have a particular cost in mind.¡± ¡°Celestials would still require reimbursement. The goods they receive would be used to support worthy causes elsewhere,¡± said Bahamut before he glanced at Sarah curiously. ¡°You used to teach willingly simply to bolster a species.¡± ¡°That was in previous lives, and since the monastery wanted to handle Am through its usual bureaucracy, they aren¡¯t getting gifts from me in return,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Also, I wanted to ensure that anyone I taught took the lessons seriously. I find freebies are often treated with the same weight as their price.¡± ¡°Another reason for celestials requiring reimbursement,¡± acknowledged Bahamut. An approach to ensure the students appreciate it and pay the dragons without bankrupting the monastery. ¡°I might have a suggestion to allow both parties to benefit without an upfront layout,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What did you have in mind, M¨®eir?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°Are you just going to pay the fees and have people pay you back?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m going to let each student pay their own educational fees in gathered materials and gain experience simultaneously,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I could set up a training complex. Each Dragon¡¯s student will tithe a portion of what they bring back to their teacher and can deliver the rest of the materials to the duty pavilion for contribution points. Or perhaps the duty pavilion can handle the paperwork for the lot. The instructors can set a cost per lesson, and the gathering efforts are how that¡¯s met.¡± ¡°What about those students who don¡¯t want to be wizards or have yet to take any classes?¡± asked Livia. Sarah smiled. ¡°You need to see a training complex. They¡¯re so far beyond fighting constructs in Nolmar.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Livia. ¡°They were set up to help the natives get strong enough to handle the ghost caverns, weren¡¯t they?¡± I should have given Livia a better explanation. ¡°They¡¯re not just for combatants,¡± said Sarah as Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably with embarrassment. ¡°They¡¯ve got areas of gathering challenges that allow them to develop other skills besides combat. There aren¡¯t generally hazards in the early stages, but rarer materials have associated dangers that require teams to protect the gatherers against. The gatherers learn to appreciate their protectors, and usually, it doesn¡¯t take long for the guards to respect the difference between an untrained hack trying to bring back resources and someone skilled.¡± ¡°I¡¯d include regions where individuals could mine for metals and rare minerals,¡± added Amdirlain. Livia stiffened in surprise at the mention of metals. I really should have told her more about the training complexes. Did she think they were just for combat classes and harvesting from combat kills? ¡°Maybe you should set up a standard complex and let Livia see for herself,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Or sneak her into one you¡¯ve got active for Qil Tris already.¡± ¡°Would students not being instructed in magical arts be allowed to access the training complex?¡± inquired Livia hesitantly. ¡°If they tithe me a share of materials,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Why handle it that way?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°How is it normally handled in the kingdoms if a lord allows miners to work a vein on their lands or gatherers into their forests?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡±I¡¯ll set it as a low flat rate, so the more they push themselves, the more profit they¡¯ll make.¡± ¡°What will you do with the tithe?¡± asked Livia. ¡°The other masters will ask.¡± ¡°Since it''s mine, it¡¯s not their business, but I¡¯ll funnel it into teaching foundational skills on various worlds,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I like to set up self-sustaining improvements. I¡¯m trying to curb my generosity and let people''s efforts temper them. Yet helping someone get their foot onto the ladder through basic instruction allows them to set a foundation for their own dreams. Dreams need effort to become real.¡± The people of Qil Tris proved that to be true. ¡°I think I¡¯d need to see a training complex. I¡¯d visualised Nolmar¡¯s tower on a large scale. Once I¡¯ve seen it, we can discuss the options you¡¯re suggesting,¡± said Livia. ¡°Hadn¡¯t you decided not to establish one at Xaos because you had concerns?¡± ¡°The economic impacts could be substantial, but it gives you an option for your students to pay their teachers. I¡¯ve also since learnt from Master Cyrus why this Outpost has been set up,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The planes with their endless resources are at your fingertips, so no one has to choose to use the complexes.¡± Livia hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Do you have some sort of safety net like in Nolmar¡¯s tower?¡± ¡°None of them have a safety net, and I only put the one in place in Nolmar to avoid diminishing Xaos¡¯ garrison. The students will need to take the dangers seriously, but they¡¯re already risking their lives for contribution points when required to venture out of the monastery,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The advantage is they¡¯ll know what they¡¯re looking for is within the complex. Though they are big places, they aren¡¯t close to the scale of even a Quasi-Elemental Plane.¡± ¡°Now that we¡¯ve sorted out ?how the students can fund lessons, the question remains: Dragon or Celestial instructors?¡± said Bahamut. ¡°Celestials will be more selective in who they teach and expect certain standards of conduct from their students, standards that might not align with the Jade Court¡¯s ethics.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± murmured Livia. ¡°I was thinking of students getting the chance to gain mentors like Torm.¡± ¡°Take your time to consider it, but in either case, I¡¯ll require favours from both of you,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°If it had been something personal for either of you, I¡¯d not be worried. However, you¡¯re asking for my involvement in the lives of thousands of unknown individuals with flow-on effects into kingdoms I know nothing about.¡± I¡¯ve requested his time for an exercise that doesn¡¯t help him. ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°No, it¡¯s not fair,¡± said Livia, tapping the table and giving Amdirlain a firm look. ¡°You get nothing out of this M¨®eir, as that tithe of materials is meaningless to you. I¡¯ll take on the obligation of the favours. I¡¯ll either deliver on them directly or with the help of the Jade Court since the mortals in their kingdoms will benefit.¡± Bahamut shook his head. ¡°You¡¯ve missed the point, Livia. Amdirlain must learn that I¡¯m not here to solve all her problems. She asked for my help for mortals I¡¯ve no involvement with. As such, she needs to learn to appreciate there is a cost involved.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how I saw it,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°And if I was after magical instructors for myself as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯d have the best instructors here as soon as you wanted to start and reimburse them personally,¡± replied Bahamut. ¡°Though I wouldn¡¯t think you¡¯d need to use Mana.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a wasted resource if I don¡¯t develop my skills more,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°True Song isn¡¯t a Power I can simply teach someone I might wish to help in the future but I can teach them magic.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll see to some personal instructors for you as well. Let me know when you¡¯ve got somewhere for them to stay,¡± said Bahamut. I wonder if I can get them working with Yngvarr and the instructors in Nolmar as well. ¡®That would cost you another favour, Amdirlain,¡¯ projected Bahamut, answering her unspoken thought. ¡®There are implications if instructors I¡¯ve arranged end up involved there. I¡¯m happy to work with you for things mutually beneficial to you and the interests of metallic dragons. However, when your request draws resources into an effort that won¡¯t, I must ensure they¡¯re not taken for granted.¡¯ ¡®Among the worlds and planes, so many places require help. If you start making exceptions for one, where do you draw the line?¡¯ responded Amdirlain. ¡®Not just that, but you¡¯ll understand more if you become a Primordial again,¡¯ replied Bahamut. ¡®Do we have an agreement?¡¯ ¡®Fine,¡¯ agreed Amdirlain continuing to the mental exchange. ¡®Not a promise, just an agreement to fulfil a favour. I¡¯ll hold a veto option, but I¡¯ll owe you until it¡¯s repaid.¡¯ ¡®Good,¡¯ acknowledged Bahamut. Amdirlain broadcast amusement. ¡®I¡¯m not used to others being able to hear my thoughts.¡¯ ¡®Annoying, isn¡¯t it?¡¯ said Bahamut. ¡®You¡¯ll need to learn better discipline before you get free of the curse.¡¯ ¡®Wait? What about my help with the Formithian invaders?¡¯ questioned Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡®Shouldn¡¯t that count as a favour you owe me?¡¯ Bahamut chortled. ¡®I¡¯m glad you¡¯re also learning, but you didn¡¯t request a favour before dealing with the issue. You can consider that the price of the lesson.¡¯ ¡®Can you at least give me a hint as to why it¡¯s important?¡¯ inquired Amdirlain. Bahamut projected a subtle sense of frustration. ¡®Call it an issue with diluting one¡¯s purpose.¡¯ Before Amdirlain could ask more, Bahamut allowed her to sense his withdrawal from her mind and spoke. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss the situation with your monastery, Lady Livia, and the instructors you¡¯ll need.¡± The pair quickly got to the nuts and bolts of the outpost''s operation and purpose. 392 - The nature of things Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Bahamut and Livia discussed the options for instructors in various magical arts, housing, and teaching facilities. When Bahamut had given her some advice about logistical issues, Amdirlain had offered to help, but Livia shook her head. ¡°The monastery needs to overcome some challenges itself,¡± argued Livia. ¡°A few possess the Wizard Class and have access to Earth and Metal to speed up building.¡± ¡°Can I at least move the training hall off the site if an agreement is reached with Sarah for teaching?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Then the monastery could repurpose it into a theory lecture hall, and I¡¯ll build my own.¡± ¡°What are you offering to teach them?¡± inquired Bahamut. Amdirlain smiled bashfully. ¡°It¡¯s been pointed out to me that I need to teach what I know to assess my understanding properly. My combat style is self-developed, and I¡¯ve never taught it to anyone.¡± ¡°Sensible. While your True Song can likely handle much already, sometimes it¡¯s best to leave an understandable outcome,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°Also, if you evolve further, it will draw the attention of nearby primordials.¡± Oh? ¡°Does that come under the banner of requiring favours, or should we discuss that afterwards?¡± asked Amdirlain. The wrinkles around Bahamut¡¯s mouth and eyes deepened with his broad smile. ¡°Yes, let us focus on the monastery¡¯s needs. What is the upper limit of students that might gain the Wizard Class?¡± The numbers Livia went over weren¡¯t limited to those who¡¯d submitted Affinity requests but covered a mix of students, teaching masters, and assistants. Though Amdirlain was already aware of the forty thousand students at the monastery, the number surprised Sarah. Amdirlain kept her nose out of their exchange until they had agreed on the number of dragons Bahamut would recruit. Up to two hundred dragons will call this place home. Oh boy! Livia thoughtfully tapped a building report she¡¯d retrieved during the discussion. ¡°We¡¯ll need some lead time to construct housing for this many. I wouldn¡¯t want to insult them by providing inadequate dwellings.¡± ¡°Throughout the discussion, you didn¡¯t say if you intended to recruit the dragons providing instruction from a heavenly or Material Plane,¡± observed Amdirlain. Bahamut¡¯s brows furrowed. ¡°Does it matter?¡± ¡°I can see this becoming an advantageous location if the instructors are drawn from multiple worlds,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°How would it be beneficial if I draw them from worlds?¡± asked Bahamut. Sarah snorted. ¡°Likely the same thing I see. A neutral zone is an ideal meeting ground for finding a potential mate.¡± ¡°That was my thought,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But a moot point if you¡¯re just going to recruit them from one of the heavenly planes.¡± ¡°Gold and silver dragons are found on many worlds,¡± admitted Bahamut with a sigh. ¡°Some of them could do with diversity in their bloodlines.¡± ¡°Them coming from multiple worlds might be a headache to us because of cultural issues and all that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What do you think, Lady Livia?¡± ¡°True cultural clashes can be a problem,¡± agreed Livia. ¡°You have to watch for certain individuals throwing things into chaos.¡± ¡°Isa is terrible at that,¡± said Amdirlain, ignoring Livia¡¯s amused smile. ¡°Of course, the monastery hosting them and giving the dragons a reason to socialise for a prolonged period is doing you a favour.¡± ¡°There are other places dragons can socialise,¡± countered Bahamut. ¡°The Dragon gatherings are places to brag and preen for mates, but some avoid them because of the usual drama,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Working here gives them a location without the usual posturing. Indeed, if you tell them they can¡¯t recruit from here, the students aren¡¯t potential servants they¡¯re competing over.¡± ¡°To make up for that, I¡¯ll pay them a bonus for learning the local customs and keeping things calm,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°But not for the actual teaching itself, as that¡¯s up to their students to cover,¡± declared Livia. ¡°Exactly. This is more a behavioural incentive to sweeten the pot,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s completely unnecessary and they¡¯d be on their best behaviour with no need for chastisement.¡± One of the gold songbirds tilted its head. ¡°What sort of bonus?¡± ¡°Depends on how satisfied I am with their performance,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If they make me ecstatic, I¡¯ll provide mithril bars, weaponry, or equipment for their future servants. It won¡¯t be a matter of the first one to the prize. If they all achieve that, I¡¯ll reward them all equally.¡± ¡°That will put them into a more relaxed mood,¡± agreed Bahamut, his eyes gleaming with amusement. ¡°Simply trying to learn the local culture to understand their students, I¡¯d imagine they¡¯ll likely talk among themselves,¡± said Sarah. ¡°About what they find different from their homes, hopefully leading to an exchange of ideas. The key is, once they start talking, they¡¯ll find common ground and next thing you know, mating flights are going on.¡± ¡°Plus, the locals are big on titles and proper respect being shown, so far safer socialising around them instead of some species I can think of,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll take that into consideration for whatever repayment I request from you,¡± allowed Bahamut. ¡°Provided anything comes of it.¡± Sarah grinned in anticipation. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°With that, Lady Livia, we both have things to do. I¡¯ll bid farewell to you and will now address Amdirlain¡¯s questions for me,¡± said Bahamut. Livia rose from her seat and bowed respectfully. ¡°Thank you for your time, Lord Bahamut.¡± ¡°Shall we go to your training hall?¡± questioned Bahamut, and he gathered up the hat he¡¯d set on the table with the songbirds reclaiming their perches upon it. With a nod of agreement, Amdirlain simply teleported there. As she had expected from conversing with Tyr, Bahamut had no trouble teleporting beside her into the courtyard, and Sarah was only a moment behind. ¡°What would you like to discuss?¡± asked Bahamut. Amdirlain motioned to her room. ¡°I hoped for your view on a harp that inspired a series of memories. They¡¯ve continued to emerge even after I ceased to play.¡± She felt Bahamut¡¯s attention linger on the harp. ¡°You used a harp created by the Greek Gods while they existed outside this realm. What made you think that was a good idea?¡± ¡°It was given to me by the sole member of their pantheon that still possesses a Mantle, and she suggested it might prove useful as a training instrument,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Using Analysis on it, Gideon provided no warning or smart alec remarks, just a bland statement about its origins.¡± ¡°Perhaps they believe that would be enough to warn you off it, but left the choice up to you,¡± said Bahamut, and he headed inside. He paused by the harp and ran his fingers along its arch. ¡°You¡¯re fortunate there is no malice with it, nor is there any active enchantment linking to you. What were you trying to achieve when you played it?¡± Amdirlain flushed, embarrassed by the impulse that had led her to stick her nose into Ori¡¯s past. ¡°I¡¯d retrieved a past life memory involving myself and Sarah, and it seemed to imply a different relationship between Ori and Shindraithra than I had understood from their initial oath,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I sought understanding.¡± Bahamut¡¯s brows lifted, and he put his hand to the rim of his hat and dipped it to shade his gaze. ¡°You know I¡¯d be able to see the amusement in your eyes even if you were kilometres away?¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Landed yourself in the hot seat did you?¡± asked Bahamut. ¡°It is a harp of muses, so it inspired understanding.¡± ¡°Yes, and snippets of the memories have kept coming,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It quietened down when we were waiting, but they were so distracting I was concerned about the danger if they continued.¡± ¡°How distracting?¡± ¡°Ori could handle far more songs than I can and she was continually listening to them,¡± said Amdirlain, and she tapped the side of her head. ¡°It was like I was living every moment but all the choices were hers. Between the songs and her emotions, I had trouble following conversations around me when they surged.¡± ¡°She had a very keen mind, even among those I knew in other realms. So it¡¯s unsurprising you find her memories overwhelming,¡± accepted Bahamut. ¡°Especially emotional memories involving Shindraithra. I believe the key is what you sought: understanding. That isn¡¯t always gained in a moment but requires repeated exposure, especially when hard heads are involved. It was a shame the flame between them didn¡¯t rekindle in later lives.¡± ¡°Among other things, a badly worded promise was responsible for that,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Did you know promises fundamentally altered Ori¡¯s mindset?¡± Bahamut lifted his gaze from the harp. ¡°That I didn¡¯t know. How did you learn of it?¡± ¡°I felt her distress when a promise Ori made Syl settled in place,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I also felt her grief when she recognised aeons later what had happened.¡± ¡°And that¡¯s why you want to know what promises she made me?¡± asked Bahamut. The songbirds took wing when he dropped his hat to the table and pulled out a chair across for Amdirlain. Though the harp offered a convenient perch, none of them went near it, opting for the backs of chairs, and one landed again on the bent peak of Bahamut¡¯s hat. ¡°This is a sit-down conversation? Are you going to tell me about the birds and the bees?¡± quipped Amdirlain nervously. ¡°Perhaps it is something fundamental from a Primordial sense,¡± offered Bahamut, and he picked a spot at the table across from the entry and considered the stark room. ¡°I see you and Livia have similar tastes in furnishings¡ªminimalistic with refined accents.¡± ¡°This is just a training hall I¡¯ve hired from the monastery,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t liked what they¡¯d provided, I¡¯m sure you would have replaced it already,¡± countered Bahamut. ¡°Would you tell me of any promises Ori made to you?¡± asked Amdirlain. Bahamut rested his hands on the table in front of him. ¡°That would cover some fairly complex negotiations. Are you sure the promises Orh¨ºthurin made are still impacting you? Her death should have removed the obligation.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve run into undead held in that state because of obligations unfulfilled in life,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah released me from promises made by Orh¨ºthurin, and I felt a burden shift around in my Soul.¡± ¡°Some promises you will probably never learn about, and some agreements she had with me aren¡¯t things I can discuss with you at this time,¡± explained Bahamut. ¡°Nor are those promises items I can release you from even though your Soul is the same.¡± ¡°What debt do I have hanging over my head?¡± groaned Amdirlain. Bahamut snorted. ¡°The debt isn¡¯t over your head, Amdirlain. Orh¨ºthurin provided certain things, and the repayment of myself and others was to undertake specific endeavours for this realm. The annulment of those agreements would require compensation provided to Orh¨ºthurin and Nicholaus and for us to leave the realm. However, since you¡¯ve made it clear you¡¯re not Orh¨ºthurin, compensation would need to be supplied to Nicholaus. Even if I released you, I know of others who entered into agreements with Orh¨ºthurin that you don¡¯t have the means to reach.¡± ¡°Where are they?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I can likely get to many planes remotely if not in person.¡± ¡°Not in this realm,¡± clarified Bahamut. ¡°The ability to travel between realms isn¡¯t one most primordials or gods can even gain. Travel between realms is normally undertaken through the help of those few primordials found within a realm with the ability to Realm Step.¡± The locked power that was displayed in my Prestige Class. Why did you set up the Class to include it Gideon? Or did Ori leave her Soul with the ability? ¡°Did that ring a bell for you?¡± asked Bahamut. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Something I remembered.¡± ¡°Hmm,¡± huffed Bahamut. ¡°On top of that, even if you were to regain the ability to move between realms or get help from someone who can, there is another challenge. I don¡¯t know all the realms the pair visited, but I know they visited many. I don¡¯t know how many of those visits ended with forged agreements.¡± ¡°I remember Nicholaus kept remaking the forge room, and they¡¯d stop off in a new realm each time,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Though I can¡¯t remember how many times that occurred.¡± ¡°The creation of a realm isn¡¯t straightforward,¡± stated Bahamut. ¡°I have shards present in fifty-eight realms set at a rapid internal temporal pace that they visited before crafting this realm. On top of that, I know there were more places besides those they called upon.¡± Did the Greek Gods hound them across realms? ¡°I know why they interacted with some of the realms, but what is your view on why they visited so many?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If a being created those realms, couldn¡¯t they have learned from them?¡± ¡°They weren¡¯t being pursued in those realms, if that is what you were thinking,¡± stated Bahamut. ¡°The answer to that is simple and complex. The most valuable commodity transferable between realms is knowledge. In every realm they visited, Orh¨ºthurin or Nicholaus sought to learn how the local creators managed certain facets of the realm¡¯s creation and balance. Though they weren¡¯t just looking to make a copy, they often wanted the reasoning behind the creators¡¯ choices. Sometimes Orh¨ºthurin would soak up the realm¡¯s underlying rules and the design of its galaxies, pay for the information in one fashion or another, and they¡¯d move inside of a day.¡± She¡¯d soak it up, and she considered herself Mortal? Oh yes, I¡¯m a completely average girl. Fucking hell. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°But other times, they visited realms and rescued some inhabitants,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Tia was one such that they freed,¡± agreed Bahamut with a frown. ¡°Though I never got a proper explanation for why they opted to free her. I advised Ori that there were others she could gain the planetary knowledge from, but she sought after the version Tia could provide.¡± ¡°The Mesopotamian gods ripped Tia¡¯s body apart and used the halves of her rib cages to form the limits of earth and sky. But the life they grew between those boundaries provided a seal for her divided state,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The linkage between the Mortal and the Divine that Tia¡¯s children crafted gave Ori an important key.¡± ¡°You learned this from her memories?¡± inquired Bahamut curiously. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Given she already knew Moradin and me before she released Tia, I had wondered why she hadn¡¯t simply used what she learnt from us. Orh¨ºthurin wasn¡¯t forthcoming, only saying that Tia had provided a key she required,¡± advised Bahamut. ¡°The realms your principal manifestation crafted didn¡¯t have such traps,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°In a way you could consider it a compliment.¡± Bahamut frowned. ¡°Traps? She designed the mantles around what she learned from Tia?¡± ¡°The seal didn¡¯t just hold Tia. It also drew strength from her, and that¡¯s where the mantles¡¯ siphon effect on an individual¡¯s strength came from,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Without that drain, Tia would have healed her devastating injuries.¡± ¡°Now it makes sense, and the allure of the mantles catches many in their web,¡± sighed Bahamut. ¡°Even the best of intentioned individuals can fall for the shortcut to greatness they believe the mantles offer. How much have you remembered about her life before this realm?¡± ¡°Some time spent training, fragments of visits to yourself, Moradin, a few other deities, and the Fey courts,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Did you meet her before or after she¡¯d transformed herself?¡± ¡°The first time we met in person, she already had her elven appearance. Though Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s eye colour slowly changed over the years as she refined her Primordial essence until it gained the golden hue she created the Anar with,¡± replied Bahamut. ¡°Why did you pick that form?¡± Bahamut tapped his fingers on the brim of his hat. ¡°It¡¯s just a form I¡¯d adopted for visiting Asgard. I knew what it felt like and looked like and figured it might cause less disruption here to appear Human.¡± ¡°Just for convenience?¡± questioned Amdirlain. His form blurred, and across from Amdirlain sat a female Lizardfolk covered from snout to tail in liquid silver scales that rippled with the gentle breeze that came in the window. ¡°Is the distortion in your True Form concerning you? Or is this part of what you¡¯re still sorting out?¡± The words were spoken in a hissing tongue, but the intent behind them came through clearly, projected flawlessly by Bahamut¡¯s will. I told Cyrus my True Form doesn¡¯t matter. Then why does flesh matter? Love matters, the person¡¯s nature matters, but flesh? Does it matter? ¡°Hang up about gender from my last life,¡± explained Amdirlain. I did die, and I also took up a new name. Did my acceptance not come across convincingly enough? ¡°A Human lifetime, and yet you¡¯ve chosen an elven form as your public persona,¡± noted Bahamut. Viper¡¯s digging triggered me to take on an elven form, yet it was so close to the form assumed during my confrontation with her in Yngvarr¡¯s home. I should go back and listen to the song I released while I was out of it. I¡¯m surprised it didn¡¯t destroy me. ¡°We had stories containing Fey and elves in the last realm I reincarnated in,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What we nurture and hold within ourselves wins out in the end,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°This is especially true with Primordial beings. Where most intelligent species have access to classes, that isn¡¯t the case with a Primordial. We instead have natures. You could call them facets of our focus.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Bahamut smiled tightly. ¡°Might I ask you a question instead?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°What is the difference between a Primordial and a God?¡± ¡°Gods need worshipers. A Primordial¡¯s strength comes from within,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Since their strength comes from within, why would you think a realm¡¯s rules determine how they can gain strength?¡± asked Bahamut. Amdirlain opened her mouth to object and stopped. ¡°Did someone set the overall rules for the Far Chaos and all the realms others have created?¡± Bahamut smiled and ignored the question. ¡°This realm¡¯s rules determine how species and classes gain experience, but that isn¡¯t true for a Primordial. Nor do they get classes.¡± ¡°What do they get then?¡± ¡°The strength of their four strongest natures determines the manifestation they can evoke through their Primordial Will, or they need to go through the powers and skills of the realm.¡± ¡°And those natures don¡¯t increase in strength through experience gain,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The realm only controls how a Primordial can express their strengths, it doesn¡¯t influence how or if we can increase it,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°The mechanism of experience is a construct of this realm.¡± ¡°How do you increase your strength?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°You said it was more challenging than gaining experience.¡± ¡°We refine insights into key facets of our natures,¡± replied Bahamut. ¡°Which is far easier said than done, especially with the rules influencing how we can express them and how many we can tap to cause effects.¡± ¡°What sort of things are you talking about?¡± ¡°At a fundamental level, any concept you can think of, from very narrow to very broad. Some primordials double down by focusing on similar closely related facets in which to gain strength and broaden their reach when they cross tiers while others grow strength in several facets and combine them at a similar point,¡± explained Bahamut. ¡°The same way a Prestige Class is a combination?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Similar, and it might be where Orh¨ºthurin developed the idea, certainly the obtaining of insights and understanding is how the powers and skills progress,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°This is the only realm I¡¯ve seen with a Prestige Class system like the one she set up. It is also the only one I¡¯m aware of that lets a Primordial use only its strongest four facets to evoke their capability within the realm.¡± ¡°They can only ever have four active?¡± ¡°Yes, but they can alter them with growth. If Primordial with a minor facet of inspiration that they couldn¡¯t select as one of the four wanted to strengthen that facet of their being, they¡¯d have to serve as a normal muse to develop it. If it¡¯s strong enough, the next time they increased their tier, they¡¯d have the option to select it as one of their quartet to manifest through Primordial Will.¡± ¡°You can see Profiles?¡± ¡°No, but upon transformation you see reality, and your interaction points with it express the nature involved,¡± explained Bahamut. The memory of the thing she¡¯d seen bound in the Abyss sprang to mind. ¡°And those who object end up bound.¡± ¡°Bound or expelled,¡± confirmed Bahamut. ¡°It depends on the rules they tried to break.¡± ¡°But the only example you can give me would be simplified ones,¡± said Amdirlain. Bahamut nodded. ¡°The insights into both your natures and strengths has to come from within, just as a Primordial¡¯s strength lies within themselves. The more similar natures we strengthen the more our nature influences how our powers are expressed and what we can do with our Primordial Will. Do you know what that is?¡± ¡°Ori made True Song based on her manifestation of that ability,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t forget Resonance,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°A Primordial¡¯s power manifests based upon how they see reality. For Orh¨ºthurin, that was her music, whereas I perceive everything as energy flows. When she explained her abilities to me, it sounded like complex multidimensional equations facilitated through music.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡±Certainly, the musical notation for it is along those lines.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t need my help with the harp. Still, it''s not something to leave lying around casually. Should I take it with me, or will you secure it?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to keep it since you said it wasn¡¯t a threat,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Just be careful what you¡¯re trying to use it for next time you touch its strings,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°What else can I help you with?¡± ¡°So, to break through, I¡¯ll need to gain insights into the strongest elements of my nature?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not as simple as that, and I¡¯ve said too much if you¡¯re already contemplating it,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot of growth to go. Custodian told you to get strong, so the only advice I will give you is to gain as much ability to channel energy as you can with your classes.¡± ¡°Magic rating?¡± ¡°Any sort of energy,¡± clarified Bahamut. ¡°For Mana, it''s your magic rating, psionics the key is your Intelligence, and True Song¡¯s key is primarily Endurance. If you were a Priest, the key is Willpower or Charisma, depending on your deity.¡± Sarah huffed. ¡°It sounds like the eastern Dao, finding a path that expresses your truth. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn with a side of stubborn.¡± Amdirlain showed Sarah her palm. ¡°Never mind, Sarah. Have you met any of the Jade Court, Bahamut?¡± ¡®Talk to the hand indeed,¡¯ laughed Sarah mentally. ¡®No respect for your Grandmaster Sugar Mama?¡¯ Bahamut shook his head. ¡°Other than Master Farhad and Lady Livia, not as yet. Their heavenly Plane is on a different axis to the outer planes I¡¯m used to travelling. Maybe I should travel and see the Jade Emperor and check if such teachings would merely waste your time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that aspect of the Jade Court I¡¯m curious about. I¡¯m trying to understand how they readily access the Material Plane. Do the same rules apply to a Primordial to access the Material Plane as other beings from outer planes?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No,¡± said Bahamut. ¡°If they did, Orh¨ºthurin wouldn¡¯t have been able to live on various worlds over the initial aeons. It¡¯s not normally an issue, as most Primordial beings don¡¯t even like sending avatars to planes that don¡¯t mesh with their nature. The Gate that allowed Leviathan access was only required because of the dimensional disruption afflicted on Veht? before the attack.¡± A memory of the ecstatic feeling that rose from within Orh¨ºthurin as a new world bloomed had Amdirlain blurting a question. ¡°Was Ori¡¯s nature Creation or Life?¡± ¡°Fishing for that sort of information will have me cut short my visit,¡± cautioned Bahamut. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hamper you. Incomplete answers will increase your preconceptions and, in turn, the difficulty of your task. Everyone¡¯s answers differ, as true understanding can only come from within.¡± That sounds like something Kadaklan might say. ¡°That certainly sounds like the Jade Court¡¯s paths. Alright, so your sole advice is to get better at channelling energy,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°That removes a lot of Class options that I¡¯ve currently got.¡± ¡°Like you¡¯d take any lesser Class options!¡± snorted Bahamut. ¡°You asked me for magical instructors for yourself. Might I ask why you didn¡¯t request Morgana to assist you personally?¡± The grief-stricken tones she¡¯d heard in Morgana¡¯s song before Amdirlain had left Claughuthruuazex to his last flights touched raw nerves of emotion. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to impose on her. I heard enough to be sure she¡¯d still be mourning Claughuthruuazex,¡± replied Amdirlain. Bahamut frowned with concern. ¡°I assure you she¡¯d appreciate a distraction, but that is up to you.¡± ¡°Let me think about it, and I¡¯ll let you know,¡± responded Amdirlain. The echoing loss had words on her lips before she could reconsider. ¡°Is there a way for a being not born a Primordial to become one?¡± ¡°Other than one who is regaining such a state?¡± enquired Bahamut, and at Amdirlain¡¯s nod, he continued. ¡°I¡¯ve heard of such events in other realms, but I¡¯m uncertain if any have occurred here. Truthfully, it¡¯s outside my area of interest, and the tales I have heard haven¡¯t drawn my attention enough to check. What does concern me is your uncertain situation. You¡¯ve two challenges ahead of you: regaining the state and doing so in a fashion that allows you to advance through the tiers again.¡± ¡°Being a Primordial isn¡¯t enough?¡± ¡°Amdirlain, don¡¯t waste my time. We both know it wouldn¡¯t be enough for you,¡± said Bahamut sternly. ¡°You¡¯ve got the feel about you of someone that won¡¯t rest without the power to make change.¡± ¡°And what do you think will happen if I don¡¯t break through to being a Primordial?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll end up a strong Outsider of whatever Plane resonates with your Soul,¡± advised Bahamut. ¡°Whatever Nicholaus or Orh¨ºthurin did to allow her Soul to be reborn seems to have come undone with your evolution to Fallen.¡± I¡¯d be immortal, but Sarah is merely long-lived? Merely? Amdirlain pretended to sigh in relief. ¡°I figured that would be the case.¡± ¡°Given your ability to make enemies, if that occurs, you¡¯ll be in great danger no matter the Plane you live on,¡± observed Bahamut. ¡°You¡¯ve repeatedly shown your willingness to pick fights with anyone who disregards others, so I hope my words don¡¯t tip the balance away from your restoration.¡± The chime of Gideon¡¯s awareness touched against Sarah. ¡°One hundred seventeen beings from the outer planes have become primordials,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°Only one of those obtained the ability to progress through the tiers. All of them were divine beings who internalised their power.¡± ¡°Your Analysis Skill?¡± enquired Bahamut. ¡°Yep,¡± replied Sarah, smiling at Amdirlain. ¡°It seems you¡¯re not the first to have gained an evolution or three.¡± ¡°An individual¡¯s Class visions don¡¯t clarify how they got the options,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°All the uncertainty obscures things.¡± ¡°Whereas you know what¡¯s involved,¡± said Sarah, reassuringly squeezing her hand. ¡°Now you just need to beat the odds.¡± ¡°Proper preparation prevents piss poor performance,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯d tell me what question you focused on to get that information, I¡¯d like to see what snark Gideon has for me.¡± ¡°Later,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Though you might not have your Analysis high enough.¡± ¡°True, there are a bunch of abilities I¡¯ve not pushed along,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Like your Lesser Gate?¡± laughed Sarah. Bahamut snorted, and his sapphire gaze twinkled with suppressed amusement. ¡°A demonic ability? Have you ever used it?¡± Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Not once. I had better things to do with my time than pull in random demons to kill.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you like your lists,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I need to get better at tackling them in the order I intended instead of letting someone else play hijinks with my priorities,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Time will let you determine what things require urgency to address and what are merely distractions,¡± advised Bahamut, and he picked up his hat and rose. ¡°I¡¯ll line up a teacher in case you decide not to ask Morgana for help.¡± The songbirds reappeared on Bahamut¡¯s shoulders before he vanished; his Planar Shift left lingering Celestial energy in the room. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully and vacated the room despite Pain Eater not reporting a problem. As she stepped onto the white gravel layering the courtyard, Sarah provided the wording she used to seek information from Gideon. Still, all Amdirlain got was a brief spike of resistance. ¡°Nothing,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What is your Analysis rated at?¡± ¡°It¡¯s in Grandmaster rank,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not even close,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not like you don¡¯t have other options. Isa doesn¡¯t even have it at Master rank since she¡¯s relied so much on Resonance.¡± Amdirlain opted for the bench that set her back to the nearest building. As Sarah sat, her form shifted into the male Elf. ¡°You accused me of cheating,¡± grumbled Amdirlain playfully. Amusement flashed in their sapphire eyes. ¡°Am I not good enough eye candy for you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even know what to call you in that form,¡± protested Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged casually. ¡°I don¡¯t care what you call me: Sarah, Syl, Shindraithra, or scores of other names. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m coming out as trans and need a lipstick name.¡± ¡°They all feel like your memories?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Though I see the memories tinted through the lens of my current sensibilities, they all feel like mine, just a younger me.¡± Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably on the bench and flowed upright, pausing as Sarah released her hand. As long steps carried her about the courtyard, Amdirlain grew aware of Sarah¡¯s gaze. Amdirlain flushed and smiled sheepishly. ¡°I never used to react to you watching me.¡± ¡°I was very aware of that,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Not that I was constantly watching you. I was careful to guard against that sort of creep-fest behaviour, and it seems I¡¯ve got my own adjusting to do.¡± ¡°Did I rattle more than my own barriers?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been oblivious, and you were guarded, but your body language has loosened up.¡± Sarah¡¯s warm smile was fleeting. ¡°Hope does that, Am.¡± ¡°We might be here a few years,¡± noted Amdirlain nervously, seeking to change the subject. Sarah laughed gleefully in a warm tenor. ¡°That would truly be a hardship. Years of your company without worrying about something trying to kill either of us. We didn¡¯t have that luxury on Qil Tris hunting Eldritch.¡± ¡°Having a home here doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t take jaunts to get into trouble elsewhere,¡± refuted Amdirlain. ¡°Day trips to blow things up and create more demi-planes. I¡¯m still thousands of demi-planes short of the number I need to fulfil my goals on Qil Tris. Though I should also set up a surplus for the rise of additional cities.¡± ¡°When were you planning to do more?¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°Tonight?¡± ¡°According to the monastery schedule, it¡¯s not far after midnight,¡± noted Sarah, and she waved at the gentle sunlight. ¡°Hard to tell, right? Since it¡¯s still technically night, did you mean now or after your lessons today?¡± ¡°Good point,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re right. I¡¯ve got hours before Kadaklan shows up for my morning lesson. Shall we go now?¡± ¡°Are you sure you want me along?¡± questioned Sarah carefully. ¡°You might feel better for some private time, and I don¡¯t want to be crowding you.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze shone with conviction. ¡°I want you along.¡± At Sarah¡¯s responding smile, Amdirlain extended her hand. Sarah rose and strode across the courtyard to her, blurring between forms with each step. ¡°What way do you want me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± replied Amdirlain softly, ignoring the playful innuendo. ¡°Most of all, I want my friend, and I¡¯m scared I¡¯m going to screw up. My self-doubts whisper, and I need to listen to your theme to get the thoughts to quieten, but that feels nosey and cheating.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll stop teasing you about that,¡± said Sarah. Strong fingers gently cupped Amdirlain¡¯s face in long fingers, and a soft kiss brushed her forehead. ¡°A friend-zoned guy needs to stay away for a time so a lady¡¯s mental canvas can reset, but you¡¯ve got a perfect memory, so leaving it be will never reset your attitude towards me without us working things out.¡± Resonance dipped deeper, letting Amdirlain take in the unguarded care and concern. ¡°Let me do something easier than emotions for a time. With something to distract my mind, I won¡¯t be so caught up in my baggage.¡± ¡°Creating a demi-plane is easier than untangling emotions,¡± agreed Sarah. The pair vanished, and an idle breeze played with a shed songbird feather. 393 - Unwritten Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Barren Demi-Plane The sheer unbroken darkness was a smothering weight as they hovered high above the bedrock of the Demi-Plane. ¡°Dark in here, isn¡¯t it?¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°Ha ha,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re not in a book and you¡¯re not death, thank you.¡± ¡°I enjoyed Terry Pratchett¡¯s sense of humour,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Not all of that series grabbed me, but most were fun and quirky. I expected you to shift us to Foundry, or will you open the gates from this one?¡± ¡°No, I intend to sort out one and see what impact my improved Resonance has on the process,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I can keep myself aloft,¡± advised Sarah. Releasing Amdirlain¡¯s hand, she floated away and, when clear, transformed into her Dragon form. The psionic energy in her mind lit up her faceted scales in a brilliant burst of red. ¡°Do I give the experience to my older classes?¡± asked Amdirlain. After considering the Intelligence gains provided by levelling different classes, she shifted her experience allocation. With an idle flap, Sarah sent herself off in a big loop around Amdirlain. Her left wingtip remained pointed at Amdirlain despite the large circle required by Sarah¡¯s flight in the gigantic form. Amdirlain didn¡¯t start immediately but extended Resonance out to its limits, and in the near silence of the barren Demi-Plane, she got it to brush against the planar boundary. The initial melodies were those to thicken the bedrock and lace it with metallic veins. Glaring imperfections drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention as the melodies rippled outwards, and she halted the songs in a stumble of notes. Lifting higher, she reduced the scope of the music and sang to the bedrock directly below her. This time, even as Amdirlain took in the imperfections, she continued to sing. When she completed the song, the ground sounded settled into the tones that Amdirlain had expected, but a tight frown wrinkled her face. ¡°Problem?¡± rumbled Sarah. ¡°I can hear imperfections in my pitch,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a distracting rasp magnified by all the notes.¡± ¡°Your ability to measure the accuracy of your pitch has increased,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°It reminds me of a story about car manufacturing and part tolerance.¡± Amdirlain lifted her brows sceptically. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Now, I don¡¯t know if the story is fact, but it¡¯s what I remember. This car company got a trial shipment of parts from a new supplier after World War II and set up an assembly line using their parts. I don¡¯t know if they were sure they¡¯d fail, wanted to point the finger back to the factory, or didn¡¯t want to risk parts causing issues with other vehicles. When the first car came off the line, a QA tester took it for a spin and drove it around the track without an issue, yet couldn¡¯t shake the feeling something was wrong,¡± said Sarah, and she changed her course from a circle to a figure-eight centred above Amdirlain. ¡°Bad parts?¡± Sarah waggled her wings but kept her figure-eight going. ¡°The guy parked it in the lot near the track and got in another car to go back to the factory, and on the way, the problem struck him. The car manufactured with parts from the old supplier rattled, and he couldn¡¯t remember a car he¡¯d driven that didn¡¯t rattle. When he returned to the factory, he started to measure parts and found that all were right on specification, not only within the tolerance for the part but every part he measured was exactly right.¡± ¡°The old parts were within the tolerance requirements?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yep, but they had fractional differences that were enough to cause the rattle despite the older cars being fine to drive,¡± said Sarah. ¡°They contacted the new factory and asked them what they¡¯d done with the parts only within tolerance, not wanting to get stuck in the same situation if they ordered more parts. Their reply was simple: we sent you all the parts we made.¡± ¡°That could be an urban myth,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Potential for urban myth aside, I think you¡¯ve got a tolerance issue,¡± said Sarah. ¡°The notes are close enough to provide the effect you designed them for, but now you can hear the slight variations. From what I remember, those variations used to frustrate Ori. She¡¯d complain about white noise inside the early choirs, distorting the creation of stars and planets. Instead of a yellow sun she¡¯d end up with an orange sun, or an atmosphere with the wrong proportion of gases.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to tighten up my projections,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Proper form, not speed, young one,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Fine, yes, the speed will come,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she began again, taking the Demi-Plane¡¯s construction a layer at a time. She focused on her performance, mindful of hitting the notes precisely. The duplication of Sarah¡¯s playground was a more complex Demi-Plane than those in the series that she¡¯d last created in mere minutes, but it wasn¡¯t why it took hours to complete. The growth of the Demi-Plane caused a saturation of themes in her mind that thrummed through her skull and smashed against flesh. Still, Amdirlain held on, only begrudgingly lowering Resonance¡¯s sensitivity by shades of degrees at a time. Melodies that she had learned to compress to the bare essentials, she sang in full. Each orchestral piece was held and supported, lessening the physical toll it ripped from her flesh, but the number she sustained strained her awareness; burdened as it was with the growing details of her surroundings. As the work progressed, it forced Amdirlain¡¯s hand, and she retracted Resonance¡¯s reach, singing the melodies by rote to targets out of its reach. In the end, she only held Resonance out to her previous maximum of a hundred kilometres, with a higher quality of perception. The plant life and animals moving below them mugged her with mental body blows before she completed the last piece. As the experience flooded into her, what had become an unmanageable tidal wave of information that had strained her ability to take it in became as automatic as breathing. The notification came with the last rush, and the details hummed in the background of her mind, now just needing her to focus on the details in an overall picture instead of trying to collapse into a distorted mess of data. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Grouped by type Self-sustaining continent-sized biome (small) x1 Inland sea biome (small) x1 Bonus elements:
  • Narrow band of megafauna x1
  • Narrow band of Jurassic period fauna x1
  • Colossal magical creature breeds x2
Total Experience gained: 10,205,910,025 Olind?: +10,205,910,025 Olind? Levelled Up! x112 True Song Genesis [G] (8->10)] No note from Gideon? Are they okay? The gauge in her levels was a surge of vitality and more. She pushed the Power¡¯s reach out to the thousand kilometres it allowed. Amdirlain marvelled at the crystal-clear perspective for three sustained beats. However, as the pressure of absorbing it ramped up, she pulled her awareness back to a mere three kilometres. The Mana flows around her flexed and shuddered with the expansion of her Mana capacity; as she automatically started syphoning in the surrounding energy. A few quick songs bolstered the ley lines, and Amdirlain held still to wait it out. She could feel other changes going on, but ignored the ripples within her True Form and glanced at her Profile to confirm the outcome of the level surge. Working to keep the notes under tighter control certainly made a difference. My Endurance is just shy of nine thousand seven hundred, my Intelligence is at over seven thousand one hundred, and my Charisma is just over eight thousand. I hope that doesn¡¯t come back to bite me. My magic rating nearing ten thousand is quite the change that should smooth out the effort of singing and is a step towards achieving Bahamut¡¯s advice. Still, it¡¯s marvellous the difference a couple of thousand points in Intelligence makes to handling Resonance, even if my Willpower is suddenly out-levelled by three attributes. My Strength and quickness are lagging, but I feel tank-worthy with nearly ten million Health and a Defence that should be over thirteen thousand if I set the spare points into Willpower. Though putting the spare attributes into Intelligence to extend the utility of Resonance further was tempting, she dumped the lot into Willpower. Though it caused a proportionally slight jump in her Defence and Melee Attack Power, the result still earned a smile. Satisfied, Amdirlain closed her Profile. ¡®Lots of dinosaurs on this Demi-Plane and an inland sea? Did you make another playpen?¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡°If we¡¯re going to have over a hundred dragons calling the monastery home, I figured I should give them somewhere to stretch their wings and hunt,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°As I¡¯m fairly certain you wouldn¡¯t be inclined to share yours.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my territory,¡± rumbled Sarah, and her words sent herds distant from the shadows of her wings racing further away. ¡°I doubled my magic rating,¡± chuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Should I make another and see how the creation goes?¡± Sarah transformed back into the silvery-hair male Elf and appeared beside Amdirlain. ¡°What did you level?¡± ¡°I poured the lot into my Olind? Class,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Not the most carefully considered decision I¡¯m aware, but it promised the biggest jump in Intelligence, and I shoved the spare attribute points into Willpower. I feel clear-headed again.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you a serious question,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. She nearly winced at the grimness that speared upwards in Sarah¡¯s theme. The awful notes prompted Amdirlain to hurry on. ¡°What form do you prefer?¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°My Dragon form.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s great for a backrest but awkward for hugging and holding hands,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I hadn¡¯t considered the situation from that perspective. I got fixated on the male Elf or female Human issue.¡± ¡°Instead of considering that taking a tiny bipedal form is a compromise no matter the gender?¡± questioned Sarah. A smile lit up the sapphire gaze, and strong fingers brushed loose hair behind Amdirlain¡¯s ears. ¡°It is much easier to touch you in one of these forms.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± said Amdirlain, and she flushed as Sarah¡¯s fingertips caressed her cheek. ¡°Though you said you wouldn¡¯t flirt?¡± The caress stopped, and Sarah pulled her hand away. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to make you uncomfortable.¡± Amdirlain playfully waved a reproving finger at Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re a very naughty Dragon. You used to embarrass me by talking about the BDSM interviews you had with clients about their likes. What about how you used to check in for their consent constantly?¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I¡¯d do that for a customer, yet didn¡¯t get your consent for an intimate touch,¡± said Sarah. ¡°My apologies. Should I limit myself to holding hands and hugs for now?¡± Amdirlain dropped her hand and gave a strained smile. ¡°I can understand the impulse, but I need to draw a line while I get my head on straight.¡± She morphed into her willowy human form, the silvery hair and sapphire eyes darkening to Sarah¡¯s deep brunette and bedroom eyes. ¡°Would you limit yourself to Sarah or Dragon form while we¡¯re at the monastery?¡± requested Amdirlain. ¡°There was a real off-kilter feel to seeing you as a Male Elf.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s cheating?¡± ¡°If I can¡¯t accept you looking like Sarah...¡± ¡°That¡¯s completely understandable given your preferences in life, and I¡¯m not bothered staying in a male form,¡± interjected Sarah. ¡°If it¡¯s the memories of Ori, I can use a completely different appearance.¡± ¡°But I am bothered,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°And it would eat at me and give self-doubt leverage, so I need to figure it out.¡± Concern quashed some of the passion that had been blazing in Sarah, and she grimly nodded. ¡°Not going anywhere except if it¡¯s on a trip with you, so take your time,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m going to make a simpler Demi-Plane if you¡¯d like to come along,¡± offered Amdirlain. Sarah mock growled. ¡°Only one! I¡¯m disappointed with your lack of ambition, young lady. Where has your work ethic gone? Gilorn will be so disappointed.¡± ¡°Bite me, bitch,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll decide my work pace.¡± The playful quip caused another spike of concern within Sarah, but she still laughed and relaxed a few degrees when Amdirlain joined in. The shared laughter echoed across the landscape that Sarah¡¯s presence had emptied. I¡¯m not sticking my nose into her thoughts; as much as it hurts, I¡¯m also not digging into her concern. I need to figure myself out, not accept a compromise that will let my self-doubts linger and fester. ¡°It¡¯s about three in the morning now for the monastery, and Kadaklan shouldn¡¯t show up for my lesson until seven or so,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll make one of the initial levels of the training facilities and increase the amount of gathering challenges.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°Scaling up the number of mining ones?¡± ¡°It just needs a little polishing for the local requirements,¡± said Amdirlain, her lips twitching as she fought the smile. Sarah rolled her eyes and touched her cheek demurely when Amdirlain pointed an accusing finger. ¡°What did I do?¡± ¡°You started the scale jokes, buster,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s with the eye roll?¡± ¡°I was merely giving my view of a facet of your sense of humour,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I guess that won¡¯t be one thing you try to strengthen in case you make Primordial.¡± Amdirlain lifted her nose in the air and stared at her haughtily. ¡°My sense of humour is wonderful, thank you very much.¡± ¡°Says the lady who thinks Klipyl¡¯s dad-style jokes and awful puns are cute,¡± rebuffed Sarah. Her remarks got a dismissive wave. ¡°Getting regarded as cute is a relative quality. It¡¯s her progress and bubbly personality that I find adorable.¡± ¡°Oh, like that is it?¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°Yeah, they gave her the little sister vibes she needed to convince me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll have to let Isa know that she¡¯s simply not adorable enough to get taken in,¡± teased Sarah. ¡°She¡¯ll be heartbroken.¡± ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯m sure Ilya will be happy to console her with copious amounts of sex and scare the local wildlife of Arborea into silence,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s laughter ended with a half snort as she tried to stifle it. ¡°I¡¯m going to tell her where your dirty mind went.¡± ¡°Please, like they didn¡¯t telegraph what was going to happen,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it is that Ori put into the water in this realm, but I¡¯ve ended up with sex-crazed bilge rats tormenting me. Ebusuku and Isa are chief amongst them.¡± ¡°I thought of a present you could give her,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°You know, as congratulations on the whole proper divinity thing.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°I was considering a non-breakable bed. What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°A non-breakable house,¡± smirked Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s already got that¡ªthe Domain turned a bunch of houses into True Song Crystal while I was feeding it Ki,¡± reminded Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°She hasn¡¯t moved out of that simple house the dwarves built her?¡± ¡°Nope,¡± said Amdirlain, popping the word. ¡°She¡¯s still using it¡ªfond memories with Gail having grown up in it and all the furnishings they¡¯ve trashed between them.¡± ¡°To each their own,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s only simple to you because you like space to stretch out,¡± chided Amdirlain. ¡°The Foundry lacks furnishings, but it¡¯s got this big bed of coins and gems.¡± Sarah winked slyly. ¡°See, that¡¯s a proper house. You make it seem like you¡¯ve taken a vow of poverty.¡± ¡°Material things just don¡¯t do anything for me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ve never been the source of my happiness. I wanted a home on Earth as it was the dream of stability and family. It was a dream I¡¯d bought into, even if I needed to adopt or foster. What I need to figure out is: what brings me the most happiness here?¡± ¡°Jumping to the self-reflection?¡± inquired Sarah. A bashful smile appeared, and Amdirlain nodded sheepishly. ¡°Shocking, right? I could put off trying to get my head on straight or I can press on. Friends, helping people, creating things, music, martial arts, improving myself. Magic and psionics were fun in different ways, and tossing spells is cool, but I¡¯m not sure either brought me any happiness.¡± ¡°You made friends in Xaos but you ran out of there pretty fast,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Were you worried you stirred up the populace with Femme Fatale?¡± ¡°Concerns about Femme Fatale aren¡¯t why I ditched so fast, as I was managing it. Finding a fix for it on Qil Tris was just a fortunate coincidence. I could say it was the danger the Eldritch represented to a planet, but although it was a big reason, it wasn¡¯t the only reason,¡± confessed Amdirlain. ¡°I feel the main reason I ditched Xaos so fast was I based myself there while torturing Torm¡¯s remains.¡± Sarah hissed. ¡°You didn¡¯t say a thing.¡± ¡°I would have thought the reason was obvious,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Were you worried days spent there would have rubbed the open wound?¡± asked Sarah, clasping Amdirlain¡¯s hand in hers. ¡°I didn¡¯t give it a chance to twist that way, I just chopped off the possibility,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It wasn¡¯t even a conscious decision. Self-protection mode flared, and I had a foe to beat bloody, so I jumped out of there. It might seem a shallow reason, but there were other factors.¡± ¡°Yngvarr and Alfarr followed you there,¡± said Sarah. ¡°And Livia.¡± ¡°Torm was a big part of Livia¡¯s life, but I met her first. Yngvarr and Alfarr were a big part of what I was avoiding,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°The four of us had battled foes in Limbo.¡± ¡°Guilt?¡± ¡°Fuck yes, then I felt that I¡¯d gotten a long-term friend of both of them killed¡ªworse than killed,¡± spat Amdirlain. ¡°I can accept now it was his own choices that screwed things up. Yet I put him in proximity to those possibilities.¡± ¡°Do you think they see it that way?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°That just made it worse. Accusations give you something to struggle against.¡± ¡°Or drown you by providing more sources of self-doubt,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Some days, it was a mix of both churning away beneath my Mental Hardening. Anyway, I¡¯d been on Qil Tris for a couple of years, and the grief over Torm had eased enough that I could stop and realise why I¡¯d done it. Master Cyrus, Livia, and the updates from others let me know things were going well, so I didn¡¯t need to rush back. I always had just intended it to be this base of operations to take a breath at before the next foray, and with it having become a potential source of pain, I stayed away.¡± ¡°Are you going to keep them at arm¡¯s length still?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°We can further link Nolmar and the monastery¡¯s work. I¡¯m sure Yngvarr won¡¯t object to exchanging arcane knowledge with the Dragon teachers.¡± ¡°I think you can twist her arm,¡± drawled Sarah. The reminder of the gender change Amdirlain had facilitated stirred more questions about her inability to let her previous restraints go. ¡°I take it you¡¯re not looking to teach magic as well,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Certainly not. Unlocking affinities is the only contribution I¡¯ll be making there,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not concerned about the slow growth in my Wizard skills, they¡¯re fallback contingencies. As such, though, I¡¯ll close some of the gaps.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Inscription and potion making,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯m helping out local mortals, I¡¯d like to leave them behind skills they can leverage to improve their lives. Now, my Mana pool is still filling up, but I will hop to the next Demi-Plane and create a simpler one, so I¡¯m not quite so strained following shifts in the notes I need.¡± ¡°I know one of your focuses that seems to bring you pleasure,¡± Sarah offered. ¡°You¡¯re always looking to improve things, and it''s obvious when you¡¯ve gotten them an outcome you like for someone who''s been really struggling. You seem to gain a radiant glow.¡± ¡°I do?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Sarah nodded reassuringly. ¡°Enjoying improving someone¡¯s life isn¡¯t bad, but it makes it hard for you to let other people clean up their messes. I can see the effort it is for you when you know you¡¯ve done enough, and it¡¯s time for the other person to step up. Whenever you say it¡¯s time for them to clean up their own mess, I get this feeling that you¡¯re gritting your teeth and sitting on your hands.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I so don¡¯t.¡± Sarah shooed her away. ¡°Enough pretend. Didn¡¯t you have something else planned?¡± ¡°Demi-Plane creation,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯re letting yourself get distracted,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It¡¯s disconcerting having heard how badly out of tune I was,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m surprised Roher didn¡¯t say anything.¡± ¡°You can ask him next time you speak to him,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Did you notice it with Resonance-Lord?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Then maybe it is an element of the Prince tier evolution kicking in,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s a possibility. Right. Time to stop procrastinating. Are you coming along?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she waved to the surrounding landscape. ¡°Or did you want to try out this playpen?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got mine,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll come along.¡± The shift to the next Demi-Plane placed them back into darkness. With no ley lines or living beings to influence the Mana that had soaked through the plane¡¯s boundary, it rushed into Amdirlain¡¯s Mana Pool. Pain Eater warned of the sting from the energy influx, but it rapidly faded as her pool reached equilibrium with her surroundings. Before Amdirlain began, she stretched Resonance to its limits and let it brush against the planar boundary. The energy flux shifting in through the Demi-Plane¡¯s membrane set wild notes dancing across her awareness. Chaos turned into ordered patterns of Mana that reinforced the Demi-Plane¡¯s existence and waited for something to draw upon them. The sturdy notes of the bedrock slid from her lips, and Amdirlain carefully adjusted their pitch through the substrate of the energies they carried. The landscape grew towards them one layer at a time while Sarah hovered in the air beside her. When the soft topsoil was prepared for plants and snow covered the mountain peaks, Amdirlain landed and danced in time to the next pieces. The soft earth shifted between her feet, but her dance smoothed the song¡¯s rough edges, providing an organic feel to the sharpest notes. Desire intensified within Sarah¡¯s theme, and the heat of her flush carried into Amdirlain¡¯s movements. The mild songs suddenly roared along her skin, and Amdirlain raced to keep up. A sapling rose from the soil ahead of her, and Amdirlain smoothly stepped into the air to avoid getting tangled in its branches. A twitch of Sarah¡¯s lips had Amdirlain¡¯s laughter spilling out, the lively sound infesting the music that thrummed from her flesh, adding energy and an exuberance she hadn¡¯t felt in the songs before. Rather than halt, she continued the piece before she flowed into the next. Even though her laughter was contained, the sense of it in her awareness continued to infuse the songs. When she was finished, what should have been a landscape of earth tones was awash with vivid colours: bright pinks, soft oranges, and brilliant reds were just the start; the sky was a sparkling sapphire hue, and the sun a gleaming friendly yellow. Purple clouds unleashed shining cyan showers. The plants were covered with exotically coloured leaves and had grown two or three times their average size. ¡°Whoops,¡± giggled Amdirlain. ¡°Looks like I upended the colour palate.¡± [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Grouped by type Self-sustaining continent-sized biome (small) x1 Bonus elements - Training Challenges:
  • Low-tier gathering challenges x3,715
  • Low-tier combat challenges x1,546
  • Tier one to five monster zone biome x1
Total Experience gained: 1,067,500,000 Olind?: +1,067,500,000 Olind? Levelled Up! True Song Genesis [G] (10->11)] The crafting notification doesn¡¯t indicate anything wrong, but the plants have alien hues. Baby slimes, goblins, kobolds, various non-intelligent monsters, and wild creatures. That should ensure the rawest novices among the students have to mind their steps without overwhelming them. ¡°Do you think the gatherers will identify anything?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°It looks like you were tripping on LSD, or a hippie mugged you and upended their shirt into your brain.¡± Amdirlain pouted and spun in a circle with her arms outstretched. ¡°But it¡¯s so pretty!¡± ¡°It¡¯s bright,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s an example you want to show to Livia.¡± ¡°Maybe not,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she winked at Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll give my brain a break and let the giggles you caused subside.¡± ¡°I caused!¡± exclaimed Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re the one that almost danced face-first into a tree.¡± ¡°Sapling,¡± corrected Amdirlain with a smile. ¡°I was a little distracted by all the details, but I¡¯ll be able to calm the colours down.¡± ¡°Maybe sort it out after your giggle fit is completely gone,¡± proposed Sarah, and she spun a disc across her fingers. ¡°My turn to drive.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± chimed Amdirlain. The Planar Shift delivered them to the monastery¡¯s edge, and Amdirlain caught the six melodies awaiting them in her courtyard. ¡°Six visitors at once. I¡¯m privileged,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Who?¡± With a grin, Amdirlain teleported them both. 394 - Never be lonely Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches The comfortable golden sunlight of the Outlands gleamed off the polished lacquered redwood and soaked into the grey stone of the building. Her six visitors had seated themselves on the circle of benches as if to enjoy the sunshine, though she knew its heat touched none of them. Kadaklan¡¯s orange and red robes made him a bright splash of colour among the grey and black attire the others wore. His hidden Phoenix form made it difficult to keep her attention from the continued ripples in her True Form and the feeling of distortion as its posture shifted within the concealment of her flesh. I don¡¯t want to know what I will look like and now I know it¡¯s not just species levels that impact my appearance. Think happier thoughts! I could show Kadaklan the new Demi-Plane and see what he thinks about its colours. They¡¯re all relaxed, so it¡¯s not an intervention or something crazy. Amdirlain and Sarah¡¯s arrival interrupted her visitor¡¯s conversation. Lezekus froze in mid-motion with her arm extended, emphasising an element of her story. ¡°Lady Am,¡± called Lezekus, and the quartet bounced from their seats. With her upgraded Resonance, the rightness of the ladies¡¯ evolved forms shone as much as their coppery skin tone and metallic-hued hair matched the energy in their motions. Master Cyrus remained seated, simply giving her a calm nod, but Kadaklan rose with relaxed motions, directing a pleased smile their way. Amdirlain greeted each of the ladies with a warm hug before she gave Master Cyrus a respectful bow and returned Kadaklan¡¯s nod. ¡°What brings all of you around before breakfast?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Not that you aren¡¯t welcome. You should know I primarily use the evening hours for errands and practise outside the monastery, so you won¡¯t often find me present.¡± ¡°I told them of your habits from Qil Tris. We were getting to know each other while we waited,¡± advised Kadaklan, and he motioned to Cyrus. ¡°It was a calmer place for our discussion than our houses or the clinic.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°What did you need to discuss? Not that I object to you using the hall when I¡¯m not here.¡± ¡°We approached Master Kadaklan to discuss your training schedule, and he dragged us and Master Cyrus here,¡± said Nomein. Cyrus¡¯ mouth twitched, but his serene mask won out. ¡°I came willingly, though it was surprising to see you all upon the road. Many cling to the set schedule for comfort on this odd Plane.¡± Nomein was equally minimalist. ¡°We¡¯ve got our own adjustments to make. We¡¯re still getting used to only needing three hours of sleep, so we have a lot more time on our hands.¡± ¡°Reverie,¡± corrected Gemiya. ¡°Reverie, fine,¡± muttered Nomein. ¡°Meditating and feeling connected to the earth, wind, and trees around me is weird. Sometimes, when I release the meditation, I wonder why I don¡¯t have lichen covering me or why my skin isn¡¯t bark.¡± My memories have yet to provide insights into what is typical for elves. ¡°Any idea why you wake feeling that way?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°Know it is the connection with nature, according to our instructors,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know that we teamed up with some elves on the last world we helped before our evolution. Can you imagine their surprise when we changed?¡± ¡°Compared to your psionic techniques, surely physical appearance was a minimal shock,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Know that they took our abilities unusually well, but our appearance so close to theirs proved a great surprise,¡± advised Sarith. ¡°After they calmed down, they hosted us for a time and walked us through their people¡¯s meditation exercises. We quickly learnt to enter reverie, but the sensations upon waking are proving difficult to overcome,¡± said Nomein. Sarah tsked. ¡°It¡¯s likely because of your psionics.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°You¡¯re used to connecting mentally, but elves draw on that connection to nature to refresh their minds and flesh,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Like when a certain someone crushed the glass baubles trying to learn Far Hand, you¡¯re putting too much effort into it.¡± ¡°Am didn¡¯t know her strength,¡± snorted Nomein. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°We¡¯re all better at some things than others, Miss Slimemaster.¡± The dig had Nomein lifting her nose in the air. ¡°The constructs were defective.¡± ¡°Know I believe it might be your memory that is now defective,¡± offered Gemiya. ¡°Nomein, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be upset that Sarah¡¯s offered to tutor me on metacreativity,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I believe I can allow Sarah to get some practice in training another,¡± Nomein said, bowing deeply to Sarah with her hands in front of her sternum. Did she pick that style of bowing up around here or elsewhere? ¡°She blew up a training construct?¡± inquired Sarah, ignoring Nomein¡¯s playful reply. ¡°Four,¡± Gemiya offered. ¡°Know she got given a cup of slime to practise on after the fourth.¡± Nomein shot a stink-eyed glare at Gemiya. ¡°Tattle-tale,¡± huffed Nomein. ¡°I¡¯m certainly not letting her play with my toys then,¡± replied Sarah, and Amdirlain kept her laughter contained. Gemiya snorted. ¡°Know that is quite rich coming from you, Nomein. Should we tell Am how you¡¯re hiding your rules lawyer ways under rebellious speech?¡± ¡°Rules lawyer? That is Am¡¯s saying,¡± heckled Nomein lightly. ¡°You¡¯re still clinging to rules yourself, even though you say we must move on.¡± ¡°The saying is free use. I don¡¯t have the patent on it,¡± said Amdirlain, as she heard an edge of mental pressure between them that belied the light banter. ¡°So how will you divide teaching responsibilities now that you¡¯re off the hook with one set of techniques?¡± ¡°Know I¡¯ll handle the Telepathy,¡± said Sarith, respectfully bowing to Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯d accept my help as a teacher as well?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay you for all the jobs you¡¯re handling,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarith¡¯s mind pulsed a mild decline and a rush of details about the healing role Kadaklan had offered her. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do well,¡± said Amdirlain. As a rapid exchange of mental haggling started between the others, Sarith continued. ¡°Know being in charge of others is not something I¡¯m used to. Do you think-¡° She¡¯s buying them time to sort out their roles; they didn¡¯t even have to ask. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can be firm but fair in your supervision, Sarith.¡± ¡°Know that only time will tell,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Kadaklan, would it be improper if I keep a light mental touch upon the healers?¡± ¡°To know who feels out of their depth and provide help before they drown?¡± Kadaklan asked. ¡°Or at least before they go down for the last time. Sometimes a bit of water is good for processing,¡± offered Sarith. ¡°That is fine with me,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°Is scrubbing corridors your idea of processing now?¡± Amdirlain asked, and her eyes glinted as the others'' argument concluded. ¡°If I had been wise, I¡¯d have happily scrubbed more corridors with you,¡± Sarith replied. ¡°Alright, who¡¯s next since you¡¯re done squabbling?¡± asked Amdirlain. Lezekus grinned. ¡°I¡¯ll handle Clairsentience.¡± Amdirlain nodded in appreciation. ¡°Thanks. My Precognition is about the only technique involved that gets a workout.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll remove the rust from the others before we expand,¡± said Lezekus. ¡°Know I...,¡± Gemiya coughed and switched to the high elven tongue. ¡°What I mean to say is I¡¯ll handle Psychoportation.¡± ¡°You¡¯re abandoning the ways as well?¡± Sarith questioned. ¡°We need to find our own path,¡± defended Gemiya. ¡°Know that although I agree with the sentiment, it doesn¡¯t always mean we should throw everything away,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Know it will take time and consideration.¡± ¡°There are older ways we can use instead,¡± argued Gemiya. ¡°But I¡¯ll listen when you wish to speak on it more.¡± Yeah, Gemiya is still the dominant one. ¡°Psychometabolism will also be my challenge,¡± said Lezekus, cutting off their banter. Though Sarith didn¡¯t say more, she disapprovingly eyed Gemiya. ¡°Leaving me handling your overbearing telekinetic strength,¡± quipped Nomein. ¡°Yeah, about my mental strength. I levelled up a bit, and it caused my Intelligence to jump, so let¡¯s take the lessons carefully while I get used to it,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°How much did you level that it¡¯s a concern?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°I put over a hundred and seven levels into my latest Class tonight and increased my Intelligence by nearly fifty per cent,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°So don¡¯t take the risk lightly.¡± Lezekus gasped, and the ladies¡¯ words and mental voices swamped each other with questions and objections. ¡°That¡¯s completely freakish,¡± blurted Nomein, loud enough to drown out the others. Raucous laughter burst from Kadaklan, and all four spun swiftly in his direction. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± asked Nomein as they all relaxed. ¡°Might I offer them some insight?¡± asked Cyrus, looking at the still-laughing Kadaklan. Kadaklan muffled his laughter with a hand and motioned for Cyrus to proceed. Cyrus smiled. ¡°After I introduced Master Kadaklan to Lady Am, he reacted similarly to what he found the freakishness of her capabilities. While a completely reasonable outlook from one who¡¯d just met her, you¡¯ve had five years to get used to her at your monastery.¡± ¡°I take a lot of getting used to,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Heck, I have trouble adjusting to my changes some days, so I don¡¯t expect anyone else to keep up.¡± ¡°With the seven of us keeping you busy learning, maybe we¡¯ll slow you down a bit,¡± said Nomein. ¡°There will be eight. I¡¯ll have a teacher for arcane subjects coming to help me as well,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got a lot I want to learn and refine.¡± Get a few more knowledge skills to Master rank, and I can start to splurge my accumulated knowledge points; I bet no subject proves as difficult on my brain as True Song Architecture. ¡°Only one teacher to handle all that?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Or are you going to specialise in just a few areas of wizardry?¡± ¡°The person I¡¯m asking has a high level of expertise in arcane matters,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll be underutilising her capabilities for what I want to learn.¡± I could have asked Erwarth again, but I don¡¯t want to take her time away from Ebusuku¡¯s work. Without thinking, Amdirlain clasped Sarah¡¯s hand again. ¡°Do you have a particular priority for the areas you want to learn?¡± asked Kadaklan. Having gotten himself back under control, his smile widened further when he glanced at Amdirlain¡¯s hand clasping Sarah¡¯s. ¡°Whatever each of you wants to tackle during a session. How about we extend the current lesson schedule?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°After the bell signals the end of breakfast, I¡¯ll have my Ki Movement lesson with you, Kadaklan. Then, from mid-morning to lunch, a lesson in psionic techniques. After the noon break, Ki Blast, then move on to other psionic techniques. Occasionally, we¡¯ll skip sessions when I spar with someone.¡± ¡°Do you want to use the extended monastery rotation with more lessons after dinner?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°And I¡¯ll do the usual physical training before the breakfast chimes if anyone wants to join me. That might be when I teach students. Be cruel and get them up early.¡± ¡°Kli mentioned you had been teaching her when we spoke,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯d like to speak to you about her other questions later.¡± His voice and theme contained curiosity and interest rather than concern, so Amdirlain let it be. He¡¯s not fussed about me getting Klipyl to explore what opportunities the villagers provide around here. ¡°How will you handle your students¡¯ lack of shapeshifting?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Won¡¯t it cause a problem?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I will teach them the individual techniques and the intention behind them. I¡¯ve heard of several styles that take similar approaches to mine regarding no-holds-barred fighting.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve not seen her fight lately. She¡¯s all flowing dance movements when she keeps a humanoid form,¡± said Sarah. Mirth had Cyrus¡¯ eyes twinkling. ¡°Master Payam mentioned you would be a wonderful temple dancer with the grace you showed him.¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s a fallback job if I tire of the rest of my plans,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though there might be a slight catch with the qualifying.¡± Kadaklan smiled slightly. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°You know, the whole not being a worshipper,¡± concluded Amdirlain. ¡°Being respectful might be sufficient,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Instead of being casual with even a greater Primordial.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only casual with the ones I know won¡¯t kill me out of spite. Guess that means I¡¯m doomed to unemployment,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Good thing you¡¯re footing most of the bill for this place.¡± Sarah grinned. ¡°That¡¯s fine. I¡¯m sure I can find a use for you around my lair. Perhaps scrubbing the floors.¡± ¡°Sarah¡¯s footing the bill?¡± inquired Cyrus. ¡°That¡¯s news to me.¡± ¡°Only if the duty pavilion and artificers are okay with me teaching them rune infusing,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°And I¡¯m only buying it, so Am feels free to change it.¡± The ladies blinked and looked at each other. ¡°The humans here don¡¯t know how to do that?¡± asked Nomein. ¡°Not that I¡¯m an Artificer, but I thought most species knew how.¡± ¡°They¡¯re young to the realm,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I think the world they were on set up an accord to stonewall their knowledge growth. Certainly, none of the local deities offered any help to allow their deities to expand off-world, so I don¡¯t know what else they were blocking them from learning.¡± ¡°Quarantined species,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°You lot must have been wicked children.¡± Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Weren¡¯t you both Human before being cursed and sent here?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Exactly,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°So we know how much trouble humanity can get into. Though, since other races around the place need to get shaken up, we¡¯ll help humanity out of the pen others have kept them in.¡± ¡°Thank you so kindly,¡± murmured Cyrus. Amdirlain bowed. ¡°Anytime, Master Cyrus.¡± ¡°You know, being facetious negates the element of respect?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°I was serious. You¡¯re one person who I¡¯ll always respect,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus frowned. ¡°You make it difficult to tell sometimes, and you said people in your home country disregard most titles.¡± ¡°Head Clerk Erhi provided a stellar example that local custom requires proper etiquette to avoid insulting worthy individuals. Please excuse me if I seem like I¡¯m being over the top compared to the past,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take your gestures at face value and merely correct your decorum as I would other students,¡± allowed Cyrus. He¡¯ll smack me into line. Amdirlain smiled in appreciation. ¡°Thanks. Hopefully, I¡¯m a fast study.¡± ¡°No need to use master for me,¡± offered Kadaklan. ¡°Though I should use Lady Am to you.¡± That news wiped the smile from Amdirlain¡¯s face. A momentary lull hit the conversation, and Lezekus spoke into the growing silence. ¡°Helping humanity? You mean your tendency towards giving people new opportunities hasn¡¯t disappeared?¡± I¡¯ll talk to her about Ebusuku and my situation. ¡°Oh, would you like to meet your Goddess in person?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°My big sis is pretty cool and didn¡¯t complain when I stuck her with my Mantle. She was trying to expand its reach, so I¡¯d have more influence when I regained it, but things got out of hand.¡± ¡°I learnt that during my prayers a little while ago but wasn¡¯t sure how to bring it up,¡± admitted Lezekus softly. ¡°Let¡¯s have some tea and talk about my Mantle situation, shall we?¡± offered Amdirlain, and she gave Sarah¡¯s hand a gentle squeeze before she let go and motioned Lezekus to go inside. ¡°I¡¯ll keep the others entertained. We can decide how we run you ragged with training,¡± said Sarah. As Amdirlain opened the door to her room, she noted the plans Sarah had left on the table and stored them in Inventory before Lezekus could get a glimpse. ¡°You don¡¯t have to serve me tea, Lady Am,¡± reassured Lezekus as Amdirlain motioned her to sit down. Fabricate created a tea set, and another Spell filled it with boiling water before Amdirlain sang the tea into existence, a blend identical to the one Livia had recently served her. ¡°Your choice to drink it, but I figure I should be in the habit of offering refreshments,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to be spending a lot of time here, and while genuine immortals don¡¯t require food, there are only two of them in the monastery.¡± ¡°Two? There is someone else besides Master Cyrus?¡± questioned Lezekus. Some might argue that, technically, Livia counts since she has a Mantle, but since she can still die, that isn¡¯t Immortal to me. ¡°There are several individuals on the mountain that possess Immortal Spirit, but only two have progressed it to the Immortal species,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure the second wants anyone to know, but they sound different to me, so I picked up on it.¡± ¡°Sneaky,¡± said Lezekus. ¡°I won¡¯t ask for a hint then.¡± ¡°How are you doing now that you know I won¡¯t get my Mantle back?¡± asked Amdirlain, projecting comfort and concern to Lezekus. Lezekus sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll admit it shook me up. I¡¯m more worried about whether you¡¯re going to be okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine. As I¡¯ve told a few people, gaining the Mantle in the first place took me by surprise, and I always felt like I was muddling through,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and she felt Lezekus¡¯ mind press against the projected reassurance. ¡°I know you¡¯re in excellent hands, and she¡¯ll do her best for everyone worshipping her. Honestly, in some ways, I¡¯m not surprised it occurred. Far more people are already worshipping her and have only known her as their Goddess.¡± ¡°The tenets people follow are yours,¡± said Lezekus. ¡°In that way, they are all still following you.¡± ¡°So I shouldn¡¯t tell you who helped me work out those tenets?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°Oh!¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°My big sis has helped me with many things over the years.¡± Using Ebusuku would likely confuse Lezekus, and using Lerina would attract Ebusuku¡¯s attention. ¡°She¡¯s not really your sister, though, is she,¡± said Lezekus. ¡°I mean, Lerina started in your service as a Solar.¡± Amdirlain felt Ebusuku¡¯s awareness curiously brush over them before withdrawing. ¡°I adopted her, like Kli did me. I still call her Ebusuku most of the time, so if I slip up, you know who I¡¯m talking about. She saved me in battle and from other situations a few times before she even became a Celestial,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Lezekus went still in surprise. ¡°She wasn¡¯t a Celestial that joined you?¡± ¡°No, becoming a Celestial was the ultimate new beginning for Ebusuku, so keep that in mind. Lerina knows what it¡¯s like to have endured dark places, so helping someone find a new beginning is special to her.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s use of Ebusuku¡¯s official name caused her awareness to touch them again, and her Faith link with Lezekus strengthened. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind when I pray,¡± replied Lezekus. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about me losing out. I¡¯ll have you know I¡¯m far stronger now than when I possessed a Mantle,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°And I¡¯m working to become even stronger.¡± ¡°What drives you, Amdirlain?¡± asked Lezekus. ¡°Sorry, I mean, you¡¯ve had so much happen. How do you keep going?¡± ¡°Well, we can¡¯t rule out sheer bloody-mindedness,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°I can be a touch stubborn.¡± Lezekus¡¯ soft laughter was a thunderous roar compared to her childhood standards. ¡°That¡¯s how you are, but it¡¯s not what drives you,¡± stated Lezekus. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if I¡¯m too forward. Since we last spoke, I¡¯ve had this premonition that it¡¯s crucial to know.¡± Crucial for her or for me? ¡°I see opportunities to help people and improve things, and they need me to be stronger, so stopping for me isn¡¯t an option,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t like bullies, which is basically what many dark powers are.¡± ¡°Picking on children,¡± murmured Lezekus. Amdirlain chuckled cynically. ¡°Yeah. They want to force creation to benefit their malignant will above anyone else. I¡¯m not going to just stop and let that happen. Many are still far beyond me, but I¡¯m working my way up to handle those stronger than me.¡± Lezekus kept a composed expression, but her eyes fairly glowed with determination. My Charisma feels under control. Did I say too much? ¡°My father used to talk about his first commanders with a reverence I didn¡¯t understand until the touch of your Ki,¡± said Lezekus. ¡°I will try to measure up to your ideals, Lady Am. It¡¯s my honour to serve Lady Lerina and your tenets, and I hope I can someday be like a sister to you as well.¡± Amdirlain blinked and rose, motioning Lezekus to stand, she hugged her. ¡°Everyone at our table felt like my little sisters. I thought that would have been clear. I doted on you all.¡± ¡°And Lerina is a big sister to you?¡± breathed Lezekus. ¡°Yes.¡± Lezekus trembled in her arms as deep chimes rippled through her theme and along her link to Lerina before she let out a jumbled mental squeal and fainted. Well, shit. I wonder what Ebusuku sensed when that happened. As the others rushed to the doorway, Amdirlain settled Lezekus in the recovery position to ensure she wouldn¡¯t choke. ¡®What happened?¡¯ came from several sources, in a blind of mental projections. ¡°Sorry, I seem to have been my usual oblivious self, and when I corrected Lezekus¡¯ understanding of something, it caused a cascade through her link to Lerina, and then she passed out,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Corrected her on what?¡± Amdirlain shrugged ruefully. ¡°During the five years at the monastery, I grew attached to all of you and considered you family. Lezekus hadn¡¯t realised that until I told her, and I think that compounded with some other things and resonated with the outlook she has serving Lerina.¡± Gemiya blinked calmly, and Sarith snickered and covered her mouth. What I consider family behaviour isn¡¯t theirs, so it¡¯s no wonder they were clueless. Just the weird outsider and her odd ways. Nomein dashed across the room and latched onto Amdirlain. ¡°Family.¡± Her hug contained only good-natured affection, and Amdirlain happily returned it. ¡°We¡¯ll take her back to our rooms,¡± offered Gemiya. ¡°We¡¯ve barely started planning, but we can cover the integration of your psionic training between Sarah and us when she wakes up. She¡¯s going to be mortified.¡± ¡°A moment of near-divine ecstasy,¡± quipped Sarith. Sarah retrieved a memory crystal, and a liquid sound ran through it before she tossed it to Gemiya. ¡°Those are the techniques I¡¯ll train her in and the order. In case I¡¯m doing something else when you need the information.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all we should need for planning.¡± After kissing Amdirlain¡¯s cheek, Nomein stepped back and levitated Lezekus. ¡°See you, elder sister Am.¡± Gemiya and Sarith mentally echoed the refrain and led the way across the courtyard. Amdirlain followed them back to the courtyard. ¡°We had barely gotten started,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°It would have been nice to compare the typical mental imagery used in their techniques with what we¡¯ll use for your Ki Movement and Ki Blast training.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus, the mental images suggested in psychic training are only general guidance,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The most efficient one for an individual¡¯s use must be found within themselves.¡± ¡°Most suitable,¡± murmured Cyrus, and he returned to his seat on the bench. ¡°Perhaps I should have learned about their theories instead of exchanging martial arts while I spent time at their monastery.¡± Kadaklan tilted his head towards the front gate. ¡°What did you do to poor Lezekus?¡± ¡°I hugged her and told her I had felt like they were my little sisters, and then she fainted,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You left off the part that you were her Goddess for years,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°Add that to everything else that happened, and it¡¯s no wonder you caused her to short-circuit.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not a toy,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t say she was, but it¡¯s been an unsettled week for her after a lot of stress caused by an evolution,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°On top of that, she¡¯s still adjusting to reverie, so likely not getting enough solid rest.¡± Kadaklan blinked slowly and looked between Cyrus and Amdirlain. ¡°After all these years, no one mentioned this little tidbit.¡± Amdirlain and Sarah looked at each other and exchanged a casual shrug. ¡°Stuff happened,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Got a Mantle, built up a following, evolved from a Succubus to Fallen, then an arsehole¡¯s followers summoned me into a summoning circle. It was a trap that started to drain the Mantle¡¯s energy from me, so I gave it to the only Solar in my service. Before the separation finished, I died, went into the Titan¡¯s Maze, got out, spent time in the Abyss, and eventually met you on Qil Tris.¡± ¡°Enough said,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°But- ¡° protested Kadaklan. Amdirlain¡¯s laughter cut him off. ¡°I might tell you one day. A while back, I sat down and told a bunch to an Astral Deva who wanted to write my story, so maybe I can get you a copy from him. However, I don¡¯t know what else he¡¯s written about events since then. Shall we move along?¡± Kadaklan sighed. ¡°But I love a good story.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a good story. It¡¯s a pretty miserable one. Now, they dragged you both here for a chat with me?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she sought to lighten the mood. ¡°Did things get freakish enough for you?¡± Kadaklan let a slight smile twitch up the corner of his mouth. ¡°The other way around, they came to the clinic, and I brought them here. I figured you wouldn¡¯t be about and we could have a quiet conversation until you returned and confirm things with you then. We met Master Cyrus along the way.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I hadn¡¯t expected the evening to take such a dramatic turn. Less than a few minutes alone in your presence, and you caused her to swoon,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Ha ha ha,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t find that amusing, Master Cyrus.¡± Sarah smirked. ¡°I find it funny.¡± The amusement in Sarah¡¯s theme was a thin veil over the flux of emotions she continued to restrain. Amdirlain stopped her hands from lifting towards her hair and shifted her attention towards Cyrus and Kadaklan. ¡°Did you gentlemen need me for anything, or should we get on with sorting out the reconstruction of this place?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The duty pavilion hasn¡¯t agreed to my conditions yet,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Livia said it was fine, and I can always revert it if someone gets upset,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I might move this hall further down the mountain and build a fresh one from scratch. Do you think anyone would object, Master Cyrus?¡± ¡°Not since Livia has agreed, but please keep to the monastery colours,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Not that everyone here follows them.¡± Kadaklan casually pretended to brush the dust from his clothing. ¡°Does every monastery have an individual colour scheme?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Some in the South Wind¡¯s Court are bright enough to challenge the sun,¡± replied Kadaklan. Sarah laughed. ¡°Amdirlain¡¯s latest Demi-Plane might be a contender.¡± ¡°No dissing my colour palate, even if unintentional,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll show you later Kadaklan.¡± ¡°Bright?¡± inquired Kadaklan, glancing at Sarah. ¡°Stage spotlights in your eyes glaring bright,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°Unicorns farting rainbows would have been less colourful.¡± Kadaklan let out a forlorn sigh and slowly shook his head. ¡°What is it with the pair of you and those rainbows?¡± ¡°Some things are just cultural,¡± offered Sarah. Cyrus interjected. ¡°How did you unintentionally end up with brightly coloured creations?¡± ¡°She face-planted into a tree and started giggling,¡± drawled Sarah and moved to sit on a bench across from Cyrus. ¡°Sapling,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Dealing with upgraded powers, I danced to smooth the music¡¯s flow, but a stray note caused some plants to sprout at my feet. I took to the air to avoid it, but it set me giggling, and the laughter infused the themes.¡± ¡°Will changing the hall be safe if you¡¯re still becoming accustomed to your Power again?¡± asked Cyrus. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°This is such a simple song. The slip happened while creating megatons of materials, animals, and plants. Do you know where I¡¯d be best off placing this building?¡± ¡°The plan isn¡¯t so rigid that it can¡¯t survive change. I¡¯d suggest placing it near some of the senior dormitories so that it might be readily useful,¡± advised Cyrus. A buzz of energy drew Kadaklan¡¯s attention, and he rose. ¡°Someone¡¯s had an accident, so I¡¯ll leave you to your work and return to my own. Can we talk after your morning training?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Thanks, Kadaklan.¡± Kadaklan soared straight up, transformed into a blazing Phoenix, and flew off; though he ensured he was well clear of the rooftops. ¡°Accident, likely hard sparring without the supervision of a healer,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Some people are always trying to push ahead and dragging someone into trouble with them. Kadaklan will probably heal them and send them on their way. I¡¯d best see there isn¡¯t a repeat of such behaviour from these students.¡± Cyrus stood and exchanged bows with them both. ¡°Thank you for dropping by, Master Cyrus,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I hope you¡¯ve read ahead since the last lesson,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ve read the whole book, and I¡¯ve questions,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. With a last nod of approval, Cyrus lept to the hall¡¯s roof and raced away across the rooftops with light, bounding steps. Sarah grinned cheekily at Amdirlain. ¡°What did you do to that poor child? I thought you were over fans fainting in the front row.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be a meanie,¡± objected Amdirlain as she joined her on the bench. ¡°Oh, this could be fun if you¡¯re going to channel Isa. Did your new Charisma get to her?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve not sensed any extra zest from you.¡± If only I could have Isa''s disregard of gender and focus so easily on the person. ¡°No, I think she experienced major insights into her Conviction, which upended her balance,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°So it was a matter of religious fervour then,¡± said Sarah and she let the matter drop. ¡°You¡¯re going to have your plate full with all this training.¡± ¡°What else is new?¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°Between Mana, Life, Psi, and True Song, hopefully, I¡¯ll have enough energy channels to achieve Primordial.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry about me dying of old age,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°You picked up on that? I tried to fit it in as a general question for him.¡± ¡°It was fairly obvious when you asked about others becoming a Primordial,¡± chucked Sarah, and she reached out to pat Amdirlain¡¯s knee. ¡°And it was nice that you asked Bahamut about something for me with everything else going on.¡± Amdirlain shrugged bashfully. ¡°Now, why don¡¯t I have to worry?¡± ¡°Gideon gave me an evolution option when I took my last Tier 7, but since I didn¡¯t know how your situation would turn out, I didn¡¯t take it,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll just have to earn another Tier 7 Achievement and get my level high enough.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t tell you about my concerns,¡± noted Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not the only one that can be paranoid, sweetie.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not being paranoid if someone is out to get you, and two sources have warned me they will be,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Your second source said that given your past behaviour, he expects not even the heavens to be completely safe for you,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it wouldn¡¯t be safe if you could keep your hands inside the ride.¡± ¡°Pfft, where is the fun in that?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°If someone is getting picked on, I¡¯m going to give the person bullying them a poke, no matter what Outer Plane they are from.¡± ¡°You said you¡¯re not Ori. Why are you trying to take on so much for her creation?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°I¡¯m not. Ori wanted to die. She saw death as a grand reward for all her work, finally getting to the end like any Mortal,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I want to live, but I won¡¯t turn a blind eye and keep my hands inside the ride. Bullies don¡¯t just get a punch in the nose. I fight dirty.¡± Frustration and concern warred with love under Sarah¡¯s composed expression until she finally sighed. ¡°Just let me know who you¡¯re taking on next so I can figure out if there are any ways I can help.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got a little while before Kadaklan returns,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Are you going to do your cycling?¡± I know she¡¯s worried about my decision, but I need to figure things out. I¡¯ve screwed up so much in the past. Amdirlain handed Sarah the plans she¡¯d left on the table. ¡°You¡¯ll want to finish those, and I¡¯ll handle the reconstruction after my morning lessons.¡± ¡°You could have left them on the table,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I figured stowing them away would avoid the discussion with Lezekus for now,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The plan was simply for my forge and work area layout. If you create ample space, we can tuck it into the corner,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain clicked her tongue briefly before nodding towards one of the courtyard¡¯s wings. ¡°You had your forge and Artificer workshop separate on Qil Tris. Do you want that again?¡± ¡°There would need to be some separation to avoid contaminants from the forge work,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll create two areas in the side buildings, and you can decide which goes where,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Where the training hall is now, I¡¯ll set the dimensional expansion for some entertaining space, an obstacle course, and a sparing area.¡± ¡°That works. I¡¯ll lay the equipment out in rows from the entryway and add workspaces as needed.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of something else first,¡± said Amdirlain. She puffed a stray lock of hair from her eyes and took the plunge with a Message Spell. ¡°Morgana, it¡¯s Amdirlain. I spoke to Bahamut recently, and he suggested you as an instructor for arcane subjects. Would you be open to teaching me? I¡¯m currently based in the Outlands.¡± ¡°My goodness,¡± said Sarah. Despite her playful tone, she fixed Amdirlain with an understanding look. ¡°Taking a risk with another of his picks after the fun with Silpar?¡± ¡°Silpar wasn¡¯t a bad pick, but I felt raw and exposed. I didn¡¯t get the list of things he talked about with Silpar,¡± muttered Amdirlain, and she glanced towards the clouds. ¡°If you¡¯re still listening, please have someone pass them along.¡± I bet he¡¯s still sneakily listening since Sarah said his name. I¡¯d like to know what rating I¡¯d need in Resonance to catch his eavesdropping or if it requires Primordial Will. ¡°Are you not just going to ask Silpar yourself?¡± Sarah inquired. ¡°Hit him up with a straightforward request. You know, mate, having learnt my secrets put me on edge after things sunk in. Now spill what else Bahamut said.¡± Did she have to ensure he was still listening by using his name again? ¡°You expect me to put Silpar under a spotlight as well?¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°Be upfront with him and see how things go. If he takes offence that you¡¯d like to know what secrets he is privy to about you, that says a lot right there.¡± Bahamut¡¯s voice hummed from the air beside Amdirlain. ¡°There was nothing worth being that dramatic. I advised Silpar about you being the reincarnation of Orh¨ºthurin and the general nature of the curse. After that, I gave him some details about the corruption of the Anar and L¨®m? by Baln¨¦rith so he¡¯d understand your likely goals in light of past events.¡± ¡°Thank you, Bahamut,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you for allowing Morgana to teach you. She¡¯ll be better off for reciprocating the kindness you showed Claughuthruuazex,¡± replied Bahamut. ¡°And while my attention is not always on you, I listen for the sound of either of you saying my name. You know there are places where I can provide no aid, nor even communicate.¡± Was he listening in earlier, or did he learn it from Morgana already? Not knowing if Bahamut¡¯s attention was still on them, Amdirlain shrugged and set to work. 395 - Fill the void Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches The first notes sent the harp and mapping cube to storage in Foundry before Amdirlain scoured a patch of ground further down the mountain to bedrock. With it cleared, she lifted into the air, and Sarah followed suit to hover beside her. She moved the complete building, including the front wall with them both clear of it, past their foundation. Without so much as a strained timber, it resettled in the scoured site near new dormitories outside the inner wall. With the relocation done, Amdirlain''s attention turned to the now-empty site below her. Though tempted to avoid an exact match with the grey stone and redwood, Amdirlain kept her rebelliousness restrained. As she hovered above the excavated lot, the mountain¡¯s bones hummed as if urging her to call them up. Though simple, it risked eventual shifts under the surrounding buildings, and she created grey granite instead. Layers surged upwards, following the image in Amdirlain¡¯s intent to form a structure and front wall from a single unbroken mass, though it matched the previous one in appearance. Columns and the once-ceramic roof were simply colour-shifted stone to match the hue of what had once been red-lacquered wood and tiles. Though she could have played games and provided iris-like doors and shutters styled after the Anar buildings in her memories, Amdirlain created hardwood replicas of the components she¡¯d shifted away. Her original Resonance had guided her establishment of Nolmar¡¯s dimensional space, an origami creation involving thousands of folded-together dimensional slivers. Each touched in a seamless expanse that ran hundreds of metres further than the outer walls contained. With her improved Resonance, she could trace dimensional boundaries with far greater accuracy, allowing the melody to fold and arrange them in a tighter compression. Though she could have completed it in a split second, Amdirlain relaxed and sang the full theme, improving the details as she went. Before she had finished compressing layers into the first metre of the courtyard arms or the training hall, there was a cavernous expanse two kilometres long. When she reached the limits of the arms, their four-metre external width contained a space nearly fifteen kilometres across, yet her song¡¯s efficiency continued to increase. With every burr that Amdirlain smoothed from her notes, the dimensional slivers folded tighter into place and the larger space provided by the training hall grew substantially. Ultimately, it contained an expanse nearly five hundred kilometres across by four thousand, with the ceiling far out of sight. As Amdirlain finished stabilising her creation, she added underground crystals tied to the Outlands¡¯ Mana to maintain them. When she wove the concealments to surround them, the flaws within the songs¡¯ notes allowed her to catch the crystals¡¯ presence. She worked through the songs a thousand times and slowly tightened the concealments, yet continued to hear their presence. Though they sounded far fainter, her continued ability to detect them drew a disappointed huff as Amdirlain bound the latest attempt in place and considered the notification that had appeared. [Crafting summary: (Dimensional expansions) Dimensional space (Small) x 2 Dimensional space (Medium) x1 True Song Crystal x8 Total Experience gained: +86,700,000 Olind?: +86,700,000 True Song Genesis [G] (10->11)] The dimensional games provide more experience than some True Song Crystal constructs. Focusing on the notes'' accuracy continues to give me insights into the Power. ¡°Everything is steady, but I might have overdone it,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically, holding her thumb and forefinger a hairbreadth apart. Sarah shot her a dazzling grin and pounced towards the closest door leading into a courtyard arm. ¡°Might?¡± Even as Sarah pulled open the door, the click of the door¡¯s latch echoed in the space beyond, and she froze. ¡°This is sweet. With a space this big, you¡¯ll be able to pack plenty of students into your training hall and still have room for your obstacle course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a bit more room where the training hall is. Perhaps you should check it as well,¡± suggested Amdirlain. Not sparing her a glance, Sarah trotted along the awning to the first set of doors that opened into the training hall. Sarah laughed so loudly as she cracked open the doors that Amdirlain set a sound barrier in place. ¡°Overachiever?¡± ¡°I was on a roll and kept correcting the problems I could hear,¡± advised Amdirlain as she strolled over to join her at the door. Sarah leaned against the doorframe and peered to either side. ¡°This makes Foundry look like a neglected orphan. Poor little Demi-Plane, will you feed it and have it grow big and strong?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one that pointed out why I should have a home here,¡± protested Amdirlain before she shrugged helplessly. ¡°I could upgrade Foundry¡¯s space, but it has a different purpose. Wait, your bed is there. Is that why you want it bigger?¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°No, surely not. What are you going to do with all this space? Just set up an obstacle course, or will you duplicate all the traps the dwarven celestials created for you to train against?¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve barely used them, but I won¡¯t duplicate the traps. If I died to one I duplicated, that might count as self-destructing, not having been killed by the Celestial who made the original. It feels improbable that I¡¯d get one shot after my last surge of levels, but I¡¯d rather not give Murphy¡¯s Law a chance to bite me. Can you tell me why Ori trained the way she did? I don¡¯t know if I should catch my mundane skills up.¡± ¡°If another Primordial holds hazards in place, the options are to overpower the Primordial, destroy the creations, or evade them. If you¡¯re spending effort to overpower the creations, you can¡¯t direct that energy against the Primordial,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Oh,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Efficient use of resources, not just because she wanted to blend in. I¡¯ve kept putting off developing those skills.¡± ¡°Going to bump it up the list now?¡± questioned Sarah. Amdirlain smiled sheepishly. ¡°Erwarth recommended it years ago. The other issue is I¡¯ve got an increasing divide in my attributes. My Strength and Quickness are lagging far behind.¡± ¡°How far lagging?¡± ¡°They¡¯re a quarter of my now massive Endurance rating,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah smiled slyly. ¡°Massive Endurance?¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t start,¡± pleaded Amdirlain. A wicked little smile curled Sarah¡¯s lips. ¡°Only because you begged for it.¡± She¡¯s such a tease, and now I know she¡¯s yanking my chain. ¡°Bitch,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Her composed expression returned, but Sarah continued to chortle beneath the mask. ¡°So you can take a hit but can¡¯t get out of the road. Just as well that you held off until your resistances got higher.¡± ¡°Yeah, I won¡¯t progress them fast now,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I hope my Primordial Resistance is enough for the deep planes.¡± ¡°It might be, but you should improve your other defensive options since we didn¡¯t cover all of them,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll create a shielded area for practising my spell casting,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though that is a point with all the people gaining affinities, I should establish something for the monastery¡¯s students to use.¡± Sarah returned to the side area, set a large metal workbench out, and spread various metal working tools atop it. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I used normal tools, but I might as well not give the game away.¡± As Sarah arranged things to her satisfaction, Amdirlain watched from the doorway, only for a strange nostalgia to hit; the strength of the impact had her expecting another rush of memories, but nothing came forth. The memories settled down again? Should I fish for one not involving Ori? I¡¯d like to look at her arena again and see if I can recall her building it. ¡°You told Nomein and the others your full schedule would start in a couple of days,¡± said Sarah, not looking up from the tools. ¡°What have you got planned between now and then?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got sparring sessions lined up with two of the masters and want spare time to establish things,¡± informed Amdirlain. Sarah nodded and looked up. ¡°Are you going to fill in some of that space with entry rooms so people aren¡¯t just walking into that cavern in the training hall?¡± ¡°No, actually,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I want them to come in and feel the full impact. Maybe I¡¯ll add floating platforms with tables for entertaining guests.¡± ¡°Subtle,¡± drawled Sarah. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I¡¯m not even trying to be subtle. Sometimes, a casual display of power will get people to take you seriously.¡± ¡°Oh, this little thing? Yes, I¡¯ve had it for ages, darling,¡± lisped Sarah. ¡°It''s not quite what I¡¯m getting at, but it might be fun,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I was going to go for modest Novice, but Livia and Kadaklan knocked that plan on the head, so I¡¯m going to have some fun instead.¡± A grin lit up Sarah¡¯s gaze. ¡°Dear, oh dear. What have they let themselves in for?¡± ¡°Do you know anything about primordials?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°With the minimal I know, I won¡¯t drop hints either, especially since he told you it would cause problems,¡± Sarah rejected, and her words rumbled in her throat. ¡°No fishing!¡± ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she snapped a salute. ¡°Please, I work for a living,¡± grumbled Sarah. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Taking naps is such hard work.¡± Movement on the lower slope of the mountain drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°Kli is on the move and heading this way.¡± ¡°Goodness, slipping away from a sleeping lover, tsk,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Did they leave her unsatisfied?¡± ¡°No, she sounds happy¡ªeager and happy¡ªso it might be she¡¯s simply looking forward to lessons,¡± supplied Amdirlain. ¡°She gets to help you break your new training hall in,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Like a new pair of leather shoes, I¡¯m sure the place will rub someone the wrong way,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you in peace while you get your equipment settled in. Maybe I¡¯ll start on my obstacle course.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be back and forth for a bit. I don¡¯t have all the gear for an Artificer workshop with me,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°No worries, I don¡¯t plan to go anywhere today, so you know where to find me if you need something,¡± said Amdirlain, and she headed to the cavernous expansion at the rear of the courtyard. The lack of light in the dimensional areas didn¡¯t impact Sarah or Amdirlain but would challenge most students. Without changing its external appearance or sturdiness, a melody adjusted the stone roof to let the sunlight through, but the effect on the enlarged space was a diffused illumination. After brief consideration, Amdirlain supplemented the glow with floating globes that lit the place like halogen floodlights. Amdirlain cast a waiting variation of the Message Spell. ¡°Master Payam, it would be my honour to host you and however many observers you¡¯d like to bring to my training hall. I¡¯ve made some adjustments to ensure plenty of space so that mere boundary lines shouldn¡¯t determine the outcome.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. With that obligation handled, Amdirlain knelt in the doorway and stretched Resonance through the space as she spun hundreds of themes out. Reinforced barriers shimmered into existence to mark out spaces for spell casting and sparring areas and protect any that stood nearby. As she considered the creation of an obstacle course, Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s training arena, with its trapped floor, moving hazards, and constructs, niggled at her thoughts. When she¡¯d initially recalled the memory, True Song and Resonance were denied to her. A slow exhalation carried nervous tension from her as Amdirlain looked inwards. Her awareness skimmed across the battered landscape of her Soul, the golden surface pox-marked and broken, jagged spires and chasms mocked Amdirlain as her attention settled on a scar near an aching void. Within the Soulscape, she landed next to what seemed a chipped ridgeline and, among the fractures, she knew the pain that belonged to the memory she sought. Delicately tracing a tiny fracture among thousands on the ridge, the scene bloomed around her. The memory smoothly unfolded, lacking the rough edges she¡¯d experienced when delving into other memories and the moment carried an emotional clarity instead of the tight coil of emotions. The last time the memory started had been when Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s daughter arrived, but in this recall Amdirlain experienced her dropping into the arena. Snippets of her confrontation with Hirindo ran through her mind, sparking pain in the repeated recall of her husband¡¯s flat rejection, and a myriad of ¡®what ifs¡¯ haunted her thoughts. Each pointed out how she¡¯d worsened the situation, and her continuing love for him drowned her with guilt. As her feet lightly touched down on the hardwood slates, Orh¨ºthurin took her pain and grief, and crushed it in a furnace of determination. Beneath the slates, millions of melodies crafted to provide ever-shifting obstacles and traps echoed in a layer above the most lethal mechanisms. On those, Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s will focused and multiple chimes resonated a melody to which Orh¨ºthurin sang a counterpoint. Silence settled briefly before additional mechanisms shifted through dimensions to strengthen the existing dangers and disable all the safeguards. Within the white-grey stonework, mechanisms reacted to her weight on the floor, and doors opened to send columns of spinning blades towards her. Many dubbed the scythe-like blades dragon claws, but these would hit harder than all but the most ancient of wyrms. Orh¨ºthurin sprinted forward with her flowing steps, a dance that triggered more traps and spells from the walls. Amdirlain absorbed the surrounding music and leapt into Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memory of creating the arena millennia earlier. Strands of stone rose from the earth and braided themselves in a honeycomb pattern until an enormous dome covered two kilometres of the grasslands. With the main frame completed, more strands rose and threaded through the different levels, while others established spiral staircases that ended at the circular walkway a hundred metres from its top. There was no attempt to fold the dimensions to provide extra space; instead, the machinery for the traps, gadgets, and enchanted weaponry slipped sideways in reality. Among them, Amdirlain caught the brutal devices sent into the furthest reaches whose power seemed enough to snuff out stars. Yet to Orh¨ºthurin, they seemed mere dangerous toys that were a scant threat except to embarrass her. Within the core of the mechanisms, songs weighed the strengths and weaknesses of those within and determined how to stretch the limits of both. The purpose of it all was to keep herself honed rather than from any expectation of growth. Unlike many songs Amdirlain had heard enacted by Orh¨ºthurin in her memories, there was no joy or delight within the melodies, only brutal and cold efficiency. It was a heartlessness that Orh¨ºthurin directed towards herself, and Amdirlain fled from the memory. The scene in the Soulscape was unchanged, and the spectacle of the broken landscape, despite its warm hue, twisted Amdirlain¡¯s stomach. She didn¡¯t delight in creating everything, and she deemed battle simply doing what was necessary. What is my Martial Art to me, an essential Skill or something I enjoy? I don¡¯t see how Livia can believe all these scars and damage to be beautiful. She never got close enough to see the full spectacle. Or she only saw it from the orbital platform Viper and I used to appear on. Amdirlain reached out for another nearby fracture but stopped before she straightened her finger to bridge the gap. Am I now seeing all the issues without beauty simply from being down at ground level? Did it look comforting before because of my distant perspective? Or am I seeing the microscopic grains in the woodwork and ignoring the impact of the whole? The ground blurred away and, before she could react, Amdirlain hovered so far from the golden surface it looked the size of her palm. Amdirlain mentally nudged herself closer to the orb and, in fits and starts, eventually got an overhead perspective of her Soulscape to fill her vision. It looked like someone had taken a mangled cookie cutter and used it to smash into something more significant, leaving only a circle with uneven edges along its course. However, away from the edges, the fractures eased into mere ripples, creating a topography that appeared like a living world. As she followed the thinning line of a fracture, Amdirlain found a significant depression with thousands of familiar statues she¡¯d once visualised lying in a lake of sludge. She found a statue of the Mithrilblood Patriarch among them, but almost didn¡¯t recognise him given the youthful visage and his beard in wedding braids. His pre-wedding look, rather than the mess he was at the end. Unsure of precisely what she sought, Amdirlain started to drift in the direction where she¡¯d last seen Ori¡¯s form but stopped beside a female statue with elven cheekbones and ruby skin. Next to her was a mound that she¡¯d thought was simply part of the lake bed, but now she recognised as a solidified representation of the energy lifeform whose existence she¡¯d briefly glimpsed. Hesitantly, she reached for it, only to yank her hand back. I have enough issues with my headspace; there are better options than adding a completely alien perspective. I want some insights, but that will be unlikely to help since Sarah doesn¡¯t even remember living that way. A step set Amdirlain beside the ruby-skinned female, and she rested her palm on the statue¡¯s forehead. A packed auditorium listened to her mate¡¯s roaring and took in the scents he produced. Motion seized her attention and, with a sword already in hand, she pivoted towards one customer who strained the boundary rope. The motion caused the younger male to step back from the stage rope and raise his hands submissively. The gesture did nothing to still her anger at the customer¡¯s intrusion, and blood lust rolled off her. Others who¡¯d also started to strain against the boundary retreated violently, forcing the crowd behind to give way to their craven hearts. The performance ran through dozens of songs ranging from playful to challenging, but none mellowed the tension incited by the aggravation of her fresh pregnancy. His fans loved him with too much passion, and many had taken it to dangerous, if exciting, extremes. From rows deep in the crowd, a female lept high with her diamond-sharp fangs already fully unsheathed. A sidestep put Am in position to intercept with a cleaving strike. With her free hand, she grabbed the ankle of the falling body and flung it back into the crowd; those who caught it drank from the still jetting stump. As it bounced across the stage an attendant caught the head and hustled to set it on the stage edge¡ªit might be reunited with the body if the hunger cooled before her mind reached final death. Among the blood-splattered throng, those blessed by the female¡¯s offering licked the blood from each other¡¯s skin to savour the sensations of excitement, lust, and pain. Those not close enough lifted their liquor-filled glasses and toasted the more fortunate among them and the Matriarch whose fading life they celebrated. Before she turned back towards the crowd, her husband¡¯s hunger-infused gaze blazed with anticipation for their after-show celebrations. Still, the notes didn¡¯t falter, and her own craving stirred for his glistening body. Before she could excite him further, her gaze snapped to the crowd, and she returned to her position. Three songs and four torpors later, the scent of death from the Matriarch¡¯s passing filled the air, and all those present threw back their heads and howled their goodbyes. Around them, bodies started to fall as her bloodsworn perished in droves. With a quarter of the crowd dead at their feet, those still standing feasted before the blood could cool. Amdirlain yanked her hand free, but snippets about their culture came with her. Living vampires? So much for not wanting an alien perspective. Though, at least I¡¯ll get to tease Sarah about being the ultimate goth singer. A species of predators that could only normally die from old age, but some blood magic linked elders to their servants. Klipyl plopped down beside Amdirlain and rested her head on a shoulder without a word. Happiness buzzed from within the Celestial, and Amdirlain¡¯s Soul welcomed the energy. The shift of energies caused a tiny indentation left behind by the thorns that had covered Ori¡¯s statue to vanish. ¡°Good morning,¡± murmured Amdirlain as she released the Soulscape. ¡°Something wrong, sis?¡± chirped Klipyl. ¡°Just a lot has gone on since we last spoke,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she winced at the undertones of tension in her voice. At the wince, Klipyl straightened up, slung her arm around Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders and gave her a gentle, one-armed hug. ¡°Here to help with whatever I can.¡± ¡°I¡¯m dealing with some old memories and confusion arising from Ori¡¯s relationships,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°While they¡¯ve opened my eyes on some matters, it¡¯s hard to know what is right for me. I went looking into other memories and got a weird one.¡± Klipyl nodded understandingly. ¡°It¡¯s hard to live in someone else¡¯s shoes. Attempting that has caused many personal issues for people I¡¯ve spoken with over the years. From newlyweds fighting because one partner or the other doesn¡¯t do things like the other person¡¯s family, to families in different professions simply not taking the time to understand the other person¡¯s stress.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t cook as good as mum. That¡¯s not how to fold the clothing,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°What do you normally get them to do?¡± ¡°Focus on the things that brought them together and work at building new standards,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°Doing some chores together instead of just expecting the other person to have done it the way you expect. Small steps are often needed, especially if they¡¯ve been fighting or been married off on their relatives¡¯ orders. That second I¡¯ve run into even here.¡± ¡°Among the students?¡± ¡°The eldest son of the largest village¡¯s chief,¡± clarified Klipyl. ¡°He got ordered to marry to unify the villages.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t there three villages?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°And?¡± questioned Klipyl. ¡°The other chiefs had daughters of marriageable age. He didn¡¯t understand why they were so timid in bed. I felt like clipping his ear, but I explained to him it¡¯s important to work up to intimacy.¡± ¡°Numbskull?¡± Klipyl shook her head. ¡°Nah, just stupid expectations. His parents don¡¯t argue because his mother sounds pretty submissive, but he didn¡¯t marry submissive women.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Did they even want to get married?¡± ¡°Pfft, one had other plans, and the second had her eye on a different man¡ªtheir relationship had been approved until they moved here,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°She hadn¡¯t even met the chief¡¯s son until the marriage ceremony.¡± ¡°Yikes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How did you get involved?¡± ¡°You asked me to find out what options they had for advancing, so I went and talked to the villagers,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°The guy was muttering furiously about the latest family clash and didn¡¯t hear my approach.¡± ¡°How did he react to an Elf in a ribbon?¡± Klipyl shrugged, and the ribbon rippled across her skin, expanding into a silken kimono before it retracted again. ¡°Best purchase ever.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pushing the enchantment to the limits, getting it to reform into that outfit,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I know,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°But I¡¯ve been told that attempting a form beyond its limits will result in it not changing.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be so sure about that,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d get Sarah to examine it as I hear discordant notes. However, that could just be me, as my sensitivity has jumped. There is one other thing to be aware of, Klipyl.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°White is associated with death in some local cultures,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°While it¡¯s one thing when it¡¯s just a ribbon or decoration, a full kimono has other implications.¡± ¡°No wonder he looked like he was going to pass out,¡± laughed Klipyl. "He was initially startled, but I calmed him down enough to answer my questions. I had thought it was because of the elven ¡®noble¡¯ being down among the warehouses. Maybe I need to go back to reading thoughts, but that¡¯s too much like the old days, and it¡¯s more fun to be charming.¡± ¡°Only charming?¡± laughed Amdirlain. Klipyl¡¯s eyes crinkled with laughter. ¡°A tiny bit charming. It¡¯s been good fun to talk to the different people around this place.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re having fun. Have you got any information for me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Cyrus mentioned he spoke to you about my request.¡± Klipyl nodded. ¡°I heard about a hall used for teaching kids, but it was empty when I checked, so I figured I¡¯d ask him about it. He says you have a different viewpoint about education than most I¡¯ll meet here. Where would you like me to start?¡± ¡°Wherever makes the most sense to you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Okay, well, they weren¡¯t given a choice to relocate, but most villagers are happy they did. The crop production in the outlands is stupidly fast, and they¡¯ve got far more food than they used to get at home,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°Yet I saw kids working the fields before the morning started,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The kids get more time for lessons now they¡¯re near the monastery. Afternoon sessions every third day are a mixture of being taught techniques to sense their Ki, reading and writing, and what they call the classics.¡± As she considered that news, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow briefly. ¡°What options do they gain by applying themselves to their studies?¡± ¡°If they can sense their Ki, they might join the students, but that¡¯s rare,¡± said Klipyl, and she hastened to clarify her statement. ¡°Sorry, sensing the Ki thing is rare and requires effort and then more effort to show any sign of being able to use it.¡± But there are techniques to make it easier, so it sounds like they don¡¯t use them. That turns individual effort and natural talent into the first filter for candidates. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°For those that do show signs?¡± ¡°They¡¯re warned not to select a Class without first training. If they¡¯ve got the aptitude for it, they can join the students, but it gets more complicated if their aptitude differs. Joining the students is more common now. Before the move, only the best in a year¡¯s recruitment were accepted. Now, the village youth get first spots, and then the monastery brings extras from the kingdoms.¡± ¡°How about opportunities for those without Ki?¡± ¡°Only if they apply themselves to their lessons. Otherwise, it¡¯s fieldwork or craft apprenticeships. Those they have to arrange themselves and go first to the crafter¡¯s family,¡± answered Klipyl. ¡°The most respectable career for those that can read properly and have presentable calligraphy is joining the clerks. The people I spoke to all believe that the clerks receive good pay. They even have the choice of silver or contribution points, but what works best depends on their family''s needs.¡± ¡°For special items that are cheaper with points?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl nodded energetically. ¡°Some feel it¡¯s best to stockpile contribution points in case of any grave illness in the family. You can get a potion from the duty pavilion, but that could be years of savings.¡± Yep, no free healing for the peasants. Then again, there isn¡¯t free Ki healing for the students beyond what healers offer in the lessons. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully and considered what she had heard the other day. ¡°Don¡¯t the healers help those in the fields?¡± ¡°Cuts and breaks, yeah, but diseases aren¡¯t something Ki can fix without the right knowledge.¡± Amdirlain gave her a one-armed hug without shifting position. ¡°Thanks for looking into that. Do you want to start your lesson?¡± ¡°In a minute,¡± said Klipyl, and she sighed contently. ¡°This feels nice, and you make a great headrest.¡± When Amdirlain started laughing, Klipyl sat up straight and put her hands on her hips. ¡°Less so when you¡¯re bouncing from laughter.¡± Amdirlain rose and motioned Klipyl to move further into the hall. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve ruined it, let¡¯s begin.¡± Klipyl reappeared further out into the training hall and assumed a neutral stance before she started on the first strikes. 396 - Perspective Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Sarah repeatedly hopped between planes throughout Amdirlain¡¯s training session with Klipyl. The music of her planar shifts signalled various planes, but each trip saw her return with tonnes of new equipment for the forge and workshop spaces. With each load of gear, Amdirlain carefully noted the songs in case she ever needed to create new workshops from scratch. As Sarah was tinkering with the workshop, rearranging equipment to the precise placements she desired, Kadaklan arrived. He paused in the courtyard entryway, one hand on the gate with a view straight through the open hall doors into the vast expanse beyond, his eyes wide. His theme resounded with shock at the impossible space on the mountainside and the glowing barriers that marked out the massive practice spaces. Not wanting to topple his mental equilibrium as it tilted back and forth, Amdirlain gave him time to adjust, got Klipyl¡¯s attention, and started her on the next stage of a kata. As Amdirlain took Klipyl through another sequence of dance-like moves that flowed from a throat strike against one foe through a crescent kick to open another¡¯s guard and into a vicious elbow, Kadaklan eventually moved forward to watch quietly from the doorway. ¡°You can keep practising those moves while I have a lesson with Kadaklan,¡± offered Amdirlain, and her words grabbed Kadaklan¡¯s attention. ¡°Are you going to have time to show me more after your lesson?¡± inquired Klipyl. ¡°Not today. I¡¯ve got Master Payam showing up for an exchange of pointers,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Then, after Master Cyrus¡¯ session, I¡¯ll have to find Master Lu, whom I¡¯ve not met yet. Unless you want to continue when the evening meal starts?¡± Klipyl clapped excitedly. ¡°Oh, can I stay around? I¡¯m sure Master Payam was holding back his interest in me. Maybe I should allow him to flirt.¡± A snort from the door drew Klipyl¡¯s notice. ¡°Unfortunately, he¡¯s got a wife, Kli. Unless you¡¯re looking for a position as second wife?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯m open to lots of positions,¡± countered Klipyl. The pair laughed eerily in sync with each other, and Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°You two sound like you¡¯re conspiring,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°The synchronised laughter signals you¡¯re up to no good.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not one of your trace dramas,¡± huffed Kadaklan. Klipyl tilted her head curiously. ¡°Trace?¡± ¡°There are plays on Qil Tris projected between locations like fully detailed illusions,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°The locals called them traces.¡± Klipyl¡¯s themes giggled away, and Amdirlain spoke up to add to the explanation. ¡°Catfolk are natural hunters, and that heritage influences their local language.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t a race¡¯s strengths influence every civilisation?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°That is a good point,¡± said Amdirlain, mentally kicking herself for underestimating Klipyl¡¯s understanding. ¡°I didn¡¯t understand what had you so amused.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t their heritage. I was thinking about all the fun I could have putting on a show,¡± explained Klipyl. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s especially arousing to have someone watching. I thought about having people watching whose presence I didn¡¯t even know about. Now that would be cool.¡± Oh dear! Klipyl wants to do porn. ¡°It seems I was missing the point,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though thinking about strengths influencing cultures, I have another one,¡± Klipyl grinned. ¡°I wonder if there are any dwarves that are naturals at working wood. Can you imagine what sort of tree house a Dwarf would make?¡± ¡°Would they be a Dwarf if they weren¡¯t working with metal?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Trees grow out of the earth, and dwarves are supposed to lean towards that aspect,¡± observed Klipyl. ¡°You could find out.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to even ask Gideon,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. Klipyl clasped her hands together and looked pleadingly at Amdirlain. ¡°Please, sis, won¡¯t you find out for me? All it would take is a few questions for Gideon. I think they¡¯d be so cute, in their little tree houses, beards braided with flowers instead of metalwork.¡± ¡°No,¡± Amdirlain said firmly. ¡°It¡¯s not happening. Now that you¡¯ve got a particular image, the reality will only disappoint you.¡± ¡°Not fair!¡± Amdirlain waved her away. ¡°Talk to the hand.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, ¡®cause the face ain¡¯t listening. I heard that one from Isa,¡± huffed Klipyl with mock indignation. ¡°Big meanie.¡± ¡°Yep, I¡¯ve got myself a little sister, alright. She¡¯s throwing temper tantrums already.¡± Klipyl giggled mischievously. ¡°I thought you¡¯d like it.¡± ¡°What have I let myself in for?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Fun!¡± exclaimed Klipyl, throwing her arms out wide. ¡°Hug?¡± Though she kept her laughter contained, Amdirlain provided the requested hug. After Amdirlain released Klipyl, she pounced on Kadaklan and gave a fierce hug that pressed her body tightly against his. ¡°You healed my sister¡¯s legs. You¡¯re going to get lots of hugs.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s eyes bugged out. Squeezed within Klipyl¡¯s embrace, he could only pat her back gently. ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°He¡¯s a bit more delicate than I am, Klipyl,¡± advised Amdirlain. Klipyl hopped back to arm¡¯s length, clasping Kadaklan¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Did I hurt you, Immortal birdie?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. I was just surprised. Why are you mentioning that when you¡¯ve hidden wings, too?¡± inquired Kadaklan. ¡°Yeah, but you turn into a bird. I have wings when I want them, but I don¡¯t even need them to fly, only to look intimidating and official,¡± huffed Klipyl, bouncing on the spot as if about to leap into the air. Her ribbon bravely rose to the challenge and kept everything contained. ¡°Is that the purpose of your wings¡ªto intimidate someone?¡± asked Kadaklan, keeping his gaze on her face. Klipyl shrugged broadly, and her amusement grew fever-pitched when he didn¡¯t so much as peek down at her jiggling bust. ¡°They intimidate the heck out of demons, so that works well enough in my books. I can stand around looking all Elf-like. If a Demon comes charging up roaring, I pop out the wings, and they practically shit themselves, which is hard for a Demon to do. It¡¯s good fun.¡± ¡°But did you still look like an Elf, or had you transformed into the whole Archon appearance as well?¡± Kadaklan asked. ¡°The complete transformation might be the reason for their fear.¡± She released his shoulders, and Klipyl laughed as she tapped his nose. ¡°Now you¡¯re ruining my fun with logic. Not fair! I say the wings are intimidating all on their own.¡± ¡°True, your wings frighten them off,¡± responded Kadaklan. ¡°Big, glowing and white. Certainly, that alone would prompt a Demon to run away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more like it,¡± said Klipyl, and she darted in to kiss him on both cheeks before turning to Amdirlain. ¡°Can we keep him? Though don¡¯t adopt him, I might want him for other things, and some people get weird about that.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s determination quailed before his resolve firmed again. ¡°He¡¯s not fled yet, and he hung around me for nearly six years,¡± noted Amdirlain. Klipyl pretended to check Kadaklan¡¯s temperature with the back of her hand on his forehead and examined his eyes. ¡°Are you feeling well? Perhaps you¡¯ve been running a fever for a while now. Have you known about your mental instability long?¡± ¡°I see your sense of humour is infectious, Am,¡± drawled Kadaklan to hide his flustered state. ¡°Shall we get started on your lesson?¡± ¡°I think he¡¯s trying to run away from me,¡± laughed Klipyl. ¡°Did I do something wrong, sis?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what you mean,¡± insisted Kadaklan. ¡°We simply have limited time each day.¡± Amdirlain shrugged in pretend confusion. ¡°Kli, if you want to practice your moves here, feel free. I¡¯ll give you feedback later.¡± ¡°This place is huge,¡± said Klipyl, and she moved a little to give them space and turned in a circle. ¡°Just imagine the size of the orgy you could have in a place like this.¡± Before Amdirlain could respond, Klipyl teleported hundreds of metres away, her giggles echoing throughout the chamber. As Kadaklan restrained his snickers, Amdirlain pushed the unwanted mental image aside. ¡°Kadaklan, I just wanted to check something. Some terms in the texts I¡¯ve been reading are strange, and I feel like they¡¯re talking about something else. Kli mentioned that the children¡¯s training included time spent on the classics. Do the technique manuals reference them?¡± Kadaklan paused in surprise. ¡°Haven¡¯t you read the classics?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I know bits of Chinese and Nipon customs, or at least a variation from my home realm, but I never read the classics.¡± ¡°Well, that will make things awkward for any manual you study from the Middle or Western kingdom,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Since techniques involve a particular mindset and the study of the classics ensures a base to work from, many technique manuals use them as a foundation for their explanations.¡± ¡°But not the manuals from the southern or eastern courts?¡± ¡°No, we use different texts as references,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°Yet I hadn¡¯t even considered that you might not have studied the classics. How could you possibly be so advanced as a Monk without doing so?¡± The broad wink Kadaklan added at the end had Amdirlain rolling her eyes. ¡°Much was self-taught, but Master Cyrus and Farhad beat the rest into me. It seems more studying will be involved than I had expected.¡± ¡°You picked the right word there,¡± announced Kadaklan. ¡°Merely reading them isn¡¯t enough. You need to study and ponder them. I¡¯ll have to check the library to see if it has a proper version of the southern texts.¡± ¡°The purpose of the classics is to put someone in the same mindset?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I think we¡¯ll settle for you simply gaining an understanding of what the text means, and we¡¯ll work to determine what works for you,¡± reassured Kadaklan. ¡°Changing your mind is beyond anyone¡¯s ability.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to look at things differently,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°This may help me expand my outlook. Should I stop practising and work through those texts?¡± Kadaklan shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll work through the applicable sections with you, and we can review the meaning of the references. What observation have you made with the cycling exercises you¡¯ve done for Master Cyrus and myself?¡± ¡°The pathways between nodes are shifting and changing, more organic than I had expected,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°After having your spiritual net regrown, are you surprised about them being organic?¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°It makes sense now, but it wasn¡¯t how I used to visualise the connections between the nodes, I feel it¡¯s a new observation for me. Part of that is how they flex and change.¡± ¡°Did you see them more as a static pattern like Sarah¡¯s runes?¡± ¡°Something close to that but the way there were key points in the spiritual net was like a children''s game of connect the dots,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°On paper, those never got to change.¡± You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. ¡°Perspective is the keyhole through which you view truth, not truth itself,¡± offered Kadaklan. ¡°Maybe a keyhole perspective is my way,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Though perhaps acceptance would include the keyhole and everything on the far side, not just the view the keyhole provides.¡± ¡°Spend a quarter of the session on the basic cycling exercise, and then we¡¯ll work through the text,¡± instructed Kadaklan. Smoothly kneeling, Amdirlain sat back on her heels, set a crystal beside her leg and nearly emptied her Ki pool into it. The rush of the energy into the crystal¡¯s confines provided a lively and fiery tune and Amdirlain took in its complex interactions with the crystalline tempo. With its limits nearly reached, she sent the crystal to Foundry, retrieved a spare from its storeroom, and placed it where the other had rested a moment earlier. ¡°How many of those do you have?¡± asked Kadaklan, having knelt opposite her. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°A few hundred. Though I might have to make some more, as I¡¯ll continue stockpiling my Ki in case of an emergency.¡± ¡°Best to be prepared,¡± acknowledged Kadaklan. ¡°Who knows what freakish event you might tip into next?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve gone ages without using that word until today,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Your friends returned it to my vocabulary,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°For years, I thought I just didn¡¯t have a good enough understanding of you. Then I found out your old friends also found your achievements equally unbelievable.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll have to remember they were teenagers when we studied together,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°While they saw some tricks I had up my sleeves over the years, they certainly didn¡¯t get to experience all of my tricks.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t ask questions, though my curiosity is certainly...¡± Kadaklan paused and faltered as he sought the right word. ¡°Stimulated, or over-excited, perhaps?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Kadaklan huffed. ¡°Now you¡¯re teasing me, and that¡¯s certainly not playing fair. There were many revelations in your conversation with them I won¡¯t touch upon. I¡¯ll comment that it surprised me you even allowed Master Cyrus and myself to hear it.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus already knew, if you¡¯re talking about my former state as a Goddess,¡± advised Amdirlain. As Kadaklan lifted a hand to his face, he restrained himself and rubbed his thumb against his chin. ¡°Of course he did. Let¡¯s set that aside. It¡¯s time to cycle your Ki alone.¡± Amdirlain rested her hand on her thighs and, as she closed her eyes, Harmony allowed her to draw on the wisps that rose from her Ki Pool. As the delicate strands of energy swirled through the curves of her spiritual net, Amdirlain focused Resonance on it alone. In places along its course, Amdirlain heard areas of resistance and burrs in the energy¡¯s music. Rather than adjust the path, Amdirlain focused on smoothing out the roughness of its song. The process consumed more power than she''d expected, so Amdirlain recalled and sipped from the crystal sent away to refill her pool just enough to counter the loss. As her sigil ignited, the energy¡¯s music echoed faintly along the connections to her Soul. Is that how cycling polishes the flaws in the Soul, an energy feedback loop? The overflow from the sigil floods the spiritual net, and the net connects my Soul with the flesh, so it¡¯s logical. Though that¡¯s an issue, isn¡¯t it? I¡¯m not supposed to be relying on logic. Can I direct more Ki into the connections to improve the process, or is that dangerous? ¡°Are you stopping?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain opened her eyes and smiled apologetically. ¡°I just heard the connections between my spiritual network and Soul for the first time.¡± ¡°I know you like to improve things, but I would suggest you leave that be for now and let your spiritual net and Soul determine the amount of energy that takes that route,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Others have done experiments in the past and suffered for it.¡± ¡°Duly noted.¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°What about if I notice issues inside the sigil¡¯s route?¡± ¡°What sort of issues?¡± ¡°Rough patches, where I can hear eddies forming and slowing the energy flow,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Those tend to smooth out as you improve the reinforcement of your sigil,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°From the reading I¡¯ve done, it¡¯s not something most notice until they¡¯ve progressed further along the improvement to their sigil.¡± Amdirlain grinned sheepishly. ¡°More freakishness from me, right under your nose. Resonance lets me hear them, and I was trying to smooth them out.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go with the same process. Acknowledge and understand they are there and continue the exercise without looking to fix anything yet,¡± instructed Kadaklan. ¡°The key purpose of this exercise is to understand your sigil and its energy flows. The more you try to fix it the less acceptance and understanding you have for it.¡± ¡°Oops,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Can you ignore the noise for now?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll try to turn down my sensitivity further, but it¡¯s posing a challenge.¡± ¡°Turning the Power off isn¡¯t an option?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Most people close their eyes during this exercise initially to focus on the feel of their Ki and its behaviour.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cut back on the multi-tasking,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t turn it off completely as I¡¯d like to listen to this dimensional space for a little while.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it stable?¡± inquired Kadaklan, and he glanced about nervously. ¡°It is, but I just want to monitor it for a little longer. I¡¯m a touch paranoid,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°If I couldn¡¯t hear it, the possibility of issues arising undetected would distract me.¡± Kadaklan shook his head ruefully. ¡°Being a touch paranoid would have you studying it from a distance, not kneeling in your creation.¡± ¡°You might have a point there, but this is me,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s an expansion of what I did with Nolmar, so I¡¯m only a smidge paranoid.¡± Kadaklan sighed. ¡°Then cycle and take in the flows and music of your Ki¡¯s pathways but without trying to change anything. You should look to understand the nature of those distortions as well.¡± Amdirlain resumed cycling and stuck to moving the Ki as efficiently as possible between the nodes regardless of the dissonance she experienced as it rubbed against rough patches in the net. After multiple completed cycles, Amdirlain¡¯s sigil started to glow through her flesh, and she refilled the original crystal and started on the second one before she continued. When Kadaklan finally signalled Amdirlain to stop, she had managed more loops in the same timeframe. ¡°You went from empty to repeatedly glowing in that time,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°What else did you do besides levelling up your new Class?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°It also increased my Willpower considerably.¡± ¡°Considerably meaning?¡± interrogated Kadaklan. ¡°Over a thousand points,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Given what I saw from the records of others on Qil Tris, that is mind-blowing,¡± muttered Kadaklan. ¡°It was a nice upgrade to my offence, defence, and Ki pool,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and she gave a cherisher-cat grin. ¡°My Endurance jumped a truly ridiculous amount.¡± ¡°Do I want to know?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°You appear quite ecstatic.¡± ¡°My Phoenix¡¯s Rapture provides regeneration as a percentage of my health, so I can handle a lot more True Song use now,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve doubled my previous health, and my Magic rating jumped as well, so I¡¯ll be able to empower the music even more efficiently. That¡¯s not including the upgrades I¡¯m experiencing because my senses are sharper.¡± More than double, but that¡¯s close enough. ¡°You remind me of a vehicle enthusiast on Qil Tris describing the newest custom model blitzing the competition,¡± noted Kadaklan. Amdirlain nodded happily. ¡°Once I get these improvements settled, I will fill those dead worlds with life again.¡± The excitement that bloomed within her pulsed down through the same Soul connections that had savoured Klipyl¡¯s happiness. It was a connection she¡¯d not felt before the Resonance upgrade. Maybe I should focus on things I enjoy for a time. ¡°What about what it¡¯s doing to you?¡± questioned Kadaklan. What has Cyrus said? I was careful to let my Ki Pool fill enough to cause my fingers to distort. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kadaklan sighed. ¡°The pain you¡¯re enduring while pushing your limits. Are you just going to ignore it?¡± Oh! ¡°Think of it like muscles tearing so the person can get stronger,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not even experiencing muscle burn if I keep it within my limits. Or upgrades to lab equipment. I¡¯ve got more sensitive instrumentation now. That will let me hear where the impurities are entering my process and improve by reducing those.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still going to be concerned despite the attempt at Alchemist references,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°A girl can try,¡± quipped Amdirlain before she grew serious. ¡°Pain Eater means I¡¯m not experiencing it as pain but rather am aware of the amount of damage I¡¯ve taken. Would any of the individuals following a warped Dao take that approach? I¡¯ve not used that liquid pain potion again since you asked me to stop.¡± Kadaklan''s shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°I hope I¡¯m not being a nag.¡± ¡°I was misusing something you had given me, I understand your worry,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How about this? I¡¯ll take you to see my latest colourful Demi-Plane, and then mentally link while I make another and you can judge for yourself my pain levels. If you find them intolerable from your perspective, I¡¯ll look for a different way.¡± ¡°Now I know you¡¯re confident that I won¡¯t feel that way,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Will Klipyl and Sarah be okay in these rooms?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve not heard even the slightest stress from the dimensional folds, and the anchors are under minimal stress,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll add some conditional songs to alert me to any problems.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to be adequately paranoid about others¡¯ safety,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain laughed and shooed Kadaklan out into the courtyard before shifting planes. The pair reappeared near a grove of trees whose leaves were as pink as cotton candy. Overhead the bright yellow sunlight silhouetted purple clouds and sparkled off bright red rocks and fluorescent yellow plants. Kadaklan looked around, shaking his head, and tentatively poked a finger into a branch whose bark was a whorl of colours that matched a peacock¡¯s feather. ¡°Your laughter did this?¡± ¡°Aspects of True Song are based on intent, and I started to giggle while I worked and couldn¡¯t stop,¡± explained Amdirlain, waving her hands about her. ¡°There are many medicinal plants, but good luck recognising them.¡± ¡°Are you going to adjust the colours or leave it this way?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°It¡¯s very bright and cheery, but is it healthy for the plants?¡± ¡°Their songs adjusted, so their biological processes will be fine with these shades,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°They all contain the same properties the normal-looking ones possess.¡± ¡°Do you have enough training complexes yet?¡± All the work she still had to do made Amdirlain sigh in frustration. ¡°Not even close. I¡¯ve created enough Demi-Plane shells, but most don¡¯t have established landscapes or challenges. I intended this one for the monastery, subject to certain agreements being reached. Though I¡¯ll have to fix the colours.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Kadaklan eagerly asked, looking around appraisingly before a sly smile appeared. ¡°Would you let gatherers come here if you changed nothing?¡± ¡°What did you have in mind, Kadaklan?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Your theme is full of mischief.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be rich if I had a silver for every time I¡¯ve told people they shouldn¡¯t make assumptions because something looks right,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°Here, nothing looks right, so they¡¯ll have to get into the habit of testing everything. I take it there are gathering challenges here?¡± ¡°Combat, gathering, and mining,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Kadaklan coed excitedly. A crystal floated before Kadaklan as Amdirlain finished priming it to allow access. ¡°Now you¡¯ve got the only key to the place. Send whoever needs to learn some discipline along.¡± ¡°How do they get out?¡± asked Kadaklan as he tucked the crystal into his robes. ¡°The same way as the training complexes?¡± ¡°Yep, the exit pylons will punt them back to the mountain¡¯s base,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, motioning to the crystal she¡¯d given him. ¡°That one will only work for you, and I¡¯ve secured the Demi-Plane, so it''s not just a matter of knowing the right Spell to shift here.¡± Kadaklan joined his hands before him and bowed. ¡°My thanks, Lady Am.¡± Did Nomein pick it up from Kadaklan? He¡¯s never been this formal to me. ¡°Really?¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I thought you¡¯d refrain from hitting me with titles after we¡¯d been flatmates for so long.¡± ¡°Such grandiose gifts deserve respect,¡± quipped Kadaklan. ¡°My name is Amdirlain,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The most respect I could want from a friend is that they¡¯ll speak to me without titles. Don¡¯t make me regret deciding I need to learn proper etiquette for the rest of the mob at the monastery.¡± Kadaklan''s wide smile lit up his gaze. ¡°You¡¯ve guarded your name until now,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°What made you decide to entrust me with it now?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the only one in my circle of friends who doesn¡¯t know it in full, so I corrected that,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not a Wizard or a Wu Jen, so your name doesn¡¯t help me get in touch. However, I appreciate your display of trust,¡± Kadaklan advised. Amdirlain smiled reassuringly. ¡°Kli said I couldn¡¯t adopt you, but I can at least upgrade your knowledge.¡± ¡°Did she mean what I thought she meant?¡± Kadaklan questioned cautiously. ¡°Or was that her version of joking around?¡± ¡°Why? Are you interested in her?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I barely know her, and I don¡¯t want to send the wrong signals,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°My question is more around my desire not to offend.¡± ¡°Kli¡¯s friendly, and she enjoys intimacy. If you change your mind, my only advice is she loves hugs,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°She gives firm hugs,¡± confirmed Kadaklan. ¡°That¡¯s not the only thing she likes¡­ firm,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and Kadaklan blushed. ¡°Goodness, I made you blush. After you¡¯ve seen me naked and even exchanged dirty quips without so much as a flush.¡± ¡°I get very focused when injuries are involved. There was no medical examination today,¡± grumbled Kadaklan. ¡°If her attention isn¡¯t welcome, just set the limits, and she¡¯ll follow them,¡± explained Amdirlain. Kadaklan blinked. ¡°The only ladies I dealt with who¡¯ve displayed similar appetites haven¡¯t reacted well to being told no.¡± ¡°Those in your experience follow a particular Dao?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°A range of them,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°Those following decadent daos often crave new experiences.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them. Kli isn¡¯t that way at all. She¡¯s more interested in being happy and bringing happiness,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard a hint of irritation in her when someone¡¯s turned her down.¡± ¡°You can hear everything on the mountain, can¡¯t you?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°And beyond,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°When I care to listen, I can pick up precise details, but most of the time, I handle it as aggregated information. How about I make another Demi-Plane so you can partly share what I¡¯m sensing? I can hear your concern, but you¡¯re not telling me what to do, so providing some reassurance is fair.¡± ¡°That would be very interesting,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°We¡¯ve got enough time for me to make a bunch, but I¡¯ll take my time and make one,¡± explained Amdirlain as she opened two gates. Beyond their thresholds was an empty void that blazed with light as Amdirlain started work to create a crystal sun to emanate Radiant Mana. ¡°One big one.¡± Something more extensive than any training complex I¡¯ve set up previously. Maybe a sphere with loads of biomes, segmented by mountains so I can take it one zone at a time. No, that will be my hollow earth project. I¡¯ll stick to a larger hemisphere with the sun at its peak this time, though mountain ranges could be laid out in spokes to make Dragon honeymoon suites. I¡¯ll keep levelling Olind? since it¡¯s the lowest level and provides significant attribute increases over Pure Scion of the Sun or Ascetic Triumvirate. 397 - Playground Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane With only the barest plan in mind, Amdirlain sought to get her conscious mind out of the way and followed her instincts. She sang the principal theme of the new Demi-Plane aloud while silently supporting over a hundred thousand additional songs. As the intro washed out further, she grinned at Kadaklan and danced to its beat. Though the seed had grown to the usual limit after being released into the Chaos, Amdirlain stretched the boundary until it reached a radius of five thousand kilometres. Though not a ¡®big one¡¯ in a genuine sense¡ªthe dome¡¯s flat surface was nothing compared to the land space afforded by a planet¡ªit was still the biggest she¡¯d populated with land-based fauna and flora. It would afford her nearly ten times the space of those she¡¯d based on the template of Australia¡¯s landmass that she usually created for the training complexes. The environmental rules Amdirlain had set into the seed took care of the atmosphere throughout the expansion. She mentally touched Kadaklan¡¯s mind and shared a light understanding of the work, at least to the limits of his capacity. Amdirlain ensured he registered two key elements among all the other information: Pain Eater¡¯s steady reports of health being burnt and the speed of her healing. One thing that Amdirlain felt quickly caught his attention was the heads-up display she¡¯d set decades ago on the Cliffs of Lust. Her mental snort caused Kadaklan¡¯s curiosity to shift, and he turned his attention to the cacophony of music and the effort she was putting into sustaining it. The irritating burr that had occurred with Ki flowing through her spiritual net prompted her to flow along and shift with the burr to nudge it gently to the proper pitch; her body glided with the notes, one with the music as the Ki was part of her. Amdirlain¡¯s intent shifted within the music, carrying and uplifting it, providing a feedback loop to her motions. Her dancing helped smooth that intent as she found her balance within the songs and intuitively shared it with the life that bloomed into existence. When she¡¯d achieved the intended expansion, Amdirlain formed a crust that she segmented with mountain ranges, their function was to allow her to isolate the biomes from each other and serve as markers. The spokes created by the ranges, lakes and rivers split up the regions. After they¡¯d formed, she laid out tributaries to ensure a water supply for a mixture of complex biomes, including swamps, grasslands, rolling hills, woods, forests, and even jungles, where the airflow concentrated the humidity. The combination of progress from Gideon¡¯s exercises and Anna¡¯s gift allowed Amdirlain to plan out these interlocking ecosystems. As the first biomes stabilised, it freed some of Amdirlain¡¯s attention for those requiring a finer touch. She repeatedly tweaked aerial currents and water flows to ensure the long-term maintenance of the various wetlands. While she was tweaking the melodies to ease away their clashes, more connections slipped into place. When she finally finished, eight mountain ranges formed even spokes, with the valleys between and the ocean running along the outer boundary containing a diversity of life. Despite the possibility of the Demi-Plane''s rules and Mana sustaining life, she interwove the ecosystems, from the microfauna and flora to higher levels, to establish a self-sustaining life cycle. [Crafting Summary (Category: Biome fundamentals) Interlinked self-sustaining biomes x 138 Total Experience gained: +11,027,500,000 Olind?: +11,027,500,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x11 Harmony [G] (16->17) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (107->108) Resonance-Prince [G] (1->2) True Song Genesis [G] (11->18) Dance [G] (23->24) True Song Architecture [G] (14->30) Physical Geography [Ad] (3->14) Planetary Biome [M] (29->52) Note: Are you doing some warm-up exercises for the job I¡¯m still waiting on?] Amdirlain ignored Gideon¡¯s note and focused on the other content. Her first action was tossing all the free attribute points into Willpower. I need to work out how to stretch Harmony; it¡¯s shown untapped potential besides helping cycle my Ki. The biome count was 138. The mountain ranges all join at the hub, so I can understand why they¡¯re considered one biome, and the sea around the perimeters also counts as a single one. Her fingers twitched, and Amdirlain felt more ripples through her True Form as the strength of the new levels surged within her body. It¡¯s not uncomfortable, but it¡¯s feeling weird. Should I have waited until things had settled down before seeking more levels? Do I have time to wait with Bahamut¡¯s concern about the levels I can contain? Do I take something like Sora Master and level it as fast as possible before I run out of luck? Amdirlain gestured dramatically to conceal her fingers twitching again, and hundreds of scrying points opened before the Gate to show Kadaklan the Demi-Plane¡¯s key locations. ¡°All done. Doesn¡¯t it look sweet?¡± When she lowered her hands, Amdirlain crossed her arms behind her back and tapped a foot in mid-air as if impatiently awaiting Kadaklan¡¯s answer. ¡°You didn¡¯t pause during that,¡± Kadaklan noted when Amdirlain finally stopped. ¡°How big is this place? You gave me a sense of its breadth but nothing concrete.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you a map later, but first, tell me what you felt about what I shared?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Does it ease your concern about me developing a distorted Dao?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get to Pain Eater in a moment, but what were those numbers at the bottom of your field of vision?¡± Kadaklan asked. ¡°They looked like something from one of Qil Tris¡¯ vehicles.¡± ¡°Those are just some key stats,¡± laughed Amdirlain sheepishly. Kadaklan¡¯s eyebrows lifted towards his hairline. ¡°I kept all my curiosity to myself while you worked. I¡¯ll restrain myself from commenting on the rest, but if you don¡¯t answer that question, I¡¯ll suffer terribly from curiosity.¡± ¡°Really?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°That little presentation piece is what you¡¯re the most curious about?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± insisted Kadaklan. ¡°Experiencing even a fragment of the process while you created so much life gave me some enlightening insights, yet felt far beyond my grasp. I¡¯ll need to meditate on what you shared before I have questions about most of it. Even then, I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ll ever properly understand it.¡± ¡°Fine, the numbers. To tell you the truth, I¡¯ve had them in place so long that checking them is automatic,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°However, I¡¯ve set them up so they¡¯ll shift colour as the numbers drop through different stages, so their shift should draw my attention. They display my health, Mana, Psi, and Ki.¡± ¡°From your record?¡± Kadaklan asked, his brows furrowing in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m not even going to comment on the size of the numbers. How do you have them showing to you constantly? Is it a song or an enchantment?¡± ¡°I can see what the Qil Tris consider a record at will, but the same Skill that allows me to do that lets me continually monitor key snippets,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I could have my vision cluttered with numbers if I wanted, but those four, well, five, are enough.¡± ¡°I only saw four numbers,¡± countered Kadaklan. ¡°Once my health gets below half, then a percentage gauge appears, so I don¡¯t have to do the maths,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Useful for when I¡¯m bathing in energies that want to rip me apart.¡± Kadaklan coughed. ¡°Freakish.¡± A giggle escaped from Amdirlain before she fixed him with an affronted look. ¡°Such a scandalous way to talk to a lady!¡± ¡°You just told me I was among your circle of friends. Can¡¯t a friend be truthful?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°I don¡¯t know. You want to be all formal, and now it¡¯s fine to call me names,¡± huffed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°That¡¯s a pretty quick turnabout there, Kadaklan.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know you¡¯re teasing, and I¡¯m not going to bite,¡± snorted Kadaklan, holding his palm up to her. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what you did with Kli?¡± Amdirlain sobbed pitifully and pretended to wipe away tears. ¡°Meanie.¡± ¡°Is Sarah the designated straight-laced actor to balance the comedy of you and Isa?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°She¡¯s always tightly composed.¡± Only mostly. ¡°Maybe,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But I won¡¯t comment on that. Let¡¯s move along, shall we? This is the biggest place I¡¯ve created yet. Amid that effort, how did Pain Eater react?¡± ¡°With all the emotion of a clerk reporting bags of wheat in a stack,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Honestly, experiencing it made me feel like I¡¯d been someone¡¯s fussy old aunt talking about a craft I had zero knowledge of. It certainly isn¡¯t what I expected after Sarah was so concerned over your use of the Skill.¡± She had personal reasons to be concerned about my relationship and attitude towards pain. ¡°Sarah was mostly concerned about what I did to earn the Skill, but I¡¯ll admit the experience was quite different while I was levelling it,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Oh?¡± inquired Kadaklan drily. ¡°Would you care to share?¡± Amdirlain coughed. ¡°If it breaks through the threshold of what I can handle, the Skill throws up its hands and goes: enjoy swimming in agony. I¡¯ve been through far worse on three occasions, and I¡¯ll admit it has made me a bit cavalier about pain.¡± ¡°So we were right to be concerned?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Yes. However, I keep it within the threshold now during my construction work,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The only times I¡¯ve breached that threshold since I stopped using the potions haven¡¯t been intentional. Dealing with the Eldritch isn¡¯t exactly a relaxing experience after all.¡± Kadaklan nodded in appreciation. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for sticking my nose in.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been better about doing that than many people, and you¡¯ve not tried to manipulate me into changing. You told me your concerns and then stopped. That¡¯s why you got to experience my creating this firsthand,¡± said Amdirlain, waving at the distant landscape beneath them. ¡°You¡¯ve created so much life here,¡± Kadaklan said, peering around at the majestic view. ¡°I felt enough to realise this is far larger than your training complexes. What do you plan to do with it?¡± Amdirlain laughed sheepishly. ¡°We¡¯ve got some dragons coming to teach magic and I think Sarah is planning to play matchmaker,¡± Amdirlain whispered dramatically. ¡°So, I figured providing a neutral location for mating flights was best. That, combined with wanting to see what I could do with Grandmaster ranked True Song Genesis, gave us this place. I haven¡¯t hit the limit yet.¡± ¡°What¡¯s next then?¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°Nothing for now. I¡¯ve got a sparring session for which I don¡¯t want to be late.¡± I should talk to Gilorn again. Would she let me play her, or will I need Grandmaster or higher in Floor Harp? Given how fussy she was about Gail I¡¯d bet on the latter. ¡°Very true,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°Shall we go back now?¡± It was a quick double hop of Planar Shift to the Outlands and then a Teleport into the courtyard. When they appeared, Sarah caught Kadaklan¡¯s presence and started for the door of her workshop. Across the mountainside, Amdirlain noted a few key individuals: Klipyl flirting at a student dining hall outside the inner gates, Ilya going through a mound of documents, and Isa transferring a few thousand contribution points to a baffled farmer. ¡°Since you¡¯re expecting visitors, why don¡¯t you fancy the courtyard up a bit?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°The lack of seating and decorations, combined with the bland stone, make it look a bit stark.¡± Amdirlain considered the flat slab of stone that made up the courtyard and undertook some adjustments. The perfectly flat ground developed grooves to lend the stone the appearance of sturdy tiles, with schools of carp swimming around the edge of each. Sets of benches appeared in the corners closest to the training hall steps, while six red and gold silk banners dropped from the awning to frame each door. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look so grim now,¡± allowed Kadaklan. ¡°Though it¡¯s still not good Feng Shui. While I¡¯m not concerned, some here get fussy about such things.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to get someone to provide me guidance in that respect,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Resonance doesn¡¯t give me any context on what culturally counts as good energy flow.¡± Kadaklan pretended to be taken aback. ¡°Are you implying it¡¯s not a universal truth?¡± "That¡¯s not what I said," Amdirlain replied. ¡°My senses focus on different energies than what Feng Shui aims to influence, so I¡¯m not experienced in the finer points of that art.¡± ¡°Such a diplomatic response,¡± laughed Kadaklan. ¡°I was born on the side of a volcano. What would I know about Feng Shui?¡± ¡°Is that a convenient excuse for you whenever someone comments on the layout of your lab?¡± Amdirlain inquired. ¡°It¡¯s cluttered like rocks tossed from my birthplace, so the energy flow reminds me of home¡ªdo you use lines like that?¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Kadaklan snickered. ¡°I¡¯ve not tried a tale like that before. Now you¡¯ve got me wondering if anyone would believe it.¡± ¡°You¡¯d share a fib with them?¡± gasped Amdirlain, pretending to be in wide-eyed shock. ¡°What sort of educator are you?¡± ¡°One who repeatedly tells them to check and verify only to experience frequent disappointment,¡± responded Kadaklan. ¡°Maybe including some misdirection will get them to pay attention.¡± ¡°Without having to resort to a vivid Demi-Plane trip?¡± ¡°No, as a reminder before I send them on the Demi-Plane trip,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°Anyone so silly as to question my lab arrangements obviously needs a reality check.¡± A group of twenty heading towards the training hall with Master Payam among them drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°My sparring partner is coming this way. Are you going to be sticking around?¡± Kadaklan gave an exaggerated sigh. ¡°I¡¯ve got my students to teach this session, though I¡¯d like to bear witness to a lesson in humility.¡± ¡°Mine, or Master Payam¡¯s?¡± ¡°Master Payam¡¯s humbling. I¡¯ve got confidence in your abilities from what I¡¯ve witnessed and the tales Master Cyrus has shared,¡± advised Kadaklan. Stepping back, he exchanged bows with Amdirlain and headed off. His feathers left a blazing trail above the rooftops. Amdirlain caught the edge of Sarah¡¯s mental greeting and Kadaklan¡¯s cheerful reply. As the glow from his departure faded, Sarah exited her workshop dressed in battered leather and a metal-splotched apron. ¡°Welcome back. You set his mind at ease.¡± ¡°And added another bunch of levels,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah frowned with concern and gently squeezed her shoulder before letting go. ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything different from you. Does your Charisma still feel under control?¡± ¡°I¡¯m more aware of it, but it¡¯s like a limb or a muscle waiting to move at my command,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Resonance lets me hear its force clearly, and it¡¯s not leaking.¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t leak that over anyone,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°I think you¡¯d be repairing brain bleeds and heart attacks.¡± ¡°I have an issue,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°My Quickness lags far behind what I can sense.¡± ¡°Your physical speed doesn¡¯t slow down your casting or songs,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°But it affects my dancing,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°That then affects how much I can smooth out.¡± Sarah hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Are you giving up on another Monk Class?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I will admit that I enjoy dancing to True Song, but I¡¯m pushing my luck. The levels are causing impacts on my True Form.¡± ¡°It might be the strength of the Class you¡¯re levelling as well. Many combat classes involve Quickness instead of Strength or Endurance as their primary attribute,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°You could also increase your infiltration skills and go for an evolved Scout Class to get increases for only Quickness, or Quickness and Intelligence. Combined with Resonance, the Scout powers and skills might help you manage all the information you¡¯re getting.¡± ¡°Something to think about, but I¡¯ll talk to Cyrus to find out if there are Class options that might help,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°He won¡¯t be able to give you exact details,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll scour my memories and see what I can find for you.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°If he can give me some Class names, I can check them. Are you going to stick around and meet my inbound guests?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got no servants to handle introductions,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Shall we shock the socks off them instead?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± A telekinetic nudge from Sarah shut the doors to her workshop and forge. ¡°I¡¯ll wait in the training hall until they come up the steps. At the right time, I¡¯ll open the doors to give them the big reveal.¡± Amdirlain grinned mischievously and rubbed her hands together. ¡°Muah ha ha ha.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t monologue,¡± sighed Sarah. Her clothing shifted, and the battered leathers exchanged with a gossamer-thin dress barely concealing anything. ¡°Would this make the right impression?¡± ¡°Temple dancers wear a lot more,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Though you said dresses like that shocked the Sanctuary¡¯s Cove locals.¡± Her dress became solid plate armour made from gleaming diamonds, and Sarah turned in a circle as if showing off a dress. ¡°Your natural hide gives more protection than that,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Are you having fun playing dress up?¡± The battered leather returned, and Sarah casually shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll figure something out. Whatever first impression you want to make starts with the courtyard. Do you want to add plants around the courtyard and a water feature to soften it?¡± ¡°Oh! How about water channels like my uncle¡¯s greenhouse?¡± ¡°I think Feng Shui is more about fountains,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°You could put channels around its base with big-arse goldfish or koi.¡± Amdirlain grunted. ¡°Actually, I take that back. It¡¯s best not to risk water for now. I remembered something about there being some awful spots to put water features, but I never learned the details. That would turn people off.¡± ¡°Water is associated with yin, so it¡¯s likely about attracting negative energy,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Plants?¡± A metre-wide garden bed appeared, framing the courtyard with a mixture of golden chrysanthemums and marigolds in full bloom. Amdirlain tied songs to maintain them into the hall¡¯s crystal anchors. ¡°There might be a touch of overload on gold and yellow, but that¡¯ll do for now,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Success, prosperity, luck, and other things,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°With your red and gold banners, you¡¯re at least semi-inviting if the references are the same.¡± ¡°They are, according to my peeks into the library,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Let me sort out a few things in the hall before they arrive.¡± ¡°You are a bit lacking in furniture,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Maybe I should create some odds and ends to give the place character,¡± laughed Amdirlain. As Amdirlain laughed harder, Sarah regarded her with suspicion. ¡°Exactly what sort of dust collectors are you planning?¡± Amdirlain winked and headed into the training hall, ideas already tumbling around in her mind; ideas prompted by Klipyl¡¯s question about dwarves, the organic appearance of Anar buildings, and Christmas baubles all bumping into each other. Setting up a personal library and reading space seems low-key, so maybe do something else? I need something so those observing fights can also get a clear view, though I don¡¯t want a stadium inside the hall. A cheeky smile appeared briefly before Amdirlain started singing. Bookcases grew along the wall on either side of the doorway; though they had a True Song Crystal core, they were sheathed in a solid layer of black diamond with mithril and adamantine arrayed to look like veins. As matching pillars and spiral staircases rose from the ground, platforms extended from the bookcases to create floors in front of it with eight-metre-tall ceilings. Sheer silk drapes with enchantments to prevent sound carrying provided privacy barriers at regular intervals, with drink trays serving hot or cold beverages. Tables and chairs that could shift form to support whoever sat on them appeared near the bookcases and along the platform¡¯s edge to allow comfortable viewing of the training areas. Other minor items also popped into existence, from self-filling pens to high-durability weapons that filled racks by the sparring areas. Meanwhile, the bookshelves filled with copies of texts that Ebusuku had gathered for Amdirlain¡¯s study and replicas of thousands of texts she¡¯d heard within Claughuthruuazex¡¯s hoard. Songs she placed in the library''s cores copied arcane volumes in the immediate area and then stretched out. After completing the latest attempt to perfect her concealments, Amdirlain allowed it to settle around the anchors along with the kilometres of crystal within the bookcases and platforms. [Crafting Summary (Assorted) Assorted magical items x5,372 Assorted texts x27,539 True Song Crystal Structure x1 (Disguised) Total Experience gained: 119,786,950 Olind?: +119,786,950 Note: You don¡¯t even have to punch someone to start trouble. At least it¡¯s only arcane lore you¡¯re after with this thing.] Yeah, just Spell lists and everything arcane, including information on planes, nothing much. Thousands of minor and not-so-minor items add up; on top of the crystal library¡ªand though it gave me enough experience to boost me to level sixty-six in a new Class¡ªnow it doesn¡¯t even net me a single level. ¡°You did this just to stir them up, didn¡¯t you?¡± laughed Sarah. Amdirlain placed a hand on her cheek and slowly blinked. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. Do you think the platforms will endure for long?¡± ¡°I can smell the diamond, mithril, and adamantine in the bookcases and platforms,¡± Sarah said as she turned to look over the weapon racks. ¡°So I¡¯m sure there is something else underneath. Personally, I¡¯d say it would have been better if you¡¯d coloured the sheath red.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to have poor imitations of your scales on display,¡± countered Amdirlain. Embarrassment and glee surged within Sarah and, though she barely stiffened, Amdirlain caught the hint of a blush. ¡°I recognise some of those weapons as duplicates of things distributed from Claughuthruuazex¡¯s hoard.¡± Did Sarah take that as flirting? I need to learn more about dragons. ¡°I¡¯m a copycat,¡± Amdirlain agreed. ¡°Hopefully Morgana isn¡¯t upset to see them, or the texts I copied. Our guests are nearly here so I¡¯d better greet them. I¡¯ll leave the timing of the reveal up to you.¡± Amdirlain winked at Sarah and stepped onto the veranda, allowing the doors to close behind her. With her guests now on the last stretch towards the training hall, Amdirlain tucked her hands in her sleeves and waited. Two students opened the courtyard gate and held it wide to allow the two lines to enter. Master Payam headed the procession of students beside a young lady who seemed barely out of her teenage years. Her position next to the older Master might have suggested she was a favoured disciple if her glossy curtain of black hair, jade green eyes, and delicate skin didn¡¯t lead someone into other assumptions. While not the stereotypical peerless beauty from so many cultivation stories Amdirlain had read, the lady¡¯s looks and confidence were eye-catching. More importantly, Amdirlain could sense the theme of the Immortal Spirit Power and a faint thread of energy akin to a Dragon¡¯s bloodline that ran within her. As they entered the courtyard, the stone tiles that Amdirlain had replaced the gravel with caught the lady¡¯s interest. Without hesitation, Master Payam strode inwards and stopped in the middle of the courtyard. He waited while those following settled themselves into position before he spoke. ¡°Lady Am, it is good to meet you again.¡± ¡°Likewise, Master Payam,¡± replied Amdirlain. After returning his bow, she descended the steps to move forward to greet them. ¡°I¡¯ve not met the Master beside you. Would you do me the honour of introducing us?¡± The young woman gave Master Payam a sideways glance before she bowed to Amdirlain. ¡°Lady Am, I am Master Lu Jinfeng. I hope you don¡¯t mind me introducing myself. We¡¯re involved with different pavilions, and for him to handle the introduction would proclaim him my senior.¡± Universal Communication''s deeper translation of her name¡¯s meaning surprised Amdirlain. Her family name comes from the Chinese word for musical note, and her given name means Golden Phoenix. Really? Is someone playing games? ¡°Thank you for letting me know, Master Lu. I¡¯m pleased to make your acquaintance,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°I hope the auspicious nature of your name continues to bear fruit for both of us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s interesting that you see my name that way. Might I ask why you consider it auspicious?¡± asked Jinfeng. Though her expression was composed, a sharp rise of tension stabbed through Master Lu. The sharpness in her gaze gave her the intensity of a drawn sword and transformed her beautiful features into those of a steel rose, cold, hard, and unflinching. Do I apologise for whatever offence I just gave, or would that insult her further? Amdirlain smiled slightly. ¡°I¡¯m already friends with one Phoenix and have learned to appreciate their symbolism. Also, your family name relates to music, something particularly relevant to me.¡± I won¡¯t tell her my sigil is a Phoenix, and it glows golden if I cycle pure Ki¡ªthat would make four connections, though we can likely draw more. ¡°A dual connection of names some might consider auspicious, though most seers consider nothing beneath three to affect one¡¯s fortune,¡± replied Jinfeng. ¡°Perhaps it is simply enough to allow us to meet in the right frame of mind.¡± That would be an improvement since I¡¯ve already annoyed you. ¡°I¡¯ve not spoken with anyone knowledgeable about fortune-telling,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps we can discuss them after I¡¯ve sparred with Payam or following our session later today.¡± After all, Precognition and fortune-telling are leagues apart. ¡°Perhaps,¡± agreed Jinfeng before she nodded respectfully to Payam. ¡°But I¡¯m taking up Master Payam¡¯s sparring time.¡± ¡°After Lady Am puts me in my place again, I¡¯m sure there will be plenty of time to talk,¡± said Payam. ¡°Perhaps I should allow you two to talk first so I might rescue myself with a stalemate when our time elapses.¡± ¡°That¡¯s hardly fair, Master Payam. The duty pavilion might consider my job failed if I don¡¯t spar with you for the full allotment of time.¡± Payam snorted softly. ¡°I determine when I¡¯m satisfied, not the duty pavilion. This courtyard looks to have more space than the arena¡¯s stage.¡± Amdirlain stepped to one side and directed them towards the training hall doors. ¡°Shall we spar within the hall?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure if it will have enough room,¡± said Payam. ¡°From what I remember, it is barely half the width of this courtyard.¡± ¡°I think you¡¯ll find there is plenty of space inside,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°And I¡¯ve set up a sparring area that won¡¯t allow one to slip out accidentally.¡± ¡°Now I¡¯m concerned that it might benefit you more than me,¡± said Payam, but he started forward, and the others followed suit. As he drew level with her, Amdirlain turned and matched steps with him. As they stepped up to the awning and were in the correct position to experience the full impact, Sarah stepped out through the training hall doors wearing her figure-hugging red leathers. Master Payam froze, and his jaw slackened from shock as he gazed through the opening. Meanwhile, Master Lu¡¯s attention seemed divided between Sarah and the expanse behind her. ¡°You have a magic door to let us travel elsewhere?¡± managed Payam. As Sarah scanned the shocked group, her expression remained composed despite the laughter roiling inside. ¡°Not quite, Master Payam. Rather than placing a vulnerable doorway, I expanded the space within the building itself,¡± advised Amdirlain. Her explanation set the students whispering between them, but neither of the masters bothered to hush them. ¡°The prime reason for taking the more complex approach is normally ego,¡± observed Payam. ¡°Or does it have to do with Master Livia¡¯s change in status?¡± ¡°This is the simplest secure approach, but I thought you were here for a sparring session, Master Payam. It¡¯s not my place to comment on members of the monastery,¡± rebutted Amdirlain. She directed his attention to Sarah, whom Master Lu hadn¡¯t taken her gaze from. ¡°Master Payam and Master Lu Jinfeng, I¡¯d like to introduce you to Grandmaster Artificer Sarah,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Usually, her rank would be simply Grandmaster, but that would clash with other ranks within the Monastery.¡± ¡°Ensuring clarity is a good thing,¡± Payam agreed. ¡°It is a pleasure to meet you, Grandmaster Artificer Sarah. You look very young for such a prestigious title.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because Grandmaster Sarah is a Dragon, Master Payam, and I imagine she can look however she wants,¡± stated Jinfeng. ¡°Is that not the case?¡± Payam glanced at Jinfeng in surprise before fixing her with a slight frown of disapproval. ¡°That¡¯s so, but I¡¯d be interested to know how Master Lu can tell I¡¯m a Dragon,¡± said Sarah, and continued. ¡°Not that it gives us any reason to come into conflict, as I doubt anyone from your kingdoms has ever encountered one of my kin since they don¡¯t venture to the Material Plane.¡± ¡°I can sense the untapped Ki within you, and it cries out your nature,¡± stated Jinfeng. ¡°The scourge-¡± ¡®That¡¯s a neat trick. I¡¯ll have to ask Kadaklan if he knows it and see if I can block it,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®Should I play bad cop, or do we keep things polite?¡¯ ¡®They¡¯re here at my invitation, so let me see if I can ease the tension,¡¯ returned Amdirlain, and she cut in before Jinfeng continued. ¡°Chromatic dragons arguing over territory caused the scourge. Since the monastery has received an offer of help from metallic dragons, perhaps only blame those involved.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± grunted Jinfeng. ¡°It is only fitting that punishment should not be sought by distant relatives nor extended to those unrelated to terrible events,¡± confirmed Payam. Not wanting the topic to continue, Amdirlain ushered them in. ¡°There are staircases to upper platforms, Master Payam, where those watching will find seating and refreshments.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure my students will find your hospitality does them great honour and will conduct themselves in a manner befitting it,¡± replied Payam. ¡°With your permission, Master Payam, I¡¯ll supervise their behaviour,¡± offered Jinfeng. Master Payam nodded. ¡°They are in your hands then, Master Lu.¡± As Amdirlain led Payam further into the training hall, Jinfeng stepped to one side and repeated Amdirlain''s advice to the students along the procession. Sarah simply stepped back with her arms crossed and left the young master to repeat the instructions. ¡°Would you prefer the sparring area for physical conflicts only or the one that will protect the audience against spells and Ki, Master Payam?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I seek a contest of our martial skills today,¡± replied Payam. Does that include Ki tricks or not? I¡¯ll follow his lead on that one. Amdirlain extended an arm towards a square kilometre cut off by a faintly opaque blue barrier. ¡°As I mentioned, we should have space for gymnastic manoeuvering, Master Payam.¡± Payam stroked his moustache, and his pace picked up. ¡°It appears that way, Lady Am. Shall we begin?¡± 398 - Super Freak Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain crossed the fifty metres to the closest sparring area without looking back at the audience taking their seats. However, Master Payam waited until all his students, along with Master Lu and Sarah, had selected seats before he followed Amdirlain through the blue barrier. His pause had given Amdirlain time to move a couple hundred metres inside the barrier, and she turned to face him as he crossed the distance between them. ¡°You glide at a smooth pace even when walking,¡± commented Payam as he reached a conversational distance again. ¡°You have an impressive amount of physical control, Lady Am.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve faced some challenges, but walking is no longer one of them,¡± replied Amdirlain. Payam tilted his head in confusion at her phrasing. ¡°You¡¯ve had trouble walking?¡± ¡°No, I had trouble with how I walked. It was too inviting for some individuals,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°There is nothing to be concerned about now.¡± ¡°I have more self-control than to be influenced merely by how a lady walks,¡± replied Payam. ¡°I would have fought you closer to the barrier, as I¡¯m not sure what they¡¯ll make out this distance away.¡± ¡°I created the platforms to provide the audience with a perfect view of events,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Even if we¡¯re at the far reaches of the sparring arena, we¡¯ll seem barely five metres away to them.¡± Payam gave her a bow with one hand covering a fist before him, and Amdirlain returned the gesture, not taking her gaze from him. ¡°You are not fighting with your eyes closed this time?¡± ¡°I¡¯m concerned some might find it mocking, and I¡¯m trying to pay more attention to local etiquette,¡± explained Amdirlain, her hands relaxed at her sides. Stillness weighed the distance between them, and Payam¡¯s brows furrowed; his bushy eyebrows seemed to blend into an unbroken line. His mix of patience and curiosity was clear, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t move. After a few minutes, Payam snorted. ¡°Master Cyrus told me tales about elves; I might as well try to wait out a tree.¡± Amdirlain appeared beside him, and Payam¡¯s gaze widened, but he didn¡¯t hesitate to fling himself into a roll backward, away from a flurry of punches aimed at his chest and face. He rose into a long stance from his roll, only to find her right before him. A grab snatched at her sleeve, and the shadow vines retracted, leaving Amdirlain in a sleeveless tunic and skin-tight pants. With his fingers grasping only empty air, Amdirlain took his hand in a dance-like motion and spun inwards. Face to face, she grabbed the front of his robes, and before Payam could slip free, Amdirlain threw herself backwards into a roll and thrust out with her legs. As her legs straightened, Amdirlain released him and sent a struggling Payam sailing. Fully airborne, Payam contorted, and Amdirlain heard his Ki State surge with Air Mana to help Ki Movement halt his tumble. Stabilised, he spun to face her, standing sideways in midair and flung his hand forward. An arc of eight long knives raced out from his palm, and Amdirlain sidestepped the one aimed directly at her and bent backwards beneath the invisible wire of Ki that joined the line of them. A Ki Blast technique. Once the wire passed over her, Amdirlain bent further into a handstand and rose three body lengths, her head still pointing towards the ground. A thought had her dangling shoulder-length hair transformed into a bare scalp. Though they were airborne, Payam rotated his position to face her, his feet orienting relative to the ground. The lack of tension from either airborne position spoke of a feigned weakness. As they repositioned, the flung blades finally struck the distant barrier, which soaked them up without strain and fed the energy into the crystal anchors. The air blurred around him, and notes within his Ki rang out as Payam surged directly at her. Though her mind could follow every millisecond, her body responded too slowly, and she made the wrong choice. The momentum of Ki Movement was a hurricane of force that added to the initial strike, and Amdirlain felt the impact even through her Ki State. The punch¡¯s energy grounded in her chest, bypassing the armouring Ki, and Pain Eater reported tiny fractures in her sternum. Having shed the momentum into the first blow, his follow-up elbow strike didn¡¯t have the same strength, and Amdirlain slipped away from it to take advantage of his feet braced in midair. As the point of his elbow glanced off her cheekbone, Amdirlain trip-hammered punches into his floating ribs. The first cancelled the last of his forward motion, and the second sent him spinning. I should have been moving instead of holding still. I still need to embrace that lesson properly. Was that the Ki Movement technique that progresses towards Sword Light or something else? Her mind was working overtime, as it far outpaced her physical motions, and Amdirlain¡¯s mental control over her Ki Flight flitted her alongside Payam. When her next attack struck, he let himself tumble and the vicious knee strike to his ribs was as effective as shooing at a leaf on the wind. The energy added to his dragon tail kick that came back at her head, but Amdirlain let herself drop. He twisted in midair and fell with her, the same foot leading the way in an attempted axe kick. With her aerial motions fully under mental control, his attacks remained too slow. Her shifting position kept her beyond his reach each time, even when he charged through the air again. Payam landed first with his hands raised defensively, and Amdirlain positioned herself across from him but didn¡¯t quite touch the ground. ¡°You¡¯re dazzlingly quick, but there is a barely detectable stutter in your grace ?as if your mind is faster than your body,¡± Payam observed. ¡°It is best to be balanced and act without conscious thought.¡± ¡°That ideal isn¡¯t always possible,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°True, but with you, there is a massive difference between your body¡¯s movements and your control over Ki Flight,¡± noted Payam. ¡°Shall we keep to the ground?¡± ¡°It¡¯s your sparring session, Master Payam,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Then let us keep ourselves to the ground, Lady Am,¡± replied Payam. ¡°Even with the wind heightening my rush, you could always flow away in time, which does neither of us good in improving our arts.¡± ¡°Your intent made the moment of decision clear,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I would move even as your attack launched.¡± Payan frowned and huffed thoughtfully. ¡°My focus gave me away?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Then I shall endeavour to improve,¡± said Payam. Ki entered his Ki State, expanding it to sit outside his clothing and he flowed towards her. Rather than evading directly, Amdirlain moved in and sought to counter or block his attacks. Amdirlain restrained her Resonance and, without its predictive insights, the advantage between the pair slipped back. Without the rush attack backing his blows, each had a speed she could manage, and those sly attacks that seemed ready to slip through gaps slid off her Ki State without coming close to breaching its protection again. As they exchanged blows and counters, a relaxed state settled over Amdirlain, and intuitively guided by Harmony, she flowed in time to Master Payam¡¯s unheard tempo. While Master Payam shifted smoothly from one style to another, Amdirlain¡¯s style remained erratically inconsistent. Strikes and kicks he used against her slowly appeared within her fighting style, executed with a crispness as though she had used them for years. As Amdirlain sunk deeper into Harmony¡¯s meditative state, more techniques became incorporated into her style. Amid a rain of blows from Payam, she slipped a front kick in, sending him hurtling away. Amdirlain raced with him and slipped through his defences again while he attempted to recover. The momentum of her flowing motions transmitted through the hip throw; in midair he tried to shove away, but Amdirlain adjusted and drove him into the ground. Stone cracked under the force, and Payam¡¯s projected armour shattered. As the helm dissipated, Amdirlain¡¯s fist pistoned down and gently brushed his Adam¡¯s apple. Payam slapped the ground to concede the point. Amdirlain glided back to allow Payam to regain his feet. By the time he was upright, the cracked floor was flawless again. Settled in a loose stance, Payam gave her a wary look. ¡°You are stronger than you look, Lady Am.¡± ¡°Something to allow for,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°There are techniques to handle foes stronger than you,¡± confirmed Payam. ¡°You¡¯ve not used any of the shapeshifting Master Cyrus mentioned.¡± ¡°I only use that when I¡¯m intending to kill someone,¡± said Amdirlain, and she touched her bald scalp. ¡°Other than getting rid of unnecessary hand holds.¡± ¡°Most don¡¯t consider their vanity unnecessary,¡± replied Payam, and he motioned to his beard. ¡°My choice of appearance is vanity enough,¡± chuckled Amdirlain. ¡°I could as easily look like a plain individual, but I normally adopt forms I¡¯d find pleasing to the eye. Has your Ki State recovered?¡± ¡°It has,¡± admitted Payam. ¡°I wondered why you were giving me time.¡± Amdirlain motioned for him to come at her, and he was happy to oblige. Her swirling motions provided a distracting background of false openings that encouraged him to spend energy or disrupt his attacks even as she launched counters. Payam¡¯s reactions to her manoeuvres continued to adapt, his strikes increasing in precision, and his transitions between styles quickened under pressure. However, his attempts to pin her or use pain reactions to incapacitate her remained fruitless. Though the advantage shifted back and forth between them, Amdirlain dominated most of the exchanges. As the session¡¯s end chimes sang across the mountain, Amdirlain huffed in disappointment. ¡°It¡¯s already that time.¡± Master Payam stepped back and bowed stiffly from healing injuries. ¡°I appreciate you didn¡¯t dance around me again, Lady Am. I found our session very insightful and appreciate your time today. You¡¯ve given me much to meditate on and practice.¡± [Harmony [G] (17->18) Ki State [S] (120->121) Devouring Cacophony [G] (1->4) Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (109->111) Perception [S] (145->146)] What was Harmony doing? ¡°I also found the session insightful,¡± said Amdirlain, and she gave him a fractionally deeper bow. Payam¡¯s brows lifted in slight disapproval. ¡°I believe you might be mistaken about our relative seniority. I¡¯m not an Immortal.¡± ¡°We sparred because of your job request, and doing so also provided me insights,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Please accept it as a gesture of appreciation and respect for what I learned.¡± ¡°This once,¡± grumbled Payam. His calm expression was in place when they turned back towards the students and headed towards the entrance. Sarah dropped to the ground from the second level and waited while the students and Master Lu descended the stairs. ¡°Master Payam, you appear to have had an enjoyable session,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Indeed I did,¡± replied Payam. ¡°Your disguise is excellent, Grandmaster Artificer Sarah. I¡¯ve spoken to dragons many times, and there was always something about them that revealed their difference, yet I didn¡¯t sense that from you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had a few lifetimes as a Human. This makes it easy to present myself convincingly as one in this life,¡± advised Sarah. Payam nodded in understanding. ¡°Perhaps so, but not all can embrace the lessons from past lives. Would you be open to having tea together?¡± ¡°I look forward to your invitation,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Master Kadaklan advised us you are married. Would we be able to meet your wife as well?¡± I¡¯m pretty sure Payam was including me, but it doesn¡¯t hurt to be sure. ¡°Of course,¡± confirmed Payam. ¡°The invitation will come from her when it¡¯s the correct time. Unfortunately, I¡¯m hopeless at properly balancing such things.¡± ¡°Thank you for your time today,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I hope you found it worthy of your request.¡± Payam chuckled, dipped into a pouch at his waist, and offered Amdirlain a folded paper. ¡°I already had my confirmation written and chop placed, as I was sure you wouldn¡¯t disappoint.¡± Amdirlain took the paper and tucked it away without looking at it. ¡°If you wish to spar again, just send word, and we can arrange something. There is no need to go through a duty pavilion job, as we both benefit.¡± ¡°When you come over, please don¡¯t bow so deeply. My wife will never let me hear the end of such an excessive gesture,¡± murmured Payam, his words audible to only Sarah and Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll behave,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡®Badly?¡¯ projected Sarah. Payam turned back to Sarah. ¡°Do you provide her reminders on such matters as my wife does for me?¡± ¡®Looks like I¡¯ve not fooled him either,¡¯ returned Amdirlain. ¡°Am decides her path. I merely support her as best I can,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°The best Dao mates always take such an approach,¡± said Payam. ¡°I thought Dao mate was a term used for student flings,¡± said Amdirlain. Payam chuckled. ¡°I take it Kli is your source for that understanding. I can¡¯t imagine Master Cyrus or Master Livia discussing such with you.¡± He might be surprised at what Livia will discuss with me. ¡°Kli is passionate,¡± Amdirlain noted blandly. ¡°The best Dao mates walk their path beside you without expecting change from you. You can trust them to hold up a mirror that shows your true self, but let you find your own answers,¡± clarified Payam. ¡°To be true to oneself is to walk your Dao to the best of one''s ability,¡± said Amdirlain. Payam nodded. ¡°It is easy to get lost in executing actions related to one¡¯s Dao rather than embracing its fullness. Merely following a routine composed of suitable actions isn¡¯t enough, but such a trap has made fools of many. It helps to have someone close who knows when to prompt you to step back and reexamine your pursuits.¡± ¡°Your etiquette and references have many layers of meanings that I¡¯ll have to learn,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Life isn¡¯t something one learns from a distance, and customs sometimes take immersion to appreciate fully,¡± said Payam. ¡°I spent decades in the East Wind¡¯s Court surrounded by my wife¡¯s family. Let me just say that by the end of our time there, they¡¯d ironed out my etiquette.¡± ¡°Did one of her parents take you under their wing?¡± Payam smiled. ¡°Not directly. Sometimes it takes observing parents instructing children to see the layers build. Though I¡¯d catch her mother glancing at me when particular lessons were being conveyed to the grandchildren.¡± ¡°The question is, did she know you¡¯d caught her looking?¡± inquired Sarah. ¡°Don¡¯t mothers have an uncanny sixth sense about such things?¡± Payam rejoined with a laugh. ¡°As soon as my students are all in order, we¡¯ll be on our way.¡± Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Amdirlain stepped back and let Master Payam sort the students out. While she waited, her outfit resumed its original layered appearance, reminiscent of the monastery¡¯s Persian style, but in dark green. Jinfeng turned to Sarah first and exchanged bows before addressing Amdirlain. ¡°I look forward to our sparring this afternoon, Lady Am. I saw you adapting to Master Payam through the lesson, but I doubt I¡¯ll press you.¡± ¡°I look forward to it as well, Master Lu,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Insights can be found in many places. Would you like to use the facilities here, or should I come to your hall?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d please host,¡± replied Jinfeng. ¡°You have considerable space here, and the enchantments on the viewing platforms are remarkable. Might I also have the privilege of bringing some observers along? My students from the martial pavilion would find your unique style insightful.¡± ¡°Was observing the exchange of pointers beneficial to you?¡± inquired Amdirlain. Jinfeng nodded respectfully. ¡°It was indeed, Lady Am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Then I shall see you and any observers you care to bring this afternoon,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. With a last exchange of pleasantries, they departed. Sarah nudged the door shut as the students exited the courtyard. ¡°That was fun,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You always look like a dervish whirlwind to me,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It looked like you took a solid hit during your initial exchange, but after that slipped the blows that landed off.¡± ¡°No, he whacked me pretty good at other times, but his rush attack transferred momentum through the punch,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I learned a lot from sparring with him.¡± ¡°From the glee in his mind, you weren¡¯t the only one,¡± offered Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Muse¡¯s Insight gained a couple of levels, so I was certainly inspiring him.¡± ¡°Did you intend to do that?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I think it¡¯s a bit like Femme Fatale because it has a passive component that is always operating. However, I won¡¯t complain as I¡¯m not constantly projecting sensuality. I¡¯ll have to experiment and see how far I can help someone improve with it. Did you have a pleasant chat with Lu Jinfeng?¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t listening in?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain, turning Resonance back on and unfurling it fully. It encompassed the mountain and all of Livia¡¯s Domain, and Amdirlain noted the few petitioners and archons. The archons¡¯ age made it clear the Domain¡¯s wellspring wasn¡¯t responsible for their appearance. Has Ebusuku or someone else helped with recruitment? Do I ask or keep my nose out? ¡°I had Resonance turned off, and increased Harmony and Perception,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°I think I caught a sense of his Ki the way Jinfeng commented about you.¡± ¡°We spoke about that,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°Ki is the energy of life, and since dragons are so...¡± ¡°Robust?¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°Large? Hefty?¡± ¡°That hole you¡¯re digging is getting pretty deep,¡± grumbled Sarah playfully. Amdirlain grinned and tapped her foot. ¡°It feels pretty flat here. Do you need more equipment in either of your workshops?¡± With a roll of her eyes, Sarah motioned to the nearest unused space. ¡°You can always set up your obstacle course if you want something to do. Restless children need a large playpen.¡± ¡°Playpen indeed,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Though speaking of them, I created a large space for mating flights and got more levels out of it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s getting ahead of yourself,¡± said Sarah. ¡°We don¡¯t even know when any dragons will arrive.¡± ¡°I wanted something to stretch my True Song, but it still wasn¡¯t enough of a challenge,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°My next project might have to be a hollow-Earth type Demi-Plane.¡± ¡°How large a space did you set up for the mating flights?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Hemisphere, the base has a ten thousand kilometres diameter split up by eight mountain ranges from a central spoke,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I packed it full of different biomes in a balanced state and got another eleven levels.¡± Sarah frowned. ¡°How is your True Form doing with all your level increases?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t look so pretty anymore,¡± admitted Amdirlain, her mouth twisted at the sour notes of her concealed form. ¡°You said your skin is now scarred and melted,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Don¡¯t expect scar tissue to dissuade me.¡± ¡°Yeah, that was just the start. It has changed further,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°The form¡¯s posture has changed, and my body¡¯s changing, elongated fingers, etc.¡± ¡°Etc, can cover a lot.¡± ¡°Bristles,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Well, more like spines.¡± ¡°Are you up to showing someone?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I hadn¡¯t planned to show anyone.¡± ¡°Does it feel like something you must hide?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I¡¯ve always been good at ignoring the price I need to pay for my goals,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s easier to ignore it than deal with it, but that got me in trouble last time. Let¡¯s hop over to a Demi-Plane, and we can play doctors and nurses.¡± Sarah snorted in disbelief. ¡°You told me not to flirt with you, and now you¡¯re offering to play that game. There will be consequences.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think you ever played doctors and nurses,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t, but if it involves checking your temperature, that¡¯s fine with me,¡± purred Sarah playfully. Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. ¡°That sounded so bad.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any smooth pick up lines for you,¡± Sarah replied with a tiny shrug. ¡°You¡¯re too important to me, and they all sound too trite. I¡¯ll stick with the lines I know you¡¯ll find funny.¡± ¡°That¡¯s more flattering than the smoothest line,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got Cyrus here after lunch, so do I show you now or wait until after Master Ju¡¯s training session this afternoon?¡± ¡°Is it bothering you?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain clenched her hand as it lifted to scrub at her hair. ¡°Unconscious cues are a bit of a giveaway, so I¡¯d say yes.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your new form got to do with your hair?¡± ¡°Easier to show you,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Ready to go?¡± Sarah gave a sharp nod, and Amdirlain¡¯s Planar Shift delivered them back to the large Demi-Plane she¡¯d recently made. Their arrival point was on a beach positioned towards its outer edge and the ocean. The Radiant orb positioned just below the uppermost curve of the hemisphere¡¯s dome, and the trees¡¯ shadows stretched across the beach into the waters. ¡°No waves,¡± critiqued Sarah after she¡¯d looked around. ¡°No moon,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain, and she snorted at Sarah¡¯s dry look. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll add a wave machine effect. Happy?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t go to the beach for a glassy ocean, you go to the beach for waves,¡± declared Sarah. ¡°Even dragons go to the beach for waves¡ªthe salt water is good at scouring grime from your hide.¡± ¡°The things I¡¯m learning, hide hygiene for dragons,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± ¡°I think lots of fussy Human etiquette,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain snorted and waved Sarah off. ¡°You can¡¯t give me that. I know some dragons are far worse.¡± ¡°Yes, but an upset Dragon will look to eat you. Someone trying to kill you for not including all their titles is a little different from someone just getting their nose out of joint and snubbing you at the banquet table,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°So, by your reckoning, the threat level elevates it from mere fussy behaviour?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Anyway, time to show me what you¡¯ve been hiding, Am.¡± Inventory drew in her clothing, and Amdirlain transformed, growing to nearly eighteen metres in height, but her hunched-over posture robbed her of several metres. Though her azure blue hair was still present, it was now a lifeless colour, with sections missing and others protruding oddly from her scalp because of growths underneath them. The base of Amdirlain¡¯s original wings had extended, turning a simple socket joint into a broad-based hinge joint that ran down a third of her back. Extending from that base, what had once been the bone ridge of a wing had become a spectral translucent flame. The wings retained their mix of angry red and golden flames, but now emitted clouds of foul-smelling soot. The muscles around the wing¡¯s base contoured her spine, aggravating the hunched posture of her upper body. Her shoulders and hip had broadened disproportionally, and the hip shift further exaggerated the angle the hunch had placed on her back. Patches of skin across her body had ruptured, and layers of jagged spines jutted out from the inflamed openings. The sharp angularity of her cheekbones blurred into a flattened muzzle formed from hardened plates, and her teeth were now merged into a solid serrated ridgeline. Her fingers were double the length they should have been in proportion to her palms, and the last third of each finger was a hooked talon. The previously isolated patches of melted skin were now a solid sheet of scars from beneath her chin to nearly her ankles. It gave the appearance that melted wax had been poured down her body, and it pressed tight across thousands of spikes, highlighting those that hadn¡¯t yet breached her skin. The strangest change was the six-metre-long prehensile tail that had extended from her lower back, more spines showing beneath its still bubbling skin. Concern rather than revulsion sang through Sarah, and Amdirlain felt a knot of tension ease from her guts. ¡°Sections of your hair are falling out,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°That might be why you¡¯ve been scrubbing at your scalp. Your various stress factors might have helped guide this change.¡± ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve got a self-actualisation issue going on?¡± asked Amdirlain, tapping a large section of spines jutting from her stomach. ¡°These spines are coming out of my scalp, and the ones furthest along are where my hair has fallen out. The buds are close to breaking through.¡± I once told Torm I hoped to keep the hair colour, but I¡¯ll also lose it. ¡°Mind if I examine some of them?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°They¡¯re hollow,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But knock yourself out.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Hollow, like in a bird¡¯s feather? Aside from the enlarged base, your wings are just this impression of flames now, yet you¡¯re sprouting feathers?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m sprouting,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°They remind me of the spikes that used to hold down the statues in the lake.¡± The concern evident in Sarah¡¯s theme deepened as she approached. She lightly touched a spike extending from Amdirlain¡¯s outer thigh, and her nose twitched as she studied its end. Kadaklan is right, I¡¯m a freak. ¡°The scent reminds you of something,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Flames like Kadaklan¡¯s Phoenix form,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°They look like the inside of bird feathers. Your sigil might have influenced your True Form.¡± ¡°Phoenixes don¡¯t have forelimbs,¡± argued Amdirlain, clicking her talons together. The noise had Sarah releasing the spike she¡¯d been examining, and she glanced up. ¡°Am I making you uncomfortable?¡± Amdirlain shrugged, and the motion sent up a wave of soot. ¡°Thoughts?¡± ¡°I wonder if your tail will continue to lengthen. At present, you look like a moulted fledgling, scales trying to extend from their sheathes,¡± commented Sarah, and the term shuddered through Amdirlain. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°The hags used that term,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The issue with perfect memory is that things can prompt unpleasant recollections.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± groaned Sarah, fists clenching until her knuckles went white. ¡°I¡¯ll avoid it in the future. That is one bitch I¡¯d like to end, scheming with Viper to destroy you.¡± Glad for a change in topic, Amdirlain shared more details of the plans she¡¯d kept to herself. ¡°Atonement will screw her up.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Sarah, stepping far enough back to see Amdirlain¡¯s face easily. ¡°I thought it was for dealing with the damned going to the Abyss.¡± A predatory gleam appeared in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. ¡°She¡¯s gaining power because of the false and faithless going to her realm. They¡¯ll go instead to Atonement once I¡¯ve got it working properly.¡± ¡°According to the accords, her servants take them all from Judgement,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Are you going to intercept them on the way to her Domain?¡± ¡°They have to get to Judgement first, in a state that deems them worthy of her,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Because of the intrinsic nature of the Astral Plane, I¡¯ve got some flexibility in what I can do. Initially, once I open the first astral pools, it will draw in the damned heading to the Abyss that realised the foulness of the lives they lived and just failed to make amends. Once we get their treatment sorted out, secondary pools will open, allowing me to draw in souls being routed from the Astral Plane to Judgement that originated on Veht?.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not breaking the accords. You¡¯re just intercepting them?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°The result won¡¯t be just intercepting them. I¡¯ll release them once they¡¯ve made amends so they can continue their journey to Judgement,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The only thing is, they won¡¯t get to Veht?¡¯s region because their last life won¡¯t have been on Veht?. So sad, too bad. Nor will they arrive in a state considered suitable for her collection. They¡¯ll either have atoned or been reset.¡± ¡°And stymie her continued power growth,¡± Sarah hummed thoughtfully. ¡°That¡¯s an interesting plan, and I hope you intend to test the details. How can you pull it off without her detecting the issue?¡± ¡°The pools will be conditional. If someone follows a Soul and isn¡¯t suitable for Atonement they¡¯ll find themselves in the Outlands,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re playing games with the planar framework,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°That could go sideways.¡± ¡°Not games, merely some dimensional fun. The pool will allow anyone to use it, but if they¡¯re not meant to be in Atonement, then the pool¡¯s event horizon will feed them straight into the Outlands pool,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve picked up some dimensional tricks that will handle the routing. They enter the Plane out of phase with the physical dimension, so they can¡¯t even sense it. Then they¡¯ll slingshot straight to one of the normal exits.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something you¡¯re going to want to test out thoroughly,¡± advised Sarah. Amdirlain re-assumed her Wood Elf form, and her dark silk robes enfolded her form again. ¡°I¡¯ll be testing it with demons and other inhabitants of the lower planes, plus celestials and maybe a Fallen or twelve before I activate it. I plan to have the entry point bristling with our towers, so anything that phases in and shouldn¡¯t be there will not have a fun time.¡± A quick melody eliminated the lingering stench and soot released by her wings. ¡°Is your True Form uncomfortable at all?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°No, it¡¯s not physically uncomfortable, and it could be worse,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s gaze narrowed suspiciously. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I could still be a Succubus or have evolved into a Brood Mother,¡± offered Amdirlain. At the last suggestion, Sarah made a gagging sound. ¡°Exactly. I¡¯m not birthing a few hundred succubi at a time. It is what it is, and I can¡¯t change it,¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Since I¡¯ve not gotten enough levels for Empress Malfex yet, I can¡¯t halt it. So, in for a penny, in for a pound, let¡¯s see how weird I look by the end.¡± ¡°What are you planning to do?¡± ¡°Escalate my levelling,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I will see if I can set up a Demi-Plane like a hollow Earth tonight. For as long as it takes, I¡¯ll train my Monk skills during the day and True Song and level at night. I need to figure out how to push my Quickness higher, maybe a quickness-based Combat Class that synergises with Monk. Ki Strike allows me to breach armour, so raw Strength isn¡¯t as important.¡± ¡°I heard Payam¡¯s comment about balance,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain smiled grimly. ¡°Right now, my body can¡¯t keep up with my brain.¡± ¡°You¡¯d need a Scout Class or maybe something like Duelist,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°There is an Arcane Duelist you¡¯d qualify for, but the other option is to drop your free points into Quickness instead of Willpower. You¡¯ve continued to level Olind??¡± ¡°Yes,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°But Willpower is important for Phoenix¡¯s Rapture and many other powers and skills I rely on. I can feel the difference in them whenever it increases.¡± ¡°Maybe level up Ascetic Triumvirate since it gives you Willpower and Intelligence, then drop its free points into Quickness,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°Though the amount of free points you get from Olind? outstrips it.¡± ¡°What do you think, level 400 in everything?¡± Sarah¡¯s disgusted snort matched the hard look in her eyes. ¡°Really? Are you joking right now?¡± ¡°True, 500,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to need it high if I want Grand Empress instead of Empress.¡± ¡°Can I strangle you?¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°I hope the next one Gideon offers is ¡®Grand Poobah¡¯ if you do that.¡± ¡°Our mutual friend advised me that the experience increases would reach a point where they¡¯ll seem exponential compared to my current ones,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°That sounds more like a challenge than an impossibility.¡± ¡°109,848,754,651,136,000,000,000,¡± Sarah rattled off the number in one breath. ¡°Excuse me?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to not shorthand your explanation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the total accumulated experience you need to get to level 415,¡± proclaimed Sarah, giving a mock glare. ¡°And it takes 10,298,320,748,544,000,000,000 just to get from the previous level, 414, to 415. Does the sheer ridiculousness of that number turn you off?¡± ¡°Well, now,¡± gushed Amdirlain, deliberately poking Sarah¡¯s frustration. ¡°It seems like I should push Analysis to get some information for goals. I hadn¡¯t asked for the experience requirements beyond level 380 since I hadn¡¯t intended to push any Class beyond that level.¡± Sarah¡¯s mock glare turned stern. ¡°I remember you blowing up multiple weekends and evenings grinding away at that South Korean game with the level soft cap. You almost missed out on a girls¡¯ night out.¡± ¡°I told him I could reach level 61 in two months and did it in one,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Stupid arse didn¡¯t know how to grind efficiently and called me a liar. But that hardly matters now. What matters is that I got level increases in True Song and other items from singing this place into existence.¡± ¡°While I don¡¯t believe you¡¯d need to get to that level to crush Baln¨¦rith, I fully support developing your powers and skills,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°Try to ensure you¡¯re doing a variety of things, not just continually going into mass production mode. Payam spoke about getting lost in the actions of one¡¯s Dao and not seeing the whole. It might be advice for a Dao, but it applies to getting proper insights to advance powers and skills.¡± ¡°With a hollow-earth style Demi-Plane, I could set up regional controls and then avoid having to do thousands of demi-planes for Qil Tris,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Then I could return to my projects to restore life to those planets sooner.¡± Sarah¡¯s glare evaporated. Stepping close, she affectionately kissed Amdirlain¡¯s cheek. ¡°And there is your happy glow.¡± ¡°Speaking of cheerful things, I almost forgot to mention this to you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I remembered a life where you were a singer and a living vampire.¡± ¡°Oh shit,¡± groaned Sarah, raising a hand to cover her eyes. ¡°You were such a goth boy,¡± giggled Amdirlain. ¡°I remember your mum spotting one of your dominatrix outfits and thinking you were going goth. That was so funny, especially since she thought all goths were devil worshipers.¡± Though laughter bubbled in Sarah¡¯s theme, she put her hands on her hips, and the glare returned. ¡°She looked like she was going to have kittens, and you didn¡¯t help.¡± Amdirlain burst out laughing. ¡°Your mum was cool. After that conversation, she took finding out you were a dominatrix almost calmly.¡± ¡°Groupie,¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Your Soul was in a vampire girl groupie.¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t a groupie,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°She was security and his mate.¡± ¡°His mate because she was pregnant, but they used their loyal groupies for security,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°Groupie.¡± The conviction in Sarah¡¯s tone had Amdirlain scrubbing at her hair. ¡°That I didn¡¯t pick up. I guess it¡¯s a matter of perspective. I will find a life that I get to tease you about.¡± ¡°The advantage of so many memories is that they let me put embarrassing events into perspective,¡± argued Sarah, gently catching Amdirlain¡¯s hands. ¡°Good luck finding a life¡¯s memories at random that I¡¯ll find embarrassing. I think it''s unlikely and will take a more complete examination than sampling random snippets.¡± ¡°Is that supposed to be a challenge?¡± Sarah grinned broadly. ¡°Statement of fact, sweetie.¡± Klipyl advised the chief¡¯s son to build intimacy. Do I need to build up to the idea that anyone would want me for me? I had trouble with Torm and didn¡¯t believe anyone would love me. Amdirlain kissed Sarah¡¯s cheek. ¡°Challenge accepted. Now, we¡¯d better get back. Master Cyrus is pretty punctual.¡± ¡°Do you mind if I stay for a bit to fly?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°No worries, it is bigger than your Demi-Plane. Though you¡¯ll have to complete the survey for these honeymoon suites,¡± quipped Amdirlain before she vanished. 399 - Calling out your name Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain reappeared at the end of the road that divided the fields, and a nearby girl screamed in surprise. She was only waist height on Amdirlain, wearing the servants'' and villagers'' grey cotton garments. She had long black hair secured in braided twin tails hanging above her ears to drape down her front. Unlike Head Clerk Erhi¡¯s braids, there were no beads to disrupt their blackness, and only thin strips of grubby brown cloth secured their ends. Her tanned skin showed long hours in the sun, and a smattering of freckles sat across her button nose, drawing attention to her dark eyes. The high-pitched screech she let out had others spinning around, but seeing the girl standing metres from Amdirlain, the workers and students relaxed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for startling you,¡± said Amdirlain, and she crouched low to get their eyes at the same level and projected a calm reassurance. ¡°Do you think I¡¯m scary?¡± The girl shook her head energetically, and her braids flapped about. As she stopped shaking her head, she automatically lowered her gaze. Her still shocked expression and wide black eyes made her seem younger than the seven years her melody proclaimed her to be. ¡°I¡¯m Lady Am, and you are?¡± The little girl snapped into a deep bow and held herself there. She fixed her gaze on the ground at Amdirlain¡¯s feet. ¡°This one is Ming. I¡¯m honoured to be addressed by you, Lady Am.¡± How much etiquette training has this girl received? Is it to keep her out of trouble, or is someone hoping she will marry a monk or official later? Tones of fright and awe rippled through the girl¡¯s theme, accompanied by a niggling curiosity as the girl eyed Amdirlain¡¯s dark silk pants. Amdirlain heard a nascent Ki pool within her melody that swirled erratically beneath her heart chakra. Amdirlain nodded in reply, more for the watching farmers since the girl couldn¡¯t see and motioned her up. ¡°You can straighten. How have your classes been going? Do you have a favourite lesson?¡± Though the girl straightened, she crossed her arms before her face with her forehead angled towards them. The loose sleeves of her grey cotton robe were a curtain before her eyes. ¡°I like them very much, Lady Am, especially the Ki lessons.¡± ¡°Remember, it takes dedication and consistent effort. Failure only comes when you stop trying. Before that, you¡¯ve learned what doesn¡¯t work,¡± said Amdirlain before straightening. She eyed the half-filled water bucket and cups near the girl¡¯s feet. ¡°I¡¯ll let you return to your duties.¡± ¡°Thank you for your words, Lady Am.¡± ¡°It was a pleasure to meet you, Ming.¡± With her sudden appearance having caused a fuss, Amdirlain opted not to Teleport to her hall. Instead, she followed the seniors¡¯ example, lifted into the air with Ki Flight, and sped up the mountain. Behind her, determination soared in the girl¡¯s song, Muse¡¯s Insight having set seeds with a few simple words, and Amdirlain¡¯s projected reassurance. As she landed in her courtyard, Amdirlain heard Master Cyrus start toward her. With only a few minutes before he¡¯d arrive, she waited in the courtyard and mentally prepared high-level plans for the obstacle course, including components from Ori¡¯s arena. I¡¯ll set them up like a slalom course and push myself to get faster times. Then I could let the students use the course for Ki Flight training, but I¡¯d have to be more careful if I put something damaging in it. How do I advise folks on Qil Tris about the hollow Earth setup if I take that approach to shortcut the creation of all those training facilities? I could create one and segment it into the sizes I need. The existing demi-planes have a fake ceiling, so they wouldn¡¯t have to know it¡¯s not an individual Demi-Plane. She was still tossing around options when Master Cyrus landed in the courtyard. ¡°Lady Am, you made quite the impression,¡± offered Cyrus in the way of greetings. Amdirlain bowed to him and offered an innocent smile. ¡°Master Cyrus, I appreciate you assisting me in practising my etiquette.¡± ¡°You might need all the practice you can get,¡± cautioned Cyrus. ¡°Livia spoke to me about the noble individual who was recently here. Do you know why he might have visited the Jade Emperor¡¯s Court?¡± He¡¯s avoiding naming Bahamut. ¡°That would be because he is concerned for me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°He and Ori were long-term friends, and despite my reincarnation, he still holds that concern. Did his presence cause a commotion?¡± ¡°The correct term would be ¡®is¡¯ causing a commotion,¡± clarified Cyrus. ¡°At least as far as I could tell from an enquiry I received from a friend who is a clerk in the outer court. They are unsure what to make of him, and functionaries had been passing his request to speak to the Jade Emperor up the chain of command.¡± Bahamut said he might go see him, but didn¡¯t say when that visit might occur. ¡°That is quite the surprise. When did he arrive there?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°And how long do you think they¡¯ll procrastinate while passing the buck?¡± ¡°He had passed through eighteen different officials before the Jade Emperor sent his First General to escort him to a meeting,¡± Cyrus advised. I wonder how well he took the officialdom. ¡°He didn¡¯t have to threaten any of them, did he?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Master Cyrus froze momentarily before his posture relaxed. ¡°One of your jokes?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°He turned up here dressed disreputably, and I could see that causing someone particularly fussy to get in trouble with his escort, if not directly with him.¡± ¡°I understand his mere presence was enough for the first official to simply write him an additional introduction letter and pass the problem along,¡± Cyrus advised. ¡°Wise move. I¡¯ll have to remember that passing the buck is a survival trait of some officials,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Since there is nothing either of us can do, shall we get to training? Wait, an additional introduction letter? Who wrote him the first?¡± ¡°He had a metal plate with N¨¹wa¡¯s sigil upon it glowing with her authority,¡± said Cyrus. Amdirlain froze, terrified the weight of her attention would hit any moment, and Cyrus frowned. ¡°What is wrong?¡± Is she watching but not tipping her hand? ¡°Please never use her name again in my presence,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She is not the same Goddess of your tales.¡± ¡°Her name is in the main of our oldest tales and is spoken at many festivals,¡± argued Cyrus. ¡°She¡¯s a shard of the same Primordial being, but she isn¡¯t the same,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°In this realm, she is the Great Mother of the Kytons and was sealed in the depths of Hell at her own request. She will live until the realm perishes, chained to one of the foundations, or until she leaves the realm.¡± Cyrus¡¯s lips thinned. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°She draws strength from the realm so that she can never die while it remains intact,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°But why is she in Hell?¡± ¡°Unpleasant events from the last realm she lived in made her want her daughters in this one to punish the wicked. She was the de facto ruler of Hell until the primordials in the Abyss created the demons. Since she wasn¡¯t interested in that conflict, it required recruiting other forces to fight them and stop them from dominating all the lower planes.¡± ¡°Your explanations just raise more questions,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Why are these devils from outside the realm interested in fighting demons?¡± ¡°The leader of Hell now is more interested in being in charge of all evil, and so works to put down their greatest foes first,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not a fight he¡¯s ever going to win, as the Abyss has endless numbers even without the damned adding more. Can we change the subject? Your use of her name has already caused me a risk, and these aren¡¯t subjects to raise in Livia¡¯s Domain.¡± ¡°I felt nothing,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°And your friend seems free with her name?¡± ¡°Neither of us is Bahamut,¡± Amdirlain sighed. The mention of his name brought a sense of his awareness, and she felt his strength touch her reassuringly. ¡°Does the Jade Emperor talk to the Yomi King?¡± ¡°Yes, at times,¡± admitted Cyrus. ¡°From what I gather, the three greatest dragons in the realm talk to each other.¡± ¡°Dragon?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know whether her original shape was that of a Dragon, but in this realm, she looks like an Eastern Dragon with dark blue scales and sulphurous eyes.¡± Cyrus frowned briefly but headed towards the benches. ¡°Let us review your text then. Since Kadaklan advised me that I need to give you context for the classics.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want to sit inside?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Comfortable chairs and less noise.¡± ¡°And endless pots of tea,¡± said Cyrus, and he adjusted his course towards the training hall. ¡°I¡¯ve got copies of the Middle and Southern courts'' classics. You¡¯ve read neither?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct. I could have peeked at the books around the place, but I don¡¯t know what texts are involved,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I know bits of Chinese folktales and plays, but I¡¯ve picked up only a smattering of odds and ends. There are options for me to fast-track my understanding, and I¡¯ve got Knowledge points that I could dump into the lore to learn what I need to know. However, I don¡¯t control what knowledge is provided when I do that, so I thought it would be a waste, and leave potential gaps in my understanding.¡± ¡°Your Profile access seems both a blessing and a curse. Study, pondering, and use are all equally important to promote a proper understanding,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°As we go through the next pages together, I¡¯ll point out the references, and we can refer to the associated classic text to review its hidden meaning.¡± ¡°That would be appreciated, Master Cyrus,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she opened the training hall door for him. Master Cyrus headed for the closest set of stairs. ¡°Are these constructions merely some magical gemstone or your special crystals?¡± ¡°A mixture of crystal and black diamond, along with mithril and adamantine,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I thought it might be best to make an impression yet hide the True Song Crystal in case someone was looking for it.¡± When he selected a seat on the first level, Master Cyrus¡¯ brows lifted in surprise at the furniture adjusting. ¡°Most unusual.¡± ¡°Not too decadent, I hope,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Comfortable yet functional chairs aren¡¯t decadent,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Kadaklan told me about some things he¡¯d experienced while staying with you. His tales reminded me of our old realm but powered with magic instead of electricity." ¡°It¡¯s just as well he doesn¡¯t follow an ascetic Dao,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯d have been a bad influence on him during that trip.¡± ¡°To indulge or not would still have been under his control, and an ascetic¡¯s Dao is stronger for dealing with such temptations,¡± said Cyrus. The apparent sense of that was clear to Amdirlain. ¡°Like challenging any Skill, if an ascetic just lives in sparse accommodations, they¡¯ve had no choice but to stick to their way. Surrounded by luxury, they have to decide why they should stick to their way and not live an easier life.¡± ¡°Yes, and their reasons would help them gain a deeper understanding of their Dao and why it is the path for them,¡± confirmed Cyrus. He withdrew a set of texts and placed the books and scrolls on a nearby table. ¡°A copy of the fundamental classics from the western and southern courts for your study. They are normal books, so I¡¯m well within the rules to loan them to a friend.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t upset anyone by just making a copy of them?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Cyrus shrugged. ¡°Some make contributions points that way, but there are more points involved in copying the technique manuals with their illustrations.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s begin,¡± said Amdirlain. A slight smile appeared as she memorised the lot using Resonance to scan the text within the books, scrolls, and across the wooden slates. ¡°Right, I¡¯m done reading. Now, what do you suggest for gaining a proper understanding?¡± [Chinese Literature Unlocked! Chinese Literature [Ad] (1) Thai Kh?m Literature Unlocked! Thai Kh?m Literature [Ad] (1) Note: Memorisation and understanding aren¡¯t the same thing.] Yeah, no shit Sherlock. I didn¡¯t need the statement of the bleeding obvious, Gideon. I¡¯m still not a fan of the games you enjoy playing. ¡°Let¡¯s start with the book of rites,¡± said Cyrus, resting his hand on a bundle of scrolls. ¡°Give me your perspective on it.¡± Amdirlain casually shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s odd to me that a collection of scrolls is referred to as a book.¡± ¡°A translation of its name,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Since these texts were around before books came about, feel free to consider them a collection if it makes you more comfortable. The important thing is in the lessons, not its appearance or form. When you seek to categorise something, you are stepping along the path of logic rather than understanding.¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°To me, its main focus is a mixture of religious and what seems like ceremonial obligations of the tiers of society,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Not just ceremonial but also day-to-day etiquette,¡± corrected Cyrus. ¡°The texts go over who needs to perform various acts for their seniors and why. While some of the duties are ceremonial matters for different seasons, it¡¯s best not to assume all are simply because they seem formal to you. In their content, you¡¯ll find the foundations for why etiquette is important." ¡°Propriety is seen in humbling oneself and giving honour to others. When the rich and noble know to love propriety, they do not become proud nor dissolute,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°If you are going to quote a reference, do so fully,¡± Cyrus instructed. ¡°You left out half of it. You can¡¯t just pick and choose lines you like from a reference. There is a difference between being concise and obtuse enough to lose the true meaning.¡± ¡°Propriety is seen in humbling oneself and giving honour to others. Even porters and peddlers are sure to display this giving honour. How much more should the rich and noble do so, in all things? When the rich and noble know to love propriety, they do not become proud nor dissolute. When the poor and mean know to love propriety, their minds do not become cowardly,¡± quoted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve picked the reference. What does it say to you?¡± enquired Cyrus. Amdirlain relaxed in her seat. ¡°I¡¯m trying not to be cynical.¡± ¡°That would be a first,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°I learnt lots about diplomatic behaviour,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not about peasants being subservient or nobles being puffed up to those they see as lesser. It¡¯s about following standards of behaviour and morals. While I disagree with the society¡¯s distinctions, it means a peddler should be respectful to a noble but not snivelling.¡± ¡°To behave in such a degrading fashion would be when they¡¯ve crossed the line into a cowardly state,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Likewise, the noble shouldn¡¯t behave so threateningly as to drive a peasant into believing such fearful conduct is required to ensure their safety. Yet that is only the surface: a liar, thief, or vandal¡¯s actions are all cowardly. Unfortunately, the standards within the classics are ideals and not followed by all who should do so. To you, the peasant and the noble are only people, and they should treat each other as they wish to be treated.¡± ¡°Even in my world, that didn¡¯t get followed. While you¡¯d find rich people who were nice, there were also those who liked to flex the financial leverage they possessed over others,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The noble holds responsibility from the Emperor to keep parts of the kingdoms safe, manage troops, and, if they are fit nobles, even lead them into battle against monsters or other armies,¡± offered Cyrus. ¡°Should you not respect the person working to keep your family and village safe?¡± ¡°If they are doing that, then yes, I¡¯d treat the person respectfully,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The key is ¡®if¡¯. It¡¯s another thing to expect me to kowtow because they¡¯re born into the right family. An official whose only job is to count coins for someone more important isn¡¯t due any more respect than a street vendor. I¡¯m not saying I wouldn¡¯t respect the street vendor; I¡¯d be polite to them, and I¡¯d be polite to an official, until they disregarded the plight of people, which should be their concern.¡± ¡°However fine the viands be, if one does not eat, he does not know their taste. However perfect the course may be, if one doesn¡¯t learn it, one does not know its goodness. Therefore, when he learns, one knows one¡¯s own deficiencies. When he teaches, he knows the difficulty of learning. After he knows his deficiencies, one can turn round and examine himself. After he knows the difficulties, he can stimulate himself to effort. Hence it is that teaching and learning help each other, as it is said, ¡®Teaching is half of learning¡¯,¡± quoted Cyrus. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°I gather you¡¯re not using that reference for the subject of either learning or teaching.¡± Cyrus smiled drily. ¡°Indeed I am not.¡± ¡°If I have not conducted someone¡¯s duties, then I don¡¯t know their difficulty,¡± Amdirlain inquired. ¡°Especially if I¡¯ve neither taught them nor learned from them?¡± ¡°Is that what I meant?¡± Cyrus questioned. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can hear the effort in someone¡¯s song or learn it from their mind. Others don¡¯t have that advantage, nor can they access your evidence. If you behave in such a manner before those who don¡¯t have your evidence, you encourage them to behave in that fashion to that official and to others of similar rank, even those who haven¡¯t earned your ire. Your example teaches them that the official isn¡¯t worthy of respect, but you won¡¯t be around to see where that learning takes them. Something to think about?¡± ¡°Even when someone has displayed that behaviour?¡± ¡°Have you lived every day in their skin? You have suffered, but have you suffered their trials and disillusionment?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°What might they excuse as a single lapse? What lesson might be better taught through gentle correction as one would a student than through disrespect, which then teaches them to hate you?¡± ¡°Which takes us back to propriety?¡± ¡°Does it?¡± questioned Cyrus. Amdirlain narrowed her eyes at the merry chords that surged in him despite his outward composure. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re listening to my song,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°When you do that, it is more difficult to help you progress towards understanding, as you have not taught nor learnt as I have. Seen from a great height, everything looks like an ant.¡± ¡°How does the Jade Emperor avoid that then?¡± Cyrus¡¯ brows lifted dramatically. ¡°Are you implying the Emperor is not perfect?¡± ¡°If he is perfect, how did the Yomi King tip the balance in his last realm?¡± ¡°Man tipped the balance, but the Jade Emperor doesn¡¯t claim to be perfect. Also, neither he nor the other Shen keep solely to the lofty heights,¡± countered Cyrus. ¡°Will you keep yourself to your heights? We¡¯ve discussed sitting under a tree high on a mountain, living off rainwater and pine nuts.¡± ¡°We did. It being a fine activity if one is a shrub,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed it is,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I take it our discussion has shown enough that the subject of the references is not purely in the context of the text but in life.¡± ¡°Memorising them isn¡¯t enough,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ve not all got deeper meanings, though, as some are just particulars of dress for certain occasions.¡± ¡°That would depend on how the person uses the reference,¡± Cyrus countered. ¡°I think this will take me much longer than expected,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled. ¡°Comprehending one¡¯s ignorance is the first step to understanding.¡± ¡°Thank you, Sifu,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°It is my honour indeed,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Let us start at the beginning of the Ki Blast technique and see what references you can spot now you¡¯ve memorised all these.¡± During the lesson, Amdirlain received an acknowledgment from Morgana, confirming that she¡¯d teach whatever arcane subjects Amdirlain wished to learn. A few exchanged messages had her an arrival point and timeframe organised. ? ? ? ? ? ? When Master Cyrus left her standing in the courtyard, Amdirlain¡¯s mind was still churning over the Book of Rites. Though the collection wasn¡¯t the longest of works (maybe three hundred odd typed pages), the references in the classics and how they were called upon allowed many permutations of meaning. It would be easier if the references were a static cipher key that added or removed meaning from the technique¡¯s text, but it¡¯s all subject to interpretation, dependent on the schooling. When Master Lu Jinfeng led her twenty students in and stopped, she offered a nearly forty-five-degree bow, and her students bowed as if hinged at the waist. I never expected that much deference from any of the masters here. Though discomforted by the way they kept their upper bodies parallel to the ground and their eyes lowered, Amdirlain restricted herself to a minimal bow. ¡°I appreciate the time you¡¯ve taken out of your schedule to fulfil my request, Lady Am,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°You¡¯re quite welcome. Please come in, Master Lu,¡± replied Amdirlain. She turned partly on her heel and motioned Jinfeng to walk with her. ¡°What is your preferred style for sparring?¡± ¡°Might we cross blades?¡± inquired Jinfeng as she stepped into the training hall. Amdirlain nodded a ready acceptance. ¡°What type of blade do you prefer?¡± ¡°The Jai,¡± answered Jinfeng. ¡°Are you trained in it?¡± ¡°No, I normally use a very different blade,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a lot heavier, shorter, and not an Eastern weapon, though I¡¯ve some training in blades similar to the Jai.¡± ¡°Would you use the one you are used to?¡± requested Jinfeng. ¡°If I¡¯m always fighting opponents with weapons I¡¯m familiar with, then it limits my learning.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Please ?use your normal weapon.¡± I¡¯ll either have to create a pair of swords to match the quality of her blade or use some of the practice weapons. ¡°It carries enchantments, and my techniques pass Ki through the weapon,¡± cautioned Jinfeng. ¡°In a similar fashion to Sword Light?¡± ¡°Nothing so advanced, Lady Am,¡± demurred Jinfeng. ¡°It is a progression of the Ki Strike ability.¡± ¡°Does it interfere with your ability to use it with an unarmed style?¡± inquired Amdirlain. Jinfeng frowned slightly. ¡°My apologies if the question was improper,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°It is not normally done to speak of the capabilities of one¡¯s techniques beyond your martial brothers and sisters,¡± advised Jinfeng. ¡°I would entrust my senior to get the other students settled.¡± ¡°That is fine. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll all respect my home and enjoy the comforts of the conversation levels,¡± replied Amdirlain. Master Lu signalled the man following her towards the closest staircase, and he stepped out of line to usher the students ahead of him. Amdirlain motioned an invitation to Master Lu and headed towards the weapon rack near the sparring area. ¡°Are those practice weapons?¡± ¡°Yes, they are,¡± confirmed Amdirlain, and she picked up the first steel Kopis. ¡°That is the type of sword I¡¯ve typically used for a few years now.¡± ¡°With its curvature towards the blade¡¯s end, it is similar to the Pandat blade that some islanders beyond the South Wind¡¯s court use,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°But those just have a sharp angle in the middle, and your blade appears heavier. Single-edged and best used for downwards attacks. A cavalry weapon?¡± ¡°That is correct, but it doesn¡¯t come from any of the kingdoms you¡¯re familiar with,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°If I find its style to be a good blend with my own.¡± ¡°It would seem I will indeed be hard-pressed,¡± said Jinfeng eagerly. ¡°We shall see,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she picked another blade from the racks before stepping through the blue barrier. Jinfeng hung her outer robe on the end of the weapon rack but oddly left her curtain of long black hair unsecured. Threads of Ki started to run down them to their very tips, and the strands began to sway out of time to her motions. It¡¯s under her control, but how does she use it: as a weapon, barrier, or distraction? All three? Amdirlain moved a few hundred metres from the barrier and turned to face Jinfeng as she approached. ¡°Just weapons, or Ki techniques as well?¡± ¡°Whatever Ki techniques you wish,¡± Jinfeng offered. Her blade lifted into a high guard stance, and Ki ran into it. The energy caused the edge to emanate a white glow, and a scent of heated metal tickled Amdirlain¡¯s nose. The technique incorporates Ki Infusion as well. Cool. Without a physical cue providing a warning, Jinfeng flowed in. Quick probing strikes darted about testing Amdirlain¡¯s guard, and as she deflected the strikes, strands of hair stabbed at her wrist while others pushed against her blade to deflect its course. A smile quirked across Amdirlain¡¯s lips, and she effortlessly shifted the blade back and spun along the other side of Jinfeng¡¯s blade. As it came back in line with Amdirlain¡¯s torso, she slipped past and laid the flat of her blade against Jinfeng¡¯s throat. She¡¯d barely had time for her eyes to widen. Amdirlain disengaged and blurred back to salute her politely. ¡°Interesting technique when a fight is balanced. Making even a tiny opening in someone¡¯s defences can tip things in one¡¯s favour.¡± ¡°I wanted to see how far below you I stood, Lady Am,¡± replied Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯ve fought a lot of dangerous opponents and fallen short many times if that helps,¡± offered Amdirlain. Jinfeng coughed. ¡°I¡¯m a Grandmaster with the Jai, and you just handled me like a child.¡± ¡°Past life memories or dedication since childhood?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°I can tell you¡¯re only in your forties.¡± ¡°My dedication to the blade awakened memories,¡± advised Jinfeng. ¡°It was shocking.¡± ¡°Memories that come out of nowhere,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Another thing we have in common.¡± Jinfeng frowned. ¡°Master Livia said you¡¯re a Grandmaster, but I didn¡¯t expect you to have equal advancement with a blade and your open-handed style.¡± ¡°My style incorporates multiple weapons and unarmed techniques from multiple sources,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s like comparing your ability in one to someone with dozens of unarmed styles.¡± ¡°Perhaps meeting you might be more auspicious than I first thought,¡± allowed Jinfeng. ¡°Another exchange?¡± ¡°Shall we focus on our blade work?¡± Jinfeng nodded. I¡¯d love to know what her Dao is, but it''s rude to pry. As Jinfeng tried to flow around her, Amdirlain kept her response times slow enough to match. Though the young master¡¯s hair had relaxed into normal movement, Amdirlain sank into the meditative state of Harmony and set to mirroring her. The issues became immediately noticeable to Amdirlain; the curved tip of her blade and her flowing movements frequently interfered with Jinfeng¡¯s strikes. As soon as Jinfeng adapted, Amdirlain switched hands, though she continued sparring with only a single blade. Little tells of frustration flared only to be quashed, and Amdirlain caught the first moment of insight within a shift in Jinfeng¡¯s grip. Amdirlain kept the pressure on and Jinfeng¡¯s movements and balance changed at first by tiny adjustments to the blades'' tempo against each other, followed by wholesale shifts in posture. As Amdirlain ratched the pressure further, a notification flashed. [Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (111->112) Perception [S] (146->147)] Oh! But I wasn¡¯t even trying to inspire her? Though Jinfeng possessed Immortal Spirit, she still had far to go, and with only the speed of Mortal flesh, Amdirlain could have easily overpowered her. As the adjustments in Jinfeng¡¯s techniques grew more pronounced, Amdirlain changed things further. Her blade straightened to a matching Jai, and she started to switch hands in mid-attack. Once Jinfeng began to adapt to that, the blade started to shift forms from one moment to the next. Through it all, Amdirlain continued to counter her attacks and press when she retreated. Throughout their exchanges, Amdirlain learned about her sparring partner¡¯s physical limitations, and she quickened the pace slightly beyond what Jinfeng could manage. Cuts started to appear on Jinfeng¡¯s body, and she desperately fought to establish control by excising ounces of inefficiency from her motions. The Ki moving through her body sealed the wounds and eased the strain on her lungs and heart as Jinfeng recovered ground. Each time they reached a new equilibrium, Amdirlain pushed Jinfeng harder. Her blade again opened nicks in silk and flesh, but Jinfeng endured the injuries rather than surrender. Amdirlain saw the instant when inspiration turned into evolution, and the efficiency of Jinfeng¡¯s motions leapt. Her steps gained a dance-like quality that was a pale imitation of Amdirlain¡¯s lethal grace but spoke of the session¡¯s impact. The slightest flexing of her arm or shift in her posture now dramatically shifted the approach of an attack or counter. Still, the brutal session wasn¡¯t without cost, and with Jinfeng breathing hard, Amdirlain slowly wound down the pace until they lowered their swords simultaneously. [Dance [G] (24->25) Perception [S] (147->148) Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (114->115)] ¡°How are you feeling, Master Lu?¡± asked Amdirlain. A song that Amdirlain added to the anchors cleaned and restored Jinfeng¡¯s clothing. Jinfeng clasped the palm of one hand over her fist and bowed deeply. ¡°Sifu, I would be honoured if you¡¯d call me Jinfeng.¡± I got promoted to teacher after playing Death by a Thousand Cuts for two hours. I doubt she¡¯d find it acceptable to call me Am. ¡°Don¡¯t you already have a Sifu, Jinfeng?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I find it hard to believe one as skilled as yourself in this monastery is without a mentor.¡± ¡°My original Sifu was a guard in my family''s employ, but he wasn¡¯t a practitioner,¡± explained Jinfeng. ¡°My parents hadn¡¯t allowed me to come study at the monastery, and my proficiency with the blade turned off those suitors they sought for me. When my memories stirred at seventeen, I was already past the age when most masters would select a student to guide in their special techniques, and my family were merchants without a martial or monastery influence.¡± ¡°And you hadn¡¯t selected a Class?¡± ¡°My Sifu believed my growing Skill would see me gain something far better if I held off,¡± explained Jinfeng. ¡°You¡¯re an acknowledged Master while I¡¯m a monastery guest,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Why would you wish to have me as a Sifu? Might it not cause you trouble with other masters?¡± ¡°I control my decisions and do not control theirs,¡± replied Jinfeng. ¡°Even if they don¡¯t react as I would like, it is still in my control to decide how I¡¯ll react.¡± ¡°I run a teaching session before breakfast and currently teach my only other student here. You can also bring whoever can convince you to share that time with them.¡± Jinfeng bowed again. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure only those who understand the worth of your time come along.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re ready to work hard.¡± ¡°Sifu, I would be disappointed with anything less after today¡¯s session.¡± ¡°Best get your students on their way,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°It will be time for the evening meal soon.¡± Jinfeng straightened, spun on her heel, and glided towards the training hall¡¯s entrance. As she did, Jinfeng issued instructions that lit a fire under those still seated. My decisions are in my control, but I hope I don¡¯t screw up. When her latest guests departed, Amdirlain shifted to an empty Demi-Plane. 400 - Let you down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane No sooner had Amdirlain materialised to float above the barren landscape than a presence flared around her and sealed the Demi-Plane¡¯s boundary. A sulphurous gaze manifested in mid-air about half a kilometre ahead of her, each eye some hundred metres across, but surrounding them was only the faintest hint of scales staring at her from planes away. Yeah, she was biding her time. ¡°Amdirlain, I heard your words with the Human Cyrus and thought I should correct your perception of me,¡± announced N¨¹wa. ¡°I¡¯m glad my daughter found her way to you.¡± ¡°N¨¹wa, I didn¡¯t expect you to be so congenial to me,¡± said Amdirlain carefully. Fear crawled up her spine, but Amdirlain locked it behind her Mental Hardening not wanting to risk N¨¹wa sensing it. Laughter rumbled in the surrounding emptiness. ¡°Then your memory is faulty. Not completely unexpected of most reincarnations, but I had expected more from one coming from Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have all the memories of your interactions with Orh¨ºthurin,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°So I¡¯ve only your chosen abode and reputation to guide me.¡± ¡°And tales that Sidero told you of me,¡± added N¨¹wa. ¡°Though her interaction with me was minimal, aside from breaks in her training and assignments.¡± ¡°You knew who she was from the start, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Her and your friend Isa,¡± confirmed N¨¹wa. ¡°I expect you to repay me for the protections I provided her.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°When her first song echoed off the stone in her prison cell, I confused those that investigated,¡± said N¨¹wa. ¡°You owe me for ensuring none considered the possibility of True Song. Given the emotions her Soul had for Julia I knew who it had to be, and Sidero knew how she¡¯d died.¡± Amdirlain felt spikes of fear battering away at her Mental Hardening and shifted her gaze from N¨¹wa¡¯s eyes. ¡°I have a gift for you,¡± continued N¨¹wa. ¡°As I just mentioned, Lady N¨¹wa, I don¡¯t have all my recollections of you, so I¡¯m unsure why you¡¯d be offering me any gifts,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Especially given you just said you expected your protection of Isa would need to be repaid. Would you do me the honour of advising me on the real purpose of your visit?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll make what I want from you clear,¡± replied N¨¹wa. ¡°I want to control Atonement when you are done with it.¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. N¨¹wa snorted. ¡°You don¡¯t know what I intend, and you¡¯d refuse me?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want now, but you wanted to make the wicked suffer,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is that still the case?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± confirmed N¨¹wa. ¡°Though there are some wicked whose suffering is more important to me than others.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no intention of making the souls suffer,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Atonement won¡¯t be a Plane to inflict suffering.¡± ¡°What was your intention, then?¡± snapped N¨¹wa. ¡°How will you ensure they make amends? Do not others deserve to know those who made them suffer have, in turn, suffered? Like the one who cursed you?¡± An image appeared of an impaled figure with the sigil of the Titan¡¯s Maze upon his chest. The focus of the illusion expanded to show her former stalker¡¯s surroundings. The end of his spike was supported above an iron pan that collected his blood, along with the Soul motes torn free by blades within him. Dozens of ebony-skinned succubi used it as an obscene punch bowl, consuming the blood and Soul fragments alike. Beyond them, other succubi competed in a wild melee before a raised throne of carved bone that Naamah occupied. While her attention primarily lingered on those fighting before her; an Incubus knelt between her feet and had his face pressed between her thighs. Her wings were outstretched behind her and beat in time to the tempo of his ministrations. The expanding focus of the illusion showed Amdirlain the elaborately decorated columns and walls, covered with murals fashioned of carved gemstones and precious metals. Amdirlain hissed and forced herself not to grind her teeth. ¡°I plan to refresh the souls, set them back to a blank slate. Isn¡¯t oblivion punishment enough?¡± ¡°Where is the balance for those they¡¯ve wronged?¡± questioned N¨¹wa. ¡°It¡¯s not about balancing those they¡¯ve wronged. You can never repay someone for a loved one lost, and so many of the damned have done unforgivable things,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That is why I¡¯ll completely reset each Soul. Some will need to work for me before that reset, and others will work afterwards, but they¡¯ll all go through oblivion. People can take comfort in knowing that some evil individuals lose all chance at an afterlife.¡± ¡°You had no problems adding to your stalker¡¯s torment,¡± stated N¨¹wa. ¡°Some pains are only eased by knowing those who caused it are paying for the suffering they¡¯ve caused.¡± ¡°How did you even know about him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve known about him since you found him. I watched over your shoulder as you lashed out in rage at him,¡± said N¨¹wa. ¡°You¡¯ve waded through so much torment that you¡¯ve often drawn my attention. Do you want to know who he once was? Or the details of how far he fell with you dragging him through lives?¡± His Soul didn¡¯t have the feel of an Anar. ¡°Not particularly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know how she came to take possession of him?¡± ¡°I told Naamah where to find him and when to steal him from Moloch¡¯s store room.¡± At N¨¹wa¡¯s use of her name, Naamah pushed the Incubus aside and snapped to her feet. Her gaze scanned the air, and N¨¹wa¡¯s will strengthened the faint tendril of attention that touched the Demi-Plane. Meanwhile, the beacon of Moloch¡¯s name was casually snuffed out. ¡°Should I allow her to join this conversation?¡± asked N¨¹wa. ¡°She¡¯s so eager to do so.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer it remain just the two of us,¡± replied Amdirlain politely. ¡°But she and her Fallen allies had gone to great lengths to gain a toy for me. I believe you remember Castellan.¡± Another image showed a Succubus suspended mid-air by a series of barbed hooks. Her gaping wounds and shattered wings marred the standard uniform appearance once maintained by the Sisterhood. A Kyton wearing red chains similar to what Sidero had worn listened and followed her elders¡¯ instructions on vivisection. The blades at the end of the chains danced along the Castellan¡¯s arms; trails of parting flesh traced the outline of the muscle strands in her biceps. The knowledge that the Kyton was Sidero¡¯s daughter pressed into Amdirlain. Through the veil of chains across the young Kyton¡¯s face, Amdirlain caught hints of a smile that seemed a predatory version of Sarah¡¯s occasional grin. The sight of Castellan stirred her memory of the angry conversation she¡¯d had with Rahka in the cloister, convincing Amdirlain further of their involvement with Naamah. Allies? Was it someone else within the Cloister? Or someone not following the path? ¡°Sidero¡¯s daughter has grown skilled over the years, though her progression isn¡¯t as fast as her mother¡¯s rise,¡± commented N¨¹wa casually. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d like to correct that issue?¡± ¡°I gave Naamah a crystal to help find Baln¨¦rith,¡± said Amdirlain, ignoring N¨¹wa¡¯s hint. ¡°I¡¯m sure Castellan''s capture occurred while she played with Baln¨¦rith.¡± ¡°Indeed, the Castellan was caught then, but your trinket of tracking was insufficient. Naamah came to me, and I refined it for her. Yet even that refinement doesn¡¯t help, since Baln¨¦rith has changed her name. Unfortunately, Naamah didn¡¯t take a trophy for me to use.¡± Yeah, that¡¯s a lost option. ¡°Indeed, you should have acted on it sooner or spoken to me, and we could have come to an arrangement. I¡¯ve watched on while concepts and deities, unwitting of who they toyed with, had you struggle against their machinations,¡± said N¨¹wa. ¡°I¡¯m glad you had fun,¡± drawled Amdirlain. Fuck girl, back to poking bears? The pressure of her awareness settled on Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve so enjoyed your suffering and determination. The fear within you as you severed your own legs and found they wouldn¡¯t heal is a memory I¡¯ll savour for centuries. We might have spoken then if only the little Phoenix had arrived later.¡± ¡°Why show me these two?¡± asked Amdirlain, ignoring the content edge in N¨¹wa¡¯s tone. ¡°Do you not see how poisonous love can be? Or how its traitorous nature can destroy one¡¯s sanity? Two greater beings brought low by the love they held for another.¡± ¡°My stalker didn¡¯t love me. He was obsessed with owning me,¡± dismissed Amdirlain. A black-haired woman clad in a layered white dress bound at the waist with a midnight sash appeared in the air before Amdirlain. The enormous sulphurous eyes vanished as she appeared, but the same glow shone from beneath her closed eyelids. Concentrated energy leaked across rounded cheekbones and ice-blue lips before it washed her white dress into a putrid hue. ¡°Love is merely a different flavour of obsession. Do you know the depths of foulness to which love can drive a being? The suffering so many have inflicted on others, all in the name of someone or something they¡¯ve loved? Do you know how neglected or lost love rips them apart? You should know. Is there any greater punishment than love denied? Or torment greater than love killed? Do you know how it hollows you out inside?¡± Amdirlain caught crackling notes in her form¡¯s theme and allowed N¨¹wa¡¯s questions to flow past her. ¡°Did you send an Avatar?¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you could leave Hell.¡± ¡°You are wrong and right,¡± N¨¹wa replied. ¡°I¡¯ve never wanted to interact with anyone outside Hell before now, but I knew you wouldn¡¯t come to me. Not that my physical body can leave Hell, but an Avatar is merely a projection of will. Deities don¡¯t see them that way, but they¡¯re woefully stupid and ignorant.¡± ¡°Cyrus didn¡¯t draw your attention, did he?¡± asked Amdirlain. A smirk twisted N¨¹wa¡¯s mouth as she slowly shook her head. ¡°I felt you emerge into the Abyss through Shindraithra¡¯s link to you. It screamed for her to come to you when Nicholaus¡¯ servants finally released you from temporal stasis. I snuffed that call out before she felt it. That was an interesting event. With all of Gideon¡¯s permutations, I¡¯m surprised they didn¡¯t shatter with the stress of deciding which moment provided at least a slim chance of you evading capture. If you¡¯d been close at hand, I would have scooped you up.¡± ¡°Why did you name Gideon and draw their focus?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the little crystal ball,¡± laughed N¨¹wa bitterly. ¡°They¡¯re trying to figure out what we¡¯re talking about now, but I¡¯ll ensure this conversation stays between us until we¡¯re done. Or should I put the little knowledge bug in their place? Would you like me to keep them out of your head? Keep them from knowing your every idle thought? Should I flood Gideon with everything I¡¯ve ever kept from them, see if they shatter? Trying to peek when I wished my turn to speak with you.¡± The sharp fury in N¨¹wa¡¯s voice threatened to shatter Amdirlain¡¯s Mental Hardening. ¡°Please leave them alone,¡± gasped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re not here to talk about Gideon or anyone else. What do you wish to talk about?¡± The wisp of Naamah¡¯s attention was snuffed out. ¡°Are you sure I didn¡¯t want to discuss them?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Are they worth your time?¡± A platform appeared beneath Amdirlain¡¯s feet, and polished black wood furniture seamlessly emerged. N¨¹wa sat down, timing the growth of a chair behind her perfectly. ¡°You¡¯re too Human still. Work on cutting out those weaknesses. Sit down.¡± A low table carved with figures from Chinese mythology appeared between them with a white jade tea set, fragrant tea steaming from the suddenly filled cups. When Amdirlain regarded the cups warily, N¨¹wa waved at them. ¡°Is this not what your little daughter offers you to relax?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure neither tea nor sitting is going to help me with that,¡± said Amdirlain, but she sat on the front edge of the chair that rose behind her and folded her hands in her lap. ¡°Your presence is very overwhelming.¡± ¡°What your friends did to your stalker¡¯s memories was interesting,¡± remarked N¨¹wa casually. ¡°It was such an interesting and time-wasting trap. It had the pest Moloch chasing his tail, which was amusing.¡± ¡°You enjoyed his suffering as well,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Are you enjoying tormenting me with this nerve-wracking conversation?¡± ¡°Should not the wicked suffer?¡± N¨¹wa smiled broadly, and the slight parting of her lips showed fangs. ¡°I know your panic is banging away behind the steel walls you¡¯ve built in your mind. You don¡¯t have to compartmentalise your emotions anymore. You let them struggle and thrash, recognising each but letting it die in the darkness behind your barriers, as futile as Jinfeng¡¯s flailing to overcome you.¡± Amdirlain stiffened before forcing herself to sit back. ¡°You want Atonement. Why?¡± ¡°There are beings more wicked than any Mortal, and I want their ilk to suffer as well,¡± laughed N¨¹wa, but it resonated with wails of fury and anguish, sounds that Amdirlain knew originated from the victims of N¨¹wa¡¯s kytons. ¡°It was not mortals that killed my husband.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t give you Atonement, but I will repay you for the protection you provided Isa,¡± said Amdirlain. N¨¹wa¡¯s predatory smile expanded. ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t? I could ensure you beg me to take it if I set myself against you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you could,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But no, it will be for those souls¡¯ rebirth, not torture. You could only be involved if you followed all the rules I laid out for it, and if you did, I¡¯m sure it would dilute your natures.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯d be a fit version of the Yomi King for this entire realm, Amdirlain,¡± stated N¨¹wa. ¡°When you¡¯re done setting it up, give the plane to my control, and I¡¯ll ensure everything atones for its wickedness.¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re overlaying your standards and expectations of how the Plane will be set up,¡± chided Amdirlain. You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. N¨¹wa laughed. ¡°Perhaps you don¡¯t see how I could work within your intended rules.¡± ¡°N¨¹wa, we both can see the loophole in what you just said, and that¡¯s even less reason to let you be involved with the Plane¡¯s operation,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The mortals aren¡¯t even what you¡¯re after¡ªyou want those whose power should have increased through receiving those souls to suffer, correct?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± hissed N¨¹wa. ¡°Then you can delight in its creation. What greater torment for them to know that they¡¯ll never get the souls? To know all those souls¡¯ deeds have burned away. To know so many souls won¡¯t even have the residual vileness of a previous life that might steer them into darkness? If you want to make them suffer, ensure their agents can¡¯t interfere with Atonement.¡± N¨¹wa¡¯s renewed laughter was a frenzy of sound that battered Amdirlain¡¯s mind with her cruel amusement. Yet it was clear the claws of sound could have obliterated Amdirlain instead of scratching across her mental barriers. ¡°No, I won¡¯t make it easy for you. I might even send worthy foes to test your strength. I¡¯ll continue to watch for now, but if I feel you¡¯re faltering, I¡¯ll step in and take everything related to this place of Atonement that you¡¯ve built. Your Soul might be the first I put through the process you¡¯ve developed before I return it to your father¡¯s care.¡± The platform vanished with N¨¹wa, and Amdirlain caught herself and floated trembling in the darkness. ¡°Faltering according to whose standards?¡± asked Amdirlain, but no response came. With N¨¹wa gone, Amdirlain waited until the mental agony from being in N¨¹wa¡¯s presence had calmed. [Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (107->108) Mental Hardening [S] (48->50) Note: Her daughters are always ecstatic to be in her presence. Note: I didn¡¯t even know she had been watching you. Ori isn¡¯t the only one able to keep secrets from me.] What is Bahamut up to? Why did he use something she gave him to arrange a meeting with the Jade Emperor? When did she even give it to him? He didn¡¯t draw N¨¹wa¡¯s attention to me. Was he provoking her into showing her hand so I¡¯d know without telling me directly? I can¡¯t tell Sarah about this meeting. Another blade poised overhead, joy! With the lingering energy of N¨¹wa polluting the place, Amdirlain shattered the Demi-Plane¡¯s boundary and let the chaos streams flood in. Before she vanished to another Demi-Plane, she scrubbed away all traces of N¨¹wa¡¯s scent. When Amdirlain appeared in the next Demi-Plane, she pushed the visit behind her and ignored the possibility that N¨¹wa was still watching. Her melody expanded the Demi-Plane¡¯s boundary, stretching it further by the minute. With her focus on smoothing out the burrs in her songs, a notification quickly signalled an improvement in True Song Genesis as it grew large enough to encompass Earth. As the complexity and number of themes involved in extending it climbed, so did the challenge of smoothing away the burrs. Though the rules she¡¯d set in the Demi-Plane generated its own atmosphere, Amdirlain supplemented its efforts to ramp up the challenge. Once its radius exceeded ninety thousand kilometres, the expansion slowed. It felt glacially slow at the two hundred thousand mark; the following four kilometres added a volume of near Earth-size to the sphere, and its expansion continued to slow because of the sheer volume involved. [True Song Genesis [G] (22->23) Note: Yep, make an enormous ball and ignore other issues.] The latest notification spurred her to fight against the strain involved, though Gideon¡¯s taunt didn¡¯t even warrant a reaction. Amdirlain had been at it for nearly four hours when a Message from Sarah reached her. Though she momentarily debated continuing, Amdirlain closed off the expansion and replied with the Demi-Plane¡¯s details. A Gate opened in the Demi-Plain¡¯s centre, showing the backdrop of a cliff-side, and Sarah stepped through in her willowy Human form. The rustle of her leathers didn¡¯t echo back despite the stillness, and Sarah sniffed the air curiously. ¡°There isn¡¯t even a hint of a boundary scent. How big did you make this place?¡± ¡°Its diameter is a tiny smidge over four hundred thousand,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The effort has provided a nice progression in True Song.¡± ¡°A tiny smidge is a little redundant,¡± noted Sarah drily. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Eighteen kilometres.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Practise,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°More importantly, practice that didn¡¯t flood me with experience. I earn experience from making the seeds, environments, biomes, and challenges, not from blowing up the balloons.¡± ¡°Interesting. At least you¡¯ve got a way to push your skills up. I did some Class research for you while enjoying the mountain air currents,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°I found something that might help since it will add to your Quickness and Willpower, but it¡¯s not a Monk Class.¡± I got focused on the lessons Cyrus had for me and didn¡¯t even ask. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Alarca Maeth,¡± said Sarah. ¡°There are others, but that one gives the biggest gains of both attributes.¡± The translation from Elven made its name clear, but the phrase swift battle carried a violent edge to it. [Alarca Maeth Requirements:
  • One or more combat skills in Grandmaster rank.
  • Perception in Grandmaster rank.
  • Death Strike in Grandmaster rank.
  • Silent Kill in Grandmaster rank.
  • Suppress Target in Grandmaster rank.
  • Assassin and a melee Class have combined into a Tier 5+ Prestige Class.
Increased chance of insights into combat and infiltration skills. Powers available for acquisition:
  • Immediate evolution of Death Strike.
  • Immediate evolution of Suppress Target.
Attribute Adjustments: +3 Quickness per level. +3 Willpower per level. +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22. +2 Melee Attack Power per Level. +1 Defence per Level. Details: This evolved Base Class favours swift, targeted strikes against foes.] ¡°Have you and Ebusuku been exchanging notes?¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°At least you¡¯re not sending me to an Assassin guild this time.¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re often getting into trouble alone. With your ability to move about fast, you can easily get into a position to kill someone before they know you¡¯re there. On top of that, Analysis helps you identify options for Suppress Target, making it easy to apply, particularly with your Willpower.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to have to find foes to beat up,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t think any Base Class would give decent attributes. While it¡¯s low compared to Fallen or my recent acquisitions, it¡¯s leagues above my first classes.¡± ¡°The stronger your foundations, the stronger you can grow,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°The downside for you is that it needs three skills at Grandmaster, which you¡¯ve not progressed to Senior Master. You¡¯re close to qualifying for another option, but it doesn¡¯t help Willpower. That one¡¯s name is: Maicatur.¡± Duelling lord, but with an implication of swiftness. [Maicatur Requirements:
  • One or more combat skills in Grandmaster rank.
  • Perception in Grandmaster rank.
  • Agile in Grandmaster rank.
  • Quickness over five hundred.
  • Three combat classes having previously merged into Tier 4 or higher Prestige classes.
Powers available for acquisition:
  • Hasten
  • Flicker
Increased chance of insights into combat and movement skills. Attribute Adjustments: +4 Quickness per level. +4 Free Attribute points every four levels past level 22. +3 Melee Attack Power per level. +1 Defence per level. +2 Skill points per level. Details: This Class focuses on using swift and fluid combat styles. While its possessors typically seek fights against individual foes via duels or challenges, they¡¯re not hampered during ?large-scale battles.] [Hasten: By burning Mana, the possessor speeds up their body¡¯s reaction time. While initially minor, the boost causes significant increases in Quickness as the Power progresses.] [Flicker: An evolution of Blink, this Power allows for rapid line-of-sight teleports centred around a target.] One interesting option and one that likely would merge with my Greater Teleport. ¡°I don¡¯t quite qualify for that one,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°But I could with a bit of work. I¡¯ve got forty-seven points available, and applying Muse¡¯s Insight helped me increase my Perception.¡± ¡°Given that it gives two points for skills at each level, using your store of points to gain it would get quickly reimbursed,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°If I take that and raise the levels of my existing classes, I could accept the transformation. But I¡¯ll likely need my True Song Genesis evolved to get a stronger Base Class after I¡¯ve got Class spots free again,¡± pondered Amdirlain. ¡°Surely you¡¯ve gotten better ones than Ostim? and Ont?lin offered?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°Yes, just not ones that are good enough yet,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Especially since I¡¯ve got access to someone who can help me push my True Song skills.¡± That goes for my combat skills as well. What classes would I get offered if I evolved them further? The downside of accumulating experience points quickly is that I¡¯ve not progressed in various skills. ¡°Are you dragging Gilorn back?¡± Amdirlain nodded and cast a Message Spell. ¡°Gail, would you and Gilorn come to visit me at the monastery? I need her help with True Song.¡± ¡°Not telling her you¡¯ve learnt to play a floor harp yet?¡± Amdirlain took in the smile that curved Sarah¡¯s lips and restrained a rueful shake of her head. My decisions are in my control. I can¡¯t imagine life without her. Can I learn to look past flesh properly? I procrastinated with Torm, which cost us so much of the time we could have enjoyed together. ¡°Something on your mind?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Am I that transparent?¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°I was just dwelling on something a few people have said.¡± Chords jangled inside Sarah, but she merely tilted her head slightly. ¡°Oh? Someone stuck their nose in.¡± ¡°No, they talked about other people and life¡¯s paths, but it gave me context. I don¡¯t know how things will be between us, but I¡¯m willing to give us a shot,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s composure shattered; her gaze went wide, and tears glistened as emotions rampaged. ¡°No.¡± ¡°No?¡± asked Amdirlain, failing to keep the shock from her voice. ¡°A relationship for you isn¡¯t about giving us a shot. If you¡¯re not sure, then you still need more time,¡± insisted Sarah. ¡°When you¡¯re sure about something, you¡¯re immovable unless the evidence mounts up or the world explodes around you. I will wait until you are sure because I want ¡®us¡¯ to be your immovable constant. I want you to be sure I¡¯ll always love and be there for you. Until you reach that point, holding your hand, being around you, and sneaking the odd kiss on the cheek is enough for me.¡± ¡°So, no, as in not yet,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s sigh shuddered through her. ¡°Amdirlain, you said you needed time to get your head on straight. I¡¯m not rushing you to do that. I can wait thousands of years, and even if you pick someone else, I¡¯d consider it time well invested because it¡¯s time I gave you.¡± ¡°I wasted time I could have had- ¡° ¡°That¡¯s why you need to stop,¡± said Sarah as she gently tapped Amdirlain¡¯s chin. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to start anything because of regrets. I know how your self-doubt and regrets can eat you alive. If the ¡®us¡¯ option doesn¡¯t fill you with joy, then it¡¯s not a path to start down, maybe not now or never. Give the idea time to grow or not at its own pace.¡± ¡°But- ¡° Sarah put a finger to Amdirlain¡¯s lips and gently shook her head. ¡°Please take your time. I¡¯m not pushing you for an answer because what I want is what makes you happy. Acting from regret isn¡¯t something that brings happiness, it just eases one fear and potentially replaces it with doubt.¡± Amdirlain opened her mouth to protest, but Sarah kept her finger against her lips. ¡°What?¡± rasped Amdirlain. ¡°You didn¡¯t have that radiant glow you get when you¡¯re thrilled with something,¡± replied Sarah, dropping her hand to her side. ¡°Did I have that talking about Torm?¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯ve had it for everyone you¡¯ve opened your heart to romantically,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s how I know you¡¯re still unsure. If you need to go through the motions so you get comfortable with the idea, then it feels like you¡¯re choosing to try for the wrong reasons. You¡¯ve got regrets, and you¡¯re looking to act because of the fear of missing out again. I get it, I do, but I don¡¯t want a relationship spurred by fear. I want one grown with love, and you deserve that relationship.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t imagine life without you,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± said Sarah, conviction ringing in her voice and theme. ¡°You could fall in love with someone tomorrow and end up marrying them, and I will still be here supporting them to give you even more happiness. I¡¯m not lusting after you, Amdirlain. I love you, and I always will. Your happiness, seeing you glow with it, that¡¯s what I want for your life. If I can¡¯t inspire that in you, I¡¯m not the right person for you, no matter how I feel.¡± Though Amdirlain wanted to groan in frustration, she raised her hands in surrender. ¡°I¡¯ll shut up.¡± I¡¯m back to keeping secrets from her already. Is it a surprise she doesn¡¯t think my suggestion was a good idea? How do I talk to her about N¨¹wa and seeing her daughter? ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°If you need to talk to me about churning thoughts, regrets, or whatever, I¡¯ll listen. I¡¯m only holding up the stop sign on changing our relationship further before you¡¯re sure.¡± ¡°Consent requires both parties,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah snorted in dry amusement. ¡°Yes, and I¡¯m not consenting to a change you¡¯re lukewarm about, sweetie. You got swept up in a surge of emotion from those memories, and I¡¯m not holding that against you. I¡¯ll always treasure the fact that what you experienced could move you and even make you consider me. You told me that in my original life, I made Ori utter a stupid promise without regard for her feelings. I didn¡¯t want to die thinking she¡¯d have no one to love her, and that ended up hurting her for aeons. So if there is never anything further romantically between us, then my choice caused this, not you.¡± ¡°Okay, I get where you¡¯re coming from, and I won¡¯t pursue it,¡± sighed Amdirlain, quickly adding. ¡°For now. But this isn¡¯t over, I¡¯ll keep working on my issues.¡± With the palms of her hands, Sarah scrubbed the unshed tears away. When they lowered, she settled her mask of composure into place. ¡°What you got planned, sweetie?¡± Get back to business, it¡¯s safer. Despite the scrambling anxiety, Amdirlain smiled politely to ensure she hid it. ¡°I was going to make that hollow Earth Demi-Plane, and I¡¯ve been thinking about Qil Tris. This Demi-Plane got completely out of hand, so I¡¯ll use it for experimentation or a firing range.¡± ¡°What about Qil Tris was bugging you?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The training complexes and the ghost caverns.¡± Sarah frowned in confusion. ¡°Why are you back to thinking about the ghost caverns? You said the divine curse was too much to take on.¡± ¡°Took much to take on, but bypass? That¡¯s far less work,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°This should be good. How is dealing with a divine curse less work?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°The curse feeds off the life experiences of the souls passing through their conduits,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°The curse uses the world¡¯s link to the Astral Plane to form the conduits.¡± Sarah smiled viciously. ¡°You¡¯re planning to gut the curse by starving it.¡± ¡°And I have two options to do it,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°The nature of souls naturally transitions them to the Astral Plane. That¡¯s why astral pools form, because of the repeated transition of souls, like a path worn by those previously crossed over. They then travel through the Astral Plane and transition again close to the Plane they¡¯re bound to seek, whether Judgment or elsewhere. Hell doesn¡¯t allow a direct transition since the devils took control so they go through Hades¡¯ astral pool.¡± I¡¯m rambling, and Sarah¡¯s letting me ramble. ¡°Is the curse manifesting the ghost caverns inside the event horizon of that pool?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°Is that where you got the idea of playing games with connecting Atonement?¡± ¡°Yep, on both counts,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t have to be the smartest person. Sometimes, re-engineering ideas someone else has come up with is the best solution. Anyway, I can put my connections to the Astral Plane at the entrance to the ghost caverns or cause the souls to stay in the world longer and route them to the Outlands¡¯ Portal. I¡¯ll need to complete the training complexes before I do either as the cities will lose the materials from the ghost caverns. That brings me to my other topic, using a layout of hollow Earth for each Demi-Plane. I could go one per city or multiple cities linked to one.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to throw people off if you suddenly change the training complexes,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°Not to mention the issue with cities coming into conflict if they¡¯re linked to the same Demi-Plane. If you want to build a hollow Earth, maybe use it for the monastery or the kingdoms.¡± ¡°I was trying to reduce the work I needed to do,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. ¡°You¡¯d only need to do that work if the ghost caverns remained a threat. How many cities already have training complexes with challenges rated to provide mithril and adamantine?¡± Amdirlain hummed in dissatisfaction. ¡°Cities would go to war to control the training complexes already in place. I¡¯m back to a catch-22 about disrupting their countries unless I put them in place.¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest one small hollow Earth-type or ring world Demi-Plane for each city. Have a beginning zone like your games had and ensure creatures can¡¯t migrate along the curve,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°You started planning to cover around three and a half thousand cities, but most of them only have a few levels in a chain set up so far.¡± ¡°I might set up one of each and get someone to see what they think once ready,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Someone?¡± queried Sarah suspiciously. ¡°I know a few people on Qil Tris. Do you think anyone would freak out hearing from me?¡± ¡°Depends if they shared the recording or not,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll have to figure something out. I¡¯ll need both feedback from their perspective and someone to smooth out my advanced warning.¡± The pair hopped to another Demi-Plane. 401 - Eyes on me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane The empty Demi-Plane lit up as Phoenix¡¯s Rapture ignited. With the Power actively supporting her efforts, Amdirlain quickly extended the Demi-Plane to a radius of three thousand kilometres. As she went to create the bedrock, Amdirlain forced herself to stop. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°Should I get Roher, Isa, and Gail here to contribute? They said filling in the old demi-planes was exhausting, but we could do it together,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Or is that crazy?¡± ¡°Are you looking to power level Gail after you pointed out the issue this amount of ¡®easy¡¯ experience has caused you?¡± asked Sarah, air-quoting the word easy. Amdirlain opened her mouth to argue, only to close it and wave her arms about. ¡°Maybe just Roher? He could help support the bedrock and a range of other elements. He mentioned some L¨®m? had gained a level for the first time in ages through enchanting work on the crystals.¡± ¡°I get you wanting to help them,¡± said Sarah. ¡°The issue is working as a team; Gideon is going to apportion the experience equally to all those who contribute. How much experience do you expect this Demi-Plane to get you? It won¡¯t impact Roher, but Gail and, to a lesser extent, Isa is another matter.¡± ¡°Potentially far too much. At least ten or twelve times what the Dragon honeymoon suite netted me unless I use extensive, mana-supported biomes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It could be less than that since I won¡¯t try to stuff so many biomes into place. The Demi-Plane¡¯s layout has to include enough separation of the biome type to be counted¡ªa forested plain that merges into forested hills count as one biome.¡± ¡°Stable weather in an area spreads forests. If you actually wanted more experience, you could set up bands of forest separate by plains and get experience that way,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°The choirs worked with thousands of singers to create worlds; that was with them already having crazy levels, so the experience gain likely wasn¡¯t insane.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to balance the growth of my skills against experience surges,¡± huffed Amdirlain ¡°Create some enormous demi-planes that are effectively empty balloons then,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°You could then come back and make small planets floating in them. The layers of Carceri are essentially that on an infinite scale.¡± ¡°I could create some larger aerial demi-planes that counted as a single large biome,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°If I filled them with air elementals, I could maybe use those for high-end levels in the training complexes. Expanding the Demi-Plane beyond a certain limit puts True Song under strain because I must push the boundary line evenly.¡± ¡°After you¡¯ve created a variety of aquatic and aerial demi-planes, you could merge them into the Elemental Plane of Water or Air,¡± proposed Sarah. Amdirlain smiled ruefully. ¡°Once I¡¯ve remembered the songs to handle it properly. However, I feel I would need to balance out the Elemental Plane of Fire and Earth.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just odd how those planes aren¡¯t infinite, isn¡¯t it?¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Still, their limits give you a place to join the demi-planes to them, tuck them in at the outer limits and help push the realm¡¯s skin out further.¡± ¡°They¡¯re part of the metaphysical hub,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°They can¡¯t be infinite without eliminating the boundary between the elemental regions, which would then screw up the metaphysics of energy exchange within the realm.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Amdirlain blinked and cracked her neck from side to side. ¡°Weird. I don¡¯t remember when I learned that, but it feels true. It might have been among the surge of details I recalled about the planar framework.¡± ¡°Maybe talk to Gilorn about the billions of demi-planes she talked about creating with Ori,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°I got a Message from Gail earlier. They¡¯re mopping up the last of the gnarls, and she¡¯ll come to see me after they¡¯re done,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Let me see if Roher is available.¡± Amdirlain released a Message Spell. ¡°Roher, I was wondering if you¡¯d have time to visit a Demi-Plane I¡¯m considering setting up. Let me know if you won¡¯t have time soon.¡± The Message also contained the Demi-Plane¡¯s theme so he could transport himself. ¡°How much time should we give-¡° A Gate opened from a moonlit clearing strewn with night-blooming flowers and framed Roher against the forest beyond him. His silvery hair was loose and draped past his shoulders, lines creasing the corners of his emerald eyes from the beaming smile he wore. ¡°-him,¡± finished Sarah. ¡°Welcome, Roher. Amdirlain hasn¡¯t had the best of timing getting people¡¯s attention lately.¡± ¡°Senior Councillor Roher, it¡¯s good to see you,¡± Amdirlain said as she bowed. ¡°I hope the family is well.¡± As Roher stared across the threshold, an ancient memory resounded from his Soul, and he blinked slowly before offering Amdirlain a deep bow. ¡°Good evening to you, Lady Amdirlain. They are indeed well. Our children and those of other families have asked when they¡¯ll meet you. I¡¯m glad you felt able to call upon me.¡± Sarah laughed, and Amdirlain swatted her arm. ¡°Thank you, Roher. I wasn¡¯t expecting even a reply this quickly. Don¡¯t worry about Sarah¡¯s amusement. She¡¯s teasing me about titles, not laughing at you. Please come through so we can discuss a project I have in mind but want your thoughts on sharing the potential progress with others.¡± ¡°Amdirlain is right about the titles,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°Currently, she¡¯s in project mode, so be warned.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be honoured to confer with you,¡± Roher immediately stepped into the Demi-Plane, the enchantment on his boots supporting him as he walked to them through the air. The Gate closed behind him, and Roher¡¯s emerald irises gleamed like stars. He whistled softly, and his eyebrows lifted as he took in the Demi-Plane¡¯s vastness. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly grown your capabilities. This place sounds massive and new rather than something extended through sustained work.¡± Amdirlain kept the details of the massive Demi-Plane to herself and changed the subject. ¡°Did seeing this place trigger a memory for you?¡± Roher nodded slowly, his theme humming with thoughtful consideration. ¡°A young and innocent memory, floating so far away from our birth world that the light from its sun wasn¡¯t visible. We¡¯d spent centuries making plants and animals, going from one uninhabited planet to the next, and the Titan gave us his Song Bird¡¯s melodies for a sun. I caught snippets of the practice for the event and the sun¡¯s creation.¡± ¡°That must have been quite a sprint along memory leap,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It has been a long time since I gained even a fragment. I never get emotional context, unlike yourself. The memory did, however, include part of a conversation while floating in the void, and I heard myself say I¡¯d been pleased to have been included,¡± Roher explained, and his lips quirked upwards. ¡°And I heard someone grumble that Orh¨ºthurin had beat them for the conductor¡¯s spot.¡± ¡®Heard myself¡¯¡ªdo the L¨®m? have the same perspective of the memories as Sarah? ¡°One conductor for the Anar and one for the L¨®m?,¡± recalled Amdirlain, thinking back to her own memory of the event. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was annoyed afterwards. The sun was the wrong colour for the system¡¯s plan.¡± ¡°Once our excitement settled, we all knew it was too yellow, so Orh¨ºthurin sent a message to the Titan asking him for advice,¡± Roher agreed. ¡°I¡¯ve no doubt now she simply corrected the problem herself. While none of us heard the music, we heard the change in the sun. Then, different suns ignited in the void, and we heard the music to create each. We heard our parts of the music and then heard the suns being teleported away.¡± Just teleporting suns? Yeah, no doubt Ori redistributed to where they needed to be. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t remember that part. I remembered Orh¨ºthurin being frustrated with her conducting and thinking about the errors she¡¯d made.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t show any frustration, but once the initial excitement died down, someone questioned the colour, since it differed from our home¡¯s sun,¡± replied Roher. ¡°It just changed?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°No audible music at all?¡± Did she use Primordial Will? Resonance allows an individual to hear the relevant parts of reality that their Soul can handle, but does that mean the Anar and L¨®m? can¡¯t hear a Primordial¡¯s Power, only the result? How did they hear echoes of her singing? Did she develop the Power and practise it separately from her Primordial Will? I can listen to songs in the memories now, but she never considers the Power she¡¯s using. Or am I overthinking it, and she just used concealments and her Primordial Will was simply compatible with True Song? ¡°None that the recollection provided,¡± Roher clarified, bringing Amdirlain¡¯s attention back to the moment. ¡°While it could just be fragmented, I heard the music used to create the other suns. I thought I was beyond recalling memories, yet that is the oldest memory I¡¯ve ever regained.¡± ¡°Maybe Amdirlain inspired it in you,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s had quite an impact at the monastery.¡± ¡°Indeed?¡± inquired Roher curiously. ¡°Intentional inspiration or through a lingering effect?¡± ¡°Lingering? Thanks, you make it sound like an affliction,¡± grumbled Amdirlain lightly. ¡°That is not how I meant it,¡± Roher chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m just referring to your frustration with Femme Fatale and its impact on some who worked with you creating crystals¡ªthough this situation doesn¡¯t appear to have upset you.¡± ¡°I helped a Master at the monastery gain the insight to evolve a Grandmaster Skill,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°How long did it take you to cause that?¡± Roher inquired. Amdirlain smiled mischievously. ¡°I achieved it through a two-hour training session by being my usual impossible self.¡± Roher slowly shook his head before he frowned slightly. ¡°This has only occurred once?¡± ¡°True, not absolute proof. Jinfeng might have been close to evolving her Jai Skill,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll have to see if I can help others evolve their combat skills.¡± ¡°How exactly did you help her achieve the evolution?¡± Amdirlain described her use of Harmony and the pressure she applied to Jinfeng during the training session and shrugged as she finished. ¡°It was a bit of a harsh approach for me to use for most students.¡± ¡°Though Master Lu used Universal Life while fighting, you could always set a regenerative song in place. How long have you possessed Harmony?¡± ¡°Since shortly after I appeared as a Succubus¡ªit¡¯s related to the Monk Class,¡± said Amdirlain. Roher hummed thoughtfully. ¡°What does Gideon say about it?¡± ¡°The development of this Power enables Ki to grow beyond the boundary of flesh. It allows practitioners to obtain a connection to the physical and spiritual aspects of existence. As they improve this Power, they can unlock a range of additional powers,¡± recited Amdirlain, and she felt like head-butting a wall. ¡°It was right before me all along, but I overlooked it. The Power name even has a musical connotation as well.¡± ¡°That is why a choir relies on a conductor for an overall perspective,¡± said Roher. ¡°What have you been using it for?¡± ¡°A meditative assistant to move my Ki and to help me guide wizards in gaining affinities,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It recently seemed to help me jump my resistances. When I cycle Ki through my sigil, Kadaklan can see my Soul with his Third Eye, and I¡¯ve felt the spiritual net¡¯s connection to my Soul.¡± ¡°Then it is little wonder that a Power allowing you to link to the realm allows you to provide others such insights,¡± said Roher. ¡°My advice is to find the best expert in that Power and see what advantages its evolutions can afford you.¡± ¡°Meditating has always been something I¡¯ve done to hold onto sanity through pain,¡± commented Amdirlain. Roher nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Yet holding on isn¡¯t the same as progress. The development of many powers relies upon your intent while using them, and the best insights come when you push their limits.¡± ¡°I had a discussion with Kadaklan earlier about pushing limits,¡± laughed Amdirlain in disbelief. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ve been pushing the limits of the wrong skills.¡± Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°You can either stretch your imagination and see what you can work out or find an expert,¡± replied Roher. ¡°You seem to use skills and powers in unusual ways, so walking your own path now that you see the forest for the trees might prove beneficial.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been getting training in some of the Ki powers, I¡¯ll add that to the list I handle at the monastery,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Even if I don¡¯t use it exactly as they expect, learning from them will save me from reinventing the wheel.¡± ¡°Has it helped you in other ways?¡± questioned Roher. ¡°A few times, most recently with resistance progress. While not directly related, I¡¯d progressed some skills in the deeper planes of the Abyss,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°When I got the notification, Gideon made what I took to be a smart-arse remark. Now I wonder if they were trying to get me to look at Harmony.¡± Roher beckoned to Amdirlain. ¡°What did they say to you?¡± ¡°It was a two-step interaction. First, I¡¯d progressed Greater Teleport, and their note was: ¡®Are you trying to evolve that Power to help down there? Interesting choice¡¯,¡± quoted Amdirlain. ¡°Then I tried World Step, and Gideon¡¯s note after that advanced said: ¡®Nice that you remembered it, but are you sure that¡¯s the one I was talking about?¡¯.¡± ¡°Perfect memory is only useful for recalling events, but it doesn¡¯t provide insights if you don¡¯t stop occasionally to reexamine them,¡± advised Roher. ¡°You¡¯re not alone in making that mistake.¡± ¡°I honestly skipped Harmony when I reviewed the powers then, but I¡¯ll admit I¡¯d been fixated on its connection to Ki and Mana,¡± clarified Amdirlain sheepishly. ¡°Perhaps for most, that is all it does,¡± said Roher Sarah nodded. ¡°There is the implication of working together in its definition. Your Soul working with the realm and the strength of your spiritual net are likely factors.¡± Should I look to work with others, not just Roher? ¡°Should I try to reinforce my sigil?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°You might overcome the limits of the Fallen species block and end up an Immortal,¡± cautioned Sarah. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°That might stop me from getting into the deeper planes, the Eastern immortals aren¡¯t aligned on the same Outer Planes. While it might be something to think about, we¡¯ve gotten way off track.¡± ¡°What did you want to consult with me about?¡± inquired Roher. ¡°I need to control my experience growth while still taking on difficult projects to stretch my capabilities,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The easiest way I can think of doing that would be to embark on projects with other singers. What would appeal more to the L¨®m?: creating large demi-planes or populating worlds with life forms?¡± ¡°An interesting proposition,¡± murmured Roher. ¡°What sort of demi-planes did you have in mind? Given the sense of vastness this one has, I take it you¡¯re not talking about the ones you included in the training complexes?¡± An illusionary globe manifested between them, followed by various cross-sections and compositions for the most extensive sections. ¡°Who is this Demi-Plane intended for?¡± asked Roher after reviewing the illusion and the complex songs. ¡°It¡¯s larger than some moons.¡± ¡°Qil Tris. I¡¯m going to set it up to replace needing to create fifty or more individualised demi-planes,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Given its size, one of these could host training complexes connected to multiple cities.¡± ¡°I really want to do more for Qil Tris The song of the ghost caverns is appalling. I would have done more to prepare demi-planes for them, but the availability of Isa and Gail limited our work,¡± said Roher. ¡°While Isa is the stronger of the two, getting her attention can be problematic.¡± Sarah laughed good-naturedly. ¡°Only problematic?¡± ¡°I could say something about us being lucky to have had her help on other projects,¡± replied Roher. Both Amdirlain and Sarah snorted. ¡°There is another option besides these demi-planes. Do you think the L¨®m? would be more interested in helping me with these or adding life to worlds?¡± asked Amdirlain. Roher¡¯s theme resounded with confused notes, but he kept his composure. ¡°Either project involves an element of risk with exposing your secret.¡± ¡°Should I work with just yourself?¡± ¡°I feel like that would be selfish of me, especially since it wouldn¡¯t be as beneficial with your goal of restricting experience growth,¡± admitted Roher. ¡°I could likely get the help of thousands if you¡¯d restrict yourself to only singing the Anar sections.¡± ¡°No chance of me getting lost in the crowd?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I can separate the individual notes of every L¨®m? singing at once and recognise their voices. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m not the only one,¡± advised Roher. ¡°Let¡¯s handle worlds,¡± said Amdirlain, hurriedly continuing when Roher¡¯s gaze widened. ¡°I mean populating them with life, and I¡¯ll sing only the Anar sections.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see how many I can gather to discuss the matter,¡± Roher confirmed. ¡°I think many will be interested, but I¡¯m not sure when will be the best time. Shall we schedule a meeting for the monastery¡¯s evening three days hence?¡± ¡°For an initial discussion?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Roher nodded, but Amdirlain could hear a mix of doubt underlying the eagerness despite it being his proposal. ¡°Is three days a suitable time?¡± ¡°On second thoughts, let me see if I can arrange it sooner,¡± said Roher. ¡°Anyone that can¡¯t put other matters aside for you needs a severe talking to.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to rush a meeting,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°What about babysitters?¡± ¡°I¡¯m eager enough to gather everyone immediately. I never expected to find the concept of even a day¡¯s wait to be an issue. Can you come to Veht??¡± questioned Roher. ¡°Your concealments are now very robust, and I can¡¯t hear either your form or auras.¡± ¡°I can upgrade the device Sarah uses to summon me,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Would you be able to check some other concealments for me? I¡¯ve created some True Song Crystal constructions that I want to ensure are properly hidden.¡± ¡°More of them?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll reset those in Xaos if you approve of the new concealments,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I know you put a new layer over the top, but improving the others can¡¯t hurt.¡± ¡°While I have some more questions but I can come and check the concealments now,¡± said Roher. ¡°What else did you need to know?¡± ¡°Did you need songs for planets, or have you composed some already?¡± asked Roher. ¡°You¡¯ve songs for planets?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve been examining all the old records, and I know we have songs both for planets being seeded for life to evolve and for progressing planets along to a different phase. They¡¯ll require adjustment for the sun type and the planetary distance from its sun. Isa updated me about the Orrery, shouldn¡¯t you have all the planned songs?¡± Amdirlain laughed with delight. ¡°Finding a specific world among the orrery¡¯s memory crystals feels daunting. I¡¯ve been pushing my True Song Architecture so I could tackle designing from scratch. Given the last time those songs would have been used, where did you find them?¡± ¡°They were among the items we recovered from the royal vault,¡± explained Roher. ¡°None of us had time to stop to examine the contents until recently.¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to get copies. The only other option I had was Gilorn,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Roher winced. ¡°She¡¯s a stern teacher.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯m a masochist after all, since I loved training with her. Her insistence that I would not could, do better delighted me. I¡¯m sure she learned it from Ori,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Her focus was on perfection, and I know she warned some students that they might regret asking her to teach them.¡± ¡°I¡¯d never regret instruction from someone with high standards. It¡¯s always someone''s teaching style that is more important. I remember hearing Orh¨ºthurin was a fierce instructor, but not unfair nor one to put a student down. While perhaps reaching her standards might be impossible, but it would have made them better singers if they¡¯d tried,¡± countered Roher. ¡°I don¡¯t think Ori even reached her own standards. She could always find something she needed to improve in her singing,¡± advised Amdirlain. Roher frowned. ¡°Perhaps her self-assessment isn¡¯t the best standard to use. Do you take the same approach?¡± ¡°Of course she does,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Impossible standards are essential.¡± Her dry amusement dug at Amdirlain and sent Soul deep insecurities churning. You¡¯d just told me no because I hadn¡¯t done enough contemplation. What if I never gain that in-love rush and happy glow you want me to have, Sarah? Both times I had that for a romance, I got burnt; what if I can¡¯t find it in me again? Does that make me not good enough to chance? ¡°True, I do,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Singing crystals is one thing. How long do people require to study a planet¡¯s songs?¡± Sarah tilted her head and frowned momentarily, but Amdirlain kept Resonance away. I don¡¯t want to hear more disappointment. Focus on the work. ¡°The upside of perfect memories is it won¡¯t take long to review them. The actual singing work might take a little while to organise once we¡¯ve identified the songs to use and confirmed the arrangements. Also, if a large number is interested, we might organise choral shifts so everyone can contribute,¡± said Roher. ¡°That would let you maximise your restriction on experience growth and increase the stretch of your Power singing the Anar counterpoint to so many singers. Since you need more of these demi-planes, Erwarth and I could help you sing those without risk of giving their creation away.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set up a bunch of these and, depending on how we go, we can finish multiple in an evening,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Excellent,¡± declared Roher warmly. ¡°It will be good to bring new life into the realm and change the lives of others.¡± ¡°Did you want to come to the Outlands and examine them?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Or should I create some new crystals and add the concealments?¡± ¡°If that¡¯s where you¡¯ve got them, I¡¯ll come along to check,¡± answered Roher. ¡°If there is an issue, you can start again and adjust the concealments until they¡¯re perfect.¡± Amdirlain opened a Gate a distance into the forest from the mountain¡¯s base and waved the others through before she stepped out and closed it. Her gaze brushed across Sarah¡¯s back, leading Roher towards the fields. I¡¯m an idiot. Emotional numbskull that I am, I¡¯ll never get any romantic relationship right. I should have kept my hands off the harp and my fucking mouth shut. Fuck, fuck, fuck! Ori had a relationship with Syl, and Sarah has those memories as if she were Syl. What the fuck am I doing? Why did I set myself up to be even more inadequate? To waste Sarah¡¯s time and hurt her? What the fuck are you doing, Amdirlain? You¡¯re an emotional mess, and it''s just as well that Sarah said no. As a stab of guilt brushed along her Mental Hardening, melodies obliterated all traces of her scent. Amdirlain shoved the thoughts aside and set to planning the thousands of large demi-planes she needed for Qil Tris. Once they got within the boundary of the Domain, Amdirlain teleported them to the courtyard, and Roher looked at her inquisitively. ¡°Where is the construction?¡± Sarah snorted and pointed to the training hall¡¯s door. ¡°In there.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear anything,¡± Roher commented. ¡°While I improved the concealments, I can still hear a buzz from the crystals, so I had expected you to hear them as well,¡± said Amdirlain. Roher frowned. ¡°What is your Resonance ranked at now?¡± ¡°I evolve it a couple of times,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s in Resonance-Prince now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve never progressed mine beyond Resonance-Lord,¡± admitted Roher. ¡°I find there are just too many details to keep track of to stretch its capabilities further.¡± ¡°Do you know anything about the Spell lists that detect True Song Crystal or True Song¡¯s use?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah strode to the doors, and Roher matched her pace. ¡°I don¡¯t know the Spell lists myself, but some among our communities collect spells, so they¡¯re likely known to several scholars.¡± When Sarah pulled open the doors, Roher clapped appreciatively and stepped into the Hall. ¡°This is nice work. You wrapped the hall itself up in the concealments you¡¯ve anchored in crystal?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°The main purpose was to prevent anyone from detecting the link between the dimensional expansion in the hall and the crystal anchors.¡± ¡°Are these bookcases and platforms only diamond, mithril, and adamantine, or is there a crystal core like you did with the pillars at Nolmar?¡± Roher questioned before he moved to the closest support pillar and rested his palm against it. ¡°There are enchantments of hardening on the materials and others related to distance viewing.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°The outer layer isn¡¯t that thick. The platforms were set up for those coming to read from the library and observe the training or sparring sessions. A better version of the concealments around the halls shrouds them individually.¡± ¡°This is lovely work,¡± commented Roher approvingly. ¡°I can hear the materials and enchantments but not the crystal. The dimensional folding sounds like spell work and enchanting established it, but I couldn¡¯t hear them from outside. This certainly gives me confidence that you¡¯ll be able to avoid giving yourself away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What else does the structure do?¡± Roher asked, motioning along the training hall¡¯s wall. ¡°These platforms are kilometres long. Why did you need it so big?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gathering arcane lore from libraries and other sources,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Ori had songs to assess an individual¡¯s strength that she used for her training arena. The gathering song ensures it won¡¯t have an issue before accumulating the details.¡± Roher blinked. ¡°What?¡± ¡°It¡¯s rather straightforward. The conditions in the linked song mean it avoids domains, those too strong, and anywhere too heavily warded,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Within the Outlands?¡± ¡°No, across the planes,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°There are songs that are the equivalent of Analysis, so it uses those on the gathered information to confirm the information isn¡¯t false or flawed before it records them into the crystal core. I¡¯m just pulling in the information for now, and the crystal contains a psionic construct based on one of Sarah¡¯s to review and catalogue it. That ensures unique information stays recorded, and I won¡¯t end up with trillions of copies of the Fire Law or another Spell List, and it¡¯s only gathering arcane information.¡± ¡°Am built her own search engine and copier,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°The naughty pirate girl that she is.¡± ¡°Argh, Matey,¡± drawled Amdirlain. Roher shook his head. ¡°Just when I think I understand you three.¡± ¡°I¡¯m so weird that I don¡¯t even understand myself some days,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s easier on your sanity to nod and back away slowly than tackle that impossible mission.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the strangeness of your speech, Lady Amdirlain. It¡¯s the scope of your endeavours,¡± Roher said. ¡°Where others are content to gather knowledge from a world instead, you¡¯ve started to gather knowledge from the realm. Did it ever occur to you to do so on a more modest scale first?¡± ¡°Why? I had to go wide to have a hope of getting what I was after with it. The Cloister of the Fallen had information gathered on the deeper planes they¡¯d accumulated over aeons,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Expeditions conducted by mortals and demons alike, and there is still more to learn.¡± ¡°It¡¯s gathering information on all arcane subjects?¡± questioned Roher. ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°My goodness,¡± Roher breathed. ¡°You know it will never be possible for it to finish?¡± ¡°The realm has many infinite planes, so I expected that to be the case,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°That doesn¡¯t stop me from making it the most impressive arcane library possible.¡± ¡°Do you have any other projects like this in progress?¡± asked Roher. My little mapping cube doesn¡¯t count, though I¡¯d better check if they want a connection to more surveyors soon. Amdirlain smiled. "Nothing on this scale." ¡°I¡¯ll get back and talk to the others,¡± said Roher. ¡°Not so fast, Roher,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Send a Message to someone and then sit and talk for a bit.¡± ¡°About?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve got children to share tales about, and I¡¯d like to hear them.¡± Roher laughed, and a parental smile appeared. ¡°It would be my pleasure. Are you not rushing to get off to your next task?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got hours before teaching a lesson,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Hearing about your children might do me some good.¡± ¡°It would be my pleasure,¡± responded Roher. The trio headed upstairs, and Roher soon had Amdirlain laughing over tales of his children and the others in the L¨®m? communities. 402 - Adaption Amdirlain''s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When Roher headed off, he left Amdirlain a memory crystal with more of his children''s antics. Amdirlain set it on a table and projected illusions of random incidents from within. Sarah sat across the table from her and watched Amdirlain smile and laugh at the youngsters playing with forest creatures. "Are they growing at a standard pace for elves?" Amdirlain asked. "They seem small for their age compared to my nephew and niece." "They''re not much slower growing than humans, but their emotional maturity lags a bit," replied Sarah. "Once they hit thirty, they keep an appearance of around sixteen for twenty to thirty years and then slowly mature. At least they''re all not sprouting like Gail did." Amdirlain nodded happily. "Never thought I''d be watching someone''s home movies again." As the children reached out in sync to steady a fawn, Sarah caught Amdirlain''s misty-eyed expression. It''ll never be my children that I get to watch while they play and have fun. Despite no biological clock ticking, I still crave an opportunity to have children. Is that odd? People likely would find me weird. Are my life''s regrets still driving me there as well? Sarah nodded towards the memory crystal that still sat on the table. "Those children are only alive because of you." "I''m not looking for a consolation prize, Sarah," replied Amdirlain. An aching hollowness fought against Amdirlain''s mental barriers, and she shut down the illusion. "Kli will be here shortly." "Is she on the move?" asked Sarah. "She''s heading for the river at present," explained Amdirlain. "Not sure if she plans to have a wash and a swim or if she''s catching fish for someone." Sarah snorted in disbelief. "Does Kli go fishing a lot?" "I think she uses it as a pretext to sit and talk to other people fishing," explained Amdirlain. "She''s very adaptable about how she lends people an ear to listen to their woes." Adaptability: how do I teach that? She walked over and dropped off the edge of the platform. As Amdirlain moved, a glow washed through the empty region of the training hall. Millions of short melodies compressed through her intent created a myriad of floating platforms laden with non-lethal traps, turrets that fired spinning orbs, and illusionary rings that defined an ever-changing course. The complexity of music was a minor version of what Ori had used to create her arena; though being laid out as a three-dimensional obstacle course added to its complexity. [Crafting Summary: (Hazard Enchantment) Training Course x1 Total experience gained: 13,584,160 Olind?: +13,584,160 Perception [S] (148->149) Note: That''s a lot of pea shooters you''ve got squeezed in.] When a group of students assembled near Master Lu''s manor, Amdirlain was still fine-tuning the enchantments within the obstacle course. With insufficient time left to push her limits while trying it out, she stopped work and messaged Klipyl to advise her that others were joining them today. Klipyl wore only her white ribbon, with her hair slicked back and still damp from a dip in the river. Her dusky skin gave off a sun-warmed vibrance. "Hey, Sis. Do you have many students coming to earn enlightenment at your feet?" "I''m not exactly in a position to teach enlightenment. How about I stick with teaching them to hurt their foes?" replied Amdirlain. "They can let light into the skulls of evildoers then," declared Klipyl, the twitch of her lips giving away the giggles in her theme. Her archon¡¯s trumpet appeared held lightly clasped in her left hand before she shifted to a two-handed grip beneath the mouthpiece and playfully swung it about, the air whistling with its passages. Amdirlain took in the two-metre length with its bulbous smoking pipe end, beneath its embellished golden exterior enchanted adamantine; the dense metal meant the instrument to weigh nearly a hundred and twenty kilograms. "Have you been practising your dramatics?" asked Amdirlain. Klipyl nodded cheerfully. "Sarah says I should also consider proper victory poses." "Please don''t," sighed Amdirlain. "It might send the wrong message to people fighting with you." "I didn''t say victory poses were for battle," quipped Klipyl, and she licked her lips saucily. "More when I cause partners to signal their surrender." Amdirlain groaned and hid her face in her hands as replies raced through her mind. The giggling Klipyl patted the top of Amdirlain''s head. "It''s alright. You can share your dirty thoughts with your little sister." "Proper victory poses will likely require thorough research and feedback," said Amdirlain as she took her hands away. "Be sure to get a proper oral presentation from each individual questioned." "But they''ll have already surrendered," Klipyl replied. ¡°They might give me only lip service.¡± "Then they''d best be eloquent in their acceptance of your terms," declared Amdirlain. "Or at least moan sweetly," Klipyl nodded smugly. "Okay, I''ll make them put their tongue to work until I get their point. Speaking of waggling tongues, rumours are already doing the rounds about the pair of you." "I guess I should have restrained the public displays of affection," sighed Amdirlain. Klipyl rang with cautious notes. "Oh, yep, well, don''t worry about rumourmongers¡ªeveryone knows they need things happening in other people''s lives to keep themselves happy. Where is Sarah?" "I heard a Planar Shift going to The Exchange, so she''s likely picking up something for the forge or workshop." "I can listen," offered Klipyl. ¡°If there is anything you need to talk about.¡± Amdirlain''s composed smile didn¡¯t add a speck of warmth to her gaze. "I''m getting that offer from many people." "Raw emotions can leave you vulnerable to situations where you''re easily wounded," said Klipyl. "The challenge is figuring out if you need time to let them settle or talk to the person before your perceptions form around the wound." "I''ve been told I need to take time," replied Amdirlain. "Not what you were looking to do?" "No, I needed to take time," said Amdirlain. Klipyl pursed her lips. "Needed." "Need," corrected Amdirlain. "Ahh," Klipyl nodded. "What scares you?" "What scares you?" "Sometimes, I get this weird feeling that I''ll never be good enough compared to other celestials," Klipyl replied. "That then turns into me wondering if the Titan will decide he made a mistake and will send me back." I¡¯m not the only one that feels like an imposter. "I''d find you and pull you back out," offered Amdirlain. Klipyl immediately teared up and put her head on Amdirlain''s shoulder. "Ahh, sis loves me." "I''ve got a history of bucking the rules," advised Amdirlain. "Us strange individuals need to stick together." "I showed you mine," said Klipyl. "Care to share?" "How often does that work?" asked Amdirlain. Klipyl''s lips curved with a mischievous smile, and her gaze shone. "Wouldn''t you like to know?" Amdirlain laughed and shook her head at the incorrigible response. "You can tell me what''s on your mind," reassured Klipyl. "I won''t tell, and you can lock the memory away so no one will know." "Would you prefer an enchanted pendant, ring, or earring?" asked Amdirlain. "Clit barbells," gushed Klipyl. "No one ever has one of those for sale. I wouldn''t want to order a custom one as someone might slip something into the enchantments." Klipyl and Sarah are friends, so she''s not the person to talk to now. I wonder what Sarith would make of all my stupid insecurities. "Have the ones you can trust been too prudish to make them for you?" "That''s been the issue," sighed Klipyl. "I asked some artificers I¡¯d trust, and they looked mortified." "Sarah would know their dimensions better than me," offered Amdirlain thoughtfully. "And she could also easily enchant them." "Oh," squeaked Klipyl. "I feel so silly." "She could also likely make you a bunch of other useful items for entertainment." "Oh, that sounds good!" Klipyl squealed. ¡°I¡¯ll check when she''s back. Do you think she''ll return today?" "I wouldn''t expect her to be gone too long otherwise, she would have said," advised Amdirlain. Klipyl nodded happily and waved to the obstacle course. "Do the floating rings do anything special? They''re bobbing about weirdly." "Markers to fly through as part of my training," explained Amdirlain. "They move erratically to challenge my manoeuvring." Amdirlain explained the other challenge in the course, and Klipyl squealed excitedly. The explanation drew to a close when Amdirlain heard Master Lu arrived outside the courtyard with twenty students in tow. Does Jinfeng care about giving her students every advantage possible? Her theme is nervous. I thought I''d been clear that it was her choice to bring as many observers as she wanted, or hog my time herself. As Amdirlain considered the group, taking in their levels and skills, Master Lu Jinfeng bowed again. "Lady Am, my apologies if I misunderstood your direction to bring everyone I wished to share the lesson time with. If this group is too large, they''ve already agreed on priority for who should stay," advised Jinfeng Maybe the wording of my invitation was too cynical, but let¡¯s check the group¡¯s attitude. "Who are the first two?" asked Amdirlain. "There won''t be any observers today." Towards the middle of the group, there were spikes of jealousy within various students'' melodies, but they all kept their expressions calm. At the surge of pride from a stern hawk-face Persian student in the front row, Amdirlain expected him to be one of her students. Without hesitation, Master Lu stepped to the side of the group and gestured for the two nervous youngest at the end to come forward; both looked barely sixteen. The man clasped his hands before him and bowed to Amdirlain, and the others behind him followed his example. "Thank you for honouring our martial brethren, Lady Am." "I shall entrust the youngest of the martial pavilion to your instruction," said Jinfeng, bowing respectfully to Amdirlain as well. The rest of the group straightened and looked to Jinfeng to be dismissed. Though there was a mix of emotions in Jinfeng''s theme, deception and jealousy weren''t among them, and so Amdirlain lifted a hand to halt them. "Might I ask your reasoning for their selection?" Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. "They''ve only just begun to learn the jai, so I''ll leave them to learn from your style alone so they might progress the fastest," replied Jinfeng. "Others might find that blending the styles hampers their progress." "A challenge they were prepared to accept previously?" "Yes." Amdirlain nodded. "Then you can all stay." "If I had picked the oldest two students?" "Why ask questions about what might have been? You made your choice," replied Amdirlain. Jinfeng smiled and bowed again, with her students quickly copying her. "You honour us by taking the time to teach, Lady Am." "We are simply martial brothers and sisters training together, aren''t we?" commented Amdirlain. "We have things we can teach each other. Would you introduce me to the members of the martial pavilion, Master Lu?" Jinfeng gave a pleased nod and worked through the lines, introducing each student to Amdirlain and giving her a concise summary of their experience. After that, Amdirlain lined up with Klipyl between the observing platforms and the blue barrier of the sparring area. Though a few looked at Klipyl curiously, none commented on her presence. Many of the unarmed techniques I use have similarities to those taught in one martial art or another at the monastery. "How many of you have fought with your life on the line?" asked Amdirlain. "A monster or Human? Just lift a hand, please." When only a third of the students signalled real-life experience, Amdirlain nodded. "No one can properly convey how actual combat differs from any training, and hesitation in any fight can mean death. Your ability to adjust is as important as reaction time. That''s why I''ll be looking to get each of you to focus on the adaptability of your form." Amdirlain started with the regular drill she took Klipyl through and taught more complex moves to the students who exhibited greater proficiency. "I know many of your classes include set drills when you''re learning," said Amdirlain, and a few students nodded. "I don''t take that approach. Please spread out so you have plenty of space around you. You''ll get signals to show the danger, but it''s up to you how you react." "What sort of signals, Lady Am?" asked Jinfeng. Amdirlain smiled. "Unmistakable ones. Expand into the marked sparring areas if you want plenty of space." The first attack was a transparent illusion of a goblin lashing out with a clawed hand at stomach height. Some students simply evaded the strike, while others counterattacked. As soon as they were clear of ''danger,'' the illusion disappeared. "The first was an interesting illusion but didn''t stay that way. Don''t they normally disrupt if a person is aware of them?" Jinfeng asked. Klipyl giggled. "Lady Am projected it into our minds, not through mana." "You''ll each need to react to my signals, and what you each see will vary depending on your proficiency and current reaction time," advised Amdirlain. "How you react to what you see is your choice, but I''ll keep track if you''re too predictable. I''ll take the limited moves we''ve gone over into consideration. Stepping back or into an attack can transform the situation even without a block or counter. Name one of them." With that, Amdirlain pointed to the youngest boy in the group. "Someone with a staff if it gets you inside their reach." "Where can that go wrong?" asked Amdirlain, pointing to the senior student. "With that weapon or another?" "If they''re armed with a knife, the closer you are, the more danger you¡¯re in. You want to control their limb from beyond the limit of the blade. But if you give them too much space, they might throw the knife, or if an ally is closer to them, you''ve left them vulnerable." "Adaptability requires you to be as aware of your surroundings as possible. That will require more advanced exercises," advised Amdirlain. "Let''s begin." The following illusionary attacks came without pause, ranging from giant rats to lumbering ogres depending on the level Amdirlain could hear within the student; aside from the first, each faced opponents suitable to their levels. When the youngest started to falter in their efforts, Amdirlain let them rest and recover, increasing the pressure on the older students. A few of them ''died'' against the scenario they faced, and Amdirlain replayed the events and discussed their choices mentally. When those who''d needed a breather recovered, she provided them with a warning before restarting the illusionary foes. Eventually, the sparring session wound down after Jinfeng came undone against a trio of fire giants. A swarm of memory crystals floated from Amdirlain''s hand and one stopped hovering between each student. "Those contain records of today''s training so you can review the foe''s positioning and your own. Consider what you might have done differently. To access them, concentrate on the crystal. They are only accessible by the person I''ve presented them to. I hope you all found today''s session interesting and useful." "Might we use techniques from other styles besides yours in these sessions?" asked Jinfeng. "The important thing is practising what works," replied Amdirlain. I''ll teach you moves I''ve learned or figured out through experimenting. If you have other styles to draw upon, ?do so. I only set it for today''s lesson to increase the pressure." "This has been an interesting session, Lady Am," said Jinfeng. "I noticed some foes became quite sturdy. Do they continue to escalate?" "That is my intent, but it is slightly unfair to jump immediately while strikes and blocks are being learnt," replied Amdirlain. "Though that doesn''t mean their increases in strength will remain consistent. I noticed some students let their Ki Armour falter." "What sort of foes do you find formidable?" Klipyl anxiously waved at Jinfeng. "You don''t want to know. Lady Am fights the nightmares." Now they''ve got Klipyl using that title as well. "Oh?" questioned Jinfeng "I''d prefer not to go into details," replied Amdirlain, tilting her head to the young students listening in. ¡°There are foes too dangerous to discuss, and I don''t like to do so unless someone is at risk of falling into their traps.¡± "I''ve faced demons in battle," insisted Jinfeng, her mouth tightening. Prickly pride; is it because she gained Immortal Spirit so young or because of her martial Dao? Kadaklan cautioned me that those following such paths can be more aggressive and ego-driven. Amdirlain nodded understandingly. "I''m not belittling what you''ve faced. There are things I''ve faced recently that even twenty years ago would have crushed me." "What led you to face such foes, then?" asked Jinfeng, "I can''t rule out reckless stupidity," laughed Amdirlain. "They are foes outside of this realm''s rules and that of many others. So alien their mere presence and writings can corrupt and destroy." "That sounds ominous," allowed Jinfeng. "Where I come from, there is a saying: play stupid games, win stupid prizes," said Amdirlain. "I played a reckless game with one of them and ended up with my spiritual net severed across my lower abdomen. That''s when I met Master Kadaklan. Master Cyrus introduced us, and he helped me regrow it. It was a relief since I thought I might have cost myself my legs forever." Jinfeng went pastry white. "You''re not a Mortal?" "No, I''m not," agreed Amdirlain. "But I''m not an Immortal as you know them either." "My curiosity about such a foe is presumptuous," offered Jinfeng, bowing apologetically. "Don''t worry, Jinfeng, I find it understandable. I''m always looking for tougher foes to push myself against, but these foes are mentally and spiritually corrosive," cautioned Amdirlain. "If you have a trip back to your normal dining rooms, you can use the platforms here." "Most have next sessions closer to here than their dormitory dining halls," advised Jinfeng. "If they hurry, they can make it to the dining hall before the end of the meal service." Amdirlain gestured upwards to the first platform. "I set the time for this training, so please accept my hospitality. The items that provide refreshments can also prepare full meals. When you touch the trays, just focus on the food you want, and it will create suitable dishes. The furnishings¡¯ enchantments will clean your bodies and clothing." Jinfeng smiled in appreciation. "That is most generous of you." "I hope no one will take offence if I don''t join you for the meal. I''ve matters to take care of before my morning session," said Amdirlain. "Do you have other sessions scheduled today, Lady Am?" questioned Jinfeng. Darn, one-way street casualness. If I returned to using Master Lu on her, she''d likely think she did something wrong. "Only a session with Master Cyrus working on a Ki Blast technique," replied Amdirlain. "Most of what I have planned starts tomorrow unless someone gets back to me sooner. Why do you ask?" "You seemed to restrain yourself fighting Master Payam and even more so myself," noted Jinfeng. "I wonder if there would be an opportunity to see what you were capable of myself." "If you''re not busy next time I''m sparring with Master Cyrus, you can observe," replied Amdirlain. "Though I don¡¯t know when that might be. Our sessions have focused on Ki techniques lately." Jinfeng raised her left hand in a flat palm, set the knuckles of her right fist against it and nodded. "I would appreciate that greatly, Lady Am." Okay, note to self: find the difference between the hand positions. Her theme sounded respectful, and the action looked like a tai chi salute. Maybe it¡¯s because I had provided training? "If you want to continue these morning sessions, I''ll see you all at the same time tomorrow," said Amdirlain. As Amdirlain headed towards Sarah''s forge, Klipyl gave a merry wave goodbye and walked beside her. "I hear Sarah ding-dinging away," commented Klipyl, in time to the hammer''s odd two-beat tempo. The alternating beat between the shaping of the metal and the anvil tickled at the back of Amdirlain''s mind. When she pushed the door open, the pair paused in the doorway to consider Sarah, dressed in thick boots, heavy cotton pants, a sleeveless shirt, and a leather apron. The corded muscles in Sarah''s arms flexed as she continued to hammer. With light hammer strikes, she had flattened a piece of steel the length of her forearm and the breadth of her hand into a thin plate. A chain attached to the forge''s bellows kept them pumping regularly through Sarah''s ability to manipulate metals and minerals. "Dressed up to encourage proper forge safety?" Amdirlain asked. The light from the forge gleamed off Sarah''s skin and mingled with memories of sunlight on Syl''s bare skin. The aeons of loneliness that Orh¨ºthurin had endured seemed like a warning for her own life. You were an idiot for letting yourself get swept up in emotions. Sarah nodded but didn''t take her attention away from the length of steel. ¡°I have to provide a proper example. If I didn''t, eventually, someone in here would say, ¡®She doesn''t use an apron, why should I?¡¯ Even if they don¡¯t say it to my face, they might act on it later.¡± Orderly appearances and proper processes. "Does that mean you''re also taking on normal apprentices?" asked Klipyl. "I thought you''d just be teaching the various experienced folks new tricks." "If someone wants to learn and can arrange payment, I''ll teach them," replied Sarah. "Since that''s the way it works around here." "But what about me?" sniffed Klipyl. "I don''t have contribution points." "Don''t be a dumb arse. Family doesn¡¯t get charged," grumbled Sarah, and she nodded to the bellows beside the forge. "If you''re serious and not being a goof, keep the coals close to white." "That''s how apprentices start?" questioned Klipyl. "Normally it''s part of building their strength, but for you, it''s just about getting used to how fast the coals will cool," replied Sarah. "If you''re working a forge by yourself, you need to plan your work around that or devise a way to maintain its heat." Klipyl started towards the bellow, and even though her back was still to them, Sarah cleared her throat. "Clothing and boots." "But..." "Apprentices need to do things properly," replied Sarah. "You just heard my reasons for being safety conscious." "I don''t have any other clothing," protested Klipyl. ¡°Not that it was suitable, but what happened to the dress you wore to meet the Fey?¡± Klipyl winked. ¡°I gave it away to a nice girl with magic fingers. That was the only extra clothing I had.¡± Amdirlain snorted and quickly cast a series of Fabricate; a set of clothing, boots, and apron that matched Sarah''s appeared on a nearby bench. "Anything else?" laughed Sarah. "Even using Fabricate Am could whip you up some fancy clothing." She didn''t even have to turn her head. Despite the forge and heated metal, the odour of the Mana and the cloth was evident. "What about a pretty tiara fit for a princess?" clapped Klipyl. Amdirlain laughed. "You''re going to get those on your own." "No fair," grumbled Klipyl before she moved over to wiggle into the clothing. "I''ll leave you to your fun," advised Amdirlain. "Bye-bye," said Klipyl. Sarah set the length of cooling steel back into the coals and looked over. "Are you training with Kadaklan and Cyrus today?" A trill of notes that echoed Roher''s theme closed in on her through the Plane''s boundary. A moment later, an orb of spinning notes hovered invisibly next to Amdirlain, and she listened to Roher''s eager words. "I was," admitted Amdirlain. That''s the first time I''ve heard the transition of a Message into a Plane. Increases in my Perception combined with Resonance-Prince? With my increased levels, I''ll need to upgrade my device. I should make something more generic in case we need to deal with some angry Fallen. "Was?" "A Message from Roher," answered Amdirlain with a crooked smile. "It seems the L¨®m? have spoken for my morning, at the very least." "Not just going for a quick meeting?" asked Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. "Roher said the L¨®m? councils have invited me to meet them in an open forum." "Meet with all the councils," asked Sarah. "That could go sideways." "No, meet with everyone," corrected Amdirlain. "Large decisions beyond the day-to-day organisation of things aren''t to be heard and determined by small groups." "They''re running an Athenian-style democracy?" "It''s not like their population will exceed eight million, and Resonance lets them hear from a distance," replied Amdirlain. "Some might get bored eventually, but for now, ?complete transparency isn''t a phrase they give lip service to." "You mean I got dressed for nothing?" grumbled Klipyl. Amdirlain shrugged. "Sorry, Kli. I only heard the song target my name just before it arrived." "You could always go find someone to help you get undressed," proposed Sarah. "Oh, that''s a good thought," Klipyl purred before she pouted. "But it''s breakfast time for them, so I''ll strip myself." I¡¯m wasting Sarah¡¯s time. "You two can stay if you want," proposed Amdirlain. "I''ll just toss Roher the device through a Gate, and you two can sort out whatever is needed here." Sarah shook her head. "No, I''m coming with you. Klipyl''s a big girl. She can find plenty to amuse her or learn while we''re away." Klipyl wiggled her eyebrows dramatically. "You know it, baby." "I''ll dispatch messages to Kadaklan, Cyrus, and Roher, and then we can head to Veht?," advised Amdirlain. "Are you going near the kingdoms at all?" "Not anytime soon," stated Amdirlain. "Until I hear from Danu, I''ll keep off the continent completely." "The Lady of the Forest?" questioned Klipyl. Amdirlain nodded, and after considering her new strength, she created a crystal staff and embedded the summoning effect, which only Sarah was allowed to use. [Crafting Summary Staff of Fallen Binding x1 Total experience gained: 5,500,000 Olind?: + 5,500,000 Note: Those who call you now need some mojo or help. Are you sure you need it that strong to deal with Naamah''s helpers?] If they''re already weaker than me, how did they capture Castellan? What caused the problem with using Analysis on them? Not having it developed enough, or did my level jump change things? The staff makes the obstacle course seem lightweight. Should I have put more effort into it? Amdirlain set it to hover by Sarah''s forge. "It¡¯ll summon any Fallen whose name you know. With that set, I¡¯m ready whenever you are." "Let me get this to a useful stopping point and we can go," replied Sarah. "What are you making?" questioned Amdirlain. "I''m just practising normal metalwork," replied Sarah. "I''ll even out the sheet and use it to make a storage box. That will give me a sample object to show them security enchantments." Amdirlain dispatched messages and settled to wait, meditating to calm her wild thoughts. As Sarah promised, it didn''t take long before she finished up and vanished to the Material Plane. A few moments later, Amdirlain felt the summoning call to her. 403 - Reconsider Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Eastern Edge of Mediterranean Sea - Veht? The transition from conduit to Material Plane came with a strange constriction. Amdirlain found herself in a summoning circle too small for her full size, and her True Form had scaled to match it. The impact of her magic rating, and smoothing out the melodies while she¡¯d created the staff showed in the intricate interlocking barrier it produced. Beyond the mirrored layers, Amdirlain could sense rolling hills running along a coastline shaded by the pre-dawn light, the sun peeking above the ridgeline of the highest hill to the east. As Amdirlain unfurled Resonance to its full extent, the slight increases she¡¯d gained allowed it to include two thousand kilometres. Even with only a third of that reach, the surrounding coast of the Mediterranean Sea would have made identifying the location a simple matter. She pulled back on the details it drew in to focus on the landscape, along with the animals and monsters that were about and examined the forest created by the L¨®m? in what would have been northern Persia. Throughout examining their surroundings with it, Amdirlain kept Resonance carefully distant from Sarah, aware of the sting her rejection had left. ¡°We¡¯re almost directly opposite the ruins of Athens,¡± said Amdirlain. Setting her concealments back in place, she wiped all scents away before the circle¡¯s mithril fractured under her notes and the barrier collapsed. With it gone, the staff¡¯s enchantment tapped into a nearby ley line and drew in Mana to repair the strain introduced by her summoning. ¡°The L¨®m? forest isn¡¯t that far east,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Early bird elves, with their lack of sleep.¡± ¡°I can sense their forest from here. It was easy to spot since I¡¯ve got the melody of the Gate Roher opened,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll move us to a location on the southern edge.¡± ¡°Yes, don¡¯t annoy the elves by spearing through their ward¡¯s outer perimeter,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Since they would have likely created it together, I doubt they''d expect that to happen,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°Do you doubt your ability to do so?¡± ¡°I can hear gaps, but I''m unsure if I can utilise them,¡± Amdirlain clarified. ¡°As Bahamut said, I¡¯ve still got to achieve a state where I can advance as a Primordial. I wonder how much of me I¡¯d lose if I just became a Planar native.¡± What¡¯s the point in being careful with their names since they could watch me anytime? I¡¯m not Ori; both the good and bad are implicit in that. ¡°That¡¯s not the attitude I expected,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°What about the plans you¡¯ve got?¡± ¡°Sometimes thinking about the worst case motivates me to push on,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It was an idle thought.¡± ¡°Thinking and talking about it aloud is different,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Normally, when you get that way, you¡¯ve got a distinct air about you, but you don¡¯t seem down.¡± That¡¯s because I¡¯m keeping my scent blocked now, and I¡¯ve got enough Acting to control my expression when I have reason. ¡°I¡¯m being factual. The Titan said my Soul wouldn¡¯t blend well with a Celestial¡¯s essence, and Bahamut said if I couldn¡¯t become a Primordial my end state would be attuned to a Plane. Does that mean I¡¯d be a native somewhere else? If so, that will probably have the same essence issue as a Celestial. How much of myself, of who I am, will I lose if I can¡¯t even become a static Primordial?¡± What Sarah said makes sense, and it was what I said earlier. I needed time to get my head on straight. But I should move on. Why does her rejection hurt like this? Because I¡¯d had a little time and wanted to see? Right now, I feel like an imposter in my own skin, never mind not feeling qualified to handle any of my goals. And what will N¨¹wa make of that? ¡°I think you¡¯re worried about nothing, but I¡¯m here to listen,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Yeah, so you said,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you plan to visit with anyone, or will you hang around through however long the formalities go for? The dawn¡¯s edge is already passed, so you could hop back to the Outlands if you want, and I won¡¯t get shoved off the planet until I cross the dawn boundary again.¡± Sarah maintained her calm, and even though Amdirlain had been curious about what lay beneath it for years, she didn¡¯t feel tempted at that moment. I¡¯m so shallow, one rebuff and I¡¯m sulking. Fuck, I¡¯m pathetic. She wouldn¡¯t have shut me down later if I¡¯d just let those emotions sweep me away instead of protesting. Naamah¡¯s request to help kill a few billion demons sounds grand. Killing shit is something I at least understand; I¡¯m still fucked at relationships. ¡°What are you thinking about, Am?¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°Right now, I¡¯m considering how many demons I should kill to level my last Class before the transformation. I¡¯ve been taking the easy way and not pushing other skills I might need,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she made a casual discharging motion. ¡°Thinking happier thoughts. Will you come along and laugh at the children¡¯s antics?¡± Right, because that topic change wasn¡¯t sociopathic. ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be meeting with the adults first?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°The adults will want to talk about boring stuff. I¡¯m looking forward to the children¡¯s laughter.¡± ¡°Maybe you should have formed a local kids¡¯ band on Qil Tris,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t have let me evolve my Skill,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Though we could have put you in a red outfit.¡± ¡°When you¡¯ve settled things inside, just let me know what I need to wear,¡± Sarah replied, lightly squeezing Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Right now. I¡¯ll stick around. Just send me a mental repeat of any distant questions. I¡¯d like to know what questions you answer when speaking to empty air.¡± But who are you sticking around for? ¡°Dealer¡¯s choice,¡± Amdirlain noted casually. She released her Wood Elf form and assumed the appearance of Orh¨ºthurin with her platinum blond hair, luminescent golden eyes, and bronze-gold skin. ¡°Why?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°This is the face everyone is eager to see,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll Teleport us when you¡¯re ready.¡± Sarah signalled her acceptance, and the pair reappeared on a grassed hillside with local trees in sparse pockets. The forest edge was starkly different; towering trees, some fifty metres or more tall, provided shelter for smaller trees, bushes, and ferns. The song barrier possessed an environmental transition influence, minimising the impact of the unnatural forest within, but there was still some as additional streams carved pathways through the hills. Wind carried seeds for plants foreign to the region, and stunted examples struggled for survival beyond the ward¡¯s support. Within the forest was an unexpected sparsity of True Song Crystal, the wards maintained by a choir in a central clearing. Even if crystal objects had filled it, Gilorn would have stood out. She sat securely in a house that held Gail¡¯s lingering themes. A small dwelling comprised a large room with a table surrounded by comfortable chairs and a second room hosting Gilorn. It doesn¡¯t feel like it¡¯s a house she¡¯s living in, it¡¯s more of a place to meet people. Why not have the L¨®m? host any meetings? I wonder what she¡¯s doing today. Is she still mopping up the last of the gnarls, or something else? Not to worry, it¡¯s the L¨®m? I¡¯m here to see. A quick casting from Amdirlain provided Roher with their location. With that, she set to tallying the L¨®m? adults and came up with four hundred and eighteen thousand, three hundred and ninety-seven. Gail and Isa had said about four hundred thousand before, but that¡¯s not even half the population of western Sydney. It seems odd to think of them rebuilding from that when Ori¡¯s memories have these grand towers filled with people. No L¨®m? is as old as the schism when they chose to stop working for the Titan. There are six thousand two hundred and seventy-five children, a population expansion of just under one and a half per cent, except they¡¯re not all L¨®m?. The split seems to be sixty-forty for them to possess an Anar Soul. I wonder if the parents feel cheated by those odds. The wait was brief; a pair of female L¨®m? knights clad in adamantine chainmail appeared, their heads bound up beneath full-faced helms with only a slit across at eye level. Isa¡¯s been busy at the monastery. I knew they¡¯d left a lot of crystal in the Abyss, but I didn¡¯t realise that included armour and weapons. Should I help recreate at least armour for them? Do they even want it again? The eldest of the pair met Amdirlain¡¯s gaze, and her topaz eyes clouded briefly with sorrowful regret. Swallowing hard, she stepped forward, touched two fingers to her throat, and bowed to Amdirlain. ¡°Greetings, Lady Amdirlain. When Conductor Roher¡¯s Message came with your words, the news spread, and there was a consensus to bring it forward from the time originally proposed to you. We appreciate you agreeing to meet so readily, and everyone is excited to hear from you in person.¡± ¡°I was a bit surprised by the level of interest, and it¡¯s easier to reschedule two people than thousands,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Since Roher is waiting with the rest of the council, and two knights are greeting me, I take it some formalities are being observed?¡± The knight nodded and fought to keep a smile contained. ¡°The older formalities, Lady Amdirlain. I¡¯m Tirriel, and this is our cousin Lembiel.¡± Through the central meadows were a few hundred L¨®m?, but Amdirlain could feel them and every other adult listening into the conversation. ¡°I might not have the right memories for them,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re uncertain of all of them as well, Lady Amdirlain,¡± replied Tirriel. ¡°But we¡¯ll all travel where the song leads us and create new standards together.¡± Amusement gleamed in Lembiel¡¯s amethyst gaze. They already know my name, so I¡¯m not precisely hiding anything from them other than being the reincarnation of the Songbird; my song is protected if Roher¡¯s statement is true for all of them. New standards. How about a relaxed kinship? ¡°Since none of us knows the rules, let us conduct ourselves with mutual civility among family members. My name is Amdirlain, and I¡¯d appreciate it if everyone used that, or Am, rather than any title or honorific. The greatest honour you can do me is that instead of insisting on a title I don¡¯t want,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Tirriel and Lembiel, I hope this morning¡¯s song finds you well.¡± ¡°May its beauty always bring you peace, cousin,¡± replied Lembiel. ¡°I¡¯ve always found comfort in watching the dawn,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Of course, cousin,¡± Tirriel said, and she stopped herself from saluting again. ¡°Which route would you like to take to the meeting glade?¡± ¡°Since the wards recognise you and those in your charge, let us take the direct route,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not inclined to put on a parade and make everyone wait.¡± The four of them reappeared on the lip of a bowl-like clearing, while across its slopes, several hundred L¨®m? were assembled wearing silken garments in a variety of styles and colours, from ladies in figure-hugging garments of shifting hues to both genders in sombre shades of black and earthen tones. Most seemed like Roher, standing in groups of eleven, and Amdirlain assumed that was the size of the councils they were using. Amdirlain fixed him with a relaxed smile. ¡°May the sun¡¯s song keep you well, Roher. I wasn¡¯t expecting everyone to be excited to hear my proposal.¡± ¡°May the night¡¯s music grant you ease, Amdirlain,¡± Roher replied. ¡°Poetic exchanges are part of family civility, I trust.¡± ¡°I like the implications within them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Roher motioned down to his formal half-robes, repeating musical symbols that showed his conductor rank along the seams. ¡°And here I went and got all dressed up.¡± ¡°People should feel free to wear what they want,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she tugged at her dark green sleeve. ¡°I just turned up in this old thing.¡± ¡°Might I introduce you to a few key councils that would coordinate matters?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to meet them, but perhaps I should just go over what I¡¯m proposing,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°After hearing all the details, some might not be interested. Afterwards, those still interested will have plenty of time to talk and relax.¡± ¡°Would you like the speaker staff?¡± ¡°Oh dear, already offering suggestions about formality?¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Should I hold it while I speak and then pass it back when I am done? Or do I control whose questions I answer while I hold it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m certain that if there are questions you don¡¯t want to answer, you won¡¯t,¡± laughed Roher. ¡°You¡¯d certainly get to pick who should offer you questions.¡± ¡°You might as well pass it over,¡± Amdirlain responded. ¡°Not all of us have Isa¡¯s luck to have things go our way.¡± With a snort, Roher handed over a black staff sung of basalt granite. Is it meant to be heavy to discourage people from being long-winded? It wouldn¡¯t work on any of the knights. Hefting it to check its weight, Amdirlain spun it fast enough to generate a buzz-saw hum. ¡°Nice heft. I might have to enchant a few like it to cave in Demon skulls, but that¡¯s personal business.¡± Amdirlain ground the staff and casually leaned on it. ¡°Aeons ago, your previous incarnations stopped bringing worlds to life. Would you like to go back to work? Currently, I¡¯ve got a lot of dead worlds where evil ended up killing everything down to the microfauna, as well as a sterile world that Gideon has asked me to restore. The work doesn¡¯t pay anything except the pleasure of watching things bloom. The boss is a shiny sphere that likes to give me snark and orders, and I¡¯m a pain to work with. I¡¯m always pushing myself harder, and I exhaust people trying to keep up, but you¡¯re free to work at your own pace when you¡¯ve time. All that aside, it would be appreciated if anyone would like to lend a hand in preparing compositions or lift their voices with me. Thank you all for listening.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Various council members stared at her as if she¡¯d suddenly grown a second head before they looked at each other. That might cut the numbers down to those who are serious and won¡¯t be a pain in my arse. Roher¡¯s gaze brightened the longer the silence dragged. After a minute without so much as a mutter, Amdirlain offered him back the staff, but he motioned for her to retain it. ¡°Do you believe we would make a difference to your work?¡± ¡°We can all make a difference,¡± declared Amdirlain. An ancient male, alone in a distant home beyond the fringes of a larger community, spoke up. ¡°Would the world songs include the traps?¡± Fine, here we go. Does this also go to shit now? Grumpy old dude in a house that doesn¡¯t have even a lingering trace of anyone else¡¯s song. Was he one of those from the tower that didn¡¯t have to endure the Abyss? Amdirlain snorted and echoed their question to Sarah, carefully ensuring she provided only their words. ¡°Why do you ask?¡± The old L¨®m? straightened on his chair. Though his features were as youthful as the others, bitterness and regret lined them. ¡°We should implement what the Titan wanted. In my recollections, we never asked the reason for the traps.¡± They need to see it¡¯s possible to start afresh; none of them were alive at the time of the schism. ¡°What¡¯s your name, please?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If I were Orh¨ºthurin, I¡¯m sure I¡¯d know it, but like all of you, I¡¯m a reincarnation of those alive when the split happened.¡± ¡°I¡¯m called Barhador, Amdirlain,¡± Barhador replied. ¡°You asked for aid in preparing compositions. We should seek the original songs that fulfil the Titan¡¯s plan, not make our own. If we can¡¯t obtain those, we are meddlers interfering where we shouldn¡¯t." He''s not sorry; he''s trying to control their involvement. Since no one but Roher knows of the orrery, that¡¯s an excuse to sit on your hands doing nothing. ¡°If I can get those?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Barhador¡¯s mouth twisted, ready to scoff in disbelief. ¡°Then I would bow and call you High Conductor if your ego requires it. You¡¯re frankly a child who needs guidance.¡± The forest resonated with similar attitudes before others voiced their disgust. Despite the swathe of objections that rose in her defence, a spark of pain-inspired rage burned in Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and she had to push it away. ¡°I¡¯ve no desire for titles, and I¡¯m not even big on formalities,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t consider myself in a position to comment on what you crave. However, you should know I have the Songbird¡¯s original plans in an orrery. I¡¯ve not tried to find any planet within it since it contains a record of every star and its planets for every planned galaxy. To add to the challenge, tons have yet to be created. Though I will say this: in Gideon¡¯s request to bring life to the sterile world, they didn¡¯t ask it to be recreated to the planned state but simply for life to be returned.¡± ¡°How did you come by this treasure trove of music?¡± scoffed Barhador lightly, and others echoed his scepticism. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin left it and the harp Gilorn in the care of an Adamantine Dragon,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°Gideon confirmed its contents. You should remember the name Gideon but as in the Aspect of Knowledge, in case your recollections have misplaced such a minor name.¡± Barhador tensed up but replied in a calm tone that didn¡¯t match his inner bile. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken with Gilorn and been critiqued by her. You have Lady Orh¨ºthurin features and her attitude, but just as I can¡¯t hear Gilorn¡¯s song, neither can I hear yours.¡± Oh, that gets under your skin, doesn¡¯t it? ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m both Hidden and a Fallen until I break the curse on me. Unfortunately, this has caused me to accumulate two unpleasant auras, which I¡¯ve restrained beneath concealments,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Is there no way you can let us hear it?¡± probed Barhador. Like I¡¯d let you hear fuck all about me, conceited arsehole. Child? Maybe in terms of overall age, but what have you done lately? Your song doesn¡¯t possess a fraction of Roher¡¯s strength. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t like to hear my song, Barhador, and I wouldn¡¯t let it linger in this forest to be an unpleasant reminder of my first visit,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Both my flesh and Soul are full of fresh and old pain, and I¡¯m not inclined to share suffering with anyone. After Baln¨¦rith¡¯s betrayal, I understand the reluctance to take things at face value, but I¡¯m not offering fancy words or expecting even promises. Anyone who helps can work as much or as little as they like, quit when they like, and return when they like.¡± ¡°When we endured our state trapped in the Abyss, Amdirlain helped without asking,¡± interjected Laleither, her words audible to every adult. Amdirlain listened to the veils, hiding the conversation from children in every household, and she paid particular attention to Laleither and Roher¡¯s sleeping children. Their dwelling ran along the slope of a hill between giant trees and was rich with the lingering melodies of their growing family. The maternal melody that rose from Laleither as she watched over her and Roher¡¯s children caused hollowing blades of jealousy and grief to vomit up from Amdirlain¡¯s Soul. As Laleither continued, Amdirlain had to drag her attention back to the discussion, holding back an urge to flee. ¡°Amdirlain freed souls before she knew she was an Anar. Repeatedly, she rescued lost L¨®m? and then aided us in freeing you and others from the royal tower, Barhador. Like my husband, I will assist her in these endeavours without conditions. She still works to oppose Baln¨¦rith while we¡¯ve resettled ourselves into a new life. Amdirlain fights our battle for us, and you insult her. A child does not fight a war alone. That you call her one yet haven¡¯t offered help to ease a youth¡¯s burden shows me your nature.¡± Was that spike of jealousy because of Orh¨ºthurin and her daughter? ¡°Baln¨¦rith isn¡¯t the be-all and end-all of evil in the realm,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s just the one that attacked the L¨®m? and Anar. I¡¯m seeking people interested in undoing evil work and creating life.¡± ¡°Why come to us after doing so much by yourself?¡± questioned Barhador. ¡°Are you seeking to use us as well?¡± The cynical inflections in Barhador¡¯s tone had Amdirlain tempted to remove his teeth. ¡°I need to reduce the amount of experience I¡¯m getting while I push my True Song¡¯s growth. Teaming up with others who can¡¯t do as much will let me offload the experience the realm rewards for Class-related activities,¡± smiled Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m trying to grow my True Song, but I keep increasing levels and want to avoid that right now.¡± ¡°Nonsense, now you¡¯re just being insulting,¡± scoffed Barhador. ¡°No, I¡¯m just being factual,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re the one that has provided insults.¡± ¡°Indeed, she is right on both counts,¡± Roher confirmed. ¡°I know it¡¯s hard to believe without witnessing, but it¡¯s true. When the Royal Tower was shifted, Amdirlain supported hundreds of singers by herself. Truly, the effort Isa and Gail provided was marginal compared to her contribution.¡± Gideon, I could use a few dozen worlds to heal, preferably where I won¡¯t get much experience. Amdirlain mentally crossed her fingers and tried Analysis. The work list presented thousands of worlds whose needs ranged from environmental disasters to adding modifications to plant life. None of them were things she¡¯d gotten experience for in the past, and surprisingly, there wasn¡¯t a note. Okay, I can work with this, Gideon. Amdirlain put the list into a memory crystal and floated it across to Roher. ¡°How about we cut to the chase, and I provide proof,¡± proposed Amdirlain as Roher claimed the crystal from midair. ¡°Roher, would you do me a favour? Here is a list of places that need help. Would you open up a random one from anywhere on the list? Place the Gate anywhere beyond the forest edge. I¡¯ll handle some minor singing for those who need evidence.¡± ¡°You wish to breach the wards,¡± accused Barhador. ¡®Can I eat him?¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡°No, that¡¯s why I asked Roher to set it outside the forest,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get this done since you¡¯ll keep finding excuses otherwise.¡± Lembiel cleared her throat. ¡°Might I speak?¡± Amdirlain turned back to the knight standing where they¡¯d appeared, and they glanced at the speaker¡¯s staff in her hand. ¡°Go right ahead.¡± ¡°I object to a noisy minority influencing how things should be,¡± stated Lembiel. ¡°You¡¯ve explained your intention and only asked those who wish to assist you. Those not interested have nothing to add to this discussion. I heard my father¡¯s Soul return to the purification field in our cavern. He was the first you saved, and he spoke of the respect you showed him even after the form that trapped him tried to kill you. As you showed respect to strangers, we should not treat you with unworthy suspicion.¡± Barhador argued, ¡°You¡¯ve got a confessed emotional basis, and we have already experienced betrayal. Amdirlain likely expects us to complete most of the work she proposes.¡± Dry laughter barked from Roher''s lips. So it was right to trust a complete outsider but not trust the Titan, Orh¨ºthurin, or me. Is he trying to infer he knows my name for a summoning? ¡°Yes, you lost family, but so did we all. Yet we suffered the consequences that Baln¨¦rith¡¯s plan let you avoid. You and others in the tower made the choices for us and drifted through time unscathed until the traitors you¡¯d allowed to fester lashed out,¡± rebuffed Lembiel. ¡°The rest of us didn¡¯t get a say, so you don¡¯t get to stop me from helping Amdirlain. You should be ashamed to say that she has provided insufficient proof of her goodwill.¡± There was a cascade of agreements from many who¡¯d quietly listened to that point, the sound drowning out more naysayers. ¡°I thought Barhador would accept we were at fault with how he started. He doesn¡¯t speak for me. I was a Royal Knight in the tower, and while I also drifted through time, I got no say in the proceedings. Without Roher¡¯s protection, we know the traitors would have also slain us. It was humbling to see how far our ability in True Song has gone to seed,¡± announced another knight, and others signalled their agreement. ¡°I would like to work with you, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°There are always family members who don¡¯t get along,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Barhador, you called me a child, and there is truth in that. I¡¯m not even a century old, even if you include the life I remember and consider my own.¡± A group aligned with Barhador started muttering smugly, exchanging messages about guiding her. Messages that they seemed to think she couldn¡¯t hear, yet many council members in the glade expressed outrage. Amdirlain¡¯s steely tones slammed down on Barhador as he sought to use the momentum of his supporters. ¡°My work has no pay but the pleasure of success and creation. I¡¯ve already healed thousands of worlds, stopped an Eldritch invasion, and resealed others in their prisons. While I wanted help to recreate destroyed life on planets, the list I provided Roher has worlds that need healing and adjustments instead of creating life from scratch. Would anyone like to hear those simply in need of repair?¡± The council members near Roher nodded, and the disappointment that had grown within them at Barhador¡¯s interjections eased. ¡°Should I share the songs?¡± Roher inquired. ¡°Those interested can assess them and better understand what you propose.¡± Maybe I shouldn¡¯t stick around and play with the children. ¡°No, I will move outside the wards to the south and open gates from there. I was just going to do one from here, but since Barhador and his toadies doubted my capabilities so blatantly, I¡¯ll provide a petty show,¡± stated Amdirlain, passing the staff back to Roher. ¡°I¡¯ll give people a few minutes to get into position in case their Resonance can¡¯t reach the southern border.¡± ¡®Not quite the reception I hoped you¡¯d get, but most seem fine,¡¯ Sarah¡¯s mental touch projected a mix of amusement and frustration. ¡®It seems others could do with a fresh start.¡¯ Amdirlain reappeared by herself where the knights had initially greeted them. While she waited for anyone to shift closer, she reviewed the melodies Gideon had provided. Within a few minutes, thousands had moved, and even more opened focal points for scrying based on the song of her relocation. ¡°You think I can¡¯t hear your songs?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Her words carried effortlessly through the wards that covered the forest to the ears of those with sour, ancient tones. Tirriel and Lembiel appeared nearby, accompanied by Sarah. Her gaze narrowed, and she stared questioningly at Amdirlain¡¯s back. I shouldn¡¯t have left her in the clearing; it was too much of a tell about my emotional mess. Anyway, there¡¯s no point in doing this slow and steady¡ªit wouldn¡¯t prove anything. Palm-sized gates burst open to every planet at once, a segmented wall that allowed those in range to sense the melodies of the diverse worlds. ¡®Roher has you on the big screen. I think you¡¯re more annoyed than you let on. Try not to give the game away as you¡¯ll regret it later, even if nothing bad happens,¡¯ projected Sarah. Amdirlain smiled and pulsed acknowledgement. ¡®Nothing on the list is outside the Anar capacity, and it¡¯s all in the middle range so they can hear it sung.¡¯ Sections of land where life clung on after the devastation of meteor strikes or volcanic eruptions bloomed back to life. Millions of songs healed biomes from mountain tops to deep oceans. In healthy worlds, the changes were distinct; fields and forests transformed; in them, a background hum of elemental affinities rose. Amdirlain pushed her limits, completing most of the work in seconds. The rushed effort to undertake the repairs and changes strained Amdirlain¡¯s flesh. As she tied up the last pieces, she lifted clear of the grass, and Phoenix¡¯s Rapture flared to life, stretching out flames in massive wings behind her. The energy reached beyond Amdirlain¡¯s concealments to convey a tale. An inferno of creation renewed rent flesh, and the combination of power and ignored agony within the flames caused all the L¨®m? observers to flinch back. Although Sarah caught their reactions, her posture didn¡¯t waver. After Amdirlain¡¯s external injuries had healed, she turned off the power and landed. The silence from the observers lingered on. I shouldn¡¯t have done all of the songs at once. It didn¡¯t let me properly listen to them, and I didn¡¯t correct enough issues to improve my understanding of the interactions. ¡°You¡¯ve heard their songs, and Roher has the crystal, so you can scry them whenever you want,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But they were secondary to the worlds I want to heal.¡± With that, she closed the gates and opened a single Gate to one world that Orcus¡¯ forces had purged. The haze of the place had faded since the closure of the abyssal gates, but the world¡¯s music was sad and grim. ¡°This world once contained more living beings than Veht?, so I plan to bring it back to life rather than leave it in this state. The choice is up to you if you want to help,¡± said Amdirlain flatly. ¡°The Lady of Dawn,¡± murmured Barhador, having raised to his feet in his distant home. ¡°No, I don¡¯t come close to Orh¨ºthurin,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°And neither the Anar nor the L¨®m? ever awarded titles from previous lives to those reincarnated. I believe in determining advancement by merit, so let¡¯s not change that standard.¡± Barhador coughed. ¡°That is your title.¡± ¡°You treated me with suspicion and contempt, and now you want me to accept empty titles? Do you even remember where that title originated from? How about you swallow your pride and genuinely apologise for your insinuations and accusations first?¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°I can still hear your arrogance despite your act, and your self-centred song frankly disgusts me. Did you grow corrupt in your old age or come to it young? Gilorn, do you want to stay here or come along?¡± Gilorn appeared sitting on the grass beside Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll accompany you, Amdirlain. I hope you¡¯re ready to work hard again after your rest.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t just take her,¡± protested Barhador. ¡°The Anar Queen left her in our care.¡± Does he think I teleported Gilorn? ¡°Try me, Barhador! I¡¯ll see if I can earn another title, perhaps ¡®Titan¡¯s Executioner¡¯. Now I need to work on my True Song,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she laid a hand trembling with rage atop the harp. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s still so weak,¡± Gilorn replied with a sharp, humorous run of notes. ¡°I know, right,¡± quipped Amdirlain, and she wiped all traces the Phoenix¡¯s Rapture had left behind. ¡°Gideon has repeatedly made my inadequacies clear.¡± ¡®Too angry to speak to the kids?¡¯ Sarah inquired mentally. Amdirlain mentally sighed. ¡®I¡¯m too emotionally fucked up. I shouldn¡¯t inflict that on anyone, let alone kids.¡¯ ¡°Please stay longer, Amdirlain,¡± said Tirriel. ¡°Barhador does not speak for the rest of us, and I know many were eager to speak with you informally even before that display. The amount of life you restored in one region alone adds to my amazement.¡± ¡°She had sour notes from overcompensating on problem harmonics,¡± critiqued Gilorn. ¡°Amdirlain should have easily been able to handle three times that many songs at her strength.¡± ¡°I apologise for my rudeness,¡± stated Barhador, sounding as if the words were being dragged out of him despite no outside pressure. ¡°You¡¯d be better off keeping your mouth shut, Barhador. I could hear the falseness of you and your friends at twice this distance,¡± snapped Amdirlain. ¡°I could seal it for him,¡± growled Gilorn, her echoing chords like drawn blades. Roher coughed. ¡°The councils all agree with Tirrel¡¯s request. Please stay, Amdirlain, as many would like to meet you.¡± ¡°While I looked forward to meeting you all, there are enough among you who share Barhador¡¯s sour chords that I¡¯d prefer future contact on neutral ground,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°I¡¯ll advise Roher when I plan to start work and what music is involved. I don¡¯t expect anyone to help, but it would be nice. Otherwise, I¡¯ll just figure out how to handle it alone, and I¡¯m certainly used to that.¡± With that, she vanished with Gilorn and Sarah; the song muffled behind concealments left only distorted clues about their destination. 404 - Messing with my mind Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Foundry The glowing crystal saturated with Amdirlain¡¯s Ki illuminated their arrival beneath the central pavilion. ¡°Such a tiny place,¡± commented Gilorn. ¡°I would have thought you¡¯d have expanded it by now.¡± ¡°This place¡¯s purpose doesn¡¯t need it to be massive,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she sat down on a bench closest to Gilorn. ¡°How was your time with Gail?¡± ¡°She is a competent player, but I would have preferred your company, Amdirlain,¡± replied Gilorn primly. ¡°Even if you cannot utilise me properly, you¡¯re forgiven. Though, speaking of things I might need to forgive, might I ask why you have a floor harp here?¡± ¡°Practice instrument,¡± replied Amdirlain. Gilorn emitted a sputtering run of notes. ¡°You¡¯ve been playing a different magical floor harp and a divine one at that!¡± ¡°Gilorn, how else am I going to get good enough to play you without doing so?¡± questioned Amdirlain carefully. Gilorn strings let out a high-pitched giggle. ¡°I thought I¡¯d give you as stupid a reaction as that moron, Barhador. What a numbskull.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve not had to put up with their company,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°By the way, that was a nice obfuscation of your Planar Shift. I¡¯m not sure they have enough competence to trace you.¡± ¡°Thanks for your assessment,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Are you upset that I used another harp?¡± Gilorn sighed. ¡°To tell you the truth, I believe I am. That is most unexpected, but logic and emotions aren¡¯t the same. I shall put up with your fingering fumbles while you grow in proficiency. You shall practise diligently to minimise that time, yes?¡± ¡°Yes, but I¡¯ve many other things on my schedule,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how many hours I can find in a day just for harp practice.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got more work like those demi-planes to do?¡± questioned Gilorn ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got some special ones I need, and after that, I had planned to mimic part of what you and Ori did during your training. I could also create more to expand the elemental planes or construct defences in the Outlands.¡± Gilorn chimed merrily. ¡°Then we shall do those together. It is fitting since Orh¨ºthurin trained me while making demi-planes. We¡¯re on opposite sides of the journey now, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°The pupil becomes the teacher,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°A proper teacher hopes that happens,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°However, not in the circumstance of your reversal. What was that aura Power you¡¯ve been using?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I¡¯m used to its music and wasn¡¯t expecting to shock them. It¡¯s called Phoenix¡¯s Rapture.¡± ¡°I should have asked the Power¡¯s name last time we trained,¡± noted Gilorn. ¡°It sounds stronger. You¡¯ve been pushing your boundaries, I take it?¡± ¡°My boundaries and those of demi-planes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I made a Planar Seed.¡± ¡°Oh, I would have loved to see that,¡± purred Gilorn. ¡°What¡¯s the new Plane¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Atonement,¡± replied Amdirlain. A few notes wafted from Gilorn, and a scrying window appeared, displaying a churning maelstrom of chaos that surged across a stony plain, leaving pristine white buildings in its wake only for the next wave to destroy and recreate them. ¡°That¡¯s a mess in there still. How long do you estimate for it to stabilise?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but at least a few years,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I hadn¡¯t planned to check on it soon.¡± ¡°Speaking of plans, that wasn¡¯t quite the visit you¡¯d hoped to have with them,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°You know, you¡¯ve turned into an introvert, running off when things get uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Yeah, I have,¡± Amdirlain agreed. ¡°I should have considered Gail¡¯s party and known it would have been a mess.¡± ¡°I thought you responded with restraint,¡± Gilorn offered. ¡°Let them sort out the issues within their community before they approach you again.¡± ¡°Things weren¡¯t what I was expecting,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I could just hear more of the resentment or if it had increased since I spoke to Roher.¡± Gilorn emitted a series of sour notes that sounded like a rusty gate squealing and groaning. ¡°That¡¯s the kindest comment I could give on those from the tower. At least those with sour chords have no authority left. Personally, I think Roher should have let them all die and slain the traitors. Instead, the councils have to deal with this large group that has learned nothing about humility except the humiliation of stripped titles.¡± ¡°There are thousands whose songs held clear animosity towards me,¡± reported Amdirlain. ¡°Which was a little insulting since I¡¯ve never met them.¡± ¡°They might be jealous of the respect that the others have for you. Given that number, I can see why you want to keep things neutral from now on,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Maybe you should prepare contingencies in case they try anything dumb.¡± Gilorn hummed. ¡°I agree on that count. Their tones started shifting before you arrived, but your appearance catalysed a significant souring of their melodies.¡± ¡°I took on Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s appearance on a hunch, thinking people expected to see her face,¡± explained Amdirlain. Waving a hand at herself, she transformed back into her regular Wood Elf form, with auburn hair and a dusting of mint green across her dusky skin. ¡°Precognition told me it was for the best, but that wasn¡¯t what I expected.¡± ¡°You exposed potential animosity. It¡¯s best to know you have enemies,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°It¡¯s not like I needed new ones. Though if they tried a summoning, it wouldn¡¯t be a standard circle.¡± ¡°They¡¯d need True Song Crystal to secure it unless they kept a choir maintaining it,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°It might be just as well Gail and Isa haven¡¯t been helping them make more since they left the Abyss.¡± ¡°I know Gail had been busy, but I hadn¡¯t expected a total blackout on creating it,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she dispatched a quick message to Gail to let her know Gilorn was with her. ¡°Not a complete blackout, but it¡¯s not been a priority,¡± corrected Gilorn. ¡°If they try to restrain you, I¡¯ll make sure they regret it.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been hiding your own capabilities, haven¡¯t you?¡± Amdirlain inquired. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to Teleport to me.¡± Gilorn hum of amusement resonated in Amdirlain¡¯s bones. ¡°Who me? Did you believe I was just an instrument to magnify Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s capabilities?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the way you described it,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I said we created billions of demi-planes to help my tuning,¡± corrected Gilorn. ¡°I heard your change of the harmonics, and it seems your Resonance has improved. Otherwise, you¡¯d have missed the issues.¡± ¡°What Resonance do you have?¡± Gilorn stayed mute. ¡°Really?¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Not even a hint?¡± ¡°Earn it,¡± responded Gilorn. There are always prices to pay. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°That might be fun. I¡¯m sorry for wasting your morning, Sarah.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t wasted,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°Would you give us a moment, Gilorn?¡± I don¡¯t want this conversation. Not now. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me. I¡¯ll listen to the baby Plane until Amdirlain is ready for practice,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Just touch me when you want my attention again, dear.¡± The serene tone in Gilorn¡¯s announcement brought out a smile from Amdirlain despite her jangled nerves. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Amdirlain calmly. ¡°Normally, when you share a link, I hear your running mental commentary as well,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°The only things you shared today were the questions and his grumbling.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to get my head in order,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°And I don¡¯t feel like sharing the mess at present.¡± Sarah groaned and moved closer to Amdirlain. ¡°Did I mess up?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m the mess,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You were absolutely right. My suggestion to move forward with anything between us was an awful idea.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t awful, sweetie,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°It was flattering you wanted to try, but I couldn¡¯t put my interests ahead of yours. You can tell that¡¯s the truth from my song.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not listening to your music,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s intrusive, and you told me to take the time to get my head straightened out.¡± Sarah reached out to cup Amdirlain¡¯s face, only for her wrist to be caught. ¡°Yeah, I fucked up,¡± Sarah breathed. ¡°I wasn¡¯t looking to hurt you.¡± ¡°I am a mess,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°That you told me to pump my brakes could cause me to spin out proves it. I don¡¯t know what my issues fuel versus Ori¡¯s wounds.¡± Amdirlain released Sarah¡¯s wrist and let her arm fall. Frozen, with her arm still outstretched, Sarah hesitated before slowly lowering it. ¡°What¡¯s digging at you the worst?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not my shrink,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°You offering to listen isn¡¯t helpful right now. All my dysfunctional relationships have me in common. I¡¯m the train wreck, and maybe it¡¯s best not to get caught up in it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll always be there to help you dig out of the rubble,¡± Sarah responded softly, keeping her expression composed. ¡°But your instinct is to do it alone. That¡¯s why you jumped here, isn¡¯t it?¡± Amdirlain placed her hand atop Gilorn¡¯s neck, and Sarah¡¯s gaze flared in surprise at the abrupt end of their conversation. ¡°I¡¯d just like fewer enemies for a change, not find new ones where I expected only allies,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll only be doing some boring singing exercises. Again, sorry for interrupting your forge work.¡± With that, Amdirlain vanished. They appeared inside a small Demi-Plane, and Gilorn floated next to Amdirlain; her energy strings fully illuminated the area. ¡°You have melodies erasing your scent beneath your concealments,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°Dragons have keen senses,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Which of your enemies need to be destroyed first?¡± questioned Gilorn. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°It would be for the best if I got strong enough to deal with my own problems, though it¡¯s kind of you to offer.¡± ¡°Who said I was offering to do it?¡± rebuffed Gilorn. ¡°I thought I¡¯d teach you particular songs to help.¡± What is it I want most? ¡°I¡¯d prefer to focus on creating for a time,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s first?¡± ¡°I need my True Song stronger and to increase my Perception Skill,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°So I need exercises that strain it while making me pick up details that are going wrong and give minimal experience.¡± ¡°What had you intended to create?¡± Amdirlain waved a hand at the boundary membrane. ¡°I found expanding these hundreds of kilometres across starts to stress True Song. Do you know the songs to merge a Demi-Plane with another Plane?¡± ¡°I do,¡± acknowledged Gilorn. ¡°But I¡¯m not here to clean up your things. You¡¯ll need to learn that song yourself.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine with me,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Did Ori ever make you any promises?¡± ¡°No, I would have never asked her for anything,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°She created me, brought me to life, gave me powers and purpose. Then she brought such happiness into my existence, letting me help her with thousands of systems.¡± I¡¯m not sure how to treat that news. ¡°You¡¯re not just a harp,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re a crystalline lifeform form through True Song Crystal.¡± ¡°I''m more of an energy being. You should know that True Song Crystal isn¡¯t exactly solid,¡± corrected Gilorn. ¡°Only a being with a Soul can use True Song. The harps of the Anar and L¨®m? magnify particular aspects of True Song, and I can also do that.¡± ¡°Except you likely magnify it by singing supporting notes,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s not my only option,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Don¡¯t you have some singing to get started with?¡± The melodies shoved the boundary outwards, and as the expansion continued, Amdirlain let the music flow through her and tried to follow it with Harmony. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. With all the concerns that churned beneath her mental barrier, attempting a deliberate mix of concentration and relaxed meditation caused the songs to fail a few times before Gilorn rang with disapproval. ¡°What are you trying to do?¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to get a better feel for the music¡¯s flow,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°There is another Power that I¡¯ve had for a while, and I was hoping it had the potential to help, but experimenting with it is problematic.¡± ¡°I very much doubt that¡¯s not what¡¯s got you so distracted,¡± critiqued Gilorn. ¡°Did you listen in?¡± ¡°Between you and Sarah, no,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯ve sung magnificently with blood leaking from your eyes and ears, but at present, you¡¯re not even bleeding from anywhere. So, what¡¯s got you distracted? Whatever it is, put it out of your mind and focus. Whatever lovers¡¯ tiff you have going on, put it out of your mind.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not lovers,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°You could have fooled me,¡± grumbled Gilorn. ¡°Her song craves your touch, and you¡¯re hiding your scent from a Dragon. I don¡¯t have to hear your Soul to hear the scents of longing and pain you¡¯re continually dissolving. The situation smacks of emotional significance.¡± ¡°It¡¯s messy,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°But potentially worthwhile?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°Or are you dissolving your scent because you long for her to leave you alone?¡± Amdirlain mouth tightened. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I want.¡± ¡°Then figure it out when you don¡¯t need to sing,¡± countered Gilorn. ¡°Dwelling on such matters is best reserved for when there isn¡¯t work to get done.¡± ¡°Yes, m¨®eir,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Mother!¡± squeaked Gilorn, and her black crystal frame went deep red. ¡°Why I never! The cheek of you, Amdirlain. I¡¯ve been in stasis so long that I¡¯ve certainly not put on enough weight for that.¡± ¡°Enough weight?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin made it so I can reproduce through fission,¡± admitted Gilorn, the blush retreating towards her base. ¡°I had meant it more that you were lecturing me like a mother,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°A young lady calls me m¨®eir because her flesh and blood mother was still alive, but I¡¯d done a lot for her.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± chimed Gilorn happily. ¡°In that context, it¡¯s an acceptable honorific if you wish to continue using it. After all, I¡¯m helping raise you in your True Song capabilities. Is that like parenting? Wait! Don¡¯t most parents meddle in their children¡¯s relationships? Is that what you expect? Certainly, the L¨®m? aren¡¯t providing you with any emotional support.¡± Amdirlain smiled wryly. ¡°I could do without the relationship advice. I bet I¡¯ll have enough people trying to give me their insights.¡± ¡°The only lectures I desire to give are on True Song, and I¡¯ll only go beyond that if you allow your distracted state to continue,¡± declared Gilorn. ¡°Why were you seeking help for your projects?¡± ¡°I wanted to avoid excessive level increases while advancing my True Song,¡± advises Amdirlain. ¡°Is that because of your True Form?¡± Of course, she can hear it. ¡°Yes,¡± sighed Amdirlain, restraining herself from raking fingers through her hair. Gilorn thrummed. ¡°Many things look ugly while they¡¯re in the process of change. Judging too soon might be an error.¡± ¡°Many of the Fallen have an unpleasant appearance,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°My appearance seems to follow that pattern. Certainly, the soot my wings give off has an awful smell.¡± ¡°Many, but not all?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯re convinced you¡¯ll be hideous, but does the appearance of your cursed form matter? Is that who you are?¡± ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Then let us see how far those wings of yours will stretch, both in the precision of your powers and the accumulation of strength,¡± stated Gilorn. ¡°I believe in you, Amdirlain. You should believe in yourself.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Oh child, you let me hear your Soul¡¯s song,¡± Gilorn reminded her. ¡°Though you¡¯re a fragment of who Orh¨ºthurin used to be, you¡¯re wounded but still strong.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t feel strong enough,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean you¡¯ll stay that way. Look at it this way: her strength germinated from natural talent and primordial capacity. Your strength has grown through practice and perseverance. Do I also need to remind you that you removed the vines that Orh¨ºthurin let ensnare her? Gail told me that tale.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t with True Song,¡± objected Amdirlain. Gilorn snorted and let out a clash of notes. ¡°Do you think that successes in True Song come from the Power alone? I heard your flesh ripping itself apart, yet you didn¡¯t waver. You have the strength of will to push through where others falter.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got powers and skills that help me ignore pain,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going to tell me that developing those didn¡¯t require enduring what others would flee from?¡± dismissed Gilorn. ¡°Seriously, stop trying to undersell yourself to me. You¡¯re never going to manage that, my dear. Is that clear?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good. Now, where is that hard work you promised me?¡± demanded Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯m waiting!¡± Right on the heels of her sharp words, music flooded through the Demi-Plane, and the boundary sprinted outwards. As the work progressed, Amdirlain took care to listen and smooth out all the burrs and distortions within the tones. Gilorn¡¯s ongoing feedback drew attention to the most crucial adjustments and aided her in finding them without hand-holding. By the time Amdirlain was done, the hollow earth was complete, and a barrier slowly rotated around a Radiant orb at its centre to provide a day-night cycle. [Crafting Summary (Category: Planetary Biomes) Interlinked self-sustaining biomes with day-night cycle x 1,104 Dungeon complexes x17,823 Gathering challenges x94,239 Total Experience gained: +99,247,500,000 Olind?: +99,247,500,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x26 Harmony [G] (18->20) Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (107->108) Resonance-Prince [G] (2->3) True Song Genesis [G] (23->28) Dance [G] (25->28) Perception [S] (149->151) True Song Architecture [G] (30->32) Physical Geography [Ad] (14->22) Planetary Biome [M] (52->56) Note: You don¡¯t need the L¨®m? to repopulate worlds.] I might not need them, but I¡¯d still like to work with them. Convulsive pressure twisted within her True Form as the levels surged through her. Amdirlain rolled her shoulders and waggled her head from side to side to ease the tension that resonated through her. Though Amdirlain remained outwardly composed, Gilorn hummed with concern. ¡°You¡¯re changing further?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°Can we speak of something else?¡± ¡°Why do you have ruins scattered about the place?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I can¡¯t be a proper dungeon master without a few ancient ruins for adventurers to explore.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve copied the traps the dwarves made for you in places,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°Safety is an illusion,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I think I will drop a message to an old friend.¡± ¡°Old friend for you or an old friend from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s lifetime?¡± Gilorn chimed. ¡°I¡¯ve got ones from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s lifetime peering over my shoulder regardless of my preference,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°This time, it¡¯s someone whose opinion I want.¡± The scrying focus slid through the university wards as if they weren¡¯t present, and Amdirlain found Professor Mor¡¯lmes packing up his desk for the day. Three little girls who shared their mother¡¯s blue fur tone were nearer the door playing a Qil Tris version of rock, paper, scissors but kept stalemating each other. Two wore bright dresses, but the third wore pants and a dark tour T-shirt emblazoned with a set cover Amdirlain had never seen before. Beneath a pair of golden eyes and the lines hinting at an angular face was the phrase ¡®What lies beyond?¡¯ and a list of location dates from years ago. ¡°Holy shit, they shared the trace! Maybe not an in-person visit,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she adjusted the focal point to take in the racks of labelled memory crystals on the shelving behind his desk. Quickly putting information about the Demi-Plane into a memory crystal, she configured a key and dropped the items through a tiny gate to sit atop the desk. One glance at the True Song Crystal key was enough for Mor¡¯lmes to snatch up the memory crystal, and his gaze widened as he scanned the information on the Demi-Plane. At the end was a simple message: ¡®Enjoy the sample of the upcoming training complexes, J. I¡¯ll be in touch when you¡¯ve had teams investigate it.¡¯ ¡°Scat,¡± growled Mor¡¯lmes. The little girl in the T-shirt glared at him with stern ferocity, and her tail lashed the air. ¡°Language, Papa! You¡¯ll get in trouble!¡± With a snicker, Amdirlain let the scrying window close. ¡°Do you have time left before you¡¯re expected elsewhere?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s barely mid-afternoon where I¡¯ve been living,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve over half a day available. I¡¯d also like to talk to you about a construct that Custodian showed me.¡± ¡°We can discuss that while you work on the next,¡± ordered Gilorn. ¡°But first, I¡¯ve more feedback on your performance.¡± Though keeping her Willpower on par with her Charisma was tempting, Amdirlain dropped the free attribute points into Quickness and transported them to another Demi-Plane. Sarah¡¯s PoV - Mechanus. Polished cogs of bronze metal filled the surrounding sky, but diamonds in every known colour composed nearly everything on this platform. In the distance, a mountain of pure white diamond cast the Plane¡¯s light into well-ordered rainbows. The slab of polished granite that Sarah had imported for this exercise was a metre thick and positioned in a circle to protect the future occupant from the Plane¡¯s energy. The polished crystal staff was slick in her grip, and Sarah ground it to look over the circle she¡¯d prepared. It was minutely smaller than the circle that Amdirlain¡¯s staff created and, within its inner boundary, a cascade of keyed runes waiting for something to land on them. Ingots of mithril dropped to the ground and once liquified, her control flowed the mass outwards to complete the runes she¡¯d extracted from the floor. Diamond walls rose from around the slab perimeter and formed a cylinder thirty metres tall. Sarah transformed from her standard Human form into a red-haired Elf with pale blue skin. Careful questions through Analysis had already provided the real use name of the Cloister member who had angrily confronted Amdirlain at every opportunity. Gideon¡¯s notes had revealed more than that about Rahka and extended their plans. ¡®Well done. Precisely prepared, daughter.¡¯ As always, the words themselves weighed on Sarah¡¯s mind despite the delicacy of her mentor¡¯s touch. ¡°Thank you, mother.¡± ¡®You¡¯ll eventually move past it. I have faith that you¡¯ll achieve genuine healing. If you¡¯re sure about this approach, it¡¯s time to proceed.¡¯ ¡°I want to deal with some individuals who¡¯ve sought to make her life difficult.¡± With that, Sarah activated Amdirlain¡¯s staff, and it impressed a circle of runes around those she¡¯d set up. It only took half a minute for Rahka to appear in the circle. Disgorged into Mechanus, the boundary event of the conduit stripped away her false appearance; instead of the typical Lizardfolk stood a flayed monstrosity. Against the background of exposed muscles and sinew, mists of blood and rage seethed from thousands of fanged maws that showed all across her body. The runes beneath her feet flared, obliterating all the clothing and enchanted items except one that was flung upwards. The crystal pendant of Redemption¡¯s Path spun to the top of the circle and cratered into the diamond ceiling and, as it hit, secondary circles activated to enclose Rahka and keep her separated from the pendant. ¡°What do you know of the Castellan and Baln¨¦rith?¡± asked Sarah in elven, even as her adopted mother slid undetected mental probes past the Fallen¡¯s defences. The questions had brought answers to the surface of Rahka¡¯s mind, implicating her and four others in the Castellan¡¯s capture and initial interrogation. Rahka hissed angrily and smashed herself against the inner circle, unable to even approach the barrier of the summoning circle. ¡°You destroyed my weapon, and for that insult alone, I¡¯ll rip you apart, soft skin,¡± snarled Rahka. ¡°You¡¯re concerned about it, but not your pendant. Do you even care about your redemption?¡± scoffed Sarah. ¡°Name those who worked with you to capture the Castellan.¡± Though Rahka¡¯s mind provided the answers, she didn¡¯t so much as twitch. Sarah¡¯s mother shared an image of fighting in an unnatural forest, with glimpses of others among the flames and explosions. ¡°I¡¯ve done lots of research and know you were involved,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Or does the fight in the forest of Ijmti not ring a bell?¡± ¡°As if I¡¯d need anyone to help me capture that filth. What sort of fool are you to think you can capture one of the cloister without repercussion?¡± asked Rahka, but the question sufficiently exposed a chain of memories for it to be extracted. ¡°I know about your pendants and how they work,¡± advised Sarah, wishing she could see her. ¡°It¡¯s not on you, so you¡¯re not contacting anyone using it. You¡¯re also not leaving here until I have some answers.¡± ¡°When I get out here, I¡¯ll hunt you down,¡± sneered Rahka. ¡°You¡¯ll beg for mercy, but I¡¯ll enjoy centuries torturing you, Elf.¡± ¡®It seems Rahka¡¯s True Sight cannot penetrate the mirror of Am¡¯s barrier.¡¯ ¡°You assume you¡¯re getting out while I¡¯m still vulnerable to you,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°What did Naamah do with the Castellan?¡± The memory that rose caused Sarah to blanch; the image of Rakha and her companions with Castellan between them in the Great Mother¡¯s cavern of ice had too great an accuracy for it to be false. Rahka¡¯s gaze narrowed at her question. ¡°You¡¯re in my mind?¡± ¡°We are in your mind, not me alone,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°Why were you dealing with the Kyton¡¯s Great Mother?¡± Rahka tried to resist, but blood started to seep from her eye sockets, and the truth spilled forth. ¡®They received instructions from Naamah. She had a deal with her about Orh¨ºthurin.¡¯ Sarah growled in the back of her throat, drawing a fanged smile from Rahka. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to torture Orh¨ºthurin myself, but I¡¯m equally happy to know the Great Mother has bait to torture that wicked bitch. We¡¯ve destroyed so many of those Baln¨¦rith once used as a workforce in the depths, and more are facing their end as we speak. Soon, Orh¨ºthurin will only have three choices to get the information she seeks: the Great Mother, Naamah, or Baln¨¦rith. They all want her, and I¡¯m sure they will make her scream.¡± ¡®Naamah likely wants to make her scream in pleasure. I remember her appetites even on the battlefield.¡¯ Sarah¡¯s mouth twisted in distaste. ¡°Mother, she¡¯s all yours.¡± The gleaming diamond mountain shifted, and a kilometres-high cliff shifted as a massive eyelid opened and booming words in draconic rocked the area. ¡°Fallen. We have matters to discuss. Your lack of respect for Orh¨ºthurin is the first thing I shall correct, but not the least. Your fall lies at your own feet, and it¡¯s time you looked within and properly confronted the genuine reasons for your rage.¡± When the mental probes of the first female Diamond Dragon turned into scalpels and focused Rahka¡¯s mind on itself, truths that the Fallen had denied to herself even after the path¡¯s critique rose from seething pits of rage and self-hatred. Oblivious to the world around her, Rahka started to whimper and shake her head in denial. ¡®Don¡¯t go near Hell, Daughter.¡¯ ¡°If she finds out, she¡¯ll do something reckless,¡± argued Sarah. ¡®For her, such reckless action would be unpleasant but likely survivable, whereas for you, it would be suicide. Or must I remind you that you are flesh and blood now? Death in Hell would be quite permanent.¡¯ Her composure strained, and Sarah clenched her fists in frustration. ¡°I know.¡± ¡®Bring your thoughts into order. Castellan¡¯s location will only draw your new Orh¨ºthurin if she cannot get the information from another source. For now, turn your attention to what I¡¯m doing, the mental lattice I put in place to support their self-discovery.¡¯ ¡°She¡¯s not Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡®That is indeed what she says, but is your attraction only as Sarah or partly as Shindraithra?¡¯ ¡°I fell in love with her before we came back,¡± protested Sarah. ¡®Yes, but you are dealing with one who has aeons of pain within her Soul, a recent Mortal life that was, in your words, a romantic cluster-fuck, not to mention having a recently deceased beloved. She offered to pursue a relationship and, to be blunt, you told her to sort herself out. I understand you meant your response as caring about her emotional state, but another option exists. Do you deal with rejection well?¡¯ Sarah groaned. ¡°I messed up.¡± The distant mountain vanished, and an elven woman who appeared carved of diamond gently put her hand on Sarah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You picked a well-intentioned and sensible course to achieve an orderly progression of your relationship. Yet she isn¡¯t a being of order, is she?¡± ¡°What do I do, Aitherlar?¡± asked Sarah, not taking her gaze from Rahka¡¯s rigid posture as she violently tossed her head back and forth in adamant denial. Thousands of mental probes wove deeper into Rahka. They didn¡¯t provide an impersonal review of the results as the plinth had; instead, they dug into the motivation for every action leading to her fall and since. ¡°You¡¯ll have to continue the path you picked and deal with the emotional storm. I¡¯ve had a mate for nearly the entire time the realm has existed, and we still have our arguments,¡± advised Aitherlar. ¡°Emotions are not orderly, and a relationship has no perfect beginning or middle. Rather, times of peace and happiness intermingle with arguments and the day-to-day.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had long-term relationships in multiple lives,¡± objected Sarah. A stern finger tapped the centre of Sarah¡¯s forehead. ¡°Then you should know that maintaining a relationship takes continual work. While you¡¯ve told Am to work on herself, what about yourself? You¡¯ve still got matters to resolve, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Am didn¡¯t judge me for that,¡± replied Sarah. The corners of Aitherlar¡¯s mouth twitched with a smile. ¡°Sometimes, people crave punishment to feel like they¡¯ve earned forgiveness. Since Am didn¡¯t punish you, consider the mess you made what you deserve.¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t deserve it,¡± insisted Sarah. Aitherlar¡¯s smile didn¡¯t waver. ¡°Then do better.¡± ¡°Am¡¯s gone into her loner mode, and I¡¯m not sure she¡¯ll hear any reassurances I¡¯ll provide,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Anything I say, she¡¯ll likely take as me trying to patch up what¡¯s wrong with her instead of me acknowledging I made a mess.¡± ¡°Then your Am takes after Orh¨ºthurin indeed,¡± replied Aitherlar. ¡°Find the right actions and let them speak for you.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You know her, not me,¡± countered Aitherlar. ¡°Maybe start by closing your mouth and opening your ears. Her ears are likely closed from emotional pain, so don¡¯t mirror her state.¡± Sarah groaned. ¡°We can discuss it while we heal this one,¡± said Aitherlar, and they got to work. 405 - Standards Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane With Gilorn sitting in the darkness of the empty Demi-Plane, the specks of light within her frame looked even more like stars. ¡°Let us work on this one together,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°While it¡¯s unlikely I¡¯ll gain any levels, at least I can help you gain more time to progress your skills.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate it,¡± accepted Amdirlain. ¡°Should I try to play the baseline of the Demi-Plane?¡± Gilorn hummed warily. ¡°Let¡¯s get your harp playing up to speed on simpler projects first, shall we?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just duplicate the last Demi-Plane and work on improving my performance,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like me to point out other spots I noticed?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°A few key changes would streamline the performance.¡± ¡°Your advice would be welcome.¡± ¡°Then let me show you these sections you sang.¡± With that, lines of musical notations appeared along Gilorn¡¯s neck, and she dove into three key points. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± asked Amdirlain when Gilorn stopped. ¡°Let¡¯s just focus on those for now. Start us off, and I¡¯ll follow your lead,¡± ordered Gilorn. ¡°Then, once you¡¯ve got all the songs in progress, tell me more about the construct you created. It seemed similar to the guardian golems.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain stretched out on the white sands as their duet ended and listened to waves rolling in. The adjustments Gilorn had advised her to work on had reduced the time the second Demi-Plane had taken, and Amdirlain smiled at the notification that appeared when the last song ended. [Crafting Summary (Category: Planetary Biomes and Constructs) Interlinked self-sustaining biomes with day-night cycle x 1,104 (50%) Dungeon complexes x17,823 Gathering challenges x94,239 Mithril-composite Construct x1 Total Experience gained: +49,623,850,000 Olind?: +49,623,850,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x7 Harmony [G] (18->20) Resonance-Prince [G] (3->4) True Song Genesis [G] (28->36) Dance [G] (25->28) Perception [S] (151->155) True Song Architecture [G] (32->35) Physical Geography [Ad] (22->31) Planetary Biome [M] (56->60)] Singing with Gilorn stretched my skills, and her inflections in parts of the songs changed many meanings. I wonder how a chorus of a few thousand L¨®m? would compare. The material strength of these constructs is far beyond what I fought in the Maze, giving them a greater capacity for Class emulation. I¡¯ll need to set them up so the slimes can control them; they should just need some tweaks to their pseudopod responses. ¡°That was helpful,¡± noted Amdirlain appreciatively. ¡°Your singing continued to improve throughout, but your True Form has worsened,¡± observed Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded and absorbed the shadow vines before she released her True Form. Her shoulder joints compressed and shifted further about, displaced by the pressure of her wings that moved towards the outer edge of her shoulder blades as her neck elongated. While some of her spine¡¯s hunch had eased, it had done so because of a further alteration in her hips that had set Amdirlain¡¯s torso on a pronounced lean. Thousands of spines now breached her scarred flesh, and the ruptures leaked a black, oily ooze that turned her body into befouled rapids. The substance dissolved after a brief exposure to air and only that kept it from staining the ground with its corruption. ¡°I might have to see if levelling my other classes has a lesser effect,¡± commented Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m looking like one ugly dinosaur.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve only met one Fallen in person, so unfortunately, I¡¯m not in a suitable position to advise you,¡± Gilorn said. ¡°You might wish to speak to Silpar on the matter. Where is he at present?¡± Amdirlain coughed and returned to her Elven appearance. ¡°I told him it wasn¡¯t necessary to hang around.¡± ¡°You sent him on his way?¡± Gilorn asked. ¡°I thought his purpose was to bodyguard you while you worked, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what he signed on for,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°I felt like I was in a straight jacket of expected behaviour around him, even though it¡¯s apparently not the cloister¡¯s custom to judge each other,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Are you being a rebellious young lady objecting to an elder¡¯s oversight?¡± Gilorn laughed. ¡°Obviously,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Getting called a child was a tad insulting, even if I can logically understand that I¡¯m not old enough to be considered an adult. I¡¯ve not exactly had a typical Anar or L¨®m? childhood.¡± ¡°I wanted to seal that oaf¡¯s mouth up. Should I take away his True Song and remove his classes?¡± ¡°What?¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was furious with the Anar and L¨®m?, and taught me songs to remove their True Song Power and related capabilities. I never understood why she needed me to possess the capability to do so,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Perhaps she foresaw her own death.¡± No, just believed and even craved what Kronos had told her. Yet she sealed Gilorn away in that stasis field? Was there some limit on the stasis that I couldn¡¯t hear? ¡°Let¡¯s not take that route,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°True, merely being insulting doesn¡¯t merit annihilating someone¡¯s foundations in life,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°However tempting it would be. Did Silpar imply you were a child? Is that why you dismissed him from your presence?¡± ¡°No,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°My history and other things had Silpar¡¯s hovering, getting on my nerves.¡± ¡°What part of your history?¡± chimed Gilorn. ¡°It¡¯s rather long.¡± ¡°This life, not Ori¡¯s. A stalker who¡¯d been obsessive about me, even finding out where I¡¯d lived and watching my window, cursed me, and sent me back to this realm.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± murmured Gilorn. ¡°My changes won¡¯t matter once I break free of the curse, so it¡¯s just a short-term ugliness,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not vain enough that the appearance matters. I¡¯ll hide it so it¡¯s not unsettling to others, however, it feels a little weird whenever it shifts about, so I¡¯ll have to be careful that I¡¯m not in a serious fight when that happens.¡± ¡°That should only matter if you¡¯re in a physical altercation,¡± said Gilorn, her frame flashing briefly. ¡°Unless I¡¯m using Dance to smooth the musical flow and drive through someone¡¯s greater magic rating,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Do you drive up your classes quickly and afterwards improve your abilities?¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°I get impatient to be free, but then I realise how selfish I am and calm down. If my levels were high enough, I might accept the change before I rein myself in.¡± ¡°Very well. In that case, we need some exercises to push your True Song and increase any other skills you need without pushing your level too fast,¡± stated Gilorn. ¡°You mentioned a few earlier, but what powers and skills do you want to work on with me?¡± ¡°True Song, Resonance, Dance, Perception, True Song Architecture, and I need more knowledge about planetary formations and lifeforms,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I received an orb with knowledge from a Goddess of Life, but it only contains information from one world.¡± ¡°You used that world for the basis of the land masses here?¡± questioned Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded and stretched a foot through the white sand, enjoying it trickling between her toes. ¡°Most of her followers are on the world that the L¨®m? live on.¡± ¡°Then, for the last three, I¡¯d suggest we study the contents of that orrery that was in my case,¡± declared Gilorn. ¡°You mentioned needing thousands of these?¡± ¡°That number is a bit high. I don¡¯t think I need one for each Qil Tris city,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I gave that number to keep myself busy and ensure I didn¡¯t take the species upgrade too early.¡± ¡°What counts as a high?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°Their entire world is close to the size of this hollow Demi-Plane,¡± Amdirlain coughed, and she drew her clothing back on. Gilorn emitted a merry run of notes. ¡°Oh dear. Your goals might sound ambitious for their expansion, but you know they are still relatively minor.¡± ¡°If I did the rest of that three and half thousand by myself, it would get me to level 340 in my Olind? Class,¡± reported Amdirlain. ¡°It gives me the biggest improvement, at least attribute-wise.¡± ¡°What about your other two Prestige Classes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it. If I push both of them to the same level, that puts me sixty-two levels over what I need for Empress Malfex. Then, I can get extra levels by progressing Fallen and my last Class.¡± ¡°That¡¯s if you do the work yourself, yet singing with someone is a way to stretch your capabilities,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°What else could you use these hollow worlds for?¡± Amdirlain chewed her lips momentarily. ¡°There is the Formithian species that has invaded many worlds. While I¡¯d like to isolate them, the problem is that hollow demi-planes would be unsuitable for the Formithian as their nests rely on the warmth in the depth of a world for their hatching chambers.¡± ¡°Perhaps save that conflict for after you restore yourself to a Primordial state,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°If I can,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m told it¡¯s not a certain thing.¡± ¡°No, there is no ¡®if¡¯. You will,¡± Gilorn said sternly. ¡°No defeatism from my student, thank you very much, young lady.¡± ¡°Sorry, m¨®eir,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Gilorn hummed happily. ¡°That¡¯s more like it. Shall we set a schedule?¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s start with one each night,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°It will take less than a year to fulfil what you need for Qil Tris. We can then set up other hollow demi-planes as training locations for other worlds, or do you believe Qil Tris is the only place that deserves them?¡± ¡°Two a night,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll handle them separately to working with the L¨®m?. If that gets off the ground.¡± ¡°Oh, it will. I think you walking away will make those interested even more eager. Why not ask Gideon to provide a list of worlds and the songs to use if we can¡¯t get them from the orrery?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°If those in the Titan¡¯s forge simply make the material of the worlds, it allows you to do the more complex parts of the atmosphere and species. We can do the three hundred and fifty demi-planes you wished for the training and then stretch True Song further with those worlds.¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°The creation of a planet¡¯s core, mantle, and crust being a physical strain, but essentially the same melody sung until it¡¯s completed,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That makes sense, and Gideon has wanted me to populate worlds for some time now.¡± ¡°Demi-planes are also not a long-term solution for populations for an obvious reason,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°The lack of the Material Plane barrier,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly, no Demi-Plane can gain that barrier, so demi-planes are not a permanent haven,¡± stated Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Alright.¡± I have half a year to figure out what to do about the ghost caverns. Or do I leave them as is? Qil Tris is a pressure cooker that allows them to gain Tier 7s. If I close off the ghost caverns, the frequency of anyone obtaining those classes would likely drop to almost zero. ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯ve got a fairly ominous frown going on.¡± ¡°I wonder whether it would be right to remove an avenue of growth from people,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Did you create the situation to allow them to gain strength?¡± ¡°No,¡± admitted Amdirlain sourly, and she explained the situation with the ghost caverns and the pantheon¡¯s curse. Gilorn chimed. ¡°My first recommendation is to leave it until you are no longer cursed. Don¡¯t make your burden greater. Gail has told me your quote about good people allowing evil to prosper by doing nothing, so forget using that argument. My question is: what would happen if the formithians showed up on their doorstep?¡± Amdirlain burst out laughing. ¡°The formithians would have an awful time.¡± ¡°Let them retain their path of growth,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°Though I might have an idea, it would need verification.¡± ¡°Alright, I¡¯d better get back to the monastery before my morning class,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to come with me or go to Foundry?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll come with you, and when you have spare time, you can practise,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Is there an advantage to me using you as a harp and not just singing together?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Yes. Singing with you, I add my capability to yours, but as an instrument, I magnify your songs,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°For now, the former is greater, but the latter is far more beneficial in the long term.¡± Amdirlain nodded and transported them both to the Outlands. She¡¯d been careful to arrive within the forest, well out of sight of the fields, but Amdirlain sighed as she took in those present on the mountain and in the expanse controlled by Liva¡¯s Domain beyond it. Gilorn floated beside Amdirlain as she rose above the trees and started for the boundary; the moment they crossed it, she teleported them to her courtyard. The place was unoccupied, and Amdirlain took Gilorn to the training hall. Once there, she released the construct she¡¯d created while working on the Demi-Plane and teleported it to the far side of the hall before going upstairs. As she settled on an upper platform, Amdirlain heard not one but three new arrivals on the Domain¡¯s edge. While Anna and Hestia moved to Livia¡¯s house, Mars arrived on the road outside Amdirlain¡¯s courtyard. Though the second connection to his Mantle was evident, he looked like a common soldier with a battered set of legionary¡¯s gear, leather cuirass, rectangular shield, and a long spear casually clasped in his hand. He shifted the weapon to hold it and the shield together and reached for the gate¡¯s latch. I wonder if Anna told him? With a reassuring pat atop Gilorn¡¯s neck, Amdirlain teleported to the steps Upon seeing her, Mars stopped with one hand on the courtyard¡¯s gate and gave her a sheepish smile. Amdirlain nodded politely. ¡°Hello, Mars.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been told the locals call you Lady Am,¡± Mars said. ¡°Is Am too familiar? I don¡¯t think it¡¯s right to use your full name where anyone can hear it.¡± ¡°Am is fine. You¡¯ve said you¡¯re my shield brother after all,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she beckoned him to come inside. Mars stepped through the gate and bashfully scratched his bushy beard. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even sneak up on you.¡± ¡°Were you really trying?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°Not seriously, but I still guess I¡¯d fail as a scout trying to get close to you,¡± chuckled Mars. As he crossed the courtyard, his weapon and shield disappeared into a storage device, and he unbuckled his helmet. Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°From what I¡¯ve heard, you¡¯ve done a fine job in that role.¡± ¡°I just learned to listen twice over,¡± muttered Mars. ¡°Once to you, and once to Anna.¡± Though she could hear Anna¡¯s strained chords, Amdirlain wondered what he knew. ¡°How is she doing?¡± ¡°She¡¯s better each day, still hurting far too much for my comfort,¡± replied Mars. ¡°Despite what she says, I can see it in her gaze, but I don¡¯t pry. Just listen when she wants to talk.¡± I advised him to listen, but I couldn¡¯t accept Sarah¡¯s offer to do the same. Amdirlain motioned to the door behind her. ¡°Come on in.¡± ¡°I hope you have a beer or something,¡± said Mars. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I can manage refreshments you¡¯ll enjoy,¡± responded Amdirlain, and she turned towards the training hall, hand lightly clasping the handle. Mars shrugged. ¡°As long as it¡¯s not berry leaves in hot water.¡± ¡°That got anything to do with the world you were exploring?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°The elves didn¡¯t know about fermented drinks, just different types of berries and mushrooms boiled in water,¡± explained Mars. ¡°Some of them had a bit of kick from how they reacted, but frankly, tasted like a weird soup.¡± ¡°It sounds like they¡¯ve adopted you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Certainly, your Mantle has a connection to their world now.¡± ¡°They used to just forage for their favourites in the forest,¡± stated Mars. ¡°Given what you said about elven agriculture upon other worlds. It was simply a matter of ensuring they knew how to replant them so they had more control and set up a watch so they wouldn¡¯t lose the harvest to the local wildlife.¡± I¡¯d heard some say beer was one reason humanity got into crop growing; to each their own, right? ¡°With their favourite recreational produce in one spot, they also needed to arrange for food,¡± noted Amdirlain. Mars¡¯ smile lit up his face. ¡°Hestia was shocked, and you take it so casually.¡± ¡°If they¡¯re not hurting themselves or others, I¡¯m not judging anyone,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got some enchanted items that can provide whatever refreshments you¡¯d prefer.¡± As Mars reached her, Amdirlain pushed open the doors, but despite the surprise she sensed in him, he ignored the sights beyond and stepped close to clasp her shoulders. ¡°It is good you are well, friend. Livia told me of your battles against the Eldritch.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°You need to learn to dodge better,¡± declared Mars. ¡°First, you had your chest torn open with me and lost your legs in another fight. You gave the young lady a scare that I¡¯ll tell you.¡± As he stepped across the threshold, a brief frown crossed his face. ¡°This dimension haven is strange. Just as you couldn¡¯t sense it from outside, once inside, sensing the exterior will take time,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve grown much stronger to manage that against divine senses,¡± said Mars. ¡°I¡¯m stronger than I was when we last met,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°But it¡¯s more about what you¡¯re used to than my strength. You¡¯ll adjust to it over time. Livia can already sense the general interior.¡± Mars laughed. ¡°I¡¯d take comfort in your increased strength if not for your tendency to find ever stronger foes to fight.¡± ¡°How else am I meant to get stronger if I don¡¯t fight tougher foes?¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I have no complaints about that, but learn to dodge better, that¡¯s all I¡¯m saying,¡± insisted Mars. He kissed her on either cheek, the bristles of his beard scratching against her skin. ¡°Now tell me of all your battles since we last met, sister.¡± Amdirlain blinked in surprise at his easy familiarity. ¡°Those would take longer than I have time to cover.¡± ¡°Then tell me what you can before your first training session today,¡± Mars declared as he released her shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll come back to hear others when you have time, or whatever else you want to discuss.¡± Do I have a sign on me? Why is everyone offering to listen to me? ¡°Why?¡± ¡°You¡¯re my battle sister, isn¡¯t that obvious?¡± questioned Mars. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I take time to help you?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to be rude, but why the offer? I¡¯ve had lots of people offering to listen to me lately.¡± ¡°Something Anna said: people give the best advice about things they know best or crave the most,¡± replied Mars. ¡°You gave excellent advice about listening and keeping Anna company. If you are craving someone to listen to you, then maybe you are giving out a vibe people are picking up on. I might not be the person whose company you crave, but I¡¯ll listen if you need a friendly ear. I¡¯ve been told I¡¯ve grown skilled in that area.¡± I don¡¯t know if what I crave has been mixed with Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s desires. A vibe? Is that another side effect of Muse¡¯s Insight? ¡°What about Anna?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°You came here together.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve other avatars, and I¡¯m sure she¡¯d come and listen too if you want a bigger audience,¡± chuckled Mars. ¡°She¡¯s not the jealous type.¡± Amdirlain grunted. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve got anything coherent to discuss.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± inquired Mars attentively, his posture open and relaxed. Rather than explain, Amdirlain headed for the stairs that led to where Gilorn was sitting. When Mars stepped onto the platform, he took in Gilorn¡¯s black, star-speckled appearance and sat down without comment. ¡°Mars, this is Gilorn, Gilorn, this is Mars,¡± said Amdirlain, casually waving between them. ¡°You named a harp?¡± questioned Mars. ¡°Why? Do you only name your spears?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°And Am didn¡¯t name me, Orh¨ºthurin did.¡± Mars¡¯ eyebrows lifted sharply towards his hairline, and he snorted in surprise. ¡°You talk? Goodness. I should get used to taking things with Am at face value. Whatever she tells me from now on, I will believe immediately.¡± ¡°That sounds like a wise plan,¡± Gilorn agreed. ¡°She¡¯s a very adept pupil.¡± ¡°You¡¯re easily impressed,¡± said Amdirlain. He waved about them. ¡°All the enchantments you¡¯ve got in this place, I shouldn¡¯t have been sceptical about your introduction to Gilorn. With a place like this, a talking magical harp shouldn¡¯t be a surprise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a magical harp,¡± corrected Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯m a crystalline lifeform.¡± ¡°You look like a harp to me,¡± replied Mars ¡°That¡¯s because I was created to be a harp, but Orh¨ºthurin took things further than she had originally intended,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°When she realised the outcome of her improvements to my song, she completed the process instead of reversing my sentience so I wouldn¡¯t remember being fully alive.¡± Mars inclined his head politely. ¡°Then it is an honour to meet you, Gilorn. Though you are the first crystalline lifeform I¡¯ve met, I can¡¯t sense the life force or any enchantment within you.¡± ¡°That is because Orh¨ºthurin does excellent work,¡± stated Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯re respectful to Am and genuine in your affection for her, so I think we¡¯ll get on fine.¡± ¡°I never lie about liking someone. That would be a waste of my time and theirs,¡± laughed Mars. ¡°How so?¡± ¡°If someone I disliked thought we were friends, they might try to spend time with me and spoil my mood,¡± explained Mars. ¡°Then I¡¯d have to spend time getting rid of my bad mood after they left instead of enjoying life.¡± ¡°You have a very straightforward outlook,¡± stated Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯m a soldier. I like to keep things simple, and I¡¯ve no time for false friends,¡± stated Mars. ¡°Am did right by my worshipers, has fought by my side, and has done right by me, so she¡¯s my friend. If she needs an enemy killed, I¡¯ll happily fight beside her to kill it and trust that she¡¯ll have my back in battle. Plus, she has already provided some excellent foes to face on the battlefield.¡± ¡°Glad you liked them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The Eldritch I prefer dead, and demons I could have kept crushing for days,¡± replied Mars. ¡°We should do that again sometime.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to decide on another melee Class to increase my quickness. Once I¡¯ve got that figured out, I¡¯ll want lots of combat,¡± advised Amdirlain. Mars eagerly rubbed his hands together. ¡°Excellent. Let me know when you¡¯re ready. I¡¯ve heard you¡¯ve organised some training here, so I expect it won¡¯t be soon.¡± ¡°Between the training and other things, I¡¯ve likely got a few busy years ahead of me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m in no rush¡ªyears or centuries, whatever time you need. Impatience is for young soldiers, those who survive their impatience learn better. Will you tell me about this place?¡± Mars questioned, waving out at the barriers for the sparring and spell-casting areas. ¡°Livia said you¡¯ve been giving students combat training, not just teaching them drills. You¡¯ve got enough space here to have legions conducting combat exercises.¡± ¡°It was just individual combat training, not on a group level,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s only been one session so far, but I mentally projected scenarios to each student, adjusted according to their skill, and used some effects so they could feel the resistance of strikes and blocks.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± murmured Mars. ¡°How many do you think you could train at once?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not exactly sure, it¡¯s more complicated than teaching affinities,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If I was running the same drill for each student, I¡¯d be able to manage a few thousand. The tailored version requires more effort, but at least a few hundred.¡± ¡°Tailored in what way?¡± asked Mars. ¡°Mental projections of foes with suitable strength for each student, and responding to their attacks and counters.¡± ¡°I see, since not everyone has the same strength, you have to mix it up,¡± acknowledged Mars. ¡°Adds to the complexity of helping them.¡± Amdirlain put a hand on a tray, created a litre stein for each of them, and passed him one. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve been neglectful in my hospitality.¡± ¡°I can smell the hops in that,¡± commented Mars appreciatively, eyeing the amber liquid and the thin white head atop it. ¡°Though I¡¯ve never smelt beer quite like it before. It is beer, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°One from my home world,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she clicked her glass against his. ¡°To good health.¡± ¡°And many dead enemies,¡± Mars grinned before taking a large gulp. ¡°Cold beer? The taste is different, but good.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you like it. This was my brother¡¯s favourite,¡± said Amdirlain, taking a modest mouthful. ¡°He drank a lot of different beers?¡± ¡°Beers could be accessed from all over our world. There were hundreds of brewers, each with multiple beers. I can¡¯t tell you how many there were, thousands for sure,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°He had belonged to a group since he was twenty-one, and they sent him sixteen different beers each month. Some had flavours he found odd, but this one he liked. It¡¯s from a craft brewer, so there was a limited supply. Still, he¡¯d share it with me when I spent time with him and his family.¡± ¡°A fond memory of drinking with your brother?¡± ¡°Family time was always good. He was the best big brother a pesky little sister could ask for,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. The jealousy from deep in her Soul rose again and the feel of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s emotions were clear. ¡°I miss all of them.¡± Ori only had one daughter, and she ended up having to kill her. Why? Isa mentioned she recalled relief. Did Ori kill ¨®lneth only to protect Mori or for another reason? Mars lifted his glass. ¡°To family.¡± ¡°Family,¡± returned Amdirlain. Amdirlain heard another Avatar of Mars turn up at the Domain¡¯s edge and raised an eyebrow. ¡°This me is going to sit here and listen to you or the quiet in here,¡± explained Mars, motioning down the slope. ¡°That me will tend to whatever meeting Anna nervously invited me to today. She thinks I didn¡¯t notice her increased Mantle strength, but I also have a connection to another world, so I know the signs.¡± ¡°Just as long as you clarify, I didn¡¯t tell you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I told her I wouldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Tell me what,¡± Mars replied, going wide-eyed in pretend surprise. ¡°That I¡¯m a mess,¡± said Amdirlain, opting to change the subject. ¡°Do the Romans have any traditions about past lives?¡± After giving a tiny headshake, Mars slowly sipped his beer. When was the last time I just sat still? Even on Qil Tris I was pushing my Resonance while sitting in the apartment, aside from enduring the resistance training, which most people wouldn¡¯t count as time relaxing. Amdirlain eased back into her seat, drank her beer and enjoyed the comfortable silence. 406 - The enemy within Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches It was nearing time for her pre-breakfast session with the students when Mars chuckled. ¡°Anna finally got to the point.¡± ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t know what point that might be,¡± said Amdirlain innocently. ¡°Was it your idea or Livia¡¯s?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t mine. I think it was Hestia¡¯s or Ebusuku¡¯s idea,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ve not told you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it will eventually come out. The only way Anna keeps a secret is through not talking,¡± said Mars. ¡°Regardless of who invited Anna, I owe you for helping her.¡± ¡°How? I¡¯m not responsible for their invitation,¡± inquired Amdirlain. Mars ticked off points on his fingers. ¡°Livia likely wouldn¡¯t have gotten a Mantle without you. That¡¯s even if you discount the possibility of her being dead with her Soul corrupted if a different Succubus was summoned. Ebusuku¡¯s situation is obvious, and Hestia avoided the Gods¡¯ War because she broke away from the rest of the Greek Pantheon over Apollo and Zeus hunting you. So, none of them would have been around and in a position to help without you acting as a catalyst for change. At least not in the way they are now, giving Anna another world full of life to love. That¡¯s even without your advice to me.¡± ¡°I just did what I thought was right, and Hestia and the others made their own choices,¡± refuted Amdirlain. Mars shrugged and casually scratched his beard. ¡°I¡¯m a simple soldier, but I know who to credit. You might get sick of having me drop around because I¡¯m unsure how to repay you.¡± ¡°Just help when you can,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Which I¡¯m sure will end up with me owing you more,¡± laughed Mars. ¡°You asked for help with an Eldritch critter. I had fun and gained a Mantle upon a new world. You gave me advice that you were concerned about sharing, and it brought Anna back from her silence.¡± ¡°I counted myself fortunate that you were along¡ªthat Eldritch was perhaps a bit more than I should have been taking on alone,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°The moment it proved that I was out of my league, you stepped in and ended it. As for the Mantle and Anna¡¯s recovery, you invested the time, not me. I¡¯m glad it worked out.¡± Mars¡¯ mouth tightened, and his eyes narrowed as if readying himself to argue. Then, suddenly, he grinned. ¡°You hold training sessions. Would you mind if I stuck around and took part?¡± Helping train a deity? ¡°I think your proficiency with weapons outstrips my own,¡± said Amdirlain cautiously. ¡°And?¡± Mars questioned. ¡°I¡¯ll use an unfamiliar weapon to even things out or try out this unarmed style you teach here. I only know about wrestling and throwing punches, though I¡¯m sure you can come up with some way to challenge me or benefit your education.¡± ¡°Instead of taking part in the training I¡¯m running, would you help me with an experiment?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she gestured to the blue barrier. ¡°We likely should use the sparring area.¡± ¡°What sort of experiment did you have in mind?¡± Amdirlain clicked her tongue while we considered the shift in Mars¡¯ theme when he¡¯d cut loose on the Eldritch. ¡°You can change your strength by investing different amounts of energy into an Avatar, correct?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± agreed Mars. ¡°Though I keep my skills no matter the relative strength.¡± An option occurred to Amdirlain, and she grinned eagerly. ¡°Are you injured if something happens to an Avatar?¡± ¡°Only inconvenienced, as it takes time to form an Avatar,¡± advised Mars. ¡°Stronger entities can form more of them and faster.¡± ¡°And powerful primordials just pop them out at will,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Mars groaned and nodded. ¡°Even the ones on the heavenly planes are scary and beyond my power. They¡¯d be way beyond me even if I were a full deity.¡± ¡°In what way do you find them scary?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Just because they¡¯re stronger?¡± Mars paused and emptied his latest stein with a quick swig before he set the glass on a nearby side table. ¡°For all my power, knowing that if my goals were at cross purposes with theirs, all my achievements could be ground into dust. Scary is an understatement.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve met one from the higher planes and two from the lower, but only the lower plane ones scared me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That could be because you¡¯re not looking at the full lay of the land,¡± replied Mars. ¡°Primordials think on a different timescale from humans. I understand you used to be Human in your last life.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± nodded Amdirlain. Mars jabbed a thumb against his chest. ¡°I¡¯m a deity from a particular Human civilisation. We can find more common ground than I can say for older entities. Would I be wrong to say that a thousand years still seems like a long time?¡± ¡°It does, yet I know how fast that can vanish for celestials,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, even new celestials freshly manifested from a Domain¡¯s Wellspring can be that way,¡± agreed Mars. ¡°Those that come from a Soul¡¯s transformation initially share a somewhat Mortal perspective on time. When dealing with any deity, the difference in their perspective matters, and any Primordial¡¯s perspective is far different. They can say they like you and turn around and do something that seems to screw you over because they see it being helpful in a few thousand or million years. Whether that is helpful to you or their goals they¡¯re unlikely to make clear.¡± ¡°Yeah, I had an example of that,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Though I think I can guess his purpose.¡± ¡°If you can see what you think is one purpose, there are others. Never assume you know all of what they¡¯re after,¡± insisted Mars. ¡°Primordials have a few things in common: goals we¡¯ll never know, a level of power we can¡¯t understand, projects beyond our scope of comprehension, and timescales that see success in a million years as a quick outcome. Good is relative to their goals.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that the case with everyone?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe, but sometimes it seems like we¡¯re all pawns on the game board between thousands of primordials spread across the upper and lower planes,¡± Mars declared. Is this really what Ori intended after her family died in the games of gods? Though it¡¯s Mars¡¯ perspective, he hasn¡¯t mentioned the aspects and concepts. Another example of incomplete knowledge potentially steering me wrong? Movement within the monastery caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention, and she set her glass aside. ¡°Want to try out a sparring partner? Kli is on her way, and you two have about an hour of playtime before the others arrive.¡± ¡°Playtime?¡± snorted Mars. ¡°Of course, because I can provide the best toys,¡± laughed Amdirlain. After adjusting experience allocation to Fallen alone, she started creating and retrieving what she needed. ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain watched on as three figures moved across the rubble-strewn floor behind the blue barrier. Two were on their feet while a third dug clawed gauntlets into the ground. She caught Klipyl¡¯s arrival in the doorway but only casually waved without turning her attention. A three-metre-tall mithril construct chopped downwards with any overhead axe blow, and Mars caught the attack on his angled shield. Sparks sprayed away a moment before the edge jammed into the ground. As the construct tried to pull it free, Mars¡¯ gladius pierced its elbow and twisted; the lower half of the limb flopped loose, and the weapon clattered on the ground. Mars sidestepped, following its exposed side, and drove repeated strikes into its upper thigh and hip as the construct awkwardly tried to use its shield as a weapon. A crack from its internal structure resounded through the hall, and Mars shoved his shield forward, overbalancing his latest foe. The last construct continued to drag itself towards Mars, only for him to land atop it and crush its spinal column and the mechanisms within its torso in a single stomp. Klipyl sauntered to where Amdirlain stood near one of the platform¡¯s supports. ¡°Isn¡¯t that Mars?¡± More gleaming constructs shaped after Roman legionaries appeared within the barrier and spread out as they approached him, spears at the ready and their shields braced against his attacks. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°He¡¯s helping with my experiments. Do you want a set of constructs to play with?¡± ¡°He got to play first?¡± pouted Klipyl playfully. ¡°Yea or nay, the others will be along soon,¡± prompted Amdirlain, ignoring Klipyl¡¯s act. ¡°How are these different from those in the tower?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Besides being stronger.¡± Amdirlain tilted her head to one side, directing Klipyl¡¯s attention to what appeared to be a narrow pane of goo squeezed between glass. ¡°They¡¯re connected to slimes, who¡¯ll continue to improve their skills. They can¡¯t feel pain from the constructs, so you don¡¯t need to worry about that.¡± Klipyl squealed happily and reappeared in the second sparring chamber, whose barrier also blocked spells. Amdirlain released two previously prepared constructs from storage and put them into the sparring areas. While the two of them played, Amdirlain continued to build an army of mithril-composite constructs, setting them in racks on the far side of the hall. ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain greeted Jinfeng with a respectful nod. ¡°Good morning, Jinfeng. I¡¯m pleased you and your students attended again.¡± ¡°Sifu,¡± intoned Jinfeng, chorused by her students, who bowed together. Their attention remained directed towards Amdirlain, and none dared glance at the foes being hounded by Mars. ¡°Spread out in the same fashion as yesterday, and we¡¯ll begin shortly,¡± instructed Amdirlain before she turned her attention to her additional guest. Head Clerk Erhi had followed the procession into the hall and looked around, her eyes bulging in disbelief, beaded braids swayed with her rapid head movements from trying to take in the sights. So unlike her normal composure. ¡°Head Clerk Erhi,¡± greeted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you came to see me. I¡¯d planned to come by the duty pavilion later today.¡± ¡°Lady Am,¡± returned Erhi; giving a deep bow, she offered Amdirlain a sheet of paper. ¡°I have a tentative schedule for the groups. Master Cyrus advised me yesterday that you have a busy training schedule after today. Can you deal with the affinities in an evening session?¡± Amdirlain took the sheet from her and looked over the details. Erhi¡¯s public thoughts were loud enough to answer all Amdirlain¡¯s questions. ¡°If after dinner in two days suits people, that¡¯s fine with me,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain as she double-checked the paper. ¡°I apologise if this has caused any issues for you.¡± ¡°Nothing compared to the benefits,¡± reassured Erhi. ¡°It has removed some long-standing requests, and your approach simplified the work involved. We may need some follow-up sessions for those who can¡¯t attend that evening session, but we¡¯ll be able to provide more notice for the scheduling.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Amdirlain accepted, ¡°I expect some students are currently away from the monastery on requests.¡± Erhi nodded quickly. ¡°That is correct. Might I observe this training session with Master Lu¡¯s students?¡± ¡°Of course, you¡¯re free to watch or join in,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There are refreshment trays on the upper platforms. Touch them, and they¡¯ll provide whatever food or drink you desire.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t just for her students?¡± queried Erhi quietly. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°It¡¯s for her students, and any Master Lu deems will focus properly.¡± ¡°I doubt I¡¯m proficient enough to warrant your time,¡± murmured Erhi. ¡°We all start somewhere. If you change your mind, whether today or another, follow along as best you can, and I¡¯ll provide guidance,¡± responded Amdirlain, moving out in front of the students to start the first exercises. Erhi briefly hesitated before she climbed the stairs to watch from above. Though Amdirlain mixed up the warm-up and initial exercises, the session ran the same as the previous training. As the time for the combat drills approached, the students started getting keyed up, so Amdirlain stopped and switched over early. ¡°Pick a partner,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°The purpose of today¡¯s exercises is to adapt to a partner and have each other¡¯s back.¡± The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Amdirlain caught Klipyl¡¯s lips twitch mischievously but didn¡¯t risk asking what she¡¯d found amusing. Likely, it¡¯s safer not to know. When they had grouped up, Amdirlain started with projected images of goblins and kobolds, their quick attacks keeping the younger students on their toes. As the younger ones worked to handle the first encounters of her strange VR, Amdirlain quickly escalated the encounters she provided for the senior students and Jinfeng. ¡®Keep up the song for the constructs, Amdirlain,¡¯ insisted Gilorn. ¡®If you¡¯re to provide opponents to train Celestial armies, you¡¯ll need untold trillions. I¡¯ll shift the excess away, so you focus on their construction.¡¯ Throughout the training session, Mars continued to destroy constructs despite their steadily improving skills. The constructs weren¡¯t the only ones improving¡ªthrough her mental touch on the student¡¯s minds, she¡¯d felt insights large and small flare to life during the training. When the combat session ended, a few students almost slumped to the ground; only pride and Master Lu¡¯s presence gave them the strength to kneel instead. ¡°You¡¯re all welcome to use the trays on the viewing platform to eat breakfast,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll find the seats¡¯ enchantments handle cleaning the perspiration from your clothing.¡± She was about to say more when Amdirlain caught Sarah¡¯s arrival at the monastery¡¯s fields. The distress and worry that coloured her theme prompted Amdirlain to add more filtering to Resonance. ¡°Once again, you¡¯ve provided a very insightful experience, Sifu,¡± Jinfeng declared. ¡°I hope you continue to live at the monastery for many years to come so that the martial pavilion¡¯s students might benefit.¡± ¡°Others beside the martial pavilion are free to come along if you believe they¡¯d focus properly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The only criteria is that they need to convince you, not what pavilion they¡¯re involved with.¡± ¡°Do you have a limit on the number you can teach in such a way?¡± ¡°A few thousand,¡° mused Amdirlain. ¡°Which will make getting them in the hall time-consuming. if you believe many would be interested, I¡¯ll sort something out to speed attendance.¡± ¡°Word of your training approach and feedback has already spread,¡± advised Jinfeng. ¡°I think that might be part of why Erhi came along.¡± ¡°She heard about the training being conducted but not the training hall?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Jinfeng smiled. ¡°No one believed us that your training hall was so expansive.¡± ¡°They just had size envy,¡± laughed Klipyl. ¡°Silly, silly, they even asked me, and I confirmed you¡¯d made a big playpen.¡± A crash from the sparring area signalled the latest construct demise before Mars stepped clear of it. With the mound of parts within to repair, Amdirlain ended her construction project¡¯s melody and resembled the mangled constructs. [Crafting Summary (Category: Constructs) Mithril-composite Construct x239,237 Total Experience gained: 23,923,700,000 Fallen: +23,923,700,000] That was more experience than I once thought possible, yet it didn¡¯t get me a single level. Amdirlain updated each of the students¡¯ memory crystals and motioned them towards the stairs. ¡°Please eat and take a chance to rest. I know many of you have a day full of lessons ahead.¡± Those words were enough to make the younger students slightly disregard decorum, and they hurried to the platforms above. ¡°That was marvellous fun, Am,¡± declared Mars. ¡°I hope I¡¯ve not made too much work for you.¡± The pieces started to hover and float together as Amdirlain¡¯s melodies reformed each construct. ¡°Those controlling the constructs learnt a lot,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Repair work is easy enough, though I only get experience from their original construction.¡± ¡°I saw rows of them appear and disappear. What do you have in mind for them?¡± ¡°If you¡¯re interested, I plan to help celestials gain real combat experience,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I had primarily intended it to help Ebusuku¡¯s legions out, but I suppose I could also help your troops.¡± ¡°It would be different from sparring, where they hold back against each other,¡± admitted Mars. ¡°Would the constructs give them experience as well?¡± ¡°Yes, but the constructs are dangerous enough to kill if they don¡¯t take it seriously and they¡¯ll get stronger,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll tag the slimes involved in any deaths and ensure they¡¯re not released without providing permission to release any slain Celestial from their Planar Lock.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± murmured Mars. ¡°What other ideas have you got for strengthening troops?¡± ¡°Who me?¡± asked Amdirlain innocently. Mars shook his head. ¡°The mock innocent act won¡¯t work. I¡¯ve heard enough tales to know you never have just one plan going on, Am.¡± ¡°I do have other things in the works, but they¡¯re still too early in the development phase,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°For example, those constructs should have been able to put up a better fight. The issue is that while the material allows me to get them to emulate classes at certain strengths, I need the entities controlling them at equivalent strength and Skill levels. Without that, the potential of the construct goes unrealised.¡± ¡°What effective level were they?¡± ¡°Combined levels? About sixty, thirty from the general construct and thirty levels in fighter,¡± detailed Amdirlain. ¡°Even the general construct strength should have rated in at over level one hundred, but the slimes controlling them couldn¡¯t utilise their full strength.¡± The students proceeded upstairs, and Klipyl joined the conversations. ¡°I preferred training against the images you projected, as they were smooth and pushed me, while the constructs were big and butch and oh so clumsy. It was weird they felt more dangerous than the ones in the tower but, aside from their sturdiness, they were easier to take down.¡± ¡°I might need to tweak the controls and how they link to the slimes, but it could just be a matter of practice for them,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll go hassle Sarah and see if she¡¯ll teach me about being a blacksmith,¡± Mars looked Klipyl over. ¡°You don¡¯t look like a blacksmith.¡± ¡°What, you don¡¯t believe I can mould iron and shape someone¡¯s shaft?¡± Klipyl huffed playfully. She grasped a thumb in her other hand and moved it back and forth. ¡°I¡¯m married, young Celestial,¡± declared Mars. Klipyl rolled her eyes. ¡°Everyone assumes I¡¯m into poaching. It¡¯s just that I¡¯ve got a holy sense of humour.¡± ¡°I¡¯d rate your humour more earthy, despite how many holes tend to get involved,¡± drawled Amdirlain, and she deliberately changed the subject. ¡°You¡¯ve no braids this morning, Kli.¡± ¡°I had a different lover last night,¡± sighed Klipyl. ¡°They weren¡¯t enough of an early riser, so I am out of luck for braids. Maybe you should send your slimes and their constructs through your demi-planes to learn to fight monsters.¡± ¡°That might be workable,¡± murmured Amdirlain, plotting out suitable foes and what ¡®healing¡¯ options the constructs would need to avoid continual repairs from her. ¡°Demi-planes?¡± inquired Mars. ¡°It¡¯s a small project that¡¯s very much in development still,¡± said Amdirlain casually. ¡°Are you sure I¡¯m not keeping you from something?¡± Mars¡¯ weapons and shield vanished, and he stood at ease. ¡°I think that¡¯s a no,¡± whispered Klipyl. ¡°Sarah¡¯s in her forge,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re shooing me off because you can¡¯t get rid of him,¡± sulked Klipyl. Amdirlain grinned and reached out to cup Klipyl¡¯s cheeks. ¡°Yes, now go on.¡± With a little huff, Klipyl stepped closer and hugged Amdirlain. ¡°Cuddle first.¡± Despite being too aware of the line of Klipyl¡¯s body pressed against hers, Amdirlain did just that and felt a knot of tension slip away. ¡°Your gaze is hard and cold this morning,¡± Klipyl murmured. ¡°Do you need anyone dead?¡± Only my insecurities. ¡°It¡¯s fine, I¡¯m working on my issues,¡± Amdirlain replied softly, not letting Klipyl go. ¡°Self-reflection is hard work,¡± whispered Klipyl. ¡°Much easier to smash something in the face, whether you use your fist or pussy.¡± Amdirlain snorted and lightly swatted her bum. ¡°Oh baby, yes,¡± squealed Klipyl. ¡°Get a move on you,¡± huffed Amdirlain insistently. ¡°Lots of people want to get on with me, and off on me,¡± laughed Klipyl, and she dashed for the door with a giggle. ¡°She¡¯s an unusual Celestial,¡± grumbled Mars. ¡°Even Cupid¡¯s angels didn¡¯t behave in that fashion.¡± ¡°It¡¯s her choice, though half the time, I think she carries on to challenge people¡¯s expectations,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The other half I know she¡¯s enjoying the sex.¡± Mars grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve got some elves that could do with a Goddess of Fertility.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t steal Kli from me without her permission,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Ebusuku pulled that trick on Sarah, and breaking free of the Mantle injured her.¡± ¡°Something I know that Ebusuku regrets,¡± responded Mars. ¡°It was a new opportunity for Sarah and I wonder how much the Mantle might have nudged the choice.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about something else. Your situation with the elves¡ªstable food supplies should help the populations grow,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re worried about the local fertility rate, I can investigate and maybe help.¡± ¡°It¡¯s more that I¡¯m worried they¡¯ll be overwhelmed by monsters without a higher population base,¡± replied Mars. ¡°What help can you provide, though?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not aware of the situation of the elves on Veht??¡± Mars frowned in confusion. ¡°What situation?¡± ¡°I guess it¡¯s not something that¡¯s been shared, so I¡¯ll leave it there,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll look into the situation with the elves you¡¯ve attracted and see if their population is increasing or declining.¡± ¡°That would be appreciated,¡± Mars replied. ¡°Yet more help you¡¯re giving me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a transactional person,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t see it as another¡¯s win representing my loss. If someone needs help and I can lend a hand, I will, and maybe I¡¯ll learn something while helping. If not, maybe I¡¯ll improve the realm in the process.¡± ¡°Like all the academies you and Ebusuku have set up,¡± ¡°I set up one in Xaos. Ebusuku hadn¡¯t mentioned any of hers to me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I understand it started with the one in Eyrarh¨¢ls, but I¡¯ve heard her celestials talking about others on different worlds,¡± advised Mars. Ebusuku didn¡¯t tell me about them. She had faith on enough worlds to compress the Mantle into a divine spark. I should consider how much effort was involved in achieving that result. I know the theory from Ori¡¯s perspective, but she never considered the effort involved in it from someone else¡¯s perspective. It was enough that it was possible to achieve it; you had to work to accomplish the rest. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at letting people in,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°You could spend a lot of time hanging around here for no reason.¡± Mars jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at the sparring area. ¡°You¡¯re going to help train celestials with those constructs?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°So, in effect, if I help train your slimes to use them more efficiently, I¡¯m helping train heavenly soldiers,¡± stated Mars. Amdirlain briefly bit her lip. ¡°I hadn¡¯t looked at it that way.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t understand what Anna would get from me sitting and waiting either,¡± advised Mars. ¡°Your advice made sense to me, so I followed your instructions and hoped it would work out.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not exactly being a static listener with me,¡± noted Amdirlain. Mars laughed. ¡°Given your nature, I figure that crowding you would be the worst approach. Trees in an orchard need space for their roots and branches to spread in order to provide the best fruit.¡± Concealments enfolded them to keep anyone from even noticing their presence. ¡°I have a problem,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Mars didn¡¯t shift position or even blink. What¡¯s with him acting like a statue suddenly? All the cautious tones within him. Do I come across as some deer he doesn¡¯t want to scare away? ¡°I find it next to impossible to see the value in my own contributions,¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°What would you do to help a farmer see the worth of his life¡¯s work?¡± ¡°Who damaged you?¡± asked Mars. ¡°Let¡¯s not go there,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. Mars frowned and tucked his thumb into his belt where his sheath hung. ¡°What are you afraid of?¡± Fuck, where do I start? I¡¯m not presenting this as a theoretical bullshit scenario. ¡°I feel I keep going by Willpower alone at times, so much so I push it higher even when I know I need to improve my capacity in other areas,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that one day it¡¯s not going to be enough, and people will see me as a fake.¡± Mars briefly chewed at his moustache. ¡°You¡¯d trust me with information like that?¡± ¡°I can hear your music, Mars, and that of other deities. Your music is fierce yet stable and protective. Betrayal isn¡¯t in your nature,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not a god of strategy that might look to manipulate people into a situation as part of a larger plot. You help those that protect and feed others, bringing stability to a community.¡± Mars coughed. ¡°I¡¯ve seen similar things, but I¡¯m not sure they¡¯re really the same.¡± ¡°Do tell.¡± ¡°In Rome during victor parades, a slave would stand with the general on their chariot, and amidst the cheers tell them they are Mortal. It reminds them that fortune is fickle and the crowds cheer you simply because of your successes,¡± said Mars, fixing her with a knowing look. ¡°You give yourself constant reminders that you can fail without allowing the sounds of the cheering crowd to reach you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a way to put it,¡± laughed Amdirlain bitterly. ¡°Does my being here because of past help you provided me make it better or worse?¡± ¡°Worse,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Well, that¡¯s shit, ain¡¯t it,¡± grumbled Mars. ¡°I was going to wait around and be here if you wanted to talk, not be a looming presence in the background.¡± Amdirlain started to rub the back of her neck sheepishly, only to jerk her hand away. I need to talk to someone, but he reminds me too much of Torm in some ways. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d ever be comfortable discussing the mess of my emotions with him. ¡°But have you considered that I¡¯m just a self-interested bastard who doesn¡¯t want Anna to get angry at me because I didn¡¯t make an effort to repay you?¡± proposed Mars. ¡°Or that now I want to stick around because you¡¯ve got a bunch of enchanted toys for me to rip apart and accumulate strength?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already told you I can hear your nature, and even if I couldn¡¯t, you¡¯ve twisted the truth past belief with that suggestion,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°Aren¡¯t you doing the same?¡± Mars countered. ¡°What you¡¯re doing is similar to how a bad leader can destroy an army¡¯s morale without a single battle fought.¡± ¡°I would have thought there were lots of ways.¡± Mars grumbled in frustration. ¡°I¡¯m just talking about one way. There is a difference between acknowledging weakness and aggravating weakness. Good leaders look at the troops¡¯ strengths and weaknesses to understand their forces. While they need to acknowledge weakness so they¡¯re not exploited, they don¡¯t rub the army¡¯s face into that weakness. The army wouldn''t stick around for any battle if commanders ran daily drills that caused the troops to fail, especially in drills areas they couldn¡¯t overcome. They¡¯ll see defeat everywhere until they can¡¯t even conduct suitable exercises without failing.¡± ¡°But the weakness is in myself.¡± Mars blew a raspberry. ¡°Yeah, I get that, and now I know why you turned into that monster to fight. Failure to many people is the most hideous monster to face. When you are your own worst enemy, the blows always fall true because you know where to strike.¡± ¡°How would you sort that army that saw failure in its future?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not an army,¡± replied Mars. ¡°This makes it easier and harder. You don¡¯t have thousands of troops whose morale you need to restore, but you can¡¯t exactly dismiss the malicious voice. You need to figure out a way to put a different perspective in charge of reviewing your deeds.¡± ¡°How? That¡¯s a lot easier said than done.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a soldier and a farmer, not a thinker,¡± Mars muttered. ¡°When officers review the plans for a battle or discuss the outcome, it¡¯s good to have the person who sees problems, but they shouldn¡¯t be the only people in the group. Find someone to share your negative thoughts with whose perspective you trust. Take some pressure off by pursuing normal things instead of always pushing yourself to accomplish grand goals.¡± ¡°Why normal things?¡± ¡°Grand deeds always end up in overblown songs and poems,¡± explained Mars. ¡°The effort and pain become impersonal, and those who come after feel they can¡¯t measure up to those deeds. Whereas being able to look at a planted field and go, I did that work. That is immediate evidence of your effort. From then on, each day the crops grow is more evidence, and the feast at the harvest is the triumph.¡± Amdirlain sighed and headed outside, unsure who to chance. Behind her, she heard Mars reenter the sparring area, constructs appearing around him. Her feet twitched towards Sarah¡¯s forge, but Amdirlain forced herself to stop. As she stared at the door, she grew aware of the tears prickling in her gaze. I¡¯m keeping secrets from her, and I don¡¯t want to cause her pain. I need someone neutral-ish who I can handle talking to about this mess. 407 - Breaking through Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Sarith¡¯s presence at Kadaklan¡¯s manor and their morning preparation drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention. Having hoped to catch them both, she teleported to his front yard. A gardener sweeping the path showed Amdirlain inside and called ahead, bringing Kadaklan and Sarith to the front lobby. While Kadaklan wore his customary bright orange and yellow garments, Sarith wore only loose pants and a cotton top instead of the monastery¡¯s grey and black robes. The fabric clung to her almost gaunt frame, softened only by the lingering sleepiness about her that had a woodland touch. Did she sleep here because of the reverie issues or something else? Neither of them has any lingering energies from the other. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Am?¡± murmured Kadaklan. ¡°Your gaze looks stern and hollow this morning.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all over the place,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°I need to burden a friend with my woes.¡± ¡°Something that has you looking like this doesn¡¯t seem pleasant,¡± observed Kadaklan as he studied her set expression. ¡°Are you sure Sarah wouldn¡¯t be the best person to talk to?¡± ¡°Or do you need time with me?¡± Sarith asked in elven, and she continued when Kadaklan regarded her curiously. ¡°We had a brief discussion.¡± Amdirlain swallowed hard. ¡°Part of it involves Sarah, but I don¡¯t need a healer¡¯s confidence. I¡¯m trying to sort out my thoughts, and I need someone to listen and tell me if I¡¯m being stupid. My challenge is that partly it is my emotions and those of a past life.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have experience with past life memories, but Kadaklan does,¡± said Sarith. ¡°What happened to your proper speech patterns?¡± inquired Amdirlain. Sarith huffed. ¡°Did your sister win that argument?¡± ¡°We¡¯re not speaking in our birth tongue,¡± grumbled Sarith. ¡°Since the others wish to move forward from a fresh start, so will I.¡± Amdirlain restrained her smile. ¡°Would you object to talking to me together?¡± Sarith awkwardly nodded, and Kadaklan motioned for Amdirlain to walk with him. ¡°Come around the back. I know you could wrap us in concealments, but my rooms are more comfortable than the lab space.¡± Amdirlain nodded sharply, stilled the trembling in her hands, moved to catch up, and let Sarith fall in behind her. The clinic was quiet in the early morning, with no patients staying overnight, so they made the back extension of his manor undisturbed by students or servants. In the middle of Kadaklan¡¯s private room were a circle of couches around a low table, the peaked ceiling and the decorative shutters gave the room an airy feel. The room''s white and gold wood panelling added to the warmth by reflecting the sunlight. The wood carvings showed elaborate jungle and coastal scenes, with islands peeking from the waters. As Kadaklan headed straight for a side table where a tea set was located, Amdirlain picked a chair with minimal lingering traces from previous visitors and Sarith sat beside her. With precise motions, Kadaklan loaded a tray and brought over a water heater, a jar of tea leaves, and the rest of the items to prepare the tea ¡®properly¡¯. He set the tray on one side of the low table, knelt before it, and sat back on his heels. The formal preparation of tea was a relaxing formality that Amdirlain had slowly begun to appreciate, and she gently cycled in time to Kadaklan¡¯s actions. When he tapped the whisk and gently set it aside, he turned and offered her the cup with both hands. Amdirlain let out a breath and released her Ki as she reached for the cup, only to blink in surprise at the faint golden mist that hovered in the air between them before it started to settle. ¡°Interesting,¡± murmured Kadaklan, raising his palm beneath it. ¡°That gives a friendly warmth. Did you ¡®unlock¡¯ anything just then? That is the term you use, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the term, but there was no notification,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It was unintentional and not what I¡¯m here to talk about this morning.¡± ¡°It was beautiful,¡± murmured Sarith. ¡°I¡¯ll look into if anyone has heard of a technique like it later,¡± said Kadaklan, and he set about preparing a cup for Sarith. After the strange mist, Amdirlain didn¡¯t risk cycling but merely sat and watched his actions. ¡°Where would you like to start?¡± inquired Kadaklan as he set the last utility aside. ¡°With everything resolved with a magic wave of my hand,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled sadly. ¡°You can do so much. Is it upsetting to have limits?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt Sarah, but I also need to do right by myself,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°The problem is, I don¡¯t know the right thing to do, let alone what path to take.¡± ¡°That sounds ominous. Do you intend to hurt her?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°But you¡¯re worried you¡¯ll sour things?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°I¡¯ve screwed things up before,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Pretty sure I did that just recently, and I¡¯m presently in an ongoing mess.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I recovered some memories of past lives,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Kadaklan told me some of his past lives made him uncomfortable.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had lives where I was insensitive towards the pain of others. That attitude is disconcerting now, even if I can understand why I was like that in that life,¡± allowed Kadaklan, his fingers tracing the lip of the cup thoughtfully. ¡°I think they were lessons I needed to learn, and while unpleasant, they strengthened my Soul and taught me about compassion. That doesn¡¯t mean you have similar life experiences for the same reason. Some find that they have combative past lives that prepare them to shoulder the burden of taking a life.¡± He also sees that life as him. ¡°How about memories that are what you¡¯ve always wanted but are just slightly out of tune with your preferences?¡± queried Amdirlain. A smile curled Kadaklan¡¯s expressive mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t tease, please,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t tease,¡± reassured Kadaklan. ¡°I take it your question relates to how you and Sarah behaved the other day?¡± ¡°Something significant has happened since you were clear about your sexual preferences to Nomein,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Yes,¡± grunted Amdirlain. ¡°I let myself get swept up in the emotions from a past life.¡± ¡°Ahh, so you don¡¯t feel that way about Sarah?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°Yes, and no, it¡¯s difficult to explain,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°I can hear the music of her Soul, and it¡¯s beautiful and overwhelming, but she¡¯s got all her past life memories.¡± ¡°Why is that an issue?¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Sarah can remember a relationship we had in our original lifetimes.¡± ¡°You think her care for you is just trying to relive this past lifetime?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°Maybe, no, I don¡¯t know. Sarah said she fell in love with me as Julia,¡± sighed Amdirlain. When Kadaklan looked confused, she hurriedly continued. ¡°My Human lifetime where neither of us had access to old memories, and it sounded like the truth.¡± ¡°You¡¯re concerned about her expectations now, or if those old memories influence her current emotions?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Yes,¡± grunted Amdirlain. ¡°My head is spinning with doubts.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re in a relationship and already expressing doubts-¡± murmured Kadaklan. Amdirlain trashed her head back and forth. ¡°I told her I needed time to sort my head out.¡± ¡°Sounds like a sensible decision,¡± allowed Kadaklan cautiously. ¡°But then I made the stupid suggestion the next day that we could try a relationship, and she shut me down,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Kadaklan groaned with her, picked up a cushion from a nearby chair, and head-butted it. ¡°Does that make you feel better?¡± With a huff, Kadaklan set the pillow aside and locked his gaze with Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah!¡± ¡°Hey,¡± protested Amdirlain, only to catch Kadaklan¡¯s smile. ¡°Alright. How did you feel when she insisted you do what you wanted time for?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain sighed and hid her face in her hands. ¡°Like someone had ripped my heart out.¡± Kadaklan leaned forward briefly and touched her wrist. ¡°Did she give you a reason?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t have my happy glow when I proposed trying,¡± explained Amdirlain, lowering her hands. ¡°I know that glow. You were upbeat during every morning training session. I wanted to strangle you,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Was that her only objection?¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t want me acting because I regretted not having more time with Torm.¡± ¡°Are you in a healthier place with him?¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I wondered, as your voice used to possess a sharp, pained quality at the mere mention of his name. Who brought him up?¡± ¡°I did,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Kadaklan¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s surprising.¡± ¡°I miss him, and I wish he hadn¡¯t suffered that fate, but I¡¯ve mourned him and moved on,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Many of my early performances on Qil Tris helped me let go of my grief.¡± ¡°Your performance at the memorial certainly was very impactful,¡± Kadaklan said. ¡°The trace of that got played many times over the years. Although it didn¡¯t fully capture your Charisma, I saw enough people moved to tears listening to that wordless melody. Why did you decide to put your preference for a male partner aside?¡± Sarith¡¯s theme hummed with curiosity, but she didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°Neither of us is Human, and I can hear souls so clearly now. You¡¯re sitting there in Human form, but I¡¯m no longer seeing only it or your Phoenix form,¡± stated Amdirlain. Kadaklan tilted his head curiously. ¡°What do you see now?¡± ¡°The energy of your Soul overlays your form, and Sarah¡¯s is scarred but beautiful. Being rejected made me spin out, and I¡¯ve got so many emotions battering at my control, and I don¡¯t know if they¡¯re mine or from a past life.¡± ¡°Do the feelings repulse you?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°What are the standard teachings about past lives and emotions?¡± ¡°Are you sure I should tell you?¡± Kadaklan enquired. ¡°I¡¯m tired of only learning part of things,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°But I don¡¯t want to read many books and come to an understanding now. I¡¯d like an answer, and I¡¯ll figure out if it applies to me later; I just want the standard belief.¡± ¡°The standard philosophy is that it''s still yours,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°One doesn¡¯t partition a Soul like real estate ready to be sold off. Who you are now differs from who you were then, but those past lives are still part of the greater whole. The collective of all those experiences makes you who you are, Amdirlain. Whether you are conscious of them, your Soul learnt lessons, suffered losses, experienced triumphs, and all these experiences, along with the lifetimes, influence what you love, treasure, or hate, for better or worse.¡± ¡°At the moment, I¡¯m spinning between fear, self-doubt, and desire for happiness for both of us,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she briefly explained the harp and the memories and feelings that had arisen. ¡°I can see what a mess I am and wonder why she¡¯d even want to be with me. Then I go back to her words, know they were the truth, and second guess myself, wondering why she¡¯d feel that way.¡± Kadaklan listened quietly, sipping his tea while Amdirlain talked. When she finished, he carefully set the cup down and folded his hands in his lap. ¡°Are you trying to force yourself to resolve your emotions?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Kadaklan smiled. ¡°Why are you talking to us instead of Sarah?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt her,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s too important to me to risk.¡± Amdirlain choked off as more words tangled in her throat. ¡°Was that at all hard to admit?¡± asked Kadaklan. Yes, it was, and I couldn¡¯t even say everything. Amdirlain slowly shook her head. Kadaklan glanced over at Sarith, who nodded calmly. This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Why don¡¯t you want to risk hurting her?¡± ¡°She¡¯s a friend. Sarah¡¯s always been there for me. I trust her with my life,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I was blind to the fact she was in love with me, but that doesn¡¯t change a thing.¡± Blind to how she¡¯s been there. I¡¯m such a movie cliche, blind to the feelings of someone who¡¯s always been there for me, waiting in the wings. ¡°Trust is a good foundation for a relationship, even if it doesn¡¯t go any further,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°You know I¡¯ve got a thing for bamboo.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a weird fetish,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Analogy wise,¡± grumbled Kadaklan, and he fixed Amdirlain with a mock glare. Amdirlain¡¯s answering grin widened, her merry mask sitting awkwardly over her pain. ¡°Bamboo spends years spreading its root system unseen by humans, then suddenly bursts up from the ground. It grows metres and keeps growing even if you chop it back,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°Like with a bamboo plant, why don¡¯t you step back and wait?¡± ¡°I waited so long for someone who hurt me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Not Torm?¡± ¡°No,¡± laughed Amdirlain merrily. ¡°I was head over heels about a guy who I thought loved and respected me enough to want to marry me. Instead, he ended up cheating on me with another so-called friend.¡± Kadaklan winced. ¡°What an Idiot.¡± ¡°I dodged the bullet by catching them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t believe he would have been faithful later. Sarah was always there for me, and I was blind to how she felt.¡± ¡°That still doesn¡¯t explain the rush?¡± enquired Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯re not ageing, and Sarah has at least a few hundreds of thousands of years from what she¡¯s told me of gem dragons.¡± ¡°My emotions are everywhere, and I need to settle them.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s not the relationship you desire,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°It¡¯s emotional control of yourself you want. You know you can¡¯t get something inside yourself merely through a relationship.¡± ¡°I want to control only the parts that aren¡¯t my emotions. I¡¯ve got them bubbling up from past lives,¡± Amdirlain objected. ¡°Ori''s feelings for Syl were passionate.¡± ¡°Syl, being Sarah¡¯s past life?¡± ¡°Yes, it was Ori¡¯s nickname for her,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°How do you feel about Sarah?¡± ¡°I care for Sarah, and I could finally feel her love. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m fixated on the physical form when it''s no longer a limitation for me, and Sarah appears to be the same way,¡± said Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°You have taken on many forms, some of them male. Would there be an attraction if you knew Sarah only as a male? Or if she had been he all along?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have had any conflict if Sarah were a guy, and wouldn¡¯t have told her I needed to get my thoughts straight,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°But some of these emotions weren¡¯t there until I could hear her Soul, which arose from my Resonance evolution. An evolution I¡¯m not sure I would have gained for years without experiencing that memory.¡± ¡°Okay, I see some conflicts you¡¯re dealing with. You¡¯re not opposed to the emotions you¡¯re feeling?¡± ¡°No,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°But they concern you because you feel they¡¯re not purely your own?¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Does that then feed into your self-doubt?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°People talk about the giddy-in-love phase in a new relationship. The pair never completely lost that love. How do I ensure I¡¯m not just grabbing at a fairy tale connection after all I¡¯ve been through?¡± ¡°You wanted to take it step by step and see if you¡¯d grow together,¡± Sarith asked the music in her theme bouncing happily. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t take you for a romantic.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± insisted Sarith. ¡°I¡¯m merely trying to understand your mindset.¡± Liar, liar, pants on fire. Kadaklan covered his mouth with his hand, but his gaze shone. ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± grumbled Sarith, her gaze locked on Kadaklan¡¯s. ¡°If you make any comment, Master Kadaklan, I¡¯ll set Klipyl on you again.¡± What was Klipyl doing? Kadaklan coughed and returned his attention to Amdirlain. Amdirlain nodded to prompt him to go on. ¡°You¡¯ve previously retrieved memories because events have attuned you to parts of your past lives, whether it be the form you¡¯ve taken on or particular skills you were pushing,¡± commented Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯ve opened up yourself to the possibility of love for Sarah, and the emotions bubbled up. Is it so surprising?¡± Amdirlain pulled a face. ¡°Also jealousy,¡± ¡°Jealousy of Sarah?¡± ¡°No. I visited the L¨®m?, heard Roher¡¯s wife with their children, and felt a wave of jealousy surge inside me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°That she was married?¡± ¡°No, for her having children,¡± clarified Amdirlain, her mouth twisted with the sour emotions that shivered across her Soul. The ugliness is still there, merely hidden away where I can¡¯t spot it yet. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°You¡¯ve not felt that for the parents around the monastery?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Even now, I can hear their songs, and it¡¯s nice. So I don¡¯t understand the connection.¡± Kadaklan tilted his head in a bird-like motion that almost had Amdirlain smiling. ¡°Isn¡¯t one of her children an Anar?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she felt a pang of jealousy again, along with pain running through her Soul. ¡°And Ori had a daughter, correct?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain nodded sharply. ¡°Did you investigate the child¡¯s Soul?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t ¨®lneth,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve told me you only have fragments of Ori¡¯s memories, but it could be someone else who was important to her who was reborn,¡± suggested Kadaklan. ¡°The Anar population wasn¡¯t that big. Eight million, correct?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You know more about my history than I know about yours.¡± ¡°I listen,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s why I came to hassle you,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled reassuringly. ¡°You¡¯re never a hassle.¡± ¡°I upended your life,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, did you take him captive?¡± questioned Sarith. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°No.¡± ¡°Indeed, she didn¡¯t,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°I got paid to heal her legs initially and returned after she re-injured them. Saying you upended my life is, at best, questionable. Might I remind you that you paid me a fortune in Ki alone over the years I was on Qil Tris?¡± ¡°That is a stretch. Kadaklan had a choice, as did I,¡± Amusement rippled within Sarith, and she smiled at Kadaklan. ¡°Did you feel it was a good choice?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Kadaklan. Sarith nodded. ¡°Whereas mine was bad as I allowed anger to upend mine, but it turned out so much better. I¡¯m not an expert on past lives, and I¡¯m unsure why Ori¡¯s promise changed her. I¡¯m sure you left that detail out for a reason, so I won¡¯t pry. On the surface, I can see one element, which is an understandable trauma.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°You had this grand love and agonising pain in a past life when you were both female,¡± said Sarith. ¡°Even in what I consider normal relationships when a spouse or loved one dies, it''s not uncommon to seek relationships that don¡¯t provide reminders. Have you considered the potential that it¡¯s the reason the rest of the romantic relationships you managed between you had different genders?¡± ¡°Like someone avoiding the same mistake?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarith shook her head. ¡°I in no way said it was a mistake. When you get hurt, you... well, most people avoid situations in which they experience pain.¡± ¡°Has someone been telling tales?¡± asked Amdirlain, giving Kadaklan a dose of side-eye. Kadaklan kept a straight face. ¡°We were discussing perverted daos yesterday.¡± ¡°Are you changing the subject?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Absolutely,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I only said it because it seems like you are making things hard on yourself,¡± stated Sarith. Amdirlain braced herself for criticism, and her mouth hardened. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°You already have a relationship with Sarah, but you are smacking yourself for needing time to consider whether the next step is right,¡± said Sarith. ¡°You also told her to keep a female form for what¡ªsuperficially¡ªis a valid reason, but it still increases your challenge. Relationships can change over time, but the best ones are based on respect, friendship, and trust. Or do you have a different view?¡± ¡°No,¡± breathed Amdirlain. Sarith smiled, surprising Amdirlain. ¡°Then my suggestion is to be her friend and be a friend to yourself. I think the second will be more difficult for you. Perhaps it will be a harder battle than the Eldritch and demon lords you hunt.¡± Amdirlain swallowed a lump in her throat and sipped tea to mask her unsettled composure. ¡°You are pretty hard on yourself, Amdirlain,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°Would it hurt to stop treating yourself as a disposable resource? You¡¯re a special individual to many people.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not disposable to us,¡± stated Sarith, and in a fashion very improper for a healer, she leaned forward to grasp Amdirlain¡¯s forearm. ¡°Amdirlain, you¡¯re our life-giver. You pointed us towards a different path and helped us find our way.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see it that way,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Of course you don¡¯t,¡± acknowledged Sarith. ¡°You repeatedly fought the Grand Master¡¯s champion to a draw and returned to classes the next day as if it was nothing. Why am I surprised you don¡¯t value yourself? It would help if you gave yourself more credit, Amdirlain. You said Sarah told you she fell in love when you were in your home realm.¡± ¡°Sarah has Syl¡¯s memories of her. They are part of her, so how can I compare to Ori?¡± blurted Amdirlain. Kadaklan sat up straighter. ¡°I heard you say you¡¯re not Orh¨ºthurin before, but I didn¡¯t know you meant it like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not just that,¡± grunted Amdirlain. Sarith patted her arm reassuringly. ¡°Then it makes sense that you wanted to speak to us instead of Sarah. Self-doubt is causing emotional conflict, and you don¡¯t want your doubts about Sarah¡¯s feelings to sit between you later. Is there anything else about the situation bothering you?¡± ¡°I learned some things I¡¯m not sure I should tell Sarah about,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Yet two of the secrets involve her.¡± ¡°Is it a secret that will hurt her?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain shifted back and rested her head against the back of the chair. ¡°I think she¡¯d feel betrayed if I didn¡¯t tell her, and if I tell her one, the other will come out.¡± ¡°Are they the memories you spoke of?¡± ¡°No, they¡¯re things I learnt about afterwards,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t go into details, as it involves a powerful being.¡± ¡°And are you worried you kept these secrets because she rejected you?¡± questioned Sarith. Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Maybe. It seems like she was right.¡± ¡°Do you have many secrets from her?¡± ¡°She knows more about me and my past lives than I do about her,¡± laughed Amdirlain tightly. ¡°They fuel my self-doubts, and I wonder about the influence her past lives have on her emotions.¡± ¡°Then the imbalance is not just on your side,¡± noted Sarith. ¡°You found a way for her to break her curse. That is why she was so tiny when she first visited you in Limbo, right?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Sarith nodded. ¡°You weren¡¯t in the wrong. You told her you needed time to get your head on straight and, at that point said nothing further. Her approach of giving you a flat no first was obviously sub-optimal given your current feelings. How would you have felt if she gave you the reasons first?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± ¡°Okay, you need to process all these emotions, but let¡¯s take a step back to that moment,¡± instructed Sarith. ¡°Pull back from the emotions. I want you to acknowledge they are there but consider your emotional state at the time you spoke to her.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Amdirlain warily agreed. ¡°Think of it like an acting exercise,¡± prompted Sarith. ¡°How did you feel?¡± ¡°Nervous, excited and worried.¡± ¡°Now consider her explanation first and ignore everything else. How do you think you¡¯d feel now?¡± ¡°Confused about what to do,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°But maybe not twisting myself in knots.¡± Sarith nodded. ¡°Sarah could have shared her observations first to ease you into a place of understanding, but she held you to a standard that few relationships start at. It is far more common for love to grow slowly over time than for a burst of emotion to sweep a couple away. Even then, holding onto the emotional vibrance is something few do.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t think that would be familiar.¡± ¡°After all your time at the monastery, do you think our people aren¡¯t emotionally expressive?¡± chuckled Sarith. ¡°Perhaps not to an outsider¡¯s eyes. It¡¯s all very cerebral. When you find a couple in love, their mental energy makes it clear to those around them, even when their composure remains in place. Frankly, among our people, holding hands and sneaking kisses on the cheek are very personal gestures, so she¡¯s having her cake and eating it, too. Is that the phrase?¡± ¡°We spent years on Qil Tris, and those are merely mild gestures of friendship there,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Hugging friends is normal where we¡¯re from as well.¡± ¡°Did holding her hand make you uncomfortable? Or does the thought of kissing her repulse you?¡± Sarith asked. Amdirlain blurted. ¡°No!¡± ¡°Very well, so you¡¯ll both need to learn to navigate this situation,¡± noted Sarith. ¡°How would you have felt if she had told you she was confused about the next step?¡± ¡°Relieved,¡± murmured Amdirlain. Sarith released Amdirlain¡¯s forearm and let her hand settle on the chair¡¯s arm. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯d both be in the same situation. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯m doing half the time,¡± whispered Amdirlain, fighting the urge to scrub at her skin. ¡°How do you feel about your past life memories?¡± ¡°They scare me,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to Sarah about it and told her I¡¯m afraid of losing who I am among them. There are just so many years involved, not centuries or millennia, but billions of years. Is that fear understandable?¡± Kadaklan nodded reassuringly. ¡°You¡¯ve been afraid of them for a while now?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she gripped the edge of her pants as she fought the urge to pace. ¡°Is it wrong not to want to lose who I am?¡± Argh, I just said that. Fuck! I¡¯m rambling. I hate this! Kadaklan smiled reassuringly. ¡°Not at all, particularly when you had a powerful memory sweeping away your concept of self. Many people would consider sexual preferences a fairly important foundation of who they are as a person.¡± ¡°What do you want to do with the memories?¡± asked Sarith. ¡°Apologies, but for my sake, could you give me a brief explanation of how you normally experience them?¡± ¡°They arise almost like flashes of inspiration,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll be in the middle of something, or after I¡¯ve learnt something, a related rush of memories will hit me. My use of the harp was the first time I had called any forth deliberately.¡± ¡°Do any of the courts have ways to explore past lives?¡± inquired Sarith, directing the question to Kadaklan. ¡°There are experts in such matters among the immortals and Shen in all the courts,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°I also need to find an expert in Harmony,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°There are so many things I need to learn.¡± ¡°Ahh, you¡¯ve already started to look at an option I thought might benefit you,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Mind you, I¡¯m still researching it, as Harmony isn¡¯t a Power I¡¯ve evolved.¡± Gideon, could you have actually dropped a better hint? ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°From what I¡¯ve read, it is easier to be one with yourself than the world around you,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°In my research on your spiritual net and directing energy from it to ease the wounds in your Soul, I came across mentions of a Harmony evolution.¡± ¡°You told me not to force extra energy through the link,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t involve extra energy at all. From the limited details in the text, I found it uses the Ki that cycling would normally funnel to the Soul more efficiently,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°The only issue is we don¡¯t have the full text on the technique involved. Master Cyrus is working with the librarian to see if we have any similar techniques that might provide the same result as a side effect of their use.¡± ¡°Can you tell what the effect does at a high level?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°It seems to help focus Ki on particular flaws in your Soul while cycling,¡± stated Kadaklan. ¡°It¡¯s only referred to in a derived cycling technique that omitted the influence on the Soul. The reason for the lack is that the original was for an Immortal, and since the chakras differ from a spiritual net, an alteration was required that removed the flow-on effect on the Soul. However, learning the Immortal technique is easier if the Mortal has studied the version for the chakras.¡± ¡°Okay, that makes sense,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re getting away from what you wanted to discuss,¡± noted Sarith. ¡°Are you feeling well enough to continue, or should we let the conversation transition to safer topics?¡± I want to run away. The thoughts drew a grunt from Amdirlain. ¡°I keep running away from my emotions.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s explore that,¡± suggested Sarith, and she gave Amdirlain¡¯s forearm a reassuring squeeze. ¡°We¡¯re here for you.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± Amdirlain agreed hesitantly. ¡°Do you value other people¡¯s emotions above your own?¡± Amdirlain grimaced. This is going to be a long conversation. Sarith considered her carefully. ¡°Let¡¯s start logically.¡± ¡°Alright. What do you mean by that?¡± questioned Amdirlain carefully. ¡°Let¡¯s start at the beginning after using the harp how your emotions shifted and catalogue all the emotions,¡± proposed Sarith. ¡°You¡¯ve perfect recall, so we can review each, consider the past and present life implications, and then move on to the next.¡± ¡°To let me establish patterns of recognition and handling them?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think that would help?¡± Sarith asked. ¡°It should let you see points of influence.¡± ¡°That could take a while,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll clear my schedule,¡± Kadaklan offered immediately. ¡°There might be exercises I¡¯ve used that will help.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here as long as you need me,¡± affirmed Sarith. 408 - Overload Amdirlain''s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain''s guts churned as if a showdown with Baln¨¦rith lay ahead. Multiple artificers were within Sarah''s forge room and, though the filter excluded her song, the items she was rapidly enchanting for her audience rang with her strength. As Amdirlain paused at the turn of the road, she realised it was the same spot Sarah had hesitated at. The event now seemed weeks ago, but it hadn''t even been forty-eight hours. Fuck, I''m a mess. With Phoenix''s Rapture off, this is exhausting. Sarith looped her arm through Amdirlain''s and tried to keep walking. Amdirlain didn''t shift a millimetre and, pivoting on her anchor, Sarith looked back and awkwardly lifted a single eyebrow, mimicking Amdirlain. "That is a lot harder than you make it seem," commented Sarith dryly, lifting her fingers to hold her other eyebrow in place as it tried to follow. "Natural talent," grumbled Amdirlain. Sarith''s mouth twitched awkwardly. "Livia said that it became a status symbol among the children in Eyrarh¨¢ls; all the ''cool'' kids wanted to copy her." "You''ll get used to smiling in time. I''m a corrupting influence," huffed Amdirlain nervously, fidgeting as she plucked at the grey silk sleeve of Sarith''s top. "I wasn''t talking about smiling, and you know it. As for being a corrupting influence we''ve spoken of your habit of talking down about yourself. It''s a symptom of your self-doubt," Sarith corrected. "You can do better. Direct your snark at those who deserve it and pay respect to yourself." "I''m not sure about some of your suggestions," murmured Amdirlain. "I can turn Phoenix''s Rapture completely off, but Mental Hardening is difficult to suppress. It''s just a series of automatic techniques." "The agreement was that you''d try," reassured Sarith. "While you know the emotions are present, letting yourself feel them properly and working through them is key to resolving your issues." "Let''s get this torture session over with," sighed Amdirlain, striding forcefully towards the courtyard. "You need to have a better attitude toward your own emotions," instructed Sarith. ¡°Perhaps treat them as you would another''s pain.¡± Amdirlain nodded jerkily. Does that include people I want to kick in the balls? The chimes signalling the noon meal break washed across the mountain, and Amdirlain sighed in frustration. We spent six hours talking in circles about emotions and secrets that I couldn''t even be specific about; blah, no wonder I feel hollowed out. "Are you listening to her song yet?" murmured Sarith. The flinch immediately gave Amdirlain away, but Sarith didn''t comment. Aware of Sarah''s inhuman senses, even in Human form, Amdirlain didn''t reply. With her teeth nearly drawing blood from her bottom lip, Amdirlain removed the filter from Resonance and almost fled from the pain, worry, and frustration that filled Sarah''s song. She halted in her tracks again and counted to ten before she forced herself forward. My emotions are so much more complex to deal with, especially when I''m actively suppressing Mental Hardening. Despite the chimes'' last echoes fading, the guests in the forge area made no move to leave immediately. Amdirlain had reached the veranda in front of the training hall before Sarah shooed them on their way. When the artificers exited the forge room, they were excitedly talking to each other and overlooked Amdirlain and Sarith¡¯s presence. It was only when the last of them stepped out onto the road that Amdirlain nervously approached Sarah''s workshop. Amdirlain paused at the doorway, watched as Klipyl racked the last tools used for the training session and winked before vanishing. Sarah wore the same practical clothing she''d been using the other morning when she''d been flattening out the sheet of metal that now formed a box resting on the workbench near her forge. The enchantments within it protected the lock from physical tampering and shed magical force from the steel while the enchantments held. Yet the mundane materials capped how much Mana Sarah could provide to the enchantments. When Amdirlain crossed the threshold, Sarah tossed aside a stylus she''d been holding and rushed towards her, sweeping her into a hug. "I''m sorry." "For what? I''m the one that screwed up," protested Amdirlain. "No, I did," objected Sarah, and she looked at Sarith standing in the doorway behind Amdirlain. "You sought help?" "I would have thought you''d know how unskilled Am is at dealing with her emotions," said Sarith. Sarah glanced between them. "Are you setting up couples counselling?" We''re a couple? She said no. "My understanding of that process is that it would disadvantage Am. Don''t you believe so, Sarah?" asked Sarith. "Huh?" grunted Amdirlain. Sarith frowned. "Such sessions normally benefit the person who can best articulate their emotions. Once you start to talk about a particular situation, you are clear in your communications, but you need to work on opening up. If you cannot talk about the emotions related to particular events, it would be a one-sided discussion and thus detrimental." Amdirlain grimaced, "Oh. You have a point." "What''s going on then?" asked Sarah, not having released Amdirlain from her embrace. Decisive patience thumped in Sarith who simply stood waiting. Amdirlain shifted awkwardly, letting go of her tentative embrace. "Sarith''s suggestion was, rather than a back and forth, I should be open about my concerns and let you consider them." "Good idea. Your perspective is your own and not up for debate," agreed Sarah. "Can I ask questions for clarification? I''ll watch my wording, but I don''t want a misunderstanding to arise if a simple question could stop us from second-guessing." What would Sarah second guess about? "Yes," blurted Amdirlain. "It''s not meant to be a lecture. I''m just trying to be open." "I''m sorry for screwing up with how I communicated my concern to you. It wasn''t meant as a rejection or insult, but I was worried I''d be taking advantage of your uncertainty," said Sarah. Has it been on her mind? "That was what caused you to withdraw, wasn¡¯t it?" continued Sarah. "It had me spinning so much I couldn''t process your explanation rationally until Sarith dragged all the words out of me," admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I was busy churning other rubbish up.¡± Sarah winced. Amdirlain slumped slightly. "I''ve got some secrets I need to share as well." "More secrets? Pretty sure I know all of them," said Sarah lightly. "No, you know Orh¨ºthurin''s or at least many of her secrets. These are secrets I''ve kept from you myself," corrected Amdirlain. "I find it scary even to consider talking about my emotions and these secrets." "You''re scared?" questioned Sarah sceptically. Her churning guts had Amdirlain clenching her fists, and she wished Phoenix''s Rapture didn''t mimic a living form so well. "I''ve got Phoenix''s Rapture disabled except for the shapeshifting, and I''m not holding back my emotions at present. So yeah, I''ll try not to run screaming." The announcement caused Sarah''s brows to lift. "Shall we have some tea?" "I drank far too much tea today. Kadaklan kept pouring more while we talked," grumbled Amdirlain. "I''m never going to get through this if I''m relaxed." "No to the tea then," acknowledged Sarah. "Do you want to sit down or loiter in here?" "I don''t know," gulped Amdirlain. Sarith rested a hand gently on Amdirlain''s shoulder, and Sarah¡¯s smile showed her pleasant surprise. ¡°After the clash you had as novices, I¡¯m surprised you went to Sarith?¡± ¡°Neutral party,¡± grunted Amdirlain hoarsely. ¡°Parties. Kadaklan as well. I expected them to tell me I was the idiot.¡± "What do you wish to talk about first, Am?" Sarith asked gently. Amdirlain shivered, tears prickling in her eyes; the fear that ?typically pounded helplessly against the walls in her mind scrabbled and dug into her Willpower, urging her to flee. "I don¡¯t know." "What''s the most pressing item to talk about?" Sarith inquired. Amdirlain swallowed nervously. "I don''t want to discuss it in Livia''s Domain." "Alright, you mentioned that was a concern for you," agreed Sarith. "Are you going to be alright, or do you want me to come along?" "Thanks, Sarith," whispered Amdirlain. Sarith didn''t need it translated but nodded reassuringly and stepped back, letting her hand slip from Amdirlain''s shoulder. "Am doesn''t have Phoenix''s Rapture running or Mental Hardening obscuring things, Sarah, so please be delicate. Oh, and she''s agreed to stop putting herself down verbally, even as a joke. Ensure you remind her if necessary." "I said I would try," corrected Amdirlain. Holding Sarah''s hands, Amdirlain moved them to the Demi-Plane she''d made for the dragons. "I''ll listen and not say a thing until you tell me it''s okay to speak," Sarah said. She wiggled a hand free and gently stroked Amdirlain¡¯s right cheek, wiping tears away with her thumb. "I was making a Demi-Plane after our conversation, and the Kyton''s mother spoke to me," stated Amdirlain. "She showed me your daughter torturing Castellan and tried to get me to hand over Atonement." Sarah pursed her lips and put a hand to her mouth to cut off an exclamation, her song a cascade of disbelief and helpless fear directed at Amdirlain. ¡°She contacted you without prompting?¡± Yep, I''m too cowardly to talk about my emotions to the person who matters the most, so I go to the horrid secrets. Why is there no surprise in her song about that? "She knew the moment I''d entered the realm after being cursed and prevented you from detecting my presence. My Soul was calling to yours through the Oath, and she suppressed it," explained Amdirlain. "She''s been looking over my shoulder so often that she knew details about my stalker and had arranged for his theft. A certain Succubus primogen now has him on display in her court." I can''t let the Oath continually drag her around and put her at risk. With no Oath, the weight of their connection drew Mori¡¯s soul through multiple reincarnations, so Sarah would likely get drawn without the Oath. Yet even if it won¡¯t, someone might use the Oath as a weapon against her. The Anar don''t have the same risky vulnerability. "Nu showed you Ulce?" asked Sarah. The elven word for evil. Wait, is that a place or a name? "Is that the name of Sidero''s daughter?" questioned Amdirlain. When Sarah nodded, Amdirlain continued. "Then yes, Ulce was cutting along the muscles in Castellan¡¯s upper arms. She wore the same red chains Sidero used to wear." Is it right to speak of Sidero as another person, even though she treats Syl as part of herself? Like the past lives that make Kadaklan uncomfortable, even though he knows his Soul needs the lessons learned in that lifetime. Sarah pressed a hand to her stomach as discomfort echoed the sour notes of nausea within her. "I can understand why you didn''t tell me," said Sarah. "You already knew about Castellan," accused Amdirlain, and she winced at the edged tone. "I learned last night¡ªnot that she was being tortured, but I know the Fallen who handed her over¡ªand I have other news," replied Sarah, her outward composure unruffled by Amdirlain''s sharp tone. Naamah''s Fallen allies will not be faceless enemies. Stop taking your mess out on her. Dammit! Though tempted to ask questions, Amdirlain released a sharp exhalation and tried to steady the turmoil within herself. ¡°Talking to her, Ulce, and the Castellan, does that all count as one secret or three? I need a moment before I explain the turmoil of emotions.¡± Don''t start being a bitch, or change the subject further. Start? Fuck, don¡¯t keep being one. Fear is a blade that is looking for someone to hurt. ¡°Can I say something before you start?¡± Amdirlain nodded jerkily. Sarah whispered. "I''m so sorry I made this awkward between us, and I''ve been kicking myself about hurting you. I knew I''d screwed up when you withdrew, and then Mother pointed out in clear detail all the ways what I said could hurt someone with even a modest number of personal issues." Her adopted mum¡ªDragon mum¡ªwho I¡¯ve still yet to meet. "I feel like I''m a mess that you''d be better off avoiding," huffed Amdirlain. Sarah''s brows furrowed, and Amdirlain lifted a hand to forestall her. "That''s how I feel at present. It''s not up for discussion. It''s where I am now but not where I want to stay." "Alright," acknowledged Sarah. ¡°Just concerned for you, not arguing.¡± Her tongue darted across her lips, and Amdirlain swallowed roughly. "I find your possession of Syl''s memories related to Ori intimidating. I felt a snippet of their time together, and against that grand love, I feel inadequate." Anxiety and sorrow warred with love behind Sarah''s composed mask, but she only nodded in a calm acknowledgement. "I''m listening to your music again, so there isn''t any point in holding your composure," advised Amdirlain. "But I know how automatic it is for you, so I don''t judge your lack of reaction. Do I want to know what rank you have in that Skill?" "It was King," grunted Sarah. "Acting-King and Composure-King merged a while back into Councillor''s Demeanour. Dragon cheat skills." Fuck, I need to push my skills. She has all those past lives at her fingertips. Sarah likely knows the fastest ways to advance hundreds of powers and skills, let alone classes. Amdirlain closed her eyes as more feelings of inadequacy arose. "I know it seems stupid, but I feel so outmatched by you. Child? Yeah, the clueless child likely sums it up." "You¡¯re not. I wanted to kick that prig''s arse out through his mouth," growled Sarah. "Then he really would be shit-talking," laughed Amdirlain bitterly. "There was a spark of rage that I think came from Ori''s memories when he ran his mouth." "She didn''t like him," conceded Sarah. "I''ll tell you about their history later, but it was unpleasant. You don''t need their guidance. You''ve done far more than most modern L¨®m? have ever managed. If anything, they should get your guidance about how to push themselves." ¡°Getting sidetracked,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Sorry, you were telling me how you felt,¡± Sarah said, buttoning her lip. Amdirlain grunted in surprise. "I was afraid my emotions weren''t completely my own, but I don¡¯t want to give into that fear. I just couldn¡¯t admit it. That contributed to my lack of happy glow; it felt like I was tight roping on an unstable limb just proposing to move forward with a relationship." If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "Why did you propose it then?" Memories lept up, but none were Ori¡¯s or another life''s. They were all from her time as Julia. Sarah was frequently with her regardless of whether she was well or ill. They talked each other into activities and books the other hadn¡¯t thought to try, and regardless of the activity¡¯s success, the day was still better for the other¡¯s company. "When I put gender aside, I could see how we just fit. I always wanted to fall for someone who¡¯d be there for me and put up with me, warts and all. A person who would have my back yet didn''t expect me to talk about my feelings or share details about frustrating days. I wanted someone to grow with through life''s difficulties in a true partnership. I was always looking for someone I could spend time with where even silence would be comfortable. A partner who had interests in common but also wanted other things, so I''d occasionally get alone time." Amidst the rush of words, Sarah had slumped against one of the beach''s rocks, and grief peeked out through cracks in her composure. Amdirlain''s hands started to lift upward, and she clasped them behind her back to prevent fingers from digging into her scalp to combat the uncomfortable itch beneath her skin. "Except for gender, you''d always ticked all those boxes," muttered Amdirlain. "Emotionally blind I might be, but once my blinkers were off and I got thinking about the irrelevance of gender, I didn''t need long to get to what I felt was a starting point. I have a scary high IQ now¡ªif only my EQ didn''t lag so far behind. Then I felt like you''d slapped me away for not meeting your standards. It was far from the acceptance I''d expected." Sarah rose from the rock she''d slumped against and stepped towards Amdirlain, only to be halted by an outthrust hand. "It twisted about, and I started feeling that you only loved me because I''m a stand-in for Orh¨ºthurin," breathed Amdirlain. ¡°Despite what you told me after saying no, even without the monstrous thing I''m becoming, I don''t feel lovable. I didn¡¯t feel worthy of being loved by anyone. I felt like poison." Sarah let out an audible groan, and blinding tears slid from her eyes, yet she kept silent. In broken sentences, Amdirlain repeated the tale she''d shared only with Sarith about the onset of cancer and the fear, along with her self-revulsion when the girl who treated her kindly in treatment died. Amdirlain dropped her hand, and this time, when Sarah stepped forward, Amdirlain didn¡¯t ward her away. Her weight shifting on the white sands prickled across Amdirlain''s skin like a pronouncement of doom. Amdirlain suppressed a nervous wince as Sarah''s arms enfolded her and silently rubbed her back. Head bowed against Sarah''s shoulder, Amdirlain closed her eyes and tried to organise her racing thoughts. The conversation with Sarith and Kadaklan had stirred up so much that deciding what to tackle was hard. "I''ve not compartmentalised emotions since the monastery. Instead, I''ve been letting them rant and rave behind mental walls but dealt with them as they occurred," confessed Amdirlain. "At present, I''m not even trying to keep them out of the forefront of my mind, and they''re hard to deal with. Lucky I''m used to dealing with thousands of songs at a time." Sarah pressed her cheek against the side of Amdirlain''s face but stayed steady. "Take your time, sweetie. Talk about whatever comes to mind first. I''m sorry I spun you out emotionally. Those memories show me how different you are, and your uniqueness adds to what I love about you." Amdirlain swallowed back tears, and pain churned within her True Form. The bristles didn''t normally register past Pain Eater, but as she rode the surge of emotions, their irritation bloomed into a burn that rivalled a box jellyfish sting, shrouding her from head to toe. "I have trouble accepting people''s positive feelings towards me are genuine. I''m not expecting them since I dislike so much about myself. From my perspective, I can be a vicious hypocrite, and that''s just one of my flaws. I''m stubborn and pig-headed, even before I took my Willpower to ridiculous lengths." "Is that what Sarith meant about negative self-talk?" questioned Sarah as Amdirlain''s tone grew edged. Amdirlain exhaled. "Yes. I''m just trying to explain how I see myself and why I spun out. I feel like an imposter every day. Every time I tell people I''m not Ori, it''s because she could do so much more, and I get mad and afraid of their expectations if they see me as her. It doesn''t help that I disagree with how she tackled many things. Most of all, I''m afraid you only ever loved me because of the Oath between Ori and Syl before Tia threatened to extinguish her." Sarah''s hand trembled, but she continued to rub Amdirlain''s back. Her theme was sour with pain and sorrow, but the foundation of love negated the drain of those emotions. I''m hurting her, fuck! She¡¯s tied up to me with that Oath they swore to each other. How much impact does it have on her feelings? I can¡¯t let anyone use the Oath to hurt her, let alone me. Amdirlain grunted. "You released me from my promises to you, but the Oath between them went both ways, didn''t it?" "Yes, but don''t worry about it," murmured Sarah. "I release you from your promise," whispered Amdirlain. The backlash of pain clawed out of Amdirlain''s mouth in a soundless scream and dropped her to her knees; bent in two, she vomited a flood of blood and an infernal miasma washed across the white sands. Her stomach kept convulsing, and she could only squeeze her eyes closed and ride out the expulsion of fluids. Each time she tried to regain control, another spasm flooded her throat with more bile, blood, and corruption. Almost face-planting, Amdirlain started to tip onto her side with the force of the convulsions that rocked her frame. Her health in free fall, Amdirlain teleported down the beach and reactivated Phoenix''s Rapture. Sand melted into glass and exploded into vapour around her, but her health stopped plummeting, and slowed to a steady decline. Pain Eater drily reported the ongoing damage, so Amdirlain activated Universal Life and, with her mind clear of the fog of pain and emotions, started cycling. The Ki seemed to tip into a bottomless gulf. The amount of health it could mend was nothing compared to the millions she had lost in under a minute. As flesh ruptured and tore, Sarah didn¡¯t stand passively by; since none of her recent classes had given her any healing abilities, she turned and opened a Gate. The mechanical precision of Mechanus'' theme tolled across the Demi-Plane, and a naked Elf who appeared carved of diamond stepped across the threshold. Her ancient theme was unmistakable, and even in her struggles, Amdirlain recognised the first female Diamond Dragon created in response to Tiamat''s arguments about the respective balance of forces in the realm. Beyond her were four layered mithril circles that only partly echoed those produced by the staff she¡¯d made Sarah; each contained a Fallen. "Please help her, mother," called Sarah. The Dragon crossed the distance between them before Amdirlain could get out a word, and Amdirlain felt spells slip effortlessly through her protections. Life and Order eased through her body to purge the corruption and knit flesh together in a comforting wave. The regeneration of Phoenix''s Rapture suddenly surged ahead, replenishing Amdirlain''s body and closing the internal damage the spells were helping heal. [Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (111->113) Note: You idiot! A Primordial set that tether in place, and you just had to throw it away. It had been helping you regain memories, and you just tossed that advantage away. Why are you so hard-headed? Note: The residue was from her time as Sidero, and it was easing as Sarah tended to her mental injuries.] You had plenty of opportunity to reassure or warn me of its nature, so FUCK OFF! I walk my path and won''t drag someone with me. That Oath wasn''t mine or Sarah''s doing. I would not risk someone using it to get past her protections. Rage bubbled away, fueled by the self-doubt and anxiety Amdirlain had been fighting. Not wanting to let it influence her reactions, Amdirlain clamped down briefly with Mental Hardening and stole its fuel. Once she felt calm again, Amdirlain relaxed the chokehold on her emotions, and the hurricane of butterflies returned. "Amdirlain, this is Aitherlar," introduced Sarah. "Well, that''s one of her casual names. Her full name is much longer, but that isn''t an issue since you can hear her song." Despite the calm introduction, Sarah¡¯s song had shifted from worry and fear to a seething rage that blazed over her love and concern. "Hello, Amdirlain," said Aitherlar casually. "This isn''t how I had hoped to meet you." Amdirlain groaned. "I''m always causing someone drama." "Hey, I think that counts," said Sarah. "Counts for what?" asked Aitherlar. Sarah told me her mother had been helping with her own mental healing. Amdirlain swallowed her nerves. "I have issues with a negative self-image, and I¡¯m trying not to put myself down." Aitherlar nodded. "Don''t do that, youngster, or I''ll be cross. Would one of you care to explain that?" A gleaming finger stabbed back at the puddle of foulness still staining the beach. "There was an Oath link between our souls. Sarah had released me from past promises to her, but I hadn''t released her until now. Since I was still holding it, the residue from when Sarah had lived as Sidero vented out through the backlash." The rage within Sarah cooled with the icy shock of Amdirlain''s announcement. "That explains the infernal stench," acknowledged Aitherlar. Quick notes banished the corruption from the Demi-Plane and filled in the hole left behind. "Much better, and you got rid of all the smell," said Aitherlar approvingly. "I''m surprised you survived the backlash of releasing such an old Oath. It''s no wonder Orh¨ºthurin used to be favoured by the Titan''s Songbird. I remember meeting her shortly after the Anar and L¨®m? were created. Whereas the others were energetic and social, Orh¨ºthurin seemed serene but lonely." She doesn''t know Orh¨ºthurin was the Titan''s Songbird? I don''t remember them being awake on the platform; they were in stasis until Orh¨ºthurin made some worlds so they''d have space to fly. I need to change the topic. "How soon after the creation of the Anar and L¨®m? did you meet them?" Aitherlar waved casually. "A few millennia, maybe ten or eleven. It was well after they had created their first stars." "Did you ever meet the Titan''s Songbird?" "When I was born at the start of time in the realm. She was a golden figure in my mind that loomed over everything. Oddly, others present were physically larger, but she gave the impression that they were smaller than her. Whenever she spoke, the realm seemed to listen to the beauty of her voice," replied Aitherlar. "It is a fond memory. You should feel honoured that she blessed the Anar and L¨®m? with golden souls that matched the purity of her essence." It sounds like she was half awake, dozing enough to be aware. "I think far too many took that purity for granted," replied Amdirlain. "It can be a problem with celestials as well," acknowledged Aitherlar. "Oh, I''m good. Ergo, everything I do must be for the sake of goodness. Some of them are a pure pain in the tail." All three of them snorted, and Amdirlain smiled at the echoed sentiment. It took time and more spells from Aitherlar before Amdirlain''s health was fully restored and she could turn off Phoenix''s Rapture, disabling even its passive help to keep her emotions in check. "That was quite an impressive aura you have there, Amdirlain," offered Aitherlar. "I''m sorry Sarah had to call upon you," offered Amdirlain. "She called you Mother? Aitherlar wasn''t the name she''d given me for the Dragon who adopted her." Aitherlar smiled. "You comprehended that, even through your pain?" "With my aura activated, there was no pain, just dry details," corrected Amdirlain. "I told Sarah not to worry you, so she gave you the name I''ve used lately. It''s easier on my interactions if I regularly change my casual name to prevent intimidating younger dragons," advised Aitherlar. "And since every type of Diamond Dragon descends from me, I''m technically the same species. It was a condition for my help." "You''re the diamond template. I can understand why you want to avoid others'' attention," murmured Amdirlain. "A normal Diamond Dragon wouldn''t have taken on a Scarlet Lonsdaleite." "They are snobbish about blood lineage," agreed Aitherlar. "Have you two spoken about the Fallen I''ve been treating?" When the Gate to Mechanus opened, I thought I heard four circles containing Fallen. Sarah said something about Fallen, but what¡¯s this about treating? Is that the priority right now, Amdirlain? "No, I''ve got my own issues to sort out," said Amdirlain, shrugging off the concerns. "Then I won''t intrude further. Once you get beyond what your fellow novices can help you with, I''ll come to teach you more psionics," offered Aitherlar, and she vanished. "Did Gideon warn you about releasing that Oath?" hissed Sarah, worry shining in her gaze. "They''d never mentioned it would be an issue to break," confirmed Amdirlain. "I''d also never used Analysis on it; I could never hear or find the Oath link between us." "I had never thought to check," grunted Sarah, and she snarled. "Bloody crystal ball. I want to kick them into the Far Chaos. I thought you were going to die." "With the rage in your song, I thought you were angry at me," admitted Amdirlain timidly. "Gideon''s games infuriate me," Sarah said as she shifted position and cupped Amdirlain''s chin to lift her gaze. ¡°My anger was for them. I was worried about you and frustrated at myself.¡± Amdirlain sighed in relief. "Gideon told me off for breaking it, said the Oath had been making recovering memories easier." "Gideon can be a right bitch," growled Sarah. "I assumed you had gotten notifications since I released you from Ori''s promises." "Yes, and no notes about the Oath," confirmed Amdirlain. "Then they got snippy in the notification about Phoenix''s Rapture levelling from repairing the damage releasing it caused." "Given how that only felt like a strange shift but didn''t cause any injury, there should have been no reason to expect anything as dramatic as what just happened," reassured Sarah. "Are you trying to head off me blaming myself?" "Yes," Sarah confirmed, and she winked. "I believe you were supposed to tell me what you''d bottled up. Apologies for dragging Aitherlar into this but besides a deity, she was the strongest help I could get you." "Thanks," breathed Amdirlain, suddenly far too aware of Sarah''s proximity and her quickening pulse. Sarah shrugged with affected casualness. "Any time." Even with the Oath broken, how much of that bond will linger? I hope I¡¯m being fair to her. "The way Madame Kyton spoke of my Soul calling to yours didn''t sound like it would have given you much choice," advised Amdirlain. Sarah released Amdirlain''s chin and stroked her cheek. "Ah, that isn''t something I''d complain about, but I understand. You wanted to ensure nothing was causing any feelings for you?" She''s so close I''m glad my aura burnt away the foulness. Now I¡¯m being vain! Sarah could find a better partner than me. "This conversation didn''t exactly go close to plan," breathed Amdirlain. "Not that there was much of one." Sarah''s gaze shone with mirth. "Sweetie, I''m still here for you, and you didn''t dissolve. Let''s just put it in the win column for danger avoided." "I''m sorry I''m such a mess." That was all Amdirlain managed before Sarah leaned in close but stopped millimetres from their lips touching. The trembling notes within her melody came with a breathless intensity that matched Sarah''s racing pulse. ¡°Can I kiss you?¡± breathed Sarah, her lips coming so close to contact that a tingle of anticipation ran up Amdirlain¡¯s spine. Do I dare? Sarah¡¯s silvery Soul buzzed with a mix of love and nerves that peaked higher, yet neither moved. Amdirlain¡¯s nervous tension and butterflies urged her to run, instead she leaned in. The touch of soft lips moving gently against her own drew a sigh of pleasure. When Amdirlain didn¡¯t break away, Sarah returned her gentle kiss with increasing fervour. Hands lifted to cradle Amdirlain¡¯s face and slowly crept into her hair. Steam wanted to burst out of Amdirlain¡¯s ears, and her complexion darkened as she drew Sarah close. When the lingering kiss ended, Amdirlain swallowed and tried to control her blush. "Is it a good idea to reward destructive behaviour?" Gods, I made a mess of that kiss. "Rewarding progress. I''m pleased you talked to me," replied Sarah, and she resumed caressing Amdirlain''s face. Amdirlain frowned in confusion. "What happened to you wanting to wait for my glow?" "How was that fair of me?" inquired Sarah. "I was an idiot, and Aitherlar made that clear. She pointed out I shouldn''t look for perfection when any good relationship grows with time. I''m thankful you¡¯re still taking a chance on me, Amdirlain. If you have doubts, we can work on them together." Together? "Really?" Sarah nodded solemnly. "Really. I have some simple suggestions for ground rules if we go ahead. To keep our partnership even." ¡°If?¡± Of course, she likely has doubts. Sarah smiled reassuringly. ¡°I want to be with you. Do you want to be together?¡± Dare I want this? The thought of Sarah absent from her life was a crushing void inside Amdirlain, and she smashed the churning thought apart and quashed the quagmire that tried to drown her in doubt. Was I stupid to release the Oath? Yet, based on what Custodian told me about the injuries I inflicted on Moloch with his links, I couldn¡¯t risk not removing it. What if someone did the same to Sarah? ¡°Yes. Only suggestions?¡± Sarah smiled knowingly, and Amdirlain relaxed. ¡°You might have better ideas.¡± Tension ratcheted up Amdirlain¡¯s spine. "I''m listening," breathed Amdirlain. As tears pricked at the corners of Amdirlain''s eyes, Sarah tenderly wiped them away. "We tell each other when something is wrong," said Sarah. "We don''t have to give details immediately, but when we feel something is wrong, we let the other person know." "I''ll try to get better at communicating." "I¡¯ve held secrets I shouldn¡¯t have as well, so I need to do the same. Next, we regularly spend time together," said Sarah. "Your schedule gets pretty busy." "Anything special you had in mind?" asked Amdirlain. "No, just as long as we''re together. We could kill monsters, or I could listen to you sing," replied Sarah. ¡°The time together is what¡¯s important. The exception is those resistance boxes¡ªthey don¡¯t count as together.¡± I might be able to not fuck up a date night that way. "Only those rules?" inquired Amdirlain hopefully. "No, but only one more. I don¡¯t want a codex of rules.¡± Says Miss Orderly? ¡°The last is a two-parter. Don''t stop listening to my music again," requested Sarah. ¡°If you need clarity around my emotional state, please ask.¡± The last request drew a surprised blink from Amdirlain. "That''s it?" Can I even trust myself to follow those? "Yep," said Sarah. "I love you as you are and hope I can help you heal all the pain. Honestly, I¡¯ve no problem going slow or at whatever pace you want." "Okay," Amdirlain exhaled. Nerves and self-recriminations for doubting Sarah burned through her freshly healed wounds. ¡°Amdirlain, you are most certainly the best person in my life,¡± murmured Sarah, and she caressed Amdirlain¡¯s cheek again. Amdirlain flushed. "I apologise in advance for when I screw up." "We''ll work through our screw-ups together," responded Sarah. "I also make mistakes and never want them to end us. No shifting anything more between us without talking it through, okay?" Nervously, Amdirlain rested her head on Sarah''s shoulder and held her close. ¡°Isn¡¯t that another rule?¡± This feels good, yet so strange it''s no longer simply a comfortable, friendly hug. ¡°Suggestions, not rules. You scared the crap out of me,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°While I have that device you made to find your Soul, I never want to have need.¡± ¡°Sorry.¡± Silence settled between them and Amdirlain kept holding her. When Sarah eventually inquired about Cyrus'' lesson, Amdirlain shook her head. "I didn''t want to put a time limit on our conversation, so I told him I''d have to skip today." "You prioritised resolving your emotions?" questioned Sarah lightly. "No, I put the priority on us," blushed Amdirlain. Fuck, that sounds so lame. Stop it, Amdirlain. ¡°And still sounded like a complete bitch,¡± continued Amdirlain awkwardly. Sarah kissed her forehead. "It''s okay to put yourself first? occasionally. I can smell you¡¯re still all jagged edges emotionally." "I put myself first a lot with my training." countered Amdirlain. "Amdirlain, you''re pushing yourself hard to gain enough strength to seal the wound in the deep planes. That training isn''t putting yourself first," Sarah gently admonished. Amdirlain coughed to clear the lump in her throat. ¡°I¡¯m a mess emotionally. I¡¯m trying to keep Phoenix¡¯s Rapture off to heal properly.¡± ¡°That you didn¡¯t deny your emotional state is good.¡± Embarrassed, Amdirlain shrugged jerkily and hurried to change the subject. "What¡¯s the plan with the Fallen? I heard the circles still holding them. What did you two get up to?" Does embarrassment count as something wrong? ¡°Sorry for embarrassing you,¡± said Sarah, and Amdirlain¡¯s blush returned. "As for the four Fallen, they¡¯ve been trying to cause you problems. After discussion, we decided the best approach was to give them therapy." When Amdirlain started giggling, Sarah patted her back. "Therapy!" snorted Amdirlain through her giggles. Sarah nodded, and Amdirlain''s giggles turned into hysterical laughter. ¡°It¡¯s alright,¡± whispered Sarah, gently stroking her back. ¡°I¡¯ve got you, and I should have made it clear from the start that only you ever held a place in my heart. You thought you weren¡¯t lovable, and there I was, too scared to tell you I love you.¡± It took some time, but Amdirlain relaxed in her embrace. 409 - Feeding the fire - plus Book annoucement Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When they arrived back at the courtyard, Cyrus was chatting with Klipyl within the circle of benches. ¡°The limit is always resources,¡± advised Cyrus. ¡°Gemstones don¡¯t come to the surface unaided,¡± grumbled Klipyl. ¡°Are you going to keep them working the fields until hundreds of warehouses overflow?¡± Cyrus glanced behind her, causing Klipyl to look around. She immediately spotted their clasped hands. With a delighted squeal, she clapped. ¡°You made up.¡± Sarah motioned her to the forge room. ¡°Go on in, Klipyl. You¡¯ve got a lot to learn.¡± Though Klipyl followed her direction, Sarah lingered long enough to steal another soft kiss that sent sparks along Amdirlain¡¯s spine. As Amdirlain smiled, Sarah released her hand and headed after Klipyl. The casual display of affection had surprised Amdirlain, and butterflies still kicked up a hurricane in her stomach. She glanced uncertainly after Sarah before she pulled herself into line. Will she change her mind? Should I at least re-enable Phoenix¡¯s Rapture¡¯s passive effects? Master Cyrus waited until the pair walked away before addressing Amdirlain. ¡°Kadaklan said you had a busy morning dealing with emotional scars.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one way to put it,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you were here.¡± ¡°I was seeing how the conversations with individuals around the monastery had gone,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Kli surprised me with her insights on opportunities within the community.¡± Glad I¡¯m not the only one she surprises. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I caught the last of those. Does it affect your Dao? Your path involves teaching others to reach enlightenment, so the more people you set on the path, the greater the potential growth.¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t undertake such actions simply because they benefit me,¡± countered Cyrus. ¡°It has been customary that those ready would work to seek enlightenment independently. Who knows what flawed individuals we might help gain a Ki class if we provided them shortcuts?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not talking about shortcuts, rather providing them extra lessons,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°A compromise between what we did in Xaos and the lessons the village children currently receive.¡± ¡°How many extra lessons?¡± Amdirlain shrugged broadly. ¡°I¡¯m not in charge, but I agree with Kli. The food situation is far different from the Material Plane. You¡¯ve got warehouses full of rice and staples, and you''ll be increasing that stockpile. Wouldn¡¯t it be an opportunity to better educate the villagers instead of getting them to bring in crop after crop when the fields ripen in a week? You said moving materials and people back and forth isn¡¯t simple.¡± ¡°You could streamline that,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°What¡¯s it worth?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°No, don¡¯t answer. Instead, get someone to calculate how many contribution points would pay for an extra hour of daily lessons for all the current students. Then, figure out the value of being able to ship grain and materials gathered in the Outlands to the Monastery of the Western Reaches. I¡¯m not helping for free if the monastery won¡¯t teach the villagers without being reimbursed.¡± ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t the lady of new beginnings any longer,¡± remarked Cyrus. Amdirlain smirked. ¡°I enjoy creating things, whether equipment, living creatures, enchantments, or opportunities. They¡¯ll still have to apply themselves, and some might opt to study calligraphy and literature instead of their Ki.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask the duty pavilion to conduct the calculations,¡± agreed Cyrus. ¡°Will you have time for an abbreviated lesson before dinner, or do you have other plans?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got time now, but I have questions about the Power called Harmony,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Kadaklan told me you had also mentioned an interest in it, so I¡¯ve assigned a scholar to review the technique records,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°There is a codex that contains any cross-referenced mention of powers or techniques within manuals.¡± ¡°Does it also obfuscate the references?¡± questioned Amdirlain lightly. Master Cyrus gave a wintery smile. ¡°There is a reason for such protections.¡± ¡°I know, but I find the double speech annoying,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I prefer explicit instructions when I¡¯m learning. You know, follow steps one to ten, and here is the result you can expect.¡± ¡°There is no point to that approach, as it wouldn¡¯t be conducive to success. Genuine progress requires understanding and personal insights,¡± rebuffed Cyrus. ¡°The manuals require the student to search for insight and understanding. Your life has been a touch distracted since we last spoke. Did you have time to consider the matters we spoke on?¡± ¡°There seem to be similarities between the use of the sigil for this Ki Blast, Kadaklan¡¯s Ki Movement, and the body in the base version of Ki Infusion,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Oh?¡± questioned Cyrus casually. ¡°The techniques involve understanding the links between the nodes and how the Ki travels along the pathways, while with Ki Infusion, it requires an understanding of how Ki saturates the flesh,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°And why might that be?¡± ¡°The pathway between the nodes is the outer skin of the sigil,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Master Cyrus smiled cryptically. ¡°Is that so?¡± ¡°And the spiritual net itself is the outer boundary of the Soul, linking it to the person¡¯s form,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps,¡± hedged Cyrus. ¡°But where does that lead you?¡± ¡°The sigil represents the Soul¡¯s nature,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Or, to put it another way, the truth of the Soul presents to the outside world via the person¡¯s spiritual net. The Ki Blast technique is about compressing and empowering that truth, either filling it with Mana or encasing it in Mana when it¡¯s projected forth. An individual¡¯s truth becomes a weapon to oppose their foes.¡± ¡°It is normal for the Ki to enclose the Mana, but for your needs, we¡¯ll need to progress the technique to where you can achieve the reverse,¡± agreed Cyrus. ¡°It is not only a weapon that can be cast forth this way. Some healers use a variation of this technique, which carries the effect of their Universal Life to an ally separated on a battlefield.¡± ¡°I take it the downside is that it¡¯s just a rush of raw health, and the healer can¡¯t control what injuries the energy repairs first?¡± questioned Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded. ¡°Correct. However, easing the burden of injuries at an opportune moment can tip the fortunes of a fight between otherwise evenly matched opponents.¡± ¡°And the form of the healer¡¯s sigil allows them to target selectively?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Once they gain sufficient proficiency in it,¡± confirmed Cyrus. ¡°Do you want to practise on targets?¡± After a brief hesitation, Amdirlain nodded. Amdirlain waved toward the front door. ¡°Let¡¯s head inside, and I¡¯ll add some illusionary targets into the sparring area.¡± Not needing further prompting, Cyrus stood and moved beside Amdirlain. ¡°Master Lu has spoken of the targets you¡¯ve been providing in your morning training sessions,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I sparred with her before lunch, and it seems you¡¯ve inspired impressive growth.¡± ¡°You could come along, but I doubt I¡¯d be able to pressure you,¡± Amdirlain replied as she strolled towards the stairs¡¯ door. ¡°Is that the key to your teaching technique¡ªapplying pressure?¡± questioned Cyrus. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know yet, but I was pushing her hard during our sparring session. During which, my Muse¡¯s Insight gained multiple levels and I heard the evolution of her Skill,¡± explained Amdirlain. Cyrus perked up with interest and smiled eagerly. ¡°Do you want to see if you can cause the same effect on others?¡± ¡°I have two other sparring sessions booked in the next couple of weeks,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Unless they outstrip me, I¡¯ll see what I can learn from those sessions.¡± ¡°I look forward to learning more about your Power as well,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Muse¡¯s Insight is just a combined Skill,¡± corrected Amdirlain as she pushed open the door. ¡°Though some skills in the past have combined into powers, so maybe it¡¯s on the edge of that change.¡± ¡°How are you progressing with breaking down your Devouring Cacophony into teachable sections?¡± questioned Cyrus. ¡°It¡¯s a work in progress. I¡¯ve started with the basics, and Kli is helping me review my explanations,¡± said Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled. ¡°Have you managed the impossible and gotten her to take a disciplined Class yet?¡± ¡°I doubt she¡¯ll ever be interested in acquiring Monk,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to ensure she can protect herself without a weapon. Since she¡¯s a Trumpet Archon, her bare hands hold Celestial energy, making them dangerous weapons against foes from the lower planes. Against them, at least, she won¡¯t need Ki¡¯s armour-breeching ability to be a dangerous unarmed opponent once she¡¯s developed enough proficiency.¡± ¡°And against Mortal foes, she¡¯d be more inclined to incapacitate rather than kill?¡± asked Cyrus. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°That would depend on why she¡¯s at cross-purposes with a Mortal.¡± Silent notes set up dozens of targets behind the blue barrier of the sparing area and tied the illusions to the dimensional anchors. ¡°What have you focused on with your lessons so far?¡± ¡°I hope to teach adaptation in live combat, as that¡¯s been a key element of my survival. It¡¯s likely the main thing I can offer since many of my transferrable strikes and blocks are like other styles.¡± ¡°Might I attend your next lesson?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Of course,¡± agreed Amdirlain, suppressing a snort at the thought of challenging him. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll be able to challenge you, but I can link you in so you can see the challenges presented to each student.¡± Only offering a nod of appreciation, Cyrus strode towards the blue barrier and came to a halt, barely an arm¡¯s reach from one target. ¡°Are we taking a Zen Archery approach?¡± Cyrus tilted his head questioningly. ¡°What do you know of that combat style?¡± ¡°If you are one with your target, then it¡¯s not a matter of hitting it but simply releasing the arrow,¡± paraphrased Amdirlain. ¡°This is a simplistic explanation, but close,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°This exercise is more about refining your control. The further you are from the target initially, the greater the temptation to push out a burst of Ki. Rather than flood this place with your energy, I want you to draw only slightly more of a wisp up than you normally use for cycling. When you reach the end of the cycle, mentally compress your sigil and release energy down your arm or forward from your body. As the pathway can flex, so can it contract and expand. You should know that intimately from your healing.¡± ¡°If I get into the habit of ¡®aiming¡¯ as such, wouldn¡¯t that be restrictive later?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°When learning a technique, you don¡¯t always need to take the most challenging approach from the start,¡± Cyrus advised. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Are you sure about that, Master Cyrus?¡± ¡°Whatever approach you are most comfortable trying,¡± repeated Cyrus drily. She took another step closer before starting to cycle, adding pieces of her anxiety and self-doubt to the mix. As the loop completed, feathers and flames flared beneath her skin, and Amdirlain pushed. A Phoenix¡¯s beak punched out from her chest, and the complete form expanded. The wings flashed, filling the air with fiery mist for a dozen metres. [Ki Blast [Ap] (29->30)] I see you have nothing to say. You might be the Aspect of Knowledge, but remember that others don¡¯t know everything you do, Gideon. Being a judgemental, manipulative prick has gotten old. ¡°That was only a wisp more?¡± questioned Cyrus. ¡°I might have been a little overeager,¡± Amdirlain sheepishly admitted. ¡°It wasn¡¯t much extra Ki, but maybe I shouldn¡¯t have added the emotional juice.¡± ¡°Then try again with Ki alone and compress it further. Ideally, you want the focus of the blast to be needle-thin,¡± instructed Cyrus, motioning at the illusion that the anchors had reconstructed. ¡°Begin.¡± Her next attempt compressed the blast to torso size, but the wings still spread a mist of energy. It took another forty attempts to constrict it to where the wings weren¡¯t diffusing energy. [Ki Blast [Ap] (30) -> [J] (1) Note: You made it quite clear my feedback wasn¡¯t welcome.] Ego much? If you can¡¯t accept you could have given a heads-up, I was right to be angry about the contempt in your message. I am tired of the mix of snark and manipulation in your notes; it¡¯s unwelcome and not helpful to my mental health. Isa told me of the helpful clues you gave her and, while I admit that I don¡¯t know your rules Gideon, cut the bullshit. If you can¡¯t say something nice, keep your fucking comments to yourself. I don¡¯t count telling me I¡¯m doing something wrong as being nasty, but the continual attitude you¡¯ve been giving me for decades has gone over the line. Her response to Gideon didn¡¯t even take an eye blink, and Amdirlain looked over to Cyrus, who was contemplating the fading afterglow. ¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not speaking Mandarin, are you?¡± questioned Cyrus. ¡°No,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Cyrus nodded thoughtfully. ¡°Sometimes you say things, and the sound is a blend of words.¡± ¡°It¡¯s an ability that lets me communicate with anyone, though it¡¯s closer to True Song than normal speech,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It has the advantage of letting me communicate with species that don¡¯t use speech. The problem is when you know multiple words that could have the same meaning.¡± ¡°What other ways do you know for species to communicate?¡± ¡°Scents, colours, many things¡ªit sends the meaning to those around and lets their mind handle the translation,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though animals might not follow my instructions unless my presence influences their instincts.¡± ¡°If you revealed your auras?¡± Amdirlain gagged. ¡°Normal animals would likely pass out or flee for their lives.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s continue your training until the dinner chimes,¡± Cyrus proposed. ¡°If you keep progressing in this fashion, you might cause it to evolve before you get to Master rank.¡± From the viewing platform, Amdirlain heard a song arise and retrieved the orrery from Foundry. Did Gilorn tire of waiting for me to fetch it? ? ? ? ? ? ? After seeing Master Cyrus on his way, Amdirlain headed into the training hall and floated up to the platform where Gilorn rested; next to her sat the orrery. ¡°Sorry for keeping you waiting.¡± ¡°Think nothing of it. I can hear you no longer have to dissolve your scent,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°I take it that things are settled between you?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve agreed on a starting point,¡± amended Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to keep working with Kadaklan and Sarith to sort out the memories from my past lives.¡± Sarah wants me for me. The thought sent a cheerful buzz of wonder through Amdirlain, and she focused on it as the niggling self-doubts pointed out a host of rejections and betrayals. None of those it raised came from Sarah, and she silenced them with that fact. ¡°I¡¯m glad you''re taking an interest in healing yourself and not just injured worlds,¡± said Gilorn primly. ¡°After all, it would be best if you didn¡¯t repeat such inefficiencies in our sessions.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to avoid inefficiencies,¡± drawled Amdirlain and pointed to the orrery. ¡°I see you retrieved the device.¡± ¡°There are so many songs within the crystals. They are only accessible to me when placed on the reading platform, which causes the device to reconfigure,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°I believe Orh¨ºthurin might have put some protections in place. You said that Isa could use the device?¡± ¡°As far as she could get the orrery to transform into a system,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°It was random in the experiments she conducted. I heard the songs within them only when I used Universal Life to expose them to my Ki, but I couldn¡¯t make out enough details.¡± ¡°When was the last time you tried?¡± inquired Gilorn. ¡°That is a good point. I only had an unevolved Resonance in Grandmaster,¡± admitted Amdirlain, and she sat down with a scowl of frustration twisting her expression. ¡°You have a lot going on, Amdirlain,¡± consoled Gilorn. ¡°Did you need the songs in these crystals before now? You don¡¯t need them now except as a reference, and if the L¨®m? genuinely wish to make amends, then haggling with you is the wrong way to go about it.¡± ¡°I still want to complete Ori¡¯s work,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°So I¡¯m not opposed to finding the right songs for the worlds.¡± Gilorn hummed. ¡°Might I ask why?¡± Amdirlain turned her attention to the orrery and considered how to explain it. ¡°It seems an insult to her memory to toss aside everything she hoped to create. It¡¯s like finding an artist¡¯s home and randomly deciding to finish a painting they¡¯d put their life into perfecting without so much as a by your leave.¡± ¡°You have things you disagree with but still respect her vision for the worlds within the realm?¡± ¡°There have been so many beautiful worlds on the Material Plane,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know who created which world, but they aren¡¯t where my disagreement with her approach lies. I want to change how souls are treated and judged, yet I want to finish the rest of what she designed.¡± ¡°You have a soft spot for beauty,¡± commented Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as some worlds look unpleasant by my previous life¡¯s standards, but their music is this delicately interwoven tapestry.¡± ¡°An area of your past that you seem to have moved past from how you speak,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Hopefully, the L¨®m? can do the same.¡± ¡°Is that a reminder that I need to find the music for them?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I meant, but feel free to take it that way,¡± rejoined Gilorn, her tone crisp with amusement. ¡°I would like to ask: Why do you care about maintaining the worlds when you plan to restructure the treatment of the souls?¡± ¡°She would never have conceived of undertaking what I¡¯m doing to the damned. Her memories were precious, and she wouldn¡¯t have considered removing another¡¯s memories even if they might never recall them. However, she had this well of rage for those who had committed evil acts,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°She created the lower planes not because she wanted them but because she knew all beings had the possibility for evil, and she wanted a clear separation of where different souls would end up. Their negativity and maliciousness draw souls to the places made vile by their predecessors'' corruption. The Abyss was once beautiful.¡± ¡°What will you do if Atonement tips the balance and causes problems?¡± asked Gilorn. Amdirlain sighed and slumped into a nearby armchair. ¡°I¡¯ll reassess as I go. I know Ori didn¡¯t like the pollution in the Abyss, but she couldn¡¯t decide a way to resolve it. Cleaning it up will probably be impossible, but I can see how to stop it from worsening. The souls of the damned not drawn to evil deities are a starting point, but I¡¯m under no illusion that it will stop it completely.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re flexible in achieving your goals,¡± offered Gilorn. ¡°A strong Willpower can lead to bullheadedness.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t believe you said that,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Gilorn huffed. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean. Whatever way you translated my statement isn¡¯t my problem.¡± She made a pun and doesn¡¯t even know it. Oh, the irony. ¡°My head isn¡¯t that hard. Certainly I can learn from mistakes I¡¯ve made in the past,¡± grumbled Amdirlain playfully. Gilorn chimed merrily. ¡°No, your Willpower might be made of granite, but at least you don¡¯t have rocks between your ears.¡± An idea tickled at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind. ¡°Domains don¡¯t keep out environmental conditions, do they?¡± inquired Amdirlain innocently. ¡°That¡¯s an awfully strange change of subject,¡± noted Gilorn. ¡°A burst of inspiration,¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°You said you wanted to see the creation of a Planar Seed?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± gushed Gilorn. ¡°Well, there is a particular arsehole I want to hurt, but I figure flooding him out now that he¡¯s gotten a Mantle is going to take a bit more than I had planned,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°So I¡¯m going to make a Plane and have it fill itself with Celestial water. I¡¯ll open the sluice gates once I¡¯ve enough to cover a few billion square kilometres of land. Once I¡¯m done with it, I¡¯ll hook it to the oceans in Celestia and let the life forms there take it over.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± cooed Gilorn excitedly, but she gave a sour chime. ¡°Aren¡¯t you getting off-topic? What about the songs for the L¨®m??¡± ¡°Fine, work before play,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, and she examined the memory crystals bordering the table. ¡°Do you think she¡¯d have it organised by the stars in a galaxy?¡± ¡°Why do you ask?¡± ¡°If they¡¯re grouped, it would make it easier to find the crystal with the worlds I want,¡± explained Amdirlain. Analysis of the dead worlds provided her with a list of galaxies to search for. After unsealing each crystal with a wash of Ki, Amdirlain repeated the process with various worlds whose songs she could make out and gradually identified the crystals with the plans for the matching galaxies. [Analysis [S] (37->38) Note: Other systems and worlds exist besides those in the initial plans.] Amdirlain didn¡¯t respond to Gideon¡¯s note. Placing each crystal on the orrery, she named the system and listened after the orrery had transformed. With the music of the first planet audible, she transferred the songs for their lifeforms and ecosystems into a separate memory crystal. When she was done, a set of crystals contained the music of the dead worlds that could be restored. One of them currently hosted an Eldritch, a being she still had no idea what to do with. ¡°Roher, I¡¯ve found the music for the planets that need healing. I¡¯ll get them to you tomorrow,¡± Amdirlain stated and released the Message. An orb of light appeared beside her, and Roher¡¯s voice buzzed within it. ¡°We could come and collect them now, save you the bother.¡± Amdirlain groaned and almost accepted his proposal, but as she started to prepare a reply, she sent a different response. ¡°It¡¯s been a pretty emotional day for me. Let¡¯s sort it out tomorrow.¡± I¡¯m supposed to look after myself first occasionally. ¡°Understood. Tomorrow it is then. I should let you know we¡¯ve exiled those who were the source of the disagreement, and they¡¯ve left Veht?.¡± Well fuck, that breaks with customs billions of years old. ¡°It seems the L¨®m? have lost their fascination with stability. To send the others off and break with custom so quickly is unprecedented,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°Now I¡¯ve likely got a few thousand enemies adrift in the realm,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°I know their songs and can remove their abilities with True Song,¡± reminded Gilorn. The temptation to be safe from the risk they represented itched at her, but Amdirlain groaned again. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I won¡¯t punish someone for what they might do. I was a Succubus, after all. The Norse could have just slain me for what I might have done.¡± ¡°If they move against you, can I kill them?¡± inquired Gilorn. Amdirlain breathed. ¡°Gilorn. Did they upset you that much?¡± Is this why Ori had Gilorn sealed away? ¡°They left Orh¨ºthurin to die,¡± hissed Gilorn. ¡°They are the ones that abandoned her to save their precious skins.¡± Well, she¡¯s not emotionless. ¡°They didn¡¯t know Orh¨ºthurin was any different to any other Anar,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°So?¡± huffed Gilorn. ¡°Abandoning the rest of the Anar was nearly as bad. They were their partners in the True Song, yet they turned their backs and fled.¡± ¡°No, if they attack me, I¡¯ll need to do it myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯m going to do that to any of them, I need to get strong enough to do it myself.¡± Amdirlain heard Sarah stiffen in the forge room and start to set aside her tools, directing Klipyl to pack up for the evening. ¡°Then you have lots of work to do,¡± stated Gilorn. What else is new? ¡°What will I need to handle it?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°At least another evolution of your True Song, depending on how high your magic rating is by then,¡± informed Gilorn. ¡°Even then, you are talking about changing old souls who will not cooperate, so you must overcome the inertia.¡± ¡°Then they have that long to figure out how to pull their heads out of their arses,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°And if they don¡¯t?¡± asked Gilorn. Are you asking me questions to ensure I¡¯ve considered everything? You wanted to prune it from them. ¡°Administration access is going to get removed,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll leave them with blank slates in their Class slots so they can get new classes over their very long life spans. If they reincarnate, their inability to use True Song will remain. I don¡¯t know how they¡¯ll be without it.¡± ¡°It is something to consider since it is a foundational piece of their souls. Once you remove it, they won¡¯t be able to get it back unless you reinstate it, but I don¡¯t know the songs for that,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°The flip is they¡¯ll just have to find their path the same as everyone else without an underserved advantage.¡± Booted heels tapped against the training hall¡¯s stone floor as Sarah entered. ¡°Deciding the fate of worlds?¡± ¡°Come on up,¡± called Amdirlain; shifting around, she tucked her feet under herself. Instead of taking the stairs, Sarah floated up outside the platforms and landed next to Amdirlain¡¯s chair. She¡¯d changed out of her forge gear into loose red silk pants and shirt, with leather boots that reached her knees. With Amdirlain¡¯s armchair too restrictive to cuddle in beside her, Sarah dropped into a chair across the table. ¡°I didn¡¯t see the L¨®m? deciding that,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°They have changed.¡± ¡°The Abyss didn¡¯t allow them to be divided. You either worked with the community or risked everyone¡¯s lives,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Is it any surprise that the ones who don¡¯t get that are from the tower?¡± ¡°You know I¡¯d prefer them dealt with immediately, right?¡± Sarah inquired. ¡°You¡¯re a Dragon. Of course, a potential enemy needs to be removed,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I will not get rid of someone just because they weren¡¯t polite.¡± Sarah wrinkled her nose. ¡°I know and can understand. I should say that if they make a play for you, Mother will kill them if I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not warn them about that fate then,¡± laughed Amdirlain, but the bitterness flooded her again. The scent tickled against Sarah, and her brows lifted in pleased surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve still not got Phoenix¡¯s Rapture back on?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m trying to process my emotions,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we get going?¡± ¡°What¡¯s on the agenda for the night?¡± ¡°Playtime making hollow world demi-planes, though if Mor¡¯lmes starts exploration, we might hassle him,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°What did you do?¡± ¡°Sent him a key to a Demi-Plane,¡± grinned Amdirlain. Sarah rose and offered Amdirlain her hands with a smile. ¡°Playtime then.¡± Amdirlain smiled shyly as she got to her feet, and all three vanished. 410 - Beyond the darkness Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane The glow from Gilorn illuminated the house-sized interior of the new Demi-Plane. ¡°For today¡¯s demi-planes, I want you to improvise around my songs,¡± instructed Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ll handle the foundation work, but I want you to add elements to as many melody lines as possible. However, focus on holding a perfect pitch for whatever you include.¡± Without giving time for questions, Gilorn took the lead, starting songs to expand the space as Amdirlain listened. Once Gilorn had completed the first round, Amdirlain joined in, working to match her inflections. As gravity started to assert and draw them towards the outer membrane, Amdirlain created a platform below them. When the Demi-Plane was several kilometres across, Sarah casually sprawled out on the platform and transformed into her glistening Dragon form. She¡¯d barely grown from when Amdirlain had last seen her uncompressed shape. With the pace increasing, Amdirlain lifted into the air and ignited Phoenix¡¯s Rapture. The white flames sent a cascade of red reflections spilling from Sarah¡¯s scales. Gilorn seemed to take it as encouragement, and when they started on the crust, she added unexpected elements to the melody. Subtle cues were the only warning that Amdirlain received in shifts in tempo. Those changes required frequent corrections to smooth the work before Amdirlain picked up on the pattern¡¯s cues. The erratic shifts pushed Harmony¡¯s limits to allow Amdirlain to adjust to the musical flow. When Gilorn finally closed off, the rush of experience was the same, but the complexity of the Demi-Plane was on a different scale. Among other changes, the Demi-Plane¡¯s crust had thickened, with mineral growths more pronounced. Gilorn¡¯s melodies had also added controls and challenges to the staged zones with ley line junctions set to focus energy into a primary monster who¡¯d seize control of each. [Crafting Summary (Category: Planetary Biomes) Interlinked self-sustaining biomes with day-night cycle x 1,435 (50%) Dungeon complexes x17,823 Gathering challenges x124,000 Total Experience gained: +49,623,750,000 Olind?: +49,623,750,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x6 Harmony [G] (20->23) Resonance-Prince [G] (4->6) True Song Genesis [G] (36->45) Dance [G] (28->31) Perception [S] (155->159) True Song Architecture [G] (35->37) Physical Geography [Ad] (31->41) Planetary Biome [M] (60->65) Note: You think I¡¯m pushy, but you¡¯re volunteering with Gilorn. Fine.] ¡°Why the subterranean areas?¡± asked Amdirlain, ignoring Gideon¡¯s dig. ¡°You have that issue with the Formithian nests, and I thought I¡¯d start with something simple,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°Though a Demi-Plane isn¡¯t a long-term fix, it could serve as a quarantine space if they need to be hurried off a world. We¡¯ll need to get the temperature across the Demi-Plane¡¯s outer skin set to the correct level for the thickness we give it.¡± The lights sparking inside Gilorn¡¯s frame brightened momentarily. ¡°Did you have an idea?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°I was considering options to stretch your True Song without getting experience surges,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°It doesn¡¯t reward me for raw materials,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve mentioned that. How about asteroids with complex mineral vein patterns?¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°Though we¡¯d need a star to park them around so they don¡¯t enter another system.¡± ¡°I made a vast Demi-Plane,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°We could park them in that.¡± Gilorn chimed with a series of notes that quickly spread outwards through the spectrums from middle C. ¡°We could make a star to park them around.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not even made a planet,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Making stars isn¡¯t as hard as you¡¯d expect,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°The raw materials themselves aren¡¯t dense. The biggest challenge is getting the amount you need in the correct proportions to be sucked into a central gravity well. If you can get that, the ignition of a self-sustaining reaction occurs at the right frequency for the solar spectrum you need. We can let the material accumulate over hundreds of sessions. Also, creating gaseous material over a vast area would stretch your Power. You know what a nebula is, don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± The series of notes ended with a happy chime. ¡°Ooh! Let¡¯s do something better. Get Gideon to give us a location. We¡¯ll make two demi-planes every night, then start creating raw materials over an expanse of space bigger than Veht?¡¯s system.¡± ¡°You want to jump straight to making a solar system?¡± ¡°Please, this is child¡¯s play for me,¡± rang Gilorn, emitting steely tones. ¡°And we¡¯re just going to create the raw material for it. The attraction between matter will eventually trigger a cascade of gravitational groupings. If we get everything right, it will eventually form a system, but if not, it can sit as a pretty nebula to light up the night sky for a species a billion years from now. You have True Song Genesis, not the lesser versions that the Anar and L¨®m? possessed initially. Let¡¯s make something grand!¡± Sarah chuffed in amusement, and Amdirlain turned to her. ¡°You¡¯re not protesting this craziness?¡± ¡°I noticed Gilorn didn¡¯t put a time scale on it,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°We don¡¯t have to rush,¡± declared Gilorn. ¡°And the beauty is in its creation, not the result.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t investigate the orrery and find a spot that matches it?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°How can you look for a match? This is for pure creation, so don¡¯t worry about a plan. Get Gideon to give us a spot beyond the boundary of planned stars. To use your analogy, we¡¯re not drawing on Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s partially completed canvas, instead we¡¯ve found a little one tucked in a corner that we can use with a spare easel and her old battered brushes to develop your style.¡± ¡°You know this is an extreme escalation of scope?¡± ¡°That depends on how you view what you¡¯ve already done,¡± countered Gilorn. ¡°The material you¡¯ve compressed into the surface of this Demi-Plane could have been the first cloud of gas. It wasn¡¯t hard to make this place, yet creation is even easier if we make raw atoms and let their proximity and gravity do the work. And if Gideon gives us a location with a vector away from any galaxy, then no one will even see the light of it. We¡¯ll know it¡¯s there and can do something with it later.¡± ¡°If we want,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°When you want,¡± declared Gilorn. ¡°We don¡¯t have a plan for it,¡± objected Amdirlain nervously. ¡°Yes, precisely the point. We can use a rough guide by taking a system you like and determining the masses of molecules you need to form the whole. Then we¡¯ll sing that matter into existence and stir it,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you about stellar mechanics when we reach that point.¡± Amdirlain worried at her bottom lip, only to be interrupted by Sarah¡¯s snort. ¡°Glow.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re nervous, but you¡¯ve got an excited glow,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°Enjoy yourself. Gilorn¡¯s talking about a literal new possibility, not simply painting someone else¡¯s numbers and worrying about whether you¡¯ll go outside the lines. It¡¯s also raw material, and you¡¯ve never gained experience from that, so it¡¯s an exercise in possibility.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Though first, we complete the second Demi-Plane for the evening.¡± ¡°Have to make your production targets?¡± questioned Sarah. Amdirlain winked. ¡°I must achieve my goals.¡± ¡°Then move us to the next seed,¡± instructed Gilorn. ¡°Are you going to tell me what songs you plan to use for the next one?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°You made it quite challenging to predict how you¡¯d change the songs.¡± ¡°I believe you said you needed to increase your Perception and Harmony,¡± Gilorn chimed back. ¡°You seemed to get a better sense of the melodies halfway through the exercise.¡± ¡°I did,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we do the second, or would you like a break first?¡± ¡°I just need Sarah to transform into something smaller,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°There isn¡¯t enough space for her.¡± ¡°Body shaming,¡± tsked Sarah, but she transformed regardless, becoming a shirtless male Wood Elf with swirling tattoos across rippling muscles that reminded Amdirlain of an islander¡¯s traditional tribal tattoos. Amdirlain kept her gaze high and frowned at the amusement sparking in Sarah¡¯s gaze. ¡°Tease.¡± ¡°You like eye candy,¡± rumbled Sarah before transforming into her willowy Human form. ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I do,¡± Amdirlain admitted before stepping close and stealing a kiss. She lifted a hand to run her fingers through Sarah¡¯s dark hair. Sarah hummed happily and slid closer until the line of her body pressed tightly against Amdirlain¡¯s. As Amdirlain''s gaze widened and an edge of discomfort scented the air, Sarah pulled back slightly but didn¡¯t stop kissing her. Amdirlain was about to break off when Sarah started gently caressing her face. Is she trying to stretch my comfort zone by frying my brain? No, Sarah backed off when I felt nervous. That was simply responding to cues I¡¯m not used to people noticing. ¡°Listening to your song and the glow of your Soul is intense eye candy,¡± Amdirlain breathed when she finally stepped away. ¡°Are you taking a page out of Gail¡¯s book?¡± ¡°Gail always considered flesh just to be the clothing of the Soul,¡± replied Sarah. Gilorn chimed drily. ¡°Are we proceeding, or are you two courting?¡± Amdirlain moved them and Gilorn soon had her scrambling to improvise. Though Gilorn again stuck with the same number of biomes, she increased the complexity again, leading Amdirlain through a hectic scramble. While they worked, Sarah sprawled out in Dragon form, occasionally opening an eye to watch Amdirlain. [Crafting Summary (Category: Planetary Biomes and Constructs) Interlinked self-sustaining biomes with day-night cycle x 1,104 (50%) Dungeon complexes x17,823 Gathering challenges x124,000 Total Experience gained: +49,623,750,000 Olind?: +49,623,750,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x4 Harmony [G] (23->28) Resonance-Prince [G] (5->6) Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. True Song Genesis [G] (45->51) Dance [G] (31->35) Perception [S] (159->161) True Song Architecture [G] (37->38) Physical Geography [Ad] (41->49) Planetary Biome [M] (65->67)] Amdirlain dropped the excess points into Quickness and grimly ignored the shifts in her body¡¯s song. The surges in her health seemed almost directly related to the speed of the changes. Sarah lifted her head from the platform and sniffed the air. ¡°Something on your mind?¡± Crap, that counts! ¡°Sorry, the levels have changed me further,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The distortion is getting worse, and I¡¯m pretty ugly now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not ugly, even if it¡¯s distorting the imposed flesh you inhabit. That¡¯s not you,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°You remain intact, and the only corruption that touches you is what you let in.¡± Amdirlain landed and rested a hand on Sarah¡¯s neck, stroking along the smooth facet of a scale. ¡°You know I can¡¯t feel that, right?¡± questioned Sarah lightly. ¡°Maybe if you pounded a beat with a sledgehammer, but not a simple touch.¡± ¡°I know, but I¡¯m just trying to reinforce that you¡¯re here,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That I wasn¡¯t stupid enough to screw things up between us.¡± ¡°How can you put that differently?¡± rumbled Sarah. ¡°I said I¡¯d try to cut the negative self-talk,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°While I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t give in to my self-doubt and talked to someone to get help to straighten things out. I like to touch you and reinforce that you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°So much for the five love languages. Most people have one of the five.¡± ¡°I¡¯m complicated,¡± Amdirlain patted Sarah¡¯s scale possessively. ¡°So pretty.¡± ¡°And here I thought you were the visual kind.¡± ¡°I¡¯m that, but sometimes it takes more than seeing to believe that wonderful events can come about,¡± laughed Amdirlain nervously. ¡°Wonderful and jittery can go together, right?¡± Sarah transformed into her willowy Human form, clad in her red leathers. A gliding step closed the distance with Amdirlain, and she squeezed her lightly. ¡°I¡¯m here. I know I can¡¯t always be beside you, but I¡¯ll support you as often as possible.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you see if Gideon will provide us a location?¡± prompted Gilorn, bursting the moment. Nervously, Amdirlain tried and frowned at the bland note at the end of the co-ordinates. ¡°He says to be careful not to ignite a star before bringing life to a proper planet,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d short myself of an achievement.¡± ¡°We can do that tomorrow,¡± chimed Gilorn. Amdirlain opened a Gate into complete darkness. As Sarah looked out into the darkness curiously, Amdirlain extended a protective sphere around it and established an atmosphere. ¡°Sixty billion years and no light from any star has reached here,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°Maybe infinite is more than just a passing phrase to say I¡¯ve no idea how big a Plane can get.¡± ¡°You can start with hydrogen. I want you to create a fine mist of it over the full reach of your Resonance,¡± instructed Gilorn. ¡°Push out as much as you can. The atoms will spread out as they bounce off each other.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Create a platform so you can sit and try some simple notes on my strings,¡± added Gilorn. ? ? ? ? ? ? Hours of singing later, Gilorn finally let her stop and heal fully. Lifting her hands from Gilorn¡¯s strings, she let the piece she¡¯d been playing by ear end. [True Song Genesis [G] (51->52) Floor Harp [M] (1->3)] I spent hours singing simple elements and smoothing their notes and increased True Song. When I focused more on being part of the music creating that last Demi-Plane, I gained the most with Harmony and True Song, and less inside Resonance-Prince. I need to concentrate on the essential aspects to level up. ¡°Acceptable,¡± chirped Gilorn. ¡°It¡¯s getting toward time for your morning lessons. You can take us back to the Outlands now.¡± My singing or the harp? A musical game of copycat isn¡¯t the approach I¡¯d expected Gilorn to use for learning the harp. When they reappeared in the Outlands, Amdirlain took in the location of her usual students and found Klipyl already fighting a trio of constructs, with Gail sitting on the observation platform watching. By the time they got to the hall, the constructs were in pieces, and the songs managing them had shifted the controlling slimes¡¯ focus to new constructs and teleported them into the sparring area. The strength of the slimes indicated they had undergone multiple Skill advancements without progressing their levels at all. ¡°Klipyl¡¯s been busy Slime training,¡± noted Amdirlain. Sarah smirked. ¡°She¡¯s got her toys that don¡¯t need batteries ready to play with.¡± ¡°And they even get their kinks straightened out,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Not touching that one,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°Are the slimes progressing their skills fine?¡± ¡°Yeah, their Siege Engineer classes are happy with the constructs¡ªI guess they count as mobile weapon platforms,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I set up the interface to translate their attempts to move into steps. They¡¯re clunky but mobile. Maybe I¡¯ll bring more experienced slimes from the weapon towers still slaughtering undead for Sage.¡± Gail greeted them at the training hall door wearing a dark grey cotton shirt and pants tucked into solid boots. Beneath Gail''s bright smile there was a chiming concern that eased away when she saw Amdirlain loop her arm through Sarah''s. People have been telling tales. ¡°How is everything going?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s an open-ended question,¡± laughed Gail. The crystal plate tied to Veht?¡¯s surveyors appeared in Gail¡¯s hand, and she presented it to Amdirlain. ¡°All the gnarls are dead. I won¡¯t hang onto your surveyor access, it¡¯s too tempting to target other monsters.¡± The news of their demise drew a smile from Amdirlain, who took the plate and stored it in Foundry. ¡°You need to even out your classes. Your levels in Wizard have slipped behind.¡± Gail casually saluted her. ¡°I¡¯ll get it sorted out. I was offered a potent Prestige Class, but it only included three of my classes, so I knew I needed to restrict myself to using spells for a while.¡± ¡°Have you tried out the constructs?¡± ¡°I was watching Klipyl spar with them. While I¡¯ve got spells that could damage them, I was unsure if they were for anyone to fight,¡± replied Gail. ¡°Maybe not just anyone, but you can certainly train against them if you want to,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Or you can try the challenges on one of our recent demi-planes?¡± ¡°They differ from the earlier ones?¡± ¡°I got the hollow-Earth set up working,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°There are zone controls and the chance of monster stampedes if stronger zones aren¡¯t tackled frequently enough. If a stampede occurs, a boss monster will control the region until they¡¯re slain. You can eventually end up with bosses in every zone if the problem remains untended.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°While I sang the first example, I told Gilorn too much about the dungeon core novels I based the places on. The resources from the Demi-Plane will influence a city¡¯s prosperity and it will give them a way to continue to gain Tier 6 or maybe even Tier 7 classes, even after I deal with the spawning abominations and ghost caverns.¡± ¡°You¡¯re trying to avoid weakening future generations?¡± questioned Gail. ¡°Yes,¡± Amdirlain agreed. ¡°But it wasn¡¯t my idea. I was following Gilorn¡¯s lead.¡± ¡°It seemed logical to put proper challenges in place that would have significant economic and social consequences for each city. Without those, there isn¡¯t the impact the achievements require to be awarded even for mortals,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°It won¡¯t be the first world to have challenges created to determine the worthy.¡± She could have told me about those. ¡°Will you give the Adventurers¡¯ Guild access to one?¡± chirped Gail eagerly. ¡°That would let them strengthen themselves." Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°They¡¯ve got enough threats on their world to grow in strength if they push themselves. While you eliminated the gnarls, there are plenty of other monsters against which they can challenge themselves. If they had a Demi-Plane, they would focus on it instead of keeping their territories secure because of its greater chance of providing wealth.¡± ¡°Yet you were going to give Livia and the monastery access to one,¡± observed Gail. I know she¡¯s concerned for the people of the kingdoms, but I can¡¯t give every world a set-up of demi-planes. They¡¯re not in the same situation dealing with a deific curse or mountain ranges stripped of materials. ¡°Did you have a nice chat with Livia?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°And did she also tell you why they need resources?¡± Gail sighed. ¡°I get there is some difference, but is it something to think about?¡± I get she¡¯s trying to make some people safer, but I might get judged for every single death¡ªthose inside the Demi-Plane and those who came about because people delved into them instead of clearing monsters away from villages. Qil Tris isn¡¯t in the same situation, and they¡¯ve got rapid transport options and communication to organise responses to monsters. ¡°I¡¯ll consider it, but I¡¯ll need to balance things so they don¡¯t ignore the safety of their homes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Anything I did set up could impact my assessment by the plinth.¡± At that, Gail¡¯s eyes widened, and she held up her hands. ¡°Forget I asked, please.¡± ¡°Did you hear anything about the L¨®m? exiles?¡± asked Amdirlain, eager to change the subject. ¡°They¡¯ve already packed up and gone. I¡¯m not sure of the world they¡¯ve shifted to,¡± replied Gail. ¡°One thing I did notice is that none of them were among those gifted with any children.¡± Sarah grunted. ¡°Coincidence, or had the Titan already figured out they would likely be trouble?¡± Is Precognition tapping into Gideon¡¯s predictions? ¡°I¡¯d say they¡¯d already figured out they¡¯d be trouble,¡± said Gail. She returned to the stairs leading up to the platform she¡¯d been sitting on. ¡°Do you mind if I watch your teaching sessions?¡± ¡°You can watch, but what are you looking to gain?¡± ¡°I wanted to see how you set it up,¡± explained Gail. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Are you looking for something else to benefit the Adventurers¡¯ Guild?¡± ¡°Not everything I do is about them, Auntie Am,¡± protested Gail. ¡°I was more interested in it from a training perspective. The constructs are easy to understand, even if I can¡¯t hear how you¡¯ve linked the slimes in, but the virtual scenarios sounded cool.¡± Amdirlain followed her up the stairs, self-conscious of Sarah walking behind her. ¡°Master Lu and the others won¡¯t be long now. You can stick around to watch or take part.¡± ¡°Would using my short swords be allowed?¡± ¡°If you use normal ones,¡± Amdirlain replied. ¡°This is a training exercise, so you want to increase the difficulty.¡± Gail drew a pair of sheathed short swords, bundled up in a belt, from Inventory and looped the strap across the back of a chair before she sat down. ¡°That, I¡¯m used to.¡± ¡°Have any more of the L¨®m? been obnoxious about proposing?¡± questioned Amdirlain as she and Sarah sat on a nearby couch. ¡°Did being referred to as a child get under your skin?¡± countered Gail. ¡°Absolutely,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Sarah gently squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°The problem with the Anar and L¨®m? is they¡¯re enduring and tend not to change once they get themselves into a pattern.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep things fresh then,¡± said Gail, shifting into a Catfolk shape with black fur and silvery-tipped ears. ¡°Very cute. I¡¯ve news about Qil Tris, which I¡¯ll share later,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I was thinking of visiting at some point. That mess with the L¨®m? is so annoying. I spent years searching for a way to get them free, and I now want to geld some,¡± commented Gail. ¡°Three of the rudest males who proposed marriage got exiled, but they aren¡¯t the only ones. A few of the knights think I need protecting and shouldn¡¯t be allowed out, and that¡¯s from both genders.¡± We are both young. Yet if it hadn¡¯t been for Gail¡¯s work, we wouldn¡¯t have located the Royal Tower, and the L¨®m? would still be trapped. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. Well, if they want to delve the deeper planes in my place, they can knock themselves out,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s one thing I always liked about you, Auntie: you held me to higher standards and didn¡¯t dismiss my questions as childish,¡± stated Gail. ¡°Even now, when I made what I thought was an obvious request, you didn¡¯t imply I didn¡¯t know what I was talking about. You pointed out implications I should have considered without speaking down to me.¡± ¡°Situations differ; just because you have a hammer, not every problem is a nail,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not even entirely comfortable with the offer of the Demi-Plane I made to Livia. Their situation is causing them to seek access to the planes regardless of my involvement, and the Demi-Plane would likely provide them with a safer alternative.¡± Klipyl broke off from the constructs she¡¯d been fighting and appeared on the platform¡¯s edge. At a glance, she spotted Sarah¡¯s hand on Amdirlain¡¯s and grinned. ¡°Glad to see you¡¯ve not backslid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Klipyl¡¯s heavy trumpet disappeared, and she plopped down on a nearby seat. Her ribbon expanded and contracted with her energetic motions. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we still treasure you.¡± ¡°Absolutely,¡± chimed Gail. ¡°Not sure I need the cheer squad,¡± remarked Amdirlain. ¡°Too bad, so sad. You have us anyway,¡± chimed Klipyl. Master Lu was corralling the students, and Amdirlain noted that Jinfeng had turned down a larger group that included more experienced students than she had brought with her last time. ¡°Are you going to join the morning session?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl nodded enthusiastically. ¡°You¡¯re not getting rid of me soon. I expected to learn a new fighting style not for my profile to show jumps in both my Agile and Heavy Club skills.¡± Have I been inspiring her as well? ¡°Do all of Ebusuku¡¯s celestials have that?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I thought it was just those from before Am lost her Mantle.¡± Klipyl winked. ¡°Nope. The new folks have it too, maybe because Ebusuku got it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a possibility,¡± Amdirlain said thoughtfully. ¡°I also injected a lot of my Ki into the Domain¡¯s wellspring, which caused other changes. That energy influences all the new celestials.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°Your students are on their way. It seems Jinfeng is picky about who she lets come along.¡± ¡°I noticed,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She was very sceptical when she turned down last-minute requests this morning.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Sarah patted Amdirlain¡¯s knee and stood. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your training time and go annoy Kadaklan.¡± I¡¯m sure he wants that after I likely messed up his schedule. Is that negative? ¡°We¡¯re keeping him busy.¡± Sarah winked mischievously. ¡°He had a break, and he¡¯s got a tonne of toys from his time with us on Qil Tris that help his work. If it hadn¡¯t been for that trip, he¡¯d still use a polished lens as a microscope. Think of all the time that¡¯s saving him.¡± As Sarah headed off, Amdirlain turned to Gail. ¡°Can I get your help with something?¡± ¡°Creating life on barren planets?¡± asked Gail. ¡°Fine, you can help with that as well, but it¡¯s a more personal item,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Oh?¡± echoed Gail and Klipyl. ¡°My Protean evolved a while ago, and Gideon¡¯s message showed another Protean route that didn¡¯t clash with my evolution,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Which means it¡¯s possible to get Protean a second time,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°I only have Shapeshift.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I need the differences in the powers. I thought that since all Fallen have at least Shapeshift, there isn¡¯t any reason I can¡¯t figure out how to unlock it again.¡± ¡°You want to unlock it and regain Protean?¡± questioned Gail. ¡°Precisely.¡± ¡°How do we help?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°I want you to shift forms while I attempt to sense what¡¯s occurring.¡± Klipyl nodded and shifted into a Human female who could have passed for Livia¡¯s older sister. Her ribbon became a simple tunic top whose hem swished against her upper thighs. 411 - Try to change Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches While they waited for the others, Klipyl and Gail shifted through various forms. While Amdirlain focused on the changing melodies within each, she tried to feel them through Harmony. A teasing echo of the energy at play lingered mockingly within her flesh, but she couldn¡¯t bring it forth without Phoenix¡¯s Rapture activating instead. Before Jinfeng and her students arrived, Amdirlain made hundreds of fruitless attempts, and of the two powers, Shapeshift seemed tantalisingly close. A grumbled comment drew a nod from Klipyl. ¡°Maybe I should get someone with Change Self to come along.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered going to the lowest evolution of the Power,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Klipyl grinned. ¡°Like I told you the other day, sometimes it¡¯s a matter of building up to the moment.¡± ¡°Maybe I can use it to get Tove to change species now,¡± commented Gail. ¡°She could accept a transformation to Hound Archon or a lesser Archon with only Change Self.¡± Is she still a Lantern Archon? ¡°She¡¯s being stubborn?¡± Amdirlain asked in mock disbelief. ¡°I¡¯m sure that has nothing to do with my influence.¡± Gail grinned. ¡°She keeps giving me the excuse of never wanting to wash dishes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure household chores are the bane of any self-respecting Celestial,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Klipyl snorted. ¡°I have hands, and I¡¯ve never had to wash dishes. I¡¯d say it¡¯s more likely she enjoys being a light globe and looking out for people on the Material Plane.¡± ¡°True, and I wouldn¡¯t want to take that away from her if that¡¯s something she¡¯s intent on enjoying,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It can¡¯t hurt to ask for help from a new Archon that only has Change Self.¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll ask the boss,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°Everything for you gets the highest priority.¡± Klipyl stopped and gave a sheepish cough. ¡°A new Archon is on his way. Ebusuku says he is very new and has no training. Hopefully, that helps with working out the fundamentals of the Power.¡± I wonder how many Fallen could have avoided their fate if the Deity they¡¯d been serving paid attention? Then again, the original trio that formed the cloister were led on that path by their Deity''s changes over the millennia. ¡°It¡¯s something to try,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll go collect them from the boundary,¡± said Klipyl, and she vanished. Out beyond the field Amdirlain heard a Gate open, and a Hound Archon whose theme seemed an almost blank slate emerged. Amdirlain indicated the ground floor. ¡°If you want to pick a spot over there, the others normally spread out before the blue sparring barrier.¡± Gail moved to the platform¡¯s edge and floated in the direction Amdirlain had pointed. When the others arrived, Klipyl hadn¡¯t made it to the inner gate with the new Archon yet. Rather than hold things up, Amdirlain motioned them to take their positions. The elbow and knee strikes she taught were familiar to them from other styles, but she proceeded through the drills and into the sparring training. As they eagerly spread out for the second half of the session, Jinfeng signalled a question. ¡°Sifu, some students wondered if it would be possible for others to see the events in their crystals.¡± ¡°I had them locked down so that no one had to be concerned about making mistakes and experimenting,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Anyone who wants to share the memories with others, I can change them after the lesson. However, know it¡¯s not selective once open, so even people you don¡¯t want to show the contents could see them.¡± That caused some students to pause, and Amdirlain moved on with the lesson. As her mind touched theirs and started to project foes, she turned to where Klipyl and the new Archon now waited inside the door. The young Hound Archon looked like a Human male of Persian descent, about Amdirlain''s height, with a lean marathon runner¡¯s build. Beneath his exterior appearance was a Hound Archon with liquid gold fur and a white streak that ran from his chin down his throat, disappearing into his clothing. When Amdirlain regarded him, he swallowed nervously, dark eyes fixed on his feet. He has far more of a hound than wolfish feel about him. He feels more robust than the younger students though, even with no classes. ¡°Please don¡¯t look down,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I understand you were assigned to help me, but I don¡¯t bite.¡± Klipyl gestured between them. ¡°Dareios, this is Lady Am.¡± It doesn¡¯t resonate like a use name; it¡¯s good that he is already using something that doesn¡¯t need to be changed. ¡°Looks like you got shooed out the door to me without even a chance to select some classes,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Might I join your training after today, Lady Am?¡± questioned Dareios, in his native Celestial tongue. ¡°Only if you call me Am, Dareios,¡± replied Amdirlain casually. ¡°Have you had any training at all?¡± ¡°Yes, Am,¡± agreed Dareios. ¡°I have been attending Master Farhad¡¯s training but haven¡¯t yet gained the Monk Class.¡± ¡°Okay, that makes sense,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll have to speak to Livia to see if any conditions for the Monastery apply, but I have no objections. Watch the moves the younger students use in these drills, and I¡¯ll review them with you later.¡± ¡°How can I help you, Am?¡± questioned Dareios. ¡°I was told to follow your instructions until you sent me back.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to relearn a Power which evolves from a foundation of Change Self,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Though there are some Chaos influences required in its progression, it overall goes from Change Self to Shapeshift, and then Protean.¡± Dareios¡¯ brows furrowed in confusion at Amdirlain¡¯s explanation. Nervously motioning to himself, he spoke, ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to teach you.¡± ¡°I simply want to observe while you use the Power to see if I can sense a similar energy within me,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Dareios chuffed. ¡°Do clumsy attempts using a Power make it more obvious?¡± ¡°Currently that¡¯s unknown territory,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I found I had better luck getting a feel for Shapeshift over Protean, so the idea was to try the same with someone possessing Change Self.¡± ¡°What appearance do you want me to take?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°Start with minor changes and move up to bigger ones. Don¡¯t take on the appearance of anybody around here,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°It''s a bad habit to get into since it can unsettle people.¡± ¡°Will not my changes unsettle them?¡± questioned Dareios. ¡°My formation granted me an awareness of different things so I could help those in need.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got an illusion overlaying us so the students won¡¯t hear our conversation or see any changes,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Though you could be my body double,¡± offered Klipyl. Dareios scratched his ear and looked Klipyl up and down. ¡°I don¡¯t have clothing like you¡¯re wearing.¡± Klipyl beamed. ¡°I¡¯ve told so many people it was the best purchase ever, though it might be something to build up to.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± replied Dareios. ¡°Do you want me to try out Change Self now?¡± ¡°Whenever you want to start,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It might seem like I¡¯m watching the students sometimes, but I¡¯ll be multi-tasking.¡± With a confused shrug, Dareios changed his hair red and cycled through other hues. While Amdirlain continued to present combat scenarios to her students, she kept part of her attention focused on Dareios¡¯ shifting appearance. The awkward jumps in his hair colouration and overall appearance made the energy jumps obvious, but her ability to duplicate it remained teasingly distant. A false success came about when trying to force her skin tone to change. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture re-activated and shifted her elven form to a Catfolk appearance that matched the one Dareios had assumed. A low growl of frustration slipped out, and she resumed her standard form. As the lesson wound down, Amdirlain signalled for Dareios to halt. I wasn¡¯t trying to do more than opponents of their level, and neither Harmony nor Muse¡¯s Insight increased. The students offered Amdirlain bows as she dismissed them to get breakfast on the viewing platforms. Amdirlain could feel Dareios'' gaze taking in their bows, and she could hear his public thoughts as he noted the differences in the style and wondered at the meaning. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not the only one curious about the different meanings depending on which hand goes on top when a fist is clasped or the Tai Chi salutes being used. A globe of churning music appeared beside Amdirlain, and she took in Roher¡¯s message as she acknowledged the last gestures of respect. I told him I¡¯d have the music for him today, but I¡¯m unsure if I should accept his other request. Nervously biting the inside of her cheek, she calmly exhaled before replying. ¡°I¡¯ve got lessons this morning, but I¡¯ll have time to meet in six hours.¡± ¡°Visitors?¡± enquired Klipyl. ¡°Roher and some others will be here at lunchtime,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t we get back to trying to understand Change Self?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave you folks to it. I¡¯m going to pass along the good news about the gnarls,¡± Gail said, giving a wave and a wink before Planar Shift took her to Veht?. ? ? ? ? ? ? The attempts during the breakfast session hadn¡¯t helped Amdirlain progress, and she saw the others out after they¡¯d finished. As the others headed off for their morning lessons, Kadaklan and Sarah landed in the courtyard. Klipyl went to handle the introduction, but Amdirlain got in first. ¡°Dareios, this is Sarah and Kadaklan. For the Monastery¡¯s formality, Sarah might be referred to by some as Grandmaster Artificer Sarah and Kadaklan as Master Kadaklan.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pleased to meet you both,¡± offered Dareios. ¡°I¡¯m here to help Am with the acquisition of a Power.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°I wanted to get rid of a few things worrying me. Since I can¡¯t add Protean back to myself, I attempted to study it along with Shapeshift. Shapeshift felt almost within reach, and Kli suggested getting someone with Change Self to help me study that Power,¡± explained Amdirlain. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Sarah nodded understandingly and offered Dareios her hand. ¡°Welcome.¡± Dareios regarded the extended hand in momentary confusion before Klipyl tugged his forearm and awkwardly got him to clasp hands. ¡°Heck,¡± gushed Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re brand new without even a Class?¡± ¡°You can tell that as well?¡± questioned Dareios. ¡°We¡¯re a pair of cheaters. We¡¯ve got some skills that many people would love to possess,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°It isn¡¯t common. Most people won¡¯t notice your age once you get used to social interactions.¡± ¡°Now I know why so many hound archons take on the form of dogs when they go to the Material Plane,¡± remarked Klipyl. ¡°Gives them time to observe all the social cues they don¡¯t get.¡± ¡°Do you get them?¡± Klipyl nodded. ¡°I find it easy to go with the flow socially even when rebelling against their mores.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to learn quickly,¡± stated Dareios. ¡°Don¡¯t let it worry you,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Change into an Elf with a skin tone of your favourite colour, and the locals will think you have different customs. It¡¯s why Am originally took on an Elf form.¡± Amdirlain snorted and gave Dareios a reassuring pat on the arm. ¡°That¡¯s true.¡± ¡°What do I say if they ask me about my customs?¡± ¡°Say you¡¯d much prefer to learn theirs since it is rude for a guest to make a host uncomfortable,¡± replied Sarah. Dareios nodded happily. ¡°Thank you for your advice, Sarah. Though, I unfortunately don¡¯t have a favourite colour.¡± Kadaklan gave Dareios a friendly wave. ¡°Welcome to the Monastery Dareios.¡± ¡°Are there any rules against me teaching him?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Dareios is helping in my attempts to regain Protean. It¡¯s unfair if I just got him to stick around without compensating him, and he doesn¡¯t have classes yet.¡± ¡°You¡¯re in an unusual situation and already teaching others,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Though I can¡¯t see how anyone could object. It would be like a guest bringing servants with them and us then overriding prior arrangements between them. Guests don¡¯t need to register each servant as long as those servants aren¡¯t directly drawing on the Monastery resources.¡± ¡°If a guest brought a bunch of servants and expected them to be fed?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a simple matter. They must arrange direct payment to the catering hall to feed them. Or register each servant with a medal so they could pay for their meals as they went to the halls,¡± confirmed Kadaklan. ¡°However, we still wouldn¡¯t have the right to give the servant orders except in an emergency.¡± Amdirlain nodded in satisfaction. Dareios shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t need food.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re all set,¡± Kadaklan declared. ¡°Many of the students and servants we passed have a similar appearance to Master Farhad,¡± noted Dareios. ¡°Is such appearance common among humans?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not surprising since he was born in the same region of Veht?,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I know little about their history. I only emerged from the Domain¡¯s wellspring a few days ago,¡± explained Dareios. Kadaklan blinked briefly and looked Dareios over. ¡°You¡¯re like a nature Shen, rising to full self-awareness.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to take your word for it,¡± Dareios said hesitantly. ¡°The wellspring determines what species we emerge as, along with our initial powers and skills.¡± ¡°And I take it you¡¯re not actually speaking Mandarin despite how you sound?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°I only speak Celestial,¡± advised Dareios. ¡°I have a Power that lets me communicate.¡± ¡°While Am practises her Ki Flight, I can help teach you a few things,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°When I left my parents¡¯ nest I had much to learn about humans, even with past lives starting to arise.¡± Dareios bowed awkwardly, roughly copying the gestures the students had offered upon leaving. ¡°Thank you, Master Kadaklan. Which hand goes on top?¡± ¡°It depends on the region; in some areas, females put their left hand atop their right fist, and males do the reverse. In other regions, it¡¯s the reverse, and to make it more confusing, in others, both genders clasp their left fist with their right hand.¡± ¡°Does that mean I can just put whatever hand on top that I prefer, like the colour of my skin that Sarah suggested?¡± Kadaklan shrugged helplessly. ¡°Pretty much, especially in a monastery.¡± Dareios wrinkled his nose. ¡°Perhaps I shall simply bow as Am does with my hands by my side.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an Eastern style,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter much in any monastery because they accumulate individuals from various regions. The main etiquette item to remember is the junior bows to the senior. Outside a monastery, some might think you¡¯re from a particular region or less cultured.¡± ¡°Given the only world that has humans is Veht?, I doubt the Outlands has a large Human population,¡± observed Dareios. ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean all the styles are equally incorrect?¡± Is that part of the knowledge he¡¯s just formed with? Levels in Planar Lore, or something else? Kadaklan grinned. ¡°That certainly isn¡¯t for me to say. Each person needs to come to an understanding about the purposes of etiquette.¡± ¡°Properly proportioned etiquette,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Exactly,¡± laughed Kadaklan, patting Dareios on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re not Mortal or even a Shen, so I¡¯ll leave you to your own decision. Alright?¡± ¡°I¡¯d still like to learn as many of their local customs as possible,¡± persisted Dareios. ¡°One shouldn¡¯t decide without a proper grounding of knowledge. Choices are too important to make randomly, and perceived rudeness can prove detrimental to someone¡¯s decision making.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get you the name of someone who can go through them,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ve only a surface familiarity of many regions.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± replied Dareios. ¡°Master Cyrus mentioned last night that you had gotten your Ki Blast approaching a proper proportion.¡± He¡¯s having fun with that word. ¡°Do you two always update each other?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We want to ensure you¡¯re getting the best teaching we can provide,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°We know you¡¯re working on important issues and don¡¯t want your time wasted.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Thanks for all the time you spent talking with me yesterday.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s gaze lit up. ¡°I¡¯m glad you two have gotten untangled. Shall we give you something to occupy your mind for a time?¡± ¡°Why not,¡± agreed Amdirlain. With a nod toward her obstacle course, Kadaklan led the way. ¡°You compressed your sigil successfully. However, for Ki Flight, the technique requires you to expand the sigil within the limits of your form but not to overflow it.¡± ¡°Let the essence of the sigil sit under the surface of my skin?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Kadaklan. ¡°Giving me a straight answer, is that allowed?¡± quipped Amdirlain, giving Kadaklan a dry smile. ¡°To manage it, you¡¯ll need to understand your sigil so that you can hold a proper balance between you and the power within it,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Ki Flight doesn¡¯t use up enough energy to need to cycle,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Then it¡¯s just as well you won¡¯t be,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°The cycling was to understand the flexibility of your sigil¡¯s links. Ki Flight uses key points with your sigil to hold you aloft. With this technique, you must stretch all the nodes but keep them evenly balanced beneath your skin.¡± ¡°It seems I¡¯ve just found the downside to having so many nodes,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed, and this isn¡¯t the only technique where interaction with all the nodes is needed,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°And you wanted to take the hard way first with Master Cyrus¡¯ exercise.¡± ¡°How do I start?¡± Kadaklan smiled. ¡°You¡¯ve been cycling energy through your sigil, not me. What feels right to you?¡± ¡°Expand outwards from the key nodes I¡¯ve used for Ki Flight until now, gather all the similar nodes, and then move on?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°That sounds like you¡¯re expecting me to provide the answer. It¡¯s your sigil, while I¡¯ve told you the end goal. How an individual gets there varies by their understanding of their sigil¡¯s nature,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°So, how do you achieve balance with your sigil?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Kadaklan winked casually. ¡°Ignorance is a good starting point, so there is hope for you. Start cycling again, and as the energy moves between nodes, seek to understand the parts and the whole.¡± ¡°Do I focus on how it balances?¡± ¡°Is knowing only one aspect a true understanding?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°When you are right, you¡¯ll know enough to lift from the ground.¡± He said nothing further, and so just outside the obstacle course, Amdirlain knelt and sat back on her heels. Quickly pouring most of her Ki into a crystal retrieved from Foundry, she started cycling. As the energy shifted inside her, emotions lingering from the recent upset ebbed and flowed repeatedly, throwing her off balance. Unlike Ki Blast, where she¡¯d turned the emotional energy into fuel throughout the compression, expanding her sigil gave them room to surge forth and roam. Amdirlain¡¯s struggles with it gave Kadaklan plenty of time to address Dareios¡¯ questions. When Sarith approached, Kadaklan introduced Dareios, and the three casually chatted for a time. When Sarith sat in front of her, Amdirlain pushed the frustration of the exercise aside. Kadaklan nodded in satisfaction as the chimes tolled. ¡°It¡¯s time to move along, so leave the cycling for this exercise until tomorrow. Why don¡¯t you come with me, Dareios? We can give these two some privacy, and I¡¯ll introduce you to a few people.¡± Amdirlain gave Dareios a nod of confirmation. ¡°Thank you for your time, Master Kadaklan,¡± said Amdirlain. He gave her a boyish grin and headed for the doorway with Dareios in tow. ¡°Good morning, Sarith,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You looked ready to chew steel,¡± noted Sarith. Amdirlain groaned. ¡°The flames in my sigil just don¡¯t want to behave. They flare so wildly that they¡¯re continually throwing the balance off.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll either get it worked out or give up and find a new technique to train instead,¡± commented Sarith. ¡°Do you need to talk further, or shall we try to expand your Advanced Telepathy?¡± ¡°Two lessons in Telepathy before Nomein and the others get a chance. What will they say?¡± ¡°None of us is going to complain about someone providing you help,¡± reassured Sarith. ¡°Sorry for the drama.¡± Sarith leaned forward and tapped her nose. ¡°Naughty. I don¡¯t consider what happened as drama.¡± ¡°That counted as talking down about myself?¡± ¡°Your ability shares the intended meaning. Given the understandable turmoil within your emotions the last few days, you weren''t making noise for no reason.¡± ¡°Have you come up with exercises I can use for training my mental defences?¡± questioned Amdirlain. The change of subject drew a frown from Sarith. ¡°I¡¯d suggest something less confrontational until your emotions are more settled. We both know the dangers of high emotions to others and ourselves. When engaged in mental training exercises, a calm emotional state is key. Metacreativity and other schools are less vulnerable to the emotional flux.¡± ¡°Sorry, I should have considered that,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not the risk to myself I¡¯m worried about,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°In my mind, I have the home advantage. While you possess considerable mental strength, I¡¯d worry about you accidentally drawing the counter in on yourself where I couldn¡¯t help you. I defend myself with mental techniques that work on the aggressor¡¯s flaws.¡± ¡°Could we review those techniques?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re not even going to do that until you¡¯re emotionally settled,¡± Sarith rebuffed. ¡°We could review simple techniques like the various mental fortresses or discuss anything you want to cover. First though: how did your conversation with Sarah go?¡± ¡°I think it went well,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Neither of us ran away screaming.¡± ¡°Is there anything you wish you could have explained better?¡± inquired Sarith. ¡°Are we going to dissect the entire conversation?¡± Sarith patted her wrist. ¡°I¡¯ve hours set aside to help you however you need. Where did you two end up?¡± ¡°We agreed to work through things together,¡± replied Amdirlain nervously. Under Sarith¡¯s composed expression, a happy theme burbled alongside her concern. ¡°You are a romantic,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m simply glad you¡¯re open to allowing yourself some happiness,¡± replied Sarith. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I¡¯m also concerned.¡± ¡°Why?¡± exclaimed Amdirlain before Sarith could explain. ¡°When we open ourselves to another, we are most vulnerable to injury from them, and you¡¯ve many deep wounds already,¡± clarified Sarith. ¡°The key will continue to be your willingness to communicate, so not isolating yourself when in pain will be your challenge. How do you feel about the conversation overall?¡± ¡°We kissed and made up,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re nervous about that,¡± noted Sarith. ¡°Your fixation on your physical form, as you put it, is an issue. Did you set that aside?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m still nervous in that respect, but I concentrated on the sound of her Soul,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You were nervous about Ori¡¯s memories in relation to Sarah¡¯s Soul yesterday. How did the sound of it help you?¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered a possibility that Sarah pointed out,¡± admitted Amdirlain nervously, trying to still the butterflies roaring inside her. ¡°Would you share it?¡± ¡°Are you being the romantic?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Or the healer?¡± ¡°The healer. It¡¯s part of positive reinforcement. The same as saying negative things about yourself hurts, repeating positive things about yourself grows confidence,¡± replied Sarith. Amdirlain swallowed her nerves and quoted Sarah. ¡°Her words were: those memories show me how different you are as a person, and your uniqueness is what I love. Her song showed me how true that is, and it surprised me.¡± ¡°Good, I¡¯m glad she could be so clear with you,¡± stated Sarith. ¡°Is she listening in?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯ve already made it so only she can hear us, as I¡¯m fine with Sarah listening while we talk. She can tell me if I misunderstood anything or come and join us.¡± From the forge, Sarah gave a happy chuff. ¡°Let¡¯s get started then.¡± 412 - Gather up Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain recounted her conversation with Sarah, stopping occasionally as Sarith restrained her questions. After she¡¯d finished, Sarith addressed the questions the recount had raised, and Sarah joined the discussion and sat beside Amdirlain. Sarah listened while Amdirlain cleared up the few outstanding items from their conversion on the Demi-Plane, fighting her jitters as she did so. With the most raw emotions out of the way, the discussion eventually transformed into one about Kadaklan¡¯s advice on handling her past life memories. When the distant chimes repeated through the training hall, Sarith hesitated to rise. ¡°I could stay longer if you like?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. You helped me progress in setting up a framework to handle the memories,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You also allowed us to clear a few more things up. I¡¯ve been so nervous I let myself get distracted.¡± ¡°Anytime either of you need an ear about anything, just let me know,¡± Sarith replied; with a pleased nod to them, she headed off. Amdirlain rested her head against Sarah¡¯s shoulder and sighed when Sarah¡¯s arm wrapped around her. ¡°Roher will be here shortly,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°The only thing I regret about them exiling the idiots is that you missed the opportunity to rub their noses in the songs,¡± murmured Sarah. ¡°Do you think anyone will tell them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It was more annoying that any of them wanted to take digs at me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s how politics go: build yourself up by making the opponent react to your digs,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°That they¡¯d viewed you as an opponent to undermine made my teeth ache.¡± Amdirlain tapped her fingers against the stone floor and drew a snort from Sarah. ¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got all the fancy furniture on the viewing platforms, and you and Sarith just knelt on the stone without a worry,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Thank you.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°For?¡± ¡°For taking a chance on me,¡± replied Sarah ¡°How often are you going to say that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Until you¡¯re comfortable hearing I love you,¡± said Sarah, and she kissed Amdirlain¡¯s forehead. The flush that darkened Amdirlain¡¯s skin drew a smile from Sarah. ¡°Beast,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s grin widened. ¡°Roar.¡± ¡°I distracted you from your teaching session,¡± noted Amdirlain, shifting awkwardly as Sarah snorted in amusement. Yeah, okay, I¡¯m terrible at changing the subject when it¡¯s about my feelings. I should at least tell her how I feel. Sarah cupped Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say anything in return. I didn¡¯t intend to pressure you.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s stomach twisted into knots around the rampaging butterflies as she smiled back. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine life without you. You didn¡¯t pressure me, though it¡¯ll take a while to sink in fully. Oh yeah, I got an alert while we spoke to Sarith.¡± And I need to change the subject. I¡¯m hopelessly flustered. ¡°About?¡± Sarah asked warily. I completely screwed up that announcement. Amdirlain winced. ¡°Sorry, that was a bad way to break the news. Mor¡¯lmes and four teams are in the new Demi-Plane.¡± The tension left Sarah, and mischief chimed from her. ¡°Do we go freak him out, or will you give them time to explore?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°We can hassle him once they¡¯ve looked around, or maybe we can catch him by himself. I¡¯ll have to change the zones to put in Gilorn¡¯s improvements.¡± Gilorn appeared, hovering nearby. ¡°I¡¯ve already implemented them.¡± ¡°What?¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°That plinth might take it out on you if you had put them in place. However, since I came up with the idea and implemented it without your say, the responsibility is mine,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°Though I¡¯m still concerned about the one you created with me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea for that,¡± Sarah said, pointing towards the constructs that lined the far side of the hall. ¡°Use it as a training zone for your Slime construct drivers.¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°They¡¯d tramp everything into the ground.¡± ¡°Playground for some of Bahamut¡¯s escorts? They certainly wouldn¡¯t be in danger from anything inside it,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°It might distract them enough to repay him for all the concern he caused you.¡± ¡°No, they don¡¯t get to play. Since it¡¯s intended as a training ground, I¡¯ll send Ebusuku the details for her celestials,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do we make the base versions together, and you then change them, Gilorn?¡± ¡°That would be an extra separation between you and reckless mortals,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°Let¡¯s do what we can to ensure the plinth¡¯s judgement has no grounds for persecuting you.¡± Sarah beamed at Gilorn. ¡°Is there anything you need, Gilorn?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°You are helping unlock affinities this evening, correct?¡± ¡°Yes, but that won¡¯t take long unless the students mess around,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Getting them into their seats will probably take longer than unlocking the affinities.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll return around the time of the evening meal,¡± stated Gilorn, and she vanished. Amdirlain looked at Sarah. ¡°Do I want to know what she¡¯s up to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure. That she had full access to True Song was a big enough surprise,¡± said Sarah. ¡°She was Ori¡¯s helper.¡± ¡°Yeah, but after being betrayed by the Anar and L¨®m?,¡± said Sarah, leaving the sentence hanging. ¡°Why did she create another lifeform that could use it?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Let alone both sides?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m glad you see my confusion.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if that memory ever rises from the depths. Gilorn said it was only because Ori overdid her creation that she was anything more than an intelligent harp. I wonder if Ori put contingencies in the stasis to ensure Gilorn got released if there was ever any need for her.¡± ¡°Her fallback plan if it was something the aspects couldn¡¯t handle?¡± Twinges within her True Form had Amdirlain absently digging fingers into her side. ¡°Maybe. Anyway, we could spend all day guessing. I¡¯ll confirm with Roher that I have time to speak to him soon. That might prompt him to show up.¡± ¡°Make sure he knows only to bring a small party,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°They all wanted to speak to you.¡± Shortly after Amdirlain dispatched the message, five songs manifested beyond the boundary of Livia¡¯s Domain. When the same jealousy she¡¯d experienced on Veht? spiked, Amdirlain groaned. Sarah put her hand on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Roher and Laleither are here, and they brought their children along,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°That same jealousy I felt before is acting up.¡± Sarah clicked her teeth. ¡°You can hear souls now. Take turns to focus on Laleither and each of her children. You didn¡¯t feel the jealousy when Roher showed you the memories, did you?¡± ¡°No, I didn¡¯t,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Then the issue might be something that doesn¡¯t quite register, but that¡¯s tickling at your Soul,¡± suggested Sarah, stroking Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder reassuringly. The surge of jealousy spiked again and, away from the other children¡¯s background themes, the strains of their daughter¡¯s soul caused a memory to flash. The wedding ceremony held at dawn had Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s former husband exchanging vows with a female Anar whose Soul resounded with an older incarnation of Laleither¡¯s daughter. A pulse of anger within the recollection peeled back layers, and Amdirlain saw other occurrences of their souls in her different lives. The mix of bitter rivalries and close friendships they¡¯d shared had Amdirlain baffled until one that she knew stood out. ¡°Are you alright?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°Only haunted by a memory. I know why I felt jealous about the children,¡± Amdirlain said, exhaling with relief. ¡°I thought I¡¯d turned into a complete bitch, but there was an understandable reason for the emotion. It¡¯s unpleasant to see in yourself, but it¡¯s understandable. The problem was past life interactions with the daughter. She got married to Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s ex-husband.¡± ¡°Was that the only lifetime?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°You looked like you¡¯d seen a ghost.¡± I said that I would let Sarah know when things were wrong. ¡°It¡¯s not just who she was in that memory,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°It was a more recent one that dug at wounds.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± hummed Sarah. ¡°Among other rivalries, she was also Kathryn,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Miss couldn¡¯t keep her legs closed around your fiance, Kathryn?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°Yes,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder what Nicholaus did to the realm¡¯s internal time flow. I¡¯d been told it was slowed down, but with so many Anar already returned, he might have slowed its pace further than I expected.¡± ¡°Does it matter?¡± Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°I guess it doesn¡¯t in the long run. We¡¯re no longer trying to squeeze in as much expansion as possible before the Greek gods¡¯ arrival.¡± ¡°We?¡± repeated Sarah. ¡°Sorry, that was one page where I could share Ori¡¯s feelings. The Greek gods were such assholes they needed to either change or die,¡± explained Amdirlain, and she thrashed her head back and forth. ¡°Enough! Let¡¯s go out front and greet them when they arrive.¡± ¡°Are you in the right mindset to meet kids?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I do better in small groups,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Remind me never to meet with massive groups of people again. Though I told him to bring a small group, I didn¡¯t expect him to bring their children. Now they¡¯re here, I could hardly be rude enough to refuse to see them. The children are so excited.¡± Held aloft by a barrier Roher supported, the five of them continued to be carried closer at a casual pace that would give Amdirlain plenty of time before their arrival. It is a family outing for them, not Roher treating me like I¡¯ll spook easily. Why rush a family outing when it¡¯s usually risky to venture off Veht?? Relax. Heading for the front door, Amdirlain considered the group. Roher and Laleither wore the loose half-robes and silken pants common among the L¨®m?. While Roher¡¯s attire matched his sapphire gaze, Laleither wore black with isolated strands of silver as brilliant as the pair¡¯s metallic hair that twinkled like distant stars in the daylight. Their eldest, Lospen, was a gangly youth who looked sixteen but was older, having been born while they were still in the Abyss. Both boys had the same sapphire eyes as Roher, but Lospen¡¯s hair was snow white while Nordil¡¯s ran through a shimmering range of blue. Their daughter Rainith possessed the usual Anar platinum blond hair and luminous golden eyes. They all wore loose spider silk pants, shirts, and matching boots with protective enchantments. The boys wore light green while Rainith''s apparel was of a silvery cloth which highlighted her bronze-gold skin. I wonder how strange the elves find the closeness of their age; years rather than centuries or even millennia apart. As she reached the doorway, Amdirlain paused and looked over the platforms. Fuck. It completely slipped my mind that the Anar can¡¯t create adamantine. Amdirlain made a few alterations to the platforms¡¯ song, implanting traces it was Sarah¡¯s creation. ¡°If anyone asks, you constructed the platforms,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Neither Roher nor I considered the adamantine, just the True Song Crystal.¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°I could superficially create something like it. Maybe I¡¯ll set up a little area on the side of one of my workshops.¡± ¡°Your students could likely use a break area,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure once you¡¯ve gone over a lesson enough, they¡¯ll want to keep crafting until you kick them out.¡± ¡°Your modern corporate mindset is showing,¡± returned Sarah. ¡°Should I also ensure they only work a five-day week?¡± ¡°That¡¯s up to you,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she smiled teasingly. ¡°You did like to crack a whip.¡± ¡°Oh, very funny,¡± huffed Sarah, although her theme skipped cheerfully. Sarah bumped shoulders with her as Amdirlain stopped at the bottom of the veranda¡¯s steps. ¡°Kids are coming to visit, and you¡¯ve figured out why you were jealous. Relax, this should be fun.¡±¡® When their guests arrived in the courtyard, they landed in a neat row with the three children book-ended between their parents; Laleither gave the suddenly nervous Lospen a nudge. ¡°May the night¡¯s music grant you ease, Lady Am, Sarah,¡± said Lospen. ¡°Thank you for inviting us to see you.¡± ¡°May the sun¡¯s song keep you well, Lospen. I¡¯m pleased to meet you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Your father has told me about all of you. Please call me Am while you¡¯re visiting here.¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Sarah gave a reserved smile for the formality. ¡°We¡¯re aware your full name is to be shared only with those you trust fully,¡± said Lospen, gesturing for Rainith and Nordil to step forward. Nordil promptly hid behind Rainith, only to find Amdirlain could easily see him over his sister¡¯s shoulder. ¡°There is no song from you,¡± Nordil whispered. ¡°I know that must be strange,¡± said Amdirlain. She knelt before them so her eyes were closer to their level, and the girl shifted position so her brother couldn¡¯t hide. ¡°You¡¯re Rainith, and your brother is Nordil. Is that correct?¡± ¡°Yes. You don¡¯t look like an Anar,¡± observed Rainith. Here, I can stick to the truth. ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m a Fallen.¡± Rainith¡¯s brow furrowed briefly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry if that was rude. That¡¯s because you¡¯re trapped like my sister was?¡± ¡°In a way, but it¡¯s a different trap,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Can we help you get free like you helped Erwarth?¡± inquired Rainith, and her words continued in a rush. ¡°That is once we¡¯re old enough to get our classes. I want to create life on planets and Father said that will help you get stronger and you¡¯ll get free when you¡¯re stronger. Mother says you asked for help to grow, and some people were stupid, so you left.¡± The jump in topics was understandable, but Amdirlain found how much Laleither had shared with a child, not even in her teens, surprising. Gail was precocious. Is that typical for all Anar and L¨®m?? Hearing the surrounding songs would challenge and stimulate their developing minds. ¡°It was a rough day for me, and perhaps I could have done better,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°However, they seemed fixated on who I¡¯d been in a past life.¡± ¡°They got sent away because they let bitterness sour their songs, not because of your actions,¡± declared Rainith. She dug into a dimensional pouch at her belt and carefully pulled out a tiny potted pink rose. ¡°Mother said I could bring you a gift, but it will need replanting since the pot¡¯s too small for the rosebush to reach full size. It¡¯s grown from a cutting from my favourite bush near our house, and I hope it gives you many flowers over the years. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be the same colour because elements in the soil cause differences.¡± ¡°I do have space for a garden around the courtyard here,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll pick a spot together later. Is the soil in the pot from near the original plant¡¯s base?¡± ¡°It is,¡± Rainith nodded excitedly and glanced at the closest doors. ¡°Father says your house is massive on the inside and confuses people.¡± ¡°Gosh, that¡¯s terrible of me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think your brother might talk to me?¡± ¡°Lospen will, but Nordil seems to be going through a phase and hasn¡¯t talked to many people besides Gail lately,¡± sighed Rainith. ¡°He used to talk endlessly, and he¡¯ll likely be over it soon enough.¡± Her brother gave Rainith a sharp tap on the shoulder and cupped his hand over his mouth to whisper in her ear. ¡°She has pretty hair.¡± ¡°From him, that means your hair is gorgeous,¡± Rainith remarked. ¡°Like you¡¯re supposed to pretend you can¡¯t hear what he said. I guess it¡¯s part of the phase.¡± Amdirlain kept a straight face. ¡°He spoke to you. You¡¯re very privileged.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a burden, but I¡¯ll manage,¡± sighed Rainith. ¡°Unless you¡¯d like to trade him in or adopt me?¡± Her brother growled in protest and poked her side before trying to hide behind her again. ¡°Nordil, stop it! You¡¯ve got bony fingers,¡± scolded Rainith. Stepping away from her brother, she danced around him until he was face to face with Amdirlain. His bright gaze went from her lips to the points of her ears before returning to her fringe. ¡°How are you finding the songs around here?¡± asked Amdirlain, directing the question to all three children. ¡°I like the music in your hall. The themes of the many humans sound so frantic and quick,¡± replied Lospen. ¡°The immortals among them sound like mature oak trees trying to stabilise a swirling tide.¡± That¡¯s fair. Rainith scrunched her face up in consideration. ¡°Very martial, but not exactly. It¡¯s not like listening to the knights¡¯ practice yard. Disciplined, perhaps that¡¯s the right word.¡± ¡°The music rushes through their bodies and out through their hands into posts!¡± blurted Nordil. ¡°Do all humans do that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called Ki,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Some humans can tap into their life reserves and help that energy grow.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± grunted Nordil. ¡°Weird.¡± ¡°I can do it too,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°Yep, weird.¡± Laleither glanced at Roher, her gaze twinkling with the amusement that echoed in her theme. ¡°Nordil,¡± squealed Rainith. ¡°Take that back at once. I was wrong. Go back to not talking, please!¡± ¡°How can I take it back if I¡¯m not supposed to talk?¡± questioned Nordil. ¡°Decide.¡± ¡°Has your phase passed?¡± asked Amdirlain reassuringly. Nordil looked down at his feet and shrugged broadly. ¡°We¡¯re not staying long, so I need to speak up now.¡± ¡°Because if it has, you could tell me about living in the forest,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°Your hair looks like the dawn. Reds and oranges are nice,¡± observed Nordil. ¡°They¡¯re warm colours. Will you need a Knight? I want to be a Knight like those Mother trains.¡± ¡°Your people need protectors, so being a Knight is good,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What about you?¡± murmured Nordil. ¡°I don¡¯t know where I¡¯ll be when you¡¯re old enough to become a Knight,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Would you like a drink and some treats?¡± Nordil grinned. ¡°May I introduce you to my parents, Lady Am?¡± ¡°Oh, please don¡¯t be formal,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Just Am will do, plus I¡¯ve already met them.¡± Nordil looked up at her with innocent eyes and pouted. ¡°Knights are formal.¡± ¡°True, please forgive me then,¡± Amdirlain replied contritely. ¡°But you don¡¯t need to be formal with family, do you?¡± Laleither restored her composed expression, but Roher didn¡¯t bother maintaining a facade, not even trying to hide his broad grin. Nordil held out a hand to take Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°I don¡¯t get to do introductions?¡± Way too cute. ¡°Not today,¡± said Amdirlain. Flowing to her feet, she stooped so he could hold her hand. Nordil let out a woebegone sigh. ¡°I can lift my hand higher. You¡¯ll look funny walking that way.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not worried about how I look,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Or you could ride on my shoulders.¡± The proposal earned a dignified head shake, and he ignored Amdirlain¡¯s pout with an aloof head lift. Sarah chuckled, drawing Rainith¡¯s attention. Laleither stepped close to Amdirlain and exchanged a kiss on the cheek. ¡°Thank you.¡± Her hand touched Nordil¡¯s shoulder lightly as she spoke. ¡°Hello, Auntie Sarah,¡± chirped Rainith. ¡°Gail said we should call you that when we met you.¡± ¡°Oh, did she?¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll have to remember that when I next see that young lady.¡± ¡°I imagine Gail won¡¯t be far behind us. She returned to the forest earlier today but was dealing with a few matters,¡± Roher said. ¡°She also has to let some more people know about the success of her clean-up work.¡± ¡°She was here earlier and shared her news. I imagine that will take pressure off other species, which will have flow-on effects,¡± Roher nodded. ¡°There are reports of an increase in hobgoblins around elven lands.¡± Nordil tugged at Roher¡¯s sleeve. ¡°Sarah doesn¡¯t sound like a Dragon.¡± Yep, it seems he is over his non-talking phase. Sarah crouched beside him and offered her hand. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with how I sound?¡± ¡°Are you Shindraithra?¡± murmured Nordil shyly. ¡°Most people call me Sarah. Has Gail been telling tales?¡± laughed Sarah, her eyes turned briefly into red-faceted gems before returning to their usual dark hue. Nordil went wide-eyed and nodded jerkily. ¡°You¡¯re a Dragon! Your song sounds strange, like parts are missing.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve protections from Orh¨ºthurin that have persisted across lives,¡± explained Sarah. The questioning glance Nordil directed at Amdirlain earned him a light tap on the forehead from Rainith. ¡°What?!¡± squawked Nordil, putting a hand over his nose to prevent his sister from tapping him again. ¡°Don¡¯t attribute past life actions,¡± critiqued Rainith. ¡°Oops,¡± hissed Nordil. ¡°Rainith, it¡¯s still not proper to hit your brother,¡± Roher corrected. ¡°Sorry,¡± muttered Rainith. ¡°But I¡¯ve got pretty red diamond scales,¡± said Sarah reassuringly. ¡°I thought you liked warm reds.¡± ¡°I do,¡± agreed Nordil. ¡°Can I see your scales? I wouldn¡¯t expect a ride. That¡¯s not something dragons do. Or is it?¡± ¡°It takes an exceptional relationship before a Dragon lets another fly on their back,¡± confirmed Sarah. Nordil¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°That¡¯ll need more than just singing them lots of pretty songs, won¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Sarah, holding out her hands. ¡°Why don¡¯t you all come inside? Maybe I¡¯ll show off my proper form to Nordil before you go.¡± Nordil nodded enthusiastically and brushed his fringe out of his eyes. He didn¡¯t so much as bestow Amdirlain an apologetic look before he released her hand and jumped over to Sarah. ¡®Dragons win every time,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. ¡®Typical five-year-old in some things, just after the biggest shiny,¡¯ returned Sarah. Sarah scooped Nordil up with a grin, and he held on with his legs hooked around her waist and his arms about her neck. ¡°Does this count as riding?¡± asked Nordil. ¡°No, this just counts as getting a lift,¡± replied Sarah. His gaze grew concerned. ¡°Like your dinner?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t eat you,¡± reassured Sarah, and when Nordil sighed dramatically, she continued. ¡°You¡¯re too tiny to be worth the bother.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t eat me. Auntie Gail would be grumpy with you,¡± huffed Nordil. As Lospen¡¯s shoulders shook silently, he rolled his eyes at Nordil¡¯s antics. Sarah huffed with mock disdain. ¡°I knew Gail when she was even smaller than you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because she¡¯s young as well,¡± laughed Nordil. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t comment on my age,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Why would I do that? Father says your memories make him seem like a Human toddler,¡± Nordil replied. ¡°That makes you old!¡± Sarah shot Roher a flat look. ¡°Thanks, Roher.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Sarah,¡± replied Roher drily. Amdirlain kept a straight face and mentally projected Sarah¡¯s earlier reassurance. ¡®This should be fun. Right?¡¯ As Amdirlain went to move forward, Rainith claimed her hand. ¡°May I?¡± The spike of jealousy speared upwards, but Amdirlain slid Phoenix¡¯s Rapture in place, and it smacked fruitlessly against the Mental Hardening, unable to affect her emotions. ¡°Okay.¡± Sarah led the way, and Lospen moved up on the other side of Rainith. When the training hall doors opened, Nordil cooed at the platforms. ¡°Pretty. Why couldn¡¯t I hear them until the doors opened?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the nature of the chamber,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°They sound like Sarah,¡± noted Nordil. ¡°You¡¯ve got sharp ears,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Mother says I¡¯ve got a knack,¡± replied Nordil proudly. Laleither¡¯s relaxed smile matched the relief in her theme. Was she worried? The little boy twitched his head back and forth, taking in the gleaming gemstone. ¡°Did you make all this?¡± Sarah smiled and tapped his nose. ¡°I¡¯ve got powers that allow me to work with metals and minerals.¡± ¡°That makes sense, since you¡¯re a living diamond,¡± replied Nordil. ¡°Who told you that?¡± asked Sarah. Nordil waved a hand vaguely about. ¡°Gail.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not quite true, and you¡¯re simplifying her explanation,¡± stated Rainith. ¡°Gail said your flesh possesses diamond hardness, and you don¡¯t have blood like us, but a liquid crystal gel that efficiently transmits Mana.¡± Sarah looked back and winked at Rainith. ¡°Well done.¡± When they went up to the first level of the platforms, Sarah sat beside Amdirlain, and Rainith hurried to claim the seat on the other side of Amdirlain. Rainith¡¯s body language telegraphed her intention to ask something, so Amdirlain turned her attention to the young girl. ¡°Father says you looked like an Anar yesterday,¡± declared Rainith as the others selected chairs around the table. Amdirlain raised an eyebrow and regarded her. ¡°Is what I look like important?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the oldest,¡± said Rainith, as if that explained everything. What do I tell the kid; that I¡¯m not alive, per se, or humour her? ¡°It¡¯s not a form I¡¯m normally comfortable taking,¡± explained Amdirlain. Rainith frowned, ¡°You came to the forest as an Anar yesterday.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got an ability that sometimes warns me of moments of importance approaching,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°One of those moments was yesterday, and I felt it was necessary to adopt the form even if I wasn¡¯t completely comfortable.¡± Rainith frowned briefly, but nodded. ¡°So it¡¯s like when Mother leaves us in someone else¡¯s care when she goes to teach. You did something you didn¡¯t want to do because it was important.¡± ¡°Teaching is a responsibility,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Even if you enjoy it, sometimes you might still prefer to be doing something else,¡± ¡°Okay,¡± allowed Rainith. ¡°Sorry if I was being rude. I didn¡¯t understand why you didn¡¯t want to look like us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not rejecting you,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s simply that our situation is different.¡± Rainith sighed. ¡°None of the grown-ups in the forest look like us except Gail.¡± The genuine worry in Rainith¡¯s theme prompted Amdirlain, and she let Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s appearance come forth. Amdirlain waved a hand towards her face. ¡°This isn¡¯t me. This is how Orh¨ºthurin looked. My lack of similarity doesn¡¯t lessen you, Rainith. Sarah pointed out to me that it¡¯s not who we were in past lives, but our special uniqueness in this one that matters. You¡¯ll forever be unique, but that¡¯s a hard lesson. I¡¯ve been having to put a lot of effort into understanding that one and not comparing myself. It¡¯s not how you look on the outside that matters but the state of your Soul. So you tell me, does it matter how I look? Does it matter that none of the adults look like you?¡± With that, Amdirlain changed back to her Wood Elf form. ¡°You told people your song was ugly,¡± declared Rainith. ¡°It is because of my curse, Rainith,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve endured a lot to break free, and I can feel the echoes of it in my flesh right now. Whereas I¡¯m used to filtering it out, removing the concealments would make my presence extremely unpleasant, and my Charisma would magnify their effect. So much so that I¡¯m a risk to mortals if I don¡¯t conceal the auras.¡± ¡°How much of a risk?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Too much. Even this form I picked out of fear of what people would think of me.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I picked this form in response to provocations from the demonic shell I was trapped in originally and the fact I was an outsider without knowledge of the local Human customs,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°After all, an Elf not knowing the way of humans and acting oddly is hardly surprising.¡± ¡°That sounds like a very mixed reason to pick a form,¡± noted Rainith. ¡°True,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m still working out who I am, but for many people, this Wood Elf form is the one they¡¯ve always seen me in, so I continue to use it.¡± ¡°Do past choices always remove future choices?¡± ¡°There is an old saying: one door closes, and another door opens,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Life is like that. Even when you¡¯ve made a wrong choice, you live with the consequences, but you can look for the next opportunity and try to do better.¡± ¡°Like we should do?¡± asked Rainith. ¡°Is that the same with the chance to resume working on the worlds the Titan needs? Or is that going back through a door that has closed in the past?¡± Laleither rested a hand reassuringly on Rainith¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The Titan never dismissed the Anar or L¨®m? from doing the work,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Generations decided they wouldn¡¯t return to working on it. And some of this generation seems to have decided that they will.¡± ¡°As the tales say, Lady Orh¨ºthurin never stopped working for the Titan. None of us believes he would reject our aid, but we must be brave enough to take the first step,¡± said Laleither. Rainith nodded. ¡°Will you teach me?¡± asked Rainith. ¡°Teach all the Anar?¡± Amdirlain hesitated, and Rainith¡¯s shoulders slumped. ¡°You don¡¯t need me to teach you the fundamentals of singing,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Once you are ready to pick your classes, I¡¯ll teach you True Song. You should know that Gail would likely be a far better teacher.¡± Rainith vigorously shook her head. ¡°Gail said the same about you. Will you teach us, please?¡± ¡°Okay,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll do my best to ensure I can teach you when you¡¯re ready to learn, but that¡¯s the best I can do.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t promise?¡± questioned Rainith. Could I stop myself from promising by making a promise never to promise anything again? Promises should not bind me the same way now, but will they in the future? Amdirlain smiled sadly. ¡°I do not know what the future will bring. While I¡¯d love to make that commitment, I¡¯ve still got enemies to deal with and places I need to travel. My schedule can get unpredictable even without those planes¡¯ weird impact.¡± ¡°Weird in what way?¡± persisted Rainith. ¡°Let¡¯s just say the flow of time behaves oddly,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, I don¡¯t ever get stuck in a temporal pocket, but I don¡¯t want you waiting for me to teach you and refuse to learn the basics from someone else.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t hear it going wrong?¡± ¡°The Primordial depths of the Abyss constantly flux around me. It¡¯s an effort to stabilise it enough that I can make a Gate out of the highest levels. I don¡¯t know what it will be like deeper in,¡± advised Amdirlain. Nordil leaned around Sarah to look nervously between them. Roher touched Rainith¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Leave it for now, Rainith. Let¡¯s talk about it when we¡¯re at home. Sorry Am, this is the first time she¡¯s raised this concern.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Hopefully, I¡¯ll be able to help them all when they¡¯re older,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and she gently touched Rainith¡¯s forearm. ¡°Is that okay?¡± Rainith sighed and gave a half-hearted smile. "Since you won¡¯t promise." ¡°Promises caused Orh¨ºthurin issues, so I¡¯m avoiding them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll make the best effort I can, and that¡¯s all I¡¯ll commit to. What do you think of my home? I bet it seems pretty stark and bland compared to the forest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s so big inside. Did you sing the expansion?¡± ¡°Yes, I sang the enchantments into place,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°And what are the oozy things behind the glass plate downstairs?¡± questioned Rainith. ¡°They sound like something from a heavenly Plane.¡± I don¡¯t have to tell her where the blank souls come from, just their purpose. ¡°Let me tell you about the Celestial slimes that I¡¯m trying to teach how to drive constructs,¡± said Amdirlain. As the conversation continued, Amdirlain felt the jealous spikes within her ease. 413 - Isolated Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches While answering questions about the monastery from Rainith and Nordil, Amdirlain held out the memory crystals with the worlds¡¯ songs to Roher and Laleither. ¡°The songs for a planet¡¯s life?¡± questioned Roher. ¡°The songs used to create life on several planets. Each crystal holds the details for one planet,¡± corrected Amdirlain. Neither moved to take the crystals, and Amdirlain froze her arm as a sudden bout of self-doubt struck. Laleither cleared her throat nervously, and Roher squeezed her hand before collecting the crystals from Amdirlain. They acted as though they were being handed the keys to a kingdom and regarded them with a hushed reverence. Roher offered Laleither the first choice of a crystal to examine before attuning his mind to another. Though Lospen initially played the silent older brother supervising his siblings, when Roher set a crystal aside, he got his parents¡¯ permission to review it. The complexity of the layered compositions within the crystal soon had him struggling to understand more than mere fragments of the melodies. ¡°May I ask questions, Am?¡± enquired Lospen, looking up from the crystal. Amdirlain nodded to his parents. ¡°Your questions will need to be answered by your folks. I just got the details of the composition from the orrery. They¡¯ll be able to put it in a L¨®m? context.¡± Laleither beckoned him to pass the crystal. ¡°Which song were you curious about?¡± When the discussion started on the composition, Nordil fidgeted, so Sarah spun diamonds and onyx into a three-dimensional game board. Eight large platforms surrounding a central one, she positioned four hundred pieces for each player along the upper platforms. The nine oversized chess boards made an impressive array. ¡°What are the figures on the platforms for?¡± asked Nordil. ¡°It¡¯s a game dragons play. If you¡¯d like, I can teach you,¡± Sarah offered. ¡°You might find it interesting.¡± It¡¯ll be simple because he has a crazy high IQ. How do Roher and Laleither cope with the three of them? Or is it simple when you¡¯ve also got a Class-enhanced IQ atop a species one? ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Nordil cheerfully, and he slid off his chair to look over the pieces. A shift in the theme near the outer fields signalled Gail¡¯s arrival, before she blurred up the mountain. Rather than a Wood Elf form, as Amdirlain had seen her recently, Gail was currently in her platinum-haired Anar form. Amdirlain tapped Rainith¡¯s nose to catch her attention. ¡°Do you want to come downstairs and greet Gail with me? We can plant your gift.¡± Rainith looked ready to decline but stood when Amdirlain collected the rose from the table. What¡¯s on her mind? I don¡¯t think it would be a typical childish concern, yet despite their intellectual development, their emotional development is far behind. I guess I have that in common with them. Anyway, I shouldn¡¯t just ask her to spill. By the time they reached the front door, Gail was already swooping towards the courtyard. Amdirlain set the pot near the veranda railing and moved down onto the flagstones. Gail landed and raced forward excitedly to catch Amdirlain in a hug. ¡°Hi Auntie, I¡¯m back again.¡± ¡°Why are you acting like you¡¯ve not seen me in weeks?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m just so happy that it¡¯s all done. I¡¯m not sure I would have found all of them without the surveyors,¡± gushed Gail. The cheerful facade layered over grief beneath the surface. What went wrong? With Rainith nearby, Amdirlain returned Gail¡¯s hug without digging for information. ¡°You did well, but I¡¯m sure that it will feel like a dream for a time.¡± ¡°Their music was horrible,¡± declared Rainith. Amdirlain glanced at Rainith in concern. ¡°When did you hear them?¡± ¡°Not a living one, but the themes in their blood were bad enough,¡± advised Rainith. Thank goodness that was all she¡¯d heard; their physical nature was distorted enough. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t clean up better before I returned after that fight,¡± said Gail. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m not the only one caught out by someone¡¯s hearing.¡± ¡°Are you ever going to tell me how they came about?¡± begged Gail, clasping her hands together in front of her. ¡°Is there a need now?¡± countered Amdirlain Gail frowned. ¡°I guess not, but it bugs me not to know.¡± ¡°No one knows everything, not even Gideon,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They have blank spots in their knowledge?¡± Gail asked incredulously. ¡°I was under the impression that wasn¡¯t possible.¡± Amdirlain pretended to zip her lips shut. Gail rolled her eyes and crouched before Rainith. ¡°Can I get a hug as well?¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± drawled Rainith. Respect and frustration rippled around in the girl, but neither Gail nor Amdirlain reacted. When Gail¡¯s arms enfolded her, the painful notes from both washed away. All is not well in paradise. Is it the ratio of Anar to L¨®m?? Or that Gail grew up faster than normal for children of Mortal parentage? ¡°Let¡¯s go inside and catch up with the others,¡± proposed Gail. ¡°I know Amdirlain has afternoon lessons scheduled.¡± That news caused Rainith¡¯s eyes to flare wide, and she squirmed uncomfortably in Gail¡¯s arms, quick notes trumpeted in her theme. ¡°Can I have a word with Am, please? I know you can hear from further than me, but please pretend you can¡¯t for a bit.¡± ¡°I can conceal a conversation if you wish, Rainith,¡± advised Amdirlain. Rainith bit her lip and nodded frantically. ¡°Okay,¡± replied Gail, releasing Rainith with a gentle stroke of her hair. ¡°I¡¯ll be inside if you want to talk later.¡± Gail barely got two steps before Amdirlain wrapped Rainith and herself in a barrier that cut out all sound for Rainith and would stop others from hearing their words. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Rainith glanced at Gail¡¯s retreating form and scuffed the toes of her boot back and forth across a flagstone. ¡°I¡¯m sure this will sound silly,¡± muttered Rainith nervously. ¡°Why do you say that?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she knelt so that her gaze would be level with Rainith¡¯s. Rainith waved her hands out to either side. ¡°Even before today, I knew others had it far worse than I did. On the way here, I listened to the people working the fields and the children younger than me doing labour I¡¯ve never had to.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t make your concerns any less important to you,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°I take it this is something you wanted to ask me about before you got here?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± exhaled Rainith. She stepped closer to Amdirlain and fiddled with the cloth across her shoulder. ¡°Nordil is right. You¡¯re so quiet that I can¡¯t even hear your clothing.¡± ¡°Is not hearing things part of the issue?¡± A run of spiked notes bounced about in Rainith. ¡°Did Father say something?¡± ¡°No,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°The only tales I¡¯ve heard about you and your siblings were regarding games and your interactions with the forest creatures.¡± ¡°I feel cut off,¡± groaned Rainith softly. ¡°In what way?¡± ¡°Nordil can hear all the songs performed about us, but I¡¯m missing so much,¡± Rainith muttered, her shoulders slumping. ¡°I can hear things afterwards, but often when they sing them into existence, the notes drop into this inaudible thrum.¡± She can¡¯t hear the entire L¨®m? octave range. ¡°That makes complete sense,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You can hear the others singing, and then it might suddenly cut out, only to return a moment later?¡± ¡°Exactly!¡± exclaimed Rainith. Her excitement made her eyes glow brighter, and she clung to Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You know why, right?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°It is the nature of our True Song that makes it different from the L¨®m?¡¯s ability,¡± nodded Rainith. ¡°But that still doesn¡¯t lessen the feeling of being an outcast in the family. Nordil or Lospen will ask questions about music I can¡¯t even hear, so it rubs my nose in it every time! I¡¯m different!¡± ¡°Do the other Anar children feel this way?¡± ¡°Most are too young for it to bother them yet,¡± Rainith replied. ¡°Aside from Gail, I¡¯m the oldest Anar. Since you say you¡¯re not one, Isa also technically isn¡¯t one either.¡± ¡°What would you like me to do?¡± Amdirlain asked, brushing a loose strand of Rainith¡¯s hair from her eyes. ¡°Can we come to listen to your songs occasionally?¡± questioned Rainith. ¡°We?¡± Rainith nodded. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right for me to ask for that privilege alone. They might not want it yet, but I¡¯m sure the younger ones will one day.¡± ¡°We can look into it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Have you asked Gail for time to hear her sing?¡± ¡°Gail doesn¡¯t live in the forest, and she so often frustrates me,¡± Rainith replied. ¡°I know that she¡¯s aware of my feelings. We can talk for a while, but she¡¯ll start to prattle on about something, and I get frustrated.¡± ¡°Why does Gail annoy you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that she annoys me, but she frustrates me. The way she¡¯s too positive about people. I want to scream when she talks so cheerfully about people I think are taking advantage of her,¡± grumbled Rainith. ¡°People aren¡¯t as nice as Gail makes out. They¡¯re so often selfish. Father gets people to do things by appealing to their self-interest or reminding them of dangers that haven¡¯t disappeared. Even some of the ¡®enlightened¡¯ monastery people visiting us are looking for profit or aid to learn about themselves rather than help others.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been listening to the monks¡¯ music?¡± Rainith nodded. ¡°It¡¯s not only their themes but their expressions and body language. Sometimes, I feel that the more composed someone is, the more likely they hide their true feelings.¡± ¡°Sometimes people hide their feelings because they don¡¯t want to worry others or because it¡¯s not their business,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Are you trying to hide your feeling of isolation from your parents?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told Mother, and I¡¯m sure she spoke to Father,¡± protested Rainith. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to discuss it with Lospen or upset Nordil.¡± ¡°What about Erwarth?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s a Celestial, and it wouldn¡¯t matter since she can¡¯t hear the Anar side of True Song,¡± huffed Rainith. ¡°And she is always taking Gailneth¡¯s side.¡± Oh? Amdirlain patted a spot beside her, and Rainith sat without complaint, wrapping her arms around her knees. ¡°Always?¡± Rainith shrugged. ¡°I know Gailneth¡¯s busy, and there are lots of lives she¡¯s trying to improve.¡± ¡°So Erwarth points out the impact of the work Gail¡¯s doing and expects that to be enough?¡± asked Amdirlain. Rainith sighed. ¡°I told you it would seem silly.¡± ¡°But there is only one Anar who you can count on to share her True Song,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, Isa is always bouncing about, and she¡¯s more erratic than Gailneth,¡± groaned Rainith. She seized the step¡¯s edge in a white-knuckled grip and leaned forward, not wanting to meet Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. ¡°Do you think many people can do what Gail is working on?¡± Amdirlain asked, lightly tapping Rainith on the nose. Rainith cheekily crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue. ¡°Well?¡± ¡°I know she¡¯s already hired a bunch of people to care for things,¡± said Rainith. ¡°When she¡¯s not off killing gnarls, she¡¯s meddling in politics.¡± Amdirlain motioned her to continue. ¡°Meddling?¡± ¡°None of the countries whose policies she¡¯s trying to change have anyone she¡¯s related to living in them,¡± observed Rainith. ¡°When you have no personal stake in a situation but want to overrule the locals, isn¡¯t it meddling?¡± ¡°I guess I¡¯m also a meddler,¡± commented Amdirlain This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°You didn¡¯t change the L¨®m?¡¯s politics. You just helped free them,¡± rebuffed Rainith. ¡°I made my view on multiple topics known to people, which had quite an influence,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I also overthrew a government.¡± ¡°On Qil Tris?¡± Rainith enquired, lifting her gaze to meet Amdirlain¡¯s. This isn¡¯t like talking to a child. Has Roher been telling tales? ¡°Your dad told you?¡± ¡°I overheard. You overthrew a government that had repeatedly sent people to kidnap you, and then tried to kill you. That isn¡¯t meddling,¡± argued Rainith. ¡°Especially since you had refused to involve yourself previously, and then they killed others. Is talking to me weird?¡± ¡°Why do you ask that?¡± ¡°Isa says it¡¯s taking her time to get used to our perspective,¡± explained Rainith. ¡°Which I figured meant she finds talking to us weird.¡± ¡°Human children don¡¯t learn as fast,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Listening closely to the Human children around here might give you a perspective on what Isa is used to expecting.¡± Rainith frowned. ¡°You knew Gail in her past life, didn¡¯t you? When you were a Human, right?¡± Her public mind offered the barest skeleton of facts that Roher had shared with them. ¡°Does that matter?¡± ¡°I thought it might explain Erwarth¡¯s support of her. Did you know me in any past lives?¡± Rainith asked, suddenly curious. Where did that come from? Amdirlain blinked. ¡°Some. We seem to have had significant interactions in at least eight incarnations.¡± ¡°How can you tell?¡± asked Rainith excitedly. ¡°I listened to your Soul, and it stirred up some of my memories,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Oh,¡± breathed Rainith. ¡°Were they good memories?¡± ¡°Some were,¡± hedged Amdirlain diplomatically. Rainith scrunched up her nose. ¡°That was a diplomatic answer for most weren¡¯t.¡± She sure can read between the lines fine. ¡°Some is not most. There were a couple of bitter events during our past lives, but some friendships as well,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°None of those lives were you, though, so I¡¯m not holding any of those against you, Rainith.¡± She let out a sigh of relief and smiled at Amdirlain. ¡°I was worried.¡± ¡°Your dad told me about your pet fawn,¡± offered Amdirlain, looking to change the subject. ¡°He¡¯s not a pet. We just got him unstuck,¡± Rainith objected. ¡°Are you changing the subject?¡± I¡¯ll use it to make my point since she doesn¡¯t want a casual conversation. ¡°If you had known that fawn had been a tiger that had eaten you in a past life, would you still have rescued it?¡± Amdirlain questioned. ¡°You¡¯re using our rescue as an analogy. I guess that¡¯s fair. Even though animals don¡¯t have souls for reincarnation, I¡¯d still have rescued it. The poor thing was terrified, and its parents couldn¡¯t get it unstuck,¡± replied Rainith. ¡°Since it was suffering, and we were present with the ability to help, meddling was the right thing to do.¡± ¡°You¡¯re pretty focused on the term meddling. Gail has heard the suffering of people without enough food or from being enslaved. Isn¡¯t that equally worthy of meddling?¡± Rainith huffed. ¡°The fawn didn¡¯t have enough intelligence to get itself out of trouble, and people have more options.¡± ¡°Sometimes people don¡¯t have the resources to take advantage of their options, even if they have enough intelligence to see them. It¡¯s easy to say they do, but societal pressures, fear, and a lack of examples can keep them stuck in a rut. Gail¡¯s meddling is smoothing the way for changes to occur,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The L¨®m? were stuck because of an Oath sworn by their royalty, and they were far more powerful than the people Gail is looking to help. I¡¯m stuck, and you said you wanted to help me. I¡¯m also not related to the L¨®m?. Should I have not meddled? Isn¡¯t your desire to help me also meddling?¡± Rainith paused with her mouth open to argue. Her theme clashed with conflicting emotions. ¡°There is rarely an easy answer with social change, Rainith,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°Gail started helping those people before you were born and before the L¨®m? were free. Should the work stop now, when Gail has friends among the people of the kingdoms, because you¡¯re also in need?¡± ¡°You say that like I don¡¯t need something,¡± critiqued Rainith, shoulders slumping. ¡°No, I agree you have needs and, unfortunately, meeting them is going to be difficult because there are so few Anar,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t invalidate them, but Gail is trying to help millions establish better infrastructure and institutions for future generations.¡± ¡°I know,¡± sighed Rainith Amdirlain rubbed her back gently, and Rainith leaned into her touch. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s not what you have that makes you stronger but what you¡¯ve lived through or without and still found the strength to overcome. Have you met any Human children you¡¯d prefer Gail not to meddle in helping? Or any of the elven children?¡± ¡°No,¡± muttered Rainith. ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to go near them because of the damaging implications for their societies.¡± ¡°They can¡¯t hear any of the True Song, so they¡¯re cut off more than you are,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Have you asked Gail what meddling she is doing?¡± ¡°Trying to get the Adventurers¡¯ Guild to change and influence kingdoms to get rid of slavery,¡± recited Rainith, her tone bland. ¡°Plus, she¡¯s getting communities to build better roads between them.¡± Gail¡¯s infrastructure projects involve more than just roads. Her dry recitation earned a slow nod from Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know what slavery is?¡± The word rang through Rainith, and Amdirlain heard her pick up on the extra inflections her personal experience involved. Fuck, she has Universal Communication already? ¡°I thought it was when someone has control over what another person does,¡± Rainith replied; a tight frown appeared, and her brow wrinkled in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s not, is it?¡± ¡°Not just that, it¡¯s far worse, Rainith,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I think your misunderstandings contribute to your frustration with Gail. You can hear the meaning of things and concepts get pulled in with the music, but you don¡¯t go deep enough. Maybe ask Gail how they got deeper concepts from the music she heard. Things might make more sense once you¡¯ve picked up the trick, but be careful what concepts you explore until you¡¯re older.¡± Another factor is Gail¡¯s Class Solar Emissary. I disagree with how tolerant she can be of arseholes, but she can hear their pain and lets them rant when they¡¯re not attacking anyone but her. ¡°When you repeated the word slavery, it had a lot more depth,¡± admitted Rainith. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why.¡± ¡°Our talent with language is called Universal Communication, and it provides a translation from the originator¡¯s perspective, be it written or spoken,¡± Amdirlain advised. ¡°But it depends upon who is communicating with you. If they¡¯re someone who doesn¡¯t possess an in-depth understanding, information will not come through in the conversation.¡± Rainith shivered and wrapped her arms around herself, clinging to the unravelling meanings she was exploring. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I can hear you digging for more meaning in those melodies. Let it go,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± repeated Rainith in a near whisper. ¡°Rainith, you¡¯ve nothing to be sorry for,¡± said Amdirlain, gently hugging the girl. ¡°I should have been more careful, but I didn¡¯t realise you had gained that ability yet.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t mess up?¡± asked Rainith quietly. Amdirlain brows furrowed. ¡°Your folks don¡¯t give you trouble about messing up, do they?¡± ¡°No, but some elders get loud about children being into things they shouldn¡¯t,¡± advised Rainith. Disgusted, Amdirlain blew a raspberry, and Rainith blinked in surprise. ¡°That sounded like it was rude.¡± ¡°That¡¯s because it was,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°They need to let children be children. The wood elves let children play and enjoy their lives but supervise from a distance to ensure no one gets injured.¡± ¡°Mother¡¯s like that, but it depends on who looks after us when she¡¯s busy. Some of the community are more relaxed than others when looking after the children,¡± explained Rainith. ¡°Bah to the grumpy ones,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If they don¡¯t enjoy looking after children, they should let someone who does love it handle the responsibility.¡± Rainith snorted. ¡°It¡¯s part of ensuring they instil discipline in us, and they can¡¯t just let us run wild day after day.¡± I want to smack some people. I¡¯d better change the subject. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your request. Why did you want to hear me singing?¡± Rainith let out a sharp exhalation and scrubbed at her face. ¡°Sometimes I feel defective because I can¡¯t hear what others are singing. I can hear the beauty of whatever they¡¯ve created afterwards, but I can¡¯t hear the process.¡± ¡°Do you want to hear me sing so you know there is hope to create beauty?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, exactly that.¡± breathed Rainith. ¡°Yet you¡¯d rather hang onto your dislike of Gail than ask her to help,¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°It¡¯s not dislike; it¡¯s frustration,¡± Rainith corrected. ¡°I like her despite her weirdness sometimes, so her behaviour frustrates me. She needs to stop letting them use her.¡± ¡°What about her is weird?¡± ¡°Seeing the good in everyone,¡± huffed Rainith. ¡°I already told you that, Am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the only thing about her you find weird?¡± Rainith nodded firmly. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Then who knows, maybe in a few years, you might grow to be friends.¡± ¡°People take advantage of her. Who¡¯d want to be friends with someone who would let themselves get used and likely drag you into the mess?¡± huffed Rainith, and a frustrated frown tightened her mouth. The door to the training hall opened, and Laleither stepped out. ¡°Maybe you get your protectiveness from your Mother,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Are you okay if I expand the concealment to include her in the conversation?¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine. I didn¡¯t want Nordil to overhear,¡± allowed Rainith, and she turned to beckon Laleither closer. Laleither sat on the other side of Rainith and wrapped an arm around her. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t come down too soon.¡± ¡°Have you come to supervise, Mother?¡± asked Rainith suspiciously. Gently rubbing her daughter¡¯s arm, Laleither smiled reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m here for you, dear. Keeping you company isn¡¯t supervising, is it?¡± ¡°I guess not,¡± allowed Rainith. Amdirlain retrieved a memory crystal and handed it over to Rainith. ¡°Record what you hear in this. Then you can share it with others or review it yourself to consider the moment uninfluenced by emotions.¡± ¡°What are you going to sing?¡¯ ¡°First, I¡¯ll make a proper home for your gift,¡± said Amdirlain as she retrieved the flower pot from the veranda. ¡°Then I¡¯ll make some toys.¡± ¡°What sort of toys?¡± ¡°Constructs to help celestials get combat experience. I could also see if your mother will lend a hand, and we can make some True Song Crystal together,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Though I could make some normal toys.¡± Rainith looked uncertain and looked up at her mother, nervously chewing her bottom lip. Laleither leaned over and kissed the top of Rainith¡¯s head. ¡°What would you like?¡± The uncertainty disappeared from her expression, and Rainith turned back to Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like to hear some complex Anar True Song. Mother¡¯s notes fading out won¡¯t help.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair. I¡¯ll do the garden, and then we¡¯ll head inside and create the constructs slowly so you can hear them,¡± explained Amdirlain. The first song was a melody to create another bordered garden bed near the front fence filled with soil that matched the sample in the pot. With that done, it was a simple matter to replant the miniature rose bush and ensure its health. Amdirlain smiled and nodded at the lonely rose bush. ¡°Should I duplicate your gift to create a hedge when they¡¯re fully grown or add different plants beside it?¡± ¡°A wall of pink roses sounds beautiful,¡± chirped Rainith. One by one, more plants appeared, with Amdirlain using higher octaves than necessary to ensure the notes differed from what Rainith had heard the L¨®m? sing. The excitement that hummed through her prompted Amdirlain to continue, the melodies seamlessly transitioning. Golden outlines formed into rows of mithril constructs in the courtyard, and Rainith clapped enthusiastically. Amdirlain took the work slowly, concentrating on the performance of each note. I can sing so many melodies at once; I wonder if I can apply some techniques Sarith and Kadaklan helped me with on multiple memories simultaneously. For now, I need to concentrate on delicate music. Not letting the thought distract her, Amdirlain continued shifting each row of constructs away when it was completed to allow room for the next. As the performance ran on, Laleither repeatedly shot her curious glances, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t meet her eyes. When Master Cyrus left his manor, Amdirlain took it as the signal to draw the music to a close. The last row of completed constructs vanished, except one, and Rainith ran up to it and pressed her hands against its legs. [Crafting Summary (Category: Constructs) Mithril-composite Construct x300 Total Experience gained: 30,000,000 Fallen: +30,000,000 True Song Genesis [G] (52->53)] ¡°It¡¯s so sturdy,¡± exclaimed Rainith, and she turned to Laleither, who was grinning brightly. Raithin returned her smile and looked at Amdirlain. ¡°Is that what you were hoping to hear?¡± With her eyes glistening with happy tears, Rainith pressed her hands to her mouth and nodded repeatedly. ¡°Gorgeous. They were so gorgeous. That was different from anything I¡¯ve heard Gail sing. Those higher notes danced under my skin,¡± gushed Rainith happily. ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought about that,¡± said Laleither. ¡°The melodies I like the most are those containing the solid bass rumbles.¡± ¡°Thank you, Am,¡± exclaimed Rainith, and she rushed back to hug Amdirlain. ¡°Did you use up all your break singing for me?¡± Amdirlain dropped the concealment from around them. ¡°Yes, but you needed the reassurance. My teacher is on his way now.¡± Though Rainith sighed dramatically at the pronouncement, she didn¡¯t protest and gave Amdirlain another hug. ¡°Thank you.¡± Their exchange prompted Roher to break from his study of the memory crystals and start organising the boys. When Nordil protested leaving so quickly, Sarah packed the game board into a storage device and gave Nordil a copy of the rules in a memory crystal. He headed down the stairs only after Nordil had extracted a promise from Lospen to play the game with him. With Rainith still hugging Amdirlain, Laleither waited quietly, only rising when the rest of her family exited the training hall. She¡¯s very much an introvert. ¡°We¡¯ll leave you to your afternoon lessons,¡± said Roher, shaking Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°These compositions will give us much to study. They tickle at memories, but I wonder if we even have the strength to sing them fully.¡± ¡°We just need to break it into pieces and work on it in shifts,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If we set the atmosphere in place first, so its chemical mix is right for the intended life forms, then we can begin on the plants and ocean life.¡± That is harder than any Demi-Plane, since the seed¡¯s rules help create the initial atmosphere. Roher shook her hand again and stepped away. ¡°We¡¯ll look them over and organise the choirs into shifts. I¡¯m sure you could handle the Anar side for us.¡± Amdirlain shrugged modestly, not wanting to provoke Laleither¡¯s curiosity. When her father was clear, Rainith asked, ¡°Can we return for a longer visit, or will you come to visit us?¡± Amdirlain knelt to look her in the eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll try not to be a stranger, but I have a lot on my plate. We can arrange a day for you to come for a while.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± murmured Rainith sadly, and she held out her arms for another hug. Neither of us is who we were when we were Human. ¡®What do you think of your daughter¡¯s concern?¡¯ projected Amdirlain to Laleither. The composed mask Laleither wore didn¡¯t ripple at Amdirlain¡¯s mental touch. ¡®Rainith lacks a role model and doesn¡¯t mesh well with Gail,¡¯ advised Laleither. ¡®My daughter is too serious about things for Gailneth¡¯s friendly demeanour not to rub her the wrong way. Though there are other Anar, she often seems isolated and alone, wanting more than the other children.¡¯ Amdirlain restrained a cough. ¡®I figured that from what she said to me. Have you been overselling me? I can be incredibly haphazard.¡¯ ¡®Rainith refuses to believe that about you,¡¯ returned Laleither. ¡®She insists your seriousness is what she needs in a mentor.¡¯ Amdirlain mental voice hardened. ¡®Me? I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m fit to be anyone¡¯s mentor.¡¯ Laleither looked at her in disbelief. ¡®You taught Gailneth, and I believe she looks to you as more than simply a teacher. Your views she takes as valuable advice.¡¯ Grateful that she had activated Phoenix¡¯s Rapture to ensure calm reactions around Rainith, Amdirlain only rolled her eyes instead of blushing. Each of the children returned Amdirlain¡¯s hugs, though Lospen seemed slightly embarrassed by Amdirlain¡¯s embrace. When Nordil released her, Amdirlain gave them a wave, and they vanished in a Planar Shift that chimed with tight control. ¡°Well, that was a short visit but the kids wanted to see you for themselves,¡± Gail noted. ¡°Care to share more of what happened with the gnarls?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s hand. ¡°Are you embarrassed by the hero worship?¡± ¡°Not anyone¡¯s hero,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Gail, I know something¡¯s wrong. Don¡¯t be as dense as me.¡± Gail tilted her head and fixed Amdirlain with a tight smile. ¡°Does it matter now? It was unpleasant. Things got messy, and they got resolved. In most tribal dens we hit, the gnarls used monsters as breeding stock. The early ones were where we found people. I healed them, but I couldn¡¯t get some to take help from the Daughters of Hope, and today-¡± The grief-filled notes surged up, and Amdirlain wrapped Gail up in a hug. ¡°Today, I found many of those had taken their own lives,¡± sobbed Gail, her words coming in broken sentences. ¡°It¡¯s so stupid. I didn¡¯t understand why they wouldn¡¯t go to them. But some of it sounded like pride. So I ensured that, after they got healed, they had the means to reestablish themselves. But I was busy, so I let it be. Today, I had news to give them all. They¡¯d never need to fear the gnarls again. But I was too late. I checked on them and found so many graves. Why?!¡± ¡°You can¡¯t help everyone, Gail,¡± consoled Amdirlain. ¡°You got them out of a situation you had no part in making. Please don¡¯t punish yourself for their choices.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus is heading this way, and you¡¯ve got your afternoon lesson soon,¡± Gail sniffed and tried to draw away. ¡°We¡¯ve got you,¡± Sarah murmured, hugging them both. 414 - Odds are Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When Cyrus arrived, he had Dareios in tow, looking like a dusky-skinned Wood Elf dressed in the monastery¡¯s uniform. While Dareios looked hesitant about disturbing them, Master Cyrus calmly regarded the pair hugging Gail and turned back towards the gate. ¡°No, you have a lesson,¡± protested Gail, scrubbing tears away with her hands. ¡°I¡¯m going to go speak with Mother.¡± ¡°Sarith is a good listener,¡± advised Amdirlain. Gail exhaled slowly. ¡°Thanks, but I need to talk to my mum.¡± The settled tones within Gail prompted Amdirlain to release her hug before Gail¡¯s Planar Shift activated. Cyrus advanced to the bottom of the steps. ¡°Everyone has their share of pain in life. Since Gail has someone to help her, shall we focus on your lesson?¡± Amdirlain nodded reluctantly. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a few things to take care of, but I¡¯ll handle your metacreativity lesson after Master Cyrus¡¯ session,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Nomein advised me she¡¯ll be along this evening, and I told her you had the Affinity training,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Perhaps let her know if you need the evening free or if you¡¯ll train afterwards.¡± ¡°Oops,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s fortunate that other people are keeping track of my schedule.¡± ¡°I understand you¡¯ve had some justifiable distractions occurring,¡± allowed Cyrus. ¡°Shall we go into the barrier?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll need the targets again?¡± ¡°Among other things,¡± replied Cyrus, motioning her to go inside. Sarah brushed her face and had to get out of the way of Cyrus herding Amdirlain inside. ¡®Impatient, much!¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®Have fun, sweetie. It seems like he is in a taskmaster mood.¡¯ ¡®Oh no, what will I do?¡¯ protested Amdirlain, beneath her composure. As they approached the Spell barrier, Amdirlain established the same illusionary targets she¡¯d used in their last lesson. Cyrus grunted in approval and stopped just inside. He looked back at the uncertain Dareios and beckoned the Hound Archon to stand beside him. ¡°You¡¯ve been trying to relearn an ability from Dareios, correct?¡± questioned Cyrus. ¡°Change Self?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a simpler form of the Power I had: Protean,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Pedantic,¡± muttered Cyrus. ¡°Dareios, I¡¯d like you to use Change Self continually while Am practises Ki Blast. She thrives best off challenges and, as Gilorn put it, needs to get out of her own way.¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°She¡¯s been telling tales.¡± ¡°She told Silpar, who mentioned it to me while you allowed him to remain,¡± noted Cyrus. ¡°Yet it was hardly surprising news. We¡¯re going to load you up with work during these sessions. You will use Harmony to track Dareios¡¯ ability while using your Ki Blast, cycling, and creating more of your constructs. You¡¯re also to cast random spells at targets within the chamber.¡± At the last element, Amdirlain blinked in surprise. ¡°Spells as well?¡± ¡°The Ki Blast technique you¡¯re looking to use also involves Mana. It would help you acclimate to handling Mana and Ki in conjunction while keeping them separate. You¡¯ve used Ki Infusion to hold prepared spells while cycling Mana and Ki together. Mana and Ki¡¯s involvement is more convoluted with this technique, and you must direct it carefully.¡± ¡°Is this the normal teaching approach?¡± ¡°Let me worry about the teaching method,¡± Cyrus countered. ¡°As you¡¯re hardly a normal student, I¡¯ve been considering ways to challenge you properly.¡± Dareios looked at Amdirlain uncertainly, but when Amdirlain nodded, he shifted his appearance. Only his hair changed at first, from the same auburn hue Amdirlain used to jet black and through various other colours. As his skin joined the transitions, Cyrus pointed Amdirlain to the targets. ¡°Speed doesn¡¯t matter. It is smoothly multi-tasking that is the important piece of this puzzle,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°Given the number of songs you can utilise simultaneously, this shouldn¡¯t be a problem, should it?¡± ¡°Only five things at once?¡± Cyrus sighed. ¡°Take your time. I¡¯m trying to distract your thoughts so the Ki Blast becomes more intuitive. It might take your mind off whatever is blocking you from understanding Dareios¡¯ ability.¡± Amdirlain created the first construct to the tempo of the Ki cycling through her sigil, then added a Lightning Bolt at a nearby target when the blazing form of a Phoenix lept from her chest. The compression of its form from her last lesson was lacking, and the shape diffused after a dozen metres. Frustration rose, but Amdirlain relaxed into the music and continued juggling the diverse tasks Master Cyrus had set. The musical flow quickened in her, and the Ki Blast began to release in a nearly continual torrent of golden flames while azure lightning zig-zagged across the chamber. The theme of Change Self continued to tease at her, and while Harmony occasionally brushed against its manifestation within Dareios, it remained elusive throughout the session. The chimes rang across the mountainside, and Amdirlain concluded the exercise. Cyrus grunted in satisfaction and bowed before he turned and left, leaving Amdirlain to consider the experience notification. [Crafting Summary (Category: Constructs) Mithril-composite Construct x10,872 Total Experience gained: 1,087,200,000 Fallen: +1,087,200,000 Harmony [G] (28->37) Ki Blast [J] (7->30) True Song Genesis [G] (53->55) Mana Finesse [S] (78->81)] I averaged under a second per construct, and even with all the other distractions, trying to smooth the notes helped a lot. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve ever used spells for such a prolonged time. It¡¯s certainly an advantage of my Mana Pool increasing along with my Intelligence. The questioning patience from Dareios drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention, and she turned to him with a smile. ¡°Thank you for your patience, Dareios,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Did Kadaklan give you a tour of the monastery?¡± Dareios grinned boyishly and shifted back to the dusky-skinned Elf he had started with. ¡°He did indeed, Lady Am, and then he introduced me to a few people and got me clothing to blend in somewhat. He said it was his treat and for you not to worry.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give him a nice present as a thank you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Are you interested in learning magic at all?¡± Idly scratching the back of his head, Dareios shrugged helplessly. ¡°It looks like a potent force, but I know little about what I want to do.¡± ¡°Let me know what you decide. It¡¯s completely your choice,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There will be someone to teach me more magic here shortly, and I can ask her to teach you as well.¡± ¡°Would you learn magic again or take a different path?¡± questioned Dareios. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯d always learn magic. It¡¯s pretty cool and has helped me repeatedly. Though I¡¯ll admit that I don¡¯t have the same love for it that Ebusuku possesses.¡± ¡°I know that is the name you know her by, but I¡¯m not sure if I should use it,¡± stated Dareios. ¡°Would it offend you if I called her Lady Lerina?¡± ¡°Not at all,¡± assured Amdirlain. ¡°That is the name she chose for herself.¡± ¡°It feels strange not to also refer to yourself as Lady Am, but I¡¯ll abide by your preference.¡± Amdirlain sighed dramatically in relief. ¡°That¡¯s appreciated.¡± ¡°Are you making fun of me?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°My apologies. The headaches I¡¯ve had with those insisting on using titles makes me play up a bit when people mention them,¡± advised Amdirlain as she turned towards the training hall entrance. ¡°Shall we go find out what Sarah is up to?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you already know,¡± replied Dareios as he moved to walk beside her. Amdirlain winked. ¡°I do. She and Kli are in the workshop, herding crafters to lay out new forges the way Sarah wants them for training.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it like knowing everything that¡¯s going on around you?¡± Dareios asked as he fell in beside her. ¡°I mostly keep it filtered to a summary of details, but I can quickly find people I¡¯ve met before,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Like you¡¯d spot a familiar face in a crowd.¡± Dareios shrugged in confusion. ¡°Even that reference is unfamiliar to me. Yesterday, the tailor had trouble finding their pins, and they were just under some cloth, yet you not only know where someone is, but what they¡¯re doing.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like to know that level of detail constantly,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Since I planned to speak to Sarah, I checked to see if we would interrupt anything. I won¡¯t micromanage anyone, and constantly looking over someone¡¯s shoulder is rude, even if they don¡¯t know I¡¯m watching. Here, I mainly listen out for someone being seriously injured. Smaller training injuries with help nearby I¡¯m not concerned about.¡± ¡°You¡¯re ready to just jump in without being petitioned. Do you, Sarah and Isa come from a very informal culture?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°That¡¯s certainly the case for our social circles,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°While I can likely avoid offending anyone now, I¡¯m not the best model for polite etiquette. Why?¡± ¡°You said the other day to pretend to be an Elf so people would excuse not knowing their manners,¡± said Dareios. ¡°But I would like to learn them properly rather than pick them up piecemeal. Without talking to you about it, I wasn¡¯t sure who I should bother.¡± ¡°If you want to learn the local etiquette, we¡¯ll find you an instructor,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and she gave him a cheeky smile. ¡°And then you can pass on their lessons. Certainly, I didn¡¯t know that some areas expected you to position your hands in a specific way according to gender when bowing.¡± ¡°Mortals are challenging,¡± sighed Dareios. ¡°I hope I don¡¯t disappoint you while here, Am.¡± Amdirlain patted him on the back. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, Dareios. Just be yourself, and learn whatever you think you¡¯ll enjoy. You won¡¯t disappoint me. My apologies for the boring wait helping me with Change Self.¡± ¡°You changed form a few times,¡± noted Dareios. ¡°Is that because of your other Power?¡± ¡°Yeah, false positives is all I¡¯ve managed so far,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s so teasingly close and slips along the established channel. I know it¡¯s possible to relearn Protean, but I don¡¯t know how yet.¡± ¡°Would you keep trying even if you didn¡¯t have that reassurance?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°I¡¯ve regained skills before, so I don¡¯t see why powers should be different,¡± replied Amdirlain. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Dareios paused. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the classes even exist.¡± ¡°That¡¯s complicated, and I¡¯m not sure I understand all of it myself,¡± replied Amdirlain. Once they exited the training hall, the clanging from the workshop became clear. Klipyl grunted as she shifted another anvil into position before one forge, and dozens of crafters loaded tools into the racks near each forge. Sarah casually waved when Amdirlain leaned against the workshop door to observe their endeavours. ¡°Working up a sweat supervising?¡± said Amdirlain lightly. ¡°It¡¯s a hard job, but I¡¯ll manage it,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°After all, I¡¯ve got experience herding cats.¡± ¡°Would it be right for me to steal you away from the work, or do you need more time?¡± Sarah nodded to Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ve got an apprentice who can supervise the last.¡± ¡°Too right,¡± chirped Klipyl. ¡°Off you two go. Dareios, feel free to pitch in moving gear.¡± Dareios glanced between Klipyl and Amdirlain, who only shrugged. ¡°Your choice.¡± That was enough for Dareios to move to help some workers pry open a sealed packing crate of tools. ¡°It looks like modern packaging. Where did you get all this stuff?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The Exchange,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯m not surprised. One day, I might have to tour it properly and see the extent of the toys I could pick up there.¡± With Klipyl and Dareios minding the crafters, Sarah led her back to the sparring area. As they walked along, Amdirlain shyly looped her arm through Sarah¡¯s. Sarah smiled happily but didn¡¯t say a thing until the training hall door closed behind them. ¡°What are you nervous about?¡± ¡°Of sending you the wrong signals,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Does that sound bad?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not swept up in emotions and want to take your time,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s perfectly reasonable. You¡¯ve got Phoenix¡¯s Rapture off again?¡± ¡°Yep, it¡¯s another reason I want Protean back, to have a regeneration ability that doesn¡¯t also block my emotions,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Trying to stop Mental Hardening¡¯s autopilot holding issues at bay is tough enough.¡± ¡°Still, you need those techniques against the Eldritch,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I don¡¯t think you should develop the habit of continually blocking the Skill. Maybe give yourself some time each day?¡± ¡°In among my jammed schedule?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°During lessons like mine,¡± proposed Sarah. When Amdirlain stopped near the training barrier, she addressed a question that had occurred to her. ¡°What about during your lessons?¡± Sarah caressed Amdirlain¡¯s cheek. ¡°Only if you¡¯re comfortable. I know you have issues feeling vulnerable.¡± Her touch elected a flurry of butterflies in Amdirlain¡¯s stomach, and she nervously licked her lips. And now I¡¯m thinking of kisses. Focus, Amdirlain! The scent of desire that wafted from her caused Sarah¡¯s nostrils to flare in appreciation, and Amdirlain hurried on. ¡°Those issues make it important to restrain it around you. Plus, you can smell if I¡¯m having lingering issues and tell me something is wrong when I¡¯m being oblivious. I¡¯ll still have to figure out what.¡± ¡°Like Rainith¡¯s Soul?¡± asked Sarah, resting her hand on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Yep, but you had spot-on advice there,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Okay, but if you need privacy, take time for yourself,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You need to be your own person.¡± ¡°Oh, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m sure my emotional butterflies will want me hiding,¡± Amdirlain reassured with a nervous laugh. ¡°Shall we get started on the lesson?¡± ¡°Today, we¡¯ll start with the basics. While I know you won¡¯t have forgotten, we¡¯ll need to see which techniques you can still evoke consistently. Effective imagery for evoking Psionic techniques can change, and I know you¡¯ve had other options.¡± Not having used any shaping techniques for years, Amdirlain quickly nodded. Her first attempt to create a psionic shard produced a spray of arrows instead of a single palm-length projectile. ¡°I might need to adjust my strength,¡± snorted Amdirlain. Sarah smirked. ¡°Yep, back to figuring out the right image for the Crystal Shard technique, unless you always want to go overkill using it.¡± ¡°It might be beneficial if I can occasionally be subtle with a power aside from True Song,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Then, let¡¯s keep going through the rest, and we¡¯ll see if there is a common pattern,¡± instructed Sarah. After Crystal Shard, Crystal Dagger, Swarm of Crystals, and other shaping techniques that manifested weapons produced equally amplified results. Subtle techniques that drew up or formed ectoplasmic shapes were proportionally enlarged and seemed to track back to her Ascetic Triumvirate Prestige Class. Sarah looked at the oxen-sized shambler produced using the latest technique Amdirlain tried. ¡°It¡¯s meant to be a Chihuahua-sized blob.¡± Amdirlain blinked innocently. ¡°Oops?¡± The amphoric blob undulated to the chair Sarah had created and squeezed it into shards. ¡°With these and the combat techniques you¡¯re pushing in far too much psionic energy, but anything that creates flexible effects is fine.¡± ¡°Angry girl issues,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe explore the imagery you¡¯re using. Do they have anything in common?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Yeah, they do, and I¡¯ll find something else to evoke the effects.¡± The mental image of various gauge needles that Amdirlain projected cut off the question on Sarah¡¯s lips. Sarah nodded curtly. ¡°Okay. Should I leave it to you?¡± ¡°Yes, please,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll unpack embarrassing luggage in my time.¡± ¡°Strong emotional keys produce an equally powerful response,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Shall we try a nice vitriolic technique?¡± Amdirlain tilted her head curiously. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Acidic Spray.¡± ¡°I saw someone using that once,¡± groaned Amdirlain. "It looked like a massive dose of projectile vomiting." ¡°If that¡¯s your immediate thought, I expect it will produce a sizable mess if you pick that imagery,¡± Sarah said. Amdirlain laughed as a different image came to mind. ¡°No, I know something better to try.¡± ¡°The spray doesn¡¯t have to come from your mouth,¡± proposed Sarah. Amdirlain giggled, ¡°Oh no, don¡¯t be a spoilsport.¡± A thin line of acid leapt from Sarah¡¯s index finger, turning the shambler into a melted mass of ectoplasm. Though Amdirlain caught the shared image from Sarah that accompanied the twisting of materials into the chemical chains, it took her a few scores of attempts before she could sporadically get gouts of acid to jump from her lips. ¡°Yep, that looks gross,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°What are you using for an image?¡± ¡°The munchkins taking mouthfuls of pool water and spitting it at each other by pressing their cheeks,¡± laughed Amdirlain. I wonder how long before their memory of Aunt Julia faded into vague recollections. ¡°Mal¡¯s kids?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°They were lovely children,¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°So polite.¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°I mean, clearly I was a great influence on them.¡± ¡°Back to work, you reprobate,¡± chuffed Sarah. As the lesson continued, Amdirlain picked up a half dozen new techniques from impressing increasingly complex decision-making capabilities into a shambler and other acidic attacks. The delicate balancing act she learnt in managing thousands of songs at once allowed rapid progress with isolating the personal key to each method. The speed of her progress provided a growing irritation with her futile efforts to learn Change Self. ¡°You smell annoyed,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°What got a burr in your pants? You¡¯re not succeeding instantly, but you¡¯re already further along than I expected.¡± ¡°Fucking Change Self,¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°I can pick up these techniques, but it¡¯s thumbing its nose at me.¡± Sarah blinked at the venom in her tone. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a catalyst for my frustration with other issues,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Such as?¡± ¡°The silence from Baln¨¦rith not triggering the monitoring on the entrance to the deep planes,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Rahka and her allies were destroying Baln¨¦rith¡¯s senior succubi,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°I should have brought that up.¡± ¡°Why?¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°I mean, why did they take an interest in helping me?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t think they¡¯re helping you,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°You wanted to get a hold of Baln¨¦rith or her seniors, so they set about destroying them. They don¡¯t believe you¡¯re concerned about anything in the deeper planes. Their theory was you¡¯re after something that will profit you, so best not to let you have it.¡± ¡°I guess even arseholes are useful for dealing with shit,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°The destruction of her workforce buys me more time to find Baln¨¦rith and stop her permanently.¡± ¡°True, but with the legions of succubi she had at her command, you can¡¯t count on Rahka¡¯s allies having made a serious dent,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°We got four of them, but Rahka had allies for whom she didn¡¯t even have a casual name for me to track them down.¡± ¡°Were they from the cloister?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah nodded grimly. ¡°Their memories show various battles. It might be the war Laodice tried to entice you into joining.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s hands twitched to her hair, but she balled them into fists and pressed them against her temples. ¡°Yep, true. It¡¯s too soon to celebrate anything. Heck, even destroying Baln¨¦rith isn¡¯t enough.¡± Sarah stepped close and placed a comforting hand on her back. ¡°Once you have her, you¡¯ll need to pry information from her about who else knows about the wound.¡± ¡°I need to repair all the damage they did to the wound and establish safeguards,¡± said Amdirlain, and she grunted at an image that jumped to mind. ¡°What?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to get strong enough to grow a new skin on the outside of the realm to seal it properly,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Too many stories contain warnings that patching or locking something is just inviting someone else to screw with it later.¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking about being strong enough to survive in the Far Chaos,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°No, just strong enough to create a pocket realm outside this one. Somewhere with rules that allow me to affect the exterior of this realm,¡± laughed Amdirlain bitterly. ¡°I¡¯m only taking on a small goal. Right?¡± ¡°You like to punch above your weight class,¡± remarked Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s also something you wouldn¡¯t have to do at once.¡± ¡°Your thoughts on that?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Stop them worsening it, patch it on the inside like a patient¡¯s internal stitching, and then bands on the outside until you can do a full skin. That can likely be broken down into smaller steps,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Why didn¡¯t Ori take it on?¡± ¡°The realm¡¯s internal time was moving too fast. She might have been gone billions of years,¡± Amdirlain¡¯s grin was more of a baring of teeth. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to work. I need to strengthen every channel I have for handling energy until I¡¯m strong enough to crush Baln¨¦rith into a paste.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? The three thousand seven hundred students queued up would be a tight fight for the biggest arena on the mountain. Under the direction of the clerks of the Duty Pavilion, they headed inside as the chimes for the session started. As the last began to get settled, Amdirlain sped across the tops of the buildings, taking in the students¡¯ melodies. Amdirlain dropped into the middle of the arena and landed next to Head Clerk Erhi. The students on her side of the stage hushed at her sudden arrival, prompting Erhi to turn to determine why their behaviour shifted. There are a few hotheads here that I certainly won¡¯t give the Affinity of their choice. Any Affinity unlocks Wizard, and I don¡¯t think Fire is the right option for someone with aggression issues. ¡°Lady Am, thank you for joining us,¡± said Erhi, projecting her voice enough to drown the murmur from the nearest rows of students. Her hand tucked inside her long sleeves, and she bowed with her arms crossed before her eyes, the sleeves forming a curtain. The depth of her bow dropped a blanket of silence over the arena. Unworthy to meet my gaze? Is that the implication? Why is she putting on a show for the students? From Erhi¡¯s public mind, Amdirlain picked a casual question to softball her. ¡°Head Clerk Erhi, thank you for organising everyone this evening,¡± said Amdirlain, giving Erhi a sharp bow suitable for a dojo. ¡°Has there been word as to when their instructors will arrive?¡± ¡°We expect the first group to arrive tomorrow, Lady Am.¡± ¡°Most efficient,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d like to compliment you and the Duty Pavilion staff for your efforts.¡± Erhi bowed again. ¡°That is most kind of you, Lady Am.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take this opportunity to remind everyone what Master Suku¡¯s staff has advised. For some, you will gain an Affinity other than what you requested. Others might not gain an Affinity at all. Only those who gain the requested Affinity will have to pay the full fee.¡± A scattering of students around the arena lashed out with angry words towards nearby clerks, and a low cacophony of noise rose as their protests escalated into arguments. One student, whose customary robes showed finer tailoring, gestured towards Amdirlain as he screamed at a clerk. ¡°Surely you¡¯re able to¡­¡± Those students who started to protest disappeared from their seats and sprawled in the muddy water of the rice paddies between rows of seedlings. Most of them weren¡¯t even those I wouldn¡¯t teach; they weren¡¯t violent, just rude to the staff. Idiots! ¡°To ensure people can cool their heels if they interrupt, yes, that is quite possible,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, they find fieldwork educational. Now, let us begin. I want everyone to place themselves in a meditative state. As you settle yourself, dwell on your impressions of the energy you want to gain.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s mental touch swept across the first group, opening their awareness to Water and its ability to nurture and kill. Once she had taught all those, she moved through each of the fundamental elements before taking on the more esoteric affinities. Less than a hundred students didn¡¯t gain any Affinity, and another three hundred found their contemplation guided away to a different Affinity. The tokens in their possession changed colour to match the individual¡¯s relevant success. When the last she planned to help had found their way, Amdirlain politely nodded to Erhi and returned home. At the training hall, Sarah was seated on a viewing platform, talking to Klipyl and Dareios. Amdirlain rose outside the platforms and plopped down on the chair beside Sarah. ¡°You were only gone ten minutes,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°And I still took my time,¡± said Amdirlain smugly. ¡°Were there many issues?¡± ¡°Only a few idiots and just under three per cent of the students weren¡¯t the kinda folks I intend to help.¡± Sarah nodded in satisfaction. ¡°It¡¯s best to stick to your standards. Then, when there are issues, they¡¯re not ones you¡¯ll regret.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you mean if there are issues?¡± asked Dareios. Amdirlain and Sarah both snorted in amusement. ¡°With enough people involved, there are always issues, Dareios,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°The only thing that varies is the manageability.¡± Dareios looked hesitant, and Amdirlain beckoned to him. ¡°Spill.¡± ¡°Would you teach me an Affinity?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°I¡¯ll teach you the first tier of affinities. If you apply yourself to your studies, we can discuss further affinities,¡± advised Amdirlain. I hope Morganna and the dragons get here soon. Amdirlain waited patiently as Dareios awkwardly tried to reach a relaxed state. 415 - Find me Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches After Dareios spent some time fidgeting and fussing as he tried to settle and open his mind, Amdirlain took his thoughts in hand. A rush of understanding about base elements and Amdirlain heard the Wizard Class unlock. The Mana pool within him sounded like a tiny basin, and the surroundings provided him with a minute influx of energy that once would have been undetectable to Amdirlain. [Perception [S] (161->162)] All the increases in my Intelligence make it possible to notice the finer details, yet Resonance-Lord means there is so much more to hear. There is so much to listen to that sometimes I don¡¯t even know where to focus my attention. ¡°How did you encapsulate so much so simply?¡± whispers Dareios. ¡°The energies possess a state transition between them that allows someone¡¯s attention to be guided in a circle,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°When there is a connection, it¡¯s easier to carry the lesson of one thing into the next. It would have been easier to teach you the complete cycle, which includes the Para-Elemental planes of Lightning, Ooze, Magma, and Ice for a full eight affinities, but you¡¯ve enough to learn with the four I taught you.¡± Transition? She set up all the various pathways of power to allow for transitions, to let things move onward, even while she felt trapped. The idea tickled at the edges of Amdirlain¡¯s perception, feeling like it was about more than simply a means of advancement. ¡°It¡¯s also not like I can¡¯t teach you more when you¡¯re ready for them,¡± added Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯m not the best of teachers in magic, but I can cover the basics if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°We all have to start somewhere, Kli. It¡¯s not like I knew how to teach the critical aspects of my style before I started trying,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl winked at Dareios. ¡°I¡¯ll be gentle, I promise, no running you over while I teach you. ¡° ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that,¡± replied Dareios. ¡°Especially since you looked busy trying to run Master Kadaklan over.¡± ¡°No, more trip up,¡± laughed Klipyl. ¡°It¡¯s not like only one key fits, Dareios.¡± Oh, so Sarith¡¯s comment the other day was significant. ¡°Do you speak Draconic, Dareios?¡± continued Klipyl. Dareios shook his head. ¡°We might want to start the lessons there. Lots of the grimoires are in that language, and inscribing involves their runes,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°They¡¯re fun to learn with all their flowing lines.¡± ¡°Hopefully, the teachers will arrive tomorrow, as Erhi expects, but why don¡¯t you two get started on the arcane fundamentals,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got my sessions with Gilorn now.¡± Klipyl slung an arm around Dareios¡¯ shoulder and almost bodily dragged him away. ¡®She can be a force of nature when she sets her mind on something,¡¯ projected Sarah before she continued aloud. ¡°Is there anything you didn¡¯t mention about the students?¡± ¡°A fair number gained the Wizard Class, while others gained a variety of Eastern-style spellcasting classes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°However, a large number already had their four classes, so they¡¯re likely only looking to utilise the Mana with Ki Infusion or other powers.¡± ¡°They won¡¯t have a method to practice Mana Manipulation with unless they¡¯re casting spells,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°That¡¯ll limit how much Mana they¡¯ll be able to call on.¡± ¡°Might have to figure out something to help with that,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll create some tools to allow people to practice Mana Manipulation,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I can sell them through the Duty Pavilion.¡± Gilorn isn¡¯t back yet. Should I be worried about her or enjoy the gap in my schedule? If something got her in trouble, I wouldn¡¯t stand a chance, and I don¡¯t even know where she went. With Sarah kneeling beside her, Amdirlain nervously nibbled on the inside of her cheek, considering her warmth. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain held up a hand, spun on the spot to kneel facing Sarah, and timidly reached out to caress Sarah¡¯s face. ¡°Ah,¡± Sarah breathed, giving Amdirlain a slow smile. ¡°I heartedly approve of this use of time.¡± ¡°It was Klipyl¡¯s idea,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s been giving you advice?¡± questioned Sarah, mirth gleaming in her gaze. ¡°This could be good.¡± ¡°You¡¯re jumping ahead. It¡¯s advice she gave one of the chief¡¯s sons,¡± admitted Amdirlain. A colour shift rippled through Amdirlain¡¯s hair as her face lost its angular, ethereal beauty. Her bow-lipped mouth widened slightly, looking just a touch too big for her now heart-shaped face. Sarah ran fingers through Amdirlain¡¯s now brunette locks. ¡°There is a face I¡¯ve not seen in a while.¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t used it in a long time. With my old boring brown hair and eyes,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Brunette isn¡¯t boring. It¡¯s a deeper, comfortable hue,¡± countered Sarah, ¡°and your eyes were always warmer than my black. But why take on your appearance as Julia again?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± replied Amdirlain, leaning in to brush Sarah¡¯s lips with delicate kisses. The slow kisses steadily deepened, and Sarah¡¯s long fingers ran through Amdirlain¡¯s hair when she relaxed and pressed forward, her arms going around Sarah. When a blushing Amdirlain finally broke off, Sarah smiled. ¡°You know there are more comfortable places we could be sitting.¡± ¡°I gave into the impulse,¡± coughed Amdirlain, her hands still trailing up and down Sarah¡¯s back. ¡°If I¡¯d thought through what location was best, I might have chickened out.¡± ¡°You should give yourself more credit,¡± advised Sarah. Notes in the distance caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°There was also the issue that Gilorn might have returned minutes earlier.¡± ¡°She¡¯s back?¡± Sarah asked, and Amdirlain glumly nodded, her blush starting to fade. ¡°Well, we have a starting point to continue from another time,¡± offered Sarah. Amdirlain¡¯s blush blazed again, and she gave a low growl of frustration. A pert smile lit up Sarah¡¯s gaze. ¡°I like that I can make you blush.¡± With Gilorn approaching, Amdirlain restored Phoenix¡¯s Rapture, and her control settled in place. ¡°Spoil sport,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°Too bad, so sad,¡± huffed Amdirlain before Sarah trailed her fingertips down her neck, eliciting an urge to shiver that fought at her control, and she flowed back into her Wood Elf form. I enjoy that way too much. Sarah¡¯s brows lifted at her restoration of elven form. ¡°Why do you care if you confuse them?¡± ¡°I still have to sort out some issues I had from when I was Julia, but I also need to accept I¡¯m not that normal woman anymore,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Remembering who I was is part of looking to move forward. I need to acknowledge I will never be the person I was again and that my changes have been further reaching than merely aging.¡± Did I take on the form to test Sarah¡¯s reactions? Why the impulse? Stop! Why am I second-guessing myself when it went well? Gilorn appeared in the training hall near where they knelt, and Sarah cut off her question. ¡°Have you been waiting long?¡± ¡°Not long. Did you get everything done?¡± asked Amdirlain, restraining her curiosity about Gilorn¡¯s activities. ¡°I just wanted to check on a few places whose creation I was involved with,¡± admitted Gilorn. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered them until we discussed the uses for the demi-planes. Is it not strange that I was in stasis for longer than I have ever spent awake?¡± ¡°Is there something you¡¯d prefer to be doing?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°As much as I appreciate the help, I don¡¯t want you to feel obligated.¡± Gilorn chimed with surprise. ¡°I¡¯m glad to be creating again. It was the purpose of my creation, and the choices being equal, I¡¯d still spend my time creating. It is the music I love to perform.¡± ¡°I understand now why you pressed me to create the clouds of material,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You want to create new things on the scale you remember..¡± ¡°Yes,¡± rang Gilorn eagerly. ¡°Then we can do that together,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t have Ori¡¯s strength, and singing with you has taught me a lot, Gilorn.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very kind of you to say, Amdirlain,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Are you ready to work hard again tonight?¡± ¡°Always,¡± declared Amdirlain, and she looked at Sarah. ¡°Do you want to come along?¡± ¡°I do, but I¡¯ll leave you to your work, as I have a few errands to take care of,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ve been putting off taking new classes since my moult, and I need to figure that out.¡± ¡°Oh, shiny classes,¡± gushed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°Dipping into your bag of tricks?¡± Sarah snorted at her mischievous tone. ¡°I might take a Class or two I¡¯ve not explored before. First, I¡¯ll see how the discussion goes, there might be some implications in my choices.¡± ¡°Do you want me to tell you when I¡¯m going to hassle, Mor¡¯lmes?¡± Amdirlain asked. ¡°I sure hope you wouldn¡¯t have all that fun alone,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Why did you approach him and not Cla¡¯nes?¡± ¡°That¡¯s simple. I wasn¡¯t expecting them to have released the recording, so contacting Mor¡¯lmes should have involved less drama,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Since I already had the scrying window open and Cla¡¯nes could have been entertaining, I dropped the information in his lap¡ªfiguratively speaking.¡± ¡°Alright, let me know when you want to talk to him again,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I want to see the look on his face in person, especially if he¡¯s seen the recording of my Dragon form.¡± ¡°Then I suppose I¡¯ll give you advanced warning,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°You know it might be easier to return to Qil Tris, so we¡¯re not waiting for an opportunity that doesn¡¯t conflict with your schedule, especially if he¡¯s not camping out on the Demi-Plane,¡± said Sarah. ¡°He has been coming and going from the alerts I¡¯ve received during the day,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Venturing to Qil Tris was supposed to be a one-and-done.¡± ¡°Amdirlain, there are people there at risk from a curse. For that reason alone, I always knew you¡¯d go back to sort it out,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Maybe you and Gilorn should figure out the implications of your idea about short-cutting the Soul¡¯s path to Judgement.¡± ¡°True, we don¡¯t know what their region in Judgement is like and what their deities might have left behind,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°While the Titan¡¯s rules should prevent much, I¡¯ve seen how badly other deities have handled the departed in the past.¡± Amdirlain stopped and nodded at Gilorn. ¡°Should we investigate that tonight?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to tackle other things tonight, as risks will be involved,¡± cautioned Gilorn. ¡°And we must carry some of the departed through the Gate to Judgement to reach their region.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t a problem,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°I¡¯ve a Power that lets me draw souls into my flesh, and I¡¯ve carried them there previously.¡± ¡°No,¡± Gilorn declared, ¡°the problem is that they might deem our actions violent. Then it would be the Titan¡¯s rules that would punish us.¡± ¡°If we avoid attacking first, the Titan¡¯s servants would secure anything that tried to attack us,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If they¡¯ve left anything there and it attacks us, it will be punished for disturbing the peace. We can give the souls directly to the Titan¡¯s servants. I¡¯ve done that previously as well.¡± ¡°Your knowledge will guide me,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°Though Sarah is correct, the matter will require some planning. I might investigate the planet tomorrow while you¡¯re training. Perhaps I can find a different way to severe the curse.¡± ¡°I¡¯d appreciate that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Tonight¡¯s work I had some thought about,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Oh?¡± Along Gilorn¡¯s neck, illuminated notes suddenly displayed a complex melody and swiftly scrolled, pushing Amdirlain to absorb all the notation and its subtle inflections. ¡°That isn¡¯t for a Demi-Plane,¡± noted Amdirlain as she worked to interpret the music¡¯s meaning. ¡°Indeed it isn¡¯t,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°Did you catch it all?¡± ¡°I did,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Good. I¡¯ve got a few more pieces to present, and then I¡¯ll ask you questions,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°After all, you need to push your Perception Skill, and there is a lot of theory for you still to master. Let¡¯s see if you can keep up.¡± Before Amdirlain could object, a laughing Sarah disappeared, and more illuminated notes speed along Gilorn¡¯s neck. It seems Gilorn¡¯s taskmaster mood had changed to that of a schoolteacher. As if she¡¯d caught Amdirlain¡¯s amusement, Gilorn¡¯s presentation jumped in speed. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Throughout the hours that followed, Gilorn¡¯s kept speeding up. After sharing fifty complex compositions, she began to ask questions that jumped between them with no detectable rhyme or reason, all while displaying new ones for Amdirlain to memorise and assess. The questions focused her attention on the forces involved in the first songs, and the music''s common purpose became clearer. A notification appeared as she assimilated her understanding of them into True Song Architecture. [Stellar Engineering Unlocked! Critical Synergy with True Song Architecture detected: - True Song Architectured Grand Master. - Stellar Engineering advanced two ranks. Stellar Engineering (1) -> [Ap) (1)] The pieces progressed through the complexity of stellar forces, provoking a deeper understanding of how the framework of a solar system functioned and remained in place. They covered the orbital mechanism of comets, asteroids, moons, and planets, the fundamentals of nuclear fusion within the sun and its interaction with the Radiant Quasi-Elemental Plane, and the formation of the heliosphere. All the increases in knowledge, though, were a secondary effect. Her Perception and True Song Architecture surged forward, dealing with the rapid fire of questions Gilorn unleashed. The majority involved activities Amdirlain had never undertaken in forming planets. There were also ¡®shortcuts¡¯ in manipulating planetary crusts that promised to strain her capabilities with the complexity involved, even while significantly reducing the time for associated songs. [Perception [S] (165->166) True Song Architecture [G] (51->52) Stellar Engineering [J] (12->13)] With the latest notification, Amdirlain held up a hand. ¡°My brain is starting to feel like it¡¯s on fire. Every one of those songs was an element involved in creating solar systems, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°And I hadn¡¯t even asked you questions about some of them yet,¡± laughed Gilorn. ¡°Seems I¡¯m truly predictable.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t hard to miss since my Stellar Engineering knowledge jumped through multiple levels.¡± Gilorn hummed. ¡°Only feeling like being on fire is insufficient reason to halt. Shall we continue?¡± ¡°We discussed my schedule and reasoning last night. I want to create another two demi-planes before my next teaching sessions,¡± argued Amdirlain. Gilorn released a bright run of notes. ¡°I¡¯ll admit you did well, and we still have time to create them. However, it would be best if we further increased the difficulty of that work. Take us to the first Demi-Plane, please.¡± Though tempted to groan, Amdirlain¡¯s Planar Shift moved them. ¡°Open a Gate to a second Demi-Plane,¡± instructed Gilorn. ¡°We¡¯ll change two at once and progress the songs of each slowly. Ensure you pay particular attention to the water biomes, particularly the wetlands, as they¡¯re the filtration system for any world. We¡¯ll expand them both and, after you shift the Gate¡¯s location, we can put a Radiant Sun in place within them.¡± Sarah¡¯s stretching my intimacy limits, and now Gilorn¡¯s going for my True Song limits. ¡°You want to create the contents of both Demi-Plane at once?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± chimed Gilorn. ¡°Since you did one so easily, we should increase the strain. We¡¯ll allow the same time it takes us to create two consecutively and gradually shorten that time each night. Now I want you to catch the extra elements I add to the compositions, but don¡¯t adjust your singing from last night.¡± Doubling the work doesn¡¯t merely increase the strain, and she wants me to listen for surprises. Despite wanting to protest, Amdirlain nodded and set up a Gate. Expanding each Demi-Plane was manageable, but the creation of the outer crust set an edge to each note that carved through her flesh. A cascade of notifications came through Pain Eater as Phoenix¡¯s Rapture was pushed hard to seal rupturing flesh. Amdirlain concentrated on singing true and smoothing the distortions between notes. As the work progressed, the pressure on Phoenix¡¯s Rapture eased fractionally. When the last piece of the demi-planes¡¯ fundamentals was in place, Gilorn instructed her to halt. [Crafting Summary (Category: Planetary Biomes and Constructs) Interlinked self-sustaining biomes with day-night cycle x 2,876 (50%) Dungeon complexes x35,646 Gathering challenges x248,000 Total Experience gained: +99,247,500,000 Olind?: +99,247,500,000 Olind? Levelled Up! x7 Harmony [G] (37 -> 40) True Song Genesis [G] (55 -> 59) Dance [G] (35 -> 41) Perception [S] (166 -> 169) True Song Architecture [G] (52 -> 55)] While Amdirlain took in the notification and dealt with the shifting pressures inside her, Gilorn sang on alone. Amdirlain listened while she added the controls for the regional zones and the elements that would dictate the monster stampedes and boss manifestations. ¡°Are you able to handle the deeper planes?¡± Gilorn clanged in shock and disgust. ¡°No! I¡¯m fundamentally a being of balance. If I were to go into the depths of the Abyss, it would distort my energy flows and completely destabilise me. While I¡¯d make an impressive explosion, and likely destroy much, I wouldn¡¯t survive it.¡± ¡°Forget I asked,¡± said Amdirlain, holding up her hands. ¡°It was just a moment of curiosity.¡± It¡¯s tempting to push my Willpower higher, but I must improve my balance. I have another seventy points available to put into Quickness from that effort, and Endurance is climbing higher than anything else. ¡°Your mind is going in strange places,¡± huffed Gilorn. ¡°You did well tonight. The more questions I asked, the more I could see your understanding of the material increase. Let¡¯s return to your training hall, and you can consider the extra pieces I set into the demi-planes.¡± The jaunt home was becoming a familiar trip: Planar Shift, a short flight from the forest to cross the Domain¡¯s boundary, and one Teleport. Resonance located those individuals Amdirlain was most interested in. Sarah and Klipyl conversing with Kadaklan while Dareios was busy discussing Eastern philosophy with Livia at her longhouse. Nomein, Gemiya, and Lezekus were sparring in a deserted arena while Sarith mentally monitored the few patients in clinics across the mountain. I need to make more time to see her, the occasional chat isn¡¯t far to her.. She¡¯s aware I¡¯m in her Domain but I¡¯ve not taken solid time out. Just because I sense her working at other things doesn¡¯t mean she isn¡¯t available. Amdirlain slumped into a chair on the observation platform, a dry report of pain still signalling within her awareness. As Gilorn settled beside Amdirlain, she unleashed a run of airy chimes that carried her amusement. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°We still have nearly an hour before your lessons, and you have yet to practice with a Floor Harp today,¡± noted Gilorn. ¡°Are you sure you want to put up with me practising scales today?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m hardly going to be tracking what I¡¯m doing well enough to give my best.¡± ¡°One doesn¡¯t always have an opportunity to be fully rested when required to perform,¡± countered Gilorn. ¡°You mentioned the scales, and that is where we should start. You need to accustom yourself to the octave reach of my strings.¡± With a grunt of acknowledgement, Amdirlain slipped from her chair and knelt beside Gilorn. ¡°Using a low stool is customary,¡± noted Gilorn. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°My legs don¡¯t get tired, and I don¡¯t feel like creating a stool until Pair Eater stops giving status updates.¡± Gently plucking middle C, Amdirlain listened to the secondary energy echoes that spread through the dimensional space. She produces a far different sound. A base supporting pitch for True Song, so that¡¯s hardly a surprise. There was no dramatic rush of memories, and Amdirlain relaxed into the peace of the simple practise session and allowed her body to recover. When Dareios entered the training hall, he looked more comfortable in his Wood Elf Form, the slight awkwardness in his stride having eased. The repetitive notes guided him to Amdirlain on the upper platform where Gilorn had allowed her to progress beyond singular notes. He stopped on the upper step. ¡°Good morning, Lady¡­ err... I mean, Am.¡± Amdirlain glanced up with a reassuring smile. ¡°Have you had many people giving you odd looks for using only my name?¡± ¡°I was told it was improper,¡± confirmed Dareios. ¡°Anything else?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°I should address you appropriately to avoid lowering your reputation,¡± reported Dareios. ¡°I don¡¯t understand how a title can decide someone¡¯s importance. Either a person is important or not.¡± ¡°What did you tell them?¡± Dareios straightened in his seat. ¡°I had been instructed to refer to you as Am, and your orders and preferences mattered to me where their opinion had yet to prove its value. I also enquired if they felt themselves more important than yourself.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Why did you do that?¡± ¡°Since they started to tell me how I should address you when you had given me different instructions, isn¡¯t that them declaring they''re more important?¡± huffed Dareios indignantly. ¡°How could they override your instructions if they don¡¯t hold a higher rank?¡± ¡°People see social mores in some places as more important than the individual,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°While I can see that they educate people in such a fashion to try and achieve an ideal of proper behaviour between all members of society, it doesn¡¯t always work out that way. Instead, wealthy people or those who see themselves as better than others can use their proper etiquette education as an excuse to belittle others.¡± ¡°Yet you follow it when dealing with them?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°I understand its shortcomings, but I can also understand their ideals regarding etiquette,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°If you call me Lady Am to them, I¡¯m not fussed. When addressing me directly, I¡¯d prefer you not use a title.¡± ¡°So I can respect your choice and still put them at ease if their social mores rigidly bind them?¡± Dareios asked. ¡°For some people, a highly formal etiquette is a simple requirement for all interactions. Whereas for others, even in the same culture, being held to such standards is someone trying to put on airs as being above others around them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The danger I see is that the more formal and rigid a society, the easier it is to point at an outsider and be critical of them. Also, the easier it is for the cultural difference of an outsider to offend those within the culture. It can become self-isolating.¡± ¡°Yet I shouldn¡¯t look to offend such individuals by refusing to use the terms of address they prefer for themselves?¡± questioned Dareios. ¡°Mortals are strange. If I speak to someone calmly and make no hostile actions, should it not be considered respectful?¡± Amdirlain nodded understandingly. ¡°A calm tone for one society might be considered sly in another, or you might approach someone and find yourself within what they regard as a proper social distance for strangers. In both cases, you might have unknowingly offended.¡± ¡°And they might have reactions to your offence that might be a sign of pleasure in your society?¡± ¡°Gets tricky. A smile could indicate pleasure or show hostility,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°On Qil Tris, curling your upper lip is threatening, but lifting your whiskers with your ears perked up shows happiness.¡± ¡°It¡¯s easier for celestials if we listen to their thoughts,¡± commented Dareios. ¡°Though Sarith says in some cultures, that is also rude.¡± At least Universal Communication cuts out some of the mess for me; if I address someone politely, it translates to them as being polite. However, I still intend to use titles when speaking to them. ¡°Fun, isn¡¯t it?¡± laughed Amdirlain. Dareios rubbed his jaw. ¡°No. Though now I know I¡¯ll have to get used to learning how to socialise with mortals.¡± ¡°Formality isn¡¯t something I enjoy, but I¡¯m getting used to going with the flow when no one is harmed,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°If I came across a situation where someone was using it as a weapon, all bets would be off,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Like the noble scions trying to cause a fuss at the Affinity session last night?¡± questioned Dareios. Amdirlain giggled. ¡°I didn¡¯t bother to find out who they were. They started to get heated with the clerks, so I sent them on their way.¡± ¡°They made a fuss to Head Clerk Erhi afterwards,¡± advised Dareios. ¡°And she sent them on to see Master Livia, who shut them down quite bluntly.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I was there speaking to her when they came to complain,¡± continued Dareios. ¡°Do you want an exact quote?¡± ¡°Near enough is fine with me,¡± replied Amdiralin. Dareios huffed in satisfaction. ¡°She said ¡®my M¨®eir has an approach to life that can be sumed up in two parts. Treat people as they treat others, and fuck around and find out. You complained when she told you what would happen to everyone, so she tossed you out because you started demanding special treatment. Don¡¯t expect her to offer to help you again. I suggest you politely lodge a request with the Duty Pavilion for someone else to assist you. When a Wizard or Wu Jen feels like spending months or years opening your affinities, they¡¯ll contact you.¡¯¡± ¡°Livia knows me so well,¡± cooed Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ve got zero chance of me helping them now.¡± ¡°Why did you do that without warning?¡± ¡°They chose to be rude, and I chose to withdraw my help and put them somewhere to cool their heels. The fact I could do that to them, and they¡¯ve still got the nerve to complain, tells me all I need to know about them,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Master Lu¡¯s contingent is starting to assemble at her manor. Do you want to join the morning training?¡± Dareios nodded. ¡°I would appreciate that. I might look to gain the Monk Class, along with Ranger and Scout. Though I¡¯m still undecided about the last option, perhaps something able to steer me through societies might be more useful to round out my classes.¡± ¡°Even if you are progressing a few classes, you don¡¯t have to start the fourth at the same time,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°How did your lesson with Klipyl go?¡± ¡°She is an excitable individual,¡± replied Dareios. ¡°But the draconic script is fascinating.¡± A sheaf of paper and a pen appeared on a nearby table. ¡°Write out the runes you¡¯ve learnt until Jinfeng gets here.¡± Amdirlain kept Dareios busy until the procession of students drew close. Then, she directed him to a spot within the training hall and teleported him to the courtyard. Master Lu led the students through the outer gates and marched to the bottom of the steps. After coming to a halt, she bowed, her right fist against a flat palm. ¡°Good morning to you, Sifu.¡± ¡°Good morning, Jinfeng,¡± replied Amdirlain, giving a shallow bow in exchange. ¡°None of your contingent were at the arena yesterday to gain an Affinity.¡± Jinfeng twitched in surprise. ¡°Some among the Martial Pavilion were present, but they are from those who seek to spread their understanding among various areas. I brought those students who wish to focus on their physical and Ki capabilities at this point in their studies.¡± ¡°Such is your choice,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I appreciate the explanation. Come inside, please.¡± A slight telekinetic force pushed the doors open, and Amdirlain held them in place remotely, wanting to re-familiarise herself with the capabilities she¡¯d learnt decades ago. It had been some time since she¡¯d used more than Far Hand, and she aimed to jump ahead of Nomein¡¯s instruction. ¡°Will your guests join us this morning?¡± asked Jinfeng as she entered the training hall. ¡°Kli and Dareios will,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Oh.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°You seem disappointed.¡± ¡°I was curious about the man with the beard. He seemed a soldier type. While a bit ill-kept, he certainly seemed capable,¡± replied Jinfeng. I don¡¯t think I tell her that she¡¯s commenting on the appearance of a Deity. Should I tell her he¡¯s married? ¡°Looking for further sparring partners?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jinfeng smiled. ¡°His blade was a familiar length, but his approach differed from anything I¡¯ve previously encountered.¡± ¡°His style comes from the birth Kingdom of Master Livia,¡± advised Amdirlain diplomatically. ¡°It seemed more a collection of practical techniques than a style as such,¡± countered Jinfeng. ¡°I guess I¡¯m not one to judge in that regard,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Would you count what I¡¯m teaching a style or a collection of techniques?¡± ¡°You have a definable philosophy and goal behind your accumulated techniques. That is the difference between a ramshackle collection and a style,¡± offered Jinfeng. ¡°Though I¡¯ve only learnt some of your techniques so far, from your sparing with Master Payam, I could tell more.¡± ¡°Go on,¡± prompted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m interested to hear your perspective.¡± ¡°They seem to have a cohesive focus, building on balance, mobility, and adaptation. Even the techniques you learned from copying him kept to that principle.¡± ¡°You could tell I¡¯d learnt some during the spar?¡± enquired Amdirlain. ¡°Some attacks and counters smoothed out dramatically throughout your bout,¡± clarified Jinfeng. ¡°It was a clear signal you were unfamiliar with them, and it seemed bold to use them immediately without testing them outside the session first.¡± ¡°What sort of training did you have in dancing?¡± Jinfeng frowned in confusion. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Maybe I should ask: did you have any training in dancing?¡± ¡°My family are merchants, Sifu. Daughters of merchants do not learn such a means of entertaining men,¡± Jinfeng curtly replied. Cultural mores. ¡°From my perspective, dancing isn¡¯t just for entertaining men,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Dancing teaches you to be aware of your balance, and some types teach you to read your partner¡¯s motions so you can improvise around them. There are forms of group dancing where pairs will move about a dance floor with other dancers, and they need to be aware of those around them to avoid bumping into and tripping each other. This helps people learn situational awareness. Nearly any physical activity can teach you more than it appears.¡± ¡°Including eating?¡± ¡°If I asked you to close your eyes and hold an apple in your hand, could you eat it without opening them?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± declared Jinfeng ¡°That involves being aware of where your hand is relative to your mouth, the speed of its motions, and determining the object¡¯s size by how your fingers have closed around it. Is it a good apple or is it bruised? How do you tell without opening your eyes?¡± ¡°My fingers would feel a soft spot,¡± offered Jinfeng. ¡°That involves your sense of touch. When was the last time you closed your eyes and ran your fingers over something to understand its texture?¡± asked Amdirlain. Jinfeng pursed her lips. ¡°A while.¡± ¡°Pay attention to all things your body can tell you. An air current moving across the back of your neck can warn of a rushing foe that otherwise might be concealed. You seek to master your blade, but you are not steel. Paying attention to what your body can teach you can be beneficial. My way of wielding weapons evolved by combining many skills.¡± ¡°Excuse me, Sifu, but I still can¡¯t see how dancing would help,¡± Jinfeng replied. ¡°It is only a step removed from knowing where someone is to avoid them on a dance floor or in battle. Knowing how to judge multiple people¡¯s movements to slip between a gap on a dance floor or slide a blade into someone¡¯s ribs,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°In dance, you focus on your body¡¯s movements, developing flexibility, timing, speed, and learning the limits of your flesh. There is a tempo to a clash of blades just like dancing.¡± ¡°I hadn¡¯t thought of it that way,¡± admitted Jinfeng. ¡°It might not be the right exercise for your Dao, but it is part of my developed style. Everyone, line up in your usual order to the right of Dareios, who is joining the session,¡± instructed Amdirlain, and she shot Jinfeng a grin. ¡°Except you. While they practice the basics, you can attempt to kill me.¡± Jinfeng grunted in surprise. 416 - Lucky break Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain headed to the sparring area and motioned for the other students to face the door. ¡°You don¡¯t need to watch us, as you¡¯ll have an illusion presenting the moves to practise. Consider it good practise for concentration.¡± Everyone wants me to stretch my capabilities so I can take the initiative and devise an approach. Lightly touching each student¡¯s mind, she created a mental illusion of her standing before them. She felt them start in surprise, and each heard the same reassurance, but the instructions varied by the student¡¯s proficiency. ¡°Were you kidding when you said you wanted me to kill you?¡± ¡°Try your best,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Meanwhile, I¡¯ll avoid your blade while educating the others.¡± Jinfeng¡¯s draw created a blur of silver in a diagonal slash, but a subtle fade leant Amdirlain just below its arc. As Jinfeng moved to follow her, Amdirlain¡¯s palm drifted along the blade¡¯s flat, guiding it away even as she spun into Jinfeng¡¯s reach. Amdirlain¡¯s fingertip dabbed against her throat on the way past instead of what could have been a crushed larynx. Jinfeng spun on her heel and responded with dozens of short, lightning thrusts, but none even found cloth. Through the mental connections that Amdirlain maintained with all the students, she used Harmony to find the right balance between achievable and challenging; as fatigue grew, she lessened their opponents but didn¡¯t allow them to relax fully. When the chimes for the breakfast session finally rang, many slumped from exhaustion. For those who dropped their guard completely, their opponents delivered a ¡®lethal¡¯ blow, and Amdirlain provided a disapproving huff. [Harmony [G] (40->41) Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (115->116)] ¡°When an opponent is nearby, you should never relax until you¡¯re sure the danger has passed.¡± The senior students got to their feet and bowed to Amdirlain in apology, leading the others to follow their example. ¡°It¡¯s not me you owe an apology to, but yourself. Learn to do better and stay alive. Remember that even an otherwise honourable opponent might lash out in anger at a loss when your guard lowers,¡± chided Amdirlain. ¡°Stay ready.¡± With the long day ahead, she walked down the line and used Universal Life to wash away fatigue and heal strained muscles. As they recovered, the enchantments whisked the sweat from their clothing. By the time she was done, Amdirlain had also updated their memory crystals with the details of the latest session. ¡°You¡¯re now dismissed to eat,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Anyone who wants their crystal opened for others to view, I¡¯ll do so now. Otherwise, feel free to talk to me after any future session.¡± When no one stepped forward, she motioned them towards the stairs. ¡°The food trays are in the same places. I¡¯ll see you next time Master Lu approves of you accompanying her.¡± A few approached her to adjust the crystals, but most merely headed for the stairs, talking among themselves. Dareios moved alongside some of the senior students and asked them if they¡¯d share insights into their study of Ki while eating. They freely agreed and welcomed Dareios to join them without even a single acquisitive note from those he¡¯d approached. After they¡¯d all moved off, Jinfeng bowed to Amdirlain. ¡°Was there an issue with any of them I missed?¡± ¡°Not at all, but I don¡¯t want them to assume that, having come once, you¡¯ll always bring them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Whatever criteria you use for selection remains for you to decide. I know you¡¯ve been dealing with others wishing to come along.¡± ¡°I¡¯d wondered if you had said that because of their complacent behaviour,¡± admitted Jinfeng. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll need to repeat that warning,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Better for them to learn that lesson now instead of when the danger is real.¡± With the others starting on their breakfast, Amdirlain moved further along the viewing platform to where Gilorn waited. ¡°I¡¯ve got time before the morning session,¡± said Amdirlain as she landed beside Gilorn. Gilorn emitted a cheerful sound. ¡°There is no point in a second short session of harp practice. Why don¡¯t you sit and let¡¯s see if I can expand your knowledge further? I haven¡¯t had time to ask questions about some topics yet.¡± Amdirlain sat near Gilorn, and an illusion of a solar system hovered over the table, with a notation floating beside each planet displaying its molecular composition. ¡°Given the mass of the fifth planet and the proximity of its neighbours¡¯ orbits...¡± As Gilorn rattled off the scenario¡¯s details, Amdirlain¡¯s mind churned through the songs involved and made a composition appear between them. The breakfast session almost ended when a minor alteration within the themes across the mountainside grabbed Amdirlain¡¯s attention. A sump of energy stirred as Sarah¡¯s Ki began to rotate between chakras. A moment later, Sarah¡¯s theme subtly changed, and Amdirlain used Analysis on the Class as it settled into place. [Sh¨´sh¨¬ Artificer: Attribute Adjustments: +8 Health per Level +3 Intelligence per Level +3 Willpower per Level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels above Level 22 +2 Defence per Level +2 Magic per Level +8 Mana per Level +8 Ki per Level Increased frequency of major insights into Artificer and Ki powers and skills. Requirements:
  • Artificer or Tao Enchanter combined into at least two Prestige classes.
  • Inscribe or Embed Ki evolved at least once at Grandmaster rank
Details: These crafters blend standard Tao and Artificer techniques to create living enchantments that can use Ki, which their attuned wielder provides. Note: She¡¯s the first non-Eastern Dragon to take this Class. First Livia and now Sarah, their philosophies aren¡¯t all you¡¯d like them to be.] And I needed you to tell me that? Sarah is learning a Class that uses Ki. Why? Is she seeking Immortal Spirit, or is it for another purpose? [Embed: The principal ability of a Tao Enchanter allows them to place a configuration of Ki energies within a prepared object.] Sarah will have versatile creation options between her Psionic, Ki, and Mana powers. I¡¯ve seen her create objects involving Psionic techniques and Mana. It¡¯ll be interesting if she can blend all three. With how I change the intended Mana within spells, what other options for flowing between power sources could I tap into? ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± murmured Gilorn. ¡°It seems you¡¯ve inspired Sarah to investigate the use of Ki.¡± ¡°I hope it¡¯s for the right reasons,¡± sighed Amdirlain, scrubbing her fingers through her hair. ¡°There is no guilt or stress within her song,¡± noted Gilorn. ¡°But I know you can hear that if you set your concerns aside and don¡¯t let them overshadow what they hear.¡± ¡°Are you calling me on my bullshit?¡± ¡°Yes, your M¨®eir is telling you that you¡¯re being a naughty girl and reading into things,¡± Gilorn tinkled merrily. ¡°Goodness, that is quite an amusing image.¡± ¡°Glad to know I¡¯m amusing someone,¡± snorted Amdirlain. Gilorn shifted down octaves and thrummed out bass notes. ¡°Have you picked up how harps help as yet? Or recovered the memory?¡± ¡°The energy is like the solid back wall of an amphitheatre,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Not True Song itself. I figured that out while playing the scales, not from any memory.¡± ¡°Good,¡± hummed Gilorn. ¡°It seems you¡¯re going to have visitors soon.¡± ¡°They left Kadaklan behind,¡± noted Amdirlain, and she settled to wait. The pair entered the training hall, and Sarah led the way to Amdirlain, who was focused on the changes in Sarah¡¯s song. Among the robust vitality of Sarah¡¯s life force, slow currents were now cycling between her throat, heart, and solar plexus chakras. As she settled onto the platform, Sarah regarded Amdirlain¡¯s intensity with concern. ¡°Hey, sweetie.¡± ¡°Hey, beastie,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Did you pick that Class because of me?¡± ¡°It caught your attention among all the noise?¡± asked Sarah, and she leaned closer and put an arm around Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. With Isa following Sarah in for a landing, Amdirlain kept her nod casual but took Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°I heard your Ki moving, and then you immediately picked Sh¨´sh¨¬ Artificer,¡± noted Amdirlain. A smirk twisted Sarah¡¯s lips, but her gaze softened. ¡°Do you think Gideon made it for me? I was attempting to unlock the Tao Enchanter Class. Still, it has some interesting possibilities and should take some worry off our plates.¡± Did she take the Class because of me? Isa giggled and slid into the chair across from them. ¡°Look at you two getting all PDA.¡± I don¡¯t want to change the subject, Isa. Should I push the subject back or let it slide until Isa is gone? ¡°Only as far as Am¡¯s comfortable,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I still move too fast.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Sarah planted a finger on her lips, and her gaze softened. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to be sorry for, my love. I¡¯m the one that got in your personal space. I picked up enough from your scent to know I¡¯d pushed too far. Thank you for being open like that with me.¡± The flush that darkened Amdirlain¡¯s face had Isa squirming happily in her seat. ¡°Do you mind?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I have no impulse control,¡± admitted Isa. ¡°That you two are finally together gets me all gooey inside.¡± ¡°Maybe I should have left you in Ilya¡¯s care,¡± huffed Sarah. Isa shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s having fun restructuring the processes around documentation in the monastery. All the discussions Ilya¡¯s been having about it makes me want to go into someone¡¯s office and throw all their paperwork in the air.¡± No, I need to address it, not second guess Sarah. ¡°Will you tell me why you took the Class later?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Oops,¡± Isa said. ¡°I¡¯m the third wheel.¡± ¡°Luck¡¯s got its hooks into you at present,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not grumpy at you for that, okay?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Isa nodded. ¡°Sorry, I had an impulse to be here.¡± ¡°I noticed the connection,¡± conceded Amdirlain. ¡°What does it feel like to you?¡± Isa shrugged. ¡°It just felt like I should be here.¡± ¡°You assumed it was about Sarah?¡± Isa fidgeted for a bit, only to finally give a helpless shrug. ¡°Maybe.¡± I¡¯ll deal with Isa first and then listen to Sarah about why she thinks it will take any worry off my plate. ¡°I need to talk to you about something, so maybe that¡¯s why Luck sent you my way,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Though their timing could have been a lot better. Can you tell me about Rainith? She seems cut off.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve tried to speak with her, but she seems reluctant to exchange more than polite greetings,¡± replied Isa. ¡°Luck can create opportunities when something is possible, but she shuts me down cold.¡± ¡°She finds Gail too erratic,¡± offered Amdirlain, and she sought a diplomatic phrasing. Isa¡¯s high-pitched giggle ran through octaves inaudible to humans and got her a glare from Sarah. ¡°Please stop that.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°Ilya finds you laughing that way adorable, but she¡¯s not here,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°I can hear all of it, and it makes me want to grind my teeth. It¡¯s like nails on a blackboard, so can you just laugh normally?¡± ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯re not a fan of butterflies changing weather patterns,¡± laughed Isa. Sarah shook her head. ¡°If you can¡¯t remember the full quote, don¡¯t use it.¡± ¡°I can remember it, but misquoting it is more fun,¡± replied Isa. ¡°And it provided evidence of Rainith¡¯s issue without saying a thing.¡± ¡°She can hear your song well enough to know your personalities would clash, so she doesn¡¯t try,¡± stated Amdirlain. Isa tapped the side of her nose. ¡°Got it in one.¡± ¡°She can¡¯t hear mine to know we¡¯ll work well,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Some things are so obvious even a blind man can see them,¡± said Isa. ¡°Do you want to bet whether you¡¯d be able to teach her fine?¡± Sarah shifted slightly next to Amdirlain. Before she could say anything, Amdirlain got in first. ¡°I know who she was in her last life.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. I know you wouldn¡¯t hold that against a child no matter who she was,¡± stated Isa. ¡°I had to deal with jealousy from listening to her Soul,¡± cautioned Amdirlain, and Sarah rested a hand reassuringly on hers. Isa leaned forward. ¡°Given you didn¡¯t offer a name, I could hazard a guess. The question still remains: would you hold that against her when she can¡¯t remember it?¡± ¡°Not intentionally,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°But I know what will likely come next.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Isa innocently, exaggeratedly fluttering her eyelids. ¡°She¡¯ll want me to sing at her adult ceremony and awaken her memories,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°What if I awaken ones that let her know why I hated her for so long?¡± ¡°Maybe you need to trust yourself more,¡± offered Isa. Amdirlain ground her teeth and leaned forward, digging the nails of her free hand into her thigh. ¡°It wasn¡¯t just for one life that my Soul contains jealousy towards her, Isa.¡± ¡°Trust yourself,¡± replied Isa. ¡°Maybe instead of eating that pain, you need to learn to let it go, burn it for fuel or something. Cyrus is teaching you a Ki Blast technique to do just that, isn¡¯t he?¡± ¡°I likely have to get it higher before I start doing that, but fine, I¡¯ll teach her when she¡¯s older,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°The rest of you have to figure out someone to teach her singing fundamentals, and I want you to take more time to sing creation songs in the L¨®m? forest.¡± ¡°It¡¯s their homeland,¡± protested Isa. ¡°You¡¯re putting the later training on me, but I want something in return instead of more being added. Yes, it¡¯s the L¨®m? homeland, but it¡¯s shared by Anar children who don¡¯t hear people singing in the higher registers. While it¡¯s Rainith I know about now, there are bound to be others before long,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s what you mean by cut-off. I thought you meant socially,¡± groaned Isa. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll sing something every time I¡¯m there. Do you have anything you need lots of made?¡± ¡°They need more than that, Isa. I need you to go there regularly and sing so they know they¡¯re not defective,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°I can provide you a list so you can pick random items to create.¡± Isa sighed and nodded reluctantly. ¡°That might be the best way to stop me from getting bored.¡± ¡°Then you¡¯re going to get a very long list,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°How long of a list are you going to give me?¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be long enough that if you randomly sing a few items a day, they¡¯ll hear new songs for a few thousand years,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°AM!¡± squealed Isa. ¡°Don¡¯t Am me, Isa,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to handle educating them. Time to step up to the plate and do more than handle play time with the little kids. You need to give the older kids the best lucky break they¡¯ll ever have.¡± ¡°But!¡± ¡°No buts,¡± declared Amdirlain, leaning forward in her seat. ¡°I need you to handle this piece with everything else I have going on.¡± ¡°Or?¡± Or I¡¯ll ensure you get a Mantle involving Skill alone and remove Luck¡¯s influence from you. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Please, like you aren¡¯t going to help kids. There is no ¡®or¡¯. I need help with this issue as I don¡¯t have time, and missing out on hearing their side of True Song properly used isn¡¯t good for the children. I know you don''t want that to happen.¡± ¡°You felt you needed to be here,¡± chuffed Sarah. ¡°Maybe Luck wanted to see what Am would come up with.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± drawled Isa. Amdirlain put a chunk of songs for objects using Anar True Song into a memory crystal and tossed it gently to Isa, who caught it by reflex. ¡°Three and a quarter million songs,¡± protested Isa after she examined the crystal. ¡°I even numbered them for you to help with the random number generation,¡± noted Amdirlain, winking mischievously at Isa to soften the mood. ¡°But...¡± protested Isa. ¡°At least one object a day. At least,¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°And that¡¯s not performing a song once. I mean, perform at least one song enough that all the children can appreciate the music.¡± Isa frowned and tilted her head. ¡°You¡¯re putting me on permanent child-minding duty? They live throughout the forest on different family schedules. There isn¡¯t likely to be an opportunity for a significant portion of them to hear the songs in a few hours.¡± ¡°If you want to minimise the time, maybe you need to figure out a way,¡± rejoined Amdirlain. ¡°Care to make a wager?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°I can get my Perception to evolve before you make it a third of the way through that list,¡± said Amdirlain, raising her hand as Isa went to jump in. ¡°You can¡¯t just sing one of each song. You must listen to the children¡¯s melodies and ensure they can appreciate them.¡± Isa grinned. ¡°You can be Captain Oblivious. If you win the wager, what do you get?¡± ¡°You help the children learn True Song until there is a functional Anar Choir again,¡± pronounced Amdirlain. ¡°That is a very long-term project,¡± objected Isa. ¡°One that will take Luck and Skill,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°The key facets of your worship of Luck isn¡¯t pure Luck after all.¡± ¡°If I agree to that, you agree to what I win if I beat you to the finish line,¡± stated Isa. ¡°If I don¡¯t like it, I¡¯m just going to propose a different bet,¡± added Amdirlain. Isa smirked. ¡°You turn me back into an Anar.¡± Amdirlain spluttered. ¡°Why? How would I do that?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t think you could do it,¡± stated Isa. ¡°Given you turned a half-Succubus into a pure Fae, I¡¯d bet you could right now. Since this bet will probably take years, it would be a sure thing.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°There are lots of reasons, but as a Celestial, well, at times, I feel distanced from life,¡± sighed Isa. ¡°Then, on top of that, celestials are basically high servants for their ideals. I want to be more than a servant.¡± ¡°You could become a Deity,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Huh?¡± grunted Isa. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Have you never considered that?¡± Isa shuddered. ¡°No!¡± ¡°It would be safer than me changing your Celestial essence into an Anar,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°But you doing that is possible,¡± interjected Gilorn. ¡°Is there a song for that?¡± asked Amdirlain, looking at her sideways. Gilorn hummed. ¡°No, of course not. There were only eight million Anar, and they came from clean souls. However, I know several compositions that would support it, especially since her essence currently supports the ability to use True Song. If she didn¡¯t have that ability, it would be a non-starter unless you consider an Anar that couldn¡¯t use True Song to still be an Anar.¡± Like I¡¯m considering doing to those exiled L¨®m?? Isa motioned to Gilorn. ¡°See, I trust the expert in the house.¡± ¡°Would you do it, Gilorn?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It would be best if you did. You¡¯d better understand the parts of her essence that would need to come along,¡± rebuffed Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure you¡¯re strong enough to do it confidently.¡± Would Erwarth or the others want to be L¨®m? again? ¡°Did you ever figure out how you caused Erwarth to regain her capacity for True Song?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We only came up with non-reproducible theories,¡± said Isa. ¡°We tried with the others, but our purification songs didn¡¯t reinitialise their ability to hear True Song.¡± ¡°Any exploration of that might be a starting point for our other discussion,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°But I¡¯d remind you that neither Anar nor L¨®m? were supposed to worship a Deity.¡± ¡°Concepts are fine,¡± grumbled Isa. ¡°Erwarth doesn¡¯t serve a Concept, nor do the other former L¨®m? succubi who were changed into solars,¡± argued Gilorn. Amdirlain motioned for Gilorn to stop. ¡°Yet the Titan allowed, even facilitated, their transformation instead of reclaiming their souls to his forge.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve heard a lot, but I¡¯m sure they¡¯ve not talked about that recently,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They didn¡¯t have a peaceful conversation, and Erwarth realised how much danger they¡¯d been in after I told her the truth of myself.¡± Gilorn hummed thoughtfully. ¡°Since the Titan allowed it, who am I to question the situation?¡° Isa rose and slipped around the table to hug them before giving Amdirlain a wink. ¡°I¡¯ll go hassle Roher, and you better get busy pushing your Perception.¡± With that, she was gone, and Sarah started to laugh. Amdirlain heard her reappear near Ilya and stir her into motion. ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°I can think of many outrageous things Isa could have wagered instead. Also, despite being a Priestess of Luck, she is betting against you when hard work is involved.¡± ¡°Luck doesn¡¯t always favour her,¡± reminded Amdirlain. ¡°It uses her to seed the odds of events happening for others. It might have led her here while my attention was still focused on providing the most fortunate outcome for the kids.¡± ¡°True,¡± snorted Sarah, trying not to laugh. ¡°What¡¯s your intention about learning to use Ki?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Isa interrupted you, but you let it slide?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°No point snapping at her when I can hear the influence of Luck touching her,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Are you worried about me being tied to the Jade Court?¡± ¡°That is one element I¡¯m concerned about,¡± admitted Amdirlain, waving towards the training hall entry. ¡°I still know so little about them, despite their help. Cyrus used the name of the Kyton¡¯s Great Mother freely, but they didn¡¯t even know of her role in Hell.¡± ¡°It might not even matter if he¡¯d known. She is being true to the being she became,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°They all seem to treat their eastern demons carefully and work to hold them back from humanity, but they see even Hell as having a place in the cycle of life. There are some factors personal to me you¡¯ve likely not considered.¡± I should have trusted Sarah had reasons. Amdirlain relaxed. ¡°You were told what¡¯s required for you to become a Primordial and be able to evolve, and I thought I¡¯d see if I can do the same,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Would you lead me through your thought process?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The principal one is that the Shen are a type of Primordial since they¡¯re able to come to the Material Plane relatively freely,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°If I can walk this route to Immortality, I¡¯ll keep pursuing it until we¡¯re together on equal footing.¡± ¡°What did Kadaklan say?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I mean, Yngvarr had issues obtaining Immortal Spirit.¡± ¡°First off, Yngvarr¡¯s reason was to be with Alfarr, which caused them trouble. I want to be with you, but I also want to stand beside you through the strength I gain for myself, not merely through what you give me. Kadaklan said that a person¡¯s reasons for seeking immortality aren¡¯t important, rather if they can be true to themselves,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re many things, Amdirlain, but I will not take a path I think is wrong for me to be with you. I could have looked to become an Outsider and obtained Immortality that way, but I¡¯m not a bottom. To be together and not have it rub me raw in the long run, I need strength of my own to stand on.¡± ¡°They¡¯re restricted to the Jade Court¡¯s traditional lands, and those are all on one world,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Hence, I plan to expand my options to channel energies like you are,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Dragon vitality should combine well with Ki plus arcane energies, which I have so far tapped into using variations of Artificer. But on top of that, I thought I¡¯d double down on the arcane energies and become a Wizard. I¡¯ve gained psionics through both my species and my Shaper Class, along with my Prestige classes, but I¡¯ll take Psion to expand the scope of my abilities there instead of an evolved Shaper option. A focused combat Class to round things out and keep progressing in my ability to mess up foes physically.¡± ¡°You¡¯re broadening the foundation of your classes,¡± noted Amdirlain. Sarah nodded and winked. ¡°Indeed I am, not that my focus was too narrow before but I¡¯m adding classes that multiply my strength. My initial Prestige Class combined Fighter, Dominator, Artificer, and Hunter; those gave me a broad base covering combat, social, crafting and survival. The Combat, Psionic, and Artificer variants I took with my other Prestige Classes have potentially narrowed my foundations, so I want to widen them out again by going back to more fundamental options, except for Dragon Knight. I can see the need for at least an evolved combat class to smack my enemies¡¯ faces in.¡± ¡°A knight in shining scales,¡± quipped Amdirlain before giving the slightest of frowns. ¡°You don¡¯t have any affinities yet.¡± ¡°Do you think a lady I know might be able to help me with that?¡± smirked Sarah. ¡°Potentially, but it will cost you,¡± said Amdirlain, holding in her grin. ¡°Oh?¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°Klipyl advises people about developing intimacy, so we¡¯re going to her together,¡± said Amdirlain, tapping Sarah on the nose. ¡°Even if I¡¯m not brave enough to follow all of the advice she¡¯s likely to give.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°You don¡¯t believe in letting the grass grow under your feet, do you?¡± ¡°You know me better than that,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t fill your lunch break today because I¡¯ll send her a Message to talk to us then.¡± ¡°Do I get some time to relax with you now?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got until Kadaklan gets here,¡± replied Amdirlain. I need to open some gaps in my schedule. ¡°That sounds good,¡± Sarah sighed, wrapping both arms around her. ¡°Would you tell me what drew you to that Class?¡± asked Amdirlain. She relaxed against Sarah and kept an open mind as she listened. 417 - Understand Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Kadaklan¡¯s approach prompted Amdirlain to admit her dilemma. Though she looked forward to the morning session, she didn¡¯t want Sarah to stop holding her. It¡¯s not simply loneliness, is it? Sarah gently tapped Amdirlain¡¯s nose. ¡°What?¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°I can smell your doubts, and they¡¯re edged with a critical sharpness,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Are you enjoying the moment?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°There was still no need to tap my nose.¡± ¡°You had it wrinkled up. Relax for a bit, sweetie. Kadaklan will be here soon enough,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°You explained what you¡¯re looking to achieve with adding the Ki option to your enchanting, so I¡¯m very relaxed,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I was just thinking about how I need to expand my knowledge base outside True Song. I¡¯ve hoarded knowledge points so much I spend them only begrudgingly. Anyway, how do you know Kadaklan will be here soon? Are you listening to his mind?¡± ¡°More just a general Dragon location sense pinging his position,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Lair Sense,¡± grunted Amdirlain. ¡°Hopeless trying to ambush a Dragon at home.¡± ¡°Mountain mine,¡± grunted Sarah playfully. ¡°Ugh.¡± It feels good to be held by Sarah. Does it hurt to admit that? To enjoy the comfort instead of tearing myself apart? The acknowledgement allowed Amdirlain to relax back into Sarah¡¯s embrace, enjoying the comfort that enfolded her. She only reluctantly sat upright when Kadaklan landed on the platform. As he claimed the seat Isa had vacated, Sarah shifted to have one arm around Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°You two look cozy,¡± said Kadaklan. Relaxing in the seat, he ran his fingers across the braided leather trim along its arms. Clearing her throat, Amdirlain untangled herself, and Sarah chuffed in protest. ¡°I swear, cats and dragons have similarities,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°We need to be fed on time and provided scratching posts,¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°Good morning, Kadaklan. Thanks for helping Sarah,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah kissed her cheek, drawing a blush from Amdirlain. ¡°I take it all wasn¡¯t well earlier?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°How did you guess?¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Your sheepishness and the promptness of your thanks,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°It occurs when you believe you have something to make up for.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll admit I had concerns about why Sarah wanted the Class, but I now understand there is a purpose that I don¡¯t need to be guilty about,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll always be glad when someone helps Sarah safely achieve her goals.¡± ¡°You¡¯re both welcome,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°Even if Sarah didn¡¯t follow my advice.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Which was what?¡± ¡°He tried to talk me into different Tao Alchemist variants,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Some prepare potions to soak powers into items, but it''s too squishy for me.¡± Kadaklan put a hand to his chest and affected a dignified expression. ¡°It¡¯s a superior Class than scratching objects and impressing energy into them.¡± ¡°Let alone punching things?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Clearly!¡± sniffed Kadaklan. ¡°Talk to the hand,¡± said Amdirlain with mock haughtiness. Kadaklan snorted happily. ¡°Please, you knew what I would say before you even asked the question.¡± ¡°What¡¯s on the agenda for today?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll need to continue the same exercise from yesterday,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°Until you can get the sigil to expand to fill your torso. However, we¡¯re going to increase the difficulty. Sarith should be along with the others shortly.¡± ¡°Exactly how do you plan to accomplish that?¡± ¡°The same way Master Cyrus did, by ensuring you multitask with diverse activities,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°We¡¯re aware you¡¯ve got a lot of lessons to get through, so we¡¯re going to conduct them all simultaneously to free up the most time we can for you to work with.¡± ¡°Utilising a range of psionics along with Ki isn¡¯t exactly overly diverse,¡± critiqued Amdirlain. Kadaklan grinned. ¡°I¡¯m glad you think so, as I¡¯ve not gone over everything. Sarith, Nomein, Lezekus, and Gemiya will show you psionic techniques while you use Harmony to observe Dareios¡¯ use of Change Self. On top of that, you¡¯ll be casting spells, creating items, and trying to expand your sigil.¡± ¡°Okay, and as an encore, do you want me juggling a few hundred plates?¡± inserted Amdirlain. ¡°Or perhaps sing a few dozen orchestral pieces simultaneously?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll ask Nomein. The first might be a suitable exercise for Far Hand or another telekinetic technique,¡± grinned Kadaklan. ¡°Given all the songs you can manage at once, I¡¯d have thought it would be child¡¯s play.¡± Amdirlain regarded him sceptically. ¡°Isn¡¯t it?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°It is, and it isn¡¯t. Generally, when I¡¯m supporting the most songs, they¡¯re all facets of a whole. While the songs I know are easy to perform together in vast numbers, learning completely new things isn¡¯t quite the same,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Also, I like to focus my attention when I¡¯m learning, so we¡¯ll see how it goes.¡± ¡°Your sigil isn¡¯t something to learn. You need to understand it,¡± offered Kadaklan. Sarah patted her leg. ¡°You¡¯ll manage, and we¡¯ll keep reinforcing the lessons until you¡¯ve ironed out all the kinks in each technique. Should I assume I¡¯m included in this?¡± Amdirlain shot Sarah a pout and received a laugh from both. ¡°Oh, poor dear,¡± cooed Sarah. ¡°Despite your protests, we all know you¡¯ll handle our overworking you fine.¡± ¡°We hadn¡¯t included you in our plans, Sarah, because we knew you had your own students, and we weren¡¯t sure about your schedule,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°I only spoke to Sarith about it after you left.¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°Fair point, but though I have students coming by this morning, I can conduct my part of Am¡¯s lesson mentally, so nothing is stopping me from multitasking as well.¡± Kadaklan tilted his head and smiled slowly. ¡°Welcome to the fun.¡± ¡°Really?¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Do we have to let Gilorn be the only one to boss you around?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Plus, if we can compress our lessons into the mornings, that frees up half your afternoons, and we can teach you each day.¡± ¡°We continue this exercise across both morning sessions?¡± enquired Amdirlain. Kadaklan shook his head. ¡°No, we¡¯re compressing all six sessions into one. If we went across both sessions, it would give you too much time.¡± ¡®And here I was thinking about how to find time for us,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. Sarah responded with a mental snort. ¡®I didn¡¯t put them up to it.¡¯ Amdirlain hummed. ¡°Either fast-tracking my progress or burning time until we reassess.¡± ¡°They¡¯re looking to pseudo-hothouse you,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Well, I¡¯m not a child,¡± stated Amdirlain. Sarah pretended a lecherous smile and wiggled her eyebrows. ¡°I noticed.¡± ¡°Behave,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, a blush going to the tips of her ears. ¡°Nor are we trying to raise your intellectual level through intense study. We¡¯re trying to keep your mind challenged. Individually, none of us can keep up with you, so we¡¯re trying to combine lessons. The goal is to challenge you, which will free up your time,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Best ensure you don¡¯t pass out,¡± quipped Sarah. The four ladies appeared nearby, accompanied by Dareios, whose theme mingled acceptance and hesitation. They exchanged greetings before the group motioned to each other to pick seats. ¡°I hope we¡¯re not all overwhelming you, Dareios,¡± said Amdirlain as he moved to stand near the platform¡¯s edge to observe the group. Dareios shifted his weight between his feet. ¡°There is much the wellspring didn¡¯t prepare me for, but a big change in one¡¯s environment requires embracing change.¡± ¡°If you get overwhelmed at all, just let me or Sarah know, and we¡¯ll get you help with whatever you need,¡± Amdirlain reassured. ¡°You¡¯re doing me a favour, and I appreciate that help.¡± The tension shifted from Dareios¡¯ shoulder, and he inclined his head. ¡°Thank you, Am. Nomein told me to come to participate in your lesson.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve told on me,¡± grumbled Nomein. ¡°Was it really a secret?¡± asked Dareios. ¡°Not exactly,¡± Nomein said with a frown. ¡°Just how you said that sounds like I gave you an order. I mean, I said: ¡®Come along and help''. I didn¡¯t mean it as: ¡®You will do this and like it¡¯. I¡¯d intended it as a casual request because your participation would be helpful.¡± ¡°Perhaps it was my misunderstanding of your phrasing,¡± allowed Dareios. ¡°I¡¯ll look to learn more languages, besides draconic, instead of relying on native translation.¡± Nomein dramatically wiped her brow before she sat across the table beside Kadaklan. Once settled, she nodded at Amdirlain. ¡°Has Kadaklan gone over what we¡¯d like to try?¡± ¡°He has. Where did you want to try this out?¡± ¡°We can stay here, and all of us will manifest techniques behind the barrier. I¡¯m assuming it can block psionic techniques as well?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°I hope this isn¡¯t an unwelcome surprise,¡± offered Gemiya lightly. ¡°We¡¯ve had numerous discussions to find the best starting point to challenge you.¡± Sarith¡¯s slight smile carried a reassuring warmth. ¡°With your intelligence and Psi reserves, you have to admit it will be more of a matter of if, not when, for any technique you work on. Your prime challenge will be the right imagery to connect to it.¡± Lezekus leaned against a pillar near the staircase and nodded respectfully to Amdirlain. ¡°Any technique you learn will be used under more stress than we can imagine. We don¡¯t expect or want to approach that, this is to keep your mind busy, not approach battlefield levels. Okay?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°You all have a point. It¡¯s just that my preference for learning new things involves a more methodical approach. Gilorn¡¯s been teaching me in an overloaded style so I don¡¯t get in my way with past life memories.¡± Lezekus nodded. ¡°We¡¯ll keep an open mind and scale back if there are issues.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°And I¡¯ll let you know if I¡¯m uncomfortable.¡± ¡°We were discussing it because of the emotional days you¡¯ve had recently, and we wanted to give you more time,¡± advised Sarith. ¡°The exercises for these sessions will require you to listen to our public minds while we execute techniques. As we¡¯re doing that, you¡¯ll manifest the techniques you know against suitable targets. But we don¡¯t just want you listening with only Telepathy.¡± ¡°Your Resonance Power can let you hear the music of their execution, and Harmony should enlighten you about how they feel,¡± continued Gemiya. ¡°Consider it a holistic approach to training since you need to work on so much. We want to see if you can grow accustomed to utilising them all together.¡± ¡°What gave you this idea?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Anarch training involves weaving Mana and Psi energy together,¡± explained Lezekus. ¡°If you¡¯d been left alone another year, you would have had those lessons with us. You don¡¯t have two energy sources to tap into, you¡¯ve got four: True Song, Psionics, Mana, and Ki.¡± ¡°I would have put them in a different order,¡± snorted Kadaklan. ¡°That¡¯s because we each have biases,¡± teased Lezekus. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re getting off track. We think you¡¯ll find the greatest potential if you can weave multiple forces together to produce a seamless result. However, that will take getting used to working with them together and seeing how they supplement each other.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°True Song causes damage to your flesh, correct?¡± questioned Lezekus. ¡°Does it ever,¡± huffed Kadaklan. ¡°Yes, it does,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Critic.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen the mess you can make of yourself,¡± responded Kadaklan. ¡°The ladies have bolstered various Ki healing techniques with psionics, so we¡¯d like to explore that. Your spiritual net might alter its effectiveness, so there will be some trial and error.¡± ¡°More reverse engineering,¡± offered Lezekus. Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Psychometabolism techniques normally work best on Mortal flesh. However, advanced techniques allow practitioners to damage the material form of an Outsider. Once you¡¯ve learned those, your Resonance might allow you to determine how that damage is enacted. Then, we can reverse engineer the effect of the technique and develop new ones to hold Outsider flesh together instead,¡± clarified Lezekus. ¡°Like all things, it is a matter of an individual''s mental approach,¡± cautioned Gemiya. ¡°It took me longer to get the healing techniques to combine with Psi energy.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already used Harmony and Telepathy together when teaching affinities,¡± stated Sarith. ¡°So that proves that you can get a Ki-related Power to work alongside Mana and Psi.¡± ¡°So you think I need to see if I can also incorporate True Song?¡± Amdirlain asked. Sarith nodded sharply. ¡°We doubt that you¡¯ll gain anything directly into True Song. But you might well cause an evolution in your other skills and powers given your explanation that True Song is closer to the rules that govern the realm. Our minimum expectation is you¡¯ll tap into resources that will let you extend how much you can do with True Song by healing the damage it does.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯ve been focusing on your songs with Resonance. By taking this approach, you should be able to hear the inefficiencies in your other powers and skills.¡± ¡°Smooth the notes in it,¡± murmured Amdirlain, and she shot a sceptical look at Kadaklan. ¡°Not while cycling,¡± rebutted Kadaklan. ¡°Sarith was talking about when you¡¯re using, for example, Ki Blast or Ki Flight. When using the techniques you¡¯re studying, listen to the roughness and adjust your approach until the music smooths out.¡± Amdirlain grunted in understanding. ¡°Very eloquent,¡± heckled Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯m thinking it over,¡± retorted Amdirlain. ¡°I can see what you¡¯re suggesting. You think by trying all these together, I¡¯ll be so busy I''ll seek instinctive shortcuts?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± agreed Nomein. ¡°Let¡¯s give it a go,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°If it doesn¡¯t get a result in a week then we can go back to the drawing board.¡± Kadaklan grinned. ¡°If I were Isa, I¡¯d be willing to bet on it. What counts as making progress?¡± ¡°At least twenty levels between the abilities we¡¯re going to work on,¡± replied Amdirlain. Dareios raised his hand. ¡°Does that include Change Self?¡± ¡°If this helps me figure out that Power, I¡¯ll count it as worth twenty levels on its own,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work. Where do we start?¡± ¡°I recommend with singing,¡± instructed Sarith, and Gilorn hummed approvingly. ¡°Of course that gets your vote,¡± quipped Amdirlain, smiling at Gilorn. ¡°It¡¯s the strongest of your abilities, and you¡¯ll be in the frame of mind to listen,¡± defended Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯d suggest you create items amid your psionic manifestations.¡± ¡°Should I start a group gestalt, and you can link to everyone through me?¡± enquired Sarith. ¡±Or do you think it might require individual links?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go with the individual links. A group gestalt causes some filtering that might influence Harmony,¡± said Amdirlain. She linked to Sarah first but quickly included the other ladies before including Harmony in the connections. ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to need a lot of constructs.¡± Sarah lightly kissed Amdirlain¡¯s cheek before she rose. ¡°I¡¯ll prepare for my students. It won¡¯t be an issue if I¡¯m manifesting among the forges, will it?¡± Unconcerned, Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°Any recommendations?¡± ¡°Have fun. You can work on duplicating the metacreativity techniques after I¡¯m on the fifth iteration,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Once you¡¯ve got it consistently, I¡¯ll move on to the next pattern, but you should keep repeating each while practising the new one.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an interesting idea,¡± added Lezekus. ¡°I¡¯ll need to prepare more constructs for future sessions.¡± Figures made from psionic sensitive material appeared on the platform, and Lezekus sent them floating down towards the training area. ¡°Nomein has improved enough that she made a few training constructs for Psychometabolism techniques.¡± ¡°An improvement indeed,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Nomein fixed her with a haughty glare that didn¡¯t match the chortles in her theme. ¡°Slime master in truth and no longer just in jest.¡± Amdirlain grinned and waved her away. ¡°Your slime mastery infamy predates your newly gained control.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve had control over it for years,¡± protested Nomein lightly. ¡°Nah, it doesn¡¯t work that way, since the flow of time is always absolute. You dissolved the training constructs first, so your predominant title is slime master,¡± retorted Amdirlain playfully. Nomein let out an exaggerated sigh. ¡°Woe is me. I¡¯ll have to earn another title then to overshadow it, perhaps taskmaster.¡± ¡°I believe I¡¯ve already earned that title,¡± interjected Gilorn. ¡°Shall we begin? Amdirlain nodded and started to sing. As her second mithril construct stopped glowing, Nomein used a telekinetic technique to shift both constructs away from the observation platform. The air glowed as another construct came into being, and Sarith started presenting a shielding technique to defend her mind against Lezekus¡¯ attempts to access her inner thoughts. The demonstrations were in full swing between the five of them when Kadaklan signalled Dareios to begin alterations to his form. Already mentally linked to the others¡¯ thoughts, Amdirlain also touched Dareios¡¯ mind and, with Harmony, tried to understand how the Power worked within his flesh. Amid the demonstrations that caused the energy to ripple into existence between mind, flesh, and even dimensions with Gemiya¡¯s Psychoportation, Gilorn joined the others. Though Gilorn took a different approach, instead of teaching something new, her songs brought mammoth-sized constructs into existence and mirrored the music of the others¡¯ manifestations in unempowered songs. The music¡¯s purity danced across Amdirlain¡¯s skin and shivered pleasantly up her spine. It eased the strain of the sigil she¡¯d been trying to expand to sit beneath her skin. Among the techniques and music warping reality about her, Amdirlain caught a familiar sense of defiance, tripping every attempt to take in the shift of Dareios¡¯ flesh. Instead of being drowned by the activity about her, the mirroring of the music executed in dimensions beyond the physical allowed Amdirlain to catch the difference. The cornerstone of fear that undercut her ability to learn yet another Power to change her flesh. It ties back to the fear of becoming lost. Viper gaslit me about clinging to my old self, and I met her partway, which was a mistake. Is that fear of being lost what caused the spike of anxiety when I went to add the fundamentals of Protean back into myself, or did it compound an existing issue from a past life? ¡°Thank you, Dareios,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Have you learned Change Self, Am?¡± enquired Dareios, hesitating between transformations. ¡°No, but I¡¯m starting to understand why I¡¯m having trouble,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve not yet figured out how to get past it. Would you keep up the shifting?¡± The exercises now might provide the key once I get past my emotional baggage. Dareios nodded and resumed without asking for an explanation. [Crafting Summary (Category: Constructs) Mithril-composite Construct x10,872 Total Experience gained: 1,087,200,000 Fallen: +1,087,200,000 Perception [S] (169->170) Psychometabolism [Ad] (21->23) Telekinesis [S] (15->16)] Despite all the extra activity involved, I managed the same number of constructs in the session. Did I subconsciously pace myself to get that result? Perception also went up. Was that from picking up on all the details in the mental techniques? The problem is that with so much going on, it¡¯s hard to isolate what helped me improve. When the chimes rang to end the session, Kadaklan turned to Amdirlain. ¡°How was it going?¡± Amdirlain stood with a grunt. ¡°My sigil is being stubborn.¡± ¡°I believe you have a saying about pots that applies,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°You¡¯re still trying to force it rather than understand it. Expanding the sigil within yourself isn¡¯t a matter of becoming. It¡¯s a matter of being.¡± ¡°That¡¯s just it. I can¡¯t get it to expand in a balanced fashion as the flames and the feathers make its expansion uneven,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not a matter of improving what you¡¯re doing but doing what you¡¯re not,¡± Kadaklan responded, patting her shoulder reassuringly before heading for the door. ¡°Which is?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve read the manual, and it explains the end goal but not the process.¡± Kadaklan laughed. ¡°Then you didn¡¯t understand the manual. You¡¯ll need to work out what you missed for yourself. After all, a map is not the journey.¡± Sarah rejoined Amdirlain at the table after her students had departed for lunch. ¡°No joy?¡± ¡°A bunch of experience and increases, along with finding out why Change Self is a troll,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°It ties back to my fear of being lost and overwhelmed, and part of it is my history of compromising with Viper about the form I used. It didn¡¯t block my use of powers I already had, but Change Self is a simple version of the change she was trying to provoke me to make. Oddly enough, Phoenix¡¯s Rapture was a step away from being lost.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t take on a Demon¡¯s form any longer. It brought me back to being only able to take on the form of living creatures,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That might have subconsciously tipped the balance between your selection of the powers,¡± proposed Sarah. Amdirlain¡¯s mouth twisted bitterly. ¡°True. I¡¯ll have to work on that fear and better understand the sigil.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus said the sigil represents the core of the person¡¯s nature,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Understanding yourself better might help.¡± ¡°At my core, I¡¯m a bird on fire,¡± huffed Amdirlain. Sarah rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re trying to recreate yourself from the flames of the curse, but you keep tossing yourself back into the fires of battle.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not done a lot of fighting lately,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Powerful True Song rips your flesh apart while you¡¯re creating things,¡± stated Sarah, ¡°Though that makes the risk clear, even smaller songs strain your physical form with the energy traversing your spiritual net. I believe holding yourself together against an internal assault is the ultimate battlefield.¡± Sarah had to do that as Sidero. ¡°I¡¯m a paradox,¡± muttered Amdirlain. The wrongness of that statement twinged inside her, and Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°No, that¡¯s not it.¡± ¡°Were you looking at the Phoenix symbolism?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°While I¡¯m glad you realise you¡¯re not a paradox, why was that your immediate thought?¡± ¡°Burning something alive so it can be reborn seems a little extreme,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°And not exactly the most logical of approaches.¡± ¡°Falling into a logic trap is likely where you¡¯re going wrong with that,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Kadaklan would say something about that, I¡¯m sure.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Kadaklan already told me the dangers of logic. It allows one to justify instead of understand.¡± ¡°But to point out some logic flaws: firstly, creation through destruction isn¡¯t a paradox as destruction fuels creation all the time,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Second, the symbolism of flames doesn¡¯t even have to be one of destruction. Every Smith will tell you of the power of flames. Flames are the foundation of metalworking, allowing you to separate materials that melt at different temperatures.¡± ¡°Kadaklan said control over the sigil was a matter of being,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder if it applies in other areas. Dareios, would you help me further, or do you have commitments elsewhere?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve kept my schedule clear to assist you, Am,¡± replied Dareios. I¡¯m glad I¡¯m not having to argue about using a familiar name. ¡°With this next exercise, rather than randomly changing, I¡¯d like you to shift back and forth between two shapes regularly,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s go down to the ground floor, where I¡¯ll have more space to move.¡± ¡°Dancing to the music?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Would you care to dance with me?¡± Sarah snorted. ¡°I have two left feet compared to you. I¡¯ll likely sit and watch.¡± ¡°Oh, spoilsport,¡± sniffed Amdirlain. ¡°I can project the basic beat to you.¡± With a groan, Sarah got to her feet. ¡°You sound like such an old lady,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Who told Nomein that the flow of time was absolute?¡± questioned Sarah. A mischievous smile flitted across Amdirlain¡¯s lips. ¡°Who me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already on my feet,¡± stated Sarah, holding her hand out to Amdirlain. The smile returned and lit up Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. She flowed to her feet and teleported them to the ground floor. As Dareios started to shift his appearance between a Wood Elf and a sharp-featured Persian man similar to Farhad, Gilorn joined them at ground level. Before Amdirlain could provide Sarah with a mental link, Gilorn started playing a simplified version of Change Self¡¯s melody. ¡°You could perform a stage piece that critics would call too suggestive to that,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Did you think my acts on Qil Tris were too suggestive?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she started them moving in a waltz she¡¯d learnt long ago. Amdirlain gently connected to Sarah¡¯s public mind and shared what she could of the music and dance. ¡°You didn¡¯t ask my view of them before,¡± noted Sarah as she let Amdirlain lead her through the steps. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I was sort of worried about what you¡¯d say,¡± replied Amdirlain. With Amdirlain¡¯s careful physical and mental lead, Sarah relaxed in her arms and smiled. ¡°I enjoyed your performances. You always looked like you were having fun, even while trying to damper Femme Fatale. The light-hearted enjoyment was part of what you needed to force the evolution, but it was still nice to see.¡± ¡°I miss Qil Tris and our friends there,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Torm used to say that holding relationships with mortals was hard, and Ori¡¯s memories show how isolating the years can be.¡± ¡°I suggest you speak to my mother,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°She might change her name to avoid questions, but she¡¯s not isolated.¡± ¡°She¡¯s not?¡± questioned Amdirlain sceptically. ¡°Besides her and the Fallen, I didn¡¯t hear anyone through the Gate you opened.¡± Sarah squeezed her reassuringly. ¡°If she were isolated, the news of my arrival would have never reached her.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± Amdirlain conceded. With Gilorn¡¯s rendition of the music flowing through Dareios quickening, Amdirlain picked up the pace, spinning them about in a dance from an old memory, her feet moving flawlessly as she guided Sarah. ¡°Though you¡¯re not wrong about the location itself,¡± continued Sarah. ¡°It was chosen precisely to avoid anyone disturbing her while she treated the Fallen. It¡¯s not where she normally resides, but a remote spot for experimentation. The range of her Telepathy makes keeping in touch with people she knows easy, since all gem dragons are psionic.¡± Amdirlain grunted, ¡°Getting introduced to someone new is a matter of the new person being drawn into a mental link by someone else?¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°All the diamond dragons in Mechanus know her, or know someone who does. They talked about the shrinking degrees of separation with the internet, but when someone is a thought away, it¡¯s simple for news to spread.¡± ¡°Did you make a splash?¡± asked Amdirlain, halting awkwardly. ¡°The first Dragon Torm found to speak to immediately sought advice,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°They have an orderly hierarchy, and Aitherlar soon heard about me, came to investigate, and took me under her wing.¡± ¡°Have you been waiting to use that line?¡± snorted Amdirlain. Sarah smiled smugly. ¡°Today¡¯s a good day. For so many years, I never expected you to dance with me. At least not romantically.¡± ¡°We should do things together we both enjoy,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Why were we dancing to the tempo provided by Change Self?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m trying to learn not to fear it. Viper always tried to get me to change my flesh and seeded a fear that I think is linked to some of Ori¡¯s old ones. So I figured associating it with something pleasant would help.¡± ¡°Thanks, Dareios. I owe you for your patience,¡± called Sarah, and she tucked a loose strand of Amdirlain¡¯s hair behind her ear. ¡°In whatever way I might help Am,¡± replied Dareios modestly. ¡°We have that in common,¡± said Sarah, and she smiled warmly at Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we dance more?¡± Amdirlain resumed dancing and held Sarah close. 418 - I got you Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain danced close to Sarah for over an hour, relaxing in her arms. Though the style had shifted repeatedly, Amdirlain had controlled her nervousness at choosing dances that let them hold each other. Sarah¡¯s complex themes gained sweeping energy, and Amdirlain delighted in the reaction dancing stirred. When Sarah moved to steal a kiss, Amdirlain didn¡¯t pull away. She said my kisses were a starting point. When Sarah¡¯s warm lips brushed against hers briefly, pleasure and anxiety tingled through Amdirlain. Butterflies kicked up a frenzy in her stomach, and her face flushed deeply in the short time the gentle kiss lasted. ¡°You were enjoying the dancing, I take it,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°Did I get brownie points?¡± ¡°Yes, and you were being romantic, even if I never expected to enjoy letting someone lead me,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You got half your morning freed up and spent a chunk of it dancing with me. Lots of points scored.¡± ¡°Will I get in trouble if I admit to multitasking?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah hummed. ¡°That depends on what multitasking you were doing. I could feel a lot through the mental link you maintained.¡± ¡°Mostly using Harmony on Dareios¡¯ Change Self,¡± admitted Amdirlain. The soft brush of warm lips stole Amdirlain¡¯s subsequent admission. ¡°That was the purpose of the exercise: to relax and feel the Power.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to be open,¡± protested Amdirlain. Sarah smiled. ¡°Was there anything I couldn¡¯t feel from your link?¡± ¡°No, but I thought some of it might mingle unintelligibly,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I could hear you absorbing many songs,¡± said Sarah. ¡°A background of noise buzzing in your thoughts. What was most of your active attention on?¡± ¡°You, and not messing up dancing with you,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah glanced at Dareios and Gilorn. ¡°Would you two give us some privacy, please?¡± Gilorn disappeared, and Dareios followed her lead, though Amdirlain heard him reappear near Kadaklan¡¯s manor. He¡¯s scored a mentor already. As Amdirlain noted Dareios¡¯ first step towards the front door, Sarah cradled Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°I love you, and I know your brain will never be one hundred per cent on me alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not something to worry about, as sealing other songs off puts you in danger,¡± replied Sarah, caressing Amdirlain¡¯s face with her fingertips. ¡°And that is the last thing I want. The numbers in your profile are so anticlimactic when you can follow the chemical reactions in plants and individual blades of grass all across the mountain. I felt how much of your focus was listening to all the music from me. You¡¯ve got a perfect memory, so why were you so intent on memorising my song?¡± ¡°I was trying to drown other fears,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah cupped her face. ¡°Are you going to run off if I kiss you the way I want to kiss you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if that would provoke more butterflies or quieten them,¡± admitted Amdirlain, licking her lips nervously. ¡°More butterflies?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°Not sharing that through the link.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to contain my fear of messing up,¡± Amdirlain replied nervously. ¡°Self-doubt is a plague, but I thoroughly enjoyed our kiss.¡± ¡°How much?¡± breathed Sarah, leaning in close. You¡¯re such a failure as a romantic, Amdirlain. Amdirlain bit her lip. ¡°It made my world seem better and swallowed my fears.¡± ¡°Anything you need to do to overcome fear is fine with me,¡± said Sarah, now close enough to touch noses in a light Eskimo kiss. Their proximity let the warmth of Sarah¡¯s breath spill a sweet aroma into Amdirlain¡¯s nostrils. Sarah¡¯s theme flared with a bright glee that gave a moment¡¯s warning before she gently claimed Amdirlain¡¯s lips. The tender kiss became increasingly fervent, and Amdirlain sighed into Sarah¡¯s mouth as hands traced along her sides and came to rest on her hips. With slow swaying dance steps, Sarah guided them towards the platforms until Amdirlain¡¯s back pressed against a pillar. With her pinned there, Sarah¡¯s hands lifted to cling to Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders as their kissing quickened. Amdirlain¡¯s focus locked onto Sarah¡¯s heartbeat as it gained a fevered tempo. A soft rumble echoed in Sarah¡¯s throat, and she slipped away from Amdirlain¡¯s lips only to bestow more hungry kisses tracing down her neck. The storm of butterflies rampaged to the beat of Sarah¡¯s theme, filling her mind. Swept up in its urgency, Amdirlain pressed her body closer, enjoying the heady scent and quivering tempo that rang through both of them. As Sarah¡¯s heated kisses lingered along the side of Amdirlain¡¯s neck, she tried to arch back to allow Sarah better access, only to be restrained by the pillar, and a desperate groan escaped. As she tried to get into a better position, her fingers dug into Sarah¡¯s back, bringing forth a pleased chuff. Sarah¡¯s soft exhalations sent a flush across Amdirlain¡¯s form, teasingly moving her mouth along a hairbreadth from contact. The occasional contact drew more groans from Amdirlain, and her fingers worked along Sarah¡¯s back. With Amdirlain¡¯s kneading fingers egging her on, Sarah alternated between devouring kisses and tracing the muscles along Amdirlain¡¯s throat with delicate flitting licks that sent flames of desire to burn restraint away. When Sarah finally eased off, Amdirlain was wide-eyed. A frustrated passion thrummed through her flesh, aware that she¡¯d looped a leg around Sarah¡¯s hips at some point. Did I mess that up? Clumsy. She really likes my neck. Dragon instincts? ¡®That wasn¡¯t clumsy,¡¯ projected Sarah. ''And yes, I enjoyed your reaction as well. You are deliciously flexible.'' Amdirlain coughed sheepishly. ¡°You weren¡¯t meant to hear that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take your lower guard as a compliment,¡± Sarah huskily replied. ¡°Sorry.¡± Sarah put a finger to her lips. ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to be sorry for, my love. Any apologies to be made should be mine. As I said, I let you set the pace. I¡¯ve been trying to behave, but after that dancing, I¡¯ll need to cool my blood if we¡¯re still taking our time.¡± ¡°Was it just the dancing that pressed your buttons that much?¡± questioned Amdirlain sheepishly. ¡°I¡¯ve certainly no complaints about your dancing or openness to those kisses, my love,¡± Sarah breathed warmly. ¡°Dancing with you felt like a mating flight.¡± Is she wanting to ensure I believe it? I told her I wanted to take it slow and didn¡¯t consider why she was so happy to be dancing. The apology on her lips prompted Amdirlain to bite the inside of her mouth. ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to do that.¡± Our souls had been linked for so long. How much influence does that have? ¡°Falling in love with you was no accident and involved no coercion,¡± Sarah said reassuringly, her gaze still locked on Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°You could hear me. Why second-guess yourself?¡± ¡°I felt badly out of practice and clumsy,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°We can learn what you like together. Did you enjoy yourself?¡± purred Sarah. Her blush returned with a vengeance, and Sarah¡¯s gaze fixed on her lips. ¡°Did you prefer me kissing you or teasing along your throat?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not choosing,¡± coughed Amdirlain. ¡°None of my prior experience got that steamy. Well, I thought it had been steamy, but I was so very wrong.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to do something about that then,¡± Sarah said with a smug smile. ¡°Perhaps we should include a spot in your schedule for kissing practice.¡± ¡°Yeah, well, I won¡¯t object to that,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°This gives me nervous butterflies.¡± ¡°Are you having second thoughts now?¡± asked Sarah, caressing her face. ¡°No,¡± Amdirlain said, waving her hands helplessly. ¡°It¡¯s just I feel so clumsy and awkward.¡± Sarah smiled, and her gaze blazed like a furnace. ¡°Maybe we won¡¯t need Kli¡¯s help after all, just time to get comfortable.¡± ¡°She might have sensible suggestions to progress things and avoid mishaps,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s got experience in that regard and might have good suggestions.¡± Gosh, I¡¯m just repeating myself endlessly. Holy heck! I can face demons, and Eldritch beings yet stumble with simple communication now?! ¡°True. Kli has had a lot of success in guiding couples,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Originally, I¡¯d more than partly meant my suggestion to her as a joke. Who¡¯d have guessed that a Succubus would handle couples counselling so well?¡± ¡°Serendipity,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah snorted loudly and wrapped her arms around Amdirlain again. ¡°We could go upstairs and just hug. That¡¯ll let you cool off as well.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s do that,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s the bet she suggests something involving nudity?¡± quipped Sarah; despite her light-hearted tone, the heat in her gaze was clear. I¡¯m not sure Sarah wants to cool off, but I need to soak my mech¡¯s heat vents. ¡°I think we¡¯ll tone down whatever she comes up with,¡± mumbled Amdirlain, feeling her flush return. Will something happen to disturb things, or will we get the rest of this session to ourselves? When they ventured upstairs, they relaxed into each other¡¯s embrace. The midday chimes were ringing when Klipyl entered the training hall, and a mental hail from Sarah signalled their location. Klipyl called out as she strode towards them along the viewing platform, waving happily. ¡°Hey. I got your message, sis you wanted to speak?¡± ¡°I asked you here to speak with both of us,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Klipyl glanced between them in surprise. ¡°Ahh, why? I thought you¡¯d made up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting used to past life baggage,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°My gender preferences in a partner didn¡¯t involve females. She gives me steamy kisses but part of my brain still tries to skip sidewards.¡± ¡°Well, in that case,¡± Klipyl looked at Sarah. ¡°Do you have issues with picking a male form?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not fair to Sarah. I can hear her Soul and love. Why should I ask her to change for my convenience?¡± Amdirlain objected. ¡°Because you¡¯re still getting used to each other and learning if you¡¯re compatible. You might find she does nothing for you in bed,¡± replied Klipyl. Amdirlain went red. ¡°Or she might have already pressed your buttons, and that¡¯s a pointless concern,¡± continued Klipyl, ¡°Anyway, most species don¡¯t have the option of their partner changing their appearance, but since you have that advantage, why not appear as you each prefer? Why make things more difficult for you if you¡¯re physically attracted to a different form? I mean, it¡¯s just a Draconic Shroud, right? Shindraithra can look however she wants.¡± Why is Klipyl using Sarah¡¯s draconic name as well? ¡°Sarith said something similar,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°She said I was making things hard on myself,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But it¡¯s not about just Sarah¡¯s appearance.¡± ¡°Do tell,¡± prompted Klipyl. ¡°You know your choice of name is also making things harder. Try using a Dragon name at times to shake things loose.¡± Okay, she¡¯s trying to shift my outlook. Was Bahamut doing the same thing or just because he knew Sarah¡¯s original life? ¡°If we took that route, I would feel shallow. It would say that I can¡¯t accept someone¡¯s love because of how it¡¯s wrapped up,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°A person is more than just their skin, gender, or species.¡± ¡°Okay, I can accept that is your feeling on the subject, and there isn¡¯t any point in avoiding one difficulty and introducing guilt instead,¡± Klipyl waved towards an upper platform. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go up further? There is less chance of anyone bothering you, and we¡¯ll need a padded table, some towels, and privacy.¡± ¡°What are you up to?¡± questioned Sarah. ¡°No, it¡¯s what you two will get up to, not me,¡± Klipyl replied before giving Amdirlain an exaggerated wink. ¡°Would you prefer first to be the toucher or the touched?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°I was just after a suggestion, a course of action to pursue later.¡± Klipyl gave a sulky pout before exhaling sharply, tossing her fringe about. ¡°Fine. Massages. Controlled touch is a powerful tool when trying to relax about another person¡¯s body. The rules are simple: back massage only¡ªwarmed scented oils are nice¡ªand stick between shoulders and hips, no straying further to avoid souring things by moving too early. I¡¯d suggest you learn to relax with each other for at least a few weeks. Honestly, you could go through this for a century or two. Anyway, take turns bringing pleasure to the other person with a massage. Even without Mortal muscle tension, someone caressing your skin feels so yummy. The thought of it alone gives me good shivers.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a starting point?¡± Sarah asked, smiling at Amdirlain. ¡°We could do the massaging with clothing on to help you relax.¡± ¡°It¡¯s beyond the normal starting point I give people,¡± admitted Klipyl. ¡°Some of what I normally suggest you already seem to do, so we¡¯re going further than I normally start with an unfamiliar couple.¡± ¡°What do you normally get them to start on?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got enough issues. Try slowing things down a bit.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Hugs, telling the other person something you appreciate about them each day, and tell yourself something positive each day.¡± ¡°Why that last one?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°I thought that would be obvious. If you¡¯re angry with yourself about things in your life, you¡¯re less open to hearing good things from others. That can range from just turning a deaf ear to your state of mind, being paranoid and believing the other person is just trying to butter you up for something they want. Most angry people are paranoid and closed-minded. By being positive about yourself first, you react to others saying positive things with less suspicion.¡± ¡°How did you learn that?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Pretty sure it wasn¡¯t something I was in a state to tell you.¡± ¡°By listening to people¡¯s minds,¡± admitted Klipyl. ¡°Someone happy is more open to hearing positive things from others. Their minds react differently when hearing compliments. If you tell a person in pain they did a good job, it might soften their mood somewhat, but being in less pain is still pain. Giving someone who is mellow and relaxed a genuine compliment can turn their relaxed state into a happy one. Not that all people react to words, but lots do.¡± ¡°What do you normally suggest to someone to get themselves into a receptive mood for compliments?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Regularly tell yourself something good about yourself or read a positive note,¡± instructed Klipyl. ¡°Have you been sharing tips with Sarith?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ve spoken, but no tip sharing.¡± Do I ask her what Sarith meant when she threatened Kadaklan with setting Klipyl on him? ¡°I¡¯m fine with you rubbing my back, clothing or not,¡± said Sarah, her lips curled in a saucy, inviting smile. Amdirlain felt the heat suddenly radiate from her skin in a full-body flush. ¡°So, bare skin?¡± purred Sarah. ¡°Clothing,¡± yelped Amdirlain. ¡°Your kiss fried my brain earlier. I¡¯m presently overloaded on physical touch.¡± Klipyl laughed happily and leaned forward to pat their knees. ¡°I love you both, and I¡¯m so glad for you. Remember, nothing worth doing is easy. While I¡¯m all for you two starting massages immediately, it¡¯s always your choice what to make of it and when you use it.¡± ¡°Up to you, my love,¡± said Sarah casually. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure your blood needs to cool more,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I know mine does.¡± ¡°Ohhh!¡± cooed Klipyl, interlocking her fingers in front of her stomach. She pivoted back and forth, directing a knowing look Amdirlain¡¯s way. ¡°To know enough to give you the best advice, I will need details.¡± ¡°No,¡± huffed Amdirlain sternly. ¡°That¡¯s not fair,¡± protested Klipyl playfully. ¡°I¡¯ll happily give you blow-by-blow details anytime you want.¡± I hear too much as it is. ¡°How are you finding learning to smith?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl grumbled momentarily about the change in subject before she gave a bright grin. ¡°Another hobby that involves pounding, what¡¯s not to love?¡± As Amdirlain groaned, Klipyl laughed and wiggled happily about on her chair. A Dragon Gate formed at the mountain''s base and hummed with the same strange pitch that Amdirlain had previously heard. The man who stepped across its threshold seemed to carry part of its energy with him in a wooden box in his hands. Amdirlain examined the elaborately carved box he¡¯d brought and delved inside its padded interior to take in the smaller Ki-infused jade container. The white jade was a fist-sized sphere with salmon swimming across its surface, and inside it was an orb of glass and steel that spun in its centre. It¡¯s a strange nested gyro sphere. Each part is decorative in its own right. The man looked up towards the mountain¡¯s height before he lifted into the air and started towards Master Cyrus¡¯ manor. Behind him, the Dragon Gate closed, and its disruption to the Outlands¡¯ theme vanished. Amdirlain wasn¡¯t surprised when, shortly after he arrived at the Manor, Cyrus sent a Message advising her of the need to postpone their afternoon session. Though the vague wording stirred Amdirlain¡¯s curiosity, she didn¡¯t eavesdrop on Cyrus and his guest. ? ? ? ? ? ? I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t be up to using some of that advice anytime soon. ¡°Do you think we should be here when the dragons arrive?¡± asked Amdirlain, looking to change the subject after Klipyl¡¯s departure. ¡°Their arrangement is with Livia,¡± said Sarah, wrinkling her nose in contemplation. ¡°It might be better if we¡¯re not. If you¡¯re about, then some dragons might take you as the power behind the throne, so to speak, given your guest status here. At a minimum, I¡¯d suggest not to be part of greeting them, though you might want to let Livia know you¡¯ll be away. Don¡¯t you have an afternoon lesson?¡± ¡°Cyrus has a guest,¡± advised Amdirlain absently. ¡°Your brain is jumping about,¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°Does Klipyl¡¯s recommendations have it doing a soft restart?¡± ¡°Fuck yes, after suggestion four, I felt like a living blush,¡± Amdirlain clamped a hand over Sarah¡¯s mouth as she howled with laughter. ¡°She¡¯s a brat, years of singing innuendos, and I was dying.¡± Sarah got herself under control, but her eyes still twinkled with mischief. ¡°Okay, brain reset for you. Pick a random item from your to-do list.¡± Amdirlain picked one with a sharp exhale, and her focus pushed the embarrassment away. ¡°Gilorn wanted to experience a Planar Seed being created, and if I give myself more time, it¡¯ll be easier to smooth the music.¡± ¡°How badly did you hurt yourself last time?¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°Let¡¯s just say it was dramatic.¡± ¡°Then please don¡¯t rush,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°I noticed you didn¡¯t say don¡¯t do it,¡± observed Amdirlain. Sarah caressed her face and tucked a stray hair behind Amdirlain¡¯s ear. ¡°You¡¯re the one deciding what you need to do. Should I come along or leave you in Gilorn¡¯s care?" ¡°We¡¯ll be floating between planes in the chaos streams,¡± advised Amdirlain. The gagging sound Sarah gave in response drew a smile from Amdirlain. ¡°Should I take that as a no?¡± ¡°I take it that I¡¯ll see you in the morning?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t need that much time, but it depends on how much I learn in the process,¡± replied Amdirlain. Dispatching a Message to Gilorn, she provided her with the music of a Demi-Plane. ¡°I¡¯ve my own studies and students to deal with this afternoon,¡± advised Sarah, and she lightly kissed Amdirlain farewell. Amdirlain coughed and playfully fanned herself when Sarah let her go. ¡°Be back soon,¡± said Amdirlain, and she vanished from the hall. While she waited in the Demi-Plane, she expanded its boundary, using the effort as a warm-up exercise. She diligently took in the changing theme, intending to grow it slightly larger than Earth-sized. Gilorn appeared hovering nearby when the expansion had only reached the two-thirds mark, but she didn¡¯t speak until Amdirlain stopped expanding the Demi-Plane. ¡°Are you only creating the one Planar Seed?¡± asked Gilorn. Amdirlain regarded Gilorn with concern. ¡°I¡¯m not planning to create planar seeds continually. If I didn¡¯t have a long-term purpose for the watery Plane we discussed, I wouldn¡¯t create it.¡± ¡°If I have other species that need places to live in the heavens?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°What species did you have concerns about?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The souls going to the heavens can adapt somewhat to the environment. The energy of the heavens supports their needs.¡± ¡°There are other species besides aquatic ones that could do with places that allow them to move about as they once did, not just exist,¡± clarified Gilorn. ¡°Do you have a specific species in mind?¡± repeated Amdirlain. ¡°There might be,¡± hedged Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ll admit I hope this won¡¯t be the last time I hear the creation of a Plane.¡± She does love creating things. Did Ori instil that in Gilorn deliberately? ¡°I¡¯ll let you know if I have reason to create another,¡± reassured Amdirlain, and she opened a Gate into the Chaos stream. Gilorn set protections about herself before following Amdirlain through the Gate. ¡°I¡¯ll warn you in advance the size isn¡¯t close to the efficiency of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s efforts. Her planar seeds were smaller than the tip of my little finger." ¡°She could do many things. Even now, some I¡¯ve no idea how she managed,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°If I compare all the time she spent training me to what she could do alone, I didn¡¯t help her create enough to repay the effort. While I was off listening to the music yesterday, I came to a conclusion that saddens me. Would you give me your perspective?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll listen, but I¡¯ve got so much baggage that I might not give the best insights,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s alright,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°I would appreciate it if you would tell me what you think of my conclusion.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I think I was merely a part of a safety net she established for the realm,¡± stated Gilorn. ¡°She trained me so that she could allow herself to die without guilt. For billions of years while I slumbered, she readied herself to die, where if I¡¯d been awake, I might have stopped her from being so lonely.¡± There are so many people damaged by the flow-on effects of despair. ¡°Oh, Gilorn, that is not on you at all,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°While I can understand your feelings, Orh¨ºthurin was broken long before you.¡± ¡°Then why are the mistakes of her past something you¡¯re focused on fixing?¡± questioned Gilorn abruptly. Her tight tone drew a frown from Amdirlain. ¡°What would you suggest as an alternative?¡± ¡°Go back to the plinth. Your species blocked your Realm Step Power. Get rid of the curse so you can leave,¡± said Gilorn. I never told her that, and few know. I¡¯ve got enough of my own issues without other people pissing in the pool. Amdirlain¡¯s nostrils flared, and her hands balled into fists. ¡°Did someone speak to you while you were off listening to your creations?¡± Gilorn chimed in frustration. ¡°Why do you insist you need to stay?¡± ¡°Avoiding the question is a yes. I stay because I decided I would,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I will not abandon people I can help, and I will not abandon my family and those they care about. You don¡¯t have to tell me who you spoke to, but stop being the messenger for them. You¡¯re welcome to give me facts and details, but I¡¯ll make my own decisions.¡± ¡°Until you put yourself into a position where the choices are taken from you,¡± corrected Gilorn. ¡°Gilorn, please set this aside and stick to teaching me True Song,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Whoever decided to pluck your strings about this has given you some bad advice.¡± ¡°Isa is a puppet of Luck when it holds onto her oaths of service. Will you make yourself a puppet?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°What Concept will you serve unknowingly and lose your will to?¡± Sudden understanding erased Amdirlain¡¯s frown. ¡°Thank you for your concern, Gilorn. I''m sorry someone tried to strike through you.¡± ¡°You should leave before that happens,¡± insisted Gilorn, her voice tight with worry. ¡°Please leave as soon as you can.¡± Amdirlain glided to Gilorn and gently rested a hand against her strings. ¡°Gilorn, would you leave?¡± ¡°No,¡± cried Gilorn in a sharp run of notes that scraped painfully. ¡°But you should get yourself safe.¡± They did a number on her. ¡°What did they say to you?¡± ¡°Many things, and they showed me more¡ªthat you¡¯ve more enemies than you know, and you¡¯re blind to danger,¡± wailed Gilorn, the stars in her frame blazed and shifted frantically. ¡°Even if you break through, you¡¯ll always be drawn to conflict, and with how much you insist on punching up, something will crush you one day.¡± ¡°You and Orh¨ºthurin spent time creating many things,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Did you spend much time around other beings?¡± ¡°Some.¡± The answer had Amdirlain suppressing a smile that wiped away her annoyance. ¡°Gilorn, even if I could go somewhere else, I wouldn¡¯t stop being that person, except I¡¯d be that person marred by knowing I¡¯d run out on people,¡± replied Amdirlain softly. ¡°No matter what I do, I want to be able to look at myself in a mirror and respect the person I see. Would you want to stop creating?¡± ¡°You can create other places, and you¡¯re in danger here. Other realms don¡¯t have those with historical grudges against you,¡± insisted Gilorn. That¡¯s not entirely true, as Ori certainly made at least some enemies. What about those whose prisoners she stole or wherever the devils came from? Alright, let¡¯s deal with this head-on. There are very few beings it might have been. ¡°Gilorn, have you considered whoever you spoke to doesn¡¯t have my best interests at heart?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Even if it was one of the aspects, it doesn¡¯t mean they want what I want. They¡¯ve motives of their own. I told Nicholaus I¡¯m not his daughter, so perhaps whatever friendship they had for Ori, they now consider it void. Why would they have loyalty to a stranger when they¡¯ve powers of their own to which they¡¯re merely conduits of access?¡± ¡°They spoke of Ori respectfully. I hadn¡¯t considered that they wouldn¡¯t treat you with the same care,¡± admitted Gilorn. ¡°Custodian made it clear they¡¯re not allowed to clash but compete through others,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°With me remaining in the realm, that will shift the playing field between them. Another consideration is that I would still be well served by becoming far stronger before I can go to another realm.¡± ¡°They said the cons outweigh the benefits of waiting,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Even with all you¡¯ve suffered, you¡¯ve been fortunate, and there are foes no aspects can aid you against.¡± ¡°Why did you try to convince me?¡± Gilorn thrummed sadly. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to happen to you. I heard the scars on your Soul, the wounds you bear. They said what you¡¯ve suffered might be nothing compared to what is still to come, and I don¡¯t want my mother hurt further. You cheekily called me M¨®eir, but Orh¨ºthurin was my creator, Amdirlain, so to me, you¡¯re still my mother. I¡¯d rather you be angry at me than hurt.¡± ¡°There is another option, Gilorn,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°They warned you about the risk with a simple goal: to provoke you into actions that would break our trust. You¡¯re a force for Creation. We¡¯ve been creating together, and I intend to make much more. Would they want to strengthen Creation¡¯s hand?¡± Amdirlain pushed the niggling sense of betrayal aside and shifted them through the Chaos stream, setting them outside the original Demi-Plane she¡¯d created to store the reservoir of Celestial waters. ¡°I hadn¡¯t considered that,¡± admitted Gilorn, and her tone hardened. ¡°It was Laodice. She said she felt you¡¯d go into a war you couldn¡¯t win. She did not wish the cause of war to be strengthened through your loss.¡± Yeah, she¡¯s fighting a different sort of battle now. I¡¯m getting tired of people trying to manipulate me. I still don¡¯t know if Laodice¡¯s request for me to help Naamah was upfront or to get a rejection from me and set my path in a different direction. ¡°They can play games thousands of steps ahead, so they might well have done that to manipulate me into the very reaction I just had,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Just like she might have tried to get me to side with Nam purely to prevent me from siding with them.¡± I had no way to tell what game Laodice was playing; all I could do was focus on what felt right for me to do. Isn¡¯t that the same thing I need to do with Sarah? A Dragon¡¯s instincts drive them to a powerful mate, and she admitted I set things off for her by the way we danced. I shouldn¡¯t second-guess things when I¡¯ve stirred her up. Dancing was the right thing to do for both of us. ¡°Were you intending to ally with them?¡± questioned Gilorn. Naamah is too much of a wild card, and I can no longer just shed my arm the way I did last time I was in her grasp. ¡°She¡¯s too dangerous to play games with. We had a mutual enemy in Baln¨¦rith, so I gave her a tool to aid her hunt,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s move along, shall we?¡± ¡°Very well, my apologies for interfering, Am,¡± replied Gilorn, the stars within her frame dimming. Amdirlain motioned to the distant Demi-Plane. ¡°I¡¯m going to create the Planar Seed around the metaphysical boundary of this Demi-Plane and then rupture the Demi-Plane to feed an initial surge of materials into the Plane.¡± ¡°Is that to speed up its growth?¡± ¡°It should be a nice catalyst to help the new Plane stabilise since this Demi-Plane has been accumulating Celestial-infused waters for some time,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Also, the surge of dimensional energies should reinforce the inner boundary. I don¡¯t want anyone getting into this Plane before I¡¯m ready for it to change phases.¡± I need to figure out how to handle any mortals on Culerzic before I open the floodgates, but that¡¯s a problem for another day. This Plane will skip its weapon stage and become an aquarium unless I figure out that challenge. After her prior experience, Amdirlain didn¡¯t play around but ignited Phoenix¡¯s Rapture even before she started to sing. The Primordial energies drove back the Chaos from around them, and Amdirlain¡¯s intention sheltered Gilorn from harm. The increases in her True Song immediately made itself felt as her health trickled downwards far slower than during her last effort, and Amdirlain added Universal Life to the mix¡ªthe reserves of Ki in her pool easily keeping ahead of the strain supporting the songs required of her. With the increases in the Power Amdirlain found it easier to manage the mammoth effort, and was able to focus on smoothing out the notes involved. She deliberately slowed the pace of the songs even further to give her time to correct notes as the melodies wound along. The tendrils that formed the Plane¡¯s skin stretched over thousands of kilometres, surrounding the Demi-Plane and interlinking in a tighter pattern than she¡¯d managed previously. As the threads sealed at the last nodes, Amdirlain ruptured the inner Demi-Plane and felt the new Plane¡¯s rules take hold. The Chaos within the boundary immediately morphed into Celestial water at a pressure that rivalled the depths of an oceanic trench. As the Plane shifted away into its new dimensional state, Amdirlain heard the boundary expanding fast, the Plane¡¯s skin inhaling energy from the surrounding Chaos. [Do you wish to merge Dominion, Energy Drain, and Universal Life into Phoenix¡¯s Rapture to evolve into Phoenix¡¯s Bastion?] Amdirlain immediately used Analysis to assess the Power offered. [Phoenix¡¯s Bastion: Details: Your rate of healing (passive and non-passive) is further increased, and the passive rate now also applies to allies when they are within your flame aura. They also share your aura¡¯s improved physical and magical defences. The health loss the flames inflict on enemies can be directed toward yourself or those sheltered by your flames. Shapeshifting abilities remain the same as provided by Phoenix¡¯s Immolation. Rebirth activation is still accessible once every five hundred years; it now causes five times your missing health in damage to all material and non-allied individuals within three times your flame aura radius.] A Power upgrade to keep people safe and improve my chances. I¡¯d go for it if only there weren¡¯t multiple catches. There was an or involved in who I¡¯m healing with the redirected health. If I take that, I won¡¯t be able to use Energy Drain as part of my attacks, and I¡¯d have to relearn Universal Life. If something¡¯s resistant to Primordial energy, it won¡¯t be hurt at all, so no health is restored except for regeneration. It also means no extra healing if I¡¯m in a situation where I don¡¯t want to, or can¡¯t safely, activate the aura. Still, I¡¯ve learned something new. I was using different powers together, and it offered me an upgrade. I should look into using different powers together while I¡¯m under pressure. Amdirlain pushed the notification away and considered the crafting summary. [Crafting summary Planar Seed x 1 Total Experience gained: 2,500,000,000 Olind?: +2,500,000,000 Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (112 -> 113) Resonance-Prince [G] (7 -> 8) True Song Genesis [G] (59 -> 61) Perception [S] (170 -> 175)] Isa really shouldn¡¯t have offered that bet. Was Luck working against her this time? While creating the constructs rewards a lot more experience for the effort involved, creating a Planar Seed pushes the Power harder. Last time, I couldn¡¯t learn as much because I barely managed the seed¡¯s creation. ¡°There were so many places you could have improved that performance,¡± critiqued Gilorn. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Yeah, why don¡¯t we go back to the training hall? You can take me through each one.¡± ¡°Of course, I felt there were some elementary ones you missed addressing,¡± replied Gilorn. With a slight grimace, Amdirlain shifted them to the Outlands. 419 - Invitation Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When Amdirlain and Gilorn returned to the training hall, they found the place empty of life. Sarah was absent from the mountain while Klipyl and Dareios were using a room at the library for language lessons. Assorted mature adult metallic dragons in Human form, along with Morgana, now occupied manors newly constructed inside the inner wall. The man she¡¯d heard come through the Dragon Gate was no longer within the Monastery, though the object he¡¯d brought with him was now stored in a storage bag at Cyrus¡¯ manor. The ancient Immortal sounded disconcerted for the first time Amdirlain could remember. I hope Morgana was okay with me being absent from her arrival. Should I be more worried about that or about Cyrus being perturbed? Gilorn picked a distant spot on the viewing platforms, and Amdirlain perched on the lip with her back against a pillar. Unexpectedly, the memory of Sarah pinning her against a pillar had her fighting down a blush. Phoenix¡¯s Rapture really does a good job of putting me into a living form. I still can¡¯t believe that happened; she¡¯ll make my brain catch fire with those kisses. ¡°I can tell your mind is elsewhere,¡± noted Gilorn. ¡°Guilty as charged,¡± coughed Amdirlain. Gilorn¡¯s riff blurted a disgruntled raspberry. ¡°Hardly guilty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m dealing with some mixed emotions but only from second-guessing myself. As a Succubus, I spent a long time ignoring my body¡¯s urges about sex,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s adding to the oddity of the situation, no matter Sarah¡¯s ability to get my heart racing.¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t she going to take it at your pace?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°I wasn¡¯t saying no,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°After spending all that time with her holding me and listening to her music, I enjoyed getting swept up in a moment of passion.¡± Gilorn blurted a stern, resonating note, which quickly slipped and turned into a giggling run, a burbling brook of liquid sound. ¡°So much for your stern school mama persona,¡± huffed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°Would you like me to continue my lecture?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°Hopefully not, because for you to achieve even a small measure of happiness would please me no end.¡± ¡°Still, Sarah isn¡¯t here at present, so let¡¯s go over the places I could have improved the performance,¡± said Amdirlain, sitting up to avoid further distracting thoughts. Gilorn presented parts of the composition in mid-air before Amdirlain. ¡°When creating the threads, you should have alternated the starting point for their songs. Since you had the timing in perfect sync, you caused subtle distortion waves that you had to spend extra energy to subdue. Otherwise, you could have held an overtone throughout their intersections to generate a buffer between them and prevent their clash from causing distortion.¡± As Gilorn¡¯s review continued, Amdirlain mentally applied the suggested adjustments to other compositions. ? ? ? ? ? ? The morning lessons progressed along the same lines as previous days, with Amdirlain forcing the students to adapt and apply their skills to realistic simulations. She ensured that no opponent they fought against used the same moves or responded to their counters similarly. Throughout their training, she pressed each student to their limits and sometimes beyond, frequently healing overstressed bodies rather than slackening the pace. The only spilled blood came from the edge of Amdirlain¡¯s blade whenever Jinfeng failed to keep beyond its reach. When the chimes rang, Jinfeng regarded her warily and didn¡¯t relax even slightly until she¡¯d reached the sparring barrier away from Amdirlain¡¯s blade. Amdirlain had provided final feedback and adjusted more crystals when she heard Cyrus start their way. ¡°Thank you for the dancing instruction, Sifu,¡± said Jinfeng with a gracious bow. ¡°We had an interesting set of guests arrive yesterday.¡± ¡°So I understand but, unfortunately, I was absent,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Did their arrival go smoothly?¡± ¡°They all project quite the presence,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯m uncertain if we have anyone dumb enough in the Monastery to risk provoking their ire. Would it be acceptable for me to bring some additional students tomorrow?¡± ¡°As many or as few as you like,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Is my allowing you to pick how many students to bring so hard to believe?¡± Jinfeng lightly coughed. ¡°One doesn¡¯t presume to determine what is suitable for another Master¡¯s lessons. I expected you to send most students away on the first day I brought them.¡± ¡°You brought a range of students, hoping that some would meet my criteria?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, Sifu.¡± An opportunity to stretch my capabilities. ¡°Tomorrow, bring everyone from the Martial Pavilion who wishes to come along,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°Will you be able to manage your simulations for all of them?¡± asked Jinfeng, leaning forward slightly in anticipation. ¡°Tell them I¡¯ll ensure they get an opportunity to fight an equally proficient opponent,¡± replied Amdirlain with a slight smirk at Jinfeng¡¯s eagerness. ¡°And please let them know it might be the only time they get to come along.¡± Jinfeng¡¯s eyes shone, and she snapped a deep bow at Amdirlain. ¡°I look forward to tomorrow already, Sifu. They find it hard to believe how hard you push us since we come back refreshed.¡± Amdirlain smiled in amusement but returned the bow and sent them all off to eat. As the students headed up to the viewing platform, Cyrus entered the training hall. Klipyl tapped Dareios¡¯s arm and drew him off to one side to let the pair speak alone. Though he strode directly to her, Cyrus waited until the others were clear before he greeted her. ¡°Am.¡± From the storage pouch at his waist, he drew the carved container Amdirlain had seen being delivered to him the other day. His typically composed expression belied the nerves jumping within him. ¡°What¡¯s got you upset?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you worried about what life brought.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not what life brings me that causes concern,¡± replied Cyrus, holding out the sphere of almost dark red-hued wood. Across its surface, thousands of bats swirled in the vortex; the artist had captured the energy of frantic flight within their stillness. ¡°Some people think it¡¯s rude to re-gift presents,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°That only got delivered to you yesterday.¡± ¡°The courier brought it to me to pass along to you,¡± Cyrus advised. ¡°He refused to stay to speak to you directly.¡± Weird. Maybe he had orders to avoid me reading his mind. Her fingers halted just short of her fringe, and Amdirlain sighed. ¡°What¡¯s the catch? You and the courier talked for quite some time yesterday, so I assume it¡¯s not merely a dust gatherer.¡± ¡°We exchanged pleasantries for some time before he broached the subject of this invitation,¡± corrected Cyrus. ¡°Your tone says I¡¯m not being invited over for tea,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re not. I don¡¯t know where the invitation leads you,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Normally, the Jade Emperor gives someone a koan, yet he sent you this and a short poem by a courier who behaved strangely.¡± ¡°I¡¯m partial to a nice poem,¡± offered Amdirlain. Cyrus presented a scroll of delicate rice paper without a single crease or blemish, radiating a definite Celestial energy. ¡°Unfurl it for me, please,¡± Amdirlain requested. ¡°It¡¯s not a good idea for me to touch it.¡± With a precise bow that Amdirlain felt was partly directed to the scroll, Cyrus unfurled it with a flourish and let the scroll unroll along his arm. ¡®The wren Earns his living Noiselessly.¡¯ The calligraphy looks to be in Japanese Kanji. ¡°My ability ruins the poetic symmetry, but it feels like a haiku,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Indeed. According to his courier, it was written out by the Jade Emperor, though I believe it¡¯s not an original work,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°My understanding is that it is from Nippon¡¯s Edo period.¡± ¡°Perhaps he merely sent me a different type of koan,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°A puzzle composed of pieces with the scroll, the layers of the sphere, and even perhaps the music within the parts. What should I do with it?¡± ¡°Solve it when you are ready,¡± answered Cyrus. ¡°There was no time frame provided?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°No,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Why did you believe it¡¯s an invitation?¡± asked Amdirlain, keeping her hands firmly by her sides to prevent them from digging into her scalp in frustration. Just when I¡¯m trying to get things sorted out, more comes in. Why is it always everything together? ¡°Though I feel it is an invitation, it was not said directly,¡± said Cyrus, and he gestured with the sphere again for her to take it. Amdirlain lifted an eyebrow but made no move to take the container. ¡°He¡¯s got you all jumpy.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°You do not take instructions well and frequently act before you are truly ready,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What do you mean when you say it wasn¡¯t said directly?¡± ¡°In the small talk, before addressing his reason for visiting, the courier discussed travelling in preference to other subjects,¡± explained Cyrus. ¡°Though his trip here was no doubt direct since he came through a Dragon Gate.¡± Because, yep get seven celestial dragons to open a protected passage is subtle. ¡°So an out-of-place conversation thread to deliver yet another message,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°I am supposed to know that the Dragon Gate connected to the northern reaches of the Middle Kingdom, yet he was Persian, wearing a Nippon kimono instead of Persian garb.¡± The gift itself covers the middle and the south. ¡°You caught all that?¡± ¡°And more,¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I¡¯d like you to hang onto that for now.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be more comfortable doing so only after you held and examined it,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Why?¡± With a tight smile, Cyrus rumbled. ¡°The courier gave me a koan.¡± ¡°And your understanding of it convinced you not to shield me?¡± Cyrus nodded sharply. Is the Jade Emperor getting Cyrus to not be protective or ensuring I get the invitation as directly as puzzles allow? ¡°I like him already,¡± Amdirlain laughed and took the sphere from Cyrus. When she took it, the smell of the wood tickled a memory, and she ran her fingers over the smoothly polished grains. She had no trouble finding the catch and twisting the sphere into two to reveal the white jade orb inside. Across the surface of the inner orb, dozens of salmon jumped rapids, following each other in a loop. ¡°I recognise the wood,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I do not,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Does it have significance to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s red ironbark, a wood native to Australia,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°My parents had a table made from it.¡± ¡°In your home realm,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°I don¡¯t know how he would have acquired it then.¡± ¡°Anna¡¯s orb mentioned a tree that reminded me of them, except it¡¯s beyond the lands Kadaklan told me the South Wind¡¯s court covers,¡± replied Amdirlain, her fingers tracing over the materials devoid of any energy but that native to the Material Plane. ¡°Salmon swim home to lay eggs before they die.¡± ¡°A Phoenix is born of its egg and renewed,¡± countered Cyrus. When her fingers found the catch in the jade carvings, she unsecured the lid and handed it to Cyrus. A sphere of glass and steel resonating Ki sat nestled in the hollow of the jade container. Within the sphere, a needle anchored in the middle by a Ki binding spun lazily about, its ends undulating, creating two sine waves on either side of the midpoint. ¡°I¡¯ve not run into one of those previously.¡± ¡°It¡¯s normally a compass for tracing ley lines,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°If you attune it to a Dragon¡¯s nest it will point towards the strongest ley line leaving it. As you follow the ley line, it will continue to orient itself along the path.¡± ¡°Useless in the Outlands since there aren¡¯t any ley lines,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It is even more useless than you might believe. The binding is incomplete and flawed, so in the presence of Mana or Ki, it simply spins,¡± explained Cyrus. An insult or part of the puzzle? Is it meant to symbolise aimlessness or spinning around a centre? Centre? Is he referring to the Middle Kingdom itself? Maybe, yet the pattern its ends create is a sine wave, and that notation has implications within True Song. It indicates that a round needs to be sung repeatedly to strengthen the overall outcome of a composition. Should I start from the outside and go in, or start from the middle and progress outwards? Kadaklan says understanding is taking in the whole, not using logic to pick it apart. ¡°I remember bats symbolise good fortune,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Good fortune, hope, positivity, and happiness, among other things,¡± acknowledged Cyrus. ¡°It¡¯s been that way since the Han period.¡± ¡°It¡¯s pieces of a puzzle,¡± said Amdirlain, ¡°Yet a puzzle that I¡¯m not meant to break down logically simply understand.¡± ¡°The Jade Emperor is said to be able to foresee the future. It is likely he already knows the understanding you¡¯ll acquire from them,¡± said Cyrus. ¡°But the question is whether the right understanding is the one you have now, in ten years, or in a century.¡± ¡°What about the colour of the wood?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°What is its meaning in Chinese culture?¡± ¡°That shade is close to crimson, so masculine yang energy, fire, and good fortune,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°Metal is yin.¡± ¡°Was that a question?¡± ¡°Sometimes it helps to talk aloud,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she shrugged casually. ¡°At least I¡¯ve found it helps me think things over.¡± Cyrus sighed. ¡°Understanding doesn¡¯t require thought, only acceptance.¡± I¡¯m not very good at simply accepting anything. ¡°I¡¯m a singer. Vocalisation helps me feel things out, and feelings contribute to understanding. If he foresees the future, he already knows my approach,¡± said Amdirlain. She closed the jade and wood lids and held the sealed sphere out to Cyrus. ¡°Thank you for bringing this to me.¡± ¡°Perhaps you should keep it with you,¡± replied Cyrus, making no move to take it. ¡°I could make you a few thousand in a second,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I know more about it than you might expect. I could find the spot where the tree grew if I wanted. If I have it, I might be tempted to act before its time.¡± ¡°Very well,¡± said Cyrus. Hesitantly, he took it back from Amdirlain and stowed it away. ¡°How did you find your lesson with Kadaklan?" He didn¡¯t seem pleased that I returned it, yet immediately changed the subject. Cyrus still sounds like something has thrown him off balance. ¡°I made progress in other skills, but not with my sigil,¡± huffed Amdirlain, sheepishly scratching behind her ear. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at simply being.¡± ¡°Yet you reinforced your sigil,¡± observed Cyrus. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Someone just killed themselves in front of me to give me the chance.I don¡¯t waste someone else¡¯s pain even if I make light of my own..¡± ¡°The expansion is just a matter of getting the sigil to sit at the limits of your torso,¡± Cyrus advised. ¡°Just,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Cyrus smiled. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s been kicking my butt with its erratic expansion,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I can¡¯t control all the areas of the sigil at the same time.¡± ¡°Many times, control is fiction, and only when you release it will you find that you have it,¡± stated Cyrus. ¡°That¡¯s not correct in all cases,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°True Song requires precise control, and isn¡¯t each person¡¯s path unique?¡± ¡°And it has no aspects where, if you relax, the insights flow faster?¡± questioned Cyrus. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Music is a living thing, and you need flexibility to adapt, but not hitting notes precisely causes problems. I¡¯m currently trying to improve the accuracy of my pitch. Are there other insights that you might offer about the gift?¡± ¡°It is not my place to say,¡± rebuffed Cyrus softly. ¡°Any insights in general then?¡± The jitters within Cyrus¡¯ theme stilled. ¡°The path always requires one to be true to what¡¯s important.¡± ¡°Important to them, not others,¡± Amdirlain nodded appreciatively and raised her hands before her chest, her right fist pressed to her left palm in the same salute Jinfeng had given her. ¡°Thank you, Sifu.¡± ¡°Would you be open to moving my lesson with you to the second half of the morning?¡± asked Cyrus. I¡¯ll spend half the morning trying to expand my sigil and the other half trying to contract it. Oh boy, fun! ¡°I¡¯ve no objections,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I take it there is a purpose.¡± ¡°We might get you to relax through exhaustion,¡± replied Cyrus. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure the ladies can continue through the whole morning.¡± ¡°Dual sessions of practising psionics and singing simultaneously sounds like fun.¡± ¡°Singing, magic, Ki, and psionics,¡± agreed Cyrus before he motioned towards Klipyl, working with Dareios on draconic runes. ¡°Along with the exercise in understanding Dareios¡¯ Power.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Overload me with work.¡± ¡°It will be Gilorn that overloads you with singing,¡± advised Cyrus, and with that, he turned on his heel and left. Yikes. A slight adjustment made her aware of Morgana¡¯s state, and with her wakefulness, Amdirlain dispatched a greeting and asked if they could meet after the noon meal. The reply orb spun by her shoulder seconds later: ¡°Greetings to you as well, Amdirlain. Livia told me you have morning training. Might I come along to observe?¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome to come by anytime, Morgana,¡± replied Amdirlain, the Message orb dashing away. Yet another variation of the Message Spell. I¡¯ll need to review the information and spell lists gathered by the songs in the bookcases. Klipyl grinned when Amdirlain approached. ¡°Did you and Sarah have more private time?¡± ¡°Kissing is one thing, but your suggestions make me nervous,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Nervous in a good way?¡± enquired Klipyl softly. ¡°Nervous as in a plain nervous way,¡± countered Amdirlain. Her tone drew a nod, and Klipyl brushed her hair reassuringly. ¡°Stick to massages with clothing on then. As much as I enjoy naked cuddling, the right time for each couple is different. Remember that intimate moments with someone you care about should be special. If they stop affecting you, then something has gone very wrong. For you, that build-up might always contain pre-moment jitters. At least neither of you have to worry about popping your load early. The three Cs are my rule.¡± The melodies within Klipyl jumped about energetically despite her straight face. I¡¯m not sure I want to know. Klipyl smirked as if expecting Amdirlain to take the bait, but she shook her head. ¡°Naughty kitty.¡± ¡°Comfortable, cozy cuddling,¡± huffed Klipyl. ¡°You¡¯ve just got a dirty mind and misjudged me. My feelings are all hurt now. Kiss them better?¡± With an exaggerated pout, Klipyl put her hands behind her lower back and fluttered her eyelashes. True, I did. Dareios shifted his weight at Klipyl¡¯s casual mannerisms. ¡°Stop feeling up your own butt,¡± grumbled Amdirlain playfully. ¡°I wasn¡¯t, and you know it,¡± laughed Klipyl. Amdirlain patted Klipyl on the head like a little child, drawing howls of laughter from her. ¡°Incorrigible,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Would you have me any other way?¡± sniffed Klipyl. ¡°How are your lessons going, Dareios?¡± asked Amdirlain, looking to change the subject for his comfort and hers. ¡°Draconic is very complex,¡± said Dareios. ¡°I knew how to speak it and Celestial when I formed, but the runes are far harder than I had expected them to be. They feel like they¡¯ll take me years to master.¡± Sarah said she would make some tools to help them improve Mana Manipulation; I should see if she¡¯s got something more complex for Mana Finesse. A flare of music at the mountain¡¯s base caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention, and a Gate from Mechanus opened to allow Sarah and Aitherlar to cross over. This time, instead of a carved diamond body, she had a familial resemblance to Sarah but with deep red hair and sharper features. The loose green silk dress Aitherlar wore swished around mid-calf, hiding the bows that secured the long straps of her silvery sandals. They teleported to Livia¡¯s long hall when they crossed the Domain¡¯s boundary. Should I head over or leave it until they come here? After all, Aitherlar is correctly paying a visit to Livia first. Draconic manners: if I make her come to me inside someone else¡¯s territory, I¡¯m claiming superiority. Yet if I go to Livia¡¯s, I¡¯m interrupting her meeting and being rude. Darn it! ¡°Let¡¯s take a walk around the mountain,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°No, but there is an important visitor, and I don¡¯t want to claim status by making her come to me,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯m out wandering and she finds me, then it¡¯s just a casual meeting, and I can then offer to host her without implying anything.¡± ¡°Who is the visitor?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen you play games for anyone beyond straightforward manners.¡± I learned to play the games on Qil Tris. ¡°Sarah¡¯s mother,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°Oh boy!¡± cheered Klipyl. ¡°We get to meet her Dragon Mommie.¡± I¡¯ve no idea how long things will take. Should I free up my morning or my week? Or continue with my morning plans? Sarah knows my schedule, so I doubt Aitherlar will have come along to disrupt it. I¡¯ll see what¡¯s going on once breakfast ends. Amdirlain extended a careful mental thread to Sarah. ¡®How should I play this out? I planned to go for a walk and let her accidentally meet me.¡¯ ¡®That works, but I don¡¯t think she was planning to play status games,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®I told her of yesterday¡¯s combined training session, and she wanted to witness it. That wasn¡¯t what I was expecting when she wanted to talk.¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll keep this link open and wander towards the Duty Pavilion,¡¯ advised Amdirlain, and she felt Sarah project warm reassurance through the connection. The sensation eased the sudden nervous tension Amdirlain felt, and she ushered the others towards the door. 420 - Mother Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Though it was tempting to listen in while Sarah and Aitherlar met with Livia, Amdirlain filtered their voices from Resonance. With Klipyl and Dareios flanking her, she strolled towards the Duty Pavilion. Along the road, students were heading to scattered locations for breakfast, many having just finished hours of running or ascending steep stairs in a near-prone position balanced on their fingers and toes. Amdirlain could sense how the lizard-like crawl worked muscles and ligaments that otherwise would be hard to tone. Though classes provided boosts to attributes, mortals could still significantly train their bodies if their boosted attributes didn¡¯t get in the way. Not being strength-based, the monks benefit from exercises that a Fighter with a few levels might easily handle if they had enough flexibility. The Ki flows in the senior students helped their bodies maintain the strength and flexibility they¡¯d developed. As the trio reached the square before the Duty Pavilion, Head Clerk Erhi and a group of clerks hurried towards the front doors, each carrying a small food basket. Erhi spotted Amdirlain and halted quickly, her beaded braids swaying with their retained energy; the lacquered blue and purple of the beads a splash of brightness among the Monastery attire. ¡°I hope you¡¯re taking enough time for meals, Head Clerk Erhi?¡± asked Amdirlain. Erhi smiled and gracefully bowed to Amdirlain. ¡°Good morning, Lady Am. We eat at an early session, but it is sometimes difficult to get away from the pavilion to eat lunch. Students will often keep the pavilion busy during their break, so the meal baskets allow us to eat before or after the lunch session.¡± ¡°I can understand the need for flexibility in such things. When I last worked in an office, I used to have the bad habit of eating at my desk instead of letting my mind relax for a time,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure you¡¯re more sensible about balancing work with relaxation.¡± The idle comment caused Erhi to cough slightly in embarrassment. ¡°I try.¡± I bet I seem incredibly forward. ¡°I hope removing those individuals from my session didn¡¯t cause you trouble,¡± continued Amdirlain, pretending to be oblivious to Erhi¡¯s reaction. ¡°They appealed but got nowhere,¡± said Erhi. ¡°Might I confirm your reasoning?¡± ¡°Of course. It came down to how rudely they addressed the clerks near them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Such rudeness showed their nature, so I removed them.¡± The clerks with Erhi had hung back, but now they straightened in surprise. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected that reason. I had instead thought it was due to them challenging your rules. You said the nature of the individuals would contribute to who you taught any Affinity,¡± said Erhi. ¡°The stupid thing is, I would have had no issues granting their requests, except for their privileged attitude,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°If they¡¯d shown greater self-control, they¡¯d have their Affinity now.¡± Erhi suppressed her laughter behind a raised hand. ¡°Oh dear.¡± ¡°If they¡¯d been polite about asking for more information or even if they¡¯d protested politely, I wouldn¡¯t have teleported them to the fields. When you¡¯re getting a unique opportunity, it pays to be on your best behaviour,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I hope the new residents of the Monastery have caused no trouble.¡± ¡°While there was a rush to get enough accommodation ready for them, they¡¯ve caused no problems so far,¡± replied Erhi. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Are there any issues arising from the rescheduled work that had to be set aside?¡± ¡°Nothing urgent, Lady Am,¡± responded Erhi diffidently. Like she¡¯d tell me. ¡°If you need any help, let me know,¡± replied Amdirlain, ¡°Even if it¡¯s just letting me know about a job that needs to be tended to promptly.¡± ¡°There are no issues we can¡¯t manage,¡± confirmed Erhi, smiling happily. ¡°I appreciate your concern.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯m sorry to have delayed your meal,¡± replied Amdirlain. Erhi offered her a respectful bow, which Amdirlain returned smoothly, judging the proper depth by observing the comfort level within Erhi¡¯s theme. The other clerks also quickly exchanged bows with Amdirlain before they followed Erhi. Once they were out of earshot, Klipyl murmured in Celestial. ¡°Should I keep an ear to the ground?¡± A thoughtful smile warmed Amdirlain¡¯s expression. ¡°It¡¯s a tempting offer, but for now, don¡¯t worry. They know where to find me if they¡¯ve got urgent issues.¡± As they approached the far side of the square from the pavilion¡¯s pagoda, Sarah alerted Amdirlain to the meeting¡¯s conclusion, and she waved Klipyl and Dareios to benches along the square¡¯s stonework edge. ¡°We¡¯ll wait here,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Sarah says they¡¯ll come this way.¡± Once she¡¯d sat down, Amdirlain exchanged messages with Livia to arrange a time to catch up later in the day. Though Livia had endeavoured to set her mind at ease, Amdirlain still felt guilty for their minimal contact so far. While they spoke, Amdirlain kept track of Aitherlar¡¯s approach. When she rounded the last bend with Sarah, Amdirlain casually glanced their way. Sarah walked beside Aitherlar, who seemed intent on examining the surrounding buildings. As a smile twitched at the corners of Sarah¡¯s mouth, Amdirlain felt nervous energy tingling up her spine. ¡®Fancy seeing you here,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®You¡¯re being hilarious. Did everything go alright with Livia?¡¯ returned Amdirlain. Sarah winked, and reassurance washed across the link. ¡®Mother likes to do things orderly, so she sought Livia¡¯s permission to live here.'' Live here? Aitherlar¡¯s smile briefly gleamed with unnatural brightness, but she remained focused on Amdirlain and strode towards her without hesitation. ¡°Nice to see you again, Aitherlar,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Stand up and let me look at you properly,¡± instructed Aitherlar, beckoning to Amdirlain and Klipyl. ¡°I hope we¡¯ll pass inspection,¡± replied Amdirlain, her gaze shining with amusement. ¡°You¡¯re looking better than when I last saw you. Glad to see you¡¯ve not overdone things again,¡± responded Aitherlar before looking Klipyl over. ¡°So you¡¯re my daughter¡¯s little hunting partner. You¡¯ve got nice curves, Kli. I see why you put them on display.¡± Klipyl giggled in delight and lifted her hands out from her side. ¡°I try.¡± Aitherlar nodded to Dareios. ¡°Young Celestial, my daughter says you¡¯re using Dareios as your name. Is that correct?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have given you false information,¡± complained Sarah. ¡°Don¡¯t answer for him, I might be addressing the wrong young Celestial. Kli was easy to pick out since I¡¯ve not seen another Celestial using a ribbon to hold her tits in place,¡± huffed Aitherlar. With a squeal, Klipyl started laughing, wrapping her arms around her stomach. ¡°Lady Aitherlar, it¡¯s a delight to meet you; I am using Dareios in this place,¡± confirmed Dareios, trying to remain serious next to Klipyl¡¯s antics. ¡°And he has manners, unlike your heathen ways,¡± said Aitherlar, fixing Sarah with a playful glare. The light-hearted melodies within Aitherlar seemed playful compared to the mammoth weight of her years. Amdirlain rose before Aitherlar could prompt her again. ¡°To what do we owe the honour of this visit? Have you been bored?¡± ¡°I rarely allow myself the luxury of boredom,¡± drawled Aitherlar, her grin fading. ¡°Yet novelty is fun, and I¡¯ve never impersonated a Human. While I¡¯m sure the uniqueness will wear off soon enough, I¡¯ll enjoy myself until then and see what humanity is like in the meantime.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed a tendency of dragons to disguise themselves as other species,¡± said Amdirlain. Aitherlar¡¯s face lit up with a smug smile. ¡°The realm stays young when you are curious about things you¡¯ve not yet learnt. It seems you need lessons about dragons, among other things.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come along so soon,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°After hearing of your recent psionic training, I thought I should come along and help all of you to progress past the beginner phase,¡± replied Aitherlar. Beginner? ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Amdirlain. Amusement gleamed in Aitherlar¡¯s gaze. ¡°Why don¡¯t we sit somewhere and talk it over?¡± ¡°Please accompany us to my courtyard so that we might relax and talk,¡± Amdirlain offered diplomatically. ¡°Do I look like I need you to host me?¡± huffed Aitherlar playfully. Which name do I use for Sarah with her? I¡¯d better go for one that reinforces their connection. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I offered to host you. Rather, I merely proposed a location for conversation,¡± Amdirlain responded drily. ¡°Though, given your relationship with Sarah, is it such an insult to offer you guest rights under my roof?¡± She¡¯s going to play games. ¡°Guest rights, is it?¡± enquired Aitherlar. ¡°Pretty bold to put that forward. Exactly when would I expect you to contribute to Shindraithra¡¯s hoard?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already done that,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Mithril bars, among other things.¡± ¡®She¡¯s being old school, and you just married us,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡°Did you?¡± laughed Aitherlar, and she nudged Sarah. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell me you had been sleeping in someone else¡¯s treasure pile.¡± ¡°It was a gift of friendship,¡± objected Sarah. Aitherlar shrugged. ¡°Which was fine when you weren¡¯t exchanging bodily fluids. Her scent is all over you.¡± ¡°Not all,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°Your face and your clothing,¡± corrected Aitherlar. ¡°Let¡¯s have this conversation at my house. My teachers for the morning¡¯s first session are on their way,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You should know negotiating a marriage after you¡¯ve already started contributing to your partner¡¯s hoard puts you at a disadvantage,¡± said Aitherlar. ¡°Why don¡¯t you walk beside me while we talk? We can discuss how many treasure contributions you¡¯ve already made.¡± Sarah groaned. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask me that?¡± ¡°Because your Am doesn¡¯t know enough about Diamond Dragon customs, and I should set that right,¡± replied Aitherlar. ¡°You know that isn¡¯t the custom among Adamantine dragons,¡± noted Sarah. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°It¡¯s just as well you¡¯re not one of those in this life,¡± laughed Aitherlar. ¡°They¡¯re far too casual about such matters and have no sense of proper order. Why don¡¯t you tell me everything you¡¯ve given Sarah?¡± ¡°That would include equipment, valuables and raw materials,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°It most certainly includes everything gifted to her,¡± declared Aitherlar, motioning for Amdirlain to walk on the other side of her to Sarah. ¡°You can keep others from hearing us, so set that up and start from when she joined you at your hideout.¡± Aitherlar¡¯s interrogation went chronologically, dragging out every object Amdirlain had ever presented Sarah by year. I was teasing Livia about others offering her a dowery, and now Aitherlar grills me about doing the same. ¡°I¡¯m sure you have a figure in mind that I need to fulfil,¡± Amdirlain said calmly. ¡°Keep in mind I gave her a Demi-Plane of her own.¡± ¡°You did what?¡± asked Aitherlar. ¡°How?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have access to the post-separation version of the True Song the Anar and L¨®m? possess, but the original,¡± explained Amdirlain. Aitherlar halted and blinked slowly. ¡°I suppose I can begrudgingly admit you¡¯re an acceptable partner to my daughter.¡± ¡°You know we¡¯re still working on sorting out our relationship,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m aware of that, and that¡¯s an eternal process,¡± replied Aitherlar. She placed a hand on Amdirlain¡¯s back as they walked along. ¡°I smacked her on the snout over that misstep.¡± Sarah sent a mental image of a baby Dragon clutching her tail in her front paws, and Amdirlain didn¡¯t restrain her amused scent. As the pair snorted, Aitherlar reached out to tug Sarah¡¯s ear lobe. ¡°What sort of impression are you looking to make?¡± ¡°She knows me well,¡± protested Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about the impression you¡¯re making on her,¡± huffed Aitherlar. ¡°You¡¯re encouraging your love to be mischievous around me.¡± A giggle came from Klipyl following in their wake. Aitherlar glanced over her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ve something to add, young Archon?¡± ¡°Ammie doesn¡¯t need much encouragement to get into mischief,¡± laughed Klipyl. ¡°Though it¡¯s normally mischief directed at bullies.¡± ¡°No wonder you attract each other, like chaos and order circling each other,¡± stated Aitherlar. ¡°I¡¯m not that chaotic,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°Creation is a process of ordering chaos, but creativity in its purest form is chaos,¡± argued Aitherlar. ¡°While some people put in place methods around it, even the ability to spawn life is chaotic in so many species.¡± Is that why Luck is sticking her nose in via Isa? ¡°Chance is not always chaos. You can narrow the possibilities,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°That aside, let¡¯s return to the listing you had provided me,¡± instructed Aitherlar. ¡°Mother,¡± protested Sarah. ¡°Hush, daughter. You keep much from me, but I wanted to ensure your mate...¡± Sarah let out a grumbling groan. ¡°Very well, your potential mate can properly provide for a hoard. You¡¯ve made it clear Am isn¡¯t much for material wealth, which is hardly fitting among dragons,¡± huffed Aitherlar. ¡°Sarah can accumulate a hoard without my help,¡± answered Amdirlain. Aitherlar''s brows raised reprovingly. ¡°Just because she can doesn¡¯t mean she should. I didn¡¯t linger when we last spoke since you needed time together, and I had matters to check on. Hopefully, we get to know each other well before any mating flight.¡± ¡®I think I¡¯m going to die of embarrassment,¡¯ Amdirlain projected. ¡®Aitherlar has a particular sense of order about certain things,¡® Sarah mentally returned. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a full accounting if you agree to guest with me for a time,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Aitherlar gave a satisfied nod and, clicking her fingers, gestured for Amdirlain to continue. Sure that her objections would get run over if she delayed Amdirlain filled the return trip to the courtyard listing gifts. As they went through the courtyard gates, Kadaklan, Nomein, and the others relaxed on the outside benches. The five rose, and Amdirlain respectfully motioned their attention towards Aitherlar. ¡°Kadaklan, Nomein, Lezekus, Gemiya, and Sarith, I¡¯d like to introduce you all to Aitherlar. Sarah¡¯s mother will be with me for a little while. Aitherlar, these are my friends.¡± Once Amdirlain had completed the introductions, Kadaklan stepped forward and bowed deeply. ¡°Lady Aitherlar, I¡¯m pleased to meet you.¡± ¡°Greetings, Master Kadaklan,¡± replied Aitherlar. ¡°I understand you travelled far from home and did a great service for Am. You¡¯ve also taught my daughter an interesting Class, and I look forward to seeing how it influences her next moulting.¡± ¡°I helped a friend,¡± responded Kadaklan, and Aitherlar nodded in return. ¡°Sarah mentioned you had offered to teach Am once she¡¯d reached the limits of what we could cover,¡± commented Nomein casually but with a lively curiosity humming beneath her composure. ¡°You and your strange shortened name,¡± grumbled Aitherlar, giving Sarah a side glance. ¡°Even Shindraithra isn¡¯t your full name now, but you could at least use it since it¡¯s a proper Dragon name.¡± ¡°Guess you¡¯ll just have to get used to hearing it,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s like an egg tooth scratching inside a shell,¡± huffed Aitherlar. Klipyl grinned. ¡°But wouldn¡¯t that mean it¡¯s a cute name?¡± ¡°Have you spent days nervously listening to an egg tooth scratching the inside of a shell?¡± asked Aitherlar softly. ¡°It¡¯s not cute, it¡¯s nerve-wracking. If the baby doesn¡¯t have enough strength to open the egg, it won¡¯t have enough vitality to survive. Yet still, it is heartbreaking when an egg stops moving after the hatchling gets that close to breaking free.¡± Klipyl¡¯s smile vanished, and she offered Aitherlar a hug, only to earn a look of surprise. ¡°What? You look like you could use a hug,¡± replied Klipyl. ¡°I don¡¯t have to have experienced the situation to have compassion for your pain.¡± ¡°You are an unusual Celestial even if I didn¡¯t know your story, youngster,¡± rumbled Aitherlar; though she didn¡¯t accept the hug, she patted Klipyl¡¯s head. ¡°Am said you planned to take over her education after we got her up to speed,¡± commented Nomein. ¡°That had been my intention until Sarah told me about your combined session with Am,¡± explained Aitherlar. ¡°It made me rethink those plans and come up with another.¡± Nomein tilted her head. ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± ¡°Nothing too serious,¡± reassured Aitherlar. ¡°Like all experts, I know the wrong way, the right way, and my way to do things. While none of the techniques you are using are wrong, they¡¯re not stretching any of you to achieve a perfectly reproducible outcome. They are how children learn, and since Shindraithra¡¯s last moult, she has been considered a young adult despite her lack of years. Thus, continuing to use a child¡¯s approach is no longer acceptable.¡± ¡°Really?¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re going there?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one that wanted to push her strength faster. Time to live with the consequences,¡± Aitherlar smirked and jabbed a finger towards the training hall. ¡°I¡¯m open to ways to improve,¡± said Amdirlain as she led the way inside. ¡°Long ago, I evolved my psionic skills into a unified Power. The training approach Shindraithra shared with me made me curious if I could assist all of you in achieving the same. I¡¯ll admit in advance it¡¯s not something I¡¯ve achieved outside of crystal dragons. Would attempting it interest you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d need a little more detail,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a matter of moving past the emotional images that beginners customarily rely upon to trigger techniques,¡± explained Aitherlar. ¡°A truly detached mental state is harder to reach, especially one where a mental framework and its energy lattice control a proper evocation. The non-dragons whom I¡¯ve attempted to teach in the past don¡¯t seem able to conceptualise the patterns into energy without using emotional triggers. It¡¯s based on the mental patterns we use to shunt emotional distress and trauma from a mind to alleviate psychological trauma and self-reinforcing guilt.¡± ¡°You do what?¡± asked Sarith. Aitherlar frowned in dissatisfaction. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re not as far along as I had expected. We¡¯ll review all your techniques later today, Sarith. I¡¯ll need details of where you all stand in your progression to plot a training path forward. There is no point going into details until I know what step you stand on.¡± Nomein clicked her tongue. ¡°Have you attempted to train many others?¡± ¡°A few thousand non-dragons,¡± shrugged Aitherlar. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly something that I¡¯ve bothered to put a lot of effort into over the years I¡¯ve lived. Given that all of you have Tier 7 prestige classes, expecting success might not be preposterous. The Tier 5 Prestige classes provide better insights for progression of abilities than Tier 3, so I¡¯d expect at least that jump.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll do our utmost,¡± proclaimed Lezekus. ¡°We certainly all appreciate the opportunity you¡¯re affording us.¡± The others nodded their agreement. Aitherlar carefully assessed Amdirlain. ¡°Shindraithra says you have a Power that lets you share an understanding of connections with elemental forces.¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°It seems able to do more than I had initially expected.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll conduct some experiments combining it with me using my powers. If nothing else, it might help you develop this Harmony Power,¡± replied Aitherlar. Gemiya, quiet in the background, signalled a question with a raised finger. ¡°How long do you believe it will take?¡± ¡°That all depends on the effort you put in. The slowest Dragon I¡¯ve helped obtain the Power took a few centuries to combine skills,¡± explained Aitherlar. ¡°We certainly have that time,¡± agreed Gemiya. ¡°Except you¡¯re not slow dragons, which is why you will get this sorted within a decade,¡± Aitherlar ordered. We¡¯ve been told! ¡°You just told us that no others had gotten this working previously,¡± objected Gemiya. ¡°You missed the key point: none I¡¯ve tried to teach,¡± Aitherlar corrected, and she pointed to Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s an impossibility, so you should focus on doing what has been impossible among my students until now. Especially since I¡¯ve heard of other species managing it.¡± ¡°How is Am an impossibility?¡± asked Lezekus defensively. ¡°An Anar Soul trapped inside the shell that contains her is an impossibility. They all return to the Titan¡¯s Forge upon death,¡± declared Aitherlar. ¡°Thus, she is a perfect example of something I¡¯ve not previously seen occurring. The discovery of the new is always a confirmation that there is more in life to learn.¡± I¡¯m glad she¡¯s not expecting me to figure it out. ¡°I believe we got off topic. What other species managed it?¡± questioned Gemiya. ¡°That others have managed it should be enough. The realm has orderly and consistent rules if you do the work,¡± Aitherlar clapped her hands. ¡°Let¡¯s get started, shall we? Repeat your lesson from yesterday so that I can witness it through more than just Shindraithra¡¯s memories. I¡¯ll talk with all of you except Am this afternoon and go over the approach for lessons in the future.¡± As Amdirlain stepped towards the barrier, Aitherlar pointed to the platform instead. ¡°Sit up there where you were. Repeat the lesson precisely.¡± ¡°Cyrus is coming by mid-morning to take over with a different Ki exercise. I thought to start where I¡¯d need to be,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You can shift location then,¡± instructed Aitherlar, and she turned to Sarah. ¡°I understand you were in your workshop, teaching from there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re already changing the situation somewhat by being here, and I¡¯ve no students for lessons today,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Morgana is also coming to view this morning¡¯s exercise,¡± added Amdirlain. ¡°Then Shindraithra can tend the door and escort her in after explaining and addressing questions for Morgana. I don¡¯t want you sitting around making lovey-dovey eyes at her,¡± huffed Aitherlar. ¡°I want you both focused on an orderly exercise.¡± When Sarah nodded, Aitherlar stared at Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, Aitherlar,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain. ¡°An exact repeat?¡± ¡°From the point where you demonstrated your techniques,¡± said Aitherlar. ¡°The exercises afterwards were the lesson. Your exhibition was merely a proficiency trial.¡± The group did exactly that, with Amdirlain managing spells, psionics, songs, and sigil, along with trying to understand her automatic rejection of the Change Self uses that Dareios demonstrated. Partway through the morning, Morgana arrived in the training hall and, while escorted in by Sarah, they both watched the activities from a distance. The Arcane Drake resembled a Human woman with deep green eyes and greying hair. Her rounded cheekbones and solid square chin matched her original Fomorian origins and gave her a Norse-like appearance. She wore a loose, layered silver dress cinched with a belt of gold loops, both of which had various protective enchantments set within. True to her word, Aitherlar shooed Amdirlain down to the shielded area once Cyrus arrived, and Kadaklan bid them farewell. He nodded politely to Sarah and Morgana, but didn¡¯t linger with his clinic session ahead. As the lessons finally wrapped up, Amdirlain grunted at the crafting notification and dismissed it. [Crafting Summary (Category: Constructs) Mithril-composite Construct x21,852 Total Experience gained: 2,185,272,000 Olind?: +2,185,272,000 Harmony [G] (41->42) True Song Genesis [G] (61->62) Metacreativity [M] (27->30) Mana Finesse [S] (81->82) Psychometabolism [Ad] (23->35)] I¡¯m crafting them faster, but that still didn¡¯t earn me a single level. At least I have made plenty of improvements in my abilities and learned new techniques. I can make a psionic version of memory crystals instead of singing them, but I¡¯ve still made no progress on my issues with Change Self. ¡°I feel like, in some ways, I¡¯m still taking baby steps,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Oh, speaking of babies, you could change form and get Sarah pregnant, and I¡¯d have grandchildren again,¡± Aitherlar continued as Amdirlain spluttered. ¡°Dragon children conceived by a being in your situation inherit the Celestial trait, not their parent¡¯s mark.¡± ¡°You know this how?¡± gasped Amdirlain. Is she yanking my chain? ¡°One sees a lot over my lifetime,¡± laughed Aitherlar, enjoying Amdirlain¡¯s shocked expression. She motioned Sarah and Morgana over to join them, speaking up unnecessarily to include them. ¡°In nearly every species, good girls always think they can redeem bad boys through love.¡± Morgana was laughing as she drew close. ¡°I got so many prompts from my mother to provide her grandchildren over the centuries.¡± ¡°Mother,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°We both have other objectives, and you have plenty of living great-grandchildren.¡± ¡°They¡¯re great wyrms. I¡¯ve not had a mating flight in a million years, and hatchlings are so cute,¡± gushed Aitherlar before apologetically addressing Sarah. ¡°Not that you weren¡¯t adorable, but you were far too self-aware and prickly from your traumas in Hell. So unlike a normal hatchling making innocent stumbles.¡± Amdirlain started at the Message orb that suddenly hovered by her shoulder; its contents contained the melodies of three succubi entering the vortex into the deeper planes, each bearing Baln¨¦rith¡¯s sigil. Do I go after them? Or summon them to me? Sarah¡¯s gaze flickered to the orb. ¡°Is something wrong?¡± ¡°A group of succubi have finally tripped the monitoring line,¡± Amdirlain announced. ¡°Sorry, I need to ensure I don¡¯t miss this opportunity. I¡¯ll capture them and return.¡± ¡°Go!¡± Sarah blurted. ¡°If they get killed, you won¡¯t be able to summon them or learn their home planes. I¡¯ll explain to Morgana. Handle whatever you need to.¡± She always has my back. A warm joy sparked within Amdirlain¡¯s chest, reminding her of the happy smiles her parents had frequently exchanged. ¡°I love you,¡± breathed Amdirlain and, blushing to the roots of her hair, she promptly vanished. 421 - Closing time Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane The reported songs of the three succubi venturing into the Abyss¡¯ deep planes buzzed in her mind. Amdirlain shifted to an empty Demi-Plane and quickly altered it to contain a perfectly smooth stone plain. The same crystals Amdirlain used to contain the Fallen formed barriers for the three summoning circles, unconcerned that they¡¯d allow them to see around them. It was within these True Song barriers that three physically identical succubi appeared in rapid succession. There wasn¡¯t even any strain. Amdirlain listened to the patterns of the energy immunities throughout the melodies of all three. While she expected their immunity to fire, they also possessed immunity to air, lightning, and mundane material. The expected resistance to Primordial energy wasn¡¯t natural but provided via a necklace each wore beneath their leather armour. They didn¡¯t train their Primordial Resistance high; they just found an enchanter with enough ability to create protective objects. That explains how she had so many succubi who could survive in the depths. Did the same Artificer make the rest? All three succubi regarded Amdirlain with shocked disbelief, their predatory gazes lighting up with anticipation at the bare stone floor that separated them from her. Multiple spells struck out from each of them at Amdirlain, only to spray harmlessly off the interior of the summoning barriers. A deflected blast cost one Succubus a wing, and she dropped to the floor as the spells continued to ricochet around their spaces. ¡°Did you think I summoned you here without defences?¡± laughed Amdirlain, waving idly at the empty air before them. ¡°Just because you can¡¯t see the summoning circle doesn¡¯t mean there isn¡¯t something containing you.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± growled the trio in an out-of-sync demand. ¡°I believe the name ¡®J¡¯ might be the most familiar to you,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Not that it¡¯s a usable use name now, but it¡¯s an old one of mine.¡± Amdirlain caught an image from one, a hand-me-down memory. The mental image showed a young Succubus with rot spreading from her impaled hand. She wasn¡¯t there, but someone had passed along the memory. The songs to record their memories and evoke more were quick to set up. Amdirlain tied them to a crystal retrieved from the Foundry, aware of how few blank crystals remained. With the melodies in place, Amdirlain let the block settle on the ground. The trickle of experience for enchanting it had Amdirlain consider it speculatively. Could I enchant a crystal to copy all the memories out of my Soul? That feels dangerous with all the secrets Ori was keeping. It might be a last resort if I can¡¯t get any other approach working. There are so many things on my plate, and I need to spend some time increasing my crystal stockpiles, maybe even creating some surveyors. The three succubi snarled and ranted, to which Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I don¡¯t think you realise exactly how much trouble you¡¯re in with me.¡± [Name: Phistia Species: Succubus, Named Class: Arcane Mistress / Spell Knife / Abyssal Knight / Corruptor Level: 32 / 94 / 84 / 84 / 22 Health: 1,117,386 Defence: 8,736 Magic: 1,810 Melee Attack Power: 5,779 Combat Skills: Body Weaponry-Prince [GM] (23), Long Blade-King [GM] (347), Mana Finesse-King [GM] (421); Assorted affinities and spell lists Details: A long-term lackey of Baln¨¦rith, she joined during the foundation of the Sisterhood of the Blood. After your destruction of the Blood Monk Class, she obtained the Corruptor Class to replace the evaporated Power of her lost Class.] Amdirlain superficially checked the classes with Analysis to confirm what their themes told her about their combinations. She found that the other two succubi possessed similar classes and strengths. While Phistia was the strongest of the three, Krynixia and Shareva weren¡¯t far behind. I was so afraid of them for so long but now I could crush these three like bugs. Though I can¡¯t get overconfident just because Phistia was with Baln¨¦rith for a long time, it doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t others who worked harder¡ªa couple of protective devices and some weaponry bump up their defence and attack ratings. [Arcane Mistress: Details: This Tier 5 Prestige Class combines the Wizard and Succubus classes. It hones the natural arcane tendencies, focusing on curses and corruption magic. Note: They found the various decay powers involved in this Class and its usual spell lists helpful when working on the wound.] [Spell Knife: Details: This Tier 5 Prestige Class combines variations of the Thief and Wizard classes. It provided various powers of concealment to allow the practitioners to utilise their magic from hiding.] [Abyssal Knight: Details: An evolved fighter base class available to demons in service to a dark power of Demon Lord or Lady rank or higher.] [Corruptor: Details: This Wizard variant Class requires the Abyssal Affinity to obtain.] So she replaced Blood Monk with Corruptor when it came apart. Phistia bristled. ¡°You might have us for now, but we¡¯ll be dragging screams from you in time.¡± ¡°Where do I find Baln¨¦rith?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t. She¡¯ll find you,¡± hissed Krynixia. ¡°When she finds you, she¡¯ll torture you for eternity in our new realm.¡± Do they think they can be rulers of a realm? I guess that gives them a reason to still work with Baln¨¦rith. They believe her lies about a place where they can gain absolute power and control, and they¡¯re desperate for it to be true. ¡°Did you enjoy that memory?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Did you realise that, despite the pain it inflicted, the implement still couldn¡¯t properly apply a True Name to me? Smug Baln¨¦rith was too arrogant to realise it hadn¡¯t worked. Isn¡¯t that funny?¡± The Succubus¡¯ lips twisted in a bloodthirsty grin, delight sparking in her mind. ¡°That¡¯s what you claim. The L¨®m? are using you as their pawn, and you¡¯re too dumb to realise it.¡± ¡°You believe the L¨®m? are using me?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°All three of you are greater demons, yet your desires and greed blind you. To think I was once terrified of those like you, how the times have changed. I want directions to where Baln¨¦rith has you working, and you¡¯ll give them to me.¡± I don¡¯t need to tell them I¡¯m copying their memories, so it won¡¯t matter how much they resist. ¡°What do you know of that?¡± growled one claws trying to dig into the barrier. ¡°It doesn¡¯t lead to her old realm, but out into the Far Chaos where the Eldritch lives. The fun thing is you¡¯re not even close to being in the right place for what she¡¯s seeking,¡± advised Amdirlain. All three of them stiffened. ¡°You lie,¡± growled the succubi in a sour chorus. Amdirlain smiled viciously. ¡°You¡¯re not worth the effort a lie would take. It¡¯s far easier to tell the truth to the puppets of a manipulative fool. It¡¯s not the realm¡¯s protections that warp your flesh but the effect of the Far Chaos. Without protection from Eldritch energies, only the habit of the form you wear keeps your bodies from distorting into horrors. I bet none of you have seen Baln¨¦rith¡¯s True Form and what it did to her. She had the right fix. She disciplined you to hold a specific form. Yet she was solving a problem irrelevant to what she wanted to do: go home.¡± If they get loose from these barriers, that might put a bee in Baln¨¦rith¡¯s bonnet. Her words stirred them to dwell on the location of the wound, and Amdirlain nudged their minds as she monitored their recollections of the route. Among the information, she caught the shortcut that had caused Silpar to lose track of the group he¡¯d tried to follow. Geez, that is a long journey, and they can fly at high supersonic speeds from the way the mountainous waves of that first Plane rush past. I¡¯ll need to keep a hold of them and ensure I dig out all the details, and I¡¯ve seen enough to know a mistake would land me in trouble with the primordials down there. Amdirlain¡¯s mental probe silenced the trio, slicing surgically through minimally trained psionic defences. Though the demonesses¡¯ nature made it difficult, Amdirlain opened one Succubus to an understanding of Celestial Affinity in moments, and she clutched at the side of her head, screaming in agony and disbelief. The understanding of goodness was so opposed to her nature that it caused a cascade of mental agony What does that say about me? I have both Abyssal and Infernal. Or is it because I can accept evil exists, and even if I don¡¯t like it, I understand enough about Tyrants and Sociopaths? She refuses to accept that goodness is more than just a fool''s attitude, and her whole mindset opposes it. ¡°A bit of knowledge is dangerous,¡± purred Amdirlain mockingly. Leaning into Muse¡¯s Insight, she remembered the terror of her hand rotting on the spike within the chamber of bone and projected it to the two of them. Surprised at the events that had unfolded with their sister, they backed up and pressed hard against the curvature of the barrier furthest from Amdirlain, thrashing in the grip of the terror she inspired in them. ¡°Destroying us will get you nothing,¡± groaned one Succubus while the other pressed her lips together in a thin line. They don¡¯t always react identically. They also don¡¯t handle that pain and terror well when it¡¯s driven by my Willpower. ¡°What I did was to implant an understanding that will probably cause her to end her existence permanently if she can¡¯t change her attitude significantly,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she waved at the struggling Succubus casually and set a sound barrier. ¡°All she has to do is acknowledge the corruption within herself and honestly regret it. That, I¡¯ll admit, is unlikely to happen.¡± ¡°Baln¨¦rith will crush you once she gets her hands on you,¡± snapped Shareva. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°You¡¯re so much older than me, yet the three of you couldn¡¯t resist my summoning. Separated and down to two already, do you believe you can get out?¡± The two glanced at Phistia, who began to beat her head silently against the barrier. ¡°Yeah, two of you. Phistia isn¡¯t doing so well, and I¡¯ve implanted seeds to destroy her once she sends herself on,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Baln¨¦rith...¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Baln¨¦rith who?¡± interjected Amdirlain. ¡°Do you still want to call her that since she changed her name? Or do you not have a Use Name of hers now? What do you call her, arrogant bitch? Demon Lady of Failure?¡± At Amdirlain¡¯s deliberate provocation, the pair ground their teeth so hard that the muscles in their jaws and necks bulged with strain. One went to rip her own throat out only to find her claws were unable to contact her skin. The other lashed out with spells again but found the barrier no longer reflected them. ¡°You do know Baln¨¦rith isn¡¯t even using that name, right? Care to guess why she changed her name?¡± heckled Amdirlain, digging up confirmation that her new name was a secret from the three of them. With a thought, Amdirlain ended the concealments around her Angel Killer and Lady of Butchery auras, and both succubi groaned in pained pleasure as the force of Amdirlain¡¯s Charisma bore down on them. If only I knew what made Klipyl so different. Yet even she wouldn¡¯t have reacted so differently when I first met her. Less angry? I used her as bait, and she calmed down enough to talk soon afterwards. Why did they stay Baln¨¦rith¡¯s pawns? As chains of recent memories were recorded, Amdirlain quickly noted the locations that held Baln¨¦rith¡¯s message drops. Handling one of them was an individual Amdirlain had long considered catching up with. Amdirlain shifted to another Demi-Plane, its interior still unexpanded, and brought a Celestial slime Soul from the processing area, placing it in the middle. With a moment¡¯s focus, she uttered a name aloud for it. ¡°Persephone.¡± ¡°What bait can I get to her through dead drops?¡± murmured Amdirlain. She set protections in place, along with a song to record any messages sent to their name. Given the environment ahead, she cast shields against Electricity to bolster her earned resistance. I¡¯ll need to monitor the drop locations. Hopefully, she¡¯ll approach them directly to drop off instructions. What if she doesn¡¯t approach all the way herself? I can always set a perimeter of crystals to monitor for a Fallen coming anywhere close to them. Hmm, that won¡¯t be enough. It could be decades¡ªor never¡ªbefore she directly speaks to them or comes to a drop point. I need a way to lure her out or get something taken to her. Both? A momentary internal debate was all she needed to decide her approach. Amdirlain¡¯s Planar Shift took her to an empty Demi-Plane, and she created a vast stone field with jutting shattered towers rising from it. On an enormous parade ground, she arrayed all the mithril constructs she¡¯d made and set a wind to swirl across the expanse, to coat them with dust. When the display was done, she leapt into the sky and got a bird¡¯s eye view of the vast army that stood silent beneath her. That should be enough window dressing for the bait. Another Planar Shift caused her to jump deep into the Abyss and materialised atop a canyon lip. Torrent lived up to its reputation, with lightning cascading from the sky to smash down around her. Azure bolts burned the surrounding air, washing her nostrils with the sharp metallic tang of ozone and burning corruption. More bolts speared down into the yawning maw before her, or earthed themselves into the massive ore-veined stone spikes that grew from its side. The smallest spike extended at least six kilometres from the canyon¡¯s side, with a base that would cover multiple suburbs. From the canyon¡¯s depths, barely audible above the thunderous blasts that followed each bolt, came the screams of the dammed. The succubi¡¯s memories had provided details of the boiling river that descended the rapids within the canyon, violently battering the souls into serrated rocks along the shoreline and in the shallow waters. Her Planar Shift had placed her on the lip above an Abyssal city set along this part of the canyon¡¯s wall. The sides of the spikes and canyon walls carried countless balconies. Among them, Amdirlain spotted the doorways of houses and businesses alike. While most of the inhabitants flew on the rising air current from the river, others used carved paths for brief trips or walkways that hung between the protrusions and bucked about in the violent winds that rose from the water. Unspoken desire caused her garments to shift from dark green to jet black, and Amdirlain dropped towards the closest balcony. Demons scattered from her landing except for one larger fellow, who Amdirlain slowed. While her gaze fixed on him, the crowd of demons continued to flee, some jumping from the balcony, their wings snapped open far below. The Demon who Amdirlain had focused on was the smartest present; his body mostly resembled a silverback gorilla but had a piggish face and toddler-sized bat wings. Before her arrival, he¡¯d leaned casually against the wall, chewing on a sword-length skewer of rotting meat. Amdirlain¡¯s appearance caused the creature to snuffle fearfully as her auras wrapped around him. ¡°What can I do for you, great one?¡± ¡°Directions,¡± rumbled Amdirlain, ensuring he heard clearly. The Demon glanced at the vacant space around him as the closest demons fled. His gaze shot to the balcony¡¯s unprotected edge, but Amdirlain stepped in his way. ¡°Do you need a guide?¡± ¡°Just point me towards ¡®The Heated Pouch¡¯,¡± ordered Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯re seeking a Succubus whore, there are better places,¡± replied the Demon. Amdirlain snarled. ¡°Answer my question, or I¡¯ll test how far your head flies.¡± ¡°No need to test,¡± protested the Demon, even as he pointed along the balcony. ¡°Go that way. Pass eight staircases and, on the ninth, go down sixty-two levels. You¡¯ll see signs then if no one has ripped them away.¡± The quick and detailed response drew an edged smile from Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re an expert in whores?¡± ¡°Have to know what ones my coins will get me,¡± grunted the Demon. The honest response drew a dry laugh from Amdirlain, and she left him alive. As she strode along the balcony towards the stairs he¡¯d indicated, Amdirlain orientated his directions with the memories she¡¯d drawn from the sisters. She pushed her Charisma into her auras and Dominion together to add to her auras¡¯ impact. The effect caused demons for hundreds of metres in a sphere around her to shiver and drop to their knees in fear. Quickly filtering out the distortion, she traced the path ahead with Resonance, found the signs the Demon had referred to, and traced them to the brothel. The illustration on the stone took up most of its thirteen-metre-high frontage, making it clear exactly what the place¡¯s name meant. Amdirlain teleported into place and opened the door between the pictured Succubus¡¯ guiding hands. With her auras leading the way, all activity within the business froze, and the two young succubi tending to the front saloon fell to their knees¡ªblack-haired and red-lipped with corpse-white skin. Copper chains whose colouration popped from the white skin framed their ripe curves beneath. Both are low-level dominators. ¡°I will speak with the owner immediately,¡± growled Amdirlain. The closest Succubus mouthed soundlessly like a landed fish, and Amdirlain eased the pressure of her auras. ¡°Only the manager is in,¡± gasped the Succubus. Amdirlain stared at her coldly and let a desire to kill them all leak into her voice. ¡°Fetch Naz¡¯rilca.¡± The Succubus mewled desperately. ¡°You know her, great one?¡± It seems I enabled a default begging mode. ¡°Fetch! Her!¡± Both succubi ran. I¡¯ll just need to channel being a bigger psychotic bitch than the act I put on for Mor¡¯lmes when we first met. At the evidence of two home planes within her essence, Amdirlain sealed Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s ability to move dimensionally and monitored the sprinting demons¡¯ path. I¡¯ve got more Home Planes I can set. Once I¡¯m done, I should take care of that as well. While there isn¡¯t anywhere else I want to link myself, it is better to expand my safety net and not need it than want it when I¡¯m trapped again. With a disinterested glance at the patrons around the salon, Amdirlain tilted her head towards the front door. The strongest that needed a physical exit slaughtered the others while getting away. Upstairs, Naz¡¯rilca faced barriers that first herded her out of her office to encounter the young succubi bearing news of her arrival. She herded the trio towards the stairs and blocked the entrance to every room she tried. By the time Naz¡¯rilca stopped trying to get out of other exits and came downstairs to face Amdirlain, the foul blood and body parts had begun to turn into a congealed mess. Naz¡¯rilca had abandoned the lean leather-clad appearance that the sisterhood enforced and instead looked to be an overly lush, ivory-skinned Elf with deep mahogany wings whose ridges carried the numerous hooks and spikes of one spawned on Culerzic despite her born state. The hue of her wings and black gossamer attire made the ruby-red of Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s lips pop. She took a shaky step into the room, already panting from the pressure of Amdirlain¡¯s auras. Desperately, she tried to absorb as many details as possible about Amdirlain before her gaze fixed upon the mess on the floor behind her. ¡°I thought I¡¯d do you a favour, Naz¡¯rilca,¡± purred Amdirlain. ¡°One that I¡¯ll expect you to repay.¡± Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s gaze struggled to focus. ¡°What sort of favour?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to know who and what killed you?¡± Amdirlain inquired, keeping her smile contained as Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s theme shifted from lustful to violent rage. ¡°With respect, great one, I already know,¡± grumbled Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°And they are already beyond any efforts of negotiation or revenge.¡± Amdirlain waved absently. ¡°You know what your executioner intended for you to learn. You believe it was an attack by the now deceased God Set, correct?¡± ¡°Are you planning to point the finger at one of your foes instead?¡± scoffed Naz¡¯rilca weakly. ¡°I don¡¯t see what that gains you by helping me.¡± Amdirlain smiled smugly and added the press of Dominion to her auras, drawing a low moan of desperation from Naz¡¯rilca as she sought to stay on her feet. ¡°Are you done?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, great one,¡± whimpered Naz¡¯rilca, and mewled more demonically flowery apologies that turned Amdirlain¡¯s stomach. ¡°Well, I am planning to point you and your former lady at my enemies with the truth,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The sisterhood was manipulated into serving as a knife to threaten Set. He didn¡¯t destroy the fortress¡¯ gatehouse¡ªanother performed that ritual.¡± Naz¡¯rilca swayed drunkenly and tried to concentrate on Amdirlain¡¯s words. ¡°What evidence do you have?¡± ¡°Do you know how hard it is to prevent sympathetic magics from connecting to a target?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Especially if you have multiple connections available. Say if you have a demoness¡¯ mother and father, along with their several times over grandmother doing the casting. You were the target, and thus the destruction of the gatehouse centred on you.¡± With Epoch¨¥¡¯s name on Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s lips, Amdirlain struck first. The Ki Strike shattered Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s jaw and drove bone just far enough into her throat to turn the name into a gurgled scream. Let¡¯s keep my explanation simple. ¡°Your many-times-removed-grandmother is a Goddess now. She achieved a Demi-God state by feeding off the divine energy of Set, and stole the divine power of other gods,¡± said Amdirlain, casually pinning the writhing Naz¡¯rilca to the floor with her foot. ¡°Are you truly dumb enough to invoke her name in this conversation? I don¡¯t know why you remain loyal to Baln¨¦rith, but as your grandmother would say, you¡¯re now at a crossroads. I know she warned you about dying on knife blades, so I¡¯ll be clear¡ªtry to speak her name again, and I¡¯ll peel your flesh from your bones and then follow you to your other Home Plane.¡± It took a few minutes, but eventually, pieces of Naz¡¯rilca popped back into place, and mauled flesh regrew. ¡°Baln¨¦rith will want evidence.¡± ¡°There was a Gil?glp named Tras¡¯laq¨¬ at the fortress on Hrz¡¯Styrn who was her spy. He provided her with many details of the fortresses¡¯ wards, the sisterhood, and other more precious items,¡± Amdirlain replied, smoothly mixing lies with truth. ¡°He was destroyed following your death there. Do you think perhaps he learnt too many of her secrets? His relatives likely know more about who his real employer was for millennia.¡± ¡°Why tell me?¡± ¡°Your grandmother made many enemies in how she left the Abyss,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think the fragments of the sisterhood might profit from some of those enemies? Your special Class might be no more, but there are more ways to acquire Power than that single Class. In case your fear-addled mind missed it, Baln¨¦rith knows how to train up regiments of assassins and soldiers, and I¡¯m willing to sponsor a vast horde. I¡¯ll leave you a gift to present to her.¡± Naz¡¯rilca coughed, and a gob of blood splattered onto the floor. ¡°What sort of gift?¡± ¡°Have you heard of The Exchange?¡± ¡°Who hasn¡¯t?¡± grunted Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°How do you think Baln¨¦rith would benefit from a Demi-Plane of her own?¡± Naz¡¯rilca gasped. Disbelief was the first emotion, but it warred with her awareness of the intensity of Amdirlain¡¯s presence. ¡°How?¡± Amdirlain shaped a memory crystal from ectoplasm beside Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s face to allow her to see it form from the spiritual ooze. ¡°That contains some details of a Demi-Plane that a cabal of wizards left empty after they destroyed each other. We¡¯ll have to negotiate a few aspects of my sponsorship before she learns the Demi-Plane¡¯s name.¡± Within the crystal, Amdirlain set a linked Song to be triggered by the touch of a Fallen or Demon Lady, unsure which classification might apply to Baln¨¦rith¡¯s state. ¡°I¡¯ve no way to contact her,¡± groaned Naz¡¯rilca. The partial lie plucked from her thoughts provided Amdirlain with the protocol for alerting unknown watchers that something had arrived at the dead drop. The downside was that Naz¡¯rilca could not know when someone had passed the news. ¡°But you still hear from her,¡± insisted Amdirlain, pressing down slightly harder. Naz¡¯rilca wiggled under the pressure, and her theme clarified the extent of her enjoyment. ¡°How do you know that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spoken to other former sisters and was told this was a place to pass information along to her,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°One mentioned that requests she¡¯d left here had received action.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not former sisters,¡± protested Naz¡¯rilca, her pride clinging to the order. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°No, of course you¡¯re not former sisters. You¡¯re still sisters. Yet your order no longer has your Blood Monk Class, nor do you have a single fortress left standing. Tell me, you¡¯re a sister of what blood exactly? War rampaged through Baln¨¦rith¡¯s accomplishments, leaving only rubble. If Baln¨¦rith can accomplish some simple goals, I¡¯ll provide her with resources to rebuild.¡± ¡°If?¡± wheezed Naz¡¯rilca. ¡°You¡¯d insult one whose aid you seek.¡± A slight downward pressure from Amdirlain¡¯s foot set Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s ribcage near collapse. ¡°The crystal I created will slowly decay. Ensure you contact me when she receives it. Remember to contact Persephone,¡± advised Amdirlain, speaking over Naz¡¯rilca. She repeated the name until she was sure Naz¡¯rilca had taken it in. ¡°How much time do I have?¡± groaned Naz¡¯rilca from the floor. ¡°Less the more you speak. This is for your interruptions,¡± said Amdirlain. With her foot braced between the Succubus¡¯ wings, Amdirlain ripped both from her back. ¡°Don¡¯t make me come looking for you, Naz¡¯rilca. I¡¯ll enjoy myself far more if I have to come back.¡± The two succubi on the stairs whimpered and moaned, even though the eldest looked at her mother¡¯s back with an expression twisted by vicious spite. With Naz¡¯rilca dealt with, Amdirlain teleported near another dead drop on Torrent. 422 - Lightning crashes Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Torrent - The City of Blacken Spires Amdirlain had reappeared on a mountainside with a clear view of the artificial neighbouring peaks. The city¡¯s footprint was a lopsided quadrilateral, with the nearest side only three hundred kilometres with the largest just over eight hundred. Within its boundary were erratic layers lined with jumbled buildings, the tallest a trio of metal towers that reached into the thunderclouds. Those structures had an almost continual stream of lightning coursing along their sides. Though she had detected no mortals in the canyon regions within range of her Resonance, Amdirlain carefully checked the entire city before moving closer. This place is an absolute blast. Why do they set up such concentrations on an infinite Plane? Is it so the local Demon Lord has hordes of demons at their beck and call? Their economies are built around the accumulation of power and sating their hunger, yet endless cravings and hollow emptiness are a dangerous combination. They start with extreme desires, what was the tipping point that got Klipyl to change? She sought to get strong and followed me instead of sticking to old ways that had caused her to stagnate. How did that lead her to choose to be someone unselfish in how they treated others, willing to give people chances and share advice about improving relationships? She put the questions out of her mind and focused on her present task. After repeatedly scouring the corruption within the city, Amdirlain had isolated the succubi whose themes had strains similar to Naz¡¯rilca¡¯s, each possessing a sharp chin that lifted in mirrored arrogance as they regarded each other, and personality clashes caused lush lips to twist in arrogant sneers. They wore identical form-fitting black leathers with twinned short swords strapped to their thighs, their sleek and lean wings possessing only a single spike at the thumb joint. If their identical appearance wasn¡¯t enough, the deep red droplet with a familiar sigil set within it marked their armour¡¯s left breast, confirming they were among the remnants of the Sisterhood of the Blood. It seems blowing up the Blood Monk Class did a number on them, but they¡¯re still as arrogant as ever. The city¡¯s wards had nothing within them preventing teleportation, and Amdirlain reappeared amid a group of twelve succubi and slammed Dominion into those around her. When they crashed to the ground with fear that obliterated their mental defences, Amdirlain stabbed into their thoughts, linking Advanced Telepathy with Muse¡¯s Insight to inspire a tidal wave of terror through their minds. Horrors that they¡¯d all survived came up to plague them, and Amdirlain witnessed what these demons feared. Celestial armies that glowed with a magnificent light warred alongside Primordial beasts and devils for pride of place. The malice in their natures empowered the feedback loop to induce terror. With every imagined death they experienced, she framed it to cut at their certainty in Baln¨¦rith¡¯s protection. Outside their meeting place, thousands of mewling demons fled from the force of her Charisma, but Amdirlain¡¯s attention remained on the succubi. She quickly checked each with Analysis and found all were below her trio of captives in strength. ¡°Do I have your attention?¡± whispered Amdirlain coldly, and she let the effect cease. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (82 -> 83) Dominion [S] (6 -> 8) Harmony [G] (42 -> 43) Seed Doubts [Ap] (12 -> 15) Stimulation [Ad] (24 -> 32) Note: Are you trying to reverse millennia of brainwashing and appeals to greed in one outing?] When the first hand went for a blade, terror pulverised them again. Muse¡¯s Insight allowed her to take inspiration from the closest Succubus¡¯ fears. All felt the memory of rot chewing upon their flesh, and it triggered a flurry of reactions and panic. All were familiar with the strength of Decay, having endured time upon Ijmti building resistances while flesh slid from their bones. The pain went on as Amdirlain fed in snippets of perfect recollection. Memories of pain from ravaged, broken flesh or evoked through so many litres of Kadaklan¡¯s poison provided seeds for their torment, all fed into the framework of what they¡¯d done to others. They all saw their obliteration¡ªrotted, chewed up, burned into ash, and their flesh sucked from bones until their destruction threatened. All the things they¡¯d done to others fed fresh vibrance by Amdirlain¡¯s own memories of pain. As they struggled to hold their ground, the techniques of Mental Hardening she¡¯d learnt were applied in reverse to slip past their defences. Again, what felt like millennia of agony occurred in less than a second. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (83 -> 84) Dominion [S] (8 -> 9) Stimulation [Ad] (32 -> 36)] Upon the return of clarity, they found blades of destruction loomed above them, the roiling blackness sucking in the light, and they, already wide-eyed in terror, froze in place. ¡°Second and last chance, act against me, and I¡¯ll end you,¡± stated Amdirlain. Dominion ceased broadcasting fear, but the blades remained in place, lowering slightly. All twelve succubi teleported away as one, only to reappear sprawled across the floor, minus weapons and armour. ¡°Were you going somewhere?¡± asked Amdirlain softly, maintaining the dimensional songs she¡¯d used to retrieve and lock them in place. She lightly tapped a toe to one Succubus¡¯ foot and Ki Strike pulverised bone. ¡°Because I don¡¯t recall giving you permission to leave.¡± The wounded Succubus didn¡¯t dare even to grunt. The others shot looks of desperation between themselves, and Amdirlain pressed harder. This time, Dominion applied a different lesson, and all screamed as the memories of the Abyss¡¯s inferno rampaged through them, ripping and clawing at their sanity, leaving them mewling when it stopped. ¡°What is your wish, great one?¡± gasped one. Despite their nature, the persona she was utilising to terrorise them twisted Amdirlain¡¯s gut, and she reinforced the concealments that eliminated her scent. ¡°You are a contact point for Baln¨¦rith, are you not?¡± Amdirlain asked the group. The strongest of the sisters looked at Amdirlain and slowly forced out a response. ¡°Only for those within the sisterhood.¡± ¡°That is not what I was told,¡± corrected Amdirlain. As she channelled the hate and rage, she felt within the succubi, her words hissed forth. ¡°Would you like to speak again, ever? I have an offer for Baln¨¦rith, so she might serve my agenda and rebuild your ranks. I came with an offer and find myself disappointed. Now, what is your name?¡± Powered by Amdirlain¡¯s mind and will, telekinesis crushed her harder into the ground with each hissed word. The wards in the chamber floor effectively meant the Succubus got crushed against magical metal, and flesh immune to mundane materials ruptured. Before Amdirlain let go, her ribcage had shattered. The demoness spat out a mouthful of blood as she cleared ruptured lungs. ¡°Sultana.¡± Ooze formed into a memory crystal set with a concealed link song before Sultana¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll send her this offer through other drop points, Sultana. When I speak with Baln¨¦rith, I will punish those who uncooperatively didn¡¯t deliver her word first,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Those punished will then look upon my gentle and brief caresses today with sweet fondness.¡± Amdirlain vanished and set about visiting other drop points. Fortunately, most were far more responsive to her questions, and some merely took the request without a single threat needing to be issued. Those made the others she terrorised harder still to endure. Seven hours of performances later, Amdirlain felt sullied, and fled. Using demons¡¯ desires and fears against them is a double-edged sword. I feel sick. Under a clear blue sky on Cemna, she listened to the canyons now empty of undead. Sage¡¯s war on this world had, at least, ended with the undead purged and all the gates sealed. The impact the undead presence had left on this place rang sour notes through her perception. With the morning light warming her face, Amdirlain poured her distress into creation. After she completed her work, what had once been a kingdom of undead blossomed with life, barren farming plateaus were alive with plants and animals. Sea eagles, guided by implanted instincts, took wing to fish in teeming waters, while other animals looked out from dens or awoke upon nests perched on cliff faces or in trees. The cliff she¡¯d found marked with Orcus¡¯ symbol long ago now served as a site for seabirds. [Crafting Summary (Planetary Biome Restoration) Biomes, simple x2 Total Experience gained: 2,000,000 Olind?: +2,000,000 Note: There is a difference between your other repairs and restoring a biome from the grave.] The life she could hear all around her helped still the churning in her thoughts, and Amdirlain exhaled slowly. No more terrorising. I¡¯ll fight something cleanly or use means of destroying them utterly. When Amdirlain arrived back at the Outlands, it was still relatively early in the monastery¡¯s evening. She heard Sarah rearranging the wings of the courtyard, having already combined her forges and Artificer workstations in a single side area. Enchanted barriers that carried Sarah¡¯s theme addressed the issues of interference between the work areas. Though stealing Sarah from her work was tempting, Amdirlain sought Gilorn instead. Gilorn issued a welcoming chime at Amdirlain¡¯s appearance nearby on the observation platform. ¡°Did everything work out? You were gone for a while.¡± ¡°Can we visit a barren world tonight and bring it to life?¡± requested Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t you want those for the exercise with the L¨®m??¡± ¡°Yeah, you have a point. I wanted to listen to loads of life awakening,¡± said Amdirlain, pacing along the platform¡¯s edge. ¡°Why don¡¯t we create some extra demi-planes tonight and take the time to listen to the creatures on them?¡± proposed Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded absently and continued to pace. ¡°What were you hoping to achieve by listening to new life?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°A confirmation that I can be constructive after dealing with some of the sisterhood,¡± started Amdirlain. Her mouth twisted at the memory, and she shook her head violently. ¡°I need to scrub clean after today.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I used a combination of Harmony, Muse¡¯s Insight, Advanced Telepathy, Dominion, and Stimulation,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Since it was running off the fear reaction of demons, they didn¡¯t have a fun time.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t wish to take a night off instead?¡± enquired Gilorn. ¡°Spend it with Sarah.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to sully time with her with how I¡¯m feeling right now,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Because you feel raw and wounded as well as sickened? The threat of such vulnerability must be hard when you¡¯re still adjusting to other feelings.¡± Her emotional perception is far too high for someone who¡¯s not spent much time around others. Not wanting to get into a psychology discussion, Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. ¡°I¡¯d like to create something. I stopped on Cemna and restored some biomes. It was soothing to listen to the wildlife I brought to life.¡± ¡°You might find other creative ventures calming. I recommend we create more base elemental material for that star system,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°The rippling energy of additional matter within the near void has a meditative quality.¡± ¡°More likely a lightless nebula,¡± corrected Amdirlain, drawing an off-key protest from Gilorn. ¡°We can do that second. Six demi-planes?¡± ¡°Lightless nebula indeed,¡± rumbled Gilorn. ¡°Three demi-planes since I¡¯m more determined to see you strong enough to create a star system successfully. Lightless nebula! That¡¯s outrageous! We will make systems out there even if our initial spot isn¡¯t one of them.¡± Her repetition drew a wry smile from Amdirlain. ¡°You said it¡¯s a matter of mass and stirring the pot right,¡± replied Amdirlain dryly, listening to Sarah and Aitherlar moving furnishings within Aitherlar¡¯s wing. Gilorn¡¯s frame glowed, and symbols of notes shot like comets across her neck. ¡°Stirring requires proper arm strength. I have noticed that your perception seems to have taken some considerable jumps.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Maybe because I¡¯m slowly learning to be properly paranoid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how that relates,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°There is a saying: if you¡¯re not paranoid by now, you haven¡¯t been paying attention,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It seemed like you were already paranoid about some matters,¡± drawled Gilorn. ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ve been lazy in considering what you observed? You¡¯ve spent all that time in the Abyss and not yet gained Grandmaster in Perception.¡± ¡°Oh burn, I¡¯m going to need ointment for that one,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Her fingers racked through her hair, and Amdirlain forced herself to lift them away. ¡°Before you attempted being cheeky, I was going to propose the quick growth resulted from proper motivation,¡± offered Gilorn. ¡°Growth in some areas isn¡¯t just a matter of putting in the work, it¡¯s gaining the proper insight, and you¡¯re now motivated to look deeper.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I believe you¡¯re afraid of harming Isa, so rather than providing her with what she would win out of the bet, you started to watch for the pieces you¡¯d been missing,¡± explained Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯ve said Orh¨ºthurin saw too much, and perhaps that is part of why you turned a blind eye to things around you. You put others first. Now that you¡¯re motivated to avoid what you see as inflicting harm on Isa, you¡¯re actively paying more attention.¡± ¡°If I turned her back into an Anar, I might have to strip much of her strength from her,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She¡¯s been using True Song with an Outsider¡¯s physical nature. If she took that capacity into a living body, she might accidentally rip herself apart.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re right, then Luck inspired her to make a bet with you that you can¡¯t risk losing,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Shall we get to work, or are you going to risk the momentum of your Perception growth waning?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°I see what you did there.¡± ¡°Are you seeing a logical alternative motivation, or do you truly understand all my motivations?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°Have you been talking to Kadaklan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve spent hours on this mountain listening to the inherent understanding within the monks at all degrees of their evolution,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°And I don¡¯t have all your baggage tripping me up. Now, off we go. Take us to the first Demi-Plane and put yourself in gear instead of wallowing. You had to do a lot of shit shovelling today, and not even farmers enjoy that exercise.¡± I¡¯ve been corrupting her language. With a sharp nod, Amdirlain hopped them to the first work site. ? ? ? ? ? ? They returned a few hours before the morning training session, and Gilorn left Amdirlain¡¯s side when they both heard Sarah waiting on the platform. When Amdirlain appeared nearby, Sarah rose to hug her warmly, nostrils twitching as the scent of the last Demi-Plane Amdirlain had made tickled her nose. ¡°Demi-Plane creation tonight?¡± ¡°Three, plus some golems, and we sang a bunch of atoms into existence to let them float in the void of space,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Given you went off to chase some sisters, I take it things didn¡¯t go well,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Yes and no, I didn¡¯t like some things involved in setting up attempts to get at Baln¨¦rith,¡± admitted Amdirlain with a sigh. Sarah¡¯s hands lifted to cradle Amdirlain¡¯s face and gently kissed her, sending a tingle through her body. Resonance drank in the layers of entwining themes, and Amdirlain moaned softly at the music¡¯s heated embrace running through her senses. Each velvet movement of Sarah¡¯s lips against hers cascaded onwards in a sensory connection to the emotions in her soul. After a while, their kisses slowed into stillness. ¡°You okay?¡± asked Sarah, her warm breath caressing Amdirlain¡¯s face. Amdirlain let out a soft sigh at the buzz that had expanded from her lips, ignited her brain, and gently spiralled to her toes. I hope this isn¡¯t cheating. This isn¡¯t cheating, right? Cheating is just trying hard enough, so who cares? That was better medicine for my mood than hours of singing. ¡°I¡¯m better than earlier in the evening,¡± advised Amdirlain cheerfully. When Sarah''s gaze didn¡¯t shift, Amdirlain continued her explanation. ¡°Just because some ideas seem good doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re the right thing to do. Gilorn said the issue was from having to shovel the shit, but I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll take that approach again.¡± ¡°What did you get in trouble with?¡± ¡°I let the demonic nature of the sisters influence how I scared a bunch into cooperating with me,¡± replied Amdirlain, pushing the memories that threatened to spoil the moment away. ¡°I could do with a back rub if you¡¯re okay with that?¡± Sarah¡¯s gaze lit with glee. ¡°Clothed,¡± Amdirlain hastily yelped as Sarah reached for her. ¡°Clothed is fine. I enjoyed trailing my hands over your back when we danced,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Do we get to do that again soon?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°The dancing or the kissing that came afterwards?¡± ¡°Both,¡± purred Sarah eagerly. ¡°And you complained about having two left feet,¡± said Amdirlain, as she created a sturdy version of a massage table she was familiar with from her old life and promptly lay down. Amdirlain sighed happily as Sarah started to caress more than massage her back. Though her muscles didn¡¯t ache or tire, the gentle brushes through the silk of the shadow vines gradually received content moans. The contact and the rhythmic motions helped Amdirlain let her mind drift slightly, wallowing joyfully in Sarah¡¯s themes. She¡¯d been relaxing into the indulgence for nearly an hour when Sarah slid a fingertip playfully down her spine. ¡°Are you trying to tickle me?¡± ¡°You¡¯re not ticklish?¡± sniffed Sarah coyly. ¡°A living form doesn¡¯t have to be ticklish,¡± replied Amdirlain lightly. ¡°That¡¯s such a cheat code right there,¡± grumbled Sarah."Do you want to swap around? Klipyl dropped off a smelly oil whose scent I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll love." Hint: rub my naked back? Should I give her a massage? I¡¯m sure she¡¯d comment on the options that would provide. Amdirlain snorted and held back her laughter. ¡°That¡¯s precisely why I bagged the first massage. Though you helped me relax, I think I found meaning in the Jade Emperor¡¯s haiku and at least part of his puzzle.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°The problem is some of it I still don¡¯t understand, and that¡¯s the challenge,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°What parts do you think you understand?¡± asked Sarah, returning to stroking down Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°Or would that be non-helpful? If you understand part of a puzzle, you¡¯re not understanding any of it because you¡¯ve come to an understanding of something else.¡± ¡°Congratulations on that mental knot,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°How would you have put it?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged and rattled off the options. ¡°Solved the incorrect equations. Working on incomplete data. You¡¯re dancing to the wrong tune. The blind men describing the elephant.¡± A finger against Amdirlain¡¯s lips stopped her recitation, and Sarah crouched beside the head of the table to look her in the eye. ¡°What pieces do you think you have? Remember, if he sees the future, that might be the needed starting point of your journey. A journey begins with the first step, etc.¡± ¡°Oh very wise. Well, wren of both genders sing, not just the males. I believe ¡®noiseless¡¯ implies I must undertake the trip without songs. While the wrens I¡¯m familiar with don¡¯t migrate or travel much, salmon and bats do. As far as the salmon reference, I think I need to return to the start,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Where is the start?¡± ¡°Originally, I thought it was Australia because of the ironbark sphere, but I don¡¯t think it is,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°I think the ironbark is just another supporting reference for the South. Where was the Anar city?¡± ¡°Where else? It was on the coast of the Mediterranean, in sight of her birthplace,¡± replied Sarah. Amdirlain grunted. ¡°There have been many ocean views looking at Mediterranean blue seas that have prompted me just to stop since I started working on Gideon¡¯s list. I might have to go travelling in a few years.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just doing a quick hop?¡± ¡°No, I¡¯ll need to tour the circle, follow the whirlwind of bats, the circle of life. The Mediterranean is where it starts, but the bats are flying clockwise¡ªthe total trip being from the west to Australia in the south, and then upwards to the centre. So legs of west to north, north to east, east to south, and then hope I¡¯m ready to look into the heart,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Or I¡¯ll have missed the point completely and wasted time.¡± ¡°Why loop that way?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just saying travel around the globe from Europe to Australia.¡± ¡°It feels like it''s meant to represent yin and yang redwood, white jade, the flames, and the ice,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°West is the minor yin, north is the greater yin, east is the minor yang, and south is the greater yang. The compass he sent spins constantly, and its needle creates a sine wave, which is a supporting symbol. Sine waves undulate, so I feel that¡¯s supporting a minor to major route.¡± ¡°What would you learn from this trip?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s not as if there are many foes upon a world that could challenge you.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea what I¡¯m meant to learn,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°And without songs, which I think means Resonance as well, there are things that could challenge me.¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t like the sound of,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s because you¡¯d prefer me to be as safe as possible,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The problem with safety is?¡± Sarah ground her teeth. ¡°It doesn¡¯t challenge you.¡± ¡°There is another aspect I¡¯ve not covered yet,¡± said Amdirlain casually, before she propped herself up on her elbows and grinned at Sarah. ¡°And that is?¡± ¡°Bats travel in a swarm, and salmon travel home alongside others. Would you do me the honour of travelling with me, my love?¡± Sarah caressed her cheek. ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready to start your travels, I¡¯ll be with you.¡± Amdirlain would have said more; only Sarah leant in to claim her mouth. As the kiss heated up, Amdirlain rolled over and dragged Sarah atop her, not letting go for a moment. ¡°At least you seem to have gotten comfortable kissing,¡± sighed Sarah happily after the kisses eased. ¡°That was very much a crocodile death roll.¡± ¡°Resonance,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah rolled her eyes at the shorthand and gave a curt frown when Amdirlain didn¡¯t elaborate. ¡°Do I have to poke you?¡± Ideas and half concepts wiggled around in the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind. ¡°Need to let the explanation steep, ideas wiggling, and in forcing them I risk losing them,¡± offered Amdirlain rather than changing the subject without explanation. ¡°Tip of the iceberg stuff.¡± ¡°Tell me when you¡¯re ready then,¡± grumbled Sarah, rubbing her nose. ¡°Or I will poke you.¡± ¡°Me doing the poking was your mum¡¯s suggestion for you,¡± quipped Amdirlain, the memory threatening a blush. ¡°I can¡¯t believe she broached that topic since I¡¯ve got enough issues as it is.¡± ¡°Same after the nose smacking she gave,¡± grumbled Sarah, tracing the line of Amdirlain¡¯s jaw with a fingertip. ¡°I can smell the ripples in your emotions. You¡¯ve got your defences down.¡± ¡°I do for you, since it¡¯s only fair. Is Aitherlar all settled in?¡± ¡°Mostly,¡± said Sarah. ¡°To save discussion, I told her to pick a side and then set up the barrier you hear between the forges and the workbenches.¡± ¡°Okay, I was wondering whose idea they were,¡± said Amdirlain, running her fingers through Sarah¡¯s hair. ¡°Though it sounded like your enchantment work, she might have talked you into them.¡± Sarah snuggled closer. ¡°Now that¡¯s resolved, I should let you know I thoroughly approve of the stability of your massage table. Though there is just one issue.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°It¡¯s also very narrow, so we don¡¯t have room to sprawl out,¡± murmured Sarah, her mouth moving lower to nestle against the base of Amdirlain¡¯s throat. Amdirlain lifted a hand from the back of Sarah¡¯s head and lazily tapped out a beat against the mithril frame. ¡°Just a little something I whipped up. I might have gone overboard, but it netted me eighty thousand experience alone.¡± ¡°I noticed the enchantments to improve its stability,¡± snickered Sarah. ¡°Not to mention the robustness,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Sarah lifted herself to look into Amdirlain¡¯s eyes; one hand braced atop the table¡¯s upper edge. The melodies coming from Sarah drew out a smile that lit Amdirlain¡¯s gaze. ¡°Well, we have our travel plans, but no reservations have been made yet.¡± ¡°You¡¯d been saving money to go through Europe,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Yet I don¡¯t think any of the tourist spots in your plans will be present.¡± Amdirlain grinned. ¡°Veht?¡¯s copy of Italy will have ruins and places of cultural interest. Though I¡¯ll admit they¡¯re not quite the ones I had intended to see. There will be monsters to beat up and loot to claim.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll find the crown jewels in England,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°They¡¯ve likely ended up in a monster¡¯s lair in Europe if they didn¡¯t get dragged to the Abyss,¡± Amdirlain chuckled and stopped with a groan, precognition tickling away at the back of her mind. ¡°Did you just doom-flag yourself?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± huffed Amdirlain unhappily. ¡°The Songbook. It¡¯s still on Veht?.¡± ¡°You just thought of that?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Yes,¡± hissed Amdirlain, fighting back a sense of reluctance. ¡°Yes, I did. I¡¯d given up on it as I thought something would have dragged it into the Abyss. I need to find it, but it would be like finding a needle in a haystack without Resonance.¡± ¡°Then find it later. You¡¯re not aware of an immediate need for it, and if one arises, find it with your surveyors and snatch it up,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°Or find it after you¡¯ve done your world tour.¡± ¡°You have a good point,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Only one?¡± Amdirlain gave her a teasing smile. ¡°Are you fishing for compliments already?¡± ¡°Maybe I am,¡± replied Sarah, leaning in to kiss the tip of her nose. ¡°I love you,¡± murmured Amdirlain shyly. Sarah kissed her cheek lightly. ¡°I¡¯ll love you for eternity, Oath bond or not.¡± They¡¯d cuddled side by side when a notification almost caused Amdirlain to start upright and she dumped Sarah off the table. Though she slipped, Sarah caught herself mid-air. [Achievement: Terrorise infants Reward: Your message was delivered. Note: Be careful what you wish for Amdirlain; you¡¯ve previously gotten mistaken advice.] If it¡¯s delivered, where is the Message orb with her song? Did she detect the linked song? I thought I¡¯d mislead them by using psionics to create the crystals. I need to hear her song to find her at will or even get her Analysis details to know what weight class to target in my training. All the drop points I tried will dry up. ¡°Fuck me,¡± growled Amdirlain. A Message orb appeared near Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder, and encapsulated within it was the melody of a Demon Lady. Its complexity provided layers of information showing the Fallen further tainted by a transformation site¡¯s corruption. Amdirlain¡¯s jaw hardened as she took in the song¡¯s strength, unsure what she was letting herself in for. ¡°I thought I¡¯d be saying that first,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°Only that isn¡¯t your happy face.¡± ¡°I panicked when Gideon trolled me about my message being delivered, but I had no results from the linked songs. Baln¨¦rith just hadn¡¯t picked up the memory crystal. Now I¡¯ve got her melody,¡± squealed Amdirlain, pointing at the orb. ¡°She triggered the linked song, but fuck she¡¯s stronger than me.¡± Phoenix¡¯s Rapture went back into passive mode before Amdirlain used Analysis. Its flood sent pain hopelessly thumping against Amdirlain¡¯s mind, but she pushed past the torment and sorted through the static of the information flood that had always caused the pain. [Name: Valat? Species: Demon Lady (unique) Class: Cataclysm / Heavenly Scourge / Faith Bane / Blight Level: 35 / 175 / 175 / 174 / 174 Defence: 19,761 Health: 15,901,398 Faith: 11,504 Magic: 17,982 Mana: 61,359,732 Melee Attack Power: 18,493 Combat Skills: Sword-Divine [G] (12), Bow-Divine [G] (297), Conviction-Saint [G] (421), Mana Finesse-Saint [G] (392); All Tier 1-4 affinities, various blessings, and an enormous number of spell lists. Details: Formerly Baln¨¦rith, formerly Tarlangeth, formerly Seraphim Michaela, highest among the Heavenly host (she was so proud of that rank, a proud servant of the father of a prideful Pantheon who abandoned a half-finished realm). As Baln¨¦rith, she didn¡¯t need trillions to harvest experience as she hunted and travelled in the Primordial depths.] ¡°Well shit,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to need a bigger boat. Wait! She picked an elven word for Pride as her name. What an arrogant bitch!¡± ¡°Weapons skills?¡± ¡°Very nasty, but limited. Sword and Bow are ungodly high,¡± quipped Amdirlain and projected the details. ¡°She has divine rank in both?¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°What are you going to do?¡± ¡°Get good,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Time to grind so I can take her on in the areas she¡¯s weak and match her in the places I can. Naamah must have gotten close and shut down her spells and blessings with something like Suppress Target. Which I¡¯ve also neglected.¡± ¡°If you have to do the same, she¡¯ll have something prepared,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°She¡¯s arrogant, but she might learn from her mistake.¡± Amdirlain nodded and slipped from the massage table to offer Sarah a hand up. When Sarah got to her feet, she enfolded Amdirlain again. ¡°What will you do first, your little journey, or deal with her?¡± ¡°Get strong enough to deal with her,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°And that kinda decides what I want for my fourth Class.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°My health is the fuel gauge for True Song, but Intelligence impacts what I can handle hearing and how quickly I can compose, and Willpower impacts what I can mentally endure,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t physically have to move my mouth for songs as the quickness of my thoughts determines that.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going for intellect?¡± ¡°I was wondering if I could find a psionic Class that would help balance my attributes better,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Something to boost my insights into the progression of those abilities into a unified Power.¡± ¡°That I can¡¯t help you with, but Aitherlar would know the psionic classes inside out,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Let¡¯s go bug her,¡± grinned Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s hope she doesn¡¯t ask me to knock you up again.¡± Sarah gave a sly smile. ¡°She might insist on getting a grandchild out of you in exchange for the information.¡± ¡°Beast,¡± growled Amdirlain. She let go and teleported them outside Aitherlar¡¯s new den. 423 - Checking in Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Aitherlar¡¯s room gleamed. The Outlands sunlight, drawn in through dimensional windows across expanses, reflected through columns of multi-hued diamond. Though Amdirlain knew about the construction before she crossed the threshold, she ?stopped to consider it with sight alone. Still wearing her silvery dress with its belt of looped gold, Aitherlar stood within a crystalline grotto only a hundred metres from the entrance, directing the creation of crystal formations. Ectoplasm drawn into being through the force of Aitherlar¡¯s intellect twirled spirals in the air, in its wake, glistening facets added to the brilliance of light within the room. The light from the different colours merged at precise angles, resulting in concentrated colours, from patches of restful shadows of deep velvety purple to bright work areas of yellow and red, without a single diamond of the same hue. Tiny strands delicately tweaked the effects among the pillars and diamond arches to create boundary lines of distinct hues between the patches, the physics involved drawing Amdirlain¡¯s smile. ¡°I hope the space is sufficient, Lady Aitherlar,¡± said Amdirlain. A tiny smile twitched Aitherlar¡¯s lips. ¡°While it¡¯s not enough space to stretch out, it¡¯s sufficient for some fun. What is it with the use of a title today? Perhaps I should have you calling me Mother.¡± ¡°How would that be orderly?¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s certainly an event out of sequence.¡± Aitherlar huffed. ¡°After your mating flight. Given the size of your True Form, I¡¯ve got a list of Dragon variants you could adopt for it.¡± We¡¯re not even close to that stage. I thought Mal¡¯s in-laws were bad, asking about kids after the wedding, but Aitherlar takes the cake. ¡°Did you capture your little succubi?¡± ¡°It was a very successful operation,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve gained my enemy¡¯s song, which raises some things I¡¯d like to discuss with you.¡± ¡°Baln¨¦rith is stronger than you had hoped?¡± asked Aitherlar before Amdirlain could continue. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Given she is far older than you, it¡¯s expected. What¡¯s the biggest challenge you see from the information you¡¯ve gained?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to cross blades with her, but her spells will also be potent,¡± advised Amdirlain, mentally projecting the Analysis. Aitherlar frowned. ¡°I forbid you from dying. Is that clear?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll endeavour to avoid that,¡± Amdirlain replied with a carefully composed expression in place. ¡°Given her long life, you¡¯ll need to overwhelm her,¡± noted Aitherlar. ¡°Her skill with Mana-Finesse will only benefit her by enhancing the effects of wards or protections she has in place¡ªit won¡¯t help her directly against your True Song attacks.¡± ¡°I wanted advice on patching up some holes in my attributes and increasing my psionics classes,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Do you seek advice on an evolved base Class, or preparation for your next Prestige Class?¡± questioned Aitherlar. ¡°A fourth Class before I select my Fallen transition,¡± advised Amdirlain. Aitherlar frowned thoughtfully. ¡°Come in and sit down. You¡¯re cluttering up the entry, and I dislike clutter.¡± A pair of crystal chairs grew from the floor near the boundary of the space in which Aitherlar stood, each just big enough for a single person. When Sarah moved towards one, Amdirlain mischievously followed and perched on her lap. When Sarah¡¯s arms went around her waist, Aitherlar merely smirked. I got played. ¡°You are rebellious around anyone issuing orders or even implicitly directing you unless you ask,¡± observed Aitherlar. ¡°Please block us from being overhead.¡± Amdirlain put the concealments in place and nodded. ¡°What goal is primary for the Class, and what is secondary?¡± asked Aitherlar, and she moved to sit on the other chair. ¡°Did you think it was for you?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not interested in lecturing,¡± said Aitherlar, beckoning Amdirlain to start. Amdirlain ran through the same logic she¡¯d provided to Sarah, but Aitherlar merely wrinkled her nose. ¡°You need to build on your strengths,¡± advised Aitherlar. ¡°Your diversity is the challenge, as you have many points you can reinforce, but what else is happening? Your greatest strength should be your True Song, why haven¡¯t you taken a new Class to strengthen it?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve received advice that I should strengthen all my options for channelling energy,¡± informed Amdirlain. Aitherlar frowned in contemplation. ¡°Alright. While I don¡¯t know your Class names, I¡¯m given to understand most of your classes involve your Ki and True Song, correct?¡± ¡°That¡¯s correct.¡± ¡°There are some evolved base classes that provide a synergy of psionic and Mana progression,¡± offered Aitherlar. ¡°It might seem odd to most wizards, but in the end, Spell formations are mental patterns that we fill with Mana. One of those classes will increase your magic rating alongside your Mana and Psi pools. It¡¯ll be a matter of what progress you must achieve to access some of them.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your recommendation?¡± ¡°Other than leaving Baln¨¦rith alone for a million years while you close the gap?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Yes, other than that.¡± ¡°Bypass her completely. What work she¡¯s been doing in the Abyss, go disassemble it or undo whatever she¡¯s done,¡± advised Aitherlar. ¡°You don¡¯t have to beat her straight away. You must keep filling in whatever den she¡¯s been digging to stop her roosting.¡± ¡°At my current speed, it will take me too long to get down there,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll be able to retreat from the deepest planes except along their route. If I¡¯m flying slower than them, they can catch me, or I¡¯d need to enter territory controlled by primordials.¡± ¡°I see,¡± acknowledged Aitherlar. ¡°Forget considering classes for now. You have a broad foundation already, and you might unlock more options with training. Let¡¯s tackle this differently. You believe you have three fundamental goals: crushing or imprisoning Baln¨¦rith, undoing the work in the Abyss, and increasing your ability to channel energies?¡± Amdirlain nodded sharply. ¡°Wrong.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± A wry smile twitched the corner of Aitherlar¡¯s mouth. ¡°You have one goal. Once you¡¯re strong enough, everything will be easier. Everything you learn will help you with that, so don¡¯t clutter your day with distracting goals. Which makes your goal what?¡± ¡°Learning,¡± offered Amdirlain. Aitherlar blew her a kiss. ¡°Well done. I was worried you¡¯d go for getting stronger, but that¡¯s the result, not the focus. Here is the best thing: we can make learning fun. What will you do with the Martial Pavilion at their training session this morning?¡± ¡°Link to their minds then, with Harmony and True Song, provide various foes for each that is effectively them fighting themselves,¡± explained Amdirlain. Aitherlar¡¯s smile turned predatory. ¡°That is such a fun idea. Is it an original one?¡± ¡°The idea is from a game I used to play,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Your story time sessions?¡± questioned Aitherlar. Sarah began to snicker, and her cheek pressed tight against Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°Role-playing games,¡± corrected Amdirlain, giving Sarah¡¯s leg a hard poke. ¡°Story time indeed.¡± ¡°I love you,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Beast,¡± grumbled Amdirlain, fighting down her sudden blush. ¡°Yes, I am. It¡¯s cute how you blush,¡± noted Sarah. Aitherlar smiled approvingly. ¡°In amongst your other fun, we still have to catch up with Mor¡¯lmes,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Given when he was packing up his desk, we¡¯d need to schedule it directly after lunch to be certain of catching him during his office hours or early afternoon to avoid being too late in the evening,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°After lunch? Get it handled,¡± proposed Sarah. Sarah will see the latest changes. ¡°Okay. You¡¯ll have to endure my morning face.¡± ¡°You¡¯re always fine, even in a Halloween costume,¡± replied Sarah, reassuringly caressing her back. ¡°We never did Halloween,¡± protested Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. ¡°Fancy dress.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? With the number of students being escorted her way growing, Amdirlain opened a series of gates along the front of her property that placed them through the training hall to avoid congestion through the double doors. As the masters arrived, Jinfeng greeted each before she introduced them to Amdirlain, who took care to bow in the same fashion. With nearly four thousand uniformed monks spread out in orderly rows across the training hall, it gave Amdirlain the feeling of a martial arts parade. ¡°There is no need to hold back against the opponents you face,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°You may fight them individually or in groups. Only the first set will remain focused on their initial target until they are felled.¡± Master Payam smiled. ¡°I thought this would be a simple individual challenge, Lady Am.¡± ¡°In battle, the situation is constantly changing. After the first set, those who let their opponent defeat someone else will sit out the next set,¡± completed Amdirlain. Featureless opponents appeared near each person present. Each was the same height and general build as their target, and their skin glistened like the withdrawing tide over the sand. Their attacks had the consistency of a blackjack¡¯s impact. Held together and directed by unheard songs, each took and administered a beating, using attacks from each Monk¡¯s thoughts. Amdirlain¡¯s mental touch stayed with them throughout the training session, allowing them to feel the execution of every attack, block, and dodge as the training session extended. Each sandy figure lasted until it had endured the same damage that would have felled the Monk with their assorted Ki defences. The final damage caused them to burst apart in a dramatic spray to give each winner a satisfactory victory rush. As the last defeated their opponent, Amdirlain regarded those who had finished first. ¡°Why did you not help your fellows?¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°In training, isn¡¯t it important to practise what you would do in the field? I said opponents would remain focused on their initial targets, not that you had to,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°These are not honourable foes. You are not here training with me to learn to fight honourably. I do not offer advice on honour, only on adapting and surviving. You are here to learn how to adapt, keep each other alive, and win.¡± The sandy figures appeared again, each five per cent larger than before with a proportional increase in reach, strength, and health. The seniors¡¯ foes blurred towards the lesser students. Already pummelled by the previous fighting, chaos ensured. The safety measures swiftly whisked away each ¡®felled¡¯ student, leaving a chalked outline behind. When the fight ended, a third of the attendees had technically fallen. ¡°Who here can use Universal Life?¡± A scattering of hands went up, a considerable number among those fallen. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Is it only a healer¡¯s place to learn it? Would more of you have survived if you¡¯d refreshed yourselves and your fellows between battles? When you are low on energy, look to withdraw from an engagement, but dying with your body filled with unused Ki energy is wasteful. Recover, and we will begin again.¡± A regeneration field washed over them, mending deep bruises and assorted other injuries. Master Payam lined up with the other ten masters and smiled. ¡°Will we have time to exchange pointers, Lady Am?¡± ¡°Is that what brought all of you along?¡± The twinkle in Master Payam¡¯s gaze was all the answer she needed. ¡°The masters¡¯ simulacrums will use my style and capabilities.¡± In the next round, each Master fought a sand simulacrum of Amdirlain. Things got messy when the first fell. Two on one, the next fell faster in an avalanche that quickly gathered momentum. ¡°We should have asked Master Cyrus to come along as well,¡± grunted Payam, as his bruises healed. In round three, the sandy figures all started as small goblins that held themselves poised for battle. ¡°Each will respond to vulnerable spots as if they were alive. A new creature will appear from a different species when they¡¯re felled.¡± With the resumption of training, the foes shifted through various goblinoid and giant insect species and ran through creatures she¡¯d heard upon thousands of worlds. When the first Giant appeared on the battlefield, the masters rushed to help. Telepathy, Harmony, and Muse¡¯s Insight lay across them through the continual grand melee, and Amdirlain learned in return. She heard Aitherlar join Sarah on the upper observation level, and their mental touch brushed hers to study the approach. When the last monster they had time for fell, a notification appeared. [Advanced Telepathy [M] (83->84) Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (116->117)] They might not have found that quite fun, but learning can be engaging for all of us. Amdirlain ensured they were all fed and recovered before she sent them on their way, opening gates across the mountain to ensure timeliness for their next sessions. When the other masters had left and the last students were streaming out, Jinfeng approached and exchanged salutes. ¡°Thank you for the instruction today, Sifu,¡± stated Jinfeng. ¡°It was not what I had expected.¡± ¡°Life has given me many surprises,¡± responded Amdirlain. ¡°I have two questions for you. First, how long will you be teaching here?¡± Jinfeng grew contemplative. ¡°I¡¯m unsure ?Sifu. I feel no need to move on now. Eventually, I know I will need to do so. Neither teaching nor study here is a substitute for the tempering of actual combat, no matter how interesting you make such practice sessions.¡± I¡¯ll use Jinfeng¡¯s departure to determine my own. Each day must count since I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll be here. ¡°Hopefully, I can help you progress your capabilities while you¡¯re here,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°What prompted the question?¡± ¡°Just trying to decide how long I¡¯ll stay here teaching,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not only the attendees who must adapt constantly. If you wish, please extend invitations to everyone who came today for tomorrow.¡± ¡°More grand melees?¡± ¡°Each day will be different,¡± corrected Amdirlain. With another salute, Jinfeng headed on her way. ¡°Are you planning to take extra company on our travels?¡± asked Sarah when Amdirlain joined them. Amdirlain laughed. ¡°No, just setting a random start event. Jinfeng feels settled, so I doubt she¡¯ll leave in the next few years. Even a decade would be short for all I need to do, so I¡¯ll have to work harder by putting the timeline in someone else¡¯s hands. When she leaves, we¡¯ll see what we can find along the shores of Veht?¡¯s Mediterranean Sea.¡± ¡°What¡¯s there?¡± asked Aitherlar. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s songbook is somewhere on Veht?. The only issues are I¡¯m not even sure what it looks like and, if it¡¯s like other crystal items of hers, it will be well hidden from Resonance,¡± offered Amdirlain. Aitherlar frowned. ¡°How do you expect to find it?¡± ¡°I¡¯d better get much better at Clairsentience,¡± replied Amdirlain. Her delicate elven features lit up, and Aitherlar clapped happily. ¡°That¡¯s an intention I can get behind.¡± How does she keep that enthusiasm? Sarah suggested I ask her. ¡°I¡¯m sure this will sound like it¡¯s coming from nowhere, but how do you stay involved with the people?¡± ¡°We all have now,¡± replied Aitherlar. ¡°The question isn¡¯t how I stay involved with the shorter-lived. Your question should be, why should I not be involved? I¡¯ve had more nows, but I have no guaranteed future. I can¡¯t tell the Titan what to do in his Spire, he talks to no one. What if he decides the realm ends tomorrow? I have no say in that, do I? I live each day as if it¡¯s my last to learn. Every moment might be the last opportunity to bring more Order to the realm, and even if it¡¯s not, it might be the only opportunity to gain particular insights. Always cherish what you have.¡± When the others arrived, Aitherlar mentally called them upstairs and motioned for them to take seats. She waited for them all to settle before looking them over. ¡°I met with most of you after yesterday¡¯s exercise. So today, I¡¯ll review some theory and cover the end goal.¡± Images appeared hovering around them to show humanoid and Dragon brains, with sparks of energy transferring neural networks. ¡°Thoughts are energy, emotions are energy. Psions typically use particular images to evoke mental techniques because the power of association lets a new practitioner leverage control of that energy. However, that power exists in the mind, not in the image. One doesn¡¯t have to experience a particular event to use a technique. The image of that event or concept forms the reins the individual uses to steer it,¡± said Aitherlar. ¡°However, reliance upon images or emotional sensations to evoke techniques is a liability as life changes everyone. Trauma can incapacitate a psion, not only when a brain injury is involved but also because any trauma can jolt the mind. A useful image can become too strong or weak.¡± Sarah glanced at Amdirlain, who rolled her eyes at all the techniques she¡¯d found new images for in recent sessions. Aitherlar caught the gesture and motioned to Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, cheeky child, especially when one¡¯s intellect has undergone rapid expansion and trauma. Evoking of all techniques only differs because of the mental energy the images cause to cascade in our thoughts. Today, we¡¯ll start with the energy patterns for simple thought pushes.¡± ¡°Does this cause skills to evolve?¡± asked Nomein. Aitherlar smiled. ¡°Not straight away. Forming these patterns needs to become as automatic as breathing, not just second nature. Doing so evolves the associated skills to powers, from separate powers to a unified core. Am had Telepathy and moved onto Advanced Telepathy as a Power, so she¡¯s both ahead of you and behind since that Power evolved into an automatic capability without her having to determine how.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll need to understand it better so I can evolve them together,¡± said Amdirlain. The slow nod Aitherlar offered drew a grunt from Nomein. ¡°Relearning everything.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re not relearning. What you¡¯re going to be doing is fine-tuning,¡± corrected Aitherlar. ¡°When you invoke the image, open yourself to the energy framework in your mind. I spoke to Sarith yesterday, and she spoke of the defensive grids of thoughts for protection. Instead of the grid being made of images and concepts, you¡¯ll aim to achieve a pattern of pure Psi energy. Each time you invoke a power during practice, feel for the energy framework in your mind, look for how it lays across your brain.¡± ¡°Then look to spread the Psi energy ourselves?¡± asked Lezekus. The question earned a quick wink from Aitherlar. ¡°Unfortunately, the Titan didn¡¯t enforce draconic runes for the patterns but left it to individual minds. Though these Psi energy frameworks are the same as Spell formations in a way, the energy source and patterns differ.¡± ¡°Thus, you can¡¯t just show us the pattern because our minds are formed differently,¡± Lezekus said. Aitherlar motioned to Gemiya and Sarith. ¡°Twins, yet different approaches to solving challenges. That is because of how their minds work and Psi energy interacts with the mind, so there are no shortcuts. Unless Amdirlain¡¯s ability to inspire enables you to find it faster.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine for everyone else, but Muse¡¯s Insight doesn¡¯t speed up my learning,¡± grumbled Amdirlain playfully. Gemiya laughed. ¡°No, but you can hear the powers inside yourself. We can¡¯t.¡± ¡°With some powers, the mental energy in the techniques is at a finer level of detail than I can hear,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Get good,¡± huffed Sarah. Amdirlain pouted playfully. ¡°So mean.¡± ¡°Might I join in the lesson?¡± requested Dareios. ¡°Of course,¡± Aitherlar readily agreed. ¡°It¡¯ll be fun to train a Celestial properly.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? The morning session produced some progress, but it didn¡¯t distract Amdirlain from what she¡¯d agreed to undertake. Nerves had her in knots when Sarah and Gilorn vanished to Qil Tris. The call of the summoning device soon followed, and she allowed herself to be drawn into the conduit between planes. Before Amdirlain hit the threshold at the end of the summoning conduit, she closed her eyes to avoid Sarah¡¯s gaze. No sooner than she felt the circle¡¯s constriction settle around her than it vanished. With Amdirlain still in her True Form, the circle¡¯s removal caused her body to expand to full size. The wind that raced through the winter grass that surrounded her brought the scent of late snow from the southern mountains, and to the northwest, birds fished in the nearby waters. Along the curve of its shore to the north, she heard the southern estates of Osaphis. The busy city had expanded south around the training complex grounds but kept clear of the military base and its entry into the ghost caverns. ¡°You have grown,¡± offered Sarah lightly. ¡°That circle couldn¡¯t have been comfortable.¡± With the scent of a nearby lake layered under the foul soot of her smoking wings, Amdirlain transformed. Quickly, she cleaned the lingering aroma and restored the ground that the summoning circle had compressed. ¡°The magic ensures I take on a proportional form.¡± Gilorn hovered nearby, just above the brown grass. As the wind ruffled through Amdirlain¡¯s azure blue fur, Sarah smiled. ¡°I think you might be a little recognisable.¡± ¡°Habit,¡± huffed Amdirlain. She altered her fur into a striped grey and brown tabby, but her scent matched that of her silver-furred J persona. Fabricate created loose blue sweats suitable for the later winter and a bright yellow backpack. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were a nun,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°That joke is old,¡± groaned Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s willowy Human form changed into a red-furred Catfolk wearing red hunting leather, and Amdirlain grinned. A shrug changed the leather black, but the fur remained the same hue. ¡°All things are relative. Shall we get going?¡± ¡°You two go ahead. There is no point in me coming after all,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ll concentrate on the ghost caverns.¡± ¡°Any initial thoughts?¡± Gilorn tinkled optimistically. ¡°From their sound, starving them should be possible, but it will depend on how many portals we need to open and where to connect them. My primary concern is that if the caverns don¡¯t seal themselves, background Mana might allow a Spawning Abomination to form over a long period.¡± They reappeared at an entry point on the eastern edge of the Triumvirate Campus. In the local midafternoon, no one lingered near the laen plinth, and the pair started along the pathways towards the Wizard¡¯s tower. As she approached, Amdirlain duplicated the wardstones of two professors leaving the campus, handing one off to Sarah. Casually looping arms, the pair walked in silence, with the rhythmic click of their claws on the walkway counting out the steps. Their passage through the campus¡¯ layered wards allowed Amdirlain a clear sense of them, and she reassessed the care she¡¯d once needed to take with them. Is it because I can see the weak points now, or because I¡¯m stronger? On the final turn towards the main Wizard building, Sarah nudged her and nodded towards a hexagon ahead. A musician playing a complex piece on a lap harp sat on a small side stage. Another student held a trace unit among the audience, and her thoughts focused on collecting the performers'' trail. I didn¡¯t tell them what to call it, and it¡¯s only logical that they call it something suitable for them. Trail versus recording, who am I to judge if it makes sense to them? ¡°You should have brought your harp along and busked on one of the other stages,¡± suggested Sarah, as mischief lit her theme. ¡°You might have made enough to get us an afternoon snack.¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°You¡¯d have to organise your own food. I¡¯d be lucky to get enough to cover my snack.¡± The mental snickers Sarah released earned her a light tail swat. The preserved patron banners still hung in the tower¡¯s entryway, but a new banner was among them that Amdirlain didn¡¯t recognise. With the wards unconcerned by their presence, Amdirlain headed for the lift. Their ride to the floor that contained Mor¡¯lmes¡¯ office didn¡¯t take long, and Amdirlain led the way along the corridor past other university staff. The sign beside the door indicated they were outside his office hours, but with his assistant and secretary absent, Amdirlain tripped the door¡¯s lock. ¡°Did they have it?¡± Mor¡¯lmes called. ¡°That depends. Have you been having fun with the toy I provided?¡± Amdirlain replied as Sarah closed the door behind them. ¡°J?¡± queried Mor¡¯lmes. Amdirlain stepped into his office doorway and casually looked over the cluttered writing boards, wall shelves, and cupboard tops. ¡°You keep your desk immaculate, but everywhere else is messy. If I¡¯d dropped that memory crystal on a shelf, you¡¯d have never found it.¡± Mor¡¯lmes had stood up; his black fur bristled in surprise, his ears perked straight, and his nostrils twitched as he took in her scent. ¡°How many forms do you have, J? Or should I say Am?¡± ¡°Either is fine. How are Wha¡¯sin and the children doing Mor¡¯lmes?¡± ¡°They¡¯re doing well. Your crystal surprised me. From your message, I thought you would never return,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°I set things up so I wouldn¡¯t need to return,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°If I had kept the training complexes the same, I wouldn¡¯t have. But I figured out some improvements for them and another issue.¡± ¡°This latest one is vast. The crystal had the details, but why is there a change?¡± ¡°The changes aren¡¯t over yet, which is why I thought we should talk,¡± said Amdirlain. His ears flattened slightly, but Mor¡¯lmes motioned to the visitor¡¯s chairs. ¡°The changes you started continue to ripple outwards, so why are you here to start more?¡± ¡°It concerns the training complexes and the graves,¡± Amdirlain replied somberly. ¡°Is the danger from them getting worse?¡± asked Mor¡¯lmes, his fingers gripping the desk¡¯s edge. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°We believe we have a solution, but we need to make some arrangements to prevent your people from losing strength.¡± Mor¡¯lmes ears twitched in relief. ¡°Will you stay afterwards to answer some questions?¡± ¡°That will depend on the questions.¡± ¡°Just on the way you¡¯ve got these new training sites laid out,¡± clarified Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°There were some places whose purpose we don¡¯t understand. There wasn¡¯t anything like them in the old training facilities.¡± ¡®They¡¯ve no concept of dungeons and exploring ancient ruins, and I¡¯m not even dressed the part,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡°As long as you fill us in the details of how things have been,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected my message to be shared for years, if ever.¡± The uplift of his whiskers signalled Mor¡¯lmes¡¯s amusement. ¡°Ladies Cla¡¯nes and Jan¡¯era went straight to the studio of that Al¡¯stri fellow. They had it on repeat whenever other programs weren¡¯t running. I heard they made quite a bit from people watching it. Did you notice something within the lobby?¡± ¡°The new patron¡¯s banner?¡± ¡°Lady Jan¡¯era made loads of coin licensing the trail and memory crystal techniques everywhere she could,¡± explained Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°The other patrons had no choice but to add her pride to the council. I hear she¡¯s been advocating for a lot of changes.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t keep her laughter contained. ¡°And Lady Cla¡¯nes?¡± ¡°She turned them down. I¡¯ve sometimes seen her on the receiver, walking beside the Patriarch at functions.¡± ¡°Does she have an official title?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I believe she¡¯s been cleaning up the military for him.¡± From spymaster of her organisation to that of a country. Her bodyguard was formerly a member of the Matriarch¡¯s military. ¡°I noticed your daughter¡¯s concert shirt,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Does she torment you with particular songs on repeat?¡± ¡°Wha¡¯sin took them all to Jal¡¯krin¡¯s performance last spring. Fortunately, he¡¯s released so many instrumental pieces that I can at least get her to change sets,¡± replied Mor¡¯lmes. ¡°Now, what have you discerned?¡± From composer to performer, good on Jal¡¯krin. His song isn¡¯t in the city, so maybe he¡¯s touring. With a steadying breath, Amdirlain started taking Mor¡¯lmes through the issues with souls travelling through the graves and their options. 424 - Wrapped around your finger Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches When the trio crossed the Domain¡¯s boundary, the fields were quiet. Amdirlain stopped to listen, but Gilorn immediately jumped to the hall. ¡°You¡¯ve still some time before your evening session with Gilorn,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯d thought I¡¯d meet with Livia,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you want to come along?¡± At Sarah¡¯s nod, Amdirlain sent a quick Message, and they were soon skimming across rooftops. As they landed, Livia smiled from her spot on the back veranda and motioned them to join her. ¡°Good evening, M¨®eir. Have you been having fun with teaching?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Sometimes I feel more like the bully pushing folks around than a teacher.¡± When Amdirlain settled on a couch, Sarah took a spot beside her, their fingers entwined. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t let that worry you. From all reports, the Martial Pavilion was quite abuzz today,¡± said Livia. Her relaxed expression didn¡¯t hide the bright dancing notes throughout her theme. ¡°Their head Master Yesun dropped hints he wants to ensure you¡¯re happy to remain as long as possible.¡± ¡°Battle junkies,¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°Their minds were awash with glee from all the insights, but Am¡¯s worried about pushing their limits.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯ve already told Master Yesun there are unlikely to be sessions outside the pre-breakfast training you¡¯re running, M¨®eir,¡± advised Livia. ¡°He wasn¡¯t at this morning¡¯s session,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°No doubt you¡¯ll get a request to spar with him. As the Martial Pavilion¡¯s head, he supervises the general drills for those who¡¯ve yet to select a pavilion,¡± explained Livia. ¡°Are you going to continue to train them all?¡± Amdirlain shrugged noncommittally. ¡°It helped me as well, both with Advanced Telepathy and Muse¡¯s Insight. How are the worlds you are connected to going? Are you regretting getting dragged in anywhere?¡± ¡°Not dragged in,¡± protested Livia. ¡°Invited, or perhaps sponsored.¡± ¡°Guilt tripped,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Livia grinned. ¡°I¡¯m as soft a touch as you when helping those in need.¡± ¡°Encouraged,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s a more positive term than I¡¯d expected from you,¡± Livia said approvingly. ¡°I¡¯m seeking a middle ground. Maybe one day I¡¯ll be tentatively optimistic,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s a balancing act.¡± With precise motions, Livia made and served the tea, placing a cup before Amdirlain first. ¡°Maybe I should stop cheating with my tea and make it properly,¡± commented Amdirlain as the fragrant scent wafted from the cup. ¡°Whose tea making have you used as a base for the song?¡± enquired Livia. ¡°Or did I assume incorrectly?¡± ¡°Master Cyrus,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Any sign of the trouble custodian referred to as yet?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not yet drawn attention to myself upon the oppressive worlds,¡± said Livia. ¡°Why don¡¯t we talk about how you¡¯re going instead?¡± They¡¯d been relaxing for a few hours when drifting notes called Amdirlain to her next session. Amdirlain rose. ¡°Is tomorrow evening busy for you?¡± ¡°A lesson. The evening after?¡± asked Livia and stood to hug Amdirlain warmly. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure I¡¯m here,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Just so you know, no one has approached me about a dowery yet.¡± ¡°M¨®eir,¡± grumbled Livia reprovingly, her eyes twinkling. ¡°I¡¯ve had people asking if they¡¯d have a chance at becoming your second wife or first husband.¡± Sarah huffed in amusement. ¡°Tell them they need a few billion years of dedication,¡± Amdirlain laughed and teleported them to the training hall. ¡°Have fun with Gilorn tonight,¡± offered Sarah. After briefly caressing Amdirlain¡¯s cheek, she left them to it. ? ? ? ? ? ? After the evening¡¯s progress with the demi-planes, Amdirlain and Gilorn ventured to the depths of the ghost caverns, where the glow from Gilorn¡¯s frame illuminated a sombre mist. ¡°The passages are in a constant flux as energy accumulates,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°About a hundred metres underground is where the passage becomes the conduit. Given the warning you gave Mor¡¯lmes, we could put a Gate in place that will only allow souls to travel to Judgement.¡± ¡°They have life mages with the right spells to revive.¡± ¡°Only because you provided them the grimoires, I¡¯m told,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°Fine, to and from Judgment. Afterwards, I can return their expedition teams to the surface.¡± ¡°That works,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Gilorn hummed, and a spray of glowing motes spun around in her frame. ¡°The question is when.¡± ¡°You applied the changes to the Demi-Plane I gave Mor¡¯lmes access to,¡± stated Amdirlain to confirm Gilorn had followed through. ¡°Indeed, though they have months before the furthest zones gain their bosses, let alone start to lock down the closer ones,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°I want to go check on the expedition teams there,¡± ¡°Why? Do you recognise some of their songs?¡± questioned Gilorn. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°I¡¯m a touch predictable in some respects.¡± ¡°I heard you jumping straight into asking Mor¡¯lmes about your friends.¡± ¡°Aitherlar¡¯s advice was that we only have now,¡± Amdirlain said playfully. Gilorn released sharp notes, transporting them to the mountain slope overlooking the first region. A quick check revealed no song Amdirlain recognised, so they hopped to the next region and then the third. It was there that Amdirlain found Jul¡¯iane and Tulne camped out on the same team. [Name: Tulne Class: Wizard / Gravitational Prefect / Spatial Arcanist / Spatial Sage Level: 43 / 42 / 42 / 42 Defence: 134 Health: 2,366 Magic: 179 Mana: 115,934 Melee Attack Power: 114 Combat Skills: Claws [Ad] (22), Dagger [Ad] (3), Staff [Ad] (23), Mana Finesse [M] (71), various Spell lists and affinities Note: But you knew that last bit already.] Yikes, her spellcasting ability is coming along. She¡¯s going to leave me in the dust. Tulne was focused on knowing more about how the graves functioned, and it seems she¡¯s turned that towards dimensions and planes. Amdirlain moved to a clearing nearer their camp but paused and debated even talking to them. I made a clean break, but am I more worried about their reaction to me or interfering with their lives? A song globe appeared near Tulne¡¯s shoulder, and Amdirlain heard Gilorn¡¯s instructions whisper to her. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°You have ¡®now¡¯,¡± reminded Gilorn. ¡°Right?¡± As Tulne jumped out of her blankets, Amdirlain transformed into her blue-furred Am form and Gilorn disappeared a distance away. Jul¡¯iane, sleeping nearby, jumped out of her blankets when Tulne tapped her foot, and the Wizard teleported them to the clearing. Though still dressed in loose sleep shorts and tops, they had enough enchanted items to match a modern tank. Tulne and Jul¡¯iane sleep ready for trouble. Tulne¡¯s primarily black fur blended in with the darkness in the clearing, the starless night of the Demi-Plane not providing even a glimmer of light to bring out the silver that Amdirlain knew frosted Tulne¡¯s fur. I should do something about that if I provide them to races without the Catfolk¡¯s night vision. ¡°You just followed instructions without checking?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°J wasn¡¯t a name I could ever contact you using, and I wasn¡¯t about to let the chance slip by,¡± Tulne said, with a thoughtful frown. ¡°One person knows about my association with J, and Professor Mor¡¯lmes isn¡¯t in the trial zone.¡± Jul¡¯iane, still wide-eyed from being startled awake and teleported, shook herself and blinked slowly at Amdirlain. ¡°AM?!¡± Her tortoiseshell fur was much the same as Amdirlain remembered, though she¡¯d trimmed her hair shorter. The young Monk¡¯s ears and whiskers perked up as she sprung gleefully towards Amdirlain. Amdirlain caught her mid-air and hugged her, exchanging friendly nuzzles. ¡°You don¡¯t look like a giant monster, Am,¡± laughed Jul¡¯iane, and she stepped back, her hands still on Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Can I see your other form for myself? Jan¡¯era said you made her fur stand on end.¡± ¡°My other form is still changing and is in an ugly phase at present,¡± demurred Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ll have to put up with me as a Catfolk.¡± ¡°That makes me so curious,¡± Jul¡¯iane said. ¡°Why is your other form changing?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been getting stronger, and it¡¯s caused some strangeness,¡± said Amdirlain diplomatically. ¡°But you can change form?¡± questioned Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Easier than you breathe,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°What is Sarah? She looked like a moving gemstone,¡± commented Jul¡¯iane. Amdirlain shrugged, unsure how to explain dragons. ¡°Nothing like her species exists on Qil Tris. They¡¯re called dragons, and they possess a lot of inherent strength besides their physical aspects.¡± ¡°Dragons,¡± repeated Jul¡¯iane. ¡°The word rolls oddly on the tongue.¡± Tulne interjected. ¡°Never mind about Sarah¡¯s species. Where did you go to? The grey pillar looked taller than any mountain.¡± ¡°Another Plane called the Outlands,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The Outlands of what?¡± ¡°You want me to get into religious matters?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°As long as the answer doesn¡¯t require me to worship them,¡± countered Tulne. ¡°Its full name is the Outlands of the Titan¡¯s Spire. That grey pillar is the spire in question, and it¡¯s the boundary of another plane. The realm¡¯s primary creator dwells within, but he doesn¡¯t interact with mortals, celestials, or gods,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve already hit two questions that Mor¡¯lmes had no interest in.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been back to Qil Tris?¡± squeaked Tulne excitedly. ¡°When?¡± ¡°A quick visit today. Mor¡¯lmes just had questions about this new training complex,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Do you have any thoughts on it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a lot bigger. There are spots with dramatically tougher foes, within a region of weaker creatures,¡± commented Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Is it meant to be that way?¡± ¡°Apex predators need food, and they normally drive away threats to their food supply,¡± replied Amdirlain. Tulne tilted her head. ¡°You set them up to mimic more natural behaviour, unlike the initial training complexes?¡± If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Amdirlain smiled. Jul¡¯iane¡¯s whiskers twitched. ¡°We need to talk to some hunting guides. Get them to come in.¡± She¡¯s not expecting me to give them the answer. ¡°How big is this place, J?¡± asked Tulne. ¡°Each city will be connected to one the size of your world,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They won¡¯t be safe for people to live in full time. Each region has safe zones but is not big enough to be truly self-sufficient.¡± Jul¡¯iane spluttered. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Let me explain how the zone bosses will work. You might have noticed the minerals in the first zones don¡¯t include any magical metals,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Can we record this?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Mor¡¯lmes already did, but that¡¯s fine,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she flipped Jul¡¯iane a memory crystal. Tulne teleported a trace unit to herself as Jul¡¯iane held up the crystal. ¡°Is this the recording?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s for your brother. Mor¡¯lmes said he¡¯d composed some instrumental music after seeing our forms. I thought he might find some sights from the Outlands inspiring,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Some,¡± snorted Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Fourteen sets worth so far for your one speech. Is the Outlands where you live?¡± Mor¡¯lmes certainly isn¡¯t paying attention to the music scene then. ¡°At the moment,¡± hedged Amdirlain. ¡°Though he¡¯d enjoy some of the beautiful and mysterious sights around the Plane.¡± Jul¡¯iane perked up. ¡°What are you doing in this Outlands? More of what brought you to Qil Tris?¡± ¡°No. Presently, I¡¯m teaching some people how to survive, and expanding my abilities,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The same skills you taught me about?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane eagerly. ¡°You¡¯re not coming to the Outlands. Your family would worry about you,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain. Jul¡¯iane clasped her hands together and regarded her pleadingly. ¡°Where else am I going to learn more?¡± ¡°Learn more by doing more,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°One¡¯s intent determines much of how powers and skills grow. Tulne, set your unit up and roll out your questions. You¡¯ve got a couple of hours before I have to go. After I¡¯ve answered your questions, I¡¯ll give Jul¡¯iane a demonstration of a few Ki powers.¡± Tulne¡¯s ears and whiskers drooped. No fair, too cute. ? ? ? ? ? ? Upon Amdirlain¡¯s return to the training hall, Sarah snickered loudly. Her laughter beat in time with the duo¡¯s swishing tails. ¡°Did you get adopted again, sweetie?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°They¡¯re only here for a week,¡± muttered Amdirlain. Sarah laughed harder. Jul¡¯iane nose twitched as she looked Sarah¡¯s red leather outfit over. ¡°Sarah? Do you change forms as much as Am?¡± ¡°Not even close, cub. How has your mother and pride been?¡± asked Sarah as she casually rubbed along Jul¡¯iane¡¯s jawline. ¡°Mother¡¯s well, Jal¡¯krin and the rest of the pride have prospered. Our team was heading back for a break, so we tugged Am¡¯s tail until she gave in,¡± commented Jul¡¯iane. ¡°She¡¯s got a soft spot for youngsters,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°The rest will be here shortly. Are you letting Jul¡¯iane join in the fun, Am?¡± Jul¡¯iane nodded happily. ¡°Yes,¡± said Amdirlain drily. ¡°She wanted to know about the sessions I¡¯ve run.¡± Sarah slowly shook her head at the enthusiasm in her response. ¡°Did Am tell you all of what the morning training involved?¡± ¡°Group sparring,¡± chirped Jul¡¯iane, her tail swished energetically. ¡°It should be so much fun.¡± Amdirlain cut in. ¡°Though I might hit up Master Lu afterwards to provide my guest with some pointers. The energy flow through chakras differs from mine, which impacts Ki infusion and armour.¡± ¡°That explains Jul¡¯iane, but that hardly covers you, Tulne,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Freeloading can¡¯t be ruled out,¡± Tulne quipped, her attention half on the crystal platforms. ¡°After knotting her tail, I got offered the chance to speak to some instructors. Am also said there are some new Gravity and Spatial Spell lists she¡¯s accumulated.¡± ¡°That and if Am didn¡¯t let us come along, Tulne said she¡¯d figure out how to open a Gate,¡± added Jul¡¯iane ¡°Kids blackmailing you,¡± smirked Sarah. ¡°The more things change.¡± ¡°The more they stay the same,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve not told them that most folks here are vegetarian.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Eating only vegetables,¡± advised Sarah. Jul¡¯iane¡¯s face dropped. ¡°Tell me you¡¯re kidding. Who can survive like that?¡± ¡°Each to their own,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Fortunately for you there are silver trays in each sitting area. Touch them and think of the food you¡¯re after, from drinks to full meals, and you¡¯ll get it.¡± ¡°Spoilsport,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°You could have let me sweat her for a couple of hours of training after she guilt-tripped you. All your Willpower and you buckled in. Oh! What did you two call her?¡± ¡°Am,¡± said Jul¡¯iane ¡°J, and Am,¡± reported Tulne. Sarah smiled. ¡°People calling you Lady Am or Sifu driving you that crazy sweetie?¡± Amdirlain waggled a hand. ¡°There were more reasons than that, and after studying the technique manuals, I¡¯ve realised how much I hadn¡¯t taught Jul¡¯iane. Even a few tips might go a long way to progressing Ki knowledge on Qil Tris.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Civic Pavilion after the lesson and get them a place to stay close by,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll see about seeing up a way to come and go tied to them alone.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say this would be a repeat exercise,¡± objected Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s smile warmed, with her gaze fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°How often are you two not delving?¡± ¡°Our schedule runs three weeks on, one week off at present,¡± replied Tulne. ¡°Unless someone has a pride occasion that needs to be worked around.¡± ¡°Oddly enough, it¡¯s rare that someone needs long to recover. What with all the aspects that some oddity called J taught Tulne, she¡¯s a tail-kicking Wizard,¡± drawled Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Let¡¯s introduce you to Klipyl and Dareios, and then you can warm up before the morning training,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Sarah patted her shoulder and headed upstairs. ¡®You¡¯ve only yourself to blame for this one,¡¯ projected Sarah. When the rest of the attendees arrived, they didn¡¯t even blink at Jul¡¯iane, standing alongside Klipyl and Dareios. The morning¡¯s activity was a variety of grand melees with sandy figures that the attendees had to co-ordinate against. Later, when they were leaving following the morning meal, Amdirlain signalled Jinfeng over. ¡°Those group exercises were interesting, Sifu,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected coordinating with others to protect an unwilling subject to be so difficult.¡± ¡°Master Payam might have taken my ¡®be uncooperative¡¯ instruction too far. I hope he didn¡¯t bruise you too much,¡± laughed Amdirlain. Jinfeng fixed her with a knowing look. ¡°Would you have brought him in line if he had gone too far, Sifu?¡± ¡°How would you have learnt if I helped?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Though, speaking of learning. Master Lu, would you allow Jul¡¯iane to shadow some of the Martial Pavilion¡¯s activities during the day?¡± Jinfeng saluted. ¡°Of course, Sifu. Is she one of your disciples?¡± ¡°A friend whose feet I set on the first steps of her way,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That is all any of us can truly do for another, Sifu,¡± responded Jinfeng. ¡°I take it she has a device to translate languages. During the morning meal, I heard her speaking to Klipyl and the other Catfolk. It wasn¡¯t a language I understood. I hope Catfolk is the proper term?¡± ¡°It is,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Her moves are very dance-like,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°Perhaps she can teach me a few things about understanding my body, not just my blade.¡± ¡°Jul¡¯iane¡¯s people have dances based on hunting techniques and battle stories rather than tamer entertainments,¡± advised Amdirlain, and she waved Jul¡¯iane over to introduce her properly. ? ? ? ? ? ? Aitherlar continued the previous morning¡¯s sessions with barely a pause for introductions. They undertook the same mental exercises to trace the Psi energy within their existing techniques. Amdirlain received more challenges than the others, continuing to use songs and spells while working on her sigil. Morgana agreed to Kadaklan and Cyrus¡¯ approach to include spellcasting in the morning sessions. However, to Amdirlain¡¯s relief, she¡¯d fiercely opposed distractions during their afternoon sessions, especially the theory sessions she held. When Aitherlar at last called for a brief break, Tulne clapped politely. ¡°Not quite up to the standard of your concerts, Am, but I could only see part of that show.¡± Nomein grinned at Tulne. ¡°You¡¯ve seen her play?¡± ¡°Never mind discussing music,¡± interrupted Aitherlar. ¡°I gave you a break to stretch and refresh yourselves. Now get a drink and take care of your squishy biological needs.¡± Amdirlain glanced at Sarah. ¡°Have you been corrupting your mother¡¯s language?¡± ¡°She enjoys keeping in touch,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Right, then okay,¡± drawled Amdirlain as she stood. ¡°Not you, Am,¡± corrected Aitherlar. ¡°Sit back down and show me what you were doing towards the end.¡± Tulne looked between Sarah and Aitherlar. ¡°Mother? You¡¯re also a Dragon, Lady Aitherlar?¡± ¡°Yes, Tulne,¡± confirmed Aitherlar casually. Morgana took in the young Catfolk. ¡°Since you¡¯re only here for a week, we¡¯ll fit in some lessons in the afternoon once we¡¯ve finished overworking, Am.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t handle casting like that. I¡¯d be a puddle in no time,¡± protested Tulne. ¡°Of that, I¡¯m well aware. We¡¯ll have a chat at the noon meal,¡± replied Morgana. ¡°Amdirlain gave you a memory crystal, did she not?¡± ¡®Has Morgana been chatting with you?¡¯ Amdirlain projected. Sarah responded with a mental eye roll: ¡®Dragons gossip. A lot. Mother and Morgana are both teaching you, so they likely spoke a lot after you had to nab the sisters.¡¯ ¡®Does gossiping come with the territory?¡¯ ¡®I¡¯ll share all the lifetimes of gossip I had to keep hidden later,¡¯ Sarah mentally laughed. ¡®Or you can provide me new gossip to keep hidden.¡¯ Door number two sounds good. Amdirlain winked. Sarah laughed and patted Tulne¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Come on, I¡¯ll show you where things are and give you access to some of the massive library Am¡¯s accumulated..¡± The lure of knowledge had Tulne nodding and hurrying after Sarah. You only have to promise Tulne the opportunity to learn; she¡¯ll run after it. Aitherlar waited until they had started downstairs. ¡°Psychometabolism is your lowest psionic Skill, correct?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Then let¡¯s focus on that alone today while you are working on the Ki Blasts with Master Cyrus,¡± instructed Aitherlar. ¡°I¡¯ve got some particular constructs set up for you to use while retraining your Thicken Skin and Vigour techniques. Let¡¯s run through some sets of those before the others get back. In the second half of this session, we¡¯ll concentrate on Ki Blast and those techniques.¡± ¡°Mixing things up is good,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°The same approach you¡¯re using with your morning teaching. You said you like to concentrate when learning new things,¡± replied Aitherlar. ¡°We¡¯ll push you hard the first half of the morning and then focus on two alternating techniques in the second. Since you can use Ki Blast, it only requires your partial attention. Indeed, combat techniques aren¡¯t something you¡¯d want to need your full attention. Does that strike a closer balance without letting you off too easy?¡± ¡°We can always assess and adjust if it doesn¡¯t work,¡± replied Amdirlain. Aitherlar smiled. ¡°I want you to listen to the music of the techniques.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got some particular theories to go over this afternoon that should stretch your understanding, so don¡¯t be late,¡± added Morgana. ¡°Gilorn, let¡¯s leave them to it and discuss some musical exercises to add to the morning mix. There are some mathematical patterns in arcane theories that I¡¯m interested to get your view on supplementing.¡± The pair disappeared and left Amdirlain at Aitherlar¡¯s mercy. ? ? ? ? ? ? It was a hectic week, with lessons, training, and construction work, and the gap Amdirlain thought she¡¯d regained dissolved into fragments of snatched personal time. Amdirlain sighed after the gate closed on Tulne and Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s safe to go back in the water?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Not one bit,¡± huffed Amdirlain, and she turned and clung to Sarah. ¡°Don¡¯t make me go. My brains are leaking out of my ears.¡± Sarah tugged playfully at the lower curve of her ears. ¡°I can¡¯t even tug your ears properly.¡± ¡°Silly elves with no ear lobes,¡± mock grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°Wait, what am I complaining about? No tugging my ears, thank you.¡± ¡°They¡¯d have the gravitational effect and stretch, then they wouldn¡¯t look dignified,¡± responded Sarah. Caressing Amdirlain¡¯s cheek, she stole a light kiss. ¡°Yummie,¡± hummed Amdirlain. ¡°Is your mother overworking me to make me appreciate the few moments we get more?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no idea how her mind works,¡± said Sarah. ¡°But if that¡¯s the result, I¡¯d only partially complain.¡± ¡°Only partially?¡± ¡°If you have to have fewer of them to appreciate my kisses, it means I need to get better at kissing you,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Shall we walk back?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to steal some more time with you and then teleport,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll be in each other¡¯s pockets travelling around Veht?,¡± consoled Sarah. ¡°And I¡¯ve have a bunch of lessons to attend myself. How about we align our lesson schedules once the next Tao Enchanting course series starts?¡± ¡°Travelling around Veht? is years off yet. But aligning schedules sounds good,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t drag any of them here,¡± said Sarah, nodding to where the Gate had stood. ¡°I told you Tulne cheated,¡± said Amdirlain, spreading her arms wide. ¡°Sad kitten eyes.¡± Sarah laughed. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You didn¡¯t drag her. Tulne¡¯s willing and able to race into the unknown.¡± Okay, I¡¯m not the only one who sees Tulne¡¯s behaviour that way. ¡°How long do you think it will take you to get the enchanting basics down?¡± ¡°That is a good question,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s very different from Artificer runes; it¡¯s almost directing an organic growth. Unlike Psychometabolism, there isn¡¯t a lifeform¡¯s existing physical structure to help align it. Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?¡± ¡°More curious,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°As you said, we¡¯ll have more time together once the next series starts.¡± ¡°Some days, I worry you¡¯ll get nervous and hightail it,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Some days I get nervous, but Gilorn¡¯s nightly exercises give me time to calm my arse down,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah hugged her and gently touched her forehead to Amdirlain¡¯s. ¡°How is your form feeling?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a constant low-level itch,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I hope I¡¯m an exception to Bahamut¡¯s warning, or at least for long enough to get Empress Malfex.¡± ¡°At least it¡¯s giving Pain Eater practice,¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°Though it could just be a subconscious thing, not a limit on your capacity.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, lovely,¡± Amdirlain mock grumbled. ¡°Though you¡¯re right, it''s more Mental Hardening since I¡¯m not getting a catalogue from Pain Eater.¡± Sarah kissed her forward. ¡°Want a massage before you head off to sing?¡± ¡°No, I want to give you one,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I found a nice scented oil I think you¡¯ll like.¡± ¡°Do tell,¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°Yeah, and I¡¯m getting butterflies thinking about it, so just behave yourself, Buster,¡± mumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m flattered, but you don¡¯t have to push yourself,¡± Sarah said. ¡°I¡¯d like you to enjoy yourself as well.¡± No. It¡¯s just a back rub. My nerves are because of my issues, not your bare skin. I can¡¯t get past them if I don¡¯t confront them,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°So please help me with this, okay?¡± Sarah kissed her cheek and stepped back to offer Amdirlain a hand. ¡°Just didn¡¯t want to push you. You smell a bit shaky today.¡± Amdirlain briefly closed her eyes. ¡°I ate up so much pain. It¡¯s a channel between Ori and me, connecting the scars along my Soul. I need to run more joy along that riverbed.¡± ¡°Is that why you let them talk you into a trip?¡± asked Sarah with a light smile. ¡°To let some joy in?¡± ¡°I¡¯m looking at all possibilities. The Jade Emperor¡¯s puzzle boxes are doing my head in,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°But that¡¯s a discussion for another time. I want to see if I can give you a yummy massage.¡± ¡°Got more ideas spinning around that putting into words would shove from your grasp?¡± Amdirlain nodded. Sarah drew her across the boundary line and teleported them home. When Sarah finally stretched out on the massage table with a towel draped over her hips, Amdirlain¡¯s nervousness surged. Though her hands remained steady while she rubbed the oil into Sarah¡¯s back, the aeons of Ori¡¯s loneliness flooded her. Tears salted Sarah¡¯s back, but Amdirlain kept herself from being dragged under. Instead of fighting it as she once would have, Amdirlain rode its surface like a bird skimming across a storm-tossed sea. ¡°Let¡¯s stop,¡± whispered Sarah. ¡°Not a good start to this attempt,¡± rasped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m in no rush, sweetie,¡± murmured Sarah. She rose from the massage table slightly, and clothing wrapped around her body. Perched on the table¡¯s edge, she enfolded Amdirlain in her arms. ¡°Was it more memories of grief?¡± ¡°An ocean of loneliness.¡± With that admission, Amdirlain leaned into her embrace. 425 - Still here Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches It took another ninety days of morning meditation and training sessions before Amdirlain¡¯s sigil behaved. In learning to control it, the exercises caused Ki State and Ki Infusion to combine into Ki Body. This resulting Power was the key to her sigil, providing a clear boundary for its expansion to press against. Despite her previous expertise with the powers, the changes involved retraining, an endeavour on which the first post-breakfast training session would focus. Amdirlain hovered at the start of the obstacle course, silhouetted by a wreath of flames. The flames cast long shadows across the floating platforms of the obstacle course. Across some platforms, poles set at different angles provided anchor points among hazards, while on or through others they formed twisting enclosed tunnels. Aside from the platforms, a series of connected and free-floating hoops formed paths that looped among them. They spun lazily about like open-sized helixes, making it important to keep to the right spiral and pace to avoid breaking out their sides. Her flesh glowed with the brilliant white flames of Primordial Mana, the Phoenix feathers burning as a secondary golden layer beneath them. Though the feathers and flames of her sigil rustled beneath her skin, her position and power remained stable. Just beyond the obstacle course barrier, Master Cyrus and Kadaklan floated, watching her progress. Cyrus regarded her critically. ¡°Now change the attunement of Ki Body.¡± The sigil tried to shrink away from her skin, but Amdirlain shifted to Destruction before it stuttered out. She continued to hover, a figure of absolute blackness with a surrounding halo caused by the oxygen molecules being ripped apart. Songs replaced the air and kept the energy released from cascading outwards. ¡°Are you still cycling raw Ki or Primordial Mana in your sigil?¡± ¡°Raw Ki,¡± replied Amdirlain, her words coming from all around him. Cyrus motioned to the first platform. ¡°Circle the platform at an even distance and change the attunement back without pausing on the third lap.¡± Amdirlain reversed the attunement on the third lap, but her pace slowed. ¡°You¡¯ve disabled all the hazards and just left the markers in place?¡± asked Cyrus. ¡°Yes, Sifu,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°She can even say that without jesting now,¡± said Kadaklan dryly. ¡°The manoeuvrability of your Ki Flight will be different, so I want you to run through the entire course twice before trying for Master Cyrus¡¯s targets.¡± Amdirlain grinned as she saluted Kadaklan and finished the run. ¡°Watch for the signals to shift attunements,¡± continued Cyrus. She lined up with the centre of the first hoop and waited for the second platform to edge closer into line. As their edge aligned, Amdirlain raced through the first. The second and third hoops followed quickly, and soon she climbed to the fourth. As it drifted erratically higher, Cyrus signalled a change to Air. The shift from Destruction to Air was swifter but cost speed, and Amdirlain¡¯s trailing foot dragged across the platform¡¯s lip. Tipped, she smashed into the hoop¡¯s bottom, ripped the whole thing free, and tumbled with it. On a nearby viewing platform, Isa held up a minus eight sign placard out of the blue while Sarah whistled encouragement. Amdirlain pulled out of the tumble and shot towards the next step, a tunnel that projected from the side of a platform. She slipped between the blades within it and entered the bottom of a tube that formed a tight spiral that rose a hundred metres. It widened at first to circle the spinning platform five times before releasing her at its peak. Her pace was too slow, and she shot from it, facing away from the next stop. Her first trip through the course destroyed seventeen hoops, fractured fifty-two of the spirals, and broke three platforms. As she stopped, Kadaklan looked over the repairing course with a sigh. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I said don¡¯t go for any of Master Cyrus¡¯s targets.¡± ¡°Ha ha ha,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°They jumped into my path.¡± Master Cyrus simply wrote her tally and waved her towards the start. ¡°Too slow, go again.¡± ¡°Change attunement every second pass regardless of what we signal,¡± instructed Kadaklan. ¡°Don¡¯t use the same attunement twice until you¡¯re through all the affinities Ki Body currently allows you.¡± Amdirlain snorted. Water Mana armoured her skin as the course repaired itself. ¡°What a wet blanket,¡± huffed Kadaklan. When the three-hour afternoon session ended, Master Cyrus tucked his notes away and headed off. Amdirlain hadn¡¯t progressed to deliberately firing on any of his placed targets. ¡°Your shifting of Ki Body needs to be faster,¡± critiqued Kadaklan. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have to think about the sigil and your body. The change should flow like a feather floating on the wind of your will.¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I know that is the goal, but it¡¯s more like a staggering drunk.¡± Kadaklan nodded, smoothly transformed, and a blazing Phoenix raced past Cyrus. The flames that swirled in his wake changed to air currents and back to fire without a pause. Yeah, yeah, I know what you can do, buddy boy. The energy disappeared from Amdirlain''s flesh, and she reappeared in a seated position next to Sarah. ¡°How do you change posture and teleport?¡± asked Isa. ¡°Phoenix¡¯s rapture restricts me to a living form. It doesn¡¯t say what posture the form has to be in. So I flipped from standing to seated the instant before I teleport,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re such a cheater,¡± Isa said with a playful smirk. Amdirlain motioned to the obstacle course. ¡°Not enough of one, it seems.¡± ¡°At least you held onto your sigil throughout your pinball impersonation,¡± noted Isa. ¡°That¡¯s a big step up from being unable to expand it fully the last time I was here.¡± ¡°I feel like I¡¯ve worked multiple lifetimes to get this far,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Lots of training and levelling, but a few elements are staying out of reach.¡± Sarah slipped her arm around Amdirlain and lightly kissed her cheek. ¡°Sometimes slowly upping the ante is the only way to win big,¡± offered Isa. ¡°Any more news on Baln¨¦rith?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect there to be any. Once I got her song, I stripped the name from the Soul and put it back in the deployment queue,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve not gone hunting for her or another of the sisters.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t even roast those you met?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I want to leave things uncertain for them. If I destroyed them, they could be sure it was a trap. Instead, maybe someone heard about Persephone¡¯s offer to help the sisterhood and ended her instead.¡± ¡°Keep the bluff going until you have a winning hand,¡± agreed Isa, before motioning to the training hall entrance. ¡°Why not simply have Aitherlar squish her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not Aitherlar¡¯s fight,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°And I won¡¯t get stronger by letting someone else take on my foes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair, but just checking,¡± replied Isa. ¡°What makes it yours and not ours? Pretty sure you¡¯ve not changed your tune about being Ori.¡± Amdirlain shrugged casually. ¡°I¡¯ve got more sympathy for Ori now, and I can see some common points. Certainly, we both know how to hold a grudge. Baln¨¦rith stuck my hand on a spike, and I plan to make her regret it.¡± ¡°Only on the matter of holding grudges?¡± quipped Isa, nodding meaningfully at Sarah¡¯s arm around Amdirlain. ¡°How is the singing going?¡± asked Amdirlain, quickly changing the subject. ¡°Have you organised singing time in the children¡¯s routine?¡± ¡°The parents helped with the coordination once Roher and Laleither talked sense into them,¡± replied Isa. ¡°The L¨®m? pride is a little rankled up after the arguments and exiling the troublemakers. I¡¯ve helped them to make some crystals to increase security. Roher has been settling feathers and getting choirs to analyse the songs. They¡¯re worried if they¡¯ll even be able to handle the songs after you showed off.¡± ¡°Their concern putting them on edge in other ways?¡± asked Sarah. Isa wrinkled her nose. ¡°And no one wants to bet with me about how things would turn out.¡± ¡°Cemna,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Amdirlain repaired the crescent area, but plenty of zones need to be cleaned up.¡± ¡°Penny ante bets,¡± hummed Isa. ¡°Are the songs for Cemna in the Orrery?¡± ¡°No, but there are enough lifeforms and plants about that we can extrapolate.¡± ¡°The Titan¡¯s crew added more worlds,¡± gasped Isa playfully. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why these contractors think it¡¯s a good idea to add extensions when the construction of the main house hasn¡¯t been completed.¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost like they¡¯re taking after the terrible example of others,¡± grumbled Sarah. Amdirlain planted a kiss on Sarah just as she was about to continue. Isa giggled and clapped cheerfully. ¡°Cheater,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°If you¡¯re not cheating, you¡¯re not trying hard enough,¡± replied Amdirlain. Why the fuck did I use that saying in this context? Sarah snorted, and Amdirlain blushed, recognising she''d shared the thought. ''It''s alright, sweetie. I''ve heard you say it so many times,'' returned Sarah. Isa waved at the course. ¡°You were awfully clumsy.¡± ¡°The energy changes the aerial dynamics dramatically,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Since the environment in the deeps means that my aura from Phoenix¡¯s Rapture won¡¯t harm anything, I need greater adaptability.¡± ¡°You got enough attunements yet?¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°Not even close. The combination of Ki Body lets me attune with more of them, but now that I¡¯ve got the initial eight, adding more will take insights I¡¯ve not yet found.¡± ¡°Another reason to go on the trip,¡± noted Sarah. Isa huffed. ¡°I want to come along too. You told me your approach to Ki Body is supposed to be some secret East Wind¡¯s court technique, but can¡¯t Master Cyrus get you any scroll to progress it?¡± ¡°Even if he could, it would likely hold the usual traps. Also, since Master Cyrus combined Ki Infusion and Ki Strike, not Ki State, he doesn¡¯t have personal observations he can even hint at,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to get there and then earn the favour of a school that teaches it.¡± Isa pouted and pretended to cross her arms in a huff. ¡°I still want to come along.¡± ¡°Talk to the hand,¡± rebuffed Amdirlain cheerfully. ¡°Children,¡± sighed Sarah. ¡°Gilorn will be waiting.¡± Isa hopped up. ¡°I¡¯m going to go drag Ilya from the scrolls and kiss her brains out.¡± Amdirlain snuck another kiss of her own and then teleported away. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. It was a busy night, creating an expanded number of demi-planes. While she had to leave finishing the final touches to Gilorn, Amdirlain opened a Gate into the vast stellar dust cloud they¡¯d made and continued the process. Here and there among the atoms, she sensed where collisions had occurred slowly enough to allow bonds to form, and hundreds of combined molecules had gained enough mass to draw in more. Amdirlain started singing, creating a focal mass of hydrogen and helium beyond the cloud¡¯s edge. When she was done, the mass of the concentrated formation began to shift the existing gas cloud¡¯s spread. There is not enough mass to compare to the Earth¡¯s moon in that locus, but it should cause some orbital shift. In the early hours before training started, Amdirlain opened a Gate at the mountain¡¯s base again. Beyond it were three figures instead of the duo she¡¯d expected. Jal¡¯krin grinned. ¡°Hi Am, Jul¡¯iane said you looked different on your Home Plane.¡± I guess I didn¡¯t clarify my Home Plane in the discussions with Tulne. ¡°What are you up to, Composer?¡± asked Amdirlain lightly. ¡°You¡¯ve been stealing my sister away for months now. Don¡¯t I rate a chance to see what your home is like?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin. ¡°She¡¯s only had three visits,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°But I suppose you can come along on a day pass.¡± ¡°A day?¡± protested Jal¡¯krin. ¡°Is that too much?¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you¡¯re super busy. Don¡¯t you have a new promotion tour starting soon?¡± ¡°Get through the Gate, silly. Am said yes,¡± ordered Jul¡¯iane. She placed a hand in the middle of Jal¡¯krin¡¯s back and pushed him ahead. Amdirlain grasped Jal¡¯krin¡¯s shoulders and pulled him into a hug. ¡°Brat, it is good to see you.¡± Unperturbed by her greeting, Jal¡¯krin patted her back. ¡°I¡¯m the brat? For years, I thought you were younger than me.¡± With a loud huff, Amdirlain stepped back and scratched her head sheepishly. ¡°Yeah, things escalated. The situation wasn¡¯t what I expected on Qil Tris, so my simple disguise got complicated.¡± Jal¡¯krin shivered. ¡°Yeah, Jul¡¯iane filled me in on what you hunted. I caught her practising new skills and dragged the truth out of her.¡± ¡°Dragged? I fessed up as soon as you asked,¡± protested Jul¡¯iane. ¡°I don¡¯t imagine you¡¯re here for arcane lessons or combat drills,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°So why the interest?¡± ¡°I wanted to see your training drills for myself,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°I thought I might get inspiration to write some stirring martial themes. My muse ran away, and I felt like a creep chasing after her, so surely you wouldn¡¯t make this awkward.¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°I just wanted to hear the truth. If you want inspiration for some music, I¡¯m sure we can help. It¡¯s up to you if you watch this morning¡¯s fun or meet with some interesting folks about the place.¡± Before he could reply, Jul¡¯iane let out an indignant yip. ¡°Fun?! Can¡¯t we merely have some slightly insane drills instead?¡± When they teleported to the courtyard, Aitherlar¡¯s door was open. Amdirlain¡¯s positioning afforded Jal¡¯krin a view of her crystal wonderland and her own vast training hall. Jal¡¯krin¡¯s breath released like he¡¯d been gut-punched. ¡°How am I going to find the music for this?¡± ¡°One note at a time?¡± proposed Amdirlain. With his ears and fur standing on end, he turned to Amdirlain. Eyes wide, he gently and repeatedly head-butted her shoulder. ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s attacking me,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Jal¡¯krin, quit embarrassing me,¡± protested Jul¡¯iane. Amdirlain patted his head. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Composer Jal¡¯krin?¡± ¡°I need to disown my sister. She¡¯s seen this before, right?¡± ¡°True,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°For a former dancer, she has no poetry in her soul,¡± proclaimed Jal¡¯krin. Tulne snickered softly and reached up to stroke an ear. ¡°It¡¯s okay, you make up for her.¡± Oh? Tulne¡¯s happiness has multiple reasons. ¡°Tulne, don¡¯t take his side,¡± grumbled Jul¡¯iane. ¡°You described the training hall as a great open space for large-scale brawls and Aitherlar¡¯s grotto as big and sparkly,¡± noted Tulne. ¡°I¡¯m more into physical aspects,¡± huffed Jul¡¯iane. ¡°They both provide plenty of space to move, and Aitherlar¡¯s grotto provides lots of cover.¡± Jal¡¯krin nodded glumly. ¡°I¡¯ll have to tell Mum that there is nothing in her to compose anything of beauty.¡± Jul¡¯iane growled low. ¡°Now, children,¡± said Sarah, coming out of her workshop. Her red silk outfit for the day showed her willowy lines. ¡°Jal¡¯krin, are you still chasing after the next song?¡± ¡°Always,¡± laughed Jal¡¯krin. ¡°All that red. Are you Sarah?¡± ¡°Good guess,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s the confidence in your walk,¡± explained Jal¡¯krin. ¡°You look like someone plucked all your fur and flattened your snout. Is that form uncomfortable? I mean, even your red-scaled one has a decent muzzle.¡± ¡°This form is fine. I¡¯ll introduce you around while Am and Jul¡¯iane have their morning fun. My mother loves musicians. She might give you enough inspiration for a lifetime of composing,¡± cautioned Sarah as she approached. ¡°Then I¡¯ll be writing songs until they prep me for the furnace,¡± retorted Jal¡¯krin, thumping a hand against his chest. Sarah stepped close and brushed fingertips down Amdirlain¡¯s back. ¡°Do you want me to introduce him to Mother while you prepare for the morning training? Or afterwards?¡± Maybe today I¡¯ll chance a massage without a shirt. At this rate, I¡¯ll earn a cowardly lion achievement or something. Amdirlain held in the shiver, but all four caught the spice of desire. ¡°I¡¯ll leave him in your care.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll happily take a tour, but can I share some music with you later?¡± asked Jal¡¯krin. ¡°My mornings are busy, but the afternoon is more flexible,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll carve out a chunk of time.¡± With that, Amdirlain stole a quick hug and kiss from Sarah before she headed inside. With the stolen kiss lingering on her lips, Amdirlain headed towards the training hall, opening gates around the monastery as she did. Without even a wave of farewell, Tulne headed towards Morgana¡¯s manor, her mind intent on their last discussion. Before either made it inside, the first attendee was in the training hall. ¡°Hints about today¡¯s challenge, Am?¡± asked Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Just a minor challenge,¡± quipped Amdirlain, moving further down the hall. Once the attendees from the pavilions were spread throughout the hall, sandy figures of knee-high kobolds appeared. Each student registered a soft aura around their kobold, before the creatures blurred away. ¡°Catch and control,¡± instructed Amdirlain, weaving the kobolds¡¯ paths to pass close to different students. The first who tried to grab another¡¯s target found his fingers just passed through the sand. The first Kobold slain by a too-vigorous catch transformed into an Ogre and continued to run, bowling over the students who didn¡¯t leap clear. ¡°They have the information you need, so you can¡¯t kill them,¡± yelled Amdirlain over the ongoing commotion. When any junior student successfully pinned or hung onto their foe, it dissolved into a slip of paper with a text''s name. Meanwhile, masters and seniors found the sand coalescing into assorted objects that Amdirlain had purchased with the contribution points she and Sarah had earned. ¡°Those who have received a slip of paper, be aware the chief librarian has a paid copy reserved for you.¡± Master Payam considered Amdirlain contemplatively. ¡°I take it the list I supplied you wasn¡¯t the only one you received?¡± ¡°Everyone with a student here gave me one,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Are you trying to get the entire mountain to attend your class?¡± asked Jinfeng. Her gaze didn¡¯t lift from examining the sheathed blade from her captive; it had led her on a broken-field run around the entire hall. ¡°Everyone here has been attending for at least two months, some over three. Those late to the fun might require a full year before they get a gift, so those now acting from greed won¡¯t profit easily,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Jinfeng¡¯s new blade slipped forth with a low rasp, and Amdirlain heard its enchantments sing to life, a mix of Mana and Ki. ¡°This is Master Chu¡¯s work. Where did you get this?¡± breathed Jinfeng. ¡°I didn¡¯t think any of his swords were here.¡± ¡°The armoury had it sitting in the reserved racks. The pavilion head recommended its attributes might be useful to you,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Most guests only use contribution points on their own needs,¡± observed Master Payam absently, watching the excited discussion among the students. ¡°The system of contribution points is for strengthening the monastery,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I like to improve any place I¡¯m visiting, and this time, I¡¯m even doing it within your rules.¡± ¡°Normally, masters reward promising students to aid them out in the world. You¡¯re not reversing this and heading off already, are you?¡± questioned Jinfeng. ¡°That¡¯s not the purpose of the gifts. I¡¯ve seen a lot of improvement and dedication, so I thought I¡¯d provide a stepping stone on people¡¯s journeys,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Head up, have breakfast and talk. Today was a fun game. Tomorrow, the training will get harder.¡± Jul¡¯iane came over as the others headed upstairs, a slip of paper in her hands. ¡°I¡¯m not an official student here, and I can¡¯t read this, Am.¡± ¡°Master Cyrus mentioned there was a White Tiger Technique that he believed would work with your Ki Strike approach,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°He said he¡¯d help you sort out a translation for the various references and the text.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have any contribution points for his time,¡± whispered Jul¡¯iane. Amdirlain patted her shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re my guest, Jul¡¯iane.¡± ¡°My other concern is their courts,¡± murmured Jul¡¯iane. ¡°It feels odd hearing them talk about their rulers.¡± The reverence given to the Jade Emperor and the four winds wouldn¡¯t sit well with any Catfolk from Qil Tris. ¡°Think of them as guides for self-improvement rather than someone wanting your worship. When you hear someone talking about them reverently, view it as having great respect for a teacher or pride ancestor. Like one of the city founders.¡± The example perked up Jul¡¯iane¡¯s ears. ¡°Okay. Kadaklan said their deities aren¡¯t like ours, but it¡¯s strange. Is this why you¡¯ve kept things restricted?¡± ¡°Imagine how some people would react,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, I can see why you didn¡¯t set up a large-scale connection to the monastery from Qil Tris,¡± admitted Jul¡¯iane. ¡°Master Cyrus will meet with you at the library during my morning session with Kadaklan,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to study it, you don¡¯t have to.¡± Jul¡¯iane tucked the slip away. ¡°I¡¯ll meet with him.¡± Amdirlain waved her towards the stairs. ¡°You know how to get food.¡± A smile tugged at the corner of Jul¡¯iane¡¯s mouth. She dashed forward and jumped hard; just before she reached the peak, she front-flipped to land on the lowest platform¡¯s front edge. She¡¯s having fun. When Kadaklan arrived, he joined Amdirlain, hovering at the obstacle course¡¯s start. He glanced over the series of constructs on the floor below but refrained from enquiring. Mental assaults against a series of psionic constructs allowed Amdirlain to practise protecting against mental instruction for when she lost her Hidden status. ¡°Did you try any more Ki Flight last night?¡± ¡°No, but my Universal Life got a workout,¡± advised Amdirlain. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°Just be careful you don¡¯t combine it into Ki Body with all the self-healing you¡¯re doing. That is a risk of that evolution, though Ki Body will serve you well as a protective shield against energies. I wasn¡¯t expecting you to gain that evolution, though it shouldn¡¯t have surprised me.¡± ¡°I did Mana cycle a lot through my spiritual net,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m concerned that I might use it as a crutch to get my sigil to behave.¡± ¡°There are evolution options that require Ki Body and Ki Flight to be used in conjunction,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°And Ki Body can combine with Ki Flight.¡± ¡°Do you have first-hand experience with that?¡± ¡°A guide shouldn¡¯t brag,¡± Kadaklan gently rebuffed. ¡°Just occasionally show off,¡± Amdirlain drawled. ¡°Like a certain someone leaving the hall yesterday.¡± ¡°I merely showed the possibilities for smooth transitions,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°I in no way said that certain someone was you,¡± observed Amdirlain. Kadaklan huffed and opted to change the subject. ¡°Is Mars coming by again soon?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°He and Anna will be along next week. She promised to let me pick her brain between their meetings with Livia.¡± ¡°After your other guests have left,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°Be considerate with them. Jul¡¯iane is having issues with mentions of the courts,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Though I should say it¡¯s likely not an issue with Tulne. She¡¯s oblivious to everything outside of Spell discussion with Morgana. She headed straight to her manor when I was getting the training hall set up. Why did you ask?¡± ¡°Mars wanted some alchemical formulas for improving crop yields,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°I prepared a guide to take inexperienced individuals to the competency they¡¯d require to brew them consistently.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°I thought he¡¯d just have Blessing paths to yield that result.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t explain why he needed them,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°I can think of a few reasons without being in that position.¡± Showing his followers that alchemists are helpful for more than just brewing recovery potions? ¡°Start with water and do a slow run of the course,¡± instructed Kadaklan. ¡°Don¡¯t do any transitions.¡± She set off without arguing, and the minimal effort required gave Amdirlain time to refine her plans for the months ahead. ? ? ? ? ? ? The second session after breakfast was an incredibly hectic rush of combined activities that pressed Amdirlain to keep up with everything. As the chimes for the lunch break faded, most of her teachers moved off to give her some time, but Morgana remained seated. She waited until the others had left before she spoke up. ¡°We¡¯ve covered many areas in arcane theory since I arrived. Do you have a principal interest?¡± ¡°I¡¯m mainly interested in practical applications,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Normally, those so inclined don¡¯t have your grounding in Arcane and Magical Circles,¡± said Morgana. ¡°Given your need for combat capability, I see that time spent on Mana Finesse and Spell Disruption are a higher priority.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Erwarth insisted on teaching me about magical circles and inscribing rather than merely letting me duplicate the results of someone¡¯s circles.¡± ¡°Knowing how something works can make causing problems for your opponents much easier,¡± offered Morgana. ¡°That¡¯s pretty much what Erwarth said,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Alright,¡± sighed Morgana. ¡°Let me put this a different way. You have a lot of lessons going on. You¡¯re learning and training in many paths. What do you need?¡± ¡°I need the capacity to handle large amounts of Mana,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I need to shut down a Demon Lady¡ªBaln¨¦rith¡ªwho is magically stronger than both of us combined.¡± Morgana cleared her throat and smoothed her silvery dress along her thighs. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve got a small goal for yourself.¡± ¡°A tiny one,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Have you considered seeking someone stronger than her to support you?¡± Amdirlain twitched her shoulders in a tiny shrug. ¡°The oldest among the cloister won¡¯t help you?¡± questioned Morgana. At the question, Amdirlain shifted uncomfortably. ¡°I¡¯ve not asked them.¡± Morgana leaned forward with her hands loosely clasped. ¡°Am. You don¡¯t have to do everything alone.¡± ¡°That is a habit I struggle to overcome,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Though it¡¯s not just about Baln¨¦rith¡¯s capability. I need to increase my capacity to handle Mana for other reasons, but the higher it is before I confront her, the better.¡± ¡°Then we¡¯ll focus on refining your use of Mana in spell casting and treat theory, as well as new lists and other skills, as a secondary concern. Given your capability to inject Mana of any Affinity into an array of spells, that reduces the need to learn specific spell lists for each one.¡± 426 - Lead the way [NSFW] Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Amdirlain¡¯s days became a hectic mix of lessons and creation, though time spent with Sarah allowed her regular relaxation. Seven months had passed since Aitherlar started teaching her, and although Amdirlain continued to extend her psionic skills, their evolution remained elusive. With her morning students dismissed to breakfast, Amdirlain teleported to the platform that looked across the obstacle course. Sarah was already present, sprawled back on a coach, and Amdirlain dropped beside her to sit quietly, merely enjoying her closeness. They were holding hands with their fingers entwined when Aitherlar appeared nearby. Aitherlar waved at the start of the obstacle course. ¡°Can you skip your flying today? I¡¯ve got an exercise I want your complete focus on.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let Kadaklan know,¡± agreed Amdirlain. Sarah grunted. ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll grab his time. I¡¯ve questions about my technique manual.¡± ¡°Okay,¡± acknowledged Amdirlain, and she tensed to rise. ¡°Do we get to work now?¡± ¡°Enjoy your snuggling a while longer. We¡¯ll start when the others get here,¡± replied Aitherlar. ¡°What do you want me doing?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I want you to focus on attempting Greater Energy Wave with only Psi energy today. You¡¯ve been close for a week with all the distractions.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not formed any lesser ones just with Psi energy yet,¡± protested Amdirlain. Aitherlar snorted in amusement. ¡°Likely, they¡¯re too simple. I want your focus on something complex enough to require significant attention. Since that is the highest technique you know with Telekinesis, we¡¯ll use it.¡± Gilorn chimed in. ¡°You¡¯ve exceeded your schedule with Demi-plane creation. You could take some time away from there and dedicate it to psionics.¡± Amdirlain gave a grumbling protest. ¡°I need to keep pushing True Song.¡± ¡°Since you¡¯ve told me you plan to travel the Material Plane with your Resonance switched off, it would be best to have other abilities developed,¡± argued Gilorn. ¡°I don¡¯t see what the attraction is,¡± added Aitherlar. ¡°There are far more interesting places to see in the elemental and outer planes. We should spend dedicated time just on psionics.¡± ¡°I will not do closed-door training. I¡¯ve got the training sessions to manage,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°The contest challenges start soon,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°You can refresh their bodies, but they could do with being mentally fresh for each day¡¯s events. Whether you shut the doors is up to you.¡± ¡°Point,¡± allowed Amdirlain. I hadn¡¯t even considered pausing the classes for those events. ¡°Compromise,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll see if Livia is alright with me having a Gate open to our stellar project. While I create atoms for it, I¡¯ll keep trying to trigger a wave with Psi energy.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have to be here,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°Or don¡¯t you want to allow Aitherlar into another of your demi-planes?¡± ¡°She ate everything in Sarah¡¯s playpen,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°They respawned as you put it,¡± protested Aitherlar. ¡°Minor detail,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Everything that had spawned and maturated got eaten.¡± ¡°I asked Livia. There are three weeks until the contest. How about only morning sessions focused on Psi usage until then? If you¡¯re unsuccessful, combine the two exercises here or based on a Demi-Plane,¡± proposed Aitherlar. ¡°Okay,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I can compromise.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to organise some options for our own week of fun. Let¡¯s use the Demi-Plane you set up for the dragons¡ªyou¡¯ve not let any of them access it yet,¡± proposed Sarah. With the others arriving at the training hall, Amdirlain just offered Sarah a shrug. ¡°That works.¡± Three weeks of tantalising failures later, Amdirlain sat on a beach with her back against Sarah¡¯s jewelled flank. Ahead of her, hundreds of targets stood up from a sunlit beach¡¯s white sands and marched into the surf. Aitherlar stretched out, unabashedly naked in an elven form. Light glistened off her silvery hair and warmed her olive-hue skin tone. It¡¯s not her actual body, so why should what she¡¯s wearing bother Aitherlar? Any other body but her Dragon shape is a costume for her. A cheer from further down the beach drew Amdirlain¡¯s attention to Klipyl with her hands flung in the air. Lezekus, having lost the game, was timidly heading for the surf. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure about the change of scenery,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You used to enjoy beach trips. It might help you relax,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°If I¡¯m supposed to relax, why am I the only one training?¡± objected Amdirlain. Sarah lifted a gleaming eyelid. ¡°Training in only one thing is relaxing for you.¡± ¡°Are you in Dragon form to not distract me?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in Dragon form because I¡¯m relaxing,¡± corrected Sarah casually. ¡°It¡¯s just as well you made the beaches so long.¡± ¡°Tiny,¡± chuffed Aitherlar. ¡°Why a beach trip?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You enjoyed hitting the beach. Plus, I told Aitherlar every training year needed at least one beach trip,¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s in every anime you watched.¡± Amdirlain put a hand to her face. ¡°Sarah!¡± ¡°Are you going to hop into a swimsuit? Even Lezekus is wearing a bikini,¡± teased Sarah, and statues of Amdirlain in various outfits grew up from the sand. Amdirlain tucked her hands into the shelves of her robes. ¡°You troll, that¡¯s not working.¡± ¡°Would it work if I gave you kitten eyes?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°A one-piece?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Get to work, Amdirlain,¡± instructed Aitherlar, interrupting their play. ¡°I want you to continue working on your Greater Energy Wave. It¡¯ll be your choice of elemental energy. Your breaking wave image matches the wave effect you¡¯ve added to this beach.¡± With an absent pat on Sarah¡¯s side, Amdirlain knelt, straightened her posture, and set to work. She rested her hand on her knees and traced the effect of the pattern in her mind. The Radiant energy source high overhead warmed across her skin, but its sound clashed oddly with the echo of the hidden spines. Beyond an opened Gate into space, Amdirlain continuously increased the mass by adding billions of kilograms of hydrogen per second. The others came and went, enjoying their time in the odd sun, but Sarah watched Amdirlain while experimenting with her own Ki powers. Harmony enfolded the energy of the atoms and the pattern she attempted to create in her mind. Hours wrapped themselves into days, yet Amdirlain didn¡¯t move. Repeatedly, the energy weave lit up Amdirlain¡¯s mind briefly, only for the pressure to rip the pattern, and the Psi energy bled from it. Amdirlain repeated the same pattern and tried to allow Harmony to encompass it. When it spilled, she finally caught the fracture lines. Still, it was a hundred more attempts before the pattern formed and a crackling lightning wall swept across the targets. The ozone tickled her nostrils as understanding raced through her mind, revealing how the pattern had focused the forces together; a notification rumbled in the background. Amdirlain didn¡¯t consider the message until she duplicated the feat twice. [Telekinesis evolved! Advanced Psychokinesis Unlocked! Advanced Psychokinesis (1) Telekinesis [S] (72) absorbed into Advanced Psychokinesis (1) -> [S] (1) Note: One down, four to go.] Amdirlain checked on her Profile and raised an eyebrow at finding it under her powers instead of having remained as a Skill. That¡¯s unexpected but a relief after months of effort. Here¡¯s hoping the others don¡¯t take as long. Though Sarah was sleeping behind Amdirlain, her nostrils barely twitched at the odour in the air. Nearby were thousands of enchanted items packed crates that hadn¡¯t been there when Amdirlain started training. The release of power drew Aitherlar back from where she¡¯d been playing a telekinetic game with the others. ¡°Did you finally get frustrated, dear?¡± ¡°Yea of little faith,¡± drawled Amdirlain, and she repeated the pattern, mentally broadcasting so Aitherlar could observe it. ¡°Given your intellect, two hundred and twenty-two days is acceptable. Do better with the next ones,¡± ordered Aitherlar dryly before she winked at Amdirlain. ¡°Well done, dear. Shindraithra¡¯s currently napping, but I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll want to celebrate your success when she wakes. In the meantime, why don¡¯t you try this exercise to relax?¡± Aitherlar mentally projected a vivid landscape and assigned Amdirlain to catalogue the fauna and flora, using her simulated senses alone. Yep, spot and list a few hundred thousand animals, plants, and fungi by sight and smell alone. They returned to the monastery in time for the closing day of the year¡¯s contest. Amdirlain scanned the prize boards outside the arena and found those who attended her classes filled the top spots in the fighting tourney, or were contesting the last places. Aitherlar sent grains of sand from her clothing back through the Gate and took to the air. ¡°I¡¯ll see you all tomorrow. I¡¯m going to go watch some energetic youths pummel each other.¡± ¡°Did you want to watch the final rounds?¡± ¡°I want to talk to Klipyl about a few things,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Shall I see you back at the training hall, or are you attending the tournament?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave the cheering to Mother and Livia,¡± Sarah responded; after stealing a kiss, she stepped across the Domain¡¯s boundary and reappeared in the training hall. Except for Klipyl, the others bid her farewell and took to the air, flying towards the arena. ¡°You have my attention,¡± chirped Klipyl. ¡°From your perspective, based on your years as a Succubus, what was your predominant driver?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl tilted her head contemplatively as her nose wrinkled at the topic. ¡°What are you looking to do?¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°I changed a Noble Succubus into a Fey before by reinforcing her Fey nature and purging the Infernal presence. I keep wondering how I influenced you and if I could influence more succubi. Or even other demons. I can¡¯t make them change, but maybe I can encourage them to seek change.¡± Klipyl clasped Amdirlain¡¯s face in her hands. ¡°Ammie, don¡¯t you see? You dangled a way not to feel hollow inside before me and then left me to it. I wanted the opportunity to be different and pursued it, though I didn¡¯t know how far it would take me. If I hadn¡¯t wanted something more, the temptation of choosing between the unknown and Viper would have sent me down the simple path. The first steps were agonisingly hard.¡± ¡°There has to be more to it than that,¡± insisted Amdirlain. ¡°Viper didn¡¯t hit you with the craving because she saw it as your weakness. All succubi crave,¡± insisted Klipyl, and she clasped her stomach. ¡°There is a hollowness gnawing at their insides. Sex feels good. All the sensations stop the cravings, but when the sex stops, that emptiness returning hurts. You have this temporary sense of connection that always ends up severed, and again, you¡¯re aching for more. I¡¯d go hunting for more extreme experiences, only for them to leave me feeling the same. Which would get me angrier because I¡¯d endured more or waited so long for them. I¡¯d gotten locked into my species tier for years, feeling trapped and cut off, knowing the cravings would keep going.¡± ¡°It sounds like I did the wrong thing with Viper,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I saw her as an enemy trying to take me over and consume me.¡± Klipyl snorted. ¡°She had a connection to you from day one, and she didn¡¯t learn there was more to existence than craving sex and blood. Viper was in the best position to get free of those cravings and didn¡¯t. You even sent her off, separated from yourself, and she worked to get summoned to Veht?. Not only that, but she also used your name as her alias when she registered with the Adventurers¡¯ Guild. Based on what Isa said, that wasn¡¯t a random chance. Viper deliberately went after what you cared about, intending to ruin it.¡± ¡°It comes back to me. I had helped you and given you a pointer where I¡¯d always just fought her,¡± murmured Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°You didn¡¯t always fight her. I know you compromised to take an elven form, and she attacked you soon after. You set me on the first steps of a path out and then pointed me towards a way of being stronger in myself,¡± disagreed Klipyl. ¡°I had stumbles and struggles on the way, but whenever I felt like stopping and hiding, I¡¯d remember all that emptiness and the years of feeling trapped. It made a difference knowing I only had more of the same waiting for me if I gave in. Plus, I still had opportunities to get fucked into a puddle along the way.¡± Would I have the most success with those trapped in a lower tier? Wouldn¡¯t it be better to help billions improve themselves instead of eliminating them? This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Now you just enjoy the sex,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°You know that isn¡¯t all there is to it, but yes, I don¡¯t have an emptiness inside. I¡¯m complete within myself. When I have some fun, it¡¯s an extra helping of happiness, and I enjoy the intimacy and snuggling afterwards. It warms me inside, laying beside them and watching them sleep. Knowing that the sensation of relaxation or happiness is one I helped bring about is good,¡± explained Klipyl. ¡°Before that, the moment the dick, fingers, tentacles or whatever stopped moving, the cravings would return.¡± Find those that want more, the way Klipyl and Ebusuku both did. They had that in common. We had that in common. All three of us wanted more. Amdirlain wrapped Klipyl in a tight hug, and pressed her forehead against hers. ¡°Thanks,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going to convert more succubi?¡± Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s even possible. Your Oath and my connection to the Mantle were part of what happened with you.¡± ¡°Maybe it¡¯s something to put on your to-do list for when you¡¯re a Primordial,¡± suggested Klipyl. Okay, if even Klipyl refers to my to-do list, I talk too much about it. ¡°If.¡± ¡°WHEN!¡± yelped Klipyl, and she clasped Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°I believe you can do it.¡± ¡°Some things are outside my control,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°But not how much you¡¯ll work to achieve it,¡± rebuffed Klipyl. ¡°Happier subject. How are you and Sarah doing? You two snuck off after your success.¡± ¡°You mean aside from my frequently crying over her?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t always do that. Have you let her give you a shirtless massage yet?¡± asked Klipyl softly. ¡°No, I keep chickening out,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Whenever I consider it, I can¡¯t stop thinking about how I look under this appearance. Which is a ¡®me¡¯ problem since Sarah didn¡¯t even blink the last time she summoned me. I can massage her fine, but when I think about her hands on bare skin, I get problematic reactions.¡± Klipyl wrinkled her nose. ¡°It¡¯s easy to accept the pretty stuff about ourselves; the ugly stuff is hard. Yet the cocoons of butterflies aren¡¯t pretty. Still, you don¡¯t hear poets saying they can¡¯t write a poem about someone because the first part is fuzzy, and the middle part is yucky. My hand-to-hand fighting is pretty blah compared to you. Was your martial arts all cool dancing to start with?¡± ¡°No, when I started learning karate, I was very blah,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°But you kept at it,¡± asserted Klipyl. Amdirlain rubbed a thumb along the side of her wrist, aware of every spine concealed beneath her form. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We love you,¡± Klipyl said, offering Amdirlain a beaming smile. ¡°What holds you back the most?¡± ¡°I can hear the spines, the foulness in them,¡± whispered Amdirlain. ¡°You let Sarah hold your hand readily enough,¡± Klipyl said softly. ¡°The form has hard pads across the inside of the forepaws,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Klipyl tapped her nose. ¡°You like her kissing your neck.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Sarah distracts me with kisses first, and my brain stops getting in the way.¡± ¡°I have a scary suggestion,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°Regularly wear a loose top so Sarah can slide her hand under it to rub your back while kissing you,¡± explained Klipyl. ¡°Your shadow vines form a single-piece outfit. Get used to her stroking your back, and have the confirmation you¡¯re not staining her before moving on to the massage. That¡¯s probably the issue: you¡¯re afraid of contaminating her. Take it one step at a time. You were trying to do that, but that first step was further away than we thought.¡± ¡°I kept jamming my toes on the step¡¯s edge,¡± laughed Amdirlain bitterly. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell us you could hear your spines and that they upset you?¡± Klipyl asked. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°They¡¯re not upsetting me, but I can hear them.¡± ¡°Fine, would weighing on you be a better description?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t want to worry anyone.¡± Klipyl snorted. ¡°Pick a new outfit and see how you go. I¡¯d suggest a ribbon, but that¡¯s me. Change is good. Isa would say bet on happiness and not regret.¡± Amdirlain gave her another tight hug and headed on her way, adjusting her clothing as she got close to Sarah. When Amdirlain appeared on the platform, Sarah looked up and smiled. Her expression turned quizzical at the brightly coloured shirt and pants Amdirlain had on. ¡°Did you misplace your shadow vines?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain twirled about to show off the large tropical flowers that patterned her clothing front and back. ¡°You don¡¯t like my outfit? I¡¯m trying to get my paranoia to take a vacation.¡± ¡°It¡¯s very much a summery vacation vibe,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen a neon Hawaiian shirt that should come with vision hazard warnings.¡± ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll sell them in a gift shop,¡± quipped Amdirlain nervously as she sat beside Sarah. ¡°What are you so jumpy about?¡± asked Sarah, caressing Amdirlain¡¯s face. Do I tell her the truth? ¡°First time I¡¯ve had an outfit on that you could slip your hand under,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I have a hard time crossing the threshold of you massaging my back because I can hear my form. So I don¡¯t want to take any clothing off when I¡¯m not distracted.¡± ¡°Ahh,¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°You never told me.¡± ¡°Self-doubt digs deep wounds,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Then let me kiss that better for you.¡± When Sarah drew her close, Amdirlain reinforced the privacy barriers. Their soft, lingering kisses soon had Amdirlain flushed, but Sarah stayed above the cloth as she caressed Amdirlain¡¯s back¡ªthe slow circles across her lower back evoked shivers that tingled along her spine. Sarah¡¯s hand slipped under her shirt, and the contact with bare skin sent a rush of heat across her body that made Amdirlain flinch when she realised the old emotional wound it echoed. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m indeed very jumpy,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°Now I¡¯ve found the obvious issue that had been getting to me, and I feel so stupid for missing it.¡± Sarah smiled reassuringly and started withdrawing her hand, only to stop at Amdirlain¡¯s head shake. ¡°The circles you traced across my back. Would you do that on my skin? It made me feel all melty.¡± ¡°Lower or middle?¡± Sarah asked in a near whisper. ¡°Both were very nice,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Between my spines and what Viper used to do, I¡¯ve so many issues with feeling good. I¡¯m sorry I¡¯m such hard work.¡± ¡°Waves of cravings and heat?¡± asked Sarah, her lips brushing Amdirlain¡¯s as she spoke. Amdirlain breathed. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve plenty of time to help you associate those sensations with genuinely pleasurable experiences,¡± murmured Sarah. They resumed kissing, and Amdirlain let out a happy sigh when Sarah¡¯s caresses started tracing the first circle against her back. Amdirlain let her negative reactions to the rush of warmth and longing wash past her. Eventually, she drew back to fan her face; the gesture earning a bright smile that lit Sarah¡¯s expression and rippled through her melody. I know her emotions better than I know my own. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve nothing to apologise for, Amdirlain. Viper abused you for years, and it¡¯s your scars that are showing, sweetie, not a revulsion for me or anything else,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s your body¡¯s reaction that you don¡¯t trust. Part of that is likely since you¡¯re still in a Fallen form and have the spines and other stuff going on. I can understand that you expect your body to betray you.¡± ¡°Do you want to get changed? I¡¯ll massage you,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Sarah smiled playfully. ¡°Both sides?¡± ¡°Just your back,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But if you want, you can lie down without the towel.¡± Sarah¡¯s composure was unruffled, but the concealed joy was worth the nervous tension that bounced through Amdirlain. My girlfriend¡¯s going to be completely naked. I¡¯ve never used that title, but she¡¯s slipped it into conversations here and there. Amdirlain blinked. ¡°Hey, girlfriend.¡± Sarah gave her a slow smile. ¡°Hey, my love.¡± The blush darkened into Amdirlain¡¯s scalp, but she soon had the massage table set up. With her hands tracing Sarah¡¯s back and leg, Amdirlain lost herself in the beautiful arias formed by Sarah¡¯s mingled pleasure and happiness. The growing music prompted Amdirlain to tune out the sour spines concealed within herself. The flesh is just a gateway to the pleasure I bring her. Have I become a hypocrite? I used to walk around naked. I can touch Sarah but flinch when her touch gets too intimate. Stop! Focus on how soft Sarah¡¯s skin feels and the pleasure it brings her. Hours later, Amdirlain slowly found her courage and daringly traced her inner thigh. Sarah¡¯s desire had layered the air, and Amdirlain felt it echo within herself. ¡°You are feeling bold tonight,¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°As bold as you¡¯ll let me,¡± whispered Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s legs parted further, and she nodded into the table. ¡°As bold as you feel comfortable, my love. Can I roll over, or are you too jittery?¡± She knows I¡¯m nervous. Please don¡¯t let me mess this up. ¡°Whichever you¡¯d prefer,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°I want to watch your eyes, beautiful,¡± murmured Sarah. Amdirlain lifted her hand from Sarah¡¯s thigh, and she smoothly rolled over. As she settled herself, Amdirlain moved along the table and teasingly stole a slow kiss, hand caressing Sarah¡¯s thigh as she did. As she straightened, Amdirlain managed a huskily issued request. ¡°Part your legs for me, my love.¡± The anticipation that rolled off Sarah grew as she repositioned herself, and the eagerness in her theme made Amdirlain nervously bite her lip. Her gaze ran across Sarah¡¯s lean form, savouring the willowy softness that framed the Soul within. Impulsively, she leant to lick circles around a hardened nipple while her fingertips caressed Sarah¡¯s smooth mons. The quickening heartbeat and sharp inhalation she¡¯d provoked tempted Amdirlain into caressing slow circles that dipped lower. Heady desire thickened the air as each caress of her outer labia beaded moisture across the inner folds. The steady rhythm of Amdirlain¡¯s licks and caresses soon drew groans from Sarah as a musky aroma thickened the air. Sarah raked her hand across Amdirlain¡¯s back and clutched her shirt until the fabric protested. Amdirlain paused and lifted slightly to find Sarah¡¯s heated gaze fixed on her face. ¡°Should I stop?¡± An indignant huff of protest from Sarah ignited a playfulness Amdirlain hadn¡¯t previously allowed herself. ¡°No? But you¡¯re not saying much,¡± sighed Amdirlain teasingly. ¡°Your little noises are cute.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve done this much,¡± groaned Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to startle you. Keep doing that¡ªunless you want to lap me up.¡± The second option caused a surge of self-doubt, but Amdirlain returned her fingers to Sarah¡¯s mons. As she worked her way lower, she bent to plant little licks along Sarah¡¯s breasts, gradually moving higher until she started to trace lines along the side of Sarah¡¯s throat. The little heated rumbles that Sarah let out encouraged Amdirlain¡¯s efforts. ¡°Like this?¡± questioned Amdirlain. The slightest pressure parted the outer labia, and Amdirlain¡¯s middle finger curled. She drew a line upward across Sarah¡¯s inner lips, tracing their mid-point and spreading their folds outwards. A gentle pressure on her clitoris drew a satisfied sigh that mingled with the soaked noises as Amdirlain reversed course and saturated inner lips parted. Tentatively, Amdirlain teased inwards. One finger worked the entrance until Sarah relaxed enough that the soft velvety walls of her vagina accepted two. With slow wrist flexes, Amdirlain slipped deeper inside and gently increased the pace of her motions. As Sarah¡¯s hands shifted to the table edges and caused the mithril frame to squeal, Amdirlain halted and slowly withdrew. ¡°Oh!¡± protested Sarah. ¡°There¡¯s no rush. I¡¯ve got tonight off,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°Since when,¡± groaned Sarah. ¡°Since now,¡± replied Amdirlain, releasing a quick song. With that taken care of, she rubbed her palm against Sarah¡¯s mons and drew an appreciative sigh. Amdirlain¡¯s fingers slid back within her folds and gradually found a pace that kept Sarah on edge. Her mouth hungrily claimed Sarah¡¯s, and soon, her touch brought forth a rush of sweet fluids as Sarah¡¯s hips buckled against Amdirlain¡¯s hand for the first time. She let Sarah relax briefly and teasingly started circling her fingers again. Sarah pressed into her hand as Amdirlain sought another crescendo. It was the middle of the monastery¡¯s night before they moved to cuddle on the deep couch they¡¯d brought from Qil Tris. As Amdirlain snuggled into her arms, Sarah panted happily. ¡°I¡¯ll never criticise the hours of fingering practise harp players conduct again.¡± Wrangling with self-doubt, Amdirlain focused on Sarah¡¯s afterglow and smiled shyly. ¡°I had to get used to the finger placement. Did I push you too far? You dented our table.¡± Sarah glanced at the impressions her fingers had dug into the mithril. ¡°I¡¯ll honour its sacrifice. It¡¯s just as well that you¡¯re tougher than you look, or I might have crushed your fingers.¡± ¡°I love you,¡± laughed Amdirlain joyfully, the sound light within her. ¡°And I love you,¡± breathed Sarah. Amdirlain hugged her, unbothered by Sarah¡¯s nakedness, and the heat of her crotch pressed against Amdirlain¡¯s upper leg. ¡°I¡¯m not a hypocrite, am I?¡± ¡°You have understandable body issues that I don¡¯t, about your body or mine,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°There are some noticeable advantages to you being able to hear me.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I noticed that myself, and it certainly saved me from multiple newbie mistakes.¡± Sarah nuzzled the side of her face, tugging playfully at Amdirlain¡¯s shirt¡¯s hem. ¡°You can practise your fingering on me whenever you want. What brought out your radiant glow? You are brighter than your outfit now.¡± ¡°Listening to your song,¡± admitted Amdirlain shyly. ¡°The knowledge that I brought you pleasure.¡± ¡°Maybe next time you¡¯re feeling up to a massage of your own, listen to my song rather than your flesh,¡± proposed Sarah. The relaxed suggestion helped Amdirlain calm her desire-jangled nerves. ¡°I tuned my True Form out tonight.¡± The flare of Sarah¡¯s nostrils signalled she caught the nervous pheromones, but she only smiled reassuringly. ¡°When you¡¯re feeling ready, not before.¡± Her happy, patient melody caught at Amdirlain¡¯s heart and rubbed at painful regrets. A coldness loomed ominously in the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind, but she pushed it away. It was a craving for happiness that helped her fight it away. ¡°There is something I need to take care of,¡± Amdirlain breathed. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°Down,¡± corrected Amdirlain, and she slid along Sarah¡¯s body. Sarah got out a questioning. ¡°Amdirlain.¡± This time, her first licks caressed Sarah¡¯s stomach, but soon they landed on her engorged labia. The curious salty-sweetness had her lapping further, and her fingers cupped Sarah¡¯s hips. Sarah clutched her shoulders and squirmed as she kept up the flitting motions. They eventually broke the couch. Custodian¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Eldritch Key Haven The winged figure in her chamber had Custodian chiming harshly. ¡°Leave Amdirlain alone.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin,¡± corrected Laodice. ¡°Her name is Orh¨ºthurin. She has to realise it.¡± ¡°Laodice, you remained in Leviathan¡¯s blood a long time,¡± noted Custodian. ¡°I¡¯m sure there are works you need to check. Things that the lesser aspects of War might have let slip past them.¡± ¡°Some planets might be more peaceful for a time, but hatred will stir passions eventually,¡± countered Laodice. ¡°Tell me about the worlds you¡¯ve helped Livia gain a foothold on.¡± ¡°Why do you wish to know?¡± asked Custodian. Their brilliant facets radiated an internal light across the surrounding pillars and the prisons¡¯ shifting timers. Laodice smiled. ¡°I am fully within my rights. After all, you¡¯re setting up Protection and Tyranny to clash. Such a War needs proper supervision from germination to termination.¡± ¡°Did you stir Viper to War with Julia?¡± ¡°No, I stirred Orh¨ºthurin to War with Viper. The demoness was set on consuming her from when Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s will pushed her away. The spiteful demoness was even fully aware when resentment turned to hatred.¡± ¡°Julia¡¯s will,¡± corrected Custodian. ¡°Whatever mask she wants to wear, she¡¯ll always be our Orh¨ºthurin,¡± rebuffed Laodice. ¡°Her Soul is full of battlefronts and self-loathing, just waiting for the right spark to raze planes. Now give me the names of those planets.¡± ¡°You want her warring within the Abyss,¡± accused Custodian. ¡°It needs her flames to eradicate the filth,¡± replied Laodice. ¡°You can¡¯t deny that those whom your protectiveness focuses on would be safer with untold trillions of demons destroyed. One versus how many?¡± ¡°Our mother,¡± Custodian replied, the words humming across the stone. Laodice raised a finger warningly and stabbed it towards Custodian. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin was our mother. Decide: is she Amdirlain or Orh¨ºthurin? If she is Amdirlain, you owe her no more loyalty within the rules than anyone else. If she is Orh¨ºthurin, then you owe it to awaken her.¡± ¡°Amdirlain sealed the Eldritch away,¡± said Custodian. ¡°The conflict between Hell and the Abyss should be enough, even for a glutton such as you.¡± ¡°The rules don¡¯t count the Eldritch,¡± rebuffed Laodice. ¡°Gideon acknowledged the achievements, and you have no valid response for that conflict, do you?¡± insisted Custodian. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin is no more.¡± ¡°That I don¡¯t believe. Mother removed and sealed away so much of her strength, so who is to say what else exists with the power? The impostor¡¯s flaws must be prepared correctly, and then a fulcrum will tear her apart.¡± ¡°You think she¡¯s powerful enough to find it but not resist it?¡± ¡°The realm itself will ensure Mother finds her way back to us.¡± Custodian''s words hissed with soft disappointment. ¡°Unlike you, I do not reward kind service with betrayal.¡± ¡°War is about winning, not kindness.¡± ¡°And I do not treasure such behaviour. Go.¡± ¡°You¡¯d best not warn her,¡± growled Laodice. ¡°I¡¯m not allowed to contact anyone not under Protection¡¯s banner directly, and there are no timers in need of her attention for millions of years.¡± Laodice vanished. After weighing options, Custodian sighed regretfully and shifted strength from one protective barrier to another. With the cascade years away, they sent Nexus a request. In the Abyss, an Eldritch watched a Gate appear; the energy from beyond it was far more tempting than its demonic toys. 427 - The path ahead Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches After they parted ways to go about their morning routines, the self-doubts Amdirlain expected reared their head. While she was training, she kept them at bay by pushing harder, restocking Foundry¡¯s crystal stockpiles and smothering them with memories of Sarah¡¯s happiness. When the lunch chimes signalled the end of the morning¡¯s training, the others headed on their way. Left temporarily alone, Amdirlain¡¯s thoughts turned introspectively to a question she¡¯d believed she¡¯d never need to consider. Does that count as having had sex? As if summoned by her contemplations, Sarah appeared nearby. ¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± Amdirlain caught Sarah¡¯s enticing natural scent, bringing desire to the forefront drowning lingering self-doubt. The warmth in Sarah¡¯s gaze caused Amdirlain to flush bright red. ¡°You tasted sweet.¡± ¡°Your face looks ready to set wet wood on fire,¡± observed Sarah dryly, sitting beside her. ¡°You were the wet one,¡± riposted Amdirlain. Sarah laughed merrily. ¡°Wow. That was adorable. Are you that nervous?¡± The last of her nerves drowned under amusement, and Amdirlain offered a sheepish smile. ¡°My brain is having a field day.¡± ¡°You smell like it¡¯s mostly a good field day,¡± noted Sarah, rubbing her shoulder. ¡°Your radiant glow is still with you. Though I noticed that you repaired the couch during the morning.¡± Is that a tell others can spot? Almost certainly. They aren¡¯t blind to cues the way I¡¯ve been. ¡°You took care of the table, but I think I¡¯m going to have to make some tougher furniture,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m glad that¡¯s a concern,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°It means you¡¯re seeing the future need for tougher furniture,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Oh, good point,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why do you sound happily surprised?¡± Sarah drew Amdirlain into a tight embrace. ¡°You didn¡¯t disappear.¡± ¡°You were worried about that?¡± asked Amdirlain, leaning into her hug. ¡°You¡¯ve got certain sigma female traits down pat, and one of them is withdrawing to recharge and think,¡± commented Sarah. ¡°That¡¯s not a bad thing, just an Amdirlain thing.¡± Do I tell her what else I¡¯ve been thinking of this morning? I should, but I¡¯m not sure I even want to take that approach. Was I good enough? Shut up, damm it. Listen to her song and relax into her happiness! ¡°Serious expression just appeared,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Are you freaking out?¡± I¡¯ve done it now. I should tell her about the other regret. ¡°My stupid self-doubt playing games. Are you doing a buyer¡¯s remorse check?¡± ¡°Just a little,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so bold.¡± ¡°Your flesh is the surface layer of who you are,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Compared to everything I can hear, over the months, it felt increasingly like deciding because of shading along a single strand of hair.¡± ¡°You had to let the realisation you got from Ori¡¯s memories soak in?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain nodded sheepishly. ¡°And open up to opportunities for happiness. I can be a slow learner in that respect. A comment of Klipyl¡¯s tipped me over the last hangup, so I decided I¡¯d rather risk regrets from taking action than not,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°At the moment, I¡¯m having some self-doubt issues, but I¡¯m drowning the stupid voices with your theme.¡± ¡°Is last night the only thing that¡¯s worried you?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°There is some intellectual conflict going on.¡± Dragons can discern way too much by scent alone. ¡°I think I should talk to the Eldest about Baln¨¦rith¡¯s end goal and other things,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Going to bring the cloister in on the trouble with Baln¨¦rith?¡± questioned Sarah casually. Amdirlain¡¯s brows furrowed with uncertainty. ¡°You don¡¯t think I should?¡± ¡°What got you thinking about doing that?¡± ¡°Morgana rightly commented that I don¡¯t have to do everything alone,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s had me thinking about support options these last few months. Do I come clean with the Eldest?¡± ¡°My instinct is to say no unless they force it. You need access to the plinth at some point, and having to fight your way through won¡¯t sit well with you,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Get your Empress Malfex and see how you go. An extra two hundred levels from that alone will close your magic rating gap with Baln¨¦rith. Once it¡¯s higher than hers, get her outside of wards, and your True Song should be able to carve her up.¡± ¡°Part of the reason to come clean was to talk to them about my plans for Atonement and the plinth. If I keep that information back, I should still tell Eldest about his problematic members,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t be happy about cloister members striking deals with Hell,¡± agreed Sarah. ¡°Though how happy will they be to find out Mother¡¯s grandchildren are handling the rehabilitation of the four? They should be over their denial in a few dozen years.¡± Did I pull the plug on Torm too soon? No, Sarah saw them as well. If Aitherlar could have helped them, she would have said something. Sarah gently bumped her shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re in much better shape than Torm since they remember how their attitude changed and what they used to be like properly. Torm came out of the site a twisted version of himself.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Yes, I need to get my mind on the game. The next step is to get my Mana Finesse to progress to either Anarch or Psionic Paragon.¡± ¡°I¡¯d go for Psionic Paragon unless you think the improvements to Chaos Shaping will help with future projects.¡± ¡°One of the Class powers is redundant,¡± critiqued Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s a handy Power if you don¡¯t have True Song crystals on you,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°You can also stop hoarding all your accumulated knowledge points.¡± Amdirlain smiled ruefully. ¡°I¡¯ve been increasingly tempted to drop them into creation-related knowledge. I¡¯ve not had enough study time with all the other ongoing training.¡± Analysis [Psionic Paragon Requirement: - Mana Finesse-Lord or higher - Psionic skills evolved into powers - Having previously included Psion and Wizard into one or more prestige classes Powers that can be unlocked: - Energy Reservoir - True Psion - Thought Form Attribute Adjustments: +10 Health per level +1 Defence per level +6 Intelligence per level +4 Magic Rating per level +3 Knowledge points per level +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels after level 22 Details: The mind, whether controlling internally or externally sourced energies, is the focus of this evolved base Class.] [Energy Reservoir Details: Allows for any objects to be used as a focal point for a reserve of energy (Psi or Mana). The quantity that can be stored depends on the object¡¯s material, size, and the level of this Power. Draining the reservoir completely will always destroy the object.] [True Psion Details: This encapsulates all psionic powers, allowing psionic individuals to develop all techniques at a consistent rate. While the rate of advancement slows down, having to advance one Power instead of six helps balance the effort.] [Thought Form Details: This Power unleashes a psychic entity with traits and goals chosen by their creator. Effective level and psionic abilities determine the projection''s longevity and capacities. The entity will exist until it achieves a set goal or the invested Psi energy is exhausted.] An entity? Are the mental patterns limited like the crystals and constructs? Gilorn appeared near Amdirlain. ¡°We should get back to creating demi-planes.¡± ¡°Very true. I¡¯m wondering if I did the maths right or if I¡¯ll be short on levels by the time the work for Qil Tris is done,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Too many options were running around in my head.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re short, then we¡¯ll just have to create a few planetary systems,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°That will increase your strength and levels at the same time.¡± She says that so casually. Planar Shift delivered them to a Demi-Plane, and Amdirlain opened a circle of six gates around them. ¡°Six at once?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°Let¡¯s expand seven together and set the crusts in place,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll shift the gates when it¡¯s time to create the biomes.¡± ¡°Are you looking to push Phoenix¡¯s Rapture?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m looking to push myself. I want to get free from this body. My revulsion for it keeps getting in the way.¡± ¡°Understanding and acceptance might help,¡± consoled Gilorn. ¡°Of myself?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Potentially,¡± allowed Gilorn. ¡°Or it might help reduce your physical transformation.¡± ¡°Since the curse dictated to the rules that I¡¯m stuck as a Fallen, I don¡¯t see how that will help.¡± Without waiting further, Amdirlain¡¯s Power evenly pushed the boundaries of all the demi-planes. While they continued to work on the biomes, Amdirlain opened the Gate to the depths of space and created more materials simultaneously. A similarity struck her as they finished the last of the biomes. The new atoms that deflected off each other in the void were like the notes she released, minuscule and unimportant alone. Even the slightest change could cascade with other materials to provide a cosmic scale result. The timing and placement of the changes were more important than the quantity of energy supplied. [Crafting Summary Hollow Earth Demi-Plane Trial x7 Total experience gain: 764,732,500,000 Olind?: +764,732,500,000 Olind? Levelled Up x17 Phoenix¡¯s Rapture [G] (118->119) True Song Genesis [G] (149->150) Note: You know what¡¯s in them. Aren¡¯t you tired of these? Do something more challenging.] As Gilorn settled to add the additional controls to the zones of the demi-planes, Amdirlain tossed the new points into Quickness. With that done, she continued working on more stellar material, attempting to inject protons and electrons into existing atoms rather than creating what she wanted from scratch. When she finally turned hydrogen into helium, she continued the process until she could convert more en-mass. [True Song Genesis evolved to True Song Genesis-Lord. True Song Genesis [G] (150) -> True Song Genesis-Lord [G] (15). Note: Not the most significant of insights, but lucky you got any after you screwed with your Oath link.] Amdirlain mentally flipped Gideon the bird and pushed their dig aside. ¡°I¡¯ll meet you back at the training hall, Gilorn,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Travel safely,¡± replied Gilorn. Amdirlain slipped her pendant into place and stepped through a Gate. She took a roundabout route to reach Ijmti, finally arriving on the valley¡¯s upper slope beyond the limits of the cloister¡¯s outer defences. The foulness of the Plane leached into her senses, and Amdirlain shifted Resonance to filter out the cancer-laden lifeforms in the forest below. Beneath the ground, the absence of the plinth and other True Song crystals she knew were present in the chambers teased at her. The fragmented essences of deceased deities screamed at her in a hiss of white noise. Their strength, even aeons after death, buzzed across her scalp with her increased sensitivity. As expected, through the pendant came a series of instructions for her approach, and Amdirlain started towards the fortifications. Only a few of the guards paid her much heed, but those she spied looking her way had no overt hostility in their themes. The slow walk allowed her plenty of time to memorise the songs of the texts that had continued to collect in the library¡¯s new side room during her absence. Hopefully, enough of those texts will be sufficiently unique to boost my Abyssal Lore. A reptilian Fallen greeted Amdirlain as she settled on the upper fortress¡¯s upper tier. ¡°How goes your path?¡± ¡°A step at a time. Some days feel better than others. How goes your path?¡± The Fallen¡¯s muzzle flexed with mirth. ¡°A step at a time is a good way to put it. Your form shows many changes since the last time you were here.¡± The joy of True Sight: all my flaws are out in the open. ¡°The entry is two levels down. Take the left turn from the stairs behind me.¡± Amdirlain nodded and followed their instructions, listening as she passed forges and training rooms. Soon, she¡¯d descended the central shaft and continued until it let her out in the chamber, where the Eldest guarded the entrance to the plinth. It was no less alien than before with their eyeless head, the crest of tentacles, and strange arms and legs, yet they possessed the air of an artisan involved in a task they loved. They presently matched Amdirlain¡¯s height and were etching a stone plate the size of his torso. With his odd crab-like claws raised high out of the way, they worked the mallet and chisel with the tubular arms that extended from his sides. The base of the plate was secured in a stand and held in place by the claws on their first pair of legs. Beyond him, the True Song Crystal dome sat, and Amdirlain felt tempted and terrified at the thought of the plinth within it. How will it judge all that I¡¯ve done? Will it put the deaths that occurred on Qil Tris at my feet? The Eldest considered Amdirlain; their crest of tentacles swayed back and forth. ¡°You visit again, Am. I take it you have been well on the path?¡± ¡°I hope I¡¯ve continued to travel it properly, Eldest,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There are many I knew from my last visit absent from the cloister. Did they decide to act on their redemption?¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. ¡°They are undertaking work elsewhere,¡± The Eldest advised, one of their flexible limbs motioning upwards. ¡°Sage has many battle lines where we can liberate imprisoned souls. I¡¯ve recently had reason to contact a few individuals who wouldn¡¯t have welcomed your return, yet I have received no response. Would you know about that?¡± ¡°I know of four members of the cloister who worked with forces in Hell to set a trap for me,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They are still alive and receiving help for their issues.¡± ¡°What sort of help?¡± questioned the Eldest carefully. ¡°Some mental healing to understand the source of their negative emotions and help acknowledge the truth of their fall,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°What forces in Hell were they working with?¡± ¡°Does it matter? To get through the gates, they would have had to be known to the Hierarchy of Sin,¡± replied Amdirlain. The Eldest''s limbs flexed with sudden tension. ¡°I¡¯d like some straight answers. You have supporters outside the cloister who do whatever you will.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°This wasn¡¯t something I requested from them. Four of the cloister¡¯s members delivered another Fallen to an entity in Hell. Did you know about it?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not in charge of the cloister members, just the defence of this fortress and the path,¡± rebuffed the Eldest. ¡°Are there rules for one cloister member acting against another?¡± ¡°There are, but I only have your word for it that the ones you hold sought to harm you,¡± said the Eldest. ¡°You only have my word for it that any are being held at all,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°If I truly meant them permanent harm, I had no reason to advise you. I could have honestly said I¡¯d not seen them. Those secured were based on knowledge retrieved from Rahka¡¯s mind. They have more conspirators seeking to go behind your back to attack me.¡± Eldest set the stone working tools down. ¡°Who holds them?¡± ¡°Some diamond dragons of Mechanus,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°When they¡¯re mentally healthier, they¡¯ll get released. You likely recognise that Rahka¡¯s anger prevents her from accepting responsibility for her fall.¡± ¡°I take it that Rahka is among them,¡± said the Eldest. ¡°Or was she destroyed?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°She is being tended to by a mental healer.¡± The Eldest¡¯s claws clacked in frustration. ¡°I need to know who she was colluding with from Hell.¡± ¡°The Kyton Great Mother,¡± advised Amdirlain. A low grunt issued from all three of the Eldest¡¯s mouths, and Amdirlain heard the barrier sit across the chamber, hiding from eavesdroppers and scrying alike. ¡°Were you ever Orh¨ºthurin?¡± The Eldest''s theme was concerned but free from anger, so Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin died. While I¡¯ve recovered fragments of her memories, I¡¯m different. A curse sent my Soul back to this realm.¡± ¡°I see the games you played with the truth, but you¡¯re right. A reincarnation is not her without all her memories and personality. How were you cursed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t plan to share the wording,¡± Amdirlain replied carefully. ¡°It¡¯s more,¡± the Eldest paused and waved a tentacled limb about them. ¡°Of all the realms you could have ended up in, how did you get returned here?¡± ¡°Fate or someone else¡¯s manipulations,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°While I have some suspicions, I¡¯ve no evidence. I ended up in the realm the Titan was originally from and ran afoul of a Mortal descendant. They used up a special item to lash out at me. I¡¯m not going into further details. If someone wishes for Orh¨ºthurin, they¡¯re out of luck as she died before most of the Anar.¡± The Eldest waved a chisel upwards. ¡°Some believe she faked her death.¡± ¡°She didn¡¯t,¡± breathed Amdirlain. ¡°She wanted to die. Indeed, she wanted to be dead before you even met her. I want to speak to you about something I have planned when free of the curse.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± Amdirlain took a breath to brace herself and explained her plan for Atonement: cleansing the souls and setting them up to earn their new beginning. The Eldest¡¯s claws clicked erratically as she reviewed the details, but they didn¡¯t interrupt. ¡°You have the Anar¡¯s True Song?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin never gave up conducting the Titan¡¯s work,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°It took some significant events here, but I regained some of her ability with song. I¡¯ve created the seed to grow the Plane Atonement.¡± All three of the Eldest¡¯s mouths gaped open briefly. ¡°You would set it so to wipe away everything that the damned once were and return their scrubbed souls to the lands of the living.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Why? How is it possible?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve already done this on a much smaller scale,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The filth needs to be purged from the Abyss, and the accumulated souls set to gather experiences to reinforce the realm¡¯s wall.¡± ¡°If you would have us earn our redemptions through tending to them, I would see some of these souls,¡± asserted the Eldest. ¡°You misunderstood. I would move Redemption¡¯s Path there to secure it. Then you¡¯d be able to get out in the realm earning your redemption rather than so many having to stand guard.¡± Amdirlain created a viewing pane and kept it open only long enough for the Eldest to see a featureless room with rows of Celestial slimes. ¡°You¡¯ve been told of the weapon towers involved in the siege lines that Sage runs?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°I have.¡± ¡°They are operating them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Once they accumulate enough levels through combating evil, they¡¯re released to a new life.¡± ¡°You really set the souls to work,¡± rasped the Eldest, their tentacles swaying in surprise. ¡°Even if they can¡¯t remember their evil deeds, they should still work to repay the effort of their fresh start,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t take the approach the plinth took with the Fallen, as they¡¯ll never regain their old lives, and they have no memories, nor seeds of wisdom.¡± Their claws snapped shut. ¡°Are you sure Orh¨ºthurin is truly dead within you? That sounds like something she¡¯d have undertaken.¡± ¡°Do I need to point out this is instead of them being tortured for eternity? They showed their commitment to evil, which hurt the souls of many, so I¡¯m setting them on a path to a better start and getting them to fight back other evil,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The souls will go on to a new life with a seed of wisdom within them from having earned a chance at life by fighting evil.¡± ¡°Ahh,¡± the Eldest sighed. ¡°I misunderstood your goals. You seek to ensure they have at least one period to set a foundation rather than chance they¡¯ll return straight to the Abyss.¡± ¡°You can look at it that way,¡± allowed Amdirlain. The Eldest half-turned and motioned towards the crystal dome. ¡°Are you sure you can move the path without breaking it?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m sure I could move it already if it weren¡¯t for the shades of deities in the pit beneath it.¡± ¡°There are what?¡± hissed the Eldest. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin said she knew the place for it. I¡¯ll create an illusion to show you the inside of the dome. You might remember there was a deep pit when you arrived.¡± The Eldest¡¯s claws flexed briefly. ¡°Yes.¡± An illusion appeared between them to show the inside of the dome and the platform¡¯s design. Amdirlain pointed the gap along the dome¡¯s side. ¡°I could make it safer by placing a grill there to prevent anyone staggering into it.¡± ¡°Why a grill?¡± ¡°If it were solid, it would prevent the entities from affecting the insides of the dome. Their energies are both a test of determination for those seeking the path and help hide the plinth from the observation of dark deities,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll need to be much stronger before I can move it and them in place.¡± ¡°Did you clear the pendants of those who fought the Spawning Abomination?¡± ¡°Their deeds did the work. If I could clear pendants, I would have cleared my own when it was my turn to be judged. Your brethren saved Mortal lives and received recognition for it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The Fallen will still need to work for their redemptions, but two things will change. First, it will count any good dead performed after they fell, even if they¡¯ve not yet reached the plinth. Second, slipping won¡¯t end their chances, though they¡¯ll have more to redeem.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve given me much to think about. Will you stay for a time?¡± Amdirlain shook her head. ¡°I¡¯ve already memorised all the songs for the texts here. I need to get stronger, and being on guard duty here won¡¯t allow me to achieve that efficiently. There is one other thing I¡¯d ask.¡± The Eldest got in first. ¡°If you¡¯d like us to help you fight Baln¨¦rith, I can¡¯t commit to that. I guard the path¡¯s entrance and won¡¯t order anyone to risk themselves against her. Do you know her age?¡± I won¡¯t guilt-trip him by conveying the details of what might happen. ¡°I do,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps better than you might guess. It was a hope, but I was just seeking after possibilities. Thank you for your time, Eldest. With your permission, I¡¯ll put the safety measures in place.¡± ¡°Leave it,¡± instructed the Eldest. ¡°The trials of Redemption¡¯s Path have stood this long, and until you can move it, let them remain the known challenge.¡± Who knows If I was wrong to tell him? I¡¯ll have to see how it plays out. Since I have a pendant, it sounds like there are ways in through the wards. Amdirlain ascended the shaft slowly. Within the dome, the thick darkness concealed the glow from the crystal¡¯s creation amidst the backdrop of the dark energies that continued to linger beneath the platform. How did they remain so strong over the aeons? Though they aren''t as strong as in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories, it¡¯s not like I have her ability to perceive them; they¡¯re just far stronger to me. She made it out of the fortress without fuss, and once clear, the multiple hops to return to the Outlands didn¡¯t take long. Beyond the Monastery¡¯s border, Amdirlain sensed Livia ensconced in her study dealing with paperwork. As Amdirlain raised her hand to knock, Livia called out. ¡°Come in, M¨®eir.¡± I can hear anyone, but it¡¯s Livia¡¯s Domain, so she¡¯s not without tricks. The wax seal on the last urgent bundle cracked in time with the door¡¯s low creak. Amdirlain leant against the doorframe and looked over Livia¡¯s piled in-trays. Though the urgent tray was now empty, some others had stacks of dozens of items. Only the items in the highest priority tray still had intact seals, and the others had bullet point summaries clipped to each letter. Above her desk hovered a Lantern Archon that bounced nervously at Amdirlain¡¯s entry, sending sprays of golden light about the chamber. The minimal itch from its illumination blended in with the irritation from her True Form slowly seething beneath her flesh. It seems Ilya trained the scribes properly. This is my first time seeing one of Livia¡¯s celestials about the place. ¡°Having fun?¡± ¡°Most people are asleep, so I figured I¡¯d catch up a little on the normal tasks,¡± replied Livia. ¡°What can I do for you?¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to open a special Gate inside my training hall,¡± started Amdirlain. Livia turned and regarded her with a lifted eyebrow. ¡°That in no way sounds ominous.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t intend to be ominous,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m just working on something and need access to it for longer periods during the day.¡± ¡°What is your multitasking going to be including?¡± ¡°Singing a planetary system into existence,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°It will take me a long time, so I want to be continually chipping away at it. The Gate itself will open into a region beyond any existing stars. The only thing present is a cloud of materials I¡¯ve been working to create.¡± ¡°A one-way Gate that your songs can reach through, but nothing can enter?¡± questioned Livia. ¡°There is nothing out there to enter it, but I¡¯ll put a barricade to prevent anyone from travelling in either direction,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s okay. Do you mind if I see your Gate in the morning?¡± ¡°There is nothing to see. All the material is so diffuse you might as well be staring into emptiness,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°In that case, I¡¯ll attend your morning training session and have some fun for myself,¡± said Livia. ¡°And peek through the Gate afterwards.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome anytime,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Now, with all your paperwork, is there anything I can help with?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d take a trip to a world and smack a Dragon on the nose for me?¡± quipped Livia. ¡°Sounds like fun,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°What world? And how big is this Dragon?¡± Livia stopped and looked at Amdirlain incredulously. ¡°I was joking.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve not smacked anything in some time. Do you have a Dragon issue?¡± ¡°A red from the reports, but the size varies,¡± clarified Livia. ¡°It¡¯s been causing problems along the border of a kingdom and threatening a village with most of my worshippers upon that world.¡± ¡°Species?¡± Livia blinked. ¡°Elves, but does that matter?¡± ¡°Not at all. I just needed to know if I had to prepare a different disguise,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you need it taken care of now, or is it making noise but not actively attacking?¡± ¡°The last attack was yesterday, but every week it attacks. It¡¯s been razing an area of forest and feeding on the creatures it¡¯s driven out, then returning to its lair in the mountains,¡± explained Livia. Amdirlain mentally reached and felt Aitherlar''s mind was awake, and she shared the details. ¡°Aitherlar¡¯s opinion is that it¡¯s likely a female with newly hatched young who needs to eat and not just access to a Mana-rich environment,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia groaned. ¡°The locals will need to drive her away?¡± I wanted to talk to Tia safely, and Judgement has protections. ¡°I want to fight a Dragon,¡± gushed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll smack her down then, sort out the food and forest situation. It should be fun.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Livia. ¡°It¡¯s probable that the elven capital will send people to deal with it.¡± ¡°Then your worshippers don¡¯t get a boost for your folks protecting the forest,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I could use a break from the morning sessions.¡± ¡°How are my worshippers going to get a boost?¡± ¡°You mean I can¡¯t show up wearing golden armour with your symbol on it and a blazing aura around me?¡± Livia sighed dramatically. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll be a touch more subtle,¡± huffed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°Now I¡¯m afraid to ask,¡± laughed Livia. Amdirlain sniffed. ¡°Misunderstood by my daughter. Woe is me.¡± ¡°Shoo,¡± said Livia. ¡°What¡¯s the planet¡¯s name?¡± asked Amdirlain, and she caught the location details from the Archon¡¯s mind. ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ve got them.¡± ¡°M¨®eir,¡± protested Livia. ¡°I¡¯m not doing it just for you and your worshippers. I¡¯m doing it for me as well.¡± ¡°How?¡± huffed Livia. ¡°Judgement is the safest place to converse with Tia,¡± Amdirlain said. Livia froze in shock. ¡°You said she was unimpressed with you last time you took the souls of dragons there.¡± Amdirlain winked. Teleport placed Amdirlain in her training hall, where she found Kadaklan playing in her obstacle course. Dodging through one hoop, he skimmed between the blades that jutted from a spinning column on the other side. When he turned at the back of the platform, he caught sight of Amdirlain and flew over to her. He transformed with his flames, only a hand span from the platform¡¯s edge, and landed in his Human form. ¡°I knew a few people had been using it but didn¡¯t realise you¡¯d joined them, Kadaklan,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How are you finding it?¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? Livia attended the morning training, and her icy whiteness stood out among the students. The strength of Livia¡¯s Mantle within her Domain allowed her to push through all the challenges Amdirlain set out. Yeah, I know you¡¯re trying to warn me, young lady, but I need to tend to it. Amdirlain held off mentioning the trip to Sarah until after the morning sessions. ¡°Are you sure you want to get involved?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°It sounds like the elves should react and drive her away or kill her. I hope you¡¯re not going there with a rescue plan. Red dragons are malicious motherfuckers. The same mum trying to feed her kids a century from now will happily cripple or kill them if the brats don¡¯t get out of her territory. You should know reds can shapeshift and raise their children in Human form. Thus, it was her choice to menace the countryside.¡± [Dragon Lore [Ap](17 -> 18)] ¡°Your first time mentioning that,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about Dragon shapeshifting habits later. For now, consider it an opportunity to see how bad my form has gotten and if I can one-shot a normal Dragon.¡± ¡°Okay, a magic word there: consider,¡± said Sarah. ¡°What¡¯s the real plan?¡± Amdirlain grinned innocently. ¡°Tia. She reacted last time I entered Judgement with three Dragon souls.¡± ¡°You¡¯d be better off speaking to Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother than baling up Tia,¡± Sarah said cautiously. ¡°What¡¯s your goal?¡± ¡°Actually, I have no hold over Ebusuku¡¯s grandmother nor a way to get her to meet me in a safe spot. Bahamut said he couldn¡¯t release me from my promises because he¡¯d have to leave. What if I declare the deal with Tia completed?¡± He could be looking over my shoulder anytime might as well make noise. ¡°That¡¯s a dangerous gambit,¡± warned Sarah. ¡°I know, but the path to the wound is hazardous and passes by dozens of Dragon lairs,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°If she doesn¡¯t support me directly, a token of passage will get me a path of retreat that Baln¨¦rith won¡¯t dare use.¡± Sarah clasped Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°Be careful.¡± ¡°Even her area of Judgement has rules, and she can¡¯t attack me directly. This will be at least the fourth Dragon Soul I deliver to her. Though you could wish me luck?¡± Amdirlain said, biting the inside of her cheek. ¡°Better to ask Isa for that help,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°If she listens to you, have you figured out what payment you can offer? Before resorting to the more dangerous gambit?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll create a world for chromatic dragons,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ve already got untold thousands. One more won¡¯t hurt, and the win for her is that it will take my efforts, not hers.¡± ¡°That might get her attention, but life will get off an island,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°I also want to punch something in the nose,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve only fought one Dragon. Given that the Dragon scourge drove humans out of the areas I¡¯m talking about travelling through, I want to see how well I go against one before I shut down Resonance.¡± Sarah laughed, her mood immediately lightening at Amdirlain¡¯s admission. ¡°Okay, then let¡¯s go conduct your rescue of the elves.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember that reds are like cockroaches, and no one enjoys finding them in their pantry,¡± Amdirlain drawled nervously. The Gate opened to reveal a hilly grassland with a forest in the far distance. Sarah considered the rolling hillside covered in wild grasses, shrubs, and small trees. The blue sky showed considerable smoke clouds in the distance, and Amdirlain winced. ¡°Do you want to put a set of surveyors above this planet?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I was going to try not to look over Livia¡¯s shoulder,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah pointed out, ¡°She might appreciate some maps. Do you need to create more of them for your cube?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been moving them between worlds,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°He seems to find the information yummy.¡± ¡°He?¡± ¡°Just has a maleness about him, though he still hasn¡¯t decided on a name,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s drawing out the process,¡± offered Sarah. Amdirlain huffed in frustration. ¡°You¡¯re making cartography jokes?¡± ¡°What, it¡¯s not ¡®to be¡¯?¡± ¡°Is that meant to be a gaming joke or a pencil type?¡± ¡°I was mixing pencils and Shakespeare,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know about any game featuring lead pencils.¡± Amdirlain just groaned and mentally projected some of the character¡¯s art, and felt her interest in the black dress¡¯s presentation. Sarah let out a happy hum. ¡°Fancy doing a cosplay? That outfit sure has got openings I could use to my advantage.¡± ¡°Maybe if you¡¯re good,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°See you soon,¡± said Sarah, stepping through and promptly closing it. The summoning followed the threshold¡¯s closure, and Amdirlain accepted it. The call pulled her into the rainbow-walled conduit, and the smoke from her feathers choked the light within the tunnel. How ugly will my True Form be? I¡¯ve added so many extra levels since I visited Mor¡¯lmes. When Amdirlain appeared in the summoning circle, she found her hunched posture now nearly had her hands touching the ground. Though the summoning effect caused her to appear proportional to the circle, her elongated neck and tail curved along the mirrored surface, with the tail lapping around twice. Her reflection showed broken spines weeping black fluid, now covering her completely, and the hardened plates that had replaced her lips had expanded to below her eyes and halfway along her jawline. She¡¯d lost all her hair, and her skull was covered in bony ridges broken up by the blackened spines that had completely ruptured through the melted skin. When Sarah absorbed the mithril and shattered the mirrored barrier, Amdirlain¡¯s form expanded to twenty metres tall and thirty from muzzle to tail tip. The jagged spines gouged up the soil, and her expansion flattened shrubs and small trees. Amdirlain stumbled awkwardly as the talons on her forelimbs shredded the earth, leaving a smear of sludge across the ground. Black smoking wings that now jutted from the outer edges of her back had compressed her reach and transformed her posture with the effect of her tail. I¡¯m now a weird cross between a dinosaur and a Dragon and spewing a stench of corruption. At the sensation of her now wholly inhuman form, she closed her eyes, only to feel Sarah¡¯s hand resting against her bony jawline. ¡°It¡¯s alright, sweetie,¡± murmured Sarah reassuringly. ¡°I¡¯m here with you.¡± ¡°I sound so foul,¡± rasped Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s far worse when I¡¯m actually in this form, the filth I exude mixing with the air. You should keep back from me.¡± Sarah lifted higher into the air and gently kissed the hooked ridge her nose had transformed into. ¡°It¡¯s not who you are. This shell is just a transition state, my love. Don¡¯t give the curse attention it doesn¡¯t deserve.¡± Her body compressed forward as Amdirlain transformed into her Wood Elf form, floating in the air. The shadow vines expanded from Amdirlain''s wrist to enfold her dusky skin in dark green silk. However, her hair was the azure blue her True Form had once possessed instead of the customary autumn-hued locks. Sarah came forward to cup Amdirlain¡¯s face and softly kissed her until the sadness had melted from her gaze. ¡°Alright, enough moping, let¡¯s get to work,¡± coughed Amdirlain. 428 - Darkside Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane Having shaken off the foulness of her true form, Amdirlain took in the Earth-like world. Resonance briefly expanded to encompass its entire globe, checking for issues like those she had healed off Gideon¡¯s list before she drew in and concentrated her attention south. Plumes of black smoke lapped at the clear sky, and she sensed the flames consuming hectares of forest. Animals that had escaped the Dragon¡¯s breath weapon fled for safety from the roaring flames. "We''re well north of where we need to be," advised Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. "I can sense the Dragon." ¡°Any reason for it escalating its attack rate?¡±. Lines radiating from a blackened impact point near the junction of her body and right wing showed where a lightning bolt had struck, but otherwise, she appeared unscathed. Just because my ''True Form'' no longer has hair doesn''t mean I can''t have the blue I like whenever I want it. "Don¡¯t know why she¡¯s back attacking early, but there are some level forty individuals near the attack path," said Amdirlain. ¡°They scored a hit on her.¡± "She''s trying to cook them out," replied Sarah. "All the food that is being wasted will have her in a foul mood if she is looking to feed hatchlings." "Fouler," huffed Amdirlain, as she took in the details provided by the Dragon¡¯s theme. [Name: Ryrvunynoss Species: Red Dragon, Mature Adult Class: Behemoth / Wizard / Scout / Hunter Level: 32 / 9 / 9 / 9 / 9 Defence: 1,129 (Fortified) Health: 16,945 Magic: 452 Mana: 26,445 Melee Attack Power: 1,948 (Siege Class) Combat Skills: Body Weaponry [S] (46) - Breath Weapon [G] (3), various spell lists. Affinities: Fire, Air, and Metal. Innate Powers. Details: Driven away from her preferred nesting spots on the volcano to the south, she''s made a hasty home in a cavern nearby. Her mate abandoned her after she lost her hoard to the same rival. With the eggs now laid, Ryrvunynoss has been venting her frustration across the local forest to drive everyone away from her nesting site. ] She''s a recent moult, but I doubt she''s ever gotten beyond a basic Prestige Class from her attributes. ''I already feel like a bully,'' Amdirlain projected as she shared the details. Amusement hummed across their mental link, accompanied by an image of Amdirlain spinning in circles, holding the Dragon by the end of her shovel-like tail. The Dragon''s flight path swung left, and Ryrvunynoss came around in a wide loop. She''s not an efficient flyer. Is this necessary or simply convenient? The actions are understandable, but she is so malicious in her soul. She¡¯d act like this in contact with any intelligent species regardless of the eggs. Do I view this as dealing with a rabid dog or a game warden keeping ranges separated? Admit it, I¡¯m taking the easy answer here, but I don¡¯t know any other way to meet Tiamat safely. Before Ryrvunynoss could complete the turn, Amdirlain hovered in the air in the Dragon''s path, and an outraged exhalation washed flames harmlessly over her. The reddish-blue inferno that wafted across her blinded Ryrvunynoss to her continued presence. A sharp impact shattered a tooth and cracked the Dragon''s lower mandible, ruining the surge of satisfaction Ryrvunynoss had felt. For the first time in years, Amdirlain experienced the black line that the Energy Drain had set in place. Free of any explicit malice, it was merely a cold draw on physical strength and Soul. The impact dislocated Ryrvunynoss'' jaw, and she roared in pain and fury. She awkwardly snapped, but her jaw flopped about at a foe that had already moved. Directly behind the curve of her skull, Amdirlain empowered her Ki Body and struck again. Ki carried pain and Mana along the natural flex of her muscles and then drove onwards, multiple paths entwined together in a spinning Phoenix that drove through scales and skull to cook the Dragon''s brain. [Combat Summary Red Dragon x1 Total Experience gained: +516,054 Ascetic Triumvirate: +516,054 Death Strike [S] (52->53) Ki Body [S] (94->95) Note: Just because someone of power will talk to you doesn''t mean it''s your friend or even a trustworthy ally.] Gideon, I¡¯ve told you before that comment equally applies to you. Perhaps if you¡¯d been straight with me earlier instead of manipulative, our interactions might be more to your liking. Clear? The plummeting Dragon started to spin, and Sarah materialised along its path, releasing thousands of metal rods that swooped into position around it and arrested its fall. Amdirlain reached out to the distant villagers and provided faint whispers of music from Livia''s shrine. Jal¡¯krin had composed scores of songs inspired by the monastery, and now Amdirlain used one. Her interpretation of that favourite gave the worried villagers a sense of protective care, and she kept it going as other themes set to work. Amdirlain snuffed out the flames Ryrvunynoss''s latest strafing runs had ignited within the forest. Among the fire-damaged forest, wounded animals shakily regained their feet, their wounds rewinding to leave unmarred flesh and pelts¡ªthe healing rolled through binding points of spiritual energy, whether trees or streams, and damaged spirits renewed. "Think we should give it to the locals?" asked Amdirlain. Sarah''s gaze widened in affronted dismay. "You want to give over how much food!" "I doubt they''d eat it," said Amdirlain. "Though they could certainly fashion enchanted armour from the scales." "Precisely," huffed Sarah. "And I could enchant them as well." "It was my kill," protested Amdirlain. "I can always create identical materials for you at any time. Why don''t you butcher it and give them the scales?" "Fine," Sarah cheerfully rumbled. "Are you listening to my song?" "Yes, why?" asked Amdirlain. ¡°You sound like your sides are going to split with laughter.¡± Sarah smiled slyly. "I love you thirty-one per cent." The mischief in her tone erased Amdirlain¡¯s concern, but her gaze narrowed suspiciously. "What happened to the rest?" "I''ll give you that sixty-nine anytime you like," laughed Sarah. Amdirlain''s jaw dropped. "Bad." "No, I''m pretty confident I could hit the spot," smirked Sarah. "Where did you get that line?" giggled Amdirlain, aware of the blush that warmed her ears. She did that to distract me from second-guessing myself. Sarah smiled and caressed Amdirlain''s face. "I¡¯ve been sorting through all the playful ones, figuring out what laughs or groans I can earn." "Maybe you should get Kli to find more for you," recommended Amdirlain. "I''d hate for you to get all tongue-tied at this point." Wiggling her eyebrows playfully, Sarah turned her attention to the slain Dragon. The metal poles warped into bracing supports as the corpse turned. Once Sarah had it positioned just about the ground with its head down, a giant blade opened its throat. "Kli would have me dish out the worst of puns." More enchanted blades set to work to peel the scales away. We should have come sooner; it might have stopped the team from the elven capital from annoying her. "I can hear the unborn''s song, but I don''t understand why Tia wanted such maliciousness in their souls," remarked Amdirlain sadly. The Dragon''s three eggs appeared near Amdirlain, and she mercifully sent the unborn dragons into a stasis chamber in Foundry. I¡¯ll need to figure out what I can do to change their course in life away from being a rampaging hazard to every other species. "She wanted them to match her nature, is my guess," replied Sarah. "You said she drew in the souls'' energy when you returned the black dragons to Judgement." I''m not looking forward to talking to her again. "Yes," confirmed Amdirlain, and the memory elicited a shudder. "Let''s change the subject. Looks like you''ll have plenty of supplies." "Since it''s a red, it won''t be just for me. I''ll cook some up to share. There are lots of recipes for cooking chromatic dragons. Though of them, reds are one of the few you can treat as a normal steak or roast," noted Sarah absently. "Environmental contamination?" "Yep," Sarah said, wrinkling her nose. "Green dragons take so much water to clear the poisons. White dragons are so flavourless you might as well be chewing ice, so they''re good for dishes where you want spices or marinade to provide the flavour." "The things you learn," drawled Amdirlain. "Guess you like eating more." Sarah''s heated gaze lingered on Amdirlain and renewed her blush. ¡°I so walked into that one,¡± groaned Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, you did,¡± purred Sarah. "Just like the little red and your fist. Though I didn''t expect it to put up much of a fight, how did you kill it with just two punches?" "Death Strike shows me the critical points to hit, and since my strength was higher than its Endurance, I bypassed its fortification," advised Amdirlain. "Most things have zero Primordial resistance, though I could have gone with water instead and shredded it with a pressure cutter." "I''d still think there should be a better way to encapsulate the Ki with Mana than hold it in your body," Sarah said absently, focusing on the Dragon''s dissection. "I''ll need to evolve Ki Blast to achieve it," advised Amdirlain. "That''s not a focus at present." Sarah shot a glance towards the regrowing forest. "Do we stay to talk to the elves heading this way?" "The regrowth is distracting most of them. If you complete the butchering, there isn''t a need to stay," replied Amdirlain. "Thought you were going to provide some divine message to them." "Less is more," replied Amdirlain. "The villagers heard faint music from her shrine when I killed the Dragon. It''s still going on while the forest is regrowing." "Ah, I was just checking the minds of local threats," said Sarah. "Using music to signal things doesn''t always work unless you believe Livia will have an undeniable connection to the music in non-worshippers'' minds." Amdirlain rolled her eyes. "I don''t think that will be necessary," replied Amdirlain. With slabs of muscle exposed, Sarah went over to the body and absorbed sections into inventory. "You planning to do a barbeque?" asked Amdirlain. "I might cook something up for you," replied Sarah. "Though I might need something in exchange." "Oh?" "There was that dance that you worked on with Ilya," Sarah said, focusing carefully on her carving. "I''ve never seen it firsthand." Amdirlain threw her head back and laughed. "If you''re lucky, you might one day. Though you missed the fun impact that Femme Fatale lent that dance." "I don''t need its influence to feel that way about you," replied Sarah. "You enjoy getting me to blush," muttered Amdirlain bashfully. Sarah winked. "I enjoy you''ll react to me and not others." They stepped through to the outlands well before the elven team got close, leaving the Dragon''s hide under a preservation barrier bearing Livia''s sigil. "Subtle?" questioned Sarah. "I didn''t want to let them doubt her," replied Amdirlain. "Anything taking so much as a scale from that pile will experience a sensation akin to Livia''s Domain." A soft ahh of understanding was Sarah''s only reaction before Amdirlain continued. "I''ll need to go to Judgement alone." "How certain are you of your gambit?" "I''ve got an escalation offer available, but I don''t know how my memories will go being in her presence. I might have to jump to my biggest offer quickly instead of it being a prolonged haggling session. Some snippets I''ve recovered gave me the impression she bore a lot of resentment towards Tia after losing Syl." "And staying away from her isn''t an option?" "It is, but it doesn''t give me fallback plans," sighed Amdirlain. "Judgement is the safest place to have any discussion with her. The protection of the Titan''s servants stops anyone from attacking first." "True," allowed Sarah, and she stole a lingering kiss that had Amdirlain humming happily. "Be safe, and don''t let her bait you out of Judgment." "I''ll be good," replied Amdirlain, raising a hand. Sarah smiled slyly. "You were more than good." "Go on," huffed Amdirlain. "I''m not going through while you''re close enough for her to sense across the threshold." With a concerned nod, Sarah vanished. As Amdirlain stepped towards the still pool of the Portal to Judgement, it darkened, and the waters churned. However, the dramatic behaviour was only a set reaction to the souls she held within her flesh, and Amdirlain stepped forward. Once again, the sky of Judgement was a black sea washed with tides of shifting colours, and this time, Amdirlain caught that those souls present matched the colouration of chromatic dragons. The tides overlapped and swirled up, forming feathers. Nebulae emerged from the swirling colour and became a pair of draconic eyes whose slitted pupils multiplied and stared down at her. The contempt they''d regarded Amdirlain with on her last visit was just as clear. The eyes drew closer and dragged the colours into a cruel griffon beak, and a pair of horns formed a crescent from the sides of her head. A black pearl in the middle of her forehead gleamed briefly, and then the griffon with midnight feathers stood before Amdirlain. "Yet again, you bring a Soul of one of my progeny here, Anar," hissed Tiamat. Technically, Ori created them, and you just inspired their malice. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. "Just one for you to drink up once we''re done talking. Why do you call me Anar?" asked Amdirlain. "I''m positive you know who I am." "Sun Elf was my term for you. Can''t you remember how much it amused you to use the term to name that lesser species?" questioned Tiamat. "You said you would never return to this realm. Why did you lie to me?" When did Orh¨ºthurin tell her that? "I''ve only fragmented memories of Orh¨ºthurin, and she left a note in her memories to tell me she would never be again," replied Amdirlain. "Some of her memories have been painful to experience, but they''ve never tried to replace me. Though I''m sure they''ve influenced me in different ways." Tiamat snorted, a hurricane of pressure battering Amdirlain''s awareness. "That is not what some aspects believe." "Gideon didn''t even know how Orh¨ºthurin removed her power even after the fact," countered Amdirlain. "Pretty sure that proves the aspects aren''t omnipotent in everything related to their concept." The horned griffon appeared on the black clouds within arm''s reach of Amdirlain. "What is that you want, Amdirlain?" "A way to gain safe passage past any of your progeny that inhabit the depths of the Abyss," replied Amdirlain. "You seek to undo Baln¨¦rith''s meddling?" asked Tiamat. Amdirlain nodded firmly. "Yes." "What''s in it for me?" asked Tiamat. Completely self-interested. Check! "Besides the realm not being destroyed if she''s successful in her stupidity?" asked Amdirlain. Tiamat rumbled and flexed her wings in a metallic rasp. "It wouldn''t mean the destruction of the entire realm, though Orh¨ºthurin''s plans would undoubtedly suffer cataclysmic alterations." "What do you predict would occur?" "The heavenly planes and the Material Plane would suffer the most, the Hells would shatter, and demons would be let loose past barriers that presently restrain them," replied Tiamat. "Until the breach reaches a tipping point and the Far Chaos ruptures the sides," countered Amdirlain. "I know about the Planar Framework and how it''s balanced. I like many things about the realm and prefer keeping the demons in the Abyss. Among other things, they''d take up places that dragons could dwell." I''d remove them entirely if I could, but they''re now a counter to the devils in some ways. "You mean your metallic dragons," noted Tiamat. Amdirlain merely returned to her question. "I don¡¯t attack chromatics when they¡¯re not attacking other people¡¯s areas. I could have killed dozens of reds that live close to where I collected this Soul. What is it you want for safe passage past them?" "Why don''t you offer me things? I''ll tell you when it''s enough," Tiamat replied. I discussed a planet for dragons with Sarah, but would that even get her attention? "I''ll create a planet for chromatic dragons," offered Amdirlain. A disdainful exhalation of contempt swept Amdirlain''s hair back from her face. "I can create my own. Don''t you remember who taught Orh¨ºthurin?" asked Tiamat. "I might not have been as fast a creator as Orh¨ºthurin, but I''m sure I can do so faster than you." She¡¯s so arrogant she didn¡¯t teach her everything. ¡°You can create one, but when was the last time you bothered to create a world?¡± asked Amdirlain. Tiamat sneered. ¡°If I¡¯m not interested in creating new planets, why would I care about you saving me the effort? You need a far grander offer for my aid.¡± "A Plane. One that you can control for yourself instead of tolerating the other inhabitants of the Abyss,¡± said Amdirlain. Tiamat reared her head back slightly. "Do you think to trick me? If you think such a grandiose offer will impress me, perhaps I should insist on penalties when you cannot deliver." "My planar seeds aren''t as elegant as Orh¨ºthurin''s and take time to stabilise," explained Amdirlain. "However, they will stabilise in time. Doesn''t it infuriate you to share your territory with others?" "I would see this for myself," rumbled Tiamat. "I remembered Orh¨ºthurin''s song to create the planes," said Amdirlain. "The Abyss has so many planes that creating another to slip into its framework won''t tip anything." Claws flexed out of the sheaths in Tiamat''s front paws, and she idly raked at the clouds, churning them underfoot. "I would still need to see this for myself. Show me the planes you''ve created." Yeah, why? Unlike N¨¹wa and Bahamut, it seems she''s not been bothering to look over my shoulder; either that or she''s pretending she hasn''t been. "Creating a new one only requires a brief trip into the Chaos streams," advised Amdirlain. "Though you should think on this: if I can''t create one you''d find acceptable now, I''ll certainly be able to do so in time." Tiamat sidestepped, not taking her gaze from Amdirlain. "Why offer me a Plane?" "I''ve got a recollection that your domain on Ijmti is retreating away from the primary zone hidden behind some nebula. You''ve got it moving at such a pace that the light from it will never be visible. If you don''t want your Domain anywhere near it, I thought I''d help you accomplish what you want. In return, you help me, and we both benefit." "What''s the catch?" "You''ll need to stop consuming the Chromatic Dragon souls," replied Amdirlain. "They get treated the same as all the others, so their life experiences strengthen the realm''s boundary, and those damned receive punishment." "I''ll want a region like Hell with at least nine planes," countered Tiamat. A pulse of venomous rage surged from within Amdirlain¡¯s Soul, and she clenched her fists. "You hurt Orh¨ºthurin. By keeping her from making Shindraithra Immortal, you brought her billions of years of loneliness and pain. Instead of asking what more you can get out of me, consider what you can offer to avoid getting kicked out of this realm when I''m done.¡± Tiamat snorted in disbelief. "As if you could do that, I¡¯d crush you like a bug." "I understand from Bahamut that if I declare our deals done, you''d have to leave. Are you ready to pack your bags?" "If you are so sure of waving that stick about, why offer me a Plane?" growled Tiamat. "I intended to be polite when I came here, but the longer I speak to you, the angrier I get," replied Amdirlain. "Orh¨ºthurin hated you for what you''d done with Shindraithra.¡± ¡°What does a child know of loss?¡± snorted Tiamat. ¡°Binding Orh¨ºthurin to that agreement and refusing to budge, even after she fell in love with Shindraithra. You suffered being ripped in two for so long, and yet you inflicted worse than that on the one who rescued you.¡± Tiamat clacked her beak right before Amdirlain''s nose. "What would you know?" "Did you ever stop to wonder why she didn''t take care of the situation on what was meant to be your Plane? You wanted retribution on those like your family and became them¡ªworse than them." "You know nothing about my family," hissed Tiamat. "Had Orh¨ºthurin ever hurt you before your disagreement over Shindraithra? Did she hurt you after your disagreement? She just never helped you or extended your agreements further.¡± "She refused to destroy Shindraithra, and it prevented true balance," declared Tiamat. The falseness and self-interest in the words rang out to Amdirlain. "You don''t care about balance. You care so little about anything but yourself that even in this lesser state, I can hear the falseness of your complaint," said Amdirlain. "The situation was simple: you objected, and Orh¨ºthurin didn''t comply, so your need to dominate suffered a blow. To keep the peace in the early aeons of the realm, Orh¨ºthurin didn''t make an issue of it despite the sorrow it brought her." "This conversation is pointless since you''re not Orh¨ºthurin," said Tiamat, biting off each of the last words. "You don''t owe me, but I don''t owe you anything. How about I declare the deals over, and we see what happens?" "If I remain within this realm, I will hunt you and everything you love down," replied Tiamat. "By my banishment, I would set loose scourges on every world chromatic dragons live." Amdirlain yawned. "Scourges take time to kick into motion. I could use the experience I''d get from killing countless chromatic dragons. It''s so hard to level fast in combat without foes that provide nice chunks of experience." "They''d be beyond your reach," replied Tiamat, clanking her beak. "You think so?" sneered Amdirlain, and she released the Dragon¡¯s Soul. Tiamat immediately inhaled the Red and stopped in consideration. "Who summoned a Fallen of your strength?" "I effectively summoned myself. The rules about entering the Material Plane don''t care who makes the device, only that a Mortal uses it," replied Amdirlain. "How tasteless would the dragons'' souls be if I first strip them of memories and emotions?" "Why are you seeking to make me your enemy?" ¡°Your bluster does nothing to endear,¡± replied Amdirlain. Tiamat growled. ¡°You are not who you were. Don¡¯t think I can¡¯t take action against you. You best have a good reason, or I will ensure you pay.¡± Amdirlain clenched her teeth to hold in the surging rage. ¡°Well?¡± demanded Tiamat. "I''ve felt Orh¨ºthurin''s pain and loneliness that resulted from what you did¡ªit''s made me very unhappy with you. Then you started waving threats first,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Perhaps you should have simply left,¡± rumbled Tiamat. ¡°It''s a flaw that I''m not very good at backing down," said Amdirlain. "Where I last lived, killing evil dragons was the stuff of happy dreams, and your progeny certainly qualifies. Your choice. We can deal politely, or I will add you to my list of enemies regardless of the arrangements you once had with Orh¨ºthurin.¡± "I know where Oblivion''s Aspect rests in the depths," said Tiamat. So he still exists. Do I care? Memories of happiness and anguish clashed in Amdirlain''s Soul, scratching at old wounds. "I couldn''t give a bent copper about Ruithor," Amdirlain snapped, needled by the reminders. "Aspects are playing games with me. Do you think I want another one on the field? Especially since he''d likely side with Orcus." "Ruithor doesn''t side with such as that Demon Lord," said Tiamat. Amdirlain crossed her arms. "I still don''t care. I''ve already told you what I''m after from a deal between us. You set chromatic dragons rampaging, and I will wipe all traces of them from this realm and fuck balance. I will make a new species to balance the power of metallic dragons, and they''ll be nothing of your legacy. All the time you invested here will be dust." "You are Orh¨ºthurin," spat Tiamat. "No, but you''re like the gods she sought revenge on," replied Amdirlain coldly. "She had so many plans in place for various foes. It makes me wonder what she intended to counter you. Should I go seeking it in my memories? I already know what she had in place to rid herself of your opposite." "You wouldn''t," hissed Tiamat. Amdirlain ground out the words. "Try me. Consider where we are and decide if you can attack me and not pay a price." Tiamat stared at her coldly in silence and resumed after sharply snapping her beak. "You will create a Plane, and once I''ve seen that it is growing properly, I''ll arrange safe passage." "No. Once I''ve created it, you''ll provide me with a token of safe passage valid for any Chromatic Dragon''s territory. A token that doesn''t require an oath to you or anyone else to function," countered Amdirlain. "My work in countering Baln¨¦rith''s tampering might take centuries. If the Plane doesn''t stabilise, I''ll create another. You know every attempt will improve in quality, and you can use the damaged ones to bait enemies to their destruction." "Why immediately?" "A Plane suitable to fit within the framework of the Abyss will take longer to calm from its creation," explained Amdirlain. "I''d rather be able to travel the deeper planes a fraction safer than waiting a century." And I want a token for travelling the hinterlands of Veht? with no need to beat up every Dragon I run across. Tiamat growled. "We do this now." "Fine." Amdirlain opened a Gate to the chaos streams but didn''t step through. "You first," said Tiamat. "I''d prefer to keep the protection of Judgement in place," replied Amdirlain. "Creating a seed across a Gate''s threshold is more challenging and adds to my enjoyment. What should I name it? How about ''Spite''s Roost''?" "No," instructed Tiamat. "I want a home named after my husband." "Your children killed him, and you spitefully denied Orh¨ºthurin her chance at love," said Amdirlain thoughtfully. "I''ll consider it while I make it. Maybe I''ll call it Marduk to spite you in return." "You''re only useful until you close the wound," warned Tiamat. Do I set the Plane up so if I''m slain, it will collapse? "I won''t be able to close it properly until I''m strong enough to travel the Far Chaos," smiled Amdirlain. "Until then, who knows what might reopen it or boot you from the realm? I declare that if I die through any plot of yours, the trick you contributed to the Mantle is no longer necessary, and the benefits you¡¯ve enjoyed end." A mechanical servant of the Titan appeared, the layers of dimensional gears spinning inside the glass shell that outlined its humanoid form. "Witnessed." "What is the meaning of this?" demanded Tiamat. ¡°Witnessed,¡± rumbled Bahamut. Two sulphurous eyes appeared in the sky. ¡°I also witnessed and agree. Do hurry and get better, Amdirlain. She¡¯s become tiresome and lax. I grow tired of you only training and creating, but all crafters need time at a forge.¡± The eyes closed, but having felt neither of the primordials, Amdirlain wasn¡¯t sure if Bahamut or N¨¹wa were gone. "The souls of the chromatic dragons from every world come here, Tiamat, but the rules of the Titan and Orh¨ºthurin remain in effect. Thus, we can come when needed," advised the Servant. "The rules are the rules. Father says Amdirlain might not consider herself Orh¨ºthurin, but she remains his daughter. You are one reason he lives in the spire and couldn''t be with her, Tiamat. He wishes you to know how thin his patience is with you. Given the minimal attendance you''ve made to your obligation since her death, your conduct now he finds intolerable. Should Eleftherios snuff out suns of interest to you?" As her claws cut into the obsidian cloud bank beneath them, Tiamat ground her beak. "Very well. Can she deliver on the Plane?" The servant tilted its head. "Gideon bears witness that Amdirlain doesn''t make empty arrangements of any kind." "Create a Planar Seed. If it''s still stable in three years, I commit to giving you a token," Tiamat offered. "You''ll still need to replace it if it fails later." Amdirlain started on the Planar Seed, and Tiamat rumbled approvingly as the boundary of the orb lit up the Chaos stream. While she carefully followed the same approach she''d used on previous occasions, she found that the evolution of True Song cut hours from the creation time. "What taunt do I have to put up with?" asked Tiamat coldly, waving a forepaw at the vanishing seed. As it slipped away between dimensions, Amdirlain considered Tiamat. "Its name is Apsu." Tiamat''s forepaw twitched, and the Gate shattered. "Why? I thought you were going to rub it in my face." "I didn''t. It would be best if you remembered my generosity in fulfilling your obligations from now on," said Amdirlain. ¡°And Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s past kindnesses that you returned with cruelty. She could have left you ripped in two. From her memories, I know there was no need to free or bargain with you.¡± A tear trailing down Tiamat''s cheek froze in the feathers and lifted into the air. "Your token." "It''s not been three years," stated Amdirlain. "The Plane has a name I''ll cherish," rumbled Tiamat. "If it ruptures, I''ll contact you." "I''ll know if something is going wrong," advised Amdirlain. "Hopefully, early enough that I can repair it." "I could sponsor you to be a Primordial," offered Tiamat. Would that allow me to advance afterwards? I''m not sure it would be worth the risk¡ªno doubt some obligation would be involved. Amdirlain shook her head. "I''d prefer to earn it, not take shortcuts." "Are you sure you''re not Orh¨ºthurin?" huffed Tiamat, and she promptly vanished. The Titan''s servant remained in place, quietly watching Amdirlain. "I told Nicholaus he isn''t my father, but would he object to being called Pat?r?" "But that is the Greek word for father," noted the Servant. "Greek isn''t my native tongue, and Livia calls me M¨®eir to avoid disrespecting her mother," explained Amdirlain. The servant nodded jerkily. "He thanks you. You should know your parents'' souls are above his forge." That news had Amdirlain stammering for words, and she blinked at the servant through streaming tears. "How long have they been here?" "They were among the first to return after you provided permission for the Anar to return," explained the Servant. "Along with some of your close relatives, not all but many Anar souls travelled in your wake." She bloated away the tears with the back of her hand and locked herself down with Mental Hardening. "He''s slowed the realm''s time stream down, hasn''t he?" "It''s currently running at half the pace of your old realm and has been since your return," advised the servant. In for a penny, in for a pound. What trouble will this question cause? "And Torm?" "He''ll be reborn in time, but you won''t know him, nor will he know you." Amdirlain nodded in understanding. "Please give him kind parents." "Nicholaus has some potential couples in mind for his Soul to reincarnate," replied the Servant. "Perhaps he''ll even warrant elven parents." "Or dragons?" The servant clicked rapidly. "You want top-tier parentage for him? Gideon says that Shindraithra calls you a Dragon fangirl. Is that why the request?" Before Amdirlain could answer, the servant disappeared without a sign they were ever there. My parents are here, but now there are simply more people who will probably never remember me. Amdirlain stepped out of Judgement and teleported to the mountain''s base. Her awareness reached across the mountain, and she found the post-dinner session in full swing. Of particular note, Amdirlain sensed Tulne studying with Morgana in the training hall while Jul¡¯iane sparred with Klipyl and Dareios at ground level. Sarah was involved in a discussion with her teacher, so Amdirlain headed for the training hall. When Amdirlain appeared on the platform near Tulne, she knelt to watch to the trio sparring. The melody of the Power that concealed Dareios'' True Form niggled at Amdirlain''s awareness. I''ve put off trying again. She settled into a meditative state and let Harmony guide her towards the source of the same Power within her flesh. The same scars that delayed her for months with Sarah rose again but, familiar with their accusations, she slipped past the self-doubt. The threads that beckoned to deeper fears tried to obstruct her, but months of studying the flaws in her own song let Amdirlain evade them. Onwards, she pressed with a slow determination to alter her skin tone. Though the energy continued slipping away as it had done hundreds of thousands of times, she corralled it with a combination of insight and commitment this time. In a wash of colour, Amdirlain¡¯s skin changed from the dusky spearmint-tinged hue of her Wood Elf form to a pale white with blue swirls more commonly seen among the Isil. True Sight showed her the Wood Elf skin tone beneath that surface appearance but didn''t breach her protections to her Fallen form''s manifestation. [Change Form Unlocked! Change Form (1) Critical Synergy with Phoenix''s Rapture detected. Phoenix''s Rapture in Grand Master Rank. Change Form (1) -> [Ad] (1)] Her low hum of satisfaction drew Tulne''s gaze from a grimoire she''d been studying with Morgana. "You sound happy, J. Sorry, I mean Am." "It¡¯s okay. Either is fine. And yes, I¡¯m in a chirpy mood as I have a new Power working," Amdirlain said. "One that will eventually let me increase my survivability." I¡¯ll need to evolve it to Shapeshift and then figure out how to get it to Protean again. "Having safety measures and backup plans in place is always good," said Tulne. "Is our presence here a backup plan?" "Not a backup plan, but I won''t deny keeping your people''s strong features in some of my plans," admitted Amdirlain. Tulne''s ears twitched. "The graves have to go," continued Amdirlain. "Yet I won''t weaken what your ancestors fought and suffered to achieve." "Oh!" huffed Tulne. "I thought for a moment you wanted something from us." "To live, enjoy life, and improve yourselves," said Amdirlain. "I''m a terrible taskmaster." "Truly," drawled Tulne. ¡°I think I¡¯ve been listening to Mor¡¯lmes¡¯s conspiracies too much.¡± Amdirlain nodded grimly. "That¡¯s fine. He¡¯s required to be paranoid, given that he¡¯s hunting for signs of Eldritch corruption. How are you and Jal¡¯krin getting on?" Tulne''s gaze widened. "Oh no, don''t you start!. There is nothing between us, and he''s Jul¡¯iane''s brother." Rather than argue, Amdirlain gently administered the same ear rub Tulne had given Jal¡¯krin. The little mew of embarrassment was answer enough. "I enjoyed listening to his instrumental sets while I studied, and Jul¡¯iane introduced us," huffed Tulne. "You''re a tough nut to interrogate," teased Amdirlain. Tulne leant away from Amdirlain''s hand. "You don''t play fair. I hadn''t expected you to pick up on that gesture. When did I do that?" "When he came along the first time," chuckled Amdirlain. "It''s okay. Just don''t let him make reckless bets." "He¡¯s not done that," said Tulne. ¡°Not recently,¡± countered Amdirlain. "If you two don''t mind, why don''t we get back to studying before Amdirlain heads off for her evening work?" interrupted Morgana. When Tulne returned to reviewing her grimoire, Morgana pointed Amdirlain towards the blue barrier of the Spell chamber. "Cast a thousand Fire Storm spells as efficiently as possible. You should have enough time before Gilorn comes back." 429 - First Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Gilorn appeared, radiating a cheerful shimmer of light from her frame before Amdirlain made it through casting even a third of the assigned spells. A signal from Morgana had her wait for Amdirlain to finish. When the last explosion stilled behind the barrier, Gilorn spoke. ¡°Are there any additional tasks you must complete tonight, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Not that I am aware of,¡± replied Amdirlain, looking at Morgana for her input. ¡°I¡¯ll get you to continue some specific exercises tomorrow after lunch,¡± said Morgana. ¡°I hope there aren¡¯t further disruptions to your coursework. I want you to evolve Mana Finesse.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to control my schedule,¡± allowed Amdirlain, and she held her arms to Tulne. ¡°I¡¯m hoping nothing comes up to throw my plans out the window.¡± The young Catfolk bounced up to claim a hug from Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯re heading off shortly for delve preparations, so we won¡¯t be here when you return.¡± ¡°Have you got the Gate Spell sorted out now?¡± Tulne chirped happily. ¡°I¡¯ve learnt all the Gate Mastery Spell List. You won¡¯t escape us now, Am.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure I can handle myself with the three of you,¡± replied Amdirlain cheerfully. ¡°Just remember I won¡¯t always be here, so don¡¯t go trying to Gate to me or Sarah.¡± Not that I¡¯ve given you my name to anchor off, but just in case someone slips up. With that, she shifted to an empty Demi-Plane with Gilorn. ¡°Hopefully you enjoyed your night off,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I spent the time creating a few suns,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°After all, we¡¯ll eventually need neighbours for your system or nebula.¡± She just created a few suns! I don¡¯t want to know what evolution her True Song Evolution has hit. ¡°How much singing did you and Orh¨ºthurin do together?¡± ¡°Enough. She needed to work off her disappointment,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°You seem to understand that better now. I¡¯d like you to do the seven demi-planes again and see how well your strength has grown after your evolution.¡± Amdirlain smiled cheekily. ¡°But I didn¡¯t get the chance to say anything.¡± ¡°Experimenting with protons and electrons on that scale was a good clue,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Or should I have waited for the announcement?¡± ¡°I had a banner planned,¡± sighed Amdirlain dramatically. ¡°In that case, you can make a banner for fifteen demi-planes,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Stretch that new capacity a bit more.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a straight progression. I lost a lot of ranks,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Most of my evolutions of True Song put me back to level one of Grand Master rank,¡± offered Gilorn. ¡°What did you regress to level-wise?¡± ¡°Level fifteen of grand master,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Dropped from one hundred and fifty.¡± ¡°That you kept ten percent of your levels for the jump in strength is an excellent result, Amdirlain,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone tell you otherwise, especially since you hadn¡¯t even gotten into the upper half of Grand Master before gaining the evolution insight.¡± Gideon was yanking my chain yet again. ¡°Gideon said otherwise,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°A critic often makes a poor performer, but they can help performers stay grounded,¡± Gilorn said. ¡°Use the emotions they stir up in you to fuel your drive to become stronger rather than using them to feed your self-doubt.¡± ¡°How about we push for twenty tonight?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Though I don¡¯t want to be all night, I¡¯ve got something I want to try.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± ¡°Secret wrath business,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve done a lot of training lately and want to see how it handles some foes. Plus, using abilities in actual combat can be more effective for their growth.¡± Gilorn hummed curiously, a tinge of sunrise within her frame. ¡°Just don¡¯t get too reckless in your testing. Open the gates to twenty demi-planes and begin when you¡¯re ready.¡± Amdirlain expanded the Demi-Plane they were in before she set up the gates and, moving a distance from Gilorn, she activated Phoenix¡¯s Rapture. With the Primordial flames wreathing her, Amdirlain began the expansion of the other demi-planes. ? ? ? ? ? ? When her body recovered from her efforts, Amdirlain bade Gilorn a good evening and hopped across planes. The last Planar Shift deposited Amdirlain on the rough foothills of a continent-sized volcano busily spewing ash into the thick air. Surrounding her location were ash-covered trees that sat atop small mounds, their root system exposed to the air; the ground beneath them eroded by a constant blood flow from the awful fruit that decorated their branches. Beings of countless races hung by their legs, their souls¡¯ memories of blood pounding in their ears as insects crawled along their bodies. Long mandibles snipped at their flesh, inside and out, causing a curtain of blood to run from them, providing a channel for the Soul shards. The clogged air smoothed the heavy metallic aroma and thrum of flapping wings while dark clouds of insectoid demons swarmed overhead. Nearby, an egg cracked open and a Demon pried itself free. With four clawed feet scrambling, it attempted to mimic others and perch atop its shattered shell. Wings flapped rapidly to dry their wet membranes in the humid air. As Amdirlain observed the freshly hatched Demon, twin proboscis unfolded from beneath its compound eyes, a faint hiss was audible as their bladed edges spun like drill bits. [Species: Musca Macedda, Least Class: Scout / Wizard Level: 1 / 1 / 1 Defence: 21 Health: 34 Magic: 11 Mana: 12 Attack Power: 14 Combat Skills: Bite (1), Claw (1), Special Ability: Group Mind [B] (1), Innate Affinity: Death, Innate Spell List: Flesh Destruction Details: Many species on the Material Plane regard these fast-flying demons as the heralds of death and destruction. Demonic armies that host their ravenous swarms have them ranging over thousands of kilometres ahead of their advance, with the senior most in the swarms reporting back to whatever demonic general is in charge.] Amdirlain pulled in the shadow vines, and her skin became an utter void that drank the light when Destruction filled her Ki Body. The transformation into her True Form ripped down the closest trees. Her body¡¯s mere touch shredded trees and souls alike, leaving an open, blood-covered slope beneath her. A leap sent her skyward and, as her wings flapped to cut through the swarms above, Ki Flight powered her ascent, allowing her to ignore the effects of the turbulent air currents as her every wing beat in the crowded airspace smashed demons apart. Her spells empowered by Destruction wrapped hordes in blackness creating a peculiar eclipse effect as it obscured the fiery sky behind it. Hundreds of spells that sought to snap ligaments and tear muscles slid from spines and hide alike, unable to overcome her Magic rating. Amdirlain dropped the concealment from her auras and let her Charisma lash out, crushing sense from the newly spawned demons around her. Faced with that force, they tried to flee from the promised death and ended up entangled with each other. Terrified demons clawed furiously and lashed out with spells, that sent their fellows plummeting from the sky. With panic swelling within the closest swarms, Amdirlain started casting. Fireballs roasted demonic flesh and lightning blasts arced between hundreds of foes. Firestorms filled with Primordial Mana exploded amid thousands of demons before they could do more than start to turn. The ash-covered trees gained a new layer, barely discernible from the ever-falling volcanic ash. Protected by the realm¡¯s rules, the souls suffered fleeting injuries inflicted by the flames, with barely any additional yells before songs ripped them from their shells and into Amdirlain¡¯s body. Ahead, she spotted a cluster within the swarm and picked out the considerable figure of a Demon the size of a 747. [Name: Xul¡¯garth Species: Musca Macedda, Greater Class: Death Mark / Life Drinker / Mort Plague Level: 15 / 73 / 50 / 21 Defence: 856 Health: 41,090 Magic: 1,044 Mana: 960,450 Combat Skills: Body Weaponry [SM] (34), Mana Finesse-Lord [GM] (34), Swarm Master [GM] (34), various affinities and spell lists. Details: A servant of Moloch, he gathers new swarms and directs them to the staging posts where Scout companies accumulate them for his demonic armies.] [Mort Plague Details: This Death-focused Prestige Class combines evolved base classes for Scout and Wizard at level seventy or higher.] [Life Drinker Details: This Prestige Class is unique to the Musca Macedda demons and combines evolved base classes for Fighter and Wizard.] A furious hiss came from Xul¡¯garth, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t bother with further intimidation. She appeared above him and sent a Ki Blast across the base of his wings. Chitin cracked and ichor sprayed across neighbouring demons as the flesh beneath it ruptured. A circle three metres across punched through its ribcage, yet the Demon didn¡¯t die. Amdirlain caught its instinctive reaction to Teleport away, but its mind formed the image too slowly. She clenched down on her sigil¡¯s formation and pumped energy through it. A flurry of beams lept from her mouth, tearing increasingly deeper channels until its skull opened. The last blast obliterated a tunnel through its brain and removed the top of its spine. As the Demon started to plunge, Amdirlain sent a translucent globe after it. The Spatial Mana rolled through the dying Demon and teleported pieces the power touched outwards for kilometres. Amdirlain vanished from the swarms and transformed into her Wood Elf form¡ªwith concealments wrapped in place¡ªbefore she moved again. The image Xul¡¯garth had formed too late for his retreat served as Amdirlain¡¯s next destination. It was an army training facility, a sprawling mess of half-completed huts and warehouse-like buildings around which battalions of demons were being drilled in military manoeuvers by balors and other stronger demons able to keep them in check. A mental touch brushed against thousands of demons and, through it, Muse¡¯s Inspiration took hold. When Amdirlain removed all restraints and pushed on their rage, they broke ranks. Bloodlust pumped through them, and they lashed out with senseless violence. Weapons cleaved in the skulls of those beside them, even as blows from others took them in the back. Their superiors tried to rein them in but found their orders ignored. The affected troops became the eye of the storm and, as the stronger demons slew them, others became infected with the same rage. Spells unleashed by a Balor opened a gaping hole in the battlefront, the troops behind snarled and unleashed strikes from his rear. Though the weapons and spells slid off his defences, the Balor struck back recklessly. Demons that Amdirlain¡¯s inspiration hadn¡¯t infected joined the battle. Millions of songs sped away in an expanding circle, stealing away imprisoned mortals to individual stasis fields on her medical Demi-Plane; the last residents had long since returned home. As she kept them fighting, Amdirlain carved out thin fractures in the ground in a circular pattern with a fifteen hundred kilometres radius. Before she could finish her next stage, a faint premonition of danger crept along Amdirlain¡¯s back. Without hesitation, she vanished despite her concealments. A thousand kilometres away, she saw in a Demon¡¯s mind the sudden presence of a Demon Lady. Yet, there wasn¡¯t a new song, only the sound of enchanted equipment suddenly arriving. Her garb looked like the chain Dominator outfit Amdirlain had seen various succubi wear, but each of the adamantine links bore a different infused enchantment. She pulled her long black locks back between the curved ruby-hued goat horns that jutted out from the side of her head. Down along her full-figured body, her skin tone lightened from ruby to crimson then back again before her black cloven hooves. The lack of music from her was eerie, and Amdirlain understood Isa¡¯s reaction the first time they met through the Gate in the Outlands. Stray notes caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention, and she felt the Oath links through the demonic mind. She listened intently and sensed the faint whisper of a tired, lonely entity to which they linked. There was no echo of any demonic influence, but a hardened shell of corruption encapsulated and muffled the sound. The faintest of music was audible, but it was incomplete and metallic-toned, it obscured the Soul within except via the cracks the Oath links offered. [Resonance-Prince [G] (40->41) Note: It is highly secured, but you¡¯re not the only one who has created holes in her defences.] Is she also a Hidden? Who wouldn¡¯t become self-interested? Am I hearing the part of the Titan¡¯s seal on her Soul? The first attempt at Analysis battered Mental Hardening, which caused Amdirlain¡¯s gaze to widen. A second attempt to gain minimal information still pummelled her mind. [Name: Tephros, The Soothing Queen, Lady of Security, Enchantment, and Power Species: Demon Lady (unique) Class: Mana Weaver / Mana Weaver / Mana Weaver / Soul Crusher. Note: Technically, I¡¯m not allowed to tell you she¡¯s one of the Hidden, especially if you are right. If you¡¯re polite, you might find out why. She certainly never got an FAQ or your advantages. Note: Nexus influenced your Planar Shift. Analysis [S] (40->41)] That didn¡¯t keep you from spilling the beans on Moloch. Amdirlain felt the disappointed sigh from the Demon Lady wash across the demons, and the frenzied masses dropped to their knees. A detection Spell swept across the area and lingered at the spot Amdirlain had teleported from, so she hugged the landscape and flew away low. With her attention on taking in the impressions of the Demon Lady from the closest thoughts, she ignored the combat summary when it appeared. [Mana Weaver The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. Details: This Prestige Class combines two Wizard variant classes and is only accessible after thirty Prestige Classes containing a Wizard Variant and Mana Finesse-Deity has been achieved.] [Soul Crusher Details: An evolved Dominator Base Class that requires including the Class into a Prestige Class a minimum of twelve times.] No wonder she easily shut down my influence over the demons; she likely has Dominion through the roof. ¡°Tell Moloch I¡¯m still not interested in his offer,¡± said Tephros¡ªa projection of the Demon Lady now stood where Amdirlain had been a moment earlier. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re still there, listening to this projection. I could make you a better offer than he¡¯ll provide. For one thing, I can break the collar he¡¯s probably got around your neck. I can¡¯t scry you as easily as I expected, though the energy of your relocation remains. Does that mean you¡¯re a Hidden? He says he has all the answers but doesn¡¯t, and there are better ways.¡± A song shifted her location further away, and Amdirlain created a projection of her own, appearing similar to the Succubus form she¡¯d possessed after her first ascension. ¡°What year was it when they cursed you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m unsure what you mean by year in that context, there were many calendars,¡± said Tephros. ¡°I was sixteen winters old when I came here. I was a returned soldier¡¯s new wife, and we lived on a farm outside of Athens. The Persians had recently tried to invade but were driven back. Hopefully, that¡¯s sufficient answer.¡± ¡°Yes, if you mean the Battle of Marathon, that lets me figure it out,¡± replied Amdirlain. That was around 490 BC. How many years went by in the realm? Tephros looked over Amdirlain¡¯s image, yet only a faint sense of interest lurked behind her gaze. ¡°Nice illusion, yet not a Spell. I recognise you¡¯re not using either Mana or Psi. You¡¯ve got me curious about how you¡¯re doing that, cutie. This excitement is already worth the demons you destroyed,¡± laughed Tephros. ¡°How long have you been here?¡± ¡°Under a hundred years,¡± hedged Amdirlain. A flurry of thousands of detection spells raked across the area that Amdirlain had left, spiralling outwards and then a moment later stopped. ¡°Then you¡¯re tricky for someone so young,¡± said Tephros. ¡°Your turn.¡± She¡¯s still hunting me can I get her to stop? Amdirlain sang her full force into a severing note aimed at Tephros¡¯s hair, and the Power slid off her with less effect than the swarms¡¯ spells had bounced from Amdirlain. The demoness unleashed another flurry of spells, and some started digging at the ground around her. Amdirlain grabbed for the vulnerability she¡¯d exploited with Moloch. Utilising the Oath links from the demonic troops, Amdirlain aimed the melody through the weaker demon¡¯s willing link, and a strand of Tephros¡¯s hair fluttered free. The demoness paused with a maelstrom of raw Mana, ripping defensively at the surrounding air. If only Baln¨¦rith¡¯s Oath links were still in place, but they¡¯ve gone with the destruction of the Leviathan¡¯s blood. The sisters still have her sigil in place, but it doesn¡¯t provide the vulnerability of an Oath Link. ¡°How did you do that?¡± asked Tephros, grasping at the cut lock before it hit the ground. Yes, her detection spells let her see around her. ¡°I¡¯m not telling you. You¡¯re hunting for me. Stop, or I¡¯ll have to stop you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I believe we can agree not to attack each other and talk.¡± The strand of hair swayed in Tephros¡¯s fingers, and she lifted it to her nose. ¡°No Mana, so psi energy, no quantum state shifts, and no temporal severing. Perhaps we can talk if you have something worth talking about.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not one of his lackeys, and I¡¯m looking to hurt him,¡± said Amdirlain. Tephros straightened, and a glimmer of interest flared. ¡°Alright, you have my attention.¡± ¡°How many times have you gone through a Transformation Site?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Fancy name for wading in agony, isn¡¯t it? I call them pools of torment,¡± said Tephros. Another surge of Mana from her came with thousands of increasingly complex spells spiralling across the soil near the projections, then suddenly jumped, and Amdirlain felt them weighing on her back. ¡°Don¡¯t run. That would be boring, and then we couldn¡¯t talk.¡± ¡°I told you to stop,¡± hissed Amdirlain. ¡°I couldn¡¯t let you retain the advantage,¡± rebuffed Tephros. ¡°Better to end up Planar Locked than just surrender.¡± Amdirlain readied millions of songs, aiming them through the Oath links, but Tephros¡¯s posture relaxed suddenly, and she sat in mid-air with her legs demurely crossed at the ankles. She tapped her chin thoughtfully and continued. ¡°I¡¯ve been through a Transformation Site seventeen times so far, and I¡¯m getting to where I might go again. How did you become a Fallen, Amdirlain? I trust that is roughly how you pronounce your name since it has an Elven feel. Most Elven tongues have a musical sound, though it has been a few billion years since I¡¯ve spoken to a living Elf. You¡¯ve very nice concealments, and that sideways slip you used was a smooth dimensional shift. I¡¯m impressed it took me fourteen thousand spells to find it.¡± She knows my name, so does she have Analysis? ¡°My species change was through a Prestige Class,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s an incomplete answer,¡± huffed Tephros with a bored playfulness. ¡°How can we have a nice, polite conversation if you¡¯re going to be vague.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°It¡¯s a little complicated, and I¡¯m unsure how much I want to share.¡± ¡°You still haven¡¯t revealed yourself, and here I was being nice. I¡¯m hoping you won¡¯t make me regret being polite. I don¡¯t know what trick you pulled to cut my hair since your magic rating isn¡¯t high enough.¡± Yeah, she can get details. ¡°I¡¯m not sure the information will help you,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°How many Prestige Classes have you taken?¡± ¡°Fifty-one,¡± replied Tephros. ¡°By far the most I know of anyone possessing. I¡¯ve heard Orcus has twenty-one, but he came along later and didn¡¯t take the advice I provided him. Could you stay away from him? Somewhere along his travels, he went crazy and started wanting the entire realm to die.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very reasonable,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You might not want to refer to M anymore by name, as he became a Demi-God.¡± ¡°Angels¡¯ tears,¡± Tephros hissed hollowly, and her wings snapped closed. ¡°I appreciate the information. It certainly explains some things I¡¯ve heard. I find all those levels you¡¯ve gained fascinating. I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve seen no one with a level over two hundred in one Class, yet you have multiple and such interesting classes that the results are very terse.¡± ¡°Why were you cursed?¡± ¡°On which occassion?¡± reposited Tephros. ¡°Mortal enemies of my cult have been cursing me for aeons.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to figure out the sort of person I¡¯m dealing with,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I suspect learning why you were cursed might help me decide if I want to help you.¡± ¡°You help me?¡± scoffed Tephros. ¡°You¡¯ve been in here how long?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°What have you got to lose by cooperating a little? It might even be interesting. When was the last time you weren¡¯t bored?¡± Tephros leant forward. ¡°And what do you think you can help me with?¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t you like to be free of the Abyss? I¡¯ve helped two Hidden, two succubi and one Devil get released from the lower planes. Tell me, do you want to stay here forever?¡± A protest died on Tephros¡¯s lips, and she regarded Amdirlain thoughtfully. ¡°A slight mistake. My husband liked to beat me, and then he cheated on me. When I found out, I killed the wrong person first. The second person I stabbed cursed me. You?¡± ¡°Someone obsessed with me cursed me for not noticing him,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going to come and chat politely?¡± asked Tephros, ¡°It¡¯s not like I can¡¯t see you with my spells.¡± Amdirlain appeared ten metres away, and Tephros nodded in satisfaction. ¡°You¡¯re the first female Hidden I¡¯ve met besides myself. Were you female before you died?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Have you met a lot of Hidden?¡± ¡°Scores, I¡¯m not sure why I¡¯ve encountered even one unless we¡¯re pieces on someone¡¯s board. After all, so many planes are infinite. I¡¯m sure whoever responds to Analysis likes to play games with us. Do you think they also get bored?¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°One manipulative arsehole. Do you ever get notes in the details?¡± ¡°When I was much younger, but they stopped after a few thousand years. We should supply them a list of spells to research and give them something productive to do with their time.¡± Don¡¯t think I¡¯ll explain Gideon. ¡°I¡¯m not sure. I certainly feel like I¡¯ve been their catspaw multiple times,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Catspaw,¡± snickered Tephros, and she clawed playfully at the air. ¡°I like that image, though cats never do what you want them to do. Tell me about this Prestige Class that changed you into a Fallen.¡± Amdirlain let out a sigh. ¡°I got a Tier 7 achievement that allowed me to combine all four of my initial classes and evolve as part of the Prestige Class selection. I¡¯m told the deed to get a Tier 6 or 7 achievement is proportional to your strength.¡± ¡°I heard rumours and theories but never unlocked such a Class,¡± Tephros¡¯s gaze flickered momentarily. ¡°Well, it looks like I won¡¯t become a Fallen. It would be interesting to be something not demonic, but no matter.¡± ¡°I had two friends who were also cursed, but earning a Tier 7 allowed them to break their curse,¡± advised Amdirlain. Tephros froze. ¡°I don¡¯t know where to start after such a statement. I thought the curses trapped us for eternity.¡± ¡°The wording of my curse is more problematic than theirs,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Ah,¡± breathed Tephros. ¡°In that case, I¡¯m likely not getting free either.¡± Amdirlain smiled bitterly. ¡°My Tier 7 turned me into a Fallen, and there is a way to get the Fallen state removed.¡± ¡°I heard him call upon the Titan to make me crawl like a worm in the dark filth of the underworld and never to be free of it. There was a stone place, and then next, I was underwater, my body flailing about as I tried not to drown, but my limbs were unresponsive. Then I realised I wasn¡¯t drowning because I didn¡¯t need to draw breath, and I was a bloated maggot-like thing. I was so hungry, but the other things around to eat were other maggots like me, so I ate them, and with each one, I felt a surge of strength.¡± Amdirlain winced. ¡°Have you ever eaten your way through a foe?¡± asked Tephros, her gaze darkening. ¡°Yes,¡± admitted Amdirlain.¡±A Fire Giant. I chewed through his eye and then out through the ear.¡± ¡°I never expected to just talk to a Fallen, and even others like us are mostly problematic,¡± observed Tephros. ¡°Conversation is such a curious thing. Normally, I¡¯m issuing demands, which is far easier. You¡¯ve still told me more than I¡¯ve shared.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. I offered the information and didn¡¯t ask for something in exchange,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How soon did you get rid of the Demon?¡± ¡°The first time I ascended as a Dretch,¡± replied Tephros. ¡°Despite our demonic form in the flames, she was a copy of my old body. She tried to race away, but the umbilical cord between us didn¡¯t stretch far enough to let her out. I hauled her in, and she tried to lash out. I kept us both in the fires of the Abyss and chewed through her throat. She begged for her existence, but I could see the malice in her gaze and had endured it for gods only know how long.¡± ¡°Mine dug into painful memories,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Tried to convince me she was the result of the evil inside myself.¡± ¡°So had mine, whispering all sorts of things while I wiggled in the filth how I deserved worse. She spent years digging into my brain, mocking me, and I knew it was her or me. At that point, I¡¯d taken the Dominator Class through two Prestige classes, so I crushed her like grain in a millstone.¡± That¡¯s unusual in the extreme for a Dretch. ¡°You didn¡¯t have any issues killing her?¡± ¡°I¡¯d had lots of practise eating demons that looked like myself at that point. These friends of yours. Did you all end up in the same place?¡± ¡°No,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They were in Hell, and I believe someone was playing games for us to meet.¡± ¡°The games of gods are so cruel to mortals, but that raises more questions. I¡¯m sure boredom comes into the picture. Not just with the three of you. Why else would so many Hidden meet if not out of boredom?¡± snorted Tephros, bitterness peeking out from behind her clouded gaze. ¡°More than a few of the Hidden I would have preferred never to have met.¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯re doing it to give us a chance to get free. A few people whose situations you can relate to. The chance to prove worthy of the curse or freedom.¡± Tephros wrinkled her nose. ¡°I¡¯ll never relate to child murderers and rapist even if they were once mortal. Let¡¯s change the subject. Talk about something else for a bit.¡± ¡°Why do they call you the soothing queen?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It doesn¡¯t exactly sound like an evil title.¡± The ashen ground crunched underfoot when Tephros dropped from her mid-air perch and flung her arms wide. ¡°Do you like this cheery place? Life is hard upon the worlds where my cults have a presence. My faithful bring the quiet of death, clearing away the ash of sorrow, soothing life¡¯s troubles away. They also keep tombs from being looted and ensure all the enchanted traps remain in place. All to ensure a soothing afterlife for the entombed and the looter.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t exactly sound chaotic or self-interested,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°It takes a certain personality type to believe you can take it with you and not care about the ¡®loved¡¯ ones you¡¯re leaving behind. They¡¯re the sorts that employ my cult,¡± replied Tephros. ¡°My few worshipers take the work because they like seeing people die to their blades, spells, or traps. It proves their power is greater than the ones seeking the treasure.¡± ¡°That makes more sense,¡± noted Amdirlain drily. ¡°If you directed your tenets towards protecting the body from desecration, you might get free from the Abyss.¡± ¡°Why would I bother? I stopped caring about people long ago, and I might as well research magic here as anywhere else,¡± replied Tephros. ¡°I¡¯ve got plenty of experimental subjects readily available here. Isn¡¯t that why you came to my territory to kill demons?¡± ¡°Yes, I wanted to test myself, but I wasn¡¯t expecting to run into another Hidden,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know where M has his Domain?¡± ¡°You¡¯d be better off staying well away from him,¡± Tephros smiled. ¡°I can get him to back off, but I doubt you can. Well, I could get him to back off. If he did become a deity, it won¡¯t be easy for me either¡­¡± Tephros¡¯s gaze grew distant, and she released a string of expletives. ¡°Analysis provided you with the details?¡± questioned Amdirlain. ¡°Yes! Looks like it''s time to leave in any case,¡± growled Tephros. ¡°I¡¯m surprised he¡¯s waited this long without sending demands to suck his cock. What do you plan to do to his Domain?¡± ¡°I just want to make a mess around it,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m fairly certain I can open a massive Gate to a Plane filled with waters infused with Celestial energy.¡± Tephros¡¯s smile turned predatory. ¡°That should cause an explosion. Ensure you pour the water across the area with the most corruption. The clash of forces will turn the ground molten if it doesn¡¯t tear it apart. Now, tell me about the Demon Lady in need of elimination. While you¡¯re doing that, I¡¯ll send a Message to a knowledge Demon and see what they can tell me about M¡¯s Domain.¡± She dispatched a Message and motioned for Amdirlain to start. As Amdirlain provided only Baln¨¦rith¡¯s raw numbers, Tephros¡¯s mood calmed, and eventually, she wrinkled her nose. ¡°You¡¯re not interested in helping?¡± ¡°You really should destroy her yourself,¡± stated Tephros. ¡°I am curious if I¡¯d get a Tier 7 achievement, but she doesn¡¯t sound tough enough. It''s amusing you didn¡¯t offer a name, taking precautions that I couldn¡¯t betray you to her?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Amdirlain. Tephros smiled approvingly. ¡°Smart. I like smart women, but being liked by me isn¡¯t something most would find pleasing.¡± ¡°Were you the first Hidden?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a very bold question. According to Analysis, I was the first, and the Titan developed the rules for them because of me. It would seem I¡¯m an evil bitch who earned what she got,¡± Tephros said. She waved dismissively at her own emotions and calmed. ¡°Clearly, but it''s no matter. My screams over my fate are all aeons past.¡± ¡°Is that what the Message said? The one I got didn¡¯t make it sound like you were evil at all,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m only out for myself, child,¡± rebuffed Tephros. ¡°You are annoying our mutual interest, M?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Being out for yourself in the Abyss doesn¡¯t make you evil. The beings you can safely trust would be in the minority.¡± ¡°I hope you enjoy messing with him, as that sounds dangerous and entertaining.¡± A tidal wave of Mana roared from Tephros, and billions of demons inside Resonance¡¯s range died. Cities and towns exploded as spatial rifts and raw Mana storms shredded their inhabitants into dust. ¡°He won¡¯t profit from taking over my territory now. Feel free to loot whatever is left if you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Why?¡± gasped Amdirlain. Songs snatched mortal captives away from collapsing buildings and sent them to rescue a Demi-Plane for medical care. ¡°Never let an enemy claim what you¡¯ve worked to build. I¡¯m going to soak in a Transformation Site again. What do you think? Should I focus on becoming a Marilith or something else? I¡¯ve been a Balor before. They¡¯ve got a boring form with a weird internal pouch that holds their dick unless you want to fuck something. Maybe a Lilitu, close to Succubi but focused on ruin rather than lust.¡± I didn¡¯t want to discuss Balor¡¯s anatomy. Why is genitals or sex the first thing most succubi bring up? ¡°Why are you going back into a site?¡± ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I ingest my classes into my species again?¡± laughed Tephros. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll find something realm-shaking to kill and get myself a Tier 7. That sounds decidedly challenging. It¡¯s been a long time since anything besides spells interested me. I even extended a Wizard codex series to pass the years. There was lots of research time involved, which was very entertaining. The sort of research that is handy when making territories go boom!¡± The temptation to pursue that topic niggled at Amdirlain, but she set it aside. ¡°I could try to change your species,¡± offered Amdirlain. Tephros tilted her head. ¡°How would you do that?¡± ¡°Have you heard of True Song?¡± ¡°You have True Song?¡± asked Tephros. ¡°Like the Anar and L¨®m? of old?¡± ¡°I reincarnated into the world you and I are from,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Then returned here through a curse.¡± ¡°Sometimes, the harder you try to run from something, the more painfully you get dragged back,¡± laughed Tephros dryly. ¡°I¡¯ll decline. You¡¯ve given me useful information. I''d prefer to earn it since I know it¡¯s possible now.¡± Tephros stopped and snorted in amusement. ¡°Odd, I never thought there was a way to break the curse. I never even tried. It was something determined by the gods that I¡¯d have to endure, like other monsters created by the gods of my ancestors.¡± I can see someone from that time feeling that way. Oblivion still needs to be found; Tiamat said they¡¯re in the deep planes. ¡°Did you see the Titan¡¯s servants during the War of the Four?¡± ¡°Oh yes. You could feel them approaching from beyond the horizon. Why do you ask?¡± ¡°Of them, three are free of the Abyss, but one remains. He is the Aspect of Oblivion,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°His name is Ruithor, and he came into the Abyss with three more of the Titan¡¯s Servants, but he didn¡¯t leave. I¡¯ve been told his resting place is in the deeper planes of the Abyss. That might be worth a Tier 7 achievement. I¡¯d been saving it, but I¡¯ve other options.¡± ¡°Oblivion? I remember an angelic figure with obsidian wings and skin that ate everything that touched him. He looked so beautiful, so peaceful. So many horrid things became dust around him. That would be a fine fate,¡± purred Tephros contently. ¡°Whisper your name to me, Amdirlain, so I don¡¯t have to seek you out when I¡¯ve news.¡± A globe of energy hovered near Tephros¡¯s shoulder with the details of Moloch¡¯s Domain. Tephros tossed the Spell globe to Amdirlain with a playful twitch of her finger. There wasn¡¯t a Spell involved; she just influenced the results of another¡¯s casting. ¡°Say yours to me first,¡± said Amdirlain. She used the time her request gained to set a different inflection of her name onto a Soul waiting assignment to a tower. It¡¯s been my name for years, but I could still ditch it if needed. Better to have it in place through a relay. Tephros grinned, and they exchanged names before she vanished. With the details from the globe, Amdirlain set things in motion. 430 - One on one Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches After opening the Gate near Moloch¡¯s Domain, Amdirlain returned to the Monastery and only turned off the water flow two weeks later. Yet, it was another three weeks before she heard from Tephros again. It was the middle of the afternoon¡¯s second session, and Amdirlain was creating shield-sized slabs of cured Red Dragon hide for Sarah to craft and enchant when the message globe appeared. The demoness¡¯s voice remained the same, but there was an eerie longing when she spoke of seeking Oblivion. The globe¡¯s soft white light washed along Amdirlain¡¯s bare arms, picking out the scattered light blue thread in her dark halter top. At Amdirlain¡¯s sigh, Sarah put a hand on her shoulder. ¡°Was that a relayed message from Tephros?¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°She sounds like she has a death wish. Being in that filth for five weeks, I¡¯m unsure how she¡¯s okay. Maybe it¡¯s the shell of corruption protecting her Soul.¡± ¡°She¡¯s got more than simply a death wish if she¡¯s fascinated by Oblivion,¡± offered Sarah, as she stored the materials Amdirlain had created. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to test your summoning safeguards further? The trick with the Soul set with the variant of your name won¡¯t protect you if she goes to summon a Fallen with your name. I understand why you advised her, but don¡¯t trust her.¡± ¡°I know she can¡¯t be trusted, so I¡¯ve triple-checked the idea with Gilorn and ran some tests. It¡¯ll detonate the summoning circle, regardless of how it¡¯s reinforced once I blow out the conduit¡¯s wall, so I¡¯m not risking you on a live test to the Material Plane,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah caressed her fingers through Amdirlain¡¯s hair, drawing a smile from her. Gilorn chimed in agreement. ¡°Am wouldn¡¯t even let me summon her to the Material Plane for the test. She went between demi-planes and fractured one of them with the explosion, so it¡¯s not just yourself in danger. It¡¯ll put a dent in whatever location she gets pulled to as the flood of Chaos caused a fission reaction in the circle¡¯s formation and the ground beneath it.¡± ¡°That sounds strange,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Most things can¡¯t do more than minimal damage to the conduit, but the song hits it from the outside, and then the conduit ruptures easily. Once that happens, I can slip out of it as the Chaos rushes in. Since the summoning doesn¡¯t get me into the circle, there is no active barrier when the energy crosses the threshold. With that barrier missing, the circle¡¯s surroundings go up in a flood of Chaos,¡± explained Amdirlain. Sarah slid an arm around Amdirlain and rested a hand on her hip, thumb gently stroking her side. ¡°Are you enjoying yourself?¡± asked Amdirlain lightly. The smouldering look as Sarah took in Amdirlain¡¯s halter top and the matching shorts she wore spoke volumes. ¡°Nice dress.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not wearing a dress,¡± said Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°I know,¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t know undressing you with my eyes could become a reality.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Whose line was that?¡± ¡°Klipyl¡¯s,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Though truthfully, I¡¯m happy that your progress has gotten you into skimpy outfits.¡± ¡°Maybe next beach trip, I might even don a two-piece,¡± quipped Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s brows raised in surprise. ¡°There¡¯s going to be another?¡± ¡°It got me progression in my psionics that I¡¯ve not achieved here,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Though it might depend on how many bad lines you hit me with between now and then.¡± ¡°Bad pickup lines are still more fun than talking about an ancient demoness who has your name. Yes, technically she¡¯s a trapped Soul, but she never sought to get out?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what information she got. My running into her was a good warning, and I¡¯m surprised Gideon told me as much about her as he did. Now we also know Orcus is a Hidden, so whatever I do to him, I need to ensure he doesn¡¯t spot me and learn similar information,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Gideon¡¯s note set me up; he played off my curiosity and the conversations I¡¯d been having about succubi with Kli.¡± ¡°You know we¡¯re shortening her name for no reason,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You lengthened it with a suffix before she travelled with me.¡± ¡°No, she shortened it further to blend in with me. That¡¯s its purpose,¡± offered Amdirlain. Sarah squeezed her lightly. ¡°Kli is crazy about her big sister.¡± ¡°Kli found a nice scented massage oil for you to try on me,¡± Amdirlain offered nervously. ¡°Oh?¡± Amdirlain handed over the crystal vial, her nose twitching at the scent. ¡°Alien scents from The Exchange, but close to Earth fragrances.¡± ¡°Sort of like the lavender and almond oil you were looking for,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Calming.¡± Amdirlain murmured. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not identical, but close. It might be enough for you to get me out of my pants and top.¡± The vial vanished, Sarah having stolen it and a kiss from Amdirlain. ¡°A reward for after your session with Gilorn. Have either of you heard more from the L¨®m??¡± ¡°Isa says they¡¯re still talking about the choirs and the musical arrangements between them,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I swear it feels like they¡¯ll be ready in a few years.¡± That drew only a resigned shrug from Sarah before she changed the subject. ¡°You had planned to make demi-planes for Qil Tris for a year. How many will you have ready?¡± Amdirlain restrained the urge to sigh again. ¡°Unless I pick up the pace, it won¡¯t be a Demi-Plane for each city in a year. Should I leave it at one for groups of three cities? That feels like fights will break out for control.¡± ¡°And the more controls you put in place, the more people will look to find a way around them,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Unless you make it worth their while to avoid clashes.¡± ¡°I take it you¡¯ve got an idea to share,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Make the challenge spawns better when willing team members are from different regions,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°The only issue will be that it¡¯s less likely for high zones to become locked down, resulting in not getting the Tier 7 Prestige classes. The willing part is the key.¡± ¡°If you want to challenge them consistently, we could ensure the demi-planes lockdown at the same rate the Spawning Abomination would appear,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°You didn¡¯t tell Mor¡¯lmes what would trigger the bosses of the weaker zones, only that they¡¯d need to be defeated to access the next zones when it occurred.¡± ¡°Good thought, if they¡¯re clearing it regularly, it will still occur. Gilorn, I¡¯ve been thinking since I received experience for replacing a biome that I need to do more activities involving raw materials,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn let out a joyful ripple of sound. ¡°Does that mean more work undertaking stellar creations?¡± ¡°I am concerned that they¡¯ll award a vast chunk of experience the first time I get a star to ignite,¡± replied Amdirlain cautiously. ¡°We could create some deliberate nebulae in our practice sessions,¡± offered Gilorn. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°As long as it¡¯s not life-bearing.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve known nebulae that could support life?¡± ¡°Something Anna said on her last visit,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°We were discussing lifeforms I¡¯d experienced in my past lives, and she told me about some very alien lifeforms she¡¯d encountered recently.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± murmured Gilorn. ¡°That will teach me not to skip your meetings with her. However, I still think creating lifeforms would serve you better rather than merely learning from her knowledge.¡± ¡°Ori didn¡¯t like some species she created while experimenting. I prefer to learn from those who have gone before me and avoid their mistakes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though that said, since I¡¯ve exceeded my target, it¡¯s time to spend some points.¡± [Knowledge Points spent: 191 Planetary Biome [S] (10) -> [G] (1)] The knowledge buzz washed through her and faded away without a ripple on Mental Hardening. Amdirlain raised an amused eyebrow. ¡°It didn¡¯t even touch the sides.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what you said last night,¡± said Sarah drily. ¡®Hush you,¡¯ projected Amdirlain, though her blush spoke volumes. ¡°Now I know how ridiculous True Song Architecture is,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡±Nearly two hundred points spent into a Knowledge without strain.¡± ¡°It is a Skill, not Knowledge, for a reason,¡± reminded Gilorn. ¡°The practical aspects of creating interlinking matter and dimensional energies is much more than mere knowledge of how different biological creatures interact." ¡°Physical Geography as well?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s not hit Senior Master rank yet,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. Gilorn huffed. ¡°There are far more interesting topics to study. As Isa has said, upload the simple stuff and enjoy the more interesting subjects.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± laughed Amdirlain. [Knowledge Points spent: 209 Physical Geography [M] (62) -> [S] (170)] ¡°Did you equalise them?¡± asked Gilorn as Amdirlain¡¯s expression twitched as the second rush left her unaffected. ¡°Not quite,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°And no synergies with old memories.¡± ¡°Gideon has their knickers in a twist, but considering you vomited up all that corruption when you renounced the Oath, I¡¯d prefer it gone,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Who knows what state I¡¯d be in,¡± said Amdirlain, shuddering as she considered the changes her True Form had continued to experience with the recent weeks of fierce work. ¡°I could stop levelling and just work on skills and powers. Make Psionic Paragon my last Class to tip the balance to Empress Malfex once I can select it.¡± ¡°I thought you were going for Grand Empress?¡± asked Gilorn. The title alone had Amdirlain scrunching her nose. ¡°I joked about it, but Empress Malfex is bad enough. I¡¯ll exceed Empress, but getting another six hundred levels over it for Grand Empress is too much of a push. I¡¯d need to get three hundred sixty-eight levels in each Class, and the grandiose titles turn my stomach.¡± ¡°Maybe Gideon will rename them for you since no one has them yet,¡± said Sarah. ¡°However, that¡¯s probably not going to happen. They seem to want you to embrace all the powers of Ori.¡± Gilorn hummed. ¡°Considering the greater benefit you get from Prestige classes, I recommend pushing them higher. Perhaps even them off at three hundred and later do the same with the evolved base Class. After all, you nearly have your species and the other three there. Decide what level you are comfortable getting, and I¡¯ll create the rest of the demi-planes for each city. Though I think it would be best to set them up so they learn to share, even if we create enough so they wouldn¡¯t yet have a need.¡± Amdirlain smiled in relief at the offer. ¡°True,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I will stop the crafting when I get the new species and return to fighting. I need to get back into the habits required for the deeper planes. The trip around Veht? might be a little warm-up, but not much of one.¡± ¡°You had to say that, didn¡¯t you?¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m serious. I saw the surveyor readings of what was on Veht?,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°There isn¡¯t anything on that planet that is going to stand a chance with the two of us. There isn¡¯t a threat as long as we avoid the assorted great wyrms, so I don¡¯t understand the purpose of the trip.¡± ¡°Your test with all those demons casting spells at you might have given you too much confidence,¡± critiqued Gilorn. The evening had become almost routine, and the slowness of her progression showed it with no further increase in True Song or Resonance. The progress in Sarah¡¯s massages had her considering exactly how comfortable she would need to get to slip her clothing off. That the sticking point was still her pants before self-doubt grew too uncomfortable had her mentally grinding her teeth behind her composed ¡®Sifu¡¯ expression for the morning training session. I walked around naked for weeks at a time in the maze, and now it¡¯s an issue. Stupid brain! As she sent most students off to breakfast, she signalled Klipyl and Dareios to keep sparring. Their exchanges were a helpful distraction that stopped her from cursing herself out for her continual craven nature. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Amid everything going on in the forty-two thousand kilometres radius she was monitoring, Roher¡¯s appearance outside the Domain¡¯s boundary still caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention. His entry into the training hall caught Klipyl¡¯s attention, and she broke off from sparring with Dareios to wave at him. After greeting him Klipyl looped her arm through Roher¡¯s and escorted him in their direction. Not breaking off the conversation with Morgana, they were still reviewing the adjustments needed in her spells until the pair stepped onto the platform. Klipyl motioned Roher to a chair across from Amdirlain and promptly vanished. ¡°I¡¯m sorry our review of the songs persisted in dragging on. Would you still have time to work with us?¡± asked Roher, his hand resting lightly on the back of the chair. ¡°Of course I would,¡± replied Amdirlain cheerfully. ¡°Morgana, this is Roher of the L¨®m?. Roher, this is Morgana, my teacher in arcane matters.¡± ¡°I had hoped to catch you before your morning lessons started,¡± Roher said. ¡°We were just discussing them,¡± advised Amdirlain. Morgana rose to greet Roher and patted Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder before excusing herself. Having stood to farewell Morgana, Amdirlain waved to the chair Roher had lingered near. ¡°Take a seat. When would you like to start?¡± Roher sighed in relief. ¡°I worried we might have left it too late. I know that you and Isa don¡¯t have the same perspective of time we do, and her comments hinted that your training is progressing well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been happy with my training,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°However, that doesn¡¯t mean I wouldn¡¯t welcome working with you all. Even those exiled I would have worked with despite our clashing.¡± ¡°Their conduct towards you was not only negative, but it quickly became clear after you left that they sought control of you and the other Anar,¡± sighed Roher. ¡°Their attitude, and the children¡¯s safety, necessitated their immediate exile.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t take to being controlled very well,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°While I¡¯m sure their combined capacity could overwhelm me, I can take them out individually.¡± ¡°Do I want to know?¡± asked Roher. A few hundred ways to get revenge if I¡¯m ever Planar Locked by any L¨®m?. ¡°Sarah and I figured out a few things,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°And she isn¡¯t the only one who could set them in motion. If someone Planar Locked me. I¡¯d know who it was, and I could still send messages. I have a communication mechanism that even I can¡¯t block, so holding me in a containment cell wouldn¡¯t end well.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll risk it,¡± reassured Roher. ¡°I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be my enemies,¡± replied Amdirlain sadly. ¡°It seems I was wrong, so hopefully I¡¯m the only one between us who misjudged them.¡± Roher froze. ¡°You consider them enemies.¡± ¡°You¡¯re worried about them trying to seize control of the Anar children. They¡¯re now in my top ten,¡± Amdirlain responded. Gilorn huffed. ¡°We allow the possibility of things worsening by waiting, Amdirlain.¡± I took the convenient route with the Red Dragon. Am I going to do it again? Is it that they¡¯re elves that make it less acceptable or is it just because they¡¯re not big and scaly? They can do more damage than the angry red was able to inflict on the forest. Though that¡¯s not completely true, I was all set to strip them of True Song. I had held off because I didn¡¯t want Gilorn to be my executioner, and I felt the responsibility that needed to do it myself. Just because I have the power doesn¡¯t give me the right to use it to resolve everything. I need to do better. The self-recriminations caught a rough spot, and Amdirlain held back a groan. Is that the purpose of the trip? To get me to look at what solutions I can find without applying my power? Amdirlain chewed her bottom lip as Roher¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Roher. Would you do me a favour?¡± ¡°Whatever you need,¡± Roher replied without hesitation. ¡°I¡¯d like you and some others to allow me or a Diamond Dragon to draw on your emotional state during your imprisonment,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°I wonder if the problem isn¡¯t a matter of perspective.¡± ¡°What do you want to do?¡± ¡°Play them a montage of the abandonment and desperation that the L¨®m? experienced,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Not life experience, but the emotions. They¡¯d know what spurs the emotions, but that¡¯s it. Give them a sense of half a million years of the noose drawing close.¡± ¡°I¡¯d suggest taking a firmer approach,¡± huffed Gilorn. ¡°But yours might at least awaken their common sense. With the song of the memories, I can filter it to provide them with the emotional experience as if they¡¯d walked that path rather than only felt the emotions.¡± ¡°You know the song involved in the Titan¡¯s Maze?¡± Gilorn chimed curiously. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I know what you mean.¡± ¡°Never mind, I¡¯ll go over it later,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Their lack of understanding on the matter caused some strain,¡± allowed Roher. ¡°I¡¯m not sure anyone would welcome them back easily, but if we could somehow redeem them, it would be a balm on that pain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set up a place to meet,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We can use it as a staging post for the choirs.¡± ¡°Perhaps a smaller Demi-Plane,¡± proposed Roher. ¡°Something that would only require a fraction of your reach.¡± ¡°A tiny one,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Isa mentioned she¡¯d help create crystals. Do you need further assistance to help protect your home?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve enough crystals to support additional barriers,¡± replied Roher. ¡°She didn¡¯t mention our concerns to you?¡± ¡°She might not have considered it her place. Well, either that or she felt paranoid about my response,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve gotten a touch grumpy with folks that don¡¯t care about children properly in the past.¡± ¡°Truly? How surprising,¡± said Roher innocently. Amdirlain laughed at his tone. ¡°How are Lospen, Rainith, and Nordil doing? Are they keeping you and Laleither on your toes?¡± ¡°They are well. Rainith hopes you¡¯ll visit again,¡± said Roher. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do, but it might be a year or two. Before we get started, has all the debate about the choirs completely concluded?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°No one wanting to haggle over the last tidbits?¡± Roher nodded. ¡°It has.¡± ¡°Alright, what do you need besides a place to stand?¡± ¡°If you¡¯d create a breathable atmosphere on the planets first,¡± proposed Roher. ¡°That way, we don¡¯t have to stage through the lifeforms rapidly, and can go straight to the evolved species.¡± ¡°That¡¯s doable,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll start work on the first planet¡¯s atmosphere tonight as I need to ease off my levelling a bit. I have a serious choice to make in a hundred and seventy-nine levels.¡± ¡°Do you ever rest?¡± asked Roher. Gilorn said. ¡°Lately, Sarah gets her to pause.¡± ¡°Privacy barriers need to be respected,¡± huffed Amdirlain, restraining the urge to shift position as memories of the interrupted petting stirred. As Amdirlain sought to retain composure, she turned her thoughts to matters that made her nervous. Will those levels be strong enough to deal with the primordial beings on the deep planes? The sisterhood gets away with it by being small enough fishes that they¡¯re not worth the effort of stirring. Some days, I feel like I¡¯m being overly paranoid about Baln¨¦rith; others, it feels like I¡¯m not paranoid enough. How does her Mana Finesse Tier compare to my True Song Genesis evolution? Tephros¡¯s situation showed me I can¡¯t hear everything as clearly as I¡¯d like. ? ? ? ? ? ? Moloch¡¯s PoV - Culerzic The landscape of his Domain remained unaffected by the ongoing cataclysm beyond its boundaries. A strange mushroom cloud had risen in the weeks since the initial explosion, and the central column was still feeding into the expanding head that had blotted out the fiery sky overhead. The dust within it circled upon hitting the flaming sky, and when it reached the outer lip, the air currents pulled the material back into the central shaft. With the destruction, the Abyss seemed to have found new inspiration, and Moloch could see souls repeatedly flayed by the swirling ash. The jet of water from underground was still causing the thick corruption that coated the plains nearby to burn, and the canyon deepened with every minute it went on. It had already blocked his Domain¡¯s expansion in that direction. [Canyon of Wrath Details: A landmark showing where a significant number of demonic spawning grounds and damned once stood. The result of a tiny experiment in oppositional reactions from a still waking songbird finding her feet in a changing planar landscape.] ¡°You thought you escaped her wrath through your little patronage trick?¡± Moloch spun, and spells leapt from him, only to be snuffed out before they came close to their target. The swirling black maelstrom before him twisted the light, and his senses didn¡¯t even register as being present within his Domain. The contents of their announcement caused Moloch to stiffen in place. ¡°Who are you? And whose wrath do you speak of?¡± asked Moloch, keeping his tone calm. A stiff gust of wind smacked against him from the whirlwind. ¡°My name¡¯s Kh¨¢os. It¡¯s far safer to use than other names. If your sponsor hadn¡¯t put you partly under my banner, we wouldn¡¯t be conversing. I¡¯d just be watching from the sidelines, waiting for you to be destroyed.¡± ¡°How did she do that?¡± questioned Moloch carefully. ¡°By proclaiming you her Harbinger of Chaos, Lies, and Repression,¡± explained Kh¨¢os. Moloch kept his expression carefully composed. ¡°What brings you to visit me?¡± The swirling cloud formed into the rough outline of an ebony-skinned Elven male whose clothes drank in the light. As Moloch looked him over, the figure gave him a shark-toothed smile. ¡°Always Chaos.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡± Kh¨¢os sat unsupported in mid-air, only for a whirlwind beneath him to morph into a well-cushioned armchair. ¡°Some of my siblings have thoughts about how long before she¡¯s regrown in strength to snuff you out. I¡¯ve got a different proposition for you.¡± ¡°How do you benefit from this proposition?¡± asked Moloch suspiciously. ¡°Chaos. I¡¯ll have aspects scrambling to achieve so many different outcomes. Would you like to appease the songbird instead and avoid destruction? Though destruction would certainly get his rocks off by you getting blown up. My idea has the potential to get you out of your chains to the Hell bitch as well,¡± explained Kh¨¢os. Moloch¡¯s gaze narrowed speculatively. ¡°I take it this helps you because of the chaos it brings.¡± ¡°Chaos is my eternal goal, but merchants like you thrive amid Chaos better than the authoritarian rule of tyrants,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°Would you like to hear more?¡± ¡°My Patron has threatened to snuff me out if I oppose her,¡± hedged Moloch. Kh¨¢os smiled benevolently, this time showing pearly whites. ¡°Technically, that is true, but beware of those who lie with the truth. The rules limit her ability to remove that essence to particular conditions, so how about we step around them? I dislike dictators using periods of disorder as an excuse to impose more rules. Especially when they¡¯ve been the ones to provoke it.¡± ¡°She made it sound like it was always her right,¡± said Moloch, teleporting a chair into place so he could sit opposite Kh¨¢os. ¡°That¡¯s something a tyrant would say,¡± laughed Kh¨¢os. ¡°Now, I won¡¯t lie. Things don¡¯t look good for you, even with your patron. You¡¯ve earned a stay of your execution, nothing more with that trick.¡± ¡°Can I pay her off? What did the other demon lords offer her?¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one that paid her, Moloch.¡± Moloch¡¯s jaw clenched. ¡°I most certainly didn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Actions and the events they put into motion create favours that need to be repaid, not trifling metals. Thus actions are the coin of powers, so you paid your executioner in that respect. The deeds of your lackey and you against a certain group of celestials spurred her into action,¡± advised Kh¨¢os. ¡°You caused the corruption of a Celestial she was quite in love with and earned her wrath.¡± ¡°My analysis ability said nothing about this,¡± stated Moloch. ¡°Knowledge doesn¡¯t like you. We both know that inside, you are scum. You only won over your Demon because you embraced the corruption instead of being consumed by it. It¡¯s hard to get eaten up by evil when you¡¯re already more vile than the evil that demons represent,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°Other Hidden killed theirs or cast them out. You embraced what the curse turned you into and sought to become even worse.¡± Moloch shrugged. ¡°It took one too many pokes at me. I defended myself.¡± ¡°Whatever. You¡¯ve got an uphill battle. She hates you, but fortunately for you, there are others she hates more,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°I¡¯ll have to be vague with some of them to avoid them coming looking at you, but fortunately, you have an ally besides me.¡± ¡°First is a two-for-one offer. The Hag who once ruled the Treasury took over from Hades of the Greek Pantheon. Inside his old Domain are three treasures she¡¯d do much to possess, and the Hag isn¡¯t aware of their nature or presence,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°Did you know she built a new Domain on the Plane that bears his name since she didn¡¯t like his old architecture? I wonder if anything got left behind. Trading three for one might get you a little leeway. Also, hurting the Hag might win you some good grace from the songbird.¡± The challenge of finding an insignificant god¡¯s domain in an infinite Plane and then finding a hidden treasure had Moloch gritting his teeth. ¡°How would I even know these treasures?¡± ¡°They¡¯re three Soul jars, one woman and two twin baby boys,¡± clarified Kh¨¢os. ¡°And yes, they are most certainly hidden away. You¡¯ll need someone or something that can see the truth to find them. Where might you find someone like that who¡¯s Fallen into the Abyss?¡± The wordplay brought gossip about a fortress in the depths to Moloch¡¯s mind. ¡°There are rumours of individuals like that in the deep planes.¡± ¡°More than rumours,¡± replied Kh¨¢os. ¡°Not all of them are in the deep planes. Some act as mercenaries from The Exchange and places like it.¡± ¡°What are you really after?¡± asked Moloch. ¡°Are you going to add extra tithe to the deal?¡± ¡°This will only cost you whatever time you invest in the demons you send searching. I¡¯ll reap the chaos of emotions that it will cause in her every time she considers if she did the right thing by letting you exist,¡± smirked Kh¨¢os. ¡°She thinks about such things constantly. Your presence will be a thorn that she¡¯ll constantly work to make right. The more she does that, the more changes she¡¯ll create to balance the books in her eyes, and change always involves Chaos in varying degrees.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being very open,¡± noted Moloch suspiciously. Kh¨¢os grinned. ¡°This is all simply how I feel at the moment. The fun thing is being the conduit for absolute Chaos. Who knows if this will remain my plan? It¡¯s best to get the offer while it¡¯s hot. Second: the Fallen, previously known as Baln¨¦rith you both hate each other. Destroy her in a way that people know you¡¯re responsible. Though Baln¨¦rith¡¯s an equal third with abolishing slavery in regions you control.¡± Moloch ground his teeth at the sudden lack of details. ¡°The songbird doesn¡¯t like slavery¡ªeven enslaving demons¡ªand, being Chaos, I don¡¯t like it either. It requires too many rules and organisation, and lacks personal freedom,¡± quipped Kh¨¢os. ¡°As a merchant, you should know that freed individuals buy more things than slaves do. They also produce more goods to make a profit. Who is more repressed: a slave or someone who finds the route to a better life always beyond their reach? You need to focus on the nature you need to refine.¡± ¡°Even if I did that, how would she know?¡± ¡°Think of it this way: freeing them would be an undefinable itch that will annoy a certain tyrant who yanks your chains, even if the songbird never knows,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°You¡¯ll be adding profit to the revenge column of the Hell bitch¡¯s ledger.¡± ¡°The three Soul jars aren¡¯t actively hiding,¡± noted Moloch. ¡°She¡¯s still not going to know I have them.¡± ¡°She won¡¯t, but Custodian will know when you have such treasured possessions. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll figure out how to clue her in if that occurs,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°By the way, don¡¯t even think about doing anything to those souls. You survived the slaughter that occurred during the War of the Four. Do you think you¡¯d survive us all? They had to hunt Leviathan, but given your nature, I¡¯ll always know where you are, and I would flay you first and hand you over second.¡± Kh¨¢os disappeared, leaving the chair behind, and Moloch noticed the landmarks embroidered into the cushions. Moloch focused on his two strongest balors. ¡°I need you to go to The Exchange, find one of the Fallen there, and hire him for a trip to Hades.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? Custodian¡¯s PoV - Outlands Kh¨¢os snapped back into focus within the pillared chamber, keeping a humanoid appearance but shifting genders and races every second. ¡°Well?¡± asked Custodian. ¡°He bought it,¡± laughed Kh¨¢os. ¡°I win that bet.¡± A mix of emotional energy chimed from Custodian. ¡°Protection for a champion of Chaos in a time of dire need.¡± ¡°You mean champions, one for each goal he completes,¡± corrected Kh¨¢os. ¡°Am put his back to the wall, not you,¡± protested Custodian. ¡°That doesn¡¯t matter. He wouldn¡¯t know what to do without my sales pitch. Not being allowed to act directly is such a pain,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°If we¡¯re nice, do you think Amdirlain would change that rule?¡± A mocking note caused Kh¨¢os¡¯s shoulders to slump, and they melted into a puddle of slime that plopped away. ¡°I still bet she¡¯ll kill him,¡± said Custodian. ¡°I¡¯ll grant you multiple favours that will protect any champion not opposed by Am. She doesn¡¯t believe in keeping promises to evil beings.¡± ¡°My thought is she¡¯ll kill him immediately, but more probable is that she¡¯ll string him along,¡± said Kh¨¢os. ¡°Double or nothing on those favours?¡± ¡°I¡¯m confused. You¡¯re betting that she kills him later?¡± Kh¨¢os wiggled. ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer she kills him immediately. Still, there has to be an upper time limit involved. Also, you can¡¯t go counting Amdirlain killing him for a fresh betrayal after a cease-fire commences,¡± said Custodian and the pair set to haggling. 431 - Breaking through Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Material Plane Desolation composed of rock, mud, stagnant water, and noxious gases surrounded her within the cradle of the planet¡¯s atmosphere. Nearby, the foul stench of rotten eggs wafted up from pits of bubbling mud stirred by volcanic forces far beneath the surface. A presence manifested beside her as she sang a breathable atmosphere into place. Death¡¯s white wings seemed to stretch across the horizon, shrouding the planet in his care. Long white hair fluttered in the breeze, stirred by the planet¡¯s renewed air currents. Eleftherios smiled, his dark gaze ironically bright with power. ¡°Amdirlain. Are you doing well?¡± ¡°Eleftherios, it¡¯s good to see you again. I hope this plan doesn¡¯t cause you a problem,¡± said Amdirlain. I hope that wasn¡¯t a lie. Please don¡¯t let him be scheming to use me as well. ¡°Not at all,¡± reassured Eleftherios. ¡°To me, this planet is abhorrent. It is sterile and lifeless.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an odd sentiment to hear from the Aspect of Death,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°When something dies, its death returns to the realm so that new life can grow,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°Even the death of a star distributes energy to far places. Death is a step in the cycle, but this is just a bitter, unnatural end.¡± ¡°Has Gideon sent you to chastise me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°They were pretty bitter at me.¡± Eleftherios smiled. ¡°Gideon and I do not always agree. Though they have made a grand fuss about you breaking the Oath Link with Sarah, you had valid reasons in my eyes. I¡¯m glad you survived the decision to do so. You and Sarah are doing well, correct?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± said Amdirlain bashfully. ¡°Good,¡± declared Eleftherios. ¡°That is what matters, not what anyone else thinks.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m glad someone can see it. Since you¡¯re not here to chastise me, what reason do I owe for your visit?¡± ¡°I came to check on you and hopefully offer some useful advice,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°Though I¡¯m concerned about how it will be taken since I know of others'' attempts at manipulation.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re self-conscious enough to realise how advice can be taken,¡± said Amdirlain tightly. ¡°Yes, how my sharing concerns can be perceived,¡± Eleftherios winced; his wings briefly fluttered and shadowed them both. ¡°Will you hear me out and judge on what I say?¡± Amdirlain nodded suspiciously. ¡°An understandable and unfortunately not unjustified concern. Your fellow prisoner in blood has ill intentions towards you as Amdirlain.¡± Fuck Laodice, what¡¯s she up to? ¡°Would she be fine if I was properly Orh¨ºthurin?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Eleftherios. ¡°She stated as much to Custodian. She believes that Orh¨ºthurin might have left something behind with her power.¡± I doubt it. There was too much relief about it being gone; in among the pain, a weight had lifted from her shoulders. It also matched her earlier message I got while at the monastery. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin left a message for me in my Soulscape that told me she¡¯d never be her again,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you think she¡¯d lie straight up to whoever came after? She clarified she didn¡¯t know who or if someone would ever hear it. She deliberately set up a message to reassure any future reincarnations that retrieved it that she wasn¡¯t a threat and would never rise to replace them. Orh¨ºthurin wanted to die for such a long time that I don¡¯t think she¡¯d thank anyone who restored her to life. She must have said something that convinced Nicholaus to let her leave the realm.¡± ¡°I agree, though none of us overheard their exchange. It is in my sister¡¯s nature to turn everything into a grand struggle for dominance,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°She can¡¯t see that the cycle of life and death isn¡¯t meant to be rewound, and I¡¯ll admit I first thought you were Orh¨ºthurin come again, but you¡¯re not the same. To lean on my earlier example, Orh¨ºthurin was the mighty oak that fell. Losing her saddened some more than others. I hope her prior existence only provides the materials for your greatness and doesn¡¯t warp how you can grow.¡± ¡°That¡¯s kind of you, Eleftherios,¡± said Amdirlain. Eleftherios smiled sadly. ¡°It seems I should have given her more kindness while she was among the living. You¡¯re not the only one that Gideon sometimes shares the sharpness of knowledge.¡± ¡°What advice do you have for me?¡± ¡°You needed peace, but other pieces are moving. I¡¯m unsure how long you can afford to linger in Livia¡¯s Domain. You might have centuries or only years,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°You need to get that evolution and get to the wound before others take advantage of your delays. You¡¯ll want plenty of time and strength to deal with whatever traps Baln¨¦rith has in place on the approach to the wound.¡± I already had planned for that with the wound, but what pieces moving? Who is acting against me? ¡°How would they know I¡¯m about?¡± ¡°Anyone with Analysis can find out the songbird is in play again,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°You might have the True Song crystal hidden from the perception of Roher and the other L¨®m?, but they aren¡¯t gods, nor is Livia strong enough to stop many from peering into her Domain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve noticed,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°To be fair to her, it has been primordials looking in on me.¡± ¡°While you¡¯ve had some visitors, they won¡¯t be the last. Orcus isn¡¯t popular, but he¡¯s made enough noise that his enemies are looking to see what he¡¯s after,¡± said Eleftherios, waving around them. ¡°Closing off so many worlds like you did left traces. He now seeks structures of True Song.¡± ¡°Should you have told me Orcus was looking for them?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Orcus is the least of those looking for crystal constructs. You¡¯ve made too much noise. Moloch¡¯s patron is also looking for traces after Gideon¡¯s references to the Titan¡¯s Songbird in the various landscaping you did.¡± Amdirlain groaned. ¡°I¡¯ve just been trying to sort myself out and grow stronger.¡± ¡°I know why you lingered, and I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve found more peace, but you need to move on,¡± Eleftherios said, briefly clasping Amdirlain¡¯s face, his gaze startlingly close. The gentle affection in the gesture kept her from objecting to his invasion of her personal space. ¡°You might have decades or mere months. Please get somewhere safe from those seeking you for a time.¡± This is as far from Laodice¡¯s conduct as I could expect, closer to Custodian¡¯s cheerful greeting. Amdirlain frowned as he released her. ¡°Given War¡¯s behaviour when I visited Custodian last, I¡¯m not sure how safely I can take advice from an Aspect. Gideon said that Nexus played games with my Planar Shift.¡± ¡°There are too many divided opinions, and Nicholaus keeps himself firmly within the rules. Some feel you have grand potential as Ori¡¯s proper successor. Unfortunately, others aren¡¯t as accepting for various reasons,¡± said Eleftherios sadly. ¡°You should see Custodian again, as this isn¡¯t the most recent of War¡¯s misbehaviour. As a lesser Aspect, the rules don¡¯t permit Custodian to initiate contact with those not directly under Protection¡¯s banner. Still, they triggered something dangerous to get your attention so they could warn you.¡± ¡°What about you being here and in the monastery?¡± ¡°My visit to the monastery was skirting the rules,¡± advised Eleftherios. ¡°I can only see you now when you are in a ruined world like this¡ªthe price of bending the rules with the Greek gods.¡± They¡¯re no longer a priority, but I¡¯m still curious. Would he say anything further? ¡°You get in a lot of trouble off Pat¨¦ras?¡± Amdirlain asked curiously. Eleftherios smiled serenely. ¡°Are you going to use that term for him all the time?¡± That¡¯s a straight-up subject evasion. ¡°Did he take it well?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Very well,¡± Eleftherios said, nodding enthusiastically. ¡°You are not the only one with scars from your past, Amdirlain. My only advice is to focus on what you love over what you believe you need.¡± Amdirlain eyed him curiously. ¡°And is that why you¡¯re here today, to give me life advice? That¡¯s a little ironic, given your role in the realm.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my main reason, but I will always endeavour to help your goals. Custodian has a bet with Kh¨¢os that I thought you should know about rather than getting taken by surprise,¡± advised Eleftherios. Kh¨¢os is Greek for Chaos. ¡°I can¡¯t believe the aspects bet on events,¡± said Amdirlain nervously, hoping that Custodian or Eleftherios wasn¡¯t trying to manipulate her. ¡°We bet to make matters more personal and to help keep an interest in events beyond setting up more planets. It¡¯s not the outcome but the journey that matters,¡± explains Eleftherios. ¡°The more uncertainty within the events in question, the more attraction they generate. From how Kh¨¢os spoke, Custodian started this one, so I suspect they have a reason to need your attention. You should visit them more often.¡± ¡°Are you involved in it as well?¡± ¡°No, and I think Kh¨¢os might have told me about it just to see what I¡¯d do,¡± Eleftherios shrugged. His wings drew shadows across the ground, and Amdirlain caught glimpses of what had lived and died in aeons past. ¡°I take it you mentioned it for a reason,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They are using one of your enemies to retrieve three Soul jars from a location where it¡¯s not safe for you to go,¡± Eleftherios explained. The news caused an icy feeling to lodge within her lungs. More souls are captive in places they shouldn¡¯t be. ¡°The Demon, the Hag, or the Fallen?¡± quipped Amdirlain. Eleftherios frowned. ¡°The Demi-god. Please get out of the habit of thinking of him as merely a Demon, he¡¯s not just an individual with a powerful magic rating that you need to fear. He¡¯s powerful, but it¡¯s not the only threat to worry over Amdirlain. Enough magic thrown your way simultaneously will still slowly wear you down. How do you think we got overwhelmed while fighting within the Abyss? We were worn down with piecemeal but constant attacks chipping away at us until we couldn¡¯t handle the Leviathan¡¯s strength without cost. It¡¯s best not to take even minor threats lightly. Always ensure you have a safe place to fall back to and recover from battles.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the second time you¡¯ve mentioned being safe,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s because I¡¯m concerned for your safety. With those searching for crystals, I¡¯d recommend you move from the Outlands. Many dark powers and lesser beings are presently seeking traces of singers,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°Those that had reason to be jealous of the Anar and L¨®m?¡¯s strength and don¡¯t wish it restored.¡± I¡¯ll take the Jade Emperor¡¯s invitation up sooner than intended. I thought I was being so clever with the library. ¡°Are they looking in the Outlands? Is it my library¡¯s crystal that¡¯s making waves?¡± Eleftherios smiled. ¡°Your library is noisy. The True Song makes it a beacon, but fortunately one that isn¡¯t easy to trace. It wouldn¡¯t be an issue except for other events, but they¡¯re paying attention to that Power again after the devastation caused several times on Culerzic and Tern¨°x. The dramatic explosions, rivers of dammed going to sleep, not to mention the trillions of dammed souls and mortals you¡¯ve stolen away.¡± More souls than I¡¯ve been able to process or have the weaponry to equip. Maybe I can ask Gilorn to help build more armaments for the towers. ¡°Thanks for the warning,¡± said Amdirlain, and she signalled the library¡¯s songs to cease gathering information. ¡°It¡¯s not just my warning, but there are limits to what Gideon can or will put in the notes,¡± said Eleftherios. ¡°They made their view of me quite clear. I wouldn¡¯t expect them to offer much help,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Gideon, for someone so knowledgeable, can be an idiot. Ori would be so happy for you and Sarah. Try to be kinder to yourself. Remember that Ori was always hardest on herself, and that¡¯s not a good example to follow,¡± offered Eleftherios, before he vanished. If I bring things forward, we¡¯ll need to deal with the exiled L¨®m? now instead of waiting to see how they behave. How will they react to their perspective being broadened? Amdirlain notified Gilorn and refocused all her attention on the planet¡¯s atmosphere. She was nearly done when Gilorn confirmed she¡¯d completed the preparations to provide the insights to the exiled L¨®m?. Amdirlain returned to the Outlands and, in a sheltered glade away from the mountain, she explained the situation to Sarah and Gilorn. Sarah wrinkled her nose. ¡°Those with power are often jealous of others. I wonder how many entities worked behind the scenes to ensure Baln¨¦rith¡¯s scheme succeeded. Nicholaus should pay attention to more besides creating the next planet.¡± ¡°He was always getting lost in his construction projects,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though it¡¯s not his fault¡ªthe realm wasn¡¯t set up for him to know everything. Neither of them wanted the temptation. If you weren¡¯t violating the rules, they didn¡¯t need to know, the rules would assess you and take care of it. It was only when the rules were being broken in a way that they couldn¡¯t cope with that there was any notification.¡± ¡°Like the Eldritch,¡± stated Gilorn. ¡°Exactly,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°But that¡¯s not what we need to talk about. Do I head for the lower planes now and level there, or go on the Jade Emperor¡¯s trip? I¡¯m thinking about the Jade Emperor¡¯s trip to make it easy for either of you to vote that way. How do you two vote?¡± There was an audible sigh of relief from Sarah, and Gilorn chimed happily in agreement. ¡°I¡¯ll assume you¡¯ve already got a list of things to handle before we head off?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Qil Tris, the Exiled L¨®m?, a bunch of demi-planes to even out my levels, Xaos¡¯ training hall. I need to remove the True Song Crystal there and in the Mousekin burrow,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Set up an enchanted arena to allow my attendees a training mechanism after I take apart my training hall. Set up an access key for Livia to allow the dragons into the honeymoon suite once the situation arises.¡± Sarah frowned. ¡°Do the demi-planes contain crystal?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°No, their expansion consumes the seeds,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got some enchanting teaching to get through, though I know some dragons could take over the lessons and pick up the pay,¡± said Sarah. ¡°We¡¯ll look into the exiles first,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah paused. ¡°Aren¡¯t they living upon a world you¡¯ll need to get summoned to?¡± ¡°I can take care of that,¡± reassured Gilorn. ¡°I count as Mortal. Let me know when you¡¯re ready to be summoned.¡± Without further warning, she hopped away. Amdirlain stepped close to Sarah and caressed her face. ¡°We get to travel alone. Just the two of us to annoy each other.¡± ¡°Having you all to myself isn¡¯t a hardship,¡± laughed Sarah and caught her in a tight embrace. ¡°I won¡¯t be gone long,¡± reassured Amdirlain, her hands stroking Sarah¡¯s back as she enjoyed the hug. ¡°Gilorn hasn¡¯t even offered a guess yet about the time required,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m going to assume it will take at least as long as Ebusuku¡¯s trip through the Maze.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send you an updated time frame once I know it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You can break the bad news to my students.¡± ¡°Jinfeng is going to beg to come along as a guide,¡± cautioned Sarah. ¡°Deserted by her Sifu, etc.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be near even the Western Kingdom for who knows how long,¡± said Amdirlain, and she reluctantly stepped away to signal Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯ll be back as soon as we¡¯re done.¡± Gilorn¡¯s summoning had a different feel to the device, but the rainbow-walled conduit didn¡¯t provide a prettier view. Amdirlain was glad when she emerged from the other end, though the mirrored circle it released her into showed her armoured jawline and hollow eye sockets with a wick of waving white flame within. When her presence stabilised within the circle, the barrier dropped, allowing her a view of the mountain landscape she¡¯d sensed upon arrival. Amdirlain resumed her Wood Elf form and, as the mountain breeze played with azure locks, cleared up the sludge that had leaked from her bristles. The music of the exiles was obvious to Amdirlain among the elves that populated this world. They¡¯d already established a little community and had others paying court to them for their capabilities. They¡¯ve learned nothing about the cost of pride. ¡°I¡¯ll get you to sing the accompanying pieces,¡± instructed Gilorn, displaying the music she¡¯d projected to Amdirlain previously and highlighting the particular sets. ¡°That¡¯s just as well,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°Just listening to their little worship centres has me furious. Cult camp 101.¡± A run of sour notes emitted from Gilorn. ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t just take their True Song away?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s stick with the theme from the corridor of choices and see how they react,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯re skating out onto thin ice.¡± I will not interrogate Gilorn about what other songs Ori taught her. I might behave if I repeat that to myself a few million times. ¡°We should gain a deeper impact if we take a few days or weeks,¡± cautioned Gilorn. ¡°We can present a sped-up dreamscape, but the longer we take, the more vivid it will be. Unless you¡¯d prefer to force choices onto them, they need time to process the moments.¡± ¡°They have to make their choices. I¡¯ll ask Sarah to pass on the news to my students,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn¡¯s inner glow dulled briefly. ¡°Ensure you don¡¯t dip within their thoughts, or my song might entrap you in the melody, Amdirlain.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stick to the protective barriers and themes to maintain their bodies,¡± said Amdirlain. As Gilorn¡¯s harsh and sorrowful melody enfolded them, Amdirlain set protective barriers around each exile, ensuring each was safe and physically well. As they were drawn into a dreaming state, the options they would experience in the Abyss consumed their attention. Amdirlain kept her mind clear and listened to the other creatures in the region. The elves the exiled had sought to impress kept vigil for two weeks as they experienced the slow, insidious death of choices and Baln¨¦rith¡¯s tightening noose that the other L¨®m? had endured. While Gilorn provided the backdrop for their choices, Amdirlain sustained their lives and practised her spells. Travelling now will be an issue; I¡¯ve still not got my psionic skills progressed to powers, so I can¡¯t take the Class I wanted. Yet I doubt Eleftherios would have bothered to warn me unless the danger was significant. When the songs ended, Amdirlain felt the L¨®m? inhale in shock and disbelief. She released them from their protective shells and they collapsed, weeping. Each was relieved to find themselves once more in the present. They¡¯re relieved, but will their attitudes change? How will they react once they determine who inflicted that perspective on them? If they want to fuck around further, they¡¯re going to find out what Gilorn wants to do. The pair waited until the exiles were on their feet before they returned to the Outlands. The warmth of the golden sunlight held a bitterness to Amdirlain after Eleftherios¡¯ warning. ¡°Can I get you to complete the demi-planes?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I can do that,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°You¡¯ve had proposals from others about classes. Might I put forward a proposal of my own?¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening,¡± said Amdirlain, and beckoned to Gilorn. ¡°Hit me with your logic.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer to share it with you. Your phrasing is so aggressive at times,¡± grumbled Gilorn. ¡°While Aitherlar has proposed a psionic class for your last spot, you could take another True Song Class and then take that Psionic Class as part of your first Tier 7.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying to balance out the channels of energy I can handle, and that Class helps psionics and magic,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Presently, my True Song Classes outweigh the others.¡± ¡°The transition to Empress Malfex will get you four blank classes, but you don¡¯t have to take classes straight away,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°You could level the species while you gain skills and powers to take the classes you want. Yes, presently your True Song Prestige Class gives you more progress than the others. Still, Bahamut didn¡¯t say you had to balance them to break through to a Primordial. He said that whatever path you choose, strengthening the capability to channel energy is important. What have you enjoyed the most of all the things you¡¯ve done in these last months? I recommend you choose a Class because it lets you do what you love the most. I don¡¯t have a Class name for you, you should investigate and decide that for yourself.¡± I¡¯ve not looked at any of the True Song classes on offer. While punching out a Dragon would have once been an unthinkable achievement, I still feel sullied about taking the convenient route of being a murder hobo on a new mother. Tiamat didn¡¯t care, merely devoured her Soul. Do I want to let Tiamat¡¯s attitude that it¡¯s strength that matters the most also drive me? Have I avoided looking at other choices because I¡¯m afraid of getting lost? Or because I¡¯m afraid of living in her shadow? ¡°You should look for something beyond merely serving a particular purpose with Baln¨¦rith,¡± said Gilorn softly. ¡°Perhaps something that would allow you to create life and care for souls?¡± ¡°You bring up a good point, and I promise I¡¯ll consider it,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn chimed happily. ¡°In the meantime, you could complete enough demi-planes to get your other classes up to at least three hundred. Then your last class will require less effort to cross the threshold,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Are you going to leave immediately because of Eleftherios¡¯s warning?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to endanger anyone unnecessarily,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°There are, however, various tasks we¡¯ll need to tie off first.¡± ¡°It would be faster to do the work ourselves,¡± noted Gilorn. ¡°You know, it¡¯s improbable that the L¨®m? can help you complete even one overnight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m aware of that,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Do we shock them, and have you join their efforts?¡± ¡°Since you¡¯re taking Eleftherios¡¯s suggestion to hide on the Material Plane, you could open a Gate to each world and sing with them from Veht?,¡± suggested Gilorn. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have to live with them, just shelter in the world¡¯s barrier. Listen for a bit and learn the lay of the land before you travel.¡± ¡°The poem¡¯s line about noiseless,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn hummed. ¡°Do you think there is more than one reason for that poem? It came well before you got this warning?¡± Why do I have to be the one to sing with them? ¡°There is another option. You could sing with them,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Or Isa, Gail, and yourself could handle it together.¡± ¡°Perhaps after you handle the first world with them. I want to ensure they know your strength and don¡¯t take you for granted,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°I take it you¡¯d prefer I not travel with you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an excellent compromise,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°As for travelling with me, would you want to close off your Resonance?¡± A sour noise resonated through Gilorn¡¯s frame. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Very perceptive,¡± drawled Gilorn. ¡°Message me regularly while you¡¯re travelling, and don¡¯t make your M¨®eir worry.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t stay on Veht??¡± ¡°I think I¡¯ll expand one of your demi-planes for myself,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Then I can hopefully resist the temptation to streamline your journey from afar.¡± ¡°Will you monitor Qil Tris for me and ensure our changes to the ghost caverns don¡¯t cause issues?¡± Gilorn hummed softly. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to spend time with Sarah,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll keep my attention on the outside of your barrier,¡± responded Gilorn, and with a grumpy huff, Amdirlain disappeared. ? ? ? ? ? ? Afterwards, Amdirlain lay curled up in Sarah¡¯s arms, enjoying her warmth and the afterglow. Sarah¡¯s hand rubbing slow circles brought forth a mix of warmth and spikes of nerves whenever she brushed against the top of Amdirlain¡¯s pants. Something has still got me flinching back. Stop, enjoy Sarah¡¯s warmth, or think of something else. Pieces of information swirled around in Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and memories of two recent conversations swam together, pieces clicking into place. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Sarah asked. Her fingers paused where they¡¯d been caressing the skin of Amdirlain¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Gilorn gave me some advice that fitted with something Eleftherios said.¡± Sarah¡¯s eyebrow raised. ¡°Which is?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been looking at things wrong,¡± said Amdirlain, savouring Sarah''s heady scent. ¡°They said that?¡± ¡°No, they were both addressing other matters, but now I realise I¡¯ve been dragging my heels because I wasn¡¯t comfortable,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Power for power¡¯s sake alone isn¡¯t appealing. I¡¯m going to take another True Song Class and get the transition to Empress Malfex, then I¡¯ll take the time to get powers and skills for balanced evolved classes in my Tier 7,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of what my transition to Empress Malfex is going to do, and I¡¯ve been procrastinating about it.¡± ¡°Going to put more in the basket of True Song?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°My magic rating is a lot higher,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Eleftherios and Gilorn separately told me to focus on what I love. I¡¯ve said that magic and psionics are useful tools, but I don¡¯t love them. I enjoy my martial arts and the Monk Ki powers, but don¡¯t love them. My ability to take out a Dragon with a single punch brought grim satisfaction, but it didn¡¯t bring me happiness.¡± ¡°There was no victory rush,¡± said Sarah. ¡°No dopamine reaction that you¡¯d get from your old games.¡± ¡°It made me wonder if I was just picking the convenient action, the choice the gamer slaying the monster of the week would take,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to kid myself that she wouldn¡¯t have killed me if she could have, yet I used her life and Soul as the price of admission to talk to Tia.¡± ¡°I hoped my little joke would distract you from going down that road,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I might just get you to deliver on the punch line one day,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How would a metallic have reacted to a red entering their territory?¡± ¡°Metallic and chromatic dragons always fight to the death to keep each other from their territory. The chromatic because they want the metallic dead, the metallic because they know what fate awaits the territory if they give in.¡± ¡°Aitherlar predicted correctly¡ªshe was a brooding mother preparing for young,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°It was the three factors that made it predictable: her reported size, sudden appearance, and behaviour,¡± recounted Sarah. ¡°If the Dragon had moved to the area alone, there would have been a slow escalation. That she was going for a large dramatic attack means she was herding prey out into the open in a hurry so she wouldn¡¯t linger away from her nest. A chromatic just hunting to establish its territory would take its time and not disappear for days between raids.¡± ¡°That still doesn¡¯t get to what I need. I guess I worded it wrong. How do metallic dragons view clashes with chromatics?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the cost of keeping those in your care safe. They¡¯d have taken killing the Red Dragon as essentially pest control. Do you sympathise with roaches or just rid yourself of them efficiently? It doesn¡¯t matter if the bug is smart. It won¡¯t live with you or others peacefully. She was a mother, but she would have raised her children to prey on everything around them. Then, instead of one rampaging Dragon, you¡¯d have had three. Yes, dragons don¡¯t need to eat after a certain point, but it doesn¡¯t stop chromatics. Some will slaughter everything in their territory, regardless of their prey¡¯s intelligence. Great wyrms will live on a barren mountainside devoid of life. It¡¯s nothing for them to venture a few hundred kilometres away to pick up food if they want to eat.¡± Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully. ¡°There were places in the mountains beyond the Dragon¡¯s lair that match your description.¡± ¡°This topic got you off track,¡± said Sarah, brushing a strand of hair from Amdirlain¡¯s face. ¡°What were you thinking about True Song class-wise?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not checked on them in ages, and I¡¯ve opened up a number, but the most recent is promising,¡± said Amdirlain. She checked Analysis again, though she didn¡¯t need it to remember the details of the new Class that caught her attention. [Primal Maestro Details: Masterful performers of True Song can make an impression. Increases the chance of gaining significant insights into powers, skills, and knowledge that are directly related to True Song usage. Requirements: - True Song Genesis evolved to Lord Tier or Higher. - Resonance evolved to Lord Tier or Higher. - Seven Hundred Levels in True Song Classes. Attribute increases: + 1 Melee Attack Power per 2 levels. + 1 Defence per Level. +40 Health per Level. +10 Endurance per Level. +4 Free Attribute Points every four levels post level 22. +8 Magic per Level. Note: It won¡¯t give you the insight and memory synergies you threw away, but it will benefit you. Note: You¡¯re already on the evolution paths for the powers this one can unlock.] What does it mean by directly related? Harps, singing, composition, and hopefully understanding what I¡¯m doing when I give a species a second heart? ¡°Primal Maestro,¡± offered Amdirlain. Sarah blinked. ¡°You got an evolution on True Song Genesis?¡± Oh, I fucked up! I was so caught up I didn¡¯t tell her. ¡°I¡¯m...¡± ¡°That is great,¡± interrupted Sarah. ¡°I should have mentioned it,¡± said Amdirlain. A gentle smile lit Sarah¡¯s gaze, and she stole a kiss. ¡°I know you¡¯re self-contained in a lot of ways. You¡¯re talking about it now, so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not complaining about your timing.¡± Her insinuating tone drew a blush from Amdirlain. ¡°We had other things we were spending time on,¡± managed Amdirlain. ¡°Weeks of sorting out self-centred prats,¡± Sarah hummed thoughtfully. ¡°You know something has been niggling at me.¡± Is something wrong? ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Amdirlain carefully as she considered the changes she¡¯d made to the distant Xaos. The training tower was now connected to a modest Demi-Plane, and the Mana in the surrounding Chaos stream would continually restore the constructs. ¡°My mother has teased you about it, and I¡¯ve said nothing,¡± Sarah said, presenting her with a gleaming ring. Within it was an enchantment that rippled with her Ki. ¡°Things have a proper order despite Aitherlar jumping ahead, and I¡¯ve not declared my intentions. You don¡¯t have to answer me anytime soon, but would you marry me?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± blurted Amdirlain. ¡°You don¡¯t need a moment to consider your options?¡± asked Sarah lightly, a smile lighting up her gaze. Amdirlain kissed Sarah softly, enjoying the sweetness of her lips and the warm line of their bodies pressed together. ¡°I¡¯m never getting a better partner than you,¡± breathed Amdirlain. I¡¯m the poor partner. ¡°Amdirlain, your self-doubt is trying to kill your happiness,¡± said Sarah. ¡°According to Ebusuku¡¯s rules, we were married when you said yes. Do you want a wedding?¡± ¡°No, I just want you,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah drew away to set the ring on Amdirlain¡¯s middle finger and pulled her close again. Though curious about the choice, Amdirlain didn¡¯t break away. After a lingering kiss, Sarah revealed her reasoning without prompting. ¡®You¡¯re my centre,¡¯ Sarah projected. ¡®We can use whatever symbols or rituals we want to celebrate.¡¯ Happy tears prickled at the corners of Amdirlain¡¯s eyes, catching her by surprise. I am wanted. Enjoying another soft kiss, Amdirlain interlaced her fingers with Sarah¡¯s. ¡°I missed you.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a lot to do before we head off, but you had better break the bad news to Livia first,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Have you figured out what you¡¯re going to tell her?¡± ¡°If I tell her evil dark powers are looking for signs of True Song Crystal, I think that will be enough,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Tomorrow, I¡¯ll start levelling.¡± [Class selection: Primal Maestro] ¡°Do you want to expand on that?¡± ¡°My goal is Empress Malfex before we travel,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s time to stop being afraid of what it¡¯s going to do.¡± ¡°What are we doing the rest of tonight?¡± asked Sarah, and she shifted position to draw Amdirlain closer. Her hand resting at the base of Amdirlain¡¯s spine brought only warmth and longing. ¡°I thought my wife might take my pants off me,¡± breathed Amdirlain nervously. ¡°Only if you¡¯re feeling comfortable.¡± Sarah''s hand moved from her back to cradle her hip. Amdirlain gave a quick, jerky nod. ¡°It seems part of my brain was waiting for the ring.¡± ¡°Your mind needed the familiar symbol of commitment. There is nothing wrong with that, my love. What exactly would you like?¡± asked Sarah, her fingers trailing teasingly down the front of Amdirlain¡¯s thigh. ¡°You,¡± gasped Amdirlain. The surge of desire that washed through Sarah¡¯s theme vibrated off Amdirlain¡¯s skin and the lingering buzz of pleasure intensified. A strange breathlessness flooded her, and desire drowned the nervous anticipation that started twisting inside her stomach. A tug shifted her pants downwards, and Amdirlain arched her hips to let them slide free. Sarah''s soft kisses grew steadily fiercer, devouring her mouth until she cast Amdirlain¡¯s shorts aside. Sarah stopped, and her lips trailed downwards amid warm caresses as their hands explored each other. Kisses inter-spaced with tiny licks as she trailed across Amdirlain¡¯s stomach, her hand gently cupped between nervously parted thighs, drawing a groan of desire. 432 - Predator & Prey Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands - Outpost of the Monastery of the Western Reaches Livia was the first arrival to the morning training session, and her bright, knowing smile drew a sigh from Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, M¨®eir,¡± reassured Livia. ¡°You¡¯ll lose all your happy vibe.¡± ¡°What?¡± asked Amdirlain suspiciously. ¡°I¡¯m familiar with the morning afterglow, and you seem to have climbed a particular summit this morning, M¨®eir,¡± noted Livia. ¡°Not that you haven¡¯t been aglow for a few months now, but there is an extra strength to your vibrance today.¡± Amdirlain lifted her left hand, and her thumb shifted the ring meaningfully. ¡°I got married, so I¡¯m allowed to be excited.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell Ebusuku there must be a celebration and a party?¡± asked Livia. ¡°I never got to throw her one, so I¡¯ll just follow her example,¡± Amdirlain said. Livia ecstatically hugged Amdirlain tight. ¡°But I want to throw you a party.¡± ¡°No,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m hopeless at parties. I feel awkward, and everything I say comes across as stilted.¡± There¡¯s no point in me wearing white after last night. ¡°Do you think Sarah will let me also call her M¨®eir?¡± asked Livia, taking in Amdirlain¡¯s blush. ¡°That is up to the two of you. I need to let you know something, though¡ªwe¡¯ll have to head away shortly. Eleftherios warned me that a few people are looking in the Outlands for signs of True Song Crystal.¡± Livia¡¯s gaze flickered to the viewing platforms. ¡°Yeah, those,¡± agreed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll move my obstacle course and take apart this training hall. After I finish a few things, I plan to travel on Veht?.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve only been here for a touch over eight months,¡± sighed Livia. ¡°Will you be back again?¡± ¡°The next time I have a chance to rest, I might be free of the curse and able to get into the higher planes,¡± said Amdirlain. Livia winced. ¡°That long?¡± ¡°Unless I can shake them off my tail. However, I¡¯m not heading off straight away. Though I¡¯m going to need to set up some loud decoys and remove as much trace of True Song as possible from your Domain,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Did he give you details about who is seeking you?¡± ¡°Only that the Demon Lord fixated on the undead was the least among them,¡± said Amdirlain. The oblique reference to Orcus was enough to darken Livia¡¯s gaze. ¡°A pity it wasn¡¯t only him. I¡¯d happily help trap him or some of his forces.¡± Can I set a trap since they won¡¯t know I¡¯m expecting them? I¡¯d still need to head off to keep the monastery safe. I use True Song daily, but a fresh decoy might buy time. ¡°Are you staying for the training session?¡± A lifted eyebrow finely accented Livia¡¯s incredulous expression. ¡°With you heading off soon, do you think I¡¯ll pass up any opportunity? Is the news of being hunted why you¡¯ve been away from the monastery these last weeks?¡± ¡°No, Gilorn and I were educating some L¨®m?,¡± replied Amdirlain lightly. ¡°Which is why when Isa and Ilya dropped in, they knew nothing about where you were?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°The exiled L¨®m? got to experience what their lives would have been like in the Abyss.¡± ¡°Oh, M¨®eir,¡± breathed Livia, concern weighing her expression. ¡°The same experience Ebusuku had in the corridor of choices,¡± clarified Amdirlain. Livia sighed in relief. ¡°That wasn¡¯t my first thought. A dreamscape?¡± ¡°It was a bit more accurate than that since we needed to provide them the background themes, but that¡¯s close,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Will you reduce the training exercises before you leave?¡± asked Livia. ¡°I¡¯m going to be busy with a few things, and this has to change. The obstacle course I can switch to a Demi-Plane,¡± Amdirlain motioned to the training hall. ¡°Though I¡¯ll look into options moving the existing one to somewhere where it wouldn¡¯t cause trouble. I might need to take this apart because it relies on True Song holding the enchantments together. I should be able to set up something similar if enough land is available on the mountain.¡± Livia frowned. ¡°How are you going to duplicate your handling of the classes.¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be too hard to set up a training hall with enchanted constructs based on the strength of the person challenging them.¡± ¡°How long before you head off? What help can I give you to get all this organised?¡± asked Livia. They ran through the combined list of tasks, and Livia gave her input into those affecting the monastery. When Jinfeng arrived, she greeted Amdirlain with an exchange of salutes. ¡°My apologies for my sudden absence. Unfortunately, it will be a permanent one sooner than I had hoped,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Are you going to Veht? or another world?¡± enquired Jinfeng eagerly. I¡¯m not sure about taking someone with us. ¡°We won¡¯t be travelling in the Jade Emperor¡¯s territories,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°It has been an honour to learn from you, Sifu. If you travel to those lands in the future, please let me know,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯d happily accompany you and help you through the local customs.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll contact you when we get near any of the kingdoms¡¯ boundaries,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Klipyl appeared in the hall and skipped to where Amdirlain, Livia and Jinfeng stood talking. ¡°Thank you, Klipyl,¡± Amdirlain said and hugged her warmly. ¡°What did I do?¡± Klipyl asked, clearly puzzled. ¡°For all your helpful advice and perspective,¡± said Amdirlain, feeling the warmth dusting her cheeks. Klipyl squeed with glee. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to be heading to Veht? sooner than expected,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve drawn too much attention, so I¡¯m opting to lie low for a bit.¡± ¡°Boo,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you.¡± ¡°Just think of it that I¡¯ll be getting closer to being free,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl¡¯s smile lit up the room. The attendees of the pre-breakfast training session sharpened their focus after Jinfeng announced that Am would depart the monastery in the upcoming weeks. ? ? ? ? ? ? Morgana and the others showed up as the last attendees left for their post-breakfast classes. Her dusky skin tinged with green, similar to a Wood Elf¡¯s appearance, which stood out against her customary silvery dress. Before Amdirlain could say anything, Morgana eyed her thoughtfully. ¡°By your expression, there is some bad news.¡± Rip the bandaid off. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to cut short my stay here,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°You¡¯ve barely had any training here,¡± Morgana responded glumly. ¡°Proper study normally involves decades.¡± Amdirlain gave her a rueful smile. ¡°I was wondering if you¡¯d do me a favour.¡± ¡°What do you need a hand with?¡± ¡°Would you keep teaching Tulne and others from Qil Tris she brings along?¡± Morgana smiled. ¡°You ask such a hardship. And my payment?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you full access to my library,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯m going to have to move it to a new Demi-Plane; some folks are hunting crystal.¡± ¡°Your premature departure makes sense then,¡± said Morgana. ¡°Hopefully, you and Sarah slay them instead. Teach them it¡¯s unwise to hunt a prepared Dragon.¡± All the traps they set inside their lairs and other preparations give me food for thought. People want to play games with me. Why don¡¯t I play a few of my own? Perhaps a lethal version of some dungeon games might not go astray. Amdirlain hummed thoughtfully and turned to Klipyl, who was sitting nearby. ¡°Could you ask your boss for some advice about selling some information to an information broker in The Exchange?¡± ¡°What sort of information?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°A newly discovered cache of True Song Crystal,¡± purred Amdirlain. ¡°What are you going to be doing?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Setting traps for those that want to hunt me,¡± laughed Amdirlain. One Demi-Plane or multiple? Maybe at least two. One for general treasure hunters and one for evil lackeys looking to kill me? Or I send the general treasure hunters away. ¡°Oh, that¡¯s much better than hiding,¡± giggled Klipyl. ¡°Ebusuku says she¡¯ll be in touch but suggests checking out The Exchange in person or at least through a temporary Gate. She doesn¡¯t know how they force everyone to appear in the entryway before the gates.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I already know, but I¡¯ll open a Gate to there later and have a listen,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It will be good to verify my idea.¡± ¡°Usual training this morning, or are you going to mix things up today?¡± asked Morgana. Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I thought I¡¯d try to inspire the ladies while you and Aitherlar push them in your areas of expertise.¡± ¡°An experiment with your Muse¡¯s Insight might not do much when you¡¯re not directly applying the pressure,¡± said Morgana. ¡°But it will be interesting to see.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see if it will help them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m unsure if I can inspire someone¡¯s insights without my direct involvement.¡± The morning session turned into pressuring Nomein and the others to accelerate their own performance. Amdirlain¡¯s Telepathy applied pressure continually, trying to distract them from the activation of their techniques. The pressure from the barrage of projections battered at their defences and interrupted their attacks against their own targets. Sarah joined the gathering just before the commencement of the midday meal and eyed the ladies sympathetically. ¡°You look like you¡¯ve all been dragged through a spiky hedge backwards.¡± ¡°Very funny,¡± grumbled Lezekus. ¡°Perhaps your wife should also treat you to some of this training.¡± ¡°Mother frequently puts me through the wringer trying to keep up,¡± Sarah replied. Aitherlar smiled. ¡°An occasional humbling helps keep you on your toes. We¡¯ll let you two have your privacy.¡± As they headed off, Sarah dropped onto the couch beside Amdirlain and wrapped an arm around her. Amdirlain stole a lingering kiss and hugged Sarah close. ¡°I¡¯ve got an idea I want to try, so I¡¯m going to be gone all this afternoon,¡± said Amdirlain afterwards. ¡°Are you going to be home tonight?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I should be home in time for the normal post-dinner routine,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± Sarah nipped at Amdirlain¡¯s ear. ¡°Should I use a female form tonight or male again?¡± Amdirlain smiled pertly as she blushed a bright red. ¡°Both.¡± ¡°Your True Form now allows you enough mass for different metallic adult forms,¡± purred Sarah. ¡°Are you after a mating flight?¡± teased Amdirlain. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you could catch me,¡± rumbled Sarah, her gaze heated as she nipped Amdirlain again. ¡°You want me chasing you?¡± asked Amdirlain curiously. That means adopting a male form. Which will be different. Sarah nodded. ¡°We could do with some fun flights.¡± ¡°And if you get pregnant,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯d end up travelling Veht? alone. I¡¯ll keep my ovulation in check, darn Dragon physiology and mating triggers,¡± said Sarah. ¡°The flight process triggers the release?¡± Sarah grinned. ¡°You want the birds and the bees lecture? I think we¡¯ve got other things to worry about. Are you going to clean the traces from Xaos? It¡¯s a bit more vulnerable since it¡¯s in the Outlands and not directly in a Deity¡¯s Domain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can get permission to switch in a new training tower and Mousekin burrow,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I might tend to that before starting on my trap.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll need permission from someone in the alliance,¡± reminded Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll get in touch with Danu later. Since Rana¡¯s tending to other things right now, we will see who shows up,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°While we get organised, try not to add too many more things to your list,¡± Sarah said. ¡°This trap will hopefully take some of the pressure off our departure,¡± said Amdirlain. ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain moved into the deep forest beyond the monastery fields, crossing her fingers that she wasn¡¯t inviting trouble. ¡°Danu, might we talk,¡± Amdirlain murmured. Half an hour later, Amdirlain heard a theme that she recognised speed between trees. The friendlier of the two Dryad daughters she¡¯d met circled between trunks along the glade¡¯s edge. ¡°It isn¡¯t a trap,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Two golden eyes appeared upon the tree. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s a bit bold calling upon a goddess who you don¡¯t worship?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve spoken to me before, Leuciphia. Why the games now?¡± asked Amdirlain, able to make out the naked form of her Dryad daughter within the tree¡¯s bole. The Dryad slipped out of the trunk, but the fingers of her trailing hand lingered within the bark, poised to leap back inside. ¡°Hunters set traps with bait that interests their prey.¡± ¡°Hello again, Leuciphia,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not hunting you. I was curious to see if Danu would send you. You¡¯ve spent so much time observing the monastery lately.¡± ¡°You knew I was there? How did you know I adhere to Danu?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Danu asked me to come since I was her closest servant,¡± allowed Leuciphia. ¡°Have you reconsidered providing more energy to our family¡¯s grove?¡± While I¡¯ve plenty of crystal stuffed full of Ki, handing one to them could invite trouble for their grove. ¡°I already told you that you¡¯re going to need a different energy donor,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m after Danu¡¯s permission to make changes at Xaos. While I¡¯d like to keep the training tower and the Mousekin burrow, I need to remove the materials I used in its construction. It will involve a restricted Gate to a Demi-Plane in the training courtyard there.¡± The liquid tones of a Commune Blessing spilled from Leuciphia, and she briefly closed her eyes, swaying in time to the wind in the canopy. ¡°Yes, you have her permission. The Goddess requests that during your next visit to Veht?, you come to the Taur? forest to meet with her Avatar.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do that, though I¡¯m not sure when during the trip it will be,¡± said Amdirlain. Leuciphia shrugged. ¡°She has heard your words and didn¡¯t gainsay them.¡± ¡°Take care of yourself, Leuciphia,¡± Amdirlain offered. ¡°I won¡¯t be here much longer.¡± ¡°Like I care,¡± pouted Leuciphia, and she vanished back through the trees. Amdirlain snorted in amusement and teleported within range of Xaos. She took in additional details of the ward protecting the residents before shifting into an unused Demi-Plane. The abrupt shift into darkness caused Amdirlain to pause and consider her mood. The presence of Yngvarr and Alfarr within the town hadn¡¯t stung, and she nodded in satisfaction. ¡°I guess I am slowly getting healthier.¡± Not spending more time on self-reflection, she expanded the seed into a cylinder until it was a few kilometres long. Within it, she duplicated the first training tower and the Mousekin burrow. The occupants of the areas didn¡¯t notice when Amdirlain shifted them to their new locations and linked the Demi-Plane in place. The energy flows across the surface of the Demi-Plane tied into supporting the refurbishment of the training constructs and the slipways within the burrows. [Construct experience (Various) Training Tower of the Mists (Expanded) Dimensional Species Haven (Mousekin) Total Experience gained: 770,000,000 Primal Maestro: +770,000,000 Primal Maestro Levelled Up! x85 Empress Malfex Unlocked! Note: Most kids consider ant farms for low-cost pets.] Amdirlain tuned out the snark implied in the note and tried to listen to the music in the notification, but it was still out of reach. As the surge of experience and levels settled into place, Amdirlain felt her True Form churning; its theme shifted and expanded further with the additional vigour they¡¯d provided. ¡°Level eighty-five. How much further do I push?¡± asked Amdirlain. The way her songs had slipped from Tephros with her higher magic rating dug at Amdirlain. My magic rating now exceeds twenty thousand, so I¡¯ll even out my species and classes at three hundred. This plan should give a lot of experience with the True Song crystal. She briefly worried at her bottom lip and shifted to another Demi-Plane, where she dispatched a Message to Gilorn requesting her aid. While Amdirlain waited, she expanded the Demi-Plane into a sphere with a radius of forty-one thousand kilometres. With the outer shell barely within her perception, she created an illusion of the design and composed the various themes. When Gilorn appeared, she hovered beside Amdirlain and considered the illusion and the musical scores surrounding it. ¡°How much crystal are you planning to create?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°Enough that the noise from anyone tracing True Song will only lead them here,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Not as much as that diagram makes it seem. I intend the walls to be Chaos-infused granite with crystal supports throughout.¡± Gilorn hummed. ¡°That¡¯s still one huge honey trap.¡± ¡°Its primary purpose is to be a bait away from the monastery, but I¡¯d also like to see how many enemies I can break free from their masters,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Don¡¯t you mean kill?¡± Amdirlain pointed to the illusion. ¡°Some will die, but I thought some corridors could provide others with choices. Show them how little their life has changed and allow them a chance to escape the cycle. It¡¯ll let them break whatever Oath Link they have and choose a new name. The territories of the Abyss exist because the strong have their hands around the throats of the weak.¡± ¡°If all the forces that enter disappear, they¡¯ll stop sending forces inside,¡± cautioned Gilorn. ¡°But they¡¯ll reform on their Home Plane with tales of treasures for the taking. I could also have some traps with dismissal effects that would send them home alive,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°With some minor trinkets for their trouble. The principal purpose is to distract those hunting for the source of the True Song that¡¯s been scouring planes for knowledge.¡± ¡°Where do these designs come from?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°That illusion is based on the Titan¡¯s Maze, though with more chambers to spawn constructs for fighting. I¡¯m still deciding what to base levels on instead of just creating mazes from scratch. Also, I want to set the Demi-Plane up to tithe as much of the experience as possible.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t want the seekers to grow stronger,¡± Gilorn said thoughtfully. ¡°Didn¡¯t Eleftherios say they¡¯re hunting for it in the Outlands? How will this help you?¡± Amdirlain laid out another theme, and Gilorn hummed in amusement. ¡°Alright, I see what you¡¯re planning. And would you like me to create it alone? You sound like your flesh contains a lot more levels.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve unlocked the Empress Malfex,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°What was the talk about needing over three hundred levels in your species and classes?¡± enquired Gilorn. Amdirlain coughed sheepishly. ¡°Mostly, it was simply about being strong enough to handle Baln¨¦rith. I had figured out the levels needed for the Grand Empress change and teased Sarah about going ridiculously higher. Even though I said I wouldn¡¯t try for it, I got fixated on the needed numbers.¡± ¡°What are you going to do?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°Keep pushing on, but not to unlock Grand Empress,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll accumulate at least two hundred more levels and see how I feel. The stronger I am, the better I can handle Baln¨¦rith, the work on the wound, and other threats.¡± ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get back to this project. I have some changes I¡¯d like to suggest,¡± said Gilorn, and she created a different illusion of a cylinder with levels set out in layers. ¡°Keep it the diameter of your sphere, but extend its height further. I take it you made the sphere to match your current reach in Resonance.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°You¡¯re correct about the range. I like your suggestion, as it would allow for some interesting possibilities.¡± ¡°Well, this would allow us to make the trap piecemeal, with each maze layer feeding into the next. Have the current last layer always feeding foes back into a different location on the second layer,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Once we get a few layers set up, we open the Gate to the Outlands and set the songs to gather arcane information again to bait your foes.¡± Worry niggled at the back of her mind, and Amdirlain nodded stiffly at Gilorn¡¯s illusion. ¡°My original had a lot of crystal, and your version will need even more to complete it.¡± ¡°The amount of crystal involved means that each level will probably involve more experience than your expanded demi-planes, even without armies of constructs everywhere,¡± advised Gilorn. ¡°I suggest we thin it down to narrow rods and supports. Will they be static creations?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to set them up so they¡¯re controllable by Ebusuku¡¯s celestials,¡± advised Amdirlain. Gilorn tinkled mischievously. ¡°And I don¡¯t believe she is the only Goddess whose celestials could pilot them. Should we show them?¡± ¡°Worst case, the slimes control them, so there isn¡¯t a need to determine who is piloting them in advance,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°And we use the Gate¡¯s threshold to send the innocent away?¡± questioned Gilorn. ¡°The same as you plan for Atonement?¡± ¡°Any mortals crossing the threshold get sent somewhere else,¡± said Amdirlain. She briefly considered sending them to a training Demi-Plane but shook her head. ¡°You picked an interesting project to celebrate your change in status,¡± noted Gilorn. Amdirlain blushed to the tips of her ears. ¡°I wanted to say congratulations on being married,¡± continued Gilorn, her tone suddenly rich with a lilting amusement. Yeah, I¡¯m busted, and my dirty mind has grown worse. I spent years shutting down all my responses to desire, and now I want to be wrapped around Sarah. ¡°Oh! Yes,¡± Amdirlain spluttered. ¡°Thanks. I¡¯d long thought marriage was never on the cards.¡± I¡¯m hopeless. I got married last night, and yet here I am working today. Let¡¯s get this done. I¡¯m tired of things looming over my head. Gilorn briefly glowed brighter. ¡°Did you think I meant something else?¡± ¡°Shall we start?¡± Amdirlain pointed at a corridor section in the illusion. ¡°What do you think if we put multiple corridors of choices throughout the maze?¡± ¡°Most demons won¡¯t care,¡± observed Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯m not looking to make all of them think, but if I can sway a few,¡± said Amdirlain, waving her hands helplessly. ¡°They won¡¯t get an oath or an instant species change, but see there is more to existence. Isn¡¯t it worth taking a chance? The traps in the corridors will still kill the reckless and unwary.¡± ¡°Traps based on all those pathways in Foundry?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯m sure the celestials would love to know their work wasn¡¯t in vain,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn let out a run of merry notes. ¡°The first thing to decide is the layouts for thousands of mazes.¡± ¡°How about for the main pathways, the blood vessels and nervous system of a species laid out flat?¡± asked Amdirlain. She brought up a wireframe of a Human body, with the lines showing down to the capillaries, then compressed it from three dimensions to two and let the lines merge. ¡°The pathways overlapping join passageways, so they¡¯ll get turned about, but the unique patterns will provide them some landmarks. A different species for each level?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°The scale of veins becoming a corridor ten metres across would turn the Human body into a vast expanse. We¡¯ll still need to repeat it a few times for some species.¡± ¡°Yep, but it saves us having to make it up from a blank slate every time,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The magical species with their Mana flow lines. Or perhaps your spiritual net?¡± ¡°Suitable alternatives, but it doesn¡¯t mean we can¡¯t use all of them to mix them up a little,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we have some fun creating a little trap?¡± ¡°A little,¡± laughed Gilorn. ¡°This place will be bigger than some planets once we finish it. Are you putting the experience into your new Class?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°We do one of these levels today,¡± said Gilorn, her voice tight with worry. ¡°And the demi-planes crafted tonight feed into an existing Class to spread the surge of changes this will cause.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± [Crafting Summary (True Song Construction) True Song Knowledge Gatherer x1 (50%) Total experience gained: 591,473,120,000 Primal Maestro: 591,473,120,000 Primal Maestro Levelled Up! x 99] Beneath her flesh, Amdirlain felt the writhing in her True Form. Changes rippled down her spine, and her inner form expanded. The levels added by creating the Demi-Plane¡¯s first regions had a more extensive impact than she¡¯d expected. Fin-like spurs marched down either side of her spine, and she could feel the hollow spines growing further from her skin. Amdirlain laced her fingers together before her stomach to suppress their sudden trembling. ¡°I¡¯d like to keep going, but I¡¯ll stick to our agreement,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get Sarah to come have a look?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve not added any traps or construct spawners yet.¡± ¡°I can take care of those in a bit while your body settles down,¡± Gilorn said. Amdirlain opened her mouth to protest, and Gilorn continued. ¡°You just added more levels than some mortals gain in a lifetime. Did it get you any growth in True Song Genesis?¡± ¡°No,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, you have a point.¡± ¡°Perhaps we should block the ghost caverns of Qil Tris tomorrow night,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°Or take another night off for yourself and Sarah. You might want to give yourself a chance to settle.¡± We did just get married. ¡°I¡¯ll take a few nights off except for creating some stellar dust,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll have to decide what colour we want those nebulae to be to plan the right gas compositions,¡± said Gilorn. Amdirlain¡¯s quick song conveyed a message to Sarah: ¡°Do you want to come to look at the ¡®lair¡¯ I¡¯ve made?¡± ¡°Can you open a Gate at the usual spot in a few minutes?¡± replied Sarah a few beats later. While she waited, Amdirlain listened to Gilorn¡¯s work, flawlessly repeating the song quicker than she managed while Amdirlain accompanied her. More levels steadily solidified beneath them, with Gilorn linking each level as she went. When Sarah entered the Demi-Plane, her bright, cheerful theme was evident in the warm look she fixed on Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s nostrils flared at the smell of the ancient stone in the corridor about them. ¡°The stone smells like it¡¯s been exposed to air for billions of years. What name did you give this Demi-Plane?¡± ¡°Cuckoo,¡± answered Amdirlain. ¡°As in crazy to enter or something else?¡± ¡°Themed after the parasitic egg layer because of how high I¡¯ll have the experience tithe set,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°The only thing those hunting me get is dangerous foes to sharpen themselves against. A large chunk of the experience I¡¯ll steal from them will go to maintaining the place and the traps that will give no one experience.¡± ¡°Give me half an hour, and I¡¯ll have thirty levels in place with traps and mithril constructs,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°Then it will be safe to open it for business.¡± ¡°Thirty levels,¡± Sarah said. ¡°How big are you making this place?¡± ¡°Each level is a height of a hundred and fifty metres, with a radius of forty-one thousand kilometres. The tallest chamber or corridor is fifty metres, and we¡¯ve allowed a fifty-metre buffer top and bottom,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though we might vary from that if Gilorn keeps growing it.¡± ¡°I can think of many hazardous places to add inside mazes,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Another small project, my love,¡± Sarah noted drily. Amdirlain smiled and stepped close to embrace Sarah. ¡°My love. Gilorn talked me into taking a few nights off among everything else.¡± ¡°That¡¯s one addition that I wholeheartedly approve,¡± said Sarah. ¡°How many levels have you added to your new Class?¡± ¡°A hundred and eighty-four,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah rubbed her hands along Amdirlain¡¯s back and got a happy murmur. The pair patiently waited for Gilorn to be done, the sounds of traps and constructs coming to life echoing upwards from the depths. When Gilorn felt satisfied, Amdirlain established a permanent portal to the Outlands. ¡°What¡¯s next on the agenda?¡± ¡°Setting the permanent Portal in place and then seeing Custodian and finding out what they set in motion,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If they created a problem to get your attention, make them clean it up,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I just might do that, but one of the Eldritch is involved,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. ¡°Isn¡¯t that what gods are for? We helped on Qil Tris because there weren¡¯t any available.¡± ¡°Only one place to get answers, but they can wait for now,¡± said Amdirlain. She cupped Sarah¡¯s face and leaned in to kiss her. 433 - Line in the sand Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Outlands Amdirlain appeared with Sarah at the spire¡¯s base. Within the shadows of the canopy, a playful breeze carried an icy chill as it played with Amdirlain¡¯s azure locks. ¡°Why here?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Best place to attract attention and give them something else to worry about,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Have them scrambling with concerns that don¡¯t relate to me. While others will scramble to see what they might grab, and I¡¯ll know who to watch out for in the future.¡± The music from ancient memories mingled with those from the first days she regained True Song and she confirmed where the sealed entrance to the spire lay. Notes burrowed deep into the earth, moving mega tonnes of earth and foliage off to settle on distant grasslands to form a new mountain. When the song ended, they stood on the lip of a vast canyon. The revealed grey stone of the spire was unblemished by dirt; its only marking was the Titan¡¯s seal, surrounded by a spiral of musical notations. When Amdirlain sang again, she left a golden outline to mark out the remembered doorway tight against the spire. A Portal¡¯s threshold appeared before the stone with darkness beyond its archway¡ªany Mortal crossing its threshold would be sent home if well or the medical Demi-Plane if injured in any way. The themes within the Demi-Plane¡¯s crystal stretched out from across the threshold and sought knowledge from across the planes; the songs¡¯ strength significantly increased over the training hall¡¯s first version. ¡°Legends of the Titan¡¯s maze,¡± said Sarah. ¡°We¡¯ll see what comes hunting now,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at the training hall.¡± When Sarah vanished, Amdirlain hopped to amid the Custodian¡¯s columns. The Aspect¡¯s happy chimes echoed through the vast space. ¡°Amdirlain, that was naughty.¡± ¡°Then tell me what you¡¯ve been up to that¡¯s naughty Custodian,¡± replied Amdirlain. The crystal form of Custodian swept into sight, its facets reflecting the timers from the pillars. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you here so soon, Amdirlain,¡± said Custodian. ¡°Have you been paying that much attention to Gideon¡¯s to-do list?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not checked it often. Eleftherios told me you¡¯d gotten up to something to get my attention,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°What mess did you expect me to come clean up?¡± Custodian hummed sourly. ¡°That¡¯s fair. I had predicted it would be years before you came to see me again. However, since you¡¯re here so soon, I can let others know in time to handle it themselves.¡± ¡°What have you done, and perhaps why, would be nice to know?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°The why is a little complex. It has been increasing its mental control over demonic hordes, so I baited it to the Material Plane,¡± said Custodian. ¡°The purpose was to get you to come here. I¡¯d predicted you¡¯d likely come here after capturing it to confirm if it was the released one.¡± ¡°Who did you put in danger?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°An invasive intruder species, but I¡¯m not going into that,¡± said Custodian. ¡°Since you¡¯re here, I¡¯ll get word to their Pantheon to let them know there is trouble on their doorstep. Who told Eleftherios about what I¡¯d done?¡± I wonder if there is more than one, or if it''s the Formithian. ¡°The only other Aspect he mentioned aside from Gideon was the one for chaos,¡± said Amdirlain. Custodian hummed. ¡°I¡¯m glad you take care not to use certain names. If only Gideon weren¡¯t aware of so much knowledge without his name being used. I¡¯m sorry to say your Demi-god foe might come in handy for searching Hades¡¯ old Domain.¡± What! ¡°Why don¡¯t you want me searching Hades¡¯ old Domain?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Whose souls are in the jars?¡± ¡°Eleftherios didn¡¯t say?¡± asked Custodian. ¡°No,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Well then, it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± ¡°It does matter,¡± objected Amdirlain. ¡°He brought them to the realm in an old Titan relic. I only became aware of them after part of his Domain¡¯s protections unravelled. The relic must have been linked to his life force?.¡± ¡°You¡¯re being evasive,¡± noted Amdirlain tightly. Custodian dimmed and bobbed slowly. ¡°Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s mother and baby brothers are held in the jars.¡± Memories of the hollow longing and grief Orh¨ºthurin had experienced down the aeons swirled up, and though it battered at Amdirlain, she let the torrent wash past. Fuck. It doesn¡¯t explain why they went to Moloch. ¡°And you want to risk him getting his hands on them?¡± ¡°He¡¯s afraid of being destroyed, and we¡¯re playing it up,¡± said Custodian. ¡°Once he gets them¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll know when the demons retrieve them from their hiding place,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Won¡¯t you?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want you going near Hades'' former Domain. It might just be because I¡¯m protective, but he¡¯s going to lose millions, if not billions, of demons in the process of searching for the jars. I know of all the traps Hades left to protect valuables, and these are deep within the layers of security. I had planned to tell you about them when you were much stronger.¡± ¡°So, because of that, of all the dark powers, you two roped him in?¡± inquired Amdirlain. ¡°His fear of you gave him the strongest motive to succeed, and we¡¯d rather him waste his energies than have you be harmed. He¡¯s desperate to avoid being killed by the Titan¡¯s Songbird,¡± said Custodian. ¡°They made no promises that it would appease you, only that it was the slim chance he had to get you not to crush him. He doesn¡¯t know of your state. It was implied you¡¯re still waking up, and we went with that idea.¡± ¡°What other actions were suggested?¡± ¡°For him to release all his slaves,¡± murmured Custodian. Amdirlain laughed bitterly. ¡°Like that would happen.¡± ¡°Time will tell,¡± said Custodian. ¡°It was pointed out that they might be more profitable to him freed. It was also proposed he destroy Baln¨¦rith.¡± Someone else at her throat won¡¯t hurt. I¡¯m not sure what to say to this right now. It¡¯s an issue for the future. ¡°That aside, what¡¯s going on? Why the games?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°He hinted that the Aspect of War and others had been trying some things.¡± ¡°She thinks she can traumatise you and leave you vulnerable to whatever Ori might have left behind,¡± sighed Custodian. ¡°She was after the name of the worlds to which we helped Livia¡¯s Mantle gain a connection. I told her I didn¡¯t treasure her behaviour and refused to provide them. She might still discover where if Livia gets into big enough conflicts with other powers.¡± ¡°No good deed goes unpunished. I freed her from the blood, and so she wants to screw me over,¡± sighed Amdirlain. If Laodice believes she can restore the old Ori at my expense, she¡¯d better hope that I never regain Ori¡¯s capabilities. I do wonder how Orh¨ºthurin would have handled her. ¡°Many in the realm treasure you, and I will not cooperate with her betrayal. While I¡¯m likely more protective than you¡¯d prefer in some matters, I will not become involved in anything intended to harm you, Amdirlain,¡± said Custodian. ¡°How much damage has the Eldritch done?¡± asked Amdirlain grimly. ¡°They¡¯d have slain far more if I¡¯d left them to accumulate demonic forces. It wasn¡¯t a decision I enjoyed, but I needed to draw your attention and it had the benefit of removing it from the Abyss,¡± Custodian explained glumly. ¡°War tried to order me about and dictate my allegiances. Like all beings, I have my priorities, and she does not determine them. Her behaviour is such that she¡¯s quickly eroding all my sympathy for her imprisonment.¡± ¡°When she broke the connection with me, I felt abandoned,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It seems I should have been thankful.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad Eleftherios contacted you. I¡¯ve prepared an item to help you, but I¡¯ll need you to do something for me,¡± said Custodian. ¡°You can use this to disguise your True Song Crystal and leave your library intact.¡± A shimmering spindle hovered in the air between them. ¡°And the price?¡± ¡°Go to Veht? as you had planned, but within the next week,¡± said Custodian. ¡°Stay away from the deep Abyss until you¡¯ve selected four more classes post-Malfex.¡± ¡°Can you tell me why?¡± ¡°Not without causing you problems,¡± sighed Custodian. ¡°I¡¯m trying to help you gain some insights and benefit the overall goal of Protection.¡± Three hundred and sixty demi-planes wouldn¡¯t be enough to reach my level goals, and I¡¯d need nine nights to handle that many. Do I even want the insights Custodian wants me to have? ¡°I need longer than a week,¡± replied Amdirlain. The spindle disappeared. ¡°Then I can¡¯t provide this. Please disassemble the training hall to avoid endangering Livia. Even with your distraction, they¡¯ll keep scouring for sources of True Song until they find the creators. The events on Culerzic and Tern¨°x make it clear it¡¯s not just an old ruin responsible.¡± I already had figured that, or Eleftherios wouldn¡¯t have warned me. Though I use the songs for so much, they¡¯d eventually come knocking. ¡°There won¡¯t be a trace of the True Song Crystal structures at the monastery or Xaos when I leave,¡± Amdirlain said. Custodian sighed. ¡°I hoped you¡¯d accept that offer, but your course is yours to decide.¡± Amdirlain paused, but Custodian didn¡¯t launch into an explanation, and she nodded politely. At least there was no guilt trip or gaslighting. ¡°It would mean cutting short my levelling or other preparations,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Take care, Custodian.¡± Amdirlain shifted away, and appeared on the white sands of the vacation Demi-Plane, as she moved to wiggle her toes in the wet sand she dispatched a note to Sarah. It was only a few minutes before Sarah arrived nearby. ¡°A beach trip already?¡± ¡°Care to sit and wiggle your toes in the sand?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not getting sand in my clothing,¡± Sarah said, striding up the beach and sitting in the shade. ¡°I want to talk over our travel plans with no one else chipping in,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But first, let me share my conversation.¡± Rather than repeat the words, Amdirlain shared the memory and drew a grunt of concern at the end. ¡°There is an upside to not taking that offered spindle,¡± said Sarah. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Amdirlain smiled tightly. ¡°It¡¯s hard to tell which aspects are on my side rather than just stringing me along. I¡¯ll take the warning at face value for now since the whole reason the four got trapped was because of the warmonger among them. It¡¯s such a pain having to avoid their names. I¡¯ll see about pushing my level more, but part of the reason for not taking Custodian¡¯s offer was certain changes.¡± ¡°Did your form change further with the levels?¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I was talking about,¡± said Amdirlain, and she waved her left hand at Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t want others setting deadlines right now.¡± The gesture to draw attention to her ring, had Sarah smiling warmly. ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected you to answer or it to even slow down.¡± ¡°It feels weird, and it¡¯s taking a bit to sink in,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°I sprung it on you by surprise,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Give it a few weeks to sink in and you can decide if you want a party or to do something else to celebrate.¡± ¡°Tonight, I¡¯ll deal with the training hall and make some demi-planes, but aside from the morning training for the monks, I¡¯m taking three days off,¡± said Amdirlain, waving at the white sands around them. ¡°Would you be able to clear your schedule to relax?¡± Sarah¡¯s gaze glimmered with pleased surprise. ¡°A brief honeymoon, despite the warning?¡± ¡°I feel almost guilty taking the time, but there is always some danger,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Would you consider it a down payment on a longer one? When we move to Veht?, how about we relax for a month on a beach somewhere?¡± ¡°A nice Mediterranean beach vacation sounds nice,¡± said Sarah. ¡°What do you plan to do with the training hall?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°I¡¯m going to shift it to one of the training demi-planes I set up for the monastery.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still amusing you used the older style for them,¡± said Sarah. ¡°They don¡¯t have the same industrial pressures,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Though I think that¡¯s enough business talk for now.¡± ¡°What did you have in mind?¡± The shadow vines withdrew into the bracelet, and Amdirlain headed for the surf. Sarah shed her clothing and hastened to join her. ? ? ? ? ? ? That evening, after shifting her training facilities wholesale to a Demi-Plane, she seeded enchanted pillars at points around the monastery to access it. Then, she recreated the original structure, down to the grains within the wood and stone, before creating demi-planes. The experience that night fed into her Fallen species before she returned to relaxing with Sarah. Their three days savouring each other''s company was a brief but welcome respite before Amdirlain set to work with the waiting L¨®m?. The assembled choirs of a hundred thousand experienced singers waited for her in the barren world where she¡¯d spoken to Eleftherios. The planet¡¯s atmosphere was still ripe with foulness after her earlier work. It was more breathable than earlier, even without the aid of a few enchantments that the L¨®m? had set in place. Isa, Gail, and Roher stood by the senior council, who all greeted her and Gilorn¡¯s arrival with deep bows. ¡°Amdirlain,¡± said Roher. ¡°I¡¯m sorry our delay has reduced our opportunity to work with you.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see how we go,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Hopefully, we can do the planet in eight hours without overstressing everyone.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll switch choirs every two hours,¡± said Roher. ¡°Though I¡¯m not sure we¡¯ll have the strength to balance you.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll keep to a steady pace,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If anyone feels themselves close to faltering, please stop. We¡¯ll break early if we get a large percentage of the choir at their limits before it¡¯s officially time to switch. This is an exercise that the Anar and L¨®m? haven¡¯t undertaken in multiple reincarnations of everyone here. Since I¡¯ve no experience as a conductor, I¡¯ll accompany your choirs.¡± Roher and the council nodded their understanding, though Amdirlain sensed the determination of those gathered. ¡°Places,¡± instructed Roher. Groups that had shifted to talk casually while waiting straightened their postures and lines. When Roher signalled them to start, Gilorn shifted into a crystalline woman and lifted her voice with them. Discipline honed within the Abyss didn¡¯t allow them to falter as Gilorn effortlessly sang the L¨®m? side, matching Amdirlain¡¯s voice. Gail barely suppressed her smile, but Isa¡¯s notes drifted with merry laughter. The surrounding planet did not visibly change during the first choirs¡¯ efforts, but all heard the difference once they¡¯d seeded the smallest life forms. The second rotation of choirs added grasses, mosses, and small plants across the lands and seas. While Gilorn and Amdirlain continued to sing, the third choirs joined their efforts, and trees rose from now fertile soil and sent roots deep. None of the choirs had left the planet, waiting until the last choirs completed the work. Only when the last note faded did a shocked council member address Gilorn. ¡°I had thought you simply a harp.¡± ¡°Like both your species, I¡¯m a child of the Titan¡¯s Songbird,¡± replied Gilorn. ¡°Your past incarnations all disappointed his daughter so greatly with your wholesale rejection of her design that I can¡¯t begin to express her pain. I hope you¡¯ll put your pride aside this time to create her dream.¡± Before any of them could reply, Gilorn vanished, and Amdirlain followed suit. ¡°That was a bit of a clue,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Sorry, just listening to some of them annoyed me,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°I could sense they felt their uniqueness had been usurped.¡± ¡°You wanted to break the news in stages? Do you care to guess how they¡¯ll be next session when you sing the Anar side?¡± asked Amdirlain. Gilorn sighed. ¡°Why did Orh¨ºthurin bring me to life?¡± ¡°I like to think you were her hope for the future, Gilorn,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t let the L¨®m?¡¯s pride infect you with disappointment. Look on the bright side. That effort gave me a tiny experience reward and some insight into Resonance and singing.¡± [Crafting Summary (Planetary Biome) Complete Planetary bio-system x1 (x 1/400,005) Total experience gained: 955,906 Olind?: +955,906 Resonance-Prince [G] (42->43) True Song Genesis-Lord [G] (18->19) Note: One tiny shuffle forward, one planet breathing.] [Achievement: Life from Death Details: Restore the bio-system of a planet that had all life eradicated. Reward: 500,000,000 Note: The same reward has been provided to all parties involved.] ¡°Good, no doubt it was from balancing your notes around amateurs.¡± ¡°It makes me wonder how you can stand singing with me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Is that why you¡¯re grumpy with them? I¡¯ve worn your patience out.¡± Gilorn let loose some merry chimes. ¡°Hardly. Shall we get back to increasing your trap? It¡¯s already claimed some demonic scouts who reported treasures and crystal before their demise.¡± ¡°Are you going to be alright doing the rest of the planets with them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do my best,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°In a way, I should be thankful for the self-centredness of past incarnations. She might never have created me if they had stayed true to Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s goals.¡± Amdirlain snorted. ¡°That is one way to look at it. If you want to look at it that way, then the pain she endured is why I¡¯m here. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m okay with anyone enduring such loneliness for my sake.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s put such morbid thoughts behind us. Twenty gates?¡± The ring of gates opened, and the pair started singing to expand the demi-planes. As more levels accumulated hastily into her classes, the shifts in her True Form grew more apparent over the weeks of creation. With the rate of creation that the True Song evolution allowed, Amdirlain¡¯s new Class matched the others after ten days, and she set to pushing them all towards three hundred. It was after nearly four weeks of pushing hard that the shifting within her body forced Amdirlain to stop. When Amdirlain didn¡¯t open another set of twenty gates partway through the evening, Gilorn chimed curiously. ¡°Are you having an early night?¡± Amdirlain spent the hundreds of attribute points she¡¯d been hoarding into Willpower and felt the pressure ease. ¡°I might be close to my limit.¡± I could have pushed higher if I hadn¡¯t placed so many points into Quickness, but I needed better balance. ¡°You could just rest on one of your demi-planes and let students come to you,¡± proposed Gilorn. ¡°I¡¯m so afraid of whatever I¡¯m going to look like after the species change that I just want it done,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Sometimes the anticipation is worse than the reality,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Precisely, and I¡¯m tired of the fear of it hanging over my head,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn hummed. ¡°You¡¯re sixteen levels off, though you¡¯ll need to do some items piecemeal to avoid wasting experience progressing classes. Not that it matters. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re slaughtering foes to eke out another level beyond these.¡± ¡°Have you gone up in level at all with the work on the trap?¡± asked Amdirlain. Gilorn¡¯s laughter startled birds out of nearby trees. ¡°Dear one, I¡¯m fully into what you and Sarah call stupid number territory. I¡¯ve not gained a single level with all our combined work.¡± ¡°If I create one more Demi-Plane with you and put the experience into Scion, that evens it out. Then, if I do five of the knowledge-gatherer levels and set the experience to Ascetic Triumvirate, it leaves me with thirteen levels between Olind? and Primal Maestro.¡± ¡°Might I suggest you take a few days?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°More than your evening relaxation time that you spend curled up in Sarah¡¯s arms.¡± ¡°A week, and then we¡¯ll get Qil Tris sorted out,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°After that, I¡¯ll get back to levelling.¡± ¡°Good, now away with you. I¡¯ll try to behave better with the L¨®m? on the planet next week,¡± said Gilorn. ¡°Roher¡¯s report said it¡¯s taken the weakest of them a lot longer to recover than expected. They¡¯re switching over some singers this time, and those who minded their children last time will take part.¡± That news drew a smile from Amdirlain.¡±I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay with talking to Roher.¡± She teleported to the moved training hall and perched on a workbench near Sarah¡¯s focused students. When Sarah¡¯s demonstration ended, she tasked them to set a minor enchantment and joined Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re here early,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°All the levels are catching up to me,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°Has Gilorn given you an early mark for the rest of the day?¡± Amdirlain smiled shyly. ¡°I¡¯m taking another week off so I can disrupt your schedule. After that, we¡¯ll fix the ghost caverns, and then I¡¯ll push the last levels into place.¡± Sarah grinned broadly in return. ¡°I¡¯m sure I can get someone to cover some classes. If you¡¯re that close to being done, we¡¯ll be heading off soon, I take it?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Not sure if going on a trek covering thousands of kilometres is a honeymoon.¡± ¡°It is in my books,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°We can easily provide for ourselves.¡± ¡°Time for us to be completely alone except for the odd monster trying to eat our faces,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Poor monsters. At least it will save me hunting when that happens,¡± Sarah sighed dramatically. ¡°Should I comment about you eating everything?¡± Sarah smiled slyly. ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain had left the construction of the trap primarily to Gilorn and focused on the Demi-Plane training facilities for Qil Tris. By the time she¡¯d evened her classes at three hundred, even putting additional points into Willpower wasn¡¯t holding back the unsettling feel of her shifting True Form. As the experience from the last set of demi-planes clicked into place, a shudder ran through her flesh. ¡°We should deal with Qil Tris,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s getting close to the deadline I put to Mor¡¯lmes.¡± ¡°Do you think they¡¯ll have convinced the other territories to take your notifications seriously?¡± ¡°There are some training facilities that haven¡¯t seen activity,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°You can lead a horse to water, but you can¡¯t make them drink. When the ghost caverns are inaccessible, we¡¯ll see if that prompts them to try the training facilities.¡± Gilorn hummed. ¡°I¡¯ll summon you somewhere remote, shall I?¡± ¡°That¡¯s likely for the best,¡± Amdirlain said, waving a hand at herself. ¡°It¡¯s pretty horrible under this flesh now.¡± ¡°Since Sarah isn¡¯t present to correct you, I¡¯ll point out that only the curse¡¯s shell has an ill aspect,¡± countered Gilorn before she vanished. When the summoning pulled her into the conduit, smoke and hissing corruption clouded her view of the summoning conduit¡¯s walls. Light enfolded Amdirlain as she crossed the threshold into the Material Plane. Before she could fully adjust the summoning circle¡¯s restriction, the mirrored barrier vanished. Unrestricted, she expanded across an expansion of ice, snow and rock at the base of a glacier. Amdirlain¡¯s claws gouged long furrows in the frozen soil, sending a spray of ice and rock into the air. The ice that flew outwards mingled with the foul sludge that oozed from every spike that had breached her skin. Reflected in the blue-white ice of a nearby glacier, her recent levels had morphed the bone plate across her face into a smooth, elongated pseudo-avian beak, except for the solid serrated ridges where her teeth had once been. A series of bony plates stuck up like bladed fins and ran from the top of her skull down either side of her spine along the now four hundred metres of her corruption oozing form. Her prehensile tail made up nearly two-thirds of her body length. Her smoky wings left a spoiled oil slick across the glacier¡¯s face, muddying the view. She pulled her form inwards and shifted into her Wood Elf shape with the improbable azure blue hair. ¡°You¡¯re not taking on a Catfolk form?¡± asked Gilorn. ¡°I don¡¯t plan to be seen by anyone on this trip,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯d been smart about it, I¡¯d have avoided being seen on my first trip until I¡¯d learnt more about them. Do we have to move from here? I¡¯ve already tuned into the themes of the ghost cavern thresholds.¡± ¡°True. We only need to alter the thresholds of a few thousand gates,¡± agreed Gilorn. ¡°Fiddly, but it doesn¡¯t require our proximity. Will you collect the souls from the conduits afterwards?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to send the details of the conduits through to the Eldest and allow the cloister members to earn some redemption,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± chimed Gilorn. ¡°Clearing the lingering undead and the gestating spawning abominations could be time-consuming. As we seal each, I¡¯ll pull the military staff back onto the Material Plane.¡± By the time they had the first dozen entrances sealed, Amdirlain heard some souls crossing the new threshold and sensed a glimmer of this world¡¯s region of Judgement. Legions of aged and battered souls stood waiting for deities to sort them into their proper afterlives or return them to the cycle of life. Many within her reach bore wounds that echoed the undead of the ghost caverns, showing how their passage through the cursed conduit had scarred them. The militaries of numerous territories and city-states were arrayed on plains outside the cities that had played unwilling host to the various ghost caverns. At the poles and in remote locations around the globe, additional portals were set to allow stray souls passage to Judgement without crossing through the Astral Plane. [Achievement: Vengeance Bane Details: Successfully stymied a deific scourge against a species. Reward: 33,500,000,000 Note: While the reward for each is small, the affected population makes it a ¡®large¡¯ reward.] Amdirlain snorted at the last addition to the Class. Gilorn hummed. ¡°Gideon is rude.¡± ¡°What did they say to you?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°The first ¡®note¡¯ I¡¯ve received from them, and I don¡¯t want to repeat it,¡± huffed Gilorn. ¡°They should have their facets scratched up.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see you back at the monastery,¡± said Amdirlain, and Planar Shift took her away. 434 - Evolution Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Demi-Plane The darkness of the Demi-Plane hung across Amdirlain and seemed to soak into her flesh. The basic rules she had applied across the Demi-Plane had only lightly influenced the energy within the Mana, leaving it rich with Chaos. She brought up the list of Malfex options in Analysis, and a claustrophobic fear seized her as she considered the racial option. Though the premonition was unclear, Amdirlain expanded the Demi-Plane to a fifteen-kilometre radius, and the spike of fear washed away. ¡°I hit the levels I planned to achieve, but I don¡¯t know how long this change to Empress Malfex will take.¡± Amdirlain released the simple message and sought to relax by cycling her Ki. Sarah immediately responded, ¡°I can come watch over you. For my change, I received a bunch of bodyguards.¡± I don¡¯t want anyone seeing me until I know what horror I¡¯ve become. Amdirlain pushed the immediate self-doubt aside, and though her instinct was to decline the offer, she sent Sarah the details for the current Demi-Plane. When Sarah appeared close by, she glanced about at the expanse of emptiness. ¡°Are you feeling a touch paranoid?¡± ¡°I felt I needed a lot of space for the process. When I went to Qil Tris with Gilorn, I was hundreds of metres long,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°My oh my,¡± purred Sarah. ¡°Care to chase me about later?¡± Though there were tones of concern, the open desire focused on Amdirlain, and her blush raced to the tip of her ears. ¡°You¡¯re trying to distract me from my worries.¡± ¡°Is it working?¡± asked Sarah, cupping a hand against Amdirlain¡¯s cheek. ¡°No, I¡¯m sorry,¡± said Amdirlain, kissing Sarah¡¯s palm. ¡°But thanks for trying. If you¡¯d back up, I¡¯ll pull the pin on this species change.¡± ¡°How far away should I be?¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer it if you were observing from a different Demi-Plane, but at least out at the boundary line,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Run if things get messy.¡± ¡°Only if needed. I¡¯ll take a seat in the bleachers,¡± said Sarah; after stealing a soft caressing kiss, she reappeared against the skin of the Demi-Plane. With Sarah¡¯s warmth lingering on her lips, Amdirlain mentally selected Empress Malfex. The energy from her classes and species entwined together and began a chain reaction. Across her body, swathes of flesh bubbled and blistered, and as the first bubbles burst, the pace of their appearance increased by the second. Pain Eater failed as the process forced her back into her True Form. An icy agony washed through Amdirlain as her mind endured tendons unravelling, muscles rupturing and splintering bones as she expanded outwards. Her thick covering of spines surged further from her flesh, each growing a dozen metres long as they sprayed out litres of foul gunk. The pressure of the spray provided the torment of someone trying to pull millions of bone splinters out through her skin. As the last eruptions eased, the spines burst into black flames that ripped and tore at the surrounding atmosphere; their destructive effect unleashed a high-pitch screech that reverberated off the Demi-Plane¡¯s boundary. The ongoing flares of light produced by the molecules being ripped apart caused a bluish-white effect along the flames'' edge. The spines disintegrated in a spray of flechettes, but the expansion of her body caught up with them, and the flames seared them from the air. The change to her features ruptured Amdirlain¡¯s eyes as her bony muzzle narrowed and extended further, becoming a sharp, hooked beak; white flames filled her blackened and cracked eye sockets when they stopped growing. Her form stretched sharply, bones dislocating only to reform and be yanked outwards again. After the first explosion in size, the process seemed maliciously drawn out, the bluish-white illumination showing the surface details as her body tripled in length and each wing grew large enough to canopy Olympic stadiums. Amid breaking bones and rending flesh that followed the ejected foulness, the fractured spines along the base of her bone-white beak rippled and, in a slow wave that started down her neck, morphed into deep midnight feathers. Each feather tore out through raw wounds, drawing screams from Amdirlain while each parting of her beak showed her tongue had split into dozens of thrashing remnants that formed an alien snake nest within her maw. Flesh and ligaments crept back over the skeletal framework of her wings, and brilliant obsidian flight feathers grew into place, forming layers that snuffed out the smokey energy that had shaped them previously. The consuming darkness of her form sucked in the surrounding flames and snuffed them out. Most of her length was now composed of serpentine coils shrouded in feathers of ominous blackness, the massive wings anchored to the first fifty-ish metres of her upper torso glistening with white cored shiny obsidian flight feathers. While her clawed limbs were longer, they hadn¡¯t grown proportionally and now seemed an afterthought tacked onto her new body. The fracturing and reforming had affected hands and feet alike, her thumbs and big toes were jagged stubs that pointed backwards, while the other digits were all permanent sickle claws that whistled through the rent air with every pained twitch. The agony took a whole day to ebb; throughout it, Amdirlain held tight to Sarah¡¯s song to tether her in the storm of pain. Expected horror and rejection never manifested, only a steady beat of concern enfolded in her love. She allowed the theme¡¯s intensity to let the rest become a background of meaningless white noise. As the transformation stabilised, Sarah drifted closer but avoided the Destruction that continued to rip apart surrounding molecules in the atmosphere. When the pain dulled enough for the dry catalogue of Pain Eater to resume its tally, her spinal column was still adjusting, the vertebrae popping with each change in tension. More spiked bones that stabbed through flesh to create fins from the skull base to her tail tip were the chief contributors to the ongoing alterations. A black feathered Dragon with an obstacle course of dinosaur¡¯s fin plates down my back. I hope this doesn¡¯t stick with me after I eliminate my Fallen state. ¡°You¡¯ve got an ominous vibe, but you no longer smell of corruption,¡± reassured Sarah. ¡°The last of that odour burnt away while you were changing. Could it have been my fault? The Oath Link between us might have provided you that foulness while I was Sidero.¡± ¡°It might have resulted from drawing in Mana within the Abyss,¡± rumbled Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not as if we had any reason to expect it.¡± ¡°Then should you be worried about how you appear?¡± questioned Sarah lightly. ¡°All that foul smoke and sludge is gone.¡± Amdirlain started to protest, only to catch the pained edge of worry for her within Sarah¡¯s theme. She accepted me, and there wasn¡¯t even a twinge of doubt, only worry and concern. Though her body was still a catalogue of agony, Amdirlain expanded the Demi-Plane further. As the notes faded, she transformed into a male Scarlet Lonsdaleite. With a coy smile, Sarah looked over Amdirlain¡¯s Dragon body. ¡°Are you looking to pay off your bodyguard?¡± The scent of her desire ignited instincts in the back of Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and she had to hold them at bay. Each quickening inhalation brought a tidal wave of need that flooded past the pain and ignited cravings that swept through adopted flesh. ¡°A Dragon¡¯s drives are pretty fierce to experience in person and not simply as a catalogue of music,¡± swallowed Amdirlain. ¡°Then change back to yourself before you decide,¡± replied Sarah. Who am I? Who do I want to be? The azure-haired Elf she became had the warm bronze-gold skin of the Anar and L¨®m? but a crystalline sapphire gaze that matched Livia¡¯s hue. Her hair curtained a lithe body in gentle waves that reached her knees. ¡°Now we know where Livia gets her eyes,¡± quipped Sarah. She flew forward and slid her hands in under the curtain of hair, tenderly embracing Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯ve got a unique look.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not Anar or L¨®m?, I¡¯m me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t think pretending otherwise is healthy.¡± ¡°Being yourself is a goal I can get behind,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Or in front of?¡± drawled Amdirlain. Sarah laughed. ¡°I won¡¯t object. Are you going to go around with hair that long?¡± ¡°Only when it''s fun. I wanted to try it out at least once,¡± said Amdirlain. The lingering awareness of her mate¡¯s scent drew at Amdirlain¡¯s awareness, and Sarah¡¯s gaze heated. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a head start,¡± said Amdirlain, her words coming in a husky growl. ? ? ? ? ? ? With Sarah dozing beneath Amdirlain¡¯s glimmering wing, she relaxed and enjoyed the radiant sunlight of the Demi-Plane gleaming off their faceted hides. The scent of her mate¡¯s satiated body caused a low thrum of pleasure to roll through Amdirlain¡¯s being, tinged by an edge of concern that she isolated down to instincts reacting to lack of pregnancy from the mating flight. While the same instincts had allowed her to handle the acrobatics of mid-air mating, they now prickled at her. Identification of the cause of concern allowed them to be pushed aside, and she was glad that Sarah had remained in control enough to quash her instincts in the hours of passion. Yet the surprise and disappointment she felt brought Amdirlain up short. Was I hoping she¡¯d mess up? Did I want to be travelling alone? A moment of self-reflection was enough, and the strength of the Dragon¡¯s instincts pointed out what should have been clear to Amdirlain from the start. Silly. The Phoenix¡¯s Rapture changes me into a living form, so the typical Dragon hard-wired instincts are present. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you were so confident about controlling your urge to reproduce,¡± murmured Amdirlain, aware of the shift in scent that had stirred Sarah. ¡°This male form is niggling me, complaining that I failed with the mating flight.¡± One of Sarah¡¯s sparkling eyelids lifted slightly. ¡°I¡¯ve no complaints and more experience being a Dragon, my love. Now, hush. You wore me out, and I want to snuggle longer before we go anywhere.¡± Amdirlain spread her wing further across Sarah¡¯s back and curled in closer. It was only an hour before Sarah nudged her and, with a little lick along her jawline, prompted Amdirlain to change back. ¡°Are things all settled with your classes?¡± asked Amdirlain once they were both dressed. Sarah nodded. ¡°No surprises, and I¡¯m satisfied with the instructors who have taken over. Is anything further delaying us? Perhaps you¡¯re getting the jitters?¡± ¡°I am nervous,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Drawing a crystal cube from Foundry¡¯s vault, she offered it to Sarah. ¡°Gilorn made a stronger summoning device while I was working on the demi-planes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice of her,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I assume it generates the same circle you can hear through if needed?¡± Amdirlain smiled at her immediate concern. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Good, you¡¯re not the only one nervous about this trip,¡± said Sarah, gingerly taking the cube. As Sarah claimed the summoning device, a pendant and a storage pouch appeared in Amdirlain¡¯s other hand. ¡°She also made me a pendant to suppress my auras so I wouldn¡¯t have to keep repairing mine while travelling.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t like that you¡¯re blinding yourself for the duration of this trip,¡± admitted Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s voluntary, and in a genuine emergency, I¡¯ll stop,¡± said Amdirlain, and she stored her pendant and shadow vines. ¡°That said, I¡¯ve plenty of other options between spells and psionics to keep myself safe. You might dislike something else I¡¯ve got for this trip more.¡± Amdirlain held out the pouch to Sarah, who regarded it with distaste. ¡°You might have the token in a dimensional pocket, but I can still smell the odour on its exterior.¡± ¡°Can you carry it when you hop to Veht??¡± requested Amdirlain. ¡°We can agree that carrying it in Inventory is a bad idea. The conduit forces me to transform, so I can¡¯t transport it any other way.¡± ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t just want to save that for the deep planes?¡± Sarah asked hesitantly. ¡°I¡¯m not sure we want to carry that about with us. While it would save us issues with a Great Wyrm, we could teleport away, and then I could retrieve the token.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to be prepared,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°There is a difference between being prepared and carrying radioactive materials in our back pockets,¡± argued Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ve got it, and I can retrieve it easily. You should store that, or any metallics visiting this beach will feel on edge from the lingering scent.¡± I can see her point, but it feels wrong not to have it with us. Though that could be my paranoia playing games. With a dissatisfied huff, Amdirlain returned the pouch to Foundry¡¯s vault. ¡°Do you want to jump ahead and call me?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve said all your goodbyes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been saying them for weeks now. I¡¯ve spoken to everyone I dealt with directly. Some were more reluctant to see me go than others.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure Master Cyrus would prefer you not to vanish,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I plan to let him know once I contact a region of the courts,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Time to rip the band-aid off and get this show on the road.¡± Sarah vanished, and Amdirlain experienced a few minutes of nervousness before she felt the summoning call. The energy of her feathers devoured the light within the conduit, and Amdirlain turned off Resonance entirely and waited for the transition effect. When sunlight battled the darkness of her presence, Amdirlain changed back to her newly adopted Elf form and donned her pendant and clothing. With Amdirlain transformed, Sarah absorbed the circle, which caused the barrier to collapse. Sarah had placed the summoning circle atop a slope that led to crisp white sand littered with shells and stranded starfish. A faint breeze played with Amdirlain¡¯s azure hair as she shrunk it to shoulder-length, and brine tickled her nose. The glassy blue sea kissed up against the beach, stretching off to either side of their raised position upon the rocks that overlooked a few hundred metres of sand. Only the barest ripple ran across the clear blue water, and beneath the sea, Amdirlain could make out abundant sea life and scattered pockets of grass. Happiness buzzed inside Amdirlain, and she squeezed Sarah¡¯s hand as they overlooked the varied blue waters of Veht?¡¯s Mediterranean Sea. ¡°This looks like the Mediterranean, but where did you place us?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah blinked in surprise. ¡°You¡¯ve got Resonance closed off already?¡± ¡°I shut it down in the conduit,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°If I¡¯d emerged into the summoning circle with it on, I¡¯d have heard enough to be a cheat.¡± ¡°Point,¡± said Sarah, and she pointed slightly to their left with her free hand across the water towards an island on the horizon. ¡°We¡¯re on the northwest side of Lakonikos Bay. Crete is that way, but the island of Kythira blocks our line of sight, and the island to the left of it is Elafonisos.¡° ¡°Your line of sight,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m restricted to Elf eyes, so my visual limit is five kilometres.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still further than Human eyesight. Which direction do you want to wander in?¡± Amdirlain considered Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories of the surrounding landscape. ¡°The village would have been across the eastern arm of the bay. Nothing blocked the tidal wave from Crete¡¯s eruption, and there was an island to the northeast that I think was Monemvasia, so south along the coast there.¡± ¡°That lovely white sand on Earth is Valtaki Beach,¡± said Sarah, nodding to the beach ahead of them. ¡°Depending on the route you want to walk, we¡¯re at least seventy to eighty kilometres from Monemvasia.¡± ¡°You picked the spot, so I¡¯d relax and see the scenery first,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m the one that got to see Greece and Europe, so I thought I should make sure you got some delightful sights,¡± said Sarah. ¡°If we climb to the top of one of those hills and look east, we should see where the Anar city once sat,¡± advised Sarah, pointing to the highest ridgeline to the northeast. ¡°The remnants are all probably buried or hauled away.¡± ¡°Then the L¨®m?¡¯s city would have been directly north of where we are now, and the evacuation fleet would have left from the next large bay to the west. Finding anything will be tough unless I can find something I recognise. The changes to the landscape will be an issue even without looting. That aside, what are the locals like?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll have to find out together. The only scents I¡¯ve picked up are various Lizardfolk species and kobolds. The second, the dragons probably brought in to replace the ousted humans,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Along with assorted monsters.¡± ¡°Can we walk along the sands for a bit?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I won¡¯t object to a feast of giant crab,¡± said Sarah. Without the details Resonance had been continually feeding her, Amdirlain was aware of how isolated she felt. She gently squeezed Sarah¡¯s hand again and considered reaching out telepathically to investigate their surroundings. A layer of rock caught her gaze, and she automatically recognised it; no sooner had she named it than she began picking out plants she had recognised from Anna¡¯s orb but had never seen in person. For so long I¡¯ve been so busy with information from Resonance that I¡¯ve not simply ¡®seen¡¯ what¡¯s around me. Maybe I need to disconnect. What else have I let get lost in the wash of knowing? ¡°I think I¡¯m going to rely on my natural senses for a bit,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It might help me develop Perception.¡± ¡°An exercise in mindfulness?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I think I¡¯d been considering this trip an exercise to get over with, but maybe it¡¯s not that simple.¡± ¡°Whatever you want to do is fine with me,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Are you sure you won¡¯t get bored when I need to sleep?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got memory crystals and Anna¡¯s orb to study when you want a rest. I might even increase my knowledge ratings,¡± said Amdirlain, and she stopped to consider tracks she spotted on a trail further up the hillside from the beach. ¡°Noiseless might mean several things.¡± ¡°It might,¡± allowed Sarah. Amdirlain tapped her fingers against her leg, considering the odd feel of her True Form. ¡°What do the local Lizardfolk look like?¡± Sarah raised an eyebrow. ¡°Looking to go undercover again?¡± ¡°I was more wondering how they¡¯d react to something Human-like?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I was thinking more about minimising the attention we draw. We don¡¯t bother them, and they don¡¯t bother us.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve not seen humans in millennia, and they¡¯ve never seen elves,¡± said Sarah. ¡°But I get your point. If they have legends of humans, an Elf will probably be mistaken for one.¡± The bipedal figures mentally presented by Sarah had shortened muzzles and spiked scales similar to bearded dragon lizards, with scales ranging from dark green to sandy white. While they wore sheathed weapons, most had minimal attire, their appearance varying in the colour and formation of their scales. Amdirlain clicked her tongue. ¡°The lighter scales are more common on the south side of the sea?¡± ¡°And along the northern shore until you get past where Athens would sit. From there, and anything further than about fifteen kilometres inland, they get steadily darker,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°I did some quick reconnaissance over the last few months.¡± The images Sarah had projected drew a frown from Amdirlain. ¡°I take it their only apparel is those harnesses and weapon belts.¡± ¡°The metal working they reserve for protective plates and heavy weaponry,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Otherwise, they rely on natural weaponry and armour.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s chosen scales were the colour of wet moss, with lighter highlights among the spikes to resemble starbursts in the night sky. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting you to take this approach,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You know most Lizardfolk have Dragon bloodlines. The local dragons shapeshift and procreate with them to reinforce the strength of their servants¡¯ bloodline. Want to guess how they pick their mates? I will tear out the throat of any Chromatic or Lizardfolk that orders you to be their breeder.¡± Of course, dragons want powerful servants in their region. Her elven form rushed back into place, and Amdirlain extended the shadow vines into dark green silk robes. ¡°We¡¯ll talk to the locals and convince them we mean no harm if left alone,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Here I was trying to be flexible about my form.¡± ¡°You could take on a male form,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°As a Dragon is one thing,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But I think I¡¯d find being a humanoid male of any type too uncomfortable.¡± Amdirlain nodded towards the beach, earning a grumble from Sarah about the sand getting in her clothes. She smiled and led the way regardless, keeping an eye out for giant crabs or other species lurking beneath the sands. A pulse of Dragon Fear swept across the beach and she spotted dozens of bulges she¡¯d taken for submerged rocks squirming deeper. Their efforts caused tiny jets of water to give their position away. ¡°Cheater,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. ¡°I was just giving the critters reason to keep their heads down,¡± said Sarah. ¡°And the local Lizardfolk?¡± Sarah shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t smell any in range of that push of fear.¡± Amdirlain felt tension roll through her shoulders and she stopped to stare at the distant hills along the bay¡¯s curve. The stretch of beach vanished behind her when Amdirlain instinctively leant into Ki Movement. In that moment, with one foot bracing to jump far ahead, she forced herself to stop and shake her head. Sarah caught up and stopped beside her with one hand resting lightly on her back. Fabricate caused two simple fishing poles to appear in Amdirlain¡¯s hand, and she offered one almost timidly to Sarah. ¡°I need to stop and decompress for a few days and settle my discomfort.¡± With a quick kiss on the cheek, Sarah took the offered rod. ¡°I know nothing about fishing.¡± ¡°I did river fishing with Mal, but never beach or rock fishing.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure your brother¡¯s influence was why you were such a tomboy,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain snorted. ¡°If we catch anything, it¡¯ll be because a fish threw itself on our hooks, not because of anything I¡¯ve done.¡± ¡°They¡¯re going to troll you, let you unlock something like a fishing or a survival Skill and get it to Grandmaster,¡± noted Sarah as she shaped ectoplasm into lines on the empty reels. ¡°Ori never went fishing. If I get that Skill, it will be because of my endeavours,¡± replied Amdirlain, perched on a flat rock. ¡°Are you going to eat whatever you catch?¡± Amdirlain laughed. ¡°This is just for relaxation. I find watching a line in the water calming. If I traumatise a fish on the hook, I¡¯ll cook it for you.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have a cooking Skill of any kind,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Sucks to be you then,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s just as well you¡¯ve got that draconic constitution.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cook it,¡± Sarah insisted. ¡°If we¡¯ll be here a bit, why don¡¯t you make a salt pan for evaporating seawater? I can stockpile some for seasoning once we¡¯re inland.¡± A few spells shaped a shallow tray at the base of the rock, and once it filled with salt water, the sides grew higher. ¡°See, I¡¯m still able to do things without True Song. We¡¯ll manage,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I know that,¡± said Sarah. The presence of two strangers kept animals and Lizardfolk alike at a safe distance, with Sarah occasionally giving a brave scout a sense of impending doom as he crept close with weapons at the ready. As the day drew to a close and sunset coloured the shimmering blue sea, the catalogue of pains within Amdirlain¡¯s body slowly eased. A deep, relaxed sigh drew a smile from Sarah. ¡°Sea air, warm day, it¡¯s nice to relax. Are you ready to see the camping solution I made?¡± ¡°You said you¡¯d handle it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You didn¡¯t talk about making something for camping out.¡± ¡°I enjoy my creature comforts. I¡¯m certainly not living out of a tent for however long we¡¯re travelling,¡± said Sarah. As she reeled her line, she found the hook picked clean of the last bait she¡¯d added. ¡°Next time, I think I¡¯ll throw the line in with just the bare hook to save me the work. ¡° ¡°Outdoor gal you¡¯re not,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll go shark fishing the easy way later,¡± huffed Sarah, projecting a mental image of scooping them out of the water with her claws. Amdirlain grinned. ¡°If you want something for dinner, I can just yank something out of the water with Far Hand.¡± ¡°You get dinner for me, and I¡¯ll set up my hut,¡± said Sarah. A large house appeared on the rocky hillside behind them. Clawed feet of bone and mithril dug into the rock as the skeletal legs adjusted to the perch. Supported atop them was a large mithril plate with a stone hut some fifteen metres across and six deep, with an expansive deck on the edge towards the sea. A broad set of stairs extended from underneath the plate until they touched the closest rocks. ¡°You had that in Inventory,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Are those the Red Dragon¡¯s leg bones?¡± Sarah stood and offered Amdirlain her hand. ¡°No, they¡¯re from a Black Dragon who''d been supporting demons in the fighting on Acheron. I¡¯ve had them for a while and thought I should use them for something productive. Shall we retire for the evening?¡± Lightly clasping her hand, Amdirlain flowed up and accompanied her wife inside. It was a few days before they worried about moving on, relaxing quietly while they enjoyed the warm days and cuddling together at night. When they finally started along the coastline, they dawdled from one white beach to another, skirting along the rocks or ascending cliffs to enjoy the view. They spent time at each beach, with Amdirlain using the quiet time in the evening to study spells while Sarah slept beside her. It took them nearly two months to cover a hundred kilometres of the bay¡¯s northern coastline headed south towards the distant islands. With a last view of the wide bay, they headed towards the rising sun, ascending the steep slope via an animal trail. The trek from the bay to the sea on the other side was nearly thirty kilometres as the crow flies, but the rough terrain and detours tripled it. The wind from the south occasionally brought them the sound of seabirds and the inhabitants of the headland. Their presence caused the wildlife to fall silent, and those Lizardfolk and the occasional Kobold that Amdirlain saw observing from a distance tried to hide in the bushes and gullies. When they topped a ridgeline to get a view of the sea beyond, Amdirlain snorted in disbelief at the group ahead. A kilometre to the northeast, three familiar figures camped atop a grassy knoll, with Kadaklan¡¯s bright clothing standing out among the brush. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell them where I was going to summon you, and you decided we¡¯d head east once we were here,¡± protested Sarah, staring at the trio in disbelief. The wind must have carried her words as Sarah was still speaking when Kadaklan looked their way and froze momentarily in surprise. He nudged a meditating Jinfeng with his foot, drawing Klipyl¡¯s attention. A delighted scream sent nesting birds skywards. She teleported to the duo and wrapped an arm around each. ¡°How did you beat us here?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you¡¯d be here,¡± protested Klipyl. ¡°Jinfeng got a funny scripture puzzle with Mandarin calligraphy on one side and shifting images on the other. When she put the scripture together, a steady picture formed to show this view.¡± ¡°Which still doesn¡¯t explain why the three of you are here,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°In the image¡¯s foreground was a flame, a sword, and a feather,¡± said Klipyl, and she released Sarah to point to Kadaklan, Jinfeng and herself. Sarah huffed. ¡°I gather it was a puzzle from the Jade Emperor.¡± He really can see glimpses of the future. Klipyl nodded happily and returned to hugging them. ¡°Gilorn made Jinfeng a gizmo to let her summon me, and after we got planetside, I teleported all three of us here. I thought we were coming here for something related only to Jinfeng, and I¡¯m not even completely sure where here is, other than that there aren¡¯t any humans in these lands.¡± ¡°When did the puzzle arrive?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°It came in the usual dispatches from the main monastery. Jinfeng had it for weeks before you left trying to put it together and succeeded only a few days ago,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°Does this mean we can travel with you?¡± More people are playing games. Is it to help me or to play their games with unrelated goals? Amdirlain shook her head in exasperation. ¡°Why don¡¯t I talk to Jinfeng and find out what the scripture said?¡± ¡°That¡¯s likely for the best. I only saw the finished product and was more interested in the picture,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°I don¡¯t have the proper background or perspective on it.¡± ¡°Go west, young Human,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°She sells seashells by the seashore. I wonder if she could have assembled another scripture from the puzzle and ended up somewhere else.¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, Klipyl,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Your perspective has made a big difference to my healing.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to make me cry,¡± sniffled Klipyl. They flanked Klipyl, and each wrapped an arm around her back before Amdirlain teleported them. 435 - Waking Up The Neighbors Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean Sea As the trio landed at the camp, Klipyl rested her head against Sarah. ¡°I should have gotten Ammie to adopt me as her daughter.¡± ¡°Why? You ended up with two big sisters instead,¡± said Sarah. Klipyl regarded her blankly. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Sister-in-law is a concept where we come from,¡± explained Amdirlain, letting Universal Communication handle the translation. ¡°Hurray! I¡¯ve got two big sisters,¡± cheered Klipyl, throwing her arms straight up. A smile twitched on Kadaklan¡¯s lips as the trio laughed together. The healer just slipped his hands inside the sleeves of his brightly coloured robes. Jinfeng had risen from her spot near the fresh firepit. She quickly pushed her braided black hair back over her shoulder and brushed the dust from her simple tan outfit before she saluted Amdirlain. ¡°Sifu, I didn¡¯t know we would see you.¡± ¡°The surprise is mutual. I hope my alterations to appearance don¡¯t put you off,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Your appearance is subtly different, but your personality shines through,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°I wanted a change. I didn¡¯t intend to contact you until later, but it seems your Jade Emperor had other plans,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Should the five of us travel together?¡± ¡°It would be an honour to accompany you, Sifu. The scriptures that lead us here commented on various topics but did not mention travel companions,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°It did? Would you care to share the message?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I believe the message was primarily for myself,¡± hedged Jinfeng. ¡°It was two proverbs. Learning without thought is deceptive; thought without learning is perilous. Those who lead do not teach, and those who blindly follow do not understand the journey.¡± Does it apply to me as well? I¡¯ve tried to understand myself better and overcome my fears. ¡°Could the puzzle have turned out differently?¡± enquired Sarah. ¡°It is hard to say the stable side was black and white, while the coloured side changed constantly,¡± explained Jinfeng. ¡°When I had the scripture writing together, it locked into a solid plate. I turned it over and found the picture of this scene.¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°If you¡¯d like, you can come with us, or do you think the Jade Emperor put you on our path for a different reason?¡± ¡°We once spoke about the journey to the west,¡± quipped Kadaklan. ¡°It seems the Monkey rides the Dragon this time.¡± ¡°How do you figure that?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan smiled slyly. ¡°You¡¯ve got the hardest head among all of us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure the great sage will be interested in your criteria, Master Kadaklan,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°Are you perhaps seeking to emulate Zhu Bajie¡¯s conduct?¡± ¡°Since I¡¯m the peaceful one among you all, I represent Tang Sanzang in this, assembly,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain rolled her eyes. ¡°Since we¡¯re not travelling to collect scriptures, comparing us is pointless. You¡¯re hardly an innocent boy-priest.¡± ¡°What are your travel plans?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°You mentioned the Jade Emperor¡¯s puzzle boxes had given you some ideas.¡± ¡°There are some places I want to check between these lands and the oceans to the west, then we¡¯ll take a northern route around the sea that lies north of our current location,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it will be winter by then, so travelling won¡¯t be pleasant.¡± ¡°What¡¯s a little snow?¡± quipped Klipyl. ¡°It¡¯s a lot of snow if I¡¯m right about the weather patterns,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°Before we leave this area, I want to find traces of the Anar city. The forests they planted in these lands are all gone, but I don¡¯t think Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s house would have been as easy to destroy as others.¡± ¡°Where do we look?¡± asked Klipyl. Amdirlain looked at Sarah. ¡°Your memories would be clearer.¡± ¡°As you pointed out, the forests are gone, and the coast is different,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s been over half a million years. I hope you have a fallback plan other than using your surveyors.¡± ¡°It looks like the Clairsentience techniques Aitherlar was teaching me will get a workout,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll work things out as we go along. If it begins to feel like the search here is fruitless, we¡¯ll move along.¡± Jinfeng¡¯s jade-green gaze sparkled with amusement. ¡°You planned to adapt?¡± ¡°Something along those lines.¡± ¡°Should I have brought more camp gear?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯ve got the accommodations covered,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Unless you¡¯re set on camping here, let¡¯s move more towards the coast. Ori¡¯s house was closer to the water than we are now, and erosion has narrowed this stretch of land between the sea and the bay to the west.¡± ¡°We only remained here waiting for some sign of why the Jade Emperor sent me the puzzle,¡± advised Jinfeng. ¡°Five is an auspicious number, given that the Emperor set us on this path,¡± noted Kadaklan as the last item went into a storage bag on Jinfeng¡¯s belt. ¡°Either that, or he ensured there were five of us to seem auspicious,¡± countered Sarah. Kadaklan snorted. ¡°Cynic.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t wound me with the truth,¡± Sarah said, offering a relaxed smile. ¡°Shall we find a nice beach among the coves?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°There are huge crabs hidden in the soft sands and dark serpents in the caves close to the shore,¡± cautioned Jinfeng. ¡°We camped so far away so they don¡¯t disturb my meditations.¡± Klipyl sighed teasingly. ¡°She doesn¡¯t trust me to protect them.¡± ¡°If there is a battle, all should take part,¡± said Jinfeng. Sarah shrugged. ¡°You need to get used to travelling with people that need far less sleep.¡± ¡°Or none,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Still, it¡¯s good to be alert.¡± ¡°The house has protections, so all of us needing sleep can just relax,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It is late in the day, so I¡¯ll just set it up here, and we can start exploring for signs tomorrow.¡± When the Dragon-footed house appeared nearby, one of its clawed feet scratched long furrows in the rocky earth. Kadaklan looked at Sarah with concern. ¡°Please tell me there is nothing untoward involved.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a variation of an old folktale from our world, where a witch had a house supported by giant Chicken legs,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Step back a bit from the top of the hill and I¡¯ll set it in place. That way there aren¡¯t any places for attackers to get cover.¡± ¡°How does it determine an attacker?¡± ¡°Anything that tries to break in,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Didn¡¯t want to waste its enchantments on anything that¡¯s simply curious. Its appearance should turn most things off approaching.¡± Kadaklan snorted. ¡°Turn things off approaching? I believe most creatures would run the other way.¡± ¡°Never underestimate stupidity or pride,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Some creatures get very territorial, especially dragons and Lizardfolk.¡± ¡°Voice of experience?¡± quipped Kadaklan lightly. Sarah smiled and glanced at Amdirlain. ¡°Only when I was still stabilising.¡± ¡°She was only a little catty towards Livia when she came visiting the limbo monastery,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It was more that she kept trying to hold my hand like a child,¡± huffed Sarah playfully. ¡°Now let me show you the inside, and we can figure out where to put beds and drapes.¡± The trio quickly disassembled their camp, with Klipyl filling in the fire pit while Jinfeng and Kadaklan took care of the lean-to before they ventured into the house. Kadaklan took the interior matter-of-factly, but Jinfeng and Klipyl seemed confused by the layout, which included large deep couches and a modern kitchen. The large crystal receiver display on one wall drew particular attention. ¡°Did you record more casters while on Qil Tris?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Yes, but I also put in a repeater last visit. There is a Psi crystal currently filtering some news programs for topics of interest.¡± ¡°Oh, I get it. You¡¯re spying to see how the adjustments to the training facilities are being received,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Wise not to just take Mor¡¯lmes word for it.¡± Klipyl ran her fingers across the polished benchtop. ¡°This looks like stone, but it¡¯s not. I wouldn¡¯t think you¡¯d need a spot to cook anything. Can you teach me? Someone said that cooking for someone can be flirtatious, but I¡¯ve never learnt.¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t ask Amdirlain to teach you how to cook,¡± Kadaklan advised. Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°I can manage the basics, but nothing too fancy. The Catfolk just have a different reaction to spicy food.¡± ¡°The only one who actually needs to sleep is Jinfeng, correct?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Immortal Spirit reduces my needs to a few hours,¡± defended Jinfeng. Sarah pointed to a couch at the end of the arc in front of the receiver. ¡°How about we push that one into a corner for you? We can set up a privacy ward.¡± ¡°This accommodation doesn¡¯t really look like you intended it to be shared with anyone,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°I feel like we¡¯re intruding.¡± ¡°The Jade Emperor sent you along and, if he intends to help Amdirlain, I¡¯m not turning you aside,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I experienced a sense of relief from my precognition seeing the three of you, so I¡¯m taking that as a good sign. When I¡¯ve got time, I¡¯ll expand the interior and make a second story with rooms for each of us.¡± ¡°You¡¯re playing dimensional games like Am?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Not to the same extent and, unless we want it to be walking us around the countryside, I¡¯ll need to store the house daily,¡± said Sarah. ¡°That means there is a limit on what it can contain, as I didn¡¯t set the initial enchantment to eliminate the internal weight.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy the sunset while you sort out details and fill them in,¡± Amdirlain said, slipping outside at Sarah¡¯s nod. A couple of months of lazy honeymooning with monsters steering clear. I guess it¡¯s time to get back to work. Amdirlain perched on the rocks a distance from the house to stare off a cliff towards the sea. Contentment and fear clashed lightly, niggling at the back of her mind; Amdirlain centred herself and breathed out slowly, enjoying the vibrant colours as sunset crept across the landscape. What was I afraid of just then? It doesn¡¯t feel like there is anything dangerous around here, just some minor critters monitoring me and the house. A moment of listening with normal hearing let her catch the murmur of the continued conversation from the house. A light smile twitched across Amdirlain¡¯s lips. Sarah¡¯s giving me alone time to adjust and think. I should have made myself a stack of drawing paper to improve that Skill in quiet moments. Movement among some bushes caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention out of the corner of her eye, but she kept facing the sea as other small reptilian figures took up position. As a brave individual crept past the first she¡¯d spotted to get a better view, Amdirlain took in their attire as they crossed the gap in the bushes. Hunched over, their posture reduced their small stature even further, but he was maybe a metre tall with dark red scales and murky green reptilian eyes. A broad tail stuck out from behind him, and he wore patchy rawhide goat skins studded with metal as rough armour. The two short spears he clutched in one hand looked made of knapped flint and dried fish guts for sinew. Overall, he looked like someone had crossed a German Shepherd with a gecko and taught the result to walk on hind legs, though his upright stance looked delicate with his gangly limbs. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Soul Sight showed a rough-natured Soul within him rather than the emptiness and blackness of a monster that she¡¯d expected. The Soul¡¯s presence changed Amdirlain¡¯s mind about the course to take, and she considered the tenuous existence shown through the Scout¡¯s life events. ¡°I see you, Kobold. Come here and talk, it¡¯ll be easier for both of us,¡± said Amdirlain calmly, pointing a finger towards him. ¡°No want to talk to the tall invader,¡± hissed the scout. ¡°You need to leave the tribe¡¯s lands.¡± ¡°I intend to, but I¡¯m looking for something,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If you help with my search, I¡¯ll reward your tribe.¡± The Scout swayed in an agitated fashion behind the scrub, causing the leaves to bob. ¡°You no look for things on our lands. You leave.¡± ¡°Is that your place to decide? Maybe you should ask your leader,¡± said Amdirlain. With a snarl, the Scout retreated directly away from Amdirlain, keeping the scrub between them. ¡°Your tribe mates are still hiding,¡± said Amdirlain, and she pointed to the scrubs that had rustled earlier. ¡°The one with the bow won¡¯t be helpful if you charge.¡± ¡°You go,¡± hissed another. A minor Spell rose an earthen wall beneath three of the scouts; with a squeak and a hiss, they jumped down, and all scampered away. ¡°I can find your tribe just as easily, so have someone talk to me,¡± ordered Amdirlain, her hard tone rattling the six that fled. One, more obstinate, threw himself into a ditch and kept watch on her from higher ground. If they do a lot of tunnelling around here, they might have run into crystal barriers they can¡¯t get through, which will reduce the time isolating where the city¡¯s located. I should have checked the surveyors, but given the poem the Jade Emperor sent, it felt like a cheat. A few hours later, a hunched Kobold came out of the undergrowth, wearing thin hides and a necklace of feathers and shells. His lips curled back, and his eyes bulged at the sight of Amdirlain, but despite his emotions, he walked closer. [Name: Dess Species: Kobold Class: Adept/Shaman/Scout Level: 29/29/27 Defence: 64 Health: 935 Faith: 42 Magic: 45 Mana: 957 Melee Attack Power: 52 Combat Skills: Bite [J] (23), Claw [M] (10), Spear [Ad] (23), Knife [M] (2), Mana Formation [M] (12), Affinities: Earth and Fire. Spells - Tier I and 2 spells related to Earth and Fire. Minor blessings that are empowered by personal belief. Details: He¡¯s served his tribe since he gained the Shaman Class at twelve. Thirty years on, in his twilight years, he holds the most magical strength of the region¡¯s shamans.] ¡°My apologies for our intrusion on your tribe¡¯s lands,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I would just like to talk, and if you have the information I¡¯m after, I¡¯d reward you.¡± ¡°What you after?¡± grumbled Dess. Amdirlain presented some crystal blocks from her inventory. ¡°Walls that glimmer like these crystals that you can¡¯t chip.¡± Dess¡¯s eyes narrowed as he considered the blocks, and Amdirlain caught his furtive gaze towards the north. ¡°I might know where some are.¡± ¡°Would this location you were going to share happen to be near a rival tribe?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If you tell me a location that proves false, I will not be so friendly.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know all their tunnels like ours, just heard tales. Can¡¯t hold me at fault if they lie,¡± rumbled Dess unhappily. ¡°Dess,¡± said Amdirlain firmly. Her flat intonation of his name caused his eyes to bulge from his head. ¡°Who told you my name?¡± ¡°A powerful spirit,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If it is so strong, why can¡¯t it find shiny rocks for you?¡± ¡°Do you want me to churn up the earth?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I might collapse tunnels or even entire dens by taking that approach.¡± A growl of frustration rumbled in Dess¡¯s throat, and his ears lay back against his scaled skull. ¡°We have no bright rocks in our den. Those who go near those places die.¡± ¡°What places are they?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Tales say a place in the south is not safe for tribes because of rocks like solid water,¡± said Dess unhappily. Amdirlain smiled, and Dess shied back from her display of white teeth. ¡°Why not tell me that from the start?¡± ¡°Wanted to get rid of the other tribe. They¡¯ve blocked us from goat packs in the north,¡± huffed Dess. ¡°What about the shiny rock that causes kobolds to die?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Shiny figure with your flat face. It step away from shining rocks and chop them into pieces,¡± said Dess. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back with your reward,¡± said Amdirlain. Dess hopped back from her as she rose, eyeing her with undisguised suspicion. She blurred into the house and returned, suddenly standing before Dess with a sheathed knife offered to him. ¡°What this?¡± asked Dess, nervously looking at the leather-wrapped hilt. ¡°A very sharp knife. Keep it clean, and it will stay sharp for a long time,¡± said Amdirlain. It¡¯s a trinket Sarah made for the kitchen, but the +10 attack power is significantly higher than a flint knife. ¡°Clean?¡± ¡°Wipe it clean of meat, blood, and filth. Do your best to get it looking the same each time you use it,¡± instructed Amdirlain. The Kobold nervously drew the dagger from the sheath Amdirlain held and chirped in surprise at the silvery steel. ¡°How did you put magic in this? I can feel it along my skin,¡± said Dess. ¡°That¡¯s a reward for simple information, but there is more I want to know,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°How old are these tales of the shiny figure?¡± ¡°Many shamans past,¡± huffed Dess. ¡°I¡¯m the best of shamans. No one else would remember the tale.¡± Amdirlain listened to the account aloud and felt his mental struggles with her restrained presence inspiring honesty. The warriors who had reported had been frantic that he come to calm the spirit whose words rattled their bones. It seems I pushed a bit too hard with Muse¡¯s Insight. When he was done, Amdirlain nodded politely. ¡°Do you have a Spell to heat stone?¡± ¡°Yes, dragons taught us long ago,¡± boasted Dess. ¡°Demonstrate it, and I¡¯ll help you improve it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What you want?¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t lie to me while you were telling your tale, and once I¡¯ve taught you to heat stone faster. I¡¯ll teach you about the rocks that will let you make items better than flint,¡± said Amdirlain. The night was halfway done before Amdirlain sent the exhausted Dess home, with his Mana Formation having evolved to Mana Manipulation and tricks to smelt copper from the local rocks. ¡°Teaching kobolds,¡± murmured Sarah as she came outside, her gaze fixed on Dess¡¯s back. His warriors moved to escort him away and shot concerned glances between them both. ¡°They¡¯ve got a tough existence,¡± said Amdirlain. The door closed with a clack that startled the kobolds, who practically threw Dess onto their shoulders and sprinted away. ¡°Are you going to check out those caves in his tale alone?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Two days¡¯ travel for a Kobold. I can be there and back before sunrise,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Of course, that assumes I don¡¯t embarrass myself by getting killed.¡± ¡°Try to avoid that,¡± said Sarah drily as she strolled over to where Amdirlain sat. ¡°You don¡¯t seem in a rush to head off.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be Ori¡¯s house. I¡¯m more inclined to let Roher know there is a construct still in place here and let him collect it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I think there is something closer to this spot.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°I felt afraid earlier,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Just sitting here, there was a wave of fear and anticipation pressing against Mental Hardening. Does this view look familiar at all?¡± ¡°The landscape is unfamiliar. The wood elves kept it heavily forested,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain cast successive scrying spells and found the cave Dess had described through the landmarks in his tale. She cast a last Spell to conjure a movable viewing eye made of Mana and sent it into the cave¡¯s depths; the connection let her True Sight carry through the Spell. ¡°What are you casting?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve learnt some new tricks while you were sleeping,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Given I¡¯m not using True Song on this trip, I wanted more options.¡± ¡°How many new spell lists have you learned?¡± ¡°Only three non-Affinity ones to gain some flexibility in areas my techniques don¡¯t cover,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Clairsentience covers only part of the new scrying one I learnt.¡± The figure that Dess¡¯s tale included was indeed present, and Amdirlain grunted in surprise. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°The house markings on the construct belonged to a southern neighbour,¡± muttered Amdirlain. ¡°We¡¯ll see after you store the house in the morning.¡± ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± breathed Sarah. ¡°I think the Jade Emperor did exactly that,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We were going to head right past the spot, as it was off the line of the game trail we¡¯d been following. He may well have sent them here so I wouldn¡¯t miss it.¡± ¡°Jinfeng is awake, so we don¡¯t have to wait for dawn,¡± said Sarah. I¡¯m so used to knowing what is going on around me. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get them out.¡± While Sarah headed back inside to usher them out, Amdirlain set spells to illuminate the area around the knoll. When the others were standing beside Amdirlain, Sarah ordered the house to shift to the next hill instead of storing it. The house straightened its legs, the stairs folded up, and then, with gliding steps, it delicately strode northwards. Once it was well clear of the hilltop, Amdirlain¡¯s spells ripped the ground apart, burrowing towards bedrock. She eventually exposed the jagged tops of shattered crystal walls within the pit. A cracked archway in front of the dirt-covered house showed the Lady of the Dawn¡¯s crest. ¡°Looted,¡± spat Amdirlain. A rush of rage and bitter disappointment rose from her Soulscape, and Amdirlain froze on the spot. ¡°You won¡¯t know until you expose it all,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°He saved me time hunting for ruins. If the songbook was in Ori¡¯s house, it ended up in a Dragon¡¯s hoard,¡± sighed Amdirlain. Sarah frowned. ¡°You¡¯ve only got the top of the building exposed. Though the roof collapsed, there was a cellar, and her place didn¡¯t look elaborate. It¡¯s a tiny cottage compared to other grand manors.¡± ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll keep digging,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Remind me again, who is the cynic between us?¡± More dirt dropped onto the mound she¡¯d created before a long, gleaming white feather spun free of the moving materials. The arm-length feather shone with an internal illumination that spread shadow outwards among the streaming debris. [Celestial Feather Details: Part of the celestial wings that were ripped off for daring to demand items from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s guardian. Note: Rahka, formerly a senior servant to a lost god of justice. Rahka did more than support from a distance; among other things, she came looking for tools to aid Baln¨¦rith.] ¡°You still want Mother only to provide her mental healing?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain grinned tightly. ¡°Do you think Aitherlar doesn¡¯t already know? Rahka will still need to follow the Redemption¡¯s Path to earn her restoration.¡± ¡°You have a point,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It also explains why Rahka was in a twist when she thought you were Orh¨ºthurin.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll finish this clean-up, and we¡¯ll see if they got to whatever Ori was protecting,¡± said Amdirlain. A sudden surge of satisfaction washed away the anger upon sighting the destruction. Sarah frowned and held up a finger to wait. ¡°Without your True Song, it might be better to cover it and return later. Or get Gilorn to remove it all to somewhere safe.¡± ¡°My brain is telling me to grab whatever is in there,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s my Precognition or something else.¡± ¡°Stop and meditate, let the feeling subside and see what you decide,¡± suggested Jinfeng, and she nodded to the glowing feather. ¡°Should we leave that lying about?¡± ¡°It comes from a big Celestial,¡± offered Klipyl. ¡°I take it someone you know from the cloister before their fall?¡± Amdirlain nodded and considered a niggling sensation crawling up the back of her neck, only for coolness to sheath her body. ¡°There might be something important here. Someone?¡± ¡°How are you going to approach without risking traps?¡± ¡°The same way I got Gilorn and the Orrery to wake up,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Let me expose the remains of the ground floor.¡± As the layers of dirt flowed away, the interior of the cottage walls were uncovered. A flight of stairs into a cellar became visible along the inside of one shattered wall, and Amdirlain focused on pulling the dirt free from it. She was only a metre down when a patch of inky blackness showed beneath the dirt, and Sarah hissed a warning. ¡°Move.¡± Klipyl vanished with the others as the blackness extended into a sluggishly moving tendril. Klipyl¡¯s disappearance triggered a reaction, and a blazing iris at its end patterned into a Spell¡¯s formation that Amdirlain recognised. She threw up a Mana Barrier even as a blast of lightning leapt across the space between them. [Name: Lutu Species: Primal Gorgon Class: Stellar Behemoth / Timeless Guardian / Stalwart Guardian / Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Caretaker Level: 117 / 97 / 98 / 98 / 45 Defence: 4,742 Health: 8,203,806 Magic: 3,612 Mana: 37,137,312 Melee Attack Power: 52,976 Combat Skills: Devourer-King [GM] (34), Protean-Emperor [GM] (279), A few thousand different gaze attacks. Note: Original name translates to ¡®it waits in the darkness between stars¡¯. Have fun getting reacquainted!] The sides of Sarah¡¯s house bloomed into dozens of cannons that fired blasts of Primordial flame, and a defensive barrier sprung into place before the staircase. Amdirlain activated Phoenix¡¯s Rapture, and the aura extended past her Mana Barrier to obliterate a tendril that shot towards her. Its defensive bulwark wrapped around her and Sarah and shrugged spells aside. ¡®Stop, Lutu. I meant no harm,¡¯ Amdirlain projected towards a sleepy awareness she felt within the mass. Though the awareness roused further, the ground above the house gave way, and the entity consumed the earth and broken crystal alike. More earth along the pit''s edge slipped smoothly into blackness, and Amdirlain recognised Lutu¡¯s Protean was gathering bulk to allow it to expand its form. Why was a demoness Hidden so much less trouble to calm? ¡®Secure the house,¡¯ Amdirlain sent to Sarah as she threw up another defensive barrier. The dome leapt into place ahead of blasts of flames and arcs of lightning that sought to destroy the guns. A vast oily column rose from the ground, with a writhing snake¡¯s nest of tendrils sheathing it. The bony claws crushed rocks and gouged furrows; as blasts undercut the barrier, the house disappeared into Sarah¡¯s inventory. Spells continued to rain down on the barrier despite the building¡¯s disappearance. Amdirlain threw up more barriers around the pit as scores of lightning bolts forced her aura back. Waves of ooze ripped at the ground, burrowed into the hillside and her footing plummeted away, but Amdirlain and Sara floated in place. ¡®Lutu¡¯s mind is asleep and responding instinctively,¡¯ reported Sarah. ¡®We¡¯d better get clear.¡¯ Can I calm her without resorting to True Song? Amdirlain felt the shifting mental energies rising with each additional effect the tendril unleashed. ¡®Jump to the others. I¡¯ll ride out its attacks and see if I can calm the situation. She feels like a sleeping child thrashing from a nightmare.¡¯ She? Is that a memory fragment providing a gender? ¡®I¡¯ll stay with you,¡¯ returned Sarah. ¡®It seems Orh¨ºthurin had secrets even from me.¡¯ Mithril plates appeared around Sarah, projecting an energy shield beyond the aura¡¯s edge and manifesting layered barriers. Their buffer allowed the aura to regrow, and Amdirlain overlapped their protections. A stream of floating orbs sprung from Sarah¡¯s hand and rose in a spiral, spreading out as they gained height. As the assaults from the tendrils shifted direction again, the orbs dive-bombed to bring them up short. The first blast from one caught multiple spheres, each exploding into a cloud of thick smoke. Amdirlain renewed barriers as Sarah¡¯s telekinesis drove the smoke across the flailing limbs. Where the residue landed, it sucked Mana out through Lutu¡¯s skin. The energy shift stirred anger within the mind, and Amdirlain projected an update to Sarah. ¡®Lutu¡¯s getting enraged, and I don¡¯t want to hurt her.¡¯ As Sarah teleported them away, Amdirlain slid a thread into Lutu¡¯s thoughts. 436 - Beginning of the end Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean Sea Amdirlain and Sarah reappeared kilometres to the south, with Klipyl, Kadaklan, and Jinfeng arrayed in a crescent, looking north at the blasts of power on display. With no line of sight to the pit, Amdirlain tried to glean how Lutu could perceive her surroundings from her still-rousing thoughts. ¡°We¡¯ve got a Dragon stirring north of here,¡± hissed Sarah, concern cracking her composure. ¡°Klipyl, how much have you explored?¡± ¡°A Dragon is coming to investigate that thing?¡± spluttered Klipyl. ¡°It looked like something I¡¯d expect to find in the Abyss, not on the Material Plane.¡± Once again, I fail at being subtle. Amdirlain frowned in mock concern and attempted to lighten the mood. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ve messed up being noiseless yet?¡± Sarah snorted, her twinkling gaze competing with a tight frown. ¡°Only if you started singing.¡± Kadaklan frowned. ¡°I take it you¡¯re not talking about a small Dragon.¡± ¡°A Great Wyrm, but she is not a proper challenge for Am or me. While the Dragon¡¯s inner thoughts are a steel trap, I can hear her anger at the territorial intrusion from all this Mana being tossed about the place.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t just peek into her mind?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Since all dragons have natural telepathy, I won¡¯t risk warning her by slipping past her defences,¡± declared Sarah, a fierce smile curling her upper lip. ¡°I could probably get past her defenses but I don¡¯t want to tip my hand that she should avoid the nice bait we¡¯ve provided.¡± Is this because Sarah had so many lifetimes as an Adamantine Dragon, with the metallic clashing with chromatics, or do dragons instinctively like hunting other dragons? ¡°I could ask Gilorn to snatch Lutu away,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, then we should also move away, but the Dragon is going to get our scent when she investigates,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain opened up her Telepathy and caught two mental flares in their surroundings. Beyond Lutu¡¯s presence was a coldly furious mind whose broadcast thoughts burned with a vicious rage. ¡°I can see three options: let them kill each other, kill the Dragon, or retreat,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m in favour of killing the Dragon, but I¡¯m quite biased.¡± ¡°Killing the Dragon would create a power vacuum,¡± predicted Amdirlain. ¡°A power vacuum that would have other dragons fighting each other for its territory instead of pushing outwards for lands of their own,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Will you trust me to deal with her? I have immunity to fire, so I¡¯ve only got to worry about getting in range of her claws and holding off its spells.¡± ¡°You need the experience more than I do,¡± muttered Amdirlain reluctantly. ¡°If you¡¯re sure we can¡¯t just leave her be.¡± ¡°She hasn¡¯t exited her lair yet, but she¡¯s going to be hunting and out for blood,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t believe I¡¯ll get an achievement from killing this Dragon, so I¡¯ll take the cheater¡¯s approach.¡± Jinfeng frowned in confusion. ¡°What are you planning to do? What is the cheater approach?¡± A mithril plate appeared in Sarah¡¯s hands, projecting an illusion of Greece. ¡°I¡¯d planned to let Amdirlain take care of the little things with some delicacy. After she talked about going on a tour and didn¡¯t want to use True Song, I put some spy toys in orbit and created some siege-grade weaponry along with the house.¡± The illusion zoomed in on a mountain to the north, with several cave mouths highlighted. ¡°Are you throwing mithril bars again?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m being more delicate and having fun with my magical technology,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Red dragons on the Material Plane reach the Great Wyrm stage at fifteen hundred years old and live to about five thousand years. They¡¯ll undergo a major moult five times, which draws the strength from their classes into their species, but that¡¯s often without getting their fill of Class advancement since they¡¯ve no way to control their experience growth. Also, they¡¯re too lazy to do much except hunt and loot when their natural species¡¯ growth is dangerous enough.¡± A Red Dragon suddenly obscured the side of the mountain away from the cave mouths. Her wings and torso bore scars of many old battles. Sarah snorted in surprise. ¡°She changed her shape?! Many reds are too arrogant at that age to want to transform.¡± ¡°She surprised you. What other surprises will she have in store?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°It just means she¡¯s already in weapon range,¡± said Sarah with a triumphant smile. ¡°You take care of calming Lutu, and I¡¯ll educate her grumpy neighbour.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not a Great Wyrm, are you?¡± asked Jinfeng. Klipyl giggled. ¡°It wasn¡¯t long ago that she was a little hatchling, yet now she will smack a big red.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got enough toys to crack open the Dragon¡¯s scales like a hard-boiled egg,¡± said Sarah, continuing as Amdirlain opened her mouth. ¡°If Lutu goes on a rampage, the plinth will blame you for waking her up. Why don¡¯t you figure out how to calm her down?¡± Before Amdirlain could protest, Sarah disappeared. Amdirlain attempted to project her objections and received mental images of anti-aircraft batteries appearing on a flame-scoured hillside. They targeted a massive form roughly a half kilometre long, climbing into the sky before letting loose at once. Thousands of energy blasts turned the morning sky white with a raging fury that ripped the Dragon¡¯s right-wing apart. The blast smacked into its side, breached scales, and tore flesh. An off-balance beat spun her into the beams, obliterating the closest eye before she could duck her head and let herself drop. As she regained control, the first flights of missiles launched towards her, and more energy streaks smashed into her shoulders. Shockwaves boomed from the north as hundreds of missiles shattered the sound barrier; hauled forward by gravity pulses on their tips, they blew past Mach-9. The impact of the fifty kilogram missiles sent the Dragon¡¯s guts spraying as each missile wave exploded deeper into its flesh. Before it hit the ground, the last of the tracing missiles had pulverised the ruined corpse beyond any recognition. I didn¡¯t need to worry about that token for this trip. Do I want to know how much weaponry Sarah has in her Inventory? She has absolutely zero tolerance for chromatics. ¡®Did you perhaps fire a smidge too many?¡¯ ¡®You¡¯re the one that says there is no such thing as overkill,¡¯ returned Sarah. ¡®Though I¡¯ll admit I didn¡¯t expect the beams and missiles to be that effective. I triggered the launch for all the ones I deployed. Have you started working on calming Lutu yet?¡¯ ¡®I was worried about you!¡¯ Prompted to get moving, Amdirlain¡¯s scrying technique revealed that Lutu had swollen to fill the pit and then extruded various oily limbs. The largest Amdirlain couldn¡¯t wrap both arms around, but most limbs were twig-like tendrils blooming from her upper surface. The tips of each limb had different swirling irises, and that only let Amdirlain guess at their related gaze attacks. With the difference in their perceptions, Amdirlain couldn¡¯t send a recognisable mental image from Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories. She moved closer but kept out of Lutu¡¯s line of sight and tried to extend Harmony to touch the shifting form. The first brush of it twinged memories of forms that Amdirlain had once adopted. The outer flesh slipped across dimensional boundaries and folded into a mass that would dwarf an American battleship for bulk. That first touch invoked memories of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s Resonance, muffled by the strangulation of the vines, and grief bubbled up. Weeks of evening practice let Amdirlain witness the memories without getting dragged into them and living the pain anew. ? ? ? ? ? ? The storm clouds in the eastern sky mocked Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s desire to see the dawn one last time. The music within the clouds blended into her surroundings in an inaudible hiss, but their unnatural cause was clear enough. Now that the long-promised end was at hand, fear stirred within her. An oily tendril extended from the skin of her wrist and formed a gleaming iris. After scanning the horizon, Lutu flowed off and expanded into her Wood Elf form on the chair beside her. The morning breeze rustled the dark green locks the Primal Gazer adopted. ¡°Why do you look at the sky?¡± Orh¨ºthurin sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t feel his forces, but the wards showed Leviathan has already entered the Material Plane with a few thousand great wyrms.¡± ¡°What form should I use for the fight?¡± ¡°None. I¡¯d like you to stay in the deep cellar. If anyone but me comes for the items you hold, destroy them if you can. Flee deep underground if you can¡¯t,¡± instructed Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°If you tire of waiting for me, take them to Danu in the west and then travel where you will. The dimensional disturbance might take decades to fade, so don¡¯t get too impatient, as teleporting might kill even you.¡± The gazer¡¯s form momentarily grew chitinous plates of armour before resuming her silk-clad form. Lutu frowned awkwardly. ¡°Will you come back for the items?¡± ¡°I doubt it, but one never knows,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°I¡¯ve been wrong many times, so what¡¯s another mistake added to the tally?¡± ¡°Let me come along to help repel him,¡± urged Lutu. With quick movements, Orh¨ºthurin started to braid her hair. ¡°No.¡± Lutu¡¯s awkwardness faded as anger flared in her eyes. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯re wrong to leave me behind.¡± ¡°I plan to face Leviathan alone,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Will the choirs not aid you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve pruned away all the Anar and L¨®m? that possessed the old version of True Song¡¯s evolution,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Now, not even as a single unified choir would they stand a chance against Leviathan. They¡¯re so out of practice that they can only coordinate a few hundred in a choir.¡± A glimmer of dim light reflected off an immense wing, and Shindraithra shrank as she glided towards the clearing in front of the house. The few dull notes that Orh¨ºthurin heard from her surroundings contained nothing of the melody she knew to be in Shindraithra¡¯s flesh. Grief flooded Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s mind, but she pushed it aside. ¡°What is she doing here?¡± huffed Lutu. ¡°I wanted to talk to you, and you¡¯ve never let me meet her.¡± ¡°Please secure the cellar,¡± ordered Orh¨ºthurin. When her caretaker departed, Orh¨ºthurin triggered the enchantments to clear all traces of the otherworldly scent that no doubt lingered in the wake of Lutu¡¯s recent Protean usage. With steady movements, Orh¨ºthurin continued to braid her hair, not letting the gale that heralded Shindraithra¡¯s approach disturb her.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°I thought I made it clear you should leave,¡± rasped Orh¨ºthurin. The sharpness of the words twisted across her lips, but she steeled herself to hold on to her rejection and drive Shindraithra away. ¡°Will you evacuate?¡± rumbled Shindraithra. ¡°Repeatedly, you¡¯ve made me let you die how you wanted, and now it''s my turn. What exactly would the point of that be?¡± asked Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°Leviathan isn¡¯t coming for them. He¡¯s interested in me and, maybe when I¡¯m dead, he¡¯ll leave the rest of them be. Certainly, if we can clear the elven servants, they¡¯ll likely be safe from further reprisal.¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin,¡± chided Shindraithra Orh¨ºthurin slammed her fists onto the table, shattering its crystal into pieces. ¡°You should have left for the west with the other metallics.¡± Shindraithra¡¯s grin was fierce. ¡°At least you¡¯ve strength enough to do that still. But haven¡¯t you forgotten that I¡¯m not under your command? Anyway, the other adamantine dragons didn¡¯t leave. They¡¯re currently securing the northern approaches.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wanted here,¡± snarled Orh¨ºthurin, the anger not disguising the grief in her tone. ¡°I don¡¯t care if you welcome my help or not. You¡¯ll still receive it,¡± rebuffed Shindraithra calmly. ¡°I remember the Oath. When have you ever begrudged my family¡¯s aid?¡± The words to release Shindraithra from their Oath locked up in Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s throat, sealing her breath in her lungs, and agonising bright spikes seared her sight. I did this by changing myself, and now I can¡¯t even save the one I¡¯ve always loved. Please, Father, can anyone help me drive her away? Don¡¯t let her die here with me. Let her be free of me. Let me protect her one last time. Black spots swam in her vision as the agony intensified and forced Orh¨ºthurin to give in. The moment Orh¨ºthurin stopped trying to break the Oath, her breathing eased. ¡°You¡¯re in pain,¡± noted Shindraithra. ¡°Leviathan is here, so I doubt my condition will matter much longer,¡± said Orh¨ºthurin. ¡°You believe it is time?¡± Did she remember my offer for us to leave the realm? Not that it matters now. A harsh smile hardened Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s expression. ¡°Maybe, but I¡¯ll see about taking a few pieces of him with me. If you¡¯re on the continent to the west, I doubt he¡¯ll come after you.¡± Shindraithra transformed into a silvery-haired Elf and moved to join her. Breathless, Orh¨ºthurin drank in her form and mentally cursed the lost lifetimes. Only when Shindraithra sat next to her did Orh¨ºthurin speak. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you leave? You¡¯ve never stood for anyone insulting your pride before.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve died and left you repeatedly. If you¡¯re to die, I would be nowhere but by your side,¡± said Shindraithra. ¡°I¡¯m going to end the Oracle that sent the lot of you here,¡± grumbled Orh¨ºthurin. Shindraithra reached over and clasped her hand. ¡°Save that anger for the battle. You¡¯ll need all your strength.¡± The warmth of her touch almost undid Orh¨ºthurin, but she crushed her fears and grief then nodded. ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain slipped from the emotional pain that tried to drag her fully into Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s perspective. Lutu is a living creature but doesn¡¯t have a stable form that Phoenix¡¯s Rapture can mimic. Should I try something straightforward? ¡°I¡¯m sorry for disturbing you so abruptly, Lutu. I wasn¡¯t aware you were still under the house,¡± Amdirlain murmured to herself. I¡¯d recovered no memories involving Lutu until that one. Did that remain buried because Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s feelings for Shindraithra would have been too clear? Tears welled in the corner of Amdirlain¡¯s eyes at the sharp longing for what might have been rather than the hollow pain that had ripened in so many of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories. We both had our families taken from us in different ways. I don¡¯t want to kill one of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s allies, and I can¡¯t just leave Lutu to rampage across the countryside. I¡¯ll need to be precisely like Orh¨ºthurin to pass inspection from Lutu¡¯s senses. With a sharp exhalation, Amdirlain let memories of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s form guide her change and took on a living replica of her body. Letting Phoenix¡¯s Rapture quiet, she teleported into a gully closer to where the knoll had been and called out. ¡°Lutu, calm down.¡± The liquid tones of the High Elven were but a drop among the noise of the ongoing explosions. The bombardment of the nearby slopes continued, and Amdirlain went to call out again when Lutu¡¯s mind registered the shift in the surrounding energies, and the explosions paused. ¡°Lady Orh¨ºthurin?¡± The words came from a chorus of tubular maws that sprouted from Lutu¡¯s tentacles. ¡°Her reincarnation,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you got left alone so long.¡± ¡°Did you only synchronise some of her memories? Who did such a rotten job of singing for you?¡± Of course, she knows the Anar process of regaining past life memories. Amdirlain stepped out so that one tentacle could see her, and dozens more extended over the curve. ¡°Lady Orh¨ºthurin was alive for so long that I¡¯m still working through her memories.¡± ¡°What did you get named?¡± ¡°You can call me Am if you¡¯d like,¡± Amdirlain smiled and took in the tentacles twitching about. One extended closer before the end bulged into a Wood Elf¡¯s dusky feature. A dark amber gaze roamed over Amdirlain. ¡°How do you look so like her?¡± Braced for trouble, Amdirlain plunged ahead. ¡°A version of Protean.¡± ¡°How do I know you¡¯re not an imposter pretending to be Lady Orh¨ºthurin?¡± accused Lutu. ¡°I don¡¯t want what she left you to guard, nor do I need your help,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m simply looking to get you away to safety.¡± ¡°A likely story. Were you the source of flames earlier?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a defensive aura that keeps other energies from hurting me,¡± said Amdirlain. Lutu¡¯s mouth hardened into a tight frown. ¡°Oh?! You can¡¯t just hold them away with songs?¡± ¡°The aura has advantages, as I don¡¯t have to concentrate on it.¡± ¡°You know her form, but how can you prove you were once her?¡± interrogated Lutu. Amdirlain shrugged helplessly. ¡°Ask me questions. I don¡¯t particularly want to share the memory I recovered. There are other issues mixed in with it besides yourself.¡± ¡°Why did Orh¨ºthurin leave me behind?¡± ¡°Orh¨ºthurin hoped it was her time to die,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°She didn¡¯t want anyone dying with her; she experienced enough regret with the dragons who perished in the fighting.¡± The closest tentacle dropped to the ground at the gully¡¯s end, and Lutu¡¯s massive form reeled into that spot, compressed into a breadbox-sized blob with a pair of tiny buttercup flowers extended from its side. ¡°She never said that to me. Do you expect to convince me using something Orh¨ºthurin never told me?¡± She sprouted more tentacles, and blazing irises appeared at their tips. ¡°The last instruction I remember her giving you was to secure the cellar when Shindraithra arrived. I¡¯ve only got a single memory related to you, and that was after I got your name from Gideon, Lutu,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Or should I call you waits in the darkness between stars?¡± Lutu buzzed in surprise. ¡°Only she knew my name, but that was the last I spoke with her. This is wonderful, Lady Am. Welcome home. Should I put the house back for you? Though I¡¯m afraid it is more a ruin than a house.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about the house, as I won¡¯t be staying here. Would it be okay if I took you to safety?¡± Her tendrils briefly stretched towards Amdirlain, and Lutu gave a full-body wiggle. ¡°That is fine with me, Lady Am. My apologies again. I hope you didn¡¯t come to any harm.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. My apologies also for awakening you so rudely,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I thought you might have been an agent of Leviathan and then realised you had no Abyssal energies about you,¡± said Lutu. ¡°I continued to follow Lady Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s last orders.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t she tell you to head west to talk to Danu?¡± I hope mentioning the real name of the Lady of the Forest doesn¡¯t actually cause her Avatar issues. ¡°By the time I did that, Danu¡¯s Avatar was sleeping to grow a vast forest, so I returned here,¡± Lutu edged closer and softened her voice to a barely audible whisper. ¡°I assume you know the other individual with you is a Gem Dragon?¡± ¡°Sarah, who is Shindraithra¡¯s reincarnation.¡± ¡°That is curious,¡± chirped Lutu. ¡°Do you wish me to avoid associating with her again?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know why Orh¨ºthurin kept you apart,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°Would you introduce me?¡± ¡°Sarah went off to kill the Red Dragon who controls this region,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°If she returns in time, I¡¯ll introduce you, but I¡¯d prefer to get you to a safe location.¡± ¡°How old is the Dragon? Can we go join in the fight?¡± Lutu asked, bobbing in place. Amdirlain smiled, ¡°It was a Great Wyrm, but a Material Plane Red Dragon was nothing compared to the strength of those that accompanied the Leviathan. Sarah took care of it quickly, and now she¡¯s examining routes into its lair.¡± ¡°What happened with the Leviathan?¡± ¡°The Titan released four of his aspects to deal with him,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°They chased him down and slew him on each of his home planes. How did you consume the shattered crystal walls?¡± Lutu trilled in amusement. ¡°I didn¡¯t consume them, and I¡¯m not sure I could even if I tried. I pull them inside myself to be returned if Lady Orh¨ºthurin asked me to do so.¡± ¡°You can leave them behind. I¡¯ve got no need for the remnants.¡± A tendril extruded towards the pit, and Amdirlain heard a solid thump as the mass of the walls was released. Lutu hummed curiously. ¡°I knew Anar could attune to memories after the Titan allowed them to be reborn. Is that what happened with you, Lady Am?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit more complicated, but essentially, yes. I should tell you I don¡¯t have a lot of memories from when my Soul lived as Orh¨ºthurin,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Ahh, that makes more sense,¡± said Lutu. A tendril looped around Amdirlain¡¯s fingers, thinned to a pinkie width, and retreated after giving a brief squeeze. ¡°Likewise. Lady Am, hopefully, we can have an equally beneficial relationship. I am sorry I lashed out so violently upon being awakened.¡± ¡°That would be good,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know if Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s songbook is among the treasures you were guarding?¡± ¡°No,¡± sighed Lutu. ¡°When they arrived here she placed it in the care of her former husband¡¯s reincarnation.¡± The dragons looting the city would have seized anything that survived Leviathan¡¯s breath weapon. I¡¯ll search for it after I complete this trip. ¡°However, I¡¯m still guarding some items. Leaving them underground seemed inefficient, so I drew them into my body like the cottage walls.¡± The hilt of a sword briefly extended from Lutu¡¯s side and then retreated again. ¡°What did you blast the Celestial with?¡± A flawless crystal rod the length of Amdirlain¡¯s forearm rose to the top of Lutu¡¯s body. ¡°Did you need something zapped? Ensure you hold it with both hands. It¡¯s got a bit of a pushback when you unleash it.¡± ¡°I¡¯d prefer you retain it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Is that why you only got her wing?¡± The last remnants of tension relaxed from Lutu at Amdirlain¡¯s refusal. ¡°No, I shot her right through the chest. The blast disintegrated most of her,¡± huffed Lutu. ¡°But I don¡¯t know what happened after the roof fell.¡± Losing your torso is the same as wings torn off to Gideon. ¡°Would you care to move to a Demi-Plane and protect the items there?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re the reincarnation of Lady Orh¨ºthurin, so my preference is to remain by your side, but wherever you wish me to guard your things is fine with me,¡± replied Lutu. I¡¯d constantly feel tempted to use Resonance and Harmony on Lutu¡¯s Protean. ¡°Not on this trip, Lutu,¡± replied Amdirlain. The tendrils swayed, and Lutu flattened briefly. ¡°As you wish, Am.¡± Amdirlain opened a Gate to Gilorn¡¯s Demi-Plane, and she appeared before the threshold in her crystal Elf form. ¡°Am?¡±¡® ¡°Lutu, this is Gilorn. Gilorn, this is Lutu. She¡¯s protecting a collection of Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s possessions, and I was wondering if you¡¯d let her stay with you for the time being,¡± said Amdirlain. Gilorn chimed. ¡°My goodness, you have a Class named after Orh¨ºthurin. Come through, and we¡¯ll get you settled, Lutu.¡± Naturally, Gilorn immediately picked up on that through Lutu¡¯s song. Did she use the song to tap into Analysis or have the Skill? ¡°My needs are minimal,¡± said Lutu. ¡°A nice depression in which to snooze in the dark is fine. I prefer the dark of space above all.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve got a spot far away from any stars where the darkness is solid,¡± offered Gilorn. ¡°That sounds lovely,¡± cooed Lutu. They slithered over the threshold and waved a tendril at Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll keep everything safe for you, I promise.¡± ¡°Your word that you¡¯ll try is good enough, Lutu. You don¡¯t need to promise me anything,¡± said Amdirlain. A cheerful confirmation sounded out before the Gate closed. Amdirlain returned to the others and found Sarah already waiting, and Amdirlain shared the memory of the conversation with her. ¡°Are you still going to look for the songbook?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Nope, I¡¯ll follow your suggestion and track it down once the trip is done,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°After breakfast, we¡¯ll head north along the coast and east once we hit the isthmus.¡± Jinfeng frowned. ¡°What approach do you want to take with the locals?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Do we do our best to slip through and avoid contact? Or did you want to meet them and see for yourself their nature?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see how things go. I¡¯m looking to learn, not leave a wake of bodies behind me,¡± replied Amdirlain pointedly. Sarah shrugged nonchalantly. ¡°It would have hunted us and made a bigger mess. So many lifetimes as a metallic Dragon enduring the depredations of the chromatics have left no room in me for pity for their species. She was coming to deal with us. I dealt with her first.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get breakfast started,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Do you want to deploy the house on the hillside here or elsewhere?¡± Sarah¡¯s house teleported to a perch on the hill above them, and the stairs unfolded. Amdirlain let them head inside and knelt on the porch to continue her meditations. 437 - The road ahead Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean Sea Kadaklan was the first to exit the house and kneel beside Amdirlain; his quiet patience drew her from her silence. ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°For what?¡± ¡°Your help with the past life meditations,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Their effectiveness has improved since I closed down Resonance, and the change in my species clarified some things.¡± ¡°It is hard to hear the lessons from within when there is so much noise from without,¡± Kadaklan commented. ¡°How has your progress been since the change?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve not gained a single experience point,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°That¡¯s not what I was talking about, and I¡¯m sure you know it,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain smiled ruefully. ¡°It¡¯s almost embarrassing how much easier things have become since I started spending time on myself for a few hours a day. However, I was carrying some problem material in my Soul that made being fair to myself hard.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°The accumulated filth I had stored by drawing Mana in the Abyss and some oath links didn¡¯t help. With my species change having evicted and consumed so much of it, that¡¯s contributed significantly.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t notice it earlier?¡± ¡°I thought it was me,¡± admitted Amdirlain, tapping her sternum. ¡°I took the blame for what I heard in my Soul and assumed it was my repugnant nature.¡± ¡°But not now?¡± ¡°Hard to do so when I hear the difference with the infection removed,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But healing is still hard work even without additional filth inflaming my issues.¡± ¡°No longer begrudging yourself the time?¡± Amdirlain coughed sheepishly. ¡°My baggage was wearing me down, and it was the last thing any healthy relationship needed. I¡¯m sure it seems silly that I need a goal focused on someone else to take care of myself.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not silly. We¡¯re all motivated differently,¡± reassured Kadaklan, patting her shoulder. ¡°Might I ask what formed the catalyst of this change in priorities?¡± ¡°Deep down, I had issues believing anyone would commit to me. Sarah¡¯s proposal gave me the leverage to slide many nagging doubts away so they don¡¯t affect me as much. Though I¡¯m still working on expunging them.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s smile lit his gaze. ¡°Yet it is a step ahead. A significant one to overcome all the pain you were in.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see. I occasionally backslide, but Sarah can smell when my self-doubts are needling me,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The energy that leaked down from my spiritual net has added to my scars, so I¡¯ll keep working to clear them.¡± ¡°Have you found the root of your self-esteem issues yet?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°A tiny seed.¡± Kadaklan sighed. ¡°Some weeds only need a small root system to flourish.¡± ¡°I hope you¡¯re not calling bamboo a weed now,¡± teased Amdirlain. ¡°Fine, both great things and vile things can grow from small origins,¡± corrected Kadaklan. ¡°This includes diseases of the mind when provided the right stimulus to grow.¡± ¡°When I was little, an aunt told my mother that a child was only a burden at her age,¡± sighed Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t stick around to hear the rest of the conversation. Mum would have let her rant and ignored it, but I was too young to understand that perspective and needed her to rebuff my aunt. The accusation of being a burden resonated with the scars from Ori¡¯s lifetime.¡± ¡°And now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m focusing on remembering all the times Mum said I was her little miracle girl to dilute it away,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s helping me improve, but it¡¯ll be a long process to chip away at my bad mental habits and Ori¡¯s pain.¡± Kadaklan paused at the front door opening, and as Jinfeng emerged, Amdirlain rose and gestured to the rough slope. ¡°Shall we spar?¡± ¡°My apologies if I interrupted.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re all good. I can only stand talking about some matters for so long,¡± reassured Amdirlain. ¡°Mixing up the routine from the monastery?¡± ¡°Adapt,¡± instructed Amdirlain. ¡°The rough footing will help with that as well. Once Sarah is ready to head off, we¡¯ll return to where you were camping and continue from there.¡± Jinfeng saluted and skipped down the stairs, her sword already drawn before she danced across the first rocks and held the scabbard in her off-hand. As she spun, Amdirlain teleported to her back. Her absence from the top of the stairs prompted Jinfeng to tumble away from the perch she¡¯d taken and come up to face Amdirlain. Amdirlain assumed a relaxed stance across from Jinfeng, ectoplasm swirling into existence and elongating from one hand to shape a dull grey Ji. Jinfeng¡¯s first strike, Amdirlain slid aside with the barest whisper of contact. Throughout the subsequent probes, Amdirlain didn¡¯t shift position from the rock she began upon, even as Jinfeng picked up the pace. Each of her attacks was treated as a slow-moving feather to be brushed aside. She started to coil for a vigorous attack, but Jinfeng stopped herself and stepped back. ¡°Thank you, Sifu. Might I meditate upon the insights I gained?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t wish to continue at present,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We only have a minimal time before we¡¯ll break camp.¡± Jinfeng motioned to the surrounding hills. ¡°Do you have the sound of our blades blocked?¡± ¡°Did I say I was going to?¡± ¡°Assumptions,¡± whispered Jinfeng; a flicker of conflicting emotions crossed her face, and she bowed instead of saluting as usual. ¡°Thank you, Sifu.¡± Jinfeng sheathed her blade in a single movement and rested it in her crossed arms as her gaze grew distant. ¡°Your Muse¡¯s Insight can hit hard,¡± noted Kadaklan, who had not shifted from kneeling on the porch. Amdirlain smiled ruefully. ¡°If only I¡¯d been able to hit myself over the head with it.¡± ¡°Do you have any news from Qil Tris?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°I didn¡¯t catch up with Jul¡¯iane or Tulne on their last visit to the monastery.¡± ¡°All the training facilities are now being used, and the cloister has purged their first ghost cavern, freeing the lingering souls,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°However, they only began addressing them a few days ago, so it will take some time to get through them all unless a member takes particular interest in the cause.¡± Sarah glanced about as she exited the house with Klipyl in tow. ¡°Shall we get going or wait until Jinfeng recovers?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s give Jinfeng a few minutes,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°When did you want to take a break from travelling to change the house¡¯s enchantments?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll let you know once I¡¯ve prepared the pieces, and we can watch for a longer-term camping spot,¡± replied Sarah. She flowed over to Amdirlain and enfolded her in a warm embrace, drawing a smile in response. ¡°This is good,¡± murmured Amdirlain, leaning into the hug. Kadaklan and Klipyl exchanged a satisfied nod, and Klipyl plopped down on the porch¡¯s edge. With her arms resting atop the railing, she cheerfully swung her feet and watched the pair silently. They broke from their embrace only when Jinfeng stirred. After Sarah secured the house, Amdirlain returned them to the north side of the yawning pit where the knoll had stood. Klipyl let out a low whistle at the devastated hillsides. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have recognised it from yesterday.¡± A single Spell upended the exhumed earth towards the pit, but it barely levelled out the hole. ¡°I guess Lutu was hungry,¡± quipped Sarah.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Amdirlain waved towards the coast. ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± After the morning¡¯s drama, the day¡¯s travel towards the distant coastline was uneventful. They stuck close to the coast, and the sea breeze eased the tension that Orh¨ºthurin¡¯s memories had provoked. The first time Amdirlain caught sight of a Kobold¡¯s track on an animal trail, she picked a different path. The exercises that Aitherlar had set her to pick out details made spotting the claw marks simple, but Amdirlain kept studying the trails. A shift in trail markings showed when they crossed tribal boundaries, but Amdirlain kept them headed northeast until they made the sea. When they reached the last hill obstructing their view out to the island of Monemvasia, she took a moment to admire its cliffs before she looked north to the rough hills and the battered crags along the large bay ahead of them. ¡°I know it¡¯s early, but let¡¯s set up here,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to cross some of those gullies late in the day,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They can¡¯t injure us, but letting them have a good ambush opportunity might give the kobolds too much courage.¡± Jinfeng frowned. ¡°Why is that an issue?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯d have to take action, or things would continue to escalate,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If I need to overwhelm them in large numbers, they might start throwing prayers my way.¡± ¡°Why did you teach that old Kobold anything then?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain clicked her tongue thoughtfully. ¡°His Soul showed me a hard life for himself and his tribe. I wanted to make it easier for them. Some tribes already have metal weaponry and use them to push other tribes out of good hunting zones.¡± ¡°We should go somewhat down the slope towards the beach. That will stop us from getting easily spotted by inland or southern scouts,¡± said Sarah. ¡°The stretch of coast we planned to follow for the next leg is at least a hundred-kilometre trip. It''s probably a lot more, given the lack of roads and rugged terrain. However, we should get to those far hills of this bay in a day since the beach is so flat along this section.¡± ¡°I can see the far side,¡± Klipyl said. ¡°Should I just take us there now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure what the Jade Emperor wants me to learn, but skipping the countryside might void the lesson,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s get off this peak, and tomorrow we¡¯ll just start following the coast. Hopefully, nothing emerges from the sea and tries to eat us.¡± Amdirlain started down the slope, and Sarah spoke up. ¡°There are giant crabs on these beaches as well.¡± ¡°What about Sahuagin?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°They were a problem before the Gods¡¯ War.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°But now that you¡¯re asking about them, it¡¯s probable there are nearby colonies suddenly hungry. Doom flagger.¡± ¡°Will you just pick a spot to set up,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°We can review the house¡¯s security system with our guests if we need to switch it to manual.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s mouth tightened nervously. ¡°I hope there are some options to subdue.¡± ¡°Energy nets and a bunch of others, not simply guns to obliterate foes,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll restrict the lessons to Klipyl and Jinfeng since they won¡¯t have an issue using all the features. Once we set up the house, I¡¯ll get some crabs for dinner. I might be nice and let Jinfeng have a claw.¡± ¡°A claw?¡± Jinfeng''s brows raised. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like much of a dinner.¡± ¡°Do you not have giant crabs where you¡¯re from?¡± asked Sarah. Jinfeng shook her head. ¡°Only ones the size of your head. A claw alone wouldn¡¯t be enough to feed someone.¡± ¡°Nah, these crabs can grow bigger than a wagon,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Some are as big as my cottage, but those are rare.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± exclaimed Jinfeng eagerly, her brows lifting in surprise. ¡°Then might I try my hand at hunting?¡± ¡°They have a variety of powers, so make sure not to play around,¡± Sarah replied. ¡°Not that I think any of them will move fast enough. But churn up the beach too much, and you can attract attention from bigger threats.¡± ¡°All of which we can kill, but then it might ruin the spot for peaceful camping,¡± said Amdirlain. Jinfeng frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll fly to one of the southern beaches and hunt there.¡± A silvery ring flew from Sarah¡¯s hand. ¡°Storage ring with a stasis effect and enough capacity to handle multiple crabs.¡± ¡°I suppose I can give you a claw or two from my hunt in return,¡± replied Jinfeng. She disappeared in a blur of light, and Sarah released the house. With a contented wiggle, it dug its claws into the rocks to establish a firm perch. In minutes, Jinfeng had returned and dumped a monster the size of a ten-tonne removalist truck on the slope before the house; a hole between its slumped eyestalks showed the cause of death. ¡°I suppose that gets you off night watch this evening at least,¡± quipped Sarah. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you to your butchery,¡± said Kadaklan as he headed inside. As Sarah simply drew out all the flesh with Inventory, that chore was done in a moment, and the group headed inside to cook. Kadaklan prepared a simple vegetable stew for his evening meal and shared portions with Sarah and Jinfeng to supplement their crab feast. Portions of crab prepared in dishes of a dozen varieties flowed from Sarah¡¯s kitchen, most being returned to the storage ring for later consumption but selections being washed down with white wine. As their appetites waned, they slowed their drinking and stored more cooked food away. As Jinfeng tapped her chopsticks against the last slices of grilled crab in her bowl, she contemplated Amdirlain sitting nearby with a crystal floating before her. ¡°I¡¯m curious why you seek to follow the Jade Emperor¡¯s puzzle, Sifu.¡± ¡°In all honesty, it was a good excuse for something I wanted to do anyway,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Which makes me wonder if I ¡®solved¡¯ the puzzle and got the right answer or simply the one I wanted. I wanted to visit the East Wind¡¯s Court to investigate some techniques related to healing scars on the Soul, and the South Wind¡¯s Court to look into supplementary Ki Movement techniques to go with the Ki Flight one I¡¯m studying.¡± ¡°And the North Wind¡¯s Court to talk to the Immortal who developed your Ki Blast technique?¡± Jinfeng asked. ¡°Indeed,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she snagged a piece of sweet and sour crab from Sarah¡¯s bowl. ¡°I should also visit the Monastery of the Western Reaches and make sure the materials being transported there aren¡¯t being misused.¡± ¡°What do you count as misuse?¡± ¡°They¡¯re supposed to be distributed to aid all the kingdoms under the Jade Emperor¡¯s banner. If I find someone profiteering, I won¡¯t be happy,¡± Jinfeng winced. ¡°Since it goes through Mortal officials and merchants, I¡¯d suggest you prepare for disappointment.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t expect perfection. I¡¯m sure there is some bribery and other detours, but I¡¯ll be satisfied as long as the majority is fairly distributed,¡± said Amdirlain. Delicately setting chopsticks down, Jinfeng shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ¡°I¡¯ve travelled far and wide, and prices of goods from one province can be considerably higher a few hundred li away.¡± ¡°Maybe I should have set up more connection points for the monastery then,¡± mused Amdirlain. ¡°Though I¡¯m sure the Monastery of the Western Reaches prefers their present monopoly.¡± ¡°It is helping them recover the costs of establishing the Outpost,¡± offered Jinfeng. ¡°Do you have a map of the route you plan to take?¡± Though tempted to say more, it wouldn¡¯t change anything, so Amdirlain went with Jinfeng¡¯s subject change. She presented a map of Europe and the Middle East. She traced a route across the isthmus of Corinth and through western Greece before heading to Albania and jumping the bay to land on the southeast side of the Italian peninsula. After heading north to Rome, she traced a long route along the coast to get to Denmark, causing Jinfeng¡¯s gaze to widen. ¡°Why that far north?¡± ¡°From the stories I read, the Norse fleet sailed south from that region of the North Sea,¡± said Amdirlain, tapping the image. ¡°We¡¯ll go around the Carpathian mountains¡¯ north side back towards the Black Sea and then travel around its northern edge. I¡¯ve not decided if we¡¯ll go south to Egypt at that point or keep heading east until we hit the West Wind¡¯s territory.¡± ¡°It seems like I¡¯ll have plenty of opportunity to spar with you then,¡± remarked Jinfeng. ¡°That¡¯s looking on the bright side. It¡¯s not like a trip of even years would be a significant amount of time, so does it matter if the trip takes months?¡± Jinfeng merely nodded. ¡°I¡¯m still not used to thinking about time from that perspective.¡± ¡°I know that feeling well, and I still get impatient,¡± reassured Amdirlain. Kadaklan chuckled at Amdirlain¡¯s understatement. ¡°The six years that Qil Tris took you must have seemed like an eternity.¡± ¡°Only because I didn¡¯t know the size of the Eldritch threat,¡± said Amdirlain. Amdirlain left them to clean up and headed outside. A short time later, Sarah and Klipyl joined her; the sound of Jinfeng preparing more dishes came from within. While Sarah sat beside her, Klipyl leaned against the nearby railing. Klipyl paused as she rested a hand on it and grinned at Amdirlain. ¡°Oh! Now we¡¯ve got some privacy. I can hand over your wedding presents. Sorry, it took a bit to decide what to get you.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t have to get us anything,¡± protested Amdirlain. ¡°Which doesn¡¯t change that I wanted to find something suitable saucy for my two favourite people,¡± Klipyl winked. ¡°A lot more saucy than massage oils, though I¡¯m glad those came in handy.¡± ¡°Klipyl, still with the puns,¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re getting a bit much to handle.¡± ¡°Sure, let¡¯s play ¡®pass the parcel¡¯ with them,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl let out a giggling squeak and held her hands up in a playful surrender. ¡°Let me change the subject before my hands are full.¡± ¡°I thought you were all about getting a handful,¡± said Sarah. Klipyl grinned and set a pouch on the porch before Amdirlain. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Some items to help keep things spicy,¡± advised Klipyl. ¡°I figured since you sent me to Sarah for a clit ring, you wouldn¡¯t be creating these for yourself.¡± Amdirlain peeked inside the storage bag and hurriedly secured it again to the sound of Klipyl¡¯s giggling. ¡°The look on your face,¡± laughed Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯m right that they¡¯re not something you¡¯d have created?¡± ¡°Quite right,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Well, you both can Shapeshift, so I figured you might like to experiment,¡± said Klipyl. Sarah reached to take the pouch from Amdirlain, but she had stored it in inventory. ¡°How many species¡¯ entertainment devices are in there?¡± Klipyl casually waved a hand. ¡°Only a few hundred. They¡¯re all I could find at The Exchange on a brief trip.¡± Sarah laughed and beckoned Amdirlain to hand it over. ¡°I call first dibs.¡± ¡°You could always use them as a ¡®select the species¡¯ night even if you don¡¯t use the toy itself,¡± giggled Klipyl. ¡°Maybe once we¡¯ve got privacy again,¡± said Amdirlain. Klipyl clapped cheerfully. ¡°That wasn¡¯t a no.¡± ¡°Klipyl, you¡¯re impossible,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Of course I am.¡± She straightened and motioned to the cove ahead. ¡°Did the Anar city stand somewhere close by?¡± Amdirlain pointed to the far end. ¡°Before it starts to curve towards the east.¡± ¡°I wondered why you headed this way,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be hard to foresee you visiting it and picking a hilltop vista to put us in your path.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the exact timing that was pretty slick,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Maybe he saw you coming,¡± giggled Klipyl. Amdirlain groaned at the joke. ¡°You¡¯re terrible.¡± ¡°I was being innocent and referring to the prediction. I don¡¯t know how your dirty mind interpreted what I said,¡± huffed Klipyl playfully. As the trio chattered, the wind that dropped over the ridgeline carried their scent and laughter into nearby caves, and a being from another realm stirred. 438 - Putting things in place Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean Sea Hours had passed and, with the sunset, Sarah had called it a night to get some rest. The waxing moon was nearly full, illuminating the rough terrain, and Amdirlain sat on the front porch, catching up with Klipyl and Jinfeng. While asking Jinfeng about the province she came from, Amdirlain heard rocks tumble from a cave and claws cutting furrows into stone. A quick extension of her Telepathy was enough to catch loud thoughts. A perspective from dozens of eyes showed a rough cave tunnel and hinted at the being¡¯s nature; among their feminine feel, a glimpse of serpentine scales and a scaled clawed hand confirmed. ¡°If you¡¯d both go inside for a bit and ensure Sarah doesn¡¯t follow me?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Don¡¯t let anyone look through the windows.¡± ¡°Is there another Dragon?¡± ¡°No, not a Dragon, but you don¡¯t want to make eye contact with this lady,¡± said Amdirlain. Rising to her feet, she flowed along the slope, heading towards the source of the sound. Though her public thoughts were getting stronger, Amdirlain didn¡¯t find the Gorgon until she exited her cave. The shrubs and rocks provided a concealing cover for its entryway. The hunched figure had metallic gold wings arched over her, and she had a full head of writhing yellow-eyed asps in place of hair. Her simple attire was a piece of rawhide secured around her waist for modesty, as her scales were impervious to thorns and jagged rocks alike. Of course they left her behind; they¡¯d make no space on the boat for monsters. Amdirlain walked towards her as yellow eyes blazed in the snake heads that writhed around her scaled features. The energy in their gazes battered against her but did little besides cause goosebumps to ripple across her skin from their petrification attempts. Though Analysis showed details that would make her an impossible fight for most mortals, Amdirlain felt only sympathy for her plight. ¡°Sthen?, I didn¡¯t expect to find you here.¡± The mythological figure ignored Amdirlain¡¯s attempt at conversation and rushed forward, flexing clawed hands as if she were already wringing Amdirlain¡¯s neck. Her golden wings snapped back with the force of Sthen?¡¯s lunge. Amdirlain flowed forward and along the side of her attack. Quick footsteps danced Amdirlain sidewards across the rocky terrain. She intercepted Sthen?¡¯s closest racking hand and deflected the attack to obstruct the Gorgon. A lunge and a shoulder check sent Sthen? tumbling, and Amdirlain leapt back to show her palms at waist level. ¡°Peace.¡± Stone spikes stabbed for Amdirlain¡¯s stomach, but she stepped atop one as it formed and lifted with it. Poised above more spikes, she skipped across the effect to alight on a boulder. Sthen? came forward at what, to Amdirlain, was a painfully slow pace, so she vanished just before claws and striking snakes made contact. The Gorgon spun about, seeking her with a victorious smirk, and Amdirlain shook her head. Do I levitate her? Why does she assume I vanished because the snakes might hurt me? Teleport brought Amdirlain close, and she swept Sthen? from her feet, dumping her unceremoniously to the ground. The snakes coiled and struck, but their venom trickled down unbroken skin as Amdirlain held her easily in place. ¡°I know being dumped to the ground isn¡¯t hurting you, Sthen?,¡± Amdirlain said, keeping her voice calm even as the snakes snapped and spat at her, but nothing gained purchase. Amdirlain released her and flowed back. Sthen? grunted and snarled as she rose and launched towards Amdirlain again, grabbing the hand raised to hold her at bay. When she couldn¡¯t budge Amdirlain, she lashed out with a clawed foot that Amdirlain deflected and used the shift in their stance to twist Sthen? out of position, getting her hands off to one side. With a quick step, Amdirlain toppled Sthen? to the ground and pinned the Gorgon with a knee to the side of her ribs and a hand against her neck. ¡°Stop!¡± How many times will I have to say that? I hope she¡¯s not as dense as I can be. Amdirlain flared Dominion to life and added Muse¡¯s Insight to inspire calm within the rage-filled Gorgon. She felt Sthen?¡¯s will and anger slowly being ground down and kept the pressure up. Snakes struck fruitlessly at her forearms and hands. She needs to learn to fight better. Is this what happens when you can overpower someone with your gaze attacks? Do you learn no finesse or real combat skills? What will my powers do to me? ¡°Sthen?, please stop. I don¡¯t want to hurt you,¡± Amdirlain said, keeping her tone soft but firm as white flames crawled within her gaze. ¡°Calm down, and I¡¯ll let you up. Continue attacking me, and I¡¯ll prove I can do more than embarrass you.¡± ¡°How do you know my name?¡±¡® grunted Sthen?, but the snakes continued to bite. Amdirlain frowned and tried to tell a partial truth. ¡°I¡¯ve read the tales of how the Greek gods treated you and your sisters.¡± The snakes all reared back but held position. ¡°You do not look Human. Are you one of their servants?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t serve them,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°Are you aware most of the Greek gods are dead?¡± Sthen? went rigid under Amdirlain. ¡°How is that possible?¡± ¡°Zeus triggered a Gods¡¯ War and found he bit off more than he could chew,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Will you attack me if I let you up?¡± ¡°As if that concerns you,¡± Sthen? bit off every word accusingly. ¡°You threw me around without effort.¡± Amdirlain sighed in exasperation. ¡°The tales say you¡¯re an Immortal, but I don¡¯t want to cause you pain. I tried to restrain myself enough to avoid hurting you.¡± ¡°You smell like a Mortal, and I can hear your heart beating,¡± said Sthen?. ¡°I¡¯m not, but what I am isn¡¯t for you to know. You can either agree to behave, and I¡¯ll let you up, or you can find yourself in trouble,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯d prefer to talk to you and your sister.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know where Eury¨¢l¨¥ is,¡± rasped Sthen?. ¡°I¡¯ve not seen her in over a thousand years, not since before the dragons destroyed the cities.¡± Amdirlain stepped back, and Sthen?¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°My apologies for bringing up a painful topic. I thought you¡¯d be together.¡± The snakes hissed and undulated about as Sthen? shifted position to rise. Her toes dug into the earth as if to hurl herself at Amdirlain, but a frown brought her up short. ¡°Why do you taunt me so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not intending to mock or taunt you. You were treated with revulsion, just as they did the Minotaur. I will not hurt you, but I won¡¯t let you hurt me or my companions,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Can we come to a peaceful agreement?¡± ¡°Leave my lands,¡± snapped Sthen?. ¡°I want no part of you or your solution.¡± ¡°We will do so first thing in the morning. I won¡¯t travel overnight as one of my companions can¡¯t see in the dark,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°As an apology, would you like me to try to find your sister?¡± ¡°Why would you do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯m familiar with what it¡¯s like to be hunted and rejected, cut off from family,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want anyone undeserving to endure that when I had the chance to prevent it.¡± Sthen?¡¯s mouth twisted scornfully. ¡°Did you think I¡¯d miss that clause? Are you going to say I deserve my fate?¡± ¡°Apollo died rotting from the inside from the energy I fed him. He deserved far worse,¡± Amdirlain stated flatly. ¡°Poseidon killed my first family, and he died without my hand around his heart. You are not the type I see needing punishment, Sthen?.¡± ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Someone the Greek gods failed to destroy,¡± Amdirlain waved toward Mount Olympus. ¡°Did you know the Celestial version of Mount Olympus has been growing dark since the Pantheon died?¡± ¡°You said most of them died,¡± accused Sthen?. ¡°How is the Pantheon dead if some of them survived?¡± ¡°Zeus drove Hestia out, and she didn¡¯t fight in the Gods¡¯ War. Nike gave up her powers and became a Celestial. When Athena tried to do the same, she died and ended up in the Titan¡¯s Maze. She¡¯s now a minor Celestial serving Hestia because of how badly the situation weakened her,¡± said Amdirlain. Sthen? paced jerkily back and forth, and her gaze flickered towards her cave with each circuit. Not wanting to push her further, Amdirlain deactivated Dominion and Muse¡¯s Insight and sat on a nearby rock. ¡°What do you want in return for helping me?¡± ¡°Help others and don¡¯t terrorise them,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I know you don¡¯t need to petrify anyone. Your snakes and their gaze attacks are under your control.¡± Sthen? let out a hiss of disbelief. ¡°Why should I help those who¡¯d attack me?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say help everyone. I said help others,¡± Amdirlain said in a steely tone. ¡°Some people won¡¯t cooperate with you, just as you¡¯ve not with me.¡± I can¡¯t even point out that she tried to attack me first without making myself the biggest hypocrite after Sarah¡¯s ambush of the Red Dragon. How often is striking first in this environment the biggest key to survival? Sarah¡¯s killing of that Red Dragon was merely the most recent example; you just have to look at all the Priests of Set I butchered. ¡°Fine, but only if you are successful. I won¡¯t repay failure,¡± Sthen? spat the words out through grinding teeth. ¡°Agreed. I don¡¯t know why you haven¡¯t seen her in so long, so this might take a few attempts,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°You offered to help me, so best you¡¯re able to deliver,¡± rasped Sthen?. The furious rage and hurt pride rolling off her had Amdirlain restraining a groan. Did I come across the same way when talking to the L¨®m?? ¡°Would you prefer I retract the offer?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know you hadn¡¯t seen Eury¨¢l¨¥ recently until you said so.¡± Amdirlain opened the Gate, focused on the Gorgon Eury¨¢l¨¥, and felt the Spell being resisted. ¡°She¡¯s within a warded area.¡± Even as Amdirlain updated Sthen?, she cast spells and tried various Clairsentience techniques. ¡°You¡¯re trying to deceive me,¡± hissed Sthen?. ¡°How cruel can you be?¡± ¡°Something resisted the Spell I cast; depending on what efforts were used to keep her from being found, this might take a little while,¡± stated Amdirlain firmly. ¡°That Spell was just the first option I tried, but there are other approaches.¡± ¡°Oh, and how long are these approaches meant to take? Perhaps long enough for you to stay on this hill for weeks?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already tried another three spells, and used a complementary Skill to help me narrow the approach to take,¡± replied Amdirlain calmly. ¡°I know you don¡¯t have any reason to trust me, so I wanted to be open about the result of my attempts. Someone dismembered her and separated her body parts, which caused the Spell¡¯s focus to be more diffuse so it couldn¡¯t cut through the wards. I won¡¯t suggest some options." Sthen? snarled. ¡°Why is my sister not worth the effort they¡¯d take?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the effort; they require a sample of your blood and the mechanisms to establish a sympathetic link. Since you don¡¯t trust me, I didn¡¯t consider them an option.¡± ¡°What is that?¡± growled Sthen?. ¡°All I wish is to be reunited with my sister.¡± She doesn¡¯t have an arcane education to understand the risk that would expose her to if someone possessed it. Amdirlain held out a small crystal disc. ¡°If you really don¡¯t care, cut your thumb and put a few drops atop it so they won¡¯t get contaminated. A sympathetic link provides a strong connection to an individual and their family, and works for other magics besides locating someone. There are other options I can try first if you don¡¯t want to risk it.¡± ¡°You already showed you can throw me around,¡± grunted Sthen?. ¡°I know nothing about magic other than the blessings the gods provide to those who tormented my sisters and me.¡± Sthen? cut the pad of her thumb and smeared blood across the crystal that Amdirlain still held. That works.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. A nearby rock gained a rough map of Greece on its surface, and Amdirlain released the stone debris to one side. She plucked free hairs from her scalp with Far Hand and braided them into a thread to secure her old concealment pendant. With the end of the line held lightly, she began to dowse out the rough location of Eury¨¢l¨¥, and the makeshift plumb line trembled to the map¡¯s southeast. A force fought against her Clairsentience, and the line jumped about in her hand. Amdirlain reached out a hand to Sthen? and beckoned her to clasp it. The feedback continued to disrupt the techniques¡¯ formation, and Amdirlain added Harmony as she invoked the image, seeking the patterns in its trigger. Her mind, used to tracking a myriad of songs, rode through the shockwaves, with Phoenix¡¯s Rapture and Mental Hardening providing their support. ¡°Think of when you last saw her,¡± ordered Amdirlain as she entwined a psychrometry technique into the attempt. The jerky movements of the plumb line tightened further, and Amdirlain witnessed snippets of her past. Blending the two techniques that fought in her mind spurred an insight into their common natures, and a Psi pattern formed. An image of gold pouring over the Gorgon flashed within Amdirlain¡¯s mind, and the pendant snapped free to bury itself into the map. When Amdirlain pulled the pendant free, she recognised the location where the pendant had been lodged. [Advanced Clairsentience Unlocked! Advanced Clairsentience (1) Clairsentience [S] (72) absorbed into Advanced Clairsentience (1) -> [S] (1)] The wards she¡¯s under didn¡¯t block out my Clairsentience entirely, but I can¡¯t pinpoint her location closer than an island since I didn¡¯t memorise high resolution maps. ¡°What is this carving?¡± ¡°The formation of the land viewed from directly overhead,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I used the link with your blood and the carving¡¯s resemblance to the land to isolate your sister¡¯s location. Unfortunately, I don¡¯t have a more precise map, as I wasn¡¯t expecting to go island hopping south of Greece. From memory, Giaros is an arid island with little plant life. I don¡¯t know if the fates captured her there or transported her afterwards.¡± My high school history lessons mentioned it as a place where exiles got tossed. ¡°Those bitches betrayed both my sisters?!¡± Both? Did they set M¨¦dousa up, or does Sthen? see her death at Perseus¡¯s hands as a betrayal? ¡°Hephaestus contributed metal from his forge to cover her so she couldn¡¯t heal afterwards,¡± continued Amdirlain, nodding sympathetically when Sthen? hissed in pain. ¡°I¡¯ll get someone to help us deal with it.¡± ¡°Who is this person?¡± ¡°My wife, so if you even attempt to hurt her, I¡¯ll be very creative about ensuring you envy what your sister has endured. Is that clear?¡± Amdirlain asked, her tone suddenly cold. ¡°If she can help free my sister, I¡¯ll be indebted to her,¡± said Sthen?. Her eyes darted to the depression Amdirlain had caused by thumping her into the ground. Amdirlain motioned to the house, up the slope from their position. ¡°Sarah, would you come out to meet Sthen??¡± Dressed in a red silk dress, Sarah stood on the front porch and waved at the pair. All of Sthen?¡¯s snakes licked the air. ¡°She smells Human.¡± Sarah reappeared closer to them and nodded to Sthen?. ¡°I smell Human, but I¡¯m not. You mentioned Giaros, but we¡¯ve not been to that island.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll send a scrying eye that way if Sthen? agrees to my conditions for repayment,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯d leave my sister to suffer?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not taking any risks to free her without repayment,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s not as if I¡¯m even asking you to go out of your way. I said stop, as in don¡¯t continue doing so, but I said nothing about making up for past wrongs.¡± ¡°Your sister could well be insane after whatever was done to her, so we¡¯re taking a risk just going near her,¡± added Sarah. ¡°There are no metallic scents about you, so you¡¯ve got nothing to compensate us for what Am has already done.¡± ¡°She¡¯s done nothing,¡± protested Sthen? vehemently, her hands balled into fists. ¡°You saw enough of that map to provide someone a rough guideline if you had any allies to render help,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°You¡¯ve not said what you want from me,¡± said Sthen?. I¡¯m not sure there is anything she can give me besides not going on a killing spree with her sister. ¡°An agreement from you both,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡®I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not helping her for free. If the sister goes nuts and massacres mortals, this could count against you,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®Worst case, I can always put them on one of the refreshed planets with no mortals around,¡¯ returned Amdirlain. Should I only use magic? I could find her instantly with a song but I don¡¯t know that the situation she¡¯s in warrants that. A Spell created a focal point the size of a basketball that sped off towards the distant island. With a few course corrections provided by Precognition, they soon had a visual to work with, and Sarah teleported the three of them to the arid landscape. Amdirlain reassembled the pendant and resumed dowsing. They found a massive rock fall between two spurs from the mountain, with the pendant spinning in tight circles above it. A Spell threw the rocks and layers of dirt away towards the shore as Amdirlain dug downwards. Eventually, the regular line of stone blocks peeked out from the rough terrain, and spells scraped more dirt away, widening the pit until Amdirlain found the concealed structure¡¯s side. Among other runes, Apollo¡¯s symbol was etched into every block Amdirlain uncovered. ¡°You¡¯re turning into an excavator,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m not taking the symbols as a good omen.¡± Sthen? shot a glare at Sarah. ¡°Why must you be so flippant when my sister is buried under all this?¡± A stern frown thinned Sarah¡¯s lips. ¡°Neither of us put your sister here, and you wouldn¡¯t know where she was without Amdirlain. I understand you¡¯re worried, but don¡¯t take it out on us.¡± ¡®I could eat her and spit her out. She¡¯d heal, but might learn to be polite from the experience,¡¯ projected Sarah. Amdirlain responded with the memory of her tussle with Sthen?. ¡®It looks like they built this place and then buried it with an initial landslide,¡¯ said Amdirlain. ¡°Someone put in a lot of effort to hide it.¡± ¡°When you can¡¯t kill someone, you need to be inventive to ensure they don¡¯t bother you,¡± stated Sarah. ¡°Toss in the sadistic tendencies of some Greek gods, and I¡¯m sure you can see where that leads. Mind if I finish freeing her? You and Sthen? could stand off out of the way, and I¡¯ll bring her to you.¡± ¡°I can handle it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°While you can, and keep calm, do you think Sthen? can manage the same? She¡¯s already on edge,¡± Sarah advised, looking across the slope at the Gorgon. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we reverse it, and you move her off to one side?¡± ¡°I was thinking you could take her back to the mainland. If I die, you can resurrect me. We don¡¯t know what traps are waiting, and if this mountain blows up, it might do enough damage to take even you out. I don¡¯t want you in the Abyss for a century,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain grunted and reluctantly nodded. ¡°Let¡¯s get clear, Sthen?. We¡¯ll hop back to the house and await Sarah¡¯s return.¡± The wait was longer than Amdirlain liked, and ten minutes into it, she had to resist the temptation to pace. A cracking noise came from near Sthen? as she raked her claws against the rock, staring off towards the east. ¡°It was in that direction, correct?¡± asked Sthen?, stabbing a finger towards the sea. ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Amdirlain, and she leaned against the boulder behind her and let the silence return. It was an hour before Sarah appeared near them with a score of gold shapes floating around her. At a glance, their nature was clear. They looked like someone had poured molten gold over a Gorgon and cut her into pieces inside the molten metal so the wounds sealed over. Along each cut was an impression of Hephaestus¡¯s symbol. Eury¨¢l¨¥ was still alive and aware within, but the projected thoughts were a maelstrom of pain, madness, and rage. ¡°We¡¯re going to need someone skilled at mental healing to tend her. She¡¯s mad from being trapped in darkness and pain,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Can she turn someone to stone with her main eyes alone?¡± Sthen? jumped forward to snatch Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s head away and scratched frantically at the gold. ¡°Yes.¡± Her nails skidded off the metal without leaving a mark on the enchanted materials. A careful glance at her with Soul Sight revealed another lonely Soul, trapped in a monstrous body, rejected and reviled by all except her sisters and parents. Do I want to give instructions I¡¯m not confident about before healing someone? ¡°Start getting her body back together. I¡¯ll tend to her mind,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Sthen? if you could think of when you last saw her again for me. I¡¯ll use the age of those memories to track her last sane thoughts. Though if I can¡¯t isolate them, I¡¯ll rewind her experiences to the time of those memories.¡± ¡°You know you can do this?¡± Amdirlain nodded firmly and unconsciously laid a reassuring hand on Sthen?¡¯s shoulder only to pull away when the Gorgon jerked back. ¡°Sorry, I know you¡¯re worried about your sister. I just meant to reassure you. I¡¯ve undone painful memories from someone trapped in an undead body for hundreds of years, and I¡¯ve learnt more since I helped them.¡± ¡°I thought you would avoid using that ability during the trip,¡± Sarah asked. ¡°We can open a Gate and send them to get help in Mechanus.¡± ¡°While I could calm Lutu without it, a telepath entering a mind filled with madness carries a risk.¡± ¡°Restoring her body and letting her sit somewhere calming for a time might be all she needs,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°They can always place her in stasis until your trip is done.¡± ¡°My trip isn¡¯t a priority over someone¡¯s pain, and calming won¡¯t leave her unscarred,¡± said Amdirlain. Is it my responsibility to always help just because I can do something? I didn¡¯t have to use True Song to resolve Lutu¡¯s situation, and I¡¯ll admit I neither need to heal Eury¨¢l¨¥ nor am I under obligation to do so. I could let someone else undertake the work, so why do I set aside my goals to heal her? ¡®I can do so without risk to Eury¨¢l¨¥ or anyone else, and I don¡¯t want to extend her suffering. I can attune Resonance to her and Sthen? before I activate it again,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. ¡®The Greek gods brought the sisters here because of Ori¡¯s trap. It seems I¡¯m taking care of old issues so far on this trip. Maybe that theme will continue with more healing inside myself. There is a difference this time, however: I¡¯m not healing her because I feel I have to, I¡¯m healing her because I want to, and I won¡¯t mindlessly comply with instructions that prevent me from helping someone.¡¯ Sarah¡¯s expression filled with warm amusement. ¡®As long as it¡¯s something you want to do and you¡¯re not acting out of guilt, it¡¯s an improvement.¡¯ Their exchange went unnoticed by Sthen?, who kept fruitlessly scratching at the metal over her sister. ¡°This looks like gold, so why are my claws skidding off it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s Celestial steel,¡± corrected Sarah. ¡°If the gods were alive, Hephaestus¡¯s seal would have been a concern, but with him dead, we¡¯re not risking divine wrath by tampering with it. I can free her from the Celestial steel, why don¡¯t you shape a Psi crystal to put her into a slumber?¡± Amdirlain mentally tuned Resonance to include only Sarah, Sthen?, and Eury¨¢l¨¥ before she activated it. A soft melody sunk the tormented Eury¨¢l¨¥ into the oblivion of sleep and incited dreams of her youth. The age of Sthen?¡¯s memories let Amdirlain track down the recollection within Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s mind, but the sour tours of pain and torment came from memories that followed shortly after them. ¡°They captured her shortly after you last saw her,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I can unwind the damage to that point or take the chance of leaving memories of suffering.¡± ¡°Hasn¡¯t she lived through enough?¡± snapped Sthen?. Hasn¡¯t she lived through others taking enough from her? ¡°I don¡¯t know if she has done things she treasured after those events,¡± said Amdirlain, nodding in understanding at the immediate mockery she saw in Sthen?¡¯s gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve found moments of peace alone that I¡¯ve treasured.¡± ¡°We were monsters others spurned and the champions of the gods hunted. We had no treasured memories except time with family,¡± Sthen? declared, her hands trembling as she cradled Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s head. That¡¯s from your perspective. I¡¯ll rewind the memories until the sour notes of insanity are gone, as I won¡¯t be able to undo this once it¡¯s done. Amdirlain started purging the music of all Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s more recent memories towards the time of the sister¡¯s last parting. A nod from her had Sarah set to work, and the gold slowly peeled away from limbs. When the enchantment on each piece fractured, the metal would stream away under Sarah¡¯s control. As Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s eye sockets became exposed, soft flesh immediately filled them. Sthen? turned her sister''s head so their gazes met, but her sister¡¯s eyes merely closed in the calm sleep that Amdirlain had imposed. Sarah aligned exposed limbs together, and each melded together seamlessly without the slightest scar left behind. Sthen? stared at Sarah questioningly. ¡°I¡¯ve seen this happen to other beings. They heal the same way when you bring separated body parts close,¡± said Sarah, responding to Sthen?¡¯s gaze. Well before Eury¨¢l¨¥ was healed, Amdirlain had removed the centuries of torture. She felt the approach of memories that matched when they¡¯d parted when a notification flared. [Achievement: Fate¡¯s Wildcard Details: You¡¯ve broken through a Blessing set in place by the avatars of the Moirai to nullify Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s continued attempts at revenge and, after finding her location, restored Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s sanity. Reward: 100,000 experience Empress Malfex Levelled Up! x10 Additional Tier 5 and 6 variant classes are now unlocked! - Oracle - Soul Custodian - Curse Breaker (3 Variants)] The rush of levels into her species hit Amdirlain as new strength flowed through her; she restrained a grunt as she considered what she¡¯d learned. I¡¯m glad you can keep your smartarse comments to yourself now, Gideon. Eury¨¢l¨¥¡¯s capture was only a few years after they parted ways. ¡°She¡¯s sane again,¡± advised Amdirlain. The news caused Sarah to pause in mid-restoration. ¡°I¡¯ll keep her slumbering until she¡¯s together again,¡± continued Amdirlain. ¡°That might be wise,¡± Sarah nodded tightly and pressed a severed hand to the wrist stump. They withdrew up the slope once Sarah completed the gruesome work, leaving Sthen? to wake her sister. Sthen? hugged Eury¨¢l¨¥ carefully when she awoke and spent some time reassuring her before signalling to approach. ¡°It is strange to owe one outside my family,¡± said Eury¨¢l¨¥, her hands trembling as they rubbed her arms. ¡°You have my appreciation for your help.¡± She can¡¯t remember it, so her body¡¯s fading aches are unsettling. ¡°If only we weren¡¯t missing M¨¦dousa,¡± said Sthen?. ¡°Without her, the wounds the Greek gods inflicted on us will never heal completely.¡± ¡°You know you¡¯re not in the realm of your birth?¡± asked Amdirlain. I¡¯m not hunting for her across realms. Sthen? nodded. ¡°The Greek gods forced us to live with them as our legends in the Mortal tales had lent them a strength of belief to persist in that realm as long as they did. Humanity finds it easier to believe in monsters than gods. When we arrived here, they stole the means we¡¯d used to remain unobserved by mortals.¡± ¡°Well, M¨¦dousa didn¡¯t die in this realm,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Also, the tales I heard said she was Mortal, unlike you and Sthen?, so wouldn¡¯t she have died of old age by now?" ¡°Hades brought her Soul with him. The Fates boasted that he¡¯d hold on to her forever,¡± replied Eury¨¢l¨¥. ¡°She should have been Immortal like us, but Lachesis maimed her to ensure M¨¦dousa couldn¡¯t regenerate from the world and mocked us for not protecting her better.¡± How many other Soul Jars did he possess? Has Custodian sent Moloch to hunt a potential treasure trove? How is a Mortal woman who fell in love with a Titan an enemy? ¡°Did he?¡± Will my trip involve picking up all the debris from the ruined civilisations that once inhabited these lands? First there was Lutu, who Ori left behind, and now Sthen?, and they want their sister found. ¡°As far as I was told¡ªit¡¯s not as if Hades spoke to us regularly,¡± said Sthen?. ¡°Thank you for rescuing my sister. I could smell the ages on the metal and Hephaestus¡¯s touch. That makes it clear you didn¡¯t fake his symbols. We are in your debt.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not a debt, just something to keep in mind if you have further interactions with mortals of any species,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°If you¡¯ll agree not to attack mortals first, or provoke fights, I¡¯ll give you the ability to move among other species and not suffer rejection upon sight.¡± ¡°How can you do this?¡± Do I give them Shapeshift? It¡¯s a better power than Change Form and not as dangerous as Protean. ¡°I have the means. So, if you commit not to prey upon mortals, I¡¯ll restore the ability that the Greek gods stole from you.¡± The pair looked at each other and nodded as one. ¡°We agree.¡± Amdirlain wove the melody of Shapeshifting into them, and after a few lessons in controlling the Power, they went on their way. Sarah interlaced her fingers with Amdirlain while they watched the two immortals walk away wearing the form of imposing Lizardfolk. Once they reached the bottom of the slope, Amdirlain disabled Resonance and ceased listening to the healing wounds of flesh and Soul alike. They deserve a chance at a better life, not being constantly reviled. 439 - Vengeance Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Greece After the drama with Lutu and the gorgons, the next day¡¯s trip along the coast proceeded with a suspenseful quiet. Kadaklan harvesting from bushes to test for alchemical properties made Amdirlain jump in her skin the first time leaves snapped. Startled by her spinning to face him, Kadaklan laughed and lifted the leaves he¡¯d claimed. ¡°Are you a bit on edge?¡± ¡°This hasn¡¯t been the trip I expected,¡± replied Amdirlain. Kadaklan shrugged. ¡°Then you should set your expectations aside and live in the moment. True understanding means accepting what is rather than what you¡¯d like things to be.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not very good at merely accepting. Things can always be improved,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Heck, I even got around to admitting my emotional issues properly.¡± ¡°The acceptance I refer to means seeing the whole situation, not just the parts you¡¯d like. Once you understand, then you can make successful changes. If you don¡¯t understand first, your changes could be counterproductive to your goals,¡± replied Kadaklan. ¡°As an Alchemist, I need to know all the properties of a plant before I use it in brewing, but with life, one has to take part.¡± ¡°It¡¯s important to observe and test a foe¡¯s style so you don¡¯t mistake traps for openings in their guard,¡± added Jinfeng. Her gaze flitted to the beach they¡¯d been skirting, where two crabs clashed over a partly eaten four-metre tuna dwarfed by the looming crustaceans. ¡°Are there few villages along this shore because of the crabs? Or are there so many crabs because of the lack of villages?¡± ¡°The amount of crabs is because of the ley line that follows this coast,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°It triggers the crab¡¯s gigantism. Even if they¡¯re cleared out, the energy will transform some of the next generation of normal crabs birthed.¡± ¡°And here I was wondering why the crab didn¡¯t eat its fish out in the water instead of bringing it to the beach,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°Do they need to breathe while they eat?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t. Maybe it liked the view better on land, or a bigger threat is out there and it sought dry land,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There are some villages inland and further along the coast, nothing close to us but ruins and kobolds in caves,¡± announced Sarah. ¡°Based on the open terrain, the next village is at least three days north at the pace we¡¯ve been travelling. It will be towards the top of the bay where the rough terrain gives them a foundation for defences.¡± ¡°Maybe we can ask at the next village why there are so few about,¡± proposed Klipyl. Sarah shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not a big mystery, and Lizardfolk civilisations follow particular patterns. Their smaller coastal villages are set up partially submerged or take advantage of naturally defensible coves. This stretch is open land despite the slope, so that is likely why it¡¯s unpopulated. Kobolds prefer tunnels, and if I bothered to isolate the ones I¡¯ve heard, we might find them in the hills around here. Probably not in the immediate areas, as they¡¯ll have stayed away from the big bad that Sthen? would be to them.¡± ¡°Are you not listening to all the minds about the place?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°How did you hear that Dragon from so far away?¡± ¡°I¡¯m only listening for screaming rage, and she had a loud mental voice,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Shall we keep moving?¡± The first village turned out to be further north than Sarah predicted. With the battle-ready guards at the top of the cliff behind it, the group skirted the village and continued north along the ridgeline rather than continuing to follow the coast. Their pace of travel remained easy between Kadaklan¡¯s investigation of the local plants and the hours Amdirlain spent sparring and teaching Jinfeng and Klipyl. Their few interactions with the locals were wary and at a distance, with warriors waving them away from villages. It was two weeks of skirting ridgelines and following gullies before they saw a village ahead with no visible guards patrolling the area. The village was a decent-sized place near a stream fed from water rushing down a nearby rock face. Despite being late afternoon, no sign of smoke rose from any of the dome houses the Lizardfolk favoured. The villagers had stacked slabs of grey stone to make the houses, sealing the gaps with dried mud and grasses. Tanned goat hides blocked the interior of the low open archways, except where the wind whistling through the small windows had successfully loosened the ties. The slapping of the hides and the bleating of hungry goats were the only sound from the village. ¡°This looks ominous. It seems like a plague has come through,¡± noted Jinfeng, and she nodded towards a partially complete rock cairn with two figures slumped near it. To True Sight, a greenish magical haze lay across the houses, particularly the half-finished cairn. ¡°There are some incoherent minds still present,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°The villagers aren¡¯t in good shape. It seems someone took a dislike to them, and used a blessing to curse them.¡± ¡°Is it still active?¡± asked Jinfeng. Amdirlain grunted. ¡°I¡¯ll deal with it and bring the survivors out. Where do you want to triage them, Kadaklan?¡± ¡°Just here, we¡¯ll flatten these shrubs,¡± Kadaklan said, motioning to the surrounding knee-high greenery. Amdirlain shattered the curse before moving into the village. She teleported to the closest entryway, and the smell of death and sickness immediately assaulted her nose. Ducking to fit through the low doorway, her gaze scanned the interior. Four solid stone columns supported the roof of the dome, and between them was a firepit surrounded by metal cooking implements. Near various beds around the exterior hung wicked-looking hooked swords and spears whose steel tips gleamed with care. A quick check of the house found only one among twenty occupants alive, and Amdirlain used Psychometabolism techniques to bolster their body before shifting them out of the house. She checked the souls of each as she went rapidly between houses, healing those near death with Universal Life. As she stabilised survivors, she brought them to where the others were busy setting up in a newly flattened hollow. There isn¡¯t anything special about them, so why wipe them out? Before she had laid the second villager onto the grass, Kadaklan was by their side, examining eyes and vomit-stained mouths. ¡°Any idea as to the cause?¡± ¡°It''s magical. I¡¯ve broken the curse that lay over the village, but I didn¡¯t want to leave them in the huts with the dead. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯d be able to be inflicted with the same disease twice,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Good point. Bring the rest here, and we¡¯ll clean this filth from them,¡± ordered Kadaklan. Dipping into his storage bag, he brought out tonics and elixirs ripe with Ki. ¡°I¡¯ve bolstered their nutrition levels with psionics, but I didn¡¯t want to push their recovery too quickly in case there were other issues,¡± said Amdirlain before she moved to retrieve more. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°That¡¯s the right approach. Since we don¡¯t know their bodies, you could cause them unexpected issues. I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d been reading medical treatment texts.¡± Amdirlain smiled grimly. ¡°I followed hunches from Precognition.¡± ¡°Can we just wash them with water, or do they use sand scrubs or something?¡± asked Klipyl, appearing next to Kadaklan. ¡°They can spend a lot of time underwater, so it won¡¯t hurt them to clean them normally,¡± replied Amdirlain. Klipyl nodded in relief and pulled out a waterskin and some clothes. Sarah helped with clearing the houses, but they found only twenty-seven of the Lizardfolk alive out of nearly two hundred. ¡°What a cowardly deed,¡± Jinfeng said, helping Kadaklan tend a weakly moaning survivor. Amdirlain didn¡¯t pause, simply jumping back to the village. When they¡¯d retrieved the last of the survivors, Sarah shaped a shelter into existence, silvery ectoplasm transforming into stone and wood. After they all pitched in to rearrange the shelter to Kadaklan¡¯s satisfaction, Amdirlain tended to the dead. She had settled a child beside their mother and reached to set the rocks into place when she felt Sarah behind her. ¡°Checking up on me?¡± ¡°I was concerned you might take this hard,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know them. Their souls have already gone on, and I¡¯m not raising the dead wholesale,¡± Amdirlain said, floating rocks into place to cover the family. ¡°The stupid thing is that in this case, the plinth¡¯s judgement could punish me for helping. If I brought them back and they¡¯re good to others, that¡¯s all fine, but if they¡¯re not, it will hold me accountable. Yet if I leave them all dead, I¡¯m not responsible for them being in that state, so that¡¯s fine by the plinth. How fucked up is that?¡± ¡°Every rule set has gaps,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re not kicking yourself about not bringing them back?¡± ¡°If I didn¡¯t come here, they¡¯d still be dead, and the survivors would have died as well. Now, let¡¯s move forward. My attempts at Analysis didn¡¯t give me details on who cast the curse, only that it used a Blessing from the Path of Disease, amplified with spells,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°Maybe Gideon¡¯s adhering to your request to butt out and only giving you what they supply others,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I got the same thing. Why were you hoping to learn more?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to find this arsehole and educate him on the cost of wiping out villages,¡± declared Amdirlain coldly as she covered another child, tucking elaborately detailed hand-carved toys into the hide covering with them. ¡°I¡¯d prefer you left it up to me,¡± said Sarah. ¡°If I¡¯m going to be punished for something, I¡¯ll do it with my own hands,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Since my intentions can be seen as influencing you, going after them now will count against me. Shall we tend the dead in the next house?¡± Sarah grunted discontentedly and set to helping Amdirlain with removing the dead from another house, this one with no survivors, so they pulled it apart to extend the funeral cairn. Kadaklan approached and beckoned for Amdirlain¡¯s attention. ¡°I thought you should know some villagers are coherent now.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not just getting them back to full health?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t know their physiology well enough to know if I¡¯d just disguise symptoms of the illness lingering. This way, the survivors have time to process their grief without feeling obligated to assist us,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Anyway, if I understand them correctly, one of the coherent ones is the chieftain.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good news. Maybe he can shed some light on what happened,¡± said Amdirlain. A white flame ran across her hands to burn any disease from them even as Sarah used a purification device to eliminate contaminants from their clothing; its segmented pieces twirled like a flame in her hands. Cleaned up, they returned to the makeshift aid station. As Amdirlain approached, the chief tried to lift himself from the ground; his movements were unsteady. ¡°Please don¡¯t push yourself,¡± said Amdirlain, stretching her hand out to signal him to stay still. ¡°Your village has lost many people. You¡¯ll need all your strength to recover. You can call me Am. How should I address you?¡± The Lizardfolk swayed briefly, and his claws dug into the ground. ¡°I¡¯m Urli. How do you speak my language?¡± ¡°There is some magic at work to let us speak clearly,¡± replied Amdirlain as she knelt beside him. ¡°We found magic lying across your village, created by someone worshipping the local goddess of disease. Do you have any idea why?¡± ¡°We¡¯ve only had one visitor of late. He didn¡¯t say he was a Priest,¡± spluttered Urli. ¡°He wore no symbol I recognised and asked for nothing to appease her.¡±Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Tell me about him?¡± ¡°He demanded we provide shelter,¡± explained Urli. ¡°When we didn¡¯t vacate a house for him, he insulted our clan. Before the warriors moved to attack him, he spat on the ground and stalked away to the north.¡± With a low groan, he rubbed a palm across his chest. ¡°Are you sure it was a Priest?¡± ¡°There is no doubt about the disease or the source,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I just don¡¯t know who set the curse. How long after his departure did the first person get sick?¡± Kadaklan offered the chieftain a waterskin and motioned Amdirlain to be patient. The chieftain briefly fumbled with the skin before tilting his head back and spraying a jet into his mouth. After he lowered the skin, Kadaklan secured it on a rack beside him. ¡°A week later, the first of the children were delirious. On the third day, those who sickened first were dead, and half the village was down with the same fever and aches.¡± ¡°What can you tell me about this stranger?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°There was nothing about him that said he was a Priest. He carried only a staff capped with dull copper, not good steel, and a black hide satchel; nothing about him showed his clan or a goddess. There was an oddness about him that made me uncomfortable,¡± offered Urli. He weakly thrashed his head and babbled in disbelief. ¡°He didn¡¯t even announce himself or say he served a deity. As soon as I spoke to him, he started demanding shelter. Why would a Priest strong enough to sicken the entire village come along looking like a pauper?¡± Kadaklan crouched on the other side of Urli, regarding him with concern. Maybe he wanted a feeble excuse to do precisely what he did. I get the message, Kadaklan: I shouldn¡¯t overexert him. The mental images were hazy because of Urli¡¯s state, but Amdirlain recovered them easily enough. ¡°I¡¯ll see if I can track him down,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Do you know which path he took?¡± ¡°The path to the northeast. Beyond the spring, take the path over the ridgeline, there spurs split off the back of the mountain,¡± explained Urli, his gaze bleak. ¡°You are a strange one, soft skin. Why do you concern yourself with us?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not good at turning a blind eye to acts of this nature,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Since he did this so casually to your village, he might have done it to others, or plan to do so.¡± Yet I can kill a Dragon without batting an eye; where does the line of my hypocrisy lie? Or is it my gamer brain thinking dragons are the top foes to kill? Or does Tiamat¡¯s change to the chromatics make it hard to feel sympathy for them? Amdirlain mentally groaned. I need to work out what to do with those eggs I¡¯ve got in stasis. Holding that thought aside, she rose and nodded politely to Urli. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in a little while. Why don¡¯t you get some rest?¡± Klipyl took her place beside Urli and offered him a bowl of stewed meat. ¡°Chew slowly. Let the juices relax your stomach.¡± Urli grunted in protest at her tending him, but Klipyl stabbed a fork into the bowl and lifted a meat section. ¡°No arguing, or you¡¯ll get restricted to broth.¡± Past the ridgeline, low, scraggly bushes covered the rough slope, providing little hindrance no matter which direction one walked. The major obstacles were small drops and spurs channelling passage further down the slope. Looking over the slope, she triggered different psychometry techniques and delved into the past until she caught a mirage of a Lizardfolk male departing the village. Though he looked plain, death lingered around him. With that nudge, Ki Movement had her racing along the path, following flickering images to track his progress. He passed through three untouched villages that looked much like the one he had decimated. Similar domed buildings with stonework sealed up with mud. Amdirlain mentally touched the inhabitants and found them healthy and ignorant of the calamity that had left them unscathed. She circled each village and picked up the trail on the far side. Eventually, his path led to a walled seaport nestled between two mountain spurs that reached the water¡¯s edge. She studied its layout from her perch on a terraced hillside among grains that supplied herds of goats. The deep harbour hosted a fleet of small fishing boats and four large masted vessels with a catamaran-style rig to either side. More significant buildings ran along the harbour''s rim, with multiple domes forming nodules off a central structure. Concentric crescent walls expanded from a central fort, dividing the town into layered districts, the wide walls allowed plenty of space on top for patrols to move behind stationary guards who monitored the approaches and interior. Their steel armour and weapons looked well maintained, with a distinctly consistent feel to their styling. Within the town¡¯s crescent walls were a host of circular buildings, offset to cause the paths between them to wind. The layout restricted lines of sight to only a segment of any building¡¯s length. Cloaked from sight and scent, Amdirlain followed some farmers through the gates. She followed the flickering images from the more basic outer district through multiple gates to an area with larger dwellings. Amidst the more affluent townsfolk, whose scales bore filigree metalwork, she arrived at a sizable house with ornate markings around its archways. The servants¡¯ minds revealed their master¡¯s recent return and, armed with his name, Amdirlain tried Analysis again. [Name: Yisvix Species: Lizardfolk Class: Wizard / Priest / Scout / Hunter Level: 29 / 29 / 27 / 27 Defence: 104 Health: 2,522 Faith: 58 Magic: 39 Mana: 14,280 Melee Attack Power: 84 Combat Skills: Body Weaponry [Ad] (21), Hook Sword [M] (39), Various affinities, blessings, and spell lists. Details: The eldest son of a prominent clan chief, he was ignored in the succession in favour of his physically stronger brothers. He is now determined to make all the clans grovel at the feet of his goddess with his own power.] Lightly touching his thoughts, she found no consideration for his recent deeds present. A mental nudge with the chieftain¡¯s features caused delight to bubble up, and he drew out a slate with other locations in the mountains marked. The plan she caught from his mind was to raise a festering undead army to conquer in his goddess¡¯s name. With him considering the map, it was simple to get him to recall the locations, and Amdirlain moved ahead with the next phase. Individually, the servants exited the property, sure their master had sent them on chores around the seaport before Amdirlain let herself inside. As the door shattered against the wall, he started up by reflex¡ªtoo slowly to matter. Amdirlain put her hand through his chest, smearing the wall and the polished stone shelves behind him with blood, scales, flesh, and fragments of bone. When her hand retracted, his Soul came with it. If you hit someone squishy hard enough, they don¡¯t fold over your hand; the punch goes straight through them. [Combat Summary Lizardfolk x1 Total Experience gained: 4,862 Empress Malfex: +4,862] Amdirlain looked at the malevolent nature of the Lizardfolk she¡¯d slain. Tempted to send his Soul to be wiped clean, she reluctantly let go rather than draw attention from the goddess he¡¯d served. As if weighed down with concrete blocks, the Soul¡¯s ethereal form plunged, breaching the Astral Plane¡¯s barrier. After she explored his house, she left with a fraction of the valuables she could find, which still overloaded three large leather sacks. Among his things, she found a depiction of a female Lizardfolk with deep red scales made from carved rubies behind a shrine. Along its edges were jagged lines of silver, whose rough formation resembled barbed wire. She stood over a pyre with one hand extended above the shrouded figure, ready to be burned; her hooked talons caught in the process of descending to ravage the dead¡¯s flesh. In a circle of blackened metal, at the bottom of the depiction was a dripping five-headed flail. Sensing the blessings upon it, she left the mosaic and its accompanying shrine alone. His blood cleaned from her skin and clothing, Amdirlain hopped to the oldest village afflicted with the curse. Among the buildings, zombies shuffled about, their scales rotting and covered with a damp, sickly sheen. Amdirlain activated Phoenix¡¯s Rapture and flared the aura to cauterise the location. Circling the village, she incinerated the zombies that had shambled a distance from the village. [Combat Summary Pestilence Zombie x87 Total experience gained: 26,970 Empress Malfex: +26,970 Empress Malfex Levelled Up! x2] She dealt with the other locations in short order, searing everything to ash with the primordial flames of Phoenix¡¯s Rapture. Once, the experience notifications would have felt like a message about her own inadequacy in not arriving sooner, but now they only counted a sad tally of the dead. Upon her return to the others, the chieftain stirred and regarded her with concern. ¡°You are back quick. Has the trail grown cold?¡± ¡°No, I found him. He won¡¯t be doing that to another village,¡± reassured Amdirlain. The Lizardfolk¡¯s inner eyelids snapped shut in surprise. ¡°You only left a short time ago.¡± ¡°I followed the stench he¡¯d smeared across the land and then smeared him.¡± ¡°We have nothing else to give you,¡± rasped Urli, his words slow with fatigue. ¡°I¡¯m not looking for a reward. Now you need to rest up and recover,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Thank you for helping me stop him.¡± ¡®It wasn¡¯t just out of spite?¡¯ The question came through loud in Sarah¡¯s public thoughts. Amdirlain¡¯s expression didn¡¯t change as she projected to Sarah. ¡®He planned to create pockets of specialised undead to contaminate waterways and fisheries. He picked this village as it was remote enough, and those that didn¡¯t rise would eventually pollute the water with the disease inflicted by the curse.¡¯ ¡®Undead can stir even without a curse in effect with so many dying in a brief space of time,¡¯ returned Sarah, before she turned to the chieftain. ¡°Urli, is it an insult among your people to cremate the dead?¡± asked Sarah. His gaze flickered with confusion, and Sarah gently explained the custom. ¡°There isn¡¯t enough wood for a single body, let alone all the dead here,¡± objected Urli. ¡°The flame isn¡¯t an issue, as I¡¯ve spells that can provide the required fire. Would your village take insult?¡± Amdirlain prompted calmly. ¡°We won¡¯t stay here,¡± grunted Urli, pain slurring his words. ¡°If you treat the remains without malice, no one will take offence.¡± Amdirlain set down the sacks of coins and precious objects she¡¯d looted beside Urli. ¡°I hope these objects help you get re-established.¡± He started back in surprise at the bags¡¯ appearance, and when he settled again, he looked at the bulging sacks and lifted his gaze to hers in confusion. ¡°What of yourself, Am?¡± ¡°I took these from the traveller¡¯s home,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°You have your villagers to look after, and he doesn¡¯t need them now.¡± ¡°We won¡¯t be fit to travel soon,¡± said Urli. His gaze flickered towards the pens where Jinfeng had been tending the goats; thoughts of the effort of herding them rose clearly. ¡°We¡¯ll stay until you are all recovered and see you there safely.¡± Kadaklan coughed. ¡°If I might speak here, I can speed up your recovery now that you¡¯re all awake and alert. Being unfamiliar with your species, I didn¡¯t want to rush the process while you were unconscious and couldn¡¯t advise me of how you felt.¡± Urli chuffed and bobbed his head; the tension that had been present beneath his scales relaxed. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you in Kadaklan¡¯s care,¡± said Amdirlain. She nodded at his acknowledgement and repeated thanks before heading to the cairn. Her aura¡¯s white flames led the way, incinerating the remains and piled rocks. Behind her, Klipyl attributed the flames to the spells Amdirlain had mentioned, heading off their fearful prayers of appeasement. The vague reassurances she offered hinted at dragons and their oddities. Maybe I should have waited until we¡¯d gotten them to their relatives. When Amdirlain returned to the group, the Lizardfolk regarded her in nervous awe; their tongues flickered as they scented the air. ¡°What are you?¡± asked Urli. ¡°Those flames are a form of Power that a Wizard with the right Affinity can tap into,¡± Amdirlain replied calmly. ¡°The particular effect centres on me when I invoke it, and that¡¯s all.¡± Kadaklan had the villagers up and about in days. The group camped out in the open during this time, much to Sarah¡¯s amusement, and Amdirlain kept further Power displays to a minimum. Klipyl scouted nearby villages to ensure the disease hadn¡¯t spread via the stream while Amdirlain checked on the relatives¡¯ village. When the survivors were ready to be moved. She used Fabricate to prepare replacements for their possessions, unsure how well cleansing them would remove lingering traces of the disease. With their travels through the mountains resumed, they returned to the quiet routine they¡¯d established before the massacre they¡¯d stumbled upon. The long break had allowed Sarah time to change the house¡¯s interior, and the pair regained their evening privacy. After hitting the northern edge of the mountains, they struck out straight for the isthmus. Their route along the isthmus skirted the Lizardfolk settlements on the coast and headed into the central hills to avoid contact. However, with the isthmus only thirty-five kilometres long, they pushed the pace and made the mainland of Greece in a day. Amdirlain set off towards the southeast once the isthmus was behind them, and Sarah grunted curiously. ¡°Did you get your left and right mixed up?¡± ¡°The remains of Athens are in this direction,¡± Amdirlain motioned ahead. ¡°You feeling the need to gloat?¡± ¡°No, just something niggling at me the last few days,¡± replied Amdirlain. Sarah nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Let¡¯s take a detour.¡± They deliberately timed their arrival to reach a hill with a view of the bay where Athens had stood after sunset. The Lizardfolk township on the bay had similarly circular buildings as the town where she¡¯d slain the plague Priest. ¡°From this perspective, the town looks like the inside of a warren, twisting back and forth, finding a path through soft earth,¡± noted Kadaklan. Amdirlain¡¯s attention was on the hill of the Acropolis, where the Parthenon would have stood on Earth with its crags of grey stone. From their hilltop vantage point, they could see its top was covered with broken stumps of flame-cracked pillars and a mound of collapsed stonework that looked like a Dragon had caved in the roof. ¡°Is there anyone home in the ruins?¡± asked Klipyl. The question drew Amdirlain''s attention back to the others waiting for her. "I''m not sure. I don''t feel like it¡¯s dangerous. It is simply important that I collect something from them. No wards would have survived the devastation, and I can''t see any sign of energy lingering over the ruins." Sarah looked discontent. ¡°It was once a temple, and there might be further surprises. Is there no chance you¡¯d turn on Resonance to check?¡± ¡°No.¡± Klipyl nodded towards the west. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Thea if she remembers what¡¯s there? She¡¯s still serving the temple of Hestia at Sanctuary Cove.¡± ¡°I feel the interest is newer arrivals to the ruins,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Ahh. Do you think someone dragged something in there post-looting?¡± asked Klipyl. With a helpless shrug, Amdirlain aimed for the most prominent rubble mound. 440 - Perception Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean Sea The sea breeze from the Mediterranean brought with it the odour of dung fires from the Lizardfolk town. Its haze wafted across the ruin and mingled with the images her techniques showed her. Clairsentience strained to show the building that had once stood there, so Amdirlain instead scanned through the debris, looking for any sign of a route into the hill or recent visitors. That is assuming what I want is inside. Or is it simply part of my Soul wants to tread on their once-holy ground now they¡¯re dead? Did the Greek gods have them recreate the same buildings from Earth or was it only the location that was common? A muffled musical chirp from among the rubble caught Amdirlain''s attention, and she hurried forward at the sound of a cracking shell. As she turned the corner, a pillar of flame fifteen metres high blazed against the starry backdrop of the night sky. The wind that raced across the hilltop couldn¡¯t sway the torrent of energy. A growing Phoenix spread his wings in the middle of the pyre, flapping them gently to shed the bits of broken shells that still clung to his features. I just missed your hatching. He tilted his head curiously at Amdirlain and looked her over with a silvery gaze before he crouched and leapt skywards. The flames created thermal currents as he circled upwards, leaving a glowing trail that followed him as he circled the ruin. The flames glinted off a golden shell in the fading embers of the pyre. Though he seemed intent on stretching his wings, his attention didn¡¯t stray far from Amdirlain. I always thought they hatched with the dawn. It seems when you¡¯re ready to get out, you¡¯re ready. Between you and me, little birdie, I¡¯m ready to get out of this shell holding me. As the heat faded, the shell¡¯s metallic sheen disappeared, becoming plain-looking fragments about the size of an ostrich egg. Amdirlain waited until the pieces had thoroughly cooled before she gathered them up to pass along to Kadaklan. As she stored the last piece, the Phoenix rushed past her, its wings wafting flames fruitlessly across her. Amdirlain teleported back to the others and found them watching the fiery display. ¡°Was he unhappy about your intrusion?¡± questioned Kadaklan. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but that¡¯s what I needed from here,¡± said Amdirlain, and she handed the shell pieces to Kadaklan. ¡°As soon as I picked up the pieces, the curiosity about the place from Precognition faded. Do you think they¡¯ll be useful in a potion?¡± ¡°He¡¯s not the same type of Phoenix as my kin, but it¡¯s likely that the egg is useful,¡± confirmed Kadaklan, carefully securing the pieces. The Phoenix swooped across the hilltop again, leaving a blazing swath of flames clinging to the rubble. The continued fiery display drew a frown from Amdirlain. ¡°The Greek or Persian gods probably brought him with them. I¡¯m wondering if he is better off somewhere else, but I¡¯ll come back and check on him later. I¡¯ll take us back to the east end of the isthmus.¡± ¡°A slow trip to pick up shards?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Can you tell me what was so important about eggshells?¡± ¡°They¡¯re from a type of Phoenix,¡± repeated Kadaklan patiently. ¡°That one appears more like the Persian tales, an eternal symbol of renewal.¡± ¡°Remnants of the old living with the new,¡± offered Amdirlain. Which summarises my life. I don¡¯t know if I need the eggshells or to see this place. ¡°So you can use its properties for magical purposes?¡± asked Klipyl. Kadaklan nodded. ¡°Potentially.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get away from here before it notices us,¡± said Amdirlain, and she teleported them away as soon as they¡¯d all acknowledged the suggestion. They moved along the west coast of mainland Greece. Amdirlain studied more Lizardfolk settlements and noted the slow changes from the southern settlements. Dome houses with proper mortar were typical now, even in villages. In the larger towns, the decorative murals she¡¯d seen in cities covered more locations. Empty common spaces might hold statues or water features instead of simple grassed spaces for animals to graze. Amdirlain continued her meditations each night, shuttling crystals to Foundry after filling those she¡¯d brought along. The relaxed peace of their travels settled deeper without the millions of distractions that had held her attention for so long. The most hectic part of the day was the sparring bouts with Jinfeng, and the deeper her relaxation grew, the more significant the impact Muse¡¯s Insight had on her beleaguered pupil. They had nearly reached the summer¡¯s end before arriving at the point where they intended to cross to the Italian peninsula. Amdirlain felt foul energy seething along her skin as they descended towards a vacant beach. Currently at the head of the group, Klipyl stopped and glanced back. ¡°Something is wrong ahead of us.¡± ¡°I agree, not just wrong but old,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°It feels like the den of those who follow a twisted Dao.¡± Jinfeng glided forward, her hand resting atop her blade¡¯s hilt. ¡°Might I investigate? Travelling with you has been far too quiet besides our morning sparring.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go with her,¡± Klipyl quickly offered, bouncing eagerly in place. ¡°I need some time to work on some changes for the crossing,¡± shrugged Sarah. ¡°We could set the house up here and wait for them to return.¡± Amdirlain eyed the eager pair. ¡°If you find yourself in over your head, hightail it back here.¡± ¡°Maybe I should have asked you to be my M¨®eir instead,¡± quipped Klipyl, affecting a sweet, innocent look, she tucked her hands behind her back. ¡°May I please go play?¡± ¡°Shoo,¡± huffed Amdirlain, motioning towards the path ahead. As the pair headed off, Sarah settled the house on the hillside and took out some rune-covered plates. ¡°You can hold things for me.¡± ¡°Yes, dear,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Though should I point out you can just as easily float these around?¡± ¡°You probably shouldn¡¯t,¡± remarked Sarah as she floated along the side of the house. ¡°That would weaken the distraction the work represents.¡± While they worked, Kadaklan poked among the nearby grasses and shrubs, gathering samples from the plant life and studying them intently with a memory crystal held in one hand. I should have insisted he use the crystal earlier, with all the fussing with his notepaper, brushes, and ink bowl every stop. Half an hour later, they heard a fearsome bellow from the beach, and Amdirlain started to hand Sarah the latest set of plates. ¡°Are you going to trust them to handle it?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain¡¯s shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°Fine.¡± Sarah laughed and set back to work. More screams and cries rolled up from the coast, but eventually, they fell silently with a final gurgling cry and a muffled boom. Sarah smiled wryly and tilted her head towards the path. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like they lost.¡± ¡°I can still feel the summoning bond to Klipyl,¡± offered Kadaklan. A naked Klipyl appeared at the top of the rise, vigorously running her hands along her curves to shed salt water. Beside her, a wane Jinfeng perched on her floating blade, drenched from head to toe in a clinging yellowish fluid, her mouth twisted sourly. ¡°Did you have fun?¡± As the wind brought a rancid odour to them, Kadaklan wrinkled his nose. ¡°More importantly, did she go wading through a pool of disease?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure it will be an educational tale,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°Though I don¡¯t know why she didn¡¯t go for a swim as well.¡± ¡°Klipyl didn¡¯t get coated with this,¡± grumbled Jinfeng, gesturing to herself. ¡°It seemed a bad idea to befoul the waters with it. Kadaklan, would you like to examine this? I think it is disease-related.¡± No way am I pulling that ooze into Inventory to clean her up. Kadaklan moved forward to examine the material and brought out a sample tube and a scoop. ¡°Hold still for a moment, and then we¡¯ll get you washed up.¡± ¡°You want that gunk?¡± questioned Klipyl, wrinkling her nose. ¡°I thought Jinfeng had been kidding me.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll have to determine its properties, but it might be a suitable test material for some experiments,¡± said Kadaklan. Amdirlain grunted. ¡°Coming back here and sharing its unique odour with us was probably the wise choice. You never know how far it will spread through the wildlife or how much it will kill. How did you escape getting drenched, Klipyl?¡± ¡°The foul energies come from an old temple, and the rules meant I couldn¡¯t go inside,¡± explained Klipyl. ¡°I took a swim in a rock pool while I waited for Jinfeng.¡± With a twitch of her eyebrow, Am looked back at Jinfeng. ¡°And you went in alone?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve faced worse than what I fought in there. It just got messy,¡± Jinfeng motioned to her clinging top. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose one of you could help clean this up?¡± As Kadaklan worked, he interrogated Jinfeng on the source, which turned out to be a Cyclops that had exploded in a gout of foulness when slain. Klipyl slid further from the pair. ¡°How much of it do you want?¡± ¡°That depends on whether it¡¯s useful,¡± Kadaklan said, offering a casual shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve never met an exploding one-eyed giant before, so this might be a unique material I won¡¯t acquire again.¡± ¡°Get it while it¡¯s hot,¡± drawled Sarah; after eyeing Jinfeng¡¯s state, she stepped back beneath the house. With a jiggling shudder, Klipyl headed towards the house, offering Sarah and Amdirlain a mischievous wave. ¡°I suppose you heard the racket.¡± ¡°Just slightly. How big is the temple?¡± ¡°Not sure how deep into the cliff it runs. There were corridors at the back, but I can¡¯t go inside,¡± clarified Klipyl. ¡°Jinfeng fought the rotting Cyclops in the main temple before their awful altar. The complex could go pretty deep into that hill.¡± ¡°The sound of the fighting echoed oddly,¡± Jinfeng swallowed convulsively, struggling to keep her nausea contained. ¡°Would you work faster, please, Master Kadaklan?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve told you not to use titles while travelling,¡± corrected Kadaklan. ¡°You were the one that didn¡¯t get out of the way in time.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting it to explode,¡± Jinfeng protested. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°What else can you tell me about it?¡± ¡°The entry hall had an awning supported by tall pillars and went deep into the cliff. If it was only a single chamber it seems a waste, I¡¯d expect space for whatever priests were stationed here to be past its guardian,¡± said Jinfeng. Klipyl sat on the edge of the stairs and drew a diagram in the dirt. ¡°There is a half-destroyed seawall down there and some odd mounds between it and a cliff with a temple frontage carved into it. The preservation runes along the front are fractured, but various defensive runes were still in place. Though Jinfeng fought the guardian, I could see wards that weren¡¯t invoked.¡± ¡°I might take a look,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Clear it out and ensure nothing will crawl out to kill the locals.¡± ¡°The giant zombie did a good enough job handling that,¡± offered Jinfeng. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t trapping other things inside the place though.¡± ¡°Be back soon,¡± Amdirlain said. She teleported down to the beach and hopped to the cliff at the far end. The weathered rock was faded, with most of the carvings that once had decorated them worn away by the sea air, but the carved stone doors displayed an old man in a cave covered in moss. Though a ward lingered over the frontage, cracks showed through some runes where they had failed years ago. [Depiction of Demogorgon Details: Demogorgon originated as a grammatical error that gained belief by the inexplicable fears of humanity looking for a place to call home. Its existence was another mechanism that allowed the Greek gods to hold their fading at bay, and they brought him with them when they requested refuge, seeking to tap into the reserve of power he had formed. The deity of corruption that formed grew beyond the Greek gods due to finding a niche in the Abyss. He was never formally part of their Pantheon, so he avoided involvement in the Gods¡¯ War.]Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. That¡¯s fine, but I¡¯ve zero interest in taking him on. If it weren¡¯t him attracting the attention of those so inclined, it would be others. Beyond the doors in the middle of the temple hall was a pool of foul-smelling fluid spreading outwards from a rotting corpse whose flesh had already liquified, leaving the single empty eye socket and black bones exposed. A procession of pillars down the hall showed carvings of sacrifices chained up before a well-endowed bipedal male with multiple tentacles in place of his arms rending apart the offerings. At the far end was a black marble altar with gore-crusted shackles; beneath the dried blood, enchantments gleamed. She didn¡¯t study the more detailed mosaics along the walls and floor that showed how those who appeased him fared. Though the ward on the front door had collapsed with the temple proper, Amdirlain could see an intricate lacework of enchantments ready to lash out at anyone not carrying the deity¡¯s symbol and using magic within the structure. Amdirlain strode forward, and once across the threshold, she activated her aura; the flames incinerated the filth as the temple¡¯s inner wards reacted. A barrage of curses tinted the air with a repulsive mix of bluish-green from the Decay unleashed by hundreds of spells. As sickly spells continued, bright yellow spores fell from the ceiling into her flames. The power that would have felled a legion didn¡¯t manage to make her aura compress at all. Her own spells flared in return, smashing into key points that supported the protections, bringing a halt to the onslaught. The web of wards collapsed across the temple¡¯s ceiling, and their energy cascaded towards the rear; the flash of light flickered down the corridors in the far corners that led deeper into the cliff. Oh boy, it¡¯s a classic dungeon delve. It¡¯s an evil temple to purify, but I bet no loot is left. However, what was the deal with the Cyclops being inside the place? Was it stuck here as a guardian when everyone else ditched? With two obvious options, Amdirlain shrugged and headed for the left corridor; beyond the archway, she found a vestment area with rotted robes puddled on the floor between holes with dried shards of wood poking from them. Exits were positioned on the left and far wall, and from the first, Amdirlain heard a faint metallic chime. She paused to listen, and a regular pattern beat out in an echoing signal. Curious about the source, Amdirlain headed in that direction and passed through a litter-strewn refectory, with rotten furnishing and rat-chewed debris littering the floor. Beyond it, she found a kitchen and a half dozen small sleeping niches. Her exploration of the passages found some chambers partly collapsed, the various small pests that had snuck past the Cyclops fleeing from Amdirlain¡¯s presence. Eventually, she found a dungeon where lines of rusty cells displayed faded blood stains, and rust from the bars turned the puddles around their bases into red pools. When she ducked through a door at the end, she found the simple rows of cells, expanded into a multi-level area with a large space in the middle containing scores of bodies mounded in a circle. As she watched, the flesh and bones churned and convulsed before running together into a misshapen giant, hunched over with its skin the texture of melted wax. [Species: Sacrificial Construct Level: 945 Defence: 972 Health: 28,350 Melee Attack Power: 1,197 Combat Skills: Smash [M] (23), Bite [M] (43), Claw [M] (22) Details: These undead come into existence through the slaughter of multiple individuals in a single ritual that combines all the participants¡¯ life force; their remains are held in stasis until a trigger event occurs.] ¡°What a waste of lives,¡± sighed Amdirlain, and she surged forward, blurring towards the thing¡¯s chest. She ignited just before impact and briefly flared her aura, the foulness dropping into ash. ¡°I find a Genocide Grave more disturbing. What were you folks securing in here?¡± [Combat Summary Sacrificial Construct x 1 Total Experience gained: 47,450 Empress Malfex: +47,450 Empress Malfex Levelled Up! x2] At the cavern¡¯s end, another archway led into a smaller, heavily reinforced chamber where mildew and mushrooms clung to the wet rock. Beyond multiple rows of silver-coated bars was a heavy metal door where the fading lines of wards showed a broken stasis field. The metal door was the source of the sound she¡¯d been following and, as she broke through the bars, the door pulsed with another set of heavy blows that chimed against the silvery frame that held it in place. A forceful blow caused the door to jump, and the next strike failed to land. Behind the door, Amdirlain heard a low grunt and heavy panting start up. A hair-raising howl split the air and a frenzy of blows battered against the door. The last of the wards faded out, and the door buckled. Claws dug through the metal and twisted the top of the door downwards. The top of grey furry ears showed first amid the smoke wafting from seared hands. The outline of the top of the figure¡¯s head was enough to let her Analysis provide details. [Name: Demeter of Macedon Species: Greater Werewolf Class: Fighter / Knight / Vanguard / Duelist Level: 1 / 42 / 42 / 42 / 42 Defence: 295 Health: 10,126 Melee Attack Power: 387 Combat Skills: Daggers [M] (67), Short Blades [S] (155), Javelin [M] (12) Details: The High Priest of Demogorgon cursed this former king, but the invading dragons interrupted their corruption of him. They sealed him away, expecting their return to be a matter of months; instead, they left him behind when the fleet departed.] Damm, I am on clean-up duty. He¡¯s got only a level for his monster species. [Werewolf curse Details: After the first transformation, it is impossible to remove entirely as it has altered the person biologically and converted their species. The curse carries in the infected individual¡¯s blood and can corrupt others injured by the werewolf.] The metal tore down the middle with a screech, and Demeter ducked through the doorway. Deep loam fur covered him from ear tips to the elongated feet that required him to pad about on the balls of his feet. Amdirlain set a barrier across the corridor as Demeter flung the door aside. She tapped her fingers against her leg while Demeter lashed his claws into the transparent barrier. His eyes blazed red as he fixated on her with intent, hostile focus, his lips curled up. When he turned his attention to the wall, tearing up the stonework, she added additional barriers and hemmed him entirely in. Though his Soul showed flaws like most other people she¡¯d seen in Soul Sight, the curse spread black veins across its surface, mindless rage trying to consume mind and Soul alike. ¡°I¡¯m not your enemy. You¡¯re free because I broke the magic that held you oblivious. They sealed you up and left,¡± Amdirlain said. ¡°Calm down, change back, and I¡¯ll see if I can help you. If you stay in that form, I will beat you like a rug.¡± As he ripped the door away, she casually drove a blazing hand deep into the wall beside her. The smell of incinerated rock and a thunderous boom rolled down the corridor, and Demeter¡¯s ears perked straight up as he flinched back. Startled upright, the anger receded in his deep-set gaze and muscles contorted, forcing bones to break and reform as the massive werewolf became a well-muscled man. He eyed Amdirlain coldly, not moving to cover himself. His skin glistened from the sweat that had sprung up from the pain of his transformation. ¡°Who are you?¡± grunted Demeter, flexing his hands as his distorted knuckles twisted back into place. She used Fabricate to form a long white cotton tunic; folding it, she offered it to him. ¡°The person who broke the spells holding you. Your curse is impossible to break completely but let¡¯s talk, and I¡¯ll see if I can change the curse and take the homicidal rage out of it.¡± Despite the darkness, he had no problem snatching the tunic from her; he bundled it in one hand instead of donning it. He possesses some kind of dark sight, even in Human form. Amdirlain kept her eyes on his face. His gaze roamed her before his attention flickered dismissively across the filthy chamber, his nose wrinkling at the dank stench. ¡°The High Priest of...¡± ¡°Stop!¡± ordered Amdirlain. The sharpness of the command choked the next word off in his throat. ¡°Don¡¯t mention the High Priest¡¯s Deity. While it¡¯s improbable that he might hear his name spoken, it¡¯s still possible. Especially since we¡¯re in the ruin of one of his temples.¡± The muscles in Demeter¡¯s jaw bunched. ¡°You have a commanding presence about you, woman. I¡¯m not used to taking orders from a stranger, let alone one with such deformed features. You should know you speak to a king.¡± What do I say? I¡¯m sorry, but your relatives and friends are long dead? He doesn¡¯t seem interested in believing me. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but your kingdom is long dead, Demeter,¡± said Amdirlain softly, not wanting to belabour the truth but not relishing the flare of raw pain in his gaze before denial set in. Her use of his name caused Demeter¡¯s gaze to tighten. ¡°So you claim. How do you know my name if it¡¯s no more?¡± ¡°I have certain capabilities that allow me to learn things,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°What proof do you have?¡± I certainly have my Charisma under control since he can argue with me. ¡°Is the state of this place not enough?¡± ¡°This could be a trick.¡± Demeter¡¯s upper lip twitched sporadically as he fought a snarl. Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Let me show you the hills outside Athens and those along the isthmus. I¡¯ll scry them out so you can see them. Have you experienced seers showing remote locations?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± snapped Demeter. ¡°I had servants that could do so.¡± She displayed images of the hills of Athens and other readily identifiable locations in the air between them, including the details of the Lizardfolk towns that now stood there. The sounds and smells smothered his disbelief. As the images rushed, Demeter stepped back; anger warred with concern across his face before he spat his response. ¡°As I thought tricks, you simply show illusions and lies. I want no part of your foul magics, woman.¡± The ancient Greeks had a dim view of women. ¡°My foul magic?¡± Amdirlain laughed, and the sound created weird echoes in the cells. ¡°The High Priest set a curse on you and imprisoned you, yet my sharing images with you is foul magic? Do you remember being brought here and what the temple looked like outside?¡± ¡°Yes. My Seer was a trustworthy man, not a deformed freak.¡± Really? How does Gail have the patience to deal with sexist morons? ¡°Those images are from places I¡¯ve passed recently. I sensed you recognised the distinct hill outside Athens,¡± noted Amdirlain calmly, and she displayed more of them, this time focused on the beach outside. ¡°Do you recognise the destroyed harbour wall?¡± Demeter snarled. ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± His facial and throat muscles contoured inhumanly, and the bulges rippled along his shoulders. ¡°Calm yourself,¡± commanded Amdirlain, inspiring a sense of calm and steel will. ¡°You¡¯re just letting the curse set its hooks deeper into you.¡± It took him a while, but eventually, his body stopped attempting to herald an impending change. ¡°Athens is not in Macedon.¡± Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. ¡°Perhaps you¡¯d like to get dressed while you think more about those images.¡± With that, Amdirlain held out a pair of leather sandals. ¡°While none of those locations are far enough north for Macedon, I¡¯ve been told those humans who didn¡¯t evacuate didn¡¯t survive the dragons and their forces,¡± said Amdirlain. The man swayed from side to side, shaking his head fervently in denial; lashing out, he batted the sandals from her light grip. ¡°I¡¯ll go nowhere with you,¡± snapped Demeter. ¡°You be on your way, and I¡¯ll be on mine.¡± ¡°Dragons drove humanity from these shores. You won¡¯t find a Human settlement of any size in these lands,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll help you if we can reach an agreement.¡± ¡°I will not submit to you,¡± grumbled Demeter. ¡°I¡¯m the King Demeter of Macedon; it is only right you aided me. The mere fact you think I owe you something displays your nature as a base scheming woman.¡± The hostility in his tone chilled Amdirlain''s voice. ¡°That isn¡¯t what I asked, and considering I freed you, it¡¯s rather rude not even to hear me out.¡± Demeter slashed his hand through the air. ¡°You get nothing from me.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not asking for a submission,¡± declared Amdirlain, narrowing her gaze. ¡°I¡¯m requesting you to negotiate. Did you never do that as king?¡± The last thing I want is for you to conquer part of the kingdoms. ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll bend my knee because of a mere show of strength?¡± Demeter stabbed a finger at the wall and the blackened hole she made. ¡°That must have been prepared illusion and trickery. Your features are ugly, and you clearly suffer from birth defects. Your parents should have left you on a hillside to die of exposure.¡± Should I take that as how he behaved to those who sought audiences? Amdirlain smiled coldly. ¡°You don¡¯t get out of here with that curse intact. You¡¯re a danger to others.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t get to tell me what to do,¡± Demeter started for the exit. ¡°If the curse is a problem for you, then remove it. If you can, I might not kill you for your insolence by not addressing me with the proper respect.¡± I don¡¯t get paid enough to put up with your shit, and I¡¯m not letting you out to prey on and infect Lizardfolk. Before Demeter could take a second step, Amdirlain uncoiled a light kick. It hurled him back down the corridor and into the cell¡¯s rear wall. A spatial barrier sprang into existence, gleaming as if composed of compressed glass shards; the facets lit up the darkness. Demeter shook off the impact and lashed out with a left jab. Amdirlain didn¡¯t blink when the spatial energies removed his hand. Demeter flinched back and clutched at his wrist, a low cry of pain escaping clenched teeth. ¡°I¡¯m not a Witch, and I can easily kill you. At present, your species isn¡¯t even Human. Most would count you as a monster since you¡¯re a Greater Werewolf,¡± observed Amdirlain. ¡°Because you can inflict your condition on others, I will not permit you to wander from here without changing that situation.¡± ¡°No woman tells me what to do,¡± Demeter snarled in contemptuous rage, his muscularity twisting as his outrage ignited his transformation. He lifted his arm and eyed the bones growing back. ¡°I don¡¯t care what agreement you want, and I will slaughter those monsters that invaded my lands.¡± The words rippled with no sign of discordance across the unmarred sections of his Soul, and Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Have it your way.¡± Amdirlain dropped the barrier and blurred forward. Demeter¡¯s eyes nearly popped from his skull as the force of the decapitating blow bounced his head off the cell wall. She grabbed his Soul and quickly ensured the curse wouldn¡¯t follow him into the next life. [Combat Summary Greater Werewolf x1 Total Experience gained: 13,706 Empress Malfex: +13,706 Soul Sight [M] (10->11)] Teleport placed her back on the beach, and Amdirlain dispatched a message. ¡°Athena, I¡¯ve got a question to ask,¡± Amdirlain said, and she released the Message Spell that contained an image of her surroundings. The Lantern Archon popped into existence in under a minute, her filigree shell bearing Hestia¡¯s symbol spinning around a glowing core. ¡°I prefer to use Theia now.¡± ¡°You haven¡¯t changed your name though.¡± ¡°Perhaps I¡¯ve not let go of the past completely,¡± Theia murmured thoughtfully. ¡°This place is a deserted ruin. I didn¡¯t expect to find you by yourself.¡± ¡°The others are at the top of the Hill,¡± Amdirlain said, motioning in their direction. ¡°Sarah must have their thoughts under some sort of shielding,¡± said Theia. ¡°What question did you have for me, Amdirlain?¡± ¡°Do you remember a King Demeter of Macedon before the scourge?¡± ¡°There were a few kings of Macedon with that name,¡± replied Theia. Amdirlain brought the former King''s Soul forth and held it out for Theia¡¯s inspection. ¡°Unpleasant fellow,¡± Theia said. ¡°How did he survive this long?¡± ¡°He was in a stasis chamber,¡± Amdirlain motioned to the frontage of Demogorgon¡¯s temple. ¡°We should have never brought that thing with us,¡± huffed Theia. ¡°I understand he has prospered well here. Yet another crime my family would have needed to make amends for in time. Would you like me to guide Demeter to Judgement?¡± ¡°Can you tell who would get his Soul if he makes it there? I can open a Gate but I want to ensure he won¡¯t go to the Hag.¡± ¡°Oh,¡± Theia hummed. ¡°I¡¯d need to ask. Is that okay?¡± ¡°Go right ahead.¡± Theia¡¯s glow dimmed briefly. ¡°This Demeter used to be a strident follower of Ares so he wouldn¡¯t go to the Hag¡¯s Domain. The current Mantle holders took on former followers, and Minerva inherited Ares¡¯s Mantle from other deceased war gods.¡± ¡°Thank you for removing that concern.¡± ¡°Yes, let¡¯s not strengthen the hag with even a single Soul,¡± Theia stated firmly. Amdirlain opened a Gate directly to Judgement and let Demeter¡¯s Soul through. The ethereal Soul became solid on the other side, and he looked around in confusion as the Gate shut. ¡°I hope you find what you seek on your travels and make it home safely,¡± offered Theia before vanishing. Amdirlain returned to the temple and explored the other passages but found only deserted chambers with assorted pests that fled from her. 441 - Torn up Amdirlain''s PoV - Veht? - Mediterranean By the time Amdirlain returned from the ruined temple, Kadaklan had finished cleaning the filth from Jinfeng. "One ruined underground temple complex cleared," said Amdirlain. "Shall we wait here until sunset and cross at night?" "You''re not looking to go striding across the waters in the daytime?" quipped Kadaklan. "I''m still making adjustments to its enchantments," offered Sarah "Are you sure that¡¯s not putting us in danger? I''ve never heard of the enchantment of objects being changed after their creation," Kadaklan said. Sarah grinned. "Upgrades!" "Would you care to translate that for the rest of us?" asked Jinfeng "We''ll have a movie night sometime," replied Sarah. "Why don''t you all chill, relax, and enjoy the afternoon? I''ll complete the changes needed for the open sea crossing by nightfall." Jinfeng looked at Amdirlain. "Was there much danger inside?" "Aside from the spell arrays that greeted me, nothing much. There are still a few pests in there, gigantic rats and the like, but they ran from me," said Amdirlain, motioning to the beach. "Shall we spar?" Jinfeng saluted and leapt down to the soft sands. ? ? ? ? ? ? As the setting sun turned the sky into warm oranges and left the water with a sense of darkened mystery, Amdirlain sat on the porch with Sarah and looked ahead as the house strode westwards across the swells. "You seem in a sour mood," noted Sarah. "I killed a Greater Werewolf who had been in the Temple''s dungeon," said Amdirlain. Sarah hummed thoughtfully. "When you supply minimal details, it''s a clue that you''re unhappy with the situation. Does this lycanthrope have a name?" "He was formerly King Demeter of Macedon," replied Amdirlain. "He was under a stasis effect in the temple''s dungeon." Rather than explain in tedious detail, Amdirlain shared her memories of the encounter. "You tried to get him to cooperate," noted Sarah. Amdirlain wrinkled her nose. "The guy looked at me like a piece of meat, but I''m worried I made the convenient choice. I could see the situation going wrong for others in so many ways. He was a thousand years outside his time, with a curse that would spread like a disease, and wouldn''t even discuss the situation with me because I was a disfigured woman in his eyes." "So the history texts about Greek culture were accurate in that respect?" "Or at least accurate for him," replied Amdirlain. "I have this sense that somebody assigned me to garbage detail." Sarah''s smirk was all the reminder Amdirlain needed about who decided her route. Fine, I''ve only myself to blame. I decided what the puzzle meant and didn''t have to accept the invitation. "Yeah, yeah, I know," huffed Amdirlain. "What do you think? If I tamed the curse and sent him to join the current-day Greeks, do you think he''d have started a war?" "Absolutely," said Sarah. "As soon as someone validated he was royalty, all those unhappy with the Adventurers'' Guild would have used him as a rallying point. Unlike the Gorgon, who stopped to listen after a scuffle, he still told you that you should be grateful you got to serve him. You gave him more chance than you have given any other monster." "Monsters don''t have souls," argued Amdirlain. "I''ve gotten a little too casual with violence." "People with souls can still be monstrous," countered Sarah. "You know that includes me as well?" "If he''d killed you, do you believe he''d have given it a second thought?" asked Sarah. "You''ve vented so much poison, but you''ve still wounds of the Soul to tend." Amdirlain huffed. "Going oops afterwards doesn''t remove responsibility." "He should have been dead over a thousand years. Rather than give him a chance to screw up other people''s lives, you sent him to his afterlife," said Sarah. "If I were you, I would have done worse to him." "Like what?" "Let''s just say I would have taught him an object lesson in manners and leave it at that," said Sarah, "You know, with the route we''re on, there will be a sizeable gap between the northern borders of Rome and the territories held by the Norse. Do you plan to keep the current pace so Kadaklan can continue harvesting and experimenting?" "There isn''t a rush," said Amdirlain. "Unless we want to be wading through snow, we might have to decide where we spend the winter." "How about we park where Barcelona would be on Earth?" Amdirlain nodded. "That''s a fairly safe option. I''m pretty sure it doesn''t snow at that latitude. Is there anything there now?" Sarah checked her display tablet, and her expression turned sour. "A big Lizardfolk city. We''ll have to stay northeast along the coast to stay clear of them." "Sounds like a problem for another day then," said Amdirlain. They snuggled on the porch for a while before heading to the privacy of their soundproof room. Directed by the Psi-crystal that had access to the house''s sensors, their passage across the bay was undisturbed by violence. The house arrived off the heel of the Italian peninsula in the middle of the night and settled briefly in the wet sands. Its shutters flapped in silent irritation before, under the assault of local giant crabs, it started to stride up and down the beach, kicking crabs to death. When more joined the fray, the guns deployed and lit up the night; finally, an alert sounded in the house. The slaughter had already been completed before Amdirlain appeared in the main room and called up the outside display. Shaking her head, she instructed the Psi-crystal to come off high alert. When Sarah joined her, Amdirlain raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, did you model this thing''s behaviour on Baba Yaga''s hut?" "Right," laughed Sarah, looking over the devastation that lined the sand. "Perhaps I made the automated responses a touch aggressive to attacks." "We came under attack?" asked Jinfeng, descending the stairs behind Sarah. "I heard nothing aside from your alarm." "Some local wildlife took shots with water bolts, and the house returned the favour," explained Sarah, broadcasting the memories from the Psi-crystal to the receiver in the lounge area. Amdirlain grunted. "And if it had been civilised people and not monsters?" "The crystal will detect sophisticated minds and sound the alert sooner," reassured Sarah "Perhaps we shouldn''t let it travel unmonitored in the future," proposed Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. "It could have easily been a wandering swarm of Sahuagin attacking from the depths. If we''d stayed on land, it might have been a local monster attacking instead. As you can see from the memories, it let crabs that scuttled off leave without attacking them." Jinfeng shook her head at the devastation and gazed towards the east. "How far did we travel overnight? I felt neither the trip nor the battle." "About a hundred kilometres," offered Sarah. "How fast could you complete this trip if you just had the house walk around?" A predatory grin lit Sarah''s expression. "It depends on how much devastation I was content to leave in my wake." "She''s partly teasing," said Amdirlain, tugging Sarah''s shirt as she headed for the front door. "Come on, let''s get moving. I want to see if the locals are more hospitable." "Are you hoping they''ll let you into one of their towns?" Amdirlain nodded. "Getting to know people would be more interesting than simply camping out for the coldest months before we head north." "When you get to know people, you''re tempted to help them," observed Sarah. "Maybe I''ll learn more about myself that way," replied Amdirlain. "At least you didn''t say interfere." "Oh, do you have a guilty conscience?" laughed Sarah, following Amdirlain outside. "I fail at being subtle, that I''ll freely admit," sniffed Amdirlain, starting down the steps. "Let''s get moving. The locals might have heard the house''s pre-dawn fun, and we don''t know how close towns are." Sarah winked and pointed northwest along the coast. "Fifteen kilometres that way is the closest fishing village." "Satellite monitoring. You showed your hand with the Dragon, but have you had a DIY GPS on us the whole time?" "Maybe," Sarah dropped from the porch and sunk ankle-deep into the sand. "There is a farming village directly inland. You didn''t want to use your surveyors because the songs would tempt you, but mine don''t carry the melodies, just images." "I bet you have options that put thermal imaging to shame," huffed Amdirlain. "Of course," said Sarah before inhaling deeply. "Nothing but wildlife nearby. I''ll have breakfast, and we can head off at dawn. We can see how the local inhabitants react to us." ? ? ? ? ? ? The group''s casual mood faded a few kilometres inland when they saw flocks of ravens and other scavengers circling in the air ahead of them. "Something isn''t right at that village Sarah said was ahead of us," observed Jinfeng, her black braid swaying in the strong wind. "Do we head in to help?" Kadaklan sighed unhappily. "Let''s pick up the pace. Given the size of the gathering, I doubt that flock only recently arrived." "I''ll skip us across hills with teleport," advised Amdirlain, and she acted the moment they''d acknowledged. When she came to a halt, they were on a hilltop overlooking what must have once been a tidy village. Around a central common, well-formed domes spread out in a spiral. As they transitioned into full farms and the gaps between them increased, the quality of the structures remained: evenly shaped stone with no mortar showing in the hairline gap between each stone. It was an orderly place, well cared for by the slain residents. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. The fields before them lacked crops; the short stubble showed they had recently missed the harvest. Two Lizardfolk with sandy yellow scales hung from crossed poles in the middle of the field, with a ring of goat corpses around them; in places, the flesh had been stripped to the bone, but the birds still competed for the remains. A head twitch and a hiss came from the closest of the Lizardfolk; his inner lid fluttered rapidly when Amdirlain appeared before him, leaving the others behind on the last hill. Someone had removed scales across both victims in a five-flail pattern; bright red fungi grew from the exposed meat. The gentleness within Soul Sight turned their treatment from criminal to horrendous. "I''ll have you down shortly," said Amdirlain. "Flee. They''ve laced my wounds with deadly spores. They''ll burst if you move me," croaked the Lizardfolk. Amdirlain nodded and projected reassurance. "We''ll deal with them." The Lizardfolk fitfully struggled to shoo her away, but his arms were bound too tightly against the pole. "Leave." "If you strain yourself too much, they''re rupture anyway," said Amdirlain. Resting a hand against his shoulder, she examined the wounds and the mushrooms using Psychometabolism techniques. Kadaklan and Sarah landed beside her, and Amdirlain motioned them to the other male, moving weakling on the second set of poles. "Get ready to support him. I''ll incinerate both sets of poles and the mushrooms. I can prevent the flames from hurting individuals, and even if I can''t isolate them from the mushrooms, the spores won''t survive once they''re airborne." She took up his weight with Far Hand and flipped on the aura as soon as they were in position. The white flames incinerated the mushrooms and poles and sent the feasting flock fleeing. The Lizardfolk''s eyelids squeezed shut at the brilliant white light around them. With the wounds cleaned, she shut the aura off and teleported them back to the hilltop, only to find Klipyl missing. "Let''s get some fluids into them," ordered Kadaklan. "Are there any other survivors? There are ravens and other birds all over the village." "Klipyl''s checking," replied Jinfeng. "Dozens of crossed poles are visible from here, but there are no complex thoughts close by except the seven of us," Sarah motioned to include the two Lizardfolk. They settled the two survivors to the grassed slope, and Kadaklan retrieved a waterskin. "I''ve warned her of the mushroom spores," reported Sarah. "She says there is a group of farmers on the far side of the closest building, but they''ve all had their throats cut. She''s checking the rest of the village." The two Lizardfolk weakly tried to follow their exchange, but none was in a language they spoke. ''What else did you get from their thoughts if you learnt of the spores?'' Amdirlain projected to Sarah. ''We''ve stumbled into a religious war,'' returned Sarah. ''We need to know a lot more about what is going on. Any chance of you just skipping to the north?'' ''Did they stake out the children as well?'' ''I guess we''re staying.'' Golden light shone from Amdirlain''s hands, and she knelt between the two survivors, holding a hand above each of them; their open wounds healed, and unmarked scales grew to fill the gaps across their chests. Leaving them in Kadaklan''s care, she hopped about the village, finding more examples of butchery that included children as young as a day old. Souls hovered about many of the bodies, held in place by the gruesome death they''d suffered. I couldn''t tell anything about the last set of slaughtered villagers, but here I can see their souls. Do I stick to just avenging them, or do I resurrect them? "You''re staring off into the distance," said Klipyl, appearing nearby as Amdirlain considered the confused Soul of an innocent baby. His dismembered body lay scattered around what she assumed were his parents, with his head resting at his mother''s feet. I want to kill them all. "What sort of person does this?" asked Amdirlain to avoid airing her thoughts. Klipyl shook her head sadly. "Tracks are heading west." "Why don''t we have a chat with them?" Amdirlain asked. "Is that a good idea?" "Probably not, but I won''t turn a blind eye," said Amdirlain. "How long ago did they leave?" "Just yesterday. No signs of mounts and narrow strides, so they''re not hurrying much. I could find them in short order, teleporting across hilltops like you did," said Klipyl. "No need," said Amdirlain. "I''ll use some of the Clairsentience techniques to track them and then deal with them." Klipyl''s brows furrowed in worry. "Can''t I deal with them?" ¡°Technically, no. They¡¯ve priests among them of another deity. I want to stop them before they hurt others," said Amdirlain. "Only want to?" asked Klipyl carefully. ¡°Ebusuku cautioned me that sometimes you feel compelled to act regardless of cost.¡± "These weeks of travelling have been good for me," said Amdirlain. "I''m not shouldering all the guilt as I used to. I don¡¯t need to stop them, but I want to prevent more slaughters." Dozens of ectoplasm orbs shaped like human eyes surrounded her and blurred westwards. "That looked interesting." Klipyl motioned westward at the departed eyes. Amdirlain stared grimly north, directing her attention through the orbs. "Given they just butchered these people, where will their thoughts go if they see disembodied eyes?" "They didn''t even try to disguise their trail," said Klipyl. "Would you object if I brought these people back to life?" "That''s your choice, Klipyl," said Amdirlain. Klipyl waved towards the dead. "I don''t want to leave them dead. You could bring them back unmarked by this, couldn¡¯t you? They¡¯re not bad people." "I can see that from their souls, but I can''t tell how they might turn out or who they''ll hurt," said Amdirlain. "Stupid plinth. Well, it better not hold them against you. This is my choice. If you weren''t here, I''d be helping them," huffed Klipyl. "Would you help me gather the bodies? Most I can use Mass Raise Dead on, but I''ll need individual blessings for those torn apart. We should ask the two survivors to help reassure them." "You go talk to them, explain what you intend to do and see what they say," said Amdirlain. "They might have customs that prohibit raising the dead." As Klipyl went to get permission from the two survivors, Amdirlain gathered up the bodies with Telekinesis and laid them out in rows. She projected a sense of predatory eagles to the birds overhead, and they scattered in all directions. When Klipyl returned, the larger of the two survivors was with her; the patch of scales that had regrown across his chest was visibly lighter than the rest of the pale yellow scales that covered him. "Dralic, this Am. Am, I''d like to introduce you to Dralic." "Am. Thank you for your rescue. Your companion Klipyl says she can restore the village to life," said Dralic. "I can¡¯t thank you enough that you would spend some power on simple villagers. Though I am confused about why she sought my permission, I cannot revive them." "Do you know much about raising the dead, Dralic?" "I''ve never grown strong enough in Lady Jithlo''s service to be granted such powers," said Dralic. ¡°I¡¯ve never learnt more than it was possible for senior priests.¡± Amdirlain motioned to the dead. "I want to ensure we wouldn''t offend you or those who Klipyl''s trying to restore to life. If the Soul isn''t willing to return, it''s a wasted effort. Common reasons for souls not returning are not trusting the Priest''s faith, if the Priest has ill intent towards them, or if their culture is against it." Dralic inhaled and thrummed noisily. "I assure you I''ve never heard of such efforts spent on mere villagers, and there is no precedent or custom that you might offend." "I''ll get busy then," said Klipyl. She moved to the end of the line with the least damaged bodies. "This will take a while, so don''t mind me." The meaning of the energised words slipped away even as the Blessing spilled from Klipyl''s lips. As the energy settled into the first victims'' bodies, killing blows, and the holes opened by pecking birds slowly filled out. "Why was your village attacked? And are those we bring back to life in danger of being attacked again?" "If Kreslix and I leave, they might be safe," offered Dralic. "But those that have twisted Lady Jithlo''s tenets might also extort them. While I have long hoped the sect distorting her ways would see the truth, they''ve grown considerably stronger in the last decade." I guess Kreslix is the fellow who was on the other poles. "Your attackers serve the same Goddess as you?" Dralic put his hand to the regrown scales. "My fellow and I now bear her mark on our flesh." "Her mark? I assumed it was your enemy''s symbol," said Amdirlain. It looks exactly like the symbol on the plague spreader''s shine. Dralic''s tail drooped, and inner eyelids closed. "I''m afraid it''s both. In recent years, heretics gained a foothold in the east, and their warped outlook has spread among many clans. Now, those clans that adhere to her original precepts are dwindling." "You have a schism in her faith, yet she still blesses them?" "Life is not simple, and it contains many things that cause struggles. Yet they¡¯ve become more twisted and grown considerably in the last decade," said Dralic. "They surged in power, as they can cause warriors who are very dismissive towards those who follow her old ways to bend their knee. The fiercest warrior fears illness that can steal their strength and will not cross those who treat her as the Lady of Disease.¡± "Why are they dismissive of her original tenets?" "We help the growth of crops to feed the herds," said Dralic. "They do not understand the work or value. They see the herds and value those who protect them but not those who tend to plants that no warrior eats.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll get you back on your feet and see this mess cleaned up,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do to squash this schism.¡± ¡°Would you join my prayers to the lady for guidance in such a matter?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s alright. I make my own choices,¡± replied Amdirlain, and she offered a crooked smile. "I''m on speaking terms with a few deities I don¡¯t need to add to my list." Her matter-of-fact tone froze Dralic. "You have a strange sense of humour, soft skin." "You are assuming I''m joking," Amdirlain replied. "Assumptions can be dangerous. Why do you still live here if the sect has grown stronger?" "We here on this peninsula are the last holdout of her original teachings," explained Dralic. "It was only weeks ago that the stronghold of Kralash fell. Now our order doesn''t even have a High Priest left." "How did you learn of his death?" "It was our attackers who brought the news," said Dralic. "I don''t understand how they turned the precepts about growing crops to disease," said Amdirlain. "A Wizard discovered that a tiny lifeform, invisible to the naked eye, caused the plague," explained Dralic. "He called it the seed of death, and our Lady bids us to tend the seeds so they might grow. That some twisted the Lady¡¯s instructions on nurturing seeds to apply to the name a non-believer gave to the source of a disease I find revolting." The technique Amdirlain had continued to support spotted a group of Lizardfolk, and she created an illusion of the group between them. "Is this them?" The thirty-eight Lizardfolk wore the segmented metal plates Lizardfolk used for armour to protect vital organs. Dralic gaze snapped wide. "Yes. How did you find them so fast?" "Which one is the Priest?" Without hesitation, Dralic jabbed an extended claw at a mottled grey male in the group''s centre. Amdirlain swooped the manifested eyes through the group, causing them to halt; they fearfully swung about, missing the orbs with their wild swings. The figure he''d pointed out wore a pendant with the five-headed flail depicted in blackened metal over top of his armour; a full-sized version hung from his weapon harness. She dropped the illusion and teleported right before the Priest. Before he could react, Amdirlain delved into his mind and confirmed he was wandering, purging villages with priests who followed Jithlo''s original tenets. At the rush of images from destroyed villages, she plotted a path to slay the rest of the group, then grabbed him and pulled at his Soul with Energy Drain. Black lines glistened sickly across her forearm, a pulse of the Power leeched colour from his scales, the drain cascaded through his flesh, and his body turned to ash. As he fell apart, the lines on her forearm whirled outwards and flayed her surroundings, and the rest of the group crumpled to the now lifeless ground beneath her feet. For a hundred metres around her, the wind stirred up the ashes of Lizardfolk, plants, and animals. The souls of those she''d killed streamed into her body. [Combat Summary Lizardfolk x32 Total Experience gained: +49,120 Empress Malfex: +49,120 Empress Malfex Levelled Up! Enervating Aura gained! Enervating Aura (1) Energy Drain [S] (96) merged into Enervating Aura (1) -> (S) [15)] Caught by surprise, Amdirlain hurriedly turned the ability off, but the group, shrubs and grasses, were already dead. Her skin buzzed with their stolen health, but with the Power disabled, the feeling bled away. [Enervating Aura Details: This aura drains the health out of any living organism within the area of effect, providing health to heal the possessor¡¯s injuries. The possessor''s magic rating determines the amount of health consumed from each entity in the aura.] I wanted to grab his Soul, not kill everything. "Fuck!" spat Amdirlain. With how easily she''d activated the new Power, she considered the others included in her species details: Greater Mana Drain, Greater Mana Rift, Enervating Aura, Planar Gate, Greater Energy Recovery, and Amplified Energy Efficiency. I''ll have to see about getting those last two; more than likely, I''ll need to use up more Mana than I''ve consumed lately. For now, let''s see if I can trigger Planar Gate. Focused on the white clouds of Judgement, Amdirlain didn''t cast a Spell but pushed with her will for an opening to form. [Planar Gate gained! Planar Gate (1) Gate (Lesser) (1) merged into Planar Gate (1) Planar Shift (Self) [Ap] (5) merged into Planar Gate (1) -> [Ap] (1) Note: Playing with something besides Sarah for a change?] And I see you''re back to being a gaslighting arsehole. I wonder if Nicholaus is ever tempted to smack you or if he''s so focused on his crafting that your bullshit doesn''t matter. You would have known how much pain Ori was in for so long. Did you ever do anything to help her feel less lonely? Do you know your failings, Gideon? A jagged hole tore open before her, its serrated edges resembling a maw widening as if to consume her. It wavered briefly but stabilised, and Amdirlain released the souls into the white clouds of Judgment before releasing the Power. The edges snapped together with the ominous chomp of a bear trap. Though tempted to confirm the ability''s reach into the Abyss, Amdirlain set that concern aside. Not wanting to leave the dead patch, she restricted Resonance to a hundred metres and restored the grass and microbes with True Song before she closed it off again. Gathering up the equipment and spoils the group had been carrying, Amdirlain returned to the village. Dralic had turned his attention to those being revived, so Amdirlain set the loot down and waited. 442 - Tear you down Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Mediterranean Sea - Italian peninsula Amdirlain returned in time to see the first twenty villagers stir; groaning with fatigue, they looked about in confusion. As Dralic moved to reassure them, Klipyl began to revive the next group. With the group justifiably close to hysterics, Amdirlain stretched her Charisma across them to still the surge of emotions. ¡°Your killers are dead,¡± Amdirlain stated reassuringly. ¡°Klipyl is bringing more of your families back to life. Be patient and calm while she restores who she can. You can help by reassuring everyone after the blessings are complete. For now, address your questions to Dralic one at a time.¡± With that, Amdirlain walked away rather than risking a commotion by teleporting. I¡¯ve got no idea what I¡¯m doing here. She found the others outside the fields, now clear of the slaughtered herds and crop stubble. Kadaklan had set up a small campfire and was methodically sniffing silken tea packets. The other Lizardfolk they¡¯d rescued from the poles sat nearby, his tail lying across his legs. ¡°Would someone introduce us?¡± Sarah motioned to the sandy-scaled Lizardfolk sitting nearby. ¡°This is Dralic¡¯s assistant, Kreslix. Kreslix, this is Am.¡± ¡°How are you feeling, Kreslix?¡± The smaller Lizardfolk held up a steady hand straight before him. ¡°My limbs are steady. How is it your healing restored me so completely?¡± ¡°It¡¯s different from the blessings you¡¯re used to, that¡¯s all,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve recovered.¡± Kreslix¡¯s tail twitched towards the houses. ¡°The other introduced herself as Klipyl. Is that the correct way to say her name?¡± ¡°It is,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°She said she could raise the dead villagers. Why do strangers freely provide such a powerful gift?¡± asked Kreslix. ¡°It was Klipyl¡¯s choice. She¡¯s already raised some villagers from the dead,¡± noted Amdirlain. ¡°There are a lot of folks in need of comfort and guidance.¡± ¡°Dralic¡¯s better at speaking to people than I am,¡± Kreslix blurted. ¡°He¡¯s interested in people and plants.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± Kreslix¡¯s chin dipped. ¡°If I tried to comfort them, I¡¯d upset them. Dralic says I have a natural talent for provoking anger. Truthfully, I¡¯m not sure why you¡¯re spending this effort. With all the herds slaughtered, we¡¯ll probably starve to death. Why did they do this? We weren¡¯t hurting them.¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°They¡¯re working through a list of villages they seized in the capture of Kralash. They sought all the priests that follow the old tenets on the peninsula.¡± ¡°Is nowhere safe from them?¡± groaned Kreslix. ¡°You rescued us, but that sounds like they or someone else will return to ensure they finished the task.¡± This would be much simpler if I could talk with their Goddess and learn her perspective. ¡°I¡¯ve killed the group that attacked here, but anywhere known to the officials in Kralash won¡¯t be safe from them,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. ¡°Can either you or Dralic call up a Lantern Archon?¡± ¡°If Dralic gives permission, I can summon a guide,¡± replied Kreslix. His stomach suddenly gurgled noisily, causing his eyelids to flare wide. ¡°I thought your magic had washed my hunger away, but it seems it was only appeased. I¡¯ll check on the feedstock and meat smokers, though I doubt they left anything edible in the village.¡± Kreslix rose and headed towards one of the more significant dome buildings in the village. ¡®He didn¡¯t even consider asking if we¡¯d help their food situation,¡¯ projected Sarah. Amdirlain snorted. ¡®We could gather some wild herds.¡¯ ¡®That¡¯s simple enough and wouldn¡¯t require you to break your rule again.¡¯ ¡®Yeah, yeah, bite me.¡¯ Sarah¡¯s gaze trailed over her slowly, and Amdirlain fought to restrain the sudden blush. I¡¯m a freak; a village slaughtered, and Sarah can still have that effect on me. She probably did that to make sure I didn¡¯t get in a black mood; we¡¯ve both become a bit numb to death from all we¡¯ve seen. Although, Klipyl will have them up and around, so there is no need to punish myself. Amdirlain sat on the slope beside Sarah and tried to relax despite the uncomfortable thoughts nagging at the back of her mind. Sometime later, she began turning the Priest¡¯s blackened symbol over in her fingers. ¡°Why so contemplative?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m considering doing something stupid.¡± ¡°That¡¯s an interesting starting point,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Given the pendant you¡¯re glaring at, I take it their schism is involved?¡± Amdirlain tapped the pendant against her knee. ¡°I could find all the priests favouring disease, but I want to talk to their Goddess first. There is the potential the cultists¡¯ perception has already twisted her too far to appreciate any attempt to help reign them in. Dralic told me they¡¯re now the dominant faction.¡± ¡°And do what?¡± ¡°Worst case, kill them,¡± said Amdirlain flatly. ¡°If they¡¯re distorting her teachings but keeping to a perverted version, she likely can¡¯t even act against them. It¡¯s something that Custodian warned Livia about, ensuring her tenets aren¡¯t open to corruption and watching out for those who try.¡± Sarah took the pendant from her. ¡°We need to compare this to Dralic¡¯s symbol if he¡¯s still got one hidden around the place. If the energies are different enough, I could enchant an object to identify their locations. The other option is to find all the holy symbols for her. If the priests are worth protecting, we help them. Otherwise, we deal with them.¡± ¡°I¡¯d say we should find them all,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That way if anyone is in need, we can help.¡± ¡°Going to collect them all?¡± Amdirlain huffed. ¡°If I¡¯ve been given trash duty, I might as well do the job properly.¡± ¡°You almost sound like a Japanese Light Novel. Let¡¯s do our best!¡± cheered Sarah, the fake cheer not covering the tightness in her posture. ¡°Horrible idea, right?¡± ¡°Terrible,¡± Sarah nodded. ¡°Talk to her first. Let¡¯s ensure you¡¯re not taking on something unwelcome. If she disagrees with your play, her people aren¡¯t your problem. Let¡¯s handle this logically and clinically. The plinth¡¯s judgements apply to actions when happiness or anger are the drivers.¡± ¡°Not even trying to talk me out of it?¡± ¡°You know something distorted from its original nature is essentially disorderly,¡± noted Sarah. Amdirlain winked and then theatrically clapped her hands to her face. ¡°How could I have missed that?¡± ¡°Brat!¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°You back Klipyl up, and I¡¯ll find some wild goats.¡± Sarah headed off with Jinfeng, and left Kadaklan to keep her company. Kadaklan held out a cup of green tea. ¡°You¡¯re not telling me to understand the situation first?¡± ¡°I believe you understand what you will not tolerate,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°You have more information now than when you first encountered the disease spreader.¡± If I hadn¡¯t killed him so quickly, then I would have known of this issue sooner. Amdirlain groaned. ¡°Then, I only wanted to stop him from killing more people.¡± ¡°Now?¡± ¡°Now I want to stop the situation before more people die.¡± ¡°You once wanted to study to be a healer with me,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Have you considered that worlds require healers that operate beyond one patient at a time?¡± Amdirlain had no answer for that. It was mid-morning when Sarah returned with the first herd of shaggy goats and left them in the pen. She¡¯d departed before the first fatigue-worn villagers came to investigate their bleating. The Lizardfolk¡¯s scales showed signs of places where the Blessing had replaced flesh and scales. They retreated with lighter steps, and their voices lifted with cheer. Dralic skirted the field as herders worked to round up the goats. Their fatigue gave the wild goats a distinct advantage before the villagers organised themselves and worked together in a line. ¡°These aren¡¯t our goats and, though they seem wild, you¡¯ve helped improve our chances,¡± said Dralic. ¡°Kreslix mentioned you asked about summoning a Lantern Archon. What aid did you need from them?¡± ¡°Information rather than help. I¡¯ve questions I need your Goddess to answer,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Your situation is messy, so I want to ensure no misunderstandings.¡± ¡°You speak of conversing with the Goddess so casually,¡± observed Dralic. ¡°You weren¡¯t joking about knowing other gods earlier?¡± ¡°I was not. I recently lived in the Domain of a Goddess for almost a year and have spoken with others,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°While I could ask one of them to intercede, I thought going through her servants would be more polite.¡± Do I need to kill them, or can I break their twisted beliefs? I¡¯ve never intentionally used Seed Doubts, but Sarah told me about her use of it. They know about the cells involved in diseases, but what if I blow their minds with the whole DNA helix and some creative uses of Life Affinity spells? ¡°I¡¯ll summon something higher in the Celestial ranks so that it might provide clearer answers. I¡¯ve found some lantern archons to be¡ªvague,¡± offered Dralic. With the tip of his tail, Dralic drew a simple circle with no runes of restraint, merely those that aided the summoning process. The liquid sound of the Blessing¡¯s intonations flowed rapidly from his lips, melting instantly from their conscious thoughts like snowflakes under a desert sun. A seam split the middle of the circle and the air rippled like a shadow passed before the sun, leaving a strange figure behind. An orb formed of rapidly shifting feathers with eyes peeking out from between them; hundreds of eyes studied Amdirlain as more examined their surroundings. Dralic stiffened in surprise and hurried to break the circle before bowing deeply. ¡°You have done well calling me, Darlic,¡± intoned the Celestial before turning its full attention to Amdirlain. ¡°My Lady is aware of why you wish to speak to someone higher ranked, but I¡¯m the strongest Dralic could manage. She felt the call to restore the faithful here to life and spoke to the Goddess whom your Celestial companion serves.¡± The words resounded oddly, emerging as they did from the muffling feathers.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°What might I call you?¡± ¡°Do you truly need a name for a brief conversation?¡± Amdirlain shrugged. ¡°Are you sure you know why I wish to speak? The conversation could last longer than you expect.¡± ¡°You wish to speak about the killings among her faithful?¡± ¡°That¡¯s only one piece of the puzzle. We¡¯ve got a lot more to discuss than what happened in just this village,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Depending on your Lady¡¯s preferences, my future decisions could benefit or harm her goals, and I prefer to keep things civil where possible.¡± The feathers rippled and folded over, spiralling through a prism of colours. ¡°You might refer to me as Ryinsh. Are you an Elf?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not an Elf. Why has your Lady allowed her faith to be twisted, Ryinsh?¡± ¡°It is not by choice, but mortals control life¡¯s direction. The changes among her faithful have already shifted her Domain from the heavens to the Outlands, and the shadows beneath the trees have grown thicker this last year. My Lady finds the changes uncomfortable,¡± replied Ryinsh softly. ¡°If her Domain has shifted, what impact has that had on her servants?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°There has been a departure of celestials which has escalated lately, and those staying with her have grown few. Other beings have begun offering to serve her and, while she is wary of them, there are so many roles that remain unfilled,¡± admitted Ryinsh. ¡°What about those emerging from the wellspring?¡± ¡°How do you know about that?¡± Ryinsh demanded in shock. Power flared in Amdirlain¡¯s gaze, and Ryinsh froze. ¡°I used to be a Goddess. Tell me how bad the problem is so I can help your Lady.¡± Amdirlain pulled her power back in, and Ryinsh¡¯s feathers snapped against the air. ¡°None have been celestials this last decade.¡± ¡°Is your lady familiar with pruning back a tree when a limb starts to rot?¡± ¡°Who would you cut away?¡± Amdirlain grimaced. ¡°All the priests that are in the sect of disease.¡± The feathers drooped to shield Ryinsh¡¯s gaze. ¡°That would leave my Lady with few priests to carry out her work. Once, many priests refined their faith through debates over the tenets¡¯ true meaning.¡± ¡°Is that still the case?¡± ¡°It is not.¡± Ryinsh¡¯s voice was soft and carried a weight of sadness. ¡°A sick perception has taken solid root. Now they seek what provides them power, and that sways my Lady¡¯s focus.¡± ¡°Does she believe she can convince them to change their ways?¡± ¡°My Lady has tried many ways to encourage them to see things differently, but they¡¯ve ignored her guidance while keeping to their interpretation of her tenets. This has made it impossible to punish those straying since they¡¯ve not acted directly against the wording.¡± ¡°Even killing other worshippers? Or spreading diseases? This isn¡¯t against her tenets?¡± ¡°Diseases occur naturally, and the survivors develop resistance to them, helping their survival against stronger diseases,¡± countered Ryinsh. ¡°Living things compete for resources and survival. The sects have been fighting each other, demonstrating that principle at a societal level.¡± ¡°Do you believe your Lady would have once seen things in such a light?¡± ¡°No,¡± murmured Ryinsh. ¡°She would have wanted people to focus on a healthy life, not living in fear of rampant disease in their communities.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°I¡¯d like to know about your Lady¡¯s tenets so that I can find a course of action that doesn¡¯t involve killing them. Yet, if the worst comes to pass, what would happen if all the disease-focused sect died? Does she have other priests to support her endeavours?¡± ¡°There are a few cities across the sea where she is revered only for life and not through the lens of disease,¡± clarified Ryinsh, his feathers lying back to expose more eyes. ¡°My Lady wants to speak with you directly,¡± said Ryinsh. ¡°Given you travel with a Celestial strong enough to bring over a hundred back from the dead, she believes you can travel to the Outlands. Is that correct?¡± A Fallen stepping into a Goddess¡¯s Domain, pendant or not, she¡¯d know me. ¡°I think she¡¯ll learn less than she hopes, and I don¡¯t want to come and go between the planes. Does she know Anna Perenna, the Human Goddess of Life?¡± ¡°She is familiar with that one.¡± ¡°Anna knows how to contact me. Your Lady should speak to her and decide if she¡¯d be upset at me dealing with this schism she¡¯s enduring,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°While she¡¯s doing that, I need you to tell me about her tenets and Blessing paths. I might also need to call upon you or other celestials to help convince key individuals.¡± When Ryinsh finally vanished, Kadaklan finally spoke up. ¡°That was a strange conversation you had with that Celestial. What do you intend to do?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ve got a Power called Seed Doubts, quite fitting given the situation,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got some planning to do with how I can entwine it with my other capabilities.¡± ¡°You¡¯re going to push them from their path?¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to see if they can comprehend the dead end they¡¯re on and help them understand the full scope of life,¡± corrected Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve got some planning and study to do, as I might need more spells to pull this off without True Song.¡± ¡°At the least, the villagers here are doing well,¡± offered Kadaklan, nodding to those in a nearby field. Amdirlain turned her attention to the nearby Lizardfolk, who¡¯d been busy dealing with the wild goats. A female with grey-yellow scales and two fatigue-worn children by her side limped alongside the fence line, and Amdirlain went forward to help. ¡°Are you alright?¡± asked Amdirlain. The female nodded and patted her dragging leg. ¡°My leg was injured many winters ago, and it has always been painful when I¡¯m tired.¡± Amdirlain nodded in understanding. ¡°And being revived has left you exhausted. Might I treat your leg?¡± ¡°It is whole,¡± protested the female. The children¡¯s tired gazes flared in surprise when they finally registered her approach and stepped behind their mother. ¡°I¡¯m not asking for anything. Two small children can be difficult to keep up with when one¡¯s at their best,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You can call me Am.¡± She tapped her chest and issued a low mutter. ¡°Rakar. Your name is short.¡± ¡°Indeed it is,¡± Amdirlain crouched and let Ki waft through her skin; the warm glow received an astonished hiss from Rakar and curious chirps from her children, who peeked around at their mother¡¯s cry. Rakar shuffled forward, and Amdirlain held her hand just above the scales and let the energy soak into flesh. The damage from the old injury was soon healed, and the rough remodelling that caused the lingering pain smoothed out. ¡°I feel better than ever,¡± breathed Rakar, shifting her weight from side to side. ¡°And my exhaustion is gone. Could you help others? We¡¯re all so tired.¡± ¡°You are weaker than before, so it is better to recover gradually, but you were in pain,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°It can be difficult convincing children to rest instead of play when recovering from sickness.¡± ¡°Yes,¡± murmured Rakar. Her gaze flickered to the herders, drunk with fatigue and still trying to manage the goats. ¡°Exactly. They need to spend time recovering and learning their reduced limits. Instead, they¡¯re checking goats that could just be eating the stubble. Though your fatigue is gone, you still need time to adjust, so don¡¯t push yourself.¡± Rakar nodded, repeatedly bobbing her head, and Amdirlain left her to it, returning to where Kadaklan was. ? ? ? ? ? ? Overnight, Sarah prepared an enchanted compass that projected images of shrines dedicated to disease. Amdirlain provided Klipyl with the locations of other villages the group had attacked, and she returned with a stream of villagers who were still recovering from the strain of being raised from the dead. Amdirlain invested time checking the catalogue of spell lists she¡¯d brought along and considered options based on the summaries before she set to learning. While she was studying, Sarah and Jinfeng brought in more wild goats to replenish the herds and helped the village tame them. Early evening on the second day, Amdirlain was near the village centre, watching over some playing children. A sudden shift in the light occurred when a Lantern Archon appeared nearby and drifted towards her. Their outer shell was an elaborate framework of wire scales and the five-flail symbol of the Goddess Jithlo. ¡°Hello, Archon. What can I do for you?¡± The Archon chimed. ¡°As much as it sorrows her, Lady Jithlo would like to accept your help.¡± ¡°She¡¯s satisfied herself of my good intentions?¡± The Lantern Archon bobbed. ¡°Let her know I¡¯m hoping my idea means I don¡¯t have to kill anyone, but I¡¯ll need to call on her servants. Would you watch over the children?¡± The Lantern Archon gave a chiming protest. ¡°I¡¯ve no hands.¡± ¡°Their parents are just handling some chores in that house,¡± Amdirlain gestured to their dome and provided the Lantern Archon with their names. ¡°What will you do?¡± Amdirlain stood. ¡°We¡¯ve already identified all the settlements that have priests of disease, so it¡¯s time to talk to them. Plant seeds of doubt and get them to atone. Were you given the names of celestials I can call when I need someone to speak with them?¡± The Lantern Archon paused and then moved forward to hover close to Amdirlain¡¯s ear and whispered a string of names. With that, Amdirlain turned invisible and teleported to a central temple using an image that Dralic had identified. The engraving that covered the temple entryway depicted Lizardfolk suffering from a catalogue of hideous-looking diseases. The clink of metal echoed loudly in the archway as a robust Lizardfolk dropped a full pouch into an offering box and hurried on his way, leaving a smug Priest behind. He wore the typical Lizardfolk apparel comprising harnesses and segmented armour, but his scales were set with decorative patterns of Lady Jithlo¡¯s symbol in darkened metal. Amdirlain slipped by him unnoticed and walked along the central aisle past worshippers praying to appease the Goddess. In the middle of the four columns supporting the dome was a wide altar covered in blood and remnants of offerings that crawled with flies. The rank stench was a trifle compared to places she¡¯d visited within the Abyss, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t want to consider the health hazard it represented. I want to avoid any distractions from the message I have for them, but I also want to be distinct. That way, they¡¯ll have a better chance of matching up when the tales spread. Amdirlain shifted into a Lizardfolk form but went with jet-black scales she hadn¡¯t seen on any of them. Positioned before the filth-covered altar, Amdirlain shed her invisibility. ¡°That altar is only for the High Priest¡¯s use,¡± roared a nearby Priest. ¡°Get down.¡± Amdirlain completely unfurled her Charisma for the first time since leaving Qil Tris and, for three kilometres beyond the temple proper, Lizardfolk staggered and dropped to their knees. The pressure of her presence made even the fiercest warriors hiss pitifully, like newborns seeking their mothers. ¡°I have a message for all,¡± Amdirlain said softly, yet her words carried to thousands like a gentle whisper in their ears. ¡°Disease is not the limit of Lady Jithlo¡¯s influence. You stunt yourself and her by focusing on it. Today, I will reveal to you the true seed of life that makes up not only diseases but also your scales, teeth, blood, and everything in your bodies and food. It needs proper care, not just what you would limit yourself to. It is not pitiful to care for what you do not understand.¡± A glimmering DNA helix first spun above the altar, followed closely by other locations throughout the city. ¡°All your strength and ferocity comes from the gift of life Lady Jithlo represents.¡± Dominion expanded, carrying Muse¡¯s Insight as Amdirlain spoke and put on her show. More Illusions bloomed to life inside and around the temple¡¯s dome, ensnaring onlookers¡¯ attention as more came into her sermon¡¯s range. Lay believers were the first to have their faith shattered but, by the time she was done, the temple¡¯s High Priest knelt before the altar, praying for atonement. Amdirlain destroyed his limbs, dropping him mewling to the floor, and as life poured out of him, she remade them. Spells recreated limbs by sending out spurs of bone first and then wrapping them in tendons, ligaments, and muscles. When his scales regrew, she altered their hue to stain them a deep red. ¡°You have shed the blood of the faithful and committed crimes against the true tenets of Jithlo,¡± declared Amdirlain. ¡°Now I¡¯ve marked you by that blood until your life returns to Lady Jithlo. Twist her tenets again at your peril. You will properly dedicate this place to her true nature, not the perversion you sought.¡± The filthy altar crumbled, and all the grotesque carvings covering the dome were shorn away. After calling Ryinsh to assign them tasks to atone, Amdirlain vanished to the next stop of her tour. Though not all places received the same overwhelming force, they all received the same message. Thousands of priests had their convictions shattered and would need to rebuild their ability to cast blessings. Between seizing the right opportunities and the time required for even the briefest sermons, it took three weeks for Amdirlain to shatter the conviction of the disease priests and their congregations. When she sat on Sarah¡¯s lap after the last stop, a notification arrived. The results were startling, and Amdirlain stiffened. [Achievement: Faith Cleanser Details: You have caused a significant sect of a deity to seek atonement with only minimal deaths. Reward: 5,000,000 experience New Class options unlocked: - Herald of Life - Faith Breaker - Inquisitor Empress Malfex Levelled Up! x25 Muse¡¯s Insight [S] (200) -> [G] (1)] Sarah made a questioning noise in the back of her throat. ¡°Problem?¡± ¡°A rush of levels. I should get around to allocating my spare attribute points,¡± murmured Amdirlain. ¡°An achievement?¡± Amdirlain waved northwards towards her last stop. ¡°My restructure of Jithlo¡¯s church seems to have been effective, and the achievement¡¯s experience reward shot me up twenty-five levels.¡± ¡°The benefit of a clean slate, and you didn¡¯t need to use a single song?¡± ¡°Just that one to heal the ground when I activated Enervating Aura for the first time,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah nodded. ¡°Have you tested it out with Phoenix¡¯s Rapture?¡± ¡°It feels wrong, and since they¡¯re so oppositional in energy, I doubt they¡¯d combine,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°My attempts with Analysis got me bugger all. I don¡¯t feel like walking through the places I¡¯ve hopped around these last few weeks. Let¡¯s jump to the west coast somewhere in the region where Portugal would sit and, after winter, we¡¯ll head north.¡± ¡°Unless something has mauled the countryside, there are many beautiful spots to enjoy while we relax. Have you decided on plans for the winter?¡± ¡°Spending time with you and making Jinfeng¡¯s life miserable.¡± Sarah¡¯s dry laugh lit her gaze, and she drew Amdirlain close. ¡°If you¡¯re pressing Jinfeng with blade work, she will be ecstatic, not miserable.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to teach her to dance properly,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°Help her understand and push her body¡¯s limits.¡± ¡°You stepped past your previous limits with Charisma,¡± noted Sarah. ¡±You kept the dead to a minimum?¡± Amdirlain nodded in relief. ¡°I only killed two priests and thirty-seven believers. Unsurprisingly, I¡¯ve gained a hundred twenty-nine levels in Seed Doubts.¡± ¡°A Power you once thought you¡¯d never use intentionally. Life can be surprising,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Hopefully, their Goddess makes them pay for their crimes against their communities.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not meddling in that,¡± dismissed Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll probably have enough repercussions coming my way. I let my fear of controlling others'' minds restrict how I handled Demeter. Those priests probably deserved worse, but they¡¯re not a thousand years out of time, and others can judge their deeds.¡± Sarah squeezed Amdirlain comfortingly. 443 - Lazy days Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? Upon leaving the Lizardfolk village they¡¯d restored, the group bypassed the other settlements on the peninsula and traced a route westward along the sea. Once they passed through the strait into the Atlantic, they followed the coast again until they reached a scenic spot on the eastern edge of the ocean, west of where Lisbon would be. The rocky area Amdirlain picked provided a suitable terrain to push Jinfeng¡¯s training. A grey rock cliff face, stone-littered beaches, and steep hills challenged her manoeuvrability and balance. Amdirlain stretched out her Telepathy and noted only creatures and assorted monsters within the gullies anywhere close. ¡°There are only normal and monstrous animal species about the place,¡± announced Amdirlain, and she waved towards one of the jagged grey clifftops. ¡°Let¡¯s have a place with a view.¡± They perched the house on the lip of the cliff, and Amdirlain curled up with Sarah to enjoy the colours of the setting sun the first evening they arrived. As the aroma of cooking seafood wafted from inside, Amdirlain snuggled closer. ¡°This is very nice.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not second-guessing yourself about leaving them to sort things out?¡± Amdirlain smiled ruefully. ¡°There is a bit of niggling, but I¡¯m dealing with it. I¡¯m focusing on the fact I gave them an opportunity. What they do with it as a society is up to them. I¡¯ve no interest in going around judging the guilty and punishing them. I¡¯ll let their laws and Goddess figure things out.¡± ¡°Let me know if you need a reminder,¡± said Sarah. ¡°How about a distraction?¡± Sarah leaned in and nuzzled her earlobe. ¡°I¡¯m only a distraction?¡± Doubts niggled at the back of Amdirlain¡¯s thoughts, and she pressed lightly on Sarah¡¯s nose. ¡°Don¡¯t tease me that way, please. You provide wonderful distractions, but you¡¯re not a distraction.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll stick with teasing you in other ways,¡± smirked Sarah playfully. ¡°Get a room, you two,¡± called Kadaklan from inside. ¡°We had a house to ourselves,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°I don¡¯t mind a floor show,¡± giggled Klipyl. The strains of one of Amdirlain¡¯s songs from Qil Tris started to play from the caster, and Klipyl sang along to the innuendo-filled lyrics. Amdirlain groaned and hid her face in her hands. ¡°Can¡¯t we implement a rule: what happened on Qil Tris stays on Qil Tris?¡± ¡°The evidence follows you wherever you go,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Only because you brought it with you,¡± huffed Amdirlain. ¡°And then played it for Klipyl.¡± ¡°What¡¯s wrong with my singing?¡± protested Klipyl. Appearing on the porch, she planted her hands on her hips, the white ribbon straining as she thrust out her chest. She¡¯s worried about her singing, not the lyrics. ¡°It¡¯s not your singing that is the issue,¡± reassured Amdirlain. With a satisfied nod, Klipyl vanished back inside and resumed singing. ¡°I¡¯ll set up the forge in the morning and keep Klipyl entertained while you train with Jinfeng,¡± said Sarah. The first night in their temporary home felt incredibly restful, knowing they wouldn¡¯t travel anywhere the following day. When Sarah fell asleep, Amdirlain ventured onto the porch and watched the gleaming stars. Their patterns weren¡¯t the night sky that either remembered; Veht? was only one of thousands of cloned Earths within Ori¡¯s plans, and setting the same night sky above each to match Earth was an impossible feat. The scent of late-season blooms tickled her nose, and Amdirlain turned her attention to the landscape, picking out familiar plants from the darkness. Should I continue making Kadaklan research each plant or give him the details from Anna¡¯s Orb? He seems to have fun, and I don¡¯t know if the Tao Alchemical techniques bring out extra properties. Maybe it¡¯s best to leave it be. Amdirlain got busy testing her knowledge of the plant life. ? ? ? ? ? ? Though winter was another two moons away, settling in early allowed Amdirlain to spend extra time with Sarah and on herself. The quiet enjoyment of time spent with Sarah helped soften the scars in her Soul and gave the Ki that cycling sent from her spiritual net fertile ground for healing old wounds now clear of foulness. During her breaks from training Jinfeng in the following weeks, she progressed the Change Form Power and studied more techniques and spells. ¡°Do you want to do anything for the winter solstice?¡± asked Sarah after an evening of mutual enjoyment. Sprawled out on her stomach, Amdirlain grunted. ¡°I¡¯ve not celebrated any holidays for years. Why do you want to start with pagan holidays?¡± Sarah trailed a fingertip slowly along her spine, eliciting a delighted shiver. ¡°It seemed fitting. Technically, folks at home would classify you as a pagan god.¡± ¡°Christmas substituted for it, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°In the old Julian calendar,¡± confirmed Sarah. ¡°Do I get a present to unwrap?¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± laughed Sarah. ¡°Think you can enchant a ribbon?¡± A purr rumbled in the back of Sarah¡¯s throat. ¡°Only if you¡¯ll wear one for me.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± squeaked Amdirlain. ? ? ? ? ? ? At midnight, on the longest night of the year, Amdirlain had two presents to unwrap. The first was a small rosewood box carved with a phoenix pattern containing an azure ribbon. The second was the crimson ribbon around Sarah. Despite Klipyl¡¯s pouts, Amdirlain refused to model the ribbon for anyone else. ? ? ? ? ? ? On a late winter morning with a hint of spring in the warming air, Jinfeng eyed the battered hazel switch Amdirlain had tossed her. ¡°Sifu, weren¡¯t we training with blades today?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t say when we¡¯d conduct sword drills,¡± stated Amdirlain. ¡°A minute before midnight would still count as today.¡± ¡°Cruel.¡± ¡°Hideously so,¡± laughed Amdirlain lightly. ¡°I want your touches for this exercise to be mere taps, and an off-balance weapon makes you focus. You can drill with your actual weapon once we¡¯re done.¡± Later, when Amdirlain returned inside, she watched Jinfeng through the window, drilling with extra intensity using her blade. The sunlight flashed from the mithril as she flowed across the rough landscape. It was getting towards sunset when Klipyl appeared in Lizardfolk form on a rock ledge near the training ground. The fading daylight glinted off her greenish-blue scales. As her body blurred, the white ribbon appeared in her hand and wrapped around the curves of her usual elven form. ¡°Is everything okay?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°They¡¯ve had the usual dramas of village life, but they survived winter without issues,¡± advised Klipyl. ¡°So you didn¡¯t need to worry,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°You were gone for a while.¡± Klipyl shrugged. ¡°It was niggling at me, and the goats weren¡¯t their herds. There might have been some surprises, and I wanted to make sure everyone was well.¡± ¡°We ensured they had healthy livestock,¡± Jinfeng insisted. ¡°There is a fine line between getting someone to their feet and carrying them. Go too far into the second and they will start to depend on you.¡± ¡°I just wanted to verify they were okay. Being raised weakened them,¡± said Klipyl. Jinfeng frowned. ¡°They had greater opportunities than if they¡¯d remained dead.¡± ¡°Are you feeling combative today?¡± asked Klipyl. ¡°Despite knowing you for months, I don¡¯t understand your perspective,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°You dress more scandalously than a brothel worker but aren¡¯t after coins. You are a Celestial being, yet you can be so sensual. The Shen I¡¯ve met are nothing like you. They¡¯ve all been serene beings.¡± Klipyl shrugged lightly. ¡°I was a whore for centuries. Aren¡¯t you supposed to only worry about your path?¡± ¡°The Emperor¡¯s koan advised not to follow blindly, but is accompanying others without understanding their motivations not equally blind? One should understand one¡¯s Dao, but the lens of the world provides focus.¡± ¡°Maybe you¡¯re just feeling restless and craving action,¡± observed Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯m me. I¡¯m not into philosophy. The only thing I look to do is help people fill places of hollowness and pain. Sometimes that involves sex, but other times it¡¯s just a friendly ear to listen to their problems.¡± Jinfeng sheathed her blade. ¡°You are a strange individual, Klipyl.¡± The statement set Klipyl giggling. ¡°Among this group, I fit right in. Why do you wave your hands about before drawing your blade?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t always wave my hands. It depends on the technique I¡¯m practising.¡± ¡°But you immediately knew what I meant,¡± countered Klipyl, mimicking one of Jinfeng¡¯s technique openers. ¡°So why the hand waving?¡± ¡°Mortal practitioners don¡¯t have a spiritual network. We have the chakras, and some techniques need energy to flow through the body in particular ways,¡± explained Jinfeng. ¡°It looks like part of a dance,¡± observed Klipyl. ¡°I¡¯ve seen no extra visible effect from all the clapping and hand waving.¡± ¡°While you might think they¡¯re part of a dance, the Martial Pavilion''s techniques aren¡¯t as showy as those of other schools. The exorcist techniques are the most visually dramatic,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°Why the difference?¡± ¡°With the exorcists, they are trying to banish ghosts from potentially wide areas, so their Ki techniques are big and broad. A flower opening outwards, and the energy blooms all around them,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°So you¡¯re forging layers to focus energy, and they¡¯re putting up scaffolding to project it outwards?¡± asked Klipyl. Jinfeng nodded. ¡°Just seems like those extra motions in battle would get you killed,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°They are for the more powerful techniques. To utilise them in battle, you have someone else to keep the foe busy and give you the moments to prepare,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°If you are already engaged, they¡¯re not an option. However, a particular combination of blows can also activate a technique.¡± ¡°Such as?¡± Jinfeng drew and moved through the first steps of a kata. Her blade shone with Ki on the fourth slice in the sequence, and a boulder beyond the reach of her blade fell into two pieces. ¡°The initial draw, parry, and attacks had Ki flow through my muscles in the required way to activate the technique and focus my Ki precisely.¡± ¡°It sounds like you¡¯re using your body to create a Spell form,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°I would not put it that way.¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Klipyl nodded sharply. ¡°It lacks the mystic mumbo jumbo.¡± A tight frown breached Jinfeng¡¯s composure. ¡°Mumbo Jumbo?¡± Klipyl nodded happily. ¡°Though there is no point arguing about it at the moment. Since Am doesn¡¯t use the same hand waving, we should ask one of the Wizard types when we return to the monastery.¡± ¡°True, aside from already having a spiritual network, Sifu doesn¡¯t use elaborate variations within her abilities,¡± said Jinfeng. ? ? ? ? ? ? This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Klipyl dropped next to Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s just as well you didn¡¯t offer them a name at any of your stops. They¡¯re still talking about the black-scaled messenger.¡± ¡°I thought you were just hopping back to the village,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Since I was there anyway, I stopped at a few other places and listened,¡± advised Klipyl. ¡°You made quite the impression, but they think your appearance was that of an Avatar. I¡¯m unsure, but Jithlo might have encouraged that belief.¡± ¡°Good. The last thing I need are prayers directed at me while I can¡¯t hear a Mantle forming,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah patted the couch beside her. ¡°Maybe the next problem you want to handle, you can try for subtle.¡± ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ve given up all hope of that,¡± Amdirlain laughed and sat beside Sarah, tucking her feet under her bum. ¡°I don¡¯t know why you sit like that,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°You sit on a soft couch and then contort yourself to make it uncomfortable.¡± ¡°Never mind how I sit. Was there anything of interest going on?¡± asked Amdirlain. Klipyl shrugged broadly. ¡°The priests from the disease sect are all busy making amends. A few other groups are using the situation to exploit their acts of contrition, but that¡¯s not our problem.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? They broke camp when the winter lost its grip on the coast. Amdirlain moved out front of the group, her gaze roaming the coastline. With no ley line before them, the shore should be clear of giant crabs and magical variations of other animals, yet she felt something hostile watching. As her gaze brushed across a clump of bushes a half kilometre ahead, she caught a reptilian gaze concealed within it. The hint of sunlight reflecting off its eyes let her pick out the general shape of a Kobold, scales naturally tinted to match the surrounding greenery. The gender isn¡¯t clear at this distance. ¡°Kobolds ahead. If they don¡¯t bother us, let¡¯s not bother them. There isn¡¯t anything in these parts I need,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Kobolds aren¡¯t worth fussing over,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Though the Green Dragon I smell on them might have a different opinion about us.¡± ¡°How long ago did you pick it up?¡± ¡°About three kilometres. He¡¯s only a young adult, and his lair is at least that distance further north. I caught a fishy scent, so the Dragon¡¯s lair is probably in an ocean cave, or a wooded area a few kilometres inland, and he¡¯s been eating a lot of seafood. Another Dragon¡¯s territory is all that would prevent it from hunting further inland. If we head east and cut off this curve of the coast, we can avoid this Dragon, but that might have us cross paths with whatever Dragon borders its territory,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It will be an older Dragon, maybe one of its parents, but another Green is the most probable. When dragons move out of the nest, they usually move as far as possible.¡± Jinfeng¡¯s brows lifted. ¡°You can tell that just from its scent?¡± ¡°That and many lifetimes as a Dragon. They¡¯ve got hard-wired behaviours that don¡¯t vary between worlds or planes,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°And do those hard-wired behaviours cause you issues?¡± asked Jinfeng. Sarah smiled ruefully. ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°Would it come out and bother us?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Klipyl¡¯s storage ring and ribbon alone are enough magic to draw his greed, let alone what you and Jinfeng are carrying,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°We¡¯ve been lucky so far. I had expected to run into more dragons.¡± Amdirlain sighed. ¡°Options?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a Green Dragon. They¡¯re not the worst of the chromatics, and they actually like living among trees, so they leave a functional ecosystem. Kill it, negotiate passage, or scare the crap out of it so it keeps hidden in its den," said Sarah. ¡°You can guess I¡¯m in favour of option one.¡± ¡°I feel killing chromatics is one of those instincts hard-wired into other dragons,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Only in metallics, but I¡¯ve had enough lifetimes of it influencing my thoughts for it to be part of my natural disposition.¡± ¡°I want to talk to it,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± Amdirlain waved to the northeast. ¡°He¡¯ll know the local territories.¡± ¡°I could just pick his brain before I kill him,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°You can do that while I tell him to keep his paws to himself,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°And then we can skirt along the coast. The scent of his death won¡¯t waft around to set anyone curious on our tail.¡± Kadaklan smiled. ¡°Have you become a functional pacifist, Am?¡± ¡°Hardly. If something takes a swing at me, then I won¡¯t turn the other cheek,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Make sure you don¡¯t deactivate your pendant,¡± suggested Sarah. ¡°Why not?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°He¡¯s going to think I¡¯m just an Elf with it on.¡± ¡°Your slaughter aura is the easiest option to scare him, but you¡¯ve gone up so many levels you¡¯ll stop his heart. If you want him to pick up another scent, change form, but don¡¯t deactivate it.¡± Amdirlain retrieved a few magical items and set a pair of mithril blades in a harness at her waist. ¡°That should provide sufficient bait.¡± ¡°And warning,¡± said Sarah. ¡°The enchantment on those is strong enough that he¡¯ll be cautious about your strength.¡± Amdirlain moved ahead of the group, and they slowed their pace to allow her to focus the Dragon¡¯s attention on her alone. When she rounded a forested hill, a wagon-sized head lifted from the gully between the trees, and yellow and black reptilian eyes considered Amdirlain as the Dragon¡¯s nostrils flexed, and greed flared in his gaze. The light emerald scales showed minimal scars on his shoulders and neck, possibly from sibling conflicts. Beyond him in the hillside was a cave mouth, and she caught the wards across its entrance. ¡°What toll do you offer, Elf?¡± Amdirlain smiled. ¡°Advice to leave me and the friends following me alone. Also, I¡¯m not an Elf.¡± ¡°Scents don¡¯t lie.¡± ¡°Mine does,¡± replied Amdirlain. She transformed between a Green Hag, a Kobold, and back to an Elf; each time, the adopted species was all the scent he caught, and the Dragon edged backwards. ¡°Instead of a toll, how about you sell me information?¡± ¡°About what?¡± ¡°Tell me about the territories to the north. I¡¯m looking to travel the coast unbothered by the need to slaughter anyone who looks at me wrong,¡± declared Amdirlain firmly. ¡°Looks at you wrong?¡± questioned the Dragon. ¡°Like the acquisitive gaze you had earlier. You¡¯re not getting any magical items from us, but I might pay you with some metals. Annoy me, and the conversation won¡¯t be so pleasant,¡± Amdirlain¡¯s tone turned arctic cold, and Primordial Mana eased beneath her skin via Ki Body. The white flames produced a brilliant illumination that obliterated the afternoon shadows. The Dragon sunk to the ground, and he folded his paws daintily across each other. ¡°I understand. Ask your questions.¡± By the time they were done, Amdirlain learnt of another twenty Dragon territories that lay along their path before they even reached the eastern edge of the Bay of Biscay. Amdirlain returned to the group and provided a summary. ¡°Want to go west around the isles and approach from the ocean?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know exactly where the Norse called home. From the descriptions of the fjords, I think it¡¯s in the region that mirrors their ancestral lands, but I wanted to approach from the south to avoid missing them,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You could use Precognition to guide us once we¡¯re far enough north,¡± proposed Sarah. ¡°How about we hit the top of the North Sea and then go southeast, landing somewhere around the Netherlands? That avoids a lot of forest ahead of us.¡± ¡°You said the Titan duplicated your world as it was his original home,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°Is it strange to be so far from your birthplace yet see landscapes that echo it?¡± ¡°Humans had long cultivated this region, so having thick woods like this over the hills hides the similarities for me,¡± said Sarah. ¡°It¡¯s just place names for landmarks, and that¡¯s easier than using grid references.¡± How do I explain tour planning to Jinfeng? Amdirlain shrugged lightly. ¡°I find it weird, but then I had planned to see the countryside around here. We had information and pictures from around the world, so those showed me what the place was like.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I¡¯d ever understand a lifestyle where you get pictures of places and plan travelling for fun alone,¡± said Jinfeng. Klipyl frowned. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it cause problems with how you expect things to be in societies?¡± ¡°Yes, and no. There are some things that I won¡¯t accept from a society that calls itself good, but I won¡¯t interfere with how they rule themselves,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I didn¡¯t like the patron system on Qil Tris, but I left it alone. We can talk about that later. How about we head west and follow the continental shelf until we hit the bay north of us and go straight up towards the British Isles?¡± ¡°That works,¡± said Sarah, and deployed the house onto the rocky beach. The claws flexed as it adjusted to the perch, shattering boulders. They were soon underway in a comparative rush compared to the relaxed stroll along the coast they¡¯d been enjoying. The defensive wards that crawled over the house warned the local dragons to steer clear of the travellers off the coast. They¡¯d only left the shallows of the continental shelf ten minutes behind when a sharp impact against the floor sent Kadaklan¡¯s cup spinning from the table. Amdirlain quickly leapt for the front door, only to discover the cause immediately. Through the window by the door, she could see a pink flesh wall dripping seawater, the curvature of a gigantic sucker spreading flat against the house¡¯s barrier. [Species: Kraken, Lesser Level: 130 Defence: 1,560 Health: 9,360 Magic: 135 Mana: 17,550 Melee Attack Power: 1,950 Combat Skills: Bite [S] (36), Grapple [S] (81), Crush [G] (21) Details: A fortunately infertile species, they spawn when a Giant Octopus reacts to the mana at a deep-sea ley line junction. The reaction more commonly causes the Giant Octopus to gain innate magical abilities than transform.] It¡¯s just like the bestial demons. The monsters without classes can level more quickly. ¡°Unleash the Kraken,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°I blame Sarah.¡± ¡°Why?¡± asked Kadaklan. Amdirlain yanked open the front door. ¡°This is the second one which has turned up on her doorstep.¡± The house rocked again and bobbed like a cork when the Kraken attempted to pull them beneath the water. The barrier that encapsulated the house had two giant tentacles wrapped around it, with their hooks and suckers scrabbling fruitlessly for purchase. The main body of the Kraken was the size of a sperm whale and had a rough, deep blue hide. Soul sight showed her no presence beyond the empty flesh monsters possessed. As the house bounced upwards again, Amdirlain leapt forward and ignited. She blasted straight through the tentacle and came out the other side, leaving a cauterised hole in her wake. A foul stench of overcooked seafood and smouldering seaweed wafted upwards. The creature flinched yet still tried to drag the corner of the house into its segmented maw, which comprised eight beak-like pieces. Amdirlain aimed and raced along a new path. The Kraken¡¯s tentacle had stiffened but hadn¡¯t released the house when Amdirlain blasted along the length of its grip, carving an ashen trench along its lumpy hide. The Kraken¡¯s eyes went wide too late as Amdirlain plunged past the tentacle and into its mouth. Unleashing Ki blasts that tore open a path, she exploded through its body, roasting the monster¡¯s brain on the way out the back of its head. [Combat Summary: Kraken x1 Total Experience gained: 12,060 Empress Malfex: +12,060 Ki Body [S] (110->111)] The loops of tentacles relaxed, and the Kraken sank beneath the waves, leaving a trail of strange blood in its wake. As Amdirlain landed on the front porch, Kadaklan looked at her incredulously. ¡°Ki Flight training should help you avoid hitting things.¡± ¡°You do things your way, and I¡¯ll do them mine,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°I never enjoyed running into gropers in bars.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that got to do with that thing?¡± Amdirlain pretended to hug the air in front of her. ¡°It had its hands all over the house.¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°My mind is weird,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°True, but frequently in a good way. Shall we clean up this tea?¡± Sarah asked from the living room. ¡°You missed all the fun.¡± Sarah rolled her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll figure out how it ambushed us and make improvements.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain¡¯s stomach twisted at the desolate and barren landscape as they approached the southern tip of Ireland. Where she¡¯d expected green fields, there was but parched soil, long baked and blackened by fire. Winds and rains had removed the topsoil in many places; in some spots, erosion had exposed the bedrock. Not even lichen grew. ¡°Red dragons!¡± spat Sarah, her voice humming with rage. ¡°This is what they do. Why let anything live nearby when they only need the Mana?¡± ¡°With your satellite, did you know about this?¡± Sarah¡¯s expression turned grim, and she gave the slightest headshake. ¡°This is far off the route I expected us to take at the start of this trip. Since I didn¡¯t want to be tempted to start more fights, I¡¯ve just been using it to tell me which way to steer.¡± ¡°Sorry. I thought you might have proposed this route to get a shot at some more reds. The mountain covered in launchers to butcher the Great Wyrm popped into my mind.¡± A tight smile softened Sarah¡¯s bleakness. ¡°Yeah, the amount of permutations I had ready for that first one would be reason enough. If I¡¯d known, I¡¯d have told you directly and let you decide. Do you want to do something about it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Amdirlain laughed bitterly. ¡°This place is a wound upon the world. Will you show me how bad the rest of the isles are?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back inside. I might as well bring up the display and show everyone.¡± The display in the living room showed a horrid story: the blackened landscape that lay ahead covered all of Ireland, Wales, England and up into Scotland to just north of where Edinburgh would have been. It made isolating the dragons¡¯ lairs a simple task for Sarah. ¡°Looking at this, I want to kill them,¡± hissed Sarah. ¡°Every world where red dragons breed to sufficient numbers has blighted places like this. You get a critical mass of a hundred reds in proximity, and their paranoia has them wipe out everything nearby. Then, the next generations add layers to their territorial shell, killing off more surrounding land. It¡¯s even worse since they can shapeshift like golds, and hundreds could live hidden in a city if they wanted and leave no one the wiser.¡± ¡°Is that what gold dragons do?¡± ¡°Gold and silver dragons will have hatchlings in a remote location. Once they hit fifteen or twenty and can control their shapeshifting properly, the family will generally move into an elven settlement,¡± Sarah said. ¡°Then no one questions why their children aren¡¯t ageing fast.¡± Klipyl used the touch control on the screen to move the display, focusing on a patch along the east coast where smaller dragons¡¯ lairs were located. ¡°Can I fight any of these younger ones?¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I want to smack them for making bad choices,¡± said Klipyl. ¡°The green dragons left all that woodland, and the reds did this. I like the smell of the woodlands, but this place looks like something I¡¯d find in the Abyss. If we kill them off, will life return?¡± ¡°It will eventually, even without help,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The wind will carry soil and seeds, and then birds and other life will follow.¡± ¡°A few hundred red dragons versus a landscape filled with life seems the wrong option,¡± said Klipyl. Jinfeng nodded. ¡°When do we start?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have figured you¡¯d be interested in Dragon slaying,¡± said Sarah. ¡°There are tales of what dragons did to the villagers during the scourge,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°And here are hundreds of dragons living in a wasteland. Am I right in supposing these lands should harbour far more creatures and monsters than just one species?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. Kadaklan sighed sadly, and Amdirlain shot him an enquiring glance. ¡°I also would like to restore these lands to life,¡± admitted Kadaklan. ¡°The dragons represent an abnormal growth, feeding ravenously on a patient. From the look of the landscape, they are like Gaki, consuming everything and never feeling fulfilled. There is no point in hoping that a Gaki will learn the errors of its ways. One can only stop it before it consumes the next village.¡± This wasn¡¯t what Ori intended. The ability to feed off Mana should prevent them from having to strip the surrounding landscape bare; instead, they¡¯d done exactly that. If I banish them to a Demi-Plane, I¡¯d be moving the problem. If I lock them in stasis like I did the eggs, I¡¯m setting up the same situation in which I found Demeter. I killed him in part because he was years out of his own time and a menace to the Lizardfolk if I left him there, or a threat to the peace of humanity¡¯s kingdoms if I sent him over to the Greek people. ¡°Do we kill them?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°Can you hide our presence? I want time to consider alternatives,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ll activate the barrier so the smell of all this mithril and Mana doesn¡¯t carry inland,¡± said Sarah. A barrier. A stormwater canal is a barrier to prevent farmlands from being swept away. How do I channel their paranoia into something that prevents them from destroying everything around them? Red dragons are greedy, and they like to display their greatness. Can I use their greed and paranoia to stop this sort of destruction? I¡¯d also need something so they¡¯ll keep each other contained. 444 - Man or a Monster Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Atlantic Ocean Amdirlain stood looking over the barren rock beyond the dunes and hummed at the back of her throat. The dragons¡¯ occupancy had probably lasted over a thousand years since they¡¯d driven humanity from the equivalent of Europe and the Middle East. Though it would have appealed to her gamer¡¯s viewpoint to wipe out hundreds of dragons, it prickled at the back of her mind as something unnecessary and too simple a resolution. The haste with which she¡¯d dispatched Demeter added to the unease. ¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± Sarah asked from the doorway. Amdirlain was considering her response when Sarah moved forward and leaned against the porch railing. ¡°You¡¯ve been staring at those rocks for hours.¡± ¡°There needs to be a better option,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Killing them feels too easy and wrong.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°Are you able to set your Dragon prejudices aside?¡± ¡°Probably not, but if you¡¯re considering reasons not to kill them, I¡¯ll argue the counterpoint,¡± said Sarah. ¡°That might help you coalesce your thoughts about why you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Tia¡¯s added traits to them that were never in the original plan,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°For all their intelligence, they¡¯re giant predators that don¡¯t know any better. I don¡¯t know why Ori didn¡¯t correct it earlier.¡± ¡°Balance,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°And I think that might be why Tia consumes the chromatic souls, so they don¡¯t continue to intensify their evil natures over multiple lifetimes. Though I never knew she did that until you found out.¡± I assumed the answer lay in her vicious nature. ¡°Do you think that because of something Ori said?¡± Sarah¡¯s mouth tightened into a thin line. ¡°It was more than just that, since she introduced devils to counter the Abyss¡¯ creation of demons. If she were purely interested in the good beings of the realm, she would have found a different way than adding devils to the mix. An unbalanced wheel doesn¡¯t turn right and will break the axle if something else doesn¡¯t break first.¡± ¡°How good are your Artificer abilities?¡± ¡°How about you tell me what you¡¯re thinking about?¡± countered Sarah. ¡°Roher is right that you go for far-reaching ideas.¡± ¡°I want to set up a situation that motivates the red dragons to repair the environment and keep it that way,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°While the planet provides some Mana, the condition of the environment improves Mana quality.¡± ¡°You know Mana doesn¡¯t have a taste,¡± said Sarah. ¡°But a healthier environment produces more,¡± argued Amdirlain. ¡°Yes, but reds are only concerned about what empowers them personally. They don¡¯t care if more dragons could live near them.¡± countered Sarah. ¡°You know about the lonely mountain situation where the dragon just swoops in and steals everything? Well, that is classic Red Dragon behaviour. They don¡¯t care about building up anything, only what glorifies them.¡± ¡°What about if I set up a situation where they¡¯d gain more glory and shiny things from not destroying everything around them?¡± asked Amdirlain. Sarah¡¯s gaze didn¡¯t leave Amdirlain¡¯s as she slowly shook her head. ¡°You feed them, and they¡¯re going to want more.¡± ¡°Not feed them as such. I want to channel their greed and hunger for power into a less destructive outcome,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But I don¡¯t know how to tackle it. It has to be an approach that doesn¡¯t require True Song so others can duplicate it. To get the situation working, I¡¯d need to contain them, hence asking about your Artificer abilities.¡± ¡°Dead. They won¡¯t hurt anything further,¡± countered Sarah. ¡°You said this happens regularly.¡± Frustrated, Amdirlain jabbed a finger towards the wasteland. ¡°If I simply kill them off, that will keep happening. Everywhere with too many red dragons, their paranoia cascades into destruction.¡± With a shrug, Sarah motioned inland. ¡°What if there isn¡¯t a solution? Monsters are around to strengthen people. Maybe red dragons are around to strengthen the metallic dragons¡¯ belief that unbridled greed or focusing only on a larger hoard is a bad thing.¡± ¡°If we can devise a societal approach that directs their greed, we can test it here, and others can implement it on other worlds,¡± proposed Amdirlain. Sarah frowned. ¡°Any deaths that come from that the plinth will drop on your bill.¡± Amdirlain braced her shoulders back and lifted her chin. ¡°I can¡¯t live in fear of what the plinth will do. If I can¡¯t live to a standard that makes me happy with myself, what¡¯s the point of pleasing it?¡± ¡°Temporary pain, long-term gain,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°Long term pain when I can¡¯t stand myself.¡± Sarah conceded the point with a reluctant nod. To keep her hands from balling in frustration, Amdirlain waved at the shore. ¡°How long would establishing barriers to contain these dragons take?¡± ¡°Decades, if not longer. I wouldn¡¯t be able to manage it if they were abyssal reds. Still, the barrier will need lots of excess capacity,¡± snorted Sarah. ¡°Let¡¯s go up to the North Sea and park somewhere on the other side. I¡¯ll need to create a proper forge, and it¡¯s just as well you¡¯ve stockpiled metals in Foundry for me.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°There is a big if around even getting the barrier established, let alone enduring any combined attacks,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°Though if I can¡¯t, I¡¯ll be the laughingstock of metallics for trying. Most will see it as a complete fool¡¯s errand.¡± ¡°Guess I¡¯m the fool then.¡± Sarah caressed her cheek. ¡°Negative self-talk.¡± Amdirlain caught Sarah¡¯s hand and kissed her fingertips. ¡°Maybe Gideon will give you an achievement related to my menagerie attempt.¡± ¡°This is taking being a crazy cat lady to extremes.¡± Amdirlain smiled tightly. ¡°I¡¯ve often said that dragons and cats have lots in common.¡± The house reacted to Sarah¡¯s mental instructions and started along the west coast of Ireland, but Amdirlain didn¡¯t take her gaze from the ruined landscape. ¡°Is your Precognition saying anything?¡± ¡°No, but I just don¡¯t want to add more deaths to this place,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Why are the northern highlands not barren as well?¡± ¡°As far as I can tell, they¡¯ve just not ventured that far north,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Which is odd, but there aren¡¯t any Dragon lairs nor evidence of depredations.¡± Amdirlain clicked her tongue. ¡°Let¡¯s confirm that¡¯s the case. The demarcation feels too regular, and something about it is familiar.¡± ¡°From?¡± ¡°If I knew, then we wouldn¡¯t need to investigate.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? Amdirlain stayed on the porch as they moved along the coastline. Sarah primarily kept her company, but the others came out occasionally to enjoy the breeze. Klipyl would perch on the railing and watch the waves move under the house while the others would sit on the chairs Sarah had anchored on the porch. The hours watching the barren landscape cranked Amdirlain¡¯s tension higher, and she felt the urge to heal it grow. It was only when the greenery of the Scottish coastline came into view that it began to ease away. It¡¯s weird to think about all the places that would exist here if this were Earth. Using the names of nations that don¡¯t exist here and never have is strange, but comforting. A regular pattern along a cliff caught Amdirlain¡¯s eye, and she signalled Sarah to halt. As the house stopped, Kadaklan lifted his head from his reading scroll and looked across the shoreline before the porch. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°There.¡± Amdirlain waved towards the cliff. The motion directed Sarah¡¯s gaze, and she swore under her breath. ¡°Gnomes. If this is their territory, it¡¯s no wonder the dragons haven¡¯t come this far.¡± ¡°Why would they be afraid of these gnomes?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s not translating properly. The dwarven name for the gnomes is Stonekin. They most closely resemble Fey rather than any Mortal species¡ªand that comparison seriously undersells their power¡ªbut I¡¯ve only seen them on worlds where the Summer and Winter Court have a connection. They are intelligent manifestations of the planet¡¯s crust, able to commune with it and alter continents if enough work together.¡± Kadaklan tilted his head curiously. ¡°They sound like some Shen.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not Immortal, though the eldest in a clan might be several million years old or more. When they tire of being aware, they rejoin with the world. They¡¯re powerful in various magics, and even the youngest can meld with any rock or metal, swim through it, and shape it with their minds. With enough, they can move entire mountains like a mudslide. Dragons like their lairs in caves, and when a group of gnomes can have the earth swallow you and your cavern, you tend not to sleep well in their territory,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°Not unless you like a stone coffin. After they drag it under, they compress the walls, and millions of tonnes of rock isn¡¯t something even dragons can deal with when it¡¯s tight against their scales.¡± ¡°I thought dragons could survive on Mana alone?¡± Sarah smiled grimly. ¡°Gnomes can temporarily change Mana flows and isolate areas. I¡¯ve never got one to tell me how, and you can¡¯t read their minds. They wield enough magic to block teleports and dimensional magic. Try to shrink, and the cavern shrinks with you. If you¡¯re lucky, they¡¯ll let you go after claiming all your hoard as a fine for needing to educate you.¡± ¡°That sounds like personal experience,¡± noted Kadaklan. ¡°I might have been stupid enough to annoy a group the first lifetime I met them. Fortunately, I got released with a warning, but liquid rock flowing through your nostrils is a terrifying experience,¡± explained Sarah. ¡°I only lived on the upper planes for the rest of that lifetime. While some of the locals are weird, they won¡¯t kill you in your sleep or take your hoard.¡± ¡°The power of the landlords is absolute, not just legal,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Ha,¡± barked Sarah. ¡°I crack myself up,¡± drawled Amdirlain. Kadaklan tucked his book away. ¡°Have you developed an earthy sense of humour?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been spending too much time with Klipyl and her puns,¡± said Sarah. ¡°You¡¯re hardly one to talk. You and Am both seem to delight in them,¡± observed Kadaklan. ¡°Do the gnomes being here change your plans, Am?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t remember anything about them,¡± admitted Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged helplessly. ¡°Not all the worlds have them, and other than their apparent connection to the Fey, I never learned their origins, and Gideon isn¡¯t cooperative. If you want to deal with them, be polite and follow their rules when in their territory. For them, their laws and fair measure are absolute.¡± Amdirlain¡¯s gaze returned to the cliff markings. ¡°Any suggestions about how to approach them?¡± ¡°If you ever need to speak to them leave gifts of metal and precious jewels on their border,¡± said Sarah. ¡°What do they do with the gifts?¡± Sarah smiled. ¡°They return them to the earth. I¡¯d suggest we get a base set up first and figure out if we even need their help. If we do then approach from the north so they don¡¯t associate us with the red dragons.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s continue on.¡± Sarah squeezed Amdirlain¡¯s hand reassuringly and slid closer to her on the porch bench. They started moving, and the house¡¯s smooth gait soon had them speeding over the waters again. They continued northwards until they rounded the Shetland Islands and struck off east. With the setting sun behind them, the rugged coastline faded into the horizon as they sped across the southern end of the Norwegian Sea. When they reached the east coast again, the waters beneath them darkened to match the snow clouds overhead¡ªa light snowfall adding another layer to the dunes surrounding the various inlets. Further from the beaches, she could spot trees with narrow canopies, but they weren¡¯t close enough for her to recognise the species. Beyond them, rugged hills showed glimpses of rock among the snow and ice that capped them. ¡°Pick an inlet, any inlet,¡± prompted Sarah, drawing Amdirlain attention from the deep shade of the waters and clumps of free-floating ice. ¡°Where are we?¡± ¡°West coast of Norway,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Up and down here are an assortment of deltas. If we can go far enough inland, we can burrow into one hillside or another to give us extra living space when the winter snows roll around again.¡± ¡°The snows haven¡¯t left,¡± protested Kadaklan, wrapping his arms around his middle. Sarah grinned smugly and waved ahead of them. ¡°Around here, the snowfall is measured in metres.¡± Kadaklan groaned. ¡°I¡¯m finding no comfort in your statement.¡± ¡°The truth isn¡¯t meant to provide reassurance or comfort. It merely is. Perhaps you should seek to understand the situation,¡± laughed Sarah. Amdirlain pointed towards their left, and Sarah headed the house for the northernmost inlet. Kadaklan let out a disgruntled sigh. ¡°Further north it is. These lands are heavy with the influence of yin energies, and I¡¯m more partial to the heat of the south.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Amdirlain waved in a northwesterly direction. ¡°There is something in there I need to find. When we get to the imperial palace, you can thank the Jade Emperor for our vacation spots. We¡¯re going to be here a few years.¡± The door opened, and the others came out to join them.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Running across powdered snow is good training for Ki Movement,¡± Jinfeng said, securing her hair in a complex braid. Klipyl darted to the railing and stared at it in delight before it melted in her hand. ¡°It¡¯s not ash. I¡¯ve never seen frozen water drop from the sky.¡± ¡°It seemed like a short journey with the house doing all the work, but it makes quite a difference in the temperature,¡± Jinfeng joined her at the railing, her gaze studying the steadily approaching shoreline. ¡°Do we all fancy standing on the prow of a boat?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain smiled brightly. ¡°The way the house hops across the water doesn¡¯t give the same feel as a boat cresting waves.¡± ¡°Gravitational plates avoid that,¡± said Sarah. ¡°I can do without the icy water spraying me. It¡¯s the wind in my face that is nice,¡± offered Kadaklan. Jinfeng went to the corner upright and glanced into the water. ¡°Each to their own. I find it all makes the senses feel sharper. Perhaps it is the instinctive fear of plunging into deep waters.¡± The distant howl of a wolf sparked a response that sang out from the south. As the chorus continued, Amdirlain breathed in deep, enjoying the crispness of the cold ocean air. From somewhere to the north, a massive roar split the air, and all the wolves went silent. ¡°You picked north,¡± drawled Sarah. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s for our noisy neighbour; I¡¯ll go find what¡¯s out there once we¡¯ve got a spot to settle in.¡± I can feel the cold, but it doesn¡¯t bite anymore. Cold Resistance really kills some of the experience; I¡¯ll have to make sure I don¡¯t underestimate the danger to Kadaklan or Jinfeng. It would be embarrassing to see them facing Judge Po for hypothermia. The first few islands they passed were bare sandbars, but the landscape soon grew rougher. They soon passed islands with steep hills along the river¡¯s course, and eventually, they entered a narrow valley whose sides hosted a snow-covered forest. Sarah directed the house to settle on an icy beach when the river narrowed, and the stairs unfolded with a crunch. ¡°We should be able to find somewhere suitable along this valley to dig in before next winter,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°Are you going to make another expansive training hall?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°Nope, just some standard rooms. We can practise restricted exercises indoors when it snows too much for you,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯m not a thin-blooded southerner,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°The deepest winter is a good time for meditation, and the frost in the northern winds cuts like a blade. One has the least distractions when the world slumbers under the heavy veil of snow.¡± ¡°Thin-blooded southerner? That¡¯s hardly fair. This environment is overly thick with yin energy for an Immortal such as myself,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°We¡¯re well north of Am¡¯s original travel plans.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you that, but are we further north than the Jade Emperor intended for us?¡± asked Amdirlain. Kadaklan muttered. ¡°It¡¯s not like you¡¯ll ever find out for sure. If you ask, he¡¯ll say the path led you where you needed it to lead or something else vague.¡± ¡°Perhaps the hardship of living here will help you earn greater enlightenment,¡± Klipyl said, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. ¡°I¡¯ll keep you warm. I¡¯m very good at getting someone hot and bothered. How long do you think we¡¯ll be here, sis?¡± When Kadaklan didn¡¯t stiffen in discomfort, Amdirlain restrained her smile. ¡°Until I figure out what to do with the red dragons populating that wasteland.¡± I don¡¯t think she tripped him up, and Kadaklan hasn¡¯t told her no. Is he being friendly, or has he just moved her out of the mental box he had practitioners of decadent Dao categorised in? ¡°You¡¯re really sure about not taking the smacking route?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I¡¯m confident I want to try. Whether I¡¯ll succeed is entirely different, but I can kill them quickly if they push beyond their current territories,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°While you get things set up, I¡¯m going for a walk and see if I can find who let out that bellow from earlier.¡± ¡°Is Precognition saying we¡¯re close?¡± ¡°Pressure on the back of my neck like trouble is nearby,¡± confirmed Amdirlain. She headed along the valley and, a few kilometres later, chose a route that led her into a northern branch, skipping across the rocks beneath the powdery snow. Would the snow have been like this in Norway, or is it colder here? Her wandering had taken her along several valleys when she caught a scent from a cave. A strangely deep bass voice croaked further along the path ahead of her, the words chewed up as if the person was unused to speech. ¡°Who is there?¡± The figure stood four metres tall, with biceps thicker than a grown man¡¯s torso and covered in thick white fur from head to foot. He had a distended jaw set with pointed teeth and tufted ears sticking out from the top of his head. Spurs of bone jutted through the matted fur along his forearms, and his long fingers ended in hooked nails crusted with dirt. Analysis provided his name and a smattering of primitive classes. Soul Sight showed the curse he¡¯d inherited from his father and the hunger for sapient flesh that it imposed on him. ¡°Hello Grendel,¡± murmured Amdirlain. He rushed forward, and Amdirlain flowed into a Storm Giant¡¯s form. At eight metres tall, her muscular blue skin form loomed over him. Grabbing his hands, she spun on her heel and released him towards the valley wall. Swept from his feet, Grendel smashed through dozens of trees and into a jutting boulder; blood sprayed out from his shattered face and torn limbs. His hands spasmed, and his claws dug into the rock. Pushing off, he turned towards her, bones and flesh flowing back into shape. Amdirlain let flames crawl under her skin, and Grendel¡¯s lips curled back in a vicious snarl. ¡°Stop,¡± ordered Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re here to kill me,¡± snapped Grendel, and he raced forward. Amdirlain¡¯s hand cupped his muzzle, and long fingers crushed his skull. A savage axe kick obliterated his legs, and she threw him back against the wall. More flesh was sprayed from the impact, but he didn¡¯t stop moving. The closest pieces of flesh pulled back towards his body while whatever regenerative power he had restored his health. Not having to hold back makes a mess. If I use Enervating Aura, it will kill him and everything nearby. ¡°Are you looking to die?¡± ¡°I can¡¯t die,¡± snapped Grendel as his legs regrew. Flesh flowed smoothly, and his clawed toes wiggled as he finished speaking. Amdirlain opened a Planar Gate, and the raging inferno of the Elemental Plane of Fire showed within the torn opening. ¡°Charge me again, and I¡¯ll toss you in that. Talk to me, and I¡¯ll leave you alone.¡± [Planar Gate [Ap] (1->2)] His nostrils flared wide, and Grendel pressed back against the stone. ¡°All who come after me seek my death.¡± The phrasing caught Amdirlain¡¯s attention; her Precognition flared to echo the phrase¡¯s importance. What has been trying to kill him? She let the Planar Gate snap shut. ¡°I¡¯ve no interest in killing you or torturing you for eternity, child of Caine. What I want is information.¡± Amdirlain considered the twisted knots that Soul Sight showed her within Grendel and checked them with Analysis. The effort triggered a notification. [Remnants of a divine curse Details: This murderer¡¯s curse was carried over from another realm but is purely in existence through its translation. No divine support for it exists in this realm. Analysis [S] (41->42)] Grendel¡¯s gaze narrowed. ¡°How do you know me? Or my father?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got an ability that allows me knowledge of others. You said all that came after you tried to kill you. What¡¯s been trying to kill you?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve no reason to do anything for you. If you¡¯re not here to chop me up as Beowulf did begone and leave me be!¡± I could just yank the knowledge from him, but what about his curse? ¡°I could try to ease the impact of Caine¡¯s curse on you for our intrusion.¡± ¡°Try?¡± rumbled Grendel suspiciously. ¡°A God set it in place, but they¡¯re in a different realm, and no one in this realm supports it,¡± clarified Amdirlain. ¡°It¡¯s what makes you crave sentient flesh. If not for the curse, eating animals, likely even some plants, would sate your hunger.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you mean by realm. A Fey gives nothing for free, and you seem similar enough.¡± ¡°I want your information, and I don¡¯t like curses inflicted on the innocent. You¡¯ve had this one weighing on you since birth,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The big question is whether I¡¯m strong enough to shift it.¡± ¡°Why should I trust you? The only people that haven¡¯t attacked me are my mother¡¯s kin.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your trust, but I won¡¯t help without your agreement,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°You can¡¯t spread your curse to anyone, and you¡¯ve lived out here alone for over a thousand years. If you want to keep feeling empty no matter what you eat, I¡¯ll leave you be.¡± Grendel sniffed the air and padded forward the snow, shattered trees crunching underfoot. ¡°Who would want that, but why should I believe you can? This could well be a trick. A means to get leverage over me? How do I know you even could?¡± Amdirlain flared her Charisma and dropped Grendel to his knees from its pressure. ¡°I didn¡¯t say I could. I said I¡¯d try. Has anyone ever offered you that chance previously?¡± ¡°No, but what do you want from me?¡± ¡°Information on what¡¯s been trying to kill you, and how you came here?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°If I break it, all you owe me is some answers on those topics. When we part company, there will be no more debt.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± growled Grendel suspiciously. She darted forward and seized his shoulder, and before he could shrug her off, she used Suppress Target aimed at the power and rage the curse fed him. She felt her Willpower crash into the lingering energies and, as it struggled, she squeezed harder, forcing it to give way. In a rush, the energy within the curse surged into her, and she sent it spiralling through her spiritual net, a golden glow enveloping both of them. Grendel¡¯s gaze widened, and his claws stopped short of her skin. [Suppress Target [J] (22->25) Greater Mana Drain gained! Greater Mana Drain (1) Suppress Target [J] (25) merged into Greater Mana Drain (1) -> [B] (1)] That isn¡¯t a Power I wanted to lose. Amdirlain hurriedly filled a crystal to keep the energy from breaking free of her spiritual net, yet more came. She ignored the continued improvement notifications as Greater Mana Drain inhaled Mana from the curse. Grendel struggled to pull away, but she pinned him in place with Far Hand and kept her attention on it. ¡°Hold still, I¡¯m dealing with your curse,¡± grumbled Amdirlain. A trickle of pressure from her Charisma stilled his struggles. When she let him go, Grendel shakily pushed off the wall, looking at her in confusion. ¡°Is it gone?¡± ¡°Not yet. What you felt was me taking the energy from the curse,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Reduced. I¡¯ll see if I can undo it before it can replenish itself.¡± He twitched in confusion and then grunted acknowledgement. [Greater Mana Drain Details: The Power allows the possessor to pull Mana from enchantments of any kind or from individuals whose magic rating is less than their own.] Amdirlain made quick work of cutting the de-powered curse from his bloodline. Though the twisted pattern vanished from his Soul, his form was unaltered. When, at last, she was done, Grendel drew a shuddering breath and stood panting for a time before he lifted his gaze. ¡°I owe you nothing but answers to your questions now?¡± ¡°Not a single thing. If you don¡¯t attack us, we¡¯ll leave you be.¡± ¡°For many winters, ugly creatures have hunted me from the deepest snows,¡± Grendel nodded to the north. ¡°They¡¯re unpleasant to eat, tasting of ash and rot. The traces of the great-scaled beasts have been fewer, and the lairs I knew about are now empty.¡± Something out there is killing dragons? From his mind, she caught the image of a hunched-over sexless creature with greenish skin, thick red veins highlighting its bulging muscles. Its spindly, narrow fingers were coated in spider-like bristles and tipped with dripping claws. What the fuck are those things? ¡°Are they some kind of Fey?¡± ¡°They¡¯re not Fey.¡± snapped Grendel. Shifting about uncomfortably, he rubbed his hands across his stomach. ¡°The beasts are something that doesn¡¯t belong in these lands.¡± His hunger pains have changed and he doesn¡¯t know what¡¯s happening. ¡°What direction do they come from?¡± asked Amdirlain gently. Grendel¡¯s gaze flared wide, and memories of his mother¡¯s soothing force in his youth rushed to the fore. Their clarity shocked him. He blinked in confusion and eyed her suspiciously. The tales talk of the sorrow of Grendel¡¯s mother. It seems he¡¯s also not a heartless monster. Did the rage from the curse filter his memories of her? ¡°What did you do to me? Did you only break the curse?¡± ¡°It was distorting your appetites and feeding your rage. Its absence won¡¯t just impact what fills your stomach. With its thorns gone from you, adjusting to your new normal will take time.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Just as the smell of rot masks other odours, the absence of your rage lets you feel other things. You could never sate your appetite, so your hunger will feel different. What direction did they come from?¡± His mouth opened in protest, only to click shut, and he stabbed a talon northwards. ¡°Their trail led to the northern icepacks. There isn¡¯t anything out there to eat, so I returned.¡± His thoughts showed slabs of ice grinding against a rocky beach, and the memory of the foul stench curdling his tongue and burning his nose. Do they originate somewhere in the Arctic Circle or just use it to connect to somewhere else? ¡°They tasted of rot and ash? What else can you tell me of them?¡± Grendel described the creatures she¡¯d gotten from his memory, but his recount detailed how their claws caused raised welts and agonising wounds. Vivid images and the stench of necrotic flesh gushing pus before his regenerative Power healed them gnawed at her from his mind. They¡¯re like something from the Abyss. Amdirlain motioned around them. ¡°Why did the Norse gods bring you to this realm?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± grunted Grendel, confusion clear on his alien features. Maybe he was another reserve of belief from the centuries of tales being told using his name. ¡°Surely you can tell the stars at night above don¡¯t resemble the patterns you were born under,¡± said Amdirlain. He gave a sharp nod. ¡°Though similar, this isn¡¯t the world you were born in. What is the first thing you remember after Beowulf beheaded you?¡± Grendel¡¯s upper lip curled. ¡°I was aware even after his blade severed my neck.¡± ¡°They knew you were still alive?¡± ¡°I could still see and snapped at whoever tried to touch me. I lived on in agony; it was with me constantly. My head hung on the wall, and my throat plugged with a spike, so I couldn¡¯t even moan, and my body wouldn¡¯t regrow.¡± Anger churned in her gut as Amdirlain visualised his mounted head, glaring at anyone who came close. ¡°Were you a test of their bravery?¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± Grendel growled, spittle frothing his mouth, and a well-spring of pain rushed forth. Does he still have a berserker¡¯s rage? I need to snap him out of it. A Spell cracked the air, and his eyes narrowed at the black walls of energy that suddenly lined the path of the felled trees. ¡°Don¡¯t make me pulverise sense into you,¡± warned Amdirlain, and she crushed a felled trunk broader than Grendel¡¯s head. ¡°You agreed to answer my questions.¡± His shoulders heaved, and he shook his head back-and-forth, his whole body swaying in time to the motion. He seemed very much like a massive polar bear getting ready to charge. Slowly, his temper cooled, and he traced a paw along his throat. ¡°I was on that wall so long. So many watched my suffering and smiled.¡± Don¡¯t point out how many he terrified, killed, and ate. ¡°Did any come near you?¡± A bark of humourless laughter split the air, an explosion of sound that knocked the snow from more trees. ¡°Not willingly. Being bodiless didn¡¯t stop me from trying to get a piece of them. Over the years, the jarls used to sit those they disliked beneath where I hung. Then they laughed when my dripping blood and drool splattered the target of their displeasure. Those nights were the only fun I had. Some of the more cowardly would nearly piss themselves.¡± ¡°How long did this go on for?¡± ¡°It seemed like centuries. It ended when the priests of the crucified god came. I got locked away in complete darkness as the devil¡¯s work. Years went by, and my dripping wounds filled my lightless prison,¡± Grendel tongue brushed his upper lips, and his gaze darkened. That¡¯s not malice, not justice. But what do you do with a foe you can¡¯t kill and is one that would eat you if they were freed? Bad subject. Was he sealed up when they came here? ¡°How did you get free?¡± Grendel looked at Amdirlain; his predatory instincts assessed the distance between them before he raked claws across the broken stone behind him. ¡°There were roars and flames. An inferno that burned for so long that the blood and metal steamed away.¡± ¡°How long did it go on?¡± ¡°No idea, only that it destroyed everything until my head rested on roasting stones instead of wood and my brain baking in the flames. At some point, the building collapsed, and everything went still.¡± He licked his lips and shuddered, his gaze going to where Amdirlain¡¯s Gate to the Elemental Plane of Fire had stood. ¡°I woke up under rubble, with stones crushing my skull and the raw skin of my regrowing body, pushing debris out of the way. I¡¯d no sooner clawed my way from the rubble than a giant scale-covered beast ate me, and I had to rip my way out of its guts.¡± A memory of a wagon-sized head covered in gleaming white scales provided an answer about the beast. It was a memory with an odd echo, and a few differing heads flickered through his mind. He got eaten by a White Dragon. Did it happen more than once, or is he unsure of its appearance? A witness¡¯s lying eyes. ¡°That sounds unpleasant,¡± said Amdirlain drily. ¡°It bit me in half and swallowed me again, so I climbed up its throat and then tore my way out through its brains,¡± Grendel rumbled, his eyes gleaming with a remembered triumph of the kill. ¡°You look Fey but don¡¯t smell like one.¡± ¡°Have you had much dealing with the fey?¡± ¡°They mostly walk these lands when winter¡¯s fist grips it tight,¡± Grendel hissed warily. ¡°The creatures avoid them.¡± That sounds like the Winter Court. ¡°If you keep clear of us, we¡¯ll stay away from you.¡± Grendel hissed and waved at the shattered and incinerated trees. ¡°I¡¯m not dumb. I prefer being alone, and this is the most I¡¯ve ever spoken to anyone but family.¡± ¡°Are any of your family still in these lands?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve seen no J?tnar in more winters than I can count,¡± rumbled Grendel. ¡°How long are you going to be in my lands?¡± ¡°A few years. We¡¯ll stick to the coast and the valley we picked.¡± ¡°Why did you want that information?¡± ¡°Because I was curious, but now I want to hunt these green-skinned creatures that tried to kill you. You¡¯ve paid your debt for my breaking the curse. Though I would appreciate being told if those creatures return.¡± Amdirlain teleported away. 445 - Summer days Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Veht? - Norway When Amdirlain returned to the river bank where Sarah¡¯s house had settled, she found Sarah clearing a swath of trees towards a rock face. The others were tending to the debris nearby and stopped when she arrived. ¡°I found a friend,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Then why do you smell of blood, fur, and Mana?¡± asked Sarah. Amdirlain smiled grimly. ¡°He was a little frisky at first, but unlike the last fur ball, he stopped to listen.¡± ¡°What type of fur ball?¡± ¡°Turns out Grendel was the son of Caine and a J?tnar,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°He carried part of Caine¡¯s curse, which made him murderous and cannibalistic. I broke it.¡± Sarah blinked, her mouth pursed in a silent O. ¡°Why are those names so important?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Yet more fragments from religions and myths on our world,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°The Norse stories paint Grendel as a murderous and cannibalistic being that terrorised some villages. Caine was in a religious tale as the first murderer, killed his brother from jealousy and was cursed by a God.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t exactly qualify him as cannibalistic,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°After all, the term cannibal refers to a being that eats other members of its species. Since he is a unique hybrid between a cursed Human and a species of Norse Primal beings, it¡¯s hard for him to find another member of his species.¡± ¡°Details matter,¡± agreed Klipyl. Jinfeng glanced at Klipyl in surprise. ¡°You¡¯re worried about details? You come across as very carefree.¡± ¡°What you put in holes can be extremely important,¡± laughed Klipyl. Slowly shaking her head, Jinfeng groaned. ¡°I left myself open for that one.¡± Sarah¡¯s attention remained on Amdirlain. ¡°Does your Precognition flag anything else of interest in these parts?¡± Amdirlain frowned. ¡°Not from Precognition, but Grendel said during deep winter he gets attacked by strange-looking creatures, whose poison rots his flesh.¡± She broadcast the images she¡¯d taken from his mind. At the first glimpse of the creatures, Jinfeng flinched. ¡°Those match tales of demons I¡¯ve heard,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°Are you sure the venom from their claws rotted his flesh?¡± Amdirlain nodded in confirmation. ¡°Odd. There are spider demons who attack villages in the North Wind¡¯s Court whose descriptions are similar, but this is too far from the centre,¡± added Kadaklan. ¡°He specified deep winter?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They could cross the Arctic Circle, but what would draw them here is an interesting question,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯m surprised they can travel this far.¡± ¡°Could they be here for Grendel?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°I doubt it. Though, once in the area, his nature could have drawn their attention,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°The way you describe him sounds yang-focused. The spider demons that emerge in the far north have yin tendencies. They¡¯d either seek him to feed off his energy or simply because of the evil deeds he¡¯s committed,¡± explained Kadaklan. ¡°Sounds like a tomorrow problem since they turn up in winter,¡± said Sarah. ¡°Let¡¯s continue sorting things out. We¡¯ll be here a while, so let¡¯s not take shortcuts.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? The weeks after the confrontation with Grendel passed smoothly. Sarah positioned the house against the side of the valley and set all of them to work, building an expansion around it that sealed it against the valley wall. Beneath a high peaked roof to shed snow, they had walkways to access the chambers she carved from the hillside. Though the stone allowed seepage, Sarah soon had it sealed up with enchantments and drainage ditches that gave the compound orderly lines for her garden beds that, three weeks after they arrived, got buried in a flurry of late snow. Amdirlain looked through the windows to consider the snowfall that had covered the ground overnight. With the first rays of dawn, she sent a wash of Ki down the Allegiance Bond and, as usual, listened mentally for Sarah¡¯s reaction, glad there¡¯d been no signs of strain with all the energy she¡¯d fed her to remain on the Material Plane between Qil Tris and now this trip. The scent of Sarah cooking her breakfast filled the living room of their expanded dwelling. ¡°Is this normal?¡± asked Klipyl, watching the snowfall from the couch. ¡°Your guess is as good as mine. There isn¡¯t any magic involved,¡± replied Amdirlain. Klipyl pouted. ¡°The early sprouts are all going to be frost-burnt. Could something unnatural do it besides a Spell? Maybe there are gates to the Elemental Plane of Ice nearby.¡± ¡°If it isn¡¯t natural, then an Ice Elemental could cool the clouds enough to cause a snowstorm,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°I can think of other things that don¡¯t involve any rifts or gates having opened.¡± ¡°It¡¯s brisk weather for a run,¡± commented Jinfeng, coming downstairs with her sword tucked in the crock of her arm and her braid already done. She¡¯d donned white robes with black trim, and the loops securing her tunic hooked around mother-of-pearl fasteners. ¡°What¡¯s the special occasion to warrant fancy dress?¡± asked Klipyl. Jinfeng glanced down at herself ruefully. ¡°Our increased training has had me distracted.¡± ¡°Just get a ribbon,¡± Klipyl smirked. ¡°It saves laundry.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll leave such attire to you, Klipyl,¡± Jinfeng politely replied. ¡°I¡¯ll arrange magical attire eventually, but it¡¯d not been a priority before this trip.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll enchant some robes to match the self-repair of Am¡¯s shadow vines,¡± offered Sarah. ¡°It would give me something simple to do while figuring out Am¡¯s project.¡± Jinfeng poked her head around the corner into the kitchen. ¡°I would appreciate that, but I hadn¡¯t thought to impose, considering I¡¯m already intruding.¡± ¡°If you were intruding, I¡¯d have told you straight up,¡± said Sarah. ¡°We¡¯re all on the same trek, just learning different things.¡± ¡°Where will you get silk from in a place like this?¡± ¡°It will be silken material, but not silk,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°Breakfast will be in the warmer when you get back.¡± The thin layer of snow crunched underfoot in the morning stillness as Amdirlain headed towards the riverbank. A prickling up her spine prompted a quick scan of the horizon, and out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a hulking figure on a distant ridgeline, hand resting casually against a tree. Behind her, Jinfeng hissed as the icy air caught in her throat, and she went still at Amdirlain¡¯s posture. It looks like Grendel followed my scent. ¡°Is there a problem, Sifu?¡± ¡°Time will tell,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°Let me know if you spot signs of Grendel close by.¡± Jinfeng nodded sharply. ¡°Is he nearby now? You¡¯ve not mentioned him since our arrival here.¡± A head tilt guided Jinfeng¡¯s gaze to the proper ridgeline, but she shook her head. ¡°I can¡¯t see him. Where is he?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll add some perception games to your training then,¡± said Amdirlain, and she sprinted out onto the river. Ki Movement pushed her fast enough that the surface tension allowed it to serve as a highway. As she raced towards the sea, Jinfeng passed her. I also need to improve this Power; there are places where flying will attract more attention. When they returned after the morning¡¯s training, Grendel was nowhere to be seen, so Amdirlain moved to check his observation spot. Next to the tree was a small stack of rocks scratched with Norse runes, and their meaning was clear. A territory marker. He wanted to set a boundary line, or does he mean I shouldn¡¯t approach closer than that? Klipyl was in the icy water when Amdirlain returned. She lay back and kicked her feet lazily. ¡°I think you made a friend,¡± she said. ¡°I threw him through some trees and into a boulder,¡± snorted Amdirlain. ¡°And that wasn¡¯t the worst of the injuries I inflicted.¡± ¡°It¡¯s one way to make an impression,¡± drawled Klipyl. ¡°Among some species, the mating ceremony is a brawl to prove they¡¯re marrying near-equals in battle. Are Dragon mating flights like that?¡± ¡°Sounds frisky,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°Dragon mating flights are...¡± ¡°Energetic?¡± supplied Klipyl. ¡°How energetic was yours? Are you spilling the gossip at last?¡± ¡°I meant dragons overall,¡± protested Amdirlain, blushing to the tips of her ears. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to report to Isa and Gail.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you dare!¡± Klipyl¡¯s laughter echoed warmly in contrast to the frosty morning air. ¡°Jinfeng is having breakfast, so I¡¯ll spar with you now,¡± announced Amdirlain, her gaze fierce.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. Klipyl¡¯s laughter stopped like someone had pulled her plug. ¡°Be gentle.¡± ¡°Not a chance. My sis needs to be tough.¡± ? ? ? ? ? ? Kadaklan took over the garden beds when he felt the spring had adequately settled in. The group settled into a routine of working and helping each other train in differing fields. The summer was at its height when Amdirlain caught Grendel¡¯s approach, but she continued the morning sparring session in a clearing further along the valley, away from the blooming gardens. As his scent grew more apparent to Amdirlain, the others still hadn¡¯t noticed him. He was only a few hundred metres away when Klipyl frowned and glanced to the northeast. Jinfeng¡¯s fluid motions didn¡¯t pause, though the shift in her movements showed she was ready to engage a foe emerging from the trees. Minutes later, with a dressed deer over one shoulder, Grendel slipped between the trees and stood at the clearing¡¯s edge. His only clothing was a full deer pelt of rawhide wrapped around his waist. ¡°Hello, Grendel. What brings you by?¡± asked Amdirlain, stepping aside from Jinfeng¡¯s probing lunge. ¡°I¡¯ve been craving things since we met,¡± muttered Grendel unhappily. Amdirlain frowned with concern. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I thought I¡¯d cut the curse away.¡± ¡°Not flesh, but without those cravings tormenting me...¡± Grendel tapped his chest with his free hand and shifted his weight from side to side, his gaze fixed on Amdirlain. ¡°The days feel hollow and cold?¡± asked Klipyl. His gaze jumped to Klipyl. ¡°Like the deepest winter night without wind. The ice cracking underfoot echoes through the hills, and no rage to warm my blood.¡± An odd poetry within him. ¡°Your senses feel sharp and clear, but you¡¯re craving something unknown instead of the blood and flesh that warmed your stomach,¡± Klipyl said. ¡°Yet when you tried the types of flesh that filled you before, you felt nothing.¡± ¡°Have you been spying on me?¡± grumbled Grendel. ¡°Did you try it?¡± asked Klipyl softly. ¡°Yes,¡± Grendel said, hanging the dressed deer from a nearby branch. ¡°This deer is for you. I saw the other Human woman out hunting.¡± ¡°Who did you eat?¡± asked Amdirlain, avoiding the topic change. Grendel flexed his shoulders as if loosening for a fight. ¡°Some kobolds who were too slow to hide.¡± ¡°We are not playing that game again, Grendel. You attack me, and I will end you,¡± stated Amdirlain firmly. He jerked his muzzle at Jinfeng. ¡°Whenever I¡¯ve seen you outdoors, you¡¯ve crossed blades with her. Why not me?¡± I knew he¡¯d been observing us, but I didn¡¯t think it was more than neighbourly curiosity. I hadn¡¯t expected him to visit. Amdirlain waggled her blade. ¡°You want to spar?¡± ¡°Whatever you call it. I¡¯ve seen how she improves. She makes soaring eagles look clumsy now compared to how she was at summer¡¯s dawn.¡± ¡°What¡¯s he saying?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯m not an Immortal, so I can¡¯t understand what¡¯s being said.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry for leaving you out, Jinfeng. I¡¯ve grown too used to understanding any language,¡± Amdirlain apologised. Didn¡¯t Sarah make her something? Jinfeng tapped her chest. ¡°It¡¯s my oversight. Sarah made me that pendant to understand languages on our travels, but I left it inside.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll set a mental link and give you a translation.¡± As they spoke, Grendel edged back towards the trees as if set to flee. ¡°My companion can¡¯t understand your speech,¡± explained Amdirlain. Grendel shuffled further back. ¡°I could understand your side of the conversation.¡± Amdirlain spread her hand. ¡°That¡¯s an ability I have to communicate with people. You¡¯re not attacking, so you¡¯re not in danger. I¡¯m surprised you crossed your markers, as I¡¯ve only seen you observing from them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re reminders,¡± rumbled Grendel. ¡°Of?¡± ¡°That you¡¯re dangerous up close,¡± Grendel said, waving a hand at Amdirlain to clarify he didn¡¯t mean all of them. Klipyl giggled. ¡°She can be dangerous a world away. A few extra kilometres won¡¯t help if you get her mad at you.¡± ¡°Why do you want to improve your fighting?¡± Amdirlain quickly asked to head off that conversation. ¡°The creatures we talked about,¡± Grendel raked the air to the north. ¡°Some are strong, and I want to keep their claws out of my flesh.¡± ¡°Do you have any of their remains?¡± Grendel nodded jerkily. ¡°Bone pit. Why?¡± ¡°I want to see what you¡¯re dealing with,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about the situation since we last spoke.¡± ¡°Do this sparring with me, and I¡¯ll find you the bones,¡± said Grendel. The blade disappeared from Amdirlain¡¯s hand, and she motioned him forward. ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll avoid breaking you too much.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not worried that I might break your tiny body?¡± Does he think the Storm Giant form gave me the strength to crush him? ¡°Not in the slightest,¡± replied Amdirlain. He crouched and moved forward in an explosive rush, his right arm lashed out, claws ripping the air. Though Jinfeng¡¯s eyes widened in shock, Amdirlain felt like she was drifting forward against a lazily moving foe. Amdirlain casually jumped into the swing, held in position with Flight to shoulder-check the blow; she jarred his arm and forced him back a step. She followed up with rapid-fire punches to his ribs but let him disengage when he threw himself to the side. As he gathered himself, Amdirlain readied herself to meet his charge, but Grendel sidestepped neatly, circling her rather than charging recklessly as he had the first time they¡¯d fought. He started with tight, probing claw swipes that clumsily mimicked some of Jinfeng¡¯s swings. She moved with him, staying ahead of each attack, tempting him to push a little further, yet he never got off balance. With him keeping his distance, she turned her attention to the attacking limbs, breaking knuckles and, at one point, shattering a forearm when he finally pushed the limit of his balance. Yet the energy in his attack never faltered. He kept his rage contained throughout, fighting with a furious intensity, while he kept his rage heavily restrained. The sun was high in the sky when Amdirlain stepped back and motioned to stop. ¡°Come again another time,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even hit you,¡± muttered Grendel. Amdirlain nodded. ¡°You¡¯re too used to being stronger and faster than your foes¡ªthat, along with your confidence in taking the punishment, means you¡¯ve got massive problems in your combat style. I¡¯ve studied your approach and will consider if I should help you improve. Who taught you to fight?¡± ¡°My mother¡¯s kin, long ago,¡± said Grendel. ¡°It¡¯s easier to follow their advice about controlling my temper now, but I can¡¯t remember everything. You¡¯ll consider helping me?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve already helped you and don¡¯t owe you anything, Grendel. I know you slaughtered people and ate them before Beowulf beheaded you,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The situation with your previous curse means I won¡¯t hold that completely against you, but I¡¯ll need to consider your situation and my own.¡± Grendel scowled unhappily but only stalked away; once he hit the clearing¡¯s edge, he sprinted between the trees. The trio watched him hurtle up the valley wall, and stride away along the clifftop in full view of their position. Is he showing off? ¡°I could hear his claws rip through the air like a bird¡¯s beating wings. He is more savage than the ancient tales paint Sun Wukong,¡± breathed Jinfeng, her eyes fixed on his broad shoulders. Amdirlain grunted. ¡°I¡¯m not making him a circlet.¡± A nervous laugh burst from Jinfeng¡¯s lips, and Klipyl grinned. ¡°All those muscles. You think he wears the hide to stop shrubs slapping his dick?¡± And Klipyl jumps straight for that low-hanging fruit. Amdirlain held back her snickers. ¡°He heals fast, but he¡¯s not immune to injury.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a yes.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s head back.¡± Klipyl snickered at Amdirlain¡¯s phrasing while Jinfeng collected the deer from the tree and tightened the fresh-cut hide Grendel had fastened around it¡ªperhaps so it wouldn¡¯t stick to his furry shoulders? It was already noon, so Amdirlain teleported them to the front of the house. The garden bed with Kadaklan¡¯s experimental crop showed signs of recent tending, and hot curry scented the air. ¡°Kadaklan¡¯s cooking,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯ll store the deer in the walk-in cooler and chop it up later.¡± Though she could have just called out for Sarah, Amdirlain headed around the central core of the house and headed into the hill. As Amdirlain walked into the forge, Sarah plucked a stylus from the rack on her bench. ¡°Why do you smell like fur ball and dead deer?¡± ¡°Grendel stopped by and asked to spar. He included a deer as payment, neatly gutted and minus the head,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°Kept all the organs for himself from the lack of odour about you,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°Yep, no deer¡¯s tongue or fried kidney,¡± quipped Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re just against fine food,¡± Sarah said. Turning her attention to a mithril plate, she traced a complex pattern across its surface. The line along the metal shone as more Mana flowed into it. Eyeing the first completed runes and the ease of the work, Amdirlain hazarded a guess. ¡°Boundary marker?¡± ¡°Yep, your challenge will require many parts to work properly, so I want to test each on a smaller scale,¡± advised Sarah. ¡°Oddly enough, determining the barrier¡¯s outer limits is the hardest. I can¡¯t just use a circle without encountering issues.¡± ¡°What if we start with a city-sized dome and confine them all to it?¡± ¡°How are you going to get them inside?¡± ¡°I might cheat for that part,¡± admitted Amdirlain. ¡°But Planar Gate is usable between different places on a world, and I could open gates in the dragons¡¯ flight paths.¡± ¡°What idea do you have for controlling them in that small a space?¡± ¡°It¡¯s more a mix of ideas. The key goal I¡¯ll need to achieve is to get them to police themselves and have their greed motivate those at the top of the hierarchy to keep the rest in check. I thought I¡¯d make a cultivation academy come to life,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°What?¡± ¡°Most of the cultivation novels I read had the cultivators portrayed as self-interested arseholes, with the strongest being the driving force for the functioning of the sect,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°The strongest get the most resources and get stronger. For the dragons, the strongest get the most shiny things added to their hoards instead of cultivation resources.¡± ¡°How does that motivate them to keep the others in check?¡± ¡°Their shiny prizes come from the levy those lower in the hierarchy provide from their minions,¡± advised Amdirlain. ¡°I have to work out the weighting of the hierarchy. Maybe something determined by a mix of age and those who produce the most.¡± ¡°You want the hierarchy to be flexible?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s rigid, those at the base will never want to work and, given their egos, there will be immediate violence. The system needs at least three, maybe even five, hierarchies, with the top rank in each on a council. That should make it so they¡¯re competing against each other and ensuring the other groups follow the same rules,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°That sounds like you¡¯re setting up five mob families working in the same city. Who are the poor minions?¡± ¡°Maybe kobolds,¡± suggested Amdirlain. ¡°I need to figure out a mechanism whereby the minions get life improvements out of the situation. If the dragons realise that trained and well-treated workers will make them nice things instead of providing raw metal nuggets to fill their hoard.¡± Sarah started laughing. ¡°Vanity. You plan to use their vices of greed and vanity against them?¡± ¡°I hope to, but we¡¯ll have to see if I can. There are lots of details to work out. If it goes wrong, they¡¯ll slaughter each other and any Kobold tribes in reach.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s not have that happen,¡± said Sarah. ¡°If the workers get strong enough, they¡¯ll kill lazy dragons that mistreat them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my problem,¡± replied Amdirlain. ¡°There will be many other influences between my confining them and that occurring. We should make it so that kobolds or whatever other species we recruit to work for them can leave.¡± ¡°No minions mean no new goods for their hoard unless they turn on each other.¡± ¡°We¡¯re setting up a McMansion competition,¡± observed Sarah. ¡°Confine them in a restricted space so they have to take on a smaller form and make them compete. Who can have the biggest X? How do we stop them from killing each other?¡± ¡°If one attacks and kills another first, all their hoard and that of the Dragon they killed gets disintegrated,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°But their violent nature needs a release, so maybe an allowed duelling system.¡± Sarah nodded to the plate before her. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can develop after completing these markers. Even if we use a single dome, these will help reinforce it. Fair warning: it will need so much Mana to start the barrier that you might want to stockpile now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got millions of Mana stolen from Grendel¡¯s curse. You could use that to speed up the construction process,¡± offered Amdirlain. ¡°Not sure I¡¯d trust energy that had been invested in a curse,¡± said Sarah. Amdirlain twitched her hand towards the valley. ¡°Emptying my Mana pool into crystals regularly would be bad.¡± ¡°You¡¯d flare the local Mana flows by repeatedly refilling your full pool. You could always ask Ebusuku to have some folks sink Mana into some of Foundry¡¯s crystals.¡± ¡°I might send her a message. Let¡¯s remember we can get other people to help,¡± Amdirlain said and smiled shyly. ¡°I know that¡¯s more my issue than yours.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll finish this plate, have some lunch, and then my afternoon will be clear,¡± Sarah offered. ¡°No, I¡¯ve just claimed it. Shall we go flying?¡± Sarah¡¯s bright smile was answer enough. 446 - Values of darkness Amdirlain''s PoV - Veht? - Norway The group fell into an easy routine of training and exploration, with a strange absence of White Dragon sightings that Sarah attributed to the change of seasons. Amdirlain allowed the others to handle the monsters they ran into, having already gotten more experience than she''d expected on the trip. A complete lunar cycle passed before Grendel showed up again. The sun was dipping behind the hills to the east of the house when Amdirlain spotted him on the ridgeline above the house. When he stepped into view, Amdirlain had been pulling weeds from Kadaklan''s herb garden. Though his gaze weighed on her, Amdirlain tended to the task at hand before she stood up to regard him properly. "I found which pit I tossed their bones in," said Grendel, his words a dissatisfied rumble. "Does the stench give it away?" asked Amdirlain drily. Grendel''s nose wrinkled. "They''ve melted all the surrounding bones." Amdirlain mentally advised Sarah and appeared on the ridgeline beside Grendel. "Lead the way." The path northwards took them across valleys and through forests until they reached a large patch of grassland before a series of rolling hills. Grendel pointed to a sinkhole on the edge of the hills and she went to investigate. The circular pit through the upper soil had collapsed into a large cavern that led deeper beneath the earth. Beyond the spill of soil, millions of bones covered the cavern floor, but the ones she was after stood out. They stood in a pile of grey, half-frozen sludge, softly glowing in the cavern''s darkness. Their stench reminded Amdirlain more of the sharpness of Infernal energy than anything else. [Demonic Bones. Details: Bones of a Demon from Di Yu.] Some of the Yomi King''s demons are on the Material Plane. She dropped further into the cavern, floated over to the bones, and collected three of the largest with Far Hand, shaking the filth loose. When she returned to the surface, Grendel didn''t glance at the bones floating beside her. "Have you had enough time to consider if you''ll help me improve?" Amdirlain frowned. "There will be a price involved." "What price?" "Give up all your current classes and learn properly." Grendel grunted. "I don''t know what you mean. What are classes?" "They provide you with an array of powers and skills related to their focus. Have you ever had a dream with figures of yourself in them that seemed to provide choices?" "Yes, but I don''t trust those dreams. They seem to want to suck me into warped versions of myself and, after the first, I sit at the start of the bone path." Grendel''s hands balled up into tight fists, and Amdirlain smelt his blood under the stench of the bones. That explains why he''s still in base classes. Gideon must have just translated him and not given him anything too dangerous. "They offered a warped version of yourself because they extend your current classes. You''ve got classes that feed off anger, bloodlust, and hunting sentient beings," said Amdirlain. "They were assigned to you when you got brought to this realm, based on your past deeds. Do you want to let them define you or make new choices uninfluenced by the curse?" "When you talk about curses, there is a fire in your scent that isn''t present other times," stated Grendel. "Your scents change with every form. Tell me what you are." "Why do you want to know?" "I''m curious, just like you were about these creatures." Amdirlain bit off one word. "Cursed." "You don''t look cursed. You look like a Goddess that could captivate the Norse or the J?tnar," offered Grendel. "I can Shapeshift. This appearance is just one I choose," replied Amdirlain. "Show me what you look like," Grendel said, jabbing a hand towards her. "I don''t have to show you anything," rebuffed Amdirlain. "If you want a fresh start, or the creatures come after you, let me know and we''ll help." Grendel grunted in disappointment. Amdirlain teleported away with the bones. Kadaklan was outside kneeling at the garden''s edge, and his gaze immediately fixed on the bones beside her. "Where did you get those bones?" "They''re from the creatures Grendel told me about," advised Amdirlain. "The Yomi King''s demons attacked him?" "Are the bones useful for anything?" Kadaklan''s mouth tightened. "Nothing healthy. They''re only useful to those on daos related to Hell." "Some arcane protections require samples of what you''re protecting against," offered Amdirlain. "I''ll see if Sarah wants them." "Do you plan to risk her Soul? She started studying as a Tao Artificer, yet has no one here to advise her about the corruption. Their presence tells us enough, and there are ways to guard against them." Amdirlain disintegrated the bones. "I''ll leave it until they return." "We should let the others know, but I''m sure Sarah''s already smelt that foulness," said Kadaklan. Rising, he brushed his palms off his pants. There was minimal information to provide the others, but Amdirlain still updated everyone after they gathered in the living room. "When they come back, I want to fight them," said Jinfeng. "It sounds like it''s fit for a horror story; demons are coming in the depths of winter," drawled Sarah. "You should take it more seriously," said Kadaklan. "They are servants of the Yomi King. His demons are more akin to the devils that you know. They would only be here for a purpose." "The Chinese mythology has the term Yami King for the rulers of the planes of Di Yu," said Sarah casually, her gaze not leaving Amdirlain. "Though Yomi was the Nippon word for land of the dead." "You''re being picky about the term to change the subject. Master Cyrus advised us that the terms from your original realm are not identical to ours. The term isn''t as important as his nature," countered Kadaklan. "His servants work to spread corrupted daos, twisting people from the paths they should have lived in life." "Probably because she''s worried about me charging off to find trouble alone," Amdirlain said, waving to the north. "I didn''t even continue investigating once Grendel showed me the bones. What are the options for how they got here?" "There are certain times of the year when demons can stalk the five kingdoms, but we are beyond those boundaries," said Kadaklan. "They are not like the demons from the Abyss and follow the customs." "How do they reach the Material Plane?" "Hell gates, cursed sites, followers of a heretical Dao," said Jinfeng. "There are probably other ways, but those are the only ones I know." Kadaklan shrugged helplessly. "I''m also not an expert. I leave it to the ghost hunters to learn how things venture out of Di Yu. We''re going to have to leave it until more appear." ? ? ? ? ? ? Leave it, they did. They focused on their respective training and work as the months rolled by. Amdirlain''s use of powers and casting continued progressing, as did her education of Jinfeng. Muse¡¯s Insight and months enduring the pressure of Amdirlain as her sole sparring partner caused her Skill with the Jai to grow substantially, and she now seemed as one with her blade. The barrier project had kept Sarah busy, and in the doing, she''d furthered Klipyl''s education in metalworking. Kadaklan''s efforts in alchemical horticulture also bore fruit. Though the plants he''d harvested along the Mediterranean and Atlantic struggled in the northern climate, by infusing them with Ki, enough of them reached maturity to make his efforts worthwhile despite a fifty percent failure rate among the crop. Amdirlain was outside doing some evening ice fishing with Sarah when she stopped and sniffed the breeze. "Your demons are on the wind." "They''re not my demons, but how far away?" "Hard to tell. The polar wind is fairly strong, and those scents are sharp enough to carry over the cold," clarified Sarah. Her nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply. "Blood, lots of blood, and flames." "Whose?" "It has the same sharpness as the bones you brought back and destroyed," observed Sarah. "There are flames mingled with it that share a similar scent, so it should make them easy to spot." "Let''s go find out." Ki Flight lifted her aloft, and Sarah followed through the night sky. They initially headed straight north, but soon Sarah had them heading northeast. They first spotted the unnatural crimson flames illuminating the open landscape before the same hills Grendel had led her to. Despite there being nothing to burn but snow and frozen ground, the fire lingered. On the edge of the destruction were sixteen goat-shaped beasts with eyeless human faces; a bone-like growth formed a solid plate across their upper faces, and they had enormous mouths filled with sharp teeth. Each showed gruesome injuries, with ribs ripped apart and their organs torn out through their chests. The jagged flesh around their neck showed brute force had crudely decapitated all but two. As she started to speak, Grendel leapt to the closest and dug his claws into the ridge of the bone plate on its head. With one foot braced against its neck, he started to pull. As Grendel tore its head free, an eye bulged out from a socket near its shoulder. Amdirlain spotted claw marks on the other beasts that had torn the flesh apart in matching places. He blinded them during the fight. [Species: Taotie Details: A demonic species from Di Yu.] Sarah landed on the other side of the bodies from Grendel, and Amdirlain landed next to her. The fires flared with a red malevolent light before snuffing out as one, plunging the landscape into darkness. "Are you alright?" With a wet slurping sound, Grendel ripped the demon''s head from its shoulders and piled it with the others. "I didn''t need your help." "I wanted to find out how they''re getting here," said Amdirlain. "They come from the deep ice. What more do you need to know?" Amdirlain took a slow breath and avoided grinding her teeth. "They''re not creatures of this world. If I had met some while they were alive, I could have discovered how they came to this world." "Why would I care about that?" asked Grendel. "You said to tell you when they returned or if I needed help. Do I look like I''ve had time to trek back to tell you that more came?" "I''ll see if I can still smell their trail beyond the flames," said Sarah, and she teleported to the limit of Amdirlain''s eyesight. Different demons from what his mental images showed. "Have you fought these before?" asked Amdirlain. Grendel shook his head and jumped atop the neck beast, his long toenails shredding a line along its neck before he braced his foot on it. "No, but I''m sure they come from the same place. These also taste like ash and rot." "We''ll explore and see if there are more out there," said Amdirlain. "Do what you will. I''m sure you wouldn''t care about my territory markers," said Grendel. "Do you claim the deep ice?" asked Sarah as she reappeared. Grendel snorted. "Nothing there to eat." "Their smell comes from far beyond the hills. I can smell Mana and a White Dragon''s bones along their trail," said Sarah. "Did these beasts exhale the flames, Grendel, or was it something you did?" "They were trying to set me alight." "Let''s go back and sort out our approach with the others,¡± said Amdirlain. Sarah and Amdirlain reappeared at the house and brought the others up to speed. While Kadaklan''s expression grew grim, Jinfeng eagerness peeked out from behind her composed expression. "The closer we get to the Arctic, the more chance of hitting a White Dragon''s territory," advised Sarah. "I was sure we''d have had trouble with them sooner, given the average temperature of Norway." "I''m pretty sure some tried to eat Grendel after the first one he ran into," said Amdirlain. "He applied the same tactic of letting them swallow him and then climbing their throat. There was a feeling to the images of it being a repeated experience." "That will teach them to chew first," quipped Sarah. "Still, I doubt he''s cleared every White Dragon with the same tactic, so everyone coming keeps an eye out for any large white forms. Their pure white hides will reflect the starlight. Who wants to stay behind with Kadaklan to guard the house?" "I''m fine with guarding the house alone," corrected Kadaklan. Klipyl turned to regard him. "Aren''t you a non-combatant type?" "I''ve paid attention to Sarah''s lessons on the security system. On top of her measures, I''ve concoctions and elixirs that will cripple or drive off the monsters we''ve seen about the place," said Kadaklan. "Very well," rumbled Sarah. "Let''s get going." Amdirlain shooed the others outside, and Kadaklan sent her off before she could do more than shoot him a look of concern. "All of you need to go. Find the insights you need in the crucible of battle." "Do you have any enchantment to let me see in this?" asked Jinfeng, waving at the darkness barely lit by the stairs overhead. "I don''t want to use any light, but the night weighs so heavily, with just the stars." Sarah tossed her a silvery band, and Jinfeng slipped it on her little finger. With a blink of surprise, Jinfeng straightened. "Do you always see this clearly? I can see the pattern in the snowbanks." "The enchantment is based on the Power Amdirlain possesses. Shall we get going, or do you want to know more?" "I''m ready," replied Jinfeng, and the others echoed her. Sarah took to the air, and once above the trees, she transformed. Over the rush of displaced air she caused, Amdirlain heard her deep inhalation before she surged northwards. Their speed chewed through the kilometres. Eventually, beyond an ice-covered sea, a mountain loomed in the darkness. Along its southern face stood an unflickering baleful red beacon, as one, the group changed course and sped towards it. The source of the light was a cave mouth emitting a blood-red glow that matched the heat wafting from inside. A veil of mist frothed at the edges, where the unnatural heat from within fought the frigid air. Amdirlain heard hundreds of voices within the cave and clawed feet that scratched the stone. "The air brims with Mana," cautioned Sarah. "It will make any wards harder to see."Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. "We''re not just walking in with Am''s aura out and burning everything away?" asked Klipyl. Her horn appeared easily hefted in one hand, ready to smash down any trouble. "There''s no challenge in that," rebuffed Jinfeng. A short way into the tunnel they saw a muscular red skinned man, his only attire loose rawhide pants belted by a broad black sash. He was accompanied by two corpse-white women, each supported at an angle by eight segmented legs that extended from their backs, leaving their normal-looking feet dangling above the ground. They all carried curved sabres and rushed towards the intruders, venom dripping from long fangs. They managed a hurried step before Amdirlain was among them. Their decapitated bodies teetered and fell as demonic life fled. Ming Fu was the land of the dead and the upper layer of Di Yu. The demons carried the essence of Death, which rushed from their shattered flesh, only to be gathered up and combined with Mana that Amdirlain focused through her body. Caught in the moment, Death soaked through her flesh and turned her skin black, its cold sheathing her in a consuming mist that stole even demonic life away. The living material of the shadow vines tumbled from her, perishing from the first fleeting contact with the energy now harboured within her skin. Even as she catalogued the insights into Death provided by slaughtering the demons, Amdirlain kept moving. The eruption of their compatriots'' life forces heralded their coming to those further inside the tunnels. Yet Amdirlain was already half a kilometre further into their tunnels when the fastest started to turn in her direction. Behind her, Sarah and the others hurriedly rushed to keep up. Knowing better than to get separated, they found Amdirlain waiting at the first fork, which had the remains of a score of demons at her feet. Beyond the first junction, the passage ahead widened, and more passages linked to it at different angles along the sides and above. "Hurry and get here," Amdirlain taunted as she sent her Dominion out to provoke them into unthinking rage. A rush of spider demons covered the ceiling and the walls while the sound of other forces came from the smaller passages along the sides. The first wave of troops shattered when Amdirlain moved. A hand reached past a ready blade to crush a neck, and a scything kick struck a Demon so hard that flesh disintegrated. Its unsupported head hadn''t begun to topple before Amdirlain had struck another four demons with different kicks and continued to pick up her pace. The walls of bodies were no obstruction when she started adding Ki blasts and spells to eliminate blockages. As a cascade of bloody mist erupted through the ranks in the central corridor, Jinfeng dashed into a low passage and caught two spider demons on the ground. Slipping a strike aside, she stabbed deep into a leg joint and spun away from an overhead hack from the second demoness. The over-committed blow sprayed sparks from the stone and twisted the demoness sword in her grip. With a quick reversal, Jinfeng spun back into position, severed the demoness''s hand, and leapt to her shoulder. With her free hand pressed against the ceiling, Jinfeng planted an axe kick between her target''s shoulder blades, and a shrill scream followed the crack of bone as the demoness collapsed with a shattered spine. Jinfeng flowed between the following two spider demons coming from the right-hand passage, ignoring their cries as she shortened their legs with surgical strikes. Their already hampered movements stopped more spider demons from flanking her, or pushing past to reach the others. To her left, a gout of flames and bullets blasted from turrets under Sarah''s control. The infernos melted stone while hypersonic rounds punched through their first demonic target and onwards through their companions. With the left cleared, Sarah''s guns shifted focus and obliterated those beyond the barrier Jinfeng had created. The pair leap-frogged each other to keep pace with Amdirlain who continued to massacre hundreds of foes in the central passage. Klipyl pointed her horn towards the ceiling and blew hard, aiming for a teeming passage. The horn''s enchantment kept those outside its focus safe, but the sound wave that could bring down Mortal castle walls pulped the demons above them into a mush. The enchantment in the horn didn''t even cause the rock to tremble. A quick teleport shifted Klipyl clear before a foul rain started, and beneath another hole filled with swarming demons, she steadied the horn and drew another deep breath. They tore foes apart with every step, and soon, those first trickles had turned into a river of blood that heralded their descent into the depths. The black foulness of demonic blood washed over strange creeping vines with fronds that clung to the stone. The deeper they went, the thicker the vines grew; eventually, their appearance shifted to resemble the exposed arteries of some dread giant. The greenish hide demons that Amdirlain had first seen in Grendel''s mind made their presence known, the poisons from their needle-like claws etching stone as thousands swarmed in from every side at once. Amdirlain let out an annoyed grunt, and yang firestorms swept the passages clear for hundreds of metres. Frying the demons and the arteries of corruption that clung to the ground. Those demons beyond the flames'' reach fled, only for lightning bolts to curve along the passages and blast flesh apart as the bolts leapt from foe to foe. The subsequent waves were thinner, and Amdirlain resumed killing them with her bare hands, allowing the others to back her up. Demonic blood covered her from head to toe; her motions too quick to allow enough time for the remains of her foes to hit the ground; she moved the walls of the carnage she caused by exploding bodies from casual blows. Amid the fighting, Klipyl yanked a Demon away from Jinfeng with her ribbon, only for another to cut it free. The material exploded, leaving her holding the grip. With her teeth set in a ferocious snarl, the handle disappeared into her storage pendant, and she started pulverising every Demon she could with blasts of her horn. Amdirlain didn''t stop moving until she came to the mouth of a sprawling cavern that once housed a White Dragon Great Wyrm. Now, it played host to a hoard of demons. Among the hundreds of demons that covered the cavern floor, four hounds of crackling lightning drew attention to a giant figure of living black mist standing beside the rib cage of an enormous Dragon skeleton hundreds of metres long. Mushrooms and mildew grew fuzzily across the surrounding ground, and the smell of rot lingered in the stone. Past the skeletal remains was the source of the reddish glow that illuminated the passageways¡ªan elaborate prayer gate that leant against the back wall, its redwood and gold inlay covered with thick cables of the pulsating foulness that covered the passages she''d fought through. The putrid energy emerged from a red threshold between the tainted uprights. A swirling pool of red showed a landscape of figures chained against rocky spurs and a hurricane of blades streaming across them, flaying flesh from their bones. They killed the White Dragon and let its body rot in the heat from the gate so they would have a body on hand. This is an excellent dramatic moment. What are they all waiting for? Or am I just moving too fast for them? Mist from the figure leached into the bones, and the eye sockets blazed with a crackling lightning. "How dare..." The misty figure''s words echoed oddly, attracting Jinfeng''s attention as she rounded the last corner behind Amdirlain and looked into the cavern. She saw the energy of the possession beginning to animate the bones. Amdirlain lashed out with white lightning bolts that ripped apart the air, setting the chamber on fire. While the first bolts targeted the Dragon''s remains, they blasted through them and smashed apart the side of the decorated archway, shattering one upright and causing the threshold to wobble. With the mists'' possession of the remains disrupted, the giant fully re-materialised. The destruction of the invested energy cost it dearly, with massive patches and holes showing the wall beyond. As the giant screamed in pain, Amdirlain appeared before it, and the golden flames of Ki blasts burst through it and the demons beyond to lick across the cavern wall. The mist coiled in on itself and tried to harden against the fire, only for Amdirlain to flip the threat and activate her Enervating Aura. For a brief instant in the mists, she saw a woman''s face in the mists before everything a hundred metres around her in the cavern died, and Amdirlain glowed with the life force before she let it dissipate. Was that thing female, or was my brain playing tricks with seeing images in the roiling mist? Demons beyond the range of her Enverating Aura wavered and turned insubstantial as the red portal flickered like a guttering candle. The cavern fell into a brief silence before a rushing wind rose like the world inhaling. Gale force winds battered at Amdirlain, and all the demons that had come through this Gate lost cohesion with the world. As the wind continued, the spectral forms of the demons in the cavern rushed by her, only for more to stream in from every passage, and the arteries of corruption came with them. Though insubstantial, the claws of the demons scrambled at the threshold''s edge but failed to find enough purchase to prevent themselves from being hauled back into Di Yu. It took ten minutes before the red shimmering threshold winked out despite the continual horde passing through it, but finally the wind ceased, as suddenly as it had begun. Though it all, Amdirlain had simply held firm. [Combat Summary Black Wind Calamity (25%) Black Wind Hounds x4 (25%) Oni x159 (25%) Taotie x1866 (25%) Zh¨© zh¨± j¨©ng x3742 (25%) Spider Minions x5972 (25%) Oni x572 (25%) [Banished] Taotie x4822 (25%) [Banished] Zh¨© zh¨± j¨©ng x9972 (25%) [Banished] Spider Minions x1972 (25%) [Banished] Total Experience gained: 19,385,777 Empress Malfex: +19,385,777 Empress Levelled Up! x15 Enervating Aura [M] (15->16) Ki Body [S] (114->116) - Infusion ability with Death gained! Mana Critical [Ad] (32->35) Devouring Cacophony [G] (12->13) Mana Finesse [S] (194->195) Note: Tsk, you didn¡¯t even let it monologue.] A typical Gate would have just winked out and not drawn everything back in. What rules apply to these? The giant must have been holding the gate open, so when she died, it collapsed and pulled the others back in. How far away had it needed to draw some of them back? Jinfeng looked at her wide-eyed, her clothing and hair unmarked by the gale-force winds that had streamed past her. Further down the passage, Klipyl shakily released her grip on the wall. Her hair, torn free of its braids, haloed about her, giving the impression that she had stuck her finger in an electrical main. It was a spiritual wind that didn''t touch her but messed up Klipyl and me. "You killed the Black Wind Calamity," gasped Jinfeng. Amdirlain frowned. "That was the name in my notification. Did you get one?" "What?" Jinfeng pointed to where the giant mist figure had stood. "That giant figure made of mist was the Black Wind Calamity. Even without her unique appearance, no other Demon has hounds of lightning with them. If I''d been a breath later in spotting them, I wouldn''t have known she was here." "What''s the big deal about this Black Wind Calamity?" chirped Klipyl. Securing her horn, she tried to flatten out her hair. "It''s not like we didn''t just wade through thousands of other demons. Sis found a fun place to play. That was a rush of experience; maybe too much." Klipyl gave up on the futile efforts with her hair and rubbed her hands up and down her biceps. "When she appears, the Mortal rulers have no choice but to appeal to the heavens to allow the immortals to aid them," said Jinfeng. "She can devastate counties by herself if left unchecked. Wherever her mists spread, she leaves grievous or even fatal injuries among mortals." "Well, she''s gone now," Klipyl replied. She appeared at Amdirlain''s side, and her gaze traced the shattered archway. She raised her voice to call out to Jinfeng. "I take it this is a Hell gate?" Jinfeng blurred forward to come to a halt near the remains. As if unbothered by the fuss, Sarah strolled down the passage, her weaponry still arrayed around her; only a few minor stains marked her shirt, but the bloodshed coated her pants and boots. She spared a glance at the still-coated ground and lifted into the air, cleaning her clothing with a flick of her fingers. "Yes, they are prayer gates corrupted to the Yomi King''s purpose. But it shouldn''t have been able to be active so far from the centre," said Jinfeng. "How do you know?" "I don''t know for certain, but according to the teaching that exorcists have shared with the Martial Pavilion, they shouldn''t be able to be activated beyond the reach of the courts." [Hell Gate: Details: A White Dragon moved this Hell Gate during the scourge. The dragon¡¯s eventual death fed the energy in the Gate, and it slowly adapted to these lands. The Wu Jen Zhang Cheng found and activated it twenty years ago to let more of Di Yu¡¯s essence consume the northern ice. Though he retreated to the Southlands, he left it open for his masters to extend their long-term plans.] "Analysis says a Wu Jen named Zhang Cheng opened it," reported Amdirlain. Jinfeng cleaned the black blood from her blade and checked its edge. "I don''t recognise his name." "Where are we at present? We came a long way across the ice," said Amdirlain. Sarah motioned across the ice. "We''re closer to Mongolia than Norway. Do you think the Emperor''s travel plans didn''t match your own?" "I''m pretty sure that''s fair to say," said Amdirlain. "Most of Mongolia is included in the North Wind''s Kingdom, and I haven¡¯t been to the West Wind¡¯s Court yet." "What risk do you want to take on?" asked Sarah. ¡°The dragons or the Eastern Hell?¡± "Di Yu," corrected Jinfeng. "I''m not sure why you and Am refer to it as the Eastern Hell. East from what?" Sarah nodded apologetically. "Habit. I''ll try to call it Di Yu." She paused and looked Amdirlain over. "You''re a mess. Do you have clothes to put on, or should I get you some?" Amdirlain blinked and looked down at herself before smiling sheepishly. "I got an insight into infusing Death into Ki Body, and the vines didn''t appreciate it." Cleaning herself with a quick Spell, she donned the shadow vines she''d made with True Song. "What do you mean by what risk do I want to undertake?" The dragons have been a slowly growing problem for a thousand years. "The red dragons or the scheming beings of Di Yu," clarified Sarah. "A plot big enough to have thousands of demons at a remote location like this can''t be their only play. We won¡¯t learn more while staying in the hinterlands." "We would have never landed in Norway if I hadn''t seen the mess in Ireland," murmured Amdirlain. Sarah shrugged. "Doesn''t mean you have to resolve an aeon''s old problem before we move on. I''ve done all the initial recon I need. I can work on preparing components for the barriers while you study at a monastery. It also gives us time to work out more ideas for handling a Red Dragon society and getting them to self-enforce your scheme." "I didn''t want to backtrack," protested Amdirlain. "Who says it has to be you? It will give me someone to hassle while you''re in the deep planes," said Sarah. Amdirlain stared at the marks seared into the stone by the closed Gate, and the sudden release of tension shifted her posture. "I don''t have to fix everything." "The question now is, do you cheat and use Resonance to try to hear whatever shattered connection might exist to the Wu Jen, or should you continue your near-silent travels?" "The travel plans his puzzle inspired have helped me progress on long-term issues," said Amdirlain. "We can advise and set people looking for the Wu Jen who opened this Gate.¡± "If we can get to anywhere along the coast above Nippon, I can guide you to the North Wind''s Court," said Jinfeng. "You''ll have to earn their respect before they''ll take any warning seriously." "I was going to go to the West Wind''s Court first," said Amdirlain. Jinfeng bit her bottom lip. "I doubt you could find someone to take an issue in the North seriously. There are martial brothers in the North Wind''s Court that will go anywhere to hunt demons and those following daos focused on Hell." "Technically, you''ve already been in the west this whole trip," observed Sarah. "Though I know you want to study technique manuals in the western monasteries." Amdirlain frowned. "Let me consider it. Unless we rush the travel, we''re a long way from Mongolia. What does winning respect in the North Wind''s Court take?" "The first opportunity would be the spring tournament." "I don''t think me competing in a tournament is a good idea. Since you call me Sifu, you can represent me," proposed Amdirlain. Jinfeng stiffened in surprise before bowing so deep her upper body was parallel to the ground. "It would be a great honour." A sudden prickled of worry had Amdirlain''s gaze narrow. "Just don''t go overboard and get yourself killed. If you are over-matched, it''s fine with me to surrender in a tournament." With a broad smile, Jinfeng straightened and saluted Amdirlain. "It will be as you say, Sifu. A word of caution: the North Wind''s court is very martial. Many would look to challenge you outside the tournaments for the slightest insult." "Does that mean I''ll need to mind my manners so they can''t take insult at my casualness?" "Indeed, Sifu," agreed Jinfeng. "Not that I fear for you, but the first idiots you might have to educate. A genuine threat will see how you walk and be cautious until they learn more." "Which means the idiots might be probes they send my way to get me to reveal my hand?" Jinfeng gave a sharp nod. Amdirlain sighed in mock frustration. "Well, we can move on from here. Heading east will serve us fine regardless of if we''re heading for Mongolia or the regions north of Zh¨­nggu¨®. I''ll warn Kadaklan and then bring the house to us," said Sarah. ¡°Is that the right term for the middle kingdom, Jinfeng?¡± ¡°Zh¨­nggu¨®, Qin, Sh¨¦nzh¨­u and some others, depending on what dialect you¡¯re speaking. What will that do to the additional structures and the goods in the other rooms?" asked Jinfeng. Sarah shrugged. "It''s not like it matters, but I designed it to stand up around the hollow, and the enchantments will pull in everything from it first." "We can get back there quickly enough. Why not go back and pack up properly?" Klipyl enquired, motioning southward. "She doesn''t want me tempted to linger," said Amdirlain. "It''s not like we can''t teleport back and forth, and we''ve certainly got enough unique landmarks. Let''s deal with it properly and then come back here." "Fine," conceded Sarah. ? ? ? ? ? ? Kadaklan wrinkled his nose at the odour from the four of them. "It was a Hell Gate," said Jinfeng. "They had been corrupting the land to the point it could support thousands of demons. Amdirlain blasted through hordes that could crush an army." "You all helped," protested Amdirlain. "You let us help, but we were slowing you down, Sifu," corrected Jinfeng. ¡°I couldn¡¯t follow your movements, just blood and flesh spraying from your foes.¡± "Sarah could have killed far more with her weaponry," objected Amdirlain. ¡°Bringing out a dozen weapon platforms hardly counts as exertion.¡± "You both were letting Klipyl and myself gain battle exposure," Jinfeng declared, looking at Sarah; she received another casual shrug in confirmation. ¡°They were enough to guard your back while you let your strength off its leash a bit,¡± said Sarah. "They''d been at it for decades then," interjected Kadaklan. "Why don''t you all clean up and then tell me what''s gone on?" Ultimately, they spent another two days at the site before Sarah shooed the others outside for the last time and stored the original house. True to her claims, the outside expansion didn''t shift with her Dragon-footed hut gone. "So much for our planned long-term stay here," murmured Amdirlain. "The chaos of battle always makes fools of plans," said Jinfeng. "A minor understanding you''ve come to?" asked Klipyl as she played with the remains of her ribbon. "I can''t repair that one, but I can make you another," offered Sarah. "Nah, that''s okay," said Klipyl. "Things change, and I think it''s time for me to change again." "What are you up to, Klipyl?" "Something that I''ve held in for a while. What with all the fighting against the undead and now those demons," said Klipyl. ¡°It¡¯s time to punch up.¡± White light shone from beneath her skin, growing brighter until she appeared to be made entirely of light. There was a strange sense of a warm smile within the light. Then, as suddenly as it started, there was a snap, and Klipyl vanished. "Where''s she gone?" yelped Jinfeng. "She accepted a Celestial transition for whatever reason. She should emerge from the Domain''s wellspring in a bit," advised Sarah. "We''ll have to re-summon her once she''s done changing." "How long does that take?" demanded Kadaklan with uncharacteristic abruptness. "It depends," hedged Sarah. "On?" asked Jinfeng, looking between them. Amdirlain lifted her hands helplessly. "I''m not in charge of that now." "Now?" asked Jinfeng. "That''s a long story that I''m not getting into," said Amdirlain. "I''ll be back soon. I''m going to tell Grendel we''re heading off." She hopped around the hills and valley until she caught a trace of Grendel''s mind and looked through his eyes at the slain animal he was butchering. With him located, it was easy to teleport close by and ensure he''d catch wind of her scent before seeing her. Amdirlain strode through the darkness with her gaze fixed on Grendel, who was intent on a slain reindeer. "We found the den of the creatures and dealt with it. I don''t know if more are around, but we''re heading to find other hunters to track them down. So we''re leaving these lands." He didn''t turn to look her way. "Good." "I came to offer you a way to contact me in case you change your mind about the classes," said Amdirlain. Grendel shook his head. "Don''t bother. You eliminated the foes, and I care nothing about the classes you explained. I don''t plan to take any of those ''Prestige'' ones. I won''t let them tell me how to live my life, so leave me and my lands." You can''t help everyone. The words she''d spoken to Gail rose from her memories, and Amdirlain dropped a message crystal to the ground at his feet. "Hold it and think of me hearing your message and then speak your piece. It will send a brief message to me once. If you''re lucky, I might have time to reply," said Amdirlain. "My life can get busy." With that, she left Grendel alone to his fate. 447 - New horizons Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Barents Sea - North of the Russian plains With the house packed up, they reappeared on the edge of the ice-covered sea, only to find a blizzard had erupted since their departure. Kadaklan wrapped his arms around himself, clutching his flapping robe about himself. ¡°This place is far worse than where we were staying. Truly, no Phoenix should be in a place like this,¡± Kadaklan declared, his teeth chattering despite the enchantments in his robes that shrugged off Norway¡¯s cold. Sarah handed him a bracelet. ¡°Put this on. It will insulate you.¡± He slipped it around his wrist without questioning her and slowly straightened the colour, returning to his lips. The winds slipped by him, leaving his robes untouched. ¡°Thank you.¡± Next, she turned to Jinfeng only to find ice shining from beneath the surface of her skin and grunted at the visual indicator of the Ki Infusion effect. A quartz orb appeared in her hand, and when Sarah activated it, the inside glowed and pushed back the swirling snow to let the others see clearly. With the snow streaming down the side of the surrounding barrier, Sarah held out another bracelet to Jinfeng. ¡°I¡¯ve another bracelet. It will save you maintaining the Ki Infusion.¡± With a polite nod, Jinfeng slipped the bracelet about her wrist, then let the shimmering blue beneath her skin fade. Kadaklan had been peering northward towards the island where they¡¯d fought the demons and shook his head. ¡°Even with the snowstorm, I can sense the lingering corruption here. We can¡¯t leave it untended.¡± ¡°What do you advise?¡± ¡°The first thing that comes to mind is going through all the tunnels beneath the island with your Phoenix¡¯s Rapture active,¡± proposed Kadaklan. ¡°Once you¡¯ve seared the worst from stone, things should balance out.¡± ¡°Just that?¡± Kadaklan hesitated. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert, but this could develop into a nightmarish place if left unattended.¡± ¡°Then what needs to be done, and what are the most important aspects to focus on bringing things to order?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°The slain demons soaked this place with their blood. We must cleanse the stone so the energy doesn¡¯t attract forces like itself. ¡± Jinfeng opened her mouth to protest, but Kadaklan¡¯s stern look stopped her. ¡°Okay. What¡¯s with that?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°None of us are exorcists,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°I know the viewpoint possessed by those from the Martial Pavilion,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Unless there is a foe to fight, the problem is outside their responsibility. Yet no exorcist will want to come this far from the centre. If we don¡¯t tend this wound, then it will become a future problem.¡± ¡°In a few hundred years, it might be something for others to challenge themselves against,¡± countered Jinfeng. ¡°If you smooth the edges of everything in life, those that follow won¡¯t learn to watch for dangers.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t tend to infections properly, you risk losing a limb,¡± argued Kadaklan. ¡°Life has plenty of opportunities for new challenges to develop without deliberate neglect.¡± Dozens of Asian ghost stories and horror movies leapt to the forefront of Amdirlain¡¯s mind. Does it need significant issues like the suicide forest near Mount Fuji, or just a haunted house like depicted in The Grudge? ¡°What sort of locations can develop into problems? Does it need this scale of events, or can they grow from accidents, suicide sites, and murders? What level of bad vibe does it need?¡± ¡°Time allows many things to come to pass if left untended. This place will attract malicious ghosts quickly and continue to strengthen until they are the least of what it gathers. The longer it stays this way, the stronger the site will grow,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°Care to play healer?¡± ¡°You told me it¡¯s not something to be played at,¡± huffed Amdirlain playfully. ¡°Though I¡¯m up for a bit of pruning.¡± Kadaklan spread his arms helplessly. ¡°Gardener it is then, as you¡¯ve done for Gideon. The land needs to be purified, and I cannot cleanse it with the weight of Yin here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take care of what maintenance I can. I need energy in opposition to the demonic blood and the corruption of Di Yu. What is it? It didn¡¯t seem like Abyssal corruption.¡± Flying through the tunnels is inefficient when I can cast spells using the same energy. Kadaklan isn¡¯t a spellcaster, so his mindset is based on the proximity approach. ¡°It is not born from the sins of living beings, but the essence of demons. The inhabitants of Di Yu are as cruel as the deeds that draw the dead to those lands,¡± clarified Kadaklan. ¡°Some say they¡¯re unbridled desires, but desire can inspire insight. I feel the tipping point of the demons is not desire but malicious intent.¡± ¡°I can sweep the tunnels out with firestorms of yang energy,¡± proposed Amdirlain. ¡°Good. In a harsh place like this, the land will benefit from such energy,¡± said Kadaklan. Sarah deployed the house, and the others took refuge inside. As the blizzard wrapped around the house, Amdirlain considered her approach. With the ongoing storm still dumping piles of fresh powdery flakes, seeking the cave mouth from above seemed pointless. Amdirlain teleported directly to the intersection where she¡¯d held against the first waves. From there, she sent forth swarms of ectoplasmic eyes through the tunnels, identifying all the areas that bore scars from the black veins anchoring into the stone. She chained out the eyes to give herself a perspective through the tunnel system to confirm she had complete coverage of even the tiniest crevices. I¡¯m immune to Fire, but it¡¯s not elemental flames I want to utilise. With the network prepared, she activated Phoenix¡¯s Rapture and Ki Body, the Primordial and yang flames layered across her to shield her from what she was about to do. Abusing the line of sight provided by the psionic scrying orbs, Amdirlain unleashed yang firestorms through all the locations, casting so fast the thousands of eruptions from start to end took only seconds to occur. With one set done, she cast again, pouring Mana into hundreds of thousands of spells, ensuring no trace of corruption remained to stain the stone. The tunnel walls turned molten as Amdirlain¡¯s spells roared through the passages. The initial force of the layered firestorms cracked the stone, and the explosions sent a shockwave of superheated air and flame racing past Amdirlain to the surface. One after another, more openings exploded into steaming vents as the spells continued. She kept casting until her Mana Pool was low and felt the world about her inhale the power into its ley lines. Amdirlain held off drawing in Mana until the rock cooled and the energy flowed from the island. The inferno that had battered the tunnels had left the walls coated with symmetrical patterns, where rivulets of stone had descended from the ceiling to pool across the once rough floor. Above it, Amdirlain hovered and delicately drew energy from the ley line she¡¯d saturated with excess Mana. Her Mana draw paradoxically jumped despite Amdirlain controlling the draw as tightly as she could, and she clamped down further, letting the energy cycle through her spiritual net before entering her Mana Pool. With her attention on the flowing energy, the entry of the first droplets into her pool came with a notification that sparked brighter than usual across her thoughts. [Mana Finesse [S] (194->195) Mana Finesse evolved to Mana Mastery Mana Finesse [S] (198) -> Mana Mastery [S] (50) Mana Multiplier progressed from x13 to x15.] Amdirlain kept the flow under the same tight restraint and continued cycling the energy inwards, ignoring the next few notifications that appeared. When she returned to the house, Sarah was relaxed on the couch watching a newscast. She lowered the barely audible sound as Amdirlain entered the room. ¡°And you teased me about not cutting ties properly,¡± said Amdirlain, sitting beside her. ¡°I was just ensuring there weren¡¯t any issues with the new training facilities. The narrator of the last show mentioned them being discussed in the news, but it was an ¡®expert¡¯ talking head going over the changes you made,¡± said Sarah as she wrapped her arms around Amdirlain. ¡°Though some places aren¡¯t adapting as well as you hoped.¡± ¡°Still no reports of spectres?¡± Amdirlain rested her head on Sarah¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Not since you and Gilorn sealed the graves. It was one topic they broached. There have been more debates about building reform.¡± ¡°People might want to save the expense of the whitestone, but it also handles Mana flow for their infrastructure,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°They¡¯ll need to figure out a replacement for that first. It¡¯s completely someone else¡¯s problem.¡±Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Sarah stiffened slightly before she suddenly grinned. ¡°Let''s leave that in that bucket. However, we could benefit from it. I can see potential in them ending up with spare manufacturing capacity. Whitestone holds preset wards, and Qil Tris has a Mana generator system.¡± The boundary design appeared in the air before them. Instead of being anchored by metal boundary plates, hexagonal towers dotted the landscape, and external generators fed the wards. The pair cuddled, quietly discussing possible approaches, and waited for the morning to arrive. Kadaklan came downstairs first, with Jinfeng right behind him, and they exchanged morning greetings; the smile lines around Kadaklan¡¯s eyes revealed his relief. ¡°Did you think I¡¯d have trouble?¡± Amdirlain leaned forward to turn the receiver off. The sound cut off as the pair headed into the kitchen area. ¡°I never know what you are going to do.¡± Kadaklan¡¯s voice faded out slightly as he dug around in the cooler and emerged from the deep freeze with a container of vegetable stew. The cooking unit in the kitchen buzzed briefly, and the heavily spiced aroma drifted into the lounge area. ¡°I think we¡¯ll head south in the morning,¡± announced Amdirlain. ¡°But the weather here is so enticing,¡± drawled Sarah. ¡°Why would you want to run away so quickly?.¡± ¡°Can the sarcasm you,¡± grumbled Amdirlain playfully. Sarah snorted. ¡°Nope, must use the fresh stuff.¡± She jumped slightly when Amdirlain¡¯s fingers tweaked a sensitive spot. ¡°Okay, I surrender. Are you sure nothing further is tugging at your Precognition in these parts?¡± ¡°If I missed something, I missed it. I¡¯m not responsible for everything,¡± replied Amdirlain. Though there was a slight niggle of self-recrimination, the statement still sat comfortably with Amdirlain. Jinfeng nodded towards the front door. ¡°Are we going outside to fly, or will the house walk us south?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been scrying south from here and gotten reference points as far as the north coast of the black sea,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°We could just teleport to the east coast of the Mediterranean, where I summoned you to visit the L¨®m?,¡± proposed Sarah. Maybe we should do that, and I could apologise for my behaviour. Do I want to? The L¨®m? elder viewed me as a child, but it felt like he was scheming to undercut me. It doesn¡¯t change the fact that I behaved childishly. The emotional pain I was restraining only explains so much inappropriate behaviour. Yet they didn¡¯t know I was in pain until my showing off leaked it past my concealments. I¡¯m still avoiding even thinking of his name. Part of me wants to accept Gilorn¡¯s offer to remove his song altogether, but I¡¯ll stick by my choice and see if he¡¯s learned anything from the song Gilorn performed. It¡¯s still hard to put the L¨®m? in perspective; Ori had so much disappointed related to them and the Anar. ¡°Somewhere warm would be great,¡± Kadaklan proclaimed. Amdirlain gave him a teasing smile. ¡°I¡¯ll think about our next stop. It¡¯s just so far we¡¯ve not done any teleporting, and I¡¯d prefer to continue travelling relatively normally. How about we have the house walk us southwards as much as possible while this blizzard lasts?¡± ¡°If I¡¯m inside, I¡¯ll take what I can get,¡± sighed Kadaklan. ¡°Are you blindly following orders or your perception of them?¡± questioned Jinfeng as her knife beat out a rapid cadence against the chopping board, slicing up ingredients. ¡°What more did you want in the west?¡± ¡°Even if I jump back to Persia, we¡¯re still in the West,¡± countered Amdirlain. ¡°Yet if I do that, we¡¯ve skipped the Slavic lands completely.¡± ¡°Do you think there is more trouble there that needs you poking its nest?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°No idea. A wildness now itches under my skin whenever I think about the Slavic territories.¡± ¡°Fey.¡± Sarah¡¯s pronouncement earned a nod from Amdirlain. ¡°Can we skip that region?¡± The potential trouble involved in dealing with entities connected to Mab threatened to sour Amdirlain¡¯s mood as possibilities rang within her Precognition. ¡°Fine.¡± Kadaklan emerged from the kitchen with a large bowl brimming with stew; he grinned at Amdirlain¡¯s pronouncement. ¡°Warm lands.¡± ¡°Feeling a touch peckish?¡± asked Sarah. ¡°I hope Klipyl isn¡¯t gone too long,¡± Kadaklan responded drily. ¡°She has better taste in puns.¡± ¡°Is that the only reason you¡¯re missing my little sister?¡± asked Amdirlain playfully. ¡°Her absence lessens the energy in the house,¡± said Kadaklan. With him not rising to the bait, Amdirlain motioned northwards. ¡°Speaking of energy, can you feel anything to the north of here now?¡± Kadaklan smiled wryly. ¡°I¡¯m not an expert, and though it feels gone, I¡¯d still like it if we could get someone to check this place. The cold makes it feel like I¡¯m sensing energy through a thick fog.¡± ¡°Do you need Klipyl warming you up?¡± Sarah asked. ¡°That might clear the fog away.¡± Kadaklan primly ignored her and set about eating breakfast. ¡°Once we get to a monastery, I¡¯ll earn some contribution points,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Paying someone to undertake an expedition so far out will be costly,¡± cautioned Jinfeng. ¡°If we open a Gate for them, that will kill any argument about the hazards of travelling in the hinterlands,¡± said Sarah. ¡°A boring inspection instead of the promise of a grand adventure despite the distance,¡± Jinfeng groaned above the sound of her meal preparations. ¡°You¡¯ll disappoint so many.¡± ¡°Has it been a boring inspection with us?¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a learning experience,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°Sifu has pushed my capabilities far beyond what I expected to achieve.¡± ¡°And you even got cooking classes,¡± drawled Sarah. Jinfeng laughed. ¡°My family would find it appalling. Imagine being asked to cook and clean in another person¡¯s house.¡± ¡°Such a spoiled rich merchant¡¯s daughter.¡± Sarah sat up haughtily and pretended to look down her nose at Jinfeng. ¡°At least Sarah knew how to cook beyond the basics,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I had lifetimes to learn.¡± ¡°None of my memories from past lives include cooking, especially with facilities like your kitchen. You spoke of gold and silver dragons blending in with elves,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°How often did you blend?¡± ¡°Mainly, I ¡®blended¡¯ with the elven families that accompanied the Anar between planets,¡± clarified Sarah. ¡°They knew who I was, but maintained a polite fiction about it to prevent those outside their communities from learning of my presence.¡± ¡°I find it odd for an unenlightened Soul to possess every memory,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°While I know you¡¯ve said that Dragon memory is different, even immortals don¡¯t recall everything from every lifetime.¡± Sarah smirked. ¡°I¡¯m just weird that way. Let¡¯s blame it on Ori¡¯s meddling.¡± Jinfeng looked up from her preparations. ¡°You never said when you first met.¡± ¡°It was my first lifetime,¡± said Sarah. ¡°She was a unique individual and working out the details of her music.¡± ¡°A precise yet vague explanation tells me I should keep some questions to myself,¡± Jinfeng said while mixing ingredients in a bowl. ¡°It¡¯s a long and messy situation and something we¡¯ve only recently resolved,¡± allowed Sarah. ¡°And I¡¯m still a work in progress,¡± Amdirlain kissed Sarah¡¯s cheek. Jinfeng inclined her head respectfully. ¡°Was that a Yin attack you used to slay the last of the demons, Sifu?¡± Nice subject change. ¡°I got a new Power that doesn¡¯t relate to Ki. With Yin being considered a consuming force, I can see how it could be taken that way,¡± allowed Amdirlain. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I wondered if it were a technique you¡¯d be able to trade for a large amount of contribution points,¡± explained Jinfeng. A sudden urge for new books niggled at Amdirlain from within her continuing Precognition, and she decided on their course. ¡°Time to seek technique manuals¡± Kadaklan raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯d recommend an arrival point beyond the borders of the West Wind¡¯s Kingdom, and we can figure out travel plans from there. Unless you want to stand out, you could stand some practice blending with the locals.¡± Amdirlain nodded in agreement and leaned further into Sarah¡¯s embrace. ? ? ? ? ? ? After some energetic discussion, the group teleported to the plains just south of the foothills leading to the Nepal mountain range. With his brightly coloured robes, Kadaklan was positioned in the middle of the group, with two female monks and one chain-wielding warrior serving as his bodyguards. ¡°Sifu, I¡¯m not sure you¡¯ll pull this off,¡± stated Jinfeng. ¡°Why not?¡± Jinfeng shrugged. ¡°What reason would you like? Because you¡¯ll see a farmer being hassled and act? Or because a child will be in danger, or the wind will blow the wrong way.¡± ¡°By your own admission, you fail at being subtle, but you still want to try?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Some deeds of Ki practitioners are so outlandish I don¡¯t have to be subtle to fit people¡¯s expectations. No, it¡¯s more I want to try for a slice of normalcy before I lose the chance completely,¡± said Amdirlain, pulling her now black hair into a ponytail away from her Human ears and rounded features. Her appearance was closer to that of Mongolian or Tibetan students than the more angular Persians. ¡°A wandering Monk is a staple of Ki Practitioner tales, right?¡± With her hair dealt with, she quickly settled the fit of her grey and black robes. Kadaklan groaned. ¡°Those same tales have monks fighting impossible odds and monsters at every stage of their travels.¡± ¡°That sounds like my version of normalcy,¡± drawled Amdirlain. ¡°Let¡¯s focus on not leaving a thousand tales behind us. Neither you nor Jinfeng wants me to teleport to the Monastery of the Western Reaches and upset the wards. We¡¯ve got to find the tent city of the West Wind¡¯s Court, so regardless of which I decide, we¡¯ve got to travel overland. We¡¯re storing the house and going on foot to avoid attention, hence I¡¯m not in Elven form. I¡¯ll keep a mental link to Jinfeng to let her guide me about the proper responses to people.¡± ¡°The more you complain about the likelihood of this being impossible, the more probable you¡¯ll draw the attention of an Aspect,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°They¡¯ve shown they¡¯ll play games with Am, so how about we get started? The border village should be along this route. You¡¯re the healer who went off to do his gathering. These two took the job for contribution points, and I¡¯m the friendly hired muscle. Let¡¯s see how long we can stick to that story. ¡° ¡°Without me giving the entire show away,¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°Shall we take turns leading the way?¡± ¡°Might I suggest you please let Kadaklan or me handle the initial contact with the village?¡± requested Jinfeng. ¡°So you¡¯ve got a reference for the future without me having to guide your every response.¡± Amdirlain nodded. ¡°Have you decided on names?¡± asked Kadaklan. ¡°Am and Sarah will attract attention.¡± ¡°Tuya,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Not that I plan to use it much.¡± ¡°Sarnai,¡± replied Sarah. ¡°That means rose. You had to go for something involving red?¡± laughed Amdirlain. ¡°You¡¯re just as bad, miss ray of light,¡± huffed Sarah. ¡°Red is merely an option for a rose, not a certainty. It¡¯s bad enough that I need to avoid red clothing.¡± ¡°Children,¡± grumbled Kadaklan, and he motioned northward. ¡°You wear red in town, but red doesn¡¯t suit the disguise you picked for the road.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± huffed Sarah playfully. ¡°Let¡¯s get going.¡± ¡°How far is the village?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°At least thirty kilometres, but we can push the pace,¡± said Amdirlain. 448 - Simple life Amdirlain¡¯s PoV - Northwest India As they trekked northwards, Amdirlain felt for minds nearby. Beside the buzz of the village thirty kilometres ahead, there were only a few hunters about, with both Human and non-Human minds. Glimpses from their eyes showed scaled bodies but, rather than the rougher scales of the Lizardfolk, they possessed fine serpentine scales. While their minds felt different, these hunters shared the same predatory focus as their Human counterparts. A skirmish between a man and five of these creatures raged to the east, the Human feeling amused by their vain attempts to harm him, and Amdirlain shut down her Telepathy again to avoid digging into something that wasn¡¯t her concern. Various dragons and the tribes of their followers control all lands south of here and a fair way east, past what would be the borders of Pakistan. No Indian people around since their gods still had plenty of believers. Plenty of followers means no need to seek refuge in another realm. I wonder if Kronos was manipulating things behind the scenes to ensure so many Human gods came as a group. It was only late morning when they caught sight of the village on the river¡¯s edge through thinning trees. A low rock wall a metre and a half tall surrounded the place, and before it was a steep ditch filled with stakes. Beyond were buildings sealed with a smooth white material, though it was flaking away in places, revealing the baked clay bricks beneath. They couldn¡¯t see how people crossed the river from where they were, but the herders managed goats on the northern slopes where the flatter ground they travelled ascended into foothills to the north. There was an archway for a narrow gate on the western side, but Jinfeng aimed for a path that took them to the edge of the ditch directly ahead. The approach to the village¡¯s outskirts included a layer of beast traps along the edge of the orchards. Currently bare of leaves, the pomegranate and date trees provided little obstruction, and the guards spotted them as they wound their way through the groves. Two watchers clad in tanned leather jerkins moved along the wall to wave to them to the west but, leading the way, Jinfeng continued straight on. While one addressed Jinfeng, moving at the front of the group, the other continued to scan the trees behind them. ¡°Who are you?¡± called the older guard, his beard speckled with grey. ¡°Masters Kadaklan and Jinfeng, from the Monastery of the Western Reaches,¡± replied Jinfeng, motioning back to Kadaklan. ¡°We¡¯re heading north on monastery business.¡± ¡°You¡¯re a small band to have ventured south from here,¡± noted the guard. ¡°We¡¯re experienced travellers, and a smaller party was safer for our purposes,¡± replied Jinfeng. ¡°Might we enter the village? Or do you wish to continue questioning us across this ditch?¡± The guard pointed at the ditch before the low wall. ¡°There is no gate on this side.¡± Jinfeng lifted into the air, and the others followed suit. Landing on the far side in unison, she called back to the suddenly sweating guard, ¡°Which way is the Elder¡¯s house?¡± Perhaps practitioners displaying powers isn¡¯t as common as I understood. Or perhaps the ones capable of Ki Flight aren¡¯t often around. Are we proving our credentials? The guard who had spoken rushed down the short ladder and nearly slipped. Though he teetered dangerously off balance, Amdirlain restrained herself, ready to catch him with Far Hand if he actually fell. Stumbling to a halt, he lost his casual air and bowed respectfully to Jinfeng. ¡°Please forgive me for my rudeness, Master Jinfeng. We¡¯ve had many claiming titles that aren¡¯t theirs come through of late.¡± Jinfeng acknowledged his bow with a slight nod. ¡°You merely pointed out some truths. We are a small band, and there isn¡¯t a gate on this side. I take no insult from your statements. Where might we find the Elder or accommodation for travellers?¡± The guard motioned to a path leading between some household gardens. ¡°I¡¯ll guide you to him. His house is by the river.¡± As Amdirlain and Sarah trailed at the back of the group, one villager sidled beside her, his hand outstretched. The man aimed for Amdirlain¡¯s sleeve rather than the pouch on her belt, so she stopped to regard him. ¡°What is it you need?¡± ¡°What do your masters eat?¡± the man whispered. ¡°Master Kadaklan eats vegetable stews of any kind, preferably with hot spices. Master Jinfeng is more flexible, but she prefers fresh fish. Has the river provided some today?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°We will see to it.¡± The man bowed rapidly and hurried away. The man¡¯s public thoughts focused on the monastery¡¯s fair reputation and his intention to ensure that the monks spoke well of the village. The Elder¡¯s house was a marginally larger building near the river, in sight of a footbridge that led to a walled compound on the other side; two open gates allowed her to see the barns and livestock pens within. While Jinfeng and Kadaklan went inside the house to talk to the Elder, Amdirlain and Sarah played their role and waited by the front door. With their escort having departed, Amdirlain observed the proceeding within, unsure how a village Elder rated in the world considering what she¡¯d heard of practitioner behaviour. The village Elder had taken one look at their robes and bowed nervously to Kadaklan and Jinfeng, his arms raised to his face, sleeves hiding his gaze. ¡°We have no accommodation worthy of such august personages. I¡¯ll have a house cleared to allow you a place to rest.¡± ¡°Does the village not have an inn?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°Merely a common house,¡± replied the Elder. ¡°Travellers are free to sleep on the floor once the drinks are no longer served in the evening.¡± Kadaklan nodded. ¡°Understandable, given your remoteness. We will take it for the night and go onwards in the morning. That will be sufficient for us. We only need some space for meditation.¡± ¡°Might I discuss some matters with you?¡± asked the Elder. ¡°Some villagers and hunters are doing poorly this cold season.¡± The approach of a dark-haired Mongolian boy who was barefoot despite his good-quality cotton pants and a shirt, drew her attention from the discussion. ¡°Honourable Monk, would you take me to the Monastery?¡± requested the boy. Amdirlain looked at him critically. ¡°You¡¯re just approaching a random traveller?¡± ¡°I recognise your uniforms,¡± replied the boy. ¡°Where are your parents?¡± ¡°Father is out hunting and doesn¡¯t care what I want. Mother is dead,¡± replied the boy. ¡°Who do you live with?¡± The boy waved towards a solid residence further downriver; no clay bricks were visible through the whitewash. ¡°At home by myself, it is just us. We¡¯re new to the village.¡± ¡°When is he getting back from his hunting trip?¡± The boy shrugged. ¡°Maybe in a few days, maybe a lot longer.¡± ¡°That seems a long hunting trip,¡± noted Sarah. ¡°To find the best beasts, you must go to them.¡± The boy¡¯s tone made it clear he was quoting someone. ¡°It¡¯s not been close to his longest trip.¡± Amdirlain resisted commenting. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± The question lit hope in the boy¡¯s gaze. ¡°Milad.¡± ¡°The monastery doesn¡¯t accept everyone, only those who can already handle Ki,¡± cautioned Amdirlain. ¡°Some years, they don¡¯t even accept all those that pass the tests.¡± ¡°A Monk taught me the basics, and I¡¯ve practised,¡± declared Milad, his fingers tracing a line along the length of his sternum. ¡°I can feel the warmth move in my chest.¡± Amdirlain held her hands out to Milad. ¡°Take my hands and show me.¡± Milad¡¯s brow furrowed as he shifted his weight about. ¡°I need you to touch you so I can have my Ki follow yours,¡± explained Amdirlain. ¡°When you move your Ki, I¡¯ll feel it.¡± The boy shyly took her hand, flickering a nervous glance at Sarah, who stood nearby with her hand resting on her chain belt. Oh, he hasn¡¯t held a girl¡¯s hand before? Amdirlain let a thread of her Ki sink into his skin as Master Cyrus had taught her with the Xaos guards. ¡°Start when you are ready.¡± She saw Milad¡¯s pulse ease and, as the artery in his neck slowed, energy moved from the chakra beneath his solar plexus, flowed around his heart, and then travelled onto his throat. From there, it looped back around and eventually formed a figure eight. ¡°Your Ki moved between three chakras. How many lessons did you have from the travelling Monk?¡± ¡°It amused him for a morning. I¡¯ve practised consistently for years since I met him,¡± replied Milad. ¡°What did your dad say about wanting to learn?¡± Milad¡¯s shoulders slumped slightly. ¡°He said once I gave up, holding still would help with hunting.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll see what the masters have to say,¡± advised Amdirlain. The conversation inside stopped at her tap on the door, and Kadaklan called for her to enter. Within the house, she found the front room ran the width of the house, a blended living area, dining room, and kitchen. The furnishings were simple but carefully looked after, and the wood showed minimal scratching. When you can¡¯t replace it easily, you take care of it. Kadaklan looked at her questioningly. ¡°What is it, Tuya?¡± It¡¯s the first name I¡¯ve used that wasn¡¯t close to mine, but Mongolian names don¡¯t start with an ¡®Am¡¯ sound. ¡°A young boy outside has learned to cycle his Ki. He requested to travel with us to the monastery, Master,¡± replied Amdirlain, ignoring the village Elder. ¡°His father is currently absent from the village.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Jinfeng came out and looked Milad over. The boy didn¡¯t hesitate. He clasped his hands together before his chest and bowed deeply. ¡°Honoured Master, thank you for speaking with me.¡± Jinfeng stepped up before him and held out a hand. ¡°Show me your Ki.¡± The boy timidly placed his hand on hers, and his expression relaxed as he felt the warmth beneath his sternum. He sent the energy cycling before his heart and throat in a series of loops before getting it to race to his fingertips. ¡°How old are you?¡± ¡°Twelve winters,¡± replied Milad. ¡°You look younger,¡± noted Jinfeng. ¡°We¡¯ll need to speak to your father.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when he¡¯ll be back,¡± protested Milad. ¡°Does he not give you an intended time?¡± Milad lowered his head. ¡°He¡¯s already overdue.¡± Jinfeng folded her arms and stared at him. ¡°You¡¯re looking to leave when he¡¯s gone?¡± ¡°He¡¯s run overtime before. He¡¯s so rarely home that he¡¯d be better off without me,¡± reported Milad. A tight frown showed through her usual composure. ¡°Family is important. He might have a different view on the matter.¡± ¡°I just slow him down.¡± ¡°Why do you say that?¡± ¡°If I weren¡¯t around, he wouldn¡¯t have to keep returning to one spot,¡± replied Milad. ¡°I hear him speaking to the other hunters, telling tales of distant lands he saw with Mother.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your father¡¯s name?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°Dario,¡± whispered Milad. Amdirlain held out her hand again. ¡°Give me your hand.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Milad swallowed back threatening tears. ¡°So I can trace the echo of your father¡¯s life from you,¡± explained Amdirlain. I don¡¯t need his hand to trace his father with Clairsentience, but it is better if I make it seem like there are restrictions. ¡°You can do that?¡± breathed Milad, his eyes going wide. Kadaklan remained composed and merely nodded, but Amdirlain caught the amusement in his mind. Yeah, not even a day before I¡¯m meddling. Now, what do I tell Milad so he doesn¡¯t wonder how I found him? ¡°It¡¯s a rare technique,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°Picture your father in your mind, so your Ki calls to your bond with him.¡± That¡¯s technically true since some regard Ki as life force, and the technique uses the bloodline link to find him. The techniques showed her a leather-clad man with stern features and a traditional long Mandarin queue instead of Mongolian features. He sat on a stream overhang, cleaning a thin sabre while ignoring his blood-soaked clothing. His position overlooked grassland mounded with decimated serpentine-scaled bodies. With the battle over, hordes of birds feasted on the remains, but he didn¡¯t shift position. He is the same guy I spotted clashing with a small group earlier. It looks like things escalated. Sarah¡¯s brows raised when Amdirlain¡¯s expression tightened. ¡®He¡¯s not hurt. Apparently, among his quarries are the serpentine species to the south,¡¯ projected Amdirlain. ¡°What do you do for food while he¡¯s gone?¡± asked Kadaklan from the doorway. ¡°Villagers give me things in trade for the meat he brings in,¡± explained Milad. ¡°Sometimes cheeses, fruits, or they get me to join them for meals.¡± Sarah clicked her tongue curiously. ¡°What does your dad mainly hunt?¡± ¡°Monsters,¡± replied Milad. ¡°He trades the meat but takes their bones and skins when he goes to the towns.¡± ¡°Your father looks unharmed, but he¡¯s been in a fight with some of the serpentine folk of the south,¡± advised Amdirlain. Milad sighed in relief. ¡°They get upset when he hunts nagas and if a nest gets on his trail they keep following.¡± Jinfeng hummed. ¡°I¡¯d heard that a Naga¡¯s servants don¡¯t stop chasing their master¡¯s killers.¡± ¡°Dad chops them up and leaves their heads as a warning to stay out of Human lands,¡± Milad¡¯s recital came in a dry, matter-of-fact tone as if commenting on the fact that water is wet. ¡°Have the wind carry words to him and let him know I wish to speak to him about his son,¡± instructed Jinfeng before she added more through the mental link. ¡®Unless you want to stay here longer?¡¯ Amdirlain sent a Message to his location advising him that Master Jinfeng of the Monastery of the Western Reaches wishes to speak to him about Milad¡¯s Ki talents. Dario flowed to his feet with his blade at the ready, the tension easing when he spotted the Message orb in the air, reciting the last of her words. He moved to the corpses and discarded weapons disappeared from the ground before he rushed northwards and dragged the scrying focus with him. Okay, he¡¯s got a storage object and can move at a decent pace; if he can keep that speed up, he might be home tonight. Amdirlain looked at Milad and smiled. ¡°It appears your father is heading this way.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll wait at home,¡± said Milad, scampering off towards the house he¡¯d pointed to earlier. ¡°The Elder says some people need healing,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°I¡¯ll tend to them after lunch. As for our accommodations, the common house is upriver. He apologises, but it¡¯s the only option available unless he kicks someone out of their house for the night.¡± The place was simple to find, and the smell of unwashed bodies, spirits, and ale was unmistakable from a few houses away. A rough wooden deck surrounded the clay brick building, with men in rawhide leathers and patched clothing lounging about and handing over brass coins for mugs brought to them by an old woman and a young serving girl. The building was as rough in appearance as the customers, with arm-length sections of whitewash having flaked away. ¡®You want to blend in,¡¯ projected Sarah. ¡®Now I know why so many game adventures start in taverns; the odour of unwashed bodies and stale ale drives the adventurers to want to kill someone,¡¯ Amdirlain returned. Amdirlain moved past Kadaklan to open the common room door and inspect the interior. Seven low, badly scarred tables with mats alongside them were the only seating in the room; four of them ran in a line along one wall and were occupied by a group of twenty scraggly hunters with polearms, swords, and bows leant up in the corners. The others were empty, with most patrons out in the afternoon sunlight either for its fading sun or to avoid the noise from the hunters. Even as they sat at an empty table, the tavern owner brought over a platter with a bowl of vegetable stew for Kadaklan and a plate with grilled fish before Jinfeng. Broad plates with a mix of flatbread, stewed meat, dried dates, and cheese were set in the middle of the table, with smaller plates passed to Amdirlain and Sarah before he retreated. The personal service received low grumbles from the hunters until the man returned behind the bench and resumed pouring their drinks. The older serving woman shooed the teenage girl away from the mugs and took over two trays at once. One older man with grey through his goatee gestured towards their group. Amdirlain casually rested a hand above the knife-scarred table, and the wood pulled itself back together until the only damage was the sections of stripped varnish. The casual use of magic caused the men watching them to find the contents of their cups to be incredibly interesting. ¡°Spoilsport,¡± muttered Sarah. ¡°What are we doing after lunch?¡± ¡°The Elder is spreading the word for anyone that needs healing to come see me here,¡± advised Kadaklan. ¡°He tried to offer a rate that would have stung them in spring, so I told him to keep the coin.¡± Amdirlain nodded and turned a cold eye at some hunters who had suddenly perked up. ¡°Are you in need of a Healer¡¯s attention now?¡± ¡°A few of us are,¡± confirmed the goateed man. ¡°None of you look ready to pass away, so after I¡¯ve eaten,¡± commented Kadaklan. The man slapped the others on either side of him and bowed from his waist, forcing them to follow his example. Their issues were mostly relatively minor, but Kadaklan also handled older wounds, such as the regrowth of frostbitten fingertips and toes. Throughout the afternoons, various villagers stopped in, and Kadaklan administered healing or provided them with recommendations to boost their health. Sarah pretended to read a scroll during that time, while Jinfeng and Amdirlain meditated. She concealed the light from her sigil and stored the Ki for later use. As Dario entered the common room, Jinfeng looked up. Though Dario strode away from it, the door didn¡¯t shut, and Milad shyly slid inside a moment later. The villagers who had lingered longer drinking paid them ¡®absolutely¡¯ no attention when Dario settled at their table. Dario¡¯s gaze fixed on Jinfeng. ¡°Are you Master Jinfeng, or was I given the wrong description?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Master Jinfeng,¡± confirmed Jinfeng calmly. ¡°What¡¯s this I hear about you taking my son to the Monastery of the Western Reaches?¡± ¡°He asked, and after confirming he could move his Ki, I said I¡¯d need to talk to you,¡± said Jinfeng. He waved dismissively at Amdirlain. ¡°And you confirmed he can handle Ki, Master Jinfeng? Not your junior.¡± Did he imply his son lied to him? Or is he trying to suggest that I messed up? Amdirlain resisted the temptation to listen to his mind, and Sarah''s amusement trickled through their link. ¡°Yes, he can move it between three chakras, which is quite the feat for someone who is mostly self-taught, let alone at his age,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°He¡¯ll soon hit roadblocks and might develop bad habits if he doesn¡¯t get proper instruction.¡± ¡°Fine, but I¡¯m not putting him in your care. His mother would come back to haunt me if I entrusted his education to such a provincial order,¡± declared Dario. Jinfeng didn¡¯t blink. ¡°And what do you consider a suitable order?¡± ¡°The Monastery of the White Jade Rings.¡± ¡°That would take considerable influence even to get them to consider him,¡± stated Jinfeng. ¡°That¡¯s also a long way to travel, and if they¡¯re overly critical, other local sects might turn their gaze from him.¡± ¡°That¡¯s our problem, not yours,¡± snapped Dario. ¡°That is true, but are you purposely seeking to make his Dao harder?¡± asked Jinfeng. ¡°Life is hard. One needs to be strong to achieve their best,¡± retorted Dario. ¡°Since you say he is talented, he needs a place that will challenge him properly.¡± Dario looked flatly at Amdirlain. ¡°Milad described you, Wu Jen. It was your voice in the message orb, wasn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Tricksters,¡± snorted Dario. Amdirlain ignored the challenge in his cold eyes. He snorted again before heading for the door, signalling Milad to walk out first. Does he have a chip on his shoulder with Wu Jen and the Monastery of the Western Reaches? After their meal, Amdirlain spent the early evening helping Kadaklan with a short clinic for those who¡¯d returned from the fields. Besides passing him things from the kit he¡¯d laid out on the table, she applied Psychometabolism techniques to the worn-out villagers, further boosting their health. In the morning, when they were heading across the river, they saw Dario already further up into the hills with Milad in tow; the pair weren¡¯t following the river path but cut directly to the northeast. ¡°At least he supported his son¡¯s desire even if our Monastery didn¡¯t get a strong candidate,¡± murmured Jinfeng. ¡°If they make it there and if Milad gets accepted,¡± corrected Kadaklan. ¡°Nothing in life is certain, even if Dario has the contacts to get someone at that monastery to listen to his request.¡± ¡°He¡¯s going to wear his son out going that pace,¡± said Sarah. ¡°He leaves him in the village for weeks on end.¡± ¡°Not unusual in some places, but that¡¯s normally the local children. It was certainly odd for a stranger to rely on others to care for their children,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°He definitely wasn¡¯t happy with him for approaching us,¡± offered Jinfeng. ¡°Some fathers can be unreasonable unless everyone flawlessly obeys their instructions for the family.¡± Kadaklan clicked his tongue. ¡°I wonder who hired him to come to such a remote village.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t think he was here running from something or someone?¡± asked Amdirlain. ¡°If he were, he wouldn¡¯t be so willing to go to the Middle Kingdom,¡± said Kadaklan. ¡°He could have had his son slip quietly into our Monastery, and no one would have been the wiser. Just a distant village boy found to have learnt to move his Ki.¡± When they got beyond the furthest herds, Amdirlain took the plunge. ¡°The Monastery has issues?¡± ¡°All groups have those that don¡¯t like them, and there is a history of competition among monasteries,¡± said Jinfeng. ¡°Some families take the age and prestige of different monasteries more seriously than others. He looks like someone from the Middle Kingdom, so he might have connections to draw on. I¡¯m also curious about what brought him here.¡± And I¡¯m not digging into his brain. ¡°And this Monastery of the White Jade Rings?¡± asked Amdirlain to change the subject. ¡°Has the most ancient of lineages,¡± sighed Jinfeng. ¡°One that certain families deem more important than recent achievements. They receive imperial patronage and attract equal measures of great talent and those seeking power for its own sake.¡± Amdirlain nodded, and they set off again. ¡°You¡¯ve certainly gotten better at restraining your Charisma,¡± noted Kadaklan, when they were out of sight of the village. ¡°People aren¡¯t eating out of your hand like they did on Qil Tris.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± said Amdirlain. ¡°I prefer my abilities to be under my control and for people¡¯s opinions to be their own. Even people like the disease spreaders. I broke their viewpoint down and made them look at their deeds, but I didn¡¯t control what they did afterwards.¡± ¡°You added doubt,¡± Jinfeng said. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll come to a better understanding of their goddess. I wonder what Quan Yin would think about the Lizardfolk Goddess of Life and your merciful approach.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get going, shall we,¡± grumbled Sarah. ¡°Before we end up with a Primordial visitor.¡± Amdirlain didn¡¯t need further prompting. Over the following days, they regularly checked Sarah¡¯s orbiting satellite to ensure they didn¡¯t have to retrace their route as they meandered northward, allowing Kadaklan to tend to the villages in the hinterlands.